Ending his words, Vice President Kwon gestured as if signaling for her to get out of the car. As Yul-ri got out of the car, the male secretary waiting outside immediately got into the driver’s seat and drove away.

Returning to her own car, Yul-ri drove to Jeho’s house. If she were to switch the ledger, it would be safest to do it when he wasn’t at home.

Upon arriving at Jeho’s house, Yul-ri headed straight to the study. She had watched how Jeho opened the safe, but now that she was about to do it herself, she felt nervous.

If the program didn’t recognize her correctly, instead of the safe door opening, an alarm might go off. However, there was no need to worry. If she just fiddled around as if she were trying to take out her watch, it would be fine.

With trembling emotions, Yul-ri calmed herself and pulled out the book on the far left from the bookshelf. As the panel behind slid down, the safe revealed itself.
When she brought her face close, the red light turned blue, and with a sudden noise, the safe door opened. Inside the safe was unchanged from when Jeho opened it.

Documents that seemed to be contracts, an old-looking ledger, and a wooden box containing her wristwatch were inside.

Yul-ri cautiously moved the wooden box aside and picked up the ledger. Then, she took out the fake ledger she received from Vice President Kwon and compared it with the original ledger.

Externally, they were nearly identical, to the point where it wouldn’t be easy to distinguish them at a glance. The contents of the ledgers, including the font and structure, were so similar that without careful scrutiny, it would be impossible to notice the difference.

While there were some discrepancies in the numbers, as a non-accountant, Yul-ri couldn’t understand what they meant.

Holding each ledger in both hands, Yul-ri took a moment to catch her breath.

Is what I’m doing right?

But there was no time for prolonged contemplation. She had already made the decision after careful consideration, and if that was the decision, she had to follow through with it.

Yul-ri placed the ledger she received from Vice President Kwon back into the safe, placed the wooden box on top of it, and then closed the safe door. Although Vice President Kwon had instructed her to bring it as soon as he retrieved the secret ledger, Yul-ri planned to delay it as much as possible.

As Yul-ri left the study, she stopped for a moment. Her feet couldn’t move forward. If she could, she wanted to go back and put the ledger back where it originally was.

“Enough, stop hesitating.”

There would be no greater folly than chasing after arrows fired during a protest. Yul-ri comforted herself and quickly left the study.

Chairman Kwon, who had been enjoying the view outside the window, turned around as the knocking sound echoed. Jeho entered with a burdened expression, leaving behind the heavy door of the President’s suite.

“You said you were going down to the provinces because of some business?”

“Even so, I thought I should be by the chairman’s side today, so I hurriedly came up.”

A touched expression appeared on Chairman Kwon’s face as he looked at Jeho.

“Do you remember what day today is?”

Today was a very special day for Chairman Kwon. It was the day he decided to stop life support for his wife, who had been in a vegetative state for several years. His wife, removed from the oxygen respirator, breathed a few more days before departing to the afterlife.

However, for Chairman Kwon, the day he stopped life support was more painful than the day his wife passed away.

“As expected, there’s no one but you, Jeho.”

“To be honest, my mother called me yesterday and persuaded me. She said she would take care of Grandfather so he wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Your mother? Haha, is that so?”

Chairman Kwon laughed bitterly and turned back to the window. Jeho approached without saying a word and joined him in gazing at the unfolding scenery.

After a short silence, Chairman Kwon spoke first.

“I heard about Minwoo the day before yesterday. You must have heard about it too.”

“Yes, Chairman.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought sending him abroad would help him regain his composure even a little… Whew.”

Muttering to himself, Chairman Kwon sighed deeply, lowering his head.

Jeho silently waited for the chairman’s next words. To extract what he wanted from Chairman Kwon, he shouldn’t ask questions first. The chairman would never reveal anything unless it aligned with his own intentions.

“Even with Minwoo in that condition, do we have to do it now?”

“If you wish, should we postpone it until the regular board meeting next month?”

At Jeho’s question, Chairman Kwon furrowed his brow as if embarrassed.

Jeho wanted to be more persuasive, but he held back. Pressing too hard might backfire.

Originally, the plan was to expose Vice President Kwon’s embezzlement and misappropriation at the regular board meeting early next month.