“I kept calling, but I couldn’t get through.”

Entering the house, Jeho apologized. Yuri shook her head as if it was fine and smiled brightly.

“Let’s hang up. I have a guest.”

After ending the call with Minwoo, Yuri ran to Jeho and hugged him tightly. Surprised by the intense welcome, Jeho had a puzzled expression. He thought she would say something about coming in without calling.

“This welcome feels unfamiliar. Is this because we didn’t see each other for just one day?”

“Yes, one day felt like a year.”

Yuri wrapped her arms around Jeho’s neck and pressed her lips against his. Jeho seemed a bit surprised as it was rare for her to initiate a kiss. But soon he cupped her face with both hands, tilted his head, and deepened the kiss.

“……Yuri.”

After a long while, Jeho softly called her name as he pulled away.

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

Yuri smiled shyly and buried her face in Jeho’s chest.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

A loud noise came from somewhere. Crash, crash crash! A series of sounds followed as if something was breaking. It sounded like it was coming from right next to them. And not long after, beep, beep, beep, the sound of a password being entered was heard, and the front door opened.

“What the hell are you doing?”

At the howling sound, Jeho put Yuri down and turned around. Minwoo was rushing towards them, swinging his fists with bloodshot eyes. But before he could touch even a finger, Jeho grabbed his arm and pinned him to the floor.

“Let go, don’t you dare let go! Hey, what are you doing? Beat this bastard!”

With his face pressed to the floor, Minwoo yelled towards the front door. Then the door opened and two unfamiliar men entered.

The short-haired men were dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses. Jeho let go of Minwoo and hid Yuri behind his back. In this situation, protecting Yuri was more important than dealing with Minwoo.

“Who are you?”

Jeho glared at the men in black suits. Minwoo, who had gotten up, laughed viciously and dusted off his jacket shoulders.

“What do you mean who? They’re the grim reapers coming to take you away. How dare you touch my woman? Hey, what are you waiting for? Beat that bastard already.”

“Yes.”

The men in black suits quickly began to approach Jeho. But before they could take even a few steps, the front door opened and Assistant Kim entered with a group of bodyguards.

“Who the hell are you now?”

Minwoo’s face contorted at this completely unexpected situation. The men in black suits also seemed flustered, stopping in their tracks and looking at Minwoo.

“Director Kwon Minwoo.”

Assistant Kim approached Minwoo, who was shouting with a red face, and bowed his head.

“Please come with me. Congressman Chae wants to see you.”

Behind Assistant Kim were five bodyguards, and glancing towards the hallway, three or four more were waiting outside. Realizing they were outnumbered, the men in black suits began to slowly back away towards the front door.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going? Hey!”

When Minwoo called out to them, the men rushed out of the officetel even faster. Left alone, Assistant Kim signaled to the bodyguards with a nod. The bodyguards grabbed Minwoo’s armpits on both sides, holding him firmly in place.

“Are you crazy? Let go of me! Hey!”

Minwoo struggled hard, but it wasn’t enough to break free from the tightly gripped arms. Assistant Kim bowed his head towards Yuri and Jeho, then left the officetel with the bodyguards, taking Minwoo with them.

“You bastards are all dead. You’re kidnapping an innocent person right now!”

Even after the door closed, Minwoo’s shouts could still be heard. Only when everything had quieted down did Yuri, who had been hiding her face behind Jeho’s back, carefully look around.

Although it was a brief moment, the house was in disarray. Especially the clear footprints on the floor made her frown.

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier……”

Yuri spoke as she headed to the utility room to get a mop to clean the floor.

“I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t. I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily while you were on your way.”

But before she could take even a few steps, Jeho grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace.

“Do it later. Just stay still for now.”

She hadn’t noticed, but perhaps because the tension had eased, Yuri’s body was trembling like an aspen leaf. Jeho must have seen how precarious she looked. Yuri took a deep breath.

“How did you know Minwoo would do this?”

“……It wasn’t certain. But it seems Father found out something.”

Yuri whispered in a trembling voice. Jeho took her to the sofa while still holding her. He sat her down on the sofa, walked to the kitchen to prepare hot chocolate, and came back.

“Drink this and calm down.”

Jeho said as he placed the mug in Yuri’s hands. Yuri slowly drank the hot chocolate and continued speaking.

“Father said there was a similar incident a year ago.”

Yuri explained in detail, starting from when Minwoo first came to the officetel, to feeling like someone had entered the house yesterday, and how she asked Assistant Kim for help.

“Actually, Father came to visit recently and hinted at something.”

Jeho had only passed on information about Minwoo’s involvement with gangsters, but Congressman Chae had dug deeper into Minwoo based on that. Although Madam Na had cleanly covered up the women issues, Congressman Chae could have easily found out if he wanted to.

Until now, Minwoo had repeatedly committed acts close to kidnapping and imprisonment of women he desired, installing wiretapping devices and hidden cameras, in addition to dating violence.

Yuri was the only exception. He couldn’t possibly install wiretapping devices in the house of Congressman Chae Hyungsik, a political heavyweight. But as soon as he found out that Yuri had moved out on her own, he immediately took action.

“How did you know Minwoo had moved in next door?”

“I didn’t know that. I just guessed it would be in the same building because the reception range of the wiretapping device is short.”

“So you deliberately provoked him by saying ‘Let’s go to the bedroom’? Knowing Minwoo would come running with his eyes rolled back?”

Yuri nodded with a weak smile.

“I did provoke him, but I didn’t think he’d come running from next door. I only expected him to call again. The plan was for Assistant Kim to track where the signal was being received in the meantime.”

“Sigh, that’s Chae Yuri for you.”

Jeho smiled gently and stroked Yuri’s hair.

“But next time, make sure to tell me first. It’s better to know even if I worry.”

Even as he said that, there was actually a part he hadn’t told her either. On his way out after meeting Chairman Kwon, he received a call from Congressman Chae. It was right after he had texted Yuri that he was coming now. The conversation with Congressman Chae was brief.

―I thought I should let you know before Chairman Kwon.

Congressman Chae briefly explained what Minwoo was doing now, and left the aftermath to Jeho.

―Whatever decision you make, Chairman Kwon will gladly follow your word.

Jeho went back to Chairman Kwon and explained the situation. He got permission in just 5 minutes, but those 5 minutes felt longer than ever before. Although Assistant Kim said he was on standby nearby with bodyguards, Jeho couldn’t let his guard down for even a moment.

However, he didn’t know that Yuri was aware of all this. Jeho had rushed over without saying anything, fearing she might get scared if she knew. But to think she had noticed first and asked for help…..

“Anyway, I’m really glad it ended like this.”

Jeho sighed in relief and hugged Yuri tightly.

[This is the timeline separator]

The place Assistant Kim brought Minwoo to was a suite room in a luxury hotel in the heart of Seoul. As they entered the room, they saw Congressman Chae sitting on the living room sofa, drinking tea.

“Father-in-law, isn’t this too much?”

Minwoo’s face reddened with displeasure as he looked at Congressman Chae. Although he had been brought in almost like a criminal caught in the act, there was still a way out.

He hadn’t used violence against anyone yet. He had only spewed harsh profanities, and if pressed, it was just stalking and trespassing, so with a competent lawyer, he could probably get off with a suspended sentence.

“I was only trying to protect Yuri. I just got upset for a moment because that crazy bastard dared to touch Yuri.”

Congressman Chae, who had been listening quietly, finally put down his teacup.

“Are you saying you were trying to protect my daughter by installing wiretapping devices and cameras?”

“That’s……”

Minwoo hesitated for a moment, then quickly rattled off an excuse.

“I couldn’t feel at ease. What kind of world is it nowadays? What if someone with bad intentions tried to harm Yuri? So……”

“Right, your words have some merit.”

Congressman Chae looked at his wristwatch and stood up from the sofa.

“I have an appointment, so I must go now. Finish the rest of the conversation with Chairman Kwon.”

“What?”

As Congressman Chae left the room, Chairman Kwon immediately entered. Seeing Chairman Kwon, Minwoo knelt down on the spot with a pale face.

“Grandfather. I, I really am wronged. I, I didn’t do anything.”

Expecting a thunderous scolding, surprisingly, Chairman Kwon put his arm around Minwoo’s shoulders and helped him stand up.

“I know. Don’t worry. Blood is thicker than water.”

At those words, Minwoo’s face instantly brightened. Even though he must have heard everything from Congressman Chae, he was speaking gently as if to soothe him, rather than getting angry. Chairman Kwon continued speaking with a kind smile.

“Minwoo, to become the next chairman of KG Group, you need to broaden your perspective. Don’t you agree? Go and familiarize yourself with the global trends by touring our overseas branches for 3 years. In this age of globalization, you can’t remain a frog in a well.”

“Grandfather! No, Chairman, those words……”

That was as good as saying it was an overseas assignment in name only, no different from a demotion. But Minwoo couldn’t say anything. His opponent was Chairman Kwon.

What should I do?

Minwoo racked his brains.

Should I just lay low for a while? There was no need to fall out of Chairman Kwon’s favor by stubbornly refusing to go. Although he said 3 years, he could just come back after a few months if he found an opportunity.

“I understand, Chairman.”

Hoping for a future day, Minwoo decided to bow his head for now.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Pack some simple luggage. You’ll be staying at my place for the time being.”

Yuri nodded at Jeho’s words and went into the bedroom to pack her things.

She didn’t want to stay even a day in the officetel where wiretapping devices and cameras had been installed. But she didn’t want to go back to her family home, and coincidentally, Hyunkyung had just left for a European trip. She could stay at a hotel, but it felt awkward to openly reject Jeho’s offer.

As she was taking out a suitcase from the closet, her phone started ringing. It was a call from Congressman Chae.

[I heard from Assistant Kim.]

“Yes, Father.”

[It’s been handled well without any issues, so don’t worry. I’m hanging up now.]

“Um, Father.”

Yuri quickly stopped Congressman Chae as he was about to end the call.

“Did you deliberately let Minwoo know my officetel address? Did you expect him to react like this?”

Congressman Chae didn’t say anything. But his silence was the answer. Her guess was correct. Congressman Chae had used her to get rid of Minwoo. Like using a rabbit as bait to hunt a beast.

Even though she had escaped danger thanks to Congressman Chae, she couldn’t help feeling a bit hurt.

“Didn’t you think there was even a slight chance I could have gotten hurt?”

If she hadn’t quickly noticed, she could have been exposed to danger for days or months without knowing Minwoo was watching her.

“You’re my daughter. You wouldn’t be easily fooled.”

Yuri was confused about how to take those words.

“What if it was Yuri?”

[If it was Yuri……]

She hadn’t expected an answer, but after hesitating for a moment, Congressman Chae continued speaking.

[It would probably have been different. She’s not as clever as you. She’s still just an immature child.]

With those words, he ended the call unilaterally, saying he had an appointment. Yuri stared blankly at the phone that had been hung up.

“Yuri, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Worried when Yuri didn’t come out no matter how long he waited, Jeho entered the bedroom. He saw Yuri sitting on the bed with a dazed expression and approached her.

“……Jeho.”

She slowly raised her head and looked up at him.

“Will you hold me?”

Her voice, tinged with moisture, was trembling faintly.