Chae Yuri, take care of yourself first, yourself first!

But what method would truly be taking care of myself?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a clear answer.

I said I’d go in the afternoon, but due to my complicated thoughts, Yuri headed to Jeho’s house only late at night. Thankfully, instead of complaining about her late arrival, he silently took the suitcase from her hand.

“Dinner?”

He asked as he put down the suitcase in the guest room.

“Of course I ate. What time do you think it is……”

Though she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, Yuri lied that she had eaten something. She was in no mood to sit face to face with Jeho for a meal. Honestly, she couldn’t even look him straight in the eye.

“Looks like you stopped by your family home on the way.”

“Yes.”

It must be because of the bag containing side dish containers that she brought along with the suitcase. Though she said it was fine, Lady An had packed plenty of side dishes besides cucumber kimchi and pressed them into Yuri’s arms.

“Then go rest now.”

Jeho left the guest room right away, seemingly trying to be considerate so Yuri wouldn’t be tired.

As soon as the door closed, Yuri sat down weakly on the bed. Without realizing it, she had tensed up the moment she saw Jeho. Though she had no intention of going back on her decision made after much deliberation, it wasn’t as if she could face the other person nonchalantly.

What do I do now?

Yuri lay flat on her back on the bed and blankly stared at the ceiling. She thought her mind would be a little less burdened after making a decision, but it only felt heavier, driving her crazy.

Revenge was not the refreshing and sweet taste she had expected, but a bitter and chilling sour taste.

If I’m like this before even starting, what will I do later.

“Hoo.”

Yuri sighed and slowly closed her eyes.

[This is the timeline separator]

Worried about how to spend time alone together on Sunday, fortunately Jeho left home early in the morning saying urgent business came up. Thanks to that, Yuri was able to spend time alone. That night, he returned home past midnight.

The next day, when she woke up, there was a short note left on the kitchen island.

Even though she had avoided him first, somehow her heart ached as they kept missing each other. Because there weren’t many days left to be together.

Yuri didn’t throw away the note Jeho left, but carefully folded it and put it in her bag.

It was just as she got in her car after work that she received a call from Director Kwon.

[So you’ve made a decision?]

“Yes.”

Yuri answered in a dry voice as she started the car.

“I’ve decided.”

[I hope it’s not a decision that will disappoint me.]

“Where shall we meet? I’d like to meet somewhere closer rather than going all the way to Gapyeong.”

[Alright. I’ll text you the location.]

A little while later, Yuri parked her car in the VIP-only underground parking lot of a hotel owned by KG Group, as Director Kwon had instructed via text. She thought he’d say to meet in the lounge, but Director Kwon had Yuri get in his car.

“Good that you’re not wasting time and being straightforward.”

Director Kwon smiled, baring his teeth, as if he knew what decision Yuri had made. She also didn’t want to drag things out. Yuri held out her hand to Director Kwon with an emotionless face.

“Give me the ledger to switch.”

“Right. I brought it, knowing you’d ask.”

The ledger Director Kwon handed over was nearly identical to the one in the safe.

“No one will know unless they examine the ledger very closely. So don’t worry about getting caught.”

“By when do I need to make the switch?”

Jeho had said he planned to expose the secret ledger at the regular board meeting. The timing was early next month.

But she couldn’t let her guard down until then. If Jeho moved Chairman Kwon, an emergency board meeting could be called at any time. The sooner the better.

“I’ll give you a week. Switch it by next Monday.”

“What?”

Yuri frowned as if dumbfounded.

“That’s too tight. I don’t even know where the safe is yet.”

Though she had decided to switch the ledgers, she had planned to stall for as much time as possible. But Director Kwon frowned, seeming displeased with her response. Then, after a moment, he smiled maliciously and said:

“You can just ask Jeho about that. There’s a saying about pillow talk……”

Director Kwon looked Yuri up and down as if appraising an object. It was a lewd gaze, as if imagining her body hidden under her clothes. If he hadn’t been Jeho’s uncle, she would have cursed at him right away.

“I’m staying in the guest room right now, so that would be a bit difficult.”

Yuri said in a cold voice, forcibly suppressing her anger. But it didn’t work on Director Kwon.

“Don’t make me say it twice. Take care of it within a week.”

Having finished speaking, Director Kwon waved his hand as if telling her to get out of the car now. Yuri put the fake ledger in her bag and hurriedly got out of the car.

As soon as she got out, Secretary Nam, who had been waiting outside, immediately got into the driver’s seat and drove off.

Yuri returned to her car and drove to Jeho’s house. If she was going to switch the ledgers, it would be safest to do it when he wasn’t home.

Arriving at Jeho’s house, Yuri headed straight for the study. Though she had watched how Jeho opened the safe, she felt nervous now that she was actually going to do it.

If the program didn’t recognize it properly, an alarm might sound instead of the safe door opening. But there was no need to worry about that. She could just make up an excuse that she was trying to take out the watch.

Yuri calmed her trembling heart and took out the leftmost book from the bookshelf. The panel behind slid down smoothly, revealing the safe.

As she brought her face close, the red light turned blue and the safe door opened with a click. The inside of the safe was unchanged from when Jeho had opened it.

A file of documents that looked like contracts, an old-looking ledger, and a wooden box containing her wristwatch placed on top.

Yuri first carefully moved the wooden box aside and picked up the ledger. Then she took out the fake ledger she had received from Director Kwon and compared it with the original ledger.

The outside was nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye. The contents of the ledger, the handwriting and layout, were so similar that it would be hard to notice unless examined very carefully.

The numbers differed in a few places, but as a non-accountant, she couldn’t understand what that meant.

Yuri held a ledger in each hand and took a moment to catch her breath.

Is what I’m doing now really the right thing?

But there was no time for long deliberation. She had already made a decision after careful consideration, and if so, she should follow through on that decision.

Yuri put in the ledger she received from Director Kwon, placed the wooden box on top of it, and closed the safe door. Director Kwon had told her to bring the secret ledger as soon as she took it out, but Yuri intended to hand it over as late as possible.

Yuri paused as she was leaving the study. She couldn’t bring herself to leave. If she could, she wanted to go back and return the ledger to its original state.

“That’s enough, stop worrying.”

There’s nothing more foolish than chasing after an arrow that’s already been shot. Yuri comforted herself and quickly left the study.

[This is the timeline separator]

Chairman Kwon, who had been admiring the night view outside the window, turned around with his hands behind his back as he heard a knock. The heavy door of the Presidential Suite opened and Jeho entered.

“I thought you went down to the provinces for work?”

“I thought I should be by your side today, Chairman, so I rushed back up.”

At those words, a look of emotion appeared on Chairman Kwon’s face as he gazed at Jeho.

“Did you remember what day it is?”

Today was a very special day for Chairman Kwon. It was the day he had decided to end life support for his wife who had been in a coma for years. His wife, after having her oxygen respirator removed, breathed for a few more days before passing away.

But for Chairman Kwon, the day he ended life support was more painful than the day his wife actually died.

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

“To be honest, Mother called yesterday and gave me a hint. She told me to take care of Grandfather so he wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Your mother did? Haha, is that so?”

Chairman Kwon laughed hollowly and turned back to the window. Jeho silently approached Chairman Kwon’s side and looked out at the night view spread before them.

After a brief silence, Chairman Kwon spoke first.

“I heard about Minwoo the other day. I believe you’ve heard too.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. I thought sending him abroad might knock some sense into him… Hoo.”

Chairman Kwon muttered to himself and shook his head with a long sigh.

Jeho silently waited for Chairman Kwon’s next words. To get what he wanted from Chairman Kwon, he shouldn’t ask first. The Chairman would never give unless he felt like it.

“Even with Minwoo in that state, do you really have to do this now?”

“Then would you like to postpone it until the regular board meeting next month?”

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

Jeho wanted to persuade more actively, but he held back. Pushing too hard could backfire.

Originally, he was supposed to expose Vice Chairman Kwon’s corruption and embezzlement at the regular board meeting early next month.

All preparations had progressed relatively smoothly to meet that timing. But everything changed the moment Vice Chairman Kwon tried to drag Yuri into this dirty fight.

Before Yuri gets hurt even more, he needs to cut off Vice Chairman Kwon’s hands and feet as soon as possible.

“Jeho, is the reason you’re doing this now really just for KG Group?”

“If I say it’s not, will you just cover it up again like 10 years ago?”

When Chairman Kwon smiled bitterly instead of answering, Jeho added in a firm voice:

“I hope you make a decision before it’s too late.”

“Alright, fine. They say to strike while the iron is hot. I’ll call an emergency board meeting.”

“Thank you.”

Jeho smiled gently and bowed his head towards Chairman Kwon.

“Grandfather.”

At the address of “Grandfather” rather than “Chairman”, Chairman Kwon’s eyes softened.

[This is the timeline separator]

Though he said it might take a few days, Director Kim returned to Seoul midway, but Jeho stayed in the provinces for a week.

At the beginning of the week, they had phone calls twice a day, morning and evening, but as it moved into midweek, only texts saying he’d be too busy to contact her came through.

He said he’d have to spend the weekend in the provinces too and wouldn’t be able to come back until next Tuesday. Yuri thought that might be better.

Sunday afternoon, she received a call from Vice Chairman Kwon.

[The ledger?]

“Isn’t it until tomorrow afternoon?”

[An emergency board meeting has been called, so it’s become urgent. Bring it to the office early tomorrow morning.]

Vice Chairman Kwon hung up after saying only what he needed to say. In the end, Yuri took a half day off and headed to KG Group headquarters Monday morning.

Just as she was about to get out of her car after parking in the underground parking lot, her phone started ringing. As she checked the caller ID on the screen without thinking, Yuri made a surprised expression. It was a call from Congressman Chae.

Since it was rare for him to call first, Yuri immediately pressed the answer button.

“Yes, Father.”

[You must be busy getting ready for work, but can you talk for a moment?]

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

[About what I asked before. Why Jeho and Minwoo are so hostile towards each other.]

“Yes.”

[I’ve been thinking hard about it. Whether I should tell you this or not. It would be good if you heard it directly from Jeho, but I don’t think you’ll ask him first.]

Yuri quietly took a breath, feeling an inexplicable tension.

[I don’t know why Minwoo is like that, but Jeho has a good reason.]

After a brief pause, the Congressman continued speaking.

[Vice Chairman Kwon, Jeho’s father. He’s in a coma now due to a car accident.]

“…What?”

[The problem is that it seems like someone caused the accident intentionally. That’s why Jeho came back to Korea, to figure it out. He suspected Minwoo was behind the accident.]

Words Yuri could never have imagined flowed from Congressman Chae’s mouth.

“…Father, what did you just say?”

Yuri’s voice trembled endlessly, shocked.