She knew better than anyone the sorrow of not having a father.

Yeo Reum did not shy away from adult men, as if trying to fill the empty space left by his father. He treated Do Jae Kyung and Yeon Ga Jin without hesitation.

Bo Mi felt like she was about to burst into tears just thinking about Yeo Reum’s feelings.

‘But… The problem is that Yeo Reum shouted that he also has a father while getting angry at the kids. When the kids teased him for being a liar, he declared that he would bring his father on Happy Day with Dad.’

Happy Day with Dad was a daycare event where fathers who were too busy to spend time with their children participated to strengthen their bond.

‘After blurting that out in the heat of the moment, he can’t contact elder brother Jae Kyung, so he’s struggling like that. Elder sister… Can’t you just let him contact him once?’

When Bo Mi learned about the reason for Yeo Reum’s low spirits, her heart ached.

Haa… Won Il… What should I do?

‘Still, I can’t ask Do Jae Kyung. I can’t ask someone like him to take care of a single mother like me.’

‘Elder sister, you’re so stubborn. Even though the child is in that state…’

Mi Rae shook her head and went into the room. She thought that if Bo Mi was going to be so stubborn, she would have to find someone who could play the role of a father.

Bo Mi, who initially firmly refused, began to soften when she saw Yeo Reum listlessly going to daycare in the morning.

Should I ask Do Jae Kyung?

The problem was that even if she made up her mind, there was no time to meet Jae Kyung. It was daunting how to make such a request to him, and suddenly the two had almost no points of contact.

She wanted to ask naturally while showing him the presentation materials, but…

That opportunity was also taken away by Ga Young.

“Sigh… Nothing is working out.”

No. Maybe it’s for the best. She wouldn’t have been able to ask Jae Kyung anyway, as the words wouldn’t come out.

“Bo Mi. Didn’t you go to the director’s office?”

“Oh… The team leader went.”

“Oh. So she approved it this time. Team Leader Yeon Ga Young is really strict.”

Su Young handed Bo Mi an iced Americano, saying it was fortunate.

Bo Mi looked Su Young up and down as she put her lips on the coffee straw.

Objectively speaking, not just as a friend, Su Young was decent. His neat and tidy face with silver glasses made him look intelligent.

The drooping corners of his eyes when he smiled showed that he was a gentle person. Isn’t he perfect as a model of a caring father?

Bo Mi silently rejoiced at the thought that had crossed her mind. The daycare friends didn’t know Yeo Reum’s father’s face anyway.

Wouldn’t Su Young be good for the role of Yeo Reum’s father?

Let’s buy him a meal. Let’s buy him meat too. Let’s issue additional coffee vouchers. Bo Mi swallowed and looked up at Su Young with round eyes.

“Su Young… Do you happen to have time next Saturday?”

“Huh? Next Saturday?”

Su Young blinked and pushed up his glasses. It wasn’t often that he received an invitation from Bo Mi.

Su Young’s heart began to pound loudly, and his palms started to sweat. Could this be a date invitation? The secret promise he made with Mi Rae came to mind. Maybe Bo Mi was also inviting him to Yeo Reum’s event, and it would be a surprise if he showed up with Mi Rae?

He couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of Bo Mi’s surprised rabbit-like face.

“Why are you just smiling?”

“Ahem. No. Bo Mi. I’m sorry. I have plans that day.”

“Ah… No. I was just asking. Don’t worry about it.”

Bo Mi forced a smile, swallowing her disappointment. Maybe it’s for the best that she was rejected while trying to use a trick, even though she knew who Yeo Reum wanted most as a father.

Now there was nothing left but to confront Jae Kyung.

How happy would Yeo Reum be if Jae Kyung came?

Haa… Will I even be able to bring it up to the director?

Bo Mi’s thoughts were becoming increasingly gloomy.

“Oh. Here’s some additional material. I thought it would be good to include this case in the presentation on the day.”

“Thanks, Su Young!”

Bo Mi smiled as she tucked the fluttering hair by her ear behind it. Su Young unconsciously gulped at the sight of Bo Mi’s white and slender nape.

Haa… Next Saturday. Come quickly. Su Young tried his best to hide his excited feelings.

Bang!

A loud noise that seemed to shatter Su Young’s happy imagination rang out. Su Young and Bo Mi turned their heads towards the sound simultaneously.

“Aaagh!”

Click, click!

The sound of rough heels was getting louder and louder.

The office people nodded as if they knew what was happening. Ah… It’s starting again.

Slam!

The door opened, and Ga Young, with a face flushed red, glared at Bo Mi with narrow eyes.

Bo Mi avoided her gaze, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Ga Young sat down at her desk with a noisy clatter. Whatever she had heard from Jae Kyung, her eyes were red as if she had been crying.

The team members didn’t take their eyes off their monitors, afraid of making eye contact.

Who knows who she might lash out at if caught…

The sound of typing on keyboards accompanied the silence that filled the office.

The Paradisus project augmented reality team had to work on the weekend due to the expo presentation. They finished setting up the participation booth last evening, but they planned to bring and set up additional electronic equipment that was at risk of theft early this morning.

Bo Mi also planned to go to the company to pick up the laptop containing the presentation materials that were prohibited from external disclosure, and then go to the expo hall with the other employees.

“Mom! Have a good day.”

Yeo Reum’s expression seemed brighter compared to the day before yesterday. Had he given up on Happy Day with Dad?

“Yeo Reum… About Happy Day with Dad…”

“They said there are single-parent families and families where grandfathers don’t come too. Yeo Reum is okay.”

There wasn’t much strength in Yeo Reum’s voice, but the corners of his mouth turned up, creating dimples in his round cheeks. It was true that not every family had a father participate, as there were many dual-income households and divorced families.

Originally, the event was meant for families to enjoy time together and feel the growth of their children.

The name “Happy Day with Dad” was maintained to actively encourage fathers’ participation, but the daycare’s position was that fathers didn’t have to participate.

“Yeo Reum. I’m sorry.”

Bo Mi lowered her head, feeling sorry for Yeo Reum who was trying so hard to hold back.

“I’m sorry for saying I want to see Dad too.”

Yeo Reum’s plump lips protruded between his chubby cheeks as he lowered his head.

“Yeo Reum…”

When Bo Mi opened her arms, Yeo Reum hesitantly approached and hugged her. Yeo Reum’s heart ached seeing his mother’s sad face.

He had tried not to say things that would upset his mother, but he kept saying hurtful things because he was angry at his mother for not letting him see his father.

Mi Rae auntie had said that Mom always worked from early morning to late at night to let Yeo Reum live in a nice house and eat delicious food.

That’s why she was too tired and exhausted to take care of Dad too. Yeo Reum clenched his fists. It was Yeo Reum who had said he would bring Dad to Happy Day with Dad.

It was right to resolve this on his own without troubling Mom. Since they said he couldn’t meet Dad who came from heaven…

“It’s okay even without Dad because Yeo Reum has Mom!”

Small palms patted Bo Mi’s back.

Bo Mi felt like she was about to burst into tears from the pain in her heart at that comfort.

Someone had said it was sad when a child couldn’t be childlike…

She recalled Yeo Reum throwing tantrums and acting spoiled with Jae Kyung like an ordinary child.

She tried hard to hide the tears welling up in her eyes from Yeo Reum, her chest feeling heavy.

“Elder sister. We’ll be late. Hurry and go!”

“Oh…”

Bo Mi stood up, pressing the back of her hand against her eyes.

“Mom! Have a good day.”

Her steps weren’t light as she set out, sent off by Yeo Reum and Mi Rae.

She felt even more guilty, as if Yeo Reum was looking for a father because she was lacking.

Maybe Yeo Reum really does need a father.

Do Jae Kyung…

Why was that man coming to mind now?

Bo Mi shook her head vigorously.

Don’t be weak. Don’t think about it.

As Bo Mi got off the elevator, she noticed a few employees walking out carrying boxes of luggage.

“Good morning.”

“Representative Han Bo Mi. Why are you coming now?”

Kang Sun Young, the deputy from the Hwangdo Resort team who was Yeon Ga Young’s right-hand woman, spoke with a displeased face.

“I came a bit early.”

Bo Mi had arrived at the company an hour earlier than the 8 o’clock meeting time to do a final check of the materials.

“I guess the representative comes in at the same time as the CEO.”

Sun Young looked down at Bo Mi with a sneer.

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Everyone else came at 6:30, but you, Representative Han Bo Mi, came after 7, do you know that?”

“I heard the meeting time was 8 o’clock.”

“8 o’clock is for those coming directly to the expo hall. We all gathered before 6:30.”

Sun Young was displeased with Bo Mi, who was a thorn in Ga Young’s side.

“Check your email. It says 8 o’clock here.”

Bo Mi took out her phone to show the email, but Deputy Kang Sun Young just scoffed.

“Never mind. I guess you didn’t check the new message that was sent.”

Bo Mi looked at her inbox in confusion, but there were no emails that had arrived after that.

“No email came.”

Bo Mi held out her phone screen, but Sun Young gave her a look of disdain.

“Okay. I got it. Sigh… Excuses…”

“Isn’t it the mistake of the Hwangdo Resort operations team who was in charge of communication that the email was omitted?”

Ji Hee, a designer from Narae Creative, intervened to defend Bo Mi.

“How dare you say that about our Hwangdo Resort!”

“It’s okay. There must have been something wrong with the email. I’m sorry for being late.”

Bo Mi grabbed Ji Hee’s arm and shook her head slightly, signaling not to escalate the issue.

There was nothing to gain by fighting during this busy time.

“Since we’re all working together cooperatively, please be more careful next time.”

Sun Young added, speaking haughtily.

“Yes.”

Bo Mi answered as she put the phone she was holding into her bag.

“Oh, and the team leader said she was too busy yesterday to retrieve the laptop she stored in the data room. Since it’s important data, she wants Representative Han Bo Mi to find it herself, check the contents, and then join us.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

It made sense for Bo Mi, the presenter, to check it, but it was a bit suspicious that no one had brought the laptop. Was she being overly sensitive?

“Director! You’ll come to see our expo later, right?”

Bo Mi turned her body towards the sound, reacting to the word “Director”.

Ga Young was speaking to Jae Kyung in a coquettish voice.

“I’ll go in time for the presentation.”

“We’ve prepared so hard. I’ll do my best in the presentation.”

Ga Young was delighted that Jae Kyung was coming, as if she was the one presenting.

“I have high expectations for the augmented reality team.”

As Bo Mi raised her head, her eyes briefly met Jae Kyung’s. The brief gaze left only regret for Bo Mi. Jae Kyung turned his head coldly without even a greeting, getting into the elevator with his secretary and bodyguards.

“Representative Han Bo Mi, what are you doing here? Didn’t you hear what I instructed?”

As Ga Young urged Bo Mi, Bo Mi entrusted her bag to Su Young who was passing by.

“I’ll go find the laptop, so please take my bag.”

“Should I go with you?”

“Does the company think it’s a place for two people to date? Representative Ha Su Young, you need to move first with us and help with the setup. There’s no one from the resort team who knows about the machines.”

“Go on.”

As Bo Mi jutted out her chin and spoke, Su Young turned away reluctantly.

“Ah… Bo Mi. That place, you know… The door is a bit…”

“Representative Ha Su Young. Deputy Kang Sun Young is calling urgently.”

As Su Young tried to speak, Ga Young cut him off and hurried him along.

“Oh, and you can drive, right? There’s some more luggage in the trunk of the company car in the parking lot, so drive that car over.”

Ga Young held out the keys.

“Don’t be late.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The path to the underground data room of the company building, empty on the weekend, was somehow eerie.

The first basement floor, with its ceiling open up to about half of the first floor, was used as a library. Past the vast collection of books, down the corridor, were rooms managing various equipment and data.

There were also electronic devices available for external use, so rentals were possible. They would have rented the equipment needed for the expo yesterday, it would have been good if they had collected the data together.

Bo Mi even suspected that Ga Young had intentionally not brought the laptop to make things difficult for her.

As she opened the door to the data room, Bo Mi recalled what an employee moving equipment yesterday had said.

‘The data room door seems to be broken. They say to either keep the door wide open or go in pairs.’

That was probably the warning Su Young had tried to give too. The reason Ga Young had quickly pulled Su Young away also made sense now. Yeon Ga Young, I won’t fall for such a shallow trick.

Bo Mi opened the data room door wide and looked for a stopper to secure it.

The data room had low lighting. The slightly dark interior of the data room gave her an odd feeling.

“Huh… Wasn’t it put here?”

The laptop they were to take today had a sticker attached as a marker by the augmented reality team. No laptop with the same number was visible anywhere, nor was there anything with a sticker attached.

“Is it on that bookshelf?”

It was then that Bo Mi approached the bookshelf in the corner.

Creak. Bang.

The sound of the door closing behind her was heard.

Ah! Oh no!

By the time Bo Mi ran to the door, it had already closed. Bo Mi tried turning the doorknob, but it didn’t budge. Only the clicking sound echoed in the empty corridor.

“Is anyone there?”

She banged on the door, but only echoes resounded, quickly followed by quiet stillness.

“What should I do…”

Bo Mi muttered in despair.