She had heard news through others, but she hadn’t seen him in person. She was curious.

Suddenly, Jaehun’s face came to her mind.

At first, she tried to force herself to forget. Things like holding onto unnecessary tasks that didn’t need to be finished today or reading complicated books.

But realizing it was futile, she now naturally let it flow.

How could she not think of him?

Someone she had liked so much. A man she had cherished for a long time.

Moreover, he was the father of her child. He would be unforgettable for a lifetime.

For Lajin, Jaehun was her first and last love. No one else in the future could shake her as much.

In that tingling moment, “Tonton, Mom is okay,” she said.

She felt a sensation as if the baby lightly kicked her belly. Such a smart and delicate child. Every time her mother’s heart softened, she always sent a signal like this.

“Don’t forget that I’m here.” As if saying not to forget that she was present.

“Thank you. Thanks for comforting me.”

Smiling with closed eyes, Lajin looked at her phone to reply to William.

[If you need anything, just let me know. I won’t refuse. Helping Lajin is my pleasure.]

Normally, she would have thanked him just for contacting her.

Every time, William couldn’t hide his regret. He said Lajin needed to be a bit more cheeky.

“…Should I make a request?”

The memory of Yeonsil’s food didn’t leave her mind. She wanted to taste it, even just once.

“When you crave my cooking, contact me.”

“Huh?”

“Anytime is fine, absolutely. Just keep it a secret from Seo. Okay? Here, take this.”

Lajin still had the white note that Yeonsil had given her at that time.

“My number. It’s not something I give to just anyone.”

“Can I really contact you?”

“Sure. It doesn’t have to be about cooking.”

“Even if it makes you sad because of Chairman?”

“Especially at those times. Don’t suffer alone. Understand? It’s not good for yourself, and soon…”

At that moment, Yeonsil, who was clouding the end of her words that day, had already realized that she was pregnant.

Feeling a sudden excitement and thrill at the thought that she might be able to eat Yeonsil’s food, Lajin began to reply to William.

Director Kwon, who had been considerate of everyone related to Lajin, felt something unusual.

William Stuart, the chef scheduled to visit Korea for an event, had entered the country a week earlier than planned, and what was more surprising was that he came alone, without any staff.

From the moment he arrived in Korea until he left for the United States again, everything, including transportation, hotels, security, was supposed to be managed by Geonyeong Food, and William had agreed to it.

Expecting intense media attention and being aware that an unusually enthusiastic group of his fans from the United States had already entered Korea, eagerly awaiting his arrival, this situation was considered to be tiring.

However, he entered the country a week earlier without informing anyone?
It was something she wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t mentioned the schedule change to Chef William directly.

“I’d like to talk to Chef William in person.”

[Dash]… Actually, he’s not here.”

“Yes? What does that mean?”

[Dash] He went to Korea in advance, and we don’t know the details. He just said it’s a personal matter. He assured us that the schedule with Geonyeong Food would proceed as planned, so don’t worry.

Sous Chef [Dash] also seemed clueless about the reason.

Director Kwon’s keen intuition kicked in.

This is undoubtedly related to Lajin.

From the moment she left, William, who called her ‘Lajin’ expressing familiarity, had a contract with her. He treated her so amicably that there was no one else in Korea he addressed in such a manner.

Upon hearing the news of William’s return, they immediately sent someone to the area around his land in Gangwon Province and the vinyl houses, but he didn’t go there.

The place William headed to upon entering Korea was “Sodamjeong.”

It was Chairman Seo Seongjae’s regular restaurant and had no connection with William whatsoever.

Yeonshil, the owner of “Sodamjeong,” was someone who wouldn’t allow anyone, even a famous person or even a head of state, to enter without her permission.

Of course, being a world-renowned chef didn’t grant access to her restaurant for anyone without prior arrangements.

Something was off.

Director Kwon, following Jaehun’s instructions to be vigilant about any place related to Lajin, had been keeping an eye on “Sodamjeong” as well.

There was a precedent where Lajin went to “Sodamjeong” alone, and Yeonshil, who was selective about customers, received her.

Whether William thought he could advance his schedule to visit a famous and mysterious Korean restaurant that only regulars could enter, it wasn’t unreasonable.

However, there had been no contact between “Sodamjeong” and William until now, so this sudden visit was perplexing.

Director Kwon felt it was strange.

He decided to observe the situation further, keeping an eye on “Sodamjeong” under Jaehun’s order to be vigilant about every place related to Lajin.

Not long after William entered, he received a report that William had come out with a package.

The taxi he took went straight to the hotel. The observer, relieved, reported to Director Kwon and decided to withdraw.

However, shortly after leaving the hotel, William caught another taxi.

If the person sent by Director Kwon hadn’t memorized the taxi’s license plate, they would have missed it.

They thought he might go down to Gangwon Province, especially near Yeonjun, but the taxi stopped unexpectedly in the suburbs of Seoul.

Director Kwon immediately questioned the taxi driver.

“Oh, the handsome foreigner? It was strange. He asked me to drop him off under the mountain out of the blue. There’s really nothing there. Thankfully, he spoke Korean well; otherwise, I would have brought him back no matter what. Perhaps he had a change of heart.”

“Did he mention meeting someone or planning to meet someone?”

“Luckily, some woman came to pick him up.”

“Did you see the woman?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How old was she? Was she young?”

“No, she was a middle-aged woman. After seeing the foreigner get into her car, I was relieved and came back to Seoul.”

Puzzled by the mention of a middle-aged woman, it was a significant discovery nonetheless.

Director Kwon reported to Jaehun and started thoroughly investigating the area.