Director Han honestly disliked Ha Eun for blowing that opportunity. He was also frustrated with Jae Hyuk for being swayed by her.

“Why on earth are you doing this? How do you plan to deal with the aftermath?”

After finishing speaking, Director Han glared at Jae Hyuk while breathing heavily.

Jae Hyuk quietly looked at Director Han and let out a short sigh.

“Han Ju Hyuk. Have you said everything you wanted to say? How did you hold back when you had so much pent up?”

“Vice Chairman!”

“Yes, I know. I know you’re saying this out of concern for me. Then you, more than anyone, should know that I’m not doing this expecting anything in return from A Rin, that I’m not doing it for any compensation.”

“To be honest, I understood before. But now…”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be like nothing happened.”

Director Han widened his eyes at Jae Hyuk’s words and asked again.

“Pardon?”

Jae Hyuk opened a drawer and took out a document, holding it out in front of Director Han.

“What is this?”

“Read it. It will calm you down a bit.”

Director Han reached out and picked up the document, starting to read it with his eyes. His hand trembled slightly as he quickly grasped the nature of the document.

“This is…”

“Yes. It’s the negotiation card that Director Min handed to me.”

Having finished processing everything, Director Han let out a hollow laugh.

“It seems I acted alone for nothing.”

Ignoring Director Han’s sulky attitude, Jae Hyuk spoke in a gentle voice.

“I was planning to tell you once things were finalized after discussing further with Director Min.”

“Ah, yes, yes. Of course you would.”

“Anyway, thank you for thinking of me, Han Ju Hyuk.”

Glancing sideways at Jae Hyuk, Director Han once again pursed his lips.

“Let’s go. I’ll treat you to a meal today.”

“…”

“Let’s have a comfortable meal together for once, setting aside our boss-subordinate relationship.”

Jae Hyuk stood up and stood beside Director Han. He patted Director Han’s shoulder a couple times and left the office.

“Giving the medicine after inflicting the wound…”

Director Han sighed and followed after Jae Hyuk.

[This is the timeline separator]

A while later, A Rin received a call from President Shin.

[I’m sorry, President Choi. I didn’t do it on purpose, I think I just got a bit carried away with money for a moment. Also, since the building owner has changed, we’ll need to draw up a new contract. Anyway, I’m sorry, President Choi. Please don’t be upset.]

The relocation of the Yeonnam branch quickly ended up being just a passing incident, making all the time A Rin had spent worrying about what to do next and feeling frustrated and hopeless seem meaningless.

“Who was it?”

“President Shin.”

Yu Hyun came up to Seoul after receiving A Rin’s message.

“What did he say?”

“He said he was sorry.”

Yu Hyun let out a laugh of disbelief.

A Rin had done a lot of thinking because of this incident.

Although Cheol Yong and Su Han were managing the Yeonnam branch well, she suddenly realized that running both the Jeju and Yeonnam branches simultaneously was too much for them.

“Brother, you’ll take Mother to the hospital and then go to work, right?”

“Yeah, I should. Cheol Yong will make it instead of me today.”

Lady Seo, the mother of Ji Yun and Yu Hyun, had recently been diagnosed with a thyroid tumor during the annual free check-up provided by the government.

Fortunately, it was diagnosed as benign, but since Lady Seo had pre-existing health conditions, they couldn’t be completely at ease.

A Rin’s mind was complicated as she drew conclusions considering various situations.

“You know what…”

“Hmm?”

“Never mind. Let’s talk tonight. I’ll head to work first. Please take care of Mother.”

“Okay. See you later.”

A Rin headed to the Yeonnam branch first. The Yeonnam branch was much busier than the Jeju main store.

Time passed by quickly without a moment to spare.

After closing up shop that day, A Rin sat at a table facing Yu Hyun, Ji Yun, and Lady Seo. For a while, A Rin fiddled with a glass full of ice, covered in water droplets. After a moment, she opened her mouth without hesitation.

“I want to close down the Jeju store.”

“What?”

“Why?”

Ji Yun, Yu Hyun, and Lady Seo raised their voices in surprise at A Rin’s declaration of war.

“I think it’s greedy for us to run two stores in our current situation.”

“…”

“Honestly, if we only think about the stores, I’m relieved that this issue was resolved well this time, but I felt that there’s no guarantee that something like this won’t happen again in the future. Next time, something even bigger might happen. Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust Cheol Yong and Su Han, but I realized that you really never know what might happen with people.”

Yu Hyun agreed with A Rin’s words.

“That’s true. In a way, those two are employees after all.”

“And I don’t think it would be resolved if either you or I moved to the Yeonnam branch.”

Ji Yun stared at A Rin intently and asked.

“A Rin, what do you want to do?”

“We don’t have the luxury to increase our workforce right away, and neither you nor I are the type to completely entrust everything to someone else. Moreover…”

A Rin looked at Lady Seo as she continued speaking.

“Even if it’s a big hospital, if the Jeju university hospital can’t resolve it, Mother will have to come to Seoul anyway. So I’ve made a judgment based on our current situation. I think it’s wise to close down one of the stores.”

And that standard had to be set objectively, completely unrelated to affection for the store.

If it were based on affection, of course it would be the Jeju main store.

“If I have to choose between the two, I think it should be the Yeonnam branch. I have more affection for Jeju, but the Yeonnam branch’s sales are about three times higher.”

“That’s right.”

“Besides, I think it’ll be more convenient for Mother’s hospital visits here.”

“…A Rin.”

Lady Seo trailed off at A Rin’s words.

No one stood in the way of A Rin’s decision.

[This is the timeline separator]

A Rin and Yu Hyun went down to Jeju the next day.

Once the decision was made, things progressed quickly. They announced the closure of the Memoria main branch on social media. Though sudden, they concluded to finish operations that week. They also started clearing out the store.

‘I thought brother would object.’

A Rin looked at Yu Hyun, who was organizing the display shelf across from her.

A Rin had thought Yu Hyun would oppose moving to Seoul.

‘Mother said the director came.’

She had heard that Ha Yeon had come to Jeju and that Yu Hyun had gone out with her and hadn’t returned for a long time.

By the time A Rin arrived in Jeju, Ha Yeon had already left for Seoul.

A Rin didn’t ask Yu Hyun first about what conversation he had with Ha Yeon, and Yu Hyun also didn’t tell A Rin about that day’s events.

‘I guess nothing happened, so he’s not saying anything?’

A Rin turned her gaze away from Yu Hyun. And as if by magic, when A Rin’s gaze left Yu Hyun, he looked at her.

A strange emotion flickered in Yu Hyun’s slightly trembling black pupils.

[This is the timeline separator]

A few days later.

A man with graying hair burst into Jae Hyuk’s office.

“Director Kim, what brings you here so suddenly?”

The gray-haired man approached him quickly, panting heavily.

Jae Hyuk’s expression hardened coldly at the man’s sudden visit without any prior notice.

He stood up abruptly and approached the man, asking.

Director Kim was the chief secretary to Ban Ho Jun, Jae Hyuk’s father and the chairman of the VAN Group.

Chairman Ban had stepped down from the management frontline due to deteriorating health from a chronic illness, and Director Kim had naturally withdrawn from the field following Chairman Ban.

However, Director Kim was still assisting Chairman Ban.

Jae Hyuk felt a pang of fear when Director Kim showed up without a word.

“Huff huff, Vice Chairman. Even when I tried to contact you. Huff huff. Why didn’t you…”

“I was in a meeting. If you had left a message, I would have contacted you right away.”

“I did. Didn’t you receive it?”

Due to external schedules and meetings that had continued without a break since early morning, only Secretary Kyung, who had been appointed to the vice chairman’s office a month ago, had been guarding Jae Hyuk’s office.

‘I guess she’s still not familiar with the work and missed it. That’s not important right now.’

Jae Hyuk swallowed dryly and asked.

“Has something happened to Father?”

Before Jae Hyuk could finish his question, Director Kim grabbed his hand.

“The, the Chairman…”

“…”

“He has woken up!”

Only then did Jae Hyuk notice the tears in Director Kim’s eyes.

“Fa, Father has woken up? Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is. The Chairman has regained consciousness. He recognized me right away and asked me to call you, Vice Chairman.”

“Haa.”

Unable to believe the reality, Jae Hyuk staggered with uncontrollable joy.

Director Kim quickly supported Jae Hyuk’s body.

“Let’s go. I’ll escort you.”

Director Kim’s voice trembled as if overcome with emotion. Jae Hyuk’s heart was also overflowing.

Not one of the medical staff had given any hopeful words about Chairman Ban.

They said he was breathing, but that was all.

They said to hope for a miracle, but except for Jae Hyuk and Director Kim, no one sincerely hoped for a miracle.

It’s not that there was a deep father-son bond between Chairman Ban Ho Jun and Jae Hyuk.

However, Jae Hyuk’s heart changed after witnessing Chairman Ban overcome the brink of death several times.

Jae Hyuk realized in the face of death that Chairman Ban was his only father in the world. So Jae Hyuk’s feelings towards Chairman Ban were more affectionate than ever before.

“I’ll go right away.”

Jae Hyuk couldn’t contain his overwhelming emotions.

[This is the timeline separator]

VVIP ward.

“Are you alright?”

Jae Hyuk rushed to the hospital after hearing that Chairman Ban Ho Jun had regained consciousness.

Before the emotional father-son reunion could take place, Jae Hyuk was left speechless by Chairman Ban Ho Jun’s words.

“Bring A Rin back.”

“What did you just say?”

It had been 6 years since Chairman Ban Ho Jun had spoken with his own voice.

Perhaps that’s why? The voice that echoed in the air was like an echo and lacked strength.

But to Jae Hyuk’s ears, it came through more clearly than any other sound.

“Father. A Rin and I have separated.”

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’? We’ve already broken up, how could I possibly bring A Rin back?”

“…Bring her back.”

Chairman Ban Ho Jun took Jae Hyuk’s hand. There was strength in his emaciated hand.

“Father. Don’t be unreasonable.”

“Ban Jae Hyuk.”

“Do you realize what you’re saying to me right now?”

“I know very well. I know very well.”

Not long after A Rin left the house, Chairman Ban Ho Jun lost consciousness and collapsed.

After receiving emergency surgery, Chairman Ban, who was at a crossroads between life and death, underwent several dangerous surgeries.

Perhaps due to the impact of repeated dangerous surgeries at an advanced age?

Chairman Ban’s body was exhausted and eventually continued life with the help of life support devices.

After a moment, Chairman Ban called for Director Kim, who was standing behind Jae Hyuk.

“Director Kim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Call in Lawyer Choi. Tell him I want to rewrite my will.”

“Father!”

It felt as if the affectionate feelings towards Chairman Ban disappeared in an instant.

To Jae Hyuk, Chairman Ban seemed like a child throwing a tantrum. He couldn’t understand him at all.

“It’s my last wish.”

“…”

“I have one lifelong regret. It was sending away your wife, A Rin, like that. At that time, I was blinded by my own greed and pretended not to know that child. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have repaid the person who saved my life like that.”

Chairman Ban Ho Jun wiped away his tears.

Jae Hyuk was very perplexed by Chairman Ban Ho Jun’s behavior.