It was a title he had rarely heard, finger-countable. With a disgruntled face, Chairman Song turned his head.

“Well, I do have one.”

“What?”

“Recent events seem to indicate that.”

Eunchae succinctly conveyed the matter to Chairman Song, who looked at her again.

“Please ensure that the Park Moo-sung family doesn’t come to our house.”

Chairman Song, again, licked his tongue as if he couldn’t believe it. Perhaps due to the increasing age, he thought he didn’t understand the dynamics above and below him.

“Who are you to tell me to come or go?”

“Madam Sungmunhee, do you know that after her husband passed away, she’s playing the role of the mistress in our house? Park Jinseong has a position as a section chief, and he’s carrying the title of a department head at his age. Chairman, do you not secretly hope for Park Moo-sung to pass away?”

“You…”

“I won’t interfere with who the chairman decides to live with again. Still, that house is not the chairman’s house; it’s the house where my mother and I lived.”

Eunchae openly revealed, without reservation, the ‘our’ in her statement. Song Myunghwan, whose head seemed like it would explode with her straightforwardness, tightly clenched the armrest of the sofa to the point where it made a sound.

“You still don’t understand the subject. Do you think this is something to say to your father?”

“Hasn’t Father done that before?”

“Your ability to eat, sleep, and live comfortably, without any worries, who do you think made that happen? Dare you!”

“You seem to have forgotten.”

“What…?”

“Chairman, why you can eat, sleep, and conduct business without any worries, do you know the reason for that?”

Chairman Song Myunghwan’s face turned pale. Eunchae’s venomous voice pierced through him.

“Don’t delude yourself, Father. You are nothing without Mom. Moreover, Mom is no longer here.”

Thud, !

“…Impudent wench.”

Eunchae, unable to turn her head back immediately, placed her hand on the cheek where Chairman Song had sharply slapped her. It was the first time she had been hit by someone in her life.

“Well, fine. Instead of ruining useless topics like sending you off to a good house, it would be better if there were a son like Jinseong. That’s my wish, too, please. Just that.”

Unable to control his anger, Chairman Song, who failed to suppress his anger, stood up from his seat.

Even in this situation, Eunchae remained still like a statue. The fingertips that touched her cheek were hot. The sensation was unfamiliar, but, in truth, the emotional pain hurt even more.

Chairman Song Myunghwan felt disgusted, as if putting his late mother’s name in his mouth would bring a curse. Seeing that again, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe, as if she would fall below and crumble away at any moment.

Did Mom know everything when she left the world, or did she not know…

Due to the immeasurable pain from her mother’s hidden scars, Eunchae felt hurt. And she realized, surviving is more agonizing than anything else.

“Why didn’t you inform me when you hired someone?”

Entering Gwangil’s room in the annex, Kijoo suddenly spoke.
If it was Song Myunghwan’s direct security team, the one who received and issued orders was Gwangil. As of now, the chairman’s instructions took precedence, which was natural, but scolding should have been given.

Gwangil, who glanced at Kijoo with a smirk, showed no particular reaction. Anyway, he expected him to return without much impact, so he had reassigned the mansion security personnel elsewhere.

“Even if you get hit until you’re on the brink of death, it won’t harm your life. Why.”

Gwangil, raising one corner of his mouth, sneered and then hardened his expression.

“It’s more of a problem to see you unharmed. Song Myunghwan would have to overlook a few things. The project that we worked so hard on went down the drain because of you.”

“It’s not going to end so easily. I took care of everything myself because of you.”

So, did he build trust with the chairman like that, and did he even step forward to handle the troublesome aftermath?

Gwangil looked back at Kijoo’s actions over time and sneered.

“So you’re saying you’re threatening Song Myunghwan? So you kept it a secret, even though something came up that I should have scolded you for.”

“Yes. So, I almost put holes in the heads of those foolish people.”

“What?”

“Dealing with a surprise situation and checking faces one by one to save lives is something I’ve never learned.”

Gwangil exhaled forcefully, pressing his Adam’s apple.

“You, return the gun.”

Kijoo threw the gun he had holstered at his waist onto the desk.

“Absolutely, it won’t cause any harm.”

Thud. A dull sound echoed as Kijoo’s voice was spat out.

“I must see that human crumble exactly according to the plan.”

Uttering it like a soliloquy, Kijoo passed by Gwangil and exited the annex. To return the phone, Kijoo stood in front of Eunchae’s room and lightly knocked on the door with a clenched fist.

Knock, .