As Ga Eul turned back to return to the lodging, Dae Un followed and asked.

“Are you okay? I heard you had heatstroke.”

“I’m all better after drinking water and taking a shower. I’ll fully recover after getting some sea breeze and eating sashimi.”

Ga Eul started walking briskly. Dae Un matched her pace, looking at her with concern.

Then there was a voice calling from behind.

“Ki Dae Un!”

A passing cart stopped next to Dae Un.

“Why aren’t you answering your phone!”

Jung Se Hyun shouted from the driver’s seat. Next to him was Jung Mi O, and in the back seat sat Ko Ye Rim and Jung Sang Su.

“Mr. Ki! It’s hard to see your face even here.”

Jung Sang Su poked his head out of the cart.

“I’ve been avoiding you, sir. You keep wanting to talk business even on vacation.”

Jung Sang Su laughed heartily at Dae Un’s reply. Then he showed interest in Ga Eul.

“Is this young lady Han Ga Eul? Ki Dae Un’s subordinate, right?”

“Ga Eul is the granddaughter of Oh Kyu Baek, chairman of Pyeongan Group.”

Se Hyun corrected him.

“Oh really? Hmm!”

Jung Sang Su seemed not to have known that before Se Hyun told him.

“I’m Jung Sang Su of Cheonghae Construction. Se Hyun’s uncle.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Han Ga Eul.”

Se Hyun regretted introducing Ga Eul as Chairman Oh’s granddaughter when he saw his uncle’s eyes turn greedy. He had meant to prevent his uncle from treating Ga Eul carelessly, but wondered if he had actually harmed her instead.

“Why don’t we have dinner together tonight.”

“I’m sorry. I have prior plans.”

Dae Un flatly rejected Jung Sang Su’s invitation.

“You seem busy, so we’ll be going now.”

Concerned about his uncle’s gaze, Se Hyun quickly started the cart. It seemed revealing Ga Eul’s identity had been a mistake.

After Dae Un and Ga Eul were out of sight, Jung Sang Su asked.

“Those two, they’re not just ordinary acquaintances, right? I heard Dae Un left the party because of Han Ga Eul?”

“Han Ga Eul is someone Dae Un treasures greatly. You know Dae Un doesn’t tolerate anyone touching what’s his, uncle.”

Se Hyun continued, hoping his uncle would understand his warning.

“Dae Un knows Cheonghae Construction’s finances aren’t good. A few days ago, he asked me if I knew the company’s debt ratio was increasing. He said it made no sense for me, as a major shareholder of Cheonghae, not to know that the proportion of short-term borrowings among liabilities had grown excessively.”

“It’s temporary. Chairman Ko of Heungsan Savings Bank promised to help, so it’ll be resolved soon.”

Jung Sang Su spoke dismissively, turning his gaze outside the cart.

Se Hyun sincerely hoped his uncle would take to heart his warning that if he meddled with what Dae Un cherished, the uncle would lose something precious too. Because not just Dae Un, but Se Hyun himself wouldn’t stand idle either.

* * *

Mi O hesitated before picking up her phone. Outside, dawn was just breaking.

She knew she shouldn’t be doing this to Ga Eul. Not after all the help she’d received from her. But she had no choice.

If she didn’t call Ga Eul now, she’d be shipped off to America. Her father had threatened to send her back to that rehabilitation facility.

Mi O cleared her throat before dialing Ga Eul’s number. After several rings, Ga Eul’s hoarse voice came through.

– Jung Mi O? What’s the matter at this hour?

“Ga Eul!”

– Yes, go ahead.

“……”

– Jung Mi O? I said speak. Have you been drinking?

It was understandable she’d think that. Calling at this hour. Mi O steeled herself and opened her mouth.

“Ga Eul, you know how grateful I am to you, right? That’s why I’m telling you this, go to elder brother Dae Un’s lodging right now.”

– Right now? What’s going on? Did something happen to our CEO?

“You’ll see when you get there. If you don’t want to wake elder brother Dae Un, just watch from outside the door. Then you’ll understand why I called. Go quickly now. Hurry!”

Mi O hung up and collapsed on the bed. She knew human decency too. But what she just did went against it.

Because of her father’s threats? Was that really the only reason? Wasn’t it also because she couldn’t stand to see Ki Dae Un and Han Ga Eul doing well together?

Mi O buried her face in her pillow.

* * *

After tossing and turning all night, she had finally fallen asleep when Jung Mi O woke her. Someone she never thought would call her. Calling at an hour no one else would.

Ga Eul sat blankly on the bed for a moment. Half of her wanted to lie back down, half wanted to go see what was happening.

Just watch from outside if you don’t want to wake the CEO? So nothing bad has happened to him, right?

Still, there was an ominous implication in Mi O’s words. Having read that, it would be hard to go back to sleep now. Ga Eul forced herself up and out of bed.

Ga Eul went outside and started slowly walking towards Dae Un’s lodging. Breathing in the cool summer dawn air as she walked, she felt her head clearing too. She was glad she’d gotten up and come out.

Standing in the garden of the CEO’s lodging, Ga Eul hesitated for a moment. Whether to ring the bell or watch from outside. Since Jung Se Hyun was staying there too, she chose to watch from outside. It was one thing for the CEO, but she didn’t want Se Hyun to think she was crazy too.

Ga Eul sat down by the pool and watched the entrance. But it felt strange. As if she were stalking the CEO. What would happen if he saw her like this? Any chance of confessing her feelings would probably be gone.

It’s silly to say she came because Jung Mi O told her to. It’s not like there’s great trust between them.

As she sat there, it gradually grew brighter. Ga Eul thought she should leave. The risk of someone seeing her like this was increasing.

As she was about to stand up, Ga Eul froze. She saw the front door opening. Someone was opening it very carefully.

A woman came out. In the dim light, Ga Eul recognized her. The woman who exited also stopped moving. She must have seen Ga Eul. The woman silently looked at Ga Eul for a moment, then turned and walked away confidently.

Ga Eul stood motionless until the woman had completely disappeared.

It was Ko Ye Rim. Though Ki Dae Un and Jung Se Hyun were both staying in this building, it was obvious who the woman had come to see. Ko Ye Rim’s eyes had been fixed solely on Ki Dae Un.

So this is what Jung Mi O wanted me to see.

That the CEO calls women to his lodging at night. She probably wanted to tell me, who’s been obviously crushing on the CEO, that he already has someone so I shouldn’t get my hopes up. Jung Mi O’s way of showing gratitude?

So there was a reason the CEO rented two penthouses. He didn’t know Se Hyun would be coming down when he made the reservation. No wonder he couldn’t stay in the same building as Ga Eul’s family.

My God. My blood runs cold. My God, I fell for such a man. I fell for a man who couldn’t even wait a few days before calling a woman to his lodging.

Ga Eul walked out of Dae Un’s lodging garden like a person in a daze.

Everything was wrong. Her relationship with the CEO. From the beginning, it had all stemmed from her misunderstanding. What had she expected? That the CEO would accept her confession? She had completely misunderstood just because the CEO had been treating her a bit better lately.

“Ga Eul! Where are you going at this hour?”

“Huh? Oh!”

Ga Eul snapped back to reality at the sudden sound of Jung Se Hyun’s voice.

“Oh, yes.”

Se Hyun approached Ga Eul and examined her closely. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

Se Hyun started walking with Ga Eul. He felt he needed to see her enter her lodging to be at ease.

“Where is the lawyer coming from at this hour…?”

“My uncle wanted to go sea fishing, so we went to the harbor, but he had an urgent schedule come up, so I’m on my way back.”

“If you’re coming back at this time, you must have left when it was still dark.”

Ga Eul asked, wondering if Jung Se Hyun knew Ko Ye Rim had come to the lodging.

“Sea fishing often starts when it’s still dark. I find it hard to wake up on time. Maybe because I’m not passionate about sea fishing. I actually slept at my uncle’s villa yesterday because I was worried I might not wake up in time. My uncle said he’d wake me.”

It was clear now who Ko Ye Rim had come to see.

“Our CEO didn’t go sea fishing?”

“Dae Un can’t stand being with our uncle. Our uncle sees Dae Un as a source of funding.”

The words about Se Hyun’s uncle seeing Dae Un as a source of funding didn’t even register. So the CEO was in the lodging.

The last shred of hope disappeared.

She wanted to slap herself. Wake up. That’s the kind of man Ki Dae Un is. Not someone you should like. He acts like Ko Ye Rim is such a bother, but doesn’t refuse when she comes at night.

“Being a lawyer must be a tough job too. To have an urgent schedule come up at this hour.”

It’s tough for me too, even though I’m not a lawyer. It’s not easy working under Ki Dae Un. Especially after falling for the CEO.

Shocked from seeing a woman leave Dae Un’s lodging, Ga Eul didn’t notice the strange point in what she’d said. Even for a lawyer, it’s not common to have an urgent schedule at this hour.

Ga Eul parted ways with Se Hyun in front of her lodging. As she was about to enter, she saw the pool. Ga Eul went down to the pool and sat beside it. It was the same position she’d sat in earlier at the CEO’s lodging.

Suddenly she wondered why she hadn’t gone in the pool even once. It was the last day, and she wanted to try it once.

Ga Eul walked into the pool fully clothed. The pool wasn’t very deep, so her head didn’t go completely under. Ga Eul bent her knees. So her face was submerged.

Then the tears came. She’d been crying often lately. She couldn’t even cry when things were really tough before. It seemed tears came more easily now that she had money.

As she stayed like that, everything felt meaningless. She thought it didn’t matter whose land the hotel was on, or what harm her father had done to the CEO’s father. What could be done now? It had already happened.

Even if it came to light now that her father hadn’t harmed the CEO’s father at all, there was no chance of things working out between her and the CEO anyway.

Suddenly she wondered if the CEO and Ko Ye Rim had been intimate before. She hadn’t paid attention because the CEO said she was bothersome.

That bad CEO. Was he the type to not refuse any woman? What was all that about saying he liked her when her “I like you” became heavy enough last night?

She lifted her head out of the water to breathe, and heard her grandmother’s urgent cry.

“Hey, Ga Eul!”

Ga Eul shot up out of the water. She couldn’t even properly feel her pain. The world wouldn’t leave her alone.