“What? You broke up?!”

Jooho recoiled in shock as he turned toward Da-hye.

Standing beside him, Jinhee widened her eyes and looked down at Hyejung.

Her furrowed brows clearly asked, You already knew about this?

Avoiding that sharp gaze, Hyejung cautiously looked toward Da-hye with growing anxiety.

Then Da-hye slowly parted her lips, still watching Hyejung with a meaningful look in her eyes.

“I guess Team Leader Kang never told you. We’ve been broken up for quite a while now.”

“Wh-What?! Y-You…! Is that really true?!”

“Yes.”

Da-hye answered shortly before finally shifting her gaze away from Hyejung to look directly at Jooho.

His face flushed bright red with confusion and disbelief as he shook his head.

“The Chairman Kang’s side is already talking about setting the engagement date, and now what? You broke up?! You already ended things without discussing a single word of it with me?”

Da-hye simply looked at him silently.

Meanwhile, Jinhee’s thoughts raced, unable to understand why Ji-hoon had hidden this fact from her.

“Fine. Then why?”

“……”

“You know better than anyone that your relationship with Team Leader Kang wasn’t built on simple emotions alone.”

“……”

“That engagement— that marriage you were supposed to go through with…! You know exactly how much is tied to it, and yet—!”

Still shouting furiously, Jooho suddenly staggered as though his blood pressure had spiked, clutching the back of his neck.

“Oh my, honey!”

Jinhee hurriedly supported him.

Watching Jooho silently with unreadable eyes, Da-hye slowly clenched her fists tightly before answering.

“The reason… you should ask Team Leader Kang directly. It’s honestly too embarrassing for me to say out loud myself.”

“…W-What?”

Still clutching the back of his neck, Jooho’s expression twisted sharply as he glared down at Da-hye.

At the same time, Hyejung hurriedly grabbed Da-hye by the wrist.

Panic was written all over her face as she spoke quickly.

“L-Let’s go upstairs first.”

“……”

“D-Dad’s not feeling well right now. So let’s talk later. Later. Dad, please go calm down first. At this rate, something serious could happen. Come on, Da-hye.”

As if desperately trying to smooth over the situation, Hyejung pulled at Da-hye’s hand and tried to lead her upstairs.

Meanwhile, Jinhee—who wanted to stop Da-hye from settling into the house no matter what—only grew more suspicious watching Hyejung’s sudden behavior.

‘Why is she acting like that…?’

But Da-hye stood there motionless like a statue, quietly staring at the visibly restless Hyejung.

It almost looked as though she was enjoying this situation.

“C-Come on.”

Hyejung even grabbed hold of the suitcase herself.

“Don’t you need to unpack your things already?”

Eventually, Da-hye allowed herself to be guided upstairs.

After the storm-like chaos swept through, only a cold silence remained on the first floor.

“Haa…”

Clutching his head, Jooho finally dragged himself to the sofa and sat down heavily.

Even while helping him, Jinhee kept glancing upstairs toward where Hyejung and Da-hye had disappeared.

“…What the hell is wrong with that girl lately?”

Jooho shook his head slowly, his eyes bloodshot.

Da-hye had once been a daughter who obeyed him absolutely, someone who would have pretended to die if he had told her to.

She had always been a well-behaved child who never caused trouble and lived her life properly and diligently.

But the Da-hye of these past few days was no longer the daughter he knew.

When he first brought up an arranged marriage and told her to meet someone after she returned from Paris, she had gone to meet Ji-hoon without showing even the slightest sign of resistance.

And when he told her he wanted her to marry Ji-hoon for the sake of his business, she had willingly dated him under the premise of marriage.

That same Da-hye was now acting stubborn and uncontrollable like a rebellious teenager.

Jooho simply could not understand any of it.

“I still can’t believe she broke up with Team Leader Kang without discussing a single word of it with me…”

“……”

“Chairman Kang was supposed to meet with us this week to discuss the engagement date and venue. What kind of disaster is this?”

“…Didn’t you say Chairman Kang invested in your business?”

Carefully watching his expression, Jinhee spoke cautiously.

“He did. The amount itself… isn’t the issue. If he asks for it back, I can return it. But if things really ended between her and Team Leader Kang, then we stand to lose far too much.”

Groaning again, Jooho leaned his head back heavily.

At that moment, Jinhee turned toward Jeong-mi, who was busily moving around the kitchen.

“Ajumma? Could you bring Professor some warm water?”

“Yes, Madam.”

As she gently rubbed his slightly cold hands, Jinhee spoke softly.

“…I don’t know what exactly happened between them, but honestly, the two of them never seemed to suit each other that well anyway.”

Carefully testing the waters, she continued.

“Maybe the problem was that everyone kept pushing marriage, marriage, marriage without considering how the two of them actually felt.”

She was deliberately steering the conversation that way out of fear Jooho might discover that Ji-hoon and Hyejung had been carrying on an improper relationship behind his and Da-hye’s backs.

Because if he ever found out about it, all the blame would inevitably fall onto Hyejung.

“But they seemed to be getting along well enough…”

“I’ll try talking to Da-hye myself. Team Leader Kang was so polite to us and such a good prospective son-in-law. And of course, Chairman Kang could’ve been a tremendous help to your business too. It really is such a shame.”

“…We need to put them back together.”

Closing his eyes tightly, Jooho spoke in a firm voice.

“We can’t afford to take this kind of loss. No matter what, I’ll get the two of them back together and push them through the engagement at least.”

“……”

“From the beginning, my deal with Chairman Kang was contingent on the engagement happening. Whether I have to persuade her or force her, I’ll make Da-hye change her mind and get her into that engagement hall somehow. If they want to break it off afterward, then so be it.”

At his words, Jinhee’s expression slowly stiffened.

‘What if… even now, I carefully suggested that Hyejung take Kyung Da-hye’s place instead?’

That thought crossed her mind as she quietly glanced toward Jooho.

“Ah. I need to rest for a bit.”

“…What? Ah… okay.”

“My head feels like it’s about to split open. Try talking to Da-hye for me, alright?”

“Yes… alright. I’ll do that.”

“Bring me some water and medicine too.”

Complaining of a pounding headache, Jooho disappeared into the bedroom.

Watching the bedroom door close, Jinhee let out a deep sigh.

“What in the world is going on…?”

***

“Let go of me before we talk.”

Gripping Da-hye tightly by the wrist, Hyejung dragged her straight into her room.

Then she locked the door and threw Da-hye’s suitcase onto the floor.

At the same time, Da-hye forcefully shook off the hand tightly clutching her wrist.

“You. What exactly are you trying to pull?”

With reddened eyes, Hyejung stepped right up to her.

Da-hye simply blinked expressionlessly as she looked down at her.

“Why did you come here? Huh?”

Afraid her voice might carry outside the room, Hyejung lowered it.

“You have a perfectly fine officetel, so why the hell did you crawl back here? Are you trying to make me lose my mind?”

Her quiet voice was thick with anger and fear.

Even her eyes trembled restlessly with anxiety.

“Are you scared?”

Da-hye leisurely observed her before letting out a faint scoff.

At those words, Hyejung’s dark eyes widened sharply.

“What…?”

“I asked if you’re scared.”

Immediately, Hyejung shrieked.

“Why would I be?! What exactly would I even be scared of?!”

Da-hye slowly stepped closer and lowered her gaze toward Hyejung’s stomach.

“……A pregnant woman shouldn’t get so worked up. You’ll scare the baby.”

“Wh-What?”

“Looks like Dad still has no idea about your relationship with Kang Ji-hoon.”

“…!”

“And your mother still doesn’t know about you and Ji-hoon right now.”

Unlike before, Da-hye looked unbearably calm now.

That alone terrified Hyejung.

Without realizing it, she flinched and shrank back slightly.

“Why haven’t you told them yet? Shouldn’t you hurry and tell them so the baby can be welcomed and celebrated by everyone?”

“Hey. Kyung Da-hye.”

“If you can’t bring yourself to say it, I can help you. What do you think?”

There was no emotion in her flat voice whatsoever.

“Shut up. If anyone’s going to tell them, it’ll be me. Keep your mouth shut.”

“Keep my mouth… shut?”

Da-hye repeated slowly.

In that instant, Hyejung realized her fate was now completely in Da-hye’s hands.

Her lips parted unconsciously.

“And if I do? What will you give me?”

“……Hey. You.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t particularly want to tell them right away either.”

As she spoke, Da-hye glanced down at Hyejung’s stomach again.

“Once your belly starts showing, you’ll have no choice but to tell them yourself anyway.”

“…Stop threatening me. You really think that kind of thing works on me?!”

Hyejung’s eyes reddened as her body trembled violently.

“Threatening you?”

Da-hye tilted her head with an almost incredulous expression.

“I haven’t threatened you yet.”

“…!”

“Ah. Though maybe this would count as a threat.”

With that meaningful remark, Da-hye slowly looked around the room.

A room that had originally been hers.

But now, not a single trace of her remained.

The space had become completely filled with Hyejung’s belongings.

After silently taking in the room, Da-hye finally turned back toward Hyejung, who still stood there breathing angrily near the door.

“Move your things out.”

“…What?”

“I’m staying here.”