“She came back completely out for blood, I’m telling you! I’m scared to death, babe.”

Hyejung whimpered as she anxiously bit at her nails.

“She even said to Mom, ‘I guess she’s still technically my future mother-in-law.’ She obviously said that for me to hear.”

A deep sigh came from the other end of the call.

Ji-hoon seemed just as unsettled as she was about Da-hye returning to the house.

—“What the hell was she thinking, going back there?”

“What do you mean what was she thinking? She’s trying to make my life miserable. I already feel like I’m suffocating. She even took my room away.”

No matter how much she thought about it, it felt unbearably unfair.

Looking down at the belongings piled helplessly across the floor, Hyejung sobbed bitterly.

—“For now… she said she’d keep our relationship a secret?”

“Yeah… for now. The condition was that I gave up the room. Honestly, it doesn’t look like she plans to say anything unless I’m the one who says it first.”

—“You’re sure?”

“Yeah… Honestly, if I were her, I wouldn’t say it either. Our relationship is perfect blackmail material.”

—“…True.”

“That’s why we never should’ve let Kyung Da-hye find out first. Ah… if only we’d been a little more careful that day.”

Hyejung wiped away her tears and held her head in agony.

—“Apparently my mother’s planning to meet with Kyung Da-hye.”

“…Meet her? For what?”

—“Just to ask why we broke up, I guess. Sounds like she’s trying to persuade her to get back together with me.”

“…Da-hye wouldn’t actually change her mind… right?”

The thought terrified her.

What if, after turning everything upside down like this, Da-hye suddenly decided to return to Ji-hoon?

Things had become an absolute disaster, but at the same time, Hyejung had also felt relieved that he had finally cleanly ended things with Da-hye.

At some point, she had started feeling like she was the one becoming the weaker party in her relationship with him.

She was the one constantly growing anxious and impatient over their relationship, desperately clinging without even a moment to breathe.

The one growing anxious, impatient, and restless over this relationship—constantly panicking and pacing in frustration—was her.

—“That’s never going to happen. You know that.”

“…Even so. I still don’t like it.”

—“What about your father? He was really angry, wasn’t he?”

“Of course. So I think we need to be extra careful for a while. Once Kyung Da-hye got involved… all the plans we originally had completely fell apart.”

—“When did you say the baby’s hospital appointment was again?”

“This Friday. Could you… come with me?”

—“This Friday…”

The line went quiet for a moment.

Hyejung’s eyes immediately welled with tears again.

“Babe…”

—“The personnel announcement will probably come out tomorrow…So I think I’ll be busy on Friday.”

“……”

—“Could you go with your mother just this once?”

Even though she knew the situation could not be helped, she still could not suppress the disappointment rising inside her.

—“Hm, Hyejung?”

His voice had sunk unusually low.

Unable to push him any further, Hyejung could only quietly tell him she understood.

***

“M-Miss… it’s almost time for dinner… Are you heading out somewhere?”

Jeong-mi, who had been busy in the kitchen, looked startled the moment she saw Da-hye coming downstairs.

It seemed she still felt guilty about turning Da-hye away at the door before.

Unable to properly meet her eyes, Jeong-mi fidgeted awkwardly.

Da-hye quietly looked at her before replying indifferently,

“Yes. I’ll eat dinner outside and come back later.”

Just then, Jooho—who had been resting in the bedroom all day—heard Da-hye’s voice and stepped out.

At the same time, Jinhee rose from the sofa in the living room.

“Where are you going?”

Jooho asked while putting on his jacket and watching Da-hye head toward the entrance.

“Yes. I have plans for a little while.”

Then she turned toward Jinhee, who had been staring intently at her, and smiled brightly.

“I’ll eat before I come back, Stepmother. Please go ahead and eat first.”

“…!”

Just as they had always done with her, Da-hye intended to act like a warm, affectionate daughter whenever Jooho was around.

Only then did she feel she could hide the vengeance burning inside her.

Meanwhile, Jinhee’s eyes widened at the sudden use of the word stepmother.

It was completely different from the cold hostility Da-hye had shown upstairs earlier.

Right then, Hyejung slowly trudged downstairs from the second floor.

Da-hye quietly watched her for a moment before calling out sweetly.

“Sister.”

“…?!”

Hyejung froze on the spot.

“I’m heading out for a bit, but when I come back…Do you want me to buy you something to drink? You like the milkshakes from Yuna Bakery nearby, don’t you, sister?”

Hyejung stared blankly at Da-hye, who was smiling brightly as though nothing had happened.

“W-What…?”

Jooho silently watched Da-hye for a moment before slowly looking away.

For the first time in days, she almost seemed like his old daughter again—the gentle, kind child she used to be.

“I’ll probably stop by the bakery on my way home anyway, so think about it and let me know, sister.”

“……”

“Then I’ll be going now.”

Da-hye bowed politely toward them as though nothing at all had happened, then stepped out through the front door.

Hearing her affectionately call “sister, sister” every other sentence made Hyejung wonder if she had finally lost her mind.

Only after Da-hye disappeared did Hyejung let out a hollow laugh and turn toward Jinhee.

Their eyes collided instantly.

The two women stared at each other wearing the exact same expression.

“…Why… why is she acting like that?”

Jinhee laughed awkwardly before quickly glancing toward Jooho to gauge his reaction.

But Jooho showed little response.

He merely let out a tired sigh, walked into the living room, and dropped heavily onto the sofa while picking up a newspaper.

Then, responding absentmindedly to Jinhee’s muttering, he said.

“She probably realized she went too far earlier today. Da-hye was always like that.”

“You saw how she acted earlier too.”

Jinhee sat down beside him and deliberately trembled more dramatically.

“Can’t you see the bandage wrapped around my foot?”

“……”

“She was screaming at the top of her lungs… kicking suitcases around. And the way she kept calling me ajumma, ajumma… it was honestly terrifying.”

At that, Jooho let out another deep sigh and lowered the newspaper.

“She probably had some emotionally explosive fight with Team Leader Kang. That’s why she suddenly barged in here with luggage and showed such an ugly side of herself.”

Meanwhile, Hyejung slowly descended the stairs with a stiff expression and headed toward the kitchen.

“She’s kind by nature, if we leave her alone, she’ll slowly come back to herself.”

Hearing the unwavering trust in his voice toward Da-hye made Hyejung’s stomach churn strangely.

“Sister. I’m heading out for a bit, but when I come back, should I buy you something to drink? You like the milkshakes from Yuna Bakery nearby, don’t you, sister?”

Da-hye’s words kept echoing in her ears.

Hyejung roughly yanked open the refrigerator door, grabbed a bottle of water, and drank straight from it where she stood.

‘Disgusting, Kyung Da-hye. What now? Are you pretending to be all innocent and clueless? Or are you trying to put on some kind of act in front of us?’

No matter how much cold water she drank, the burning inside her refused to settle.

***

“So what family is she from?”

Kyungtae leisurely looked at Seo-hoo as he spoke.

Seo-hoo merely maintained a calm smile without offering any real answer.

Then, gently setting down his teacup, he looked directly at Kyungtae and said.

“…You’ll find out soon enough, so why not wait just one more day?”

“How remarkable must she be for you to sound this confident?”

“You’ll be satisfied.”

“You know my standards are high.”

“I do. That’s exactly why I’m so confident.”

Seeing Seo-hoo acting more self-assured than ever only made Kyungtae more uneasy instead.

He knew Han Seo-hoo well.

The more pressure and force used against him, the more stubbornly rebellious he became.

Part of him worried that Seo-hoo, irritated by all the constant pressure to marry, might suddenly bring home some absurdly unsuitable woman from some bizarre family out of sheer defiance.

“No matter how desperate I am to see my grandson get married, if I don’t like her, I won’t show mercy. You understand that, don’t you?”

Suppressing the unease rising inside him, Kyungtae spoke firmly.

At that, Seo-hoo let out a low laugh and tilted his chin slightly downward.

Wearing that unreadable expression of his, he simply smiled mysteriously.

“I asked if you understand.”

Kyungtae carefully studied Seo-hoo as he pressed him again.

Only then did Seo-hoo slowly lift his gaze.

“Yes. I understand.”

“……”

“She’s someone who perfectly suits my taste. So I’m sure Chairman Han will be pleased as well.”

“Fine. I’ll look forward to it.”

Seo-hoo rose from his seat and bowed neatly toward him.

Then, carefully looking down at Kyungtae, he spoke.

“How does tomorrow evening at seven sound?”

“Seven, eight—doesn’t matter to me.”

“Yes. Then I’ll make a reservation at a Korean fine dining restaurant for seven.”

Kyungtae gave a small nod and gestured for him to leave.

Once Seo-hoo stepped out of the chairman’s office, Kyungtae quietly stared at the seat he had just occupied before pulling out his phone.

“Ah, Chief Kim. I’m an impatient man, you know that.”

—“Yes, Chairman.”

“Can you find out who the woman Seo-hoo’s seeing is by tonight?”

—“Pardon? Ah… yes. Though honestly, it may be difficult.”

At Chief Kim’s words, Kyungtae’s brows furrowed sharply.

“What? Why?”

—“Well… it seems he’s been meeting her very secretly. Apparently no one has ever seen Vice Chairman Han meeting a woman privately lately.”

“…Really?”

—“But I’ll look into it.”

“Good. Do whatever you can to find out.”

After ending the call, Kyungtae could not help tilting his head in confusion.

How could no one know who she was if she was supposedly a woman he intended to marry?

There had already been several scandals involving women surrounding Seo-hoo over the years.

Though, of course, not all of them had been true.

Still, if he was preparing to announce a marriage soon, what reason could there possibly be for keeping the relationship hidden so carefully?

Kyungtae slowly stroked his chin and let out a deep breath.

“Just who the hell is she that you’re hiding her this tightly, Han Seo-hoo?”

If he disliked her even slightly, he intended to place Director Seo Ji-gwon’s granddaughter beside Seo-hoo as his marriage candidate instead.

His gaze darkly glinted as he stared at the seat Seo-hoo had occupied moments earlier.