The TV, which had been turned on before he took a shower, was still playing in the living room, and the beer he had started drinking was left untouched.

Sitting on the sofa, absent-mindedly reaching for the beer glass, he wrinkled his face at the lukewarm temperature of the cup.

“Darn it. The beer has completely warmed up.”

He habitually got up and went to the refrigerator to get a few more cans of beer.

Lately, he couldn’t sleep properly without the smell of alcohol, so he always kept alcohol in the refrigerator. As a result, he fell asleep drunk every night. Today seemed to be no exception.

He took out the beer and, while opening it, felt a chilling sensation behind him as the temperature of the cup had cooled.
Startled, Minhyung instinctively turned around, but an urgent voice stopped him.

“Manager, I’m coming. Absolutely… Don’t turn around.”

A familiar voice. It was none other than the secretary who disappeared with Chairman Jo.

“Just listen to me. First, go naturally to the window and draw the curtains.”

At those words, Minhyung took a sip of his beer and approached the window. Pretending to look at the view for a moment, he successfully pulled the curtains naturally. Only then did the secretary reveal himself in the small space next to the refrigerator.

“How did you get here! Where’s my father?”

“Chairman Jo is safe.”

“Where is he now? Isn’t he hurt? Huh?”

“First, calm down and listen to me.”

Minhyung nodded his head in response to the calm secretary’s voice.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll explain briefly. I’m going to meet Chairman Jo now.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Chairman Jo is waiting. Once you leave the house naturally without bringing anything, drive to this address. When you arrive, there is an underground parking lot. Park your car there, and I’ll be waiting.”

Minhyung received the paper note handed by the secretary, feeling tense.

“Can I see my father then?”

“Yes. But you must be careful. You need to switch to my car in the underground parking lot, so try to keep a safe distance from the cars following you. Understood?”

“W- Was I being watched?”

“Of course. Chairman Jo is currently a wanted person, and you are the only person he trusts. Even if you can’t shake them off completely, you will have enough time in the underground parking lot to switch to my car. Remember. Don’t bring anything, just yourself. And when you get out of the car, leave your phone too.”

Minhyung nodded decisively, and the secretary quickly disappeared. However, after he was gone, Minhyung felt his blood rush and his body heat up rapidly.

Whether it was due to the belated rise of the alcohol or the excitement of finally being able to see Chairman Jo, he couldn’t tell.

But Minhyung diligently began to follow the instructions given by the secretary, even in this fervor.

He had nothing on him. He took his phone but left his wallet, throwing it on the bed.

At eleven o’clock at night.

Minhyung left the house with an empty body, and an old gray sedan followed behind his car.

Sweat beaded on his hands gripping the steering wheel.

If he couldn’t shake off that car, he might not be able to see his father.

Despite the traffic light turning red just as he approached, Minhyung pressed on the accelerator.

Vroom!

His sports car splendidly accelerated, shooting forward.

Although the clock had already passed midnight, Serin couldn’t sleep and tossed and turned in bed.
Today, Taejun, who had gone to the police station, was already asleep, presumably exhausted. After covering him with a blanket, Serin quietly got up from her seat and left the bed.

As she entered the kitchen, she poured a glass of red wine and sat on the sofa.

The words of Mrs. Son, heard during the day, kept lingering in her mind.

[Dash] That day. That day… Everything began.

It was a reason she hadn’t even considered.

Was she really trying to retaliate against her father because of that? Just for such a reason?

She couldn’t admit it.

“How…”

Was that even possible? How on earth!

If there truly was a god, and if that god maintained order in the human realm by not showing itself, such things should not have happened.

In a world where good people suffer and bad people live well, who would willingly consider themselves good?

Therefore, there is no god.

What could be trusted was only the laws created by humans.

But could those laws really make Chairman Jo pay enough for his sins?

No, absolutely not. The laws she had encountered so far were exceptionally weak against white-collar criminals.

Then what could she do?

Serin pondered deeply.

A direct way to punish Chairman Jo.

Taking away something he cherished. People are often more afraid of losing something than dying.

Despite committing all kinds of atrocities, Chairman Jo had something he was protective of.

Maritime Express. There, Minhyung was the only option.

Since Minhyung had already fallen into her trap, the only thing left was Maritime Express. However, it was too burdensome for her to dismantle Maritime Express alone. As the company had grown significantly through various wrongdoings, it had become quite massive.

However, fortunately, she still had a hidden weapon.

That was Taejun.

With Taejun, perhaps they could disintegrate Maritime Express in front of Chairman Jo’s eyes.

Then, what expression would Chairman Jo make? Would this be a suitable punishment for Chairman Jo?

It was a night when many thoughts passed through her mind. But then, her phone vibrated. Looking at the caller ID, Serin felt puzzled. Mrs. Son calling at this hour.

“Yes. Mrs. Son.”

[At this late hour, weren’t you supposed to be asleep?]

“Yes. I couldn’t sleep.”

[I thought so. Today, I revealed too much truth, making my heart heavy.]

“No, I was grateful that my doubts were resolved. But what’s going on at this hour?”

[Just… I was worried about you. I’m also unable to sleep with my emotions exploding like this… I wonder why you’re enduring it.]

“I… I’m fine.”

In reality, she was not fine. Like Mrs. Son mentioned, her emotions exploded, and she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about Chairman Jo.

However, as she tried to maintain composure, Mrs. Son silently asked her.
[If… really if, I mean. If you were to witness Chairman Jo’s last moments… What would you want to say?]

“Last moments… What do you mean by that?”

[Just wondering what you would say if you, who are deeply involved, were to witness Chairman Jo’s final moments.]

She had never thought about it. Chairman Jo’s last moments.

She couldn’t let Chairman Jo go so easily. During his evil and resilient existence, she intended to bring him the worst agony.

So Chairman Jo had to stay alive.

The collapsing of Maritime Express, the business she had built up throughout her life, had to be shown before his eyes like a collapsing sandcastle.

Even so, if she were inevitably to witness Chairman Jo’s last moments… What should she say?

“… I don’t really have much to say. But if I have to…”

[…….]

“Just… Farewell. That’s what I would like to convey.”

Truly, there was nothing else to say.