Upon seeing the disconnected call screen, Kyung-hee couldn’t string together proper words. The hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

“As if saying, ‘Let’s see what happens’…”

[Stop making lame excuses and just ask for help.]

Kneeling and begging was futile and pathetic. The more Kyung-hee pondered, the more her anger intensified, and she clenched her teeth with all her might.

With a popping sound, the phone in her hand, which had been vibrating, tumbled roughly across the table.

Kyung-hee closed her eyes, attempting to calm her rough breathing, but the breath, wounded by humiliation, did not easily settle.

Sitting quietly while mumbling breaths, the phone screen brightened with a short notification sound.

A message from an unfamiliar number contained only one attached photo.

“Contract”

Kyung-hee’s expression distorted as she read the contract stating that Hwa-yeon had transferred her Taeyil Group shares to her when she married Jae-oh.

“How does this number not get blocked?”

Kyung-hee dropped the phone as if tossing it aside.

Sending the contract to her, who had cut off contact, implicitly meant that if the current situation wasn’t resolved, she would tear it up, indicating that Kyung-hee should handle it herself.

“Ugh…”

Annoyed, Kyung-hee bit her lower lip, pressing her aching head with her fingertips.

[Let Jae-oh do what he said he would do once. We can demand something only if we wait. Trust me for now.]

The words she had said choked her.

The reason she could say such things was because, as she had told Hwa-yeon, she trusted Jae-oh’s situation.

He was someone who, apart from business matters, had no interest in anything else.

No matter how much he might have feelings for Chaeyoon privately, she never expected those feelings to affect business matters.

Liking Chaeyoon was a personal matter, and this was strictly a public affair.

[He said he was afraid and wanted to marry off his nephew who married out of fear to his daughter.]

Although Jae-oh said those words to force her to look into Hwa-yeon’s character, Kyung-hee thought Jae-oh was warning her.

If there were such feelings, it was a warning to fold.

This could be interpreted as a tacit understanding that if she didn’t want to get entangled with Hwa-yeon any further, Jae-oh, too, would stay quiet.

However, seeing how the matter escalated, it seemed it wasn’t just a simple warning.

‘Why on earth.’

Even though she had found a way to escape, it wasn’t Jae-oh. Also, in this circle, Sang-heon’s influence was significant.

In that case, it could be compromised, so why make such a big deal out of it?

‘Is it time for this?’

Upon closer inspection, this was the first time Jae-oh had exploited Jung-woong’s weakness.
Pulling it down, I was frustrated because I couldn’t determine if this reckless approach was due to the judgment that a better situation wouldn’t come or for some other clear reason.

‘Knowing that might somehow help calm Kwon Hwa-yeon…’

No matter how much I thought, there seemed to be no solution, and irritation built up.

Kyung-hee lowered the hand that had been pressing against her head with her tongue.

Then, with a jing [dash], the phone vibrated briefly.

The caller was the same number as before. This time, only an audio file was attached, not a photo.

“What is this again?”

Curious, Kyung-hee pressed the play button, and the voices of Jae-oh and Ji-pil came through.

『Why is Chaeyoon?』

『She smiles and converses as if nothing happened, but there’s a lot she’s hiding inside. It feels like the feelings I had, considering divorce, won’t just go away overnight.』

The moment Kyung-hee heard Jae-oh’s words, she sighed with a realization.

There might be a reason to check Jung-woong, but it was also because she hadn’t completely won Song Chaeyoon’s heart and wanted to eliminate any connection with Kwon Hwa-yeon.

Cutting off any ties with Kwon Hwa-yeon would open Song Chaeyoon’s heart.

“It seems like he’s sincere about Song Chaeyoon more than I thought.”

She had thought that since she didn’t pay much attention when he was beside her, how deep could his feelings be? It would soon fade away, but it was slightly surprising to hear it was genuine.

However, it wasn’t a bad condition that he was sincere with Chaeyoon. Finally, Han Jae-oh had a weakness.

Kyung-hee’s frustrated expression improved noticeably.

「Song Chaeyoon」

“Playing with her, it’s like a piece of cake.”

[Star icon]

A sturdy arm wrapped around the waist. In the silence of being embraced from behind, Song Chaeyoon’s eyes gently opened.

Her eyes, which hadn’t fully opened yet, were full of sleep.

Song Chaeyoon blinked a few times with eyes that hadn’t fully opened, then soon turned and nestled into Jae-oh’s arms. Then, this time, Jae-oh’s eyes opened.

Seeing Chaeyoon snuggle into his arms, a smile gently spread across Jae-oh’s lips. However, when he tried to adjust Chaeyoon, who seemed uncomfortable, her fair face crumpled lightly.