“I’m meeting Miss Oh Su Hee.”
The news hit Byung Suk like a shock to the back of the head.

Words escaped Byung Suk, his thin lips opening and closing before he asked again,

“Are you really seeing her? That lass?”
Seung Jo’s brow furrowed at the grating sound of the word ‘lass’.

Unable to hold back his rising anger at Seung Jo’s wincing expression, Byung Suk retorted,

“What’s missing in you that you’re seeing her?”
“Seeing father, I seem to be quite lacking.”
“What?”
The fact that his father, Byung Suk, could not see people for who they were felt miserable.

He wished he could erase the days he had respected and served such a father.

“So, are you saying you’re lacking because of me?”
Seung Jo showed no emotion to Byung Suk, whose face turned from red to blue.

“It’s good that you realized now.”
“You, this brat.”
Seung Jo tried to pass by the fuming Byung Suk.

However, Byung Suk grabbed Seung Jo’s arm, holding him back.

“I’m not done.”
“I have an appointment. And next time you come, contact me in advance.”
Seung Jo pried off Byung Suk’s hand holding his arm.

Having lost hold of Seung Jo’s hand so easily, Byung Suk asked, almost shouting,

“Are you going to meet her?”
Feeling no need to answer, Seung Jo attempted to leave, opening the office door.

“Is she already more important than this father of yours?”
But he froze in his tracks at the words piercing his back.

“Father, you were always second fiddle.”
Unable to refute, Byung Suk closed his mouth.

“Father, it must be new for you. When I was young, you were always my first.”
Seung Jo’s tone, filled with a hint of a mocking laugh, hung in the air.

“Are you still frozen from the past?”
The past, he had said.

That which had consumed more than half of his life.

Seung Jo left the office without a word, leaving Byung Suk alone.

As if he couldn’t understand his son’s feelings, Byung Suk heaved a deep sigh.

As he opened the office door and Cha, his secretary, came in, Byung Suk instructed in a stern voice,

“From now on, report Seung Jo’s schedule to me once a day.”
“Would sharing his schedule every morning work for you?”
Byung Suk found Cha, his secretary, somewhat reasonable.

“Yes. I need to know what he’s doing and where.”
Bypassing his bowing secretary, Byung Suk left the office.

((()))((()))((()))

“Here? CEO Han’s house.”
Chul Yong’s gaze climbed endlessly up the towering villa building.

The villa that had broken the price record in Seoul was Seung Jo’s home.

As they approached the villa, the security guard standing at the entrance came towards the car.

Seeing the security guard’s hand outstretched as if asking to stop, Chul Yong slowly hit the brakes.

Lowering the window, the bulky security guard, who appeared to be in his 30s, made eye contact with Chul Yong.

“Are you going to unit 2002?”
“Yes.”
Before coming to Seung Jo’s house, Chul Yong had informed him of his car number.

Whether Seung Jo had told the security guard in advance about the visiting car, the guard pointed to the left without any further words.

“Just go straight down this way.”
Although the entrance to the villa was on the right, it seemed that the entrance to the penthouse was separately located on the left.

“Thank you.”
Chul Yong, who briefly greeted, turned the steering wheel and entered the way the security guard had pointed.

Lights densely embedded in the ground faintly illuminated the surroundings.

As the car descended underground, the previously dark parking lot became brighter.

Foreign cars were lined up inside the spacious parking lot.

Chul Yong parked, avoiding cars that seemed to be worth as much as his used car at a mere touch.

As Su Hee, who was sitting in the passenger seat, unbuckled her seat belt, Chul Yong turned off the engine and said,

“Let’s go.”
Chul Yong naturally opened the driver’s door, intending to go up with Su Hee.

Hesitating, Su Hee paused.

She suddenly remembered her phone call with Seung Jo.

[It’s important, so I don’t think it can be done over the phone.] He had told Su Hee to meet separately because it couldn’t be done over the phone, but if Chul Yong were to join, she feared that he might not be able to bring up what he intended to say.

“I’ll be up soon. Stay here.”
“I mean… We’ve come this far, we should go together.”
Frowning his thick eyebrows as if it didn’t make sense to have come all the way to Seung Jo’s house out of concern, then leave Su Hee to go up alone, Chul Yong said.

As Chul Yong seemed to be about to reprimand Su Hee, she quickly responded.

“He said he wanted to see me alone because it’s important.”
“What’s so important? Is it a story I shouldn’t hear?”
“It’s personal, so, yeah.”
Chul Yong seemed to want to know what personal story she meant that he couldn’t hear.

As if to alleviate Chul Yong’s worry, Su Hee showed her cell phone.

“If I have a problem, I’ll contact you right away. Okay?”
As Su Hee adamantly refused, Chul Yong had no choice.

“Okay. I won’t go anywhere. I’ll be right here. If you sense anything strange about the CEO, get out immediately.”