“Noona, is something wrong?” Si-woo spotted Dan-jung with a dark expression in the staff cafeteria and sat down across from her. Dan-jung, who had barely touched the food on her plate and was looking at her phone, glanced at Si-woo indifferently at his presence. “It’s nothing. Enjoy your meal.” Dan-jung didn’t want to talk to Si-woo anymore, so she turned her back on him and stood up. She felt bad for seemingly having fought with Min-hyuk because of Si-woo, and she didn’t want to hear whatever words might come out of his mouth. “Ha~.” Si-woo scoffed at Dan-jung’s attitude and watched her retreating figure. And he felt a sense of satisfaction, as if he had created a small rift between her and Min-hyuk according to his plan. “What on earth is she thinking?” Dan-jung muttered to herself and looked at the phone in her hand. “Should I call him first?” Dan-jung missed Min-hyuk’s voice so much, and she wanted to see him terribly. But it wasn’t easy for Dan-jung to call him first. It hurt her pride, perhaps? In fact, she had never called or begged a man first when fighting or breaking up. This was a habit that had developed after many breakups, and it was also because of her resolution never to cling to a man. Just then, the hand holding Dan-jung’s phone vibrated, zzz-zzz. Dan-jung’s heart thumped as if falling from a very high place, and she quickly looked at her phone. But unfortunately, it wasn’t Min-hyuk’s call; it was her welcome friend, Jin-hee. -Dan-jung-ah, can I come visit Jeju Island? Jin-hee’s voice was quite excited. “Really? When are you coming?” -This weekend. Please book a hotel room with a good view. But I wonder if it’s too late to get a good room? “Why go to a hotel uncomfortably with Ha-yeon? Come to our house.” -Well... it’s not just me going. “What? Who are you coming with?” -I actually have a boyfriend now~. Jin-hee, who had no idea about Dan-jung’s situation, sounded as happy as could be. “Really? The person you said you liked?” -Yeah, it worked out. “Wow! Congratulations! I’ll book you a suite.” -No, that’s too much. Just a room with a good view is fine. “Okay. I’ll take care of booking the best room for you.” Dan-jung sincerely blessed Jin-hee with all her heart. But in one corner of her heart, there was a lingering bitterness from her fight with Min-hyuk.

Before the board meeting, Min-hyuk personally visited Sung-ho, his paternal uncle.

It was to give his father’s younger brother a chance to step down voluntarily.

“You’re going to hold a board meeting?”

Sung-ho was already aware that Min-hyuk had proposed his dismissal.

‘Just because he salvaged one Jeju hotel, he dares to try and fire me?’

But unlike Min-hyuk’s wish, he had no intention of stepping down easily.

“I plan to propose a motion to dismiss the Vice President.”

“You shouldn’t think you can just kick me out as you please.”

Sung-ho believed that he, who had worked at the hotel for many years, was in a more advantageous position than the young Min-hyuk.

It was clear that the board of directors wouldn’t easily cast aside someone as seasoned in the hotel industry as himself, and Sung-ho’s firm belief made him ignore Min-hyuk’s warning.

Then, Min-hyuk brought up an old story that had been buried for a long time.

“Someone once told me, who was on the verge of death after a car accident, that it would be better to just die than to live as a cripple.”

“......”

“Heh~ It must have been quite a shock at a young age... after that, living felt like not living at all.”

Min-hyuk chuckled humorlessly, recalling that time when he was lying in the hospital room.

Even thinking about it now, it was a cruel thing to say to a child in despair, something that should never have been said.

“What does that have to do with me!”

“Because you were the one who said those words.”

Min-hyuk glared at Sung-ho with a threatening look, as if he wouldn’t let it go.

“What nonsense is this!”

Sung-ho, seemingly without a shred of conscience, got angry instead.

How could he remember that...? Sung-ho’s eyes wavered, unable to hide his lies.

Of course, back then, Sung-ho had desperately wanted Min-hyuk to die because of the hotel’s succession issue.

But without any evidence or witnesses, there was no way he would admit it.

“Whether you deny it or not, it doesn’t matter. I won’t live being pushed around by you anymore!”

As Min-hyuk abruptly stood up, Sung-ho trembled, feeling both fear for what was about to happen and humiliation at being scorned by his nephew.

“I doubt the board of directors will let you off easily, considering you pushed forward with a business that couldn’t even secure investors. You probably won’t get away so easily, given your track record.”

Unlike Sung-ho, Min-hyuk was certain of his dismissal, and after glancing at the enraged Sung-ho, Min-hyuk immediately sensed that his anger would turn towards Shin-young.

Thus, Min-hyuk sent Si-woo a photo of Shin-young that he had saved on his phone.

<Protect your mother.>

It was the greatest consideration Min-hyuk could give Si-woo.

Even though he resented Si-woo for toying with him, he couldn’t disregard a person’s life.

A moment later, Si-woo’s phone pinged, and Si-woo’s pupils widened in shock as he looked at the photo Min-hyuk had sent.

He knew his mother was being beaten, but he had never imagined it would be to this extent.

“Why!”

Why was she living being beaten like this! His mother, who looked like she was about to die, had a face that looked anything but happy, contrary to her words.

“Ah! You startled me.”

A colleague sitting next to Si-woo looked around, startled by his short exclamation, and then looked at him.

“Young-hoon-ssi, please fill out a vacation request form for me.”

Si-woo, who had jumped up from his seat, hurriedly headed towards Shin-young without even thinking.

“General Manager Lee!”

A flustered colleague called out to Si-woo, who was leaving in a hurry, but Si-woo had already disappeared.

“I won’t let this go!”

Unable to contain his anger towards Sung-ho for making his mother like that, Si-woo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Why had he lived being humiliated like that!

Si-woo could never forgive Sung-ho.

“Hello.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Jin-hee.”

Ji-wook, who had come to Jeju Island to visit, politely greeted Dan-jung, Jin-hee’s closest friend.

Being Jin-hee’s close friend, he couldn’t deny that he wanted to make a good impression.

“I’ve heard a lot about you too. Please take good care of our Jin-hee.”

Dan-jung had heard about Ji-wook’s age from Jin-hee, and she was somewhat surprised by his younger-than-expected appearance.

Moreover, strangely enough, Jin-hee and Ji-wook had a subtle resemblance.

“My work will be done in a little while, shall we have dinner together?”

Dan-jung didn’t want to interfere with the two of them, but she wanted to treat her friend, who had come all the way here, to dinner.

“Yeah, I’ll unpack my things and wait in the lobby.”

“Okay. See you later then.”

Dan-jung returned to her office to finish her work.

However, she felt gloomy at the thought of how nice it would have been if Min-hyuk had been there too.

But Dan-jung didn’t show her gloomy feelings in front of the seemingly happy Jin-hee.

“By the way, you really do resemble Jin-hee.”

During dinner, Dan-jung looked at Ji-wook with a curious expression.

“Ah, really?”

“Hehe~ Yes, it’s really nice to see.”

“You resemble Min-hyuk-ssi too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you two look alike.”

“Really?”

At Jin-hee’s words, Dan-jung thought of Min-hyuk’s handsome face and began to miss him terribly.

Dan-jung’s heart welled up at the thought of wanting to see Min-hyuk, and Jin-hee didn’t miss it.

Just then, Ha-yeon started fussing, and Ji-wook put on a baby carrier to put Ha-yeon to sleep, covered her with a blanket, and went outside the shop.

“He’s so sweet.”

Unlike Tae-joon, Dan-jung really liked Ji-wook, who was devoted to Jin-hee and Ha-yeon.

“What’s the problem?”

Jin-hee put down her chopsticks and asked seriously.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Did you fight with Min-hyuk-ssi?”

“......Did it show?”

“How many years have I known you...? I can tell just by looking at your eyes!”

Jin-hee was actually a bit excited that she could finally listen to Dan-jung’s worries after a long time.

Due to her own unhappiness, she hadn’t been able to see other people’s unhappiness, and other people’s worries had seemed insignificant compared to her own.

But now, she had the leeway to listen to other people’s worries, and she could sincerely wish for Dan-jung’s happiness with all her heart.

“We didn’t have a big fight, but we haven’t contacted each other for over a week.”

“Why? You said you had to report every four hours.”

“I didn’t call because I was upset that he left in the morning without a word, and he didn’t call either.”

“Then are you okay with not seeing him like this?”

“No, that’s not it, but...”

“See~ What did I tell you? Out of sight, out of mind.”

“I’m already regretting it a bit.”

Dan-jung, her heart weakened, felt sorry towards Min-hyuk.

Even though he came down often, there were many troublesome things involved in meeting.

There was the housekeeper who took care of things at home, and even Secretary Im had to come down to Jeju Island because of her.

“Don’t do that, you call him first.”

“......”

“You always broke up with guys you fought with and couldn’t reconcile with when you were dating. Do you want that to happen this time too?”

“No, absolutely not. I can’t live without Min-hyuk-ssi.”

Dan-jung, having completely forgotten the contract she had written with Min-hyuk, felt tears welling up at the thought of possibly breaking up with him.

She felt that she would never be able to meet a man like Min-hyuk again for the rest of her life.

A man who loved only her, without any conditions.

He was exactly the person she had longed for.

“I’ll go first. See you tomorrow.”

Feeling urgent, Dan-jung left the shop first to call Min-hyuk.

And a moment later, Ji-wook, who had put Ha-yeon to sleep, came in.

He had already said goodbye to Dan-jung, who was leaving outside the shop.

“Ha-yeon is asleep. Let’s go too.”

“Yes.”

Jin-hee felt inexplicably excited about sharing a room with Ji-wook, even though she wasn’t a young maiden anymore.

Moreover, Dan-jung had upgraded their room, allowing them to stay in a room with a splendid view and the best condition.

“Ugh, you fool. What’s with this stupid pride.”

Wiping away the tears that were flowing down, Dan-jung arrived home, parked the car, and went inside.

She planned to calm herself down first, tidy up her disheveled appearance, and then call Min-hyuk.

But then, Min-hyuk, looking angry, abruptly stood up from the sofa.

“Do you always come home this late? They said at the hotel you left earlier.”

As Min-hyuk looked at his watch and reproached Dan-jung, tears began to stream down Dan-jung’s face as she looked at Min-hyuk.

“Sob, sob, sob.”

“?”

Min-hyuk was supposed to be angry, but seeing Dan-jung crying, he couldn’t say anything.

He slowly approached Dan-jung and wiped away her flowing tears.

“I missed you.”