A Father's Message

Kang-hyun issued his instructions first, then asked his question.

"What did Jin Jae-hwan have to say?"

Kang-hyun let out a hollow laugh.

"Of course… I should have known that man would pull something like this."

Now that ten billion won is in his hands, he doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Good. I won't have to wait much longer after all.

As galling as it was that Jin Jae-hwan had contacted his daughter first, Kang-hyun now had a fair idea of where they were. He could reach them whenever he wanted.

"Understood. I'll look over the rest myself."

Even after hanging up, Kang-hyun could not wipe the pleased smile from his face. In all his life, he did not think he had ever felt this kind of buoyant anticipation.

Jin Ye-seo. I wonder if she ate breakfast.

While he waited for Deputy General Manager Yoon, he decided he might as well go up and check. He rose from his chair.

They were living under the same roof, and yet he had not seen her since the night before. The absence had only sharpened how much he wanted to. The call just now may have had something to do with it as well.

An Yeo-sa came upstairs to announce lunch, but Ye-seo refused yet again. She had not so much as glanced at the appetizing toast brought up that morning.

"Secretary Jin. This is the third meal already. If you keep starving yourself like this, you'll ruin your health."

"Please don't worry… Skipping a few meals won't kill me."

Ye-seo's reply was feeble. Going without food was, in fact, draining what little strength she had left.

Watching Ye-seo refuse to leave the bed, An Yeo-sa hovered uncertainly, unable to bring herself to simply walk out.

"If anything happens to you, Secretary Jin, the Executive Director will have my head."

"……"

At the mention of that man, Ye-seo flinched as well. Have her head… Yes. A man like him was more than capable of it. Even so, forcing anything down today felt impossible.

"…I'm sorry, ma'am."

An Yeo-sa had been at a loss, but the moment she saw the genuine apology on Ye-seo's face, she could not bring herself to press any further. She only sighed.

"If there's anything you feel like eating, just tell me. I'll make it for you even if it isn't mealtime."

"Thank you."

Once An Yeo-sa left and the door closed, Ye-seo shut her eyes again. Sleep would have been a mercy. Despite having tossed and turned all night, it would not come.

The mad words Do Kang-hyun had thrown at her were eating her alive. Suddenly, something he had said before rose up and linked itself to them, as if the two had always belonged together.

I've never once joked with you.

Remember this well. I never say anything frivolous to you.

Everything that man had told her that day—that he neither joked nor spoke idly to her—appeared to have been the truth after all. And more terrifying still was what had come after.

And whatever I set out to do, I see it through exactly as I intend.

"Ha… What am I supposed to do?"

What if Father really does give up on his daughter?

Even if she had to remain a hostage for a long time, she would rather Do Kang-hyun stay fixated on the ten billion won. On the money—please, not on Jin Ye-seo.

Nothing has happened yet, so there's no knowing how things will turn out. That was what she wanted to believe, even if the hope refused to settle in her chest.

For nothing to happen going forward, her father would have to bring Do Kang-hyun's money back intact and return every last won. But just as people said it was not the person who was bad but the money—what if her father…?

Mom…

She was so frightened she ached to see her mother. Where on earth were her mother and father? They had vanished together, so they had to be together… didn't they?

The time since she had last seen her parents already felt like an eternity. Over and over, Ye-seo turned over the question of why her father had not taken his daughter with him.

Because he could not bear to face his daughter as a thief? Because, as a criminal, he had no face left to show her? Or because he could not stand the thought of her being hunted alongside him?

Even so, Dad… you should have just taken me too.

Her father had probably never imagined that Executive Director Do would dare lay a hand on his daughter as well—on a girl who had nothing to do with any of it and not a won to her name. Perhaps he had decided that if he alone disappeared, it would be enough.

That man is far more unscrupulous than Father ever imagined. She would rather have lived on the run with them. The life she had been forced into was far more suffocating than that.

Being locked away by the man downstairs was infinitely worse than being the daughter of a father he was hunting. He only grew more unsettling by the day.

She was frowning, tormented by the thought of how she was even supposed to look him in the face the next time they met, when the door suddenly burst open without so much as a knock.

Ye-seo's eyes snapped toward the sound, and she bolted upright on the bed. Do Kang-hyun was striding straight toward her.

For some reason, his face was dark with anger. His features were intimidating enough on an ordinary day; with an expression like that, the sheer force of him was almost unbearable.

Without a word, Kang-hyun seized the blanket covering her and yanked it away. Before the startled Ye-seo could get a single word out, he slid one arm beneath her shoulders and the other under her legs and lifted her clean off the bed.

"W-what are you doing?!"

In an instant both her feet were off the ground, and Ye-seo thrashed in his arms. But the man's thick, solid arms did not so much as budge beneath her small, light frame.

Kang-hyun answered nothing at all. He simply carried her out of the room and headed for the stairs.

"Executive Director! Where are you taking me?"

"It's lunchtime."

Still squirming, Ye-seo realized just how high she was being held—thanks to the man's considerable height. On top of that, he was descending the stairs without the slightest hesitation, and the fear of tumbling if she fell kept her from thrashing too violently.

"P-put me down. I can walk myself."

"Be quiet."

She would have gone down willingly if he had only listened, but the man paid her no mind. He carried her all the way to the dining room and would not set her down until they arrived.

An Yeo-sa, who had been in the middle of setting out the food, caught sight of the two of them and her mouth fell open. Only after settling Ye-seo carefully into a chair did Do Kang-hyun finally let go.

"I'll eat starting tomorrow… Just not today."

"Should I flip you over and spank you instead?"

Ye-seo's eyes flew wide in pure horror. The threat itself was absurd—but the real problem was that this man was fully capable of following through on something that bizarre.

Left with no choice, Ye-seo had no option but to sit quietly. One more word of refusal, and she would end up getting her backside smacked in front of An Yeo-sa and the rest of the staff.

Fighting this man's obstinacy was less appealing than picking at a meal she had no appetite for. When she lifted her eyes, the table was laden, as always, with a full spread of food.

An Yeo-sa promptly disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bowl on a tray, as if she had been waiting for exactly this. She glanced first at Executive Director Do Kang-hyun to gauge his mood, then looked at Ye-seo and offered a small, furtive smile.

Reading Do Kang-hyun's face seemed to be both routine and second nature to everyone who worked in this house.

I'm not going to end up like that too… am I?

Having refused for so long only to end up sitting blankly at the table anyway, Ye-seo listened as An Yeo-sa spoke in a coaxing tone.

"Just in case, I made some abalone porridge as well. Since you're eating after going hungry, this should be gentler on your stomach."

"Thank you. I'll eat well."

She wanted to crawl under the table from sheer embarrassment, but Ye-seo answered politely all the same.

I should have just come down when Mrs. An called earlier. I dug my heels in for nothing and got hauled down here looking like a complete fool. This is mortifying.

Sneaking a glance at Do Kang-hyun, who was still glaring at her with a thunderous expression even now, Ye-seo pretended not to notice, picked up her spoon, and took a mouthful of the abalone porridge.

By the time Ye-seo had eaten a little lunch and gone back upstairs to her room, Yoon Tae-seok arrived at the villa.

"You flew here, Manager Yoon. I didn't expect you this quickly."

Kang-hyun smirked as Yoon Tae-seok stepped into the study. Yoon Tae-seok gave an awkward smile and nodded.

"Yes—well, it's news you've been waiting a long time for, Executive Director."

With that, Yoon Tae-seok drew Ye-seo's phone from his jacket. Then, using the pattern lock he had extracted from her the day after confiscating the device, he unlocked it.

Under Yoon Tae-seok's hands, Ye-seo's phone opened to the messages screen before being set neatly on Kang-hyun's desk.

Kang-hyun picked up the phone and began to read. It was a fairly long message.

Kang-hyun snorted. So to the very end, he wants to remain the good father in his daughter's eyes.

But as he read what came next, even the sneer drained clean away from his face.