When Ho-yeong Kim, who had been worked up until moments before, showed signs of having calmed a little, his wife brought a cloth from the kitchen and wiped around Seong-ho and Jeong-seop Yun as she said,

"Aigo, what a mess. Your clothes are all soaked. Dong-ho, dear — go inside and bring a towel to wipe the guests' clothes."

But Manager Ho-yeong Kim's son, worried that if he let go his father might lunge at the guests again, could neither move nor stay still, only looking back and forth between his mother and father.

"It's all right. Your father won't do it again."

At his mother's words, Manager Ho-yeong Kim's son cautiously let go. And after a quick glance at his father, who was still gazing up at the ceiling, he headed to the bathroom to fetch a towel.

Manager Ho-yeong Kim, who had been staring at the ceiling, slowly lowered his head.

"Would it be all right if I step away to make a call to Owner Park?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

"I'm sorry."

Ho-yeong Kim, who had been rampaging like an enraged elephant only moments before, bowed his head with a crestfallen face and went into a room with his phone.

Director Jeong-seop Yun, who was wiping himself down with the towel he'd been handed, asked Seong-ho in a small voice,

"Will it be all right?"

"The talk with Taehwa is already finished. Nothing's going to change."

Reassured by Seong-ho's words, Jeong-seop Yun wiped the coffee off his clothes with the towel.

Around the time the living room had been fully tidied, Manager Ho-yeong Kim, who had gone into the room, came trudging back out.

"Shall we continue talking about the contract, then?"

Seong-ho, still seated, looked up at Manager Ho-yeong Kim and spoke.

Manager Ho-yeong Kim flopped down heavily with a crestfallen face onto the seat he'd sat in earlier.

"…What happens to Taehwa?"

Rather than ask why Ho-yeong Kim was asking him such a thing, Seong-ho answered the question.

"With the money we've provided, they'll be able to keep the club going for a year or two.…