The talk about card-company debt spread further with each passing day.

It had been only a few days since the article claiming the real delinquency rate had topped 15 percent, yet a follow-up story reporting that it had now exceeded 17 percent was being carried across multiple news outlets.

Word was also getting out that the card companies, which last year had posted an astronomical profit of 2.6 trillion won, had already this year alone racked up losses exceeding 3 trillion won.

Warnings were beginning to erupt from all directions that the card-debt insolvency that had begun with DN Card could shake every card company to its foundations.

And amid this atmosphere, attention converged on whose bomb would be the first to go off.

"It's not you two, right?"

Sang-jong Lee looked at Jeong-eun Lee and asked.

"Sounds like you're hoping we're the ones who blew up, Brother."

"No. You think I'd ask out of a wish like that? I'm just curious, that's all. There's so much talk going around."

Sang-jong Lee shot a sidelong glance at Mun-jong Lee, signaling him to ask in his place.

"If you're curious, ask her yourself. Why look at me with that look?"

Mun-jong Lee replied, clearly displeased.

"You think I'm the one who's curious? I'm doing it because Father might be curious."

When he trotted out Tak-hyeon Lee as his excuse, Mun-jong Lee quietly clicked his tongue and turned to Jeong-eun Lee.

"Is it true that everything's fine?"

"No. I said we're fine, so why are you all like this?"

At that, Jeong-eun Lee flared up and shouted.

"Our finance director must have reported to you already. Didn't you get it?"

Jeong-eun Lee shouted at Mun-jong Lee as though she were the one who found this strange, then turned her head toward Do-beom Hwang.

"Didn't our finance director report to your secretary's office?"

Whether out of anger or out of urgency, Jeong-eun Lee had just called Do-beom Hwang "Brother."

Ordinarily Mun-jong Lee and Sang-jong Lee would call him "Brother," but Jeong-eun Lee alone had never called him that.

Today, however, she called Do-beom…