Seongjungwon, which had been so raucous, was now swallowed up in silence together with the darkness.

"Chairman."

Do-beom Hwang stood beside Tak-hyeon Lee with a worried look on his face.

"It's grown late."

"Chief Hwang."

"Yes, Chairman."

It was Tak-hyeon Lee's voice, spoken after a long while.

Do-beom Hwang, his face taut with tension, bent toward Tak-hyeon Lee and answered.

"Shall I have the car readied?"

Do-beom Hwang assumed Tak-hyeon Lee would say he wanted to go to Pyeongchang-dong. But the words that came out of Tak-hyeon Lee's mouth were different from what Do-beom Hwang had expected.

"I'll be sleeping here tonight, so know that."

"Chairman. The nights are still chilly. It would be better for you to go into Pyeongchang-dong and rest comfortably—"

"Chief Hwang. I know you worry about me. But somehow it doesn't seem like I'll be able to sleep properly tonight anyway."

"...Is it because of Jeong-eun?"

Do-beom Hwang recalled the sight of Jeong-eun Lee being dragged out of Seongjungwon, pouring out tears and snot. Tak-hyeon Lee had coldly cast Jeong-eun Lee out and issued orders that she was never again to be allowed into Seongjungwon or Pyeongchang-dong. He had made plain before everyone his intent to expel Jeong-eun Lee from the House of Ilhyeon.

And so Do-beom Hwang thought that Tak-hyeon Lee, having driven Jeong-eun Lee out, was acting this way because his heart was uneasy. But that was a story permissible only within the bounds of the ordinary person Do-beom Hwang imagined.

"Why would I worry about Jeong-eun?"

Tak-hyeon Lee looked at Do-beom Hwang as if it were absurd, and Do-beom Hwang was flustered by his gaze.

"Were you not troubled on account of Jeong-eun?"

"Are you unwell? Why should I be troubled over a child I couldn't grind up and drink and still feel satisfied? Think how many privileges that girl received for the sole reason of being my daughter. Do you think she could have even come this far if she'd been an ordinary person's daughter? She ought to be living in gratitude and it still wouldn't be enough, and instead she…