When Seong-ho Kim stepped into Seongjungwon, silence hung over the room, as if a cold front had settled in.

"Darling. Welcome home."

Only Gyeong-eun Lee rose from her seat to greet Seong-ho Kim warmly.

Seong-ho Kim smiled tenderly at her, then bowed in greeting to the Ilhyeon family members present.

"I'm back."

Mun-jong Lee and Sang-jong Lee looked at him with displeasure; Jeong-eun Lee wore an expression as if she would devour him whole; and Tak-hyeon Lee regarded him with an opaque, unreadable gaze. All eyes turned to Seong-ho Kim.

"Darling. Come sit over here."

Gyeong-eun Lee led Seong-ho Kim to the seat beside her own.

Being the youngest, she had been seated at the very end of the table, and so she guided Seong-ho Kim to the spot farthest from Tak-hyeon Lee.

Her thinking was that being farther from Tak-hyeon Lee also meant being farther from her older siblings, and that this might make things at least a little more bearable.

Seong-ho Kim gave Gyeong-eun Lee's hand a light squeeze and took his seat.

The moment Seong-ho Kim sat down, Mun-jong Lee spoke up.

"Did brother-in-law Cha say where he was?"

"You mean Brother?"

"Yes. Where is that scoundrel right now?"

"Why would you ask me where Brother is...?"

When Seong-ho Kim put on a bewildered expression, Sang-jong Lee shouted in Mun-jong Lee's stead.

"You two met privately after he left Seongjungwon last time, didn't you? Then you must know where he is! Where is he?"

"Brother!"

Gyeong-eun Lee half rose from her seat, raising her voice right back.

"Why are you asking him that?"

"You're both the same kind, so you'd know, wouldn't you?"

"The same kind? Do you have any idea what kind of man my Dong-min's father is!"

"Do I have to spell it out? They're both scoundrels without a single drop of Ilhyeon blood in them."

"How dare you say—"

Gyeong-eun Lee leaned forward toward Sang-jong Lee as if she might lunge at him at any moment.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out then and there, Seong-ho Kim stepped in.

"Darling. It's…