#35

I looked at Secretary Sung Yoojun, who, despite his curiosity, hesitated to ask outright about the person in question while cautiously gauging my reaction. Seeing this, I spoke first.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Secretary Sung Yoojun slowly nodded.

“Yes, I am curious. But if it would be rude to ask, I don’t need to hear it.”

“Rude? I was the one who brought it up in the first place. If I didn’t want to tell you who that person was, I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.”

Speaking in a calm voice, I picked up the coffee cup on my desk and took a sip. The lukewarm Americano slid down my throat, leaving a distinct sensation in its wake.

“That person is my father.”

Thud.

The sound of the coffee cup touching the desk coincided with the slight trembling of Secretary Sung Yoojun’s hand. Though he remained silent, his eyes carefully studied me, filled with unmistakable concern.

“There’s no need to worry so much. It’s already in the past, and my relationship with him ended a long time ago.”

“Did you sever ties with him?”

“I did something even more extreme than that.”

As I met Sung Yoojun’s puzzled gaze, I curled one corner of my lips upward. A chilling smirk surfaced on my face.

“I sent him to prison. Personally.”

“Prison……? You mean—”

“Yes. My father committed many terrible crimes. Against others. And against me as well.”

The last time I saw that man—my father—was in court, when his sentence was finalized.

I wasn’t there as his son. I was there as the first accuser and as a witness for the prosecution. I watched with unblinking eyes as he received a sentence that would keep him behind bars until he was an old man with white hair.

“I had to get rid of him before he could keep ruining lives. If I had let him be, he would’ve just continued committing crimes forever. In a way, you could call it revenge. Living with him was so unbearable that I wanted to die. And it wasn’t just me—my entire family suffered.”

I spoke in the same composed tone as before and slowly blinked. With every blink, the darkening vision behind my eyelids briefly brought forth images of my mother and my younger sibling before they quickly faded away. I let the deep, fleeting ache of longing settle inside me, then turned my gaze to Secretary Sung Yoojun, who had remained silent for some time.

“Secretary Sung, do you think I’m an unfilial son?”

“……Excuse me?”

“Throwing my own father into prison and speaking about it so indifferently—it probably doesn’t make me look very good.”

Back when I had first decided to report my father and testify against him, I had heard similar words from others.

He’s still your parent. How could you do something like that? I know he did wrong, but this is too much for a son to do. No matter what, this is going too far. How could you betray the parent who raised you?

People who had no idea what crimes he had committed or what he had done to me simply labeled my actions as unfilial and disgraceful, solely because we were father and son.

There are people like that in the world. Those who believe that family should always be forgiven and excused, that even irreparable conflicts should eventually end in reconciliation because that’s just how it should be.

But, both unfortunately and fortunately, I could never be one of those people. Even if I had the capacity to be, I never wanted to be.

I could never forgive my father for the harm he inflicted on me and the people I cherished. That’s why I used every means at my disposal to remove him before he could do even worse.

I know that to some, my actions may be utterly unacceptable.

But so what? Just because others refuse to accept it, does that mean I have to keep enduring injustice and suffering? No. I refuse to live like that.

“……I wasn’t there to see what happened, so I say this with caution, but…… I believe the decision you made was justified. It must have been a choice you reached after much deliberation.”

After a long silence, Secretary Sung Yoojun finally spoke, and his words were far more understanding than I had expected. I widened my eyes in surprise before gently lowering my eyelids.

“You’re being awfully generous in your judgment of me.”

“I’d say it’s an objective assessment.”

Hearing his composed voice, I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. Sharing fragments of my past with Secretary Sung Yoojun had been an impulse, but the outcome wasn’t bad at all—I actually felt quite good about it.

“So, are you wary of becoming like your father?”

“That’s right. They say children resemble their parents. No matter what’s happened, I still carry his DNA, so I have to be cautious about not making the same mistakes.”

“But from what I see, you’re not someone who would ever become like him.”

“He was also someone people once said could never do such things—just like they say about me now.”

At my sharp rebuttal, Secretary Sung Yoojun’s expression turned doubtful, as if he couldn’t accept my words. He parted his lips, seemingly about to argue, but at that moment, a knock on the door forced him to press them shut, frustration evident on his face.

“Sir, Team Leader Seohee is here. Should I let her in?”

“Yes, please show her in.”

With my approval, the office door opened, revealing Secretary Jung Minjae, who assisted both Secretary Sung Yoojun and me. Behind him stood Team Leader Seohee.

“Good afternoon, sir!”

“Welcome, Team Leader Seohee.”

As always, Team Leader Seohee exuded an energetic and cheerful aura that could lift anyone’s mood. Feeling my expression naturally soften in response, I spoke.

“If you brought snacks again today, please just take them right back.”

Team Leader Seohee’s lively steps came to an abrupt halt. Over the past eight days, no one had been more passionate about bringing me snacks than her. That was why I was certain that in the hand she was hiding behind her back, there was, without a doubt, a box of treats.

“Aren’t you rejecting me a little too coldly, sir?”

“If you think my refusal is too harsh, I suggest turning your head and checking the table.”

Smiling, I gestured toward the table, which was stacked high with snacks. Team Leader Seohee followed my gaze.

“Wow, that’s a lot.”

“Exactly. It’s a lot.”

Hearing the exhaustion in my voice, Team Leader Seohee’s lips twitched as if trying to suppress a laugh. She looked like she was barely holding back her amusement, gritting her teeth in an attempt to maintain workplace harmony.

“You’re really fortunate, sir. You’re so well-loved by your employees.”

“Yes, I am. So much so that I have absolutely no idea what to do about it.”

My disgruntled response finally made Team Leader Seohee burst into laughter—a loud, hearty sound that filled the office. Watching her double over as if she would collapse from laughing so hard, I let out a quiet sigh and shook my head.

“Please don’t enjoy this too much. This is actually a bit of a problem for me.”

“Sorry, but it’s just…… You and everyone else are all too adorable.”

I wished she would stop calling me that. Though, to be fair, it was true that the employees who hesitantly approached me, sneaking snacks onto my desk with nervous glances, were rather endearing.

“Oh dear, our dear president is struggling so much. I’ll have to tell them to tone it down a bit.”

Despite her teasing tone, Team Leader Seohee subtly stepped closer and, without hesitation, placed the hidden box on my desk. It was a pale yellow box tied with a dark green ribbon—clearly a dessert box.

“Team Leader Seohee……”

With a sullen voice, I called out to her, glancing between the box and the unfinished strawberry shortcake still sitting on my desk. My blatant reluctance made Team Leader Seohee chuckle as she spoke.

“This isn’t for you, sir. It’s for our lovely Tartarus employees. So please don’t look so defeated. A cold face with such a warm heart—it’s such a charming contrast that it makes my heart ache.”

Placing a hand over her chest as if truly in pain, Team Leader Seohee dramatically emphasized her words. Every time I saw her, I was reminded that, while she was different from Secretary Sung Yoojun and Manager Ahn Siwon, she had her own way of being shamelessly playful.

I glanced at her clutching her chest with exaggerated suffering before shifting my attention to the box on my desk. Team Leader Seohee, sharp as ever, immediately noticed and spoke up in a bright voice.

“They’re egg tarts! I got them from the bakery on the first floor of the Haje Hotel. They’re seriously delicious.”

I wasn’t familiar with them, so I examined the box with curiosity.

“Would you like to open it?”

“No, it’s for the employees. I shouldn’t.”

“Oh my, sir. You really do have an unexpectedly strict side. Though, I did predict you’d say that.”