Knock, knock...

“Come in.”

When Hwang Jeong-Hu's aged voice came from behind the closed doorway, Jo Gyu-Min nervously swallowed his saliva before cautiously opening the door.

“Mm, come in. Good to see you two,” Hwang Jeong-Hu smiled brightly while welcoming Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min. “It seems I showed you some unsightly things earlier.”

“No, it's fine, Chairman,” Kang Jin-Ho replied quietly.

Hwang Jeong-Hu slowly nodded. “I'm glad. I knew you'd understand. Indeed... Nothing in this world is as hard and thorny as raising children, after all. I'm sure you've experienced it, too.”

“No, Chairman. I never had kids.”

“Mm? Then, what were you doing all those years?”

“...” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly as his thoughts of consoling this old man rapidly flew out the window.

Hwang Jeong-Hu was still Hwang Jeong-Hu; he managed to quell his rage in that short window of time and reverted back to his usual self.

“For now, why don't we take a seat first?”

“Of course.”

Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min sat on the left and right sides of Hwang Jeong-Hu in the seat of honor. Hwang Jeong-Hu ordered fresh coffee through the intercom, then offered a cigarette to Kang Jin-Ho. “Here, have one.”

“Thank you.” Kang Jin-Ho didn't stand on ceremonies and accepted the cigarette. Of course, no one complained about him acting out of turn.

Then again, everyone in this office roughly knew how long Kang Jin-Ho had 'actually' lived, so asking him to mind his manners seemed rather odd at this stage in their relationship.

The two men lit their cigarettes and wordlessly smoked for a while.

Eventually,...