Late at night, Jared Lee headed to the office alone.

Because he had heard Kwon Jae-in’s determination before leaving, he knew what kind of conversation they were having.

He wanted to stay by her side, but he had work to do right now.

‘Coming to investigate is completely different from waiting for someone.’

It was long past the time to leave work on the way to the office, so it was deserted.

Restaurants used for company dinners, cafes targeting employees working overtime, and convenience stores were still open, but there were fewer pedestrians than during the day.

Jared Lee was alternating between worrying about Kwon Jae-in and Kwon Rena and worrying about the person he was waiting for every five seconds or so.

The person he had been waiting for finally appeared.

‘Summer... ... .’

Jared Lee was not a Korean citizen, but he had a connection to Korea.

Most of Jared Lee's relatives who settled in Korea died in the Dark Ages, but one survived and continued the lineage.

As a result, there was one relative who was related to Jared Lee by blood.

That was Lee Yeoreum's father.

Jared Lee was happy to meet him and had several interactions with him.

At that time, he was very polite and a proud relative, as judged by others.

Jared Lee could not read the ugly inferiority complex, hatred, and anger that he had hidden inside.

'I reviewed the documents several times and checked them. He is definitely my blood relative. And Yeoreum too.'

After learning about his true identity, Jared Lee tried to deny his blood relationship with a glimmer of hope.

He did such cruel things to Kwon Rena and did not want to believe that his relative was involved in dirty things like Hwanmong Gate and Fight Club.

There is a saying that blood is thicker than water, but this saying does not apply to all situations.

He was definitely Jared Lee's relative, and he was also Lee Yeoreum's biological father.

In this incident, Jared Lee's only consolation was that an upright child like Lee Yeoreum was his blood relative.

However, he couldn't just sit still knowing that Lee Yeoreum was in danger right now.

'There are no surveillance cameras that Lee Yeoreum is wearing right now. Is it because the Namgoong Group's breath touches all around here, making it easy to monitor? Or is it because of Mr. Yong?'

Jared Lee closely observed Lee Yeoreum, who was walking slowly with a tired face.

The camera lens was not visible.

During the day, he had sent her to wear a wiretapping device to keep an eye out for Yong Je-geon and Ham Geun-hyeong, and it seemed to be the same now.

Jared Lee concluded that Yong Je-geon must have been on guard because he was interested in Lee Yeoreum.

No one could predict where or how Yong Je-geon would appear.

If he suddenly appeared in front of Yeoreum and found a camera, it was obvious that he would say this.

-Why are you taking pictures like this? Do you know that if company confidential information or customer information is captured, Yeoreum is responsible? You didn’t do it willingly? Then who is monitoring Yeoreum and why? Namgung Group must be a lawless area where the Labor Standards Act doesn’t apply. Can’t you tell me why? Then at least tell me who ordered you to do it. If Yeoreum won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself!

It wasn’t hard to imagine Yong Je-geon biting and tearing at Yeoreum without any consideration for her circumstances.

If Yong Je-geon, who was so happy, got attached to her, it would be no different from a natural disaster.

Yong Je-geon couldn’t be persuaded with money or power, and the Dragon Clan and the Red Lion were standing behind him.

Even so, if you want to take Yongjegeon's only close friend or a student from Eungwanggo hostage, you'll have to deal with the powerful clans and Eungwanggo people unless there's a special way, but it would be better to fight Yongjegeon directly.

Maybe thanks to Yongjegeon, Lee Yeoreum will be able to avoid wearing a camera for the time being.

'Still, Namgung's influence is all over this area. The officetel where Yeoreum lives, the shops around here, and Namgung's security company are in control, so it won't be difficult to figure out Yeoreum's movements or whereabouts.'

And she'll still be wearing a wiretapping device.

It wouldn't be a problem if Jared Lee showed up now, found the wiretapping device, and made an excuse to get Lee Yeoreum out of Namgung's sphere of influence.

But that couldn't be done.

Jared Lee had said he would accept the plan his benefactor proposed, so he had to keep it.

Jared Lee suppressed his emotions and walked forward, unable to distort the numbers.

Instead of approaching from behind, he walked slowly in front so that he could be seen clearly, as if he were afraid of Yeoreum.

“Ah......!”

Yeoreum recognized Jared Lee right away.

The blond Jared Lee was the second most famous player in Lake of Eternity after Kwon Jae-in.

Jared Lee was especially popular in Korea.

Not only was he a team sub-master, but he was also popular because talented and strong foreign players respected and admired Korean players, so he learned Korean and showed his love for Korea.

In addition, Yeoreum must have become more interested in Kwon Rena learning the violin from Kwon Jae-in, so it was natural for him to know Jared Lee well.

“Hello, can you talk to me for a moment?”

“......Yes? Me?”

Jared Lee spoke to Yeoreum, who was about to pass by with his head slightly lowered.

Yeoreum was startled and stopped.

Although he was obviously reluctant, Jared Lee was not willing to back down easily.

“I have something very important to talk about.”

“I, it’s late, and this is a bit too sudden.......”

Lee Yeoreum’s expression changed.

She had declared that she would not meet the members of Eternal Lake because she felt burdened.

She had met many people who felt burdened by Jared Lee, a famous person, but her attitude was different.

Lee Yeoreum was afraid of something.

Jared Lee continued after he was sure that she was afraid of something other than °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° himself.

“It’s a story about family. Please listen!”

“Is it related to Lena?”

“It’s not unrelated. Aside from Mr. Ham, who is currently the homeroom teacher, you are the only guardian I can contact.”

Lee Yeoreum could not refuse when he revealed that it might have been related to Kwon Lena.

After much thought, Lee Yeoreum suggested that they talk at a franchise cafe that was open 24 hours a day.

There were a few people studying or working late there, so he thought he could talk to strangers without worry.

Jared Lee readily agreed.

“I’ll put up a sound barrier for a moment.”

Jared Lee said, choosing a corner seat on the third floor of the café.

Yeoreum smiled bitterly and nodded.

He seemed to think it was useless since they were being wiretapped anyway.

However, the purpose of the sound barrier that Jared Lee set up was to block out the music flowing in the café, so that the person on the other side of the wiretapping could hear their conversation better.

“Would you like to look at this first?”

“......What is this?”

“These are photos and conversations.”

There were several photos. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Some were taken in the past, and some were taken recently.

Some of them were unfamiliar to Yeoreum, but there were also some familiar faces.

“Is this my grandfather? Then.......”

Great-grandfather, that cousin, it seemed complicated, but the people in the photo were connected across time.

Following the photo, I could also see the printed conversation of the device message history.

It was a conversation between Jared Lee and Lee Yeoreum's father.

It included the two recognizing each other's relatives and asking about each other's well-being.

"It'll be tricky since our nationalities are different, but if we compare the documents corresponding to family relationship certificates and family registers from each country, it will be more certain."

Lee Yeoreum's head felt dizzy.

If Jared Lee had decided to fabricate evidence, Lee Yeoreum had no way of knowing, but it seemed unlikely that he would tell such an elaborate lie.

His only brother had been very careful with his parents since he was young, so he had an excellent eye for people, but according to his brother's assessment, Jared Lee was definitely not the kind of person who would do something like that.

"I wanted to make a place to let you know, but I haven't been able to contact your parents recently. There was an unpleasant incident last year, so I've been worried all the time."

Jared Lee's voice was affectionate and his eyes were filled with sincerity.

Although she felt relieved that her parents, who were worthless, were gone, Lee Yeoreum, who was a freshman in society, felt lost.

In the midst of all this, a top-class player like Jared Lee volunteered to be her blood relative, and she felt a sense of relief, followed by surprise and shock.

If this had been a normal situation, Lee Yeoreum would have simply been happy.

'I don't know how they'll use this... ...!'

Fear rose up more than relief.

She had a small expectation that her value might have increased and she might be safer, but she was more afraid that her suddenly affectionate blood relative might be used.

The report must have already been received when Jared Lee showed up.

The story transmitted through the wiretapping device must have been the same, so Namgung's side might be cross-checking the truth of the information by now.

Of course, Jared Lee and Jo Eui-shin, who had this move, had guessed this.

―He never shares all information. So your blood relationship wouldn’t have been revealed openly.

―But they’re using Yeoreum like that... ... .

―If information sharing had been done well, the underlings of the dark side wouldn’t have been easily affected by the poison in Jeju Island. They didn’t even know the poison and didn’t know what it was.

Jo Eui-shin had a point.

At least, those in Namgung Group who actually contacted and monitored Yeoreum were likely unaware of the detailed circumstances.

If the dark side was trying to limit information and make some moves, Jo Eui-shin’s intention was to release it and distort that move.

Of course, Jo Eui-shin’s move wasn’t just about distorting the dark side’s move.

“Then, if you know our family well, maybe Lena......”

“I also know that Lena is an adopted daughter. But Summer thinks of Lena like her own sister, right? Then Lena is my family too!”

When Kwon Lena’s name was mentioned, Jared Lee got excited without realizing it and spoke.

Jared Lee, who had been speaking calmly, spoke in a messy manner, mixing formal and informal speech.

But the meaning was conveyed well.

Lee Yeoreum felt even more awkward.

She couldn't be happy that she had dragged the person who cared for her younger brother into Namgung's mud pit.

Lee Yeoreum raised her trembling hands and placed her fingertips on the documents.

'... ... Even if I can't say it, I have to tell him. He'll know.'

Lee Yeoreum tried to write with her fingers.

Since there was no camera, she wanted to convey the wiretapping in another way, just like Jo Ui-shin did this afternoon.

It was already too late, but she thought that Jared Lee might at least cut off her hand first or come up with another method.

However, Jared Lee held her hand as if he was covering it and stopping it.

"I know even if you don't say it! We're connected by blood."

Although her tone was as excited as before, Jared Lee's calm expression returned.

Jared Lee nodded firmly.

At that sight, Lee Yeoreum realized that Jared Lee knew everything.

Anyone who was listening to their story right now, Lee Yeoreum's situation.

Lee Yeoreum's blood relatives knew everything.