Sana walked into the house with her face expressionless. A lot of thoughts ran through her mind after her discussion with Nayeon. First and foremost, she didn't want to break down in tears in front of the woman. She had not foreseen herself ranting like she used to do to Nayeon when they were together.

"I shouldn't have told her anything about myself," she muttered under her breath.

Sana simply assumed that reopening herself would imply that she was willing to rebuild the bridge she had heretofore burned. And reconnecting with a past love seemed like the last thing she would do only a few weeks before. But things may very well have changed now that she sensed she was on the first level of reconciliation, healing, awaiting more.

"But why do I feel like she's changed through the years?" Sana pondered, moving very slowly while tilting her head. "Or am I just looking for reasons why I should let her in as a friend this time?" she mused, and just a few seconds later, she was persuaded that that was the only justification for that idea.

Realizing this also meant she couldn't let her newfound bond with Nayeon go too far. If Sana had no hope of completely removing the woman from her life, then at the very least, there should be limits on keeping them apart.

"She can cry all her tears in front of you, Sana, but you're never going to take her back," she reminded herself, taking a deep breath. "Never," she said again, more firmly this time.

All of the lights in the house were switched off, indicating that no one was home. Shirou and Sayuri are normally at the salon at this hour, so that's about right. But going further inside proved her wrong. Shirou was in the living room, sitting on the couch. The television was , but the volume was so low that it didn't reach Sana from the door.

"You're back early," Shirou said after a moment of staring at Sana, who returned eye contact. "How was your day? Did you eat lunch, or should I make something in the kitchen?" he inquired, eager to start a conversation with the other.

"No thanks," Sana said bluntly, "I'm not really hungry." That wasn't quite true. She had declined to eat with Dahyun earlier, and she had nothing for breakfast as well.

Sana chose to simply walk past the man, but Shirou interrupted her after approximately three steps. And it did cause her to halt. "Nayeon was outside," Shirou mentioned.

"Was she?" Sana inquired, not wanting to tell the man about her conversation with Nayeon. After all, she knows how much her family disliked any involvement with the Lim family following that unfortunate incident.

"Did you talk to her?" Shirou asked, knowing from the way Sana avoided his sight that she was trying to cover up something. "I told her you wouldn't come back any sooner," he explained, "but she insisted on waiting." "Did you see her?"

Sana shrugged and responded, "Sure, maybe I did."

She was obviously just looking for a way out of this discussion. And, while she wouldn't say anything about it, it's obvious that she's still upset about what Shirou did without telling her. Sana would understand if Shirou opted not to tell Sayuri because the woman was in no condition to comprehend the consequences of applying for a loan from an illegal guild would be to her husband. Sana hoped, though, that the man had informed her of the situation. Maybe she'd be able to help before the payment was due.

"Sana," Shirou said, a touch sternly, but still in control. "Is she bothering you?" he asked, concerned.

Sana exhaled, surrendering her plan to escape. She looked Shirou in the eyes and said, "Well, what would you do if she was trying to bother me?"

Shirou was rendered speechless. He couldn't say anything about fighting for Sana when he couldn't even fight for himself when he was getting beaten up. Yes, Nayeon is a woman, but she has studied martial arts and continues to train in her spare time. Anyhow, Nayeon doesn't appear to have had time to bother Sana for nothing.

"We talked for a while," Sana admitted, realizing she was being rude. After all, even though he makes horrible judgments, Shirou remains someone she appreciates. "She was trying to help me with, you know, everything that has been going on," she said, and Shirou's expression indicated that he wasn't impressed. "I didn't actually tell her I needed help or that life was bringing me troubles, but she... she just knows."

"You remember what occurred the last time we accepted her help, right?" Shirou asked, merely wanting to remind the woman of the past. That could be enough to convince Sana to forsake any plans she would have with Nayeon.

"It's not the kind of help that would be given away for free," Sana explained, not wanting to say too much because she wasn't sure herself. She wants more time to consider whether the job Nayeon has offered her will benefit her more than harm her.

"Did she give you a loan?" Shirou said, prompting Sana to stammer with non-existent words. She simply didn't know what to say because she had only just remembered taking a loan from Dahyun. And she had to pay right away, despite the fact that the woman did not give her a timeframe.

"Yes," she confirmed.

Sana was forced to lie and reply yes to Shirou's query. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to come up with enough justifications for how she could pay off the loan shark's money right away. And if she needed more money to hire new counsel for her father, the amount would nearly double. This would cause Shirou to believe that Sana would have little choice but to accept Nayeon's assistance by taking the loan money, repaying it by working for her and earning more money from the same job.

That is the most plausible argument Sana can think of right now, and she would rather accept it than have Shirou or Sayuri oppose her.

"And how are we going to pay for it?" Shirou said, keeping his emotions in check despite his desire to disagree with Sana's decision. He realizes that he contributed to the woman's personal choice to lean on Nayeon. As a result, Shirou couldn't hold Sana fully liable in any way if this plan goes down the drain.

Sana replied, "I'm still thinking about it." "But I might work for her," she said, causing the man to heave a sigh. "And she is willing to provide me with advanced payouts even though the job hasn't yet started, which would be a huge help because I was planning to get a new attorney for my father," she tried to explain, and it was a good thing Shirou didn't entirely disagree with her.

"You still need to inform Sayuri," Shirou could only reply, his shoulders drooping low. "I'm not sure how she'll respond to it," he said, "but I'll try to help you explain as long as you're willing to keep our secret."

"I wouldn't want aunt to be overly concerned about what you did either," Sana replied frankly. "Even if you don't ask me, I would keep it from her because I can't lose any more of this family," she concluded before exhaling heavily. "I'm going to get some rest."

Dahyun sat in her swivel chair in her office the next day. It was easy to tell she was doing something significant because she seemed so engrossed in whatever was on the computer monitor's screen. Dahyun seemed to be doing a simple reading of a case she was handling from a distance. But it was more than that because this isn't about the cases she currently has or is considering taking. These were the files she had access to, and they were all about previous cases involving the company which belonged to the Zhang family.

The highest executives, including the CEO, Mr. Zhang, and the company's heir, his son Cai Zen, were never mentioned in any of these cases. And they never issued a statement about any of the troubles that had been linked to their company. That is already questionable because they appeared to be avoiding affiliations when, in fact, they shouldn't be because all of the cases were largely attributable to their staff and personnel's criminal conduct.

"What's with these people acting as if they own their own worlds while something appalling is going on around them?" Dahyun questioned, raising her chin above her clenched fist. She can't prove that the Zhangs are somehow involved in all of this, but her heart tells her that her intuition is correct.

"If I were one of the executives, or the CEO, for example, I would issue a statement to reassure the media that the company does not condone unethical behavior and criminal activities by my employees and that I'm also seeking justice for the victims and will do everything in my power to make those bastards pay," Dahyun continued whispering to herself as she scrolled down to the document files.

"But why aren't they doing that?" "Is it because if it backfires on them, everything they own will shatter around them?" Dahyun continued to ask questions she couldn't answer anyway. "Is it because they fear that if they release a statement, people will doubt them more?" Dahyun wondered as she went deeper through the document. "Doesn't the fact that they're trying not to seem suspicious imply that there's something going on that concerns them?"

"I know I shouldn't make assumptions," she stated as she closed the file and leaned back in her chair. "I just need at least one case that will convince me that they are behind all of this ery," she said, her gaze falling on the last case file she retrieved. It was the last case, which occurred thirteen years ago.

"W-what?" Dahyun stammered as she read the document's title.

It was tagged as The Sachio Minatozaki Incident.

Dahyun was at a loss for words, and she didn't know how to react when she saw it. Although there is still a possibility that Sachio Minatozaki is not linked to Sana, the woman has stated that she is dealing with a personal matter with her father's case. Dahyun didn't ask any more questions about it because Sana promptly shifted the conversation to her uncle, who is currently in a serious predicament with a loan shark agency.

However, the fact that Sana described her father's circumstances raises the possibility that Sachio Minatozaki is closely linked to her. Dahyun speculated that he might be the woman's father.

Dahyun got really lucky, yet she shouldn't exactly be enthralled about it because it's Sana and her family's sorrow.

The telephone which was on Dahyun's table rang. Even though the woman wasn't paying enough attention when she picked it up, her focus returned when the voice said, "Atty. Kim Dae-won would like to see you in his office."

Dahyun already knows what it will be about, and it's a good thing she has an idea of how to respond to it right now. So, she told the man on the other end, "I'll be there in a minute."