3 weeks after  

Ever since she took over their family business, Bae Joohyun has shown to everyone that she's a strong and independent woman.

Despite worries about the future of Bae Industries among its stockholders and employees when Joohyun's father announced his retirement, she proved them all wrong when she took the company to greater heights under her reign.

She was a natural leader, as she balances professionalism and camaraderie when dealing with their employees.

She doesn't let anything affect her superior work ethics, and will always make sure that she puts 100% in everything she does for the company.

However, over the past 3 weeks, people around Joohyun have observed that she seemed to be distracted which is quite unusual for the young CEO.

Her parents and her sister have witnessed her spacing out a lot of times even during meetings, a manner that she herself does not tolerate among her co-workers.

Her unworldly-sculptured face has also experienced mild breakouts and obvious eyebags, indicating how sleep-deprived she is over the past few days. She has even lost some weight, judging by how her cheek and collarbones are more prominent than before.

Concerned for his eldest daughter, Mr. Bae scheduled a family dinner in one of Joohyun's favorite restaurants in Seoul at the end of the work week. He wanted to relieve some of her stress and to also know exactly what is troubling his daughter's mind.

Engaged in light conversations, Mr. Bae decided to start his probing questions once they were almost finished eating. 

"So Hyun-ah, how are things lately?"

"What do you mean, appa? As I said earlier, the company is doing very well due to the adjustments that we've implemented in the-"

"What I meant to ask is...", Mr. Bae gently cuts off his daughter by holding her hand. "...how's my lovely daughter doing recently?"

Joohyun blinked back at her father before avoiding his eyes and looking down at the table.

"Uhm, I'm doing okay appa. W-why are you asking?"

Mr. Bae looked at his daughter knowingly. He knows his eldest too well to the point that he can determine whether she's lying to him or not just by her actions.

Her unusual stuttering and the inability to maintain eye contact with him right now basically indicates that Joohyun is indeed lying.

"Are you sure? There seems to be something troubling your mind during the past few weeks. And I'm sure it's not related to the company since business has been doing so well."

Joohyun remained silent and was contemplating how to answer the question smoothly when Yerim, always playing the evil little sister, cut into their conversation.

"More like someone, appa", she said while snickering.

Joohyun abruptly turned her head and glared at the younger.

"Shut up, Bae Yerim! Appa, don't listen to this satan-"

"Whatever, you lying grandma!"

"Behave, both of you..." Mrs. Bae reprimanded them gently while wearing an amused smile.

Mr. Bae also chuckled at the sight of their beautiful yet childish daughters bickering, but he took note of what the younger one said and further probed into the matter at hand.

"Someone? Perhaps, is it Seungwan?"

Like a bunny caught in the headlights, Joohyun looked back at her father with wide eyes.

"What?! N-No, o-of course not, appa!"

The young CEO was visibly distressed at their father's guess while her evil younger sister took this opportunity to more.

"Seungwan-unnie's been missing recently and a certain prideful grandma just couldn't admit that she's missing her number one admire- ouch!"

Joohyun gave Yerim a hard pinch on her ear, all the while sporting a flushed face either due to annoyance or embarrassment.

"Don't believe her appa. I'm just having issues with sleeping lately. It's no big deal.", Joohyun claimed before reaching for her glass of water and drinking all of its contents.

Mr. Bae raised his eyebrow at her peculiar behavior before shrugging his shoulders and dropping off the first bomb of the night.

"That's a relief then. Thankfully, I already took care of that problem weeks ago."

His vague statement made the three women stare back at him in unison.

"What do you mean by that, dear?", Mrs. Bae inquired.

"I just talked to Seungwan the last time she visited the company and told her to leave our Joohyun alone once and for all."

"Appa! How could you do that to Seungwan-unnie?!", Yerim asked him in disbelief, feeling bad for one of her favorite unnies.

"Dear, maybe you were too harsh? Seungwan is such a darling though, perhaps telling her off wasn't really necessary?", Mrs. Bae carefully argued.

Mr. Bae shook his head and replied, "But I was just looking out for our daughter, yeobo. Plus, isn't this what you've always wanted Hyun-ah?", he said as he directed his gaze at the young CEO.

The obviously stunned Joohyun just stared back at her father, not knowing what to say in response.

At her silence, Mr. Bae continued.

“Besides, I figured that she’s