**Kael's POV - 9:00 AM**
Seoul Metropolitan Police Headquarters was exactly as cold and institutional as I'd imagined.
Gray walls. Fluorescent lights. The smell of old coffee and anxiety.
Attorney Kim walked beside me.
"Remember," Attorney Kim said for the hundredth time. "Short answers. Don't volunteer anything. If you don't remember, say so."
We entered the interrogation room.
Detective Park sat across the table. Cold. Professional. A stack of files in front of her.
"Mr. Kim. Thank you for coming in voluntarily."
"Let's get this over with," Attorney Kim said.
She opened the first file.
The interrogation lasted two hours.
Detective Park asked about the rooftop. The cafeteria. The fight.
I told the truth—Min-ho hit me first. We fought. He slipped. I tried to catch him.
She asked about Father's payments. I said I didn't know about them until Zenith's investigation.
Attorney Kim kept me on script. Short answers. Don't elaborate.
Finally, she leaned back.
"We have insufficient evidence to charge you, Mr. Kim. However, your father is another matter. We'll be calling him in for questioning next week."
Relief and dread hit simultaneously.
I was safe.
Father wasn't.
---
**Sunshine's POV - 11:00 AM**
The interrogation room was smaller than I'd expected.
Just a table. Two chairs. A recording device.
Detective Park sat across from me. Same cold expression she'd probably given Kael two hours ago.
"Ms. Reyes, thank you for coming in."
I nodded.
"You work as Kael Kim's personal assistant. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"How long have you been in this position?"
"Six months."
"And in that time, have you had access to confidential documents, private meetings, and personal conversations involving Kael Kim and his father?"
"I organize his schedule and handle administrative tasks. I don't sit in on private family conversations."
"But you must have seen documents. Emails. Financial records."
"I see whatever Mr. Kim asks me to handle. I don't read things that aren't my business."
"Did Kael Kim ever discuss his father's actions regarding the Min-ho case?"
I met her eyes.
"Mr. Kim and I discuss his work schedule. His meetings. His tour arrangements. We don't discuss his father's business dealings."
"According to therapy records, Kael Kim discussed you extensively with Dr. Yoon. He expressed guilt about involving you in, quote, 'the mess my family created.' What mess was he referring to?"
"You'd have to ask him."
"I'm asking you."
"And I don't know. I'm his assistant, Detective. Not his therapist. Not his confidant. I organize his calendar and make sure he gets to appointments on time. That's it."
She leaned forward.
"Ms. Reyes, lying to protect someone in a criminal investigation is obstruction of justice. Do you understand that?"
"I understand perfectly. Which is why I'm telling you the truth—I don't know anything about payments or cover-ups or any alleged crimes. I wasn't there nine years ago. I've only worked for Mr. Kim for six months. And in that time, my job has been administrative. Nothing more."
She studied me for a long moment.
"You care about him."
"Excuse me?"
"Kael Kim. You care about him. I can see it."
I kept my face neutral. "He's my employer. I care about doing my job well."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
She closed the file.
"Fine. You're free to go. But Ms. Reyes—" She stood. "If we find evidence that you withheld information or lied to protect him, we'll be back. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly."
I walked out.
Legs shaking.
Heart pounding.
Hoping I'd just made the right choice.
---
**Kael's POV - 1:30 PM**
I stood in the police station lobby.
Attorney Kim was on the phone with Director Han, updating her.
Hana had texted three times asking for updates.
I'd ignored all of them.
Because the only person I wanted to hear from was—
The elevator doors opened.
Sunshine walked out.
Our eyes met across the lobby.
She looked exhausted. Pale. Like she'd just been through hell.
I started toward her.
Attorney Kim grabbed my arm. "Don't. Not here. Not now."
"I just want to—"
"Kael. Not here."
She forced a polite smile and gave a slight bow. Attorney Kim did the same.
She walked past us and out the exit.
---
**Sunshine's POV - 1:45 PM**
I went home first.
Changed. Washed my face. Tried to pull myself together.
Then I went to KDX.
I had work to do. Reports to file. Kael's schedule to update.
Professional. That's what I needed to be.
Just professional.
I walked into the KDX building lobby.
Headed for the elevators.
"Sunshine!"
I turned.
Kael was there. Coming from the parking garage entrance. Still in the same clothes from the police station.
He looked exhausted. Wrecked.
"Can we please talk?" he asked. "Just for a minute. I need to—"
"Kael!"
Hana appeared from nowhere.
Designer dress. Perfect hair. Bright smile.
She threw her arms around him.
"Thank God you're okay! I've been so worried!"
She hugged him tight. Her hands in his hair. Her face against his shoulder.
Kael froze. Surprised.
Over Hana's shoulder, his eyes met mine.
I felt my face go pale.
The two receptionists on duty watched in surprise.
One whispered to the other, and they both looked at me.
Pitying.
Amused.
One made a gesture—a little shrug that said *what did you expect?*
I turned.
Walked to the elevator.
Pressed the button.
"Sunshine, wait—" Kael's voice behind me.
But Hana was still holding him. Still talking.
"I came as soon as I heard! This must have been so stressful. Are you okay? Have you eaten? You look exhausted—"
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped in.
Pressed the button for my floor.
The doors started to close.
Kael pulled away from Hana. Started toward me.
"Sunshine—"
The doors closed.
---
**Kael's POV**
"Hana, what are you doing here?"
"Supporting you!" She touched my face. Worried. Mothering. "You look terrible. When's the last time you ate?"
"I'm fine—"
"You're not fine." She started fixing my hair. Adjusting my collar. "Come on. Let me take you upstairs. Get you some food. You need to rest."
"I need to talk to Sunshine—"
"She chose to walk away, Kael. Let her. Let her process everything." Hana linked her arm through mine. "Right now, you need to take care of yourself. Come on."
She guided me toward the elevators.
Kael's POV - 2:30 PM
Hana dragged me to my office.
Made me sit down.
Ordered food from the café downstairs.
"Eat," she said. "You'll feel better."
I ran a hand through my hair, restless."I can't just sit here. I need to fix what just happened."
Her expression flickered—just for a second, but she recovered quickly.
"Later. After you've eaten. After you've rested." She sat across from me. "Kael, I know you care about her. But right now, you need to focus on yourself. You just survived a criminal investigation. You're exhausted. You're stressed. Talk to her when you're in a better headspace."
She was right.
I knew she was right.
But it didn't make it hurt less.
I ate mechanically. Tasted nothing.
"Better?" Hana asked.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Good." She stood. Started organizing papers on my desk. Making herself useful. "Now. We need to talk about next steps. The police are calling your father in for questioning. That's going to be—"
"I know. It's going to be bad."
"Very bad. Which means we need to be prepared. Director Han is already strategizing. Attorney Kim is prepping your father. But Kael—" She looked at me seriously. "You need to be visible. Public. Show strength. Show that this hasn't broken you."
"I'm not doing media appearances right now"
"Not media. Events. Low-key. Strategic. Places where you can be seen being normal. Being strong." She paused. "With people who support you."
"People like you."
"People like me," she confirmed. "I know it's not what you want to hear. But optics matter. And right now, the optics of you looking devastated and alone? Not good."
My phone rang.
Director Han.
"Kael, where are you?"
"My office. With Hana."
"Good. Stay there. We're having an emergency meeting in twenty minutes. Your father just got his summons. He's being questioned Monday morning."
She hung up.
I looked at Hana.
"Monday," I said.
"Then we have the weekend to prepare him." She touched my shoulder. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this."
*We.*
Like she was part of it.
Like she belonged here.
And maybe she did.
Because Sunshine had walked away.
And Hana had stayed.
---
**Sunshine's POV - 3:00 PM**
I couldn't stay.
Couldn't sit at my desk pretending to work while knowing Kael was three floors up with Hana.
I packed my bag.
"Leaving early?" Min-ji asked.
"Not feeling well."
"Understandable. After today."
I managed a smile. "Thanks."
I took the elevator down.
Walked through the lobby quickly.
Didn't look at the spot where Hana had hugged him.
Didn't think about anything except getting out.
Just getting home.
---
**Kael's POV - 5:00 PM**
The emergency meeting was brutal.
Father's summons meant everything was about to get worse.
They'd question him about the payments. The cover-up. Everything.
"We need to be strategic," Director Han said. "If your father goes down, the company goes down. Which means Kael goes down."
"So what do we do?" I asked.
"We prepare. We strategize. We make sure your father's testimony is airtight." She looked at Hana. "And we use every connection we have to minimize damage."
"My uncle can help," Hana said. "He knows people. He can apply pressure in the right places."
"Do it," my father said.
After the meeting, I went back to my office.
Pulled out my phone.
Called Sunshine.
Straight to voicemail.
"Sunshine, it's me. About earlier—about Hana—that wasn't what it looked like. I didn't know she was coming. I was trying to talk to you and she just—" I stopped.
"Please call me back. Please."
I hung up.
Stared at my phone.
No response.
Hana appeared in my doorway.
"Ready to go home?"
"I'm not going home with you—"
"I didn't mean together. I meant—are you okay to drive? You look exhausted. I can call you a car"
"I'm fine."
"Kael." She came in, sitting on the edge of my desk. "I know today was hard, but you've got this."
"I know." I exhaled. "You should go. I'm heading out soon."
She studied me for a moment.
"Okay." She turned and left.
---
**Sunshine's POV - 7:00 PM**
I sat in my apartment.
Phone off.
Door locked.
Curtains closed.
Min-ah had texted seventeen times.
My mother had called.
I ignored all of it.
Just sat there.
In the dark.
Replaying the hug.
The way Hana's arms wrapped around him.
And I realized something.
I couldn't do this anymore.
Couldn't watch him choose her every single day.
Couldn't be the girl on the sidelines hoping he'd notice.
Couldn't keep being nothing.
I pulled out my laptop.
Opened my email.
Started typing.
*Subject: Resignation - Effective Immediately*
**END OF CHAPTER 22**