Seo-yeon looked at him carefully.
"You don't trust him," she said.
Mr. Han didn't react immediately.
Which was answer enough.
"Trust isn't part of my profession," he replied calmly.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
This wasn't personal.
It was procedural.
But something still didn't add up.
"You came yourself," she said.
"Why?"
Silence.
A small pause.
The kind that revealed truth by existing.
Most debt collectors didn't personally watch families.
Most sent calls.
Letters.
Threats from a distance.
But he was here.
Watching.
Observing.
Following.
Which meant—
Her father wasn't just another debtor.
He was something else.
Mr. Han closed his notebook slowly.
"Your father isn't the only one who owes."
Her chest tightened.
Not just her father.
A network.
A chain.
A system.
"People who borrow from us often disappear," he continued.
His tone remained neutral.
But the meaning beneath it was sharp.
Final.
"They run."
"They hide."
"They waste time."
His eyes returned to her.
"But your father didn't."
Her breath caught.
He stayed.
Even when pressure mounted.
Even when fear cornered him.
Even when fate offered him escape through death.
He stayed.
Because of her.
Because of her mother.
Because he believed survival meant facing consequences.
Mr. Han's voice lowered slightly.
"That makes him unusual."
Unusual.
Not safe.
Not forgiven.
Just… different.
And different meant watched.