CHAPTER 18

The next morning, when Siyeon woke up, her mother was nowhere to be seen, she seemed to have left early. The housekeeper lady informed Siyeon during breakfast that her mother had gone to her grandmother’s house in Hannam-dong. 

Unexpectedly, her father remained at home. This allowed Siyeon to experience having breakfast alone with her father for the first time in a while. While they continued their quiet meal, her father spoke up.

“After breakfast, let’s go to Suwon together. It’s been a long time since Dad saw Grandfather, and I want to pay him a visit.”

“Yeah, let’s do that, Dad.”

“And… don’t dwell on what happened yesterday. Your mom is very sensitive about the issue of you becoming independent, so please understand.”

“Okay, I will.”

She replied that way, but she knew that her mother’s distress wasn’t caused by her own decisions about living independently. It was the painful reality that her mother wanted to bring Eunhye home right away but couldn’t.

Last night, her mother had cried out of frustration, saying she had done her best to raise Siyeon with love, as if feeling unjust, but the target of her anger and anguish should have been not her but her grandmother in Hannam-dong. And she should not have forgotten the fact that the Hannam-dong mother still thought that Eunhye was her biological daughter and was raising her with utmost sincerity.

“Oh, by the way, you have some time until school starts. Is there anything you want to do in the meantime? You can travel or learn something new… After all the hard work you’ve put into your studies, it might be nice to take a break. What do you think, Siyeon?”

“I’ll think about it after I move.”

“I’ll deposit some money into your account, so if you come up with something you want to do, go ahead and try it. You’ve been studying hard all this time.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

Siyeon, with a faint smile on her lips, continued to pick up her food with chopsticks. But her actions came to a halt when her father continued speaking.

“I’ll make the deposit tomorrow. With that money, you should be able to live comfortably for about five years. Take your time and think about what you want to do with your life.”

“Why only five years?”

Siyeon asked casually as she brought food to her mouth.

“Huh?”

“What if I still can’t establish myself economically after five years? Does that mean you won’t help me financially anymore?”

“There’s no way that’ll happen.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll only take care of me until I turn twenty-five.”

Although she spoke with a seemingly neutral tone, her father’s face stiffened upon hearing her words.

“Dad would never do that.”

“…”

Watching her parents in Ichon-dong, she realized that there is no absolute good and absolute evil in the world.

They have undoubtedly done everything they could, from buying her an apartment to providing her with living expenses until she graduated from college

It’s a price to pay for depriving herself of the opportunity to meet her biological parents for another five years to ensure the safety of their own daughter.

Her parents probably knew that her parents in Hannam-dong were in good financial standing. Eunhye was fortunate to be raised in a good environment, and her grandmother was watching over her, so her parents could find some comfort in that. The only regret they had was that they couldn’t bring their biological daughter back home immediately 

“Eat your meal, Dad. It’s getting late.” 

“…Alright.”

Watching her parents grow distant made her heartache. The offer her father had made to accompany her to Suwon didn’t sound genuine either, as distant as their relationship had become. Her mouth felt dry.

* * *

Siyeon and her father arrived at Suwon around lunchtime.

“Our Siyeon is here!”

Gwihyeon’s grandfather came out into the yard, welcoming Siyeon with a hearty laugh. He approached her, clasping her hands in both of his, his eyes filled with affection for her.

“It’s been a while. Congratulations on passing the exam once again.”

“Thank you, Oppa.”

Gwihyeon was also on his grandfather’s side. After completing his military service, Gwihyeon was preparing for his return to school while learning about the family business. He was planning to join Baekya Food after graduating, and he would likely hold a fairly important position, possibly as the head of the planning department.

“Dad will be talking to Grandpa for now, so would you like to go and say hello to Grandma first in the main house?”

“Sure, I’ll do that.” 

Siyeon found her father’s sudden request a bit strange but nodded without showing any hesitation.

The guesthouse where her grandfather received visitors was quite a distance from the main house where Grandma stayed. It seemed like her father had something to discuss that he didn’t want her to hear.

“Then I’ll come with you…”

Gwihyeon tried to follow Siyeon but stopped when she firmly held his arm and lowered her head, watching her father walk away into the distance and speak softly.

“You should stay with Grandpa. I’ll go by myself.”

Gwihyeon made a reluctant expression but furrowed his brow in resignation when he saw her determined look.

“Mother seems to have been preparing a lot since morning because you were coming. You should go and make her happy.”

“It’s a cold day, and she’s been working hard since morning because of me and Dad.”

“She probably wants to make a good impression on her future daughter-in-law.”

Upon hearing his words, Siyeon frowned this time.

“For the next five years, it’s forbidden to use the words ‘daughter-in-law’ and ‘future daughter-in-law’ in front of me.”

“Why is it forbidden?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Just go now!”

Siyeon pushed Gwihyeon’s back as he seemed reluctant to move. Only after confirming that he reluctantly taking steps did she rush to the main house.

In the meantime, the three of them who had gone to the guesthouse sat down at a low table. Siyeon’s father showed a slight discomfort when Gwihyeon followed inside, but he didn’t ask him to move. It could imply that the conversation he was about to bring up had significant meaning. He didn’t want Gwihyeon to leave for that matter.

“All right, what’s the matter?”

Gwihyeon’s grandfather, Chairman Jeong, was perceptive. He noticed that Siyeon’s father had something to say in a place where there his daughter was not around.

Even knowing that he didn’t send Gwihyeon out. It might seem like a trivial matter, but it was far from trivial. It meant that Gwihyeon was being treated with importance as the heir to his household.

Siyeon’s father glanced briefly at Gwihyeon, who would become his son-in-law in the future, before turning to Chairman Jeong and speaking.

“The land in Gyeonggi Province that you gave was sold.”

“Oh, really? Does Siyeon know about it?”

Chairman Jeong responded casually as if it wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t ask about the price at which the land was sold but simply inquired if the transaction had been made with Siyeon’s consent.

“I consulted with her before selling it.”

“It was more like informing her, I presume. You probably made the decision without consulting anyone.”

Suwon grandfather was clearly displeased. He found it unpleasant that Siyeon’s parents had meddled with what he had given to Siyeon as a gift.

“I plan to keep the proceeds from the sale and return them to my daughter when she marries Gwihyeon.”

“Do you really need to go through all that trouble? Just bring it to me directly. I’ll take care of it and give it to her myself when the time comes.”

“Elder, if I wanted to have it, I would have. But I will never touch what belongs to my daughter.”

The father didn’t hide his frustration.

“Fine, while we’re at it, let me ask again. When is our Siyeon going to become a member of our family? Gwihyeon has finished his military service, and Siyeon is an adult now, isn’t she?”

It was a question that always came up in their conversations. He was always uncomfortable with it, but today he had no trouble responding.

“My mother is firm in her decision not to marry off her granddaughter before she turns twenty-five. Please understand this one thing, Elder.”

“I see, you’re quite the inflexible one.”

“My daughter is the last descendant of the Baekya Kim family. While you have Gwihyeon and Ijun, we have no more descendants with the Kim family name. Please consider my mother’s feelings about not wanting to send her granddaughter away too soon.”

“Hmm.”

Chairman Jeong cleared his throat. Just as Professor Kim had mentioned, Siyeon was the last descendant of the Baekya Kim family. If Siyeon were to have a child, that child would inherit the Jeong family name. Once this topic came up, he couldn’t be too demanding.

“It will be five more years before Siyeon turns twenty-five.”

At that moment, Gwihyeon, who had been silently listening to the conversation, suddenly spoke up with a meaningful tone.

 “That’s right, it comes down to that.”

 “Five years… So, that’s what this conversation was about in the end.”

A little while ago, Siyeon had asked him not to use the words ‘daughter-in-law’ in front of her for the next five years. A smile played on Gwihyeon’s lips as he spoke.

“Is there some kind of problem?”

“No, there isn’t.”

Gwihyeon smiled at Professor Kim’s puzzled expression.

“And one more thing, I have something to ask Elder.” 

“What else is there to ask?” 

“Well… I heard that among the partner companies of Baekya Food, there’s a company called ‘Yeongjin.'”

“Yeongjin?”

“Yes, Yeongjin Corporation. They mainly manufacture disposable packaging containers and supply them, and Baekya Food has a major contract with them.”

At that moment, Gwihyeon narrowed his eyes. Yeongjin Corporation was a company he had learned about because of Siyeon. Ijun had asked their grandfather for a favor to make a contract with Yeongjin for supply upon Siyeon’s request.

The name of the company that Siyeon had secretly wanted to help and the same company that Baekya had made a contract with were now coming out of her father’s mouth, so Gwihyeon couldn’t help but be intrigued.

“Yes, I know about it. They’ve been doing business with us for two years now, and their product defect rate is significantly low, and they consistently meet delivery deadlines. So, they maintain a good relationship with us.”

Gwihyeon calmly shared the information he had heard. Except for the secret that Siyeon had helped Yeongjin’s CEO and that’s how the contract with Baekya came about, there was nothing else to hide.

“Right, I’ve heard the same. But how did Professor Kim find out about Yeongjin?”

“My mother is close friends with the CEO and his wife. They live as neighbors. They were talking about various things, and the topic of Baekya Food came up, and they were happy to hear about it.”

“Oh, really? It’s unusual, but why?”

Chairman Jeong raised an eyebrow in surprise for a moment but soon wore an expression that indicated he didn’t consider it significant. 

“It seems that my mother is quite fond of the CEO and his wife of that household. She’s curious about whether they have any difficulties or challenges and has been asking various questions.”

“All CEOs are the same. They have other worries besides closing their businesses, don’t they? But it seems like Yeongjin is maintaining a good relationship with Baekya, seeing how things are going.” 

“…Yes.”

Professor Kim, who had a momentarily complex expression, forced a bright smile and changed the subject.

“By the way, my mother would like to invite Gwihyeon to her house for a meal.”

“Gwihyeon?”

“Yes. She heard that Gwihyeon has completed his military service and really wants to see him.”

Gwihyeon scrutinized Professor Kim with an intrigued look as his name came up in the conversation.