CHAPTER 42

Time passed quickly.

Gwihyeon’s grandfather was discharged from the hospital and returned to the business field, while Ijun was promoted to executive director during the autumn regular personnel reshuffle.

When Siyeon read an article about Ijun’s promotion in the newspaper, she sensed that his parents and grandfather were preparing themselves to let go of Gwihyeon.

Siyeon had invested all her money she had earned into Yeongjin over time.

Her novel had started to sell like crazy in China, and even without selling Yeongjin’s stocks, she could solve a significant portion of Yeongjin’s financial difficulties. Although her parents felt sorry for her, Siyeon felt relieved.

Around the same time her investment started paying off, Yoonsoo quit his job at his company. He had started to help her father with their business, and Yeongjin was rapidly stabilizing. Since his father had plans to pass the company down to Yoonsoo, he had achieved about half of his dream.

Siyeon had thought about returning the stocks to Suwon grandfather, but he refused. He asked her if she wanted to return the stocks because she wanted to cut ties with him, and he told her that if she really wanted to give them back, she should do it when Gwihyeon wakes up. It was, in essence, a refusal.

She hadn’t heard any news about the Ichon-dong family. She only happened to hear from Suwon Grandfather about Eunhye still working in Ijun’s office.

It was a sunny afternoon, and Siyeon had dozed off on her usual spot. When she woke up, she found Yoonsoo standing in front of her, looking down at her.

He used to wear the work clothes of Yeongjin’s former manager secretly, but now he was wearing work clothes with his name, “Manager Park Yoonsoo,” stitched on them proudly.

“You still sleep outside like an orphan.”

“I have parents.”

“You’ll turn 27 the day after tomorrow.”

“Could you move a little to the side? I don’t want to be in the shade.”

As Siyeon waved her hands in the air, Yoonsoo didn’t make room for her but instead sat down beside her.

“Manager Park, you seem to have a lot of free time during work hours.”

“I went on an external business trip and came back with the CEO.”

“You’re a great child. Take the opportunity to ask my father to adopt you instead of spying on him. Your house has a lot of sons. One less won’t hurt.”

“What about a son-in-law?”

“That’s not possible.”

“The neighbors already know I’ll be the owner of this house.”

In response to his words, Siyeon chuckled as if finding it amusing.

“You don’t see me as a man, do you?”

“…”

She stopped laughing at his words.

“I can arrange for you to take a nap here every day. Think about it.”

Siyeon didn’t move or react until Yoonsoo got up and disappeared outside the gate.

* * *

It was a few days before her 27th birthday in the winter.

Having obtained her driver’s license in the summer, Siyeon drove herself to Suwon. The grandfather had called her a few days ago, saying that at his age, he had lived long enough, and it was okay for him to die now.

He occasionally called and spoke with a frail voice. Each time he did, Siyeon knew he was expressing his desire to see her. She knew he said that whenever he felt emotionally overwhelmed. So whenever he made such a comment, she visited the Suwon house if there were no urgent matters at work.

He was always at the Suwon house except for two days when He went to the company. It was convenient for Siyeon not to have to visit the company to see the grandfather. Going to the company meant encountering Ijun and Eunhye.

“Siyeon is here.”

“Hello, ma’am.”

As she transferred the soybean paste into a brassware bowl, she looked up and smiled warmly when she saw Siyeon entering the house.

“Your grandfather has been pacing around the yard for a while, thinking you’d come. I’m always thankful, and… I’m sorry.”

“No need to mention it. I’ll go in.”

Siyeon went to the annex and knocked on the door after ascending the veranda steps.

“Grandfather, it’s Siyeon.”

“Come in.”

Siyeon entered the room. The floor was warm. A thick cushion was already placed in front of a small low table. It seemed they had prepared for her visit in advance.

“Weren’t you cold on the way here?”

“No, I stayed in the car, so it wasn’t cold at all.”

“Is your work going well?”

“Yes, so far.”

“Ah. Is it still a secret what you do for a living?”

“I’m sorry.”

She deflected the conversation with a smiling expression. She felt a bit hesitant to tell the grandfather that she was writing novels, even though she wasn’t the real descendant of Kim Dong-han. It might be seen as somewhat due to a sense of inferiority.

“Alright, let’s leave that topic. You’re turning twenty-seven soon, right?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Last weekend, Professor Kim and his wife came to visit.”

“…Ah…yes.”

Siyeon paused. Her smile naturally faded from her face.

“They came here and brought up the topic of marriage with me since they don’t know when Gwihyeon will wake up. They suggested that it is a good idea that we should encourage Ijun to get married first. It seems they have a favorable impression of him.”

“… Ah.”

It had been almost a year since Gwihyeon’s accident. No one mentioned hope anymore.

“I told them that I don’t have any intention of arranging a marriage for Ijun, but considering how Gwihyeon is lying there, I’m starting to think that maybe Ijun should settle down quickly and have descendants to carry on the family line.”

Top of Form

The Inchon-dong parents, who had been silent for a year, started to take action, perhaps concluding that there was no longer any hope for Gwihyeon.

“So, what I’m saying is, what do you think about it?”

“…I can’t casually speak about something so important, especially regarding someone else. It would be more appropriate to ask Ijun oppa’s opinion first.”

“Siyeon, I’m asking for your opinion right now.”

“Grandfather…”

“I want you to seriously consider being Ijun’s partner.”

“Grandfather…”

Siyeon believed she had heard wrong. However, his gaze was resolute. He meant it.

“…Well, you see…”

She stammered, caught off guard, but he continued for her.

“If Gwihyeon were here, I would have paired him with Eunhye, and you would’ve ended up with Ijun.”

“….”

He spoke before she could finish her sentence.

“Gwihyeon would undoubtedly choose Eunhye instead of you if he hadn’t been in the accident. He is my grandson, but why do I not know him? I realize now that I cannot have Eunhye be paired with Ijun, considering Gwihyeon’s thoughts. If Gwihyeon never awakens, I don’t need the ancestors or the promises from the past. I will just… wait for the day to die.”

Tears welled up in his wrinkled eyes. How much pain and anguish he must have endured to utter these words. Feeling his pain, Siyeon couldn’t hold back her tears either.

“Grandfather…”

“Yes.”

Siyeon spoke with a choked voice.

“Let Ijun oppa marry the one he wants… please.”

“Siyeon, didn’t you tell me before that you liked Ijun?”

His voice held a tone of sorrow. Siyeon found herself surprised that she wanted to accept this sweet proposal, but she also felt a hint of self-contempt.

“But you didn’t inquire about Ijun oppa’s feelings.”

“I don’t need to ask that scoundrel for his opinion.”

“Grandfather, please ask for Ijun-oppa’s opinion as the person involved. And if he refuses, please don’t force him.”

“Very well. If that’s truly your wish, then so be it.”

He held Siyeon’s hand with one hand and wiped away the tears in the corners of his eyes with the other.

* * *

Siyeon had naturally assumed that Ijun would reject her, so she couldn’t understand why he wanted to meet her when he coldly called and suggested they get meet the next day.

The two of them met at a small cafe in her neighborhood. The sign said it was a coffee shop, not a café, and the place was located away from the central district, so it felt somewhat removed from modern trends and civilization.

“Can I get an espresso doppio, please?”

When the café owner approached with the menu to take their order, Ijun didn’t even glance at her. He focused solely on Siyeon, moving his lips.

The owner, holding a menu, came to take their drink orders. When she came, Ijun didn’t even glance at her but stared directly into Siyeon’s eyes, moving his lips.

“We don’t have that on the menu.”

“Then, please give us anything.”

“Anything? How about just coffee?”

“Two cups of coffee, please.”

Siyeon ordered for the both of them after checking the menu. As the owner moved away, she met Ijun’s gaze once again.

“Yesterday, I heard a very strange thing.”

He chuckled again as if the memory was still amusing. Even without hearing what strange thing he heard, Siyeon knew what it was about.

“You rejected me. You have every right to reject me. If Gwihyeon-hyung hadn’t been in that accident, you would have already been my sister-in-law. But no matter how much the adults want it, you shouldn’t have gone along with this crazy idea.”

“But I’ve already rejected it. So what’s the problem?”

“What’s… the problem?”

His gaze turned icy.

“Listen carefully, Choi Siyeon. Until last night, a perfectly healthy person suddenly ended up in the VIP ward this morning on his own feet. He handed over the chairman’s seat to my father and has been on a hunger strike since. If you still don’t understand what the problem is, then there must be something wrong with your brain.”

“…Grandfather’s on a hunger strike?”

Siyeon’s eyes widened. She couldn’t hide her surprise as she recalled the grandfather’s demeanor from yesterday, where he had agreed to ask for Ijun’s opinion.

“Yeah. I know you have a hobby of drawing, but I never expected you to paint such a big picture. No matter how greedy you are, how could you bring up the topic my marriage just like that? How bold of you to dare.”

He stared fiercely into her eyes, emphasizing his words, and his emotions were unmistakable – pure hostility towards her, nothing more.

He believed that Siyeon had manipulated his grandfather into bringing up the marriage topic. To think that he considered her to be such an inadequate person was quite telling.

He believed that Seoyeon had schemed with their grandfather to bring up the marriage proposal. To him, it meant he regarded her as a pitiful person.

“I was shocked when I heard about it too. I thought it was an absurd idea. I naturally… assumed you brother would reject it. That’s why I suggested to grandfather to ask for your opinion first. I never imagined he would go this far.”

“Grandfather probably thought that I would never outright reject his request. He probably calculated that I would never refuse him. He liked the idea of elegantly catching his prey without shedding a drop of blood, but he was wrong. I’m not Gwihyeon.”

The conversation paused briefly as the café owner brought two cups of coffee. Sensing her scrutiny, Siyeon understood she would not come to this cafe again.

“Although I occasionally inherited useful things like clothes or belongings my brother used when we were kids, but inheriting the woman who was almost married to him is just too much.”

He knew exactly where to prod to make Siyeon feel uncomfortable, and he was making full use of that knowledge.

“So, you just need to come to terms with the fact that you can’t marry the man you’ve always thought of as a younger brother, and take him as your husband for a lifetime.”

He picked up his coffee cup with a relaxed demeanor.

“…I understand what you mean.”

“I’m glad you do.”

“You’re basically telling me a woman who had always been with the older brother can’t end up marrying the younger brother instead.”

His gaze, which had been fixed on the coffee cup, slowly lifted.

“Exactly.”

It was a neatly delivered response.