CHAPTER 8

Gwihyeon was surprisingly quick on his feet. He spoke to his grandfather right away and got his approval more easily than he expected.

After a few meetings with her Hannam-dong father, Choi Won-dae, and a representative from Baekya Food’s purchasing team, a contract was signed. Since the quantity agreed upon for supply was substantial, they decided to terminate the contract with the previous supplier as soon as the contract ended two months later.

Thus, they were able to avoid a chain of bankruptcies from the trading company’s bankruptcy 6 months later. Gwihyeon had relieved one of Siyeon’s biggest worries through this.

Furthermore, he even went as far as finding out the address of Hannam-dong’s parents’ house for Siyeon. All she could say to Gwihyeon was a heartfelt remark.

[Thank you, oppa.]

“No need to thank me. Just do me a favor sometime in the future.”

[I honestly didn’t think your grandfather would agree so easily.]

“Me neither.”

[Thank you so much.]

“Yeah. Go inside.”

Gwihyeon hung up the phone. Turning around, he looked at Ijun, who was doing sit-ups on the exercise equipment, and then sat down on a nearby chair.

“What are you going to do for grandfather in return for his help?”

“Once it’s resolved, then it’s done. I’ll figure out what to do on my own.”

Ijun, out of breath, sat up and picked up the towel he had placed nearby to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

“I’m not going to tell Siyeon that you helped.”

“She said not to tell anyone.”

“Don’t you feel wronged?”

“Not at all.”

Ijun responded calmly with an unaffected expression. Gwihyeon stared at him intently.

In truth, it was Ijun who had approached their grandfather about Siyeon’s request.

It was about assisting a small company out of the blue, with no context given, and their grandfather wouldn’t have just agreed blindly. But revealing Siyeon’s involvement was out of the question.

After contemplating, Gwihyeon had confided in Ijun about the situation. He believed that if anyone could somehow convince their grandfather, it was Ijun.

“Siyeon seems a bit different, doesn’t she?”

“Sometimes people do things they didn’t used to.”

“Try to control your words. Eventually, we’ll become family, and it’ll be hard to fix things later.”

“Does Kim Siyeon wants to be our house’s daughter-in-law?”

“Siyeon is the last descendant of Baekya with the Kim surname. There’s no way Professor Kim would allow her to marry someone else. Of course, you know very well that without this ancestral connection, it would be difficult for our families to merge even economically.”

Over the generations, the economic gap between the two families had grown wider. Except for the wealth of Baekya Foods and the ancestral property of the Jeong family, Gwihyeon’s grandfather was already a wealthy man from the beginning.

With numerous valuable lands and buildings in his possession, the fact that Siyeon was the daughter of a university professor from a long line of scholars was not even considered. Siyeon’s value lay solely in the fact that she was the only great-granddaughter of Baekya.

“Siyeon is a symbol of Baekya. She’s in a position to receive the utmost respect here.”

“Why did she ask me why I was attending a university in the United States?”

Listening to Gwihyeon’s words, Ijun crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. A trace of cynicism was forming on his lips.

“They all seemed like lunatics to me.”

“Ijun.”

“It’s like hanging on desperately as if it’s some divine decree, just like fanatic followers of a cult. I wanted to leave because I can’t stand to see this situation anymore…”

Ijun paused for a moment and then continued.

“I don’t want to polish the ancestral tablets. I don’t want to perform ancestral rites more than ten times a year. That’s what I mean…Because she doesn’t want to polish the ancestral tablets.”

“What on earth are you talking about right now?”

“I’m thinking about retaking the college entrance exams.”

“…What?”

“I’m not going to the United States.”

“…….”

Gwihyeon tightly closed his lips with a dumbfounded expression on his face. It was understandable. If Ijun had intended to attend a domestic university, he could have easily been accepted to a prestigious one this year. It was quite a surprise for him to hear him talk about retaking the exams now, after having applied to foreign universities.

However, this was also a condition that their grandfather had set for him. In exchange for agreeing to Ijun’s request not to ask questions, his grandfather had stipulated that he must pursue a major in business administration at a university in Korea.

Ijun opened his eyes wide, almost as if protesting for the unfairness, and looked at his grandfather. But his true feelings were different. He was actually grateful for his grandfather providing a reason to stay in Korea.

* * *

The next morning, after her academy class was over, Siyeon headed to Hannam-dong instead of going to a study cafe. On her way, she repeatedly checked the Hannam-dong address she had received on her phone.

She knew that her biological parents had lived in Hannam-dong until they faced financial difficulties, but she didn’t know the exact address. Siyeon had wanted to catch a glimpse of her healthy biological parents, even from a distance.

Taking a bus, then the subway, and walking a few minutes, she finally arrived at the address of her biological parents’ home.

It was a luxurious villa with a grand entrance situated in a slightly elevated area. Thinking about her biological mother who had lived in such a nice house but later had to live with her in a small studio apartment, Siyeon’s heart ached.

“Apartment 301…”

To shake off the sadness, Siyeon lifted her chin and stood near the entrance, raising her heels, trying to see better. Not getting a clear view up close, she decided to walk to the other end of the alley and looked up at the villa from there.

Even though she couldn’t find the exact apartment number, the thought that her biological parents might still be living around this area filled her heart with emotions, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Oh my, Siyeon? Is that you Siyeon?”

At that moment, a voice mixed with surprise came from beside her.

Turning her head, Siyeon saw her grandmother looking at her with wide eyes. She was holding a market basket as if she had been to a nearby store.

“Grandma…?”

Siyeon was just as surprised. She had never even dreamt of meeting her grandmother here.

“What brings you to our house?”

“Grandma… Do you live here?”

“Why are you like this? Didn’t you come after knowing our address? This villa is Apartment 302.”

“….”

Siyeon knew that her grandmother lived in Hannam-dong, but she had no idea that she lived right next door to Eunhye. Between Apartment 301 and 302, overwhelmed by her profound love for her real granddaughter, Siyeon was lost for words.

“What brings you here?”

“I was just passing by… I thought your house might be somewhere around here, Grandma.”

“Instead of going to your academy?”

“Classes are over for today.”

“Tsk. The kid next door is always busy with private lessons and academy classes. Even though you’re in the same grade, you seem so carefree.”

She clicked her tongue as if disapproving of Siyeon’s attitude.

“It looks like you’re close with the kid next door.”

“Yeah. The child from that house is really well-mannered and pretty. The parents must be raising her really well.”

“It would be great if such a child were your granddaughter.”

“What are you talking about?”

She turned her head to the side with an annoyed expression. It was quite apparent that she was caught off guard.

“Were you on your way home?”

“Yeah. What about you?”

She didn’t suggest that Siyeon should leave even with empty words, and she was treating Siyeon as if she were an outsider.

“Can I stay at Grandma’s place for a little while?”

“….”

At that moment, a flicker of awkwardness passed over her face. She looked genuinely unsure about the situation. And Siyeon hadn’t taken her eyes off her the whole time, observing her every move.

There were so many hints that could be suspicious if observed closely. The grandmother, who had diligently visited the ancestral shrine every day until Siyeon was born, suddenly lost interest in her granddaughter after she was born. The fact that she was more concerned about the neighbor’s child’s studies but couldn’t care less about her own granddaughter was hard to believe.

“It seems you don’t want me to come in.”

Siyeon said with a wry smile. The coldness in her tone surprised her grandmother, who widened her eyes slightly.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to come in. I’m busy because I have an important appointment. So, you should go for today, and come to visit next time.”

“But you seem busy next time too.”

“Siyeon.”

“I’ll leave now. Please go inside.”

“…You!”

Siyeon turned around without hesitation. As she walked a few steps, she heard the sound of a heavy door opening and closing from behind her.

Slowing her steps, Siyeon stopped and looked back. Her grandmother had already disappeared from view. Siyeon retraced her steps to the entrance where her grandmother had disappeared.

After committing such a frightening act, she secretly lived in the same villa as her own granddaughter, and moreover, right next door. Most likely, she had wanted to keep an eye on Eunhye, her real blood-related granddaughter, close by. That’s probably why, as soon as Eunhye’s family situation became difficult, she knew about it and sent her to their house in Ichon-dong.

It was during that moment, that anger and resentment had already begun to manifest within Siyeon, deep in her heart.

“Kim Siyeon. What are you doing here?”

She was standing in front of the villa entrance in silence when a familiar male voice came from behind. Siyeon turned around, surprised.

“Ijun oppa?”

Seeing Ijun, Siyeon was so startled that she almost stumbled and fell to the ground. Wearing a light, long padded jacket over a thin sweater, he looked as if he had just gone for a stroll in the neighborhood.

“What are you doing here, oppa?”

“Just passing by. From this side to the other.”

He put both hands into the pockets of his jacket and pointed with his chin, indicating from one end of the alley to the other. Of course, it was probably a lie. Why would Ijun, who lived in Suwon, be passing through a small alley in Hannam-dong, Seoul, for no apparent reason?

“Did… Gwihyeon oppa tell you?”

“Why would he tell me anything?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Looking at Ijun with a face that pretended to know nothing, Siyeon shook her head.

“More importantly, the person who just went inside, isn’t she your grandmother?”

“Yeah.”

“Your grandmother lives in this villa?”

Ijun furrowed his brow slightly and looked up at the villa with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you suddenly in Hannam-dong, of all places?”

To divert Ijun’s attention, Siyeon changed the subject.

“I came to check out academies because I’m considering of retaking the college entrance exams.”

In Hannam-dong? Wait, wait a moment, retaking the exam?

“Are you going to college, oppa?”

Siyeon’s eyes narrowed.

“I have to, it’s hard to make a living in South Korea with just a high school diploma.”

“No, what I meant was, aren’t you going to the United States?”

“Do you want me to go?”

“……”

Siyeon couldn’t say anything in response.

To be honest, when she heard him saying he wasn’t going to the United States anymore, she felt a sense of relief. She was glad, but at the same time, she couldn’t quite understand the reason behind her feelings, leaving her a bit confused.

“Hey, you two, stop blocking the entrance and move aside.”

At that moment, a somewhat annoyed female voice came from nearby. Siyeon and Ijun both turned their heads in the same direction.

“Ah…”

The color drained from Siyeon’s face.

“Who do you think you’re talking to so informally?”

Ijun raised his eyebrow.

“…I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were her older brother.”

Eunhye, looking at Ijun with her eyes slightly widened, blushed and smiled.