Chapter 2.3

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that the Chairman of K.U. Group brought his nephew into the family registry for the sake of succession? That’s why Director Ki has two sets of parents—his official parents from the main house and his biological parents from the second house. So, doesn’t that mean he has two sets for in-law, right? Who in their right mind would want to marry into that family? It’s the absolute worst.”  

Not just the worst, but the “worst of the worst.

Jung Cho-ah emphasized.  

“Even the new concierge team member at our hotel knows that the two mothers-in-law in that family are sworn enemies. How bad must it have been for L Group to wave the white flag and call off the engagement? The previous fiancée must’ve run away, unable to endure the pressure from those two.”  

When Director Ki Seung-jo’s engagement was called off, such rumors had briefly circulated before fading away. No one knew the full story, but it was an open secret in the business world that the relationship between K.U. Group’s first and second daughters-in-law was far from amicable.  

“If I were the Chairman’s wife, I’d hate it too. Why wouldn’t she? Her child’s inheritance is being taken away by someone else’s kid. Who’d be okay with that? It’s absurd to tell them to take a few billion won and leave when they could take over the entire K.U. Group.”

The idea of inheritance being solely tied to one’s children seemed unreasonable. Inheritance disputes in chaebol families always sounded tedious to Su-eon. She found them dull no matter how many times she heard about them. 

A trillion won—was that even an amount a human being could possess? 

Living under a sky where even a billion won felt impossibly far away, this all seemed like a problem from another world.

“Sis, are you listening to me?”  

“Yes.”  

“Liar, you’re just letting it go in one ear and out the other, aren’t you?”  

“Yes.”  

Jung Cho-ah, her eyes blazing, clenched her fists tightly and declared, 

“I’m not getting married. I’ll just date and live my life. I refuse to deal with all that nonsense about companies and children. I’ll live coolly, on my own, while having deep, passionate, and fiery love affairs.”  

Her face, as she spoke of passionate love, was filled with cynicism.  

[Sis, I’ll never love again. Not ever.]  

Su-eon recalled the time right after Jung Cho-ah had returned from the United States when she collapsed in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Back then, Jung Cho-ah had a lover. Their relationship had been so serious that Assemblywoman Yeo had flown all the way to the U.S. to personally break them apart. That had been Jung Cho-ah’s first love.  

Three years had passed, but Su-eon knew that Jung Cho-ah still hadn’t forgotten that person. She also knew that this was why Cho-ah kept sabotaging her blind dates. The more Cho-ah resisted, the more ruthlessly Assemblywoman Yeo forced her into those matchmaking meetings.  

“I’d rather die than be dragged around the matchmaking market like a dog, graded like a slab of meat, and end up in an arranged marriage.”  

Crushing her beer can, Jung Cho-ah shouted like a drunkard. After mumbling a few more complaints to herself, she suddenly slumped forward. That was it. After just one and a half cans of beer, she was out cold.  

With Jung Cho-ah passed out in front of her, Su-eon calmly finished the rest of her beer. She discarded the jerky that was too tough to chew, gathered the cans, and placed them in the recycling basket. As soon as she returned to the table, where Cho-ah lay face down, a soft snore escaped from the sleeping woman.  

Letting out a weary sigh, Su-eon called the driver.  

* * *  

“How did she get this drunk?”  

As the chauffeur carried Jung Cho-ah inside on his back, Chief Secretary Park’s thorny gaze turned toward Su-eon.

“What about the blind date? Did she drink with Director Ki Seung-jo?”  

“She drank alone.”  

“What did Cho-ah say? Did she think it went well? When are they meeting again?”  

“I didn’t hear any details.”  

Su-eon reported calmly. It was best to keep her words to a minimum in front of Chief Secretary Park. Anything she said would be exaggerated and relayed to Assemblywoman Yeo, and Su-eon would bear all the consequences. It had taken several unpleasant experiences for her to learn this.

“What kind of secretary knows nothing? How could you let her drink until she got this drunk without checking anything?”

“I apologize.”  

A man, his hair streaked with gray, narrowed his eyes. The quieter Su-eon became, the more talkative he grew.  

“Don’t you know the Assemblywoman hates things like this? What if someone saw?”  

“We drank at my house.”  

“So, you think that’s fine? Just because you’re placed in the Planning Office, do you think you’re someone important? How dare you look me in the eye and talk back like that?”  

With his deeply furrowed brow, he glared at Su-eon as if she were being insolent. While she answered the necessary questions, Su-eon deemed his personal attacks unworthy of a response and simply lowered her gaze.  

Chief Secretary Park, who had served Assemblywoman Yeo for over 30 years since she inherited her father’s constituency to become a member of the National Assembly, held authority second only to the Assemblywoman herself. Su-eon had no choice but to tolerate him.  

People steeped in strict hierarchical relationships even considered direct eye contact to be an act of defiance.  

“Who’s making such a racket in the middle of the night?”  

Assemblywoman Yeo, dressed in a nightgown, entered Jung Cho-ah’s room and quietly observed the two of them.  

“Chief Jung got very drunk, Assemblywoman. It seems Secretary Ji couldn’t manage her properly.”  

“Who’s going to stop someone from drinking when they’re the one getting drunk?”

“But—”  

“She’s doing it on purpose, isn’t she? Acting out because I sent her to a blind date.”

Assemblywoman Yeo looked at the drunkenly sprawled Jung Cho-ah with an expression of disdain.  

“How is someone who can’t even take care of herself supposed to manage a hotel?”  

Clicking her tongue in disapproval, she waved her hand dismissively.  

“Leave.”  

At her single gesture, the staff who had been laying Jung Cho-ah down withdrew their hands and stepped back. Su-eon also exited the room, leaving behind Chief Secretary Park, who continued to fume to himself.  

As Su-eon descended the stairs, the dining hall’s cook handed her a tray with a cup of honey water.  

“Su-eon, take this upstairs.”  

“……”  

Unable to refuse, Su-eon quietly climbed the stairs again. As she ascended, Chief Secretary Park passed her on his way down, throwing her a mocking glance as he walked by.  

Su-eon silently made her way to Jung Cho-ah’s room.  

Assemblywoman Yeo sat at the head of the bed, staring at Jung Cho-ah’s sleeping face with a contemplative expression. Su-eon placed the tray on the table and turned to leave quietly.  

The Assemblywoman’s voice stopped her in her tracks.  

“Did you get her to the hotel?”

Assemblywoman Yeo was a frightening person. Having grown up watching the Assemblywoman, Su-eon could not recall a single time the woman had ever smiled in her presence. Su-eon bowed her head silently.  

“Yes.”  

There were no further words. Su-eon waited long enough before bowing once more to Assemblywoman Yeo, who now seemed to have forgotten her presence, and then quietly left the room.  

Even though Assemblywoman Yeo had pretended to side with her in front of Chief Secretary Park, Su-eon knew the truth. The Assemblywoman disliked her.  

More precisely, she disliked the closeness between Su-eon and Jung Cho-ah. Su-eon vividly remembered the look of disgust on the Assemblywoman’s face every time her daughter called Su-eon “Sister.” So, when the Assemblywoman summoned Su-eon shortly before her college graduation and instructed her to join the World Hotel, Su-eon was taken aback.  

[I won’t ask you to repay my kindness like the Chairman did, but considering your father, you should know how to conduct yourself.]  

Su-eon gave up her final acceptance to K.U. Electronics and began working at the World Hotel. It wasn’t until much later that she realized why the Assemblywoman had kept her there despite her dislike. It was to entrust Su-eon with managing Jung Cho-ah, who had no interest in hotel management and lived recklessly.  

Now, three years after the incident that completely severed the mother-daughter relationship, Assemblywoman Yeo found Su-eon useful. Unlike in their childhood, there was no longer any chance of being mistaken as sisters, and now that they were adults, the gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth. Knowing this, the Assemblywoman had changed her attitude.  

Su-eon left through the front door but avoided heading directly toward the main gate. Instead, she followed the garden path that curved widely along the flower beds. Passing by the emerald-green, conical conifer trees neatly arranged like a fence along the walkway, Su-eon eventually reached the end of the landscaped area, where a small trail emerged.