27.2

“I bet you were surprised when Chaeyoon suddenly announced she was getting married.”

After dinner, as they were enjoying some fruit in the living room, Seonho cautiously started the conversation.

He was careful not to say anything until the marriage was finalized, and once it was confirmed, things moved quickly, making it quite sudden for Chaeyoon’s family.

“Yeah, we thought Chaeyoon would marry late.”

“Thank you for not opposing it.”

“Honestly, I am worried, but she has always managed her own path well, and I trust she will handle her marriage the same way.”

Ah-young’s words made Chaeyoon’s dad nod.

“You seem to have a lot of faith in Chaeyoon.”

“If parents don’t trust their own child, then what? Besides, Chaeyoon has always handled things well on her own.”

In Chaeyoon’s dad’s eyes, there was deep affection and trust for his daughter.

“I might be old-fashioned, but I was worried about Chaeyoon being all alone in that far-off land. Now that she’s getting married and will be with her husband, I feel more at ease.”

The warm gaze directed at Chaeyoon gently fell on Seonho as well.

“Dad, it’s not Seonho who will be looking after me, I’ll be looking after him.”

“Where did you get that idea? Spouses are supposed to support each other, like eternal friends.”

Chaeyoon’s dad looked at his wife and smiled broadly.

“Um, no, dear. Not friends, but lovers. I prefer the term lovers.”

Ah-young said, putting her arm around her husband.

“Cough! I’m sorry.”

Seonho choked on his fruit, caught off-guard by the affectionate display.

“Please, Mom, spare your future son-in-law the lovey-dovey stuff. He’s embarrassed. You startled him.”

“Better get used to it from the start. Get used to it, son-in-law.”

“Ah, yes. It’s good to see.”

Seonho smiled.

“My, I didn’t know you had such a pretty smile. Did my Chaeyoon just fall for your looks?”

“Ah, you caught me!”

Everyone burst into laughter at Ah-young and Chaeyoon’s words. As they continued their lively conversation, Seonho lost track of time.

His mother had said it once: some women marry because they want the woman who will be their mother-in-law as family. In essence, he was marrying Chaeyoon because he wanted her and her family.

After meeting Chaeyoon’s family, Seonho now had a vague understanding of this meaning. If he had the opportunity to get to know them first, he might not have even tried to forcefully push Chaeyoon away when he was attracted to her.

“You know, Chaeyoon.”

Before leaving her house, Seonho spoke to Chaeyoon.

“Yeah?”

“I hope we can be just like your parents someday.”

“Me too.”

Chaeyoon smiled, and the world seemed brighter in the darkness of the night.

***

Yoonjeong, who had gained weight, was getting her hair done at the salon with a sullen expression.

“Where’s your husband?”

Yoonjeong’s mother, Mrs. Noh, asked.

“He went straight to the hotel.”

There was irritation in Yoonjeong’s voice.

“He’s not coming with you?”

Mrs Noh gave her a disapproving look.

“He says he’s busy with work.”

Yoonjeong’s voice was full of sarcasm.

“He’s working hard.”

“Of course, he has to work hard. His younger sibling is closely chasing after him. Or, has he already surpassed him?”

“It’s okay. Your husband can catch up. Honestly, I don’t even know if your brother-in-law wants to be the successor. He’s going abroad to study during his prime, and moreover, marrying a commoner. It’s for the best. You mind your own business. You just focus on getting pregnant. We’ll start the treatments again after the formal meeting.”

“Mom, do you know how hard that is? You say that because you’ve never done it. Lying there with my legs up, it feels absolutely horrible. Like I’m being tortured like an animal. Am I just a machine for having babies?”

Yoonjeong glared sharply at her mom.

“You should have behaved better then.”

With a gesture from Mrs. Noh, the hairstylist stepped aside.

“Behaved? What do you mean?”

“You know, because of the abortion, the walls of your ut*rus are weak, so implantation is difficult.”

Mrs. Noh lowered her voice.

“You dragged me there and made me do it.”

“Then were you planning to marry him? No, right? Then you shouldn’t have gotten pregnant.”

“He decided to marry me and purposely got me pregnant.”

“I sent you abroad to study, who asked you to get involved in a romance?”

“Am I the only one who was fooling around? Everyone else was too, even more than me.”

“Enough. What’s the use of talking about the past? What matters is now.”

Yoonjeong bit her lip at Mrs. Noh’s words.

“What if it doesn’t work this time? I really can’t take any more treatments.”

As Yoonjeong started to tear up, Mrs. Noh sighed and said.

“There are other ways, just relax. Being relaxed helps with getting pregnant.”

“Other ways? Like what?”

“We can find a surrogate. You can use the pregnancy as an excuse to stay home, then go to the U.S. to give birth and come back clean.” 

“Just get me one now.”

“We should at least try this one more time. Okay?”

At Mrs. Noh’s words, Yoonjeong looked miserable.

“Go today and make sure to assert dominance as a senior daughter-in-law. I checked, and while her family isn’t much, she’s quite capable. Just the kind of person your grandfather-in-law would like. Look, instead of his incompetent son, he chose his daughter-in-law as chairman. The old man is truly ruthless.”

Mrs. Noh clicked her tongue and urged.

“What is all this? I married the eldest son to be secure, but why is this so exhausting?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Let’s go now. You’ll be late.”

At Mrs. Noh’s words, Yoonjeong reluctantly got up from the chair.

***

“Sir, it’s nice to see you.”

As the honorary chairman entered the engagement party venue with Seonho, Ah-young greeted him courteously, having become familiar with him during her time as Mrs. Ko’s secretary.

“It’s been a long time, my dear. Or should I not call you that now that we’re becoming family?”

“No, please feel comfortable to call me as you wish.”

In Ah-young’s warm yet modest demeanor, Seonkyung immediately recognized traits of Chaeyoon.

“Since everyone is here, let’s sit down.”

Upon the honorary chairman’s words, both families took their seats.

“So, you are Chaeyoon?”

The honorary chairman said, looking at Chaeyoon.

“Yes. I should have visited you earlier, but since you said we’d meet today, I didn’t get the chance to greet you.”

“Haha, Seonho rushed things as if he was roasting beans in a lightning strike. There wasn’t much I could do.”

Although he spoke with a pleasant face, his words carried an edge. It seemed Seonho had hidden Chaeyoon and wanted the marriage so quickly that no one had the chance to object.

“Haha, that’s how marriage is supposed to be.”

Seonho said in a bright voice.

“I didn’t expect there to be an oddball in our family, and I’m even more surprised that it’s you.”

“Haha, I feel the same way, Grandfather.”

Seonho’s evidently pleased demeanor stopped the Honorary Chairman from probing further.

The future granddaughter-in-law had even passed the tycoon family’s standards. When the Honorary Chairman had investigated her, he found nothing that could be criticized. Given the circumstances, it was hard to discourage a marriage they were enthusiastic about.

After that, light conversations flowed, and the meal proceeded. Somehow, the topic of the Honorary Chairman’s autobiography came up.

“I was so surprised at that time when Seonho said, ‘People are the greatest asset.’ So I asked him if he thought the same way, and my perspective on him changed a bit after that.”

“Why?”

Seonkyung asked Chaeyoon.

“When you read autobiographies of chaebol heads, you realize they all have a firm business philosophy. One common theme is recognizing the value of people. And not just valuing them, but also being able to make them ‘your people’. Some say if you treat your employees well, they’ll become loyal, but no, it’s never like that. People are fickle; they move where the conditions are better. Loyalty comes from respect and trust in a superior, which is another kind of power or talent. But most chaebol heads have it. In your grandfather’s autobiography, he talks about rehiring a middle-aged secretary who had been his secretary before, who had taken time off to have a baby and raise a child, despite there being younger, more attractive candidates and I think that’s a testament to the fact that he truly believes people are the greatest asset.”

“Was there anything like that in the autobiography?”

Seonho scratched his cheek.

“You’ve read quite a few of these chaebol autobiographies, haven’t you?”

The Honorary Chairman said to Chaeyoon.

“I was part of a self-improvement book study group. We analyzed the commonalities and differences among chaebol heads. It was very helpful. My mother also read the part I mentioned and felt proud of her work as a secretary. Right, Mom?”

Chaeyoon asked Ah-young.

“You’re talking about Secretary Jeong Yeowoon, aren’t you, Sir?”

“You know her name.”

“She was my role model. She even compiled a book based on her experiences as a secretary. I greatly benefited from that book while working.”

“Yes, she was an excellent worker. She put in a lot of effort to persuade me to retire when she had to take care of her grandchild.”

Everyone laughed at the joking remark from the Honorary Chairman.

“You say you dislike chaebols but you read all this stuff.”

Seonkyung remarked to Chaeyoon.

“I dislike getting personally involved, but there’s a need to read chaebol autobiographies. Who knows? I might become a chaebol head one day. I’ll need the guidelines then.”

“Oh my, your dreams are quite ambitious. What era are you living in? These days, it’s not as easy as it was in Grandfather’s time. Not just anyone can become a chaebol.”

Seonho said to Chaeyoon.

“Right. That’s why when you said ‘People are the greatest asset,’ I thought at least you won’t run the company into the ground. But seeing that you don’t remember the secretary’s story, it looks like you need to reread it. If you understood the underlying message, it’s a story you shouldn’t forget.”

“Well, as long as one of us remembers. Grandfather, only one of us needs to remember, right?”

Seonho teased, turning to the Honorary Chairman.

“What about you two? Does at least one of you remember?”

The honorary chairman turned to the silent Minhu and Yoonjeong.

“Of course.”

Minhu and Yoonjeong spoke simultaneously.

“Alright, then what stood out to you?”

“Uh, well… You asked so suddenly.”

Minhu and Yoonjeong looked flustered.

“Seems like nothing particularly stood out to you then. If it didn’t immediately come to mind, that’s understandable.”

The Honorary Chairman turned away, not pressing them further.

“Since the children are studying abroad, how about we have the wedding soon, Father?”

Seonkyung quickly shifted the topic to the wedding.