7.1

Isn’t beauty a weapon that silences the noise in the surrounding, rather than skill?

With just one of those smiles, it seems like anyone, regardless of gender, would be mesmerized, turning a ‘No’ into a ‘Yes.’

“What do you mean worried? Knowing too much is a curse. It’s pretty obvious how things are going in your group. I wonder what the honorary chairman’s intentions were in placing you there.”

“What do you think?”

“If interpreted in a good way, it might be to see your skills, but it could also be interpreted as a determination to completely push you out of the successor line.”

Although Chaeyoon is currently studying jewelry design, she majored in business management and worked in the marketing department of a large corporation after graduating. She knew the ins and outs of corporate life even with her eyes closed.

“It’s my grandfather’s rule: ‘Push the good ones off the cliff and let them fly. If they can’t fly, they’re done.’”

Seonho’s tone was relaxed.

“But even your brother failed there, too”

Of course, she didn’t hold him accountable; it wasn’t an easy place to resuscitate.

There was strong opposition from the beginning when acquiring the underperforming car company, but it was a subsidiary created by the strong push of Seonho’s father, the current chairman.

It was meant to be a risky future investment, but the risks turned out bigger than expected, making it a sort of ‘burden’.

With the chairman’s pride at stake, it was not easy to withdraw, and maintaining it was like a black hole sucking in money. If Seonho does not produce results at this point, what stance will the group take?

This wasn’t just about the outcome; it could be seen as a move to eliminate Seonho as a successor.

After all, the chairman is supporting his eldest son. His seven-year-older brother had also strengthened his position through an arranged marriage, so if this failed, it would be a severe blow to Seonho.

“So if I succeed, my brother will be pushed out in one go, right?”

Seonho’s expression, with a slight smile on one corner of his mouth, appeared somewhat arrogant.

“That means you’re confident.”

“Of course. I am Yoon Seonho after all.”

She was relieved to see that Seonho’s confidence wasn’t unfounded.

Maybe it’s because they’re classmates, but it’s hard not to root for someone her own age, even if it wasn’t any of her business.

“By the way, why have the wedding in Jeju Island? Because of the weather?”

Chaeyoon asked while looking at the scenic road ahead.

“They wanted to have a small wedding in Jeju.”

“Small wedding?”

“That’s right. They said they’d book a resort there. What kind of small wedding is renting a whole pension for two days?”

Chaeyoon chuckled softly at Seonho’s sarcasm.

“From the perspective of a chaebol’s daughter, it fits the definition of a small wedding.”

“What’s the definition of a small wedding? It’s supposed to be a practical and simplified small-scale wedding. Tonight is the eve of the wedding, tomorrow’s the ceremony, and the honeymoon is a yacht trip. What’s simplified there? Is it a small wedding just because there are fewer guests?”

As Seonho spoke, Chaeyoon’s giggling grew louder.

“Really. If you don’t spend your own money, is it considered practical? The honeymoon yacht, I lent it to them. They asked to borrow it as a wedding gift to save money. How frugal they are.”

“Ha ha ha.”

Eventually, Chaeyoon burst into loud laughter.

“They should scale it down a bit, but they’re clueless, utterly clueless. She still thinks she’s the daughter of a chaebol.”

“Phew, you’re right. Seokhyun should be making a lot of money if he doesn’t want our Joo-eun to suffer.”

Chaeyoon sighed, wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes from laughing.

Cultural clashes aren’t just between countries. Even among people from the same country, when different families come together, there are cultural clashes.

“He’ll earn well.”

Seonho said nonchalantly.

“I know Seokhyun-oppa is capable. He’s a rare dragon that’s risen from a small stream, and vanished due to environmental pollution.”

“Exactly. He made a smart choice early on in his career.”

“Joo-eun’s parents might overlook their marriage since they have a child now, but her relatives are on the shady side.”

“True.”

“I don’t know what they’ll do to keep Seokhyun in check. They might want to nip it in the bud, fearing he might use Joo-eun as leverage to aim for the position of a successor.”

Worry was evident in Chaeyoon’s voice.

“That won’t happen.”

Seonho’s tone was firm.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’m the major shareholder of Seokhyun’s company?”

“Major shareholder? Since when?”

“Since the stock went public. The shares were cheap initially.”

“Weren’t you in the military when Seokhyun-oppa’s company went public?”

Chaeyoon clearly remembers because Joo-eun said she wanted to invest for fun, so she bought a few dozen shares for fun.

“Right. I checked the business plan when he said he was going public and it looked promising. So I bought them with the intention of investing. Initially, I planned to sell them once the price rose a bit…”

As Seonho rambled on, Chaeyoon impatiently asked.

“You didn’t sell it?”

“With the way things have turned out, I decided to keep it for the time being. As long as I am the major shareholder, Joo-eun’s relatives won’t be able to mess around easily.”

“Of course. Messing with you is like messing with your entire group. Phew, that’s reassuring. Wow, Joo-eun must have the goddess of fortune on her side. How come you’re the major shareholder? Wow.”

“With the way things have turned out, I decided to keep it for the time being.” 

“Do you like that?”

“Of course, I like that. But how did you come up with such a remarkable idea?”

“Buying stocks?”

“No, not selling them. You said you were going to sell them. Don’t tell me you did it to help Joo-eun.”

“I did help her. Someone told me that if you do good deeds, good things will come back to you.”

“Ah!”

Chaeyoon’s eyes widened. Those were her own words.

“So, intrigued by your advice to do a good deed, I decided to ‘speculate’ a bit.”

“Speculate? Not invest?”

“Speculation. Big rewards if it succeeds but equally big risks if it fails, right? And if it doesn’t work, I plan to blame the person who gave that advice.”

“Oh, come on, why? I didn’t even say that directly to you.”

“Why are you so surprised?”

As Seonho teased her, Chaeyoon coughed awkwardly, changing the subject.

“By the way, what does your family say about this? Even just becoming a witness to their marriage must be irritating to them, and now you’re a major shareholder.”

“I’ll have to persuade them.”

“What will you say?”

“That I’ve gained a talented person like Seokhyun on my side. People are the greatest asset in the long run, right?”

“Isn’t that a line from the honorary chairman’s autobiography?”

“You’ve read it too?”

“It’s in the top three of all the chaebol chairman autobiographies I’ve read. Make sure to say that; the honorary chairman will like it. It will work.”

Chaeyoon spoke with conviction.

“Do you think so?”

“Do you think the same?”

“About what?”

“Do you also believe that people are the greatest asset?”

“Seokhyun has great ideas, and his company will only increase in value over the next few years.”

“But unlike the time of the Honorary Chairman, you don’t have a lot of talent or assets. It didn’t necessarily have to be Seokhyun-oppa too.”

“Good people are like good fruit. New fruits are always ripe for the picking. If you can’t see that, aren’t you blind?”

Chaeyoon looked at Seonho with surprise. It was unexpected that Seonho understood that people are the greatest asset. She felt she needed to revise her opinion of Seonho upwards in this regard.

“Listening to you, it seems you really did contribute significantly to their marriage.”

“Oh dear, have we already run through all the night’s conversation?”

Seonho chuckled with a twinkle in his eye.

Chaeyoon, feeling her heart stir again at his playful smile, quickly turned her head to look out the window.

“It doesn’t seem like enough to talk about all night. Are we there yet?”

“Almost there.”

The car entered an orchard where tangerine trees lined both sides. The tangerines, clustered together, reflected the sunlight and looked like golden flowers. People were gathered among the trees.

As Seonho’s car stopped, Joo-eun, holding the hem of her white dress, ran towards them. She rushed up and hugged Chaeyoon who had just gotten out of the car.

“Chaeyoon, you’re home. Thank you so much for coming.”

“Is it okay for a pregnant woman to be running around like that?”

“I ran gently, gently. My heels are low. Look.”

Joo-eun laughed cheerfully.

When she was in New York, she looked like a withered plant.

Chaeyoon’s expression softened when she saw that she was back to her lush, cheerful self.

As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.

I just hope you hold onto that happiness tightly.

“You haven’t gained much weight? Is it because of the dress? Your belly doesn’t look big.”

Chaeyoon examined Joo-eun’s figure. Having lost a lot of weight before, Joo-eun in her wedding dress didn’t look like she was pregnant.

“I paid attention to the design.”

Joo-eun gently rubbed her belly and smiled broadly.

“They say you gain weight as you get closer to the last month.”

Seokhyun wrapped an arm around Joo-eun’s shoulder, teasing her playfully.

“Who’s this handsome guy? I knew you were good-looking, but in your wedding suit, you look absolutely stunning!”

Chaeyoon admired Seokhyun, who looked like a charming prince, meticulously checking him out from head to toe. His appearance oozed nobility.

“Of course. You think my standards aren’t high?” 

Joo-eun laughed beside him.

“Then why are you both wearing formal clothes? I thought the wedding was tomorrow.”

“We were having an outdoor photo shoot. It just wrapped up. HGo have a cup of tea inside the cafe and wait. I’ll go change and come back out.”

“There’s no need to rush. Be careful, take your time.”

“Okay.”

As Joo-eun headed inside the pension, Seokhyun let out a sigh of relief and approached Chaeyoon.

“Thank you. It’s finally over. I don’t know where she gets her energy from being pregnant and all.”

Chaeyoon couldn’t help but laugh; it seemed they had a strenuous time with the photo shoot.

“Chaeyoon, you’re here? Did you have a hard time getting here?”

Junsu approached, recognizing Chaeyoon from a distance.

“Long time no see.”

Surrounded by Junsu and other colleagues of Seokhyun’s who were attending the wedding, Chaeyoon briefly engaged in a lively exchange of greetings.