Chapter 12.4

The annex of Do Hyowon was completely demolished.  

After Shin Jueun was driven out, Nam Leehyun immediately began demolition and prepared for construction.  

Finally, the original grandeur and dignity of Do Hyowon could be revealed.  

Unlike the main house, which preserved traditional beauty, the annex had been too flashy and modern, making it an eyesore. It was a relief to see it gone.  

Nam Leehyun left the construction site and sat face-to-face with Seojun, as previously arranged.  

Her gaze, sharp as she sipped chrysanthemum tea, lingered on him. She tried to read Seojun’s intentions without revealing her own.  

Seojun placed a 3D ultrasound photo of the fetus, taken during a visit to the obstetrician with Moonkyeong last week, on the table. Nam Leehyun snatched it up.  

Even someone as composed as her couldn’t hide her joy.  

“She’s pregnant? Are you saying Moonkyeong is pregnant? What’s the gender? Is it a boy?”

Seojun silently drank his tea.  

Over the past few months, he had run around tirelessly, investigating the explosion and surviving a near-death experience in Russia. Yet, he couldn’t find a single clue.  

Nam Leehyun was perfect and meticulous. That’s why this deal had to be flawless.  

After finishing his tea, Seojun finally spoke of his conditions.  

“What I want is a normal life for Seo Moonkyeong and the child. Director, you cannot be that child’s grandmother.”

“……”  

“So give it up.”

Nam Leehyun raised her teacup, adorned with a jade ring on her finger, and smiled.  

“The Leehan Group cannot break the principle of primogeniture. That’s why I need that child.”  

As long as there was a boy carrying Leehan’s bloodline, it didn’t matter. She could gift the child born through Moonkyeong to either of her two daughters.

That way, the glory of Leehan and the coveted position everyone desired would ultimately be something she created. That was enough for her.  

Placing the teacup down with graceful movements, she brushed back a stray strand of hair from beside her ear.  

“If only you weren’t so wild, Seojun, things would’ve been easier.”  

“If I weren’t wild, I wouldn’t be here. My dream is still to live a long life.”  

“……”  

Seojun handed her an envelope he had prepared in advance. Nam Leehyun opened it immediately, her lips pressing tightly together as she read its contents.  

“Shin Jueun never ordered Kimura Miyu to be killed. She only told someone to scare her a little. But Kimura Miyu died too easily in a car accident, just like that.”  

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  

Feigning ignorance, Nam Leehyun maintained her composure, but Seojun smiled knowingly.  

“This is evidence prepared by the hired culprit before testifying to the prosecution. Knowing they were in danger, they even recorded everything. Would you like to hear it?”  

“……”  

“The Chairman left this evidence with me before he passed away.”  

“What?”  

Perhaps Kim Seokyeong had foreseen the future. He must have known that after his death, the person who would pose the greatest threat to Seojun would be none other than his lawful wife, Nam Leehyun.  

“The Chairman didn’t want me to use this. He wanted me to save it for a situation where my life was in danger.”  

“What exactly are you trying to say?”  

“I’m asking if you plan to keep fighting me.”  

“……”  

“You want to kill me, erase my woman’s traces, and then take that precious Leehan bloodline to sweetly swallow the position of Leehan’s head, isn’t that right?”

He had accurately pinpointed the hidden desires Nam Leehyun had kept concealed for so long.  

With a sharp gaze, Seojun revealed his intentions. He raised the white flag, signaling he had no will to continue fighting her.

It was all for Seo Moonkyeong.

Seojun brought out the most powerful weapon he had prepared for this day.

“I will abandon Leehan.”  

“What?”  

“There’s only one way to break the principle of primogeniture in Leehan. Become the King, not the Queen.”  

He was telling her to devour Leehan. To stop manipulating people from the shadows and take the lead herself.  

If she became the head of Leehan, the principle of primogeniture would naturally collapse, and her two daughters, whom she cherished like gold, could rise to the top.  

The deal with Nam Leehyun was sealed. As Seojun stood to leave, she asked him one last question.  

“Where will you go?”  

“Anywhere.”  

He planned to go wherever she wanted. From now on, all decisions would be Seo Moonkyeong’s.  

With a brief smile, he left Do Hyowon.  

As Seojun climbed into his car, Jeon Taepyeong called him. Answering the phone as he got into the driver’s seat, he spoke.  

“Yes.”  

– So, did you meet Director Nam Leehyun?  

“Yes. I just said my final goodbye and left.”  

Jeon Taepyeong, seemingly aware of Seojun’s plans, laughed heartily.  

– Don’t you have anything to say to me?  

Seojun smirked crookedly.  

“Plan B. Please help me with it again.”  

– If I help you again, promise me one thing.  

“……”  

– Be happy, Seojun.  

Plan B was a strategy Seojun and Jeon Taepyeong had devised in case Seojun abandoned Leehan.  

Nam Leehyun, being older, wouldn’t live much longer—perhaps ten years at most.  

But before her death, she would have to face the stark reality of her life.  

Unable to bear the weight of the crown, Nam Leehyun would ultimately witness the distorted faces of her two daughters, whom she had ruined.  

When that time came, Seojun planned to return. He would rebuild Leehan, stained with blood, and prove to everyone that no one but him could stand at the top.  

“Yes, I promise.”  

Ending the call, Seojun pressed the accelerator firmly.  

It was time to return home.  

To the house where Seo Moonkyeong, in her late pregnancy, would run to him and kiss him despite her heavy body.  

To the bedroom where they whispered words of love to each other several times a day.  

To the kitchen where his loving wife would feed him pieces of sausage with chopsticks.  

To the front yard where they would take evening walks together, preparing for the arrival of their child.  

He drove quickly, eager to get there.  

***

In front of the blue sea of Geoje Island, Moonkyeong had chosen their new home.  

At first, she had considered giving birth in Canada, but thinking of the future, staying in Korea seemed better.  

Seojun, too, wanted their child to fully experience Korea’s four seasons until they became an adult, remembering his own wandering years abroad.  

As Moonkyeong prepared soybean paste soup with clams, Seojun approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her.  

Even though he no longer had to go to work, he admired her busy morning routine.  

He kissed her neck softly.  

“You’re already making breakfast? You could’ve stayed in bed a little longer.”  

Moonkyeong flinched at the ticklish sensation and turned to him.  

“I thought you’d be hungry. You barely ate dinner last night.”  

“You’re carrying a heavy load. Let me do it.”  

“No, go away. The kitchen is mine. I enjoy cooking.”  

“Alright, I won’t interfere.”  

Even as he said this, Seojun stayed by her side, watching her place a well-washed cucumber on the cutting board and slice it evenly.  

Fascinated by how she simultaneously prepared soybean paste soup and cucumber salad, he quietly observed.  

Turning around, she quickly handed him a piece of cucumber.  

“Here.”  

Seojun, charmed by her motherly gesture, grinned broadly before eating it.  

“It’s delicious, isn’t it? They say food tastes best when you sneak bites while cooking.”  

“How do you know that?”  

“My friends told me. I was always jealous of that. My mom never cooked, so I never got to experience it.”  

As she wrinkled her nose, Seojun gazed at her and pulled her into another hug.  

Thinking he should learn to cook soon, he watched as the dining table slowly filled with dishes.  

“This makes me feel like I should go to work.”  

Seojun hugged her even tighter, as if to say he didn’t want to.  

Moonkyeong laughed at how he clung to her, following her every move.  

“Taste the soup for me.”  

“If Seo Moonkyeong made it, how could it not taste good?”  

“I’m also making stir-fried eggplant today. You know, eating a variety of foods makes you stronger.”  

Realizing she knew about his dislike for eggplant, Seojun pressed his lips together tightly.  

He had sold part of his shares in Leehan Electronics to Nam Leehyun, aiding her in her quest for control.  

Thanks to him, Leehan was now in Nam Leehyun’s hands.  

Drunk on triumph, she was likely celebrating with a toast, oblivious to the storm brewing within Leehan, where the principle of primogeniture had been shattered.

The two daughters would now likely stab each other in the back, and they wouldn’t even trust their own mother, Nam Leehyun. They would resort to every possible scheme.

For the time being, Seojun only needed to enjoy the spectacle of this amusing fight. He could do so while basking in happiness alongside Seo Moonkyeong.