Chapter 4.6

While Nam Leehyun was busy preparing for Seojun and Moonkyeong’s wedding, Shin Jueun was running around tirelessly to arrange a marriage between Seouk and Heejin.  

For a long time, Jeesung Group and Leehan Group had been adversaries.  

Leehan Group’s Chairman, Kim Seokyeong, and Jeesung Group’s Chairman, Lee Jinseok, were alumni. Despite being on the same ship, maintaining a good relationship amidst competition, their ties completely deteriorated when Leehan entered the mobile phone business.  

Leehan, which had previously focused only on producing electronic appliances like TVs and refrigerators, began focusing on mobile phones, completely reversing the relationship between the two companies.  

At one point, Jeesung had dominated the mobile phone market to the extent that no company could rival them, but Leehan eventually overtook them.  

Since then, Leehan had outperformed Jeesung in nearly all sectors.  

Even in the electronics division, Leehan’s sales far exceeded Jeesung’s in everything except air conditioners.  

Although Shin Jueun didn’t know much about the group’s business, she was well aware of this.  

She also understood that Chairman Kim Seokyeong’s emphasis on the electronics sector was driven by his pride to surpass Jeesung Group.  

Shin Jueun headed to the hotel where her son, Seouk, was staying.  

The elegant atmosphere of the hotel lobby wasn’t to her taste.  

Every time she looked at the hotel’s interior, which reflected Nam Leehyun’s preferences more than her own, she felt a surge of frustration.  

Even the framed paintings on the walls clashed with her taste, and she vowed to renovate everything once Seouk gained influence at the hotel.  

Unlike Seojun, who achieved consistent managerial success, her son Seouk caused trouble once or twice a year, which genuinely worried her.  

At her arrival, several staff members in the lobby rushed over, and Shin Jueun relished the attention.  

“Is Executive Vice President Kim in his office?”  

“Yes, Director. Let me guide you.”  

Shin Jueun shrugged her shoulders.  

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like this is my first visit. I’ll go alone.”  

“But you’ll need an elevator key anyway.”  

“Oh.”  

As soon as she entered the executive office, Seouk’s young secretary greeted her politely.  

Though the secretary had been informed of her visit in advance, this moment was always a challenge for her.  

“Madam, you’re here?”  

“Yes. Where’s Seouk?”  

“He’s in his office.”  

Good. He should be. Especially now, when the Chairman’s inheritance issue is a sensitive topic, he shouldn’t be drawing attention with reckless behavior.  

As she hurried inside, her eyes fell on the secretary’s attire.  

Shin Jueun grabbed the hem of the secretary’s skirt sharply.  

“Secretary, what’s this outfit? How many times have I told you skirts above the knee are not allowed?”  

“Pardon? Madam, this isn’t even that short…”  

“If you’re not trying to seduce my Seouk, go and change immediately.”  

How dare a mere secretary covet my son?  

Back in the day, Shin Jueun had dreamed ambitiously as soon as she became Chairman Kim Seokyeong’s new secretary, thanks to her exceptional beauty. But not everyone could follow in her footsteps.  

With her long, manicured nails, she flicked the secretary’s nose.  

“Ah~ Son.”  

Skipping the knock, she flung open the executive office door, her face twisting in anger.  

Seouk, who had spent the previous night partying at a club until 5 a.m., was sprawled on the sofa, snoring loudly.  

What can I even do with this? How am I supposed to handle this?  

“Unbelievable. Kim Seouk, wake up!”  

Her sharp slap on his back jolted Seouk awake. In his dream, a fox had bitten his wrist.  

“Ah, Mom! When did you get here?”  

“Do you even have your wits about you? While others are scrambling to win the Chairman’s favor, you’re sleeping? Sleeping, really?”  

Still groggy from his lingering hangover, he replied,  

“I’m upset too, you know. Do you think I wanted to drink until dawn? That bastard’s been stealing everything from me since we were kids. And now, he’s even taking women. It’s ridiculous.”  

Thinking about his childhood still made him angry.  

From kindergarten to elementary school and even middle school, Seojun had been by his side for everything.  

Although it was Shin Jueun herself who had deliberately kept the two together, Seouk grew to resent Seojun more and more each day.  

They learned the same things, ate the same meals, and even shared the same room. Yet, from the start, Seojun absorbed everything differently.  

In kindergarten, Seojun was one step ahead. In elementary school, it was two steps. By middle school, the gap had widened so much that Seouk couldn’t catch up.  

Despite being the older brother, Seojun outshone him in sports, academics, and even skills like coding and piano, which they both started learning at age seven.  

Of course, Seojun wasn’t without his misfortunes.  

From minor car accidents to severe food poisoning that landed him in the hospital, Seojun always seemed to bear the brunt.  

Whenever Seouk complained about not wanting to be around Seojun, Shin Jueun would persuade him:  

[My dear, I know it’s hard for you. But staying close to him will bring you good fortune.]  

Even as a child, he found it laughable, but after Seojun left for Russia, Seouk’s health took a serious turn for the worse.  

He even came to believe that his condition, including his inability to perform sexually, was due to the cursed Leehan Group.  

Now, he trusted his mother’s words without question.  

Marrying Seo Moonkyeong was supposed to solve everything. She was exactly his type too.  

“Ugh. This is so frustrating.”  

Shin Jueun adjusted her posture and handed Seouk the name of Jeesung Group’s Lee Heejin, declaring that she would arrange a meeting soon.  

Seouk frowned.  

“Doesn’t the Chairman dislike Jeesung?”  

“That’s old news. The Chairman’s getting older. I think he misses the days when he and Chairman Lee used to be close. If we propose a marriage alliance now, he’ll likely approve.”  

In fact, Lee Heejin might be a better choice than Seo Moonkyeong.  

An alliance with Jeesung Group could also be advantageous in ousting Kim Seojun later.  

Nodding in agreement, Seouk stared intently at Lee Heejin’s name and asked seriously,  

“But Mom.”  

“Yes, dear?”  

“Is she… pretty?”  

Smack. Once again, Shin Jueun’s sharp slap landed on Seouk’s back.  

Director Nam Leehyun heard Shin Jueun’s plan to marry off Seouk before Seojun. While enjoying coffee with pastries from a bakery in the morning, she discussed the matter with her two daughters.  

“Mom, are you just going to let this happen? I heard Jeesung’s side is showing positive interest.”  

Nam Leehyun shook her head. Her response was straightforward.  

“Seojun must marry first.”  

Although Seouk was technically the elder brother and Seojun the younger, the positions of the legal wife and mistress were fundamentally different.  

Since Chairman Kim Seokyeong had registered Seojun under Nam Leehyun’s name, Seojun was officially higher in the family hierarchy.  

No matter how prestigious Jeesung Group’s daughter might be, Seojun’s wife should be in a superior position in the family.

Nam Leehyun was determined to ensure this, even if both daughters-in-law entered the family at the same time.  

To Nam Leehyun, Kim Seojun was like two sides of the same coin.  

Among those whose inner thoughts she could read effortlessly, Seojun remained the one exception for Nam Leehyun.  

She couldn’t tell if he was a ferocious and wild beast or if he was like a log—externally dry but burning with pure, crimson fire inside.  

She couldn’t understand why he desired Seo Moonkyeong so much either.  

Even though she had received a full report from the chief secretary on Seojun’s activities in Russia, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.  

Back when Lee Heejin and Seo Moonkyeong were active in the same social circle, Sankt, during their study abroad days, there might have been a few instances where Lee Heejin’s senior, Seojun, and Seo Moonkyeong crossed paths.  

According to the chief secretary’s information, that was all.  

Could it be that the two of them secretly met to escape their families’ watchful eyes?  

While it was entirely plausible for Kim Seojun, could Seo Moonkyeong have done the same?  

The information about how Do Hyeran raised her adopted daughter wasn’t particularly interesting either.  

By exploiting Seo Moonkyeong’s weakest points, Do Hyeran would have constantly suffocated her, only to loosen the reins occasionally.  

It was likely Do Hyeran’s plan to isolate Seo Moonkyeong by removing everyone around her, thereby turning her into someone incapable of doing anything on her own.  

“Well, Seo Moonkyeong doesn’t seem that easy to deal with, though.”  

Nam Leehyun muttered to herself, prompting her second daughter to poke her head out and ask,  

“What do you mean? If Seo Moonkyeong isn’t easy to deal with, isn’t that a problem? What if they join forces later and kick us all out?”  

Nam Leehyun laughed.  

“Don’t worry. Who in this house could possibly kick us out?”  

For decades, even when Kim Seokyeong was utterly infatuated with Shin Jueun for her youth and beauty, Nam Leehyun had held her ground without batting an eye.  

When you gain something, it’s only natural to lose something else in return.  

The world is in constant flux, never leaving anything untouched. There’s no need to cling to what’s passing or to desperately hold onto what slips through your fingers.  

Nam Leehyun’s inability to act against Seojun stemmed from one reason alone.  

There was always the danger that one day, he might turn his blade toward her as well.  

However, he was also the one card that could completely eliminate Shin Jueun in a single strike.  

At least until that day came, she resolved to stand by Seojun’s side.  

Much would change once Chairman Kim Seokyeong passed away.  

Shin Jueun would be reduced to nothing more than a mistress who stole another woman’s husband.  

Nam Leehyun awaited that day.  

She drained the rest of her coffee, imagining Shin Jueun’s face, groveling without so much as a whimper.  

It seemed like the date for the formal family meeting needed to be moved up.