MOD 6

Chapter 6

On a weekday afternoon, the private residence of Chairman Baek of Taesan Group, which revealed its immense majesty all on its own, was quiet. Though Seoyeong was trembling endlessly inside, she made every effort to maintain a calm facade on the outside. She set foot into the house side-by-side with Dojin.

Dojin remained as expressionless and chilly as ever. But Seoyeong was different. Biting the inside of her bone-white lips, she barely managed to suppress the surging fear within her.

The moment she stepped inside, it hit her. The ‘Han Seoyeong’ who had lived unloved by her parents—parents who wished she would disappear without ever being revealed to the world—yet had survived to become recognized as a capable translator, no longer existed.

The life as ‘Seoyeong’ that she had desperately struggled to protect had been shattered into pieces, and she had been cast into a cold, relentless new world.

“The Chairman is entering.”

A low voice cut sharply through the heavy air. Not long after, accompanied by an overbearing aura, Chairman Baek revealed himself, casting a giant shadow over the room. Behind him followed Dojin’s mother, Mrs. Jo, with a calm yet unflinching gaze.

Seoyeong barely swallowed her dry spit and managed to force out a suppressed voice.

“Hello, Chairman.”

A cold smile brushed past Chairman Baek’s lips.

“Ms. Juyeong. No, from now on, I should address you as our proud daughter-in-law of Taesan Group. You should call me ‘Father’ from now on.”

A smile tinged with secret satisfaction spread across Chairman Baek’s face. Seoyeong swallowed her dry spit and bowed her head.

The situation where Chairman Baek had to order her to consider herself his ‘daughter-in-law’ and call him ‘Father.’ His attitude, treating her like a business partner or a subordinate rather than family, felt terrifyingly foreign. The small hope inside her—that she might gain a new family instead of her biological family who had treated her like unwanted baggage—quietly collapsed.

The vibe from Dojin’s mother, Mrs. Jo, as she looked at Seoyeong was far from ordinary.

Sensing this, Seoyeong unwittingly caught her breath before hastily trying to feign composure. Though her gaze was fixed straight ahead, she couldn’t hide the chill creeping up her spine.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mother. I am Han Juyeong.”

As Seoyeong bowed politely, Mrs. Jo stared at her, piercing her from head to toe with her eyes. Facing those pupils that resembled a serene lake without a single ripple, Seoyeong felt suffocated.

The smile lingering at the corners of Mrs. Jo’s mouth was exceedingly gentle, but behind it seeped an icy coldness.

“Attorney Han. You haven’t officially held the wedding ceremony with our Dojin yet, have you? Jumping straight to ‘Mother’ seems a bit premature.”

Chairman Baek turned fiercely toward Mrs. Jo and growled low.

“What are you talking about? She’s practically family already. She is strictly my daughter-in-law.”

“Who said she wasn’t?”

Mrs. Jo wore a ostentatiously submissive smile, but her eyes were cold beyond measure.

Even when Chairman Baek’s cheek twitched as if telling her not to act so insolent, Mrs. Jo didn’t budge an inch.

‘I can’t let them find any more flaws.’

She had to stop the situation where Mrs. Jo and Chairman Baek were sharpening their blades at each other using her as a pretext. If this marriage fell through as a result, she couldn’t even imagine how her parents would react.

Foolishly, driven solely by the desire to be acknowledged by her parents, she had given them all the money she earned working as a translator. If this marriage broke off and she was kicked out of even that semi-basement room, she would have nowhere to go.

She had to make this marriage happen no matter what. Even if she really had to bear an heir as her sister Juyeong had promised Dojin, she had to sink her roots into this family.

‘Get a grip! You are Han Juyeong right now. You aren’t Han Seoyeong, who was wilting in a room reeking of mold—you are Han Juyeong, who shone proudly under the sun!’

Seoyeong clumsily imitated Juyeong. She straightened her posture like Juyeong and put on a confident expression that was honest about her desires. She crafted the exact face that Chairman Baek was pleased with.

She didn’t open her mouth unnecessarily. She hadn’t perfectly transformed into Han Juyeong just yet. She was merely covering her pathetic self with a plausible shell.

Mrs. Jo’s cold gaze directed at Seoyeong as if piercing right through all of it. Seoyeong’s sudden shift in posture was fully visible. Only then did Mrs. Jo nod once in satisfaction, adding a final blow:

“Ms. Juyeong, bear this in mind. Marriage isn’t just a matter between two people. If a child is to enter our family, they must absolutely possess the dignity and class to match it.”

Seoyeong’s heart plummeted all the way to the floor with a thud. Mrs. Jo’s words brutally exposed the underlying meaning: ‘You are not someone worthy of aiming for this position.’

It was a icy warning that she would watch and see how long someone like her could last in this household. Seoyeong realized this in an instant, but she didn’t waver. She was someone who had survived alongside parents who treated her like an invisible person. She could overcome something of this degree.

“Dinner is served.”

Following the guidance of Cheongju-daek, who had worked as a housekeeper for the Taesan family for a long time, the group, including Chairman Baek, naturally moved to the dining room.

Upon entering the dining room, what met her eyes were gently flickering candlelight over a long table, neatly arranged dishes, and rows of high-end tableware.

Seoyeong sat in her assigned seat and tried to catch her breath. However, not even a moment’s respite was granted to her. The moment she settled in, Mrs. Jo’s sharp question was aimed straight at her like the point of a blade.

“I wonder if you received sufficient etiquette training at home.”

Seoyeong slowly and leisurely lifted her gaze just as Juyeong would. Despite the tension running down her spine, her tone did not waver.

The woman who was shaken a few days ago before the reality of having to replace her sister’s spot was no longer there.

Today’s Seoyeong was thoroughly hardened, like a person with a firm resolve seated deep within her eyes not to back down.

Right. I’m not just pretending to be my sister.

I am Han Juyeong.

Everything in front of my eyes belongs to me.

The moment that thought was engraved into Seoyeong’s mind, she faced Mrs. Jo as Juyeong—someone who said everything she wanted to say arrogantly under the guise of politeness.

“Yes. I have never strayed from the basics. However, I believe an attitude of respecting others is more important than etiquette that merely decorates the exterior.”

Seoyeong slightly pushed aside the fork placed neatly on the table and politely raised her head. Even as the lights of the luxurious dining room gently flickered, her voice remained firmly grounded.

Seoyeong put on Juyeong’s signature arrogant, confident, and alluring gaze. The eyebrows of Mrs. Jo—who had maintained a consistently elegant smile despite the insolent attitude—twitching faintly. She put down the spoon she was holding.

“How many foreign languages do you speak? English goes without saying. Ah, don’t misunderstand. Didn’t you say you’d continue working as a lawyer even after marriage? Then naturally, I assumed you’d speak three or four foreign languages that would help the business at a native level.”

At the question concealing a blade thrown right in the middle of dinner, the atmosphere quietly focused, and all eyes gathered on one spot. Seoyeong took a moment to catch her breath, a faint smile playing on her lips.

In fact, she was almost glad Mrs. Jo asked this question. After all, the ability to command multiple foreign languages was the true specialty of Seoyeong, a multilingual translator.

“Mother, as you know well, I am the ace of the legal team at Taesan Group. English is naturally easier than breathing. As I deal with legal documents from various countries, my Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese are also quite proficient.”

Even after finishing her answer, her back remained straight without slumping. Mrs. Jo’s brow furrowed slightly. She thoroughly disliked the brazenly articulate tone. Even though Seoyeong had entered stiff and rigid, she suddenly acted insolent as if she had become a completely different person in an instant.

‘What is this? She feels like a totally different person compared to earlier.’

Even while knowing full well that her future mother-in-law’s mood was foul, Han Juyeong was leisurely using her cutlery to eat the grilled abalone with sophistication.

Just as her background check had shown, Han Juyeong was clearly two-faced. Not only did her background fall far short of Dojin’s, but her character was like this too. She was a daughter-in-law candidate with not a single redeeming quality.

“Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever run into your parents, Ms. Seoyeong, at any of the social gatherings I attend. For a family in business, social gatherings are essential, aren’t they?”

In that instant, Seoyeong froze in her tracks.