ASPM10

Chapter 10

“Ta-Taejoo, why are you completely soaked? Did it rain for a bit? The weather forecast didn’t say anything about rain today.”

Huff. Huff.

Without a word, Seo Taejoo accepted the water bottle handed to him by Lee Changsik—his friend and employee.

“Huff… It’s not rain. Sweat.”

The weather was hot, so he’d basically taken a refreshing shower in his own sweat.

“And before water, take a photo.”

“What? A photo?”

Seo Taejoo opened the camera app and shoved his phone into Lee Changsik’s hand.

“Hold it.”

“What? Hold your phone?”

Without answering, Taejoo looked around, then stood in front of a background with a large clock. Raising a thumb, he posed.

“Take it.”

Click.

Obedient as always, Lee Changsik pressed the shutter before his brain caught up.

He took a picture of Seo Taejoo standing in front of the clock, for reasons unknown.

“Let me see.”

After checking the photo, Taejoo tilted his head.

‘It’s over by 30 seconds, but…’

Maybe he could fix it with Photoshop?

He seriously considered downloading a photo-editing app, then changed his mind.

‘No.’

For that woman, an awkward fake would probably work less than honest sympathy points.

“…What exactly are you doing right now, Seo Taejoo?”

Lee Changsik stared as Taejoo sent the picture somewhere.

He was sweating like he’d been caught in a downpour, refusing the water bottle, and suddenly taking photos…

…Looks like he’d finally gone insane.

The workload of being a startup CEO must’ve finally broken him.

“You’re sending that picture? A verification shot? To where?”

“There’s… somewhere.”

To a princess in white armor who’d pull out swords and slay dragons.

After sending the photo, Seo Taejoo didn’t forget to add a message.

[This should count as proof, right? Add bonus points for human relatability too. Deal?]

Hey, Yeo Jaekyung. People throw stones at someone who’s too perfect.

The reply came quickly.

[Well. I thought you already had plenty of human relatability. I’ll pass you based on honesty bonus points instead.]

A thumbs-up emoji arrived.

Pfft.

A dry laugh escaped Seo Taejoo.

Knew she’d say something like this.

Only then did he gulp down the water.

Little chuckles kept slipping out.

Ah… Getting to eat tteokbokki with the princess is absurdly difficult.

“Seo Taejoo… you really have gone crazy? Smiling to yourself while drinking water… If management is that hard, you should’ve talked to me!”

With a heated sigh, Seo Taejoo looked at Lee Changsik.

“I’m not crazy, definitely not grinning to myself, and management’s always been hard.”

He grabbed Changsik by the shoulder and spoke.

“More importantly, Lee Changsik. Isn’t there something wrong with your information network? Yeo Jaekyung is nothing like the image you described.”

“Yeo Jaekyung?”

“You said she was some untouchable princess. From what I can tell, she’s an AI built by Hanrim to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

She’s not even human.

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about? Why is Yeo Jaekyung suddenly involved?”

Lee Changsik frowned and stepped closer.

“No need for you to know that. But Changsik… you’re pretty good at taking pictures.”

“Pictures?”

The confused Changsik repeated the word.

“This works out perfectly. Changsik, go on an on-campus business trip Sunday.”

Seo Taejoo ordered while flipping through the photo.

Lee Changsik blinked.

What? Not a domestic business trip—a school business trip?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Grinning, Taejoo narrowed his eyes.

“Nothing much. Just an easy assignment—take one photo worthy of making headlines.”

In other words, he’d have to play paparazzi.

Sunday morning. A Han River-view apartment in Seoul.

A video conference was nearly ending in the private home-office of young-and-rich Seo Taejoo.

“Good. I will see you in the conference.”

Seo Taejoo finished the video call with the founder of Asia’s largest music streaming site in fluent English.

“Phew…”

As soon as the meeting ended, he rubbed his eyes.

He’d had to work from precious Sunday morning hours to match the other party’s time zone.

Still, the results were undeniable.

“That bastard Cruz played hard to get till the end, but I knew he’d agree eventually.”

At last, “The Home” had joined hands with Asia’s biggest music platform.

Stretching with satisfaction, he enjoyed the feeling of victory.

For now, it was only a startup, but The Home was steadily expanding its territory in preparation for the coming platform era.

The final goal: building a commercial ecosystem encompassing communication, culture, shopping, banking, and even medical services.

In short—a kingdom where one app does everything.

…Of course, they’d only taken the first step.

‘Long way to go.’

Looking through last year’s business performance report, Seo Taejoo thought bitterly.

Compared to the massive Taekwang empire led by Vice Chairman Seo Munsu, his achievements were less than grains of sand.

“At this rate, when am I ever going to repay everything?”

A faint, bitter laugh escaped him.

‘Ah, right.’

Repayment.

He checked the time discreetly.

There was still about an hour and a half before the appointment Yeo Jaekyung had announced.

‘Maybe I should nap a bit before going.’

Leaning back in his chair, Seo Taejoo raised an arm over his eyes.

Blink. Blink.

At that moment, the computer monitor activated its screensaver.

Seo Taejoo frowned as he noticed the image filling the screen.

It was a family photo.

An old one.

A young Seo Taejoo—maybe ten years old—stood at the center.

He recognized the man seated beside him immediately.

It was Vice Chairman Seo Munsu in his younger days.

His mother and two older sisters stood on either side of the stern-faced vice chairman.

A picture of a happy family of five.

“Why is this showing up…”

He’d recently rebooted his laptop, and apparently old photos he didn’t even know existed had become screensavers.

“How old is this picture?”

Normally, he’d have turned it off in irritation.

But for some reason, his gaze lingered longer than usual.

—WEEOOO—

Then a siren-like sound pierced his thoughts.

—This is an emergency. This warning is not a drill. We repeat: this is an emergency…

His phone was ringing.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Seo Taejoo checked the caller ID.

[Step-Sis No.1]

The first of the sisters in the photo.

His eldest half-sister on paper—Seo Taehee.

‘Haah… what impeccable timing.’

His expression darkened.

“Ha… should I answer this or not?”

A deep crease formed between his brows.

Eventually, biting his lip, he answered.

“What.”

A blunt tone and informal speech.

The textbook younger brother in Korea.

Seo Taejoo was no exception.

A bright, energetic voice came through the receiver.

—Aww, our little Seo Taerella. You’re answering your sister’s call today?

Seo Taerella.

At the humiliating nickname, unheard in years, Taejoo ground his teeth.

“…I told you not to call me Seo Taerella.”

—What am I, Hong Gildong? If I can’t call my little brother Seo Taerella, what am I supposed to call him?

Then Seo Taehee began singing the famous Cinderella theme song.

—Seo Taerella lost his parents when he was young~ and was bullied by his stepfather~ and two stepsisters~

“I’m hanging up.”

—Wait! Waiiit…!

She hurriedly stopped him.

Grinding his teeth, Taejoo warned:

“Sing that song one more time and I’m permanently blocking your number.”

—Whoa! Isn’t that too harsh?!

Complaints exploded immediately.

—Even if we’re technically strangers by blood—not even sharing Mom’s side or Dad’s side—we still grew up together! You’re still my little brother on paper!

“I’m preparing paperwork to remove myself from that family registry too, so don’t worry. Hanging up.”

—Wait! Waiiit…!

“What now?”

Seo Taejoo ran a hand roughly through his hair.

—You know Dad’s birthday is coming up, right?

Dad.

The moment he heard the word, his expression tightened.

Seo Taehee’s father.

And once upon a time—

The man Seo Taejoo believed was his father.

…No.

The man he thought was his father.

—I only called because of that. Vice Chairman Seo Munsu’s birthday is coming up. Taeyeon and I are preparing something, so maybe you could—

“Ha. Seo Taehee.”

His face had already gone cold.

Speaking sharply, he interrupted:

“As you said, why would I celebrate the birthday of Vice Chairman Seo Munsu—a man I don’t share a drop of blood with?”

After a pause, he emphasized:

“I’m not even his biological son. Goodbye.”

—Hey, hey…! Seo Tae…!

Click.

The awkward call with Seo Taehee—someone who no longer even fit the title of stepsister—ended just like that.

“Phew…”

Holding his head, Seo Taejoo sank into thought.

That was right.

Seo Taejoo was not Vice Chairman Seo Munsu’s biological son.

The truth, uncovered years ago like a cruel lie, had overturned his entire family history.

As he stared at the family photo with a heavy sigh, complicated emotions filled his eyes.

Fragments of memory surfaced.

Scattered pieces.

Like a day in childhood when he’d been assembling a model airplane and his father came home from work.

“Ah… Father! This… I made it! No one helped me. I did everything myself from beginning to end…”

Thud.

The model airplane fell to the floor.

“Stop wasting time and go to bed early.”

Bang.

The study door shut coldly.

The relationship between father and son had seemed ordinary.

Somewhat distant. Somewhat indifferent.

But still based on affection—or so he’d believed.

Seo Taejoo trusted that Vice Chairman Seo Munsu, though bad at expressing himself, cared deeply for him.

Until that day.

…And then came another memory.

When his maternal grandfather—Chairman Lee Geumyeok of CK Group—developed worsening liver cirrhosis.

The whole family underwent liver compatibility tests and genetic testing.

“What happened? Where is Father? Why is Chief Kang here instead…?”

“Vice Chairman Seo Munsu is in shock and stepped out for a moment… More importantly…”

“Did the liver test results come out? I’m prepared. If my liver matches Chairman Lee’s, then of course I’ll undergo surgery…”

“No, no. Taejoo. It’s not that. The test results showed… an unexpected finding.”

“What… do you mean? What could possibly shock Father that much…?”

“Sigh. Well… the genetic test, you see… Taejoo… Ah…”

After tremendous hesitation, the truth emerged.

“There’s a 99% chance that you are not Vice Chairman Seo Munsu’s biological child.”