Chapter 7 …

Mugeol’s appearance froze everyone in place.

All of them stared at him in surprise as he calmly took a seat.

Including Yeonwoo, who was sitting directly across from him.

“Enjoy your meal, Ms. Cha Yeonwoo.”

At that moment, Mugeol lazily lifted his gaze and looked at Yeonwoo.

When he singled her out and told her to enjoy her meal, the trainees who had been absentmindedly watching him quietly exchanged glances.

“Everyone, enjoy your meal.”

Only then did Mugeol give the others a slight nod in greeting as well.

“Y-Yes… You too, Mr. Mugeol.”

Yeonwoo had just picked up her spoon when she glanced at him and gave a short reply.

Then she quickly averted her eyes and focused only on eating.

Why is he sitting in front of me…?

Swallowing the question, Yeonwoo discreetly looked around the company cafeteria.

There were plenty of empty seats.

Even at their table, several chairs were unoccupied.

There was even an empty seat beside Seohee, who had been happily admiring Mugeol’s impossibly handsome face earlier.

With a puzzled expression, Yeonwoo cautiously glanced at him again.

Mugeol simply ate his meal quietly, without saying a word.

…This is so distracting. Seriously.

Out of all the available seats, why had he chosen the one directly across from her?

She couldn’t even tell whether the food was going into her mouth or her nose.

Unlike Yeonwoo’s restless thoughts, however, the atmosphere at the table remained lively.

“By the way, Mr. Mugeol, you didn’t come to the orientation, did you?”

Seohee casually asked him.

Yeonwoo, who had been trying her best not to pay attention to him, immediately perked up.

“No. I don’t think I saw you at the orientation.”

At that, Mugeol answered leisurely,

“That’s right. Something came up that day, so I couldn’t attend.”

“I see. I thought you looked unfamiliar. The rest of us all met during orientation, so we’re at least acquainted.”

“…”

“You’re the only one meeting us for the first time.”

Nodding once, Mugeol raised his head.

In that instant, his eyes met Yeonwoo’s across the table.

His black eyes looked directly into her dark navy ones.

Yeonwoo, who had been quietly chewing her food, froze.

“Let’s all get along from now on. We’re fellow new employees, after all.”

Everyone at the table smiled brightly and nodded.

Only Yeonwoo hurriedly resumed chewing and lowered her gaze again.

* * *

“…Vice President. It’ll only take about a month, right? Right?”

Ignoring his fellow trainees’ invitation to grab a cup of coffee after lunch, Mugeol headed alone toward the underground parking garage.

The moment Secretary Han, who had been anxiously waiting for him, spotted him, he immediately grabbed Mugeol’s wrist and practically shoved him into his own car as if kidnapping him.

Then he tightly clasped Mugeol’s hand with a pleading expression.

“Not even a month. If you finish before then, even better.”

Gently removing Secretary Han’s hand, Mugeol wore an unusual expression.

It wasn’t a smile.

It wasn’t anger.

It wasn’t even expressionless.

It was the kind of dangerous look that suggested he was about to cause trouble.

His eyes gleamed with mischief.

The moment Secretary Han saw that familiar expression, he slowly shook his head.

“I’d rather stay for a full year.”

“W-What…? Vice President, who spends an entire year doing a trainee program?”

“Who’s the vice president? I’m an employee. Employee Kang.”

Chuckling softly, Mugeol held up the Royde employee ID hanging around his neck.

Secretary Han stared at the ID before squeezing his eyes shut.

“I still don’t understand why Chairman Kang didn’t stop you… from insisting on coming to work as a new employee.”

“Employee Kang.”

When Secretary Han called him “Vice President” again, Mugeol slowly frowned.

“Yes, yes. Employee Kang… Vice President.”

“If I’m an employee, then I’m an employee. What’s with ‘Employee Vice President’? Can’t you get my title right?”

Tilting his head crookedly, Mugeol looked at Secretary Han, who stubbornly refused to stop calling him “Vice President.”

“I’m afraid it’ll become a habit! I’m scared I’ll get used to calling you Employee Kang Mugeol!”

“What are you scared of? Do you think Vice President Kang Mugeol will eat you if he becomes an employee?”

“Can’t you just live normally for once? Like every other chaebol heir, following the proper order?”

Secretary Han sighed deeply.

“You spent years as Vice President at the New York branch. When you came back to Korea, you should’ve simply taken your planned position as Executive Director at Royde headquarters.”

“…”

“But out of nowhere… why become an employee? A brand-new hire, no less?”

“…”

“I understand wanting to start from the bottom and work alongside the employees so you can understand every corner of the company. That’s admirable. It really is.”

“…”

“But is this really the time for Employee Kang to be taking things so leisurely?”

“…”

Watching Secretary Han ramble on, Mugeol suddenly burst into amused laughter.

“Anyone watching would think you’re my mother, Secretary Han.”

Secretary Han immediately clamped his mouth shut.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence settled inside the car.

Mugeol leaned his seat back and rested his head against it.

“When you suddenly make that serious face like you regret something, it actually hurts my feelings.”

“I-I’m… sorry.”

“You’re apologizing too?”

“…!”

“My life already sucks enough without a mother. Are you trying to tease me?”

“N-No! Of course not.”

Secretary Han hurriedly apologized again before cautiously glancing at Mugeol.

Contrary to his words, Mugeol’s expression looked unusually bright.

“…Are you really sure you can afford to be this relaxed?”

“…”

“The moment Executive Director Kang Mutae heard you were returning, he thought he’d gone straight to hell. But when he found out you were joining as a rookie employee instead, he practically thought he’d reached heaven.”

“…”

“While you’re down here mingling with ordinary employees and inspecting the company from the ground up…”

“…”

“He’s busy strengthening his own position so he can secure the Vice President seat.”

“…”

“And after that, he plans to seize control of the subsidiaries too.”

Secretary Han continued bitterly while Mugeol listened quietly, lost in thought.

“Director Kang Yujeong is the same.”

“…”

“I heard she’s openly celebrating because she thinks her brother now has the company in his hands.”

“…”

“She even says the Royde Hotel she’s managing now will eventually become entirely hers. She’s already acting like she’s the president.”

Mugeol’s expression remained completely calm.

“…Are you really just going to let those two run wild throughout Royde?”

Only then did Mugeol finally speak.

“My half-siblings are just excited.”

“…?”

“If they want to run around showing off like children performing tricks…”

He slowly turned toward Secretary Han.

“I can watch for as long as I like.”

His tone remained perfectly composed.

“They’re not taking my place, Secretary Han.”

“…Vice President.”

“I’m not someone who lets others take what’s mine.”

“…”

“Not only will it never be taken from me…”

“…”

“But I’ll never hand it over willingly either.”

“I’m not like my mother.”

“I don’t know the meaning of yielding.”

As he added those words, Mugeol’s eyes trembled faintly for the first time.

“And have you forgotten why I came back to Korea?”

“…I know. To find your mother.”

“That’s right. Finding my mother is my top priority.”

“To do that, I can’t immediately sit in an executive office and bury myself in work.”

“…”

“If I had taken the Executive Director position as planned, Kang Mutae and Kang Yujeong would be watching my every move.”

“…”

“They’d only get in the way of finding my mother.”

“It’s better if I stay quietly as an ordinary employee.”

“That way, they’ll lower their guard.”

Secretary Han lowered his head, his face grave.

“And this is also a preview…”

“…A preview?”

Secretary Han looked back at him.

“I wanted to show them that the Kang Mugeol who blindly obeyed Father’s every word no longer exists.”

“From now on…”

“I’m going to break every rule that’s been laid down here and do things my own way.”

“…Vice President, what if the Chairman ends up disliking you because of that?”

Secretary Han’s concern made Mugeol answer firmly.

“Whether he likes it or not…”

“I’m the eldest son of Royde.”

“…Vice President…”

“And I’m also the shareholder with the largest stake.”

“…”

“The directors already know that, out of all the Chairman’s children…”

“I’m the one who’s the least easy to deal with.”

With those words, Mugeol fixed Secretary Han with a piercing stare.

“So…”

“How far have you gotten in finding out about my mother’s whereabouts?”

The obsidian-black eyes that spoke of his mother trembled ever so slightly.

His mother, Choi Hyunhee, had abandoned him and left home as soon as he entered middle school.