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Chapter 13
“…Dad.”
It felt so strange calling someone who wasn’t her dad, “Dad.”
Having to call a man who only looked about five or six years older than her “Dad.”
What a fate.
Haena let out a deep sigh.
But Lee Do (Hong Yido) seemed to interpret her sigh differently, and his face hardened.
No, mister. That’s not it.
It’s not that I’m disgusted by you. You don’t need to look so grim.
Haena immediately switched into her office-worker mode, brightly smiled, put strength into her core, and shouted.
“Dad!!”
Self-brainwashing herself hundreds of times.
*That really is my dad. My dad. The silly dad who was the kindest, most dependable, and most wonderful person in the world, who always made sure I ate something delicious even if he himself went hungry.*
Thinking that made Hong Yido look not so bad.
…Even if he was a hundred million times better-looking than her real dad, excessively young, and had a face like an actor’s, well, he was still her dad, yeah.
“…!”
At Haena’s single bright smile, Yido’s face momentarily twisted strangely.
*…What the hell, this guy?*
*What was that crumpled expression just now?*
*Here I am, showing him the appearance of a pretty daughter happily greeting her father. He couldn’t even smile back, and instead made a face like that?*
*Some people have no business ethics.*
Grumbling to herself dozens of times, Haena went down the stairs.
“Dad, are you off work?”
“…Ah.”
“Sorry I couldn’t greet you earlier. I was sleeping and didn’t even know you’d come home.”
“…It’s fine.”
“I feel like it’s been a really long time since we had dinner together, hasn’t it?”
“…I suppose so.”
“…”
And then a suffocating silence fell.
*This guy doesn’t say anything. Does he act like this outside too?*
*Don’t people say anything to you, sir? Is it because you’re the next chairman that no one says a thing? This crazy power-driven country. If I’d acted like this in social life, I would’ve been disowned by my friends long ago.*
In that awkward silence, the two entered the dining room.
“Grandpa!”
*Chairman Hong. I never thought I’d miss you this much…!*
At least Chairman Hong gave a somewhat human reaction.
“Mm. Haena, you’re here.”
Chairman Hong had been reading the newspaper with his glasses on, but as soon as Haena arrived, he folded it and put it down.
*There are still people who read paper newspapers.*
Haena hadn’t read a paper newspaper since the days when she used them to cook samgyeopsal, so she glanced at it curiously.
“Oh-ho. Are you curious about the newspaper?”
Chairman Hong seemed to mistake Haena’s gaze for curiosity about the newspaper.
*No. Not really curious…. I read online newspapers…*
But she couldn’t say that. Haena switched back to office-worker mode and nodded.
“Yes! To become a smart adult like Grandpa, I need to read the newspaper, right?”
“Oh, dear. You’re only getting better at flattery.”
Chairman Hong pretended to grumble, but his mouth was split in a huge grin.
*I can see right through you, Grandpa.*
With a very, very awkward gesture, Chairman Hong patted Haena’s head exactly once, then pointed with his chin for her to sit.
*Had there been no family love in this household until now? Had he never even patted a child’s head before?*
*I can see why Hong Yido turned out the way he did…*
Haena naturally sat down next to Chairman Hong.
But the moment she settled into the chair.
*Squeak.*
Hong Yido moved Haena’s entire chair over next to his own.
“…?”
“….”
So now Hong Yido was essentially wedged between Chairman Hong and Haena.
Haena looked up at Hong Yido with bewildered eyes, and Chairman Hong stared at Hong Yido with cold eyes.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“She’s *my* daughter.”
*Does… someone here not know that?*
Haena was flustered by the non-answer.
*Why is this guy like this?*
“She’s *my* granddaughter.”
*And why are you like this, old man?*
*Then what am I supposed to say here?*
*…I’m… me?*
Thanks to the two men engaged in a tense staring contest, Haena sat there with a very uncomfortable face.
Neither man said a single word, just glared at each other.
Hong Yido standing, Chairman Hong sitting.
In the midst of this, Uiryeong silently slipped in and placed in front of Haena, in order: doenjang-jjigae, egg rolls, and Vienna sausages.
Then she shot Haena a wink.
*Uiryeong, you’re the best…! If I’d had a supervisor like Uiryeong, my work life wouldn’t have been so hard…!*
*Sob sob.*
But even as the hot, steaming aroma of the doenjang-jjigae rose, Haena couldn’t lift a single spoonful.
*How can I eat when they’re glaring at each other like they want to kill each other right next to me?*
*Hong Yido, can’t you at least sit down and talk?*
*I think I’m going to get indigestion…*
“…The food… is getting cold.”
“!”
“!!”
“If it gets… cold… it won’t taste… good.”
Unable to bear seeing the beef doenjang-jjigae that Uiryeong had prepared growing cold, Haena finally spoke up.
*You people probably ate plenty of adult food outside, but this is the first Korean meal I’ve had in days.*
*Right now, I’d love to mix soju and beer together and down a cool glass, but I can’t in this body.*
“…Hm.”
“Ahem, ahem….”
The two men, looking quite embarrassed, each cleared their throats once and nodded.
Yido sat down with a truly sheepish and awkward gesture.
“Eat, Haena.”
“Hurry up and eat, what are you waiting for!”
*…This high-pressure way of speaking must be a family trait…*
“O-kay.”
Whatever. Haena was a brave office worker who, even in indigestion-inducing company dinners, steadfastly ate two bowls of rice by herself.
She was also the cool office worker who, when the CEO was dead drunk, quietly ordered more beef.
*This is nothing. Compared to the pointless squabbling between the department head and team leader in meetings right before quitting time, this is no big deal.*
Sure enough, the two soon became engrossed in company talk.
“…Regarding this tax audit…”
“…For the expected questions at the parliamentary audit…”
“…It’ll be hard to avoid Hongil Group’s hammer this time…”
*Hmm.*
*From what I catch, it sounds like serious headaches, but there’s not a single piece of useful information for me.*
From what she overheard, it seemed the government, short on money, was summoning conglomerate chairmen to parliamentary audits to pressure them into paying their taxes properly.
Cheongyeong seemed to be taking the hardest hit, and while Hongil hadn’t been summoned yet, it appeared they needed to prepare to take a hit as well.
As she kept her ears open and continued eating steadfastly—
“I hear Cheongyeong is trying to send that bastard son abroad. To play it safe in case he gets mentioned in the parliamentary audit.”
“Please choose your words more carefully in front of the child.”
“…Hmph, ahem.”
*Bastard son… that must be referring to Baek Jaehyun, right?*
Haena pretended not to understand anything, focusing only on her rice.
In the original story, Baek Jaehyun was a sub-male lead with hidden schemes whose true nature was unknown. He was also the true winner who ended up seizing Cheongyeong Group.
*If it’s information about a guy like that, I should listen carefully.*
“But from what I hear, the kid’s resistance is considerable. He says he wants to stay in Korea. That he’ll lie low like a dead mouse, so please let him stay.”
“…!”
*What? That’s pitiful.*
*So the adults, not wanting to get pummeled in the parliamentary audit, are sending a kid overseas where he has no connections?*
*These crazy people.*
“Where are they sending him?”
“The easy choice is America, so probably there. In that vast land, hiding one kid is nothing. I hear they’re thinking of sending him to a small town to hide him.”
“…!”
“Chairman Baek doesn’t seem to want to send his own grandchild that far away, but his daughter-in-law’s will is so strong…. I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“Ultimately, President Baek’s own will is what matters, though.”
“President Baek’s father-in-law is currently being tipped as a potential next presidential candidate. There’s no way he can ignore his wife’s family. Would that cowardly man be able to properly protect his own child?”
*Wait, this…!*
*That’s it!*
*The契机 (opportunity) for Baek Jaehyun to meet Han Su-yeon!*
In the novel, Baek Jaehyun is sent to a prison-like boarding school where troublemaking chaebol kids are gathered. He succeeds in escaping outside for just one day.
And there, he coincidentally meets Han Su-yeon and learns for the first time what warmth is.
In that brief moment, Baek Jaehyun falls completely for Han Su-yeon, returns obediently to the boarding school, and hardens his heart. He resolves to return to Korea no matter what, swallow Cheongyeong Group, and win Han Su-yeon back.
In short, the moment when the innocent Baek Jaehyun turns dark and becomes the scheming sub-male lead!
*…Wait.*
*Is it okay not to stop this? Should I just leave it be?*
