Chapter 12

Since early morning, Seo-young had been standing in front of the mirror wearing the bright dress Soo-ae had picked out for her.

“You have to pull this off, Han Seo-young. You are Han Joo-young.”

She had already repeated these words dozens of times—knowing she had to present herself for one final evaluation before the upcoming wedding.

Knock, knock.

“Joo-young, are you ready?”

Along with the knock, Soo-ae called out to her from outside the door.

“Yes, Mom. I’m coming out.”

The formal family meeting (Sanggyeonrye) was held in the VIP room on the top floor of the Taesan Hotel.

The brilliantly glowing hotel lobby was an unfamiliar and intimidating space for Seo-young’s parents, Hyeong-jin and Soo-ae. An uncomfortable sense of alien displacement—as if stepping into a completely different world—weighed heavily on their shoulders.

Hyeong-jin kept adjusting his clothes, looking awkward in a suit he wasn’t accustomed to wearing. Soo-ae was clutching a luxury shoulder bag she had splurged on at the department store with both hands, her face tight with tension.

“This is the place, right?”

“Yes… I’m nervous, dear.”

Soo-ae took a deep breath. At the staff’s announcement that their hosts were waiting inside, Hyeong-jin’s face stiffened in tandem.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Hyeong-jin’s words sounded less like a reassurance to Soo-ae and more like an attempt to steel himself. A heavy silence descended among the three of them as the elevator ascended. With every single digit that changed on the floor indicator, Soo-ae’s breath grew noticeably shorter.

Watching her, Seo-young asked softly, “Mom, are you okay?”

Soo-ae immediately nodded.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

When the heavy VIP room door opened, all eyes inside turned toward the three of them simultaneously. Chairman Baek, Madame Jo, and their son Do-jin were already seated, awaiting their arrival.

Chairman Baek and Madame Jo merely watched Seo-young’s party enter, never bothering to stand up. Only Do-jin rose to offer a greeting. Yet Soo-ae and Hyeong-jin looked apologetic even for that bare minimum. That fact alone made it glaringly obvious who held complete control over this gathering.

The first to speak was Chairman Baek.

“You’ve arrived.”

Hyeong-jin hurriedly bowed deeply from the waist.

“Thank you for inviting us, Chairman.”

Perhaps due to his extreme nervousness, his voice sounded parched. Soo-ae likewise bowed her head next to her husband, her body stiff as she barely managed to utter her greeting.

Chairman Baek and Madame Jo sat side by side at the absolute center, with Do-jin seated beside them. Opposite them were Hyeong-jin and Soo-ae, with Seo-young’s seat arranged right in the middle between her parents.

The atmosphere between the two families sitting face to face was starkly contrasted right from the start.

Savoring the silence at his leisure, Chairman Baek was the first to break it once again.

“Well then, shall we begin our meal?”

The meal began smoothly enough on the surface. But while neatly plated dishes arrived on the table one by one, Hyeong-jin, Soo-ae, and Seo-young couldn’t bring themselves to focus properly on the food.

Amid the continuing awkward silence, Hyeong-jin tentatively broke the ice.

“The food tastes wonderful.”

Chairman Baek offered a faint smile.

“Our hotel’s executive chef is quite famous in the industry. I’m glad it suits your palate.”

Despite Chairman Baek’s relaxed smile, only an uncomfortable air hovered over the table. Hyeong-jin and Soo-ae wore deeply anxious expressions, while Do-jin kept his eyes lowered silently, his face showing no particular emotion.

The one to break the tense atmosphere was, once again, Chairman Baek.

“You have raised your daughter remarkably well.”

At Chairman Baek’s compliment, Hyeong-jin hastily set down his utensils and bowed his head low.

“It is only because you are kind enough to view her favorably, Chairman.”

Chairman Baek nodded slowly.

“This time, our daughter-in-law accomplished a truly great feat.”

At the word ‘daughter-in-law,’ Soo-ae’s eyes lit up brightly. As if she had been waiting for this exact moment, a broad smile spread across her face.

“Our Joo-young has been exceptionally bright ever since she was little. She was the kind of child who handled everything on her own, flawlessly. She hardly needed any hand from her parents.”

The moment Soo-ae’s boast concluded, the corner of Madame Jo’s mouth curled upward in an overtly ostentatious sneer.

“So much so that she handled everything entirely on her own…”

Just as Soo-ae’s face flushed with immense pride, Madame Jo set her chopsticks down with a sharp clack. She then fixed a frosty glare on Soo-ae and spoke.

“It almost sounds as if you are admitting she learned absolutely nothing from her parents.”

As Madame Jo’s icy remark landed, the air above the dining table froze instantly. Hyeong-jin blinked his eyes in sheer fluster, while Soo-ae pressed her lips tightly together, unable to utter a single word.

It was right then. Do-jin, who had been dabbing his mouth with a napkin, slowly raised his head.

“Mother, wouldn’t such a remark be impolite?”

It was the very first time Do-jin had spoken after remaining completely silent until now.

Unfazed by her son’s intervention, Madame Jo cast a brief glance at him before turning her gaze directly toward Seo-young.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

Pausing for a beat, she continued coldly, “Attorney Han, speak for yourself.”

At Madame Jo’s cold demand, the room froze in an instant. Every single eye converged on Seo-young. In that moment, a thought flashed through her mind: Sister would never stay silent after hearing something like this.

Seo-young took a slow, measured breath before opening her mouth.

“No, Madame. What my parents taught me was not mere techniques or methods, but an attitude toward life.”

At Seo-young’s calm yet resolute answer, Madame Jo’s eyes slowly drifted back to her.

“And what attitude would that be?”

Seo-young met Madame Jo’s gaze without wavering.

“The attitude of taking full responsibility for the choices one makes. Rather than blindly handing me solutions, my parents taught me how I ought to live.”

Pausing briefly, she added in a low, grounded voice, “Therefore, it is not that my parents did nothing. They taught me the single most important value required to navigate this world.”

With her back straight, Seo-young did not avert her gaze from Madame Jo.

“Is that so?”

Madame Jo set her glass down slowly.

“Then be sure not to forget that value in the future.”

Taking another pause, she added coldly, “Because a daughter-in-law of Taesan is judged by her actions, not her words.”

Madame Jo still did not find Seo-young to her liking. She could acknowledge Han Joo-young’s individual capabilities—she was a talent who had joined Taesan’s legal team at a young age, consistently delivering quarterly results, and her speech and conduct were flawless.

However, that alone was far from enough.

To her, marriage was not about love between two individuals, but a union between two families. She believed that no matter how outstanding a person might be, they could never overcome the weight imposed by their birth environment and background.

Above all, the Han family was far too ordinary to stand shoulder to shoulder with Taesan. That fact had irked Madame Jo from the very beginning. She was thoroughly displeased that Chairman Baek had pushed this forward, forcing her into a formal family meeting with such a common household.

It was Chairman Baek’s low chuckle that broke the taut silence. A composure akin to someone who had seen right through everything trickled into his laughter.

“I certainly picked the right person.”

At Chairman Baek’s praise, Hyeong-jin and Soo-ae smiled awkwardly in relief. Madame Jo’s gaze, on the other hand, did not soften in the slightest—all the way until the family meeting came to an end.

Hyeong-jin hurried toward the car he had parked at the far end of the hotel parking lot. Soo-ae and Seo-young quickened their paces in turn. The moment the car doors closed, Hyeong-jin and Soo-ae let out long, synchronized sighs.

“Phew… I thought I was going to suffocate to death.”

Soo-ae stroked her chest as she spoke, her face reflecting the sudden release of built-up tension. A moment later, she turned back to look at Seo-young.

“Seo-young, you did so well today.”

Hyeong-jin’s voice snapped out sharply.

“What on earth are you saying, woman?!”

Soo-ae looked at him in shock.

“…Seo-young?”

In an instant, the air inside the car sank into a icy chill. Soo-ae’s eyes widened as if only then realizing her mistake.

“A-Ah… yes, Joo-young. You worked hard today.”

As if it were truly a simple slip of the tongue, a much warmer smile settled on Soo-ae’s lips as she called her ‘Joo-young.’

Seo-young turned her gaze out the window for a moment. Watching the passing streetlights quietly, she slowly turned her head back. Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, she said calmly:

“Father, Mother, you both worked hard as well.”

At those words, the inside of the car fell silent once more. No one brought up the mistake that had just occurred.

Yet Seo-young knew.

Brief as that moment was, how naturally that name had slipped from her mother’s lips…

And how hastily it had been erased.