TRPM 453

chapter 453

The materials Sophia handed me contained detailed accounts of the events my maternal grandfather remembered.

They documented when my mother started her business, which buildings she purchased, and even whom she employed.

However, there was no information regarding interference from my maternal relatives in my mother’s affairs.

They hadn’t pressured her by manipulating other businesses, so it made sense that such information couldn’t have been obtained through hacking.

‘Still, it looks like my mother gradually struggled to maintain the business.’

The business itself was steadily growing, but reports indicated that the time my mother spent at the company was gradually decreasing.

The hacker, unaware of any interference from the maternal side, concluded that she was simply exhausted from managing both her studies and her business simultaneously. That wasn’t an unreasonable conclusion.

“Hmm?”

Yet, the hacker seemed to notice something odd about my mother selling the business to my eldest maternal uncle for a pittance and conducted some additional research on him.

However, the investigation into my eldest maternal uncle acquiring the business didn’t reveal much.

At most, it showed that he received money from my grandfather when taking over the business. Even if it was a bargain, the business itself would have required a significant amount of money, and the hacker explained that my eldest maternal uncle likely couldn’t have afforded it with his personal funds.

“…”

What was interesting, however, was what happened after my eldest maternal uncle took over.

He didn’t touch the business after acquiring it from my mother. Presumably, he thought it best to leave the practical operations to the staff.

Yet, thanks to my mother having established such a solid foundation, when the fashion industry as a whole began to boom, the staff riding that wave achieved massive success.

‘The staff were fully prepared to launch new fashion products anytime, so they were able to capitalize on trends earlier and earn more profits than other companies.’

Some time after that, the records showed that my mother became independent.

“…”

I put the materials away.

From the moment I had accessed my grandfather’s memories, I already knew the general circumstances.

The materials Sophia provided were evidence supporting that context and showed exactly when events occurred. Beyond that, there was no additional information.

‘Naturally, between hacking to obtain roughly twenty-year-old data and accessing the memories of someone who experienced the events firsthand, the latter would contain more information.’

I skimmed through the materials, hoping to find anything else, but there didn’t seem to be any. After reviewing both my grandfather’s memories and the documents, I concluded:

“My maternal relatives didn’t recognize Mom’s talent.”

That was the only fair assessment of the situation.

My mother had a talent for business. She understood market trends and had a keen eye for people. Even when my eldest maternal uncle neglected the business, the staff succeeded, proving that my mother had laid a solid foundation.

Yet my maternal relatives dismissed my mother, still a young girl, assuming her business would fail. And this was the result.

Knock, knock.

“Son? Are you awake?”

Having woken up too early, I was reviewing Sophia’s materials when I heard my mother knocking on the door.

“Today, we need to visit Dad, Uncle, and your grandparents to greet them.”
“I’m awake.”
“Good. Breakfast will be ready soon, so come wash up quickly. Mirae and Sophia are already here, so don’t keep them waiting.”

…Why are the two of them here?

I thought to myself as I left the room and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

When I returned, I saw Mirae and Sophia waiting, both wearing hanbok.

“?”

What’s this?

“How does it look, Master? Does it suit you?”
“It suits me, but… why hanbok?”

You two aren’t Jin Chunha…

“Master, today is Lunar New Year.”
“Oh…”

Of course, wearing hanbok during the holiday was only natural. I’d just forgotten, having rarely worn hanbok since childhood.

Looking into the living room, I saw a table set for a ritual meal that I had never seen before.

‘…This is unusual.’

I’d seen this kind of thing on TV or online, but never in person. My family had never really observed ancestral rites before.

“You, Geonwoo, Mirae, and I were enough before, but from this year, Sophia is here too. With four people, I thought it would be nice to hold the ceremony properly.”

My mother, dressed in hanbok, said this while serving rice from the kitchen. From her eyes, I could sense both anticipation and a hint of apology toward me.

‘Mom is excited because she’s never done this before. And she feels sorry because…’

‘Ah, I see.’

It was a continuation of yesterday’s card game. She assumed I was curious about the maternal side of the family, so she wanted to hold this ritual. My role was simple: participate and perform it as she wished.

“My hanbok?”

I didn’t have one. As I said, I hadn’t worn hanbok since childhood.

Would I be the only one in different clothes while everyone else wore hanbok? That wasn’t possible. Seeing Mirae and Sophia in hanbok, I guessed correctly: mine was prepared.

“Geonwoo, your hanbok is in this wardrobe.”

As expected, my mother had prepared it.

“Hmm…”

I took it out and examined it.

‘This should be easy enough to put on.’

I wasn’t an expert like Jin Chunha, but having seen him wear hanbok multiple times, I had a rough idea of how to wear it. Plus, the one my mother prepared wasn’t overly complicated.

“I’ll go change.”
“Alright. Kids, let’s prepare the ceremony.”
“Yes.”
“What should we do to help?”

After I changed into hanbok, the ritual lasted an hour. It felt awkward because none of us, including Mirae and Sophia, had done this before, and my mother insisted on following every step perfectly.

“I thought the food would get cold during the ritual, but it’s still warm.”
“I surrounded it with an aura to block heat exchange with the air.”

It wasn’t an aura but internal energy; still, with my mother and Sophia present, I said ‘aura.’

“…Master, I’ve said this many times, but don’t use high-level skills like that in such a place. It makes me feel deprived.”
“You can wrap objects in your aura too, right?”
“You know my aura is more potent than most poisons or curses. If I did that to food, it’d be lethal.”

Ah, fair enough.

After breakfast, we got into my mother’s car for the ancestral graves visit, still in hanbok.

“…?”

Sitting in the passenger seat, I noticed something odd in the back. Mirae and Sophia were seated there.

“Why?”
“Uh… Mirae, aren’t your parents visiting their ancestral graves?”
“They are.”
“Then why are you in this car?”
“We’ll visit Master’s father first, then head to ours.”

…So they wanted to attend both the family ritual and the grave visit?

“And Sophia?”
“I have no other plans today.”
“I see…”

Alright. If they want to come along, that’s their choice. Resigned, I looked ahead.

Before long, the radio indicated we had arrived at a familiar location.

“Shinsegyo, right?”

As Mirae said, we had arrived near Shinsegyo. It used to be run by my eldest uncle, and behind Shinsegyo lay our family’s ancestral grave site.

“Although the graves only have monuments, as we can’t recover remains from my great-grandfather’s time onward,” my mother said as she prepared to park the car.

“Ugh…”

She frowned at something, and we, Mirae, Sophia, and I, saw what it was.

“Oh, looks like a clothing store is opening near Shinsegyo.”

“…”
“…”

Seeing the store sign, Sophia and I were speechless.

“Isn’t that a clothing store run by Geonwoo’s maternal side? Ah, that’s why it’s opening near Shinsegyo?”

Mirae seemed to know my maternal family lived in this neighborhood and were in the clothing business but didn’t know their connection to my mother.

“Shh…”
“Huh? Why?”
“I’ll explain later.”

Sophia blocked Mirae, but it was too late.

“…Huuuuu…”

Mom took a deep breath, clearly irritated.

“…”

Seeing her, Mirae seemed to realize the situation and covered her mouth apologetically.

“I left the store openings to the real estate agents… but well… it’s not their fault. What could they know?”

Focus, focus. Geonwoo, you have nothing to do with that store. I can buy clothes elsewhere. Only those living near Shinsegyo or working at Shinse Herbs are affected… can’t help that.

“…”
“…”
“…”

We, Mirae, Sophia, and I, held our breath as our mother muttered to herself. Eventually, seeming calmer, she asked:

“Shall we go pay our respects at the grave?”
“Yes.”
“Yep.”
“Understood.”

Honestly… I’ve never been this scared of my mother.