Chapter 19
“Oh, wh—who?”
Pyo Se-jin blinked rapidly, as if she couldn’t immediately place who he was.
“Don’t you remember? I’m the chairman of Suyeong High School.”
Se-jin furrowed her brows at the words “chairman of Suyeong High School,” then nodded with an “Ahh, right.”
“Oh, that’s right. You were with Jeongun back then, weren’t you? So you came here to make a good impression on Jeongun Group, I see.”
Even now, Pyo Se-jin had no idea that Seonghan was part of the Jeongun Group family. She only sneered, thinking about how a young man could rise so high.
Seonghan let out a small chuckle and replied,
“In a way, yes.”
“Oh my, then mix this kimchi a bit. The people here aren’t very skilled, even with a simple fresh kimchi like this. If you just toss it like that, it won’t taste right.”
Without warning, Pyo Se-jin tried to slip gloves onto Seonghan’s arm.
Seonghan smiled faintly and set the gloves down.
“I’m busy, so I can’t handle this.”
“You’re not busy? That’s how you’ll get ahead? Jeongun Group isn’t ordinary. I worked my fingers to the bone and still couldn’t get noticed by the chairman!”
“Still, the chairman doesn’t know yet?”
Seonghan raised his brows as if feeling pity.
“He’s not an easy person to impress. Forget the National Assembly members—anyone who stands in front of him is bound to stumble. Presidents change every five years, but the Jeongun Group chairman is the real king of this country.”
“You’re saying dangerous things in this age of democracy,” she replied.
Seonghan turned his body but knew Pyo Se-jin wasn’t entirely wrong. Jeongun Group, without a doubt, was the largest company in South Korea by market capitalization, with business reach that extended across almost every sector.
“Chairman is coming out.”
Seonghan, having spent a brief moment in the banquet hall, looked up.
Even at nearly ninety years old, Shin Cheon-sik was so vigorous that he didn’t need a wheelchair. Leaning on just a cane, he appeared, escorted by his secretaries, and took the central seat at the banquet hall.
“Oh, Seonghan has come.”
Shin Cheon-sik’s gaze fell on Seonghan. Even a single look or word from him could silence the room entirely.
“Yes, Chairman, it’s been a while.”
“Tsk, you should come more often. How’s the work as chairman?”
“It’s still early, but it’s enjoyable.”
Seonghan lifted his eyes to look at his grandfather.
During the Japanese colonial era, Shin Cheon-sik had gone abroad for studies under the patronage of an American. Using the knowledge he acquired, he had built the Jeongun Group in Korea. Even at ninety, his sharp eyes remained bright. The one person who shared his grandfather’s insight into people was Seonghan.
“Yes. Come, sit beside me and let’s talk.”
Shin Cheon-sik willingly made room for Seonghan, which surprised everyone into silence.
He had once dismissed his trusted grandson to high school, yet seeing him now as a high school chairman astonished all those affiliated with Jeongun Group. His performance had been exemplary, and he had always been the closest to becoming the true successor.
Choi Won-gyeong had long suggested Seonghan be removed from the post, but Shin Cheon-sik had never actually acted on her request—until recently, when it seemed he suddenly supported her.
Now, seeing him seat Seonghan beside him, the family exchanged uneasy glances.
“Father, it’s been a while for me too,”
said Shin Jeong-hyeon, Seonghan’s father, scratching the back of his head.
Choi Won-gyeong quickly intervened.
“Father, I’m sorry. Dear, let’s sit here.”
Subtly shooting a glare at Jeong-hyeon, Won-gyeong secured a seat next to Seonghan. Their son, Seong-woo, sat in the front row.
“Grandfather, even past ninety, you’re still so vigorous!”
Seong-woo strongly resembled his father, Jeong-hyeon. Watching his son, Won-gyeong let out a quiet sigh. At thirty years old, Seong-woo had still failed to complete his formal schooling.
“Chairman… well, you are the grandfather,” Seong-woo said.
“Mom, he’s the grandfather, right?”
“Gosh, is this elementary school? Mind your manners,” Won-gyeong scolded. She then glanced at Seonghan sitting properly beside Shin Cheon-sik, furrowing her brows in displeasure before turning her head away.
Meanwhile, Pyo Se-jin, unaware of the situation, stopped in her tracks while carrying kimchi with her plump rear swaying.
“This way, please,”
Seonghan said to Se-jin. The same young chairman who had come to impress Jeongun Group.
Why, she wondered, was he now sitting beside Shin Cheon-sik?
Seonghan stood and said,
“Hand it over here.”
As he gestured to take the kimchi dish, Pyo Se-jin accidentally tripped and fell forward. The kimchi spilled directly onto Jeong-hyeon’s head, who was seated right in front of her.
“Oh my!”
“What are you doing?!”
Bright red kimchi juice dripped onto Jeong-hyeon’s suit. Pyo Se-jin’s face turned as pale as the chairman’s.
“Oh, I—I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do this!”
Shin Cheon-sik’s brows furrowed in displeasure.
“That’s enough, just leave,” he said.
Pyo Se-jin trembled. Her frantic efforts to impress the chairman had all been for nothing—over a single bowl of kimchi.
“I’m truly sorry, I apologize!”
Jeong-hyeon excused himself to wash up, and Pyo Se-jin dropped to her knees. Shin Cheon-sik seemed even more irritated and turned his gaze away.
“Leave, I said.”
“Chairman, please hear us out. My husband is Assemblyman Kim Tae-seok and is in a difficult position. If you could just intervene once…”
Shin Cheon-sik’s face darkened further. He loathed personal petitions above all else, cutting ties with anyone who dared make them.
“Out! Now!”
Pyo Se-jin was dragged outside crying. She met Seonghan’s gaze, but he silently avoided looking back. It was Seonghan who had tripped her, causing her to lose balance.
Shin Cheon-sik never gave second chances once he decided. The painstaking efforts of Pyo Se-jin were ruined in an instant.
“I have work, so I’ll take my leave.”
Just as the meal was about to start, Seonghan stood. Everyone in the family frowned at his impoliteness.
“Isn’t it before the meal? Sit down,” Won-gyeong said, glaring at him. But Shin Cheon-sik dismissed it lightly.
“Go ahead.”
No one dared defy the chairman. Seonghan bowed and left the dining table.
In that moment, he recalled the conversation with Shin Cheon-sik before his appointment as chairman of Suyeong High School:
- “Are you really going?”
- “Yes, Chairman. I think this is an opportunity.”
In reality, Shin Cheon-sik had never driven Seonghan away.
Suyeong High School had been acquired on Won-gyeong’s suggestion, intending to seat her son, Seong-woo, as chairman. But Seonghan, whose reputation had been rising in the hotel industry, suddenly insisted on taking the position himself.
- “I will see this through to the end.”
- “You still believe your mother didn’t commit suicide?”
Seonghan’s biological mother, Lee Yoo-jeong, had been depressed due to her husband’s affair, and during Seonghan’s third year of high school, she had made an irreversible decision.
- “At that time, I wanted to uncover the truth to the end. My father sent me abroad forcibly, and behind him was that woman.”
Seonghan never hid his feelings about Choi Won-gyeong from his grandfather. Shin Cheon-sik shook his head at his angry grandson.
- “Enough. You’ll get hurt.”
- “I was young back then, so that’s understandable.”
- “You’re still young now.”
Shin Cheon-sik gazed at his grandson with concern.
- “You are the only one to succeed me.”
- “I’ll only know once I go.”
Seonghan smiled coldly.
- “Suyeong High School is the place that woman was continuously involved with. Isn’t it strange that she wants to buy it and place her son as chairman? I’ll go and investigate properly.”
Shin Cheon-sik did not stop his grandson. Seonghan became chairman as he wished.
Seonghan bowed and left the house. Outside, Pyo Se-jin was still standing.
“Please, just hear me out once. I beg you.”
Her face was twisted with desperation.
