Chapter 47 …
“You got here quickly, huh?”
The first to approach the two of them was Byul. The woman smiled gently at her in response.
“Yeah, I know. Traffic wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
Yoon Sun-hee.
Byul’s mother, and also Woon’s mother. Sun-hee shifted her gaze toward Woon, who was approaching her.
“What happened to your nose? Did you hurt it?”
“Nothing, just…”
Sun-hee was surprised to see the bandage on Woon’s nose. Instead of Woon, who was avoiding her gaze, Byul answered for him.
“Looks like he got into some trouble with his girlfriend. It’s just a scratch, nothing to worry about.”
Woon frowned deeply at Byul’s words and was about to say something, but at that moment, a man appeared beside Sun-hee.
“Don’t tell me you were in a fight?”
Choi Dong.
Woon’s father, Dong, looked at the bandage on his son’s nose with suspicion. Woon flinched slightly at Dong’s words but quickly denied it.
“What? I’m not a kid… I just tripped and got hurt.”
Feeling their attention drawn by the bandage, Woon averted his eyes. Dong still looked doubtful, but Sun-hee stopped him.
“How old is he? Don’t interrogate him over something like this in front of so many people. That’s enough, just go inside.”
“No, we have things to discuss anyway, so you go ahead with Byul. I’ll join you as soon as I’m done.”
Dong gestured to Byul, and she held onto Sun-hee’s shoulder.
“Okay, Mom. Remember that restaurant you said you wanted to try when you came to Korea? Let’s go there. I already made a reservation.”
“Still…”
“Seems like the rich have things to talk about. We’ll just have a mother-daughter chat. Let’s go.”
Sun-hee kept glancing back at Dong and Woon, clearly worried. But Byul eventually led her mother away, leaving only Dong and Woon behind.
“Okay… what did you want to say?”
“This isn’t really the place to talk. Let’s go to your room first.”
Woon’s room wasn’t far, but during that short walk, he kept nervously glancing at Dong, which finally prompted Dong to ask.
“Why are you looking at me like a needy little puppy?”
“I… when did I—”
“Curious how I found out you were in a fight?”
Woon opened his mouth, caught off guard. Dong snorted.
“I’m the youngest of three. Do you think I wouldn’t notice a fight scar?”
“….”
“If it were just an object, maybe it would end there, but a fist?”
Woon didn’t reply, but Dong noticed this implied affirmation and clicked his tongue.
“How old are you now, and you’re still doing stuff like this?”
“I didn’t fight, okay?”
“Then what happened? Were you just hit? Pathetic. Is this how I raised you? You should at least win!”
Their argument echoed even down the hotel corridor.
“Earlier, you mentioned your girlfriend… Did she hit you?”
“No, it wasn’t my girlfriend. It was another guy I fought with.”
“Oh my, that’s something to be proud of.”
The father and son bickered all the way to the door, finally entering the room. When they closed it, a brief silence fell.
“So… what did you want to say?”
Woon, clearly tired of talking, asked irritably. Dong, sitting on the sofa, began speaking.
“What have you been up to in Korea lately?”
“Just… a few things…”
For a moment, Woon hesitated, recalling his time in Korea. Slowly, he realized that more than half of that time had been spent resting. Dong chuckled at Woon’s hesitation.
“You said when you came to Korea, you could take over Kyungmoon Group immediately?”
“….”
“And now you’ve realized how hard that really is.”
Woon didn’t deny it.
“Well, I expected as much… There’s something I want to ask.”
Dong’s voice grew lower, and the atmosphere became heavier.
“Have you been meeting Choi Hoon lately?”
“…I’ve met him a few times. We didn’t have long talks, though.”
Even just being near each other, they were more likely to growl than converse. Dong frowned.
“And why do you ask about him?”
“I’ve been hearing some unusual things.”
“I heard that. Choi Hyun, that guy, is supposedly getting a divorce.”
“….”
Dong raised his eyebrows, incredulous.
“Choi Hyun? He’s divorcing?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Not at all. I’m talking about recent developments with Kyungmoon Group.”
Dong explained why he was asking about Kyungmoon Group.
“The chairman’s absence is a big deal, but the company seems to be faltering more than expected, so I investigated a bit.”
“….”
“In the past few years, someone has been subtly obstructing Kyungmoon Group’s business and investments, almost like they know the internal affairs.”
Woon’s eyes widened.
“Of course, it’s unlikely that Hoon, who covets the company, did this… But it’s suspicious. It started happening after my brother became comatose.”
“So, the current state of Kyungmoon Group…”
“Not publicly known, but it’s definitely a crisis now. A lot must be going on behind the scenes.”
Dong briefly thought of Mia and continued.
“Anyway, that’s something to keep in mind. But this story about Choi Hyun? The divorce?”
“It’s just a rumor. He’s supposedly divorcing and remarrying another woman.”
“With whom?”
“Han Soo-ah, the daughter of Dongyoung Group.”
Dong rubbed his chin.
“Dongyoung Group… Well, there’s no better match given the circumstances. Seems like they’re combining forces to weather the crisis… But still, that remarriage is… questionable.”
“Did you know this Soo-ah girl?”
“Of course. She and my nephews… I don’t approve of what either of them do. No divorces for you, got it?”
Dong frowned, displeased with his nephews’ behavior.
“Then this will stir up issues with Lee So-jung as well. She has a daughter, you know.”
“Probably, since it’s a divorce story… Do you know each other?”
Dong’s casual mention of So-jung surprised Woon.
“Yes, her father and my younger brother have been long-time friends. I even saw her as a child.”
“….”
“She even helped my younger brother with a makeup ceremony… If she inherited talent from her father, it’d be a shame. She’d make a good daughter-in-law.”
Dong muttered wistfully. Woon quietly listened.
“There’s one more below…”
“What?”
“…Never mind. Anyway, if you’re done talking, I’ll be alone now.”
“You don’t need to say it. I don’t want to stay in the loser’s room either.”
“I didn’t lose!”
Even as Dong left the room, he argued, raising Woon’s voice once more.
“Thank you for your hard work. Please convey my thanks to the others as well.”
“No, it’s all thanks to you and the Madam for finding him. I’m just glad we found him quickly.”
Hyun and So-jung returned after finding Harim. So-jung was speaking with Kang-chan, who was leaving for company work.
“Also… he seems to have regained some memory, though only partially.”
“Really?”
“From our conversation earlier, he remembers getting married and having a child. But he still doesn’t recall who the spouse or child is.”
“That’s still progress. The most important thing is that the CEO recognized the girl as his daughter.”
“Exactly.”
“Anyway, I’ll handle what happened today first.”
Recognizing Harim as his daughter was the best news for Hyun. Kang-chan, relieved, got into the car with a smile, and So-jung returned inside.
“Dad! Look at this drawing!”
“Oh, it’s a pig. Looks tasty.”
“No! It’s a cat!”
Harim was excited, running around showing Hyun her drawing, dragging him to her room. Hyun followed without complaint.
“Choi Harim, wash up before playing.”
So-jung stopped Harim, whose clothes were still dirty. Harim quickly shook her head.
“No.”
“You have to wash up before playing with Dad.”
“….”
“If you wash up well, Dad will do anything for you.”
“Fly in the sky?”
“Sure.”
“Ride a horse? Ride a car?”
“Anything.”
“Let’s wash up quickly!”
Harim’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed the helper’s hand and ran to the bathroom. Hyun, watching, didn’t look pleased.
“How is it?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I know I’ll be crawling around tomorrow.”
“No, not that… Do you remember anything else?”
Being in the family home full of traces of past Hyun, So-jung hoped for some memory recall. But Hyun didn’t seem to remember more.
“I told you, I don’t know much beyond what I said earlier.”
“…Alright. Still, regaining some memory is a good sign.”
So-jung tried to hide her disappointment. Even so, having Hyun at home as Harim’s father was already a huge gain.
Once Harim left with the helper, only So-jung and Hyun remained. So-jung hesitated before looking up at him.
“Also, I have something to discuss with you.”
“What now?”
Hyun raised his eyebrows, anticipating more news. So-jung continued.
“It’s about our divorce.”
