Since Junman Park had left Korea to seek treatment for his lung disease, Jinhyuk Park’s weekly visits to Hannam-dong had ceased for a while. After such a long hiatus, Jinhyuk finally sent word to the main house that he would be coming over for a meal.
Upon hearing the news, Onsanddaek moved busily from early morning, preparing to welcome him. Park Seo-eun tried to scold Onsanddaek, telling her she should put that much effort into her work every day. However, she was left speechless when Onsanddaek snapped back, rebuking her for staying out late and being messy.
Because she was so young, Park Seo-eun had never seen Onsanddaek’s sharper side. She had assumed the woman was no different from any other employee, so she was visibly startled when Onsanddaek countered her nagging. However, Seyoung Oh—who knew better than anyone who stood behind that woman and the influence she held over the household—silenced the heated exchange by stopping Park Seo-eun.
Once the person blocking her was gone, Onsanddaek began organizing the house in earnest. As if the true master was returning from a long journey, she hounded the staff she had hired and trained, scouring every corner of the house. She scrubbed away old stains, rearranged the furniture, and prepared dishes that Jinhyuk would enjoy.
Like Park Seo-eun, Seyoung Oh found Onsanddaek’s frantic activity an eyesore. The masters of this house were Junman Park and herself. Yet, Onsanddaek was acting as if Jinhyuk was the owner. Seyoung wanted to step forward and say something, but she couldn’t suppress the old woman. In the absence of the true patriarch at DS, Onsanddaek occupied a position much like a family elder.
Shortly after Sanghyuk Park arrived home, having left work early upon hearing his brother was coming, the long-awaited Jinhyuk Park finally arrived in Hannam-dong.
“Did you stop coming just because the Chairman was out? Why are you only showing your face now?”
“Ma’am, it seems like being in Hannam-dong is making you age backward. You look even younger.”
“The young master has learned how to joke after not seeing me for so long.”
Onsanddaek’s heart softened significantly when she saw Jinhyuk, whom she had been worried about, arriving with a healthy complexion. She stroked his hand for a long moment before leaving for the kitchen, saying she needed to check on things.
Only then did Jinhyuk’s eyes fall upon Seyoung Oh, Sanghyuk Park, and the youngest sister, Park Seo-eun.
“It has been a while.”
Jinhyuk greeted Seyoung Oh and stepped further inside. Sanghyuk Park glanced at Seyoung’s reaction for a moment before sticking close to Jinhyuk’s side.
“Brother, why did it take you so long to visit?”
“Have you been well? Hey, if you missed me, you should have come to the office.”
“I should have. I haven’t been doing well. Things have been so hard lately.”
“What’s been so difficult?”
Sanghyuk was like a puppy wagging its tail and jumping around for its master. Watching this from behind, Park Seo-eun muttered to herself loud enough for them to hear.
‘Our oldest brother doesn’t even acknowledge him, so why is my second brother acting like that? Does he have no pride? Why bother?’
“Let’s hear why on earth you asked the whole family to gather.”
Seyoung Oh, who was just as displeased with Sanghyuk’s behavior as Park Seo-eun, pulled the girl along as she entered the living room. By the time they sat down, Sanghyuk was already showing Jinhyuk a magazine.
“Brother, what do you think of this? It’s a new line of clothing, and isn’t it killer? Only a few pieces are being released as a limited edition in Korea, so I ordered a set for you, too. Make sure you take it with you next time you come.”
“Why are you telling me to take women’s clothes? Did you really buy them because you liked the clothes? It looks more like you bought them because you liked the model.”
“Well, it was a bit of both. Hehehe.”
“Man, you’re already engaged. Are you still acting like this?”
“Oh— hearing that from you feels strange. But seriously, Brother, are you not seeing anyone these days? There was a time when the name Jinhyuk Park was legendary in this circle, but I don’t hear anything about you lately.”
“Do I have time to meet women? Isn’t your company struggling these days? I’ve heard quite a lot while moving around.”
“The company? Well, I…”
As the conversation shifted from women to his business, Sanghyuk shut his mouth and recoiled. Seyoung Oh glared at the frustrating Sanghyuk before sitting on the sofa and speaking.
“Fine. As you requested, the whole family is here, so speak. Let’s hear what kind of grand story such a ‘great’ person has that required everyone to stay home and not go anywhere.”
Park Seo-eun sat down beside her. Normally, Park Seo-eun wouldn’t come even if called, but she remained in her seat because today felt different. Jinhyuk calling a meeting while Junman Park was away… she suspected something extraordinary was about to be discussed.
“First… Ma’am. Please send all the staff to their rooms and tell them not to come out even if there’s a loud noise. Tell them to come out in 1 hour.”
Seyoung Oh looked back and forth between Jinhyuk, who was clearing the surroundings before speaking, and Onsanddaek, who obeyed his words. Jinhyuk spoke first to Seyoung Oh, who wore a bewildered expression.
“I visited the Byeoksong Art Museum recently.”
At those words, Seyoung Oh finally focused and stared at Jinhyuk. She frowned at the sudden topic and responded.
“Yes, I heard you came by. I heard you were there to check the artworks owned by DS Telecom. But why did you check them? Were you worried I might have stolen them?”
Responding with an offended tone, Seyoung Oh made up her mind to get angry regardless of what Jinhyuk said next. Since there were no staff around and Junman Park wasn’t there to stop her, she looked like she was prepared to have a proper showdown with Jinhyuk today.
However, her resolve did not last long. Jinhyuk’s subsequent words made her feel as if a part of her head had been blown away.
“You did steal them.”
“What?”
Seyoung Oh stared at Jinhyuk for a moment before quickly snapping out of it.
“What did you just say? Stole? Who? Me? Are you saying I stole something right now?”
“Brother, aren’t you speaking too harshly? Are you calling Mom a thief? Even if she didn’t give birth to you, how can you say that to the mother who raised you?”
Park Seo-eun looked as if she was about to pounce on Jinhyuk at any moment. In this chaotic atmosphere, only Sanghyuk Park remained confused, failing to grasp the situation correctly.
Jinhyuk smiled as he watched Seyoung Oh tremble with rage.
“You could have been an actress. Why are you staying here? You should join a theater troupe even now.”
“What are you talking about? Though I didn’t suffer the pains of labor for you, I have raised you for over twenty years. And yet, what? I stole something? Me?”
“Apologize right now. Otherwise, I won’t just stand by. Brother! You say something, too!”
Park Seo-eun spoke to Sanghyuk Park, who was still sitting next to Jinhyuk without saying a word. It was frustrating that Sanghyuk, who shared their mother’s blood, remained silent. However, contrary to the expectations of Park Seo-eun and Seyoung Oh, Sanghyuk tried to calm the situation rather than get angry.
“There must be some misunderstanding. Brother, why would Mom steal something from the Byeoksong Art Museum? Didn’t you get something wrong?”
Jinhyuk patted the back of Sanghyuk’s head—who was foolishly trying to prevent the situation from escalating even while his mother was being insulted.
“Yeah. I wish that were the case. But… didn’t you receive a call from Jeonghwa recently? They said they were pulling out.”
“Jeonghwa? What is that? Mom, what is Jeonghwa?”
Park Seo-eun turned her head and asked Seyoung Oh, but she received no answer. The anger that had been on Seyoung Oh’s face until a moment ago had vanished. Her face was now filled only with panic.
“How… do you know that?”
“By any chance, did you hear? That someone has appeared to buy the Vasylits painting.”
“Cheongwoo. That daughter of Cheongwoo… Are you? Wait, aren’t you two on bad terms?”
“Just because we’re on bad terms doesn’t mean we can’t go to the Hilton together, does it?”
When the name of the hotel was mentioned, Park Seo-eun tried to catch Jinhyuk in a trap, thinking she finally had something on him.
“I knew it. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, taking a woman to a hotel… Ow! Why did you do that?”
As Park Seo-eun pointed her finger and tried to shout at Jinhyuk, Seyoung Oh stopped her.
“Did you go together? To the Hilton?”
“I went and confirmed it. It was quite nice. Why did an item that was taken away for ‘maintenance’ end up on the market? If I recall correctly, Byeoksong took the item for some nonsense reason about repairing damage. Isn’t that right?”
“That… you must have misseen it. That can’t be.”
“Do you want to make me out to be a person who can’t even recognize a painting? Fine. Then are you planning to do the same to Han Ji-yeon, who went with me? No, you’d have to coordinate your stories with Jeonghwa to say no such thing happened… it’s going to be complicated for you. Then how about this? The paintings you hung up after taking the originals. You’d have to find the real ones and hang them back up to even begin to handle this mess.”
At Jinhyuk’s words, Seyoung Oh’s expression turned ash-black. Just as he said, there were too many mountains to climb if she wanted to deny everything.
“Aside from the ones you took this time, where are the rest of the artworks?”
“They are in the warehouse.”
“Are you still trying to lie? Are the ones in the warehouse the originals?”
“Didn’t you bring an appraiser and check them yourself? What did the appraiser say? Didn’t they say they were authentic?”
“If you’re so confident, shall we take them out of the warehouse and check them all together? To see if they are authentic or fakes.”
“They are authentic.”
Seyoung Oh closed her eyes and kept insisting. However, everyone present could see that her behavior was nothing more than a child’s stubbornness.
Unlike the clueless Sanghyuk, Park Seo-eun was quite perceptive. She looked back and forth between Jinhyuk and Seyoung Oh before speaking to Jinhyuk in a different voice than before.
“Brother, what do you mean? What about the artwork? What’s this about authentic or fake? Are you saying Mom swapped the items?”
Seyoung Oh turned her head at Park Seo-eun’s words, and Jinhyuk gave no answer. Although she didn’t hear a direct reply, Park Seo-eun understood how the situation was unfolding.
Jinhyuk spoke to Seyoung Oh, who continued to offer weak denials.
“The reason I came here today is simple. DS Telecom plans to put its art collection up for auction to raise money for charity. We intend to use the proceeds to support educational expenses for underprivileged children.”
Seyoung Oh, who had been looking away, snapped her head back toward Jinhyuk with wide eyes. Jinhyuk smiled as he met her gaze. Seyoung Oh’s expression looked more dramatic than any panicked actress on TV.
“Since I took the position of representative, I’ve been thinking about what kind of event to hold, and I thought this would suit us well. It doesn’t suit a telecommunications company to own artworks anyway, and it would look good to liquidate such luxury goods to give back to society. What do you think?”
“No. No. You can’t do that.”
“Why not? They are owned by DS Telecom, so you, as the Director, have no reason to object, do you?”
“The Chairman. Yes, the Chairman isn’t here, so wait until he returns. Hmm? That would be best, wouldn’t it? Right?”
Seyoung Oh grabbed the hand of Park Seo-eun, who was sitting beside her, silently begging for help. However, Park Seo-eun, who had already grasped the situation, couldn’t make a proper judgment. She wanted to help her mother and say something to her hated older brother, but her instincts were stopping her.
Unlike Park Seo-eun, Sanghyuk Park still hadn’t figured out what was going on. He merely considered it a typical war of nerves between his brother and mother.
“Brother, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat. And since you’re here for the first time in a while, let’s go out after dinner. A friend of mine just opened a new club…”
“Sanghyuk. Wait a moment. It seems the Director did all this for you, so listen closely.”
“Huh? She did it for me?”
Not knowing why, Sanghyuk stared at Jinhyuk. After finishing his sentence, Jinhyuk looked at Seyoung Oh, not Sanghyuk.
“Am I wrong? Where did you spend the money from swapping the artworks?”
“I did no such thing.”
“You weren’t able to liquidate the pieces you took this time… and assuming all the pieces currently gathering dust in the warehouse are fakes, it’s about 50 billion to 60 billion won? Is that roughly how much you pocketed? Surely the mistress of the DS Group wouldn’t do this because she lacked 60 billion won, so did you need the money for something you couldn’t let others know about?”
“That’s not true. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right. You should keep doing that. You have to keep insisting that you don’t know and that it’s not true. Otherwise, I might grow weak-hearted.”
Jinhyuk stood up from the sofa. Seyoung Oh remained seated with her head turned away, and Park Seo-eun was lost in thought, biting her lower lip. Sanghyuk stood up as Jinhyuk did, still appearing ignorant of the conversation.
“Brother, let’s go. The girls at the club are…”
“Can’t you just be quiet for a second?”
Park Seo-eun felt she had to step in on behalf of Sanghyuk, who still hadn’t come to his senses, and her mother, who was only offering denials. Considering what had happened to their uncles, she feared her mother would meet a terrible end if she let her brother walk away like this.
“Brother. We’re still family. Mom wouldn’t have done it on purpose. She must have had a reason.”
When Park Seo-eun, who had been speaking sharply to him only 10 minutes ago, spoke with a much softer voice, the right corner of Jinhyuk’s mouth curled upward.
“A reason? Sure. Everyone has their own reasons. But I’m not interested in those.”
“Brother. Then let’s do this. We’ll admit Mom was wrong, so please just delay what you’re planning for a bit. We’ll solve everything in the meantime.”
“How do you plan to solve it?”
“Um… right. The artwork. We’ll handle that first. We’ll solve that, and Mom will apologize for what she did to you… and…”
Park Seo-eun nudged Seyoung Oh’s side as she spoke. She was signaling her mother to say something while she was trying to fix things. However, Seyoung Oh looked as if she had already lost her mind. Park Seo-eun let out a sigh as she looked at her.
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