Chapter 27: Let’s Get Married!

Before meeting my father.

To be honest, I felt a little uneasy and worried.

‘I could guess what Mother was feeling.’

Just looking at how much she cherished Father’s watch was enough to know.

‘But I never knew what Father was feeling.’

Out of sight, out of mind—people drift apart so easily.

I even wondered if Father’s heart had already grown cold during that time apart.

‘Guess I was worrying for nothing.’

Father and Mother looked at each other.

As if they were the only two people left in this world.

They just stared in silence, completely entranced, with eyes meeting—deep and burning.

Love, resentment, longing, joy, worry, anger, happiness, and even sorrow.

It felt like every emotion was swirling between them.

Click.

Leaving the two behind, I quietly slipped into the house. Cheolgu, who had been setting up the Christmas tree, let out a hearty laugh.

“Is it really cold out there? I bet you really need that scarf and furry hat, huh?”

The Taeseong Group bodyguards put down the tree ornaments they’d been working on and started rummaging through Taeseong Department Store paper bags.

“Young master, please wait a moment. There should be a scarf and hat in here somewhere.”

“If you look carefully, there should be mittens too, and maybe earmuffs?”

“I remember we bought winter slippers as well. Ah, here they are!”

I shook my head.

“Later. Not right now.”

The bustling adults were startled and all stopped what they were doing.

“Did you fight with your mother?”

“Why did you come back alone?”

“Where’s your mother?”

Their worries were gentle.

“Father came.”

“What?”

Cheolgu’s eyes went wide as he peered through the window.

“That shameless man who left his wife and child behind! Today I’ve got to see that face—kugh!”

Suddenly, the landlady came running and smacked Cheolgu on the head with a ladle.

“You rascal, cursing a kid’s father in front of him? Did I raise you like that?”

“No, it’s not like that…!”

“Say one more word! You’re not getting breakfast tomorrow!”

“Ahem, kiddo. Sorry about that. Just let this old man off this once, okay?”

Cheolgu scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish.

The landlady rolled up her sleeves.

“If Jeonghyeok’s dad is here, I need to beef up the dinner table. This isn’t nearly enough!”

Soon after, loud chopping sounds and a dazzling display of flames burst forth from the kitchen.

One of the Taeseong Group bodyguards handed me a tree ornament.

It was a big gold bauble—my favorite.

A bodyguard with a keen eye for detail.

‘Alright, you win!’

I scampered over and hung the gold bauble on the tree, whispering softly.

“What kind of person is my father?”

“Quiet, intelligent, and a very impressive man.”

I meant his personal life, you dolt.

“I heard Father was engaged.”

“Ahem, that’s a difficult subject for me to comment on…”

I discreetly slipped a token of sincerity into the bodyguard’s pocket.

About ten 10,000-won bills, maybe?

He reacted right away.

The quick-witted bodyguard squatted down, pretending to pick out tree ornaments, and whispered softly.

“Your father is very good at his job, and he’s said to love his work, too.”

So, because he’s good at his job and loves it, there’s no way the Promise of Engagement with Ukwang would just be broken?

“As soon as your father got engaged, he enlisted. As soon as he was discharged, he traveled all over the country, landing construction contracts for hotels, resorts, and roads, so he was extremely busy.”

Oh?

“They say when marriage was brought up, he ran off to the Middle East. He was so active with overseas construction contracts that no one could tell him to come back right away. That’s how much he loves his work, and how good he is at it.”

Aha.

So that’s what it meant.

“I heard Chairman prepared Tae-seong Chemical for young master Seongjun, but he insisted on handling construction instead.”

Tae-seong Chemical is the joint venture established by Ukwang and Taeseong together.

“He was always talking about needing to find someone all over the country. Thanks to that, Taeseong Hotel and the resorts are located in the best spots all across the nation.”

It sounded enticing.

Listening, I couldn’t help but smile.

“The fiancée was too young when they held the engagement ceremony, and once she came of age, she was busy with university, so she barely ever crossed paths with young master Seongjun. Honestly, even we barely saw the face of the woman he was engaged to.”

Then he leaned right in and whispered right in my ear.

“For the record, your mother is much more beautiful. Much, much, much! Like a million times more!”

The bodyguard winked.

“Thank you for the expensive wine last night, by the way. So, please, put this back.”

He quietly slipped the money I’d given him back into my pocket.

See? Lubricating the wheels of the world ahead of time really is the best.

I know full well that they can’t openly talk about the private affairs of the Order of Succession.

But to let me know in such a roundabout way…

I won’t forget that kindness!

I leaned in toward the bodyguard and whispered softly.

“Tonight, it’s whisky.”

“Oh, there’s no need to go to such trouble for me.”

“Even if it’s Macallan Fine & Rare 1926?”

In the 21st century, that’s a bottle auctioned for about 2.3 billion won.

Each glass would be about 51 million won!

Gulp!

The Taeseong Group bodyguard, trying to keep a straight face, hung an ornament on the tree, but his hands behind his back gave a big thumbs up.

Trust sprouting amidst all this exchange of goodwill!

This warm atmosphere wasn’t just because the boiler was on full blast.

“Young master, loyalty, loyalty!”

The Taeseong bodyguard who saluted flashed a bright grin and made a V sign with his fingers.

“So I’m loyalty number two now, right?”

“What’s your name?”

“Yujongtae. I’m the leader of Team 5 in Secretary Chief Kim Younggeol’s security detail.”

He was saying he even had the skills to handle the dirty work.

“Everything I am today, I owe to my intuition. If I had to choose one person to stake my future on, it’d be you, young master. Please take me under your wing!”

Damn. I really do like ambitious guys!

Cheolgu, who was just topping the tree with a gold star, gave a big thumbs up.

“Oh, did I just get myself a new lackey?”

This guy, always sharp only at times like this!

I turned my head, pretending not to notice.

Pretending to focus on decorating the tree, I summoned the Grim Reaper.

Snap.

But unlike usual, the Grim Reaper glared at the Christmas tree with a deeply annoyed look.

[You might as well hang prayer ribbons on a Seonangmok. What do you call this nonsense, tsk.]

Prayer ribbons were originally colorful strips of cloth, often in red, green, blue, yellow, and white, tied to the sacred tree or shrine.

[It’s not a Sanshinje, not a Chilseong Gut, not even Buddha’s Birthday, yet you’re imitating those Westerners with lanterns as flashy as this…]

‘Hey, guardian spirit. That’s not what matters right now.’

I’d just learned there was a good chance Father and Ukwang’s fiancée weren’t close at all.

Now I needed to find out about my parents’ relationship.

Only then could I decide whether to support their marriage or not.

‘Shut up and share vision!’

[Fine.]

Mother and Father sat side by side on the garden bench where they’d lit the brazier yesterday.

A chilly wind blew between the two of them, who sat together yet apart.

Father asked.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes. Have you been well too, sunbae?”

“No, I haven’t been well at all.”

A bitter smile.

“How could I be, when you disappeared without a word?”

“Sunbae, I…”

“I searched for you for a long time. Like a madman.”

Father wiped his face with both hands.

“I turned over every inch of the country but couldn’t find you. It was all dark before my eyes.”

“……”

“I threw away my pride and begged Kim, my secretary, on my knees. But even he lost your trail. Do you know what I thought then? Did something happen to you? Were you murdered?”

“……”

“I nearly went crazy. Who could have touched you, and why? I thought of every possibility.”

Mother gripped the hem of her coat tightly.

“But you got engaged to another woman, didn’t you?”

“Then you know I enlisted three days before the engagement ceremony?”

“What?”

“You know that I ran off to the provinces the moment I was discharged? That I ran off to the Middle East as soon as the marriage talk came up? That I had people constantly looking for you all that time?”

Mother couldn’t answer.

Her eyes, looking at Father, were shaking violently.

“You’re so cold. How could you never once visit my parents’ house?”

“That’s…”

“I bought the house next to your parents’. Hired people, too. I’ve been waiting for seven years, hoping you’d come visit.”

Father draped his gray scarf, the one he’d been wearing, around Mother’s neck.

“That child earlier… he’s mine, isn’t he?”

“…Yes.”

“Just to check, are you seeing anyone right now?”

“…No.”

Father smiled.

“Then marry me. If you still feel the same as I do.”

Looking at Mother, who didn’t know what to do.

“I can give everything up. I mean it.”

‘Yes!’

I cut the shared vision with the Grim Reaper.

‘I’ll support this marriage!’

I was burning with motivation.

I clenched my tiny fists tight.

‘There’s love between them—what’s the problem? Even if there is a problem, I’ll just deal with it myself!’

Anyway, in these chaebol families.

They treat marriage far too lightly.

Of all the ties Heaven cannot sever—parent and child, husband and wife, blood ties—the only one you can choose is your spouse.

The life you lead depends on the partner you choose.

No matter how much you think money can buy happiness,

Even a marriage for love can fall apart.

I believe marriage is a matter of fate, and that the stress you get from the person you share your life with can stab at your heart like a blade every single moment.

That’s why, even when Kangwoo brought home a woman from a trashy family,

I told him to see only the woman—just look at whether she was a woman worth living with, nothing else.

‘If Father has the courage to give up everything and choose Mother, then everything gets a lot easier.’

I could never force Father to love.

If Father chose to turn away from Mother and live the chaebol life, I’d just quietly leave without resenting him.

Circumstances shape our stance, and feelings fade with time.

It’s foolish to cling to emotions that have already faded.

So I never gave up hope until the end, but I was prepared, if necessary, to cut ties with the Cha Family and live with Mother alone.

‘Then should I take care of the 30-billion Promise of Engagement holding Father back?’

Ukwang and Taeseong founded Tae-seong Chemical together, based on the Promise of Engagement.

That company would be worth over 1.5 trillion won in today’s money.

That’s why Chairman Cha couldn’t easily permit Father and Mother’s marriage, and why Father’s love wasn’t blessed.

‘If Father tries to break off the engagement first, he’ll probably have to give Tae-seong Chemical to Ukwang. The chairman would never accept that. So I need to make it go the other way.’

My mind began racing.

‘If Father tries to break the engagement, let’s set it up so we demand compensation from Ukwang and take Tae-seong Chemical instead! For that, I’ll need Cheolgu’s help.’

I turned to look at Cheolgu.

He was glancing around anxiously, a nervous look on his face.

“Did you feel that?”

He shivered.

“That nasty, creepy feeling crawling up your spine! Even the air got cold and gloomy all of a sudden, but it vanished in a flash just now!”

This guy—his instincts really are good!

I glanced at the top of Cheolgu’s head.

The Grim Reaper’s countdown was gone.

That meant I no longer needed to worry about being cautious.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Cheolgu blinked, then gave me a big, innocent grin.

“Ah, you just wanted a gold star on top of the Christmas tree, right?”

His instincts are sharp, but his awareness is hopeless.