PHUW 64

He was aware that what he was doing was stalking. Jeong Mok also knew well that, after throwing out Ahn Haeri with harsh words to avoid becoming an obsessive lunatic like Jeong Yeongil, it was nothing but a shameless and conscienceless bastard’s act.

It was only that he could not stand the thought of leaving someone who had lost his memory to live alone in a strange place with no ties. At first, it was only supposed to be about checking where it was, whether it was a safe neighborhood, whether the house was decent. But the moment he got the exact location, his mouth moved on its own. By the time Jeong Mok realized what he had done, he was already in the middle of hearing the price of that house and the one next door, and Jeong Mok had gone as far as to offer a generous amount on top.

Just as it had been for him, this landlord too might one day have his own reasons to suddenly ask for the place to be vacated. And wasn’t it far too cruel, to imagine him wandering again to find a place to live with not a small dog but a giant Bernese Mountain Dog and Ovcharka mix… This was the absurd and laughable sophistry he was forcing on himself as a kind of self-brainwashing.

Jeong Mok let out a low sigh and drank his tea.

The study door opened again close to midnight. Just then, the professor had come to check the state of the study, and at that moment Choi Sangeon, who flung the door wide open, came out looking completely drained and collapsed onto the sofa. The professor turned to his son with a worried gaze and spoke.

“Did the talk end well? Your wife went in first because of Jun.”

“That worked out fine. After being scolded enough to the point of vomiting from the chairwoman’s fury, I’m starving. I wonder if there’s anything to eat.”

Choi Sangeon glanced toward the kitchen and staggered to his feet.

“On your way to the kitchen, ask if there’s any late-night food. And have honey ginger tea prepared and taken to the chairwoman’s study.”

The professor told this to his eldest son, then knocked on the study door and opened it right away. The professor was the only person who could enter the chairwoman’s study without permission.

Through the gap, the chairwoman could be seen. After over five hours of a marathon power struggle with her heir, who had the exact same temperament as herself, she frowned at the professor in exhaustion. What went on after the door closed was something no one knew. Only, because in private matters Choi Jieon shared many traits with the chairwoman, she once had said something impossible to imagine, that “Mom’s probably clinging to Dad going, ‘Honey, make up with me~’ while whining.” But no one believed it, nor did anyone want to.

In case the chairwoman might call for him after the professor, Jeong Mok waited without knowing unauthorized copyhow long it would be. Choi Sangeon tapped his shoulder.

“She won’t say anything to you tonight. Let’s go eat. You barely had any dinner.”

“What on earth did you say to the chairwoman.”

“I’ll explain while we eat.”

Because the entire family was gathered, it was treated as a sort of emergency, and the kitchen staff still remained at their posts. A table similar to earlier was quickly prepared. While also preparing the honey ginger tea as instructed by the professor, a staff member asked if anything else was needed.

“We’ll handle the food ourselves.”

The quick-witted staff member carried out the honey ginger tea and did not return.

Even though it was late at night, Choi Sangeon really began devouring the food with gusto. But Jeong Mok still had no appetite. While he only pretended to eat, Choi Sangeon suddenly spoke.

“By the way, did something happen with your housemate? You seemed to be getting along fine, so why did you suddenly make him move out? Even cut him off from the company.”

“……”

Jeong Mok set down his spoon and glared at Choi Sangeon. Lifting a spoonful of soup, Choi Sangeon looked back at him and chuckled.

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t know, did you? When he’s going to a university hospital that has ties with our foundation.”

He had not thought it would be completely unknown. The professor knew, and he had even personally contacted Solsoop Law Firm, [stolen content]so naturally it would reach the ears of the chairwoman and Choi Sangeon. But knowing about the hospital treatment and the hiring of a small office, and knowing about personal matters like a move, were on different levels altogether.

“Were you spying?”

“Not me, the chairwoman. I intercepted in the middle.”

The chairwoman was certainly someone who could do that. Especially since she was always watching him through Choi Jieon and the professor. The tightly wound anger eased a little. Instead, he felt fatigue and irritation.

“Hyung, don’t you have no time to spare for even worrying about me?”

“It’s your business, so I have to scrape up time for it. No matter what, you’re still one of the largest shareholders in our group.”

Jeong Mok snorted.

Noh Yeongtae, the former chairman of Hyeonsan Group who raised the company from a small provincial business to one of the top five conglomerates in the country, had only two daughters from his lawful wife. In those days, when son preference was rampant, he faced constant pressure from those around him to adopt his nephew, born below his younger brother, as an heir. But he insisted on choosing his own blood, Noh Seongjae, and gave her his full support. In the cosmetics company too, he pushed through with an unconventional appointment, one from a construction and building materials development company, so the backlash was enormous, and on top of that, because she was a woman, the slander and scheming to topple her from the successor’s seat were beyond words. That the chairwoman was cold to the point of being called inhuman was not without reason.

Perhaps because of their relatives’ jealousy, the two sisters were all the more close. And Noh Heejae, who admitted early on that she had no talent for management, entrusted her entire 6.07% of the head office shares inherited from their father to Noh Seongjae. It meant she delegated her voting rights as a shareholder. After Noh Heejae’s death, Jeong Mok inherited them and, like his mother, also entrusted his voting rights. It would have been easier to just transfer them outright, but as a conglomerate constantly monitored by the government, the shares could not be freely handed over.

“I won’t withdraw the delegation, no matter how much you watch me.”

“I know. I know that too. But other people don’t believe it.”

“Other people, who?”

“The second house.”

The second house referred to the family of Noh Jutae, younger brother of former chairman Noh Yeongtae. They were the ones who had obstructed the chairman’s path at every turn.

“What.”

“Well, how should I put it. They say you’re letting someone troubled be taken advantage of for his shares.”

At Choi Sangeon’s choice of words, “someone troubled,” Jeong Mok frowned.

“Did they call me a lunatic?”

“Well. A much harsher word than that, but the meaning’s about the same.”

A completely broken wretch, or a bastard with dirty blood who might go insane at any moment. They had probably used words along those lines. Even back when the former chairman was taking his eldest daughter to teach her business, those relatives used to sneer that he was an old man blinded by late-life greed who ignored the company and acted stubborn.

When Jeong Yeongil murdered his wife, Noh Heejae, they stirred up outdated media campaigns saying that the family was cursed because a hen had crowed, and if the company were handed over, the same disaster would strike again. The reason the chairwoman scrutinized Jeong Mok’s every move under a microscope and treated him so strictly was also because of the malicious rumors spread by the second house. They were, in every way, a family that inspired disgust.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Whatever the second house does, as long as the chairwoman stands firm, nothing disgraceful will happen. I understand, to some degree, that you don’t want to step out to the front lines of management. But I think it would be better if you showed a good side of yourself at least once. For your sake, and for the chairwoman’s sake.”

“What do you mean.”

“I mean exactly what I said. After that incident, you improved through active treatment. But the chairwoman is still trapped in the memory of that time.”

It was something Jeong Mok had never once considered. Even as he spoke, Choi Sangeon busily emptied his bowl and soup, Read onthen finally set down his spoon and gave a small laugh.

“The chairwoman and Aunt Heejae, they were closer than anyone. Sisters, but also inseparable friends.”

“So now I’m supposed to take responsibility? Because I’m the son of Jeong Yeongil, the man who cruelly killed the chairwoman’s beloved younger sister? If that’s the meaning, then it’s better for me to stay out of sight.”

“Mok-ah. That’s not the meaning. It’s the opposite.”

At the incomprehensible words, Jeong Mok fixed his gaze on Choi Sangeon.

“You are her son before you’re that man’s son. The chairwoman needs to realize that.”

“And you can say that looking at this face?”

“I think you take after your mother’s side.”

Jeong Mok laughed in disbelief at such nonsense.

“They say lutein is good for premature presbyopia.”

“Aunt Heejae liked dogs too. I remember hearing once about the dog she had as a child.”

“Stop attaching nonsense excuses.”

Jeong Mok cut him off.

“I mean it, you really do resemble her.”

Choi Sangeon spoke seriously.

“You say it’s for the chairwoman and me, but in the end you just want to put me in the vice-chairman seat so it doesn’t pass to the second house while you’re on parental leave, don’t you.”

“That’s right. You’ll do it, won’t you?”

“No. I’ve said it over and over. I’m not interested in the company, and I never will be. And I already have something I’m doing right now.”

“If it’s that dog training center, you could still manage it as a hobby while being vice-chairman.”

“It’s not a hobby. It’s my main work.”

“From what Ji Yeon says, you’re not exactly diligent at that either. That architecture office has been half-shuttered for the past two years.”

Choi Sangeon added.

“That’s none of your concern. Don’t waste time clinging to the wrong person. Handle your own business yourself.”

“Then how about this.”

Choi Sangeon pulled out his phone and brought up a photo. He set it on the table and pushed it across toward Jeong Mok. Seeing the screen, Jeong Mok’s brow furrowed.

On the screen was Ahn Haeri. Judging by his appearance, it was a recent photo. In the back alley of a busy district at night, Haeri was squatting, and next to him, a thug with a cigarette in his mouth was putting on a hollow show of bravado.

“Where did you get this? No, why are you even holding onto something like this?”

“You, who hate people, suddenly got a housemate, and a male housemate at that. How could I not be curious? I told them to look into it, and this is what they brought me. They said they pulled it from some social media, but I don’t know exactly. My capable secretaries handled it on their own. But Mok-ah, right now what matters is not where this picture came from. It’s your housemate. He might be dangerous.”

“Is this a threat?”

Jeong Mok glared at him.