Chapter 03
‘When did our little guy grow up so much?’
In my memory, Woojin was still a small child—only eight years old—but in the blink of an eye, he had grown up so much.
“While you were lying in the hospital, Director Kang tried several times to take Woojin away.”
“It’s because of Woojin’s share of the company.”
“He failed in the end, but not long ago, he even came to the house and asked Woojin if he wanted to live with him.”
Damn aunt.
‘Our Woojin…’
He’s grown a lot while I was gone, but Woojin’s eyes are still the same—just like his father’s.
“Noona, I got first place in the last exam!”
“Oh?”
“I studied really hard to show you when you woke up! I’m going to go to the same middle school as you!”
Up until the last time Seungeon remembered, Woojin had shown no talent for studying.
“Turns out Woojin has a knack for science. He’s really into games too. He must have taken after the late President Kang.”
While Seungeon had inherited business acumen from her grandmother and was skilled at management, she was utterly useless when it came to game development or IT—even though she was the CEO of a game company. Woojin, on the other hand, was different.
When Secretary Chu told her that Woojin had won awards at various science competitions and might even get into a gifted middle school someday, Seungeon could hardly believe it.
“Kang Woojin. You’re really something, huh?”
“This is nothing! Easy peasy!”
She looked at Woojin proudly as he raised his eyebrows, his nose wrinkled in pride—it was too adorable. Holding back the sting of tears as thoughts of their late parents crept in, Seungeon said to him,
“Noona was away for a bit, but I won’t be disappearing again. So, Woojin.”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to… be afraid of anyone anymore.”
Woojin, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly had his eyes tremble fiercely, and then thick tears began to fall from them.
“You promise… you really won’t go again?”
“Yeah.”
Looking at her smiling face, Woojin suddenly embraced her tightly, saying nothing. She could feel all the sadness he had been holding in. Seungeon had to gently rub his back for a long time while he cried.
“Wait here. I’ll go in alone.”
After leaving the hospital, Seungeon and her group arrived in a neighborhood called Pyeongyun-dong.
This was a rich area that any South Korean would recognize—and the late Chairman Lee Joo-ok’s residence was located here.
“You’re going to live with Woojin in your own house anyway, so why can’t you just give me this one? It’s my mom’s house!”
Right after Chairman Lee’s funeral, all the other aunts returned to the U.S. or to wherever they were living abroad. But the youngest aunt, Kang Juhui, who lived in Korea, had shouted those words.
Seungeon didn’t want to start any unnecessary disputes, and since a shareholders’ meeting regarding management rights was already scheduled, she had allowed Aunt Kang to take over the Pyeongyun-dong house.
‘So greedy.’
If I had just insisted, she wouldn’t have been able to stay here at all.
Worried about what might be said if she brought Woojin along, Seungeon left him and Secretary Chu waiting and went into the house alone.
“Oh my, look who it is! Isn’t it my dear niece? My goodness, Seungeon, I can’t believe this!”
As soon as she saw Seungeon, Kang Juhui smiled brightly and ran out barefoot as if she couldn’t contain her joy. She had always been good at putting on airs—on both sides.
Seungeon smiled sweetly.
“How have you been, Auntie? You’re looking very healthy—just like always.”
“Hoho, of course. I have to stay healthy. If something happened to me like it did to you, who would protect HG?”
…Of course.
“But really, you look exactly the same! The last time I came to see you, you were in intensive care, and the doctors said it could be any day now!”
‘She was counting the days until I died.’
Suppressing her discomfort, Seungeon kept her smile deep and steady.
“Thanks to your concern, I survived. I appreciate your worry, Auntie.”
“Oh please, it’s only natural. After all, besides you and Woojin, I’m the only blood relative left in Korea!”
“…”
“Let’s sit first, shall we? Honey! Seungeon’s here! Chaehyun, Chaehee! Your cousin’s here!”
Without skipping a beat, Kang Juhui called out to everyone around the grand house.
Focus.
Seungeon clenched her fists tightly.
“So what you’re saying, Seungeon, is that you want to delay the execution of the will?”
Now that no one knew what her secret boyfriend of two years was doing or where he was, Seungeon didn’t have many options.
“To delay the marriage, you’ll need the consent of the family members named in the will. Most will agree, but Director Kang will be the problem.”
Following Secretary Chu’s advice, she had come here, even though her heart was uneasy. And now, with everything seemingly falling into Kang Juhui’s hands, she looked so relaxed it was maddening.
But I’m the one in need right now.
Seungeon smiled as she spoke to Juhui, who was leisurely drinking coffee at the head of the table.
“Yes, Auntie.”
There were only five months left until the end of the year.
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to postpone the execution until the year after next.”
The cousin siblings looked nervously at Seungeon as she spoke with difficulty, but even the uncle, who had remained silent no matter what was said, didn’t respond.
“Seungeon.”
Just as Seungeon was about to continue with an awkward smile, hoping to push a little harder to reach a deal, Kang Juhui interrupted.
“That won’t be possible.”
Juhui’s lips curled upward.
“Of course, I was heartbroken when you had that terrible accident.”
“…”
“But after your accident, our HG almost went under, didn’t it?”
“…”
“It wasn’t just any incident. The next-in-line heir nearly dying? That’s a huge owner risk. Ha… I ran myself ragged trying to stop that. Honey, you remember, right? We didn’t even sleep for months trying to calm the shareholders!”
“Y-Yeah… we did.”
Even her uncle agreed, shaking his head. Seungeon remained silent.
“If your uncle hadn’t stepped in, we’d be finished. And now, after barely surviving that, you want us to take another risk? Seungeon, this isn’t a game. HG isn’t some neighborhood corner shop.”
Seungeon was speechless.
“I understand things must be overwhelming right after getting out of the hospital. I heard your father’s company took a hit because of you too… If rebuilding that is too much, then hand over HG’s management rights to me.”
“…”
“I’m saying you don’t need to follow that absurd clause in your mother’s will. Just live comfortably. That way, the other shareholders who are worried about your risk will be relieved too. What do you think? Isn’t that better?”
Kang Juhui’s eyes gleamed sharply, seizing this moment of weakness.
‘Like a sly cat.’
But with words stuck in her throat, Seungeon could only respond with a silent smile.
“Still, I’m a little surprised to see this change in your attitude.”
Feigning surprise, Kang Juhui stared directly at her.
“What is it? Are you saying… you can’t get married now?”
