Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Let’s Get Married!

Until meeting Father.

Honestly, I was a bit anxious and worried.

‘I had guessed Mother’s heart.’

Because just looking at Father’s watch, I could tell how much she cherished it.

‘But I didn’t know Father’s heart.’

People are such that if they become distant from the eyes, they become distant from the heart.

Perhaps Father’s heart had cooled in the meantime, I had thought.

‘It seems I was worrying for nothing.’

Father and Mother looked at each other.

As if there were only those two people in this world.

They were just looking at each other without saying anything, having lost their souls, but the gazes going back and forth were deep and hot.

Love, resentment, longing, joy, worry, anger, joy and sadness.

It seemed like all sorts of emotions were swirling.

Click.

I quietly entered the house leaving the two people behind.

Uncle Cheol-gu who was making the Christmas tree laughed heartily.

“Is it very cold outside? As expected, the scarf and fur hat were desperately needed?”

The Taeseong Group security guards put down the tree decorations they were making and began rummaging through the Taeseong Department Store paper bags.

“Young Master, please wait a moment. There will be a scarf and fur hat somewhere here.”

“If you look carefully, there will also be fur gloves, and earmuffs?”

“They said they also bought fur shoes. Ah, here they are!”

I shook my head.

“Later. Not now.”

The adults who were making a fuss stopped what they were doing all at once in surprise.

“Did you perhaps fight with Mother?”

“Why did you come back alone?”

“Where is Mother?”

It was gentle concern.

“Father came.”

“What?”

Uncle Cheol-gu’s eyes became round and he peeked beyond the glass window.

“That shameless gentleman who ignored his wife and child! Today I have to take a look at that face······ cough!”

Before he knew it, the landlord grandmother who ran over hit Uncle Cheol-gu’s head with a ladle.

“This damn guy, where are you cursing the kid’s dad in front of the kid? Did I teach you that way?”

“No, it’s not that······!”

“Try saying one more word! You don’t even have breakfast today!”

“Ahem, little kid. Sorry. Just overlook this once.”

Uncle Cheol-gu scratched the back of his head while struggling.

The landlord grandmother rolled up both sleeves.

“If Jeong-hyeok’s dad came, I have to put more force into the dining table. As expected, this much isn’t enough!”

A moment later, noisy knife work and a splendid fire show began in the kitchen.

One of the Taeseong Group security guards handed me a tree decoration.

It was a large gold ball decoration that I like.

A security guard with a quite good eye for detail.

‘Yes, you’re selected!’

I ran over quickly and hung the gold ball on the tree while asking softly.

“What kind of person is our Father?”

“He’s a taciturn, smart, and cool person.”

What I’m curious about is private life, this gentleman.

“I heard Father is engaged.”

“Ahem, that part is difficult for me to say something.”

I casually stuck sincerity into the security guard’s pocket.

That is, about ten 10,000-won bills?

The reaction came immediately.

Because the quick-witted security guard squatted and pretended to choose tree decorations while whispering softly.

“I heard Father works extremely well, and also likes work very much.”

So does that mean the engagement with U-gwang won’t break because Dad works well and likes work?

“Father enlisted right after getting engaged, and as soon as he was discharged, he went around the entire country bringing in hotel and resort, road construction orders, etc., and was extremely busy.”

Hoho.

“They say he fled to the Middle East as soon as marriage talk came out? Because he was actively bringing in overseas construction works, they couldn’t even tell him to return immediately. So he works extremely well, and also likes work very much.”

Aha.

That was the meaning?

“I heard the chairman prepared Taeseong Chemicals as Young Master Seong-jun’s share, but he insisted on taking charge of construction.”

The joint company jointly established by U-gwang and Taeseong is exactly Taeseong Chemicals.

“He said there was a person he had to find while going around every corner of the country? Thanks to that, Taeseong Hotel and resort came to be located in the best spots of the entire country?”

It was tempting.

Listening, the corners of my mouth rose without realizing.

“The woman called the fiancée was too young when holding the engagement ceremony, and after becoming an adult, she was attending university so her path rarely overlapped with Young Master Seong-jun’s. We also didn’t see that engaged woman’s face many times.”

Then he even stuck his lips close to my ear and whispered.

“For reference, Mother is much more beautiful. Much, much, much! About a million times?”

The security guard winked one eye.

“I enjoyed the expensive wine deliciously last night. So put this back.”

Wasn’t he putting the money I stuck back into my pants pocket.

‘As expected, preemptive oiling of the world’s affairs is the best?’

I know well that he’s in a position where he can’t carelessly talk about the private life of the head family.

To inform so circuitously like this.

I won’t forget that goodwill!

I also tilted my head toward the security guard and whispered softly.

“Tonight it’s whiskey.”

“Aigo, you don’t have to take care of me like that.”

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

It’s alcohol that was auctioned for about 2.3 billion won in the 21st century.

About 51 million won per glass!

Gulp!

The Taeseong Group security guard hung the tree decoration pretending not to know with a flushed face.

But he was raising his thumb with the hand behind his back.

Trust sprouting within the sincerity going back and forth!

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

“Young Master, loyalty loyalty!”

The Taeseong security guard who had attached a salute grinned and drew a V with two fingers.

“So I’m now loyalty number two. Right?”

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Yu Jong-tae. Team leader of the 5th security team directly under Secretariat Chief Kim Young-geol.”

It meant he also has the ability to handle dirty work.

“I’m a body that came to this position with sense. The person I’ll bury my bones for is only one, perhaps the young master. Please raise me!”

Oh dear. As expected, I like guys with ambition!

Uncle Cheol-gu who was hanging a pure gold star on the top of the tree gave a thumbs-up.

“Oh, did my subordinate just appear?”

This gentleman’s intuition is only good at times like this!

I turned my head pretending not to know.

While pretending to concentrate on making the tree, I summoned the underworld messenger.

Snap.

But unlike usual, the underworld messenger glared at the Christmas tree with a very unpleasant expression.

[Rather hang a seonanggi on a seonang tree. What kind of act is this, tsk.]

Seonanggi originally refers to the cloth hung on a seonangdang or that tree.

They mainly used colorful five-colored cloth of red, green, blue, yellow, and white.

[It’s not even a mountain god ritual, not even a seven-star gut, not even Buddha’s birthday, yet following those Western long-nose guys and being this flashy like five-colored lanterns······.]

‘Hey, guardian deity. What’s important now isn’t that.’

I learned that the possibility of Father and U-gwang’s fiancée’s relationship being distant is high.

This time I need to know how our parents’ relationship is.

Only then can I decide whether to support our parents’ marriage or not.

‘Shut up and share the field of view!’

[Understood.]

* * *

Mother and Father sat on the garden bench where they had lit a bonfire yesterday.

A dry and cold wind blew between the two sitting side by side.

Father asked.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes. Senior has also been well, right?”

“No, I haven’t been well.”

It was a bitter smile.

“You evaporated perfectly without even a single word, how could I have been well.”

“Senior, I······.”

“I searched for a long time. Like a crazy guy.”

Father dry-washed his face.

“I searched every corner of the country thoroughly but couldn’t find you. My eyes went dark.”

“······.”

“I abandoned all pride and knelt in front of Secretary Kim and begged. But even that man lost your traces. Do you know what I thought then? Surely you were murdered?”

“Senior······.”

“I was going crazy. Who touched you. Why did they touch you. All sorts of thoughts came.”

Mother tightly gripped the hem of her coat.

“But Senior got engaged to another woman.”

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

“Yes?”

“Then what about fleeing to the provinces as soon as I was discharged? Fleeing to the Middle East because marriage talk came out? That I was continuously searching for you by releasing people in the meantime?”

Mother couldn’t answer.

Only the pupils looking at Father were shaking violently.

“You’re quite vicious. How did you not stop by your parents’ house even once.”

“That’s······.”

“I bought the house next to your parents’. Even hiring people. Waiting eagerly for you to stop by your parents’ house has already been seven years.”

Father said while wrapping the gray scarf he was wearing around Mother’s neck.

“That child earlier, is it my child?”

“······Yes.”

“Just in case I’m asking, the person you’re meeting now?”

“······There isn’t.”

Father smiled.

“Then marry me. If you still have the same heart as me.”

While looking at Mother who didn’t know what to do.

“I can abandon everything. It’s sincere.”

* * *

‘Good!’

I cut off the field of view sharing with the underworld messenger.

‘This marriage, I’ll support it!’

I burned with motivation.

I clenched my tiny fists tightly.

‘It’s not even that there’s no heart, what’s the problem? Even if there is a problem, if I handle it all, that’s the end!’

Anyway, chaebol families.

They treat marriage very lightly?

Among the heavenly bonds of parents, couples, and children that even heaven can’t cut, the only one that can be chosen is the bond of the couple.

Depending on what kind of spouse you meet, life changes.

Even if happiness can be bought with money,

Even if marriages done out of love also often fall through.

Still, I am a person who believes that marriage is a great matter of human relations, and the stress coming from the person living skin to skin stabs sharply every moment like a blade cutting out the heart.

So even when our Gang-u brought a woman from a trash-like household.

I told Gang-u to only look at the woman, and despite that, only look at whether she is a woman to be together with.

‘If Father has the courage to abandon everything and choose Mother, the matter becomes very easy.’

I couldn’t force love on Father.

If Father had ignored Mother and wanted to live a chaebol life, I was thinking of quietly leaving without resenting Father.

Situations create positions, and emotions fade with time.

Clinging to and hanging onto already faded emotions is a foolish thing.

So I didn’t abandon hope until the end, but I had also finished the resolve to cut ties with the Cha family and live serving only Mother in case of emergency.

‘Then shall I clean up the 30 billion won engagement holding Father’s ankle on my line?’

U-gwang and Taeseong jointly established Taeseong Chemicals by jointly investing on the premise of the engagement.

It was a company exceeding about 1.5 trillion won in 21st century prices.

That was the reason Chairman Cha couldn’t readily permit Mother and Father’s marriage, and the cause of Father’s love not being blessed.

‘If Father steps forward first and demands the breakup of the engagement, he would probably have to hand Taeseong Chemicals over to U-gwang. Chairman Cha won’t tolerate that. So I just need to make it the opposite.’

My head began to spin quickly.

‘Even if Father steps forward first and breaks the engagement, let’s create a picture so that we can demand damages from U-gwang and snatch Taeseong Chemicals! To do that, Uncle Cheol-gu’s help is needed in this matter?’

I turned to look at Uncle Cheol-gu.

Uncle was continuously looking around with a very anxious expression.

“What? Did the little kid you also feel it? This unpleasant chill rising along the nape! The air even became damp and cool for a moment, but it disappeared again in an instant just now!”

Anyway, this gentleman, the intuition is good!

I glanced above Uncle Cheol-gu’s head.

The underworld messenger’s countdown had already disappeared.

It means there’s no reason to be careful and guard the body anymore.

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes?”

Uncle Cheol-gu blinked both eyes and then smiled innocently.

“Aha, as expected, you wanted to hang a pure gold star on the top of the Christmas tree?”

The intuition is good, but the sense is completely zero.