Chapter 151: Home
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 151: Home
After parting ways with the two of them, my pace was faster than ever.
However, it wasn't a lighthearted quickness; it was closer to a stride fueled by rage. More specifically, it was an action that mirrored the emotions I was desperately trying to suppress.
I had to get back to the dormitory.
There was an evening roll call, and if I wasn't there, I’d get demerit points. If those points stacked up, I’d be kicked out.
The semester had only just begun, and I didn't want to start racking up penalties already.
And yet, I was already heading somewhere that wasn't the dormitory.
Screech.
A luxury sedan pulled over to the curb.
Without hesitation, I sat in the back seat and tried to steady my breathing.
"I will take you there immediately."
It was a face I didn't recognize.
A sharp jawline, a black suit, no scent, a low voice, and a small mole visible on the side of his neck.
Possessing several distinct features, he treated me with the utmost courtesy, clearly straining to avoid making even the slightest mistake.
His driving was smooth yet fast, reflecting a firm resolve to ensure I experienced no discomfort whatsoever.
I’ll say it again: I had never seen this man before.
I didn't know his name, his rank, or his department.
Despite that, he was doing everything in his power to avoid offending me.
This was the life I lived.
I didn't know who these people were, nor did I have the slightest interest in them.
Yet, they acted as if serving and assisting me was their entire life's purpose.
"What is your name?"
"I-it's Kim Chang-ho, sir!"
Furthermore, a single action of mine could trigger an unexpected ripple effect.
Tension filled the car.
A bead of sweat formed on the back of his neck.
He was likely wondering if he had done something wrong.
He kept checking the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with doubt.
It felt like stroking an ant.
I only wanted to pat him because he seemed diligent or because I was grateful, but there was a chance he might be crushed to death by that very gesture.
I had simply asked for his name.
I wanted to express my gratitude to the person who had come to drive me at such a late hour.
But the man was terrified because I had asked. He was walking on eggshells, not knowing how to react.
The important thing was...
Our relationship wasn't that of a human and an ant.
It was a relationship between two human beings.
I decided not to ask anything else.
No matter what I said, he would only try to read into the hidden meaning behind it.
I kept my mouth shut and turned my gaze out the window.
Silence was the greatest consideration I could offer him.
* * *
"Thank you."
I stepped out of the car and closed the door.
I gave a brief word of thanks to the man who had tried to rush out and open the door for me, then took in the sight of the massive mansion.
When I lived here, I took it all for granted.
But after living in a studio apartment and seeing it again, I began to realize just how luxurious a life I had been leading.
The main gate opened before I even touched it.
The servants bowed their heads in greeting to the third son who had returned home after a long absence.
Even if I told them not to, they wouldn't listen.
Not wanting to deal with it, I hurried inside, where my mother greeted me.
"What? What's going on? Why are you visiting so suddenly at this hour?!"
Mother was the same as always.
She greeted her youngest son with a bright smile.
I, too, hid my turbulent emotions for a moment and gave her a gentle hug.
And then...
"I came to see Father."
The moment I stated my purpose, Mother let go of me, and her expression darkened instantly.
My relationship with Father had always been poor. She must have realized that my sudden visit didn't bode well.
As I walked past her, she let out a sigh and grumbled.
"I'll tell you one thing."
She complained as she looked at me.
"Are you copying the eldest by calling him 'Father'? Your dad is fine with it, but call me 'Mom.'"
"...It's just because it's been a while."
"You boys have no charm. I should have had a daughter. That's why that night, I should have—"
"Don't say it!"
The atmosphere had been serious just a moment ago, but talking to Mom lightened it instantly.
"Sigh, fine. Fight if you must, but eat dinner before you go. Got it?"
"I will."
"I'll have them prepare all your favorite foods."
"Are you making it, Mom?"
"The Chairman's wife would get scolded if she stepped into the kitchen, dear. The kitchen aunties tell me to just stay still if I don't know what I'm doing."
"..."
Good grief.
I suspected that the only reason we functioned as a family at all was because of Mom's personality.
I started walking again.
Mom had skillfully shifted the mood to help me relax.
Normally, I would have told myself not to be too aggressive.
But right now, things were different.
— It’s the moment I’ve dreamed of.
Even now.
Oh Yun-ji's wistful voice still lingered in my ears.
Click.
I opened the door and stepped inside. My father, who had been reading a book with his glasses on, slowly looked toward me.
He was the same.
He looked exactly as he did when I told him I was leaving the house.
"What did you do to Yun-ji?"
I went straight to the point, but Father calmly placed a bookmark in his book, closed it, and took off his glasses.
With those simple actions, the flow of the conversation shifted entirely to him.
He forced me, who was on the verge of boiling over, to wait.
"Tsk. Not even a greeting for your old man."
"I asked what you did!"
"Do you even know whose daughter that girl is? Did you think I would sit idly by while my son loses his mind over the daughter of a death row inmate?"
"What did Yun-ji do wrong? She’s only seen her father’s face a handful of times!"
I had heard he went to prison while Yun-ji was still in the womb. I never asked what he did.
Because she didn't want to talk about it.
I could have looked it up if I wanted to, but I didn't do that either.
Because I didn't want to know.
Yun-ji had lived her life as an entirely separate entity from her father.
"You would know that if you did a background check! You know she has nothing to do with him! Well? What did she do wrong?!"
"Nothing."
"...What?"
There wasn't a shred of hesitation in my father's blunt gaze.
"That girl did nothing wrong."
"Then... then why, when you know that...!"
"That is what it means to be of the same blood."
My throat felt tight.
It felt as if something thin, yet unbreakable, was tightening around my neck.
"That is what bloodline means."
The constricting sensation grew stronger.
It glowed with a reddish hue, throbbing like a heartbeat, and it was even hot to the touch.
"She did nothing wrong, but because of her blood, she bears this responsibility. You are the same."
That sensation.
The thing that was choking me...
"Because you are my blood, I keep you close no matter what you do."
...was my father's bloodline.
"Woo-jin."
He let out a heavy breath.
Father's eyes were questioning me.
"Why do you think I tried to designate you as the successor instead of the eldest... Do you understand now?"
"How the hell should I know?!"
At the mention of that topic again, my surging emotions exploded as if looking for a vent.
"You know how hard Big Hyung worked! He lived his life struggling just to please you! Do you know what his face looked like when you said you were handing it over to me?!"
"..."
"It shouldn't be like that! Right? Things shouldn't go that way!"
That was why I left home.
I was afraid that if I stayed, I would end up stealing all of Big Hyung's hard work... his entire life.
"Hoo, you are naive."
Despite my shouting, Father merely clicked his tongue in response.
"Effort? Knowledge? Ability? Those things... in the end, everyone has them. In all my time rising to this position, I've never seen a man who lacked those."
"..."
"What matters is nature. That cannot be imitated. It is decided from birth."
"What kind of bullshit is—"
"The eldest has a weak heart. He hides it through effort and acting, but it's a facade."
"..."
"The second son is too nice. He takes after his mother. He was never even an option."
"..."
"But you, Woo-jin."
The faint smile that formed on his lips carried both a chilling weight and a sense of dread.
"It's you, Woo-jin. You are greedy, selfish, and you have convictions."
"What do you know about me!"
"I made a bet with that girl. I told her I would give my permission if she could save enough money to be self-sufficient without my help."
Permission.
Believing in that, Oh Yun-ji had worked herself to the bone until now.
"However, I told her she couldn't contact you. That she couldn't meet you. I heard she tried to leave some pathetic letter, so I had that disposed of separately."
"You...!"
"Don't interrupt me. Listen."
The corners of Father's mouth were curled into a smile.
It was the kind of smile he wore when everything went exactly according to his plan.
"And what happened?"
The result was the 'me' of the present.
"You forgot about her as if it were nothing. You were sad during the break, but in the end, you went back to school."
If...
He added, continuing his speech.
"If the break had been shorter, you would have pulled yourself together even faster. If it hadn't been a break at all, you would have come to your senses the very next day."
"Stop talking such nonsense!"
"No, that's the kind of man you are. And because I knew that, I chose you as my successor."
"..."
"Is that all? I heard you're seeing several women now. It didn't end with just losing Oh Yun-ji. You're seeing other women as if nothing happened."
"..."
"You're greedy. You don't even think about how much they might suffer because of you, do you? You're incredibly selfish. That's how a person at the top should be."
Ah.
"And yet, you smile in front of them. You enjoy yourself under the pretext of doing your best for each and every one of them."
"..."
"You must have justified your actions to them. You made them accept an unrealistic situation as if it were perfectly normal."
I couldn't deny it.
The countless hours I had spent with them were now coming back to haunt me.
"Woo-jin, you are..."
I didn't want to hear it.
"...exactly the kind of human I thought you were."
Father's declaration struck me like a nail being driven home.
* * *
Stepping outside, I let out a long sigh. My head was a mess for various reasons, and there was no sign of it clearing up.
Mom had told me to eat dinner before I left, but I wasn't in the mood for that anymore.
I hurried my steps, intending to sneak out without her noticing.
But then, two familiar faces entered through the front door.
"How was the talk with Father?"
It was Big Hyung, the Vice Chairman.
"You can tell just by looking at him that it ended badly."
And Little Hyung, who had started his own company.
"Hyungs? What are you doing here...?"
I didn't know whether to be happy to see them or to keep my distance.
As I stared at them blankly, Little Hyung walked over, threw an arm around my shoulders, and shouted.
"I heard you were back, so I came with Big Hyung. But first, let's hit the sauna! When your head is a mess, nothing beats a sauna. You're coming too, right, Hyung?"
"I'm not sure if I have a change of clothes."
Big Hyung shrugged, but he didn't refuse the invitation.
There was a small bathhouse and sauna in the basement of the house, so it wouldn't take long to get there, but honestly, I wasn't really feeling it.
But as always...
As I was being dragged along by my brothers.
"Where are you boys going? I've already set the table."
Mom tilted her head and intervened.
"The sauna! We're going to have some brotherly bonding!"
"Is Jae-un going too?"
"Yes."
"And Woo-jin?"
"Well, since they're making me."
To be honest, going to the sauna with my brothers now that we were grown was a bit uncomfortable. But when both of them were being this insistent, I had no choice.
"Hmm."
Mom looked at us and then...
"Then should Mom come too?"
She tried to follow us immediately.
"What do you mean, 'Mom too'?!"
"Sigh, Mother."
My brothers stopped her instantly.
If they hadn't, I would have.
"Tsk, what's there to hide among men? I've been washing and scrubbing you all since your dicks were no bigger than a pinky nail, you brats."
She complained that we were overreacting.
"I heard you left our bathing to the nannies, Mom?"
When I asked skeptically, she muttered sheepishly.
"...You guys would cry whenever I tried to wash you. So the maids told me to stop messing around and just go away."
Mom mumbled to herself, and unable to withstand our stares, she scurried off toward the kitchen.
"Madam! We'll handle this!"
"Just sit on the sofa and watch TV!"