Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: A Flower Blooms on the Ashes
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A flower blooms on a pile of ashes.
Arriving ten minutes early for their appointment, Park Seonwoo sat by the window of a small café in the apartment complex's commercial area.
The weekend morning bustle of couples out with their kids,
the whir of the coffee machine, and the aroma of baking bread all blended into a familiar, everyday space.
He fiddled idly with his saucer, swallowing dryly again and again amid a tension that felt utterly out of place.
Then the café's glass door swung open, and Han Yura stepped inside.
For a moment, it seemed all the surrounding noise halted.
She carried a cool, refined fragrance that clashed entirely with the mundane air of the place.
Park Seonwoo found himself standing up without realizing it.
"Ah, Director. Over here."
He adjusted his slipping glasses awkwardly, extending his hand to her with a mix of delight and courtesy.
A proper gentleman's handshake.
But Han Yura merely offered a soft smile.
Her gaze passed over his face, ignoring his outstretched hand as it naturally drifted toward the empty seat beyond.
In that instant, Park Seonwoo's hand lost its way in midair.
One second, two seconds. The awkwardly frozen hand finally returned to its owner in embarrassment.
His face burned hot.
Right then, Han Yura let out a small gasp, her expression one of slight surprise as if she'd just noticed.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, Professor."
She faced the sheepish, stiff Park Seonwoo with a look of genuine remorse.
Before her flawless performance, he convinced himself that his own awkwardness had flustered her instead.
Dismissing any thought that she'd deliberately avoided his hand, he concluded, Ah, she really didn't see it.
Soon enough, he plastered a kind, good-natured smile on his face and gestured to the seat.
"No, no, it's fine. Please, have a seat."
Han Yura settled gracefully into the chair, then spoke gently, as if to make up for the minor mishap.
"To apologize, let me get the coffee."
"Haha, thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Park Seonwoo replied with an awkward laugh.
Her thoughtful words melted away his earlier embarrassment like snow in the sun.
When he returned with the order, Han Yura leaned slightly forward over the table, gazing at him with warm, earnest eyes.
"So, what's this about?"
Her direct question left him momentarily speechless.
Where to even begin with this tangled mess? Unconsciously, he stared down at his coffee cup.
"Director... well, it's just... something big has come up for me lately."
With that hesitant start, he cautiously began to reveal the proposal from his father, Chairman Cheon Myeonghwan.
Han Yura widened her eyes in feigned shock, as if she'd never dreamed that Park Seonwoo's biological father was the chairman of Taesung Group,
nor that he was the man's hidden illegitimate child.
Then, as if sinking into deep thought, she furrowed her brow with a darkened expression.
"Hmm..."
Her low hum and shadowed face made Park Seonwoo think she was worried he might neglect the museum project upon accepting his father's offer.
He hurried to reassure her.
"No matter what happens, I'll pour everything into building the museum, so don't worry about that."
"I know you're not the type to suddenly wash your hands of it, Professor... It's just..."
Han Yura trailed off.
That only made him more anxious.
"...Just what?"
"Well... Chairman Cheon Myeonghwan's background is a bit... troubling."
"...My father's background?"
At Park Seonwoo's surprised echo, Han Yura adopted the look of someone who'd accidentally spilled a forbidden secret, her face troubled.
"Oh, you haven't heard? ...Um... It's not really my place to tell you, the person involved..."
Her hesitation only amplified his curiosity and unease.
Unknowingly, he was urging her on.
"Please, tell me."
At his earnest plea, she shook her head with a pitying smile.
"No, Professor. It's nothing—just some silly internet rumor that'd only upset you. Don't mind it."
She shut down the topic firmly, as if shielding him.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she continued brightly.
"More importantly, we've completed the purchase of the building for our museum. Would you like to see it?"
"...Already?"
Park Seonwoo doubted his ears.
The nagging doubts and anxiety about his father's background evaporated instantly before the concrete reality of "building purchase complete."
"I was thinking of decorating the interior just as you envisioned, so it'd be best if you saw it in person and planned accordingly."
A space he'd dreamed of his entire life.
To shape its interior with his own hands.
Park Seonwoo had no room left to dwell on idle rumors about his father.
His heart was already pounding fiercely with anticipation for the museum that would bear his name.
"I'll go. No—I want to go! Right now, even!"
His childlike excitement drew a satisfied smile to Han Yura's lips.
Everything was unfolding exactly as she'd planned.
In the black sedan driven by her bodyguard, Park Seonwoo endured an awkward silence.
Han Yura sat naturally in the passenger seat, creating a comfortable yet impassable distance between them.
He never suspected she was deliberately avoiding unnecessary physical contact.
His mind was filled solely with thoughts of the "museum," his heart racing like a kid's.
How long had they driven?
The car pulled up in front of a massive café near Paju's Unification Observatory, boasting a huge parking lot.
On the weekend, cars packed the lot, and the café's vast interior gleamed with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Han River.
Overwhelmed by the sight, Park Seonwoo followed Han Yura out without a second thought.
A cool river breeze brushed his cheeks.
Han Yura stood quietly, gazing across the water.
Standing beside her, he stared into the distance, unsure what to say first.
A moment later, she spoke.
"What do you think, Professor?"
"Pardon?"
Park Seonwoo tilted his head at her out-of-the-blue question.
Is she asking what I think of this café?
Reading his innocent expression, Han Yura smiled faintly and gestured toward the enormous café building.
"This place."
Her quiet voice carried more weight than any shout.
"The space where our 'Remembrance for the Forgotten' will be exhibited."
In that instant, Park Seonwoo felt as if all the world's sounds had ceased.
He gaped, eyes wide, alternating between the massive building before him and Han Yura.
The whole thing... this entire enormous space... was to become the museum?
Speechless, he could only work his lips silently.
He knew museums and exhibition halls weren't always grand.
The small spaces set up by the wealthy, chaebols, and nouveau riche under the guise of "social contribution"—mere facades.
He'd vaguely assumed Blue Sky Investment's museum would be something like that.
But... this...
He scanned the building again.
The three-story main structure, sprawling annexes on either side, and a parking lot that could hold hundreds of cars.
It was the size of an average elementary school grounds.
The whole thing... this entire enormous space... was to become the museum?
Speechless, he worked his lips silently as he stared at her.
"Th-this whole thing? The entire building... as a museum...?"
To his trembling voice, Han Yura replied with the gentlest smile in the world.
"Yes, Professor. This is the 'Remembrance for the Forgotten' museum that Blue Sky will establish."
She emphasized "our" to clearly mark ownership.
Then, with eyes brimming with utmost sincerity and respect, she continued toward him.
"I've been debating whether to tell you, but... I have to."
Her grave expression tensed him up unwittingly.
"...Tell me what?"
"You said you were troubled because of your father, right?"
"Yes... with something this huge, I..."
As Park Seonwoo trailed off, daunted by his own capabilities, Han Yura cut him off firmly.
"Don't do it."
"Pardon?"
He doubted his ears. It was the last response he'd expected.
"Don't do it."
She met his eyes squarely, emphasizing each word.
Her resolve left him confused, prompting him to ask,
"...Why not?"
To his innocent question, Han Yura hesitated briefly, as if broaching a difficult topic.
She opened her mouth cautiously, like someone about to share something heavy.
"Have you... seen the rumors circulating on internet communities lately?"
"Rumors?"
Without a word, Han Yura pulled out her tablet PC and turned the screen toward him.
Displayed was a captured image of a post from a popular history community.
[Tracing the Roots of Taesung Group During the Japanese Colonial Era]
Park Seonwoo's eyes locked onto the provocative title.
He leaned toward the screen unthinkingly.
The capture showed a black-and-white photo of a man resembling Chairman Cheon Myeonghwan's grandfather, alongside "records" claiming he'd donated to Japan's national defense fund during the occupation.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"Professor, of course, it might not be true. It could just be malicious rumors smearing Taesung."
She spoke softly at first, soothing his shock.
But her next words stabbed like a dagger into his heart.
"However... if it's announced now that you're taking over Taesung's foundation, the world will frame you as the 'descendant of a collaborator.'"
"...!"
"Your lifelong achievements could all be buried under that scarlet label. For a historian, what could be more devastating?"
She gazed at him with eyes full of heartfelt pity.
"We... don't want you caught in such filthy controversy. That's why I said, 'Don't do it.' Please... turn down that foundation position."
It was a warning against the deadliest strike—one that could end Scholar Park Seonwoo's life.
At the same time, it felt like the one saving hand shielding him from that infamy.
Park Seonwoo stared down at his cooling coffee cup.
His mind blanked white; his pupils shook, unfocused.
Caught between the pride of his scholarly life and the unbearable weight of his family's shame, his reason wandered lost.
Watching him from across the table, the faintest smile bloomed on Han Yura's lips.
She let out a soft, stifled chuckle—small enough not to be noticed. A satisfied laugh.
Well then...
She elegantly lifted her coffee cup for a sip.
A pure scholar who's spent his life researching how Japanese colonial 'violence' and 'oppression' affected those unrecorded in history—what will he do when he becomes the remnant of that violence himself?
To her, this was a fascinating experiment and observation.