Grandfather's Scheming and a Weekend Farm
A spacious high-rise office with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the city below.
The man seated at the enormous desk in the center of the office paused mid-phone call, a trace of bewilderment in his voice.
“So you're telling me to come all the way down to Jeolla Province right now?”
On the desk before him, a luxurious nameplate gleamed—black crystal framed in metal plating, radiating quiet prestige.
Engraved across its center in gold letters were the words: Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk, Taeram Food.
—That's right! Bring at least one of your staff. And bring Seo-dan with you when you come. I mean it—I mean it!
“……And why Seo-dan, exactly?”
—Tsk, what's wrong with a grandfather wanting to see his granddaughter? Honestly, you brat. When your father tells you to do something, you do it. Why are you arguing so much?
“Hah. Fine, I understand.”
—You'd better be here by the end of this week at the latest!
The Chairman of Taeram Food was currently being pushed around by his own father.
After hanging up, Choi Jin-hyuk connected the desk phone to his secretary's office.
—Yes, Chairman.
“Is there any free time in my schedule this week? Seo-dan will need to travel with me.”
—This week is packed solid with meetings and appointments. There's one meeting on Friday that could be postponed—shall I push it to next week?
“Please do. And assign Managing Director Lee as the staff member accompanying me.”
—Understood, sir.
Choi Jin-hyuk let out a small sigh.
The backlog of postponed meetings would torment him even more next week.
But soon after, he lowered his head with a faint smile.
Look at me, grumbling over pure happiness.
Only a few weeks ago, he'd been terrified that his father might pass away at any moment.
Seeing him so healthy now, freely asking for whatever he wanted—honestly, it was a welcome sight.
Choi Jin-hyuk picked up his cell phone and sent a text to his daughter.
Beep-beep-beep—
A private middle school classroom in Seoul.
In the middle of class, someone's phone rang.
“Ah—sorry!”
A girl with a short bob haircut bowed her head.
The green name tag pinned to her chest read Choi Seo-dan.
The teacher, having just been interrupted, checked who she was and turned back to continue the lesson.
Seo-dan slipped her phone under the desk and checked the message.
……Grandfather wants me to come down there? All of a sudden?
The corners of Seo-dan's mouth twitched upward.
Her grandfather, who had been ill for so long, had suddenly received a clean bill of health one day and then promptly moved off to the countryside.
As a granddaughter who loved him dearly, she couldn't describe how much she'd missed him.
And now, at last, she was going to see him.
Seo-dan clenched her fist for a moment, then let it go.
She'd better head to the administrative office and submit an educational trip application.
Standing before the application form, Seo-dan paused to think.
Destination: her grandfather's house in Songgye-eup, Jeolla Province.
Purpose of the trip—she'd just write "rural farming experience," wouldn't she?
Little did Seo-dan dream of what awaited her after that.
* * *
“Welcome, welcome!”
Old Mr. Choi waved his arms with a face absolutely glowing with joy.
Even though I came out to tend the garden with him practically every day, apparently my arrival was still something to celebrate.
I took off my shoes and stepped into the living room.
“Today's the day we harvest the carrots over there…… sir.”
Flustered, my sentence trailed off awkwardly.
There was a stranger sitting on the sofa in Old Mr. Choi's living room.
A man whose face gave the distinct impression that this must be what Old Mr. Choi looked like in his younger days.
I knew at a glance.
So that's Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk.
Having confirmed my face, Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk rose from his seat.
His somewhat sharp, piercing eyes softened as they settled on me.
A faint smile.
“A pleasure to meet you, Ji-on. I've heard a great deal about you.”
Just what stories had he heard, and from whom?
I certainly hadn't expected him to be this friendly right off the bat.
“Hello. I knew the Chairman was coming down, but I had no idea it would be today.”
Which was why I'd left all the carrot-related materials at home. Great.
Really, Old Mr. Choi—if you were going to drop a hint, you could have dropped a precise one.
I shot the old man a briefly resentful look before turning my head back toward the sofa.
There was someone else seated over there as well.
“How do you do. I'm Lee Myeong-jin, Managing Director of new product development at Taeram Food.”
“Hello. I'm Seo Ji-on.”
He looked quite a bit older than the others.
The man handed me a thick stack of documents.
“This is……?”
“A contract drafted based on the contents discussed with Honorary Chairman Choi Tae-seok. Please look it over, and if there's anything you'd like to adjust, we can work it out together.”
“By when do you need an answer?”
“There are quite a few clauses, so take your time reviewing it and contact me whenever it's convenient. If it starts dragging on too long, I'll reach out to you first.”
Having said his piece, Managing Director Lee rose from his seat.
“It was a pleasure meeting you. I've already received the Chairmen's understanding on this, but I have a great deal of work backing up on my schedule, so I'm afraid I must excuse myself. You can reach me at the contact information enclosed in the envelope……”
“No, there's no need for that. Just go through me from now on.”
Honorary Chairman Choi Tae-seok cut in over the director's words.
“I see. Understood, then. Chairman, please take care of your health, and I look forward to our next meeting.”
Managing Director Lee bowed deeply toward Choi Tae-seok.
It was a bow born of genuine respect.
Watching that scene, I was reminded anew that this man had once led an entire conglomerate as its chairman.
Not long after Managing Director Lee departed, Chairman Choi Tae-seok returned to his familiar, grandfatherly self.
“Ji-on, Grandpa's going to have a bit more of a chat with my son here, so why don't you head out to the garden ahead of us?”
They hadn't seen each other in a while, so there was doubtless plenty to catch up on.
I nodded readily.
“Of course.”
I'd read through the documents when I got home later.
I tucked them into my bag and—
Thud—
“Kkyuuut!! (Ow!!)”
“……Oh, right.”
I was so used to it that I'd completely forgotten.
Bong-gu was in the bag.
I fished him out and set him on my shoulder.
“Sorry, sorry. I'll be more careful next time.”
“Kkyu, kkyu!! (Watch where you're putting things!!)”
“Yes, yes.”
After grumbling and huffing for a while, Bong-gu went quiet the moment I started toward the garden.
As we drew near the back gate, he began sniffing at the air and muttered:
“Kkyu? (Carrots?)”
The little glutton. Absolute fiend.
“That's right. We're harvesting carrots here today.”
At my words, Bong-gu shook his head.
“……Kkyu, kkyukkyu. (No, there's something else too.)”
“Something else?”
Other than carrots, there was something else?
What on earth could he mean?
I pushed open the back gate and stepped outside.
The garden came into view.
“There's nothing here but……huh?”
Rustle—
With the sound of grass swaying, I sensed someone's presence.
……Someone was here.
This was the garden on the grounds of Chairman Choi Tae-seok's house.
In other words—private property.
No one was supposed to be able to walk in here.
Had someone sneaked in while the place was empty?
I cautiously turned my head toward the sound.
My eyes met those of someone crouched between the carrots.
Startled flinch.
The intruder's body jolted.
“Who are you?!”
At my shout, the intruder sprang to their feet and yelled right back.
A petite, fair-skinned girl with a short bob—actually rather pretty.
“N-no, who are you?!”
What a set of lungs on her.
Pretty bold attitude for a trespasser.
While the girl and I glared each other down, Old Mr. Choi and Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk came rushing out the back gate.
“Ji-on!”
“Seo-dan!”
So the girl was someone Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk knew, apparently.
Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered hearing that Old Mr. Choi had a granddaughter.
“Dad! Some weird kid broke in!”
The girl sprinted over and threw herself into Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk's arms.
Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk cried out, flustered.
“Weird kid? This is Seo Ji-on—the one who's agreed to supply us with carrots.”
“……Seo Ji-on? The Seo Ji-on??”
So she'd heard stories about me too, huh.
Loose-lipped Old Mr. Choi had apparently been gossiping about me far and wide.
The girl looked me up and down, then said in a tone of utter shock:
“He's way too handsome!! And he comes with a cute little critter on top of it!”
No sooner had she said it than she clapped her hands over her own mouth.
Her face flushing red in an instant, the girl ducked behind Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk.
“I apologize for my daughter's rudeness.”
“Not at all. It happens when two strangers run into each other.”
“Haha, honestly…… I was thinking this during our greetings earlier, but Ji-on really does seem remarkably mature for his age.”
An old soul stuffed into a young body—of course I'd seem mature.
You'd better believe I look grown-up. At minimum.
“Seo-dan, you should apologize properly and introduce yourself too.”
“Ahem…… I-I'm sorry for the intrusion. I'm Choi Seo-dan.”
With those words, the girl gave a small bow.
So she wasn't entirely without manners after all.
As for Old Mr. Choi—the man who'd created this whole situation by never mentioning he had a guest in his garden—he simply stood there smiling in satisfaction.
Wait. Don't tell me I've just walked into one of his schemes.
“Heh heh. Come to think of it, Seo-dan and Ji-on are the same age, aren't they?”
Oh no. Oh no no no.
I'd walked right into it, all right.
The old rascal was clearly trying to play matchmaker.
I never imagined I'd run into this sort of thing in this world too.
“My granddaughter may have a bit of a sharp tongue and a wild streak, but underneath she's soft-hearted and kind. Since fate has brought you two together like this, get along well with each other, you hear?”
“G-Grandpa!”
Seo-dan's face went scarlet.
I let out an awkward laugh.
“Kkyuut? (Partners?)”
“It's not like that.”
I pinched Bong-gu's snout.
Stop spouting nonsense.
But Old Mr. Choi's outrageous deeds did not end there.
“That reminds me—Seo-dan, you're joining us for the carrot harvest today!”
“Whaaat?!”
“Excuse me?”
My startled voice and Seo-dan's rang out at the same time.
I glanced toward Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk, who was shaking his head as if to say, who could possibly stop that man?
There was no one here capable of standing up to Old Mr. Choi……!
Well, to be honest, the more hands available for pulling carrots, the better.
I turned to Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk.
“While we're at it, Chairman, would you care to join us as well?”
Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk blinked, wide-eyed with surprise.
That was the reaction of a man who had never once received such an offer in his life.
The aristocrat of the modern age, a chaebol gentleman through and through—I suppose that figures.
But I had no choice.
The more people I could rope in, the faster I could escape this awkward situation.
Chairman Choi Jin-hyuk deliberated for a moment, then nodded.
“I suppose I will, then. With everyone pitching in, we'll finish that much faster.”
“Dad……!”
Seo-dan gazed at her father as if deeply moved.
What a heartwarming father-daughter moment.
All right, that settles it. Time to open it up.
The Seo Ji-on brand, instant weekend farm!