Chuseok Spotlight: The Sole Heir's Burden
The gift I gave my grandfather was a resounding success. His reaction at the time, and my current situation, made that crystal clear. But sometimes, doing too well isn't all it's cracked up to be.
What I mean is this: “Look at this, everyone! This is the gift my grandson gave me! My Ko Mu-yeol traveled the length and breadth of the country just to get this for me.”
My plan to slip away quietly, without drawing the family's attention, crumbled in an instant.
“This isn't just any Go board. For the past fifty years—that's right, f i f t y y e a r s—no one could find Han Guk-young's Go board. I authenticated it myself. Right here, these stains... that's Han Guk-young's blood. Blood!”
September 30th, Wednesday—Chuseok day itself. In the massive banquet hall packed with the owner family, collateral branches, and assorted guests, Grandfather hoisted the Go board I'd gifted him high overhead and bellowed in his booming voice.
To make matters worse, the seating had the direct owner family (us straight-line descendants) at tables on the second floor of the two-story setup, while dozens of collateral branches and guests filled the first-floor hall. Grandfather was standing at the second-floor railing, holding the board high so everyone below could see.
Thanks to him, I was suddenly the center of massive attention. I couldn't feel the stares from downstairs, but the people on the second floor—the ones who could actually impact my life—were boring holes into me.
My stomach churned. It felt like I'd stripped the skin off some disgustingly greasy fried chicken and gobbled down nothing but the fatty skins. Ugh...
“...Father, that's enough. Sit down already. Everyone's hungry, and look—Mu-yeol's face is all red.”
The one who finally reined in Grandfather after his endless rant was Aunt Ko Min-young. She let out a sigh, elegant and intimidating just like I'd seen her a couple days ago.
“Ah, right you are.”
Only then did Grandfather snap out of it and launch into some Chuseok greetings. That monologue dragged on for another ten minutes at least.
“Aigoo, this is all part of the job.”
Once he wrapped up and returned, he handed the Go board to his secretary with exaggerated care before taking his seat.
“I've been in such a good mood lately—words just keep pouring out! Hahaha!”
“You seem that happy? I haven't seen Dad smile like that in ages.”
The one who'd just spoken was Aunt Ko Ha-young, Gohayan's mother—and she looked like she was still in her twenties.
“You bet I am! How could I stay calm with my grandson back like this? Impossible!”
“The prodigal son always gets the most love when he returns. We get it—what can we do?”
And the one who said that was Ko Seon-ah, mother to my cousin noona Ko Seon-yul. By now, you might have noticed...
The only men at this table were me and Grandfather. Where were the aunts' husbands? Down on the first floor, with the collaterals. In other words, this table was pure direct line—blood only.
They discriminate even against sons-in-law, and their wives and daughters accept it without batting an eye. What kind of family is this?
It's inhuman.
Even Grandfather's other wives were all downstairs, along with their descendants. The discrimination was thorough.
That's where the real trouble began.
As I took in the faces around the table, the fragmented memories of that druggie started piecing together. Ko Mu-yeol's father had been Grandfather's only direct-line son (from his now-deceased first wife). And Ko Mu-yeol was that son's only direct-line child.
In short, Ko Mu-yeol was the sole direct-line grandson of the Goryeo Group's owner.
But his father was dead, so...
I'm the only surviving male direct descendant in the Goryeo Group straight line... Fuck. This is a blatant trigger for their scrutiny.
Getting excessive attention from Grandfather was one issue, but this was the real bomb.
From the aunts' and cousin noonas' perspective, Mu-yeol had been a drugged-up wastrel, so being the “sole male heir” probably hadn't mattered—they'd ignored it. As Ko Min-ji had said, they could just keep him locked away and compete among themselves. Perfect setup.
But now this junkie nephew suddenly quits drugs, starts flailing around productively? And gifts Grandfather some Go board that he loves so much he shouts it from the rooftops?
Ah... Just thinking about it has me breaking a cold sweat.
They wouldn't confront me openly because of Grandfather, but the subtle jabs were coming. And right now, I had zero power to withstand the owner family's pressure.
Hell, I had nothing—barely scraping 2 trillion in stocks, while these people wielded tens to hundreds of trillions in liquid assets. And that's just the visible wealth; their actual managed assets were way more. Tip of the iceberg, right?
And each probably has their own private forces too...
That's why I'd planned to lay low and bolt to Incheon the second this gathering ended.
God, what do I even do?
“Nephew.”
“...Yes??”
“Why're you sweating like that? Hot in here?”
As I was lost in thought, Ko Min-young pulled out a handkerchief and reached over.
Swipe.
“Ah.”
Her soft touch wiped my sweat with surprising care. Trained poise? Every gesture exuded elegance.
“Huh? Grandson hot?!”
“No, Grandfather—I'm fine. Really. Thanks, Aunt.”
“Chief Secretary! Crank the AC down. Kid's overheating.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
It wasn't hot, though...
“Not hot—nervous, maybe? Those eyes rolling around all cute.”
“Nervous? Our Mu-yeol? Nah.”
“It's been ages since we all got together like this. With all these fierce ladies, who wouldn't tense up? Adorable.”
Ko Ha-young and Ko Seon-ah beamed, sharing their “affection” for their nephew. At least, that's how it looked on the surface.
It was nothing like the suffocating chaebol family dinners I'd vaguely imagined—full of backhanded compliments disguised as laughter.
Was I just too influenced by dramas?
“Them starin' you down like that—makes a fella squirm, don't it? Tsk tsk. Like gawkin' at a monkey in the zoo.”
“...You know you stared the hardest, right Dad?”
“Whoa, hearin' that from my own boy.”
“You're the worst offender, makin' a fuss yourself.”
Women who dared talk back to the Goryeo Group chairman without flinching.
“Grandpa lovin' on his grandson ain't the same as you lot. Grandkid's got a different weight to it. Right, Mu-yeol?”
“Oh? Discriminatory much?”
“You know we got no sons, right?”
“Who was it that tossed the kid out with pocket change when he went astray? 'Different weight,' huh, Dad?”
The last jab hit home; even the Goryeo chairman flinched and cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing at me carefully.
“Well... You still want somethin'? Ain't just talk—this old man's serious. In business, what you give comes back. That's the mindset. Get it wrong, you never make it big.”
“Nephew! Ask for 5 quintillion or so. Old man's got endless piles—easy pickings.”
“Pardon?”
“That won't cut it. To yank a pillar, demand a whole province.”
“Even that's chump change. For a real root-out, go for Pyongyang.”
“Whatever—grab some land, build your own kingdom. Our nephew loves rice cakes, right? Open a rice cake soup joint. Heh heh heh.”
“...You nuts?”
“Hey! What're you all doin'? At the dinner table! Tsk tsk. VPs with mouths runnin' nonstop. Shut it and let your girls handle things quiet-like.”
“Look at that dialect poppin' out. So country.”
“What 'quiet'? They're just pokin' at food 'cause they've got nothin' to say.”
“Pipe down, will ya! Sheesh!”
The table grew noisier by the second. It had started with that heavy chaebol vibe, but soon turned into the cheerful chaos of any normal family gathering.
...Is this... just a harmonious family?
It felt that way. But nah—impossible, right? With all that money and power at stake?
“Noisy, huh? Ignore 'em and eat up.”
Amid the shouting, Ko Min-young looked after me. Still imperious and cool overall, but somehow warm.
“Everyone's hyped thanks to you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Place has life again 'cause you pulled yourself together.”
Could that be? It defied my common sense. Or was there some hidden secret between Ko Mu-yeol and this family I hadn't uncovered yet?