The Whispering Uncle

Kim Tae-jun couldn't bring himself to answer right away. Only after a long, tense pause did he let out a hollow laugh and snap back, "What... what do you mean, who made me this way?"

Leaning back in his chair, Park Jihun spoke calmly. "Think about it carefully. Whether there was someone who always had to chime in whenever you made a choice."

Tae-jun's face stiffened. "What kind of bullshit is that now?"

"And whether a certain face strangely overlapped with every bad thing that happened to you."

A brief silence fell. The chat had already flipped upside down. *What is he talking about? Who is it? This is giving me goosebumps*—the reactions flew by in a frantic blur, but Park Jihun offered no further explanation.

Gritting his teeth, Kim Tae-jun said, "If you're joking right now, it's not very funny."

Jihun replied flatly, "Believe it or not. Up to you."

That was his final word. Jihun didn't try to hold him any longer. "That's all for today."

The stream ended.

Yet, Tae-jun couldn't get up from his seat for a long time. The final words of the Perpetual Job Seeker still rang vividly in his ears.

Tae-jun grimaced and muttered, "What absolute bullshit."

He felt incredibly dirty, but he couldn't just laugh it off. It kept gnawing at him. Tae-jun began to sift through his memories. The Novagen incident came to mind first.

The atmosphere had been great back then. His initial buying timing wasn't bad either. He had an opportunity to liquidate his position halfway through, but his maternal uncle had chimed in.

"Selling now would certainly bring a profit. But it could go even higher, you know. If you want to beat your brother, you need to be a bit bolder at times like this."

Those words had stayed his hand. He knew the stock had already risen enough. Yet, thinking *just a little more, just a little more*, he ultimately missed the timing.

It wasn't just that one time. Looking back now, it was always the same. His uncle never openly dictated his path. He merely chose words calculated to shake Tae-jun's resolve.

"Are you really going to settle for this just because you made a little profit?"

"You aren't planning on just trailing behind your brother again this time, are you?"

"Shouldn't you get ahead of your brother at least once?"

Whenever Tae-jun expressed anxiety, his uncle would say that was exactly how opportunities presented themselves. If Tae-jun worried it was too late to buy in, his uncle would claim that was actually the perfect time.

His uncle always spoke as if the final decision was entirely Tae-jun's. But in hindsight, the choices Tae-jun made were always the ones his uncle had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subtly nudged him toward.

Tae-jun bit his lip. "...Fuck."

He couldn't definitively conclude that his uncle was trying to ruin him. The evidence was still thin. But at the very least, one thing was clear: he could no longer blindly trust his uncle's words as he had before.

Tae-jun picked up his phone. He planned to play dumb and ask his uncle for advice again. He wanted to see for himself what kind of sweet talk his uncle would use to entice him this time.

It was about thirty minutes later when the doorbell rang. Kim Tae-jun walked to the foyer and opened the door. His maternal uncle stood outside. Wearing a neat coat, he held a black plastic bag in one hand. His face was as composed and tidy as ever.

"I wondered what was going on when you suddenly asked to meet."

"Come in first."

Stepping inside, his uncle scanned the living room. "The cleaning lady must have had a hard time."

Tae-jun smirked. "I cleaned it myself."

"You did?"

"Yes. I've decided to quit drinking while I'm at it."

"Well, the sun must be rising in the west tomorrow." His uncle wore a skeptical look before holding out the bag. "I picked up some hangover soup on the way, but seeing you so sober, it seems I bought it for nothing."

"Yes, I'll be perfectly fine from now on."

His uncle sat on the sofa. A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes. Tae-jun didn't miss it.

"So. Have you finally made up your mind?"

Leaning sideways against the kitchen island, Tae-jun replied, "Not yet. That's why I wanted to see you, Uncle. Father told me to decide by Monday."

Tae-jun stopped there. He wanted to see what answer the other man would offer.

His uncle took a short breath and nodded. "So, what are your thoughts?"

"I'd rather hear your thoughts first, Uncle. You've always been so generous with your advice."

Without any suspicion, his uncle answered, "Hmm, as I said before, Construction is the best option."

"Construction?"

"Yes. It paints the best picture. It looks good to the elders, and it saves face in public. It's best to start safe and establish your footing first."

Keeping his gaze locked on him, Tae-jun asked, "What about Bio?"

His uncle gave a faint smile. "If it yields results, the payoff is huge. But there are too many variables. One slip-up is hard to recover from, and if things go wrong, it'll only leave a stain on your name."

Setting down his water glass, he added, "There's no need to be greedy for something like that right from the start. No need to embarrass yourself again by overreaching."

Tae-jun's eyes turned ice-cold. *No need to embarrass yourself again.* It sounded like worry, but strangely, it felt like the words of someone who had already assumed his failure. It was a tone that too naturally presumed he would ruin things if he pushed himself.

A position that looked respectable on the outside, and even if it failed to produce results, was easy to sweep under the rug. That was exactly what Construction was.

On the other hand, Bio was risky, but it was a place where he could actually achieve something significant.

Did his uncle really not know that potential, or did he simply not want that potential to exist in the first place?

"What about Distribution?"

"If you want an easy path, that might be better. But it's too bland. It's not the kind of picture the Chairman wants to see."

"So in the end, Construction is the best."

"That's my opinion. Above all, it will be the easiest for you to handle."

Tae-jun fell silent for a moment. His uncle never spoke of how he could succeed. Instead, he only spoke of how to minimize embarrassment, of how to settle comfortably within a safe boundary.

Only then did it become crystal clear why his uncle was pushing Construction. Construction was exactly as the Perpetual Job Seeker had described. The board was already set; even if he squeezed in, there was no place for him. At best, he would just be riding on a stage someone else had built.

But if his uncle had truly cared for him, it should have been different. Even if there were risks, he should have first looked for a position where Tae-jun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could stand on his own two feet. He should have lent his support to the side with a chance of real success.

Yet, his uncle had never looked in that direction. From the very beginning, he had only offered positions where Tae-jun could never change the game on his own—positions where he would always be kept under someone else's thumb.

A faint smile played on Tae-jun's lips. "I see. I'll think about it."

His uncle nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Don't let pride get the better of you. You must choose what you can handle."

You must choose what you can handle. Those words lingered in his ears for a long time. After his uncle left, the house fell quiet again. Tae-jun remained lost in thought for a while before picking up his phone.

The final answer wasn't decided yet. But at least one thing was certain: this time, he had absolutely no intention of accepting the answer his uncle had handed him.

Kim Tae-jun paused in front of the Chairman's office door to catch his breath. Even with a single door separating them, his throat felt parched.

It had been like this since he was a child. Just standing before the Chairman's office made his shoulders stiffen, and his heart would shrink at even the most trivial word.

Today was no different. No, perhaps today was even worse. This time, he had already sent his answer with his own hands.

He hadn't chosen Construction, nor Distribution and Logistics. He had chosen Bio.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I must have lost my mind, he muttered to himself, but there was no taking back the answer he had already submitted.

Tae-jun opened the door and stepped inside. The office was dead silent. The Chairman was holding an open newspaper. Even after Tae-jun entered, he didn't look up for a long while.

As Tae-jun stood there in silence, the Chairman spoke. "Why Bio?"

There were no pleasantries. He cut straight to the core from the very start.

Tae-jun felt his breath catch for a moment. But he had no intention of backing down today.

"Construction looks the most plausible on the surface. Distribution and Logistics is stable."

The Chairman said nothing. Tae-jun pressed on.

"But the board in Construction is already set. Even if I go in, there isn't much room for me to prove myself. Distribution and Logistics is good for holding the line, but I saw it as highly likely to end in mediocrity."

Only then did the Chairman lower his newspaper. His gaze was chillingly cold. "And so?"

"I know Bio carries high risks. But I believed it is also the area where my decisions and execution have the greatest potential to show clear results."

A brief silence ensued. The Chairman quietly observed Tae-jun. His gaze remained entirely devoid of emotion. Tae-jun swallowed hard and spoke.

"I decided that what I need right now isn't a safe position ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to manage and hold onto, but a place where I can show what I am capable of."

The Chairman asked, "Is this your own judgment?"

Tae-jun answered slowly, "This time, I made the choice based on my own conviction."

The Chairman chewed on those words. "Your own conviction. You certainly know how to talk a good game."

Tae-jun's face stiffened slightly. Normally, he would have backed down here. But this time, he didn't want to.

"I didn't say it just to sound good. I am the one who decided."

After a long silence, the Chairman muttered flatly, "Fine. Go ahead and try."

Tae-jun bowed his head slightly. "Yes, thank you."

The Chairman picked up his newspaper again. "You may leave."

Just as Tae-jun was about to turn around, the Chairman added one more thing. "You don't smell of alcohol today."

Tae-jun gripped the doorknob and stepped outside. Only then did he let out a long, held-in breath.

He still couldn't read what his father was thinking. Even so, he was pleased that this time, at least, he hadn't acted like a loser destined to fail again.

Sitting in his chair, the Chairman fell into deep thought. His third son, whom he hadn't seen in a while, felt unfamiliar.

He had walked in sober, completely free of the smell of alcohol, and he hadn't avoided his father's gaze. His words were slightly unpolished but structured, and above all, his face today didn't look like someone merely parroting what others had told him to say.

The Chairman pressed the intercom button. "Secretary Choi, come in."

A moment later, the secretary entered. "You called, Chairman?"

The Chairman said without looking up, "Find out who my third son has been meeting lately."

The secretary's expression stiffened. "Do you mean Master Tae-jun?"

"Yes." The Chairman added slowly, "He isn't the type to suddenly act like this. He doesn't smell of alcohol, and the look in his eyes has changed."

After a brief silence, the secretary bowed. "Understood."

After the secretary left, the office fell quiet once more. Without a single change in his expression, the Chairman muttered, "Someone is backing him. Otherwise, there's no way he would have those eyes."