Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Royal Family 12-4
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Everyone's eyes turned to Chairman Kang Wook's mouth.
And Chairman Kang Wook nodded toward Ji-hyeok.
"Come over here. The eldest grandson should sit in the closest seat."
"Father!"
The one who cried out as if her throat were tearing was Kang Jin-young.
But her rebellion ended there, with simply calling out to her father.
Under Chairman Kang Wook's steady gaze, Kang Jin-young bowed her head.
Yet it was clear how furious she felt from her fists clenched so tightly they trembled.
"So, should I sit here then?"
That was when it happened.
Ji-hyeok approached Kang Jin-young's side with an innocent expression on his face.
Kang Jin-young glared sharply at him, but when she saw his smiling face, her lips quivered, and she turned her head to the left.
However, Kang Seon-young, who had been sitting next to her, along with everyone else, had already shifted over by one seat.
In the end, as Kang Jin-young moved one seat over, her husband standing opposite also glanced around nervously and shifted his position accordingly.
With the seating finally settled, Chairman Kang Wook slowly took his chair, and the meal officially began.
The meal was a simple Korean spread, nothing extravagant.
Rice, soup, and eight side dishes were placed before each person, all neatly prepared and delicious.
It was around the time everyone had taken three or four spoonfuls.
"Pfft! Mom, do you know your face looks hilarious right now?"
It was Gong Yeon-woo, Kang Jin-young's youngest daughter, who had ridden in the cart with him earlier.
She poked her head forward with a genuinely amused expression, staring at her mother.
"Quiet. Eat your food silently."
"I was going to, but it's just so funny. What's the big deal about shifting one seat over? Why is everyone making such faces? Isn't this hilarious? Am I the only one?"
"I said quiet. The Chairman is here. Mind your manners."
"Yes, yes. If you don't want your card cut off, you have to obey. But Grandpa, is the seating at meals really that important? You don't have to make that brother sit there specifically. He's so young."
Everyone's ears perked up visibly at Gong Yeon-woo's words.
And even Kang Jin-young, who had just been sharply scolding her, said nothing now.
Then Chairman Kang Wook set down his spoon and slowly opened his mouth.
"Everything has its proper place. If you can't find your place, it means you're useless. And the useless get discarded. That's why place matters. Do you understand?"
"No, your words are too profound for me. I'll just sit wherever there's space. That okay?"
Ji-hyeok let out a chuckle at Gong Yeon-woo's response.
A few people at this table were so tense in the chilly atmosphere that they barely knew if the rice was going in their mouths or up their noses.
Poking at their grains while furtively gauging reactions.
In such an atmosphere, Gong Yeon-woo's words and actions stood out even more.
And to Ji-hyeok's eyes, it was clear Chairman Kang Wook favored her.
The corners of his stern face had twitched upward slightly at her final reply.
And so, Ji-hyeok's first meal at Taesung House came to an end.
Before entering his room after returning from the dining hall, Ji-hyeok inspected the door.
He could spot the hole at a glance.
The Taesung logo mounted at the top of the door.
When he pushed the gold-plated logo, it slid open smoothly.
And a very small hole was revealed inside.
'Everyone must know about this. If not, they're idiots.'
Peering through the hole, he could see quite a bit of the room's interior.
Gossip seen through this hole would surely flow straight to Kang Jin-young.
- Crunch...
Ji-hyeok gripped it firmly and ripped off the Taesung logo.
He could have pretended not to notice, but there was no reason to.
It wasn't about hiding something; he just hated knowing someone was watching.
After tidying the door, Ji-hyeok entered and spent some time opening his laptop to organize data.
He didn't step out again until just past nine o'clock.
Heading to the first-floor entrance of Taesung Mansion, Ji-hyeok approached the cart.
"Young master, you're out?"
"Mind if I borrow this? It's my first day; I'd like to look around."
"Of course. Shall I guide you?"
"No, I want to wander alone."
"Understood. The red, yellow, blue, and green lines on the floor lead to the central, front, beauty, and rear gardens, respectively. Follow the dark gray line for the main gate. It's nice to stroll around and see the gardens the Chairman has tended."
"Thank you."
After receiving the staff member's detailed guidance, Ji-hyeok pulled the cart and moved slowly.
While following the red line toward the central garden, he stopped the cart and got out in front of a small fountain trickling gently.
Bathed in soft lighting, the fountain was more charming than flashy.
But what caught Ji-hyeok's eye were the statues of children spouting water.
"Pretty, right?"
As he gazed at the fountain for a moment, a voice came from behind, and he turned to see Gong Yeon-woo standing there.
"Grandma made those statues herself. Of Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, aunts, and Uncle."
"They're pretty."
"Did you really grow up in an orphanage?"
"Who said that?"
"Everyone."
"Everyone?"
"What happens in Taesung Mansion doesn't leave it. But there are no secrets in Taesung Mansion..."
"What a ridiculous place."
"Right? Totally ridiculous."
"It's true. I grew up in an orphanage."
"Grandpa was really mean. Right? He must have known how you lived. Sometimes it just breaks my heart."
Gong Yeon-woo came right in, just like that.
But was this what family felt like?
It wasn't all that burdensome.
'They called her the odd one out. So that's what they meant.'
In fact, his investigation into everyone living in Taesung Mansion, not just Gong Yeon-woo, was already complete.
Not in deep detail, of course, but the surface information had been thoroughly checked.
Among them, the one who stood out most was the girl beside him now, Gong Yeon-woo.
At 26 years old, she had majored in Western painting at Seonghwa Women's University and currently worked as a curator at Arte Gallery.
She was one of the two third-generation members living in Taesung Mansion—not students—who didn't work for Taesung.
From what he confirmed, her grandmother had graduated from Korea University's sculpture department and sculpted as a lifelong hobby, while Executive Director Kang Jin-young had majored in Western painting too, so Gong Yeon-woo must have inherited that talent.
That might be why Chairman Kang Wook cherished her so much.
Or perhaps he was projecting his late wife's image onto her.
"You seem to like her?"
"Me? Grandpa?"
"Yeah."
"Well, more times I dislike him than like, I guess that's the answer."
"That's family for you."
"So, did you come to Taesung Mansion with those feelings? Looking for family?"
Ji-hyeok hesitated for a moment before answering.
Of course, he could give hundreds of responses if he wanted.
But in the end, he pulled out one from the depths of his heart.
"No, to find what's mine."
"I see. I figured as much."
"Cousins are closer than distant family. I'd prefer we don't stand against each other. So we can live as family."
"What about Mom and the aunts? By blood, they're uncles there."
"It'll depend on them."
"Ah... it's complicated. I must be the odd one. You know too, right? About how they tried to adopt our brother as Grandpa's son."
"Yeah."
"Everyone here thinks that's normal. How can that be normal? Right?"
"Don't ask for my agreement."
"Anyway! Even if we fight, I hope we don't act like we'll never see each other again. We're family."
Ji-hyeok just chuckled softly.
It was impossible.
The person who killed his father and mother was here.
What use was pretending not to know now? The dead wouldn't come back to life...
Ridiculous.
Why should outsiders decide that?
Untangling the lump in his own heart was entirely his own affair.
But keeping those words inside, Ji-hyeok smiled.
Gong Yeon-woo, seeing hope in that smile, patted his shoulder lightly.
"I'll head out now. Come visit the gallery sometime."
Gong Yeon-woo flashed a bright smile, waved her white hand, and walked toward the central garden.
Ji-hyeok watched her receding figure grow smaller for a while.
Clear and bright.
And pretty, too.
Well, having grown up without lacking anything, it would be stranger if she weren't.
'Sorry, but things won't go the way you hope.'
As Ji-hyeok rose from the bench, eyes shifted from all directions.
Whose eyes? Obvious.
They'd been following him since he left Taesung Mansion.
He wasn't sure if Gong Yeon-woo knew, but it must be hard to think of a place like this as home.
Ignoring the gazes, Ji-hyeok got back on the cart and returned to Taesung Mansion.
The first night passed like that.
The intercom rang at five-thirty in the morning.
Meals started at six, so don't be late.
Of course, Ji-hyeok had already been lightly stretching in the center of the room, loosening up before it rang.
After answering, he showered, changed into light clothes, and stepped out.
At the end of the hallway, Team Leader Park Seon-joo bowed deeply to greet him.
"Isn't this a labor law violation? Up so early."
"I get compensated plenty. Thank you for your concern."
"Where do you usually have meals?"
"There's the dining hall the Chairman uses. I'll escort you."
Park Seon-joo must have seen the Taesung logo covering the hole had been removed.
But she showed no sign of it.
'They want me to block it from inside.'
A bit absurd, but if this was Roman law, nothing to be done.
He had no intention of fussing over something this minor.
Following Park Seon-joo down to the first floor and up the right staircase into Chairman Kang Wook's area, Ji-hyeok was greeted by Kim Suk-hee, the manager overseeing Taesung House and Taesung Mansion.
Team Leader Park Seon-joo gave a light bow to Manager Kim and stopped, as if her duty ended there.
Manager Kim extended her hand to the side.
"I'll escort you."
It felt like seeing palace maids in a historical drama.
They probably thought it orderly and systematic, but to Ji-hyeok, it was excessive.
But if this was Roman law, nothing to be done.
Following Manager Kim down the floor's hallway, he saw a man in chef's whites standing at the second door.
"The Chairman is inside."
"Already?"
"Yes. He just entered."
At the chef's quiet words, Manager Kim looked slightly flustered and turned to Ji-hyeok.
"The Chairman has already taken his seat."
But Ji-hyeok shrugged as if to say, "So what?" and brushed past her into the room.
Manager Kim tried to say something behind him, but Ji-hyeok was already inside.
"You beat me here. Come out on time. The staff gets uncomfortable."
Gasp! Oh! What!
The casual remark tossed as he entered and glanced at Kang Wook made the faces of the staff lined against the wall widen in shock.
Startling everyone like that, Ji-hyeok sat opposite Kang Wook and lightly lifted his water glass to moisten his lips.
"I'll dig in."
"Go ahead."
Kang Wook responded naturally to Ji-hyeok's words.
For a moment, the two focused silently on their meal.
Kang Wook spoke when his rice bowl was cleanly emptied.
"Tell me how you'll run the Future Strategy Office."
"I'm thinking six teams: Strategy, HR, Legal, Management Audit, Finance. The Finance team will focus on separating industry from banking. We can take over the line former Vice Chairman Kang Heon was handling."
"What will you do?"
"Everyone's growling too much from all sides. Quieting them down seems first priority."
"Do it without a fuss."
"Yes. I'll try to keep it as quiet as possible. But give me some shares? Hard to move with bare hands; it doesn't feel right."
The staff who had been gasping since Ji-hyeok entered the dining hall began to sparkle with interest at his words.