Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Royal Family 14-3
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The outer walls of the Mi residence were made of wood.
It had been clad in siding that gave it the feel of a cabin in the woods.
Of course, calling a house this massive a cabin was utterly ridiculous...
Seo Ji-hyeok was sitting on the sofa in the first-floor reception room.
Next to him sat Park Eun-seok, looking a bit sullen as he kept glancing up the stairs.
He was waiting for his mother to appear.
And moments later, Kang Mi-young slowly descended the stairs and took a seat on the sofa. Park Eun-seok burst into tears and crawled off the sofa onto the floor, inching toward his mother.
"Mom..."
But that was the moment.
Slap!
Kang Mi-young slapped the approaching Park Eun-seok across the cheek.
Park Eun-seok, who had been crawling on his knees, froze in shock, rigid as ice.
His face filled with bewilderment and confusion, as if he hadn't even imagined such a thing, let alone expected it.
"M-Mom?"
"Sit on the sofa."
"Mom..."
"Now!"
In the end, Park Eun-seok backed away on his knees and clambered back onto the sofa.
That was when Seo Ji-hyeok spoke up.
"Starting today, Eun-seok will be living with me at the Taesung Residence. Please pack his things and send them over."
"Fine. Got it."
"And I plan to keep him by my side as a driver and errand boy."
"Got it."
"I don't know when I'll send him back."
"Do as you see fit."
"Yes. Let's go."
With that short, simple exchange, Seo Ji-hyeok stood up from the sofa.
Eun-seok alternated glances between Seo Ji-hyeok and Kang Mi-young, his face a picture of confusion about what to do.
The answer came soon enough from Seo Ji-hyeok's mouth.
"What are you doing? Get up."
"Wh-Why..."
"Didn't I tell you not to make me say it twice?"
At Seo Ji-hyeok's low voice, Eun-seok sprang to his feet reflexively.
Seeing this, Seo Ji-hyeok gave Kang Mi-young a light wave.
"Aunt, I'll be off."
"Alright."
Kang Mi-young's casual reply plunged Park Eun-seok into even greater shock.
How could she send him away without so much as a change in expression?
Without even knowing what he'd been through over the past week...
As if that pent-up rage had surged all at once, Park Eun-seok glared at Kang Mi-young for a moment before storming out.
Kang Mi-young watched him go, and once he was out the door, she let out a deep sigh.
"Haa... Is this really the right thing to do?"
"It might not be. But right now, it's the best option. If you think of something better, let me know. I'll be going now."
"Alright... Take care of Eun-seok."
With those words, Seo Ji-hyeok left the Mi residence.
In truth, Seo Ji-hyeok had texted Kang Mi-young before leaving Dongdaemun.
[I'm taking Eun-seok. You know what to do, right?]
Her attitude just now had been the response to that text.
If Kang Mi-young had coddled Park Eun-seok, the past week's efforts would have been for nothing.
As he stepped outside, Park Eun-seok—who had run out first—was standing there, panting and glaring at the Mi residence.
"What? Gonna smash it?"
"How could Mom... How could she do this to me?"
"And how have you been treating your aunt all this time? Why'd you live like a dog? Bullying, throwing money around, drugs... Why live like that? In my eyes, you're still far from being human, so shut up and follow me."
After glaring at the Mi residence a while longer, Park Eun-seok trailed after Seo Ji-hyeok.
And so their cohabitation began.
Monday morning, Park Eun-seok was in the driver's seat of Seo Ji-hyeok's car.
Upon entering Seo Ji-hyeok's office in the Future Strategy Office, a desk that hadn't been there last Friday was now against the wall.
"That's your spot."
"...Yes. But I have one question."
"Shoot."
"Why go this far with me? I thought about it all last night, but I can't figure it out. It can't be because of family or something, right?"
"No. Do you see me as family?"
"No."
"Right. Me neither."
"Then why..."
"If I hadn't seen it, I might've let it slide. But I saw it with my own eyes, so I can't ignore it. Good guys go without saying, but even scum like you—I can't watch you die from drugs. I'd rather kill you myself. Be honest. You're taking the antidote, right?"
"Yes..."
"And you've been using more drugs since starting the antidote?"
"Yes..."
"You've been lucky not to cross the line so far, but if this continues, you'll be dead in weeks or months."
"No... That's..."
"Quiet. I don't want to hear the crap you addicts swap around. I'm telling you straight: if I see or hear even once that you're using, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in bed. And I don't joke about this stuff."
Under Seo Ji-hyeok's piercing gaze, Park Eun-seok cowered, shoulders hunched.
Seo Ji-hyeok headed to his desk, and Park Eun-seok slunk over to his own by the wall and sat down.
But after furtively glancing around, Park Eun-seok pulled out his phone from his pocket.
There was no computer—just an empty desk—so he'd resorted to his phone.
But then.
"Play games and you're dead."
As Seo Ji-hyeok reviewed approval documents on his monitor, his sharp voice rang out. Park Eun-seok hurriedly flipped his phone face-down on the desk.
And that was the start of it.
- Beep! Executive Director, Section Chief Ahn Chang-hee requests a meeting.
- Beep! Executive Director, a team leader from Finance has a report.
- Beep! Executive Director...
From quick ten-minute reports to near-hour-long meetings, Seo Ji-hyeok's office buzzed nonstop with people coming and going.
In the meantime,
"Park Eun-seok! Eyes open!"
Whenever Park Eun-seok even hinted at dozing off—unable to comprehend what was happening—Seo Ji-hyeok's sharp voice cut through without fail.
As the morning neared its end, the final scheduled meeting finally began.
It was the first report on the Taesung Trading management audit by Gong Sa-woo.
When Gong Sa-woo entered the office, Park Eun-seok at his desk tensed up and watched warily.
"Have a seat."
"Yes."
"Give me the progress report."
"To cut to the chase, there's no major issue with Trading's commerce division performance. As you can see from the past three years' financials, they've focused on stable operations. Growth is lacking, sure, but from a business management perspective, stability isn't a problem."
Even for a first report after just a week, Gong Sa-woo's presentation was full of "no issues."
Seo Ji-hyeok had half-expected this.
'He thinks I'm gunning for his mom. No way he'd hand me the knife to stab her. Too straightforward—way too straightforward.'
Sneering inwardly at Gong Sa-woo, Seo Ji-hyeok stood from his chair.
"Let's go."
"Pardon?"
"Lunchtime first, so eat and then head to Trading."
"Trading?"
"Yes. You gave your diagnosis, Team Leader Gong, so let's hear from the front-line staff."
Gong Sa-woo's face flushed red in an instant.
As if he hadn't even dreamed Seo Ji-hyeok would play it this way.
Of course, he'd anticipated that Seo Ji-hyeok would eventually go to Trading—specifically, to Executive Director Kang Jin-young.
But not today.
It was only the first report.
And lunch on top?
"Ha... I'll wait in the lobby at one."
"Quite an elegant way to say you don't want to eat together. Do what suits you. Meals are best casual, right? But in office life, can you always pick the comfy option? I'm curious how many of the staff outside could turn down their boss's lunch invite."
Gong Sa-woo's face reddened further at Seo Ji-hyeok's words.
"I'll... handle it myself. Excuse me."
With a face on the verge of exploding, Gong Sa-woo spun around and hurried out.
He probably didn't want lunch together, true—but right now, his priority was rushing to call his mother, Executive Director Kang Jin-young.
"Pfft!"
As Seo Ji-hyeok chuckled at the door where Gong Sa-woo had vanished, Park Eun-seok—head down—burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing?"
"First time seeing Gong Sa-woo like that."
"You're basically trash at heart, huh?"
"Honestly, Gong Sa-woo's just annoying."
"Strangers would think you've lived a saintly life. Get up. I'm hungry."
"But... what are we eating?"
"What else? The cafeteria, obviously."
Eun-seok pursed his lips as if in thought, but he followed Seo Ji-hyeok to the cafeteria anyway.
Of course, his expression changed soon after.
He'd had no idea just how impressive Taesung's cafeteria was.
[Heading to Trading first.]
By the time he'd returned to the office after brushing his teeth, a text from Gong Sa-woo had arrived.
Seo Ji-hyeok stared at it in disbelief.
'So foolish...'
As if getting there first and aligning stories would fix this.
It was just panic, but this confirmed he'd overestimated Gong Sa-woo.
"Still hoping Mom manages his report card."
"Who?"
"Let's go. You know where Trading is, right?"
"No clue."
"Forget it. What was I expecting from you? Punch it into the nav."
And so Seo Ji-hyeok headed to Taesung Trading with Eun-seok.
"Mom, what do we do?"
"Gong Sa-woo, get a grip. Why are you acting like this?"
"That bastard! Hoo... I don't know. Just seeing him makes my blood boil. I can't think straight."
"Gong Sa-woo, is this how I raised you? Pull yourself together!"
"I know. I know, but... I can't. Seeing him makes something rise up in my chest."
"You think he stole what's yours? Is that it?"
"I don't know. No—yes. I think so."
"Gong Sa-woo! The fight hasn't even started. Get it together!"
Kang Jin-young sighed softly as Gong Sa-woo paced anxiously despite her words.
And with that, anger toward Seo Ji-hyeok flared up too.
Everything had gone off the rails since that guy appeared.
It had all been proceeding according to plan.
Knowing her father, she never rushed—advancing step by step toward her goal.
But... but then...
Seo Ji-hyeok showed up, and the tower she'd built crumbled in an instant.
A tower built over thirty years.
And the first—and biggest—to fall was her son, Gong Sa-woo.
That's why her anger was directed not just at Seo Ji-hyeok, but at her own worthless son.
"Gong Sa-woo, sit."
"What do we do? He'll nitpick Trading's operations for sure. You know there's no end to nitpicking if he wants to. What now? He's after you, Mom."
"Gong Sa-woo!"
Her voice crashed like thunder, halting Gong Sa-woo's pacing.
His face filled with tension in a flash.
He knew his mother well...
He realized he was on the verge of crossing the line.
"S-Sorry, Mom."
"You going to keep acting like an idiot? I said sit."
"Yes."
As the anxious Gong Sa-woo finally sat on the sofa,
- Executive Director, the Future Strategy Office General Team Leader has arrived at the President's office.
"What? The President's office?"
- Yes, just got word from the secretariat.
Kang Jin-young, who rarely showed surprise, raised her voice.
And with that, the prelude to war began.