I Don't Want This Kind of Ending
Just moments ago Lee Jeong-eun's face had been twisted with rage, but now her expression shifted.
"Ilhyeon Card?"
She took a step toward Kim Seong-ho, seeking confirmation.
"The president's seat at Ilhyeon Card is vacant?"
"It would be more accurate to say that no one has yet been appointed to the newly restructured position of president at Ilhyeon Card following our recent acquisition of Shinjeong Card."
"We acquired Shinjeong Card? Was the Shinjeong Group in trouble?"
Lee Jeong-eun asked Kim Seong-ho with a look of complete surprise. It was the sort of matter she would normally have neither interest in nor any desire to learn about. Talk of acquisitions and restructuring held no appeal for her whatsoever.
But today was different.
"If we acquired Shinjeong Card and merged it with our Ilhyeon Card… that means the company has gotten bigger, right?"
"Yes. Simply in terms of numbers, combining the two has brought our customer base past eight million. We're also in the process of folding companies like Ilhyeon Capital and Ilhyeon Installment Finance into Ilhyeon Card. We have plans to acquire a few more capital firms currently on the market as well."
"You're merging capital and installment finance into Ilhyeon Card? Then…"
She quickly calculated. It occurred to her that under the group structure Lee Tak-hyeon envisioned, Ilhyeon Card might take the helm of the financial sector.
"I'll do it."
Lee Jeong-eun thought that if she got her hands on Ilhyeon Card, life insurance and other financial affiliates might follow in a chain. Even if they didn't, with Ilhyeon Card grown to such an enormous scale compared to the past, that alone would be more than enough. She coveted Ilhyeon Card, and even raised her hand toward Lee Tak-hyeon as she declared forcefully,
"Father—no, Chairman. Me. I'll take charge of Ilhyeon Card."
Lee Tak-hyeon showed a moment of hesitation.
"Ilhyeon Card… Ilhyeon Card is rather large for you to handle… How about Ilhyeon Paper instead?"
"Ilhyeon Paper? What am I supposed to do with a paper mill?"
Lee Jeong-eun shook her head vigorously at Lee Tak-hyeon's words.
"Not Ilhyeon Paper—please give me Ilhyeon Card. Mr. Kim—no, Director Kim. I can really do well at this."
Seeing Lee Tak-hyeon hesitate, Lee Jeong-eun turned to Kim Seong-ho with a plea.
"I take my instructions from the Chairman… It's not for me to decide whether to appoint my sister-in-law or not."
"The Chairman just stamps the seal. In the end, it's you who handles the actual arrangements, Director Kim."
"What sort of thing are you saying…"
"Just put me in at Ilhyeon Card. I won't take anything but Ilhyeon Card. You should know that."
"Is that a threat?"
"I don't care if it sounds like one. Because I absolutely want Ilhyeon Card."
Lee Jeong-eun stood her ground, even planting her hands on her hips. Lee Tak-hyeon looked up at her, deliberating.
As Kim Seong-ho had said, Ilhyeon Card was absorbing Ilhyeon Capital and Ilhyeon Installment Finance in a bid to transform into a comprehensive financial company. It was set to become the core of the Ilhyeon Group's financial affiliates, with a high likelihood of eventually encompassing insurance and life as well. To entrust such a place to Lee Jeong-eun left him uneasy. Moreover, the fact that only Lee Jeong-eun and her husband would be jointly running an affiliate made Lee Tak-hyeon even more uncomfortable.
Lee Jeong-eun noticed that the deliberating Lee Tak-hyeon's gaze had shifted to Cha Yeong-su. Sensing what he was fretting over, she stepped forward first.
"Then, Chairman, please reassign this man from Ilhyeon Electronics to Ilhyeon Card as well."
"Honey!"
Cha Yeong-su stared at Lee Jeong-eun in surprise at her sudden demand that he step down from his position. Lee Jeong-eun glared at Cha Yeong-su and said,
"It's not like you're doing anything at Ilhyeon Electronics anyway. Rather than that, come over to Ilhyeon Card and work with me."
"What do I know about cards…"
"And what did you know about TVs that you were at Ilhyeon Electronics? Just shut up and follow me. That's the only way you'll keep your seat at Ilhyeon."
At Lee Jeong-eun's words, Cha Yeong-su could say nothing more and closed his mouth. Once Cha Yeong-su fell silent, Lee Jeong-eun turned back to Lee Tak-hyeon.
"Chairman, you see? Even Vice President Cha is fine with it. So please send me."
"Having a couple in the same company is…"
Lee Mun-jong was about to open his mouth as if to interfere when Lee Jeong-eun whipped her head around. She glared at Lee Mun-jong with a look that said if he tried to stop her, she would fight him to the death—so he had better be prepared. In the end, under that gaze that even carried a murderous edge, Lee Mun-jong had no choice but to shut his mouth.
When Lee Mun-jong closed his mouth, Lee Jeong-eun's gaze shifted to her other brothers. Lee Sang-jong looked much the same as Lee Mun-jong. They all waited for Lee Tak-hyeon's decision, and Lee Jeong-eun cast a glance at her brothers that said they should simply watch in silence.
Watching her, Kim Seong-ho felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
These people in this family are truly something. They have no idea it's a death trap, and every last one of them jumps in with their own two feet…
Kim Seong-ho regarded Lee Jeong-eun, who was voluntarily leaping into the antlion's pit, with an amused look. But unaware of this, Lee Jeong-eun, satisfied that her brothers had nothing to say, turned her head back and pleaded with Lee Tak-hyeon once more.
"Ilhyeon Card. I'll take it on. Together with Cha here. So please trust me and leave it to me."
"Then let's do this."
As if unable to resist her request any longer, Lee Tak-hyeon nodded and looked at Kim Seong-ho with instructions.
"Halt the work of adding capital and installment finance and the rest into Ilhyeon Card."
After giving the order to Kim Seong-ho, Lee Tak-hyeon turned back to Lee Jeong-eun.
"For now, just take Ilhyeon Card. If you produce satisfactory results there, then I'll consider combining it with the others."
Lee Jeong-eun wanted to say she would do well, so just merge them already. In her heart she wanted to beg him to trust her, but she refrained because she thought that if she tried to get everything, she might end up with nothing. Satisfied that she had pushed this far and secured Ilhyeon Card from Lee Tak-hyeon, she decided to back down.
"All right. I'll do it that way."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded at Lee Jeong-eun's ready concession and spoke to Cha Yeong-su.
"You'll need to support Jeong-eun well from her side."
"I understand what the Chairman is concerned about. I'll protect her well from beside her."
"Good."
Lee Jeong-eun felt a pang of disappointment at Lee Tak-hyeon's words about needing support, spoken right in front of her. It conveyed that he still didn't trust her. But she erased the disappointment, content just with having obtained Ilhyeon Card.
Whatever else, I've got Ilhyeon Card. That's enough.
It was a place where, even if paused for now, as long as she performed well, Ilhyeon Capital and Ilhyeon Installment Finance would inevitably follow. If those two came along and then a financial group after that, she wouldn't lag behind Lee Sang-jong, who was sitting pretty with Ilhyeon Construction. Thinking of this as the beginning, Lee Jeong-eun filled her chest with joy.
But she was not the only one who thought of it as the beginning. Kim Seong-ho, watching Lee Jeong-eun, also thought that this was only the start. In his mind's eye, the image of her floundering in the antlion's pit formed of its own accord.
"Madam."
Hongcheondaek approached the place where Lee Tak-hyeon's family was gathered. She bowed to Chu Suk-ja and said,
"Madam. The third young master has arrived."
Chu Suk-ja nodded and waved Hongcheondaek away. Then she turned to Lee Tak-hyeon and said,
"If you're done, let's wrap this up. Chang-jong's family is here."
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded and looked at Lee Jeong-eun.
"Do you have anything more to say?"
"No. Nothing."
Afraid that Lee Tak-hyeon might come out with something else she didn't want to hear, Lee Jeong-eun even waved her hands and quickly returned to her original seat. Then she turned her head to look down the hallway where Lee Chang-jong and his wife would enter. Once Lee Jeong-eun sat, the rest of the family also directed their gazes toward the hallway. At last, the true star of today's gathering was about to make an appearance.
Lee Chang-jong arrived with Jang Eun-ah, who, unlike last time, kept her mouth tightly shut and said nothing. It was not a look of resignation but of suppressed anger, and even without her answering, one could tell what choice she had made.
"We've come."
When Lee Chang-jong greeted them, Lee Tak-hyeon nodded from his seat on the sofa and looked at Jang Eun-ah.
"So. Have you decided?"
He could tell from her expression alone, but Lee Tak-hyeon asked Jang Eun-ah directly. He needed to hear the decision from her own lips for it to be certain.
Jang Eun-ah chewed her lip and forced her mouth open with difficulty.
"The child… I'll raise him."
"Good. You've thought well."
Chu Suk-ja clapped her palm against her knee in relief. But Jang Eun-ah's words did not end there.
"But I'll live outside."
"Live outside? What do you mean by that?"
"I mean I'll go live in America."
"America? Weren't you in America until recently?"
"Yes. Exactly. So I mean I'll continue living in America from now on as well."
"You'll keep living in America?"
Chu Suk-ja, unable to grasp what Jang Eun-ah was saying, looked to Lee Tak-hyeon. Then Lee Jeong-eun snorted and said,
"Mother, why can't you understand this? She's saying she won't set foot on Korean soil again."
"Won't set foot again? What does that mean?"
Chu Suk-ja was startled by Lee Jeong-eun's words.
"You don't mean just living there for a while, but that you'll never come back from there?"
"Yes. Exactly that."
Jang Eun-ah looked at Lee Tak-hyeon, who had been listening quietly, and said,
"If you'll permit that, then I'll raise the child."
"How is that any different from divorce?"
Bang Hyeon-ju, Lee Tak-hyeon's eldest daughter-in-law, cut into the conversation. Until a moment ago she had merely listened quietly because it was company business. But Jang Eun-ah's matter was family business, not company business. As the eldest daughter-in-law, she felt that this disagreeable situation was one where she ought to raise her voice as well. Bang Hyeon-ju spoke to Chu Suk-ja.
"Mother. Going to America and never returning to Korea is no different from divorce. It's not as if your son-in-law is going to America with her, and he has to stay in Korea for work. Then they're only together on paper—how is that any different from divorce? Mother, this is something we cannot accept."
It sounded like words to Chu Suk-ja, but they were meant for Lee Tak-hyeon. She was using Chu Suk-ja to roundaboutly tell Lee Tak-hyeon that he must not accept Jang Eun-ah's proposal.
Lee Mun-jong, sitting beside Bang Hyeon-ju, grabbed her arm.
"Why are you butting in?"
"I can't butt in? I'm still the eldest daughter-in-law of this house, for what it's worth. I should have this much say in family matters."
"Even so…"
Lee Mun-jong glanced sideways at Lee Chang-jong. Lee Chang-jong gave a slight nod to Lee Mun-jong's gaze, conveying that he should allow Jang Eun-ah to leave. For Lee Mun-jong as well, it was better if she took the child to America and never set foot on Korean soil again. Realizing the meaning of Lee Chang-jong's glance, Lee Mun-jong gripped Bang Hyeon-ju's arm firmly.
"You stay out of it. There will absolutely be no divorce in our family. Maintaining the marital relationship even on paper is important. Father."
Since this was a discussion of family affairs, Lee Mun-jong naturally addressed Lee Tak-hyeon as Father, then pointed at Jang Eun-ah and said,
"Please grant what my sister-in-law wants. Otherwise Chang-jong will suddenly become a divorcé, and wouldn't it be better to maintain the marital status with my sister-in-law instead? And… as time passes, the relationship might improve."
"Do you think this relationship is going to improve?"
"I said stay quiet."
As Bang Hyeon-ju kept speaking, Lee Mun-jong barked at her. Bang Hyeon-ju found her husband's behavior strange.
"Why are you stepping in so hard?"
"So as the eldest son I'm just supposed to sit and watch Chang-jong get divorced?"
"Father said to divorce, so why are you butting in?"
As Bang Hyeon-ju and Lee Mun-jong bickered, Lee Tak-hyeon frowned.
"Quiet."
At Lee Tak-hyeon's word, Lee Mun-jong's mouth, which had been about to shout at Bang Hyeon-ju again, clamped shut. Lee Tak-hyeon regarded the transparent Lee Mun-jong with a brief look of pity, then nodded to Jang Eun-ah.
"Fine. Do it that way. You may leave and not come back."
"Father."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, that's enough now. I make the decisions."
Blocking Bang Hyeon-ju's attempt to interject, Lee Tak-hyeon looked at Jang Eun-ah and offered confirmation once more. At Lee Tak-hyeon's words, Jang Eun-ah said with a set face,
"Then I'll sort out the paperwork and leave next month. I'll come by to see you once before then."
Jang Eun-ah bowed and turned to leave. After she was gone, the living room briefly grew noisy with people cursing her for saying her piece and leaving so abruptly, and others asking Lee Chang-jong if he was really all right with this.
And in that noisy living room, Kim Seong-ho quietly gazed without a word down the hallway Jang Eun-ah had departed through.
It would be a shame if it ended like this.
If Jang Eun-ah took the child to America and never set foot on Korean soil again, the story of the illegitimate child would surely end here. Kim Seong-ho did not want this kind of ending. In a situation where he had to repay what he had suffered twofold, ending it like this was not the conclusion he desired.
Kim Seong-ho wordlessly watched the hallway, and the story of the illegitimate child was about to whip through the Ilhyeon family in a new direction.