In-Laws Are Family Too
“Are you all right, dear?”
Kim Pan-seok asked Lee Gyeong-eun from inside the car, his voice thick with worry.
“Father, you don’t need to worry about me.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Wear something neat for once. You said you were fine, then showed up dressed like you were heading to the market. What kind of disgrace is this at your daughter-in-law’s company?”
When Jang Myeong-ja scolded him, Kim Pan-seok hung his head low.
“You’re right. I must have come dressed as if I were just running an errand around the neighborhood.”
Ordinarily, Kim Pan-seok would have barked back that it was no big deal. Today was different. The shame of being humiliated at his daughter-in-law’s workplace kept his head bowed.
“Father, it’s fine. This isn’t your fault—it’s our department store’s.”
Lee Gyeong-eun actively defended him, insisting he had done nothing wrong.
“I’ve always stressed to the staff not to judge people by appearances alone. They failed to follow that, so the fault is ours.”
“That’s true. Judging someone only by how they look… isn’t right.”
Encouraged by her defense, Kim Pan-seok lifted his head a little.
Lee Gyeong-eun smiled at him.
“You did nothing wrong, Father. So please cheer up.”
“All right, child. Still, I’m sorry toward you. This is your company, and as your in-laws we made that kind of scene…”
“Oh, it’s really fine. So please don’t give it another thought.”
After reassuring them several more times, Lee Gyeong-eun gently steered the conversation elsewhere.
“More than that, I still don’t understand why my father invited the two of you today.”
At the mention of Lee Tak-hyeon, Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja set aside the earlier incident at the department store.
“Dear, you don’t know why your father-in-law invited us home either?”
“No. I haven’t heard a thing.”
Even at the wedding, Lee Tak-hyeon had never invited his in-laws to the house. In truth, he had never invited any of his children’s in-laws home. The only time he had ever spoken with Cha Yeong-su’s father—his first son-in-law—was once, back when the man still held a seat in politics. That conversation, however, had been between the chairman of the Ilhyeon Group and a three-term assemblyman, not between in-laws. After the marriage, he had never once invited them to the house.
And now that same Lee Tak-hyeon had invited Kim Seong-ho’s parents to Pyeongchang-dong.
Finding it strange, Lee Gyeong-eun said to Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja,
“I’m sure it’s nothing special. Seong-ho said he would have come with us if it weren’t for company business, and he asked me to apologize for not being able to.”
“Of course. A man’s work outside comes first. I’m fine with that.”
Kim Pan-seok said he was fine and looked out the window as the car gradually slowed.
“Look over there.”
With startled eyes he jabbed Jang Myeong-ja’s side and pointed outside. In front of a mansion-like house lined with towering walls, people stood waiting in a row.
Jang Myeong-ja’s eyes widened at the sight beyond the glass.
“Child, what on earth is that?”
“I know… what is that…?”
Lee Gyeong-eun was just as astonished. Even she had never seen anything like it, and while her gaze remained fixed, the car came to a stop.
“Father, Mother, let’s get out first. I’ll find out what’s going on.”
“All right. Let’s do that.”
Kim Pan-seok was still staring out the window when the car door opened.
“Welcome.”
Butler Lee Ung-hyeon opened the door, bowed slightly, and took Kim Pan-seok’s and Jang Myeong-ja’s hands to help them out. When Lee Gyeong-eun stepped down as well, every staff member standing in front of the house bowed in unison toward Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja.
“Welcome.”
At the staff’s greeting, Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja returned awkward bows and looked to Lee Gyeong-eun.
She glanced at the staff, then asked Lee Ung-hyeon,
“Uncle, what is all this?”
“The Chairman instructed us to receive the elders. Young miss, please come inside. The Chairman and Madam are waiting.”
“Ah… yes.”
When Lee Gyeong-eun answered, Lee Ung-hyeon told Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja to follow him and turned first. Lee Gyeong-eun came up beside Jang Myeong-ja, linked arms with her, and followed Lee Ung-hyeon; Kim Pan-seok, receiving the staff’s bows one last time, headed into the house after them.
“My goodness, child, how many pyeong is this house of yours? From the outside I had no idea, but once you’re inside it’s a whole other world.”
Jang Myeong-ja stared at the garden spread within the walls, unable to close her open mouth.
“Oh, this isn’t my house. It’s my father’s.”
Jang Myeong-ja patted the hand linked through her arm and glanced back at Kim Pan-seok following behind. He had been surveying the garden; sensing her gaze, their eyes met in the air.
When Seong-ho had said he was marrying into a chaebol family, Kim Pan-seok had loudly insisted he must not feel small. He had even encouraged him, saying he himself came from a family that “could fart pretty loudly” back in Nonsan, so there was nothing to it. Only after coming to Pyeongchang-dong did he realize how hollow all those words had been.
They lived in different worlds.
Even the neighborhood mutts knew the name Ilhyeon Group, so of course Kim Pan-seok had understood that his in-laws were important people. But knowing and feeling were worlds apart. Worry for how much Kim Seong-ho must have suffered after marrying into the Ilhyeon Group rose first in his mind.
“Everyone is here.”
While he fretted, they had already crossed the courtyard; Butler Lee Ung-hyeon stood at the entrance, holding the door and inviting Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja inside. The two offered him a brief word of thanks and stepped into Lee Tak-hyeon’s house—the heart of the Ilhyeon Group.
“Welcome.”
The moment they passed through the door, Lee Tak-hyeon’s voice reached them. Kim Pan-seok removed the hat he had been wearing and bowed toward him.
“It’s been a long time. Have you been well?”
“Thanks to my in-law’s concern, I have been well. Please come further in.”
At Lee Tak-hyeon’s words, Kim Pan-seok hurriedly took off his shoes and stepped inside. Feeling embarrassed under the hands of the staff who stood ready to help him out of his outer clothes, he shed his jacket and followed Lee Tak-hyeon.
Chu Suk-ja watched this scene with open displeasure.
“Mom, this is my mother-in-law.”
“In-law, it’s been a long time. First time since the wedding, isn’t it?”
Jang Myeong-ja offered a warm greeting first.
“So it is.”
Even at the warm greeting, Chu Suk-ja only gave Jang Myeong-ja a curt nod, her expression sour.
“I’m tired, so I’m going to my room. You stay with the in-laws. No need to greet me when you leave.”
“Mom.”
Lee Gyeong-eun looked at Chu Suk-ja, mortified. Her mother had shown her face once to the visiting in-laws and was already retreating to her room; Gyeong-eun felt sorry toward her mother-in-law, Jang Myeong-ja. But Chu Suk-ja turned away at the call and swept inside without another glance.
Unable to stop her, Lee Gyeong-eun looked at Jang Myeong-ja with an apologetic face. Jang Myeong-ja patted the hand still linked through her arm and smiled.
“It’s all right. Your mother-in-law must be very tired. While the men talk, shall we go somewhere and have a cup of coffee?”
“Then, Mother, would you like to see my room? Seong-ho’s things are still there just as he left them.”
“That sounds lovely. Let’s go.”
Lee Gyeong-eun sent Jang Myeong-ja a look of gratitude for not making much of Chu Suk-ja’s rudeness. Then, unlike the two men heading for the living room, she tightly held her mother-in-law’s hand and led her upstairs.
Lee Tak-hyeon and Kim Pan-seok sat in the living room and talked for a while. Most of the time Kim Pan-seok spoke while Lee Tak-hyeon listened. When the coffee in their cups was half gone, Hwang Do-beom approached them. He bowed slightly to Kim Pan-seok, then spoke to Lee Tak-hyeon in a low voice.
“It is time.”
“Is it?”
Lee Tak-hyeon nodded in acknowledgment and turned to Kim Pan-seok.
“In-law, something important is happening today, so I believe we need to watch the television for a moment.”
“Of course. I’m fine with that.”
Kim Pan-seok said he was fine and looked at Lee Tak-hyeon with curious eyes. Breaking off their conversation to watch television had piqued his interest.
Lee Tak-hyeon gave him a light smile of thanks and instructed Hwang Do-beom,
“Bring my wife, Gyeong-eun, and the other in-law as well.”
At the order, Kim Pan-seok felt puzzled. They were only going to watch television, yet gathering the entire scattered family struck him as strange. Lee Tak-hyeon watched Hwang Do-beom leave on the errand, then picked up the remote on the table and turned on the television.
Kim Pan-seok turned to Lee Tak-hyeon with a startled face. He had never imagined that the broadcast Lee Tak-hyeon insisted on watching after inviting his in-laws and seating them would be a press conference about the scandal currently swirling around the Ilhyeon Group.
“This is… frankly embarrassing, having my in-law here while we watch a press conference about family matters.”
“Not at all. These things happen. The taller the tree, the more it sways in the wind, does it not? And there are plenty of people who want to shake that tree. When they grab hold and shake it, how can it stand without moving even an inch?”
“Hahaha. You’re right. It’s true that many people and groups are out to shake Ilhyeon. I always wondered how Director Kim could have such good judgment—it seems he learned it all from his father. You possess an outstanding insight.”
While Lee Tak-hyeon laughed pleasantly, the ever-discontented Chu Suk-ja entered the living room.
“Why did you call me?”
Unwilling to sit in the same place as the in-laws she disliked, Chu Suk-ja asked Lee Tak-hyeon the reason with a sour expression. Still chuckling, Lee Tak-hyeon pointed at the television with his chin.
“Look at that.”
“What is that…?”
Chu Suk-ja was startled by what came from the television.
“What is that?”
“What do you think? You already know there’s a press conference today.”
“I know, but…”
Chu Suk-ja looked back and forth between Kim Pan-seok sitting blankly on the sofa staring at her, and Lee Gyeong-eun who had come down to the living room with Jang Myeong-ja—still not understanding the situation—and scowled.
“Do we really have to watch this with other people here?”
“Other people? In-laws are family just the same.”
Lee Tak-hyeon called Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja family. At those words, both Chu Suk-ja and Lee Gyeong-eun wore shocked expressions. Neither had expected Lee Tak-hyeon to apply the word “family” to his in-laws—least of all to the parents of Kim Seong-ho, whom he had long considered far beneath them. Even Lee Gyeong-eun, who had hoped her parents would treat Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja well, had never dared hope for the word “family.” Yet Lee Tak-hyeon had offered it first, leaving both women stunned.
“Gyeong-eun, seat your mother-in-law. You sit as well. It’s an embarrassing sight to show our in-laws, but this is an important press conference for us all the same.”
At Lee Tak-hyeon’s words, Lee Gyeong-eun, still arm-in-arm with Jang Myeong-ja, went and sat beside Kim Pan-seok. Left standing alone in the living room, Chu Suk-ja glared at Lee Tak-hyeon, who was pointedly looking away, then took her seat.
“Mother, look over there. That’s Seong-ho.”
Lee Gyeong-eun pointed at the television. One of the cameras covering the press conference site had caught Kim Seong-ho at the edge of the frame.
“Seong-ho couldn’t come to receive the two of you because he was preparing the press conference.”
Lee Gyeong-eun explained to Jang Myeong-ja why he had been unable to come.
“What’s all the fuss about just because he’s doing something big?”
Chu Suk-ja, displeased at the smiling face Lee Gyeong-eun showed her parents-in-law, snapped the words. Lee Tak-hyeon immediately pressed her down.
“It is something big. In this whole affair, Director Kim did the most important work.”
Annoyed that Lee Tak-hyeon would not take her side in front of the in-laws, Chu Suk-ja turned and frowned at him.
“What important work did Director Kim do? I heard the second son persuaded Chairman Jang. So the second son did the biggest thing.”
“Director Kim designed that press conference.”
“Even so, if he hadn’t succeeded in persuading Chairman Jang, it would all have been useless. What great thing did Director Kim supposedly do…”
Chu Suk-ja shot back without yielding. Kim Pan-seok and Jang Myeong-ja felt uncomfortable at the exchange between Lee Tak-hyeon and Chu Suk-ja, and Lee Gyeong-eun felt ashamed. Just as the awkward atmosphere stretched on, the press conference began.
“We will now begin the announcement regarding the alleged extramarital child of Ilhyeon Group Vice Chairman Lee Mun-jong. Jang Eun-ah, wife of Vice President Lee Chang-jong, will first make a statement, after which she will take questions. Members of the press, please wait a moment.”
Flash! Flash! Flash!
The moment the press conference opened, camera flashes poured continuously onto Jang Eun-ah. After the barrage of flashes had gone on for some time, Jang Eun-ah wiped her tears with a handkerchief and opened her mouth.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
The barrage of flashes poured onto Jang Eun-ah once more. Amid the storm of light she shed tears again, and the broadcast cameras captured every moment without missing a beat.
And at that very place and in Pyeongchang-dong, Kim Seong-ho and Lee Tak-hyeon—both with their arms folded and wearing the same expression—watched the uproar of the reporters.