The Son-in-Law Is Not My Child
"Mother, what are we going to do?"
Oh Min-yeong, the second daughter-in-law, clung to Chu Suk-ja's arm and pleaded.
"Jun-myeong's father has been drinking every single day lately."
Chu Suk-ja only closed her eyes in silence. She knew full well why Lee Sang-jong was drowning himself in liquor every night, and why her second daughter-in-law had come crawling to her like this.
Oh Min-yeong shook the older woman's arm harder.
"Please help him, Mother. In this family, you're the only one who can."
"And just how am I supposed to help him?"
Chu Suk-ja opened her eyes and looked at Oh Min-yeong.
"You want me to get Sang-jong back into the company?"
"Yes."
Oh Min-yeong answered as if she had been waiting for the question.
"Please call him back to work. At this rate, people are going to die..."
Her voice trailed off as she lowered her head. The truth was, she felt she would be the first one to die—long before her husband. The daily drinking and the violence that came with it made her long for the days when he had merely grumbled about work. That was why she had come all the way to Pyeongchang-dong on her own, without Sang-jong even asking her to, to beg Chu Suk-ja on his behalf.
"Mother, please... Talk to Father for me."
"That boy got himself kicked out because of his own mistakes. What exactly do you expect me to do?"
"Mother, he was only trying to do well. Do you think he did any of that hoping the company would fail? You know that better than anyone."
"And what good does it do if I know? He doesn't see it that way."
Even in the face of Oh Min-yeong's pleading, Chu Suk-ja only shook her head. Oh Min-yeong realized begging her mother-in-law was useless. She stood up, determined to speak to Lee Tak-hyeon herself.
"Is Father home?"
"You're not thinking of talking to him directly, are you? Don't. You'll only make things worse—stirring up a hornet's nest for no reason."
"How much worse can it get from here?"
Chu Suk-ja started in surprise as Oh Min-yeong began walking toward the study. She grabbed the younger woman's arm.
"Don't go."
"Don't stop me!"
Oh Min-yeong looked straight at her mother-in-law.
"I have to see Father myself and talk to him. I really... I can't live like this anymore."
The strength drained from Chu Suk-ja's hand. The bruises on Oh Min-yeong's arms and legs, the faces of her grandchildren after their fights—all of it flashed through her mind. Her expression grew heavy as she spoke.
"Going won't do any good."
"Please stop trying to stop me! I'll speak to Father myself—"
"I mean it will do no good even if you go to the study. He isn't there."
"Father isn't home...?"
Chu Suk-ja let out a short sigh, then turned her head toward the door.
"He is home. He's home, but... not in the study. He's in the basement."
"The basement... the vault?"
Oh Min-yeong stared at her in shock.
"He only went down a little while ago. There's no telling when he'll come back up. So go home for today and come another time. Or ask me first before you show up."
Oh Min-yeong frowned, puzzled.
"You're saying he might go down to the vault again tomorrow?"
"He's been going down every day lately."
"Every day?"
Oh Min-yeong looked at her mother-in-law in astonishment. She knew the vault existed, of course—and she knew it was used only a few times a year. Hearing that Lee Tak-hyeon had been using it daily was enough of a surprise. But Chu Suk-ja's next words made her forget everything else.
"Lately he goes down to the vault every day with Son-in-law Kim. What on earth they talk about down there..."
When Oh Min-yeong returned home, she found Lee Sang-jong sitting in the living room with a drink. She stared at him with open disgust.
"Are you really going to do nothing but drink every day? Do you have any idea what's going on in Pyeongchang-dong right now?"
"What's going on in Pyeongchang-dong?"
Already flushed with liquor, Lee Sang-jong scowled at her. He was thinking that if she kept talking nonsense, he would have to teach her another lesson with a golf club.
Oh Min-yeong felt the danger in his look, but she did not back down. She had to tell him what she had heard.
"Father has been going down to the underground vault every day."
"So what? Things are bad right now, so of course he is. What does that have to do with me?"
"Do you know who he goes with?"
"Who? Don't tell me..."
Lee Sang-jong looked up from his glass of whiskey. Oh Min-yeong glanced at the glass, then answered.
"That's right. While you've been sitting here drinking yourself senseless, Son-in-law Kim has been going down to the vault with Father every single day."
"Who said that? Who's spreading that kind of garbage?"
"Who do you think? Mother herself."
"Mother? Mother really said that?"
Hearing that it had come from Chu Suk-ja left him with no room for doubt. He could not believe his mother would invent something just to provoke him.
Seeing that he was finally listening, Oh Min-yeong pressed harder.
"So pull yourself together. Are you just going to sit there and lose everything? Even if you don't care about being cast aside, what about our children? What did those poor kids ever do to deserve being thrown out of the Ilhyeon family?"
"Who said anyone's been thrown out!"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Lee Sang-jong roared. The glass in his hand flew straight at her.
Crash!
The glass sailed past her face and smashed into the display cabinet behind her. Glass and everything inside came raining down. Terrified that another glass might come flying at any second, she squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders. But she had come too far to retreat now. She forced her shoulders square again.
"Then do something!"
She opened her eyes and shouted at him.
"Are you just going to sit there helpless until everything is taken from you, then beat the ground in regret?"
"Taken? Who's taking anything from me? Don't talk nonsense!"
He shouted again. Fear that another glass was coming made her squeeze her eyes shut once more. But when no sound came for a long moment, she carefully opened them. Lee Sang-jong was steadying his swaying body and walking slowly toward her. She stumbled backward without thinking and cried out.
"If you lay a hand on the children again, I'll kill myself. I mean it this time—I won't just take it."
Thinking he was coming for her, she spread her arms to block the way to the children's room. Lee Sang-jong's face twisted at the sound of her voice.
"Shut up!"
Instead of heading for the children's room, he turned toward the front door. Relief washed over her as she followed him into the entryway.
"W-where are you going?"
She had no idea where a man this drunk thought he was headed. He did not even look back as he answered.
"You told me not to let them take what's mine, didn't you?"
"You're going to Pyeongchang-dong?"
"Pyeongchang-dong?"
Standing at the door, he turned his red, liquor-flushed face toward her and sneered.
"You think I'll get my things back by going to Pyeongchang-dong?"
"Then where...?"
"I'll take them back with my own two hands."
"Do you have some kind of plan?"
"Stop worrying about things that don't concern you and go make the kids dinner. It's about time they ate."
"What about you?"
She was really asking when he would be back. He gave no answer. He simply opened the door and walked out. Oh Min-yeong could only stand there staring at the closed door, with no idea where her thoroughly drunk husband was going.
Inside the vault, Lee Tak-hyeon kept lighting one cigarette after another. His face was heavy with worry. Behind him, Chief of Staff Hwang Do-beom stood in silent attendance.
How many years has it been since the Chairman looked like this...
Even coming to the vault this often was something that had not happened in decades. And Hwang had never, in all their years together, seen the man lost in thought for so long. Lee Tak-hyeon's dilemma ran deep; every decision demanded caution.
After three cigarettes in a row, Lee Tak-hyeon folded his hands and spoke.
"Chief Hwang. What do you think?"
Hwang Do-beom inclined his head slightly.
"I believe Seong-ho's argument has merit, sir."
"Is that so?"
Lee Tak-hyeon turned his head, looking up at him with mild surprise. Hwang called to mind the conversation Kim Seong-ho had just finished and began.
"It is true that the collapse of Dubo and the Bumi Group has left the foreign exchange and bond markets in chaos. And Seong-ho is also right that a lame-duck government has no capacity left to deal with the present situation."
"True. As a parent with a child of his own, I understand President Kim's feelings. Where would he find the energy to care about anything else?"
"Exactly, sir. In circumstances like these... even a small external shock could send a tidal wave over us, just as Seong-ho said."
"And to prepare for that, we should carry out a group-wide restructuring... tch."
Lee Tak-hyeon repeated Kim Seong-ho's words under his breath and tilted his head. Even to him, the argument held water. He also knew that the longer they waited, the harder it would become—so he agreed that if they were going to act, it had to be now. And yet something still held him back from deciding easily.
"The person who would have to take charge and lead that restructuring would end up being Son-in-law Kim, wouldn't it?"
Hwang Do-beom understood exactly what the Chairman feared. He chose his words with care.
"No one would dispute that Son-in-law Kim is the man best suited for the job."
"True. He has the track record and the results. But... this time is different, isn't it?"
Lee Tak-hyeon reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table. Hwang took one out, placed it between the Chairman's lips, and lit it.
"As you worry, sir, it is different. This would not be the restructuring of a single company like Ilhyeon Watch or the Ilhyeon Hotel. He would be entrusted with the restructuring of the entire group. Power that sits above the existing presidents could end up concentrated in Seong-ho's hands."
"Hoo... That's what worries me as well."
Lee Tak-hyeon exhaled a long stream of smoke, his face full of concern.
"I know this is exactly the right moment. But... I cannot allow power to concentrate in Seong-ho. Hoo... Stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is quite a mess..."
He put the cigarette to his lips again and drew the smoke deep into his lungs. Then he exhaled slowly, watching the smoke dissolve against the ceiling. After staring at it for a long while, he gave an order in a low voice.
"Instead of sitting here fretting, I should verify a few things. Have Son-in-law Kim come down. And..."
He paused and took two more drags. Then he ground the cigarette out in the ashtray.
"Dig deeper into Son-in-law Kim. Not just the present—go all the way back before the marriage, and even to his school days."
Hwang Do-beom did not answer at once. He looked at the Chairman with open puzzlement.
"Didn't we already check everything thoroughly before he married Gyeong-eun?"
"No. Back then we only checked whether he had women problems, whether his mind was sound—things like that."
"Then what exactly am I to look for this time, sir?"
Hwang stared at him, unable to understand what more there was to investigate now that the man was already family.
"What I want you to find are things that could become weaknesses."
"Weaknesses... sir?"
The unexpected answer made Hwang's voice tremble slightly. Being ordered to uncover the weaknesses of the very son-in-law the Chairman intended to entrust with something so important filled him with dread. Whether or not Lee Tak-hyeon sensed that fear, his face had gone cold and hard. And the voice that followed was colder still.
"We have to prepare for every contingency. Kim is a son-in-law—not my own child."