Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: New Future (6)
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Hong Gi-jun was flustered.
"Hee-hee-hee-hee-."
His daughter, who used to bawl her eyes out with snot and tears every time they parted. Now that she was growing up, not only was she not crying, she was sitting quietly in the back seat, giggling nonstop.
"Heh-heh! Su-jeong, you're not crying even though you're parting from Oppa?"
Hong Gi-jun glanced at his daughter through the rearview mirror and smiled.
"Something happened."
"Something happened?"
"She said she kissed Jin-hyuk. When you and Gwang-yeon Oppa went out to catch octopuses during the day."
Hong Su-jeong had claimed she was the victim, but to Yu Se-ra, it seemed the exact opposite.
No need for protests; judging by Jin-hyuk's expression—like he was serving time for a false accusation—and Su-jeong's personality.
Our daughter must have done it.
Hong Gi-jun's thoughts weren't much different from his wife's. He tilted his head and muttered.
"Did Jin-hyuk have that side to him?"
Even looking at Jin-hyuk's father, Son Gwang-yeon, he was the same. A friend who wouldn't spare a glance at a beauty like Yu Se-ra. That's probably where the saying "men know nothing about romance" came from.
Hong Gi-jun stopped his thoughts and checked his wife's mood.
Yu Se-ra had her legs crossed and arms folded.
What's got her twisted up this time?
Was she stressed about work she had to handle when they got back? Understandable—Yu Se-ra didn't enjoy company affairs. She had the skills but hated being forced into it, always talking about quitting.
Yet her father-in-law, the renowned Chairman Yu Myeong-seon, had entrusted her with major responsibilities. And Yu Se-ra had quickly dispelled public prejudices against chaebol daughters with her outstanding abilities and unpretentious character. To Hong Gi-jun, his wife was an admirable businesswoman.
Hong Gi-jun considered himself lucky.
Of course. Chaebol son-in-law, beautiful wife, lovely daughter.
Naturally, Yu Se-ra loved Hong Gi-jun too. Lately, their affection had deepened even more.
However.
She was enjoying some absentminded freedom with a slightly sullen expression.
If I'd stamped my claim early on... would my life have been different?
Stamping his claim, or maybe marking his territory with spit—who knew the right expression? Watching his daughter, it seemed more like the spit method.
Anyway, mother and daughter alike harbored wild thoughts.
What was wrong with piling family on family on family?
Yu Se-ra's posture didn't change until they merged onto the highway and pulled into a rest area.
Only after getting out hot bars—one in each hand for his wife and daughter—did Hong Gi-jun see her smile.
Please, just let today pass safely too...
Yu Se-ra, who had dozed off in the passenger seat without finishing her hot bar, suddenly spoke up as if remembering something.
"Next week, right?"
"Yeah. New York trip next week."
As always, Hong Gi-jun responded perfectly to her muddled question.
"Aren't you going to the U.S. too often these days?"
"Got some things going on. Was supposed to go last week but postponed it to vacation and come back."
"What's with you lately?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're working too hard. Nonstop for years without tiring."
"Gotta hustle while you're young."
Hong Gi-jun had a clear goal.
Becoming the head of Sein Group. Not grabbing it right away, of course. He anticipated his father-in-law—favoring his daughter and disappointed in his worthless sons—would hand over control to her. He'd add his own abilities to that.
Then, the management rights he'd earn that way—his wife, who hated company work, would pass to her husband and dive into nurturing grassroots sports talents. Hong Gi-jun foresaw that too. That's why he'd dangled the sports foundation bait alongside Son Jin-hyuk as lure.
But he couldn't just sit and receive it.
He wanted to seize the group with his own power.
"What's working hard got to do with going to America?"
"Oh, I've got a planned venture."
"A plan you can't even tell me?"
"Nothing big. Just set up an investment firm."
"Investment firm?"
She almost asked if he'd taken up with some woman but held back. The world might say no man is trustworthy, but her husband Hong Gi-jun was one she could trust—and should.
"I'll tell you if it works out. Won't touch company funds or make side pockets to upset Father. Don't worry."
After nearly ten years of marriage, had he finally grown some manly ambition? Yu Se-ra liked his answer and didn't pry further. Hong Gi-jun knew how to satisfy her.
In contrast, her brothers the Oppas.
Fucking idiots.
They were constantly summoned by their father and getting forehead slaps.
Word was the eldest was on his last legs.
Young actresses, female employees. Scandals nonstop.
If it's reached my ears, Dad knows too.
She had little interest in management or inheritance anyway, but she didn't want it stolen by those brothers without a shred of grace. She wasn't confident she could stoop lower than them. That's why Yu Se-ra had actively joined management. And now her husband was showing ambition too.
Men are what women make them, right?
She resolved to make her husband chairman.
Couldn't let the husband of Yu Se-ra live like a loser.
She glared and crunched the last hot bar with determination.
I'll be a magnificent woman pursuing honor.
Like Joan of Arc.
Guh-.
Unable to swallow the hot bar, Yu Se-ra jerked her neck.
Few places induced sleep like the passenger seat of a sedan.
Hong Gi-jun shook his head. He checked his daughter, asleep clutching her hot bar tightly, via the rearview mirror.
Blood can't lie, they say. Mother and daughter even matched the angle of their lolling heads.
Outsider adoption nailed it.
Jin-hyuk headed to the Choi family's home early in the morning, carrying his sister in one arm and supporting a watermelon with the other hand.
"Hup! Hngh!"
Choi Tae-yang was visible in the empty field beside the yard, shirtless and shoveling away.
Jin-hyuk's eyes sparkled at the sight of him. With training camp in full swing, time should be tight—why was this busy athlete at home?
He greeted as childishly as possible.
"Hyung, good morning."
A formal tone slipped out naturally, as they weren't that close.
Yu-jin bobbed her head shyly, mimicking her brother.
"E-he-he, Hyung you're so coooool-?"
Her vocabulary had grown, but pronunciation was still off.
"Oh! Jin-hyuk and Yu-jin! Here with watermelon?"
"Yes."
"Yesh. E-he-he-."
"What're you doing?"
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Hahaha! Yu-jin's talking a lot more now? Trying to make something. Thought it'd be easy, but it's tougher than I figured."
Choi Tae-yang straightened up briefly, catching his breath with an "Aigoo, my back" groan.
His sweat-glistened torso sparkled nicely in the sunlight.
"Make something? How big?"
Yu-jin seemed curious about the shoveling purpose.
Choi Tae-yang grinned broadly at the baby's round eyes.
"Call it a mini ssireum ring?"
"Mini? Shhh-room?"
Jin-hyuk stared blankly, and Tae-yang continued explaining.
"Training ground and dorm are under construction. School's was a rusty tin shack. Someone donated, so we're building state-of-the-art. Town kids can use the school field, but since my house is here, I'm doing it at home."
Ah, got it. Jin-hyuk nodded.
It meant rebuilding the ssireum team dorm and training ground he'd seen at the track prelims.
Then a odd thought hit, and he tilted his head.
The middle school still had that rotten tin shack when I graduated?
Jin-hyuk had no ties to the middle school anymore. Even less to the ssireum team.
Maybe Uncle Hong Gi-jun pulled strings.
"Hyung, who's the donor?"
"Dunno. Coach doesn't know either. Anonymous donation? Some say school alum, others hometown boy made good. Or some university board chair in Gyeonggi. All speculation."
Putting Tae-yang's words together, probably a successful ssireum alum turned university board chair. Jin-hyuk, unfamiliar with it, just accepted it.
Successful folks often donated to hometowns or alma maters. Could be a ssireum college investing in recruitment and training.
"But who're you training with?"
"With who? Woo-rung?"
"Ah...?"
Tae-yang scratched his head.
He hadn't thought that far.
Was planning image training. He muttered to himself.
*
Choi Mi-kyeong held Yu-jin and sat in the shade.
She fed the child bite-sized watermelon pieces, wiping chin drips, playing nanny.
Her gaze lazily watched the high schooler and elementary kid gripping sashes firmly in the field.
So romantic.
Ssireum was a boring sport. But two handsome guys grappling, pitting strength and skill—it looked pretty cool.
Pfsh-!
Tae-yang toppled messily.
Lost again.
Her brother Choi Tae-yang was a national-level ssireum athlete.
A second-year high schooler who could hoist third-years and slam them on the sand.
So the current situation baffled her.
Thud-!
Aigoo, brother lost again. This time an ugly side-head plant. Well, better than face-first dirt-eating earlier.
"Kyahaha-!"
Yu-jin raised her stubby arms, laughing triumphantly.
Voices of the two guys chatting drifted from the field. After every round, they'd talk like that—like a master instructing a disciple. Weird only because the master was too young.
"Hyung, you rely on strength to lift opponents. That only works on noobs. Against someone who reads you, you gotta counter with technique, turn it into a mind game. Relying on power, and they brace or counter? You're done by your own force."
"Uh, yeah. True. But I don't just use strength-."
"Short-legged weaklings don't make lift-and-throw their specialty."
"Yeah, right. Spot on."
Tae-yang nodded blankly.
Jin-hyuk's critique was dead-on. Tae-yang used his height, long thick limbs, and power for lift-and-throw followed by push-out.
"Again."
Shaking dirt from his hair, Tae-yang knelt once more.
He never yielded in strength to anyone, and had perfect techniques too. Those two weapons made 18-year-old Tae-yang the undefeated high school ssireum champ. But after losing five straight to Son Jin-hyuk, he felt undertrained.
Forget rubber bands. Need to dig arrowroot roots.
Jin-hyuk mulled over Tae-yang's techniques.
Not just lift-and-throw; his iron-pillar legs made field-leg trips excellent too.
But strength and weight distribution were off.
This hyung hasn't lost much.
Overusing imperfect techs? Probably overconfidence from success. Jin-hyuk decided to return Tae-yang's techniques—perfected.
"So far, I've just countered."
"Yeah."
Tae-yang nodded, hot breath puffing like a bull, chin on Jin-hyuk's shoulder.
"I'll use your technique now. Compare."
Hup—With a short kiai, Jin-hyuk pulled the sash, gluing lower bodies tight.
Incredibly, Tae-yang lifted. Pure waist and forearm power hoisted a taller opponent. Tae-yang's longer legs let him resist without flailing.
As Tae-yang barely toed ground, Jin-hyuk's right shoulder shoved his chest. The waist-sash hand fixed while yanking leg-sash hard—masterful.
Push-out!
Not a small guy's move against taller foes. But Tae-yang's mind had forgotten the textbook long ago. This kid wasn't a standard opponent.
Tae-yang thrust his left leg back urgently. Pull both, and it'd yank him down. He'd fallen for it before.
Sure enough, Jin-hyuk pulled hips back, yanking sash.
Not falling for it this time!
Stronger pull? Pivot on him and rotate—.
Pfsh-!
Huh?
Tae-yang toppled spectacularly. Rolled sideways two turns maybe.
Trying to circle and release power, but his pivot foot locked suddenly. Trapped, he flipped.
Whole body's tingling.
This moment, win/loss didn't matter to Tae-yang.
A sense of transcending limits washed over him with exhilarating relief—he could grow stronger.
"Kahaha-!"
The neighborhood baby clapping while eating watermelon thought differently.
Tae-yang plopped in the dirt, looking up at Jin-hyuk.
Breath ragged, vision blurry.
Or maybe the kid backlit by the sun just looked huge.