The Oyang Group Families (2)
Haa.
Lee Hyoju’s face went ashen as she stared at Ha Taewoong’s back. The truth about him that she had never even told her mother. She had meant to hide the fact that he was a Sabaeja forever. She had never dreamed they would run into each other again here today—and with her grandfather present, no less.
She could conceal other things, but Grandfather was the sort who took genuine pleasure in reading a person’s face. The bearing Taewoong showed right now was the kind of exemplary posture that would please even a stranger meeting him for the first time. So far nothing about him invited suspicion. Yet the moment the fact that he was a Sabaeja came out, everything would become meaningless. Her mother—and her father too—would instantly become the targets of pointed fingers. Her cousin Lee Jeongho had not yet caught on, but he soon would.
“…….”
The family’s gazes swept over Ha Taewoong as one. Chairman Lee Dojung in particular studied him with open interest.
The space between the brows is open and clear, the eyes are those of a phoenix, and the bridge of the nose runs straight as a mountain ridge—pleasant to look at. The philtrum is deep, the lips as well…
Lee Dojung felt his curiosity stir at the rare sight of such fine features. He had not encountered a face this open and vigorous in a long while.
Lee Hyoju, the only daughter of his second son. Compared with the other grandchildren she had shown cleverness from childhood. She had been so pretty as a little girl that he could have put her in his eye without feeling pain, always picking the most endearing things to do. She had inherited her mother’s nature as well; there was nothing to fault in her disposition. Had she been a boy he would have raised her as the group’s heir without a second’s hesitation. Sadly she was a girl, so there were inevitable limits. His fondness for his granddaughter had not changed, but he had no intention of leaving the group to Hyoju. Still, he could not deny that he watched her with more interest than the other grandchildren.
She was a sore finger—someone who, after being bullied in childhood through no fault of her own, had closed her heart to those around her. And now that child had brought a friend. A classmate from the same high school, someone she had naturally encountered while coming and going at the golf course.
“So you’re Hyoju’s friend?”
Lee Dojung spoke with a gentle light in his eyes.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“……!!”
“……??”
At Ha Taewoong’s answer the entire family froze in surprise. Except for Lee Hyoju’s mother, everyone present was meeting him for the first time today. Without the slightest hesitation he had casually called Lee Dojung—whom he was seeing for the first time—“Grandfather.”
Lee Dojung was a man who maintained a strict demeanor even in front of his own children. Inside the company everyone was required to address him as Chairman. So even if this was a grandchild’s friend, no one would ever call Lee Dojung “Grandfather.” More accurately, he had never once met any of his grandchildren’s friends. The people watching grew even tenser. If the Chairman’s mouth opened with a rebuke about impudence…
“Oh, hahahahahahahaha!”
A great, hearty laugh suddenly burst from Lee Dojung’s lips.
“That’s right. You’re my granddaughter’s friend, so I am indeed your grandfather.”
The unexpected reply shattered every grim expectation the family had held.
What… is this?
That bastard!!
Hmm.
Lee Hyoeun, Lee Jeongho, and Lee Jeonghun, who had followed along, opened their eyes wide at the unbelievable scene. Never once had their grandfather shown them a laugh this open and free. Yet here he was, displaying an astonishing degree of goodwill toward Hyoju’s friend, whom he was meeting for the first time.
“Were you in the middle of a round?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you eaten anything?”
“Not yet.”
“Then come sit here. Share a meal with us.”
“Thank you.”
Lee Dojung willingly offered Ha Taewoong the seat beside him. Suddenly the three sons had to create an empty place. They hastily rose from the chairs they had occupied so confidently. Not one of them dared add a word; they carefully shifted one seat over.
“Did you come alone?”
“No. I have a companion.”
“Is that so?”
With a soft creak the shade-house door opened and An Hyeonju stepped inside. The only people in the shade house were the Oyang Group family and the uninvited guest, Ha Taewoong. No one else was mixed among them.
Every pair of eyes belonging to the Oyang Group family fixed on An Hyeonju the moment she entered.
“Oh! Pro An Hyeonju!”
“Teacher, why are you…?”
Lee Seokjong, the third son who oversaw the leisure side of the business, recognized An Hyeonju first. Soon after, Lee Jeongho and Lee Hyoju—both students at Cheonghwa High—confirmed it was her as well.
Wh-what?
An Hyeonju, who had left the restroom a little later, had come looking for the shade house when she could not find the rest of her group. What she walked into was a wall of unfamiliar stares. A few of them clearly knew who she was. And then—
“Pro An.”
The elderly man sitting in front of her did not look ordinary. And next to him sat Ha Taewoong. He called out to her in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
So today’s playing partner was Teacher An Hyeonju?
Lee Hyoju’s mind was in chaos. Of course she knew An Hyeonju, the golf instructor. She was not a regular faculty member, but she ran the after-school program. She was especially popular with the boys. Still in her early twenties, Pro An Hyeonju carried the full, mature fragrance of a woman. And Ha Taewoong had apparently gone out for a round to break in his clubs with this unexpected partner.
Ha Taewoong, what the hell are you really?
Doubt after doubt tangled inside Lee Hyoju’s head. What kind of Sabaeja student in this world went out for a round with a pro? Pro An Hyeonju was under restrictions on her professional activities; there was no way she had covered the cost of today’s round herself.
“Grandfather, this is Pro An Hyeonju, who joined me today as my teaching manager.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Dojung found nothing irritating about the way Ha Taewoong naturally and warmly kept calling him Grandfather. Confidence that was almost satisfying showed in every action, every attitude, every word. If this was Hyoju’s friend, then by now the boy must already know who Lee Dojung was. At Cheonghwa High the group families stood out sharply from ordinary students. Yet Ha Taewoong’s bearing showed not the slightest sign of being overpowered or cowed by that crowd.
If the surname is Ha…
Lee Dojung kept his expression neutral and thought of a certain household. The Ha family group that stood several steps above the one he himself ran.
There is a resemblance…
Lee Dojung and the chairman of Haeryun Group addressed each other as older and younger brother at business gatherings. The other man was even more rigid than Lee Dojung and far stricter in managing both the group and his children. That man was Chairman Ha of Haeryun Group. Others might not know the details, but Lee Dojung knew Chairman Ha’s true nature well. When it came to the group, the man was without blood or tears.
“Come this way, Pro An.”
Lee Dojung called An Hyeonju closer. He enjoyed golf, yet he did not know the active players well. He had been swinging a club for decades purely as exercise, but he kept a cool distance from the golf world. When other chairmen arranged rounds with beautiful women pros, he never attended. There was no need to invite gossip, and it did nothing for the management of his private life. Besides, though it had been long since he was widowed, Lee Dojung still loved his late wife deeply.
“Yes? Yes…”
An Hyeonju could hardly believe the situation unfolding in front of her. She had never met these people, yet they were clearly no ordinary folk. And right in the middle of them, sitting in a seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was Ha Taewoong.
“Pro, this is the chairman of Oyang Group.”
“……!!”
An Hyeonju, who had been about to sit in the empty chair beside Ha Taewoong, started in shock. Ever since she had become acquainted with him, one astonishing thing after another kept happening. Ha Taewoong—the student who had entered Cheonghwa High under the Sabaeja admissions track—was now sitting right next to the chairman of Oyang Group.
“I-it’s an honor to meet you. My name is An Hyeonju.”
She automatically assumed a modest posture and bowed deeply at the waist. She had already learned the hard way that one did not display pride in front of a group chairman.
“No need to be so formal.”
Chairman Lee Dojung smiled in a kindly way. The sudden succession of meetings continued, yet he was in excellent spirits. Curiosity about both Ha Taewoong and An Hyeonju had been stirred. Ha Taewoong showed a temperament that only Ha Cheolgon, chairman of Haeryun Group, possessed. Lee Dojung could not be certain, yet there was a strangely familiar quality about the boy. A few more exchanges and he would know the youth’s true identity.
People tended to look at group heirs with prejudice, calling them silver spoons or royalty. But a group heir was never raised casually. One could not make an untested, half-baked boy the captain of the ship. Especially in times like these, the vessel would sink in no time. Heirs were cultivated to possess character, scholarship, mental fortitude, and social aptitude all together. The effort poured into that process was no joke. A single group fed anywhere from several thousand to hundreds of thousands of employees. The one who took the helm of that enormous ship was the head of the group. The king of the savanna, the lion, was not simply born.
“Thank you.”
An Hyeonju carefully took her seat.
“Grandfather, allow me to pour you a glass.”
“Do so. Hahaha.”
At Ha Taewoong’s easy, cheeky manner Lee Dojung dropped every last shred of wariness. His own hearty laughter almost made him feel as if he were looking at someone else. The fact that Ha Taewoong showed no difficulty around him at all struck him as special and endearing. Every one of his grandchildren found their grandfather intimidating. Even his sons were busy reading his mood. Inside and out he was treated only as the chairman of Oyang Group. Now Ha Taewoong, pouring wine, touched the heart of that lonely old lion.
Ha Taewoong respectfully lifted the makgeolli kettle and tilted it over the glass. The cold rice wine frothed refreshingly as it filled the cup. The side dish was seafood green-onion pancake, Chairman Lee Dojung’s favorite. Without the slightest tremor, holding the glass with both hands, Ha Taewoong filled it. The disciplined movements he had learned and drilled in his previous life simply to survive now showed as ingrained bearing.
He was taught properly.
Lee Dojung watched every motion with satisfaction. Boys of this age could not behave with such restraint. It meant he had been strictly raised and instructed at home. Looking only at his own grandchildren, when a glass was offered they handled the bottle clumsily. Compared with them, Ha Taewoong…
The makgeolli stopped exactly at the line where it would not overflow.
“Will you take a glass?”
“I would gratefully accept if you offer one.”
“Father, if he is Hyoju’s friend…”
The eldest son, Lee Seokpil, carefully interjected as he watched the two of them. This was an outsider, not family—and a minor at that. He was worried that offering alcohol might cause talk later.
“I had circumstances when I was younger and took some time off from school.”
“……??”
“I’m in the same grade as Hyoju, but I am an adult. You need not worry.”
“Oh! Is that so. Then take a glass.”
Lee Dojung paused, then took hold of the kettle again. Ha Taewoong held out his glass with both hands.
That bastard!!
Lee Jeongho felt the lid of his skull about to blow from boiling jealousy. Except for a time so distant he could barely remember it, he had never sat right next to his grandfather. Alcohol? Of course he had never been offered any. Yet here was this situation. Ha Taewoong, Hyoju’s friend whom they had met for the first time today. That guy was sitting next to their tiger of a grandfather, fawning all over him.
You’re dead by my hand!
Lee Jeongho ground his teeth inside. Ha Taewoong had revealed he was a student at Cheonghwa High. The moment school started again he would track him down and tear him apart; he nursed the vicious resolve.
“Come! Let’s drink.”
Lee Dojung raised his glass to his lips first. After him Ha Taewoong and the other sons lifted theirs and drank. Only the grandchildren stared fixedly with dazed eyes at the unbelievable spectacle the adults were creating.
“Grandfather.”
“……??”
“If it’s all right with you, may I join the next round and play together?”
Toward Lee Dojung, who had just emptied his makgeolli glass, Ha Taewoong made an abrupt proposal. He wanted to join the next round—meaning he intended to insert himself into the family’s ongoing round.
“Today is the day I’m breaking in my clubs… and I would like to learn some know-how from you, Grandfather.”
“Is that so? Then let’s play together. I’ll pass everything on without holding back! Hahaha.”
Lee Dojung’s mood improved another notch. He nodded repeatedly and gladly gave his permission.
“…….”
At Chairman Lee Dojung’s extraordinary behavior the mouths of the Oyang Group family fell open. Even among extraordinary sights, this was the first they had ever witnessed.
“Haa.”
Lee Hyoju, who still had not revealed Ha Taewoong’s true identity, buried the fact that he was a Sabaeja once more in her chest and let out a short sigh.