The Oyang Group Families (3)
Clink!
“Grandfather, nice!”
“Chairman, that was perfect.”
“Father, flawless!”
“Grandpa’s the best!”
The final eighteenth hole. On a par-4 white tee measuring 433 meters, Chairman Lee Dojung lined up his last putt—and sank the birdie. The ball had been finding the sweet spot all day.
He still came out to the course regularly, but age was not something one could simply ignore. His usual scores hovered in the mid-eighties. Today he had carded a 77 for the first time in a long while.
That kid somehow feeds me a strangely pleasant energy.
Lee Dojung glanced sideways at Ha Taewoong trailing a few steps behind. The boy had been rounding with them since the tenth hole—something that should have been impossible. Yet as owner of the country club, the chairman had exercised his privilege to let six players finish together. Taewoong’s group had been the tee time immediately behind; they had played so quickly that joining up left everyone with more than enough time.
“Your putting accuracy is incredible. I truly respect it!”
Taewoong had a gift for making elders feel good. A lesser man might have dismissed the praise as flattery, but Lee Dojung saw something else. It was the light, almost casual tone of a sycophant—yet this was no ordinary flattery.
Taewoong had claimed this was only his second round after taking lessons, but his skill was considerable. Over the nine holes he had played a carefully calibrated hospitality golf, finishing just a stroke or two short of matching the chairman. A man of Lee Dojung’s experience saw right through every nuance. Even knowing the boy was deliberately holding back, he found he did not mind.
His own sons did the same on ordinary rounds—never letting competitive fire show, always making sure they did not outplay their father. These outings were social gatherings, not scorekeeping contests. Today was no different. Having a professional woman golfer along had only lifted the mood further.
“An Hyeonju, was it? The pro?”
Lee Dojung handed his putter to the caddie and asked the question gently.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Isn’t this the middle of the tour season?”
It was a critical stretch for any active professional. The unexpected question caught An Hyeonju slightly off guard, though Lee Dojung had asked out of pure curiosity.
“Ah—yes. I’m taking a personal break right now. Instead I’ve been teaching the kids at Cheonghwa High.”
“Is that so? Your game is excellent… Is it because you lack a sponsor?”
Suspicion flickered in the chairman’s eyes. From what he could see, even An Hyeonju was playing at a carefully dialed-down hospitality level. The swing, the approach shots, the putting stance—everything screamed polished professional. And yet she was teaching high-school students?
“Father, Pro An here is…”
His third son, Lee Seokjong, who knew the golf world well, started to speak and then closed his mouth. Mentioning the friction with the chairman of Shinyang Financial Group would have been inappropriate in this company. That very incident was why An Hyeonju could not enter tournaments. Bringing it up here would only embarrass her.
“Why? You know something? What happened?”
Lee Dojung looked his son straight in the eyes. His intention was simple. If this was fate, so be it. If she had no sponsor, he was prepared to arrange group-level support.
“Allow me to explain. The chairman of Shinyang Financial Group made unreasonable demands of Pro An. That led to a conflict.”
Sensing Lee Seokjong’s predicament, Ha Taewoong stepped in.
“Unreasonable demands? …Surely not.”
Deep creases formed between Lee Dojung’s brows as understanding dawned.
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm…”
The chairman fell silent, lost in thought. Shinyang Financial was a conglomerate even Oyang found awkward to confront—an immovable landlord in the financial sector. Though the chairman was elected rather than hereditary, his influence ran deep and strong.
“Chairman, you needn’t worry about Pro An’s sponsorship. Support will be coming from our family soon.”
An unexpected answer rolled from Taewoong’s lips.
Confirmed. He’s a Ha.
From our family? What kind of kid is this?
Just who is Taewoong’s family?
Taewoong, what the hell are you really?
He’s going to support me??
Everyone standing nearby found their minds racing with private speculation. The one whose face brightened most was Chairman Lee Dojung. The quiet question he had been turning over ever since the shade house now received a clear answer. His expression opened into a warm smile.
“I see. And your grandfather—is he well?”
Having gained certainty from Taewoong’s reply, Lee Dojung immediately asked after the elder’s health.
“He’s been rather busy with everything that blew up recently…”
“Ah! Right, of course.”
Hyoju knows how to judge people after all.
His granddaughter Lee Hyoju rarely let anyone close. Lee Dojung was quietly pleased with her eye for character. At present, Haeryun Group Chairman Ha Cheolgon was under prosecutorial investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust. Yet the man would never see the inside of a prison cell; he remained tightly bound to the newly installed administration. For the heads of the top-ten conglomerates, group ranking itself was power. Regimes changed; Korea’s aristocracy did not.
“Taewoong.”
Lee Dojung called the boy’s name in a distinctly warmer tone.
“Yes, sir.”
“Come by with Hyoju sometime. We’ll have a meal and a drink.”
“If you invite me, I’ll come whenever you wish.”
The ready, hearty answer satisfied Lee Dojung. That kind of easy attentiveness was rare among his own children. The boy possessed the quick perception and quiet confidence expected of a major conglomerate heir.
That son of a bitch!!
Listening to the exchange, Lee Jeongho felt his insides twist. The longer it went on, the harder he ground his teeth. His grandfather’s interest in this stranger was excessive. Nobody even knew what hole Ha Taewoong had crawled out of, yet the old man was treating him with open favor, as though he already knew something. His father and uncles were carefully reading the chairman’s mood. And that fox Lee Hyoju—unlike the rest of the family, she could not hide the unease in her eyes.
There’s something here.
The family’s youngest, Lee Jeonghun, had been observing everything. Instinct told him something was off about Hyoju. As expected, his idiot older brother had gone rigid; the discomfort showed plainly on his face.
“Pro An, thank you for your hard work today.”
“It was a lovely round.”
“Seokjong.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Make sure the pro receives proper carfare.”
“Chairman, that’s really not necessary.”
An Hyeonju waved her hands in flustered protest.
“Refusing pocket money from an elder is also a breach of manners.”
“…Thank you.”
The round concluded more smoothly than anyone had expected. Ha Taewoong and Pro An Hyeonju had joined a family outing at the last minute, and an unexpectedly warm encounter with Chairman Lee Dojung had been the result.
“Taewoong, see you next time.”
“Yes, sir! Please go carefully.”
Taewoong’s bearing remained impeccably courteous to the end. That unbroken composure at the moment of parting satisfied Lee Dojung once more. The next item on the schedule was a family-only dinner; even with the new connection, inviting outsiders to the table would have been overstepping.
“Taewoong, see you again.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Lee Hyoju’s mother, Han Soeun, wore a relaxed smile as well. With the rest of the family, whom he was meeting for the first time and still felt awkward around, Taewoong exchanged only light nods before they parted.
“Ha Taewoong…”
Lee Hyoju could not hide the anxious light in her eyes. The identity she had tried so hard to contain had already spilled like water that could never be gathered again. Her grandfather—and the rest of the family—would dig into Taewoong’s background with everything they had. Within days the truth would surface: that he was a sabaeja. Just imagining it made her head feel ready to explode.
“Hyoju, see you at school.”
Taewoong’s bright voice sounded as though he had not a single thought about how the situation was unfolding.
Just what the hell are you?!
Her grandfather had seriously inquired after Taewoong’s grandfather. Come to think of it, Lee Hyoju realized she knew almost nothing about Ha Taewoong at all.
“Haa…”
A long sigh escaped her without her noticing.
“You little bastard…”
Lee Jeongho sidled up and muttered through clenched teeth, eyes blazing with anger as they fixed on Taewoong.
“See you, friend!”
Taewoong only grinned, utterly unfazed by the glare.
“Friend? Fuck off with that bullshit, you asshole!”
The Oyang Group family members drifted away in small clusters, climbing into separate carts and rolling off into the distance.
“Taewoong…”
An Hyeonju looked at him with complicated eyes. The look itself spoke volumes she could not put into words. He had clearly told her he was a sabaeja. After everything she had just witnessed, she could no longer believe it. What kind of scholarship student from a low-income background could build rapport with the chairman of Oyang Group?
Whiiirrr.
Just then a cart approached the two of them. A man in a crisp suit stepped down.
“Pro An Hyeonju, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The chairman asked me to deliver this token of appreciation.”
The man, apparently Lee Dojung’s secretary, held out a pure-white envelope.
“Please tell him thank you.”
“Of course.”
He gave a clean, silent bow and returned to the cart.
“Open it.”
At Taewoong’s prompting, An Hyeonju drew out the single sheet of paper inside. It was a check.
“…!!”
“How much?”
“T-Taewoong… Can I really take this? It’s ten million won.”
Honestly, for a nine-hole hospitality round the amount was substantial. And yet—
“Seems about right.”
“What?”
“For a round with a future LPGA star… it’s appropriate. Treat it as pocket money.”
“….”
Calling a ten-million-won check “appropriate pocket money” left An Hyeonju staring blankly at him. His gaze was fixed on the vast, empty golf course. Afternoon sunlight had begun to pour across the fairways; the place gleamed.
“Next time I’ll host you at my own golf course.”
“….”
He delivered the joke with complete seriousness. Yet the sincerity in his eyes made it hard to dismiss as mere banter. An Hyeonju suddenly recalled the promise he had made her—that he would send her to the LPGA Tour.
Maybe… it wasn’t a joke after all…
A hot spark flared inside the chest that had grown cold. With a single sentence from Taewoong the fire caught and began to burn again. Caught between vague hope and excitement, she looked at the young man standing beside her. He felt almost like a giant. The same man who had stood so unshaken before the chairman of Oyang Group and his entire family now stood right next to her.
His broad shoulders, turned toward the empty green, looked solid and reliable. Young as he was, he carried a weight no one could casually approach. She found herself wanting to lean against those firm shoulders.
Thump-thump.
Her heart had been racing without her realizing it—more than once. An Hyeonju quietly laid a hand over her chest.
“Haaa…”
A short sigh slipped from her lips.