Chapter 38
Chapter 38
A Grandmother’s Regret
For a chaebol family, it was a modest ancestral rite. Yu Yeon-seo managed to get by, vaguely following his brother’s lead.
“How was your business trip?”
“It seems we’ll be able to get one of our cultural artifacts returned this time.”
“That’s incredible, Mother-in-law.”
The meal was quiet, but they occasionally asked after one another. Since many were involved in management, the conversation naturally drifted to work, but perhaps due to recent events, all eyes occasionally turned to Yu Yeon-seo.
“Yeon-seo, I hear you caused some trouble again? The good kind.”
“I just left the set, that’s all.”
“Everyone’s been talking about you. So, are you doing the drama based on the original work?”
At his eldest aunt’s question, Choi Yu-jin answered as if she’d been waiting.
“Yeon-seo gave me the script first. He said it would be a shame for it to just disappear...”
“He did?”
The family’s gazes gathered on Yu Yeon-seo. It was as if their eyes were asking, ‘Were you always this considerate?’
His grandfather, seated at the head of the table, smiled with satisfaction.
“Well done.”
“Well, yes...”
It felt strange to receive this much attention for simply leaving a film set to help an aspiring actress, especially after hearing grand stories about retrieving cultural artifacts and opening new branches of a brand.
“But didn’t you say you were returning to school?”
“I’ll have to manage it while filming the drama.”
His cousins, unaware of the situation, stared at the newly polite Yu Yeon-seo with curiosity. He must not have even spoken properly before, huh? Good grief, what a long road ahead.
“Oh, then you’ll be attending with our Seon-woo.”
Park Seon-woo, who had been eating quietly at the far end of the table, barely suppressed a choke and forced an awkward smile.
The adults were still discussing work-related matters, and Yu Yeon-seo was fiddling with his phone, distanced from his cousins, when someone called out to him.
“Um... cousin.”
It was his younger aunt’s son, Park Seon-woo.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“So... what year will you... be in?”
“You can speak casually.”
He must have put up some serious walls for a cousin, who wasn’t much younger, to use formal speech with him. Park Seon-woo’s expression immediately brightened.
“I think... I’ll be a sophomore?”
He’d heard from Im Seung-hyeon that he had enlisted right after his first semester at Hankuk University. After being discharged, he’d finished the remaining semester and then suddenly announced he was going to be an actor, so he’d been on a leave of absence ever since. A 27-year-old sophomore.
“Oh, I’ll be a sophomore too.”
“Really? Let’s meet up on campus if we can. It’s been so long since I’ve been there, I don’t even know my way around.”
In truth, he didn’t know anything, but this was perfect. Another person to show him the way. It wasn’t good to rely on Im Seung-hyeon for everything.
Seeing the usually distant Yu Yeon-seo let down his guard, Park Seon-woo’s face grew even brighter.
“Actually, like you, I want to try something other than company work.”
“Like what?”
“Well... I don’t think I could be a celebrity like you. Maybe MyTube?”
A third-generation chaebol MyTuber... That could be interesting in its own right. Wouldn’t people watch just to live vicariously through him as he spends money like water?
“Are you not going to work at the company at all?”
“I have my older sister. I’m no match for her.”
Yu Yeon-seo turned his head toward the adults and looked at Park Seon-woo’s older sister, Park Yu-jeong. She was a year younger than him and had started as a regular employee right after studying abroad, steadily climbing the ladder.
Park Yu-jeong was with Yu Eun-ho, keenly listening to the adults’ conversation. There wasn’t a hint of boredom; her eyes sparkled with what could only be ambition.
The grandfather, thoroughly pleased, was laughing heartily and engaging in the conversation.
“I couldn’t live like that.”
“Me neither.”
He’d heard from Im Seung-hyeon that Yu Eun-ho also had a massive workload. It seemed that even for the owner’s family, working at the company wasn’t a walk in the park.
“So, if you’re going to do MyTube, what kind of content will you make?”
Yu Yeon-seo spoke to Park Seon-woo, partly to relieve his boredom. The fact that he specifically mentioned MyTube made it seem like he dreamed of a celebrity’s life...
“I’m not sure yet. Do you have any good ideas?”
“Let’s see.”
Yu Yeon-seo crossed his arms and fell into thought. Honestly, there was only one way to get a lot of subscribers.
“You should do what I do.”
“Like you?”
“You know what I’m good at. Throwing money around.”
Like walking through a busy street shooting cash from a money gun, or showing off your collection of limited-edition supercars.
“Won’t people think I’m an asshole?”
“They’ll curse you out while they watch.”
In reality, Yu Yeon-seo’s social media account had one of the top five follower counts in South Korea. People were curious about and envious of the life of a chaebol who wanted for nothing. They felt a vicarious satisfaction watching him casually spend amounts of money they could never earn in a lifetime, but they cursed him all the same.
“Honestly, constantly coming up with content for MyTube doesn’t seem easy. Wouldn’t it be better to make good use of what you already have at first?”
“That’s true.”
Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo, who inherited Lee Hui-seo’s bloodline, were abnormally handsome, but Park Seon-woo was also clean-cut and good-looking.
In the first place, Yu Chang-ho and Park Geum-ju were tall and well-proportioned for their generation. The same went for Yu Geon-min, and his two aunts, Yu Min-jeong and Yu Seon-yeong, were also above average in appearance. If Park Seon-woo played his cards right, he could do well.
“...I just thought of something good.”
“Yeah? That’s great.”
But why do your eyes look a little crazy? Am I going to get an earful from my younger aunt for being a bad influence on her son?
“What are you talking about?”
“He says he’s going to start a MyTube channel.”
Yu Eun-ho shook his head as if to say he was hopeless, and Park Seon-woo grinned sheepishly. Judging by the atmosphere, Yu Eun-ho seemed to have a good relationship with his cousins.
Was Yu Yeon-seo the only odd one out here? It was another moment where he felt pity for the original owner of his body.
“Let’s get going.”
“Is it over already?”
Yu Eun-ho nodded. Since they were all busy people, the conversation didn’t last long.
“Hey, can you make a quick appearance when I start my MyTube channel?”
“Sure, why not. If I’m not busy.”
Yu Yeon-seo bumped his fist against Park Seon-woo’s outstretched one.
“Son, Dad will give you a ride.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go with my brother.”
Yu Geon-min’s face fell noticeably. Somehow, he seemed more childish than Yu Eun-ho. Yu Yeon-seo reluctantly added.
“...You can just call often.”
“That’s right. And call your grandfather often, too.”
Yu Geon-min, whose expression had brightened in an instant, grew sullen again when Yu Chang-ho chimed in. Geez... his expressions change so quickly.
“Yeon-seo, it’s good to see you like this. Come by more often.”
“Should we go shopping at our department store later?”
“That’s a great idea. Just being around him brightens everything up.”
Am I being treated like a trophy...? His aunts were cheerful to the very end.
‘It seems the original owner drew a line, but from the looks of it, the relatives get along well...’
Why did Yu Yeon-seo put up a wall? Was it because of his rotten personality?
“We’ll be leaving now!”
“Yeon-seo, I’ll call you later!”
After seeing his aunts’ families off, it was Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo’s turn.
Just as Yu Yeon-seo opened the passenger door to get in the car, a hesitant Park Geum-ju called out to him.
“So... are you, are you okay now?”
Didn’t she ask if I was physically okay earlier? Wondering if she was just being forgetful in her old age, Yu Yeon-seo nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then that’s enough. Get home safely.”
Park Geum-ju turned away without another glance.
‘She’s blunt, but it seems she cares a lot about me.’
That was Yu Yeon-seo’s assessment of the grandmother he was meeting for the first time. But the way her body had tensed up when she first saw him bothered him.
‘I didn’t use auto-action mode today, so I should probably sync memories.’
As the car carrying Yu Eun-ho and Yu Yeon-seo disappeared down the road, Choi Yu-jin, standing beside Park Geum-ju, asked subtly.
“You were the one behind it, weren’t you, Mother?”
“Behind what?”
“The articles about Yeon-seo.”
The laudatory articles that Yu Yeon-seo had found too blatant were partly influenced by Halo Media, but more than half of them were published under Park Geum-ju’s orders.
“If we’re going to do something, we might as well do it right. It’s the first time that boy has ever done something so good.”
“That’s true.”
“They said his personality changed after the accident... He’s much better now.”
Chairman Yu Chang-ho, who was listening nearby, stared at Park Geum-ju and Choi Yu-jin with wide eyes.
“What articles are you talking about?”
“You know how Yeon-seo disappeared from the set? After everything was resolved, a flood of articles came out.”
After hearing Choi Yu-jin’s explanation, Yu Chang-ho furrowed his brow.
“Why would you do that? His company will take care of it.”
“You don’t know anything. Stop having people report to you and look at the internet yourself.”
Rebuked, Yu Chang-ho cleared his throat with an ‘ahem’. In truth, he had his subordinates periodically report on Yu Yeon-seo, but he had never thought to look things up himself.
Believing he couldn’t just let things be, Yu Chang-ho had secretly formed a dedicated team for Yu Yeon-seo and was quietly catching people who posted malicious slander.
“To be honest, Mother, I thought you disliked Yeon-seo.”
“I don’t particularly like him either.”
Park Geum-ju answered bluntly.
“It’s just... I did something wrong to him, and it still weighs on me...”
“What was it?”
Park Geum-ju didn’t answer. Choi Yu-jin didn’t press for one either.
Park Geum-ju was not just a corporate wife; she was a businesswoman who had built her own brand into a global success. Her perfect image often drew the envy and jealousy of others.
And Lee Hui-seo had been an icon of her generation, so much so that there was no one in the chaebol families who didn’t know her. In fact, it was said that marriage proposals poured in from the sons of chaebol families who were smitten by her beauty.
[Weren’t you too strict with your daughter-in-law?]
[To think she hung herself... How much must you have tormented her?]
[And they say her grandson saw it. How could something like that happen in your own home without you knowing...?]
After Lee Hui-seo’s tragic death, Park Geum-ju was plagued by scrutiny and rumors for a time. It created a huge crack in the pride of Park Geum-ju, who had always pursued perfection.
As if losing her beloved daughter-in-law wasn’t enough, the media and those around her pointed fingers through subtle whispers, and her son fell into despair, weeping in secret.
[Aaaargh!]
[Yeon-seo!]
The atmosphere in the house was indescribably grim, and the grandson who had witnessed the incident went mad.
Their happy family was shattered. Park Geum-ju hated the situation at the time and wanted to run away. She only realized later that she had been suffering from symptoms of depression.
[Grandma.... Something’s wrong with me.]
[I keep seeing Mom... Mom.]
And so, in a fit of anger, she had slapped away the hand of her young grandson who was reaching out to her for support.
[Ah....]
She could still never forget the shocked expression on Yu Yeon-seo’s face. She had tried to apologize immediately, but Yu Yeon-seo ran away.
She was angry at herself for missing the chance to apologize, and as he grew to resemble Lee Hui-seo more and more, she found she couldn’t say anything kind to him.
[How about you go abroad for a while?]
At the suggestion of her husband, who had noticed the change in her, she began to travel abroad frequently. She attended counseling sessions in her spare time and healed her heart, but the rift that had formed between her and her grandson could not be closed.
In fact, when Yu Yeon-seo was in the ICU, Park Geum-ju had briefly returned to Korea to see him. The sight of him being kept alive by all sorts of machines had dealt her a considerable shock.
[So, are you physically okay?]
[Yes, I’m better now.]
That was why she had to hold back the tears that nearly welled up when she saw Yu Yeon-seo answering her so calmly.
For a long while, Park Geum-ju stared in the direction where Yu Yeon-seo had disappeared.
“That damned girl, why did she have to die like that...”
Her voice held not so much resentment as it did a deep, profound sadness.