#87

“Vulgar……”

“If a precious only son of the family throws away the fiancé arranged by the family and brings a singer, whom they call vulgar, as his wife, what kind of reaction would the strict family have?”

I could guess the answer well enough. But I didn’t want to voice it. I didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Of course, they were adamantly opposed. The only son, raised like gold and jade in the family, with everyone thinking he’s too precious to be touched, would never be allowed to have some woman from who knows where sit next to him.”

“Did they break up because of that?”

“No. They ran away. They eloped, you could say. After running away, they got married, and soon after, Yoo Euiseo-ssi was born.”

Oh…… I was impressed by the courage of Yoo Euiseo’s parents. That couldn’t have been an easy decision. But as Secretary Sung Yoojun continued, I had no choice but to crumple up my admiration and throw it far away.

“And three years after they ran away, they divorced.”

“……Humanely speaking, wouldn’t the story here develop in a way where the three of them lived happily together and President Go Woonjae begged his daughter-in-law and grandson to come back home?”

“I wish that were the case, but what can you do? This is reality.”

Haa…… I let out a deep sigh, realizing the reality was far different from what I had hoped. I felt terribly tired all of a sudden.

“Can I continue with the story?”

“Yes, please continue.”

I spoke with a voice full of fatigue, and Sung Yoojun began the story again.

“The reason they divorced was obvious, if terribly obvious. It was because of poverty. One person had spent their whole life under the family’s protection, only studying, and the other couldn’t work because they were pregnant and raising a child. Their financial situation was pretty much doomed from the start. When poverty comes through the door, love goes out the window. That’s exactly what happened.”

“……”

“At first, it seems they lived off the money brought by the father and the money the mother had saved up. But when you have a child to raise, how long could that last? Eventually, it seems the father couldn’t hold out anymore and brought up the idea of divorce first. Of course, the mother didn’t want it, but it’s hard for an individual to defeat a wealthy and connected family. So, Yoo Euiseo-ssi’s father nearly had to force his wife to divorce him and gave up parental rights before returning to his family. Oh, and he didn’t give a single penny in child support. He treated the child like one who wasn’t even related to him by blood. They even pressured the mother to change the child’s surname from Go to hers.”

“That’s……”

Such trash. I couldn’t hold back my disgust and furrowed my brow. Just hearing what I had so far was frustrating, but Sung Yoojun’s story wasn’t over yet.

“The father who returned to the family married someone else and had a son with that person. And I believe he lived as the good eldest grandson of the Go family.”

Ah, yes. After doing all that, he went back, married another woman, and had a child? And lived happily? I thought bitterly, folding my arms in front of my chest.

“Secretary Sung, I really like the phrases ‘good will is rewarded’ and ‘karma.’ I like them so much that when I see a situation where that’s not happening, I want to make it happen. So, how are those people living now? Are they living in a way that I need to get involved?”

I said with a cold smile, and Sung Yoojun raised one eyebrow and smiled.

“Thankfully, you won’t need to get involved in this matter, President.”

“Why? Did something happen to that person?”

“Yes. When his child turned 7, he died in an accident. Both his new wife and child were killed as well.”

At Secretary Sung Yoojun’s words, I took a deep breath. I had wished for that man’s misfortune, but I didn’t want such a tragic ending where everyone dies……

“Please don’t make that face. This wasn’t something you caused, sir.”

“True, but……”

Seeing my bitter expression, Sung Yoojun quickly seemed to try to change the subject.

“Anyway, the Go family was in chaos when they heard the direct line had been cut off. After all, they lost both the fourth-generation successor and the fifth-generation child they had been treating as a successor overnight.”

“I can already guess what happened after that.”

“Yes, it’s an obvious story.”

“And for some, it must be a very sorrowful one.”

The dead son and grandson. And the child who, although not recognized by blood, clearly had the blood of the son. It wasn’t hard to guess how things had unfolded with President Go Woonjae’s accident.

They probably tried to bring Yoo Euiseo back into their family somehow. And when that didn’t work, they must have been clutching at straws, asking me for help.

At that thought, I suddenly remembered the story about how Yoo Euiseo had passed the entrance exam for Korea University but hadn’t enrolled due to personal reasons. Could that reason have been this? Because his grandfather, who didn’t seem like a real grandfather, was the president there?

“……I really don’t want to meet him. Decline it. I don’t want to waste my time on someone like him on a day like today.”

“Understood. I’ll let them know.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Sung Yoojun began making a call to someone, probably one of the company staff members he had spoken to earlier. I uncrossed my arms, clasped my hands together, and placed them on my thighs. I could feel the soft fabric of my clothes beneath my palms.

“I told them to decline.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

At the light response, Sung Yoojun lifted the corners of his mouth. Seeing the faint smile on his face, a sudden curiosity arose in me.

“By the way, Secretary Sung.”

“Yes?”

“You seem to know a lot about that family.”

“Oh, actually, this is quite a famous story. It’s a scandal of the Go family, who have never had a single scandal or problem before.”

Well, that’s true. People are always more interested in scandals in otherwise quiet families.

I nodded in understanding to Sung Yoojun’s words. In the meantime, the car had already arrived at the company parking lot. I got out of the car, which Sung Yoojun had opened for me, and headed for the elevator to my office.

“Are you very busy today as well?”

“It’s not that busy.”

That meant he was probably just as busy as usual. If it weren’t, he would have said so clearly. After spending two months together, I had become somewhat familiar with Sung Yoojun’s way of speaking.

“Even if you’re busy, make sure to have your meals.”

Lately, it seemed like he’d been skipping lunch often due to work, so I said it out of concern. Secretary Sung Yoojun’s eyes curved into a gentle arc at my words.

“Please remember to have your meals and take your medicine as well, President.”

As he said that, Sung Yoojun reached out his hand to me. I placed my hand on his hand, and he flipped his hand over, palm facing upwards, and placed a packet of medicine on it.

“When did you take this for me?”

“I thought you might forget, so I prepared it in advance. Since you didn’t take your morning medicine, it would be best if you took it as soon as you enter your office.”

His thoughtful action made me smile softly.

“Thank you. You really take care of me so well. I feel like it will be tough to live without you, Secretary Sung.”

“Well, then we can just continue working together. I’m perfectly fine with it.”

“What’s that? Are you planning to work as my secretary forever? I’m okay with that, but you should retire someday, Secretary Sung.”

I said it in a playful tone, and Sung Yoojun gave me a peculiar smile, looking at me. It seemed like he had something he wanted to say, but he never actually spoke. In the end, it was only after we arrived at the office that he finally spoke.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Okay. Take care.”

I stared at the back of Sung Yoojun as he left to handle his own tasks after dropping me off at my office.

For some reason, something felt…… Well, I wasn’t sure how to explain it, but it felt like something had lodged itself into my mind. It was like something was poking at me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to shake off the strange feeling, then turned and walked to my desk.

When I don’t understand something, and when it’s not an urgent matter, I prefer to clear my head by doing something else instead of obsessing over it.

So, I decided to tackle the stack of documents that had accumulated because of my day off yesterday and let my mind focus on something else before thinking about this inexplicable discomfort again.

I sat down in the chair in front of my desk and, following Sung Yoojun’s advice, took my cold medicine first before carefully starting to review two days’ worth of documents.

Time passed quickly. As I got into the flow of work, my mind became more accustomed to processing the stack of papers, and I found myself working through them faster than I had expected. I was left wondering whether I should be happy about that or not…… Just as I was pondering that, I heard a knock at the door.

“President, it’s Ahn Siwon. May I come in?”