CTL 14

“Right, I don’t know.”

Yoongeon admitted it cleanly.

“But I do understand my sister’s situation. And I obviously know you’re not an object. The only person who doesn’t know that is Chairman Ko.”

“…….”

Because he was a man, he could not fully understand all the situations that women experience. He had no intention of being a hypocrite and deceiving them by pretending to completely empathize and understand when he was not the one experiencing it. But at the very least, Yoongeon knew his sister’s situation precisely.

“Still, endure it.”

“Why should I?”

Yebin huffed. Yoongeon turned the steering wheel to follow the curve in the road and said.

“Because it’s time to take one step back.”

“……Huh?”

“From now on, the final approvals for our team will be decided at the manager level.”

On the team Yoongeon led, Yebin was the manager. Yebin, unable to quickly follow the abrupt change in topic, blinked her eyes.

“What you review and pass, I will also pass without complaint. So from now on, you make good judgments and lead the team.”

“Me, me alone? How can I do that by myself.”

Yebin was extremely flustered by the sudden words.

“You can consult with me. I’m not saying I’m going to leave you completely alone. If there’s something you don’t know, come straight to the executive director’s office.”

Only then did Yebin understand what Yoongeon was saying, and her eyes widened.

“What you’re saying right now, that is to say….”

“…….”

“You’re not going to do as Dad said, are you?”

She looked extremely surprised. Yoongeon nodded his head.

“Next year, I’m going to take the vice president position. Then the executive director position will be vacant, so you have to take it. Once you sit in an executive position, Chairman Ko can’t easily make you quit your job.”

“…….”

“You understand now, but the final work of this team will be finished not by my hands, but by your hands, Yebin. You have to succeed no matter what. That’s the only way you can take the chairman’s seat.”

“Uh… uh, uh huh?”

Yebin, who had only thought her brother was simply not going to follow their father’s words, was now aghast and covered her mouth with her hands.

“Wait, just a minute. Oppa, what are you talking about right now? You’re saying you’re going to give the company to me?”

“Keep your wits about you and work.”

“…….”

“And, you take the chairman’s seat and from then on, don’t create situations that make you angry and frustrated. Make it so that a man doesn’t step up to negotiate your affairs, and make it so they don’t dare to challenge you.”

“What does that….”

“You said they wouldn’t know unless they’re a woman, how annoying that situation is. So you rise to the highest position and change it. Then someone else will probably live a little more comfortably.”

Yoongeon knew the power of a ruler better than anyone. If one wanted to change something, one had to wear the crown and willingly sacrifice a part of oneself.

“If you’re born with a lot, you shouldn’t wait for someone to give it to you, you should naturally think about fighting for it and taking it, Ko Yebin.”

“I’ve never thought about that….”

Yebin looked extremely confused.

“Because it’s obviously not a position that would come to me, so I didn’t think about it.”

“Start thinking about it now.”

Yebin was born with the great talent to sit in the chairman’s seat, the power to change what was unreasonable. She was so excellent that she couldn’t even be compared to a bastard like Ko Yoonchul. She had only given up because Chairman Ko had never shown her any possibility since she was young, but Yebin was the most suitable person to occupy that position.

He wasn’t just doing this because he was taking his sister’s side. Yoongeon was looking at the situation coldly and had made the most rational judgment. He had chosen the most suitable person who could handle something large and heavy, and that just happened to be Yebin.

“…Wasn’t it you who wanted to take over the company, oppa?”

“I never did.”

He replied nonchalantly as he turned the steering wheel.

“I just didn’t like Ko Yoonchul. So I’m just going to take what’s his, that’s all.”

“Then what do you want to do, oppa?”

“I just want to rest.”

He meant it. Yoongeon just wanted to rest a little. One life lived fiercely was enough. Right now, just living for Seohwi was difficult enough.

“If you get married and have kids later, oppa… you might regret this decision then.”

“That won’t happen.”

The assumption that he would naturally form an ordinary family was laughable. He was a mutant, born crooked from the start.

“…What?”

“…….”

For someone from a chaebol family, marriage and childbirth were natural steps to pass on wealth, but not for Yoongeon. He had no intention of ever holding a wedding ceremony again with anyone other than Seohwi. As Yoongeon ultimately offered no explanation, Yebin hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth again.

“……Where are you planning to go.”

He thought she would ask why he wasn’t getting married, or if he really had no thoughts of having children, but this was unexpected. It seemed she had good intuition, perhaps because she was his sister.

“Oppa, where are you planning to go.”

“…….”

As if she had sensed something from him, Yebin’s voice trembled with anxiety. He, who usually spoke with a strange coldness similar to his own, was different today.

“I’ll probably go on a trip or something.”

So Yoongeon once again, brought out another nonchalant lie. But Yebin, as if she didn’t believe him, only looked at him for a long time with anxious eyes.

✧ ✧ ✧

He was a little late because he stopped by his family home before coming to work. When he arrived around 9:30, all the employees were there and greeted him with a smile. As Yoongeon returned the greeting and went into the executive director’s office to hang up his coat, he heard someone call, “Executive Director!” and turned to see Manager Kim Jia entering. She placed a box on Yoongeon’s desk. Wondering what it was, he looked at it and saw it was chocolate.

“What is this?”

He asked back, not knowing the reason she was giving this to him.

“A token of my gratitude.”

“Was there something for you to be grateful to me for?”

“You know, I really had no idea you thought so highly of me, Executive Director. So I was really moved yesterday. So I bought this to express my thanks, and also as a little bribe. It’s a gift.”

He didn’t ask why she would buy something like this. Yoongeon nodded his head so as not to make her feel awkward.

“Yes, thank you. I will enjoy it.”

Although she was a bit meddlesome, wasn’t the attitude of expressing gratitude well a good thing? It meant that Kim Jia was a good person. The realization that this was a fact made his chest ache.

“Um, but, Executive Director.”

“Yes.”

He looked at her, wondering what else she had to say, and Manager Kim looked at Yoongeon with eyes full of expectation.

“Did you really think that?”

“…Think what?”

“That…. You said Ms. Seohwi and I look good together. Do you really think so?”

She let out a small, dry cough, as if she was embarrassed to be saying such a thing.

“…….”

Ah…. He knew those kinds of eyes. They were the eyes of someone who felt a liking for the other person and was excited. They were eyes that he, too, must have had at one time.

“No, I mean, since I’m the one involved, I don’t really know…. I’m really not asking because I want you to give me a certain answer. I just wanted to hear if we really look that way objectively….”

“Yes. You look good together.”

He said it without even a smile. But he was sincere. He spoke the sound of his own heart tearing apart nonchalantly.

In truth, Yoongeon felt sorry for Manager Kim. Hadn’t he, in the end, been unable to hold back and left his trace on Seohwi’s lips? For him to commit such an act after saying with his own mouth that they looked good together was truly petty beyond words. He briefly turned his gaze to look at Seohwi’s back before looking at Manager Kim again. Yes, it looked much better for Manager Kim to be by his side than for someone like him.

“Really? Wow….”

Manager Kim’s eyes sparkled. Yoongeon’s eyes, looking at them, remained completely sunken. He steeled his heart as he looked at Manager Kim’s face. Let’s not be shaken. Wasn’t the thing he had to do clear? His only job was to provide appropriate help and then disappear from Seohwi’s presence.

“Somehow, it feels like I’ve been acknowledged by you, Executive Director, so I’m really happy.”

Manager Kim smiled.

“Thank you.”

“…….”

He didn’t know what about his acknowledgment was so worthy of thanks, but in any case, Yoongeon nodded his head.