PHUW 62

Noh Seongjae, with her thick hair elegantly styled by suitable dye and perm, still looked much younger than her age with a taut face like that of someone in her forties and light makeup. Her body, reaching about 167 centimeters, was tall for sixty-six, firm and upright without bending anywhere. On top of that, dressed in the finest daily hanbok handcrafted by a human cultural asset, she looked like a hanbok model.

But her impression was of a different quality from hanbok models who emphasized neatness above all. Her wide, exposed forehead gleamed, and beneath somewhat thick eyebrows were eyes long at the corners, from which an extraordinary force emanated. Her prominent nose and glossy cheekbones were filled with obstinacy, and her tightly closed lips were not only orderly but sharp as though biting a blade. In short, her appearance was anything but ordinary.

People sometimes said Noh Seongjae of Hyeonsan had the face of a queen consort, but those who experienced her up close shook their heads, saying she had the face of an emperor like Wu Zetian instead. She was that remarkable, a figure who combined dignity, the power that matched it, and a formidable temperament.

“Who was last today?”

Her low voice, falling casually, made everyone hold their breath. It meant she would punish whoever had dared to keep her waiting. Choi Jieon’s eyes swept over Sangeon and Jeong Mok.

“Uh…”

“Me.”

Jeong Mok stepped forward, cutting off Sangeon’s words. The chairwoman glared at him.

“You live well. Later even than your hyung and noona, who are busy with company affairs.”

“Mok lives far away. Traffic conditions are not good these days during commuting hours. But he was not very late.”

The professor immediately spoke in his defense.

“If it is far, he should have left earlier. A man with no work, idling at home, only ends up wasting food.”

“I am sorry. I will not be late again.”

“It would be nice if I felt like believing that.”

Not that she would believe, but that it would be nice if she felt like believing.

At the chairwoman’s sneer, Jeong Mok himself was unbothered, but it was Sangeon who flinched. The look in his eyes as he gazed up at his mother was not ordinary. Jeong Mok brushed his wrist lightly to signal him. They would clash later anyway, so there was no need to let her find fault in something trivial. That was also why he had stepped in. Myeongeun, too, tugged gently at her husband’s sleeve to stop him.

Regardless, the chairman snorted and looked down on her children. Her expression showed she found fault with each one.

Her son and his wife had impressed her with the drastic move of accepting outright the warning of demotion from the successor position, only to then disgrace themselves again. Her daughter, not only useless but burdened with bad memories, had gone and married a younger man with no managerial talent, only an artist. That it had happened while Sangeon had stirred up trouble and, in the confusion of Jun’s birth distracting her mind, made her unable to stop it only added insult. And now, with Jieon heavily pregnant, it was hard even to raise her voice, leaving her burning with frustration. Worse still, the only child of the younger sister she had once cherished grew to resemble more and more the madman who had murdered her, and just looking at him forced her to pray for strength and carve patience into her heart.

“Honey. Let us have dinner first. Everyone must be hungry.”

The professor tried to ease the frozen atmosphere. But instead of moving toward the table, the chairwoman fixed her gaze on Myeongeun.

In truth, she wanted nothing more than to strike her son and daughter-in-law from the family register immediately. But the grandson born of the two was so beloved that even putting him in her eye would not hurt. Yet the grandson was nowhere to be seen.

“My grandson?”

“He is at home.”

Myeongeun answered.

“Only the child?”

“With his teacher and housekeeper.”

“Children must be raised directly. I led Hyeonsan and still raised both of you myself.”

It was true the chairwoman had raised them herself. But that did not mean Sangeon and Jieon had liked it. Their mother had been so strict that it was hard to do anything freely.

Sangeon, being exceptionally smart, had been chosen early as successor. Not only academics but even his personal relationships all had to follow the chairman’s will. Jieon, being the second, suffered slightly less behind her brother’s shield, but even she was squeezed when entrance exams approached. The chairwoman’s order was that Jieon would have to stand in if Sangeon was absent. Because of her free-spirited nature, Jieon had found it especially hard. At one point she even spouted nonsense, saying that if she admitted herself to a mental hospital like Jeong Mok, would she then escape the chairwoman’s eye? She had been scolded harshly by the professor.

“You are only a housewife without a job, so if you cannot even look after one child, what on earth are you living for?”

At this needless reproach, Myeongeun bowed her head and only said she was sorry instead of replying. Unable to endure it, Sangeon stepped forward.

“What do you have to apologize for. Jun tired himself playing soccer with me during the day, so I put him to sleep first. Was I supposed to wake the sleeping child and bring him? And this person does have ability. That is why I fell for her. To have been the one who kept her from working and brought her into the house, and now to say such things is wrong.”

“You contradict your mother no matter what she says.”

“It is not contradicting no matter what, it is giving a fair answer to unfair scolding…”

“Silence.”

The chairwoman cut him off at once. Then, passing straight by him, she headed to the dining table. The professor soothed the agitated Sangeon.

“Come now, let us eat first. Both you, Myeongeun, and Jieon must be hungry.”

As expected, without Choi Jun, it turned out like this. Even Choi Jieon, who was the mildest in temperament among the Hyeonsan family, could not say a word and only furrowed her brows. At the same time, she patted Baek Seunghyeon, the weakest of spirit. Perhaps startled by the remark about having nothing to do at home, his complexion did not look good.

The atmosphere at the dining table was like walking on thin ice. It was not just a matter of mood either, because the abalone and sea cucumber stew, served piping hot in its stone pot, quickly cooled to lukewarm. No one seemed to have any appetite, only stirring their soup with spoons. Even the chairwoman ate just one piece of abalone with two spoonfuls of rice and then ordered sujeonggwa (Korean traditional cinnamon punch.) to be brought out. The only one actually eating was Jieon, who was busy eating for the child in her womb as well.

“I have something to say.”

It was Sangeon, who had not even touched his sujeonggwa, opening fire toward his mother.

“If you do, that is why we are all gathered.”

At her cold and crooked reply, Sangeon’s expression stiffened further. Sitting opposite, Jeong Mok could not stop him, and instead it was Myeongeun, sitting beside him, who caught her husband’s arm as if he were about to spring up from his seat at any moment.

“I intend to take a break from the company for the time being.”

“……”

The chairman said nothing, only casting her gaze at him. If the force in her eyes carried physical weight, Sangeon would at least be seriously injured. But having inherited Noh Seongjae’s temperament fully, Sangeon was no pushover either. The atmosphere turned so grim that the two kitchen staff, who had been serving throughout the meal, slipped quietly back into the kitchen.

With only family left, the professor glanced at the chairwoman and spoke up.

“Really now. How could you bring up that subject first. Eldest child, do you not have something to say?”

“Ah. We are expecting our second child.”

This time the chairwoman’s gaze turned to Myeongeun.

“How far along are you?”

“Almost eight weeks.”

“Jieon as well. It is a happy occasion after a long time.”

It was praise, yet the tone was so stiff that it did not sound like praise at all.

“Now that you will be a father of two, you should work even harder to secure your position.”

“I am saying this because I may not be able to be the father of two. We never told you before, but after Jun was born, two children left us before they even came into the world.”

“What? Why are you only telling me this now?”

The chairwoman’s voice rose.

“And what would you have done if we had told you? You would have dragged her in again for all kinds of tests, scoldings, and under the pretense of paying attention, you would have tormented her to no end.”

Her heavy gaze now held rage.

“Sangeon.”

The professor tried to stop him, but this time Sangeon would not stay silent.

“If we leave things as they are, it will go wrong again. We plan to take Jun and live abroad for a while. We already found a house, and we will leave next month. We will send photos now and then, so do not think of placing people around us. That is exactly what caused two of your grandchildren to leave this world.”

From his mouth came a blast like an Arctic cold wave. This time even the chairwoman could not hide her shock.

“What is this…”

“There was no need to say it that.”

“You knew?”

“…..”

The professor, perhaps already aware, only let out a low sigh. The only one who spoke was Jieon, who had been demolishing the untouched braised short ribs alone. She pulled off her disposable gloves and opened her mouth toward Myeongeun.

“You have suffered a lot. It must have been so hard. How painful it is to lose a child, and you could not even show it. When I think of something happening to my child, my blood rises in reverse. So your decision to go abroad with just family, to live peacefully and give birth, I deeply sympathize and support it. If I could, I would have done the same.”

“Jieon!”

The chairwoman shouted, but Jieon was unfazed. Instead, it was Myeongeun who, visibly startled, leapt from her seat.

“Lower your voice. You frightened the eldest daughter-in-law. She already has signs of miscarriage, and you shout like that, what then? If, as oppa says, something goes wrong with the child, will you take responsibility?”

Jieon answered firmly, and the chairwoman could no longer raise her voice. Because at that moment, Myeongeun, pale with fear, drank the water her husband handed her.

In the chairwoman’s silence, the professor spoke.

“It is already the end of the month. Next month is too soon, is it not? What about the company?”

“There are others besides me who can take the vice chairman’s position.”

Sangeon answered with confidence. At that moment, Jeong Mok was seized by a feeling of foreboding.