Although the indoor temperature exceeded 24 degrees, Kim Seungkwan was trembling as if standing in the middle of Siberia. Crushed by the presence of the figure sitting in front of him, he tormented his lips for no reason. His appearance, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his hands as if anxious about when a shout might fly at him, inevitably evoked a prey before a predator.
Inside the CEO’s office where an eerie silence pervaded. In front of Kim Seungkwan was Jin Yeongseol, whose face was gradually changing to one filled with anger as she read the report, and beside her stood her right-hand man, Secretary Kim, upright like a jangseung.
Jin Yeongseol’s lips, which had been frowning as she scanned through the report, rose crookedly.
Smack-!
The document folder flew at Kim Seungkwan’s face, hit its mark, and fell to the floor. Kim Seungkwan, who had been trembling, quickly picked it up, broke out in a cold sweat, and bowed his waist deeply.
“I, I’m sorry. I was too greedy. Thinking I’d proceed with the work quickly… I, I’m truly ashamed……”
When Jin Yeongseol put a cigarette in her mouth, Secretary Kim approached and lit it for her. Thick and harsh cigarette smoke billowed up and began to dominate the surroundings.
Her gaze, sharp as a blade’s edge, turned toward Kim Seungkwan, who was trembling not knowing what to do.
“If you weren’t satisfied with the amount, you should have said so in words.”
“I, absolutely not. I didn’t notice at all that Department Head Han was someone who came having received instructions from that side. It’s my oversight. I, I’m sorry……”
Kim Seungkwan had neither the face nor the qualification to raise his head. Because he’d made a fatal mistake even after swallowing money in the hundred-million won range for the mere task of managing people.
“Go and handle it properly. Until then, it would be best not to even dream of showing your face here.”
“B-but I can’t possibly do it alone……”
Kim Seungkwan, who had turned pale, rubbed his palms together repeatedly like a fly. However, upon meeting Jin Yeongseol’s cold gaze, he instantly lowered his tail and made a tearful face.
“Get out. I don’t even want to see your face.”
Kim Seungkwan, in a pitiful state, bowed his waist deeply and left the director’s office with his head hung low. Jin Yeongseol, who had been glaring fiercely at his retreating figure, exhaled harsh smoke once again.
“How are Jin Yeongchan’s movements?”
“…It seems he’s already noticed. You should prepare for it.”
“…Damn it.”
Jin Yeongseol, who wrinkled her face as if exasperated, irritably stubbed out her cigarette. Since stress had recently reached its peak, there seemed to be no room for the wrinkles in her taut brow to smooth out.
A year ago, a major disturbance arose in the family due to the eldest son Jin Yeongchan’s complicated woman problem. Chairman Jin Jaewoong, who was greatly disappointed in his eldest son, gave a silent indication that he would turn a blind eye to Jin Yeongseol’s ambitions, and Jin Yeongseol keenly caught onto it. Jin Yeongseol had no intention of missing this opportunity that came at an unexpected time.
To get her hands on the welfare foundation that was Jin Yeongchan’s money laundering line, she began planting people in the public interest foundation series full of his subordinates. Step by step, she extended her reach in order to cultural centers and art centers. It was the first step to devour the hesitating Jin Yeongchan.
Since it was a matter known only to the chairman and herself, she worked slowly so as not to be caught, but damn Kim Seungkwan had thrown bait for Jin Yeongchan to notice. Letting him, who had properly ruined the work, walk out on his own two feet gracefully was no different from bestowing her own mercy.
“And yesterday, we received contact from the Harris side. They said if we keep postponing like this, they’ll have no choice but to look for another actor. They’re urging us asking how long they have to wait, so it seems you’ll need to meet them directly, CEO.”
“Ha. I’m really going crazy.”
It was a headache-inducing situation in many ways. Excluding Jin Haeseong, there were no notable achievements coming out of the entertainment company bearing her name, and even Jin Haeseong had been in a state of suspended activities, staying holed up at home for over two years.
“That kid, I thought he was a goose that laid golden eggs.”
It was she who had discovered the unpolished raw gem, cleaned and polished it to make it brilliant. Recalling her nephew who had lost his mind without knowing that favor, Jin Yeongseol ground her teeth. Cold disgust was nakedly revealed in her expressionless eyes.
“Fucking idiot.”
The gradually rising anger began to ripple within her pupils. As she seemed to be pondering how to get through this difficulty, soon as if something came to mind, her pupils sharply contracted and a cruel gleam flashed.
By the time cigarette butts had piled up abundantly in the ashtray from chain-smoking, Jin Yeongseol broke the heavy silence and opened her mouth.
“That document I told you to prepare a while back.”
“…Yes.”
“It seems the time has come to use it.”
She’d given him enough time. In a few months, the child would become an adult. Starting with the work he needed to enter immediately, works scheduled for next year were already contracted in a row. She couldn’t lose the snobbish Director Charlie, who was doing the best at this point in time, by wasting time like this after somehow catching him.
“…Won’t Haeseong-gun have an even harder time?”
At Secretary Kim’s carefully broached words, Jin Yeongseol only lifted her eyes and stared at him coldly. Intimidated by that gaze, he silently brought what Jin Yeongseol had requested.
One corner of Jin Yeongseol’s mouth rose smoothly as she took out the contents from the envelope and checked them.
Two years was not a short time. Jin Yeongseol thought about the cause of this situation, and soon derived the result that this was all because of Lee Euiju.
It was Lee Euiju who had instantly controlled her nephew, whom anyone would find difficult to handle, and made that scoundrel-like bastard follow obediently. She knew he would fall into despair or frustration when such a person disappeared from his side, but since he was such a tough and stubborn child, she thought he would shake it off and rise up quickly. She thought it was just a matter of time before he returned to normal.
It was a complacent thought.
Since she was also a person, she didn’t want to go this far, but there was no choice. The person who left wouldn’t come back anyway, and Jin Yeongseol was someone who could somehow use the cards she had efficiently.
She didn’t think at all about the wounds or pain Jin Haeseong would receive from that method.
“Have a car on standby. I’m going to that child’s house now.”
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
***
Even though the roaring sound coming from inside had stopped and quite some time had passed, there was no sign the door would open. Kim Jaeho, who had been anxiously stamping his feet in front of the bedroom door, ended up startled by Jin Yeongseol who suddenly barged in.
“Move aside.”
“D-Director. Haeseong is in an extremely sensitive state right now, so I think it would be better if you didn’t go in. Even if you’re the Director……”
“I said move aside.”
Jin Yeongseol grabbed the doorknob of her nephew’s room and shook it violently. However, since the firmly locked door showed no sign of opening, Kim Jaeho, who had been restless on the side, hung his head deeply and opened his mouth.
“…It hasn’t opened since yesterday.”
“How stupid. Then bring the key!”
“B-but if you enter without permission, again…”
Kim Jaeho’s wavering gaze turned toward Secretary Kim, who was silently standing behind. Around his shoulder area, the wound he’d received from Jin Haeseong half a year ago still remained.
“Tsk, how pathetic.”
Jin Yeongseol, who was tall for a woman, was at eye level with Kim Jaeho, who barely reached the average male height. When she looked him up and down as if pathetic, Kim Jaeho had no choice but to face it nakedly.
“Instead of bringing the kid to his senses, how long are you going to just watch like this? Do you think I entrusted Jin Haeseong to you for this? I can’t find an ounce of responsibility.”
When Jin Yeongseol sharply rebuked, Kim Jaeho repeatedly opened and closed his mouth as if wronged. Eventually unable to state his position and resigned, he brought the key from the second floor and unlocked the door.
Click-.
As soon as the door latch was released, Jin Yeongseol pushed past Kim Jaeho and flung open Haeseong’s bedroom door.
Even though it was an afternoon time before sunset, the inside of the room was so dark that not a single ray of light seeped in. Jin Yeongseol tried to step inside, but she couldn’t move forward due to objects blocking her feet. When Secretary Kim, who was beside her, pressed the light switch, Jin Yeongseol’s face was colored with shock at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
“What is this……!”
The spacious room had become a complete mess with all kinds of miscellaneous items, leaving no room to step. The glass cabinet was completely shattered, and the trophies that had been displayed inside were rolling around messily on the floor. Sharp glass shards were scattered here and there as if protecting the room’s owner, threatening the uninvited guests.
“Ha.”
Anger began to settle on Jin Yeongseol’s face as she snorted with an expression of disbelief.
The child—no, her nephew who now had an appearance that could no longer be called a child—was sitting blankly in a chair. The energy emanating from him was so gloomy and dark that only the air around him felt different. Jin Yeongseol, excited as if she would explode at the slightest touch, barely stepped into the empty spaces and strode toward her nephew.
“You pathetic bastard. What do you think you’re doing still being like this! When exactly are you planning to come to your senses-!”
Haeseong’s eyes, which had been quietly closed, slowly opened at the unwelcome guest’s appearance.
Even in a bad situation, Jin Haeseong’s body had become incomparably more solid and thicker than before. His thick chest clearly visible even while sitting, his thickened arms, his masculine and strong jawline—he had changed to a degree unimaginable from Jin Haeseong of two years ago.
“Hae, Haeseong-ah!”
Kim Jaeho, who followed in after, approached in panic.
Bright red blood was flowing from the back of Haeseong’s hand resting on the chair’s armrest. The glass cabinet was broken, the bedpost was torn off, and miscellaneous items in the room were either broken or thrown around, so in a way, it was natural.
“Haeseong-ah. Let’s treat it first, okay?”
Flustered, Kim Jaeho hurriedly left the room saying he’d bring a first aid kit. Jin Yeongseol, who pressed her throbbing temples, let out a long sigh deeply as if frustrated.
Two years had passed, and even though her nephew was only about half a year away from becoming an adult, he was still in this state and condition. She’d anticipated he would fall into despair or frustration after sending away the only person he followed, but she hadn’t imagined he’d break down this much. Compared to his tough personality, he’d had many friends around him, and even though he was stubborn, he was a child who somewhat enjoyed his work.
“You’re truly pathetic beyond compare.”
Jin Haeseong hadn’t improved or developed at all in the two years since Lee Euiju left. Like someone who had given up the will to live, he did nothing. Really nothing.
How did he brainwash the child that a perfectly fine kid became this broken, unable to come to his senses and living like trash?
‘I can’t leave it like this. How did I raise him?’
She could no longer wait for the child to come to his senses on his own. The crisis had come right up to her throat, and now she had to somehow drag her nephew out of the house.
Jin Yeongseol was desperate. She was someone who firmly believed that her nephew’s success could become the foundation for her own success. And she was also a person who could do anything, tell any lie, for her lifelong wish.
The expression gradually disappeared from Jin Yeongseol’s face, which had been full of anger. With a cold face, she broke the heavy silence and opened her mouth.
“Because you followed that friend so much, I didn’t want to tell you. But since you still don’t seem to have any intention of coming to your senses, I can’t hold back anymore either.”
Jin Haeseong, who had been staring at the blood drops falling to the floor, only lifted his eyes and looked at Jin Yeongseol apathetically.
Eyes so deep and hollow that one couldn’t imagine he was nineteen turned toward his aunt.
