# Chapter 5
Mom definitely changed after Uncle came to visit.
How painful must it have been for Mom all this time when she was telling the truth but no one believed her?
How frustrated and discouraged must she have felt?
I was among the group of people who didn’t believe Mom’s words.
“Mom.”
I really wanted to apologize to Mom, and I called her to say those words.
But Mom just smiled as if she already knew everything.
“You don’t have to say anything, Seomin. I think I know what you’re trying to say, but you don’t need to say it. Just by staying by Mom’s side, you’ve already given Mom everything she wanted.”
“Mom…”
Mom smiled once more and patted my shoulder gently.
* * *
I could tell who the people standing in front of me were without any special introduction.
After discussing the entertainment division with Mom and a few weeks later, I told Uncle my intentions.
I told him I wanted to learn to work there, and Uncle brightened up and said it would be good for me to meet my cousin brother and sister first.
My cousin brother, Kang Seungwon, was the CEO of Seyoung Group’s entertainment division, “Grand Tamer,” and Uncle wanted me to both greet him and talk to him.
If Uncle had joined us, the atmosphere would have been much smoother, but he was too busy.
My cousin brother Kang Seungwon and cousin sister Kang Jiyoung were famous for their looks that surpassed celebrities.
Occasionally, photos of them appearing in unexpected places would circulate, and now the two people I had only seen in photos were standing in front of me.
“Seomin.”
My cousin sister Kang Jiyoung was emotionally rich and unrestrained in expressing those emotions.
You could tell just by how she approached and embraced me without hesitation when we first met.
“Kang Seomin.”
I felt a strange emotion as I was embraced by my sister who only called my name like that, unable to speak, as if she felt sorry for me.
I wondered if the vague thoughts I had about chaebol family members didn’t apply to them.
I didn’t need to wonder if they were harboring different feelings inside, contrary to their appearances.
They had no need to hide their true feelings.
Just like Kang Seungwon, who was right there.
After my sister let go of me, I looked at him, thinking it was now my turn to greet my brother.
But he didn’t even look at me directly.
When I entered the room, he seemed to scan me a few times with sidelong glances, and that seemed to be the end of his assessment of me.
“He’s always like that, so don’t worry too much. If he bothers you, tell me. And from now on, we’ll absolutely support you, so whenever you’re concerned about something, just tell us.”
“Thank you.”
When I bowed my head slightly and said that, Kang Seungwon clicked his tongue and laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Thank you? It seems like you’re really going to do that.”
“Hey. Kang Seungwon. You better be careful. I’m going to tell Dad everything you say here. Grandfather is already acting weird, and we’re in a bad mood, so don’t add to it. You might be the one who gets cut off. Don’t you know how Dad gets when he’s angry?”
My sister was much stronger than I expected.
On the contrary, my brother, who looked like he wouldn’t even let the tip of a needle in, couldn’t stand up to my sister.
“Seomin. I’ll say it again, but if you ever have any difficulties, tell your noona anytime. Noona will solve everything for you. It would’ve been nice if you joined noona’s company, but you wanted to join Seungwon’s company… Is your mind still unchanged? Seungwon isn’t a good person to work with.”
As she said that, my sister stroked my hair.
She looked like she was worried about sending a lamb into a wolf’s den.
My brother made an expression of being wrongfully accused, and my sister gave him a card.
“Take Seomin with you and get him several suits tailored, and also buy him clothes and shoes from where you buy your clothes. It’ll be difficult for him to shop alone.”
“Oh! Can I buy things for myself too?”
“Are you crazy? If you are, then do that.”
“Tsk. Why are you like that when you’re doing so well these days? I saw an article saying the sales for your newly released products are enormous.”
“Shut up and just do what you’re told.”
Her attitude towards my brother and me was worlds apart.
“Let’s all have a meal together soon, Seomin. If it’s too burdensome, we can postpone, so don’t push yourself.”
“No, noona. I’d like that too.”
“Oh my, so cute. Someone who looks like an angel also speaks like an angel.”
My brother heard that from the side and shook his head, saying it’s as if she’s actually seen an angel before.
“Ah… Seomin. How about trying to model for our company… No. Never mind. Let’s think about that more and talk about it gradually.”
In a moment, so many conversations flew by that it was hard to understand everything one by one.
My sister seemed to have a lot of work and was busy, so she left first during our conversation, and after that, I was left alone with my brother.
It was awkward being left alone with my brother who didn’t seem to like me.
But to my surprise, from then on, he sat down, made various phone calls, worked on his laptop, and focused on his work.
I thought about saying I would leave first if he was busy, but he was so engrossed that it was difficult to interrupt.
He was handling multiple tasks simultaneously, which made me a bit worried, wondering if everyone did that.
In fact, he was probably just feeling uncomfortable and distracted by my presence.
If I were told to keep watching him like that, I could probably do it.
His working appearance looked cool, and it felt like a drama to me.
My brother’s extremely handsome face was turning an ordinary daily routine into a drama.
The content I was hearing was interesting, and I had a lot to learn.
After handling his work for a while, he rose from his seat.
“Let’s go.”
“Pardon? Oh. Yes.”
“What’s with the ‘Yes’? Just speak comfortably.”
“But still…”
“What do you mean ‘but still’?”
He spoke curtly and walked past me.
On the way, he made a call and told someone to have a car ready, who I later found out was his executive assistant.
My brother’s executive assistant was a sharp-looking man in his late 20s, who looked stylish with gold-rimmed glasses.
There was a definite difference in his attitude towards my brother and me, and he seemed to have strong loyalty to my brother.
“To the department store. Let them know in advance that I don’t want to be disturbed while shopping.”
“Yes, CEO. But which section are you planning to visit?”
“All of them.”
My brother looked at me once and said.
He seemed to be looking at my attire, not at my face.
He shook his head briefly as if it was a complete disaster and got into the car first, so I got in next to him.
It seemed like he was trying to be nice, but it was more than a little burdensome.
“Don’t rush. Don’t try to match others. Don’t scurry. If you’re late, everyone will wait for you. Other people can wait, so why hurry? Remember this from now on. That you represent Seyoung Group. People won’t just look down on you, they’ll look down on the entire Seyoung Group. That you represent Seyoung’s image. Keep that clearly in your head.”
“Ah… yes.”
He looked like he was about to say something but stopped.
‘Oh. He told me to speak comfortably.’
On the way to the department store, he barely spoke.
Classical music resonated inside the car, which seemed to be his taste.
I silently acknowledged to myself, wondering if he still had this kind of input despite being in charge of the entertainment division.
Seeing that, or so it seemed, my brother said,
“If you’re curious about something, don’t just speculate alone, ask anything. It would be troublesome if you think wrongly and believe it’s true.”
“Ah… okay.”
Then he glanced at me once.
“All colors would suit you well. Size?”
I didn’t expect to receive that question suddenly.
So I stuttered my answer, and he repeated what I said.
“Contact the hair salon too. Tell them we’ll be coming after shopping. Make sure there’s no waiting, have them reserve time in advance.”
“Yes, CEO.”
I quickly looked at my brother, wondering if he was going to change my hairstyle too.
“I like my hairstyle.”
“Have you already forgotten what I said? You are Seyoung’s image.”
“Still, I don’t think that’s right. And people aren’t that simple. I don’t think anyone would think Seyoung’s image changes just because I suddenly appear one day. I like this hairstyle. I might be okay with a little trim, but I don’t want to let someone else decide my style. What I like is most important.”
“…”
My brother had an expression of disbelief.
“As long as you’re a member of Seyoung Group, you can’t just do whatever you want.”
“Then I won’t do it. Becoming a member.”
He burst out laughing.
He probably thought I looked naive and would follow his words with just a few threatening remarks.
But he seemed perplexed, realizing I wasn’t so easily swayed.
“You really…!”
Then, as if deciding not to say anything more, he suddenly closed his mouth.
Maybe he thought that at this stage, saying anything wouldn’t change anything and would only drain his energy.
And so, from then on, we headed to the department store with an even more awkward relationship.
