# Chapter 55
“Nothing bad will happen. I’ll just have to keep him in a minor position after he comes to his senses. You have a lot to do from now on. But for the time being, let’s not make too much noise and proceed quietly and safely. Still, let people know that you are my grandson.”
Grandfather’s words continued quietly.
“I understand.”
“Take exactly the same position as Seungwon has now. Not like Jiyoung. Just like Seungwon’s position.”
“I understand.”
“I like that you understand well. Meet with Seungwon. Seungwon probably doesn’t know what’s happening right now. He needs to know too. If he thinks his father was sacrificed needlessly, he might go astray. It would be good for you to meet him and tell him the truth. If we’re not careful, Jiyoung might make her brother a sacrificial lamb. She could inject unnecessary emotions and use him, then discard him.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
As he said, that possibility was indeed high.
If I hadn’t seen Kang Jiyoung and Kang Seungwon up close, I couldn’t have imagined it, but watching them made me newly appreciate his remarkable insight.
“That sounds good.”
He seemed to be referring to me calling him Grandfather, but he didn’t say anything more about it.
* * *
Hyung welcomed me at his home.
He looked at me strangely for visiting his house at such a late hour, but he opened the door and let me in.
He was holding a cocktail glass in his hand.
He had mentioned that making cocktails was his hobby, and it seemed he had been making one for himself at that hour.
“What wind blew you here at this hour?”
“I thought you might be bored.”
“What does my boredom have to do with you?”
“Still, I’m your only brother.”
He looked at me once and asked if I wanted the same drink.
“I don’t know much about cocktails.”
“Just try it and tell me what you think.”
“But you’ve been drinking from it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
A laugh burst out with a snort.
He must have known about the atmosphere at the company, but he treated me the same as before.
I tried a sip of the cocktail he had been drinking and immediately wrinkled my face.
“There are so many delicious cocktails, why is this one like this?”
“Oh my god. Don’t even start. What kind of elementary school taste buds do you have?”
Despite saying that, he mixed ingredients I would like and added quite elaborate decorations before giving it to me.
“It will be sweet and tasty. There’s plenty left, so have more after you finish this.”
As he said, the new one he made for me was sweet and delicious.
I didn’t ask for its name.
I had no intention of remembering it anyway.
He and I went to sit on the sofa with our cocktail glasses.
“Hyung, I always think about this. The time we actually sit here probably doesn’t even add up to a week in a year, right? Even if we add up all that time.”
“I guess so.”
“Then why do we always care about having a sofa? As if a home can’t exist without one. The same goes for the TV. We hardly watch it.”
“Why are you picking a fight?”
“No, I’m not picking a fight.”
“But occasionally guests like you come over. I can’t make them stand, and I can’t sit them at the dining table.”
“They could sit at the dining table.”
“Then why don’t you get rid of the sofa at your place? What’s the problem?”
I chuckled and took another sip of my cocktail.
He now responded to everything I said.
It didn’t seem like he was like that at first.
“Are the kids doing well?”
“Why don’t you contact them directly? Why? Don’t you keep in touch? I thought you all contacted each other frequently.”
“Still, I wanted to hear from you too.”
“Do you think I know something special? You probably know more accurately than I do.”
Despite saying that, he went on to boast about Crop Five.
There might be external successes that could be expressed in numbers, but rather than those, he spent time explaining how skilled they had become on stage.
“There was a problem with the sound equipment during the show, but all the members handled it well. They continued improvising talk until the problem was fixed, and they even went close to the audience, held their hands, and threw dolls to them. I don’t know when they prepared that. Even after the show ended, they didn’t come down from the stage right away and waved to the fans for a long time. They showed they were trying to create memories for the fans.”
At first, he seemed reluctant to talk, but at some point, he started rambling endlessly.
“The preparation for the single album is in full swing. Have you heard about the new concept?”
“No.”
“Would you like to see it then?”
Although I didn’t go there to talk about that, I couldn’t refuse to listen.
While talking, I was surprised to find out how deeply Hyung understood the members.
It was impressive how clearly he understood each person’s strengths and weaknesses.
“I was thinking about having Han Sijin and Seo Irun do unit activities. What do you think?”
“Those two aren’t close to each other.”
I said that, but I could already imagine how explosive their synergy would be.
“What about the other members? They rest?”
“Yeah. Those two seem to have a lot of energy left. I talked to them in advance, and they said they liked the idea.”
“Well, if it’s like that, I don’t see why not.”
He nodded.
“Oh, by the way, I’m going to have the kids wear crop T-shirts this time.”
I burst out laughing at that.
That love for crop T-shirts.
Hyung seemed really sincere about it.
“Oh right. Did I show you the pictures of my friends wearing crop T-shirts? Those guys finally succeeded in their diet.”
“Hyung, I’m not interested at all. I’ll consider what I’ve already seen enough.”
“No way. I can’t be the only one whose eyes are ruined. Please look at them.”
After some bickering, I ran away, and while I was up, I poured more of the remaining cocktail and came back.
“Ask me if there’s anything you want to know.”
When I said this to Hyung, he looked at me quietly.
It was an expression like he had a hunch about what I was going to say.
“Just tell me yourself. I don’t even know where to start with questions.”
In the end, I told him everything that had happened.
Hyung listened silently, and a few times he had shocked expressions.
But he didn’t seem to think what I was saying was a lie.
His expression changed in complex ways, but later he stared at me intently.
“You must be angry.”
“Who? Me?”
“Yes. We’re talking about you right now.”
“What about you? Aren’t you angry?”
“What reason do I have to be angry?”
I shared my thoughts, and he listened silently again.
“It’s not like any position is predetermined for anyone. Father received special treatment because he was Grandfather’s son, and he was in an advantageous position in the succession structure. But if Father couldn’t secure that position even with that, then that’s Father’s problem. Father has had countless opportunities to prove his abilities until now. But he failed.”
I was a bit shocked because I hadn’t expected Hyung to say something like that.
“It’s also funny to talk about succession structures already when Grandfather is still so healthy. No one knows what will happen in life; we might even die before them. Don’t you think?”
He seemed to think about it coolly like that.
“Noona did come to see me. She talked about that. I know why Noona told me such things. It was similar to what you said, but the point was completely different. I think she wanted to use me. I’ve always been easy for Noona to handle. So I guess she hoped I would rise up in anger. Did she want me to fight alone and die in battle? Did she think she could gain sympathy votes and secure a good position that way?”
He made another cocktail.
Watching him diligently making it even in this situation, I thought he was quite fascinating.
How could he be so composed even at a moment like this?
“Even if the moment comes for me to choose, I don’t think I would support Father. Not Father. I might understand if it were someone who hadn’t had a chance to prove their abilities, but Father had multiple opportunities and ruined them all. It’s different with Noona. But if we’re thinking about the head of Seyoung Group, Noona doesn’t suit that position either.”
“What about you, Hyung?”
“Are you joking?”
He said with an expressionless face, not even smiling.
“Ah… because you made me talk, I just forgot whether I put this in or not. It probably doesn’t taste good. You drink this one.”
“I don’t want to. I need to drink tomorrow too.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
In the end, I shared what he had brought.
The taste wasn’t bad.
Hyung made an irritated face, saying he probably put it in twice, and I laughed.
“By the way, I’m thinking of opening a cocktail bar. Don’t you think I’d be really good at it? I told Lee Wonjae to invest, but that bastard absolutely refuses.”
“Why don’t you just start it yourself? You have plenty of money.”
“No way. I shouldn’t fail alone. If others invest together, even if it fails, at least I find comfort in the fact that I’m not the only one failing.”
Thinking that Hyung’s mental world was something I couldn’t easily imagine, I stood up.
“I’ll go now.”
“Sure. Next time you come, bring some cocktail ingredients. I used too much because of you today.”
“Is that your way of asking me to come over again?”
“Anyway, having a young brain is good. You understand right away. I’m not going out. Go.”
Then he went back to making cocktails, and I waved goodbye and left the place.
On my wrist was the watch he had given me when we first met.
The warm feeling of having saved at least one good person stayed with me for a long time.
