Getting into the car that had been waiting in front of the restaurant, his tension finally eased. Seongjo closed the door with a bang, then leaned his body fully against the backrest.
“Executive Director-nim, why so early today…”
Kyeonghun, who had been asking in puzzlement, saw Seongjo’s face reflected in the rearview mirror and closed his mouth. It seemed he could tell from the expression alone that something serious had happened. Lee Seongjo replaced his answer with a light hand gesture. Kyeonghun tried to hide his fluster and started the car after turning on the ignition.
“Where shall I take you?”
“The company. …No, home. I need to rest a bit.”
The car was as quiet as a dead mouse. It was thanks to Kyeonghun, who would normally have turned on the radio to match Seongjo’s taste, perceptively keeping things silent. Even his breathing was careful as he drove as smoothly as possible.
His mind was complicated. His stomach was churning from car sickness, which only happened when his condition wasn’t good. Seongjo rolled down the back seat window all the way and cooled his head while facing the cold wind. Meanwhile, Kyeonghun in the driver’s seat kept looking back at Seongjo with a troubled face, but wisely didn’t open his mouth.
After quite some time had passed, Seongjo, having closed the window, suddenly threw out a question.
“You know Oh Seyeong.”
The sound of the fiercely rushing wind stopped and the car quickly became quiet. Kyeonghun seemed flustered for a moment, rolling his eyes, then quickly provided an answer.
“If you mean Oh Seyeong-nim… are you referring to the daughter of President Oh of Oseong Group?”
“What kind of person is she, do you know anything?”
“I only know what’s publicly known.”
“Tell me.”
Befitting a personal secretary who had Seongjo’s trust, Kyeonghun didn’t ask why. From his mouth flowed a smooth answer as if reading something written down somewhere.
“Yes. Oh Seyeong, age 26. The youngest of President Oh Hyeonmin’s three children. She has two older brothers, and with quite an age gap, she’s said to be doted on. She graduated from a music university in Germany, and it’s been a little less than a year since she returned to Korea.”
“She’s quite young.”
If she was twenty-six, there was a six-year difference between her and Seongjo or Yeongbeom, who had both turned thirty-two this year. Not a huge amount, but not particularly small either. On top of that, a precious daughter from a chaebol family who had studied music abroad. Just hearing that much was enough to predict her value in the marriage market. From an objective perspective, she was a woman who, in crude terms, was ‘out of Yeongbeom’s league.’
“What about her as a marriage partner? In Secretary Kim’s opinion.”
“Pardon…?”
“What do you think?”
At Seongjo’s out-of-the-blue question, Kyeonghun asked back in a very bewildered voice. Seongjo didn’t explain specifically and only urged an answer. Kyeonghun answered with some creaking.
“Uh, of course I think she would be good… Many groups are probably coveting her as a daughter-in-law. She’s beautiful, and also because President Oh Hyeonmin is extremely devoted to his daughter… there’s a lot of talk that he would willingly give a position to his son-in-law.”
He kept glancing through the rearview mirror at the back seat where Seongjo sat. When their eyes met through the mirror, Kyeonghun carefully opened his mouth.
“Perhaps to Oh Seyeong-ssi…”
“How about compared to me?”
“Pardon?”
“As a marriage partner.”
Cutting off his words, he threw out another question in return. Having seen Seongjo’s inscrutable expression, Kyeonghun answered once more carefully.
“I think she wouldn’t be a bad match for Executive Director-nim either. Of course, in terms of group status, Oseong can’t compare to Sejin Electronics, but as an individual, Oh Seyeong-ssi is expected to be family-oriented…”
“No, not that. Who needs a family-oriented woman?”
“Then…?”
“Say Oh Seyeong and I both proposed to Secretary Kim at the same time. Who would you marry?”
It was as if he could hear the sound of Kyeonghun’s eyes rolling busily. He was someone who knew full well what kind of relationship Seongjo and Jo Yeongbeom had. Both asking what Oh Seyeong would be like as a marriage partner, and asking which he would choose between Oh Seyeong and Lee Seongjo would come as no small shock to Kyeonghun. However, Kyeonghun seemed to make a quick judgment with his many years of experience assisting Seongjo, and though stammering, immediately provided an answer.
“I-I would of course… with Executive Director-nim! Not that I dare harbor any wicked intentions toward the Director-nim. I’ve just always respected you, and so when forming a household too…”
“Right? I’m the better option, aren’t I?”
Compared to Kyeonghun’s sincerity in answering while rambling but doing his best, Seongjo’s reaction was rather brief. However, it wasn’t an insincere tone. Rather, unlike the absurd question, Seongjo’s voice saying those words was sunken as if exhausted.
“But why then.”
The thoughts he had barely stopped seemed like they would swell like a snowball at any moment. Seongjo instructed Kyeonghun, who had wisely kept his mouth shut again, to turn on the radio, then soon closed his eyes with a sigh.
* * *
The most cherished grandson of the Sejin family owner.
The legitimate heir of Sejin Group.
Executive Director of Sejin Electronics, Lee Seongjo.
These were the words that described him. A life worthy of everyone’s envy just from outward appearances. In reality, Lee Seongjo’s life had been smooth. In terms of family, brains, looks, in every way. It wasn’t that there had been no hardships, but Lee Seongjo was an existence for whom even such aspects would sound like complaints on a full stomach to others.
On the other hand, what about Jo Yeongbeom?
Seongjo remembers the things he used to say. At one time, Yeongbeom lived with the phrase ‘Before I met you, I was nothing’ always on his lips. In reality, compared to Yeongbeom’s ambitions, his reality was quite ordinary and insignificant.
Though the son of a chaebol family, he was an illegitimate child. A man who had never even eaten a meal face-to-face with his father because he was the son of a concubine. Smart and diligent, but all he had was his body.
That’s why Yeongbeom was the biggest turning point in Seongjo’s life. Just his existence wrapped him in various scandals, and because of that, he had raised his flag against his father several times, so he could be called Lee Seongjo’s only flaw.
Thinking about it, at some point Yeongbeom started craving greater success. When was it? From when Seongjo parachuted Yeongbeom into an executive position at Sejin Group? From when the project he handled in that position achieved great success? As time passed that way and Yeongbeom gained a rather respectable standing, was it from when he first received contact from his father asking to see his face?
But Seongjo didn’t particularly care about Yeongbeom’s appearance of wanting more. Seongjo could give Yeongbeom the things he wanted, and even if he was a man with ambitions, he thought his love for Lee Seongjo himself was greater.
‘I want to become someone more suited to you. That’s why I want to succeed more…’
He didn’t believe those words of Yeongbeom’s one hundred percent. However, even if not one hundred percent, he firmly believed that his desire for success included no small amount of love for him. That at least he wouldn’t betray Seongjo himself… But what about him now?
The two first met during their university days. Same school, same department. Yeongbeom was the person who would leave handwritten notes and drinks at Seongjo’s library seat, and after his fervent courtship, it had already been 8 years since they had developed into lovers.
It might not be long enough to speak of eternity. There are plenty of couples who break up even after dating for over ten years. However, to Lee Seongjo, who was no ordinary person, 8 years was an incredibly solid period. Because he was someone to whom the word ‘settling down’ truly didn’t suit.
Even after becoming lovers, Yeongbeom devoted himself to Seongjo. Packing lunch boxes to eat together almost every day until graduation, or putting in effort to prepare events for every anniversary. These were straightforward efforts like gifting a watch strap bought with money earned through tutoring—an amount close to pocket change for Seongjo—or making loving video letters or folding a thousand paper cranes. For Seongjo, who had more than enough money, such efforts were just right.
‘Why did you buy all this?’
‘It might not be much to you, but please accept it. I wanted to do even the small things.’
The expression on Yeongbeom’s face when he said that came to mind. It was a shy, fresh smile. Back then, unlike now, Yeongbeom wore glasses and had a habit of wrinkling his nose bridge when he smiled. Seongjo tried to reach out toward Yeongbeom, who was smiling while slightly wrinkling his nose bridge, then realized he couldn’t catch him and opened his eyes wide.
…It seemed he had fallen asleep.
Had he even dreamed?
“Ha, fuck…”
Seongjo, who had cursed, covered his eyes with his hand. To dream such a dream. He was ashamed of himself, full of lingering attachment like a heartbroken teenager. Staying still in that state, lying down, Seongjo reached out to check his phone.
About a week had already passed since Yeongbeom had notified him of their breakup in the worst way.
In the meantime, Seongjo had spent a terrible week. He had holed up at home most of the time, and for about three of those days, he had briefly shown his face at the company. Since he originally handled work from home and only stamped his presence at the company when he felt like it, outwardly there was no difference from usual. However, the reality wasn’t like that. While holed up at home, he had mostly been asleep or had been drinking bit by bit.
Seongjo, who had been examining the records left on his phone with a sigh, slightly frowned after checking missed calls from unexpected people.
Right then, another call came in. Seongjo looked down at the name that appeared on his phone with a frown.
