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Jae-Yoon looked at the navigation bar. The distance left was 14km, about twenty minutes.
On the way to Pyeongchang, Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong did not say anything. Not about today’s broadcast or the family dinner. Regardless of the process or the outcome, Jae-Yoon thought of it as homework he had to endure.
“I feel it every time I get in. The car is very quiet.”
“Feeling uncomfortable?”
“No, it’s just... How should I put it? It’s like the outside world and inside this car are completely different realms. Only the space has changed, but it feels like I’ve truly become Min Ho-Jun.”
Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong stepped on the accelerator even harder at Jae-Yoon’s sensitive attitude.
Family... That’s kind of exciting.
Jae-Yoon was well aware of Min Ho-Jun’s place in the family and how he was treated. An unwelcome existence born out of wedlock between a father and a show host. The It’s Home Shopping business was practically started because of Ho-Jun’s mother; a man’s fleeting loyalty.
Just as that home shopping business could not have been pleasant, Min Ho-Jun’s existence was also a thorn in the side of his family.
“Still, he attends every family gathering, doesn’t he? I wouldn’t have, if I were him.”
“Aren’t you going now? It’s not to the point where insults are flying.”
Jae-Yoon burst out laughing at Lee Hyun-Woong’s answer and looked out the window. Jae-Yoon might have missed the sense of belonging that came with family, whether it was his family or Min Ho-Jun’s family.
That was what family was to Jae-Yoon. Even if it was just a simple meal on a low table, it was reassuring just to sit facing each other. It wouldn’t be a pity to give up everything he had to protect it.
A dining table with stew on it, the sound of people bustling about in the house… Jae-Yoon missed it terribly. Whether it was a commoner or a chaebol, wouldn’t the appearance of a family be similar? Of course because they were still family.
Perhaps, deep down, Jae-Yoon had the expectation that he was excited to feel the embrace of family after a long time.
“CEO Min Ho-Jun has arrived.”
The gate of the mansion, which was as tall and solid as a city gate, opened. Jae-Yoon stepped out, imagining that he was finally entering Min Ho-Jun’s world.
“It’s not as luxurious as I thought it would be.”
As Jae-Yoon passed through the spacious, almost desolate living room, and reached the dining room, he heard a loud noise.
It was no different from the conversation of an ordinary family. They were laughing, joking, and worrying about each other.
Jae-Yoon turned the corner with an excited heart and entered the dining room, but like a lie, when he appeared, the lively atmosphere in the dining room became quiet as if cold water had been poured over it.
He quickly scanned the people sitting in the dining room.
Eldest brother Min Kyung-Jun and his wife, Hong Ji-Hye. Right in front of Jae-Yoon was the second brother Min Tae-Jun, and his wife, Baek Su-Young. To the side was Ho-Jun’s sister Min Mi-Ra, and her husband, Ko Jeong-Hyeon. At the end of the table, the nephews sat and stared blankly at Jae-Yoon.
They sat at the huge dining table, which looked like something out of a TV show, with puzzled expressions on their faces and mysterious looks in their eyes.
Eldest brother Min Kyung-Jun chose to speak to Lee Hyun-Woong instead of Jae-Yoon, “You’re late.”
“Mr. Min came straight here after the broadcast ended.”
“Broadcast?”
“Yes. There was a live broadcast in the afternoon.”
“Since you’re the CEO, you’re going about doing childish broadcasting nonsense? The company in shambles? That’ll be a sight to see.”
Jae-Yoon’s mouth twitched. Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong blinked his eyes as if he knew everything and nodded his head slightly.
It was so oppressing, very oppressing. It was quite a skill to make such an expression in front of expensive food. Min Kyung-Jun’s sharp gaze followed Jae-Yoon as if everything about him was unpleasant.
Jae-Yoon nonchalantly sat down next to Ho-Jun’s second brother, Tae-Jun. The empty seat felt like a representation of Jae-Yoon’s presence. He hadn’t expected a warm greeting, still, they were brothers. Shouldn’t they at least give him a glance? Even the treatment of a dog next door would have been better than this.
“Anyone who’s not a Min should go out now, right?” Second brother Min Tae-Jun, glanced at Jae-Yoon before looking up at Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong with the sarcastic remark.
Jae-Yoon put his folded hands on the table and looked straight at Min Tae-Jun’s face with a relaxed expression. Jae-Yoon looked just like Min Ho-Jun. No matter how much Min Ho-Jun was a half-sibling, he could not hide the distinctive aura that was unique to the Mins’.
Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong bowed his head politely, but dryly replied, “I was just about to go out. I hope you have a pleasant dinner, sir. Well, then.”
“Even a seven-year-old child would be better than this. Why are you so anxious that you follow Min Ho-Jun around for nothing? To an outsider, it might seem like you’re a watchdog assigned by the brother.”
Lee Hyun-Woong knew it was a futile provocation, so he turned around and was about to go out the exit, but Min Tae-Jun continued to speak without paying any attention.
“But it’s strange, isn’t it? If you’re a watcher, you should actually watch. I don’t understand. Have you properly watched anything so far? Brother, have you heard anything?”
“Let’s eat.”
“No, but really, I’ve always found Lee Hyun-Woong more suspicious than Min Ho-Jun. What the hell are you up to? Huh? Is it only me who’s uncomfortable with a non-Min person hanging around? Ho-Jun. Hey, Min Ho-Jun! What do you think?”
Min Tae-Jun turned his head, swinging his left arm across the table.
Although Section Chief Lee Hyun-Woong nodded again and was about to go out, Min Tae-Jun’s last words cut off the patience Jae-Yoon had been holding on to.
Criticism about my birth? Yes, I’ll accept it. A half-brother? The country will not welcome him either. But it is hard to accept criticism about my work.
“If you’re going to play boss while bringing the chief around and grumbling, you should do it properly. Don’t go around poking your nose into things here and there, saying you’re doing fieldwork. What’s the point of a broadcast that doesn’t work?”
Jae-Yoon looked at Lee Hyun Woong and flicked his right hand. “Mr. Lee, give us some space. We have something to talk about between us Mins.”
Jae-Yoon stirred the soybean paste soup in front of him with his chopsticks. Why should he have to endure such petty quibbling when he could be enjoying wealth and honor? More importantly, what was Min Tae-Jun so afraid of that he had to show malice towards his sibling, who was much younger than him?
Jae-Yoon thought long and hard before beginning to speak calmly.
“Being a Min is great, second brother. You really like being a Min. Only Mins should be in this house, right? But what to do? Mrs. Hong Ji-Hye, Mrs. Baek Su-Young, ah, and Mr. Ko Jeong-Hyeon aren’t Mins. Should I ask them to leave now? Mr. Lee, on your way out, why don’t you take those who aren’t Mins with you?”
“Hey, has our Ho-Jun finally started to speak up today?” Min Tae-Jun grinned.
Jae-Yoon was curious about the unusual situation. What kind of change of heart had taken place? If not, was it the position that made the person?
“Since we’re talking about Mins and Lees, I have one more thing to say, the Parks are a bit annoying. At this rate, I wonder if It’s Food and It’s Home Shopping will become Park’s companies.”
As Jae-Yoon targeted Mr. Park, the older brother, Min Kyung-Jun, stepped in to mediate. This was not the kind of talk that should be thrown around the dinner table like this.
“Let’s stop this. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Lee. Why don’t you go now?”
“Wait a minute, Ho-Jun. That’s exactly how you should be. Do you know how worried I was because I thought you were still a spoiled brat?”
Jae-Yoon found this dinner table scene very awkward. He knew all about the relationship with Ho-Jun’s second brother, but this kind of treatment was not sarcasm, but clear hostility.
Wait a minute… I’ve seen this kind of situation a lot. That’s right!
It was very similar to the behavior of the son of the president of OhGa Kitchen. That tone, confident of being above others, the shaky gaze, fearing his position was threatened, and the irregular breathing as if he was unable to control his emotions. An arrogant person who looked down on the world just because he belonged to his father’s bloodline. Tae-Jun was a man with a similar knot. It was not difficult to deal with guys like that.
“Don’t worry at the dining table, do it at the company. You seem to have targeted the wrong thing.”
Jae-Yoon took a big spoonful of soybean paste soup. The unique, mellow taste of the homemade soybean paste reminded Jae-Yoon of old times. He could not believe he was missing his mother’s cooking in the middle of all this.
“What did you just say? Company?”
“If It’s Hotel does well this year, it will probably overtake Galaxy. So, you should invest more in food and drink. Brother, have you been to the Galaxy Hotel bakery? Man, people lined up just to buy an 80,000 won strawberry cake. It’s Hotel should follow suit. If strawberries are awkward, peaches will be in season soon, so that could work too.”
“Our Min Ho-Jun has grown a lot. He even worries about the company.”
“It’s not worry. It’s just a matter of understanding the reality. The operating profit turned negative three years after the representative changed. At this rate, not only the top three, but even the top five will be in danger.”
“Hey Ho-Jun, the hotel business is–”
Before Min Tae-Jun could make any excuses, Jae-Yoon quickly cut him off.
Where did such futile provocations come from? Jae-Yoon had rolled around in the dirt for seven years. Such insults were nothing but a laughing matter to Jae-Yoon.
“I don’t know about the hotel business, but just looking at it, it’s obvious. You put out a holiday package, and Galaxy comes out with a holiday ancestral rites package? What about last summer? A poolside party ended in an electrocution accident, tanking the stock price. Oh! The hotel goods lucky box was the highlight. Filled with garbage no dog would bite, it got blasted by YouTubers. Customers don’t fall for such tricks anymore.” { E/N: I can’t be the only one who looks forward to finding where the chapter title comes from. }
“Our Ho-Jun must have swallowed rat poison today. Why this sudden outburst?”
Min Ho-Jun was the type of person who would stay silent no matter what provocation he faced. Min Tae-Jun, who had thought of Min Ho-Jun’s actions as nothing more than pathetic struggles, quickly adjusted his stance, when the person in front of him suddenly pulled out a counterattack.
“Rat poison? Oh dear. With so much food here, who would be crazy enough to eat rat poison?” { E/N: Ate him up! }
Jae-Yoon picked up a piece of meat pancake and took a big bite, then continued speaking with a chuckle, “Let’s not do this at our dinner table. It’s making the other family members uncomfortable. It’s embarrassing to act like this in front of the children. We only get together once a month, so let’s just eat comfortably and go.”
Then, Jae-Yoon calmly surveyed the dining table. He licked his lips at the sight of dried yellow corvina. It was the most important thing to be cautious about during the meal. Min Ho-Jun disliked fish. He could instantly recognize any dish with fish and would not touch it again after a single spoonful. His taste was indeed peculiar.
He tried to focus on his meal, ignoring the stares that seemed to be saying, “Isn’t he a vegetarian?”
They would be seeing each other often from now on. If he was going to be treated like this for the next two years, it would be better to show his true colors from the start. It would be more suspicious if he suddenly developed a rash at such an odd time.
“Ahem.”
At the elder brother, Min Kyung-Jun’s nod, the older sister-in-law got up from her seat. Baek Su-Young whispered something to her husband, Min Tae-Jun, and got up from her seat with the nephews.
Looking at the grumbling children, Jae-Yoon felt sorry for them for no reason. What was their fault? They were just eating. { E/N: 😭 }
“You should say hello before you go. Isn’t it good manners to greet adults?”
“Uncle, we’ll go ahead.”
“Kids, greeting is the basics of social life. If you do this elsewhere, you won’t hear good things, right? They might smile in front of you, but behind your back, they’re sharpening knives. Don’t give them a reason to find fault. There’s nothing more disadvantageous in life.”
“Yes.”
Whether the younger brother’s family returned or not…
Jae-Yoon still slowly ate his meal. He could feel Ho-Jun’s sister and brother-in-law’s sidelong glances.
“How are you doing lately, Mrs. Min? I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to stop by the department store. I heard the industry praise you for picking a good model. Who would’ve thought to use a gymnast as a model?”
“I didn’t know you were so interested in department stores. Thank you for finding out. But Ho-Jun, didn’t you have lunch? Mr. Kim, could we have a bit more meat pancake, please?”
It’s Department Store. It was one of the affiliates that maintained the most stable ranking. The management followed the founder’s intention that a woman best understood women’s minds.
Jae-Yoon knew that Ho-Jun had a relatively good relationship with his sister and brother-in-law in the family.
Jae-Yoon’s sister, who had married after an accident in college, already had a college-aged child. Jae-Yoon’s gaze moved to the niece, Ha-Ri.
“Ha-Ri?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to study abroad?”
“What are you talking about, Jun? Are you ignoring me a little because I went to a local university?” Mi-Ra asked.
Jae-Yoon thought that having a sister nagging him to stop talking nonsense and eat quickly was the first time he felt like a family.
“I’ll be out in the yard for a minute.”
“Haven’t you quit smoking yet?”
Somehow, Ho-Jun’s sister, Min Mi-Ra’s nagging was nice to hear. Jae-Yoon had thought that nagging among family members was a sincere concern.
The sun had completely set, and the lights were on in the yard, which Jae-Yoon looked down at quietly. The neat landscaping, as if it had been carved out of a chestnut, made him realize anew how carefully this place was managed. Even the table and chairs placed in a corner of the yard seemed to be elaborate.
Jae-Yoon put out his cigarette in the ashtray that looked like a stone statue in the corner and got up from his seat, when he heard someone approaching.
It was Ho-Jun’s niece, Ha-Ri.
“Uncle, quit smoking. Haven’t you heard of no smoking?”
“Is it no smoking or no joking? Either way, let’s head inside. It’s getting chilly out here. Don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“Uncle, you seem a bit unusual today. Could you share what’s on your mind?” The college student’s insightful gaze landed squarely on Jae-Yoon.