He was hoping for dinner, but he got a lunch appointment.
Naturally, the atmosphere in the house was bound to get busy.
‘Even if that’s the case, only me and the Jin siblings will be busy….’
Since Choi YuSeong skipped breakfast and would eat lunch outside, the two housekeeper aunts who managed his house had less work to do.
Fortunately, although there were only two hours left, the luxury villa complex in Hannam where Choi YuSeong lives was not far from the luxury house in Yeonhui which could be seen as the main family.
‘Since it’s not the rush hour, about 30 minutes is enough.’
Still, he shouldn’t arrive right at the appointment time.
“Then we will depart right away.”
“Please do your best.”1
“…Yes.”
After leaving the house at around 11 o’clock, Choi YuSeong, who got on the back seat of the car that Jin DoYoon had prepared in advance, was overwhelmed with a strange feeling as he saw the back of Jin YuRi sitting in the passenger seat.
‘Even if he’s a somewhat neglected child in the house, he lived in a luxury villa priced more than 5 billion won, the car is an official vehicle that the Italian president rides, the driver is a B-rank Awakener, and an A-rank Awakener sticking around as escort just in case.’
Also, there was more than 5 unit of supercars owned by Choi YuSeong in the villa parking lot.
There were no other luxuries than this.
It was a life that had nothing to be lacking except for the fact that he might die if things really go wrong by simple mistakes.
‘Although that is the problem.’
What could he do even if he had many things?
They were useless things that disappear when you leave this world.
‘Because I don’t have to keep all of these things as they are, let’s live for a long time.’
He forgot about his lost past life.
There was no way to get it back, so what could he do with it?
As much as he wanted to be faithful to the present state, instead, Choi YuSeong’s priority was survival no matter what.
Even if he only had half of what he enjoys now in terms of wealth, from the standpoint of the orphan Choi YuSeong, he was very satisfied.
“By the way… May I ask what kind of favor you are going to ask?”
Did she felt Choi YuSeong’s gaze?
Jin YuRi, who sat in the front and looked straight, asked carefully.
“Oh, there’s nothing really great. I’m just going to tell him let’s get along well in the future.”
“…Yeah?”
Jin YuRi was embarrassed and asked. Jin DoYun of course couldn’t hide his emotions and his feet on the accelerator stepped a little harder in an instant.
“It’s a father and a son. Is it weird?”
“If it’s common…”
“I understand enough, about what young master means.”
Jin DoYun replied by cutting off Jin YuRi’s words.
If Choi YuSeong did not want to reveal anything about his real intention, the two siblings had no right to pry.
Although Jin YuRi still looked straight ahead, her fine eyebrows frowned and stretched repeatedly. Jin DoYun came out like this because it was not good to talk about it any longer.
“It’s really nothing and that’s all in it. When I suddenly thought about it, I had lived so carelessly, but what does a father think when he sees a son like this… And I feel sorry too.”
Vrooom-!
“Oppa!”
The surprised Jin YuRi raised her voice as the engine speed suddenly increased.
Jin DoYun, whose face turned red in embarrassment, urgently stepped off from the accelerator.
“I, I am sorry.”
“I’m surprised… Pay attention a little.”
“I will be very careful.”
“Thanks.”
Replied the similarly surprised Choi YuSeong, who swept down one side of his chest and shrugged his shoulder.
The eyes of the two siblings once again briefly moved towards each other at the same time.
‘Thanks?’
‘I didn’t misheard it, right. Oppa?’
That was not a word that would come out of the mouth of a famous good-for-nothing.
The Jin siblings, who matched their eyes, carefully glanced to look at Choi YuSeong’s state2.
Today’s Choi YuSeong was very different from the good-for-nothing appearance they knew.
***
Choi YuSeong and his party entered a luxury house with leaves embroidered on a high wall in a land area of over 500 pyeong3.
“Young master, it has been a while.”
The one who welcomed their visit was the nanny that YuSeong followed like his mother when he was a child.
She was full of elegance at the age of 60, despite the small wrinkles and white hair everywhere.
‘When I think about it, this good-for-nothing guy didn’t have a mother since childhood too.’
Unlike his other siblings, Choi YuSeong’s mother left the world somewhat earlier.
It was engraved in his memory as an accident, but he thought there will be no variable because there was no special point from Choi YuSeong’s point of view, who completely read the novel’s first volume.
Was that the reason?
Choi YuSeong’s feeling, seeing his nanny, was really strange.
“Are you doing well? I am sorry for not being able to see you directly often.”
It was not just empty words.
Even in the memories of the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong, the nanny was warm and cozy. She was a person he wanted to protect.
However, there was no way for the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong to find the courage to come home.
“What do you mean with sorry. I’m just grateful that our young master has grown up so well and became good looking4 like this. But what to do? You must want to eat… The chairman said to left the meal and told me to bring you right away to the office… ”
“If father said so, I have to follow it.”
“You must be very hungry… I will start to set up the table, so come to the kitchen after finishing the conversation. Still, you came home so at least have a drink then go back.”
“I will do that.”
Choi YuSeong, who showed a bright smile, entered the spacious house and walked through the long corridor.
Choi WuJae’s office was located in the quietest and deepest place on the first floor like an attic, but somehow it felt simple for the head of a conglomerate group.
Of course, there was no such feeling in most of the hearts of those who entered at the call of Choi WuJae.
The door located in a corner not exposed to the sun felt like a den inhabited by the devil.
Gulp.
Even Choi YuSeong who came with his own feet was no different.
‘I thought it would be okay…’
His body hardened when he tried to open the solid wood door with a dark feeling.
It was due to the fear of his father in the memory of the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong.
‘Let’s keep going.’
It was the road he took anyway.
It was not worth it to come this far if he turned around just because he was scared.
‘Think calmly. Still I… probably knew Choi WuJae better than the original Choi YuSeong.’
Choi YuSeong, who recalled Choi WuJae in the novel, took a breath and carefully knocked on the solid wooden door.
“Come in alone.”
As if he had been waiting, a rather concise mid-tone voice came.
‘Don’t be nervous.’
In this family, no, even in the whole world, there were only a few people as strong as Choi WuJae to make them on his side.
Volition sparkled in Choi YuSeong’s eyes as he turned the doorknob and entered the room.
***
The chairman of Hyesung Group, Choi WuJae.
When talked about him concisely, it could be said that he was a weathered5 figure.
Although he could be called a weathered figure who overcame some difficult circumstances of a conglomerate family, Choi WuJae was a special case.
During the period when the group was shaken along with the economic crisis, he forcibly took down his uncle, the former chairman, and took office at the young age of 35.
After that, he arose on top of Hyesung Group at once with strong leadership and charisma then suppressed all the backlash and gossip.
It was a clear evaluation of the public that the Hyesung Group would not have succeeded to become a conglomerate6 without Choi WuJae.
And the current Hyesung Group was a super conglomerate with annual sales of 350 trillion and an operating profit of over 30 trillion.
Because of this, even a good-for-nothing like Choi YuSeong can spend money like water.
Although that’s what was written in the novel, the fact that he had attained a legendary achievement remains unchanged.
The most important thing was that Choi WuJae was no longer a character in a novel.
‘He’s real.’
The moment he entered the office where Choi WuJae mainly stayed, Choi YuSeong felt as if the space inside was completely isolated from the outside.
‘Even the smell was different.’
Was it because it’s full of books like a library?
The scent of old paper stimulated his sense of smell right away.
The next thing that came to his eyes was Choi WuJae, who sat in front of a tall window and lit by sunlight from the back.
His body was really small7.
However, his presence was never small.
From the moment that Choi YuSeong noticed Choi WuJae, it felt like he was in the entire office.
It felt as if a giant beast was crouching in a small crevice called the office.
‘Let’s stay calm, be calm.’
Choi YuSeong, who couldn’t even feel the cold sweat, refined his breath.
“It’s been 3 years.”
It was Choi WuJae who spoke first.
Choi WuJae told Choi YuSeong to live on his own and be independent when he was 19, and he had never visited him since leaving until he was almost 21 now.
However, he suddenly came to visit Choi WuJae now.
Nevertheless, should he be glad because he had spoken first to him?
Choi YuSeong shook his head in the heart and looked at Choi WuJae’s black eyes.
YuSeong, who was quick-witted since his orphan days, was barely able to read the emotions inside.
‘Curiosity along with anger.’
Fortunately, the situation was not worse than he thought.
Curiosity means that there was some interest, and the meaning of anger can be inferred in two ways.
One was the disappointment of the good-for-nothing son that created a bunch of bad issues after leaving the house.
‘And perhaps a regret for the son who hasn’t seen his face for a long time.’
Either of the two was not bad.
When he thought about it, even in the original novel where he had an unspeakable accident, Choi WuJae did not stop supporting Choi YuSeong until the end.
‘It was a difficult part to understand in terms of logic.’
The original novel he transferred to, The Master Who Return to Modern Times, actually had a lot of holes in many ways.
Nevertheless, he read the first volume until the end because it was interesting even if the setting was somewhat incomprehensible and the logic collapsed.
‘What a relief.’
As he faced the novel’s character Choi WuJae in front of him like this, he thought he did well reading all The Master Who Return to Modern Times to the end.
He should make good use of that information and throw some words.
Choi WuJae’s next words continued toward the worried Choi YuSeong.
“If it’s money, there’s should be no complaint because you can spend as much as you want. If it’s talent, it would be meaningless because you don’t even do anything. Then, did you come to ask for honor?”
Was that throwing a question, or his self-QnA?
After listening to the unknown words of Choi WuJae, Choi YuSeong chose his first pitch as a fastball.
“I came here because I wanted to ask for something.”
“I suppose so.”
Choi WuJae, who clicked his tongue, nodded calmly.
He knew better than anyone else that there weren’t any children that come without asking for anything in the first place.
“I want to try to help with the company’s work.”
The second pitch was a breaking ball. Honestly, if he just said that he came to improve the relationship, wouldn’t it be no much different from the reaction of the Jin siblings?
If he frequently stamped his face on company’s matters, things would be better than now.
‘It’s because the 30-minute distance has been put off for 3 years.’
As there was a phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’8, the opposite situation was always applied as expected.
“Don’t say bullshit, what do you want?”
“… That is really all.”
Out of the two emotions in Choi WuJae’s eyes, curiosity, began to slowly disappear.
Instead, the emotion that filled the space was the remaining anger.
Then how could he turn that feeling into a liking?
‘You have to choose and throw it well.’
In the freezing atmosphere that made his back cold, Choi YuSeong swallowed his saliva and picked a choice he liked the most among the choices he had prepared.
He was hoping for dinner, but he got a lunch appointment.
Naturally, the atmosphere in the house was bound to get busy.
‘Even if that’s the case, only me and the Jin siblings will be busy….’
Since Choi YuSeong skipped breakfast and would eat lunch outside, the two housekeeper aunts who managed his house had less work to do.
Fortunately, although there were only two hours left, the luxury villa complex in Hannam where Choi YuSeong lives was not far from the luxury house in Yeonhui which could be seen as the main family.
‘Since it’s not the rush hour, about 30 minutes is enough.’
Still, he shouldn’t arrive right at the appointment time.
“Then we will depart right away.”
“Please do your best.”1
“…Yes.”
After leaving the house at around 11 o’clock, Choi YuSeong, who got on the back seat of the car that Jin DoYoon had prepared in advance, was overwhelmed with a strange feeling as he saw the back of Jin YuRi sitting in the passenger seat.
‘Even if he’s a somewhat neglected child in the house, he lived in a luxury villa priced more than 5 billion won, the car is an official vehicle that the Italian president rides, the driver is a B-rank Awakener, and an A-rank Awakener sticking around as escort just in case.’
Also, there was more than 5 unit of supercars owned by Choi YuSeong in the villa parking lot.
There were no other luxuries than this.
It was a life that had nothing to be lacking except for the fact that he might die if things really go wrong by simple mistakes.
‘Although that is the problem.’
What could he do even if he had many things?
They were useless things that disappear when you leave this world.
‘Because I don’t have to keep all of these things as they are, let’s live for a long time.’
He forgot about his lost past life.
There was no way to get it back, so what could he do with it?
As much as he wanted to be faithful to the present state, instead, Choi YuSeong’s priority was survival no matter what.
Even if he only had half of what he enjoys now in terms of wealth, from the standpoint of the orphan Choi YuSeong, he was very satisfied.
“By the way… May I ask what kind of favor you are going to ask?”
Did she felt Choi YuSeong’s gaze?
Jin YuRi, who sat in the front and looked straight, asked carefully.
“Oh, there’s nothing really great. I’m just going to tell him let’s get along well in the future.”
“…Yeah?”
Jin YuRi was embarrassed and asked. Jin DoYun of course couldn’t hide his emotions and his feet on the accelerator stepped a little harder in an instant.
“It’s a father and a son. Is it weird?”
“If it’s common…”
“I understand enough, about what young master means.”
Jin DoYun replied by cutting off Jin YuRi’s words.
If Choi YuSeong did not want to reveal anything about his real intention, the two siblings had no right to pry.
Although Jin YuRi still looked straight ahead, her fine eyebrows frowned and stretched repeatedly. Jin DoYun came out like this because it was not good to talk about it any longer.
“It’s really nothing and that’s all in it. When I suddenly thought about it, I had lived so carelessly, but what does a father think when he sees a son like this… And I feel sorry too.”
Vrooom-!
“Oppa!”
The surprised Jin YuRi raised her voice as the engine speed suddenly increased.
Jin DoYun, whose face turned red in embarrassment, urgently stepped off from the accelerator.
“I, I am sorry.”
“I’m surprised… Pay attention a little.”
“I will be very careful.”
“Thanks.”
Replied the similarly surprised Choi YuSeong, who swept down one side of his chest and shrugged his shoulder.
The eyes of the two siblings once again briefly moved towards each other at the same time.
‘Thanks?’
‘I didn’t misheard it, right. Oppa?’
That was not a word that would come out of the mouth of a famous good-for-nothing.
The Jin siblings, who matched their eyes, carefully glanced to look at Choi YuSeong’s state2.
Today’s Choi YuSeong was very different from the good-for-nothing appearance they knew.
***
Choi YuSeong and his party entered a luxury house with leaves embroidered on a high wall in a land area of over 500 pyeong3.
“Young master, it has been a while.”
The one who welcomed their visit was the nanny that YuSeong followed like his mother when he was a child.
She was full of elegance at the age of 60, despite the small wrinkles and white hair everywhere.
‘When I think about it, this good-for-nothing guy didn’t have a mother since childhood too.’
Unlike his other siblings, Choi YuSeong’s mother left the world somewhat earlier.
It was engraved in his memory as an accident, but he thought there will be no variable because there was no special point from Choi YuSeong’s point of view, who completely read the novel’s first volume.
Was that the reason?
Choi YuSeong’s feeling, seeing his nanny, was really strange.
“Are you doing well? I am sorry for not being able to see you directly often.”
It was not just empty words.
Even in the memories of the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong, the nanny was warm and cozy. She was a person he wanted to protect.
However, there was no way for the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong to find the courage to come home.
“What do you mean with sorry. I’m just grateful that our young master has grown up so well and became good looking4 like this. But what to do? You must want to eat… The chairman said to left the meal and told me to bring you right away to the office… ”
“If father said so, I have to follow it.”
“You must be very hungry… I will start to set up the table, so come to the kitchen after finishing the conversation. Still, you came home so at least have a drink then go back.”
“I will do that.”
Choi YuSeong, who showed a bright smile, entered the spacious house and walked through the long corridor.
Choi WuJae’s office was located in the quietest and deepest place on the first floor like an attic, but somehow it felt simple for the head of a conglomerate group.
Of course, there was no such feeling in most of the hearts of those who entered at the call of Choi WuJae.
The door located in a corner not exposed to the sun felt like a den inhabited by the devil.
Gulp.
Even Choi YuSeong who came with his own feet was no different.
‘I thought it would be okay…’
His body hardened when he tried to open the solid wood door with a dark feeling.
It was due to the fear of his father in the memory of the good-for-nothing Choi YuSeong.
‘Let’s keep going.’
It was the road he took anyway.
It was not worth it to come this far if he turned around just because he was scared.
‘Think calmly. Still I… probably knew Choi WuJae better than the original Choi YuSeong.’
Choi YuSeong, who recalled Choi WuJae in the novel, took a breath and carefully knocked on the solid wooden door.
“Come in alone.”
As if he had been waiting, a rather concise mid-tone voice came.
‘Don’t be nervous.’
In this family, no, even in the whole world, there were only a few people as strong as Choi WuJae to make them on his side.
Volition sparkled in Choi YuSeong’s eyes as he turned the doorknob and entered the room.
***
The chairman of Hyesung Group, Choi WuJae.
When talked about him concisely, it could be said that he was a weathered5 figure.
Although he could be called a weathered figure who overcame some difficult circumstances of a conglomerate family, Choi WuJae was a special case.
During the period when the group was shaken along with the economic crisis, he forcibly took down his uncle, the former chairman, and took office at the young age of 35.
After that, he arose on top of Hyesung Group at once with strong leadership and charisma then suppressed all the backlash and gossip.
It was a clear evaluation of the public that the Hyesung Group would not have succeeded to become a conglomerate6 without Choi WuJae.
And the current Hyesung Group was a super conglomerate with annual sales of 350 trillion and an operating profit of over 30 trillion.
Because of this, even a good-for-nothing like Choi YuSeong can spend money like water.
Although that’s what was written in the novel, the fact that he had attained a legendary achievement remains unchanged.
The most important thing was that Choi WuJae was no longer a character in a novel.
‘He’s real.’
The moment he entered the office where Choi WuJae mainly stayed, Choi YuSeong felt as if the space inside was completely isolated from the outside.
‘Even the smell was different.’
Was it because it’s full of books like a library?
The scent of old paper stimulated his sense of smell right away.
The next thing that came to his eyes was Choi WuJae, who sat in front of a tall window and lit by sunlight from the back.
His body was really small7.
However, his presence was never small.
From the moment that Choi YuSeong noticed Choi WuJae, it felt like he was in the entire office.
It felt as if a giant beast was crouching in a small crevice called the office.
‘Let’s stay calm, be calm.’
Choi YuSeong, who couldn’t even feel the cold sweat, refined his breath.
“It’s been 3 years.”
It was Choi WuJae who spoke first.
Choi WuJae told Choi YuSeong to live on his own and be independent when he was 19, and he had never visited him since leaving until he was almost 21 now.
However, he suddenly came to visit Choi WuJae now.
Nevertheless, should he be glad because he had spoken first to him?
Choi YuSeong shook his head in the heart and looked at Choi WuJae’s black eyes.
YuSeong, who was quick-witted since his orphan days, was barely able to read the emotions inside.
‘Curiosity along with anger.’
Fortunately, the situation was not worse than he thought.
Curiosity means that there was some interest, and the meaning of anger can be inferred in two ways.
One was the disappointment of the good-for-nothing son that created a bunch of bad issues after leaving the house.
‘And perhaps a regret for the son who hasn’t seen his face for a long time.’
Either of the two was not bad.
When he thought about it, even in the original novel where he had an unspeakable accident, Choi WuJae did not stop supporting Choi YuSeong until the end.
‘It was a difficult part to understand in terms of logic.’
The original novel he transferred to, The Master Who Return to Modern Times, actually had a lot of holes in many ways.
Nevertheless, he read the first volume until the end because it was interesting even if the setting was somewhat incomprehensible and the logic collapsed.
‘What a relief.’
As he faced the novel’s character Choi WuJae in front of him like this, he thought he did well reading all The Master Who Return to Modern Times to the end.
He should make good use of that information and throw some words.
Choi WuJae’s next words continued toward the worried Choi YuSeong.
“If it’s money, there’s should be no complaint because you can spend as much as you want. If it’s talent, it would be meaningless because you don’t even do anything. Then, did you come to ask for honor?”
Was that throwing a question, or his self-QnA?
After listening to the unknown words of Choi WuJae, Choi YuSeong chose his first pitch as a fastball.
“I came here because I wanted to ask for something.”
“I suppose so.”
Choi WuJae, who clicked his tongue, nodded calmly.
He knew better than anyone else that there weren’t any children that come without asking for anything in the first place.
“I want to try to help with the company’s work.”
The second pitch was a breaking ball. Honestly, if he just said that he came to improve the relationship, wouldn’t it be no much different from the reaction of the Jin siblings?
If he frequently stamped his face on company’s matters, things would be better than now.
‘It’s because the 30-minute distance has been put off for 3 years.’
As there was a phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’8, the opposite situation was always applied as expected.
“Don’t say bullshit, what do you want?”
“… That is really all.”
Out of the two emotions in Choi WuJae’s eyes, curiosity, began to slowly disappear.
Instead, the emotion that filled the space was the remaining anger.
Then how could he turn that feeling into a liking?
‘You have to choose and throw it well.’
In the freezing atmosphere that made his back cold, Choi YuSeong swallowed his saliva and picked a choice he liked the most among the choices he had prepared.
