Perfect Possession - Episode 59

As always, thick curtains were drawn over the window, blocking the morning sunlight from the outside. Of course, that didn’t mean the house was dark. On the contrary, every light was on, making it brighter than usual.

 

It was a little before noon, before Jaehoon left for work. Several reporters, thinking Jaehoon had already left, pushed their way to the front gate of the house.

 

Because of that, reporters who had caught wind of the situation rushed to the front gate with them. What they wanted wasn’t Seo-yeon, but a picture of Tae-yul.

 

Jaehoon had all the curtains in the house drawn and went outside himself to deal with the reporters. As if he had expected it, Jaehoon wasn’t flustered.

 

He warned that he would hold those who circulated Tae-yul’s photos legally responsible and sent the reporters away. But he told them to keep the curtains drawn while he sorted things out, as they didn’t know where the reporters might be hiding.

 

Seo-yeon smiled as she watched Tae-yul picking out blocks of the same color, then walked to the window. No matter how bright the house was, the living room with the sunlight blocked out on a sunny day brought back painful memories.

 

It was the memory of losing Tae-yul and lying in a room with the curtains drawn, unable to die. For Seo-yeon, the curtains were a medium that sent her back to that day’s room. She looked at the phone in her hand and then, as if determined, made a call.

 

-What’s wrong?

 

Jaehoon’s voice sounded urgently after only one ring.

 

“Jaehoon, would it be difficult for you if Tae-yul’s picture got out? Well, you’re still a celebrity businessman who gets a lot of attention. Then isn’t it only a matter of time before Tae-yul’s picture gets out into the world? Because his dad is so famous.”

 

-Are you picking a fight? It’s a kind of sounds like you’re subtly mocking me for being a celebrity dad.

 

“No, well, not entirely.”

 

Seo-yeon chuckled softly.

 

-Seo-yeon, do what you want to do. I’ll take care of the rest. You don’t want to hide, do you?

 

“Because there’s no reason to hide.”

 

-I was short-sighted. It’s okay if Tae-yul’s picture gets taken, so go play in the garden. I’ll increase the guards, though.

 

“Thank you. And I love you so much.”

 

-Uh… I’m at the office.

 

“What is it? The person who confessed their love in front of Chief Jung.”

 

-It’s okay if it’s just Chief Jung, but it’s the executive conference room.

 

“Oh… Go back to work.”

 

Seo-yeon quickly hung up the phone. She turned to Tae-yul and said loudly.

 

“Tae-yul, should we open the curtains and have fun?”

 

“Whatcha? Play.”

 

Tae-yul, who first exclaimed “Whatcha” as an exclamation, struggled to open the thick curtains with Seo-yeon.

 

“Madam.”

 

“Ms. Kim, turn off the unnecessary lights and open the curtains. Mr. Park, tell the staff to act as usual. Oh, and prepare plenty of food for the guards in the annex dining hall. Don’t forget the snacks. We’re just going to treat the reporters like they’re not there. Jaehoon said it’s okay. He said there’s no need to hide Tae-yul.”

 

Seo-yeon said with a bright smile. There was no point in hiding anyway. If they couldn’t live in hiding forever, Tae-yul had to get used to it.

 

“Mommy. No.”

 

Tae-yul, frowning deeply, ran over and shook his head vigorously, pulling on Seo-yeon’s arm.

 

“What’s no?”

 

Tae-yul, who pronounced ‘no’ as ‘no’, seemed annoyed that the curtains wouldn’t budge. Tae-yul puffed out his cheeks and pulled on the curtains with all his might in front of Seo-yeon.

 

But there was no way the curtains, which were over 2 meters long, would open wide with Tae-yul’s tiny hands. He looked at Seo-yeon with a frustrated expression and stamped his feet. Seo-yeon winked and smiled, then stood behind Tae-yul and grabbed the curtains with him.

 

“Tae-yul, we’ll open it when I say one, two, three.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“One.”

 

“One.”

 

“Two.”

 

“Two.”

 

“Three.”

 

“Tee!”

 

Tae-yul, shouting at the top of his lungs, pulled the curtains with Seo-yeon. Dazzling sunlight poured in through the wide-open window. Tae-yul clapped his hands in excitement. Seo-yeon took a video with her phone, finding his seal-like clapping with his butt sticking out too cute.

 

“I should only take pictures of him being this cute. I hope it doesn’t get edited strangely with something like evil editing?”

 

Unlike before, Seo-yeon was worried about the pictures of Tae-yul that the reporters would take.

 

“Don’t worry. No matter where or how they take the picture, Master Tae-yul will look good. Oh my.”

 

Ms. Kim covered her mouth and laughed as Tae-yul wiggled his butt.

 

Tae-yul showed off his seal-like clapping for a long time, excited that he had opened the curtains with his own hands.

 

***

 

Mi-ryung was seething with anger and couldn’t stand it, and when President Park went into Chairman Han’s study, her anxiety reached its peak.

 

As she had said before, Chairman Han was planning to execute a plan to threaten Jaehoon’s position in the company in order to show him who was boss. So Mi-ryung was convinced that he had called President Park into the house.

 

President Park was different from his father, Director Park, in character. He was more driven by greed than ability, and in some ways, he had something in common with Chairman Han.

 

Mi-ryung paced back and forth in her study, deep in thought, and then made a call somewhere.

 

-Hello.

 

“Where’s Jaehoon?”

 

-He’s in an executive meeting.

 

“Meet me, Chief Jung. I’ll go near the company in an hour, so come out without Jaehoon knowing.”

 

***

 

After ending the call, Hyun-shik was lost in thought with his phone in his hand. Originally, he was also attending the executive meeting.

 

But he was waiting for a possible call, following Jaehoon’s instructions to wait outside the conference room in case Seo-yeon had an urgent call.

 

As if to take advantage of that timing, Mi-ryung called. Hyun-shik thought that there was no reason for her to meet him without Jaehoon knowing.

 

Moreover, there was no way Mi-ryung would ask to meet him now to recruit Hyun-shik as a close aide. She had already failed once before, so Mi-ryung wasn’t stupid enough to try again.

 

Normally, Hyun-shik would have told Jaehoon about this without hesitation. But he felt that it was right to meet her first this time.

 

Hyun-shik checked that he had no other schedule an hour after his appointment with her and waited for Jaehoon to come out of the conference room.

 

***

 

Hyun-shik entered a Korean restaurant that was on break time. The owner of this place, a long-time regular of Do-young Group, silently led Hyun-shik to the room where Mi-ryung was.

 

He entered with a somewhat nervous face. Mi-ryung stared at Hyun-shik with cold eyes.

 

“Where’s Jaehoon?”

 

“Fortunately, I had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon that I had to attend alone. I told him it was moved up a bit, so he wouldn’t have noticed.”

 

“Sit down.”

 

“Madam.”

 

Hyun-shik bowed politely before sitting down.

 

“I will never betray Vice Chairman. If that’s what you’re thinking, I won’t sit down.”

 

It was Hyun-shik’s intention to leave before hearing anything.

 

“Sit down.”

 

Mi-ryung said firmly once again.

 

“Chief Jung’s sense has dulled. Can’t you tell just by looking? There’s only one cup of tea. You know what that means without me having to say it, right?”

 

Come to think of it, there was only one cup of tea. If she was trying to recruit the other person, there should have been a feast, not just a cup of tea. The fact that there was only one cup of tea meant that she had come out reluctantly.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Hyun-shik said that sincerely and sat across from Mi-ryung.

 

“I still don’t like Secretary Min, and I want to see my grandson, and I want Jaehoon to remain a key figure in the Do-young family and be my pride.”

 

Hyun-shik listened to her quietly.

 

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have the heart of a mother who thinks of her child at all. Jaehoon is a child I carried, suffered, and gave birth to. I want him to succeed more than anyone else.”

 

“Then leave Vice Chairman alone. Since I first joined the company and have been serving him, I have never seen him as happy as he is these days. If you have maternal love, shouldn’t you do that?”

 

Mi-ryung glared fiercely at Hyun-shik, who was presumptuously lecturing her. For her, maternal love for Jaehoon and the desire for him to be her pride were the same thing.

 

She quietly lifted her teacup.

 

“Chairman Han is planning to push Jaehoon out of the European project and put President Park in his place. Director Park probably knows about it too. He’s already finished talking with one of the Wingsder executives.”

 

“Is that true?”

 

Hyun-shik felt not anger but rage towards Chairman Han. The project was something Jaehoon had worked hard to achieve from start to finish.

 

“I don’t know who that executive is. As far as I know, there’s a clause that allows the Korean executive to be replaced if even one of the Wingsder executives in charge of this project raises a question, is that right?”

 

Hyun-shik didn’t answer. That clause was the same on the Wingsder side. The only problem was who raised the question first, it wasn’t an unfair clause.

 

Do-young was confident, so they didn’t argue against that clause. Hyun-shik clenched his fists, realizing that Chairman Han was using it.

 

“Stop it. I don’t want Jaehoon to leave Do-young Group because of Chairman Han’s crazy actions this time.”

 

“The board of directors won’t stand still.”

 

“Do you think Chairman Han would have just left the board of directors alone? The person who gave him the most harsh words was Director Park. Can’t you tell that he’s trying to use President Park, who has no ability, instead of Jaehoon to shut that person’s mouth? Unlike Chairman Han, Director Park loves his son dearly. Even if he’s a useless son.”

 

Mi-ryung’s words were correct.

 

“Stop it. I can’t let Jaehoon leave Do-young Group.”

 

“Why don’t you say it directly?”

 

Mi-ryung didn’t answer Hyun-shik’s words and got up from her seat. She picked up her bag, went to the entrance, and then stopped.

 

“I still can’t accept that child.”

 

Hyun-shik realized that Mi-ryung had not accepted Seo-yeon after all. Protecting Jaehoon would be separate for her. She doesn’t want her wings to disappear.

 

But Hyun-shik could predict what Jaehoon would do after he found out about this. If he wanted to remain a wing, he would want to be the wing of Seo-yeon and Tae-yul, not Mi-ryung.

 

“Thank you for telling me anyway, Madam.”

 

Hyun-shik bowed his head towards her, who had already disappeared.