43. Imitation

“Preparation?”

Haein was so dumbfounded by what she heard that she stood rooted to the spot, staring at Seyoung.

What was the purpose of conveying such words to someone she barely knew? Haein narrowed her eyes, waiting for Seyoung’s next words.

“Yes. Do you know that the succession process is currently underway? Chairman Park has his eye on Soohyun oppa the most.”

Seyoung, satisfied that she had Haein’s attention, leaned back on the sofa and continued leisurely.

“So, for oppa, keeping the Chairman in a good mood is the top priority, wouldn’t you say? A marriage without love, well, that’s a common thing in Taeseong anyway.”

“......”

“So, once all the preparations are done, they’ll probably divorce, and maybe...”

Seyoung paused for a moment, then said with a smile in her voice,

“Oppa and I are very close. Hmm, I heard you’re in a bit of a difficult situation right now, so I just wanted to let you know how much time you have left as a terminally ill wife to enjoy what little you can.”

Seyoung, who had repeatedly emphasized her closeness with Soohyun, stood up.

Haein recalled her first meeting with Seyoung, who had hugged Soohyun as soon as she saw him, and Soohyun, who hadn’t stopped her. It didn’t seem wrong to say they were close.

At the same time, an uncontrollable displeasure surged up, and Haein spat out the words she had been holding back.

“Well, I’ll take care of myself. I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s having an affair with a married man in broad daylight.”

“Excuse me? An affair? Is it an affair to hug an oppa I grew up with like a sibling because I was happy to see him?”

Seyoung scoffed at Haein’s words and responded casually. So Haein said one more thing with a calm expression.

“I’m not talking about you greeting my husband. You know there are many eyes watching at the main house.”

I know what you’re doing with Jung Daeho.

Haein looked at Seyoung with a meaningful gaze. Only then did Seyoung seem to realize what Haein was talking about, and her face turned pale.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

Seyoung brazenly asked back with an innocent face and then turned around.

“Goodbye.”

Haein watched Seyoung’s back as she added a farewell. Seyoung walked straight towards the front door without even acknowledging Haein’s greeting.

***

‘How did she know?’

Seyoung’s heart was anxious as she returned to the company. She bit her nails every time her car stopped at a traffic light while driving.

It had already been several years since she met Jung Daeho.

He had come to see Seyoung from time to time after she went to study in France, making all sorts of excuses like business trips. For Seyoung, who had been mercilessly dumped by Soohyun and couldn’t let go of her attachment to the Taeseong family even after going abroad, it was a golden opportunity.

Daeho, with whom she had enjoyed secret dates and close physical contact abroad, had promised marriage, but that promise became impossible to keep when he had a arranged marriage last year.

Still, Seyoung didn’t care.

She believed that even if it was an affair, Jung Daeho’s heart belonged to her. And she didn’t care about all the scandals surrounding Jung Daeho, or the rumors that he was a womanizing piece of trash who went after women every night.

In any case, Jung Daeho was a child of Taeseong.

Seyoung was prepared to do anything if it meant she could bury herself in Taeseong’s wealth, even if it meant becoming his hidden lover.

The problem was her grandfather, Im Woosik. Woosik, who didn’t know about the relationship between Daeho and Seyoung, urged Seyoung to catch Soohyun.

The reason was that Soohyun was the one to succeed Taeseong and the only grandson Chairman Park couldn’t arbitrarily arrange a marriage for.

‘Ha. What do I tell Grandpa? If I say I’m having an affair with Jung Daeho, I might get beaten to death.’

The hand holding the steering wheel trembled.

Seyoung hadn’t forgotten that Woosik, who one day appeared before Seyoung in the orphanage, had introduced himself as her grandfather and raised her, giving her good clothes and food.

But Seyoung was an adult now. She had completed her studies abroad with a scholarship from Taeseong and now held a Taeseong business card that any ordinary person would look up to.

She would never go back to that orphanage.

However, Seyoung was still afraid of Woosik.

Woosik had raised Seyoung by beating her mercilessly in places where people couldn’t see. He thoroughly educated her from behind so that she, who had grown up without proper home education and as she pleased, could naturally mingle with the children of the Taeseong family.

Whether she wanted to or not, Seyoung, who had acquired all sorts of dining etiquette and the attitude of dealing with adults, was able to survive by flattering Chairman Park and living even in the remote parts of the main house.

Growing up in the main house, Seyoung deeply realized that she had to cling to someone here to survive.

She ate at the same table as Chairman Park’s grandchildren, but she knew from the beginning that she could never be on the same level as them.

And as she went through puberty and felt the attention that some of her male cousins gave her, her survival instinct was properly awakened.

If she could catch any one of them, she could survive without Woosik.

She just didn’t know that Jung Daeho, whom she had caught with that thought, would turn out to be a rotten rope.

Seyoung sucked all ten of her fingers to the point where there were no more nails to bite, then parked in the underground parking lot of the Taeseong headquarters building. She had something to do before going up to the company.

Seyoung called Woosik.

-What’s wrong?

“Grandfather. I have something to tell you.”

-Say it.

Seyoung recalled Woosik’s black eyes and swallowed hard. No matter how she thought about it, there was no resemblance at all. Especially when she thought of his black pupils, which were larger than ordinary people’s, she felt goosebumps all over her body at the snake-like image.

“...I’m on my way back from Soohyun oppa’s house right now.”

-Jung Soohyun? Shouldn’t you be at the company right now?

“Ah, well, oppa had some documents to deliver home, so I went instead...”

-Did he ask you to?

“No, well... actually...”

Perhaps because she had been beaten so much as a child, Seyoung felt her whole body shrink with tension whenever she stood before Woosik. It was the same even when she was on the phone, so Seyoung’s voice crept inwards.

For some reason, this old man was good at seeing through Seyoung’s lies, so it was better to just tell the truth and get beaten sooner rather than later.

“Someone else was supposed to go, but I ended up saying I’d go instead...”

-You brat! Didn’t I tell you to stay quiet!

“B-but Grandpa told me to approach Soohyun oppa first.”

-You stupid bitch. You need to use your head. How could you do something so obvious!

“I, I’m sorry.”

A sigh, close to a groan, could be heard over the receiver.

-So, what do you want to say?

“You told me to look into that Yoon Haein or whatever her name is, too.”

-So?

“But she knows that I’m seeing Daeho oppa.”

-Jung Daeho? You’re seeing Jung Daeho?

A barrage of furious curses erupted from the receiver, echoing loudly. Even after a torrent of every kind of “bitch” and outdated insults, Woosik continued to seethe for a long time.

“......What should I do?”

Seyoung asked Woosik dejectedly for his instructions.

-You just stay quiet. Stay as quiet as a dead mouse. Got it?

“Yes...”

She replied weakly, and Woosik suddenly lowered his voice and asked softly.

-......What do you think will happen with Jung Daeho?

“He tells me every day that he wants to remarry me...”

-Seyoung-ah.

“Yes, Grandpa.”

Woosik’s voice had a strange metallic, windy sound mixed in, making it sound even more ominous the lower he spoke. Even though it was broad daylight, Seyoung felt goosebumps rise on her arms as she answered.

-Let’s not lose either Jung Daeho or Jung Soohyun.

“Huh?”

Seyoung’s eyes widened at her grandfather’s reaction, which was contrary to what she expected, as she thought he would tell her to break up immediately.

-Just don’t get caught. Daeho’s wife is the daughter of a media company owner. Be careful.

“Yes.”

-The Chairman is condoning you and Soohyun getting closer. Don’t forget the reason why you were able to join the secretarial office.

“But...”

-Trust your grandfather. I have something in mind.

Woosik hung up, saying they would talk about the rest at home. Seyoung looked at the disconnected phone screen for a moment, then put it in her bag and got out of the car.

***

‘Rotten bitch.’

Im Woosik gritted his teeth after hanging up.

If he just sat still, she was in a position to bring him a big catch, but her being happy with catching just a small fry was utterly pathetic.

‘I told her to catch Jung Soohyun, but she’s rolling around with a bastard like Jung Daeho.’

Woosik had noticed the unusual way Jung Daeho looked at Seyoung, but he had never dreamed that their relationship would develop into something like that.

Jung Daeho was the eldest son of Chairman Park’s youngest daughter, Jung Jae-eun, but he had never caught Chairman Park’s eye or entered the main house’s office.

In Im Woosik’s view, he was someone who would be mercilessly thrown out of Taeseong along with Jung Jae-eun when Chairman Park retired or died. And more than anything, Jung Jae-eun herself was not someone to be trifled with.

If they couldn’t get Soohyun, the next best option would have been Jung Jaehoon’s sons, but both of them had already started early married life through arranged marriages two years ago.

‘In the end, only that Soohyun bastard is left.’

Woosik nodded, reaffirming that his thoughts were correct.

Jung Taehoon was sickly, and his legal wife had passed away a long time ago. Oh Hye-yeon hadn’t gained much trust from Chairman Park and was wasting her time nursing Taehoon.

Chairman Park was already well past his eighties. No matter how much they talked about the 100-year life, an aging person couldn’t win against the younger generation. Chairman Park was a setting sun, and Im Woosik needed to quickly find another host to parasitize.

Woosik sat down, opened a book on divination, and began to re-examine the fortunes of the Taeseong family members for this year.

“Excuse me, Teacher Im. The Chairman is looking for you.”

Just as he was writing down various things, someone called for him from outside the room.

“Now?”

“Yes. He says to come quickly.”

Chairman Park was calling for him more frequently. Im Woosik cleared his throat once and then got up from his seat and went outside the room.

The room where Woosik stayed was in a secluded part of the main house. It was where the live-in employees stayed and also where Seyoung had spent her childhood.

He had once been dissatisfied with his treatment, but after Chairman Park stepped back from the front lines and set up a separate office in the main house, it became an unintended advantage. It was very easy for Chairman Park to call him at any time.

“Isn’t it his nap time?”

“They said he went to sleep, but he woke up after not sleeping for long.”

“How does his mood seem?”

“Well... it seems a bit different from usual.”

The face of the employee delivering the message looked somehow uneasy.

“What is it?”

“...It seems like he can’t quite recognize people.”

A faint smile appeared on Woosik’s face for a moment, but it soon disappeared.

With a serious expression, he hurried towards Chairman Park’s office.