“What do you mean by ulterior motive? It’s just an opinion.”

“That’s right. Father, Se Ah’s father is just worried.”

Lee Hun Tae chose to listen silently for now. Jung Hye Soo opened her mouth, looking at Mi Jung.

“Elder sister. What do you think? Jae Ho is a talented actor. He’s at an age to be actively working.”

Mi Jung smiled gracefully.

“Well. I want Jae Ho to live doing what he wants to do.”

It was true. When Mi Jung brought Jae Ho into this house, all she wished for was safety and happiness.

The days were difficult but peaceful. Jae Ho grew up properly without causing any trouble, and being naturally smart, he always did well in his studies even without much support. Sometimes it pained her heart that he resembled his father in that aspect, but she still wanted to raise him as a child unrelated to Tae Myung until the end.

But when the fire incident occurred and Jae Ho was nearly sacrificed, Mi Jung became afraid of everything.

How could a poor mother with no power protect her child? If Jae Ho had lived in the Tae Myung household from the beginning, he would have always been accompanied by bodyguards. No, he wouldn’t have even gone on a school trip to a poorly constructed building in the first place.

So she came to Tae Myung. She knew the suddenly revealed secret of his birth would confuse Jae Ho, but at that time it seemed like the best option. Thanks to that, Jae Ho’s life unfolded in the best way possible, so she didn’t regret it.

She herself never achieved happiness with the person she loved. That’s why Mi Jung always felt like there was a hole in her heart. She hoped Jae Ho wouldn’t be like that. She wished for him to be a person whose heart was completely filled with happiness.

“If that’s the case, it would be acting, wouldn’t it? Jae Ho seems to like acting the most. Right, elder sister?”

Jung Hye Soo drove the point home.

Jae Ho, who had been silently listening to what his uncle’s family was saying in unison, spoke in a low voice.

“I’m planning to cut back on acting a bit.”

He smiled brightly on purpose while picking at the soft fish meat.

“I should start management as grandfather wishes. He must have had a reason for designating me as his successor.”

The usual Jae Ho wouldn’t have said this much, but after hearing suspicions about his father’s death, everything about Lee Jin Hyuk started to bother him. He’d have to investigate to know for sure, but his heart, where defiance had already sprouted, was taking a crooked path on its own.

“I majored in business management in America in the first place to inherit the succession.”

“Now all of a sudden?”

Lee Jin Hyuk immediately reacted, raising his eyebrows.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, uncle.”

“…”

“Since you’re insisting on giving it, I think I’ll take it.”

Lee Hun Tae suddenly burst out laughing. At the sound of laughter that rang out without any words, Jung Hye Soo’s eyebrows twitched.

“I agree too.”

Lee Jin Myung, who had been slurping his soup from the bowl, set it down with a bang and chimed in loudly. He didn’t forget to pat Jae Ho’s shoulder twice.

“Hey. You thought well.”

Seeing Lee Jin Hyuk’s brow furrow, Lee Jin Myung crossed his arms.

“It was originally Jin Woo hyung’s position. It’s right for Jae Ho to have it.”

“You…”

“Our poor hyung.”

Lee Jin Myung continued speaking while casually tidying his rice bowl.

“He lost both his wife and son, and left so emptily. If we truly love our eldest brother, we shouldn’t covet what belongs to Jae Ho. What do you think, second eldest brother?”

“What?”

“Did you love our eldest brother too?”

For a moment, silence fell over the dining table. Jin Hyuk’s family couldn’t bring out the many words they had prepared like weapons.

The strangely flowing stream of words reached the family rather than Tae Myung. If there were any objections here, it seemed the atmosphere would consider it a rebellion of a brother who didn’t love his elder brother. Lee Jin Hyuk, who had intended to disparage Jae Ho’s qualifications as a successor by bringing various grounds, cleared his throat softly.

“What kind of talk is that.”

“Yeah. That’s good.”

Sensing that the atmosphere had become ridiculous to bring up the topic of succession, Lee Jin Hyuk furrowed his brow as he put down his spoon.

“No, but love and business management are separate…”

As Lee Se Ah started to speak, pouting her lips, Jung Hye Soo lowered her hand under the table and lightly pinched her thigh. If they argued that way, this side would have even less to say. If Lee Hun Tae decisively separated love and management, Lee Jin Hyuk would lose rather than gain anything more.

The big and small losses that Lee Jin Hyuk had boldly incurred in his younger days were quite significant, but Lee Hun Tae had never made an issue of it. The truth was that there were plenty of talented individuals who were much better than his son Lee Jin Hyuk in terms of ability.

He couldn’t be seen as an uncle trying to steal his nephew’s rice bowl. He needed the justification of a decision for Tae Myung. Lee Jin Hyuk finally drank some water, thinking he needed to gather more forces.

“The soup is a bit salty.”

Se Hee, who had been watching the situation, tried to lift the mood with a forced smile.

“But the meat is really delicious. Grandfather, please have some more.”

No one wanted to continue the meal anymore. Everyone awkwardly smiled and wrapped up the gathering.

**

The family gathered in the living room after finishing the meal. Naturally, business talk came up, but Jae Ho wasn’t very interested and just kept looking at the clock. Considering the distance to Taean, it would be the middle of the night even if he left now.

“Son. Will you stay the night?”

“No, I have something to do.”

“It’s late though? You should go in the morning if possible.”

“I’m sorry.”

Although she looked disappointed, Mi Jung didn’t ask further. She wasn’t the type to force anything in the first place. Instead, she left her seat for a moment, saying she would pack some things for him. Jae Ho couldn’t stop her from doing that much.

“Tae Myung Insurance’s quarterly performance isn’t good. Even the directors have differing opinions on the cause of the poor performance.”

As expected of a managing director from the strategy department, Se Ah brought up the performance issue first in a worried voice. There was an intention to make up for the awkward atmosphere from earlier, and also a purpose to dampen Jae Ho’s spirit by bringing up a field he wasn’t familiar with.

Jae Ho was recalling the private conversation he had with Lee Hun Tae before the meal.

‘Is there no possibility that a woman approached you with a purpose? I worry more as I get old. I’m asking just in case. What woman wouldn’t want the heir to Tae Myung?’

Hearing those words, Jae Ho laughed loudly for the first time since coming home.

‘That woman doesn’t even know I’m your grandson. And I was the one who approached her.’

‘She’d like it if you said you were from a chaebol family.’

She wouldn’t like it.

He knew she would be several times more burdened. She was a woman who stepped back, feeling burdened even by actor Lee Jae Ho. As if believing misfortune would rub off on her, she kept trying to stand far away.

Even on the day she suddenly asked if he was from a chaebol family, it was like that.

‘Why do you keep asking such things? Would you like it if I were from a chaebol family?’

To the question thrown half-jokingly, Da Jung thought for quite a while.

‘…No. I hope you’re not. Something like a chaebol.’

‘Why?’

‘If you’re too high up, I can’t see you well.’

‘You can come up. I’ll hold your hand.’

‘What? Why are you pretending to be from a chaebol family? Are you teasing me again?’

Da Jung kept trying to look at the ground. The long-standing misfortune had eaten away at her confidence, making it difficult for her to fly. Jae Ho wanted to help her find that lost self-esteem bit by bit. He didn’t care how long it took.

So he decided to walk even more slowly. So that his presence beside her wouldn’t be any burden.

Without rushing, forcing, or any promises, he wanted to silently stay by her side.

I won’t be any burden, Da Jung. So don’t push me away.

“What does Jae Ho think?”

Lee Hun Tae’s voice broke his reverie. Jae Ho raised his head to meet his gaze.

“Pardon? I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“Tae Myung Insurance is in danger of falling out of the top 5 in the industry. Se Ah thinks the loss ratio in auto insurance is the cause.”

“Ah.”

“I asked because I’m curious about your opinion too.”

“Oh my, Jae Ho’s opinion?”

Se Ah curled up the corners of her mouth and raised her head brazenly. There was a subtle mockery implying how much could an actor know.

Putting down his coffee cup on the table, Jae Ho quietly opened his mouth.

“I don’t think it’s related to the auto insurance loss ratio. That can’t be considered Tae Myung’s problem. Isn’t it a common headache for all non-life insurance companies? We need to look for the cause of poor performance internally.”

“Then?”

“It seems urgent structural reform is needed. For example, last year Company K actively increased digital channels to improve their system so that various tasks could be processed digitally. In the process, enormous labor and business expenses were reduced. We don’t need to follow it exactly, but I think we should learn from it sufficiently. If we just use business expenses efficiently, many things will be resolved. If we gradually change so that simple tasks can be easily processed on mobile, I predict effects will appear as early as next year.”

Se Ah’s mouth fell open without changing color, and Jung Hye Soo turned her head away completely. Lee Jin Myung gave a small applause.

“Good thinking. Director Choi.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Director Choi, who had come in at some point and was standing next to Lee Hun Tae, answered politely.

“Organize Jae Ho’s opinion and find a way to reflect it in Tae Myung Insurance.”

“Understood.”

Afterwards, Lee Hun Tae asked in-depth questions covering overall content from construction and food to media and energy, and Jae Ho gave innovative answers. On the other hand, Se Ah either couldn’t answer properly or only gave theoretical opinions.

As this went on, Jae Ho and Se Ah were naturally compared. Just as the gap was about to widen further, Jung Hye Soo naturally cut off the flow.

“Right. By the way, when does Jae Ho’s vacation end?”

“It’s almost over.”

“When you come to Seoul, come to the house. Let’s have a meal together. Your uncle is always thinking of you.”

Jae Ho inwardly sneered, but put a gentle smile on his lips.

“Thank you for your concern.”

The gathering was going on longer than expected. Jae Ho repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist without stopping. It was a behavior that came out when he was frustrated or anxious. In fact, more than half of the current conversation wasn’t registering clearly.

The first day apart since meeting Da Jung ended in complete failure. He only realized that he was an uncontrollable severe separation anxiety patient.

He missed her.

It was the peak of autumn. He wondered what kind of day she had spent by the sea dyed completely orange.

“If it’s alright, may I leave first since it’s getting late?”

Finally, Jae Ho got up first, dusting off his seat.

“Hey! You should have a beer with your uncle.”

Knowing he wouldn’t change his mind, Lee Jin Myung still tried to keep him unnecessarily. Mi Jung also looked disappointed. Jae Ho, showing a rare troubled expression, promised for next time.

Lee Hun Tae stood up for Jae Ho’s sake.

“Let Jae Ho do as he wishes. Let’s wrap up as well.”