“Shall we head straight to the residence?”
As Jaeha, having finished his meeting with Mujin, got into the car, a secretary asked. Observing the uncertain time to return to the office, he seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding quietly.
Jaeha looked out the window, recalling Mujin’s words to me.
“Do you have any thoughts about taking over Hojin?”
Grandfather had asked me if I had considered taking over Hojin. It was an opportunity to reclaim Hojin after four years since giving up the successor position to Jihan.
However, Jaeha couldn’t readily respond to his words.
In reality, the succession position wasn’t so urgent for Jaeha. Becoming the head of the group was not his ultimate goal.
Jaeha sought to reclaim Hojin because Jihan and Mrs. Oh coveted him.
It was the only revenge Jaeha could take for his late mother, who had tragically passed away.
‘Successor…’
As he thought about Hojin, memories surfaced of the time he had first talked alone with Yeojin.
“You’re serving as the CEO of KBC Holdings, right now?”
“I’ll give you bigger wings than Hojin. You need investment capital for corporate restructuring, right?”
At that time, Jaeha was amazed to learn that Yeojin knew she was currently in the position of CEO of KBC Holdings.
Not only that, but he also found it puzzling that she, just an announcer, knew so much about complex corporate affairs.
So, at first, he misunderstood that Yeojin had taken formal succession training at W Group.
‘Perhaps because it’s her second life…’
She was initially a woman full of doubts, but now, just by looking at her gaze, Jaeha felt like he could understand what she was thinking.
As Jaeha reminisced, a smile naturally formed on his lips.
Yeojin had said that H Media Holdings, which she had built, would thrive for the next few years.
‘Now, I should gradually start working on Hojin’s matters.’
Jaeha immersed himself in his thoughts as he recalled the memories.
“Sir, about what you mentioned last time.”
While Jaeha was gazing at the landscape beyond the car window, he turned his head at the sound of the secretary’s voice.
“The request from President Seo’s side was urgently submitted, and it seems that the test results will be available by the end of today.”
“Today?”
There had been reports lately that Jihan was showing strange symptoms. Although it was understood that he exhibited signs of anxiety after the news of the intellectual property theft at Intech, it seemed excessive.
Hence, he had instructed a secretary to keep an eye on him.
Jihan, who was half-distracted, seemed to be caught in the secretary’s surveillance net.
“It’s strange. Why are they suddenly requesting a genetic test…”
Listening to the secretary’s continued report, Jaeha smiled quietly.
He had anticipated to some extent when he heard the rumors that Jihan would soon step down from the CEO position.
But he never expected that Mujin would directly broach the subject with Jihan.
The cause of Jihan’s current symptoms wasn’t related to Intech but rather his birth circumstances.
“Do you have any questions? Rather, about Dr. Shin. Find out how established he is within Daejin Hospital.”
“Dr. Shin?”
As the topic suddenly shifted to Dr. Shin, a secretary looked at Jaeha with surprise.
It was puzzling that Mujin, who had been healthy, suddenly showed signs of a severe illness. Also, the abrupt change of Dr. Shin conducting the examination at his residence had been bothering him.
‘Of course, I might be overly suspicious…’
It was better to firmly grasp and move on with whatever it was.
“Sure. As soon as possible, and investigate without anyone knowing, if possible.”
“…”
“Including people around him.”
Given Jihan’s current state, any unusual activity wouldn’t be surprising. Moreover, if someone were planning something dangerous, a person with many vulnerabilities would be the easiest to exploit.
A heavy silence filled the meeting room from morning till now.
Despite the successive presentations of urgent issues by the headquarters director, Mujin’s face remained cold.
It was unsettling that there was no feedback from Mujin, who should have given some kind of response to adjust accordingly. Therefore, the executives sitting together felt uneasy, as if walking on a thorny path.
Now, only one report remained.
At the end of the lengthy regular reports, only the founding anniversary event for the 60th anniversary was left.
“Lastly, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding next month, a founding anniversary event is scheduled.”
The headquarters director brought up the topic while cautiously observing Mujin’s reaction.
Due to the articles related to the recent Intech incident, the internal atmosphere was as if it were a portrait gallery.
With the overlap of the Intech merger and the overlapping scandal, promotional articles even appeared in the media, leaving no room to ignore the founding anniversary event.
The headquarters director glanced at the two empty seats in front.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
