Younger Man at Work - Chapter 49

“Elder brother!”

Seung Hyun, who ran into Seung Joo in the hallway, approached him cheerfully and spoke.

“I heard today is your first official day back? I’m glad you’ve returned in good health.”

“Thanks.”

Kwon Seung Joo’s tone showed no particular hostility or wariness. He simply replied with a cool gaze, as if dealing with a stranger he had no interest in, and then went on his way. Watching his elder brother’s large retreating figure, Seung Hyun thought to himself.

‘Huh, would you look at that?’

Yesterday he had such a deathly expression when he saw me with my arm around Yoon Eun Seo’s shoulder, but in just one day he’s putting on a mask of normalcy again.

Come to think of it, it was a shame I was the only one to enjoy that great sight yesterday.

‘Should I gather some spectators this time?’

Suddenly, a good idea occurred to Seung Hyun.

*

The Chairman Kwon’s residence in Pyeongchang-dong.

At the dinner table, Seung Hyun spoke up to Chairman Kwon.

“Father, elder brother officially returned to work today.”

“Hmph, so he finally crawls back on his own when his money is cut off.”

Chairman Kwon spoke with displeasure. Not a single word of concern, even perfunctory, for his son who was supposedly recovering from a car accident.

“So, how is Seung Joo’s condition? I hope there are no lingering effects from the accident.”

Only the mother continued her act as the benevolent stepmother of the world. Of course, it was in front of the father.

“He looked fine to me.”

“Still, car accidents can cause internal damage… I should send him some health tonics, dear.”

Seung Hyun subtly brought up the main point.

“Anyway, since elder brother has returned, I was thinking we should have a celebration.”

“What kind of celebration?”

“It’s December, isn’t it? We could have a year-end party, and also celebrate his return as CEO. We could invite business leaders and have a congratulatory party. It would be even better if you attend, Father.”

Putting everything else aside, Chairman Kwon already looked displeased at the idea of a party celebrating his son’s return.

“That little punk, what has he done to deserve a celebration? He should be grateful we didn’t kick him out.”

Having anticipated this, Seung Hyun appealed to his mother.

“Mother, why don’t you come along too? It’s a party, so couples are welcome.”

Ji Yeon Hwa, with her deep second wife complex, loved attending official events as a couple. Seung Hyun understood his mother’s feelings. Anyone would feel the same after being in a position where they couldn’t say ‘This is my husband, my father’ and had to stand back in the rear for so long.

“Oh my, should we?”

As expected, Yeon Hwa was overly enthusiastic.

Deliberately planning it as a party where partners were invited, rather than a stiff gathering of businesspeople, wasn’t just to use his mother to persuade his father.

Seung Hyun intended to bring Yoon Eun Seo to the event.

He was already trembling with anticipation, wondering what expression Kwon Seung Joo would make when he saw Yoon Eun Seo entering the party on his arm.

Of course, that wasn’t the only purpose. There was an even bigger goal.

On the day Kwon Seung Joo appeared at the company to rescue Yoon Eun Seo from the security team, he greeted each executive who rushed over.

[Kim Executive Director, I’m glad to see you looking well. Are there no aftereffects from the surgery?] [Choi Managing Director, I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your child’s wedding. Belated congratulations.] [Director Park, how was your business trip to Dubai?]

Thinking about it now, he must have memorized information about each person in advance. After all, you could see photos and names of all the executives just by looking at the company groupware.

‘But what if it’s not just company executives, but a gathering with a large number of outside guests from headquarters?’

How could he possibly memorize information about all the business leaders in advance when he didn’t even know who would be attending? He was bound to be exposed eventually. It wasn’t just about tattling to father Chairman Kwon, but revealing to everyone present, to the whole world.

That Kwon Seung Joo, CEO of Daewon Construction, had amnesia and had become an eighteen-year-old child!

“Honey, Seung Hyun wants to do this for his brother’s sake. I’d like to wear a dress after so long too. Please?”

Yeon Hwa acted coquettishly towards her husband. Chairman Kwon, who had recently been caught in a tight spot by Yeon Hwa, finally nodded.

“Alright. You take charge and give it a try. I suppose we’ll have to speed up your personnel appointment too. You can’t be handing out business cards as a regular employee while hosting guests.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Seung Hyun smiled faintly at his father, who always acted as if he would give his liver and gall to his wife and son.

*

A week had passed since CEO Kwon Seung Joo officially returned to the company.

They said the CEO had been incredibly busy during that time, catching up on work he couldn’t do before. People were saying that if you looked up at the building from outside, the lights in the CEO’s office were on until two or three in the morning every day.

Eun Seo was still staying at the hotel. She thought he might have returned to his original home now that he was back at work, but she was afraid that Seung Joo might still be there, just in case.

She didn’t have the courage to face Seung Joo. She planned to return home only after confirming that he had really gone back to his own place.

In the meantime, she ran into Seung Joo once more at the company. It was in front of the elevator.

“Hello, sir.”

Eun Seo greeted him like that. In the past, he would always reply ‘Keep up the good work’ in the same situation. But this time, he didn’t even spare her a glance, let alone respond.

‘Well, of course he must hate me. After all the harsh words I said, trampling all over his pride.’

Eun Seo forcibly pulled herself together as she felt a sigh coming on.

Isn’t this what I wanted? Hang in there even if it’s with the power of hating me, and finally climb up to that position you wanted.

For a week, she had been staying at a luxury hotel, eating all her meals through room service, and buying clothes from the department store right next door. Of course, all expenses were charged to Kwon Seung Hyun’s card.

There was a thought that leaving evidence might come in handy someday, and also a message that I’m a materialistic woman like no other in the world, so please realize that and get sick of me.

However, no matter how much money she spent, Seung Hyun not only didn’t complain, but even took Eun Seo to a high-end boutique and told her to choose a dress.

“What’s the dress for?”

“There’s a year-end party tomorrow evening. Since my brother has safely returned, it’s also a congratulatory party.”

As rumored since he joined the company, Seung Hyun had been promoted to manager a few days ago and became the team leader of a newly established department called Planning Team 2.

“Why should I go to such an event with you, Team Leader?”

“Because Kwon Seung Joo is the host of that party.”

Even Seung Hyun, who usually indulged Eun Seo no matter how coldly she acted, became serious about this matter.

“Showing a friendly appearance with me in front of my brother. That’s Yoon Eun Seo’s role, have you forgotten?”

Kwon Seung Hyun was right. This was the role she had chosen.

Eun Seo stopped arguing and obediently wore the dress he picked out. Seeing Eun Seo changed into an evening gown, Kwon Seung Hyun smiled with satisfaction all over his face.

“It suits you well.”

Eun Seo could bet that what he was looking at now was not her, but his brother’s expression they would encounter at tomorrow’s party.

*

The party was held on Saturday evening in the grand ballroom of the Grand Hotel.

Eun Seo, who was already staying at the Grand Hotel, took the car sent by Kwon Seung Hyun to the beauty salon. After receiving makeup rivaling that of a bride and putting on the dress, she arrived back at the Grand Hotel where Kwon Seung Hyun escorted her to the ballroom.

“Didn’t you say the party starts at seven?”

It was barely past six o’clock. Wanting to arrive as late as possible, she asked, and Seung Hyun replied.

“My brother is the host, but since I planned the party, I need to be there earlier than the guests.”

At the entrance, event staff asked for signatures on the attendance list. While checking his name on the list, Seung Hyun asked.

“My brother?”

“The CEO has already arrived and is inside the ballroom.”

“Is that so? I should greet him while there’s no one around.”

Suppressing the urge to run away immediately, Eun Seo glanced at the attendance list and suddenly started at a name that caught her eye.

− DH Interior CEO Kwon Ji Hwan

Why is an outsider on the list?

“Excuse me.”

She pushed Seung Hyun aside and hurriedly scanned the attendance list. As expected, most were external guests, not Daewon Construction executives. She thought it would naturally be just company people since it was a founding anniversary party, but what were all these business people doing here?

At that moment, Eun Seo realized as if struck by lightning.

The true purpose of this party.

Flaunting their relationship in front of Seung Joo to hurt him was merely a secondary goal. The real purpose was to expose Seung Joo’s memory loss in front of people. He might have managed to memorize and respond to company executives somehow, but there was no way he could memorize all these people.

She could vividly imagine Seung Joo, surrounded by strangers, unable to do anything.

Eun Seo gritted her teeth and grabbed Seung Hyun’s arm. She dragged him to a secluded spot, threw his arm away, and shouted.

“You despicable human being!”

Seung Hyun feigned innocence.

“What did I do?”

“You planned this party on purpose, knowing this would happen! How could Seung Joo possibly know all those people!”

Eun Seo felt like her eyes were turning inside out. Did I say such cruel things to Seung Joo, hurting him, just to see this?

“You promised not to touch Seung Joo!”

“I only promised not to tell Father, that’s all.”

Kwon Seung Hyun shrugged and asked back.

“Am I responsible if he gets exposed because he can’t handle himself properly?”

Eun Seo bit her lip until it bled. She never trusted this person to begin with, but she didn’t expect him to break his promise so quickly. She wanted to buy time for Seung Joo to adjust to the company, even if just a little…!

She felt dizzy imagining what Seung Joo would go through in a moment.

If it was going to be like this, it would have been better to let him tattle to Chairman Kwon. Rather than being exposed as a child in front of all these people and being humiliated!

Glaring at Seung Hyun with murderous eyes, Eun Seo grabbed her dress with both hands. Then she ran into the party hall.

In the still empty ballroom where no guests had arrived yet, Seung Joo stood alone in a tuxedo, looking at something written on a paper. It was probably the greeting he would give in front of people later.

“Let’s get out of here.”

When she suddenly grabbed his arm, Seung Joo looked at her with a start.

“It’s a trap. This party, it’s not just our company executives coming. There will be tons of outside guests too. How could you possibly recognize all those people?”

Eun Seo spoke urgently, but Seung Joo showed no sign of surprise. He just stared at Eun Seo with sunken eyes.

“…”

“Hurry, we need to leave now. You can make an excuse that you suddenly felt unwell and leave.”

But Seung Joo didn’t budge from his spot. No matter how hard she pulled his arm, he didn’t move an inch, and Eun Seo felt so frustrated she could cry. Does this mean he won’t believe anything I say anymore?

“Please, Seung Joo!”

As she stamped her feet, she heard people entering behind her.