Chapter 97: Oh No! There’s Almost No Time Left

Beep, beep, beep.

After unlocking the front door and stepping into the living room, I was genuinely surprised. My mother, whom I thought was still in Gangwon Province, greeted me with a gentle, warm smile. Catching Saho as he leaped into my arms, I asked her,

"Mom, when did you get here?"

"I arrived around evening."

"I asked you to call before you left so I could come pick you up."

"I don't remember you saying that."

To clear things up, I turned toward Cha Hyeonji. As if she had read my mind, my younger sister immediately blurted out,

"I definitely told Mom to call before she left!"

"Mom, did you hear what Hyeonji just said?"

"I'm sorry, but I honestly don't remember."

"Seriously... Mom, then how did you find the house?"

"I may live in the countryside, but do you really think I can't find my own son's house?"

"That's not what I meant. I just wanted you to have a comfortable trip."

"Don't worry about me. Tell me instead, where have you been until so late at night?"

"I stayed behind to see our guests from America off."

"Oh, my son, you must be exhausted. I have so much I want to talk to you about... Go wash up and come downstairs."

After changing into comfortable clothes, I headed back down to the living room. Mom and Cha Hyeonji were completely absorbed in playing with Saho. The moment I sat down on the empty sofa, Mom looked at me curiously.

"Jiham, is Saho really a cat?"

If I told her the truth, both she and Hyeonji would be left speechless. To preserve the story, I had no choice but to improvise again.

"If Chairman Park says he's a cat, then he's a cat."

"Chairman Park... Is he the person who's been helping you so much?"

"Yes, Mom. He lives nearby, so I'll definitely introduce you to him soon."

"That would be nice. By the way, I'm thinking about finding a job here in Seoul. What do you think?"

Mom was fifty-five years old. She was certainly still young enough to work. After Father's untimely death, she had worked herself to the bone to support our family. A woman who had lived such a difficult life deserved peace and comfort now.

"It'll already be hard enough taking care of a house this big. Why would you want another job?"

"I managed a restaurant much bigger than this house for over twenty years."

I shook my head, pulled a credit card from my pocket, and handed it to her.

"This card is for all household expenses. Please use it and don't hold back."

"How could I casually spend money that you worked so hard to earn?"

I wonder how shocked Mom would be if she found out I'm so rich it's almost beyond imagination.

After all, I had received shares worth approximately 51.5 billion dollars from Chairman Bongard, Chairman Hudson, and Chairman Yoon Jongu. On top of that, I was destined to inherit Chairman Park Yeongil's personal assets worth seventy trillion won.

"Mom, you already know how much money Hyeonji and I have now."

"Well, you won the lottery. But where did Hyeonji get money? She's only a college student."

"Hyeonji received 2.7 billion won in compensation for the hit-and-run accident."

"Even so, you spent a fortune on her hospital treatment."

"How could I possibly take those few pennies from her?"

Just as expected, Hyeonji interrupted before Mom could respond.

"Wow, big brother, fifty million won counts as 'a few pennies' to you now?"

"You know exactly how much money I have."

"Tch... Fine. If you say so, I guess I can't argue."

Hyeonji retreated with a sulky expression.

"It costs a fortune just to maintain a house this large," I continued. "And the beef Saho eats isn't cheap either."

"Does Saho really have to eat beef?"

Fortunately, I already had the perfect answer prepared.

"If it weren't for Saho, we never would've caught the man who hit Hyeonji. He deserves every bit of that beef."

"Well... when you put it that way, you're right."

At that moment, Hyeonji suddenly changed the subject.

"Big brother, what vegetables should we plant in the garden behind the house?"

"I'll leave that decision to the owner of the garden."

"Jiham, this garden has its own owner?" Mom reacted before Hyeonji could.

"Of course. That's you, Mom. By the way, I absolutely love watermelons."

"You little rascal! Do you even know how hard it is to grow watermelons in a home garden?"

"No matter how difficult that is, raising the two of us must've been even harder, right?"

"Haha, that's certainly true."

"It's already late today, but tomorrow around noon let's all go to the department store together."

"What for?"

"To celebrate your coming to Seoul, I want to buy you some beautiful clothes."

"I already have plenty of clothes. Don't waste your money on something unnecessary."

"How is that unnecessary? Do you even own a single decent suit?"

"..."

"Anyway, it's settled. We're going. I'm heading upstairs to rest. Saho, come with me."

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The moment I opened my bedroom door, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out and checking the screen, I sat down on the edge of the bed and answered.

"Why are you calling this late?"

["I heard your mom came up from the countryside?"]

"Huh? How did you find out?"

["From Hyeonji."]

"Don't tell me you..."

["You idiot! Do you seriously have the memory of a goldfish?"]

Lee Ujin had told me dozens of times that he had absolutely no interest in Hyeonji. That was why he laughed at my forgetfulness.

"Fine, then explain why you called Hyeonji."

["I had lunch with my uncle today. We ended up talking about Hyeonji, and he suggested she submit her résumé to his firm. I called to pass the message along. Happy now?"]

Lee Ujin's uncle ran the largest accounting firm in the country. However, I had absolutely no intention of sending my younger sister there.

"So what did Hyeonji say?"

["She said she'd ask you first."]

"Please apologize to your uncle for me. Hyeonji will be joining another company."

["Are you planning to bring her into Korea Investment?"]

Actually, I intended to have Cha Hyeonji join the joint investment company that Korea Investment, Bongard Group, and Hangang Group were preparing to establish together. Since the company would still take time to create, I kept quiet.

"At the very least, it won't be Korea Investment or Hangang Group."

["Then where?"]

"I'll tell you once everything's finalized. Now tell me what else you called about."

["Sharp as ever. Have Gloria, Tracy, and Isabella already flown back to America?"]

Last night Lee Ujin had called me to brag that he was having dinner with Tracy, Gloria, and Isabella. I had wanted to join them myself, but I had been dealing with CEO Kim Mansu and reporter Hong Yeonggi. I couldn't tell my friend the truth, so I hastily made an excuse about being busy and hung up. Apparently the girls had been upset enough to return to the United States without even saying goodbye. Knowing that an honest answer would only make things worse, I decided to lie.

"They kept insisting they wanted to stay in Korea longer. It took everything I had to convince them to leave. I was completely exhausted."

["They're going to see you again in another month or two. Why make such a big deal out of it?"]

The third round of negotiations over the joint venture wouldn't take place in San Francisco until four months later. In other words, I had no plans to visit America within the next couple of months. Yet Tracy and the others had apparently told Ujin we'd be seeing each other soon. Carefully, I asked what they meant.

["They said they had some business here in our country."]

"Business..."

A possibility suddenly flashed through my mind. If I was right, Gloria and Isabella were one thing, but Tracy definitely had a reason to return to South Korea.

"Say... did Tracy happen to mention the investment company?"

["Oh? How did you know?"]

Actually, I'm going to be its CEO.

The words almost slipped out of my mouth, but I exercised iron self-control and swallowed them.

"You know what position I hold at Korea Investment."

["Well... that makes sense."]

"So only Tracy's coming?"

["No. They said Gloria's definitely coming too. Isabella desperately wanted to come as well, but Tracy wouldn't let her."]

Just as I'd expected. Isabella and Tracy were locked in a fierce battle for my attention.

"Alright, I understand. We'll talk later."

Click.

After hanging up, I collapsed onto the bed and muttered to myself,

"Whew... I just hope that herbal tranquilizer doesn't have the side effect of attracting women."

***

Ring, ring, ring.

A pleasant melody flowed from the phone beside my pillow. Feeling around for it, I glanced at the screen and saw Kang Inhan calling. I immediately sat up in bed and answered.

"Good morning, Secretary Kang. What happened so early on a Sunday?"

["I was informed that your mother arrived from the countryside."]

"Ah, yes. She came to Seoul yesterday evening."

["The Chairman would like to have lunch together. What do you think?"]

"I'd love to, but I have to take my mother out to run some errands."

["If you don't mind my asking, where are you going?"]

"My mother doesn't have any proper clothes, so I want to take her to the department store."

At that moment, I had absolutely no idea what consequences those casual words would bring.

["The nearest one to your home is the Hangang Department Store flagship store."]

"Yes, that's exactly where we're planning to go."

["In that case, when would it be convenient for you to have dinner with the Chairman?"]

"I think this evening would be perfect. Please pass my words on to the Chairman."

["I certainly will. See you this evening."]

***

Click.

The moment Kang Inhan hung up, Chairman Park Yeongil impatiently asked,

"What was all that about Hangang Department Store?"

"Managing Director Cha is taking his mother there to buy her a gift."

"I see? Quickly, connect me to Chairman Yoon."

"Yes, sir."

Having immediately understood Chairman Park's intentions, Kang Inhan answered in his booming voice. He promptly dialed Chairman Yoon Jongu, exchanged brief greetings, and handed the phone to Park.

"Chairman Yoon, do you have any plans around lunchtime today?"

["I have a meeting scheduled regarding the joint venture. Why?"]

"Reschedule it."

["Why are you making demands all of a sudden without any explanation?"]

"Managing Director Cha's mother has arrived in Seoul. Around noon today, they're planning to go shopping at the Hangang Department Store flagship store."

["Oh no!"]

Beep.

A flustered Chairman Yoon Jongu abruptly ended the call.

"Hahaha. Looks like lunchtime today is going to be quite entertaining."

***

Unlike the relaxed Chairman Park, Chairman Yoon Jongu was in a frantic hurry. He immediately called his Chief Secretary, Song Dosok. As always, the call was answered on the very first ring.

["Yes, Chairman."]

"Move today's meeting to tomorrow."

["Is there an important reason?"]

"It's... Managing Director Cha's mother has come to Seoul."

Yoon Jongu recounted his conversation with Park Yeongil to Song Dosok in meticulous detail.

["Oh no! Understood."]

"We need to discuss immediately how we're going to welcome Managing Director Cha's mother. Call Sanghun and Sehwa here at once."

***

"Father, what on earth happened?" Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghun asked in confusion as he sat down on the empty sofa.

"I'll explain once Sehwa gets here. Secretary Song, call her again and hurry her along."

"I just sent her a message. She'll be here any minute."

"Good. Sanghun, call Sola. Tell her to dress as nicely as possible."

"I'm still dying to know what's going on. Can't you at least give me a hint?"

Ding-dong.

At the most critical moment, the doorbell rang. Chief Secretary Song Dosok rushed to the wall monitor with lightning speed. The moment he saw the visitor, he immediately opened the gate. A moment later, Yoon Sehwa, President of the Hangang Department Store, entered the house and asked as soon as she stepped inside,

"Father, what happened?"

"Just look at what you're wearing! What on earth is that outfit?"

"Secretary Song told me to come here as fast as I could. I didn't have time to change."

"Fine, just sit down."

As soon as Yoon Sehwa took her seat on the sofa, Chairman Yoon Jongu began.

"You both know how hard I've been trying to win Cha Jiham over, don't you?"

"Of course."

"His mother has come to Seoul. Around noon today, they're planning to go shopping at the Hangang Department Store flagship store."

Yoon Sanghun finally understood why his father had called this emergency family meeting.

His father intended to introduce his granddaughter to Cha Jiham's mother.

"Oh no! There's almost no time left."