MTLNOVEL 24.
24.
As expected, chaos erupted after the press conference ended. Even before, Ryu Ho-yeon was the type to attract attention just by walking down the street with his face uncovered, but after the press conference, strange whispers followed him everywhere, making the already homebody Ryu Ho-yeon love his quarters even more. (Choi Jae-won found this strangely satisfying but was wise enough not to show it to Ryu Ho-yeon.) It seemed that not only South Korea was in an uproar. That night, Lee Han-seo called from Berlin saying that his colleagues there kept endlessly asking who that “fucking gorgeous” Esper was.
Some people would surely scoff at the excessive reaction, considering all they did was gather some reporters (though there were far too many cameras to call it “some”) for formal introductions following a personnel announcement. Choi Jae-won just wanted to show Ryu Ho-yeon’s face to those people. It was a face with enough impact and destructive power to warrant such reactions.
This wasn’t just the assessment of someone drowning in unrequited love with a tilted scale, but by any objective measure of beauty. If his face hadn’t been that exceptional, would Choi Jae-won have dedicated his entire life to someone he’d only seen once at the age of five?
One unexpected thing for Choi Jae-won was that he himself garnered quite a bit of attention despite just standing next to Ryu Ho-yeon as his pair, like a decorative screen. While Ryu Ho-yeon’s appearance far exceeded common sense, Choi Jae-won himself was a clean-cut, appealing young man with nothing lacking—whether it was his refined, aristocratic face, his well-educated posture, or his impressively tall height.
His inherent attributes were already quite impressive, but add to that the touching story of turning down a guaranteed path as heir to a conglomerate to serve the country, applying for admission without even taking the college entrance exam—this made for excellent fodder for public interest. Either one alone would have been enough to talk about, but the fact that these two were a pair? Without any additional embellishment, they naturally became the talk of the town, effortlessly building nationwide goodwill. Rumors spread throughout the Center that the PR department employees were all smiling even while working overtime that day.
The Center’s PR department wasn’t the only one reaping unintended benefits. The H Corporation, which had Choi Jae-won as a grandson, also rode the viral wave. It made their secretly organized task force’s years of efforts to build a friendly chaebol image seem like pouring water into a bottomless jar—all those fabricated stories about what the Chairman did or what the Vice Chairman did. Just having Choi Jae-won standing properly in uniform next to Ryu Ho-yeon (also in uniform) for a few minutes on camera was enough to yield remarkable results.
Before employees could even act, all sorts of information about Choi Jae-won that had been captured throughout his life began circulating on internet communities and video platforms. They had previously agreed to officially state that Choi Jae-won received his Guide designation not during the mandatory national screening before elementary school, but during a private health checkup aimed at managing his condition during his exam preparations. People sent wholehearted support and encouragement to the chaebol young master who, after struggling and agonizing over his unexpected Guide designation despite being a top ten national scorer on mock exams, bravely chose to enter the Center against his family’s opposition, believing he couldn’t neglect his duty.
Amid people’s passionate responses, there was occasional sympathy for Chairman Choi, who had already tearfully given up Lee Han-seo, and now had to surrender his most cherished grandson—the one specifically marked as his successor—to the country. It would be foolish to let this opportunity pass. Although Chairman Choi’s anger toward his deceiving grandson had not completely subsided, he was always someone who pursued practical gains for the company’s benefit rather than his personal feelings.
Which meant:
“Oh, my boy. My heart breaks seeing how worn your face looks. How have you been? Was it hard to adjust?”
“Haha… I’ve missed you, Grandfather… But why the sudden visit…?”
“What do you mean, why? Such hurtful words! Of course I should come see my precious grandson. I’ve also made a generous donation to the damage recovery team while visiting. So many homes and schools destroyed by the dungeon. In these difficult times for our citizens! Just like our grandson here! Those who are fortunate must take the lead, right? Yes, absolutely.”
The old man’s tongue, which was never poor with words to begin with, now flowed as smooth as oil. Everything he said wasn’t wrong. Far from wrong, it was all theoretically correct and reasonable statements. But having to just quietly listen to it felt so uncomfortable because…
“Yes, excellent, Chairman! Could you give your grandson a big hug there? Yes, like that! Jae-won, don’t just stand there so stiffly, give us a smile. Come on, smile!”
“Young master, look over here too! This way!!”
“I was told there would be enough time for an interview, is that correct? Not long, just two or three comments would be fine. Just to congratulate the new employees in the next quarter’s training, saying we’ll get along like family. Really just two comments!”
…because the Chairman had brought along countless tails.
The lineup was impressive. The one requesting the hug was the news director who personally edited the 9 o’clock news on the national broadcasting station; the one waving the camera asking for attention was the editor-in-chief of a famous daily newspaper; and the one desperate for an interview was the head of the group’s PR team.
This was the first time they’d met in person since Jae-won had left home after announcing his enrollment like a notification. He’d occasionally received updates about family through phone calls with his parents, but seeing his grandfather in person now, it was remarkable how unchanged he seemed, as if he hadn’t aged at all. Though he wouldn’t dare voice this thought, knowing his grandfather would just be pleased and say “you take after me perfectly.”
“You should be managing your blood pressure. Why bother coming all the way here? Unnecessarily.”
“What do you mean unnecessary? All the effort I put into raising you seemed to be going to waste, so I need to use you like this at least to make the balance sheet work out.”
“‘Balance sheet’—you really know how to say the most off-putting things.”
“When did you ever have enough emotional attachment to me to be put off by what I say?”
While embracing and patting each other’s backs, the old man and Choi Jae-won whispered quietly. The way they fiercely picked at each other’s words without either one giving ground truly showed how they were cut from the same cloth as grandfather and grandson.
The Chairman’s facade of being a warm, friendly neighborhood grandfather peeled away once the media cameras had quickly receded like an ebbing tide after getting their story.
After confirming that only he and his grandson remained, the Chairman finally revealed his true rigid self without pretense, complaining that his mouth corners hurt from smiling too much.
“Do you know how much money I donated to build a new reading room on campus, thinking you were going to enroll in university, In-seok?”
“You did a good thing. You said it well earlier. The wealthy should take the lead. Isn’t that right?”
“Oh my, I’d rather die than suffer like this! Rather die!”
“You haven’t transferred all your shares to Father yet. What would happen if you died?”
“Why? It’s not like they’ll ever be your company now, so why do you still care about inheritance?”
“Of course I care. Since what I’ll inherit has decreased, Father should inherit more so that at least a little more will trickle down to me.”
It was actually easier to deal with him when he was being so blatantly disrespectful. The Chairman realized anew that among all his children and the grandchildren hanging beneath them, this boy was the only one who revealed his true thoughts so honestly. Lee Han-seo was also honest in his way, but perhaps because he’d been sent to the Center at such an early age, there was something cautious about interacting with him. There was definitely some guilt about putting that young child in first to try to extract Choi Jae-won.
If only he had known things would turn out this way… he could have been more supportive of that young child who didn’t want to be separated from his mother… The Chairman clicked his tongue, mixing in his too-late regrets.
“Fine. Since you’re already here, let me see how you’re living. Show me around.”
“What? Where?”
“Have you gone deaf while I haven’t seen you, In-seok? I said let’s go see where you live!”