“(Come on in. Everyone will be waiting for you.)”
“(I’m nervous.)”
“(I’m here, so don’t be too nervous.)”
What do you do when you are nervous because you want to look good? I took a deep breath and stepped inside.
“(Mr. Kim. Welcome.)”
Alec Carver, dressed in knitwear, greeted me with a smile. A plate was in his hand as if he had come out from preparing for a party.
“(Are you going to sleep tonight?)”
He grinned and pointed his chin at the carrier the bodyguard had brought.
“(Could you come empty-handed?)”
“(Ah. It’s a gift. Do you exchange gifts on Christmas in Korea?)”
“(In Korea, couples usually spend time together.)”
“(Because it’s lovers’ time. I don’t know if I interrupted their time by inviting them for nothing.)”
“(You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me.)”
“(Come in. Father will come out when he is ready.)”
I followed him into the kitchen. Quite a few people were busily moving around the table, except for the uniformed staff. Thanks to the warm orange lighting, the food looked even more delicious.
Alec Carver put down the plate and clapped his hands loudly.
“(Attention everyone!)”
Families who were busy moving stopped their hands and paid attention to us. The two young couples looked like Elisa’s brothers, and the woman in her 60s looked like her future mother-in-law.
“(Elisa and her boyfriend Kim Jae-goo have arrived.)”
“(Welcome. I am Elisa’s mother.)”
The expectant mother-in-law greeted and held out her hand.
“(My name is Kim Jae-goo. Thank you very much.)”
I shook hands lightly and she gave me a light hug. Then a young man came up and held out his hand to me.
“(Elisa’s second brother, Elaine Carver.)”
“(This is Jaegu Kim. Nice to meet you.)”
Of the four, the males were Elisha’s flesh and blood, and the females were their wives. I said goodbye to the three children and took a seat at the table.
“(Good job. Father will be back soon.)”
Elisha took my hand and encouraged me. I was grateful for taking care of it while noticing that it would be uncomfortable.
When the food was all set and presents piled up in one corner, Alec Carver exited the kitchen.
Elaine Carver squinted at me.
“(Are you an Asian this time?)”
“(Honey. He’s the one on that TV.)”
“(Aren’t you the one who took the weird music video?)”
I wondered how long the music video would follow me. The expectant mother-in-law smiled and spoke.
“(Since when have you lived in America?)”
“(I’m still Korean.)”
“(Really? How did you meet my kid?)”
“(We met through a friend.)”
Elisa smiled and wrapped her arms around me.
“(I didn’t know it would turn out like this at first. I just thought he was a sensible guy.)”
“(Did I have a sense?)”
“(Because I have the same taste in wine.)”
I just picked the one I liked the name among the expensive ones, and I talked about it over and over again that I liked it quite a bit.
‘I’ll have to prepare that wine for the 100th anniversary.’
It felt good as if I had returned to my fresh dating days.
“(How was it when you kissed in the music video?)”
“(That’s right. We kissed.)”
At Elaine Carver’s question, his son smiled mischievously and agreed. Even so, as adults, it was not polite.
The expectant mother-in-law politely advised.
“(Elaine. It’s rude to the customer.)”
“(I was just worried about Elisa.)”
Elisha’s hand that held my arm tightened. Looking down at her, he was biting his lip and furrowing his brow.
I thought the atmosphere in the house was like that because he seemed to be on good terms with Alec Carver, but I guess it wasn’t.
whispered to her
“(Don’t worry.)”
When I was accused of embezzlement, I was tired of going out and talking. Because he had fallen to the bottom of the abyss at that time, he did not care about this level of sarcasm.
“(Everyone is gathered.)”
A low-pitched voice came from behind. William Carver, head of the Carver Company, was walking in with Alec Carver. I immediately got up from my seat and greeted him.
“(thank you for the invitation.)”
“(Kuhmm.)”
Instead of answering, he sat down.
{(When I go to dinner, my father won’t say anything at first. They say it’s because he feels like his one and only daughter is being taken away, but I’m not really sure why. But he doesn’t hate it, so don’t worry.)}
Thanks to Elisha telling me in advance, nothing happened. We were seated furthest away from William Carver, with his future mother-in-law and Alec Carver sitting on either side of him.
When Alec Carver whispered something to William Carver, William Carver cleared his throat. Alec Carver smiled and gave me a thumbs up.
“(Don’t eat.)”
At William Carver’s direction, Alec Carver got up and prepared the turkey. The most desirable piece of meat was placed on the plate of William Carver and his future mother-in-law, and then came on my plate.
Elaine Carver’s eyes widened.
“(Brother. Don’t you think the order is wrong?)”
“(Wouldn’t it be better to take care of the guests first?)”
The meat was then placed on Elaine’s plate.
Elaine glared at me, perhaps angry at me for taking her turn. Meat was then distributed according to age.
Delicious meat was also placed on Elisha’s plate.
“(Enjoy your meal.)”
“(Yes. Brother.)”
It was said that outsiders were not allowed to enter the Carver family’s Christmas party. It was the same for the employee, so the family members shared the food themselves.
“(You should have a drink.)”
“(By 45 years old.)”
“(Father. Why 45 years old?)”
Elaine jumped up in surprise, but collapsed to the ground, staring at William. Alec Carver took the 45 Year Old Carver and opened the lid.
There was quite a distance, but I felt a strong fragrance.
‘Is it okay?’
He filled William Carver’s glass and handed him the bottle. William Carver rose from his seat with a bottle of wine.
“(First. A drink to my lovely wife who is in charge of the housekeeping.)”
He filled his future mother-in-law’s glass with alcohol. Elisha looked at him vaguely.
“(And a drink to the next heir of our Carver Company.)”
Alec Carver’s glass was filled.
Elaine Carver was waiting for her turn with a glass, when he came up to me with a bottle.
“(And a drink for the new family member, Mr. Kim.)”
Elaine’s distorted expression was visible through the pouring liquor.
‘This isn’t something I asked to take care of first.’
“(And a drink for my youngest daughter who doesn’t listen.)”
“(I’m not listening.)”
Elisa pouted and William Carver’s expression softened.
‘They look good.’
William Carver then went around the table and filled the rest of the people’s glasses.
“(Then, since the cup is full, let’s thank Jesus for letting us spend this year in good health, and let’s have a cool drink.)”
We made a toast to the air and drank. The fragrance was strong, but the softness unique to long-aged alcohol wrapped around the throat. Even after drinking, the unique scent of oak barrels lingers in the mouth for a long time.
It was like drinking a forest.
“(how is it?)”
Everyone’s eyes were focused on me.
“(Very nice.)”
“(Isn’t it? It’s rewarding to harvest quality grain every year and make your own sake.)”
William Carver smiled contentedly.
Meal time went by more smoothly than expected. The three-son family ate in silence, and the second son, Elaine, threw a few checks, but became a cut in the Alec Carver line.
It was fortunate that the high-quality liquor brought as a gift was also liked. It was like a meeting, so I prepared it with special care.
“(Mr. Kim seems to like alcohol. I heard that Koreans drink well.)”
“(I’m trying to drink enough not to get too drunk.)”
“(Wouldn’t you like to try it out?)”
“(Father. How can an Asian be an opponent?)”
Elaine Carver twisted the corners of her mouth.
“(It’s more important to drink well than to drink a lot. It looks like you drank too much. Why don’t you stop drinking?)”
At Alec Carver’s point, he sipped his drink.
“(Don’t worry, I’m fine. Brother.)”
“(I heard that Mr. Kim also invested in oil fields in Angola with Hugo Evans this time.)”
Alec Carver went through my investment career and helped me appeal to William Carver.
It was also something to see and get to know people well.
Thanks to Elisa and Alec’s efforts, the meeting ended in a much softer atmosphere than expected. When I liked the caboose, I was able to receive a bottle as a gift.
On the flight back home, Elisa came close to me.
“(Your father seems to like Jaegu too.)”
“(It’s thanks to Elisa-san for saying it well.)”
“(Your brother seems to have put in a lot of effort too. Was he also working with Mr. Hugo Evans?)”
She smiled and looked up at me.
“(yes.)”
I’m prepared to be criticized for starting a business without telling Elisha.
“(Jaegoo is a great person as expected. I’m afraid he’ll go too far.)”
Instead of nagging, she came a little closer.
She fell asleep quietly, probably because she was tired from the continuous party and travel.
He lifted the clothes that had slipped down and made a comfortable place to lie down.
Perhaps it was the Christmas season, the city outside the window was full of lights.
‘ah. It’s peaceful.’
I wanted to rest like this.
***
After having a good Christmas in the US, I came back to Korea. Perhaps it was the end of the year, the streets of Seoul were crowded with people wanting to have a drink.
I also decided to join the procession.
It was because I had made an appointment to meet Sung Yo-han at Hanseonggak, a Korean traditional restaurant in Gangnam. The number of visits to Hanjeongsik restaurants has decreased without going to the best product office.
“It’s been a while, boss.”
“How have you been?”
It’s been a long time since I’ve visited, so I ordered an expensive drink, and the restaurant owner came out and greeted me.
“I’ll take you to the plum room.”
“Thank you.”
I also liked the plum room.
I arrived 20 minutes earlier and organized the situation in my head. Seol Kyung-taek thought positively of meeting Sung Yo-han. So, according to Sung Yo-han’s trustworthiness, I should have moved as I wanted.
10 minutes before the appointment time.
Sung Yohan appeared.
“President Kim. Good evening. Nice to meet you.”
“Hello, Chairman Sung.”
I contacted him several times over the phone, but this was the first time I saw his face.
I’ll make it a thing that didn’t happen today
I felt it when I started meeting celebrities, and there were a lot of cases where the real thing was different from what was shown on TV.
Seol Kyung-taek appeared on TV as a sharp young politician, but in real life, he had a good appearance and was tall, so he had an aura of energy that could be felt just by looking at him.
St. John was the opposite. He was portrayed by the media as an enthusiastic entrepreneur, but in reality he was quite calm.
‘I don’t think I’m the type to work emotionally.’
In the Dokgo family, it felt similar to Dokgo Gap.
When he arrived, the table was immediately filled with the menu he had ordered. Employees came in and out like a flood, leaving me and Sung Yo-han alone in a quiet room.
From the first meeting, it was impossible to see them accompanied by bodyguards, so each bodyguard was waiting outside.
‘President Sung Yo-han. Unexpectedly, he’s a martial arts maniac.’
The calluses on the backs of his hands caught his eye. I kept pepper spray in my pocket just in case. It would have bought him time to call a bodyguard in case of trouble.
‘I’m the president of Eunseong, so I won’t do anything stupid, but…’
Sung Yo-han opened his mouth in a calm tone.
“Thank you for contacting us.”
“Thank you for agreeing to this sudden meeting.”
They shook hands lightly across the table. There were quite a lot of calluses not only on the back of the hand, but overall.
He scanned the room with his eyes.
“If it’s okay, can our staff search the area?”
I came to the place invited by the other person, so I was worried about the recording. If he knew that he was dating me, Yu-san might not let go.
At the same time, his men might install something while pretending to investigate.
“Let’s get our employees together.”