＜ belated apology ＞
Unknowingly, my eyes twinkled.
“Did you rip all of these off?”
“That, that’s…”
Grandpa closed his eyes and cried.
“It’s not all kong, keuheum!”
“Then it must have been cheap. Are you asking for stock?”
“No, how did you know that?”
Grandpa widened his eyes.
“Isn’t that obvious? Woo-gwang should fill the stomachs of people under him, but the media and the public are all focused on Woo-gwang.”
I grinned.
“Woogwang is a company that ranks ninth in the business world. If the government clings to it and releases Pungbi Baksan, how will people see it?”
“Hmm. That’s what…”
“The government is advocating a clean government under the banner of eradicating corruption. So, you can’t openly rip off the woo-gwang and distribute it to your aides.”
Only then did Grandpa nod his head obediently.
“Yeah, right on. They say it’s different with stocks.”
“Because there’s no neater, surer way to launder money blindfolded than that.”
“You smart guy.”
Grandpa smiled and hugged me tightly.
“Where did such a clever guy come from? This is both Seongjun’s blessing and Taeseong’s blessing. ha ha ha!”
“Grandpa, I want to see this.”
My eyes went back to the golden papers my grandfather had pulled out.
Golden light flashes non-stop, how can you not turn your eyes away?
“Oh no, yes. Take a look.”
“uh?”
Wookwang Shipbuilding, Wookwang Motor, Wookwang Heavy Equipment, Wookwang Chemical, Wookwang Hospital, Wookwang Pharmaceutical, Wookwang Research Institute.
I was surprised to see the words roughly scribbled with a fountain pen.
‘It’s not just the papers that are golden, the letters are even more golden!’
Grandpa stroked my hair and let me know.
“It was written by the president himself.”
no wonder!
‘The letters scribbled by the president himself are no different from a guarantee check, so they sparkled like this!’
Suddenly, a question crossed my mind.
“Grandpa, why were Wookwang Securities and Wookwang Construction omitted?”
“His Excellency said to exchange it with heavy industry.”
So the cars and heavy equipment went in here?
“Aren’t you curious that Joseon entered there first?”
“Well, my grandfather would have asked for Joseon first.”
“her······!”
“Of course, to appeal to my decision to enter the defense industry, I had to mention Joseon, if nothing else.”
“There is no such thing as a fortuneteller. Even if it came inside me, I wouldn’t have been able to point it out. Oh my, what a clever one!”
Grandpa hugged me back.
“Yes, as you said, you will have to tear it thick to fill the pockets of your close associates. Still, compared to the time I bought it at the market, I’d say it’s a bargain.”
“How much stock did you decide to put up?”
“50%. However, they told me to just eat what was specified in the contract.”
“Then you’re saying that chemistry, automobiles, and heavy equipment are all mine, right?”
Grandpa couldn’t bear to say no and instead grunted.
“Will the rest of the affiliates take care of my share?”
This time, only pain came out.
“It’s fortunate.”
“What are you happy about? Eating your grandfather to the bone?”
“15 billion in donations. Thanks to that, if someone wants to sell the stock right away, you can buy it with the back money.”
“…”
“If money can buy stocks and management rights, you should buy them.”
The most important thing in a company is stock and management rights.
“We eat first before the stern guys take away the stocks of affiliates that we earned through hard work.”
“Jeong Hyuk, as you know, the meaning of offering as a stock is…”
“In short, you’re saying it’s because of money laundering, right?”
I poked my chest with my index finger.
“What did I set up for money laundering purposes?”
“Investment company!”
bingo.
“Good? Thanks to that, my grandfather has one less thing to worry about.”
“You know what my worries are?”
“You said you wanted to leave the job of persuading Taeseong’s executives and family to your grandfather?”
Grandpa promised me last time.
-Take it, management rights!
– What about persuading your family and executives of Taesung Group?
– Leave it to me. Do you think the old lady can’t solve that much?
– Thank you, grandfather.
-However, for safety reasons, standing in front of you is not allowed. Bypass your investment company and exercise management control.
I hugged my grandfather’s arm and smiled.
“As promised, I will bypass the investment company and exercise management rights. how is it? Right?”
Grandpa opened his mouth, apparently at a loss for words.
Soon, he let out a weak laugh.
“Yeah, that’s perfect. It fits so well that I have no words to add. Yes, take all you can.”
Then, suddenly, he looked back at me.
“Could it be that Jeong-hyeok, did you already look this far?”
To be honest, I was thinking of buying Wookwang Securities and Wookwang Construction, but I didn’t know that I would get cars and heavy equipment.
However, it is true that I came up with a method when I was only 8 years old, thinking about how I could exercise my share and management rights.
match. match. match. match.
I looked back at the sudden applause, and Secretary Kim nodded in admiration.
“As expected, the young master had a plan!”
Was it because of secretary Kim’s confident expression?
Grandpa also hit his knee.
“Is that so! Yes, I knew it! No matter what! ha ha ha!”
Only Chief Go dropped the car key he was holding with an absurd expression on his face.
“Are you all serious about this?”
“of course.”
“Of course!”
Chief Goh shook his head as if he couldn’t understand.
Either that or not.
I whispered softly in my grandfather’s ear.
“Grandpa, as promised, Taesung Chemical will take care of my mother’s coma.”
“Yes, yes! Jeong-hyeok is yours, so do as you please. Would you like to recognize the gift?”
“In other words, if you treat my mother with displeasure, if you marry somewhere other than Taeseong, then Taesung Chemical will be rolled into another family.”
“what?”
Grandpa was straight.
“What are you talking about now?”
“Is there anything special since Grandpa hasn’t kept his promises?”
“Where did I not keep my promise? At least you’re willing to give away your share like this for your share?”
“Did you forget? There was a condition I made in exchange for the three cut sheets of Wookwang Construction’s bribe ledger.”
“Is that why I brought your father from the Middle East and didn’t you write me a memorandum instead of shares in Taesung Construction?”
“Apologizing for insulting my mother and agreeing to marry her?”
“…”
Grandpa coughed.
“The family register is already finished. Besides, at the year-end night, I also recognized your hat as a pair with Seongjun?”
“Are you going to wipe your mouth about giving my mom an envelope of money and trying to get her away from you?”
this is what grandma did
“Are you pretending not to know that I told you to separate me and remarry while giving me an apartment and a building?”
It’s what my grandfather did.
“It’s all just cleaning up the family register, right? Wounds caused by words will fester and rot if left unattended. It will last a lifetime.”
So, the older siblings must have turned on the light in their eyes and found the flaws.
I wonder if I forgot that I tried to humiliate my mother at the gathering of Taesung’s executives from the first day of the new year?
“Even Grandma didn’t even show her face when she was eating rice cake soup on New Year’s Day, right? You are blatantly contemptuous.”
“no. That’s the circumstances…!”
“You never explained the situation to your mother, and you never asked for her understanding, did you?”
“Kuhm!”
“I have never even visited my mother’s house, let alone met, to show my face once. Don’t you think it’s too much to be accepted as a daughter-in-law?”
Grandpa hugged me.
“Okay, apologize! I must apologize!”
Then, with stern steps, he strode towards the front door.
“Meeting ceremonies, weddings, even greetings to in-laws! Of course I will! It’s obvious! Cuckoo hum!”
* * *
“Daughter-in-law, I’m sorry! Forgive me!”
“Pooh!”
My mother, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room and drinking coffee, exhaled.
It was because as soon as he entered the house, his grandfather bent down at 90 degrees and shouted.
“I said something nasty to you! It was also wrong for Jeong-hyeok to hand over the real estate to her to remarry.”
“father?”
“It’s all my negligence that I didn’t even look at my in-laws, saying that the family register was finished!”
“Just scold me for committing a mortal sin!”
The mother fell on her knees in astonishment.
Perhaps as I was sorting through the photos in my album, even a Polaroid photo fell to the floor.
“I’m like this because I’ve done something wrong and how many times I’ve done it.”
“no! You did nothing wrong!”
I ran to Jjoro and clung to my grandfather’s leg.
“My mom is surprised! Who wants to scare me by shouting so loudly?”
“No, I didn’t mean to scare you… Kuh-hum, keuh-hum!”
“Are you really like this?”
“You’ll know my age, too, when you sit in my seat!”
Grandpa said, ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done something called an apology.’ he muttered.
Then, with the back of his neck open, he cleared his throat with a clearing of his throat.
“Daughter-in-law.”
“…!”
Mother drew in her breath.
My grandfather met my eyes and called me ‘daughter-in-law’ for the first time.
stop.
Grandpa was frozen on the spot, unable to move.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the album and notebook that had fallen at my feet.
＜Jung Hyuk’s Prenatal Diary＞, ＜Jung Hyuk’s Album＞, ＜Jung Hyuk’s Newspaper Clippings＞
A notebook of prenatal care that has fallen apart and left open.
What popped out was an ultrasound picture.
Grandpa silently crouched down and picked up the prenatal notebook.
＜Jeonghyuk, do you like Eundan and fried rice? I ate it from the market lady today, and I was surprised by how delicious it was, right?＞
＜It’s strange. I’m into chocolate cake and chocolate cookies, but I don’t know why Baekseolgi and Hotteok are getting stepped on in my eyes these days.＞
＜I was kicked out because my rent was overdue. Come to think of it, I only ate one loaf of bread and soy milk for two days.＞
＜I sell vegetables hard, so next time I will definitely buy ssanghwa tea. Beat in two eggs. So will you endure it with soy sauce egg rice today?＞
Compared to the few ultrasound pictures, the mother’s diary was filled with notes.
‘Did something like this happen?’
It’s my first time seeing it too.
In the past, my mother died of briquette poisoning early, and when I went home after the funeral, there were not many things left in the house.
My father’s watch and notebook that were in my mother’s jewelry box, as well as his bankbook, were all stolen.
‘I didn’t know if there were still pictures of me and my mother.’
It was the same for me that I couldn’t take my eyes off of the picture of my mother holding me when I was young.
‘I was sad because I didn’t have a picture.’
I struggled to hold on to my mother’s face, which was gradually fading in my memory.
I desperately wished that I would see my mother just once, even in my dreams.
When I was walking around the back alleys, I had nothing to eat, so I rummaged through trash cans and picked up bread coated with rat poison.
When I was emptying my stomach and losing my mind, what I remembered as I was dying was my mother’s blurry, tear-stained face.
“Baby, if you don’t have a schedule today, how about having lunch together?”
“yes?”
The mother jumped up in panic.
“Now, wait a minute! I’ll prepare lunch soon and upload it. If I knew it would be like this, I would go to the market…”
“done. don’t buy me Let’s go out and eat.”
Mother opened her eyes wide at the unexpected mention of eating out.
“Did Jeong-hyeok almost cut ties with his in-laws? When I had children, there would be no one to take care of the food I wanted to eat. I’m thinking of buying it today.”
Grandpa let out a long sigh.
“I would have been thrown into the world naked and without anything, but I would have eaten properly.”
I dropped the photo my mother was holding.
It was a photo of the three of us hanging on the Christmas tree.
“Actually, it was when you first brought Jeonghyeok out. I regretted that I should have said that I had a hard time giving birth to and raising Jeonghyeok instead of telling me to remarry.”
In the photo, the three of us were smiling face to face as if we had the whole world.
“It made me think that I should have fed them a big meal, starting with a hearty meal rather than just coffee.”
Grandpa said, looking down at the photo.
“In front of people from the political and business world, ‘You are our partner Seong-Jun, Jeong-Hyeok is your mother, and Tae-Sung’s daughter-in-law!’ I shouldn’t have confessed, but I should have visited my in-laws first and persuaded them to marry me.”
Mother covered her mouth with both hands.
“If I had ended my marriage with Woo-gwang, I should have settled my past mistakes instead of disposing of my stake in Taesung Chemical.”
“Ah, father.”
“Before Jeong-hyeok asked where he would go to elementary school, he should have asked if he was going to go back to the university you had to drop out of.”
Grandpa sighed softly.
“I’m so ugly. On the day of Heo Gu-heon, they shouted ‘Tae-seong is one family!’, but I put my family and my family on the back burner. It’s cheap to hear the sound of ugly daughter-in-law and ugly grandfather.”
Grandpa silently stroked my hair.
Gratitude and regret flowed from his trembling fingers.
So, without saying a word, I put my fern-like hand on my grandfather’s wrinkled hand.
Pat Pat.
Grandpa responded with a small smile to my small encouragement.
The large, rough hand that covered my hand was large and warm.
“I will visit my in-laws in person soon and ask for forgiveness.”
Grandpa bent over and picked up a Polaroid.
“We must beg our poor son to give us his precious daughter.”
It was a sympathetic look.
“Jeonghyeok, why don’t you go with your grandfather to see your maternal grandfather?”
＜ belated apology ＞ end