Chapter 9

　　"You have a long way to go before you reach that point, sir. In any case, the formal meeting with the executives will be over within the hour. There’s no need to feel pressured."

　　Perhaps it was a skill honed over many years of serving the Chairman, but Incheol managed to walk with his body angled toward Taegyeom, chattering away expertly without even looking where he was going. His deference was so ingrained it seemed to be part of his very bones.

　　"Your official post hasn’t been decided, but regardless of your duties, the company is a single organic entity. It’s crucial to cultivate good relationships with the other executives."

　　Instead of replying, Taegyeom let out a sharp whistle. Following his gaze, Incheol saw Jua Shin and Manager Gong standing side-by-side under the canopy of the garage. At the attention, Manager Gong bowed his head deeply.

　　"Madam," Incheol began, bowing politely to the young mistress of the house, a woman more than a decade his junior. "Are you here to see your son off on his first day of work, despite the hot sun?"

　　Even after twenty years, Jua Shin, who had usurped the first wife’s position, possessed a youthful beauty that defied her age. Her elegantly smiling lips parted, and a voice as clear and smooth as rolling pearls emerged.

　　"No matter how fierce the sun, I couldn’t miss seeing my precious child off on the historic first day of his career."

　　Pfft.

　　A choked laugh escaped Taegyeom. With an unruffled expression, Jua Shin turned her gaze on him.

　　"I find the phrase ‘your child’ amusing," he said with a smirk. "You were probably still a snot-nosed kid yourself when I was born. You haven’t forgotten that there’s only a ten-year age difference between us, have you?"

　　An awkward silence descended upon the garage. A faint blush crept up Jua Shin’s rigid cheeks. Forcing a smile, she turned back to Incheol.

　　"It seems my words have displeased Taegyeom. Tell me, Managing Director Hwang, was what I said so amusing?"

　　"Not at all, Madam. How could it be? Your consideration in coming out to see him off is truly kind. It seems the young master is simply out of sorts from having to wake earlier than usual. Haha."

　　"You’re quite the diplomat, Mr. Hwang," Taegyeom drawled, his lips twisting into a sarcastic sneer.

　　The atmosphere instantly turned glacial. Incheol cleared his throat.

　　"We should go. You said we were late," Taegyeom said, pulling the crumpled tie from his pocket and flicking his eyes toward Incheol.

　　After a deep, respectful nod to Jua, Incheol guided Taegyeom toward the waiting sedan. The driver, already on standby, swung the rear door open. Just as Taegyeom was about to climb in, Jua’s voice sliced through the air.

　　"On your first day back, didn’t we promise to try and get along? Do you remember what the Chairman said?"

　　Taegyeom froze. When he turned, his face was terrifyingly blank. The lazy, indolent playboy had vanished as if he were melting snow, replaced by a man with sharp, predatory eyes that stared straight through Jua.

　　"It’s frustrating, living under the same roof yet never seeing each other. I thought we could have a pleasant family meal, perhaps talk a little, but you stood me up. Didn’t you receive my message? I had someone deliver it to the annex two days ago with some snacks. Not a word from you. It’s truly… frustrating."

　　"Ah, that sandwich." Taegyeom rubbed the bridge of his nose with a long, elegant finger and let out a dry chuckle, his expression one of dawning recognition.

　　Jua closed the distance between them and smoothly plucked the tie from his hand. Then, in a tone of graceful admonishment, she said, "When an elder sends you something, it is proper etiquette to acknowledge it. If we had lived together since you were a child, I would have ensured you were thoroughly educated in such manners."

　　Her eyebrows lifted in a display of pity.

　　Taegyeom’s long eyes hardened, but only for an instant before they curved into a soft, mocking arc. "As you all know, I became an ill-mannered wretch because I had no adult around to teach me etiquette."

　　He shrugged, his tone light and slick. It was an open secret that his mother, Chairman Kwon’s first wife Yeonhui Go, had withered away and died less than a year after being sent to America.

　　"You can learn from now on," Jua declared, her face beaming. Her expression was as magnanimous as a mother tolerating a child’s tantrum.

　　"Now that you’re finally living in Korea with your parents, Taegyeom, I want you to adjust as quickly as possible. Help your father, learn the family business, and marry a young lady from a good family who can be an asset. Then you must quickly produce an heir. Nothing is more important."

　　Taegyeom rubbed his nose, his face a mask of boredom that clearly screamed, Why am I being forced to listen to this?

　　"I’ve had much to think about since your father fell so gravely ill. I realized I can’t just selfishly wait for Jingyeom to grow up. Your father is sixty-six. He’s well past the age when he should have seen his grandchildren."

　　Covering her mouth with her hand, Jua let out a delicate laugh. Incheol, as if moved by the magnanimity of a young stepmother willing to embrace the first wife’s child for the good of the family, nodded his head in vigorous agreement.

　　"Oh, and speaking of which," she continued. "The girl I sent to the annex on an errand… don’t you remember her from when you were young? I heard she lived here even before you went abroad."

　　"Who?" Taegyeom asked.

　　Jua rose onto her toes, draping the tie around his neck. With placid eyes, he watched her hands expertly knotting the silk, his gaze flickering between her fingers and her softly murmuring face.

　　"You know," she cooed. "The pretty one, with the sharp, cat-like eyes."

　　The mistress’s hands, which had performed this ritual for Chairman Kwon every single day for two decades, fashioned a perfect knot in the blink of an eye. She then patted Taegyeom’s broad shoulders, smoothing his disheveled clothes. He stood impassively, allowing her to fuss over him.

　　"I couldn’t say," he replied, his voice a bored drawl. "There are more than a few pretty girls who come and go from the annex."

　　At his words, Jua again covered her mouth with a delicate, knowing laugh. "So it would seem. You really can’t hide your nature. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Just like your father, you have a fatal weakness for pretty women."

　　"Ahem. She must be referring to the young lady who was cleaning the annex earlier," Incheol interjected.

　　Taegyeom’s impassive gaze shot toward him like an arrow. Though his eyes were calm, a chilling cold emanated from them, freezing the blood in Incheol’s veins. As if to say, Do you really think I don’t know that?, the silent, icy rebuke in Taegyeom’s stare commanded him to shut his mouth.

　　Incheol fell silent.

　　"Isn’t it amusing?" Jua continued, oblivious. "That the daughter of a mere driver, a freeloader in this house, has lived here longer than I have?"

　　Manager Gong swallowed hard, nervously gauging Taegyeom’s mood. His deep, unwavering eyes were fixed on his stepmother, boring into her. His expression made it clear he found nothing amusing at all.

　　"In any case, the Chairman is so generous he simply can’t ignore employees in pitiful circumstances. It feels like just yesterday that girl was running around in her school uniform. Her parents were so proud when she was accepted into a good university."

　　Jua ran her eyes over Taegyeom’s now-tidy appearance with a proud look, as if she were a real mother seeing her son off to work. The crease of displeasure between Taegyeom’s brows deepened. His notoriously thin patience was wearing out.

　　"But then her mother passed away, and her father got into some major trouble recently. I felt sorry for the poor girl, wandering about all alone, so I let her stay at the mansion."

　　"And?" Taegyeom’s voice was clipped. "What is the point of this useless monologue?"

　　"Oh, no real reason. You’re about the same age, and I just thought if you knew each other from before, she might be of some help as you adjust to life in Korea."

　　Taegyeom let out a short, hollow laugh. The corner of his mouth twisted into a disbelieving smirk.

　　"Mother."

　　His voice was low and deep, stripped of annoyance, displeasure, or any discernible emotion. At the word, a strange, triumphant light flickered in Jua’s eyes. She had clearly interpreted the first utterance of ‘Mother’ from his lips as a declaration of surrender.

　　Taegyeom’s lips curled into a cold sneer. "Stop your bullshit."

　　The cool warning hung in the air.

　　"Wh-what did you say?" Jua stammered, her face a mask of disbelief. Bullshit?

　　It was a hostile, vulgar term she, the iron-fisted mistress of GK Group, had not heard directed at her in at least twenty years. Having lived a lifetime of insulated elegance, Madam Shin was so profoundly shocked by the raw vulgarity that her face turned ashen. "How… how could you say such a thing…"

　　"If you have a bad brain, you shouldn’t use it," he stated calmly. "And don’t even think about trying your pathetic little schemes."

　　Jua’s lips began to tremble. Her face hardened into a pale mask before flushing hot with shame. The elegant smile that had graced her features vanished, and her eyes contorted into a vicious snarl.

　　Having savored the dramatic transformation of her expression, Taegyeom turned without another thought and climbed into the back of the sedan.

　　"What is that supposed to mean? Who has a bad brain? Ha! I am speechless!" Jua shrieked, finally snapping out of her shock.

　　"You’re the one who needs some sense if you lack a brain! Do you have any idea why the Chairman brought you back?"