Chapter 15 (1/2)
Seo-yun stood up from the chair, knelt on the floor and bowed her head.
“Please forgive me, father,” she said.
She would always put her greediness ahead of her ability.
As she was a married daughter; no better than a stranger, she was not on the Sunyang’s successor-list. So she’d been convinced, if she helped her husband, Choi enter into politics and lay hold of political authority, with which she could remove the successors, in order to monopolize Sunyang. It was not necessary to add the idea of making Choi the next president in the first place.
And Seo-yun must have egged Choi on to submit his resignation to the prosecution and run for the National a.s.sembly.
”Once the department store's sales results go down, you’ll have to stay out of its management,” the grandfather said.
His tone was firm. She stiffened.
With his flushed face, trembling lips, Choi came out of the grandfather’s study and left without looking back.
Something was not right.
After I quickly scanned the living room to make sure there was no one else there, I moved my feet closer to the door to the study.
A loud voice burst out. Its owner was of course the grandfather.
He seemed determined not to give Seo-yun any more than Sunyang department store.
Her resentment must have been acc.u.mulating while her brothers were taking over Sunyang’s main affiliates.
The sound of a chair scratching against the floor startled me. I darted into the living room.
Pretending to laze around on the sofa, I stole a glance at Seo-yun coming out of the study, blowing her nose.
I jumped up off the sofa when I noticed the grandfather’s appearance.
”What were you doing? Weren’t you bored?” he asked.
”Not at all, I was reading the book,” I answered.
”That’s a good habit,”
When he then stroked my head, his PA rushed through the front door into the living room, bowed his head and handed him a thick envelope of doc.u.ments.
”Did you finish the purchase?”
”Yes, sir. Finished the registration transfer as well,”
”Great, and the construction?”
”It will start tomorrow, and once the pasture is completed, two thoroughbred ponies will be transferred first,”
”Good,”
When the PA bowed his head, then left the study, the grandfather smiled brightly and opened the envelope.
The thick doc.u.ments were obviously the registration of the pasture. And some pictures and the construction drawing.
The pictures were of ponies from Arab, and the drawing was for the pasture.
”What do you think?” he asked, looking at the pictures.
I did not care what the ponies looked like, but I pretended to like them, clapping my hands for joy. What I was most interested in was whose name was on the register, and whether the land was 50 acres.
We looked at the pictures of the horses, then finally opened the registration doc.u.ments.
”This is the land you picked,” he said, showing the doc.u.ments to me.
What! 80?
”I remember you said 50?” I asked.
”You remember the number of its acres?”
It seemed to have impressed him as he would always think numbers matter a great deal.
”The landlord would not sell 50, but 80 acres,”
I was already calculating the amount of the land compensation in my head. A giggle escaped.
When he saw my smile that I could not hide, a gratifying smile curled his lips.
“Is that good?” he asked.
He probably thought I smiled because of the pasture and ponies.
Although my name is on the register, I should keep the doc.u.ments safe.
I dropped the pictures and reached for the doc.u.ments, then started to read them.
”If you read them, can you understand them, kid?” he asked, then laughed out loud.
”No, but because these are mine,” I said.
More laughter ensued.
Mine; a savings account with a current balance of 16 billion won that will expire in a couple of years.
This was a large amount of money that was the equivalent of over 200 apartments as a 90 sq.ft. apartment in Seoul was now worth only 75 million won. And it was my seed money.
”Let me keep them,” he said, stroking my head.
When he thrust his hand out, I put a sullen look on my face.