By Zephyria After finishing his afternoon schedule, Lee Do-hyeon headed to the main family residence. It took a full hour to get from the company to the main house in Pyeongchang-dong. It was hard to get through the rush hour traffic, as if crossing a river was a big deal. This wasn’t the only reason he had left the main house early to live independently, but Do Hwon was certain that if he hadn’t defied Kim Mi-hee, who wanted to keep him close and monitor him, he would have been bedridden with frustration.
The neighborhood, consisting only of detached houses, was so quiet that it was hard to believe it shared the same administrative district as the heart of Gangnam, where Do Hwon had been standing just a while ago. Instead of putting the car in the garage, Do Hwon parked it haphazardly in the alley in front of the house and looked up at the fence, which was much taller than he was.
“You’ve arrived.”
This is a prison, damn it. As he was about to take a cigarette out of his jacket pocket, the closed gate swung open. Secretary Yoo, neatly dressed in a black uniform, was looking at Do Hwon with a face devoid of any smile.
“Go in first.”
“Please smoke when you leave. The Madam doesn’t like it.”
Ting. The crisp sound of the Zippo lighter opening and closing echoed in the quiet alley. Despite Secretary Yoo’s dissuasion, Do Hwon defiantly put a cigarette in his mouth. He exhaled a long stream of hazy smoke while looking straight into the other person’s eyes, and Secretary Yoo sighed. Sighing openly in front of the employer would be unprecedented, but since Secretary Yoo was thoroughly Kim Mi-hee’s man, it wasn’t surprising.
“Where’s Lee Gyu-hyeon?”
“The young master returned home an hour ago.”
“He’s already discharged from the hospital?”
“He’s just out for a while.”
Hmm. Do Hwon’s eyebrows twitched. Not ‘Big Young Master’ but just ‘Young Master.’ It couldn’t be a mistake, and it certainly wasn’t for convenience. If it was Secretary Yoo, it was obviously intentional. It wasn’t just Kim Mi-hee who was becoming more cunning as she got older.
After leisurely finishing his cigarette, Do Hwon handed the shortened butt to Secretary Yoo as if throwing an object instead of putting it in a portable ashtray. Lee Gyu-hyeon would be just as arrogant, but it was obvious that he would be offended if Do Hwon acted the same way. As expected, Secretary Yoo didn’t pick up the cigarette butt that had fallen on the back of his hand right away and frowned slightly. Do Hwon didn’t even glance at him and went inside.
He headed straight to the dining table, where the whole family was already gathered for dinner. ‘The whole family’ was only three people—Chairman Lee, Kim Mi-hee, and Lee Gyu-hyeon—excluding Do Hwon, who had just arrived, and Do-hee, who hadn’t been invited, but everyone probably thought that only these three were people of Young-gang. As if to prove it, Kim Mi-hee put down her chopsticks with a sullen face.
“You’re late.”
Do Hwon gave a polite bow to Kim Mi-hee, who greeted him kindly, and paused when he saw the brightly shining blonde hair next to her. Lee Gyu-hyeon, who had bleached not only his hair but also his eyebrows bright yellow, stared at Do Hwon with an openly crooked gaze. Do Hwon silently pulled up the corners of his mouth into a smile and pulled out a chair to sit down.
“Auntie, set a place for Do Hwon too.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The woman who had been pouring water for Kim Mi-hee quickly set up a meal for Do Hwon. The bland table, made up only of Chairman Lee’s tastes, made him lose what little appetite he had left. Do Hwon picked up his chopsticks and pretended to eat. No one pointed it out.
“I hear rumors that you’re going around looking at land.”
Chairman Lee, who had been silent all along, opened his mouth right after finishing his meal. Chairman Lee, who had drunk a bowl of warm scorched rice water like water as usual, leaned back comfortably and suddenly spoke. Just as he wondered who the words were directed at, Chairman Lee looked at Do Hwon, and the other two pairs of eyes also turned to Do Hwon.
“The real estate market is in a slump these days, but it seems you’ve developed an interest late?”
Kim Mi-hee asked. It was infuriating that she was pretending not to know when she already knew everything. Do Hwon simply put down the chopsticks he had been holding neatly and gave a good-natured smile.
“I have a business I’m planning these days. I didn’t mention it because nothing has been confirmed yet, but I didn’t know you already knew everything.”
Do Hwon looked quite embarrassed as he said that. But there were thorns in his words. It meant to monitor appropriately. The muscles in Kim Mi-hee’s face, who was quick-witted, were trembling slightly.
Chairman Lee was intrigued by the word ‘new business’ and turned his head completely towards Do Hwon.
“Business? What kind of business?”
“Honey, do you have to talk about work even at home?”
“I have to hear it from Do Hwon like this since he lives outside, unlike Gyu-hyeon. So, tell me.”
A confident smile appeared on Do Hwon’s face. It was what he had expected since he was told to come to the main house. He didn’t know how it had gotten to Chairman Lee’s ears, but he must have been curious and wanted to call him in to hear about it. He had planned to surprise them after completing all the preparations, but now that the words were out, there was no way to hide it. If it was something he would experience someday, there was no problem in experiencing it in advance.
“I’m thinking of building a hotel.”
“A hotel?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Chairman Lee made a humming sound and stroked his chin. That was because the hotel business had always been Young-gang Group’s long-cherished desire. It was also a business that Lee Gyu-hyeon had tried to promote with Kim Mi-hee’s influence several years ago but had failed. For a while, they had been focusing only on duty-free shops and department store businesses, but when the word ‘hotel’ came out of Do Hwon’s mouth, Lee Gyu-hyeon glared.
On the other hand, Chairman Lee had a rather interesting look on his face. Not long after making his eldest son Lee Gyu-hyeon the successor, the second son, who had been pushed out of the succession structure, was bringing in a plan that had already failed, which meant he was re-challenging the throne.
Frankly, from Chairman Lee’s point of view, Lee Do-hyeon was a mixed blessing. He didn’t want to keep him, but he couldn’t bear to give him to someone else. He admitted that he had manifested as a Dominant Alpha like him and had good business acumen, but Do Hwon’s disadvantage and weakness was that he had no backing compared to Lee Gyu-hyeon and that he was an illegitimate child brought in from the outside. That’s why it was ambiguous to readily give him the position of successor. His wife, Kim Mi-hee, who had been watching them weigh the two, had been looking for an opportunity to kick Do Hwon out since a long time ago. It was too precious to leave it at that, so he handed over the construction business, which had been in the red for several years. Construction was just a name; in reality, it was used to handle Young-gang’s dirty work that was happening behind the scenes. He was using it well, and now a hotel. It was quite an interesting thing for Chairman Lee, who had already become a toothless tiger.
“Hmm. Do you have a good place in mind?”
“There are still some shantytowns in Seoul that haven’t been redeveloped. I’m thinking of choosing a place that has been abandoned after only talking about redevelopment.”
Kim Mi-hee, who had been looking for an opportunity, suddenly joined the conversation.
“Isn’t it because the residents’ opposition is so strong that they can’t even redevelop it in the first place? If they can’t even redevelop it, can they build a hotel in such a place?”
Do Hwon only moved his eyes to look at her. It was obvious that she was pretending to worry but was trying to make him give up no matter what. He smiled brightly as if they were a close mother-son relationship, and Kim Mi-hee flinched and smiled back.
“So, I have to try as much as I can.”
“Yes, that’s right. But…”
“I’ll work hard, Mother. I won’t disappoint you.”
He cut off Kim Mi-hee’s words abruptly because she showed no signs of giving up. Do Hwon’s attitude was too polite to criticize him for being rash. Kim Mi-hee bit her lips so tightly that they turned white. She awkwardly nodded, perhaps unable to bring herself to encourage him, even if it was just a saying.
“Are you confident?”
When Kim Mi-hee retreated without getting anything out of it, Lee Gyu-hyeon stepped up this time. He thought he was just sitting there without thinking, but he must have felt a sense of crisis, as his face was sharp and his expression was sensitive. Do Hwon looked down at Lee Gyu-hyeon with the same smiling face. His lowered gaze was cold.
“I wouldn’t have even brought it up if I wasn’t confident.”
“Really?”
His eyes, which were long and narrow like Kim Mi-hee’s, became even thinner. He was grinning, showing his teeth, so it seemed like he had something up his sleeve.
“He’s so confident, so please allow him, Father.”
“Gyu-hyeon!”
“I need to hear the details to know for sure, but I think it’s okay for now.”
“Lee Gyu-hyeon!”
Kim Mi-hee urgently grabbed Lee Gyu-hyeon’s arm when he added words to Chairman Lee, who was still only thinking deeply. Chairman Lee frowned as if he didn’t want to hear her tearing voice. Kim Mi-hee coughed softly and closed her mouth, but her hand was still holding her son. Lee Gyu-hyeon covered his mother’s hand with his own and patted it as if soothing a child.
“A hotel isn’t just an inn. It’s a chance to make up for the construction side’s deficit.”
“……”
“Let’s turn it into a surplus this time. Do Hwon also needs to have a face to show his employees as the head of construction.”
He said it plausibly and then smiled at Do Hwon. He was setting the stage like this when he should have been turning his eyes and rushing in, saying he was absolutely against it, which was absurd. Judging from the fact that he had no intention of hiding his expression, he was openly trying to screw him over. There was no way that building just one hotel could make up for all the deficits that had accumulated over the years. He was probably giving him something that would fail from the start and then holding him responsible.
Chairman Lee, who had been watching with his arms crossed, took a deep breath. The eyes of the three people turned to the head seat. Chairman Lee’s eyes, looking back and forth between his two sons, were full of interest.
“Building it isn’t a difficult task. What are you thinking of doing next? Do you have any plans?”
The next plan he was talking about meant management. Instead of taking the plan in his head out of his mouth, Do Hwon looked at Lee Gyu-hyeon. He was probably thinking of putting a puppet in place who would be easy to control according to his taste, even if he didn’t step up himself. Sure enough. Lee Gyu-hyeon was excited and chattering away even though it wasn’t a question directed at him.
“How about leaving it to Do-hee?”
“Do-hee?”
For the first time, a crack appeared on Chairman Lee’s face. Chairman Lee, who was more closed-minded than he looked, had included Do-hee in the succession fight that he would have ended with two people, but that was purely for show, conscious of public opinion. Chairman Lee was the one who clicked his tongue every time he saw Do-hee, an Alpha, saying that a daughter should be an Omega. Knowing that, Lee Gyu-hyeon was happily chattering away, not knowing what was so good about it.
“She’s also a member of Young-gang, and it’s time for her to take on something. I think she should stop unnecessarily rummaging through other people’s insides.”
“She’s just getting her fellowship and settling down, so management is too much.”
When he gave his dissenting opinion, Lee Gyu-hyeon, who had been smiling all along, glared at Do Hwon fiercely. Do Hwon didn’t back down and met his gaze. Did you think I wouldn’t have expected this far? If it was an answer that you came up with by racking your stupid brain, it was obvious without even looking.
“I remember that Father’s idea was to make her a professor within 10 years if left alone, and then create a medical foundation to seat Do-hee in time.”
Chairman Lee nodded silently. He had no intention of giving her the position of CEO, but he had to use her in a way that would benefit Young-gang somehow, so he would not think of entrusting her with hotel management. Lee Gyu-hyeon, who hadn’t thought that far, couldn’t hide his dismay and covered his face as if drinking water.
“Do Hwon, write up a proposal and bring it in within a few days. Let’s talk about it again then.”
“Yes, Father.”
Chairman Lee wrapped up the conversation and got up first. As soon as he left, Do Hwon also got up from his seat and turned around without a word of the commonplace ‘I ate well.’ Secretary Yoo was standing near the front door. He only gave him a short glance at the man who bowed his head politely and turned back the way he had come.
Before getting into the car, he put a cigarette in his mouth, and he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. The frivolous footsteps were Lee Gyu-hyeon’s. It was a gait that had been solidified since he was a kid who would take anything that was Do Hwon’s.
“What are you up to?”
Lee Gyu-hyeon, who had run outside, looked around and found Do Hwon and approached him in one step.
“What do you think?”
When he returned the question with a question, he shut his mouth tightly. His stomach was boiling, and even though it was dark in the alley where the sun had already set, Lee Gyu-hyeon’s face was flushed red. There was no corner of his appearance that didn’t resemble Kim Mi-hee, but somehow only his dark skin was Chairman Lee’s. And his head was in that shape, so he had no sense of aesthetics at all.
Do Hwon, who snorted, blew cigarette smoke at that ugly face.
“Don’t bother rolling your head unnecessarily and dye your hair before you go to the hospital. Are you advertising that you’re on drugs?”
“Shut your fucking mouth?”
Lee Gyu-hyeon looked around at the word ‘drugs’ and flared up as if he was going to throw a punch. If you want. Do Hwon shut his mouth tightly and shrugged his shoulders. He threw the cigarette he couldn’t smoke on the floor and waved his hand roughly, saying he was leaving. He turned the lights on and off on purpose, and Lee Gyu-hyeon frowned as if he was dazzled and cursed with his mouth. He was about to leave as it was, but he rolled down the car window because he suddenly had a question.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“…What is it?”
“Usually, people do all sorts of things to avoid getting caught for doing drugs, right? I heard there are even people who pluck all their pubic hair, so did Hyung pluck it too?”
Do Hwon’s indifferent gaze briefly touched Lee Gyu-hyeon’s crotch and then fell. The pubic hair situation of his half-brother was none of his business, really. As soon as he closed the car window and stepped on the accelerator, Lee Gyu-hyeon, who was getting angry at the receding car, was reflected in the side mirror. There was no one to see, so Do Hwon now laughed out loud openly. It was fortunate that there was something like that in his boring life.