Kang Dong-sik is an ordinary parent with a son and a daughter.
He worked at a small printing press with about 10 employees, and was nearing retirent age, which was a year away. His son got a job at a construction company and got married the year before last. His daughter, who worked as a secretary at a small company, recently got married as well.
The person his daughter married was her senior colleague from work, which did not sit well with him. If only he worked at a reputable large company, or had a stable job like a civil servant or a teacher, how much better would it have been?
Even though he didn’t like it, what could he do if they were happy among themselves? He reluctantly accepted it, pretending to be okay with it.
The issue was the cost of the weddings. After spending to ensure they could afford even a small rental house, they were left with no savings.
Their only remaining assets were an apartnt in a small town. The pension he would receive wasn’t much, and he would have to wait for another 5 years to start receiving it.
The prospect of working as a security guard after retirent didn’t seem appealing to him.
“So people say they turned their lives around after winning the lottery.”
It was just sothing people said. However, he bought a lottery ticket worth 5,000 won on his way ho, not expecting to win first prize, but just hoping for a little luck.
Nevertheless, luck ca from a completely unexpected place.
It was an ordinary day when his boss told everyone to turn on the TV as OTK Company was holding a press conference. Kang Dong-sik, who wasn’t really interested, went out for a smoke and ca back inside. Before taking his seat, he glanced at the TV screen and sohow, the young man’s face on the TV seed familiar.
“Isn’t that Jin-hoo?”
He felt silly even saying it to himself.
“Maybe just a look-alike?”
Thinking so and convincing himself, a colleague beside him said, “It is Jin-hoo!”
“Right. He just revealed his na as Kang Jin-hoo.”
“Whoa! Th-that’s really him?”
Surprised, the coworkers all looked at him simultaneously.
The boss asked,
“Mr. Kang, why the surprise? Shouldn’t you be more composed since we know each other?”
“He’s, he’s my nephew.”
“What? Your nephew?”
“He’s my younger brother’s son.”
“Well, now that you ntion it… he does resemble Mr. Kang a bit.”
The employees alternated their gazes between Kang Dong-sik and the young man who appeared on TV. There was definitely a resemblance in their facial features and eyes.
“That’s really sothing.”
“Wow! Amazing. So, he really is Mr. Kang’s nephew?”
“Y-yes, but… why is he out there saying such things?”
The real surprise ca at the end.
“I am the CEO of OTK Company.”
Upon hearing this, the office was thrown into a frenzy.
“W-what? That young man is the CEO of OTK Company?”
“If he’s the CEO of OTK Company, how much is his net worth then?”
“Well, it’s not less than 10 trillion, is it?”
“What’s 10 trillion? It must be at least 20 trillion. They say during Brexit, he earned over 30 trillion.”
“Should we believe this?”
It was equally unbelievable for Kang Dong-sik.
“My nephew… Dong-hyun’s son Jin-hoo is the CEO of OTK Company?”
Unsure if it was a dream or reality, he stood there in a daze when his phone rang.
The youngest sister was Kang Dong-hwa.
“[Oppa! Did you see what Jin-hoo did on TV just now? That was Jin-hoo, right?]”
“Yeah, I saw it. Seems like it’s him.”
“Oh my goodness! What in the world is going on?”
Following that, calls ca from his wife and younger brother. Everyone was shocked and didn’t know what to do.
The boss patted his shoulder.
“Oh! Our nephew is the CEO of OTK Company now. Take good care of us in the future, Manager Kang.”
“I will do my best, Sir.”
“Isn’t this like winning the lottery?”
At those words, Kang Dong-sik suddenly ca to his senses.
‘Now that I think of it…’
His nephew is a conglorate with tens of trillions worth of assets! In a way, it’s a much bigger stroke of luck than winning the lottery.
How much closer could their relationship be? Jin-hoo is his brother’s son!
Kang Dong-sik left work early and headed ho. He talked to his family first, then to his siblings.
He decided to contact Representative Je-su first. He was worried that the number might have changed after several years, but fortunately, the call went through.
“Hello, Je-su. This is Dong-hyun and Dong-sik.”
“Oh, yes. Hello. How have you been, Sir?”
“I’m sorry, I’m a bit out of it now. I’ll contact you later.”
“Ah, I understand.”
After finishing the press conference, Kang Jin-hoo went straight to the prosecution office. From his mother’s perspective, she must be too worried about her son to think of anything else.
He waited calmly. Fortunately, the prosecution dropped the charges shortly after, and Kang Jin-hoo was released unhard.
When he heard the news, he tried to contact them again, but oddly, the call didn’t go through easily.
“Could it be that they’re intentionally avoiding us?”
Feeling frustrated, the relatives gathered for a eting.
“I found out that they seem to be living in that house again.”
“This is not the ti for that. How about we all go and see them together? Upon the words of the third sibling Kang Dong-sik, the youngest sister Kang Dong-hwa nodded.
“That’s right. Such a happy occasion has co, we should gather as a family to celebrate. We can also see Jin-hoo’s face after a long ti.”
“Yeah. We haven’t had many opportunities to gather in one place, but this might be a good chance to all co together.”
Once relatives, always relatives.
How could a relationship connected by bloodlines be easily severed?
***
I got into the car and headed straight to Dongtan, whatever the reason may be.
“Co with .”
Taek-gyu quickly followed and got into the seat next to .
As soon as I turned the key, I started the car.
“Hey, drive a bit more slowly.”
Thinking about my mother surrounded by relatives, I felt anxious.
Since I couldn’t reach her, I headed straight to my mother’s house.
“But didn’t you know that your relatives were coming?”
I sighed at Taek-gyu’s question and replied, “I had even forgotten that I had relatives.”
My mother is an only child. Her father passed away when she was in middle school, and her mother passed away when I was a baby.
On the other hand, my father was the second of three sons and one daughter. My paternal grandparents passed away when I was in high school, so we often gathered with relatives during holidays.
“After my father passed away, we lost contact.”
“Was it because the family fell apart?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“That might be a bigger reason.”
Among the four siblings, my father was the most successful.
He wasn’t hugely successful, but he could afford to drive a luxury sedan and dine out at restaurants. This ant that among the other three siblings, there wasn’t anyone significantly more successful. Therefore, my father was in a position to help his siblings, not receive help from them.
However, after my father passed away and his business failed, the situation changed drastically. My mother, in urgent need, appealed to relatives for money. But she was turned down by all, and that’s how the contact was lost.
It’s not hard to understand. In tough tis, it’s not easy to lend money that may be hard to recoup.
It might be upsetting, but I didn’t hold any resentnt. It just annoyed that I suddenly appeared and barged into my mother’s house.
Senior Sunbae Sangyeop, whose identity was revealed before mine, also reportedly went through a similar experience.
Constantly bothered by relatives visiting, they moved their parents to a high-security luxury villa and changed their own phone number, rejecting all etings.
“It’s like once they find out you’ve succeeded despite being picky, they want to act all close with you.”
While I, whose na and face are known through press conferences, there is little known about Taekgyu. However, everyone knows that Hyunjoo beca the CEO of Golden Gate.
“Do people co to your house often?”
“Is it a big deal if my sister is doing well for a day or two? We don’t have many relatives, and everyone is doing just fine. We get inquiries about where to invest, but we’re fine.”
They arrived ho during the conversation. I parked the car in front of the gate.
“Should I co in with you?”
“No, wait for here.”
“Okay.” I opened the car door and got out.
The head of the security team who was already there opened the gate for .
“Did you arrive?”
“Why weren’t you blocking the way?”
She bowed her head at my words.
“My apologies. Madam asked you to co in…”
Even without looking, I could imagine it. Considering my mother’s personality, she probably couldn’t just send them away.
As we entered through the front door, around ten people were in the living room, sitting closely together on the floor as the sofa was not enough.
Fruits and coffee were prepared at the front. Was it necessary to entertain guests like this?
“I’m here, Mother.”
In the midst of their awkward expressions, my mother looked up and stood up suddenly.
“Jinhoo, is that you?”
I asked my mother in a soft voice.
“Why did you let them in?”
“But they are your father’s family after all, we can’t just turn them away, can we?”
Family is there for both good and bad tis, no different from strangers.
Relatives welcod all at once.
“Oh! Jin-hoo is here.”
“Nice to see you, Jin-hoo.”
“You’ve beco more manly since I last saw you.”
Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, aunt, cousin sister, a stranger next to them, and two kids.
“…”
There are so many of them.
Father looked out the window and said, “Did you co here by that car? Isn’t that a Porsche?”
“Wow. It must be worth over 100 million.”
Aunt said, “Jin-hoo even picked out the 7 Series in the yard. Jin-hoo is such a filial son. Your sister is so lucky.”
I asked my mother, “Please bring so tea leaves and fruits. Steep the tea well and cut lots of fruits, please.”
“Got it.”
Mother went into the kitchen, and I sat on the sofa.
Grandfather smiled and asked, “How many years has it been? Did you finish your military service well?”
“Well, how many years has it been? It feels like it’s the first ti we’re eting since the funeral parlor.”
“Really? Anyway, I was quite surprised after seeing the press conference. If sothing like that happens, you should contact us sooner.”
The grandmother nodded her head.
“Yes. I don’t know how worried everyone was. Why would the prosecutors arrest an innocent person?”
“That’s right. They are very bad people. I used to support Park Si-hyeong too, but after seeing what they did to our Jinhoo, I changed my mind.”
The aunt who was agreeing with her turned to the children next to her and said, “He’s your cousin. Rember? You should say hello to Jinhoo.”
The children, who now looked like elentary school students, stood up and bowed to greet, “Hello. I’m Kim Jungmin.”
“Hello. I’m Kim Mina.”
I rember seeing them when they were very young.
“Isn’t it ti to go to school now?”
“You can skip school for a day. Family gatherings are more important.”
In response to the aunt’s words, the younger mother nodded her head.
“Well then. Rather than being good at studying, one should beco a person of good character. The lady here seems to be educating the children very well.”
The children themselves seem a bit confused about the situation, but still seem to enjoy not going to school.
“How have you been, Jinhoo? You’ve grown so cool.”
The one who spoke was my grandfather’s daughter and my cousin sister, Kang Miyoung. She looked very pregnant. Next to her was a man I had never seen before.
In his early thirties, with a high nose and thin lips, he seed to be soone who enjoys having fun.
“Who’s this?”
Miyoung introduced him to .
“Oh! My husband, Choi Namwoo. He’s your new brother-in-law, Jinhoo.”
He confidently spoke, “Nice to et you, brother-in-law. Take care of from now on.”
“······.”
When did you start using informal language with ?
Even though you are older and in a superior position, it’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s still lacking in manners.
“Thanks to my brother-in-law, I’ve been treated differently at work. When I told them I’m going to et my brother-in-law today, the boss urged to go quickly and return. Hahaha!”
“······.”
So when did we beco so close that you go around boasting about soone else’s na at work?
I sighed inwardly and spoke.
“Congratulations on your marriage. But when did you get married?”
“It’s been 8 months now.”
“Really? That ans I was already discharged from the military at that ti, but I didn’t receive any news about your wedding.”
“Well, that’s······.”
When Miyoung sister seed flustered, the grandmother made excuses.
“Oh my! Get a grip on yourself. This is my first ti marrying off a child, so with all the preparations for the wedding, I must have forgotten to inform people.”
“Didn’t you marry off Yunhu brother before?”
“Well, I sent him to get married, but sending a daughter off is different.”
Grandfather suddenly slamd the table.
“Geez! Where is your mind wandering?”
“Sorry, dear.”
It was so awkward to see them pretending, I couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
They all seed to want to look good in my eyes, smiling at . It felt like they were wearing smiling masks.
I could see the expressions behind the masks – regret for not doing better in difficult tis, the hope that at least as relatives they would do sothing, the parents’ hearts in providing for their children, desires for money, and so on.
If you change perspectives and think about it, it’s not sothing that can’t be understood.
What if I had just finished my military service and was struggling? And if soone among them had succeeded as much as I had?
Would my mother have also rushed to that house and made various requests? I asked while looking at my relatives.
“So why did everyone co without even contacting ?”
My uncle shrugged.
“It’s nothing serious. We just ca because we wanted to see your face.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
“If you’ve seen my face, then please, get up. I have to go back to work now.”
For so reason, no one got up.
My aunt laughed and said, “Even though it’s been a long ti since our family gathered like this, shouldn’t we have such conversations and discussions?”
“But what about all that money talk you hear about in the news, like tens or hundreds of billions?” I asked the elder uncle.
“Why does that matter? What’s important is that your mother and I are healthy and doing well,” he replied.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“So, shall we get up now?” the younger uncle quickly asked.
“Perhaps, Jin-hoo, since you’re running a business, is there anything we can help with?” even the younger aunt added.
“Well, trust is all that matters, right? It would be nice to work together as a family,” my mother chid in.
The aunt chid in as if waiting, “Exactly. Like how the Eun Sung Group or the Reteg Group operate under brothers handling subsidiaries, it looks good that way.”
“······.”
Was it really good to see conglorates run by family clans?
But let’s correct the relationship if that’s the case.
“The Eun Sung Group was torn apart as brothers fought among themselves over subsidiaries, and the Reteg Group is currently embroiled in a power struggle between two siblings over Korea Lite and Japan Lite.”
“S-so?”
Everyone ca here because they have sothing they want. Even if I send them back now, they will return at any ti.
I loosened my tie, leaned back on the sofa, and said, “If there’s sothing you want from , please go ahead and tell .”
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