Outside meeting hall, Soo hyun passed by his dad and bowed to greet him. His dad congratulated him on his appointment
"Congratulations on your appointment. You've worked hard"
"Thank you Mr Chairman"
"Why don't you come over to your uncle's for dinner today, it will be your congratulatory dinner. Your mum and I will be there"
"No thanks I'll pass, am still working on the preparation for the launch of Interior "
"No no, I insist, you should be there by six"
"Let's go" he turned around and said to the executives who were waiting for him. Soo hyun and Mr Lee bowed to them as they left.
"Hey, what was that?, why did it sound like you and your dad aren't on good terms" Ji hyun asked looking puzzled
"We had a little scuffle last night and I ended up getting slapped" he said smiling
"Are you smiling?, Are you sure you are not losing it?, am starting to get concerned about you, you know" Ji hyun said looking at him with a puzzled look
"Am not crazy, I just find it kind of funny that I still get slapped at this age"
"It's not funny. Anyways, you have to attend the dinner, we can take a rain check on our date" Ji hyun said smiling
"What are you talking about?, What do you mean date?" Soo hyun asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"We were supposed to meet up later tonight to celebrate your appointment, did you forget?, Am hurt" Ji hyun said with mock hurt
"No, I didn't forget, but why would you call it a date?"
"Isn't that what a date is?, two people meeting up to eat" Ji hyun said as he burst out laughing
"You are crazy, you really are"
"No we both are, that's why we click pretty well" Soo hyun couldn't agree more.
So mum was unhappy with the decision of the board members and of course so was his dad. They both put in a lot of effort to make sure that So mun was given the position of Hankang interior.
"Dad, that's why I told you we should have bought over more executives, If we had I might have had more of a chance in winning that position. Why did you have to go and disagree with the idea of creating Hankang interior anyways. Am sure the board members found it ridiculous that you wanted your son to take up the CEO position of a company you were against it's creation" So mun said with irritation
"I did my best you know, I even bribed some board members so they would be in support of you, I even went to see my younger brother yesterday to ask him to let you be the CEO. I th. This is all your fault you know, why have you been living life recklessly and only decided to join the company now. If you had been in the company for as long as he has, you may have gotten that position "
"You know Soo hyun wasn't interested in anything else apart from the company, you think he has ever dated or fallen in love and you say I should be like him?"
"Then don't complain and make do with the position you have been given. It may even be a good thing if we are able to make this work in our favor. I think I have a plan, and it's a good one too"
Soo hyun's family have been in tug of war for Hankang global like any other Chaebol family. They were always on bad terms fighting for one thing or the other.
So gwon, is Soo hyun's uncle and his dad's elder brother. Their father the founder of Hankang global Mr Jung gu won believed that management rights didn't automatically belong to the eldest child. He believed that the most competent child and the child who made more profit was the most worthy. After his death, to the surprise of everyone he willed the chairman position to his younger child, Jung mo tak (Soo hyun's dad). Jung So gwon and his wife weren't happy with that fact, thus the Jung family have been in loggerheads for quite a while. Back in the day So gwon was known as the not so competent first son of the then Chairman. He always flunked projects and was always being chased by the prosecution, he had been involved in many scandals and had been in prison for misappropriation of funds, but he was still loved by his father. He was very close to his dad and his dad always did everything for him, his dad always backed him up and never let the prosecution get to him. Even when he was jailed the chairman went all out to get him out of prison.
For Mo tak, Soo hyun's dad, he and the chairman weren't exactly on very good terms because Mo tak had gotten married to an actress ( Soo hyun's mum) against his father's wishes, this made the chairman cut ties with him. Mo tak started a distribution company on his own without any help from his dad and he did extremely well in the business even without his dad's help. This was the reason the chairman willed the chairman position to Mo tak to the surprise of many. Mo tak's distribution company is the now Hankang marketing and distribution, one of the most successful subsidiaries of the Hankang group.
The sudden change of heart of the chairman, has made the two brothers rivals, as So gwon still tries to get the chairman position, and Mo tak trying hard to keep his position.
At Soo mun's family house, his uncle's family had just arrived and they exchanged pleasantries, though his mum, Mrs Jeon Mo mi was evidently unhappy. Chu mae ok and Jeon Mo mi never really got along for reasons best known to them, but they let it slide occasionally during family gatherings like this one.
"Hello uncle, aunt, it been a while" So mun greeted
"Yes, it has, how have you been?" Mo tak asked.
"I've been good, thank you"
"That's good to hear. Congratulations on your appointment, You did well at the meeting. Hello brother" Mo tak greeted
"Hello brother in law, sister in law" Soo hyun's mum greeted
"Yes hello" So mun's mum answered
"Right, take a seat you two" So gwon said gesturing to the sofa in front of him "where is Soo hyun?, or is he not coming?" He asked.
"He will be here, he said he will come from work" his mum answered
"Alright then, why don't we start before he gets here" So gwon said
"Yes sure, Mrs Kim please set up the table and serve the food" So mun's mum instructed
"Yes ma'am" their maid servant replied.
"The table has been set and the food has been served ma'am" Ms Kim announced after ten minutes
"Ok, then let's head to the dining then" So gwon said standing up
As they were heading to the dining, Soo hyun walked in holding a bag. He bowed to greet them
"Hello, am sorry am late" He said as he bowed down
"It's ok, we were just about to start anyways, besides what is that in your hands" his uncle asked
"Oh, it's been a while since I came here, so I didn't want to come empty handed. This is one of the finest blueberry wines in Korea"
"Oh thanks for the gift" His uncle said laughing
Soo hyun handed the wine to Ms Kim as he made his way to the dining and sat down
"Thank you for the food" he said before eating.
Soo hyun had been avoiding his parent's eyes especially his dad's, he was of course still angry with him for slapping him. After a few bites, So gwon decided to bring up what had happened yesterday.
"Mo tak, have you and Soo hyun made up" he asked as he looked at his younger brother
"Oh, that, it's been settled" he said trying to avoid the topic
"Ok, that's good to hear, Soo hyun how is your engagement with So mi going?, Have you set a date" He asked looking at Soo hyun
Soo hyun stopped as he was about to eat, he dropped the spoon he was using to eat and let out a loud sigh. He sat up straight and decided he was going to put his foot down. He won't be getting married to her.
"No, uncle, a date hasn't been set because I won't be getting engaged to her" Soo hyun said to his uncle
"Why?, do you want to proceed with the wedding without an engagement, right, that will be better instead of wasting time and money on an engagement ceremony. Right Mo tak?" he said looking at his brother
"Uncle, that is not what I meant, I mean that I don't want to get married to her"
"What?, why not?, why don't you want to get married to her?, did she do something wrong?," His uncle asked
"No, I just don't like her, I was against the marriage in the first place and I still haven't changed my mind, she is not the right person for me. I wanted to give it a try because I didn't have anyone I was interested in, but now I do"
"So you fell in love with someone else while seeing her?"
"Yes Uncle and I would appreciate it if you can all plans of engagement between me and her"
"Hey you little punk, do you know what good it will do the group if the chief prosecutor is on our side?" His uncle asked asked, anger bubbling inside him
"But that will mean you will be forcing me to get married to someone I don't want to, if it will do our family that much good why don't you ask So mun to get married to her"
"What are you talking about Soo hyun?" His dad asked
"Don't you know you are the one one So mi chose, do you think she will want to someone she doesn't love?"
"Uncle can you hear yourself?, so So mi shouldn't get married to someone she doesn't love but I must marry her just because she likes me. Does that sound fair to you?"
So gwon of course was caught off guard by Soo hyun's question so of course he didn't know how to reply him.
"I think you should be able to make such a sacrifice for the good of Hankang global" his dad said
"Dad, am not going to change my mind as regards getting married to so mi. And I don't think I need to make such a sacrifice, if we make profit through honest means and if we work hard we won't need the prosecution"
"We are here to celebrate the appointments of Soo hyun and So mum, we shouldn't be talking about this right now, it's spoiling the mood. We can talk about this some other time" Soo hyun's mother said trying to change the subject.
"Your mum is right, we will talk about this another time. But Soo hyun you should seriously reconsider this decision of yours" his uncle said in conclusion
After the dinner as Soo hyun said goodbye to his uncle and his parents, So mun stopped him so they could talk.
"It's been a while you know" So mun said
"Yeah, I haven't seen you in a while, and when I finally see you try to take something I worked hard for"
"Come on, I was just doing what a business man is supposed to do"
"A business man is supposed to steal someone else's blood sweat and tears?, is that what you think a business man does. You still have a lot to learn"
"Whatever, can you ever not talk about work?"
"You know me well enough by now to know that I can't, so what is it"
"What?, Can't we make small talk?"
"We are not close enough for that"
"Sure fine forget small talk, why did you suggest me getting married to So mi, if you really t
urn it down, I might be willing to get married to her "
"Be my guest" Soo hyun said as he left