I’d Rather Live as a Villain

60 Let’s end it with this one time

“In the old days, people who were frail would not step outside the house for two months if they had a child.”

From noble mtl dot come

At the dinner table in Pyeongchang-dong.

Grandfather was lending his solemn support to my wife and me.

“The doctor at the hospital says to be careful, and we should heed that advice. There are plenty of people to work. If you think about it positively, it’s a good opportunity to see if things can run smoothly without you, if others can fill your absence.”

My wife corrected the misunderstanding Grandfather had, saying she didn’t mean to leave her position entirely.

“I intend to rough it out with the ongoing projects, not to vacate my position completely, Grandfather.”

Father-in-law, who usually stays quiet at the dinner table.

Today, for some reason, he spoke up more often than Grandfather.

“Don’t try to fit it all together like a puzzle. Better take a vacation instead.”

“……A vacation?”

“Don’t be foolish.”

As Father-in-law firmly opened up at the dinner table, it seemed to create an atmosphere as weighty as Grandfather’s, if not more so.

It made me see Father-in-law in a new light.

“If you can’t comfortably take even a two-week break in this situation, then it means you’ve completely mishandled your role as the Chief Operating Officer over the past three years.”

“……”

“During the time you were the head of operations, it meant that the distribution system was running in reverse.”

Even grandfather had a smile on his face, and at this moment, it seemed he acknowledged that my father-in-law was the head of this household.

“A company like Daeyoung Distribution is already a conglomerate in domestic terms just by distribution alone.”

He’s right.

“In such a large organization, the person in charge, the president, should be someone who creates the environment, not just someone who works. If you, as the president, are too fixated on the company, business, and work, neglecting what’s most important to you right now, then it becomes natural for those working under you to do the same.”

Huh? What’s really going on?

Why isn’t my father-in-law paying any attention to grandfather’s mood?

Usually, at meal times, even if my father-in-law spoke briefly, he always carefully watched grandfather’s expression and spoke cautiously.

But not now.

As if acknowledging that he had been lowering himself in front of his own children all this time to magnify the presence of grandfather, he was treating my wife and me with a demeanor opposite to what he had shown at this dining table.

“Don’t make those who support you uncomfortable because of your personal greed and goals. Give them the chance to prove and exert their abilities. That too is a role you must fulfill as a president. How good is the opportunity, as grandfather said? Take a leave until the day the hospital calls you back and vacate your seat comfortably. Grandfather and I have deliberately vacated our seats from time to time. Isn’t that right, father?”

“Of course. The true gems are sorted out when I’m away.”

It was just past 7 PM when dinner was over.

My father-in-law seemed to have something to say to me, about to call me aside when grandfather called him first.

It looked like grandfather was stopping my father-in-law from talking to me.

“The kids are tired. How hectic must their day have been. They went for tests at the hospital at lunch, and then came all the way here in the evening. Send them home quickly so they can rest.”

Only then did my father-in-law take a deep breath and, licking his lips, carefully told my wife and me to go home.

* * *

Chairman Kang Ki-young watched from the window of his study as his grandchildren, arm in arm, crossed the garden and headed towards the garage, a contented look on his face.

“Yes, father.”

As Chairman Kang Man-ho just entered the study, the stern expression he had maintained in front of his daughter and son-in-law was gone, replaced by an inexplicably anxious look.

“Were you going to call Yun, our son-in-law, aside to say something?”

Chairman Kang Ki-young kept his gaze fixed on the window until his grandchildren’s figures completely disappeared. Once they entered the garage, he wheeled his chair around to face his son.

“Preferably until the next check-up…”

His son’s worry was abruptly cut off by Chairman Kang Ki-young.

“Wouldn’t he know to take care of it himself?”

Chairman Kang Ki-young, too, seemed burdened by being the eldest in the household at such times, yet his expression conveyed that he must fulfill that role, calmly looking into his son’s eyes.

“It’s different from when Moon-jung’s mother was around. Even at over ninety, I’m still able to move around so vigorously thanks to this world. Wouldn’t it be absurd if our Daeyoung Hospital couldn’t handle just this?”

“That’s true. I know, but…”

“The weather doesn’t change with obsession or worry. If you become obsessed that the weather must be clear tomorrow, you’ll end up losing sleep all night.”

“…Yes.”

“Take it easy. It would be nice if the weather is clear and we can go on a picnic tomorrow, but if not, we can always go another time. That’s the mindset to have. Remember the time you were so ignorant? You wouldn’t want to repeat that with Moon-jung, would you?”

When even his father acknowledged and regretted his mistakes, Chairman Kang Man-ho had no choice but to calmly compose himself.

“Let’s make that mistake with Moon-jung’s mother the last one.”

* * *

In front of the bright and sunny Songam Art Hall’s new wing on a Saturday.

Not only the district mayor where the art hall was located but also Chairman Joo Kyung-jin of VR Group and his wife, and Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im of Yuseong Chemical, were in attendance to celebrate the opening of the new wing.

CEO Joo Yeon-hee, now noticeably pregnant, had to wear maternity dresses.

Arm in arm with her husband, CEO Joo Yeon-hee was greeting guests inside the new wing when her great-aunt approached.

“I’ve seen these so often in Pyeongchang-dong, but they feel completely different here. You certainly have talent, my niece-in-law.”

“Not at all, Auntie. Hohoho.”

“It’s no small feat to move all these and set up the exhibition.”

“The items are so rare, my grandfather provided them. Is it harder to find these artworks or to exhibit them, I wonder.”

Kang Young-jin quickly noticed his mother-in-law approaching.

“Mother-in-law.”

“Oh, Mr. Kang.”

“You’ve greeted our aunt, haven’t you?”

“Yes, earlier.”

Once again, the great-aunt and mother-in-law exchanged glances, and he quickly handed his wife’s hand to his mother-in-law.

Joo Yeon-hee looked at her husband, clueless.

“I need to talk to Auntie for a moment. It won’t take long.”

Kang Young-jin led his great-aunt to a meeting room set aside in the exhibition hall.

Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im, who was asked to look after her pregnant daughter-in-law, the protagonist, by her nephew, surely knew his intentions.

But she sat down on the sofa her nephew offered, pretending to know nothing and acting nonchalant.

“I haven’t even had a proper look around yet?”

“Auntie.”

He looked uncomfortable.

“Why?”

“I was wondering… if there’s been a mistake on our part towards Yuseong Cosmo, or if we’ve caused any discomfort that I’m unaware of.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You’ve sold a significant amount of our stock…”

Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im responded with a light smile and a dismissive wave of her hand.

“What are you talking about? No, where did you get that idea?”

Kang Young-jin was only filled with unease.

He had heard last week that his younger sibling and their spouse were expecting.

The news alone was enough to worry him, but it coincidentally overlapped with the time when Yoo Sung Cosmo sold off all but 30 percent of Dae Young Chemical’s stock.

“Then why did you sell off so much without giving me any heads-up?”

Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im tilted her head and looked at her nephew over her red-lensed glasses for a long while.

“Why should I have to tip you off?”

“Auntie…”

Quickly softening her expression, Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im said,

“Young-jin. If you act like this, will I feel comfortable coming to congratulate you at such gatherings in the future?”

She lightly grasped her nephew’s hand over the sofa table, creating a kind and gentle smile.

“The love for my nephew is one thing, and the company’s business is another. Why would someone as knowledgeable as you act like this? Dae Young Chemical. The stock has risen enough in the past year since you and Yeon-hee got married. Now, it’s returning to its original course. I’m the one who has to keep the company afloat with sales and investments, so naturally, I have to invest in stocks that seem profitable. It’s not my personal money, after all.”

“I heard you bought Mulsan stock with the money you pulled from our side?”

“If you go any further, will things not get awkward between us, auntie? Such a large sum of money has moved; surely you must have heard about it. But it’s not right to call your aunt out like this in such a setting, Young-jin.”

“No, auntie. Ah, you shouldn’t take it that way. I’m not just anyone; I heard you invested a large sum in Mulsan, and I wondered if you saw something I didn’t, so I asked.”

Kang Soon-im narrowed her eyes and looked at her nephew.

“Who doesn’t know how accurate your auntie’s eye is? I was thinking of getting a head start on Mulsan’s stock myself.”

Pretending not to know, Kang Soon-im simply smiled and said,

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Why would I make my auntie uncomfortable over such a thing? Mulsan isn’t Dae Young, is it?”

“That’s right. You should understand it that way. It’s not good to misunderstand unnecessarily.”

“Which part of Mulsan’s stock did you grab so much of? As far as I know, Mulsan doesn’t have any big events right now… Besides, Mulsan is known for being a volatile stock, not just our Dae Young Mulsan, but the stock named Mulsan itself.”

To that, Vice Chairman Kang Soon-im smiled pleasantly as if teaching a lesson.

“If the market price is ridiculously lower than what I expect, I buy. And if the market price goes ridiculously higher than what I expect, I sell. It’s simple.”

“……”

* * *

And just like that, two weeks flew by in a flash.

The next scheduled check-up at the hospital.

For several days now, I had cleared my schedule for this morning through Joo Dong-jin.

In fact… I had cleared not just the morning schedule, but the afternoon’s as well.

After having breakfast with my wife, we slowly started preparing to go to the hospital past 9 o’clock.

Dressed in a suit, ready to head straight to work from the hospital, my wife followed me into the dressing room to pick out the tie I would wear today.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

I firmly held my wife’s hand, showing her the strongest front I could muster.

To that, my wife responded with a bright smile, her dimples shining.

And so, after two weeks, my wife and I were heading to the hospital again.