âYour egoâs gotten inflated after forcing your grandmother to give you her shares,â Mr. Cha sneered.
That confirmed it; Mr. Cha had gone to the States to bring Jaeho back to compete against Muyeol, but since his half-brother alone would not be enough, Mr. Cha involved Heesu in the plan as well. Strangely enough, Jaehoâs fiancée was not surprised by the sudden turn of events at all, as if she had witnessed it plenty of times before.
Muyeolâs lips curled with bitterness. Mr. Gong, K groupâs CEO was well known for his fiery temperament and the spartan treatment he subjected his sons to.
âWhen I tell you to do something, just do it,â Mr. Cha commanded.
âI donât want to. This project is my work, and itâll be completed by me.â Pangs of pain ran through Muyeolâs body as he spoke, but it wasnât from getting hit by the ashtray. It was the way Mr. Cha had insulted him by questioning his blood. Mr. Cha was always like this, throwing the nearest thing he could grab and cursing at him without any concern of the people around whenever he was upset. But it still hurt.
âFilthy-blooded b*stard like meâ¦â Muyeol thought as he recalled Mr. Chaâs words.
âHow many times have I told you that your selfishness always ruins the companyâs image?â Mr. Cha scolded.
âI remember covering up your mistakes in order to save the companyâs image more, though.â Muyeol was ready to contradict Mr. Cha at every step. âI covered for you when you were about to get arrested at the airport in the States after going on a power trip on the plane. Oh, and what about the time when you blemished the companyâs reputation after calling a prostitute to your hotel room?â
âYou⦠y-you dirty half-blood! Who do you think you are to say such things to me?â
âYour role here is to leave the workers alone when theyâre on their way to gain profits for this company,â Muyeol sneered, âThis isnât a small shop weâre handling.â
Jaehoâs face grew stiff as he realized that it wasnât going to be easy to interfere in Muyeolâs project. He silently studied Mr. Chaâs face. It seemed Muyeol had grown a lot stronger in the past three years. He never submitted to Mr. Cha even when he was young, but he was more resistant now, pointing out Mr. Chaâs flaws without any hesitation.
Suddenly, Heesu stepped forward and held Muyeolâs hand. âMuyeol, I understand what youâre saying. The role of the upper management is to let the workers achieve good results and encourage them. Weâll remember that.â
Muyeol had heard about Heesu; she was the smartest one among all the K group heirs, and she was cunning enough to interrupt the argument in order to dissipate the tension.
Mr. Cha smiled with satisfaction and addressed Heesu. âAs you can see, heâs inadequate. Thereâs probably a hidden deficiency in his project, so you and Jaeho should support the Istanbul project and make it successful. If it goes well, our S airline will become one of the top 3 airlines in the world.â
âWeâll definitely make the project successful,â Jaeho said resolutely, âIâll do my best.â
âThere wonât be an opportunity for you to do your best because I wonât allow you to take any credit,â Muyeol snapped and left the room. He couldnât care less about Mr. Cha shouting behind him angrily like he always did.
He straightened out the wrinkles in his suit, brushing invisible dust off his shoulder; the suit was like a shield for him, he never allowed it to look unkempt.
Muyeol called his secretary, Mr. Hong, the moment he reached his office. âTell everyone to gather in the meeting room right now.â
âOkay, sir.â
The rest of the team had already been waiting anxiously when they heard Muyeol had been summoned by Mr. Cha. In an instant, Mr. Hong asked everyone to report to the meeting room.
* * *
This morning, Yiyoung was particularly busy; she couldnât rest for a single moment. The influx of patients started quite early. First, there was a patient who had cut his finger with a sharp knife. Next, there was a patient with an incision, then there was another with a scald, and another with a deep wound inflicted by a weapon. Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening. Sure, they were suffering from pain, but at least they could easily get it treated.
Before Yiyoung could even breathe, a paramedic brought in a woman. She looked disheveled; her hair was tangled wildly, as if someone had pulled it harshly, and her face and clothes were covered in blood dripping from her nose and lips. A nurse quickly brought a wheelchair for the patient, but the woman clung to the paramedic, seemingly desperate for the comfort of a trusted person. Yiyoung quickly ran to their side.
âSheâs a victim of dating violence. The officers are going to arrive soon,â the paramedic explained, âAndâ¦â
The paramedic wanted to elaborate, but Yiyoung already knew what he was going to say. She immediately assisted the woman and gently said, âIâll take care of you from now on. My name is Yoon Yiyoung.â
Yiyoungâs soft tone lessened the womanâs anxiety; she burst out crying and clung to Yiyoung this time.
Yiyoung hugged her tightly and reassured her, âIâll take care of you, so you just have to trust me.â
The woman nodded, still bawling her eyes out. Yiyoungâstill hugging the womanâsilently signalled a nurse to prepare the intensive care unit.
When Dr. Kang came out after treating a patient with a burn, the ER was as quiet as the eye of a typhoon. The silence was strange; just earlier, the ER had been so busy that the doctors were on the verge of fainting.
âI wonder if everyoneâs busy,â he muttered as he looked around. The doors to all the ICUs were closed, so it seemed everyone was occupied with something.
âYouâve all been frantically working today, right?â he asked one of the nurses.
âYes, Dr. Kang,â she replied.
âWould you like to have some coffee?â
âWe would appreciate it if you could.â
âAlright, please wait a moment.â Dr. Kang went to the vending machine and bought enough coffee for all the nurses. If Yiyoung had been there, then he would have used her help to carry all of them, but she was still treating patients.
He could have had coffee alone, too, but he knew that it mattered when he shared small things like this with the staff of the hospital; it would help him gain support when he would become a professor.