Vol. 1 - Ch. 5 - That Deal. I will Accept it.

The next morning, Manager Yang’s words about wrapping things up properly came to mind, and Jae-Yoon walked in with a reluctant step.OhGa Kitchen. It gave off a strong, rancid smell of bloodline from the get-go. Did they not notice, or were they pretending not to? Was where you were born more important than how you did your work?

The nice wrap-up was an excuse. Maybe he just wanted to take a final look around the office. There was no corner of the office that Jae-Yoon had not touched. He had done everything to save on operation costs; but for whom?

He bought wallpaper and painted the office walls himself because they were dirty. He recalled the countless times the electricity was cut off, leading him to lay floor heating in a fit of anger after important documents were lost. The taste of ramen shared with the boss during that DIY project still lingered.

He even went to the Korea Asset Service Corporation’s government surplus center because Manager Yang said she wanted a Fursys desk. He drove the company cargo truck and moved the big desk with Manager Yang. Come to think of it, Manager Yang was also amazing. Where did such a petite girl get such strength?

Then, there was the day he first met It’s Home Shopping.

He came back after looking through a pile of other companies’ proposals that were pitifully stuck in the kitchen Team Leader’s file folder. It was obvious that OhGa Kitchen’s proposal would also end up as war booty in the Team Leader’s file folder.

It all started with a competitive product cost analysis. After thoroughly comparing sales and lineups across all home shopping channels, and revisiting with a more compelling presentation, they finally received a promise for upper management review.

In hindsight, he could understand the murmurs of the staff. Well, they had endured quite a bit.

He tried to ignore the words, ‘Why are you acting like that when you’re not even the president?’ several times, but this was not the picture he had in mind.

In any case, messy wrap-ups were not to Jae-Yoon’s taste. The handover would be plenty in three days.That was not too bad.

Wrapping things up nicely always leaves a bitter aftertaste… So he had thought, until he reached the office door, where his resolve crumbled spectacularly.

“Wow... He really went all the way.”

Two large moving boxes sat abandoned at the entrance, a move so characteristic it was almost laughable. Petty and pathetic. It was as if people never learned to hide their true intentions. Opening the boxes, Jae-Yoon found them sparsely packed, unbelievably so for belongings accumulated over seven years. Jae-Yoon took out the laptop in the pouch.

“Throw away the rest as you see fit. Goodbye.”

Managing Director Oh kicked the moving box containing Jae-Yoon’s belongings, as if he were taking out his anger.

Managing Director Oh was chattering away, but none of it was going into Jae-Yoon’s ears; he didn’t need to listen anymore. Thinking he would live without seeing this sight again made it feel like seven years of pent-up frustration was whooshing away.

“Mr. Oh, I trust you’ll handle the severance cleanly.”

“Mr. Oh? Can’t you address me properly?”

“Since I officially resigned yesterday, you’re not my boss any more. Mr. Oh Cheol-Min, let’s not see each other again.” { E/N: You did that! What he said! }

Jae-Yoon raised his right hand and moved his steps. All that came out was a snort. The end was messy, but it no longer mattered. The last shred of charity was severed by Director Oh himself. As Jae-Yoon passed by, he overheard a conversation between a new employee and Oh Cheol-Min.

“Mr. Managing Director, Ms. Yang Si-Hyun isn’t coming.”

“What? Try calling her.”

“She already hung up. Told us to throw everything out ourselves and deposit the severance quickly…”

And that afternoon, the severance was deposited promptly. Without hesitation, Jae-Yoon deposited 20 million won into OhGa Kitchen’s president’s personal account. It was the price of his mother’s life and Oh Cheol-Min’s sarcastic remarks.

[ Thank you for everything. This is the 20 million won you helped me with seven years ago. I hope OhGa Kitchen prospers even more. ]

It was the least he could do to repay the last vestiges of dignity and gratitude.

Jae-Yoon did not get any calls or texts from the president. It was a relief, yet it left a void.

Jae-Yoon spent three days sitting in a cafe, staring at his laptop. He pretended to be relaxed, but his thoughts were more complicated than ever.

It took two full days to look through the data Ms. Yang passed to him. He also got a rough idea of It’s Group’s information by going to the online community she had directed him to. The more he looked, the more it was full of things he couldn’t comprehend.

It’s Home Shopping.

Even though it had the label of ‘perennial second place’, the financial statements weren’t so bad that the business had to be withdrawn. The revenue exceeded 1 trillion won, while the operating profit was approximately 5%. The performance might have dipped compared to the previous year, but it wasn’t in such dire straits to warrant a scapegoat.

‘Damn those ruthless chaebols. Even if it’s not a golden goose, it’s like a chicken that lays fresh eggs every morning. There’s no way they would throw away such a business.’

A one-room apartment and a large corporation might differ in scale, but their essence was the same. To maximize profit. As long as no egregious errors were made, there seemed no reason for a significant downturn. Or maybe they’d done some shady accounting work.

‘There must be a bigger picture I’m missing.’

He checked his cell phone from time to time. There was no contact from Min Ho-Jun or Lee Hyun-Woong.

Was it all just a dream? Or perhaps a vain delusion?

The sun was about to set outside the cafe window. It was a clear day. The sky was unusually red today. Suddenly, he remembered his mother and got on the red wide area bus without hesitation.

***

The clock showed just past 7 p.m. Seeing Jae-Yoon hesitate in front of the door, the nurse happily welcomed him.

“Mr. Lee. You’ve been coming here a lot lately.”

It was only once a week, so it was not that often.

_Was the invitation to visit anytime just lip service? _

They become sensitive to every word and action, wondering if they would be the ones to cause trouble for the patient. Knowing that would not happen, still, every call and every visit was so careful.

“It’s quite a late hour. I’m sorry.”

“Your mother was just about to sleep, but it’s good timing. Her roommate went out for a family visit. Take your time to talk.”

Creaaaak~

As the large sliding door opened, a small two-person room came into view. In the dimly lit room, only the sound of a humidifier was audible.

“Mom…”

“Is it my big boy or the younger one?”

“Mom. I came to check if you ate well and spent the day well.”

Jaeyoon had thought 20 million won borrowed hastily at 23 would solve everything. He made that natural assumption at the time. Had he known it would become such a protracted battle… Had he known that he would not be able to take a single step forward even if he poured out everything he had… Had he known that he would need to step into the shoes of a mother to his own mother… Would he have made the same choices?

One year in a university hospital and two years in a rehabilitation center. The hospital and nursing home fees were about 8 million won per month. 100 million won per year. The small Gyeonggi apartment that his father left him had been worth exactly 300 million won.

So, he traded the apartment to get three years for his mother. And what was left… There was only a poor patient who had become a child, and Jae-Yoon, the guardian with a desolate look in his eyes as if his soul had been drained.

“You’ve been coming often recently.”

“Is that so?”

“You just came earlier too.”

“Huh?”

His mother pointed towards a locker at the foot of the bed. Though the stand light was dim, the logo of It’s Department Store was unmistakably visible.

No way…

Even at a glance, there were more than fifteen paper shopping bags filled with various desserts and drinks, as well as carefully selected spring clothes and shoes.

“I like everything, Yoon. Especially that cardigan. It’s so similar to the one you bought me last year.”

Similar? Not at all. The light, fluffy 100% cashmere cardigan and the cheap one were incomparable… The pink cardigan he had bought from an SPA brand had been on sale for 29,900 won, and he had hesitated a lot before purchasing it. It was a static electricity magnet.

Suddenly, his face felt hot. He was not sure why. It wasn’t shame or an inferiority complex, certainly not something so trivial.

What was it? Perhaps...excitement? No, it was far from such a simple emotion.

Expectation. It was definitely an expectation.

The expectation that perhaps now he could buy a million-won cardigan for his mother without hesitation. The expectation that he wouldn’t have to leave her in a drafty nursing home anymore. Instead of a local bakery’s shortening-laden castella, he could buy her a department store food hall’s butter-rich castella. The expectation that he wouldn’t have to worry about losing his mother twice...

“Can I turn on the light?”

“Yeah.”

Jae-Yoon pressed the fluorescent light switch next to the door.

_Click~ _

With the sound of the switch, the small room was filled with bright light. And, just as the fluorescent light turned on, so too did clarity return to his mother’s mind.

“Jae-Yoon.”

For about 30 minutes, up to an hour a day, was the time his mother felt reality. Some called it her coming back to her senses. Sometimes, she would scream. Sometimes, she would remain silent. And sometimes, like today...

“Who was that person earlier?”

…she would return to her sharp and discerning self.

“...”

“He looked a lot like you. I almost didn’t recognize the difference. If only he hadn’t brought such extravagant gifts.”

“What did he say?”

Instead of answering, his mother handed him an envelope from the bedside drawer. It contained the pamphlet for the state-of-the-art senior living community Jae-Yoon had mentioned as a condition.

“He left this. Said it would be enough for ten years of worry-free living.”

“That’s…”

Min Ho-Jun, what are you doing? Why did you come to see my mother? But more than that, why didn’t you contact me first before coming to see my mother? Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NovᴇlFɪre .ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“He didn’t say anything for an hour. He just held my hand and stared at my face. Then, when he was leaving, he said this, ‘Thank you.’”

“Mom, that’s... “

“Jae-Yoon.”

Jae-Yoon’s mother patted his right hand with both of hers, like that for a long time, without saying anything, as if to comfort his trembling heart.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes. A mother knows. Just by looking into her child’s eyes, she understands everything. Without a word, I can tell what you're thinking, what worries you. I know it all.”

“Mom…”

Jae-Yoon lowered his head. Strangely, in front of his mother, his vulnerabilities surfaced.

“Does that guy need you?”

“How did you know…?”

“People tend to poke at the weakest part of the other person when they need something. Either you’ve already shown your weakness, or you’re invincible. But…”

“...”

“That young man earlier, the one who looked just like you, he isn’t someone who will bite your weakness and make things difficult for you; rather, he’s someone who will put on armor so that your weakness wouldn’t be exposed. That’s definitely who he is.”

If an opponent wielded a sharp spear, then donning a sturdier armor was the solution.

Over the past seven years, Jae-Yoon’s heart had turned into a pile of black ashes. But, now, he realized that there was still a small spark alive in the ashes. Min Ho-Jun had merely breathed gently, ever so slightly, to make that spark dance again. That was enough.

“What should I do then?” He asked bluntly, cutting to the chase. There was no need for elaborate explanations.

Just by looking, just by a gentle touch, she understood everything. His mother was indeed such a person.

“Follow your heart. Not what that young man, nor I, but what you yourself dictate.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Before he realized it, the shorthand of the wall clock was already pointing at 9. Jae-Yoon got up from his seat and pressed the fluorescent light switch again.

His mother spoke again, with an affectionate voice, as if she had just remembered something. “Yoon, I’m going to sleep now. You should go home, too.”

Jae-Yoon carefully closed the sliding door and went out. The nurse asked him quietly, “The nursing home, when will it be…?”

“Right away. First thing tomorrow.”

“All of a sudden? You just said earlier that you still don’t know the exact date yet... Whether you’ll go or not is still up in the air…”

Jae-Yoon took out the old smartphone in his pocket. He found the business card that had been stuck in his wallet carelessly. It was crumpled. There was no reason to hesitate or worry anymore.

“This is Lee Jae-Yoon. I accept the offer that Mr. Min Ho-Jun made me.”

That was the moment when Lee Jae-Yoon, a 29-year-old SME Team Leader, became Min Ho-Jun, a 31-year-old third-generation home shopping chaebol CEO.

One month later.

[ It’s Home Shopping ]

[ Min Ho-Jun Inauguration Ceremony ]

Signs announcing the new era were posted all over the office building.