episode_0030

Choi Young-cheol, the chairman of one of Korea’s leading conglomerates, had one big worry.

That is the absence of a worthy successor.

It wasn’t that he had no children.

I had an only child when I was young.

However, the problem is that it is so useless that it cannot be used.

His name was Choi Sang-hyun, and he was a guy who always played around with women instead of running the company he was told to do.

In addition, he was not very intelligent, so he was considered a semi-taboo within the group.

“…Let’s get going.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Choi Young-cheol left the amusement park and got into the car where the driver was waiting.

His son was currently in prison after being sentenced for violating the Narcotic Drugs Control Act, that is, for being caught drinking drugs.

At first, I didn’t think it was a big deal.

I was thinking of using some force to get it out again if I felt like reflecting on it properly.

No matter how immature and troublesome he was, there was no change in the fact that he was the last blood relative he had left after losing his wife.

However, a big problem arose here too.

‘My son is a eunuch…’

It’s so shameful that I’m embarrassed to even say it.

I drank a lot of Chinese drugs, I don’t even know where I got them, and in the end, my damn son ended up never being able to have children due to the side effects.

When I found out about this during a visit a few months ago, I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak.

“Ha…”

Choi Young-cheol let out a deep sigh as his eyes followed the streetlight light flowing through the window.

Choi Young-cheol, who turned 63 this year, suddenly became a person without children to pass on the company to.

A son in prison could not be an alternative.

Even if a childless child was forced to become the successor, the future would be obvious.

After thinking about it for a while, Choi Young-cheol came up with one possibility.

His son, Choi Sang-hyeon, had a very strong history with women since he was young.

So I think he may have had a child somewhere that he doesn’t know about.

It bothered me a little that I didn’t know who the mother was, but I was in no position to choose between hot and cold food in the current situation.

As a result, I questioned my son in prison on the condition that he be released.

I was able to find out one interesting fact.

There was a woman he was dating when he was in college, and as his current history with women shows, his son had no hesitation about making out.

And of course, the woman became pregnant.

If Choi Sang-hyeon had revealed her pregnancy to her father, Choi Young-cheol, there would have been no problem.

They would have reached an agreement or something and handled it without any problems.

However, my stupid son was afraid that he would be scolded, so he chose to hide it.

They left the pregnant woman who refused to have an abortion and told her not to know.

That period alone lasted 10 years.

The moment I heard that story, I was glad I didn’t collapse from high blood pressure.

When I found out that my son had a hidden child, it seemed like it was too late.

The woman who was presumed to be Choi Ran’s mother committed suicide a few years ago due to extreme hardship after being abandoned and isolated by her son, and along with her, the child she was looking for also went missing.

I lost contact with my child in an instant.

When he opens his eyes, the only clue left in his possession is the name Choi Ran.

Nevertheless, because it was an unusual name, I was confident at first that I would be able to find it quickly using the group’s power.

However, for some reason, no matter how many orphanages and facilities across the country were searched, a child named Choi Ran could not be found.

In the end, with all the clues blocked, Choi Young-cheol’s choice was to visit his son once again.

And I could hear another hint there.

‘…I don’t know because I’ve never met her, but when I was in college, she often said some funny things.’

‘What was that?’

‘I think you can read the minds of people you come into contact with through your own words. Isn’t it absolutely hilarious? Where in the world is there something like that? Since he’s been talking about it all the time, wouldn’t it be similar for him to be that bitch’s son?’

It was a story about a son who lost his appetite due to drug withdrawal symptoms.

The power to read people’s minds.

It was something that only happened in creative works.

That’s why I was half-hearted about it…

“That kid…”

In the car moving smoothly without any shaking, Choi Young-cheol recalled what happened a little while ago.

The name Ran was something I overheard at an amusement park where I stopped by to check on business.

Eyes that look strangely similar to my son’s.

Still, I was skeptical until then.

I wondered if there was any way a coincidence like this could happen.

However, he overreacted when his shoulder was gently touched.

Choi Young-cheol was thinking this way at the time.

‘Can you really read minds?’

“…Is it really true?”

**

Ran’s strange behavior continued even after returning home.

For some reason, Ran, who usually never left my side, kept her distance and didn’t try to approach me.

Every time I tried to force him to approach me, he just said he didn’t like it and started lashing out, and he rarely gave me a reason.

“…Do you know the old man you met at the amusement park back then?”

Late at night when everyone is asleep.

I turned my eyes towards Ran, who was lying in the same bed as me.

Doridori.

Ran, who was clinging to the bed across from me without even begging me to sleep on his arm like usual, shook his head.

She had been desperately avoiding contact with me since earlier.

“…Can you tell my brother what happened?”

Doridori.

This time too, I was rejected.

There are only two people in this house whose past I don’t know.

One is Yuna, who joined the team a few weeks ago.

And the other one is Ran, the youngest member of our family.

If we count the number of years Ran has been in this house, it has already been nearly four years.

However, due to the unique nature of her aphasia, there have not been many opportunities to hear her circumstances.

Although it was only a few months ago that Ran was able to lead a normal life in the first place.

“…”

Ran, wearing white pajamas and hugging a pink pillow, stared at me.

I should have been able to vaguely know what she was thinking, but for some reason, I couldn’t figure it out at all right now.

“…Then I won’t force you to ask questions, so let’s just hold hands and sleep.”

The day Ran first came to this house many years ago.

Ran showed severe resistance to contact with others.

Just like what happened at the amusement park today.

“…”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I carefully squeezed the small, white hand that was held out.

This reminds me of the old days.

In the early days, Ran suffered from extreme insomnia.

No, rather than calling it insomnia, it would be more accurate to describe it as self-rejection.

No matter how tired and sleepy I was, I stubbornly refused to sleep with my eyes wide open.

And at those times, like today, I would lie down in the same bed as her, hold her hand, and wait for Ran to fall asleep.

10 hours, 20 hours,

All the while without saying anything.

Then, I was able to see Ran quietly falling asleep.

That’s right, just like Ran right now, sleeping with an angel-like face.

“…”

As I looked at Ran like that, I was lost in thought.

In the end, this was only a temporary measure.

Someday, something like today will happen again, and it will be very difficult for Ran each time.

Looking at her appearance, it doesn’t look like Ran will reveal the situation.

“Is there only one way?”

The old man told me.

Let’s talk in a calm place sometime soon.

That meant that one day I would have a chance to talk to that person.

Meeting him was both a bad news and a good news at the same time.

Because it could have been an opportunity to resolve the relationship with Ran that had been stalling.

“It’s okay, so you don’t have to worry.”

I muttered while stroking Ran’s sleeping head.

I hope this will provide some comfort if you are having a nightmare.

The next Monday morning.

My meeting with the old man happened much faster than I expected.

“…Excuse me.”

Because he came to my house when all the kids had gone to school and I was alone.

And that too, accompanied by dozens of attendants.

“You guys wait here. I want to have a secret with this young man from now on.”

“Yes. Okay, Chairman!”

Security guards who clearly gave off a professional look began to thoroughly surround the building 103 of the Cheongmyeong Apartments where I live.

I felt like it wasn’t something I had done once or twice that came naturally to either the person giving the command or the person receiving the command.

“…Chairman.”

I had a vague idea that he was an unusual person, but it seems he was a much bigger man than I thought.

“I’m late in introducing myself. I am this kind of person.”

A very luxurious business card with gold leaf was handed out.

The logo of a global conglomerate proudly engraved with the stone character name Choi Young-cheol.

And even the title of Chairman that is casually attached next to it.

“This is a little unexpected.”

I felt like things were going to be a bit bigger than I thought.