Ch.206206. One Hour Before the Ceremony

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Chairman, it’s been almost 7 months since we met during Lunar New Year, right?”

My brother, who carefully put his sunglasses in his pocket, approached and greeted him. Grandfather stared at the hand my brother extended, then quietly smiled and took it.

“Yes. It’s been a while, but what’s with those sunglasses? Did you get a scar on your eye while I haven’t seen you?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s my only brother’s wedding, so I just wanted to look stylish. Oh, this is a gift for you, Chairman. They’re traditional sweets—please eat them when you go back later. You like sweet things, don’t you?”

As I quietly observed the conversation between my brother and grandfather, I found it somewhat fascinating. Well, their conversation seemed quite informal, didn’t it?

While they maintained basic courtesy, they spoke quite comfortably with each other, which was a remarkably fresh sight to me.

My brother is really something, to be so calm in front of such an intimidating chairman.

“Give them to your sister-in-law instead of me. I must be getting old—my gums hurt now when I eat hard things.”

“Oh, I’ve got separate ones for my sister-in-law and the Vice Chairman, of course.”

I wondered how he knew the schedules of chairmen and vice chairmen from other groups to prepare such gifts. But I kept quiet since it wasn’t something I needed to know or concern myself with.

“So please accept it without hesitation. I can give it to your secretary, right?”

“Alright, I’ll accept it gratefully since you’re offering.”

After successfully handing the gift to grandfather’s secretary, my brother slightly turned his gaze to meet my eyes.

‘Let’s talk later at our leisure.’

‘Sure, got it.’

“Mom, who is this oppa?”

Right after our silent conversation ended, Narin, who was in mother’s arms, pointed at my brother and asked. Come to think of it, they’re meeting for the first time, aren’t they? I stepped forward to mediate.

“Narin. This oppa is oppa’s hyung.”

“Not oppa’s oppa, but oppa’s hyung?”

“Yes, that’s right. In Korean, titles are determined based on the person who’s speaking.”

“Title? What’s a title?”

“Well, a title means a name given to call someone…”

How should I explain this so a preschooler can easily understand? As I was bending slightly at the waist and seriously thinking about it, Hwa Nabi stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

“Siwoo. You can’t explain it like that—the child won’t understand.”

Hwa Nabi scolded me as if she couldn’t believe it, and I straightened up, feeling awkward. Hearing her, I had to admit she was right.

“Narin. What do you call your unni?”

“I call her unni!”

“Then, if your unni were a boy instead of a girl, what would you call her?”

“Umm… oppa!”

“Yes, that’s right. In that case, it’s correct to call him oppa, right?”

Hwa Nabi gently stroked Narin’s head as she answered confidently.

Is this what they call education at eye level or whatever? So explaining things step by step is the easier way to teach young children. I’m learning something new.

“Now then. If both Narin and unni were boys, what would Narin call unni?”

“Oppa!”

“…Huh? Oppa?”

Hwa Nabi’s eyes widened at the unexpected wrong answer.

It seemed she hadn’t anticipated Narin would get it wrong. I was the same—I had let my guard down and burst out laughing.

“Why, why oppa?”

“Because Narin is a girl, so I should say oppa, not hyung!”

“That’s true, but, Narin. We were supposing what if Narin were a boy instead of a girl. Then the title would change, right?”

“Hmm… supposing? What’s supposing?”

“…What is supposing?”

Hwa Nabi froze at Narin’s question. Judging by her reaction, she apparently hadn’t thought she’d need to explain from this point.

Flustered, Hwa Nabi momentarily turned to look at me. Her eyes said, ‘Please help me!’

But it’s not like I had any better solution. If I did, I would have already finished explaining and made her understand.

“Um, Narin?”

“Yes, oppa.”

I couldn’t just stand by while my bride was sending an SOS. I stepped forward to get Narin’s attention.

But when it came down to it, I didn’t know what to say either, so I just moved my lips without speaking.

“Uh… um.”

“…”

When neither Hwa Nabi nor I could speak up, an untimely silence fell over the lobby. I’m not sure if it was just my imagination, but it felt like everyone in the lobby was staring at us.

…Parents across the country, how are you supposed to handle this wisely? I’d have to have experienced childcare to know.

As we stood there, unable to move forward or backward after hitting this unexpected obstacle, mother, who couldn’t bear to watch anymore, gently stroked Narin’s head.

“Narin. You call oppa ‘oppa,’ right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But oppa can’t call oppa ‘oppa.’ He has to call him ‘hyung.'”

“Why? Why not?”

“That’s just how it’s set. So Narin just needs to memorize it. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand!”

Mother, who had made Narin understand with just a few words, glanced at Hwa Nabi and me. The meaning in that glance was probably, ‘This is how you raise children. Got it?’

Momentarily stunned by the unexpected explanation method, we looked at each other and nodded reflexively.

Well, of course, blocking a child’s curiosity isn’t a good parenting method… but sometimes cutting things short like this seems important too.

You can’t always logically explain to a child why 1+1=2, can you? I guess this is a similar context.

“Our chat went on a bit long. In-law, this is the first time we’ve met since the family meeting, right?”

“Ah, yes. Hello. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Oh, I just take care of the house. My husband does all the hard work outside. Right, Narin?”

“Yes, daddy works super hard!”

“…Narin?”

It might be my imagination, but mother’s hands holding Narin seemed to tighten slightly. My brother finished his conversation with mother and approached my father-in-law to greet him respectfully.

“It hasn’t been that long since I saw you, Vice Chairman. It’s been a week since we met, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, we met in Jeju last Saturday, so it’s exactly a week.”

Oh, this greeting is formal. I thought my brother and father-in-law would have a similar relationship to the one with grandfather since he and grandfather seemed informal, but this is unexpected.

The somewhat awkward relationship between my brother and father-in-law. As I was trying to figure out why, several more limousines arrived in the distance.

-Screech.

The sound of tires against the ground was heard, and a man in a suit got out of the car and opened the back door. The person who emerged was none other than my parents.

Father was wearing a neat suit, and mother was in a clean dress. They seemed to have put effort into their outfits for their son’s wedding.

“Huh?”

That wasn’t all. From the back seat of the limousine my parents had exited, an elderly man got out with them.

Although I’d never spoken to him, I instinctively realized who he was. That person was my father’s father—my grandfather.

“Siwoo. It’s been a while since you’ve seen him, but do you remember? That’s your grandfather.”

My brother’s whisper confirmed my guess. I nodded reflexively, standing there blankly without thinking to move.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, the traffic was a bit heavy, so we’re later than planned.”

As if substituting for me, my brother went ahead to greet my parents. While they exchanged formal greetings and asked about each other’s well-being, I just stood behind them, motionless.

“It’s good to see you, in-law. It’s been about a month, hasn’t it?”

“Has it already been that long? I’m sorry we’ve been so busy that we haven’t properly greeted each other. How was the food we sent through our daughter? Did it suit your taste?”

“Ah, the side dishes your wife made herself? Of course I enjoyed them. You could start a franchise business right away with those.”

My father’s gaze turned to Hwa Nabi’s grandfather. Adjusting his collar to fix his attire, my father cleared his throat once, walked forward, and offered a handshake.

“Have you been well, Chairman?”

“We’re in-laws now—isn’t ‘have you been well’ too formal?”

“The closer the relationship, the more important it is to maintain courtesy, isn’t it?”

The two men smiled faintly as they shook hands. After that brief greeting, grandfather’s gaze turned to my grandfather.

“I hope you’ve been well, elder brother.”

“Yes, I’ve been at peace. Now my son and grandson handle all the practical matters.”

…Did he just say “elder brother”? This was another unexpected title that surprised me. It seemed Hwa Nabi felt the same way, as she glanced at me and asked with her eyes.

‘Siwoo, did my grandfather just call your grandfather “elder brother”?’

‘Yeah, it seems like it.’

‘Did you know they had that kind of relationship?’

‘How could I? Of course I didn’t know.’

“You look so healthy—isn’t it too early for you to abdicate?”

“My goodness, what abdication? Watch your words, man. People will write articles saying an old man is playing modern-day king.”

“If your stock prices fall, we’ll buy them up to defend you, so don’t worry too much.”

After this exchange that could have been either a joke or serious, both Hwa Nabi’s grandfather and my grandfather turned their gazes to us at the same time.

…This is the moment. Instinctively realizing this, I turned my head to look at Hwa Nabi.

“Nabi.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we go greet them together?”

I extended my hand before even hearing her answer, as if it were only natural.

Hwa Nabi met my gaze and then took my hand without saying anything.

“Yes. Let’s go together.”

Holding her hand firmly, I walked forward.

Passing through the security guards in suits lined up on both sides, I advanced confidently without stopping once. Standing in front of my parents and grandfather, I straightened my back.

“Father, Mother. Grandfather.”

I called all three of them while making eye contact. First with my father, then with my mother, and finally with my grandfather. After exchanging glances with each of them, I bowed deeply.

“I am going to marry this woman.”