Episode 19

The teacup thrown by Taehyeop slightly grazed Seung-hyun’s ear and smashed into the wall. With a sound loud enough to make his ears sting, the shattered pieces scattered messily.

“If you don’t know how to do anything, you should at least have tenacity.”

Although he was pretending to be calm, the veins bulging on his forehead were clearly visible.

There was no idiot who didn’t know that Han Taehyeop was still involved in company affairs behind the scenes, even though he had stepped down from the position of construction representative and was currently laying low.

‘You shouldn’t have gotten caught.’

The only words Chairman Han threw at Han Taehyeop when he found out about his plan were those. If his plan had succeeded, Chairman Han might have handed over the position to him without seeking revenge.

Because Chairman Han was a man obsessed with the company he had built. Seung-hyun couldn’t understand him at all, but his father seemed to have similar values to Chairman Han.

“You were born as scum, so I don’t have high expectations for you. But this is a long game. If you hold on without losing tension, do you think that bastard Han Tae-sung, no matter how great he is, won’t show a single opening?”

While not believing in Seung-hyun at all, while not thinking at all that he could beat Tae-sung and take the successor position, he had this attitude.

‘The reason Chairman Han internally picked Han Tae-sung as the successor but didn’t completely kick out Han Seung-hyun must be for that reason too.’

Seung-hyun thought that and chuckled. Seeing that, one of Taehyeop’s eyebrows shot up high.

“You find it funny?”

“Yes.”

Seung-hyun spoke in a nonchalant voice. He understood that he had a scary personality. But it was also a bit ridiculous.

“In the first place, you didn’t even think I could do anything, but isn’t it funny that you’re acting like you’ve left it to me now?”

“Wha, what?”

The veins bulging on Han Taehyeop’s forehead swelled as if they would burst. But again, it wasn’t something for Seung-hyun to care about.

“I can’t sit in the position of HJ’s head as Father wants, and I have no intention of playing the role of a puppet CEO in place of my ousted father either.”

“Wha, wha, what…”

“There’s nothing good for me, so why do I have to do a difficult, bothersome, and unrewarding job? I don’t understand.”

He was too lazy to explain at length. A family relationship that had already fallen apart, it wouldn’t be a big deal if he ruined it a bit more.

“You probably don’t even think of me as your child in the first place, so wouldn’t it be better to not see each other from now on?”

“Do you think you can do something after leaving the company? Do you think there will be a proper position that accepts you? At best, a recessive, a loser who was kicked out after being pushed aside by that bastard Han Tae-sung, where will they…”

Taehyeop sneered at Seung-hyun. He didn’t know what wind was blowing for him to say such nonsense, but Seung-hyun was a person who had lived only for HJ.

What company would hire Chairman Han’s grandson, whose reputation had already spread, in an important position, knowing what ulterior motive they might have?

But working at the lowest level was even more impossible. However, all of that was also none of Seung-hyun’s business.

“It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t working because I was short on money anyway, right?”

“Ha. So. Are you saying you’ll live as a loser for the rest of your life?”

Han Taehyeop glared at Seung-hyun while grinding his teeth. Although he was a child he didn’t like, he thought he at least showed some resemblance to himself when it came to work.

His abilities couldn’t even reach his toes, but at least he thought his viciousness resembled his own. No matter what happened, he had to have what he wanted, and if he couldn’t have it, he had to destroy it to feel satisfied.

But now, not to mention viciousness, there wasn’t a single glint in Seung-hyun’s eyes. He was certainly looking at Han Taehyeop, but without any tension or concentration like usual, he was just standing askew with a face that said this situation was bothersome.

“So. You have no plans. You’re going to live like trash, squandering the assets you have now for the rest of your life?”

“To call it trash-like…”

“You’re almost thirty, but you’re still dreaming.”

Taehyeop sneered at Seung-hyun. He had raised him only for HJ and the successor position, so he was too ignorant of the ways of the world.

“Right now, you may have enough leeway to afford everything you want to do and your way of living up until now. But there’s no end to money or greed. How long do you think your trash-like life will last? At most 5 years.”

“5 years, huh.”

A light sneer escaped through his teeth. At most 5 years. He probably threw it as a curse, but somehow it was no different from a blessing to him.

“That’s plenty.”

Bam-!

With a loud sound, Seung-hyun’s cheek turned again. It was the same direction his mother had hit him. The scratch from the nail stung, but being hit itself wasn’t very painful. This time, however, he felt a pain that made his head ring.

‘This might leave a bruise.’

“Rather than having a son like you, I should have made at least one proper child like how Kyungseok had a child out of wedlock.”

Because there were benefits from his in-laws in the political marriage, even after his wife became infertile and he found out Seung-hyun was a recessive, Taehyeop couldn’t have another child.

“I don’t want to see you, so get out. You’ve completely lost your mind. I’d rather go to the company myself…”

“Yes. Achieve your unfinished dream yourself. And the feeling of dislike is mutual. I didn’t choose to become your child either.”

“Han Seung-hyun!”

His cheek throbbed and hurt. Thankfully, he had taken a painkiller in advance just in case before coming. In a stressful situation like this, it wouldn’t be strange for the pain to come rushing in at any time.

“I hope to never see you again. Then, goodbye.”

He had been hit nicely once each by the couple, and it seemed like he had said all the necessary things, so this should be enough. Seung-hyun turned around without any lingering feelings.

Bang-! Clang!

He could hear the brutal sound of something breaking from where he turned, but Seung-hyun didn’t look back. He only felt a bit sorry for the housekeeper who would have to clean up that mess.

“Yo, young master. Are you leaving?”

“Yes. Ah, tell Madam too. I’ll live quietly out of sight as she wants, so tell her not to look for me.”

“Pardon?”

“Then, goodbye.”

Seung-hyun left the mansion without hesitation and started the car again. Although he was tired, he felt a bit more at ease now that he had finished one task.

“When I get home… I should ice it first.”

He unconsciously brought his hand to his cheek, which felt numb and stinging. It was a thoughtless action, but a little blood was smeared on it.

“…There should be ointment and band-aids at home, right?”

It seemed like his face would bruise. Even if he somehow made excuses for the scratch, the vivid bruise on his cheek… anyone could see that he looked like he had been in some trouble.

‘I’ll have to stay inside until it fades enough to say it’s a bruise from bumping into something. Well, it’s a good thing. I should think about where to go next while resting.’

Thinking that, Seung-hyun drove the car. He didn’t notice that it wasn’t his imagination that the nearby drivers were avoiding him on their own.

“Did I leave the lights on when I left?”

But the lights were on in the house that should have been empty.

‘The housekeeper left before I went out… I must have left them on.’

Seung-hyun thought indifferently and opened the front door. However, contrary to expectations, someone was sitting on the neatly organized living room sofa.

“Oh my god.”

“Direc…tor?”

The man sitting on the sofa widened his eyes seeing Seung-hyun’s face. It’s not even his house, so why is he coming in so naturally like that? Seung-hyun let out a small sigh seeing Seok-hyung.

‘Last time, I let it go because he said he found me having a seizure… but is it okay to come in and out of someone else’s house like this?’

“…Did you come from the main house?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing how he immediately knew where he had been just by looking at his face, it seemed like this wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened.

“This… looks like it will bruise.”

“Whether I like it or not, they’re family, so I thought I should talk about my resignation at least once. If it ended with one hit, I got off easy. More importantly, why are you here?”

Seung-hyun answered roughly and opened the fridge to find a cold compress. It was too cold to put directly on his face, so he thought he should find a towel or something to wrap the pack in and put the compress pack on the table.

“Director.”

When he turned around to get a towel, Seok-hyung had somehow come close to him. Seung-hyun, slightly startled, took a step back.

“I thought about what you said last time.”

“……”

What did I say? Seung-hyun looked at Seok-hyung, who had a serious face, and briefly tried to recall his memory. But it didn’t last long. Because Seok-hyung directly pointed out what that was about.

“If what you want from me… is my body. I will give it to you.”