"I have to find out about the end of my own son's engagement from a trashy tabloid?"
Chairman Ri, soon-to-be-retired leader of the Vast Group, slams a newspaper down in front of Ri Jyeong-Hyeok. As promised, on the front page of the paper is a dramatic shot of his ex-fiancee, Seo Dan, chucking a glass of water on his face in the middle of a busy coffee shop. The picture was taken at the exact moment when he had broken up with her, and, thanks to smartphones, he knows there's a viral video circulating that captures the entire fiasco. The memory of ice water splashing on his face invades his mind like the whole incident happened yesterday.
"Your wedding was supposed to be in two months," growls his father. "We'd booked the venue. We'd invited guests. And you break it off? Without saying anything to us? Who do you think you are?"
His father's face is livid and his eyes are bulging dramatically. Jeong-Hyeok says nothing, staring determinedly at the center of the wide dining room table in front of him. The room around him is bright and airy, filled with glass and modern art sculptures which he can never fathom, but that his mother seems to like and his father puts up with.
Childishly, he wishes his mother was here now. But she's out for a party, a fact that his father had cleverly hidden from him when he'd summoned Ri Jeong-Hyeok to the house for lunch.
Now, Jeong-Hyeok is sitting in front of an empty dining room table, getting some pretty choice insults from his father instead of a home-cooked meal. This is not, he thinks sadly, a great day for the chaebol and future Chairman of the Vast Group.
"– I've had enough of your antics," his father yells from across the table, summoning him back to the present. "Don't you know that we're getting older? Your mother wants grandchildren. Hell, I want grandchildren. Don't you think we deserve that luxury in our old age, after working so hard to build the Vast Group from scratch, for you?"
Jeong-Hyeok has heard this message a hundred times before. One time, he'd felt guilty enough at these words that he'd actually agreed to marry Seo Dan, and look how well that turned out. Never again. He fixes his eyes firmly upon the mahogany wood of the table again and shuts his mouth determinedly.
His father sighs and shakes his head at his son's stubborn silence. And then, Chairman Ri delivers some final words.
"Jeong-Hyeok," he says in a tired voice, "This is how it's going to be. The general shareholder meeting is in five weeks from now. If you are not firmly engaged by then – I am going to recommend that the board make someone else the Chairman."
–
His father has to be bluffing, thinks Ri Jeong-Hyeok to himself. The busy streets of Seoul pass by him, skyscrapers upon skyscrapers grey and gleaming in the afternoon light, as he's being driven to the Vast Group headquarters.
"I mean, who would he even nominate instead of me?" he mutters under his breath.
He knows there's no one but me who can run this company, Jeong-Hyeok thinks. Who opened up three new product lines? Who doubled internet sales? He knows I've poured my heart and soul into this company after Mu-Hyeok's death.
And his father must also know, Jeong-Hyeok realizes, that his son would give into all of his outrageous demands, rather than even risk someone else taking over that company he's poured his heart and soul into.
Jeong-Hyeok sighs loudly and leans back.
"Everything alright, daepyonim?" asks his longtime chauffeur, Park Kwang-Beom, looking in the rearview mirror with concern. Jeong-Hyeok shakes his head to signal that he doesn't want to talk about it.
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Fanfiction"Jeong-Hyeok," his father says in a tired voice, "This is how it's going to be. The general shareholder meeting is in five weeks from now. If you are not firmly engaged by then - I am going to recommend that the board make someone else the Chairman...
