Prologue

It had been three days since the funeral ceremony of Director Kim Kyung Hwan, the only son and successor of Goryo Group.

Amidst the piercing gazes of the family members who were all still dressed in neat black clothes, the company lawyer was signaled by President Kim to read out the contents of the will left behind by the deceased.

President Kim, who had just lost his son nodded slowly, and Lawyer Han, who had long been his right-hand man cleared his throat lightly and began to speak.

“As you all know, the late Kim Kyung Hwan always tried and worked hard for the company even until the last moment of his life. You must also recognize how much the deceased loved the Goryo Group.”

Hearing Lawyer Han’s words, everyone in the meeting room seemed to nod their heads, except for one person who pouted his lips and smiled sarcastically.

That person was Director Kim Kyung Hwan’s biological son, Kim Geon Hyeong, who was now 20 years old.

Love the company? What nonsense. Even dogs would probably laugh at that. His father loves many things, except one. Making money.

It seemed that everyone in the room, especially those who were interested in his father’s legacy, knew that his father was a playboy who liked to play women with his handsome face and charisma.

Of course, right now the people’s attention was not on the mistakes and bad actions of the deceased, but on the names written on the six pieces of paper in the will and what would be their inheritance.

Such people were people who didn’t mind forgetting and forgiving the deceased’s bad behavior, as long as they could get a share of the inheritance.

Inside the silent reading room, President Kim could see the silent laughter on Geon Hyeong’s face. One of the deceased’s other sons, Jae Hyun, also looked at his adopted brother. Jae Hyun looked at him angrily and was annoyed at his disrespectful attitude. Meanwhile, Geon Hyeong stared back at him sharply, as if challenging him while putting a strange smile on his face until Jae Hyun finally averted his eyes first.

Lawyer Han again cleared his throat quietly as if asking for attention from the people in the room and slowly opened the will on the table.

“The house located in the Pyeongchang area and all shares of the company will be bequeathed to the deceased’s eldest son, Kim Geon Hyeong. Then, the shares in Kyung Hwan University will be given to Mrs. Oh Yeon Hee and her second son, Kim Jae Hyun…”

“What? Seriously.”

“Why even an out-of-wedlock child with no clear blood relationship…”

Before Lawyer Han could finish his sentence, exclamations of shock rang out from all corners of the room.

The contents of the will were completely unexpected especially for Jae Hyun’s mother, Mrs. Oh, who had been patiently taking care of Geon Hyeong who was born out of wedlock.

Her gaze was full of anger and hatred. She couldn’t believe that her husband would bequeath all the company’s shares to Geon Hyeong.

For a woman who had been holding on to her dignity as her husband’s lawful wife, the contents of the will were an unbearable humiliation for her. She felt cheated by her husband even after he passed away.

“Dad, was this all your idea?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Hearing the question of his son-in-law who looked so shocked that he forgot the various rules and manners he had been maintaining, President Kim just asked back with a flat face. Meanwhile, Mrs. Oh immediately turned her face away.

“I’m sorry.”

That woman’s husband was a very stubborn person. He wouldn’t listen to anyone, including President Kim who could usually make others tremble with fear just by looking at him. Her husband had only ever obeyed President Kim, her father, once, and that was when he married her.

By marrying the daughter of his father’s business partner, President Kim’s company would become stronger, her husband would gain freedom, and the woman herself… she would gain Jae Hyun.

That’s all. Just one time in his entire life. Insolent. Asshole. So this is how he got back at me?

“How dare he put Jae Hyun, who is his first son…”

Mrs. Oh who was looking at Geon Hyeong with a hateful gaze finally exerted all her patience and with great difficulty refrained from finishing her sentence.

She must have wanted to say ‘child born out of wedlock’.

A child born out of wedlock. The status attached to Geon Hyeong was not a foreign word to him, either when he lived in America or in Korea now.

The marriage between the wealthy businessman’s son and the up-and-coming actress ended in divorce before they even had a chance to legally register their marriage. Because of their playing with fire, Geon Hyeong has had to suffer the consequences since he was born.

“You must be happy that everything went your way, right?”

Geon Hyeong’s face did not look happy with the surprising contents of the will.

His face looked calm, as if he had expected this or just like a person who wanted even more inheritance.

Sometimes, his face looked like a dissatisfied person.

“Not bad.”

Geon Hyeong even continued to answer Mrs. Oh’s question who was looking at him sharply. Questions that didn’t really need an answer from her.

Unable to contain her emotions, Mrs. Oh clenched her fists furiously. She then slapped Geon Hyeong on the cheek.

There were shocked gasps from all over the room, until finally President Kim’s voice was heard clearing his throat loudly to attract the attention of everyone in the room.

Before the people in the room could break it up, Mrs. Oh slowly retreated and the situation in the room seemed to calm down again.

However, Geon Hyeong did not want to just retreat.

“I guess you’re not satisfied with just slapping me. But this is the last time because I won’t just let you do this to me again.”

“You, how dare you threaten me!”

“Seriously. I’ve never threatened anyone. That’s Mom’s specialty.”

Hearing Geon Hyeong’s flat warning that showed no emotion and emphasized the word ‘Mom’ with sarcasm, Mrs. Oh’s body shook with fear.

She seemed to be the victim, not the aggressor. Her husband’s child, born out of wedlock, was no longer a child.

“This will is still unfinished. I hope you will calm down and listen to the contents of this letter until it is finished.”

Lawyer Han calmed down the people in the room and continued to read until the end of the contents of the will that people were no longer paying attention to.

In the midst of the heated atmosphere, Geon Hyeong locked eyes with Jae Hyun again.

In the midst of this unexpected situation, compared to Geon Hyeong who did not look surprised at all, Jae Hyun’s eyes looked full of vengeance mixed with sadness and anger.

His gaze continued to watch Geon Hyeong for a while and Geon Hyeong did not avoid his gaze.

This time it was Jae Hyun who averted his gaze first from Geon Hyeong. Jae Hyun sighed softly and gave up while averting his gaze.

President Kim secretly just smiled bitterly at the behavior of the two boys.

What a stubborn child. Even when he was alive, his son was a very stubborn child. Then, in the end he left first and hurt his mother’s feelings.

Maybe his daughter-in-law and Jae Hyun were dissatisfied with the contents of his will, but the contents of his son’s will, who had not cared about the company, was actually the only thing he could do to keep the company.

At least, the boy did the right thing this time.

Jae Hyun already received shares from his grandfather who used to be a business partner of Goryo Group.

If the boy were to inherit his father’s shares, there would definitely be a serious mess in the company’s management.

He doesn’t know if his decision was a well-thought-out one, or just an insult to his wife who didn’t love him, but thanks to the will, the company was still able to continue running stably.

However, seeing that Geon Hyeong did not look at all sad about losing his father and did not look at all happy about getting the inheritance, President Kim could not easily judge whether the will was really a good decision or not.

Although the boy did not resemble his unreliable father and careless mother, his stubborn and willful nature was exactly like his father. Arrogant, extremely accurate, and fearless.

Unlike Jae Hyun who was raised by his mother to be a businessman, Geon Hyeong was born to be one.

He has different qualities from his other sons-in-law, and it would be a shame to let his talent go to waste just because of his ‘illegitimate child’ status.

However, passing on the company just because of his ability was also something dangerous. President Kim was both curious and scared to imagine what would happen to the company as a result of his careless son’s ‘joke’.

The lawyer finally finished reading the contents of the will and slowly people began to leave the reading room with their dissatisfaction.

He tidied up the documents on the table and put them back into his bag.

As soon as he left the room and closed the door, President Kim slowly stood up from his seat and called out to Geon Hyeong.

“What are your plans?”

“That’s also what I wanted to ask. Do you think I can accept this Goryo Group inheritance?” Geon Hyeong asked flatly and calmly.

However, the content of his question was sharp.

I don’t know how a child this young could be this calm and cool, President Kim thought.

He was also a person who rarely showed emotions through facial expressions, but not when he was that young when his enthusiasm was overwhelming. If you think about it objectively, it seems like this kid is one level stronger than him.

“That’s not what I want to talk about now. Because from now on, you should be the one to start.”

President Kim refused to give him a direct answer and his young grandson did not demand any more answers from him.

Geon Hyeong bowed quietly in greeting and was about to leave, but President Kim called him back and told him to sit down.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“I was confused about who I should hand over this responsibility to. But, I think I should leave it to you now.”

President Kim turned his gaze to his wife, Mrs. Hwang, who was also a longtime friend and coworker. His wife rested her hands on her knees and got up from her seat with difficulty. She took out a photo from the drawer of the old desk in the reading room and gave it to her husband.

In the old, faded photo, his father was seen lovingly embracing a pregnant woman. His father showed his charming smile, which could once seduce any woman in the world.

Geon Hyeong looked at the photo with a deadpan face. That’s right.

“Is this also one of my other siblings?”

“It’s possible.”

“You’re asking me to look for him?”

“You can’t help it.”

“Never mind. If he was in need, he would have looked for us. Or maybe he’s an outcast like me.”

That was a really rude and arbitrary answer.

Geon Hyeong looked at his grandparents sharply, then erased the face of the woman who didn’t even smile at all from his brain.

To Mrs. Hwang, Geon Hyeong’s cold facial expression was not much different from her husband’s. It was also true, blood relations never lie.

“Then, I’ll leave first.”

As if he had done what he had to do, Geon Hyeong got up, and calmly left the reading room.

That child was a child who was neglected by his father and exchanged for some money by his mother. Telling such a child to look for his other sibling was an impossible request.

Mrs. Hwang picked up the photo lying on the table again. The woman, who now can’t read without wearing glasses, still remembers the message written on the back of the photo.

How are you? I hope this child looks like you. For the sake of our love.

Another child who might just be her handsome son’s biological child.

When will the owner of this photo appear? Then, what kind of injuries does this child have to endure? And how long will it take for the wound to heal? This photo is an old photo.

A photo from 10 years ago.