CH 14

At the age of 20, Muyeol had been hired as an intern at S Corp. Attending college and interning at the same time meant that even 24 hours in a day weren’t enough for him. He overworked himself to the point of having a nosebleed every morning, yet he continued to sacrifice sleep to learn more about the work.

“You don’t have to live like this,” Madam Choi had begged him as she worried about him having to work all the time.

Muyeol responded, “I’m doing this because I want to.”

“I’m worried something bad will happen to you if you continue like this.”

“Then, so be it.”

“Muyeol, I gave birth to your father, but he became a monster. I don’t want you to become like him.”

“To win a battle against a monster, I have no choice but to become a monster myself.”

“Muyeol…”

“Even if I have to become a monster myself, I want to win this battle. I want the corporation for myself. That’s my only goal, so please don’t try to stop me.”

“Alright. Fine. You’re right. You have no choice but to become a monster, and it’s all my fault. I wasn’t able to protect you.” Madam Choi had admitted defeat with a frown.

Mr. Cha had never given up on trying to control Muyeol. He tried to put him down with the paternity tests when Muyeol was young, and now he was trying to do so through other methods.

But if Muyeol possessed Madam Choi’s share of stock as well, he would be able to fight back against Mr. Cha. 

But if he kept acting in this manner, he would stay as a monster. And she would not be able to do anything to prevent him from becoming just like his father. So she needed to hold onto her shares as long as possible, but that wasn’t so easy to do. It was a complicated, delicate matter.

What would happen if Muyeol got it all in the end? What if he turned into someone worse than his father? That poor soul… He had never been loved by anyone.

‘Oh, poor Muyeol,’ Madam Choi thought. Was there any way around it? Was there anything that could comfort Muyeol?

Madam Choi pulled out her cellphone. She’d been thinking of only one thing ever since she bumped into that kid coincidentally.

Perhaps it was stupid and meaningless. It might not even work out. But she couldn’t just leave Muyeol alone like that without trying to do anything to help him.

Once Muyeol got ahold of the stock, she wouldn’t be able to persuade him.

“It’s so hard to find… I’m sure I didn’t delete it.” Madam Choi said as she anxiously went through her phone.

Madam Choi always made sure to save a picture on her phone whenever she got a new one. It was a very old picture; a picture of Muyeol on the day of his junior high school graduation with the only kid who was willing to get a picture clicked with him.

Madam Choi’s eyes moistened as the sentiments overwhelmed her, her mind recalling the dim memories of the girl who had managed to get Muyeol to open up. She recalled the way Muyeol asked her for help that day, the memory so vivid in her mind that it felt real.

“Granny, I have a favor to ask you. Please save her.”

Madam Choi couldn’t believe it when she had heard the story from Muyeol. He was not a child who paid attention to others. He had been so busy thinking about his own survival, he was always planning how to live on his own. So this girl was special. Because she had managed to turn Muyeol’s attention to someone other than himself. 

“Yoon Yiyoung…” Madam Choi muttered.

Madam Choi couldn’t forget her name. She had been Muyeol’s deskmate for a long time, and they had even attended the same junior high and high school. She always used to be by his side.

Not only that, but she somehow also managed to make Muyeol eat the candies which he hated.

“That’s right. Here it is,” she exclaimed.

She finally found the picture. A picture of the unfriendly Muyeol standing beside Yiyoung, who wore a large smile on her face. Madam Choi beamed with joy, her smile reaching her eyes. This picture always gave her such a warm feeling; it was why she had held onto it all this time.

She searched through her gallery again. It would’ve been easy if she knew how to use her phone properly, but Madam Choi didn’t have much skill with the technology. All she knew was how to save pictures.

She paused. There it was. She found another picture, one that was taken a year ago in front of S group hospital’s lobby. Madam Choi had gone there for her physical examination and coincidentally met the girl there. She could never forget her smart, bright, sparkling eyes.

“That’s right. Yoon Yiyoung,” Madam Choi muttered.

Yiyoung had always been around them. She was a specialist at S Corp hospital’s ER. Last year, Muyeol took the post of president of the hospital, and perhaps, he did so because of Yiyoung.

Muyeol had always wanted to become the CEO of S Corp holding company and wanted complete control over it. His hands were full with executing his plans to achieve that, and the position at the hospital was only for boosting his reputation. It had nothing to do with his plans to become the CEO and could have waited until later. 

But Muyeol accepted it, and never left it. He managed his time well and also got promoted to director of S Corp holding company. Nobody realized that he might have wanted to be closer to Yiyoung. Madam Choi’s imagination ran far, and it made her think of things akin to a sweet dream, too far-fetched to seem like reality.

‘What if those two…’ Madam Choi thought. According to her observations, Yiyoung was still single. Her lips curled up bitterly; she couldn’t believe she was thinking like this.

“I’m so old now,” she sighed.

Even so, she wanted to hope for the best. She wanted to do something for Muyeol. She didn’t care if she could be considered a fool for trying to cling to his past like that.

‘Muyeol was really into her at one point, huh?’ Madam Choi thought as she recalled the way Muyeol had almost beaten Jaeho to death when he dared to badmouth Yiyoung. After that incident, the two brothers turned into enemies forever.

“Let’s do it. I have to do something,” she muttered, tightly clenching her phone.

As Madam Choi strengthened her resolve, her eyes looking determined, the doorbell rang. 

Muyeol was here.