Over dessert after the meal, Mun-jong turned to Tak-hyeon with a beaming face.

"You wouldn't believe it — our Seon-myeong got into that famous Boston University, if you can imagine that!"

At Mun-jong's words, it was Suk-ja, not Tak-hyeon, who reacted first.

"Really? Our eldest grandson got into Boston University?"

Hyeon-ju Bang, Mun-jong's wife and the eldest daughter-in-law, smiled and answered Suk-ja. "Mother, it's one of the most famous universities in all of America, ranked right up there among the best."

"Is that so? Who does he take after, being that clever? He must have suffered so much, all alone in a foreign country."

Tears welled up in Suk-ja's eyes.

Watching her, Jeong-eun snorted at Hyeon-ju and let out a scornful laugh.

"Let's be honest, Sister-in-law. You think Seon-myeong did that himself? A consultant put together his whole application and sent along assistants to handle everything — did he even sit the exams himself, I wonder? Someone I know had a proxy sit the test for their kid, and Seon-myeong probably…"

"What are you saying, Jeong-eun?"

"Jeong-eun! That's going too far."

Hyeon-ju and Mun-jong, who'd been smiling a moment ago, shot sharp looks at her. But undeterred, Jeong-eun kept saying exactly what was on her mind.

"Let's just be honest with each other, since it's only family here. Is there anyone at this table who got into their university on their own merit? Ah — well, there's the one sitting right there who probably did get in on his own." Jeong-eun pointed a finger at Seong-ho and looked around at everyone else. "But the rest of us didn't. Am I wrong?"

At Jeong-eun's words, no one at the table said a thing. Because it was true — every one of them had gotten into university through irregular means.

Seeing no one able to respond, Jeong-eun sneered again and went on. "None of us can speak up with confidence, so there's no way Seon-myeong got in through proper channels either. Mom, don't worry. That boy's probably living it up in America — chasing girls, drinking at parties… let's just hope he's…