“Brother. How has your wife been lately?”

“My wife?”

“Yes. Hasn’t your sister-in-law been quite uncomfortable lately?”

“Why are you worrying about my wife?”

Sang-jong couldn’t figure out what Seong-ho was after, calling him out to dinner only to bring up his own wife.

Seong-ho smiled lightly at Sang-jong’s frown and spoke. “They say a wife generally dislikes nothing more than a husband resting at home.”

“So what you’re saying is that since I’ve become a jobless man lounging around the house, my wife must be uncomfortable? That’s it? You called me all the way out here to tell me that?”

Bang!

Sang-jong struck the table with the flat of his hand.

Just then, the server opening the door and coming in with a plate of sashimi flinched at the sound of the table being struck.

Seong-ho smiled and gestured to her. “It’s fine, come in.”

At his words, the server, head bowed, carefully came inside. She quickly set the plate she’d brought on the table and left the room.

Seong-ho picked up chopsticks and held them out to Sang-jong.

“Brother. Grouper’s in season in summer, so it tastes wonderful. Try it. They say this one was just caught this morning in Goheung.”

“Never mind grouper or whatever else — skip the nonsense and say what you have to say. So what, you called me here just to wonder whether my wife’s stifled or not?”

Seong-ho set the chopsticks down before Sang-jong and spoke. “Gyeong-eun and I are going to move out of Pyeongchang-dong.”

“What?”

He picked up a piece of grouper sashimi, dipped it in soy sauce, tasted it, and smiled. But unlike Seong-ho, Sang-jong still hadn’t lifted his chopsticks, and stared at him.

“Moving out of Pyeongchang-dong — what’s that supposed to mean?”

Savoring the firm aftertaste lingering in his mouth, Seong-ho took a sip of tea to clear his palate before setting his chopsticks down.

“I meant to talk while we ate, but… I suppose we can eat after we’ve finished talking.”

“Just say it already. So you’re leaving Pyeongchang-dong?”

Seeing Sang-jong’s interest pique at the single mention of leaving Pyeongchang-dong, Seong-ho smiled lightly.

“You know as well as I do, Brother — Mother doesn’t much care for me.”

“That goes for me too. Eldest brother and Jeong-eun as well… who does like you, really.”

“I thought you, at least, liked me, Brother… that’s disappointing.”

Seong-ho said it in jest, but Sang-jong didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow. At that, Seong-ho smiled sheepishly and went on.

“Anyway… so Gyeong-eun’s been having a hard time with it. And it’s the same for me too.”

“So you’re leaving Pyeongchang-dong because of that?”

“Yes. That’s the plan.”

Seong-ho hadn’t dressed it up or offered another reason. He’d said plainly that he meant to leave because Suk-ja disliked him. Sang-jong looked at him a moment, momentarily at a loss for words, and Seong-ho began in earnest.

“But now that I’m actually about to leave, I find myself worried about the two of them.”

“Why would you worry about Mother and Father?”

“They’ll be lonely.”

“Lonely? With however many staff working in that house, what’s there to be lonely about?”

“Someone you pay to work for you is different from family, isn’t it?”

The words and you’re no different from someone paid to work for them rose to Sang-jong’s throat, but he barely swallowed them back. Twitching the corner of his mouth up, he asked Seong-ho, “So what you’re saying is you want me to move into Pyeongchang-dong?”

“If I had to put it in one line, yes.”

“Why would I?”

Sang-jong spoke without hiding his displeasure, as if some memory had surfaced. “I did everything I could to get out of that place — why would I move back in?”

“Because moving in is how you get to move out, Brother.”

“Moving into Pyeongchang-dong is how I get out of Pyeongchang-dong? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Brother.”

Seong-ho looked straight at him and said, “Do you mean to just keep staying home like this? Doing nothing at all, spending your days shut up in the house?”

Sang-jong’s expression hardened. It looked as though he might flip the table at any moment. Anyone else — especially anyone who knew Sang-jong well — might have tried to calm him down at the sight. But Seong-ho was different. Having weathered Sang-jong’s reactions countless times in that former life, he could stay unbothered even now. If anything, seeing Sang-jong react this way told him his words were landing exactly as intended.

“Given enough time, the chairman will surely call you back to the company someday. But do you mean to just sit and wait endlessly until that day comes?”

“Get to the point!”

His anger apparently at its limit, Sang-jong gripped the edge of the table. His face made plain that if the next words didn’t please him, he’d flip it over and give Seong-ho a proper beating.

Seong-ho spoke to him still in a calm voice. “Move into Pyeongchang-dong and face the chairman directly. And show Mother, every single day, that you’re there in the house. Keep that up, and what would’ve taken a year to be called back might take half a year — or three months.”

Hearing this, the strength eased slightly from Sang-jong’s grip. But his gaze on Seong-ho didn’t waver.

“Are you saying Father will think I’m pathetic and bring me back into the company because of it?”

“That’s not it at all. Why do you think so little of yourself, Brother?”

“What? I’m the one thinking little of myself?”

“Yes.”

Seong-ho wore a serious expression and said, “Why don’t you consider that if the chairman sees you every day, he’ll come to see your good qualities? And that discovering them, he’ll call you back to the company? Brother. Show him your true self.”

“My true self…”

Sang-jong, calmed by now, wore an expression sunk deep in thought.

“Kept apart like this, it takes that much longer for your true worth to be recognized. So let the chairman see your real self up close, even a little. Do that, and you’ll be able to return to the company that much faster.”

“Hmm…”

Letting out a short groan, Sang-jong slowly nodded. It struck him that Seong-ho was right.

“Who else knows you’re planning to leave Pyeongchang-dong?”

At the question, Seong-ho smiled and answered. “No one but Gyeong-eun and me. Naturally, the chairman and Mother don’t know either. I’m telling you first.”

“…Why tell me first? If you’d said the same to eldest brother or Chang-jong, they’d have been pleased too. And it’s not just me who needs to get back to the company — Jeong-eun does too, so she’d have packed her bags and moved into Pyeongchang-dong before you’d even left.”

“My sister-in-law… you know how she is, don’t you? I simply wanted to speak to the one person who’d understand my feelings first.”

“You mean you wanted to tell the one who’d be grateful for it.”

Seeing Sang-jong catch his meaning at once, Seong-ho nodded. “I won’t deny it. Even though I’m leaving Pyeongchang-dong of my own will, I don’t want to just leave empty-handed.”

“Fine. Say it, then. What do you want?”

“I want your support, Brother.”

“My support? Support for what? You haven’t even gotten back into the company yet, and any promise I make would only take effect once I’m back and settled in my seat again.”

“Yes. I’m not asking anything of you right now. Once you’re back at the company and settled, that’s when you can support me. And the reason is… you know it too, Brother, but as the restructuring goes on…”

As Seong-ho trailed off, Sang-jong burst into loud laughter, as if he finally understood.

“Hahaha. I get it now. Well… of course you would.”

Sang-jong felt everything had become clear at last. “Talking with you, something kept nagging at me — but now I see why you told me first and want my support. Hahaha.”

Laughing with real pleasure now, Sang-jong picked up his chopsticks. “Let’s eat.”

Sang-jong, who hadn’t even glanced at the sashimi when Seong-ho first suggested eating while they talked, now took up his chopsticks first and offered the plate. Popping a piece into his mouth, he twitched the corner of his lips up.

“It’s good.”

“Glad to hear it’s good. Shall I have the rest of the food brought in, then?”

“Sure.”

At Sang-jong’s nod, Seong-ho told the server waiting outside to bring in the rest of the meal. Once the server left the room at his instruction, Sang-jong picked up a bottle of liquor.

“Good sashimi needs drink to go with it.”

Seong-ho lifted his cup to receive the drink Sang-jong poured. Filling Seong-ho’s cup full, Sang-jong said, “Don’t worry. I’ll clear up any misunderstandings that have built up toward you among people because of the restructuring. Since I’ve been a step removed from it, it’ll probably work better coming from me than from eldest brother or the others.”

At his words, Seong-ho smiled broadly. “It was all done for the company’s sake, but I was worried about the ill feeling many people have taken toward me over it — now that you’re stepping in yourself, Brother, I can finally set that worry down.”

“Hahaha. Right. Just trust me now and work at ease. Have another drink too… ah, this is excellent. I should come here more often for food this good.”

In good spirits, Sang-jong kept offering Seong-ho more sashimi. To anyone who saw only this moment, without knowing the conversation that had come before, it would have looked as if Sang-jong were the one who’d called Seong-ho out for a reason of his own. That was how satisfied he was with how this meeting had gone.

Right. This time, you’ll be my shield.

Thinking of Sang-jong, who would now stand out front in his place, Seong-ho tossed back his drink in one go.

At the weekend family meal, Gyeong-eun dropped her bombshell.

“We’re going to move out and live on our own now.”

“What?”

“What did you say? Move out and live on your own?”

“Move out — what do you mean by that?”

Mun-jong and the others looked at Gyeong-eun with bewildered faces. Only Sang-jong and his wife, who’d already heard it from Seong-ho, showed no reaction at all.

“Move out — why all of a sudden?”

Hyeon-ju Bang, Mun-jong’s wife and the eldest daughter-in-law, asked Gyeong-eun.

Gyeong-eun looked around at the family gathered and spoke. “Honestly, why did we live in Pyeongchang-dong in the first place? Wasn’t it because you all didn’t trust Seong-ho, and wanted to keep him under watch while we lived together?”

“That’s…”

Hyeon-ju glanced at Seong-ho, trying to stop Gyeong-eun. Talking about what they’d discussed among themselves before the wedding, right in front of the man himself, felt uncomfortable no matter how she looked at it.

But Gyeong-eun, having brought it up, spoke as if it were nothing. “It’s fine. Seong-ho knows all about it too.”

“No, but even so…”

Hyeon-ju’s face still showed discomfort, but Gyeong-eun, seeming not to notice, went on. “We’ve looked into it as much as there was to look into by now, haven’t we? And everyone agrees there’s nothing wrong with him. Right?”

Gyeong-eun looked around at the family with a gaze that asked whether that wasn’t so. Under her gaze, the family said nothing and watched Tak-hyeon’s expression instead. Whatever the matter, Tak-hyeon was the final decision-maker in the Ilhyeon house, so every eye gathered on him to see what he’d decide.

But this time, Gyeong-eun got ahead of Tak-hyeon.

“I was worried about leaving just Mom and Dad alone in this big house once we moved out, but luckily, second brother said he’d move in and live here.”

“What? Sang-jong?”

“When did you talk with second brother about this?”

Mun-jong and Jeong-eun asked Gyeong-eun with startled faces.

At that, Min-yeong Oh, Sang-jong’s wife, stepped in. “Mother-in-law. Don’t worry. We’ll move in and look after you both.”

Once Min-yeong finished, Gyeong-eun spoke to the family again. “Since second brother’s moving in to live here, I think we can leave with an easy heart too. Dad, Mom. We’re going to move out and live on our own. Is that all right?”

Once Gyeong-eun finished, Mun-jong and the others felt as if they’d been struck from behind. But even if the chance had come to them directly, it wasn’t a decision to be made lightly. Moving into Pyeongchang-dong to live meant losing as much as it gained. Still, the fact that the chance hadn’t even come to them at all left them flustered.

Mun-jong and the others watched Tak-hyeon’s expression, holding their breath to see what he’d decide.

(End of Chapter 87)