Chapter 100
I didn't ask what kind of party it was.
It was also a sign of my trust that Hong Si-yeon would never take me somewhere unpleasant.
Thus, several days later.
When the day came to attend the party she'd mentioned, Hong Si-yeon came to pick me up.
"You're wearing a suit?"
"You said it was a party, so I prepared carefully."
Hong Si-yeon was also dressed in a comfortable suit.
I wondered how a suit could be comfortable, but it was much more comfortable than a long, trailing dress.
"The party we're attending today is Chairman Gu Yong-cheol of the Cheongsaem Group's seventieth-birthday celebration."
The group always ranked somewhere between twenty-fifth and thirtieth among Korean companies.
It was a birthday party for the chairman of Cheongsaem, a company famous for furniture and interior design, as well as a luxury brand recognized overseas.
"Is a seventieth-birthday celebration a party too?"
"Though it's called a seventieth-birthday celebration, prominent figures and representatives from various companies will come to congratulate him. At that scale, it wouldn't be strange to call it a party."
"Are you going for work too, Ms. Si-yeon?"
"Yes. Actually, it's also my grandmother's instruction. Chairman Gu of the Cheongsaem Group is a friend of my grandmother's."
Originally, she was supposed to go with Madam Yang Chun-ja, but Madam Yang had something to do and said she wouldn't be able to attend this time.
So Hong Si-yeon was attending in her place.
"But why am I going with you? It's not a party that requires a partner."
"I only asked because I wanted to go with you."
In that case, I couldn't very well refuse.
"Hehe. Why? Don't you want to be my partner?"
"It's not that."
Patting me on the back, Hong Si-yeon grinned happily.
The place we arrived at in her car was Seibrans, a luxurious five-star hotel in Gangnam.
Quite a few people must have already arrived for the party, because the parking lot was filled with expensive-looking cars.
"Isn't your car a nice one too, Noah?"
"It is, but I don't drive it much. Sports cars are really cramped and uncomfortable..."
If they hadn't been gifts, I would have sold them all.
"Ahahaha!! So you prefer a domestic midsize car?"
"A compact or subcompact would be fine too."
As long as a car was comfortable to ride in and ran well, that was all that mattered.
I had no interest in things like how impressive a car made me look when I got out of it.
"You're so cool. 'A car can't define me!' Is that it?"
"I'd appreciate it if you saw it that way."
Hong Si-yeon got out of the car leisurely, and we walked toward the elevator.
The party was being held in an event hall rented out at this hotel.
I didn't understand why they needed to rent a hotel event hall just to invite so many people.
But if an old man wanted to hold his birthday party in a five-star hotel's event hall with his own money, who was I to say anything?
"We'll check your invitation."
As if they didn't want to let just anyone in, they were checking invitations at the entrance.
Hong Si-yeon calmly held out the invitation, and we were allowed inside only after it had been checked.
"Oh."
Food was spread out here and there.
There was even a champagne tower, and everyone was dressed neatly.
This gathering made it clear what an upscale party was, so I asked Hong Si-yeon,
"But what are we supposed to do here?"
"Nothing in particular. We just eat good food, chat a bit, and go home."
"That's really all?"
"What were you expecting?"
I hadn't been expecting anything in particular.
Hong Si-yeon smiled slyly.
"Were you perhaps expecting us to dance? Too bad. There won't be any dancing at today's party. Well, if you want, I could dance one song with you."
"But I don't know how to dance. Would it be all right if I asked after I learned a little?"
If I stepped on those small feet, my conscience might keep me awake at night.
Hong Si-yeon giggled for a long time as if she found it amusing, then dabbed at the corner of her eye.
"Ah. See? I told you Noah is fun."
I didn't know what exactly was so amusing, but I was glad she found me entertaining.
"By the way, Ms. Si-yeon, I guess you're not close to the younger people at the party?"
There were several young men and women who noticed her.
But she didn't show much interest in them.
And they felt the same way about her.
"Something happened in the past."
"What happened?"
"Hehehe. I'll tell you later."
Actually, I knew because I had seen her past.
In the past, some people had been interested in her beauty and outgoing personality, while others had envied her.
Friction arose in the process, and all of them were thoroughly scolded by Hong Si-yeon and Yang Chun-ja.
After that happened several times, people simply stopped approaching her altogether.
She grinned and said she'd explain the whole thing amusingly later, then pointed somewhere.
"Oh. That's one of my grandmother's friends. I'll go say hello."
"Shall I come with you?"
"No. How should I put it? She's the sort of person who nags a lot..."
If I went along, she'd ask my age, point out that I hadn't attended university, and go on at length about how I absolutely had to go to college.
I could see that future too when I looked at Hong Si-yeon's future, so I decided not to go.
After she moved away, while I was alone nibbling snacks from a table,
"Are you Noah hyung, by any chance?"
"Hmm?"
A man I'd never seen before approached.
The eyes of the man, who looked to be in his early thirties, were filled with expectation.
"You are Noah hyung, right?"
"You recognized me. Were you one of my viewers too?"
"Whoa!!"
He was incredibly happy.
He quickly approached, took out a notebook, and held it out to me.
"Good heavens! I never thought I'd meet you here! Could I get an autograph?!"
"Sure, sure."
I signed an autograph for my viewer.
Then, when I took out a card, he was delighted and even took a picture of it.
"I can't believe the day has come when I get to turn over your card, hyung."
He turned over the card with the utmost care.
It was the Devil reversed.
"Uh... Hyung, is this a bad one?"
"It's neither particularly good nor bad, Gu Ja-mun."
"...!!"
Gu Ja-mun.
He was one of Chairman Gu Yong-cheol's grandsons, and currently a Grade 5 civil servant who had passed the higher civil service examination.
"You've been worried about a lot lately, haven't you?"
"I-I have!!"
"Your biggest concern is probably the problem at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, where you work. Isn't it figuring out how to get back at the Grade 4 official who's pressuring you?"
At the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, where Gu Ja-mun worked, Director Yoo Woo-tae, a Grade 4 official, was pressuring him.
He was demanding to know why Gu Ja-mun wouldn't sign a contract with a company he was close to.
Gu Ja-mun was refusing to approve it because the proper procedures had to be followed.
That had caused friction.
"Try asking your father for help."
"My father's just a company employee. How could he...?"
"Among your father's friends, there's someone higher up than that official. And since he works in auditing, it should be easy for him to catch the man."
This was also his chance to get rid of that Grade 4 official, so he should do his best.
Gu Ja-mun nodded seriously.
"And if you don't want pointless interference at work, how about revealing that you're a member of the Cheongsaem chaebol family? You're hiding it right now, aren't you?"
Then even though he was a civil servant, the man wouldn't dare mess with him recklessly.
The reason that official had messed with Gu Ja-mun this time was that he didn't know Ja-mun came from a chaebol family.
"That's a little... But still, as expected of you, hyung... To get it right in one go without me saying anything, that's really...!!"
"And there's one more thing bothering you, isn't there?"
"......"
Gu Ja-mun looked around, then nodded slightly.
He carefully opened his mouth.
"It's my second uncle. I hope it's just me being paranoid..."
Recently, when he returned home from work, he had seen his uncle sneaking out of his grandfather's study.
It was an uncle who often clashed with his grandfather over company-management issues.
What business could such an uncle have had in the study?
He went to the study to check, but there was nothing unusual.
Except for one thing.
His grandfather's blood-pressure medicine bottle, which he took regularly, was lying on the floor.
"I think my uncle tampered with Grandfather's blood-pressure medicine."
"Hmm..."
"Could something happen to Grandfather?"
"It's not as though poisoning someone is that easy to pull off in South Korea, though."
"Yeah. I know that too. I just wanted to ask, in case."
"At least, your grandfather isn't going to die anytime soon."
"Huh? Is that really true?"
"But that means he won't die; it doesn't mean his health will improve."
"Then..."
"His blood pressure will become a problem, and then he'll collapse several times."
Then the eldest and second sons would persuade the board, citing their father's health, and Chairman Gu Yong-cheol would step down from active management.
"...You mean that's because of my uncles?"
"I don't know."
Whether the medicine his second uncle had placed in the study would take effect, or whether Chairman Gu Yong-cheol's health was genuinely poor,
There was no way to know under the current circumstances.
But one thing was certain: if things continued as they were, Cheongsaem would pass to Gu Ja-mun's eldest and second uncles.
"You know this if you've watched my broadcasts, but the future can change any number of times."
"Yeah..."
"The future changes depending on how you investigate and whom you join forces with."
"Is that so..."
"Anyway, you want Chairman Gu Yong-cheol to make the right choice, don't you? Hmm... Who can help him in his current situation?"
"That..."
"And the people around Chairman Gu Yong-cheol who serve him? Will they really act for his sake?"
"I don't know much about the company either. What do you think, hyung?"
"I don't know either."
At the very least, I needed to check the eldest and second uncles.
And I needed to check Chairman Gu Yong-cheol as well before I could give a meaningful answer.
Gu Ja-mun closed his eyes.
"Hyung, can you help me? Of course, I'll repay you."
"All right."
"Huh?!"
"Why?"
"No, I just didn't expect you to agree to help so readily."
"Because you've lived a good life. Keep doing good deeds from now on, too."
"O-Oh."
With that, I finished talking with Gu Ja-mun, and he went off to attend the event.
I was alone again, nibbling snacks, when Hong Si-yeon returned.
"What were you and Gu Ja-mun talking about so seriously?"
"You know him?"
"Through someone? An older friend I know and a younger friend of mine both like him."
"Ah. Well, he's a decent person, so I suppose a lot of people would like him."
For someone from a chaebol family, he was modest, and he was capable enough to pass the higher civil service examination at a young age.
"Of course, I don't."
Heh.
With a mischievous smile, she naturally linked arms with me.
"Because I know someone even better."
"That's very fortunate."
"Yes, it is. But..."
It was then.
The spotlight focused on the stage.
"From this moment on, we will begin Chairman Gu Yong-cheol's seventieth-birthday celebration!!"
Along with the emcee's shout, a robust old man came onto the stage.
Though he was celebrating his seventieth birthday, perhaps because he ate well and took care of himself, he didn't look a day over sixty.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Now I could see him clearly.
That man...
If things continued like this, his sons would have him confined to a hospital.