It seems that Sara’s birthday was quite an important day.
Up until now, besides Choi Na-kyung, there hadn’t been anyone to celebrate Sara’s birthday. Even that was just adjusting to the quarterly visit, so it didn’t make much difference.
No, rather it was more frustrating for Sara. After her birthday passed, she wouldn’t be able to see Choi Na-kyung until the fourth quarter.
…That won’t happen now.
…Well, I guess.
After going through such an experience, it’s understandable. I didn’t want to see Choi Na-kyung again. I felt like it would just cause me trauma for no reason.
Anyway.
What I wanted to say was, that was the situation for Sara after the fence called ‘Choi Na-kyung’ disappeared.
Choi Na-kyung wanted Sara to be her own. She went to great lengths to prevent her from mixing with others, and she almost succeeded.
And of course, the category of ‘people who couldn’t meet Sara’ didn’t just mean those physically close to her.
Just at the right time, the day after I had shared Sara’s birthday with my friends, today.
As I was lazily strolling back home, a rare sight caught my eye.
There was a car parked in front of the mansion.
Was it fortunate that it wasn’t a blue car?
I don’t know much about cars, but it was clearly a big, ridiculously expensive sedan. It might even cost more than the sedan I used to drive during my commute.
And beside the sedan stood two people in proper suits.
One was young, and the other was significantly older.
Just by glancing, one looked like the driver, while the other seemed to be someone who would be lounging in the back seat.
Though it seemed a bit odd that they were standing side by side by the car.
And the people were facing off against Yang Hye-in, who had come out in front of the mansion.
They weren’t shouting or picking a fight; rather, there was a sort of competitive tension in the expressions of the people looking at each other.
Oh, except for the younger guy. He looked like he wanted to go home right away, wearing a somewhat blank expression.
Can’t blame him. There’s nothing worse than getting caught up in a fight between your employer and others.
…What to do?
To be honest, those people look incredibly annoying just by looking at them. They seem more bothersome than the public officials who visit me once a week or the police who came last time.
I feel like they might bring up something related to money.
Or maybe company management… in any case, I expect a really complicated discussion.
…Sara, since it’s your asset, shouldn’t you be the one talking?
My asset is obviously your asset, so of course you should be the one to negotiate. Just because you’re there doesn’t mean I’m not spending your money.
…If I put it that way, I really have nothing to say. I did spend Sara’s money without her permission after all. I guess I need to deal with this.
“Could you wait here for a moment?”
“Uh….”
As I turned to Ha Neul, Sohee, and Sua who followed me, they looked puzzled for a moment before nodding at Yang Hye-in.
They hadn’t seen Yang Hye-in smashing the car window with a hammer, but they’d definitely heard about it. Especially since I had testified, I doubt they would think otherwise.
Though I feel like their image of Yang Hye-in is a bit distorted… well, that’s a problem for Yang Hye-in to resolve on her own.
I took a deep breath, then walked over to the people blocking the mansion door with as confident a stride as possible. Ha Neul, Sohee, and Sua trailed behind me, stopping a little distance away from them.
“Ms. Yang Hye-in?”
As I exhaled the breath I was holding, I called out to Yang Hye-in in a somewhat louder voice.
“Miss, welcome.”
Yang Hye-in greeted me, looking as stable as ever. The people waiting by the car turned their heads toward me.
“Oh, Sara! Long time no see.”
The older male said that to me.
“…Uh….”
I tried my best to respond cleverly, but it was a spectacular failure.
Well, I didn’t know this person.
Even though I looked through Sara’s memories, I couldn’t recognize his face.
“It’s me, In-hyuk Uncle.”
He had a voice surprisingly charming for an older gentleman with gray hair. It wasn’t too low or too high. Perfect for explaining things in a business-setting.
…He probably is involved in business too.
He must hold an important role in the group if he referred to himself as Sara’s uncle.
But the problem is, I don’t know whether this ‘uncle’ is really an uncle or not.
If he is a real uncle, then that means he is a brother of Sara’s father—
No. My dad was an only child.
—But if not, it complicates things a lot more.
Sometimes, you can call a close older male figure ‘uncle,’ and sometimes people use that title for relatives who are five or six times removed, depending on the family.
“Uh….”
But the real problem is that it was downright awkward to ask.
I mean, you can’t just directly ask a family elder, “Who are you?” can you?
Normally, when you get stuck, your parents next to you would subtly say who they are, but Choi Na-kyung is still on the run.
Well, even if she weren’t, she wouldn’t be the person next to Sara anyway.
“Well, that makes sense. I met you when you were very little.”
As I looked at that person with a blank expression, the uncle smiled, a somewhat warm smile.
With just the face, he looks like a pretty good person.
Yeah, just the face.
Choi Na-kyung also looked like a beautiful woman just on the outside. I’ve been realizing that appearance doesn’t necessarily reflect character ever since I arrived in this world.
“…….”
I turned to Yang Hye-in, but—
“……”
Yang Hye-in seemed to have no clue as well.
Well, since she came into the picture when Sara was around middle school, she wouldn’t know relatives Sara had met before that. By then, Sara was already isolated from the world.
Hmm.
What should I say?
It would be a bit rude to ask, “Why are you here?” right now.
I’m fine, though.
Sara didn’t hide her discomfort.
She always seemed confident yet had a strangely skittish side, so she didn’t particularly like meeting new people.
What a joke.
If I could see Sara’s face, I would’ve seen her pouting in dissatisfaction.
“……”
As I kept glancing up at his face, a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
Hmm……
But it’s better to listen to the story for now.
If there’s something going on in the company, it would directly affect Sara’s future. I wouldn’t want to see any incidents arise years later because I ignored them.
…I know it sounds cocky to say this, but Yujin Group holds a significant part of South Korea’s economy.
It’s not like the world economy would shake if it went bankrupt since it’s not a bank… but in Korea, that’s a different story altogether.
Moreover, considering this world’s resemblance to a ‘game’ setting, who knows what exaggerated settings may lurk beneath the surface. It’s best to be cautious.
“…Shall we go in and have a talk?”
As I said that, the uncle let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing such behavior, he doesn’t seem to be that calculative of a person… but then again, it could be an act.
*
Those eyes, are similar.
Of course, the Ye Sara in front of Ye In-hyuk right now is not blood-related to Choi Na-kyung. While the atmosphere feels similar, he knows very well that it’s partly due to Choi Na-kyung subtly leading it.
He didn’t know exactly why, though.
Did she want to make Sara look like her daughter to solidify her status within the company?
That’s something he’ll only know before Choi Na-kyung gets caught.
…For now, judging just from what he’s heard, there’s no doubt Sara has been influenced by Choi Na-kyung.
He doesn’t think that’s a good thing. It seems that their relationship has soured due to that major incident last time, but the bond between parent and child doesn’t easily break.
Even if it’s a relationship without a drop of shared blood.
Regardless of how long Sara has been influenced by Choi Na-kyung, he needed to see it with his own eyes.
He doesn’t care much about who becomes the head of Yujin Group. He just hopes that this colossal company, built by his family through generations, continues to thrive.
