Chapter 41

#41 < New Future (6) >

***

Hong Ki-jun is flustered.

“Hehehehehe-.”

His daughter, who used to cry buckets of tears every time they parted, now seems to have matured. Instead of crying, she sits quietly in the back seat, constantly smiling.

“Hahaha! Soo-jung, aren’t you sad that you’re leaving your brother?”

Hong Ki-jun laughed as he looked at his daughter through the rearview mirror.

“There was a reason.”

“A reason?”

“Jin-hyeok kissed me. When Kwang-yeon oppa and you went to catch octopus during the day.”

Hong Soo-jung claimed that Jin-hyeok had done it, but from Yoo Se-ra’s perspective, it was the opposite.

Even without any defense, Jin-hyeok’s expression looked like he was being framed and sentenced to prison, and considering Hong Soo-jung’s personality…

‘Our daughter must have done it.’

Hong Ki-jun’s thoughts weren’t much different from his wife’s. He tilted his head and muttered.

“Did Jin-hyeok have that kind of side to him?”

Even looking at Son Kwang-yeon, Jin-hyeok’s father, it made sense. He was the kind of guy who wouldn’t even glance at a beauty like Yoo Se-ra. That’s probably why people say he’s clueless about relationships between men and women.

Hong Ki-jun stopped his thoughts and glanced at his wife.

Yoo Se-ra was sitting with her legs crossed and arms folded.

‘Where did her mood go wrong this time?’

Maybe she’s stressed about work she has to handle when they get back. After all, Yoo Se-ra never liked company work. She was skilled but hated being forced to do things, always talking about quitting.

Yet, her father, Chairman Yoo Myung-sun, entrusted her with significant responsibilities. And Yoo Se-ra, with her outstanding skills and amiable personality, quickly shattered the stereotypes about chaebol daughters. To Hong Ki-jun, his wife was a respectable businesswoman.

Hong Ki-jun considered himself lucky.

Of course. A chaebol son-in-law, a beautiful wife, and a lovely daughter.

Naturally, Yoo Se-ra loves Hong Ki-jun too. Recently, her affection has deepened.

However.

She was enjoying her freedom with a somewhat annoyed expression.

‘If I had stamped that… earlier, could my life have been different?’

Whether it’s stamping or applying saliva, I’m not sure which expression is correct. Seeing what my daughter does, it seems like applying saliva.

Anyway, both mother and daughter have their wild thoughts.

It’s just adding family to family, so what’s the big deal?

Yoo Se-ra’s posture didn’t change until they entered the highway and stopped at a rest area.

Only when she and her daughter each held a hot bar did Hong Ki-jun see his wife smile and think.

‘Please let today go smoothly too…’

Yoo Se-ra, who had barely eaten her hot bar and was dozing off in the passenger seat, suddenly spoke up as if she remembered something.

“Next week, right?”

“Yeah. New York business trip next week.”

As always, Hong Ki-jun answered Yoo Se-ra’s messy question perfectly.

“Aren’t you going to the U.S. too often these days?”

“There’s some business. I was supposed to go last week, but I postponed it to take a vacation.”

“Why are you like this lately?”

“Like what?”

“Working so hard. You haven’t slowed down for years.”

“You have to work hard when you’re young.”

Hong Ki-jun had a clear goal.

To become the owner of Sein Group. He wasn’t aiming to take it immediately. He anticipated that his father-in-law, who favored his daughter and was disappointed in his sons, would eventually hand over management rights to her. He decided to add his own abilities to that.

Once he gained management rights, his wife, who disliked company work, would hand it over to him and dedicate herself to nurturing young athletes. Hong Ki-jun foresaw that too. That’s why he dangled the bait of a sports foundation along with Son Jin-hyeok.

But he couldn’t just sit back and take it.

He wanted to earn the group through his own efforts.

“What does working hard have to do with going to the U.S.?”

“Well, there’s a business plan.”

“A plan you can’t tell me about?”

“It’s nothing. I just started an investment firm.”

“An investment firm?”

Not a woman, right? Yoo Se-ra swallowed her words. Even though the world says you can’t trust men, her husband Hong Ki-jun was someone she could trust.

“I’ll tell you when it’s successful. I won’t touch company funds or create another pocket to upset your father, so don’t worry.”

Maybe it took nearly 10 years of marriage for him to develop a manly demeanor. Yoo Se-ra was satisfied with her husband’s answer and didn’t press further. Hong Ki-jun knew how to please Yoo Se-ra.

In contrast, her brothers…

‘Those brats.’

They were constantly called by their father and beaten.

Rumors were that the eldest brother was on the verge of collapse.

Young actresses, female employees. Scandals never stopped.

‘If it’s reached my ears, Dad must know too.’

Even though she had no interest in management rights or inheritance, she didn’t want them taken by her worthless brothers. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything worse than them. That’s why Yoo Se-ra actively participated in management. Now that her husband had shown ambition too…

‘Men are what women make them.’

She decided to make her husband the chairman.

After all, he’s Yoo Se-ra’s husband. She couldn’t let him live as a pushover.

She widened her eyes and chewed the last hot bar vigorously.

‘I’ll be a woman who pursues honor.’

Like Joan of Arc.

Ugh-.

Yoo Se-ra choked on the hot bar before she could swallow it.

Few spaces make you as sleepy as the passenger seat of a car.

Hong Ki-jun shook his head. He checked his daughter, who was tightly holding her hot bar and sleeping, through the rearview mirror.

Blood doesn’t lie. How could mother and daughter even match the angle of their necks?

‘She’s definitely her mother’s daughter.’

***

Jin-hyeok headed to Choi Mi-kyung’s house early in the morning.

He carried his younger sibling in one arm and held a watermelon in the other.

“Hup! Hup!”

In the empty field next to the yard, Choi Tae-yang was seen shirtless, digging with a shovel.

Jin-hyeok’s eyes sparkled at the sight of Choi Tae-yang. During training camp, he shouldn’t have time, right? Why is such a busy athlete at home?

He greeted him as childishly as possible.

“Good morning, hyung.”

The formal tone used with someone not close came out naturally.

Yoo-jin also followed her brother’s lead and bowed her head.

“Ehehe-, hyung, good morning-?”

Her speech had improved, but her pronunciation was still off.

“Hey! Jin-hyeok and Yoo-jin! Did you bring the watermelon?”

“Yes.”

“Yep. Ehehe-.”

“What are you doing?”

“What doing?”

“Hahaha! Yoo-jin’s speech has improved a lot! I’m trying to make something. I thought it’d be easy, but it’s quite tiring.”

Choi Tae-yang straightened his back and caught his breath. He groaned, “Oh, my back.”

His sweaty upper body glistened beautifully under the sunlight.

“Make what? Make what?”

Yoo-jin seemed curious about the purpose of the digging.

Looking at the baby’s round eyes, Choi Tae-yang grinned.

“Like a makeshift wrestling arena?”

“Like? Wrestling?”

Jin-hyeok, puzzled, looked at Choi Tae-yang, who continued explaining.

“We’re building a training ground and dormitory. The school’s training ground was a shabby shack. Someone donated to build a new one. Friends living in town can use the school field, but since I live far, I’m doing it at home.”

Ah, I see. Jin-hyeok nodded.

It meant they were building a new dormitory and training ground for the wrestling team, which he saw during the athletics competition preliminaries.

Then a strange thought crossed his mind.

‘Wasn’t it a rotten shack when I graduated middle school?’

Jin-hyeok had no connection to middle school or the wrestling team.

Maybe Mr. Hong Ki-jun had a hand in it.

“Hyung, who’s the donor?”

“Not sure. Even the coach doesn’t know. It was an anonymous donation. Some say it’s a school senior, others say it’s someone from Tae-yang’s hometown, or a university chairman from Gyeonggi. All speculation.”

From Choi Tae-yang’s words, it seemed like a successful university chairman from Tae-yang’s hometown. Jin-hyeok, who didn’t know much, could only accept it.

After all, it’s not uncommon for successful people to donate to their hometown or alma mater. It could be an investment by a university with a wrestling team to recruit and nurture athletes.

“But who are you training with?”

“Who? Training?”

“Ah…?”

Choi Tae-yang scratched his head.

He hadn’t thought that far.

It was for image training. He muttered to himself.

*

Choi Mi-kyung sat in the shade holding Yoo-jin.

She fed the child small pieces of watermelon, wiping the juice dripping from her chin, acting as a nanny.

Her gaze lazily watched the high schooler and elementary schooler tightly gripping their belts in the field.

‘How romantic.’

Wrestling was a boring sport, but the sight of two handsome men grappling, testing strength and skill, was quite impressive.

Thud-!

Choi Tae-yang fell flat on his back.

‘Lost again.’

Her brother Choi Tae-yang is a national-level wrestler.

Even as a high school sophomore, he can lift senior wrestlers and slam them onto the sand.

That’s why the current situation is hard to understand.

Thud-!

Oh no, he lost again. This time, he fell sideways, looking even more embarrassing. Well, at least it’s better than falling face-first and eating dirt earlier.

“Kyahahaha-!”

Yoo-jin raised her short arms and laughed heartily.

The voices of the two men chatting in the field could be heard. After each round, they always talked like this, resembling a master teaching his disciple. Though the master was too young to be convincing.

“Hyung, you rely too much on strength to lift your opponent. Using only strength works against amateurs. Against a skilled opponent, you need to use technique and strategy. If you rely on strength and they resist or counter, you’ll fall victim to your own power.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s true. But… I don’t just use strength-.”

“Someone with short legs and weak strength wouldn’t specialize in lifting techniques.”

“Uh, right. Exactly.”

Choi Tae-yang nodded with a blank expression.

Jin-hyeok’s point wasn’t wrong. Choi Tae-yang used his tall stature, long limbs, and strength to specialize in lifting and pushing techniques.

“Let’s go again.”

Brushing off the dirt from his head, Choi Tae-yang knelt again.

He had never been overpowered by anyone and had perfected techniques. These two weapons made 18-year-old Choi Tae-yang an undefeated high school wrestler. But after losing five rounds to Son Jin-hyeok, he felt his training was lacking.

‘I should dig up arrowroot roots instead of pulling rubber tubes.’

Jin-hyeok pondered Choi Tae-yang’s techniques.

Not just lifting, but also the leg hooks using his sturdy legs were impressive.

But the distribution of strength and weight wasn’t appropriate.

‘This hyung must not have much experience losing.’

Using imperfect techniques recklessly must be due to the positive effects of success. Jin-hyeok decided to return Choi Tae-yang’s techniques, but more perfectly.

“Until now, I’ve only countered you.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Choi Tae-yang, breathing heavily, nodded. He rested his chin on Jin-hyeok’s shoulder.

“I’ll use your technique, so compare it.”

With a short shout, Jin-hyeok pulled the belt and pressed his lower body close.

Miraculously, Choi Tae-yang’s body was lifted. Using only his waist and forearm strength, Jin-hyeok lifted his taller opponent. Choi Tae-yang, with longer legs, could resist without flailing.

As Choi Tae-yang barely stood on tiptoe, Jin-hyeok’s right shoulder pushed his chest. The hand gripping the waist belt held firm while the leg belt was pulled skillfully.

‘Push technique!’

It’s not a technique a smaller wrestler uses against a taller one. But Choi Tae-yang had long forgotten the textbook. This elementary schooler wasn’t a typical opponent.

Choi Tae-yang quickly stretched his left leg back. If he pulled both legs, he’d surely be pulled down. He’d fallen for that trick earlier.

Sure enough, Jin-hyeok pulled the belt while leaning back.

‘Not falling for it this time!’

When a stronger opponent pulls, use them as an axis to rotate-.

Thud-!

‘Huh?’

Choi Tae-yang fell flat on his back. He seemed to roll sideways a couple of times.

He tried to rotate and release the force, but his foot got stuck. With his foot trapped, he fell over.

‘Oh, my whole body tingles.’

At this moment, victory or defeat didn’t matter to Choi Tae-yang.

A sense of relief, as if observing his limits, and the thrill of knowing he could grow stronger, washed over him.

“Kahaha-!”

The baby eating watermelon and clapping seemed to have different thoughts.

Choi Tae-yang sat down in the field and looked up at Jin-hyeok.

Maybe it was because his breathing was heavy, or his eyes couldn’t focus.

The elementary schooler standing against the sun looked so big.