To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 22
“You arrived on such short notice, yet you were so composed and collected.”
As Beom Hun-young’s Chairman placed a long pipe crafted from white copper between his lips, his ever-present secretary Seok Ki-young lit it with practiced ease.
Soon, a crimson ember flickered and blazed at the pipe’s end.
“Ahhh—”
The thick smoke exhaled by Chairman Beom curled through the January Sky’s biting air before dispersing.
“What was your impression, Secretary Seok?”
“He remained composed throughout the entire drive to the residence. Not a trace of nervousness or fatigue. I believe he would conduct himself impeccably in any setting.”
“Indeed, that matches my assessment. Preparedness, audacity, composure—there was nothing to fault.”
Beom Hun-young suddenly exhaled a sigh.
“If only his background were stronger. What a pity.”
Secretary Seok bowed his head apologetically.
“Prepare a contract. The boy is clever, but one never knows. Greed might cloud his judgment.”
“Understood.”
“Assemble a dedicated team as well. The sooner we marry them off, the sooner we can divorce them. Let’s arrange the formal family meeting within this month.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“This matter must remain absolutely confidential.”
Beom Hun-young’s gaze darkened considerably.
“Especially keep it from Seok Jun and my daughter-in-law. If she learns of the divorce, she’ll show it too plainly. And Seok Jun is far too weak when it comes to his wife.”
As Secretary Seok kept his head bowed, his phone vibrated—he glanced at the screen before speaking.
“Chairman, the Director wishes to see you.”
Thinking of his daughter-in-law, Chairman Beom’s brow furrowed.
“Another emotional storm brewing, I suppose.”
“Shall I turn her away?”
Gazing at the distant Pavilion, Beom Hun-young spoke.
“There are those gathering investment funds under my daughter-in-law’s name, aren’t there?”
“Yes, Chairman. Executive Director Beom Gwon-yeol has already taken measures.”
“My eldest grandson’s movements have accelerated. He’s becoming my equal now.”
As it should be.
Beom Hun-young nodded with satisfaction, a faint smile playing at his lips.
“No matter how much I cherish my daughter-in-law, she must bear responsibility for tarnishing the Group’s image.”
As Beom Hun-young released the smoke he’d held deep in his lungs into the empty air, his keen eyes gleamed with intensity.
“Send her back. I’ll have Hee-jo appointed as Vice Director of the Foundation.”
* * *
Click—
As the entrance door closed, Hee-jo exhaled the breath she’d been holding and collapsed to the floor.
“Sigh….”
“Welcome to the Beom Residence. It will be arduous. It will be harsh.”
The cunning old man who held the world in the palm of his hand had warned her.
“It will be difficult. The weight you must bear is far heavier than anything you can imagine right now.”
I understand, Chairman.
Or rather… Grandfather.
But my feelings are far deeper and heavier than anything you could possibly imagine.
Since I was thirteen, from the moment I first saw him until now, my feelings have never wavered—they’ve remained constant and unbroken.
Even if… my brother’s death is entangled with it all.
I know well enough that it was merely an “accident,” yet the fact that Hee-jae died in Kwon Yeol’s place still hasn’t faded from my heart.
Neither has my affection for Kwon Yeol.
My longing for him—for staying by his side despite everything—was far greater than any resentment for causing my brother’s death.
All these days, I’ve lived apologizing to my dead brother while desperately rationalizing that he would want me not to hate Kwon Yeol.
This one year of living as husband and wife with Kwon Yeol was a cruel blessing for me.
“….”
I took a deep breath and rose from where I had been sitting.
Beyond the entrance hall, I made my way to the expansive large window.
The weather was beautiful today, and the sky was clear.
‘Brother. Is the weather nice there too?’
Whenever I was alone, I would sometimes gaze up at the sky and speak to Hee-jae, imagining him watching over me.
‘I got permission to marry.’
After finishing my shower this morning and checking the email from the Cultural Foundation.
The text message that followed was from Chairman Beom’s Secretary.
The moment I read that the Chairman wished to meet me at Jeoksanwon, my mind went blank, but only briefly.
I made my decision.
If I couldn’t avoid it anyway, I would go and settle things once and for all.
I was far more nervous than I’d anticipated, yet the process itself was simpler than I’d imagined.
And besides… I now had a secret from Kwon Yeol.
‘I heard that Kwon Yeol carries the strongest bloodline of the Chairman, and it seems to be true. Grandfather even said about a year should do it.’
That I would be permitted to stay by Kwon Yeol’s side only during that period.
After that, I would have to become a complete stranger and live our separate lives.
Our paths should never cross again, not even by chance.
“Kwon Yeol must never know about this contract. He has no idea that he made the exact same promise to me.”
And Kwon Yeol would never know that I had made such a promise with his grandfather.
They were so thoroughly alike—meticulous and secretive to a fault.
I laughed bitterly.
“Kwon Yeol and I are destined to part ways.”
A sharp ache pierced my chest.
If my beloved brother knew that I was being treated like some useless object, he would surely weep in sorrow.
But what tormented me most was guilt.
My brother had fallen to a cold blade in Kwon Yeol’s place, yet here I was, trying to fill the void he left with Kwon Yeol’s warmth.
‘I know it’s shameless toward my brother…’
I would indulge in happiness for one year, and then live an ordinary life forever after.
The fragments of clouds drifting swiftly through the harsh wind felt exactly like the one year I had been granted.
Then, suddenly, something hot surged up from the depths of Hee-jo’s chest.
“My friend said that if you wanted to, you could switch to being a professional fighter right now. She said she’s never seen anyone work out so hard.”
“Haha, if I’m going to hold our Hee-jo’s hand on her wedding day, I need to look my absolute best.”
“Ugh. We’re still so far away from getting married, you know?”
“Yeah, I hope it stays that way for a very, very long time. I want to stay by our Hee-jo’s side for as long as possible.”
As the image of Hee-jae smiling brightly came to mind, Hee-jo covered her mouth with her hand.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, dampening the spaces between her fingers.
‘I’m sorry, Hee-jae. For getting married like this. For starting with divorce as the premise, with someone who doesn’t even love me….’
Hee-jo looked up at the sky again, her smile tinged with tears.
“You’ll come to the wedding, won’t you? You’ll hold my hand tight? You’ll be watching over me from somewhere, right?”
The transparent January Sky offered no answer.
But silence is affirmation, they say.
So Hee-jae will definitely come.
He’ll be there beside me.
Just as he always has been.
Hee-jo wiped away her tears.
Even when alone, she couldn’t cry freely.
For Hee-jae, who would be watching everything from the sky.
‘I’ll do well. I must.’
So someday, when she saw Hee-jae again, she wanted to hear him say:
That her pretty little sister had endured so much. That she had held on so well.
That she had lived happily and ordinarily, just as he’d asked.
‘Watch over me, Hee-jae.’
* * *
After a quick wash, Hee-jo ate dinner.
The menu was omelette rice.
Hee-jae had loved the omelette rice she made.
Even now, it was the only dish she knew how to cook, plain and unpretentious though it was, yet Hee-jae would always finish his plate, saying it was ‘the most delicious thing in the world.’
“Thank you for this meal.”
Hee-jo offered her greeting to the empty chair across from her and quietly picked up her spoon.
Clink.
The space was silent, filled only with the sound of dishes and utensils touching.
Then, suddenly, she wondered.
‘Has Kwon Yeol had dinner yet?’
Since his schedule was packed almost every day, he was likely out somewhere right now having a meal and meeting with someone.
Since his promotion to executive, Jin Seo-ryeong had been subtly mentioning how meal invitations and even matchmaking proposals had poured in at several times their usual rate.
Given that all those efforts had ultimately resulted in her becoming his daughter-in-law, one could only imagine his anger.
Chairman Beom’s cold voice echoed in her ears like tinnitus.
“You know as well as I do. Kwon Yeol needs a wife from a powerful family to support him.”
“There must be no children.”
That cool gaze. Those measuring eyes.
“Welcome to the Beom Residence.”
“….”
I set down my spoon.
The guilt pressing down on my chest transformed the rice that had gone down so easily into something gritty and suffocating.
But I picked up the spoon again and forced myself to swallow those grains down, one agonizing mouthful after another.
I appeared composed, but I was anything but.
There was no choice but to endure, so I gritted my teeth and smiled.
Even while treading precariously across thin ice, I had to keep smiling.
“…Let’s do better going forward.”
It was when I forced down the last spoonful, driven by the compulsion that eating meant surviving.
A sharp pain seized my stomach.
As my stomach twisted, I grabbed the edge of the Dining Table.
I had gotten indigestion.
“Ugh…!”
I rushed to the Bathroom and vomited everything into the toilet.
Behind the cold sweat pouring down and the burning pain in my throat came a hollow sense of release.
It was like a balloon bursting with a pop.
“…If I get suffocated, I can just do this often.”
I muttered listlessly as I gripped the Sink and pulled myself up.
Disgusted by my pathetic reflection in the mirror, I stripped off my clothes and washed myself again.
If only I could wash away this emptiness, this guilt, and the fact that marriage and divorce were approaching simultaneously.
After finishing my second shower, I emerged completely drained of energy.
‘I’ll do the dishes tomorrow.’
Just as I was about to collapse onto the Bedroom—
My phone on the Dining Table began ringing loudly.
‘…Should I not answer?’
No. It could be urgent.
Thinking it might be a call from Beom Hun-young’s Household or Jin Seo-ryeong, I forced myself to get up.
The moment I checked the phone screen.
My heart dropped with a heavy thud.
[Kwon Yeol]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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