To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 65

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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 65
At those words, Kwon Yeol’s dark eyes trembled faintly.
“…She asked you to stop me? Hee-jo asked you to stop me?”
“She said her role here was finished. That she couldn’t bear the weight of Beomho any longer. That it would be better for you if she disappeared as soon as possible.”
The timing was almost uncanny, as if she had foreseen today’s outcome.
The moment Kwon Yeol planted his flag at the highest peak, Hee-jo erased herself—the sole blemish and burden in his life.
In her ruthlessly clean exit, Chairman Beom could not deny one thing.
Hee-jo had never cared about Kwon Yeol’s background, his wealth, or his reputation.
She had simply wanted to remain by his side.
Even if only for a moment, she had wanted to gaze upon him wearing the guise of his wife.
The fact that Hee-jo had loved Kwon Yeol with genuine sincerity.
Chairman Beom set down his long pipe, now cold, and stared intently at Kwon Yeol.
It seemed there was one more thing he had to acknowledge.
That his eldest grandson’s feelings were the same as hers.
The sight of his grandson’s face, grotesquely contorted by emotion, was truly pitiful.
Had Kwon Yeol ever shown such an expression before?
“She said she wanted to live freely. That she didn’t want to hold your feet down, nor have her own held down by you.”
He couldn’t believe that Yoon Hee-jo had said such things.
No—he didn’t want to believe it.
Yet the words his grandfather conveyed were unmistakably, painfully Hee-jo.
“She also said she would build a real family.”
…A real family?
At those words, a deafening crash erupted in Kwon Yeol’s ears.
His once-solid world shattered in an instant, crumbling into pieces.
“She said she wanted to build a home with her own hands. That you shouldn’t look for her, and to tell you to live happily and peacefully. That such a thing would be impossible by your side.”
On the surface, Kwon Yeol appeared composed, but Chairman Beom could see it.
The way his grandson’s inner world was being torn to shreds, screaming silently.
Kwon Yeol gripped Hee-jo’s ring in his hand so tightly it seemed it might shatter.
“If you truly care for that girl, wouldn’t it be better to give her what she desires?”
“…”
“A crown that doesn’t fit is far more uncomfortable and unstable than one might think.”
Chairman Beom’s words pierced straight through to Kwon Yeol’s heart.
In the ‘real family’ Hee-jo dreamed of, there was no place for him.
That truth finally shattered him with cruel finality.
Kwon Yeol rose unsteadily, his eyes devoid of focus.
“I need to find her and hear it from her directly.”
“…Kwon Yeol.”
“My wife is only Hee-jo.”
It had to be her.
Without her, I couldn’t even breathe properly.
Because I cannot live a single day properly in a world without that child.
Thick veins bulged across Kwon Yeol’s knuckles as he left the Study Room.
Tap.
Chairman Beom watched the door close weakly and exhaled a long sigh.
Beyond the acrid haze, the eldest grandson’s silhouette lingered like an afterimage.
“When did his emotions run so deep?”
I thought he was an indifferent man, but he proved to be even more so than his own father.
Chairman Beom, massaging the tension between his brows with his fingertips, cast his gaze toward Seok Ki-young at his side.
“Where did that child go?”
“To an island in Namhae with no connections whatsoever. She initially intended to go to Han Teacher’s hometown, but there is a place that desperately desires her knot-tying instruction, so she said she would stay there for some time.”
Whether coincidence or calculation, it was an astute move regardless.
Kwon Yeol would immediately search through Hee-jo’s entire circle, and he would trace Han Young-sook’s connections first as her mentor.
“Did Han Teacher’s grandson go with them as well?”
“Yes, he went down to his hometown first to finish preparing the house, then crossed to the island with the two of them.”
Should Kwon Yeol happen to find them—
Seeing Hee-jo in the company of Han Young-sook’s grandson might change his mind.
Perhaps that child Hee-jo had considered this as well.
Perhaps that is why she readily accepted traveling with Han Young-sook’s grandson.
From what I understand, it was Han Young-sook who first proposed the journey.
Perhaps she harbored the intention of uniting her grandson with Hee-jo.
She was a woman of such magnanimity that she would accept Hee-jo into her family without hesitation, even bearing the mark of a divorce.
She cherished that child like a daughter, like a granddaughter—she would do more than enough.
Then, struck by an emotion akin to displeasure rising in his chest, Chairman Beom furrowed his brow deeply.
It felt precisely like—as though—his own family was being taken from him.
‘I only thought there was something regrettable about her.’
Chairman Beom clicked his tongue and tapped an innocent long pipe against the desk.
Why did his insides twist at the thought of her becoming another family’s, when he had essentially sent her away with his own hands?
‘It must be age.’
Chairman Beom steadied his breathing.
One must not harbor regrets over what has left one’s grasp.
Especially not if it is a person.
“We must do everything to ensure Kwon Yeol cannot find that child.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Accelerate the remarriage preparations as well.”
Sweet carnal desire between man and woman had merely clouded his vision temporarily.
His wise and clever eldest grandson would soon regain his senses and move forward.
As he always had.
* * *
Yet Chairman Beom would soon discover that his thinking was mistaken.
“Have you truly lost your mind?”
Even in the face of Chairman Beom’s fury, Kwon Yeol’s expression remained unmoved.
“You should have known from the moment we married. That my eyes have been on Hee-jo.”
At his unwavering, matter-of-fact response, Chairman Beom unconsciously grasped the back of his neck.
Ever since Hee-jo disappeared.
Kwon Yeol had focused solely on finding her, employing any means necessary.
Yet he could not find her.
It was not a failure of his abilities.
If Chairman Beom Hun-young had decided not to reveal her whereabouts, no one could have discovered it.
No matter how much he cherished him or how outstanding his bloodline was, Kwon Yeol had grown up receiving his education within the board he had laid out.
In the end, there was only one way to break free from this board.
To collide head-on with the vast world that had raised him.
Kwon Yeol filled his emptied heart with cool reason and fixed his gaze upon Chairman Beom.
It was the gaze not of a grandson, but of one proposing an equal transaction.
“Don’t be arrogant. You are not entirely irreplaceable.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“…What?”
“From this moment forward, I will withdraw from all my duties.”
Though Chairman Beom rarely displayed emotion, this time he could not hide his shock and could only gape.
“You… you’re saying…?”
“I will return everything. My position, my shares. Hee-jo and I will live together, so please do not look for me again.”
Before Chairman Beom could respond, Kwon Yeol picked up his phone and called the Secretary Director.
“From this moment forward, I am stepping down from all my duties.”
-Pardon? Executive Director, what do you mean by that…?
“The Chairman’s office will issue instructions shortly, and you can follow those. Thank you for everything, sir.”
Hong Se-gi, Kwon Yeol’s secretary director, had served since the days when Kwon Yeol’s father, Beom Seok-jun, was an executive director, and he knew the inner workings of Beomho Group better than anyone.
From the day Kwon Yeol joined the company, Hong Se-gi had assisted him across generations to help him adapt to the group, serving as both a mentor who had witnessed his growth most closely and the only adult in his life he could call “sir” on a personal level.
Since becoming Secretary Director, Kwon Yeol had never once addressed Hong Se-gi with a personal honorific.
Kwon Yeol was extraordinarily strict about distinguishing between professional and personal forms of address.
So much so that Hee-jo was the only person he called by name alone, without his surname.
Even to the deceased Yoon Hee-jae, he had consistently said “Yoon Hee-jae.”
And now, that same Kwon Yeol had called Hong Se-gi “sir” again.
It was not merely a threat, but a genuine declaration that he would walk out of the group on his own feet.
-Executive Director, you’re suddenly quitting! Without you, the Metro Fund contract we just finalized in New York will be in jeopardy.
Hong Se-gi’s urgent voice rang out sharply through the phone.
-You haven’t forgotten that their condition was your management participation, have you?
“That contract will be void. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Watching Kwon Yeol end the call with such indifference, Chairman Beom Hun-young’s complexion turned ashen.
“You… you call that talking!”
The success of the Beomho Smart City Project and the elevation of Beomho Construction to holding company status were now just a single step away.
A long-cherished project within arm’s reach, and he was about to tear it to shreds with his own hands.
“I took this position solely to keep Hee-jo by my side. But now that reason no longer exists.”
Kwon Yeol’s eyes darkened with intensity.
“So canceling the contract is the right choice, wouldn’t you say?”
“You, you bastard…!”
“Since you’ve already found a capable successor to replace me, I’m sure they’ll handle things well. I’ll take my leave now.”
Kwon Yeol turned without hesitation.
Behind him, Chairman Beom’s roar and Seok Ki-young’s flustered voice echoed through the room, but his footsteps never faltered.
The fortress had crumbled, and the crown had been cast aside.
Now there was only one destination left for him.

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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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