» The Youngest Son of Sunyang
Reborn Rich - Chapter 227
[227]Unfinished Business 2
My body moved on its own at the sight of my grandfather's desperate expression. He couldn't afford to waste his limited time on me.
I quickly approached and supported my grandfather.
"If we're not going somewhere good, I'll turn the car around."
"It's a place I've long put off visiting, so I'm sure you'll love it. Heh heh."
Gripping the hand that supported him, my grandfather parted his parched lips and smiled brightly.
Past the bodyguards who had completely sealed off the area, we descended into the underground parking lot. Three cars were already waiting, engines running.
Seeing the ambulance waiting at the very back, I felt somewhat relieved.
"How's this car? They said a new model came out, so I had them bring it."
Between the lead car and the ambulance, a BMW 7-series, proudly displaying its elegance, greeted us with a low exhaust hum.
"After I use it today, I don't think I'll have any more use for it. You take it and use it."
"I have plenty of good cars myself. Grandfather, you should keep using this car. You still have many beautiful places to visit and fresh air to enjoy in the future."
"Nonsense. You know my condition perfectly well, yet you say that? I appreciate you trying to comfort me, but how great would it be if a grandson's words of comfort could make me young again... It's futile. Take it and use it."
It pained me even more that my grandfather had already calmly accepted death. It seemed he wouldn't even try to extend his life by a single day.
Perhaps this was the only moment I would have alone with my grandfather. There really wasn't any time left. Damn it...!
Stout bodyguards got into the lead car first.
"Then, please have a safe trip, Chairman."
Lee Hakjae bowed his head. It seemed he had no intention of accompanying us.
The three cars slowly set off.
"You must be tired, so please try to get some sleep. I'll let you know when we arrive."
"How many days do I have left to rest forever? While I still have breath in me, I should diligently gaze upon my grandson's face."
My grandfather, "Iron Face" as they called him, perhaps I should change his nickname? Every single word tore at my heart.
"Indeed, it's hard to find such a brilliant grandson anywhere. Haha."
Like a youngest child, I wanted to amuse him with some antics to make my grandfather happy, but all I could manage was this kind of lame joke.
But that he kept smiling and watching me like this was a blessing in itself.
"Oh, I heard the news. You gave up on acquiring Daehyun Card, didn't you?"
He really was a difficult person to stop. Business talk at a time like this?
I was about to suggest we talk about something else, but then I changed my mind. It suddenly occurred to me that the moments he felt truly alive were precisely when he was working or talking about work.
"Yes. I apologize for disappointing you. Because LG Card caused such a massive incident, Daehyun quickly sobered up. They dangled bait for me, but I didn't bite."
"So? Have you completely given up on Daehyun Card?"
"No. I've changed my approach."
"How so?"
"I'm going to confront them head-on and utterly crush them. I plan to attract all their profitable customers."
At the mention of a fight, my grandfather's eyes became sharp and bright.
As expected, it wasn't a grandson's antics that brought him to life. My grandfather was someone who only felt alive when he was working.
"That'll cost you a bit, won't it?"
"Isn't that my only weapon?"
"Compared to what you'll lose, the spoils might be meager."
"Perhaps. But this isn't the time to fight while calculating profit and loss."
"Why? It's natural for a businessman not to start a venture unless it's profitable."
"But I felt it was time to make an example. They keep underestimating me, and want to use me as a tool here and there."
"That Joo Gwangshik?"
"Yes."
"If you're underestimated, it's over, that's for sure. Crush them so they can't even look at you twice. Make them piss themselves just from seeing your shadow. Heh heh."
Inside the moving car, I told him about even the trivial company matters. Watching my grandfather smile contentedly as he listened to my stories, my heart gradually began to feel at ease.
"Oh, by the way, CEO Oh Sehyun has stepped away from company work and left for Kotakinabalu."
"What? No... How old is that fellow that he's already living like a playboy?"
"Exactly my point. He's really set for life now, you know. Oh, Grandfather, you should have seen that resort there..."
"A resort? Enough of that. My house is a hundred times better and more comfortable than any resort, so why would I fly all the way to a hot country? Foreign countries are only for business trips. Why do you think I live in such a huge house? Didn't I spend all that money to rest comfortably?"
He didn't even say he regretted not seeing the resort his grandson built, not even as a formality. That was just like my grandfather.
Having departed late at night, the roads were deserted. Before I knew it, we had left Seoul, and the car was heading south. Seeing the continuously appearing road signs, I thought I knew our destination.
"Pull over for a moment."
"Yes, Chairman."
As the driver turned on the hazard lights and pulled to the side of the road, my grandfather rolled down the window.
"Do you remember that place?"
The place my grandfather pointed to, there, just like that time, the traffic light glowed red.
"Yes."
It was the very spot where Assistant Manager Kim Yoonseok had charged into the BMW in our stead. It was the exact place where we almost crossed into the afterlife.
"You, get out for a bit. You must be tired from driving for so long, so stretch your back, and have a cigarette."
It wasn't consideration for the driver. It was to ensure he didn't hear what my grandfather was about to say.
The driver didn't fail to understand the meaning either.
"Thank you, Chairman. I'll wait outside."
As the driver got out, my grandfather rolled the window back up.
"Quite some time has passed since our accident there, hasn't it?"
"Yes. If we hadn't come here today, I wouldn't have even remembered it. I'm newly grateful to Assistant Manager Kim Yoonseok."
"Oh, right, bring that fellow over sometime. I haven't properly thanked him. I think I just yelled at him, fearing he'd stick too closely to you. Heh heh."
"No, that's not true. Didn't you send him to Chief Lee Hakjae? He's always grateful, saying he's learned a lot."
"Still, bring him over. He's our savior."
"Yes. I will do that."
For a while, my grandfather just silently gazed at the accident site.
"Dojun."
"Yes."
When my grandfather spoke again, his voice trembled slightly.
"Have you never once thought that accident was strange?"
What should I say? I was dying of curiosity, and should I answer that I somewhat suspected?
But a conventional answer came out.
"Because it was an accident. Didn't they say it was the truck driver's fault?"
"Do you truly believe that?"
"Yes."
I answered without a hint of hesitation. I couldn't bring myself to say I suspected my family.
"Now, you don't even bat an eye when you lie. You've become a complete swindler. Heh heh."
For some reason, my grandfather slapped the armrest and burst out laughing.
"Grandfather."
"Yes?"
"If it's difficult to talk about, you can just let it go. Didn't I already say? If we hadn't come here today, I wouldn't have even remembered. I've already forgotten everything."
It was the truth. It was obvious whose doing it was without even being told. Wasn't it one of the family members? It was impossible to dig up an already buried incident and send someone to prison. It was truly a finished matter.
"I'm sorry."
My grandfather grabbed my hand tightly.
"It all happened because of me. It's my responsibility."
"Why are you suddenly saying this..."
My grandfather raised a hand to stop me from speaking.
"If I had paid a little more attention to your grandmother, that wouldn't have happened. We've been living like strangers for a while now, so that old hag became obsessed with her son instead of me."
It was Grandmother.
Rather, one of my uncles... No, it would be better to think that all my uncles had conspired together. Wasn't a grandmother trying to harm her grandson too heartless?
"She must have thought I was going to hand over the entire Sunyang Group to you, not my son. Her eyes must have flipped over. Because if you took over Sunyang Group, she'd lose everything. Her husband, her inheritance, her son. That's why she tried to stop it before it happened."
I didn't want to hear any more. But I couldn't interrupt my grandfather. My grandfather still had things he wanted to say, and there were still things I needed to hear.
"The reason she hated your mother so much was because she felt her son was taken from her. I was like that once too. But my reasons were different. I was disappointed in your father, who betrayed my expectations, and I poured that anger onto your innocent mother." rANOB|ES
"Father told me yesterday. He said that when you collapsed, Grandfather, he felt incredibly sorry and regretful for the ten years of his youth he spent resenting you. Please don't blame yourself too much."
"Y-Yoonki truly said that?"
"Yes."
My grandfather's fingertips trembled, and his eyes were filled with joy.
I, too, was incredibly happy that I could convey my father's true feelings in their entirety.
My grandfather wiped a single tear from the corner of his eye and spoke.
"They say tears come easily when you get old, and I'm exactly like that. A single word from that fellow pulled out the huge nail stuck in my heart."
"That's a relief. So, Grandfather, you don't need to say anything more."
"No. Not yet."
My grandfather steadied his trembling voice.
"Your grandmother might hate you forever while she's alive. That hatred will only be released after her death. That enormous hatred is because of me. So, for my sake, you must treat your grandmother generously and forgive her."
This was what I needed to hear.
"Don't worry. I merely find Grandmother difficult; I don't hate her. And there's nothing to forgive or not forgive. I've already completely forgotten."
"No. Though I'll warn her sternly, I'm telling you this because that old hag might still try to harm you again. It means you should forgive her, even if something like that happens."
The hatred directed at me was, in fact, directed at my grandfather. It was truly vicious. No matter how much she hated her husband, hadn't she lived a life of luxury her entire life because of him?
No, perhaps it wasn't hatred, but desire. The desire to consider everything her husband had built as her own, and not lose a single thing. Only then could I understand.
It was a little easier to accept that the intention to harm her grandson stemmed from desire rather than hatred. Because desire was powerful enough to transcend blood ties.
"No matter what happens in the future, I won't resent Grandmother. I promise you, so please stop now."
My grandfather looked into my eyes, trying to read my true feelings.
"Yes. If I don't trust you, who can I trust?"
Nodding, he rolled down the window.
"You've worked hard in the cold. Let's go now."
The driver quickly signaled and got back into the car.
The car once again sped south.
"Grandfather. Aren't we going to Seoul?"
"No. We just stopped here along the way. We're going to Gunsan."
Gunsan.
Surely not because of that thing he couldn't do last time, is he pushing his ailing body so hard?
"Grandfather. I already understand your intentions perfectly. Is there really a need to go all the way to Gunsan? You're not feeling well; it'll only exhaust you. Let's just turn back."
"You rascal! It's the starting point of Sunyang Group's history. And you'd just pass by such an important place? Don't talk utter nonsense! Sometimes, the form is more important than the content."
There was no way I could break his stubbornness. I made up my mind to follow my grandfather's wishes without complaint until his last day.
"And it's not just for that reason. There's also someone you need to greet."
A greeting? Who could it be?
Surely... it's not the hidden 'little grandmother', is it?