Chapter 4. The Parachute Hire
After finishing his meeting with his youngest daughter’s boyfriend, Jin Myung-ho called for his chief secretary.
“Phew… I never thought I’d be welcoming a son-in-law this soon.”
It was truly awkward.
Of course, he’d always known that one day a son-in-law would enter their family.
But he never imagined it would happen this suddenly.
As expected, there was absolutely no way to predict what his youngest daughter would do.
The best thing he could do was simply deal with things as they happened.
The chief secretary entered the room.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Yura’s boyfriend… No. I suppose I should call him my son-in-law now. It feels awkward, but I should get used to saying it. Until you get used to our son-in-law, please keep an eye on him.”
“…I’ll do my best, Chairman.”
“Thank you.”
Since it was his chairman’s direct order, the secretary didn’t say much.
But his expression said everything.
“You seem to have a lot of questions.”
“…To be honest, I do. Even if we can say that getting into Seoul National University provides some minimum level of verification, we don’t know what kind of man he is. Bringing him into the family simply because the young lady is pregnant… I’m a little worried.”
Even Yura’s own father couldn’t understand the series of events happening before him.
How could anyone else understand?
“Well… wasn’t this something we could have predicted from the moment we decided to provide her with only minimal security? Of course, I never imagined she’d drop a nuclear bomb this big.”
“…”
“But one thing is certain. Even though Yura is always doing eccentric things, she has had strong convictions from a young age, and she’s never been lacking when it comes to judging people.”
“…”
“Look at the result. I’m still surprised myself, but isn’t our son-in-law actually a decent young man? Getting a perfect score on the CSAT in the provinces and then entering Seoul National University… That’s quite impressive.”
Honestly, if he ignored Yura’s background,
he felt a little sorry for his future son-in-law.
Of course, the two of them had fallen in love with each other, and Yura would do her best for the man she had chosen.
She had admired the story of Princess Pyeonggang from the beginning.
Rather than marrying some so-called successful man who had been born into a powerful family and simply followed the path his parents had prepared for him,
his daughter had always wanted a man who would walk toward success without any special background.
This was exactly the kind of man she considered her ideal type.
So there was no doubt that she would treat him well.
She would probably do everything she could as his wife to turn him into a true king.
“Still, you look like you don’t understand.”
“Think about it yourself. What kind of man from a chaebol family could Yura possibly end up with?”
“…”
“She isn’t the kind of child who would listen even if we tried to force her into a relationship. And even if we somehow did, they’d probably get divorced within a year. If that’s the case with chaebol families, what about those from the so-called Gangnam Eight School District?”
“…”
“In this day and age, how many people can get into Seoul National University without significant help from their families? And what are the odds that such a man would have gotten a perfect score on the CSAT? Maybe because she’s my daughter, but it seems she caught herself quite a prize.”
“…”
“After hearing all that, do you still think our son-in-law is the one who got incredibly lucky? Or do you think our Yura is the one who got incredibly lucky?”
“After thinking about it again, I suppose the young lady really is clever.”
He chuckled.
“That’s right. Our daughter is unusual, but she’s certainly not foolish.”
That’s why whenever Yura made some demand of the family, they had always tried to accommodate her at least to some extent.
Of course, they also wanted to avoid the disasters that could happen if they refused her requests.
“If we treat this negatively, do you think you can handle Yura’s personality?”
“…I’ll keep a close eye on things. I’ll make sure he can adapt somehow.”
“Heh. I’m counting on you. If he tries to run away, I’d appreciate it if you could somehow persuade him to stay.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Still, Yura would probably treat her husband well.
He wanted to believe that.
Otherwise, he would feel guilty toward his son-in-law.
I took some time to calm my pounding heart.
Then I called my parents.
“Dad, are you with Mom?”
“Of course! What’s going on with our son?”
“Do we have a chance to get the whole family together? There’s something important I need to tell everyone.”
“The whole family? Your brothers too?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see… Your older brother said he’d be coming down in about a month, and your younger brother is coming too…”
“Really…?”
I was conflicted.
Should I tell them about the pregnancy right away?
Still, I felt it would be better to tell them face-to-face.
Besides, unlike the older brothers in other families, my brothers had always adored me because I was the youngest.
How disappointed would they be if they heard this news through our parents?
A month would at least give me some time to prepare myself mentally.
“I’ll come down in a month too.”
“Really? But why? What’s going on? You’ve never acted like this before.”
“It’s nothing serious.”
“It’s definitely not nothing.”
“…”
Thinking about it,
it definitely wasn’t nothing.
“Hmm… It is kind of a big deal.”
“…Really? You didn’t scam someone or kill someone, did you?”
“What do you take me for?”
“You’re taking so long to tell me that I’m starting to imagine all sorts of things.”
“It isn’t anything bad like that, but it is something shocking enough.”
“Oh my goodness…”
Their youngest son.
A handsome, lovable boy who had gotten a perfect score on the CSAT, entered Seoul National University, and even helped turn their restaurant into a famous local establishment.
He had just turned twenty.
He had only just entered university.
And he’d gotten a girlfriend he’d never even introduced to them pregnant.
Hmm…
From his parents’ perspective, there was no way this wouldn’t be shocking.
“But, Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t you say before that you wanted a pretty daughter-in-law?”
“Oh! Wait! Did you get a girlfriend?”
“…”
Even my father couldn’t imagine that an actual daughter-in-law was about to appear.
How was I supposed to tell him this…?
Still, Dad.
Well…
She was indeed a beautiful daughter-in-law.
There was also a lovable child in her belly.
And she came from quite a wealthy family.
“…”
Ah, I don’t know.
“Phew…”
I was nervous.
I was standing in front of my academic advisor’s office.
I thought it was only polite to tell my professor first before taking a leave of absence.
More importantly, he was someone who had taken an especially good interest in me.
He seemed extremely proud that the student who had gotten a perfect score on the CSAT had chosen the Department of Economics instead of medical school.
I’m sorry, Professor.
Ahem.
Your promising student is about to give you some incredibly shocking news.
I composed myself.
Then knocked.
A voice from inside told me to come in.
“Hello, Professor.”
“Oh, Do-jin. What brings you all the way here? I told you that you could come anytime. You should have just contacted me beforehand and made an appointment.”
It hadn’t even been the end of the first semester, yet he already remembered my name.
I’d used my sixth sense several times to give him answers he liked, and since then, he’d come to view me as a perfect CSAT scorer, a smart freshman, and a student with a promising future.
He’d even said I would definitely make the Seoul National University Economics Department proud.
Once again,
I’m sorry.
This is getting burdensome….
How was I supposed to tell him?
He was looking at me with eyes that practically said how proud he was of me.
Still, I had to do it.
“Professor, I’m planning to take a leave of absence.”
“…What are you talking about all of a sudden? You haven’t even properly started studying yet, and you’re already taking a leave of absence? Do you have too many assignments? Or is your family having financial difficulties? Let’s talk about it first…”
I had learned something from Yura.
Sometimes,
instead of going around in circles and carefully explaining something,
one simple sentence was much more effective.
“My girlfriend is pregnant.”
“…”
I could see my professor’s words completely disappear.
He was trying to process what I’d just said.
Of course, it didn’t require much effort to understand.
He simply had to take my words literally.
“Good grief… You wouldn’t come here to joke around, and you wouldn’t have a reason to lie to me either.”
“I’m sorry for disappointing you.”
“No, no, absolutely not. Disappointed? This is something to be blessed about. But… I don’t understand why this necessarily means you have to take a leave of absence.”
“…”
“Is your girlfriend already telling you to start taking care of household matters? Or is her family? Or are they telling you to make money? Let me make this clear. Even considering your future and your girlfriend’s future, you’d have a much better life if you focused on your studies instead of taking a leave of absence right now.”
I had considered continuing my studies.
But—
It would take too long.
Four years of university, plus two years of military service.
What kind of treatment would Yura receive during all that time?
At the very least, I could produce some results during my leave of absence.
It wouldn’t be too late to return to my studies after that.
By then, I would have changed people’s opinions of me to some extent.
If things took too long, I was even considering dropping out instead of merely taking a leave of absence.
“I’m sorry.”
“Good grief… It seems you’ve already made up your mind. Hmm… Could you give me your girlfriend’s number? I’ll try to persuade her. I don’t know what kind of family she’s from, but how could anyone even think about making a Seoul National University Economics student take a leave of absence…”
“Professor…?”
“You stay out of this! This is something adults should discuss! You worked so hard to get a perfect score on the CSAT and enter the Economics Department, and now she’s making you take a leave of absence because of some immediate concern? Does pregnancy happen with a man alone? Both of you have to be involved! What kind of family is she from that—”
“She… She’s from Changseong Group, Professor.”
I had planned to tell him anyway.
I just decided to get ahead of things before he started asking about Yura’s family background.
The moment I said Changseong Group, his mouth opened and closed several times.
“Changseong Group…? What do you mean?”
“My girlfriend is the youngest daughter of Changseong Group.”
“…”
Then—
He finally understood and covered his mouth.
I didn’t know Professor’s eyes could get that big.
“…Of course! A family with that kind of background! That’s why she can make such a bold decision to take a leave of absence! Forget everything I just said!”
“…”
Leave of absence.
Decision.
Thanks to my professor’s enthusiastic cooperation, there were no difficulties.
It was a day that helped me understand, at least a little, why Yura stepped on the accelerator so fearlessly.
I woke up at the mansion.
I still couldn’t get used to it.
How could I possibly adjust after going from a tiny studio apartment to a huge mansion?
There was even a separate annex.
Yura was tying my necktie for me.
“Do-jin, don’t be nervous. Who are you? You’re Yura’s husband.”
“Yeah!”
“If the manager next to you gives you an unfair order, what do you say?”
“…”
“Come on!”
It was embarrassing.
Still, I shouted it out.
“I’m the son-in-law of Changseong Group…”
“Louder!”
“I’m the son-in-law of Changseong Group!”
“Good. You look handsome. My husband.”
“…”
This was driving me crazy.
How was I supposed to explain this?
I intended to earn the recognition of the employees at Changseong Investment & Securities through my own abilities.
If I couldn’t even accomplish that,
how could I convince anyone else?
Of course, people wouldn’t look at me kindly at first.
Even Yura’s third older brother was probably waiting for the chance to get back at me for getting his precious youngest sister pregnant.
No matter what hardships came my way,
I would overcome them.
On my own.
“If anyone gives you a hard time outside of work, I’ll go straight to my third brother and make sure he understands exactly what he needs to do.”
“Y-yeah.”
She really would do it.
Yura loved me that much.
And I loved her just as much.
And so, it was my first day at work.
I was already on the rooftop.
With my senior coworker.
“You don’t smoke?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Good. I guess you really did get yourself a proper parachute job.”
“…”
“You look like you just became an adult. How did you even get in here as an intern? That’s interesting.”
Ahem.
“Listen carefully. I don’t know whose parachute you are, but don’t get cocky just because you have connections. Our company’s managing director is the third son of Changseong Group. Unless your connection is even stronger than his… don’t even think about acting up. Work as if your life depends on it.”
“…Yes, understood!”
I decided to keep my mouth shut.
This was probably another test.
But then—
“Ah, no, Managing Director, what brings you here…?”
“I thought I’d have lunch with the new employee who started today. Oh, there he is. Come out. Let’s eat together.”
“…”
Things were getting unusual from the very first day.
B-Brother…?
