Chapter 02

The Man from Hell

In front of Taesan Trading’s headquarters.

The man stepped out of a taxi and looked up at the imposing building. The company had moved into its new headquarters a few years ago, and the structure boasted an extraordinary grandeur from the outside alone.

Then again, Taesan Trading twenty years ago and Taesan Trading today were worlds apart in terms of growth. An investment of this scale must have seemed well worth it.

Much of that growth could be attributed to the outstanding contributions of Jang Hyunwoo, the eldest son of Taesan Trading.

The man pulled a badly crumpled business card from his pocket, glanced at it, and strode forward.

The moment Jang Geonwoo entered the lobby, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.

As if his strikingly tall stature weren’t enough, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt that showed off his well-defined muscles in the middle of winter. And his expressionless face, completely indifferent to the attention he attracted, was so beautifully sculpted that he looked like a masterpiece carved by an artist.

He was clearly no ordinary man.

When he stopped in front of the reception desk, the receptionist stared at him with wide eyes and asked, “How may I help you?”

“I’m here to see this person.”

The business card read:

Jang Hyunwoo — Managing Director

After examining the card, the receptionist looked slightly flustered.

“He is currently the vice president. Do you have an appointment?”

“I don’t have a phone, so I couldn’t call ahead. Could you let his office know that Jang Geonwoo is here?”

Jang Geonwoo, the unfamiliar visitor.

Jang Hyunwoo, the person he had come to see.

The receptionist picked up the internal phone and glanced at Geonwoo with an expression that seemed to say, It couldn’t possibly be…

Geonwoo plopped his backpack onto the desk and flashed a broad grin.

“Hey, Jang Geonwoo!”

“Long time no see, hyung.”

Jang Geonwoo was sprawled comfortably on the sofa in the middle of the vice president’s office, which technically belonged to no one at the moment. He waved his hand cheerfully.

Jang Hyunwoo let out an incredulous chuckle at the sight before taking off his coat, which still carried the chill of the winter air. The two brothers exchanged a casual slap of their hands in place of a more elaborate greeting.

“Have you been waiting long? If you knew you were coming today, you could’ve let me know in advance.”

“I was in a hurry and forgot. I almost couldn’t get in here without your business card, either.”

“Exactly. And why haven’t you been answering your phone? Where’s your cellphone?”

“I threw it away. I didn’t feel like dealing with all the annoying calls.”

Hyunwoo shook his head, thinking that was so typical of Geonwoo. Loosening his tie, he sat down on the sofa. He seemed to have a lot of questions for his younger brother, whom he hadn’t seen in ages.

“Where are you staying these days? Iraq? South Sudan? Oh, didn’t you say you’d moved to Syria?”

“You know, then. Planning to come after me?”

“What’s wrong with that? Afraid I can’t track you down?”

“If you’ve got multiple lives to spare, go ahead and risk one trying to find me.”

At that, Hyunwoo stared at Geonwoo for a moment, looking utterly dumbfounded.

“I honestly don’t understand you. With that brilliant mind of yours, why would you go looking for trouble in dangerous places? Are you really safe out there?”

“Hyung, I appreciate the concern, but don’t try to find out too much about me. I’m doing just fine, and I know how to keep myself safe.”

Despite his reassurances, Geonwoo’s exposed forearms bore several small scars. There might have been even worse marks hidden beneath his clothes.

Over the years, Hyunwoo had nagged him hundreds of times to abandon his life wandering through war zones and return to Korea.

But Geonwoo had never paid the slightest attention to his advice, and Hyunwoo realized he probably wouldn’t be able to change his stubborn younger brother’s mind today, either.

“Anyway, welcome back from hell in one piece.”

Hell, huh? Had the battlefield ever really been hell to him?

Geonwoo tilted his head at the thought, then let out a quiet chuckle.

It had been nearly three years since the brothers had last met face-to-face. As far as Hyunwoo was concerned, he was simply grateful that his younger brother had willingly traveled such a long distance to attend his wedding.

“Actually, there’s been a lot of trouble lately. I seriously considered postponing the wedding if you couldn’t make it.”

“That’s not something a groom two days away from his wedding should be saying. Did I come all this way for nothing? For your own good, I think you’d be better off not getting married at all.”

“Luna would be hurt if she heard you say that. She’s really been looking forward to seeing you. It’s been over ten years since you two last met, hasn’t it?”

“Hmm. I think it’s been even longer. I saw her when I was studying in the States.”

In Geonwoo’s last memory of Kim Luna, she had still been a young girl in her school uniform.

Five years younger than Geonwoo, Luna had been a mischievous little girl who followed Hyunwoo around like a puppy ever since she was small, even though Hyunwoo was a high school student ten years her senior.

And now that little girl, who had always had eyes only for Jang Hyunwoo, was going to become his sister-in-law…

From Geonwoo’s perspective, it was astonishing that the two had overcome their ten-year age gap and promised to marry.

He was just about to question Hyunwoo for more details about their love story when a knock sounded at the door.

“Vice President, I’ve brought the documents you requested. Should I postpone your next meeting?”

Hyunwoo briefly skimmed the documents he was handed before setting them down on the table. Meanwhile, Geonwoo got to his feet.

“Hyung, you look busy. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get going.”

“Going where? I’ve arranged a family dinner for this evening. Team Leader Choi, you haven’t forgotten what I asked you to do earlier, have you?”

“No, sir. I’ve made a reservation at a tailor shop.”

“Jang Geonwoo, go with Team Leader Choi and get changed first. You’re meeting our parents for the first time in ages. You can’t show up dressed like that. And if you need anything else, use this.”

Hyunwoo held out a credit card, but Geonwoo shoved both hands into his pockets and stepped back, making it clear he had no intention of accepting it.

“What’s with you? I have plenty of money myself.”

“Can’t you humor your big brother for once? Let me act like an older brother for a change.”

Hyunwoo slipped the card into the pocket of Geonwoo’s T-shirt, told him he’d see him later, and left the office.

Considering how cautious Hyunwoo usually was, the fact that he was hurrying away suggested he had something important to discuss with a lawyer.

“Shall we be on our way, then?”

At Team Leader Choi’s polite question, Geonwoo scratched his temple before speaking.

“I find going to places like tailor shops a hassle. Is there any way to have the clothes delivered instead?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then let’s do that. One hundred ninety, eighty, two hundred ninety. XXL. I prefer all black. Is that enough information?”

“Understood. I’ll use those measurements to prepare a change of clothes for you.”

After Team Leader Choi left, Geonwoo picked up his backpack. But as he did, his gaze fell on the documents Hyunwoo had examined earlier, and he paused.

“Termination of exclusive contract… penalty of three billion won? Wow, that’s steep.”

Curiosity getting the better of him, he picked up the papers. Something slipped out and fell to the floor with a soft thud.

He immediately picked it up. It was a promotional pamphlet for one of Taesan Trading’s fashion brands.

Geonwoo’s eyes settled on the model’s name printed at the bottom.

“Do Dahee?”

Realizing that the actress the taxi driver had mentioned was an exclusive model for Taesan Trading, Geonwoo narrowed his eyes.

“Hyung really has his hands full.”

In the pamphlet, Do Dahee was smiling brightly.

Without even realizing it, Geonwoo found himself staring intently at her photograph. After a moment, he quietly set the pamphlet back down.

Geonwoo had left for the United States at the age of fourteen. It wasn’t until he was thirty-three that he finally set foot in the family mansion again.

In other words, it had been nearly twenty years since all four members of the family had gathered in one place.

“I’ve been doing well all this time—”

“Sit down.”

That was the entirety of the conversation exchanged between father and son upon seeing each other for the first time in twenty years.

Although Geonwoo had fully anticipated such a reaction, he was still momentarily taken aback. Hyunwoo stepped in to guide him.

“Jang Geonwoo. Sit here.”

Hyunwoo even pulled out a chair for him. Geonwoo smiled at his brother in gratitude, but when his eyes met those of Lee Myunghee, who sat opposite him, the smile disappeared from his face. He bowed his head politely instead.

“Let’s eat.”

At Jang Dongwan’s authoritative command, the family quietly picked up their chopsticks.

The table was lavishly laid out, with even a chef hired especially for this long-awaited family dinner. Nevertheless, every bite Geonwoo put into his mouth tasted like grains of sand.

Suddenly, he remembered why he had chosen to leave for America as a child: he had hated the atmosphere of this household.

He would hear laughter and cheerful chatter coming from the living room, but the moment he appeared, the laughter would abruptly cease.

It wasn’t merely his imagination. There had always been an invisible wall between Jang Geonwoo and the people in this mansion.

To Chairman Jang Dongwan of Taesan Trading, a man who prided himself on having lived a perfect life, Geonwoo was his one and only blemish.

An illegitimate child born to a lowly bar hostess who had abandoned him.

That was what Geonwoo was.

He had been taken in, if only because he was a son rather than a daughter. But his stepmother, who despised the very existence of an illegitimate child, had thoroughly ignored him.

Geonwoo’s childhood had been an intensely lonely one.

The only reason he had managed to endure it was that Hyunwoo had adored his younger brother and spent time playing with him.

Then Hyunwoo reached the age when he had to prepare for his college entrance exams and moved into a dormitory. That was when Geonwoo chose to leave for America.

It was a decision made with the determination never to return to Korea.

If Hyunwoo hadn’t continued making an effort to maintain their relationship, Geonwoo would probably have severed all ties with the family altogether.

“How long do you intend to stay?”

At Jang Dongwan’s question, which broke the long silence, Geonwoo raised his head, swallowed the sand-like rice, and answered.

“I plan to attend Hyung’s wedding and leave right afterward.”

“That soon? Why not stay a little longer? Lunar New Year is coming up soon. It would be nice to spend the holiday with your family.”

Family.

At that unfamiliar, distant word, Geonwoo let out a hollow chuckle.

“Hyung, you saw my luggage.”

“Are you telling me that was all you brought?”

Geonwoo nodded. He had arrived with nothing but a backpack, without even an ordinary suitcase.

Hyunwoo furrowed his brow. He couldn’t bear the thought of his younger brother, who had returned to Korean soil for the first time in twenty years, staying for a mere three days before leaving again.

Hyunwoo was about to try persuading him to extend his stay when Jang Dongwan cut him off.

Without even looking at Geonwoo, the older man asked, “I hear you work in dangerous places. Have you no intention of giving it all up and returning to Korea?”

Geonwoo looked at Jang Dongwan.

His father’s imposing charisma remained unchanged, but the deeply lined face of the older man bore the unmistakable marks of more than twenty years of aging.

“Are you worried that I might get hurt?”

“That has nothing to do with it. If people find out about your foolish habit of throwing yourself into every war zone like a moth to a flame, Taesan might end up taking unnecessary heat.”

“I have never once considered my work foolish. And I have never told anyone that I have any connection to Taesan. So you can rest assured that I will never cause trouble for your company.”

Bang!

Jang Dongwan slammed his chopsticks onto the table, and the atmosphere instantly turned icy.

“Never call me your father in public. I cannot grant you the right to call yourself my son when you have absolutely nothing to do with Taesan.”

With those words, Jang Dongwan got up and left.

Lee Myunghee sighed as if she had expected this all along. Then she said, “Come with me for a moment,” and took Hyunwoo with her as she followed Dongwan out.

In the end, Geonwoo was left alone at the dining table.

He had never expected his family to welcome him with open arms after more than twenty years away. But having his very existence denied just minutes after meeting his father was undeniably bitter.

Just as it had been in the past, there was nowhere in this world where Jang Geonwoo could feel at home.

The moment he stepped away from the battlefield, he became an unwelcome intruder wherever he went.

So Hyunwoo had been wrong.

To Geonwoo, this place felt even more like hell.