The Sunyang Affair

2.3

As she left, she saw how the fourth son and his family approached Jin Yang Chul with his wife. They seemed tense and although it was rude, she tried to eavesdrop. It seemed like he was doing well and unlike his siblings had become independent. In that sense, he shared a similarity with his father than anyone else did and yet he lacked one vital trait. Greed. 

The greed that made Ha Rin despise Jin Yang Chul yet be intrigued and admire him. It was a trait she had never really had the chance to closely observe within her own family. They did not need to. Their legacy and connections had made it all seem so easy. They did not have to worry about making it big, when they were already grand. They did not have to have ambition when all their future prospects were paved for them no matter what path they took. It was already laid out for them. Just a few contacts here and there and they had achieved what most would need years to do. 

Of course, that would be too boring, so they would try to explore their interests on their own but there was no denying that they had it easier. Most importantly was the culture that she grew up in, as part of nobility, the one thing that was passed down the generations was arrogance. No matter how much welfare they contributed to or donated, one could not deny that for the Battenberg family, the hunger and drive for ambition was beneath them. 

Here comes Jin Yang Chul who started his own small business with a truck and expanded it to one of the biggest conglomerate in his country. And yet it was not enough for him. It was his drive for ambition and greed that made him expand his business in a lifetime and it would be odd for it to suddenly disappear. No wonder her father was intrigued by him. They lived in two different worlds. And with her their worlds had collided. 

Ha Rin thought about the prospect of movies and their future value and yet she did not stop there. She thought about the bigger picture. There was not only Hollywood, there was also Bollywood. Movies could have sequels and prequels. If you took this concept further, you would arrive at television series. Thinking how these would be watch it was either at home entertainment due to convenience or as an occasion, such as going to the cinema. Ha RIn could barely contain her urge to invest and be part of that development.

By the time she had made her plans and left her thought, Jin Yang Chul had already disappeared and so had the others. She looked upstairs and saw Do Jun just as lost in his thoughts as she was, before heading towards storage room. Not wanting to lose sight of him, she followed. When she peeked into the room, she saw Do Jun and Seong Joon. Startled by the presence of Do Jun, Seong Joon accidentally broke a porcelain vase as he fell. 

Ha Rin kept hiding out of sight, as Seong Joon stood up and approached Do Jun. As Ha Rin was eavesdropping the interaction, she saw Do Jun's brother approaching the room.

"Hey, you! You are Do Jun's older brother right? He is going to be in trouble, get you parents quickly." Ha Rin called him out. 

"You broke the vase. Okay, boy?" Seong Joon said as he handed him a shard of porcelain. Do Jun kept silent. 

"We are the only ones in the room right now. No matter what you say, everyone will believe me. Why? Because I'm the rightful heir to the throne, and Grandpa will side with me no matter what." He continued arrogantly and started leaving.

Do Jun scoffed at this, finally breaking his silence. The nerve he has, Ha Rin thought. But contrary to her thoughts, Ha Rin started viewing Do Jun more positively. He was not a pushover and got a backbone, she noted. 

As Seong Joon was about to punch Do Jun in turn of the scoff, the adults rushed in and she pretended just enter the room as well. 

"Seong Joon Oppa, what are you doing?" She said with the concern of a normal girl her age as she approached him and gently pulled his arm down. Both boys looked at her.

"Ha Rin-a, I ..." Before he could say more, his mother interrupted him with concern, asking about his wellbeing.

When the adults noticed the now broken vase and asked what had happened, Seong Jun stood in front of Ha Rin, seeing how Do Jun was staring at her, and pointed at Do Jun.

"It was him. He broke it and tried to run away but I caught him." He explained to the adults.

Do Jun's father looked at him and asked "Is it true?"

"Hold on, Yoon-Ki. You are making me uncomfortable. Are you implying Seong Joon could be lying? How could you accuse Seong Joon of lying?" Seong Joon's mother interrupted his concern in an offended tone. 

In turn, Do Jun interrupted her. 

"He is lying."

"Is that true, Oppa?" Ha Rin chimed in not wanting to be excluded from this fun. 

"The vase ... he is the one who broke it." Do Jun said as he pointed at Seong Joon.

"He was trying to seal the chairman's belonging. I caught him in the act." Do Jun continued and approached Seong Joon. He slipped his hand in Seong Joon's pocket and took out the pocket knife that Seong Joon had taken. It was the pocket knife that Ha RIn's father had gifted it to Jin Yang Chul. 

"Oppa ..." Ha Rin said quietly as she looked at Seong Joon disappointedly. Seong Joon caught her gaze and got embarrassed as the seconds passed. The adults were flustered as well. 

"He got flustered and tried to run away, but ..." Repeating Seong Joon's accusation towards him, Do Jun continued. Seong Joon snapped and punched Do Jun. 

Ha Rin pretended to be surprised and run towards Do Jun, who fell on the floor, and Seong Joon's dislike towards Do Jun increased. She helped him, stand up as Jin Yang Chul entered the room. 

When Seong Joon started to make excuses, Jin Yang Chul told him to shut up.

"Seong Joon, do you know what you did wrong?" Jin Yang Chul asked in his usual stern tone. Seong Joon looked down as his grandfather pulled him to the broken vase and crouched down. 

"You see, I don't care about this vase. Seong Joon, you will continue my legacy and become the owner of Soonyang in the future. Okay?"

"Everything you say and do, could make or break ten thousand employees' livelihoods. Even their familiy's livelihood depends on you. Yet you can't even keep your emotions under control? Acting up like this isn't an adequate quality in someone who will run the business that is Soonyang Group." Jin Yang Chul said looking at Seong Joon and Ha Rin.

He knew of his children's intentions to get closer to Ha Rin and was supportive of it, as it would greatly stabilize Soonyang Group's performance on the global stage, especially if Seong Joon married Ha Rin. And yet he could not openly support his grandson, the Battenberg family was inherently arrogant. If someone as weak as Seong Joon married Ha Rin, she would sooner or later swallow up the entire Soonyang Group and make it a subsidiary of their investments. 

Ha Rin learned fast, faster than his own children. She started to resemble him more and more, whether she noticed it or not. Mixed with the arrogance of her family, she would be quite a force in the business world. Jin Yang Chul could not deny how proud he was of her achievements in the years she was in the family. He started questioning what went wrong with his children.

At the end, it was a gamble whether or not Seong Joon won over her heart or not and even then would he be able to have the upper hand or would he ruin his legacy. No matter how the gamble went, Jin Yang Chul refused to lose out on the deal, he made with Ha Rin's father. If his eldest grandson was unable to marry her, so be it. He would still profit of Ha Rin while she was part of the family. 

As Jin Yang Chul finished talking, as if an epiphany hit him, the previously silent and still Do Jun started running. Ha Rin who was standing next to him started running after him. Before the adults could comprehend what happened, the two children had run off.

(1447 Words)

14/02/2023 Happy Valentine's Day