Chapter – 02
A members-only luxury golf club in Yongin, open to only a select few.
“Hey! I told you I was going golfing! Why the hell are you calling me directly for something so pointless?!”
Joo Sudeok snapped as he answered the phone.
Despite having clearly instructed that anything short of an emergency should be handled on their own, his phone kept buzzing nonstop. By now, his mood was thoroughly ruined.
—Vice Chairman, sir. It’s not the company, but there’s a problem at Jaedamjae. Um…
At his secretary’s continued words, Joo Sudeok’s expression stiffened. The coldness on his face soon gave way to panic.
“What? Who’s here?”
He shouted.
As his voice rose, the people with him turned to look. Embarrassed, Joo Sudeok waved a hand at them, then lowered his voice as much as he could.
“Why would she come here?”
—She says she has something to look for at Dongugwan.
She had come to Dongugwan. His dead sister’s daughter. Joo Saei—that quiet girl with a sharp streak.
She had stepped back so obediently before, so why now, all of a sudden? For some reason, his niece’s visit felt unsettling.
—Should we let her in?
“Let her in? Don’t be ridiculous. Are you telling me grown adults can’t even stop one kid?”
Authority over access to Dongugwan had been entrusted to Joo Sudeok by Chairman Joo himself.
Which meant that as long as he kept his mouth shut, the chairman would never know about a visit from his niece.
“Handle it properly. Turn her away, properly. And make sure this never reaches the chairman’s ears.”
Joo Sudeok bit his lip lightly, forcing down his anxiety.
It’s just one kid. What could possibly go wrong if she doesn’t get in?
As long as Father doesn’t know. Just Father. He repeated it silently to himself.
After hanging up, Joo Sudeok returned to his golf companions with a perfectly calm face.
***
Dongugwan.
She had come prepared to face her uncle, but he wasn’t there.
Instead, someone stood guard at the entrance like a stone pillar.
“Are you really going to keep blocking me like this?”
I widened my eyes as innocently as possible and looked up at Secretary Park.
It’s been a long time, Secretary Park.
Park Cheolwon. A man Joo Sudeok had used for years. Someone who would later turn against him—but for now, he was my number one person to be wary of.
“Please step aside.”
“Miss, the Vice Chairman gave strict orders not to let anyone in without permission.”
“I heard members of the Joo family have almost free access. I share the chairman’s blood too.”
“Well, I’m very sorry, but…”
Just look at that troubled face.
The moment he saw me, he said he needed to make a call. I didn’t even need to see it to know—he’d obviously been ordered to block me.
I can’t be pushed back here.
I spoke in a voice tinged with disappointment.
“Did my uncle tell you to block me? He said I could come to him anytime if I needed help…”
I put on a wronged, pitiful tone—but it wasn’t entirely untrue.
Around this time, my uncle had been sweet-talking me to get my shares. Saying things that sounded nice.
Come anytime. I’ll help you.
Secretary Park, who was practically my uncle’s shadow, couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.
As if driving the nail in, I added with a face that looked ready to burst into tears,
“Was that… just something you said out of pity? And I… misunderstood it?”
“That—that’s not it at all!”
Secretary Park fidgeted and pulled out his phone again. Instead of simply letting me in, he clearly intended to contact my uncle once more.
So it’s a miss, huh.
Just as I was about to sigh—
“Just let her in.”
A stranger’s voice came from behind me.
Startled, I turned around to see my aunt standing there. Joo Jeonghee—the youngest of Chairman Joo’s three children.
“The Vice Chairman gave a direct order.”
“So?”
My aunt stepped closer, her gaze sharp. Without giving him time to answer, she continued,
“Since when does someone with the Joo surname get stopped at Dongugwan’s door?
Should I report this to Father? That the Vice Chairman’s secretary blocked his granddaughter?”
I didn’t know why she was taking my side, but—yes! Win! Crush him!
“Move. I hate repeating myself. You should know better.”
She grabbed my wrist and led me past Secretary Park, straight into Dongugwan.
“Why are you trembling like that?”
I had been sniffing the scent of wood when I snapped my mouth shut. After cautiously reading the room, I answered slowly.
“My uncle seemed like he didn’t want me here… so I thought…”
My aunt put a hand on her waist and let out an irritated sigh.
Did I look too timid? What if I end up on her bad side too…
But contrary to my worries,
“Say my name if he gives you trouble. Tell him I let you in.”
She placed a rough hand on my shoulder. My head naturally bowed.
“Th-thank you, Aunt…”
“…Just call me Aunt.”
“Is that really okay?”
“If you add ‘-nim,’ I sound old.”
She snorted and turned away, clearly done dealing with me.
I can’t afford to worry about Aunt right now.
I was lucky to get into Dongugwan this time, but there was no guarantee it would happen again.
I needed to find the script—quickly.
The play my grandmother had written herself.
I didn’t know much about it either. I’d only seen it mentioned in Chairman Joo’s autobiography.
My wife left behind several scripts during her lifetime.
Most were lost in a fire, but the few that remain are carefully preserved in Dongugwan.
I hadn’t chosen it simply because it was my grandmother’s work. It was the sentence that followed.
Someday, I want to bring that nearly forgotten script into the world.
With the actors I raised, I want to breathe life into my wife’s story.
There was no better way to prove my worth.
If I performed poorly, I might earn the chairman’s displeasure—but strangely, I wasn’t afraid. I was confident I could do well.
The problem was—
I can’t find it!
I searched everywhere, but there was nothing resembling a script.
All I saw were expensive celadon, white porcelain, gold bars, paintings, calligraphy…
You said it was preserved in Dongugwan!
Did he lie in his autobiography? Or had it not been moved here yet…?
Ugh. I screamed internally and plopped down on the floor.
That was when I saw it.
“Joo Jeongwol…?”
A small box bearing my mother’s name.
Without thinking, I picked it up.
It was light. If it were memorabilia, I thought my father had taken everything with him.
Was something left behind?
There was no lock, so I flipped the lid open.
Inside were three yellowed sheets of paper, densely covered in writing.
“Even now, I still dream of that sea from that day…”
I read aloud—then suddenly realized.
I didn’t need to read any further.
This is it.
The old-fashioned handwriting and scattered stage directions confirmed it. This was the script I had been looking for.
I carefully spread the three pages on the floor and took out my phone to photograph them.
If I take it and get accused of stealing, I’m finished.
Uncomfortable or not, I had no choice.
Only after photographing all six sides did I finally stand, satisfied.
Why was this in a box with Mom’s name on it?
There was no way to know. Still, maybe someday—if I grew closer to Chairman Joo—I could ask him.
I’ve got a long road ahead.
But it wasn’t hopeless.
Right now, all I wanted was to go home and read the script properly. Even that brief glimpse had made my heart race.
“I’ll be going now. Thank you so much today, Aunt!”
After tidying up and bowing deeply, I left Dongugwan with a light heart.
***
Watching Saei’s retreating figure, Joo Jeonghee thought silently.
When had the tiny child who cried in her sister’s arms grown so much? She felt completely different from her brother’s children, who spat out rude words without a thought.
I can’t afford to be idle either.
Even if her sister Jeongwol was gone, her child was still part of the Joo family.
She had come here of her own will—there was no reason she should be treated with such disregard.
Joo Jeonghee shot Secretary Park a cold glance and headed toward Jaedamjae.
It was time to tell her father what had happened between the secretary and the child.
