TOIGC 27

Chapter 27 …

Goal: 4 Years Later (4)

Tap, tap.

Meryl’s footsteps echoed softly through the suite, though the sound was completely swallowed by the violin’s melody.

Tap, tap.

Yoongi was so lost in his performance that he barely noticed her approach. But when a sweet fragrance brushed past his nose—followed by a strikingly soft, warm sensation against his lips—his eyes flew open on instinct.

“Huh…?”

Standing right in front of him was Meryl, her entire face flushed bright crimson. Her eyes, framed by long, fluttering lashes, were wide with utter shock and embarrassment at her own impulsive action.

“Um…”

Yoongi lowered his violin and opened his mouth to speak, but Meryl immediately shielded her face with both hands, stomping her heels on the floor as she bolted toward the side room where her grandfather was.

Only, she ran straight into…

“Eek…!”

A sharp, quiet squeak escaped her lips. Standing at the threshold of the room were General Custer and Brigadier General Colson, staring back at her with looks of absolute, unadulterated shock.

Overwhelmed, Meryl did a sharp U-turn and sprinted straight out the suite’s front door.

“Meryl!”

Surprised, Custer hurriedly gave chase after his granddaughter, while Colson turned and yelled over his shoulder to Yoongi.

“Yoongi, come on!”

Still subconsciously touching his lips, Yoongi snapped back to reality, grabbed his violin case, and sprinted right behind his grandfather.

By the time Colson and Yoongi reached the ground floor via the elevators, Custer had already managed to calm the young girl down. Meryl was now hiding behind Custer’s broad back, peeking out from behind him—though her face was resolutely turned away.

“Well, kids will be kids! Things like this happen, don’t they? Hahaha!”

At Custer’s boisterous laugh, Colson wiped the cold sweat dripping down his neck and bowed his head profusely.

“I am so terribly sorry, General. My grandson certainly didn’t mean to…”

“Nonsense, I told you it’s fine! Worse things happened back in the Soviet Union, didn’t they?”

Colson let out a quiet sigh of relief as Custer referenced the post-WWII era, when a drastic shortage of eligible men led to bizarre social norms.

“If you plan to tour Korea while you’re here, General, I would be honored to serve as your personal guide.”

“In that case, how about we start tomorrow? I’d like to rest up for the remainder of today.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Slapping Colson heartily on the back a few times, General Custer turned and headed back up to the suite. Brigadier General Colson pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, then looked down at his grandson.

“Did everything go well, Yoongi? My head is still spinning… That man holds immense political sway in the States.”

Instead of answering right away, Yoongi threw his arms around Colson’s waist in a tight hug.

“You’re the absolute best, Grandfather.”

A doting grandfather can never resist a affectionate gesture. Colson broke into a beaming smile and teased, “Even better than your Choi grandfather?”

Yoongi leaned up and whispered softly into Colson’s ear.

“That’s a secret.”

Though Colson had endured a day of pure nerve-wracking exhaustion, that single whisper washed away every bit of his fatigue in an instant.

After following his granddaughter back into the suite and ensuring the door was shut, General Custer finally burst into a roaring laugh.

“Bwahaha! Did you really like the kid that much?”

“Stop teasing me, Grandpa!”

“He might be ten by Korean count, but he’s barely eight or nine by our standards! Did you fall for him that fast?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t mean to do it, it just happened! What was I supposed to do?!”

“Well, Colson certainly saw it, but it’s a real shame your little boyfriend didn’t get to see your true colors. Now that would have been something.”

To strangers, Meryl presented herself as a serene, elegant young lady, but the second she warmed up to someone, her wild, true personality burst right through. She wasn’t the delicate girl who sat quietly on a swing reading books in a dress—she was the kind of girl who would sprint through mud puddles in that same dress playing war games.

Meryl had never given her tomboyish nature a second thought, but meeting Yoongi today sparked her very first real existential crisis.

‘What if he finds out what I’m actually like…?’

Lost in her spiraling thoughts, Meryl went completely quiet, her face flushing bright red all over again. Custer considered teasing her one more time, but realizing his granddaughter was looking like a volatile ticking bomb ready to detonate, he wisely dropped it and sat back down with a dry chuckle.

‘A ten-year-old boy’s business blueprint, huh…?’

Custer picked up the business proposal Yoongi had left behind and began reading through it once more, carefully analyzing every word.

Although Yoongi’s sweet words had recharged Colson’s spirits, the physical fatigue was still real, so he turned in early for the night.

Just as he was drifting off, the sudden ringing of the telephone forced him out of bed. Snatching up the receiver, he reflexively snapped to attention.

“General Custer, sir! What can I do for you?”

[“Ah, Colson. Nothing major, I just wanted to touch base regarding today’s meeting.”]

Colson’s eyes widened in sudden panic. A surge of worry hit him—had he or his grandson committed some catastrophic breach of etiquette?

[“You arranged the meeting, but honestly, even without our connection, I think I would have stepped in to help him out of sheer curiosity anyway. You’ve got one hell of a grandson, Colson.”]

Feeling the icy knot of anxiety melt away, Colson let out a quiet, unconscious sigh.

“Thank you so much for saying that, sir.”

[“Haha, did I make you that nervous that you’re sighing like that?”]

“I simply wanted to ensure I didn’t cause you a single thread of trouble, General.”

[“Come on, man! We’ve known each other for over forty years. What’s a little trouble between old friends? Either way, I envy you. You may only have one daughter and no other heirs, but you’ve managed to land yourself a diamond far brighter than any of the dozens in my bloodline.”]

“You truly rate him that highly, sir?”

Colson knew his grandson was exceptionally gifted, but hearing a legendary military figure sing his praises to this extent was surreal.

[“You’re his grandfather, so you’re blind to it—grandfathers always end up underestimating their own kids. Mark my words, that boy is going to become a formidable figure. Frankly, his family background is the only thing holding him back right now.”]

“That’s my own shortcoming, sir. I feel guilty about it at times.”

[“Well, in that spirit… I’ve decided to do a little more than just lend my name. I’m going to throw a bit more real weight behind him.”]

“Are you serious, General?!”

Colson’s face lit up instantly, his voice cracking with pure joy.

[“Of course. If he ever hits a wall where my influence can clear the path, have him reach out through you. Say, if he runs into snags importing goods or dealing with red tape. Since his venture is catered directly to our US troops stationed in Korea, I have more than enough justification to flex my authority.”]

“Thank you, sir! Yoongi is going to be absolutely thrilled.”

[“By the way, Meryl is still sitting over here staring into space with a blank, red face. Where on earth did your grandson learn to play the violin like that? He’s young, so the technique still lacks polish, but you could genuinely feel the soul in his playing.”]

“I’ve seen him practicing at home in his free time, but I don’t know the first thing about music, so I couldn’t tell how good he was.”

[“He’s a frighteningly multi-talented kid. Though, self-ishly speaking, I’m glad he didn’t choose music as a career…”]

“I’ll make sure he stays on the right path, sir.”

[“Anyway, I had a wonderful time today. I’ll see you tomorrow.”]

“Yes, sir! Rest well!”

Hanging up the receiver, Colson let out a deep, contented sigh of relief and sank back into bed, finally able to sleep like a log.

At that exact moment, General Custer set down his own phone and sank into thought, his eyes drifting over to his granddaughter, who was still sitting in a daze with beet-red cheeks.

‘A child’s feelings can change on a dime, and Meryl might grow tired of him just as quickly…’

A dry, amused smile tugged at Custer’s lips.

‘He might not be on her level right now, but with a little nudge from me, he might just turn into something extraordinary. I’ve met a truly fascinating kid.’

Custer clicked the receiver fully into place and leaned back in his chair.

<“Holy smokes, kid! Are you telling me you’re a natural-born womanizer or what?”>

“Drop it.”

<“Hey, I was wondering why you insisted on hauling a violin case all the way to the hotel! Did you pack it just because I mentioned he was bringing his granddaughter?”>

“I told you to drop it.”

<“And here I thought you sent me to the airport early to be helpful! You just sent me ahead to scout out the girl, didn’t you?!”>

As Choi Deokbae refused to shut his mouth, Yoongi silently reached into his pocket and pulled out a dried jujube.

<“Woah, woah! After all the hard work I put in for you…”>

“And I cooked you a nice meal for it! Are you going to keep teasing me?”

Faced with Yoongi’s sharp annoyance, Deokbae could only smack his lips and awkwardly scratch the back of his head. True enough, a modest yet meticulously prepared spread of home-cooked food was laid out right in front of him.

“To be completely honest, I brought the violin to put on a performance for General Custer if needed. I have to use every tool in my arsenal. It just so happened that things went smoothly with the General, so I ended up using it on his granddaughter instead.”

<“So, are you gonna marry her?”>

Yoongi, who was in the middle of taking a sip of milk, sprayed it right back into his glass.

<“Hey, I’m just asking!”>

Kitting his brows, Yoongi let out a heavy sigh.

“I haven’t even given something like that a single thought. Besides, even if I liked her, it’s not like things are that simple.”

<“Why not?”>

“The more predominantly white a country is, the deeper its underlying racial prejudice runs. Even with Grandfather’s backing, to a man like General Custer, I’m just an East Asian kid. With his elite network, he could easily marry his granddaughter into top-tier high society. You think he’d hand her over to me just because of one little kiss? That’s ridiculous.”

<“Is that how it works? Back in the Joseon Dynasty, I saw plenty of folks marrying white foreigners. A few even married black foreigners.”>

“See? You’re literally using terms like ‘white’ and ‘black’ right now yourself.”

<“Ah!”>

Deokbae nodded in instant realization.

<“Anyway, what’s your next move?”>

“I need to focus on my studies, which I’ve been neglecting lately. I can’t move on to the next phase until Mr. Geun-tae finishes his assignment anyway.”

<“So you’ll be coasting for a while.”>

“Hardly. I’m going to be buried in work.”

Finishing the rest of his milk, Yoongi immediately opened his textbooks and dived into his studies. Watching him, Deokbae let out a soft grin, careful not to interrupt his focus.

‘If you really want it, and keep grinding the way you are now… it’s not entirely out of the question, kid. That Custer guy said as much earlier.’

November 1977 arrived with a biting, icy wind, and Ryu Geun-tae felt like his head was about to split wide open.

‘I talked big in front of the young master, promising I’d pull it off no matter what, but this is completely beyond my capabilities.’

His assignment: recruit core talent to build a brand-new construction company from scratch.

Although he still had over twenty months left on the clock, progress was sitting at a absolute zero. Architecture graduates from his own alma mater wouldn’t even look at Samwoo Trading’s construction division, let alone a nameless startup that hadn’t even officially launched yet—even if it was backed by the Chairman’s eldest grandson.

If Samwoo Group were a top 10 conglomerate, things might be different, but sitting at 100th place, it carried zero clout.

Poaching from other established firms was equally disastrous. Experienced personnel at top-tier firms were completely out of reach, and even mid-level veterans at smaller companies refused to jump ship to an unproven, risky startup.

‘Damn it, damn it! If today’s meeting falls through too, I’m completely out of options…’

Today, Geun-tae was resorting to his absolute last resort: visiting his uncle, who ran a small construction firm in their hometown.

His desperate plan was to go completely crazy and ask his uncle to gamble his company’s entire future on Yoongi. Either liquidate the firm and rehire the staff directly under Yoongi, or transfer 100% of the company’s shares to operate as a completely subordinate subsidiary.

He knew it was an absurd, borderline insane ask, but Geun-tae had hit a dead end. No matter how capable he was or how much experience he gained in the Chairman’s executive office, he was still just a corporate worker in his early thirties. Yoongi had handed him a task knowing full well how brutal it would be, and Geun-tae was drowning under the weight of it.

Squeeze!

Waiting inside the CEO’s office, Geun-tae gripped the fabric over his knees so tightly that by the time he let go, the pants were soaked through with nervous sweat.

Creeeak!

“Oh, Geun-tae! What brings you all the way here at this hour?”

Since the two shared a good relationship, his uncle greeted him warmly the moment he stepped inside and took a seat.

“I just missed you, Uncle.”

Kim Jeong-seon, a man in his late forties with a slight belly and kind, double-folded eyes, projected a warm, approachable aura.

“Look at you, all grown up. You didn’t come all this way to beg your uncle for pocket money, did you? What, did you get fired from your job? Coming to ask for a position here?”

Geun-tae winced internally. Deciding it was better to strike while the iron was hot, he abandoned subtlety and went straight for a frontal assault.

“Uncle, I have a massive favor to ask.”

“I figured as much. What kind of favor?”

Looking straight into his uncle’s bright, smiling face, Geun-tae threw a fastball that went straight for the heart.

“Would you be willing to sell your company to me for cheap?!”

Overthinking leads to disaster. Driven by sheer desperation, Geun-tae had cut out all context, blurting out a request that invited the only logical response possible.

“Are you insane?”