TOIGC 34

Chapter 34 …

The Crown Prince of the New Military Faction (2)

Choi Cheol-kyu stood at a critical crossroads.

He could spill his guts to Choi Cheol-min about why he was actually here, or he could stick to his original play. He didn’t hesitate for a second.

“Come on, Brother. What’s the big deal about a son coming to see his own father?”

“Ah… right. Yeah, of course.”

Even as Cheol-min internally chided himself for asking such a foolish question, he couldn’t help casting an anxious look toward his younger brother. Ideally, he wanted to be the only one making a good impression on their father, so Cheol-kyu’s sudden appearance was deeply unsettling.

“Brother, do you really think I just dropped by for no reason?”

Reading the room instantly, Cheol-kyu dropped the line, and Cheol-min bit the bait immediately.

“R-Right? You wouldn’t have come out here for nothing, would you?”

Cheol-kyu leaned in close to Cheol-min’s ear and whispered softly.

“I talked you up to Father. And more importantly… I dropped a few subtle hints to make Yoongi look bad. Do this enough times, and Father’s opinion of the kid will slowly start to sour.”

In an instant, Cheol-min’s tense face melted into a goofy grin.

“Kuu… I knew I was right to talk to you! Keep doing this for me from now on, alright?”

“Don’t worry about a thing. You know how I operate.”

“I sure do. Get home safely, then!”

Watching his older brother enthusiastically wave goodbye, Cheol-kyu maintained a smooth poker face and stepped into his car.

‘Sigh… The current path is definitely the right play. Trying to use that idiot to take down Yoongi would be a nightmare.’

Hearing the front door slam shut through the open car window, Cheol-kyu shook his head in amusement and drove off.

“It’s getting late. What brings you here?”

Faced with his father’s blunt question, Choi Cheol-min offered a sheepish smile.

“Come on, Father, can’t a son drop by his father’s house?”

“This isn’t my house. It’s your older brother’s.”

“Still, you’re living here.”

“Don’t come around too often. It’s an inconvenience to your brother and sister-in-law.”

Even as his father openly rebuffed him, Cheol-min forced a smile. His only silver lining was the thought that his younger brother was currently whispering poison in their father’s ear about Yoongi. Naturally, Cheol-min had no clue it was a total fabrication, nor did he have any way to find out. He couldn’t exactly ask his father directly, and he hadn’t managed to plant any spies in his older brother’s house either.

“So, what did you actually come here to say?”

“Oh, nothing for you, Father. I actually have business with Yoongi.”

“Yoongi?”

Choi Gi-hyeon tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled. He had never seen his grandson act warm toward his eldest uncle.

“Yes. Yoongi’s moving up to the 4th grade this year, right? He’s entering upper elementary now, so I brought him a gift.”

“A gift…?”

“Yes. Is he in his room?”

“He is, but…”

Without waiting for his father to finish, Cheol-min knocked on Yoongi’s door.

“Yoongi, are you inside?”

“…Yes, Uncle.”

The door swung open, and Yoongi gave a polite nod.

“Welcome. What brings you here?”

His demeanor was strictly businesslike. Unfazed, Cheol-min handed over the bag he was holding.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a gift. You’ve never received a gift from me before, right?”

“Ah… I see. Thank you.”

Yoongi accepted the present with a visibly unenthusiastic expression, making no move to open it.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

“It’s bad manners to open a gift right in front of the giver.”

“Just open it up.”

“I’ll open it later. Thank you.”

“Ah… okay…”

“Is there anything else you needed?”

“No, not really, but…”

“In that case, I have some work to take care of, so please excuse me.”

Click.

The door closed firmly, leaving Cheol-min trembling with suppressed rage. His whole goal had been to show Yoongi that he harbored no hostility toward him. He had assumed that giving a child a gift would naturally make the boy follow him, but it turned out to be an utter miscalculation.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Taking in the entire interaction, Gi-hyeon spoke up, prompting Cheol-min to bow his head toward his father.

“Yes, Father. I’ll be heading out.”

Cheol-min left his brother’s home with a stiff expression. The moment the front door closed, Yoongi stepped out into the living room, holding the gift his uncle had just given him—a rectangular box with its wrapping completely intact.

“Grandfather, may I throw this away?”

Yoongi was taking a calculated gamble. If he received permission now, he wouldn’t have to pull any punches when dealing with his eldest uncle in the future.

‘Knowing Grandfather’s personality, he won’t object.’

As expected, Gi-hyeon didn’t flare up.

“Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes. But if it makes you uncomfortable, Grandfather, I won’t do it.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Gi-hyeon felt a pang of heartache, but he was surprised to realize that a part of him also felt relieved. If Yoongi showed softheartedness here, it would only work against him later. His grandson’s actions were essentially a clear declaration.

[Grandfather, I am cutting ties with my eldest uncle completely.]

‘I don’t think Yoongi knows what happened at the OB-GYN back then, but…’

Recalling what his second daughter-in-law, Park Gyeong-ja, had tried to pull, Gi-hyeon reassured himself that Yoongi’s current coldness was entirely justified.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Yoongi turned respectfully toward his grandfather and stood attentive.

“Why are you going out of your way to create an obvious rift like this?”

“If my eldest uncle were a proper opponent, I’d hide my feelings. But there’s no need for that here, and I don’t want to leave him any room for delusion.”

Faced with his grandson’s terrifyingly thorough approach, Gi-hyeon asked one last question out of lingering paternal affection for his son.

“What if Cheol-min actually backs down and bows his head to you?”

“I can guarantee that will never happen.”

“In the off chance it does, though?”

Understanding the sentiment behind his grandfather’s words, Yoongi left a tiny sliver of leeway.

“If that somehow happens… at least you’ll be able to rest a little easier, Grandfather.”

“Right. Go on back inside.”

“Yes. Good night, Grandfather.”

Watching his grandson’s bedroom door shut, Gi-hyeon wore a bitter smile and thought about buying a bonsai tree.

‘If he still can’t take a hint after this, I’ll just have to give up on him. You don’t cut off an entire hand just for a bad finger.’

Choi Cheol-kyu’s frequent visits to his father’s house no longer raised any suspicion from his second older brother. In fact, when they crossed paths in the front yard just yesterday, Cheol-min had even pulled him into a warm hug.

‘Yesterday was quite the show.’

Just as Cheol-kyu was about to leave through the main gate, his second brother’s loud yelling echoed from inside the house. Looking through an exterior window, Cheol-kyu had quietly observed the scene. His brother was furious, holding a crushed gift box. Given that it had been sitting in the trash when Cheol-kyu arrived earlier, it was clear his brother had tried giving Yoongi a present recently. Yet Yoongi stood there completely unfazed, speaking calmly before extending his hand as if asking for the gift back.

And now, a day later.

Passing through the living room just a moment ago, Cheol-kyu saw the exact same gift box crumpled even further at the bottom of the trash bin.

“Yoongi, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Uncle.”

Seeing his nephew nod smoothly, Cheol-kyu asked, “Yesterday… what excuse—I mean, what answer did you give my brother?”

“I told him one of the housekeepers must have thrown it away by mistake.”

Cheol-kyu nodded in silent admiration, thinking, ‘Brilliant.’

By shifting the blame to the housekeepers but using the plural “ones,” Yoongi avoided singling anyone out for Cheol-min’s wrath while simultaneously signaling a complete rejection of his uncle.

‘Unless my brother is a total idiot, he must realize what kind of message his nephew is sending. Though given how he forced the gift on him again, maybe he really hasn’t snapped back to reality yet.’

No matter how foolish a person might be, forcing a gift on someone a second time usually comes with a pretty clear idea of how it’s going to end up.

‘Whether he expects it or not, there’s going to be another shouting match soon.’

Suddenly, Cheol-kyu felt a flicker of curiosity about what was actually inside the box.

“Did you check what was inside?”

“No.”

Yoongi shook his head and continued calmly.

“It doesn’t matter what’s inside; it holds no meaning either way.”

“I’ve felt this way for a while, but it makes me wonder if you’re really just eleven years old. Is this how Gauss or von Neumann’s parents felt?”

“I’m not that kind of genius.”

While it sounded like a humble denial, to Cheol-kyu’s ears, it translated to: I’m just a different kind of genius.

‘Well, no point in digging any deeper into that.’

Having already decided to write off his second older brother, Cheol-kyu brought up the main reason for his visit today.

“Did you manage to prepare what I asked for last time?”

“Yes, of course.”

Yoongi pulled out a document regarding JSD from a brown envelope.

“Have you read it?”

“Yes.”

Watching his nephew nod, Cheol-kyu realized he might be put to the test here.

‘I need to present a plan that meets or exceeds what Yoongi has in mind.’

There was a age gap of over ten years between himself and JSD. Having requested additional materials to figure out how to approach him naturally, Cheol-kyu began reading through the document carefully.

‘There’s definitely an angle here. The problem is I’ll need to discuss this with my wife.’

Since he couldn’t give Yoongi an answer right on the spot, Cheol-kyu needed a bit of time.

“Yoongi…”

“Uncle, I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I speak first?”

“Huh? Ah, sure. Go ahead.”

At Cheol-kyu’s nod, Yoongi continued in a low, measured voice that carried clearly across the room.

“I’m planning to open a premium department store targeting US Military personnel in Cheonggyecheon.”

“Ah, so that’s the construction project my brother mentioned. I didn’t know what you were actually trying to build.”

“Of course. The only people who know about this plan are me, Secretary Ryu, and you, Uncle.”

Feeling the warmth of receiving absolute top-tier treatment, Cheol-kyu’s mood lifted noticeably.

“Are you building a line to JSD to get approval for that? But I don’t think JSD holds that kind of authority yet. Are you counting on JSD pulling strings through JD?”

Yoongi shook his head.

“No. Connecting with JSD is purely an investment for the future. What I’m talking about right now is creating an ‘opportunity’ for you, Uncle.”

“An opportunity?”

“Yes. Once the department store opens, I plan to hand over the store management operations to my aunt.”

“Your aunt… you mean my wife?”

A surge of anticipation began rising in Cheol-kyu’s heart, and the feeling solidified into reality as Yoongi gave a firm nod.

“Yes. We’ll run it directly for a while, but eventually, it will shift from direct management to contract leases. When that happens, I’ll hand over the management of all retail spaces within the department store to my aunt—a position equivalent to anywhere from a senior director to an executive vice president.”

Gulp.

Cheol-kyu swallowed hard despite himself.

‘This kid is absolutely insane.’

Although his wife’s family were local elites, she wasn’t an only child; she had three brothers. Consequently, her share of any inheritance was bound to be small, but Yoongi was dangling a path to complete financial independence right in front of them.

‘Once it shifts to contract leasing, the profits from store lease negotiations alone will be…’

Knowing all too well that his nephew wasn’t the type to make such an offer blindly, Cheol-kyu swallowed hard once more. If Yoongi hadn’t meant it, he wouldn’t have explicitly used the phrase “store management.”

“Do you dislike the idea?”

“A-Ah, no. How could I dislike it? I’m incredibly grateful.”

Looking at Cheol-kyu, whose poker face had slipped, Yoongi asked once more.

“So… have you come up with a good idea?”

Cheol-kyu didn’t need another second to think.