» The Youngest Son of Sunyang
Reborn Rich - Chapter 240
[240] The Sky is Falling 1
"Mother, relax. Grandfather is trying to make up for the time you two couldn't share. Just enjoy talking with him."
"I know. But even at this age, I can't help but feel my knees tremble in front of your father-in-law. What a silly thing for me to do..."
Mother had to take several deep breaths to calm herself in front of the hospital room.
Though Mother was approaching fifty, her current appearance was like that of a bride-to-be visiting her parents for the first time to ask for their blessing.
I quietly knocked on the hospital room door and escorted Mother inside.
Grandfather, who had been lying propped up in bed, was helped by a nurse to sit upright.
"My Sehyun... are you here?"
"Ah, Father-in-law...!"
My surprise was nothing.
Mother stood frozen, unable to approach Grandfather's side.
"My Sehyun," he said!
I had never once seen or heard Grandfather call my mother, or any other daughter-in-law, by name. And with such a gentle voice?
I couldn't just stand there in surprise.
When Grandfather gestured for her to come closer, Mother took a step.
I felt no need to stay. I saw that both their eyes were already red.
Tears, tears shed for each other, would wash away everything that had accumulated over the past years. Watching that scene would likely be uncomfortable for them both, so I quietly stepped outside.
I sat in the hospital café and waited for Mother. Fortunately, it was a special ward, and no one else was visible, so I could wait at ease.
It was almost two hours later that Mother emerged from the hospital room.
"Did you have a long talk?"
"Yes. I came out after seeing him fall asleep."
I didn't ask further. Just seeing her brightly smiling face vividly painted a picture of how those two hours had been.
"Is he sleeping again?"
"Yes. It seems even sitting up and talking is difficult for him now. I can clearly see how much he's struggling. What are we to do?"
"It's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do. We must also prepare ourselves."
I wanted to turn away from the reality that was rapidly approaching, but now, I couldn't.
Once Grandfather's funeral is over, everyone who has been hiding their claws will reveal their true selves. Now, instead of revealing my own claws, I must wear sturdy armor to avoid being wounded by theirs.
"Mother, I'll take you home. You're going home, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Mother clutched my arm tightly. And then she spoke.
"Grandfather said that because you have to undertake a truly difficult task—no, a hard path—it might be difficult for me to watch. But he told me never to stop you, to let you be. Instead, he told me to make sure you take good care of yourself so you don't get hurt, and to quickly find a good daughter-in-law who can look after you in my stead..."
"It might seem that way to you, Mother, but it's not a particularly difficult path for me. It's the path I want, so I only find joy in it. Don't worry too much."
"Making Sunyang Group yours certainly won't be an easy path. But since it's what you want and chose, I won't worry too much either."
Mother surprised me once again.
I had expected her to tell me that what I had now was enough, to be content and live comfortably, so this was unexpected.
"And though my strength is small, don't hesitate for a moment to tell me if you need my help. I'm your mother, after all. I'm the one person you can tell anything to, aren't I?"
With no words to properly respond to her unexpected words, I simply clasped Mother's arm, which was linked in mine.
As we left the hospital, before getting into the car, a forgotten fact suddenly came to mind.
"Mother."
"Yes? What is it?"
"That land you bought about ten years ago, remember? Was it in Ilsan? That should have turned into prime real estate by now, right? Or did you already sell it?"
Mother's flustered expression was almost cute.
* * *
— Director, I think you need to head to the hospital right away.
As soon as I received Assistant Manager Kim Yoonseok's call in the middle of the night, I quickly put on my clothes.
— The security guard in the room contacted me, and they say the hospital is on full alert. It seems quite serious this time. I heard the hospital director already contacted your father and Chief Lee Hakjae.
As soon as I ended the call, I rushed to the hospital.
In the hospital room, there was only one security guard with an anxious expression, but Grandfather was nowhere to be seen.
"Is he... in the operating room?"
"Yes. He just went in."
I rushed to the operating room and saw the hospital director.
"Director!"
"Oh? Dojun. How did you know...?"
"More importantly, what about Grandfather? Is it very serious?"
The hospital director opened his mouth with difficulty.
"I think we should contact the family as soon as the surgery is over. Even if he wakes up, it'll be 48 hours? Three or four days at most."
"What if he doesn't wake up?"
I had already prepared myself, but hearing the words directly made my body tremble.
"We'll have to make a choice. Whether to prolong his life even a little with intubation, or to let him go peacefully."
My legs gave out, and I slumped into a chair.
Was this what it meant for one's mind to go completely blank?
Time seemed to stand still.
I only regained my senses when my father and Chief Lee Hakjae, who had rushed over, patted my shoulder.
"Ah, Father. Chief."
"You came early. Wait a moment. I'll go talk to the director and be right back."
Father left briefly with the hospital director, but Chief Lee Hakjae sat beside me.
"You must have already heard."
"Yes."
"Recovery will be difficult, won't it?"
Instead of answering, I nodded, and Chief Lee Hakjae let out a long sigh.
"Damn it, I still have so much left unsaid..."
"Grandfather will already know whatever you wanted to say."
"It seems that if I live long enough, you'll even comfort me."
"Because I want to believe that too."
Chief Lee glanced at me, then patted my back once.
"Yes. Let's believe that the Chairman knows all our hearts."
For a while, we simply held our places in silence.
He had entered the operating room, but I knew it wasn't for a life-saving surgery, but merely for emergency measures.
The remaining time for Grandfather, as stated by the hospital director, was likely true.
"Dojun."
"Yes."
"Steel yourself firmly. If the Chairman passes away, there's no telling what Vice-Chairman Jin Younggi will do."
"I know."
"Knowing isn't enough. If necessary, you might have to pour money into it, thinking of it as sweeping up affiliate shares."
"Did you perhaps hear something?"
"It seems they plan to oust you first, then the two of them will fight over the chairman's position. As I told the Chairman, they're scheming to convert to a holding company system. If that happens, your controlling stake will be nothing more than shares in a single unlisted company."
I didn't want to be discussing such things right now, but I steeled myself.
Didn't Grandfather only think of the group, even with death staring him in the face? I must do the same. To become Grandfather's successor, I couldn't postpone anything, no matter how difficult the situation.
"Did you hear that directly?"
"Yes. They asked me how to convert to a holding company... no, they asked for my help."
"Seeing as you're telling me all of this, you must have refused them."
Chief Lee nodded.
"You promised me the position of Chairman of Sunyang Group, but those gentlemen only offered me the presidency of Sunyang Electronics. So I lost interest."
I could tell there was another emotion lurking behind his faint smile.
He must have felt a humiliating blow to his pride. No matter how much of a flagship company Sunyang Electronics was, its president was still just the head of a single affiliate.
For a man who had wielded all power in place of the Chairman, it was clearly an utterly insufficient position.
The reason he brought this up wasn't to get confirmation of my promise. This man had not yet made any decisions about what to do in a Sunyang Group without the Chairman.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll have to steel my resolve even more. And be ready to unleash a barrage of bullets if necessary."
"As I promised you, I will do everything I can to maintain this status quo. Because that is upholding the Chairman's will."
"Even doing just that much would be greatly appreciated."
I wanted to talk more and glimpse into this man's thoughts, but there was no opportunity.
The sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway was heard, and two people approached.
Father, who appeared with the hospital director, had a devastated expression.
"Chief, shouldn't we call all the family members?"
When Father spoke in a trembling voice, Chief Lee Hakjae shook his head.
"Let's decide when the Chairman comes out of surgery. Even then, it won't be too late. Don't you agree?"
When Chief Lee Hakjae asked the hospital director, he also nodded.
"There's no difference."
Meaning, nothing would change.
Forty-eight hours.
The time Grandfather had left to breathe.
All we could do was wait, oblivious to time, in front of the operating room.
I thought we had waited for several hours, but not even one hour had passed.
The doctors who emerged from the operating room showed only grim expressions, saying nothing. The hospital director exchanged a few words with the doctors, then came to Father and subtly shook his head.
"You should prepare yourselves, Chairman."
"Tonight...?"
"I don't know. As I said, 48 hours at most."
We walked to the hospital room, our steps heavy.
Grandfather, wearing an oxygen mask, was simply breathing shallowly with his eyes closed. We had no way of knowing if he was sleeping, unconscious, or perfectly lucid but unable to move his body.
We could only watch beside him as his life flickered out.
Father picked up his phone and began contacting his older brothers. Chief Lee Hakjae was also on an endless call somewhere.
As their calls grew longer, both men left the hospital room altogether.
The doctor and nurse continuously checked the medical equipment beside the bed.
"Doctor. Will he be able to wake up, even for a brief moment?"
The doctor bit his lip slightly, as if troubled.
"I can't guarantee it, but I think it will be difficult."
"So, like this...?"
"Probably. I'm sorry I can't offer you more."
"No, it's not. It's not your fault, Doctor, so there's no need to apologize."
The doctor, holding his chart, bowed slightly and asked for understanding.
"I'll step out for a moment."
With even the doctor and nurse gone, I was left alone in the empty hospital room.
Grandfather's labored breathing, escaping through the oxygen mask, tore at my heart as I watched.
Even as I tried to hold them back, tears continued to stream down my cheeks.
As I took Grandfather's emaciated hand to wipe my cheeks, his hand twitched. It seemed he was trying to grasp my hand in return.
"Ugh... Ugh... Hah..."
Seeing Grandfather with his eyes half-open, I started to get up to call the doctor, but I felt a pull on my hand.
He kept shaking his head and weakly tapping the mask with one hand, as if he felt suffocated.
As I gently lifted the oxygen mask, a sound escaped his parched lips.
"Do... Dojun...ah..."
"Yes, Grandfather. I'm right here."
I squeezed our clasped hands, and leaned in close to Grandfather's face, almost touching it.
"Do..."
I couldn't bear to watch Grandfather struggle, gasping for breath, any longer.
"Grandfather, don't say anything."
As I tried to put the oxygen mask back, Grandfather frowned and shook his head ever so slightly.
And then he spoke again. His words were slow, but crystal clear. Like a dying wish.
"Don't let them take a single thing."
I felt strength in Grandfather's hand, clasped in mine.
"Live as a villain."