The room had finally fallen quiet.
Only the steady hum of machines remained, filling the air with a dull, mechanical rhythm that never truly faded.
Minjae turned slowly toward the bed.
This was the first time she had allowed herself to see her sister.
For weeks, she had refused. Avoided the hospital. Avoided the truth.
Now there was nowhere left to look but forward.
She approached the bedside and stopped as she watched her sister,
Choi Min-sol lay motionless beneath pale sheets, her body swallowed by wires and tubes. A thin oxygen mask rested over her nose and lips, rising and falling with the help of the machine beside her. Clear lines ran from her arms, her wrist, her collarbone, feeding her, breathing for her, keeping her tethered to a life she was no longer conscious of.
She studied her sister in silence, the faint scar at her neck, the bruises still fresh, her swollen eyelids, darkened by exhaustion she could no longer feel, dry, cracked lips that had not spoken a, word since the accident.
Minjae's expression did not change.
Not a tremor. Not a flinch, Only her eyes moved, memorizing every detail, as if engraving the image somewhere she could never lose.
Her thoughts, however, were far from calm.
Just then, the door opened softly, as an elderly man entered, carrying a leather briefcase — He was the family lawyer.
They sat across from each other beside Min-sol's bed.
Minjae spoke first.
"you refused bringing about the will left by my father, the reasons, best known to you." she said
"The will requires your sister's presence," the lawyer replied. "She is to hear it herself."
Minjae let out a faint breath, almost a laugh.
"Just as I thought." She gestured lightly toward the bed. "Well, as you can see… she is present now." She said
The lawyer hesitated, then nodded.
He opened his briefcase and removed a thick file, and then began reading.
As he read, Minjae listened without interruption.
"Your father left the majority of his companies to your sister, Choi Min-sol," he said. "With one exception."
Minjae's gaze sharpened. "Which is?"
"Orange Corporate Estate. Also known as OCE Firm."
She frowned slightly. "Never heard of it. What is that?"
"It was founded by your grandfather," the lawyer explained. "An old company. There is little remaining record of it, but from what we can tell, it has been abandoned for many years." He handed her a small card. "This is the registered location."
Minjae examined the card in silence, reading the detail
"My father promised he wont let me have any of his company, so, on his quest to fulfill that, he gave me the company he inherited from his father and abandoned, how merciful of him, although im a bit confused___ how exactly did he expect me to use a dead company as this" she smirked "He is indeed a man of his word dont you think?" She asked, her gaze now at the lawyer Who shifted awkwardly.
"However," he continued, sliding another document toward her, "he did leave you several personal assets. Two hotels — one in Jeju Island, one in Busan. And an estate here in Seoul."
Minjae skimmed the page, "Choi Estate," she read softly, then she looked up. "And my sister's shares? Choi Corp. The subsidiaries?" She asked
"While she remains in a coma, and with her daughter still underage," the lawyer said carefully, "you will act as legal guardian and interim manager of all her holdings."
Minjae nodded once.
As expected.
The lawyer then produced a small flash drive and placed it in her hand.
"Your father left this for you," he said. "A recorded message. He also prepared one for your sister, but… given her condition, I will hold it until she wakes." He hesitated.
"…If she does not, then it will be given to you."
For the first time since entering the room, Minjae's posture shifted, her shoulders sank slightly, Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the pale figure on the bed.
And for a brief moment, just one brief moment the taught and the possibility settled in her eyes__ that her sister might never wake.
---
After their conversation, the lawyer rose to leave, but paused at the door and turned back.
"One last piece of advice, Young Miss," he said, Minjae lifted her eyes to him.
"You can make something great out of the firm your father left you. You can revive it," he continued. "Especially now that you are set to become the CEO of CHNs Company, You can prove everyone wrong. Make your family proud. Keep the Choi name alive."
He hesitated, then added more softly, "The fate of the Choi dynasty now rests in your hands Miss Choi, I have served this family since your grandfather's time. He was a very wise man… and I believe he saw something special in you when he named you his heir. I want to believe he did not make a mistake."
Minjae listened in silence, her expression unreadable.
"Just… be strong," he finished gently.
With that, he bowed and left the room.
Silence returned, Only the low hum of machines and the faint rhythm of her sister's breathing remained.
Minjae stared at nothing for a long moment.
Then, suddenly, she let out a small laugh, and then turned to her sister,
"Unni… did you hear that?" she said softly, "He said the fate of our family lies in my palm." She laughed again, quieter this time.
"Father must be throwing a fit wherever he is now. For a moment, I almost doubted he was really dead…" she murmured.
"But I think I just confirmed it. Because If he were still alive, he would have burst out of the ground by now just to stop this situation."
Her lips curved faintly.
"But he can't." she said "Because he's… dead." She added,
The word hung heavily in the air as her smile slowly disappeared.
"Mum… and Dad…" she whispered.
"…are both… dead."
The realization finally broke through the walls she had built around herself, Her breath hitched, Her brows trembled, Tears gathered in her eyes before she could stop them.
Minjae lowered her gaze to the pale hand resting beside her, Slowly and gently, she took it, threading her fingers through her sister's.
Then she looked back at Min-sol's face.
"I never meant what I said, Unni…" Finally she broke, "I didn't mean any of it…"
Her grip tightened desperately as she sobbed,
"I can't lose you too. Please… please come back…"
Her voice shook violently as tears streamed down her cheeks, "Please…" she whispered, leaning closer, "Mum… Dad…"
The names left her lips like a prayer.
While she cried her voice faintly came out from the room, jung shin Who was standing by the door, having overheard her pain, quietly turned and left, exhaling deeply as he walked away.
---
Later that day, Minjae drove to CHNs building.
She stood in front of the Big structure___A wide two story building, painted in shades of gray with a touch of white as the cloudy sky above it gave a very demure, yet rich atmosphere though there was a hint of emptiness and loneliness. the surrounging was wide and quiet, with few people in sight only few security guards could be seen.
When Minjae walked in, many bowed to her as she just passes, her personal guard, jung shin following closely behind. Finally she stopped in front of a Big brown wooden door, with a writing at the door frame that say's 'Board Room'.
Just as she reached for the handle, a young lady, about her age, walked to her and bowed
"Good evening Miss Choi" she began "i am kim Ann soo, your secetery at CHNs" the lady gestured toward the door "allow me" she added as she pressed a code into the device on the door, while Minjae just quietly watched her. After three beeping sound, it opened, then kim ann soo turned to her
"the pass code is 'Y63C60" The lady explained as Minjae slightly nooded and then walked in, without been told, jung shin just stood at the door, stoping kim Ann soo from entering in, as she just stared at him confused but said nothing.
Inside the board room,
The grand board room of the CHNs head quater's, was a masterpiece of luxury, a type of luxury that one with no class or sense of style would dismissed as 'boring'. The room exuded pure richness, the Acoustic's was on point, the long oval table stood surrounded by the well designed chairs. The room was decorated with ancient artifact that added to its uniqueness.
What immediately caught Minjae's attention in the room were the thirteen huge portrait hanging on the wall, it was an ancient sketch picture of yang jong soo and Choi hyun jae__ the founders of the organization, then the rest eleven were of the first elite family which consisted of four women, seven men. Then on another side of the wall, was two ancient hat, one was of a prime minister hat, which belonged to Yang jong soo, and then the other was a scholar hate that belongs to Choi hyun jae.
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Unni is a Korean term used by a younger female to refer to her older sister.