CH50

"Thank you for the ride. It's so much more comfortable than taking the bus."

My mother sighed from the passenger seat, and my father said with a frown,

"Do you have to go through this every holiday? Why does your sister-in-law always call you the day before and make you work? She has three daughters-in-law and inherited the entire estate, she and your brother should handle it themselves. Why do you have to suffer? This is it, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind this time."

My mother was startled and said,

"Don't do that. I don't want to see our family fight. It's just one day of work. Don't say anything unnecessary."

"You're too soft. It's a three-hour round trip, and she expects you to go there, prepare the food, come back home, and then go back again tomorrow? I've been holding back because you asked me to, but you're almost 60. You need to take care of yourself! I'm not letting this slide this time."

My mother tried to calm him down.

"If you ruin the mood, you'll regret it when we get home. It's only five times a year, for ancestral rites and holidays. I can handle it. Just think of it as them appreciating my cooking skills."

My father clicked his tongue.

"We'll see about that."

Our extended family's house was a detached house in the suburbs of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

It was inherited from our grandfather, who had received it as compensation for land expropriation. My uncle ran a large orchard in Pyeongtaek.

He had used the money he earned to send his three sons to college and had lived a comfortable life without any hardships. He and his wife had no gratitude for my parents giving up their inheritance and constantly looked down on them for being poor.

"Oh, Jong-chan's mother, you're here."

My mother replied awkwardly,

"Yes, sister-in-law."

Calling her "Jong-chan's mother" instead of "sister-in-law," as if she didn't acknowledge her as family, was one of my aunt's specialties.

"Go and start making the jeon (Korean savory pancakes). There's a lot to do."

My father was about to explode at my aunt ordering my mother around as soon as she arrived, but he swallowed his anger at my mother's glare.

He said, trying to control his temper,

"Sister-in-law, where's my brother?"

"He went out with his friends. He'll be back in the evening."

"He knows we're coming, right?"

My aunt chuckled and said,

"Hohoho, I'm sorry. It was a prior engagement, he couldn't cancel it."

My father was furious at her using an excuse, especially since she always called them on the eve of every holiday. But he decided to let it slide for now.

"Sigh, alright."

My aunt led my mother to the kitchen and said,

"By the way, Jong-chan's mother, Sol isn't coming again this year?"

"He hasn't said anything, so I assume he's not. He's busy with work, please understand."

My aunt frowned.

"He's always been ill-mannered. Is it because he's uneducated? Is he really successful? I can't imagine making that much money from a junkyard."

My mother forced a smile.

"It's true. He gives us a generous allowance and even bought us a nice house."

My aunt, remembering the luxurious villa she had seen, was consumed by jealousy.

The villa, worth over 500 million won, was a stark contrast to the life she had lived, always looking down on my mother and treating her like a servant.

"Speaking of which, if he's making enough money to buy his parents such an expensive house, shouldn't he be doing something for the extended family? We're the eldest son's family, it's strange for them to live in a more expensive house than us. What will people think?"

"What?"

"It's disrespectful. The eldest son should be successful, that's how a family gains respect. But the order is completely reversed."

It was absurd to hear her talk about "family" when they were just descendants of a farmer who happened to receive some money from land expropriation. They didn't even have a family register or a clan head.

"He didn't buy it for us. It's under his name."

My mother's defensive explanation only gave my aunt more ammunition.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my. It's under his name? Sol, that's not right. How greedy can he be, buying a house for his parents and putting it under his own name? Jong-chan's mother, you must be heartbroken, not knowing your son would be so unfilial."

"That's not true. He gives us a generous allowance and buys us nice gifts every time he visits."

My mother tried to defend her son, but it was useless.

"So he's trying to buy our affection with money. Tsk, tsk. This is why education is important. High school graduates are just like that, aren't they?"

My mother couldn't take it anymore.

"Aren't you being too harsh?"

"What did I say wrong? You should see how reliable our Jong-moo is. He graduated from a top university, worked in a good company, and now he's even running his own business. And he gives us so much allowance."

Park Jong-moo was my uncle's eldest son, 15 years older than me.

He was my aunt's pride and joy, a graduate of Yonsei University, one of the most prestigious universities in Korea. He was currently running a watch company with a loan from my uncle.

And he was always the subject of comparison with me.

"His business is thriving. I might even become a "madam" thanks to my son."

She started laughing, and my mother, suppressing her anger, started making jeon.

My father, watching them enter the kitchen, remembered what my mother had said before they left.

"Don't even think about helping in the kitchen. Do you remember how much your sister-in-law nagged me last time I tried to help? She said I was making you look bad. It's better if you just stay out of the kitchen."

"Damn it, I'm going to give my brother a piece of my mind when he gets back."

He had been respecting his older brother and tolerating his wife, but he couldn't bear this injustice any longer.

Before the daughters-in-law arrived, he had understood that she needed help, but now, with three daughters-in-law watching, he was disgusted by his sister-in-law's behavior.

As he was pacing back and forth in the yard, trying to calm down, he saw a van and a sedan parked in front of the gate.

"What's that? It's not my brother's car."

They lived in a remote area, so no one would visit unless they had business with them. My father was curious and opened the gate.

"Isn't that…"

The man who stepped out of the black Grandeur was the one he had been introduced to as the managing director of Chunha Trading at Park Jong-chan's wedding.

He remembered him clearly because of his large build and intimidating aura.

"Hello, do you remember me? I'm Kim Maru, managing director of Chunha Trading. You must be CEO Park's father. It seems I've come to the right place."

"Ah, yes, it's been a while. But what brings you here?"

Maru smiled brightly at my father's hesitant response.

"Our CEO was worried that you might be struggling with the holiday preparations. So he sent us to help. Everyone, come on out."

At Maru's words, an army of ajummas (middle-aged women) emerged from the van.

"Take the ingredients from the trunk and go inside. Make it delicious and extravagant. Got it?"

"Yes."

The ajummas took the ingredients from the trunk, and my father was stunned by what he saw.

There were giant abalones, a premium beef set from the department store, ginseng, red ginseng… every expensive and healthy ingredient imaginable.

Maru, seeing his confused expression, smiled and said,

"Our CEO said to just enjoy it."

"Oh my, what is all this?"

My aunt and mother were both surprised and bewildered by the sudden appearance of the ajumma army.

Maru bowed and said,

"Madam, these are the people our CEO sent. They'll take care of the holiday preparations, so please relax."

"M-madam?"

While my mother was flustered, Maru approached my aunt and said,

"I'm Kim Maru, managing director of Chunha Trading. What's your relationship with CEO Park Sol?"

"I'm his aunt."

Maru nodded.

"Ah, the one the CEO mentioned… Then please go and rest. These are professionals, so you don't have to worry about anything."

Before my aunt could say anything, the ajummas started working with lightning speed, unpacking the ingredients.

Maru led the dumbfounded aunt and mother to the living room and said,

"Leave everything to us today and relax. We've booked rooms at a nearby hotel, so we'll take care of breakfast tomorrow morning too."

My aunt, regaining her composure, said angrily,

"Hey, are you Sol's subordinate? What is this sudden intrusion? Who are these people? Get out of my house!"

Maru shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Our CEO will scold us if we go back after seeing you working so hard."

My aunt, feeling insulted, said,

"Madam? What madam? If Jong-chan's mother is a madam, there must be millions of madams in this country! You guys are so full of yourselves!"

Even my mother couldn't tolerate such insults. My father, who had followed them inside, was also about to say something when Maru spoke first.

"She deserves to be called 'madam.'"

"What?"

"Madam, please take a look at this."

Maru took out some photos and handed them to my mother.

The ten photos showed a building from various angles, some even showing the interior.

My mother asked with a puzzled expression,

"What is this?"

"It's a 20-story building that our company is planning to acquire. It's located in Gangnam, a prime location."

My aunt gasped.

"Gangnam? A 20-story building?"

My mother, also surprised, asked,

"But why are you showing us this?"

"It's a building owned by a construction company that went bankrupt recently, and it's being sold at a bargain price. But we don't have anyone to manage it, so the CEO asked if your parents would be willing to manage it."

"This building? Us?"

"Yes, it's worth about 2 billion won, and the annual rental income should be several hundred million won. We're buying it as an investment, so how about you take all the rental income and manage the building for us?"

Maru smiled at my aunt and said,

"I don't think there's any problem calling you 'Madam of Gangnam' now."