Chapter 53.2

Chapter 53.2

“Chairman, who are you looking at? It’s not me, is it?”

Ji Seohyun leaned into Kwon Moo-young, letting out a nasal whine, sensing the discomfort in the air.

“Miss Ji, are you pouting? Were you like this with Jae-heon too? No wonder he lost interest. Tsk.”

He looked like a man in his fifties, but his speech had the weight and rhythm of someone far older. The mismatch between his youthful appearance and aged way of speaking made him hard to approach.

“Chairman, no, it’s not that, I—”

Ji Seohyun’s face gradually stiffened. She’d tried to say something after Kwon Moo-young blatantly admired Goyo, but ended up embarrassing herself instead. Goyo felt the awkwardness sink in and just hoped Kwon Jae-heon would step in and end this soon.

“Finance is an industry that always operates in a rapidly changing environment. That’s why we must continuously adapt and take proactive steps. And to do that, teamwork and creativity are essential. We’ll keep striving to offer better service and innovative solutions, and I hope we continue to work together.”

Kwon Jae-heon’s speech was nearing its end. In the meantime, Goyo bowed deeply to Kwon Moo-young in an attempt to stall for time.

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I’m Lee Goyo.”

Yes, just keep bowing. Don’t look at him.

“Sir? Oh my, no one greets like that these days. Straighten up, straighten up.”

Kwon Moo-young let out a hearty laugh as he looked at her bent at a perfect 90-degree angle. Even if it weren’t for his laugh, people’s attention wasn’t on Kwon Jae-heon at the podium, but on Goyo at the table.

Lee Goyo, bowing at 90 degrees. Kwon Moo-young, laughing heartily at her. And Kwon Jae-heon, glaring fiercely at the two of them from the stage, completely forgotten by the crowd.

“And finally… Father, that’s enough. You’re going to kill her.”

Goyo felt like every pore in her body had burst open.

“Girl, straighten your back. He’s looking at me like he wants to kill me. My goodness, what do you expect me to do when he says that from up there? Tsk tsk.”

“Father!”

“Oh dear, please straighten up. He’s my son, but when he gets angry, he’s terrifying.”

At that, Goyo cautiously straightened her posture, watching Kwon Moo-young nervously.

“…And finally, I hope the new year brings everyone great success and happiness. It’s an honor to walk this journey of building the future together with all of you. Thank you.”

“That hard-a*s still manages to wrap up the speech.” Kwon Jae-heon shook his head in disbelief at his father.

Kwon Moo-young clapped his hands with a bright, innocent expression. After finishing his speech, Kwon Jae-heon sighed deeply, furrowing his brows. As if trying to calm his anger, he took several deep breaths before stepping down from the stage and walking toward Kwon Moo-young.

“If I’m not mistaken, why are you here, Father?”

“It’s my son’s company. It’s not like I can’t come.”

“I’m asking because someone who should be at the presidential banquet is here instead.”

“I thought this would be more fun than there,” Kwon Moo-young said with a big smile.

“Ha! This is crazy. What are you doing, Father?”

With a grinding sound, Kwon Jae-heon gritted his teeth. His fierce gaze landed on Ji Seo-hyun. With a look that seemed to ask, Did you bring him here? Ji Seo-hyun hurriedly shook her head.

It was unfair to her. She had only followed the elder wherever he went. Had she known Kwon Jae-heon would be there, she would have definitely avoided it.

“What’s wrong? Do you know how long it’s been since we met? You’re making it this hard for me to see my son.”

“Have you already forgotten why I’ve been so busy?”

He had been overwhelmed with cleaning up the mess caused by Min Jei, his father’s mistress. Just as he had finally managed to restore things, it seemed like another problem was about to blow up. Ever since his father handed over the company to him, Kwon Jae-heon had been struggling with constant interference from his father.

“A child can take care of his father’s business. Why do you speak so coldly?”

“Director Min said this would be the last time.”

Kwon Jae-heon pressed his temples with his thumbs as a headache began to set in. But Kwon Moo-young was still speaking.

“Fine, fine, let’s eat, son. A father needs to eat to have energy.”

“You eat, Father. The buffet is set up, so feel free to choose.”

“Ungrateful child. You want me to eat alone?”

“You can eat with your companion.”

Kwon Jae-heon scoffed at his father’s exaggerated act of being a feeble, old man.

He wasn’t fooled by his father’s performance. On the surface, it looked like Kwon Moo-young had retired from the company, but in reality, he was still handling all the hard work behind the scenes.

That was why no one dared to disregard him. The fact that a secretary from the presidential office was waiting for him here was a testament to that.

The man standing behind Kwon Moo-young was anxiously glancing at him while holding his phone. It was clear he was looking for Kwon Moo-young, who had failed to show up at the appointed place.