Chapter 16: Celebration

The celebration was grand.

It wasn’t just for the election of a mere first-time assembly member; the place was teeming with people eager to make an impression on Soonyang’s CEO Chairman Jin.

Our family arrived at the banquet hall. We first greeted my aunt Jin Seo-yoon, who was at the entrance, welcoming guests with a bright smile.

“Congratulations, sister. You’ve taken another step up.”

Even with father’s pointed words, my aunt couldn’t hide her joyous smile.

“Again, again. Why are you so prickly?”

She gave him a light pat on the back and sent a knowing look.

“Your brother-in-law is here, so greet him. Stay well-behaved and slip out quietly if you get uncomfortable.”

“Becoming a National Assembly member’s wife has made you more generous. Haha.”

Unlike father who burst into laughter, mother and older brother Sang-joon still had tense faces.

“Congratulations, sister-in-law.”

“Hello.”

Even after receiving greetings from mother and us brothers, she was still smiling.

“Ah Sang-joon’s mother, could I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“A very important person from the party leadership is here, could you personally greet them just once?”

At this, father’s eyebrows twitched.

“Sister, what do you mean? Are you asking her to sell her smiles?”

“Honey!”

Mother tugged at father’s sleeve. She wanted to avoid any trouble as she always bore the brunt of his outbursts.

“Hey! It’s just that that person is a fan of Sang-joon’s mother. That’s why I’m asking her to acknowledge him. What’s gotten into him?”

“Yes, sister-in-law. Don’t worry. I’ll greet them separately.”

Ignoring my aunt’s displeasure, mother linked arms with father and hurried into the banquet hall.

“Honey, don’t get worked up over nothing. Do you know how anxious I get every time you do that?”

It was hard to tell if he was a doting husband or henpecked, but father grinned and squeezed mother’s hand tightly.

“Alright. Let’s make a quick round and then slip out.”

Perhaps because of mother’s plea, father kept smiling and greeting people. Then he spotted my uncle, the main star of the party and waved his hand.

“Congratulations on your election, brother-in-law. How is it? Is being an assemblyman better than being a prosecutor? Haha.”

“Thanks, brother-in-law. How could I know yet? Besides I’ve been demoted from a department head prosecutor to a first-time assemblyman. The road ahead is tough. Haha.”

When Sang-joon and I greeted him, my uncle patted our heads and lightly bowed to mother.

“Wow, the room brightens up because of you, sister-in-law. How do you become more beautiful with age?”

“Congratulations, uncle.”

I quickly noticed my uncle’s gaze sweeping over my mother’s body.

Creepy bastard.

I had thought to get closer to him, thinking he might be useful, but this guy just rubbed me the wrong way.

“Ah, brother-in-law. There’s someone I’d like you to meet, could you help me?”

“I heard from my sister. Who is it that makes you so cautious, brother-in-law?”

“He’s the power behind the Sixth Republic.”

“What? It’s only been a few days since the Sixth Republic began, how can there be a power broker already?”

“He’s President Roh Tae-woo’s right-hand man. He’s already considered the crown prince!”

He was exaggerating, but his voice was low.

“Sang-joon, Do-jun. You two stay here and enjoy some tasty food.”

My uncle took my parents and entered a group of people standing a little apart.

I couldn’t see who it was because they were hidden by the crowd. I strained my ears to catch a name but even that was thwarted by a sudden interruption.

“Huh? Kang-joon?”

At the familiar name, I turned around to see Jin Kang-jun, the son of the third son who was now in middle school and his younger sister Jin Young-kyung.

Jin Young-kyung is exactly one year older than me.

I smiled and raised my hand.

“Hi, sister.”

But the two couldn’t return my greeting. They both must have remembered their legs that were broken because of me.

“Kang-joon. Is your leg okay? I heard you were on crutches?”

I gave a sly smile and examined Jin Kang-jun’s legs.

Jin Kang-jun’s face turned red as if he were appalled by my behavior.

“Your other leg needs to be broken too for balance. When should we do it?”

My words were gentle but my eyes weren’t. I glared at him as if I would devour him. He couldn’t stand it for more than a few seconds, he avoided my gaze and even moved away.

As expected, he’s a coward. There’s no way a pampered rich boy would have any guts.

“Do-jun. Why do you keep messing with Kang-joon?”

After the two fled, Sang-joon spoke, full of fear and tension.

“Brother. Don’t be scared of him. He can’t fight. He has no guts. From now on, you should step on him too.”

Sang-joon just blinked at my harsh words.

I’m thinking of him as my first ally… but he’s weak-willed. He’s only in the sixth grade of elementary school now, so I should wait a little longer.

I’ll train him কঠোরly once he’s in middle school.

“Did you eat something?”

After finishing their greetings, my parents returned and held our hands tightly.

“Since we’ve already made an impression, how about we leave? There’s nothing suitable for kids to eat here.”

“We should greet father before we go.”

“We won’t see him.”

“Huh?”

Mother tilted her head at father’s cryptic words.

“He’s probably having secret talks with politicians who came under the pretext of this celebration, in a special suite at this hotel. Father isn’t attending this party. It’s obvious from the fact that mother isn’t here.”

No matter what anyone says, the host of this banquet is the newly elected National Assembly member. The CEO of the group is just the father-in-law, so he doesn’t need to show his face at the banquet.

“Is that so? Then let’s go eat something delicious.”

With a bright expression, mother linked arms with father again.

Seeing their bright faces, Sang-joon jumped up and down.

“Dad! McDonald’s. Let’s go to McDonald’s!”

Damn it. I wanted to eat dim sum at the Soonyang Hotel’s Chinese restaurant, but I was too late. It’s driving me crazy whenever something like this happens because I have a little kid for an older brother.

Since the 1980s, chicken and beer joints started to appear, and in 1984, KFC arrived. Then in March of this year, McDonald’s, the epitome of fast food, opened its first store across from the Apgujeong Galleria Department Store.

Since there’s only one in Seoul, it’s hard to get to unless you live in Apgujeong-dong.

The chauffeur had already driven there a few times to buy it, so Sang-joon, who had already tasted it, sang its praises whenever he had the chance.

“Shall we?”

Father looked at me and I forced a happy expression. After all, no child should dislike hamburgers and cola.

We were about to quietly slip out of the banquet hall, holding my parents’ hands, when suddenly a man blocked father’s way and slightly bowed his head.

A man suddenly blocked my father’s path and bowed his head slightly.

“The Chairman is looking for you.”

When the man’s gaze pointed at me, father frowned.

“Do-jun?”

“Yes.”

“They’re really going after the kid. Can’t you just say you couldn’t find him?”

“I’m sorry. There are many eyes watching, so a false report would be difficult.”

The man bowed his head again.

“Father, it’s okay. I’ll be back quickly.”

“Ah, he said the conversation might take a while. The Chairman said he’d take you home… He said it’s okay for you to go ahead.”

He was basically telling us to go ahead and leave me behind.

Judging by father’s expression, he looked like he was about to run to grandfather and give him a piece of his mind.

“Father. Go to McDonald’s and enjoy it with brother. I’ll eat dinner here. I’ll ask grandfather to buy me a handmade burger.”

When I finished, father had a devastated look on his face and I realized I’d made a mistake. He must have misunderstood.

From my perspective, it was important to get closer to Chairman Jin, and eating hotel food was much better than McDonald’s burgers.

But to my father, who didn’t know this, it would seem like I was unwillingly trying not to displease Chairman Jin for the sake of my parents.

This kind of misunderstanding can’t be helped right now. I can clear up this misunderstanding when I’m no longer a child.

To ease my parents’ worries, I turned around with the brightest expression I could muster.

* * *

The room the employee guided me to wasn’t the royal suite I had imagined. It was a modest room about the size of a regular room, without even a bed. The 28th floor was definitely the royal floor, but did they have rooms like this?

On the large round table, various dishes prepared for me were temptingly stimulating my appetite.

“Have dinner in this room and wait for a bit. The Chairman will call for you after he finishes some business.”

After the employee left, I took a quick look around the room.

“Huh?”

I thought it was completely closed off, but there was a slightly open sliding door on one wall.

Looking through the gap, I saw the real royal suite room.

Aha, so this is a side room attached to the suite.

I could already see Chairman Jin’s back sitting in a chair, and he was talking to someone hidden behind his back.

First, I filled my hungry stomach.

I ate carefully to avoid making any clattering noises, and strained my ears to listen to the conversation in the next room.

“The era of great ordinary people and the Northern Policy. These were also mentioned in Your Excellency’s inauguration speech. Your will is strong.”

“Yes. I was also deeply impressed.”

“The Northern Policy is about improving relations with communist countries. In particular, he wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and China.”

Who could it be?

Judging from the conversation, it was clear that he was one of the president’s closest aides, but I had no idea who it was.

Actually, this era was a very distant past for me, and all I remembered was the general flow of events.

“Assemblyman Park will, of course, be in charge of the groundwork.”

“That’s right. The first step is the Soviet Union.”

“The Soviet Union…”

A moment of silence passed. The fact that the president’s aide was telling this plan to a chaebol CEO meant that he wasn’t just giving information.

There must be some kind of demand, and he was saying he’d give something in return.

“How may I be of assistance?”

“The Cold War era is over. Today’s diplomacy is not about ideology but about the economy. Maximizing mutual benefits is the best diplomacy, isn’t it?”

“China is one thing, but the Soviet Union is an economic power compared to us. As someone who runs a business, I’d rather sell my goods to the Soviet Union.”

At this time, the Soviet Union’s per capita GNP was 9,300$, which overwhelmed Korea’s mere 5,800$. Of course, it would plummet to 1/10 in five years.

“His Excellency said to leave everything to Chairman Jin of Soonyang. I’m merely conveying His Excellency’s intentions.”

He throws both the stick and the carrot at the same time.

Cooperate fully with the government’s grand plan.

But, you can choose how you cooperate.

What will my grandfather’s answer be?

Everyone wants to avoid the stick and only take the carrot, but that’s impossible. My ears moved closer to the door.

“This… I don’t know what to say to such great consideration. Haha.”

Is he avoiding a direct answer? Or?

“Our Soonyang is just a street vendor, how can we fathom the grand scheme of national affairs? We’ll just follow whatever Assemblyman Park tells us.”

Huh?

Is he surrendering?

There’s no way.

The Soonyang is not a ship that can be overturned by government power.

If the top chaebol kneels to the regime, the second and third-ranking chaebols won’t be able to escape either. Chaebols are a group that is always ready to become a strong allied force against any regime that threatens them.

The status of being the top chaebol is the representative of all chaebols.

There’s no way the representative will easily give up, is there?”