Chapter 241: The Final Words

In this life, my grandfather was the person I spent the most time with after being reborn.

He had high expectations for me, and I didn’t let him down. As a result, I received a great deal.

Even his last words, before his life ended, were for me. This fact resonated with me more profoundly than the controlling stake in the group.

After he uttered those words, I could only stare at my grandfather, who had once again lost consciousness.

The image of him smiling brightly and lifting me into his arms when we first met.

The way he bragged about my national top-ten university entrance exam scores to everyone in the neighborhood, appearing no different from any other ordinary grandfather.

The look of elation on his face when I presented him with ten billion dollars.

The way he couldn’t contain his joy at the fact that Ajin Group was now in my hands.

These past memories overlapped with his current state, facing death, blurring my vision.

But I had to pull myself together.

A commotion echoed through the ward. It seemed people were rushing in.

I needed to leave the room before they entered. After all, the people who should witness death up close weren’t the grandchildren, but the children.

Standing in the hospital hallway, I bowed my head towards my uncles rushing towards me.

But they didn’t even glance at me, heading straight into the hospital room.

“Father!”

The anguished cries of his children were audible even outside. And he hadn’t even passed away yet… I idly wished he might be startled awake by the noise as I headed towards the cafe at the end of the hallway.

* * *

The hospital director, beads of cold sweat trickling down his face, once again explained Chairman Jin’s condition to the furious siblings.

“It seems you all need to prepare yourselves. He doesn’t have much time left.”

“There’s no chance of recovery?”

“…No.”

The director worried they might start yelling again, but it didn’t happen.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi closed his eyes and lowered his head.

“Since you’re all here, there’s something I need to tell you. In this condition, Chairman won’t last more than 48 hours. If you wish, we can use more aggressive medical interventions, but…”

“Like intubation?” Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi asked, his face scrunching up.

“Yes. But the Chairman always expressed his dislike for such physical interventions…”

“Don’t do it. Let him pass away naturally and comfortably.”

Jin Young-gi stated firmly.

Even without the director’s advice, they all remembered their father’s request not to artificially prolong his passing.

“Yes, I understand.”

The director quietly left the room, and the attending physician waited silently in the corner.

“But what about Mother? Still no contact?”

Jin Seo-yoon asked her three older brothers, but no one answered.

“What on earth are you doing? If we can’t reach Mother? Shouldn’t there be aides or something?”

“The aides aren’t answering either. The last time she answered her phone was when Father was hospitalized,” Jin Dong-gi said with a sigh, prompting Jin Seo-yoon to glare at Jin Young-gi.

“Big brother, you need to send the secretarial staff to find her! And what about Hye-kyung? Isn’t that girl always glued to Mother’s side? Can’t we reach your daughter either?”

“We’ve confirmed she left the villa in Switzerland. She hasn’t answered her phone since then either. Mother must have stopped her,” Jin Young-gi replied.

“How can you say that now?! What if she can’t be here for Father’s final moments?”

Jin Young-gi glared at Jin Seo-yoon, who was shouting sharply.

“Is she avoiding calls because she doesn’t want to see his final moments? Is that really so hard to understand? And you? What kind of daughter doesn’t even know her mother’s phone number? And yet you’re the one raising your voice! Raising your voice!”

“Keep your voice down. Is this really the time for this?” Jin Dong-gi said, sighing at the two of them. Their mother clearly didn’t care about their father’s death, as she intensely hated and despised him.

It was fine if she didn’t witness his passing. He just prayed she would appear before the funeral. It wouldn’t just be family at the funeral. The entire nation might be watching, with cameras everywhere.

If the deceased’s wife wasn’t present, who knew what kind of speculation would arise, and if strange rumors turned into scandalous tip sheets, there would be no greater disgrace to the family.

He could only hope she would return to the country as soon as possible. The only reason he wasn’t too worried was that his mother valued appearances greatly. At least, she would be able to put on a sorrowful wife act at the funeral.

“Excuse me, Doctor.”

“Ah, yes?”

The attending physician, startled, approached Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi from his corner.

“We have time to step out for a bit, right?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if anything major will happen in the next hour or two. It’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

The attending physician replied dryly to the pointless question.

The chances of him waking up in this unconscious state were virtually nonexistent. All that remained was for him to breathe. There was no real reason to witness the moment of his passing.

After confirming the doctor’s answer, Jin Dong-gi gestured to his older brother, Jin Young-gi.

The two men stepped out of the hospital room and lit cigarettes.

“Still no contact with Mother?”

“I’m going crazy.”

Jin Young-gi took a couple of drags before throwing his cigarette to the ground.

“Why? Did you talk to her?”

“You?”

“She won’t even answer my calls. But she usually listens to you, being the eldest son.”

“She answered a few times. But it’s always the same thing. She says that old geezer has a tenacious life force and won’t die easily. She told me she’ll go when it’s time, so don’t bother her.”

“She needs to come this time….”

Jin Young-gi, understanding his younger brother’s concern, sighed and said, “I sent her a text when I got the call earlier. I told her he might not make it through the day, so she probably boarded a plane. She has that much sense.”

“She absolutely has to come… If she doesn’t, it’ll be a real disgrace to the family….”

“Perhaps Father’s death might just fade away without much notice.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

Jin Dong-gi’s eyes widened at his older brother’s unexpected words.

“Things are quite noisy these days, because of the President.”

“What does that have to do with us? The presidential election fund issue has mostly died down.”

“He might get impeached.”

“What? Impeachment?”

“Yeah. It seems the other side is well-prepared. They were just waiting for an opportunity, and they’ve finally caught him by the tail.”

“Seriously? Impeachment over something like that? Is it even possible?”

Jin Dong-gi frowned, shaking his head as if it were nonsense.

“They’re confident they can pass the impeachment motion in the National Assembly. The opposition party holds an overwhelming number of seats since the ruling party split.”

Jin Dong-gi felt increasingly uneasy about Jin Young-gi’s growing influence.

None of his contacts provided him with such high-level information. Although he had a few assemblymen planted in the National Assembly in Yeouido, crucial information only reached Soonyang’s eldest son.

Indeed, if things went as his brother predicted after the funeral, Jin Young-gi’s position as the eldest son would seem even more solidified, which made him increasingly anxious.

“At best, the President’s duties will be suspended, right? The government won’t really collapse.”

Seeing Jin Young-gi smirk at his words, Jin Dong-gi realized his mistake.

His brother had other plans, and he hadn’t been able to figure them out. Once again, he would have to watch his brother look down on him, acting all knowing.

“Don’t tell me you have someone in mind? Someone to completely flip the government?”

Jin Young-gi shook his head at Jin Dong-gi’s surprised question.

“I’m not interested in that. From what I’ve heard, if the impeachment bill passes in the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court can drag it out for a maximum of six months.”

Only then did Jin Dong-gi grasp his brother’s true intentions.

“It’ll be six months of chaos.”

“Exactly. An unprecedented presidential impeachment. And the general election is coming up soon too. The world’s attention will be focused on the Blue House and Yeouido, not on Father’s death. We need to seize this opportunity and push forward with our plans swiftly.”

“Six months where no one will pay attention to whatever we do?”

“That’s right. We can’t miss this chance.”

“Is Father giving us a gift even as he passes away?”

“Most of the people we need will come to pay their respects at the funeral. We need to finalize things then.”

The brothers exchanged fleeting, subtle smiles before quickly wiping them away. Wasn’t this a time to conceal their smiles?

“Let’s go back inside. We need to be by his side.”

* * *

People began arriving at the hospital one after another.

The daughters-in-law, their faces tense, entered the hospital room, followed by several presidents of subsidiaries.

They went into the room to check on the grandfather’s condition and then came out to find Chief of staff Lee Hak-jae. The final moments were for the family.

Grandchildren began to appear as well.

The first to arrive was the eldest grandson, Jin Young-jun.

“Ah, hyung-nim.”

“Oh? Do-jun. You came early.”

I took the hand he offered.

The atmosphere he exuded was noticeably different from the last time we met a while ago.

Perhaps it was due to his age, now in his mid-thirties, or his position in the company, but his childishness was nowhere to be seen.

“How is grandfather?”

I shook my head slightly, and a low groan escaped his lips.

“Hmm…. Today… ?”

“Most likely.”

“Let’s go.”

We walked shoulder to shoulder into the hospital room.

The large private room was packed, and I found a spot in a corner.

Jin Young-jun pushed through the crowd to the bedside.

As more cousins arrived, the room became cramped, and everyone except the direct descendants stepped out into the hallway.

The sorrow of not being able to share grandfather’s last breath weighed heavily on my heart. Tears streamed down my face, no matter how much I wiped them.

I didn’t even check how many hours had passed. I wished this time would stretch out just a little longer, but my wish was not granted.

“Father!!”

“Father! Waaah.”

Cries and lamentations erupted from the hospital room, and I ran towards it like a madman.

As the doctor removed the oxygen mask, grandfather’s expression was fully revealed. A perfectly blank face.

I couldn’t bring myself to touch his face.

My aunt began to sob, embracing grandfather’s neck, and I, clinging to my fading senses, dragged my feet towards grandfather’s side.

I squeezed through the people surrounding the bed and tightly held grandfather’s hand, which still held warmth.

I hoped his death wasn’t painful.

I hoped he didn’t have a single moment of regret.

In his life of over eighty years, I hoped there wasn’t a single second he wished to erase.

I prayed and prayed again.

For a while, the hospital room echoed only with cries and sobs.

Then, an entirely out-of-place sound emerged, and the sobs gradually subsided as if it were a signal.

“H-Halmeoni.”

One of the grandchildren spotted their grandmother standing at the entrance of the hospital room and let out an almost shriek.

“Mother!”

“Mom! Why are you so late? You should have been here for Father’s passing!”

“I’m not late. I arrived just in time.”

Unlike my aunt, who was crying uncontrollably, my grandmother’s expression was cold and unwavering.

“Mother! What are you saying right now?”

“Mom! How can you say that now?”

My uncle and aunt spoke with incredulous expressions, but my grandmother remained unfazed.

“I don’t want to breathe the same air as that man. So, I came just in time.”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

I knew my grandmother hated my grandfather, but to say this in front of the deceased… especially with her children and grandchildren watching?

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Spotting me, my grandmother pointed and said,

“Why are you here?”

Her fingertips trembled as if seeing me was more unbearable than my grandfather’s death.