TRIPLE 31

“Yes. It has been a long time, Secretary Han.”

Even without an invitation to enter, Director Yoon stepped inside the conference room as if it were nothing. As if to flaunt his presence, he deliberately took a seat right next to Beom Yisu. Because of that, only Secretary Han became flustered.

“The CEO has a meeting shortly. If you visit so suddenly like this…”

“I just stopped by to pay my respects. Why would I keep a busy person tied up for long?”

In front of the CEO’s office, how could a mere secretary stop a man who had already barged all the way through to the reception desk? Director Yoon, who knew that fact better than anyone else, crossed his legs nonchalantly.

“Yisu. You’re very busy these days, aren’t you?”

He opened his mouth as if trying to imitate an affectionate relative. But perhaps because it didn’t even make a dent, Beom Yisu opened his mouth while still keeping his eyes fixed on the documents.

“What brings you here again today?”

“Is there a grand reason to come see a nephew’s face? Since there’s never any chance for us to cross paths, this old man made time on purpose.”

Director Yoon still had not let go of the actual power in the construction division. Even a bottom-tier employee at Beomyeong would know that just by that fact alone, he had not come simply to see his nephew’s face. Beom Yisu responded with a scoff as if the situation were absurd.

“You look quite radiant since the last time I saw you. It’s something else.”

“I have to take care of my health to support you, Yisu. If I were to collapse like this, imagine that. I wouldn’t be able to face hyung-nim.”

Even though his face was glowing with a polished luster—who knows what he’s been eating—Director Yoon groaned. Knowing that he was a master at pretending to be a toothless carnivore, words like that didn’t make a dent on Beom Yisu.

In the first place, compared to the amount of whining he did, there was only a difference of about twenty years between him and Beom Yisu, who had entered his thirties this year. Beom Yisu swallowed a curse as he looked at the man who was smiling as if he were gentle.

‘He’s shameless.’

A stain on the Beom family that led the Beomyeong Group. Simply put, Director Yoon was an illegitimate child that Beom Yisu’s grandfather had fathered outside. A man who, without ever being recognized as part of the official succession line, had to follow his mother’s surname until the end. Even though he was never treated like family throughout his life, he was more obsessed with the Beom family than anyone else.

It was fortunate enough that they hadn’t cast him out despite him not even being of direct blood. To think he would covet not just any position, but the position of CEO of the construction firm, which was the core of the group.

The problem was that this greed hadn’t been a one- or two-day occurrence. Director Yoon had wanted to make Beomyeong Construction his own for a very long time.

Perhaps it was to be acknowledged by digging deeper into practical work than anyone else, since he couldn’t join the official succession line? Although he didn’t make it obvious, it seemed he had been biding his time while acting as a loyal younger brother under Beom Yisu’s father, who was the eldest son.

And that inner intention was vividly revealed after Beom Yisu’s parents met with a tragic accident.

“Working hard is good, but you should look into your father more. I heard hyung-nim was in danger again this time.”

“I am already receiving daily reports on my father’s condition. Why are you concerned with our family business?”

“Isn’t it our family business? That’s why I’m concerned. Since it’s our family’s matter.”

An unexplained car accident that occurred over a dozen years ago. The accident happened on the way back from a couples’ gathering; Beom Yisu’s mother died instantly. His father barely managed to cling to life, but never regained consciousness in the end.

At that time, Beom Yisu was just of an age to enter elementary school. Since his grandfather, who was holding the position of Chairman, was also not in good health due to chronic illness, there was no one to pay attention to a young child who had lost his parents while the entire group was shaking.

Thus, even before the funeral was over, Director Yoon took hold of various authorities regarding practical affairs on behalf of his brother. The justification was always the same. Because Beom Yisu, the successor who was to inherit the shares, was still too young.

However, the excuse of temporarily filling in for the position lasted longer than expected. Even after Beom Yisu, who had finished his succession training, jumped into practical work himself, he had not handed over all the actual power of the construction firm, citing this and that excuse.

“Well. Uncle, our family registers are clearly different, so we aren’t exactly in a position to exchange casual pleasantries, are we?”

“Don’t be like that, Yisu. We are family after all.”

As Beom Yisu retorted indifferently, Director Yoon laughed briefly. He continued speaking like someone who was truly hurt.

“If your mother, who is in heaven, heard you, how sad she would be. We should rely on each other and get along.”

As he even brought up his late mother, Beom Yisu finally lifted his head from the documents. Seeing him scratch at his nerves persistently today, it seemed there was something he wanted.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he continued the war of nerves like this. But Secretary Han, standing behind Director Yoon, caught his eye as he glanced at the clock with a nervous face. There wasn’t much time left until the meeting started. It seemed he had to listen to what he wanted to say and get rid of him, so Beom Yisu eventually set the stage first.

“So, what is it you want? It seems you have something to say.”

As expected, the gaze of Director Yoon, who had been acting relaxed until now, slid toward the documents on the table. They were the materials related to Nagwon-dong that Beom Yisu had been reviewing just a moment ago.

“I heard you personally stepped in to organize the Nagwon-dong area this time.”

“It’s within my scope of management.”

“Yes. It’s a redevelopment zone, so it is about time to get your hands on it. But I wondered if there was a need for you, Yisu, to get involved in such a dirty field yourself.”

As Director Yoon said, the Nagwon-dong redevelopment was not a project at the level for Beom Yisu to move for in the first place. The matter of site redevelopment was work that was handled countless times at Beomyeong Construction, and minor processing matters could also be finished at the working level.

Moreover, isn’t the scale of Nagwon-dong small? Its location isn’t bad, but even if they push through a shabby neighborhood that is no different from a hillside shantytown, the profit gained at the group level would be extremely limited.

‘There is no need to let him know it’s because of an Omega.’

That Beom Yisu personally looked into Nagwon-dong this time was close to a coincidence. He had only reached Nagwon-dong while tracking Hong Siyeon, but… as he dug into the materials reported later, there were traces that left him feeling uneasy.

Furthermore, seeing Director Yoon’s attitude now, it seemed he was more focused on why Beom Yisu had personally looked into Nagwon-dong than the redevelopment itself. It was as if he were a person trying to confirm if he had noticed something there.

Why? Considering the scale of Nagwon-dong, there was no reason for Director Yoon to move personally either. If so, there was only one thing left.

There is something there that Director Yoon wants to hide. With that conviction, Beom Yisu opened his mouth as if to probe him.

“Why are you curious about that? Did you perhaps invest separately in the Nagwon-dong site?”

“Investment, my foot. I’m just saying this because I’m worried.”

Suddenly, worried about what? Before he could even question the sudden answer, what returned was an unexpected counterattack.

“I heard you brought a cat into your house. One you picked up from there.”

At that moment, a hairline crack appeared on Beom Yisu’s impassive face. He had spoken in a roundabout way like slang, but it was not difficult to figure out who the subject was. He was not naive enough not to know what he meant by that.

The only thing he could connect to Nagwon-dong was the Omega he had brought into his house this time. He thought he had proceeded in top secret, but for it to have already reached Director Yoon’s ears.

‘Where did it leak from?’

Who saw it? Or how much do they know? And calculations about what they had noticed came first. At the same time, his head began to ache.

Was it a problem that he used an external agency while figuring out Hong Siyeon’s escape route? Or, are they even monitoring his surroundings?

But his embarrassment was short-lived. Beom Yisu was used to hiding his inner thoughts. Beom Yisu opened his mouth with a still indifferent face.

“I didn’t know you would even be interested in what I keep at home, Uncle.”

“Of course. I am always curious about what our beloved nephew is up to.”

“If you have nothing to do, why don’t you focus on raising your child? Is Yeong-hyeon twenty-one this year?”

Although he pretended to change the subject, it was practically a warning. Unlike Director Yoon, who was greedy but had a head on his shoulders, his son Yoon Yeong-hyeon was a person not even worth checking. He had Beta traits, had built a wall against studying, and it wasn’t once or twice that he had caused trouble claiming to be in a band or received fines for drunk driving.

Yet, Director Yoon was anxious to somehow plug that son into the inside of Beomyeong Group. The fact that he spent a huge amount of money to push him into a university with connections to the Beomyeong Foundation was an extension of that.

Perhaps realizing that intention, Director Yoon laughed briefly.

“It turns out that a child doesn’t always grow up the way the parents want. Shouldn’t you, too, slowly have a child, Yisu?”

Beom Yisu’s eyes sank low. It was because fatigue rushed in when the talk of succession came up. When Beom Yisu closed his mouth, Director Yoon began to continue his words as if he thought it was an opportunity.

“By nature, an Alpha is meant to be stable only when he has his own family and a child. Eventually, that also leads to the corporate image.”

“I intend to decide on the matter of children after discussing it with my spouse.”

“But you ended up taking in a spouse who is the same Alpha. So there is a lot of talk among the shareholders, too. They’re asking how you plan to view the succession.”

Beom Yisu did not answer. He couldn’t tell if Director Yoon was really probing without knowing anything, or how much he had noticed. But at least, for this very moment, it was clear that it was the topic he wanted to hear the least.

And… Director Yoon struck exactly at that gap.

“You aren’t planning on bringing in a surrogate mother, are you?”