Separation Anxiety

29.

#Necessity

Throughout the gathering, Haram played with guests his age in a room prepared by his grandfather. Dawoon, worried that Haram hadn’t sought him out for too long, went to check on him and quietly swallowed his surprise. The space was like an entire indoor playground had been moved in. It was fully equipped with a trampoline, slide, all kinds of toys, and even video games, so even the older child guests didn’t want to leave the room. Thanks to this, Haram had playmates and didn’t need Dawoon’s supervision.

Dawoon suddenly realized that his grandfather, whom he had always thought of as cold-blooded, was particularly fond of Haram. Even Hayun was surprised, saying he didn’t know their grandfather would create such a space just for Haram. He said that even he, as the eldest son and heir, had never received such treatment from their grandfather.

“I guess grandfather is getting old,” Hayun said, noting how their grandfather seemed to dote on Haram especially.

After playing non-stop for hours, Haram eventually sat in a corner, nodding off, and fell asleep.

“Leave him be. I’ll have him brought back tomorrow,” Chairman Jeong said, indicating he would let Haram sleep at his mansion. Hayun agreed, saying it was better to let him sleep soundly than to move him while asleep. Dawoon had no choice but to go along with their decision.

It felt strange that Haram had played so well without him. He felt proud but also a little hurt. He even had the odd thought: Is there really no one who needs me anymore?

“It’s late, so you can stay the night if you want,” Chairman Jeong offered to Hayun. His tone suggested it was up to them, rather than a genuine invitation. Even then, he didn’t even look at Dawoon while saying this. Dawoon couldn’t imagine staying there either. Without realizing it, he grabbed the hem of Hayun’s suit jacket. Hayun turned and nodded slightly, seeming to understand.

They left Chairman Jeong’s mansion after 10 PM. As soon as Dawoon sat in the back seat of the car, it felt like a huge stone lodged in his throat had finally slid down. He let out a long breath, and Hayun turned to look at him. A smile seemed to touch Hayun’s lips, but Dawoon didn’t have the energy to comment on it. He just turned his gaze to the window and rested his forehead against the glass. The vibrations from the moving car transmitted through his forehead, but he didn’t mind.

“Brother, you’re amazing,” Dawoon said unconsciously.

“What is?”

“Just… everything.”

The fact that you can stand there so naturally among those fake people.

He didn’t finish his thought because Hayun had been smiling with the same face when dealing with them. When had that started? Although Dawoon had attended his grandfather’s birthday gatherings every year, he had never observed Hayun like this before, always staying by Haram’s side. Somehow, it felt like he had discovered a new side of his brother.

“If you’re tired, get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive,” Hayun said. Dawoon’s face must have looked very tired to him. It was strange. When Dawoon had looked at himself in the mirror earlier, he didn’t think it showed much, but somehow Hayun always seemed to notice his condition.

“Will you really wake me?”

Sometimes when Dawoon fell asleep in the car on the way back, instead of waking him, Hayun would carry him inside and put him to bed. It was fine when he was younger, but now he was a grown adult. It was embarrassing to be carried by his brother at this age. What would the mansion staff think?

“We’ll see.”

“Make sure to wake me. I want to wash up.”

Using wanting to wash up as an excuse, this time Hayun didn’t give a clear answer. Dawoon couldn’t tell if he would wake him or not.

“Please wake me when we arrive,” Dawoon asked Driver Kim, who was driving, instead of Hayun. Driver Kim checked the back seat through the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes to look at Hayun. Seeing him seemingly asking for Hayun’s permission, Dawoon sighed. Did even this require his brother’s approval?

“Alright. I’ll wake you. So get some sleep,” Hayun finally gave the answer Dawoon wanted. His large hand approached Dawoon’s head. It came down carefully, gently stroking his hair. Dawoon was about to push it away, saying not to treat him like a child, but gave up. He really was tired.

As soon as he closed his eyes, sleep overcame him. Even the gentle rocking of the car made it easy to fall asleep.

About 10 minutes after Dawoon closed his eyes, Hayun wrapped his arm around Dawoon’s shoulders and pulled him towards himself. He let Dawoon’s head rest on his shoulder and looked down at his sleeping face for a moment. Despite stubbornly resisting, he had fallen asleep easily. It seemed that after being so tense in front of others, he had tired more quickly once they were alone.

Hayun gazed at Dawoon with a gentle smile on his lips, but as his eyes slowly sank, lost in thought, the smile faded.

‘Did you say Dawoon got into Yeonhwa University?’ Chairman Jeong had rarely shown interest in Dawoon’s affairs. Hayun wondered if, like Jeong Seo-in, he was going to say that now that Dawoon was in university, he should become independent. He unconsciously frowned as he waited for the Chairman’s next words.

‘I hear Congressman Choi’s granddaughter goes there.’

‘Congressman Choi?’

‘I mean Congressman Choi Min-guk.’

Choi Min-guk was the floor leader of the ruling party. There must have been a good reason for suddenly mentioning such a person. Hayun’s feeling of unease grew.

‘I hear she’s a year older than Dawoon.’

Similar age, and a granddaughter. The next words were too easy to predict.

‘It might be a bit early, but it wouldn’t hurt to build a relationship.’

There were no more explicit expressions, but the Chairman’s intentions were crystal clear. Congressman Choi Min-guk was a person who had solidified his position through many years in the ruling party, and it was expected that his position would not be shaken even if the administration changed. And his granddaughter…

‘Wouldn’t I be better?’ Hayun asked with a deliberate smile. Despite the age difference, six years wasn’t insurmountable. They would probably prefer Hayun’s conditions to Dawoon’s. But for some reason, Chairman Jeong frowned.

‘There’s a rumor that Congressman Choi’s second son is illegitimate. There’s no problem on the family register, and few people know, but it’s not entirely without blemish.’

Ah… Hayun almost let out an audible sigh. So she wasn’t satisfactory as Hayun’s match, and the Chairman wanted to use Dawoon, who similarly had no problems on the family register but wasn’t up to the Chairman’s standards, just enough to form a connection with Congressman Choi.

‘Unless they naturally become close, don’t try to force it. Kids these days rebel more when you do that,’ Hayun said with a deliberate light laugh. Chairman Jeong didn’t give any answer. From his attitude, Hayun could guess that while he might not obviously create situations, he might intentionally create points of contact to connect Congressman Choi’s granddaughter and Dawoon.

‘You should start settling down too,’ the Chairman casually mentioned Hayun’s situation as well.

‘There’s no rush. Who gets married early these days?’ Hayun still had time. Chairman Jeong couldn’t deny this and just made a noncommittal sound.

‘It’s good to make up your mind early. Even if you take your time with engagement or marriage.’

Perhaps worried that a suitable granddaughter-in-law candidate might be taken by someone else, he suggested at least deciding. Hayun quietly smiled. His mind had been made up long ago. So the Chairman’s meddling wasn’t necessary.

‘I’ll handle it myself,’ Hayun replied. Chairman Jeong narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t apply any pressure yet. Yet.

Hayun’s gaze, which had been directed out the window for a moment, returned to Dawoon sleeping on his shoulder.

I should sort things out before grandfather makes a move.

After quietly looking at Dawoon, he took out his phone and called Director Park.

[Yes, what can I do for you?]

Hayun chuckled at the immediate question about business, without even a hello.

“I hear Congressman Choi Min-guk’s second son’s younger daughter attends Yeonhwa University. Could you look into it for me? What kind of person she is, her major, clubs, everything.”

[Understood.]

Director Park didn’t ask for reasons despite the sudden request. Hayun thought he might have already heard something from Chairman Jeong.

“Also, whether she’s suitable as a bride.”

The other party remained silent at this joke-like statement.

“Don’t you think it’s too much to talk about brides for kids who’ve just turned twenty, Director Park?”

[If you’re looking for a bride for yourself, Executive Director, I think there would be more suitable candidates.]

The title of Executive Director was still unfamiliar, as he had been promoted recently. Director Park seemed to have adapted to the title faster than Hayun, addressing him as Executive Director consistently.

Given his comment about finding a bride for Hayun, it seemed he hadn’t received any hints from Chairman Jeong. Well, if the Chairman was thinking of her as a match for Dawoon, there would have been no need to tell Director Park.

“You might need to clarify your position soon, Director,” Hayun said with a hint of laughter. A long sigh was heard from the other end of the line.

“We’ll talk about the details when we meet.”

Hayun had already noticed that Director Park had been struggling between him and Chairman Jeong recently. Hayun no longer wanted him to report his every move to the Chairman. So he was planning to take back the actual authority over Director Park that the Chairman held.