The Nude: Chapter 5 - The Unspoken Will

"Were you aware of any of this?"

"No. This is the first I've heard of it."

Sharp intakes of breath and a restless murmur scattered through the room. Lee-won felt less anger or panic than sheer bewilderment.

Why on earth would Father leave a will like this without so much as a word of discussion?

He dragged me out of the seminary — and now he refuses to let me inherit the shares?

Mi-hyun was the granddaughter of co-founder Chairman Woo Young-seok, and a musical actress of considerable renown in Korea. They had known each other since childhood, but after Lee-won entered the seminary their contact had all but ceased.

Of course, in this world alliances formed and dissolved strictly according to wealth and power, and using marriage as an instrument of those alliances was so common it barely raised an eyebrow. His own father had done the same — marrying Lee-won's mother, six years his senior and already divorced after a diagnosis of infertility, in order to grow Sekyung Construction.

She had been the only daughter of a maternal grandfather known as a real-estate tycoon, and she seemed to have truly loved his father. She poured her entire inheritance into Sekyung Construction and died before she could see the business find its footing. Passing every share and every asset to the young only son she had finally conceived after seven rounds of IVF, she left one last wish: that for Lee-won's sake, he never remarry. Whether his father had truly loved his mother, Lee-won could not say — but he knew that until the day he died, the man had never kept another woman.

So why this impossible condition…?

Lee-won ran the calculations through a heavy head, but no clear answer emerged. Was that why, before he died, he asked whether I was seeing anyone? Even so — shouldn't he have given the person concerned some advance warning?

No parent could compel an adult child into marriage. And a will that restricted free will lost its force as a will — his father could hardly have been ignorant of that.

That was it. Strictly speaking, his father had not compelled a marriage. The will was a burdened bequest — a conditional legacy — and therefore still valid. To refuse the condition, one need only renounce the inherited shares.

But with Lee-won's shares alone, he could never stand against Director Woo's family.

Every company in the Sekyung Group was unlisted. Ownership of the parent holding company was split forty-five percent to Lee-won's family and fifty-five to Managing Director Woo's. Chairman Han Se-kyung held twenty-five percent, Executive Director Han Lee-won twenty, Managing Director Woo Il-hyuk twenty-five, Director Woo Seong-hee twenty, with the remaining ten percent scattered among the Woo clan. If they decided to install Managing Director Woo as CEO of the holdings company, Lee-won would have no choice but to be driven out.

Accept the will's condition, and the reverse would unfold. Lee-won would secure sixty-five percent — a clear majority — and never again need to wrestle for control of the group.

His father had grown weary of the long power struggle with Director Woo's family. He had been especially exhausted by Managing Director Woo Il-hyuk's endless attacks and obstruction, wasting far too much energy simply defending his right to manage. He must have wanted to hand his son a stable controlling interest. That much, Lee-won understood completely.

But still…

Lee-won slowly turned his eyes toward Director Woo Seong-hee. She sat with her arms crossed, staring coldly straight ahead. Judging by her reaction, some under-the-table negotiation between his father and Director Woo seemed likely.

Director Woo — did you even get Mi-hyun's consent?

Of course he knew that few women matched the conditions as well as Mi-hyun, and fewer still were as captivating. She was a musical actress of genuine talent, enough to make the prejudice against a third-generation chaebol heiress look foolish. Nicknamed "a thousand faces, a thousand voices," she drew admiration with her dramatic vocal power, her charismatic command of the stage, and a dazzling beauty wrapped in a lush, sensual atmosphere.

The problem was that Lee-won felt not the slightest romantic attraction to her.

And if his information was accurate, Mi-hyun was currently cohabiting in secret with Morris Chen, a producer at the Santa Barbara Theater in New York. For Mi-hyun, only just beginning to make a name for herself abroad, the seasoned producer Morris Chen was a powerful ally and a solid foothold; for Morris Chen, a third-generation chaebol like Mi-hyun must have looked like a future investor in the Santa Barbara Theater.

Quite apart from that calculation, the two of them were genuinely, thoroughly in love. Whether Mi-hyun would have accepted his father's proposal under those circumstances struck Lee-won as highly doubtful.

But he asked Director Woo Seong-hee nothing. If collusion between Director Woo and his father was certain, the first person he needed to speak with was not Director Woo — it was Yu Mi-hyun.

And someone else was already prepared to tear into Director Woo at the top of his lungs.

"Fuck! What the hell is this shit? Noona! Did you cook this up with that dead Han bastard?"

Right on cue. A violent stream of curses exploded into the frozen conference room. Managing Director Woo Il-hyuk.

"Watch your mouth, Managing Director Woo! I knew nothing about this."

"Managing Director Woo! That language toward the late Chairman is completely out of line!"

"Shut your mouth, Director Shin! Who the hell do you think you are, sticking your nose in, huh?"

A plastic water bottle flew toward Outside Director Shin Cheol-hee. Had he not ducked at the last instant, it would have struck him square in the head. As Shin's face flushed crimson and he started to surge to his feet, Managing Director Woo's roar swelled even louder, as if to pin him back down by force.

"Knew nothing? Bullshit! Once Father said a married-off daughter was out of the family and wouldn't get management rights, you decided to sell your own daughter to snatch my hotel out from under me! Have you lost your goddamn mind?"

"Enough! How am I supposed to know whether those two will marry or not? If they fall for each other and get married, what exactly am I supposed to do to stop them?"

"Fuck, drop the act! Are you trying to ruin this family? Don't you remember Father's will? The one who carries the Woo name isn't Mi-hyun — it's my son, Ji-min!"

"Managing Director Woo Il-hyuk! I told you to shut up and sit down!"

Director Woo Seong-hee's face was savage as she snapped at her younger brother. Her reaction made it clear she had placed her bets on her daughter rather than her sibling — perhaps the backlash of years spent cleaning up Sungil Hotel's endless deficits and her brother's scandals and corruption.

"In any case, the current board of Sekyung Holdings has already approved Executive Director Han Lee-won as Chairman Han's successor! So stop harassing this board, and stop throwing things around like a child with no sense! If it bothers you that much, convene a shareholders' meeting and try sweeping out the entire board and the CEO yourself! I'm so sick of watching this circus I could quit right now — I mean it!"

Director Shin Cheol-hee, who had nearly been seriously injured, hurled the water bottle back and bellowed. Managing Director Woo charged forward and seized him by the collar. The hot-tempered Director Shin grabbed right back, as if he had been waiting for it. A metallic rasp tore from Managing Director Woo's throat.

"You son of a bitch — let go! You gonna let go or not? Who the hell do you think you are, mouthing off — a lousy outside director? I'll have you cut loose!"

"Go ahead and cut me! If it weren't for the late Chairman Han's request — God, you're not even worth one punch!"

"Fuck, some bastard two days from the grave sitting there clicking his dentures! Hit me — I'll put you in a coffin myself! Go on, hit me, huh?"

People nearby gasped and scrambled to seize arms and legs, tangling into one desperate knot. In moments the conference room dissolved into a roaring free-for-all.

Lee-won made no move to intervene or restore order. He simply crossed his arms and let it happen. His head felt ready to split, yet the spectacle unfolding before him had so little grip on reality it felt like watching a slapstick comedy. He gathered what strength he had left and stopped the laugh that threatened to escape.

Chief Secretary Choi Hong-yeon, waiting by the door, checked his phone and sent the messages without so much as glancing toward Lee-won. Of course Mi-hyun could not walk into this conference room now. Choi could be overly familiar at times, but his instincts and quick reading of a room were invaluable — and deeply appreciated. Especially in moments like this.

Instead of replying, Lee-won rose quietly from his seat, opened the door, and stepped out. He considered waving Choi off as the man followed without a sound, then let him stay. A witness might be needed. Whatever Mi-hyun had discussed with his father and Director Woo, now that the will had been made public, she was the first person he had to meet.

"Hooo…"

A heavy sigh fogged the mirror in a spreading haze. He had ducked into the washroom on his way to the reception parlor. Sure enough, the face in the glass was a sight.

He smoothed his disheveled hair and put drops in his bloodshot eyes. He slapped his cheeks a few times to hide the pallor, smoothed lotion over his rough skin, sprayed cologne, rinsed with mouthwash, and carefully straightened his clothes. But he could not hide the tremor in his fingertips.

"Chief Choi — one caffeine capsule, if you would."

The corner of Choi Hong-yeon's mouth twitched. Given the man's tendency to fuss and lecture — You shouldn't, it's dangerous — Lee-won felt tired in advance. But true to his sharp instincts, Choi only sighed briefly and handed over the capsule without a word. He knew perfectly well how critical this meeting with Mi-hyun was, and that Lee-won could not afford to show a single crack of exhaustion.

The drug was as harsh as ever. His stomach ached as always.

"…I'm surprised you already knew the contents. The will was only unsealed fifteen minutes ago."

Mi-hyun, who had flown straight home after wrapping her Shanghai performances, wore no makeup at all — clear and fresh, with only her lips a vivid red. Lee-won's exhausted optic nerves registered that brilliant color as pain.

"Oppa, let's not play innocent with each other at this point. You already know there was a secret summit between Mom and Chairman Han. Without Mom cooperating behind the scenes, you never would have made CEO of the holdings company this time — and you wouldn't be able to keep the seat going forward, either."

Lee-won nodded. That much was true. Without his father's shadow behind him, his position was far more fragile than Managing Director Woo's.

"All right. So what do you intend to do now?"

"What is this — an interrogation? I wasn't expecting a fancy ring or a proposal, but this is a bit much, don't you think?"

Mi-hyun gave a short laugh, then tossed out her conclusion.

"Let's get married, oppa."

For an instant he could not hide his shock, drawing a sharp breath. Mi-hyun crossed her arms and muttered under her breath.