"Ah, yes. Ms. Y/L/N," the young lawyer smiles at you briefly before opening the door to his office a little wider. "Please come in and have a seat."
"Thank you, Mr. Choi. And please, Y/N is just fine," you smile back softly as you walk into his office to take a seat on one of the luxurious leather chairs placed in front of his desk.
The moment you had managed to slip out of the small conference room - the room your family currently still occupies as they scrutinize your grandfather's "will" - you had made a straight beeline to seek out the young lawyer again. Your head feels as if it's on the brink of exploding with all of the questions running circles and you're desperate for some answers.
At first, you had contemplated taking the stairs to get to Mr. Choi's office because you know if you had been caught by one of your family members, it most likely would have raised their suspicions. However, you were quick to realize that your family would probably stay in the room for the next hour whining about how "selfish" your grandfather had been.
"I assume you came with questions for me?" Mr. Choi asks as he takes a seat on his chair behind his desk.
"Yes, I have a few that come to mind at the moment," you nod, sitting a little taller and fiddling with your purse unconsciously. "My biggest concern right now is how I will go about transferring the ownership of my grandfather's company to myself. As you saw at the reading, my family is...desperate, to put it lightly."
"Your grandfather prepared for this moment, actually. He instructed that if you are to accept this transfer of ownership, I will release, to the press, the official statement he wrote before he had passed. So, in short, you won't have to worry about anything - you'd only have to focus on getting settled into your new job."
For a moment, you're stunned. You simply stare at your hands with slowly blinking eyes. You hadn't realized your grandfather would actually take these extra steps to help you transition into his job. But then again, you can't say you didn't expect the man to go above and beyond as he had always done. Yet, even after hearing this new revelation, there's still a feeling of worry and fear that bites in the pit of your stomach.
"While his personally drafted statement should help, once it's released to the public, my family will catch wind about the rest of my inheritances instantly," you voice your honest concern. The young lawyer's eyebrows pinch in an unreadable expression but he nods his head in understanding.
"Ah, yes. This was one thing your grandfather was worried about. He suggested some ways you could go about this transition if you choose to take over the company. But we can get into the details once you make your decision," he explains after a brief pause. "Are you, by chance, interested in taking over your grandfather's company?"
Mr. Choi's question catches you off guard. Sure, you had spent your entire life practically working towards the day you would take over your grandfather's company. However, now that you look back on it and now that someone has finally asked you what you want to do, you finally realize that this path was never your dream. It is your parents' dream for you.
"To be honest," you start before taking a sharp inhale of breath. "I'm not sure."
"May I ask why? If you're worried about your family, I can assure you, your grandfather has planned for this occasion. I am sure we can find a solution to keeping this information from your family."
"No, it's not that. I just don't see myself taking over my grandfather's company. I think my grandfather believed that it was always my dream to work with him - and eventually take over the company one day. But I don't think that's true. That was my parents' dream for me. But now that you've asked if it's what I'm interested in, I don't think I can provide a definitive answer because I don't even know what I want," you answer honestly.
"That's a valid point," the young lawyer smiles at you in understanding. There's a bit of pity swimming around in his irises that you wish weren't there. But then again, even you pity yourself at the moment. How has it taken you this long to realize you were being played by your parents like a puppet on strings. "Well, you have some time before you need to make a final decision. Truth be told, I think your grandfather knew of this personal dilemma - and forgive me if I'm overstepping boundaries here - but I can definitely understand why you would feel so confused. Your grandfather told me a lot about his familial troubles and concerns during our meetings together - most of the time, he was mainly just expressing his concern for your wellbeing. So, among one of the many plans he had crafted for the transfer of his position, one option is allotting you up to a year to make your final decision."
"A year?" you gasp in shock. A year is a long time. Most companies, especially companies as big as your grandfather's, would want to have a transfer in ownership no later than a week after the departure of a CEO.
"Yes, I know it sounds like a long time. But he's actually asked one of his trusted board members, who also happens to be an old friend of his, to take over his position temporarily. That individual has already signed an agreement contract so he clearly understands that once you decide to take on ownership - if you decide to - he will immediately resume his previous position on the board," Mr. Choi explains.
"Wow, I don't know what to say," you gape, mind still numb as it tries its best to comprehend everything.
"I would also be quite shocked if I were in your shoes. But I'll give you time to think over everything. Just call me if you've made your decision or even if you need help weighing some of the pros and cons. We'll take a look at the hypotheticals your grandfather created for you. I just don't want to show them to you right now because I would hate to put your brain through even more sensory overload than it's already gone through," the young lawyer chuckles lightly.
"Thank you," you smile back gratefully while releasing a relieved sigh. "I actually have another question for you before I leave."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Just how much land did Grandfather leave me with? I'm aware my grandfather owned a lot of property, but I just want to get a good understanding of the exact numbers."
"Oh, my apologies for not clarifying this sooner! It completely slipped my mind at the moment," the lawyer exclaims softly before reaching into his briefcase to pull out another document. When he slides the paper over to you, your jaw nearly falls to the floor. "This is a list of all of the lands under your grandfather's name. The addresses underlined are actual establishments."
Your gaze trails up and down the page, taking in the amount of land your grandfather owns. You had assumed your grandfather had perhaps owned a vacation house or two and maybe a restaurant. However, the list sitting in front of you easily amounts to well over 10 plots of land.
"Wait, 'actual establishments' as in buildings? So you mean to tell me the address that isn't underlined is just an empty plot of land?" you ask incredulously as your gaze falls upon the one and only address that isn't underlined at the very bottom of the list.
"Precisely."
"What am I supposed to do with an empty plot of land?" you chuckle dryly, letting yourself flop back against the backrest of the chair. You bring your hands up to massage your temples as more questions fly across your mind left and right.
"I'm afraid I don't have a straightforward answer for you as your grandfather didn't share much about this empty plot of land with me. But he just made it very clear that he strongly suggests you to keep this plot of land," Mr. Choi explains rather vaguely.
"So am I supposed to build myself an extra house among the 10 existing properties he already owns?" you try to joke with your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The prospect of owning 11 establishments is nice, but the utility bills that I'll need to pay will probably amount to a horrendous amount."
"That is for you to decide, Y/N," the lawyer chuckles at your slightly overwhelmed state. "However, I do advise you to visit each location before making any official plans. You never know what you'll find."
"Like hidden treasure?" you laugh.
"Perhaps," Mr. Choi shrugs with a lighthearted smile. "But I was thinking more along the lines of discovering whether the plot of land has potential or not."
"Ah, makes more sense," you smile sheepishly. "I'll see if I can give them a visit this week then."
. . .
For the past week, you've taken Mr. Choi's advice to heart. Although your initial reaction was to sell most of the land since you'll never have any use for them, you knew it would be wise to see the land for yourself. And just as the lawyer had mentioned, it could have earning potential.
So far, all of the establishments you've visited have turned out to be exactly what you expected. Several houses of different sizes, a couple of small cafes, and even a restaurant.
You had instantly smiled when you walked into the cafes and restaurant. Upon entering each establishment, you knew right then and there, you would be keeping them under your name. It was subtle, but there were hints of your grandparents hidden in the atmosphere of the tiny shops. Sometimes it would be a chair you recognized to be from your grandmother's favorite collection or a painting your grandfather had shown you when you were younger. The shops all hold a sense of comfort and a piece that will always remind you of your dear grandparents.
With the houses that your grandfather had owned, however, you had decided to sell the majority of them. They were all well kept, and for the most part, the majority of the properties didn't seem to be occupied. With the remaining houses you're keeping, you've decided to make some small renovations and rent them out.
After a long week of venturing around the city visiting various properties, you're finally down to the last address - the empty plot of land. You had actually intended to visit this place first, but when a quick search on your phone's navigation app told you it was at least an hour-long drive from your house, you had pushed it off and made it your last stop.
Inevitably, the longer the week dragged by, the more you began to question why you would want to keep this empty plot of land. Having grown up in the city, you've always been a city person. You can't even begin to fathom what you would do with an empty plot of land in the foothills bordering a dense forest other than selling it.
Now, you find yourself sitting in your car after a long drive out of the city. You let out a soft sigh as you pick up your water bottle to rehydrate your parched throat. While doing so, you take this chance to glance around your surroundings curiously.
You had driven off the main road about five minutes ago onto a narrow dirt path through dense forestation. At first, you had assumed the GPS had brought you on the wrong route because you didn't think this path would lead anywhere. However, when the dirt road widened to a small clearing, you knew you were in the right place. The clearing was just big enough to park up to three cars and there was a small pedestrian-accessible path leading deeper into the forest. Right next to the path was a "For Sale" sign with the "SOLD" banner crookedly stuck on the bottom.
When you glance above the line of tall trees, you briefly make out light grey clouds swirling around - smoke. Maybe this is a factory and they're burning something to use in production. But wait a minute, didn't Mr. Choi say this is an empty plot of land?
Something in the back of your mind nags you not to look for the source of the smoke. After all, curiosity killed the cat. But this is technically your plot of land now, so if someone is here, you need to tell them that they shouldn't be here otherwise they'd be trespassing private property.
Reluctantly, you leave the comforts of your car and click the keys, waiting to hear the definitive beep indicating your doors are locked. The moment your car horn sounds behind you, the atmosphere around you tenses abruptly. You can't quite put your finger on it but you're certain of the change in ambiance. You shake your head to rid yourself of any paranoid thoughts and force yourself to trek into the forest on the dirt path.
You walk for about five minutes before you finally see a small light at the end of the makeshift tunnel the surrounding tree branches have made. The light at the end flickers red and orange and you finally recognize the sights of a campfire. The fire itself sits in a pit in the center of a clearing even larger than the one you had parked your car in.
Excitement builds in your stomach at the prospect of exploring the field up in the distance and you push your legs to move a little faster. Yet, as you get closer and closer to the clearing, you begin to hear rustling in the trees around you. You flinch in surprise when a tree branch snaps, seemingly right behind you. Your breath hitches and you spin around to find the source of the noise, but all you see is a shadow darting through the trees, maneuvering swiftly like it knows the forest like the back of its hand.
You instinctively reach one hand down the clutch at your phone tightly as you push yourself towards the clearing even faster - your pace at a light jog now. You faintly register the sound of footsteps running alongside you in the trees but you force yourself to focus on the field in front. When you finally break past the tunnel of dense trees, you turn your head to try to catch a glance at what was chasing you. Honestly, you had expected to see a wolf or maybe a mountain fox. You weren't, however, expecting to come face to face with seven angry animals - or rather five angry and intimidating animals and two frightened animals cowering behind the rest of the group.
♡ ♡ ♡
Hello, my precious Dalgis! I am so sorry for this late update! It's been a while since I posted every Monday so it had completed slipped my mind that I was supposed to update this book until right now. Hopefully, I can get my mindset back into the routine of posting every Monday by the next update, haha.
With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this semi-filler chapter! Also, did you catch the subtle TXT inclusion? I modeled Mr. Choi's character after one of the members. Any guesses as to who it is? Also any guesses as to who my bias is in TXT? And if you'd like to elaborate why you think that member is my bias, I'm also curious to know why! (I know I'm not giving you guys much context to guess off of, but I'm genuinely curious to see what you guys think given what you currently know about me.)
Should I do a "Question of the Week" segment at the end of each chapter every week? This way, you guys get to know a little bit more about me, and I also get to learn more about my beautiful readers if you choose to respond. Let me know what you guys think!
In other news, I'm not sure if any of you listen to Enhypen, but can we please talk about their comeback today? I'm IN LOVE with their new EP - especially Drunk-Dazed and Not For Sale. I also can't help but see small connections/similarities drawn from BTS's Run MV and TXT's Can't You See Me? MV in the Drunk-Dazed MV...but maybe that's just me 🤪
Finally, who's ready for Butter?! I kind of find it kind of ironic that their Butter single is being released only five days before their McDonald's collab launches in some countries. For some reason, I just find the coincidence of the song title and their collaboration with a fast-food chain very amusing.
I hope you've all had a good week! Finals week is quickly approaching for a lot of us so I wish you all the best of luck! Make sure the take good care of yourself along with studying hard. Feel free to chat with me either on Wattpad and/or Twitter if you ever need someone to talk to!
I love you all so much!
Until next week,
Dalgi Jungoo 🍓