I stopped by the obstetrics clinic on the way home.
The routine check-up showed both babies are very healthy and growing strong.
Actually, the most important thing today was finding out their genders.
“We got something different from what we expected…?”
“Yeah.”
The result was completely unlike what Yoo Sia and I had pictured.
Does that mean it’s not what we wanted?
‘No, not at all.’
In fact, it’s probably the best outcome.
For me. For Sia. And for the two babies.
‘This turned out to be the best-case scenario.’
Of course, unlike my satisfaction, Sia looked rather disappointed.
“It’s not the flow I wanted, but….”
She gently stroked her belly.
“Considering the balance of the world, this seems right.”
“…Is that so?”
“Right. Think about my family.”
I nodded without thinking.
“That’s true.”
HR Media. Director Yoo Ho-min’s office in the Planning Coordination Division.
“Sigh—hyungnim, I’m so frustrated.”
His younger brother, Team Leader Yoo Seong-min, let out a deep sigh.
“I happened to walk by and saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“I saw that bastard Son Jin-seong with our Sia together.”
….
The moment Director Yoo Ho-min heard that name, he lit a cigarette.
Others at the company might think Sia had simply put on weight.
But they all knew the youngest daughter was pregnant.
Her belly was starting to show noticeably.
And the culprit was Son Jin-seong, so of course their teeth were grinding.
“I really wasn’t looking for them; I just walked by and overheard it….”
Team Leader Yoo Seong-min bit his lip hard.
“Sia called that bastard ‘oppa.’”
“…‘Oppa’?”
Director Yoo Ho-min’s eyes snapped open.
He felt his blood pressure rising.
“Hearing her call someone who isn’t our blood ‘oppa’… Ah, it’s driving me crazy. It feels like my sister’s being stolen.”
“Life is a tragedy….”
“Isn’t there any way we can ruin that bastard? It’d be better to take him down at the office while he’s there….”
“No.”
Director Yoo Ho-min shook his head firmly.
“Even if I wanted to get rid of him… Grandpa’s orders.”
“You mean not to touch him? Can’t we do it secretly?”
“If we get caught, we’re done for too.”
“…Knowing Grandpa’s personality, that makes sense.”
“If it weren’t for Grandpa, our cousins would have buried him alive already….”
“That’s right. We’d have dumped him in a drum, filled it with cement, and pushed it out to the middle of the East Sea….”
But now it was a situation they couldn’t touch.
Especially since Sia had threatened to run away if they didn’t let her have her way.
She was even commuting to work from Son Jin-seong’s cramped one-room apartment.
“What on earth is Grandpa thinking?”
“Who knows….”
“Surely he’s not giving in just because his granddaughter is staging a sit-in, right?”
“No way.”
Director Yoo Ho-min shook his head as if the thought was absurd.
“He won’t allow this marriage unless she brings him twin granddaughters.”
“Right…?”
“You think my grandfather is an ordinary man?”
“Sigh, poor Sia. How did she end up with such a scumbag….”
“That’s exactly why this sucks.”
“I don’t know.”
Director Yoo Ho-min shook his head in frustration.
“Sia will come to the end-of-month family gathering, right?”
“Our dinner gathering?”
“Yes. The dinner where only our Yoo blood attends in Naegok-dong. That’s this Saturday.”
“Oh, right. She’ll probably show up.”
“If she doesn’t, Grandpa might really blow up.”
“Sia will have to persuade him… No, she has to go….”
“If she doesn’t….”
No one could imagine how enraged Chairman Yoo would be.
They could already picture the icy atmosphere at the table.
“…She’ll come, right?”
“Gender reveal party…?”
I’d never heard of it in my life.
“What is that?”
A Gender Reveal Party.
In Korean, 성별 공개 잔치.
It’s a Western trend where, after a pregnancy, you hold a small party to reveal the baby’s gender to family and friends.
“So basically, at a family gathering, we surprise everyone by revealing the baby’s gender.”
Usually blue means a boy, pink means a girl.
“You pop a balloon to release blue powder, or set off fireworks that emit pink smoke in the yard.”
“It sounds fun, but….”
What worries me is—
“You’re going to do that in front of the whole family?”
“Yes. Tomorrow is our family gathering anyway.”
“…Is that okay?”
I was seriously concerned.
They already looked down on her pregnancy.
If she calls it a party to publicly reveal gender, I’ll become public enemy number one.
“She’s run away from home—won’t that be a problem?”
“I’m twenty-four.”
She placed her hand confidently on her hip.
“And since we’re getting married, it’s not running away, it’s leaving home for good.”
……
The problem is they don’t see it that way.
To the blood relatives, it’ll look like the young, delicate youngest daughter was swept off her feet by some thirty-something man and ran away.
‘I might actually die….’
But Sia gently embraced me.
“It’ll be okay, don’t worry.”
She smiled softly.
“This time, everything will be resolved. Just trust me.”
Saturday. The grand mansion in Naegok-dong.
Dinner starts at 6:00 p.m.
Chairman Yoo always emerges exactly on time, so people usually arrive by 5:30 or 5:40 at the latest.
Today, too, the seats for Chairman Yoo’s five sons and his thirteen grandsons were already filled by around 5:50.
The problem was—
“Where’s Sia?”
“She still hasn’t come?”
“Is she really not coming?”
“Uncle, is Sia not coming?”
“…She isn’t answering my calls.”
“She’s even avoiding her own father?”
“What can you do when someone’s run away?”
“But she’s still coming to the office.”
“Work and this are separate. She knows to keep professional and personal apart….”
“That’s even crazier.”
At 5:58—only two minutes before the hour—there was still no sign of Yoo Sia.
They knew she was staying at Son Jin-seong’s place after running away, but they hadn’t expected her to skip a family event.
And finally at 6:00 sharp—
Bang.
The study door swung open as Chairman Yoo Jin-gap walked out.
All his descendants rose simultaneously.
“How has everyone been this past month?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Chairman Yoo sat and the others followed.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yes.”
No sooner had Chairman Yoo taken his first bite than—
“…One seat is empty?”
He immediately noticed the vacant chair.
“Well….”
“Where’s Sia?”
He didn’t need anyone to say it; he knew at once.
“She must have gone to the restroom?”
……
A cold silence fell. No one dared speak.
Chairman Yoo realized what had happened.
“She’s not here?”
……
A flush rose on Chairman Yoo’s face. In the Yoo family, missing a gathering was forbidden.
He could understand her running away under the guise of leaving home, and her tantrum about marriage.
But—
“I told her no matter what, she must attend this dinner.”
Unless it was a major overseas business trip or a national event, attendance was mandatory.
“She didn’t even inform us?”
“Yes.”
“In that case….”
Chairman Yoo’s anger surged. Even if she was his precious granddaughter, he had to address this.
But then—
Clatter.
A housemaid pushed a cart out from the kitchen.
“…!”
Everyone looked at her in surprise. The housemaid approached nervously.
First grandson, Managing Director Yoo Hyung-min, jumped up.
“Madam, I told you not to enter during dinner….”
“I know, I’m sorry. But she insisted I bring this out at this time.”
“Who?”
Chairman Yoo’s voice turned deadly quiet.
“Who said that?”
The housemaid lowered her head.
“The youngest lady.”
Flinch.
“Sia…?”
“Yes….”
The housemaid explained, shrinking in on herself.
“She brought it herself earlier today. She said to make sure you receive it at dinner.”
On the cart were two oversized cakes—enough for the entire Yoo clan to share and still have leftovers.
They sensed an ulterior motive. She was the only woman in this dour patriarchal household to host an event.
Managing Director Yoo Hyung-min spotted something on the cart.
“Ah, there’s a letter here.”
“A letter…?”
“Yes, I’ll check it.”
He scanned the letter without reading aloud and summarized.
“She says she sent the cake because she knew Grandpa would be angry if she came herself.”
“…Sent cake?”
Chairman Yoo wasn’t fond of sweets, yet both cakes were fresh cream cakes.
“This isn’t an ordinary cake.”
When Yoo Hyung-min said that, the other grandsons realized what it was.
“I think this is one of those gender reveal things.”
“Revealing the baby’s gender?”
“Yes.”
……
Silence.
“The letter says Grandpa is to cut the cake himself.”
“…What.”
Chairman Yoo shook his head.
“I’m not doing it.”
Yoo Hyung-min spoke again.
“I know you’ll refuse, but she still asked you to.”
“What?”
“She didn’t write for me—it’s in the letter.”
……
“It’s the only granddaughter’s final request.”
Chairman Yoo squeezed his eyes shut. To him, it felt like his granddaughter was protesting to force a marriage.
Her children would be predictably more grandchildren. Since she’s carrying twins, she probably hopes this event will win him over.
‘But it won’t work.’
Chairman Yoo never changed his mind once set.
However.
‘A final request…’
Those words stuck in his throat.
He exhaled heavily.
‘Even if I hate it, she’s still my blood….’
She’s already fifteen weeks along. If it were earlier, he might have considered other options. But now there’s no turning back. If the babies are healthy, they must be born.
‘At least they’ll take after Sia and be pretty….’
Yoo Hyung-min carefully handed him the cake knife.
“Let’s at least give it a try….”
Everyone’s hearts pounded. They feared Chairman Yoo might hack the cake to pieces.
“If it’s a boy, it’ll be blue; if it’s a girl, pink.”
“…Why such a predictable thing.”
Chairman Yoo didn’t even expect anything else.
‘If she’d met my expectations, she would be here in person.’
Her absence meant—
‘It must be a boy.’
He approached the first cake, which was decorated with the word 새싹 (Sprout).
Yet, determined to grant his granddaughter’s final request, he plunged the knife deep into the cake.
“Since it’s the chil….”
His words abruptly stopped. Through the whipped cream, a brilliant, bright color shimmered.
“Uh…?”
His eyes shot wide open.