What kind of gift would be best?
Giving him a house seemed unnecessary since, for all intents and purposes, they were already living together. Buying him a car didn’t seem quite right either, especially when they were always riding around in Gwak Seon-woo’s car anyway. Still, it might be good to have one just in case they ever needed to go somewhere separately.
As Seon-woo briefly imagined a car design that might suit Seung-hyeon, he frowned. Seung-hyeon was naturally frugal and never indulged in extravagance, so he wasn’t even sure if he’d drive it around properly, even if it were a gift.
Maybe clothing would be more appropriate—a shirt, or perhaps even a full suit.
But even that felt oddly insufficient. Clothes were something he could buy in bulk anytime, so calling that a “gift” seemed a little pathetic. And if he wanted to get him a proper tailored outfit rather than something off the rack, he’d have to measure his exact body size, which would ruin the element of surprise. Unless he secretly measured him during some sexy moment and placed a custom order…
What about a watch? Or maybe cologne? Actually, could he just give him all the things he’d thought of so far? Seung-hyeon was preparing a ring, for god’s sake—why should he hold back?
And so, Seon-woo reserved the movie tickets himself, ordered a cake, and picked out the gifts.
They were all small gestures, things he hadn’t done even once since taking on this body.
But when he thought of Seung-hyeon, who’d secretly wrapped thread around his finger, those little things just made him feel… happy.
***
Time flew like an arrow.
Carols were growing more frequent in the streets, and more and more buildings had tiny lights and trees on display. Before he knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived.
Seon-woo prepared to leave work early, mentally going over the day’s plan one more time.
Watch a movie.
Have dinner.
Share the cake he’d left at the restaurant.
Then give him the presents.
After that, they’d head home and spend all of tomorrow together. A textbook Christmas date.
Since it was their first Christmas as a couple, it felt safer to go with a proven formula rather than try anything untested.
But just as he was basking in excitement, he received some unwelcome news right before leaving work.
Secretary Park came in after knocking, his expression grave.
“Sir, the Chairman is calling for you.”
“The Chairman?”
If there were a list of people he least wanted to hear from today, Chairman Gwak would’ve easily ranked in the top three.
Even though he’d stepped back from the frontlines, he was still the Chairman.
He wasn’t dead, after all—so stripping him of the title and having his children fight over the position had been something he found disgraceful in front of others. That’s why he made the decision himself to step back.
Gwak Sang-gyeong and Gwak Sang-hwa had both agreed to it, so in practice, it was like a ceasefire until the old man actually died.
Still, the Chairman had kept his word.
Though he still held the title, he hadn’t interfered with the company at all since stepping back. Word was he holed himself up at the main house and spent his time enjoying various hobbies.
So why the hell was he summoning people the day before Christmas?
“Yes. He said it’s an extremely urgent and important matter, and asked if you could spare just a little of your time.”
He glanced down at his watch.
There were 2 hours and 20 minutes left until the movie started.
Seon-woo hesitated—though only for a moment. No matter how important the matter might be, he had absolutely no intention of breaking a promise he’d made with Gwak Seung-hyeon. Without much hesitation, Seon-woo gave his answer.
“Tell him today won’t work.”
Secretary Park looked clearly troubled, hesitating awkwardly. It was times like this that made it obvious he was still a rookie.
A more seasoned assistant would’ve replied with a simple, “Yes, understood,” no matter how awkward the request was. Still, it wasn’t exactly Park’s fault. Despite his competence, he hadn’t been Seon-woo’s secretary for long, and being summoned by the Chairman probably felt like a massive deal, enough to rattle him.
“It’s just… he insisted it has to be today. I told him you had prior plans, but… he said he’s already brought the car in front of the company.”
“…What?”
Even Seon-woo hadn’t expected the Chairman to be this pushy. His expression darkened the instant he heard that.
He hadn’t even given advance notice, and rather than calling him quietly, he just showed up outside the company building?
Had the old man finally lost his mind…?
He hated last-minute schedule changes.
Like Tetris, once one block went off, the entire arrangement could fall apart. But regardless of how long he’d been retired from the frontlines, the Chairman was still the Chairman—and more importantly, Seon-woo’s grandfather.
And truthfully, Seon-woo had sort of just stumbled into the role of “Chairman’s grandson” one day, entirely out of nowhere.
Even if he didn’t feel particularly filial toward the man, there were still a few guilty strings tugging at him. Which made it hard to completely ignore the situation.
Having already wrapped up work, he decided to at least head downstairs since the car was supposedly waiting outside.
There were still two hours left—enough time, hopefully, to at least find out what this was about.
In front of the company stood a sleek black sedan—anyone passing by would’ve done a double-take.
Next to it were two bulky bodyguards, their looming presence impossible to ignore.
With a sigh of irritation, Seon-woo strode straight toward them.
The guards bowed respectfully as he approached.
“Good evening, Director.”
“The Chairman is waiting for you.”
Two men in black suits and sunglasses—wasn’t this a little too stereotypical? And then they bowed low and invoked “The Chairman,” making the whole thing feel like something out of a gangster film.
Honestly, Seon-woo himself—dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit that probably cost as much as a luxury bag—didn’t exactly have a warm or approachable look either.
To anyone unaware of who they were, it would’ve looked like a mob meetup happening right in the middle of the street.
Keeping his voice cold and composed, Seon-woo asked,
“Is he inside?”
But he already had a bad feeling.
Come to think of it, Park had only said, “The car is here.” No one had said the Chairman himself was inside it.
Both Park and Seon-woo had naturally assumed he’d come in person—but it had just been clever wording.
“No, sir. The Chairman sent the car to bring you to him—”
“Tell him I have prior plans. If it’s necessary, he can reschedule.”
Still, the guard’s expression didn’t budge an inch.
“I’m only here to escort you, sir. I have no authority beyond that.”
No matter how many times he repeated himself, the response was always the same—like talking to a parrot.
In the end, Seon-woo realized he had no choice but to call the Chairman directly.
“Hello, Chairman.”
He made the call, and the Chairman picked up before the second ring had even finished.
Clearly, the old man was in a hurry. Without any pleasantries, he jumped straight into business.
— Seon-woo, my dear boy. Your old grandfather has something important to tell you.
“Is there a reason it absolutely has to be today?”
— Cough, cough! Ah, forgive me… Lately, I’ve been feeling strangely weak and chilly all the time… I’m not even sure I’ll make it to the end of the year…
Seon-woo stared blankly at his phone.
There was barely a week left in the year, and it was painfully obvious the old man was faking his cough.
Still, no matter how much he knew it was an act, it was hard to brush off a dying man’s plea—especially from an elder.
“Chairman, I really have plans toni—”
— Seon-woo. I’m actually at the hospital right now.
“…Excuse me?”
Wait—was he actually sick? Or was he just pretending to be hospitalized too? He couldn’t possibly be faking an entire hospital stay… could he?
If this were just a casual request, he could’ve refused outright. But if the man was lying in a hospital bed, it became a completely different situation.
— I won’t take up much of your time. I just wanted to see my grandson’s face before Christmas, that’s all.
There was no way to coldly cut him off when he said it like that.
It wasn’t as if the date with Seung-hyeon was happening right now either, which made it even harder to outright decline.
But saying he’d go tomorrow was also impossible—he was planning to spend the entire day with Seung-hyeon.
Getting interrupted on Christmas Day would be a nightmare.
He felt a twinge of guilt—but honestly, it wasn’t like this man was his real grandfather anyway.
This much effort should be more than enough to fulfill his duty.
“…All right. But I really can’t stay long. I’ll just stop by to say hello. Where are you?”
— Oh, such a good grandson. That’s exactly why I sent the car—go ahead and ride over.
He wasn’t always like this. Maybe retirement had made him lonely.
Just how isolated must he feel, to the point where he’d pretend to be hospitalized just to play the sick old man?
With a deep sigh, Seon-woo climbed into the waiting car.
It would take about 30 minutes to get to the hospital the Chairman frequented. If he stayed for 30 minutes and came back, that made roughly an hour and a half total.
He’d still make it on time.
Letting out another long sigh, Seon-woo gripped the phone in his pocket tightly.
It was time to call Seung-hyeon.
