TGCBGA 02
I have to act as ‘Yoo Yeon-seo.’
“Father, he’s a patient.”
“Patient my foot! He’s looking right at us with both eyes wide open!”
As the old man shouted in a loud voice, the middle-aged man tried to soothe him while glancing at Yoo Yeon-seo. An expression of worry for him was clear on his face.
“Father. The attending physician told you to watch your blood pressure. Please calm down and speak.”
“Why should I calm down!”
Seeing his son wrapped tightly in bandages, the father, Vice Chairman Yoo Geon-min, was overcome with emotion and pulled a tearful face. His son, who had been diagnosed with the risk of becoming a vegetable, was safely awake, yet he felt pathetic that his first concern had to be reading his father, Chairman Yoo’s, mood.
“Oh, please stop. Our Yeon-seo, your grandson, okay? He nearly died. He just woke up; what good does it do to yell at him the moment you see him?”
“That… Ahem.”
Judging by his words, he must be this body’s father, which would make the old man the paternal grandfather. Kang Jin-hu, now Yoo Yeon-seo, observed them silently.
A young man who had been standing quietly next to the old man approached Yoo Yeon-seo and sat down beside him.
“You’re conscious. That’s a relief.”
Then this person must clearly be a sibling. Given his casual way of speaking, is he the older brother?
Yoo Yeon-seo’s guess was correct. He was Yoo Yeon-seo’s older brother, Yoo Eun-ho, the youngest executive director of Joosung Group and the third-generation heir who would succeed the Vice Chairman.
“…You.”
As Yoo Yeon-seo just stared blankly without saying anything, Yoo Eun-ho grew anxious, worried that something was wrong, and his face quickly darkened.
Yoo Yeon-seo bit his lower lip, flustered. Would a close relative notice Yoo Yeon-seo’s change? A time traveler must not let others detect their transformation.
<Hello, Master. I am Beta-9. It seems you are in a difficult situation. Would you like to activate [Automatic Action Mode] based on the body’s big data?>
<However, this may cause an overload on the body. This will be accompanied by pain.>
It was vital to escape this situation first. Yoo Yeon-seo nodded his head slightly.
<[Automatic Action Mode] accepted.>
<Setting the system to automatically turn off if the body’s limits are exceeded.>
“…I’m conducting myself properly.”
“W-What did you say?”
Yoo Yeon-seo immediately retorted to the old man. The old man, whose heart had softened a little due to Yoo Geon-min’s desperate pleading, flushed again.
“Yeon-seo. Why are you acting like this again…”
It seemed this wasn’t the first time he’d talked back, as his father, Vice Chairman Yoo Geon-min, sighed deeply, looking distressed.
‘Looks like he held a lot of resentment toward the old man?’
Weren’t people in this era generally respectful to their elders? The body owner’s personality must be quite something, too. Yoo Yeon-seo was also inwardly surprised, but his mouth, which others called the ‘Calamity Mouth,’ did not stop.
“You said it wouldn’t matter what I did if I just quit ‘that silly entertainer job!’”
“You, you are talking back to your grandpa right now!”
Chairman Yoo roared. Yoo Yeon-seo didn’t back down. He sprang up and shouted, stumbling from the momentum. His brother, Yoo Eun-ho, quickly grabbed Yoo Yeon-seo’s shoulder to support him.
“You should have been satisfied after pressuring my agency and forcing me to leave the team!”
Yoo Yeon-seo’s eyes turned red, and a single tear dropped.
“I even entered Korea University, just as Grandpa wished. But you weren’t satisfied, so you forcibly shaved my head and made me go to the military! What fault are you trying to find this time!”
“Yeon-seo. Calm down.”
Chairman Yoo, who looked ready to charge, was restrained by Yoo Geon-min, and Yoo Eun-ho pressed his temples, looking tired. Whenever Chairman Yoo couldn’t control his difficult temper and yelled, Yoo Yeon-seo would fight back without yielding. Yoo Geon-min and Yoo Eun-ho were the ones who suffered the most.
“Yes! I told you to quit that entertainer nonsense, go to college, study, and work for the company! And now what? An actor?”
“So I quit that entertainer nonsense; that should have been enough! I’ve been acting for years, and Grandpa never cared, so why did you suddenly show up here now?”
“That’s because you caused an accident…!”
“And was the accident my fault? Why are you telling me to conduct myself properly the moment you see me? Is it that hard to ask if my body is okay?!”
Yoo Yeon-seo was internally experiencing the emotions the original body owner must have felt. They were varied: resentment and anger towards the grandfather who blocked his path, the desire to be acknowledged, and even a fleeting feeling of joy that his grandfather had come to see him.
‘Despite talking like this, he seems to quite like his grandfather?’
But did he really have to get angry? It looked like the old man was worried about his grandson and acting this way; Yoo Yeon-seo felt regretful that they couldn’t just talk things out nicely. That was because when he was Kang Jin-hu, he lived without knowing what family affection was.
“That, that worthless brat.”
“Grandfather, let’s just go home today. Yeon-seo just regained consciousness and is probably disoriented.”
As Chairman Yoo’s face turned bright red and he was unable to speak, Yoo Eun-ho helped his grandfather. He stared at Yoo Yeon-seo with a reproachful look.
“Yoo Yeon-seo, stop talking back to Grandpa. Even if he speaks like this, it was Grandpa who gave you a chance.”
“Eun-ho. Stop that.”
Chairman Yoo urgently called out to Yoo Eun-ho. The feeling of being startled when a truth he didn’t want revealed was exposed. Yoo Yeon-seo looked shocked. The confusion in his emotions was fully felt.
“Then, all of that was…”
Seeing Yoo Yeon-seo’s crestfallen expression, Chairman Yoo cleared his throat.
“Ahem, since you woke up, that’s enough.”
“Grandpa.”
Yoo Yeon-seo called out, but Chairman Yoo turned his back without hesitation and left the hospital room.
Yoo Geon-min, who had been watching for an opening, pushed Yoo Yeon-seo’s messy bangs back. It was a loving touch, but the current Yoo Yeon-seo was unfamiliar with it.
“Son, I’ll come back later. I’m truly glad you woke up.”
“Vice Chairman! Follow me!”
“Yes, yes. I’m coming, Father.”
Yoo Eun-ho, the last one remaining, guided the standing Yoo Yeon-seo to sit on the bed.
“I’ll take care of all the work, so you just focus on recovering.”
“…”
“Make sure you apologize to Grandpa later.”
“…Yeah.”
When Yoo Yeon-seo reluctantly replied, Yoo Eun-ho lightly patted his shoulder.
When the three left, the hospital room quickly became quiet.
<[Automatic Action Mode] deactivated.>
Yoo Yeon-seo, lying comfortably on the bed, frowned. A sharp ringing beep filled his ears, and his head was dizzy. It was a side effect of the automatic action mode.
‘How long has it been since I felt this kind of pain?’
It was a sensation unimaginable when he was Kang Jin-hu. He had been configured not to feel pain even before he was born.
“Yoo Yeon-seo, you…”
Someone whined and crawled out from under the bed of the pensive Yoo Yeon-seo.
Yoo Yeon-seo gasped in surprise. To not even notice a presence this close… Realizing that he truly was in a different body, he sat up.
“You! Who are you!”
“Who are you? Why are you coming out from there?”
A man who suddenly crawls out from under the bed, shouts loudly, and points an accusatory finger. Judging by his face, he looked younger than Yoo Eun-ho. Then, is he the same age as this body?
“You told me to hide here so the old man wouldn’t catch me! Why are you suddenly pretending not to know me!”
The man yelled fiercely.
That’s strange. I haven’t been awake in Yoo Yeon-seo’s body for long… Yoo Yeon-seo frowned.
<There was interference from the original body during the transplant. Retrying.>
He recalled the words of the dimensional transfer manager, Alpha-13, when he was being moved into this body. Could that interference be… that the original body owner woke up momentarily? And that’s why his family and this man came after being notified that he had awakened?
<Yes, that is correct. The original body’s soul caused temporary confusion during the transplant.>
<In the original history, Yoo Yeon-seo was confirmed to have died instantly at the scene of the traffic accident at 19:04 on March 20, 2018.>
<The current time is 14:59 on April 7, 2018.>
Beta-9, reading his thoughts, answered in a monotonous voice.
“Hey, just go now. Stop shouting.”
He didn’t know what relationship he had with this body, but he didn’t have the clarity of mind to deal with him. His vision was blurring. If he were to turn on the automatic action mode again in this condition, it would put a significant strain on the body.
Yoo Yeon-seo waved his hand dismissively. At that moment, blood dripped heavily from his nose.
“You, you’re bleeding.”
The man hesitated in surprise, then pulled a large amount of tissue from the table and handed it to Yoo Yeon-seo. Yoo Yeon-seo took it and pressed it firmly against his nose. It was quite a lot of blood for a brief nosebleed. The man fidgeted nervously.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry, but could you please just leave? I’m telling you this a second time.”
He was stressed to death, and the constant talking next to him was as irritating as a mosquito flying around.
The man’s eyes widened in surprise. That Yoo Yeon-seo, who only thought of himself, apologized…! He must be really sick!
“Okay…”
The man tried to argue, but Yoo Yeon-seo’s condition seemed serious. He turned to leave.
“Wait, let me ask you one thing before you go.”
The man, who had taken a step towards the door, sighed heavily. After deliberating for a long time on whether to say it or not, he began.
“You leaving our team… was it because of your grandfather?”
“…”
“Because Chairman Yoo… hated you being an idol?”
The man had unintentionally overheard the conversation between Yoo Yeon-seo and Chairman Yoo Chang-ho. The “team” mentioned when they said the chairman ‘made him leave the group’ was the idol group he belonged to.
Yoo Yeon-seo couldn’t say anything. He had no information about this body. But the man, who took the silence as confirmation, wore a complicated expression.
“I see… I’ll go now. Take care of yourself.”
The man walked away slowly. The hospital room door closed gently.
“Who was he…”
Dealing with his family immediately after waking up was overwhelming, and now having to deal with this strange guy, who was either a friend or an enemy, felt like a storm had passed.
“What should I do now…”
He was now Yoo Yeon-seo, not Kang Jin-hu. In the peaceful 2018…
Who was Yoo Yeon-seo? What kind of life did he live?
‘I need information about this body…’
The first step to adapting to this world. I have to act as ‘Yoo Yeon-seo.’
‘Before that, I need to sleep…’
Yoo Yeon-seo, who was barely holding onto his consciousness, collapsed onto the bed.
The third-generation of the Joosung Group left Yoo Yeon-seo’s hospital room, surrounded by bodyguards, and headed for the parking lot. People nearby were whispering.
“…The doctor said it was a miracle.”
Yoo Eun-ho spoke quietly in the silence.
“Yeon-seo must have been happy to see your face, Grandfather.”
“Eun-ho, don’t shield your brother too much. You’ll spoil him.”
“It’s precisely because he’s my brother. As his older brother, I know his heart better than you, Grandfather.”
The content was affectionate, but the tone was composed. Chairman Yoo Chang-ho paused for a moment and looked at Yoo Eun-ho.
“I will bring him to see you once he recovers. So, please don’t just be angry, Grandfather.”
“…Very well.”
The youngest executive director didn’t get the position merely from the influence of the Yoo family. He showed outstanding business acumen, an instinct for reading the current trends, and the composure of a shrewd businessman, yet he was thoughtful when it came to family matters. Pride for his eldest grandson made Yoo Chang-ho feel more at ease.
“That’s right, Father. Let’s let our Yeon-seo do what he wants.”
He liked his eldest grandson, but his son, Yoo Geon-min, fell far short of his expectations. He was good at company work, but he had too much sentimentality.
“A man who can’t even protect his own family has a lot to say.”
Chairman Yoo made a clicking sound with his tongue and got into the car.
The ‘own family’ Chairman Yoo referred to was not Yoo Yeon-seo. Yoo Geon-min, left behind, looked hurt and tearful. Yoo Eun-ho patted his father’s back and led him to his own car.
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