The meeting was finally adjourned, and there were no more objections about Kim Eun-ji taking over from her father; they were too scared for that.
The room that used to be full of people with suits and grim faces now only had a father and daughter.
Kim Do-yun sat next to his daughter, and a feeling of pride rose in his chest; his little girl was truly sitting at the highest place in that company.
He felt anxious and played with the rings on his hand to try to ease the tension.
He and his daughter had a troubled relationship, and often the girl just seemed to put up with it. "How was the trip?"
The last time Eun-ji was inside that company must have been at least four years ago; since she decided to study in London, she didn't return even once. She lived isolated and completely alone in an unknown country.
Well, she really liked this feeling of not belonging, and it even sounded a bit like freedom to her.
A little bored, she replied to the old man; she was exhausted from all that traveling. "As expected, but I need to change my clothes..."
The man nodded a little awkwardly, and he remembered well the few requirements Eun-ji made to accept taking over the presidency of the family company.
First: she would live in her own house, and her parents would not visit her unannounced.
Second: she would not tolerate interference in her personal life.
Third: she would not work for her father.
Only these three requests were made, but they weighed tons, and yes, she was forcing everyone to accept their own wills and decisions to the point of asking her father to retire permanently so that she would accept taking care of the company.
"Well... We prepared an apartment for you since you don't want to live with us anymore… Since everything was done in a hurry, the renovation should be completed this week."
She nodded. "All good."
She finally got up and walked slowly towards the large window that lit the room; it was possible to see the entire city center in its landscape. She took a deep breath as if she was finally opening her own wings inside the cage.
It still wasn't enough for her to be able to fly, but she could at least move briefly.
Old Kim pulled her out of her deep thoughts.
"Did you hear what your brother did?"
Kim Eun-ji didn't feel interested in knowing what her idiot brother was doing wrong, although at some point or another she would finally have to be told in order to fix it, but it wasn't like she really cared.
"No, I don't really care."
Kim Do-yun sighed tiredly; his daughter was still the same. "You can't go on like this..."
Eunji was known for her aloof ways, and she didn't intend to change that. The world for her didn't seem to have many reasons for her to show any kind of reaction; everything always so boring and dull.
She turned away from the huge window and finally picked up her suitcase.
She stopped her steps just to briefly touch her father's shoulder and reassure him, "Well, I'm just doing my part of our deal."
He got up and walked to the door. "Your mom is waiting for you at home… Okay, you start work tomorrow."
"OK."
The door finally opened, and the girl left without even looking back.
It wasn't the old Kim's dream reunion, but what could he do?
Kim Eun-ji knew that with her apartment under renovation she would have only two options: go to her parents' house or to a hotel.
She opted for the second option.
Do-yun's secretary had already been informed of the need to get young Kim a driver.
In a few minutes after she left the meeting room, someone was already waiting for her at the door of the company building to be able to take her wherever she wanted.
The driver was temporary until she chose someone personally, but in the meantime, one of the Kim family's personal drivers was assigned to work exclusively for her.
As soon as Eun-ji arrived at the entrance, she saw the car waiting for her and unceremoniously walked towards it; her luggage was quickly stored, and she was already sitting comfortably.
The man's hands were shaking, and that made Eunji watch him for a few moments. Whatever... It's not like she wasn't used to people being afraid of her.
"Take me to the hotel closest to the company."
The man nodded obediently, and the car was soon in motion.
The young girl sighed tiredly, leaning back against her seat; she urgently needed to sleep.
She knew it wouldn't take more than ten minutes to reach the hotel; the closest hotel was the hotel that belonged to her family.
The Kim family ventured into multiple industries, and it was like a very simple philosophy of Mr. Kim: 'if there were people who needed a roof over their heads, then there was money.'
Hotel, restaurants, bars, houses, apartments, commercial buildings...
"Kim's" specialized in the real estate market, and it was Eunji who would take care of it, not the entire billionaire family empire.
Well, it wasn't like Eunji was emerging to save the motherland; in case it went down with that company, it wasn't like it was the end of the world.
It would just be extremely shameful and humiliating.
If you fail miserably and show up on your knees begging, you still have a place to work.
The Kim family owned everything, and even if the main company did go bankrupt, the family would not suffer very serious liquid damage.
But Kim's was definitely the start of it all, and Do-yun's enormous pride and that's what was most painful.
Whatever, the old man looked ready to do crazy things.
Eunji too.
In less than half an hour, Eun-ji was already soaking in the bathtub in her room and trying hard not to sleep.
A knock on the door followed, and she rubbed her eyes as she dragged herself into the bathroom, spilling water everywhere.
She put on a robe and went to answer it, innocently thinking it was the room service she had ordered, but what she found was a woman with a sulky face carrying a designer handbag and a diamond necklace. She sighed tiredly.
Kim Ha-yun had been married to Kim Do-yun for over 25 years, and she had accompanied him in every possible situation.
She married the man when she was in her twenties.
Eunji's birth was like a great gift in their lives; finally, she could have the pleasure of giving birth to her own daughter inside her... But why do things seem so complicated now? She often found herself wondering in her heart if Eunji could ever return to the sweet innocence of when she was born.
"Hi, Mom."
The woman didn't wait to be invited and went into the room; it sounded irritating to her to know that her daughter had returned and hadn't stopped by to see her.
She faced her daughter's room and sighed; she knew how methodical Eun-ji was with organization, and seeing how everything was just spread out showed her daughter's level of tiredness. The anger was gone in moments.
"I missed you."
The girl smiled gently and just sat on the edge of the bed to accompany her mother. "I'm just tired."
Mom Kim smiled ruefully. "Feeling ready to get started?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Hayun didn't want her daughter to falter.
The woman felt a slight twinge of despair knowing that her daughter would now be having to clean up Donghae's mess. "No, you must stand your ground... It's just that your father fears you'll be nervous..."
In other words: he doesn't trust you to be able to handle the company.
Eunji chuckled lightly and leaned into her arms as she briefly leaned back. "He doesn't seem to know me very well."
"You know, he just wants you to be okay…"
Eun-ji was tired of this topic and this conversation.
Do you want my good? Okay... I'll pretend I believe it.
Clear. Her parents wanted many things and her good might really be in the middle of the list.
She felt tired and bored.
Hayun noticed how her daughter was and couldn't contain the shame of having bothered her.
"Alright, you always want… What will happen to Dong-hae?"
Mom Kim was surprised that her daughter was showing any interest in her brother, and a twinge of happiness rose in her heart.
Of course, her children weren't perfect; Dong-hae had more flaws than anyone, but they were still her beloved children.
Thinking about her son Dong-hae was an ambiguous feeling; she and her husband were shamelessly betrayed by that girl in exchange for a few bucks. How could she forgive so easily?
"Your father has already removed him from the will, and it looks like there will be a criminal investigation."
"And where is he now?"
"Who knows, he hasn't contacted us since the scandal broke."
"I understand."
The embezzlement scandals were just the tip of the iceberg; Dong-hae was being cited in prostitution and drug trafficking cases. Really troublesome.
The police had been investigating him for some time.
Knocks on the door were present, and finally, room service arrived with Eun-ji's dinner. Mom Kim would not bother her anymore, and while the young waiter served the dishes, she said goodbye to her daughter with a loving hug.