Chapter 109.1

Chapter 109.1

James stared blankly at André for a moment, his mouth slightly open, before his eyes flicked with quick calculation.

The Lafayette–Lowell Department Store had originally been part of Grace Lowell’s dowry. Even if the subsidiary were split off, André would remain the largest shareholder. If he was offering to hand over part of his stake, it meant he intended to step back from the retail business and focus on the hotel and real estate divisions instead.

But the logic didn’t quite add up.

Why would someone holding such a strong position willingly sacrifice the department store?

Sure, the shares owned by Mars Investment and the Lowell family must have been a thorn in his side, but even so, with time, an internal audit or legal dispute could have dragged out the merger until it fell apart naturally.

As if reading his thoughts, André gave a faint, crooked smile.

[Gordon and Joseph won’t be able to avoid prosecution. You, at least, should try to survive, shouldn’t you?]

Then he added, his tone sharp and deliberate.

[You should be grateful I want this settled quickly and quietly. If those documents are made public at the shareholders’ meeting, the scandal will explode. The stock price will crash, and the company will be buried in filth.]

André stood and glanced at his watch.

[Tomorrow at six. If I don’t hear from you by then, I’ll present the evidence at the shareholders’ meeting. You might have the upper hand in the proxy battle, but once this comes out, you won’t be able to hold your position.]

He took a step toward the door, then turned back, his voice calm but cold.

[And if you intend to push ahead with the hostile takeover, then know this: the moment you do, you and your family will start your free fall. I swear it on the name of Grace Lowell, the woman you betrayed.]

James said nothing, frozen like a statue with the papers clutched in his hand.

Behind him, the ice in the glass of whiskey cracked and split with a brittle sound as André left the lounge.

—

Miran always tagged along whenever Juran went to the hospital.

At first, Juran waved her off, insisting there was no need for her to come, but after going through a few tests, those protests stopped altogether. She tried hard not to show how drained she was, but after each exam she looked pale and weak, barely able to move without Miran’s help.

“See? What were you going to do on your own?”

“You’re right. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Miran.”

The nurses referred to Miran as “Ms. Kang Juran’s guardian.” Every time she heard it, her nose stung and her chest tightened with gratitude that she’d come back from New York. Juran had spent her whole life protecting her; now it was Miran’s turn.

The MRI and CT results showed that, fortunately, the cancer hadn’t spread. The surgery was scheduled for November 8, about two months later.

Though the final results would depend on the surgery, the doctors said the tumor was still at stage one and quite small, so if they could remove it cleanly, Juran might not even need radiation treatment. Overwhelmed with relief, mother and daughter held each other and cried.

Even while waiting for surgery, Juran went to work every day. Miran, meanwhile, went back to her part-time job at the hotel café and also enrolled in a flight attendant academy.

When she took a practice TOEIC exam, she scored 590—far above the 500-point cutoff for most airlines. Miran was stunned, and Juran was overjoyed.

“I wasn’t sure three months abroad would make a difference, but it paid off! See, Miran? It’s not that you can’t study! You just don’t!”

Things seemed to be falling into place. Right after she got her score, a new flight attendant recruitment notice was posted. Miran hurried to submit her application before the deadline.

The path to becoming a flight attendant was long and tough. After passing the document screening, candidates faced the first round of interviews with company staff, followed by personality and physical assessments. Those who passed would move on to the final interview with the executive panel.

And even that wasn’t the end. The remaining candidates underwent physical fitness and medical tests, a process that took about two months. Those selected would start training and begin work in January 1997.

Miran was confident she could handle everything except the English interview. According to her instructor, the interviewers had a set list of questions, and each answer only needed to last about thirty seconds. If she memorized them well, she’d be fine.