For two agonizing seconds, Chairman Kang stood in the center of the marble foyer like an ancient, immovable mountain. He raised a single, stern finger, adjusting his signet ring as he drew a breath to launch into what promised to be a legendary, corporate-grade lecture about discipline and filial duty. "I have spent thirty years building Kang Shipping into an empire," the Chairman began, his voice echoing with deep, thunderous gravity, "only to return and find my four sons running around the Pacific like—" "Oh, sit down, Kang Sun-woo, and stop barking at the children before you give yourself another bout of acid reflux." The sentence was delivered in a crisp, razor-sharp tone that cut through the Chairman's booming voice like a hot knife through butter. Chairman Kang froze mid-breath. His towering posture visibly wilted, his raised finger hovering awkwardly in the air before slowly dropping back to his side. He cleared his throat, his terrifying aura deflating so fast it was almost comical. "Darling," the Chairman muttered, his voice dropping three octaves into a meek, cautious tone as he glanced back over his shoulder. "I was merely establishing an appropriate domestic hierarchy—" "You were making a scene after an eleven-hour flight because your lumbar support pillow was missing," Mrs. Kang replied smoothly, stepping past her husband with an air of absolute, effortless dominance. She was a vision of severe, high-fashion elegance, wrapped in a silk trench coat with her silver-streaked hair swept back into an immaculate bun. She didn't even look at her husband as she brushed past him, but Chairman Kang instinctively took a small step backward, holding her designer handbag with both hands like a dutiful butler. Do-hyun let out a tiny, stifled squeak, quickly clapping both hands over his mouth to suppress a wild laugh. Min-jun’s shoulders visibly relaxed by two inches, while Ji-ho made a quick, silent note on his tablet regarding the immediate shift in family power dynamics. Mrs. Kang walked directly up to Ji-won, completely ignoring her elder three sons. Her sharp, analytical eyes swept over Ji-won’s face, taking in his brightened complexion, the slight weight he had gained, and the cozy cashmere scarf wrapped around his neck. For a terrifying second, Ji-won held his breath, remembering the cold, distant woman who hadn't even called him on his birthday in his first life. Slowly, Mrs. Kang reached out. Instead of a cold reprimand, her soft, ring-adorned hand gently cupped Ji-won’s cheek, her thumb wiping away a tiny speck of dust near his collarbone. "You look much better than you did in those miserable medical reports from June," she murmured softly, her sharp expression softening into something genuinely warm. She glanced over her shoulder at her husband, her gaze sharpening to ice once more. "Sun-woo, why are you still standing there with my bag? Have the kitchen prepare a hot ginger tea for Ji-won immediately. He’s been in the air for hours." "Right away, my love," Chairman Kang replied instantly, practically jogging toward the kitchen hallway with his wife's thousand-dollar purse tucked tightly under his arm. Do-hyun finally lost the battle, letting out a loud snort of laughter before quickly turning it into a cough as his mother turned her sharp gaze onto the rest of them. "As for you three," Mrs. Kang said, looking at Min-jun, Do-hyun, and Ji-ho, "I hear you spent half the trip hiding behind palm trees in terrible disguises." Min-jun’s jaw tightened, a rare, faint blush creeping up his neck. "Mother, we were maintaining a protective perimeter—" "You were embarrassing the family," she corrected crisply, though a small, fond smirk played at the corner of her crimson lips. She turned back to Ji-won, patting his shoulder gently. "Go upstairs and rest, Ji-won-ah. Your father and I are staying for the month. Nobody is going to bother you in this house—I've already doubled the perimeter guards and fired your brother's useless head of security." Ji-won blinked, a warm, incredulous smile slowly spreading across his face as he looked at his formidable mother, his HENPECKED father muttering orders in the kitchen, and his three brothers standing awkwardly in the foyer. The house wasn't a cold prison anymore. It was chaotic, terrifying, and deeply weird—and for the first time, Ji-won felt completely, totally safe.

Chapter 25: The True Authority