Ashes of Indulgence

The atmosphere in the Kang household was thick with tension. For weeks now, Ji-Na had been pushing for the CEO position, presenting her case to their father with every ounce of confidence she had. She believed, with absolute certainty, that she was the right choice. She had the experience, the charm, and the social connections—everything that Seung-Hyun admired. It was a familiar script to the family, one that they had been playing out for years.

But this time, there was a shift. Ji-Na's confidence faltered as the family slowly began to realize that Jaemin, their once-failure of a son, was not just doing well in his role as the director of Mirae Group. He was excelling. He was performing tasks with a precision that seemed impossible. It wasn't just the work itself; it was his ability to anticipate problems before they arose, to devise solutions in a way that no one else could. He had become a shadow in the boardroom, a force to be reckoned with—one that no one had expected.

Seung-Hyun had always been cold, calculating. He saw in Jaemin what he never had before: drive. The same cold, relentless pursuit of perfection that had made him successful in his own business dealings. He saw Jaemin's efforts not as a sign of desperation, but as a mark of his self-discipline.

And now, Seung-Hyun had made a decision.

Jaemin was the heir.

The family gathered in the lavish dining room, the same room where discussions of business and future had always been held. The room was a stage, and they were all playing their parts. But today, the script was about to change.

Ji-Na sat at the head of the table, her expression a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. She had heard rumors of Jaemin's rise, his sudden appearance as a contender for the position, but it felt like a cruel joke. How could he, the same man who had been absent for so long, the same man who had stumbled and faltered in every area of his life, suddenly be a threat to everything she had worked for?

"Father, you can't seriously be considering him for the position," Ji-Na said, her voice laced with frustration. "He's been out of the picture for years. I've been the one holding this family together, making connections, learning the ins and outs of the business. Jaemin has no place leading Mirae Group."

Seung-Hyun didn't look up from his papers. His expression remained impassive, but there was a quiet steel to his tone as he spoke.

"Jaemin's work has shown more than your years of effort," he said, his voice unwavering. "It's not about connections, Ji-Na. It's about results. And Jaemin's results are indisputable."

Ji-Na's eyes flashed with anger. "You can't seriously be telling me this is a matter of results. He's been gone, doing who knows what, and now you're just going to give him everything?"

Jaemin sat silently at the table, his gaze steady. He hadn't said a word in this entire exchange. His presence alone seemed to speak volumes. In the past, he would have been the one to back down, the one to apologize and step aside. But today, there was no sign of weakness. No hesitation. His transformation, both physical and mental, had been painstaking, and this moment was the culmination of everything he had worked for.

Sitting at the table, Ji-Ho, who had been slouched over his phone, gaming as usual, remained uninterested in the conversation. To him, this drama between his older siblings meant nothing. All he cared about was his next game. But the scene around him had begun to shift. It wasn't just about business anymore. It was about family, about control, and about the consequences of pushing others too far.

Later that evening, the tension lingered in the house. Ji-Na had stormed off, furious, leaving her father's office with her dignity bruised but not shattered. Seung-Hyun, however, seemed distant, his mind clearly occupied with the decision he had made. Jaemin, having already proven himself, was the future of Mirae Group—whether his family accepted it or not.

Ji-Ho, as expected, was still gaming, his eyes glued to the screen as if the world outside his virtual world no longer mattered. His indifference to the whole situation had, over time, become almost predictable. He wasn't interested in the power struggles, the endless business talks, or even the fallout from the day's events. He simply wanted to escape into his games.

However, Jaemin, though a new version of himself—cold and calculated—had changed too. Where once he might have reprimanded Ji-Ho for his lack of ambition, for his detachment from family matters, now Jaemin simply observed him from the doorway. Ji-Ho wasn't his problem. If Ji-Ho wanted to bury his head in his games, Jaemin wasn't going to force him out.

The contrast between Ji-Na's insistence on control and Jaemin's quiet command was stark. Jaemin had let Ji-Ho be. He knew that not everyone could—or should—be forced to fit into the mold of ambition and responsibility. If Ji-Ho wanted to waste his life on games, Jaemin had no intention of pushing him into something he didn't want. Unlike Ji-Na, who fought tooth and nail to prove herself, Jaemin understood the weight of pushing someone into a life they didn't choose.

It was a subtle change in perspective, one that had been born from his years of reflection. He wasn't his father. He wasn't going to push Ji-Ho, not in the same way Ji-Na had always been pushed. And the family would learn, in time, that it was the subtlety of Jaemin's choices that made him so powerful.

As the family dynamics continued to evolve, the true cost of their actions began to reveal itself. Ji-Na would continue to fight for control, her sense of entitlement eating away at her. Ji-Ho would remain disconnected, choosing to immerse himself in distractions rather than facing the future. And Jaemin, now standing at the pinnacle, would lead them all—not through force, but through quiet strength, showing them that sometimes, the greatest power came from restraint, from knowing when to act and when to let others find their own way.

Jaemin had proven that he was ready. And now, it was only a matter of time before they all realized that the quiet one had become the king.