Chapter 48: Game of Power

The tension in the air was thick, but before Seo-woo could take action, Ms. Park, the brave young female employee, stood her ground against Madam Hwang.

"Madam, our store serves all customers, regardless of their status," Ms. Park said firmly, her voice steady but polite. "This young man was the first one I approached. It would be rude of me to abandon my first customer just because someone else walked in."

Madam Hwang's face twisted in displeasure.

"Dumb and naïve," she spat. "People like you will never succeed if you keep treating peasants as if they matter."

Seo-woo's fingers twitched. He had seen his fair share of arrogant, self-entitled people, but Madam Hwang? She was in a league of her own.

Before he could say anything, another young female employee—one Seo-woo immediately recognized as an ass-kisser—hurried over.

"Madam Hwang!" she gushed, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "How wonderful to see you again! Oh my, that necklace is gorgeous! Did you get it in Paris? You have such refined taste!"

Madam Hwang's expression shifted into one of smug satisfaction.

"Of course," she preened. "Unlike these low-class nobodies, I know quality when I see it."

The ass-kissing employee cast a mocking glance toward Ms. Park, subtly rolling her eyes at her co-worker's "foolishness."

Seo-woo simply observed, arms crossed, as Ms. Park remained composed, though her hands were clenched at her sides.

"Interesting," Seo-woo thought. "So the store is divided. One employee has principles, and the other is a social-climbing snake."

With a small nod of appreciation to Ms. Park, Seo-woo decided to ignore the drama for now and focus on shopping.

"Please bring us some catalogs," he requested politely. "I'd like to see the full range of clothing options before making any decisions."

Ms. Park perked up, grateful for the chance to prove herself, and quickly retrieved several catalogs from the back.

The triplets, who had not yet moved on from the earlier insult, sat beside their father as they flipped through the pages for a good twenty minutes.

As Seo-woo and his sons quietly browsed the catalogs, Madam Hwang's loud, grating voice echoed through the store.

"Hah! What a pretender," she sneered, swiping her credit card at the cashier to pay for exorbitantly expensive clothes. "Spending all that time looking at catalogs as if he can actually afford anything. People like that are just trying to act rich."

Seo-woo's fingers drummed against the table as he took a slow, deep breath.

"Calm down. Don't get worked up over an old hag," he told himself.

But he knew he couldn't just let this go.

"I need to think of the best way to teach this woman a lesson. A way that will really make her regret opening her mouth."

And then, the opportunity presented itself.

Madam Hwang's son, standing proudly beside her, suddenly puffed out his chest and boastfully declared to the room,

"My dad is the General Manager of Ryu Engineering & Construction!"

Seo-woo's eyebrow lifted slightly.

"Oh? Now this is interesting."

Then, Seo-min, who had zero self-control, recklessly blurted out,

"So what?! My uncle is the Vice President of Ryu Engineering & Construction!"

Madam Hwang's son snorted loudly.

"Liar!" he taunted, his smug little face twisted in amusement. "You? Related to someone that important? You're just a dirty little beggar!"

Then, before anyone could react, the boy pushed Seo-min—hard.

Seo-min stumbled backward and landed on the floor, his palms scraping against the polished tile.

The triplets' gasps filled the air.

Seo-woo's eyes darkened.

Seo-min, always the loudest and most playful, was completely silent.

But Seo-jun and Seo-jin were not.

Without hesitation, both twins lunged forward, pushing Madam Hwang's son back.

The boy yelped in shock and tumbled backward onto the floor, but before his back even hit the ground, he was already screaming in fake pain.

"WAAAHHHH!" he wailed, flailing dramatically. "They're bullying me! I'M INJURED!"

The entire store turned to watch.

Madam Hwang's face turned red with fury.

"How DARE you touch my son?!" she shrieked.

Before Seo-woo could open his mouth, she whipped out her phone and dialed a number with shaking hands.

"I'm calling my husband! He's on the second floor—he'll take care of you all!" she snapped, her nostrils flaring in rage.

Seo-woo tilted his head, his lips curled into a slow smile.

"Oh, this just got a lot more fun."

The tension in the store was suffocating.

Ms. Park, the young employee with a sense of justice, stood frozen in place, panic flashing in her eyes. She wrung her hands together, unsure of how to de-escalate the growing conflict.

Meanwhile, her co-worker, Ms. Jung—the shameless ass-kisser—smirked as she turned to her.

"See? I told you, Park Ae-ri," she sneered, arms crossed. "If you had just served Madam Hwang first, none of this would have happened. Now look at you—getting yourself into trouble for siding with the wrong people."

Ms. Park bit her lip, feeling trapped between doing the right thing and the growing mess unfolding in front of her.

She wanted to apologize to Madam Hwang just to pacify the situation, but before she could open her mouth, Seo-woo suddenly spoke up.

"There's no need for that," he said smoothly, his voice eerily calm. "I'll handle this peacefully."

And then, he smiled.

Ms. Park felt a shiver run down her spine.

She had a feeling that when Seo-woo smiled like that, peacefully didn't mean quietly.

Five minutes later, the doors to Mermaid's Tear swung open, and a stocky middle-aged man stormed inside, his face twisted in anger.

Hwang Man-shik, General Manager of Ryu Engineering & Construction, had arrived.

"Dal-rae!" he called out, marching toward his wife, his expression a mix of frustration and concern. "What happened? I was just about to win in the casino when you called me twenty times. You distracted me!"

Madam Hwang—Oh Dal-rae—rushed to her husband's side, clutching his arm dramatically.

"Man-shik honey!" she wailed, pointing an accusatory finger at Seo-woo and the triplets. "Our poor son was bullied by these lowlifes!"

Hwang Man-shik's eyes darkened, and he turned sharply to Seo-woo.

"You!" he barked, stepping closer to him. "Why didn't you teach your kids proper behavior?!"

Seo-woo remained completely unfazed, hands tucked into his pockets as he tilted his head slightly, watching the furious man before him with a lazy, unimpressed gaze.

Before Seo-woo could respond, Seo-jun—the eldest of the triplets—stepped forward.

"Ahjussi," Seo-jun said, his small voice surprisingly firm. "Your son was the one who pushed my younger brother first."

Hwang Man-shik faltered for a split second.

He cleared his throat loudly, feigning confidence, but just as he was about to deny it, his own son—the arrogant little brat—opened his mouth.

"No, Daddy, I was pushed by the two of them!" he whined, pointing at Seo-jin and Seo-jun.

Hwang Man-shik's face twitched.

"This little—" Seo-woo almost laughed.

Hwang Man-shik gritted his teeth and turned back to Seo-woo, choosing to completely ignore his own son's obvious contradiction.

"Regardless, your children should learn to be respectful!" he snapped.

Seo-woo finally sighed and shook his head, as if he had finally lost his patience.

Then, he asked a single question—his voice casual, almost bored.

"General Manager Hwang, why are you here?"

The sudden shift in conversation caught Hwang Man-shik off guard.

"What?!" he barked.

"Why are you here?" Seo-woo repeated, his calm tone unwavering. "Aren't you supposed to be at work? If I recall correctly, Ryu Engineering & Construction employees are very busy during office hours."

Hwang Man-shik's face stiffened.

"That has nothing to do with—"

Before he could finish, Seo-woo pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and dialed a number.

Calling Ryu Jung-woo

The phone rang only once before it was answered.

"Hyung?" came the voice of Ryu Jung-woo, the Vice President of Ryu Engineering & Construction—and Seo-woo's younger brother.

"Vice President Ryu Jung-woo," Seo-woo greeted smoothly.

On the other end, Jung-woo immediately sensed something was wrong.

"What's up? You never call during the day. Did something happen? And why did you call me like that, just call me by my name, hyung."

"Not much," Seo-woo replied lightly. "I'm at the mall with my kids, buying some clothes. But I ran into some arrogant people."

Jung-woo paused.

"Define 'arrogant,'" he asked, his voice already turning sharp.

"Oh, just some people calling me and my kids peasants and assuming we'd steal from a store," Seo-woo mused, his smile sharp. "But that's not the most interesting part. Apparently, there's a child here who proudly announced that his father is the General Manager of your company."

Jung-woo immediately understood.

"Wait—what's his name?"

"Hwang Man-shik," Seo-woo said smoothly.

Jung-woo scowled.

"Hold on," Jung-woo said. "I'll check."

On the other side of the call, Jung-woo waved his assistant over.

"Find out if there's a General Manager named Hwang Man-shik in our company," he ordered.

His assistant nodded and quickly went through the company records.

Two minutes later, the answer came back.

"Confirmed. There is a General Manager of the Finance & Accounting Department named Hwang Man-shik."

Jung-woo huffed in irritation.

"Alright, so the guy is real. But why is he at the mall during work hours?"

Seo-woo's smile widened.

"Good question. Want to find out?"

Jung-woo turned to his assistant.

"Call him. Now."

The assistant immediately dialed Hwang Man-shik's company number.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Until—

"Hello?" a nervous voice answered.

The assistant didn't hesitate.

"General Manager Hwang, where are you? The Vice President is looking for you."

There was a long pause.

Then, Hwang Man-shik's voice sounded forced.

"Oh, I—I just stepped out to get coffee," he stammered.

"I see. How long ago?"

"Uh... twenty minutes ago?"

The assistant turned to Jung-woo.

"Sir, he claimed he left to buy coffee twenty minutes ago."

Jung-woo's expression darkened.

"And has he returned?"

"No, sir. Not yet."

Jung-woo's jaw clenched.

"Interesting."

Seo-woo chuckled as he listened to the exchange.

Then, he turned to Hwang Man-shik—who was sweating bullets—and spoke softly, yet dangerously.

General Manager Hwang's mind raced.

No. No way. This must be a mistake. This man—this young father—he couldn't possibly be...

Sweat gathered at his temples as he turned stiffly toward Seo-woo.

His throat felt dry.

"W-what... w-what relationship do you have with the Vice President?" he stammered, his voice losing all the bravado from earlier.

Seo-woo, still standing calmly, with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, didn't even bother to answer directly.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze flickering toward Hwang Man-shik's son, who was still pouting arrogantly despite his father's sudden nervousness.

"Maybe you should ask your son," Seo-woo said, voice laced with amusement.

Hwang Man-shik's brows furrowed, and he immediately crouched down to his son's level.

"What did he say to you?" he asked, his tone low and tense.

His son—still too naïve to understand the growing storm in his father's eyes—huffed and crossed his arms.

"That beggar kid over there," he said, pointing at Seo-min, sneering, "said that the Vice President of your company was his uncle. But obviously, he's lying!"

The second those words left his mouth, a loud slap echoed through the store.

SMACK!

Everyone—including Madam Hwang, the employees, and other customers who had been watching the drama unfold—froze in shock.

Hwang Man-shik had just slapped his son's arm harshly, gripping it so tightly that the little boy yelped in pain.

"A-apologize. Right now," Hwang Man-shik ordered, his voice shaking—not with anger, but with pure fear.

His son, now completely confused, widened his eyes.

"W-why?!" the boy whimpered, sniffing dramatically as if trying to play the victim.

Seo-woo's expression darkened instantly.

Enough.

With swift, confident steps, Seo-woo closed the distance between them. His presence, though calm, carried a weight that made everyone around them instinctively tense up.

"That's enough," Seo-woo's voice was firm, his sharp gaze locking onto Man-shik.

The general manager froze, caught off guard by the unexpected authority in Seo-woo's tone.

Seo-woo didn't stop there. He knelt down to the level of Man-shik's son, who was sniffling and rubbing his arm and spoke in a gentler tone.

"Listen, kid," he said, meeting the boy's tearful gaze directly. "I know you were rude to my children, but no child deserves to be treated harshly by their own parents. Your father should be teaching you right from wrong, not scaring you into obedience."

The little boy hiccupped, glancing between his furious father and Seo-woo.

Hwang Man-shik stiffened, guilt flickering across his face.

Before Hwang Man-shik could speak again, a new fury-filled voice interrupted.

"MAN-SHIK!"

After processing everything she saw for a minute, Madam Hwang—Oh Dal-rae—rushed forward and forcefully yanked her son away from her husband and Seo-woo.

She glared daggers at her husband, her expensive jewelry jangling violently with her movements.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she shrieked. "Why are you siding with these lowlifes instead of your own son?!"

Hwang Man-shik snapped his head toward his wife, his expression thunderous.

"Do you have any idea who you're insulting?!" he hissed, his patience breaking.

Madam Hwang scoffed, completely unfazed.

"Of course, I do! Some nobody who can't even afford decent clothes for his brats! You should be siding with our son, not bending over for some peasants—"

"SHUT UP!"

Madam Hwang flinched at the sudden roar of anger from her husband.

Hwang Man-shik was panting heavily as if he was on the verge of a panic attack.

He slowly turned back to Seo-woo, whose expression remained unreadable.

But before he could react, his phone buzzed violently in his pocket.

With trembling hands, he pulled it out, and as soon as he saw the notification on the screen, his entire body went cold.

[NOTICE: GENERAL MANAGER HWANG MAN-SHIK – OFFICIAL WARNING ISSUED]

[REASON: UNAUTHORIZED LEAVE DURING OFFICE HOURS]

[PLEASE REPORT TO THE HR DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY]

The phone slipped from his fingers, hitting the tiled floor with a dull thud.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor like a wilted plant that had just been yanked from its roots.

"N-no way..." he muttered, his voice hollow.

Madam Hwang—who had been glaring daggers at Seo-woo just moments ago—noticed her husband's bizarre reaction and stepped forward, snatching his phone from the ground.

"What is wrong with you—?" she started, but the moment she read the message, her face drained of color.

Her grip on the phone tightened.

She read the words again and again, her mind struggling to process the reality before her.

They're really... relatives of the Vice President?

Madam Hwang's mouth opened and closed as if struggling to form a coherent thought.

This wasn't just a joke. This was real.

If they had truly offended someone close to Ryu Jung-woo, then her husband's job—their family's entire stability—was at risk.

Panic rose in her chest.

"M-Mr. Ryu—no, I mean—Sir! Please, I didn't mean to be rude! It was just a misunderstanding!" Madam Hwang stammered, her previous arrogance vanishing in an instant.

She reached out as if to touch Seo-woo's arm, but before she could, a new voice interrupted.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Madam Hwang spun around in disbelief.

It was Ms. Park, the young employee who had been standing silently but observantly through the whole ordeal.

And behind her—two security guards had already stepped forward, their expressions blank and professional.

"W-what?!" Madam Hwang shrieked, eyes wide with outrage.

"You caused a scene, insulted our customers, and disrespected our staff," Ms. Park stated calmly. "As per our store policies, we have the right to refuse service to unruly customers."

The security guards flanked Madam Hwang and her husband, waiting for them to comply.

"Y-you can't do this! My husband is a general manager!" Madam Hwang shrieked, her expensive jewelry clanking noisily as she waved her arms in protest.

Seo-woo, who had remained silent up until now, finally spoke again—his voice calm but laced with finality.

"You should be more careful about judging people based on their clothes or status," he said.

Madam Hwang flinched, her lips trembling.

Seo-woo's eyes locked onto hers as he continued:

"Because one day, you might offend someone truly powerful—someone who won't be as forgiving as I am."

A cold chill ran down her spine.

She wanted to argue, to deny, to beg—but the look in Seo-woo's eyes stopped her cold.

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

And just like that—her last chance to fix things was gone.

The security guards stepped forward, and with no other choice, Madam Hwang and her husband were escorted out of the store, their reputations in shambles.

As soon as the troublemakers were gone, Seo-woo turned back to his children.

Seo-min still looked shaken, his little hands clenched into fists.

Seo-jun and Seo-jin were standing close to him, their tiny bodies tense from the confrontation.

Seo-woo sighed softly and knelt down, opening his arms.

"Come here," he said gently.

The triplets rushed forward, burying themselves in their father's embrace.

Seo-woo stroked their backs, feeling their small bodies relax against him.

"You did well," he murmured. "You stood up for each other. That's what family does."

Seo-jun nodded silently, gripping his father's sleeve.

Seo-jin, usually the most reserved, held on the tightest, his face pressed against Seo-woo's chest.

And Seo-min—who had been the most affected—let out a small sniffle, his voice muffled.

"That kid was really mean, Daddy."

Seo-woo chuckled softly, ruffling Seo-min's hair.

"Yeah, he was," he admitted. "But you don't need to worry about him anymore. Let's focus on picking out some cool clothes, okay?"

Seo-min perked up slightly, his usual brightness returning.

"Can I get a superhero hoodie?"

"Of course," Seo-woo said with a smile.

With that, the tension melted away, and the family returned to their shopping, the warmth of their bond stronger than ever.

---

System No. 1276 observed Seo-woo and the triplets enjoying their time at the mall on the big screen, a gentle smile forming as it watched their happiness unfold.