Chapter 126. Gradually

Meeting her parents came as brief as that conversation that they had and although they lingered in the room for a few more moments, Yonghwa had a feeling that his presence had been totally forgotten, that it had actually been unimportant. They didn’t ask anything else nor talk to him directly like they were really not interested of him at all. It was weird and awkward but Seohyun didn’t seem to notice it so he thought that he was just being a bit sensitive with all these. But then again, he had never been in this kind of meet-the-parents where he actually, genuinely wanted to meet the parents because it mattered to her.

So when Joowon came knocking to ask them to come out, that it was time to meet the guests, Yonghwa couldn’t be any more happy about it. He breathed a big sigh of relief the very moment they got out of the room which didn’t escape Seohyun’s attention. She gave him a playful laugh and tugged on his arm, “So that’s over?”

“Yeah,” he crooned the words not hiding the fact that he was too relieved that it was. The baby he was carrying suddenly twisted towards her mother and whined to be taken by her. Yonghwa was a bit adamant to give her to Seohyun because admittedly, he was using her as a buffer from people. It was awkward indeed seeing a lot of people he recognized because of his family’s firm and having to tell and explain how he and Seohyun met and if they’re ever getting married soon.

Thankfully, he saw a familiar face in the crowd, his older brother Sunho, so he excused himself from all the ruckus that his charming little baby was creating. His brother gave him a sympathetic look as he walked to him. “I see you’re the man of the hour…” he said with a grin.

He laughed dryly, “Yeah, well, I don’t really like this kind of attention.”

“Uh-huh,” his brother nodded in understanding then he frowned thoughtfully as he sipped his wine before turning to him, “I heard your talk with Appa.”

Yonghwa took a deep breath then nodded, “I don’t understand why he won’t open his mind on this. Of all people, why would he be so hardheaded?”

“Well, he’s getting old. It’s the most sensible reason right now,” Sunho replied grimly then shook his head, “But I have a bad feeling about all these— especially how Appa found out. We tried to keep it from him for a while but I found out that they sent another invitation at home.”

He nodded knowing the story from their mother and he didn’t like the idea but there could be pinch of truth in it, “I had a feeling that it wasn’t by mistake— sending the firm two invites isn’t really normal.”

Yonghwa looked away his subconscious telling him to look for his two girls and the moment he laid eyes on them, a sigh of relief flooded him. “He wants me to leave her, Hyung…” he managed to say it and hated that feeling it caused him.

“I know your story, Yonghwa,” his brother replied in a hushed tone since they were surrounded by people. He shook his head as he continued, “But I want to know if you believe that Appa’s assumptions are wrong.”

“I know his assumptions are wrong. It’s not my or Seohyun’s plan that we met,” he winced but he knew he had to say it, “You know how I was before. You called me out on it several times. And the night I met her, I thought it was just another one of those… but, I let my guard down that night and it was probably meant to happen because we all knew that I wasn’t ready to settle down. But Euna happened and I had to face it.”

Sunho nodded, “You can’t blame me, Appa especially, to think otherwise because it’s just too unrealistic to think that it was a coincidence.”

He didn’t want to give a whole ‘destiny’ speech so he just sighed, “Honestly, I had my doubts too. Hyung, I had two paternity tests done.”

His eyes grew big and he looked as if he was going to whack him in the head, “You did what? Did Seohyun know?”

“She found out afterwards. But she was angrier that I didn’t ask her upfront,” Yonghwa shrugged as if it was not a big deal but thinking about it would make him cringe. Then, he sighed, “That’s why she left the lake house.”

“Oh, did she break up with you?”

“I had to grovel to get her back,” he shook his head when his brother smirked with that answer, “I’m still on the process of winning her back. And with her parents here, I panicked because she wanted to go back to Japan.”

“You know how Appa feels now, with this,” he gestured around them, “He thinks it will be a threat.”

“Do you have the same thought?” He carefully asked his brother.

“I don’t know yet…” Sunho replied looking around, noting the faces that attended the party, “So far, they took over the accounts of the international companies they originally have back in Japan, and some other corporations moving to them. Then, there’s the issue with the lawyers…”

He nodded then inquired again, “Anybody from the firm?”

“I was a bit worried about that but there’s no movement at the moment,” Sunho took a small sip from his glass before continuing, “I know Joowon personally, I don’t think he would make that move but I can’t tell the same about his father. He’s known to be ruthless.”

“So I’ve heard…” Yonghwa nodded. Thinking of the man he just met gave him little to work on. But he could tell that in his own way Seohyun’s Appa adored his daughter but was just keen on not showing it too much. It seemed quite different with Euna though— he would just burst out laughing at every little facial expressions she would make. He shook his head focusing on the issue at hand, “If Appa is right that he’s just trying to antagonize him from ending their arrangement, I wouldn’t really know how to react or what to do.”

His brother nodded, “Just be careful especially now that Seohyun is working for them. That didn’t really sit right on Appa. It made it worse actually.”

“I don’t want her to work because of Euna but how can I tell her that? And she looks happy that she is working, it made her feel necessary to her family. But I haven’t told her about Appa. She’d be devastated.”

“She will be,” he chuckled, “Knowing that she’s actually fond of Appa more than you do…”

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