“DAD!” Hyun Joong suddenly yelled.

Mr. Kim stood up from his seat and slammed his palms on the table.

“Don’t you dare raise your voice on me, Kim Hyun Joong! You will do what I tell you to do. No more arguments. Her name is Eun Mi, daughter of Mr. Shin Soo Jong. She was your schoolmate in high school before we transferred here, and she's also your classmate in college. Mr. Shin would allow me to run the store’s branch here if her daughter would be married to you,” he repeated what he just said.

“I heard it the first time for heaven’s sake!” he yelled back, but something caught his ears from what his dad said. “What did you say the name was again?!”

“Shin Eun Mi. You will be married to her as soon as possible,” his dad replied.

"Oh God!" He walked closer to where his dad was standing. "You planned it, didn't you?"

"Planned what?" his dad asked.

"You sent me to study in another country with her! You planned it so that we two would be closer!"

"And we succeeded."

Hyun Joong chuckled. “You must be kidding, right? You can’t possibly be serious.”

“But I am,” the older man replied unsympathetically.

“And what made you think I would obey you?” he began raising his voice again.

“As I’ve said, Kim Hyun Joong! You are my son and you’re going to do whatever I told you to.”

“No way! All my life, mom and I have been following your orders. You didn’t even consider our feelings about the decisions you’ve made!”

“That’s why I’m talking to you about it now.”

“Oh, as if you wanted to talk to me and ask my opinion about this, huh?” he said sarcastically.

“Kim Hyun Joong! Your mom and I never taught you to act this way. Is it your girlfriend who taught you to talk back to me like this?” Mr. Kim knew this line would hurt his son so much that he also felt a painful tinge on his heart.

This drove Hyun Joong to the edge of his patience.

“I couldn’t believe you. Don’t you dare talk about her that way again! You don’t even know her! You don’t know anything about me ‘cause all your life, all you cared about is nothing but yourself!”

“This is all for your sake, Kim Hyun Joong! Don’t ever question my actions!” his dad snapped back quickly.

“Fine! I won’t ever question you and your stupid actions! But I won’t do it this time. I won’t marry someone I don’t even like. And you know what’s worst? It’s the fact that I don’t even love her!”

“Fine with me! But trust me, you’ll regret this.”

Hyun Joong didn’t waste his time to reply anymore and stormed out of the room.

Mr. Kim went back to his seat and tried to calm himself down. He received a call not too long after his son went out of the room.

“Hello?” he said when he picked it up.

“Hi there, Mr Kim! So how did it go?”

Mr. Kim sighed upon hearing the other person’s voice.

“I told him about it,” he replied.

“And what was his reaction?” the person asked.

“Just like what I told you, Mr. Shin. He’s against it.”

“Yes, he could protest if he'd like to. But he couldn’t avoid it. You know what will happen if he does.”

“I know, Mr. Shin. I’ll talk to him about it again.”

“Just make sure, Mr. Kim. You know me. Anything for my daughter.”

Mr. Kim couldn’t take it and ended the call.

‘Damn him!’ he thought.

He then looked at their family picture on his table during Hyun Joong’s graduation. He touched his son’s face on the said photo while saying, “I’m sorry, son. I don’t want to ruin your life like this. I know how much you and So Min love each other. But I wouldn’t stand it if I see you getting hurt if Mr. Shin does something to harm her. This is the only way I know to save the both of you.”

**