Thank you to the few people that commented last chapter. Sometimes comforting words from strangers can make a person's day, and you definitely made mine. :)

If you are interested in what happened in my life, you can find it in the blog section or on wattpad. I don't intend to write frequently, just if life gets a little too hard to keep to myself.

Thank you again for reading this far, please enjoy the chapter :D

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Before Jun left for work, he informed Seungcheol that his parents were about 3/4 ways around the world. Feeling a little stressed, he decided to vent by calling them up. Clearly he was stupid or something, his parents only riled him up some more. 

The phone rang, but they didn't pick up. After several attempts, he switched to calling their butler, whom always picks up the phone. And as expected he picked up the phone. 

"Butler Kim! Get my dad on the line!" He could hear butler Kim move to inform his parents, and he also heard his dad scoff before taking the phone. "What is it, son?" His father's voice filtered through his phone, lethargic and dull. 

"When will you be back." Seungcheol demanded. He would very much like to argue face to face, it's they only way he can slightly intimidate his father with his bigger physique. 

"...haaaa...Son, if this is about the arranged marriage, you're not getting out of it." 

Hearing his father speak of his arranged marriage as a permanent thing got on his nerves. Gripping the phone tighter, he huffed into the speaker. "It's both about the arranged marriage and the children!" Both topics were not disputable in his father's eyes, he paced around. "Fine, I can't get out of the arranged marriage. But that's only because you're threatening me with my passion. I'll find a way." Swapping the phone to the other ear, he grit his teeth for what he said next. 

"I want you to be responsible. I don't want what you did to 'him'." His father didn't pick up on the hint, asking "who is 'him'." 

"The one that disappointed you. The one who threw his title away." His father finally figured it out and the sound of him in a sharp breath weighed in the silence. 

"We don't talk about him. You're there to replace what he ruined. Don't go disappointing me." His father threatened. Seungcheol scoffed. "It wasn't him who ruined what I fixed. You ruined it. You took it out on him, forcing him into a mold that he couldn't fit." Seungcheol wasn't done, it wasn't everyday that he could say what he wanted at his father without hurdling objects to dodge. "You chased him away, that's why the company fell into a slump. If only you listened to him for even a second, you could still have him." Seungcheol's father groaned. "I'm not putting anything on the children, okay? As if I would give orphans part of my empire! You're there to keep it running." 

"It's not the children that are going to ruin you." He paused, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. He needed to say it. He has the conviction, he can do it. I can do it. "It's me you're going to risk losing. I can ruin you." 

A lot of Seungcheol's wealth comes from the department store that was "gifted" to him, a smaller portion came from his music company. His biggest paycheck came from managing his father's empire. He doesn't do much for the company, he dishes out his work to those below him. Seungcheol only intervened in certain high tier business deals and whenever his face or signature was needed. His role was to fill in the seat at the top, to make it seem like he works hard for the empire. It's a publicity thing. But if Seungcheol refuses to show up as a figure head of his father's company, it would seem like there is family turmoil. Which there always was, just under wraps. It's not good for the image.

Seungcheol realized his words could get him seriously hurt by his father, but he wasn't going to back down. "I don't care what you do with everything else. As long as you take responsibility of these matters, I can fight through you. I'll make you take the responsibility." In this situation, responsibility had the same definition as blame. If anything bad happens in the future, Seungcheol would make it his goal to force every single bit of blame on his father. From company failure, to family dispute, all of it.

"Stop hanging around the orphans. They aren't doing you any good." With those parting words, the call ended abruptly. Ultimately, his father ignored his warnings. Fine, don't listen to little Cheol, but little Cheol isn't little anymore. He can't be pushed around anymore. He has changed, he isn't someone to push around. He found a goal to achieve. Dropping his phone in his pocket, he went to wash his face.

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There were only 3 times Seungcheol could remember that he was truly happy. The first time was in his childhood, when his brother found love and taught him everything about loving someone. That time, he was young and a lot of it didn't make sense, but seeing his brother's smiling face full of infatuation for the girl he likes when he talked about her, he knew he wanted to find someone to love and someone to love him back just as much. With that lesson he also learned that the love he had with his parents was different. It didn't make much sense then, but he knew that something wasn't right. The second time was finally opening his own music company. His brother had left him all alone inside the high walls of his family home, lonely and desperate for anyone and anything to talk to him. Achievements in the company gave him one wish from his father, he used it to create an entertainment company. He met people who want to talk to him, who wanted to be friends with him, genuinely. The last time was being accepted into Jihoon's family. When Wonwoo said that he was one of them, he was over the moon. He had friends and a family to love. He was filling up with a new type of love, something he always longed for, and he would go extra lengths to keep it. He wanted to be selfish for once.