"It's been a while." Seokjin smiled at the butler.

“Welcome, sir. Mr. Bae is in his office.” 

He nodded amiably as he handed his jacket and bag to the butler, “good, I’ll go see him there.”

“Very good, sir,” the butler bowed and gestured for Seokjin to go deeper into the house.

“Thank you, Mr. Park.”

Usually, Seokjin’s heartrate increased whenever he visited Mr. Bae, but this time, it was calm and controlled. He was on a mission, and unlike the first time he visited Mr. Bae, he had a plan. The memory of meeting the old man for the first time was still vivid in his mind.

Joohyun had just told him that she wanted nothing to do with him and that she had chosen her fortune. He was heartbroken, but he also knew that she had done it for her own reasons. Reasons in which, once made, were irretractable. He knew she’d be bound to those reasons until she was freed. Whenever that was, he did not know, nor did he even know what those burdens were.

He couldn’t give up now but was at a loss on what to do. He didn’t even know where it all started… where it all started. That was it. He had to go where it all started. And all this had started with the terrifying old man that was her grandfather.

The first time he had laid eyes on the old man, he had thought of Joohyun and their resemblance. They looked nothing alike except for the eyes. Their eyes were exactly the same; dark, large, and inquisitive even when they were relaxed. The old man had practically growled into his face a rude greeting, “who the hell are you?!”

“Sit down, young man!” A booming voice pulled him to the present.

The memories slowly faded away as he came face to face with Mr. Bae. A bright smile appeared on his face, “hello, Mr. Bae.”

“Didn’t I tell you that you could call me grandpa, now?” Mr. Bae smiled mischievously.

With a chuckle, he walked over and sat down in the chair across from Mr. Bae, “I know you did… just can’t help calling you Mr. Bae.”

Mr. Bae had a delighted gleam in his eyes, “and why is that?”

He smiled, “because we’re not official… yet.”

That straightforward claim on becoming his grandson-in-law, and essentially Joohyun’s husband, made Mr. Bae bark a laughter so booming, it rang in Seokjin’s ears. “You have always delighted me, my boy!”

After a good laugh together, they finally fell into a companionable quiet. Though their relationship had been awkward at first, after the four years of planning and working together, Seokjin had become close to the old man. They got along swimmingly and never disagreed on anything, and though Mr. Bae initially pushed Seokjin away, it didn’t take long for them to bond and really become friends.

“So,” Mr. Bae spoke after dropping an empty glass of milk onto his desk, “why have you visited me today? Your visit schedule is usually pretty routine.”

Seokjin slightly smiled when he saw the glass of milk. It had taken one look at the initial meeting to know that Mr. Bae was as unhealthy as a terminal cancer patient in the late stages of their fight. It was unsettling at first how little he cared for his own wellbeing, but after a year of encouraging a healthy lifestyle from Seokjin, Mr. Bae had changed his ways and was now looking drastically healthier than before.

“Can’t I just visit you whenever I want to?” Seokjin chuckled boyishly.

“Of course, you can… but you usually don’t,” Mr. Bae narrowed his eyes, “has something happened to Joohyun-ie?”

“No, nothing’s happened.” He spoke quickly, but the slight tremble in his voice made it obvious that something had happened.

“Hmph.” Mr. Bae quietly scrutinized Seokjin. He reflected silently on how Seokjin had become more like a son to him than any of his other children and grandchildren. Seokjin cared about his wellbeing, had visited him regularly, much more than his own children, and more importantly, he didn’t crave the fortune which sat on the fringe on his lifeline. That was why, even before they finalized their current plans to fix Joohyun and Seokjin up in a marriage, he had already decided that upon his death Seokjin would be getting a sizeable percentage of his shares, enough to set him up for life, while the rest would be given to the charitable organizations of his granddaughter’s choice.

“Then why are you here?” Mr. Bae asked him again after a minute of silent contemplation.

Seokjin played with his hands on his lap and sighed, “I met Joohyun today.”

Mr. Bae sat forward, “that’s a lot sooner than we planned.”

“Yes, I know,” he stretched and leaned back in his chair, “I tried to avoid her as much as possible, but I just couldn’t help it…”

“I understand completely,” Mr. Bae grinned, “my granddaughter is beautiful… how could you avoid her?”

“Don’t joke about that… it was torture.”

Mr. Bae laughed out loud, “it’s nice to see you so tortured.”

“You old crone,” he jokingly snarled.

Another laugh exploded, followed by a trail of wheezing coughs, which got Seokjin to his feet in less than a second and darting towards the old man.

“Here, drink some water,” Seokjin quickly poured a cup of water and placed it in Mr. Bae’s hand while he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and then dug into his bag. “Did you take your medication already?”

Mr. Bae nodded a response.

“What about your doctor’s visit? Have you been seeing Dr. Oh like I told you to?”

Upon the telling silence, Seokjin frowned, “I told you to see him at least once a week. I’ve already worked things out with him. You can’t keep cancelling the appointments I make for you.”

“Oh, stop it,” Mr. Bae finally growled, “I’m fine. It’s just old age.”

“No, it’s not just that,” Seokjin argued emphatically, “you can’t keep living the way you used to. You need to see him regularly and take your medication.”

Mr. Bae smiled sullenly without humor and then whispered, “I’m moving the plan up to the final stage next week.”

“What?” Seokjin froze mid-action and stared at him with a bewildered expression, “why? There’s still half a year left before the right time.”

Four years ago, Seokjin had approached Mr. Bae about the concerns for Joohyun’s future and her mother’s plans, which he was reluctant to agree with. He did eventually agree that his granddaughter was beyond miserable in the company, but he still expressed his distaste for the idea of letting his granddaughter go indefinitely and losing such an asset to the company and family. Their meeting had ended with Mr. Bae’s ultimate proposal to set her free only when she proved that she was worthy of being promoted to executive director of management and if Seokjin could prove capable of supporting Joohyun upon her self-termination.

Their plan had been laid out in steps, which started with keeping at a distance to allow Joohyun to focus on work. These careful steps were planned nonchalantly at first by Mr. Bae to detach Seokjin’s interests, but he soon learned that Seokjin was a lot more tenacious and charming than he had assumed. Over the years, he had grown to like and even love Seokjin as his own, and then he had learned that he was dying sooner rather than later, which changed everything in his plans exorbitantly.

Mr. Bae sighed deeply, “it won’t be long now, Seokjin-ah.”

Understanding that sentiment, himself, Seokjin simply knelt to a knee in front of Mr. Bae and cast his eyes downward.

With a smile, Mr. Bae placed a hand on Seokjin’s shoulder and smiled, “everything will end soon.”

“But,” Seokjin closed his eyes and sighed, “w