Chapter 30 - Skeletons In The Closet

Two weeks ago…

Mr. Gong was happy, really happy, to finally see his daughter face to face again. But his heart instantly sank as soon as he noticed the tears streaming down her flawless face. So when the girl ran into his arms, he did not hesitate to welcome her into his embrace. He hugged her tightly with his healthy arm, as if she would disappear into thin air if he didn’t. It did not even cross his mind that he, himself, was in so much pain. All he cared at that moment was to protect his daughter, to make her feel safe.

The girl cried in his father’s arms for nearly an hour. But she was not only crying because she was upset with Yongguk but it was also because she was glad to finally be able to feel a father’s warm embrace. As unbelievable as it might sound, this was the first time her father had ever hugged her ever since she was born. And what made Minzy even happier was that she could feel that his love for her was genuine. Just from the small gesture, she could feel that he truly cared for her.

“I’m gonna leave you two to catch up on things,” Daesung stated with a smile as he got up from the couch, “Dad is still pretty weak so don’t take too long and don’t stress him out, okay baby sis?”

“Thanks, and don’t worry, oppa, I’ll take care of him,” Minzy assured, replying his smile.

Daesung’s smile widened upon seeing the excited look both on his sister’s as well as his father’s faces. He had waited for this day for so long, probably more than Minzy and Mr. Gong had ever did. He really could not express how happy he was to see the two reunited again. “And you dad, take it slow,” the guy warned her father but in a playful manner, causing the old main to furrow his eyebrows, “I know you’ve got a lot to tell her but you don’t wanna see her faint of shock now, do you?”

“I know, son, I know. Now can you, please, get out? We have a lot of catching up to do!”

“Geez, I know I’m adopted and all but can you, at least, pretend that you love me?”

Both Mr. Gong and Minzy burst into laughter when Daesung gave them an exaggerated sad expression, complete with a cute pout and a little scrunch of his nose. He knew that they knew he was only joking but Daesung really did not see this coming. He expected them to, at least, pretend that they were comforting him. But there they were, laughing at him like a bunch of maniacs. The two were, indeed, blood related, he concluded. They were both mean. In a playful kind of way, of course.

Daesung shook his head one last time before leaving the room to give the father and daughter some privacy. The two continued laughing at the former’s baffled expression a while longer, and then the room became silent once again. It was not in any way awkward at all. It was actually rather calming. It was as if all the burdens they had been carrying for years had been lifted off their shoulders. Well, half of them, to say the least.

“I’m sorry,” it was Mr. Gong who broke the silence first, his voice rather heavy, “I don’t want to make any excuses for my past behaviour but I really want you to know that I truly am sorry for everything that I have done and haven’t.”

Minzy closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She had been wanting to hear that for so long, so long, and now that she heard it, she was suddenly flooded with emotions. Of course, she was initially quite angry. Angry that it took her father this long to realise his mistakes, but a bigger part of her was relieved. And very happy too, for she was excited for the time she would spend with him in the future.

“Everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes, it takes one a second to realise it but sometimes, it takes an eternity. We’re all only humans, after all.” the girl replied with a knowing smile.

She, too, made a lot of mistakes. Countless of them, for that matter. And she would probably make more in the future. That part of human nature was inevitable.

“What on earth did I do in my past life to have such a kind-hearted daughter like you?” Mr. Gong chuckled bitterly.

“I don’t know, you probably saved a country or something.”

“Probably, probably.”

The two started to laugh at their own little joke. It felt nice. It felt really nice. They could not help but wonder how it would have been if they were close right from the start. It could have been really amazing. “I don’t deserve you, though,” Mr. Gong said solemnly, before heaving a sigh.

“What are you talking about?!” Minzy was quite taken aback by his statement, tears began pooling in her eyes, “You might not have been a good father in the past but at least you’ve realised your mistakes, haven’t you? At least you’ve apologised, haven’t you? At least you’re trying to fix this relationship, are you not? I honestly don’t care about the past, dad. What’s important is that I have you now, and you have me. What’s important is that I finally have someone that I can call my dad, that I can share my happiness and sadness with. That’s all that matters to me, dad, that’s all.”

“Aren’t you even curious why I treated you the way I did? Aren’t you even curious why I said you were not my child?” Mr. Gong asked back as he, too, started to tear up.

He knew that he had such a wonderful daughter. After two years of observing her from afar, he had learnt that Minzy was very kind, loving and caring, especially to those she treasured very dearly. Someone who put others before herself. Even still, he was shocked that she had forgiven him that easily. What he did to her was beyond horrible. He wasn’t just a bad father, he was the worst. If he were her, he would probably hold grudge on his father for as long as he lived.

But then again, he was not her, and she was not him.

All of a sudden, Mr. Gong was mad, mad at himself for being an irresponsible parent, for not being able to shower his children with the love and care they deserved. And to top it all, he was mad at himself for hurting them. If he could turn back the time, he really would like to redo everything from the very beginning. Unfortunately, though, this ain’t no science fiction. There was no such thing as going back to the past in the real world.

Minzy, on the other hand, could not help but feel sorry for her father. She could only imagine how difficult it was for him to get to where he was now. It was definitely not an easy task to man up to your own mistakes like that. It took a lot courage and determination, and she was proud of him for that.

Her heart ached when she saw the tears falling out of his eyes. There was nothing she wanted to do more than to hug him at the moment, and so she did. She wrapped her arms around his fragile body and enveloped him in a tight embrace just like he did to her just moments ago. Minzy wanted her father to know that she meant every word she said, that she really had forgiven him, that she wanted to start anew with him and Daesung, as one whole family.

“Please, don’t cry, daddy. You’re not that well enough yet, so please, stop crying,” she sniffled into his greying locks.

“But you need to know the truth, Mingkki,” Mr. Gong said in between sobs, “You deserve to know the truth.”

“Dad, how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t care about the past! I’m sure you have your reasons for disowning me and I’m sure those reasons were as painful to you as they were to me. So, no, dad, I don’t want to hear anything about it. Your apologies is more than enough for me so don’t you worry about it, okay? Can you promise me that you won’t stress yourself over it anymore? Can you promise me that, dad? Please?”

“I- I- I can’t, Mingkki, I’m sorry. You really deserve to know everything.”

Minzy pulled away from the hug, only to kneel down in front of her father’s wheelchair. She placed her soft hands over his trembling ones and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Fine,” she finally surrendered, sighing deeply, “If that’s what you really want. But if anything happens to you, I won’t take any responsibility, got it?”

A small smile appeared on Mr. Gong face as the room grew silent once again. He felt really relieved that the girl finally granted him a chance to explain. His eyes scanned his little girl’s face for a while, his heart clenched slightly at the sight of dried tears on her face. He just made her cry, again. Heaving a heavy sigh, he directed his eyes away and stared at the darkness of the night outside.

“I loved your mother,” he began, “I loved her very much. But unfortunately for me, she loved another man. Your uncle Seung Hwan, to be exact. You remember my cousin, Seung Hwan, right?”

Minzy’s eyes widened slightly at the revelation and the girl mindlessly nodded, an indication that she indeed remembered the mentioned name. She really, really did not expect this coming. She honestly thought that her parents were in love with one another. She could see it from their eyes, or maybe, was it only her father’s?

“I know, it’s really hard to believe isn’t it?” her father chuckled as he ruffled her hair, bringing her back to reality.

The old man heaved yet another sigh, a smile still plastered on his lips. But there was just something in his smile. Something grave, something sorrowful. “What happened?” she asked softly after a moment of hesitation.

“We were arranged to marry each other by our grandparents. Something about a pact that they made when they were younger. You know, that usual thing you always see in dramas these days,” he laughed wholeheartedly at his own joke but Minzy’s expression remained serious as she tried to take in the new information, “I was happy when I found out about the arrangement because I was already head over heels in love with your mother. We were childhood best friends, your mother and I. I don’t exactly know when but I fell in love with her at some point of time. I really thought she felt the same way too. She was a lovely woman, and very caring too, just like you. It wasn’t until the day before the wedding that I found out about her and your uncle. I wanted to call the wedding off. I actually begged your uncle to take my place instead but the elders were completely against the idea and her parents threatened to cut all contacts with her so we had no other choice. I could never let that happen to your mother. You know how attached she was to your grandparents, right?”

Minzy gave her father’s hands another squeeze when a tear slipped down his cheek. “You don’t have to continue, dad. I don’t want to see you hurt,” the girl said, concerned.

Her warm actions brought a smile upon Mr. Gong’s face and this time, it was a happy one. “It’s okay, my dear. I’m alright,” he reassured, “Anyway, so we got married and our relationship changed drastically ever since. We were no longer the best of friends and your mother would avoid me as best as she could. Sure, it was really painful to watch your loved one slowly slipping away like that but deep down, I knew that it was the best thing. I didn’t want your mom to feel like she was trapped so I let her do whatever she wanted to do.”

“I’m sorry,” Minzy murmured.

“Ay, don’t be. It’s not even your fault.”

“But still, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you suffered that much,” the girl sniffled; her tear ducts seemed to be active again.

“It’s okay. I did it for your mom’s happiness,” Mr. Gong smiled and he did not seem regretful at all.

Minzy really could not fathom how her father could be so kind and sacrificed his own happiness for someone else like that, it was almost angel-like. This was definitely a side that she never knew he had. If only she knew about it sooner, she would not have been so hard on him. However, there seemed to be a hole in the story…

“But, if your relationship with mom was estranged, how on earth did I even get into the picture?”

Mr. Gong chuckled at her rather unusual way of constructing a very serious question before ruffling her hair yet again, causing the girl to pout. He would have pinched her cheeks right then and there if he were not feeling a bit under the weather. “Patience, my dear, patience,” he snorted teasingly before continuing, “A year into our marriage, one of our old maids passed away and left a three-year old son behind. Since she had no other family members, I decided to take him in and treated him as my own son. Yup, I’m talking about that annoying brother of yours.”

“Hey, I heard that!” a voice suddenly interrupted, startling the two.

Both their heads immediately snapped around to see the source of the voice, only to find Daesung poking his head through the door. “Daesung! What the hell are you doing?” yelled another voice, a female one this time, and the next thing they knew, Daesung was shrieking in pain as he was dragged away by the ear by Mrs. Song.

The father and daughter could not help but laugh out loud at the hilarious scene. Some things surely never changed. Daesung had always been such a troublemaker ever since he was a kid, always pulling pranks on everyone in the house and creating chaos everywhere. He once filled the water tank with some paint and everyone, including their father, ended up looing like a character from the Avatar.

“That’s actually one of the reasons why I love your brother,” Mr. Gong said, still trying so hard not to burst into another laughter, “He’s like a breath of fresh air. Although he could be so troublesome most of the time, he was actually the reason I started smiling again. He kind of filled that emptiness in my heart ever since I married your mom.”

“He was like your medicine.”

“Indeed, he was. I really couldn’t imagine my life without him,” replied her father as he gazed at the huge family photo hanging on the wall in front, “You arrived to this world around two years after. I know that it’s weird, given the fact that your mother and I had little to no affection for one another. But it all happened during one drunken night.”

The news would have been more shocking but Minzy kind of expected it already. It was just weird to know that a married couple that was not in love with another had a baby together. Something must have happened somewhere along the way. However, the girl could not help but to feel a bit disappointed. And it showed on her face, causing her father to squeeze her hands this time.

“You may not be a result of our love, but do remember that I never regretted that night. In fact, I was ecstatic when I found out that your mother was pregnant. I was so excited that I spent most of my time preparing your nursery, I even built your bed myself. I bet you didn’t know that, right?”

Minzy’s eyes widened beyond its normal size, probably larger than two round plates. Mr. Gong never showed any kind of affection to her or her brother at all – not ever since she was born – so to find out that he made something just for her was beyond surprising. Many questions suddenly began to cross her mind. Just what happened exactly that made her father change that drastically?

“Well, now you know,” he chuckled, bringing her back from her thoughts, before continuing with a more serious tone, “But then, our company suffered a major financial crisis and I was needed immediately at the office. Ever since then, I began to focus more on work, trying to save the company, because I was scared. I was scared that I could not give you and your brother what you needed. I was scared that I would lose you. What I didn’t know at that time was that I would somehow become a workaholic. My greed to succeed and make as much money as possible took the best of me and I started to neglect my responsibilities as a father.”

“How about you disowning me? How did that happen?”

“Oh, now you’re curious?”

“Dad!” Minzy pouted adorably at her father, rather annoyed by his teasing.

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” Mr. Gong chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, “A few days before the party, I found out that your mother had been sleeping with another man behind my back. Apparently, she started seeing him not long after I adopted your brother. I felt really betrayed. I guess I would have been okay if it was your uncle but it wasn’t! So, being the stupid man that I was, I took my anger out on you instead.”

She did not have to listen to her father’s explanation any further to know where this was going. Her mother – whom, although she was not closed to, she respected for being a strong, independent woman – cheated on her father. A man who loved her deeply. A man who sacrificed his own life for her happiness. A man who worked his whole life just to make sure his family lived within a financially stable household.

How could she do that to her own husband? Her own childhood best friend? Did she not know of all the things he had done for her? What was so bad about her father that her mother did not even give him a chance to be the great husband he was?

And it did not take a genius to know that her father had thought that she was someone else’s daughter. Minzy’s whole body was suddenly fumed with anger. She was not angry with her parents, no. If anything, her grandparents and great grandparents were to be blamed for all of this. If it were not for their selfish request, everyone could have lived happily.

This was unfair. Everything was really unfair. Why should they suffer because of the elders’ foolishness? Her father should have married someone that was able to love him back. He deserved his happy ending. Similarly, her mother also deserved to be happy with the one she loved – whether it was Uncle Seung Hwan or the other guy she cheated with. That way, Daesung and Minzy would have not grown up with little to no love and affection from their parents. She honestly did not care if she were born with a different mother or father. As long as everyone was happy, she would definitely be happy too.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I’m really, really sorry for everything. And please, don’t hate your mother. She was just a victim, like each and everyone of us,” her father whimpered, his sobs getting louder and louder by each passing second.

“It’s OK, dad! I don’t hate mom and I definitely don’t hate you,” the girl sobbed on her father’s knees; her tears flowing rapidly like a broken faucet, staining Mr. Gong’s pants.

“Oh, my daughter, I really don’t deserve you. I love you, my Mingkki.”

“So, am I really your daughter?" she asked with a rather serious expression and Mr. Gong nodded as a yes, "Good! Then, I love you too, dad. I love you too, with all my heart.”

The father and daughter then enveloped each other in a tight hug, with no intention to let go, with big and happy smiles plastered on their faces. Daesung, who had been spying on the two from the hallway could not hold back anymore as tears began flowing out of his eyes like a waterfall.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: A very long chapter to make up for the long wait! Finally, all the secrets behind their family dispute have been unraveled! I hope you enjoyed it! Did anyone cry? Haha! Minzy and Yongguk will finally meet each other again after weeks of not talking in the next chapter! Yikes, I wonder what would happen. Hopefully, they'll work things out! Hee, thank you guys for being so patient. Love you like a love song~ XD See you in the next update! <3

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Story by: afagyel | Poster and background by: Tomoe Graphic Shop