The words left me speechless. Even though I tried hard to find any excuse in my head, all I got was a lot of questions in there.

"Heh, that's not all. The main thing is, do you like him?"

He lowered his voice tone at the last question. Even so, his words still seemed cold and striking. It was obvious that he was deliberately suppressing his words to make me say an admission. It seemed to slash into my chest and didn't leave any oxygen in my lungs as if making me suffocate so that it was difficult for me to breathe.

I knew that he already knew the truth and asked because he only wanted to hear it directly from me.

At the same time, my head endlessly searched for the right excuses with many heavy considerations, but with a hopeless end.

Not getting any response, Kim Myungdae shouted impatiently, "That's true, right?!"

The more he urged me to admit everything, the more I lost the words on my tongue.

I fell silent, slightly lowering my gaze. I didn't want to look into those suspicious eyes, which were staring at me with a burning fire. His eyes didn't seem to show the slightest mercy that could clearly describe how furious he was.

However, I was quite stupid. Silent was like admitting everything. So, without preparing myself, a hard blow landed on the same part of my face again, much harder than before, and made me stagger to the side. I then kneeled with my hands touching my ache face.

"Heh, it's because I free you now. I spoil you too much, indulge all your wishes, and finally, you do what you want! So, this is how you repay your father?"

As I heard the words, I seemed to want to burst out laughing.

Standing up, I thought, 'Since when have you spoiled me? Since long ago, you demanded me to be like you, by asking me to major in business. Even since I was a child, I didn't have many friends because you always locked me up at home so that I kept studying and studying until I got fed up with books.'

I wanted so badly to say that directly to him but I knew that saying those phrases would only provoke more anger that made him even more vicious so that in the end, I would be the one to blame. He never saw me as a righteous person in defending himself, as if he was an image of the truth itself and no one could escape from the truth.

Perhaps, he was right about he freed me now, but even that I had to rebel from all his rules to escape his pressure. But, what about my past? He took my childhood as well as my adolescence. I never enjoyed my days at that time like an ordinary child and that's because I followed all the rules of his life which were hard and didn't make sense.

So, how could he say that he spoiled me?

How ridiculous is this!

A few seconds later, he sneered, "Recently you've been really testing my patience. Now, I was truly mad at you. I didn't think that you were [1] the same as Lee. During this time, I was always proud of you, but you destroyed everything. You have absolutely no feelings for embarrassing your own family. You just don't know how much I am trying to keep your good name in our family so that your uncle also has to step in. You really are out of your mind."

[Note: the words 'the same as Lee' mean that Daehyun and Donghwa are both 'gay']

I was silent for a moment while showing a stupid smile.

Hearing about this, I was sure that he was only defending his own good name, and all the effort was for himself, his career, and his well-being — not for me. I was only an object that was demanded to continue his prosperity but continued to be oppressed like a slave in his own family.

However, even so, I still respect him as his son. So, as soon as I conveyed my excuse, I tried to be the son who should feel guilty for his mistakes and be humble.

"Um, yeah, you're right, we do live together. But, I ... I ...." Before continuing my sentence, there was a feeling of reluctance to say it. I knew that this would be the silliest lie I had ever told. So, with great effort, I continued, "I don't like him. How could I like him? I'm just trying to be a good friend to him."

"Heh." The word 'heh' already revealed everything, but he kept asking as if he was mocking at me, "Really? Is it true?"

I knew that it was just another way of cornering me. But stupidly, I kept telling ridiculous excuse that was in my head.

"Yeah, it is. I only offered to help him because he wanted to get away from Lee, so as his friend, I ... feel like I need to help him and—"

"It's Park Chunghee, right?!" he shouted.

After hearing my father say that name sternly and loudly, instantly made my two eyes widened open.

There were a lot of worries and fears that suddenly entered my mind, making my head become a sea that was being hit by a storm, the waves were rising and I could feel a great tremendous impact on my head.

I truly felt that the worst thing was just about to begin.

My body felt shaking. I had never felt this anxious before.

I clenched my trembling fists while looking at my father who currently turned his back to me, showing his wide back that was emitting an extremely cold aura. Nothing could match him.

He then continued, "First, the incident at the airport. I was already suspicious at that time. You even hugged him in public without shame. Heh, you really are shameless!"

"If only you were born among mediocrity people, you could do as you pleased because no one would argue about it. There is nothing huge that you will destroy in your future. But, unfortunately, you're born into a respectable family. You are my son! People can destroy our family easily. You must be aware of your status!"

"Don't you ever worry about your family in the future? You know what I develop now was belongs to your grandfather. If it is you destroying all his efforts with something like this, how do I meet him in the afterlife? What will I tell him?" Paused for a moment, he continued, "Heh, if only your grandfather is still alive, he won't give you any mercy. If you think that I was harsh, then it's nothing compared to your grandfather."

He snorted coldly before continuing to say, "Heh, forget about the past. Now, do you know how much money I spent? Do you know how much shame I endured just to cover up your ridiculous deeds? Even if you worked all your life and then pay me back, it will never be enough, even if you sell your shares in your company that is in France. But worse, now you just made a new problem. And, it's because of Chunghee, right?!"

The truth jolted me. I tried to dodge all of it even though in a stammering voice, "No! I ... I ... don't like him ... I told you I was just helping him ... that's all."

I had a hard time finishing those useless sentences due to anxiety. I involved Chunghee in this matter and I was afraid this Kim Myungdae would send me back to France.

I was afraid that Chunghee would be alone later.

"Stupid!" He said furiously, "I know how your character is. No wonder you brought him to our house at that time. Also, your eyes when you saw him — you look crazy about him. What's so special about him?! He's a man. He won't give you a kid and such a relationship will not last long!"

Hearing those words, a sudden feeling of anger rose in the gap between my anxiety and fear. I could accept it if he said I was a useless or shameless son — I wouldn't mind. But, hearing him say something bad to Chunghee, I couldn't accept it at all.

Now, I was trying hard not to say the swear words that had piled up on the tip of my tongue.

"Nonsense!" He turned his body towards me who was standing behind, then walked towards me. As soon as he was right in front of me, he said in a cold tone, "You can't cover anything from me. By just looking at your eyes, I already know everything what you hide. You should know that I asked you just because I wanted to confirm it directly from you, but you instead said the useless excuse. That's ridiculous."

I slightly lowered my gaze again. Without him saying it, I already knew it from the start. I just felt that the defense was necessary even if it would be useless.