Part 7. The Second Task Begins (4)
Dad’s life doesn’t have much time left. Dad is standing at the very edge of this world. If even Dad dies and leaves this world……
Then there will be no one left in this world who loves me.
“Suho, don’t worry. This Dad will always be by your side.”
But I’d known it since I was a child too young to even be aware of my age. Contrary to his words, Dad could never always be by my side.
“The Chairman is far too busy to come, Young Master Suho. He’ll come as soon as he finishes work, so don’t worry too much.”
His nanny always said Dad was busy. Unlike the friends he had in kindergarten and elementary school, his dad wasn’t just the head of one company—he was a chairman who ran several companies—so he was busy, and that was why he came every weekend.
At first, that explanation worked. But ashe grew a year older, then another year older, he naturally came to realize that both the nanny and Dad were lying.
Why am I Choi Suho? If my dad is Jang Yuguk, shouldn’t I be Jang Suho too? Why am I the only one who’s a Choi when all my other siblings are Jangs? Why don’t I have an Omega mother or father who gave birth to me?
Why does my mother hate me? Why am I registered under my mother’s family registry?
When he was young, drowning in questions, it could all be brushed off by saying he was just a child born outside.
And to think that was the most comfortable time of his life.
A dry, brittle laugh slipped out on its own.
If I’d chosen Do Si-in instead and loved him, would it have been better? If I’d lived surrounded by lies without ever knowing the truth, would that have been happier?
Then another voice echoed in his ears.
“Still pathetic, endlessly pathetic, Choi Suho. You think it would’ve been better to pretend to love Do Si-in because you were afraid of the truth? After you threw him away? Now? You think it would’ve been better to love that kid again? Do you think you have the courage to throw away everything your father gives you? Someone as cowardly as you?”
Choi Suho’s face drained of all color. He didn’t even know whose voice it was. He wanted to cover his ears and run, but he didn’t know where he could possibly run to—and even if he did, Ji Haesu would chase him there and force him to face himself. Running wasn’t the answer. He knew that.
Get a grip, Choi Suho. First, hear the truth from Father. Then kill Ji Haesu. Then find Do Si-in……
Find Do Si-in………
Choi Suho’s eyes slowly slid shut.
I’ll ask for forgiveness.
Even if Si-in doesn’t forgive me, that’s fine. I still need to tell him I’m sorry at least once.
And after that, I’ll go to those who committed things they never should have done—and I’ll ask all of them for forgiveness.
Having steeled his resolve, Choi Suho opened the door to his father’s hospital room with a face pale as ash and bruised all over. Inside was Jang Jihun, who had come to look after his father. It seemed he’d already heard from Jang Jihyeok—there was no surprise on his face.
Still, when Chairman Jang Yuguk’s breathing grew rough upon seeing Choi Suho, Jang Jihun pressed the nurse call button and stood up.
“If you have something to say, now’s the time.”
Straightening his disheveled clothes, Jang Jihun frowned as he looked at Choi Suho, whose face had shrunk to half its size.
“What the hell happened to you…… tch.”
Just as Jang Jihun clicked his tongue and was about to leave the room, Choi Suho lifted his casted right arm and blocked him. The plaster cast slammed into Jang Jihun’s arm, sending pain shooting through him. Frowning, Jang Jihun muttered lowly, “What.” Choi Suho spoke with a bloodless face.
“Father…… does he have no consciousness at all?”
“They’ve only put him on life-support. You could say there’s no consciousness.”
Despair deepened on Choi Suho’s face. Jang Jihyeok, Jang Jihun, and Jang Jihae—none of them could ever call him ‘Dad.’ But Choi Suho naturally shouted, “Dad!” and ran to him. Jang Jihun watched him with eyes full of jealousy, then abruptly turned his back and left.
The nurse skillfully administered the medication. Choi Suho sat down and burst into tears, calling out as if half out of his mind, “Dad, Dad, it’s Suho. Suho.”
“Su…ho?”
At that moment, Jang Yuguk—who seemed like he’d never regain consciousness again—called Choi Suho’s name, exuding the scent of sickness. Perhaps because it was the hoarse smell of an old Alpha, it didn’t make him retch like before. Instead, it felt like a signal that Dad’s death had drawn even closer, and thick tears pooled at Choi Suho’s eyes.
“Yes, Dad. It’s me, Suho. Suho.”
“Suho, my son…… oh, my son…… Suho……”
Coughing, Jang Yuguk groped through the air with clouded eyes, searching for Choi Suho. Once, he’d lived like an emperor, commanding countless affiliates of Free Enterprise. Now his hands were shriveled, wrinkled, and mottled with black spots—wretched things—but they were still full of love and concern for Choi Suho.
Choi Suho grabbed that hand—the one that had never once held Jang Jihyeok, Jang Jihun, Jang Jihae, or even his wife—and rubbed it against his cheek. When Choi Suho buried his face in his father’s palm and sobbed uncontrollably, Jang Yuguk, momentarily lucid, leaned against the bed rail and looked at his late-born son with aching eyes.
“Suho… it really is only you.”
“Dad!”
Seeing Jang Yuguk regain his senses for a moment, Choi Suho spoke in a bright, hopeful voice.
“You recognize me, right? It’s me, Suho!”
“Yes. My son. Suho.”
At the shift from “our son” to “my son,” Choi Suho broke into a radiant smile. Seeing that smile make Jang Yuguk’s eyes waver, Choi Suho hesitated. Jang Yuguk noticed he wanted to ask something, and deciding he should say what needed to be said while he was still lucid, he waved the nurse away, tightly grasped his son’s hand, and spoke.
“Suho, Dad already called in the lawyers and prepared my will. I left you more than Jihae, so don’t worry. You know how much Dad loves you, right? You won’t need to worry about your old age, so don’t worry.”
“Is that…… because of Juho Dad?”
At the sudden mention of the name ‘Juho,’ Jang Yuguk’s tear-filled eyes wavered—but he didn’t deny it.
“Your dad and Juho loved each other. It’s true.”
He wanted to ask, Then why did Juho Dad commit suicide?—but before he could, Jang Yuguk tightly gripped Choi Suho’s hand and said,
“Don’t believe anyone else. Believe Dad’s words!”
Choi Suho’s eyes trembled sharply, like thorny branches shaken by a cold wind. Jang Yuguk captivated him with a voice utterly steady and overwhelmingly persuasive—just like when he gathered employees and gave speeches. Even as he was nearly dying.
“You have to believe Dad’s words—the words of the person who was closest to Juho and loved him the most. Suho, I’m sorry I told you so late. But I couldn’t speak carelessly. I was afraid you’d get hurt.”
“Why would I be hurt?”
“I won’t lie about this. This… this is Dad’s fault!”
Jang Yuguk spoke as thick, remorseful tears spilled from his eyes.
“It’s Dad’s fault for making the wrong choice and leaving you behind! Dad’s fault for loving Juho but failing to protect him! If I hadn’t, I could’ve given you everything! This father’s heart, unable to give you everything……!”
Reaching out with trembling hands, Jang Yuguk pulled Choi Suho into an embrace. Blinking dully in his father’s arms, Choi Suho slowly wrapped his arms tightly around him.
What should I say?
I don’t know. I really don’t know. Either way, it is true that Juho Dad killed himself because of Dad……
—Juho died because of you!
Grandmother’s words were true too……
“Suho!”
“……”
“Suho!”
“Dad. I—I…… I’ve done so, so many wrong things……”
“What are you talking about? What wrong could you have done?”
As Choi Suho confessed his own sins just as his father had confessed his, Jang Yuguk wiped away Choi Suho’s tears and spoke while silently sobbing himself.
“You are the son of Jang Yuguk and Choi Juho. What wrongdoing could you possibly have?”
Crying, Choi Suho stammered out his words.
“At—at the hotel suite……”
“Played around a bit with some Alphas and Omegas? Oh, my baby, my adorable baby.”
Dad knew. Choi Suho’s eyes widened. Jang Yuguk smiled indulgently and continued.
“You paid them the price in a proper way I taught you. That’s enough. You paid them money, didn’t you? By the rules of capitalism, they gave their bodies and you gave money. That’s not a crime. Has there ever been an actual lawsuit?”
“N-no.”
“Has Do Si-in ever filed a lawsuit?”
“No…… h-however, their lives became miserable and painful because of me.”
“That’s because they’re weak! Because they have no will! How is that your fault? You’re a dominant Alpha who has the right to enjoy himself!”
Wiping Choi Suho’s tears, Jang Yuguk said, “You really do resemble Juho. Such a kind heart. Just like our son,” and pulled him into a tight embrace—but that warmth no longer felt like it used to.
Is it really okay for things to be like this? Is it really fine to hide behind Father and not apologize to them?
Having received absolution from the father who held everything in his hands, Choi Suho staggered as though standing on a dangerously taut rope. If he chose this path, it felt like he’d fall. If he chose the other, it felt like he’d plunge straight into the abyss. He couldn’t properly choose either.
“Why should you apologize? Hold your head high!”
“D-Dad……”
