The Afterlife

41) Morning Breeze to a New Day

One insane thing about the world where Yeonjun lived was that no matter how many paths he put for himself to never go off, he ends up on an unexpected road.

Meeting Sihyeon was out of ordinary, and nothing about marrying her was ordinary, either. Giving birth so early in life was also unexpected, and being a cop was the last thing he ever wanted to do ever since he learned that his father had become a politician.

It was not hard to keep up with who his father had become, not only because he started appearing on the television more often than naught, but because he tried to reach out for his son a number of times, the calls that all went unheeded similarly.

Yeonjun understood that the primary reason his father never returned home was his search for a farther glory, an escalation far away from the commitment to family, and it was fair, when he thought about it, because if his mother, who beared him tough and long, did not want him to exist, his father should not be any different.

Thus, another thing that Yeonjun did not expect himself to be doing after decades of his father leaving him was walking right into his office and sitting on luxurious seats waiting for him. It was not something he wanted, and when he did, it was not something that he enjoyed doing.

The office was rather dim, quiet and gloomy with the aura of the lonely man hanging around it. From what Taehyung had told him, Yeonjun's father never married again, but it did not really matter if he did; Yeonjun did not visit him to fasten their ties and live a father-to-son moment; all he really wanted was to see the truth behind why he was helping them.

Between the guards, Yeonjun stood at the door, and he bowed as soon as his father walked into the large office. His eyes were on his son all the way to the chair behind his desk, and he calm facade never broke as he sat and motioned for the guards to walk out, closing the door behind them.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" Choi Hanjae mused when his son straightened, looking at him with lifeless eyes that held nothing behind them; he was plain, transparent, and very much clear to the eyes of his father. "Is the situation far more severe than what Lieutenant Kim had told me? That is why you have come?"

"Quite the opposite, Mr. Prime Minister," Yeonjun scoffed, lips pulling in half a smile when he imagined how exaggerated Taehyung must have sounded when he asked for help, "our leader is reliable; there is no one she cannot defeat."

"Kim Sihyeon, I believe?" The prime minister nodded, looking through the papers before him an absolute leisure, pointlessly, "is that murderer your leader?"

"My wife, too, if you would believe me," Yeonjun nodded immediately, proudly, "from whom I bear a child," Yeonjun's smile was full at the mention of Siwoo, and as he looked around the office, he understood how pointless any attempt to thrill his father into regret would be; the man looked pretty much at ease, and so was Yeonjun, thus there was no point in triggering rivalry, "and she is no murderer."

"She is not, is she?" The prime minister nodded, and it was not clear if he was convinced, faking so, or if he already knew so, but regardless, it was his wife's image in the eyes of people that he cared for the most. "Why have you come, young boy, after so many years?"

"I have to ask of you to cease your help if it is not genuine," Yeonjun sighed, at last, narrowing his eyes at the man who pretended to be lost in his work and responsibilities before him, "believe me, if Sihyeon herself asks me to show mercy when time comes and you deceive us, I will turn her down. I will not care for your position or what it will take me to bring you down, but I simply will."

The silence that followed after was one of consideration. The prime minister put down his act of papers in favor of looking at his son, and Yeonjun took his time to breathe while his father looked up calmly at him.