Ceo's favorite idol (open Ending )

Chapter 32

I felt a knot in my stomach as I walked into my dad's office. Nhu decided to wait outside in the lobby and let me talk to him alone. He said he didn't want to make him feel like we were ganging up on him. I appreciated his support, but I also wished he was with me. I knew my dad and I had some serious issues to sort out.

My father's office was always a place of fear for me. It was where he would punish me for any misdeeds, real or imagined. I hated going there, even when we were on good terms. But now I had no choice. I needed to talk to him. I knocked on his door and heard his cold voice say "what?" from inside. I shivered.
I knock on his door again. "I heard you the first time come in or leave." He says. I slowly open his door. His office was always dark and cold. It suited him I guess. "speak" he says without lifting his head from his work. I knew if he knew it was me he would have already kicked me out. "dad" I say. He looks up so quick it startles me. He moves out of his chair and comes closer to me. I stiffen up as he wraps his arms around and hugs me. Confusion is an understatement of what I felt. I thought he would be mad at me. "how have you been?" my dad asks genuinely. "fine?" I'm still confused because he blocked me. Why would he care? "good good, sit" he instructs me as he takes a seat across from me. "how have you been?" I ask him out of politeness. "fine" he says. We have a second of awkward silence. "I'm sorry about the Anna thing, I'm sorry about living my dreams through you. After I stopped talking to you and you didn't try to reach out I saw how much happier you were without me always breathing down your neck. I wanted to apologize for the way I've been treating you lately. I know I've been pushing you too hard to follow my footsteps, I'm sorry." He says. I'm truly shocked. I have never in my life heard my father apologize for something." it's fine "I say still feeling weird." no it's not fine. I'll make it up to you."

"Hey, can you help me out with something? I want Anna and her father to leave me and my lover alone," I ask him. He gives me a curious look, with his lips pursed and eyebrows raised. "Lover?" my dad asks. "Yeah," I simply reply. "Don't worry, I'll talk to them," he says, keeping himself busy. "Oh, and one more thing, could you get in touch with a private investigator?" I ask. "Only the best for you," he says, still focused on his papers. "Don't you want to meet my lover?" I ask him. "Let's not do this now, we've just started getting along," he says, rubbing his forehead. "So you know about my lover and you don't accept it?" I ask, feeling heartbroken. "Let's not go there, okay?" he says. "Well then, come meet him," I say. "You brought him here?" he asks. "Yes," I reply.
"I've been wanting to introduce you to him for a long time, dad. Why are you so reluctant?" I say, i kind of knew why he was acting this way but I wanted him to say it. "Fine, fine. Let's get this over with" he says. He walks to the door and looks at me. "You're the one who's so eager, so you go first". I try to hide my smile as we head to the lobby where nhu was.

Như was sitting in the lobby, so still that he looked like a statue. He only moved when he saw me and my dad walking towards him. He smiled and bowed his head politely to my dad. "Hi, I'm Nunew," he said in a shy voice. "I know, you've been the talk of the town for the past few months," my dad said not really rudely but his voice is hard and cold, making everything sound harsh. "Oh, I hope it's mostly good things," Như said, trying to lighten the mood. "So-so," my dad said, not sounding impressed.

"Dad, would you like to join us for lunch? You could talk to Nhu and get to know him better," I suggest lowkey hoping he would say yes. He looks at me uninterested, so I add, "Come on, we could talk about business." He just sighs. "Or we could raincheck," I say accepting his rejection. "No, it's fine, let's go for lunch," he says, searching his pockets for his car keys. He walks out of the building with Nhu and I following suit. We get in his car with Nhu in the backseat and my dad and I in front. The car is silent and awkward, so I try to turn on the radio, but a look from my dad stops me. I look at Nhu through the rearview mirror and see him at the back trying not to laugh. I smile back at him and see my dad giving me the side eye, so I stop. We finally get to a restaurant, nothing fancy, just decent. We order and take our seats. Everyone is quiet, so I decide to break the ice. "Dad, you know Nhu loves classic opera, he sings some of the songs as vocal exercises," I say proudly. "Is that so?" he says, making it so hard to continue the conversation. "Yes, aren't you going to ask which are his favorites?" I say. "You are probably going to say one of my favorites since you know them," he says.

My dad's dry responses are not a sign of him being difficult. He has always been like that, even when I was a kid. He used to communicate with me mostly through eye glances and short answers. Now he speaks in full sentences, which is an improvement. I appreciate his effort. "Nhu? Is that your name?" he asks suddenly. "No sir, it's a nickname that... your son gave me" Nhu replies. I can tell he is nervous to say his nickname for me in front of my dad. "He renamed you? And you agreed to it?" my dad questions. Does he not understand how nicknames work? "No dad, it's a term of endearment " I explain. He said nothing after that.

We were relieved when the food arrived, because we had run out of things to talk about and the silence was getting uncomfortable. Nhu and I decided to have some fun and started to touch each other's feet under the table. But we had to stop when I accidentally kicked my dad in the leg. He didn't seem to notice, though, because he just kept on eating without any reaction.

"Let me pay for the bill," Nhu says, taking out his card. "No, I'll pay, I suggested we go out to eat," I say, putting his card in his hand. I take mine out but my dad beat me to it. He paid, gestured for us to get in the car. He got in the car, looked at Nhu through the rear view mirror. "What are your favorite opera classics?" he asks Nhu. I internally smile at his progress. "Well, I really like La Traviata and The Magic Flute," Nhu says. My dad just nods in approval and drives off.

Nhu pov

I was nervous about meeting hia's dad, but I'm a cat lover and I know cats can sense fear and try to boss you around. So I decided to act cool and confident around hia's dad. He was waiting for us in his office building, which looked very fancy and expensive. I stayed in the lobby and tried not to touch anything while hia went to talk to his dad first to warm him up to meeting me. After a while, they came back to  me. They looked like they were from the same mold, just different ages. I greeted his dad In a polite and respectful way. "Hi, I'm Nunew," i say as confidently as I could. "I know, you've been the talk of the town for the past few months," his dad says. I get worried, was he talking about the paparazzi pictures with hia? My dating rumor scandals? My performances and awards? I try not to over think. He did agree to meet me so it could not be the bad things right?

" Oh, I hope it's mostly good things," I joke but no one laughed. I cringe hard internally. "So-so" he answers me. I'm relieved he thought I was genuinely asking and not telling a bad joke.