Shadows of Abyss

Chapter 5

Min Eun-je gently pulled her hands away from Hoseok, her gaze steady but her words cutting deep. "What you're calling love is nothing more than sympathy, far from love" she said, her voice firm and unyielding.

Hoseok's brow furrowed as he tried to process her words. "Eomma, what are you saying? This isn't just sympathy I genuinely love Taehyung" he insisted, disbelief and a rising sense of dread in his tone.
Min Eun-je's expression remained cold, her eyes unwavering.

"Sorry, Hoseok, but that's not possible. Every mother wants her child to be happy, and neither your appa nor I can stand by and watch you throw yourself into a fire that will consume you. If this was truly love, then why not Jimin? He almost look like Taehyung if not completely. If you had feelings for him, maybe I could have accepted your so-called love."

"Your appa will surely refused, and either way he's been considering another match for Tae. He's blind, Hoseok completely dependent. After marriage, will he be able to share in your happiness, or will he be too lost in his own darkness? Forgive us, but you must let go of this foolish hope" Min Eun-je declared, her voice as unyielding as steel, leaving Hoseok standing there, frozen in disbelief.

"Eomma, how can you even think like this?" Hoseok's voice trembled with a mixture of anger and desperation. "And Appa? Tae is his best friend's son! Do you really believe he'll be better off with someone else? Do you know what kind of life he'll have?"

Min Eun-je's lips curled into a bitter smile. "If a proposal even comes... Son, let me be brutally honest. Boys like Taehyung, with their disabilities, are not sought after for marriage—they're seen as burdens, mere shadows to be carried through life. And who would marry him anyway? Have you ever seen anyone come to us with a proposal for Taehyung? Look at Jimin—there were lines of suitors for him, but for Tae? Nothing," she spat, her words laced with venom.

"Eomma, maybe there's no line for Tae, but I love him! I want to marry him, and I don't care about anything else! Isn't my love enough?" Hoseok's voice was desperate, pleading for understanding.

"The problem, Hoseok, is that I refuse to watch you become a slave to your own husband, a prisoner to his needs. Nor can I bear the thought of introducing him to society as my blind son-in-law. So let me be clear you can consider my answer a firm NO" Min Eun-je said, her eyes hard as she stared him down.

She paused, her gaze hardening as she fixed her eyes on Hoseok. "You know very well why your appa is taking care of his best friend's son—because of the family restaurant both Kim brothers own he's been eyeing them. But even those restaurants aren't enough compared to us, in the eyes of society, we are the great Min family. And what does Taehyung bring to the table? Nothing. In front of us, he's insignificant. And then there's his flaw... No one will ever accept him."

"Eomma, I can't believe—" Hoseok started, his voice thick with disbelief, but Min Eun-je cut him off, her tone icy and final. "Hoseok, turn off the light when you leave."

Hoseok froze, staring at her as if seeing her for the first time, his mind struggling to reconcile the cold, calculating woman before him with the mother who had once held him close. "Eomma, you're making a terrible mistake," he said, his voice shaking with a mix of rage and desperation. "You think you're protecting me, but all you're doing is destroying what's left of our family. I'll talk to Appa. I know he's after those restaurants, but I won't let his greed dictate my life."
Min Eun-je's gaze didn't waver, her silence more damning than any argument.

"And I'll marry Taehyung, or I won't marry at all. Understand?" Hoseok's words were a vow, not just to his mother but to himself. He turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving the light burning defiantly behind him, as if to challenge the darkness that had suddenly consumed his world.