Chapter 71: Hueningkai part II
"Hahaha! Are you nuts? Why would I go with someone whom I just met yesterday? Even if you're my biological father, that doesn't mean you are my original parents! They raised me and gave me the love I needed all these years. But you just came today showing some papers to prove that I'm your son and then you're saying I should just go with you?" Hueningkai suddenly got furious because he couldn't handle the news anymore. He just got to know that he wasn't a son of the lady whom he always used to call mom. And all of a sudden, some guy showed up, claiming he's his biological father. He felt like he was the protagonist of some drama and it was a plot twist that he was experiencing.
"I know it'd be very difficult for you to accept the truth. But what more could I do? I tried my best but I failed again and again. Moreover, I know that you won't just follow me out of nowhere and I'm not asking you to do that! I'm trying to say that can you just give me a chance to prove myself? And yes, I won't force you to come with me. It'd be up to you to decide. But I really hope you'll change your mind and call me father some day. And you'll visit your mother so that she could feel at ease and light up the regret she's been living with. Can you promise me that?" His father asked emotionally and came to him.
"I could finally find you! Please don't turn me down!" He said again while holding Kai's hand. Yeonjun was standing on a side and watching them. He was afraid at first but when Hueningkai said those words to his father, he became happy. But again when his father was talking with him in a very gentle voice, his chest felt heavy. As if he was gonna lose something very important to him forever. He stood there like a statue.
"Can I talk with you for a moment?" Yeonjun's mother asked Hueningkai's father.
"Um, sure! Should we go for a walk?" He proposed since he could understand what the lady wanted to talk about.
"You guys must be hungry, right? Go ahead and eat first! I already prepared the food. Huening-ah! Can you serve the dishes and then eat with your sisters and brother? And, Yeonjun! Go help him, alright! Don't fight, gotcha?" Yeonjun's mother said to the kids before going outside since she knew it'd take a long time to finish talking with the guy.
They were walking through the wide road. There weren't any vehicles since the alley could be called both a village or town. It was a riverside road. And that's why the air was fresh. It felt nice to take a walk. Moreover, the breezing wind was embracing them from time to time. Hueningkai's father wished if he could just live there forever!
"Mister, I understand everything! I know how it feels. Children will never understand the pain of losing one's own child. Since I'm also a mother, I can. But how can I trust you? Even if he's willing to go with you, how can I feel at ease after sending him to you? You know, our Huening is way too innocent for his own good. He trusts just everybody. Yes, he said some harsh words a while ago to you but I know he didn't mean that. He blurted his thoughts out on a whim. So, I apologize on behalf of him if he provoked you. You know, he really listens to us. And he's well behaved. But I'm scared. I'm scared because he's well behaved but he never exposed his true emotions. That's why I'm afraid that he'll burst out someday. I've been raising him for twenty years but I couldn't recognize him yet. I think nobody can know the true self of him. Unless he's willing to show his true sides to someone. So, you say, what should I do? How can I feel alright if he goes with you? If he leaves us behind? Do you think I can live? Your wife left him with me and made me his second mother. Even if he wasn't well behaved we'd all love him. Don't you think so? He's such a gem so I don't want to let go of him." She stopped and looked at the river. The wind started to blow strongly and made her hair waved in the air. She looked at him though she didn't expect any answer. Her eyes were filled with tears and fears.
"Uhm, I know you can't trust just anybody all of a sudden. And I'm really grateful for that. Now, it seems like my son was handed to a great person. And you don't think of him as a burden. I don't know how I should thank you for taking care of him all these years. I don't know how you raised him or what he's fond of. So, even though he's my son, I don't know who he really is!
But, ma'am! You don't have to worry. If he comes with me, he can still come to visit you. And you can still go to visit him anytime. Furthermore, his life would be settled and he won't need to worry about his future. You can count on me. And I can assure you that I don't have any bad intentions. As I said, I've been searching for him for twenty years. And now that I could finally find him, do you think I would let him go? Think about it! Put yourself in my shoes. What'd you do if it was you? And it's all one-sided anticipation. I don't know if he can ever treat me like his father. Nor do I know if he'd be willing to go back to the place where he belongs. And if he's not willing, I promise I won't force him. But after listening to you, I really want to get the gem though it'll gonna depend on him whether he'd agree to go where he truly belongs. But can I ask you for a favor?" He looked at her and begged.
"What?" She asked.
"Can I pay you back the money that you spent on him all these years?" He asked.
"Did you really loose screws from your head? Why would I? I said, he's my son! If you really wanna do that, then you can just get lost! I won't receive a single penny from you!" She got angry all of a sudden and started walking. Hueningkai's father understood that he shouldn't have said that because they didn't take care of his son for money.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I didn't go deep about it and said so." He admitted his fault and said.
"By the way, I am Nabil David Huening, Chairperson of the Nabil group. It's a pleasure to meet you and I hope you'll understand why I said something like that earlier." He said and extended his hand for a handshake.
"What? A-are you...?" She was shocked for a while because she never thought such a big company's chairman would visit him. Moreover he turns out to be the father of the kid whom she took care of all these years. And maybe that's why he offered money. She was a bit flustered but she wanted to hide her emotion. So she put a smile on her face and shook her hand with the guy.
"Nice to meet you too. You can call me Mrs. Choi."
"But please don't ask or propose anything to him yet. Give him some time to think it over and let us spend more time together. I never expected this day would come so soon." She sighed and looked at the clear sky.
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"Hi! I'm Huening Bahiyyih." The younger daughter introduced herself to Yeonjun and Hueningkai with a big smile.
"I'm Huening Lea." Said the elder daughter.
"I'm Hueningkai." Kai finally calmed his mind and smiled a bit.
"Woah! You guys really look like triplets!" Yeonjun noticed they all looked alike and he was a bit amused by it.
"Hyung! Let's go and eat first! I'm hungry!" Kai said and went to the kitchen. Yeonjun also went after him since it was his mom's order.
"Hey, I-I uh….. I'm sorry. For behaving rude with you some days ago...and earlier too….I, uh…..you know my temper, right? I shouldn't be angry with you. I'm really sorry." Yeonjun didn't know how to say sorry to anyone so he was hesitating with his words.
"It's okay. I'm used to it anyway. But, can you answer something truthfully?" Kai asked and looked at Yeonjun, giving him puppy eyes.
"Hm? What's that?" Yeonjun asked. He was going to put the veggies on a plate but he stopped as he was too curious for the question.
"When mom said I'm not your brother, did you feel sad? Or did it make you feel happy?" He asked, while looking at the soup, which was still boiling inside a pot. After hearing the question, Yeonjun felt like Kai stabbed him with a sharp dagger like words. It felt stuffy and suffocating. He couldn't give an answer to Hueningkai at that moment.