Pay With Your Heart

Father Lee's room.

Mr Lee couldn't help but stare at his son with great anger burning in his eyes. In contrast, the young man remained unfazed with a stoic look plastered on his face.

"Have you gone mad, Lee Dan-Han?" Came Father Lee's angry voice, but Dan-Han didn't bother to reply to him.

"Tell me why. Why you had to create such havoc to the Chois," He furiously demanded, his hands tightly clenched. How had he missed Dan-Han doing something like this?

"Honey, please don't yell." Mrs Lee tried to placate his mood, but the man was too angry.

Dan-Han chuckled derisively before staring at his father, "It's funny how you have to ask such a question, father." He replied..

"No one touches my woman and go scot-free." He told him just in case he had forgotten, but his answer seemed to have fueled his father's anger even more.

"You.." He gritted his teeth, but his wife held his arm tightly, making him hiss out frustratedly.

"Let them go this instant!" He ordered.

"Not a chance."

"Dan-Han!" Father Lee roared

"Please, son, listen to him." Mrs Lee gently called out, but Dan-Han remained unfazed.

"The Choi's were arrested for many criminal charges, and that has nothing to do with me. I didn't help them commit those crimes." He said.

"But you had them arrested."

"I was simply a good citizen by pointing the authorities in the right direction." He said in his defence.

"You'll let them go, and that's final." Father Lee ordered with all authority, but that only got Dan-Han pissed.

"Is this because they had only tried to hurt a girl who you find to be too common for me?" He asked, but no answer was given. Dan-Han stood up to his feet as he stared at his father eye to eye.

"Simply because you don't like her doesn't mean anyone can come to touch my woman and go scot-free. It took me a long time to win her over. It worked my ass off to get that girl, so if she doesn't mean anything to you, she means the world to me. So no, every Choi stays locked up with or without charge until I say otherwise." He boldly declared.

Father Lee grit his teeth as he watches his son challenge him.

"Dan-Han, be calm." Mrs Lee tried to ease the tension between father and son. "Your father isn't angry because of Eun-sun. The Chois might have a bad record, but that's normal for all the families, and though Mi-Ok might have stepped out of line, we were once close. You can't punish the whole family for her mistake. I taught you better than that, son."

"And who said this is just about what Mi-Ok has done?" He asked his mother before glancing back at his Father.

"Then what is it about?" Father Lee asked.

"This is about me getting rid of a future problem. If only you were observant enough, you'd know Chairman Choi has been trying to buy into our company for years by using other smaller companies. And when he fails, he brings his useless daughter on the table?" He scoffed.

"Father, it seems you're getting old, and you're no longer as vibrant as you once were. Please stick to your retirement and let me look after the family. After all, you entrusted me with this task." He said.

Father Lee looked at him with complicated emotions in his eyes. His brain was trying to ascertain what Dan-Han had just said. Were the Choi that greedy for their family wealth? Has he been overlooking something all these years?

Dan-Han wouldn't lie about something like that. The boy may be many things frightening, but he'd never lie.

If this was true, then he must have been negligent to miss something like that. And his desire to have his son married to his friend's daughter must have hooded his eyes all these while.

He sighed and looked at Dan-Han, "Then maybe you can let the wife and child go. Without their family support, they would be spineless." Father Lee tried to compromise. It might be true that the Chois were greedy, but there had been good days between both families. And without the head of the family, he didn't think they'd be able to cause any harm. At least that's what he thought.

"I can't."

"Dan-Han, please listen to your father." Mrs Lee butted in. She was tired of all the fights and arguments. Her head was beginning to hurt, and thinking this was just the first day? Ah!

Tearing his gaze from them, Dan-Han replied, "I can't promise you anything for now. After all, that girl almost killed Eun-sun."

Mother Lee nodded her head in understanding. "I understood, but please do think about it. And Eun-sun might find it burdening if she discovers all this was because of her." She advised while Dan-Han nodded. He gazed at his father, who had a blank look plastered on his face.

"Father, for my sake, please try to accept Eun-sun." He said before walking out of the room while his father watched him leave.

"Honey, can you please accept the poor girl? I can't begin to imagine how your attitude makes her feel, please?" Mrs Lee pleaded on behalf of her son and Eun-sun. She couldn't imagine how tough it must be for her to stay beside the man whose father didn't want to acknowledge her. It must be tiring for the young girl.

Father Lee looked at her and sighed as he lolled himself on the bed. They were all making him seem like a bad person. It wasn't just as simple as they thought.

Though he had a thing against her background because her father was an irresponsible man and a dangerous criminal who obviously wasn't concerned about his child and family, but he also feared that she was going to become a liability to his son. She might have proven helpful at the office as Dan-Han had claimed, but what about the other aspects of their life?

The Lee family might be formidable, but that doesn't mean it couldn't easily be brought down. They needed someone who had a strong background, maybe not like theirs but almost as good. That way, they could attain even more greater heights in the future. Why couldn't they see that?

"But her background still-" He wanted to say, but his wife cut him short.

"See her for who she is, and not a backup plan for our family name. The girl has so much to give. Just open your heart to her, and you'll get to love her." She insisted, making him sigh exasperatedly. She knew she was making him compromise so much. First, she had made him promise not to cause trouble for Dan-Han and Eun-sun, now she was asking him to accept her as a daughter-in-law.

"Fine, I'll try." He said defeatedly.

...

A/N:

Hi guys,

Please I want to ask for a favour. Please vote for my book, "The Wrong Bride!" Currently participating in the WPC #221 contest.

Thanks a lot