Pay With Your Heart

Dan-Han blankly looked at the dark grey sky through the window of his office. He still could not believe his mother was gone. It's been three days since her death, and he was still in a state of shock. He thought about the most recent gift she had gotten for him, and a wry, derisive laugh rolled out his lips.

She had been subtly hinting him about her departure, but he had been so blind to see it. He should have understood then. Now he knew why Eun-sun had asked him to move back into his family house. She wanted him to spend more time with his mother without telling him the reason for it. Couldn't she have just told him? But who surprised him the most was Jae-Hyun. He has been his friend for years. He knew him better than Eun-sun did. He had even warned him not to help his mother hide a secret, yet what did he do?

He lazily lolled back on his swivelling chair. He had been at the company since he left the hospital. He couldn't go home. He didn't want to go home. He looked at his buzzing phone to see the thousandth apology text message Eun-Sun had sent. She wasn't going to give up, was she?

He has heard about her countless visit to his office, but he had refused to see her. He couldn't see past what she did to him.

He had just one desire, and that was to bury himself deep in work. He didn't want to think about anything else. He might lose his mind if he does, but the constant buzzing of the intercom in the last seconds, which he found to be very annoying, was no longer ignorable.

"Someone else has better be dead." He snarled the moment he picked the receiver.

"P.. president Lee, Ms park is here."

"I'm not receiving guests." He coldly replied. That has been his reply for the last three days.

"Sir, your niece and uncle are here." Secretary Chang-wok hurriedly announced before he hung up the call.

A frown crossed his face when he heard the people waiting for him. A few moments of hesitation ensued before he sighed, "Let them in."

"Big brother." Came Ni-Na's voice as she ran towards him and pounced on him the moment he opened the door, completely wiping the dead-pan look off his face.

"Ni-Na", He called as he hugged her small framed body. As much he'd didn't want to see anybody right now, he was somewhat surprised to see her there, not just her but also her parents: his uncle and his wife.

"Uncle, Aunty." He bowed while they nodded at him.

"Dan-Han, my dear." His aunt held his chin as a sad smile crossed her face. "I'm so sorry, dear." She said while he nodded. Sorry? He was tired of hearing that word already.

"We heard you've been hiding behind your desk for days now, and one look at you tells me it's true." His aunt said as she examined his face. She was just like his mother and Ni-Na, always dramatic and excessive.

He raked his hand through his hair as he lolled on the sofa exasperatedly. He didn't know how to reply to them, and would he be rude if he asked them to leave?

He watched as they all sat down. His uncle and his wife sat on the sofa opposite him, while Ni-Na sat by his side. By the look on her face, he could tell she had been crying. She was always so fond of his mother. Who wasn't? She always had a way of stealing people's hearts.

"Dan-Han, we know you're grieving the loss of your mother, but you can't do this to yourself. Burying yourself with work isn't the right way to grieve." His aunt said. "Your father-"

"Would be fine." He interjected her, a dark gloom covering his face. He still hasn't forgotten how his constant fights with her had brought her to the hospital. If only he had been reasonable, maybe she'd be here now. But no, the man loved his fights. He hoped he would get it with her corpse now.

His uncle nodded in understanding. He sighed and said, "We all didn't expect her to leave us so soon. Your mother was the best gift our family ever received." He paused and sighed again, "We know you're grieving and beating yourself up about her death, but there's nothing you can do now. You must carry on as the head of the family."

"And who said I'm not doing my job?" He asked, making his uncle stutter.

"I...I"

"What your uncle is saying is, you should step out and do something else, Dan-Han. Hiding behind a series of meetings and paperwork doesn't help you. Let your emotions out, son."

'Son?' Would it be unfair if he said he didn't want to be called that anymore?

"Your secretary said you haven't been eating. And have you seen the state of your secretary? He looks like he could use a break. Please, Dan-Han, don't do this." She earnestly pleaded. She could tell he wasn't even listening to what he was saying by the look on his face.

Dan-Han didn't think they understood how he felt, so he didn't find the need to explain or say anything. He nodded. His eyes darted towards the door when it suddenly opened, and an unexpected figure walked through it.

Ji-Tae.

A deep and gloomy frown covered his face when the man walked into his office and bowed, "Mother, father." He greeted before turning towards Dan-Han.

"Hello, brother." He greeted while the others stared at Dan-Han with hanging breath.

This was trouble, wasn't it.

....

Hey guys, happy new week.

How are you all been doing? Sorry for the slow updates. You all know about my service. It's been quite a challenge jogging between working at my place of primary assignment and writing. I can't promise daily uploads or masses releases for now, but I'll try my best to keep updating at least more than thrice a week. I hope you guys can bear with me?

Thanks for your understanding.

Da_Rose.