Warning: This chapter contains blood and violence.
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It took over an hour to get there. They became stuck in traffic, which increased the amount of time it took.
After a quiet ride, it arrived at its destination, and Hyunjin quietly entered the house, where he found his father waiting in front of the dining table.
With his head bowed, he gulped. Why does he have to be home when I don't want him to be home, but never when I need him to be?
His father remained silent, but he was well aware of the regulations. Sit down, listen to the lesson, and then flee to your room. He had become used to it, it was like a routine.
He didn't speak.
1 minute.
2 minutes.
3 minutes.
The more minutes went by, his nervousness increased. Please just fucking say something. Anything. He could feel the anxiety building up in his chest.
4 minutes.
"Father I-"
"I've got questions, Hyunjin."
Then you could've just asked them without wasting 4 minutes.
"What did you get in your test today, Hyunjin?" Of course that's the first fucking thing you ask.
"No one gets their test result the exact day they take it." Hyunjin rolled his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have let his sassiness out especially on his father but that much of a stupid question just brought it out.
"Do NOT talk to me like that. Now tell me the truth."
"I already said. I didn't get it yet."
"I know."
Are you fucking serious.
"Then why are you asking." He said, which didn't sound like a question as he held his anger back.
"I told your dear teacher to give me the papers before he tells you your score."
Hyunjin froze, fucking shit.
"So you haven't got to know your score yet. Would you like to see it?" Hyunjin could guess that he didn't do well by the look on his father's face who grabbed some papers from the desk nearby.
His father looked him in the eye with his own narrow ones before holding the papers in front of him. Hyunjin stared at him for a moment and gulped before softly taking them with his shaky hands.
He closed his eyes and held the front page in front of his face. He didn't dare to open his eyes. He didn't want to. Though he couldn't see his dad now, knowing that he was present here was enough to scare him to death.
He only partly opened his eyes and felt his heart sink. His breath hitched after he gasped seeing the numbers written in bold letters.
49.
It was worse than before. He knew it would be. It didn't reach his father's expectation- reaching his father expectation was far away, it wasn't even a passing mark.
"You know what this means right?"
A million things.
Being kicked out?
Being grounded?
Being homeschooled?
Being disowned?
"since I told mr.choi to take a retest it means he won't be counting the first one on which you scored a pathetic 67, he'll count this one."
"I never asked you to tell him to take a retest. It's your fault for letting this happen." Hyunjin knew he shouldn't be arguing with him. He didn't know where it came from but he didn't hold himself back, it was like his mind speaking itself for him.
"But I did. I expected you to do better. I expected you not to disappoint me and ruin my reputation."
Hyunjin's eyes narrowed at his father, his bitter voice going straight to the boy's heart. He never asked for a restest. 67 was good enough, and now he got a mark that he'll fail.
He tried to change the topic, "how did you know where I was." He said with a cold voice which was opposite with how he spoke with Seungmin.
"You think I'm stupid, Hyunjin? I have a tracker on your phone."
Fuck.
"What were you doing at another person's house, without my permission?" At that rate, Hyunjin just wished he could shout at him to shut the fuck up. Every single word he said triggered him from head to toe and he wished he just never had to hear that voice again.
That fucking stupid stalker of a father. He didn't want his father to be observing wherever he goes. If he cared so much, why was he never home?
"For a project." He answered as short as he could, trying his best to keep his calm. His father hummed, not in a soft way, not in a way he liked.
"You still went there without my permission." Hyunjin stayed quite at the words, gritting his teeth.
"Do you know what will happen now?"
He leaned in front of hyunjin with both his hands resting on the table, Hyunjin flinched away. He didn't see his father, he only saw a heartless monster.
"People will think the Son of Hwang Hyunseok is a disappointment. They'll think the inheritor of the biggest designer company in all of Korea is a failure, scoring a 47 on the subject he's supposed to be focusing on the most. They'll think I am a bad teacher to my own son."
"You were never a good teacher to me."
His father looked at him with anger. "Are you dating that boy from your school? No one takes a whole day working for a project."
Hyunjin flinched, "no!"
There was a moment of silence before Hyunjin inhaled and then spoke. "What's your problem? You don't care about me do you?" Hyunjin questioned, finally standing up.
"Of course I do. I'm doing this for your good. I'm making you strong and worthy of being the inheritor of Hwang corporations. I'm trying to be a good father for you. Why can't you appreciate my efforts Hyunjin?"
"Have you ever appreciated my efforts?"
He said, in a calm voice. There was less anger this time and more sadness. His father stopped talking and stared at him.
"I tried to be a good son for you too, father. I did my best in that test, I stayed up all night to study for it and got a headache. I always try my best in business though I don't like that subject. I can't focus on literature. I tried to be like you...-"
"GOD! HYUNJIN! I've told you a million times! You're the son of a designer! Literature won't help you with that, BUSINESS will! And you still don't listen and all that's on your mind is literature, literature, literature! I want you to study business and you know that-"
"But literature is what I want!" He shut his father up who looked at him with an unreadable expression.
Hyunjin breathed and looked away.
"And what if I was dating that boy? Would you have a problem?"
"I don't want my son liking boys. Especially poor ones." He breathed.
"So what matters to you is gender. Not the one who makes me happy, huh."
He sighed.
"Mom would've understood."
At the moment he said those words came out from his mouth, he felt like his father had some crazy arm strength. Cause as soon as he backhanded him, Hyunjin flew across the huge dining room and hit the back of his head with the hard wall.
The sharp diamond on Hyunseok's wedding ring, (which he refused to take off after Irina's death,) cut a long bruise on Hyunjin's cheek but that was far from concern.
He travelled his hand to the back of his head and it came back completely coated in blood. He could see his blood painted the wall he hit with a deep shade of scarlet.
Through his blurry vision, he couldn't make out what his father was doing, but all he understood from the view in front of his eyes was him staring at the drops of blood of his own son on his hands.
Hyungseok breathed heavily before putting his hand down and approached Hyunjin.
"How dare you..."
His voice was calm, until he finally reached Hyunjin. "How DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT WHEN IT WAS YOUR FAULT SHE DIED?!" he shouted, his loud voice echoing through the room.
"It wasn't my fault!-"
"YES IT WAS!" He shouted. "I can't believe she died for someone worthless like you... She would've been disappointed in you..." He kicked his own son on the stomach.
Hyunjin's flaming eyes got teary when he heard him speak those words. His teeth was still gritted. He was mad at his father.
"Do you remember your promise, father?"
He hated the fact he was asking him this.
He hated the fact he still called this man father.
He hated the fact he still wanted to apologize for not being good enough.
Hyunjin already got the answer to his question by the confused (still angry) look on the man's face when he asked it. He suddenly had the urge to laugh. Was he finally going mad?
"I don't owe any promises to your worthless self."
"You don't remember." He didn't question him. He accused him, chuckling even in an extreme situation as this.
"Don't call me father." Hyunseok seemed to ignore his question, probably because it was true, he didn't remember owing Hyunjin a promise.
"You're not my son."
That's it, he's said it. He disowned him.
"V-very well then." He struggled to get up holding his stomach with his right hand. "I hope you remember your promise one day."
I'll be gone by then.
The man said nothing. Just stared.
"Goodbye, Hwang Hyunseok."
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