(Sixty-one chapter)
Namjoon grits his teeth in rage, unable to accept the scandalous situation laid in front of him. He grabs a newspaper, abruptly scrunching the paper to shrivel as his hands formed into fists, clenched tightly.
Then with all the force he could muster, Namjoon threw the destroyed paper at the floor, stomping his foot. How he wishes he could pull his hair out and scream like an insane person. How could fate be this tricky all the time?
Someone tsked behind him and he turned around, surprised at first before recognising the person standing at his door and a scowl took up his expression.
“You should not go around throwing stuff on the floor son.”
Namjoon gritted through his teeth, “what are you doing here?”
His mother, Mrs Kim chuckled as she entered her son's room while ignoring his obvious turmoil. She picked up the scrunched paper and threw it in the bin before looking around the room.
“I must say you have a nice room.” She inspects the flower vase kept beside Namjoon's bed, a gift that Sowon had given to him. "But very basic."
Namjoon crosses his arms, doing his best not to break anything because he was living in someone else's house and this was not his expensive house where he could freely do whatever he wished.
"I asked what are you doing here? Stop ignoring my question."
Mrs Kim looks at the small bookshelf filled with books.
"Am I now?" She takes out a book and Namjoon skips the urge to yank the book from his mother's hand. "Maybe I would have answered if your question was more plausible."
"Stop beating around the bush."
Namjoon continues to glare at his mother who puts the book back into the same place before taking a seat on Namjoon's bed.
"You should change that crude attitude Namjoon, I have always told you."
"Does it even matter?"
"Of course it does." Mrs Kim stands up, now walking towards Namjoon with an eerie calm smile. "You had no respect for me today, in front of the Han household."
"Respect? Do you think you deserve that because you suddenly decided to waltz into this house as my mother?"
Namjoon doesn't fear changing his tone into something more bitter and unacceptable. His mother continues to maintain her cool stance, not once blinking.
"Of course I do."
He scoffed, "you must be delusional then. I never respected someone who married three times for her selfish reasons."
Mrs Kim narrows her eyes, noticeably dissatisfied.
"And I thought you are supposed to keep our family matters to ourselves. What are you trying to achieve here?"
"Speaking the truth."
She inhales sharply, "look Namjoon. I am just trying to be nice here so why don't you try to act mature as well?"
"Why should I?"
"Because I am your mother!"
Mrs Kim snaps, her voice pitched higher than before. Her eyes were now wider, chest heaving in anger. Namjoon, however, continues to glare at her without any regard for her sudden outburst.
"Only biologically. More than a mother you have been a wife, Mrs Kim."
He snaps with sarcasm but it definitely affected his mother whose mouth parted in shock.
"What did you just say?"
"The truth." Namjoon uncrosses his arms "Does it bother you?"
He scowled at her but inside, a tiny bit of his heart was hoping to hear an apology or admittance to his mother's fault. That she would try to rectify her mistakes by being honest. But she shakes her head, disappointing Namjoon more than what was left.
"You are certainly delusional Namjoon. Being stuck in the past is useless, get over it."
Mrs Kim turned and took a seat on the sofa before relaxing her body in a comfortable position, sighing like she was resting in a sauna and was oblivious of the argument she just had.
Her son stared at her in wild disbelief, wondering who the woman was in front of him. This can't be my mother, Namjoon told himself. It cannot be the same woman who risked her life to save Namjoon but that was in the past.
How could that selfless woman change into such a vicious lady?
"Your father was asking about the marriage so I decided to come here."
"He is not my father, I told you already."
His mother merely shrugs, grabbing some grapes from the fruit bowl and chewing on a piece.
"Biologically, no. But you still use his surname, work under his company and he is my husband so he is still your father."
"I live in my own house, earn my own money and the company? I don't even work there, it's just the name. Take it away and I wouldn't even blink. That doesn't make him my father."
His mother ignores him and eats some more grapes.
"The girl. . .Han Sowon was it?" Namjoon gives a sharp look at his mother when he hears the name, daring her to try anything funny. "She's not that pretty."
He marches over to where she was seating, letting out a low growl.
"Don't you dare bring her into this."
"Why not? It's your marriage after all."
Mrs Kim rubs her now empty hands on her pyjamas, grimacing once before looking back at her son with a grin. When he doesn't answer and only gives her a death stare, she continues.
"She is the main character in this whole thing, which you already know right?"
Namjoon clenches his hands into a fist.
"I mean she is okay but I think you can find someone better. If not for the stupid deal, I wouldn't have to adjust in this small place."
"You should leave if you think the deal is stupid or this house is small."
Mrs Kim smirks, "Now where would the fun be there? I wouldn't get to see you so riled up for a girl anywhere else."
Promptly his mother stands up, a challenging look in her eyes.
"You didn't tell her, right? About the deal?" When Namjoon looks at her, stunned, Mrs Kim breaks into another grin. "Wow, you really didn't."
"Shut up-"
"You know Namjoon, it would hurt the poor girl if I tell her the truth. So if you want me to keep quiet for some days, you better start treating me with more respect."
Namjoon opens his mouth to retort but she raises an eyebrow, forcing him to close his mouth because she was right. He had plans to tell Sowon but at the right time and situation, not when everything was messy like this.
"See? It's not so hard to obey me." Mrs Kim shrugged.
"If you try anything funny I swear-"
"Then what? You can't even do anything except being stuck in the past and complain."
They stare at each other for a moment, in tense silence before Namjoon huffs out. He had enough for today.
"Get out. Now."
He expects his mother to retort back but she complies, walking towards the door with the same glare before she stops, hand on the doorknob.
"And remember this. If you can't fulfil the deal, then there are better candidates out there. I am sure you know what I mean by this."
With that, she leaves his room and Namjoon relaxes an iota.
The presence of his mother was now terrifying to the extent he had his guard up all the time. How dare she try to blackmail him? After all the sacrifices he had done to get so far, Namjoon could not let his mother ruin it.
He needed to find a way to fix this.
A/N: Guess who is back after 2 months of exams?