I stood in front of my father's desk dutifully while we went through his monthly rant. "Do you have any idea how much you're spending? How on earth does a young man go through this type of allowance in one week? Have you any concept of money? When are you going to start putting in your time at the office? It's about time you learned where all this money you spend comes from."
I struggled to maintain a stoic façade until he told me calmly to sit down. I flickered a glance at him. He usually didn't do that. I sat on the edge of one of the leather chairs facing his massive desk. As soon as he started to harangue me again, I leaned back into the chair, slouching to show him that I really wasn't interested in what he had to say.
"Do you see what I mean?" Kim Jihoon bellowed as he got to his feet. "Look at you! You just sit there as if nothing I'm saying is important! I know you do this on purpose just to get me angry." He took a breath and sat down again. "Listen, Taehyung. I don't want to fight with you every time I see you."
"That's news," I mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
"You spend more in a week than some of my employees make in a month. You don't see a problem here?"
I rolled my eyes and bit back my opinion that he should pay them more. Instead, I glanced at my watch. "Sir, I do have a class in a short while and—"
"A class? As in one class?" he asked mockingly. "That's the other thing. If you are serious about college, then start doing something to advance your education. One class a semester is pointless. I'm going to tell you this only once: either you start applying yourself to your studies with a real degree in mind, or I stop your allowance."
"What? You can't do that. I'm twenty-one," I sputtered, sitting up.
"According to the trust fund rules, you don't reach majority age until twenty-five," he replied with a smirk. "Did you forget? If you don't do something to contribute to this family's standing or finances, then you're cut off for the next four years. Understood?"
"That is unfair," I muttered. "Taewoo isn't—"
"Don't start about your brother," he interrupted me. "As dim as he is, even he got a college degree, and he's married."
"Some marriage," I replied. "Binna barely lives with him. She's always off traveling, and Woo's always holed up with some slut or other. Good luck getting a grandson. Yet you still give him money."
"This is not about your brother," Jihoon said sternly. "He did what I asked. He got his degree, he married advantageously, and he works for me. Which of those have you done?"
"I'm only twenty-one," I said sullenly.
"You're still a Kim," he replied angrily. "You still have responsibilities to this family. If your brother doesn't come through for the family, some of those responsibilities fall on you."
"What do you mean?"
"Everything our family owns depends on having a next generation to pass it on to, so that they can keep it going. Elite Eight interests in this town are always under attack, and we must continue to hold the line. Your lifestyle won't last five years after I'm gone if there is no one to keep our family interests going. If your brother can't give me those heirs, then it will fall to you."
I tried not to smirk. "Heirs? From me?"
He shook his head. "I've spoken to Yoo Wonshik. His oldest daughter Mayong is due to finish her degree in a year."
"Yoo Mayong?" I sputtered. "No. May is not wife material. She's...she's, uh, no. She's got more miles on her than an old Greyhound bus."
"It doesn't matter that the bloom is off the rose. She's smart, and Wonshik will surely put her on his company's board. She's not ideal, but you're not Kim Minjun's son. I don't require you to marry a virgin." His eyes flicked over me. "Not with your reputation."
I scoffed. "My reputation? Great. Seokjin gets Min Yoona, the French model, and I get Yoo May, the withered rose. Just great."
"I said I spoke to him. Nothing's been decided. Anyway, last week, he told me that she was hesitant and would prefer to marry a guy who hasn't slept with every female in Texas."
"Ha! She said that? That's so funny," I snapped. All the way May really had some nerve! "I would prefer not to marry May."
"Do you have anyone else in mind?"
I clenched my jaw when my mind immediately went to Sofia. Why would I even think about her when discussing marriage? What was wrong with me? Was I losing my mind?
"We will discuss this further. You heard my conditions. Degree and marriage. In any order. Now, you may go to your class."
I stood up and walked stiffly to the door. I turned to face him. "Have a good day, sir." I waited for him to dismiss me with a nod before leaving the office.
I arrived on campus earlier than expected, still smarting from my father's smackdown. Sofia had wanted us to go over some items for our presentation next week, but she had texted me that she was studying and would be done in twenty minutes. I decided to get a coffee from the café at the student center. I had so many things running through my mind that I didn't notice someone calling me until she hit the notebook I was carrying.
"Hey!"
"Hi, Taehyung," a lean girl with long blonde hair smiled at me from a bench.
I glanced around the area, noticing that the bench was not in direct view of the student center's glass windows and doors. I smiled and sat down. "Sienna...hi."
She beamed at me and slid closer. Sienna Harrison looked like a wholesome California beach girl—pretty and sexy without looking cheap. Her clear blue eyes were bright and honest. Although I didn't have any inclination to have a steady girl, Sienna was probably the steadiest among them. I'd dated her on and off for almost a year. Sienna had no Royal background, but she could give head to rival any Royal pseudo-virgin.
"I was just about to—" I began to make my usual excuse for not calling her when she cradled my face in her hands and began kissing me. So much for small talk. She knocked the notebook out of my hands and hopped onto my lap, still kissing me enthusiastically.
"Oh, my God, I've missed you," she said breathlessly before kissing me again.
I guessed I had missed her, too, I thought as I held her tighter. But as much as I enjoyed this, I had no desire to be seen making out in public. Not so much because it was inappropriate but because other girls might see and think I was preferring one over another. And Sofia might see.
Sofia! I lost focus and interest and slid Sienna off me. "Yeah, it's great to see you, too, but...I've got to go study."
"You? Why?" she asked in a giggly voice, trying to get close to me again. "Why do you need to worry about studying and classes and all that? I mean, I have to graduate and get a job, just like everyone else, but you don't have to. You're rich and hot and," she nuzzled my neck, "so good in bed."
I gently pushed her away, my smile gone. "I don't get what you're saying."
"Taetae," she whined. "Everyone knows you don't need to be here—although I'm so glad you are!" She tried to put her arms around me again, but I held her hands down. "But it's still cute that you go to class. I don't care as long as I get to see you. You want to meet up after you're done studying?"
I looked away from her, wondering if others thought the same thing. It was cute that I went to class? Did everyone think I was a joke? So, nobody thought of me as smart, just rich and hot and...good in bed. I might have considered that a compliment if it didn't sound so patronizing. Seokjin's words came back to me. I want something of my own. I don't just want to be a rich Royal. Maybe he was right. What did I have of my own? What had I accomplished? Good in bed, perhaps, but that did not make me feel better about myself. At least not anymore. Was I just wasting my time?
"Tae?"
"Hey, it was so good to see you, but I have to go," I said, reaching down to retrieve my notebook. I stood up. "Sorry. I'll call you, okay?" I said curtly and walked off. I dumped the coffee cup into a trash can and headed toward the library distractedly, wondering if everyone thought I was useless.
I wondered why Sienna's words bothered me so much. Any other time, I would have laughed and maybe even bragged about it, but today I felt distressed, almost angry.