Chapter#17: Stop resting your mind, heart and body...
[3rd Person's P.O.V.]
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The Seo siblings' chest throbbed because of the sudden appearance of their Dad in the garden. They both knew that maybe he might resent them or criticize them for almost fighting in the garden. Even though the two siblings were nervous when their Dad suddenly asked for their presence—in his own office inside the house—they still chose to follow him and go.
HaeSoo the eldest, was standing quietly on the right side, in front of their Dad's table. Jacob, on the other hand, was on the left, looking like a worm that was sprinkled with salt—he seems to look restless because he knows he will be the one to be scolded the most.
"What's all about that earlier?" their father asked the two of them blandly.
You could see the worries on Jacob's face, he couldn't help but rub his left thumb with his right thumb. He couldn't look straight at their Dad's eyes.
"Could someone explain to me what I saw earlier?" added by their Dad.
"I'm so sorry, Dad," Jacob said shyly as he bow his head.
"Can't you tell that while your chin is lifted up as you speak?" Manuel said without emotion, as he slowly moved the pages of the documents he was reading.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," Jacob repeated, and now he was looking straight to his father.
"Why are you sorry?" their Dad asked once again.
Jacob's sister seemed even more nervous than he was, because of the grainy of sweats on her forehead. Her knees were also trembling and she didn't seem to be able to stand up straight though she had to endure because she didn't want to be scolded more severely.
"Because of what you've seen earlier," Jacob said with a shudder in his voice.
He couldn't figure out if he was about to cry or urinate out of fear and nervousness about his Dad's reaction.
"Why? What do you think I saw?" their Dad said and his voice sounded like cold water as he spoke.
"Noona and I almost got into a fight because of Steven," Jacob said, then keeping his mouth closed. He returned his fingers to digging into his closed fist. He is extremely nervous. How would his Daddy react if he found out that he was not a straight guy? Will he still accept him? Or he might get kicked out.
There were many questions in Jacob's mind but he could not ask any of it because fear was more prevalent in him.
"Ah, you think I'm angry because I saw you and your sister was about to start a fight earlier when I appeared at the garden?" said their Daddy while nodding as if he just found out and understood what was happening between them.
They both bow their heads in embarrassment because of what their Dad had said. Their Dad was right, that's what they were thinking that their dad just saw... but do they really believe in what they are thinking—that it was the only scene their father had seen?
"Do you think I will still waste my time talking to both of you, if that's only my reason? Do you still think that both of you were still a kid that needed to be disciplined by their parents?" added by their Dad and then looked them in the eye.
It seemed like a voltage of electricity flowed through the siblings' bodies just from that stare of their father. A stare that you actually knew and already knew all the stinks that you were hiding—it was that stare that was always ready to judge you, whether you want or not.
"I saw Steven walking up to the garden, so I decided to follow him because I want to talk to him about HAE SOO and their SECRET RELATIONSHIP," their Dad said in length then he stood up from the swivel chair and massaged his temples for a moment.
The tension in the office seems like thin ice, which with just one wrong move can cause great persecution. You can also notice the pallor on the faces of the two siblings.
"But instead of going close to Steven's direction, I stopped because I saw my son. I want to talk just with Steven alone, that's why I didn't get closer. But to my surprise, I saw my son kissing his sister's secret boyfriend. I was planning to come closer when I saw it happen in front of my eyes, but what stopped me was when I saw the teary eyes of my daughter—who was also so shocked by what she had witnessed…" their father just continued talking while slowly walking and after a few seconds stopped in front of Jacob.
"Why'd—" their Daddy couldn't finish speaking because Jacob suddenly bent down on the floor.
"I'm really sorry Daddy! B-but you don't deserve a son like me! I-I didn't mean to ruin your expectations of me a-as the next ruler o-of Aromatized!"
Terrified, Jacob cried on the floor. Remarkably, his whole body trembled with fear—fear that his family might not accept him or at worst reject him— especially their father.
Manuel Seo closed his eyes tightly as Jacob bent down and leaned on the floor, so terrified of him.
"HaeSoo, get out of this room first. You heard me right?" their father said to Haesoo in his stiff and emotionless tone of voice.
Haesoo shuddered as she watched her brother. She was restless and she couldn't stop biting her lower lip so that the tears wouldn't drip that she had been holding back. He thinks it's his fault that his younger brother is scolded.
"Will you come out or will I drag you out of my office? Do you want to be involved in this HA?! Do you know anything just like YOUR Mother?!" their daddy said irritably, so HaeSoo did nothing but look pityingly on the face of her brother.
The door slammed shut after HaeSoo came out which added to the nervousness and tension in Jacob's body. He just wants to disappear or follow his mother in the afterlife. If only their mother was here, their Daddy would never hurt him again.
"You never got honest with me!" angrily said by their Dad.
"Look at you, crying like that! What do you think you're doing right now?! Why the hell are you making me feel that I'm the one who should be blamed?! Don't you think I would not get hurt, if I knew that I'm the only person whom you can't tell the truth to? Are you that afraid of me? JACOB! I'M YOUR FUCKING FATHER! YOUR FATHER—who should understand you but you never—You never tried getting close to me!"
Manuel Seo couldn't help but cry as he clenched his fists. If he wanted to hurt someone, it wasn't his son. He knew from the beginning that he was the head and tail of everything. He sees and admires—his son Jacob—because he still has the respect and obedience to him. He was happy with what his son shows but he is not as showy as others when it comes to feelings. It was only now—that his children had grown up that he had a change of mind—he should have done being an expressive father in the first place and that it no longer caused great fear to the children.
"I'm sorry, Dad," Jacob said calmly.
Manuel Seo still couldn't recover from the intense feeling, when he saw the trembling of Jacob's shoulder stop, even if he was still sobbing. He secretly watched what was happening to the child. Doesn't it scare him anymore? Has he stopped from crying? He wiped away his tears.
"Stand there," he said to Jacob.
No matter what, the child stood up but he was shocked when the gaze and stare of Jacob changed like someone else seemed to be in front of him. He stared at him eye to eye. He saw no fear in his eyes even though he had been terrified seconds ago and was crying knowing that his father already knew his sexual orientation.
"S-son..." he called Jacob.
"Yes, Dad?" Jacob stingy smiled and said to him. His son combed his hair and pretended to wonder why his face was wet. His son gently wiped away his own tears.
"I'm sorry, dad. I actually cried in front of you but what happened? Have you eaten yet? You don't have appointments at Aromatized today?" said his son.
He kept staring at his son as if he had seen something unbelievable. What happened to his son? Why—why does his aura seem to change suddenly?
As he stared into the child's eyes, he saw a slight darkening in them. He has also found a bit of a noticeable mannerism of his son Jacob—who has been crying lately. But the son in front of him was giving him a new set of mannerisms, he always plucked his lip and snapped his thumb.
He just shrugged and asked the son, "Would you like to take a break from school first? Maybe at least two more months?"
The young man sitting in front of him just smiled wryly.
"No, Dad. I want to continue in school, despite our mourning. I should go on with my life. I should stop resting my heart, mind and body because I will not be a productive CEO if I become weak in such cases," the son replied softly without any hesitation.
For a few seconds, his son stood up in his seat so that he could probably leave his office, but suddenly he collapsed right at the minute he tried to stand.
Manuel Seo was shocked and confused about what had happened but he quickly tapped his child's cheek. Jacob didn't wake up but when Manuel checked the young man's pulse and breathing, it was in normal people's vital signs. The young man seemed to have just fallen into a deep sleep which confuses Manuel Seo a lot.
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