"HAVE you been meeting Neoma in secret?" Nikolai asked while he was in the backseat with Nero. They were on their way home after making sure that Neoma and Mona were comfortable spending the night in the hospital. "You and your twin sister talked like it wasn't your first time meeting in years."
"I don't snitch, Appa."
Hmm?
Nikolai was pleasantly surprised when Nero called him 'Appa' again instead of 'Abeoji.'
Needless to say, he was touched.
[I feel like I'm closer to Nero now.]
"But don't worry, Appa," Nero, who was busy fiddling with his phone, assured him. "Neoma and I won't kill each other. We'll keep our fight fair and safe."
"Am I supposed to be relieved by that?"
"Isn't it normal for siblings to fight?"
"I'm not sure," Nikolai said. "I don't have a sibling."
"Are you sure, Appa?" Nero asked teasingly. "In most TV series, chaebols always have an illegitimate child or two. Sometimes, the main lead is actually the illegitimate child of the chaebol featured in the drama."
"Have you been watching your mother's TV series?"
Nero's face turned red. "Eomma is an excellent screenwriter, Appa. No wonder the dramas she penned didn't flop."
He smiled, proud of his son for supporting Mona's career. "Well, to answer your question, I'm sure my father doesn't have an illegitimate child since he's pretty conservative. But I think it's more like he didn't want to share his wealth with anyone who doesn't carry his name."
"What about grandmother?"
"Your grandfather would kill your grandmother's illegitimate child if she had any. Then he'd kill your grandmother and her lover," Nikolai said bluntly. "Your grandfather may not love your grandmother romantically. But your grandfather is very territorial. Moreover, his pride wouldn't be able to take it. He'd go crazy and kill everyone who betrayed him."
He knew it was not something that he should be talking about with his son.
However, Nikolai wanted Nero to know how dangerous his grandfather could be.
[There's a reason why I used to be so afraid of my own father.]
Nikolai knitted his eyebrows when he realized something. "What's with the weird questions, Nero?"
"I'm just curious if our family is as bad as the chaebol families in dramas, Appa," Nero said, shrugging. "Appa, I suddenly miss my great-grandfather."
Nero's great-grandfather would be Yule, of course.
[My grandfather.]
Yes, Nikolai's grandfather was still alive and strong despite being in his early 80s.
"Our great-grandfather has supported me when you lost your memories, Appa," Nero said. "Let's visit him soon with Eomma and Neoma."
"That sounds like a good idea, son," Nikolai said, nodding. "I need to inform my grandfather that I've recovered my memories anyway."
***
"YEOBO, I'm sorry I wasn't able to drive you and Neoma home the other day since I suddenly needed to fly to Japan the next morning," Nikolai, who was in his office while talking to Mona on the phone, said apologetically. "It was a business I needed to take care of in place of my grandfather, so I wasn't able to turn it down."
After all, he owed his grandfather big time.
<"It's alright, Nikolai-ssi. You sent your driver to fetch us anyway. Thanks to that, we were able to go home comfortably that day.">
"That's a relief to hear. How's Neoma?"
<"Neoma already went back to school since she has fully recovered already.">
Nikolai let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. Do you have something to do after work, yeobo? If not, then we can have dinner together."
There.
[I shoot my shot.]
Then he waited patiently (and nervously) for Mona's reply.
Nikolai knitted his eyebrows, worried. "What happened, yeobo?"
And he even got more anxious when he heard sirens in the background.
<"The police are here, Nikolai-ssi. I'll talk to you later.">
The police?!
Nikolai wanted to ask more, but Mona had already hung up.
[What happened?!]
Nikolai pressed the button on the phone connected to the secretary's office. "Glenn, come here."
In just a few seconds, Glenn already arrived in his office.
"You called, President?"
Nikolai got up from his seat and grabbed his jacket. "Cancel everything in my schedule for today," he said in a hurry. "I need to go to Mona."
Glenn looked confused, but he immediately nodded. "Right away, President."
See?
[This is why you need to invest in a competent secretary who's good at his work and isn't nosy.]
***
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