From Past To Present, I Still Love You 10 It's All His Faul

It stung. Minhyun's nerves tingled as if they were sizzling under the blazing sun. He grabbed his cheek and stumbled down from the impact. Dizziness washed over his head.

This was the second time father had physically reprehended him. The first was when Minhyun had asked about his mother.

His father, Chae Seung-bum was the CEO of MH Conglomerate. Meticulous and distant. He solely focused on the company, blocking out any human emotion except anger from his work. Within the South Korean business industry, he was a God. All business deals ended up in his favor and there was no insect in his path. Nobody was above this man, for he built himself to be unstoppable.

When something wouldn't go his way, Chae Seung-bum would lash out. This was one of those moments.

"Pathetic. You are no son of mine. How can a MH company heir be crying over a mere girl?"

Minhyun was of lost for words.

If the same situation happened a month ago, Minhyun would've been traumatized; unable to sleep at night. Before, his life revolved around pleasing his father so that he could take over the company. Being reprehended by his parent was the worst thing that could happen.

But the reason for Minhyun's loss of words was not about his relationship with his father. At night, he's already drowned himself in despair for too long about that topic. No, it was something worse.

Yoona: the first friend he's ever had; the only person he smiled around; and the person he cared most about, was to never be seen again. She was gone. Forever.

Father's statement confirmed all his horrors.

At the bottom of his heart, he had known all along. Every single detail this morning was leading up to this point. Yet, even with the evidence placed in front of him, Minhyun kept grabbing onto the single piece of hope that she was still in the estate. Unfortunately, his false hopes only lead to pure disappointment.

Now, Yoona would never be able to step back into this house again. Hell, with his father's power it was even impossible for her to be in the town. Father controlled the authorities; the town's council, the police, and the people. The corrupt system allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Not only that, but in the past, fired workers were penalized and black-listed. As MH was present in many sectors, it was hard for them to live life normally again.

What would happen to Yoona? He couldn't even imagine how much suffering she would face. Father was a cruel man. He, out of everyone, knew this fact. After all, what kind of father would treat his son this way?

"Are you not going to say anything?"

Seung-bum looked down at his son. His heart did not waver the slightest from the red marks present on his heir's face. Instead, he felt like the punishment was not enough. He allowed his son to play God in the house, yet, Minhyun chose to abuse his power through disobedience. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

The man was furious when he checked his financials last night. Although Minhyun had tried his best to balance the numbers so that it looked like only his expenses were on the sheet, there were a few mistakes he had made. Things that didn't catch his eyes. After all, food was not the only expense in the house. If it was anybody else, they would not have been able to catch it. But Minhyun's opponent was MH conglomerate. Nobody could beat them.

There were also other faults Seung-bum found. For instance, his son did not know that the security footage was always transferred to the main HQ after a day. One of the security team members quickly noticed the strange inconsistencies between the tampered footage. Although it took a few weeks for the numbers to add up and for the security tampering to be noticed, Seung-bum finally caught on. He canceled all his meetings to go back home.

To think that his son was not studying, but getting attached to a Maid's daughter. It was repulsing.

Minhyun wiped his tears with his sleeve. He took a deep, shaky breathe. "Where is Yoona."

Minhyun wanted to know. Scratch that, he needed to.

Seung-bum took a step forward. He narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"

Normally his son would be quacking with fear. Seung-bum, after all, was the master of the house and the single person above him in power. However, it was shocking to see the change in his actions. His son was rebelling. Clearly, the Maid's child had influenced his son more than he thought.

A Chae Family son getting wavered by a girl? This only arose more anger in his heart.

Like a volcano, Minhyun was on the verge of causing disaster. His fists were tightened to the color of white. He was shaking, about the explode in any minute.

"I said where. is. Yoona."

Another slap. This time harder. Minhyun fell against the floor, a sharp pain searing his cheek. He could feel the blood rushing to his face. His shoulder rang with agony for it had twisted it the wrong way while falling down.

Tears emerged in his eyes, yet it didn't overwhelm the pain in his heart. Physically and mentally, he was broken.

Seung-bum sighed. He signaled for his security to bring him his schedule from the tablet. He had no time to waste on an inconsiderate brat. To think that his schedules were ruined all because of a little girl. He needed to put everything back in order. Even if it took physical measures.

"Where... Is... She..." Minhyun mustered out once more. Yoona was the only friend he'd had for years. He couldn't give up so fast.

"She's gone," Seung-bum finally answered. He fixed both of his cuffs to align. "There is no need to think of her anymore. She will never appear in your life ever again. I made sure of it."

No. No. No.

Minhyun struggled to move on the cold floor. His hand was over his shoulder while the other over his heart. The pain hurt too much. The darkness he lived in, before meeting Yoona, reappeared again.

Just thinking about the added load of hardships to Yoona's life only made Minhyun's heart darken. Her happy smile didn't deserve to fade. She deserved the world. Not this.

Minhyun couldn't believe how he was related to the cruel human being in front of him. He grit his teeth. "I hate you."

Instead of getting angry, Seung-bum laughed. There was no love between the father and son. It didn't bother him at all. Instead, amusement filled his heart. "As my son, we are the one in the same. If you hate me, then you hate yourself."

"I'm nothing like you," Minhyun sputtered. "You're a monster."

With a bored expression, Seung-bum signaled his Secretary that he wanted to leave soon. Then he switched his attention back to his son. "Don't blame me for their demise. It is all your fault. You are the one that selfishly allowed them to be in house. You knew I would find out sooner or later. They couldn't have lasted in the house. You could've avoided the whole situation by letting them leave but instead you were selfish. You kept them here."

Minhyun couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak.

No matter how hard he tried to justify his actions in his mind, he knew that his father was right. It was his fault. All his fault.

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to his meeting with Yoona's mother. He had promised the pair to protect them. To make sure nothing happened to them while they lived in this house. But look at how things were now. All his promises were empty lies. There was no backing.

Back then, he justified his selfishness by believing that he took all the measures he could in his power to protect them. But deep down, he knew that his father was an unbeatable force. There was no way his nine-year-old brain could outsmart him.

He just wanted to keep his friend by his side. Was that too much to ask for?

All he wanted was love.

"As expected from my blood child. You have inherited my selfishness," Seung-bum stated. A bitter chuckle escaped from his lips. "To achieve our goals, we both sacrifice the insignificant elements of life other's hold dear."

He continued: "However, the only difference between you and I, is the fact that I have power while you don't. That is why you failed."

Minhyun began to get on his knees. Although his body was shaky from shock, he tried his hardest to stand up. He toppled a few times, earning a scoff from his father, but finally he was able to get on his feet.

"W-we," he stuttered. "Are not the same. We will never be the same."

His father fixed his tie. "Believe what you want."

When he reached the exit, Seung-bum turned around one last time. He had one last message to give to his son. The vulnerable state Minhyun was in was easy to manipulate. This girl had ruined everything his son was working towards. However, using his last words, he could turn everything around.

"I'm only going to say this once," Seung-bum said. He stepped forward towards his son's body, before leaning down. His shadow towered over Minhyun's blocking all light from his skin. "If you hate me so much and feel unjust about the situation, then kill me. Become the heir of MH and bring our company to the top. Not of just South Korea, but in the world. Once you have that power, you can slit my throat. The law won't be able to care. I won't care."

"In fact, i'd die happily if you killed me with your hands."

Then he left, leaving Minhyun in his room. Just like Yoona, one moment he was there, and the next, he disappeared.

Minhyun didn't move. He stood in the middle of the room with his twisted shoulder.

The world suddenly turned black. Even though he opened his eyes, he could not see. As everything in the background blurred out, only his heartbeat stayed to keep company. The sound rang in his ears, ripping his eardrums in half.

He was in total shock.

More than ever, his heart rapidly beat in his chest, to the point of danger. Almost like a ticking bomb waiting to explode.

Power... Power? All he could think about were his father's last words. The meaning in between the lines. His body shook wildly, his nerves out of control.

Everything began to make sense. How stupid was he? No matter what actions he took, it was obvious he would loose against the devil he called his father. Not only him, but also against wretched fate. Everyone was against him, trying to drown him in despair. Trapping him from all sides.

Everything would change if he had power. The ability to reign above his enemies; to be able to crush them with his own hands. He took a deep breath. If he had power, his life wouldn't be controlled by that devil. If he had power, Yoona wouldn't be financially struggling or kicked out? If he had power, he would be able to protect the people he cared about.

The sun moved across the sky, making its way to the window. The streams of light peered inside of the room, almost blinding Minhyun's eyes.

That day, he made a promise; both to himself and Yoona.

From this day on, he was going to torture himself with work until he became capable. To defeat his father, he was going to climb up the top and kick his father off of the CEO position before his retirement. Not one day was he going to rest. He was going to become a God in this world.

And in the future, once he reached this purpose, he was going to meet Yoona again.

Chapter end