Seonghwa stood before the large brass handles on his father's menacing office door, not wanting to touch them. As soon as his hands met to cool, familiar metal, he would have to look into his father's eyes. He'd have to face him.

But this wasn't about him. It was about Hongjoong. And justice. And truth.

He took a deep breath and opened the doors, settling his gaze on his shoes. He would look up eventually but he needed a moment.

"—can I call you back? I'm sorry I'm busy right—Seonghwa??"

His father had thought he was a staff member reporting some new information. Of course he wouldn't expect his son to drop by in the middle of the day, when the streets were busy and anyone might notice him.

But that wasn't a problem for Seonghwa anymore.

"What are you doing here?! Someone could have spotted you!"

His father seemed worried but Seonghwa couldn't feel guilty for it. Not when his identity would only hurt this monster more.

He deserved it.

"Seonghwa? Is everything okay?"

"I know about the factory fire ten years ago."

His father froze, standing behind his desk as he'd been attempting to close the doors.

"Why didn't you tell me? This whole time—you never told me what a monster you really are."

His father's face fell and Seonghwa finally dared to look into his eyes. They were brimming with tears. It was an act. It wasn't real.

He needed to stay strong.

He looked back down.

"Well? Do you have an answer? If not I'll just walk out of this office and never come back."

Seonghwa waited another minute and his father didn't speak. He didn't dare a glance up. He turned and headed back towards the door.

"Wait."

Seonghwa heard his father's voice catch on the one word. Slowly he turned to see his father's face running with tears. It made Seonghwa angry. He refused to let himself feel sympathetic.

"I'm waiting."

"I—I wanted to tell you."

"So why not? You didn't want me to know what kind of monster you are?!" Seonghwa felt his words leaving his lips harsher than he'd anticipated but it felt good. He wanted to scream at him.

"Yes."

Seonghwa had been ready to yell again but paused, stunned. Did his father just admit to being a monster?

"Because I didn't want you to know what a horrible person I really am. You always looked up to me—idolized me even—and I couldn't break your heart by telling you the truth."

Seonghwa stepped backwards, trying to sort out his words. Why didn't they feel like lies?

"You're manipulating me! You're trying to make me feel bad for you, but it won't work! I know what you really are!"

"I'm not trying make you feel bad. You shouldn't feel bad. You have every right to hate me."

"Stop! Messing with me!"

"I deserve to be locked away. I don't deserve to sit behind this desk. This company should have closed down when it happened. I shouldn't be allowed to be standing here, before my son, my incredible son. When I took away her chance to go home to hers."

Seonghwa froze. He hadn't mentioned Hongjoong's mother. Hadn't even mentioned Hongjoong. How did his father know? Had he been spying on him??

"Seonghwa...I wanted to tell you. I just...I have a hard enough time admitting it to myself. It's my biggest regret. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember Kim Lia."

Seonghwa felt a tear well in his eye and his mouth hung open. He was confused. He didn't know what to believe. Was his father just playing him? He'd never even seen his father cry. He didn't think he was capable of it. Would a monster remember the name of one woman who'd died at his hands a decade ago?

"I'm so sorry Seonghwa. I know I don't have any right to make excuses but—you deserve to hear the full story."

Seonghwa didn't make any motion for him to continue but his silence prompted his father.

"Her factory had been staffed by a friend of mine as his son was in need of a job and he was a close friend of mine. So I trusted him to watch over it. I hardly even batted and eye when I received a complaint about him. As you know, we receive complaints almost daily and they're usually an easy fix. So I passed it along to another staff member. I was in the middle of a the merger conference that supplied us with our current café system at each location. I got a big head about it, proud that someone had taken interest in me, that I was that important. So I got ahead of myself. And I lost focus."

Seonghwa finally decided to take a seat. He still hadn't decided if he could trust him, but he would hear him out.

"When I heard about the fire...I was devastated. I cowered under my desk, holding my head in my hands. I couldn't move. I had no idea what to do. But my staff helped me. They advised me and brought me updates. When I'd heard there was a death, I vomited. I couldn't believe my ears. To think, my company was responsible for the death of an innocent woman...that I was responsible. I couldn't bare it. And on top of it all, JYP took advantage of the opportunity to threaten me. If I didn't strike a deal, they would publicly announce the entire thing. At first, I wanted to do it. I wanted to take responsibility. But my advisor told me not to, so...I hid it. And I thought I could deal with it on my own but, it kept creeping into my mind. It haunted me every single day. If I'm being honest Seonghwa...I tried to avoid it the only way I knew how. I tried...I tried to kill myself."

Seonghwa felt a gasp release from his lips. A tear ran down his cheek.

"H-how?"

He didn't know what else to ask.

"I was going to jump. From this very building. I made it all the way to the edge. I wrote a suicide note and left it on my desk for you and your mom. I was ready to just never feel anything again. But then I got a call from your mom. She told me you were waiting for me at home. And she put you on the phone and I heard your sweet voice say to me, 'Daddy! Daddy! I have a surprise for you! You need to come home right now! Hurry! I've been waiting alllllll day!'"

Seonghwa's face was streaming with tears at this point. He remembered that phone call. It had been a stupid business proposal work-up that he'd made to earn his father's attention and approval. It wasn't anything special. And yet...he'd saved his father's life?

"I smiled and told you I'd be there as soon as I could. And I stepped away from the edge. The thought of my sweet boy waiting by the door for me to come home, and never seeing me again...it was enough to snap some sense into me. Even though I had this horrible guilt riding on me, I couldn't just take the easy way out. I needed to face it. To live with it for the rest of my life. That's how I would remember her, and honor her."

His father wiped his tears and leaned back in his chair. Seonghwa looked into his eyes. They were genuine. He was telling the truth. He could feel it.

His father looked at the ground biting his lip. Seonghwa almost laughed, realizing it was the same nervous habit his father had coached out of him when he was young. A display of uncertainty in front of enemies showed vulnerability.

And yet, here was his father. At his most vulnerable.

Seonghwa let out a sob and ran to his father, wrapping his arms around him. As he sat in his father's lap, the two cried together. Seonghwa regained his composure first and he stroked his father's back. To think he'd been dealing with this for all these years...all on his own.

Seonghwa couldn't believe it. He'd never known.

So he let his father cry. Let him feel everything he'd been pushing down. The same way Hongjoong had listened to him as he spent nights crying about his father. When he'd thought he was some sort of monster.

He couldn't forgive his actions...but he could accept his father. He was no monster. He was just a man. Imperfect, flawed, a bit egotistic—but overall, human.

He just didn't know what this meant for Hongjoong. He may never forgive him. Would he be able to choose a side if Hongjoong refused to accept it?

To choose between his father and Hongjoong?