1995, Present Day

Jung-kook remembered that time twenty years ago as clear as day. He had walked into the main hall looking for his mother but she's nowhere to be found. It seemed odd to him that his mother wasn't sitting typically where she sat when he's being summoned.

Only much later did Jung-kook find out that his mother had marched towards Taehyung's little farmhouse after hearing from her manservant. From what Taehyung had told him then, she demanded that they cease their relationship immediately. Taehyung protested at first, but for the sake of his lover, he conceded albeit unwillingly.

Jung-kook took the separation from Taehyung pretty hard. He locked himself in his room despite his mother's attempts to draw him. Mrs. Jeon even sent Sae-ron the maiden to coax the young master out of self-imprisonment.

To say she's disappointed was an understatement. Mrs. Jeon was furious, not so much at Jung-kook but at her husband who left their son without a father figure. This, she concluded, was the reason Jung-kook sought a male companion to replace the one he lost.

Jung-kook sometimes asked himself that very question. Was he only attracted to Taehyung because of his father's absence? Could their love only an atonement for his father's sins? Jung-kook did not think so.

He became convinced that his mother was being unfair despite her declarations to the contrary. She had claimed that she's merely protecting her son from the judgment of society. But Jung-kook knew his mother was incapable of considering anybody else aside from herself. He suspected his mother just didn't want to lose face, which was and still an integral part of Asian culture.

But what about now? Was his life any better after being separated from Taehyung? He didn't have time to figure out how much better his life would be as he considered his daughter Eun-hye, the only blessing to come out of his marriage to Min-A.