“What did you think? Or what have you been thinking all this time or should I ask, what have you been doing all this time?”

“What are you saying, Papa? I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything.”

Jongdae laughed humorlessly while shaking his head. “So you haven't only become a bad person but you also became a bad liar.”

Taeil was about to chim in again but a thud interrupted him. He saw that Jongdae had thrown his pregnancy reports on the table and he gasped in intense horror after realization hit him.

“We have always felt proud of you as our son. Always appreciated your every single decision. People always complimented you and your students took motivation and inspiration from you. And you? What you did? Had an affair with your own fucking student and cheated your husband? Not only that, you even had his… Had his child inside your womb and kept us in a hoax all this time!”

The elder clenched his and closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath before continuing. “Is this, is this how we raised you, Taeil? Is this what we have taught you? Is this the same person whom we have been thinking as our beloved son always? Where did we fail Taeil? Please tell me, where! Please…”

“Papa… I'm sorry-”

“Don't! Just don't…” Jongdae exclaimed while biting his lips, trying not to cry at that very moment.

“Why?” Jongdae whispered after a few moments of silence. “Just why, Taeil? We gave you everything you wanted. Allowed you to do anything you preferred. Let you marry the man you loved then why! Why just why…”

The elder then started while holding his head in his hands in regression. Taeil felt extremely guilty for his father's vulnerable state. The only people he had by his side were his parents and he even broke their trust, their hearts and probably their relationship with him. They must disown him after finding out how horrible their son was and a freaking terrible monster like him fucking deserved that!

“I don't know, Papa. I myself don't know as to why I did that. Why I hurt everyone and ruined everything. I don't know why I'm such a pathetic, troublesome piece of regret!”

Jongdae looked up at the younger who was trying his best not to cry while continuing. “I know the things I've done are unforgivable and I'm going to be hated by everyone for it and I exactly deserve that! But since I'm such a weakling to go through that nor I can't undo all those wrongdoings of mine, so it'd be better if I'd just end my life-”

SLAP!

“Don't you even fucking think of doing something stupid like that!”

The younger now started sobbing and it broke Jongdae's heart. Despite all that mess that his son had caused, he was still his child and his parental instincts couldn't stop anymore. He didn't carry his one and only little one inside his womb to just disown him like that.

The helpless and broken state of his son got him and he hugged the younger, embracing him in his arms comfortingly.

They stayed still for a few moments then the elder decided to break the silence. “Do you love him?”

The question was not only sudden, but beyond belief. He blinked a few times before asking, “I, what?”

“Do you truly love Donghyuck?” Jongdae asked again, mentioning Taeil's lover's name this time.

“I don't know if it's true love or not. I don't even know if it's even love but, I just know that I find my happiness inside his soul. Whenever I'm with him, I feel myself complete as a whole.”

“Then I believe, we can consider this feeling as true love of yours.”

Now Taeil was just taken aback in disbelief. This had to be a dream.

“Papa?”

Jongdae exhaled and closed his eyes and then opened them as he started speaking, “You know Taeil, when people say that love is the hardest feeling in the world, they're not wrong. Many lovers spend their entire lives just in search of their true love, but end up dying alone after having multiple, insecure and unsure relationships. They want their love story to be like what they've always heard in fairy tales. First love, true love, getting together and a happy ending. But they don't acknowledge that even fairytales have broken these so-called chains at many points.”

He stopped for a second and placed his hand on his son's cheek, caressing him in an assuring way.

“Where the princess realizes that she was dreaming for the wrong person. Where the monster becomes a prince charming, or some black magic does good for the people and mostly, destiny grants its own kind of ending to everyone. I might not be rainbows or unicorns but, it sure would be something that sets you at ease. Gives you the pleasure and fills you with your own kind of happiness.”

“But Papa, it's me here, who is-”

“Wrong. But it's not only you. We all went wrong at certain points. So we all get through this. But since you led this path, you will still lead it, and take us all in the right path from now on. You're in love, and your love is true. True love always ends the difficulties in the end. So don't give up now because destiny has given you another chance to change. Just because it's not your first, doesn't mean it can't be true. It's just an obvious agenda and people tend to believe it. But it's your life and you only get to live once, just live it.”

Taeil started shedding his joyful tears and hugged his father happily. “I love you so much, Papa. You're the best!” Jongdae hugged back and kissed the younger's forehead.

“I love you too, sweetie. But this doesn't mean that you are not going to be punished for having premarital sex in your childhood room behind my and Baek's back.”