164. Greedy Guests

"Haesol..." Yeon's father grunted. "We need to teach her some manners. The way she feeds, people are going to assume she isn't fed well at home."

Yeon's mother laughed, her attention on cradling the twins , one on each of her arms. "I believe that stage will pass soon enough. My attention is more on how tiny and cuddlesome the twins are sweetheart."

"How could they not be when Haesol is gulping everything down."

"Come on, she is just an infant with an appetite and that's alright."

"She should still leave some for Luca and Lusha. Look at them? Aren't they too light for their age?"

"Elric said they've been like this from the beginning sweetheart so stop complaining. You'll pop a blood vessel with all that stressing."

"Fine." Yeon's dad surrendered then moved a little closer to his fated, taking Lusha from his wife.

The two had been staring at the twins for a while, enjoying their suckling sounds as they stared back at them. Yeon's parents were still surprised they hardly cried. The only time the two had wailed their lungs out was when Elric tried to force them to breastfeed but they both refused, tilting their heads away from the nipple. It was quite an amusing sight to Yeon's parents as Elric coaxed the twins, begging them with no success, until Haesol took over, pulling at Elric's breasts as she gulped everything down until nothing was left.

"What a shame." Yeon's mother spoke, a gentle smile on her face. "I can never understand why they prefer the bottle over their own mother's milk."

"Where is Niel by the way?"

"I'm not sure if I quite understood Elric's explanation but he seems to be working on something with his mother."

"Really? How is Niel involved with the case?'

"I'd thought the same however Elric assured me it's quite the opposite. Something about mentorship. Apparently, Stan went through the same thing with Elric's mother and now he is making lots of passive income."

"Hmm..." Yeon's dad nodded, though his attention was more on the infant he held fondly in his arms. Memories of cradling both Mijin and Yeon played in his mind and he smiled. Being a new parent had been quite a challenge for him that even after having Mijin, he still struggled with Yeon. Elric appeared to be much more calmer than he was. Hajin too seemed eager, always waiting for Haesol to wake up so he could play with her.

"Has Elric been coming here often?" Yeon's mother inquired.

"From time to time, though mostly, Hajin goes over to his place."

"You left him unsupervised with Haesol?"

"Yea. I can't say I fully rely on him when it comes to our granddaughter but what choice do I have? At the end of the day, he is her father and one day, Haesol will begin asking questions why we are raising her instead of her father. You were right. Haesol deserves to grow up normally. Mijin may have refused to acknowledge her but Hajin is giving it his all to his daughter even to the point of facing his father. Did he tell you how it went down?"

"Not really. I'm hardly at home so I rarely interact with him."

"Well, let us just say his father didn't take it lightly to him officiating the end of their relationship. Hajin has been seeking legal advice on completely cutting ties with his mother. I was against it of course since I do not wish for Haesol to grow up how Mijin and Yeon did, completely away from their grandparents but if push comes to shove, what else is he supposed to do."

A gentle knock on their door startled them both.

"Are we expecting anyone?"

"It's probably Niel here to pick up his husband." Yeon's father replied as he placed Lusha gently onto his wife's extended arm.

Hajin appeared from the corridor leading to the rooms and inquired if tge twins had fallen asleep and upon seeing Yeon's mother's hands full, he carried Luca from her.

"Oh thank you dear. He was just about to start crying."

"He is my grandson, I know he is here so please, let us see him."

"What's going on?" Yeon's mother stood up and turned to look at the door. It was hard to see the person her husband was talking to however, according to his body language, it was clear he was trying to block them from viewing inside the house.

"Can we talk inside please?"

"No."

"Sweetheart, who is at the door?"

"I'm afraid you got the wrong house..."

"But this is the address given to us..."

"There is no grandson of yours here..."

"His name is Hajin..."

"Who are you people?" Yeon's mother asked from behind her husband. She then handed Lusha to her fated who seemed irritated then moved to stand in front of him to address the three strangers. One a frail old woman and the two gentlemen who identified themselves as Hajin's uncles.

"Good afternoon madam. We are in search of Master Hajin, our nephew. This is the address we received as his new residence. If you are harboring him inside, we only request that you allow us have a word with him. You see, his grandmother has been eagerly waiting to converse with him that it can not be delayed further."

"Who gave you this address?"

"I'm afraid we can not disclose that to you madam."

"Then the three of you should be on your way."

"Please..." One of the two men held onto the door to stop Yeon's mother from shutting it. "My sincere apologies but we must insist for this meeting is important to our mother."

"If you do not leave, I shall be obliged to call the authorities."

"Let me have a word with my grandson." The frail looking woman finally spoke. "I will not ask this twice."

"Why are you here?" Hajin asked, gently holding onto Yeon's mother's hand then whispered. "Let me end this."

The two men's faces lit up however, the old woman's expression remained cold even while she asked. "Is that your child I just saw?"

"No." Hajin replied.

"That's a relief." The old woman said then tilted her head, gesturing at one of the two men who then extended their hand, handing Hajin a sheet of paper. "Sign it."

"What's this?" Hajin asked, looking down on the paper.

"Are you blind?" The old woman asked. "Can't you read it for yourself?"

"This... You want authority over father's assets?"

"Finally you get it."

Hajin looked up, his heart sinking yet again. 'Of course, I should have known.' "I disowned him."

"That is not what the family registry shows." One of the men said. "Even if you were to successfully disown him, the process takes time. You should know our brother well enough. He'd never let you go."

"Indeed. He kept you away from us, lest any harm becomes of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were never meant to exist to begin with." The old woman replied. "You are an abomination."

"Mother please, exercise patience..."

"Hajin, don't say another word." Elric appeared from behind Yeon's parents, pushing through them then stood in front of Hajin whilst Haesol still in his arms. "If you must speak to him concerning legal matters, it has to go through his lawyer don't you think?"

"And who might you be young man?"

Elric grinned. "Should I give you an address to send that document to...?"

"Elric," Hajin spoke. "You don't have to do this..."

"I will represent you so don't talk to them."

"Judging from the size of your breasts and what's oozing through your shirt, I suggest you get back to nursing your child..." The old woman stopped talking, her gaze focused intensely on Haesol then back at Hajin. "You said you have no children but the resemblance is unquestionable... Did you lie?"

"You have no business here. Leave now before you give us reason to sue you for harassment."

"Who is this toddler to you Hajin?"

"Call the police." Elric said. "Now Hajin!"

"She is mine." Hajin declared. "You are here because my father is detained. If you are that afraid of him to only come after me, thinking he isn't watching then you are mistaken. I will not hand you anything nor sign any document."

"Your father has put us in great debt of his own making..."

"That is none of my business."

"Hajin please...we are your uncles, your family... Don't let your father do this to us."

"Please leave and never come back." Hajin said in finality then immediately turned and got back in the house, pulling Elric along with him.

"I need to sit down for a moment."

"Sure." Elric spoke and sat beside him and noticed he was trembling. "Are you okay?"

"Princess... I will do anything for her." Hajin replied. He let out a low laugh then lifted his head to look at Elric. "That was one of the scariest things I've ever done. I used to be frightened whenever I thought of my father's side of the family but today, I stood up for myself and my daughter."

"Well good for you." Elric smiled back.

"Thanks. No one has ever stood up for me either."

"Haesol is under our custody. Never forget that!"

"We are not claiming her but our nephew."

"This is a family matter that you shouldn't meddle in now tell him to come out right this minute."

"Goodbye!"

Upon the door slamming, the sound of Yeon's dad bellowed in the living room, questioning Hajin why he'd revealed Haesol's identity.

"I'm sorry sir, I-I couldn't deny my own daughter. Even if I did, they are bound to find out from my father."

"How did they know of this place?"

"I-I don't know but, it seems my father is seeking vengeance. On our last meeting, he spoke of accumulating numerous debts and since that is what brought those people from hiding, they must think I'm an easy target."

"That woman knows who Haesol is. She recognized her immediately."

"Don't worry." Hajin spoke, looking back at the document in his hands. "If I'm not mistaken, this document acts as a leverage. It was a mistake for them to have left it with me."

"What do you mean?" Yeon's father asked.

"It can be used in his favor in many ways." Elric answered in Hajin's stead. "One is them blackmailing Hajin and secondly, I'm assuming the debts may have accumulated due to unpaid taxes?"

Hajin nodded.

"Wait, let me just ask. Why now? All these years you suffered, where were they Hajin?"

"Let's just say that my trust fund is worth a couple of millions and my father's profits and assets should be close to a billion. If indeed father has managed to play his little game of debt, then that would render his side of the family penniless. Anyone would panic if they were in their right mind especially after being used to a living a life of luxury. After all, what are assets without liquidity? They will have no option but to sell whatever is left to survive."

"You lost me at billions." Yeon's dad spoke, his mouth agape. "As good as it sounds, money always attracts trouble."

"Don't worry. They can't harm any of you."

"What makes you so confident?"

"He made me his heir, and power is something my father doesn't want to loose, so he transferred his assets to me to protect that power. Most of his investments have been frozen but majority of them were hidden under my name just so he wont loose the control he has over people. We live in a society where power and money go hand in hand and if you have both, when you bark, everyone jumps..."

"That's why Mora couldn't kill you..."

"Elric...!"

Hajin laughed. "Don't worry. I know who my sister is so he hasn't spoken out of contects, rather, I'd encourage you all to speak openly to me."

"This billions..."

"Millions." Hajin corrected Yeon's father.

"What do you intend to do with them? Give them back to those three greedy rodents who never gave a damn about your welfare?"

"Far from it. I intend to use them to rectify all the wrongs inflicted by my family. This is the only way to fix the damage he has done."

"I'm afraid dear, you too are going to go bankrupt." Yeon's mother said.

"I think not. When we payed a visit to Yeon, I wanted to personally apologize to him what for my family has done to him. We got into talking and discovered we shared a couple of interests like nature and art though his is more scientific. He seemed rather melancholy but it wasn't because of the horrid experience he underwent. He was more concerned about a regret email he'd received for a project he was working on. A project concerning unification of scents. Turns out, he was the one who saved my life and thus, my inspiration was born."

"Like father like son..."

"Sweetheart!" Yeon's mother scolded. "It's completely different from what his father did!"

"I disagree." Elric said. "They are one and the same, experimenting on humans. I want in."

"What?" Both Yeon's parents exclaimed.

Shifting his gaze to look at Yeon's parents, Elric added, "He is proof that life can be saved, that scent can be restored or those whose scent has been poisoned beyond repair can recover. I call that hope. People need hope and hold onto it like their lives depend on it. I need no further convincing to invest in this in fact, I wish Yeon had informed me of it earlier." Shifting his eyes back to Hajin, Elric smiled. "You wish to cure the wounds caused by your father. I find that both admirable and profitable."

"Just don't use up all the money." Yeon's dad cautioned, bringing everyone into a chain of laughter.

"You're thinking of expanding the gym aren't you sweetheart?"

"He tried to burn it down before, he might as well throw in a few millions there."

Hajin and Yeon's dad were the only ones who laughed this time that Yeon's mom and Elric seemed perplexed to how close they had grown.

"Sure." Hajin smiled then nodded. "I'll be happy to throw in a few millions."