Treating Father As a Stranger!

Lee Hyeon-su had three sons and two daughters, while his late brother had one son and three daughters. All of his sons were married with children. On the other hand, among the daughters, only his late brother's eldest daughter was married; the rest were still studying, some in college and some in university. He took care of his late brother's children as his own, so whenever someone asked how many sons he had, he always replied that he had four sons. He was very proud of his sons, as they were all successful in their respective fields. He was also very pleased with his daughters, as almost all of them excelled academically. Except for his youngest daughter, who was in her sophomore year with mediocre results, all the other daughters were top students in their classes. 

Ha-eun, Ji-yeon, and Soo-jin were the names of the three wives of his sons. Ji-yeon and Soo-jin were the daughters-in-law who had been in the kitchen helping his wife earlier. Ha-eun was the wife of his eldest son, and they had a six-year-old daughter. Ji-yeon, married to his second son, had given birth to his four-year-old grandson. Soo-jin, the wife of his youngest son, had married not long ago and did not have a child yet. 

Min-ji was the wife of his late brother's only son, and they had four children. One was the baby that Min-ji had earlier put to sleep, and the other three included two boys and a little girl who was the same age as his grandson, four years old. 

Soon, Min-ji came downstairs, having successfully put the baby to sleep. She was followed by Ha-eun, Ji-yeon, and Soo-jin. All four women took their seats, and Eun-seo, his eldest daughter, guided the younger children to their places. The grandchildren seated themselves beside their mothers. After ensuring everyone was settled, Eun-seo also took her seat. 

However, one person was still missing. Lee Hyeon-su noticed that his youngest daughter had not yet arrived. He let out a helpless sigh. He was often troubled by his youngest daughter's habit of being late. 

He turned to his second daughter and asked, "Didn't you call your sister?" 

Yoo-jin, his second daughter, replied, "Yes, I have called her." 

Hearing this, he sighed again. His wife then called out in a loud voice, "Lee Na-ra, come down from your room right now. We are all waiting for you!" 

A reply soon came from upstairs, "Coming!" 

After a short moment, a girl with messy hair and glasses emerged from a room on the second floor. She started descending the stairs, and after a short while, she reached the dining room. She greeted everyone with a quiet "hello" before taking her seat. 

After Lee Na-ra sat down, her father reprimanded her, "Young lady, why are you like this? People should be punctual. Everyone came down when they were called, but for you, as always, your mother has to call a few times before you come down." 

Lee Na-ra replied in a low voice, "I was busy, but as soon as sister called, I left my work and started preparing to come down." 

Her voice was so low that Lee Hyeon-su could barely hear her. His frustration grew, not because of her response but because of her lack of confidence. He had repeatedly told her to speak more confidently, especially with family. The way she spoke made it seem like she was addressing a stranger, not her own father. As a father, he did not want his child to speak to him like a stranger. 

"You..." He was about to reprimand her again when his wife coughed and intervened, "Honey, with food in front of you, you shouldn't talk so much. Besides, you had a long day." 

He instantly understood his wife's intention. She doted on their youngest daughter the most, so whenever he tried to punish or reprimand Na-ra, she would intervene. He felt that his wife's leniency was one of the reasons their daughter had turned out this way. However, like most men, he was also weak against his wife's gentle yet firm interventions. So, he could only give up for the moment and silently start eating. As he began, the others followed suit. 

As everyone began to eat, the initial tension dissipated, replaced by the comforting sounds of a family meal. Conversations picked up, ranging from the children's school stories to discussions about upcoming family events. Lee Na-ra, despite her earlier scolding, gradually relaxed but did not join the conversation; she just ate silently. 

While eating, Hyeon-su started making small talk. He asked his daughters-in-law, "Have you all talked to your husbands lately? When are they coming back?" 

Ha-eun, who was seated nearest to him, answered first. "Yes, I spoke to Joon-ho yesterday. He said he should be back by the end of the week." 

Ji-yeon chimed in, "Sung-min called this morning. He mentioned that his project is wrapping up sooner than expected, so he might be back in a few days." 

Soo-jin, the newest addition to the family, smiled. "Young-jin texted me just before dinner. He's coming back tomorrow evening. He's really looking forward to seeing everyone." 

Hyeon-su nodded, pleased with the news. "That's good to hear. It will be nice to have everyone back together." 

Hyeon-su actually runs a firm that primarily deals with legal issues and other types of problems for their clients. This firm was established by him and his brother many years ago. After his brother's untimely death, Hyeon-su took over the full responsibility of managing the firm. Now that his family's four children have grown up, they too have joined the business. Over the years, the firm has grown significantly, expanding its clientele and influence. They even handle issues outside legal boundaries for their top clients, occasionally dealing with somewhat shady matters. 

The firm employs many people who handle the majority of the clients. However, top clients are always managed personally by either Hyeon-su, his three sons, or his late brother's son, Min-ho. Often, these top clients face problems in different cities, requiring the family members to travel frequently. This constant travel means that even on Sundays, they rarely get a full day of rest due to their busy schedules. Currently, his three sons were out of town handling client issues, leaving only him and Min-ho in the city. 

Today, although it was a Sunday, both he and Min-ho had to work due to an urgent issue involving one of their top clients. After much effort, they managed to solve most of the problem, with just a crucial final step remaining. The reason Min-ho did not come home with Hyeon-su was that he had assigned the final task to him before leaving. As a result, Min-ho would be late. Late nights were routine for these five men, even when they were all in the city. Consequently, their wives had become accustomed to their late returns even when they were not on their business trip and rarely asked when they would be home, assuming they would be late. 

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