TO SOW DISCORD

Haryo regarded Grandfather Har with a contemplative gaze before exhaling a long, measured breath.

"You are, without a doubt, a remarkable father and father-in-law, Uncle Har," he said, his voice tinged with both admiration and perplexity.

He shook his head slowly, as though attempting to fathom the depth of wisdom that had just been imparted to him.

"Had I been in your place, I daresay I would not have shown such restraint. I would have sought retribution. I could never have stood idly by."

Grandfather Har's lips curled into a faint smile, his eyes calm, bearing the quiet wisdom of a man who had braved countless tempests in his time.

"Vengeance, my dear Mr Haryo, is naught but a flame that devours the hand that wields it," he murmured, his voice steeped in the wisdom of years long endured.

He drew in a slow breath, measured and deliberate, before continuing, "None among you have reached my years, have you?"

His gaze swept over the assembled company, lingering just long enough to let his words settle.

"Only those who have walked this far along life's weary road may come to understand the true weight of existence... and of regret."

A hush fell over the room, thick and all-encompassing.

Grandfather Har's words lingered like echoes in the still air, threading themselves into the hearts of those present, stirring thoughts too deep to ignore.

"But, Grandfather Har… this is beyond forgiveness," Havi finally spoke, his voice trembling with long-restrained emotion.

"How long?" His gaze searched the old man's face, as if seeking an answer buried within those lined features.

"How many years, how many decades have you borne this grief in silence?"

A hush fell over the room, the weight of unspoken understanding settling upon them all.

There was truth in Havi's words, raw and undeniable.

Yet Grandfather Har merely smiled, a small, knowing smile, touched with weariness, yet carrying a depth unfathomable to those who had not walked his path.

"I know, lad," he murmured, his voice scarcely more than a whisper, yet imbued with a quiet strength.

It drifted through the still air like the wind at dusk, soft, measured, yet unyielding, "I do not deny the pain. It lingers, deep and unrelenting."

He exhaled slowly, as though releasing a sorrow too vast to be contained in mere words.

"But if we answer cruelty with hatred, tell me, what, then, sets us apart from those who wronged us?"

A solemn silence wrapped itself around them, the weight of his words pressing upon their hearts.

They lingered in the air, inescapable, weaving their way into the very marrow of those present.

None had expected that a man so worn by time could still carry within him a love vast enough to eclipse his wounds.

Perhaps… vast enough to smother even the embers of vengeance that might still smoulder in the hidden corners of his soul.

For to harbour resentment was human nature.

Especially when one had suffered such unfathomable betrayal.

Yet the Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, forged mankind with two opposing forces, vengeance and mercy.

He granted His creation the faculty of thought, the solemn privilege of choice, allowing them to decide the course they would take.

Would they surrender to the searing grip of hatred, letting vengeance consume their souls?

Or would they embrace the quiet strength of compassion, choosing love over retribution?

In the end, the path they walked was theirs alone to decide.

And that choice… was the very essence of what it meant to be human.

A hush fell over the room, so profound that even time itself seemed reluctant to stir.

Not a single voice rose to break the stillness, and the air hung thick with unspoken thoughts, words hovering on the edge of existence yet refusing to be uttered.

At last, it was Havi who dared to shatter the silence, his voice quiet, yet weighted with unspoken depths.

"Grandfather Har…" His gaze rested upon the old man, searching. "Do you… miss them?"

The question caught Grandfather Har unawares.

For the briefest of moments, the serenity in his eyes faltered, as though those simple words had reached into the depths of his soul, brushing against something long hidden.

He exhaled slowly, drawing in the stillness around him before finally speaking, his voice carrying the quiet ache of a truth long held.

"I do… of course I do," he murmured, his tone steeped in memories. "Most of all, I miss my daughter, Hanun."

A faint smile played at Havi's lips then, not one of mirth, but something softer, something almost imperceptible, as though he alone understood a truth yet to be spoken.

"That is good," he said at last, his voice touched with a meaning veiled in mystery.

Grandfather Har narrowed his eyes, scrutinising the young man before him with a keen, inquisitive gaze.

"What is it that you are scheming, lad?" he asked, his voice laced with a quiet suspicion. "That smile of yours… it does not bode well."

But Havi merely held his gaze, his expression inscrutable, revealing nothing.

"Do you wish to see them?" he asked once more, his tone gentler this time, as though attempting to reach into the depths of the old man's heart.

Grandfather Har did not respond at once.

Of course, buried within the recesses of his soul, there lay a yearning that had never truly abated.

A silent ache, an unspoken desire to lay eyes upon them once more, to know what had become of them after all these years.

Yet was such a reunion even possible? Or had the hands of time drawn them too far apart?

At last, after a long, contemplative pause, he exhaled a slow breath.

"Yes," he murmured, his voice steady, though tinged with something raw. "I do wish to see them… even if only from afar."

A knowing smile ghosted across Havi's lips, as though this were the very answer he had anticipated.

"That is precisely what I had hoped you would say, Grandfather," he said, his voice laced with something almost triumphant, his eyes gleaming with quiet determination.

Without the slightest hesitation, Havi turned to Haryo, his gaze unwavering, his resolve carved in stone.

"Mr Haryo," he said, his voice measured yet firm. "Is this man, Yunus, easy to find?"

Haryo blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the question.

His brows drew together in mild contemplation before he finally let out a slow, thoughtful breath.

"Yunus is not a man one can summon at will," he admitted at last. "Unless, of course, the matter is urgent and concerns his business directly."

A knowing smirk played at the corner of Havi's lips, as though this was precisely the answer he had anticipated.

"Then that's it," he murmured, a glint of something inscrutable flickering in his eyes, the cogs of his mind already turning.

Grandfather Har studied him closely, his gaze heavy with curiosity, as though attempting to peel back the layers of the young man's thoughts.

"What are you planning, lad?" he asked at length, his voice carrying the weight of both wisdom and caution.

"Chaos, Grandfather," Havi replied, his tone devoid of hesitation, steady as the tide.

A flicker of surprise crossed Grandfather Har's face, while Haryo observed him with a mixture of intrigue and measured apprehension.

"I will sow discord," Havi continued, his voice dipping into something dangerously quiet, as if speaking the words aloud gave them shape, gave them power.

"I will unsettle his company… perhaps even drive it to the brink of collapse."

Silence settled between them, thick and impenetrable.

The weight of his words lingered in the air, pressing upon those who listened.

"I have no desire to harm him," he added after a pause, his tone unshaken, his intent crystalline.

"Unless, of course, he gives me no other choice."

Haryo responded without delay, his voice weighted with careful deliberation.

"It is no simple feat to bring down a company, young man," he said gravely.

"Especially in this year, 1993. Security has tightened, technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and corporations are fortifying their systems like never before." His gaze bore into Havi's, sharp and assessing.

He drew a measured breath before continuing, "Yunus's textile factory, Hextex Ltd, stands at the height of its success. The public trusts them. Their reputation is unshakable. They are at the peak of their power."

Yet Havi did not waver. He met Haryo's piercing gaze with an unshaken resolve.

"That will not be a problem, Mr Haryo," he declared, his tone resolute, as if the challenge was nothing more than a minor obstacle.

"I will see to it myself."

He allowed his words to linger, giving those present a moment to absorb the weight of his intent.

"But before that," he continued, his tone shifting into something more casual. "I believe we should first discuss the terms of our partnership."

Haryo's eyes narrowed slightly, his interest piqued.

There was something about this young man, something that set him apart.

A quiet force simmered beneath his composed exterior, an unwavering certainty, a razor-sharp intellect, a presence far beyond his years.

To the world, he was merely a high school student.

Yet the way he spoke, the way he calculated his moves, the fearless manner in which he approached even the most delicate matters.

These were not the traits of an ordinary youth.

There was something else within him. A mind honed beyond its time, a will of steel… and perhaps, a side yet to be fully revealed.