Ch.165165. A Father’s Grace is Like the Sky

I was about to ask what exactly he meant by “using force,” but at that very moment, there was a polite knock from beyond the door. My brother and I simultaneously turned to look at father. We were waiting for his response as the eldest person in the room.

“Hmm.”

Father simply nodded without saying anything else. Understanding this gesture, my brother gave me a look, and I raised my voice to answer.

“Yes, come in.”

The office door opened with a clatter. Turning around, I saw a familiar beautiful woman holding a tray standing at the threshold. She had round features yet subtly sharp lines, and she bowed her head politely.

“Hello, Father, Brother-in-law. I brought some drinks.”

“Thank you. We’ll enjoy them.”

Why is she here? As I was wondering this, my brother’s response brought me back to reality. Hwa Nabi glanced at me, then placed glass cups in order before my father, my brother, and finally me.

“Ah, thanks.”

“It’s nothing.”

Hwa Nabi responded coolly, then winked at me from an angle only I could see. I know this isn’t the time for such thoughts, but she looked so cute that my heart skipped a beat…

“The new daughter-in-law has worked hard. And in her condition too.”

Father commented while looking at the glass on the table.

Since I’d already heard about this from both of them, I wasn’t particularly surprised. But Hwa Nabi hadn’t heard it from him before, so wouldn’t she be a bit shocked?

I turned my head expecting this, but she only showed a slightly awkward smile. She took it surprisingly calmly.

“Not at all. Thank you for your concern.”

Hwa Nabi rolled her eyes and stared at me. She was asking, “Your father knew too?” I quietly nodded in response.

“Well, since we’re all here. Shall we have a little chat before dinner?”

Father glanced at the empty space on the sofa, more specifically, the spot next to me. He was telling her to sit down.

Hwa Nabi apparently hadn’t expected this, as she stood there momentarily stunned before finally responding.

“Ah… yes. Alright.”

“I’m not going to interrogate you, so don’t be too nervous. Make yourself comfortable.”

Even if he says to be comfortable, that’s easier said than done. As evidence, Hwa Nabi was smiling with a very awkward expression. I completely understand. I was the same way. Being in the same place as your partner’s father and brother is bound to make anyone nervous.

Hwa Nabi sat down, carefully arranging the hem of her skirt. Father quietly observed her face, then slowly began to speak.

“Is everything comfortable for you?”

“Yes. Siwoo has been helping me a lot. I haven’t had any major discomforts so far.”

“Hmm.”

Seemingly satisfied with Hwa Nabi’s answer, Father stroked his short beard.

“If you need anything, just let me know anytime. I’ll send it through Siwoo.”

“Yes. Thank you…”

“Well, that’s enough small talk. Now I’d like to discuss something important.”

At the mention of the main topic, my back suddenly straightened. Of course, things wouldn’t just pass by so easily. I was wondering why he wasn’t scolding us, but he was saving his words to speak to both of us together.

I wasn’t the only one who thought this; Hwa Nabi’s pupils trembled when our eyes met. I moved my right hand to hold her left hand. It was meant to reassure her not to worry too much because I was here.

She held my hand back. I could tell from her slightly trembling fingertips that she was just as nervous as I was.

“Even though I’m a parent, I’m still a third party, so I was planning to stay out of it… but now that you’re having a child together, I have something to say.”

“……”

The opening was ominous. Extremely tense, we waited for Father’s words, quiet as mice and trembling like aspen leaves.

And then, the next moment.

“…I was thinking you might want to move.”

Father, who had been looking very serious, crossed his arms and looked us over before speaking.

“What? Move…?”

I was expecting a scolding, but this was completely unexpected. What does he mean suddenly? Is he telling us to move? Does he mean move into the family home?

I was a bit dumbfounded and didn’t understand his intention, so I just sat there blankly for a moment. Father tapped his forearm with his index finger and continued.

“The place where you’re staying now seems a bit small for three people.”

“Um… not necessarily.”

A thirty-pyeong apartment should be enough for a family of three, shouldn’t it?

“Hmm, is that so? Then I guess you won’t need this house.”

What house is he talking about? I can’t follow the flow of this conversation at all.

Feeling a bit frustrated, I glanced at my brother. But his expression was quite peculiar. It was as if he was trying hard to suppress a laugh. He definitely seemed to know something.

“Father, if you talk like that, they won’t understand.”

“…Who are you calling kids?”

“The fact that you’re getting upset at being called kids proves that you are kids.”

“Hey, you…”

Just as I was about to retort, Father cleared his throat from his seat at the head of the table. I forcibly swallowed the words that had risen to my throat.

“Jiwoo is right. I should have shown you this first before talking.”

Father muttered in a low voice as he shuffled through the stack of documents on the table. Is there something in there? From a distance, it just looked like an ordinary pile of papers.

“Father, let me find it for you.”

Perhaps impatient with Father’s leisurely hand movements, my brother took all the files and organized them efficiently. It seemed like less than a minute had passed, but the jumbled pile of papers had been transformed into well-organized documents that looked quite impressive.

“Here it is. This is what Father was talking about.”

What my brother handed us were a few A4 sheets from the back of the file. Looking closely, I recognized the familiar format of a real estate contract. I know because we used the same form when contracting our current home.

Anyway, let’s see what’s written here. I was skimming through without much thought when I was shocked by the property price at the top. The first digit is 7, and how many zeros are there after it?

They say housing prices are more expensive than gold these days, and that’s no lie. While I was still surprised by the enormous price, I moved my gaze downward and found something even more surprising.

“What’s this? It’s in joint names—mine and Nabi’s?”

Moreover, the payment had already been completed, so the contract would be finalized once we, the actual residents, stamped our seals.

I’ve never spent such a jaw-dropping amount… How did this happen? I looked to the side just in case. Hwa Nabi, meeting my gaze, shook her head vigorously. It meant she didn’t know about this either.

“Yes, it’s Father’s gift to you two. You already know the reason, right? Since the place will be too small once the baby is born, he wants you to live somewhere more spacious. That’s why he’s buying it for you.”

This is too grand to be just a gift. As I’ve felt before, the heir to a conglomerate really thinks on a different level.

“……”

Should I accept this or not? If it were a gift worth a few million won, I would gratefully accept, but this was too burdensome to simply accept.

This isn’t something I can decide alone. I turned my head toward Hwa Nabi.

She looked at my face and then at the contract with nine zeros written on it, alternating her gaze, before carefully opening her mouth.

“Um… Father. I’m very grateful for your thoughtfulness and for caring about us, but we can’t accept such an expensive gift.”

“Is that so? Does the new daughter-in-law like the current house that much?”

“No, it’s not about liking it or not. Something like this… I don’t think we should accept it. Really.”

Hwa Nabi, who had cut it off decisively, looked straight at Father. From her profile that I glimpsed, her eyes were filled with determination. She wasn’t refusing out of courtesy; she genuinely believed we couldn’t accept it.

“Hmm.”

Still with his arms crossed, Father quietly looked at Hwa Nabi and then at me. He was silently asking what I thought.

…Well, there’s no need to think about it. Hwa Nabi’s opinion is my opinion. I squeezed her hand more tightly.

“I feel the same as Nabi. We’re grateful, but I don’t think we can accept this.”

“Hmm.”

…Should I have accepted it when offered? I boldly refused because Hwa Nabi said we shouldn’t accept it, but now I’m having second thoughts. From our position as the ones who made a mistake, our opinions might not be viewed favorably…

As I was seriously considering whether I should reverse my decision, at that very moment:

“Well, well. I like you more and more.”

Father raised his head leisurely and spoke. He likes us? Which part? I was expecting to be scolded for being impudent, but this was another unexpected response that left me dumbfounded.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t given a pregnancy gift to the new daughter-in-law yet, have I?”

“What? No, Father. I…”

“You’re still in the early stages so walking shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll talk to the store manager, so go and pick out whatever you like.”

At Father’s signal, my brother handed over a booklet. Wondering what it was, I saw it was a very elegantly designed pamphlet.

The items introduced inside were jaw-dropping luxury brands. Things that are as rare as stars in the sky, even if you have the money.

“What? Um… huh?”

While Hwa Nabi was flustered and stammering, Father’s gaze shifted to my face. He narrowed his brow as he stared at me, then dropped a comment.

“And Siwoo, you should change the car you’re driving. A man who’s about to have a child shouldn’t be driving such a car. It’s beneath your status.”

“……”

If that car is beneath one’s status, then 95% of South Koreans must be beneath status. I was about to retort like that when Father added as if he had just remembered.

“Oh, and I forgot to ask you two something.”

“Ah, yes.”

“When are you planning to get married?”

“…What?”