The Long-Awaited Arrival
"So that's how it is."
"Hmm. It's a good thing. Receiving a presidential medal from the government."
Her father’s expression as he spoke was a cocktail of bitterness, dissatisfaction, and disapproval. And finally, the subtle, shameless greed lurking beneath it all. Suhyun could feel every bit of it. Up until now, he had simply done as he was told, listened when spoken to, and answered accordingly. He had to. And he feared that if he didn't, things would go sour with her. But there was no need to worry about his relationship with Seo Jia anymore. They had divorced of his own volition and become strangers; while things were going well enough now, he didn't exactly trust her. It was at a level where he could just barely tolerate her as a person. And...
"Yes. That is how it turned out."
"...Uhm, that... uh..."
Unable to find the right words, her father looked back and forth between his wife and his daughter, struggling to formulate a response. He still believed that his daughter hadn't told her parents about the divorce or the reasons behind it—that she hadn't told them that her husband—
"In any case, as your father-in-law, I am delighted that you've accomplished such a magnificent feat."
He believed they were operating under the firm assumption that the marriage was still intact. Because of that, her parents were trying to proceed as if nothing had happened, while Suhyun found the whole situation absurd.
Seeing her standing there quietly next to her mother, the old saying about a daughter being a "guest" once married off seemed like complete nonsense. He glanced at Jia for a moment, his expression conveying a silent, incredulous question—*Why didn't you tell them I knew?*—before he let it go. He looked at the man who dared to call himself his "father-in-law" with a look of utter contempt and gave a lukewarm response.
Eunbyul had threatened him and worn him out, but that was only for a moment; in the end, things had worked out, and it was becoming a positive factor in all his corporate affairs. Today’s medal was no different. And the best part was that by listening to Eunbyul and acting according to her strategies, he felt as though his perspective had broadened. Just like now.
"Let's go inside and talk."
"Ah, yes. Hmm. As expected of my son-in-law... yes. You truly respect your elders. It's wonderful."
Respect, my ass. It was truly breathtaking.
Her father felt like he was sitting on a bed of nails even while seated in the room. Having been a former judge and even a chief judge of a district court, his mind should have been sharp. He had to keep thinking and thinking. In her father’s head, the thoughts were racing:
'How can I avoid losing face?'
'How should I react if I mention the divorce?'
'If I say my daughter did nothing wrong, will he let it slide?'
'Yes. My son-in-law is a man who does what he's told... if I just sweet-talk him, I can probably brush it under the rug...'
'If I do that, meeting the in-laws won't be a problem. Yes. I can just say their marital relationship was too intense...'
Around that time, Suhyun looked at Eunbyul and told her to wait near the door for a moment, then sat down at the table right in front of where her parents were sitting and began to speak.
"Father-in-law. First of all... thank you for the trouble of coming all this way."
"Ah, the traffic was quite heavy... I almost got into an accident on the way. Haha, I’ve been wanting to ride in a car driven by my son-in-law—"
"Hmm. I meant that you went through the trouble of coming here 'without even being invited'."
He drew his sword.
"...? What do you mean, uninvited..."
"..."
"What is this man saying? No, if we are strictly married, you are a member of our family, and since a member of our family is receiving a medal, my—"
"Pfft, a member of our family..."
Suhyun clicked his tongue, while her father wore a flustered expression and her mother looked completely dumbfounded. And... Seo Jia, who hadn't even lifted her head, had been staring at the floor, hunched over, for who knows how long.
Suhyun leaned back, his posture mocking, and began to speak.
"Is this something to laugh about? Just what are you—"
"Father-in-law. I still cannot bring myself to call you 'Father-in-law'."
As soon as he said that, her father immediately retorted,
"That's true, why haven't you? You aren't just dating my daughter anymore, so from now on, call me Father-in-law—"
"Because two years ago, on New Year's Day, you told me that you had not yet accepted me as your son-in-law. Since then, I have never called you Father-in-law or Mother-in-law. Not even once."
Her father stared at the son-in-law who was bringing up a past he didn't even remember, blinking repeatedly and furrowing his brow as if to ask what on earth he was talking about. Suhyun didn't care.
"Father-in-law."
"...No, that father-in-law..."
"But I don't think I will be able to call you Father-in-law in the future either. You must know why, don't you?"
"...?"
"Jia and I are divorced. I know that you are already well aware of that fact."
And so, hell began to unfold for her father and mother.
"Father-in-law. You told me not to bring up divorce just because one thing didn't go right, like the young people these days. I said I would try to endure it, but I never even imagined that your daughter would be the one to bring up the divorce. Did you know about it, Father-in-law?"
"No, that is because I educated her firmly—"
"Why didn't you educate her firmly from the start? Isn't that a failure of family education?"
Eunbyul’s eyes widened, her mouth agape in shock, before she quickly turned around and covered her mouth. She had provided some guidelines, but Suhyun was driving with the pedal to the metal, as if he intended to check the zero-to-sixty time from the very start.
"Family, family... education? You, right now..."
"I don't think this is the time for you to be saying anything to me, Father-in-law. You said you would accept me as your son-in-law after watching me for a while after the marriage, but I was never accepted."
"..."
"I only just realized now that there was a way to live without ever being accepted. When your wonderful daughter personally, *kindly* handed me the divorce papers, I realized it then. I cannot express my gratitude to your daughter in words."
He was crossing the line. And he was doing it without caring about anyone else's eyes. He was laying himself completely bare. Without hiding a single point, revealing all his thoughts exactly as they were.
"Your daughter lent me 70 billion won during my difficult times, and then pressured me to pay it back as soon as possible, even adding interest. Uh... according to the Financial Supervisory Service's debt collection standards, debt collection attempts more than three times a day are prohibited. It has been confirmed that your daughter, a foreign ministry official, violated the guidelines of a public-related organization under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. As a former district court chief judge, what do you think about that?"
"..."
"Do not try to avoid this by looking at your daughter. I have already heard everything. I know that you were the one who directed those collection attempts. Father-in-law. How does it feel to see your son-in-law, whom you tried to keep under your feet by crushing his spirit, grow as massive as the 63 Building?"
He spoke with arrogance, haughtiness, and insolence. If it were her father in his usual state, he would have been enraged, screaming at the top of his lungs to get a divorce immediately. But now, her father was not a judge; he was sitting with his legs and hands folded, staring only at the floor, just like the many defendants he used to sentence, unable to say a single word.
"It is also restricted to inform third parties, such as family members, of debt facts without the debtor's consent. Your daughter, a diplomat, violated the guidelines of a public institution. You really did educate her 'firmly', didn't you?"
"Father-in-law, ancestral rites are something I go to because I want to, not because I have to. When you asked me to attend the rites, I didn't think much of it, but now I realize it. What do you think about this?"
Only then did her father seem to recall the past events related to that, and he stammered,
"That... I didn't force you to do that, I clearly asked you what you thought..."
"If there are various facts that confirm suspicion of coercion in the circumstances, you have ruled that it was not an action taken by voluntary will, haven't you? Is that correct?"
He had nothing to say. Her father’s mind was only spinning with the thought of where on earth he had learned that. Of course, that fact had been provided by Eunbyul. When Suhyun told her how he had been treated by his in-laws and what they had said, Eunbyul had searched through her phone and tablet to find it. Eunbyul had told him that returning it exactly as it was would be effective.
"Do not encourage resignation, I hope my daughter's life is respected."
"..."
"Then I suppose the son-in-law's life is not to be respected and should be eaten out of a dog's bowl. Father-in-law."
While he spoke, he didn't let his head get hot at all. Rather, the more he spoke, the cooler his head became, returning to a situation conducive to rational judgment. Conversely, her father was unable to give a proper answer, his mind a jumbled mess of embarrassment, humiliation, shame, and anger.
"I wondered when you would come. You knew about the divorce, and you knew the circumstances behind it, so why didn't you say a word to me until now... truly."
"I didn't have the time."
"So you cleared the blocked roads to come here because you heard that your former son-in-law, whom you couldn't find the time to meet, was receiving a medal. Ah... you are truly amazing."
He continued to race forward.