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Summary: Four years and continents apart. What keeps Yi Jeong and Ga Eul's hope alive are the letters that they write to each other from time to time…

LOVE LETTER

XXV

Hyun Sub waited quietly for his father to respond to the news he had just given him. The old man was completely silent; there was no reaction. 'No visible reaction,' Hyun Sub corrected himself. Patiently, he continued to wait. Experience had taught him there was no way he was going to get away unscathed.

"You weren't able to talk him around?"

Finally, the accusation couched in the form of a question. What his father really meant was how on earth Hyun Sub had failed to control his rebellious offspring.

"I did everything you asked me to and more." That was not the complete truth but since Yi Jeong was in all probability never going to speak to his grandfather again, the latter would be none the wiser. Experience had also taught him that if it was possible, he should lie to his father.

"Fine, if he wants to throw everything away for that girl, then he will have to face the consequences. You will continue to be in charge of the museum, overall. Unfortunately, since both your sons have no interest in their family's welfare, it won't be passed down to them. I'll have to select one of my other grandchildren instead."

That was meant to hurt him but it barely registered. To his grief, Hyun Sub had learnt that the museum, along with his family's wealth, had stopped mattering years before. But it was too late to undo the choices he had made, no way to twist the fabric of time and go back to happiness. There was something he could do now though, for the son who had so wisely refused to follow in his footsteps.

"I understand. I'm assuming that you will be meeting with your lawyers tomorrow to draw up a new will?" A curt nod was the only answer he received. "It's completely up to you if you wish to disinherit Yi Jeong. He understands and accepts that."

A nerve jumped in the old man's cheek and Hyun Sub resisted the urge to smile. For once, his father was not going to be able to manipulate someone by dangling or threatening to withhold wealth and status. "However, I would like to request that should he decide to carve a career for himself in Korea, you will not attempt to undermine him."

"You should not ask for the impossible. I thought I taught you that a long time ago."

It was that amused tone, the condescension that always got under his skin no matter how he tried to make himself immune to it. "It's not impossible. All you have to do is give your word that you will leave him alone."

"This discussion is over." Hyun Seung glared at his son. "You are my eldest born and by far the most talented but do not think I will take any nonsense from you."

A sarcastic smile twisted Hyun Sub's lips. "I think you've already done your worst. But let's not digress. This request is not for Yi Jeong's sake, you know that between my sons, I reserve most of my dislike for him. This has to do with Chung Ae."

Hyun Seung had been about to order his son out of his office but the mention of his daughter-in-law stopped him. "Yes, what about her?"

"She's been attending her weekly therapy sessions and has been making good progress. However, she's still fragile and occasionally lapses into depression. I've been a good husband so far and have completely hidden my affairs from her, especially since she has no one left to send spying on me."

Hyun Sub enjoyed staring at his father's carefully composed face. His multiple affairs were an extremely sore point with the former and every chance he had, he rubbed it in his father's face. "If you prevent Yi Jeong from being able to return, Chung Ae is bound to find out. This news will drive her over the edge; she adores Yi Jeong. I have no idea why but he has always been her favourite. I spoke to Dr Lee and he affirmed this. Also, I'm told that she is constantly talking about Yi Jeong return to Korea."

"You will just have to deal with Chung Ae," Hyun Seung said gruffly. "It's your fault that she's become like this. I picked a well-bred socialite with a lineage that connects her and therefore us to the royal family, a woman who like you loved arts and had great talent and what do you do? You wasted her."

"I won't say I didn't. But then again, you should have known better than to convince her that I would eventually love her. You lied to her. And there is no simple way of 'dealing' with manic depressives with suicidal tendencies. If she does not manage to kill herself, she might very well need to be committed to an institution. You can imagine the talk that will make its way around our circles, not to mention the media attention."

That was his trump card and it had been well played. If anything, his father dreaded the proverbial loss of face more than anything else. Hyun Sub waited for a few minutes of silence to pass. When his father still remained quiet, he pressed his advantage. "Being cast out of the family and stripped of his inheritance will be a mark of shame that Yi Jeong will have to carry as long as he lives here. Let that be punishment enough. He should not be the cause of more trouble to us."

Hyun Seung stared at his son. "I take back what I said. Maybe I have taught you better than I thought I did."

"Like father like son," Hyun Sub replied smoothly.

There was nothing more to say and they both knew it. The repercussions of Chung Ae becoming seriously unhinged or suicidal again were too great. "I'll think about it." Hyun Seung waved a hand at his son, a sign that he should see himself out.

He had won. Hyun Sub muttered a curt good bye to his father and thankfully exited the office. Loosening his tie, he breathed in deeply and made a mental note to fax a short note to Yi Jeong to let him know that he could come back. "Who would have thought this could happen?" he mused. For once he had gotten the better of his father by using the wife that he had never wanted. And for whom but the son that he loved least. Just thinking about it made him want to reach for a drink. And since drinking alone was never much fun, he decided that he needed some company. Taking out his handphone, he scrolled down the current list of numbers that he had. Surely one of them would provide him with enough mindless entertainment for the night.

……………………

Yi Jeong opened his eyes slowly as the last vestiges of sleep dropped from him. A glance at the window showed that it was dark outside; apparently he had slept through dinner. After his father had left, he had called his friends and explained the situation to them. Then, he had paid a visit to Akira, who had surprisingly let him in, only to force Yi Jeong to help him apply glaze to several urns he was working on. When it became clear that fatigue was getting the better of him, Akira had sent him home with strict instructions to come back bright and early the next morning.

Lying there in the darkness, he wondered if his grandfather had already disinherited him. When he thought about it, some parts of yesterday seemed unreal. Today had passed in a hazy blur.

"If I lose you, I'll regret it forever," he mouthed softly to himself as he replayed his conversation with Ga Eul slowly, savouring every detail of the memory. It helped calm him down, kept him grounded in spite of the fact that in Korea, his grandfather was busy dismantling his life as he knew it.

When he finally crawled out of bed and got himself downstairs for dinner, he was handed a fax that came in. Yi Jeong read it. And then he read it again. A wave of mixed emotions swept through him and he gripped the banister. Just when he thought he knew his father…

"Sir?"

Yi Jeong realised that his butler was waiting for him to respond. "Yes?"

"I asked if you wanted dinner in the dining room."

"Send it upstairs please. I have something to work on."

Back in his room, Yi Jeong switched on the lights. Taking out another piece of paper, he opened his drawer and took out the photographs. He still remembered which ones he had intended to send to her.

Picking up his pen, he started to write.