"I know you've been through a lot personally these past few years," Haraboji began.
Suho listened in silence.
"You loved Yerin. You wanted to marry her," he continued, his tone steady, aged with certainty. "But we refused. At that time, we believed she wasn't the right fit for this family."
Suho's fingers tightened around his chopsticks. He said nothing.
"When we refused to accept Yerin," Haraboji went on, "you were hurt. We knew that."
The grip around the chopsticks grew firmer, knuckles whitening slightly. Still, Suho remained quiet.
"Then you married…" There was a pause. "…Hauen."
Suho noticed it. That brief hesitation before her name. Something cold slid down his spine. His instincts stirred, whispering a warning he couldn't yet name.
"You married her under a contract," Haraboji continued. "To keep the family satisfied. I don't know what you were thinking when you made such a decision."
Suho's jaw clenched.
"But I regret this," Haraboji said, his voice firm yet laced with something like self-justification. "Being elders, we failed to communicate with you properly. We failed to guide you toward choosing the right partner."
Suho stayed still. Too still. He was already tracing the direction of this conversation in his mind, every word forming a pattern he didn't like.
"Then, within months of the marriage, you met with a terrible accident," Haraboji said. His voice wavered, just a fraction. "That incident turned your entire life upside down."
At this point, everyone stopped eating. The clinking of cutlery faded into an uneasy stillness. The room felt tighter. Suho lowered his gaze to his plate, not because he was weak, but because if he looked up now, someone would notice the storm quietly gathering behind his eyes.
"And yet," Haraboji continued, "you didn't give up. You rose again. Even when multiple life-threatening hurdles were thrown at you."
Suho blinked slowly. His breath grew heavier, subtle but unmistakable.
"And then," Haraboji added, his gaze steady, "another year of suffering. Unnecessary hurdles. All because of certain people you chose… and allowed into your life."
Suho's eyes lifted slightly, finally meeting Haraboji's. "What do you want to talk about, Haraboji?"His voice was calm, almost too calm. But his eyes burned.
Haraboji met that gaze without flinching. His expression hardened, carved by years of authority.
"That's enough suffering with the wrong people, my child," he said, his voice softening, almost paternal. "Enough."
Suho's gaze didn't move.
"You endured a lot," Haraboji went on. "You paid a heavy price." His eyes swept over Suho again, not with warmth, but with evaluation.
"You are precious to us. You are our pride. And despite all the chaos in your personal life, you never let that pride fall when it came to your work."
A pause.
"But," Haraboji said, his tone sharpening like a blade drawn halfway, "all this mess has affected the Kim legacy."
Suho's jaw tightened.
"Our family matters were dragged into the public eye again and again," Haraboji continued. "And that… is unacceptable."
The words settled heavily on the table.
"So, Suho," Haraboji said, leaning back slightly, his voice deceptively gentle, "my child… let's end this here."
Suho's fingers curled slowly against his palm.
"Start your life fresh," Haraboji concluded. "With the right path, with right guidance. And with the right partner."
At that moment, the chopsticks slipped from Suho's fingers and clattered softly against the table. The sound felt unbearably loud. His breath turned uneven, chest rising sharply as if the air had suddenly grown thin.
"What… what are you talking about, Haraboji?" His voice came out broken, frayed at the edges. His vision blurred.
Everyone froze. No one spoke. No one even moved. All eyes were on him now.
Haraboji took a slow, deliberate breath, as if preparing himself for something inevitable.
"Just end your past relationships," he said.
The words didn't register at first. Suho's brows knitted together.
"What does that mean?" he pressed, panic creeping into his tone, refusing to accept where this was heading.
Haraboji's eyes hardened. "End the contract marriage with Hauen."
The world dropped out from under Suho's feet. His heart fell violently, the way it does when you miss a step on the stairs. The food in his mouth suddenly choked him, his throat constricting painfully.
"What?" The word escaped him as a gasp.
"You heard me right, Suho," Haraboji said, unwavering. "End it."
Suho stared at him, eyes wide, stunned, disbelief etched across his face.
"Start fresh," Haraboji continued, his voice firm, mercilessly composed. "With someone better. Someone who suits our family. Our legacy."
Suho's hands trembled slightly against the table.
"I want you to live a happy, stable life," Haraboji said. "Not a rollercoaster filled with drama."
A pause.
"A Kim heir must live peacefully," he went on. "But ever since you entered this contract marriage, your life has been nothing but chaos."
Suho's breath hitched.
"The accident. The attacks. The false allegations." Haraboji's tone was cold now, clinical. "The women you choose in your life have only brought trouble. And bad luck."
The words struck like knives. No hesitation. No mercy.
A tear slipped free from Suho's eye and fell onto the table. He didn't even realize it at first.
His head spun, the room tilting slightly as if the ground beneath him had shifted. The words echoed again and again, crashing into each other, refusing to settle into meaning.
"I know this is hard for you," Haraboji continued, his voice calm, almost practiced. "But it is not impossible."
Suho's jaw tightened.
"When you were able to get over Yerin," Haraboji said, without looking away, "Even after loving her for years, it should be easy for you to forget Hauen as well."
That was when something inside Suho cracked.
"You started this marriage as a contract," Haraboji went on, relentless, "So end it as a contract."
Suho's fingers curled into his palm, nails biting into skin.
"If required, give her compensation," Haraboji added casually. "Whatever she wants."
Compensation. Like she was a loss on paper. Like she was damage control.
"I have already found the right person for you," Haraboji said. "Start a new married life. Give the Kim family an heir. So that I can hand over my responsibilities peacefully."
Suho's chest burned violently, anger flooding through him so fast it made his hands shake. His eyes were red now, wet, vision blurred beyond focus.
His entire body felt like it was holding back a scream.
"Suho…"
His mother's voice cut through the silence. "Haraboji is right, my son."
That sentence hurt more than anything else. She looked at him with concern, not cruelty. And somehow, that made it worse.
"Think wisely," she said gently. "You have endured too much because of these two women in your life."
Her voice faltered for a moment, softening. "You are very precious to us," she said. "We don't want you to suffer anymore."
"Just end everything," she continued. "Start fresh. Haraboji will guide you on the right path. This is important for our family's legacy."
That was it. Something inside Suho snapped.
"What legacy, omma?"
He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor. Everyone flinched.
"Suho," his father warned.
"Enough," Suho growled, his voice trembling but fierce. "Enough, appa. I'm done."
Tears streamed freely now, but his anger only burned brighter.
"What do you all think I am?" he shouted. "A machine? You think I can erase feelings and memories just because you command it?"
His chest rose and fell violently as years of buried resentment poured out.
"You've always done this to me. First, Yerin." His voice cracked. "You rejected her over business rivalries and baseless family disputes, even though you knew how deeply I loved her."
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.
"And now Hauen?" he continued, his voice breaking into a roar. "Why? What did she do wrong? What is her fault?"
"She is not right for you, Suho," his mother said sharply. "Ever since you married her, your life has been chaos. The accident. The attacks. The allegations—"
"She is proven innocent, omma!" Suho yelled back, his pain spilling into desperation.
"Watch your tone, Suho!" Haraboji thundered, finally losing his restraint.