My Psychology Professor

HONESTLY

~Chapter Song: Bii 'We Are Walking in Love'~

Early in the morning Jin-Goo woke up at dawn like he usually did. He took a shower, dressed himself in a crisp navy suit and made a cup of black coffee for his breakfast. He hadn't been satisfying his sweet tooth for a few months now and he had strangely gotten used to the bitter taste of the dark liquid.

When he got to his office, he put on his tie and waited for his halmeoni to arrive. He had called her for an unofficial meeting last night. Jin-Goo wasn't stupid, he knew what people were saying about him coming into the company by means of nepotism but despite that he still had power. With said power he had particular people around him keep an eye on his halmeoni's activities and reporting them to him.

She wasn't the only one that could pull strings in the company.

He hadn't heard anything particularly displeasing besides her usual meddling, that was until yesterday.

Five out of the higher officials had come to Jin-Goo, with evidence, as to how his halmeoni had been planning to overthrow his harabeoji's position by turning the other members of the board against him with very hefty bribes. Upon hearing the news all that Jin-Goo could do was sigh. Why she would choose to do such baffled him, because at the end of the day the ownership of the company would eventually be passed down to him and not even a thousand lawyers from his halmeoni's backing could stop that.

He sat in his chair with eyes closed and fingers intertwined against his chest. When his door opened without even a knock he wasn't surprised, he simply listened as she limped inside and sat on the chair. Opening his eyes he could see that her secretary was by the door not knowing whether to come in, so Jin-Goo motioned for him to stay outside.

Standing up, he moved to the front of his desk and leaned on it slightly so that he could get a clearer look at his halmeoni. His halmeoni. His own flesh and blood.

"Halmeoni... I really am tired of all of this now." He said with his voice low. He didn't have the energy to keep getting angry each time he confronted her anymore.

"You've barely been in this company five minutes, you don't know what tired is." She sneered, her eyes not meeting his. "Well I guess... If it's too hard for you then, I'm willing to take over. Help you out a bit."

Jin-Goo stared at her side profile, not understanding what truly went on in that mind of hers.

"Halmeoni, you know... I heard a lot of things about revenge. I've heard that it's best served cold, I've also heard that it's sweet and satisfying." He stepped closer, his eyes slowly brimming with tears. "At first, I really wasn't interested in revenge, because personally, I think some things in this world take care of themselves. I thought that was what I needed, what I craved even but do you know what? I had to realise on my own that what I wanted wasn't revenge. It was justice."

He ignored her incredulous expression, continuing, "Justice for the two lives that you took but expected to get away with. Justice for leaving me an orphan and dragging me through hell. D-do you even know how hard it is to live like that? Do you even know what it feels like to truly live in constant agony?"

"Why wouldn't I know?" Her voice raised and tears now equally filling in her eyes. This would be the first time he had ever seen her on the verge of crying. "I lost my son too! He wasn't meant to die that night! Stop sounding like a broken record and move on."

Jin-Goo stood still, a single tear travelling down his cheek and he couldn't help but think that the younger him would have been shaken up by the way his halmeoni looked right now. When he spoke his words came out in a broken whisper, "Stop with the same old crap. Your son wasn't meant to die that night, but my mother was? Your daughter in law – the woman that your son loved?"