Pay With Your Heart

Chairman Lee was sitting with his wife at the pavilion in the garden, it was something they did regularly but recently they had been too preoccupied to do that. 

Father Lee has been busy going on few business trips despite his son's refusal since he had taken over the company and was now the new head of the family, so it was his job to look after the business, not his retired father. Mother Lee on the other hand has been busy prepping for her last outreach.

Father Lee has been intently staring at his wife for the last three minutes with her being oblivious to his gaze. She was immersed going through the numbers of people reported with neglected tropical diseases in some of the tropical areas in the country as well as the number of patients who were in dire need of surgeries. Jae-Hyun had given her all these statistics on her request.

After staring at her and closely observing her for a while father Lee asked, "Honey, can I ask you a question?" 

"Sure" Mrs Lee replied without taking her eyes from the file in her hand.

"Promise to tell me the truth" Mrs Lee lifted her head to him and a small smile appearing on her face.

"When have I ever not told you the truth?" She asked as she reached for the glass of juice on the table.

"Well never" Father Lee replied. That was one of the lovely things about his wife, she had never kept anything away from him, neither had she done a thing without his permission. She was a virtuous wife who understood the true meaning of submission. Her honesty with him was something he loved. With that certainty in mind, he went ahead to ask his question.

"Honey, are you sick?" Father Lee finally asked the question that has been on his mind for weeks, prompting Mrs Lee to choke on the juice she was about to gulp down.

*Cough* Cough* Cough*

Father Lee hurried to her side and gently began to pat her back to stop her from coughing, "Sorry" He apologized as he continued to pat her back.

Mrs Lee finally stopped coughing, she glanced at her husband from the corner of her eyes, her heart slowly began to race.

"Why..why did....you ask that?" She carefully asked. 

'Why was he asking that now? Did he hear something or has she been careless with her drugs and he might have seen it? This wasn't what she wanted. Her husband and son knowing about her condition was something she didn't plan for. As a matter of fact, if she could withhold the truth from them until her last days, she'd do it. Her relationship with Dan-Han hasn't improved much but it has been better than before when he didn't want to stand in the same room. with her. But thanks to Eun-sun she had gotten to speak with him and he had come over to the house for dinner. She didn't want to burden them with her predicament, neither did she want to spend her last days with her friends and family sulking and leading unhappy lives because of her. They should be happy because that was the only way she could be happy too.

"Well weeks ago our son mentioned to me that you look pale and sickly and I should put an eye on you, and I've been doing just that these past weeks whenever I'm around. And honey you do look a bit emaciated, and I've noticed you get tired easily and also your diets have changed. So tell me the truth are you sick or do you feel sick? You know you can tell me anything right?" Father Lee said as he reached for his wife's hand and gently rubbed the back of her palm. 

Mrs Lee surreptitiously heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment there she had thought he had found out something. She flashed him a sweet smile.

"Honey you worry too much. I'm fine, do I look sick?" She said with a convincing smile making Father Lee sigh. Who better to know his wife than him?

He turned fully to stare at her face, her palm still buried in his, "Honey, I know how you hate being a liability but you're not one to me or our son. I can't forcefully take you to the hospital to do a test, but you should know that we both love you and if you have a problem you can always tell us because we're family. So tell me if anything is wrong. I can go with you to the hospital, I don't mind." He told her, while Mrs Lee sweetly smiled at him. She placed her free hand on top of his hand which was holding her other hand.

"You worry too much. I'm perfectly in health so there's nothing to worry about. I've met with Jae-Hyun and he said it's normal, and it comes with the age. We're no longer as young and vibrant as we used to, and you know how we woman age faster right?" She paused as she watched him nod his head.

"So you see it's nothing. The diet change was prescribed by Jae-Hyun, he says it beneficial for advanced women my age, to prevent wrinkles and cell ageing. So you see, I'm fine, and there's no cause for alarm" She assured him. Father Lee shot her a sceptical look but the convincing smile on her face eased his heart and he trusted his wife so much. She had never lied to him (except now).

Father Lee nodded his head in understanding, "I'll believe you, but if at any time you feel like you're not fine don't hesitate to tell me okay?"

"I won't hesitate." She reassured him.

The Lee coupled were still having a discussion, mostly Mrs Lee sharing her ideas for her outreach with her husband, when someone came to announce the presence of a visitor outside the house.

"Sir the chairman of Choi corporation is here to see you" One of the guards announced.

Father Lee arched his brow when he heard that. Chairman Choi was here? Without any prior invitation? 

He looked at his wife who was also staring at him. But from her countenance, it was obvious she had no clue about it.

"Let him in" There was no way he could send him away, it would be disrespectful. The guard bowed and walked away to let him in.

"Did you invite him to the house?" Mother Lee asked, but her husband shook his head. 

"No I didn't, but I guess he's here for the marriage thing again"

"What marriage thing?" She asked in surprise making her husband cock a confused brow at her.

"What do you mean by what marriage? Weren't we pairing our son with their daughter a while ago?" He asked her.

"Yes we were, but Dan-Han has stated his disinterest in her. So I think we should let him be." She stated.

Father Lee chuckled when he heard her last statement, 'Let him be'. When had she ever let their son be? Wasn't she the one who was always intruding in their son's life? Wasn't she the one who had started the matchmaking thing?

"Honey, you're beginning to sound hypocritical. Don't forget you were the one who had agreed to match make them in the first place and convinced me into coercing Dan-Han to go for the blind date, and he agreed on the condition he wouldn't go for another date?" He asked her.

"So I did, what's wrong with that?" She asked in a challenging tone.

"Well you started it, and now I'm interested in getting Dan-Han settled down. I don't want him to look like his cousin who's almost forty and is yet to be married. And I think the Choi's are the best fit for us too. They might not be on par with us, but they are not small either" 

"Honey we're not interested in our son marrying anybody because of their social standing"

"We're not?" Father asked rhetorically.

"No, we're not! Dan-Han should marry because of love. Maybe I was wrong before, but that was because I was only desperate I don't have time to–" She paused when her husband cocked a brow at her. That was a close tongue slip.

"What I'm saying is, I think our son has found someone he likes and she's a good girl. I like her too, let's forget about the Choi's and let our son be with the girl he likes" She told him.

"So Dan-Han has a girl he likes?" He inquisitively inquired, while she bobbed her head. He was surprised to bear that. When did that son of his finally grow an interest in women? Wonders never ends.

"What family is she from?" He asked. Mrs Lee narrowed her brows when she realized she didn't know the answer to that. As a matter of fact, she didn't know much about Eun-sun. She liked the girl's nature. Her character had attracted her and made her love her, so there has not been any need for her to look into the girl's background.

Observing the expression on his wife's face he chuckled, "I thought as much. Honey not everyone can become a Lee, if Dan-Han and you like a girl I don't have a problem with that, but do your findings and make sure she's someone from a good family. We don't want to associate ourselves with criminals or people who wouldn't be beneficial to us. So till you sort that out, the Choi's are the best fit for our son" He stated before standing up to welcome the man who was approaching the pavilion.