Matching Set (필연) Chapter 20 (스물)

종현 knew something was off. And he had a sneaking suspicion his mother had something to do with it. His plan to tell Valerie how he felt about her would have to be put on hold. She wasn’t in the right headspace for him to confess his love for her. She would probably think that he was just saying it to cheer her up. Which wasn’t the case. So instead, he held off and went along with Valerie’s request to enjoy their dinner together talking about anything other than their work.

He dropped her off at her apartment, waited to see her light turn on and sped off to find his mother. He called his mother’s secretary asking where he could find her, at first he could tell she was nervous and he informed her he wouldn’t mention a thing to his mother about her.

And just as he suspected she had something to do with Valerie’s proposal being denied, it was more so confirmed by the fact she was out to dinner with the hospital board.

He pulled up to a restaurant he had frequented many times with his mother and that same hospital board, where a valet quickly handed him a ticket, clearly 종현 had a determined air about him as he strode into the familiar establishment. He smiled to the hostess who motioned for him to go back to the private room where the little meeting was being held.

Before he entered the room he could hear the loud laughs, the clinking of glasses and silverware on plates and it infuriated him even more.

He swung open the door and a silence filled the room. The scared faces of the doctors spoke volumes. And there at the head of the table sat his mother, her evil smile not fading for a moment.

“아들 , what are you doing here?” She asked, with a I’m-playing-dumb expression.

She knew exactly why he was there. But he wanted it to sting. Bruise her ego the way she had tried to do with such a cowardly move towards his girlfriend. Real or not, to him it was real. And so he was going to show her just how real he was.

“Oh I just came to see what my mother was doing tonight. I know you usually go out with the hospital board after their meetings and today was no different.” He walked around the table, taking in every doctors face. Their eyes dropping to avoid contact with his.

“I was just out with Valerie. You all met Valerie at the gala.” He saw some heads nod, “And today when she gave her proposal for the children’s new gameroom.”

No nods from that one. He saw one head move and he started to make his move.

“Dr. Rasminda,” he called everyone’s attention to one of the doctors. He was one of the oldest memebr on the board, sat right to the right side of his mother.

How fitting. 종현 was ready to pounce.

“You had a great time at the gala right?” He asked the doctor.

“Of course.” the man smiled, a nervous smile that all the other board members mimicked.

“Was it the food? The people? The Donations?” 종현 continued his calm interrogation.

“I’d say all of the above.” Dr. Rashminda answered politically.

“What about the rest of you?” 종현 turned towards everyone else in the room.

They all looked amongst themselves and suddenly all nodded their heads mumbling the things they enjoyed about the gala.

“Do you want to know my favorite part?” he turned to his mother, who he could see breathing quickly as she watched the memebers reactions to his questioning.

“My favorite part was that after the event your hospital received another one hundred thousand dollars in donations.” he grabbed one of the glasses of champagne off the table. “From everyday people, not Fortune 500 companies. Everyday people who happened to fall in love with my girlfriend and I actually taking time to spend with the children you all claim to care about.’“

“아들!” His mother tried to cut him off. Her mouth hung open at his defiance towards her and her choices. He was sick of her thinking she could control him. He was the CEO of the company, he made the rules. He made the choices. And his choice was Valerie was going to design that game room, and he was going to keep her at his side for as long as she would let him.

“My girlfriend who worked countless hours to create a fun environment for the children of your hospital.  A hospital, and its patients, that has become near and dear to my heart. And yet you turned down her proposal because of,” He spat eyeing his mother and then back to the head doctor, “budegting.”

“Well Mr. Park, our budget is tight this year-”

“Tight? How so? My company alone donated two million dollars. And not to mention the other fifteen million that gala raised you.” He dropped his hand hard on the table making all the china and glasses clatter. “Not to mention that extra one hundred thousand I mentioned previously. Where in that large amount is there not enough in the budget?”

“We would have to crunch numbers but-”

“You do that. And when it’s done send it over to me.” 종현 pushed back off the table and made his way around to the other side. Getting a good look at every single members face. “I want it broken down to the point I know the cost of every square of toilet paper you use to wipe your asses. If I see any of that donation money going into your bonus checks I will make sure you get booted from this board and never able to practice in this city again. Understood?”

“아들, you are acting irrationally-” his mother jumped from her seat.

“No 어머니, you acted irrational when you convinced the board to not accept Valerie’s proposal solely for the fact she doesn’t fit in the bubble you want me to be in.” He had never spoken so boldly to her. But his anger had boiled over.

“She told you-” His mother started but his sudden surprise at the fact he had made the correct assumption about his mother had him seething.

“You have meddled in my life for far too long 어머니. I let it slide before. Mainly because your choices didn’t effect life as much as you thought they did. But this,” he pointed around the room, all the doctors heads hung low, “this time you went to far and broke the heart of the woman I love.”

Holy shit. He just said that out loud.

“Y-You-You love-?” His mother didn’t finish the question her mouth continuing to sputter without producing words.

“You heard correct.” He said turning back to the rest of the room, “As for the rest of you, sucking up to my mother in the future will not help your standing with me. I hold more power, though I might not have acted in such a way, I plan to from here on out. I expect to have a budget report from you by end of day tomorrow and hopefully you choose to rethink your decision of the proposal from Valerie of Seung Designs.”

He bowed, buttoned his suit jacket and walked out of the room back towards the front of the restaurant.

“You can’t possibly love a girl you paid to date you.” The shrill voice of his mother echoed through the open space of the restaurant. The patrons went silent as 종현 stopped his exit from the restaurant.

“Did you think you had me fooled?” She spat her long strides had her in front of him in a few steps. “I knew from the second I met her that there was something off about your relationship. And so I dug. You made it hard at first, I really did think you were dating. But then your little secretary slipped up leaving your planner open and there were your dates all neatly scheduled for the next three months but nothing after. And a date circled that simply said ‘The End’.”

He could kill his secretary. He knew it wasn’t their fault. Who would think to hide a planner? But he knew to tell them to be more cautious.

“You’re right 어머니, we started dating to get you to leave me alone.” he laughed at the idea that she thought she was about to change his choice in having Valerie do her job. “You constantly tried to throw women at me, women that were either so dull I would rather watch paint dry, or so obsessed with vanity that I might as well have been a mirror for them to stare at themselves.”

“Valerie is neither of those things. She is smart, hard working, and cares more about what her work portrays than how she is portrayed to the world. She wants her work to leave a mark on the world. And I fell in love with that passion. She is beautiful inside and out and I love every single thing about her.”

“You sure can sell it.” His mother still thought he was lying.

“Just because your relationship with dad wasn’t a match for love doesn’t mean mine can’t be.”

That’s when her smug smile fell, her face turned red and before he could say anything else he felt a sting on his cheek and loud gasps came from the audience of diners.

He had hit a sore spot. He knew it. And he had a small ounce of guilt as he watched his mother storm back to the back of the restaurant.