544: Open communication is vital

Open communication is vital

So Min came forward and said, "Yes, Jack. I know you don't think highly about us. But in the end, Daniel was only trying to be a good father. He really did try to accept your orientation, but he was scared. Honestly, even I was. We were simply worried about your future. We didn't want to see you getting hurt. But I admit that his way of handling things was incorrect. No matter how angry he was at you, he shouldn't have thrown his son out of the house."1

Daniel said nothing.

Si Min beamed. "But trust me. Daniel was so excited when you decided to become a doctor. Even though you refused to take his help, he still helped you secretly to get a lower interest rate on your loan."

Jack blinked. "Ah?"

"Min! You didn't have to tell him that!" He gasped.

Si Min frowned. "What? You just admitted that you bribed the cop for Jack's sake, which he didn't know earlier too. We came here exactly for a heart-to-heart talk!"

"T-that I was just overwhelmed…" He pursed his lips. "That was a slip of tongue…"

Jack's face blackened. "The hell? Why do you want to hide so many things from me!? You never told me about your family or how your grew up, you didn't say that you tried to accept my bisexuality by talking to others about it and you I was unaware that you bribed the cop too! You are just Daniel Walker, not some secret service agent!"

"Pfft…!"

Shuang and Si Min burst into a chuckle hearing this. Then they immediately returned to show their solemn expressions.

Daniel gritted his teeth. "There was nothing exactly broadcast to the whole world, did it!? What should I say about my poor life or what my colleagues said shit about LGBT or that I asked a favor to a cop because I treated him in the past!"

"Not to the whole world, old man but to your son at least! I deserve to know what you thought and why you thought that way! What influenced you, what made you make any decision and how you dealt with stuff. I needed to know or how would I know how to communicate to you!? I need to know what you are thinking to have conversations, but you always acted like you didn't care about my life!"

Shuang nodded. "I agree with Jack on this, Mr. Walker. You cannot solve problems without communication. I was at the same place a few days ago. I assumed something about my father's feelings about me, having my own reasons behind it. But when Dad knew about it, I learned that he never thought about those things in the first place. I was distancing myself from him, hurting him in the process. It wouldn't have happened if I had talked to him before."

Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times. 

"I…" he clasped his hands together. "I just didn't want Jack to have a bad image of me. My childhood was tough, and I had struggled a lot. I found it embarrassing to tell him that I worked part time jobs to scrap for money. I wasn't like this when I was young. Then what should I have told him about my colleagues? That was really bad stuff and mocking about LGBT people, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings by letting him know that society treats you shit. And the bribe? Seriously, you want me to confess that a dignified and ethical doctor like me bribed a cop to get his son out of trouble? It's not something worth glorifying."

Jack sharply gasped. "You…you are an idiot, old man!"

Daniel balled his fist. "Say that again, you bastard! You have grown too gutsy now that you curse your own father!"

"That's because you are! These are the things exactly a child should know! There is nothing shameful in any of the stuff you just said. In fact, I feel proud of you that helped Grandma the best you could to run the house financially. It's a nightmare to take such heavy responsibilities at a young age, but you did it all by yourself. That's a bunch of accolades right there!"

Daniel coughed and felt strange. For him, those days were really the darkest and struggling time of his life. He never really thought that he did anything worth getting respect. 

"About the part you ask your colleagues about bisexuality. If I had known, then I would have told you not to take their words to heart. When I realized my orientation, I was also ready to face whatever came in my way because I knew how society looked at us. But the most important thing here was that you actually took an effort to understand me despite you being against bisexuality. That…that means a lot to me! I always thought that you were just blindly disagreeing with me because of your prejudices. You might not favor it, but it means a lot to know that you did try to understand my choices."

"Well…"

Daniel didn't know how to really explain himself.

Jack shook his head. "And you think I would think badly about you because you bribed a cop? Don't children usually get smug about this stuff? When parents do anything to save their child from trouble? If anything, I should have become a spoiled brat to know that I had your back, not disappointed in you!"

He glared at him. "Why would you be smug!? We didn't raise you that way!"

"Oh shut up, old man! You still have the energy to argue so much when your head is bandaged!"

"This much is nothing! I used to get hurt and bleed a lot during the times I worked part-time. My skin and bones are as tough as a rock!" He sneered. "You think falling from some damn stairs will kill me?"

Jack sneered back. "That was a different time, old man. You were young. Not anymore. Look at your white hair. Don't overestimate your old skin and bones now."

"You…" he trembled in rage. "How dare you!? I can show you who is more fit between us! Let's race right now! I will beat you into a pulp! You will feel ashamed that a twenty-eight year old young and energetic man like you lost to a supposed 'old man' like me!"

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