"I am your father . "

His words rang loudly in Yeo Ri's ears .

"W-what?"

Yeo Ri could only stare at him with a flabbergasted expression . She even wondered if the man was drunk . What kind of nonsense was he talking about . . . ?

"My . . . father?" Yeo Ri spat the word out with difficulty . Lately, she had been overly sensitive over the word . After all, the 'father' that had raised her could even do something so terrible . It was no surprise that she felt a little traumatic at the word .

"Yes . . . I'm sorry, for keeping it a secret for so long . " Heo Woo Seung looked at her sadly . He felt immensely guilty . So many years had pa.s.sed, yet it was only now that he decided to tell her . It was only after she had grown up so much that he decided to face her . "I'm sorry, for not—" The man stifled his sentence . He couldn't bear to finish it . 'I'm sorry for not being responsible and giving you a better life,' he wanted to say .

Yeo Ri's head was lowered, her expression covered by her bangs . Heo Woo Seung had no idea what kind of expression she had on currently .

" . . . "

"Y-Yeo Ri-ah?" Heo Woo Seung wiped away the tears that was forming at the corner of his eyes . He had no rights to cry, he told himself . It was Yeo Ri who was wronged . If there was anyone who deserved to cry, it was Yeo Ri . She had to endure so many years of suffering, living with that horrible family that she had no connection to .

" . . . Father?" Yeo Ri's voice trembled . She raised her head, facing the man with an empty gaze . Slowly, she placed down the photo back onto the table . "Sorry, but you must be mistaken, Uncle . "

"—Huh?" Heo Woo Seung couldn't help but be startled .

"I don't have a father," Yeo Ri says frostily . "Not him, not you, and not anyone else . "

"Yeo Ri-ah, you must believe me! I—" Heo Woo Seung almost stood up from his impulsiveness, but he managed to rein himself . "If you don't believe it, we can get a DNA test . Please believe me, okay? I—"

"Uncle!" Yeo Ri interrupted him . "Stop it, please!" Yeo Ri slammed her hands on the table, standing up .

"Yeo Ri-ah, please calm down! I'll tell you everything, so please . . . " Heo Woo Seung grabbed her arm, his voice cracking . He felt so guilty towards his daughter; the daughter he had abandoned all those years ago . "Please, sit down," he begged .

Yeo Ri was panting heavily as she tried to control her emotions . Her legs were trembling from the revelation, and she had no choice but to sit down .

"Why?" Yeo Ri asked the man tearily . "Why now . . . ?"

"I . . . I've always thought that when your mother left thirteen years ago, she had also taken you along with her . Who would have known that . . . I'd see you again, in my own house," he shakily explained . "Please forgive me, Yeo Ri . I . . . Dad didn't know . "

" . . . " Yeo Ri bit her lips, bunching her hands together . For now, she was curious to hear his excuses, though she still had yet to completely believe his claims .

"If I had known, I would have taken you in back then," he says . "We had an affair together, you see . " He smiled wryly . It was not something he was proud of, but the time he spent with Han Yeoreum was the happiest time in his life .

"Fifteen years ago, she suddenly asked to break up . Of course, I agreed to it . I had just joined a political party and could not afford the scandal . I found out afterwards that she had been pregnant, with you . " Heo Woo Seung paused, closing his eyes painfully .

"I tried contacting her, but she wouldn't answer . One day, she suddenly called, asking to meet up . She told me the truth, and asked me to take you away . However, I refused . My career was going smoothly, and taking in an illegitimate child would be detrimental to my career," Heo Woo Seung chuckled with self-derision . "Oh, how dumb I was . "

"It seemed like her husband had found out about our relations.h.i.+p, and a few days later, I found out that she had left the town . " He sighed, "Or at least, that was what my men said when they inquired about it on the streets . "

"How . . . did you two met?" After a long pause, Yeo Ri finally spoke .

Heo Woo Seung smiled gently, as if in reminiscent . "Would you like to hear the story? It started almost sixteen years ago . . . "