CHAPTER 197: JIAH

Truth be told, Oliver didn’t give a damn about anyone’s opinion, except Kim Jiah’s.

His brother, Arin, had already shown interest in caring for the mother and child.

Now, he had to know what Kim Jiah thought.

"So, please bring her here," Oliver asked the patriarch.

The patriarch looked at Hyungho, who was sitting next to him. Hyungho is the father of the Jiah and his grandson. Thus, he wanted to know his opinion.

"Do you not want to bring her here? Then I will go meet her." Oliver saw them wasting time and said.

After a while, Hyungho took a deep breath and finally agreed, "Yes, let’s call her here."

He ordered Yuna to bring Jiah to the room and turned to Oliver. "I am Jiah’s father. Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm?"

"Do your parents know of it?"

"Parents? Why are you asking about that?"

"We have to meet them to finalise any decision."

"Yes, that’s right. But today, you don’t have to. I will be able to make any necessary decisions today."

"But, what would a kid like you know?" Hyungho spoke in a dismissive manner.

He was looking down on Oliver because of his age.

After saying that, he turned to the Thunder Emperor, "We can let you meet Jiah, but don’t think about forcing her to do anything."

His tone was slightly cold.

While it’s true that the patriarch and the Kim family respected the Thunder Emperor, it doesn’t mean they will prostrate before him.

Their family had an S-ranker, so they had no reason to be servile to him.

"That’s interesting...I thought you were the ones forcing the child. I heard she was not allowed outside the house after the pregnancy came to light."

Oliver butted in and said.

"You are ashamed of your daughter, right?" Oliver inquired.

But before Hyungho could speak, Oliver continued.

"The reason I came today, without waiting for a better opportunity, is so that I can solve this mess."

"Your family members seem to hate my brother. They are assaulting him daily.

In a way, he deserved a beating or two. But you can’t make it a daily occurrence."

"And, did we do anything in retaliation?"

"No, right? So, let’s be reasonable like the adults we are and settle this matter." Oliver straightened his back and leaned on the sofa as he spoke.

He certainly was an adult...with the mind of an adult....certainly...for sure...

He would never do something not adult-like.

Instead of answering him or speaking anything that would make the conversation productive, Hyungho asked, "How old are you?"

"Eighteen. An eighteen-year-old adult."

"You are barely old enough to vote..." Hyungho made an off-handed comment.

Finally, Oliver couldn’t hold it in; his lips curled up into a smile as he asked, "Old man, do you have a problem with my age?"

"What if I do?"

"You should shut up and bear with it."

"Brat. Who taught you to speak like that to your elders? Is this how your parents taught you?"

Hyungho was slowly getting fed up with Oliver. Hence, he started to argue.

His tone was slowly rising as he spoke.

However, Oliver kept his cool and replied.

"No, it’s a self-taught way to deal with people like you."

"Brat..." Hyungho’s nostrils flared up.

He was never disrespected like this before. That, too, was done by a young man younger than his son.

Hyungho’s fuse was about to burst when the Thunder Emperor spoke.

"Hey, Oliver. Be mindful of what you say. They are your brother’s in-laws."

"WHO IS?" Hyungho shouted.

A few moments ago, he looked like a peace-loving, approachable middle-aged man.

But now, anger was slowly swallowing his mind, making him do something he usually wouldn’t.

The shout was one such angry response.

It took him a second to realise what he had done.

"I..." he turned to look at the patriarch, who was glaring at him. Immediately, he shut up.

The patriarch took the time to ease the situation.

He said, "Hyungho loves his daughter very much. I hope you can ignore his outburst."

"It’s not like I don’t. After my parents and ice cream, I love my brother the most. And yet, I didn’t do anything when they beat him up. So, don’t preach discretion when you can’t do it yourself."

Oliver struck back.

His voice was sharp, like an arrow.

"Young man, don’t be angry." The patriarch said.

Contrary to Oliver’s expectations, the patriarch was the most reasonable of the three.

Hyungho was still seething in anger. The elder who punished Oliver was seemingly noting down everything he did in his mind, perhaps to find a chance to punish him again.

That made the patriarch, the one who attacked him on the first meeting, the most normal person among them.

’That’s a surprise.’

From their short conversation, he also grasped the power dynamics of the Kim family.

The patriarch was at the top, below him were the patriarch’s brothers and sons.

Grandkids like Kim Hyungho and Kim Yuna have certain ability to affect the family’s decision. But not by much.

The great grandchildren of the patriarch are the least powerful ones in the family.

For example, Kim Jiah, Kim Woojin etc.

These guys have no say in what the family does.

They simply exist to follow orders.

’So, even if Kim Jiah wants to keep the child, it might not end that way.’ Oliver noted down in the mind.

’Likewise, if she doesn’t want to keep the child, she would have to get permission from the family.’

’Which camp are they in?’

Oliver gazed at the trio sitting before him. As they talked, he had observed their expression.

’Hyungho likes his daughter. But that doesn’t translate to liking the child she carries. Every time Arin or the child was mentioned, he frowned slightly.’

’It was a frown of anger and disgust.’

’My brother was disgusting. But the child was not. So, why?’

Oliver had an inkling that Hyungho would be okay with aborting the child.

’But the elders...’

Oliver believed that the elders would be against it.

That might be the reason why they didn’t do it yet.

’For them, it’s Kim family blood. They won’t do anything to harm it.’

’If they want Jiah to have the child, they might try to make Arin marry into the family to save face!’

’Ah! What a mess.’

Oliver sighed.

It would have been better if he could do everything his own way. But he has to give face to the damned Kim family so that they wouldn’t do anything to harm his brother or family.

After all, he was not concerned about his safety, but his family’s.

As Oliver waited patiently, Kim Yuna brought Jiah into the room.

The door opened.

Oliver turned to look towards it.

Immediately, he noticed the newly appeared person.

It was a young girl with youthful charm. She was wearing a long, single piece dress.

Like Yuna, she had short hair, thin body figure.

Instantly, Oliver knew why his brother liked the girl. She had the cute charm of a girl while also having the poise of a noble woman.

The distinct, beautiful face along with it made her a treat for the eyes.

She certainly was pretty.

’Arin has good taste.’ Oliver nodded, satisfied.

Meanwhile, Jiah also turned to look at him.

She had heard about Oliver from Arin. Then his debut as the golden fiend also put him in her view.

So, she knew of him and his appearance.

Immediately, she recognised him.

Seeing him nod with a satisfied grin, she nodded back.

Oliver smiled and stood up.

"This is Jiah, right?" He asked and walked towards her.

Thunder Emperor and Achara sat over to the side, patiently observing everything.

Meanwhile, Hyungho, Jiah’s father, stood seated, slightly turning his eyes away from her.

For some reason, he didn’t want to meet her eyes.

There seemed to be some disagreement between the two.

Oliver noticed the slight change in her expression as she looked at her father.

But he didn’t show it outwards and calmly walked up to her.

"Sister in law, my name is Oliver." Oliver propped his hand forward for a handshake. "I am Arin’s brother." He said.

"Ah! Yes!" The young woman was startled, she looked at her father again, but seeing that he was not willing to meet her eyes, she grasped Oliver’s extended hand. "Nice to meet you." She said with a smile.

Unlike her father, she doesn’t seem to be ashamed of the pregnancy. She was confident when she grasped Oliver’s hand.

Oliver noticed this and gave a warm smile.

He was not used to smiling like that. And yet, he tried his best.

Then he shook her hands gently.

"It seems like your father is okay with me calling you sister in law. It’s a done deal, then." Oliver winked and said in a hushed voice.

Finally, Kim Hyungho showed some response. He snapped his eyes open and glared.

Oliver could feel the glare on the back of his head.

He went a little closer to Kim Jiah, "Is he glaring at me?" He asked jokingly.

Kim Jiah smiled like a blooming flower noticing his antics and nodded.