Chapter 3 Onwards

"Uncle. Let's eat," Timothy called out to Ha-Neul, who was getting into the vehicle.

They had just finished a meeting and he was famished.

"Why are you so excited this afternoon?" his uncle chided him turning to face him inside the vehicle. Timothy didn't answer and was silent all the way to the restaurant, two minutes away.

After being shown to their table the waitress took their order, swaying her hips as she walked away. They both noticed but Ha-Neul also noticed that his nephew wasn't paying attention to those hips. He knew something was on his nephew's mind.

"C'mon... Tell me."

"Uncle, I have been thinking of moving out."

Ha-Neul, who was in the process of drinking water, almost dropped his glass. He stared at his nephew as another waitress rushed over to clean up the tiny spill. Both were silent until she left. But Ha-Neul had gathered his thoughts by then thinking his nephew was joking.

"I'm your friend Timothy. Your brother. Not a reporter that's making a tiff. Tell me what's this about. Is there a woman in your life?"

"What should I say, uncle? Tell me, so I can tell you."

Ha-Neul leaned back on his chair, giving out a heavy breath.

"Look. If there is a woman-"

"What do you know about women?" Timothy cut him off.

"Tim, just because you don't see me with millions of women," he was referring to Timothy, "that doesn't mean that I don't know how women think. I have a woman in mind but we can't be together and I don't put my personal life out there for everyone to view it."

Timothy knew he was referring to his mother's friend.

"Uncle. I'm serious."

"About what?"

"Moving out."

Moving out of your family home was almost unheard of as a single eligible man. Maybe if he was getting married- Ha-Neul realized then that Tim might have been serious about the woman, he was talking about earlier.

"To go where?"

"On my own."

"On your own?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"My great-grandparents," he deadpanned.

"Gran-" Ha-Neul straightened then loosened his tie. His nephew wasn't talking about his father's parents who were dead nor their parents who were also dead. The remaining family members scattered around not too close to each other. His brother-in-law was a very strict person, who did not tolerate laziness and he considered his family as lazy. Ha-Neul only saw them maybe once in five years. His nephew barely knew them himself as he shared his father's view about them. A view that Ha-Neul also shared.

Not them.

His nephew meant on his mother's side of the family; Ha-Nuel's grandparents. And they lived in America. The United States where Timothy's dad hated- so there really wasn't any woman in Tim's life it dawned on him.

Timothy entwined his fingers on the table giving his uncle a sober look. He needed to drive him with another blow.

"What if it was Hannah?" he provoked him.

"What?"

His uncle still hadn't recovered from the previous bomb.

"What if I like Hannah?"

"Hannah, my- my Hannah? My blind date?"

Ha-Neul's eyes widened. Now Timothy leaned back in his chair too, watching his uncle make a decision on something that didn't matter to him. That shut him up until the food arrived.

"She's yours."

Timothy glanced up.

'What now?'

His uncle's words shocked him.

"Just say you are and she is yours."

"What?" Timothy asked frowning.

"Are you in love with Hannah?"

No, he wasn't in love with Hannah. For goodness sake, she was the cousin of his best friend. She was like a sister to him. An older sister. And his uncle seemed to like Hannah from what he had said after the date. They had even exchanged numbers and been on two more.

"Are you uncle?"

"Me? No!"

"Ha-Neul, I know about Suzy."

His uncle paused his eating to answer. "Timothy. I don't know what it is you think you-"

"I know you love her."

Ha-Neul's eyes widened but still, he was quick to recover his surprise.

"Love? I really don't know about that. Please don't meddle in grown peop-"

"I'm not grown?"

"You are but you need guidance throu-"

"Maybe I can be the one to guide you through life uncle. I'm more experienced than you. Don't give me advice. I introduced you to Hannah because I like her."

His uncle's eyes widened even more.

"What say you, uncle?"

"Timothy, are you mocking me?"

"Uncle. Keep your advice. If I want it, I'll ask for it."

Ha-Neul slammed his hand down on the table, rattling the utensils. "You spoiled... Do you have feelings for Hannah?"

Timothy hid a smile by turning his face to the side. Just as he'd hoped. He knew Hannah could do it. Even he would be tempted to fall in love with Hannah, if not for Harry. He pushed his chair back and stood up.

"I'll eat at home. I'll get a taxi."

He knew his uncle would pay for the meal they hadn't eaten although he was sure his appetite was gone by now.

"Timothy!"

He ignored his uncle and walked out of the restaurant and into the awaiting car. His mind already occupied with his design for the aircraft carrier. Short and vertical landings for the ships were on his brain. A 30,000-ton level aircraft carrier that can transport military forces and equipment was what they had in mind for him and his team.

His long-awaited dream was becoming a reality and his committee was hoping to join forces with Japan.

He needed a bigger team, asap.

"Harry. You need to book flights."

Harold looked at the man next to him in the backseat of the car. Curious about why he questioned the destination as he pulled out a book from his breast pocket to jot it down.

"America."

Harold was taken a bit by surprise by his boss's answer but learned over the years to not show much facial reactions. He knew of course about the meeting they had to eventually attend with their new plans but he thought it wouldn't be for at least a few months from now.

"North or South?"

Harold really hated when he had to question everything. Couldn't he have just told him everything in detail? Now he had to ask date and time. He paused his writing for a few seconds to see if Timothy would give him the information.

Nothing.

"Date?" he asked in a monotone.

"Ah. Assemble a team for us. Four people. That's six including you and me both."

Harold shook his head. No details. Still, they were in the presence of the driver and needed to be professional as possible. I cannot slug him over the head Harry reminded himself.

"Team? "

"Yes."

Still nothing. Harold gritted his teeth. Rubbing his temples, he let out a silent breath. He wrote 'assemble team' on the bottom of the page, circling it.

"When shall I book the flight, Sir?"

"Oh yes. After we assemble our team, Harold. Obviously. I thought that was clear?"

Harold blinked a few times turning to face a smiling Timothy. Still, he asked politely because the driver was there. Third-party viewing was not part of their personal relationship. In the presence of others, they were always business.

"The booking Sir? How long?"

"Harold. You jester. In about a month from now."

So he needed a team for his workshop that needed to be small and trusted. Obviously, he would have to ensure they were trusted completely. Tim would need a personal assistant and he didn't know if he was going - Harold's thoughts were interrupted.

"Actually, I shall go first to arrange things with my grandfather then we would assemble the team."

"Lawyer too sir?"

By 'I' Timothy meant Harold too. 'Why does he always drag me into his family drama,' Harold was wondering when his friend startled him by saying, "Oh. You need to learn to drive. I hate it when we have an audience."

The audience part wasn't the startling part. It was the driving part, for Harry had never driven in his entire life.