But people would talk
Nah he only cared about his reputation and probably about who is more suitable to continue the company
Generational trauma is very much a thing. The dad likely rationalised his own trauma and thought it was okay/normal to do. You can feel sorry for him without downplaying what he did or pretending that he has a heart of gold buried under the abuse. I think you should reread what he said to his son when Seo An took a baseball bat to his head/back. Calling your kid an idiot, saying you're not interested in what he has to say, and calling him pathetic for not being able to stop an assault is not a sign of hiding some deep seated care, it's being a terrible father and a terribe person, plain and simple. In chap 18, we see a flashback of young Seo An crying with whip marks on his legs and clutching a mark sheet, so likely he'd been abused and punished for not 'being up to par'. We see the same thing in chap 26 with bruises on his legs while hes older, so this is something that was a common occurrence and not a one time incident. He gets slapped in a flashback in chap 33 and called a moron for something that wasnt his fault and without a chance to explain himself. In conclusion, it's not just verbal abuse but physical abuse as well. The author's note said he was deprived of affection as a child which is also abuse, and we know that the first emotion he felt was anxiety, neither of which paint a good picture. The father is so insistent on Seo An coming to work because he wants Seo An to prove his worth as a son and work for his keep, and also because abusive parents think of their children as extensions of themselves they can punish as they see fit. We've seen multiple times that his father cares first and foremost about his company and his reputation. Him hounding Seo An is to make sure that his worthless, useless, disappointment of a son doesn't tarnish the company's image and his reputation.
Even if he did have some deep seated love for his child, that means nothing when he's only caused him pain and sorrow and depression by abusing him constantly. Intentions can only take you so far, and I doubt his intentions as well.
Thank you for interjection a healthy dose of reality for enablers of abuse by giving excuses to normalize it. It’s the thought that every parent naturally will love their kid that makes enablers do mental gymnastics to justify parental abuse of their children. Seriously, there are dad who physically assault their kids in the way they won’t to their worst enemies. Or mom’s drowning their kids. This myth that all mom and dads love their kids is hogwash. Especially, mom’s maternal instinct BS. How you were brought up in institutionalized family abuse shield by societal hushness and normalcy of said abuse is why even today, this filial BS is still a good reason why parents beat their kids and kids need to respect their elders for it.
Hmm I don't get it. How could the father already had gone through it and just be the exactly same like his UK trauma. I think SEO an's father actually care about his child more than he thinks i mean if he doesn't why would he try to keep asking for seo an to stand on his two feet and get back to work he could just depend on his eldest child or don't give a shit for all what he cares but no