Five years ago, Seunghyun left Nari in the shoddy diner she’d asked to meet him in, and never looked back.

Five years ago, he shuddered at the memory of her: of her soft, doe-like eyes, her warmth, her glow… The hand over her stomach.

Five years ago, he abandoned both his child – and the mother of his child alike.

Seunghyun spent the following months recovering from the fact that he was a father to a child that would never know of him; a child he would never play with, or watch the first steps of, or be there when that child would say their first words. He wouldn’t be there to comfort his child when it would cry, and he wouldn’t change its diapers or take it out for a stroll in the park. He wouldn’t be there to catch the smiles, or hear the joyful laughter. He wouldn’t be there to feed nor bathe it. He wouldn’t be there at all.

All this because the mother of his child was a poor girl.

His own father taught him that poor people were made of a different ‘material’. That he and his father were made from silks and velvets and whatever other luxurious textures came to mind; while those from the lowest of classes were ones that originated from dirt, and mud, and squalor. That no matter how hard they tried, they could never live as equals for men and women from a status that Seunghyun belonged to would naturally dominate for all eternity – it was practically a birth right, his father told him.

This was ingrained into Seunghyun’s mind. Constantly. Up until the moment he walked away from Nari and left in the BMW that waited for him. His driver asked no questions about the grimy location Seunghyun had told him to take him to; they simply sat in thick silence on the journey back home.

And then he started to see things for how they were.

He saw how never was it the poor people that had bitter mouths and foul tongues. Every beggar’s crusting palms he dropped notes into when he’d pass by them in the town centre – and what he saw was genuine gratefulness. He received such warm looks and stuttering, shocked words of gratitude. These honest reactions he only found in poor people. And in those around him, and in the circle of people that surrounded his father was unwavering iciness. They were three things. Cold, ungrateful, arrogant.

A little like him.

Of course he thought about his child as the years went on.

He didn’t know anything about it; not even its gender.

Seunghyun regretted few things in his life: but it was that chance encounter of seeing his daughter that made him regret… Everything. Not even offering to financially support Nari was, perhaps, the lowest of things a man could do after impregnating a woman in his view.

But… He had changed now. He would be the father his daughter deserved.

Seunghyun’s fingers traced over the colourful patches of the large elephant plush he had bought for his daughter, Hana. A faint smile came across his lips, and he switched the engine off finally, removing his feet from the clutch and brake. As the car went idle, so did he.

He was in the area Nari and Hana lived in. On their street.

The area was quiet; pleasant. A step up from where Nari used to live, he was sure. Though the houses were small, they were charmingly so, and they all had neat patches of grass outside the front doors, where flowers grew happily in the sunlight and slight rain that was frequent in their city. All the houses were detached, but there was a sense of unity, somehow. Seunghyun inhaled and exhaled before grabbing the bouquet of flowers that rested in the passenger seat, and stepped out onto the pavement. The elephant plush he left for a reason.

Saturday afternoon, as promised. The clouds above in the blue sky were soft-looking and puffy. It was like an artist’s painted canvas was something he had accidentally stepped into. He was starting to grow nervous.

Ahead was the white house that belonged to Nari and Hana.

In the small driveway her modest car rested peacefully, metallic grey colour shimmering in the sun. He opened the gate soundlessly, stepping onto the little path that led to the front door; the only thing made of stone. Everything else was grass, and daisies spurted from the ground. In neatly arranged plant pots, colourful flowers grew at different paces.

At the left was a little pink bicycle.

Seunghyun’s heart thudded.

He used the door knocker twice, fingers remaining on the bronze for a moment or so before he retracted it.

Sixteen seconds before it opened, Seunghyun counted.

And there stood Nari, eyes big and cautious and yet slightly hopeful, as she swung the door back enough so he could see her fully.

He offered the flowers to her.

“For you,” Seunghyun breathed. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Nari?”

Nari eyed the flowers before she tentatively accepted them.

She looked down before back up at him, soaking the sight of him in.

“Come inside, I guess.”

*

Hana was fidgety, and talkative, and excited, and curious, and happy, and sad at once.

“Really? You’re telling me he’s really coming?” she asked, tiny face overcome with shock. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

Nari patted her, tutting. She then smoothed her daughter’s flowery pink dress down, before slipping the little girl’s arms through her white cardigan. “How can he not like you, Hana?” In Nari’s head, she added: everyone that has met you has fallen in love with you immediately, sweetheart. “You’re a big ray of sunshine! Yes, he really is coming.”

She allowed Nari to fit her little feet into her socks before suddenly throwing her arms around her mother, something of a squeal released from her lips. “I’m so happy, Mom!”

But yet nervousness flooded through her, and she pressed her daughter into her protective body even further, breathing deeply. Yes, her daughter was happy – but would it last?

Seunghyun was… Well, he sounded honest enough on the phone. But anyone could manipulate their voice enough if they tried.

Nari tried not to burst into tears, but her emotions were starting to get the best of her. A tear or two trickled down her cheek as she hugged Hana.

Of the five years she raised her daughter, constantly she was battling against and competing with the absence of Seunghyun’s father. This happiness that radiated off Hana… Nari wasn’t sure she’d ever made her daughter so happy. “Mom? Are you crying? Are you not happy?”

Nari pulled away, soft laughter stuttered. “No, sweetheart – I am happy. Sometimes, people get so happy that they cry.”

Another lie. Nari’s heart felt like it was being clawed at.

“Now, what did we agree on?”

Hana recited the rules Nari had given her: that she was not to come down until Nari called her down, just in case her dad was… Suddenly busy again and had to quickly go. Nari was still very hesitant and scared. This was big for all of them, after all.

Maybe most for Nari.

It was then that the door was knocked downstairs, and Hana obediently sat on her bed, though she was still fidgeting from excitement (and nerves, too) as her hands reached for one of her little ragdolls. Nari went down.

Seunghyun was there, as he promised.

He was… Overwhelming. His presence alone was enough to blow her pupils wide. Was this really, truly him? Was this Choi Seunghyun – who had left her like that so long ago? He was styled handsomely: a tailored suit, hair swiped, freshly shaven. His cologne was strong. His gaze was almost mesmerising.

The flowers she accepted, before telling him to come inside.

As he stepped in, Nari moved to the side so that she could close the door, before she led him into the living room.

Seunghyun looked around. It was all white, and so the colours (mostly pastel) were evident in the form of curtains, cushions, the rug, candles… Everything was neat and tidy. It was a homely room – quite lived in by now, even if Nari had presumably only bought it a small while ago. He took a seat on the group sofa, while she opted for a singular one.

She was more striking than he remembered.

Nari had a very beautiful face. Her eyes were expressive and kind, her nose slender… Her lips full and pink. She was lithe in appearance, but something about her was so strong. Maybe it was the quality that came from being a mother that she possessed so well – but he simply couldn’t stop staring at her.

“Mr Ch—“

“Seunghyun,” he said immediately. “We agreed on that a couple of days ago, didn’t we?”

“Hm.” She folded her hands in her lap before quickly standing up. “Um. Tea? Coffee? Before we… Sit down properly and… Discuss things.”

He didn’t want to say no to anything. And in turn, he didn’t want no as an answer to any requests that he would voice later. “Coffee, please. Plain black.” His smile was broad as she nodded politely and disappeared into the kitchen.

A few minutes later she returned, while he was standing and examining some photographs on the mantelpiece. All were of Hana or the two of them.

He swallowed. So no man was in her life then. Good.

“Here,” she said softly, offering him a mug of steaming coffee. Her own teacup of very milky tea she rested on its matching saucer before resuming her place, this time a little less stiffly. “Before anything, Seunghyun. Why now? Why suddenly? I have so many questions for you. How did you even find us?”

So he told her everything.

He told her about the chance encounter. He told her, much to Nari’s distaste, that he had indeed hired a private investigator – but that it was only because he needed information on them. He hadn’t realised he was holding the mug so tightly in his palms until the ceramic almost felt like it would shatter from his hold. Nari listened to his story, not interrupting once, instead looking away from him and elsewhere. If that was tears glistening in her eyes, he would immediately get up and stride over to her. He realised how upsetting this all would be to her, even if to his daughter it was the most exciting thing in the world.

She was alone for five years, after all.

Five years, and she experienced motherhood in all aspects. She struggled alone.

She cried alone.

At the end of her questioning, Seunghyun sat back while Nari swallowed. “Five years ago I didn’t ask you for anything. Not a single thing. I simply wanted you to know that… I’m the mother of Hana.” It didn’t escape him that she didn’t say the mother of your child, but he simply bit his cheek and nodded for her to proceed. Whatever she wanted now, any sum of money, he would give without even a single thought.

But the woman amazed him. It wasn’t money that she wanted.

“I will ask for something now, though. Maybe it might count as a few things… But it all comes down to this. My daughter is my source of happiness. I have nothing. Everything I ‘have’ is simply her. I have no possessions, savings, anything. Nothing have I inherited. You did give me something, Seunghyun, even if unintentionally. And that’s why I cannot look at you bitterly, even if that’s how you see me.” She paused, looking over at the flowers now in a vase. “But I do ask that if you want to truly be a part of Hana’s life, then you cannot go. I’m obviously not saying be a part of my personal life, but I will let you two enjoy each other’s company and develop a relationship as a father and daughter should.”

Seunghyun wanted to say something, but Nari wasn’t done.

“That’s what I ask of you. Be a permanent factor of her life. Be her father, and not someone that’s simply visiting her life. And… If you two do begin to develop a close relationship, I have other minor things to ask of you. Don’t spoil her. You’re made of so much money, and I’m sure you can give her everything she could possibly think of – but don’t give her everything she asks for. Teach her things; she likes to learn. Be patient, because sometimes she is a handful. And most of all, if she gives you love, then return it.”

He stood up, firm-fisted. Nari stood as well. “And I don’t resent you, Seunghyun. Nothing like that. It’s just that I’ve been her mother and father for so long, that it feels strange to now give half of that to someone else. And out of the blue, too.”

Seunghyun stepped forward. He wanted to touch her cheek, and tell her just how much he had truly changed, but kept his mouth closed. Instead he reached for her hand, and held it to his lips as he kissed the soft skin very, very tenderly.

Nari’s breath hitched.

He said, “Thank you for giving me a chance,” and released her hand. Her fingers twitched by her side.

“You can meet her now. I’ll call her down for you.”

Nari held her kissed hand to her chest as she went to the hallway, standing at the foot of the stairs. “Hana!”

The little girl came sprinting out of her room, almost tripping over herself.

Her face broke out into an enormous grin. Nari laughed softly, though her heart still hurt. “Yes, come on down. He’s here, sweetheart.”

But now the reality had hit the little girl: that she did have a dad and that he was here to see her. Her steps were slow down the stairs as she took them one at a time. She had to hold onto her mother’s legs, face suddenly shy as she let Nari lead her to the living room where Seunghyun waited.

“Will he like me?” Hana whispered.

“He’ll love you,” Nari said without any doubt this time.

Seunghyun did seem different. Capable of love for his daughter that he abandoned.

They appeared in the living room, with Hana hiding behind her mother’s legs. Seunghyun immediately smiled broadly, still standing as the little girl peaked from the side to take a look.

“Go on, go say hi,” Nari said.

Seunghyun cleared his throat. “It’s me,” he murmured. “Come here.”

And then he did what no one expected him to: the man in a finely tailored suit knelt on the ground before spreading his arms out wide, smile still apparent on his face. It was then that Hana took a good look at her dad who was as handsome as she had imagined. She ran to him, ran into his arms and threw her tiny ones around his neck as she embraced what she had longed for and had always missed, even if she had only realised it recently. Some feeling Seunghyun couldn’t quite figure out flushed through his body as he closed his arms around his daughter, burying his face in her small neck.

How did he miss five years of this?

When they both eventually pulled back, they stared at each other. Amazement and wonder and immediate love was evident in Hana’s eyes, while guilt and sorrow and that same love was in Seunghyun’s own dark ones. Hana placed her small hands on her father’s cheeks. “Dad!” she tested excitedly, “Dad. Dad. Dad.” Seunghyun chuckled as she hugged him again, and he stood with her latched onto him, spinning her around. Nari watched this all with that sad smile that bared everything. Her stomach fluttered.

“Yes, sweetheart. It’s me.”

“Mom calls me that too!” Hana exclaimed as Seunghyun held her to him. Nari stopped holding her like that a while ago, but she realised this must have been his natural instinct so held her tongue. He’d figure everything out soon enough… She doubted that he’d stop holding her like this for a while, though. They both seemed to feel perfectly in sync just like that.

Seunghyun walked over to Nari, saying, “Oh, yeah?” as Hana wobbled on purpose on his sturdy grip to test if she would fall – but he’d catch her now. He’d catch her forever. “Looks like me and your Mom have something in common, then.” He glanced at Nari, noting the sadness in her eyes.

His jaw twitched.

He didn’t want his and his daughter’s happiness to be at the cost of Nari’s.

… He wanted all of them to be content.

In which way, though? He hadn’t yet figured that one out. But he had a feeling he would, in time.

“Hana, why don’t you tell your Dad about what you did this morning while I make some lunch?”

Lunch. She looked at Seunghyun again, this time asking with her gaze: Will you be staying for lunch?

And as he understood, his lips twitched into a smile as his head nodded. Hana immediately began to tell him everything about her day, from the moment her mother told her she’d be meeting someone special to the minute she decided on what she’d wear to meet him. And Seunghyun said the right things at the right time, like how she looked lovely in her flowery dress, and how he’d been wanting to meet her for such a long time as well.

Then he came to the kitchen, Hana on the ground now, their hands attached. “Nari, I just want to take her to my car for a moment – I have something for her. Is that alright? We’ll only be a minute.”

Nari looked up. Her hesitant smile was all he needed.

He and Hana returned some minutes later, with Hana calling her mother to come to the living room.

“Look, Mom! Look what Dad got me! It’s the elephant that I wanted but you couldn’t get!” Nari felt like she’d just taken a blow to her heart.

Seunghyun didn’t miss that flash of horror on her face.

“Wow, darling. That’s wonderful. Have you thanked him?”

Hana already had, but she thanked him once more. “Good girl. I’m going to finish making the food, you two play.”

Her voice almost broke at the end, but she managed to hold her tears in until she went to the kitchen. She didn’t hear Seunghyun tell Hana to take the elephant to her room all by herself and to count as high as she could – when she reached the biggest possible number she could, he’d be there. Hana trusted him entirely now, and dragged the big plush up the stairs. Seunghyun watched that she was being careful and then when she was at the top, he went straight for the kitchen, face concerned.

“Nari?”

When did he get here? Nari wiped her eyes immediately. “Ah, yeah? Sorry, give me a moment. Just chopping these onions.”

There weren’t any onions chopped, or any in sight. He didn’t say anything, except, “Turn around and look at me, please.”

So she did.

“Why are you crying, Nari? Did I do something wrong?”

Nari shook her head. “No, no… It’s fine. It’s fine, Seunghyun. Go on – is she upstairs? Go see her room, go play with her.”

But he closed the distance between them anyways, willing her to look at him by clasping her shoulders.

“Tell me.”

She shook his hold off her.

“It’s silly.”

“Tell me.”

She looked at him. “You mentioned the elephant… You didn’t tell me you bought it. It’s just the fact that I realise how different we are in terms of how we can provide for her – whether it’s necessities or gifts. I have to work for everything. I bend myself backwards for that girl. And half the time, I still can’t get her what she wants; I need to compromise, or promise to try to get it in the future. Whereas you… You…”

“… Can simply get what she wants as soon as she wants it,” Seunghyun finished.

Nari breathed. “Yeah, that. I’m a woman born from poverty and disgrace, Seunghyun. What I have now I have earned with hard work and dedication. Forgive me for my bluntness, but you’ve had a gold spoon in your mouth since you were a child – I know this. I just don’t want our earning differences to make me constantly feel like , because… It’s already starting to.”

Well hell, it felt good to curse.

“Nari…” Seunghyun wasn’t sure what he could say. He just knew that he looked at her as far more than a poor woman. She was lovely in all aspects. A perfect mother for his child. “Let me financially support you.”

Nari’s eyes hardened. “No.” It was pride, maybe. Or maybe it was that she’d come this far and just because he had now sprung up in their lives, it didn’t mean that she would accept everything.

“I thought you’d say that. But I should let you know, then, that as Hana’s father I’ve already set up two accounts: one is a joint one that we will both have access to, to provide for both Hana and you. The other is a locked account in her name that I have begun to put money into and will only become unlocked when Hana is older. Fees for everything will be covered by that account.”

“You…” Nari stepped away from him, shaking her head. “Five years ago… You wouldn’t even…”

“I’ve changed.” Seunghyun told her, tone hard. “I will be here now; always.”

Nari’s her lips. “I need to process this. Everything.”

“I know.” It was then that Hana started yelling for her father to come upstairs because she couldn’t count any more, and both of them laughed. Seunghyun grabbed her hand. “Just… Trust me, Nari. That’s all I want.”

Then he started to leave to go up to his daughter.

Before he disappeared, Nari said, “Lunch will be ready in half an hour.”

They both smiled, though neither caught each other’s one.

AN: Hello guys! So, here's chapter 3. I haven't checked over everything yet so there might be some mistakes; bear with me for now, please!
The comments I've received are so sweet. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Expect fluffier moments between Hana and Seunghyun in the future.
And... Anyone excited for moments between Nari and Seunghyun? I know I am.
If I get comments on this chapter, I'll update again and very soon! They're so appreciated and always replied to.
Finally: thanks so much for reading. Really. <33