The rest of the week was uneventful. Chansung did call Jr to say that they decided to let us admit our wrongdoings and would let us inform our parents. How thoughtful of them. Our fathers were due back sometime on Saturday.

We decided to give them a break until Sunday. It was a wise choice because my dad looked pretty exhausted when he got home Saturday.  Luckily, his trip went well and he accomplished his main objectives.

D-Day would be sometime on Sunday. I needed to be patient and wait for the perfect time to inform my dad. That morning, my whole family went to church, and I went too. It couldn't hurt to ask for forgiveness from above.

My step-mother is Catholic and my father converted before they got married, so my siblings are being raised Catholic.  Back in Hong Kong, my mom didn't belong to a set religion. But she believed, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect and to honour all others beliefs because we are the same in the end, Human beings.  She told me that when I was older, I could decide for myself what faith I wanted to belong to.

On the way home from church, I text Jr and JB. "So, did U?"

                     "Not yet."                    "Same."

                     "7pm! All in!"                "Deal."                   "Copy."

I was being the perfect big brother and gave my parents a few hours off without my half-sister,Soo Hyun and half-brother, Ji Hwan, as the three of us went to the latest Pixar movie. Doing some pendants before confessing.  My siblings were so excited, they got to have their very own kiddie pop and popcorn. We never had pop at home, so it was a big deal for them.

As the hours ticked away, I knew my time had come. It was just on seven, I couldn't delay it any longer and risk my father hearing it from someone else. I text the boys, "Zero hour. Hope 2 C U 2morow."

We'd eaten an early dinner and my dad was working in his study. I knocked lightly on his door.

"Come," his normal response.

As I entered, he was sitting at his desk with his laptop open, leaning on his elbows, hands clasped together, looking at his computer screen. His face was unreadable.

"Am I interrupting you? I could come back later." I turned to leave.

"Stop. Turn around, come over and have a look." he motioned me over to his laptop.

I did as I was hold. I stood beside my dad. He turned the laptop so I could have a better look.  "I see you enjoyed yourself."

There was a post on a celebrity doppelganger site. The headline read, “Could this be the next Rain!" and a photo of me dancing with the two girls at the night club. They even inserted an enlarged photo of my face. 

How in the world could this happen? 

My stomach dropped and instantly sweat formed on my brow. I had waited too long. The cat was out of the bag.  I had to make the best of it now and go with the cards I was dealt.

"As you know, it was JB's birthday last Saturday. So, we went out for dinner to that great steakhouse you've mentioned before. By the time we had finished eating, we were too late for the movie we wanted to see." I glanced down to look at my father's face. It was still unreadable.

"You know how JB loves to dance...So, we thought we'd go and try our luck at a club...  Never in a million years did we think we'd get in." I kept my voice calm and my head down as I told my dad our story.

"Were you drinking?"          "Yes, I had a few." I swallowed hard. No point in denying it.

"The others?"                       Yes..." my voice was quiet.

"So, what was your plan?" his voice had lost all sense of humour.

"You may not believe me now, but I came in here to confess. I really did want to be the one to tell you what happened before you found out from someone else. We made some very bad choices last Saturday. Ones that we won't make again. I truly regret my actions."  I bowed 90 degrees to my father. "Be-yen-nida, Ah-bo-jee."

I remained in that position until after my father spoke again. "You tell me what you would do if you were in my Position? Your son was caught breaking at least three laws? How would you react?"

He didn't raise his voice and do anything physical to me. But the lump in my throat made it harder and harder to swallow.  I felt ashamed. I had let him down... once again.  I kind of wished he'd yell at me that might make me feel a little better.

The silence lasted for what seemed like hours, finally he spoke.

"Is there anything else you should be telling me?" his voice was cold.

I'd better come clean about everything, so nothing could bite me later. I lowered myself into a kneeling position.  After all, I was confessing. "We ran into some Hyungs as we were leaving the club, they insisted on giving us a ride.  Because of our situation, the Hyungs were trying to decide on what to do with us; take us to the police or to our families houses...After a long debate, they decided it would be best for us to stay the night at their house. We begged them to let us tell you when you got back from the States and they agreed."

"And who were these Forth-righteous Hyung-nims?"

Great, I hope they don't get in sh** too. I hesitated.

“Speak!" his voice demanded.

 "Chansung Hyung and Junho Hyung." I said as calmly as possible.

"Well, I'll have to thank them for taking such good care of you." There was definitely sarcasm in his voice. I swallowed hard again.

I stayed kneeling, I wasn't going to move until my father told me to. He sat at his desk working away on his laptop. I kept my head bowed. It reminded me of a dog sitting at his master's feet waiting for attention. I was waiting for something too, but not anything positive that's for sure.

His cell phone rang. "I was expecting your call...Yes, he's confessed. You don't need to apologize, they all share equal blame... Yes, he mentioned that...Yes, that too...No, I won't accept your resignation...Don't be silly...I'm sure the boys have been thinking long and hard about their behaviour." I could feel his penetrating stare. 

"I will speak with JYP first and see what he thinks and get back to you...I know exactly how you feel... Im Taek-geum, remember he's a living part of your beloved late wife. Yes....I will call you later." He sighed deeply as he made the call.

"Hyungnim...Be-yen-nida....I really don't know what they were thinking... “ My father’s voice was calm. “They definitely didn't think about the risk to themselves... not to mention the laws they broke..."

After each statement, I wanted to shrink a little bit more, to disappear would've been preferred. He chuckled at the next statement which he didn't share out aloud. "Oh, he's still in one piece for now...He's kneeling in front of me as we speak."

He looked at his watch, "About an hour and a half...What do I think about a group punishment on top of their individual punishments? Hmmm. What do you have in mind?"

My heart skipped a beat.  What? Individual and group punishment!  Are we a part of ROK military?  There were much longer pauses between the yes's and okay's now. My back was drenched in sweat by the time he ended his call.

"First, you will go and put your shoes on...then you will go straight outside and continue kneeling with arms raised out the front door. I'll be out, shortly." I must admit, I was surprised at how cool and collected he was being. The calm before the storm.

I got up and quickly bowed.  He was on the phone again as I shut the doors to his study. I followed his directions, slipped my hikers on and went outside to wait.

 It was a cold night but thankfully it wasn't raining or snowing. When he said go straight outside, I did just that. I didn't go up to get a jacket. All that was keeping me from freezing was a t-shirt, jeans and a hoody.

I can't say how long I waited, but it was awhile. My teeth were chattering, I was shaking involuntary. My fingers and toes were numb.  My legs and arms were stiffening up, but my stubbornness wouldn't let me down. I would prove it to my father that I could handle whatever he dished out.

The front door finally opened and out came my father dressed for the weather.