My eyes frantically dart from side to side, my neck beginning to ache from being unnaturally stretched out to increase my field of vision of the street outside the restaurant.

The restaurant is located in Hongdae. The large crowd of students and tourists in front of the restaurant made spotting for a single person feel like a game of Where’s Waldo.  

My eyes travelled back to the interior of the restaurant – more specifically, the table where my dad was seated. His crow’s feet becoming more prominent the more time he spent talking with the woman sitting opposite him. She was around his age, give or take a couple of years, however, her skin showed minimal sign of aging. Whether it was natural or with a little help of botox, her crow’s feet were barely visible unless they were accompanied by a loud laugh and a playful slap across my dad’s arm.

I can’t stand still any longer. I have to get the ball rolling, even if my supposed partner in crime is MIA. A bump from an employee walking behind me started me on my journey to my dad’s table.

Okay, Yoo Jin Ae, you can do this. If it goes wrong, you can fix it. It’ll be okay. Damage control is possible. Just say that it was a case of mistaken identity and it will be fine.

Before I could finish psyching myself out, I had already reached my destination.

“Oh, Jin Ae, why are you here? Are we out of stock or ingredients?” my dad asked.

I quickly bowed to lady and greeted her.

“No. Actually dad… I…” I hesitated, “I just want to tell you something…”

My dad’s eyebrows knitted together, “What’s wrong?”

A huge ball of doubt was stuck in my throat. I don’t know if I should continue on with this. This was a bad idea.

A voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Yoo Jin Ae. Let’s date!”

The guy bowed past the considered polite level and was panting heavily. “Hello sir, my name is Min Yoon Gi and I wanted to ask your permission to date your daughter!”

The woman gasped at the sudden appearance of this new character in the restaurant. There was a tense moment before my dad began laughing.

“It’s 2017, if you ran all the way here to ask me if you could date my daughter, I would even go as far as saying yes to you marrying her.”

“Dad! That’s not funny!”

My dad calmed down, “Jin Ae, you seemed to have found yourself quite the man.”

I glanced over at the woman, her eyes now locked onto Yoon Gi’s face. Her eyes narrowed at him and her breathing became uneven.

Concerned, my dad asked, “Hye Jung-ssi, what’s wrong?”

“That boy…” she spoke through her teeth, “is my son.”