Chapter 1: Little Miss Dara
With Or Without You
Little Miss Dara
“Goodbye omma! Have a safe trip! I love you!” a little girl, of about 6, waved her hand at a tall, beautiful lady entering a black Corvette.
“Goodbye Princess Dara! Be a good girl for omma, okay? I’ll be back in a few weeks, as soon as I close this deal. I love you too, sweetheart.” Park Shin-Hye waved back at her daughter, taking in her chubby cheeks, beautiful sparkling eyes, and her big, big smile.
‘Be careful my darling. Omma will miss you,’ she thinks as she waved a last goodbye to her only daughter.
She closed her car door as her driver pulled out of the garage, taking a last backward glance at her daughter.
Dara sighed as hew mother’s car disappeared into the horizon.
“Little Miss, you should come in already and have your breakfast. Your eggs, bacon, and toast are waiting for you!” a kind-looking woman said, as she puts her hand on her young charge’s shoulder.
“When will omma come back, imo? And why does she have to go away so much?” Dara asks her nanny, with tears threatening to fall from her large eyes.
“Oh, Little Miss. Don’t worry! You’re omma says that she’ll come back in 25 days, 22 if she’s lucky. So don’t cry, you know what your appa says, right?” Mrs. Choi reassures her.
“’Princesses do not cry.’ And I’m a princess so I shouldn’t cry, right?” the little girl smiles, as she took her nanny’s hand and heads back to her house.
But “house” wasn’t exactly the right term; “mansion” would have been more fitting.
The Parks were one of the richest people in the area, and it showed in their big, luxurious home.
Mrs. Park Shin-Hye worked for an international music label as the General Manager for Operations in Korea. Her job called for her to be away from home often, as she wanted to close deals with clients personally.
Working with an international company influenced her music choices and her daughter’s too. She often took home records from the Carpenters, Abba, and more recently, the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls, those bands that were making waves in the US.
Dr. Park Sang-Hyuk was a neurologist. One of the best in his field. He was a loving father and husband, although a little absentminded at times.
He was a practitioner in Seoul’s best hospital, and naturally, he worked unusual hours, and most of the time, double, even triple shifts, like what he was doing at that day.
And though he wasn’t there to see his wife off, they already had their private farewells the night before his shift by having a candle-lit dinner for themselves.
Being busy parents did not however, badly influence their only daughter, Park Sandara.
When they were present at home, they tried to spend their time with their daughter. And when they were far away, they always made sure that she was well cared for.
Thus, Mrs, Choi was hired as her personal nanny, and along with her personal driver, personal tutor, two personal bodyguards, and her personal chef, Dara never lacked attention, love, and company.
“Princess Dara,” as her parents fondly called her, was a sweet child with a sunny disposition.
Almost always happy, and though she grew up rich, she wasn’t spoiled for her parents always looked back at their humble beginnings and taught their child not to set much in store for money.
She had thick, straight black hair, chubby pink cheeks, a straight nose, and unlike most Koreans, large brown eyes, that were often sparkling with laughter.
She was smart: she learned how to read at age 4, how to write at 5, and now, she was learning how to speak in English.
At 6, she could already play the piano well and was constantly delighting her music tutor with her love for the instrument.
But aside from all this, Dara craved for one thing that every child wanted: a friend.
After finishing her breakfast, Mrs. Choi helped her to take a bath, and was brushing her hair and setting it into its usual two ponytails style, when the first of many moving vans appeared outside her window.
“Imo, what’s that?” the child inquired.
“Why, Little Miss, it looks like our new neighbors will be moving in today!” Mrs. Choi exclaimed while looking out of the window.
“You mean, the owners of the big house across the street?”
“Yes, Little Miss. If you want, we could go over there in the afternoon to welcome them. Maybe they have a little girl for you to play with!”
Dara beamed when she heard that.
‘O Lord, please, please, please let them have a little girl. Or a little boy. It doesn’t matter! Just please, give me a friend,’ she prayed silently while looking out of her window at the men now unloading furniture and things from the van and into the house.
‘Oh, please let them have a child for Little Miss. She’s such a beautiful, but lonely little girl, She needs a friend’ the elderly lady silently begged, while looking at the excited face of the little girl.
“Come on, Little Miss. Time for your piano lessons, and after that, your English lessons. I will ask Mrs. Kim to prepare something to bring over to our neighbors later, maybe after lunch. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes, thank you, imo,” Dara answered, while slipping down from her stool and hurrying to the piano room where her teacher waited.
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Oh good Lawd, I cringe at my writing. T_T
Again, forgive me. This fic was written even before Cross Roads, making this three years old already? LOL! XD
Anyways, comments would be love! Little Jiyong will appear in the next chappie! ^^
Dedicated to Xandee and all my readers in Winglin! I hope you still read this story, even though it's been AGES. XD
Kudos,
~Belle
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