JIYONG

Where are you?

Jiyong stared down at the text from Dara. It was a week since what he had come to think of as the Forgiveness Pizza Party, and he had no idea what she was talking about. For a moment, he simply couldn't wrap his head around her question.

"Jiyong?" Heejung asked him. "Is everything all right?"

Jiyong glanced up. Deukie and Heejung sat across from him at the conference room table. Deukie had his finger poised above the conference call phone.

"Teddy Park's about to be on the other line," Deukie mentioned. "He's going to know it if he doesn't have your full attention."

Jiyong glanced back down at Dara's text. His head hurt; his vision blurred; and no matter how hard he squinted, he couldn't make her question ring out with any sense. He hadn't slept at all last night, and he had barely managed four hours the night before. He knew he was running on fumes, but there was no way he had missed anything in his schedule. She had probably texted the wrong person, or mistaken the day, or...

Then it hit him, as hard as if he had just rammed Giran right into the dock. The ing class! He had completely forgotten about the class Dara had signed them both up for, the one on parenting basics.

Jiyong gripped the arms of his chair, heart hammering in his chest. He must have looked like a spooked animal about to bolt. Heejung's smile died, and her face, tan from living almost full-time in Busan, drained slightly of color. Deukie watched and waited; then, when he clearly decided he couldn't wait anymore, he punched the button.

"Hello?" Teddy Park's voice came through the phone. "Jiyong? You there?"

"I'm here." But I should be somewhere else! his mental voice shouted. Where the hell am I supposed to be?

"Heejung and I are here as well, Mr. Park," Deukie mentioned. His icy blue eyes were fixed on Jiyong, but they were live now. Jiyong didn't know how to convey to them that he had to go.

But he had to do something.

"Mr. Park, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to reschedule our meeting." It felt like someone else had taken hold and was speaking through his lips. "Something's come up."

"I beg your pardon?" Teddy asked. "I set aside a whole two-hour block this morning to discuss your latest plans for my company's ad campaign, Jiyong. If we want to launch next month, then time is of the essence. Isn't that what you told me?"

"Yes. I did tell you that." Time is of the essence. Jiyong looked down at his phone. "But I think... I might have a personal emergency to attend to this morning."

"You might?" Teddy's voice was cool and furious. "You better be sure of it, son. Because if you walk out of this meeting, then I might be forced to take my business to someone who knows how to prioritize with my best interests in mind."

Jiyong wanted desperately to look to Heejung and Deukie for backup. He wanted either, or both, of them to jump in and save him from having to make this decision. But if they could, they would have already done so. They were sitting at the same table, but Jiyong was on his own.

"I do have your best interests in mind," he said quietly. "And that's why I have to go, Mr. Park. It's Dara. She needs me."

"You've already shown your commitment to Dara. You're going to marry her like we agreed," Teddy growled. Heejung's eyes bulged. She looked at Deukie, but Deukie looked just as surprised as she did by the news. Jiyong clo