Jung Yunho sighed to himself as he watched his 5 year old daughter.   He brought her to the playground at the park to play but a sight caught Jiyool’s eyes after she slid down the slide.  He already knew what was already going on inside her head.  She had that longing look in her eyes as she watched another kid walk his pet dog as they passed by and until they were no longer in sight.

A dog.  That was what Jiyool wanted.

She had been bugging him for a dog after her Yoojin oppa, Park Yoochun and Aejae’s son, got one for his birthday.  As much as it hurts Yunho to see her crestfallen face every time he defies her of what she wanted, he had no choice.  Being a busy single parent, he couldn’t afford to take another living creature under his care.

A few seconds later, as Yunho had predicted, Jiyool was by his side.  “Appa….”  She sat down beside him at the bench and faced him.  He smiled at her and Jiyool continued, “Appa, can we get a dog?”  She had this hopeful expression and Yunho started to hate himself.  “Baby, we already talked about this..”  He answered, giving Jiyool an answer without having to say no directly.  “Aww, okay Appa.  I’ll go play again, now.”  She smiled to let her Appa know that she was okay and ran back to her new friend she had made today.

As the two were on their way home, Jiyool was quiet.  “Appa?”  Jiyool suddenly called.  “Yes, baby?”  He looked at the rear view mirror to see her beaming at him. “Appa!  Can we get Taepoong instead?  Then that way, we don’t have to spend money to get one.  He’s your dog, right Appa?  Then he can live with us!!!” She explained happily.  She was referring to Yunho’s dog, Taepoong, who was living with his parents.

“Jiyoolie, money is not an issue.  I can buy anything for you, no matter how expensive it is.  But being an appa and the head of the company, Appa will not have any more time to take care of Taepoong.  And our house is just small and you know how big Taepoong is, sweetie.  Do you get what Appa is saying?” He explained and he saw Jiyool nod.  “Yes, I get it Appa….” She replied softly.

it was quite a hard ride for Yunho who kept seeing Jiyool watch other people walk their dogs.  He was THIS CLOSE to giving in to her wish to have one.  He just couldn’t take it anymore.  He promised himself that he would do everything that would make Jiyool happy, even if he had to sacrifice himself.

“Appa?”  Jiyool said while they were already on the bed, ready to fall asleep.  When Yunho heard her, he braced himself for what she would have to say.  “Yes, baby?”  He replied.  “Can we get a kitty, then?  Uncle Jaejoong has Jiji and Heechul ajeossi has Heebum.  Kitties are small, so can we get one, then?”  She asked with a smile.

The problem is, Yunho dislikes cats.  No, he doesn’t hate them, he just dislikes them.  He is more of a dog person.  He finds cats quite….annoying.

“Errr, you want a kitty?”  He asked, unsurely.  “I just want to have a pet, Appa.  So that I can feed it and play with it and watch it and raise it and-“  She continuously said.  “Ah!  So it’s okay if it’s not a dog?  Anything as long as it’s a pet, right?”  He asked, the wheels in his head already turning.  “Yes, Appa!” Jiyool nodded.  “If that’s the case, then tomorrow after office, we will go somewhere!”  He couldn’t wait to bring her there.

“Really Appa?  Where?  Where?” She asked eagerly.  “It’s a surpriiiise~”  He sang and Jiyool laughed.  “But now, YOU should go to sleep.  Good night, Jiyool.”  He  said and kissed her forehead.  “Good night, Appa.”  She said and snuggled to him.  And the Jung Family entered dreamland.

Jiyool had been a very behaved girl at Yunho’s office all day and he was pleased.  But that was until a minute ago, when Jiyool got restless and started to ask him if they were going to go already.

“Appa, are we going to go now?   Can we go now?”  She asked for the nth time.  Yunho couldn’t blame her.  He had gone overtime and it was already nighttime.  He had been flooded with paper work that had come over the weekend.

“Soon Jiyool.  Appa is working as fast as I can.  Are you hungry?”  He asked and paused momentarily to look at her. “No, Appa. I just ate the sandwich Mrs. Han gave me.”  She replied.  “Okay.  Appa will be done soon.  Just wait more, okay?”  He asked and Jiyool just nodded in reply then went back to her coloring books.

After half an hour, Yunho was finally done and Jiyool was ecstatic.  She couldn’t wait to see where her Appa would take her.  They were driving for a few minutes and suddenly, Yunho slowed down.

“Close your eyes, Jiyool.  No peeking, okay?”  He said and he saw that she followed.  It wasn’t really necessary to check her, knowing that she would comply honestly.  He turned to a corner and finally the car stopped.  “Don’t open them yet.”  Then he took her hand and guided her while they walk to their destination.

“Okay, OPEN YOUR EYES!!!”  he said enthusiastically and Jiyool uncovered her eyes with her hands.  She was able to read where they were and also saw the display.  “THE PET SHOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!”  Jiyool screamed in happiness.  She started jumping up and down and finally hugged her father.  Yunho felt so happy to see his daughter really happy that he would buy a dog if she really wanted one.   “Then, let’s go in!”  He urged and Jiyool pulled his hand towards the entrance so hard that he feared his shoulder would go out of its socket. 

“Uuuwaaaaaa!!!!  So many animals, Appa!!”  Jiyool exclaimed in amazement.  She ran to where the dogs were, not to choose a dog but to only look at them.  She knew she couldn’t get a dog for a pet.  Nor a cat. 

“Hi, doggies!!”  She greeted and waved at them.  They barked in reply and Jiyool stepped back at the loud sound.  Yunho let her watch them because he had decided to allow her to get a dog.  So he was surprised when Jiyool moved to the where the cats were.

“Hi, kitties!!!!”  She greeted and waved at them as well but they just blinked at her and some only stretched their bodies and slept.  Seeing no interaction, she pouted and moved to the next area.

“Haloo, birds!!!”  She greeted the different kinds of birds who were in their cages.  “Appa, they are so colorful!!”  She stared the parrots, mayas, love birds, and all the other birds around.  They squawked at her and flapped their wings.  They got too noisy that Jiyool had to cover her ears.  Seeing this, Yunho moved her to where the rodents were.

“Appa, they look….okay.”  She stated and left after a mere glance at the rodents.  Yunho chuckled and followed her to where the fish tanks were.

“Oooooooohh!!!!!”  Jiyool mused as she gazed at the different colors and types of fishes.  She peered at one tank after another.  Noticing her keen interest, Yunho guessed she might want a fish for a pet which was perfect for them.

“Do you want a fish for your pet, Jiyool?”  He asked as he joined her in peering in one of the fish tanks.  She looked at him and beamed.  “Can I, Appa?  Can I?  They all look sooooo cute!!!!  Look at the blue one, Appa!  And ooh!  Look at the fish behind the rock!!  Isn’t it cute?  Heehee~!”  She giggled.

“Do you want those, baby?  We can buy all the fish that you want.”  He grinned and Jiyool’s eyes widened.  “Even if we buy three fishy?”  She asked, holding up three fingers in front of his face.  “Yup!  Even 5, or 10, or 30 fishies.  As many as you want.”  He replied.  He felt relieved that Jiyool wanted to have a pet fish instead of a dog.  “Any color, any size, Appa?”  She asked, wanting to be sure.  “Yup!  Just choose and we will buy it.”  He answered while nodding.  “Really?”  She asked again and Yunho laughed.  “Yes, really.  I promise.”

And so, they spent about 30 minutes looking and deciding which fish to buy before Jiyool finally chose 5 fishies.  They also bought an aquarium and its decors, fish food, sand and water filter.  The seller assured them that the 5 fishes can live together in only one aquarium which Yunho had been worrying about.

Jiyool was on the moon after they bought everything.  She jumped and jumped before the seller handed her the plastic full of water with the fishes inside.  “Be careful with it, little one.”  The old man, the seller, kindly said.  He was happy he made another child happy.  “Thank youuuu!”  Jiyool and Yunho after the seller gave them the instructions on how to take care of the fish.

“Appa, slow dooown!”  Jiyool scolded Yunho for the nth time while they were on their way home.  She was worried that her newly bought pets would get dizzy with the speed, normal speed, Yunho was driving with.  She studied her fishes carefully while her Appa drove.  “But baby, the fishes would be okay.  Don’t worry.”  He assured, also for the nth time.  Finally, they reached home.

Jiyool was the one who decorated the aquarium, with Yunho in close supervision.  After they put in water, she excitedly gave the bag of fishies to her Appa so that he could put them in.  “Be careful, Appa…..”  She warned and held her breath as he started to ‘pour’ the fishes in.

Unfortunately…….

“AAACCCHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”  Yunho sneezed and accidentally poured the remaining fish OUTSIDE the aquarium.  “Aaaahhh!!!!!  Appa!!!”  Jiyool panicked as she saw the fish flop down onto the floor.

“OH SHI-sheez!!!!!”  Yunho immediately put the plastic on a table and went to try to capture the flipping fish with his hand.  But everytime he would try to cover it with his hand, it would flip away.  And it flipped again and again, going farther from them.  He hurriedly stood up and caught the fish with his foot.

“AHA!!!”  He yelled in triumph punched his fists up in the air.  However, Jiyool shrieked.  “APPA!!!  YOU KILLED IT!!!!!!”  He looked at his daughter who had her hands on her cheeks and a horrified expression on her face.  It was then he realized what he had done. 

He. Had. STOMPED. On. Her. New. PET!

He was frozen for a while, trying to think of what to do.  He noticed that the fish was not moving anymore as it lay there beneath his foot, so still.

“Appa….”  Jiyool’s voice on the verge of crying woke him up from his trance.  He gulped. He wanted to hit himself for not thinking before doing something.  Especially now that she started to sob.

“U-uhm, Jiyool… Ji-Jiyool sweetie.  Go to the bedroom for a moment, please.”  He gently ordered, not wanting his daughter to witness a possible traumatic sight of her new pet’s death.

Oh God, I don’t want to be a murderer in my daughter’s eyes…

As soon as she was out of sight, he held his breath and immediately took off his foot from the poor fish.  He squatted down and poked it with his finger several times before it finally flipped.  FINALLY!  He quickly took it by its tail and dunked it in the aquarium where it swam happily.

“Aigoo….”  He rubbed his chest.  He almost had a heart attack from tonight’s turn of events.  “Jiyool!”  He ran towards the bedroom and found her curled up on the bed.  “Jiyool?”  He softly called and she turned to face him.  Thankfully, she wasn’t crying but her eyes were red.

“Appa… Is my fishy….dead?”  She asked nervously.  “Dead?  What dead?  Baby, all your fishies are happy swimming inside their new home!  Wanna see?”  He smiled.  “Really Appa?”  She then ran outside and down to where the aquarium was.  She screamed in happiness.  “Yeeeeeeeey!!!!!”  She exclaimed while clapping her hands. “Thank you so much, Appa!!!!!!!!”  She reached for him and kissed his cheek.   “You’re welcome, sweetie.  Now say good night to them coz we will sleep already.”  It took him several minutes before he managed to pull Jiyool away from her pets.  "Goodnight, pretty fishies!!!"  She waved at them before obeying her Appa.

The poor fishy that Yunho Appa stepped on.

And ever since then, Jiyool had been busy taking care of her fishies.  Even though she couldn’t take them out for a walk, she was very satisfied just watching them swim around and follow her finger everytime she would put it against the aquarium.

THE END. :)

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