“Daddy! You need to promise me three things.”

            Himchan glanced over at his daughter and took off his glasses. He placed the newspaper down, ready to give her his full attention. “Go on. What is it that I have to do?”

            “You need to smile, a lot, first of all. Daddy, you always had the best smile.” Himchan harrumphed. Of course she would be trying to butter him up. “I want you to be gracious to him, and most of all, I want you to learn to like him.”

            This last one made him laugh. The first two he could do easily, but the third? That would require a lot of skill and effort. He coughed a little and nearly choked on his own saliva. Even at the age of sixteen, his beloved daughter never ceased to amaze him.   

            “What?” she crossed her arms and pouted. “Daddy, this is my first serious boyfriend! I don’t want you scaring him away!”

            He immediately stopped laughing and his face turned cold. “Ya! And if he likes you so much, would one unhappy, grumpy father scare him away from loving you? Boys these days have no spine. When I was courting your mother, I had to deal with two angry faces as her grandfather wanted to intimidate me too! And there was no such thing as the phone or internet. If I wanted to talk to her, I had to actually go over to her house. You young children have no idea how much easier you have it nowadays.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Daddy, you know that you’re going to scare him though. He’s going to never want to come back and then I’m going to have to meet him by sneaking around, and you don’t want that to happen, right daddy?”

            Himchan clenched his jaw. Where had she learned this art of manipulation? He called for his wife. “Come help me here!”

            She came in and smiled a little. “I actually like watching from the sidelines better. You’re too adorable, Himchan.”

            He grunted in annoyance. “Our daughter is about to bring home a random boy and all you can do is laugh? How can you not be worried? What if he turns out to be a bad boy?”

            She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Most bad boys wouldn’t even give the fathers a chance to meet them. And trust in Hana’s judgment. Do you expect to pick her husband for her later? You need to trust her.”

            “Trust a sixteen year old? She probably said yes to the first boy who asked.”

            “Dad!” Hana stomped her foot and blinked back angry tears. “Thanks for letting me know how loved I am!”

            He winced when she slammed the door closed and his wife stared at him for a good minute. “I guess you’re going to have to be nice to the boy then.”

            Himchan sighed and pasted a small, cordial smile on his face as he opened the door. “Welcome to our home. I hope you treat Hana well. Do you like homemade cooking?” Himchan even dressed in an apron to indicate that he was a gentle man.

            “Yes, sir. I absolutely love homemade food. My father cooks all the time.”

            The boy had glasses and was still in the awkward phases of puberty. He looked at his skinny arms and wondered just what his daughter saw in him. There was nothing remotely attractive about this boy.

            Himchan nodded and went into the kitchen. Hana passed him and whispered, “Daddy, try not to add poison when you’re cooking please?”

            “You really don’t trust your father?”

            She shook her head and he tapped her behind lightly with the spatula. “Don’t forget who raised you up even when you’re blinded by that skinny toothpick over there.”

            Himchan knew he was being unfair but it pained him to see his little girl growing up. He had dealt with the prepubescent years well he thought. He rode out her tantrums and her random mood swings but now that she was growing older, he felt like he could do nothing right. Her attitude was killing him.

            He made the food and set it on the table. When was his wife going to be home? Two against one was too much. The boy, at least, had good manners. Himchan smiled at him, trying to get him to loosen up. He didn’t need Hana crying about how he had ruined the evening.

            He observed the boy and noticed that his manners were at least intact. While his daughter was daintily picking at her rice, the boy was placing pieces of meat on her plate. Himchan scoffed. This kid was smooth, trying to take care of her already.

            He stuffed a particularly large piece of chicken in his mouth and choked a little. “Oh, Mr. Kim!” He was by his side in a flash and thumped Himchan’s back roughly. Himchan held up his hands.

            “I’m alright, I’m alright.” The kid was strong despite his skinny appearance. Hana was beaming at him and Himchan let out a snort. Her father was the one that had nearly died and she was looking at him? What was the point of caring for such an ungrateful daughter?

            After he had left, he sat on the couch and stared at Hana. “Well?”

            “Well what?”

            “Did I scare him away?” he asked sarcastically.

            She beamed happily and hugged him. “He says that you’re great. Daddy, did you see the way he saved you? Wow, he’s so strong.” Hana hugged her father and stared off dreamily. “Maybe we should get married. What do you think?”

            Himchan slumped backwards in his chair and drooped his head. “I just went through the first meeting. Let’s not jump to marriage so quickly, please. Your dad will have a heart attack.”

>~< this is for MusicChibi

a bit rushed because I'm hurrying so I can work tomorrow :/