AUTHOR’S POV

“Stephanie, we need to talk.”

The trio pulled away, Tiffany looked at her Dad slightly while Jessica and Soojung just stayed still, didn’t know what to do.

“Can you go home, Jessica-ssi?”

Jessica immediately stood up and was about to get Soojung when Tiffany held her, “No, she’s staying.”

“Stephanie, this is a family matter and she’s not a family.” Jessica was actually hurt by the words, different with her Mom who considered Tiffany as another daughter, Mr. Hwang didn’t do the same, but she couldn’t blame anyone, so she just whispered to Tiffany, “I’m going home now, I’ll call you later, okay?”

The older girl tried to get the grip off of her arm and motioned Soojung to climb down from the couch. The baby girl nodded, she crouched on the couch and slowly moved backwards, her swaying from left to right while her right leg tried to reach the floor first.

“No. She. Is . Staying.” Stubbornly, Tiffany held Jessica back again, then she whispered to Jessica, “And you letting me facing this alone?”

“…I’ll be outside if you need me.” Jessica made a win-win solution, she didn’t leave but she knew that it would be inappropriate for her to be there and heard everything.

Mr. Hwang nodded tiredly while Jessica passed him with Soojung, Tiffany smiled inwardly, at least she knew Jessica would always there if she ever needed the girl.

Sighing, Mr. Hwang took a seat in front of Tiffany, “Is that Soojung?”

“Yes.”

Trying to lighten up the conversation, “She’s cute.”

“Hmm.” But Tiffany didn’t seem to be enlightened, she just kept answering with one word.

“Let’s get to the point, Dad.”

Sighing again, Mr. Hwang looked at his daughter, he realized how beautiful Tiffany now, she wasn’t the little Princess who used to cry when she was bullied at school or used to whine when something Pink she found wasn’t hers, “Tiffany, you are growing up.”

Tiffany looked up and realized that her Dad was also growing old, with his hairs slightly turning into grayish, some wrinkles at the corners of her Dad’s eyes, she realized that her Dad wasn’t a young man who used to give her a piggyback ride, who used to teach her drawing and telling her to stop using pink colors in her drawings, how many years had been passed since then?

“Hmm.” That was all Tiffany could say, she didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t say ‘And you’re getting old, Dad.’ Right?

“Someday, you’ll find someone and get married.” Tiffany could feel her heart clenched at the tone she heard from her Dad, bitter, a little trembling, shaky a bit and full of emotion. She looked around, it was a very big house to live alone, she just realized a thing she never realized, she was busy catching up to get to her dreams while she herself didn’t think of what would happen to her Dad when she finally got into her happiness?

“And by that time, you’ll live with your loved one, starting a family, living in the different house and not here anymore. Gradually becoming very busy with your career and maybe children…You’ll start forgetting about me.” The last part was added difficultly by Mr. Hwang, Tiffany herself couldn’t hold her tears, “No, Dad… I won’t…”

“Of course not forgetting as in like someone who gets amnesia, but starting to not visiting me as often as before, especially when you get children, you’ll get very busy, no, don’t deny it, I’m a child of your Grandparents too, I do know how things like this happen, I can’t blame you though, It’s life, life must go on, it’s just your Mom left me too soon….”

A single tear rolled down on Mr. Hwang’s face, Tiffany rushed to his side and hugged him, Mr. Hwang smiled while patting Tiffany’s back, “I love your Mom, Tiff. I always do. She has the special place in my heart. She’s the best wife I can ask for, I really love her… But life goes on, it’s not like I’ve moved on, it’s not like I don’t have another dreams about her in the nights anymore, but life goes on, Stephanie…”

Tiffany nodded, she understood and Mom issues were always been a sensitive issue for her, she loved her Mom so much, very much but she loved her Dad too, she could feel how afraid he was of being lonely in his old days later. She understood.

“I met Mrs. Im in one of the meeting, she was one of the Professor in different University. Mrs. Im, I mean she is the one who, sadly, had to meet you in that kind of situation. But I have to tell you that it was the first time, blame the wine we got and the time you usually got home.” Tiffany chuckled when she realized that actually her Dad was implicitly telling that lately Tiffany got home really late.

“Mrs. Im is a great woman, I must say, she raises a daughter by herself after her husband left her when her daughter was young, but she remains tough, never once I fall for another woman, you know me, but her, she reminds me of your Mom, not physically but the whole her. By the way she talks, she knows what she is talking about, she Is independent, not to mention beautiful, and Tiffany, it’s like feeling the whole first love again, I feel so young, I laugh more, I smile more, I… It’s the first