"Is that a new piece you're working on?"

"Oh...appa, eh not really. I'm trying to get this one down instead," indicating the sheet music to her left, "but I keep thinking of other melodies. So it's not really coming along that well...you're not going into the lab today?"

Yunho took a seat on the piano bench next to his oldest daughter. Setting his glasses down on the side table, he played with the piano keys. "You know, when I was in graduate school, every Friday I would go to the music room on campus and listen to your mom play during my lunch. I should've been preparing my lesson plans because I taught an undergraduate lab Friday afternoons. But, listening to her play was the best preparation. It always calmed me down....one time she was out sick but she forced herself to come to campus just to play for me...." Yunho smiled wistfully, his eyes looking forward not at their most recent family photo but a scene from 20 years ago.

Sooyeon leaning her head against his shoulder brought him back to the present. "I remember," she said quietly, "once I learned to play Fur Elise, omma would always have me play it everyday after dinner. She said it was appa's favorite piece and I had to learn it the best out of everything I would ever play."

Smiling, Yunho added, "I wanted you to learn that first but of course your omma said you would learn it in time."

Father and daughter chuckled at the memories, going back to a time when they were five and not just four. The timer signalling Sooyeon's hour of practice had ended rang out, bringing them both out of the past. Sooyeon shut it off before playing again, running through her scales to get back in the mood. 

"So how is Joo Hyun's brother, JiSeok, doing?"

"Mm...Seo Hyunnie said he's still in the hospital. They want to make sure he's absolutely fine before discharging, since you know, he is the son of the anesthesiology department head."

Chuckling at her sarcastic tone Yunho asked, "You haven't gone to visit?"

"I did....bu...."

"If you want to visit, I'm more than willing to take you. He's probably bored just waiting around for the okay to leave."

"I guess so....whenever I had to stay overnight, I would be so bored unless oppa came to play with me."

"You probably understand JiSeok's feelings right now, maybe better that anyone else around him."

Sooyeon stopped playing and looked at her dad. His eyes held a faraway look as though he was imagining her 5-year old self sitting beside him. "Appa knows but he's in denial..." Yonghwa's words rang in her head.

Smiling she held her dad's arm and leaned against him. "No matter what, appa you're number one! You even beat oppa!"

Kissing her forehead, Yunho relished in the moment of being the number one man in his daughter's life, at least for now.