Chapter I: Jiyong & Hayi

Early morning; to some it was considered the best time of day while others consider it the most bothersome.

The sun was barely making its way above the sky forcing the once dark air to turn an interesting shade of royal purple and eventually orange. It was so early that the stars from the previous night were still visible, if only slightly. South Korea is known as the land of the morning calm, and therefore a great honor to be one of the first people to greet the calmness of a new day. But for some, it was just a challenge to beat the morning sun; rise before it does.

As the sun swept through the landscape it made its way from the coast, through the mountains and the countryside, eventually settling in the metropolitan area; Seoul to be exact. It was one of the largest municipal areas in the world and home to over ten million people. Yet as most of the country was still enjoying their few hours of precious sleep, some were already up and about. One individual in particular, made it a habit to be up before the rest of the country.

As he watched daybreak, he slowly turned around from his balcony and walked back into his room. He strolled right past his door and walked down the hall, passing the pictures that framed the hallway. These pictures held memories of his childhood, friends, family, his wedding day that wasn't nearly as happy as it should have been, and one other picture that stood out from among the rest. This picture held the face of beautiful baby girl who was barely a few weeks old at the time. That same baby girl was now the tender age of four and sleeping soundly in the room in which her father just walked into.

Her father silently made his way over to her tiny bed and watched over his daughter sleeping and dreaming of things he would never know of. Her little head was covered with dark brown hair, just like his. If she were awake you could see that she had the most brilliant hazelnut- like eyes. She was her father's little girl in every aspect. She was his pride and joy.

Her walls were adorned with finger paintings of mermaids and ponies, stick figures and animals and even a picture of a jjapaguri. They were her favorite food, as well as her father's. On the small shelf, there were a few awards from her preschool for excellent citizenship, student of the month awards, and photos of her ballet recitals all belonging to Kwon Hayi. There were also a few pictures of her in the preschool play on the five food groups where she had the honor of being tomato number four.

Smiling at his daughter one more time, Kwon Jiyong planted a kiss on her forehead and walked out of her room turning off her nightlight. He would wake her in another hour for school.

Jiyong walked back into his room, grabbed a towel and went into the shower. After he was done, he dressed in his usual attire, which consisted of black slacks, matching blazer and an off while shirt with a black silk tie. Such attire was necessary when you're the CEO of Seoul Medical Center.

The Kwon family founded the hospital decades ago by Jiyong's great-grandfather. Since then it's been run by the members of the Kwon family. What started out as a small clinic soon turned into a prosperous hospital specializing in all the latest treatments, trauma centers, diagnostic research labs, general health and so forth. It was the best of the best.

Jiyong made his way to the living room where he proceeded to watch the morning news. Later he went back to Hayi's room to get her ready for school. He walked in to find her still sleeping with her stuffed piglet, who she named ton-ton. She looked so peaceful that Jiyong wished he didn't have to wake her up.

"Hayi… wake up baby. It's time to get up for school." He whispered as he gently her hair until her eyelids fluttered open.

"Mmmm… but appa…too…..tired…." She mumbled as she proceeded to curl back up into a ball. Jiyong smirked at her antics. Every morning was the same. He would wake her and she would try to guilt him into letting her sleep a bit more. So he resorted to the one method that would work every time. He began to tickle her feet. Hayi could not resist for long. She broke out into a fit of giggles and eventually became fully awake.

"Appa you cheater!" She giggled.

"Sorry Baby." He soothed. "But you know it's time for school so get going. Halmeoni will be here soon to take you."

And with that he hoisted her up on his shoulder and carried her to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Then Jiyong left her in her room so she could get changed. Being four years old, Hayi insisted that she be able to dress on her own claiming she was a "big girl now".

Jiyong walked back down stairs and into the kitchen to make breakfast. He took out the toaster and placed two slices of bread into it. Then he made some of Hayi's favorite pancakes and cut them into small pieces for her before he placed them on the table. As he did so, Hayi came bouncing down the stairs clad in her school uniform, which consisted of a black, gray and white plaid skirt, a black suit top and white shirt with a red scarf clipped on the neck. She came to the table and dropped her book bag on the floor.

"Appa are you gonna come to my recital?" She asked as she took a bite of her pancakes.

"I'll try to be there." He answered, though hesitantly.

"I'll try really hard to be there this time."

He could tell that she didn't believe him by the way her face fell. He had missed the last two recitals and every time he tried to explain himself, she would just smile and say that she understood and that she would give him his own special performance when he had the chance. Even though she was all smiles on the outside, Jiyong could tell that she was nothing short of disappointed by the way her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Jiyong sighed. Being the CEO of Seoul Medical Center was a very time consuming job. Lately the hospital's been busier than usual due to the summer months approaching and everyone trying to cut loose and have a good time partying and drinking, which lead to drunk driving and lots and lots of accidents. Seoul Medical, being the major institution that it is, was the main hospital to go to in cases of accidents with an advanced trauma center and extensive ER.

Now Jiyong was no doctor, but being the CEO did mean that there were certain obligations that he had and one of those obligations was overseeing operations in every department in the hospital. With a hospital as large as his, it meant that he would often get caught up in work and miss spending time with Hayi.

"Okay appa." She mumbled while munching on her toast. "I'm gonna ask halmeoni and harabeoji and Jaejoong-samchon to come too. Last time, Harabeoji bought me a tiara." She added.

"That's good, baby. Halmeoni will be excited. You're her favorite ballerina." He Said before finishing his breakfast and taking the empty plates into the dishwasher. He heard the doorbell ring a few seconds later.

"Mother." He thought as he walked toward the door. He opened it and was surprised to see that it wasn't his mother but his brother, Jaejoong.

"Where's omma?" He asked peering outside to see if his mother was outside.

"Out of town on business with father." Jaejoong answered with his usual monotone voice. "They'll be gone all weekend. Omma asked me to come."

"Jaejoong-samchon!!!!" Hayi screamed as she ran towards him. Jaejoong lifted her in the air and caught her again.

"Hello Hayi-ah. How's are you doing today?" Jaejoong asked.

"I have a recital today." She announced happily.

"Jaejoong-samchon,