“I want to show him about us.”

My brown orbs roam over hers as I try to digest all the words that she just said. She seems to know that I will not say anything for the moment so she continues slowly, “You’ve done everything that you could, babe. All these years, you’ve talked to him, got ignored, then stepped back, and then tried to convince him again, then gave him time to think about it and tried again.”

Flashes of memories that show how my relationship with dad starts to get distant show up in my head. My heart hurts every time I think about it. And through Jennie’s eyes, she shows that she understands what I am feeling right now as she rubs her soft fingers over my cheek tenderly.

“But he’s my dad, Jendeukie. I-“

Jennie does not even let me finish as she touches my lips with her forefinger to stop me from talking. “He’ll be my dad too, Jisoo unnie.” She leans her head down so our faces are inches apart and I can see those eyes are conveying how serious she is right now. “We’ll be married for real anyway, so what’s yours is mine too, Jichu.”

Tears are falling, warmth is spreading around my chest as she successfully tugs my heartstring with her touching words that are just so…excruciatingly heart-warming.

Leaning my head upward, I let my lips kiss her own softly, telling her how incredible and amazing she is to me. I kiss her over and over again as she kisses me back with the same intensity that makes me hear my own heartbeat because of how loud it is thrumming inside my chest. All because of Jennie.

Then, her delicate fingers slip into mine as we immediately intertwine them together.

“Let’s fight together, unnie. Hand in hand.”

===

I can sense how complicated her feelings are right now. Nervousness, fear, and uneasiness must have clouded her mind as she keeps her gaze out the car’s window. She does not want me to see her face. Reaching my hand out, I naturally take her hand into mine as I stare at her with a soothing gaze for a split second only to focus back on the road.

“We can do this, babe. Everything will be alright.”

It feels warm to have her soft hand playing with my fingers as I turn the steering wheel only with one hand. How I wish we are stopping at the red light right now so I can have the chance to give her a kiss.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Jendeuk.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ve become even stronger now because of you. And I have you anyway. You, who makes me feel like I can do anything in this world.”

I know Jisoo finally shows her genuine smile when she kisses my fingers with her heart-shaped lips. That makes me smile as well because as always, her touch would make my skin burn while shooting electricity all over me.

“You know, I thought the only one who would understand me is dad. But it turns out that he is the only one in my family who doesn’t want to talk about us, as if this relationship that we have doesn’t exist at all.”

When we finally come to a stop for a moment at the red light, I look at her deeply as I utter, “It’s alright for me if you don’t want to push him, Chu. You don’t need to put a lot of pressure on yourself, baby. It’s alright.”

The hopelessness in her eyes breaks my heart but that only shows for a split second because the ever so confident Jisoo appears. “Let’s try for one last time, Jendeuk. I love him so much and his acceptance would mean a lot to me. So, I don’t want to give up now, love. At least, I want him to really see us before I pull away completely.”

I nod to show that I understand while patting her head gently. “Alright. Then, let’s execute our plan.” I move the gear and press on the gas pedal again as we are getting nearer to the restaurant.       

For her, I try to look like I am not terrified at all, although my heart feels like it is about to burst at any second now.

When we finally arrive, Jisoo suddenly pulls me into her arms as her lips are brushing against the top of my head.

“Thank you, Jendeuk. For being strong for me. I love you, so much.”

.

“I’m going to take this call outside, dad.” I see him nods at Jisoo as she immediately turns toward me to search for my eyes. I give her a reassuring smile, telling her that everything is under control. It’s according to our plan anyway, leaving me with her dad so I can talk to him.

As Jisoo closes the door behind her, it’s only me and him inside the private dining room. Looking at him, I immediately remember how I feel so warm and welcomed whenever I went to Jisoo’s house or when we went on trips before Jisoo revealed that she loves me. Now, I can still actually see the same kind and gentle eyes, but he seems to hold something back.

“What is it that you want to talk with me, Jennie?”

When he sees my wide eyes, he chuckles for a bit that immediately reminds me of his youngest daughter. “I know that you want to talk, Jennie. Go on.”

Clasping my hands together, I gather my courage to look at him in the eye to show him that I am serious about this.

“It all started with one look at her beautiful smile that reached her deep brown eyes. At that time, I never thought that we would ever come to this. All I had was a strong affection toward her that makes me want to see her happy all the time. I wasn’t brave enough to tell her though, but she was.”

Leaning my body forward, I utter in a clear voice to make sure that he fully grasps the hidden meaning behind my words. “She, who went through the hard process of accepting herself. She, who was so sure of her feelings that made her stand up for herself. She, who always convinces me that we could work through the struggles together. And she, who loves her dad so much that nothing can replace her wish to make him accept her the way she is.”

“But today, she told me that this will be the last time she’d try to convince you to look at us. The ever-so-strong Jisoo unnie that I know, weakens when it comes to you. And it hurts me when I saw her being so hopeless. So I just want to let you know that, I truly love her. And she loves me deeply. Nothing would break us apart, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t get hurt because of not being accepted, especially by a family.”

The way he looks at me calmly throughout the conversation reminds me of Jisoo when we are having arguments. Both of them would wait for me to finish before they share their own thoughts.

“My daughter, Jisoo, ever since she was little, she always has her own thoughts and would stand for what she believes. That’s why I never saw her as a mere little girl. I would look at her as a friend, supporting and guiding her when she needed me. That’s what made us grow so close. But al