When the d-day finally came around, Jaeha didn’t feel good at all. She had tried to not think about the match during the whole week, at the university she had avoided the topic, but on Saturday morning she didn’t have much choice but to face it. It was too late to back up now, her teammates were relying on her and her father had sent her a text message the night before to tell her they would come to Seoul in the morning and spend the day in town and he didn’t forget to add he was really excited to see her play. She had to go and take part in the match.

She reached the stadium in the early morning. She met with the whole team there and their coach and they first ate breakfast all together before starting training. Jaeha considered it more as a quick warm-up than a real intense training, she didn’t want to hurt herself, but because she was nervous she kept making mistakes.

At midday they ate with the opponents yet the atmosphere was not tensed or awkward. They all knew they were playing for fun, the score didn’t matter at all, so all the girls were chatting and laughing together. It was the only moment Jaeha forgot about the whole situation, for a short while she was alright and was able to unwind. But around 1 pm, when they finally opened the doors for the spectators to come in, she started panicking again. Since there was one hour and a half left before the beginning of the match, they were allowed for an hour to go and meet their families and friends, and Jaeha was the first one to leave the locker room and to make her way to the parking where obviously she would met her family when they would be here.

She expected to see her dad and Youngjae first since they were living the nearest, and her father and Mark wouldn’t be late either but she expected them to come later. However, when she spotted her dad’s car entering the parking with four silhouettes inside, she was really shocked.

And she was even more when she saw both of her fathers followed by Youngjae and Mark getting out of the car. They had came all together. She hurried to their side and hurried into her dad’s arm by reflex. He laughed and kissed her forehead while assuring her it was going to be alright, that she didn’t have to be so nervous. Then, she greeted her father with a shy smile and hugged him too. It was really weird, especially since they were in public, yet it allowed her to realize he was here for real, that she was just not imagining things. She didn’t forget about Mark and greeted him politely too.

She gave them their tickets which fortunately she had not forgotten about and together they got into the stadium and she led them to their seats. Her voice and her hands were shaking and she couldn’t bring herself to look at her father when she was talking.

From afar, she could hear some people gasping and whispering when they were noticing Jinyoung. Yet, he didn’t even look at them since he only had eyes for his daughter. They were probably stunned to see the famous actor here, or maybe they were shocked to see how normal looking he was. Indeed, he was dressed with a simple pair of blue jeans and wore a black t-shirt. His faded black Converses were torn and he had certainly not shaved in days. He still looked great, he still had that star aura all around him, yet at the moment there was nothing fancy about him. He was just Jaeha’s dad.

When they reached their seats they all sat down according to the number on their ticket, so it went from Jaebum to Youngjae, to Jinyoung and finally to Mark. They all looked particularly excited about the upcoming event, especially Youngjae. He had started his paternity leave earlier this week because he had entered the eighth month and being stuck at home all day long was truly terrific for him, he was really bored. So finally being able to go out and enjoy this moment with Jaebum and Jaeha was truly thrilling. And there was a stand serving pop-corn he had immediately spotted so he was even more happier.

“Are you ready?” asked Mark to Jaeha.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” she awkwardly smiled which made him laugh.

“No you’re not,” he stated the obvious.

“Don’t worry,” Jinyoung grabbed his daughter’s hands into his own. “Keep in mind that you’re playing for charity, you’re biggest goal should be to raise the most money as possible.”

She nodded. In fact, she couldn’t bring herself to tell them she was worried about playing while they were observing her and that she didn’t really care about the match itself.

“Let’s go buy pop-corn,” Youngjae stood up. “It’s going to help you relax. Do you want some?” he asked to the three other men.

“I’d like a medium box please,” said Mark.

Youngjae nodded and left with Jaeha. They didn’t say a word on their way to the stand. She let him buy two medium boxes and she carried them on their way back.

“You should ignore us when you play,” he gently told her. “I know our presence is bothering you, I can tell. But you should just try and have the most fun as possible while playing, that way we’ll also have fun watching you.”

“That’s weird, you know, to have dad and appa in the same room watching me. I’m not used to it.”

“Well you should get used to it now, I have a feeling it’s going to happen more often now,” he winked and rushed to his seat. She followed him and handed him and Mark their boxes. She was confused by his words but tried to not pay attention to it at the moment, she would think about it later.

“I’m going back to the locker room,” she said while looking around. The stadium was almost full now.

“Good luck,” said both her fathers at the same time, which made them smiled.

She waved at them and went back to the locker room where most of her teammates were. She changed into the school’s official basketball outfit, all red and white, and tied her hair into a high ponytail. She stretched a bit more, especially her arms and legs, and she patiently waited for the moment to come.

They had planned the whole event to be really grand. So there was first a DJ who was a student of SNU, playing some music and a cheerleaders show which lasted for ten minutes. Then Jihoon introduced the event, remaining everyone the two schools were playing for charities, that money and goods were more than welcomed. Then came the moment both teams were introduced. After a loud cheer in the locker room, the girls left the room and jogged to the court only to be welcome by loud applause and cheers. Each member of the teams had to introduce themselves, which Jaeha did with a trembling voice. Immediately after she was done talking her eyes found her dads in the public and when they saw her they quickly showed her their thumbs up. Even now she still couldn’t realize they were both here together for her.

They all got ready and a few minutes later the match started. As the power forward, she was first concentrating on defense, less on attacking. She knew her teammates were better at attacking than she was so she was not worried about not really helping them on this point. But she truly did her best in defense and even surprised herself when she managed to steal the ball a few times to her opponent to give it back to her teammates so that they could score a few points.

During the first half, her team was in lead by only a few points. Their coach gave them a few advises so that they could try and be better but their captain added they were already doing great so they just had to keep up with the good work.

They started again and Jaeha completely got into the match, at some point she couldn’t even hear the loud cheers from the spectators and she couldn’t see them anymore. She was really focus in order not to make any mistake that could cost points to her team. She got really tired toward the end of the match and got really annoyed when the opponents got a few points more because of a fool. Because of that they took the lead by just two points.

No matter how hard they tried Ehwa’s team couldn’t make more points and they ended up losing. Jaeha couldn’t help but feel bitter about it at first, but the cheers got so loud for both teams it was all quickly forgotten. And they were all given medals by no one else than Jinyoung himself.

Jaeha didn’t know how to react when suddenly he came out, holding a box with all the medals on it. He smiled brightly and greeted the girls one by one. He took a picture with every one of them and when he reached Jaeha, he smiled proudly and put the medal around her neck before giving her a quick hug in front of everyone. She blushed like crazy and gently pushed him back. He laughed and posed next to her to take a picture with her too. Then he moved forward, giving all the medals and he took pictures with each teams next. At first she refused to be on the picture but it was her coach who pushed her into the group so that she was standing right next to him. He put his arm around her and smiled brightly as the photo was taken to capture the moment.

When it was officially over, she hurriedly went back to the locker room to change since she was all sweaty and smelly. She congratulated her team since yet they had done a great job and she didn’t forget to greet her coach before leaving. She easily spotted the four men in the stands yet they weren’t all alone. From afar she spotted Jungkook and she had no doubt the other guy was Bambam. She joined them and was greeted by Jungkook who suddenly put her into an armlock and who ruffled her hair.

“You were so pretty,” he tsked. “You didn’t even let the other girls shine.”

She pushed him away and slapped his arm.

“ you, Jeon.”

“He is not wrong, you know?” Jaebum added. “I took so many pictures.”

“It was not necessary...”

She turned around and threw a glance at Bambam. He was standing behind them, without moving or saying a word. He looked almost pitiful, she had never seen him like this. She laughed and grabbed him by the arm to make him stand closer.

“Appa, let me introduce you to my friend Bambam. Bam, it’s my father, Park Jinyoung. But you already know that.”

“Bambam, I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you,” Jinyoung extended his hand and Bambam shyly shook it.

“N-Nice to meet you too M. Park...” he mumbled.

“You can take a picture together, he has been requesting it for years now. And give him an autograph too,” Jaeha said since she had a feeling her Thai friend was suddenly too timid to do so.

Jinyoung obviously accepted and did exactly what his daughter had requested. Bambam got paler and paler, she ended up thinking he was going to faint. For one who was always extremely loud and obnoxious, he was suddenly looking very small.

Once the introduction was done, Jaeha’s dads and their respective partners left to go make donations. She refused to know exactly how much they each were going to give but she was certain they were going to give huge amounts of money. It was one of the perks of having rich parents she guessed. In the meanwhile, she stayed with her friends.

“Are you alright?” asked Jungkook who was seeing her for the first time in five weeks exactly.

“Yes I am,” she assured with a smile.

“You don’t have to lie to me, you know? That scumbag did-”

“Jungkook, it’s fine. Yugyeom did what he felt was right and I understand him. I’m grateful he broke up with me in person before leaving instead of breaking up with me once you would have been in the US and would have cheated on me.”

He did his best to believe her and nodded.

“Alright, if you say so.”

He put her into a tight hug and didn’t hesitate to kiss her cheek before letting her go.

“You need a shower, you stink,” he didn’t forget to add.

She rolled her eyes and she thanked them for coming. He didn’t leave until she promised him she would call him soon so that they could start to hang out together again. They left and she joined her fathers who were done with their donations.

“Do you want to go home and shower or do you want us to go out and have a drink?” asked Jaebum.

“Are we going out all together?”

“Yes of course.”

She smiled brightly.

“Let’s go out then.”

She didn’t want this moment to end, not when she was finally feeling good. In the car, Jaebum was driving and Mark was sitting on the passenger seat. Jaeha sat behind, in the middle, between Youngjae and Jinyoung. She talked about the match with Mark who told her about her mistakes. She gladly listened to his advises and was even glad to share her feelings about her performance with someone other than her coach and teammates.

They arrived to a very familiar place, the ice-cream parlor. It was a bit crowded yet they managed to find a table at the back. Without much surprise, both Jaeha and Jinyoung ordered watermelon ice-cream. Youngjae and Jaebum went for apple sorbet and Mark chose chocolate. Jaeha was surprised to see there didn’t seem to be any form of awkwardness between both couples. Her dads were talking like two old friends and they didn’t forget to include Youngjae nor Mark in their conversation. In the end it was Jaeha who talked the less, she simply listened to them.

She really had a good time seeing them together, especially since they all looked very happy and glad to spend some time together. This moment didn’t last long since Mark and Jinyoung didn’t want to leave too late since they had quite a long way to go back home and Youngjae was getting tired. Jaebum drove them back home where Jinyoung and Mark had their car parked.

“You will come and see us soon right?” Jinyoung asked his daughter before leaving.

“Of course I will, once I’ll be done with my exams.”

He smiled and hugged her tightly.

“I’m so thankful that you invited us to come and see you play. I really had a great time.”

“I’m thankful that you accepted to come and see me play, appa,” she said honestly.

He kissed her cheek.

“I’ll come anytime you ask me to, don’t worry about that.”

She held back her tears and thanked Mark too for coming and then she let them go. She didn’t leave the parking until she couldn’t their car and she took the lift back home. She hurried to the bathroom to take a warm shower and then she laid down on her bed. She was exhausted now that all the pressure was down yet she was all ecstatic about the day she had had.

She had not been lying when she had told her best-friend she was alright, because she really was. She didn’t have a boyfriend by her side anymore, but she had friends and her family. And on that day she realized that her family included both her fathers. It was not just her dad who was here for her while her father was somewhere around the globe, now he was around for her, she knew she could rely on him too. And it felt amazingly fantastic to have his presence back into her life. Maybe he was ten years late, but better late than never.

Hi guys, how are you doing? Here's a new chapter for you and as you can probably tell if you've read the chapter already, it's a very important one :D 

There's a lot going on but it's nothing negative at all, it's all positive! I had so much fun writing the two parts of this chapter, I'm really looking forward your feedbacks, I hope you'll like it as much as I do!

A huge welcome to all the news subs, I can't believe this story has so many subs! It means a lot to me :)

I hope to update soon, until then, take care~

xx

Mae