Chairman Park let out a breath between his steepled fingers while waiting for the doctor to finish his assessment. Beside him, a cup of coffee from the vending machine lay untouched. The continuous squeak of shoes on the floor echoed in the bustling hallway as the clock struck eight, signaling another busy day at the hospital. After last night's heated discussion, Dara gave everyone in the house quite a scare as they watched the medics hoist her unconscious self at the back of the waiting ambulance. Butler Kim volunteered to stay behind and watch over the young lady, but the chairman shut down his request and sent him home instead, pointing out that between the two of them, he was the one accustomed to losing a few hours of sleep. Knowing he held no valid argument, the older man acquiesced and headed back to the mansion with the promise to keep everything in order until the agassi returns. 

Suddenly, the door opened and a nurse walked out carrying a medicine tray, bowing when she passed by him. Chairman Park stood from his spot and approached Dr. Han when he appeared seconds after.
 

"How's my daughter?"
 

"She's already awake, but the medication is making her feel a bit groggy." Inclining his head to the side, the doctor motioned for him to step into the hallway with him. "I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but her recent tests showed signs of deterioration. The frequent loss of consciousness she's experiencing are due to non-convulsive seizures."

"Non-convulsive?" he asked with a frown.

"Simply put, it means that if the intracranial pressure-you know, the pressure inside her head-if that significantly increases, there's a high possibility that the next time Dara has an attack, she may go into coma. One that I fear she might never wake up from again. "

Chairman Park ran a hand over his mouth as he racked his brain for a solution. "Will the surgery be able to ensure my daughter's survival?"

"As I've mentioned before, the tumor's location makes it tricky to operate on—"

"But will she live?" The abruptness in his tone made his inquiry sound like a demand. "I need to be certain, Dr. Han. My daughter, she—" he took a deep breath, then another, reaching out to steady himself on the wall. "Dara is the only family I have left. I can't lose her, too."

"I understand." Dr. Han placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We cannot guarantee a hundred percent success rate and there will undoubtedly be some residual deficits should she be able to endure the procedure, however, I can attest to the credibility of Dr. Scott and his team. After all, they're the best in the field of neurosurgery."

"Then we'll leave as soon as she's able."

"Geurae. That would be ideal."

"Thank you for your help, doctor." Regaining his composure, he made his way toward Dara's room. He found her sitting at the edge of the bed, a faraway look on her face. At the sound of the door closing, she turned to glance at him, her complexion as pale as the moon. There was a small gauze taped over her right temple where she hit her head when she fainted last night. Reflexively, he raised his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and Dara's first instinct was to recoil from his touch. He kept the expression on his face neutral despite the sharp pang of guilt he felt from her reaction.

It's been a long time since her father had done any type of affectionate gesture toward her that when he finally did, she didn't know what to do about it. "S-sorry." She didn't even understand why she's apologizing.

Giving her some space, he pocketed his hands and languidly took a step back. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she croaked. "Kind of thirsty though." Wordlessly, he poured some water on a plastic cup and handed it to her. With shaky hands, she brought it to her lips and slowly drank. "Thank you." He nodded and discarded it for her.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"Neh." She pushed herself from the bed. To her surprise, the chairman's arm looped around her waist as he guided her toward the exit. She was too weak to refuse his assistance so she let him. Hong was already holding the door open when they got outside. Dara was about to enter when she heard her father instruct Hong to hand him the keys.

"Are we switching cars, sir?"

"Ani. I'll be the one to drive."

Hong seemed perplexed by the very idea, but knew better than to argue with his boss. Scratching the back of his head, he circled around the car to get to the passenger seat. The chairman the ignition and instructed Dara to put on her seatbelt.

"Where are we going?"

Never taking his eyes off the road, he muttered, "You'll see soon enough."

=======

Like a bull in a China shop, Jiyong blindly rummaged through the kitchen, his elbow knocking a few candy cane ornaments as he searched for something to eat.

"You're supposed to get rid of hangovers, not make them worse," grumbled Seungho as he snatched the mug of coffee from his brother's grasp, replacing it with a glass of juice instead. "And try not to destroy my furniture while you're at it." He grabbed a bottle of water for himself and shot him a pointed look before sauntering back to the living room. Jiyong sat down and proceeded to stare at the countertop. His head felt like it was about to be split in half. Last night, he had made the mistake of contacting Dara out of their scheduled phone calls and ended up hearing her father's voice on the other line. To say that it was a disaster would be an understatement. The chairman wasted no time in expressing his displeasure and went so far as to block his number on Dara's phone. In his anger, he found himself in front of Seungho's apartment, sloshed and pissed as hell. He still doesn't understand nor does he ever want to know why it had become sort of a reflex for him to crash at his brother's place when he's agitated. But upon heavy meditation, he came up with two plausible reasons: first, Seungho was uncompromisingly straightforward. He would always speak his mind and tell him things no one would dare say to his face. Second, he doesn't hound. Like now for instance. He just lets him sulk in silence while he continued on with his work. He had already picked up from where he left off and had started sketching on his drawing board again. 

"Seungho."

"Hmm?"

"What's he like to you?"

"What's who like?"

"Chairman Park."

The way he spat the name out made Seungho lift his eyes from his unfiinished building plans to send a skeptical look at his brother's direction. The tip of his pen hovered in the air as Jiyong's scowl grew more prominent. Oh well. It's not like I'm gonna get anything done with him moping around, he pondered with a slight shake of his head. Abandoning the piles of paper sprawled on top of his work table, he walked over to the ottoman across his brother and gave him his full attention. "Okay, I'm all ears. What's this all about?" 

"It's-I—there's just—" He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. "You know what forget it. It's...it's nothing."

Seungho fought the urge to roll his eyes. "No, by all means, please continue. Seeing that you've already disrupted my schedule, you might as well humor me."

Glaring at his little brother's obvious sarcasm, he grunted, "Fine. The chairman found out about the burner phones and wants me to bugger off." He paced up and down the room. "That's not exactly what he said, but he might as well have."

"I'm confused. Were you expecting a different reaction?"

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I'm with you on this. The chairman can be a little brusque, that I know, but I also understand where he's coming from. He's just doing his job as a father."

"And that gives him right to be an ?" he scoffed. "Bet he spends his pastime plotting against me."

"I strongly doubt that. He's got enough problems to deal as it is. What does it matter if he approves of you or not, anyway? It's not like you're asking Dara to—" he paused, the gears in his brain turning in rapid succession as he narrowed his eyes at his older brother. "Wait...are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Don't tell me you're actually going to propose?" He jumped from his seat and shot him an incredulous look.

"And what's wrong with that?" He sounded defensive. "I'm financially stable than most guys my age, you know."

"I'm not questioning your capital gains, genius." Seungho placed a hand on his hip, brows meeting at the center. "What are you going to do with your concert tour? What's gonna happen to that?"

"I'll finish it before we get married."

"Are you sure this is what you want? A lot of things can happen in a year—"
 

"Yah, you're not still hoping that you and Dara will—"

"Aiish, stop being an idiot for a second. I'm trying to help you here," he replied in mild irritation. "Let's be realistic. Long distance relationships never worked out for you or any relationship for that matter. You know why? Because you're GD. People flock over you like bees to honey. I know it's not your fault and it's just how the way things work, but what if I'm right? What if somehow at some point, you both realize that it's not what you want? That Dara's not the girl for you?"

"I'm not going to cheat on her," he snapped at his insinuation.

"Never said you would," he nonchalantly shrugged. "But again, nothing is set in stone. With your reputation, you don't even have to initiate anything for a woman to introduce herself to you. And don't even bother denying that because you know I'm right." Jiyong plucked a banana from the fruit bowl and threw it in Seungho's direction. It bounced off his chest and into the floor. "Well that's real mature."

"Shut up."

He picked up the fruit and placed it back on the counter. "Hokshi..." he started, his forehead creasing. "Did the chairman tell you anything else? Something about Dara perhaps?"

Jiyong took a bite from the apple. "Something about Dara? Like what?"

He doesn't know. "Ah, aniyo." Seungho forced himself a smile. It was not his secret to tell after all. "It's nothing."

Jiyong's phone vibrated inside his pocket and he lazily fished it out. It was a message from Yang Hyunsuk.

Come to the office. Now.

Aiiish. Would it kill him to say please? He hopped from the stool and ambled his way toward his brother's bedroom. "Dongsaeng, I'm borrowing your clothes."

"What? Why?"

"Coz I need to go to work."

"Here's an idea—go home."

"Can't," he yelled, already perusing through the clothes on Seungho's closet. "Too far."

"Then ask your manager to bring some for you when he gets here."

"I changed my password."

Seungho fought the urge to throw his pencil at the wall. "Then just tell him your new one."

"Shiro."

"You're not gonna let this go are you?"

"Nope."

Seungho sighed. Looks like Jiyong isn't the only one changing passwords soon.

=======

The low hum of conversations filled the air as a crowd started to gather outside one of the high-end shops at Apgujeong. From their vantage point, Dara could make out a number of photographers and members of the press huddled inside the premises. A huge banner had been tied with ropes at the forefront of the establishment with what appeared to be an announcement for a beauty product launch. it was already noon and the small cafe where they're currently parked at was beginning to fill up with customers waiting in line. Hong was one of them. Straight from the hospital, they had stopped here to grab some lunch, the chairman insisting she needed sustenance in order to recover. He hadn't spoken a word since then and merely kept his gaze at the crowded storefront from across the street, seemingly waiting for something.

"It's not true," he muttered after a while, clearly aware of her silent scrutiny of him. "When you said I could never understand what you're feeling." The muscles on his face contorting into a frown. 

Just then, the doors to the store opened and a a few men in black suits stepped out. A few seconds later, a lady dressed in white appeared, flanked by the store manager carrying a bouquet of flowers, ones that Dara recognized were daisies. Flashes of light started to go off as soon as she stood near one of the life-sized standees along the booth, perfectly fashioned to reflect herself. She posed and waved to the people outside waiting for her who in turn exploded into buoyant cheers. 

"Miss Hyerin, over here!" someone shouted from the horde of photographers. 

She turned and smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

She was indeed beautiful, that had been obvious. If Dara ever saw someone who had aged well, she could safely say it would be the woman in white. However it wasn't her beauty that pulled her in. No. It was how, for some bizarre reason, they looked eerily similar in features.

"Her career was just starting out when she had you." 

Dara froze, eyes wide as she stared at her father, letting his words sink in.

"At that time, things were different. I was just a simple man who was content to work in a firm, taking orders from someone else. Hyerin was...she was smart, independent—beautiful. Still is." He looked out the window, the longing in his eyes not escaping Dara's attention. "But she had hopes and dreams and I-I turned out to be in the way of that." His jaw clenched as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. It was the most vulnerable he had made himself be in front of her. "She never planned to tell me about you and made Ma Hyunsik keep it a secret in fear that I would do something drastic and eventually ruin her career which she worked so hard for. When she got pregnant, I stopped hearing from her. She cut all connection with me and left me questioning my sanity and what I did wrong."

Dara followed his gaze and again felt the familiar prick in her chest. For years she had longed to see her mother. Longed to know why she had done what she did. Hoped that she was alive and well. Prayed that one day, she'd be able to tell her the reason herself. But now that she's here, now that she knows why she had given her away, Dara felt her heart breaking. It was one thing to be taken away against your will, but to be abandoned by choice was a whole different matter.

Turned out she had been hating her father for all the wrong reasons. 

"You know what's worse? Despite everything, despite all the pain she caused me, I still can't bring myself to hate her." He ran a hand over his mouth, the moisture in his eyes telling Dara perfectly well what her father's refusing to say out loud. 

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly under her breath. 

He shook his head, "It's not your fault."

"Still. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through." She hang her head in shame, her fingers tracing the worn out bracelet on her wrist. It was the only thing her mother had left her. "I should've asked."

"I still wouldn't have told you. Hyunsik and I agreed it was best if you didn't grow up knowing the past. I didn't want you to feel like you were abandoned, like I abandoned you." Dara felt like she was seeing a different person in front of her. Not the stern chairman everyone feared and respected, but a man who got broken by the harsh world. His shoulders were hunched, the worried lines on his face hinting exhaustion, and his eyes—years of resentment pooling in its depths. 

"Dad, I—"

"It's done, sir," said Hong who appeared beside them, their packed lunch hanging from his hands. "Should we leave?"

Righting his suit, the chairman stood and gestured for Dara to do the same. "Let's go."

She nodded and followed them out. Hong went ahead to get the car while they waited at the curb. Across them, the event was still going except a black car had already slid past the blockade, stopping in front of the store. 

"Thank you for coming to support miss Hyerin, but she has to leave now," a man announced to the crowd. 

"Can I get an autograph?"

The man started to refuse the girl holding a poster, but Hyerin stopped him and graciously approached her fan. With a beaming smile, she asked, "What's your name?"

"Eun Hee," she replied, her cheeks going red. 

"That's a pretty name, Eun Hee-ya." She lifted the poster and signed it. 

"Kamsahamnida!"

"It's no problem," she said and enclosed her in a hug. Even her voice had a gentle lilt to it and Dara could just imagine what it would've been like if she had stayed. If she had chosen to keep her. Hyerin took a step back and as she lifted her head, her gaze ended at their direction. Dara watched as her mother visibly froze, her eyes darting back and forth from her to her father beside her. The expression in her face was pure astonishment. Dara could see her hands shaking.

"Hyerin-ah, let's go."

She didn't move. Behind her, cameras continued to flash, people continued to talk and take pictures, everyone oblivious to what was going on with the three people locked in each other's gazes. 

The car stopped in front of the chairman and Hong stepped out to open the door for him. "Heojangnim?" he prompted when he didn't move. Her father blinked and seemed to shake himself back to reality. He squared his shoulders and proceeded to place his hand at the small of Dara's back. Taking one last glance at her mother, she moved forward and entered the car, her father on her tail. Hong pulled the car out in reverse and they once again joined the busy street. 

Dara couldn't help but turn to look out the window. Hyerin was now being ushered into her own car by her manager, the crowd engulfing her figure until she couldn't see anything else. Pursing her lips, she sat straighter and glanced at her father beside her. He was not doing any better. In fact, he looked like his thoughts were a mile away. Steeling herself before she could change her mind, she reached out and held his hand between them. It brought him out of his reverie and he looked down at their joined hands.

Unbeknownst to her father, she had overheard their conversation out in the hallway earlier. He was right. They only have each other. It's time they put their differences aside especially now that she had so little time to make things right. She felt him squeeze her hand and she smiled.

That night, Dara laid on her bed, clutching the daisy pendant on the hollow of her neck, the events of today strengthening her resolve. Her father's words made sense now. Sometimes love just isn't enough.

She took a deep breath and stared at Jiyong's picture on her phone. Grabbing a pen and paper on her nightstand, she started writing.