Hyejoo parked her car near the precinct.  

“Do you want me to go with you?” Hyejoo grabbed her hands.  

“No, I need to face him alone.”  

Chaewon took long, deep breaths, telling herself to stay calm with each one.  

“Gowon,” Hyejoo called, her voice so caring it soothed her heart. “Everything’s gonna be fine. And remember, you never did anything wrong. I’ll always be here.”  

“I know.” Chaewon leaned closer and rested her forehead on hers, closing her eyes and allowing herself to savor the moment, trying her hardest to keep those words in mind. She brought their lips together in a tender kiss before pulling her into the tightest hug she could at that moment. “Thank you, Hyejoo.”  

With a smile, Chaewon opened the door and got out of the car.  

“I love you,” Hyejoo said. “You’ll be fine.”  

“I will. I love you too.”  

Chaewon closed the door and walked towards what awaited her, fighting through how weak her legs felt. She clenched her fists, forced herself not to run away, and stepped inside the precinct. Her father stood, talking to another policeman.  

“Dad.”  

He turned, and she couldn’t read his face at all. Was he mad? Sad? Disappointed? He walked towards her. “He’s locked up, waiting to be questioned,” he said, turning to go back already, but Chaewon held his arm.  

“W-Wait. Can we talk?”  

Her father looked back. “I’m busy-”  

“Please.”  

He looked away from her pleading, almost tearing eyes and sighed. “Alright.”  

“Let’s go outside.”  

Chaewon bought two cold drinks from the vending machine and sat beside him, offering him one. He accepted it with a mumbled thanks.  

“Thank you again, dad, for helping us and bring that man in.”  

“It’s my job, after all. We’ll search his house to see if we can find more evidence of the crimes he has been committing. I’m positive justice will be made.”  

She nodded, thanking Him again and again.  

“What did you want to talk about?” Officer Park asked.  

Chaewon took a deep breath. “About what Hyejoo’s father said.”  

“It is true, isn’t it? I've been trying to avoid thinking of that.”  

“Yes.”  

Each passing second of silence hurt more than the previous one. Chaewon mustered up the courage to look at her side, at her father that kept his stare at the unopened can between his hands.  

“It doesn’t matter who I love, I’m still the same Chaewon. I’m still your daughter, I still love and worship Him the same. I’m not asking you to accept it, just...” Tears clouded her eyes, but she blinked fast and wiped them away even faster. “Please keep seeing me as your daughter.”  

He remained silent for a bit longer, fidgeting with the can. “I can’t accept it.”  

Chaewon knew it would be like this, but why did it still hurt so much?  

“I can’t say I understand, because I don’t,” he continued. “But I cannot desert you, Chaewon. Abandoning my daughter would be a much bigger sin. And neither God nor myself could forgive me for that.”  

She broke in tears, hiding her face in her hands.  

“It was not easy for me, dad.” She cleaned her eyes. “It was a long way to accept it myself because it’s true that it defies what I believed my whole life, but I’m here now. I know He still accepts me for who I am, no matter if I love a man or a woman.”  

“I am sure He will guide you towards the light once again, my daughter. We are all sinners after all, but one day I have faith that you will be back on track. God will not abandon you, and neither will I.”  

“Dad, it’s not--” Chaewon sighed. His answer was already so much better than she had hoped for, and she wasn’t about to argue with him and risk leaving things even worse off. Some other time. “Thank you for still accepting me as your daughter.”  

He nodded and patter her shoulder. “Were you planning on telling us?”  

“Yes, eventually. I would have rather told you personally than have it be like... Like this.”  

“You have to tell your mother.”  

“I know.”  

Chaewon lost herself in her thoughts for a few moments, dreading the moment they’d have to tell her mom.  

“I should go back inside and see if there’s any progress.” Officer Park stood up.  

“Thank you, dad.”  

He halted and looked back, giving her a nod before going back inside.  

Chaewon leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sunny sky. She thanked again, fighting back more tears.  

Looking back at the start, she knew how hard it was for herself. She couldn’t know how her father was really feeling, but one thing she learned was that people can change, people can learn to accept what they didn’t know. She only hoped her parents were no different.  

But it didn't matter how long that could take, or how hard the path would be from that moment on, she would always have Hyejoo.  

Chaewon would always have her own kind of heaven. 

---

A/N: It's over. Wow, for some reason it doesn't feel real yet. It's been more than two years since I had the idea for this story and more than a year since I actually started working on it, and now, today, the last chapter is up. 

I want to thank my girlfriend editor for the patience during all this time, for all the help with coming up with ideas, whenever I got stuck (it was... lots of times ahahaha), and for always supporting me and believing in me and that I could finish this story and be proud of it (I really am!) 

I also want to thank my best friend for being my biggest inspiration for Hyejoo's character, from things about her personality or story, to simple yet funny things like the brand and name of her car, and the fact that she roots for the Patriots and loves Legos ahahaha

And finally, of course, thank you everyone who read this story, who commented, who gave me feedback and opinions, and I hope you enjoyed the story and how it ended ♥️ 

Also, my next story is almost done! It still needs edits, but I don't think it will take long to upload it hehe (I still need to come up with a title, though... lmao) And all I can say about it is... IT'S ANOTHER 2JIN STORY!!!

Okay sorry for the long a/n, THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE ♥️