A month later…

*knock *knock

"Dad?" Taeyeon called, tapping on his father's reading room door. After a brief pause, he turned the knob upon hearing his father's voice.

"Come in," Mr. Kim replied

Taeyeon entered to find his father busy at his desk. He had rushed to his parent's house after work, after receiving a message from his dad, telling him to go home.

"Hey, dad," Taeyeon greeted with a genuine smile.

"Hey, come. Take a seat." Mr. Kim closed the files, motioning for his son to sit across from him.

Perching on the chair, Taeyeon's eyes flickered with curiosity. "So, what's up? You called me home like it was urgent."

Mr. Kim chuckled. "Direct as always, huh?"

"You know me," Taeyeon shrugged.

Mr. Kim cleared his throat. "How are you doing, Taeyeon?" He asked, his gaze fixed on his son's face.

"I'm good. Work is also fine. Did you get a chance to read the new hotel report I sent?"

His father nodded. "I have."

"Any issues with it? Is that why you called me home?"

"Nope. No issues. I know I can trust you with the job." Mr. Kim smiled. "But today, let's not talk about work. Just a father-son chat."

"Uh, sure," Taeyeon agreed.
 

"How's life lately?"

Taeyeon was puzzled by the question. "Good, as I said."

"Got a girlfriend already?"

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden interest, Dad?"

His father shrugged. "Just curious."

"No, I'm not seeing anyone. Too busy for that. But seriously Dad, why suddenly you're asking me that?" Taeyeon looked at his father suspiciously.

Mr. Kim took a few seconds before he responded "I'll be straightforward. I'm thinking of arranging your marriage with my friend's daughter."

Mr. Kim looked at his son, waiting to see his reaction.

"You're not surprised?" His father asked when seeing a lack of reaction from his son.

"I'm surprised, but I'm still processing whether I heard that correctly or not." Taeyeon paused. "So, you want to set up my marriage?"

His father nodded

"With whom?"

"Actually, it's Mr. Hwang's daughter."

"Mr. Hwang? Leo's father?" Taeyeon sought confirmation. Leo was his senior during his overseas studies. They had been close in college and maintained contact even after Taeyeon's return to Korea.

"Yes. You know he has a daughter, right?"

"I do, but I've never met her. I thought she lived abroad."

"Well, she returned two years ago. She's a bit private, but I have her picture if you'd like to see it."

Taeyeon nodded, his father retrieving a photo from the drawer and passing it to him.

Silence stretched as Taeyeon studied the image, his father growing anxious at the lack of a response.

"I know this is too sudden—"

Mr. Kim's words were abruptly interrupted as Taeyeon calmly said, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Huh?" His father blinked, surprise evident in his expression. He could see the calmness in his son's face.

"You serious?" Mr. Kim asked.

Taeyeon nodded. "Yes, I am. Is that what you wanted? To marry her? I'll do it."

His father sighed. "Taeyeon, don't agree if you’re just doing it because I told you to. This is your life we're talking about. Think carefully."

"Yes, I've thought carefully, and I'll marry her," Taeyeon replied without hesitation.
 

"Are you sick, Taeyeon?" Mr. Kim looked at his son with genuine worry.

"What are you saying? I'm perfectly healthy. Just did my health check-up last week. Wanna see the result?"

"Nope, keep it," He told him before lifting his eyebrows "Are you sure???" he asked again.

"What? You want to take back your words?"

"No, no! I was expecting a different response from you, you know... like protesting or something else. Never thought you're going to agree this easily."

"Did mom know about this?"

"Yes, she knows"

"Okay, then. Do you have anything else to tell me?" Taeyeon stood up, preparing to leave.

His father shook his head. "N-no, you can go."

Taeyeon smirked. "Thanks, Dad. I'll keep this," referring to the photo he held.

Mr. Kim watched his son leave the room, still finding it hard to believe that getting his son's approval was so easy. Suddenly, he remembered something. "Taeyeon, stay here tonight! Your mom has prepared dinner!" he called out, awaiting his son's response.

"I will! I'll be in my room, changing my clothes!"

.
.
.

 

"He agreed?!" Mrs. Kim's eyes widened as she looked at his husband. They were in the kitchen as his wife was preparing a dinner with the maids.

"Shhh! Don’t talk too loud" Mr. Kim said, pointing up at upstairs. Taeyeon was still in his room, taking a shower.

"Well, surprisingly, he agreed," Mr. Kim added.

"That's all?"

"That’s all" he nodded "He didn't say anything other than 'okay, I’ll do it.'" Mr. Kim playfully mimicked Taeyeon's nonchalant response, prompting a light slap on his arm from his wife.

"Yeobo!" She hissed

"Oww! What? I'm serious!"

Observing the worry lines on his wife's forehead, Mr. Kim softened his voice. "What’s bothering you, honey?"

"Do you think we did the right thing?" she pondered aloud.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Setting up his marriage. Taeyeon never says no to us. Even when he was little, he was always obedient to our wishes. Now that he's an adult, do we need to arrange his partner too?"

"I understand your concern. That's why I asked him first if he had a girlfriend. I don't mind if he does, but he said no. So, this seems like the perfect opportunity.” He crossed his arms.

“Besides, have you ever heard Taeyeon talk about a woman or girlfriend before? The last time I heard him talking about his girlfriend was when he still studying and that was 10 years ago!"
 

"I know that, but..." Mrs. Kim hesitated.

"Yeobo, we're not getting any younger and Taeyeon isn't young anymore. I hope to see him married one day. He's been alone for too long. He needs someone by his side. We agreed on this, remember? You even liked Hwang's daughter when you saw her photo."

"That's true..." his wife sighed. "He's our son, but sometimes I can't understand what goes on in his head"

"Let them meet first. If Taeyeon changes his mind, we won't push it, okay?" Mr. Kim suggested.

Mrs. Kim nodded, "Okay"



...



"Welcome home, sweetie!" The bedroom door swung open wide, startling Tiffany, who was engrossed in unpacking her belongings scattered across her luggage on the floor.

"Daddy! You're shocking me! What happened to knocking before entering?" Tiffany huffed, standing up.

"Sorry, I got excited when I heard you were coming home," Mr. Hwang smiled, walked to his daughter, and enveloped her in a warm em