[3rd Person's POV]

"Appa," Jirin, a young handsome twenty-five year old man, called out to the house he had called home during his childhood days, "I'm home!"

His father hummed in reply from somewhere inside the house. Pulling off his shoes, Jirin walked into the master bedroom and found his father lying in the exact same bed he used to share with his mother, so many, many years ago. Fifteen years had passed, but everything remained the same.

His mother's clothes remained in the cupboard with his father's ones, still washed weekly; his mother's make-up kit still lying on the same vanity table his mother used, still dusted daily to prevent collection of dust; and her bottle of perfume, placed next to his father at the bedside table.

His mother, Kwon Sandara, had already been gone for fifteen years.

Jiyong, now fifty years old, looked up from the laptop screen and removed his earphones. He had been listening to Dara's old video, his slightly wrinkled hand lying on a photograph of him and Dara. "I still miss her," he sighed sadly, glancing at the laptop screen.

"I know, Appa, I know..." Jirin groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. After his mother's death, his father had never been the same again. He was more quiet and subdued, his eyes seeming so faraway most of the time. "But I came to talk to you about something."

Wiping a stray tear away, Jiyong sighed again. "Where's Hana?"

At the mention of his wife, Jirin coughed, trying to cover up his guilt. "Well you see, that's what I came to ask you about. I mean, if Eomma was alive, I'd ask her instead, but she isn't, so..."

Wincing, he glanced up at his father, who had raised an eyebrow- a silent gesture for him to hurry up.

"I kind of, cheated on her," there. He had said it.

"With another woman." It was a question, but a statement at the same time. Jiyong looked at Jirin with disappointed eyes.

"No Appa, a man!" Jirin chirped in a high-pitched tone. "Yes, a woman. Do you think I'm gay or something?"

His father's glare informed him how funny the situation was at that moment.

Then his eyes softened and he looked away.

"Jirin, do you remember what I told you when you were thirteen?"

"Yea..."

"Appa! Where's Eomma?" A slightly smaller Jirin, tugged on his father's shirt.

"I'm sure you know that answer already, my boy. Stop re- asking 'em," his father replied, the same old answer he gave Jirin. And then... "But I suppose now that you're older, I can tell you what happened in the past just before your mother  died."

Jirin could remember his father looking down at him with weary eyes, a tear dropping to touch his hand. With surprise, he had wiped it off.

"I cheated on your mother, Jirin."

As if his heart faulted, Jirin thought he had heard wrongly. "But you love each other!" During school on that very day, he had learned about marriage and divorce, and also the worse- extra marital affairs. "You even carried Eomma everyday! For a month!"

"Yes, we love each other. Your Eomma, she loved me wholly throughout our marriage- thoughts of straying never entered her mind. But me, I... I made a mistake. It was the worst I had made in my whole entire life."

"At that time, work was hard, stressful. My secretary had resigned to go and get married in another country, never coming back, leaving me with a huge chunk of work to finish on my own. I was snappy, annoyed, and had to hold interviews for possible future secretaries. And then I saw her. Her. The other woman. She was pretty, though not as beautiful as your mother- a fact I realized after my foolishness. So I chose her to be my secretary, and one thing led to another." His father the wedding band he still wore- and would wear for the rest of his life, ashamed. "At that brief moment, it was fun."

"I thought I had fallen in love with the other woman, and the woman asked me to divorce your Eomma. I brought up the suggestion one night when I got home. She cried and begged, but the next morning she agreed. She told me to keep it a secret from you (because of your upcoming exams) and that only a month later would we make it official. She also asked me, to carry her from the bedroom to the front door every morning."

"She acted weirdly during that month, always hiding in the room, writing letter, fiddling with the laptop. I never guessed it was all for me. As the time passed, she got clumsier, seemed blind sometimes, and her weight dropped tremendously."

"As each day passed, I realized how wrong I was, I still loved your Eomma. Everything about her was beautiful. It might sound corny," his father added when Jirin made a face, "but when you become a man and fall in love, things will never be the same again."

"Finally, I realized how much I actually loved her. When I told you to go first that morning, I went back in. I told her that I loved her and, she told me she loved me too." Taking in a deep breath he raised his head and shook it. "I had no idea that what happened would follow. I skipped work, and bought her this huge bouquet of white lilies- her favourite, and went home to find her."

"It was," his father breathed, "the worst day of my life. "I saw her just lying on our bed, as if she was sleeping peacefully but...

She had already passed on."

"It turned out that she had an illness that alrerady too late to cure. I was too late. I got to tell her that I loved her, but didn't have the chance to take back the cruel words I said to her, didn't have the chance to make things right properly. I wanted to give her the world, but fell short. Sometimes, I really felt like dying, and then I'd find her, somewhere out there in the sky. But I have you to look after, and the memories we had shared pulled me thorugh. Perhaps one day, we will finally be together again, but for now, I'll be here, stuck with you, my boy."

"All you have to remember is, don't do anything you'd ever regret. Even if it's just for awhile, when you want more and it's too late, what you lost can never be regained again."

"I remember, alright?" Jirin's hands covered his face, "you cheated on Eomma and when you wanted to make things right, it was too late. I know!"

"Then?" Jiyong demanded sharply, "what the hell are you doing now?"

"I was drunk, and my colleague- she had been after me since we met in school, she seduced me! I was weak, I hated it. When I stumbled home the next morning, and I accidentally blurted out everything to Hana. She got angry, and screamed at me and we had this huge fight. I had this massive hangover and told her stuff I didn't mean."

"That's no excuse," his father chided him, "you must make things right immediately if you regret it!"

"I know, but it was all hazy and the last thing I remembered was her shouting and grabbing for Rin before leaving!" Jirin groaned, "I can't find them anywhere!"

"She took your daughter and left." Jiyong frowned. "What about Jiseung?"

"Our son was in school, so he doesn't know about it yet. I raced to school to bring him home before his mother could snatch him away as well, so he's at home now."

"Well, go and find your wife then!"

"But where?"

Jiyong sighed. "Use your brain, kid. She left in such a hurry, if you were her, with nothing on her hand except for a 3 year old daughter and a few wads of cash, where would you go?"

"Home..." Jirin realized, eyes widening slowly as he whispered the word. "Home! Home!"

His father smirked in reply, "Well there you go."

"Thanks Appa! You're the best! Seriously!" Jirin yelled. Already halfway out of the house, he tugged on the shoes haphazardly and sprinted for his car.

*** ***

Smiling wistfully, Jiyong turned to a picture of Dara grinning as she posed for the camera. A beautifully taken photo during their honeymoon.

"I hope he does it right, Dara..."

The still figure did nothing to reply, but Jiyong felt calmed, already plugging in his earphones as he clicked start on the video he was watching before Jirin interrupted him.

Closing his eyes, Jiyong sank into the soft duvet, listening to a recording of Dara singing yet another song.

Wait for me, Dara.

I love you...

The End

FINAL A/N (READTHISPEEPS):

MUAHAHAH YES THIS IS THE END.

It's been a great journey! When I typed this story, I never ever imagined such a response. And excuse the missing letters for some parts, typing on mobile is pretty hard. And I'm only 14 😂

Yep, it was really great whenever I had new subscribers and great comments from you guys.

It feels good to type 'The End'

xoxo.

PS, credits and new story in next chapter!