"D-Daddy. You're home early," she stutters. She instinctively steps in front of Kris.

"A meeting I was supposed to have got cancelled so I left work earlier than expected. Now don't be rude sweetheart. Introduce me to your, uh, friend," he urges.

"He uh.. This is.." Her eyes frantically dart between her dad and Kris. What is she supposed to say? She can't tell her dad that Kris is Kris. He might find out that he's Wu's son.

"Hi, I'm Minhe's friend Alex," Kris says as he steps around Minhe. Her eyes widen as she grabs onto his sleeve. She makes eye contact with him and he seems to be saying 'trust me'. *Fine. Just this once.* She releases her hold on him and plasters a smile on her face.

"He's from school," she adds.

Her dad narrows his eyes at Kris as he takes a step closer to him. "Alex from school, huh? Are you a new transfer? I don't think I've heard of an Alex before."

"I recently moved here from Canada. That's probably why."

"Oh. I see. And are you seeing my daughter? I'm pretty sure 'friends' don't kiss each other like that," he questions further.

"Daddy, I-"

"Yes. I am seeing your daughter," Kris states boldly. She bites her lower lip as she stares at her dad, waiting for a reaction.

"Oh. Is that so. Sweety, what happened to L.Joe? He was such a wonderful man. You broke up with him?" he asks, disappointment evident in his voice.

Kris clenches his fist and takes a deep breath. "I-uh.. Yes daddy. We... our relationship wasn't working out," she mumbles. "I thought I told you already..."

Mr. Lee glances at Kris once last time before heading towards the door. He pulls his keys out and pushes the door open. Before stepping inside, he says, "If you hurt my daughter, I won't forgive you." Then he shuts the door behind him.

She suddenly feels her knees give in and she collapses to the ground, clutching onto Kris' shirt. "Minhe!" he cries alarmed. He immediately bends down and holds her in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Minhe closes her eyes and leans her head on his chest. "I.. Yea.. I-I'm ok. Just shocked, that's all. I didn't think you would see my dad.. at least not for a little longer."

Kris wraps his arms tightly around her and lifts her off the cold ground. "Well.. he took it a lot better than I thought he would. And he didn't recognize me. So we'll be okay," he reassures.

She s her arms around his waist and squeezes him tightly. *I hope so.*

After Mr. Lee finishes putting the groceries away he proceeds to his study room. He makes sure to lock the door behind him and turns on his bright table lamp. He plops onto his chair and leans back, letting out a deep sigh. "Alex, huh? Why do I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?" He pulls out his phone and quickly dials a number.

On the third ring, the caller picks up. "Yes boss."

"Jungmo, I need you to do a little background check for me."

"Who would it be, sir?"

"A kid named Alex. Something about him makes my heart feel unsettled."

"Yes sir. I will have the information for you as soon as possible."

"I knew I could trust you Jungmo," he says with a relieved smile.

"Thank you, sir. I shall be hanging up now. Goodbye."

He places his phone on the dark, wooden table and props his elbows up. "Alex... Who are you?"

eeeeep
i haven't updated in forever! so i decided i needed to put something. anything.
sorry if its not that great :((((((
hopefully next week since i have thanksgiving break i'll be able to put up something more exciting and of better quality! :D
thank you all for being so patient with me.
xoxo