Daddy

A third of a quarter through its daily journey across the sky, like an overturned pot of paint, the sun spilled its warmth through tall, clear, glass windows into the nursery, bathing it in magical gold. It bounced off silky smooth, straight hair that pooled and curled like swirls of melted rich dark chocolate around a pair of shoulders and brushed against the smoothest of skin. It brought sparkles to clear bright eyes while shadows ran down the side of a nose and traced the contours of lips formed with a seemingly permanent smile.

Peaceful and calming, the room was as still as a small pond on a midsummer’s afternoon, save for a mother and a child seated in the middle, enveloped in the comfort of a cushy armchair. Little ripples of life spread through the stillness every time the child was lightly petted in accordance to a rhythm of a young beating heart.

Instinctively, GaEul smoothed back a tuft of jet-black hair when it fell over a closed pair of eyes. Letting her hand run down the side of the little face, she lightly the small eyebrow with her thumb. Then, unexpectedly, a jolt of pain shot through her and she winced.

“HanYoung ah, you’re hurting mommy,” she softly scolded her ling baby-daughter.

Not understanding her, the young child took no heed. GaEul sighed and frowned, before taking the tiny hand that was clutching onto a button of her open shirt into her own hand. Immediately, all five tiny fingers wrapped around GaEul’s thumb.

GaEul drummed her other four fingers lightly against the chubby forearm that reminded her of a fat, stuffed salami.

“Look at that strength,” the young mother murmured. “Just like Daddy’s.”

Silently, she took in all the features of her young daughter, easily recognising those eyes that looked like a certain someone’s, that oval face-shape that mirrored the love of her life’s.

“Daddy’s been gone for a long, long time now, hasn’t he,” GaEul asked wistfully as she looked towards a framed photo placed on a shelf beside the window of a man bearing a wide smile. She drank in his handsome features and a pang of longing hit her.

“I miss Daddy, don’t you darling?” she sighed and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “But Daddy’s far, far, away now.”

A wet drop fell onto the infant’s cheek and GaEul hurriedly wiped it away, surprised that she herself had unknowingly cried. Then the baby’s eyes opened and she stopped ling, as if realising that something wrong had happened. Those clear innocent eyes looked into wet adult ones, questioning.

GaEul laughed at her silliness, as she wiped her tears away.




“Well, Daddy’s back,” a whisper rang through the silence.




The young mother whipped around disbelieving, towards the source, instantly recognising that familiar voice.

Seeing him in the flesh again, happiness burst through from within her as her eyes gleamed and crinkles formed at their sides. She let out a huge beam and a gasp, then a laugh, as he dropped his bag and ran towards his wife and daughter, wrapping them in his huge, satisfying, long-overdue, embrace.

“YiJung!” GaEul laughed, joy radiating and lighting up her entire face.

“Daddy’s back,” YiJung pecked his daughter’s forehead, who stared back bewildered, and lightly rubbed the tip of her nose with his forefinger.

“I’m back, Mommy,” he smiled at his wife before kissing her, full and deep, on the lips and GaEul's heart shone bright and elated, even as the sun slipped beneath the hills.