Father was waiting in the living room when we arrived home.  His face turned lethal when he saw Gon-ah sleeping in my arms.  She had fallen asleep on the way home.  She was too tired.

“We need to talk, Dara.”  Father spoke in a serious tone.

“Yes, Father.  We should talk.”

Father has moved to the study room when I came downstairs.  He was pacing back and forth with an unlit cigar in his hand.  A sign he was thinking about a serious matter.

“Father-“

“Dara-“ The chaos has began.

 “We’re going back to San Francisco.”  I have decided.  After what happened today, there’s no more reason to stay.

“Are you sure?”  Father was weighing my decision objectively.

“Yes, Father.  I think Gon-ah has enough of Korea.  And I’m worried about Bom handling the business alone.”

“How about Kwon Jiyong?”  Father asked without hesitation.  I don’t need to ask how he knew about Jiyong.  He’s a man with all resources.

“He’s out of the question.  I don’t want Gon-ah getting mixed up with his chaotic life.  She’s better off alone without his father.”

What happened earlier hurt me.  Jiyong claims my daughter his own, but he’s not ready to tell the public.  He’s not ready to give up his fame for his own daughter.  It was a mistake coming back to Korea.

“When are you going back?” Father asked.  He always supports my decision when it comes to his only granddaughter.

“Day after tomorrow.”

“I’ll prepare the tickets then.  I’ll just visit you when I have time.”

“Thanks, Father.”  I gave him a quick hug and a peck on his wrinkled cheek.

I met Jiyong before going back to San Francisco.  I let him and Gon-ah play in the amusement park.  Jiyong was heavily disguised as usual.  I knew he ditched his scheduled appointment to meet us.  His phone keeps ringing the whole time.  He ended up switching his phone off.

Gon-ah was playing with some kids in a bouncing castle when I finally had the chance to tell him my real intention.

“We’re leaving tomorrow.”  I told him.  His smile faded immediately.

“Why so soon?”

“Work.  My friend can’t manage the business alone.  She’s been bugging me to come back.”  That was a lie.  I avoided looking at him.

“Can’t you stay longer?” 

“I’m afraid not.” 

“How about Gon-ah?”

“What about her?  Of course, she’s coming with me.”

“Can’t she stay behind?”

“Are you kidding?  Who will take care of her?”

“I will.”

I laughed sarcastically.

“And how do you propose you do that?  You’ll hire a nanny?  I don’t let strangers take care of my daughter.”

“My parents will take care of her while I work.”

“They are technically strangers to my daughter.”

“They’re her grandparents.”  Jiyong’s voice tightened. 

“I still can’t leave my daughter behind.  She’s coming with me.”

“What if I insist my rights as his father?”

“Humor me, Mr. Kwon Jiyong.”

“Are you challenging me?’

“You can’t even show your face.  How can you insist your rights as a father?”

“I can do whatever I want.”

“Let’s stop arguing.  I’m still leaving with my daughter tomorrow.  You should be grateful I let you see her before leaving.”

“Do you think I don’t want the public to know about my daughter?”

“Only you can answer that.  We better go home.  I need to pack our luggage.”

I motioned Gon-ah to come. 

“Are we leaving already?”  she asked.

“Yes, baby.  Say goodbye to Poppa.”

“I’ll walk you to the car.”  Jiyong offered.  He scooped Gon-ah in his arms.

“Why are you always wearing big glasses?”  Without permission she removed his dark glasses exposing his face.  I smirked at him.  He smirked back at me.

“What color is your hair today, Poppa?  I like the cotton candy hair before.”  Again, she removed her father’s baseball cap.  She put it on her head backwards.

“Does it suit me, Poppa?  Do I look like Uncle Taeyang now?”

To my amazement, Jiyong didn’t retrieve his disguise.  He was smiling widely at Gon-ah.

“Aren’t you being reckless?  We’re in the middle of a theme park full of people.”

As I speak, people are already whispering around us.  I started panicking.

“Put back your glasses.  Give me my daughter.”

“Why are you panicking?   Come here.”

I reached out to take Gon-ah from his arms, but he pulled me closer to him.  He wrapped his free hand around my waist and without a word, he claimed my lips.

I tried to pull away from him, but he continued kissing me.  I heard gasps and shrieks around us.  Flashes of cameras blinded me.  I closed my eyes.  Jiyong took it as a sign I was enjoying the kiss.  He deepened the kiss.  I admit, he’s really a good kisser.  I got carried away.

I didn’t know how long the kiss lasted.  My lips were swollen when he stopped kissing me.  A mischievous and triumphant grin visible on his face.

“Are you crazy?”  I asked after getting back to  my senses.

“I just used my right as Gon-ah’s father.”  He faced the crowd afterwards.

“This is not an MV shoot everybody.  The little girl here is Gon-ah.  She’s my daughter.  And the woman I just kissed is Dara, the mother of my daughter.”  He announced publicly.  More flashes of camera.  And to Jiyong’s delight, the crowd applauded.  A sign they accepted his admittance.

“Are you ready to run now?”  He whispered.

“What?  Why?”  I was still scattered brain at the moment.

‘You don’t want to stay here, do you?  At the count of three, we’ll run together.”

“Okay.”

“Three.  Run!”