(Tiffany’s POV)

“Relax babe… We’ll be fine… Although, should I have brought something else aside from fruits?” Taeyeonie said to me as she reached out and laid her hand on mine that was nervously tapping on the steering wheel.

“I should be the one to say that… Why are you so calm?” I asked her.

“I’m not… I’m freaking out on the inside… But I don’t get why YOU are so nervous. I mean, I’m the one who has something to prove…” she admitted.

“I just really want them to love you too…” I told her.

“Well it’s pretty much your father that I have to impress, right? Your siblings already know I exist… I’m surprised you managed to get your father to agree to meet me...” she said.

“It did take a bit of effort getting through to him but I told him, very seriously, that I had very important news to share. I do hope he shows up. I texted him to remind him but I never really know with him.”

“It’s okay, we can always do this again. We have all the time in the world. And if that doesn’t work out we’ll just have to track him down and force him to listen.”

I loved that she was able to joke about this. It was a big deal for anyone to be introducing their other half to their parents but I had never introduced anyone to my father before so I was a nervous wreck.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up…” I whined.

“Oh, stop being a drama queen… You better not bail before I do…” she warned me.

“No one is bailing… You should know how we do things by now. We whine about it to get all our nervous energy out and then we it up and go at it head on. That’s the Hwang-Kim method.”

“Oh, really…? Is that how we’re raising our kids?” Taeyeonie smirked.

“Damn straight… There’s no giving up… but ing and is acceptable with results.”

She laughed the way she always does that I adored so much. “Woman, get a grip… You’re swearing way more than usual…”

“Ugh… sorry… I’m a little crazy right now.”

“It comforts me to know that our children will have at least one crazy parent…”

I chuckled. She was being sillier than usual, probably to help calm my nerves, which I was extremely grateful for.

“You said OUR children…” I couldn’t help but grin.

“Yes… So I did… Why? Are you freaked out?”

“No. I’m over the moon… But seriously though, you realize they’re going to inherit all this, right?”

“It’s okay, babe… There’s my side of the family to even things out.”

“Show off…”

“I’m not… What’s mine is yours…”

“Hey, I have an idea… Why don’t we go visit your parents instead? If we turn around now, we can still make it to your parents’ for dinner. We haven’t told your parents yet either…”

“Awww come on… Just once, okay? Let’s just break the news to your father then we can visit my parents all you want… Besides who knows, your family might take the news better than mine…”

“I know for a fact that eomeoni loves me…”

“Yeah but she doesn’t know that we’re sharing a bed…”

“Ohmigod, Taeyeonie!” I slapped her on the arm. “Don’t tell them THAT!”

“Hah! See… No matter how open-minded my parents are, our relationship is still unconventional and even I don’t know how they’ll react to the news. Although I have been subtly planting some seeds. I’m hoping they’d have figured it out by now.”

“What’s that like some kind of psychological conditioning?” I joked.

“Just some simple subliminal stuff… but I need more time, so let’s deal with your family first, okay?” she replied as she made one of her silly faces. I couldn’t believe we were both in our mid twenties and there we are being such children.

“Well alright… since we’re already almost there. At least I’ll finally get to show you where I grew up and my old room. Don’t be too shocked, okay?”

“I image it to be like a pink unicorn threw up all over it… plus all those achievements you earned in school.”

I laughed so hard I almost choked. “Is that how you picture me at home when we were younger?”

“Well you never ever let me come over and all I had to go off of were your obsession with pink, fluffy stuff and you being an overachiever.”

“Hmmm… fair enough…”

“So it that what it’s like?”

“Uhm, you’ll just have to wait and see…” I was kind of glad that I still had some things that could surprise her. Having known each other for such a long time, even when we kept secrets from each other, they were still not enough to surprise each other. “Oh, we’re almost there.”

I felt her squeeze my hand a little in response to the news that we were entering the gates of hell. “Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay… You can do this Kim Taeyeon… It’s only the in-laws… Be cool… Be charming… Be polite… Don’t be yourself…” she chanted.

I laughed some more. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was using humor as her coping machenism or if I found everything she said funny because I was nervous but by the way we were clutching each other’s hand, I was glad we decided to do this together.

---

(Taeyeon’s POV)

“Ohmigod! THIS IS YOUR HOUSE?!” I exclaimed way too loudly. I wasn’t even sure how I had not realized how rich exactly Fany was. The house was like a palace.

“Please don’t make it a big deal… It’s so embarrassing…” Fany replied.

“Sorry… It’s just… I didn’t realize how well to do you were… You’ve just always been so… down-to-earth,” I told her.

“Well, my family is wealthy not me. I’m sorry to tell you… You’re dating someone dirt poor. Tell me now if that’s not something you want…”

We pulled up to the driveway and parked across the entrance to the house.

“Please… that only makes me love you more… Who needs money when I got you, babe…”

“Ohmigod! You did not just say that!”

We’ve both been in a bit of a weird mood the entire drive over but I was kind of enjoying it. We had both been busy with work and completely stressed out about coming out about our relationship to not only Fany’s family but mine too. The Jungs weren’t the only ones who were afraid of telling their parents.

“It’s true though… I really don’t care about anything else. You think I loved you secretly all these years because I wanted your money…? If that was the case, I would have gone for someone else…”

“Okay, I know that it wasn’t exactly the dream start to our realationship but I’ll be damned if I lost you to someone else now.”

“What are you talking about…? It’s a story so befitting us… We don’t do things conventionally… That’s not us…”

“But won’t you rather have things easier? Like normal people? Instead of crazy, like us?

“Shut up, you dork. You want me to change my mind?”

“No! Sorry. I’ll shut up now…”

“Alright then… let’s go…” I sighed.

We walked up to the front door, me carrying the basket of fruits in tow.

“So it’s just your two siblings and your father living here?” I asked, still in disbelief at how big her house was.

“It seems silly that three people need sucha big house, right? There are also the housekeepers, but even so, it always felt so lonely in this house. You can go in and out of this house and no one would even notice really…”

It broke my heart a little every time she said something like that. I found myself seeing a little Fany, saddened and alone in these situations and all I wanted to do was to hold her. I took her hand with my free one as she rang the door bell, but when the door started to open, we both let go; it wasn’t polite to be showing public displays of affection in front of the in-laws before we announced our relationship.

“Welcome home, young miss. I see you brought a guest,” greeted an unknown figure whom I can only assume was one of the housekeepers that Fany was talking about.

“Yes, this is my… better half… Kim Taeyeon. Taeyeon this is the woman who practically raised me, Mrs. Lee,” Fany introduced us.

I nudged Fany. “Ohmigod, are you just going to introduce me outright like that?”

“Don’t worry. Mrs. Lee knows all my secrets,” Fany grinned and gave the lady a quick hug.

“I finally get to meet the famous miss Kim Taeyeon,” Mrs. Lee smiled at me warmly followed by giving me a hug.

I was a little stunned so I couldn’t really respond.

“Sorry… Mrs. Lee is my trusted ally…” Fany told me, sensing that I was tensing up a little.

“Well, come in kids… Don’t just stand there…” Mrs. Lee dragged us both in. “Michelle and Leo are in the living room. Your father isn’t home yet.”

“Not surprising… Do you know if he will actually be home for dinner?” Fany asked.

“Don’t worry sweetie. I reminded him this morning and I warned him that he’d better come home for dinner,” Mrs. Lee told Fany.

“Mrs. Lee is probably the only one who is completely unafraid to speak her mind to my father,” Fany explained to me.

“Well it’s nice to know we have one person on our side…” I said.

“Go ahead. I’ll call you when dinner is ready,” Mrs. Lee told us.

“Let’s wait until dad comes home, okay?” Fany told Mrs. Lee.

“Okay… but if he’s not back by 8, I’m sorry, I’ll have to go ahead and set the table.”

“Fine…” Fany sighed.

“It’s okay… He’ll be here…” I said to Fany but it was obviously meaningless since there was no guarantee.

“Come on… Let’s go say hi to unni and oppa, and then we can go hang out in my room.”

I looked around the house as we made our way to the living room. I knew my mouth was gaped open but I couldn’t help myself. I would probably get lost if I had to find my way around the place. Everything was so… proper that I was afraid of touching anything.

“Unni! Oppa!” Fany squealed as we walked into the living room. She gave them each a hug and even though her sister greeted her with affection, her brother gave her a quick hug and that was about it.

“It’s been a long time, Taeyeon,” Michelle unni greeted me. I really didn’t expect her to even remember my name.

“Oh, unni… H-How are you?” I bowed to her and the turned to Leo oppa to do the same.

“Good, good… It’s been years since I’ve seen you. You still look the same. It’s not a bad thing, I’m totally envious. So how’s the job treating you?”

In a way, I was a little confused. Michelle unni seemed really nice and she seemed to know things about me even though I hadn’t seen her in years.

“Uhm… it’s good. It turns out I really enjoy it… But how did you even…?” I answered.

“Please… my baby sister can’t shut up about you… It’s always Taeyeon this, Taeyeon that…” Michelle unni laughed. “But I’d expect nothing less when she’s talking about her girlfriend.”

Tiffany and I both gasped.

“Unni! How’d you know?! I never said anything!” Fany almost shouted.

“You didn’t have to… I’m your sister, you think I wouldn’t notice?” Michelle unni said.

“Oppa… did you know too?” Fany asked.

He just shrugged but he didn’t seem very surprised.

“Does dad know?!”

“Why are you freaking out, Tiff? It’s not a big deal…” Michelle unni told Fany. “It’s not like it was that big of a secret… You never brought any boys home and you only ever talk about Taeyeon and sometimes your friend Jessica…”

I gave Fany an incredulous look. “You talk about me that much? And sometimes Sica?”

“Ohmigod, I’m dying right now… And if I’m not, just… just kill me now…” Fany grumbled.

“Uhm… well unni, we were going to disclose our relationship during dinner but it seems like there’s no real need, at least not for you and Leo oppa. But for the record, we only started dating a few months ago…” I told Michelle unni.

“Wow, really? That’s a bit of a shock… I mean the way Tiffany always talked about you, I just assumed you two had been together since middle school…”

I looked over at Fany and her face was completely flushed red.

“I don’t talk about her THAT much…” she tried averting her eyes.

“Oh, really? You know when you were in Paris, she was completely miserable,” Michelle unni nudged Fany.

“This is… utterly mind-blowing… You know, unni, Fany doesn’t tell me anything about what goes on when she’s home…” I said.

“Yeah, baby sis… Why did it take you this long to bring Taeyeon home?” Michelle unni teased.

“Uhm… okay, I think that’s enough talking for now… I’m going to show Taeyeon my room now...” Fany started pulling me away.

“Alright… but you kids behave now!” Michelle unni yelled to us. “By the way, I doubt dad knows… so… good luck!”

“Arghhh! You see… you see what I mean when I say my family is a bunch of crazies?! I knew there was a catch…” Fany grumbled some more as we made our way up to her room.

I couldn’t help but laugh at how flustered Fany was. It was a little messed up how Michelle unni ended the conversation but ultimately, I was still on a high at all the things that Michelle unni had revealed. Fany dragged me into her room and locked the door behind us. And the suprises just kept coming. Aside from her bedsheets, nothing in her room was pink. There were however quite a number of totoro plushies that were absolutely adorable. I made my way around her room and then I noticed…

“You have… a lot of photos of us…” I said out loud, completely flabbergasted. “And aren’t these…?”

“Yes… they’re all momentos of our memories together…” Fany admitted shyly.

“Fany-ah!” It was all I could say as I slid my arms under hers and pulled our bodies together into an embrace. “You sentimental fool… Have you kept all these from our times together?”

“I… I guess I have… I didn’t even think about it… I just thought it was important for me to keep them.”

“Ohmigod, you still have this?! This is so embarrassing…” I pointed to the friendship bracelet I made her not long after we met and official proclaimed that we were best friends.

“Of course! It was technically the first gift you ever gave me… and it was when you told me I was your best friend,” Fany’s cheeks turned rosie again.

I thought that that was the sweetest thing ever and that was coming from Fany who was basically always sweet all the time.

“Not to sound conceited or anything but… Fany… it really took you this long for you to realize that you loved me?” I chuckled.

“Shut up! Sometimes you just can’t see something that right under your nose, okay?! But… I guess… I have… all this time…”

“Oh, Fany…!” I pecked her on the right cheek. Then the left. Then lightly on the lips. She was just the most adorable thing ever at that moment.

And when she grabbed the nape of my neck and pressed her lips against mine, I melted right back into hers.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?” I asked on top of the kiss.

“No… plus I locked the door…” she replied without breaking contact.

“My oh my…”

“Shhh…!” She moved her hands down my back and pulled me even closer. Our lips moved against each other’s furiously. It must have been something about being in her old room in her family’s house.

We blindly made our way to her old bed and crashed onto it. We didn’t even care. There was a bit of tussle between her and me, but she won out in the end, pinning my arms down with hers as she sat around my torso.

“Fany… what’s gotten into you?” I asked although I didn’t really want her to stop although I knew we really should.

“We should stop, shouldn’t we?” she asked but she and I both knew it was rhetorical and was meant to taunt me.

I bit my lip as I couldn’t answer her even if I wanted to.

She smirked at me smugly.

“Just shut up and kiss me…” I told her.

And immediately, our lips made contact again. She had freed my arms and my fingers were now tangled in her hair while she held my face in her warm hands. But just as we were losing ourselves, a knock on the door came just on cue.

“Ughhh…!!! Yes…?!” Fany groaned.

I let out a little laugh at how frustrated she sounded.

“Your father’s home, young miss. Dinner will be served in 15 minutes…” Mrs. Lee called out.

“Okay…! We’ll be right down…!” Fany called back. “15 minutes is a lot of time…” she turned and said to me.

“Yah! This is not the time… nor the place…” I scolded her as I pushed her off of me.

“Pssshhh… You were just as into it as I was…” Fany objected.

“You entrapped me with your irresistibleness…” I protested.

“Uhm… if I remembered right, you kissed me first…”

“Because you’re just too adorable with your sentimentality which I never realized before. But really… really… the fact that you kept all these, it’s the sweetest thing ever. Someone’s going to get rewarded tonight…” I grinned.

“You little animal…” she teased as she tried to lean in again.

“Later! We have to go make a good impression now…” I told her.

“Fine…” she pouted then rolled off of me and laid beside me instead. “You know… I half expected him not to show up…”

“Maybe he isn’t as bad as you make him out to be…”

“You’ll see…”

“So, shall we head down?”

“Might as well since nothing’s going to happen here…” she joked.

I punched her lightly on the arm. “Aish! Byuntae…”

“It’s not byun if it’s only for one person…” she said in a sing-song manner.

“Wow, that’s probably the most interesting way of putting it…”

“Does it not make sense? I thought it did…”

I chuckled. “Uhm, I guess in a weird way it does…”

“Hah! I win…” she said somewhat triumphantly. “I guess we should go down now…”

“What?! But I just said that… Yes, dear…” I sighed.

“I love it when you say that…” she beamed.

“I know…”

We finally made our way down to the dining room. When we entered, there was already an imposing figure sitting at the table. There was no doubt who it was. We walked over to him and greeted him with a bow.

“Dad, this is Taeyeon,” Fany introduced me.

“A-Anyeong haseyo, ahjeossi,” I bowed again and presented the basket of fruits that I had brought along.

“Hmmm… Mrs. Lee,” he called out.

I stood there stunned for a moment why he called for Mrs. Lee when I was greeting him.

“Would you please take the fruits and put them away,” he instructed her when she came to the dining room.

I handed her the basket. I was unsure of what he thought of me as of that moment.

“Have a seat,” he instructed us.

We both took our seats at the table and were quickly joined by Michelle unni and Leo oppa. They were also greeted in the same manner by Fany’s father as we were, and in a small way, I actually felt slightly relieved.

“Did you say you had something important to tell me?” Fany’s father asked in the middle of the most awkward and quiet dinner I had ever sat through.

I guess Fany wasn’t expecting him to bring it up because she started choking on her food and coughing viciously. This in turn caused her sibling to snigger from across the table. I guess they were a little sadistic despite Michelle unni’s friendly manner.

This family is indeed really weird.

“Uhm… right… well… As you know, I’ve never brought anyone home before… But I really wanted to bring Taeyeon here to meet the family. You must know by now that Taeyeon and I have been friends since middle school and… well… she’s the most important person in my life right now… just as important as you all are to me,” Fany told them.

There was no reaction for a long while from Fany’s father. He didn’t even blink nor did he stop eating.

“What are you saying, Tiffany? Please make yourself clear. Stop beating around the bush,” he said sternly.

“I brought Taeyeon home because I wanted you to meet my girlfriend…” Fany said with a clarity in her voice that I had never heard before.

I didn’t know what to do or say. The air in the room suddenly became dense and heavy. Even Fany’s siblings became serious. I suddenly felt Fany’s hand reach for mine. I replied by squeezing her hand gently to let her know I was there with her, hoping that in some small way it was able to comfort her a little.

After what seemed like forever, Fany’s father slammed his chopsticks down onto the table, shocking everyone present.

“I’m done. You don’t have to let me know when you leave,” he said and then got up and left.

I quickly got up from my seat and bowed to him just as he was walking by but I was completely ignored. After he left, I sat back down and turned to Fany.

“Are you, okay?” I asked. She was completely frozen, she didn’t even look back at me.

“Tiff… Are you alright?” Leo oppa finally spoke up. I guess even he felt the gravity of the moment.

“This isn’t right,” Fany murmured.

“Fany-ah…”

“He can’t just leave without saying anything…!” Fany got up from her seat abruptly.

“Fany-ah… Don’t… We’ll come back another time…” I told her.

“No! Can’t he even have the decency to tell me what he really thinks?! Anything… anything is better than just shutting me out…” Fany said just before she stormed out of the dining room.

“Fany! Fany, wait!” I called and ran after her.

When I finally caught up to her, she was fuming and was standing in front of a closed door… just standing there with her fists clenched tightly.

“Fany-ah…”

“Just once… I wanted him to give me a simple acknowledgement that I existed…” she said to me. “But he can’t even do that… not even when I brought home the first person in like forever…and it’s you, Taeyeonie, YOU!”

I grabbed her fist with one hand and used my other to gently her arm, hoping that she would relax and calm down.

“Fany, please… Let’s just give him a moment to digest the news. Like you said, it’s the first time you brought someone home and it must be a shock for him when you introduced me as your girlfriend… Let’s just come back another day, hmmm, okay?”

“No, Taeyeonie! If he can’t accept it, he should have said so. Or if he needed some time for the news to sink in, he could have said so too. But no. He just walked out. Even if he’s an elder, it was extremely rude to do so in front of a guest. I’m utterly humiliated, Taeyeonie…”

I had never seen Fany so mad before. I wasn’t even sure how I could calm her down.

“It’s okay, Fany… It’s okay… It matters not to me… and I understand. He’ll slowly warm up to the idea of me… So let’s just leave it be for tonight. Please, Fany, for me?”

She took a few deep breaths. Slowly, I felt her fists unclench which made me feel a little relieved.

“Let’s just go home…” I told her.

But just as we were about to leave, the door that we were standing in front of suddenly opened and out came Fany’s father.

“Oh, ahjeossi…!” I bowed as if it were a kneejerk reaction.

“You’re still here?” he said to Fany, completely ignoring me.

“We were just leaving…” Fany said, her body tensing up again.

“Then why are you standing out here? I told you you didn’t have to tell me when you were leaving.”

“Do you have to be like this in front of Taeyeon?!”

“To be honest, I don’t approve of this relationship.”

“What?!”

“You heard me. Now I think you two better leave.”

“But dad…!”

“I’ve said all I needed to say…”

“Why?! Is it because I’m gay?!” Fany exclaimed without a care.

“Fany-ah!” I couldn’t believe what she just said.

“Tiffany Hwang Miyoung! This is NOT the place nor the time to talk about this,” Fany’s father scolded her in a harsh tone.

“Why not?! We’re at home! And if not now then when?! When are you going to talk to me about this?! I’m sorry if you’re disappointed and angry with me, dad, but this is who I am. And apparently it’s been quite obvious, so if you had paid even a little attention to me all this time, you would have noticed too.”

“Don’t talk to me that way! I’m your father!”

At this point I felt extremely uncomfortable and afraid to say anything.

“Then act like one! You’re not my father, you’re just a stranger!” Fany shouted but then they both went silent. I could tell from her expression that Fany had regretted, instantly, what she had said.

“Tiffany, can I talk to you in private? It seems like we’re putting your friend in an uncomfortable situation,” Fany’s father finally said.

Fany thought about it for a second and then nodded.

“Just wait for me here, okay? I won’t be long…” Fany said to me before entering the room with her father and the door closed, shutting me out.

---

(Tiffany’s POV)

I was actually glad that we could talk in private because then I could speak my mind without having to make Taeyeonie feel awkward.

“First thing’s first, Taeyeon is NOT my friend, she’s my girlfriend. We’re in a relationship and it’s pretty serious, that’s why I brought her home,” I said to dad the moment the door was closed.

“Don’t start that again, Tiffany… You’re too young to be in a relationship,” he replied. Surprisingly, his tone was calm when I was expecting him to raise his voice.

“I’m 25! How am I too young?! You just can’t accept that I’m in a relationship with a girl!” I protested.

“Tiffany, please! That has nothing to do with it at all!”

“Then why?! Why do you object to this relationship? She’s been nothing but polite and nice, hasn’t she? Can you not see how important she is to me? Can you not see how happy she makes me?”

“I know nothing about this girl! You brought someone home for the first time and you just spring the news that you’re in a relationship with the person without any prior warning?! And you expect me to just accept it without any hesitation?!”

“Whose fault is that?! If you had even the slightest concern about me, you would have paid just a little attention to me. But no. You’ve ignored me ever since mom passed and I don’t even know why. Why?! Why?! Why do you hate me so much?! What did I do?!” I broke down and tears started trickling down my face.

No! Don’t cry! Don’t cry! You’ve managed to hold it in all these years and you haven’t cried a single tear in front of him until now. Not now! Stop it, Hwang Miyoung! Stop it right now!

I was busy telling myself not to cry that I didn’t realize that dad’s expression had changed to something unfamiliar.

Is he… conscience-stricken?

“Miyoung-ah…” he called. It had been years since he called me by my Korean name. So long ago that it sounded so foreign coming from him. It was what he used to call me when I was little. “Is that what you think of me? Do you think I hate you?”

“Don’t you? You act like I don’t exist except when it has something to do with the company.”

“If I made you think that, then I… I’m sorry… Miyoung-ah. You’re my daughter, I could never hate you. I’m sorry if I’ve been a terrible father. It’s just that after your mother passed, I didn’t know what to do with myself, let alone you kids. Ever since, I’ve been in a terrible state. But that’s no excuse. I’m your father. I’m responsible for your wellbeing and I should have tried harder. You’re the youngest… it must have been the hardest for you. All I could think of was to keep you close. That’s why I kept asking you to come back to the company. But it only drove you further. I’m really sorry, Miyoung-ah. This talk has been long overdue. Can you ever forgive your unworthy father?”

It was the most unexpected speech he could have ever made. I never expected to hear those words from him, not in this lifetime. But he did, he really said them. And it turned out that I had also misunderstood him.

“Of course, dad. I never blamed you. I just wanted you to see me… To notice me… To give me some sign that you care…” I told him.

“Of course I care, Miyoung. Of course, I do. I just don’t know how to show it…”

“I don’t need anything big… Even just a ‘how are you doing?’ once in a while would do.”

“I promise I’ll try harder.”

“Does that mean you’ll accept my relationship with Taeyeon?”

“I still know nothing about her… Can you give me some time?”

“Uhm… sure, dad. But are you disappointed that I’m… dating a girl?” I asked hesitantly.

“Of course not! I can’t say that I’m going to have to get used to it, but I’m definitely not disappointed. You’re my daughter. I’m always proud of you.”

“You have no idea what it means to me to hear that from you, dad.”

And then he walked up to me and to my biggest surprise, he hugged me. I couldn’t even remember when the last time was that he hugged me.

“It’s getting late and Taeyeon is waiting for you. You should go now, but come home soon…” he told me.

I nodded and headed back out.

---

(Taeyeon’s POV)

I was getting a little worried. It had been a while and I couldn’t hear anything from my side of the door. I could only hope that since I didn’t hear any shouting that it wasn’t going terribly. Then, finally, the door opened and Fany stepped out. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy but her expression was bright.

“So…?”

She beamed. “I’ll tell you about it on our way home.”

“Oh…! Okay… I guess it went well then…”

She nodded cheerily. “Shall we go?”

“Wait, I want to say goodbye to your father before we leave.”

She nodded again. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

“No, it’s fine.”

I knocked on the door and waited for an acknowledgement before entering.

“Ahjeossi, I just wanted to say thanks for having me over for dinner and it was nice to meet you,” I bowed yet again. I didn’t expect a response so I just turned and headed back out.

“Taeyeon-shi,” he called out, stopping me in my tracks. “I’m sorry our first meeting went so badly. I should have gotten to know you instead of dismissing you so easily. My daughter seem to be really fond of you so I should at least give you a chance. I have to be honest and tell you that I still have my reservations about this relationship but only because I don’t know you. So… come back some time and we can talk more then.”

I was pleasantly surprised by his sudden change of heart… sort of…

“I understand. I will definitely be back, sir. Thank you.” I was about to open the door but then I decided to tell him something else. “Ahjeossi… If you need to know only one thing about me, this is it, the most important thing about me… I love your daughter, more than anything. You don’t have to worry about her. I will take good care of her, and I will make sure we come visit you more often from now on.”

“I will hold you to that,” he replied. And by the tone of his voice, I knew that I had changed his mind, just a little, about me.