It was a sunny Friday afternoon and Daerim was standing just inside the front gate of school with her friends. The end of the school year was approaching and they were discussing their worries about getting into the high schools they had applied to and their hopes to still keep in touch when they no longer were in the same classes.

 

As one of Daerim’s friends went on about how her parents were forcing her to attend a school that she didn’t like, Daerim couldn’t help but let her mind wander.

 

Glancing discreetly at her watch and then over her shoulder, she kept finding herself watching the corner of the street right beyond the front gate.

 

Hearing the rest of her friends laugh about something, Daerim turned her head and gave a soft laugh to prove she was paying attention. Her best friend Nara caught her eyes as they refocused on the group and she smiled.

 

“Waiting for someone?” she asked.

 

Daerim blushed.

 

“He’s not usually so late,” she said softly, playing with the ends of her hair nervously.

 

“Unnie! Here I am worried about never seeing you again, and you're worried about your boyfriend—“ said one girl with short hair.

 

“He’s not—started Daerim.

 

“Has he kissed you yet?” asked one girl with cute purple glasses.

 

“Has he taken you out? You aren’t a real couple if he’s only walking you home every day,” said another with pin straight black hair.

 

“Well, has he even said that you were officially a couple?” asked the short haired girl.

 

“You have to make sure that things are serious between you two—“ started the purple glasses girl.

 

“—or else some high school girl might swoop in and—“ interrupted the black haired girl.

 

“Aigoo! Will the three of you stop it! You're scaring her!” said Nara pushing through them to reach Daerim.

 

She linked her arm with Daerim’s and led her away from the group and towards the corner to wait.

 

“Look, don’t let them get into your head,” said Nara once they were standing alone. “You and Haejin are different, you don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules. Just make up your own.”

 

Daerim smiled. She was glad that she had a best friend like Nara, who understood her relationship with Haejin. Like her and Haejin, she and Nara had been friends since they were babies. With their fathers making up the pair ChangKyu, it was a little difficult for them not to be.

 

“I’m just really nervous now. Things are starting to become different between him and I. I don’t know how to act like a girlfriend around him, and it stresses me out even more because he hasn’t even asked me to be his girlfriend yet—what if he doesn’t even want that? Do you think I’m over thinking it?” confessed Daerim.

 

“In a word, yeah,” laughed Nara. “Unnie, he likes you because you're you. If you change even the smallest thing then neither of you will be happy. You have to just relax and keep things as normal as possible. Only now you have a good reason to be spending so much time together. Just don’t forget about me once he puts that couple’s ring on your finger, okay?”

 

Daerim laughed as Nara pushed her shoulder teasingly.

 

“Speak of the devil,” said Nara nodding in the direction behind Daerim.

 

Daerim quickly turned and saw Haejin jogging down the street towards her.

 

He had shed his school jacket and loosened his tie. The sleeves of his button down were rolled up to his elbows and he had somehow gotten away with wearing the slim black boots that Daerim loved to see him in.

 

As he bounded over to them, coming more and more into view, Daerim couldn’t help but smile. His cheeks were flushed a light pink and his hair bounced with each step he took, making him look almost as young as the boys in her grade. But when he was finally there standing in front of her, she was quickly reminded that he was no middle school boy. Haejin was a high school student and compared to the other students now milling around them, he definitely looked the part.

 

“Sorry I’m late,” he said apologetically as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

 

“It’s okay, Nara was keeping me company—“ started Daerim looking over her shoulder only to see that Nara had disappeared.

 

Glancing back at their group of friends she saw that Nara had rejoined them. She smiled when she saw her wave.

 

“Are you ready?” he asked once she had focused back on him.

 

Daerim nodded and then they began walking in the opposite direction from which he came, towards her home.

 

“So, how were your classes today?” he asked casually.

 

“Classes?” asked Daerim. She hadn’t been focusing on Haejin’s words. No, instead she could only hear the pounding of her heart in her chest.

 

“Yeah,” chuckled Haejin. “Those rooms you just spent all morning and afternoon in.”

 

Daerim smiled at his light hearted teasing. “They were okay. Nothing special happened. How about you Oppa?”

 

“Really great. I had my composition class today and my teacher really liked the song that I’ve been working on,” said Haejin with a shy smile.

 

“That’s so great! What did he say?”

 

“Well, remember how I told you that we work in opposite ways and how it caused a lot of tension between us? He likes to write the lyrics first and then the music. But I prefer the other way.”

 

Daerim nodded in remembrance.

 

 “Well usually it’s an ongoing battle with him trying to persuade me to break my habit, but he finally let me work in my own style and he said that it’s really paid off. He thought it was the best in the class.”

 

Daerim smiled. “See, I told you, I knew he would approve it you kept true to yourself.”

 

Haejin nodded as they came to a cross walk. As they stood waiting, Haejin glanced over at Daerim, holding her eyes for a few seconds longer than normal, making her look away. He smiled at her shyness.

 

Without saying anything, he slowly reached his hand over and took her hand in his. Daerim felt that familiar rush of happiness course through her body as Haejin made their fingers interlock, their warm and soft palms meeting together in the center.

 

“Did you ask your appas about tomorrow night?” he asked softly.

 

Daerim nodded.

 

“Okay…and what did they say?” he asked after he got no other response.

 

Daerim sighed.

 

“Are you kidding? They both said no? I expected your Siwon appa to be a little difficult to convince, but not your Kyu appa too,” he asked growing dejected.

 

“No, no, my Kyu appa was really supportive!” clarified Daerim. “He doesn’t care, it’s just…my Wonnie appa wasn’t too happy about it.”

 

Haejin exhaled through his nose. Seeing the light turn green, he pulled Daerim over to stand off to the side and out of everyone’s way.

 

 “Well, what exactly did he say? No?” he asked sullenly.

 

Daerim her lips.

 

“Well…” she started.

 

Last night…

 

It was after dinner and Daerim was in the kitchen helping Kyuhyun clean up.

 

“Should I ask him now?” asked Daerim softly as she handed a bowl to Kyuhyun to be washed.

 

Kyuhyun looked over at Siwon reading over his script on the sofa.

 

“There’s no time like the present. When did Haejin want to take you out?” asked Kyuhyun taking another dish from her.

 

“Saturday night,” she winced.

 

“Well waiting until then wouldn’t be the best idea,” smirked Kyuhyun.

 

“I know…I just don’t know how to tell him.”

 

“Straightforward is best I think,” shrugged Kyuhyun.

 

“I can’t just walk in there and say ‘Wonnie appa, Haejin oppa asked me out on a date for Saturday, can I go?’” Daerim said in a hushed tone.

 

“…why not?” asked Kyuhyun shaking his head.

 

“Appa! You know what he’s like,” whined Daerim softly.

 

Kyuhyun smiled, “I know, I know. But you have to relax aegi-yah. I already said you can go. You just have to give your Wonnie appa the courtesy of also giving you permission.”

 

“Maybe I’ll bring him his favorite drink,” she suggested with a bright smile.

 

“Ah, so bribery is the tactic you’ve decided on,” chuckled Kyuhyun.

 

“No not bribery, just…if he’s happy that will up my chances of him saying yes right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“And he loves Americanos, right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“So that should make him say yes, right?”

 

“No,” laughed Kyuhyun.

 

“Appa,” pouted Daerim handing him the last dish. “It always works when you bribe him.”

 

“Sweetheart, I love your appa, and he’s a kind man, but he’s not that easy. I mean yes, many times I have been able to bribe him, but I’m afraid that only works because I’m his husband. I’ve had years of practice.”

 

“Well, I have aegyo on my side,” smiled Daerim.

 

“You? Aegyo?” laughed Kyuhyun.

 

“I can do it…if I wanted to,” said Daerim batting her eyelashes.

 

“Oh, I can’t wait to see this,” said Kyuhyun shaking his head, a smile still on his face.

 

Daerim pouted as she went over to start preparing Siwon’s Americano.

 

Once it was ready, she brought the cup over to the sofa where Siwon was still immersed in his script reading. His reading glasses were resting low on the bridge of his nose and his lips were moving as he murmured the words, his eyes scanning the page hungrily.

 

Daerim could see that he was concentrating heavily, so she figured this was the perfect chance to catch him off guard.

 

“Appa,” she said in a sweet voice.

 

“Y-yes baby?” he asked glancing up at her quickly before returning back to the page.

 

“I made you this,” she said holding out the cup of Americano with both hands.

 

Siwon glanced up again and smiled when he realized what she was holding.

 

“I thought I heard someone using the machine. I didn’t realized it would be for me. Thank you,” he said taking a sip before placing it down on the table.

 

Daerim was standing there in front of him, shifting awkwardly, so he looked at her again.

 

“Did you need something sweetheart? I still have a few pages to get through,” he said.

 

Daerim glanced over at Kyuhyun who only smiled knowingly.

 

“Mmm, so appa, what is this script about?” she asked sitting down on the sofa close beside him.

 

“Well it’s…you really want to know?” he asked slightly taken aback by her sudden interest.

 

Daerim nodded as she nestled close to Siwon’s torso, laying her head on his shoulder.

 

Siwon instinctively wrapped his arm around Daerim’s shoulder as she looked up at him with her big eyes.

 

“Okay, so are you going to tell me what all this is about?” he asked with a warm smile.

 

“What do you mean Appa?” she asked with a small smile.

 

“You know I’m never one to turn down a hug or kiss from you, in fact, I’m usually the one initiating them. So you’ll have to forgive me for being a little shocked right now sweetheart. You haven’t been this into skinship for the last five years.”

 

They heard Kyuhyun laugh in the kitchen but it was quickly covered by the sound of him moving the dishes back on to the shelves.

 

“Nothing’s up Appa,” said Daerim shaking her head.

 

Siwon looked at her for a moment trying to see if there was any clue on her face.

 

“Your Americano is getting cold,” she said pointing towards the cup.

 

Siwon reached for it but continued to look at her.

 

“This doesn’t have anything to do with that Haejin kid, does it?”

 

“No,” said Daerim curtly as she moved her head to rest against his chest again.

 

Siwon raised his eyes brows in suspicion as he took a sip from the cup again.

 

“But…now that you mention him,” said Daerim softly. “What do you think about him?”

 

“Ah-ha, and there it is,” said Siwon with a chuckle. “and here I almost thought you genuinely did just want to cuddle with your appa—

 

“Of course I do Appa!” said Daerim hugging Siwon.  “But I also just want to know your opinion of him.”

 

“Why?” asked Siwon shaking his head.

 

“Because he’s my friend…it’s important to me what you think,” she said softly.

 

Siwon sighed. “He’s…an okay kid I guess. I just don’t understand why he always wants to spend so much time with you. I mean, yes, you're an amazing girl. I would be the first to sing it from the rooftops. But doesn’t he want to spend time with guy friends?”

 

“He does,” protested Daerim.

 

“When?! You see him almost every day!”

 

“When he’s at school,” she said.

 

Siwon chuckled. “When you are physically forced to be apart? Okay sure, but what about when you have a choice?”

 

“I spend a lot of time with Nara too Appa. When I do, that’s when he sees his friends.”

 

“Fair enough,” said Siwon taking another sip from his cup.

 

Daerim was quiet for a few minutes as she tried to collect her thoughts.

 

“What is this thing about you and him holding hands though? I know you didn’t want to admit it earlier because you were embarrassed. But listen, I don’t want you to even be afraid to talk to me about anything aegi-yah. I want you to feel as comfortable talking to me as you do with your Kyu appa. So I promise I wont get mad.”

 

“Really?” asked Daerim pulling away to look at him.

 

“Of course,” said Siwon genuinely.

 

Daerim smiled as she looked over at Kyuhyun who nodded, encouraging her to continue.

 

“Well, when I was in the courtyard with Haejin oppa yesterday, he told me that he liked me…more than as just a dongsaeng,” said Daerim slowly, testing the waters.

 

Siwon remained perfect still.

 

“And…he said that he wanted to take me out…just me and him…on a, you know…a date,” she said, her voice getting smaller.

 

Siwon his lips as he took in a deep breath and then let it slowly exhale.

 

“So I wanted to ask for your permission…is it alright if I go?”

 

Daerim felt like she was frozen, with the exception of her heart; which felt like it was beating a mile a minute as she waited for him to say something, anything.

 

“No.”

 

“What?!” Daerim choked out. She stood up as she stared in wide-eyed disbelief at Siwon’s non readable face. “Kyu appa!”

 

“Wonnie,” scoffed Kyuhyun.

 

“What?” asked Siwon looking over his shoulder.

 

“Are you being serious?” asked Kyuhyun walking from the kitchen to the living room.

 

“Yes,” said Siwon earnestly.

 

“Appa please—“ tried Daerim.

 

“No.”

 

“Why?!” asked Daerim shaking her head in disbelief. “You said you liked him—

 

“I said he was okay.”

 

“What difference does it make? Why is there any grey area? Either you like him or you don’t. You said you did so why can’t I go?”

 

“Because you're too young.”

 

Daerim’s shoulders slumped. “Wonnie appa I’m fourteen years old—almost fifteen.”

 

“And he’s sixteen going on seventeen. He’s too old for you and you're too young to be dating, period.”

 

“Kyu appa, please!” asked Daerim reaching out to him.

 

“Wonnie, I know that Daerim going out with boys isn’t something you’ve been looking forward to. But this isn’t just some boy that she met randomly. It’s Haejin. The boy that we’ve known for his entire life. The boy that has been a kind and close friend of our daughter’s since she was a child. The boy who’s parents were like parents to us. What problem could you possibly have with him?”

 

“Like I said, he’s too old.”

 

“Too old to be doing what, exactly? Age didn’t seem to matter too much when they were friends, why should it matter now?”

 

“Because she’s still too young. She’s a middle school student Kyu. She needs to focus on her studies. If she gets distracted it could affect her entire future. In fact—that’s probably what happened with your test earlier this week, wasn’t it?” asked Siwon shifting from Kyuhyun to Daerim.

 

“No. Appa, I promise you, I won’t let this hurt my school work. Oppa would never let that happen anyway, he’s always helps me with my difficult subjects.”

 

Siwon sighed.

 

“I’m sorry, I just don’t like it,” he shrugged shaking his head.

 

“But Kyu appa already said that I could go,” she pleaded pointing towards Kyuhyun.

 

“Kyu why would you tell her that?!” asked Siwon standing up.

 

Kyuhyun’s eyes grew as he threw his hands in the air.

 

“Because it didn’t seem like such a big deal. Wonnie she’s a teenager this is what they do—

 

“It’s not what I was doing at fourteen! Were you going out with anyone at fourteen?!”

 

Kyuhyun sighed, “You know that’s different—

 

“How?! How?!” shrugged Siwon. “If anything it’s worse because she’s our daughter!”

 

“I thought you told her you weren’t going to get mad,” said Kyuhyun lifting an eyebrow.

 

“I’m not mad,” said Siwon relaxing his tense shoulders.

 

Kyuhyun scoffed as he glanced over at Daerim who had clearly developed the look of defeat on her face.

 

“It’s okay Appa, we can just forget it. I don’t want you and Kyu appa to fight anymore about it.…I’ll just let you get back to finishing your script,” she said softly before turning to walk down the hallway.

 

She passed Hyunjin who was standing in the hallway that led to their bedrooms, watching quietly.

 

“Daerim,” said Siwon sympathetically as he watched her quickly head into her room.

 

Kyuhyun said nothing as he turned to look at Siwon.

 

“Baby please don’t look at me like that,” Siwon said taking off his glasses.

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like I’m a bad person for not wanting my fourteen year old to start acting like an adult. She’s a kid she should be doing kid things, not going out for a night on the town.”

 

“It’s just a date Wonnie. Dinner, a latte, and then she’s home. That’s it. Just let her go and have fun. You and I both know what it’s going to be like once she gets older. She’s gonna be into this world wind of work and stress…more than she already is now. She’s a good girl and she does everything that we ask of her. Just let her have a little bit of fun with the boy she likes, please?”

 

Siwon exhaled as he watched Kyuhyun walk back into the kitchen to finish the last bit of cleaning, not bothering to wait for an answer.

 

Later that night as Daerim was just getting into bed, ready to fall asleep, she heard a knock at the door.

 

“Come in,” she said softly.

 

The door opened and she wasn’t surprised to see her Wonnie appa there, the pattern of his knock being one of the most familiar sounds in her life.

 

Seeing her already in her sheets, he quickly closed the door behind him and pulled the chair from her desk over to her bed.

 

Daerim was quiet as she waited to hear what he had to say.

 

Resting his elbows on his knees, Siwon leaned forward and brought his hands to his face. He was quiet for what seemed like ages, and Daerim was about to ask him if he was okay when all of a sudden he spoke.

 

“I’m gonna be honest with you baby…I don’t like the idea of you starting to date boys, even if it is Haejin. I know that it’s fun and exciting for you because it’s all new, but boys…they can bring you a lot of heartache and pain. I’ve seen it happen with your gomo and all of the gomos your Kyu appa and I used to work with. And I know you don’t like to hear it, but simply because of the family you were born into, it’s always gonna be necessary for you to keep your guard up and be careful with giving out your trust and your heart.

But with that said…keeping you from experiencing life would be impossible. And I guess that if it has to be someone…that Haejin kid isn’t the worse choice you could make,” said Siwon rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Appa, do you really mean it? I can go?” she asked with a soft smile.

 

Siwon nodded and then found himself being forced to lean against the back of his chair. Daerim had thrown herself on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

 

“Thank you Wonnie appa, thank you!” she said before kissing his cheek twice.

 

“But he better not distract from your school work. Another slip up with what happened earlier this week and it all stops, understood?”

 

He felt Daerim nod vigorously.

 

“Okay,” he said bringing his arms around her back.

 

He smiled feeling the happiness radiate off of her body.

 

“So, when is all of this supposed to happen?” asked Siwon once she had settled back into her bed, wide grin still on her face.

 

“Tomorrow night!”

 

“Okay then, I’ve got an entire day to prepare myself,” said Siwon with a nod.

 

Daerim laughed, “really Appa, thank you!”

 

“You're welcome. Good night baby,” he said giving her a kiss.

 

As he left Daerim in her room he could still sense her buzzing with excitement, knowing it was going to be nearly impossible for her to sleep that night. He was glad that a smile was finally back on her face, but as he walked to the end of the hall towards his and Kyuhyun’s room, part of him couldn’t help but think back to years before, when the prospect of spending an afternoon with him had been enough to keep her just as happy. And it left him feeling sad.

 

End of flashback

 

“So then….he said yes?” asked Haejin, still a little unsure.

 

“Yes, but when I left for school this morning it seemed like maybe he regretted his choice again,” said Daerim thoughtfully.

 

“Well what’s important is that he said ‘yes’,” smiled Haejin as he shook their clasped hands.

 

Daerim smiled back as they started walking again and it wasn’t long before they reached the front doors of her building.

 

“I’ll call you later, about tomorrow night, okay?” he said, still not releasing her hand.

 

“Okay,” Daerim barely squeaked out.

 

“Tell your Kyu appa I said thanks for using his powers of persuasion,” he said with a small chuckle.

 

She nodded with a small smile.

 

“I’ll see you later then,” he said slowly, prolonging their departure.

 

Daerim nodded slowly, feeling the happiness slowly leave her as his hand finally disconnected with hers.

 

With a small smile, he moved to leave, but Daerim stepped forward and hugged him.

 

Haejin froze in place, not exactly expecting her to do that, but then his hands quickly found themselves wrapping around her back as she placed her head on his shoulder.

 

As her hair nestled against his cheek he could smell the sweet flowery smell that was her and he made a mental note to remember that. And after a while he realized that holding her felt like one of the most natural things to him in the world, and it took all of his strength not to continue holding her close as her arms began to slowly pull away.

 

“Tell Teukkie and Kanginnie samchon I said hi,” she said with a sweet smile.

 

It was Haejin’s turn to just nod now.

 

“Bye Oppa,” she said and she walked through the glass front doors leaving him with a silly grin plastered across his face.