When SeoNam came out into the store again, the young man from before was no longer present. He looked around but there was not a single trace of him. Making his way to the cashier counter SeoNam slightly tilted his head to the side, thinking.

"DaeSung ah," he called and DaeSung hurried back to the counter from a customer he had just finished helping. "I see the young man from earlier has left already?"

"Ah, yes. He left about half an hour ago," DaeSung answered, wiping the counter with a dusting cloth. "Actually, he turned out to be a friend of SoRa noona." SeoNam snapped his head toward him, eyes dilated. "Apparently they were friends when they were small and haven't been able to get in touch for about... six years did he say? Well, it was more than five years."

"Did he tell you all this?" SeoNam asked. DaeSung looked up for a second and nodded.

"He came up to me right after you went back to the staff room," DaeSung answered. "He asked me if I knew a person named Yoon SoRa so I answered yes, then he asked me for her contact information. He told me that he was her friend so I confirmed with SoRa noona." DaeSung put both hands on the counter, tilting his head to the side. "Now that I come to think of it, he didn't seem at all surprised when I told him noona lost her hearing." 

"His name," SeoNam demanded quietly. Receiving DaeSung's curious eyes in return, he repeated, "What's his name?"

"Ahn.... Ahn TaeKyung," DaeSung told him. For a moment he thought he saw SeoNam's face become like that of a wolf, preparing to jump on its prey. Never had DaeSung even imagined of SeoNam having such an expression.

"Ahn TaeKyung..." SeoNam repeated, thinking to himself. The name sounded foreign, yet so familiar. It sparked something in his brain; something from the past, around the time he handed his daughter over to the arms of the lady. Then, he remembered. "The orphanage," he murmured.

"My... father?" SoRa asked back and TaeKyung nodded. She slightly looked up at SeungHyun, then back at TaeKyung. "Only a little bit. I remember him being on the phone and arguing with someone." SoRa traced the rim of her cup with her thumb, lightly biting on her lower lip. "...But, I also remember him speaking to me really nicely. I don't remember what he said or what we were talking about, but he was very kind. That's all I know about my father."

TaeKyung nodded, taking a sip from his cup. As he set it down, it clanged a little with the tray. "Have you ever wanted to know who he is?" he spoke, carefully choosing each word.

It was always a sensitive topic, especially to those like SoRa, who entered orphanages at such a young age. Having been abandoned at merely four months old, he had no memory of his parents. He knew what it felt to not know parents and how empty it felt to grow up without knowing the love of a parent. He had been asked the question several times in his life, but he had always answered in denial. Though a part of him was dying to know, he convinced himself that his life was enough the way it was. He did not have a single recollection of his biological family, so there was no lingering feeling.

However, that was not the case for SoRa. She still had -though only a barely minimal- recollection of her father. Often, people who remembered even a tiny bit of their family wished to know the whereabouts of their family members. 

"Why do you ask?" SoRa finally asked, her eyes fixed on her old friend.

"I don't know," TaeKyung answered honestly. "I know you would not go research on your own, but I thought maybe you were curious."

"It sounds as though you know something about her family?" SeungHyun spoke up, his fingers fidgeting under the table. 

TaeKyung smiled a little, looked down, then looked back up, nodding. "I might know who your father is."

Hey~

I need to update more often OTL 

I had a little trouble coming up with TaeKyung's name because he's not a real person (in real life I mean) .____. 

Please feel free to leave a comment, and I will reply~^^