So the amount of subscribers rocketed up by more than 100 after my first Gtae fic.... the thrist for Gtae is so real LOL. Thank you to all those that left comments. I really appreciate it. And to all those hardcore Gtae shippers, I've got another Gtae fic in the works, on about 5K words at the moment so shouldn't be too much longer.

Anyways, here's the new one-shot. Before you read, you might be a little confused in some parts but once you read the whole thing through you'll understand! Enjoy

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April 19th, 2024

"Daddy? Are you home?" the young adolescent girl called out as she closed the door, slipping off her shoes at the same time. 

"In the kitchen sweetie!" came the baritone call from her father. 

Walking through the spacious walkway of their house, she found her dad with his back turned to her, a floral patterned apron wrapped around him as he prepared dinner. "You know I bought you that apron as a joke right?" she asked with a giggle, her arms crossed over her chest. 

"I know sweetie. But I still love it since you got it for me," he laughed to himself. "Now are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me a kiss?" he asked playfully, his hands on his hips. She giggled and happily skipped over to her dad, standing on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "So... how was your weekend with your mother?" he asked, turning back to the stove, his left arm still drapped over his daughter's shoulders. 

"Hm... it was okay, I guess. Nothing special," she shrugged. 

"Really? I thought she was going to take you to some special dinner or something?" Seunghyun asked, transferring the soup into a large bowl before taking it to the dining table. 

"Oh, yeah. We went to some banquet last night. No big deal," she informed him. 

"Not really your scene I take it?" he laughed, as they both sat down at the dining table. 

"You know I don't like all those fancy events that mom makes me go to," she grumbled. "It's gotten worse ever since she started dating Mr. Choi," she shivered exaggeratedly, earning another chuckle from her father.

"Mr. Choi, as in Choi Siwon?" he asked for clarification, receiving a nod in response. "Well, that's no surprise sweetie. He owns one of the biggest entertainment companies in the country so your mother would expect you to go with them to events," he explained. 

"Well, you own a big financing company and you don't make me go with you to those fancy parties," she said. 

"That's because I don't want you to suffer through all the boring speeches that I have to suffer through myself. Plus, I hate those events as much as you do Areum-ah," he laughed. 

"Like father, like daughter huh?" she giggled, receiving a laugh in return. "At least you don't force me to talk to all those snobby rich boys like mom does," she said. 

"Oh?"

"Yeah, when we go to those fancy parties and she goes off to mingle with other people, she makes me talk to all the other kids my age and they're all really snobby and pretentious," she said. 

"Pretentious? Since when did my little girl learn such big words?" he laughed. 

"I'm 15 now dad. I'm not a little girl anymore," she said, although a smile was still on her face. 

"Well you'll always be my little girl," he said. "And you have no idea how much it warms my heart to know that you don't like boys yet," he said cheekily. 

"It's not that I don't like boys, dad," she said with a laugh. "I just hate that omma is basically pigeonholing me, like she's going to decide who I'm going to marry in the future," she said, a clear disgruntled look on her face. "It's like that at school as well. I really hate it."

Seunghyun looked across the table at his daughter with pride in his eyes. He saw so much of himself in her that it was scary. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well... It's like, if you're from a rich family, the more privileges you get. The rich kids hang out with the rich kids and bully the kids that aren't so well off," she said, a scowl on her face. 

"Seriously? It's still like that?" Seunghyun asked, the surprise evident in his voice. 

"Still like that? Do you mean it was like that when you went to school?" she asked, surprised herself. 

"Hm... I guess you could say that," he said, slightly unsure of himself. 

"So does that mean you were one of the popular kids then?" she asked. 

"Not exactly. You probably don't know this because you never got to meet him, but... your grandfather, although he was a great man, he was quite domineering. I was told at an early age that I would have to take over the company when I was of age, and because of that, I had to put a lot of effort into studying and learning the business," he said quite sullenly.

"So you already knew you would take over the company when you were around my age?" she asked for clarification. 

"Basically. When I found out about it, I don't know... I guess I resented your grandfather. Because he had all of this planned out already, he didn't take into consideration what I wanted to do with my life."

"Oh? And what was that?"

"You're probably going to think this is stupid, especially coming from me," he said with an embarassed chuckle. "I actually wanted to be an idol," he admitted, cringing slightly when his daughter giggled. 

"You? Choi Seunghyun, the CEO of Choi Incorporated, an idol?" she said, before breaking into more giggles. 

"What's so funny about that? I even came up with a stage name!" he said, before clasping his hand over his mouth. 

"What? Oh my god, you have to tell me now Daddy," she squealled, laughing hysterically. 

He sighed audibly, hanging his head in slight shame and embarassment. "T.O.P..." he whispered but it was loud enough for her to hear. 

"What? T.O.P?" she said before laughing, hitting her hand on the table. "Omo, dad. That's the funniest thing I've ever heard," she said, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes. 

"How did we even get this sidetracked from the original topic?" he laughed to himself. "Anyways, you were talking about your school?" he said, trying to get back on track. 

It took her a moment to compose herself. "Well, it's just..." she hesitated, not sure if she should tell her father about this. 

"What? What is it Areum-ah?" he asked, slightly worried.

Letting out a sigh, she figured she might as well tell him. He would figure it out eventually. "Well... there's this boy..." she said, looking up at her father tentatively to gauge his reaction. 

"And you got me all happy when you said you didn't like boys," he said exaggeratedly, falling back in his chair. 

"I didn't say that daddy!" she laughed at his reaction. 

"So tell me about this boy then," he said, leaning forward expectantly. "What's his name?"

"Hyunwoo," she said. "But... it's just that... he's not exactly the type of boy mom would like if I brought him home," she said. 

"What? You mean his parents aren't that well off?"

"It's not like his poor. And even if he was, that doesn't matter to me. He's just not like all those boys that mom wants me to meet," she said dejectedly. 

"And that worries you?" he asked. 

"Of course it does. I'm surprised that you aren't upset about it," she said truthfully. 

He leaned back in his seat and sighed dejectedly. He shouldn't be surprised by her assumption, but it hurt a little that she would think that way. "I would never think that way sweetie. Honestly, I'm proud of you. I want you to do what's best for you, even if I don't agree with it," he said. 

"But what about mom?" she asked quietly, putting down her eating utensils. 

"She can't control your life forever honey. She's just... She's just set in her ways," he hesitantly said. "All I ask is that you do what you want in life. Follow your dreams and don't let anyone tell you you have to do something or you can't do something. It's your life and no one elses."

Areum, slightly tearing up, walked around the dining table and hugged her father tight, whispering a quiet thank you. 

"How is that you and mom are so different?" she asked quietly, detaching herself from him and moving to put some dishes away. 

"Your mother and I?" he chuckled slightly, helping to bring dishes to the sink. "It's sort of a complicated story."

"Oh? How so?" 

"Well..." he hesitated, trying to think of the right words. "You know how before you said your mother was basically pigeonholing you?" he asked, receiving a nod. "That's sort of what happened to me," he said, starting to wash the dishes as Areum started to dry them. 

"Come again?" she said, slightly startled. 

"Don't take it the wrong way alright? Because I really did love your mother. But... our parents sort of arrange for the both of us to get married so form a sort of business alliance with each other. I know, I know. It sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth," he quickly said when he saw his daughter's expression. 

"So... what does that make me then?" she asked quietly. 

"Hey. Look at me," he said, taking his hands out of the sink and turning her to face him. "Don't you ever think your mother and I don't love you, okay? We may have been arranged to be married, but you were the best thing to ever happen to us and nothing's going to change that," he said firmly. "Understand?"

She just meekly nodded her head and turned to dry the dishes again, not uttering a word. "What are you thinking?" he asked quietly, nudging his shoulder playfully into hers. 

"I don't know..." she sighed. "It's just weird. Whenever you watch movies and stuff, there's always this really romantic tale about how the guy and girl meet, you know? I was just hoping my parents would have a romantic story like that as well..."

Seunghyun chuckled slightly at her comment. "Not everyone has those fairytale romances sweetie."

"I know, I know... A girl can dream, can't she?" she smiled, before going quiet again. "Did you ever love mom?" she asked after a few moments of silence. 

"Of course I did. How could you ask me that? I still love your mother. We just... grew apart," he explained. 

"But you were forced into marriage though, right?" she continued. "Don't you ever wonder what would've happened if you weren't? Like... would you and mom have actually gotten together otherwise?" 

Seunghyun hesitated as he scrubbed the plate in his hands, wondering if he should really be truthful to his daughter. 

"I take it from your silence that it's a no then?" her question broke his concentration. 

He sighed and turned the tap off as he handed his daughter the last dish. "I've never lied to you before and I'm not going to start now. Honestly... no. You're mother and I were on completely different sides of the same spectrum. If it weren't for our parents, your grandparents, we wouldn't have even spoken to each other."

"Ahhh... this love story ," she pouted, nudging her dad. 

"You want to hear a love story?" he asked, drying his hands and putting away the dishes she had dried. 

"Whose? I've already heard Uncle Youngbae and Aunt Yuri's as well as Uncle Jiyong and Aunt Taeyeon's love story though."

"It's actually not theirs. It's mine. Before your mother that is," he explained, slowly preparing a cup of coffee for himself. 

"Oh really?! Yeah, tell me," she said excitedly, bouncing around him. 

"Alright, alright. Calm down, would you?" he chuckled, handing her a mug of hot chocolate and leading her into the living room. "I don't even know where to start to be honest..." he mumbled to himself. 

"Um... how about the start, dad?" she said sarcastically, receiving a playful glare in return. 

***

March 4th, 2005

Walking through the school's entrance, he watched as groups of friends greeted each other enthusiastically, chatting about what happened and who went where over the weekend. Shaking his head and hoping no one noticed his envious stares, he made his way towards the familiar halls of his high school, a place he had called home for a few years now. 

He nodded every now and then when other students made eye contact with him, receiving a small nod in return. That was the way he was with most people at the school. He wasn't the most popular, but then again, he wasn't unpopular either. The guys were intimidated by his stature. The girls loved him because he was a chaebol. It was a bonus that he was an incredibly handsome guy. It wasn't a bad thing, but he found it to be a burden at times. Because people knew his status and how influential his father was, it was always hard to tell who was genuinely trying to be his friend, and who was just trying to befriend him because of who he was.

Reaching his locker, he proceeded to get his books out for his first few classes, making sure not to forget the assignments he had to hand in. Closing the door to his locker, he turned to proceed down the hall, only to stop in his tracks when a body collided into his own, books scattering everywhere, some students snickering around them. 

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling on the floor and proceeding to pick up some of her books. 

"S-Sorry! It's my fault!" the small girl quickly apologised, bowing constantly, not meeting his eyes. 

"No, no. It's my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," he replied, standing up with her books in his arms. "Here," he handed it over to her, noticing that students were starting to file out of the halls as the warning bell rang. 

"T-Thank you," she said meekly.

"It's okay," he said slowly, trying to catch her eye but it was hidden behind her hair. "Um... I'd better get to class. You should to before you're late," he said, still not sure who it was he was talking to, as he turned to walk down the hall. 

"E-Excuse me," he heard the small voice call out to him. He turned to find her looking at him, her eyes hidden behind wire-framed glasses. "Um... c-can you help me find t-this classroom?" she gestured towards a slip of paper in her hands, her class timetable he presumed. 

"Sure," he said, taking the timetable from her hands. "Oh, good. It's actually the room next to the one I'm going to. You can just follow me," he smiled.

She just shyly smiled and nodded, quietly walking besides him as they walked towards a staircase. 

Seunghyun quietly and subtly observed her, noticing things he had when he talked to her before. He could only presume that she was new since she didn't know where her first class was. She didn't look like a lot of the girls in the school. She had old glasses hanging from her nose, barely a trace of make-up on her face. He noticed the slightly worn out books in her arms, only assuming they were second hand. 

"I'm Choi Seunghyun by the way. Third year," he introduced himself as they ascended the stairs. He noticed her slightly jump when he spoke, slightly startling her. 

"O-Oh. I'm s-sorry. I'm Lee Soonkyu. First year," she introduced herself timidly, smiling at him. Even behind those glasses, he noticed the way her eyes formed into crescent-like shapes, her eyes basically disappearing. 

"So, are you new here?" he asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Y-Yeah. Is it that obvious?" she laughed quietly to herself, hiding her blushing face. 

He smiled subtly to herself, admiring the beautiful sound of her laughter. "I figured it out when you asked me to show you to your classroom," he smiled. "Anyways, it's just that one over there," he pointed out the room besides the one they were standing in front of. 

"T-Thank you, Seunghyun-shi," she said timidly, bowing to him continuously. 

He just smiled and bowed in return to her, watching as she quietly entered her classroom, waving when she sent him a nervous glance. 

"What's up with the stupid face?" his friend, Jiyong said when he entered the classroom. 

"What are you talking about?"

"He's talking about that goofy smile on your face when you just walked in here. What happened?" Youngbae, his other friend, clarified. 

He just waved them off, pretending like nothing happened and fending off their bombard of questions. 

"Are you seriously not gonna tell us why you're so happy?" Jiyong whined as they waited in line at the cafeteria. He had been pestering him throughout their classes all day. 

"I already told you nothing happened. Would you drop it already?" he sighed, tired from all the questions. They made their way to a free table towards the back of the cafeteria, one of their usual tables.

"Can we help you?" he heard Youngbae asked from beside him. He looked up from his food and saw the same pretty girl from earlier that morning. 

"Um... C-Can I... I-Is it okay if-"

"Take a seat," Seunghyun gestured towards the free seat in front of them, stopping her from stuttering over and over again. 

She bowed her head over and over again as she took a seat, concentrating on her food. Youngbae and Jiyong sent him confused looks, wondering who the girl in front of them was. He just ignored them again, shaking his head and smirking when they huffed out of frustration. 

"So how's your first day going?"

She visibly startled when he spoke, not expecting him to talk to her. "U-Um... it was okay, I guess," she said meekly. 

He smiled and nodded his head, quietly going back to eating. 

"OHHHH!" Everyone on the table jumped up, shocked by Jiyong's sudden exclamation. "Now I get it!" he said triumphantly, a victorious smile on his face. 

"What the hell are you on about now?" Youngbae asked, rolling his eyes at his friend. 

"Yah, Youngbae-ah. You're usually the first one to catch onto these sort of things," Jiyong said smugly. He pointed between Seunghyun and the new girl, his facial expression saying they should've picked it up by now. "The reason why hyung has been smiling all day?" he said suggestively. 

"Ahhhhh! Now I've got it," Youngbae clicked his fingers, finally getting what he was going on about. 

"So.... Miss 'reason for making Seunghyun hyung so happy'. How are you?" Jiyong smiled stupidly, ignoring Seunghyun when he shoved him and told him to be quiet. 

"Ignore him," Youngbae smiled. "My name's Youngbae and this stupid kid is Jiyong. Clearly you've already met Seunghyun hyung," he said, extending his hand out to her. 

"M-My name's Lee Soonkyu," she politely introduced herself, giggling quietly at their antics. She smiled genuinely for the first time that day, happy at the notion that she was perhaps making friends. 

Seunghyun observed her quietly, smiling to himself every now and then when he saw her beautiful eye smile or laugh, thankful that his two friends were so easy to get along with. He guessed it was the reason why they were such good friends.

***

April 19th, 2024

"Come to think of it, if your uncles weren't there, it probably would've been really awkward for the two of us," he chuckled to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Ohhh, this is so romantic," Areum clapped her hands excitedly, stars visible in her eyes. "It sounds just like one of those dramas on television," she laughed. "So what happened next between you and this Lee Soonkyu-shi?" she asked. 

"Well, we were just about t-" was all he could get out before he was abruptly cut off by his daughter. 

"Wait!" her call startling slightly. "Lee Soonkyu... I swear I've heard that name somewhere before," he heard her mumbling to herself. He looked around nervously, hoping she wouldn't catch onto his little white lie, but he wouldn't be shocked if she figure it out. She was his daughter after all. 

She suddenly gasped, her eyes wide as she pointed at him, agape. "You and Aunt Sunny?! You were in love with Aunt Sunny? Oh. My. God! This is crazy! Why didn't I think of this before?!" she rambled on and on, not letting him get a word in. 

"Sweetie.... Areum-ah.... Yah.... Areum-ah!" He finally had to raise his voice a little to catch her attention and stop her from excitedly talking. "I wasn't in love with your Aunt Sunny, okay? I just thought of that name because I didn't want to tell you the real one," he admitted sheepishly, faultering under his daughter stare. 

"Why don't you want to tell me? What was her name? Tell meeeee," she pulled his arm as she asked, trying to muster up as much aegyo as she could. 

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you her name. Just... stop with the aegyo. You know I can't handle that," he laughed, his rich baritone filling the room. "Her real name was Jung Sooyeon," he said. 

"Jung Sooyeon?" she eyed him suspiciously. "You're not using some fake name again, are you?" 

"No, no. It's real this time," he chuckled.