SIDE STORY 3

"Papa Hajin?"

"Princess..."

"Papa?"

"Hehe..! Seeing that you won't let me complete my painting, what is it?"

"Look what I drew?"

A smile formed across his face at a picture of two stick figures, one with long hair and the other appeared to be holding onto the hand of the other...two dots and a C curve looking like they were happy in jubilation. "Wow, this is lovely... Are they your grandma and grandpa?"

"That's you and that's mummy." The young girl pointed at her drawing.

"Oh! ...T-that's... cute." 'This again...'

"Do you like it?"

"Of course princess, I like it..."

"You don't look like you like it daddy." The little girl sulked.

"You really want a mummy, huh? Is this your way of rebelling?"

"I just thought that you should go on a date with assistant Mary. She likes you..."

'Why do their names always start with an M? I can never be free from my past...' "How would you know about likes and what not?"

"Because she likes me and tells me I'm pretty. She wouldn't complement me if she didn't like you too. Grandma and grandpa like her too."

"Did they put you up to this?"

"...No...but during your art exhibition last week, I heard them say you two look good together... And I want to have a mummy and I choose her."

"Princess, you know I can only love one girl in the world and that's you right?"

"...But papa Hajin, you said we can love many many people..."

"That's...a different kind of love..." Putting away his paintbrush, he took out his gloves and looked at his watch then crouched down to his daughter's eye level. "Okay princess, shhh! We have to do the countdown like we do every year and are in the last fiveteen seconds to the new year..."

"I want to make a wish papa Hajin."

"That I'd make the assistant my girlfriend?"

"I just want to see you happy daddy."

"I am happy with you princess. You are all I need in this whole wide world."

The room was filled with giggles and laughter as father and daughter embraced, and a tickle to cheer his daughter up. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too princess... Aaand, five, four, three, two, one... Happy new yeeeeearrr!!!"

"Don't you want to make a wish too daddy?"

"I wish for all your dreams to come true princess."