Part 1

"You are now a golf coach for a kiddo? After all these years? What's in your mind, Mina?" 

Jisun sunbae's concerned voice echoed through the receiver. 

I couldn't help but sigh involuntarily. 

Sunbae's excessive attention was a bit burdensome.

"I need to make a living too, Unni."

"Hey, 'the stubborn Mina Choi' is now coaching kindergarteners? You've really softened up. Well, you do what you gotta do. Just nail that interview!"

"Yes, well…"

But Jisun wasn't done.

"...Seriously, how can a client ask you to come all the way to Jeju island just for an interview? Ridiculous. Good thing you're from Jeju. How important could this kid's parents be?"

I decided that it was time for me to end the call. 

Continuing would only make me feel more pathetic.

"Unni, I'm driving right now. I'll call you after the interview."

"Ah, alright, call me when it's over!"

As soon as Jisun hung up, I focused on the road, gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

I couldn't afford even a minor accident now.

The Mini Countryman I was driving was all I had left. 

More precisely, the car, the golf bag in the trunk, the clubs, and golf balls—these were my entire possessions. 

I had sold everything else to pay off the debt left by my mother, who had recently collapsed and was in the ICU. 

This car was the only thing left for me.

["A golfer needs a car to teach golf. People will scoff if you drive a compact car while giving lessons, dear."]

Leaving me with the car was the lender's final act of mercy, or perhaps a ruthless declaration to ensure that she can get her money back from me. 

Either way, I had no choice but to accept. 

As someone who had long fallen off from the professional ranking, teaching golf was my only way to pay the astronomical medical bills from my mother, who was my only family. 

For that, I needed this car.

Arriving near the student's house, I parked in a nearby vacant lot,

And I started reviewing my prepared interview materials. 

Today, I was about to interview to become the golf teacher of a six-year-old girl. 

I glanced at the child's photo. 

The little girl looked more like a baby than a human. 

The sight made me chuckle.

I understood the importance of early start in golf, having started in elementary school myself. 

But teaching a child professional golf lessons from the age of six seemed excessive. 

Well, who knows?

If I had started in kindergarten, I might have become a legend like Park Inbee or Annika Sorenstam. 

Feeling a bitter taste in my mouth, I continued to review the interview materials. 

There was something unique about this interview: the child's guardian wasn't the parents, but her brother, who was the interviewee. 

Moreover, he was a K-pop idol, even a superstar.

Even I, with no interest in idols, knew him well. 

I took out my phone and reread the message I had received yesterday.

-See you at my place at 7:30 then.

The message felt a bit chilly, unlike what I imagined from someone used to charming fans. 

But who cares?

I needed this job so bad.

And today was the interview.

Nothing else mattered.

I noted that it was time for the interview. 

As I started the car again, I glanced at my fingers with hardened skin, a testament to her painful memories and years of practice.

Mom's voice echoed.

"Mina! You have to become a golfer! Don't even think about anything else. Okay?"

When did golf stop being a hobby and start being a torture? 

My mother raised me alone while running a café in Jeju after losing her husband.

She had always pushed me to become a pro golfer. 

I was grateful for her sacrifices. 

Yet I was also burdened by her high expectations.

Initially, I enjoyed golf and even did well at first, partly because whenever I did a good job, my mom showed her joy.

But the competition grew fierce as time went by. 

And the pressure turned into a heavy burden.

Despite my efforts, my results stagnated, making me feel like I was heading down a dead end.

Once, I begged my mother to let me quit golf and live a normal life as a typical student. 

My mother cried in front of me for the first time. 

Her tears fell like rain.

She even knelt before me, pleading. 

"Mina," she said, "please continue. I'll support you with everything I have."

Tragically, it wasn't until my mother collapsed that I could break free from the life of a professional golfer. 

Don't get me wrong—I loved her deeply. 

But there was a part of me that felt relieved. 

Finally, freedom.

Or so I thought.

Soon, reality hitted. 

My mother had incurred massive debt to fuel her dream of turning me into a golf star. 

The astronomical monthly hospital bills drained my finances rapidly also. 

It was as if my mom had shackled my entire life, even in her unconsciousness.

I took a deep breath, feeling dizzy. 

"Haa," I exhaled. 

Then, with newfound determination, I rang the doorbell.

***

"Why are you late?"

The man's glare made me bite my lip lightly.

"...Excuse me?"

"Why. Are. You. Late?"

I glanced at my smartwatch. 

It was two minutes before the appointed time. 

I wasn't late.

"...."

I wanted to reply but couldn't muster the words, perhaps because I was there for a job interview. 

The silence between us grew.

Helplessly, I stared at her interviewer, KROCK, Korea's top idol.

Even though she didn't listen to idol music, she had heard of his group, 'The ZERO'. 

He was the guitarist and the main vocalist of the band.

Furthermore, he even participated in writing and composing. 

Naturally, he was the most popular member.

Seeing him in person, she understood his appeal.

He was over 180 cm with broad shoulders and well-proportioned limbs. 

His clean face and sharp suit made him look like a model. 

And foremost, he lacked any cruelty easily found by sexy guys.

However, his words were far from gentle.

"Come on, it's just basic courtesy to get here at least ten minutes early. What if something had come up?"

'Wasn't KROCK supposed to be known for his gentle personality?' I thought.

Maybe it was just a fanmade rumor. 

I sighed internally, glancing at his eyes. 

They were cold, devoid of any emotion. 

He was not irritated.

Rather, he was deliberately attempting to intimidate me. 

Given he was entrusting his six-year-old sister to a stranger, I could understand his caution.

But he was no ordinary person. 

As a famous male K-pop idol, treating a civilian like this could be disastrous if rumors spread.

"Golf is just part of the whole schmoozing deal, right? Almost like a strip club joint! If a stripper shows up late, it's a no-go. You're supposed to be there waiting. It's just basic manners."

His smirk was slightly mocking, and something inside me snapped. 

Being disrespected was one thing; I could endure that. 

But insulting golf, the center of my life, was too much. 

Even if I hated it, golf was my entire life.

'That's why I disliked teaching golf,' I thought.

In Korea, some men mistook golf courses for strip clubs and female golf instructors for strippers. 

Even now, many female Korean golfers were wearing sexy clothes and flirting while giving lessons. 

But I wasn't like that. 

I stood up abruptly.

"This is offensive. If you see golf as mere prostitution, I'll be leaving now."

"Wait. I did not say that."

The man interrupted me.

I still continued.

"If you think golfers are prostitutes, why are you making your sister take golf lessons?"

"That's really none of your business."

He poured himself sparkling water and took a slow sip. 

I had seen many obsessive parents and ambitious young golfers in the golf scene, but never saw someone as strange as him. 

Here was a man willing to spend a fortune on golf lessons for his sister.

Yet he seemed to despise this very sport. 

Was it a form of self-loathing? 

I found it too pathetic to not point out.

"Being a K-pop idol is also a subtle form of prostitution, isn't it?"

A slight wrinkle appeared at the corner of his sharp eyes. 

Sensing his unease, I felt a strange sense of victory.

"You serve fans, don't you? You wink at strangers, tell them you love them. They buy albums and attend concerts in return. Isn't that also like a strip club? Even more so than golf. Golf is played with a few acquaintances, but idols winks in front of the whole world. It's like a porn, some might say."

"K-pop is taking over the world. Don't you think that's great for national pride?"

He raised his voice slightly, but I wasn't planning to back down.

"If it's about national pride, then look at women's golf! Do you know how many Koreans are in the top 100 world rankings? We achieve the best results globally. You're the one belittling it, sir. Isn't your goal to have your sister join that ranking?"

"...."

He did not mutter anything.

"I hated that aspect of golf too, so I focused on teaching aspiring pros. I do not work with businessmen who are using female pro-golfers as some sort of geisha. I applied because your sister seemed serious about becoming a pro. But if this is the treatment, I'm leaving. Goodbye."

"You got the job."

"What?"

I was stunned by his words, and looked back at his brilliant yet insolent face. 

Unfazed, he repeated himself.

"You're hired."

"Based on what?"

This was the strangest interview ever. 

Though it was my first golf lesson interview, it felt exceptionally odd. 

As I pondered, he spoke again.

"I gotta say, I like how much pride you take in your work. I'm impressed."

That made sense, but still.

"But shouldn't you ask more questions?"

He shook his head, glancing at the resume on the table.

"Don't need to. I've scrutinized your entire career, double-checked your references, and honestly, I don't need to ask any more questions. You'll be teaching my sister, starting tomorrow. Every single day. Except weekends of course, even God rested on Sunday."

"Every day?"

Daily golf lessons were expensive. 

While this could be a financial windfall for me, the rapid pace of events was bewildering. 

Regardless, Seung-rok was wrapping up the conversation.

"Let's say, 9 AM tomorrow?"

Just then, a loud banging sound echoed, followed by a child's voice from the front door.

"Daddy! I'm home."

The man's face turned ashen. 

I dropped the documents I was holding.

Daddy?

What in the world is this?

Is this K-pop idol… a Daddy?