courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

49

"Alright, Nabi, how are things going with Ishikawa? Do I need to give you the 'parent talk'? Does he know that if he treats you badly, he'll have to deal with me and your brother?" My father asked, looking at me with a scowl.

"DAD!" I exclaimed, turning bright red, which made Hanbin laugh.

"Please spare me! I'm not a kid anymore, I know how things work."

"Ooooh, what things do you know, little Nabi?" Hanbin teased me.

I kicked him under the chair. "Ouch! Your kicks aren't exactly ladylike, you know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, pretending innocence while continuing to eat my slice of chocolate cake, hoping the redness in my face would fade soon.

After that emotional, k-drama-worthy scene, our father took us to a café near his office.

I didn't expect him to remember how happy a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate cream used to make me.

Hanbin always teased me, saying the cake was too sweet, but that's not true—especially when it's made with really good dark chocolate, just the way I like it.

"But you still have to introduce him to me. I need to understand what kind of man dares to steal my little girl," he said, still frowning at me.

"Alright, Dad... but the other day you said he was good for me," I replied, narrowing my eyes as I pointed my fork at him.

"That was just to avoid you hating me even more! I think you'd have changed your name and family if I tried to separate you two..." He placed a hand on his chest as if I had offended him.

"But you sent me to Italy after two days!"

"Well, he's basically been living in Italy for over 10 years!"

Oh...

Since I didn't know how to respond, I ate another bite of cake.

"By the way, I'll be competing in the Olympics in Milan this year," I said before taking another bite of my cake.

I saw my father's face darken a bit as he processed what I'd just told him.

"Dad... do we need to have the same conversation we had this morning?" I asked, frowning.

"Nabi, you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that," Hanbin said, trying to hold back a laugh.

"No, it's fine, Nabi, if that's really what you want... just be careful, okay? And I'll need to figure out how to manage work at the office." He glanced at his watch, then grabbed his phone to send a message. "It's not too far off, but I should be able to carve out some days to come and watch your competitions."

He wants to watch my competitions? He wants to come to Milan for me?

I didn't know how to react. Just yesterday, we barely spoke, and now he was willing to go to the other side of the world to see me compete.

"Don't count on me at the office either, I'll have to leave too," Hanbin added.

I turned to look at him, then back at my father. "Are you two serious?"

They both looked at me, confused. "Yeah, why?"

I bit my lip, my eyebrows pinched together. "Nothing, I'm just... happy."

"It's the least I can do, sweetheart," my father said, gently stroking my hand.

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I stepped out of my father's car and waved goodbye to his driver.
"Yes, Dad, I've arrived... yes, I'll tell Yuki you want to meet him... yes, I'll be careful... DAD! You won't be a young grandfather, don't worry!! Enough, I'm hanging up now, bye." I hung up, my face flushed from the ridiculous things my father had said.