I was busy these past few days, sorry about that, haha.
MC smiled when she caught sight of her father, standing by the fountain he had told her he was going to meet her by. She replied with a small wave of her own when he made a dramatic motion with his arm in her direction.
Her father, Benet Dae Jung, was a kind man who liked to spend time with his children, so about twice a month he would invite her out to "hang".
The father and daughter duo walked down to the path of a private beach, scent of salt engulfing them, and the whistling of winds blowing through their hair.
"How have you been?" She asked, tugging a bit at her ponytail, testing how secure it was.
"Just great, dear! Your mother and I just got back from a resort in Jade Mountain," he spoke excitedly and gave her his normal dopey grin.
"Gosh, dad," she crossed her arms, "I would've known about that if, hm, you told someone about it before taking off the day before the marketing meeting with the Shiguya's." MC didn't mind her father's wild idea of "living life to the fullest" as long as he was considerate of others, which he really wasn't a good half of the time. Maybe that's why Jumin and her dad got along so well and why Jumin and her understood one another underneath their rocky past.
"You know how your mother gets," he tried to defend, " Happy wife, happy life ."
"Happy business, happy partners ," she retorted, rolling her browns.
"That didn't rhyme, Gretel."
"Don't try to be cute." She cut eyes at him and added, "Don't use that name, too." She frowned as did Dae Jung.
"But it's so cute!" he protested.
"It's such a lame, traditional name." She leaned in towards him to take his arm in hers. "Can't you just pick one nickname for me already? You've had twenty-six years to get it right." Dae Jung let out a hearty laugh that made MC's lips quirk up. Her father bumped shoulders with her playfully.
"I just can't pick one. You suit them all."
"Is that a dig at your own son? You only refer to him with one," she smarted. Her father replied with a raised brow and playful, knowing look.
"Hee Joon is already a man of many… things."
"You make it sound like brother carries a laundry list of diseases."
"You know what I mean." He tapped her arm. "That boy's always been an odd one, but he's one hell of a respectable businessman."
"Of course. I knew what I was doing when I demoted myself."
"As expected." He nodded along, glancing out to the peaks of salt water. "My children are," he held up a pointer finger high in the air, " Number One !" he shouted up at the clouds.
MC giggled softly under her breath at her father's absurdity.
Dae Jung was always enthusiastic when it came to his children even when they were smaller. For sports he always tried to be there, and if he wasn't, their mother most assuredly was. For school functions, he always cleared his schedule to ensure he could attend, and when he found out MC wasn't doing so well with her English studies or when he found out her brother contracted the slightest symptoms of sickness, he personally tutored her and made sure to be there hand and foot for Hee Joon.
MC admired her father for being not only a successful businessman but also for putting all he could into raising her brother and her. Her mother was also another figure to look up upon.
MC was no fool to how much effort that women put into to organizing social events to create connections and form personal relationships with the other wives in the business world. On more than one occasion, her mother had worked her magic on one of the other ladies to pull a deal through. To run all of that, plus manage two kids and a household mostly by herself demanded respect and appreciation.
Sure, throughout her teenage years and still even now they got on her nerves, but she always remembered how good she had it.
One look at Jumin was all it took to remind her of that.
The sudden stop in her father's movements made her turn her head in question.
Her eyes narrowed into slits at the saccharine grin on his face. "You know I love you, right, Claire?" She knew a simple stroll on the beach was too good to be true.
She glanced up ahead. They had stopped right before the corner that exposed the beach preventing her from detecting whatever shenanigan her father had insisted on this time. MC could only think of what her father had in store for her.
Was it beach volleyball lessons? Speed boats? Sailing? Oh gosh, she hope it wasn't boat diving.
"What do you have planned, father ?" she deadpanned.
"I'm so glad you asked. You're such a trooper!" he applauded and took her around the corner.
She groaned as she read 'Bada Waterboarding!' on the side of a boat.
"It'll be fun," he persuaded unconvincingly and gave her a look. MC could never say no to that look.
Another groan from her.
Luckily, she knew her father well enough to wear a bathing suit under her clothes.
"Fine. This is the only time though," she demanded, eyes strict, not like it mattered though, he'd drag her anywhere anytime to do anything, and she'd allow it just because.
"You're the best daughter! Your mother would have never let me do this!" He pumped a fist up and jogged towards the boat.
"W-wait, mom doesn't know?!"
***0o0***
MC never pegged Jaehee as a social person.
Whenever she saw the stressed woman, she was either adhering to a crazy demand of Jumin's or was swamped with work. On occasion, she would see her handling Jumin's spoiled ball of fur, but other than that, it was all business. The brunette hardly ever talked to anyone in the office if it did not relate to work or work related topics.
The only thing that got her going was musicals- some actor named Zen in particular.
Usually, she wouldn't be bothered to remember some stage actor's name, flim was more of her area of intrigue, yet Jaehee spoke of him so often when the topic of theatre arose that MC could not help but recall his name and debut date and his list of musicals and the wondrous list of roles he played- the list went on.
If she heard it repeated enough, MC could remember anything and everything hence why she still had all of Elvis Presley's songs stuck in her head to date; her parents were a huge fan in their youth, much to her chagrin.
She didn't have anything against musicals, as much as she thought them a bit too obnoxious for her taste; she did enjoy the occasional plotline and song in her experience. Though, if she had to hear singing, she rather it be at a concert of some sort or oprea. MC liked consistency, and the constant back and forth between not-quite-singing and the occasional dialogue violently gave her headaches.
Along with being antisocial in the work scene, it was very rare for the young assistant to voice out for any sort of help or favors, so when she made just those thoughts known to MC after learning she was heading back home early that afternoon, MC couldn't just ignore her willy whims.
"What time again?" She bit the inside of her mouth, unbelieving that she would willingly accept the mediocre favor. Didn't the woman have any actual friends to do this?
MC immediately crossed that from her list. It seemed Jaehee barely had enough room to breathe let alone carry a healthy, functioning social life.
Not that she didn't feel sorry for her or anything though. The brunette knew what she was signing up for, assuredly, and if she didn't, then what was stopping her from quitting now?
A big, grateful smile slapped onto Jaehee's face under tired black bags. "Thank you so much!" She bowed politely and presented her the ticket along with the backstage pass. "It begins at seven-thirty. The show runs approximately an hour and forty-five minutes, not including the twenty minute intermission."
She took the passes with the tips of her pointer and thumb. "Right," she drawled. "And I don't have to be in the picture, correct?" She quirked a brow.
"Oh! Please, feel free to get all of the benefits of a backstage pass." She smiled encouragingly. "Zen is very photogenic as well, so he doesn't mind a lot of pictures, if time permits it."
"I'll take that as a no…" She glanced down, lazily reading the ticket information.
Zip Tie ? What sort of show was named after nylon cables?
She shook her head and looked at the watch on her wrist. If she wanted to go home and change she should take off now to get there at an appropriate time.
Early was her motto, and she hated being late.
***0o0***
Zen would be in a musical called zip tie, let's be honest here, lol. Can't he ever be in a reg. show? So extra.
I had a lot of fun writing in Dae Jung and the tid bits of MC's past, and also, it's a lot of fun writing about Jaehee for some reason?
Happy reading!
~WAC
