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"Inside. Now."

Jaebum's stern voice scared his daughter, Nabi and her boyfriend, Bang Chan.

They both followed Jaebum inside the house while Meera could only hope for things to be better. She didn't like how overprotective he was over their daughter. The girl was seventeen and she was pretty much old enough to decide things for herself. And she wished for her husband to understand those things.

Jabeum sat on the sofa with his arms crossed against his chest. Nabi and Bang Chan looked down not knowing what to do.

"How long have you been dating?"

"Five mon-"

Jaebum raised his hand up feeling betrayed that his princess has been dating someone for such a long time and didn't tell him. He was scared for his daughter. He was scared that her heart would be broken by some guy. He didn't want her to go through that phase.

"Nabi, you know what to do." He said with full authority.

"Excuse me Sir. I really-"

"I was talking to my daughter." He interrupted the boy and left the room while glancing at Chan. Nabi had her head hung low. She was close to crying but held everything back.

Meera stayed there and waited for Jabeum to leave. Then she walked towards the young couple.

"Chan.. I hope you don't mind his behaviour." She said because she knew that Jabeum's behaviour would definitely hurt Nabi.

Chan politely shook his head. "It's alright mam. He loves his daughter." Meera smiled and gently pat his cheek.

"You'll understand once you have a daughter of your own." 

After giving an apologetic smile to her daughter and Chan, Meera went to talk to Jaebum. She had to talk to him and ask him to think rationally.

She first knocked on the door and then opened it to see Jaebum sitting on the bed with a file in his hands. It was obvious that he wasn't interested in the folder. His mind was elsewhere.

"Jaebum..."

"No. You hid it from me. You knew about their relationship yet you didn't even consider to tell me." He harshly closed the file and threw it to the other side of the bed.

Meera sighed and sat next to him.

"Tell me one thing. Is it wrong for her to date?"

Jaebum was silent. He didn't say anything. He couldn't.

"Yes. I know about their relationship. She wanted to tell you too but I stopped her. Because I knew that you would react this way. So I met Chan before and he seems like a nice guy. They both like each other. What's the harm?"

"But She is still seventeen! She is young. She doesn't know what's good for her." He argued.

"Why don't you trust our daughter? Maybe she isn't the brightest when it comes to academics but she is a wise girl. She is mature enough to take decisions for herself. Trust her. She knows what's right and wrong for her."

"But.." he looked down feeling defeated. He knew his daughter. He didn't want to see her cry over a guy.

"Didn't you see how broken she looked when you asked her to break up?"

Meera continued seeing that he didn't have any argument.

"Remember how you didn't want her to attend a birthday party last year?"

"They had alcohol! What if someone had spiked her drink?!"

Meera smiled a little. "She could've lied to us and gone to the party. We wouldn't have known anyway. Kids are smart these days. But did she go?"

"No." He answered in a small voice.

"She understood your concern and didn't ask us again. We need to understand her the same way Jaebum. We should appreciate that she doesn't lie to us or go behind our backs. She's always listened to us and never once went against us." She paused for a while before continuing. "It's not like she is harming anyone. She is dating a nice guy. It isn't much to ask from us."

He still didn't look hundred percent convinced.

"What if one day she doesn't tell us anything? What if she decides to do all the things that you're afraid she'll do? Next time she will be dating someone who'll hurt her more than you can imagine. You wouldn't know a thing Jaebum. You'll think that she is still your innocent princess when she's not. She will lie to us and slowly start to talk back to us. You won't be able to do anything. You won't kick her out or lock her down. She wouldn't listen to us.  She will eventually start to hate us because we are not letting her live her life. What then?"

Everything which Meera said brought chills down his spine. His hands trembled thinking about each and every scenario she mentioned.

"I want her to do everything she wants to do. I don't want her to think that we didn't let her live her life. I'm not saying that we won't stop her ever but dating is not something we should stop her from. If you're still in doubt you can talk to Chan if you want. He won't disappoint you. And it's not like they are getting married."

Jaebum processed everything in his mind. It is better that his daughter hating him or lying to him. At least if this Chan guy hurts her, he will there for his princess to wipe her tears.

"Okay. But I'll talk to him first."

Meera smiled widely. She leaned her head on his shoulder and hugged him from the side. "I knew that you'll understand. I love you."

Jaebum bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. He held his wife's hand and turned to the side to kiss her forehead.
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Nabi led Chan out of the gates. All this while she had her head down. She didn't know how to face Chan.

The boy understood her and stopped walking to hold her shoulders.

"Nabi.. look at me." She didn't. "Please." Chan held her cheeks and made her look at him. Tears made their way out of her eyes. He hugged her tightly.

"Nabi-ah. Don't cry. Please." She hugged him back. After some time they finally moved back but chan didn't let go off her hands.

"You'll break up with me right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Why would I do that?" He asked with a surprised tone. He knew why she asked but wanted to make the atmosphere lighter.

"My father.."

Chan cupped her cheeks and looked at her with a bright smile. "He is just worried about you. You are precious Nabi. Don't worry. I'll win over him too. Give all the stress to me. You just relax. Okay precious?"

He looked at her expectantly. She blinked with her wet eye lashes. "You won't leave me?"

"Of course I won't."

He then took a deep sigh as his hands left her cheeks to hold her hands again.

"Nabi.. I like you. I really do. But if you want to break up because your father doesn't like me then it's up to you. I won't hate you for that. You are prioritising your parents over me and that's how it should be. I will prioritise my family over you too. We are in a simple relationship. You are someone I've always imagined I'll be with. And I'm really lucky to have found a girl like you."

He paused to look at her reaction. She was listening to him attentively.

"I can't promise you that we will be together for the rest of your lives or I will marry you for sure because things change with time. But for as long as we're together, I promise to keep you happy and to be your diary. I want to be the shoulder you'll cry on. I not only want to be with you in your good times but I want to be there for you when things get difficult. I want you to count on me- wait why are you crying now?"

He chuckled a little and moved forward to hug her.

"What am I supposed to do when you're being so cheesy?! I can't handle it." He gently rubbed her back and swayed their bodies side to side.

All this while they didn't realise that someone was listening to their conversation. Im Jaebum. He stood still behind the gates moved by Chan's sincere feelings for his daughter. He looked away, regret filling him up for not trusting his daughter's choice.

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A month later

"I've always wanted to come here."

Meera said while looking at the place in awe. Nabi nodded in agreement and adjusted her dress before sitting on the cushion. It was a private room in a fancy restaurant and the three of them were there to celebrate a special day.

"Happy Birthday Papa!"

Nabi took out a rectangular shaped gift and gave it to Jaebum with a big smile on her face. The man excitedly opened the wrapping to see a green tie.

"It looks expensive." He said as his fingers touched the fabric. Nabi nodded enthusiastically.

"I worked part time in a museum for a few months." Jaebum had a shocked look on his face. "Really?"

"Of course. I can do this for my papa. And I got to learn a lot for my papers."

"My turn." Meera then took out a small box. It was a black and white picture of them in a wooden frame.

"It's beautiful." He placed his hand on top of Meera's and squeezed it gently. "Thank you."

After some time a waiter placed a cake on the table with the essentials on the side and left. Nabi stuck the candles on it and was about to light them up when Jaebum stopped her.

"We have a guest."

"Guest? Who?" Meera asked curiously.

"Grandma won't come right? She is supposed to attend someone's funeral." Nabi said knowing her father very well that he won't be inviting anyone else.

Just then the room opened and the guest entered. Nabi and Meera's lips were parted in surprise and shock.

Bang Chan bowed respectfully and sat on the empty cushion next to Jaebum who suddenly turned awkward.

"Happy Birthday Sir." Chan placed a small box in front of Jaebum. He hesitantly picked it up and opened it to see a bottle of perfume.

"Thank you."

Meera and Nabi still couldn't believe their eyes especially the younger female. She was seeing him after a month and it looked unreal. She wanted an explanation. Nabi tried to communicate to Chan through her eyes but failed when Jaebum caught her.

"I invited him." He said reading their minds. Chan just awkwardly smiled.

"You did?" Meera couldn't hide her surprised tone.

"It's getting late. Light the candles." Jaebum said before they could ask more questions. Meera lighted up the candles while Chan looked at his girlfriend with eyes full of adoration. Nabi suddenly turned shy and bit her lips while looking down or at her mother.

"Make a wish." Meera said when all the candles were lighted up.

"Happy Birthday to you~"

They all clapped and cheered and took their turns to feed the Birthday 'boy'. Food was served, pictures were clicked and everyone was cheerful with big smiles on there faces.

Jaebum looked at them with a small smile, hoping for his wish to come true.

I want everyone to be happy and healthy.

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