Taehyung

Theater!! Sunday? SHIT!

My eyes quickly scan the walls, and I spot the cuckoo clock. It is almost 11 am, and Areum's ballet recital starts in thirty minutes from now, and I'm here half-naked and almost completely forgetting my daughter's important day.

"Uh, shit! I actually totally forgot it. I have somewhere really important to go right away. I've to be there in like thirty minutes, Maya," she lifts herself off me upon hearing my words, and I get up from the couch, tying my sweatpants tighter around my waist.

I'm going to the recital in my sweats. What kind of a father am I?
I HATE MYSELF!
Areum is going to hate me forever.

"Oh, my! Is it far away? How will you go? Would you reach on time or shall I drop you?" Maya's questions are many, and her eyes don't leave my face for even a brief while.

"I- I can go there by myself. Uhm- do you by any chance have something decent that I can wear? I really don't want to show up to a formal event in my loungewear," I ask hesitantly and rub the back of my neck, diverting my eyes to the floor, hopeless that she wouldn't have anything anyway.

I would at least need something to cover my torso, but I can't just snatch my shirt off her body.

"I do have some of Richie's clothes that I wear sometimes. I think they'll fit you well. Come on in," she waves her hand for me to follow her before she quickly jogs off to her bedroom.

Phew! Good that I asked!!

I follow her and see that she has picked out a pair of navy blue formal trousers and a sky-blue button-up shirt, both of which are neatly pressed and look as if they would fit me perfectly. Maya then takes out a black leather belt and places it next to the clothes on the bed.

"These were his graduation day clothes, and so I kept them safe. I only wear the shirt sometimes, but, don't worry, they've been washed recently. You can wear them," she sends a warm smile my way, and I can't even thank her enough right away because I've already lost another five minutes.

"Thank you so much, Maya. I really don't know how to thank you enough," I aggressively pull down my sweats and step into the trousers while Maya unbuttons the shirt for me.

"I'm happy that you didn't ask for your T-shirt. It's so comfortable," she winks, chuckling, handing me the shirt.

I help myself into it and button it up at full speed and roughly fix my hair using my hands.

"I'm really sorry to leave like this, but I'll surely meet you soon and return the clothes and make up for everything, okay?" I kiss her cheeks once when she steps closer to me.

"Do you need anything else?" Maya asks me with a smile, her eyes searching mine for an answer, and I shake my head.

"I'll leave now," I dip my neck and peck her lips once, making her smile against my lips before I literally run out of the bedroom, grabbing my phone and wallet on the way, and sliding my feet into my slippers.

The only thing that probably happened at the right time in my life was spotting an available taxi the moment I stepped out of her house.

Sprinting over to the taxi, I throw open the door and climb into the backseat and turn back to look at Maya as she stands at the doorway and waves to me, laughing to herself.

I wave back, letting out an embarrassed chuckle before I tell the driver the destination. He turns on the GPS and feeds in the location details, and it tells us that we would reach the destination in about thirty minutes.

Fuck! That's ten minutes later than the start time.

"Can you like, go a little faster? I am running late for an important event," I lean a bit towards the driver, trying to coax him to drive faster, but he only throws me a nasty glare that shuts me up.

Looks like someone already messed with his day.

Sighing, I lean back in my seat and pull out my phone, switching it on and waiting for it to boot up, which seems to be taking forever. After a long time, it finally powers up, and I contemplate calling Jang-Mi to check up on the event.

But she would be really mad at me now and might not probably answer my call.

So, I put my phone away and decide to go there directly. These kind of kids events usually start a little later than the planned timing, and it wouldn't hurt anyone if I reached ten minutes late.

Areum would be upset, but I can always make it up to her with some cuddles, a few kisses and her favorite egg tart.

My eyes land on my feet which are clad in a pair of slippers.

Formal clothing and slippers? Sure, why not? I look like a mess anyway. And it's not like anyone's going to notice these. I would be one among the many parents there.

I haven't shaved my faint stubble, I haven't showered, and I'm dressed in clothing that was used by another man. What a great way to show up for my daughter's ballet recital!

Screw my life!

Fortunately, the roads are not crowded as usual, and so the taxi arrives at our destination bang on time. Quickly paying off the taxi, I climb out, taking long strides towards the venue where I notice a few parents lingering outside and slowly moving towards the entry doorways. I also notice a few kids who are dressed up for the event being ushered towards the backstage by the teachers.

Thank the Gods, it hasn't started yet.

Entering the theater, I am momentarily blinded by the sudden darkness as opposed to the bright daylight outside. The stage lights are dimmed, and there are a few parents who are scrambling around in the darkness and trying to find seats with a good stage view for themselves while using the flashlights in their phones to help them navigate.

It takes a while for my vision to adjust to the darkness, after which I pull out my phone and call Jang-Mi, hoping that she would answer my call. Even though we're having a rough relationship, I wouldn't want to ruin it for my daughter on her most important day for which she has been preparing for over four months now.

Much to my disappointment, Jang-Mi doesn't answer my call, and my attempts at trying to locate her inside the dark theater gallery turn futile. The place is still noisy and filled with chatters from the restless parents, and I decide to meet Areum once before her show to wish her the best and let her know that I'm here to watch her perform.

Pushing through the exit door at the side, I jog up the few stairs that lead me to the backstage, which is a long corridor from which the dressing rooms branch out on both sides.

As I walk down the hallway, I notice that all the dressing room doors are labeled with the respective learner level numbers. Areum is in level one, and I locate the room at the far end of the corridor.

I knock on the door once, and it is soon opened by a teacher who I've seen a few times at my daughter's ballet class when I've gone to drop her off on rare occasions.

"Yes?" The teacher furrows her eyebrows at me.

"안녕하십니까!" (Hello!) I bow to the teacher. "Is Areum here? I'm her father," I inform her, and she nods and turns her head to look around the room.

"Areum, your appa is here," she calls out and opens the door wider, and soon, my daughter comes running to the doorway where I'm waiting to meet her.

I get down on my knees with a big grin as soon as I spot her dressed in a pretty powder pink tutu, her feet and legs covered in matching stockings and her hair neatly tied up in a cute little bun on top of her head, which is very similar to how Maya wore her hair this morning.

"Hey, bubba," I hold my daughter's small shoulders and smile at her. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I wanted to wish you good luck for today. How are you feeling?" I ask her, admiring how pretty she looks with a faint hint of lipstick on her cute lips, and a rose tint applied on her chubby cheeks.

"I'm so excited, appa. Teacher told us that we would be going in third. Will you watch all the dances? Because my best friend Keira's show is the last." She cups my cheeks in her hands, and I cover her hands with mine.

"Appa, will you please stay till Keira's dance ends? Eomma said we will leave as soon as my show ends," she pleads cutely, giving me her irresistible toothy smile where her eyes turn into adorable little crescents that cover up the stars twinkling in her bright eyes.

"Of course, I will. We will all stay till Keira's show ends and then have lunch outside and go home, okay?" I softly flick under her chin with two fingers, making her squeal in excitement, clapping her hands and bouncing on her heels.

"You look so cute today, and I want to give you a big kiss, but you know how appa's kisses are, and I'm afraid it will wipe off your make-up. So how about this?" I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips, planting a lingering kiss on the back of her hand.

Areum's face turns pink, and she giggles cutely, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing me in a tight hug which I reciprocate with equal enthusiasm.

"Do your best today, and know that appa is always out there cheering for you. Fighting!" We do a fist-bump before the teacher calls her back inside.

"Go, we'll meet after Keira's dance ends," I gesture for her to go back inside with my raised eyebrows, and she jogs back in, waving to me while I stand up and wave goodbye to my daughter.

I head back to the theater and find a seat for myself among the third row from the last, yet I'm happy with the view that it offers.

Pulling out my phone to turn it into silent mode, I notice that there's a text from Maya.

Maya:
Have you reached safely? Were you able to make it on time?

Smiling, I type out a reply to her.

Me:
Yes, I reached safe and on time.

She replies almost instantly, just when I turn my mobile into silent mode.

Maya:
Awesome.
I hope you have a good day!!
😊

Me:
I hope the same for you. I'll meet you soon and return the clothes.

Maya:
Do you want yours back? I don't think I want to return them.😉

Me:
You already claimed the shirt

Me:
I left my pants there too

Maya:
They're on me, right now.

Me:
They aren't washed

Maya:
Do I mind?

Maya:
They make me miss you less🥰

My heart thuds rapidly when I see her texts, and my hands begin to tremble; the smile on my face refusing to fade away.

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💖

How the hell did four months end already???

Published on : 05/01/2022