CH 182

3. Candy

Muyeol heard someone knock on his study door as he worked, and he took his eyes off the computer screen.

“Yes?” he called out.

He saw Jiyoon open the door of his study as she exclaimed, “Dad!”

Muyeol’s face brightened instantly. There were three people in his life who could make him happy just by being next to him: Yoon Yiyoung, Cha Jiyoon, and Cha Joonho. Muyeol always thought himself to be the luckiest to be able to have them in his life.

Muyeol smiled. “Come in.”

Jiyoon quickly entered the study after briefly checking the area behind her, and carefully closed the door. It looked like she was going to tell him a secret, which flattered Muyeol. It was childish to feel this way, but it was a way for him to confirm her love for her father.

With a pleased smile, Muyeol watched as Jiyoon walked toward his desk. Her features belonged to both him and Yiyoung, but her image resembled him more, perhaps it was because of her gaze.

Yiyoung had mentioned it several times before, “Wow, how does she look just like you? She’s definitely your daughter.”

However, while her physical appearance was similar to Muyeol, her brain was like that of Yiyoung. Jiyoon was a very smart kid. Every time he looked at her, she reminded Muyeol of Yiyoung.

He had wondered how great Yiyoung would have been had she been raised in normal circumstances like others. And when he looked at Jiyoon, Muyeol found the answer to his question. It was more than he had ever imagined. Everything was doubled: her love, her happiness, her expectations, et cetera. Jiyoon had a lot of good habits, and almost none of the bad ones.

Muyeol’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he looked at his beautiful child. He wished she would lead an even more beautiful life, and meet a great person in the future. He wished she would be happier, adding more beauty by adding love and people in her life.

Jiyoon stood next to his desk. “I know you’re busy, Dad, so I’ll say it quickly.”

It was a rule in their house. Muyeol usually didn’t bring work to his house, but there were some unavoidable situations when he had no choice but to. He was a CEO, and was loaded with work. And because he always tried to make time for his family for dinner and weekends, he sometimes had to bring his work home.

So whenever he was in his study, no one bothered him; a rule which Yiyoung came up with for him.

“Mom knows you want to stay with Dad because Mom always wants to stay with Dad, too. You will say that I don’t, but I want to stay with Dad the most. But Mom and Dad also have work to do,” Yiyoung had told the children.

The children always thought they needed to play with Muyeol after dinner by doing puzzles, reading books, playing games, role-playing a hair-salon, or playing polo, with Muyeol as the horse. He always sacrificed himself to play with the kids.

He would finish his work after their bedtime, and so there were many instances when he couldn’t sleep at night. It wasn’t good for his health in the long term, and so Yiyoung had made the rule.

But Muyeol was such a good dad and playmate in their eyes, so the kids hadn’t been able to accept it easily.

Back then, when Muyeol saw the tears pooling in his children’s eyes, he couldn’t control his feelings and was at a loss. But Yiyoung was different. She had looked them straight in the eye, knelt down, and said to the whining children, “Mom and Dad don’t work alone. We work with other people, and there are rules, and promises we have to keep. Work is a promise you make with others.”

She had patted their heads as she calmly explained, “If you don’t keep your promise with others, then others won’t keep their promises with you. So we have to keep our promises. That’s how we get good results. Sometimes, we face bad results, too, but we always try our best to get better results…”

The kids seemed to be on the verge of crying. They hadn’t understood what Yiyoung was because they were too young, which Yiyoung already knew. She had comforted them with hugs as their tears rolled down their cheeks. “You won’t know what Mommy is saying now, but Mommy is going to keep explaining it to you guys. Mommy will continue to explain how Daddy is trying his best to stay with us. And Mommy is going to explain to you how important it is for you to give him some time on his own.”

Muyeol had been impressed to hear her words. Yiyoung always acknowledged him, and was considerate of him. Every time he saw that, it warmed his heart, and he gained more strength and motivation to do more for his family. He wanted to pay back the love he received from his family by manifold.

So Muyeol had sat down next to Yiyoung while the kids clung to his neck as if they’d been waiting for it all day. Muyeol had almost fallen on his back because of that, but he held his children in a tight embrace and said, “If you give Dad some time, Dad will finish the work fast and come out.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Then, 5 minutes?” Joonho asked innocently, making Muyeol to crack up.

Yiyoung laughed, too, but she took care of the situation.

“Mom knows that your dad is a superman, but superman can’t do Dad’s work. Only Dad can do his work, so…” Yiyoung pointed toward Muyeol’s study and continued, “When he goes into that room, you guys have to wait until he comes out.”

Jiyoon had been praiseworthy; she quickly accepted Yiyoung’s words. “Okay.”

But Joonho had been different… “Dad, Dad, Dad! So you mean 5 minutes?”

Muyeol had laughed loudly again at that.

Though Yiyoung’s explanation didn’t work right away, as she continued explaining over time, no one had bothered him when he was in his study.

But here was Jiyoon now, visiting him in his study.