Chapter One - Vibes 

 

Riley rushed around the dinner table, adding last minute decorations to each plate. Time was moving fast, too fast. She had less than an hour before her father would be home. She still had to boil the macaroni, finish the yeast rolls, make the punch, and fold all of the napkins for the tablescape that she copied off of pinterest. 

“So much, so much,” the twelve year old wiped the sweat from her brow with the tale of her Gingerbread themed apron. “Why didn’t I ask Hanson for help? I’m so stubborn,” she fussed at herself as the realization hit that she may not get everything done. 

For the fifth time, she watched the Youtube video on how to properly fold the napkin into a turkey, “DAMNIT!” she swore as her sixth iteration looked just as bad as her first. She was overwhelmed. But her stubbornness refused to let her quit. This dinner meant everything to her. She had to get it right because it was her last chance, her last chance to get through to her father and make him - love her.

As she started the Youtube video over again, she suddenly smelled something burning. She lifted her head, causing the long black curls of her hair to drop gently over her left shoulder. She wrinkled her nose, looking around for what smelled so awful. She couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be, so she returned to folding her napkin. Seconds later, she realized that it was her stuffing. The carefully crafted stuffing with the fancy truffles and chestnuts. It was burning. She had completely forgotten about it amidst all of her napkin drama.

Riley screamed, “Oh no!” She rushed to the oven, grabbed her mitts and pulled the oven door open. Thick black smoke billowed out, filling the high-end designer kitchen with grimy smoke. She closed her eyes and coughed, barely able to breathe. The left side of her casserole dish was on fire. “What have I done? Oh no. Oh no!”  

The kitchen was dark, filled with smoke. She couldn’t see anything. The fire was spreading and suddenly the entire casserole dish was burning hot with orange flames shooting from the top of it. Riley panicked. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do.

“Fire extinguisher!” Her cream colored Chanel dress, with the bodice full of ruffles, was covered in soot from the fire. 

Remnants of smoke rose from her apron as she ran frantically around the kitchen trying to find the fire extinguisher. There were over seventy cabinets in her kitchen and she had no idea where to look. The situation was getting more intense by the minute. She crawled under the kitchen sink, thinking that was the most obvious place to look for the extinguisher. It wasn’t there. When she looked up again, the fire had begun to crawl up the wall. Flames tickled the fringes of the curtain that hung over the window. Tiles began to pop away from the backsplash, cracking and creaking as they went. 

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Riley found it hard to breathe. There was a tremendous pain in her chest as she continued running aimlessly through the kitchen looking for something to use to put out the fire. She felt faint, as if she may black out. But she continued, slamming cabinets open, searching for anything that could get the fire out. “Help! Help!”

She ran back over to the oven and doused the casserole dish with water. But by this time, it was too late. The fire had crawled to the ceiling engulfing the drapes over the window and covering the entire wall. Riley grabbed her chest. She was out of breath, she could barely move her legs. She fell to one knee, still screaming for someone to come and help her. Smoke was everywhere. She coughed a deeply distressed cough, as her lungs began to burn. 

“I have to get out,” she choked out the words. But her legs, her legs wouldn’t move. 

 

All at once she heard a tremendous noise. Someone had burst through the back door. She was pulled, dragged along the floor to a small pocket of the kitchen where there was fresh air.  She was left there, near the door as her unknown hero headed back into the fire. 

Riley was still unable to breathe. She could barely lift her head as she searched through the thick cloud of smoke to try to figure out who had come to save her. She covered her ears as the hiss of the heavy fire extinguisher released layer upon layer of foam over the angry, out of control flames. Whoever was battling through the smoke was winning. Inch by inch the orange glow of the fiery demon was suffocated by the thick foam. Less than five minutes later, it was over. The flames were out. 

The thick black smoke remained, lingering in the air as a reminder of her mistake. She immediately felt remorse. She should have known that she couldn’t cook a full Thanksgiving dinner alone. She should have known that she needed help. She should have accepted Hanson’s offer to supervise and make sure she was well equipped. All of it was  her fault. all of it. Her only hope was that her father wouldn’t ground her or force her to go live with her mother after learning what she did. His kitchen was ruined - and it was all her fault.

“RILEY!” 

She heard her father’s angry voice call her. Her heart sank. It was him. He was the one who had rescued her from her tremendous faux pas. She was terrified. She did not want to face him, not him. She would have preferred to be rescued by anybody, ANYBODY else, even a serial killer who drank children’s blood would be better than facing her father. She knew from the tone of his voice that she was in deep trouble. 

“RILEY, what happened? How did this fire start? Where’s Hanson?”

Riley Jeon was not exactly sure which question to answer first. She looked up at her father. He hovered over her, tall, dark, handsome, 5’ 10” - 6 feet in his designer dress shoes. His dimples pierced his face in anger. And his otherwise neatly coiffed hair was all over the place, with several tendrils dangling over his tan forehead. She could see the churning of his chiseled jaw as he tampered down his anger. He was still dressed in his $8000 designer suit; black suit of course, since that was the only color he seemed capable of wearing. His tie was askew and his fancy pocket watch was dangling from his vest pocket. He glared down at her before lifting her into his arms and examining her for burns. 

 

Riley tried to break the tension by laughing it off. “Ha-ha-ha, so you see, I didn’t realize that truffles were flammable.”

“Riley…,” her father, Jeongguk Jeon, was not pleased, nor did he find anything funny about the situation. 

Riley could smell the smoke that had diffused through the fabric of his expensive suit. Undoubtedly, she would be in even more trouble once he realized that his suit was ruined. “Daddy, I’m sorry. I-I-I was trying to cook you a special dinner and somehow all hell broke loose and this shit started to burn and my napkins fell over like a limp carrot and my beans were too spicy and my casserole was runny and this fire burned up the entire damn kitchen and I’m just as pissed as you are!” 

Riley’s profanity laden explanation did not help her cause. “Would you please watch your language? We’ve spoken about this before. Ladies don’t have potty mouths,” Jeongguk frowned at his daughter. 

Satisfied that she wasn’t physically harmed, he placed her down on the ground.

“I’m sorry daddy. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll pay for all of the damage.”

“With what money? Every penny you have belongs to me,” Jeongguk swooped up her long black hair and twisted it around his hand until he formed a bun that he pinned on the top of her head. “Now tell me how this happened.”

“It’s bullshit really,” Riley looked up and could see the smoke wafting through the kitchen, heading for the open air of the backyard. “I-I mean it’s bs. I was trying to cook a special Thanksgiving dinner for you. That’s all. Hanson couldn’t be here. I gave him the day off so that he could be with his own family. I’m sure he gets tired of doting after us on special holidays. It was cruel for him to have to work today.”

“You gave him…the day off?” Jeongguk removed his smoke laden black suit jacket and hung it over the chair. “Let’s get something straight young lady. Hanson and Alice and Carmen all work for me, not you. I did not give Hanson the authority to take the day off and he certainly should not have assumed that authority from a twelve year old child.”

“Oh well shit. I gave Alice and Carmen the day off too so….,” Riley grimaced.

“Language. And stop relieving the staff of their duties. I pay them a very hefty salary to take care of us. It’s not easy being a single father with a child who has such…proclivities.”

“You take that back. I don’t have a single proclivity to my name!” Riley folded her arms in anger. 

“Do you even know what that word means?” Jeongguk cracked a smile. He picked Riley up again and placed her on the counter. Using a dish towel that he found on the kitchen table, he rinsed it with sink water and then used it to wipe the soot from Riley’s face. 

“NO! But I don’t feel that name calling is necessary. I said I was sorry.”

Jeongguk tried to explain patiently, “This is about $20,000 worth of damage. This is exactly why kids shouldn’t cook without an adult.”

“TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS? For a dish full of burned stuffing?”

“Yes, Riley. And what is this about cooking dinner for me? Door dash exists you know?” The more Jeongguk wiped his beautiful daughter’s face, the more soot he uncovered. 

Riley pushed her father’s hand away from her face and jumped down from the counter. “Why do you have to work on Thanksgiving anyway? If you had been here, home with your daughter as you should have been, then…then…,” she began to cry, “...then I would have had adult supervision.” She turned her back to her father and wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

Riley could see her many, many failed attempts at making turkey napkins and that made her cry even more. Even though the smoke had cleared out, she still had trouble breathing. She decided to take a seat at the table where her half-curated tablescape seemed to mock her. 

“Ah, so that’s what all of this is about? You don’t like me working on holidays?”

“Of course not! HELLO!  What kid wants to see their dad leave at the butt crack of dawn only to be babysat by patronizing, sixty year old housekeepers who don’t even know how to use the internet? I want to spend time with you daddy. It’s been this way ever since I was born. You never want to be with me. You never spend time with me. You never do anything that a real dad should do. I thought that if I could cook a special dinner for you then it would make you love me. You would realize that I’m the bomb.com and you would start choosing me over your stupid job.”

“The bomb.com? Do you own that domain name or…,” Jeongguk joked.

“STOP IT DADDY! IT’S NOT FUNNY!” Riley felt a sharp pain. She used her small hands with the glossy pink nail polish, to hold her chest where she felt the discomfort. Her tears dropped quickly and puddled inside of the ruffled collar of her expensive dress.

Like a proper siren, Riley laid out over the kitchen table in the most dramatic fashion. Jeongguk rolled his eyes. Despite his daughter’s dramatic reenactment of MacBeth she expressed valid points that needed to be addressed. Jeongguk tried to explain, even though he wasn’t sure what exactly to say.

“The rest of dinner looks fabulous. I mean, look at that turkey. What other kid can cook a full turkey that looks that beautiful?” Jeongguk stared at the turkey that sat in the middle of the table.

Riley raised her head, “It’s plastic. Part of my tablescape. I don’t know how to cook a whole fucking turkey. That’s why I warmed up some turkey deli slices in the microwave. If I tried to cook a whole turkey, we’d all die of botulism.” She put her head back down.

“Oh, right. Ok then…everything else looks terrific. Jeongguk placed his finger in the middle of the pumpkin pie, thinking it may be plastic too. But it was real. He withdrew a finger covered in pumpkin goo. “I work to put food on the table. I have very important clients who need me. People need lawyers everyday, even on Thanksgiving. Sometimes my clients find themselves in trouble and stuck in jail. I’m the only one who can get them out. Imagine if it was your dad or mom stuck in jail for Christmas. You would want someone like me to help them wouldn’t you?”

“No. I would say fuck you, that’s what you get for being a criminal during the holidays.” Riley tossed her hair and then laid her head back down on the table. 

“Riley Marie Jeon! I’m going to rinse your mouth out with soap if you dare throw another F bomb at me.” If there was anything that he loved most about his daughter, it was her propensity towards salty language. It was just odd and he had no idea how she’d picked it up. He had never used foul language in front of her, yet she swore like it was a pivotal part of the English language. It was just one of the things that made her endearing. “Apologize.”

“Sorry,” Riley grimaced.

“I fully expect you to appreciate my work. And as for you - I enjoy spending time with you. I think our relationship has gotten much better over the last few years. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“No. No daddy, I would not,” Riley continued to lay there, staring at her plastic turkey.

“Clearly we have a difference of opinion,” Jeongguk smiled.

“My opinion is the one that matters. My opinion is the one that will land me in an alley somewhere addicted to tic-tacs, dating a stream of manipulative older men all because I have daddy abandonment issues. And who’s going to pay for that therapy daddy? Who? Certainly not me because my tic-tac addiction will preclude me from holding down a job with stable income and I’ll blow through your inheritance by the time I’m thirty-eight.” Riley was quite specific about her perceived mental state.

“Baby, I don’t think tic-tac addition is a thing…,”

Riley yelled over him, “Oh it’s a thing daddy, it’s a thing!” She dropped her head to the table once more.

Jeongguk was at a loss for how to salvage their evening. He didn’t even know how to talk to his only child. He didn’t know how to reassure her. If there was one skill that daddies were supposed to have, it was the ability to reassure their little girls. Sadly, he failed at that. Further reason he should have never agreed to be a father in the first place. 

Jeongguk stared at his child. He didn’t know what the fuck to say because every word out of his mouth just seemed to ratched up her anxiety. Only in his bizarro world could he be accused of being a villain when he was actually the victim. Afterall, he was the aggrieved party. He was the one who had thousands of dollars of damage to his kitchen. He was the one who had to eat deli slices for Thanksgiving because his child had given the staff the day off. He was the one blamed for all of Riley’s problems in the world, including the fire that she started. 

“I love you. Does that help solve any of this?” Jeongguk said cluelessly.

“Oh daddy, you just don’t get it,” Riley burst into tears and ran out of the room. 

 

Jeongguk walked back through his burned kitchen. Riley was lucky that he came home when he did. The fire was out of control and she could have easily been hurt. In fact, the entire house could have burned down, leaving them homeless. The house held special meaning to Jeongguk because it belonged to his parents. It was the palatial estate he never wanted. However, with time, it became one of his most cherished possessions because it was his only link to the past, to the parents he adored. And within the blink of an eye, he almost lost it all. 

Riley. The constant thorn in his side. And although she was a handful, it was really Hanson that he was angry with. Leaving Riley alone and allowing her to attempt to cook a full Thanksgiving dinner, was unacceptable. He contemplated firing him. But the thought of his most loyal staff member being out of work for the holidays didn’t sit well with him. Hanson had worked for the Jeon family since his early twenties. Now in his sixties, he had no place else to go. The Jeons were like family to him, and to a certain degree, the feeling was mutual. Hanson had been there throughout Jeongguk’s teen years, often butting heads with him. The situation only became worse when Riley came along. Hanson had no idea what to do with a teenage girl. But he did his best and eventually he and Riley bonded. She looked at him like a grandfather, a figure-head that was much more perfect than Jeongguk could ever be. 

Jeongguk made a call to his handyman. He needed someone out there immediately to survey the damage. The fire reached the ceiling and likely damaged the joists and wooden frame that held up that part of the house. He wasn’t even sure that the second floor was stable. 

Even though it was Thanksgiving, Jeongguk expected service immediately. He made a few phone calls. The first call was to Hanson. He gave him an hour to return to work, or else risk a dock in his pay. The second call was to Thomas, his handyman. He gave him an hour to survey the damage and provide an estimate. Both men complained, worried about the time that would be spent away from their families on a holiday. Jeongguk didn’t care. Work came first. Family came second. It was the natural order of things because money was what kept families fed. Hard work was something he’d learned from his father and he expected that same level of dedication to everyone within his employ. Those who surrounded him were rewarded for their probity and dedication to the job. Those who could not keep up, were dismissed. It was just that simple. 

 

Jeongguk retired to his home office. The house was quiet which meant he could get some work done. The walls of his business domicile were as bleak and drab as his clothing. Dark wooden panels, leather bound books stacked along cherry wood bookcases, mahogany furniture and dark green velvet curtains that were never drawn to let in the light. The entire office was a depressing place, at least that was Riley’s opinion. 

 

He maintained a lavish minibar in the far east corner of his office. Many of the bottles of liquor were decades old, most of them worth thousands of dollars. With his clothing still reeking of smoke, he rolled up his sleeves and poured himself a strong glass of whisky with extra ice. The clinking of ice against glass was soothing for him. He quickly sniffed the smooth aroma and twirled the liquid in clockwise fashion.

The stack of files on his desk had gone nowhere despite combing through them for hours the previous night. He just didn’t seem to be making progress. Despite his law firm being in its fifth year of operation, he still had no partners. He did it all himself, court appearances, appeals, bookkeeping, IOLTA accounts, plea negotiations, billing, ex parte meetings - all of it. Jeongguk loved the law, and the law definitely loved him. As one of the most prestigious lawyers in San Francisco, he sat atop a win record of 98%, unheard of in such a large city with so many prosecutorial resources. He was a fierce Defense Attorney. Just the mention of his name caused Prosecutors to run to the negotiation table. No one wanted to go up against Jeongguk Jeon, especially in court. 

A native of South Korea, he spoke several languages including Japanese, English, Spanish and of course - Korean. The legal name given to him at birth was Jeon Jeongguk, of the prestigious Jeon clan. They were amongst the wealthiest in Korea and that wealth transferred well to America when they immigrated in the early 2000’s. Jeongguk’s law practice was lucrative, adding to a legacy of prosperity that he’d inherited from his parents who were also Attorneys. 

 

Jeongguk took a heavy seat at his computer. The smell of smoke was starting to annoy him. He needed to shower and change, but work came first. He had several cases going to court within two weeks and he felt ill-prepared. The murder case, where his client was accused of killing her elderly father, was his most difficult because his client was absolutely  guilty. The San Francisco police had a full video taped confession. She admitted to giving her father arsenic in his canned peaches, slowly poisoning him to death over a period of six months. She admitted to burying his body in the backyard and stealing his retirement checks. She even admitted to using all of his credit cards to buy new cars and designer clothes for her boyfriend. 

Jeongguk’s job was not to get a not-guilty verdict, although he was skillful enough to do it given the bullshit case that the prosecution had put together. No, his job was to get her declared mentally insane, sentenced to a few years in a mental institution, never to see the inside of a prison. That was his goal. 

Both his clerk and his secretary questioned openly why he would take such a case. Jeongguk had his reasons. Curiosity was at the top of the list. In his own way, he was searching for understanding. He wanted to know more about his client and what had driven her to kill a father who had cared for her his entire life. She claimed to love him. She claimed that he was a wonderful father who had never done anything wrong. Yet she still killed him. Deeper reflection revealed that the client who so heartlessly killed her dad, reminded him of Riley. He wondered, did Riley have the same resentment towards him that his client had towards her father? Would she one day, when he was old and feeble, poison his peaches? Could her tic-tac addiction lead to her burying him in his own backyard?  What could drive a child to hate her father so much? Did Riley hate him? He genuinely hoped that his client could give him insight into what he’d done wrong to harbor such a tenuous relationship with his only child.

Depositions were scheduled to begin in exactly seven days. He wasn’t ready. He went to work on his opening arguments. Within two hours there was a knock at his door. 

“Come in,” he looked up at the old fashioned Grandfather clock that belonged to his great-grandmother. It was almost 7:00pm. 

“Mr. Jeon.” Hanson walked in with a tray. There was roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, a piece of what he assumed was Riley’s pumpkin pie and a bottle of water. 

“She almost burned the house down. How could you leave a child alone on Thanksgiving?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Hanson quipped.

“Your role is not to question me or how I run my household. I hired you for a reason… to take care of the kid. I work long hours and holidays. It’s been that way for twelve years. You have no right to question me, especially now,” Jeongguk scolded Hanson.

Jeongguk’s tough talk had no effect on Hanson. The man that spoke so boldly and firmly was the same kid that Hanson had potty trained when he was two years old. “I’ll remind you that your father hired me. I’m just a hangover from the previous administration.” 

“Don’t think that I won’t release you. Just because we have history doesn’t mean that I won’t take disciplinary action.”

Hanson shook his head, “You’re just like your father. It amazes me that you don’t see the parallels between young Jeongguk Jeon and young Riley Jeon.”

“Did you feed my daughter?” Jeongguk snapped.“The fiasco of a dinner she tried to cook was ruined by the smoke. All of her time was wasted. I would imagine she’s starving.”

“She is starving. I’ll take care of her, no need to be concerned.”

“You will not leave her alone again, do I make myself clear?” Jeongguk completely ignored Hanson’s words of wisdom. He dug into his roasted chicken. “How did you prepare this? The oven was damaged in the fire.” Jeongguk asked curiously as he swiped his fork through his mashed potatoes.

“Door Dash, sir,” Hanson retreated, closing the door behind him.

***

 

Riley stared at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were naturally rouge as if covered in pink blush. Her large eyes were exactly like her father’s, except hers were more piercing because of the hazel color. They folded into the shape of paper fans whenever she smiled. The tips of her charcoal black hair danced along her spine, reaching all the way to her rear. Her curls were natural, something she’d collected from the cluster of  double helix ladders donated by her mother. The pink nightgown that she wore crept all the way down to her ankles. It was warm, 100% cotton with ruffles all around the bodice. She found it to be absolutely lovely.

 

Riley didn’t want for anything. To say she was a spoiled rich kid, was an understatement. She came from a legacy of wealth. The money handed down to them from her grandparents was enough to sustain several generations of Jeons. But their contribution to their fortune almost paled in comparison to the wealth built by her father. From his savvy tech stock investments in Silicon Valley, to his 30% ownership of HYBE America stock, he was a rich man, making Riley a rich little girl. Not to mention the hefty salary he earned from his successful law practice. Riley had everything a little girl could want, including a Glinda the good witch themed bedroom, adorned in all pink with a bed so high she had to use a staircase to climb into it each night. Yes, Riley had a good life. So why was she so miserable?

 

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Hanson shuffled into her room with a tray full of all of her favorite foods. “So I’m assuming you didn’t have a chance to eat.” He smiled at her, happy to see that she was safe and well.

“Hanson! What are you doing here? I gave you the night off.”

“About that. You told me a fib, little one. You said that your father approved for me to leave and take the day off. However your father insists that he knew nothing about that. What do you have to say for yourself?” Hanson questioned.

“I wanted you to be with your family. You have a new grandson. And a wife. For at least the last twelve years that I’ve been alive, you’ve spent every holiday here - working. That’s not fair, Hanson. You have a life too.” Riley’s eyes widened as she looked at all of the delicious foods that Hanson had accumulated for her. “My daddy can care for me for one stupid day.”

“Clearly, he could not. If I had known that you were going to be here alone, I never would have left. This is my fault. I should have called your father to verify with him first. I should have never left you. Thank God you’re ok and you weren’t hurt. I’m sorry Ms. Riley. I failed you.”

“Failed me?” Riley had a full chicken leg between her teeth. She tore at the carcass with her canines. “You did no such thing. Daddy failed me. If he hadn’t saved my life, I’d be so pissed with him right now.”

“And did you thank him for saving your life? Did you apologize for almost burning his house down? Did you apologize to me for fibbing?” Hanson said sternly. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah sorry all around,” she happily spooned her mashed potatoes, the same batch that her father found so delicious.

Hanson was concerned with Riley’s cavalier attitude. He double-downed on his lecture, “Riley take this seriously. We cannot have a repeat of this behavior. You were out of line by fibbing to me. You also should not have been cooking all alone. You’re a fabulous chef, there is no doubt about that. I’ve tasted your masterpieces. But cooking all alone with no one here to help in case you ran into trouble was a foolish thing to do.”

“I understand Hanson. I truly am sorry,” Riley worked through all of the goodies on her plate. She was especially happy to see her homemade pumpkin pie. “Is this mine?”

“I was able to salvage it. Most of the other food is gone though…because of the smoke and fire.”

“Oh Hanson, thank you. I worked so hard on it. Mmmmm!” Riley’s eyes lit up, “It’s delicious.”

“Told ya’. You’re an incredible chef. I look forward to more of your culinary experiments.”

“Oh Hanson, you always say the nicest things,” Riley stuffed her mouth with a combination of pie, string beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and sprite. 

Hanson putted around, dressing her bed for the evening and dusting the surface of her dresser. “You should get to bed soon. You know your father doesn’t like for you to stay up past 9:30pm.”

Riley spun her chair around to face Hanson. Her expression dropped, and her eyes wilted. “Hanson, why doesn’t my father love me?”

Hanson laughed loudly. His shoulder shook with laughter. “You two are certainly father and daughter.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Well, Ms. Riley, your father wonders the same thing about you. He thinks that you hate him.”

“Nooooo, he hates me.”

“Nooooo, he doesn’t. In fact, I would venture to say that neither of you hate each other. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen two people who love each other as much as the two of you do.”

“For the love of God old man, do you even know this family? Of course he doesn’t love me. Otherwise he would have been here for Thanksgiving. Otherwise he would spend time with me, take me on trips and long walks in the park.”

“For the love of God kid, do you even know your father? Long walks in the part are not…uh what do the kids say these days…not his vibe.” Hanson leaned in with a crooked grin. 

His salt and pepper hair glistened in the low light of Riley’s bedroom. He was a handsome old man, one who had been quite the ladies man back in his younger days. He was Korean, and he’d been working for the Jeons for so long that he began to look like them. Hanson immigrated with the Jeons when they moved to America from Korea. Many thought he was Riley’s natural grandfather. 

Riley laughed. “Vibe. Daddy has no vibes…unless you want to count that whole wannabe Bruce Wayne ‘I only wear black and I’m dark and mysterious’ shit he has going on.”

“Language,” Hanson lifted Riley’s empty tray and prepared to return it to the kitchen. “Your father loves you. Full stop…as the kids say.”

“No cap, he doesn’t.”

“That is my cue to leave. I’m out of tik-tok slang. For the record, your pet fire caused alot of damage that your dad is going to have to pay for. Please acknowledge your mistake. I have acknowledged my role in this, but you have to do the same. It was an honest mistake and no one is going to be angry with you. Your intentions were pure and it was a beautiful gesture to try to cook for him. But you made a mistake. I think it would mean very much if you owned up to it,” Hanson said wisely. “Bruce Wayne…err…uh I mean Jeongguk, is in his office if you want to talk to him.”

“You always know how to make us heal our wounds. I was just so hurt when he didn’t come home today. I waited for him all day. I want a dad who wants to be with me, not his law books,” Riley pouted.

“Go. Talk. Goodnight Ms. Riley. Call if you need anything.”

 

The Jeon estate was a thirteen bedroom, 25,000 square foot home that both Riley and Jeongguk had grown up in. When his parents died, Jeongguk had the entire home refurbished. It became a state of the art facility with robots who cut the grass and AI who planned the daily menus. The home was much too big for just her and Jeongguk but having the staff around seemed to fill the place with life. At the head of the household was Hanson - the surrogate father that Jeongguk pretended was just a staff member. In reality, Hanson had raised Jeongguk much like he assisted with Riley. He was the solid foundation, the logic, the wisdom, the balance that maintained the entire household. He was important and both Riley and Jeongguk revered him - even though neither admitted it.

 

Riley pulled on her slippers and made her way through to palatial estate. Her father’s office was on the complete opposite end of the house, a full ten minute walk away. Several times, Riley had to stop to take a breath. It was unusual and not something she typically had to do. Despite brushing her teeth many times, she could still taste the smoke on her tongue. There were hints of it still in her hair too. She figured that her tiredness, difficulty breathing and low energy could all be attributed to smoke inhalation. Overall, she just wasn’t feeling well. But that didn’t stop her from making the trek to her father’s office. 

 

“Daddy?” Riley knocked on his office door.

Jeongguk stared at the heavy mahogany door. He was hesitant to answer. He even contemplated pretending not to be there. As pathetic as it was, he didn’t want to talk to Riley. He didn’t want to be drowned in even more guilt from his bitter young daughter. His preference was just to stare down at his case law, because case law couldn’t deride him about what a terrible father he was.

“Daddy, I know you’re in there. See this is why we can’t have nice things. You won’t even face me like a grown up,” Riley tapped her foot impatiently waiting for her father to invite her in.

Riley had a way of making him laugh even in their most serious moments. “Come in Riley.”

“You know Hanson says that we’re exactly alike. Not seeing it,” Riley complained as she found her way into her dad’s office. She jumped up on his desk, causing several overstuffed manilla folders to fall to the floor. She didn’t bother to pick them up. In her mind they belonged there. Everything that kept her father from her, she hated. And that included that thick stack of case law that he’d been studying for six weeks. 

“Our birthdays are one day apart. We are doppelgangers. We even look alike. Hanson is not wrong,” Jeongguk added.

“How can I help you, sweetheart?” Jeongguk frowned at the stacks of papers that Riley had knocked to the floor. It was going to take his clerk hours to put them all back in proper order. 

“Dammit daddy, can’t we just vibe for a minute? Why do I have to want something?”

“I don’t…vibe.”

“That’s exactly your problem.” Riley grimaced. There were two things her daddy didn’t have, vibes or chill.

“I got a new vinyl. Want to listen?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Bing Crosby. Christmas is coming and you haven’t given Santa a list,” Jeongguk smiled. He was trying, he was honestly trying. 

“Oh I love Bing Crosby. It’s much better though if it’s a duet with Kim Taehyung.”

Jeongguk crinkled his eyebrows, he wasn’t quite sure who that was but he made a mental note to google him. “Don’t have that one, but I’ve got White Christmas. Will that do?” 

“Sure.” 

Riley was feeling warm. That familiar pain in her chest returned. She hopped down from the desk and decided to sit in the leather chair as she watched her dad place the vinyl on the record player. 

The sound of Bing Crosby was like a healing sav. The tension in the room emptied. If there was anything that could bond the two, it was the sound of a fresh needle pulling across the embedded grooves within the PVC. They both agreed that the sound was rich with layers of depth that just didn’t exist in the digital music of the day. Listening to music in her father’s office was the one ritual with the greatest chance of keeping her from befalling an addiction to tic-tacs.

The silence was ok. There was magic wrapped around every word that Bing sang. He did the heavy lifting, allowing them to linger in a space where they both felt comfortable.

And then suddenly, “I’m sorry.” Both said it, at the exact same time, but for completely different reasons. They laughed and both blushed. The epitome of awkwardness.

“You go first,” Riley said. She needed to hear what her father had to say.

“I’m sorry for coming home late. You were right. I should have come home hours ago. It didn’t matter if Hanson was here or not, I should have been here. I got caught up working on something. It’s not an excuse but it’s an explanation. I have to learn to put you first. My dad never put me first and it’s a terrible tradition that I’ve continued; a tradition that almost cost him his family. You and Hanson are my family. I promise to do better, but you have to be patient with me. Change is hard.”

Riley smiled, at least she thought it was a smile. She didn’t realize that her face was actually contorted. She had so much to say, but for some reason, she couldn’t get it out. Her words stalled, her vision grew blurry. Suddenly, something wasn’t right. Her eyes widened with fear as the pain in her chest returned, ten thousand times stronger than it had ever been. She screamed the name that she thought was “Daddy!” before falling to the floor unconscious. 

 

Bing Crosby crooned amidst Jeongguk’s screams.

***

 

The turkey was hot. Beads of sweat gathered along his inner fabric. The turkey also had fur, which fundamentally just didn’t seem right. The turkey’s biggest problem was that he was unable to fit through any of the doors in the children’s hospital wing. It was a self made disaster. He was the one who insisted on the turkey costume for Thanksgiving. Never in one thousand years did he think to actually measure the circumference of the turkey’s belly to make sure it could fit through the hospital doors. As it were, he had to stand outside of each of the rooms, calling out instructions and instrument values to the nurses inside. He was embarrassed - but not as embarrassed as he should have been because he already had plans to do it again next year. Despite the problems, he loved his costume. He even had his own theme song that he sang as he walked down the hall. He was one bad-ass turkey. 

As he approached the nurses station, he slid around the corner; his soft velvety turkey feet gliding smoothly across the bright linoleum. It was at that very moment that he realized his turkey nuts were itching. No matter- this game was not for the weak. His nuts would just have to itch because there were at least 20 inches of stuffing around his stomach that kept him from getting even remotely close to touching his nut goblets.  

He found his position in the hall. As leader, it was his responsibility to kick off the party in grand fashion. He could already see them lining up. Nurse Betty stood at the ready. She stared lovingly at her sultry piece of poultry as he strutted his stuff -ing down the center of the hallway. He hit his mark and struck a pose, yelling a prolific announcement of his arrival, “GOBBLE GOBBLE BITCHES! Let’s goooooooo!” He pointed his right wing at Nurse Betty who immediately started his music.

“Come on shake your body baby do the conga, I know you can’t control yourself any longer, feel the rhythm of the music getting stronger, don’t you fight it till you’ve tried it do the conga beat.”’

 

The turkey exploded, starting with a mind blowing spin worthy of Michael Jackson. He shook his turkey hips, dropped into the splits and began his sexy turkey strut down the hallway, collecting kids as he went. 

Everyone was invited, no one was left behind. The children who were on monitors or IV’s had been transferred to mobile units with wheels that allowed them to travel the two laps around the hospital hallway. Even the kids who were bed-ridden came along. The nurses pushed their beds in the rear. The conga line had officially begun and the bad ass turkey was the life of the party. He danced and danced, oh how he danced. The children formed a long train behind him, each holding on to the shoulders of the person in front of them. Every move the turkey made, they mimicked. The very small were rushed to the front of the conga line. Their awkward rhythmless dancing was adorable, with the tapping of their feet and flailing of their arms. The parade was in full swing. As the conga line approached the ICU, many of the parents peeked their heads out from their children’s rooms. The bad ass turkey had done the impossible; bringing smiles to parents who thought they may never smile again. 

The turkey sang, “Everybody, gather round now, let your body feel the heat.” He pulled the nurses away from their clipboards and forced them to join the conga line behind him. When he sang for everybody to gather around, he meant it. The clap of the congas reverberated off of the walls as the turkey stopped mid stride to shake his hips and turkey twerk. The nurses gathered around him and slapped his butt as he danced. Everyone laughed. There wasn’t a frown in the place as he rounded the last lap through the cardiac wing. 

The horns blared, the congas popped and they were all hostage to the driving beat of the music. 

In the final minutes of the conga parade, there was a petite addition who joined at the back of the line. She was fifty-eight year old Alicia Park, the turkey’s mother. She also happened to be the senior cardiac surgeon on staff at the hospital. In fact, she was the boss; the single entity with the authority to do anything she wanted regarding staff and patient care. Alicia dropped her clipboard at the station and grabbed the waist of the  child in front of her. She hooped towards her poultry off-spring, proud of his dance moves. Seamlessly, she fell in line with the rest of the crowd, holding up the rear of the parade.  

***

 

His dilemmas were always self-inflicted. He stood at the door of his office with his wings on his hips, having no clue how he was going to get in. The zipper to his poultry entrapment was in the back and required another person to unfasten it. He was going to have to make the humiliating walk back to the pediatric unit to beg one of the nurses to unzip him. 

He was relieved when he heard the voice behind him, “Hi Sweetie. Need help?”

“Oh Dr. Park. I’m so glad to see you. Yes, I very much need help. I’m burning up in here, plus I have a ton of test results to read through and I can’t get through my office door.”

“The parade was a hit. You bring so much joy to your patients. I’m proud of you son.”

“Let me get this straight. I’m the youngest cardiologist in the history of UCSF, yet you’re proud of me for dressing like a turkey and dancing down the hallway in a conga line?”

“Exactly.”

“Gee…thanks,” he kissed his mother softly on the cheek with his turkey lips.

“Turn around. Let me unzip you.” Dr. Park was able to free her son. 

Within seconds he peeled himself out of the large heavy costume. Sweat poured from his neck and chest. The soccer shorts and Guns&Roses t-shirt that he wore under the costume were soaked with his sweat. His dark bangs hung loosely over his forehead, matted together by moisture. He took a nice, deep, refreshing breath once he was finally free.

“Whew, thanks.” He walked into his office, throwing the turkey suit on the couch near the window that overlooked the Golden Gate bridge. “To what do I owe this wonderful visit? This isn’t your regular neighborhood.” He sipped cold water as he spoke to his mother.

“Got a case for you. Pretty unique. There’s a patient being transferred in from Saint Frances. She should be here any second now. You’re the premier specialist in Electrophysiology so I referred her to you. 

Alicia handed the file to her son, who immediately flipped through it. He jotted down notes on an iPad as he processed her symptoms.

“Think she’s going to need surgery?”

“That’s for you to decide. But it doesn’t look good. I saw some pretty bad signs, but I need you to make the final call. I respect your opinion - Dr. Park.”

“How old?”

“Twelve. Started showing symptoms a couple of days ago, lost consciousness and hasn’t been awake since. She’s been at UCSF throughout the evaluation. Her test results just came back and that’s when I asked them to bring her here, to see you.”

“Good call. I need to examine her right away. Can you be on standby just in case. How does your calendar look?”

“It’s a mess. But if we need to fit her in, we will,” Dr. Park said to her son. “Let me know. Good luck baby.” She went in for a hug but instantly recoiled, “Eww yuck, you’re covered in sweat. Change before you greet any more patients.”

“No time. Just got a text. She’s here.”

***

Riley’s eyes fluttered open. The first sight she saw was that of her panicked father hovering over her, holding her hand. 

“Riley! You’re awake. Baby, can you hear me? Can you see me?” Jeongguk asked.

“Daddy…where am I?” Riley tried to lift her head but she was unable. She lifted her arm only to find herself tangled amidst wires and tubes. There was a clear mouthpiece over her mouth delivering oxygen to her starved lungs. “Where am I?” Riley’s eyes filled with terror and then tears. She was scared, confused. The discomfort in her chest continued, causing her to immediately grip the front of the pink hospital gown that covered her.

Jeongguk held her down. He made firm eye contact to calm her and reassure her that she would be ok. “You’re in the hospital. Got a little silly thing with your heart going on. We don’t know exactly what it is, but I called in a specialist. We’re waiting to hear back from him. In the meantime, I need you to stay calm. You can’t have any excitement or stress - even though I know you must be very stressed right now.” Jeongguk smiled. He didn’t know how his words landed with his precocious young child. He could only hope she was comforted.

“Silly heart thing? What the hell does that even mean?” She was not comforted. 

“Ok, maybe wrong choice of words. Your heart has some abnormalities. We need to find out what they are so we can fix them.”

“There’s nothing silly or little about that!” Riley yelled at her nervous dad.

“Riley calm down.”

“Calm down? You calm down. My heart feels like it’s about to fall out of my chest and you’re telling me to calm down? Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s rude and sexist to tell a lady to calm down when she’s expressing valid emotion over a serious matter?”

“Well…uh…no…uh…no one ever told me that…,” Jeongguk shook his head.

“I don’t want to…,” Riley stopped mid-sentence and grabbed her chest again. “Oh daddy, it hurts. It feels so strange. Make it stop, please.” Riley continued to cry. 

Jeongguk held her hand and caressed her forehead. “I know, baby. We’re going to fix it soon, I promise. But you have to relax. Don’t get worked up. Lay down and just breathe.”

The worried father was so preoccupied with his daughter that he barely noticed the dark haired man knocking at the door. Jeongguk looked over his shoulder at the disheveled, sweaty man with the wild hair. He assumed he was the janitor.

Jeongguk gave him a few instructions. He urged him to move quickly and then get out. “The garbage is over there, it needs to be emptied. There are also some dirty towels on the chair, please get those too. I think the restroom needs more toilet paper.” He turned back to Riley and continued holding her hand.

“The - the garbage?” He looked around. “Me? Empty the garbage?”

For sure it needed to be emptied. It was full of used tissues soaked with what he assumed to be the father’s tears. He stepped into the hall and signaled for someone to come quickly to tend to the issues that the father had pointed out. Being a team player, he slid on a pair of gloves and grabbed the towels that were resting on the chair. It took only a few seconds for him to discard them in the hospital laundry. 

After the cleaning crew cleared the trash, he smiled at the father, “Anything else?”

 Jeongguk continued to wipe Riley’s tears. He held her hand helplessly, knowing that it was all he could do. “No…that’s it. You can go now.”

“Afraid I can’t. Not quite yet.” The janitor, who was not the janitor at all, headed to the sink to wash his hands. He slipped into the lab coat that he held over his arm and proceeded to drop his stethoscope around his neck. Most of the sweat had cooled and his bangs were once again fluffy. He pulled a fresh pair of gloves from the dispenser, but moved in to shake Jeongguk’s hand before pulling them on. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m not the janitor. I am, in fact, Dr. Park. Jimin Park. I’m the head cardiologist here at USCF. Excuse my appearance. I just successfully led the hospital’s first conga line through the pediatric unit. He laughed, but only received an irritated blank stare in return. The hand that he’d extended for a handshake went untouched. He continued, “Yea, ok. And you…must be my patient. Nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Park.” He turned to Riley. Unlike her father, Riley immediately raised her hand to shake his.

“You’re so pretty. I didn’t know they made doctors who looked like you.” Riley smiled.

“You’re so young. Where’s the more experienced staff? The old man with the white beard.” Jeongguk asked rudely.

“You mean Santa? He’s a Christmas aficionado. Hearts aren’t really his specialty. We all believe in staying in our lanes here at USCF,” Jimin joked.

Riley laughed. Jeongguk did not. “Send someone more experienced. I don’t have time to deal with kids straight out of medical school.”

“Daddy! See this is why we can’t have nice things. Must you be the consummate asshole every time? My chest hurts. Cutie pie over there is going to fix it. So chill, please.”

“You’re too young to make these kinds of decisions. I’ll decide what’s best for you.”

Riley and her father began to argue. 

Dr. Park whistled and interrupted them, “Hey! Can we call a truce here? Mr…,” Dr. Park flipped through the chart to get all of their names, “...Mr. Jeon, I’m your daughter’s doctor. You loudly insisted on having the best. Well I’m the best. Your daughter was sent here for a reason. Either I treat her or she doesn’t get treated. If you still don’t trust me, stop by my office and examine all of my awards on the wall. If you can’t be bothered to do that, then google me. While you’re at it, pull the Cardiologists Best Practices for Treatment Of Electrophysiology. It’s the premier playbook for diagnosing and treating conditions just like the one that we suspect is ailing your daughter. It’s great light reading…oh…and I wrote it.” Dr. Park lightly pushed Mr. Jeon away while he moved in closer to talk to Riley. “Well you’re a beautiful one, aren’t you? Just as beautiful as Galinda herself, or should I say Glinda.”

“NO way. You’re a Wicked fan too?”

“I hope you’re happy…,” Dr. Park sang to her.

“I hope you’re happy now…,” Riley sang back. She giggled as Dr. Park took a seat next to her bed. 

“Do you mind if I take a look at you?”

“Sure.” Riley shrugged.

He washed his hands once again and then slapped on his purple latex gloves. “Ok, a little pressure right here,” Dr. Park said as he examined Riley’s lymph nodes. Going to listen to your heart now. He took special care to warm the stethoscope before placing it on Riley’s bare chest. He could hear the anomalies immediately. For almost ten minutes straight, he listened to each chamber of her heart individually, taking notes throughout his journey. He didn’t like what he was hearing. 

Given the complicated relationship between Riley and Mr. Jeon, Dr. Park made a tactical decision not to go into too much detail about his diagnosis. Instead he gave a cliff note version, “This has been going on for a while according to your chart. Is that right?” Jimin looked at both Riley and Mr. Jeon, unsure of who would answer.

“At least six months,” Riley said. “My chest has always felt funny, but it was never a big deal. Then about six months ago, after I turned twelve, it really started to hurt alot.”

“Did you tell your dad or your doctor?”

“Well…no. I didn’t think it was anything to worry about. But yesterday while I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner and trying to put out the fire…,”

“Fire?” Jimin asked.

“Fire,” Riley grimaced, “I realized that I felt faint and just super strange. It was the first time that my chest hurt so much that I couldn’t walk,” Riley explained.

“Riley, I have all of your test results and I need a few hours to go through them. But I suspect, based on listening very carefully, that your heart is beating out a symphony all of its own - one that isn’t sufficient to get blood to all of your other organs and extremities. It’s a condition called Ventricular Tachycardia. It’s why your chest hurts and why you fainted. Sometimes your limbs feel heavy and you have shortness of breath, right?”

“Exactly! Yes doctor, that’s it. I feel lousy,” Riley teared up.

Jeongguk stepped in, “It’s ok baby. We’re going to take care of it. Once we get another doctor who can validate what Dr. Park is saying, he’ll tell us what to do next, how to fix it.”

Dr. Park ignored the fact that he had once again been dismissed as inexperienced. “I should know more in a couple of hours. I have to order a few more tests that focus on the electrical pulses in your heart. I need to understand how they’re triggering and how your heart is responding. I’ll come back to talk to you as soon as I figure this out. In the meantime, I’m going to keep you on oxygen to help you breathe a little easier. Is that a deal?”

“That’s a deal.” Riley smiled.

“You’re going to be ok. Get some rest and I’ll be back in the morning. While your dad is out looking for a Santa who knows how to fix hearts, I’ll get to work on fixing yours,” Dr. Park snipped. “You can still be with the wizard…,”

“What you’ve worked and waited forrrrr,” Riley answered.

Jeongguk didn’t have much faith in the sweaty, runway-model-looking, broadway-singing doctor. But he seemed to have a positive effect on Riley and that was important.

***

 

Dr. Park rushed back to his office. He had a long night ahead of him. Riley’s tests needed to be evaluated quickly. The little girl’s condition was potentially fatal. She didn’t have much time. If he was going to do invasive intervention, he needed to let his mother know so that she could schedule the surgery right away. 

He spent hours combing through Riley’s files. The electrophysiology study was the test he was most interested in. It revealed that she had several arrhythmias in her heart. One of them could be treated with a pacemaker. But the other two required ablation surgery to destroy the abnormal electrical pathways that were firing erroneously. It was a surgery that only his mother was uniquely qualified to do. After consulting with several other cardiologists in the area, he concluded that his diagnosis was irrefragable. Riley needed surgery to save her life. 

***

 

It was almost 2:00am when Jimin’s mother knocked on his office door. “Have you eaten anything?”

“Mom. What are you doing here? It’s late…or early?” He laughed.

“Food. You know how pissy you get when you don’t eat. Any information on your new patient?”

“Mom. I hate these situations. Kids don’t deserve to go through this kind of stuff. You were right. Riley’s diagnosis is bad. She’s dying. We have to go in right away.” Jimin flipped on the light on his x-ray machine to show his mother the lower ventricles of Riley’s heart. “These are where the faulty pathways are located,” he used his finger to run along the film. “I need you to go in and disable them. The pacer will pick up and make sure that she remains stable. The good news is, even though the diagnosis is bleak, the solution is simple. As long as you can get her in quickly, we can fix this.”

“I can. I was planning on taking Saturday off, but if we can finish the consultation tomorrow, I can have my team ready to go early Saturday morning,” Dr. Park stated firmly.

“That doesn’t leave us much time. Pull up a chair, let’s get started.”

 

The two Dr. Parks worked throughout the night, tracking every step of the procedure. Jimin pointed out all of the places he needed repaired and his mother countered with her approach for attacking it. Together they devised a carefully calculated plan for Riley’s road to recovery. By the time they were done, the sun was rising over the Golden Gate bridge. Jimin fixed himself and his mother cups of coffee.  They sat on the couch to talk and destress.

“The dad…he’s strange. Weird vibes. It’s like he doesn’t know the kid at all.”

“The dad? Mr. Jeon? Jeongguk? Is that his name? That’s what I remember from the file.”

“Yes.”

“Korean name. Jeon clan is very wealthy back in Korea. American born?”

“The daughter is. The father is a native Korean. Immigrated here when he was a baby. So technically he’s American.”

“It’s not like you to have much interest in the parents. Either he’s an asshole or he’s hot.”

“Both. Can I choose both?” Jimin laughed. 

“Cute. Your crushes are always cute. But, since this one has a daughter, I would imagine he’s not your uh…type,” Alecia pinched her son’s cheek.

“My type? You mean gay? Mother, I’m sure you know that I can have any man I want. But it just so happens that I don’t want that one. He’s an asshole. And I don’t like the way he treats his daughter.”

“You’ve known this family for all of one day. You don’t have any right to judge them or their dynamics. Stay in your lane,” Alecia warned.

“I would never swerve out of my lane. I just noticed some weirdness between them. Didn’t sit well with me. You know I have good instincts when it comes to this stuff. I’m like the child whisperer. I can sense when a child’s not happy.”

“Of course she’s not happy. She’s in the middle of catastrophic heart failure. You wouldn’t be happy either,” Alecia punched her son in the shoulder.

Jimin laughed. His mother was adorable. He kissed her on the forehead, “Let’s get out of here. I have rounds in six hours. I need to get some sleep. But first, I have to go talk to Mr. Jeon and tell him the news.”

“I’ll come with you. We can deliver the news together and explain our plan.”

 ***

 

Jeongguk sat in the waiting room. He had some phone calls to make and he didn’t want to disturb Riley while she was sleeping. He was still wearing the same smoke drenched suit that he’d worn since Thanksgiving. He could barely keep his eyes open because he’d gone almost two full days without sleep. Much of his time was spent trying to find another cardiologist to care for Riley. The other half of his time was spent on the phone with his clerk, postponing court dates, especially for the upcoming murder trial.

“Mr. Jeon?” Dr. Park said softly.

“Yes, Dr. Park. Nice to see you again.”

Jimin stepped to the side to introduce his mother, “This is Dr. Park, she’s assisting me with your daughter’s very difficult case.”

Jeongguk jumped up immediately to shake her hand. “Thank goodness you brought in someone more…experienced to help. Not that you’re incapable. I just feel much more comfortable knowing that you’ll be replacing him as Riley’s doctor,” Jeongguk stuck his entire foot in his mouth. 

“Replacing him? More experienced? What are you talking about?” Alecia was triggered. She ceased to be Dr. Park and immediately morphed into Alecia - mama bear mode. “I’ll have you know that he’s the premier cardiologist in San Francisco and one of the absolute best in the entire state of California. It would behoove you to google him. Look up Cardiologists Best Practices for Treatment Of Electrophysiology.  Your daughter’s exact condition. He wrote that entire manual. It’s used across the world by cardiologists everywhere. I am his assistant, the surgeon who will be performing your daughter’s surgery. I take orders from him. Dr. Park quickly put Mr. Jeon in his place.

“Surgery? What surgery?” Jeongguk stared at both Dr. Parks, confused about what was being said.

“Sit down please. We have alot to go over,” Dr. Jimin Park said to Jeongguk. Dr. Alecia Park sat beside them.

“Riley needs surgery immediately. This is a life or death situation that we must address. She has issues with a synapse, electrical pathway in her lower ventricle. That faulty pathway is causing the lower chambers of her heart to misfire. The entire pulsation is out of sync. This results in insufficient blood flow throughout her body.”

“Life or death…wha-wha-what do you mean life or death? She could die? She could die from this thing?” Jeongguk’s face dropped. His eyes glistened with tears. It was not the news he expected.

“I’m afraid so. If we don’t act immediately, she could die. But there’s good news.” Jimin smiled. “This is where my mother comes in. Riley needs surgery. Heart surgery. My mother has performed this exact same procedure on many, many children before Riley and all of them are alive and well. ”

“I can do it with my eyes closed,” Dr. Alecia Park assured him.

As Dr. Park said, we work as a team. I do the diagnosing and the strategic planning. Dr. Park is the surgeon who actually fixes anything that I find during my evaluation. Together we work to create a holistic solution for treatment.”

“I-I want a second opinion.”

“Fine. Get it quickly.” Dr. Alecia Park said defiantly. “We have surgery scheduled for Saturday at 6:00am.”

“That’s tomorrow!” Jeongguk snapped his head around to glare at Dr. Alecia Park.

“Tomorrow,” she nodded. “It’s just that urgent.”

“I’ve diagnosed her with Ventricular Tachycardia. Her electrical sensors are firing erroneously all over the place. If we don’t fix it, her heart could just seize altogether and stop responding to anything. We don’t want that to happen. It’ll kill her,” Dr. Jimin Park explained woefully.

“I need more time. How can I just make a decision like this so quickly?” Jeongguk panicked. 

“It’s not fair that any child has to go through this. It’s even tougher on the parents. I’m sorry this is happening. But if we don’t take action soon, we could miss a critical window,” Dr. Jimin Park placed a hand on Jeongguk’s arm. He looked boldly into Jeongguk’s eyes, forcing him to return the gaze.

The brief locking of their eyes stood out as a defining moment.  Jeongguk had never seen such kindness in a person’s face. The doctor’s delicate smile, gentle eyes, and warm touch registered with him. Everything changed in an instant. Relief immediately washed over him. He could trust this man. The young doctor was indeed going to save his daughter’s life. Jeongguk knew it as solidly as he knew his own name. He could feel it like some electrical current rushing through his body. Dr. Jimin Park was the one.

“Ok. I’m in agreement. Schedule it. What do we need to do to prepare Riley?”

“Don’t you want to get your second opinion?” Dr. Jimin Park asked.

“Seems to me like I have two opinions sitting right in front of me. I trust you Dr. Park and Dr. Park,” Jeongguk said humbly. 

“We can deliver the news together. I’m sure she would much rather hear this from her father than a stranger,” Dr. Jimin Park said.

“No,” Jeongguk shook his head, “she would much rather hear this from you.”

***

 

The following morning, Riley was prepped for surgery around 5:00am. Jeongguk was there, still wearing the same old clothes from three days prior. He had slept intermittently throughout the night; stuffed in a hard chair at the edge of Riley’s bed. He refused to eat or change clothes, despite Hanson’s frequent visits where he begged the younger to care properly for himself. 

Dr. Alecia Park arrived to speak to Riley as she was being wheeled into pre-op. She leaned over the beautiful little girl and caressed her forehead, “Hello Riley. I’m Dr. Park. I’ll be performing your surgery.”

“Dr. Park? Like the other Dr. Park? Are you…related?” Riley questioned with a bright smile.

“Indeed. In fact he’s my son.”

“YOUR SON!” Riley exclaimed in pure joy. “He’s such a cool guy. Even knows all the songs to Wicked,” she bragged.

“Oh that. You have no idea how many times I had to take him to see that play when he was a teenager. I think over 100 times. We even flew to New York to see it on Broadway,” Dr. Park explained to Alecia. 

“You must be a really cool mom to do all of those things with your son. My dad would never take me to a Broadway show,” Riley pouted.

Dr. Alecia Park watched Jeongguk chat with Dr. Jimin Park in the corner. She noted his all black attire and silky black hair. He had a whole Bruce Wayne thing going on that she knew was attractive to her son. She smiled at how flirty they seemed to be, “I don’t know about that. He’s giving me major Elphaba vibes.”

“Dad doesn’t have vibes,” Riley yawned as the Propofal crept through her body. 

“I think he does,” she watched Jeongguk carefully. There was something going on between him and her son. But her mind was on her work. She would have to question Jimin later about what the two of them were so passionately discussing in the dark corner.

Riley was barely able to keep her eyes open. Before passing out completely, she uttered a few happy words, “Good luck Dr. Park. Thank you for saving my life…,” even in her semi conscious state, Riley effused gratitude towards her doctors.

*** 

Chapter Two - Curly Toe Boots

Jeongguk had never felt so alone in his life. With the exception of Hanson, who dropped by every few hours to check in, he sat in the pediatric waiting room all by himself. There were no other families, no other parents. He seemed to be the only one going through hell at that particular moment. He tried to do some work, but it was fruitless. Nothing could stop the terrifying thoughts that deluged him. 

With his mind racing, he finally googled Dr. Park, the younger. His picture popped up everywhere. He was world renown, well respected and a bit of a medical prodigy. He was also exceedingly attractive; something that Jeongguk hadn’t noticed during their first couple of meetings. The more he learned about the young doctor, the more impressed he became. Several times he reiterated to himself how attractive the doctor was. He was definitely Jeongguk’s type. 

The anxious father also researched Dr. Park, the elder, and her record for performing the surgery. Every story had a happy ending but that didn’t mean that he and Riley would have one. 

Guilt gnawed at him. He’d been a shitty father and his daughter was being punished because of it. If he had been more locked in, more engaged, maybe he would have known about her condition sooner. But as it stood, he neglected her, leaving her with Hanson so he could run off and hide behind a flurry of clients and legal strategy instead of raising his child. He should have been a father, not a coward. 

In his mind, he replayed it over and over, the final moments in his office before she collapsed. It was the most horrific experience of his life. He was sure she was dead the way she hit the ground and went limp. All of it felt surreal. The pain burned in his chest exactly like the pain in Riley’s. Never had so much raw emotion torn through him. He stood to his feet momentarily before falling to his knees and calling out to God to help him. He needed his daughter to live. He needed a chance to fix it, to repair the mess he had made of their relationship. Tears fell as he prayed right there in the middle of the waiting room. And when he had no more prayers, he was left with wails of despair, guilt, and hopelessness.

 

Jimin was exhausted. He’d been on-call all night, making his rounds to check on each of his little patients. It was still early in the morning and Riley was still in surgery. He looked at his watch. They were only two hours in and she had at least three more hours to go. He made the decision to go back to his office and take a nap as he waited for his mother to complete the procedure. 

As he walked past the dark waiting room, he saw a figure there, cemented to the floor, frozen on his knees. He was weeping, crying as if he had no hope in the world. 

“Oh no.” In all of Jimin’s years practicing in the pediatric world, he’d seen a lot of suffering. Something about the pain of a parent who was helpless in the face of a sick child, was the most heart wrenching for him. 

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Mr. Jeon; the least likely person he expected to find in such a state. He didn’t appear to have any other family around him. He was truly alone, going through hell as he awaited word about his daughter.

Jimin poured him a cup of coffee. He walked quietly into the waiting room and gently touched the troubled man on the shoulder, “Mr. Jeon, take this. It’ll help,” he said caringly.

Jeongguk felt the warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up, eyes full of vulnerability, open wounds of anguish etched in his face. He could barely see through the thick tears that clouded his eyes. Through a combination of lack of sleep, and endless worry, he had developed a headache. He wanted to accept the coffee, but his hands were shaking so badly that he feared he would spill all over himself and the good doctor. Instead, he just stared blankly. Unsure of how to pull himself together. 

Jimin felt sick. His empathic heart bled for the lonely man. He reached down and pulled him to his feet, “Is there anyone that I can call for you?”

“No, no one. I have no family, except Riley.”

Jimin tried again to offer him the cup of coffee. This time he accepted it, sipping slowly, taking in the warmth that seemed to snap him out of his malaise. 

“When’s the last time you slept?”

“Sleep? What’s that?” Jeongguk joked.

“Come with me.”

“What? Come with you? Where?”

“Just trust me. I think I’ve got just what you need,” Jimin pulled Jeongguk gently by his arm and urged him to walk with him.

“I can’t leave. What if Dr. Park comes out with news? What if something happens? What if Riley needs me?” Jeongguk fought, begging to remain in the waiting room. 

“I will be the first to know when Riley is out of surgery. Perks of being the doctor’s son. And unless her Propofal wears off suddenly, Riley will not need you anytime soon. She’s in a very happy place right now. So stop fighting and just come with me.”

“Alright,” Jeongguk took one look at the kind doctor and realized that it was best to go with him. He trusted him.

“Have you been smoking in the hospital?” Jimin asked.

“No, of course not,” Jeongguk responded.

“You smell like a chimney.”

“Oh it’s from the fire.”

“Again with the fire? What caught on fire? What kind of Thanksgiving did you people have?” Jimin was confused by the constant fire references from Jeongguk and Riley. 

“It’s a long story. Riley tried to cook Thanksgiving dinner for me,” Jeongguk broke into tears again. Even recounting the story was too painful. Again guilt was the prevalent emotion of the day. 

“Oh, Mr. Jeon…I’m sorry.”

They reached Jimin’s office. The sun was up and the Golden Gate bridge burned bright in the foggy distance. I have a shower in my office. I want you to wash up and then take a nap on my couch. I have something that I can give you to help you sleep. Riley won’t be out for a while and even after she’s out, she’s going to be unconscious for several more hours. You may as well take this time to get some rest yourself so that you can be strong and ready to care for her when she wakes up.”

“I don’t have a change of clothes.”

Jimin winked at him, “I do. I keep fresh scrubs in my closet. I have shampoos, awesome body wash, soft fluffy towels, all of it. You’ll feel like you’re at a hotel. Now go. Wash. You smell awful,” Jimin said kindly.

Jeongguk had been wearing the same clothes for three days, which was why he didn’t argue when Jimin told him that he needed to shower. “Do you bring all of your patients and their parents to your private office to bathe?”

“No.” Jimin stared at Jeongguk for a second too long, causing him to quickly sweep the floor with his eyes when he felt himself blush. He pushed Jeongguk into his custom designed bathroom. He quickly retreated and closed the door to allow Jeongguk to have some privacy. As he sorted through his drawers looking for fresh scrubs, he called out over the spray of the shower, “So, what do you do for a living?”

Jeongguk yelled back, “I’m an attorney.”

“Real estate, tort, stuff like that?” Jimin asked.

“No. Murder, rape, assault…stuff like that.”

Jimin shuddered, “How can you defend those kinds of people?” He leaned against the bathroom door with a pair of black scrubs in his arms. 

Jeongguk had obviously been asked that question his entire career. He had a ready-made, yet powerful response, “Being a defense attorney is much more about principle than it is about money. Sometimes people are guilty. But sometimes they aren’t. My job is not to decide guilt or innocence. This country affords its citizens a fair and speedy trial. My job is to make sure that happens. Everyone deserves a fair playing field, regardless of resources or societal status. Everyone deserves a chance to fight back. Our society would collapse if we didn’t have a system for defending citizens against unchecked persecution and power of the government. What I do is very important. I do it because I love the law, not because I love my clients,” Jeongguk said as he washed his hair.

Jimin gave some thought to Jeongguk’s reasoning. “I guess if I were charged with a crime that I didn’t commit, I would want you in my corner.”

“And if you were charged with a crime that you did commit, you would still want me in your corner. There are many layers to the law. Even innocent men can be put in jail. Even guilty men can be let out.” The bathroom door popped open, jamming Jimin in the ribs. Jeongguk was standing there wrapped in a towel, wet hair dripping down his face. Jimin chose to look at the ceiling as opposed to the dark perky nipples and delicious mounds of muscle that framed Jeongguk’s chest.

“You sound passionate about your work. That’s a good thing. Passion is something that the world seems to be missing these days. Everyone is floating around just existing,” Jimin said dreamily.

“Living a ‘meh’ existence, as Riley says,” Jeongguk laughed. “Any word? Is she doing ok?”

“Everything is fine. Dr. Park would have alerted me if there were any problems,” Jimin made the mistake of glancing at Jeongguk’s soaking wet body. He gulped and stared at the patterns in his door, “Here. Put these on. I don’t have any clean underwear but such is life,” Jimin laughed. “At least these are clean and comfortable and they’re just temporary because with any luck, you and Riley will be going home tomorrow or the following day.”

“That soon?” Jeongguk was shocked.

“That soon. I told you, the surgery is straightforward. Once it’s done, Riley will be as good as new. Of course I’ll need to see her in my office to monitor her progress. But there won’t be any prolonged hospital stay required. You’ll be able to go home and enjoy Christmas,” Jimin explained. He pushed the scrubs into Jeongguk’s arms.

“They’re black,” Jeongguk smiled. 

“Riley says it’s your brand. She calls you Bruce Wayne,” Jimin laughed.

“She knows me well. Be out in a second,” Jeongguk closed the door and disappeared into the bathroom.

 

Jimin opened his black leather bag and pulled out a couple of pharmaceutical samples of sleep aids. Jeongguk had about six hours before he would be able to talk to Riley and  Jimin wanted him to use that time to get some rest. It wasn’t healthy for him to be sleep deprived and stressed. He placed the pills and a bottle of water on the table in front of the couch and waited for Jeongguk to arrive.

Jeongguk emerged barefoot from Jimin’s shower. The scrubs were too small, deliciously too small, revealing much more of Jeongguk’s body than Jimin expected. He cleared his throat, “Comfy?”

“Not really. I feel like the world can see my nuts, but whatever. I’m happy to be out of that foul smelling suit.”

“The world can definitely see your nuts,” Jimin whispered under his breath as he broke his gaze to stare out at the Golden Gate bridge.

“Thank you…I mean you didn’t have to do this. I’m sure it’s against protocol, hospital rules, your mother’s stranger danger warnings and everything else.”

“You’re right about that last one,” Jimin laughed. His mother was particularly nosey when it came to the men in Jimin’s life, even if they were just patients or dad’s of patients. “You looked like a man who needed a friend. Look, despite what you may think of my qualifications, I’ve done this for a long time. In my experience, the healthier mentally the parents are, the better chance their kids will have for a full recovery. You had no one else, so I was just doing what a good person would do. Giving you a little boost to help you get through this.”

“Are these the sleeping pills?”

“Yep. Very mild. They’ll knock you out for about four hours. But when you awaken, you’ll feel refreshed and ready to take on the world. You can read the ingredients on the back of the foil. Make sure you don’t have any allergies. There’s a blanket hanging over the back of the couch. I’ll be back in a few hours to wake you. Sleep well,” Jimin placed his hand on the doorknob and pulled the door forward.

“Wait!” 

“What is it?” Jimin walked back in.

“You’re just going to leave me here? Alone? In your office?”

“I trust you. You’ll be fine,” Jimin assured him.

“But what if…what if I don’t want to be alone,” Jeongguk said honestly. 

“Don’t want to be…?” Jimin had to give that more thought. Sharing an office with the stranger while he was sleeping didn’t seem appropriate.”

“I’m begging you, please don’t leave me alone. I just need another warm body, someone to keep me from going crazy.”

“Are you sure that’s me? How about I call someone. Surely you have friends or murderers who could come and be with you while you wait,” Jimin asked seriously.

“Thing about murderers is that they aren’t exactly the nurturing type. And for the most part, I would prefer they not know where I live or any other personal information about me,” Jeongguk affirmed. 

Jimin thought some more. Staying with Jeongguk wasn’t ideal. But once again, his discomfort was of his own making. It was his idea to bring him back to this office. “Sure. I’ll stay. I have some work to finish anyway. I may as well do it here.”

“Thank you.”  Jeongguk swallowed the pills and sipped the water. As he swallowed the pills, he thought back to the poisoned peaches. “If perchance you’ve just poisoned me, please make sure my baby is ok. In addition, I would appreciate not being sexually assaulted or filmed while sleeping.”

Jimin burst into laughter, “Those are very important boundaries and I will respect them.”

***

 

The sleeping pills took effect in less than ten minutes. Combined with Jeongguk’s already exhausted body, they worked quickly to send him off to sleep in peace. Even though it was not one of Jeongguk’s specifically stated rules, Jimin assumed that staring at the beautiful man while he slept was also off limits. So he hesitantly looked away. 

Initially, Jimin stared at the tall building adjacent to his. He watched as the  70 foot tall Douglas Fir Christmas tree was assembled on the roof. Each of the ornaments was the size of his head or bigger. The strings of lights seemed to go on for miles and miles. Christmas was definitely his favorite time of year. The Christmas tree lighting was planned for later that evening. After getting Riley settled, he planned to attend. 

Sunday was set to be his first day off in over three months and he looked forward to the time. His plan was to meet up with a few friends and do some Christmas shopping. His mother was the primary recipient of all of his lavish spending because he didn’t really have anyone else. His father was long deceased, and he had no siblings. His friends were all successful doctors as well, so no one really placed much emphasis on gift giving.

Jimin was startled by Jeongguk. Riley’s father was experiencing some kind of jump reflex in his sleep. It lasted briefly, and Jeongguk quickly settled down after calling Riley’s name. But once again, Jimin found himself staring at him. This time he was unable to look away. Jeongguk had rolled to his side. His black hair that was typically pulled away from his face and stiffened with hair spray and mousse, was instead soft and natural. He looked years younger with the sloppy dark bangs crawling over his forehead. His face was youthful, a sign that for once, his stress levels were down. He lay there in the fetal position, a far cry from the rich, intimidating, asshole that Jimin had first met when Riley arrived. His peaceful sleep inadvertently exposed the human side of him. Jimin was so curious about his backstory. How had he and Riley come to such a place in life - where they could barely speak to each other without fighting; where each questioned the love for the other. The vibes were weird but there had to be a reason for it. Jimin figured that he would never learn the answers. In just a few days the two of them would be out of his life, and he would move on to the next patient. He wished them well, that was about all he was entitled to.

Jimin was able to get quite a bit of work done. Mr. Jeon’s gentle breathing was soothing for him. He liked having him there. Three hours had passed since Jeongguk dozed off and Jimin was feeling groggy himself. His phone buzzed with a text from his mother. The text didn’t say much. It was just a thumbs up emoji and a smiley face. 

Riley was out of surgery. Post op care was in his mother’s territory. Jimin didn’t want to step on her toes, but he had to know how Riley was doing. He threw a blanket over the sleeping Mr. Jeon and tip-toed out of the office. 

 

Riley was resting peacefully when he arrived. The nurse hooked her up to all of the machines that were tasked with monitoring her refurbished heart. She looked great. Her color was back. He removed his stethoscope and pressed it against her chest to hear everything in Dolby surround sound. Her heart rhythm was like music to Jimin’s ears; slow, steady and even. 

“My patient for twelve more hours. Get out of here,” Alicia slapped him across the back with a manilla folder.

“Sorry, sorry, I know. I’m leaving. Just wanted to lay eyes on her.”

“Where’s the dad? I tried to find him in the waiting room to tell him that she was out, but he wasn’t there,” Alecia questioned.

“He’s in my office.”

“He’s what?” Alecia opened her mouth in shock. “What, may I ask, is he doing in there? That’s against hospital policy. I can fire you for that,” Alecia warned.

“Fire me. I don’t care. I’ll be jobless and end up living in your attic. That’s on you,” Jimin laughed.

Alecia laughed as well, “Answer my question Dr. Park.”

“He was in pretty bad shape. Teetering on medical exhaustion. I had two choices, admit him to the main wing of the hospital, or take him back to my office and give him a little TLC. The former seemed cruel given how worried he is about his daughter. He has no one. Not a single friend, or family member has come by. Just some man named Hanson who appears to be the butler/nanny,” Jimin shrugged.

“Your heart is too big. You shouldn’t get involved with any personal aspect of the patient journey. He’s not your responsibility. She is,” Alecia scolded.

“And allowing her father to be carted off by an ambulance because he’s overcome with stress and anxiety would do nothing to help her. At least this way, when she wakes up, her dad will be there, refreshed, relaxed and showered,” Jimin stood his ground. “He was crashing, mom. He had so little interoception that he didn’t even realize that he was slurring, lethargic, barely able to make cogent sentences. He needed a friend.”

“That friend had to be you? Why not social services?” Alecia pressed.

“Mom…,”

“Ok, ok. I’ll shut up.” She raised her hands in surrender.

“How did everything go? How is she?” Jimin stared down at Riley. She looked so much like her dad, it made him feel warm inside.

“Good as new. She can go home tomorrow if she stabilizes overnight. I’ll need to see her weekly for the first two months. I can work around your appointments with her as well. Between the two of us, we’ll keep a very close eye on her.”

“That’s good news. Thanks Dr. Park. You did it again,” Jimin kissed her on the cheek. 

***

 

“Eat your string beans.”

“Put your phone away at the dinner table.”

“Riley, I’m working.”

“Then go to work and work. You can’t have it both ways, daddy. If you’re going to be at home, then be at home. If you’re not, then stay at work.”

Jeongguk didn’t hear Riley’s comment. He was too busy responding to his clerk. The deposition of the murder case for Sydney Mason had not been postponed as he requested. He had less than two days to prepare. With all of the time he’d spent at the hospital, he had no idea how he was going to get everything ready before meeting with the judge.”

“I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday. We get to go back and visit Dr. Park. You like him, don’t you daddy?” Riley asked.

“Wait…Friday? I-I can’t go on Friday. I have to be in court. I don’t remember making an appointment for Friday,” Jeongguk stuttered and stammered. 

“Just tell the judge you can’t make it,” Riley said simply. “I’m more important.”

“RILEY! Who made an appointment for Friday? I didn’t, I wouldn’t have. Did you go behind my back and set this up on a day when you knew I had a conflict?”

“Maybe…,” Riley pushed her string beans under her bread to hide them.”

“Hanson!” Jeongguk called. “Don’t you ‘maybe’ me young lady. Why would you do this? Are you intentionally trying to sabotage my court case? Sydney Mason is on trial for her life. I’m her only hope for getting a fair trial. I’ve tried three times to postpone this deposition and the judge has refused each time. I have to be there. Now tell me how the hell your doctor’s appointment ended up being scheduled for friday?” Jeongguk was livid with his wayward daughter. “Hanson!” Jeongguk screamed again.

“You don’t have to scream. I’m right here,” Hanson said with irritation. 

“What is this about a doctor’s appointment on friday. Did you know about this?” Jeongguk asked. 

Hanson peered at Riley. Guilt was all over her face. “Uh-uh, yes. I knew about it. In fact, I’m the one who made the appointment. I’ll take her, sir. We all know how important Friday is for your court matter.”

“You made an appointment for her without speaking to me first? Her first visit with Dr. Park is very important. I need to be there…just not on friday. Cancel it and reschedule.” Jeongguk said sternly.

“You have to be there daddy. You can’t let me go alone. And we can’t cancel because…uh…uh…uh…Dr. Park is going out of town. This was his only appointment available before next month. So you have to go. We have to go together.”

“Riley Jeon, are you not listening? I can’t go. Not on that day!” Jeongguk was frustrated. Someone was lying and he wasn’t sure if it was Hanson or Riley; either way he didn’t have time for it.

“I’ll take her, sir. The matter is closed. Good luck in court.” Hanson settled it once and for all, “Riley, come with me. We have to pick out a dress for the party next week. Carmen ordered several different gowns. I want to know which one you like so she can have it hemmed for you.”

Jeongguk shook his head. Riley had always been an attention seeker, but she had never before crossed the line of sabotaging his work. He tried to make things better after her surgery, but the ship was slow to turn. Something had to change. Something had to give because he and his little girl could not continue this way.

Hanson pulled Riley around the corner and then rounded on her immediately. “Ok Glinda the bad witch. What did you do? How did a doctor’s appointment mysteriously get scheduled for the day your father was busy in court?”

Riley knew she was busted. She decided to tell the entire truth. “They called for dad. He wasn’t here, as usual, so I accepted the call and agreed to take a message. They said they had an opening for Friday and asked me to tell him about it. I-I pretended to check with him and then I called them back and told them that we would take it.”

“You did this knowing that your dad had a very important court date?” Hanson scolded.

“When I got sick, he promised to put me first. He promised! He said no matter what, he would make it up to me, pay me back for all of the times that he wasn’t there. This was his test and he fucking failed!” Riley crossed her arms in anger. Tears dripped from her eyes. Her stubborn father was definitely becoming the source of her super villain origin story. 

“This is not the right way to deal with him. You are playing with people’s lives. Your father has a very important job. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. That doesn’t mean he won’t change. But when he makes a commitment to be somewhere, he has to keep it. You knew he was going to be in court that day yet you still decided to play this little game. I covered for you because I didn’t know the full story. But now that I know what you did…,” Hanson took a deep breath. “I’m very disappointed in you. This is not the way. This is not the way. Lying and scheming and trying to manipulate him by playing on his guilt, it’s..it’s…evil.” Hanson snarled. “You’re better than this.”

“You always pick his side. You love him more than me. You always have. I feel like I have no one. No one!” Riley ran to her room, leaving Hanson there in the hallway.

***

 

The spiral at the toe of Jimin’s green elf boots was covered in glitter. He did a quick tap dance move to watch them sparkle in action. His red and white stockings spiraled down his shapely legs like candy canes. Although the kelly green polyester elf suit looked authentic, it was scratchy as hell, grating across Jimin’s skin like miniature razor blades. At least his pointed hat was cozy, keeping his head warm as he traversed the chilly hallways of the hospital. 

Jimin had a full day of making rounds. Being dressed like an elf made him very excited about his full day. He was so excited for his patients to see him. He stood in his office huddled in front of the mirror, applying ample amounts of rosy blush to his cheeks. He brushed a bit on the tip of his perfect nose before rubbing pink lip gloss on his lips. He’d spent hours curling his hair to give him the innocent look of a pure elf that was straight from the North Pole. 

Many of Jimin’s patients weren’t going to be able to spend Christmas in their own beds. Their illnesses were so severe that they were forced into an extended hospital stay. With only three weeks before Christmas, depression was starting to set in for many under his care. So it was his job to bring Christmas to them…starting with Jimin the good elf. That was his name for himself. Every child, who so chose, would have a chance to tell the elf what they wanted for Christmas. In return he would deliver their messages to Santa.

Jimin placed his hands on his hips and posed in front of the mirror, “No more Dr. Park. Today I’m officially, Jimin the good elf- elf-elf-elf-elf.” He laughed as his voice echoed through his small office bathroom.

He clicked his heels and headed towards the pediatric wing. Along the way, he ran into the other Dr. Park who laughed so hard at his appearance that she fell against the wall. She doubled over and pointed, barely able to speak. “Sweetie…what the hell…?” She said between loud guffaws. Her unfiltered laughter made Jimin laugh as well. Before long they were both cracking up in the hallway. “The things you do for those kids.” Once again she was incredibly proud of her son. His selfless sacrifices and joyful spirit were the absolute heartbeat of the pediatric unit. No one gave as much to the hospital as he did.

 

Christmas had definitely arrived at UCSF. There were Christmas trees in every corner. Stockings hung next to each hospital room. Mistletoe grew from the ceiling and lit garland wrapped around everything that wasn’t moving. Most of the decorations were paid out of Jimin’s own pocket. He loved Christmas and he wanted to share his love with the world.

*** 

Jimin headed to the patient consultation room. He had several appointments to start the day. The appointment that he was most looking forward to was his first post-op evaluation of Riley Jeon. Honesty compelled him to admit that he was more excited about seeing Riley’s blazing hot father than he was about seeing Riley herself. Although he looked forward to seeing her progress as one of his most successful patients, he was very curious about how the two of them were holding up. He hoped that the promises made by Jeongguk after his daughter’s brush with death, were being upheld.

He walked through the waiting room towards the consultation rooms. There he saw Riley dressed like a tiny runway model. He was sure that everything on her body was custom Chanel. Some elderly gentleman, possibly the butler called Hanson, was sitting with her. Riley was quietly playing on her phone, making faces at the screen. She looked up with a gasp as she recognized Jimin.

“DR. PARK!” She ran towards him at full speed and crashed into him with the most joyous and grateful hug that he’d ever felt. “You look fantastic. Oh my god you’re so cute!” She giggled and swung back and forth with her arms still clasped tightly around him. 

“Riley!” Jimin hugged her back. It wasn’t exactly standard for doctors to hug their patients but when they were children, there were some exceptions. Riley was definitely one. “Hey, where’s your dad? Parking the car?” Jimin looked around the waiting room for Jeongguk.

“Daddy is in court. Daddy decided that defending some murdering cow was more important than being here for his daughter’s first post-op appointment,” Riley said bitterly.

Hanson overheard her version of the story and objected, “That’s not exactly how this all happened. Hello Dr. Park. Are you ready to see her now?”

Jimin did a quick check of his schedule. Riley was up first. “Yes. It’s her turn. Come Riley, let’s see how you’re doing.”

 “I’ll wait here to give you some privacy,” Hanson unfolded a magazine and began to read through it. 

Jimin’s mind raced as he led Riley back to the exam room. It just didn’t make sense for Jeongguk not to be there. Considering the way he suffered during her illness, every single moment of Riley’s recovery should have been sacrosanct to him. Jimin could sense that something wasn’t quite right, but he held his tongue. 

He looked through Riley’s latest test results. The numbers indicated that her pacemaker was working well. The anomalies and troublesome electrical pathways had all been destroyed and they were no longer a problem. Riley’s overall health was very good. Jimin felt comfortable with clearing her to resume her regular daily activities which included ballet and tennis. She was to remain under his care and evaluation just the same. 

“The other Dr. Park is going to run a few more tests and continue to monitor you next week. I don’t expect that she will find anything interesting. Just a boring little heart doing boring little things,” Jimin smiled and pinched Riley’s cheek.

“So I’m ok? I’m really ok?”

“You sure are. How have you been feeling?”

“Much better. No more chest pains or funny heartbeats. I feel great, like my old self again. Thank you Dr. Park. You and your mom really did a great job on me,” Riley giggled. But her smile gradually slipped into a frown. “Dr. Park. Do you like working with your mom?”

“I love it. She’s one of my favorite people in the world, not just as my mom but also as my coworker. When I was younger, I always dreamed of working by her side. And when my dream came true, I was the happiest person in the world. She gives me advice, she looks out for me, she respects my opinions. She’s pretty cool,” Jimin explained. 

Riley stared down into her hands, “It must be nice to have a parent who loves you. My dad…doesn’t.”

“Riley, look at me.” Jimin lifted Riley’s chin, “Where is your father? Why isn’t he here?”

“Because he chose work over me, again. He’s in court.”

“I don’t know much about the law, but I do know that court cases get placed on the dockets weeks and weeks in advance. He likely had his court case for today scheduled months ago, before you got sick. So why would he agree to a doctor’s appointment on the day he knew he had court?” Jimin was no fool. He knew something just didn’t add up.

“I told you because he chose work over me.”

Jimin flipped through her file until he found the notes from where the appointment had been set up. It took only a few seconds for him to discover the problem. “I don’t see any notes here that say the receptionist ever spoke to your father. I only see notes where she spoke to you. Riley, did your father even know about this appointment?”

“Of course he did. I told you, he chose work over me. I gave him a chance. I won’t give him any more chances,” Riley continued to stare down into her hands. 

Even though he hadn’t heard Jeongguk’s side of the story, Jimin was able to piece it all together pretty quickly. “I wonder if there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“My father never wanted me, Dr. Park. Did you know that? I ruined his life. At the age of twenty-two, in the middle of lawschool, he had a kid. He’s treated me like gum on the bottom of his shoe for twelve years. He promised me after I got sick that everything would change. Nothing has changed.”

“Oh sweetheart. Your father suffered more than any parent I’d ever witnessed when you were sick. You mean everything to him. Your illness crippled him. He was riddled with guilt over how he handled your relationship. He told me himself how much he loved you. He wants to change and he’s trying, but change is hard…,”

“...blah blah blah. Why is everyone always on his side?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side. I just…want you two to be happy.”

“He likes you. Did you know that?”

“I like him too. I think he’s an honorable man,” Jimin shrugged as he flipped through her chart again.

“No…I don’t think you understand. I mean he liiiiiiikes you,” Riley gave an awkward obnoxious wink.

“Liiiiiikes me?” Jimin shook his head with confusion.

“Daddy is gay.”

“What?” Jimin’s clipboard crashed to the ground. “Your father? The one in all black? The one who looks like a pinup hunk straight out of GQ Magazine? That guy is gay?”

“Very.” Riley grinned. She jumped down from the table and put her shoes back on. “He talks about you all of the time. Just randomly about how you took care of him when he was waiting and how generous you were to loan him clothes. My father does not talk like that about anybody.”

“I’m sure he was just grateful for someone being there during his darkest hour,” Jimin tried to clarify. He didn’t want to walk away from the conversation with the wrong idea.

“He was grateful for that too. But he literally told Hanson that you were gorgeous. I overheard it. I agree with him. You are very cute, especially as an elf.” She giggled, “You two would make a lovely couple…if he could ever stop working long enough to date,” Riley swept her hair over her left shoulder and pulled on her coat.

Dr. Park turned into Dr. Goo. The collar of his itchy polyester coat suddenly seemed too tight around his neck. Sweat puddled under his pointy hat and his face turned deep crimson. Learning that Mr. Jeon found him attractive was not on his bingo card of possibilities. He felt it wise to change the subject.

“You’ll see Dr. Alecia Park next week and then see me again the week after. Take it easy as you ease back into ballet. If you start to feel poorly, call my staff immediately and we’ll get you back in for an emergency appointment. Is that a deal?”

Riley sang as she gathered her things, “Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I, my tender heart tends to start to bleed…,”

Jimin replied in song,“I know, I know, exactly what they need. Don’t worry, I’m determined to succeed, follow my lead…,”

Riley laughed. “Your mom told me that she had to take you to see that play over 100 times.”

Jimin’s mouth fell agape. “Look at you…pulling family secrets from your two cardiologists. When did she tell you this?”

“Before surgery. While you were in the corner flirting…with my dad.”

Jimin was defensive, “We were not flirting. We were discussing your care.”

“Yes because you had to stand that close to discuss my care.” She rolled her eyes.

Jimin felt it wise to let her comments go unacknowledged. But he did have something to ask her. “Oh hey, one more thing before you leave.”

“Sure.”

“You know I’m an official Christmas elf during the holidays. I work for Santa in my spare time. What would you like for Santa to bring you for Christmas? If you give me a list, I can take it to him.”

“I’m twelve. I don’t believe in Santa. I believe in my daddy’s Black Card. He gives it to Hanson so he can take me shopping,” Riley said bitterly.

Jimin frowned, “Oh. I’m so sorry you’ve lost the magic. Well, if you did believe in Santa. What would you ask for?”

Riley lowered her head. She knew the answer. She had always known the answer, “To have parents that actually love me...”

***

 

Jeongguk threw his briefcase across his office. “FUCK!” He screamed. 

The only way to describe his day in court was a shitty fiasco. Every single bit of evidence he argued to keep out was overruled and allowed in. There were some very damning statements made by Sydney before she had legal counsel. All of them were allowed into evidence even though she wasn’t mentally stable when she made them. It was a major blow to Jeongguk’s case even before the trial started. 

He immediately poured himself a drink. Two glasses of whisky, no ice, just liquor. He wanted to drown in several bottles of the hard stuff. He had no desire to be sober because his mind was going to do nothing but replay over and over all of his lame ill-prepared arguments that he put in front of the judge.

“FUCK!” He yelled again. This time he threw all of the psychological evaluations that he’d obtained from Sydney’s doctors. They were useless because none of them were compelling enough to convince the judge that Sydney was a nutcase. And she indeed was a nutcase. 

With anger coursing through his veins, he ripped off his suit jacket, tie and dress shirt. He unbuttoned his pants and paced topless around his office. Jeongguk fell down into his leather chair. He couldn’t drink his whisky fast enough. He could still feel his fingers and his legs. His mind was still clear. It was a problem that could only be solved by more liquor. Riley and Hanson were both out for the night.  Riley was sleeping over at a friend’s house and Hanson was visiting his daughter and grandson. Carmen was in New York. There was a crew working in the kitchen, repairing the damage from the fire, but they were scheduled to leave shortly after Jeongguk returned home. He was all alone, once again. Given his mental state, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. 

It took less than an hour to get through the first bottle. He was just about to start on the second bottle when the doorbell rang.

“Hanson, get the door,” he slurred. But then he remembered that Hanson wasn’t there. “Somebody get the fucking door.” There was no one.  “Oops. I’m here all by myself. In that case, Jeongguk get the fucking door,” he laughed. He was slightly inebriated but still sober enough for his mind to remind him about his fucked up day. “Coming.” He made his way down the massive hallway, through the front wing of the house. The doorbell rang yet again. “Coming, damnit.” 

Jeongguk checked the door cameras. He squinted, before falling against the wall. “I must be really fucked up. There’s an elf at my door.” Jeongguk checked the camera again, this time looking for reindeer and possibly santa. His second look confirmed that only the elf had chosen to make a visit. He opened the door topless, with his pants unzipped and a full bottle of very expensive whiskey in his hand. 

The elf turned around. To Jeongguk’s surprise, it was Dr. Park.

“What-what in the hell are you doing here? And why are you dressed like an elf,” Jeongguk rubbed his eyes. He was so fucked up. “Let me rephrase that. Please tell me you’re dressed like an elf and I’m not just seeing things.”

“I’m an elf. Good evening Mr. Jeon. Sorry to show up without calling. But…,” Jimin swallowed hard. He could hardly catch his breath. Half naked Mr. Jeon with his pants riding low around his waist was giving him a cardiac event. “Is this a bad time?” He wondered if Jeongguk had been with someone, possibly in the middle of sex or something. He looked just that delectable. 

“Why are you here?” Jeongguk asked again. 

“Is Riley here?”

“Why do you need to see my daughter? Start talking fast Park or I’m kicking your ass.”

Jimin laughed despite being threatened, “It’s not like that. She had an appointment today. You were noticeably absent by the way. But she left this. It looks important.” Jimin showed Jeongguk a locket. “She had to remove all of her jewelry for an MRI. I think this just got left behind.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Jeongguk snatched the locket from Jimin’s hands. “And instead of just mailing it, you personally delivered it…why?”

“Because I was in the neighborhood?” Jimin lied.

“Not buying that one. Let’s try it again. You’re here on my doorstep, dressed as an elf, delivering a locket because…why?”

Jimin scanned Jeongguk’s body. It was the most inappropriate thing he could possibly do…other than showing up at his mansion unannounced. “Is that…?”

“What?”

“Is that a bottle of Mic Drop 2.0 - the single barrel from 2002?” Jimin was stunned. “That’s an $8000 bottle of whisky.”

“Ehhhhh, you know your liquor. I like that. Not too many people would recognize this beauty.” Jeongguk pressed the bottle to his lips and took a swig. “Come in. Want some?”

“Uh no thanks,” Jimin stepped inside. 

They stood there at the doorway, Jeongguk downing gulps of liquor and Jimin trying to avoid salivating over his partially nude body. 

“Alright cute little elfie Jiminie. What’s up? Is something wrong with Riley? Is that why you’re really here?”

“No, no of course not. She’s fine. Better than fine. I cleared her to return to all of her normal activities. Didn’t she tell you?”

“Riley isn’t speaking to me. But what else is fucking new?” Jeongguk pulled Jimin by the arm and led him to the kitchen. All of the cabinets had been stripped and the east wall had been gutted. There was still a very strong stench of stale smoke.

“Ah the fire.” Jimin suddenly understood.

“The fire.” Jeongguk affirmed. “Riley was trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a surprise for me. Things got out of hand and well…this happened.”

“Yikes. That’s the night she was admitted to the hospital, right?”

“Yea.”

“The stress likely triggered an accelerated cardiac event. She’s lucky to be alive, really,” Jimin said. He reached over and took a swig of Jeongguk’s whisky which made Jeongguk break into a devilish smile.

“That a boy. Nice to see you loosen up.”

Jimin hissed as the smooth whisky slid down his throat. “I showed up at a patient’s house dressed as an elf. I have to say, I was already pretty loose.”

Jeongguk spoke up again, “Which brings me back to my original question. Why. Are. You. Here?”

Jimin grabbed Jeongguk’s bottle again and nursed a few more sips, “Because I’m worried about Riley…and you.”

“Since when do doctors care about patient’s personal lives?”

“Doctors always care. But there’s only so much they can do. It can be mentally exhausting trying to save people who can’t be saved. We do what we can from a medical perspective and then send our patients back to their lives. Only…I can’t seem to move on from you and Riley.”

“What has you so concerned? And don’t say my drinking. I’m not a heavy drinker. It’s just…today was really fucked up. Between the mess up with Riley’s appointment and my shitty day in court, I just want to drown my sorrows. Riley isn’t here. She’s with a friend at a birthday party. It’s just me self-destructing all on my own.” Jeongguk pulled the bottle back from Jimin. He stood to his feet and found a couple of glasses. “It’s a bit disrespectful to take down this entire bottle without properly using a glass,” Jeongguk laughed. He poured a glass for each of them.

“What happened…with the appointment I mean,” Jimin asked boldly. The liquor helped.

“I don’t know Dr. Park. But I can promise you one thing. I did not make that appointment. My butler claims that he did, but I think he was covering for Riley. I would have never made an appointment for today. I tried so many times to get my court date postponed, but I couldn’t. I had to be there. I would have moved heaven and earth to be there for Riley, but this was just a situation that couldn’t be helped. And of course, she blames me.”

Jimin tried to add some perspective, “I figured as much. I knew that you wouldn’t miss her appointment unless it was an emergency.” Jimin’s suspicions were right. Riley was playing games. “She was trying to test you. In her underdeveloped mind, she felt this was your chance to choose her over work.”

“And I chose work. I can’t win with that kid.”

“ Look if it means anything, I know how much you love her,” Jimin said. “I figured that Riley was behind this when I noticed there was no parental sign off on the appointment. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again. We will not schedule anything without your express permission.”

“How is she Dr. Park? How is my baby?”

“Physically, she’s well. You have nothing to worry about. I performed another MRI and the results were normal.”

“Mentally?” Jeongguk asked sadly.

“She thinks that…well…Riley believes that you never wanted her. It’s a complete misunderstanding and I…,”

Jeongguk spoke over him, “...I never wanted her. It’s true.”

Jimin sat back in his seat. He poured himself another full glass of whisky and drank it just as fast as he poured it. He grabbed his temples. This was exactly why doctors were not supposed to get involved with family dynamics. They weren’t trained to handle years of familial dysfunction and this was definitely dysfunctional.

“Don’t look at me like that. Cut the act. You’re dying to know the full story. You want to know how a gay man ended up as a single father with a child. Right?”

“Well I…I…uh…uhh…yes?” Jimin couldn’t believe it. It was the backstory that he’d been waiting to hear.

“Come with me. Let’s go someplace more comfortable. Grab the whisky, you’re going to need it.”

Jeongguk led Jimin to his office. The fireplace was roaring. There was smooth jazz playing on an old fashioned Victrola and modern mahogany furniture. The room also had a pleasurable aroma; candlewood, musk, bergamot and cardamom, balanced perfectly within the large space. The place was so cozy and comfortable that Jimin felt he could stay there forever.

Through the slightly retracted curtain he could see the lights of the Bay bridge. To his surprise, he could also see the Christmas tree on the top of the building across from his office. From what he could decipher, it looked as if Jeongguk had a stunning view. However, the heavy velvet curtains refused to reveal very much of it.

“Have a seat.” 

Jimin chose one of the leather chairs at the round table near the fireplace. He removed his hat, his scratchy green jacket and most of the blush that was gathered around his cheeks. He wanted to squirm out of his curly toed boots but felt that was a step too far. After all, Mr. Jeon was technically a stranger. With his right hand, he pushed his hair back from his forehead and sat back in the chair. He was warm. Comfortable. 

Jeongguk stood by the fireplace. He rested his arm on the mantle causing his muscles to ripple. He seemed unphased being shirtless in front of his daughter’s doctor. 

Jimin looked away.

Jeongguk began his story, “I was twenty-two. A rock star in my first year of law school. Popular, wealthy, smart. I had a bright future ahead of me. There was talk of me being on track to a judicial appointment if my first few years of practice were successful. My parents were lawyers too. But I didn’t want to do anything based on their reputation. I was determined to carve my own path.” Jeongguk pointed to an oil painting on the wall. Jimin assumed it was his parents. 

“My life was perfect. I had a solid internship, good friends. Oh and I was also in love. Did I mention that part?”

“No,” Jimin smiled. 

“Ah yes. I was in love. He was everything to me. WE were together for four years. As far as I was concerned, we were going to be together forever. Geez, looking back I was so naive. All of the signs were there, but I ignored them.”

“Signs? What signs?” Jimin probed.

“He was still in the closet. After four years together, he still had not told his parents about me. He met my parents immediately after we started dating. We had dinners together, went on vacations. My mother even helped him score a prestigious Clerk position in Federal court. But I was never so much as introduced to his parents. One night we argued about it. Before we knew it, the situation had degraded into a terrible fight. I was just so hurt. So devastated because he refused to tell his parents about me and had no plans to do so - ever. He wanted to live a lie. He was satisfied to show me off amongst his rich friends who he wanted to impress. But I wasn’t good enough to meet his mother and father. It all happened so fast. Before I knew it, we were saying horrible things to each other and I was moving out. We broke up that night.”

Jimin walked over to the fireplace and stood close to Jeongguk. He poured more whisky into his glass and lightly rubbed his bare shoulder. Even after so many years, the pain was still fresh in his eyes. “That is terrible. I’m so sorry that happened.”

“So am I. And that leads me to Riley. You can’t imagine the level of pinned up anger that boiled within me after the break up. I wanted him to hurt. I wanted him to feel at least a fraction of the pain he caused me. And so I purposely set out to do something that I knew would hurt him. I cozied up to a friend who I knew had a crush on me. She was beautiful. We didn’t know each other that well which made it much easier to use her for the purpose I had in mind. We had a date and I told her my plan. She took pictures as the night progressed. She was all in, careful to make sure to get incriminating poses. We had a little too much to drink. She pushed me to have a little more. You know in retrospect, I honestly didn’t even want to do it. She had to give me Viagra to make it happen - if you know what I mean.”

“I get it. I’m firmly in the gay category as well. Going against who you are is difficult even in the name of sweet revenge,” Jimin added.

“Ah you understand me.”

“Understand you? I am you. Been there, done that, got a tshirt.”

“We got on with it. I knew the one thing that would hurt him the most was me hooking up with a woman. So that’s what I did. However, being a gay man who had never really been with a woman, meant that there were some critical things that I didn’t consider. The first being that maybe… there were women out there looking to score a pregnancy with a rich kid from Alameda. The second being, I should have worn a condom.”

“You think it was a trap?”

“Premeditated, no. Opportunistic, definitely. I was young and stupid and drunk and reeling from emotional dysfunction. I was not a victim. It was my idea, I didn’t take proper precautions and I paid the price. I fucked a woman and I made sure that he knew about it. It was a disgusting act of vengeance. I was disgusted with myself for a long time after that.”

Jimin knew his question was out of line but he asked it anyway, “Did she feel good? I mean…did you enjoy it?”

“I came…so something was right about it. A hole is a hole, right?” Jeongguk answered so honestly that Jimin leaned in just to watch his lips move as he said the words. 

“No, not exactly,” Jimin stepped away. He walked back to the table and had a seat. Something about hearing the story of Jeongguk’s one night stand made him - jealous.”

“Getting a woman pregnant was the last thing on my mind. That’s why it’s so important to talk to the LGBTQ+ community about the basic facts of life. Gay or not gay, your shooters will make a baby if they are deposited into the right receptacle,” Jeongguk laughed. Jimin did not. “I never expected what we did that night to lead to a baby. I was floored when I found out. I just didn’t think I was capable. Not making excuses, just offering an explanation. I did what I did and I took full responsibility for it.”

“And what happened when your boyfriend found out about it?” Jimin asked.

“ Needless to say, that was the end of my relationship for good. He possibly could have forgiven me for cheating. But forgiving me for knocking up a virtual stranger, was not forgivable. He never spoke to me again.”

“Where is he now?” Jimin said, shocked by the news.

“The Governor of a red state. I won’t tell you which one. Just know that he’s still in the closet despite having a mistress who’s a mister and works in his administration,” Jeongguk laughed impishly.  

“And how did your parents handle the news?”

“Imagine my father’s glee when he found out that his gay son had a baby on the way. A baby I made the natural way. My mother was so happy that she cried, hoping that my homosexuality was just a phase and the pregnancy was proof. My dad, however, understood more than any of us. He took it at face value and accepted that it was just a mistake, probably one of the worst mistakes of my life. Never for a minute did he expect anything from me. He knew I was gay and the baby didn’t change that.”

“You were with Riley and the mother from the beginning?”

“All of it. I’m a fucking asshole, but I’m not immoral. I took responsibility. I attended every single doctor’s appointment. I helped pick her name. I rubbed Ming’s back whenever she was uncomfortable. I was the perfect doting baby daddy. I did everything possible to care for my child. A child that I didn’t want. She ruined my life, destroyed any chance I had of being with my boyfriend. I had to drop out of law school to help care for her. I was subjected to rumors and innuendo. I couldn’t date. I was trapped. Me and Riley were oil and water from the day she was born until now.”

Jimin didn’t like any of the things that Jeongguk was saying, but his honesty was intriguing, beguiling really. He’d never met a man who owned so much of his shit, flaws and all. It was refreshing and a validation of Jimin’s initial thoughts of him being an honorable man. 

“And what happened to the mother?”

“The mother,” Jeongguk sipped whisky. His laughter swirled around the bottom of the glass as he held it to his lips. “She never wanted a kid either. She wanted stability, a paycheck. She was never around. In fact she moved to New York when Riley was still in diapers. My parents and Hanson raised Riley until she was about seven years old. Riley and I lived here with them. It was just after Riley’s seventh birthday that Ming left. POOF, just like that. Met a guy, fell in love and gave my parents an ultimatum; either write her a very large check or she would tell the world that I was gay.”

“She blackmailed your family?” Jimin stood up again and walked back over to the fireplace. He was once again captivated by Jeongguk’s story. 

“Yep. You have to understand, I had finally gotten my life back on track. I got back into law school, graduated and found a lucrative job at a prestigious law firm. I was on the fast track to being named partner. I couldn’t afford a scandal. The partners at my law firm were notoriously homophobic. A gay scandal back then would have torpedoed my career. And she knew it. She did her time, got her payday and moved to Europe with her new boyfriend. She never looked back. She never even called Riley to say goodbye.”

“That’s terrible. I see why Riley is so clingy and so desperate for your attention. She’s scared to death of losing you, like she did her mother,” Jimin explained.

“You’re a therapist as well as a cardiologist?” Jeongguk flashed a smile. 

It was the first time that Jimin had really noticed his dimples. He smiled back. “It’s a natural progression of feelings. You don’t need a Psych degree to make that leap.”

Jeongguk gently tapped Jimin’s fingers that were spread on top of the mantle. He looked down and laughed heartily. “I just noticed your shoes. You really are the cutest elf in San Francisco.”

“I’m from the North Pole,” Jimin corrected him.”

“Oh sorry.”

“What happened to your parents? Are they still around?” Jimin regretted phrasing it that way.

“No, they’re both dead. About one year after Ming abandoned Riley, my parents were killed in a car accident. That was that. I was left alone to raise an eight year old kid that I barely knew. And that brings me to the beginning…I never wanted Riley. I resented her so much. Kids aren’t stupid, they can feel that shit. You know?”

“She still feels it. You’re right, the damage is done but it’s not irreversible.”

“I know. I’m trying to change things and make up for the hurt that I’ve caused her. Rebuild, restore. I’m a different person now than I was in my twenties. I’m much more mature now and I understand the value of being a good father. It took some time for me to figure it out, but when I fell in love with her, I fell hard. She’s my baby girl and I love her but I’m lousy at showing it. Like I said, Riley and I are oil and water and we never learned how to coexist. We fray each other’s nerves even when we’re trying our best.”

“She loves you very much too. But if you don’t fix this soon…,” Jimin felt it was inappropriate to give dire warnings, so he quieted himself.

Jeongguk continued, “My dad was the same way. Everything was about work. He probably even talked about work when he was fucking my mother. It caused problems in their marriage. Problems between us. Neither of my parents ever really understood me. I was always an afterthought. I don’t know what healthy parenting looks like, so I’m struggling to figure it out.”

“Have you considered therapy? Bringing in someone who can help you connect?”

“We tried. The therapist told me that I needed to reshuffle my priorities.”

“Maybe she was right?” Jimin concurred. “Maybe a little more social life, a little more Riley and a little less work may allow you two to connect more.”

“You don’t know anything about my life.”

“I do though. Riley says you’re always at the office working. She says when you’re home, you lock yourself in this room only to do more work, even on holidays. She also says that you haven’t dated…in years.” Jimin wasn’t sure if mentioning his dating life was appropriate, but the words were already out there.

“You two are very close for a patient and doctor. Do you have personal discussions about family with all of your patients?”

“Sometimes. It depends on what the patient needs to get off of their chest so they can focus on their healing. I’m a listener, that’s what I do. You’d be surprised just how much healing can be found by just having someone to talk to.”

“Riley talks too much. She shouldn’t be divulging personal family information,” Jeongguk snapped. He was embarrassed to know that the doctor knew about his dating slump. No one wants the world to know that they aren’t getting any.

“I understand your concern. She feels comfortable with me, but trust me, I always try to bring the conversation back neutral whenever she goes down these paths. I’m not a therapist and I realize that.”

“What’s that song you two always sing?” Jeongguk’s mind was elsewhere.

“Song? What song?”

“That song you and Riley sing to each other. Even the first day you met, you both sang it.”

Jimin smiled. His inner broadway diva was released. “Oh my friend, that’s from Wicked. Riley told me that her entire room is themed after Glinda. It’s a Broadway play. We sing several songs. But they’re all from the same play, Wicked,” Jimin smiled.

“See, I would never know that. That’s what makes me so unrelatable. I don’t even know how to talk to her.”

“It was just a coincidence. If she were a big fan of something cool like that rapper AugusD, I would have no idea what she was talking about. But as it were, she’s a nerd, like me,” Jimin laughed. 

 

The fire felt good. The conversation was fulfilling and Jeongguk was gorgeous. Jimin wasn’t sure exactly where the line was between a healthy medical conversation about Riley’s overall well-being and a full on flirting session with her gorgeous father. A quick downward glance reminded Jimin that he was wearing red and white candy cane striped stockings, green polyester shorts and curly toe shoes. He wasn’t exactly trying to seduce him. He felt it was safe to continue.

“Now you know all of my dirty little secrets, so tell me some of yours,” Jeongguk sat on the floor in front of the fireplace and pulled Jimin down with him. “You’re very attractive, we’ve established that. But how did you become the head cardiologist at UCSF at the tender age of…,” Jeongguk paused, waiting for Jimin to fill in the blank.

“...36…I just turned 36 in October. And there’s really not much to tell. Sometimes, people are just lucky to find their calling in life. This one was mine. I’ve always idolized my mother. She worked so hard to get where she is today yet she always found time for me. Even if it was just helping her study, I was always included in her journey. So naturally I had an affinity towards medicine. I have a romantic relationship with the human heart. It is a miraculous specimen, a simple muscle triggered by magical electric currents. Something barely bigger than my fist. But it’s by far the hardest working organ we have. While other kids were drawing pictures of spiderman and ironman, I was drawing anatomically correct images of all four chambers of the heart all over my notebooks. And don’t get me started on the beauty of that aortic arch.” Jimin shivered. 

“Mmkay. You’re weird. Good to know so that I understand what I’m dealing with.” Jeongguk sat with his legs criss-cross applesauce on the floor. 

He was barefoot again, something that always caught Jimin’s attention because of his handsome feet. Whenever he laughed, he had a tendency to tap Jimin on the hand or arm. Each time he did so, Jimin felt a flash of heat at the spot. 

Jeongguk leaned over to stoke the fire with a long metal poker. Each time he stabbed at the black embers, they would peel away from the orange balls of fire that simmered on the wood’s surface. The contortion of his body revealed the ripple of ribs above his abdomen. His skin was so smooth, golden and taut over the ridges of his bones. The muscle slid around, contracting and relaxing with each flexion. Despite Riley’s claim that he was a workaholic, he was in tremendous shape. He carried a physique that could only be obtained through exercise and healthy habits. 

There were two sides to every story and the story of Jeongguk Jeon was multi-layered and dynamic - not nearly as static as Riley depicted it to be. So as Jeongguk teased him about being a nerd, Jimin scolded himself for developing a crush. Just as his mother had warned him. 

“Married?”

“No.”

“Want to be?”

“One day.”

“Dating?”

“No.”

“Want to be?”

“If the right person comes along.”

“I’ve seen you work. Your hours are very long, probably longer than mine. How do you balance work with your social life?” Jeongguk inquired.

“I have friends. They’re all doctors too and they’re all busy. But we manage to get together and try to motivate each other to do things other than work. My patients are very important to me so it’s not always easy to get them out of my head.”

“Hence hand delivering a locket that you could have simply mailed. All in an effort to check up on your favorite little patient and her dreadful daddy issues,” Jeongguk quipped. 

“That was unnecessarily over dramatic. But yes…something like that.”

“So to wrap this up, you’re a workaholic too,” Jeongguk concluded

“No…I told you…,”

“What you told me does not jive with what I know. I was at the hospital for five days straight, barely eating, barely sleeping. And guess who was there with me for five days straight, barely eating and barely sleeping? You my friend. I was there because I had to be. You were there because you wanted to be.”

Jeongguk jumped up suddenly. He walked to the corner and lifted two heavy logs from a large pile. Pulling the glass open, he gently dropped them on top of the existing fire that was starting to fade. As he leaned over, his unzipped slacks slipped just a bit to reveal the top band of his underwear. They were black CK briefs. Very Bruce Wayne of him. Jimin was not surprised. He was however surprised at himself for literally salivating over the fit man’s ass. 

“Ok, maybe I do work too much. But I don’t have a kid, Mr. Jeon.”

Jeongguk froze. Jimin’s point was salient, even though he felt called out. His eyes fixed upon Jimin with an intimidating stare. 

Jimin stood behind his words. He met the younger’s gaze. Jeongguk’s expression was unreadable but the story was in his eyes. Just behind the reflection of the roaring fire, Jimin could see his soul;  he self analysis, the contemplation, the guilt that plagued him to no end. 

“Call me Jeongguk. Mr. Jeon seems ridiculous, especially considering you’re older than me.”

“I’m older?” Jimin was surprised. The father seemed so mature and settled.

“By two years. I’m only 34. You didn’t do the math?”

“Well no, but mostly because I was engrossed in your story about fucking a woman.”

“What?”

“What?” 

“What did you say?”

“I said that my feet hurt. My feet hurt. May I remove my curly toe boots. They’re totally adorable, but they hurt. I’ve been standing on my feet all day.

“That’s not at all what you said. But please get comfortable. I have about 300 more bottles of expensive liquor that we can drink while we talk.”

As Jeongguk continued to work the fire, Jimin stood next to him, hopping on one foot as he tried to remove his first boot. They were easy to slip on, but not so easy to pull off. He tried to balance himself while he pulled at the heel, anxious to get it off. He was limber and pretty athletic, except for when he was drunk. With the combination of bouncing and tugging, he lost his balance and his grip on the mantle and tumbled forward, right into Jeongguk. Jeongguk fell to the ground. The poker flew out of his hand and he landed hard on his back with Jimin falling on top of him. 

Jimin could feel the rise and fall of Jeongguk’s chest against his own; wisps of breath tickling his bangs. The curvature of their bodies slid together like long lost puzzle pieces. He could smell him, taste him where his lips had briefly touched his skin. He could feel him, his cock rising between his legs as Jimin lay atop of him, unable or unwilling to crawl away. And most surprisingly, he could feel his face inching lower and lower, until their lips pressed firmly against each other.

The kiss made no sound. Jimin could feel Jeongguk’s large hand lock around his, holding it as lovers would do. One second, two seconds, three seconds…and their lips remained, folding over each other as if it  was acceptable. But it wasn’t. 

“Shit, shit!” Jimin pressed both of his palms against Jeongguk’s chest and pushed himself away. He  stood to his feet and backed away from him.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. This is so silly. We’re drunk. We’re both drunk and that was just a mistake. I fell. The curly toe boots…shit!” Jimin paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

Jeongguk sat up. He laughed and laughed and laughed some more.

“This isn’t funny. Bad things happen when you’re drunk. The last time you were drunk and fooling around, you got the other one pregnant,” Jimin said with embarrassment. “I’m not interested in having your baby.”

On a normal day, when he was alert and sober, Jimin’s little joke would have been cause for a fight. But on this cold chilly day, in front of a warm cozy fire, where he was off his ass drunk, Jeongguk found it hilarious. He laughed and laughed and laughed, tickled by the idea of getting yet another virtual stranger pregnant because he was drunk.

“You’re right. I better be more careful. Wouldn’t want to get you knocked up too,” he laughed to the point of where he was rolling over the floor holding his stomach.

“None of this is funny!” Jimin stood over him with a curly toe boot in his hand. “I have to get out of here. I have to get home. Please give Riley her necklace. Tell her I’ll see her next week for her appointment.” Jimin gathered the remnants of his elf suit and rushed out wearing only one shoe.” 

He ran to the left, which made Jeongguk laugh even harder. The desperate and panicked elf didn’t know where he was going. The hallway to the left led to a dead end. Jeongguk ran to the door and waited patiently for Jimin to come back. He could barely contain his laughter.

After a few seconds, Jimin came limping back, still wearing only one shoe. “So…I don’t know where the fuck I’m going. Could you lead me out please?” He said with humiliation.

“You don’t have to go.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yes I do.”

“You’ve been drinking. You can’t drive. You’re actually drunk as fuck. I’m not even sure you remember your own name.”

“Of course I remember my own name. I’m…I’m…uhhhhh…,”

“Jimin, bro.”

“YES. JIMIN BRO! My name is Jimin Bro. No, wait, that’s not it.”

“No, that’s not quite it. You’re staying here tonight. I have thirteen bedrooms. Pick one and live in it for the next twelve hours until you sober up. Do you have work tomorrow?” Jeongguk asked kindly

“No. It’s my first day off in weeks.”

“Perfect. That means that you can stay here and get your head right. Stay as long as you like. Follow me, I’ll take you to your room.”

“Where’s your room?”

“My room?” Jeongguk spun around and tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes, your room. Wherever it is, I want to be on the opposite side of the house. Don’t need you wandering over there trying to get me pregnant and whatnot.” Jimin made absolutely no sense. He was really feeling the effects of a full bottle of vintage whisky.

“Get you pregnant? But you kissed me,” Jeongguk defended.

“I. DID. NOT!” Jimin was affronted. “My lips fell.”

“Okay buddy, let’s get you to bed.”

Jeongguk led Jimin to the bedroom furthest away from the main wing. He helped him remove the other curly toe boot and helped him to the bed. “Sleep it off elfie. See you in the morning.”

***

 

Riley pushed the door open and tip-toed inside. She covered her mouth and laughed into her hand. Seeing her cardiologists asleep in her own house was too good to be true. And he was still dressed in his elf uniform which made the moment even more fun. Jimin was laid out on his stomach, mouth open, snoring, with a boot clutched in his hand. 

Riley crawled over to him and sat on the floor with her back against the bottom of the bed. She had no idea how Jimin had got there or why he was in her house. She wasn’t even sure how long he had been there. She was just so happy to see him.

She quietly began to sing:

 

I've heard it said 

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow 

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you…

 

Like a comet pulled from orbit

As it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

Halfway through the wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

I have been changed for good

 

Jimin was stirred by the angelic voice. It was beautiful, like something he’d never heard before. He raised his head and was immediately met with painful throbbing and pounding like wild horses were running loose inside of his skull. He grabbed his head with both hands, dropping his elf shoe in the process. It took him a moment to fully sit up, and even longer to figure out where the hell he was. 

He looked around and saw Riley sitting on the floor. She looked exactly like Glinda. Her dress was pink and flowy, her hair was curled in tight spirals. Her dimples were bright and flashing within her cheeks and she was singing. Singing a song just for him. She knew how to trigger his broadway diva. Still holding the left side of his head, he belted out:

 

It well may be

That we will never meet again

In this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me

Is made of what I learned from you

You'll be with me

Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend:

Like a ship blown from its mooring

By a wind off the sea

Like a seed dropped by a skybird

In a distant wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you.

 

Riley jumped to her feet. “Dr. Park! What on earth are you doing here? It’s so good to see you. Did I wake you? I didn’t mean to wake you. Does daddy know you’re here? I can sneak you out if you need me to. We don’t want him chasing you around San Francisco in his batmobile.”

“Hi sweetheart. Yes, your father knows I’m here. I wasn’t…feeling well last night and he insisted that I stay. So he threw me in this room and disappeared down to his bat cave.”

“Not feeling well? Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing. But I came here to give you a piece of jewelry that you left in my office. It looked important so I wanted to make sure that you had it right away. I gave it to your father, so…get it from him,” Jimin closed one eye. His head was still pounding.

“You look rough. Are you sure you’re ok? Do I need to call your mommy to come and look at you?” Riley asked innocently. “She’s a really good doctor. 10 out of 10 recommend,” she laughed. 

 

Jimin rose to his feet and wrapped the sheet around his shoulders to make a cape. “And just to clear the air I ask forgiveness for the things I’ve done that you blame me for.”

Riley jumped up as well. She too made a cape out of the bedsheet. They climbed up on the bed and sang together, “Who can say if I've been changed for the better. I do believe I have been changed for the better.”

Jeongguk swung the door open violently. “What’s going on here?”

Both Riley and Jimin froze. They all stared at each other. There was a long pause before anyone said anything. 

“Uhh…gay shit?” Riley answered.

Jeongguk could not breathe. Laughter exploded from his mouth like vomit. He just couldn’t hold it. Riley had nailed it, whatever was going on was absolutely the gayest shit he’d ever seen. Jimin in his elf pants, and matted curly hair, Riley dressed like the good witch of the North; there were too many Rainbow Bright shenanigans for his otherwise gloomy Bruce Wayne manor. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d seen Riley so happy. For the first time ever, he wished he knew the words so that he could put on a sheet cape and dance with them too. It took him a moment to gather himself. 

Jimin helped Riley down from the bed. “We were just uh…well we got carried away…and…,”

“I stopped by to see if you needed Hanson to drive you home. Not sure it’s good for you to drive considering…um…how bad you were feeling last night. Both of them artfully avoided mentioning the copious amounts of alcohol that were responsible for Jimin not “feeling well”.

“I would very much appreciate that. That way I can get my car home and rest for the remainder of the day,” Jimin said dryly. 

Jeongguk was dressed for work. His suit was black, with a black vest and black tie. He had a black leather suitcase and shiny, expensive black shoes. His black hair was pulled away from his face, much more organized than it was during his previous evening of drunkenness. If funeral directors were hot, they would look exactly like him. 

“Very well. Hanson will meet you out front. Riley, please see to it that Dr. Park gets to the garage before you head off to school. I love you.”

“Love you too,” Jimin yelled back. His words were a joke, intended to make Riley laugh but something about saying them felt warm and right. 

Jeongguk rolled his eyes and walked away. Jimin rushed to the door to watch him leave. He placed his fingers against his mouth as he reminisced. The kiss was still on his lips. The warmth of his whisky tinged breath still parted his bangs. The curve of his body and shape of his cock still lingered over his skin. What a moment it had been; a moment that he could still feel even though it happened hours prior. 

 

His crush on Riley’s father was maddening.

***

 

If there was any silver lining to Riley’s constant doctor’s appointments, it was that she got to see Dr. Park and Dr. Park every single week. She landed in the consultation room with her father by her side. He was busy combing through Sydney’s documents, trying to find a way to salvage her murder case. Riley noticed that he was dressed more casually this time; black jeans and a black button down dress shirt. No stuffy suits. She wondered if that was the ‘Jimin effect’ causing her daddy to try to be more casual and cool. It was pretty clear that her dad and Dr. Park were into each other.  

 

“Riley Jeon? The doctor will see you now.” Riley hopped to her feet. 

Her father followed behind her feverishly texting with his clerk. 

“Riley. Nice to see you,” Jimin placed his hand on her shoulder and welcomed her in. “Mr. Jeon, nice to see you too.” He quickly swept his eyes along the ground. “I’ve got some new test results to share with you. All good news.”

 

Jeongguk sat quietly in the corner. One week had passed since the sudden kiss in front of the fireplace. Jeongguk couldn’t get it off of his mind. Even without the pink cheeks and curly toe boots, Jimin still had an aura as if the spirit of Christmas lived inside of him. 

Jimin was dressed as a regular old doctor; black scrubs covered by a white lab coat, red name tag covered in Christmas lights. He had his black stethoscope looped around his neck and a clipboard in his hand. The hair that was once filled with curls was now natural, feathering on either side of his face. He was pretty, very pretty.

Jeongguk could feel Jimin tug his eyes away everytime he glanced at him for too long. The two of them being in the same room was awkward. For a kiss that meant nothing, it sure hung heavy in the air. Jeongguk crossed his legs and returned to his phone. He and his clerk were searching all over California for a specialist who could refute some of Sydney’s medical records. It was a laborious task because most therapists agreed with the assessment from the prosecution’s witness. He scrolled through the latest list of names but then suddenly looked up.

“Language,” Jeongguk snapped. He wasn’t sure of the context, but Riley had just released a string of “shits, fucks and damnits” while talking to Dr. Park. 

“Sorry,” Riley replied. 

Jimin laughed as he pressed his stethoscope around the different areas of Riley’s chest. Jimin’s smile was something Jeongguk had seen many times, but never registered. There was so much light there, happiness. He was a man truly content with his life. The younger tilted his head sideways to study him a bit more. He worked on Riley with such tenderness and care. His bedside manner was something that needed to be taught in textbooks. “How are you still single?” Jeongguk mumbled under his breath.

Before they knew it, the exam was over. Riley had been given another clean bill of health and taken off of her medications. 

Dr. Park avoided saying goodbye. Instead he rushed to the next room to work with another patient. Jeongguk hated that. He worried that the awkwardness would ruin the budding friendship. He felt selfish for wanting more of Jimin than he was capable of giving, but going back to their stale doctor patient relationship just didn’t seem as much fun.

“Daddy, daddy look!” Riley had a flyer in her hands that she’d found on the hospital’s ad board. It was an advertisement for a Christmas Tree farm in Lake Tahoe - about three hours to the north. It was a special charity event for one weekend only. “Can we go? Please, please daddy can we go? It’s a Christmas Tree farm where you roam all through the farm looking for your perfect tree and when you find it you cut it down yourself. We have that big old house and we always fill it with fake Christmas trees. Now is our chance to get a real one and all of the money goes to charity.”

“Hanson likes fake trees, they’re less threatening,” Jeongguk joked.

“Daddy, please be serious. It’s just a short drive. We could rent a cabin and shop for a tree and find the perfect one to love and bring home.”

“A cabin? How long are you planning on staying?”

“I don’t know. Overnight?” Riley shrugged.

“No. I don’t think so. You know how much work I have this time of the year. Plus this murder case. I’m afraid I can’t, baby.”

Riley nodded. She sadly walked back to the board and pinned the flyer back in place. The ease with which she accepted Jeongguk’s refusal was alarming. It was the sign of a child whose spirit was gone. She didn’t even try to fight. She accepted Jeongguk’s answer and moved on to the next thing. 

Just beyond the board, Jeongguk could see Jimin walking down the hallway. He had a baby in his arms, his tiniest heart patient. He cooed at him, kissed his nose, and sang a lullaby - all while pressing his stethoscope against his tiny chest. That was a man destined to be a father. 

It was at that moment that Jeongguk remembered something that Jimin had said to him. ‘Connect with her, anyway you can. Less work, more social life, more Riley.’ Jimin’s voice was so clear in his head that he had to look around to make sure that he wasn’t standing behind him. If he really wanted to connect with Riley, he had to do things differently. He had to take chances and be open to making mistakes. He had to learn how not to be afraid of his own daughter. As Riley headed to the car, Jeongguk snatched the ad from the board and stuffed it into his pocket.

*** 

 

 Jeongguk’s 2026 Mercedes G-Wagon was stuffed to the roof. He couldn’t figure out why the hell Riley needed so much shit just for a two night stay in Lake Tahoe. But he kept his mouth shut and followed orders. If his soon to be thirteen year old wanted to bring a full size blow up castle, then who was he to argue?  The weekend was all about her - and fresh Christmas tree of course.

Hanson helped him buckle the chains around his tires. Snow was foreign to them, living in the bay area. Yet Tahoe had nine inches of snow sitting on the ground with another large snow storm scheduled over the weekend. 

“You’ll be careful, sir?” Hanson asked.

“Of course Hanson. Will you be ok without us? You’re going to your daughter’s house right?” Jeongguk asked.

“Yes. I get to see the grandbaby again. She’s so beautiful. Chocolate locks of hair, a button nose, adorable little cheeks. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me - other than you and little Riley of course.”

“I seriously doubt that I am the best thing to ever happen to anyone. Especially you. I’ve been difficult these last few years, to say the least. But I have more perspective now, since Riley’s illness. I’m going to strive to be better, do better,” Jeongguk confessed.

“This trip is certainly a good start. You’re going to change her life. On a completely different topic, Thomas tells me that by the time you two return, your kitchen renovation will be complete. It looks good so far. I’m sure you’ll be pleased,” Hanson said.

“Great, just in time for Riley to burn it down again while cooking Christmas dinner,” Jeongguk joked.

“Not funny Bruce Wayne!” Riley yelled from the backseat where she was trying to stuff her dollhouse.

The combination of travel Christmas trees, hot chocolate and her dad had Riley bouncing off of the walls with happiness. She didn’t even comment when she saw her father packing a black suitcase full of legal files and documents. As long as she got to spend time with him, that was all that mattered. 

***

Chapter Three - White Christmas

 The first thing that Jeongguk did when they arrived at the cabin was to hook up the old Virtriola machine and slap on some Bing Crosby. Riley danced and sang as she put away the groceries in the massive kitchen. She had hot chocolate duty, so she lined up all of the necessary supplies to fix two large mugs for her and her father. 

Jeongguk immediately started a fire to combat the chilly temperatures outside. He cranked up the heat as well. As soon as he was certain that Riley was warm and cozy, he headed back out to unpack the car. Roughing it for two nights and three days with a twelve year old had him quaking in his boots. But he reminded himself over and over to be careful with his words, speak from his heart and listen. Listen to everything she had to say, no matter how trivial because as Jimin had advised - so much healing could be done if people just had someone to talk to. 

“Get your damn hot chocolate before it gets cold,” Riley snapped as Jeongguk came back in with her luggage.

“Language.”

“Oops sorry. I’ve been calling you for five minutes.”

“I didn’t hear you. I was outside trying to wrestle with all of this luggage. My sweet Riley, what is all of this?”

“I needed stuff,” Riley shrugged and placed the warm cocoa in Jeongguk’s icy hands. “Love you daddy.”

“Love you too…but I don’t love all of this stuff. I still have more bags to get out of the car.”

“Do it later. Drink your hot chocolate and let’s head straight for the farm. It opens up today. We can rent a snowmobile and ride over the hills to shop for our tree. Oh daddy, it’s going to be so much fun.” Riley was already swirling her scarf around her neck and putting on her coat.

Jeongguk leaned down on one knee so that he could be eye to eye with Riley. He helped her put on her coat and snow boots. “What size tree do you think we should get?” 

“About 100 feet, nothing too obnoxious, you know?” Riley estimated.

“Sweetie 100 feet is about as obnoxious as you can get. Plus it won’t fit on the top of my car.

“90 feet?”

“Getting closer. Riley?”

“Yes daddy.”

“I haven’t been the best father to you.”

“Too bad it took me almost dying for you to realize that.” Riley pitched her chin up and folded her arms.

“No, no, no, I realized it way before then,” Riley always made Jeongguk laugh. “What I’m trying to say is that…I’m here if you want to talk. If you have some stuff that you want to get off of your chest….things that you need to say to me. I’m here to listen. Just listen.”

“I have plenty of shit to say. But not right now. Let’s go find our tree.”

“Language,” Jeongguk laughed as he watched Riley go bounding towards the car.

***

 

Jimin sat in the small hut, huddled against the heater. He removed his gloves with his teeth and held them there while he typed in his geolocation. He’d been monitoring the storm all morning and was feeling hopeful that they would avoid the worst of it. But as he watched the red trend lines fill up his computer screen, he began to worry. The storm had grown in strength and was estimated to drop another three feet of snow within the next twenty four hours. He was ok with keeping the farm open for the night but needed to consult with the resort owners to decide what to do for the following two days. 

This was the only weekend that they had permits for cutting the trees. It was by far their largest fundraiser. If he had to close down the Christmas Tree farm early, he would lose valuable dollars that would typically be donated to his charity. It was a dicey call, but he had to put the safety of the visitors first. He had no idea how bad the storm was going to get and he didn’t want people trapped on the mountain trying to get out. He didn’t have to make a decision right away, there was still time to think. 

The staff of volunteers were busy trimming trees, netting them and loading them onto cars. Jimin couldn’t believe how many people had shown up to support the charity. This was the first year that the hospital had allowed him to post flyers inside of the building. It worked because hundreds of people were on the slopes shopping for Christmas trees.

Jimin didn’t know where he was needed most, so he headed over to the netting machine. He helped lift and haul the trees over to the machine which automatically wrapped and brushed each tree. It was hard work because Christmas trees were heavy. Christmas music blared behind him through 40 inch speakers. He sang along, full of the Christmas spirit.

 

Riley strutted through the row of trees singing Winter Wonderland. 

“My goodness you have a beautiful voice. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before,” her dad grinned.

“I get it from you. I’ve heard you sing in the garage and in the kitchen. Your voice is even prettier than mine,” Riley said as she circled around a tree of interest. “What about this one? Look how tall. I can’t even see the top of it. Would you guess this one is about 100 feet?”

“I would guess this one is about 15 feet. Still pretty tall. I like it, if you want it. You get to pick the tree. I get to cut it down. ROAR!” Jeongguk primed his chainsaw and wielded it like a sword.

Riley laughed. “Let’s keep looking. 15 feet is just a baby. He needs more life. Let’s find an old one that’s closer to your age.”

“Hey!” Jeongguk laughed.

“Let’s go back down that way. There are some really big ones over there.”

 They held hands and rode their snowmobile down the hill, closer to the packing station. 

 

After about two hours in the freezing cold, Riley finally found a tree that she loved. Jeongguk cut it down and then attached it to the back of the snowmobile to haul to the packing station. Riley jumped off and went to the front to look at the beautiful fresh wreaths. She walked around looking at the fresh pies and cider before spotting someone who looked familiar.

Her eyes immediately sparkled and a smile filled her entire face. She screamed, “DR. PARK!”

Jimin turned around just in time to see Riley barreling towards him. “Riley?” 

She landed in his arms with a blunt thud. “Dr. Park, what are you doing here?” She continued to hug him.

“Riley. Oh my goodness Riley. Who are you here with?” Jimin shook her loose and held her at arm’s length to look into her eyes. “Please tell me you’re here with Hanson. Please, please tell me you’re here with Hanson.”

“Well hello elfie,” Jeongguk smiled as he dragged his tree up to the packing station. “Imagine seeing you here.”

Jimin dropped his head and gathered himself. Under no circumstances did he expect to see Jeongguk Jeon at his annual Christmas Tree farm charity event. The universe was fucking with him unprovoked. “Hello, Mr…I mean Jeongguk. Nice of you to come. I appreciate the support.”

“Support? Support for what?”

“Oh, Ok. I get it. You expect me to believe that you showing up here is just some wild coincidence?” Jimin quipped.

“It is just a coincidence. What do you think…I’m stalking you or some shit? You’re cute, but not that cute…well actually you are…but no stalking I promise.”

“Are you going to stand there and pretend that you didn’t know this was my charity event?” Jimin double downed.

“What event? I’m here because Riley wanted to come.”

“Riley, of course. I should have known she was behind this.”

“Riley, come here for a second please sweetheart,” Jeongguk called to his daughter.

Riley was over in the corner looking at hats made from actual buffalo heads. She had one on her head and was parading in front of the mirror. She skipped over to where Jimin and Jeongguk were standing. She immediately grabbed Jimin’s hand and held it.

Jeongguk smiled when he saw Riley holding Jimin’s hand, “Riley, did you know this was Dr. Park’s  event? Did you plan for all of us to be here together?”

“What do you mean by Dr. Park’s event? Dr. Park, aren’t you here looking for Christmas trees like everybody else?” Riley asked. 

“No sweetheart. This is a charity event that I host every year. It’s for the children’s cancer research institute. It’s their biggest fundraiser. It’s clearly written on the flyer.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.”

“No it’s not”

“Yes it is.”

“No, it’s not, I have a copy of the flyer right here in my pocket.” Jeongguk pulled out the flyer that he had snatched from the hospital’s ad board.

“See it’s right here. Dr. Jimin Park’s Foundation for Cancer Research Hosted By Dr. Jimin Park.”

Both Riley and Jeongguk squinted, trying to read the words.

Riley laughed, “Look dudes. I agree, this is exactly the kind of shit that I would be responsible for on any given day. But not this time. I swear on my Barbie Dreamhouse that I never saw Dr. Park’s name. I mean literally, it’s written in Calibri 6 font at the very bottom of the page - nobody can see that. We’re here because I wanted to cut Christmas trees with my daddy. And he said yes.” Riley looked lovingly at her father, “Now if you will excuse me, I see a pair of reindeer antelope earrings over there that have my name on them.”

Jeongguk turned to Jimin, “We’re not stalking you. I didn’t plan this. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not happy to see you. How are you Dr. Park?”

Jimin was slightly embarrassed. He raised his hand to dust off a few Douglas Fir branches that had collected on Jeongguk’s jacket. “I’m well. And it’s nice to see you too. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but good job. Riley is going to remember this forever.”

“That’s my approach. Healing her heart, one chamber at a time. Just like you did.” Jeongguk stole an eye full of Jimin. 

He’d never seen the doctor look so rugged and outdoorsy. His chocolate hair was long and unbothered, falling freely on either side of his face. He was layered in designer outerwear that had been customized to fit his body. It was cold, causing his cheeks to be almost as rosy as those belonging to Jimin the elf.

“So tell me more about this charity,” Jeongguk asked.

As Jimin spoke, snow began to fall. “This is the foundation’s most profitable charity. It raises almost $1million every year. I started it about five years ago. I wanted to make donations, but I could never donate enough out of my own pocket, so I started this charity to get some help. It’s been a great success - until now. The weather reports look bad. I may have to shut it down tonight and miss out on the rest of the sales over the weekend. It’s devastating news, but I would prefer to air on the side of caution.”

“Snow storm? I mean I read about a storm but I didn’t think it would be that bad.”

“It’s very bad. We only have permits for this weekend. Otherwise I would reschedule. But it’s ok. We’ve always got next year,” Jimin said sadly.

“Daddy!” Riley was back.

“Can we have two trees? I found another one and it’s even BIGGER! We can decorate one back at the cabin and then take one home. There’s a cute little outpost over there that has thousands and thousands of lights and ornaments we can buy for it.”         ]

“Sweetheart, how am I supposed to pack two trees on top of my truck?”

“I can carry one for you and drive it back to your cabin,” Jimin offered.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to waste your time when you have so much work to do here.”

“It’s not a problem. I’m shutting this place down in about two hours. You two take your first tree home and I’ll bring the other later on tonight.”

“Would you really do that for us Dr. Park?”Riley asked.

“I would and I will.”

“Can I make a small donation to your charity?” Jeongguk offered.

“Oh Jeongguk, I would really appreciate that.” Jimin looked down at his phone, “Oh no. I guess it’s official.”

“What is?” Riley asked.

Jimin explained, “I just got a text from my mom, we’re being urged to shut it down and keep the farm closed over the weekend. Sadly, this is over. I’m going to stay in Lake Tahoe and take shelter. I have a cabin, so I’ll hang out there. I suggest you two stay inside as well.”

“We will. We have a cabin too and our plan is to stay the entire weekend.”

“Good. You two take your tree and get back to the cabin. The weather is expected to get worse by the hour?”

“What about you? Will you be safe in all of this snow?” Riley asked.

“I’ll be fine. I have a Land Rover and it handles the snow pretty well. I’ll be along shortly with your tree.” Jimin headed back to the hut to tell the volunteers about the snow storm. 

***

 

Riley had an entire meal planned for her father. Her six years of Young Chef’s Academy was really starting to pay off. She was a wiz in the kitchen and getting better every day. Jeongguk’s job was to chop and mince. He took it seriously. With his ‘Kiss The Chef’ apron on, he handled the skillful obliteration of the vegetables and aromatics. 

Riley had chosen a simple tomato and basil soup with a five cheese grilled cheese and bacon sandwich topped with grilled onions on Brioche bread. It was very decadent cooking for a twelve - almost thirteen - year old. Jeongguk got to see first hand just how skilled she was in the kitchen. He was more convinced than ever that starting the Thanksgiving fire was just a simple case of bad luck because Riley really knew what she was doing. 

Jeongguk was also responsible for the music. He had a full crate of vintage Christmas vinyls that he’d purchased from auction. He filled the room with beautiful music as Riley worked in the kitchen. Just as they were about to be seated for dinner, the lights went out.

“What the hell?” Riley yelled in anger. She had just plated the soup and sandwiches and was ready to garnish. 

“No worries. The generator will kick in. Thank Hanson for making sure that we booked a cabin with a backup generator. I wonder if the outage is widespread.” 

He looked through the windows at the other cabins around them. All of them were cloaked in darkness. Jeongguk used his phone as a flashlight and made his way towards Riley in the kitchen. He stood by her side just to make sure that she wasn’t scared. 

“At least I already finished cooking. I’m pretty bad ass but not good enough to cook in the dark,” Riley laughed. 

Jeongguk could feel her squeeze his hand. The darkness made her uncomfortable. “Just give the generator a few more minutes. We’ll be back in business soon.”

 

There was a knock on the door. Jeongguk and Riley both stared at each other, wondering who it could be. The entire mountain was dark. Everyone should have been sheltered in place. Everyone except the lunatic, serial killer, body snatcher or alien who had arrived to taunt them in the dark. 

“Riley? Jeongguk?”

“Dr. Park! It’s Dr. Park with the Christmas tree,” Riley realized.

“Jimin, of course,” Jeongguk ran to the door to pull Jimin inside. Before he even opened the door, the generator kicked in, lighting up the entire cottage all over again. The record player groaned into clarity, broadcasting Bing through the room again.

Jeongguk swung the door open. Jimin was there covered in snow, nose red peeking from beneath his skull cap. “Hi. So…there’s a complete outage all over the mountain.” Jimin stepped inside of Jeongguk’s cabin, “...obviously except for in here? What the hell?” Jimin laughed, “How do you have power?”

“Generator,” Jeongguk said proudly. 

“The snowstorm hit much sooner than we expected. But I was able to get everyone off of the mountain safely. Sadly, the Christmas tree farm had to be closed for the weekend. But at least everyone is home safe,” Jimin smiled.

Despite the frigid circles of air that danced themselves into the cabin, Jeongguk’s heart pumped fast and warm, full of excitement over Jimin. “I’m sorry you had to shut down. But as you said, there’s always next year.”

“Absolutely.” Jimin smiled again, “I’ve got your tree. Help me bring it in.”

Jeongguk slipped into his coat and dropped a skull cap over his head. He grabbed Jimin’s hand and the two of them headed for the snowy outside. 

The tree that Riley selected was humongous. Jimin and Jeongguk swore at the sky as they tried to get it inside. 

“Where do you want us to put it baby?” Jeongguk groaned.

Riley danced around the fireplace bursting with joy, “That corner, right there.” 

After moving it slightly three different times, they finally managed to get the tree in a spot that made Riley happy. She burst through the shopping bags and began pulling out decorations.

“How cute do you look in your apron?” Jimin gushed towards Riley. “Am I interrupting dinner?” Jimin looked around and noticed that the table was set and there were two delicious looking plates prepared on the counter.

“We were just about to sit down to eat. Riley cooked an amazing dinner. You’re welcome to join us,” Jeongguk grew shy. 

“I don’t want to impose.” Jimin said.

“You’re not imposing. Please have dinner with us. I have so much food. We’ll end up just throwing it out if we don’t eat it,” Riley grabbed Jimin’s hand and pulled him towards the kitchen. “I won’t take no for an answer. Go wash up and when you return, we can eat.”

Jimin removed his coat and placed it on the couch. He whispered to Jeongguk, “You sure about this?”

“We wouldn’t have invited you otherwise.” There was a small smudge of dirt on Jimin’s cheek. Jeongguk could tell that he’d been working hard at the Christmas tree farm. He used his thumb and forefinger to rub the smudge away. “You’ve got a little dirt on your cheek there.” 

 

Their eyes locked again, a practice that was becoming all too common.

***

 

Once Riley found out that Jimin’s lights were out in their cabin, she took it upon herself to hold him hostage. Jimin didn’t mind. He wasn’t super excited about going back to a dark cabin with no heat, no lights and a refrigerator full of spoiling food. 

Jimin couldn’t believe his luck. Even though he was stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, he was with two of the most interesting people he knew. There was a cozy fire, warm cocoa and a twenty foot tall Christmas tree that needed to be decorated.  

Riley began sorting through the ornaments as Jeongguk and Jimin attached the lights. They circled each other over and under, wrapping the tree from top to bottom with white brilliant sparkling bulbs. Every third row, they seemed to accidentally collide, causing each to blush as they untangled themselves. 

Riley found a ladder and climbed to the top to begin hanging ornaments on all of the branches. Jeongguk had no limit on what he was willing to spend to make her happy. She had so many ornaments that one hour later, not a single branch on the tree stood without an ornament on it. 

They sang plentiful carols with Jimin and Riley taking a short Wicked break to perform their favorite songs. Jimin ate his fill of grilled cheese sandwiches and Jeongguk drowned himself in hot cocoa. 

It was late. Jeongguk sent Riley to wash up and change into her pajamas. He promised her a few stories before bed, something he hadn’t done since she was very young. Jimin sat back and watched them interact. They seemed like two different people, a stark contrast to the father daughter duo he had met three weeks ago. He was proud of Jeongguk for keeping his word and putting Riley first.

“I haven’t seen you pick up a phone or a legal file since you got here. I’m really impressed.” Jimin commented. They stood together, over the sink, hands submerged in warm dish water as they worked together to wash the dishes.

“Don’t let it fool you. I have an entire suitcase of case files in my bedroom. I’ll get to them tomorrow. Tonight, I took a little break to make sure Riley felt…seen. I don’t know, that’s probably not the right word.”

“It’s a beautiful word. What changed?” Jimin asked.

“Nothing changed. I think my execution just got better. I was putting away her medicines the other day. There were so many of them. It hit me just how sick she actually is. I know she’s better. But anything could happen, tomorrow is never promised. I asked myself, if it all ended today, what would be my legacy as her dad? I didn’t like my answers. So I knew I had to do something different. You were a big part of helping me understand that.”

Jeongguk could feel Jimin’s fingers walk along the bottom of the sink and settle on top of his hand. There was a slippery trail between his fingers where the dish soap still clung to his skin. Jimin caressed the padding of his fingers along that very spot. As the hot water moved in waves around their wrists, their fingers slowly wrapped around each other. As subtle as their breathing, they held hands beneath the water. The feeling was so rich and fulfilling that it caused Jeongguk to close his eyes and sway forward into Jimin’s lips.

They had both kissed before, countless times. But the mingling of heat and taste was an experience all of its own, another category entirely. Jeongguk kissed as if he had invented kissing. He knew how to tilt his head, adjust the pressure of his lips, and find all the right angles. His mouth was silken, but firm, wet but dry. Their hands continued to cling under water, contracting and relaxing, sending waves of comfort through their bodies. They could have kissed like that forever. They would have kissed like that forever - if they hadn’t heard the clearing of a throat behind them.

“Well, well, well. Looks like you two kids have the hots for each other.” Riley stood there with her hands on her hips.

“Ooop. I had something in my eye. Your dad was just helping me get it out. Mmmhm. That’s what happened.”

Riley tapped her foot. She wasn’t buying the bullshit excuse, “I think it’s adorable that you were kissing. I didn’t even know my dad had a kissing vibe. Thanks Dr. Park. I’m learning a lot of new things about him - because of you.”

Riley pulled both of them away from the sink and dragged them to the couch. The night settled with her laying in Jeongguk’s arms as he read her a story. It was the romantic tale of two roses who met in the Botanical Gardens in Busan Korea. They were very special roses known as Juliettes and they were extremely rare, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. One rose was very lonely but didn’t think he needed love. The other rose was very lonely and longed to find love. The Regal Hybrids told their story. Riley listened, drawing parallels between the roses and her father. She wondered if he too would find love, even though he was convinced that he didn’t need it.

Jeongguk’s voice was soothing. Before long, Riley had fallen asleep, arms and legs spread across both of their laps. She was snoring, her mouth was open and each time she breathed, she inhaled a lock of hair.   

Jimin and Jeongguk laughed quietly. “I better get her to bed. She’s had a very long day.”

“Sure. I better get going as well. I’ve imposed on you long enough.” Jimin stood to leave.

“No,” Jeongguk’s voice was louder than he meant it to be. He whispered, “No. Please stay. I want to talk more. Plus, you can’t go back to your place with no heat.” 

“I-I guess I could stay a little longer,” Jimin shrugged.

Before Jeongguk swooped Riley up into his arms, Jimin stopped him. He pushed her hair to the side before leaning down and placing his ear over her heart. He closed his eyes and listened intently. Jeongguk didn’t know what he was doing, but whatever it was, it was beautiful. He brushed his hand through Jimin’s hair and waited patiently for him to hear all of the things he needed to hear. Once Jimin was done, he raised his head with a satisfied smile.

“Is she ok?”

“She’s…perfect.”

Jeongguk scooped Riley into his arms and carried her to bed. 

***

 

 It didn’t take much time for the liquor to start flowing as soon as Riley was in bed. But unlike their debauched night of drunkenness a few weeks earlier, this was more subdued where they actually took time to savor Jeongguk’s, $7,000 bottle of Whiskey. They decided to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. It was warm and cozy there and reminded them of the comfort of Jeongguk’s office. They talked more, this time focusing more on Jimin’s love life. 

“Medical school was hard. It took up most of my time. By the time I was an intern, I had no time for anything. I’ll admit, sometimes to get my needs met, I just fucked. I didn’t have a deluge of romantic dalliances because I just didn’t have time. My life was school and work. Interns can work 20-hour days. They get small pockets of time where they can nap in a corner or on the breakroom table. Even sex is rushed. I can’t tell you how many times I hooked up with a nurse in the restroom or storage closet. It’s a rough life. I always thought that as soon as I was done with my residency, there would be a line of men waiting for me. I would choose one, build a family and live happily ever after. It didn’t work that way,” Jimin laughed. 

“I remember watching you one day while you were working with Riley. And I thought to myself, there’s no way he’s single.”

“You were wrong. I am very single. Not upset about it though. Dating is hard. It takes commitment. You can spend weeks, even months with a person only to find out in the end that they’re a serial killer. Or a lunatic, or possessive, or jealous or all of the above. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the effort.”

“So how does happily ever after look for Dr. Jimin Park?”

“A kid...or two. A loving husband who’s not too clingy. I really need a man who’s got his own thing going on, you know? He can’t look to me for prestige or money. I want a hard worker, a passionate man. I want a safe and beautiful home. I want to start my own practice. And…,” Jimin’s voice trailed off.

“And…?” Jeongguk urged.

“And…I want a world where no child in my care will ever die.”

“Oh Jimin.” Jeongguk moved closer. He rested his hand on Jimin’s back. “Sometimes we patients forget about the emotional roller coaster of treating sick children. You’re very sensitive, empathic. I don’t know how you do it.”

“I’ve lost several patients. Almost all of them were lost because we were too late. They had an event that was catastrophic that gave them no chance to fight. That could have been Riley. Subtle changes to her body that she kept to herself. Meanwhile she had a ticking time bomb inside. Those are the patients that scare me the most. I love what I do. But everytime a child dies, I wonder if it’s punishment for something I did in a previous life. I’ll never forget the first one. She was eight months old. Born with congenital heart failure. Some critical diagnoses were missed by her primary doctors. By the time she got to me, it was too late. There was nothing I could do to save her. She died in my arms. I resigned the following day. I was willing to throw away my entire career because I couldn’t live with the pain. Thank god for Dr. Park. She went into momma bear mode and pulled me from the brink of self-destruction. I never looked back. But still…it doesn’t get any easier when you lose a special little one.”

“You’re so beautiful. Not just on the outside, but on the inside. You lead with your heart. It guides everything that you do. You’re quite special, Dr. Park.”

Jeongguk could see tears start to stream down Jimin’s face. Talking about the patients that he had lost was difficult. 

“The murder case,” Jimin said brightly as he wiped his tears. “How is that going? Last we spoke, you had a really bad day in court.”

“I think I may lose. Doesn’t happen often, but I’m not feeling good about this one. My client murdered her father. Poisoned him with arsenic. It was one of the most horrific and torturous ways to kill someone, slowly over time.”

“And this is the bitch you want to walk free?” Jimin exclaimed.

“I don’t want her to walk anywhere. I just don’t want her in prison. But there are other places she could go that are more in line with her mental state.”

“I saw this case on the news. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing you walking beside her as she asked for bail.”

Jeongguk stated his case clearly, “She’s being railroaded. She needs help, not prison.”

“Ok. I want her to go to prison. But you do you,” Jimin burst into laughter. 

“You sound like Riley. She hates that I’m a Defense attorney.”

Jimin laid flat on his back. He turned his head to stare into the fire, “I have a new respect for Defense attorney’s since meeting you. I understand why you do what you do.”

There was a comfortable silence for several moments as they both stared into the fire. And then suddenly, Jimin heard a series of unexpected words flow from Jeongguk’s mouth.

“Stay with me.”

“For how long?” Jimin asked.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just know that I need to feel you in my arms. I want to take a chance - with you.”

“What about Riley?”

“We won’t wake Riley, she’ll never know.”

“Jeongguk…,” before Jimin could say anything further, Jeongguk crawled over his body.

Jeongguk’s kiss stung his lips. Jimin’s protest waned. He fully understood what Jeongguk wanted and what it would mean if he gave it to him. His hand slid up his chest and then crawled around to the back of his neck. He held steady, stroking the back of the younger’s head. He was always so warm, and he always tasted so good. Jimin couldn’t understand how they melded so perfectly.

Jeongguk’s graceful yet masculine fingers found the silky edge of Jimin’s hairline, all while he continued to fill his mouth with the concentrated fire of his tongue. His mouth lifted momentarily, causing his breath to caress Jimin’s damp lips.

“Say yes. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“I know I won’t regret it. But I’m scared.” Jimin admitted.

“I am too.”

“But you said yourself that tomorrow isn’t promised.”

“It isn’t.”  

“Well, I guess that means you have to fuck me - today.”

***

 

Jeongguk held Jimin’s hand and led him down a short hallway to a rustic bedroom with wooden paneling on the walls. It was a modern design but with a nostalgic feel. Whisper soft jazz played from speakers in the ceiling. Jimin could see them as he entered. The room was on the opposite side of the cabin which gave them some confidence that they wouldn’t accidentally wake Riley. In the middle of the space sat an oversized King bed with patch stitched quilts at the bottom. The sheets and comforter were a pristine white, colorless as the snow that lined the outer windows. A dim light shone overhead, above the bed, creating a sensual mood especially for fucking.

They were both nervous. Jimin could feel his heart beating much too fast. His head filled with self-talk, a tactic to calm himself down. It had been so long since he’d been touched the right way. And everything about Jeongguk indicated that he knew exactly how to touch in the right way. 

Jeongguk knew Jimin was nervous. There was no hiding it. And that’s exactly why he did what he did - to calm Jimin down before they began.

Two steps into the bedroom and Jeongguk’s hands were already working down Jimin’s pants. Another kiss simmered over his lips. Once again it was artfully executed and sweet like syrup. Jimin’s legs turned unsteady as he felt Jeongguk’s large hands move in restive paths over his back and shoulders. The large man gathered him in his arms before lifting him from his feet. Everything seemed to happen at once. Jimin was slammed to the bed, his pants were rolled over his feet, his sweater was lifted over his head and Jeongguk’s mouth was resting over his cock. 

Jimin could feel the immediate hardening of his buds and clenching of his stomach as his body identified the concentrated pleasure of getting his dick sucked. His hand flew to the back of Jeongguk’s head. He embarrassed himself with how loudly he moaned and how hard he thrusted. It felt so good that he had to watch, he had to understand what the man was doing. He lifted his head partially off the bed and gazed down at his lower body. His legs fell open, his back arched. He tried to give a warning but the words wouldn’t come out. The throbbing in his cock started immediately, followed by a succession of angry pulses as he began to squirt. He couldn’t pull out or get away. He quivered as Jeongguk’s wet hot mouth closed over his tip again and again. It happened. For the first time in a long time, another man made him cum. All of his cum was released in Jeongguk’s mouth. Jimin waited for him to spit it out or wipe it clear with a towel. But he didn’t. He swallowed every drop, which was an indication to Jimin that this one was different.

 

By forcing Jimin to cum first, Jeongguk made it very clear that he wanted to top. But he needed Jimin relaxed, in a good headspace before fucking him. They were both so nervous and out of practice. It was easy to hurt each other if they weren’t careful. As Jimin lay there recovering, Jeongguk stepped away. He returned with an old tube of lube that he’d had forever. He used it mostly for masturbating, but its original intent was for sex. He didn’t know how long it had been for Jimin or what size he was used to. But the standard rule was always to be generous, unselfish, and mindful of the other’s body. So he proceeded that way.

Jimin slipped away from his underwear. Resting there naked on the bed, he stroked his cock, massaging the remnants of Jeongguk’s saliva into his skin. He had a feeling that Jeongguk had left to get some supplies. He appreciated that, because many he’d fucked in the past simply didn’t care. As soon as Jeongguk returned, the kisses came again. Kisses that were so perfectly timed and so well placed that they alone were enough to make him explode. Jeongguk prepared him in a way that Jimin had never experienced before. It was effective, yet so sensual and caring. He placed Jimin in his lap, and pulled him into a straddling position. They faced each other, lips just millimeters apart. He reached around to massage Jimin’s butt-cheeks, slowly massaging them open and priming his ass for entry.

“Talk to me. Tell me if something hurts,” Jeongguk said softly.

Jimin nodded.

 

The dim light afforded Jeongguk the opportunity to see Jimin’s face; very important for two people who were fucking each other for the first time. Communication had to be clear, signals had to be clear. 

With his tube right next to his thigh, Jeongguk flipped it open and dispersed it liberally over his fingers. He ran his oily fingers under Jimin’s nose to allow him to smell the fragrance. Once again, Jimin nodded. 

“Tight squeeze, alot of pressure, ok?” He said as a gentle warning for Jimin to brace for impact. He distracted him by once again locking their lips in a kiss. At the same time that he pushed his fingers inside of him, he gently bit Jimin’s lip to mask the pain. Jimin still jumped and his legs immediately trembled. “Ok, ok, it’s ok. You’re doing so well,” Jeongguk reassured him. 

He felt Jimin’s fingers burrow into his skin. His shaking became worse as Jeongguk worked his fingers in and out of him. With gentle, comforting kisses, he caressed the skin along the hollow of his neck, at times even stroking the tip of his cock, to sprout another erection. But still, Jimin shook from head to toe. There must have been tremendous pain for his body to react so instinctively. Jimin had not planned to have sex. He didn’t expect it, so Jeongguk did everything he could to make it as pleasurable as possible. He understood exactly why Jimin was scared.

After massaging him for close to twenty minutes, it was time. A sob of relief escaped Jimin’s mouth when Jeongguk pulled his fingers free. But that relief was soon replaced with a pain filled groan. He entered him carefully and pushed hard immediately. He worked his tip through the tough resistance, pushing and pushing until he popped through to the other side. Jimin’s shaking subsided. His moans immediately became less terse and more pleasurable as Jeongguk seated himself deep inside of Jimin’s body. 

Once again he lubed the base of his nuts and all around Jimin’s hole where his dick protruded.

“I’m in,” he said gleefully, as if to congratulate Jimin for a job well done. Jeongguk rested his head against Jimin’s forehead. “You feel amazing already and I haven’t even started.” They stared at each other, contemplating the next phase of a fuck they knew would change their lives. “Are you ready?” Jeongguk whispered as he once again kissed his sweet lover’s pillowy lips.

“Yes…,” Jimin kissed him back while secretly praying that Jeongguk had the skill to kiss and fuck at the same time. He got his wish. 

In the midst of the lustful caresses of his tongue, Jeongguk’s cock glided over the clenched muscles of Jimin’s insides. He began to stroke him, wide and deep, stretching him along the way. Teeth gritting with effort, he moaned as Jimin’s body succumbed to him, yielding to his every move. He eagerly anticipated each wet, grinding slide. Layer after layer of sensation built inside of him as he fought to hold back his release. He never expected it to feel like this - not like this. 

Jimin watched Jeongguk’s beautiful face as it contorted through the phases of pleasure. Using his sleek, muscular body, he caught every single one of Jeongguk’s powerfully insistent thrusts. He grunted and hiccuped as Jeongguk bounced him in his lap, showing him no mercy. Amazed by his own body, he watched his limp cock flop between them, before it slowly regained rigidity. Never before had he cum during sex, but whatever Jeongguk was doing to him changed his life. He grew more and more aroused until his cock stood tall between their two stomachs. He couldn’t believe it, he was about to cum - again.

“What are you doing to me?” He whined into Jeongguk’s ear.

“Giving you what you need,” Jeongguk whispered back. And with those words, Jeongguk’s body shuddered. He clenched his eyes closed and dropped his head back as he voiced his words of pleasure towards the ceiling.

Jimin’s eyes softened, watching Jeongguk cum was sublime. He could feel the wet inside of his body. It triggered him, pushing him into an orgasmic state all over again. His eyes rolled, his body shivered, his cock pulsated. The soft velvety cum leaked from his slanted tip and dribbled down his shaft. 

Together they rolled to their sides, bodies entwined, smaller behind the larger, holding him in his arms. Jimin circled the tip of his perfect nose along the back of Jeongguk’s neck. Once again he scented him before nibbling on his dewy skin.

Jeongguk stared through the window at the large fluffy snowflakes that fell in rapid succession from the sky. His ears picked up the soft gentle sway of jazz that he’d loaded into the speaker earlier that day. He lay there with the most gorgeous man on earth behind him, holding him and nibbling on his skin. He loved the moment so much that it scared him. 

What if it was a dream? With all of the bad things he’d done in his life, did he really deserve such a perfect evening with such a perfect man? How long would it be before it was taken away from him, like everything else?

He didn’t want to ruin the mood, but he needed to talk to Jimin to see how he was feeling. What was supposed to be just physical fulfillment, a hook up, turned into something wholly emotional that neither expected. He wanted to know how Jimin felt about it and if it scared him away. He turned in the bed to face him.

“Are you ok?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jimin grinned.

“Because the more I think about it…the more I wonder if I pressured you. I didn’t expect to sleep with you Dr. Park. I didn’t plan this, but maybe I was selfish in asking you to do it.”

“We agreed no regrets. I’m holding up my end of the deal, but suddenly you aren’t.” Jimin caressed Jeongguk’s cheek.

“Alot of emotional shit crept into what we just did.”

“Was it not supposed to?” Jimin asked.

“No. It was just supposed to be a hook-up.”

“Mr. Jeon, that’s impossible. Let me explain why. I saved your daughter’s life. I care for her deeply because she’s my patient. You get to see it first hand. There is always going to be that bond that exists between the three of us. There’s also a bit of transference going on. In other words, we were emotionally bonded before the sex ever happened. It’s why I hesitated in the first place. I didn’t know how this was going to end. But like I said, I have no regrets.”

“I don’t regret it either. I guess I was…just afraid how you would feel. I like this thing…this whatever it is between us. I like you. I don’t want to break us.”

“Stop talking. Stop thinking and just give me more kisses,” Jimin laughed quietly.

***

The following morning, Jimin quietly snuck out of bed. He dressed under the dim light, softly tip-toeing around the room to avoid waking Jeongguk. He moved gingerly because his ass felt like he had been riding a baseball bat all night. He puttered around looking for his boots, only to realize they were underneath the Christmas tree. 

“Jeongguk,” he crawled over the bed to wake him gently. “Jeongguk.”

“Yea, yea, hey what time is it?”

“Five in the morning. I’m leaving. I don’t think it’s a good idea for Riley to find me here. I’m going back to my cabin to see if the lights are back on.”

“Alright. I guess that’s a good plan. When are you heading back to San Francisco?”

“In a few hours. With the rest of the Christmas Tree farm event cancelled, there’s no need for me to stay.”

“And you? When are you and Riley going back?”

“Tomorrow. I have a few hours of work to do and then we’re going to play in the snow and build snowmen, that kind of thing. Sure you don’t want to stay?”

“I very much want to stay. But I don’t think I should. This is your time, your very special time with Riley. I need to respect that,” Jimin smiled.

Jeongguk pulled him back into the bed and climbed over him. “I’m going to miss you. Thank you for everything. Last night was incredible.”

“Jeongguk,” Jimin stalled and then asked, “…is this over? I mean…once we go back to the real world, will I…see you again?”

“You’re definitely going to see me again. You can't get rid of me that easily.”

***

 

Riley was not an early riser. Jeongguk didn’t expect to see her until around 9:00. Since he had a few hours, he decided to use it to get some work done. He lugged his suitcase full of files to the kitchen table and began sorting through them. There was so much evidence. He needed to find explanations to refute all of it. Truly, it was the toughest part of his job; making someone who is as guilty as sin appear less so. 

Jeongguk’s back ached. The combination of lugging the Christmas trees and fucking Jimin, revealed just how out of shape he was. He vowed to get back into the gym because if he was going  to fuck Jimin the way he wanted, he would need his strength. He added his favorite to the Victrola - Vince Guaraldi Christmas from Charlie Brown. He kept the volume low, just to provide a little cheerful background as he dove head first into Sydney’s grisly murder plot.

 

The hours spent working were productive. He was able to get much more done than he expected. He casually glanced at his Rolex and noticed the time. It was almost noon. 

“Strange.” Why wasn’t Riley up? The previous day was full of excitement and she was exhausted by the time she fell asleep, but still, he had never known her to sleep this late.

***

 

With the cancellation of the Christmas Tree farm, Jimin had to figure out how to raise more donations for the cancer center. It was devastating news. He made a few phone calls, and reached out to his mom. Together, they came up with a short list of names, but no one who could donate the $1million dollars that they were short. He needed to get back to San Francisco to knock on some doors and meet with a few potential donors in person. The salt trucks had just about cleared the road, so he planned to leave in a few hours.

The lights were back on and the heat worked. Jimin was thankful for that. He sat on the ground, in front of his roaring fire and read through a few patient’s files. He had a two year old scheduled for surgery with the other Dr. Park and he wanted to go through her records one more time.

There wasn’t much food in his cabin. But there was a box of cereal and fresh milk. He wrapped himself in a blanket and surrounded himself with all of his medical folders. Off in the distance, he thought he heard someone blowing their horn. He ignored it at first. But as the sound grew closer, he realized that it was headed straight for him. Jimin knew this part of the mountain very well. It was a quiet town. No one would cause this type of ruckus unless it was an emergency. His antenna went up as the sound of the blowing horn came closer and closer until it eventually stopped just outside of his cabin door. He looked through the window and gasped when he saw Jeongguk running towards his cabin with an unconscious Riley in his arms. She was completely limp. She had snow all over her face and hair where Jeongguk had carried her through the storm,

Jimin ran to the door and swung it open just as Jeongguk stepped on the porch, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“HELP! HELP! Something is wrong with her. Her-her-her breathing is shallow and she isn’t moving. She slept late this morning and that wasn’t like her. So I went to wake her and found her like this. Look at her skin, it’s all red. I called her name but she didn’t respond. Her eyes are closed and she won’t wake up. Jimin it’s her heart. It’s her heart again isn’t it?”

Jimin pulled Riley from Jeongguk’s arms. He carried her to the couch to examine her. “Riley. Riley. Speak to me baby.” Jimin grabbed his medical bag. His first check was of her heart. He ripped his stethoscope free and pushed it hard against the skin just beneath Riley’s nightgown. 

“WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT? WHAT’S WRONG WITH HER?” Jeongguk screamed.

“Shh,” Jimin quieted Jeongguk immediately. He needed to hear her heart. His quick assessment of her was enough to make him go pale. “Her breathing isn’t right. We have to get her to the hospital.” Jimin frantically searched for his phone before finding it on the counter. He hit a few buttons and within seconds he was talking to someone, “Dispatch, this is Dr. Park, Jimin. I need a mountain rescue. I have a patient who’s in distress and she needs to get back to UCSF immediately. This is an emergency. Is chopper unit #1313 on the ground?”

“Copy Dr. Park. Not any more. They’re on their way to you. Captain heard your call come through and he’s taking off right now. What’s your location?”

“992 Lakeview Ave. South Lake Tahoe.”

“I’ll relay it to him. Juncture 1108 is cleared. There’s a defibrillator on board. Do you need any other special equipment?”

“No. Just tell the Captain to hurry.” Jimin said quickly.

Jeongguk burst into tears, “NOOOO! NO! Not again, she can’t go through this again. She can’t. Save her Jimin, please. Please.” He ran to Riley’s side. She was completely unconscious at this point, barely breathing.

Jimin wrapped Riley in a blanket. He had to deal with Jeongguk even though Riley needed him. “Listen to me. Get back to the cabin. Grab Riley’s coat, hat, gloves and anything else that may be important to her. Lock up the cabin and then get back here immediately. The chopper will be here in about ten minutes. That’s as much time as you have. Hurry Jeongguk. I have to get her back to the hospital so I can treat her properly.”

“Ok. Ok.” Jeongguk didn’t question him any further. Upon Jimin’s  instruction, he immediately fled the cabin and ran back to his G-Wagon. He took off, skidding over the snow, as he headed back to his cabin to retrieve Riley’s belongings.

***

 

Jeongguk sat in the waiting room, leg bouncing uncontrollably. He had a black, stale cup of coffee in his hand that he sipped for nerve-calming sustenance. Hanson sat next to him, reassuring him every few minutes that Riley would be fine. 

Dr. Park, Alecia walked into the waiting room. Her face was serious which caused Jeongguk to immediately assume the worst. 

“Dr. Park, what are you doing here?” Jeongguk asked.

“Jimin called me. He asked me to come and speak to you.” Dr. Park looked quite young for her age. Under no circumstances would you think she was old enough to have a son like Jimin. Her hair was in a high ponytail on top of her head and she was wearing a ratty pair of Harvard Medical School sweats.

“How’s Riley? And where’s Jimin? Why didn’t he come to talk to me himself?” Jeongguk asked nervously.

“Because he didn’t want to leave her. I was just with them. By the time I left, they were in a deeply heated discussion over how the movie adaptation of Wicked was going to fare at the box office. Nerd stuff really,” Dr. Park smiled. 

“What?” Jeongguk shook his head with confusion.

“In other words, Riley is fine. Has Riley had a flu shot? We didn’t see it in any of her medical charts.” Dr. Park asked.

“Flu shot? No…I don’t think so.” Jeongguk looked at Hanson for confirmation. “What does a flu shot have to do with her heart?”

“Everything.” Dr. Park smiled. “Riley’s heart is just fine. But as you can imagine, having open heart surgery, plus all of the medications she was on, made her a little more susceptible to the flu. Riley has the flu. A very nasty case of it. All of her other test results came back normal except that one. She had a temperature of 104 by the time Jimin got her here. He administered a dose of Tamiflu and some fever reducers. She’s sitting up, talking and eating. On the mend, already. Would you like to see her?”

“Yes. Please.”

Jeongguk hated being back in the hospital. Even though the news of Riley’s condition was positive, just being there brought back so many bad memories. “When can I take her home?” Jeongguk asked as he trailed Dr. Park through the hallway.

“Today. In a few hours. We just need to pump her full of some fluids, and make sure that her vitals are stabilized. Then she’s all yours,” Dr. Park explained.

By the time they arrived, Riley was on the phone talking to one of her friends. Jimin was sitting in the corner, feverishly jotting down notes. Riley’s color was back to normal. Her gift of gab was back as well. She spoke one hundred miles a minute, telling her friend all about her adventure at the Christmas Tree farm.

“Get off of the phone,” Jeongguk whined as he walked into the room.

“Hi Daddy! Liz, I have to go. Bruce is here. Talk later bye,” Riley opened her arms and Jeongguk fell into them. He kissed the top of her head and caressed her hair. “Thank God you’re ok. I was so worried.”

Jimin turned around as soon as he heard Jeongguk’s voice. “Ah you’re here. I hope Dr. Park explained everything. Riley is fine. Two, three days tops, this will all be behind her. Just in time for Christmas. The lethargy was caused by the flu virus. She has a rather rare strain that is particularly aggressive. But her tests for COVID all came back negative. Most importantly, her heart is fine. I’m going to step out and allow you two to have some privacy. Goodbye sweetheart. I’ll be back with your release papers in a few minutes.” Jimin left the room quickly. He was in Dr. Park mode which was a very different side of him.

Jeongguk kissed Riley’s hand and held it tightly. After a couple of seconds of standing next to her, he realized that he needed to do something. “Uh baby, I need to talk to Dr. Park for a second. I’ll be right back. Don’t you go anywhere,” Jeongguk kissed Riley’s forehead and chased after Jimin. Jeongguk wasn’t sure where Jimin went. He ran down each of the hallways looking for him and finally found him in his office. He was staring at the Christmas tree on the top of the building. “You know, I have a great view of that tree from my office. Next time you visit, I’ll show you.”

“Yes, pulling back the green velvet curtain, like the city of Oz,” Jimin joked. “Why are you here and not with your daughter?”

“I will be spending every second with my daughter, don’t you worry. But I also needed to check on you. How are you?”

Jimin shrugged, “I’m fine. A little tired, alot relieved. But fine.”

“What you did, on top of the mountain, I’ve never seen anything like that. You’re incredible. The power you have, the connections, the respect. You used it all. And I’m not sure but I think you just saved my daughter’s life - again,” Jeongguk blushed. He stepped inside of Jimin’s office and closed the door behind him. He dropped to his knee in front of Jimin so that he could make eye contact with him as he sat at his desk. He reached up and stroked his bushy bangs that were covering his forehead. “Somehow the last three weeks have been the worst and best of my life. I thought alot about what you said, about the emotional connection between doctor and patient. Let me tell you, my emotions are working overtime right now. Thank you Dr. Park. Thank you for bringing her back to me.”

“It’s my job. Don’t confuse your appreciation for me doing my job with what you think you feel romantically.”

“About that. I don’t really have strong boundaries where all of that is concerned. I don’t know up from down. But I would like to figure it out.”

Jimin laughed, “Figure what out?”

“More social life, more Riley, less work. I suppose you would fall under the social life category?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jimin gazed into Jeongguk’s doe eyes. He watched as Jeongguk held his hands and gently kissed his fingers. His dimples looked delicious. He wanted to kiss them but felt it was best to wait until Jeongguk finished whatever the hell he was trying to say. 

“I’m talking about us. Taking a chance. Doing something different. Trusting where we normally wouldn’t. I’m still a father. I’m still a workaholic. None of those things are going to change. But maybe the balance that I so desperately need can come from falling in love with you.”

“Love? Already with the love? I knew you were too good to be true. Are you going to fall in the lunatic category?” Jimin teased.

Jeongguk burst into laughter. “I’m not saying I’m in love with you. I’m saying that I could be. That I would like to be…or at least explore the possibility of being.”

“We’ve been here for a while. Do you have a point to all of this?” Jimin mocked.

“Date. I want to date. I want to spend more time. I want you to get to know me and Riley. I want to hear more of your sage advice. I want you to teach me the words to Wicked songs. I want to make love to you as often as your ass will allow. I want to tell you about my court cases and share my frustrations. And on days when it’s cold and dreary and I don’t want to get out of bed, I want to wake up next to you and cover you in kisses.”

“That is alot!” Jimin swiped his forehead. “Talk about pressure.” He pulled Jeongguk from his knees and ushered him over to the couch. With the Golden Gate bridge glowing behind them, he dove in. “I’m not looking for an experiment. You have issues that only you alone can fix. You can’t expect me to ride in on my white horse to save you from yourself. But if you’re willing to put in the work, to try therapy again for you and Riley and to really dedicate yourself to a balanced life, then I’m all for it. You know how I feel about you. You know how much I admire and respect you. And I think you know from my multiple orgasms last night how good I think you are in bed.” Jimin winked. “The pieces are all here. We just have to find a way to put them all together. I don’t know where this is going to lead. But I’m willing to give it a try.”

Jimin had never seen Jeongguk smile as genuinely as he smiled at that moment. They embraced on the couch and kissed briefly to seal the deal.

Jeongguk had more to add, “Now that you’ve said yes, I can confess. I don’t know what dating looks like these days, especially since I haven’t dated since Lincoln was President. But I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, shoot me a text with your work schedule and I’ll work around it. I’ll share my court dates with you too and that way it will be easier to figure out when we have free time.”

“How do you think Riley is going to take the news?” Jimin questioned.

“I’m on my way to talk to her now. She’s going to freak out and likely break into some kind of song and dance.”

“She’s got real talent for theatre. She should pursue both singing and acting because she’s great at it. I’ll be by in a few minutes with her release papers.”

“Thanks again. Bye elfie.”

***

 

The fire crackled and popped. Embers flaked away from the log as the orange flames slowly splintered down its center. Heat radiated through the opulent room, the one with the reclusive velvet curtains. The entire house was quiet, sans the saxophone crooning of Dave Brubeck’s quartet and the lusty moans emanating from the two bodies pressed against the window.

With a crinkled brow and a helpless gaze, Jimin watched the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree on top of the building. The view was incredible, the closest he could get without actually being there. His fingers spread wide over the glass, leaving smeared impressions of his fingerprints as they slid through the  condensation inside of the window pane. 

The curtain was fully drawn and his naked body was on display. But no one could see them. No one could see Jeongguk on his knees behind him, lapping him up like ice cream. The world was excluded from their very intimate act. Each time Jimin felt the warm tongue enter him, he shivered, lightly tapping his body against the lower portion of the window. By the time Jeongguk was finished eating him, most of the window’s moisture had been transferred to his skin.

He was lifted from his feet and carried. But instead of being taken to the floor, which was their usual spot for hedonistic fucking, he was laid on the large mahogany desk in the center of Jeongguk’s office. The combination of lube and spit dripped liberally from his opening.  As he was placed on his back, he instinctively drew his knees to his chest. He was so ready to be fucked. For six hours straight he’d worn his ass plug, stretching and preparing his insides to rock over Jeongguk’s thick cock, balls deep.

“Ready elfie?” his newly minted boyfriend hissed.

“Fuck me Bruce,” he responded with a lustful moan.

The slanted entry was intentionally turbulent; one of Jeongguk’s little methods for announcing his arrival. Jimin jolted and slapped both hands down on the rich mahogany desk, stinging his palms. The incremental feeding of Bruce’s cock into elfie’s body was maddening. It took only seconds to bottom out and fill him completely.

The masterful roll of the younger’s hips began. He didn’t just thrust, he explored, spreading his cock wide and deep, never delivering the same stroke twice. Jimin wrapped his hands around the back of Jeongguk’s neck, pulling him closer so he could experience his artful kisses while he fucked him.

The fireplace roared, doing its duty to protect them with a layer of heat. Crackling of the wood competed with the passionate moans that echoed between them. There was no friction, no obstruction, just a beautiful glide through Jimin’s chamber that made his body quiver. The ovation began, the moment where they fucked so hard, that their bodies collided angrily, drawing claps from their overly lubed skin.

Jimin found himself airborne again. Even as Jeongguk walked him to the fireplace, he still bucked like a wild boar, never giving him a fucking moment to breathe. They fell to the ground with Jeongguk still inserted into him. Only this time, they repositioned so that Jimin was on top.

“Ride me elfie, make me cum,” he demanded. 

Jimin was fed by the fire. He started with a slow grind, leaning down to place his ear against Jeongguk’s heart. He listened. The rhythm was beautiful, strong and vibrant. He grinded his hips in tandem with each of his heartbeats. As Jeongguk’s heart rate quickened, so too did Jimin’s fuck. The heart that gave his lover life, raced under Jimin’s command.

“Oh god,” he heard Jeongguk cry out. 

Jimin straightened his back and stared down at him. He continued to bounce while stroking his own cock. They slipped and slid against each other on the precipice of ecstasy, until Jeongguk called out almost in tears. “I’m falling in love with you,” he clenched his eyes shut so hard that a tear fell. And then he screamed as his hands flew to Jimin’s waist, holding on for his life.

Jimin fisted his dick faster and faster. But the moment he felt Jeongguk flood his insides with cum, it was over. He squirted a stream of liquid that fell over Jeongguk’s chest and splashed against the glass of the fireplace screen.

 They were loud, raucous. But in their private corner of the world, it didn’t matter. What was once a dark, depressing place of legal logistics, reclusivity and avoidance was now their private sanctuary of happiness. Jimin collapsed onto Jeongguk’s chest. As had become his routine, he remained there frozen in silence - listening. 

Jeongguk never rushed him or interrupted his peace. He simply rubbed his back and took the deepest breaths possible to place his heart on full display. He accepted how important it was for Jimin to hear it. He didn’t understand any of it, he just knew that it was beautiful.

***

 

They sat in their silk robes in front of the fireplace. The whisky of the evening was another pricey one, Glenturret 1972 Lalique Decanter. Jimin recognized it from its distinctive black bottle. His hands trembled a little when he accepted the first glass from Jeongguk. The bottle was worth a whopping $150,000.

Jeongguk admired Jimin’s expression, “Thought I would do something special, since it’s Christmas.”

“This is quite special. It’s a 50 year old Glenturret. Do you have any idea how much this costs?” Jimin said with a gasp.

“I do…since I paid for it. Stop worrying and just enjoy it. I wouldn’t spend this kind of money on anyone else but you. You’re a man who knows his whisky, so only someone like you could appreciate it.”

“You know, you’re firmly in the lunatic/stalker box?”

“WHY?” Jeongguk crossed his arms and pouted. He looked just like Riley.

“Because you shouldn’t know a person for a month and already think you’re falling in love. You also shouldn’t know a person only for a month and give them a $150,000 bottle of whisky.”

“In my defense, I’m not giving this to you. We’re sharing it. And regarding the love thing, Riley says I have no vibe. But I totally think premature confessions of love - is my vibe.”

Jimin found him adorable. He fell to his side in laughter. “Alright. I’ll let you out of the lunatic category, but slow down. No more screaming you love me just because I’m making you cum.”

“I can’t promise that at all,” Jeongguk frowned and shook his head.

“Hey, hey, hey, two minutes until midnight. It’s almost Christmas.”

“Speaking of which, what are all of those gifts piled up in my brand new kitchen?” Jeongguk inquired with a smirk.

“Some stuff for Riley, Hanson and…you.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t really need anything.”

“No one really needs anything for Christmas. That’s not what the holiday is about. Gift giving is just as much about fulfillment for the gift giver than it is for the recipient,” Jimin explained. “Everyone loves a gift from Santa. Christmas magic.”

“I’m not sure my little girl believes in Santa much these days. I still try to make the day special for her, but I don’t know. Seems like what she really wants is just more time with me.”

“That’s exactly what she wants. Can’t tell you how I know. Let’s just say… a little elf told me.” Jimin winked. “You and Riley are important to me, so I wanted to just…you know…get you something.”

“You gave me Riley’s life. That’s quite enough,” Jeongguk said emotionally. 

“Oh hey countdown let’s go. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one - Merry Christmas!”

The two of them clinked their glasses together in a toast, “To the best Christmas ever and to many more to come.”

“Cheers.”

***

Riley ripped through her presents. She had hundreds of them. At some point during the process she tired herself out and had to take a break. Jimin sat under the Christmas tree, reveling in the new experience. It felt like a fairy tale. A beautiful child, a beautiful man, a fucking mansion. It all was surreal. If he could have written a script for his own life, it would have been written exactly like this. 

All of them wore matching pajamas, even Holman who danced around singing as he brought everyone hot cocoa and muffins. The brand new Tesla Cyber Truck from Jeongguk, didn’t hurt his mood either. 

They started opening gifts at 7:00am and by 9:30am, everyone was exhausted. Riley hopped up and crawled under the Christmas tree. She came away with one last box.

“Dr. Park.”

“Riley, Dr. Park is great for when we’re in the hospital. But it would really warm my heart if you just called me - Jimin.”

Riley beamed, “Ok. Jimin. We have one last gift - just for you.”

“For me?” Jimin gave Riley a hug and accepted the small box.

“Open it. It’s from me and daddy.” She winked at her dad. They obviously had something up their sleeves.

Jimin took his time opening the box. The wrapping was beautiful, black with hints of 24k gold. Definitely from the collection of Bruce Wayne. The box itself was also gold. Jimin gently pulled the top off to reveal a piece of paper. It looked like, “A check?” Jimin said quizzically.

“It’s a fucking check alright. Look at it.” Riley swore as she danced around. 

“Language!” Hanson, Jeongguk and Jimin all corrected her immediately.

The check was made out to Dr. Jimin Park’s Foundation for Cancer Research and it was for, “TWO MILLION DOLLARS!”

“I know! I know!” Riley grabbed Jimin’s hands and they danced around the Christmas tree. “And it’s all thanks to daddy and me of course.”

“TWO MILLION DOLLARS!” Jeongguk, this is too generous. I can’t accept this,” Jimin argued.

“Not a gift for you. A gift for your foundation. I did a little research. Looks like you’re going to fall about $1.5million short on your funds for this year because of the storm. So, I thought I would help. This figure should cover it and help hold you over until next year.” 

“But this is too generous,” Jimin felt himself begin to tear.

“It is very generous and a tax write off. And something that makes you really happy. So yes you can accept it and you will.”

“I-I-I don’t know what to say.”

Riley and Hanson were still dancing around the Christmas tree.  Jeongguk felt the need to hold Jimin in his arms. “Not something to cry over…it’s just money.” Jeongguk teased. “Dr. Park, I had no idea this was a fundraiser for your charity. If I had known about this, I would have donated weeks ago. I’m late, but I’m here. Take the money. Do good. And next year, we’ll put the Christmas Tree farm back to work.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this. Thank you Jeongguk and Thank you Riley.”

***

 

The circumference of the Grinch’s belly was properly measured this time. He would have no trouble traversing doors with his bag full of toys. His Santa hat sat askew on top of his green Grinchy head. His long matted furry fingers wrapped around each of the buttons of his Santa suit as he squeezed  the red velvet coat around his rotund belly. He wasn’t wearing pants. He stopped briefly to check the employee handbook to confirm that dancing through the halls with no pants wasn’t considered inappropriate for children. He wanted to be true to the original Grinch who never covered his lower furry bottom. Since he had no genitals and no distinctive ass, he presumed that his raw green fir was good to show. His pointy toe Santa loafers were much more comfortable than his curly toe elf boots had been. The furry ankles of his furry legs stretched all the way to his belly. His shape was atrocious. Definitely ‘type A’ body frame for increased heart disease.

Grinch’s dog Max sat on Jimin’s couch writing an appeal to the judge to grant Sydney another hearing for bail. His plan was to get her out of jail by New Year so that she could await trial in the comfort of her own home. 

Cindy Lou Hoo laid on the floor of Jimin’s office, texting back and forth in a group chat about BTS’ new tour. She assured them all that her daddy would pay whatever price necessary to get them tickets.

The Grinch stood with his hands on his hips; matted fur peeking from beneath the sleeves of his red Santa suit. He puckered his green lips and clapped his furry paws together. “Listen up people. It’s showtime. You want big dreams? You want fame? Well fame costs, and right here is where you start paying, with sweat.”

“I don’t really want fame, I’m just here for the snacks,” Max injected.

“Daddy is this supposed to be a motivational speech, because I’m kind of scared,” Cindy asked her father.

“Don’t worry Riley, I think he’s just really into it,” Max, aka Jeongguk, assured her.

“Would you two be quiet? This is my superbowl,” Jimin broke character to scold both of them. His green eyes scoured over them, insistent that they pay attention. “Now where was I? Yea, yea, not just anybody can step on that stage with me. I need dedication, focus, total commitment to the role. There is no Christmas without us - MAX, put your phone down. Can your appeal wait just another couple of hours?” The Grinch snapped at his young puppy Max, also known as Jeongguk. “Dangit, where was I? All of these interruptions. Yes, I expect perfection. These kids are counting on us. We’re going to give them the best Christmas they’ve ever had. Slay babies, it’s time to slaaaay!” The Grinch turned on the spot and marched to the hallway. He struck a pose, waiting for his music to begin.

“Hey Jimin?”

Jimin rounded on Jeongguk. He flexed his long matted fur finger in his direction. “I’m the Grinch,” he struck another pose with his hand on his belly.

“Uhhh, yea, so Grinch, can I come as Batman next year?”

The Grinch rolled his green eyes, “Line up! Our music starts soon.”

Riley leaned in and whispered to her dad, “Is everything ok at home with him?” 

“He’s been at home with us for the last two days. We probably should ask ourselves that question,” Jeongguk’s scratched his puppy nuts.

His puppy costume was hot. It also had no pockets which meant he had to leave his phone in Jimin’s office. His left ear kept flopping over his left eye making it difficult to see. But he did it all for Jimin because it meant the world to him. It was also another opportunity to build precious memories with Riley and to teach her about the importance of having a generous heart.

“Do you hear what I hear?” Jimin cupped his furry ear with his furry hand. “It is our anthem. Our signal to begin. Grab the gifts everyone. Let’s GOOOOOO!” The Grinch took off down the hall towards the pediatric ward. Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas was his cue to begin. 

The Grinch took off down the hall towards the pediatric ward. Jeongguk and Riley aka Cindy and Max ran behind him. 

 ***

Epilogue:

Jimin’s Happily Ever After:

Jimin used the $2million donation from Jeongguk to invest in AI technology that could help diagnose childhood cancers much earlier. He established a new program that he named Jeon Insights in honor of the very generous Jeon who funded it.

The Christmas tree farm reopened the following year with record breaking profits, thanks to two additional little elf partners who marketed the event to all of the friends and family. Jimin ran the Christmas Tree farm every year without fail. Interestingly enough, the event was never marred by snow storms again.

Jimin and his mother continued working together for ten years at UCSF, until his mother retired at age sixty-eight. Jimin went on to open his own practice at age forty-six. 

 

Riley’s condition continued to improve, and as she got better, so too did Jeongguk’s abilities as a father. He reassessed everything, going so far as to schedule time between he and his daughter to make sure they never went more than a few days without one-on-one activities. Riley became his number one, but not without a major shift in his thinking. The father - daughter bond became unbreakable as Jeongguk worked for years and years to restore trust between them. 

Per Jimin’s suggestion, they gave therapy another try. Riley was able to say things to her father that she never dared say before. The two reached a critical breakthrough when Jeongguk admitted just how ashamed he was for the kind of father he had been. 

By the time Sydney Mason’s case finally went to court, Riley was fourteen years old. With all of the pre-trial depositions and appeals and side bars, it took months to get a jury seated. However, once it did kick off, it became the trial of the century. The murder case of Sydney Mason was courtroom drama. The entire case was televised, thrusting the handsome young attorney into the spotlight as the world watched him defend a monster. And Jeongguk loved every moment of it. He had an international stage to showcase his pursuit of justice and the lengths he would go to, to uphold his client’s rights. Sydney had been set up by cops who knew she had mental vulnerabilities and Jeongguk made sure that everyone knew it. The case lasted six long grueling months, taking a heavy toll on Jeongguk until - a very unlikely assistant stepped in to help. 

It began simply; each evening as Jeongguk would sit down to review the witness list for the following day, Riley would sit at the table with him. Legal acuity was in her blood. Quite accidently, she found inconsistencies in the testimony of prosecution witnesses, stuff that Jeongguk completely overlooked because of his workload. She found weak spots in certain statements, strange time and date stamps on some of the state’s evidence, and missing transcripts; all of which Jeongguk was able to use to argue on Sydney’s behalf. In Riley’s mind, her contribution seemed small, but in Jeongguk’s mind, it was invaluable and he attributed much of his success to her.

Jeongguk’s intention was never to get a ‘not-guilty’ verdict. He never refuted the fact that Sydney was a killer. But he did not want her in prison and his fight was all about getting her the psychological help that she needed. Thanks to Riley - it happened. Sydney was found guilty, but mentally incompetent. She was sentenced to a mental health facility where she lived out her remaining years. For Jeongguk - and Riley - that was a win.

 

And then there was the Jeon/Park experiment. The leap taken by both to venture into the very deep waters of dating. After knowing each other for four weeks, many of which were stress -filled with Riley’s illness, they allowed their instincts to guide them. It was no surprise to anyone that there was a spark between them, something kismet that set their hearts ablaze. But was it enough? Was it a strong enough foundation on which to build a relationship?

It was. Within a year of dating exclusively, Jeongguk invited Jimin to move into the mansion with them. Their relationship was like a fairytale; bringing out the best in each other. It was easy to predict that Jimin’s bright and optimistic spirit would bring light to the dark dreary world of Bruce Wayne. But what was not as easy to predict was the stable outlet that Jeongguk provided for Jimin. His role as the healing fairy was great when everything went his way, but patients were lost or couldn’t be helped, his world collapsed. And that was where Jeongguk shined his brightest. He was always there with a warm hug, an eager ear and a glass of very expensive whiskey. No matter how horrific the story was that Jimin had to tell, Jeongguk absorbed it, lifting the burden so that Jimin didn’t have to carry it alone. And that was where the magic happened. 

Two years after moving in with Jeongguk and Riley, the two lovers married. They found love that was stronger and more durable than either ever imagined. They were right to trust themselves and trust their heart.

Hanson continued to work for the Jeons and welcomed Jimin into the home with open arms. What all of them knew, but never admitted was that Hanson didn’t have to work for the Jeons. He was there because he was bored. They were his life, his family and he enjoyed looking after them. Jeongguk’s threats to fire him were always just empty blustering. The truth was that Hanson was rich - very wealthy indeed. He’d been left a fortune when the elder Jeons died. It was his path to freedom, a path that he never even considered. Hanson continued to care for Riley until she left for Harvard at the age of eighteen. He cried for two days after watching her plane take off.

Riley never had heart issues again. Her new dad Jimin listened to her heart everyday and kept careful watch over her most valued possession. Eventually, Riley went to law school. She was a superstar just like her father. At the age of twenty-four, she officially became the first Partner in the Law Firm of Jeon and Jeon, working side by side with her brilliant dad. It took years, but she finally got her Christmas wish - to have parents who loved her.

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