Bullets & Promises ✔️

37. Close to the Mark

"Ah, alright." Dae Ho peels his jacket and hands it over to her. The room is too silent for his liking and he feels out of place. Where is Haneul when he needs him?

"Uncle Dae Dae!" A cheerful voice perks the man up, a little body barreling towards him. On instinct, Dae Ho holds Soomin when she closes into him.

"Hey, Soomin. Wher—"

"Nuh-uh!" The girl shakes her head in disapproval. "I'm not Soomin, I'm Minnie." She juts her lips out into a pout and folds her arms in a reprimanding manner.

"And I'm Dae Ho, not Dae Dae."

Soomin shakes her head again. "I'm Minnie and you're Uncle Dae Dae," she stubbornly announces with sass.

"But—"

"Uncle Dae Dae, can I color?"

Dae Ho raises an eyebrow at the change in subject and can't help but see a clear resemblance to her father in the girl. They have the same smile and eyes, an attention-grabbing presence, and sleeping in a starfish style. "Sure," he says and unlocks his mobile phone to send a message to Haneul when Soomin runs out of the room. She comes back with a pack of Sharpies and plops beside the fighter. He is scrolling through his feed until a wet tip presses on his arm. "What are you doing?"

"Coloring," Soomin replies without a care and continues scribbling the red marker over the inked daffodil wreath, her tongue poking out of her lips in concentration. "Your hwand is a coloring book," she supplies, uncapping a blue pen and gesturing over Dae Ho's sleeve tattoos.

"No, it's not." Dae Ho moves away but the girl inches forward.

"Pwease, Uncle Dae Dae. I want to color." Soomin gives her signature puppy eyes, not backing down till the other gives in with a loud sigh.

"Alright, you can color." He grabs a fashion magazine sitting on the glass table in front of him, unaware of the eyes watching the two.

"Didn't know you had a soft spot for kids." Haneul laughs with a shit-eating grin as he enters the guest room and Dae Ho flinches for a moment. "Always knew that deep down in that coal-stained heart lies a good-natured man."

"Shut up. You're late."

Soomin greets her father and goes back to color Dae Ho's arm with attention.

"Why don't you get married and have a child?"

"No, thank you, I don't want to marry anyone. I'm fine like this."

"Then you could adopt a child." Haneul pushes and Dae Ho shifts uncomfortably at that.

"In our country...citizens with criminal records cannot adopt children." He presses his lips together, a small smile making its way when Soomin claps her hands after being done with her artwork.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." The doctor replies, picking the pens splayed on the cushion and putting them back in their plastic case.

"Appa!" Soomin interrupts, "Can you pwicture this?" She points at the coloring proudly, getting up and sitting on Dae Ho's lap sideways, holding his arm and leaning on it with a wide smile. And Haneul willingly obliges.

"Minnie, Uncle Dae Ho's arm looks beautiful! You did a great job." It's the little praises and encouragements the parents provide the children with that enable a child to strive for betterment and build confidence in themselves. Often comparing kids with each other and pushing them forcibly uproots the drive in them, a common mistake most parents make.

A knock averts all eyes toward the door, an old man with a slightly hunched back walks in, hands behind his back and thick-rimmed glasses sitting on his nose. Dae Ho stands up and bows to the elder in respect, which the other man waves off and asks him to sit.