The Stranger Who Knocked On My Door (Michaeng)

Chapter 1: DNA

London, United Kingdom

It took eight years

Chaeyoung stared at his reflection in the mirror in front of him. He was wearing a black suit. He had seemed to grow taller, his hair thicker and fuller, his face more refined and handsome. A few years ago, the reflection would show a shabby young man with his ripped jeans, white T-shirt, unsaved, dark eyes, messy and stink. Chaeyoung sniffed around his arm. He had cologne and he showered twice a day. He smelt good. Chaeyoung smiled. He was proud of how far he had come, just by himself. The reflection became almost radiant.

He looked at the necklace strung around his neck with a silver military tag. His father must be proud of him too. He took a deep breath and tucked the necklace inside his shirt. He turned towards the door when he heard a knocking.

"Mr. Son, we are ready," The staff said. Chaeyoung nodded. He followed her and they waited backstage.

"Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. Now let me welcome Son Chaeyoung, the artist of 'Luxury Faith' and 'Blue Tear Below The Bridge'. The winner of the 2019 Plastov Award" The host announced. 

Chaeyoung humbly and courteously walked onto the stage. The camera floods light went on, aimed straight at him. He was blinded for a moment. He smiled and moved to stand behind the red ribbon. The host handed him the microphone and a scissor to complete the ceremony. Chaeyoung bowed towards the audience.

"Thank you," He began, "What a humbling moment it is to stand here in front of this huge crowd of young and old to mark this very special occasion. Thank you for being here. It has not all been plain sailing, but never has landfall or safe harbor looked more enticing or exciting. It’s my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Moon Art Gallery,"

"Reaching a major milestone like this can only be achieved through incredible teamwork. I am honored to work alongside some of the best artist, and want to publicly acknowledge the dedication and commitment of our faculty and staff, and in particular to our incredible facilities team for their extraordinary efforts this past week to get these spaces ready for today."

"Alright….without any more delay, let’s cut this ribbon!" He smiled. The place erupted into a tumultuous cacophony of cheers and applause.

He had walked through fire and fell into a cliff, countless times just to stand here today. Starting from now on, everything would be great. He had achieved his dream. No more challenges, no more worries, no more-----

"You have a daughter,"

Chaeyoung choked on his food, almost choked to death upon hearing that. The art gallery opening ceremony had ended few hours ago and his friend invited him for a dinner together, claiming he had something to say. He didn't expect that 'something' would be this. That was completely out of the blue. His friend poured him a drink and slid it across the table. Chaeyoung immediately grabbed it and drank the whole glass of water in one gulp. He slammed the cup down on the table, heaving.

"That was close," He tapped his chest then diverted his attention back to his friend, "You're talking nonsense, Tzuyu. Where's Dahyun anyway? Is she coming? She need to hear this joke,"

Tzuyu hoped it was a joke. He knew it would be hard to believe. He gave Chaeyoung a paper that didn't make any difference since the latter couldn't understand any medical terminology, "I was doing genetics testing for my doctorate degree and while studying yours, I found something rather interesting," He handed Chaeyoung another piece of paper that showed enough matching DNA to have a biological connection, "There's a child that carries your genes with 99.9% accuracy. I've managed to find information about her by tracking her DNA from various genetics testing and database"

Chaeyoung stared at him and laughed, "Your sense of humor has improved. That's funny," He shook his head and picked up a pickle radish with his chopsticks. He stole a glance at Tzuyu and the latter remained stoic. Chaeyoung laughter abruptly died. He dropped his chopsticks.

Tzuyu was utterly and completely serious.

"No, that's impossible," Chaeyoung denied, "I don't even know any female insects let alone a woman. I've never date anyone, well except her. She was my first and last and that was a long distance relationship even. I've only seen her a few times. After we broke up, I've never been in any relationship and I don't do one night stand. I never have time for that. You know that,"

Tzuyu arched his brows, "What did you do in September 2012?"

Chaeyoung frowned. That was eight years ago. He was still nineteen. What did he do? "What did I do?" He mumbled to himself, trying to collect long forgotten memory.

  - to be continued -

____________________________________

A/N: As most of you wish, Michaeng genderbender then.