Jeong Doyoung/character sketch/tuesday 1 pm

Dad

 

 My Dad is a lovely person. He is a tall man with dark skin. He has thick head of hair, and always applies hair mousse to keep them neat. His eyes are small, and when he smiles, all there can be seen are thin lines pointing upwards like a smiley face emoticon and wrinkles gathering around his eyes. His even teeth is noticeable more than ever. But even apart from his radiant smile, there is just so many wonderful things about him.

  For one thing, Dad is funny. Strangely enough, he is not funny when he is trying to be with his dumb jokes. What really make me laugh though are things that are not supposed to be funny. For instance, he has a incredibly weak spot for sweets. Mum finds this exasperating, as she is a sensible wife who have her husband's best interest at heart and constantly tells him not to eat sweets for his health but he does it anyway. He often eats sweets but detected everytime by Mum. There is a moment of tense silence, the moment dignity of the man of the house all crumble and the moment that I find extremely amusing. The next moment Mum is shouting at him. I know I shouldn't laugh, but the idea of Dad suddenly becoming a ten-year-old boy in trouble is hilarious. This is just one example. I know it's something only our family can understand, but Dad always has a way of making an everyday affair look like a scene from a sitcom.

  Dad can be serious when he wants to be. He has a profound understanding in a area he is interested in, which is Korean history. He recalls that school was most fun for him when studying history. He used to listen to teacher's lecture with fascination and devour history books one after another. Now he enjoy watching every single history drama and documentary there is and having a heated discussion about prominent figure in history. Sadly, he can't count on this too much with the rest of the family, though he is delighted when I ask him a question. His another interest is classical music. He recognizes any music immediately and then name the title and the composer and loads of other things all in detail, often using impressive words like 'd minor' or 'etude'. He could be modest and just keep that for himself, but he wouldn't want to miss his daughters' looks of admiration every time he does this.

  But what is most wonderful about him is that he is a family man. When he's at work and I ring him, he answers in his office voice, which is calm and a bit curt. He is shy and doesn't like drawing attention to himself in the workplace. But when he's in the house and faces his wife and two daughters his voice becomes animated and jolly, his shy character melting instantly. For him, nothing can be better than having a nice meal with his wife and two daughters especially so since such occasion is a bit rare, with my sister and I away in Seoul. Dad play a crucial role in the house. Mum can be formidable sometimes, and it is always her job to nag and scold me and my sister and sometimes dad. Things would be a bit tough without Dad around. He hates awkward silence and always resolve tension after the commotion. Whenever I feel dejected after Mum rounded on me, Dad is always there for me to offer words of comfort. He never take sides, but say things like " I don't want to see you two sulking like that. Go and give your mother a hug."

  He is easily the best Dad in the world. As Mum says, "There is no one like your father." I love Dad very much indeed but undeniably not as much as he loves me. I wonder when will I be able to repay all the love he gave me.