"I watched your stream 女兒." Bae's blood froze at her father's words. They never spoke English in his company, only pure Cantonese.
She was with her family in a traditional Chinese restaurant, it was the New Year. Her sister and her wearing cheongsams along with their mother. Her father wearing an expensive bespoke suit tailored in Hong Kong.
"I want you to stop." He says while dabbing the edges of his mouth with a napkin.
Bae's lips quivered, her heart sank into her stomach. She looked with pleading eyes to both sister and mother for help. They just gave her sad sympathetic looks.
"Papa please! You gave you permission!" She choked back the tears. She was distressed, but she wouldn't dare raise her voice any further.
His cold eyes locked into her.
"I thought it was going to be a respectable profession. Instead you play yourself as a fool, adopting that disgusting accent." Her father threw the napkin on the table, retrieving a pack of cigarettes' from his breast pocket.
"Papa no! I love my job! Please just let me have this! I've been a good daughter to you through all these years!" Bae got off her chair, kowtowing on the floor, her forehead touching the dirty tiles. She was a causing a scene.
Bae was weeping, why did her father even immigrate to this country? He fled Hong Kong after the handover. He should've understand.
"Bae please!" She felt her mom's gentle hands on her, trying to make her stand up.
"Papa please! Bae deserves this!" Her sister chimed in, her hands held together in a desperate plea.
Papa Hakos just stared on as the three most important women in his life embarrassed themselves in public for the sake of Bae, sucking in the nicotine smoke and ruminating on his options.
Maybe he was being too hard. It's not like the person streaming was actually his daughter who was a shy and proper girl otherwise.
He'll let it go, just this once.