Chapter Text
“And all I loved, I loved alone.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
If you asked Jeongguk where he would like to be during his mid-to-late twenties, his answer unquestionably wouldn't be at his ex-girlfriend's wedding, sipping on an awful glass of beer while he watches his daughter playing with other kids near the dance floor.
He learned quickly that most things in life can't be decided from a young age, and that some others are destiny's fault. Sure, his little daughter had been the result of a night of irresponsibility between him and today's bride, and he wouldn't change that for a second, but if Jeongguk could choose, he wouldn't have had her while being in college and he undoubtedly wouldn't have chosen Choi Heeyoung as the mother of his child. Not that he thinks she's a bad parent or that he holds any grudges against her, but no ex-boyfriend would be pleased to see his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter getting married barely a year and a half after they were set apart.
They were too different, Heeyoung said on the day that she broke up with him, and packed her clothes from their shared small house to go back to her mother's place. They weren't working together, Jeongguk acknowledged it. Both of them didn't even speak to each other anymore and were pushing the relationship because of their daughter. But two weeks later she was with another man, posting pictures on social media with a huge smile on her lips, and Jeongguk understood the whole situation.
She fell out of love, he thought while seeing the picture of Heeyoung and her new boyfriend on her Instagram while riding the Subway to go pick up his daughter at his ex's house after a long day of work. Jeongguk wasn't sad because of their break-up — he didn't love her anymore — but Jeongguk would have appreciated it if she was simply honest with him and told him that she was in love with someone else. Unarguably, she broke Jeongguk’s heart by that.
There are, actually, two reasons why Jeongguk wouldn't choose her as his baby mother.
First, since he came from a family in which both of his parents are still married, he always dreamed about giving his future children the same situation. However, in his and Heeyoung's circumstances, it's far better that he and she are apart than sharing their life because of their daughter — which is far worse in Jeongguk's point of view.
Second, Heeyoung barely gives any attention to her daughter ever since she started dating Wooshik. Heeyoung takes good care of her, little Sohyun never needs anything and is always eating and sleeping fine, but every time Wooshik is around, she's put aside. Jeongguk sees how happy she is and outgoing every time it's his week with her. So yes, Jeongguk does think that his seven-year-old daughter deserves far better than what she has right now. But neither does Jeongguk have the money to get a good lawyer and have full custody of her nor the patience to engage in a justice fight with his ex-girlfriend; not to mention that Heeyoung comes from a well-off family and he's just Jeon Jeongguk.
So, just like he's doing at the wedding, Jeongguk takes a deep breath and moves on. Maybe things will change after today's event and after Heeyoung and Wooshik start to live together, at least, Jeongguk hopes for that.
Shifting his eyes away from the bar, Jeongguk finds Sohyun playing hide and seek with her other cousins while letting out her childish laughs. If his daughter is happy, then Jeongguk is more than fine with that.
“Jeongguk-ah,” Heeyoung's voice echoes from behind and Jeongguk half-heartedly side-eyes her while she sits on the chair next to him. The first thing he notices is how she's not wearing her long, white dress from the celebration that happened less than an hour ago. It's a short one instead. “Can we talk?”
Jeongguk finishes his drink and leaves the glass on the counter, moving his head to glare at her. For a moment, Jeongguk tries to read over her expression, but all that he can get is that she's nervous, tapping her fingers on the wood and biting the inner side of her cheek. He knows that look too damn well and there are two chances: one of them being something serious, and the other one being Heeyoung complaining about something else.
“Can't it wait?” Jeongguk frowns, glancing at the rest of the guests. “You're in the middle of your wedding party. Shouldn't you be enjoying it with your husband and not talking with your ex?”
“I should, but I promised Wooshik that I would talk to you about something before our Honeymoon,” Heeyoung confesses and Jeongguk raises one of his brows, staring deeply into her eyes in confusion. There's a halting tone in her voice and it irks Jeongguk. “I didn't have time before the wedding with all the preparations, my job, and everything, and we're leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”
By the expression on Heeyoung's face, Jeongguk can easily notice that she's being serious and not just trying to get on his nerves, which makes him straighten his back against the chair. Jeongguk keeps his gaze on her face as he leaves his forearms over the counter, covered elbows meeting the edges of it, and he tries his best to read the meaning behind Heeyoung's expression.
“Then okay,” Jeongguk says nonchalantly, twirling on the chair to face her better. “We can talk.”
Heeyoung clicks her tongue on the roof of their mouth, still drumming her fingers on the thick wood by their side, a loud pop song reaches their ears and she tilts her head to the side, apparently trying to find the right words to say. Jeongguk barely blinks, waiting for her to sigh and start talking, which takes another couple of seconds.
“Once Wooshik and I are back in South Korea three weeks from now,” Heeyoung murmurs, ears assuming a crimson shade as she avoids staring Jeongguk in the eye, “We’ll start to live together in his house. It’s bigger and it’s in a better neighborhood. Our first plan was for us to buy a house together and live there, but we want to save some money and…”
“I’m sorry, Heeyoung, but…” he interrupts her, cocking his head to the side and leaving his hand flatly on the counter. “You’re starting a new life with him, congratulations. But what does that have to do with me?”
“Let me finish,” Heeyoung grunts, a grimace taking over her face. “So, I’m moving in with him. Half of my stuff is already there, but before getting married we had a serious talk. It was about our future together, about having kids, raising a dog, growing together, and… I had to make a decision after that. After Wooshik said that he would be uncomfortable raising another man’s daughter.”
“What?” Jeongguk almost chokes on his own saliva, fingers grasping on the wood. “Heeyoung-ah, what the fuck are you talking about? Sohyun doesn't need him raising her as a father, she has me. I am her father. He doesn't have to think that he needs to fulfill my duty with her.”
“You see,” she blinks softly, forcing a smile and Jeongguk notices that within a second. “That's exactly what he told me. And we got to the decision that it's better if she lives with you… It's closer to her school, to her friends and… We'd have to change everything and make her get used to the new place and...”
Jeongguk glares at her, trying his best not to cross his arms in front of his chest. “So, what you're saying is that you're choosing your husband over your daughter?”
“When you put it like that—”
“I'm not turning this situation into something that it isn't, Heeyoung, I'm reading it as it is.” Hee comes off serious, the tone of his voice turning deeper than usual. “You should have talked to me before making any decisions, Heeyoung, and you know that. I should have participated in that conversation because it's about my daughter's future that we're talking about.”
“Jeongguk, look.” Heeyoung touches his elbow, softening her expression. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier, okay? It was wrong of me. But… Sohyun has always preferred you over me. It's not a big deal, she's your daughter too.”
“She only likes me best because I actually give her attention instead of pushing her aside and give all of myself to my new partner,” Jeongguk lets out all at once, startling Heeyoung, who dumbfoundedly stares back at him, watching as he gets up from the chair. “I'm not making a scene here. You do what you want and I'll take my daughter home once this party is over.”
“Okay.” Heeyoung’s voice oscillates and she touches her knees softly. “I'll ask my parents to send her stuff to your house while I'm away.”
It's all that she can say, though Jeongguk wasn’t expecting anything else. Of course, Heeyoung would do something like that. Jeongguk simply sighs and shakes his head at her before guiding himself to the back door of the wedding venue, wanting to get some fresh air and some sort of silence, away from all of those people talking and the loud pop song playing in the background.
He comes out of the place stomping his foot like a child, nervously buffing and clenching his fists against his hip bones as he closes his eyes. Jeongguk's more than frustrated with Heeyoung, he's mad and tired; sure, that’s not taking into account the fact that he feels bad for their daughter, who hasn't done anything wrong and has to see one of her parents choosing a relationship over her.
As Jeongguk trips over a random rock on the floor, which he doesn't see for the mere reason that he's too busy huffing and gritting his teeth at the same time, he makes a promise to himself. A promise that he would always put Sohyun in his life no matter what happens, and once he manages to get his hands into a little more money, he's going to try to get her full custody.
However, in the middle of his adventurous times plotting what he would do in the future with his daughter and with his house, Jeongguk ends up falling on his ass on the floor because of that same rock, which got tangled with his untied shoelaces and became a mess under his feet. Even though he should be ashamed of the scene that he's probably giving to the security guards watching the CCTV of the parking lot — yes, Jeongguk did see the security cameras spread around the place when he parked his car in there and Sohyun ran in his direction —, his displeasure with his ex-girlfriend is bitter than the awkwardness of tripping over his own feet and falling like a rotten tomato on the floor.
“Shit,” Jeongguk growls, placing both of his hands on the cemented floor as he feels his ankle stinging in the worst way possible. “Fucking shit. This is just... great.”
The pain goes up to his calf in little electric waves and he hasn't even tried putting his feet on the ground again yet. Jeongguk guesses that the feeling probably won't be very much satisfying and hits his forehead on his bent knee, wanting to cry and to scream at the same time. He should have known that coming to Heeyoung's wedding wouldn't be a good idea, but, as the big soft father that he is, Jeongguk didn't want to miss seeing his little Sohyun wearing a pretty white dress, with red flowers on her hair, going down the aisle and handing her mother's rings.
The last thing that Jeongguk thought was that he would end up injuring his ankle at the parking lot of the venue his ex-girlfriend's parents rented for her wedding. Maybe he should have thought about that, because her parents never liked him given that he isn't as well-off as them and, well, he did impregnate their daughter. They probably have hexed the place to be as anti-Jeongguk as possible.
Thus, the rock in the middle of Jeongguk's way and his untied shoelaces are explained — even his awful conversation with Heeyoung and the fact that he's completely alone in the middle of a wedding. But it doesn't make Jeongguk feel any better. He curls his lips in pain and brings one of his hands to touch his ankle, breathing in and out as he tries to massage it using two fingers as if it would lessen the pain.
A soothing deep voice echoes through the place, snapping Jeongguk out of his thoughts and making him turn his head to his left side to find the owner of the said voice with furrowed brows and kind eyes focused on him, “Are you okay?”
“Isn't it obvious? I fucking tripped over my feet and fucked up my ankle,” Jeongguk lets out, voice coming out a lot harsher than he first intended to, but another wave of pain hits his ankle and he gasps. “Holy shit.”
The stranger crosses his arms in front of his chest and Jeongguk's first reaction is to realize the offended look on his face. He has beautiful, dark longish hair and matching brows, a focused gaze with dark brown eyes, a mole on the tip of his nose, and, like Jeongguk, he's wearing a suit. A few buttons from his white shirt underneath are open and Jeongguk can see part of his chest and collar bones, but his stare doesn't last long there and, soon, Jeongguk is staring back at him.
He has a glass of champagne between three fingers. It probably means that he is also attending the wedding, and since Jeongguk doesn't recognize him at first, he concludes that the man is from the groom's side. Jeongguk isn't very much proud of his memory, but he knows all of Heeyoung's friends and family from the four and half years they spent together, which means that he was mean towards one of Wooshik's friends and/or family. And the guy already doesn't like him.
Fuck. His lashes quiver and Jeongguk swallows dryly, fingers gripping harder on his aching ankle.
“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, you didn't deserve that...” Jeongguk starts, almost stammering in his own words in front of the stranger who keeps walking towards him.
“Yeah, you were pretty much shitty towards someone who was just asking how you're doing,” the man mumbles, lifting one of his brows and placing his glass on the floor, crouching down. “Good for you that I don't hold grudges.”
“You can say that I'm an asshole.” Jeongguk perks up from his feet to the man's eyes in front of him. “I'll accept that. I'm just having a shitty day and I'm stressed, which is no excuse for that, but...”
“Okay, Mr. Asshole.” The tone of the guy’s voice is mischievous and Jeongguk frowns, trying to read over his face after he gets cut by him. “I happen to be a paramedic who saw you tripping. You fell on your foot. It's probably hurting a lot, would you let me take a look at it?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Jeongguk blinks rapidly, removing his hand from his ankle as he touches his shoelaces. “I'm Jeongguk, by the way, Jeon Jeongguk. The bride's ex-boyfriend.”
“Ouch.” The paramedic sounds surprised. “Now I get it. Today you get an asshole pass, you're completely forgiven for lashing out on me.”
Jeongguk cackles soundlessly, watching him removing his shoe without much haste and placing it on his side. Somehow, Jeongguk is thankful for having taken a very nice shower, washed his feet perfectly, and chosen to wear new socks ahead of his coming to the wedding. “I don't love her anymore if that's what you're thinking.”
He settles on the floor with folded legs, holding Jeongguk's black sock between his thumb and index finger. “Well, I wasn't thinking that or anything else. But I don't think that it's nice to be at your ex's wedding.”
“I'd rather be at home eating chips and rewatching Grey's Anatomy for the tenth time,” Jeongguk sighs, slinging his hair back. Even though he tries to pretend that it isn’t, this is one of the most awkward situations he has ever been in his life. “Or maybe playing with my daughter.”
The man jerks his head and lets out a chuckle. “All seventeen seasons?”
“Just for you to notice how joyful I am to be here today.” Jeongguk supports himself back on both of his palms as the stranger stretches his leg, positioning his ankle a few inches above his knees. “Even though there’s no way of watching all those episodes in one evening. Not even if I put in a faster speed.”
“You’re a really funny guy, Jeongguk, and if I were in your shoes, I’d probably be feeling the same thing,” the stranger murmurs with a snort, pressing his long fingers gently over Jeongguk’s sprained ankle. “Does it hurt when I touch it like that?”
“Yeah, it hurts a lot,” Jeongguk gulps, brushing his fingers on the ground and keeping his eyes fixed on every move from the paramedic. “It’s like some sort of a pounding pain and it comes up to my calf, but it did get better when you removed my shoe.”
“And like this?” He tries to push Jeongguk’s feet to the side, but Jeongguk lets out a muffled groan after biting his lower lip. The paramedic blinks rapidly, looking back to his ankle. “Okay, got it. Not moving it.”
“Shit, that hurt,” Jeongguk gasps, closing his eyes tightly for an instant. “I’ve never seen you around before. Are you from the groom’s side? Or just crashing the wedding to get some alcohol?”
The stranger chuckles, pinching a little over Jeongguk's heel. “Wooshik and I were high school classmates, and even though we barely talk because of his job, he still considers me a good friend and asked me to be his best man. I'm Kim Taehyung, by the way.”
Jeongguk forces a cornered smile at him, trying to get a glimpse of the situation of his pounding ankle. “Do you know what happened? Or will I have to go to the hospital to have it checked?”
“You just twisted your ankle. It's a bit swollen because of how you fell, but if you put a little ice, it will be fine again in a couple of hours.” Taehyung focuses back on him, placing his leg back on the floor. “But it's better if you don't try to stand up on your own for now. It's gonna hurt even more.”
Great, Jeongguk murmurs to himself, grunting and shaking his head in disbelief. He thought that there was no way his day would get any worse, but every time those words go through his head, everything does get worse and he's a mere silent watcher in his boring, tiring life. And with a soundless thought to himself, while encircling his arm around Taehyung's shoulder for them to walk to the closest bench, Jeongguk promises that he will stop thinking about these things when he's already having a bad time.
It's a slow and half-awkward couple of minutes that take them to reach the bench. Once Taehyung leaves him seated, Jeongguk breathes out heavily and he places his feet on the floor without putting any weight on it. Taehyung throws his hair back and puts his hands on his waist. Both his empty glass of champagne and Jeongguk's shoe are right beside the latter while he takes a deep breath, pursing his lips.
“I'm gonna get you some ice from the party, okay?” Taehyung continues, grabbing his glass while still keeping his eyes on Jeongguk. “Just don't try to get up on your own or you can get a bad injury. Well, a worse one.”
“Noted,” Jeongguk answers, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “And I kind of don't have anywhere else to go. So I'll be right here. Motionless.”
Taehyung chuckles, scrunching his nose. “Okay, I'll be right back. I'll try to find some painkillers too.”
Jeongguk simply jolts his head in understanding, bringing his leg up to stretch his ankle and not end up supporting his weight on it by accident. He grabs his sock and shoves it into his front pocket, checking his ankle to see that his skin is in a weird mix of faint red and dark pink and lilac. Sometimes, Jeongguk wonders how he manages to end up in such types of situations all the time. He should probably have gotten used to it already.
Taehyung shoots him with another gaze and lets out a little laugh, shaking his head before approaching the entrance of the venue a few meters away from them. Jeongguk doesn't notice that gesture at first since he's too lost in his own thoughts and distraction, trying to check if the situation of his ankle is worse than what he first saw. But after a moment of silence, Jeongguk glances at the empty place by his side and sighs, resting his hand flatly over his thigh. He's glad that there's no one else but him in the parking lot.
Even though Jeongguk tries to assure himself that it's okay what has just happened and that he shouldn't feel ashamed about it since Taehyung is a paramedic and definitely isn't judging him for falling on his ass in the worst way possible — while he's not even drunk —, but embarrassment arises on his face and he groans. Jeongguk wanted, at least, to not make a fool of himself during the wedding, but he failed badly at it even if his stumbling onto his feet and on a small rock wasn't seen by anyone else other than Taehyung.
If the pain in his ankle won't go down any less before the end of the party, Jeongguk will have a lot of trouble going back home with his daughter. He won't put little Sohyun in any danger and absolutely wouldn't even think of driving in that condition. Leaving his car behind and paying for more parking hours is off the table, so Jeongguk's only left with calling in one of his friends to pick him up in a few minutes.
Plucking himself up, Jeongguk grabs his phone from his back pocket and tries not to flinch at the cracked screen. Obviously, today isn't his lucky day and Jeongguk shouldn't have left his house — or maybe it's the perimeters of Heeyoung's wedding venue that have been cursed by her parents. Just within the little hours that he was there right after the ceremony, Jeongguk managed to feel more single than he has ever been in his entire life, almost breaking his ankle and cracking his phone's screen.
“Hey, Jeongguk-ssi.” Taehyung's voice reaches to his ears as he sits by his side. Jeongguk blinks softly in his direction, accepting the package of painkillers and an open bottle of water he's handing him after putting his phone aside. “Wooshik's mom had a couple of these in her purse. She likes to have everything in her hands.”
“Thank you so much.” Jeongguk purses his lips, placing one of the pills on his tongue and swallowing it with a sip of water. “I don't know how to thank you enough.”
“You don't have to, I'm only doing my job. Off duty, but still my job.” Taehyung pulls himself back on the bench, putting the ice that is covered by a white kitchen cloth over the swollen ankle. “I think you won't be able to walk properly for the next few hours. Are you here alone or is there someone you can call to help you?”
“No, no… I don't have a plus one. I'm the famous single dude at his ex's wedding and I came driving by myself.” Jeongguk takes a deep breath, grasping at the edges of the bench. “I was thinking of calling a friend to pick me up. Kind of had enough of me suffering for today.”
“Oh, okay. I'll be here with you until your friend arrives.” Taehyung flinches, but he doesn't seem surprised. “It's better if you're not alone.”
A frown pops on Jeongguk's forehead and he doesn't move his gawk off Taehyung as he presses the ice against his skin. grabs his phone again, grasping it lightly. “Are you sure? Am I not bothering you now? You could be at the party with the rest of your friends.”
Taehyung chuckles, almost closing his lids for a second to take a look at Jeongguk's face, raising one of his brows with a smirk. “Can I tell you a secret? I hate wedding parties. Especially when I have come out from a 24h shift and could be at home sleeping. I'm here for the free drinks, free food, and because I promised Wooshik and I always keep my promises.”
“Then you're also the single guy at a wedding party?”
“Pretty much, yes, but I actually don't mind it. It's not like it's my ex-partner getting married,” Taehyung answers, shrugging and pressing the ice a little harder on Jeongguk's ankle. “So, I can enjoy the annoying party to its fullest.”
“Ouch, that hurt,” Jeongguk snorts startled, leaving his lips half-open while Taehyung lets out a silent laugh. “Okay, I deserved that after being an asshole to you.”
“Now we're even.” Taehyung twirls his brows, observing Jeongguk shaking his head in annoyance. He's not actually mad, just holding his laughter and half-annoyed with the fact that a stranger knows so much about his life when they have known each other for thirty minutes. “Weren't you going to call your friends?”
“Oh, yes, that's right, let me just...” Jeongguk raises his phone, unlocking the screen using his thumb's digital. “I'll call him.”
Before looking down at his contacts’ names, Jeongguk watches Taehyung nodding and massaging his swollen ankle with the ice. He then focuses on the names on the screen and finds his best friend's number, knowing that Hoseok will tell him that he was warned to not go to that wedding, but Jeongguk didn’t want to upset Sohyun and, well, he wanted to be the bigger person in that situation.
The call rings a couple of times and Jeongguk closes his lids, chewing on his bottom lips while he hopes that Hoseok isn't busy. If so, he'll have to call a cab for both him and his daughter to go home since asking a stranger to drive his car is out of Jeongguk’s options so far, even though the said stranger is holding his feet while pressing ice on his swollen ankle.
“Hobi hyung?” Jeongguk murmurs, biting his lower lip. He tries his best to not sound too tired and pleading, but Jeongguk is convinced that it doesn't happen. “Are you busy?”
“Hey, Jeongguk-ah,” Hoseok's voice comes out muffled. “No, I was just watching a movie. Did something happen? You usually never call.”
“Can you come and pick me up at the wedding venue? I twisted my ankle and can't drive,” he mutters, peeking at Taehyung next to him. “My car is here in the parking lot.”
“Wait.” The sound of Hoseok shifting positions rings in Jeongguk's ear and he swallows dryly, caressing his temples. “How did that happen? Did you drink too much?”
“No, hyung, I didn't drink too much. I had one beer and a few glasses of champagne, nothing else.” Jeongguk perks up, just to find Taehyung staring at him and soundlessly giggling at his attempt of making his friend believe that he's not drunk. “I tripped over a rock in the parking lot because of my untied shoelaces and fucked up my ankle.”
“What the f—” Hoseok gets cut off, but Jeongguk can't hear the other person by his side. “Wait, honey, I'm talking to him. And yes, I'm free, we're not doing anything important right now. Is Sohyunnie with you or are you alone?”
“No, she's still inside with the rest of the guests.” He lets out a sigh. “I'm with one of Wooshik's best men in the parking lot, it's right at the entrance. You will find me easily.”
Hoseok slams his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “Right, it's better if you're not alone with a screwed-up ankle, 'cause I know that you can never sit still.”
Jeongguk rolls his eyes with a snort. “Hyung!”
“You know I'm right,” Hoseok murmurs with a serious tone in his voice, and Jeongguk can hear the sound of keys tapping in the background. “Seokjin hyung and I are going. I'll drive you home and he'll follow me in our car, okay? Text us the address and we'll be there in a few.”
“Okay,” Jeongguk breathes out, relieved. “Thank you so much, hyung, I owe you one. I'll send you the address right away.”
“Take care, kid, and try not to break your other ankle.”
“I didn't—” he gets interrupted by Hoseok finishing the call, leaving Jeongguk speechless and with his mouth half-open. Taehyung frowns at his pissed-off expression, but he doesn't ask any questions. “I hate him.”
Naturally, Hoseok would make fun of him for hurting himself like that in the middle of Heeyoung's wedding; Jeongguk doesn't know why he thought otherwise when he first called him — indeed, he'd help him, but not before cracking a couple of jokes about his situation. And honestly, if Jeongguk was on the other side, he would also make fun of his friend while helping them.
Shaking his head, Jeongguk leaves his phone on his lap after sharing his location with Hoseok and Seokjin. He wonders about mentioning to Taehyung that he has to pick up his daughter inside, but Jeongguk doesn't want to give him more work after everything he has already done. Taehyung is probably tired from his shift, so Jeongguk thinks that he can ask Hoseok or Seokjin when they get there.
“They're coming,” Jeongguk says, putting his phone aside and letting out a deep sigh. “They'll be here in a few minutes. They live nearby.”
“Oh, that's great,” Taehyung murmurs, looking down to Jeongguk's ankle as he slowly removes the ice. “The swelling is getting better, but it's still pretty purple and red. If it doesn't get better overnight, it'd be good for you to go to the hospital and get it checked.”
“I will.” Jeongguk lowers his head to analyze the state of his foot, which doesn't seem to be good, even though it doesn't hurt anymore. “Thank you again. You were really a life savior for me. I'd probably have messed up my ankle a lot more if I were here alone.”
Taehyung scrunches his nose with a soft smile. “Don't worry about it. I like to help.”
It brings Jeongguk to muster up, answering Taehyung with a tight-lipped smile, and then checks his phone again when it rings. It's a message from Hoseok saying that he and Seokjin are on the way, which makes him place his phone down and drum his fingers on his thighs.
For a moment, Jeongguk's eyes focus on Taehyung's distracted face, noticing how he blinks slowly and pays a lot of attention to his injury. He appears to be a bit tired from the faint little bags under his eyes and tensed-up shoulders, but Jeongguk can easily see the heed in all of his actions and how Taehyung glances at him sometimes.
While biting his lower lip, crisping onto his phone and on the edges of the cemented bench, Jeongguk glances at the open double doors on the other side of the parking lot. It's strange how there's no one walking out of the wedding venue given that it has been more than a couple of hours since the ceremony ended, and it's now getting late.
Jeongguk wonders how he's going to tell his daughter that she will be living with him from now on and not with her other parent anymore, even if Sohyun loves him more than anything, Heeyoung is still her mother and she will miss her. Well, he doesn't even know if Heeyoung has told Sohyun about it.
Part of Jeongguk wants to protect Sohyun from the fact that her mother is choosing marriage over her since she doesn't need to suffer because of it, but another half of him doesn't want to lie to his daughter. Sohyun is smarter than most people think of, so Jeongguk guesses that she will figure everything out on her own, so he wants to be there to answer all of her questions.
Indeed, Jeongguk didn't want to be a father that young. He was barely twenty-one when Heeyoung found out that she was pregnant, both of them had started college and already had to take care of a whole new life — a newborn baby completely dependent on the two. It took them a while to get the hang of that; Jeongguk had to get a part-time job, Heeyoung's parents helped them a little, and when Sohyun was old enough to stay in daycare, Heeyoung went back to college and got herself a job too. With that, they managed to rent a house and start living with each other. But when they finally managed to get their lives together, their relationship fell apart.
Maybe, just maybe, the failure of their relationship happened a lot earlier than they think it did and they didn't notice it because all of their attention was on their daughter and not on them. It baffles Jeongguk because Heeyoung is getting married again and moving on with her life, while he's left in the past with a twisted ankle.
Not that having Sohyun's guard and taking care of her full-time makes Jeongguk think that he's living in the past; it's just that he hasn't moved on — not yet. He's still single and watching his ex-girlfriend getting into a new relationship. That's what makes him feel like he's stuck in the past. Perhaps he should get out there and start dating again.
Before continuing with his thoughts, Jeongguk lifts his head and stares at the entrance of the parking lot, finding Hoseok walking towards him with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a sly smile on his lips. He's wearing a pair of old jeans and a simple t-shirt. Jeongguk waves at him, slipping his phone into his pocket again, which grabs Taehyung's attention as he takes a glimpse of the newcomer.
“Is that your friend?” Taehyung asks, signaling to Hoseok getting near them in the parking lot.
“Yep, it's him,” Jeongguk agrees, nodding to the paramedic. “He was fast.”
“It's Saturday and it's not rush hour. There's probably little to no traffic out there,” Taehyung guesses, licking over his lips. “No wonder he was quick.”
With half a smile, Jeongguk nods and looks back at Hoseok. “Hey, hyung. This is Kim Taehyung. He's the one who helped me with my ankle.”
“What did you get yourself into this time, Jeongguk-ah?” Hoseok says, shaking his head after stopping right in front of him. “Hello, I'm Jung Hoseok, this clumsy dude's friend. I hope you recorded what happened.”
“Oh, I didn't. I should've, though. It was a pretty funny scene.” Taehyung pretends to pout, knitting his brows. “The security cameras probably have it.”
“I like you already.” Hoseok shows off a pretentious smile, making Jeongguk huff as he opens the bottle of water. Taehyung chuckles, removing the ice from Jeongguk's skin once again. “Seokjin hyung stayed back in our car. Where's Sohyun?”
“She's still inside,” Jeongguk answers, and takes a sip of his water. “Can you go get her for me? Please?”
“Oh, sure,” Hoseok murmurs with a careless furrow taking place on his forehead, twirling the car keys between his fingers. “I'll be right back and we can go.”
Jeongguk places the bottle by his side and softens his eyes. “Thank you, hyung.”
“Don't mention it. I'll be right back.” Hoseok throws the keys in the air and picks them up right away, pointing to Jeongguk and then turning on his heels.
Silence takes over the parking lot once again while Taehyung keeps his stare on Jeongguk’s face with a confused frown on his lips. It doesn't take much more than a couple of minutes for Jeongguk to feel his heavy eyes on him and move his head from the lack of trace of Hoseok — as he disappears behind the closed double doors — to Taehyung side-eyeing him.
“I thought you said that you didn't have a date,” Taehyung comments, putting the melting ice aside. “We were bonding over our loneliness.”
“Well, if you consider Sohyun, my seven-year-old daughter, as my date,” Jeongguk starts, bringing his cold foot down to touch the floor. “I do have a date, but… otherwise, we're both the lonely guys here.”
“Wait.” Taehyung flinches, lashes fluttering rapidly. “You have a daughter? A seven-year-old daughter? You don't appear to be older than me.”
“I’m twenty-seven, the same age as Heeyoung. We had Sohyun when we were pretty young,” Jeongguk continues, a little smile on his lips. “And I thought you knew that she had a daughter since you and her new husband are friends. He must've mentioned it.”
“Oh, shit. I do know that she has a daughter from a previous relationship. I just didn't think that it was you,” Taehyung lets out, almost biting his tongue. “You’re the father of Heeyoung’s daughter. Jeon Jeongguk. Jeon Sohyun. I should've figured it out sooner. And that has just made your situation a little bit shitter, you deserve more than one asshole pass.”
“Thank you, but I think I've had my share of being an idiot today.” Jeongguk chuckles. “Especially with you.”
“You weren't the worst patient I've ever had,” Taehyung assures him, helping Jeongguk put down his shoe. “People are pretty... strange when they need help. Adrenaline makes them do all kinds of stuff. And we're trained to deal with these sorts of things.”
“That does make me feel a little bit better.” Jeongguk touches his knees, peeking at him with the corner of his eyes. “Are you gonna go back to the party? It just started.”
“Nah, I don't think so.” Taehyung shakes his head, scrunching his nose as he straightens his back, unfolding his legs. “I came to the wedding right after clocking out from work. I'm too tired to celebrate other people's happiness. Wooshik's gonna spam me in the morning, but I don't care.”
Though Taehyung's voice comes out serious and his face comes off as emotionless as possible, Jeongguk can't help but laugh at his words. Taehyung raises one of his brows, staring at him with curiosity on the tip of his tongue. But soon both of their attention is drawn to the other side of the parking lot with the sound of Sohyun walking out of the venue and running in her father's direction.
Sohyun still has her flower crown on top of her head, but her hair is a little bit messier than it was earlier in the evening; probably because of her playing around with other kids. Soon, Jeongguk sees Hoseok tiredly following her with both of his hands on his waist and shaking his head at the fact that Sohyun was a lot faster than him.
“Daddy!” Sohyun screams, stopping right beside him with her little doe eyes focused on his face. “Uncle Hoseok told me that you are hurt. What happened?”
“I fell and twisted my ankle, sweetie, but it's a lot better now,” Jeongguk explains, forcing a smile as he caresses her hair. “And you could have done the same thing right now. You have to be careful, Hyunnie. What do I say about running around like this?”
“I'm sorry, daddy.” She pouts, holding onto the strap of her backpack. “Does your feet hurt a lot?”
“Not anymore.” Jeongguk looks at Taehyung by his side, who's silently watching the two of them with half a smile on his face. “A friend helped me and it's hurting a little. Say hi to Taehyung-ssi, sweetie.”
“Hi,” Sohyun murmurs shyly, irises sparkling under the little lights of the parking lot while she grips on the jacket of Jeongguk's suit. “Thank you for helping my dad.”
“Of course.” Taehyung grins from ear to ear, getting up from the bench. “Take good care of him for me, okay? Don't let him walk around by himself. He hurts himself when he's alone.”
“I will!” She sounds overly excited. Jeongguk simply chokes on air while watching them share a high-five, and he jerks his head in disbelief. “I'm the best nurse out there.”
“You're in very good hands, Jeongguk-ah,” Taehyung comments, slightly patting him on the shoulder. “I better get going. Have a good night, Sohyun-ah.”
As much as Jeongguk doesn't know a lot about Taehyung from the hour that they spent together in that parking lot, he can notice a lot of sincerity in Taehyung's words as he smiles at Sohyun and then looks at Jeongguk, waving at him, and then at Hoseok, before turning on his heels and following the clear path between the cars. The only thing that Jeongguk notices is how he loosens his tie and grabs his phone from his back pocket, disappearing behind an SUV.
Jeongguk doesn't consider himself a very curious person, but something about Taehyung irks him; from the part that he showed up out of nowhere in that parking lot right when Jeongguk twisted his ankle to the fact that he has never seen him before. It's undeniable that Jeongguk was mostly distracted during the whole party, and during most of the wedding ceremony in the early evening, his whole attention was on his daughter.
Well, Jeongguk figures that he probably won't see Taehyung again in his life, so he takes a deep breath and puts a smile on his face as he turns back to look at his daughter. She's fiddling with her fingers and looks up to him when Jeongguk touches her chin.
“Did you say goodbye to your mom?” Jeongguk asks, caressing her right cheek. “And to your grandparents?”
“I did!” Sohyun smiles widely, eyes almost turning into crescent moons. “Mom gave me a big slice of cake to share with you. And grandpa and grandma wished me a good night, but they didn't mention you, daddy.”
“It's fine, sweetie, don't worry about that, okay? If you're having a good night, I'll also have a good night.” Jeongguk smiles, half-closing his lids. “Let's get going, then? We don't want to keep wasting uncle Hoseok's time.”
Sohyun jerks her head and perks up to Hoseok on her side, showing him a toothless smile, and he can't hold himself from smiling back at her, patting her head lightly, and then he turns to her father. Jeongguk can't help but find it endearing that everyone has a soft spot when it comes to Sohyun.
Different from when Jeongguk first arrived in the parking lot, a few cars are leaving and a couple of people are walking around, holding hands and chit-chatting quietly on the opposite side of the place. Jeongguk doesn't focus on them and just moves his focus to Hoseok, putting his hand down to touch his thigh.
“Help me up, hyung? I can't put my feet on the floor for now.”
“Of course. Sohyun, princess, do you remember where your dad's car is?” Hoseok asks, turning on his back to help Jeongguk wrap one of his arms around his neck, grabbing the car keys. The little girl nods, holding onto her father's jacket. “Can you walk in front of us to guide us there?”
“I can!” Sohyun answers shortly, shaking her head enthusiastically. “Just follow me! And watch out for the cars, we don't want to get hurt!”
She's quick to turn around and follow the same direction as Taehyung did before, and as Jeongguk supports part of his weight onto Hoseok and gets up on one foot, he giggles at the sight of Sohyun waddling around the parking lot while singing a popular song. Her little steps are slow and don't give them much trouble to pay attention to where she's going.
“Is she at least going in the right direction?” Hoseok whispers, turning his head to look at Jeongguk. “Forgive me if I can't completely trust a seven-year-old. As smart as she is.”
Jeongguk chuckles, struggling a bit to walk properly like that. “Yeah, she is. She has a pretty good memory.”
“Okay, then.” Hoseok bites the inner side of his cheek, tightening his grip on Jeongguk's waist. “But how are you feeling? Overall, I mean, not your foot.”
“Fine, I guess. Heeyoung was an asshole, hyung, she was a fucking asshole,” Jeongguk huffs, rolling his eyes. Lowering his voice so Seohyun can’t listen to them, Jeongguk bites his lower lip before continuing, “She's giving me Sohyun's full guard. Sohyun's going to live with me from now on and not only visit during weekends. Simply because Heeyoung’s husband doesn't want to live with another man's daughter, so she chose Wooshik over Sohyun.”
Hoseok hisses, half-glaring at Jeongguk in disbelief. “What the fuck? Are you kidding me?”
“I'm not joking, hyung. I wish I was joking, but I'm not,” Jeongguk mumbles, too whacked about that situation. “I've always wanted to stay with Sohyun full-time since Heeyoung started dating again and put her aside. I'm not mad because of that, I'm mad because she's choosing him over her own daughter. She barely knows him.”
“It's her own life, Jeongguk-ah.” Hoseok purses his lips. “Just... just try not to get into a bigger fight with her. Despite everything, Sohyun is still her daughter, and both parents getting into a fight won't do her any good.”
“We didn't fight at the wedding,” he clarifies as Sohyun stops in front of his car. “I'll tell you more about it later. I don't wanna talk about this in front of her.”
Hoseok blinks at him in a silent agreement, leaving Jeongguk supporting himself in the car as he opens it to let Sohyun walk into the backseat. Jeongguk helps her get her backpack off her shoulders before she sits in the car. Then he hands it back to her, closing the door while watching her fastening her belt and hugging her backpack, resting her chin over it.
Slowly, Jeongguk jumps onto the passenger seat with a bit of a struggle because of his ankle aching, and he closes the car door, getting rid of his jacket. As he waits for Hoseok to fasten his belt and lock the door, Jeongguk loosens his tie and opens a couple of buttons from his dress shirt while taking a deep breath.
“I'll take the first turn to meet Seokjin hyung and then we'll go straight to your house, okay?” Hoseok says right when he turns on the car. “I told him I'd do that.”
“Can we turn the radio on, daddy?” Sohyun's voice echoes through the car and she swings her legs on the backseat, not giving Jeongguk a chance to answer. “Pretty please?”
“Sure.” Jeongguk shows her a tight-lipped smile and presses the blue button on his left. “Do you want to choose the song or is a radio station fine?”
“The radio station is fine.” She smiles, resting her back on the seat as the soft ballad takes over the room. “Thank you.”
As Jeongguk presses his head on the headboard of the seat, he turns to face Hoseok silently driving while gazing at the rear-view mirror. His ankle doesn't hurt much anymore and there's a slight discomfort in it as his foot is lying flatly on the floor; Jeongguk didn't want to risk putting his shoes back on again since it's still pretty swollen and in a rainbow of different colors.
Excluding Sohyun’s voice following the music coming out from the speakers, there’s nothing else echoing in the car and Jeongguk tiredly closes his lids for a moment, moving his head to the right side to watch out of the window once his lids flutter open. It's a Saturday, so a rather big number of people are in the streets, but the traffic is almost nonexistent in that part of the city.
“Sohyun fell asleep,” Hoseok comments and then glances at her, stopping the car at a red sign. “She probably played all day and is exhausted.”
“Yeah, Heeyoung told me that she woke up early in the morning and was jumping around in the house,” Jeongguk murmurs with a loving smile, turning his head to Sohyun sleeping soundlessly while hugging her backpack. “And at the wedding, she kept running around with her cousins and a few other kids. She only stopped once or twice to eat something.”
“You should follow Sohyun and have some fun in your life, Jeongguk-ah.” Hoseok raises one of his brows, tapping his fingers on the wheel. “When was the last time you went on a date?”
“Hyung!”
The traffic light turns back to green, but it doesn't stop Hoseok. “I'm speaking the truth! When was the last time you met someone new? Or that you even kissed a girl?”
“Please, don't remind me of that.” Jeongguk groans, hitting his head against the seat. “And I'm fine where I am. I have my job, I have Sohyun. It's all good.”
“You spent a week sulking because Heeyoung is moving on and you're single.” Hoseok's voice comes out emotionless and he peeks at him for a second before staring at the street. “Are you sure that it's all good, straight boy?”
“Don't—” he gets cut off by Hoseok's loud giggles. “Don't call me that! And yes, everything is good. If I have to start dating again, it will happen someday and I'm not going to rush into it.”
The car stops in front of Jeongguk's house and Hoseok takes off his belt, sitting on top of his folded leg to pay his full attention to his friend. Jeongguk simply utters wearily, knowing that Hoseok will tell him that he should get back out there and forget about his past with Sohyun's mother.
It's not like Heeyoung was the love of his life; Jeongguk never considered her that. But he loved her at some point and it's upsetting that they fell apart out of nowhere. In short, Jeongguk is, somehow, frustrated at relationships and not very willing to meet someone new, get attached to them, and just watch them walk out of his life again.
“I'm not telling you to rush into it, Jeongguk-ah. I'm not even saying that you should date the first person that shows up in front of you,” Hoseok justifies himself, removing the key from the engine. “I'm only telling you to give yourself a chance. Heeyoung was like your most long-lasting relationship and you two aren't together anymore. In a couple of months, it will be two years since you and Heeyoung broke up and you haven't gone out with anyone ever since. You're really young and shouldn't mope around because of the past.”
“I know, hyung,” Jeongguk murmurs, uneasiness taking over him as he removes his seatbelt. “And I'm not moping around, it's just... I don't know. I don't want to start something new and just...”
“Watch it end right in front of you?” Hoseok guesses and Jeongguk bobs his head, chest heaving as he notices Seokjin stopping his car right behind them. “We're human, Jeongguk-ah, feelings come and go. We just have to deal with them. And Heeyoung surely wasn't the right person for you. Maybe the woman of your dreams is still out there.”
“That's... so cheesy, hyung.” Jeongguk chokes out a laugh, being careful enough to not wake Sohyun up. “And okay, perhaps you're right. Maybe I should get back out there and date again, but for now, I want to put Sohyun to sleep and take a shower. We can talk about this later, okay?”
“Sure, just don't forget about it.” Hoseok shrugs, adjusting himself to sit straight on the seat to open the door. “I'll pick Sohyun up and ask Seokjin hyung to help you.”
Jeongguk moves his head as a silent answer and unlocks the door as Hoseok jumps out of the car. The street is awfully quiet and empty, but since it's usually like that during weekends, Jeongguk doesn't even flinch and just moves his body on the seat, putting both of his feet on the pavement floor without supporting his weight on them. He keeps his eyes on his daughter, snoring softly on the backseat, and his face glows at the sight of her flower crown almost falling off her head, her messy hair covering her sight.
“Hey, Jeongguk-ah,” Seokjin murmurs as he stands right in front of him. Unlike Hoseok, he's wearing pajamas and a fluffy pair of flip-flops. “Hold onto my shoulders, okay?”
“Mhm, and thank you, hyung, for helping me,” Jeongguk hums and wraps his arm around Seokjin's shoulders once he lowers himself to help him get up with a little bit of work. Right behind them, Hoseok removes her belt and places Sohyun's backpack on his shoulder to pick her up in his arms. “Do you remember my house password, Hoseok hyung?”
“I do.” Hoseok twirls his brows and closes the door with his feet, but not peeping back at him. “It's Sohyun's birthday. You're a whipped dad.”
Jeongguk huffs in annoyance as he follows Hoseok and his sleeping daughter on the sidewalk. “You're awful, hyung. But you're not wrong.”
The sound of the gates unlocking and opening in front of them ends up startling Sohyun. She wakes up scratching her cheeks with her clenched fists and perking up to find Jeongguk and Seokjin staring at her. No one mutters anything. Jeongguk shows off his pronounced dimples in his cheeks at his daughter for her not to cry because of the loud sound, and they just keep walking into the house as the door unlocks with Hoseok typing the password.
Getting into the living room, Jeongguk turns on the lights on his right and waits for Seokjin to close the door. Somehow, Hoseok realizes that Sohyun has woken up and places her on the couch, leaving her backpack beside her while stretching his back.
“Sohyun, sweetie, don't you want to go take a shower before going to bed? You're probably tired,” Jeongguk suggests, sitting on the armchair with his feet resting on the coffee table.
Seokjin and Hoseok have left quickly to drive Jeongguk's car into the garage and not leave it on the street. Sohyun agrees with her lashes batting heavily on her cheekbones. “Come here then, I'll help you unzip your dress.”
“Okay.” Her words come out sleepy and Jeongguk chuckles as he watches her getting up from the couch and walking towards him. “Is mommy going to travel with her new husband?”
“Yes,” Jeongguk answers as she spins on her heels, bringing her hair to her shoulders for her father to reach the small zipper near her neck. “She'll be back in Seoul in a few weeks. Do you miss her already?”
“Just a little.” Sohyun shrugs and turns back to face her father, eyes glistening softly. “I have you too, daddy. So it's okay.”
Jeongguk can't help but coo at her soft words. “We both have each other, Hyunnie. It's more than enough, isn't it?”
She shakes her head softly, still rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, and even though she seems to be tired, her voice comes out happy, “It is! I love you, daddy.”
“I love you too, sweetie,” Jeongguk murmurs, hugging her and bringing her closer to him. Sohyun wraps her small arms around her father's neck, closing her lids as he tightens the hug. “Now go take your shower, okay? You're gonna feel better and have a good night of sleep. It's getting late for you.”
“Can I have a hot chocolate before bed?” Sohyun asks, taking a step back as soon as the hug ends.
“Of course.” Jeongguk pinches her right cheek, half a smile stamping his face. “But only after you take your shower. If you need anything, call me, okay? Don't forget to take a towel with you and be careful in the bathroom.”
“Okay, I won't take long.”
It's the last thing she says before wheeling around, quickly leaving the living room in her little steps. Jeongguk stares amusedly at her and rests his back on the armchair, gathering himself together as he places his jacket over his legs. There's a little migraine bothering him, but it's probably just his body feeling tired because of the long day he had.
Jeongguk still hasn't had the chance of sitting by himself in silence to digest everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours. But the first thing that Jeongguk thinks of while he's sitting alone in his living room, it's about the fact that now that Sohyun will live in his house, they'll have to redecorate the bedroom that she stays in whenever she's with him. It's only the guest room, which is not decorated, that has a small wardrobe for her clothes, toys, and to keep her school books. Nothing in there says that a child lives there, so Jeongguk takes a silent note that it will be the first thing that they'll work on.
While Jeongguk is lost in his thoughts, Hoseok and Seokjin come back and close the door silently. Jeongguk shifts his head at them, watching both of his friends sitting on the couch together and staring at them with a smirk on their lips, which makes Jeongguk frown and cross his arms in front of his chest while suspiciously staring at them.
“What are you two up to?” Jeongguk starts, narrowing his eyes at his hyungs. “You two are obviously plotting something.”
“Oh, no, we're not. We're just... discussing some stuff.” Hoseok crosses his legs, grabbing Seokjin's hand with his as he shifts his stare from his boyfriend to Jeongguk. “I was talking to hyung about you starting to date again. We might have an idea.”
“There's this place that reopened recently,” Seokjin mumbles. “One of my coworkers was talking about it the other day, I didn't pay much attention. But it's a regular pub; not many people go there, just a few who want to get drunk and listen to some music in small groups. You don't like clubs when they're too crowded, so I thought that it could be the perfect place for you to go to.”
“And we're certainly going with you since you've never been there, and we're certain that you're going to back out after stepping your foot in there,” Hoseok continues when Seokjin stops, gripping on his boyfriend's hand while he talks. “We can call a couple of friends from work to go with us and hire a babysitter to stay with Sohyun while we're there. Or we can ask Heeyoung's parents to watch her, but I don't think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh, God,” Jeongguk groans, hitting his head back on the armchair. “I can't believe you two are actually doing this.”
“We just want to help.” Hoseok blinks slowly. “And you can always say no if you don't want to.”
“Yeah, we don't wanna force you into anything,” Seokjin mutters, tilting his head slightly. “It's okay if you don't wanna go. We joke around a lot, but we don't want to make you uncomfortable, Jeongguk-ah.”
“I know, hyung, and I'm not mad at that.” Jeongguk touches his temples, massaging them lightly. “Can I think about it? And I'll let you two know later?”
“Why couldn't you?” Hoseok ensures to him while maintaining eye contact. “Also, don't worry much about that, okay? There's no pressure, just think a little about what we talked about in your car a while ago.”
“I will,” Jeongguk answers with a wrinkled nose, both of his hands touching the arms of the armchair. The expression on his hyungs’ faces is kind and he's glad for that, but Jeongguk doesn't have anything else to say to them.
“And we should get going, honey,” Seokjin murmurs, patting Hoseok's thigh. “He's safe and sound at home and we have our movie to finish watching.”
“You're right.” Hoseok shifts his gaze from Seokjin to Jeongguk as he gets up from the couch. “Try not to fall in the bathroom; we'll turn off our phones. Your only savior will be the hot paramedic at Heeyoung's wedding.”
“Hyung!” Jeongguk hisses out a huff, tiredly closing his lids to rub his forehead while hearing both of them laughing at him. “I'm not gonna fall in the bathroom, for fuck's sake. It was the wrong step at the wrong time.”
“Right, we know the way out, Jeongguk-ah, there's no need for you to get up.” Hoseok's voice sounds mocking and he grabs Seokjin's hand, interlocking their fingers together. “C'mon, hyung, I'll tell you everything about the hot paramedic who saved Jeongguk, maybe we can call an emergency later to meet him.”
With a clenched jaw, Jeongguk curls his lips at both of them, not wanting to give them another word as they squeeze his left shoulder, walking out of his house. Silence roams around the room and Jeongguk squeezes his eyes shut, drumming his fingers on his tights with the sound of the gates closing outside.
Even if Jeongguk wants to have a nice, peaceful rest of the evening before going to sleep, his mind doesn't stop wandering around. He makes a mental note to call Heeyoung to ask her about Sohyun shifting houses and moving in with him; if she has already told her about it and what they will do from now on. Living with a kid is a big responsibility, Jeongguk knows that, and being the one standing up for Sohyun is no news — well, until Heeyoung and he broke up, they used to live together.
The half-assed conversation they had during the party wasn't worth anything to know about what they would do from now on, and Heeyoung is soon leaving Seoul to go on her honeymoon, Jeongguk thinks as he checks the time on his phone before getting up. He really needs to put his life back together and start standing up for himself and not just lashing out at people and, in Heeyoung's case, leaving the place.
Jeongguk stretches his hand to the coffee table to pick up the remote controller and he turns on the TV on Sohyun's favorite channel. With a sigh, Jeongguk leaves it by his side on the armchair and then slaps his own thighs, staring at the wall.
“Well, Jeongguk-ah,” he mutters, forcing his body up and lightly putting his weight on his hurt ankle. “You have more stuff to do than just sit here, thinking about your ex.”
A loud gasp leaves his lips and Jeongguk trembles his head, leaving his phone, wallet, and jacket on the armchair to go to the kitchen to prepare Sohyun's hot chocolate. Even though he's limping and feeling his feet slightly swollen, it's not hurting as much as it was before, and Jeongguk concludes that the painkillers must have started to kick in. Or maybe his injury wasn't as bad as he first thought, but he's lucky that it's the weekend and he doesn't have to work on the following day.
Jeongguk hears the sound of the bathroom door clicking open in the hallway while he's in front of the microwave, and soon, Sohyun shows up by his side, eyeing what her father is doing while holding a wet towel in her right hand. Jeongguk breathes out in relief that she hasn't washed her hair that late in the night since his hairdryer is broken for a while now.
“Do you wanna check if it's good?” Jeongguk asks, taking the towel from her after grabbing the mug out of the microwave. “It's not that hot, but be careful to not burn your tongue.”
“Mhmm.” Sohyun bobs her head, cupping the mug with her little hands to sip on it. “It's good, daddy.”
“Good, then.” Jeongguk messes her hair, watching her still sipping on the hot chocolate. “Why don't you go watch cartoons in the living room while daddy takes a shower? And then we can go to sleep. I already left the TV on.”
“Okay.” Sohyun shows him both of her thumbs up and lurches her way out of the kitchen with the mug safely kept between both of her hands. Jeongguk lets out a breathy chuckle, closing the microwave door.
Hurriedly, Jeongguk grabs a pair of sweatpants, underwear, and a simple t-shirt from his bedroom and rushes to the bathroom. Feeling his lashes a bit heavy, Jeongguk hurriedly removes his clothes and places them in the basket at the back of the room to soon get under the hot water of the shower.
Part of Jeongguk wants his memories of the day to be washed out and go down the drain with the soap as it leaves his body, but as his shoulders go up and down with his eyes closed, slowly lathering his back, Jeongguk knows that it won't be possible and he'll have to face his reality when he wakes up tomorrow.
Later that night, when he's already getting ready to sleep, taking his pillows from the wardrobe, and glad that that day can finally end, Jeongguk hears the sound of knocking on the door echoing in his bedroom. It makes him turn his head with a little frown between his brows; he thought that Sohyun was already long lost in her sleep.
“It's unlocked, Hyun-ah.” Jeongguk raises his voice, leaving the blanket on his bed. “You can come in.”
“Daddy.” Sohyun's drowsy voice and sleepy face meet with Jeongguk's confused expression as to why she’s there. He observes how one of her hands is holding tightly on her yellow blanket and the other one is rubbing her eye. “Can I sleep here? It's scary in my room.”
“Oh, honey, are you scared of sleeping alone today?” Jeongguk coos, gripping on his blanket while seeing his daughter close the door. “Just hop in, can't have Sohyunnie having nightmares because she's scared.”
“Daddy!” Sohyun pouts, scrunching her nose as she jumps on the bed. “I'm not scared. It's just... the bedroom is scary.”
“Right.” Jeongguk fixes his round glasses on his nose as his voice comes out skeptical. “I believe in you.”
“Humpf,” she crosses her arms, sitting on the mattress. “You're mean, daddy. Very mean.”
Jeongguk lets out a silent chuckle as Sohyun tucks herself under her blanket. He grabs his phone and walks towards the light switch near the door to turn off the lights. Later on, he sits quietly on the edge of the bed and folds his legs, unlocking his phone to check on his notifications. He knows it's late and that he should probably lie down and close his eyes, but he hasn't checked his phone since that morning, and sometimes his boss sends him a couple of things during the weekend.
After his shower, Jeongguk took another painkiller and massaged his ankle with ointment, and, luckily now while he's replying to his boss with a couple of updates about the book he's almost done editing, his foot barely aches.
“Daddy, can I ask you something?” Sohyun murmurs and Jeongguk moves his eyes away from his phone, seeing her lying on her side and hugging her blanket.
“Of course, sweetie.” Jeongguk leaves his hand on his lap after turning on the lantern from his device, using his free one to fix her bangs. “What is it?”
“It's just that on Wednesday we'll have a pofression fair,” she continues, placing her fingers below her cheeks.
He cups her chin, a chuckle leaving his lips. “Professions fair, Sohyun-ah.”
“That's right! Professions fair!” Sohyun smiles, pronouncing the word right this time. “And my teacher asked us to bring someone we admire to talk about what they do. We are talking about the future and dreams in our class.”
Somehow, hearing that coming out from his daughter's mouth makes Jeongguk's heart softer, and he tries hard to not coo at her, pouting like a child and kissing her cheeks lightly. Instead, Jeongguk tilts his head to the side and continues staring at her under the little light of his phone. “And... Do you want me to go there and talk to your classmates?”
“Yes! You make people want to buy books, daddy, and they're boring sometimes.” Jeongguk lets out a baffled gasp, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “What is fun about a book without drawings, daddy?”
“Maybe they're not fun to you right now, young lady.” Jeongguk holds her nose between his index and middle fingers, squinting at her while Sohyun chortles. “But there are a lot of people out there that find books without drawings nice. And in the future, you can begin to like them.”
“I don't think so, daddy.” Sohyun makes a disgusted face. “Books like that are for old people.”
“Okay, enough slandering books for today.” Jeongguk takes off his glasses, placing them on the nightstand. “It's time for you to go to sleep. It's late.”
Sohyun hums, lying on her back. “But will you go?”
Jeongguk kisses her forehead, caressing her cheeks before lying back on the mattress. “Yeah, I'll be there, sweetie. I hope your classmates are nice.”
“You gonna love them!”
With a chuckle, Jeongguk turns off the light from his phone, putting it right beside his glasses. He yawns, fluffing his pillow before lying on his right side and placing both of his hands below his cheeks after closing his eyes. Wishing his daughter good night, Jeongguk hopes to leave that long day behind.