Chapter Text
Kim Dokja is one hell of a tough omega, literally. He is physically strong, having a black belt in judo thanks to his teacher, and is also independent form his years of looking after himself in the absent of his parents with his dad dead and his mum working to feed him.
He is not saying that he is 'unlike the other omegas' though. Quite the contrary, much like an omega’s stereotype, he dreams of having a small happy family… which seems to be far away considering he has been single for the last 28 years of his life.
It's not like no one had asked him out before. Kim Dokja thinks he is not ugly, and in fact quite good looking if his past suitors’ comments were of any indications. It was just that he had been too busy bulldozing his way through university when he is not writing his books, to have time to date.
Kim Dokja works as an author, and he could proudly present some of his bestseller books. This job allows him to do what he likes and let him have enough money to support him and his daughter.
Yep, you read that right, despite being single for his entire life, he has a daughter. A very beautiful and precious daughter that Kim Dokja would not trade for anything in this world.
His daughter is what people would call an 'accident child' but if he hears anyone dare to mock her because of it, then they have to face one very angry Kim Dokja.
He had conceived her about 6 years ago, from a one-night stand with an alpha he met in a bar. It was a cliché situation, he had been drunk out of his mind, find a handsome man that matched his ideal type, before proceeding to sleep with said man.
Unlike the usual scenario that he had read in so many stories though, he did not regret anything that happened that night nor did he hate his partner. It was because he actually went to that bar to get laid, as he was tired of being a virgin. And he got his wish fulfilled, though with a surprising gift after.
Not to mention that his partner was an Adonis and- cough- the sex was mind-blowing too -cough-
Although when he knows that he was pregnant with the unknown alpha’s child, he kind of regretted having to rush away from the fancy hotel he woke up to in the morning, without knowing the name of the guy first. He felt a bit guilty that the alpha cannot meet his child.
‘He was such a nice and respectful person too’ he had lamented before, as he remembered his partner being an upstanding alpha who refused to fuck Kim Dokja until he was sure that Kim Dokja was more than ready for him…
‘You promised to help me’ he whines while he grinds on the erect cock beneath, begging the alpha to fill his throbbing empty hole.
‘Not yet’ the alpha tells him while he inserted his fingers before he gently loosened Kim Dokja’s inside.
‘But-‘ his protest was replaced by a pathetic whimper as the larger male prodded at the sensitive spot inside him.
‘Shh be good, I don’t want to hurt you’ was the last coherent words Kim Dokja could remember before his mind was clouded from their combined pheromones.
…
‘Yeah no, Kim Dokja does not know who that desperate person was’ he would think in denial while his face heated up, for several weeks at the mere memory of his action.
~
Surprisingly, everyone around him had accepted his pregnancy rather easily, including his mother even when he told her he did not know who the father is.
“It was consensual right?” she had interrogated him and when he nodded his head as an answer she had sighed in defeat.
“I will move my job to Seoul so that I could watch over you,” she had told him and he was about to protest but she gave him a look that meant she would do it anyway and there was nothing he could do to stop her.
Kim Dokja knows he got his stubbornness from her, so he shut his mouth again.
Only his best and also longest friend had reacted hostilely at the news, by that he meant that she was about to go on a rampage to find the ‘irresponsible bastard’ that sired a child in him.
He had barely managed to hold her back with a plea of “Sooyoung he doesn’t know, we both forgot to give our name to each other”, he did not want his child’s father to be dead before they could ever meet again.
She did not look any calmer at his words, ‘how did you two idiots sleep without knowing each other’s name! What did you even call him in bed!’ she had screeched at him, exasperation evidence in her voice.
Kim Dokja was glad that they were at his home or else they would have attracted a crowd with how loud her voice was.
‘Huh? That is a good point, whose name did I moaned that night??’ her words did end up giving him a little existential crisis.
He did not tell her that though, as he knew it would only serve to make her angrier, instead he told her that he would try to look around for the alpha.
“I’ll help you, that jerk better pay his part of child support!“ she had told him and much like his mother there was defeat in her tone.
The nine months of his pregnancy was spent rather uneventfully, sans the weird craving he had in the early weeks. He had felt so guilty at making his friends running around to fetch him odd foods at wee hours, that he had paid for all their meals whenever they gather at his place.
“I’m so sorry Sangah-ssi, you should just continue sleeping I could buy the food myself,” he had told the kind woman.
“No! Dokja-ssi, do call me if you need anything else and don’t go around by yourself,” Yoo Sangah had scolded him instead, but her eyes were gentle. Han Sooyoung who was wakened up and forced to tag along with her had been less amiable, as she glared at him.
“If you dare to step out of this building on your own this late at night, I will tie your legs together myself,” she had threatened him while rubbing her eyes sleepily. Kim Dokja was surprised that she did not get angry at his craving instead.
“It’s not like you could help it,” she had mumbled out when he asked her.
Fortunately, the craving had died down after that, and thanks to his teacher, who somehow knew about pregnancy yoga despite being a male beta, his body did not ache too much.
“Here follow my steps and stretch your muscle,” Kyrgios had guided him and Kim Dokja knew better than to ask him where he learnt about all this.
Then on the 18 weeks, he had chosen to have his baby gender reveal so he could prepare a beautiful name in advance.
“Boo what a party popper,” Jung Heewon who was accompanying him that day had mocked him when she heard his decision.
“I bet you’re still pissed because you lost to Sooyoung for being the first godmother,” he taunted her back instead and because Kim Dokja was a mature adult, he had poked her tongue at her and she had retaliated by giving him the finger.
His maternity doctor, Lee Seolhwa, had simply shaken her head at the childish fight, as she continued to apply the ultrasound gel on his abdomen.
However, by the end of the check-up, both of them had teared up when they saw his beautiful child – no, daughter on the ultrasound monitor. He heard Jung Heewon asking for two copies of the ultrasound scan and he could not even bring himself to tease her.
Han Sooyoung though, could and had reminded Jung Heewon about how ‘she hates kids’ and how she ‘would never want a picture of one’ before stealing the strong woman’s copy and ran around Kim Dokja’s apartment with the said woman chasing after her.
That was when Yoo Sangah, elegance personified had arrived, and one look from her was enough to stop the bickering duo. Kim Dokja had never been more grateful to have her in his group of friends. She then gracefully took the scan from Han Sooyoung’s hand and the usually devilish woman did not even dare to protest.
“Can I also have one Dokja-ssi?” she had requested him. In the end they had to email the hospital to ask for the digital file of the picture so that they could print one for everyone.
‘Look at you, charming everyone before you are even born’ he had told his daughter while rubbing his round belly, that night after all his friends had fallen asleep in his living room. Deep inside, he was relieved to know that many people loves and accepts her.
~
When the time for his labour came, Yoo Sangah was more nervous than he was. She kept on making calls and berating Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon for being stuck in the traffic.
“How are you feeling right now Dokja-ssi?” his ever-reliable doctor, Lee Seolhwa, had asked him as she prepared his anaesthetic shot. They had just found out that his pelvis was unfortunately too narrow for normal birth, so they had to do an unplanned c-section. Yoo Sangah had looked so pale that Kim Dokja was afraid that she would faint when she heard the news.
“What?” she had asked with unfocused eyes.
Lee Seolhwa then explained that a c-section was much safer than a normal birth.
“Don’t worry too much, both Dokja-ssi and the baby are healthy and there was no other complication that would trouble the surgery,” she had reassured them.
Still, Kim Dokja could feel Yoo sangah grip on his hand tightened. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but he was scared himself, so he too held her hand tighter.
His mother then entered the room with his teacher in tow, she had shared about her experience and how he was also a c-section baby. She told him not to be too stressed, as it would be dangerous for both him and the baby and reassured him that he would only feel slight pain after the anaesthetic had worn off. Her words had calmed him down.
Meanwhile, Kyrgios was asking Lee Seolhwa if he could play music in the room, and she told him he could now before the surgery began. Kim Dokja found himself feeling more relaxed at the familiar instrumental song.
Then finally fifteen minutes before his surgery, the usually fighting duo had arrived. Both of their hair was windblown and there was sweat clinging to their forehead, he could tell that they must have run to get to the hospital.
He really felt grateful for his friends, although he would be even more grateful if Han Sooyoung did not dramatically shout ‘you must come back to me, don’t you dare leave me alone Kim Dokja’ while holding on to the doorframe when she was told to leave the room.
Only his mother was left by his side, as she took Yoo sangah place and hold his hand in hers.
‘Don’t be scared, you can do it’ he heard the encouragement, and he smiled at her in reply. He thought he would be knock out by the anaesthetic, but instead, he found out that he is still conscious.
‘Wait! I’m still awake!’ he had told Lee Seolhwa when the young doctor informed him that the operation would begin.
“Of course, but you could not feel anything right?” she smiled as she reassured him before her face disappeared from his line of sight. He lied there unmoving for a long time, as he could barely hear his mother reassuring words or Lee Seolhwa carefree chatter about his plan.
“Dokja-ssi what will you name her?” he heard her but could not see her.
“Kim Eun-Ae” he answered her almost immediately, the drug in his system must have made his lips looser as he had been keeping the name a secret for some time.
“That is a beautiful name” that was his mother.
“Indeed,” he heard Lee Seolhwa agreed before she asked again “what does it mean?”
“Grace with love,” Kim Dokja felt himself smiling widely, he saw his mother had tear in her eyes as she looked at him with pride and affection.
“I cannot believe I’m going to be a grandmother soon,” she told him as she stroked his head.
“Not soon, but now. Congratulation Dokja-ssi, Sookoyung-ssi, she is beautiful,” Kim Dokja could finally see Lee Seolhwa again and he felt his eyes teared up too as he saw the gorgeous baby in her hands.
He must have made a grabbing motion at his daughter as he heard the doctor told him to ‘please wait a moment’, followed by a rustling sound before she placed his baby on his chest.
Called him bias but Kim Dokja had never seen such a beautiful baby before, she fit the name he gave her so much.
“Hi, Eun-Ae your eomeoni* is here,” he greeted the newborn girl through his blurry eyes and then she opened her eyes followed by a loud wail and Kim Dokja thought he cried along with her.
“Wow her cry is so loud, she must be really healthy!” Lee Seolhwa had noted before asking his permission to take the baby, to be weighed and checked. He had let her, as he felt sleepiness creeping up to him.
“You can rest first, I will make sure that Eun-Ae-ya will be beside you when you wake up” the doctor had reassured him.
True to her words, when he opened his eyes again, he saw his daughter sleeping peacefully on top of him, her tiny fingers curled up on his shirt and Kim Dokja felt like crying again.
“She’s so pretty! Did you see how her eyes looked exactly like Kim Dokja!” he heard his best friend excitedly praised his daughter and felt pride entering him.
“Good to know you still have a taste Sooyoung,” he teasingly replied at her while informing the rest of the visitor of his awakening. Then, they had bantered up like usual, while everyone else congratulate him and greeted his Eun-Ae.
~
Since then time flowed rather too quickly, initially he was so clumsy, as it was his first time handling a newborn baby on his own. Thankfully he worked from home, so he had all the time he needed to take care of his daughter.
However, Heaven must love him a lot, as he was blessed with what could probably be the world’s calmest baby. He had expected her to wake him up in the middle of the night with her tantrums, or her crying through the day. But no, she did none of this, in fact, she rarely cried and would only do so rather quietly to inform Kim Dokja of her hunger or if her diapers were full.
“Is my daughter okay?”
He had been so concerned of her antics or lack of thereof, that he had consulted Lee Seolhwa regarding this.
“Hmm as far as I can see she is perfectly healthy, Dokja-ssi. Why don’t you ask your mother about how you were as a child?” the doctor had suggested him and so he did.
“I remember you were also not very active, although not as quiet as Eun-Ae,” his mother had informed him when she visited her granddaughter. She is the second person that spoils his little princess the most, only slightly behind himself.
His friends filled the number 3 spots all together with how much they love to shower the well-behaved tiny princess with praises.
“I don’t want any kids if they are not as nice as Eun-Ae,” Jung Heewon had declared, despite not liking children she had been one of her most avid fans.
“Aww little Eun-Ae must know that her mama is trying his best, so she’s doing her best to be good too hmm,” Yoo sangah lightly pinched the baby’s cheek and the little girl gave her a bright smile.
Kim Dokja and the others had quickly whipped up their phone and camera to capture the precious moment.
“Dang that is undoubtedly Kim Dokja’s smile, but it looks so pretty on her,” Han Sooyoung had praised and mocked him at the same time, but the shutter sound from her camera remained. Kim Dokja could not even feel offended at her remark, his Eun-Ae is indeed the most beautiful!
When Eun-Ae was two years old, his teacher decided that it was a good time to teach the tiny girl his self-defence technique.
“Strong foundation should be built from a young age,” Kyrgios told Kim Dokja and he had been wary at first, thinking that the small beta would train his daughter as he did to him. But to his surprise, his teacher had somehow known a training method for a young child.
The man whole existence was still a mystery for Kim Dokja, so as usual he did not ask any question and just watched his teacher taught his daughter with fond eyes.
He wondered if Kyrgios thinks of Eun-Ae as his granddaughter, he will not mind, for him, the beta was the closest person he ever have to a father figure.
“Silly disciple, you just have to ask if you want me as her godparent,” the petite man admonished him while lightly flicking his forehead, the slight smile on his lips, however, betrayed him.
Kim Dokja was one more time glad he has all these people in his life.
~
Eun-Ae’s good behaviour remained even with her increasing age, and she became more adorable as she grew up. Kim Dokja had documented her growing moments with photos and videos, not wanting to miss anything.
There was one dedicated for each of her birthday celebration, another one from when she first learnt how to walk and many more that was not only taken by him but also his friends.
Sometimes when he looked at the pictures, he had felt a pang of sadness in his heart, it had been years and he still had not managed to find the father of his daughter. It was difficult after all to find someone without their name and only his drunk description as a guide.
Kim Dokja did not tell anyone, but secretly he organized the photos in hope that when he found the alpha, he too would not miss their daughter growing moments.
At one point he had even written a book about his experience, in hope that the man would read it and searched for him. Although he did make it into a fiction work and not an autobiography, he still had some shame left in him after all.
The book had ended up being a best-seller and he had received a lot of money from it. But unlike a romance story, there was no one knocking on his front door even a year later after the book was published.
Now Kim Dokja had half given up on his search, although he still hoped that his daughter could meet her father.
He had grown up without a father and an absent mother, he did not want his daughter to experience the same thing as he does. And although he tried his best to not be too busy, as he was financially stable enough not to overwork himself, and paid as much attention to her as he could, he still wanted her to have a father figure in his life.
He had confided about this to his friend and had jokingly suggested that maybe he should try his luck in blind dating.
“I heard single mum is a popular type nowadays,” he had joked at them, much to his surprise his friend actually supported his random idea.
“Why not, it was time you to forget that bastard anyway,” Han Sooyoung had been the most excited one of the trios and had set him a Tinder account that night.
“Eww, why did you write sexy single omega in my bio and what does MILF even mean??” Kim Dokja had complained at her when he saw the profile she made. In the end, he had deleted the profile and that was how his first attempt at getting a partner failed.
He had failed several more attempts with the last one almost ended with him murdering the alpha he was set up with for giving an inappropriate comment about his Eun-Ae. The uncomfortable look on his innocent daughter face had left him traumatized that he did not try anything else ever since.
Even Jung Heewon had managed to find someone before him, as one day she went into his house with her new boyfriend in tow. The huge bear-like man, who was surprisingly not an alpha but a beta, had a kind smile that reminded Kim Dokja of Yoo Sangah and introduced himself as Lee Hyunsung.
Lee Hyunsung was so gentle and polite and even brought a present for both him and Eun-Ae, that Kim Dokja lamented his envy out loud.
“I wish more men are like you Hyunsung-ssi, the one I’ve met so far were all jerks”
“I’m not that good Dokja-ssi. If you want to know someone who is really great, then you should meet my captain,” Lee Hyunsung eyes had practically sparkled with enthusiasm as he promoted his pro-gamer team leader.
“Really? Then you should arrange a meeting for us,” he humoured the passionate man while brushing his daughter's hair. He missed the way his little girl listened to the man’s words with interest. She had been wanting her mum to find his happiness for a while.
-
His daughter was unusually mature for her age and ever since she started primary school a few months back, she had been pestering him to let her go to school on her own. Of course, he had refused to do so, mature or not she was too young to be on her own!
But she had sulked and had given him a silent treatment that night and the sight of her blank face broke Kim Dokja’s heart, so he had compromised with her to let her go on her own one day a week.
When he told her that, she had switched so fast to her trademark bright smile and tackled him into a hug, that Kim Dokja realized he had fallen for her trap.
‘Why is my daughter so smart’ he protested in his mind but hugged her back anyway.
The private school he enrolled her was only about 15 minutes’ walk from their apartment, even so at first, he had followed her until she reached the school. But she had surprised him with how independent she was as she managed to find her way to the school gate without any problem.
He had followed her twice more and was almost found out on his last attempt, Kim Dokja swore his daughter instinct is too sharp before he let her be on her own. Besides if his daughter did not get to school the teachers would immediately inform him and the area around here is one of the safest in Seoul.
Fortunately for him, she agreed to let him pick her up every day and Fridays are their ‘little date’ days.
Today is Friday and this morning she had left the house before he had even woken up and he had felt like an irresponsible mother. At least he has always prepared her meal the night before and she knows how to use the microwave to heat it, so she would not go without a meal to school.
Kim Dokja slaps himself on his cheeks, it is not the time for him to sulk, he has to dress himself up before he picks his precious Eun-Ae. His pretty daughter cannot be seen with a rag-tag as her mother after all!
He hums some random songs as he looks through his wardrobe, ‘what colour should I wear today’ he muses while picking up a bunch of clothes from the hanger.
In the end, he has chosen an oversized white button-up and a black high waisted jean. He felt a bit embarrassed at how youthful his fashion is when he looks at his reflection in the mirror. But has shrug it off with a confident ‘I look good anyway’, before grabbing a pair of sunglasses, hooking it on his unbuttoned collars and slipping into a pair of black boots.
Now he is ready to go!
He usually walks to the school, but today Kim Dokja has promised Eun-Ae that he would take her to the newly opened café in the city centre, so he took his Jaguar with him.
When he arrives as the entrance of the school, he had expected her to wave at him in from of the school gate before running up excitedly towards him, like she always does when he picked her up.
But instead, he saw her entering a foreign car,
‘What!!!’
A red alarm blared inside his head as he went to full panic mode.
‘Eun-Ae is getting kidnapped!!!’ his brain warns him, as he felt cold sweats start to form on his palm.
‘Calm down Kim Dokja, your daughter is not stupid. Let- let's follow the car first,’ he tries to calm himself down as his grip on the steering wheel tightens.
The car where Eun-Ae currently is, surprisingly does not go into some shady area as he thought before, but instead, it goes toward the city centre.
Kim Dokja feels his heart rate slows down a bit when he realises that the person driving the car might not want to abduct his daughter.
‘No kidnapper would bring their target to a place with lots of people on broad daylight, right?’ he reassures himself, but he still does not let his guard down.
The car parks at a somewhat familiar café- though in his haste he could not remember where he saw it before- and Kim Dokja watches a huge man get out of the car with his little Eun-Ae and feels his dread returns.
He quickly untied his seatbelt before he practically jumps out of the car and rushes towards the store door.
“Eun-Ae-ah” he shouts when he enters the café, his eyes darting around to search for his daughter.
“Mama”, “Kim Dokja”
He heard two voices call out him, and he turns his eyes towards the direction of the voices, and finally sees his daughter.
With a mind filled with relief at seeing his daughter safe and sound, he quickly rushes to embrace her small body.
“Thank God, you are safe,” he tells her as he hugs the little girl.
When he is done confirming that his precious child is really fine, he turns to glare at the man that took his daughter before.
“You- ” he was about to admonish the daring man, but his angry words die in his throat the moment his eyes landed on the man’s face.
He instantly recognizes that dark sharp eyes and that strict but very handsome face, as the alpha who sired his daughter from their night of passion.
Kim Dokja does not expect that his over 5 years of search would end up this way and definitely not in the form of him thinking he was trying to abduct his own child.
“Kim Dokja?” he hears the man says his name with an unsure voice.
“That’s me… and you are?” he feels a bit nervous at finally able to know the name of his mystery alpha. His intuitive daughter must sense this, as he could feel her patting his back in encouragement while muttering a quiet ‘mama calm down’.
“Yoo Joonghyuk, my name is Yoo Joonghyuk” answers his child’s father.
‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ Kim Dokja silently test the name on his tongue and feels all his remaining tension leave his body.
He feels his legs grow weak, so he moves to sit down on one of the chairs on the table and placing Eun-Ae on his laps.
“I was about to ask what you want to do with my daughter, but I think you already know that she is also your daughter, right?” he begins, his hand sub-consciously moves to pat on his daughter’s hair, a nervous habit he picked up a few years ago.
He watches the man eyeing them silently, before answering “yes our faces look alike”.
Kim Dokja blinks at the statement, then he observes Yoo Joonghyuk’s face before looking down to compare it with his daughter’s face.
‘Woah! They really look like they could be cut using the same mould’ he notes with wonder.
“You’re right, she looks like a feminine child version of you,” he tells the alpha. If he had known about this before he could use Eun-Ae face as a reference when he was searching for Yoo Joonghyuk.
“But she has your eyes and your smile,” Yoo Joonghyuk replies and his gaze towards them was so gentle and full of affection, that Kim Dokja feels his heart swayed at the looks.
This adoring look is one of the reasons why he agreed to sleep with him at that night… well that and the fact that Yoo Joonghyuk is like Kim Dokja’s wet dream personified.
‘He ages like a fine wine’ he sighs in approval internally and a fond smile graces his lips.
While observing the alpha, Kim Dokja notices that he is standing awkwardly quite a distance away from them, as if unsure if he should join them or not.
A small giggle escapes his lips at the cute and silly behaviour,
“Come join us here! Don’t stand awkwardly like that,” he tells the man while pointing at the chair opposite of him.
He saw Yoo Joonghyuk hesitates before he asks, “am I allowed?”
Kim Dokha shakes his head, Eun-Ae adores her father, so who is he to stop the alpha from interacting with his own daughter? Especially when Kim Dokja himself has been looking forward to this day.
“Of course silly, you’re a part of us now,” he said at the same time as his daughter's, “papa quick, I want to order”
And he means every word he said. He wants this awkward man with a gentle heart to be a part of his small family.
Who knows maybe later Yoo Joonghyuk could be Kim Dokja’s mate and not only Eun-Ae’s father.
‘Well baby steps, I’ll leave the future for later’ Kim Dokja thinks with content as he watches Yoo Joonghyuk relaying Eun-Ae’s order to the waitress.