Chapter Text
“Daddy!”
A squeal sounded right by his ears, causing him to groan and pull the little body he had been holding slightly closer.
“Daddy it’s today!” the little girl tried again, pulling at her father’s cheeks this time to get him to wake up. “What is it, Yoona, it’s too early,” her father yawned, cracking an eye open to see his daughter literally glow with excitement.
“Spring break starts from today!” she exclaimed again, almost vibrating with all the pent-up energy in her.
That was today? That meant their flight was also today. Biting his lip to keep his profanities in control, Yoongi pushed himself to sit upright. “Let’s get ready for this thing, Yoona,” he said, smiling at his daughter who seemingly only needed to be told that to launch off the bed and into the bathroom.
Smiling at his rapidly growing daughter, Yoongi yawned again, swinging his legs off the bed before heading to the kitchen to make his customary cup of coffee without which he was sure he wouldn’t be able to function. He still had to pack his things and make sure he had taken everything as well as printouts of their tickets, clothes, money, and documents among other things.
With measured and purposeful steps, he walked to his study and got to work gathering everything for his trip to Disneyland Tokyo with his daughter. He scratched the back of his neck absent-mindedly, groaning again. It had been itchy for the past few days and he couldn’t understand what that meant.
On his neck was the tattoo which spelt out the name of his soulmate in a language no one around him could decipher. He wasn’t sure he wanted it to be deciphered. That would mean he’d have to meet his soulmate and at present, nothing was more important to Yoongi than Yoona.
Min Yoona was born 5 winters ago on a cold January morning to Min Yoonmi who had conceived the girl after a few days of being with her soulmate, who passed away mid-way through her pregnancy. It must have had an effect on Yoonmi too because she too passed away as she gave birth, leaving a crying new-born Yoona with Yoongi.
The Min family wouldn’t accept it, the newly birthed baby of their unmarried daughter. It was socially unacceptable. Yoongi suddenly found himself without a family to fall back on just because he said he would be the one to care for Yoona and raise her, now that she was the last thing his sister had left behind, and she was his niece too after all.
Yoongi had been only 21 at the time, having finished his degree just slightly over a year and had just been getting his toes wet in the corporate world when he took the responsibility of little Yoona. The little gurgles the baby made every time she was happy was more than enough to satiate Yoongi as he tried to incorporate Yoona in his everyday life.
He did a lot for her to grow well and healthy even without her mother. He hired a wet nurse to help breastfeed her for the first year or so and went to parenting classes for new parents all on his own despite all the soulmate pairs around him just to learn how to care for his Yoona. She had quickly morphed from just his niece to his daughter and he wouldn’t have it any other way. She was an absolute delight to him in his otherwise bland life.
Ever since he had taken Yoona under his wing, he had told himself that he would not give her up for his soulmate. His soulmate would never be as important to him as Yoona was. And which soulmate would accept him, a single dad with a job that was enough for just paying the rent for his quaint little apartment and all of his and Yoona’s needs? He would be left alone before his soulmate even got to know him, he always thought.
As Yoona grew, so did his will to not have a soulmate. He only became surer of his choice than before, his resolution hardening as he decided to always put his daughter first before anything. He even kept a distance from everyone, only ever coming into physical contact with people who had found their soulmates to avoid finding his own.
His life revolved around the little girl. Starting from taking her to school to picking her up to cooking her favourite meals, giving her a bath, doing her hair, dressing her, he did it all. He had his parenting training to thank for that. He was sure he would’ve never figured out the diaper without those classes.
Yoona still seemed forlorn at times, more forlorn than 5 year olds usually are and Yoongi knew he wasn’t enough; she was still missing the love of a mother. He couldn’t find her a mother, but he could at least try and fill the gap that she was feeling, turning himself into even more of a doting parent.
Which led him to the current situation.
His Yoona had grabbed onto his leg one day at night and asked him, “daddy, can we please go to Disneyland for spring break?” Yoongi was a weak man. He could not deny the small sparkling eyes that blinked up at him with expectation. “I’ll think about it, cupcake. How about we head to sleep first, hmm?” Yoongi told his daughter with a smile as he bent down to pull her up into his arms, heading for their bedroom to put her to sleep.
He didn’t think about it, no. He booked everything first from flights to hotels to rides and everything he deemed necessary before telling his daughter that yes, they could go to Disneyland for spring break. The little dance of celebration she did and the little skip that remained in her walk for the next couple of days was more than worth it, Yoongi thought. It definitely beat seeing her shiver with loneliness with her arms wrapped around herself.
Yoongi had taken 7 days off, intending to spend 9 days in Japan with his daughter. Maybe even go to see Fuji as well as all the plum blossoms famous in spring other than just the Disneyland attractions. The trip was a bit heavy on his pocket, but he knew he would be able to cover it up soon. He was due for a raise soon too, after all. It would all work out, he placated himself.
After printing out everything as well as taking photocopies of important documents, Yoongi arranged them in order in the file he was taking them in before closing it and putting the file in his suitcase. On one side of the suitcase, he had arranged all of his clothes, a few pairs of them for the coming extended week and on the other side, he put all the necessities of his daughter including her cereal. He was a bit of a worrier, could you blame him? After packing he went back to tend to his daughter and any needs she may have.
After a quick two hours of packing and running around the house, the father and daughter pair set out for the airport in a cab, almost three hours before their flight’s scheduled time. Yoongi had also checked in for them, being the meticulous man he is which meant they had more than enough time.
At the airport, they managed to get themselves a meal before sitting down in the waiting lounge, little Yoona falling asleep on Yoongi as her body caught up with all the excitement from earlier in the morning. Yoongi meanwhile kept a watch on the time while reading a book he had brought along.
Landing in Japan, they were received by the staff of the park where Yoongi had made bookings, making Yoona even happier with all the little surprises they had. Riding through the park and getting a tour by the car, they were finally dropped off at the hotel where they were going to stay for the next six days while Yoongi and Yoona went to every single possible attraction the 5-year-old and her father would be allowed on.
Unpacking in the hotel room, Yoongi and Yoona decided to have an early night that night because tomorrow they would start with the rides as soon as the park started functioning in the morning. Yoona fell asleep almost immediately on the soft bed, not even needing Yoongi to tuck her in, which surprised the man.
Yoongi however wasn’t able to sleep. His soulmate tattoo had been tingling more and more ever since they had set foot in Japan and if he didn’t consciously keep himself from itching at the tattoo, he was sure he was going to scratch it raw. If the tingling meant he was close to his soulmate, he found himself wondering, did that mean they were also at the park? Did they work here or are they visiting?
Yoongi shook his head to clear them of thoughts of his soulmate, who it could be and what would happen when they finally meet and instead decided to put the rides in order for tomorrow, starting from the closest to the hotel to the point where the parade started from. Yoona had asked him to let her see the parade every single day while they were here and Yoongi had complied. Parades were always fun and brought about different experiences, he thought.
Yoongi fell asleep late into the night, drifting off to the thought of his soulmate accepting both him and his daughter and the possibility of them actually raising Yoona together, finally giving her a second parental figure to rely on.
The next day started out much better. Having put a soothing cream on his neck, Yoongi set out with a scarf on his neck which didn’t seem strange for the cool weather Japan had in spring. Yoona was bubbling with laughter with each ride they went on, clutching onto her father’s hand with all her might as the ride took her to new heights she was almost scared of. But she knew as long as her Daddy was with her, she didn’t have to fear anything.
Going through the Adventureland rides, Yoona almost lost her voice with how much she had been screaming. While Yoongi only grinned and laughed at her misery, she seemed to be reducing her life with every new attraction. The darkness made the little girl clutch onto her father's hand a bit tighter each time till it wasn't enough. She clung onto his hand with both of hers after that, using that as her only saving grace in the dark.
Getting out of Adventureland, Yoona sags against her father and complains of her stomach grumbling for food which immediately has Yoongi cooing at the child. "Daddy, please can we just go have food now?" she whined, pouting as they walked in no particular direction.
Yoongi reads the directions on the boards and heads towards the Mediterranean Harbor to go to one of the restaurants there which he remembered seeing on the leaflet. He had thought the place would interest little Yoona because of her recent liking towards pirates and Jack Sparrow. It was also good enough for them at the moment since they were only going to go get something to munch on for a bit and fill their stomachs for the next round of rides and attractions. Yoongi had planned out five major meals throughout the day for their whole stay at Disneyland and he was glad he had. They probably did need it.
After eating a nice meal, they headed to the closest park from there, the Toontown where different classical cartoon characters where around which the attractions were built. This time not only Yoona but Yoongi too found himself having the time of his life as he revisited his childhood memories, seeing all the characters around him. On Yoona’s request, the two went on some rides more than once, wanting to enjoy them again.
By the time they were done with Toontown, it was already 3pm, Yoongi taking Yoona with him to the restaurant named Restaurant Sakura. They would have wholesome meals there for a late lunch and perhaps skip the fourth meal Yoongi thought they would have at around half past five. They would just eat an early dinner, Yoongi surmised as they sat down to order.
“Daddy, are you going to meet your soulmate?” Yoona asked when Yoongi took off his scarf to itch at his tattoo again. Yoongi stopped his movements and brought his hands back in his lap as he shrugged. “I don’t know baby girl, what makes you think so?” Yoongi countered, realising just how sharp his daughter was. “You keep itching your neck. I know you haven’t met your soulmate,” she sighed, as if her daddy was as dumb as they could get.
“If I met my soulmate, how would you feel Yoona?” Yoongi asked, uttering the one thought that plagued him ever since he felt the itch. In response, Yoona shrugged. “I’d be happy. You’d finally have someone to complain about and spend time with other than me,” Yoona grinned, surprising Yoongi with her maturity. He was sure he wasn’t this mature when he was this young. Yoongi just smiled at his girl before digging into the starters that had been served.
It was day 3 of their trip and Yoongi was getting tired of the parade which Yoona liked every evening and seemed so enthusiastic about even as he put her to bed at night. Yawning his way through the parade, he cheered when it ended. Yoona understood it wasn’t an adult thing to watch a parade and enjoy it so she didn’t complain much either.
As they had been doing, Yoongi and Yoona left the park behind them to go to the closest Starbucks where Yoona got her hot chocolate and Yoongi got his caramel macchiato. Leaving Yoona at the table they had been sitting at ever since they had started frequenting this place 3 days ago, Yoongi lined up at the counter, making sure to keep safe distance between him and the people he was squeezed between again.
He raised his hand to rub at his neck, watching the person in front of him do the same as well as rotate his neck. He smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn’t the only one about to meet his soulmate. Walking a couple of steps every time someone finished ordering and moved onto collect their order, Yoongi had soon gotten too engrossed in his phone to keep a tab on his surroundings. And as is with these sort of things, that’s when everything had to go wrong (right).
Stumbling on thin air, another customer was carrying their tray full of sandwiches to their table and in an effort to regain their balance, unconsciously hit Yoongi who in his own unaware state stumbled forward to fall right onto the person in front of him.
An uncomfortable sting started in his neck and he slapped it there while also watching his own name appear on the neck of the person right in front of him.
Oh shit no. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. He didn’t want a soulmate.
The person in front of him, his soulmate his brain added, turned to face him, now just two people away from the ordering counter.
Oh shit no. His soulmate was ethereal. Maybe he wouldn’t mind a soulmate.
Schooling his features into a frown, he looked at his soulmate who seemed to be gaping at him through his soft brown hair. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown that Yoongi could see sparkling. He really is beautiful, Yoongi’s soulmate.
“We need to talk,” the man muttered in English before turning around and walking ahead to the ordering counter.
Yoongi was going to die, his soulmate had a voice as sweet as honey too. He was so fucked. Maybe it was his fate making him biased, but he could definitely see himself growing old with the boy with the honeyed voice and chocolate eyes.
Shaking his head of unwanted thoughts, he focused on the task at hand. He couldn’t accept his soulmate just like that. He had to think of Yoona too.
Ordering his own drinks quickly, he paid and headed to stand beside his soulmate, waiting for his drinks.
“Park Jimin,” the man suddenly introduced himself, still looking forward.
“Min Yoongi,” Yoongi sighed, shoulders slumping. He must let go.
“Korean?” Jimin asked, taking as Yoongi’s hum as enough confirmation as he pulled away from the counter.
“I’ll find us somewhere to sit,” Jimin said, not waiting for Yoongi to respond before walking away.
Yoongi couldn’t follow Jimin’s eyes since his name was called. Thanking the barista, he walked to where he had left Yoona and kissed her head, telling her he would be back soon before he looked up to look for Jimin.
Heading to the table Jimin was sitting at, Yoongi slipped in opposite him.
“I can’t have a soulmate,” Yoongi started before Jimin could say anything.
“Not if they can’t accept who I am,” he continued, folding his hands on top of the table.
Jimin nodded. “Me too. I am not a regular guy,” he said, his eyes drifting to the small boy at a table nearby.
“You-you have a kid?” Yoongi asked, voice quiet as if he was asking the unbelievable.
“Yes,” Jimin seethed, straightening up in defense.
“I… I have a kid too, a 5-year-old daughter. I live in Seoul, I’m only here for Disneyland. It’s my Yoona’s spring break,” Yoongi explained. He didn’t understand why he was saying all this to a stranger. Maybe Jimin being a dad helped.
“I… I live in Seoul too. It’s my son’s spring break too. 4-year-old Jihoon,” Jimin said, eyes wide with apprehension.
“Are you…married?” Yoongi asked, eyes stubbornly aimed away from Jimin. When he heard the man snort, he looked back to glare at him.
“Married? Jihoon is my best friend’s child. She couldn’t keep him, so I adopted him, legally and everything,” Jimin explained with little shakes of his head. “So are you widowed?” Jimin asked next. Yoongi wouldn’t have been so reserved about marriage otherwise, would he?
“What? No! Yoona is my sister Yoonmi’s daughter but she passed away as well as her soulmate so I’m raising Yoona,” Yoongi said hurriedly, folding his arms petulantly.
“Do… Anyway, here’s my card. Let’s meet here again tomorrow and let our kids meet. Maybe we can figure out a solution then,” Jimin said, standing up and slapping a piece of cardboard on the table before going to his table.
Yoongi hurried back to Yoona and sat opposite her, drinking gulps of his coffee. Yoona snatched up the card on the table that Yoongi hadn’t managed to put back in his jeans and he knew Yoona would not give up till she got what she wanted. It was a trait she had gotten from Yoonmi which Yoongi honestly still treasured.
“Who is Park Jimin, daddy?” Yoona asked, eyes wide as she looked around for the man she had seen her daddy talking to.
It would be futile to lie to her because Yoona would probably read the characters on his neck now.
“He’s my soulmate,” he told her quietly, almost mumbling into his cup.
Yoona gasped. “So his name is the one that’s on your neck? And your name is on his? Daddy that’s so cool! Can we go say hi? Can I go say hi?” she said, excitement making her bounce in her chair while Yoongi kept shaking his head while shushing her to get his daughter to quieten down.
It was all in vain because Yoona pushed herself off the chair and went up to Jimin with a huge grin and even from his seat, he could hear her say, “Hi Mr Park Jimin, I am your soulmate’s daughter, Min Yoona.” He wanted to hide. But hearing Jimin’s giggles at that made his heart soar as he looked over at the table, seeing how Jimin spoke to her caringly. He was getting too soft for someone he was sure he was going to reject till a while ago.
Yoona came back a couple of minutes later with a small boy and Jimin in tow. Yoongi almost felt compelled to stand up before Yoona climbed onto her seat. With a gentle nudge, Jimin encourage the small boy to speak.
“Hello. My name is Park Jihoon. Nice to meet you,” the little boy said, eyes disappearing into his cheeks as he smiled up at Yoongi.
Almost cooing at the sight, the older man just smiled his wide gummy smile, pushing his chair back slightly so he could reach out and bring Jihoon to sit on his lap. Looking over, he realised the father and son pair had finished their drinks.
“Why don’t you sit a while, Jimin. Maybe we can have that meeting right now,” Yoongi said, smiling gently up at Jimin who was still standing stock still. With a stiff nod, he sat down on the only empty chair, smiling at Yoona who was squealing about her father’s soulmate being pretty.
“Yoona was saying you actually live quite close to where we stay,” Jimin said, smiling at his son and his happiness at being cuddled by Yoongi. The older man must be used to children, he guessed.
“Perhaps you should visit us someday then Jimin. Yoona would love to have Jihoon and you over, right Yoona?” Yoongi said, smiling across at her daughter who nodded fervently.
“What about you? Would you love to have Jihoon and I over?” Jimin asked, almost blushing when Yoongi’s eyes fell on him.
“Why is that a question? Of course I would. In fact, I would love it if over the course of a year or so, we could move in together to make sure we stay together, with our family,” Yoongi smiled awkwardly, hoping he hadn’t gone a step too far.
“I would love that too.” Jimin said, looking down at his hands on his lap.
“We should all be the Min’s. Only Jihoon doesn’t have a Min in his name yet,” Yoona pointed out, with the dramatic flourish that comes with being a 5-year-old.
“Why don’t I have a Min in my name, papa?” Jihoon asked, leaning towards his father.
Jimin pulled his son into his own lap and kissed his forehead. “You soon will be Min Jihoon, okay? You will have a Min too soon,” he placated the boy in his arms.
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“I can’t believe we found each other at Disneyland.”
“Yeah, we literally lived a fairytale love story huh.”
“Hyung shut up!”