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Jeon Sunmi grew up with two loving fathers. One of them her biological dad and the other one was her father's boyfriend at the time. When the young girl was only 3 years old, her dad and her papa got married. She's seen both of them from the moment she opened her eyes and knew them her whole lives, so Sun-Mi thought that she knew everything about them.
Okay well maybe not everything, because she is aware that before they became parents, her fathers had their own lives. They weren't always together, they never thought that they would even end up together. And it's not like her parents never told her how they got together, because they did. They mentioned several times how Jeongguk had taken a flight to where Jimin was staying abroad, ran through the rain to the elder's hotel and confessed his love for him. The rest is, as they say, history.
But it's not like she goes around reminding herself of that fact. She doesn't want to imagine how grossly in love her parents were when she sees it at home every single day.
She doesn't really think of it at all, until one day her uncle Taehyung says something that reminds her that she knows nothing about her parents. That she thought they were content with being a police officer and a tattoo artist. But with the way that her papa's face fell when her uncle mentioned something about a dance competition, she learns that maybe she'd been blind to who her parents really were.
So the sixteen year old sets out on a mission to find out whatever she can about her parents and who they were. She sets out to find out why that competition made her papa sad and her dad mildly angry. The teenager had to be sneaky though, while her dad might let it slide; since he believes in letting her curiosity guide her, her papa would ask her several tough questions to ensure that she was staying safe.
Hence why she enlists the help of her friends Soobin and Yeonjun. Despite not being related, the two were like family to her. They grew up together and even though the two of them are going to university now, they never fail to make Sunmi feel included.
"I dunno Nimi, do you really want to reopen your papa's old wounds by looking into that dance competition?" Yeonjun asks, pastel pink strands splayed over Soobin's stomach a stark contrast to his black shirt.
"Maybe there's a reason uncle Jimin doesn't talk about it. You said he looked upset right?" Soobin says, leaning back on his forearms. Sunmi groans, rolling onto her stomach to stare at her friends. There were pieces of grass stuck in her hair that Yeonjun sat up to pick out.
"You guys, papa clearly gave something up in order to be with dad. It clearly has to do with whatever happened then."
"Don't you think that if it was because of you dad that he would have looked guilty rather than mad? I saw uncle Jeongguk, he looked more pissed than anything. As if he was mad that appa even brought it up." Yeonjun mutters, flicking the dried grass away.
"I mean they also should have known that uncle Taehyung would bring it up. They all grew up together, were literally there for each other through everything. You can't blame him for being nostalgic now that they're a lot older." Soobin shrugs, defending his uncle.
"Appa could have just not brought it up, he didn't have to upset uncle Jimin and Jeongguk." Yeonjun sighs, resting his head back on his cousin's stomach.
"It's not like your dad did to make mine upset. It's fine, honestly." Sunmi says. "But are you two in or not? I want to learn what kinds of people my parents were before they became my parents." The two boys look at each other for a second before they sigh and nod in unison.
"But we want to know who our parents were too." They bargained. And really, Sunmi couldn't stop herself from agreeing.
⏤♡
It's only when she finds herself surrounded by tabloids and news article cutouts that she feels her heart aching. Every single article she had read about her papa all said the same thing; that he suffered an ankle fracture after landing wrong in the semi-final of his dance competition abroad. He had been in New York when the painful cracking was heard over the dying music.
There were several witness reports that recalled that within a second, the dancer's serene smile was replaced with a tenser, more strained version. He looked like his eyes were going to spill over with tears and yet he maintained his breathing, bowing respectfully before he limped off stage.
One of the retellings were done by her uncle Taehyung, who she learns was one of Jimin's co-dancers. He spins the tale of a young man who put all his dreams and hopes into that last jump, aiming to prove something. He crafts the time after the fall as chaotic and heartbreaking, witnessing his partner's lithe frame be wrought with sobs as the medics put their hands all over his swollen ankle. Even before they sat down, he heard his dance partner wail about how he knew he would never be able to dance again, not like how he used to.
Sunmi was silently sobbing when she feels heat emanating from behind her. She wipes her tears to look at the newcomer, only to feel a fresh wave of tears well up in her eyes. Jimin is looking at her, sadness written in his eyes as he offers her a reassuring smile.
"Your dad said I should let you discover this on your own. If I'd known my little girl would be crying to herself in her room upon learning it, I'd have told you myself." The male chuckles softly, trying to make light of the situation. Sunmi only wails as she launches herself into her papa's arms, tears soaking his shirt.
Jimin was stunned at his daughter's empathy for his situation. He wraps his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin, shielding her from the world around them. Seeing his daughter so distraught over him made him overwhelmed, part of him was touched at her empathy, adored in a way that reassured him that he was definitely this child's father (despite what people say.) but his heart also bled for her distressed sobs. It clenched as she fisted his shirt, pulling herself closer to him.
"Shh, it's okay little one. Papa is okay." Jimin soothes.
"But you're-you're not doing what you love. Not even close!" Sunmi wails again. Jimin chuckles softly, pressing a soothing kiss to the top of the little girl's head.
"Maybe, but I am with those that I love and that's a lot more important than doing what one loves." The full on sobs quiet down to sniffles as doe eyes, oh so similar to the ones that Jimin adores on his husband, stare back at him.
"You promise?"
"I pinky promise, my little one." He grins, holding out his pinky. The young girl instantly wraps her own pinky around her papa's, heart instantly soothed at the promise that he was happy with his current situation.
⏤♡
It's only later on that Jimin finds himself in his husband's arms, tears soaking the younger's chest. He was happy, indescribably happy with his family; yet part of his heart, part of him, will always remain on the dance floor. Part of him will always remain in that amphitheatre in New York, replaying the moment that he felt the fracture.
It's true what they say, an artist always dies two deaths and the first is always the most painful.
"You could always teach Sunmi how to dance?" Jeongguk murmurs when Jimin's breathing evens out, little puffs of hot air ticking the younger's chest. His husband scoffs, burying his face into the honeyed skin.
"And when I can't teach her what she wants because I shouldn't be putting too much pressure on that ankle? Then what? Am I supposed to disappoint our princess?" There's bitterness in Jimin's voice, barbs being thrown around, but Jeongguk knows that it isn't for him.
"You're supposed to be honest with her. Use me as your dancing doll. You're not alone, baby. You never are." Tears spring to Jimin's eyes, the hot liquid dripping onto Jeongguk's chest as he smoothes his palm over the defined abdomen of his husband.
"Thank you–" the former dancer croaks much later, eyes heavy. "–for giving me such an amazing family. I'm sorry it came at the cost of you not being able to compete in the finals." Jimin sniffles, looking up at his life partner.
Jeongguk smiles down at him affectionately. "Dancing never meant the world to me because you are my world. When I saw you on TV, pain written on your face, I felt like my world was crashing down. I just had to see you." The younger confesses, lips pressing against the slightly heated forehead of his partner.
"But you threw everything away for me. You abandoned dance to take up tattooing. It isn't even your backup plan." Jimin points out, slowly becoming more and more distressed as his mind refuses to move on from the memories that plague him.
"It wasn't, but you never asked what my backup to dancing was."
"And what was your backup plan if dancing didn't work out for you?"
"Marry you and support you from the sidelines." A broken, watery laugh leaves Jimin's lips as he surges up to kiss his husband.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" He murmurs between kisses. Pulling back slightly before Jeongguk pulls him in again, their mouths working desperately with each other, the kiss becoming fervent the longer their lips remain in contact. Any words of insecurity lodged in Jimin's mouth were skillfully licked out by Jeongguk, dismissing them entirely.
To Jeongguk, he didn't need trophies to remind him of his successes. He had a wonderful husband and daughter to remind him.
To Sunmi's credit, if she hadn't gone in search of who her parents were before they were her fathers, Jimin might have never confronted his own insecurities or danced again.
Now, Saturday afternoons are reserved for the Park-Jeons to relocate to their backyard so Jimin can teach his daughter how to dance with the hopes that one day she may exceed him. And if she doesn't, that's okay too.
Dance isn't his life anymore, but it will always be a huge part of who he is.
So he's thankful to his daughter's curiosity and his husband's patience.
Without them, facing Jimin's demons would have been hard for him.