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“Daddy! Daddy!” Dongsik groaned and rolled over, cursing that it was already morning.
“Dad!~” The small voice whined again. This time two little hands poked at his forearm through the thick bedspread. “Wake up!”
“Mn, I’m awake,” Dongsik squinted his eyes against the harsh morning sun and made out the small face of his angel staring directly back at him. Even just looking at her, he felt a smile tugging at his lips.
“Good morning sweetheart,” Dongsik brought his hand out and pinched the girl's cheeks. If you told Dongsik years ago that he would be able to settle down and have a child he wouldn't believe it. But the evidence of his Daughter, the light of his whole world, stood right in front of him.
“Appa said you have to do my hair or we’ll be late.” She grabbed his wrist pulling his hand away from her cheek.
Late? Late for what…
” Oh Shit!” Dongsik exclaimed, ripping off the blankets and grabbing his Daughter by the waist, hoisting her up under one arm. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier!?”
“I tried~” She lay limp in his hold already used to her Father’s antics, “and didn’t Appa say to watch your language.”
“He swears just as much as me.” Dongsik laughed in reply. He put her down on a chair near their dining table and looked around for her hairbrush only for his Daughter to simply put it in his hand giving him an unimpressed look. He hadn’t become that forgetful. He only lost his keys, phone, or Daughter's hairbrush a couple times a week. Domestic bliss indeed.
As he combed back the fly aways that had stuck to her face while she was asleep, Dongsik noticed the girl’s fingers were slightly trembling in her lap. Even though she would never admit it, he knew that his Daughter had been showing more nervous signs leading up to today.
“Sweetheart,” He started in a gentle voice, trying not to scare her off, “Are you worried for today?”
“No!” She said defensively, turning around to give her Father a glare.
Dongsik sighed and began recollecting all the hair that had fallen from his grasp due to her movements. He should've known it wouldn't have been this easy.
“It's your first day of school, no one would blame you if you were scare-”
“I’m not scared!” She shrieked, face turning red.
From the next room in the kitchen the sound rustling stopped and instead a loud voice carried through to where the two were, “Everything alright in there?”
The two in question looked back at each other, an unspoken truce held between them. They could get as loud and rowdy with each other as they wanted, but as soon as they made ‘Mother’ mad it was game over.
“Everything's fine Joowon-ah,” Dongsik called, still looking at his Daughter's face as if to convey that they had to work together to escape alive. She gave a small nod back and begrudgingly turned around so her Father could continue doing her hair.
He braided her hair in silence. Braiding was something he had to become good at after adopting the little angel. Although as much as he practiced or watched tutorials, he could never quite get it looking right. It always looked a little matted in how it had patches of hair sticking out near the end and uneven lumps near the top of her head.
“Sweetheart I think maybe you should ask your Appa to do this instead,” Dongsik messily tied up her hair and put his hands on her shoulders. Joowon was truly a lot better with his hands. Dongsik was more the type of Dad who could scare off bullies in the playground or go to their child’s sports days.
“No!” she huffed, placing her Father’s hands back on her head. “Y-you have to do it!”
“I have to?” Dongsik smiled to himself, fiddling with the small clip he’d attempted to put in. it truly did look like she'd just woken up. God he was such a useless parent. Dongsik began taking out the hair ties and clips, starting all over again, “Ok, I’ll try harder this time,”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his husband quickly dart through the room carrying a small pink lunch box in his arms. He stared feeling relaxed as the man darted back into the kitchen and ran through the room again with a water bottle in his hands. After he witnessed the man pass an oversized umbrella, small medical kit, and a full bottle of pepper spray from the kitchen to their Daughter's backpack, he knew maybe he should say something.
“Hey Joowon-ah, calm down, you look almost as nervous as this little one,” Dongsik said, pointing his head down at their Daughter who had already screamed that she wasn't nervous right back in his face.
“How are you not nervous!?” Joowon exclaimed walking over to them and leaning down to put on their Daughter’s shoes, “what if something bad happens to her? We didn't even send her to a kindergarten because the closest one to Manyang was owned by that awful homophob-”
Dongsik made a sharp noise through his teeth, inhaling quickly indicating to his partner that this conversation wasn't one they should be having in front of their Daughter. He knew she was aware of the stares they would get when they were out in public as a family, and he saw the way that his partners spoken words had affected her even now as she began biting on her nails.
Quickly tieing off her hair to the best of his abilities, he reached forwards moving her fingers away from her lips.
“Sweetheart, why don't you go get your school back and meet us in the car.” He said, turning her slightly so she could see his reassuring facial expression. She nodded once in reply as the tension in her shoulders slightly eased upon seeing his warm smile. She stood up and as soon as the front door made a loud bang meaning that she had left, Dongsik stood up and engulfed his husband in a tight hug.
“She’ll be okay,” he whispered into the other man's shoulder.
Joowon wrapped his arms around his Husband’s torso and gripped the fabric of his t-shirt tight. “I know, I just get worried.”
Dongsik hummed in reply nestling his head further into the crook of his partner’s neck, “we worry because we love her, there’s only so much a parent can do though,”
“...Is it bad that I sometimes wish she wouldn't grow up?”
“I feel the same way,” Dongsik leant back and positioned their heads so that he could give Joowon’s forehead a kiss, “Come on, she’ll be waiting for us,”
Moving away from each other, but still holding onto each other's hands, they made their way out of the house, locking the door behind them and piling into the car. In the backseat the little girl hummed to herself staring outside the window at passing clouds. Whether the noises she was making were intentional, neither of her parents brought it up. How could they when it was music to their ears?
As the school pulled into view, Dongsik’s heart jumped into his throat with anxiety.
I guess this is it.
“We can follow her in, right?” Joowon said hesitantly, squeezing Dongsik’s hand he never let go of.
“We’re following her whether they like it or not,” Dongsik said, sending him a smile.
Dongsik could barely remember the classroom number they had been given, but by following the hoard of parents with young children they eventually found their way to the secluded classroom with colorful drawings painting the walls.
Some of the other girls in the class stared at their Daughter and shared small chuckles. Dongsik’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion until it eventually clicked.
Her hair…
All the other students were completely dolled up taking pictures to mark the special occasion whereas their Daughter wore a well worn yellow hoodie Joowon had bought her for her fourth birthday as well as the little pink hair clip Dongsik put in that was dangerously close to falling out.
There was no time to ponder on that thought however as a young woman most likely the classroom teacher came up to them with an almost painfully tight smile.
“Aw~” the young teacher cooed looking at the small girl holding the hands of the men either side of her “it's so nice to see that not only your dad has come to drop you off, but your Grandpa has come along as well!”
Dongsik should’ve really seen this coming, after all they were in South Korea where same sex couples with children were incredibly rare. He looked over to Joowon giving a sympathetic smile ready to just stay silent and pass their child over to the oblivious woman but apparently their Daughter had different plans
“Grandpa?” she said, cocking her head to the side, ”I don't have a Grandpa.”
The woman's smile dropped and her hands came up to her mouth desperately trying to cover her mistake. It clearly wasn't the first impression she was trying to make.
“I'm so sorry little one, I had no idea,” she said with a small frown. Quickly painting a new and more refreshed smile on her face, she looked back over to Dongsik. “This must be your Uncle then!”
Dongsik really couldn't bear to watch this trainwreck continue for any longer as he knew his Daughter wouldn't settle for anything but the truth. Why did she have to inherit that from Joowon?
“Nice to meet you Ma’am,” He said extending his hand, “Me and my partner here are her Fathers,”
Her smile froze in an unnatural state, as if she was processing the newfound information and it wasn't really computing with what she had in mind about the three people in front of her.
“O-oh I see,” she said coughing to cover her stutter, indirectly refusing the handshake.
Joowon cringed pinching his face, unable to hide how he was just as uncomfortable about the situation. “Nice to meet you,” He said, bowing ever so slightly.
“Nice to meet you too,” She said, a little less painted this time. Even though she clearly wasn't completely fine with what she was witnessing, it was a whole lot better from the kindergarten they had tried to send their Daughter to before. The old woman manning the front desk wouldn't even let them inside after finding out that she had two Dads.
The school bell signaling the start of the day rang Dongsik out of his thoughts and reality set in with rumbling nausea. It was time to say goodbye.
“Angel,” Joowon said, crouching down to look their Daughter directly in the eye, “we’ll be here to pick you up at the end of the day. Don't get into any fights, treat your peers nicely, if there are any issues just tell you teacher and I’m sure she will be able to-”
“Puppy!” the little girl exclaimed, eyes moving from her Father’s face to a giant stuffed animal in the shape of a dog that was on the other slide of the classroom.
Dongsik laughed at her reaction. Clearly she was going to be just fine without them. He gave a little knowing look to his husband and watched as he dusted off his knees standing up. The little hand in his own let go and Dongsik stood staring as his everything walked into the classroom now holding the hand of her teacher.
“I didn't catch your name sweet thing? Could you remind me?” The teacher asked, leading the little girl further away from her parents.
“Mhm,” she said, nodding with her gummy smile showing, “Yuyeon, Lee Yuyeon.”
Yuyeon turned around once more waving to the two men standing just outside the classroom door who had sad and yet happy smiles on their faces.
“Bye dad!” She said equally to both of them, “Don't miss me too much!”
She stuck out her tongue and Dongsik did just the same, catching the twinkling sparkle in her eyes before the door in front of him drifted shut.
“Time to go home don't you think?” He asked Joowon who nodded in return.
It was time to go home.