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The alarm clock blares obnoxiously loud from the nightstand and it takes everything in Hyunjin to not pull a Garfield by ‘I hate Mondays’-ing his way to five more minutes. Five minutes always becomes ten. Ten becomes thirty. And it’s all downhill from there.
Hyunjin cracks one eye open, the other eye remaining glued shut as he peeks at the digital, red numbers flashing from his alarm clock. 7:00 AM. A sigh escapes as he lets his eyes shut for a minute — just until the relentless alarm becomes impossible to ignore.
Another sigh leaves him when he realizes he has to go wake up his daughter — Dori — the only person who is less of a morning person than he could ever be. He throws off his blankets and reaches an arm out to blindly smack at the alarm clock until the loud ringing stops. A grunt leaves him as he pops his spine in a deep, satisfying stretch that is followed by a yawn.
As Hyunjin stares up at the ceiling, he has to wonder if he’s stalling getting out of bed because he’s still tired, or because he’s dreading having to wake up his always-grumpy-in-the-morning child.
Probably the latter.
There’s only so long he can stall, though, so he gets up from bed with a huff and stretches one more time — reaching his arms high above his head and groaning when he releases the stretch. That wakes him up just a little.
“Doriiiii~” Hyunjin sing-songs as he walks into the bedroom next door to his. They stay in a two-bedroom apartment with more than enough space to accommodate the two of them.
His morning call is met with the movement of Dori under the covers, shifting at the sound of his voice but not waking up. He tries again.
“Dori, it’s time to wake up.” He reaches down to pat her back over the Disney princess blanket she’s swaddled in.
He gets a long whine this time.
“I know, bug. I know.” Hyunjin peels back the blanket and receives a pained whine from the three-year-old as she brings two hands up to cover her eyes in an attempt to stop the bedroom light from getting into them.
“Daddy, why?” Dori is pouting now as she peeks between her fingers to look at Hyunjin with an expression far too adorable to be called a glare.
“It’s wake-up time. You know the drill, we only sleep in on weekends.”
Her sleepy pout looks so devastating and all Hyunjin can do is coo at her as he pushes loose strands of hair away from her face. Every night, he sends her to bed with a bun, and every morning, she wakes up with the ribbon lost in her blankets and her hair all over her head. All he can do is sigh fondly as he pats one of Dori’s sleep-puffy cheeks.
“Come on, bug. I’ll make you banana pancakes.”
By 9:30 AM, Hyunjin has finished eating breakfast with Dori, successfully cleaned syrup from the toddler’s hands, and sat her down in the living room to watch the morning cartoon channel while he sets himself up at the small desk set-up in his room, leaving his bedroom door open to keep an ear out for Dori.
He has to record and upload today’s lesson-plan videos for his online class before noon.
Hyunjin works as a primary school teacher, running grade levels kindergarten - second grade. He teaches online and currently has an amazing turnout of twenty-seven kids in his virtual class. He teaches kids who are being homeschooled and has even made friends with many of the children’s parents.
By noon, Hyunjin has finished uploading today’s recorded lesson plans. An additional half hour is spent responding to emails from parents and posting good morning messages to his classroom boards.
12:35 PM. right on time.
“Dori, put your shoes on. It’s time to go play,” Hyunjin calls out, laughing as he hears excited footsteps thumping against the ground as Dori rushes to grab her shoes from the front door.
This is their weekly routine for Monday through Friday — eating breakfast together, Hyunjin recording lessons for his classes, going to Dori’s favorite park to let her get some energy out, eating lunch together, Hyunjin grading assignments, eating dinner together, bathtime, and then bedtime.
It’s a very organized routine — one Hyunjin has rarely strayed from for the past six months. Sometimes it gets draining to repeat the same steps as if on a loop, but Hyunjin thinks he might lose his mind if he stops. It’s comfortable and it works. No need to change anything.
As Hyunjin watches Dori run off to play with some of the other younger kids, he smiles to himself. A few of the other parents he’s become acquainted with started to bring their young children out at this time so that they could all play together — an arrangement he and the other parents came to while chatting over brunch about three months ago.
He’s about to get lost in his thoughts when he spots his best friends — Seungmin and Felix — waving him over from where they’re sitting on one of the park’s benches.
Hyunjin can’t help but smile, stress momentarily seeping away as he walks over to join the two males beckoning him closer.
As Hyunjin listens to Seungmin go into extensive detail about a new tv drama he and Felix are watching, he’s completely blind to the all-black vehicle lurking amongst a few other cars parked along the roadside.
╱╲
Minho sits inside of said car, expression fond, and eyes sad as he watches Hyunjin and Dori through a tinted windshield. Just like Hyunjin has a schedule he’s been following for the last six months — Minho does too — and this is it.
Weekends are his time to visit with Dori since those are his only off days as of right now, but on weekdays, he takes his lunch break at 12:30 PM every day so that he can watch Dori run around playing with her friends. And so that he can capture moments of Hyunjin like this, laughing with his friends.
Minho is glad to see that Hyunjin is socializing along with Dori — glad to see the two of them looking happy. That’s all Minho ever wants to see. Maybe he’s selfish for his actions, but he can’t be bothered to feel any sense of wrongness lurking to see the two people he loves most enjoying themselves.
Time always seems to go by too fast in these moments. The alarm announcing the end of his lunch break comes way sooner than Minho is ready for, and the sadness in his eyes only increases as he shifts the gear to drive and begins heading back to the station. Being a cop is demanding, and draining as all hell. It’s a great source of income, though — allows him to be able to spoil his little girl with all the Disney princess merchandise she could ever want.
Minho loves his job, but he hates the hours. Hates how little time he has for the people he should have all the time in the world for. As Minho drives off, he glances down at the wedding band around his finger. If only I’d gotten my priorities right sooner.
╱╲
“Han is obsessed with legos these days. Our apartment floor is covered with lego blocks. I stepped on one this morning and my whole life flashed before my eyes.”
Felix updates Hyunjin on Han — Seungmin and Felix’s four-year-old, adopted son — and Dori’s best friend.
“I understand your pain. Dori leaves her dolls all over the apartment. What is it with these kids and keeping their toys everywhere except their toy boxes?”
Seungmin laughs at that.
“Was everything okay over the weekend? We missed you at Sunday brunch.”
Seungmin’s expression is soft and friendly as always, but the concern in his eyes isn’t masked in the slightest.
“Oh yeah, I, uh…”
Hyunjin thinks back to yesterday — Sunday — their designated brunch gathering day where he, Felix, and Seungmin get together to chat and discuss plans for the week over mimosas.
Hyunjin always gets lost in his head on the weekends — hell, he gets lost in his head every day but having Dori around makes it easier. On weekends, Dori is gone, and Hyunjin always plummets into those dark corners of his mind that scream and beg for him to do something different. He’s usually able to pull it together for Sunday brunch, always feeling much better after spending the late morning hours with his best friends.
But he didn't make it that far yesterday.
He had laid curled up in a mess of blankets, accompanied by only an empty tub of ice cream as he stayed in one spot for the entirety of Saturday and Sunday, only having moved to go to the bathroom. And even then, it had to be an absolute emergency.
According to science, Hyunjin is seventy percent water. He cried out at least sixty percent of it over the weekend. Usually, Saturday is his crying day, but this week, Sunday joined in.
Hyunjin notices Felix has joined Seungmin in staring at him with a concerned expression. He hurries to reply, realizing he’d trailed off.
“I overslept. I wasn’t feeling too well on Saturday so I took some medicine and it knocked me out. I didn’t wake up until two in the afternoon.” He’s not completely lying. He did have to take medicine for allergies on Saturday, and it did put him to sleep. But he was awake in time for their eleven o’clock brunch meet-up, he just couldn’t bring himself to move to go.
“I meant to text you guys after I’d woken up, but I kept dozing off. I’ll be there bright and early for brunch next Sunday, though. Promise.”
Seungmin still has concern written all over his face, but he nods, seeming content with Hyunjin’s answer. Felix seems to accept it too, already moving on to the next conversation topic.
“We’re taking Han to a birthday party on Wednesday, it’s for one of the kids who live down the hall from us. I think she’s turning five. You and Dori should come.”
Felix is beaming at him so brightly the sun is put to shame. It makes finding a way to say no seem impossible.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Hyunjin tries.
“Oh please, it's an open invite. The kid doesn’t have that many friends, so the more the merrier. We were told to feel free to invite some friends.”
Damn.
“What time will it be? Wednesdays are activity days, so I’m usually pretty occupied managing my students’ projects.”
“It’s at three, you’re usually finished up for the day by that time, right?” Seungmin is smiling at him now too.
Damn again.
“Well,” Hyunjin wracks his mind for excuses and comes up with nothing. He internally sighs as he watches Dori chase Han around the playground, realizing that he’s being selfish by depriving her of a chance to do something fun just because he’s scared to stray away from his comfortable schedule loop.
“Sure. We’ll go. I think Dori will be happy to get out of the house.”
Felix, always quick to get excited, actually squeals in delight as he pulls out his phone and begins swiping at the screen.
“Great! It will be fun. It’s going to be at this indoor playscape place that has great reviews. I’m going to text you the invitation right now.”
Hyunjin checks his phone when he receives a text from Felix in the group chat between the three of them.
“It’s going to be My Little Pony-themed,” Seungmin tacks on between Felix’s excited party detail rambling.
“Sounds like a good time. I’ll take Dori to pick out a toy to bring as a gift.”
“We were about to go shopping for a birthday gift after leaving the park — you should come with us! We can go together!”
Felix claps his hands together, delighted, as he continues.
“We can stop for frozen yogurt! Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”
That’s how Hyunjin ends up spending the rest of his afternoon out with Seungmin, Felix, and the kids. They shop for a gift first, finding medium-sized pony figures with brushable hair. Dori gets that as her gift to take to the party.
Felix ends up picking out a My Little Pony pajama set complete with a sleep mask and slippers as Han’s gift to take. It doesn’t end there — no — Hyunjin was conned . Felix drags him off to the housewares section and Seungmin gives him an apologetic smile as he goes in the opposite direction, taking the kids back to the toy aisle to pick something for themselves.
Felix uses him as a second opinion for picking out a set of curtains, a tablecloth, and three different vases to “add some more flavor” to his and Seungmin’s apartment, he says.
When they leave the store, Felix brings up frozen yogurt. Hyunjin points out that it is past lunchtime and he doesn’t want Dori to spoil her appetite. For a minute, he thinks they’ll take him back home so he can make lunch for Dori, but he should know better.
Instead, Seungmin points out that they haven’t had lunch either and suggests they all go out for lunch together and save frozen yogurt for another day.
Hyunjin expects a fast food place, but Felix takes them to a Mediterranean restaurant to sit down and eat. The food is great, the kids seem to think so too (even though they just got chicken strips). The atmosphere is lively and beautiful.
Seungmin and Felix look picture perfect as they lean close to each other, fitting great with the beautiful restaurant around them. Hyunjin is convinced that if he snapped a photo of them right now, it could make headlines in top magazines.
Despite how nice everything is, Hyunjin wants — no — needs to go home.
So many hours have been spent off the little schedule he’s become so used to. Staring at his sweet, ideal couple-y friends is only making things worse.
Hyunjin excuses himself from the table, laughing at some joke Felix tells as he departs so that they don’t get worried and try to offer to go with him. They don’t seem to suspect anything.
When Hyunjin gets to the bathroom, he steps into a stall, locking it behind him and standing with his back to the door. His arms come up to wrap around himself and he tries not to cry. He tries so hard not to cry.
But his efforts are no match for the overwhelming emotion clawing at him from the inside, desperate to get out. He lets the tears fall, body shaking with silent sobs. He knows that attempting to hold back the tears will only cause his eyes to go red, and then it would be obvious that he’s been crying. He can’t have that.
He doesn’t even know why he’s crying.
Except he does.
But he won’t admit that to anyone — won’t even admit it to himself.
He leaves the stall and splashes his face with cold water at the sink, patting it dry and composing himself before going back out into the restaurant, a friendly smile painting itself back onto his face as he joins his friends at the table again.
By the time Hyunjin and Dori make it back home, it’s mid-evening. He ended up ordering two extra plates of food to go before they left the restaurant. The to-go plates are going to be tonight’s dinner.
Normally he’d be starting to cook right now, but his schedule has been thrown off for the day. He puts their plates in the fridge after Dori says she’s full halfway through her second plate of chicken strips today.
Hyunjin is on auto-pilot after that, letting Dori watch TV while he looks over assignment submissions from his students. Bathtime is earlier tonight, and cut shorter than normal, much to Dori’s disappointment as she doesn’t get to bring toys into the bath like she usually does. Hyunjin feels a little bad, but he can’t help it. He’s drained, he needs the day to end.
Dori plays with the baby doll Seungmin bought her at the store earlier, hugging it to her chest while Hyunjin brushes her hair before tying it up into a bun with the usual ribbon.
Bedtime is earlier tonight too.
Hyunjin tucks Dori in at seven instead of her usual eight o’clock bedtime. He kisses her forehead and tells her goodnight before leaving her to fall asleep. When he makes it back to his room, he throws himself onto his mattress, hugging a pillow tight against his face and crying himself to sleep for the third day in a row.
As the week goes on, Hyunjin continues to feel off. He takes Dori to the birthday party on Wednesday as promised, and he spaces out through the entirety of it. He’s thankful for the busy occasion — It keeps Seungmin and Felix from noticing his off behavior.
The off feeling is still heavily present when Friday comes around. Hyunjin’s in the middle of doing laundry that he dug up from his closet in a desperate attempt for a distraction. He’s halfway through folding the batch of clothes that just came out of the dryer when he suddenly pauses halfway through folding a sweatshirt.
He recognizes it.
This is Minho’s.
A vibrant green, cotton sweatshirt with a red collar line and cat face stitched in the middle. He bought it as a gag gift for Minho one Christmas. It’s supposed to be one of those ugly Christmas sweaters — and to Hyunjin, it is very ugly. But somehow, it became Minho’s favorite sweatshirt.
Hyunjin can’t help the way the corners of his lips twitch up into a smile as he remembers how often Minho would wear this horrendous thing. There was one time Minho surprised him with an at-home movie night date and he wore the sweater all night. Hyunjin had threatened to withhold cuddles if Minho didn’t take the sweatshirt off, but he ended up caving and cuddling him anyway when it became clear that Minho wasn’t going to take it off.
Minho wore it so often. It’s a Christmas sweater, but Minho wore it all year round. It’s a little worn from the repeated washes but still soft as ever. He’s sure Minho would like to have it back, so he folds it and sets it carefully to the side.
╱╲
When Minho shows up at the door on Saturday morning, Hyunjin is caught off guard.
Weekends are Minho’s days with Dori. Hyunjin knows this. He’s caught off guard because this week is his turn to drop Dori off at Minho’s place — which is why Minho’s presence at his door is unexpected.
“Minho?”
“Good morning, Hyunjin.”
Minho gives him a warm smile and Hyunjin tries to return it. His smile comes out pained, and there isn’t much Hyunjin can do to change that.
“What are you doing here?” Hyunjin moves aside to let Minho into the apartment as he asks this, closing the door and using it as an anchor to rest his back against as he gives Minho a puzzled look. “It’s my drop-off day.”
“Oh, is it? My mistake. I thought it was my turn to come for pick-up.”
Truth be told, Minho knows fully well that it isn’t his day to pick up. He just wanted to be able to see Hyunjin a little longer today. Normally when Hyunjin does drop-offs, he’s very quick about, gone just as quick as he shows up.
When Minho does pick-ups, he gets to linger just a little bit and he savors every minute. That’s why he intentionally showed up today, knowing his chances of getting to stick around are higher if Hyunjin isn’t expecting him.
“It’s okay. Um, I haven’t packed her clothes for the weekend yet. Let me go get those for you.”
Minho watches him go, opening his arms for Dori when she comes running at him excitedly.
“Papa!”
“Hey, princess Dori~” Minho pulls the toddler up to sit on his lap, looking invested as she shows him the new baby doll she got earlier in the week.
“That’s a very pretty doll, are you going to bring it with you to papa’s for the weekend?” Dori nods excitedly at Minho’s question, putting the doll on the other side of his lap. The action makes him smile.
“How have the classes been going?” Minho attempts to strike up a conversation with Hyunjin who is busy layering a couple of outfits into Dori’s weekend bag — a pink backpack with Aurora from Sleeping Beauty on it.
For a minute, Minho thinks he isn’t going to get a reply, but then Hyunjin responds.
“Classes are going well. My kindergarten class made macaroni art for our arts and crafts day. The pictures they sent in were so cute.” Hyunjin zips up the backpack, all finished packing the clothes into it. “I’m going to make a collage of their submissions later today and post it to the class board. It’ll be like a virtual art wall.”
“That sounds so cute.”
Hyunjin brings Dori’s backpack over and Minho wishes it would have taken him longer to pack. He’s not ready to go, but he rises to his feet anyway, holding their daughter on his hip and slinging one strap of the backpack onto his opposite shoulder.
“How has uh, how’s work been for you?”
Minho is grateful for the conversation being continued. He can’t stop the grin that appears whenever he looks at Hyunjin.
“Work has been busy as always. The usual.”
“That’s good.” Hyunjin pauses, remembering he has something to give Minho.
Minho watches Hyunjin walk off, wondering what he went to get. He positively bursts from joy when he sees a familiar vibrant green and red fabric that he would recognize anywhere.
“I found this when cleaning out my closet. Figured you would like to have it back.”
Hyunjin passes the folded sweatshirt to Minho who looks as happy as a kid on Christmas morning. Their hands brush briefly and Hyunjin feels warm metal pass over his skin. He doesn’t even have to look at Minho’s hand to know what it is — but he does anyway, letting his eyes fall to Minho’s fingers where his wedding band sits, golden and glimmering.
╱╲
This isn’t the first time Hyunjin has noticed it. He’s seen it on Minho’s finger every time they crossed paths during pick-ups and drop-offs. Despite the divorce of six months between them, Minho has not stopped wearing his wedding ring.
That thought makes something stir in Hyunjin — something he doesn’t understand. He’s not sure he’s ready to unpack those feelings yet.
When he looks up, Minho is looking at him with one of those heart-melting smiles he wears so well. Hyunjin’s staring was probably not as discreet as he hoped and he’s sure Minho caught him looking. He tries to not be obvious about his embarrassment at being caught staring.
“Dori ate breakfast already, so you only have to worry about lunch and dinner.”
Nothing spares embarrassment like a subject change. Hyunjin mentally pats himself on the back for quick thinking.
“Got it. Thanks again,” Minho holds up the sweatshirt, tucking it under his arm when he leaves Hyunjin’s apartment.
Hyunjin watches from the window as Minho’s car leaves the parking lot. His eyes follow the sleek black vehicle up the street until it becomes a tiny dot in the distance. He lingers by the window for a minute longer before retreating to his bedroom.
Normally, this would be when Hyunjin begins his Saturday crying session. But he has something to do first — an itch he’d been fighting off until Minho was gone. He opens the drawer of his nightstand, picking up the gold ring that sits there. The curse to all his dreams and the grace to all his nightmares — his wedding ring.
Hyunjin slides the ring onto his finger. The metal is cold where it presses against his skin. He expected it to feel weird to wear it again after six months of having it off. To his surprise, it just feels… right.
He lays down, resting back against his pillows and gently cradling his now ring-clad hand. He remembers the day he saw this ring for the very first time — remembers the way his chest grew tight in the best possible way — remembers having to blink hard past watery eyes to even see the ring.
Hyunjin remembers the day Minho proposed very clearly.
Minho guided him to their favorite date spot — a scenic botanical garden with a large marble fountain at the center that Hyunjin loved so much. That day went like many of their usual weekend dates — starting with a tasteful meal and ending with a stroll through the gardens before wrapping up with a picture for Hynjin to add to their couples' scrapbook.
It went differently this time though. Instead of posing for a picture with Hyunjin, Minho got down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a shining gold ring that took Hyunjin’s breath away. A jogger had passed by them with a congratulatory thumbs up in passing and it made Hyunjin break out into laughter as he dropped down to his knees with Minho, hugging him tightly as he chanted '“yes yes yes'' over and over a million times until it began to not sound like a word anymore.
They’d stayed like that, hugging on their knees with the fountain pouring water in beautiful, curved streams behind them. It took five minutes for Hyunjin to separate from the hug long enough to let Minho slide the ring onto his finger.
That was just the start of a beautiful memory. Hyunjin slowly twists the ring on his finger as he thinks back to their wedding day — two and a half years ago.
Minho standing at the altar wearing a lavender suit with a white, silk button-up underneath, the matching other half to Hyunjin’s white suit paired with a lavender, silk button-up. The bouquet in his hands contained a mix of white and purple flowers that Hyunjin didn’t know the name of, but vaguely recognized as ones he’d seen during their trips to the botanical gardens before.
That attention to detail made Hyunjin nearly melt as he walked down the aisle. Dori was only a few months old at the time, sitting in the guests' section, held by Minho’s friend, Chan. Wedding march played, courtesy of the live orchestra performing for the event, only pausing when it was time for vows to be exchanged. The newlywed grooms wore flower crowns that matched the bouquet held by Hyunjin.
Everything about that day had been so beautiful. Hyunjin wishes it could have lasted forever.
But it didn’t.
For the last six months, that beautiful exchange has been dead — killed by divorce — a divorce that Hyunjin asked for. With this realization at the forefront of his mind, Hyunjin rolls over in bed to start his scheduled Saturday crying session.
╱╲
Dori and Minho’s Saturday is spent building a fort out of sheets and pillows to hide away in and watch movies from inside of. Their day ends with the usual takeout for dinner since Minho can’t cook to save his life.
Minho has a bit of a routine with Dori too. Just like Hyunjin takes Dori to the park daily, Minho takes Dori to his favorite botanical gardens every Sunday before it’s time for her to go back with Hyunjin. She likes to run around and touch every flower in sight, and Minho likes to watch her do just that.
Today is no different. He takes Dori to the gardens to enjoy the beautiful Sunday afternoon — watches her run clumsy laps around the fountain that Minho proposed to Hyunjin in front of. He doesn’t realize that he has begun to cry until Dori is standing in front of him and hugging his leg tightly in an adorable attempt to comfort him.
When he picks Dori up, the small toddler reaches up to wipe away his tears.
Dori is pouting. “Why is papa sad?”
Minho sniffs, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Dori’s head.
“Papa is okay. Let’s go get ice cream to cheer up, yeah?”
Dori gives Minho a concerned look that is almost too stern for a child her age, but she is unable to resist the proposition of ice cream, nodding her head quickly.
“Can I get sprinkles papa?”
Minho laughs. “You can get as many toppings as you want, princess.”
And he means it. Hyunjin would surely have a fit if he saw the atrocity of toppings piled on top of Dori’s bowl of ice cream, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. After all, Minho can’t judge Dori’s ice cream topping selection when his bowl is a mountain of sprinkles and gummy bears.
The rest of their day goes by pleasantly slowly and Minho savors every minute with his precious daughter, currently watching her sleep in his bed — passed out from their sugary treats. She has her own room at Minho’s apartment just like she does at Hyunjin’s, but she never sleeps in it. When she’s at Minho’s, she climbs into bed with him, her explanation being that she misses him.
Minho gladly lets her snuggle up to his side every night, feeling bad that she only sees him two times out of the week. That can’t be easy on her — It’s certainly not easy on Minho, and if the divorce is anything to go by — it wasn’t easy on Hyunjin either.
Right when Minho is about to fall asleep alongside Dori, he hears a knock at the front door and hurries to sit upright. Hyunjin, right on time as always, is standing there looking soft as ever, dressed in a beige cardigan over a white turtleneck and light jeans. Must have been a ‘brunch with friends’ day , Minho thinks to himself as he lets Hyunjin inside.
“It’s so quiet. Where’s Dori?”
Minho replies while walking toward his bedroom to locate said child. “She’s asleep. We were very active today.”
Hyunjin hums, walking into the bedroom after Minho, looking around at the simple, messy set-up of the room, tempted to lecture him about the heap of laundry on the floor. He catches himself though, realizing that it’s not his place to speak on it.
When Minho gently rouses Dori from her sleep, the sleepy toddler reaches up to be held, clinging to Minho like a lifeline as she mumbles something incoherent. Hyunjin has half a mind to feel envious. Dori never wakes up that peacefully with him, always giving him hell during wake-up attempts.
Hyunjin reaches to take Dori from Minho and is met with a displeased, “No!” followed by a sharp head turn in the opposite direction from Dori.
Both males’ eyes go wide at the sudden outburst. Dori has never reacted like this before.
“Hey, what’s the matter princess?” Minho tries.
“No wanna go,” Dori sniffles.
Minho and Hyunjin share a confused look. This is new. Sure, Dori has pouted when it was time to leave in past visits, but this is the first time she has made such a scene and neither of them knows what to do about it.
“You have to go, bug, Papa has to go to work tomorrow. You know that.”
But Dori doesn’t want to be reasoned with,
“No!”
Hyunjin tries again. “Okay, well, you can stay overnight and I’ll just come back to get you early in the morning before Papa has to go to work. How about that?”
Dori shakes her head firmly, clearly upset.
“Daddy no go!”
Hyunjin is confused. Dori doesn’t want to leave Minho’s place but also doesn’t want Hyunjin to go either. That doesn’t make any sense.
“Dori, Daddy can’t stay—” Hyunjin starts, but Dori doesn’t want to hear it.
“Why?”
“Because…” Hyunjin trails off. “Well, because…”
He looks at Minho as if the other male can answer the question for him, but is met with Minho wearing an expression of wonder that matches Dori — like he’s waiting to hear a reason why as well.
Hyunjin sighs.
“You can stay for the night if you want. You’re always welcome here, Hyunjin.”
And Hyunjin wants to scream because of course Minho says that and of course, he means it. All he can do is nod, a silent agreement to stay the night.
Once Dori is reassured that she’s not leaving, she falls back asleep and Minho lays her down, moving to the kitchen to brew two mugs of tea while they converse.
Hyunjin sighs into his cup.
“I don’t know what to do. She’s never reacted like this before.”
“I wasn’t expecting that either, but I meant it when I said you can stay the night if you are comfortable with that. Maybe she’ll be less cranky about going home with you after getting a good night’s sleep.”
Hyunjin nods, blowing at his tea before taking a long sip.
“I’ll make dinner,” is his response, and Minho looks thrilled at the idea.
╱╲
When dinner is ready, Minho wakes Dori up to eat. The still half-asleep child clings to him throughout their first family dinner in six months.
Hyunjin finds it kind of nice — chatting with Minho about his brunch outing — listening to Minho share gossip from the station — and watching Minho feed Dori her food.
“That was the first home-cooked meal I’ve had in months,” Minho admits while helping rinse dishes while Hyunjin washes them after dinner. “So, Thank you.”
For a reason Hyunjin can’t figure out, those words make him smile to himself. Minho never was the cooking type and always loved whatever hot plate of food Hyunjin put in front of him. It felt nice to prepare dinner for him, but he will keep that to himself.
“No problem, Minho. It’s the least I can do since you’re having me over for the night.”
Minho smiles at that.
When bedtime comes around, Dori is ready, still sleepy from her nap that had been cut short by dinner. Minho is ready too, needing to sleep for work in the morning.
“You and Dori can take the bed,” Minho offers.
“That won’t be necessary. Dori sleeps on her own and I’m not going to kick you out of your bed.”
“She doesn’t sleep alone here. She always lays down with me.”
“Well then you two can share the bed, I’m fine with the couch.”
Dori whines and reaches for Hyunjin, so he goes, laying beside her on Minho’s bed.
Minho moves to leave the room and Dori cries out, “Papa no go!” reaching for him too.
That’s how they end up like this — the three of them sleeping together — Minho and Hyunjin laying on the outer edges of the bed with Dori splayed out asleep in the middle of them.
That’s not how they wake up, though.
At some point during the night, Dori gets up to pee and wanders off to her bed, leaving her dads to wake up in their current cuddled-up position.
Hyunjin wakes up first, warm in a way that can only come from being embraced in Minho’s arms, his face laid against the other’s chest. He’d feel embarrassed about the small puddle of drool he’s created on Minho’s shirt if he wasn’t so goddamn comfortable .
He doesn’t know the last time he slept this well.
Actually, he does.
Over six months ago.
That was the last time he was able to sleep this comfortably. He’s never once slept uncomfortably with Minho present. And right now Minho is very present, his heartbeat and steady breaths being proof of that.
Warning alarms are blaring loud in Hyunjin’s mind, screaming at him to abandon ship before things get dangerous. But it’s way too late. Hyunjin was screwed the moment he laid his head on Minho’s chest in the middle of the night and, well, maybe he’s okay with that.
Hyunjin shuts his eyes, pretending to be asleep — in case Minho wakes up. He doesn’t want this moment to end, but he’s not ready to openly show that yet, and cuddling his ex-husband willingly would give him away for sure.
So he pretends to sleep for as long as he can, unaware that Minho has been awake for an hour already and has been doing the same thing — pretending to sleep so he doesn’t have to let go.
The two successfully fool each other with their fake sleeping, but their blissful cuddle session comes to an end much sooner than either of them wanted when Dori runs in, jumping on the bed and shaking Hyunjin, “Daddy, breakfast!”
As much as he would love to continue pretending to sleep, Hyunjin can not ignore his daughter’s hungry request, so he leaves Minho’s arms and immediately misses the warmth as he pads into the kitchen. At least I can make him breakfast before he goes to work , Hyunjin thinks regarding Minho.
He does just that, amazed that he even finds ingredients to cook a decent meal in the fridge, considering Minho doesn’t cook. Breakfast sandwiches made with fried eggs, bacon, and shredded potatoes are plated and waiting at the table when Minho steps out of the bedroom forty minutes later, dressed in his police officer uniform, ready for work.
“Good morning to me. First dinner, and now breakfast? I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
“Oh shut up,” Hyunjin laughs, bringing a mug of coffee to sit beside Minho’s plate at the table.
Minho only grins, sitting down and bringing the steaming mug of coffee to his lips while Hyunjin smooths a few wrinkles out of his uniform with his hands — giving into the familiar action so naturally. He has to stop himself from giving Hyunjin a thank you kiss the way he would have six months ago.
“Papa work?” Dori has de-constructed her breakfast sandwich and is in the middle of eating a slice of bacon when she blinks at Minho with a little pout in place.
Minho smiles apologetically. But he’s saved from having to bear the bad news by Hyunjin speaking up for him.
“Yes Dori, you know papa has to go to work. And we have to go back home today because Daddy needs to work today.”
Dori looks displeased, but she doesn’t make a scene like yesterday.
“Don’t you want to go to the park and play with Han? How will you do that if we don’t go home hm?”
That does the trick. Dori perks up and it’s like she forgets she’s supposed to be huffy as she dives into giggly rambles about her best friend, Han. Minho gives him an appreciative hand squeeze with his ring-clad hand and Hyunjin doesn’t have time to think much of it, Minho’s hand retreating to pick up his breakfast sandwich.
╱╲
They all head out at the same time, Minho leaving for work, and Hyunjin heading back home with Dori. Hyunjin records his daily lessons for his class, and as usual, takes Dori to play at the park with Han, and chats with Seungmin and Felix. They go along with their usual schedule, but there’s something different this time.
Hyunjin starts sliding his wedding ring onto his finger every night before bed. Come morning, he always takes it off and tucks it away in the drawer of his nightstand. But at bedtime, he relishes the warm feeling that comes with wearing it while he cuddles a pillow close to his chest.
He adds this new step to his schedule for the week, and he swears that his quality of sleep improves a bit more each night he wears his ring.
When the weekend approaches, Hyunjin has Dori packed and ready to go for Minho when he shows up, but the visit exchange doesn’t go as expected. Dori looks up at Minho and tugs at his pant leg with a hopeful smile on her small face.
“Papa, stay here.”
That’s how they end up with a repeat of last week but at Hyunjin’s place this time. They spend all of Saturday together, binging Disney movies at Dori’s request. And for the first time in six months, Saturday isn’t a crying day for Hyunjin.
They have lunch together, Minho helps Hyunjin change out a few old lightbulbs throughout the apartment, Dori drags them both to a tea party featuring apple juice in tiny plastic tea cups, and they order pizza for dinner. For once, Hyunjin is enjoying his Saturday and he wishes it could be never-ending.
The night ends with the three of them piling into Hyunjin’s bed after making a makeshift nest of blankets there. Bedtime is full of tickles, giggles, and happy chatter as they doze off one by one, Starting with Dori and ending with Hyunjin after he slips his ring on — not even thinking about the action as he does it reflexively.
When Hyunjin wakes up the next morning, he’s face-to-chest with Minho. He hears Dori singing along with a cartoon from the living room and he almost dozes back off before suddenly realizing that someone would have had to turn the TV on for Dori. That can only mean one thing.
Minho must be awake.
Hyunjin chances a peek up at Minho and is met with a smile far too bright to be indoors. There’s a certain smugness to it that Hyunjin can’t grasp until he follows Minho’s eyes down to their intertwined hands. Right there between them, their wedding rings are drawn together like they are meant to be. Hyunjin doesn’t even bother trying to pull his hand away. He’s been caught.
“Shut up,” Hyunjin huffs out playfully.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, well, you’re thinking. So, stop it.”
Minho laughs and brushes a thumb over his knuckles gently. They lay there together for another hour, a light tangle of limbs as they curl into each other’s space. Hyunjin texts his group chat with Seungmin and Felix to let them know that he won’t be showing up for brunch today.
He feels bad for canceling, but it’s not like they don’t see each other pretty much every day of the week already, so they’ll be fine. Forgoing his brunch plans in favor of cuddling his ex-husband is the last thing Hyunjin would have expected to do today. But here he is. Here they are.
╱╲
Minho doesn’t go home and he’s glad he doesn’t because he gets to spend the day attached to Hyunjin instead. They cuddle in bed, and when mealtimes come up, Hyunjin lets him drape himself over his back while he cooks. Minho doesn’t want to think about how this could all be over after today — how things could go back to the tense, emptiness that has been the last few months.
There’s hope, though. And it comes in the form of Hyunjin wearing his ring. Minho stares at it all day, not even bothering to be discreet about it. Maybe, he thinks, just maybe.
Minho almost forgets that it’s Sunday until Dori comes up to him and asks to go to the gardens. Hyunjin perks up at the mention of a garden and asks if he can tag along. Of course, Minho says yes. He can never say no to Hyunjin.
When they get to the botanical garden, Hyunjin stands in shock when they reach the fountain. It’s obvious he didn’t expect they would be coming to this garden.
“So you guys come here every Sunday?” Hyunjin sounds breathless as he asks this, staring at the fountain where Minho proposed to him.
Minho nods, following Hyunjin’s gaze to the fountain.
“Thinking about our engagement day?”
Hyunjin nods, seeing no use in lying about it. “Yeah.”
“I think about that day every time we come here,” Minho admits.
He hears a sniffle and looks over, catching Hyunjin on the verge of tears. But it’s okay because his expression isn’t sad or pained. Minho takes him into his arms, hugging him and reaching down to hold his hands.
When he no longer hears sniffles, Minho breaks the ice by squeezing Hyunjin’s left hand in his.
“You’re still wearing your ring,” he teases.
The reaction is instant and exactly what Minho hoped for. Hyunjin laughs, loud, and genuine. “Oh my god, shut up!”
And Minho does, but only so that he can hear Hyunjin’s beautiful laugh more clearly. He missed seeing and hearing that laugh — missed seeing and hearing Hyunjin .
“You’re one to talk. You’re wearing your ring too!”
“Yeah, but I never took mine off from the start.”
Hyunjin huffs in defeat, bumping his head against Minho’s shoulder.
“Touché.”
╱╲
One week later, Minho tells Hyunjin that he’s made arrangements to get a schedule change at work. Instead of working eight hours, five days a week, with weekends off, He will now be working ten hours, four days a week, with three days off. That doesn’t include the crazy overtime he often gets roped into, but it’s better than nothing.
Hyunjin feels touched at the fact that Minho is attempting to make changes to open up more time for Dori — and him. He even mentions talking to his boss about getting later shifts so that he can have the daytime open to see them more.
They’ve begun alternating spending Minho’s three off days between each others’ apartments, much to Dori’s delight. The weekends are no longer miserable for Hyunjin. They become something he looks forward to.
Seungmin and Felix notice that Hyunjin’s mood seems much more lifted whenever they see him on weekends. That’s not the only thing they notice, though, and they bring their itching question to the table one Thursday afternoon at the park, or rather, Felix does.
“You’ve been wearing your ring the whole week. We didn’t want to ask about it in case it was a slip-up, but it seems intentional.” Felix leans forward on the bench, expression curious as ever as he searches Hyunjin for answers the way only his best friends can. “What does this mean?”
And Hyunjin doesn’t know. He asks himself the same question as he looks down at his wedding ring.
What does this mean?
Hyunjin doesn’t have an answer for them right then. He does some thinking for the rest of the day, his mind bouncing around with Felix’s question.
On Friday, Hyunjin has an answer for Seungmin and Felix in the form of Lee Minho holding his hand, and Dori sitting on his shoulders as they all walk to the park together. It’s not a very clear answer, but it’s the only thing Hyunjin feels secure about after six hard months. And maybe, just maybe that’s enough — at least, for Hyunjin and Minho, it is.