6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 18 - Father-Daughter Talks
Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.
Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy)
Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse
Length: approx. 4.3k words
Chapter 18 - Father-Daughter Talks
Min Ja didn’t take to long to adjust to her new life. Before you knew it when you would go pick her up, she would be with San-Ha and groups of other friends, the group of them running around the playground by the school property while they waited for their parents to come and pick them up. A few little girls and boys, all in their uniforms as they happily laughed and chased each other around. You had to go through a lot of agreeing with Weong-Bin, but ultimately agreed that it would be a good idea to let him get the girls directly from school and daycare on Wednesdays, giving you more time to work and make your way home without rushing.
It was actually a Wednesday today, and Weong-Bin had approached the park his daughter was playing at. He was sitting on a bench, watching as Min Ja swung from the monkey bars, flinging her legs in an attempt to get away from the little boy who was considered ‘it’ in their game of tag. She seemed to be having a good time and had no reason to rush her for now, Hyo Bin’s daycare was still open for a good portion of the time. As he watched his daughter, his mind was wandering.
Min Ja only started school almost 2 weeks ago, so a majority of the school day was spent getting to understand how the school worked and getting to know each other. Min Ja, being the extrovert, she was, had no problem doing so, and she would be so excited to share her days with whoever picked her up. Weong-Bin was infuriated that he could only pick her up once a week. He was her father; he had a right to see his girls whenever he wanted. However, the courts didn’t see it that way, and he was stuck with only one weekday and every other weekend. Every other weekend?! He thought it was absolutely ridiculous. Meanwhile Hoseok got to see them every day and then some when he wasn’t even their father! The thought just…every time he thought about it, it infuriated him. When he felt his blood pressure rising, he stood up from the bench he was sitting on.
“Min Ja!” He called. His daughter looked up from the slide she was just about to go down. “Come on, it’s time to go. We need to go get your sister.” She pouted.
“Five more minutes?” She called out.
“No, I’m sorry. We need to get dinner!” Min Ja huffed, saying goodbye to her friends as she slid down the slide. She hurried over to her father, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.
“Mr. Hobi lets me stay five more minutes.” She mumbled. Weong-Bin felt his blood rise even higher, but he took a deep breath to make sure it stayed level.
“Well, I’m sorry honey, but I’m not Mr. Hobi. I have a job to do.” He said simply, taking her hand as they began walking down the street. Min Ja looked up at her dad as they walked. She wasn’t stupid, she could sense when he was irritated.
“I’m sorry, Daddy…” she said softly. Weong-Bin glanced down at his daughter, sighing softly. He scooped her up into his arms.
“Don’t be sorry. Daddy just has a lot on his mind.”
“Like what?” Min Ja asked. It took him a moment to think of what he wanted to say, but he knew he should say something.
“Min Ja, Daddy is going to talk to you like a big girl, okay?” Min Ja’s eyes showed a glimmer of sparkle. She loved being spoken to like a big kid. “Do you know that Daddy loves Mommy very much?” He saw her nod, and he smiled a bit. “Good. Because I do. I love your Mommy very, very much.”
“Then why don’t you live with us anymore?” she asked curiously.
“Well, Daddy made a lot of mistakes for a long time.” He said. “So…Mommy told me I couldn’t live with you guys if I was going to make mistakes, it made us fight a lot.”
“I know.” Min Ja nodded.
“But Mommy said if I learned how to stop making so many mistakes, I could come to live with you and Hyo Bin again.” Her eyes went wide.
“Really?” He nodded. “Then when will you come back?” Weong-Bin thought about his next words very carefully. What he was about to say could possibly turn Min Ja totally against you and Hoseok, breaking any semblance of control you had over your tiny family and give him the chance to make everything better…
…Excellent.
“Well, that’s the problem.” He began. “Mr. Hobi is over a lot, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t live there.” Min Ja said, attempting to correct her father.
“I know that. But if Mr. Hobi is there, that means Mommy doesn’t want me to move back in, because Mr. Hobi is there instead of me. Do they always kiss and hug at home?” Min Ja looked confused.
“Yeah…it’s really gross…” Her little nose scrunched up. Weong-Bin smiled.
“Well, Mommy’s and Daddy’s kiss and hug.” Min Ja still looked a bit confused as to what she was being told.
“But Mr. Hobi is really nice…” she said. “When he comes over, we play tea parties and watch lots of Pororo, and he even knows how to braid my hair.”
“I know that, but that’s all the stuff I would be doing if I were living back with you and Mommy, right? Because you know how much I love you and Hyo Bin and Mommy.” Min Ja only nodded. “But if Mr. Hobi is there, then how am I supposed to live in the house? We can’t all sleep in Mommy’s bed, now can we?” The thought made Min Ja giggle a bit. “So, either Mr. Hobi is at the house, or I am. And I really want to be with you and Hyo Bin every day. Don’t you want that?”
“Mhm…” she said softly.
“Well, this is something that I want to tell you because you’re a big girl and I think you can handle it. Do you understand why I’m telling you this?”
“…I think so.” She said. “But if you do come live with us, they can’t Mr. Hobi just come to visit like he does anyway?”
“Well, it’s not always that simple.” He said. “But let’s stop talking about it for right now….” Min Ja nodded, resting her head on Weong-Bin’s shoulder as they arrived at the daycare.
That night, Weong-Bin spent a lot of time continuing the conversation that he and Min Ja was having on the walk home. She was asking him questions, having him clarify things that she didn’t fully understand, being as she was only 5 years old. Weong-Bin told her about his relationship with you in college, and brought up memories from Min Ja and Hyo Bin’s infancy, trying his best to play those moments up as positive memories. He put her to bed that night, kissed her forehead, and mentally high-fived himself for his own brilliance as he went to the balcony for a smoke.
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“Min Ja-.” Weong-Bin began, kneeling down to fix her overall skirt. “Promise me that you’ll keep everything you and I talked about to yourself, for now, okay?” They were outside the school, the sound of children rushing into the building to meet their friends overpowering any other noises that may be in the local area.
“…Why?”
“Because it takes time for me to talk to your Mommy. Please trust me. You know how sad it makes me when you don’t trust me, right?” Min Ja nodded and felt her father kiss her forehead. “That’s my smart girl.”
“Will you move back in soon, Daddy?” she asked.
“I hope so.” He smiled. “But for now, head to class, and learn a lot, okay? I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Okay. I love you, Daddy.” She waved to him before hurrying into the school building. Weong-Bin watched her as she met up with a few older kids she befriended, and stopped to say hello to a teacher. Once she was out of his sights, Weong-Bin stuffed his hand in his pocket and lifted up his briefcase. As he headed down the street towards his car that was parked nearby, he grinned to himself.
“That’ll teach Hoseok to fuck with my family.” He said, slipping into his car and driving off.
Min Ja had what her father had told her in her mind the entire school day. It was making her unable to focus because she was trying to understand what her dad was trying to say to her. Was Mr. Hobi a bad person? He didn’t seem like it. If anything, he was really nice. He and you never fought, and if you did, one of you was quick to apologize to the other. He doted on her and her sister every time he was there, which was pretty much every day now. He seemed so wonderful. But, if he was there, kissing and hugging you, would her Daddy ever come back to live with them? She wanted him to…didn’t she?
Before she had known it, Min Ja’s school day had ended just as soon as it began. San-Ha and her friends walked with and ban of fifth-grade boys to the playground nearby to play. While they all went on their way to watch the fifth graders play with some cool spinning tops, Min Ja crouched herself down by the sandbox, grabbing a stick as she began to create something in the sand. It felt like her head was beating like a loud drum, or the loud music Yuna plays when she babysits. She didn’t know what was going on with her head, but it was hurting her.
“Hey!” She heard a high-pitched voice call, pulling her from her thoughts. Looking up, she saw Hoseok crouch in front of her. He was beaming. “What are you making?” Min Ja glanced down, seeing a bunch of scribbles and piles in the sand that didn’t really stand out as anything in particular.
“…I don’t know.” She said.
“Oh, artsy.” Hoseok smiled. “Mommy has to work a little later than usual, so she told me to pick up you and Hyo Bin. Okay?” Min Ja took a good look at Hoseok as he crouched in front of her smiling like he always did. She was trying to look at him and think about what her Dad had told her at the same time, to see if something clicked in her head. It didn’t. Hoseok must have noticed she hadn’t spoken yet, and his smile turned into a frown. “Min Ja? Is everything okay?”
“…Yes…” she said softly.
“You look tired.” He smiled. “How about we go home and take a nap, yeah?” He stood up, sticking his hand out to her.
“…I don’t like naps.” She said, standing up and taking his hand. He began leading her down the street. The way the two of them talked to each other was normal, just like always. Hoseok asked about school, she told him whatever she could remember, and he would laugh. They managed to pick up Hyo Bin and head back to the apartment. Min Ja saw that Hoseok pulled out his own key. When did he get that? She thought to herself, the door sliding open to allow entry into the apartment. She stepped inside, taking off her shoes before tossing her backpack on the floor beside the door. She watched Hoseok setting Hyo Bin next to the coffee table. He saw Min Ja standing there too, and he smiled.
“You okay, Min Ja?”
“Yea, I’m okay.” She said. “I’m tired…”
“Then go take a nap. I’ll be here when you wake up. Do you need any help?”
“Uhm…no, I don’t think I do.”
“Okay.” He smiled. Min Ja hurried into her room and closed the door behind her. Hoseok tilted his head. He wasn’t oblivious, he could tell something was off about her. “I wonder if it was a rough day at school. What do you think, Hyo Bin?” he asked, glancing at the two-year-old who was scribbling all over one of the pages.
“Uhhhh…yeah.” She said, looking up at him. He smiled as they began to color together.
Min Ja ended up falling asleep for about an hour before you came to wake her up. You had gotten home about 45 minutes after the girls did, and Hoseok had told you that Min Ja seemed a bit lethargic.
“God, I hope you’re not getting sick.” You whispered to yourself as you knelt down beside your daughter’s bed. Attempting not to wake her up yet, you stealthily felt her forehead. There was no fever, thank god. “Min Ja…” you cooed gently, hearing her begin to stir. “Honey, wake up. You must be nice and refreshed now.” When Min Ja opened her eyes, she rolled over to look at you. “Hi, honey.” She smiled happily.
“Hi, Mommy.” She said.
“What’s wrong? Hobi said you looked really tired today. Are you feeling well?” She nodded. “Okay. Are you ready to get up now? Hobi and Hyo Bin are outside colorings.”
“…I have a coloring picture for school.” She said. “I need to draw a picture of my family.” You smiled happily.
“That sounds like a lot of fun. Why don’t you go start that?”
“Okay…” she got up, and that was when you noticed she was still in her school clothes.
“Let’s get you into some casual clothes first, huh?” you asked.
Once Min Ja was changed, you and she entered the living room again. Hoseok had Hyo Bin on his lap, the duo happily coloring on a big white piece of paper.
“What’s that?” he asked her curiously, pointing to what she was drawing.
“A cat.” She said, looking up at big. “A big, big cat.”
“Ooooo, very nice.” When heard footsteps, he looked up and saw the two of you approach. “Hi, Min Ja~. Do you feel better after your nap?”
“Yeah. I need to take a picture of my family for school, can I use your crayons?”
“Of course, you can.” He said happily. Min Ja took a seat next to him, taking a piece of paper, and a black crayon, before getting to work with her artwork. Hoseok watched her for a moment, smiling happily.
“How about I make something good for dinner? Sweet and sour pork?” You suggested.
“Yeah!” Min Ja said, looking over at you. The sparkle in her eyes made you feel at ease, knowing that whatever had her off balance would only be a temporary obstacle for her. “And rice and clear broth soup! And vegetable stir fry!”
“Aaaaaah, vegetable stir fry sounds so good!” Hoseok agreed.
“Okay, I’ll get to work.” You said, heading into the kitchen.
The next little bit of time was relatively silent since you were cooking and Hoseok was coloring with the girls. Min Ja had seemed to slowly come back to her usual self, Hoseok’s infectious happiness mostly likely being the cause by pulling her enthusiasm out of her tiny body and into existence again. She was cheering and coloring, sharing her thought process with Hoseok as she drew her, you and Hyo Bin in front of the apartment.
“That’s supposed to be Hyo Bin in Mommy’s arms.” She pointed out as she finished up the little bundle with a blurry smiley face inside of it that was in your stick arms. “I’m standing next to them. See, that’s my school clothes.”
“That looks so good.” He smiled. Min Ja looked at the rest of the paper and leaned forward to continue her drawing. Hoseok smiled as he watched her, his hand running through Hyo Bin’s hair. He was content just watching these girls.
The silent, however, was unfortunately ended by your shouting in annoyance, making the three people at the coffee table look up at you.
“What’s wrong?” Hoseok asked, setting Hyo Bin to his side. Just as he was about to get up, you poked your head out from behind the opened refrigerator door.
“I forgot we ran out of rice! I meant to go grocery shopping. Auuuugh.” You groaned, closing the door a bit too harshly.
“Awww, I want rice.” Min Ja pouted. When you saw this, you sighed.
“I can run to the store and grab some.” You suggested. “Hobi, do you mind watching them? It’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Not a problem. We’ll be here.” You scurried to grab your bag and slide your shoes on at the door. “See you soon~.”
“Bye-Bye, Mama!” Hyo Bin called. You waved to your girls before hurrying out of the house and down to the local market. Hoseok looked back at the girls, who were already back to focusing on their coloring.
“Okay! I’m done!” Min Ja said, setting her finally crayon down. Hoseok looked up from his spot. His legs were starting to go numb sitting cross-legged with a toddler back on his lap. So, he set Hyo Bin to his side again, before scooting next to Min Ja and putting himself in a kneeling position.
“What did you make? Let me see.”
“Okay Uhm…” she motioned to the picture. “That’s me, and Hyo Bin, and Mommy.” Then, she moved to the other side of the paper. “Over here…over here is Daddy…” Hoseok looked over at her. “In his house.” He could see the behavior she was showing this afternoon after school was beginning to take over again. “Because he doesn’t live here.” Hoseok simply put a hand on her head, and she looked up at him.
“Are you okay, Min Ja?” he asked curiously. “Did something happen at school?”
“No.” She assured.
“You seem sad.” He looked at the picture she made of Weong-Bin, standing in front of his purple house with his little briefcase. He looked back at Min Ja, who had picked up another crayon and was coloring in a piece of the sun she had missed before. “Do you wish you could see your Dad more?” he asked. Min Ja immediately thought about what she and her dad talked about yesterday.
Promise me that you’ll keep everything you and I talked about to yourself, for now, okay?
It It makes me sad when you don’t trust me.
“Yeah…” she finally said. Hoseok smiled.
“Well, I’m sure he thinks about you every day even if he doesn’t see you. Just like your mom and I think about you when we don’t see you.”
“You think about us too?” Min Ja asked curiously. Hoseok blinked.
“Of course, I do! I know I’m not your dad, but you and Hyo Bin mean a lot to me~. I love you both very much.” Min Ja felt her eyes water. She quickly stood up, walking into Hoseok’s arms and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Hm? Min Ja…what’s wrong?” he asked, though he took her into his arms without hesitation. Hyo Bin even glanced up when she heard Min Ja’s muffled sniffles. She nuzzled into his neck and he smiled, rubbing her back. She wasn’t speaking to him, but he didn’t really expect her too. He just held her close and she cry out whatever emotions she was feeling today, hoping that would make her feel a lot better.
----------------------
“I’m back with the rice! And I got a nice little dessert for tonight, too.” You called as you stepped into the apartment. Entering the living room, you saw that Min Ja still latched tightly into Hoseok’s arms. She was back to coloring, but she was the one now in his lap, his hands running through her hair. Hyo Bin was standing beside them, coloring as she remained blissfully unaware of the situation.
“Welcome back~.” Hoseok hummed, glancing over to you. “What snack did you buy?”
“It’s a surprise.” You grinned. Like a child, Hoseok pouted and whined. “Oh stop.” As you walked past, you noticed Min Ja didn’t look up from her paper to greet you. Your head tilted, curious as to what had her mind so focused. It was then you noticed her eyes were red and slightly puffy. Her cheeks looked as if she had been crying. It concerned you, but at the same time, you didn’t want to be too paranoid about it. Maybe she just fought with Hyo Bin over a crayon, and it was a battle she ended up losing. Glancing at Hoseok, he only offered you a kind smile in response. He could tell you were wondering what was wrong, and he silently made sure to keep you at ease for now. With that, you returned to the kitchen and resumed making dinner.
Dinner came and went without a fuss, like always, but you expected bath time and bedtime to play out like always, chaotic. Kids fussing, making messes, begging to stay up later. However, this time, it didn’t happen. Hyo Bin went down easy, and Min Ja still seemed in her off state, so when you told her the story had ended, she closed her eyes and nestled her head into your lap. As you ran your hand through your hair, you smiled down at her.
“I’m sorry, you had a rough day today, Min Ja.” you said softly. “Is there anything you want to talk about before bedtime?”
“No.” She assured. “There’s not.”
“Okay. Well, I hope you have a better today tomorrow.” You said, kissing her hair. Slowly, you fixed her position in bed and handed her stuffed animal to her. “Goodnight, Min Ja.”
“Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Mr. Hobi…” she said. Hoseok smiled from beside you.
“Goodnight, Min Ja. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” She nodded, watching the both of you leave the room and close the door behind you. As she lied in the quiet room, the only sound coming from Hyo Bin’s snoring, she clutched her stuffed animal, Bora, tightly in her arms. All she wanted to do was wake up from his bad dream, already.
“What’s wrong with Min Ja today? Did she ever end up telling you?” You asked Hoseok curiously as you sat on the bed. Hoseok tossed his shirt into the hamper before plopping himself down beside her.
“I think she’s sad she doesn’t get to see her Dad too much.” He explained as he watched you slip into your pajamas. “I tried to make her feel better, but I don’t think it worked.”
“Well, I appreciate it. But that’s something Weong-Bin needs to talk to her about. I’ll have to call him tomorrow, I guess.” You groaned at the thought alone, tugging the covers over you. “Are you sure you’re okay staying tonight?”
“Of course. I think most of my stuff if here by this point anyway.” Hoseok smiled, laying himself in bed beside you. You nuzzled into your pillow and chuckled.
“Then you should just move in…” you suggested. Hoseok shrugged.
“In time, I guess.” He said. “I don’t want to cause any riffs, especially if Min Ja’s going through a separation phase.” A small smile formed on your lips.
“See, you even sound more like a parent than I do now.” Hoseok laughed a bit as you rolled over to turn off the light. “Alright, go to sleep. Goodnight.” You hummed. Hoseok rolled over, propping himself above you really quickly and turning on the light. You glanced up at him, and he looked a bit surprised.
“Uh…hello?” He puckered her lips cutely. “Aren’t you forgetting something? Something very important?” You couldn’t help but laugh, giving him a quick kiss. You saw his adorable heart-shaped smile as he closed the light once again and plopped down beside you. “Goodnight~.” He finally hummed.
The next morning was a nice one. The girls got up, you got them dressed, Hoseok made some pancakes for everyone. Min Ja woke up in a much better mood than yesterday, resting seemed to definitely help her spirits improve after the rollercoaster of emotions she was feeling.
“Mommy, I’m going to share my picture with my whole class!” She said happily as she watched you carefully roll the picture up and put it in her bag.
“That’s wonderful.” You said to her. “I’m sure they’ll love it! It seems you added pretty much everyone!” Min Ja smiled happily as he saw Hoseok approach with Hyo Bin in his arms, who was chewing on a plain pancake piece.
“Are we ready to go?” He asked curiously. Min Ja nodded and grabbed her bag as the lot of you headed out the door.
When you got to the school, you saw So-Hee, her husband, and San-Ha, by the front gate. Min Ja caught notice too as they got closer, and she saw San-Ha hugging her father goodbye. He held her close, promising to pick her up after school, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, making his daughter beam in delight. Min Ja waited for her to be done so they could go into school together. That was when Hoseok caught her attention and knelt down beside her.
“How about I come to pick you up again today after school, and we go get something to eat? Something you want to get.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Of course. It’ll be fun, just the two of us, okay?” Min Ja nodded.
“Okay!” She said happily, quickly hugging him tightly. Hoseok smiled as he hugged her back.
Once Min Ja got into her classroom, she sat at her desk. San-Ha was talking to a few other kids, but Min Ja immediately pulled out her picture and opened it, displaying what it looked like on her desk. As few other kids came in and did the same since this was going to be the first thing that they did when class started. Before the bell rang, Min Ja grabbed her little pencil case from her bag, pulled out her crayons, and quickly made sure to add a certain heart-smiled individual standing right beside her into her family portrait.
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