#changbin dad imagine

[linoxpudding]

Baby Daddy Era (Hyung Line)

summary: some cute dad!skz texts

pairing: skz hyung line x reader

genre: fluff

maknae line

masterlist

~°~

bang chan

lee know

seo changbin

hwang hyunjin

[angel-writes-skz-here]

All in a Day's Work

Dad! Bang Chan x AFAB! Reader Synopsis: Hwan meets the members of Stray Kids, and in turn, it sparks a conversation about your relationship with Chan. Warnings: Fluffy fluff, a little angst, signs of anxiety, that's really it. A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long. Thanks to @breakmeoff for helping me form a plot for it. I hope you guys enjoy. Please comment to be added to my tag list!

“Come on, I bet he would have fun,” Chris says as you start portioning out dinner.

“Hwan! Dinner’s ready!” You call out, hearing the little boy’s feet hit the ground with each step.

Chan's been begging you to let Hwan come to work with him for the last few weeks. You wanted Hwan to be involved but this was a big step. It felt like a commitment. Like something set in stone that the two of you were really trying again. Of course you knew that, and you were ok with it, but letting others know, it wouldn't be as quiet if things went wrong like it was the first time.

“I don’t know, he might get bored and want your attention.”

“There’s eight of us, y/n. If I can’t play with him, someone else can. We don't all record at the same time,” he tries to reason with you.

“Let me take him to the studio, show him what I do and meet his uncles.” You sigh as you set his plate down.

“You aren’t going to let this go until I say yes, are you?”

“Nope,” he says proudly. You roll your eyes as you sit down. You glance over at your son who smiles with chewed food in his teeth.

“Eww,” you giggle at him.

“Hwan, don’t do that,” you lightly scold before looking to your boyfriend.

“Fine, but promise me you’ll call if he starts getting fussy or wants to leave.” Chris’s smile stretches from ear to ear.

“Of course, but he’ll be fine!” He says before leaning over kissing your cheek.

“Whatdaya say buddy? Wanna come to work with me?” Hwan looks up at his dad and nods his head quickly.

You smile at the boys before digging into your own dinner.

-

The next morning you’re watching Chris get ready for the studio.

“Mm, you look handsome,” you say as you wrap your arms around his torso in the bathroom. He looks back at you as he feels your lips place kisses on the exposed flesh of his shoulder, the toothbrush in his mouth hanging there as he studies you.

“Be careful today, yeah? Precious cargo.” You playfully tut.

“Yes ma’am,” he responds before washing his mouth out and giving you a passionate kiss. Your lips move in sync, his tongue darts out against your lips, as your arms go around his shoulders. He softly grunts into the kiss as his hands frame your face.

“What are you guys doing?” a small voice interrupts your kiss and you pull apart, both smiling.

“I’m giving your Appa a good luck kiss. And you’re next!” you tease and he runs away screaming. You chase him to the door of your bedroom and scoop him up, planting kisses all over his tiny face. Unbeknownst to you, Chan steps out watching you both as you laugh and twirl the young boy in your arms. Hwan lets out a squeal before you put him down, and you catch a glimpse of Chan chuckling. You smile as Hwan runs back to his room, you following behind to help him get dressed.

-

At the studio, Chris walks in with Hwan holding his hand. Hwan, being the lively social boy he is, waves to everyone.

“Hi, this is my Appa!” he tells the lady at the front desk. She smiles at him and offers him a sucker. He accepts it happily before the two walk into the elevator, coincidentally, where he meets Changbin for the first time.

“Binnie, this is Hwan, Hwan this is Binnie, my friend.”

“Hi,” he waves dramatically, Changbin smiles at the little guy before bending down to him.

“Nice to meet you,” he puts his hands up and does a small bow. Hwan looks to Chris confused.

“You should bow too, it’s a sign of respect,” he encourages and Hwan nods once before doing what his Appa suggested.

Changbin offers him a smile before the elevator doors open to their floor.

Walking into the studio Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Lee Know, Seungmin and I.N are waiting.

“You’re late,” Lee Know informs him.

“Sorry, sorry, I had a special guest coming in today.” Hwan steps out from in behind Chan’s legs, all the guy’s eyes growing wide.

“Wait, who’s this?”

“This is my son, Hwan. Hwan, this is,” he points to each member as he names them, “Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Lee Know, Seungmin and Jeongin,” He looks to each of them, his eyes slightly wide before looking to his dad.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” He smiles before walking to sit down in his chair. Hwan makes his way, with his little Pinkfong lunch box, to the leather couch behind his dad.

“I’ll take that for ya,” the younger Aussie drawls. Hwan smiles and hands it over. Felix puts the lunch box up in their little fridge.

“So how old are you, Hwan?” The Maknae asks.

“I’m four!”

“Yeah, buddy you’ll be five soon.” Chan calls out.

“Don’t you mean, foive,” Seungmin jokes and Chan rolls his eyes with a smile.

“Foive?” Hwan repeats earning a laugh from the guys.

“Not you too,” Chan drawls. Seungmin gives Hwan a high five.

The day goes on, Hwan finding ways to entertain himself as the guy’s record. Chris lets him sit in his lap, pride busting at the seems as he lets Hwan mess the soundboard and try out some stuff.

“And this makes a trumpet sound,” he presses the button letting him hear it and Hwan presses it again.

And again.

And again.

And again before Chris laughs and has to find another way to entertain him. He looks around, spinning the chair, to see Han snoozing on the couch.

“Hey, I need Han awake to record. Can you wake him up for me?” Chris asks, a mischievous look in his eye. Hwan nods before hopping down.

He jumps on top of Han’s chest making dinosaur noises in Hwan’s face.

Han lets out a genuinely started yell making everyone, including your son, laugh. Hwan is all giggles that he doesn’t register that Han is picking him up and putting him over his shoulder until it’s too late. He squeals excitedly pounding on his back.

“Put me down!” He giggles. Han fake-drops him, causing more laughter to leave the small boy’s mouth. Han chuckles along with your child before setting him down to sit in the chair beside Chan, an isolation filter set up for him to rap into. Hwan watches as the idol raps into the mic, a new fascination unlocking.

Once Han is finished, Hwan hops up in the chair.

“Budah budah budah,” he starts to try to imitate Han’s vocals earning smiles and stifled chuckles from the guys.

“Was I good?” Hwan’s voice holds an air of hope.

“That was great, son.” He smiles, pride once again filling his entire being.

Hwan smiles satisfied.

“Did you like it? Did I sound like you?” He asks Han who can’t help but smile.

“It was great, buddy.” He smiles at the young child as Chan starts looking at mixing the song.

To help pass the time, the boys start playing dinosaurs with your son. Lee Know, I.N and Felix are on the ground, rawring and crawling around trying to entertain him. The little boy feels a sense of excitement, a sense of home with his new friends. Hyunjin takes a video of the group having playtime, one he’ll both send Chris and use for leverage if it’s ever needed.

Chris is listening to the way the sound is mixed and he can’t help but feel something is missing at the end of the song.

“You good, Channie hyung?” Felix asks once he needs a break from being down on all fours, Han taking his place as Hwan pouts that he left.

“I can’t figure out what needs to be here, listen,” he says as he plays the song. It sounds great until it gets to the end, something sounding as if it’s missing.

Felix nods in agreement, looking over to see Hwan on Han’s back.

“Looks like he’s made a friend.” Felix points to the two boys. Hwan is now riding Han’s back like he’s a horse.

“Might have to double check with y/n to make sure he’s really mine,” Chris jokes. Felix is about to swat at his friend before his face twists in confusion.

“Wait, y/n? Why does that name sound familiar,” Felix ponders before his eyes go wide.

“Wait! You guys are, no way!” Felix stands up out of his seat all excited, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Yeah, it’s her,” he smiles, a light blush popping up on his cheeks.

“Congrats man, I know you were broken up when you two ended things.” He smiles.

“What’s happening?” Lee Know asks, standing up from his position. Han goes to stand up too, Hwan holding on, forcing Han to put him on his shoulders.

“Chris was dating this girl, y/n, like four years ago, remember how he was always sneaking off and never would tell us where he was going?” The guys thought back to how their leader had a period of constantly not being found if he wasn’t working.

“You were going to see a girl!” Seungmin and I.N gasp playfully. Chan puts his face in his hands, Hwan looking between everyone.

“What��s going on?” He whispers to Han.

“You’re Appa is being teased.” Han says from the corner of his mouth.

“Hey, leave my Appa alone!” Hwan says defiantly.

“No, no it’s ok. I’m ok.” Hwan looks over to his father, a furrowed brow and slight frown being found on his face.

“It’s ok, Hwan,” he giggles. Hwan holds on to Han’s neck as he walks over to the couch, letting the little boy off his shoulders. Hwan rawrs at Han one last time, a large grin on his face as he does so. Chan’s eyes grow wide with a grin as his fingers snap.

“That’s it! Hwan, come here,” Chan motions for the boy to come over and he speedily gets on his feet and races to his father.

“Wear these.” He puts the headphones on Hwan’s head, and helps him into the chair.

“Ok, when I point to you, I want you to make the same sound you just made at Han.” Hwan nods. But when Chan points to him, he suddenly gets shy.

“Come on, buddy. You can do it.” Chan can sense the shyness in his only son.

“Han, come here,” Lee Know instructs. Han looks up from his phone, oblivious to what’s going on. His eyes are wide as Lee Know walks him over to stand beside Hwan.

“Ok, look at him like you’re a monster, and then make him go away, ok?” Lee Know indulges the child. Hwan nods and on cue the music starts and Hwan does the rawr perfectly, a slight growl in his voice, exactly what Chan was wanting. The boys clap when Chan gives the thumbs up.

“We may have a ninth member back on our hands,” Hyunjin teases the kid with a pat on the back. Hwan smiles up at him loud and proud.

“Watch him for me, just for a sec. I need to make a call.”

-

Back at home it’s getting late, you haven’t heard much from Chris all day, but just when you’re about to press his name to call you, his contact shows up on your phone and you sigh in relief.

“Hey, can you come up here, I wanna show you the song we’ve been working on all day!” You can hear the child like excitement in your man’s voice.

“Yeah, is Hwan ok? Nothing’s wrong?”

“He’s great,” you can hear the smile in his voice,  “Just come on, we’ll get dinner to celebrate.” A night where you don’t have to cook or do dishes?

Hell yeah.

-

Arriving at the studio, the sun is almost down and the air is brisk. You walk in, seeing Chan waiting for you at the front desk.

“Where’s our son?” You ask frantically.

“He’s fine, he’s with Han and the guys.” You sigh a little.

Oh.

“Wait, I’m meeting them, you didn’t mention that!” You whisper yell as you walk to the elevator.”

“I thought it was implied.” He smiles sheepishly as you sigh. It’s not that you didn’t want to meet them, but you didn’t know what they knew.

You walk in behind Chan, Hwan sharing some string cheese with Changbin. Everyone turns their attention you, your cheeks going a shade of crimson.

“Guys, this is y/n, y/n this is Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin.”

“And I’m Hwan!” He smiles as the room looks at him. You giggle at your son.

“I know who you are, silly,” you tease as you walk over to him. You can feel them staring at you as you move through the room.

“Did you have a good day?"

Hwan nods enthusiastically at your question.

“We played dinosaurs and horsey and I even,”

“Hang on, buddy, let’s let Eomma listen to the song first,” Chan interrupts his son before he can spill the beans on the little surprise. You eye Chan with a suspicious look before sitting down to listen.

The song is great, one that you’re sure will become a hit. You take his hand in yours, pressing a sweet kiss to the back of it, as you smile proudly at him.

You nod your head along, listening intently to the song when the end of it comes and you hear it. An all too familiar growl noise at the very end. You look to Chan with as smile before looking down at your son who’s beaming up at you.

“I helped Appa today! He wanted me to growl and so I did, at Han,” he points to his new friend.

“Wait, you growled at Han?” You look over to him and he nods.

“We were playing dinosaurs and Appa said to growl at him so I did and now it’s in the song," he explains.

“He was the missing piece that ties it all together,” I.N speaks up. You smile at the young member.

“I’m so proud of you,” you kiss your son’s forehead before turning your attention to Chan, “Both of you,” you kiss his cheek as you stand up.

“I’m starving,” you say as you stretch your arms above your head.

“How about we all go out to dinner to celebrate?”

Everyone agrees and the ten of you leave.

-

At the restaurant things are going smooth. Everyone is laughing and cutting up, the food is great and things just over all are good.

“So, to address the elephant in the room,” Lee Know begins, “What happened?”

You look to Chris who flashes a warning look to Lee Know.

“I just want to know, I mean you had our hyung out all the time from what I remember. If he wasn’t recording he was with you it seemed. You smile at the memory.

"And then he was crying, devastated really all of a sudden one day." Lee Know says casually. You feel a slightly awkward tension as your cheeks heat up.

“We had decided mutually that it was best to end the relationship. With his career he wasn’t going to be around as much, and we were both so young, it just wouldn’t have worked.” You explain. Lee Know nods.

“So then,” he nods his head to your son who’s coloring on a page with Felix and Changbin.

“I found out after we broke up.” The guys nod.

“Ok, that’s enough,” Chan warns. You put a hand on his thigh.

“It’s ok, they’re curious and I don’t blame them. Imagine how crazy the world will be once they know too.” Chan’s eyes grow slightly wide at you.

“Oh shit,” he whispers. He hadn’t thought of that.

“Will JYP even let you confirm it?” Changbin asks.

“I don’t know, I hadn’t thought that far ahead to be honest."

“But first thing tomorrow I will. Because I’m not hiding this information from Stay or anyone else.” He smiles proudly as he takes your hand.

“Hey, we don’t have to rush anything, ok?” you wink at him, Chris a little confused at your hesitation. He gives you a wary look but you brush it off, for now.

The rest of the night is great, Hwan enjoys his new friends, but things between you and Chris feel just a little off and it’s not something you can shake.

-

The car ride home is silent; awkwardly silent. Hwan falls asleep in the backseat of the car, forcing Chris to carry him inside and tuck him into bed.

He walks out, staring at you as you sit on the couch. The air is thick with tension.

“Is everything ok?” Chris’s voice is weak, but steady.

“Huh?” you look up at him.

“When I mentioned about talking to the company, you kinda shut me down at dinner, why?” He asks bluntly. You sigh.

“I don’t want us to rush things, Chris. I mean, I know it’s been about six months but that’s not a super long time,” you begin to explain.

“So, what you don’t think we’ll make it?” His voice takes on an air of defense.

“If I didn’t think we’d make it, I wouldn’t have let Hwan go to work with you at the studio today. I wouldn’t have allowed him to meet your friends and be apart of his life.” You explain as you walk over to him.

“So you don’t want me to talk to the company yet?” He steps back away from you.

“Christopher,” you sigh, “It’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s that I want to give us more time. I mean,” you sigh before he interrupts you.

“I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“What if we don’t?” you blurt it out like the words have clawing at your throat. The room goes silent, the two of you barely meeting each other’s gaze.

“What if we don’t make it? What if we implode again? What if I screwed up? By letting Hwan going to the studio with you, by letting him and you get so close because if we don’t make it, I can’t just keep him from you,” your heart starts to race against your chest, panic attacking your senses. You begin to ramble, voice on the verge of a whimper as tears fill your eyes.

“What if we don’t? What if all of it has been a mistake?” Chris softens a little at your state, moving in to hold you as you cling to him.

“Hey, shhh, take a breath, breathe in,” he inhales with you, “breathe out,” he exhales with you. His hand is cradling your head while the other holds you around your waist.

“You just said if you didn’t think we’d make it, you wouldn’t have let him come with me today,” he says while peering into your eyes, but he sees it. The doubt, the fear, the hesitation.

“It’s just, it happened once before. Who’s to say it can’t happen again?” Chan looks at you, trying to conceal his hurt. The words shouldn’t cut deep, but they do.

“Y/n, things are different now. We aren’t 20 and 22 anymore. We have a little boy to think about.”

“But life was crazy before,” you go to say and he purses his lips.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby. Trust me, please,” he whispers the plea into your ear.

“I know you’re afraid, but I’m here, so give all that fear to me. Don’t hold it, don’t carry it and don’t bury it. Give it away to me and let me shelter the burden of it, ok?” He says into your hair. You squeeze him tight, allowing the emotion to come up.

“I’m sorry,” you tell him multiple times. He gently rocks your body to the beat of his own drum.

“We’re gonna make it,” he promises you as he closes his eyes.

“We’re gonna make it.”

Tags: @breakmeoff @thelovelybireader

Please do not repost my work

Love notes, comments and requests are appreciated!

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Dad!skz texts overload🥰🤍

Definitely been in a dad!skz brainrot lately so why no just give in a little more🙃 also you guys seem to like dad!han and dad!leeknow imagines a lot which makes me extremely happy I am so soft for them💖

ALSO WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE 1200K+ OF YOU READING ME ON HERE?? 😭😭

🖤hyung line🖤

🖤maknae line🖤

[4linos]

when the past knocks.

seo changbin x f!reader, kim seungmin x f!reader

synopsis: you left to protect your son and yourself. but healing gets complicated when old ghosts return… and one of them still makes you laugh.

warnings: angst, infidelity, emotional distress, mild swearing, jealousy, unresolved feelings, hurt/comfort.

wc: 12,629

[when the past knocks 2]

The air in your childhood bedroom never really changed. It still smelled faintly like old wood, laundry detergent, and whatever fabric softener your mom used, floral, a little powdery, like a scent from another decade. You’d hoped it might feel comforting after everything, but all it did was remind you that you didn’t belong here anymore. Not really. You weren’t a child anymore. You weren’t a daughter. Not just that. You were a mother. A wife, sort of. Or maybe just someone who used to be married. The line was blurry. The divorce papers were still unsigned. You hadn’t touched them since the day you left Seungmin.

Roan had adjusted better than you thought he would, not that that said much. He didn’t throw tantrums, didn’t cry at night or beg to go back. But you saw the way he lingered by the front window, how he never said Seungmin’s name anymore but would still quietly tuck the stuffed lion his dad gave him beside his pillow every night. He didn’t talk about his old friends, or his old school, or the home you left behind. He just colored a lot. Long, quiet afternoons bent over crayons and sketchpads, like he was trying to give shape to things he didn’t have the words for yet.

Your parents didn’t ask too many questions. They welcomed you back like it was just temporary. Like it was a little break while you and Seungmin sorted things out. Like it wasn’t the wreckage of everything you’d been holding together for too long. You let them believe it. Because explaining would mean exposing yourself, and you didn’t have the strength for that yet.

“Just a trial separation,” your mom had said that first night. “Sometimes space is good. Men panic when things get hard. But if he really loves you—”

“He cheated,” you’d wanted to scream. “He cheated and then told me he still loved me. Like that meant anything. Like love excuses betrayal.”

But you’d just nodded. Quiet. Hollowed out. You let her hug you and serve you leftover bulgogi and rice like nothing was broken.

It was three days later that the note came home in Roan’s backpack. Written in soft cursive with a smiley face beside your name. “Looking forward to meeting you at Parent-Teacher Night!” It made your stomach sink. You didn’t want to go. You weren’t ready to face small talk with strangers, other parents with their lives in order, smiling faces and matching wedding rings. You didn’t want to sit through a slideshow about math curriculum while pretending your life hadn’t just imploded.

But Roan was excited. He showed you which table he sat at. He told you that his teacher, Ms. Lee, was “super nice” and let them choose from the “big crayon bucket” on Fridays if they finished their reading.

So you went.

Your mom helped you pick an outfit. Something presentable. Not too formal, not too casual. You ended up in dark jeans and a beige cardigan over a clean white tee. Simple. Safe. The kind of outfit that said, “I’m doing fine.” Even though you weren’t.

The classroom smelled like floor polish and old books. The kind of smell that never really left these places. Parents were already filing in, chatting in little groups. Some you vaguely recognized from your own time here. Faces that looked older now, slightly more worn.

Roan was already tugging at your hand, dragging you to the back of the room where the kids were gathered, coloring and playing with puzzles. You ruffled his hair, kissed his forehead, told him you’d be right over there if he needed you. He nodded, too busy choosing crayons to really listen.

You sat down. Alone. The rows of chairs were filled with clusters of couples, some laughing together, others nudging each other as the principal began to talk. You were trying to pay attention. Something about volunteers. Fundraisers. A school play. You couldn’t focus. Your hand moved unconsciously, rubbing the skin between your thumb and forefinger. A nervous tick you hadn’t realized had come back.

“You still do that thing with your hand when you’re not listening.”

The voice beside you was soft. Familiar.

You froze. Your fingers stopped moving.

Slowly, you turned.

He looked different. Older, definitely. His hair was shorter, the lines around his eyes deeper. He looked tired, but in that way people who carry grief tend to look. Like something had settled into his bones and refused to leave. But he was still unmistakably him.

“Changbin?”

He smiled, lopsided. “Hey.”

Your heart did something strange. Twisted, maybe. Or maybe it just broke a little more.

He looked at you for a second longer than polite. His eyes dropped to your hands, still frozen in your lap. Then up to your face again.

“I thought that was you earlier,” he said. “Wasn’t sure if I should say anything.”

You swallowed, found your voice. “What… what are you doing here?”

He jerked his thumb toward the group of kids in the back. “Yuna. My daughter. Seven. Same class as your son, Roan, Right?”

You blinked and nodded. “Your daughter?”

“Yeah.”

You processed that slowly. Looked toward the coloring table. You hadn’t noticed her before, but now that you knew, her dark eyes, the way her nose scrunched up when she concentrated, it made sense. She was beautiful. She looked like him.

“She’s adorable,” you murmured.

“Thanks.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Her mom picked the name.”

You looked at him again. Hesitated. Asked before you could stop yourself: “Your partner…?”

His expression didn’t falter. Just grew heavier.

“She passed away. Last year.”

The words hit like a quiet blow. Not sharp. Just… devastating in a way that took the air out of your lungs.

“I’m so sorry,” you said quietly.

He nodded once, like he’d heard it too many times to react anymore.

There was silence. Not awkward, but full. Heavy. Weighted by history you both hadn’t touched in over a decade.

He looked over at you. “What about you? Are you married…?”

But before he could finish, the teacher called your name. “Mrs. Kim? Roan’s mom?”

You stood too quickly. “I—yeah. That’s me.”

Changbin looked like he wanted to say more. You didn’t give him the chance. You stepped away, fast, and walked toward the front of the room where the teacher was smiling too brightly, talking about reading levels and handwriting improvement, and all you could think about was the fact that Changbin had been sitting beside you. That his wife passed away. That he had a daughter. That your son and his went to school together. That the past had just reinserted itself into your present like it had never left.

You answered the teacher’s questions. Nodded at the right times. Smiled when prompted. But it wasn’t real. None of it felt real.

When the meeting ended, the parents filtered out. Some lingered, chatting. You tried to leave quietly, but Changbin caught you by the exit.

“Hey,” he said, stepping in front of you. “Sorry if that was weird.”

You shook your head. “No. It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting—”

“Me?”

You hesitated. “Any of this.”

He nodded. Looked down at his shoes for a second, then back up. “It’s weird being back here.”

“You moved back?”

“Few months ago. My parents are helping out with Yuna. I couldn’t do it alone anymore.”

You nodded. You understood that. In your own way, you were doing the same.

He hesitated. “So… are you okay?”

You wanted to lie. To say yes. But your voice cracked. Just barely.

“No,” you said, and that one word felt like a floodgate breaking.

He didn’t ask what happened. He didn’t push. Just looked at you like he saw right through all the walls you were barely holding up.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said softly. “But if you ever want to… I’m around.”

You nodded. Bit your lip. Blinked fast.

Roan came up then, holding your hand. “Can we go home now?”

You ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, baby. Let’s go.”

Changbin smiled at Roan. “See you at school, buddy.”

Roan tilted his head. “Who’s that?”

You paused. “Just… an old friend.”

Roan nodded, accepting that. You started walking away. Changbin didn’t follow. But you could feel his gaze on your back all the way to the parking lot.

When you got home, your mom was waiting up.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

You shrugged. “Fine.”

She gave you a long look. “You sure?”

You nodded. Roan ran past you toward his makeshift bedroom that was once the guest room. Your mom smiled after him.

“Seungmin called earlier,” she said casually. “Said he was thinking of coming by this weekend.”

You froze. “Did he say why?”

She shrugged. “Said he misses you both. Wants to talk.”

You didn’t answer. You just went upstairs. You didn’t have the energy to tell her not to get her hopes up.

Later that night, when the house was quiet, you sat on your old bed, the divorce papers in your lap. Blank. Still unsigned.

You didn’t cry.

You just sat there, staring at them, while outside, the town you once left behind breathed quietly in the dark. Somewhere across it, Changbin was probably doing the same thing, navigating the ruins of what used to be, trying to find some kind of shape to rebuild from.

But you weren’t rebuilding. Not yet. You were just surviving.

And that had to be enough for now.

-

It had been a rough morning.

You barely slept the night before. Tossed and turned in the narrow bed, the blankets tangled around your legs, heart heavy in your chest like a rock that refused to dissolve. The silence of your parents’ house wasn’t comforting, it was deafening. And knowing that Seungmin might come by, might try to see you, that turned every breath into a burden. You didn’t want to see him. Not in this house, not in your childhood bedroom, not where everything already felt too small, too loud, too exposed.

You didn’t want to see him because you couldn’t trust yourself not to crack. Not in front of Roan. Not in front of your parents. Not when every part of you was still raw and bleeding.

And when you finally did fall asleep, maybe an hour or two at most, it was like sinking into darkness with your fists clenched.

You were pulled out of it by a light nudge at your arm. You stirred slowly, bleary-eyed, your first instinct assuming it was Roan, coming in to tell you he was ready for school.

But then you heard it, that voice.

Soft. Familiar. Too gentle.

“Hey,” he whispered, almost lovingly. “Baby, wake up.”

Your eyes snapped open like something inside you had been shocked awake. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t your imagination.

It was Seungmin.

You jerked upright, heart hammering as you blinked the sleep from your eyes and looked at him, standing there in the pale morning light, like he had every right to be in this room, like the last few weeks hadn’t happened. His voice, the way he said your name, the way his fingers had brushed your arm, had sounded too much like before. Before everything.

Before he’d shattered you.

You opened your mouth to curse him, maybe. To scream, to demand why the hell he thought it was okay to come into this room, to look at you like nothing had changed.

But your mother’s voice came from the doorway before you could say a word.

“Oh good, you’re up!” she said, chipper, unbothered. “Look who’s here!”

Like it was a surprise. Like it was a gift.

You could’ve told her to leave. You could’ve asked for privacy.

But then you heard it. Roan’s voice. A sudden, thrilled cry from down the hallway.

“Dad?!”

You heard the thump of feet running on hardwood before Roan threw himself into Seungmin’s arms.

You watched it happen. You watched your son’s arms wrap tightly around his father’s neck, his face buried into his shoulder like he hadn’t slept in weeks without that exact kind of comfort.

“I missed you!” Roan mumbled against his chest, holding on like he never wanted to let go.

Seungmin was grinning, holding him close, swaying just a little, as if everything was fine.

“I missed you too, buddy,” he murmured, voice soft.

You felt your throat tighten. This was why it was so hard. This, the joy in your son’s voice, the love in his eyes, the complete adoration for a man who didn’t deserve either of you anymore. You couldn’t take that away from Roan. You wouldn’t. But it made your chest ache in that sick, hollow way, the ache of watching your own pain become invisible to the people you loved the most.

“Why don’t you go get ready for school?” you managed to say to Roan, gently. Carefully. “We’re leaving soon.”

Roan pulled back, nodded, and turned but not before Seungmin crouched down and said, “I’ll take you with Mom, okay? I’ll drive.”

Your heart skipped, something twisting deep in your stomach.

And of course, your mother jumped in again from the hallway. “That’s a great idea! The three of you. Just like before. You need this time. I’ll go finish breakfast. You two talk.”

Then she was gone.

You stood there in silence as Roan padded off, humming to himself, oblivious to the storm behind him.

Then it was just you and Seungmin.

You stood up slowly to close the door, your movements stiff, every muscle tense. He took a step forward, arms already open like he could hold you and fix everything with the same touch he once used to make you laugh, to calm you down, to convince you you were safe.

You stepped back. Immediately. Sharply.

His arms dropped.

“Are you serious right now?” you asked, your voice flat, brittle.

He sighed, like you were being difficult. “What, are you still on this?”

You blinked. Your mouth dropped open just slightly.

“Still on this,” you echoed, voice low. “You cheated on me.”

“It was a mistake,” he said quickly, as if that word made it smaller. “You left. You packed up and left, you took Roan—”

“I took him away from you?” you snapped. “You’re the one who ruined everything!”

His jaw tightened, and he ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “You’re being dramatic. You didn’t even let us work through it.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “Work through what? You slept with someone else. You lied to me. Repeatedly. And now you’re standing here, in my parents’ house, acting like I’m the problem because I won’t let you hug me?”

His voice lowered, sharper now. “You ripped our son away from his home. His school. His routine. You think that didn’t hurt him?”

You faltered because he was right, in some twisted way. Roan was hurting. You saw it in the quiet moments. In the way he didn’t ask about friends. In how he always looked to you first, like he was afraid something might shift again.

But you didn’t do that. Seungmin did. You left because you had to. Because staying meant breaking completely.

He reached for your hand. Gently. Like he always used to. Like those early years, before everything got heavy.

But you didn’t realize what he was doing until he stopped, eyes flicking down.

“You’re not wearing your ring.”

You pulled your hand back, slowly. “Of course I’m not.”

The silence between you was cold now. Thicker.

He didn’t let go of it, though, the guilt, the insinuation. “You think you’re the only one in pain?” he said softly. “You think I didn’t stay up every night after you left, thinking about Roan, about you, about what I—what we—could’ve fixed?”

“You should’ve thought about that before you started sleeping with your coworker,” you snapped. “Before you made me think I was going crazy. Before you stood in our kitchen and told me you still loved me after everything.”

He stepped back, but only slightly. “Because I do. I always have.”

The door knocked lightly. Your mother’s voice followed: “Breakfast’s ready! Seungmin, you’re welcome to stay, of course. Even a few days, if you want!”

Your heart seized.

You turned toward the door, ready to open it, to tell her no. That it was a terrible idea. That she didn’t know the truth, any of it.

But before you could say anything, Seungmin looked at you with that familiar, quiet smile. The one that used to charm your parents, used to make you feel like the most cherished person in the room.

“I’d love to,” he said loud enough for her to hear. “Let me just talk to my office. I can work remote for a bit.”

You could see it already, your mom beaming. Roan cheering. The quiet assumption that this was the beginning of a fix, not the deepening of the fracture.

Your fists clenched at your sides.

He was doing it again, weaving his way back in, without apology. Without accountability.

You stared at him, your voice caught somewhere between rage and heartbreak.

“This doesn’t change anything,” you said, your voice shaking. “You don’t get to just… move in and pretend we’re fine.”

He tilted his head. “But we could be. Eventually.”

And just like that, the cracks inside you deepened.

Because part of you wanted to believe it. Wanted to reach out and rewind time.

But another part, the part that remembered the nights you cried in silence, the lies, the hollow apologies, knew better.

The door creaked slightly, your mom’s voice warm and hopeful again: “Come eat before it gets cold!”

Seungmin brushed past you, opened the door, like he belonged there.

And you stood alone in your childhood bedroom, heart in pieces, knowing that the worst kind of betrayal wasn’t the one that came from an enemy.

It was the one that came wearing your husband’s smile.

Breakfast was unbearable.

Not because of the food, your mom, as always, had made more than enough: golden pancakes with just the right crisp on the edges, scrambled eggs, a fresh fruit bowl, and toast she always left slightly burnt because she knew your dad liked it that way. Everything smelled like comfort. Like childhood. Like home.

But the weight in the room made it all feel distant. Like you were watching a scene you didn’t belong in anymore.

Roan, on the other hand, was glowing.

He talked nonstop, bouncing in his seat as he told Seungmin every little detail about his new school from how his new teacher smiled a lot and had a frog-shaped pencil case, to how another kid in class had Pokémon stickers, to how he was trying to memorize the name of every student even if he couldn’t remember which of the twins was Ava and which was Emma.

“Ms. Lee said we might get to do a science experiment next week,” Roan grinned, syrup on the corner of his mouth. “And she said I’m a really good reader!”

Seungmin was nodding along, eyes bright with pride, one hand gently ruffling Roan’s hair.

“That’s my smart boy,” he said, voice warm. “You’re amazing.”

Your heart tightened. Not at the compliment, but at how seamless it was for him to just be here. At your kitchen table, in this house, pretending like he belonged again. Like he hadn’t destroyed something precious and just decided he could waltz back in and act like the glue was already drying.

Your parents were eating it up.

“I thought you were going to visit this weekend,” your mom said suddenly, taking a sip of coffee and glancing at Seungmin with a smile that felt far too affectionate. “What brought you down early?”

You didn’t even try to hide the way you rolled your eyes just a small, weary gesture, hoping no one would notice. But of course, Seungmin did.

He set his fork down gently and leaned back, giving the most concerned sigh he could muster. It was so calculated it made your skin crawl.

“She hasn’t been answering my texts,” he said, voice low. “Not about Roan. Not about… anything, really. I couldn’t sleep. I was worried something had happened. So I just got in the car and drove.”

You scoffed softly into your mug, shaking your head. Worried.

Your mother gasped like it was a scene out of a drama.

“Oh my god,” she breathed. “That’s so romantic.”

You looked at her, stunned. But she was already turning to your father, eyes sparkling.

“Isn’t that romantic? Driving all this way, just to check on her? That’s love, right there.”

You felt your stomach twist.

“It’s like I always say,” she continued, voice rising with that hopeful little lilt she used when she was narrating the story she wanted to believe. “Every couple goes through hard moments. That’s what makes a marriage strong, weathering the storms together. Don’t you think, honey?”

Your father nodded solemnly, like he was offering some sage wisdom. “I’m just glad you’re here, Seungmin.”

“Thank you,” Seungmin said quietly, giving your dad a respectful smile. “And thank you, really, for breakfast. It’s… it’s good to be here.”

You didn’t miss the glance he threw your way as he said it.

Like he was laying it on, just enough to keep the illusion going.

You clenched your jaw, pushing your barely touched plate a little to the side.

You’d had enough.

Roan was still mid-sentence, telling Seungmin about how there was a garden outside his classroom and the teacher let them pick mint leaves to smell, when you stood abruptly, your chair scraping back against the floor.

“You’re going to be late, Ro,” you said, already walking around the table. “Get your stuff. Shoes, backpack. Let’s go.”

Your voice was firm. Not sharp, but final. The kind of tone Roan knew meant not to argue.

“Okay!” he said, popping the last strawberry into his mouth before hopping off the chair.

Seungmin stood as well, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair, still holding that calm, casual air like he wasn’t carefully engineering a performance.

“I’ll be in the car,” he said, smiling at your parents. “Thanks again for everything. I’ll be back after drop-off,”

You froze.

You wanted to say no. To say he wouldn’t be. To explain that your mother’s hospitality wasn’t a free pass for him to pretend the last weeks of your life hadn’t just collapsed in on themselves.

But you felt your mom’s hand on your shoulder as she passed you to start clearing plates, and you couldn’t.

You didn’t have the energy.

So instead, you just walked. Quietly. Past your father still sipping coffee. Past Seungmin, who followed behind you like nothing was wrong.

Out of the room. Out of the comfort. Into the chill of a mid-morning that felt far too bright for how heavy you were inside.

-

By the time Roan had his shoes on and his little arms were shrugging into his backpack, Seungmin was already in the driver’s seat of the car, fiddling with the mirror like this was his routine. Like you were just an accessory to it all.

You opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, not looking at him.

Roan climbed into the back and buckled himself in, already humming some melody he’d picked up from a show. Oblivious. Happy.

You hated how hard that made everything.

Seungmin started the car. Silence sat between you like an unwanted guest.

You stared out the window, jaw tight, hand fidgeting with the edge of your sleeve the way you always did when you were overwhelmed.

“You still do that,” Seungmin said softly, glancing at you. “That little fidget thing with your sleeve.”

You didn’t respond.

He let out a soft breath and turned his eyes back to the road.

“I just want to talk,” he said, voice lower now, just for you. “After we drop him off. Just… please.”

You still didn’t answer.

Because the truth was, you weren’t sure you had anything left to say.

And yet, you knew as the school building came into view, as Roan waved goodbye and ran up the steps that you'd be forced to speak to him.

And you'd have to face the wreckage of everything he'd broken… with no one left to protect you from it.

-

The ride back from Roan’s school was quieter than the one there.

Not in the peaceful, comfortable way quiet sometimes is but heavy, thick, like the air had turned to smoke. You kept your eyes on the road ahead, even though Seungmin was the one driving. You didn’t speak. You didn’t look at him.

And he didn’t say anything at first either. Like he was waiting, testing how long he could sit in your silence before cracking it open.

The school faded behind you. The morning light had warmed into late morning, hazy and humid, the trees lining the side streets full of buzzing cicadas. You wanted to disappear into the sound. Dissolve.

When he finally spoke, his voice was too soft. Too rehearsed.

“You’re really going to let everything go, just like that?”

You didn’t respond. Your gaze stayed fixed out the window, watching a woman walk her dog past a florist you used to visit with your mom. Everything about this place was stitched into your childhood, and now it felt like a cage.

“You’re not even going to try?” Seungmin said again, more firmly this time. “After everything we’ve built together?”

That made you laugh dry and bitter.

“Built?” you muttered. “We didn’t build anything. You bulldozed it.”

He gripped the wheel tighter. You could see the white of his knuckles.

“Come on,” he said, glancing at you. “Don’t let all these years just go to waste because of this—this thing.”

You turned slowly. Looked at him. Really looked at him.

“This thing?” you repeated, voice dangerously low. “You mean you sleeping with someone else?”

His jaw clenched. “You always twist things—”

“I always—?”

“Roan’s hurting,” he cut in. “And you don’t even see it. You moved him two hours away from home. From me. From everything he knows. And for what? A fight?”

Your eyes widened. Your mouth opened, then shut, then opened again because you were too stunned to even choose the right reaction.

“It wasn’t a fight, Seungmin. You cheated. You lied. You broke every ounce of trust I gave you, and now you’re sitting here calling it a fight?”

He turned into your parents’ driveway too fast, jerking the car slightly. His voice raised for the first time, sharp and impatient.

“Get over it already! You’re acting like I murdered someone!”

You stared at him, breathing hard, heart beating like a drum in your throat.

“You should’ve never come back.”

Your voice wasn’t loud. It was quiet. Dead cold.

You got out of the car before he could say anything else.

You didn’t slam the door. You didn’t scream. You just walked back into the house like you’d walked into a burning building because at least then you could pretend the smoke choking you was from fire and not from everything else he’d left behind.

-

You didn’t speak to him for the rest of the day.

Not when you passed in the hallway. Not when Roan asked the three of you to play Uno together and you politely declined. Not when your mother insisted on putting Seungmin’s favorite tea in front of him at dinner and asked, with a too-bright smile, how he liked working at the firm now.

You didn’t speak when your father nodded along like a quiet referee, reading the air and choosing silence. You didn’t speak when Roan leaned on his father’s shoulder while watching cartoons, clearly desperate for things to feel normal again.

You only spoke to Roan. And even then, your voice was gentler than it usually was, like you were trying not to let any bitterness bleed through. You didn’t want him to absorb it. He was seven. He deserved peace. He didn’t ask for any of this.

The sun went down slow, casting a warm gold through your old bedroom window. You’d cleaned the space up a little, stacked a few of your old books on the nightstand, put a photo of Roan in a small frame. You were brushing your hair in front of the vanity, watching the soft reflection of yourself, looking more exhausted than you’d ever allowed yourself to admit.

You didn’t hear her at first.

Your mother’s knock was light, almost timid, as if sensing the tension even through the closed door. She was standing there in her robe, a small stack of folded blankets cradled against her chest, her eyes warm.

“Is Roan asleep?” she asked, already stepping halfway into the room.

Seungmin, who had been sitting silently on the edge of the bed scrolling through his phone answered first.

“Just checked on him. Out like a light.”

Your mother beamed. “He looked so happy today. I think seeing you really lifted his mood,” she said, directing the comment at Seungmin.

You rolled your eyes and looked back at your reflection, brushing slowly, carefully, ignoring them.

“I brought a few extra blankets,” your mom said, walking over to the foot of the bed. “It’s supposed to get cold tonight.”

You didn’t answer. Just kept brushing.

But then she added, breezily, “Thought you two might want them, since you’ll be sharing the bed tonight.”

The brush stilled in your hand.

Your reflection didn’t blink.

You turned your head slightly, unsure if you heard her correctly. “What?”

“Just like old times,” she went on, either not noticing your reaction or choosing to ignore it. “The bed’s plenty big. I know it’s been a hard few weeks, but maybe some closeness would help.”

You opened your mouth to speak to correct her, to set the record straight, but Seungmin spoke first.

“Thank you,” he said smoothly, before you could even draw breath. “That’s really kind of you.”

Your jaw dropped slightly. You turned, eyes burning into him.

Your mother just smiled. “Of course, honey. Goodnight, both of you.”

She left. Just like that. Blankets at the foot of the bed, hopeful energy lingering in the air like cheap perfume.

The door clicked softly behind her.

You turned to him. “Why the hell would you say yes to that?”

Seungmin shrugged, like it was nothing. “I didn’t want to make it weird.”

You laughed once, sharp and humorless. “It’s already weird, Seungmin.”

He didn’t answer. Just pulled one of the blankets over his lap and leaned back against the headboard, like he hadn’t just signed himself into your space for the night.

You stared at him, heart pounding, fingers still tangled in your brush handle.

The air between you was thicker now, like every truth you couldn’t say had taken physical form and was slowly filling the room.

You turned away, back to the mirror, and continued brushing slowly, methodically because it was the only thing you could do that didn’t feel like drowning.

And behind you, in the reflection, Seungmin sat in silence.

Still acting like this wasn’t a nightmare of his own making.

You slept on the edge of the bed like you were afraid the mattress might betray you, lying stiff and still, your spine nearly aligned with the seam of the bed’s edge. The line between you and Seungmin was vast, even if physically it was only a few feet. You felt every inch of it.

The silence stretched.

There was no comfort in the dark, only the constant, low hum of your thoughts. You could hear the subtle sounds of the house, the creak of pipes, a faint breeze against the windowpane, the occasional scuff of a car passing by too late into the night. Roan’s soft breathing from the next room.

And then, from the other side of the bed, Seungmin’s voice.

“I’ll stay on my side,” he said softly, like it was some olive branch. “I’m not trying to make things worse.”

You didn’t answer. Your hand was curled near your chest, tangled in the fabric of the blanket.

So here you were.

Lying inches from a man you no longer recognized, in a room that used to belong to someone you no longer were.

He didn’t speak again.

Eventually, you turned your back to him. Not because it helped, but because it was the only direction you could face without breaking.

You woke before your alarm.

Roan was already moving in the next room, his usual morning rustling of trying to pick an outfit, deciding which Pokémon socks were lucky, which book he wanted to bring in his backpack. He called your name once and you responded quickly, happy for the excuse to leave the room.

You slipped out of bed carefully, barely glancing at the other side.

Seungmin was still asleep, or at least pretending to be.

You didn’t care.

Downstairs, the smell of toast and eggs filled the kitchen again, your mom moving around like she had a thousand good intentions tucked into her apron. She smiled at you like nothing was wrong.

You could feel your chest tighten.

“I was thinking,” she said, flipping something on the stove, “you two should take Roan to the park after school. You know, spend a little time as a family. He looked so happy yesterday.”

You shook your head almost immediately. “I can’t. I have an appointment.”

“An appointment?” she asked, turning her head. “For what?”

“Just… something I scheduled a while ago,” you lied. “It’s nothing big, just something I have to do.”

She nodded, still smiling. “Okay, well maybe tomorrow, then.”

You didn’t answer. Instead, you poured Roan a cup of juice and distracted yourself with folding his lunch napkin.

“Also,” you added, casually, “I’ll take Roan to school today. Alone.”

She looked at you, blinking. “Oh?”

“Seungmin probably has work to catch up on,” you said, smoothly now. “Emails, meetings, all of it. He shouldn’t miss any more days than he already has.”

There was a pause. Barely half a beat, but it said everything. Your mother wanted to say something, something hopeful, something intrusive, but Seungmin had just walked into the room, ruffling Roan’s hair.

You kept your expression neutral.

“I told Mom I’d take Roan this morning,” you said to him directly, watching his reaction. “You probably have work.”

He opened his mouth, hesitating ready to argue. You could see it. But then he caught your look.

Tired. Unshakable. Empty.

He sighed and relented.

“Yeah. I’ve got a few emails to catch up on. Go ahead.”

Roan didn’t protest. He was too busy trying to zip his backpack and carry his lunchbox at the same time.

But on the drive to school, it surfaced.

“I like it when Dad drives me,” Roan said, swinging his legs in the seat. “He talks to me about music and lets me pick the songs.”

You gripped the steering wheel tighter but didn’t respond.

“I wish both of you took me to school,” he said after a moment. “Like yesterday.”

You reached for his hand at the red light. Squeezed it gently.

“I know, baby.”

It was all you could say.

At the school, you walked him up to the entrance, your hand resting lightly on his shoulder. You hugged him tighter than usual too tight, probably, but he didn’t complain. He just laughed and wrapped his arms around your neck.

“I’ll be good,” he said brightly.

“I know you will.”

He waved once, twice, and then he disappeared through the front doors.

You hadn’t even fully turned around when you walked straight into someone, solid and warm and familiar.

You let out a startled yelp, stumbling slightly.

A deep, amused laugh.

“Oh gosh,” you breathed, hand clutching your chest. “Are you serious?”

Changbin grinned down at you, eyes crinkling with laughter.

“You should’ve seen your face,” he said, still chuckling. “I think I might’ve scared you half to death.”

You lightly smacked his chest. “You did! Are you stalking me?”

“Only mildly,” he teased. “Nah, I just drop off Yuna a little later on Wednesdays. Lucky me.”

You rolled your eyes, still smiling despite yourself. The sharp edge in your chest softened for the first time that day.

He looked good. The same, and not the same. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, exposing the faint veins of his forearms, and he had that same relaxed, easygoing charm that used to be your undoing when you were seventeen.

He looked like a breath you’d forgotten how to take.

“I’ve been meaning to see you again,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “Didn’t get your number at the school meeting. I wasn’t sure if you were avoiding me or just busy.”

“Maybe a little of both,” you said honestly, folding your arms but not stepping away.

He smiled again, this time softer.

“Look,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “I don’t want to make anything weird. I just thought it’d be nice to catch up. You know — talk. Laugh. Drink something stronger than school cafeteria coffee. My treat, obviously.”

You hesitated, lips parting, unsure what to say.

Because you hadn’t laughed genuinely laughed in weeks. Because you hadn’t had anyone look at you like you in even longer. Because part of you hated how much that brief moment the banter, the touch, the easiness made something flutter low in your stomach.

“Coffee?” he added, sensing your hesitation. “Or food. I know a great place just off Main. I’m flexible. Just say the word.”

You looked at him, still smiling at you like there wasn’t a single crack in your armor he couldn’t see and wouldn’t touch unless you let him.

Something in you shifted.

“I’ll think about it,” you said quietly.

He nodded, backing up slowly with both hands raised. “That’s all I’m asking.”

And then he winked.

“See you around, heartbreaker.”

You didn’t walk any farther.

You’d barely made it halfway across the school parking lot when the thought hit you like a brick to the chest, the image of your front door waiting to open to more of the same. Your mother’s voice sweet and persistent, urging you to see the good in your marriage, like the betrayal was just a lapse in Seungmin’s character, not a rupture in yours. Seungmin’s voice, too, soft and heavy and manipulative pulling on history and guilt and the shared weight of Roan’s little heart like it was enough to glue together something already cracked beyond recognition.

You couldn’t do it. Not this morning.

Your hands were trembling not from fear, but from the tiredness of having to hold everything together all the time. Of being careful. Measured. Quiet.

So you turned around. Fast.

You spotted him just in time Changbin was a few steps ahead, walking down the sidewalk toward what seemed to be his car, his stride relaxed. He hadn't noticed you yet.

“Changbin!” you called out, a little breathless, your voice slicing through the low hum of early morning traffic.

He turned.

His brows lifted at the sight of you jogging slightly toward him, something like concern flashing in his face for a moment, until you caught up, and he saw your expression: flushed from decision, not panic.

“Everything okay?” he asked gently, but not intrusively.

You took a breath. Then another.

“Do you have time now?” you asked, voice lower this time. “To… get that coffee. Or food. Or whatever you offered. I just—” you paused, looking away. “I don’t really want to go home yet.”

He didn’t ask any questions.

No why, no what's going on, no are you okay.

Instead, he just smiled. A little crooked, a little soft. Familiar.

“Yeah,” he said simply. “I’ve got time.”

He pointed at his car, a black, slightly beat-up sedan in the corner of the lot, the kind of vehicle that had seen long nights and longer road trips, mismatched air fresheners and glove compartments filled with half-written lyrics.

“I’ll drive?”

You felt something ease inside your chest as you smiled back. “Okay.”

You slipped into the passenger seat, tugging the seatbelt across your lap with a click. He tossed his backpack into the back seat before climbing in beside you, one hand on the wheel, the other adjusting the AC vent. He turned to you as he started the engine.

“So,” he asked, “want to try that new place I mentioned? Or…”

You hesitated.

There was something about this moment, something tender and loose and unfamiliar in its comfort. You stared out the window for a beat, then turned to him.

“Do you remember that diner we used to go to?” you asked. “The one near the overpass? We used to ditch class and get pancakes.”

His face lit up. “With the cracked jukebox and the chalkboard menus? That place?”

You nodded, the corner of your mouth twitching into the smallest smile. “Yeah. That one.”

His eyes softened. “I haven’t been there in forever. Still smells like syrup and fryer grease and bad decisions, probably.”

You laughed, and it surprised you how natural it sounded. How easy.

“That’s where I want to go,” you said.

“You got it,” he replied, throwing the car into drive. “Nostalgia breakfast. Coming right up.”

He winked at you, and this time, you let the flutter in your stomach stay.

-

The bell above the door chimed gently as you both stepped into the diner, the soft smell of syrup and coffee wrapping around you like an old blanket. It was still there, that same sticky warmth, the gentle hum of classic rock spilling faintly from the speakers, and the low murmur of early patrons with their morning mugs and newspapers.

You both slid into a booth near the back, the one that curved along the window, the same one you used to claim every time you skipped class and wanted to pretend you were older than sixteen. Changbin sat across from you, his hands still calloused but somehow gentle-looking as he grabbed a menu he probably didn’t need.

You didn’t need one either.

“It smells the same,” you muttered, eyes scanning the room. “Like grease and… rebellion.”

Changbin laughed. “And questionable hygiene.”

You laughed with him, the sound coming easily now. Lighter.

A waitress came by familiar face, maybe a little older than you both, her name tag crooked and took your orders without fuss. Two coffees, two plates of pancakes, a side of bacon for him, fruit for you, like muscle memory.

After she left, Changbin leaned back against the booth, stretching his arm across the back like he used to when you were younger though now, he wasn’t trying to flirt. Just relax. Be.

“I still can’t believe that was actually you,” he said, shaking his head. “Like, at the school. If it wasn’t you, and I said something stupid like ‘you still do that fidgety hand thing,’ I would’ve had to change my name and leave town.”

You snorted into your coffee. “Would’ve been hilarious though.”

“I don’t think my ego could’ve taken it,” he teased, grinning.

You took a sip of coffee, watching him as he stared out the window for a second. The sun hit just right, the gold catching on the edge of his jaw, in the little crow’s feet near his eyes, the slight exhaustion in his frame. Life had happened to him, clearly. It had happened to you too. But in this booth, it felt like the world slowed down.

You ended up talking about high school. Not the painful parts, not yet, but the funny, absurd pieces. The time you both got caught making out behind the gym during prom. The time you threw a soda can at someone’s car because they catcalled you and Changbin wanted to defend your honor. The camping trip where you two shared a blanket and he screamed at a raccoon in the middle of the night.

“That raccoon was at least 30 pounds,” he insisted.

“It was five, tops.”

“It had rabies in its eyes.”

You laughed again. A real, full laugh.

He was halfway through his second pancake, slicing through the stack with syrup-covered enthusiasm, when he suddenly froze. His fork hovered in midair, dripping slightly.

“Oh my god,” he said through a mouthful. “I just remembered something.”

You raised an eyebrow. “This could go in so many directions.”

“No, no, listen,” he said, swallowing his bite dramatically. “Do you remember… Seungmin?”

Your heart stilled. Like it had tripped over itself and forgot how to keep beating for just a moment.

“Kim Seungmin.”

Of course you remembered. Of course you did.

But Changbin didn’t know. He had no idea.

You stiffened slightly. “Yeah…” you said cautiously. “I remember.”

He didn’t notice the way your fingers curled around your cup, the way you leaned just slightly back, preparing for the hit.

“Geez,” he muttered with a grin, shaking his head. “I hated that guy.”

Your head snapped up.

“I was so jealous back then,” he continued, chuckling. “Everyone knew Seungmin had the biggest crush on you. Dude would always hang around after classes, try to sit near you, act like you and I weren’t even dating. Like… you were just this free agent waiting for someone better.”

He laughed a little bitterly at the memory, like it didn’t actually sting anymore, just existed.

“I mean, I get it,” he added. “You were… you. You were always so bright. People wanted to be around you. I didn’t blame him. I just wanted to punch him.”

You finally breathed. A slow, careful breath. It was now or never.

“Changbin,” you said quietly.

He looked up.

You hesitated for only a beat. Then:

“Seungmin is my husband.”

The fork in his hand froze. Slowly, he set it down.

He blinked.

Once. Twice.

“You’re serious?” he asked, voice lower.

You nodded. “Yeah.”

He sat back, visibly trying to process. “You… married him?”

You didn’t answer with words at first. Just gave him a look that said, Yes. It's as complicated as it sounds.

And maybe because this was Changbin, and he knew you too well, he didn’t laugh. Didn’t react with some big dramatic sigh or over-the-top comment.

He just let out a quiet, “Wow.”

You looked down at your plate, picked at a strawberry.

“After you left,” you said, voice barely above a whisper. “I was in a bad place. I think you knew that. And he… he stayed. He was always there. At first just a friend, then someone who made me laugh again. It wasn’t sudden. It wasn’t even romantic at first. I just… I needed someone. And he was there.”

You glanced at him, trying to gauge his expression. It was unreadable, his lips slightly parted, brows furrowed in that faint way they always did when he was really listening.

“We ended up going to the same college,” you continued. “Out of town. Different majors, but… he stuck around. And somewhere between trying to get over you and trying to survive being on my own, I fell in love with him.”

You looked down again. Your voice cracked slightly. “We got married after college. Roan came a year later.”

For a long moment, neither of you said anything.

Then Changbin let out a soft breath and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.

“Can I say something?”

You nodded.

“I’m not mad,” he said gently. “I don’t have a right to be. I left. I hurt you. And Seungmin… I guess he didn’t.”

You looked at him. “He did. Just… not right away.”

Understanding flickered across his face.

You didn’t need to explain more. Not yet.

“He cheated,” you whispered.

Changbin’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak.

You laughed bitterly. “Everyone thinks we’re just going through a phase. A rough patch. My parents love him. Roan loves him. And I’m the only one who knows the truth. And now you.”

He stared at you, like he was searching for something in your eyes.

“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted, after a pause.

“I don’t need you to say anything,” you said, voice small.

“But I want to,” he said.

You looked at him.

“I want to be here,” he said simply. “Even if it’s just as someone who listens.”

You smiled a slow, aching thing. “Thank you.”

And for the first time in a long, long time maybe since before everything shattered, you felt like someone really saw you.

Not as Seungmin’s wife. Not just Roan’s mother.

Just you.

And it felt like hope.

-

By the time the soft clinking of cutlery had dwindled, and the hush of the post-rush lull settled over the diner, you noticed the waitress throwing not-so-subtle glances your way. Her polite smile was stretched thin now, the kind of weary look that screamed, You two have been here way too long, please let me clean your table and go home at a decent hour.

Changbin caught it too, offering a sheepish laugh as he polished off the last sip of his now lukewarm coffee. “I think we’re being evicted.”

You sighed, smiling reluctantly. “Feels like old times. Except now we’re overstaying because of emotional baggage instead of teenage hormones.”

He grinned. “Emotional baggage is way more interesting.”

You reached into your bag for your wallet, reflexive and automatic. “Let me at least get half —”

He was already sliding his card across the table to the waitress, not even looking your way. “Don’t start. I invited you.”

“No, but—”

“I said I wanted to treat you.” He smirked, leaning back with exaggerated smugness. “You can get the next one.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You just want me to feel obligated to see you again.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Exactly.”

You stared at him. A beat passed. Then you chuckled, the sound quiet and honest.

Outside, the light had softened into that almost-golden afternoon hue, the kind that makes everything look washed in nostalgia. When you stepped out of the diner and into the sunlight, you blinked against it, stretching your arms above your head with a groan that came from deep in your chest. Changbin walked beside you, keys twirling between his fingers.

It wasn’t until you were halfway to the school, laughter still lingering in your chest from some half-told story about his failed attempt at teaching Yuna how to ride a bike that you realized the time.

“Oh shit,” you gasped, sitting upright in the passenger seat. “It’s pickup time. Like right now pickup time.”

Changbin’s eyes widened. “You said it was later!”

“I thought it was!” you said, quickly grabbing your phone and checking the clock. “I didn’t realize we’d been sitting there for five hours! You were too interesting.”

He grinned. “Flattered.”

“You shouldn’t be,” you snapped, panicked, swatting his arm. “Drive!”

He did. Fast enough to make it right as the trickle of students began flooding out the school gates, colorful backpacks bouncing, parents chatting in clusters by the sidewalk. You both barely made it out of the car when familiar voices caught your attention.

“Mom!”

You turned just in time to see Roan running toward you cheeks flushed, his bag half zipped and bouncing against his back. His hair stuck to his forehead from play, and his voice cracked with excitement.

Right behind him, Yuna’s squeal echoed as she launched herself at Changbin, who caught her with ease, laughing as he staggered slightly from the force of her affection.

Roan flung his arms around your waist, and you caught him, bending slightly to hug him properly.

“Hey, baby,” you said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “How was school?”

“I drew a frog with wings!” he announced proudly. “And Ms. Lee said it was very imaginative.”

“Of course she did,” you laughed. “That sounds very… avant-garde.”

He nodded solemnly, then tilted his head. “Where’s dad?”

The question hit you like a soft thud. Not painful. But heavy.

You hesitated for half a second before answering, “He’s at home. He had work.”

Roan frowned slightly but didn’t say more. He leaned into your side, rubbing his eyes with a little yawn.

���Hey,” Changbin’s voice came from behind you, softer now. “Thanks for today. It really… meant a lot.”

You turned around, finding him with Yuna still perched on his hip, her arms looped around his neck as she played with the ends of his hair. Her small eyes fluttered sleepily.

“I should be thanking you,” you said, adjusting Roan’s backpack on your shoulder. “I really needed to… not be home for a while.”

He watched you carefully, his face gentling. “You didn’t have to explain.”

You smiled weakly, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “Still.”

There was a pause. A tiny, breath-held moment.

“I didn’t get your number,” he said suddenly, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his phone. “And if I don’t ask now, I’ll probably regret it for another ten years.”

You laughed under your breath. “Smooth.”

He passed you the phone, and you typed in your number, pausing only once before hitting save under your name.

“Done,” you said.

He smiled this time, quieter. “Maybe next time… drinks? A real dinner? My treat, again. Unless you really want to fight me over the bill.”

You snorted. “Oh, I will.”

“I’m counting on it.”

And then Roan tugged at your hand, murmuring that he was tired and wanted to go home. You nodded, your heart heavy again but full in a different way now.

Changbin and Yuna waved as you started walking toward your car, and Roan ever the polite boy waved back, yelling a cheerful, “Bye, Yuna! Bye Yuna’s Dad!”

Yuna waved so hard her ponytail bobbed with the motion. “Bye Roan! Bye Roan’s Mom!”

You paused at that, warmth spreading in your chest despite yourself. You looked back just once.

Changbin was still watching you. Not staring. Just… present.

And for the first time in a while, you didn’t feel like you were walking alone.

-

You smiled the entire ride home. Not a loud, ecstatic grin, but that quiet, involuntary kind of smile, the one that lingers at the corners of your lips long after a warm memory. Changbin had made you laugh today, not just once, but more times than you could count. Honest laughter, too the kind that didn't feel forced or coated in guilt. For a little while, it was easy to forget how heavy everything else was. It was easier to feel like yourself again.

But the moment your front door creaked open, reality swept back in like a bitter wind.

The sound hit first: low murmuring, the subtle clink of bottles, a laugh that didn't belong to you. It was Seungmin’s, quiet, practiced. Familiar. Too familiar. Then your father's gruff voice, amused and relaxed in a way that made your skin prickle. As you stepped inside, the weight came crashing down again.

There, in the living room, Seungmin sat next to your father both of them holding beers, the kind your dad only pulled out when he was feeling particularly welcoming. Seungmin's sleeves rolled up in a way that once made you feel comforted. Now it made your stomach turn.

Your mother was curled up in her armchair with a book resting open on her lap. She looked up the second you stepped in, her eyes lighting up like she'd just spotted good news walking through the door.

“There you are!” she chirped, her voice far too cheerful for how tight your chest had suddenly become. “Where were you? Seungmin’s been so worried. He was about to go out and look for you.”

The mention of his name, that carefully woven narrative of him being “worried,” instantly soured your mood. You hadn’t texted. You hadn’t wanted to. You’d had one afternoon, just one, where you could breathe without his voice tugging at your every memory, and now you were being pulled right back under the water.

Roan ran past you before you could say a word. “Dad!” he squealed, flinging himself into Seungmin’s arms with no hesitation. “I drew a frog with wings today and Ms. Lee loved it!”

You stood frozen in the entryway, your smile long gone now, watching Seungmin smile as he ruffled Roan’s hair, responding with a soft, “Of course she did, bud. That’s awesome.”

Your mom turned to you again, brows lifting. “Honey? You alright? Why didn’t you come home after drop-off?”

You felt the muscles in your jaw tighten. The question felt too pointed, too soon. You hadn’t even set down your keys yet. Your pulse rose with the sudden sensation of being cornered.

“I just… needed some air,” you said flatly. “Ran some errands. Got a headache.”

“Oh no,” your mom said, eyes full of concern now. “You should rest. You look pale.”

You nodded. “Yeah. I think I will. I’m going to lie down.”

There was no room for more conversation. You turned on your heel, making a beeline for your room, practically choking on the tightness in your throat. The moment you were inside, you shut the door behind you not hard, but firm. It wasn’t a slam. It was a boundary.

You slipped off your shoes and collapsed onto your bed without turning on the light. You lay on your side, staring blankly at the wall, your back to the door. You hadn’t even bothered to change clothes. The ache in your chest had returned, dull and gnawing, the contrast between now and the afternoon with Changbin cutting deep.

You heard the knock a few minutes later. Not loud just a gentle knock, followed by the door creaking open.

Of course. It was him.

“Hey,” Seungmin’s voice was soft. Carefully rehearsed. He closed the door behind him, and you could feel his eyes trying to find you in the dim room.

You didn’t move.

“Heard you weren’t feeling well,” he added, as if that excused the way he came in uninvited. “I just wanted to check.”

Still, you said nothing. You didn’t need to. The silence was thick enough.

“Where were you?” he finally asked, the first question that wasn’t wrapped in false concern. Just a little more pointed. A little less kind.

You still didn’t answer. You stayed on your side, back to him. Your arm folded under your head, breath steady. But he knew you weren’t sleeping.

A sigh. A pause. The shift of the mattress behind you as he stepped closer, probably expecting some sort of response, a confrontation, anything.

“Look,” he began, his voice tightening. “I’m just trying to talk. You can’t keep shutting me out like this.”

Still nothing. You stared at the wall, heart slowly rising into your throat again. If you opened your mouth, you might say something too honest. Too cruel.

Seungmin sighed again, louder this time. “So this is it? This is how we’re going to do this now?”

You turned slowly, finally, to face him. Your voice was quiet, but it was hard-edged. “How we’re going to do this? You don’t get to walk in here and pretend like we’re on the same team.”

His jaw tensed. “I’ve been trying. You’re the one who left.”

You sat up, your hands trembling in your lap. “You cheated.”

His eyes flashed with something guilt, maybe, or frustration. “We had a fight. We were already falling apart.”

You flinched. “And your solution to that was to sleep with your coworker?”

“That’s not fair—”

“No, Seungmin,” you cut him off, your voice rising, “What’s not fair is you coming here, acting like you’re some loving husband, winning my parents over, making them think this is just a bump in the road. You know what you're doing.”

“You didn’t correct them either,” he shot back. “You’re letting them believe it too.”

You hated how easily he turned the blame. How calm he tried to stay when you were crumbling. It made you feel insane like you were the one unraveling in a perfectly tidy room.

“You should’ve never come,” you muttered, standing now, pacing. “I told you not to. I told you this isn’t your home anymore.”

He looked at you with a wounded kind of disbelief. “You’re really willing to throw away years because of one mistake?”

“One mistake?” you scoffed, incredulous. “That’s how you talk about it? You made me feel like I was crazy, Seungmin. You came home late, you lied to my face for months. And then you had the audacity to tell me you still loved me after. What kind of love is that?”

“I do love you,” he said softly, almost defeated.

And for a moment, the smallest flicker you saw the man you had once believed in. The one who held your hand in college hallways, who fell asleep with his head on your stomach as you read aloud your thesis. The man who cried in the hospital when Roan was born.

But that man cheated. That man let you cry alone the night you packed your bags. That man chose himself when you needed him the most.

“I can’t do this,” you whispered. “Not right now.”

He nodded, reluctantly stepping back, but he didn’t leave without the final blow.

“Roan misses you. The you we used to be. Just… think about him before you throw everything away.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He slipped out the door and closed it gently behind him.

You sat on the edge of the bed long after he left, the ache crawling back into your chest like it had never left.

The only lightness in your body now was the faint echo of laughter in a diner booth. A brief moment where you didn’t feel like a wife. Or an ex-wife. Or a disappointment.

Just a woman. Who used to love pancakes. Who used to skip class. Who used to dream.

And maybe, just maybe was learning how to again.

You liked taking Roan to school. It was the one part of the day that still felt soft, simple. His tiny hand in yours, the way he talked the entire way about his drawings, or what he thought the cafeteria would serve for lunch today. It helped you start the morning with something solid, something good before the noise of your fractured reality crept back in.

Today, you made sure he got into class okay, even lingered longer than usual near the door as he turned to wave at you. You waved back, a small smile tugging at your lips.

And then you felt a poke.

Right at your side.

You jumped so hard you let out a yelp, loud enough that a few parents turned to look and immediately whipped around to find the only person who’d have the audacity to poke you like that.

Changbin.

You immediately slapped his chest with a hand, playfully but firm. “You really have to stop doing that,” you huffed, glaring at him.

He was already laughing, loud and shameless. “I live for it. You should see your face—every time!”

You rolled your eyes, but your smile betrayed you.

He fell into step beside you as you started walking away from the school gates.

“I didn’t realize you walked here,” he said after a few beats, glancing around the sidewalk like he was piecing it together.

“Yeah. Just needed the air.”

“Need a ride back?” he asked, casual, like it wasn’t already obvious that’s what he was going to offer.

You let out a quiet sigh through your nose. “You’re relentless.”

He grinned. “That’s a yes.”

And it was.

You followed him to his car, sliding into the passenger seat like you had yesterday only this time, it felt less like a spontaneous escape and more like… routine. Something easy. Something welcome.

The ride home was quiet at first, not awkward, just easy like neither of you felt the need to fill the space. But halfway there, he spoke.

“You know,” he began, eyes on the road, “you can talk to me. Anytime. About anything. You don’t have to, obviously. But just… I’m around.”

You turned your head slightly, watching his profile. The curve of his jaw. The soft worry at the corner of his mouth.

“I know,” you said, quietly. “Thank you.”

He nodded once but didn’t look at you. “I don’t know what happened with you and… him. I’m not prying. But I can see it in your eyes. You’re tired.”

There was no judgment in his voice. Just quiet, heartfelt observation.

Your throat tightened at that. Because he wasn’t wrong. You were tired. Tired in your bones. Tired in your mind. Tired of pretending.

You turned toward the window, blinking fast. “I am.”

He didn’t press for more. Just drove.

You were already nearing your neighborhood when he let out a soft laugh and said, “Do your parents still hate me?”

You looked at him sharply, surprised, and then laughed, really laughed for the first time since the diner.

“Oh,” you said between giggles. “You remember that?”

“How could I forget? Your dad used to literally grunt when I came over. I thought he was going to bury me in the backyard.”

“To be fair,” you said, covering your smile with your hand, “you did sneak into my room at 2 AM and set off the fire alarm trying to microwave nachos.”

He shrugged. “Worth it. Those nachos were killer.”

You shook your head, still laughing. “Don’t take it personal. They were overprotective. I was their only kid.”

“I’m not taking it personal,” he said, mock offended. “But do they still hate me?”

You gave that some real thought, chewing the inside of your cheek.

“I don’t think so,” you said. “Honestly, I think they barely remember. You’re ancient history.”

“Ouch,” he gasped. “And here I thought I left a lasting impression.”

“You left a mess in my kitchen, not an impression,” you teased.

He was still chuckling when he glanced at you and asked, “Do they like Seungmin?”

Your smile faded slightly, but it stayed on your face out of habit.

“Yeah,” you said, trying to make it sound lighter than it felt. “They… treat him like he’s their own son.”

He looked genuinely scandalized. “Seriously?”

You laughed again, shaking your head. “Don’t take that personal either.”

But it lingered, that realization. That your parents had accepted Seungmin with open arms in ways they never had with anyone else. In some ways, it made everything harder.

You were still thinking about it when he pulled into your driveway.

As he parked, he turned to you with a grin. “Don’t forget. You still owe me drinks.”

You groaned. “Right. You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Nope. I’m petty.”

You were still laughing when you unbuckled and stepped out of the car… only for your breath to catch in your throat the moment you saw who was standing on the porch.

Seungmin.

Arms crossed. Shoulders stiff. His expression thunderous.

He didn’t move when he saw you. Just stared. A storm in his eyes. His gaze shifted briefly to Changbin, and you swore something in his jaw clicked.

Changbin, still in the driver’s seat, gave a cheerful wave through the open window. “See you, mystery woman.”

You smiled faintly and waved back. “Thanks for the ride.”

He gave a wink, and then he was gone, the car pulling away, tires quiet on the pavement.

You barely had time to turn toward the porch when Seungmin snapped.

“Who the hell was that?”

You blinked.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp, seething. Cold.

You climbed the steps slowly. “It was just someone I know.”

“Someone you know?” His voice dropped lower, more dangerous. “That someone just happened to be driving you home? You left early this morning without a word and come back laughing in some guy’s car?”

You kept your face neutral, trying not to react, trying to keep your pulse from flaring.

“I walked Roan to school. I didn’t want to come straight home. I ran into someone and accepted a ride back. That’s it.”

“Is that what this is now?” he asked bitterly. “You disappearing with strangers?”

“He’s not a stranger.”

That was a mistake. You said it too quickly, too defensively.

Seungmin’s expression shifted, suspicion to realization to something uglier.

You could practically see it on his face. The puzzle clicking into place.

But you weren’t about to confirm it. Not now. Not here. The last thing you needed was seungmin exploding on your first heartbreak, in front of your childhood home.

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” you said, stepping past him.

“Oh, so now we’re doing that?” he called after you. “You disappear all morning, and I’m just supposed to smile and wave when some guy drops you off at my son’s house?”

You stopped cold.

Spun around.

“This isn’t your house anymore. And he’s not just your son. He’s ours.”

Seungmin’s mouth opened, but you didn’t let him speak. You turned, stormed into the house, and let the screen door swing shut behind you.

You didn’t bother to see if he followed.

Because you were too tired. Too full of guilt and rage and the faint remnants of laughter that still clung to your sleeves like perfume.

And in the quiet that followed, you let yourself remember the way Changbin looked at you.

Like he saw you.

Not the wife. Not the failed marriage. Not the tired mother.

Just… you.

-

You could tell Seungmin was angry.

He hadn’t said anything explicitly, not since earlier on the porch, but his silence wasn’t quiet, it was loud. Too loud. The tension in his jaw, the tight way he held himself when he walked past you in the hallway. The pointed slams of cabinets when he was in the kitchen and you were in the room next to him. You tried not to acknowledge it, but it was there. Like a storm cloud in every corner of the house.

That night, as you stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing your hair, trying to find some stillness before bed, your phone buzzed on the vanity.

Once.
Then again.

You glanced down. An unknown number.

[Unknown]: Okay so maybe I did rehearse that joke in the car. Rate my delivery, 1-10.

You blinked at the message. And then smiled, a genuine, unguarded smile because you recognized the tone. You didn’t even need the name to know.

You typed back.

"That was a solid 6.5. I’m being generous because you’re funny when you’re smug."

A moment passed.

[Changbin]: Oh, a 6.5? Harsh. I'm wounded. Drinks on you for that.

You laughed under your breath. Actually laughed. That warmth again. That ease you thought you’d lost.

"Fine. Drinks on me. One drink. Don’t push it."

You were still smiling when your mom called your name down the hall.

“Can you come here a sec, sweetie? I wanted to ask about Roan’s weekend plans!”

“Coming!” you shouted back.

You set the phone down on the bed, the screen still lit for a few seconds before dimming. You didn’t notice the shadow in the hallway. The way Seungmin had paused in the doorway, leaned against the frame with crossed arms, eyes locked on your smile.

And when you left the room, your phone buzzed again.

He didn’t mean to do it. Not really.

But his jaw was tight. His stomach was churning.

He walked over and picked up the phone like it offended him just by existing. The way it lit up again with another message.

Roan’s birthday had been your password for years, unchanged. He hadn’t even needed to think twice. Muscle memory.

It unlocked with a soft click.

[Changbin]: So how’s the house of chaos? Still surviving?

He scrolled.

Each message painted a clearer picture than the last, Changbin flirting, light and easy, poking fun, asking you about your favorite drinks, joking that he might actually dress up if it meant seeing you smile again.

Seungmin’s blood pressure spiked.

That was him. That was the guy from the car.

Changbin. Seo Changbin.

He froze.

His chest tightened, and his grip on your phone turned white-knuckled.

Changbin. That Changbin.

High school Changbin. First boyfriend Changbin. The guy Seungmin loathed, not because of some petty rivalry, but because he had what Seungmin wanted first. You.

The guy who laughed too loud, kissed you in the hallways, held your hand like you were already his long before Seungmin had even found the nerve to tell you he liked you. The one you skipped classes with. The one who broke your heart when he left and left just enough space for Seungmin to be there, to pick up the pieces.

And now he was back? Now? When everything between you and Seungmin was still splintering, still bleeding?

He was seething.

When you came back into the room, Seungmin was sitting at the edge of the bed, your phone in his hand. His eyes locked onto you the second you stepped in.

You stopped mid-step, your expression shifting instantly. “What are you doing with my phone?”

He didn’t respond at first. Just lifted it and tilted it slightly in his hand.

“Really?” he said, voice tight. Controlled.

You narrowed your eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“You really came all the way back here, dragging Roan with you, telling everyone you needed space, but really you just wanted to see him again?”

You blinked. “What?”

He turned the phone to show you the screen, Changbin’s messages still open, bright against the dark of the room.

You froze.

“You were with him,” he said. “Changbin. Of all people.”

Your lips parted slightly, more from shock than guilt.

“You read my messages?”

“You left them wide open.”

“That doesn’t mean—” You stopped yourself. “You had no right to go through my phone.”

“No right?” he barked a humorless laugh. “You disappeared this morning, left without a word, came back laughing in some guy’s car, and now you’re texting your ex-boyfriend like you’re sixteen again!”

“He’s not just my ex—”

“I know exactly who he is,” Seungmin snapped. “He’s the guy who dated you while I sat there like an idiot watching it happen. I remember him.”

You clenched your jaw. “And I remember what you did. Don’t throw a tantrum because someone actually makes me feel sane for five minutes.”

His nostrils flared. “So that’s what this is? You’re punishing me. Using this whole situation as an excuse to flirt with an old flame while pretending you’re the victim.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Oh, I’m dead serious,” he spat. “You left. You took Roan. You’ve barely looked me in the eye since. And now it all makes sense—you came back to fix things? No. You came back to relive your past with him.”

You stared at him, chest heaving, feeling heat rush to your face not from shame, but rage.

“I came back because I needed air. I came back because you broke something in me I don’t know how to fix. And I’m trying to survive trying to hold it together for Roan. And if one person out there gives me a second to breathe without feeling like I’m drowning, I’m not going to apologize for that.”

He didn’t say anything. Just looked at you with a glare so sharp it could’ve cut straight through your chest.

“I can’t do this with you tonight,” you said quietly, turning away from him.

And this time, when you walked out of the room, he didn’t follow.

//

masterlist. dad!skz series masterlist.

❌proofread

[official taglist: @alisonyus @lenfilms @captainchrisstan @anastasiiiiaaaaa @emilyywhyy @ready2readnwrite lmk if you’d like to be added/removed 😙 ..]

a/n: finally!

[l0v-ly-c4t]

GIRL DAD

✦. Pairing: Dad!bangchan x Mom!reader .✦

✦. Warnings: Daughter's mentioned once (1) as "Sana" ; little angst if you squint ; fluff .✦

✦. Sc: 8 (2 for each scenario) .✦

✦. A/N: Bangchan is so girl dad coded that I HAD to make something like this. He would be such a good dad, I can feel it! .✦

✦. Masterlist

[leewritesstuff]

Phone Thief | Dad!Skz x Child Reader

Summary: Their kid messages them from their mother's phone.

Pairs: Chan x Reader, Minho x Reader, Changbin x Reader, Hyunjin x Reader, Han x Reader, Felix x Reader, Seungmin x Reader and Jeongin x Reader (individually)

Type: Fluff

AN: Han's own is short because he was too damn busy laughing at his kid and showing the members the text

Taglist: @velvetmoonlght

CHAN

MINHO

CHANGBIN

HYUNJIN

HAN

FELIX

SEUNGMIN

JEONGIN

[strayingawayy]

the wobble of destruction

...where changbin makes an attempt to make your daughter laugh and miserably fails...the first couple times atleast

it was a quiet afternoon in the house, with only the soft sound of a baby monitor buzzing in the background. changbin stood in front of the crib, a look of intense concentration on his face. he was ready. this time, he was going to get the laugh.

you leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, already skeptical. “how many attempts is this now? four?”

“five,” changbin corrected with a grim nod. “but i’ve figured it out. this time, it’s foolproof.”

he cleared his throat dramatically and took a deep breath. with a swift motion, he puffed out his cheeks, crossed his eyes, and leaned over the crib, growling in his deepest voice, “rawr! i’m the scary monster!”

your baby girl stared at him, wide-eyed. there was no sound.

changbin froze mid-growl, the silence hanging in the air. “um… baby girl? you’re supposed to laugh?”

another beat of silence. then, just as changbin was about to say something, your daughter blinked, like she was processing the information. then, with a soft, confused sigh, she went back to sucking on her thumb.

changbin sighed, deflated. “okay, maybe… maybe i overdid it.”

you bit your lip to suppress the laughter. “just a little bit, yeah.”

“fine,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “time for phase two.”

“i’ve got it,” he said with absolute confidence, turning toward you. “hold my-” he looked around for something to hold. “hold my shirt.”

you glanced at him, then at the baby, who was now lazily playing with her feet. “i really don’t think you should-”

but before you could finish, changbin dropped to the floor and began rolling around in front of the crib, making exaggerated splat noises as he pretended to fall down a hill. “whee! i’m the wobbly monster!”

your baby’s eyes followed his every move, but there was nothing. not even a sound. she just stared.

changbin stopped, looking up at you with a mix of confusion and defeat. “she’s… not laughing.”

you stepped forward, trying not to laugh yourself. “i think you’re terrifying her.”

he sat up, groaning. “i need a new strategy.”

before you could speak, he shot up, his face lighting up with a new, unhinged idea. “i’ve got it!”

you narrowed your eyes. “what now?”

he grinned and raised both hands in the air, his fingers wiggling like tentacles. “the wobble of destruction.”

and with that, he started flailing his arms, doing the silliest, most ridiculous dance ever. it was a mix of breakdancing, a weird moonwalk, and an uncoordinated attempt at the macarena.

your baby girl’s face lit up in a burst of laughter. giggles. real, true giggles.

changbin paused, eyes wide. “wait… she-”

“she’s laughing,” you gasped, staring in disbelief.

“wait, hold on,” he said, not missing a beat, jumping into the wobble of destruction even harder, like the move was his signature. he spun around in a dramatic flourish, his arms flying out of control.

your daughter laughed louder, her little body bouncing with the force of it. changbin, now in his full absurd glory, puffed out his chest. “i’m a prodigy.”

you leaned against the wall, tears in your eyes from laughing. “a prodigy of chaos.”

with one final spin and an almost perfect tumble, changbin collapsed dramatically onto the couch, his chest heaving. “i think i’ve just revolutionized parenting.”

you shook your head, still giggling. “revolutionized the art of being a clown, maybe.”

“fine, but you know what?” he grinned, picking up the baby who was still giggling in his arms. “she’s going to be a huge fan of my tour. it’s just a matter of time.”

you rolled your eyes but smiled. “yeah, well, just make sure the world isn’t watching when you bust out the wobble of destruction.”

“i’m telling you,” he said seriously, “this is going to be my signature move. i'm adding this to the setlist for the next tour."

and as you watched him cuddle your daughter, still laughing, you couldn’t help but agree.

changbin, in his clumsy, chaotic, and ridiculous way, had found his real calling: being the most ridiculous dad in the world.

[kypopkypop]

"Your so beautiful" "I know isn't she" "I was talking about you"

Changbin fluff coming home from the hospital

Warning: Body insecurities, just gave birth, reader get really upset and doesn't feel totally better at the end (I don't know if that really a warning, mentions of nursing/breastfeeding a baby (tell me if I missed something)

She doesn't really feel that much better at the end because I think it's unrealistic for the reader to suddenly feel better after something someone else says. Sometimes your just upset and you need to be upset to make your self feel better in the future if that makes sense. Also don't mind what changbin says I'm bad at comforting people so I tried my best. I think it lacking a little something but I'll try and make it better as time goes on and I get more into writing.

You were sitting on your couch holding you 2 day old baby girl. You had just come home from the hospital a couple of hours ago.

Birth is a very painful, stressful, and interesting to say the least. Your body had changed so much during your pregnancy but it slowly changed over 9 months. Giving you some time to get used to it as your body got bigger.

Birth is nothing like that though. Even if your a little chubby everyone thinks your super cute when your pregnant. Whenever people look at a pregnant person you don't think "hmm I wonder how much weight she's gained" you usually think "aww she looks so good for being 9 months pregnant, her body's creating a life".

After birth everyone losses that mentality but your body doesn't change for at least a couple of weeks. Not to even mention all the different hormones and emotions going through your body during this time.

You think of how amazing your baby girl is and how you would go through labor a thousand time again to have her. Then you look in the mirror and see every part of your self that you liked before you got pregnant has changed.

After having your baby girl your anxiety and depression worsened. It was hard for you to think of one thing that liked about your self. Your self confidence before getting pregnant wasn't super strong or anything but you've never felt like this.

Your mama bear instincts came out. You got so anxious when ever someone else was holding your baby besides your husband Changbin of course. You loved seeing him with her. It almost felt like your only purpose in life was to take care of this baby. You know Changbin would never leave you but it scared you what he thought of you know that you thought your body was "ruined".

Looking at your wonderful baby girl as she's fast asleep in your arms your husband comes and sits next to you. He sits facing you with and arm next to your shoulders. He starts admiring you baby girl too.

Then he looks up at you. You get a little freaked out from how long he was looking at you. You were trying to figure out what would make him do that. Your scared to fully look at him. Scared he'll see how puffy your face is and your dark under eye circles.

"Your so beautiful" he says. You can really hear the emotion in his voice. It almost sounds like he could cry

"I know isn't she perfect"

"I was talking about you" even though you were scared you turned you face to see him. The love in his eyes and the smile that shows up on his face when he sees your full face

"I'm never gonna look the same though. What if my stomach always stays this big. What if....." you start tearing up and you stop talking before you fully start crying.

"Y/n I know you've changed a lot before you got pregnant vs now. But the way I see you will always be the same. I didn't fall in love with you because of your body. No physical changes would ever make me stop loving you. And I know your hormones is making things harder emotionally but I want you to know that I will always be there. And if you ever need a reminder of how gorgeous you are just tell me and I could go on and on. You think our daughter is beautiful and when I look at her I just see a mini you."

You had a lot of tears streaming down your face at this point. Everything was just so overwhelming you couldn't talk. All the emotions of how you felt about your self being contradicted by Changbins words made your head feel like it was gonna explode. But you were trying hard to not let out a sob because you didn't want to wake your daughter.

Almost as Changbin read your thoughts he picks up your baby and puts her in the baby swing. He comes back and scoots you over so your on his lap. "I know it gonna take more than just once for you to believe me but I'll say it as many times as you need." He said as he puts his head and hand on top of yours. You let out the sobs that you were holding in. You hid your face in the crook of his neck as he rocked you. It made you feel like the baby but it really did make you feel better.

After taking some deep breaths to calm down you pull away to look at your perfect husband. He wipes you tears and tells you some more how much he loves you.

He tells you to lay down and take a nap to help you calm down. And being tired wasn't helping with how stressed out you were. It scared you to leave taking care of the baby all to him but he assured you. Anytime you needed a nap during the day that he would take care of her. You have been up all night nursing her. He tries to do as much as he can during the night but when your the only one who can feed her there's not much he can do. So he wants to make it up to you.

He tucks you in on the couch. And as you almost fall asleep immediately you hear him say.

"I love you and good night beautiful"

Also this is my first time writing so don't judge me to hard 😄 also thank you for reading.

[astraysimp]

Little Mister

*･῾ ᵎ⌇ ⁺◦ 💘 ✧.*Hi besties! I’m back with another installment of  dad!skz , this time it’s………….SEUNGMIN’S TURN heheheheh ….dad!Seungmin has been on my mind a LOT lately >.< –baby pochacco >.<

Summary: your daily life with Baby pochacco and Seungmo 

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀: Baby pochacco’s name is Seo Jun and he looks like baby Seungmin–5 months old

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'Warnings: VERY FLUFFY, dad!seungmo, baby boy is called ‘mister’, lots of pochacco, domestic!seungmo, petnames , fen!reader 

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*''*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'

2.15 pm

That was the time the clock read and it meant baby Seo Jun was due to wake up from his nap soon. You and Seungmin had been in your living room, watching TV and cuddling, with  your baby monitor on the coffee table. Signaling his waking up, you heard Seo Jun whining and moved to get up to get Seo Jun. Placing a peck to your lips, Seungmin shook his head, “sit back down, hon. I’ll get him.” He told you, getting up and gently pushing you to sit down, with a kiss to your lips. “Minnie, are you sure? I can get him, bubs.” You interjected, before he shook his head. “No babe, I got him. Need to get minnie pochacco.” He smiled, walking upstairs to his nursery. 

Walking into the pochacco themed nursery, Seungmin smiled seeing Seo Jun in his crib– wearing a pochacco sleeping onesie. Making his way to the crib, Seungmin smiled and bent down, taking his little pochacco into his arms. “Hi mister. Did you sleep well, hm? Want to see mommy?” He smiled, placing a pochacco pacifier in his mouth, Seo Jun sleepily blinking and gripping Seungmin’s shirt–yes it was a pochacco shirt. Softly singing, Seungmin walked out of the nursery, downstairs to where you were. Seo Jun was perfectly content, his daddy singing to him and cradling him to his chest. “Look mister. There’s momma.” He smiled, and gently patted Seo Jun’s bum ,bouncing him. Smiling, you looked up from your phone, hearing Seungmin’s voice. “Oooh, there’s my little mister. Did you sleep well, my little pochacco?” You cooed, seeing him nuzzled against Seungmin’s chest.

Carefully sitting down, Seungmin smiled as Seo Jun reached one of his hands out to you. You smiled and let him hold onto your finger, as you kissed the top of his head. “Did daddy dress you up in those jammies, hm? My little pochacco, my sweet little Seo Jun-nie.” You cooed, as he giggled, still sucking his pacifier. “Hey, I’ll have you know he loves these pajamas, babe,” Seungmin laughed, lifting Seo Jun up. “You love being daddy’s little pochacco, don’t you mister?” He cooed, holding Seo Jun closer to his face, kissing all over his face.  Seo Jun giggled, placing his hands on Seungmin’s cheeks. “Ooooh, look at my babies. My pochaccos, so cute.” You smiled, scooting closer to them and planted kisses on Seo Jun’s cheek, before taking him into your arms. “Awwww, mommy needs some mister pochacco cuddles too, my little Junnie.” You cooed, cuddling him to your chest.

Seo Jun was a mummy's boy– much like his dad– and immediately relaxed in your arms. Seeing the two of you, Seungmin smiled and wrapped his arm around  your shoulders. “Look at my loves. Do you love mummy’s cuddles, mister? “ Seungmin smiled, as Seo Jun grasped one hand on your shirt, his cheek pressed against your chest. Laughing, Seungmin smiled, kissing his cheek before kissing your lips. You smiled, looking down at Seo Jun, before looking over to Seungmin, with tears in your eyes. “Baby, why’re you crying? What’s wrong?” He pouted, wiping a single tear. Shaking your head, you cradled Seo Jun closer to you, kissing the top of his little head. “Nothing, Min. I just feel so lucky. Look at our little pochacco, our own little baby.” You smiled, noticing how Seo Jun was gripping your shirt, still sucking his pacifier. “Awww, my love. It’s okay, if anything, I’m the lucky one. Getting to share these moments and share mister Junnie with you,” he smiled, kissing you again. You smiled, quietly sniffing, and rocked Seo Jun in your arms–one arm across his back and one under his bum.

You kissed Seo Jun’s forehead, seeing that he was looking up at you–with the same big brown puppy eyes that Seungmin has. “Hi, mister. My little baby. Mommy loves you so much, mister.” You cooed, as he put his hand on your lips, to which you pressed a kiss to his palm. Seungmin smiled, shaking his head. “Where are daddy's kisses, mister?” He smiled, leaning down to kiss Seo Jun’s chubby cheek. Turning his head, Seo Jun reached out, putting his hand on Seungmin’s lips. Softly laughing, he pretended to bite Seo Jun’s hand, hearing the baby let out loud giggles. “Silly boy. You look like your daddy.” You giggled, patting him on the bum. Looking up at you, Seungmin smiled. “He really does, huh, bubs?” Seo Jun smiled and went back to cuddling you chest. “Mhm, big puppy eyes, same little pout, just as cuddly too. He’s like a carbon copy of baby minnie. Remind me to ask your mom for more baby pictures, babe.” You laughed as he gasped. “While yes, he is a carbon copy of me, he’s just as sweet and loving as you….but no more baby pictures,though.” He smiled, poking you in the side. “Yah! why not?” You pouted, as Seo Jun looked between the two of you. “ Why do we need them? 1. My mom has sent you A LOT of them already and 2. We have a carbon copy of baby me right here.” He smiled, tickling Seo Jun’s tummy. Giggling, Seo Jun nuzzled further into chest. Kissing the top of his head, you smiled. “I guess you’re right, baby.  My big pochacco and baby pochacco.” Seungmin could only smile and nod. “Did I mention I bought him more pochacco clothes, baby?” He giggled, as you playfully rolled your eyes. 

Oh geez….Seungmin and his love for pochacco. But, he loved you and Seo Jun most.

*･῾ ᵎ⌇ ⁺◦ 💘 ✧.*Please don’t steal,translate,copy,steal,claim or repost my works*･῾ ᵎ⌇ ⁺◦ 💘 ✧.*AStraySimp2023*･῾ ᵎ⌇ ⁺◦ 💘 ✧.*

tags| @jinnie-ret @straykeedz-recs @straykeedz @ana-marais98 @binsito @chlodavids @moonjxsung

[linoxpudding]

Fading Love (Pt 2)- Lee Know

summary: as the distance between you and minho grows, secrets remain unspoken, and misunderstandings spiral out of control—until one final confrontation threatens to shatter everything for good

pairing: lee know x fem!reader, bsf!changbin x reader

genre: heavy angst

word count: 4290 words

warnings: mentions of divorce, pregnancy, emotional distress

a/n: wow my longest fic yet, it's filled with angst and no comfort (I'm sorry, ily)

SERIES: PART ONE PART THREE PART FOUR

ENDGAME: Voting Poll

Masterlist

~°~

The second the door shut behind Minho, a heavy silence settled over the apartment.

It felt unreal. Like a nightmare you were waiting to wake up from.

As you sat frozen on the cold floor, arms wrapped around yourself, the weight of his words pressed against your chest, suffocating, relentless. I want a divorce.

How did it come to this? How did the love you had fought so hard to protect slip through your fingers like sand?

Your body shook with silent sobs, grief clawing at your throat as you rocked back and forth, the reality of your situation settling in. You were alone. Carrying his child, and utterly alone.

Your hands trembled as you reached for your phone. There was only one person you could call right now—someone who had been there from the very beginning. 

Your best friend, Seo Changbin. The one who had introduced you to Minho in the first place.

With shaky fingers, you tapped his name and pressed the call button. The phone rang once, twice—

"Y/N? It's late. What's up?" His voice was warm, familiar, a lifeline in your drowning despair.

The moment you heard his voice, the dam broke. A choked sob escaped your lips, and you struggled to get the words out.

“Binnie… Can you—” your breath hitched, “can you come over? Please?”

Changbin immediately tensed on the other end. “What happened?” His voice sharpened with worry.

You couldn’t answer, your throat tightening as another sob wracked through you.

“I’m on my way,” he said without hesitation. “Just hold on, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

The call ended, and you curled into yourself, pressing your palms against your face as you tried to steady your breathing.

*********************

Changbin arrived less than fifteen minutes later. The second he stepped into your apartment, his eyes darted around—taking in the dim lighting and the way you sat on the couch wrapped in a blanket, eyes red and swollen. Then his gaze shifted, taking in the carefully set dinner table, the soft glow of the candles, the unopened envelope sitting there like an abandoned secret. 

His stomach dropped.

He rushed to you, dropping to his knees beside the couch as he pulled you into his arms. “Hey, hey… I’m here. What happened?” His voice was soft, but there was an underlying urgency to it.

You clung to him, burying your face in his shoulder as fresh tears spilled down your cheeks. “He—” your voice cracked, “He asked for a divorce.”

Changbin stiffened. His whole body went rigid against yours.

“…What?” He pulled back slightly, eyes searching your face as if he didn’t believe his ears.

You let out a weak, bitter laugh. “He said… it’s not working anymore.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then, slowly, his own expression darkened with anger.

“That—” He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “That bastard.”

You shook your head. “Don’t… don’t blame him. He—”

“No, Y/N.” His voice was sharp, but not at you. “You’re sitting here, crying your heart out, and he—” Another deep inhale. He ran a hand down his face, “I’m gonna kill him.”

You sniffled, clutching the blanket tighter. “It gets worse.”

Changbin turned to you immediately, eyes filled with concern. “What do you mean?”

You hesitated. This was it.

The words you had planned to say to Minho—the words you had hoped would bring you two back together—now hung heavy in your throat.

Finally, you whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Changbin froze.

His breath caught, eyes wide with shock. “What?”

You nodded weakly, hands shaking as you wiped at your cheeks. “Three months… I found out today.” You motioned toward the table, toward the sonogram that sat there inside the envelope unopened. 

Realization dawned in his eyes. He exhaled sharply, “Holy shit.” 

A sharp breath left Changbin’s lips as he ran a hand through his hair, his chest rising and falling unevenly. “He doesn’t know?”

Tears burned your eyes again. “I was gonna tell him tonight. I thought… I thought maybe the baby would fix things.” Your voice cracked, “But he left before I could say anything.”

Changbin didn’t speak for a moment. He just stared at the table, his expression unreadable.

Then, he reached out and took your hand, squeezing gently. “Y/N.” His voice was softer now. “What do you wanna do?”

You swallowed. “I don’t want him to know.”

He blinked. “What?”

You wiped at your eyes, composing yourself. “I think he fell out of love, Binnie. I don’t… I don’t want him to feel obligated to stay because of the baby. I don’t want our child to grow up in a marriage that was forced.”

Changbin opened his mouth, then closed it. His lips pressed into a thin line. “Y/N…”

“No, Changbin.” Your voice was firm despite the pain in your chest. “He made his decision. He wants to leave. I won’t force him to stay just because I’m pregnant.”

Changbin’s jaw tightened, “But he deserves to know.”

You swallowed hard. “And what if he doesn’t want this child? I can’t—” your voice wavered, “I can’t bear the thought of him looking at our baby with regret.”

Changbin exhaled slowly, his expression torn. He wanted to argue, to shake some sense into Minho, to drag him back here and force him to see what he was throwing away. But he also saw the pain in your eyes, the fear of being unwanted—not just for yourself, but for the life growing inside you.

"Promise me," your voice trembled. "You won’t tell him. You also won’t tell any of the guys."

For a long moment, Changbin didn’t speak. You could see the conflict in his eyes, the way he wanted to argue, but in the end—he sighed and nodded.

“…Okay.”

*********************

Minho lay on the stiff hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling, exhaustion pressing down on him like a weight he couldn't shake. The silence in the room was deafening—no sound of your soft footsteps, no warmth of your presence beside him. Just him, alone, with his own thoughts.

His chest ached, but he told himself this was for the best.

He hadn't made this decision lightly. It had been months of watching the light fade from your eyes, of feeling the distance stretch between you both like an unbridgeable gap. He saw it in the way you barely smiled anymore, in the way your laughter—once so effortless—had become rare, almost forced. And it killed him.

The guilt had been eating him alive for months. He knew he wasn’t around enough. Work had kept him late, exhaustion had drained him, and slowly, without realizing it, he had let you slip through his fingers. The more he failed to fix things, the more he convinced himself that maybe… maybe you’d be happier without him.

He wasn’t blind. He saw the way you stared at the walls when you thought he wasn’t looking. The way your voice wavered when you asked him if he was okay, as if you already knew the answer. He saw the disappointment flicker in your eyes every time he walked through the door late, too tired to do anything but collapse onto the couch. The countless missed dates. The way your excitement would slowly fade each time he called to tell you he couldn't make it. The way you'd try to mask your disappointment, saying, "It's okay, I understand," when he knew it wasn’t.

He remembered the company dinner you had invited him to—the one you had been looking forward to for weeks. You had picked out a dress, even asked him which earrings looked better, excitement shining in your eyes. Yet, when the night came, he wasn’t there.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he had promised, like he always did. But the truth was, he never really did.

You were miserable.

And he blamed himself.

Minho shut his eyes, allowing himself to drift back to that weekend. He had planned the getaway hoping that maybe, just maybe, escaping reality for a little while would fix things. That if he could just hold you close, kiss you the way he used to, you’d remember how much he loved you. Maybe you’d smile at him like before, without the weight of disappointment shadowing your gaze.  

And for a moment, it worked.  

That night, as he made love to you, he let himself believe that things could go back to how they once were. He traced every inch of you with reverence, whispering silent apologies into your skin. But even as he held you, even as you buried your face into his neck and sighed in contentment, an overwhelming sense of guilt crept into his chest, tightening like a vice.  

Because deep down, he knew love wasn’t enough.  

He knew that you deserved more than fleeting moments of happiness. More than those rare luxury vacations that only served as temporary bandages over a wound that kept growing. You deserved consistency, effort—not just grand gestures when things started to break beyond repair.  

You deserved a partner who showed up for you, not just physically but emotionally. Someone who came home on time, who listened, who asked about your day and actually heard the answer. Someone who didn’t let exhaustion or work become an excuse to neglect the person they swore to cherish.  

That night, as you slept soundly on his chest, he wept in silence, his fingers softly running through your hair. Because he knew he was failing you. He knew you deserved more, and he hated himself for not knowing how to give it to you.

So after three more months of battling his own thoughts, he did what he thought was right. He let you go. 

Minho exhaled shakily, rubbing a hand down his face. He had expected relief, a sense of closure. Instead, there was only a hollowness, a gnawing feeling in his gut that he had just made the worst mistake of his life.

Because the truth was, he still loved you. More than anything. But what good was love if it left you feeling lonely in your own home? What good was love if it wasn’t enough to stop you from hurting?  

*********************

Minho arrived home the next morning, the weight of finality pressing down on his chest. He wasn’t sure if you’d be home, but as he stepped inside, the silence told him everything—no soft humming from the kitchen, no quiet footsteps padding across the floor. Just emptiness.

He let out a slow breath, forcing himself to move. Packing was quick—too quick for something that felt like the end of an era. He grabbed his clothes, his essentials, ignoring the way his hands trembled as he zipped his suitcase. His eyes lingered on the little things—the framed photos, the sweater of his you always stole, the candle on the bedside table that smelled like vanilla because you said it made the house feel warm.

Then, as he walked to the foyer, he hesitated. His fingers brushed against the small keychain attached to his house key—the matching set you had gotten for both of you. The little silver cat charm had been a joke at first, but you had said, “Now, even our keys belong together.”

He exhaled sharply and placed the key next to yours, letting his fingers linger for a second longer before pulling away. Without another glance, he silently closed the door behind him.

*********************

Han Jisung was lounging on his couch when Minho showed up at his door, suitcase in hand.

“Hyung?” Jisung blinked in confusion, pushing his glasses up his nose. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Minho dropped his bag near the entrance, rubbing his face. “Can I crash here for a while?”

Jisung’s expression turned wary. “What happened? Where’s Y/N?”

Minho didn’t answer.

He stared at him for a long moment, confusion dawned on his face. “Hyung, you’re scaring me–” his eyes widened, “Did you guys have a fight?”

Minho sank onto the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He didn’t respond. Because what was there to say? He had done what he thought was right, and yet, the emptiness inside him only grew.

For the first day, Jisung didn’t ask questions. He let Minho stay in the guest room, barely speaking to him. But by the second day, the silence was unbearable.

Jisung finally confronted him in the kitchen, arms crossed as Minho mindlessly stirred a cup of coffee.

“Why are you really here, hyung?”

Minho remained silent.

Jisung scoffed, his frustration clear. “Did something happen with Y/N?”

Minho tensed.

Jisung’s frown deepened. “…Hyung… what did you do?”

Minho exhaled, gripping the edge of the counter. His voice was barely above a whisper, “I asked for a divorce.”

Jisung froze. His mouth parted slightly in shock before his face fell completely. “…What?”

Minho didn’t repeat himself. He couldn’t.

Jisung stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head. “No. No, that doesn’t make sense. You love her. You—”

Minho cut him off, voice flat. “It’s already done, Han.”

Jisung let out a humorless laugh, stepping back. “You’re serious?” He ran a hand through his hair. “What the fuck, hyung? Why?”

Minho didn’t answer.

Jisung scoffed, anger flickering in his eyes. “Did you even fight for her? Or did you just—give up?”

Minho clenched his jaw. “I didn’t give up.”

Jisung shook his head in disbelief. “Then what the hell do you call this?”

Minho didn’t have an answer.

*********************

Days later, Minho finally showed up at the studio.

He needed to get back to work. Needed something—anything—to distract himself.

But the second he walked into the studio, he realized just how naïve that was. The air was heavy. The usual playful energy that filled the space was gone, replaced with thick silence and cold stares.

The other members were there, but they weren’t joking around like usual. Felix and Hyunjin barely glanced at him. Seungmin kept his eyes on his laptop. Jeongin had his arms crossed, face unreadable. Even Chan—who usually tried to keep the peace—looked disappointed.

And then there was Changbin.

Changbin was standing by the mixing board, arms crossed, gaze burning into Minho like he wanted to hit him.

Minho sighed, “Just say whatever you’re going to say, Bin.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I will.” Changbin took a step forward, his voice razor-sharp, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Minho didn’t answer.

Changbin’s eyes flashed. “I mean it, Minho. What the hell were you thinking?”

Minho clenched his jaw, “You don’t understand—”

“I don’t understand?” Changbin let out a bitter laugh. “No, I get it perfectly. You’re a fucking coward.”

Minho flinched.

“You’re seriously going through with this?” Chan’s voice was low, controlled, but he was disappointed, “You’re really leaving her?”

Minho swallowed hard, “It’s for the best.”

“For who?” Hyunjin scoffed, shaking his head. “Because it sure as hell isn’t for her. Or you.”

Minho remained silent, staring at the floor.

“I introduced you to her, hyung.” Changbin’s voice cracked, his hands trembling. “I watched you fall in love with her. And now, you’re just—what? Throwing it all away? After everything?”

“It’s not that simple,” Minho muttered.

“It is that simple.” Changbin snapped. “You’re hurting her. And don’t even try to tell me you don’t love her anymore—because we both know that’s bullshit.”

Minho clenched his fists. “You don’t understand.”

Changbin let out a humorless laugh, “You’re right. I don’t. Because I could never understand how someone could destroy the best thing in their life with their own hands.”

Minho exhaled shakily, lowering his gaze. He didn’t know how to explain it. The self-hatred, the guilt, the belief that you would be better off without him.

The silence stretched, suffocating. Then, almost unconsciously, the words slipped out.

“…Is she okay?”

Minho barely had time to process his own question before Changbin’s expression twisted into something darker—something dangerous.

“You don’t deserve to know.”

The words hit him like a bullet.

Minho’s head snapped up, but Changbin wasn’t done.

“You lost that right the second you walked out on her.” His voice was harsh, his hands trembling slightly at his sides. “You don’t get to ask about her now. You don’t get to pretend you care when you’re the one who left her behind.”

Minho’s throat tightened, “I never stopped caring.”

“Then where the fuck were you when she needed you?” Changbin’s voice rose, his anger barely restrained. “Where were you when she—”

He cut himself off, exhaling sharply, like he had to physically stop himself from saying something.

Minho frowned, his chest tightening. “When she what?”

Silence.

But there was something in Changbin’s expression—something guarded, something hesitant—that made Minho’s stomach twist.

“…Changbin.” His voice was low. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Changbin’s jaw clenched. He looked away, biting the inside of his cheek.

Minho turned to the others. “Do any of you know?”

No one answered. Everyone just stared at Changbin in confusion.

Felix shifted uncomfortably. Seungmin sighed, rubbing his temples. Jisung, who had been watching the whole conversation unfold, hesitated before finally speaking.

“You should just leave, hyung.”

Minho’s heart pounded. “Not until he tells me what’s going on.”

Changbin turned back to him, his expression dark. “You don’t get to demand shit, Minho”

Minho’s breath came unevenly. His mind was racing, every nerve screaming that something wasn’t right. That you weren’t okay.

But before he could press further, Changbin took a step back, his voice dropping to a quiet edge. “If you really gave a shit, you would’ve stayed.”

And with that, he turned and walked out of the room. The conversation was over.

Minho stood there, frozen, suffocating under the weight of his own choices. He let out a slow, heavy sigh—then left the studio. He should come back later. 

*********************

Meanwhile, you were trying your best to keep moving forward as the months progressed. 

The divorce process was surprisingly simple—your lawyers handled most of it, meaning you didn’t have to see Minho face-to-face. In a way, you were relieved. You weren’t sure if you could handle it. At first, you thought he would change his mind. That maybe, at some point, he’d realize the mistake and take it back. But he didn’t.

Instead, Minho had become colder.

No messages. No calls. It felt like he completely moved on.

The one date you would have to see him, the court date for the final signatures, was looming over your head like a storm cloud. But by then, you told yourself, maybe you’d have already delivered the baby. Maybe it would make things… easier.

Or maybe it would make everything worse.

You still debated telling Minho. But why? He didn’t want you anymore—why would he want your baby?

The only thing keeping you steady through all of it was Changbin. He had been your rock through the entire process, making sure you ate, making sure you weren’t alone when you didn’t want to be. Since you had no family in the city, having him around made everything feel a little less unbearable.

Of course, he still pushed you every once in a while. “You should tell Minho,” he’d say, voice careful, knowing you wouldn’t want to hear it. But he kept his promise. He never told Minho, or any of the boys.

Now, nearing your due date, your belly was impossible to hide. 

*********************

You sighed as you opened Changbin’s fridge, only to be greeted by nearly nothing.

“Changbin, what the hell do you eat?” you muttered, your voice echoing in the mostly empty kitchen.

“Protein shakes,” he answered shamelessly from the couch.

You turned to glare at him, “That’s not food.”

He shrugged, “It gets the job done.”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, if you want to live like a gym rat and die from malnutrition.” You shut the fridge and grabbed your jacket. “Come on. We’re going grocery shopping. I’m not letting you survive on just protein shakes and instant ramen.”

Changbin groaned. “Y/N, I have food. You’re being dramatic.”

“No, you don’t,” you argued, pointing at him. “And I’m not about to let my best friend starve.”

In the end, you won.

As you and Changbin walked through the grocery store, he was disguised in a hoodie, cap, and mask to avoid being recognized. You chuckled, shaking your head, as you tossed a bag of spinach into the cart.

“You look ridiculous,” you teased.

Changbin scoffed. “Excuse me, this is peak disguise fashion.”

You rolled your eyes, handing him a bag of apples. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Despite the teasing, your mind briefly wandered. Minho used to do the same—always in disguise, always hiding. Not because he wanted to, but because you had asked him to. You wanted your privacy, wanted to protect his career. He had respected that, never once pushing you to go public.

Funny how things changed.

Your smile faltered slightly, but before you could dwell on it, Changbin nudged you with his elbow. “You okay?”

You quickly nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

“Do I really need this many vegetables?” Changbin said in an attempt to lighten your mood. 

“Yes,” you said firmly. “And real food too. Not just protein bars and chicken breast.”

Changbin sighed. “Fine, mom.”

You smirked. “I am about to be a mom.”

He chuckled. “Touché.”

After finishing your grocery run, you both returned to his apartment, and as soon as everything was put away, exhaustion hit you like a truck. You had been feeling extra drained lately, and sometimes, your own apartment felt too lonely to go back to. So, without thinking too much, you made your way to his guest room upstairs, curling up on the bed for a nap.

Changbin didn’t question it. He simply made sure you were comfortable before leaving you to rest.

*********************

Back at Jisung’s place, Minho sat on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through his phone when something made his breath hitch.

“BREAKING NEWS: MYSTERIOUS WOMAN SPOTTED WITH STRAY KIDS’ CHANGBIN—IS HE GOING TO BE A FATHER?!”

Minho stared at the headline in disbelief.

The accompanying picture showed Changbin walking through a grocery store, a shopping cart—and a heavily pregnant woman by his side.

A woman that looked far too familiar. It was you.

The breath punched out of his lungs. His fingers clenched around his phone. His vision blurred with rage.

You were with Changbin.

And you were pregnant.

Minho felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His heartbeat pounded in his ears as a horrifying realization hit him—was the baby Changbin’s? Had you moved on that fast?

Minho’s grip tightened on his phone, his vision blurring with rage and something far more painful—betrayal.

He was speechless, you… and Changbin?

Before the divorce was even finalized?

His heart pounded. You had moved on while he was still regretting everything?

His body moved before his mind caught up. Anger surged through his veins as he grabbed his car keys and drove to Changbin’s apartment, each mile fueling his anger.

*********************

Changbin was in the living room, when loud banging echoed through the front door.

“Changbin!”

The furious voice sent ice through his veins. He could tell it was Minho.

The second he opened the door, Minho stormed inside, shoving him back.

“Dude, what the hell—”

“What the fuck is this?” Minho’s voice was sharp, holding up his phone.

Changbin frowned, glancing at the headline. “It’s not—”

“Tell me this isn’t real.”

Changbin hesitated. “Minho, calm down—”

“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” His voice cracked, eyes blazing. “You and her? Before the divorce was even finalized? How could you– HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

Changbin clenched his jaw. “It’s not what you think.”

Minho took a step closer, fists tightening, “Then tell me. Tell me it’s not yours.”

Silence. Changbin hesitated.

Your words rang in his head—“Promise me. You won’t tell him.”

He swallowed and then, against every instinct screaming at him, he forced the lie out.

“…It’s mine.”

Minho froze. 

His blood turned to ice, his breath caught in his throat. He was then filled with rage. It exploded inside him, taking over every rational thought.

Before he even realized it, his fist swung.

The punch landed square on Changbin’s jaw, sending him stumbling back.

“Minho—” Changbin hissed, touching his lip.

But Minho wasn’t listening. He saw red.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” he yelled, grabbing Changbin by the collar. “You were my best friend!” His voice broke. “How could you—how could you—”

The pain cut too sharp.

"YOU WERE MY BROTHER!" Minho roared, his chest heaving, rage and heartbreak spilling from every syllable. "YOU ASSHOLE—AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, AFTER EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH—YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK?!"

Changbin shook his head quickly. “Minho, listen—”

"NO!" Minho’s hands trembled at his sides, nails digging into his palms as his vision blurred with anger.

“STOP!” Your loud and shattered voice rang through the room.

Minho turned, still breathing hard. And there you were. Standing at the top of the stairs, eyes wide with panic.

His heart skipped a beat. For a second, neither of you moved. Then—Minho’s gaze lowered. Your hand was resting on your stomach protectively.

Then, reality slammed into him– you and Changbin. A baby.

Minho’s vision blurred as he whispered, “After all this time, this is how it ends?”

The pain in his voice made your stomach twist.

His throat tightened. “I—I quit.”

You stiffened. “What?”

“I won’t be in the band anymore. I quit.”

Changbin’s eyes widened in horror. “Minho, stop—don’t say that—”

But Minho wasn’t listening. He turned and walked out the door.

You finally snapped out of your daze. “Minho, wait!”

But he didn’t stop. He didn’t look back. And for the second time in your life—Minho walked away from you.

----------------

Taglist:

@kaiyaba @lov3rachan @pixie-felix @ellemir2404 @willowhanji @skzimagines @wavetohannie @jamroses @vietjeb @kayleefriedchicken @kokinu09 @nightmarenyxx @my-neurodivergent-world @shuuporanglinos @silly250

Part 2 Taglist:

@lovesunshinefelix @bluebellsringinghereandthere @hanniebunch @minniesverse @expired-vibes @havenwithleeknow @nikithaaaaaa @minghaosimp @zelianlop @imeverycliche @missvanjii @kissesmellow21 @butterflybananabread @skzmasterchef

[giovannipak]

skz × blk celeb gfs (I haven't done all of them yet)

1. Minho and Eyes Rodgers (Japanese Model)

2. Changbin and Nafessa Williams (Actress)

3. Hyunjin & Isadoraxworld (Instagram Model)

4. HAN & Ryan Destiny (Singer & Actress)

5. Seungmin & Coco Jones (Singer & Actress)

6. Jeongin & Yara Shahidi (Actress)

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Dad!skz vs their kid first kindergarten day💚👶🏻

Dad!skz is back! As suggested by the lovely @minluvly (thank you so much i loved making these💖😭)

@milf-ivy @nervousbasementtimemachine

@m1lfl0v3r4l1fe @atiana1996 @dreamerwasfound

@staydoida1 @chlodavids

@ivyreadsstuff @sapphirewaves  @hannahhhhs-things @skzwife

🖤 hyung line🖤

🖤maknae line🖤

[4linos]

when the past knocks 2

seo changbin x f!reader, kim seungmin x f!reader

synopsis: you left to protect your son and yourself. but healing gets complicated when old ghosts return… and one of them still makes you laugh.

genre/warnings: angst, infidelity, emotional manipulation, grief, jealousy, unresolved feelings, slow burn, hurt/comfort.

wc: 16,998.

[when the past knocks part 1]

The morning felt like it had arrived too soon, dragging its weight across your chest, suffocating you with its inevitability. You had barely slept, your mind cycling through the words you and Seungmin had exchanged the night before, the look in his eyes when he saw the texts, the way everything seemed to snap so suddenly, everything falling apart in ways you never thought possible. You tossed and turned, trying to find some comfort in the bed that used to feel like home. But tonight, it felt like a cold, empty void between the two of you.

You had hoped maybe things would be different when you woke up. Maybe Seungmin would be there, sitting on the edge of the bed, tired from the fight but still here, still trying. But no.

The bed was already cold on his side.

You blinked, feeling an uncomfortable lump form in your throat as you pushed yourself up, rubbing your eyes, trying to force your body into action despite the exhaustion that clung to your limbs. The room felt too big, the silence almost suffocating.

You checked the bathroom connected to the bedroom, still expecting to see him there, even though you knew, deep down that he wouldn’t be. But maybe… maybe there would be something. A reason to hope that things hadn’t gone as far as they felt. But the bathroom was empty, and so was the small corner where he had placed his bag the night before.

His things were gone.

The clothes he had brought back with him, the ones he hadn’t bothered to put back in a suitcase, but had just tossed over the back of a chair were no longer there. There was no sign of him at all.

It felt like something heavy and sharp pressed against your chest. Not anger, not even frustration. Just hurt.

You wanted to be angry. You wanted to tell yourself that you should be relieved, that this was for the best. But you couldn’t. You loved him. You still loved him. And despite the lies, the betrayal, and the damage he’d done to you and your son, you couldn’t erase the love. You hated how it still clung to you, how it refused to leave, no matter how broken things were.

You called out for him softly, almost like a question. “Seungmin?”

There was no answer.

You walked downstairs slowly, feeling the weight of every step. You knew your mother would be down there by now, probably waiting with a warm breakfast as she always did. She was still trying to hold things together. You could feel the weight of her expectations, the hope in her eyes every time you walked in, the way she didn’t want to admit that something might be wrong.

When you got downstairs, your mother was in the kitchen, moving around the stove. Roan’s laughter echoed from the other room, a reminder of how normal everything was on the surface. But you felt like you were living in a different world. You cleared your throat, trying to sound casual, but the words still came out quieter than you intended.

“Mom, have you seen Seungmin?”

She paused, turning slightly, her expression unreadable. And then it softened, just a little, though it didn’t stop her from giving you a look. A look that wasn’t judgment, but concern. The kind of concern that mothers reserve for their children when they’re trying so hard to hold everything together, even when it’s falling apart.

“He left early this morning,” she said, a quiet finality in her voice. “Caught him leaving around 4 a.m. Said he had to go into the office today. He thanked me for letting him stay.”

Your stomach turned.

You nodded, trying to pretend it didn’t hurt to hear that. Trying to act like it was fine. “Okay,” you muttered, your voice thin and strained.

But she didn’t buy it. She stepped closer, crossing her arms in a way that told you she wasn’t going to let you off that easy. She studied you for a second, searching your face like she was trying to read some kind of clue.

“What’s going on with you two, huh? I thought you’d be working things out by now. I really thought it was just a bump in the road. After all these years, I figured it would be fixable.” Her voice cracked just a little, and it caught you off guard.

You bit your lip, fighting the urge to just collapse right there in front of her. You felt the weight of everything you hadn’t said. The weight of everything you had been holding back.

And for a brief moment, you almost thought about telling her everything, the truth, raw and exposed. That Seungmin had destroyed your trust, that the marriage was over, that there was no easy fix to this. But when you looked at her, you saw the years of hope, the way she had loved Seungmin like her own son. You saw the way she still believed in the “happy ending” for the family she’d always dreamed of.

You couldn’t break her, too.

So you lied.

“It’s fine, Mom. We’re just… working through things. It’s been tough, you know? But we’re figuring it out.”

She didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she didn’t push either. Her eyes softened, but she couldn’t hide the doubt in them.

“Well,” she said, her voice tightening, “he left early this morning, said he wanted to give you some space. I heard you two arguing last night.” Her voice dropped a little. “You didn’t seem like things were fine then.”

Your heart skipped. She heard you?

But you couldn’t react, not now. Not when everything felt like it was already on the edge.

You forced a smile, shaking your head slightly. “We’re just… having a hard time communicating right now. But we’ll be okay. I’m sure we will.”

Your mother didn’t press further. She crossed her arms and looked at you with that knowing expression. “You’re sure? Because I’ve never seen you like this. You don’t have to keep pretending everything’s fine if it’s not.”

But before you could respond, Roan came bounding into the kitchen, his hair messy from sleep, a bright smile on his face. “Mom! I’m ready for breakfast!”

The moment was over, broken by the sound of your son’s excited voice. And you felt an immediate pang of guilt for lying in front of him, for pretending to be okay when everything felt like it was crumbling.

You forced yourself to smile at Roan, pushing the sadness deep down. “Okay, buddy, let’s get you something to eat.”

But your mother’s eyes lingered on you for a second longer, as if waiting for something you weren’t ready to say. Then she turned and started preparing breakfast as if nothing had happened.

The rest of the morning passed in a haze of motions. You got Roan dressed and ready for school, the conversations were light, forced, and polite. But in the back of your mind, you could feel everything shifting. The truth you weren’t telling. The love you weren’t ready to let go of.

-

The ping of your phone broke the quiet stillness of the morning. You were sitting at the kitchen counter, slowly sipping your coffee, eyes unfocused, trying to drown out the weight of everything. It was too early for this. The morning felt like a battle between the pull of comfort and the sharp sting of everything unraveling around you. You hadn’t heard from Seungmin all day after the night’s argument, and despite your internal pleading not to think about him, your mind had been consumed by him, by everything he was, everything you once had together.

You pulled your phone toward you. The message was from Seungmin.

It was a simple text: “Hey, can I call Roan tonight? I just want to check in on him and hear his voice.”

You stared at the message for a moment, your thumb hovering over the screen. It hurt to even acknowledge that he wasn’t here. You’d been waiting for him to step up, to take accountability, to make things right, but it wasn’t like that, was it? He had left. And now he was giving you space. Space you didn’t even know if you wanted, but were probably going to have to learn to live with.

You couldn’t blame him for needing space. You needed it too. But how do you move forward from this? How do you separate the love that’s still so strongly rooted in your heart from the anger, the betrayal, and the overwhelming sadness? You missed him so much that it physically hurt. But there was so much damage between you two.

You quickly typed a response, something simple “Yeah, that’s fine. Roan will be happy to hear from you.”

Then came the barrage of texts that you hadn't expected, each one coming faster than the last.

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I left early this morning because the argument from last night made me realize we both need space.” The words were clear and deliberate, almost as if he was trying to make himself sound reasonable, calm.

“I’m going to give you all the space you need for now. Whenever you’re ready, we can sit down and talk about what’s going to happen with us… and with Roan.”

A strange, hollow feeling spread through you as you read his words. You hadn’t expected him to leave. It was just too… final. But here he was, sending these texts, acting like everything could still somehow be fixed. And deep down, you didn’t know if you wanted that. You weren’t sure what you wanted anymore.

You didn’t respond right away. Instead, you let your phone sit on the table while you mindlessly stirred your coffee. The silence was deafening, and you felt the ache in your chest grow. Was he right? Was space the answer? Could you and Seungmin really talk about the future? And even more confusing, did you want to?

You loved him. You still loved him. That love hadn’t faded, even in the wake of everything that had happened. Even now, despite the anger and betrayal, it felt like your heart refused to let him go.

You hated that it hurt. You hated how badly you still wanted to fix things, to hold onto the family you once had. You wanted to feel that warmth again, the kind that was once so certain between you and Seungmin. You wanted to believe it could all go back to how it was before.

But something had changed. Something else had wormed its way into your mind. And it wasn’t just Seungmin anymore.

Changbin.

His face flashed in your mind, sharp and bright like a sudden storm cutting through the fog.

It wasn’t just that you remembered him. It wasn’t just the memories of the past, of high school, of how he had always been there for you, how he'd always understood you. It wasn’t even the fact that you had spent time with him recently, reconnecting and laughing over old stories.

It was the way you felt now, in the silence after Seungmin’s texts.

The way you smiled at your phone after reading his message. The way your chest felt lighter with every word he sent, the way your thoughts drifted to him and not Seungmin.

Suddenly, you were questioning everything. The connection with Seungmin that you had once believed was unbreakable, it felt less solid now. More fragile. As though it was built on sand.

You hadn’t meant for things to get complicated again. You didn’t want to feel this pull toward Changbin. Not now. Not when everything with Seungmin was already so volatile. But it was like trying to fight the current, your thoughts kept returning to him. To the way he made you feel seen, understood, and even happy. There was no bitterness, no tension, no past mistakes haunting the space between you.

The thought of Changbin now felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the suffocating weight of the relationship with Seungmin.

And it wasn’t just about the past. It was now. You’d spent hours talking to him, laughing with him, reconnecting in ways you hadn’t expected. And even though the friendship was unexpected, there was this undeniable connection. An attraction that had been buried under the weight of your life with Seungmin, but now seemed to bubble back to the surface.

Your thoughts were scattered, tangled between the man you had married and the one who once held your heart, the one who was still somehow here, slipping back into your life.

A sharp ping broke your reverie. Another message from Seungmin.

“I just wanted to remind you that I’m here when you’re ready. For you. For Roan. Don’t shut me out.”

You felt the familiar sting of guilt. You wanted to respond. To tell him that you didn’t know what you wanted anymore, that you didn’t know if you could fix things. But you didn’t. Instead, you set your phone down and stood up.

The pull toward Changbin had unsettled you. You didn’t want to admit it, but you couldn’t deny it either.

The more you tried to push it down, the more it crept up. He was becoming a constant thought. The more you thought about him, the more the idea of Seungmin and what you had with him seemed less and less certain.

You loved Seungmin. You did. But you didn’t know if the love you had was enough to fix everything. You didn’t know if it was enough to erase the years of resentment, the lies, the unspoken words between you two.

And now, a part of you was wondering if it was possible to love someone else, someone who could actually see you. See you in a way Seungmin never had.

You leaned against the counter, feeling the weight of the decision hanging in the air, heavier than anything you had ever faced before. Would you even allow yourself to love again? Would you be willing to take the risk? Or would you bury everything, hoping that time and space would somehow heal the broken pieces of your marriage?

You couldn’t decide. Not yet.

And so, you pushed it all down, Seungmin’s texts, Changbin’s face, your emotions.

But you couldn’t escape the ache, the pull, the uncertainty.

And as the day dragged on, the questions remained.

What would you do next?

The sunlight filtered through the trees, casting soft, dappled shadows over the park as you sat on the blanket, surrounded by a picnic spread. Roan and Yuna were playing on the swings and climbing frame with the other kids, their laughter ringing through the air. It felt like a rare moment of peace, a fleeting escape from everything that had been weighing on your heart for the past few weeks.

But the conversation you were having with Changbin was the highlight of your day, as it always was. Changbin had just finished recounting one of his favorite stories from high school, one that had you laughing so hard you almost spilled the lemonade you were holding. The way he told it, with his wide grin and exaggerated gestures, made it feel like it happened yesterday.

You’d almost forgotten about that time. You and Changbin had been inseparable during those early years, always getting into some kind of trouble. But the one memory that always seemed to stand out was the time he’d tried sneaking into your room late at night, only to have your dad catch him in the act.

Changbin grinned at the memory, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I thought I was going to be a goner that night,” he laughed. “I was halfway through the window when your dad came storming in like a SWAT team. I don’t even know how he heard me. I thought I was being so sneaky!”

You chuckled, shaking your head as you remembered your dad’s furious face. “You were terrible at being sneaky,” you teased. “I told you not to come through the window. It was too obvious. But you still thought you could outsmart my dad.”

Changbin snorted, the memory still clearly amusing to him. “I swear, I never saw him coming. He just barged in like some kind of ninja. Then he grounded you for a month, right? It felt like a year, honestly. I couldn’t even talk to you outside of school. That was brutal.”

You nodded, your smile widening as you remembered the long, quiet days after that. “It was. My parents were furious when they found out what was going on. They never trusted you after that, especially my dad. He probably still tells that story to anyone who will listen.”

Changbin laughed again, a rich, deep sound that made your heart flutter in a way you hadn’t expected. “I can’t blame him. I deserved it. But I’d do it all over again if it meant I got to hang out with you. It was worth it. Every second of it.”

His words hit you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. You hadn’t realized how much you had missed hearing Changbin talk like this so open, so genuine. He had always been the kind of person who wore his heart on his sleeve, and even though so much had changed since high school, it still felt like you could talk to him without any pretense.

For the first time in what felt like forever, you felt something like warmth spread through you. A comfort you hadn’t realized you were craving. It wasn’t just the carefree way he talked about the past, or the teasing banter, or even the fact that he was just here, present and sharing this moment with you, but something deeper, something that felt like a connection you hadn’t realized was waiting to be rekindled.

Since Seungmin had left, you had been living in a quiet sort of limbo. Every day had felt like a blur of uncertainty. Your interactions with Seungmin had become limited to brief texts and calls about Roan. He had asked about you a few times, but those conversations were brief, awkward, and mostly focused on logistics how Roan was doing or if he could speak with him. And while part of you appreciated the space Seungmin was giving you to think, it also left a hollow feeling in your chest.

But here, with Changbin, it felt different. You didn’t have to pretend. You didn’t have to act like everything was fine or like you had everything figured out. With Changbin, everything felt like it could be uncomplicated again, just two old friends, reminiscing about the past and sharing laughs without the weight of expectations.

You glanced over at Roan and Yuna, who were giggling as they played tag. The scene felt almost too perfect. You didn’t want to overthink it, but you couldn’t help but notice how nice it was. Roan had been so happy lately. Maybe he didn’t fully understand the complexities of what was happening between you and Seungmin, but he felt secure in the routine you had established.

You turned your gaze back to Changbin, who was still in the middle of telling another hilarious story about high school, something about the time he had accidentally ruined a school play by tripping over the curtain during his big moment on stage. You laughed and shook your head, appreciating the simplicity of the moment. It was a stark contrast to everything else that had been happening in your life lately.

You weren’t sure when things had started to shift between you and Changbin, but now it felt undeniable. The way you found yourself smiling more easily when he was around, the way he seemed to fill the space left by the absence of Seungmin’s presence. It wasn’t that you didn’t still love Seungmin. You did. That love was still buried deep in your chest, like a flickering flame that refused to go out. But what you were beginning to realize was that you couldn’t ignore the fact that being around Changbin made you feel something new, something you hadn’t felt in so long.

You had always thought that after everything that had happened with Seungmin, your heart would be closed off, shut tight. But with Changbin here, with his easygoing nature and the familiarity of old memories, it was like something inside of you was starting to open again. You didn’t know what that meant, or what would come of it, but for the first time in weeks, you felt hopeful even if it was just a little.

The conversation shifted as you both fell into a comfortable silence, watching Roan and Yuna. You could feel Changbin’s eyes on you, but you didn’t turn to meet his gaze immediately. Instead, you focused on the moment, the quiet warmth of the afternoon, the soft rustle of the leaves above, the laughter of the kids echoing in the distance.

When you did turn to face him, he was watching you with an expression you couldn’t quite place like he was carefully considering something. You raised an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at your lips.

“What?” you asked, your tone light.

Changbin seemed to hesitate for a moment, his smile faltering just slightly before he spoke. “I’m just glad we’re doing this.”

You blinked, not quite understanding. “Doing what?”

He shrugged, a little sheepish now. “This. Hanging out. It feels good, you know? Like it’s... easy. Like it always should have been.”

You felt something catch in your chest at his words, but you didn’t know what to say. So, instead, you just nodded, your throat suddenly tight. The silence stretched between you both, but it was a comfortable one, a shared understanding that something more was blossoming between you. Something you weren’t ready to name yet, but something you couldn’t ignore either.

And for the first time in a long while, the weight of your life didn’t feel quite so heavy.

-

The atmosphere between you and Changbin shifted subtly when he asked about Seungmin. The once-easy banter faltered, replaced by a quiet tension that neither of you could ignore. Changbin’s voice was careful when he spoke, as if weighing his words before asking.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he began, “but... what happened with Seungmin? If you’re okay sharing, that is. I just... I want to understand.”

He paused, letting the silence settle, as if giving you the space to decide how much, if anything, you wanted to share. You could see it in his eyes, a mix of concern, empathy, and the deep care he always had for you. It made the weight of your emotions even heavier.

You took a deep breath, looking over at Roan as he ran around the playground, his laughter ringing in your ears. He was so full of life, unaware of the storm you were weathering on the inside. You hadn’t realized how much you’d been holding in until that moment, how much had been left unsaid for weeks. Now, with Changbin’s patient gaze on you, it felt like the dam was finally starting to crack.

“I don’t even know where to start,” you said, your voice quiet. You reached for the bottle of water in front of you, your fingers trembling slightly as you picked it up. The coolness of the bottle felt oddly grounding. “I guess... I started noticing something was off about four months ago.”

Changbin’s eyes never left you, his expression soft but expectant. He wasn’t rushing you, but you could tell he was hanging onto every word you said. You drew a shaky breath, trying to steady yourself as the memory unfolded.

“It was subtle at first. Just... little things. He came home one night, and I could smell this strong perfume on him. It wasn’t mine. I tried to convince myself it was nothing, just some mistake. But I knew something was wrong. I never doubted Seungmin. How could I? He’d never given me a reason to, not once in all the years we’ve been together. But that night, I couldn’t ignore it.”

You paused, glancing at Roan again, his carefree joy in stark contrast to the ache you were feeling. You pushed through the tightness in your chest and continued, the words feeling heavier the more you spoke.

“Then, there was this one day, I had to borrow Seungmin’s car because mine was in the shop. I was just picking up lunch for him when I found something, something that didn’t belong to me. A necklace. It had a letter on it. Her initial. The woman he’d been seeing behind my back.”

Your voice caught at the end, but you fought to keep it steady. Changbin’s face had shifted, his brows furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line, as if he could feel the hurt radiating from you. He didn’t say anything, just nodded slightly, signaling for you to keep going.

“I didn’t want to believe it at first. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t what I thought it was. That I was just being paranoid. But then... I met her.”

The words were hard to get out, like they had been sitting in your throat for so long, just waiting to spill out. But now that you were saying them aloud, it felt like the weight on your chest was increasing by the second. You swallowed hard, but your throat felt dry.

“I went to Seungmin’s office one day to drop off a file he’d forgotten for him. And there she was. Wearing the exact same necklace. The one I found in his car. And Seungmin—Seungmin introduced us like it was nothing. Like it wasn’t a huge blow to everything I thought I knew about him. It... it hurt more than I could even explain.”

You paused, squeezing your eyes shut, not wanting to relive it but unable to stop the memories from flooding in. The way Seungmin had smiled at you when he introduced you both, like he didn’t even know how badly it would shatter you. How the world seemed to spin out of control in that moment.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was surrounded by his coworkers. I didn’t have the courage to confront him, not there, not in front of everyone. I just—” you stopped yourself, taking another shaky breath. “I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t. But later that night, I heard him on the phone with her. I just... I don’t know. It all started to spiral from there. I couldn’t pretend anymore. I knew what was going on. I knew he was seeing her.”

Changbin’s expression darkened as you spoke, his fists clenched slightly in his lap, clearly frustrated at the whole situation. He leaned forward, his voice low and steady as he spoke.

“You didn’t deserve that, you know?” he said, his words filled with genuine anger. “I don’t know how someone can do that to you. To betray your trust like that. You trusted him. You gave him everything, and he threw it away.”

You nodded, the sting of his words cutting deeper than you expected. You had been trying to hold it together for so long, but hearing Changbin’s words, hearing the sincerity in his voice, broke something inside you. You exhaled slowly, trying to push the tears back.

“I never expected it from him. Everyone always said Seungmin was head over heels for me. And for the longest time, I believed it. I felt it too. He made me feel like I was the only one in the world. But somewhere, somewhere along the way, he fell for someone else. And that was the hardest part.”

Your voice cracked as the weight of that realization settled in. You had loved Seungmin with everything you had. You had built a life together. A family. And to see him so easily slip away from you for someone else felt like the ground had been ripped out from under your feet.

Changbin’s hand reached out instinctively, resting gently on yours. The contact was warm, grounding, and it felt like a lifeline in the sea of confusion you were drowning in. You looked at him, grateful for his presence, for his understanding.

“I can’t believe he did that to you,” he said softly, his thumb brushing over your hand in a comforting gesture. “You’re worth so much more than that. You deserve someone who sees you for who you are. Someone who doesn’t take you for granted. And I hate that he didn’t see that.”

The words were a balm, soothing a part of you that had been raw for so long. For a brief moment, you let yourself lean into the comfort of Changbin’s presence. You couldn’t fix the past, and you weren’t sure where things would go with Seungmin, but you felt a flicker of hope for the first time in a long time, and it scared you.

But it also made you wonder if maybe, just maybe, you had been holding onto a broken piece of your heart for far too long. And perhaps it was time to let it go, to allow yourself to heal, to move on.

You didn’t know what the future held. But right now, with Changbin by your side, with Roan laughing in the background, it felt like maybe, just maybe, you could start to breathe again.

You sat there for a few more moments, with Changbin’s hand still resting on yours. The sunlight was warm on your face, and the sounds of Roan and Yuna’s laughter filled the air, but it felt like everything else around you had momentarily faded. You didn’t have to say anything, because somehow, you knew Changbin understood. He wasn’t pressing for more details, nor was he making you feel like you had to explain yourself further. He was simply there, being the kind of person you’d always hoped for someone who didn’t shy away from the hard things but stayed right alongside you when they needed to be faced.

You glanced up at him, catching the way he was looking at you, his expression soft but intense, as if he were silently willing you to let go of the weight you had been carrying for so long.

“I never wanted to be in this situation,” you said quietly, breaking the silence, your voice carrying the weight of everything unsaid up until this point. “But somehow, I ended up here. I don’t even know how to fix things with Seungmin anymore.”

Changbin squeezed your hand lightly, offering you a gentle smile. “You don’t have to fix everything right now. It’s okay to be uncertain. It’s okay to not have all the answers. I think you’ve been carrying the burden of that relationship for so long that you haven’t been able to see what you deserve outside of it. But whatever happens, I’m here for you, okay?”

The sincerity in his words wrapped around you like a warm blanket. You hadn’t realized how much you needed someone to tell you that it was okay to not have everything figured out, that you didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone. You had been so focused on trying to keep everything together, on being the strong one for Roan, for your family, that you hadn’t even given yourself permission to feel the depth of the hurt, the confusion, the loss.

“Thank you,” you whispered, your voice barely above a breath, but Changbin heard it. And that was enough.

For a long while, the two of you just sat there in comfortable silence, watching Roan and Yuna run back and forth across the playground. It felt like the world had, in some small way, started to right itself. Maybe not everything was fixed yet, but for the first time in a while, you could see the potential for it.

At some point, Roan and Yuna ran back to you, both of them breathless and flushed from all the running around. Roan immediately climbed up next to you, his small body pushing against yours as he asked for a sip of your water. You laughed softly, ruffling his hair and handing him the bottle.

“What were you two up to?” you asked, keeping your voice light, your mind momentarily distracted by the sight of Changbin’s easy smile as he chatted with Yuna about something funny that had happened while they were playing.

Roan took a long sip from the bottle before answering, “We were pretending to be superheroes! I was saving Yuna from the bad guys, and she was helping me stop them!” His eyes were wide with excitement, and for a moment, you just let yourself soak in his joy, feeling the weight of your earlier conversation lift just a little bit.

“Sounds like a good time,” you said, smiling at both of them.

As the afternoon wore on, you found yourself feeling a little lighter. The heaviness that had been in your chest wasn’t gone, but it felt less suffocating. You spent the rest of the time at the park talking to Changbin about random things, movies you’d loved, music you’d both forgotten about. Every now and then, Changbin’s eyes would flick to you, that soft, understanding look never leaving his face. You caught it once or twice, and it made your heart ache in a way you didn’t expect.

But you didn’t pull away. You let yourself feel it. The way he was there for you. How his friendship, his steady presence, made you feel like maybe you could take the next step forward, even if you weren’t sure exactly what that step was.

Eventually, the sun began to dip lower in the sky, and it was time to leave. Roan reluctantly agreed to head home, his energy starting to wane from all the running around. You packed up the blanket and snacks, your mind still wrapped in the thoughts of Seungmin, but also the subtle comfort of the moment you had shared with Changbin.

Life with Changbin was easy. Too easy, sometimes. You found yourself laughing more, smiling more, and just... feeling more than you had in a long time. It wasn’t that you were actively seeking a distraction, but it almost felt like everything that had been broken in your life was being patched up with something as simple as a few hours spent with him.

When he texted you, you felt that warm flutter in your chest. It was like a light breeze that made everything feel less heavy, less... suffocating. His jokes, corny as they were made you laugh like you hadn’t in years. And you knew it wasn’t just because of the jokes themselves. It was because of the way he looked at you when he said them, like you were the only one in the world who could possibly get how funny he was, even if his humor was a little goofy at times. And the way he smiled after making you laugh... it was like he was seeing you again, not just the person wrapped up in the struggles of life, but the person who had been buried under the weight of a marriage that had long lost its spark.

You tried not to think too much about it. Tried not to get caught up in the way he made you feel. Because you didn’t have feelings for him, right? That would be impossible. You were still married. You were still living in a home with Seungmin. You still had a son who needed stability. The idea of starting over, of letting go of everything you’d built even if it had been built on shaky ground felt too impossible to entertain.

But the more time you spent with Changbin, the more those lines blurred.

It was the way he noticed you in a way that no one else had. The way he’d listen to every word you said, paying attention to the smallest details, the things you thought no one else would care about. When you helped him with Yuna, making sure she was fed or entertained. It felt natural, like it was just something you were meant to do. And even more than that, Changbin would thank you in the most genuine way, making you feel like your efforts actually mattered. Every thank you, every smile he gave you made your chest tighten in ways you didn’t know you were capable of.

And when you realized he was taking time out of his own busy schedule to spend with you, even when it was just hanging out and talking about random things, it felt comforting. You found yourself looking forward to it. Waiting for his messages, his calls, and the next time you’d get to see him.

But here’s the thing. You didn’t have feelings for him, right?

You would try to convince yourself of that every time your heart skipped a beat when his name popped up on your phone. You would dismiss the way your stomach fluttered when he complimented you, or when he offered to drive you home from the grocery store just because he wanted to spend more time with you. You told yourself it was just friendship. That was all it was. You were still figuring things out with your marriage, still trying to keep everything together for Roan. Everything you had with Changbin was just a distraction, you thought. Nothing more.

But you couldn’t ignore how natural it felt when he was around. The way your conversations flowed effortlessly, the way you could talk to him about anything, even the things you didn’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. With him, you could be yourself in a way you hadn’t felt like you could be with anyone in a long time.

The simple truth was, it felt too good. It was too easy. You found yourself grinning every time you saw his name light up your screen. And yet, in the back of your mind, there was this nagging feeling, a voice reminding you that you still had a husband. A family to protect. A son who deserved a stable environment.

So, what was this? What was it that was pulling you towards him?

Maybe it was that, in all the chaos of the past months, he was the one thing that made sense. With Seungmin, everything was complicated, a mess of hurt feelings, betrayals, and unspoken words. With Changbin, it was simple. It was carefree. It was a reminder of who you used to be, the person who had felt loved and wanted, who had laughed without hesitation and smiled without second thoughts.

But you didn’t have feelings for him, right?

You told yourself that again. But this time, it didn’t feel as convincing. You had liked Changbin back then when you were in high school. But that was a long time ago. You were different now. You had a son, responsibilities. Your life was no longer about chasing feelings or fleeting moments of joy. Your life was about keeping things steady, for Roan’s sake, for Seungmin’s sake.

Yet, every time you saw Changbin, that line between friendship and something more seemed to blur just a little bit more. You found yourself wanting to stay in that moment, just a little longer. You didn’t want to leave when he dropped you off after dinner or when you’d walk out of a store and he’d offer to carry your bags for you. Those little gestures made you feel... special. Like maybe you hadn’t lost everything after all.

But you weren’t in love with him.

Right?

The sound of your phone buzzing in the dead of night made your heart leap, and for a brief second, you almost let it go to voicemail. It was late, and Seungmin never seemed to understand the boundaries of your new reality, calling you at odd hours of the night, pulling at strings you had carefully kept taut. You knew he’d probably just leave a message, something along the lines of “I’ll call in the morning.” But this time, something in you made you answer it. Maybe it was the guilt. Maybe it was the fact that despite everything, you still cared for him, and you didn’t want to cut him off entirely, even if that meant dealing with the same emotional tug-of-war that had been going on for months.

"Hello?" you said softly, your voice still rough from sleep.

The first thing he said, before even asking how you were, was, "I miss you."

Your throat tightened. You didn’t say anything, couldn’t bring yourself to. His voice had that familiar tone again, that soft vulnerability that used to make your heart ache in all the right ways, and yet now felt like a weight in your chest.

“I’m... I’m laying in bed,” Seungmin continued, his words dragging, like he was unsure of how to say what was on his mind. “The bed we used to share... I wish you’d come back. I miss you so much. And Roan, I miss him too.” His voice faltered, the emotional rawness unmistakable.

You could hear the rustling of sheets on his end, and then the quiet, barely-there sniffle that followed. It hit you harder than you thought it would. Despite all the hurt, despite what he did, you still felt for him. You wished you could hold onto the anger that had kept you steady, but in this moment, the hurt felt like it was leaking through the cracks.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a pause, as though he could sense something in your silence. You couldn’t lie to him. Not now, not after everything.

You didn’t answer immediately. Your mind was racing. Roan. Seungmin. Everything. You had to keep this together for Roan, but the weight of the past few months seemed to press down on your chest.

“I don’t know,” you finally answered softly, your voice distant. “I still don’t know how I feel about being around you.”

“I understand,” Seungmin said, his tone quieter now, almost apologetic. “I just... it’s been unbearable not having you here, not having you around. I miss coming home to you after work, seeing you and Roan. I don’t know how to do this without you.”

The words burned. You wished you could say it didn’t matter, that it was his own fault, that you had every right to shut him out and leave everything in the past. But the truth was, there was still a part of you, however small that ached for what had been lost. You couldn’t help it.

“Well,” you said, unable to keep the bitterness from creeping in, “I’m surprised you’re not keeping her there while I’m gone.”

There was a long pause on the other end. A tense, uncomfortable silence. You could practically hear him swallowing his pride.

“She’s not staying with me,” he finally said, his voice tight, like he was trying to hold back his emotions. “It was just a one-time thing. Please, can we just... let it go already?”

Let it go? How could you? How could you let it go when everything you thought was solid and permanent had been shattered in a matter of weeks? He had let you down. He had let both of you down. But despite everything, you could feel the temptation, the pull to forgive him. To believe that this could be fixed, that the person who had once loved you with so much intensity could still be there.

You let the silence linger. "It’s only been a few months," you said softly. "How am I supposed to let that go when you’ve been with her for who knows how long?"

“I understand,” Seungmin replied quietly. “But I’m telling you, it was a mistake. It didn’t mean anything.”

You didn’t say anything after that. It felt like the same old circular conversation you’d been having for months now. You both had been here before. Neither of you seemed to be getting anywhere.

Then, Seungmin brought up something that stopped you in your tracks. “I was thinking about coming over,” he said, his voice hopeful. “Maybe we can talk. For Roan’s birthday coming up. I don’t want to miss it.”

You immediately felt a knot in your stomach. The thought of him coming over again, especially with everything still so raw felt like the worst idea imaginable. You’d barely made it through the last few weeks without breaking. The idea of facing him in your parents’ house, knowing how much time you’d been spending with Changbin lately, was a mess waiting to happen. You didn’t want to deal with that. But at the same time, you knew he had every right to want to be there for Roan, especially if his son had been asking about him.

You sighed, long and drawn-out, before speaking. “I... I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to come over. Things are still... complicated.”

“I know,” he said quickly. “But it’s for Roan. I promise. I just want to see him. Please.”

You thought about it, your mind running through all the possible scenarios. Your heart wasn’t ready for the confrontation it would bring, but you also didn’t want Roan to feel caught in the middle of it. You sighed again, this time more reluctantly. “Okay. Fine. But it’s only for Roan. Nothing more.”

Seungmin’s voice brightened at that, and for a brief moment, you could almost feel his relief through the phone. “Thank you. I’ll be on the road first thing tomorrow.”

You didn’t respond, only nodded as if he could see you. Your thoughts were a whirlwind, but you managed to keep your voice steady as you said, “Okay. We’ll talk soon.”

You hung up, your finger lingering on the screen before finally setting the phone down. It felt like everything was spiraling again. A part of you wanted to stay angry. You wanted to keep your distance. But another part, the part that still loved him just wanted peace. And that made everything feel even more confusing.

But in the end, no matter what you told yourself, you still didn’t know what you wanted.

Seungmin’s arrival that morning had an almost surreal quality to it, as if the events of the past few weeks hadn’t happened at all. The door swung open with a soft creak, and before you could even react, Roan’s excited voice echoed through the hallway, “Dad!”

Your son came running, his small feet slapping against the hardwood floors, his eyes wide with disbelief and joy. He didn’t know Seungmin was coming, and when your father opened the door, Roan practically flew into Seungmin’s arms, as though no time had passed at all.

Seungmin caught him easily, pulling him in close, his face breaking into that familiar, soft smile that always seemed to melt away the stress of the day. Roan wrapped his little arms around Seungmin’s neck, pressing his face into his father’s shoulder. You could see the emotion in Seungmin’s eyes, how much he’d missed Roan. And despite the anger, the hurt, the chaos swirling in your own chest, you couldn’t deny it. Seungmin loved Roan. That was undeniable.

Your chest tightened as you watched the tender moment unfold. It hurt. It hurt in ways you couldn’t put into words. You had been through so much so much that you weren’t even sure if there was any way back to where you once were. But Roan was always at the heart of it, wasn’t he? He deserved this, to have his father in his life, to feel that love, even if everything between you and Seungmin had become so fractured.

Your mom greeted Seungmin with an excited smile, giving him a quick hug. Your dad followed suit, a warm handshake followed by a slap on the back, as if this was just another visit, another day when nothing had changed. As though everything was still fine.

Then, Seungmin turned to you.

For a moment, there was hesitation in his eyes. You could see him searching your face, trying to gauge your reaction. And then, without a word, he pulled you into a hug. You didn’t pull away. It wasn’t that you wanted him to hold you, but the guilt of pushing him away in front of your parents weighed on you. You didn’t want to make a scene not now, not in front of them.

So you held him back. Just for a second. It was stiff, forced, but you allowed the hug. He kissed your temple softly, his lips lingering for a moment longer than they should have, and you felt the old ache stir in your chest, the one that had never truly faded.

But that wasn’t enough to erase the anger and betrayal. Not by a long shot.

By the time the evening came, you were exhausted, mentally, emotionally. Roan was finally in bed, tucked in with his favorite stuffed animal, and your parents had gone out for a wine night with some of their old friends. The house felt quieter now, the calm before the storm.

Seungmin and you were left alone, with nothing but the thick, unsettled air hanging between you. You sat in the living room, the TV playing softly in the background, but you couldn’t focus on anything. Not the shows, not the quiet hum of the house. All you could focus on was him. Seungmin.

He reached for your hand, the gesture slow, almost tentative, as if he wasn’t sure if you would pull away. But you didn’t. You let him take your hand, and when he pulled it gently to his lap, he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that made your heart drop.

The wedding ring. The one you had left at home, the one you hadn’t worn since the night you packed your things and left.

“Seungmin, no,” you whispered, your voice shaky.

But he ignored your words and carefully slid it onto your finger. You stared at the ring, feeling the cold metal settle into place, and it was like your entire past came rushing back at once the promises, the dreams, the life you thought you’d built together.

You tried to pull your hand away, but he held it there, not roughly, but firmly. You didn’t want to wear it. You didn’t want to be reminded of everything you were still struggling to let go of. But his grip softened as he looked up at you, his expression raw.

“Please don’t take it off,” he said quietly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.”

You swallowed hard, the anger rising in your chest, but you fought to keep it at bay. “What does that even mean, Seungmin?” Your voice cracked slightly. “What does ‘making things right’ look like? Because right now, just looking at you makes me angry. Every time I look at you, I see her. I hear her name in my head, and it makes me sick.”

Seungmin’s eyes softened, his hand shifting to lift your chin, gently but firmly, so you had to meet his gaze. He didn’t let go of your hand, the warmth of his palm grounding you in a way that felt so intimate, so familiar.

“Look at me,” he said softly, almost a whisper. “Really look at me.”

You didn’t want to. You didn’t want to give him that. But you did. You looked into his eyes, and for a moment, you saw the man you used to love. The one who had stood by you when everything seemed impossible. The one who had held you when you cried, the one who promised you forever.

His thumb gently brushed away a stray tear that had fallen down your cheek, and he took a deep breath. “I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. I hurt Roan. But please, don’t shut me out completely. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.”

The words were like a balm to a wound that had never fully healed. You wanted to believe him. You wanted to believe that he could fix everything, that the man in front of you wasn’t the same one who had betrayed you.

But then, he leaned in, his lips brushing against yours softly. It was gentle at first, the kind of kiss that spoke more of longing than of passion. But it lingered. And it hurt. You hadn’t realized how badly you missed his touch until you felt it again. The warmth of him, the closeness you hadn’t had in so long.

Your heart pounded, conflicting emotions swirling inside you. You wanted to pull away, to stop the kiss, to remind him of the pain he’d caused, but something held you there. Something you couldn’t quite define.

When the kiss ended, he didn’t pull away right away. His forehead rested against yours, and his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Just please... don’t walk away from me completely.”

You closed your eyes, feeling the weight of his words settle over you. Everything in your body screamed that you couldn’t forgive him, that you couldn’t go back to the way things were. But another part of you, one that still ached for the life you once had with him, wanted so desperately to believe that you could make it work.

But you didn’t know if you could.

“I don’t know what to do, Seungmin,” you said quietly, your voice shaking. “I don’t know if we can fix this. I’m so tired of being hurt by you. I don’t know if I can forget.”

Seungmin didn’t pull away, didn’t argue. He simply held you, his hands gentle on your shoulders, as if he was waiting for you to make the decision for both of you. He didn’t press. He didn’t beg. He just stayed there, waiting for you to decide.

And in that moment, you realized that you were at a crossroads. Your heart was torn between the life you had built and the possibility of something new, something that you weren’t sure you were ready for. You didn’t know if you could ever truly forgive Seungmin for what he’d done. But you didn’t know if you could keep running from him, either.

You pulled away slightly, looking up at him one last time before saying, “I need time, Seungmin. I need more time.”

He nodded, his face softening with understanding. "I’ll wait. As long as you need."

And you didn’t know how long that would be. But for the first time in months, you felt like you had time. Time to figure things out. Time to make the decisions you needed to make.

What came next was uncertain. But for the first time in a while, you felt like you had the space to breathe.

-

The night passed quietly, and despite Seungmin sleeping so close to you, it was a strange kind of tension that filled the space between you two. It wasn’t the same as it once was, the comfort you used to find in his presence. You both respected the silence and the space that now existed, and yet, there was a subtle tension that reminded you of everything that had happened the betrayals, the hurt, and the unresolved feelings. Seungmin didn’t try to hold you or pull you closer. He simply slept close, not intruding, but not exactly distant either. It was almost like a truce, a fragile attempt to bridge the gap between the two of you without truly addressing the distance that had grown in your relationship.

It was almost too quiet. The kind of quiet that made everything louder. Your thoughts. The memories. The pain.

You didn't sleep soundly, tossing and turning for hours as the weight of your emotions lingered. Every time your mind would start to settle, you’d remember something new, something you hadn't processed yet whether it was a memory of Seungmin before everything fell apart or the unexpected closeness you felt with Changbin, the one who made you feel like you could breathe again.

But you couldn’t let yourself think too much about Changbin. Not now. Not with Seungmin here, trying to make his way back into your life.

-

When you woke up, Seungmin was already downstairs, most likely with your parents or spending time with Roan. You were grateful for the space, the chance to take a breath without feeling the weight of him looming over you. You stretched, trying to push back the thoughts that wanted to swarm, but it wasn’t easy. You needed to talk to someone. You needed to hear a familiar voice.

The buzz of your phone broke your concentration, and when you saw Changbin’s name flashing on the screen, your heart gave a little flutter. You hesitated for just a second before answering.

"Hello?" You tried to sound normal, though there was an unspoken layer of tension hanging in your words.

Changbin's voice came through the speaker, warm and comforting as always. "Hey, you up? You wanna do something today?" He sounded casual, like he was just checking in, but there was a slight edge of anticipation that made you pause.

For a brief moment, you felt a flutter of hope, a momentary feeling that you could escape everything that was happening in your life just by being with him. But then reality hit. Seungmin was here.

You sighed softly, feeling the weight of the situation. "Seungmin's actually here. He arrived yesterday morning," you said, trying to keep it light, though you could feel the disappointment creeping into your voice.

There was a long pause on the other end. Changbin’s usual upbeat tone faded, replaced by a soft hum. The sound of disappointment was subtle, but it was there. "Ah," he said, his voice quieter than usual. "I see."

You knew he wasn’t thrilled about the situation. Changbin had been there for you in ways Seungmin hadn’t been in months. But still, you couldn’t shake the feeling that telling Changbin about Seungmin’s sudden reappearance would change things between you two. You didn’t want to push him away.

You quickly tried to change the subject, to salvage what was left of the conversation. "You know, Yuna mentioned wanting to go dress shopping with me recently. I promised her I’d go. And maybe you could hang out with Roan, do some boy stuff together while Yuna and I do that. I’m sure he’d love that."

But before you could say anything more, Changbin cut you off, the disappointment heavy in his voice. "Actually, I just remembered I have something come up. I... I gotta go." His tone had shifted, and you could tell he was trying to keep his words neutral, but there was a tightness there that wasn’t normal for him.

You blinked, feeling a pang of confusion and hurt in your chest. "Oh," was all you could say. You had been expecting something different, perhaps a little more understanding or at least some reassurance that it was okay. But that wasn’t what you got.

"Yeah, sorry. I gotta go," he said, and before you could respond, the line went quiet. The call ended abruptly, leaving you holding your phone in the middle of your room, feeling strangely abandoned.

You stared at the screen for a moment, your heart sinking. That was... different. Changbin had never ended a conversation like that before. He’d always been patient, always made sure you had the last word, always seemed so willing to spend time with you no matter what was going on. But today was different.

You sat down on the edge of your bed, replaying the conversation in your head. Was it something you’d said? Something you hadn’t said? The disappointment in his voice had been unmistakable, and the suddenness of his departure from the conversation stung more than you cared to admit.

Maybe he was just trying to give you space, he knew Seungmin was around, and maybe he didn’t want to make things more complicated. But the sudden shift in tone made you wonder if there was more to it, something you weren’t seeing.

You didn’t know what to make of it. You had spent the last few weeks leaning on Changbin, allowing yourself to laugh, to forget for a moment about all the hurt surrounding you. He had become this unexpected source of warmth, a reminder that not everything in your life was broken. But now, his abrupt departure from the conversation left you questioning where you stood with him, too.

You shook your head, trying to clear your mind. You couldn’t focus on this now. You had too many other things going on. Too many things to figure out.

But as you got up and walked toward the door, heading down to join Seungmin and your parents, the weight of the conversation lingered in the back of your mind. Something had shifted with Changbin, and you weren’t sure if it was something you could fix.

Changbin had been in denial for weeks, pushing down his feelings as best as he could. At first, it had been easier, he told himself that what he was feeling toward you was just sympathy, maybe a lingering sense of care for someone he had always been close to. After all, you and Seungmin were married, and despite everything that had gone wrong between you two, he couldn’t have possibly seen you as anything more than a friend. His heart had already been through too much, and he didn’t think he was ready for anything more.

But then, the last time he saw you, something shifted. He had been watching you laugh, the sound so familiar and comforting, yet different in a way. It wasn’t like before, there was more lightness, more joy in your voice than he had heard in years. The way you had made him laugh, teasing him like you used to back in school, brought back a flood of memories. You were the same person he had once been hopelessly in love with, but time had changed both of you.

That was when he realized it. He had feelings for you again. And not just a little crush either, but something deeper. Something that terrified him.

It had been the first time in years that he allowed himself to feel something for someone other than Sua. His wife, Sua, who had passed away two years ago, and after her death, Changbin had completely shut himself off from the possibility of loving anyone else. He had convinced himself that he would never be able to love anyone like he loved her. That maybe the kind of love he shared with her was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. He had grieved deeply, and his heart had healed in its own time, but the scars were still there. He wasn’t sure if he could open up to someone new without betraying the love he had for Sua.

But then there was you, someone he had known intimately in a past life, someone who had been with him through his teenage years. He had seen you go through so much Seungmin’s betrayal, your struggles, the hurt that still haunted you. He wanted to be there for you in a way he hadn’t been before, but somewhere along the way, the friendship turned into something more.

When you had called him earlier that morning and mentioned Seungmin, it hit him harder than he expected. A tight knot twisted in his stomach. He tried to keep his voice neutral, but inside, something dark stirred a mix of frustration, jealousy, and fear. The thought of you still being so close to Seungmin, still entangled in your past, ignited a deep sense of possessiveness. He had told himself it wasn’t his place to feel this way, but hearing Seungmin’s name, Seungmin, the man who had hurt you, the man who had been the reason for so much of your pain felt like a slap to his chest.

He had been so careful, keeping his feelings to himself, pushing the idea of a future with you aside, but hearing that Seungmin was there, staying with you… it felt like a betrayal, even though he knew it wasn’t. You and Seungmin shared history, a history that Changbin wasn’t a part of, no matter how much he wanted to be. It made him feel small, like an outsider who didn’t belong in the picture anymore.

The moment you mentioned Seungmin’s arrival, Changbin’s chest tightened. He couldn’t keep the disappointment from leaking into his voice. “Ah, I see,” he said, his words soft, almost like he was trying to mask the hurt he was feeling. He had told himself over and over that he wasn’t entitled to your time, that you had every right to make your own decisions, but hearing you talk about Seungmin made him feel like he was losing you, even if you weren’t technically his. It wasn’t just that he was jealous, it was the painful reminder that Seungmin had been your past, and no matter what Changbin felt, he would always be a part of your story.

When you tried to salvage the conversation, suggesting you could still hang out later, Changbin’s mind raced. But the thought of spending the day with you while Seungmin was around felt wrong. It wasn’t just the jealousy, it was the fear that maybe he was too late. Maybe you had already moved on, maybe you still needed Seungmin. And what was he supposed to do with that? He couldn’t compete him, no matter how much he wanted to.

And then, when you mentioned your plans with Yuna, the disappointment hit again. Changbin felt this sharp pang in his chest, this deep sense of frustration with himself. He had been so certain that today could be the day when things felt different, when he could spend time with you, laugh with you, maybe even though he hated to admit it, confess to you how he felt. But now, everything felt out of reach. He couldn’t get a clear moment with you without Seungmin standing in the background, hovering over everything. It was suffocating.

“Actually, I just remembered I have something come up,” he said quickly, almost like he was trying to justify his decision to pull away. He didn’t want to hear himself say it, but the words came out anyway. “I gotta go.”

He hung up before you could say anything else. He didn’t want to hear your voice in that moment, didn’t want to hear you try to make it better. The truth was, he was afraid. Afraid that his feelings for you would never be returned, and that all he was doing was hurting both of you by being around. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with his emotions, and he didn’t know how to even start a conversation about it without ruining everything.

He paced around his apartment, trying to calm himself down. The jealousy, the confusion, it all spiraled. He didn’t want to lose you. He didn’t want to be the guy who stood by and watched while someone else had your heart, but at the same time, he couldn’t push you too hard. You needed space. You were still navigating the wreckage of your marriage, and he wasn’t going to be the one to force you into something you weren’t ready for.

But the thing about Changbin was that he’d always been one to act on impulse, to dive headfirst into the things he cared about. And despite all his fears, he knew one thing for sure, he couldn’t just walk away from you now. The feelings he had were real, and they weren’t going away.

That night, as he sat in his apartment, he stared at his phone for a long time, wondering if he should call you back, wondering if there was any chance for the two of you. He had never been this uncertain before, his heart and his mind at war with each other. What would he do next? Would he try again to be a part of your life, even if Seungmin was there?

He didn’t know, but he knew one thing, he wasn’t ready to let go of you. Not yet.

Seungmin was never the type to make grand gestures. He wasn’t the kind of man to chase after someone or beg for forgiveness with tearful eyes and flowery words. He had always been pragmatic, calm, and a little reserved when it came to matters of the heart. But this, this was different. The reality of the situation, the hurt he had caused you, had cracked something inside him that he hadn’t expected. It wasn’t just about him wanting to fix things for himself anymore. He wanted to fix things for you, for your family, for Roan.

When he arrived back at your parents’ house that morning, a part of him still felt like he was walking on eggshells. His chest had tightened as soon as he saw you, the discomfort in your eyes unmistakable, but what hit him the hardest was the cold distance between the two of you. That had been a wall he had built himself, and now that it was there, he wasn’t sure how to break it down.

But he was trying.

He had to try.

Over the past few weeks, after you left and he stayed in your once shared home, Seungmin had spent sleepless nights replaying everything in his head. The mistakes. The lies. The things he had told himself to justify his actions. The distance between you two, even after everything he did, had never felt so suffocating. It wasn’t just about being away from you, it was about the family he had broken. The life he had destroyed by being selfish.

The realization came when he woke up one morning, staring at the empty space next to him in bed, the weight of his choices bearing down on him. He had been too focused on his own needs and desires, too caught up in what he wanted in the moment, to see the bigger picture. He hadn’t seen how much it hurt you, how much it had affected Roan.

For weeks, Seungmin had convinced himself that you just needed time. That, eventually, you would come around, that the time apart would heal things. But that realization was a punch to the gut. He had to do something, something more than just waiting around and hoping you’d forgive him. He had to show you that he was willing to change, that he was ready to be the man you needed, not just the one he thought you needed.

That’s when he made the decision to come back.

When he knocked on your parents' door and saw Roan running toward him with his arms wide open, his heart cracked a little bit. Roan’s warm embrace, his innocent excitement to see his dad, felt like a slap in the face to Seungmin. He had been so lost in his own guilt, his own shame, that he had almost forgotten about what truly mattered the love his son had for him, the unspoken bond they shared.

Seungmin needed to do right by that.

He smiled as he held Roan tight, but the smile quickly faded as he looked at you. There you were, standing in the background, watching him closely. You looked… different. Stronger, perhaps. But there was still a tenderness in your eyes, an old familiarity that made his heart ache.

He greeted your parents, tried to appear casual, as though he hadn’t just barged back into your life after everything that happened. Your mom greeted him warmly, but there was a trace of hesitation in her eyes. Your dad shook his hand, but there was no attempt to hide the discomfort in his stance. They both said all the right things, but the underlying tension in the air was palpable.

Later that evening, when Roan had gone to bed and your parents had left to visit some friends, Seungmin took his chance. He wasn’t going to let this moment slip by.

He sat down next to you, the air thick with the words left unspoken between the two of you. He reached for your hand, hesitating for a moment before gently brushing your fingers with his.

"I’ve made so many mistakes," he said, his voice quieter than usual, but full of sincerity. "I know I’ve hurt you, and I don’t expect you to forgive me just like that. I just… I need you to know that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this right. I can’t lose you, and I can’t lose Roan."

You didn’t pull away when he touched your hand, but you didn’t move closer either. You sat there, silent, processing his words. The wedding ring he had brought with him glinted in the light, and he slid it onto your finger gently, as though asking permission without asking for it.

You stared at it, not sure what to do. The weight of it, the weight of everything between you two, felt so heavy. Seungmin’s eyes searched yours, almost pleading, and for a moment, you almost wanted to believe him. You wanted to believe that he could be the man he promised to be. That he could make things right for Roan. For your family.

But there was still that sharp, raw pain at the center of it all. You still couldn’t erase the image of him with her, the betrayal, the lies. The way he had moved on so easily, as though nothing had ever been wrong between you two.

And still, you didn’t push him away. Maybe because you weren’t sure if you were ready to either accept or deny what he was offering. You didn’t know what the next step would be, but in that moment, you felt an old piece of your heart, the part that had loved Seungmin fiercely, that had trusted him with everything you had, start to stir again.

“I don’t know how to do this anymore,” you whispered, your voice breaking as you spoke the truth that had been buried for so long. “I don’t know how to be with you, Seungmin. I don’t know if we can go back to what we had before.”

His hand remained in yours, warm and gentle. “I’m not asking for everything to go back to the way it was,” he said, his thumb running along your knuckles. “I just want a chance. A real chance to show you that I can be the man you need me to be. The man I should have been all along.”

You looked at him, really looked at him, seeing the vulnerability in his eyes, the same vulnerability that he had hidden for so long. Maybe you could believe him. Maybe, in time, he would prove that he meant every word.

But then, just as quickly as the hope flickered in your chest, doubt filled its place again. Could you let go of everything, everything he had put you through and trust him again?

And just like that, with everything weighing heavily on both of you, Seungmin leaned in. His lips brushed against your forehead first, soft and tender, before he gently kissed your lips.

It wasn’t a passionate kiss, nor was it full of desire. It was a kiss filled with longing and regret, one that carried with it all the unspoken promises that had been left unsaid for too long.

And in that moment, you realized that things weren’t going to be easy. There would be days where you’d feel confused, where you’d question what the right thing to do was. But for now, you allowed yourself to believe that, maybe, just maybe Seungmin was doing everything he could to make things right.

But would it be enough?

Changbin had been a storm of conflicting emotions ever since he heard that Seungmin was back in the picture. At first, he had tried to brush it off, to keep his distance from you so he wouldn’t get too attached, especially when things between you and Seungmin were still so unresolved. But there was something in the way your voice had faltered when you talked about him, something that made Changbin wonder if you were letting yourself slip back into a relationship that had caused you so much pain. He hated the idea of it. He hated how your pain seemed to disappear whenever Seungmin was around, even though deep down, Changbin knew it wasn’t that simple.

Still, he’d kept his distance. He convinced himself it was for the best, he couldn’t risk being the guy who made things messier for you, who stood in the way of your family’s attempts to piece itself back together. But seeing you so quietly accepting of Seungmin’s return, even when you were still hurting, made something inside him twist uncomfortably.

Why should you let him back in so easily? Changbin thought. After everything he did, after all the lies, after hurting you so badly, why let him waltz back into your life like it was nothing?

It wasn’t just about Seungmin’s return, it was about the way he felt for you. The way he couldn’t stop thinking about you when you laughed, when you smiled, when you’d pick up little things for Yuna and Roan, your soft touch, the quiet moments that seemed to stitch the fractured pieces of his heart back together. It was about the tenderness he had developed for you over the past few weeks, the moments when you’d sit together, letting go of the world around you. And it was all crumbling now, slipping through his fingers, because of that damn wedding ring.

Changbin didn’t know why it stung so much, but when he saw it sitting on your finger as you adjusted your hair that morning, it felt like his chest was being crushed in a vice.

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes focused on the ring, the ring he hadn’t seen on your finger yet not even when he reconnected with you. The one that symbolized all the promises you had made to Seungmin, the life you had shared, the family you had created together. It was still there. And it hurt. It hurt to know that no matter how close he got to you, no matter how much time he spent trying to help you heal from the pain Seungmin had caused, he wasn’t the one who held that promise.

For a brief moment, Changbin had considered walking away pretending he didn’t care, pretending he wasn’t feeling the suffocating weight of his own jealousy. But the truth was, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t lie to himself. He couldn’t act like the wound in his chest wasn’t there.

You’d been through so much already, and here he was, having a hard time even standing near you when the man who had hurt you so badly was back, effortlessly sliding back into your life. That wedding ring felt like an anchor, dragging him down into a pit of confusion and self-doubt.

When you approached him, he forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He turned slightly, making sure to keep his distance, pretending that he wasn’t affected.

“Hey,” you said, a little hesitantly. “Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you since… well, since that phone call.”

Changbin gave a tight-lipped smile, his mind racing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just been busy, y’know.” He shrugged, trying to make it seem casual. He tried to avoid looking at your hand, but his gaze betrayed him. There it was again, the wedding ring.

He felt his throat tighten.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” you continued, oblivious to the storm brewing inside him. “Are you up for doing something soon? You know. I promised Yuna I’d take her shopping for dresses. Roan’s been telling me that she’s been talking about it nonstop.”

Changbin nodded automatically. He had no intention of ignoring you. It wasn’t that. He just needed to sort through this mess in his mind first. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he said, though his voice felt distant, not quite as bright as it usually did.

You fixed your hair absentmindedly, and that’s when he saw it again, the ring. The diamond glinting faintly in the morning sun, making it hard for him to focus on anything else. That damn ring.

For a moment, he just stood there, staring at it, fighting the overwhelming urge to rip it off your finger, to scream at you for not protecting yourself, for not protecting your heart. He had no right to be angry. He knew that. But his chest was tight with something he couldn’t name, something that felt dangerously close to resentment.

You looked up at him and noticed the way his expression had shifted, a flash of something unreadable in his eyes.

“Changbin?” you said softly, stepping closer to him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He clenched his jaw and nodded, refusing to let his emotions spill out. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

Your smile faltered slightly, and you looked at him with concern. He could see it in your eyes, the curiosity, the worry. You weren’t buying it. But he didn’t know how to explain it to you, not without sounding petty and selfish. Not without admitting how much it hurt to see you wearing that ring.

So he did what he always did when things got too complicated, he turned away. He kept his distance.

“I’ve gotta get going,” he said quickly. “But, uh… yeah. I’ll talk to you later.”

Without waiting for a response, Changbin quickly turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction. He had to get away from you. He had to process this. Because if he didn’t, he might do something he’d regret. Something that would only make everything worse.

He didn’t want to lose you again, not to Seungmin, not to anyone. But he wasn’t sure if he could keep pretending that he was okay with standing in the shadow of a wedding ring that wasn’t his.

Seungmin’s return to your life had been, at best, confusing. But if you were being honest with yourself, you couldn't help but notice the effort he was putting in, even if it didn’t erase the hurt, the betrayal, or the cracks that ran deep. He was trying, and for the first time in a while, it wasn’t just about him. It wasn’t about his comfort or his needs, it was about you, about us, or at least, the remnants of what that was supposed to be.

It wasn’t like it was perfect, far from it. But Seungmin seemed to be realizing, bit by bit, that just saying he was sorry wasn’t going to be enough. He couldn’t just expect you to forgive him, and, for the first time, he was showing that he understood that. That realization, that effort, was enough to keep you tethered to the idea of trying, of giving him a second chance, or even just the space to prove that he was different now.

At first, it felt like he was just trying to go through the motions, just doing what he thought he needed to do to win you back. He brought you coffee in the morning, remembering your exact order, just like he used to. He'd offer little, thoughtful gestures like picking up your favorite snacks from the grocery store or asking if you needed help with anything when he knew you had a busy day ahead. It was almost like he was trying to show you that he could still be the person you had once relied on.

But there were other moments, more subtle ones, where you saw a shift. He’d try to engage in conversations with Roan, or ask if you needed help with something around the house, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. He’d ask how you were feeling, not in a casual way, but with real concern like he genuinely cared. The way he’d look at you sometimes, with a mixture of apology and longing, made your heart twist.

You hadn’t seen that look in a long time.

It was in the little things too. Like how he started making sure you were included when he was talking about future plans, something he used to exclude you from. It was like he was starting to remember what it was like when you were a team, when everything wasn’t so fractured and distant. When he asked if you wanted to go out for lunch, he didn’t just suggest places that were convenient for him, he picked ones you’d always liked, places that held memories from when things were simpler between you two. He even asked if you wanted to go for a walk in the park, something you used to do when you first started dating.

And then, there were moments when he would genuinely listen, and not just for the sake of listening, but because he wanted to know how you felt, wanted to know if things were okay between the two of you. His eyes would soften when you spoke, like he was processing everything you said, really hearing it. He wasn’t rushing to make things better, or to jump in with excuses, he was just… present. It wasn’t like the Seungmin you had known, the one who’d always tried to fix things quickly with humor or with grand gestures. This version of him wasn’t rushing anything; he was just trying to make sure you knew that you were seen and that you were heard.

You had to admit, even though it made you uncomfortable at times, it made you feel something you hadn’t felt in a long while. It made you feel important again, like you were his priority. That was a feeling that used to come so naturally between you two, but over time, had eroded. The years of work, the growing distance between you two as his distractions took over, it was hard not to feel like an afterthought. But now, in the quieter moments, you could see that he was trying to change that.

There were also moments when he was more physically present. He didn’t just hover; he’d do small things, like picking up Roan from school, offering to help out around the house, or just making sure you didn’t feel alone. When the weather got cold, he’d wrap an extra scarf around your neck before you could even think to grab one, like the old Seungmin who had always worried about you getting sick. When Roan’s homework was difficult, he’d patiently sit beside him and explain it, not even looking at his phone as he usually did.

But the most telling sign was how he interacted with you. In the rare moments when it was just the two of you, when the house was quiet and Roan had gone to bed, Seungmin would sit across from you, his gaze lingering on you a little too long, almost like he was trying to read you. His smile was softer, less rushed, as if he was savoring the fact that you were still there. And for the first time in a while, you could see how much he wanted to make it right. He didn’t just want you back for himself, he wanted you back because he realized what you meant to him, what he’d been too blind to appreciate until now.

You didn’t know how you felt about him, not fully. There were still too many scars. Too many pieces of your heart that were still cracked, still raw. But, somehow, his small efforts, his attempts to rebuild trust were making it difficult for you to completely shut him out. It wasn’t the same. It was never going to be the same. But for the first time, you saw a glimmer of hope, a chance that he might truly be trying to be the man he had failed to be before.

Still, the confusion lingered. How could you forgive him for everything? How could you let go of the pain, the betrayal, when the memories of everything he’d put you through were still so fresh in your mind?

But as Seungmin held Roan close, as he cared for you in the way he knew how, as he showed you, not just told you that he was trying, the doubt started to fade a little. Maybe it was a beginning. Maybe, with time, this could work. Or maybe you were just allowing yourself to hope for something that couldn’t be fixed. It was too soon to know.

But you couldn’t deny that, for the first time in months, you were allowing yourself to consider the possibility of forgiveness. Not for him, necessarily, but for you. Because at the end of the day, it wasn’t just about whether Seungmin deserved it. It was about whether you deserved to heal.

-

When you heard the buzz of your phone, your heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t like you had been expecting to hear from him. After all, the last time you spoke, things had been… well, different. Awkward. You weren’t sure where things stood anymore. And yet, when you saw Changbin’s name on the screen, your thumb moved before your brain could process what was happening. You picked up the phone, trying to mask your nervousness with an air of indifference. It wasn’t easy, but you tried. You didn’t want him to know how much his voice affected you, how it had always affected you.

"Hey," you answered, trying to keep your tone casual, even though you were anything but.

He greeted you warmly, his voice sounding as comforting as it always did, but there was an undercurrent of something you couldn’t place. “How have you been?” he asked, his words soft but genuine.

You paused, thinking about your answer. You could lie and say you were fine, but was that really fair to either of you? Instead, you settled for, “I’m okay.” It wasn’t the truth, not entirely, but it was the answer that didn’t invite too many questions.

“How’s Roan?” Changbin asked next, his voice filled with the same warmth. You could hear the concern in it, and it made your chest tighten a little.

“He’s good, keeping busy with school and his friends.” You didn’t elaborate on the way Roan had been dealing with things, the times he’d asked about his dad or when he talked about how much he missed things being ‘normal.’ You didn’t want to bring any of that up now, not when the conversation was so casual.

“That's good," Changbin said. You could feel a slight pause, like he was taking a deep breath before continuing. “Yuna misses you, you know. She says she only gets to see you at pick-up nowadays. She’s been asking if you and Roan could hang out more, maybe have another playdate. She misses hanging out with you.”

The mention of Yuna made a lump form in your throat. You did miss her, miss the simplicity of the moments you’d shared, before everything had become so complicated. Before life had gotten in the way of your friendship.

You smiled, genuinely, as you thought of the little girl who’d stolen your heart in the most unexpected way. “I miss her too,” you said, and you meant it. “And I miss you, Changbin. It’s been a while.”

You heard a soft sigh from the other end of the phone, and it sounded so much like a mixture of relief and longing that it made your stomach flutter in a way you weren’t prepared for. He didn’t respond right away, but you could tell something was weighing on his mind. He seemed hesitant to speak, and that only made you more curious.

“I wasn’t gonna call,” Changbin said suddenly, his voice a little quieter, almost like he was trying to hide something. “But Yuna’s been talking about you a lot, and I guess I miss seeing you guys too. It just... it’s been a while, and I know things have been... complicated, with everything.” There was that weight again, that familiar heaviness in his tone, like he was trying to tread lightly but couldn't hide the depth of his feelings.

The words “complicated with everything” hit you harder than you expected. That phrase alone summed up everything you’d been going through. It felt like a lifetime ago when everything had been simple between you, Changbin, and your little world. And now? Now it was all a tangled mess of emotions, regrets, and… choices.

“I know, I know…” you started, but you didn’t really know what to say after that. You wanted to explain the mess that had become your life since Seungmin came back, but what good would it do? Changbin didn’t need the details.

But he wasn’t letting the silence settle between you two. His voice came back, a little more hesitant this time, like he was trying to figure out how to phrase what was on his mind.

“Well, I don’t know if you’re busy with Seungmin or what,” Changbin said before trailing off. The mention of Seungmin hit you harder than it should have, and you could hear it in his voice, the quiet edge of jealousy that he hadn’t quite been able to suppress. You knew what he meant, what he was trying to ask without saying it outright. Were you back with Seungmin?

You frowned, your mind suddenly racing. You didn’t understand why he would even bring Seungmin up now, after everything. You had mentioned to Changbin that you and Seungmin were working through things, that you were trying to find some kind of stability for Roan, but it felt like that wasn’t what Changbin needed to hear. It was like he was looking for something different something more, something you weren’t sure you could give him.

Before you could say anything, Changbin continued, his voice awkward and strained, “I didn’t mean to bring up Seungmin like that... It just slipped out. What I meant was, if you’re not too busy, if you have time, maybe you, Roan, and Yuna could hang out with me sometime soon. I—uh, I miss spending time with you, with all of you.”

You didn’t know how to respond to that. The words "I miss spending time with you" felt like a punch to the gut. You hadn’t realized just how much you’d missed him, how much he had come to mean to you, until that very moment.

But still, the whole situation felt too complicated. He was asking you to hang out like it was the simplest thing in the world, but for you, it wasn’t simple. Not when you were trying to sort out your life, your feelings, and your priorities. You couldn’t just pretend everything was fine. It wasn’t.

“I’m not sure when, Changbin,” you said slowly, carefully, “but I promise I’ll try to find time. I think Yuna deserves that.”

He didn’t push you. There was a quiet pause before he let out a breath, something between frustration and relief. “Yeah, of course,” he said softly. “I get it. Just... just let me know when you’re free.”

You wanted to tell him you were sorry for not making things easier, for making everything more difficult than it needed to be, but you didn’t. There was no room for apologies, not yet. You weren’t sure if it would make anything better.

The conversation slowly came to an end, neither of you saying what was really on your mind. You hung up, staring at the phone in your hand, thoughts swirling. There was so much you wanted to say to Changbin, so much you needed to figure out before you could even think about doing anything with him anything more than friendship, at least.

But right now, all you could do was try to make sense of the messy feelings, the confusion, and the painful truth: you were still so drawn to Changbin. Even if you didn’t know exactly what that meant for your future, you couldn’t deny the pull. It was always there, lingering just beneath the surface.

And as you sat there, still holding your phone, your mind wandered back to the time when things had been simpler. To when you and Changbin had been on the same page, before everything had gotten so complicated. You didn’t know what would happen next, but you knew one thing for sure: this, whatever it was, was far from over.

-

Changbin felt a momentary calm settle over him after hanging up the phone with you. Hearing your voice again, even if it was through the filter of awkwardness and unresolved tension, gave him a small measure of peace. You hadn’t shut him out, and that was enough for now. It meant he hadn’t imagined it, those weeks you spent leaning on him, laughing with him, feeling like something was blooming between you. He told himself not to hope, but still… a part of him did.

He was lost in those very thoughts, his mind spinning around the images of you and Seungmin, the uncertainty of your feelings, the way you still wore your wedding ring until a familiar, bright voice jolted him back to the present.

“Daddy!”

Yuna’s sweet shriek of joy rang across the school courtyard as she ran toward him at full speed, her little backpack bouncing with each step. He immediately bent down, arms open, catching her as she leapt into him without hesitation. He lifted her with ease, settling her comfortably in his arms, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

“Guess who I talked to today?” he said, voice teasing and light as he tried to push away the heaviness that had returned to sit in his chest.

Yuna pulled back just enough to look up at him, eyes wide with excitement. “Y/N?” she guessed with a hopeful grin.

He smiled and nodded. “Bingo.”

Yuna let out a high-pitched squeal and kicked her legs in the air with excitement. “I knew it! I told Roan you would talk to her. I told him,” she said with pride, like she had willed the conversation into existence. “Does this mean we can go shopping now? She promised.”

He chuckled softly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I think we’ll make it happen soon.”

Her face lit up again, and she leaned her head back on his shoulder as he began walking toward the car, his grip on her secure and comforting.

As they made their way through the parking lot, Yuna started chattering about her day, what snack her teacher gave them, how she and Roan played tag at recess, and how Roan had reminded her to not forget about his birthday party this weekend.

Changbin blinked.

The party.

Of course. Roan’s birthday. This weekend.

Yuna’s voice became background noise then, not because he didn’t want to hear her, but because all he could focus on was the sudden realization that he would have to see you again. Not just for a brief moment at pick-up or drop-off. Not a quiet phone call. But see you.

Be around you.

Be around you… and Seungmin.

His chest tightened with that familiar bitter ache, jealousy rising in his throat like bile. It wasn’t fair not to Roan, not to Yuna, not to you, but he couldn’t help it. The idea of standing there, in your parents' home, watching you and Seungmin smile and act like a family again, felt unbearable.

He would have to watch Roan call him “Dad.” He would have to hear your parents praise him. Watch Seungmin touch your back gently or say something to make you smile, and pretend it didn’t make him sick.

Because Changbin wasn’t just jealous of Seungmin having you. He was angry. Angry that he had broken you in such a cruel way cheated, betrayed, and somehow still got to come back into your life like a ghost demanding space.

And yet… you’d let him back in. Even if you hadn’t fully forgiven him, you’d opened the door.

That was the part that crushed Changbin the most.

He shifted Yuna a little higher in his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead to ground himself. Her little hand wrapped around his thumb.

“You okay, Daddy?” she asked softly, peering up at him with curiosity.

He blinked down at her and nodded, pasting a smile on his face. “Yeah, baby. Just thinking.”

“Are we still going to Roan’s party?” she asked, and he nodded again. He couldn’t say no, not when her eyes looked so hopeful. Not when she was so happy at the thought of seeing you again.

“Of course,” he said, his voice low and steady despite the storm inside. “We wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

But as they reached the car and he buckled her in, his mind wandered again to the party, to you, to the way your smile lingered in his mind even when he tried to push it away.

He was happy to see you again.

He dreaded it too.

Because loving someone who’s trying to fall back in love with someone else? That kind of pain was the slow kind. Quiet. Hidden. And it burned like nothing else.

Still, Changbin would go. He’d smile, for Yuna. For Roan. Even for you.

And he’d pretend the ring on your finger didn’t feel like the door shutting in his face.

//

masterlist.

(a/n: who else is #TeamSeungmin 🖐️)

❌proofread

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[aclowntiny]

Skz as type of dads? 🥹

CRYING YES QUEEN/KING/MONARCH 👑🥹 kept this open for the kids to be biological or adopted or perhaps some of both for all family types 🥰 plus I’m a huge supporter of adoption personally hehe

Today is US Thanksgiving but fuck that ‘holiday’ here’s a post 🤙🏻

Stray Kids as Dads

Bang Chan

♡ Such a caring and protective dad, like his kids will never get hurt on his watch or his name isn’t Christopher Bang

♡ Being an eldest brother, he’s an absolute champ caring for them, like the moment they’re born he’s rolling up his sleeves and helping out, screw gender norms or the idea of the dad not helping. Being present with his children is a joy and honor.

♡ Would probably like the idea of a mid-sized family, probably a family of three like he had! Still manageable but no one’s lonely or received unfairly high expectations. Especially if they end up being closer in age, that’s ok because they’ll get along better instead of being teens enlisted to care for a baby or something of the like.

♡ Such a multi-talented man is a wonderful mentor to any interests the kids have, easily able to foster and participate in nearly any hobby- sports, singing, dance, acting, playing instruments, you name it!

♡ I can so see him loving to run around with the kids on his shoulders, grinning at the way they laugh and coming up with all sorts of vehicles and steeds to be, whether they want a spaceship ride, a horsie, a plane, or a dragon! Absolutely soft for their pleading to indulge their play.

♡ As a boy dad, Chris views it as super important to model what it truly means to be a man- no toxic masculinity here though! He treats you like royalty so his son(s) know how to treat and provide for their partner someday. He teaches them to fight for what they believe in and be brave. Many of the same things are true for girls, too, but he treats them like absolute princess(ess) too to make sure they don't settle for any less from a man! Indulges dress-up and teaching them martial arts alike because they're his princess(es) but also they must be protected and unafraid to fight back! No one gets the better of his babies!

Lee Know

♡ Acts like he’s got everything under control, but on the inside he’s freaking out a little 🤏🏻

♡ Proud dad OMG. Every milestone and first that gets experienced, he is sharing it and telling everyone even if it’s completely normal. Like crawling for the first time? Amazing. Absolutely stellar. That’s his kid, you know.

♡ Leans more toward a smaller family like he had, maybe one or two children…and the cats, of course! He adores the idea of being able to pour all the love and care into his little family and give extra attention to you and the kid(s).

♡ Loves kitchen time with your kid(s), doing anything remotely dangerous like cutting or frying on his own but otherwise giving them near free reign! It's messy, sure, but it's also a life skill and a way they can provide for others in the future, too. Minho's kid(s) will appreciate the effort and quality that can go into meals for sure.

♡ Can be firm when he needs to be, but it's mainly in situations where they show any form of disrespect or intolerance. Beyond being happy and loved, he wants his kids to be beacons of love to everyone they meet, and that starts with teaching them that being a bully is never ok, even if it's to an annoying sibling or cousin.

♡ Boy or girl, he’s making a dancing machine out of that kid(s)! I mean, he won’t force them or anything but absolutely indulges it and becomes their biggest coach if they have any interest in dance or choreography. With a girl he’d be so soft when he twirls her and lets her stand on his feet to slow dance, a smile across his face the whole time. His son would be busting idol moves at a very young age 😎

Changbin

♡ His affection toward you increases tenfold if that's even possible once you two are starting a family! And that carries over into the kids for sure.

♡ Honestly the sappiest and goofiest dad, like he won't go a single day without telling his kids he loves them, often in a cutesy voice. Plays with them and gets down to their level so well and gets so invested in any make believe they do.

♡ The idea of having a big family is cute to him, so numbers like four or five don't scare him! But he can be talked down if you like too- Changbin mostly just wants his kid to grow up with at least one sibling like he did.

♡ Playground days are a must for him- heck, he'll be right there going down the slide with little ones in his arms and spinning on the merry-go-round with eager squeals of his own. Becomes their own personal playground, having them hang off of his arms and spin. You have so many silly pictures of them like that.

♡ Plushie theatre! Changbin will act out the most elaborate scenes with teddy bears and stuffed dogs on leashes and anything else provided to him and he will take it as seriously as if he was reciting Shakespeare. May even play music to set the scene. The kiddos laugh so hard and just eat it up every time.

♡ Has the perfect balance to be a boy and girl dad. Lets his daughters put makeup and bows on him with the biggest sappy grin and asks if he looks pretty, then turns around and plays drill sergeant with the boys. Half-jokingly, half-seriously encourages them to mix play with each other and that’s how you find Changbin in camo with blush and the boys smudging lipstick on each other’s faces while the girls try to shoot their action figures away from their dolls.

Hyunjin

♡ Really invested and emotional about the whole process, especially in the beginning. His heart just fills and overflows whenever he looks and sees the life you two are raising.

♡ The dad who’s been practicing diaper changes on dolls or others’ kids if allowed so he knows he can do it right the first time for real 🥹

♡ In his mind, a small family sounds nice, maybe spaced apart so you can spend some time with each. But when he holds his little one for the first time suddenly he looks up like ‘I want ten’. Hyperbole, don’t worry. But suddenly bigger numbers like four or five or six don’t sound so terrible if you’re game 👀

♡ Unafraid to get messy with the fam in the name of art! Hyunjin's at the table when you come home, colors splattered all over his hands and the kids' as they finger paint. Don't worry, he's covered it all up with paper and made sure at least one of the paintings is a portrait of you 😉

♡ Dresses up the kids in the most stylish outfits, like you're about to have little models on your hands! Also has a soft spot for coordinating outfits with them, whether it's family photo day or just an afternoon out with the little ones.

♡ He values all his children so much, especially the awareness that they’ll bring different beauty to the world and be perceived differently. Because of this, he encourages fortitude in all the kids, boy or girl, to be themselves and stand firmly in their interests whatever they are.

Han

♡ This man is the sweetest dad for real! Adores his kids and is always happy to show them affection 🥰

♡ Also the type of dad who tries really hard (sometimes a little too hard but that’s why you all love him 🤭) to be hip on the trends and name their generation’s memes.

♡ I can see him once he gets into the swing of things as the type to want a bigger family, maybe even more than he thought! Nothing crazy, but in his head he thought he’d feel complete after one or two, now that he has them though? Three or four doesn’t sound bad, just look at how cute they are with a sibling to play with! Kind of reminds him of the feeling of having so many brothers.

♡ You have to stop him sometimes from buying every cute toy he sees. “Do we need another playset?” “But babe, then he can run his own sushi restaurant 🥺” “Shit, that is cute, ok.”

♡ Cries when his kids cry, laughs whenever they do or at any joke they ever tell him, can hardly bring himself to scold them because he just loves them so much and doesn’t want to break their hearts!

♡ Honestly doesn’t mind if he has boys or girls, like both sound great so you’d never catch this dad sulking at a gender reveal! In the end though I can see him having one of each, and it warms your heart to see how he teaches his son(s) to respect their sister(s), value and cheer them on from a very young age. He is all of their biggest cheerleader, though, handing them mics when he’s recording or playing around in the studio, showing up to every event of theirs he physically can, and just going ‘that’s my son/daughter’ with a huge smile all the time.

Felix

♡ The type of father to describe his kids as the twinkles in his eyes! Just constantly looking at them with adoration- they’ll never wonder if they’re loved 🥹

♡ He's always wanted a family, so having little ones of his own is Felix's dream come true for sure. You'll practically have to pry them from his arms, he loves showering them in affection so much!

♡ For some reason, I see him wanting three kids, the classic 'nuclear family' size or in his words the perfect number to fill up his arms! You guys are ever-so-slightly outnumbered, but your life's also full to the brim of cuteness.

♡ A pro at bath time! Felix is the epitome of 'organized chaos' during this time, managing to get all your little ones to love the water and keep it in the tub. He knows all their favorite toys and has a voice for each one.

♡ One Mother’s/Father’s Day you awake slowly, eyes fluttering at a few clattering sounds and shushes. Your eyebrows furrow in concern, but sleep swims too quickly still beneath your eyes to pull you up. Your internal questions are answered in moments as Felix and the kids burst in with a tray of all your favorites for breakfast, all clearly handmade as the notes and drawings scattering it.

♡ Absolutely no difference in his intent with raising boys or girls… but real talk, the sweetest girl dad on the planet OMG. While he is conscious about modeling caring and providing behavior in both, curiosity and discovery regardless… he has at least one girly girl that just steals his heart and has him wrapped around her finger. Will play as whatever princess needed, incredibly active in every single tea party he can make, you name it, he does it.

Seungmin

♡ The do-it-all dad. He learns sooo much about all of their interests when they're older and reads up on everything baby/toddler before then. An absolute champ at juggling care and keeping the house afloat!

♡ All he wants in life is to do right by his family and be a man you can be proud of. No fear with jumping right in to any aspect of raising your family, even if he does crack the occasional joke.

♡ He's a bit open on number, probably leaning between two or three but more wouldn't hurt if you'd like bigger!

♡ Bedtime is one of his favorite times. Just being able to lay down with the kids and read them stories, doing funny voices and raising and lowering for suspense, fills his heart. He'll sing them lullabies until their eyes stay closed and watch for a few moments wondering how he got so lucky to have this with you of all people.

♡ Invents a whole secret language with the kids one day, so you come home and can't understand any of them. Teases the dickens out of you, grinning and bumping your shoulder and egging the kids on to say more until relenting and letting you in on the secret!

♡ He can’t decide if he’s more excited to have a son or a daughter! Practically weeps imagining playing dress up but has also always wanted a mini me??? (See what I did there?) He takes photos of the kids often, which ends up sparking an interest in photography that he’s happy to foster. Heck, maybe through that his daughter will become his mini me and he gets the best of both worlds!

I.N

♡ Playful dad! It’s not uncommon to come home and find him rolling around with the kids in a big ball of laughter!

♡ He hadn’t always thought about having a family, but when he met you and you guys began your journey, he wondered how he would have ever considered anything else.

♡ Because of this, he never had some dream number in his head and he’s happy to give you the floor on that question whether you’d like one or three or six!

♡ S-Class (see what I did there) nurse. They'll practically demand that he's the one to care for wounds and put the bandages on because he's so good at distracting from the sting of cleaning it and kissing where it hurts.

♡ They love his trot voice. Thus he hams it up plenty, bringing out his most exaggerated moves and probably bringing props too. Would not at all be adverse to them becoming his backup singers or dancers.

♡ Loves the idea of at least one mini you and one mini him- his words! Y’all definitely get a mini him though, OMG: your son wants to be JUST LIKE his dad, practically following him around all the time. He takes after his dad’s goofy smile and performances so soon you really do have two trot performances to watch! Jeongin is so honored and floored by this that he’s always saying he has to be the best man possible for his son as well as for you 🥹 he always encourages his son to say the sweetest words to you too- but don’t say it was from him, shh!!!

[leewritesstuff]

Mini Stars | Skz Memebers

Summary: While on their world tour, they got surprised by a guest who they haven't seen in awhile.

Pairs: Chan x Reader, Minho x Reader, Changbin x Reader, Hyunjin x Reader, Han x Reader, Felix x Reader, Seungmin x Reader and Jeongin x Reader (individually)

Word Count: 4.5K

Type: Fluff

AN: Hello! I got gotten a bit bored of the texting and wanted to try and spice up things a bit with writing! My master list still isn't as how I would want it but meh, anyway enjoy!

Taglist: @velvetmoonlght

CHAN

The concert was in full swing, the bass thrumming through the venue as thousands of STAYs screamed in excitement. Chan was hyping up the crowd, his energy infectious, when suddenly, a small figure waddled onto the stage, clad in a tiny Wolf Chan onesie.

He didn’t notice at first, too caught up in the moment—until the sound of drums echoed through the speakers, perfectly in sync with the music. He froze, turning around, eyes widening in disbelief. There, at a mini drum set positioned near the back of the stage, sat his four-year-old, chubby hands gripping a pair of drumsticks, effortlessly keeping up with the beat of S-Class.

The crowd erupted in cheers, their screams deafening. Chan blinked, momentarily stunned, before bursting into laughter. He jogged over to the tiny drummer, microphone still in hand.

"Whoa, mate! Since when could you do that?" he asked, crouching down so he was eye-level with his child.

The little one beamed up at him, their dimples deep and unmistakably his. "Appa, I play like you! Watch!" They tightened their grip on the sticks and resumed drumming, the rhythm shockingly precise for someone so small.

Chan's jaw dropped as he placed a hand on his chest in mock pain. "Aish, STAY, are you seeing this? My own kid is showing me up!"

The audience screamed in response, some waving their lightsticks frantically, while others laughed at the endearing scene.

Before he could react further, Wolf Chan—his beloved plush mascot—trotted onto the stage, eyes twinkling as it curiously approached its miniature counterpart. The child giggled, immediately reaching out to hug the oversized wolf, who playfully nuzzled them back.

Chan dramatically staggered backward. "Oh no, I’m being replaced—first by my own kid, and now by Wolf Chan? STAY, do you still love me?"

The crowd roared with laughter and cheers. His child turned back to him, arms raised expectantly. With a fond chuckle, Chan scooped them up, effortlessly lifting them into the air as they squealed in delight.

"You’re too good, mate! What do you say, one more time?" he asked, ruffling their hair.

"One more time!" the child echoed, determination shining in their big eyes.

Chan set them back down at the drum set, signaling for the band to let them have the final beats. As soon as the child’s sticks struck the drums for the last time, the entire stadium erupted into cheers, the energy electrifying.

Chan wiped an imaginary tear. "STAY, I think we just found Stray Kids’ next drummer!"

The child giggled, hopping off the drum stool and running into his arms. Chan pressed a quick kiss to the top of their head before turning back to the crowd.

"Alright, alright, enough of me getting shown up—let’s get back to the concert!" he laughed, before leading STAYs into the next song, his little one still happily nestled in his arms.

MINHO

The stage was on fire, the beat of God’s Menu pulsing through the stadium, electrifying the air. Lee Know was completely immersed, his movements sharp and effortless as he hit every step with precision. The crowd was feeding off the energy, their cheers blending with the booming music.

But then, something changed. The cheers suddenly grew louder—higher-pitched, more excited. It wasn’t the usual hyped screaming; it was something different, something softer, something affectionate. He frowned slightly, curiosity flickering across his face.

Turning around mid-move, he froze.

Right there, on stage, a mini Leebit was attempting to dance, their tiny body wiggling as they clumsily copied the iconic du-du-du-du move. Their little legs kicked out, slightly offbeat, but they were trying so hard. Then—just as Lee Know watched in stunned silence—the child tripped over their own feet, landing on their hands and knees.

For a brief moment, the entire stadium inhaled collectively.

But just as quickly, the tiny dancer pushed themselves up, determination shining in their bright eyes. The crowd erupted into affectionate cheers.

Lee Know, still catching up with reality, furrowed his brows, his voice coming through the mic, "What’s going on—STAYs, who is that?"

"Awww!" The STAYs cooed, waving their lightsticks in encouragement.

Lee Know tilted his head, still confused, until the little one turned around to face him. The tiny pout, the wide, bright eyes—it was like looking into a smaller version of himself. His confusion melted instantly. His laughter rang out, full and rich, as he bent over, hands on his knees.

"Wait… that’s MY KID!" he exclaimed, pointing at them, his voice full of disbelief.

The little dancer beamed, throwing their arms up in triumph. "Look, Appa! I’m dancing like you!"

Lee Know’s grin widened, shaking his head in amusement as he crouched down. "You’re a natural! I should be worried now!"

The child, undeterred, bounced back into position and started dancing again, this time with even more enthusiasm. Their little arms flailed, feet stomping along with the beat, and the sheer joy on their face made the entire crowd melt. Meanwhile, Leebit, the plush mascot, hopped onto the stage and began copying the child, wiggling next to them.

Lee Know let out an exaggerated gasp. "Wait a second—am I being replaced by TWO dancers now?!" He clutched his chest dramatically, stumbling backward as if deeply wounded. The STAYs roared with laughter.

Giggling, his child suddenly ran toward him, arms outstretched. Without hesitation, Lee Know scooped them up effortlessly, spinning them around in the air before settling them against his hip. He held the mic up, still breathless from laughter. "STAYs, we have a new dancer in the group!"

The crowd erupted, chanting the child’s name.

The little one giggled, puffing out their chest proudly. "I dance with Appa next time!"

Lee Know’s heart melted on the spot. He kissed the top of their head before grinning at the crowd. "Alright, you heard them! Next concert, duet stage with my mini-me—what do you say, STAY?"

The stadium shook with excitement, the fans screaming their approval.

Lee Know smirked. "Looks like I’ve got some competition." He ruffled his child’s hair playfully before setting them down and taking their tiny hand in his. "Alright, just one more move together before I send you back, yeah?"

Hand in hand, the two of them hit one final dance move together, earning a deafening roar from the audience. The child giggled, looking up at their father with the brightest eyes.

Lee Know leaned down, his voice warm. "You did so good, little one. Next time, we’ll practice together."

"Okay!" The child bounced happily before being scooped up once more, waving at STAYs as Lee Know carried them offstage.

The music picked up again, and as Lee Know returned to his position, he smirked into the mic. "Alright, back to business! But no promises my kid won’t steal the show next time!"

CHANGBIN

The stadium buzzed with energy as the lights dimmed, anticipation crackling in the air. The beat of 3RACHA dropped like thunder, and Changbin stepped forward, spitting his verse with his signature intensity. The crowd was already hyped, but then—suddenly—the screams doubled in volume, an eruption of high-pitched excitement that threw him off for a split second.

Confused, he glanced to the side—only to be met with a sight so unexpected, so utterly ridiculous, that he nearly fumbled his next lyric.

A tiny figure stood on stage, dressed in an oversized Dwaekki costume, the fabric hanging loosely around their small frame. The child, mask on, struck a pose—legs apart, fists clenched, arms flexed dramatically as if they were the strongest being alive.

The crowd lost their minds.

Changbin blinked. "No way—who let this tiny Dwaekki on stage?!" He let out a loud laugh, stepping closer in amusement.

At that moment, the actual Dwaekki mascot, standing off to the side, turned and noticed its mini counterpart. There was a pause—then, as if accepting a silent challenge, Dwaekki began flexing back in exaggerated fashion. The two of them stood there, mirroring each other, locked in the most intense muscle showdown imaginable.

Changbin doubled over laughing. "Are you seeing this, STAYs?! We have a flex-off happening right now!"

But the tiny Dwaekki wasn’t done yet. With all the confidence in the world, the child grabbed a mic—where it had come from, who even knew—and suddenly started rapping his verse. Well, sort of. The words were jumbled, childlike mispronunciations slipping through, but the passion? The passion was undeniable.

For the first few seconds, Changbin was completely speechless, his mouth falling open. Then, the ridiculousness of the situation hit him, and he burst into laughter, stumbling forward to hype up his little rapper.

"Oh, oh! Baby Binnie in the house!" he cheered, motioning for the audience to hype them up. The crowd responded instantly, chanting and cheering as the tiny Dwaekki continued rapping with dramatic hand gestures, despite half the words being nonsense.

Still wearing the oversized costume, the child puffed out their chest and waddled toward him with exaggerated confidence. "Look, Appa! I strong! Like you!" They flexed again, their tiny arms shaking with effort.

Changbin crouched down in front of them, holding his stomach from laughing so hard. "Oh? You wanna be strong like me? Pfft—you’re already stronger than me, buddy!"

The child beamed, then without hesitation, snatched the mic again. "Yo, yo, yo, it's Baby Binnie in the house!"

The crowd absolutely lost it.

Changbin fell to the floor dramatically, clutching his heart. "STAYs, help! They’re too powerful!" He got back up, wiping fake tears from his eyes. "I think I’m being replaced."

The child giggled before holding up a tiny fist. "Appa, fist bump!"

With a grin, Changbin held out his hand, and they bumped fists. But that wasn’t enough for the little performer—they lifted their arms, wordlessly demanding to be picked up.

"Ahhh, alright, alright, c’mere, superstar," Changbin said, effortlessly lifting them into the air. The child kicked their legs excitedly, waving at the crowd. "STAYs, this is my new partner! What do you think?"

The stadium shook with cheers.

Then, as if overcome by the sheer cuteness of it all, the actual Dwaekki mascot dramatically flailed and collapsed onto the stage, "fainting" from the overload. The audience roared with laughter.

Changbin shook his head, grinning as he gave his kid one last high-five. "Alright, you had your moment, little Binnie. Let’s finish this song before STAYs start demanding a duet album!"

The child pouted but nodded, still beaming with pride. Changbin set them down carefully, gave them one last playful ruffle of the hair, and as staff gently guided them offstage, he turned back to the crowd with a huge grin.

"Okay, okay! Back to business!" He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "But don’t be surprised if Mini Binnie comes back for a feature next time!"

HYUNJIN

The atmosphere in the stadium had shifted, the energy softening as Hyunjin took a moment to catch his breath. Sweat glistened on his skin as he smiled at the sea of lightsticks swaying in the crowd. The moment was calm, almost dreamlike—until he noticed a tiny figure waddling onto the stage.

At first, he blinked, thinking it was some kind of staff prank. But as the small Jiniret stopped in front of him, gripping a large piece of paper with both hands, realization dawned on his face.

The crowd gasped, then cooed in unison.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. He bent down, tilting his head as he looked at the small child staring up at him with wide, excited eyes. "Huh? What’s this?"

The tiny Jiniret beamed, holding the paper out proudly. "Appa, I draw this for STAYs!"

Hyunjin took the paper gently, his breath catching as he turned it around. The drawing was chaotic but undeniably adorable—stick figures scattered across the page, lightsticks dotting the crowd, and in the center, a very squiggly but unmistakable version of him, mic in hand, singing his heart out. The effort, the bright colors, the slightly wobbly hearts drawn around the edges—it was too much.

The audience melted, a chorus of affectionate "awww"s filling the stadium.

Hyunjin clutched his chest dramatically, stumbling back as if he had just taken a critical hit. "Ahhh—STAYs, do you see this?!" he exclaimed, holding up the drawing for everyone to see. "This is art. No, this is a masterpiece!"

The little Jiniret nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I draw with Appa!"

Hyunjin's heart turned to absolute mush. He knelt down fully, placing a gentle hand on the child’s head. "You drew this for STAYs? That’s so sweet, buddy."

The child grinned, bouncing slightly on their feet. "STAYs love Appa, so I draw Appa and STAYs happy!"

The crowd practically combusted at the cuteness.

Hyunjin let out a soft chuckle, brushing the child’s bangs from their eyes. "You really are my little artist, huh?"

Before he could say more, the opening notes of 143 began playing, the familiar melody washing over them. His eyes lit up, the excitement instantly returning. He grinned, glancing back at the little one.

"Alright, kiddo," he said, holding out his hand, "time to dance!"

The child immediately latched onto his fingers, and as the beat dropped, they both began to move. Jiniret tried their best to copy his steps, their tiny limbs flailing in an adorably uncoordinated yet determined attempt. The crowd was in absolute awe, their cheers mixing with laughter as Hyunjin giggled through his own dance, unable to stop smiling.

He watched his child attempt a twirl and nearly topple over, but before they could fall, he caught them with a gentle laugh, lifting them into his arms. "You’re already stealing the show, little one."

Jiniret giggled, wrapping their arms around his neck. "I dance with Appa forever!"

Hyunjin’s heart clenched, his smile turning impossibly soft. He pressed a kiss to the child’s temple before turning back to the crowd, holding up the drawing once more. "STAYs, let’s give it up for the tiniest artist and dancer in the world!"

The crowd roared in approval, their love echoing through the stadium.

Hyunjin twirled with his little Jiniret one last time before whispering, "Alright, buddy, let’s finish strong."

HAN

Han wiped sweat from his forehead, taking a deep breath after yet another high-energy performance. He stretched his arms, ready to banter with STAYs when—

The first few notes of Hold My Hand began to play.

He blinked. This wasn’t part of the setlist.

The members looked just as confused as he did, but before Han could even ask what was going on, the entire stadium erupted in excited screams. He turned toward the side of the stage—

And there, waddling into the spotlight, was a tiny Hanquokka.

The child, dressed in a slightly oversized Hanquokka onesie, clutched a small electric guitar that was nearly half their size. They adjusted the strap clumsily, their little fingers fumbling on the fretboard before strumming a few hesitant notes.

Han’s jaw dropped. "What in the—who is this tiny rockstar?!"

The crowd screamed even louder as the tiny Hanquokka turned to look at him, eyes sparkling.

Then, as if things couldn’t get any cuter, the actual Hanquokka mascot peeked out from behind them, waving enthusiastically before skipping onto the stage. The two Hanquokkas—one big, one small—stood side by side, striking the same goofy pose.

Han clutched his chest dramatically. "I—I’m seeing double!"

The other members cracked up while the audience drowned the venue in cheers.

The tiny Hanquokka, still unaware of the absolute chaos they were causing, confidently stepped up to the mic. "Appa! I sing and play like you!"

Han gasped, dramatically staggering backward. "That’s my kid?! That’s my mini-me?!"

The child giggled, gripping the guitar tighter. "I play Hold My Hand! I practice with Hanquokka!"

At that, Big Hanquokka gave a series of exaggerated nods and a thumbs-up, as if confirming the statement.

Han fell to his knees, shaking his head. "STAYs, we just witnessed my kid’s solo debut! I wasn’t ready for this!"

The little Hanquokka strummed the guitar again, this time with slightly more confidence, as if trying to prove their skills. The crowd absolutely lost it, chanting for the tiny performer.

Han, still on his knees, looked between his child and Big Hanquokka. "This is betrayal! I thought I was the guitarist here!" He wiped a fake tear away. "I think I’m being replaced!"

The child, determined, pouted. "No, Appa! We play together!"

Han gasped again, clutching his heart. "Oh? Together?" He turned to STAYs with wide eyes. "What do you think? Should I let them play?"

The stadium exploded with a resounding "YES!"

Han turned back to his child, an exaggeratedly serious look on his face. "Alright, buddy. You ready?"

The little Hanquokka nodded furiously, bouncing on their feet with excitement.

Han kneeled beside them, adjusting the guitar strap to fit better on their tiny shoulders. "Okay, let’s do this."

With a deep breath, Han strummed his guitar, and his child followed suit, their little fingers pressing down on the frets with adorable determination. The sound was a little messy, but Han played along, guiding them through the chords.

Then, with the spotlight on them, they started singing Hold My Hand together.

Han softened his voice so his little one could shine, the crowd swaying and singing along. Big Hanquokka stood beside them, dramatically pretending to wipe away tears at the heartwarming moment.

By the final chorus, Han scooped his child up, guitar and all, twirling them in the air as they giggled. The stadium lights bathed them in a golden glow, and Han held his kid close, pressing a quick kiss to their temple.

"You’re amazing, buddy," he whispered.

Then, with a mischievous grin, he held the tiny Hanquokka up like a trophy. "STAYs, I think we have a new main vocal, guitarist and Hanquokka!"

Big Hanquokka dramatically collapsed onto the stage in mock defeat, causing Han and his child to burst into giggles.

The crowd roared with cheers, their love filling the entire stadium as Han pulled his child in for one last hug, letting the moment last just a little longer.

FELIX

Felix was fully immersed in the energy of Thunderous, his deep voice booming through the arena as he powered through his rap. The members danced in perfect sync around him, the bass shaking the ground beneath their feet. But then—

A sudden movement caught his eye.

At first, he thought it was just Bbokari, the mascot, making one of its usual playful appearances. But something was off. The figure beside Bbokari was much smaller—wobbling slightly as it rolled across the stage on a tiny skateboard.

Felix squinted, momentarily distracted from the performance. "Wait… Bbokari had a baby?!"

The crowd erupted into laughter and cheers as the tiny Bbokari attempted a trick, lifting one foot mid-glide before promptly losing balance and landing on their butt with a soft thump. Instead of crying, the little one bounced right back up, fists in the air. "I okay!"

Felix’s eyes widened in panic before he let out a breath of relief. "Oh, your mother is going to kill me!" he muttered into the mic, shaking his head with a grin.

The tiny Bbokari, unfazed, rolled toward him, coming to a dramatic stop right in front of his feet. They yanked off the oversized Bbokari headpiece, revealing a tiny face with the same freckles and bright eyes as Felix himself.

"Appa! Look!" they chirped, excitement radiating from every inch of their small body.

Felix’s heart melted on the spot. His entire face lit up as he crouched down, his hands on his knees. "Mate, that was amazing! You’ve got some serious skills!"

The little one giggled and raised both arms. "I skate, Appa! Whee!" With that, they pushed off again, rolling away in wobbly but determined strides.

The actual Bbokari mascot hopped beside them, mimicking their movements as the child attempted another trick—this time managing a little spin before nearly toppling over. Felix gasped dramatically, running a hand through his hair. "STAYs, my kid just out-skated everyone here!"

STAYs collectively melted, their cheers filling the arena as the little one skated back, beaming up at Felix with pure joy.

Felix crouched lower, opening his arms. "Come here, my little skater pro!" The child skated straight into his hug, giggling as Felix scooped them up effortlessly, lifting them into the air. "You just stole the whole show!"

The little one wrapped their tiny arms around his neck. "Appa, I skate with you next time!"

Felix chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of their head. "Next time? Oh, we’re definitely getting you some knee pads first, mate."

The big Bbokari gave a thumbs-up while patting Felix’s back, as if approving of the decision. Felix playfully sighed, looking out at the crowd. "Even Bbokari agrees! Guess I better start skateboarding again just to keep up with my kid!"

The tiny Bbokari wiggled excitedly in his arms. "Yeah! Skate with me, Appa!"

Felix let out a soft laugh, his heart swelling. Holding his child close, he rocked them side to side, basking in the warmth of the moment. The crowd chanted their names, and Felix gave his little one one last spin before setting them back down on their skateboard.

"Alright, one last trick for STAYs, yeah?" he said, stepping back with an encouraging nod.

The child grinned and rolled forward, arms stretched out dramatically as the arena filled with cheers. As they made their way across the stage, Felix clapped along with the beat of the music, his heart swelling with pride.

SEUNGMIN

The members were casually chatting with STAYs between songs, catching their breath and sharing playful banter, when suddenly—

A tiny PuppyM came sprinting onto the stage, gripping a plush bone with determination.

Before anyone could process what was happening, the small PuppyM whacked Hanquokka with the plush bone.

Smack!

Hanquokka stumbled dramatically, clutching his chest as if he had been gravely wounded, falls to the floor in slow motion.

STAYs erupted in laughter as the tiny PuppyM proudly posed with their "weapon," looking entirely too pleased with themselves.

Seungmin, initially confused, furrowed his brows. "Wait… why is there a tiny PuppyM?!" He turned to look at the actual PuppyM mascot, who was also staring at the small intruder, tilting its head in exaggerated curiosity.

The little PuppyM turned toward Seungmin, giggled mischievously, and suddenly took off in a sprint—arms wide open like they were about to tackle him.

Seungmin barely had time to react before the tiny figure latched onto his legs. "Whoa—hold on, buddy!" He quickly scooped the small PuppyM into his arms, adjusting them so they were securely perched against his hip.

The child squirmed playfully before reaching up and pulling off their PuppyM mask, revealing a very familiar face with a big, mischievous grin.

Seungmin’s eyes widened. "Wait—" he pointed at them, realization dawning on him. "You were just pretending to be PuppyM?! It’s you!"

"Appa!" the child squealed, throwing their arms around Seungmin’s neck.

STAYs collectively melted at the sight.

Seungmin, still processing the surprise, let out a soft laugh and shook his head, hugging his kid back tightly. "So this is where you’ve been hiding," he mused, ruffling their hair affectionately.

The little one giggled, gripping his shoulders and kicking their feet in excitement. Seungmin puts his kid down.

Hanquokka, still dramatically lying on the floor, Han speaks into his mic. "So, we’re just gonna ignore that Hanquokka was attacked by this tiny menace?!"

The child perked up and goes to Han and , in the most innocent voice possible, said, "Sorry, Uncle Hannie!" before immediately booping him on the leg with the plush bone.

Han let out another fake cry of defeat as the members and STAYs burst into laughter.

Seungmin sighed, shaking his head with amusement as he held his kid close. "STAYs, my child just exposed their inner chaos," he said, giving them a look of mock disapproval.

The child beamed, unbothered. "I play with Appa and PuppyM!"

The actual PuppyM waddled over and patted the child’s head approvingly.

Seungmin smirked and leaned into the mic. "Looks like PuppyMI have a new partner-in-crime now."

The crowd cheered as the tiny PuppyM gave an enthusiastic fist pump, ready for more mayhem

JEONGIN

The lights on stage flickered before suddenly plunging into complete darkness. The crowd held their breath in anticipation, wondering what was going to happen next.

Then, a spotlight flashed on, revealing two figures. One was the usual FoxI.Ny costume, but the other was... much smaller, holding something that was hard to make out in the dim light. As the figures stepped forward, the unmistakable sound of "Happy Birthday" softly began to play.

Jeongin blinked, confusion written all over his face as he pointed at the two. "Wait, wait, what’s this?" His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation. "What’s going on?"

The smaller FoxI.Ny hesitated for a moment, eyes wide with excitement, before taking a step forward with a small cake held carefully in their tiny hands. "Happy birthday, Appa!" they chirped, a grin spreading across their face.

Jeongin’s mouth dropped open, his eyes widening in realization. A laugh bubbled up from deep within him as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. "This is my kid?! Oh my god—STAYs, look at them!" He couldn’t stop laughing, his heart melting at the sight of his little one dressed in the familiar FoxI.Ny costume, holding a birthday cake just for him.

He bent down slowly, still laughing, and gently took the cake from the child’s hands. "You planned this, huh?" he asked, looking at the child with soft eyes.

The little FoxI.Ny nodded enthusiastically, giggling as they looked up at him. "I got you a cake! And we sing!" they added, bouncing excitedly on their little feet.

Jeongin chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You really got me, huh? Happy birthday to me, then!" His voice was full of warmth and affection as he hugged his child tightly, the crowd’s cheers and laughter filling the air. "STAYs, this is the best birthday surprise I could ask for!"

The child beamed, eyes shining with pride as they squeezed Jeongin tighter. "I love you, Appa!"

Jeongin's heart swelled at their words. He pulled his kid into another tight hug, his voice soft as he whispered, "I love you, too, buddy. Best birthday ever."

He then turned toward STAYs, holding his child close. "Seriously, STAYs, can you believe this? Best birthday surprise ever!" he said into the mic, his face glowing with joy. The crowd cheered even louder, and the little FoxI.Ny bounced in Jeongin’s arms, loving every second of the attention.

Jeongin playfully raised the cake high in the air. "Who wants cake?!"

The crowd roared in excitement, and for a moment, everything felt perfect—a perfect birthday surprise from the person he loved most.

[vannipak]

Chan is the type of dad

dad!chan is the type of dad to help the doctors deliver his baby

dad!chan is the type of dad to not want to cut the umbilical cord because he's scared it will "hurt" her

dad!chan is the type of dad to tease stays about sharing his kids face but he doesn't do it anyway

dad!chan is the type of dad that'll write songs for his kid

dad!chan is the type to talk to his daughter about situations she can't even understand

dad!chan is the type to sit down and have a conversation with his daughter about giving her a little brother

dad!chan is the type of dad to have tea parties with his daughter and stickers on his face

dad!chan is the type of dad to fake cry so his kids would get a certain food (rowoon reference)

dad!chan is the type of dad to say you can't have a bf/gf yet while their kid is crying over wanting one

dad!chan is the type to annoy the fuck out of his kids either as petty revenge or just wants to hang out with them

dad!chan is the type of dad to go to disneyland every year

dad!chan is the type of dad to give his kids atrocious ass nicknames (ex: stinkie-butt)

dad!chan is the type of dad to teach his kids to befriend literal bugs