A Cliché Family fiftysix a   Jinki is vacuuming the living room when his phone starts ringing. He can’t hear it over the noise of the machine but he watches it light up, Jonghyun’s name on the screen. He doesn’t hurry as he turns off the machine and grabs his phone, but the minute he picks it up, he worries that maybe he should have been faster.

“Dad!” Jonghyun says and sounds like he’s almost crying. In the background is Jaehwa screaming in a heartbreaking manner. It sounds like total chaos if Jinki has to be honest. “Dad, help me!”

“What is going on, Jonghyun?” he asks. Jonghyun shushes his daughter but she doesn’t stop crying.

“I can’t do this anymore. She doesn’t stop crying!”

Jinki can hear the frustration in his voice, knows that when Jonghyun starts talking like this it’s serious.

“Where’s Gwiboon?” Jinki asks and Jonghyun whines out loud. He’s starting to sound almost like his daughter by now.

“She’s with her parents, they went out to eat. It was fine! Jaehwa and I were fine until she suddenly started crying four hours ago and I can’t get her to stop, please make her stop dad.”

“Jonghyun, take a deep breath, please.”

Jinki can hear Jonghyun trying to calm himself despite the crying. Jinki knows that Jonghyun is hurting with the knowledge that his daughter is hurting. Jonghyun has always been empathetic but both of them crying is not good. A few seconds later Jinki hears Jonghyun exhale heavily into the phone.

“I’ve tried everything dad. She isn’t hungry, she can’t sleep. Comforting her doesn’t help at all, I’ve been walking around the apartment with her for four hours. She doesn’t have a fever. Two days ago, at the doctor’s, he said she was healthy. I have no idea. Please tell me you know what to do. I can’t reach dad and I feel like I’m going insane.”

“Do you want me to come over?” Jinki asks. Jonghyun tries shushing Jaehwa again in a comforting, low voice, but her cries just reaches new volumes.

“No, just .. Just tell me wha