There was a sudden voice to his left, a small voice pleading with someone before there were definite tears and sniffles, breaking the muted silence of the slumbering passengers of the packed jumbo jet. Turning to see what was going on, Jinki found a little girl, no older than five, sitting directly across the aisle and sobbing into her hands as she cried out for her father. Beside the girl was a young man, assumed to be her father, features half obscured by black hair, body leaning against the window seat, the flight company’s small pillow under his head.

Quietly, Jinki spoke to the girl, a few short “hey”s to get her attention, before he found himself staring into two large, brown eyes that were still brimmed with tears. “Hey.” He greeted softly, gentle and friendly with an assuring smile on his lips. “Are you okay?”

“Daddy won’t wake up.” The girl cried, sniffling before tears fell down her cheeks.

“Shhh.” Jinki whispered, hoping to quieten the girl. “What’s wrong? Why do you need Daddy to wake up?” He asked, reaching out to wipe a tear from her cheek.

The girl looked down, biting her lip before she replied in such a quiet voice it was surprising she was so loud before. “I have to go pee…” She mumbled.

If Jinki was being honest, that was a dilemma. His first thought was to guide her there himself to prevent her from waking her father – who was sure to be exhausted if he slept so strongly – but would that step out of boundaries? Would people think he was being creepy? In the end though, he figured it would be better to just take her himself. What was the harm in walking behind her the few meters to the bathroom and walking her back to her seat when she was done?

While the girl hesitated at first, it seemed her need to answer nature’s call over rode her uncertainty and she waddled awkwardly down the aisle in front of Jinki, holding one of his hands until they reached the bathroom. “You’ll be here when I get out…?” She asked softly.

“I promise.” Jinki assured her.

It was while he was standing there that he realised that literally no one else seemed to care that he’d just walked a little girl he didn’t know to the bathroom. Some people who he’d briefly made eye contact with on the way down the aisle had been smiling fondly, as if it was a sweet sight they were seeing.

A flight attendant apologised as she stepped past him, which he returned with a nod and smile. As he followed her with his eyes, he saw the little girl’s father standing up awkwardly in the small space, absolute panic spread over his features as he addressed the flight attendant, beginning to describe the appearance of the girl.

A few quiet and assuring words from the attendant later and the young man looked in Jinki’s direction, their eyes meeting for a few very long, awkward seconds, before he slowly sat down again.

The little girl walked with a little more skip to her step on the way back, gripping one of Jinki’s hand with ease even as she climbed back into her seat. On the way back, Jinki made eye contact with the young father again, the man’s eyes soft as he watched his daughter returning, a smile of absolute devotion on his face, embracing her when she was in her seat again. “I’m sorry, Joonie.” He whispered.

“It’s okay, Daddy, Mr Jinki helped me.” She assured him.

“I-I’m sorry.” Jinki began, sitting in his own seat and leaning across the aisle. “I hope we didn’t worry you too much.”

Shaking his head, the young man smiled, eyes forming the most amazing eye-smiles Jinki had ever seen. Two guesses where the girl got her good looks from. “It’s fine, and thank you for helping Joonie. Although…” He said, cheeks lightly flushing. “I think the flight attendant has the wrong idea about us.”

With a frown, Jinki tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

He smiled a little, shy even though he seemed amused by what he was about to say. “She just assured me that my partner had taken “our” daughter to the bathroom.”