The day started off ordinary.

Woohyun woke up early at 6a.m., as usual, to prepare breakfast for Sunggyu and Minji and pack their lunchboxes (kimbap with a side of kimchi and fish cakes, a box of pepero, and a carton of strawberry milk). At exactly 7a.m., he woke them up; first, his grumpy husband, and then their sweet 8-year old.

They got ready, he fed them (bacon and eggs), and then, with a kiss for Woohyun on each cheek, they were off! Sunggyu usually dropped Minji off at her elementary school before heading to the office, where he worked as a composer and lyricist for Woolim Entertainment (and once a week, he was an adjunct professor of Music Theory at Seoul University).

Meanwhile, Woohyun stayed home.

Normally, he would also be getting ready and leaving for work to the café where he was a part-time chef. He used to work full-time at his brother Boohyun’s restaurant, but after Minji came into their lives, Woohyun decided that it was best for him to quit and be a stay-at-home dad… at least, until Minji was grown enough. Besides, Sunggyu earned enough for the three of them to live comfortably.

They were finally able to move out of their small apartment into a bigger house in a decent neighborhood last week. Minji was growing, and she needed a more family-friendly environment.

So, instead of going to work, Woohyun took a week off in order to unpack and get their new home in shape. And had been doing that in the last couple of days. He started with the kitchen first, of course, and then Minji’s room, and then his and Gyu’s room. Today, was the living room’s turn.

Very, typical, ordinary day.

And that was what he believed… until he picked up Minji from school.

The normally excited and very talkative little girl was oddly silent throughout the entire car ride home. And despite Woohyun’s many attempts to strike up a conversation about her day, he received no response.

So when they arrived home, before the little girl could head up to her room after taking off her shoes, Woohyun gently grabbed her by the shoulders and kneeled in front of her.

“Minji-ah, is something wrong?” he asked her, worriedly. “You can tell Appa, you know that right?”

“Nothing… Nothing’s wrong,” the 8-year old replied, but Woohyun knew his daughter.

He raised her after all. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes, the faint quiver of her lips (a habit that she got from him), and the fact that she couldn’t meet his face. Something was bothering his little girl, and as one of her fathers, he couldn’t stand it.

“Sweetheart, you know that I’m here for you always,” he reassured her, smiling.

Finally, Minji looked up at him with an angry pout. Normally, Woohyun would find it cute and about it, and he was about to. But, he caught the seriousness in her eyes; it wasn’t the right time to be teasing. His daughter was mad and he didn’t know why!

“You don’t mean that,” she whispered.

He paused. What did she just say?

 “You’re lying,” she continued, her lips quivering even more now.

He felt a stab through his heart as his mind went blank. He felt his entire body go cold despite the warmth of their new home.

Lying? Sure, he lied to her about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, but every parent did that, right?! But, other than that, he really tried his best to be a good example by never lying to her. And he didn’t recall ever lying to her recently.

“Minji-ah, what do you me-“

“You’re going to have a new baby because you don’t love me anymore!” she screamed this time, tears now falling from her normally bright eyes down her cute chubby cheeks.

Woohyun froze. Minji never yelled at him like this before. It was true that he and Sunggyu were planning on adopting another baby now that Minji was old enough. They had talked to her about the new baby last week and she had been thrilled at the news of a baby brother. But, now…

She seemed to take his silence as confirmation as she broke away from his hold and ran up the stairs.

“Minji!”

His calls were answered by a slam of a door.

With a shaking hand, Woohyun reached into his pocket and quickly pressed 1 on speed dial.

“Yeobsae-“

“Gyu! You have to come home! Now!”

“Hyun?! What’s wrong?!”

“It’s Minji! Something… something must have happened at school…” His heart was now hammering against his chest. He could feel the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. “Gyu, please…”

There was silence on the other line for a minute that Woohyun thought his husband hung up on him.

 Then…

“I’ll be home in 20 minutes. Wait for me.” 

A/N: If you're reading this, it means you're interested, right? Yay! Anyway, I have half the story done already, it's just a matter of how many chapters to post and in which blocks. This was originally meant to be a one-shot, but it ended up being longer than I anticipated. I also wanted this to be light and fluffy, but it went down the angst-y road instead, so bear with me. But, you know what keeps me going? Comments! And some constructive criticism is also welcomed!