a/n: this is not as long as i would like it for be for this story and it's not as long as my usual trashy updates BUT its my bday so :p enjoyyyyyy even if its 500 short of what i would deem minimum statisfactory ALSO its 3am and this is un-betaed (beta reader's note: beta-ed already! LOL.) so IM SO SORRY FOR TYPOS!  I LOVE U ALL thank you thank you ;__;

It took a day or so for Baekhyun to notice, but Kyungsoo’s demeanor had changed. The boy was relatively quiet, but as the brunet started to become more and more aware, he took note of how Kyungsoo was, if anything, not only more silent than before, but he also had a vibe of what felt like pent up frustration. Their routine was the same every day, so he couldn’t figure out what had happened and when exactly it took place. He did take into consideration how Kyungsoo was away at school for most of the day so perhaps he was being bullied and he, as a parent, was blissfully unaware of his own son’s situation.

For a while, Baekhyun was conflicted. He never wanted to be the type of parent to pry information out of their child, but at the same time, he did have a responsibility to ensure that Kyungsoo was okay.

The morning after Kyungsoo’s strange behavior began, Baekhyun did the usual--woke up early and cooked breakfast-- as he listened to the faint sound of the radio. It was bleak that day, possibly due to the wind, but the static was nothing out of the ordinary.

As the time came around, Baekhyun began to set the table for breakfast before quietly walking as he entered Kyungsoo’s bedroom. It was dark, but his right hand was quick to flick the switch and stir the child. With a small, adoring smile on his face, Baekhyun made his way over to the bed and knelt down as he began to his son’s head.

“Hey, Soo… It’s time to wake up now. We have to get ready to go to school.” He saw Kyungsoo’s eyes slowly open, but the six year old shut them again, pushing his head slightly deeper into his pillow. “I know you want to go back to sleep, but we have to eat now.”

Kyungsoo’s tiny fist made a ball and wrinkled the pillow case. The action didn’t go unnoticed since it was odd for the latter to do such a thing. Every other morning, the six year old would quietly abide; however, today seemed different.

Sympathetic, Baekhyun sighed as he decided to sit on the floor. “What’s wrong, Soo?”

At first, nothing came out of the six-year old, but as Baekhyun waited, Kyungsoo shifted, showing his face. It didn’t take long for Baekhyun to realize that he was upset.

“I want to go back to sleep…”

Baekhyun gave him a sorry smile. “I know… But you can’t skip school--”

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo stopped his father from continuing on. “It’s not school.”

“Then why do you want to go back to sleep? Are you sick?” Quickly, the brunet checked the boy’s temperature, but nothing came out of it. He was perfectly fine.

“I had a dream.” The voice came so quietly that Baekhyun barely caught on to the words.”That’s why.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Baekhyun said softly. “Is that why you’re upset?”

Subtly, Kyungsoo nodded.

“It must’ve been a really good dream, then,” Baekhyun commented. “Do you want to tell me what it was about?”

There was a bit of hesitation and Baekhyun could see it in Kyungsoo’s eyes. He didn’t want to speculate so he occupied his mind by continuing to his son’s hair. However, as Kyungsoo began to speak again, the brunet’s hand stopped.

“It was about us…” There was a pause and for a moment, Baekhyun felt like he stopped breathing all together. “And him…”

Baekhyun fought to keep calm, but everything inside of him was racing. He wanted to run away from the conversation, to ignore it as he had always done for the last six years. But he knew he couldn’t. The look in Kyungsoo’s eyes, the way he felt so defeated by a mere dream…

...

Sighing, Baekhyun put his hand down and sat up on the bed. Kyungsoo made room by moving his legs. “Well… I guess I should ask you what happened in your dream then, shouldn’t I? You don't have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It's okay…” Kyungsoo murmured, taking a second for himself. “We went to the beach. And then home. And then we played games…”

“Like a family?”

Silently, the six year old nodded. Pursing his lips, Baekhyun pulled the blanket away enough to reveal the latter’s face. “I’m sorry… Your dad, he’s—”

“I know.”

Baekhyun stopped. “Soo, it’s a lot more complicated than you think. I’m sorry…”

He was selfish and he was well aware of that. And maybe he was a little scared of the possible things that could happen based on what went on in the past, but seeing Kyungsoo so let down by something so arbitrary as a dream made him reconsider the decisions he’d been making for last seven years. Should he let his fear of what Chanyeol was in the past scare him now? It was obvious that his fear was coming in between something greater beyond himself, but at the same time, he wanted to protect Kyungsoo so badly that it almost hurt.

Biting his lip, Baekyun looked away for a moment. Maybe it was time… Although he didn’t want to let go of the protective barrier that he had worked so hard to put in place, there was something inside of him that told him that Kyungsoo--in the very least--deserved to know Chanyeol.

It was a hard decision to make, and Baekhyun had made plenty of difficult choices throughout his life, but it had to be done slowly.

Putting his hand on Kyungsoo’s back, Baekhyun opened his mouth, feeling well-aware of the dryness that cursed his throat in that moment.

“Listen, Soo… How about… I ask Chanyeol to hang out with you tomorrow?” he asked softly, watching attentively at the young boy’s expression. “You can go to the beach, or maybe you’d like to watch a movie with him? I can rent a tape from Mr. Cheong’s shop.”

Kyungsoo was silent for a while, but as he rubbed his eyes and shifted, Baekhyun knew that it was a positive sign. “Yes, please.”

“So, a movie?”

“And the beach…”

Baekhyun helped the boy sit upright on his bed. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll ask him if he’d like to watch a movie with you tomorrow evening. You two can go to the beach before then after you finish school and--”

“No,” Kyungsoo said quietly, but enough to make Baekhyun notice how adamant the six year old was. “I want you there, too, dad…”

“Baby--”

“Please.”

It was almost as if he found it hard to breathe, which wasn’t far from the truth. Letting Kyungsoo spend some quality time with Chanyeol was something that he could understand and give way for, but for the three of them to be together? It might give off the wrong impression or the wrong type of vibes. Baekhyun was almost postive that Chanyeol would feel weird and awkward spending time with an ex and his ex’s child. It just wasn’t normal.

But Kyungsoo was their child, and he wanted to spend time with both parents as a family unit, even if Chanyeol didn’t understand their official relationship to each other.

Baekhyun had to remind himself that it wasn’t about him anymore. Kyungsoo was at an age where he could understand and express his feelings. Of course, as the parent, he had the final word, but the boy’s genuine longing to know the father he had only imagined about for all his life was too true for even Baekhyun to deny any longer.

Sighing, Baekhyun gave a small nod as he gave in to the request. “Okay… If you want all three of us to be together tomorrow, then I’ll see what I can do.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Baekhyun promised. He smiled when a small curve at the edge of Kyungsoo’s lips finally broke upwards. “Now, what do you say we get ready for school? Feeling better?”

Kyungsoo answered with the nod. He was never a hyper-active kid, but Baekhyun could just feel his son’s excitement by the way he jumped out of bed and shooed his father off so he could quickly fix his sheets, which he never did, but the brunet could see that he was trying very hard to be on his best behavior. Maybe he was fearful that Baekhyun would suddenly change his mind if he misbehaved, but before Baekhyun could reassure him, Kyungsoo was already out of his room and heading to the kitchen to eat his breakfast.