Kyungsoo stared blankly at the plain wall in front of him as tears silently glide down his red face. In his head, he could hear the cruel words of his fathers repeating over and over to the point their voices mesh together.

“Why are you even here, Yifan?!”

“I can't stand it anymore!”

“You’re not the same!

“Do you even love me anymore?”

“Just leave.”

“You already caused enough damage.”

Although Kyungsoo only heard snippets of their most recent argument, it still left a mark on him. As he felt as though he was the one that caused this rift between his parents. He soon fell asleep when the voices ceased.

Things weren't always like this. In fact, Kyungsoo had a happy family. He was an only child yet he never felt lonely. He had his dad and papa after all. Growing up, Kyungsoo admired his parents’ relationship and aspired to have what they shared when he got older. From afar, they seemed like the average married couple, with the exception of them displaying more PDA than what is considered normal.

[“Hyunnie!” Yifan yelped when he felt the strong arms of his husband wrap around his waist behind him, as he packed the lunch of their six-year-old son.

Baekhyun ignored his love and proceeded to leave a trail of kisses down the back of Yifan’s neck that always managed to leave the latter breathless.

Yifan bit his bottom lip to prevent the moans from escaping. He can't lose himself here. In his kitchen, where their son could barge in at any moment. “Baek, not now.” He paused. “You have work in half an hour.”

Baekhyun halted. His arms continued to hold his husband close. “I can’t show my hubby my affection?” He pouted.

Yifan rolled his eyes and leaned down to give Baekhyun a quick peck on the lips. “There. Now go to work. I don't want you to lose your job because of your tardiness.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Baekhyun mock-saluted and quickly exited the kitchen.

“I'm a man!” Yifan shook his head with a fond smile on his face. “What will I do with you…”

Out of nowhere, a six-year-old Kyungsoo emerged from his hiding place and asked, “Can I have my lunch now, Daddy?”

“SOO?! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!”

“That doesn't matter. What matters is what I get my lunch. Also, can you pack an extra goldfish packet? I get extra hungry on Mondays.”

Still confused from his son’s sudden appearance, he only nodded and fixed the rest of his lunch.

“Also, why was Papa eating your neck?”

It was then that Yifan internally fainted.]

They were happy for a while. However, it all changed as Kyungsoo grew older.

At first, they had small disagreements. Nothing too serious. His papa recently got in touch with an old friend of his, and his dad, obviously, was not overly eager with the news. Fits of jealousy and anger were common in the Wu-Byun household for weeks. However, they quickly made up and began to act like normal. Soon, it erupted into more aggressive and impactful arguments. Kyungsoo remembered how his papa left the house enraged after one particularly awful fight. Yet he always came back home and gathered his dad into his arms while apologizing profusely.

Once Kyungsoo turned thirteen, he asked his papa why he and his dad were acting differently from his peers’ parents. At the time, his papa was attempting to prepare dinner (seeing he was culinarily challenged) and abruptly paused his actions. With careful words, he responded, “Dad and I are too different. That gets in the way sometimes. But our love will make it through the rough times. Don't worry, son.”

He left the conversation at that. By the time Kyungsoo was fifteen and the arguments got worse if that's possible. One night, he awoke to the sound of voices screaming at each other.  Concerned, he crept out of his room to the hallway that led to the living room. He stayed a fair distance from them to the point he could see what was happening yet his parents could not see him. There, he found his parents yelling at each other. (Kyungsoo resisted the urge to say again). He noticed how his dad was dressed in his pajamas, clearly ready for bed, while his papa was dressed in what appeared to be a club outfit. Carefully, Kyungsoo watched.

“You went clubbing again, Baekhyun?” His dad accused.

His papa gave an agitated sigh. “Yifan, just be quiet. We're not doing this again. I'm tired. You’re tired. Let's just go to sleep.”

“No! I can't ignore this any longer, Baekhyun,” Yifan yelled back. This slightly scared Kyungsoo. His dad never spoke of his papa’s full name. It was ‘Baek’ or ‘Hyunnie’ or something. But never ‘Baekhyun’, even when they argued. “You're always out. I never see you at home anymore. You come home late. Don't you dare think I'm clueless.”

Baekhyun sighed again and walked towards his husband. “Honey, I'm tired,” He said hoarsely as he tried to grab Yifan’s hand. “Let's just talk in the morning.”

Yifan flinched away from Baekhyun’s touch. “NO! You listen here. I should have done this a long time ago.”

Baekhyun looked confused for a moment. “Yifan, what are you thinking?”

Yifan slowly backed away from his husband while wrapping his long arms around himself and averting his gaze. With a broken voice, he whispered, “I can't stand it anymore. Our constant fighting. It's breaking us and it's breaking Kyungsoo as well. But you wouldn't know, would you?” As he said the last sentence, Yifan glared at Baekhyun.

The latter attempted to speak something, anything. Yet he had nothing to say. It was the truth, after all.

Tears fell from Yifan’s eyes, sliding down his cheeks, and Baekhyun was tempted to kiss them away. But he's sure it's not appropriate. At least, not now.

“Our marriage is falling apart, Baekhyun.” Yifan’s voice was quiet, for his throat was becoming sore from the screaming. “So, I'm filing for a divorce.”

This prompted Baekhyun to say anything, anything to save his marriage. “Don't you dare divorce me. I love you.”

Yifan bitterly smiled. “If you did, you wouldn't have cheated.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened. From the other room, Kyungsoo could see how his papa’s eyes yelled ‘Oh , he found out.’ “What are you talking about?”

“Don't play dumb. I heard you having with Chanyeol last week. And you had the nerve to do it in our bedroom.”

Tears were now streaming down Baekhyun's cheeks. “Baby, that was a mistake.”  

Yifan continued, ignoring the person he loved so dearly in front of him. “I didn't want to believe it at first, but it was too hard to ignore.”

“Yifan-”

“That was the last straw. I'll bring the divorce papers tomorrow. You can sign them then. Just go, I don't want to see your face.”

“Yifan-”

“GO!”  

Yifan’s voice shook the house. A few tense moments passed until Baekhyun hesitantly headed for the door. “I'll get my stuff tomorrow, too,” Baekhyun called over his shoulder as he exited the house.

Once he was gone, Yifan broke down on the floor of the living room. Unknown to him, Kyungsoo slid down the wall of the hallway as he cried, biting his lips hard to prevent the sobs from escaping. What happens now? Who will gain custody of him? Will he ever see his papa again? In the other room, Kyungsoo noticed how his dad's sobs suddenly stop.

“Kyungsoo? Is that you?” He called out. With shaking knees, Kyungsoo came out of his hiding spot in the hallway. There, his dad was still kneeling on the floor with red eyes and visible tear tracks, holding his arms out. Without hesitation, Kyungsoo ran into his father’s embrace.

Kyungsoo cried and cried while his dad gently his hair. “Everything will be fine,” He kept whispering. “Everything will be fine.”

No, it won't. No, it won't.

A few moments passed and Kyungsoo slowly fell asleep in his father’s arms. Unknown to him, Yifan cried, “I'm so sorry Kyungsoo. I'm sorry I couldn't fix my relationship with your father. I'm sorry honey. I'm such a bad parent.”

Soon after, Yifan was welcomed to dreamland as well.

~

That was three years ago. Kyungsoo was now eighteen and heading off to college. The day after that night, his papa came by and signed the papers as promised while packing his belongings. Soon after, the former married couple proceeded through the divorce process. They had several disputes on certain issues, such as who had custody over Kyungsoo. However, it was soon decided by the court. They allowed the couple to gain shared custody over Kyungsoo: Yifan had him on weekdays while Baekhyun had him on weekends. After the divorce was finalized, Baekhyun moved in with Chanyeol in a nice suburban house to start properly his relationship with him. On the other hand, Yifan continued to live alone with their son.

It was rough at first. Yifan and Kyungsoo had to move from their family home to a smaller two bedroom apartment. It held too many memories for Yifan. It was difficult for him to pass Kyungsoo off to his ex-husband and having him returned at the start of the weekdays without breaking down in the driveway. He couldn't stand the look Baekhyun gave him each time. It was filled with regret, sorrow, and heartbreak. When it became too much, Yifan resorted to dropping his son off on the street in front of Baekhyun's house to prevent himself from seeing his face.

It wasn't easy for Kyungsoo either. He cried himself to sleep at night, thinking that he was the reason for the divorce. It took many months of his dad comforting him before he believed that it wasn't his fault. But there are those days where he thought, if I wasn't born, maybe my parents would still be together.

Although his papa cheated, Kyungsoo couldn't find it in his heart to hate him. He had a justified reason to but it didn't seem right to him. He couldn't hate his papa. The one that taught him how to ride a bike as a child. The one that kissed him goodnight. The one that scared the monsters away. The one that loved his dad. But he was also the one that caused his dad great suffering. The one that spat words of fire at his dad during arguments. The one that hurt Kyungsoo as well. Yet, Kyungsoo ignored those facts. He was still his papa after all.

Kyungsoo also grew closer to the person that his papa cheated with, Chanyeol. He was, technically, his step dad. Chanyeol wasn't a bad guy and his personality matched his papa’s. He made his papa happy; therefore, Kyungsoo could not hate him. Even if he was slightly annoying.

Years after the divorce, everyone was beginning to heal. Baekhyun’s relationship with Chanyeol grew stronger and Yifan finally met someone that made him happy at a local coffee shop. His name was Yixing. (And Kyungsoo, thankfully, approved of him. Only the best of the best was worthy of his dad.)

Kyungsoo grew into a mature eighteen-year-old preparing for college. He still loved both of his parents and realized that the divorce was for the better. He realized how happier they are apart. Yet, he could see how they still held love for each other. (His dad still had the picture of them as a family, before the arguments. It was Kyungsoo’s third birthday. He was preoccupied with sticking his stubby fingers into his cake, while his parents were situated next to him. His papa was smiling brightly at the camera. On the other hand, his dad was sporting a horrified expression, probably picturing the stains that will land on his white shirt. Moreover, his papa never deleted the pictures of Yifan on his phone).

Everything seemed to look up.

Until Chanyeol called him one Wednesday afternoon as he packed his belongings for college.

“K-Kyungsoo! Y-Your father… He’s d-dead.”

Thud.

THE END :D

There will not be a sequel. I'm sorry but I don't write sequels. I feel as though they drag the story on. So I'm stopping here.

See you next time!