Kibum is just stepping out of the shower when the doorbell rings. He quickly throws on his chosen outfit for the day and scurries out to answer the door before the guest has a chance to ring the doorbell again and potentially wake Hara. He's picking at his freshly blond hair as he pulls open the door to a face he hasn't seen in two months: Jonghyun.

"What are you doing here?" Kibum asks, staying cautiously ready to slam the door shut if need be.

"Aren't you going to politely invite me in? I went through a lot of trouble finding your apartment when I couldn't call you."

Kibum is able to decline Jonghyun's request when he hears Hara whining for him from the bedroom. He wants to stomp his foot and shut the door, but he doesn't want to be that rude.

"Fine. Just-- just come in and take a seat."

"There's no couch..."

"There are mats on the floor!"

"Okay..."

Kibum hurries to pick up Hara. She's holding herself up on her feet with the aid of the front of the crib and squeals before falling on her back end. 

"What are you doing, Boo? Come here," he lifts her up and kisses her cheek. "We have a visitor."

He wonders if Hara will remember Jonghyun when he brings her out and sets her on the floor. She likes to crawl now or try to stand when she can. Kibum is actually glad he doesn't have a couch or coffee table so she can't hurt herself when she falls over.

Jonghyun widens his eyes when he sees Hara, crossing his legs. He reaches out for his daughter, but she lets out a cry at the (to her) stranger and crawls back closer to Kibum. He kneels down, letting her pull herself up onto his lap. 

"She's... crawling?"

"She's six months old, Jonghyun," Kibum her hair. "She stands on her own sometimes, but she's not able to really walk just yet. I think she's trying to say 'appa,' but it's mostly babble. Soon, right, Hara? We don't want to push anything you're not ready for." Kibum kisses her cheek, rubbing his nose over the area to make her laugh.

Jonghyun watches her sadly. "You've, uh, got a nice place here."

Kibum glares up at him. "Thanks for the lie. I know it's ty, but it's all I can afford on my salary that's just as ty."

"Salary? What do you do?"

"I'm a waiter at a local smoothie place."

"That's not very good."

Kibum laughs bitterly. "Yeah, well, not many places would hire someone who hasn't graduated yet."

"But you graduate in a few weeks, right?"

"Three. But I'm probably going to fail the year. I haven't done much work since January. Between Hara and working as many hours as I could get in, there isn't much time to work on stuff for school."

Kibum stands up when Hara pats his cheeks and lips. It's her way of telling him that she's hungry. She has little actions now that tell him what she needs. He goes to the fridge to get a banana, chopping it up into small bites for her so she can eat easily. 

"You promised me you'd finish school."

"You promised me a lot of things too, Jonghyun," Kibum hands Hara the plastic plate, sitting next to her. "That's barely a reason for me to do well."

"For Hara?"

"I'm doing fine."

"Are you really?"

Kibum sighs, burying his nose in Hara's hair. "Not really. I'm exhausted, but I need to work as much as I can to afford rent and food. Hara is growing faster than I can keep up with, clothing wise," he squeezes his eyes shut when he feels tears. "I tripped on the stairs last week, and I'm pretty sure I sprained my ankle, but I've been on it non-stop since then."

"Why can't you come back to my apartment, Kibum? You were taken care of back home. Her nursery is still here; it's not gone. Only she is. You can come back, and we can go back to normal."

"There's no going back to normal after what you did."

"You have no proof I slept with her, Kibum. We were drifting apart, yes, but that doesn't mean I ran off to sleep with someone. I was busy with work and school. I still... am. I've been working hard though. It's the only thing keeping me busy now."

Kibum pulls Hara back into his lap when she eats the last piece of food. "I still can't just come back. It's not that easy."

"Yes, it is. Come back, no strings attached."

Kibum ignores him, pointing to him so Hara looks. "Don't you remember Jonghyun, Hara?" Hara shakes her head, hiding her face in Kibum's chest shyly. "He won't hurt you. Go say hi to him. He's your appa, Boo. I know he's a funny person. You haven't seen him in a long time."

Kibum helps Hara onto her feet, although she squirms until she gets on her hands and knees to crawl. She keeps her eyes unsurely on Kibum, afraid of the new person in her home. Kibum feels bad because she should know Jonghyun. When he'd found out he was pregnant, he never planned for something like this to happen, for his daughter not to know her own father like this.

By the look on Jonghyun's face, it's hard for him too. Kibum can see the hurt in Jonghyun's eyes. He wants nothing more than to reach out for his little girl and hold her tight. Jonghyun knows it's his own fault for letting it get to this point; he could have called, could have asked Kibum to bring Hara by when he was at home. He could have done something, anything, differently.

"Come to me, Hara," he says softly, beckoning her closer. "You liked me a lot. Don't you remember at all?"

Hara begins to cry, and Kibum scoops her up by instinct to hold her close. She presses herself closer to Kibum, gripping onto his shirt tightly. He's her only protection, and she knows.

"Jonghyun, maybe you should go..."

"I'm not going," Jonghyun states, and Kibum doesn't argue. "She's beautiful, you know."

"Don't say that. Don't say that like you've just met her."

Jonghyun reaches out, chancing a of Hara's hair before standing up. "You're beautiful too, so it's no surprise. Bye, Kibum. I can rest easier now that I've seen you."

Jonghyun heads for the door leaving Kibum speechless.

---

Kibum doesn't know what he's doing at Jonghyun's apartment the next day. He skipped work, and he's almost certain that he'll get fired for it, yet there he is at Jonghyun's apartment. He isn't even sure if he's at home or at work or school, but he's there anyway, standing in his uniform for work as he lifts a hand to knock on the door.

He doesn't get the chance to knock though. The door opens before his knuckles hit the door, and his hand nearly hits Jonghyun's chest.

"Kibum? What are you doing here?"

Kibum smiles nervously. "I... I don't really know. I was on my way to work and something just brought me here. I see you're on your way out, so I'll--"

"Jonghyun, why are you still there?"

Kibum stomach drops when Sekyung walks up behind Jonghyun and snakes her arms around his waist. She smoothes down his shirt while her fingers dance around his belt. Something tells Kibum that they were much closer to Jonghyun's manhood last night. He suddenly feels uncomfortable because now, he knows Jonghyun lied to him.

"Oh, uh... I..." Kibum feels his cheeks heat up, and he knows Jed making a fool of himself. "I'm sorry... I should go."

Kibum doesn't make it far before Jonghyun catches up with him, grabbing his wrist to stop him from walking. He does because he knows that he'll never be able to surpass Jonghyun's strength.

"Kibum, I'm sorry about that. What did you need?"

"I really... don't know. I kind of just ended up here. I shouldn't have come though. I should have just gone to work..."

Jonghyun doesn't respond. He only pulls Kibum closer and smashes his lips to his in a kiss that's more lust fueled than passion. Kibum tries to push him off but can't, letting him get it out of his system.

When he pulls away, Kibum slaps him hard across the face and hurries off to work.

---

Hara is extra fussy when he picks her up that night, struggling to keep her squirming frame in his arms as he walks home. She finally calms down, and Kibum holds her properly, glancing to his left when a car slows next to him and rolls down the window.

He shouldn't be surprised that it's Jonghyun, but he is.

"Kibum, get in. I'll... I'll drive you back to your apartment. You said yesterday that you hurt your ankle."

"You just don't learn, do you?"

Kibum ignores Jonghyun the rest of the way home, but he continues to follow in the car. He holds up what little traffic there is at his snail pace and pays no mind to the honking behind him. Hara fusses at the unpleasant noise of the horn but stays calm in Kibum's arms.

When Kibum finally makes it home, Jonghyun parks outside and follows him up the stairs to his apartment. Kibum doesn't bother to argue when he invites himself in. He's been on his feet for the past six and a half hours, and he just wants to relax, without or without Jonghyun there.

Kibum goes about his evening as Jonghyun watches closely. He feeds Hara and changes her for bed. She's asleep before Kibum gets her in her crib, and he's thankful for that. There are some nights where she refuses to get to sleep, and if tonight was one of those nights, Kibum might have lost the last bit of sanity he had left.

Jonghyun is still sitting in the living room when Kibum returns, looking at him like a neglected puppy.

"Kibum, your ankle is swollen," he observes, grabbing his calf so he can't walk. "You're in pain, aren't you?"

Kibum speaks through gritted teeth. "No."

Kibum isn't sure how it happens, but Jonghyun manages to wrestle him to the floor and pin him against the hardwood, wrists held high above his head. He feels his heart beat quicken as he stares up at Jonghyun, sensing exactly what he was planning.

Jonghyun wastes no time in kissing Kibum for a second time. This time, there's no struggle on Kibum's end. He doesn't resist Jonghyun this time around, and Jonghyun takes that as an invitation to lower his hips onto Kibum's. He earns a whimper for the action, Kibum's body more eager than his mind.

After all, it's been well over a year since Kibum has had any ual contact (or even felt up to wanting any).

"Kibum..."

"Jjong, please. Stop."

Kibum's command is half hearted and ignored as Jonghyun eagerly begins peeling off Kibum's uniform and tossing the clothing aside. Kibum knows he should stop Jonghyun, and Jonghyun knows that he should stop himself in return, but the more skin he feels, the less controlled he feels.

Jonghyun takes Kibum then and there, shamelessly, on the mats on the living room floor.

---

The next morning, Jonghyun is awoke by Kibum's sobs. He cracks an eye open and looks up, seeing Kibum tending to Hara in the bedroom. The door is almost all the way shut, but Jonghyun can see how badly Kibum is shaking from crying.

Jonghyun silently sits up and pulls on his clothes, sticking a wad of cash from his wallet under one of the mats. He knows Kibum will appreciate it, even if he doesn't admit it. Without a word or note to Kibum, Jonghyun slips out of the apartment, shutting the door as silently as possible behind him.

Jonghyun sits in his car outside of Kibum's apartment building for a little while after that. He's too numb to drive but too guilty to go back up to Kibum. He hopes that last night will lead Kibum back to him, but the smarter part of his mind is screaming that he ruined any chance he had.

Jonghyun lowers his head down to rest against the steering wheel, tears slowly working their way down his cheeks.

Kibum watches from the window of his apartment, bouncing Hara on his hip. He can't see Jonghyun crying and wonders why he hadn't left yet. Kibum contemplates going down to the lot and seeing if he's okay, but with one step forward, Kibum is in pain and reminded of the night's events. He almost immediately decides against his plan.

"Come on, Boo. It's time for breakfast. I bet you're hungry... I know I am."