Daehyun didn’t mean to but it had been a long day at work. When he came home, he only wanted a little peace and quiet but was greeted by utter chaos. The entire household was in a meltdown and it was due to one three foot three inch hurricane.

            His daughter was shouting at the top of her lungs, unwilling to listen to her mother’s desperate pleas for her to quiet down. “Jaylie, please! Put the toys away and let’s go take a bath. You have to be up tomorrow. Do you not want to go on your field trip?”

            At first he tried to ignore it. The headache was getting worse, especially when she zoomed into the kitchen and ran around his legs, still shrieking. It was when she bumped into the chair and knocked it over, that he lost his temper.

            “Jung Jaylie! If you do not stop your ruckus right this moment, I will ground you. For a week.”

            He had never outright threatened his child before. It had always been slightly playful, Daehyun not wanting to be the bad cop. And usually she listened but this time, it was too much. The child definitely favored her father but obeyed her mother quite well.

            Jaylie was silent almost immediately. She turned her wide eyes to him and her lips pulled down into a pout. He sensed that she was about to turn up the cuteness and he was having none of it. “Now go upstairs and listen to what your mother says. If you come down without having showered, I’m going to extend the punishment to two weeks.”

            Tears swam in her unblinking eyes. Then he saw her jaw set into a stubborn deadlock. She sniffed and walked out of the kitchen. He sighed and reached into the cupboard for some Aspirin. He really had to work on the discipline. This method worked wonders.

            Jaylie was silent during the entire bath time despite her mother’s attempts to get her to play. “Baby, Mr. Duckster is going to dive in and steal your bubbles!” The four year old barely gave the toy a second glance. She only scooped up the water and poured it over herself.

            “Aigoo, my baby, there’s no need to be upset. Daddy just had a bad day. Come, let’s go downstairs and say good night?”

            Jaylie shook her head fervently no. Her mother sighed and gave her a stern look. “You still need to remember your manners. You have to greet Daddy and tell him good night.”

            Her lips quivered. “Don’t wanna,” she whispered, the first words of the night after she had been silenced so harshly by her father’s threats.

            “Daddy is waiting.”

            But the toddler remained stubborn. She slipped out of her mother’s grasp and ran into her room, closing it behind her and saying, “Good night, Mommy.”

            Daehyun looked up to see his wife walk into their bedroom. “How is she?”

            “Very hurt. Did you need to be so harsh?”

            He tapped his temples. “It was a mess at work. I have never seen so many mistakes in one report, and it’s not even from an intern. This is one of the senior analysts. It’s just ridiculous.”

            She came around him and hugged him. “Let’s get you washed up and ready to sleep?”

            He glanced her an almost sly look. “Will you be joining me?”

            There was a beat of silence and then she slapped his arm. “Look at you. Who would believe you have a headache?”

            Daehyun laughed and pulled her chin down so that he could kiss her. “First, let me go say good night to my precious bundle of joy.”

            When Daehyun pushed open the door to Jaylie’s bedroom, he saw that the bed was empty, the windows open and a trail of mattress hanging out from it. “Jaylie!”

            While his wife was calling the neighbors to see if they had seen Jaylie, Daehyun was searching up and down the block. She was only left alone for no longer than twenty minutes. There was no way she could have climbed out of the house and gotten too far. But still, his heart pounded with fear as he turned the corner.

            “Jaylie! Jaylie Angel, please, Daddy is sorry!” He jogged to the park and prayed that she would be there. He entered and saw a group of teenagers huddled together on the benches. With a heart of apprehension, he approached them.

            “I’m sorry, have you seen a little girl? She’s four years old and would be wearing purple pajamas.”

            The kids shook their heads. “Sorry, Ahjussi. Maybe you can go look at the trailers. There are a lot of places to hide there.”

            Anxiety clenched his throat. The trailers were definitely dangerous. Tears blinded his vision as he frantically ran down the slope to the trailers. “Jung Jaylie!”

            In the dark, he saw a small figured curled under the tree and the fist in his stomach tightened. “Baby!” He quickened his pace, not caring that he was sliding and tripping over branches and bottles.

            Jaylie was sitting upright now. Her arms hugged her stuffed bunny protectively and her face was swollen, evident signs that she had been crying. She shrunk into herself and Daehyun’s heart broke. His precious daughter probably thought she was going to be scolded again.

            “Are you hurt anywhere?” He scanned her carefully for any cuts or bruises. She appeared fine, but shaken. Her tiny fingers dug into the bunny’s soft stuffing. He kissed her forehead and gathered her in his arms. Jaylie started crying again then.

            “Sh, sh, baby, you’re safe. You’re with Daddy now.”

            When he appeared back on their street, his wife ran at him, her relief bubbling over with her hysterical sobbing. “Is she okay?”

            Back in the safety of their home, Jaylie allowed Daehyun to give her a bath. He gently patted at the tear streaks on her cheeks and kissed the top of her head as he pulled her up to dry her again. His wife had brought in a fresh set of pajamas and when she was dressed, he tucked her into bed.

            “Does Jaylie want Daddy to sleep here tonight?”

            His daughter hadn’t spoken since they got home and it worried him. She shyly on her thumb, an old habit coming back again. Not since learning how to speak has she been this quiet. Her large eyes fixed on Daehyun and he read the apology in them. He gently swept the bangs off her face.

            “I love you, baby.”

            A tiny smile broke on her face and Jaylie inched closer to Daehyun’s arm. “Yes, Daddy. Sleep here today.” And almost as if still contrite, she whispered, “Sing me a song?” And that was how Daehyun knew he was forgiven.

This was requested by iHeart_Kookies

I'm slowly making my way down the request list, and hopefully by next year I will open requests again.

I know I've lost a lot of you so I don't foresee myself getting a lot, if any requests. But that's okay. I'll still be writing!

Let's talk about Skydive please. Because that music video slayed and the entire "Noir" album is so beautiful.

I really hope the boys can get some recognition and it hurts me to see that domestically they aren't doing so well.