⇋

Sehun rushes home as soon as he can, door slamming as he bursts into the room. “How―How is he…?”

Chanyeol looks up from the couch. “In bed. I don’t think he’s asleep yet, though.”

“And the bruises?”

“They’re bruises,” the other shrugs. “His left cheek is purple and blue, but it’s nothing that won’t heal. I did apply some ointment over it.”

Sehun nods. “Thanks, Chanyeol. I’ll go check on him now.”

“Hey,” the other calls out. “Do ask him what happened, will you? He refused to tell me, no matter what I asked. And you know how onesided a teacher’s account is.”

“Okay.” Sehun makes his way to one of the two bedrooms in the apartment. The room is dark when he opens the door, only a small nightlamp alit. “Sowonie?”

The little boy looks up from his picture book with a pout. “Daddy, you’re back…”

Sehun gives a small smile as he settles onto the bed next to the boy. “Yes, I’m back. How’s my little boy?” His eyes rake over the child’s face. As Chanyeol had said, his left cheek is bruised, and Sehun ghosts fingers over it. “Does it hurt?”

The boy huffs. “Nope! Sowonie is a big boy!”

Sehun chuckles lightly. “If you say so. Now then… Are you going to tell me what happened?”

At this, the boy curls into himself, clearly hesitant.

“Sowonie, you know it hurts daddy to see you hurt, right?” Sehun looks at his son anxiously. “Please tell me what happened.”

Sowon must’ve noticed the worry in his eyes, for the little boy finally relents, “I hit Kihyun so he hit me back. And that’s how the teacher found us.”

“You hit him first?” Sehun widens his eyes in shock. “Why? Did he do something wrong?”

The boy huffs again.

“Sowonie…”

Sowon picks at his shirt petulantly, lips drawn into a sulk as he mumbles, “He called me a girl…”

“What?” Sehun is only more shocked. He doesn’t think his son look particularly like a girl, although he does have a few feminine features from unfortunately taking after Sehun’s looks.

“He said Sowon is a girl’s name!” the other reveals, voice raising. “He said he saw a girl singer with that name on TV, so a man shouldn’t have that name! And it made me mad, so I hit him. I’m sorry, daddy…”

Sehun looks at him with pained eyes. Of course, this is his fault. He was the one who caused this by naming a boy ‘Sowon’ when it’s generally used for a girl. And now he had made his son suffer teasing because of it.

“I’m sorry, Sowonie…” Sehun sighs, patting him on the head sadly. “It’s my fault… I had really liked the name Sowon, and had decided I’d name my child that before even knowing if you were a boy or a girl… Once I found out, I had already gotten too attached to that name, so I decided to go with it, anyways. And now it’s hurting you…”

“No, daddy!” Sowon shakes his head vigorously. “I wasn’t hurt! I was mad because I liked my name too, and I didn’t want him to say bad things about it! I was p―potacting my name!”

“It’s ‘protecting’,” Sehun cracks a smile. “Where did you learn such a big word, hmn?”

“That’s because Sowonie is a big boy, I told you!” The other puffs out his chest proudly. “I learned it when the teacher read us this story! In it, the prince was protecting the princess, because he loves her!”

“Is that so?” Sehun continues to smile in amusement.

“Yup! I love my name, so I was protecting it from stupid Kihyun!”

Sehun sniffs, his chest warming as he pulls the little boy into his arms. “Thank you for protecting your name, Sowonie. I am the happiest because I have you as my son.”

“I am happy you are my daddy, too, daddy!” Sowon exclaims, clutching tiny palms onto Sehun’s shirt. “And I love you, so I will protect you, too! So daddy, don’t get hurt, okay?”

“Okay,” Sehun agrees, pulling back to look at his grinning son with unshed tears in his eyes. “But you have to not get hurt either. The next time you get mad, tell your teacher and stay away from him. But don’t hit him again.”

Sowon pouts. “Even though he was being a meanie?”

Sehun nods. “Don’t hurt others, even if they had hurt you. Hurting someone as revenge only leads to more hurt."

"Revenge?"

"Look, you hurt him, then he hurt you back, and now you’re both hurt, right?”

“I guess…”

“Promise me you’ll stay safe, and try to be a good boy, okay?” Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you, Sehun wants to say, but he doubts a four-year-old boy can understand its meaning.

It’s been Sehun’s motto for living, though, all these years. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, no matter who had hurt him. He just wants to live peacefully with Sowon forever.

“Okay, I promise, daddy… Just for you…” The boy is reluctant, but nods.

“Thank you, Sowonie. That’s my good boy.” Sehun gives his son a kiss on the forehead before saying, “Now, let me tuck you into bed and let's go sleep, hmn?”

“Okay!”

⇋

“So? How was he?” Chanyeol asks as soon as he closes the door to Sowon’s room.

“He’s fine. Apparently the fight was because some boy in his class called him a girl for having Sowon as a name…” Sehun sighs, settling down onto the couch and closing his eyes.

“Hey, don’t look like that. It’s not your fault kids can be such s these days.”

“Language, Chanyeol!” Sehun scolds.

“Sowon is asleep, who cares,” Chanyeol grins at him before turning serious again. “I mean it, though. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Sowon is a