“Daehyun, wake up. It’s time to get ready for preschool,” Donghyun popped his head into the child’s room to wake him up. He looked at the clock in the room; it was after 6 am. Donghyun was running a bit late waking up the child. He went back to the kitchen and began preparing breakfast for himself and the kid. Taking out the ingredients he needed, he prepared lovely peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side of baby carrots and milk. As he was placing the plates of food on the table, a small boy walked in while rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Donghyun smiled. Daehyun pulled out the chair and sat down, still looking half asleep. “I know I woke you up a little later today. Daddy was up late working on stuff for work,” he told Daehyun like he would understand. He grabbed napkins from the package on the kitchen counter and set them on the table. Donghyun sat in the chair across from Daehyun and started eating his sandwich.

“Are we doing anything after school, daddy?” Daehyun started to look more awake. He took a bite out of his sandwich and dropped jelly all over his shirt in the process. The boy looked down at his shirt and laughed.

“Sorry, Dae. Not today,” Donghyun said, “We had fun yesterday, but today is Monday. That means going to school and coming home after to work on the things your teacher gave you. If you do well today, maybe I will take you to the store tomorrow to pick out a toy. How does that sound?”

“A new toy?” Daehyun danced around in his chair and waved his sandwich around.

“But you have to be good today. Listen to your teacher and do whatever she tells you to do. Okay?” he gave Daehyun a stern look.

“Okay, daddy. I’ll be good,” the boy stopped dancing and sat still in his chair, trying to be extra careful not to upset his dad.

“I’ll be talking to your teacher when I pick you up later. So I better hear you did well,” Donghyun finished his food and took one last final drink of his milk. He took his dishes to the sink on the kitchen island and immediately started washing them. The sink faced the kitchen table, so he was able to watch Daehyun finish eating. He saw the child bounce around happily in the chair as he took a bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drink his milk. Donghyun couldn’t help but smile as he watched his four year old eat breakfast before school. Daehyun had changed Donghyun’s world and turned it upside-down.

FLASHBACK

“Okay, Mr. Kim. I think that’s about everything. Enjoy your new apartment,” the man smiled and shook Donghyun’s hand.

“Thanks a lot. I couldn’t have moved everything in here myself. I’ll definitely recommend your company to all my friends,” he showed the man out and went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water out the fridge. The 21-year-old boy stood proud in his new kitchen in his new apartment. His parents helped put down money for the deposit and rent since Donghyun had been good the last few years. He was finally over his teenage rebel years. The apartment was in the perfect location in Gangnam because it overlooked the Han River and Seoul’s city skyline. The subway commute to his college wasn’t too bad, but he still needed to leave earlier than normal if he wanted to get to his classes on time. His phone vibrated. It was his mother. She sent a text.

“I’ll be over soon with a housewarming gift I bought for you. Your father might come along too.”

Donghyun was excited. This was the first time he’s living alone in an apartment. In fact, he’s never lived away from home at all in his many years of living. The boy was excited to be able to show his parents the furnished apartment he’ll be living in now. Before they come over, he needed to make sure everything looked nice. Since he literally just moved in, he made sure everything was in the place they should be. The silverware was in the kitchen drawers. All the plates and drinking glasses were in the right places in the cupboards. His underwear and socks were hidden away in his closet. The only empty room in the apartment was the second bedroom, which Donghyun planned on turning into a recording studio. It was his dream to become a music producer. That’s why he was majoring in music engineering. Donghyun was walking back to the kitchen when he heard the doorbell. His mom finally made it. Hopefully his dad tagged along too. He went to the intercom screen mounted on the wall near the kitchen. It showed a view of the hallway so he could know who was at the door before opening it. No one was there.

“Mom? Is that you? Are you there?” the boy spoke through the intercom. He looked at his phone to see if he received any new messages from her or his dad. Nothing new. “I’ll unlock the door for you to come in. Okay?” He unlocked the front door using the intercom system. The boy waited a few seconds. No one opened the door.  Worried, he ran to the door and opened it. Again, no one was there. He looked to the right of the hallway and saw a stroller with what looked like a one-year-old strapped in it. There was an envelope on his lap addressed to Donghyun. “What the hell?”

Donghyun went out into the hallway and pushed the stroller inside the apartment. He grabbed the envelope that was on the baby’s lap and opened it. There was a letter inside.