There was a time when afternoons meant leisure and relaxation.

A time before college

There was a time when evenings meant staying up late, drinking with friends, flirting at the bar.

A time before parenthood.

Now, responsibility and family duty mean Joonmyun spends his free time working from home and listening for suspicious silences.

They’re too few.

He can hear his boys arguing about something in the living room. They argue an awful lot for a couple kids who don’t have to worry about taxes, overtime, or local politics.

They hiss and whisper fiercely back and forth, and Joonmyun hears the distinct slap of skin on skin, followed by a drawn out whine. He sighs.