Within the first week of his daughter’s life, Kyuhyun realizes he can’t afford to live peacefully anymore. His income only is barely enough to support himself. The money he’s supposed to spend on food, bills, and rent is spent on diapers, wipes, and formula. Fortunately, Sungmin paid the rent just a few days before Sunkyu was born so he has over half a month to come up with money so they can stay in the apartment, but over the years he’s grown accustomed to eating daily and having utilities. Taking up another shift at work would help come up with money, but he had no one to stay home with his daughter. The plan had been for Sungmin to stay home with Sunkyu until she was old enough for daycare.
 

He could always go home, but he can just image the long on his parents’ face when he tells them that Sungmin left him with their only grandchild. He has a few friends who might be willing to watch the baby, but he’s not too comfortable with the idea of leaving a newborn with his college friends all day. His landlord volunteers to babysit for a couple of weeks while he works out arrangements for someone else to watch her, but by the end of the second week he still hasn’t thought up a permanent solution.
 

Cue Choi Siwon.
 

Siwon is a regular at the coffee shop Kyuhyun works at. In fact, he’s so regular that Kyuhyun can usually start making the man’s drink at 2:58pm and Siwon’s sure to be paying for it at 3:01pm. He always leaves an unusually large tip, more than the cost of the drink. Kyuhyun gratuitously thanks him with a full 90-degree bow, and the well-built man flashes a charming, dimpled smile and leaves.
 

So, he is thoroughly surprised to see the high-tipper moving in next door in the low-end apartment building. As common courtesy he prepares a plate of store-bought cookies to welcome him to the floor. That day, Sunkyu is particularly fussy and absolutely refuses to stay quiet anywhere other than in her father’s arms. On his way out of his apartment, he tries to devise a plan to get out of the door with both hands full, but a knock at the door interrupts his plans. The knock inexplicably surprises Sunkyu to the point of crying again, so he hurries to set the plate of cookies down and answer the door so he can calm her down.
 

The smile that greets him is the same smile he sees 6 days a week at the coffee shop. Kyuhyun’s mouth gaps open a little bit at the sheer perfection of the man at this close of a distance. Sunkyu’s wails quickly bring him out of his uncharacteristic staring and he steps back to let the man in while he works to silence his daughter.
 

Siwon patiently waits as Kyuhyun paces the room, bouncing the unhappy baby. The new father looks as if he’s single-handedly carrying the weight of the world as he covers the infant’s face in kisses and sings softly to quiet her down. Instead, the opposite effect seems to happen as Sunkyu gets louder to the point where Kyuhyun looks like he wants to contribute his own tears to the situation. Seeing, the distressed look on his face, Siwon expertly swoops in to calm the baby down. The teenager again stares in awe as Sunkyu cries subside and tiredly close her eyes. 
 

“You… are a miracle worker.” 
 

Siwon smiles and chuckles slightly at the statement. “No, I just enjoy reading about child care. I think it’s amazing how a certain cry from an infant can tell everything a person needs to know to make the child happy again.”
 

Kyuhyun nods dumbly and collapses on the couch next to the taller man. “You have amazing timing. I was just about to bring a plate of cookies over to greet you. What made you choose to live here? You always came across… well, rich.”
 

“I figured it was time I moved out of my mom’s house.” He shrugs. “And this apartment is closer to my workplace and the coffee house… I noticed you haven’t been in lately. I was curious and asked about you… they said your girlfriend had a baby. Is she okay?”
 

“Sunkyu’s okay. If you mean the mother, she walked out and left Sunkyu at the hospital.” Kyuhyun figures the shock of Sungmin leaving hasn’t exactly set in which allows him to still freely talk about it as if commenting on the weather.
 

The older man’s eyebrows disappear into his hair. “You’re doing this alone? You hardly look enough to be a single parent, and how do you even sleep if you’re alone with the baby.”
 

Kyuhyun lets out a bitter laugh. “I hardly think I’m old enough to do this alone. And sleep? I wish I had time to, but I work all day and when I’m home I need to be up with her. I sleep when she sleeps… which albeit, isn’t a lot, but I haven’t passed out from exhaustion yet.”
 

Siwon shakes his head and looks at the now-sleeping baby. “I don’t think this is good for you. You don’t even look 20, but you’re trying to balance the stress of raising a baby alone and working in order to live. I know this is forward… considering we just formally met today, but I could help… Maybe watch her while you’re at work or help pay for a daycare. Maybe that’s a little too much, but we could always wo-“
 

A loud snore comes from Siwon’s right as the exhausted father slumbers away like his daughter.

They settle into a routine in the next couple of weeks. Kyuhyun’s surprise by the sheer amount of time Siwon has as he watches Sunkyu every evening. He doesn’t dwell too much on the matter though because he’s in the process of finding another job, a higher paying one so he go back to working only one shift at the coffee shop in addition to a new job. Budgeting has become his best friend in making sure he has enough money to pay the bills and provide for the baby. Still, there isn’t much left over for him to eat more than cups of noodles, but he doesn’t worry about it too much.
 

On the very last day his rent is due, he trudges down to his landlord’s apartment with a envelope stuffed with his rent money. The landlord seems very annoyed when she answers the door, and he can faintly hear the sound of a television drama he probably interrupted her from watching. He bows in apology and holds out the envelope in his hand.
 

“What is this?” She demands.
 

He raises his eyebrow in confusion. He’s already been surprised at the fact that she hasn’t been constantly reminding him that the due date was coming up like she used to do when he first moved in with Sungmin. “It’s the last day for rent isn’t it?”
 

The middle-aged spinster shakes her head and flutters her hands in an attempt to shoo him. “You already paid for the next two months.”
 

This time he lets his confusion fully show. “I haven’t paid though… are you sure you received money for 11C?”
 

“Yes, I’m aware of which tenants live in each apartment! The money was in my mailbox two weeks ago. Now, leave! I’m missing my show!” She not so gently closes the door in his face, leaving him still confused.
 

Back in his apartment, he locks the door behind him, listening to the familiar sounds of Siwon playing with Sunkyu. She had taken a quick liking to the man and would usually cooperate with him more than she would with her own father. Siwon looks up and his expression drops slightly at the confusion on Kyuhyun’s face. “Are you alright?”
 

The younger man nods and cutely scratches at his head. “Apparently my rent is paid for the next two months. Obviously, it wasn’t me who paid it… I could barely afford this month.” Siwon nods quietly and goes back to playing with the infant. “I think it’s Sungmin,” he adds, flopping down and taking over the whole worn-out couch.
 

Siwon stops his actions again to look at the teenager. “Why do you think that?”
 

“Well,” he sighs. “She knows better than anyone that I can’t really afford to raise Sunkyu alone and that I wouldn’t really go to my parents for help. Maybe this is her way of trying to halfway apologize for leaving without actually seeing me face to face.”
 

“Do you want to see her face to face?”
 

Kyuhyun eyes the other man for a second before turning to face the back of the couch. “I… don’t know.”

*~*~*
 

Sungmin hisses as she buttons up her work shirt. Her s have been constantly sore from all the pumping she has to do to rid her body of the milk intended for the child she abandoned. Ever since the first feeding at the hospital, her had refused to stop the occasional leaking, leading to many shirt changes at the spa she slept at.
 

Her stomach has gone down slightly from the peak it had been at 3 months before at the hospital, but her former boss at the bar doesn’t think it’s enough to hire her back. She settles for a hostess job at a nightclub. She figures going back to the bar wouldn’t be the greatest idea anyway, in case Kyuhyun comes looking for her.
 

Not that she wants him to come looking. She specifically asked him not to.
 

*~*~*
 

Sunkyu’s first word is “aniyo” to Kyuhyun’s dismay, but her second word is “appa” which makes his heart swell with joy. It’s obvious, to anyone who sees them interact, that she has him wrapped around her finger. Whenever she calls for him, he drops everything he’s doing. A few times he even lets her stay up past her bedtime to watch a drama with him.
 

In the nine months of Sunkyu’s life, Siwon has become a very close friend to Kyuhyun. Even closer than Hyukjae (who suddenly was having multiple study sessions with a girl named Hyoyeon) or Ryeowook, who he’s known since his early high school years. He still watches the baby while Kyuhyun works, because his job his very lenient he explains. These days, Kyuhyun has a job as a secretary in local division of Prime Electronics, one of the biggest chains of electronics in South Korea. When he received the call for an interview, he’s shocked to hear that he’s being contacted because of a recommendation, despite his status of a high school dropout. The high pay allows him to quit his other two part-time jobs, which gives him more time to spend with his daughter.
 

Someone, he presumes to be Sungmin, has been diligently paying his rent, which leaves him curious as to why a girl would leave her family, but still provide financially.
 

He still hasn’t given himself a chance to really mourn at the lost of the love of his life. Honestly, he’s not sure how he really feels about the mother of his child. Yes, he’s angry with her for leaving without real warning, but he doesn’t think he could ever hate her. He doesn’t know if he still loves her the way he did before. What he does know is that he can’t really ever see himself loving another woman who could fill in for the mother role Sungmin didn’t want.
 

His experiences in a short period of time have lead him to believe that at the age of 19, he has already experience all the love he’s going to get.

Kyuhyun wants a quiet first birthday celebration, preferably with just him, Siwon, and the birthday girl. Siwon wants a huge celebration at an indoor playground with all of the kids from Sunkyu’s daycare. 
 

As usual, Kyuhyun gives into his best friend.
 

The party is as the young father expects: wild and on the verge of out of control. Even with all the parents there accompanying their children, the babies were loud and took a lot of energy to look after. Kyuhyun lets a little bit of his stress go when he sees how happy Sunkyu is, but he immediately goes back into over concerned parent mode when she sticks her hand into her birthday cupcake.
 

It’s later, when Sunkyu is finally asleep in her crib, that Kyuhyun realizes how scarce Siwon had been that day even though he planned the birthday party. He’s in the process of picking up his mobile phone to invite his friend over when a soft knock comes from the front door. He swiftly moves across the room and looks through the peephole. When he opens the door, he questions Siwon as to why he still insists on knocking even though he has the extra key to the apartment. The older man nervously smiles and asks if he can talk to him. Kyuhyun shrugs slightly and steps aside to let him end.
 

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately… like, so much that I think my brain is able to explode.”
 

“That seems pretty typical for you,” Kyuhyun drawls out sarcastically.
 

“Just… wait until I’m done okay?” The teen nods suspiciously. “Everything about this is crazy. You’re nineteen, and I’m turning 26 in a couple of months. You’re a single father, and I’m a… well, I’m just someone who swooped in to help raise your child of his own accord. I know you’re probably still not over Sungmin, and I know you won’t reciprocate my feelings. I know you’ll probably hate me for this later, but I’ve held this in for a year.”
 

“…This sounds like you’re about to confess your love or tell me that you’re an assassin. Frankly, I’ve thought about it, and if you are an assassin, I can continue to act oblivious. I mean, you seem to live pretty comfortably even though I’ve never really seen you go to work…. Anyway, I won’t tell anyone. And please don’t kill me.”
 

The older man lets out a frustrated groan and pulls Kyuhyun to sit down at the kitchen table. He kneels so he’s face to face with the younger.
 

“I love you. I’ve loved you this whole year.”
 

The room goes silent as Kyuhyun’s eyes widens and he moves to the side slightly to get away from the hand resting on his knee. He looks around the room, trying to focus his eyes on anything but the man kneeling in front of him.
 

No hint of disgust crosses Kyuhyun’s mind, but he’s not necessarily flattered. His thoughts of not finding another woman to take Sungmin’s place didn’t necessarily mean he couldn’t ever find a woman to make him happy. He wasn’t gay. And even if he were, wouldn’t it be juvenile to go after the first guy who showed him kindness.
 

Part of him wants to give the man a chance, even if he isn’t gay. He’s always thought Siwon would make a good boyfriend and wondered why he didn’t have a girlfriend. He knows now.
 

Another part of him wants to tell Siwon to leave him alone. He wants Siwon to find a nice girl boy without a child. One who was closer to his age and didn’t have so much responsibility and issues.
 

“Go home, Siwon.” His quiet, but firm words are accompanied with a pat on the taller man’s shoulder to let him know he wasn’t disgusted or ending their friendship.
 

Siwon nods and quickly gathers his composure, seconds ago he looked very close to tears. No more words are said as the man exits the apartment and closes the door as softly as he can.

*~*~*
 

The card section jumps out at Sungmin as she walks into the drug store to purchase her diet pills. After grabbing the item she came for, she ambles over to the greeting cards and browses through the ones intended for birthdays. She smiles at the 1st birthday card that has a picture of a bunny on the front, before putting it and a card for Kyuhyun in her small handcart.
 

At her small studio apartment, she writes small notes of encouragement and congratulations in both of the cards and even addresses the pastel envelopes with the address that always seems to always be on the top of her mind.
 

Two hours later, she throws the cards away on the way out to work.