I will not put a TW tag on this chapter but there's a mention of suicide thing somewhere towards the end. Please note that to yourself. Enjoy!

That night, Heechul didn't come home. All hell broke loose. Everything was chaos in the house. It was not necessarily filled with noises or yells, or heated arguments, or cries. It was the quiet one—the deadliest silence. Hyukjae had already been on his bed since they came back from the park this evening, without saying any words. Jungsoo was actually used to it because Hyukjae tended to sulk after scolded but he didn't know why, this time, it felt different. The tension was heavier and he didn't have time to deal with the coldness of his first son because Donghae had been demanding most of his attention as the toddler seemed to be very upset, crying unendingly.

"Hae, please, stop crying."

Jungsoo tried to comfort the crying toddler all the while keeping his eyes on Hyukjae. He occasionally glimpsed at the clock and albeit his ego insisted that he was not affected by the missing of his student, his heart battled. He was worried, extremely worried.

"D-daddy. Where's Maw?"

Jungsoo walked closer to Hyukjae's bed when he heard his son mumbled under the blanket. He gulped as he tried to pat Hyukjae's body, trying to assure him that everything was fine.

That everything was fine—he wished.

"He probably has an agenda, Hyuk."

Jungsoo knew it was no use to lie to his son because he knew of all his personalities, Hyukjae took after his sharp sense. But, he did anyway because he got no better answer to the question. He couldn't simply say that his student left after having a fight with him. The reason why Heechul got angry remained a mystery. The only explanation he believed until now was that the younger was bitter about how he raised his kids.

But why? It was not as if Heechul really cared about it since he was here for doing his job anyway.

"Daddy, is Maw mad at me?"

Hyukjae finally peeked from under his blanket, his eyes red and puffy. He couldn't hide the fact that he'd indeed been crying and he was ready if his father scolded him once again. But, maybe luck was on his side because Jungsoo let it slip. Instead, he was suddenly pulled into his Daddy's arms and he got no reason to refuse. He caught a glimpse of Donghae's teary face, as well as his Daddy's distressed expression.

"He's— He's not mad at you."

Jungsoo rubbed Hyukjae's back gently, careful not to press hard on the bruise.

"Is he... m-mad at you, Daddy?"

Jungsoo had his eyes secretly widened on the spot-on question. Now, he got no choice but to admit everything.

"Sort of."

"Is Maw g-going to leave us like... Like M-mommy?"

The muscles of his face suddenly stiffened that he had to grit his teeth in order not to let his emotions win. Unconsciously, his hold on his kids firmed up to the point that Hyukjae whimpered a little. But, Jungsoo couldn't hear a thing right now. His mind was too damned after the mention of his ex-wife. With a sting in his eyes, triggering some hot tears ready to spill, Jungsoo forced out his answer.

"Mommy never left, Hyuk. Stop saying she left us."

Hyukjae broke into tears, burying his face into his father's chest as he whispered, "But she did."

Jungsoo couldn't hold a single bud of tears from rolling down. He wished he could rebate what Hyukjae said. But what could he do?

She indeed left them.

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Alright, thank you for joining my class today. See you on the exam day."

After dismissing his class, he gathered his stuff and left the room. He was done for today and planning on fetching Hyukjae and Donghae right after. As he was strolling in the hallway, many students greeted him although they seemed to be very busy as examination week was approaching. However, of all these students, he still couldn't find him. A sigh escaped his lips when he remembered that for the very same reason, he couldn't rest his mind last night. He was still questioning what made Heechul behaved as if he'd killed a parent.

Jungsoo grunted lowly, trying hard to usher this unnecessary worry, and hastened his walk. He wanted to get into the lecturer's office to grab his things as fast as he could. Perhaps, by being with his kids, he might be able to forget about him.

Funny how he thought his fate supported his intention.

At the time he was crossing the building, he finally met who made him unsettled since last night. 

He stopped in his track;

and so did Heechul.

A subtle frown sat on his face when he examined his student's appearance. Heechul hadn't changed his clothes; it was still the same as yesterday, only now he topped it with a jacket. And it only meant one thing—he didn't stay at anyone's place last night. The disheveled hair and the swollen eyes strengthened the idea that Heechul was feeling as bad as he was.

Unknowingly swallowing whatever lump caught in his throat, Jungsoo was about to open his mouth when Heechul suddenly turned around and started to walk in the other direction. His mind was split into two—a part told him that he should go after him and talk about everything but he followed the other part who yelled at him not to follow his irrationality. So, here he was, rooted in his place, watching his student go away.

"Is Maw g-going to leave us like... Like M-mommy?"

As if he were suddenly electrocuted, Jungsoo flinched and sobered. He had to catch Heechul before he went farther and further. But when he looked up, the person who was there a moment ago was no longer there. He tossed his head left and right, trying to scan the place but none, he couldn't see him anymore. 

He began to walk, and jogged, and ran; he was frantic. He tried to trace where Heechul left but again, he got no result. He was about to search harder when his phone suddenly buzzed as an alar