Sungyeol was sleeping very soundly, snuggled under his comforter, when his door creaked open and the sound of tiny bare feet padded towards him. He felt a slight tug on his quilt as Jiseon climbed onto his bed. Her little body collapsed on top of him, her charming giggles filling the room as she laid by his side.

“Daddy,” she whispered. “You have to wake up!” But Sungyeol was stubborn and he kept his eyes closed tightly. He could practically hear her pouting as she bounced up and down, trying to wake him. “Daddy!” she said louder.

“Daddy is sleeping,” he murmured, cuddling deeper into his blanket.

Jiseon laughed at him. “No, you’re not! You just talked to me!”

“I’m sleep talking,” he said.

“Come on, Daddy, get up!” Jiseon said, lightly hitting him with her little fists. She bent down and pulled one of his eyes open. “Wake up!” she exclaimed.

Sungyeol let out a groan and rolled over, making Jiseon squeal as she fell onto the other side of the bed. Sungyeol grabbed her, taking her under the blanket with him. “Let’s go back to sleep, princess,” he said, hugging her tightly.

She laughed, squirming in her father’s embrace. “Daddy, we have to get up!”

“No. Let’s just sleep. Sleeping is good for us.” He cuddled her closer, caging her in with his arms.

“Daddy,” she said again, whining into his neck. “I can’t move!” Sungyeol faked a loud snore, hugging her tighter so that she really couldn’t move. She wriggled from his grasp, coming face to face with him. She pinched both of his cheeks and pulled them.”Daddy, you promised that we would make chocolate chip pancakes before I had to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s!”

He opened his eyes groggily, happy to be met with the sight of his rosy-cheeked daughter staring at him intently. He smiled lightly. “Did I say that?”

She nodded vigorously. “We pinky swore, remember? And we never break our pinky swears,” she reminded. “So get up!”

“Okay, okay, I’m up,” he said sleepily, stretching his arms high above his head. He let out a yawn and took Jiseon into his arms as he sat up. Setting her on his lap he asked her, “Did you brush your teeth yet?” She nodded and he gave her a look of disbelief. “Did you really?”

“Yes!” she chimed.

“Open up, let me smell your breath.” She obeyed and let out a warm breath for Sungyeol to smell. “You did not brush your teeth, silly girl!” he exclaimed, plugging his nose. She only giggled and Sungyeol poked her stomach. “You just wanted to brush your teeth with Daddy, didn’t you?” She nodded cutely and he pinched her little nose. “Come on then, let’s go brush our teeth together.”

With an exaggerated grunt - my princess is getting so big! - he lifted her off his lap and onto the floor before getting out himself. She gripped onto his fingers happily as they traveled to the bathroom together. Sungyeol ran a hand through his messy bed hair, Jiseon talking energetically about pancakes and the trip to her grandparents’ house.

“Do you think Grandma is going to cook for me while I’m there?” she asked, stepping up on a stool and reaching for her pink toothbrush.

Sungyeol squirted some toothpaste on her brush before doing so on his identical - but clearly adult size - pink toothbrush. “She cooks for you every time you come over sweetheart. I’m pretty sure she’ll cook all your favorites this time too, but only if you are a good girl.”

“I’m always a good girl Daddy! And I hope so,” she said, her words muffled from her toothbrush. “Grandma’s food is always the best. Grandpa said that’s why he married her!” She smiled into the mirror, brushing her teeth carefully.

“I’m sure he married her for more than that.” Sungyeol smiled at her warmly, running one hand through her soft hair as he finished up brushing his own teeth.  He opened one of the drawers beneath the sink and pulled out a comb, carefully undoing any knots that may have formed in her sleep. She tiptoed and bent over to spit in the sink and Sungyeol pulled the hair away from her face. “Watch your hair, baby. You don’t want to get it wet on accident.”

“Thank you Daddy,” she said brightly.

Sungyeol smiled at her and finished up brushing her hair. Afterwards he washed his face and helped Jiseon wash her own. He took a small terry cloth towel and used it to gently scrub the soap into her young skin. He washed all the suds off carefully, planting a kiss onto her cheek as soon as he was done.

He smiled at her appreciatively, caressing her cheeks softly. “Let’s go make some pancakes, okay?”

She clasped her hands together in excitement, smiling in a way that reminded Sungyeol too much of her mother. Before he could think too long on it she was already bouncing her way to the kitchen, her long brown hair swaying with each step. She dragged a nearby chair to the counter, climbing on that first before hoisting herself on top of the counter. Sungyeol smiled to himself as he went over to the pantry, bringing out the ingredients he had bought over the past week. He frowned to himself slightly once he realized something. “Where are the chocolate chips?” he purposely wondered out loud.

Jiseon scooted along the counter until she was facing the pantry where Sungyeol was standing. She giggled. “Silly, you put them in there,” she said, pointing at the said upper cabinet. “It was so that I couldn’t reach the chocolate chips until today.”

“That’s right,” he teased, grabbing the bag of chocolate chips. “Otherwise you would eat them all before we even had a chance to make the pancakes.” He pulled a big bowl out from underneath the counter and handed it to her. “Can you hold this for Daddy?” She nodded and took the large bowl into her hands. He carried all the ingredients back to other side of the counter, Jiseon’s bright eyes following him as he moved around the kitchen. Instead of setting the bowl down so she could move easier, she twisted her body around slowly, making Sungyeol laugh as she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. When she finally was facing him she had a triumphant smile on her face.

“Are you ready princess?” he asked her, setting the ingredients down.

Jiseon nodded, sitting down cross-legged on the counter with the bowl in her lap. “I’m ready, Daddy!”

He tore open one of the bags, a puff of flour floating out. Jiseon laughed happily as Sungyeol let out a small sneeze. He poured the contents into the bowl, the flour puffing up into a white cloud around Jiseon’s face. Her nose scrunched up before she let out a tiny sneeze of her own.

He chuckled, opening another bag. Before dumping it in, he opened a nearby drawer and took out a large mixing spoon. He held it in front of her. “I trust that my baby girl is going to mix everything nicely?”

Jiseon nodded, taking the spoon into her own small, delicate hands. “I’m going to be the best mixer ever!” she said happily. Sungyeol poured another bag into the bowl and Jiseon began mixing all the dry ingredients together easily. He added the rest of the dry products, letting Jiseon mix away at it. In a separate bowl, he cracked a few eggs, whisking them together before adding the right amount of milk. He poured that into the bowl that Jiseon was mixing, the both of them watching the batter begin to form. She grunted as the batter began to thicken, making it difficult to mix.

“Give it to me,” Sungyeol said, “Daddy will mix it, okay?” Jiseon handed him the spoon obediently, and he worked the batter until it became smooth. He gave it a few more vigorous stirs before setting the spoon down on the side. “I think it’s done, don’t you?” he asked Jiseon.

Jiseon shook her head cutely. “No, it’s not done yet! You forgot something!”

“I did?” he asked. “What could I have forgotten? I added flour.” She nodded. He ticked the other ingredients off his fingers. “I put in the baking powder, and sugar, and salt  and milk and eggs, and butter,” he listed. He pouted and looked towards Jiseon. “So what did I forget?”

“The chocolate chips!” Jiseon chimed, her eyes bright with excitement.

“Oh, of course!” Sungyeol exclaimed, opening the package of sweets. “Silly me - how could I forget to add in chocolate chips?”

“Because daddy is silly,” Jiseon giggled.

Sungyeol’s eyes twinkled as he handed the bag to Jiseon. “Do you want to pour in the chocolate chips?” She nodded her head excitedly, her eyes glowing as she took the bag from him. He laughed. “Don’t pour all of them in, okay? There’s much more than we need in that bag.”

“Okay,” she replied, simply happy to have a bag filled with chocolate chips in her grasp. She poured in about half the bag, watching as the little chocolate bits pooled into the center of the pancake mixture. She snuck a few chocolate chips into as Sungyeol folded them into the batter, evenly dispersing them throughout the mix.

Sungyeol looked up to her and said, “Can Daddy have a piece?” He opened his mouth expectantly and she smiled as she popped a few onto his awaiting tongue. He closed his mouth with a smile and they both leaned forward, nuzzling their noses together. “Thanks, princess,” he whispered as he planted a small kiss on her nose.

Soon, he had a pan heating on top of the stove, waiting to make pancakes for him and Jiseon. By this time, Sungyeol had lifted Jiseon off the counter and now she kneeled on a cushioned chair next to him, staring at the pan and waiting for pancakes to be created. He ladled the first pool of pancake batter into the pan, it beginning to pop and sizzle immediately. He scooted her away from the stovetop slightly. “Don’t get too close, Jiseonnie. I don’t want you to burn yourself.”

Jiseon nodded, backing farther away and watching in amazement as her daddy flipped the pancake over with ease. The loud sizzling echoed through their small kitchen again as the raw batter began to solidify into pancake. Jiseon bounced on her knees, her gaze sparkling in excitement as the first pancake was finished and flipped onto a plate waiting nearby. “Daddy, can I eat it?” she asked restlessly.

“Not yet princess, it’s still too hot,” he chuckled, ruffling her hair fondly. “I don’t want you to burn your tongue, okay?”

Jiseon pouted, but nodded in understanding. She sat impatiently and watched as the stack of pancakes grew taller and taller by the minute. The smell of chocolate wafted around the kitchen, making her stomach growl loudly. “Daddy, I’m hungry,” she whined.

Sungyeol looked at her, feeling a little bad and said, “Okay, okay. We can eat now.”

Jiseon nearly jumped off the chair in joy, her grin growing larger as Sungyeol plated two chocolate chip pancakes just for her. She took the plate with both hands, her eyes glowing with the utmost happiness. Soon she sat on their couch in front of their TV, watching morning cartoons as Sungyeol braided her hair.

He sat in a practiced tranquility, flipping strand over strand to make a cute little French braid for her to show to her grandparents. Jiseon sat in his lap, chewing her pancakes as she kept her eyes trained on the television, clearly engrossed in watching puppets interact with celebrities. He tied off the braid with a pink hair tie. With a content sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Jiseonnie,” he called. “Can Daddy have a bite?” She nodded, cutting a piece of her pancake and lifting it to Sungyeol’s mouth. He ate it gratefully and bent down to give her a loud kiss on the cheek to which she giggled at. “Thanks baby girl,” he said, settling into a comfortable silence as the two of them spent the rest of breakfast together.

The ride to Santa Cruz was noisy, but fun with Jiseon in contagiously good spirits. Strapped safely in the back in her favorite pink booster seat, they sang along to her favorite songs - the Frozen soundtrack this week - during the hour long drive. They were in their third rendition of Let It Go when Sungyeol pulled into her grandparents’ driveway.

He turned the car off and climbed out, opening the back door to help her out of her car seat. When he saw her little face twisted into a suddenly sad expression, he bent down to get at her eye level. Even though Jiseon was extremely excited to spend some time with her grandparents, she was clearly still sad to be without him. Once the realization hit that she wouldn’t be able to see her Daddy for a couple of days, her little body had started to shake with tears.

“Princess, don’t cry. You know it hurts Daddy’s heart when you cry.” He wiped the tears off her soft cheeks and she sniffled miserably. “You were so excited the whole way here.”

“But if I stay with Grandma and Grandpa, then I’m leaving Daddy all by himself. I don’t want Daddy to be lonely.” She looked up at him with her wet eyes and he felt his heart fill with warmth.

“Sweetheart, don’t worry about Daddy. You know that I will keep myself busy at Sarang’s and you’ll only be away for a couple of days! Once you come back home, we can watch your favorite movie and I’ll make you your favorite dinner, and you can tell me all the exciting stories from your trip, okay?”

She was clearly still pouting, her little fists twisting together. “O-okay.”

He smiled softly at her. “I know you’ll have so much fun if you stay, you’ve been looking forward to this all week, haven’t you?”

“Uh huh.” Her little lip was trembling as she answered him.

Sungyeol pulled her into his arms and stood up, hugging her tightly to his chest. “Who is the most grown up, beautiful, strongest, bestest princess in the whole wide world?”

She giggled into his chest. “I am.”

“Who? I don’t know a girl named I am,” he told her with a scrunched up face. “Do you see her around here? Can you show me where she is so I can meet her?”

She grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to meet her gaze. “No, Daddy! There’s no girl named I am.” She pouted at herself cutely. “I meant me, Jiseon!”

He shifted her up higher on his hip so she would be looking down at him. “Is that so? But if you want to live up to your title, then you’re gonna have to be a big girl and stay away from your Daddy for a little while. Do you think you can handle that?”

Jiseon seemed more secure after his coaxing. She firmly nodded her nod, set in a determined line. “I’ll be a good girl for Daddy, I promise!”

“I’m proud of you little lady, can I get a kiss from such a gorgeous princess?” He lifted his chin expectantly, and she planted a big one on his lips with an exaggerated mwah! He purposely stumbled around, as if the kiss had dazed him.

“Daddy, quit being so silly!” She giggled, her precious smile lighting up her face and he knew that she was going to be okay without him.

“My Jiseon is just so pretty, her kisses make me dizzy. Are you ready to go inside now?” He pinched the end of her nose and she nodded happily. “Alright, here we go!” He set her down on the ground and grabbed her pink backpack from the car, helping her put her arms through the straps. He let her lead the way to the door, grabbing her by her waist to lift her up momentarily so she could ring the doorbell herself. Once the door opened she was immediately wrapped up in her grandparents’ embrace, and he was pleased that she was over her small moment of hesitation.

“You know that Daddy is only a phone call away. If you miss me, you just tell Grandma and she’ll help you call me. And if you really really miss Daddy, I can be here in an hour. But my princess is a big girl and she won’t need me. She’ll be too busy having fun, right?”

“Right!” She gave him one of her big smiles and he leaned in to nuzzle her nose. “I love you Daddy! I’ll see you soon!”

Her gave her a kiss on the top of her head, smoothing down her hair. “I love you too sweetheart. Be good for me.” She promised she would, and let her Grandma lead her inside the house. Sungyeol shared a short moment of eye contact with her Grandpa at the door, who nodded silently at him before shutting the door behind them. He let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, making his way back to car. Jiseon’s grandparents were amazing people, but he couldn’t bring himself to be around them for too long; it just made him feel guilty.

He shook off the negative thoughts, scrolling through his music until he got to his favorite playlist. When the soothing sounds of Kim Jongwan’s voice floated through his speakers he immediately felt the tension in his body start to disappear. He put his car into reverse, pulling away from a house that held too many memories.

​

Dongwoo shifted around in his bed, not necessarily tired but not really motivated to do anything. He lifted his head slightly, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. It was still early so he should have been resting, but sleep eluded him. He almost found it amusing how other mornings he would stay in bed until the last possible second, continuously hitting the snooze button to take advantage of those last minutes of sleep. But now, when he had the entire morning to laze around due to his day off, he couldn’t seem to drift off.

He had tried everything; changing positions, cuddling with more pillows, even plugging in his phone to the stereo system to play the Pandora Sleep station, but nothing seemed to work. It wasn’t as if the rising sun was an issue, the deep purple curtains effectively blocked out any sunlight from entering the bedroom.

Dongwoo let out a wistful sigh, flopping over to his stomach for the umpeenth time. The reality was simple, no matter what tricks he tried, he couldn’t really be comfortable unless Hoya was there with him. It was almost amusing, before they had started dating Dongwoo was infamous for being able to sleep at any time on any surface. And yet here he was; in a ridiculously cozy bed that he had picked out personally - a little bit of spring with a whole bunch of fluff - wrapped up in the softest Egyptian cotton 1200 thread count sheets, and he was actually uncomfortable. There was no warm body next to him, no firm chest to rest his head on, no strong arm holding his waist.

He missed Hoya.

His husband had sent him a text in the morning while Dongwoo was still sleeping; just a quick I love you, I already miss you and I’ll see you when I get home.

It wasn’t as if he was upset with Hoya per say, he was more annoyed with the situation. Last night after they had left Sungyeol’s place, everything had been perfect. Hoya had loved what he did with the house, and had made sure to show it once they reached the bedroom. But then he had been called in to help out at the hospital, leaving Dongwoo to his own devices.

Even if he would never tell Hoya, he was honestly bummed out that his husband’s work had interfered with their plans for celebration. He knew that this was only the first time of what he was sure would be many restless nights without Hoya by his side.

He rolled back over to his back, staring up at the ceiling as his thoughts swirled around the situation. He almost found it funny how needy he was when it came to Hoya, with every other aspect of his life he was independent and sure of himself, but when it came to his husband he wanted him endlessly. When they first got together he thought that maybe it was part of the honeymoon phase, that he would grow out of it eventually, but it had been years and the only person who was capable of making him feel completely at ease was Hoya.

Hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, he reached over to the nightstand to remove his phone from the stereo to rest it on his chest. His fingers scrolled over the screen effortlessly, clicking on the camera. He lifted his phone up and shifted himself around on the pillows, trying to look presentable - which was kind of difficult to achieve with his messy bedhead - but for reasons he didn’t understand, Hoya seemed to like it when his hair was crazy and wild. He opened his eyes wide and puckered his lips, making his best imitation of a pouty face. He snapped the picture and brought the phone back down to evaluate it closely. It seemed like something that Hoya would think is cute - which was his only goal - so he decided that it would work.

Dongwoo scrolled through his texts, a small smile appearing on his face when he saw Hobaby. After adding the picture to their conversation - along with a caption of I miss you - he found himself feeling better. Hoya was often too busy at work to be able to text back, but his husband had told him that sometimes just getting a picture or a text from him was enough to motivate to keep working through the stress and tiredness. He knew how challenging Hoya’s profession was, that being responsible for people’s lives weighed heavily on his husband’s mind, so he felt proud to know that he was able to make Hoya’s days just a tiny bit easier.

He was about to drop his phone on the mattress and return to doing absolutely nothing, when Sungyeollie flashed across his screen, accompanied by the sounds of Orange Caramel. Dongwoo set his phone on his pillow, hitting the speaker option to answer the call.

“Yo.”

The sounds of laughter filled the room. “Good morning darlinggg. Why do I get the feeling that you are still in bed?”

“Because I am and you know me too well,” he replied back, shifted over to lay closer to the phone.

Sungyeol’s tone immediately went down. “Alright, well I didn’t mean to bother you. I can talk to you later-”

He cut him off quickly. “No way, you called for a reason. What’s up?”

“Well… I’m just now heading out of Santa Cruz and I-”

“I’ll see you in an hour Sungyeollie.”

“What?” He found it amusing that Sungyeol was actually surprised by his offer.

“We both know how Santa Cruz makes you feel. You shouldn’t be alone now, and I’m sure you are already missing Jiseonnie. The good news is that I have the day off and I need a reason to actually get out of bed. You need to see the finished product of the house anyway, so I’ll see you in an hour?”

He heard the relieved sigh come through his speakers. “Yes. Thank you. Sometimes I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Lucky for you, you won’t ever have to figure that out. Now go back to your Nell playlist and try to relax. I’ll see you soon!”

They exchanged their goodbyes, and Dongwoo ended the call. He pulled the sheets off of himself with a flourish, making his way out of bed to finally start the day.

Sungyeol pulled up to Dongwoo’s house, feeling a bit wistful just at the sight of it. It wasn’t overly fancy or large, just a cozy little two bedroom in a nice neighborhood. But even from the outside, it just felt like Dongwoo and Hoya, and that made a part of him feel so indescribably happy.

When Dongwoo answered the door he was in his trademark tank top and sweats, his hair still wet from the shower. They shared a brief embrace before Dongwoo paraded him around the house, pointing out all the little things that made it special. After the tour they ended up settling in the kitchen, as the both of them hadn’t had lunch.

“Honestly Dongwoo… the house is beautiful. I know I’ve been giving you my opinion on things here and there, but seeing it all come together like this is so great. And Hoya liked it?”

Dongwoo shook his head enthusiastically. “Hoya loved it. I could tell he really did, that he was really excited about the house. Even if we’ve been married for awhile, moving into a house together just makes it feel so… I don’t know, real? It’s like we are legit now.”

Sungyeol laughed wholeheartedly. “You guys have been ‘legit’ since practically day one. I told you that you two were meant to be since the beginning.”

Dongwoo was looking through his refrigerator, trying to find something for them to eat. “I know, I’m just saying. It looks like I’ve got everything for a stir-fry. Beef or chicken?”

“Chicken, definitely. So I presume that you guys had fun last night and that’s why you were still in bed so late this morning?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and Dongwoo shot him a dirty look over his shoulder.

“That would have been the plan if the hospital wouldn’t have interrupted. And don’t ask, the memory is already painful enough without having to rehash it.”

“Just remember that not all people get to experience the luxury of having a hot guy at their beck and call.” Sungyeol chided, taking the offered knife and vegetables from Dongwoo.

“Fair enough, I’ll take the hint. How was Jiseonnie this morning?” Dongwoo asked politely as he started to season the meat.

Sungyeol let out an exaggerated sigh. “She was practically begging me to drive faster the whole way there, and then the moment she realized that we wouldn’t see each other for a few days she burst into tears.”

“Aw, poor girl,” Dongwoo sympathized but Sungyeol waved it off.

“She got it together after a little pep talk. It’s only been a little while but I miss her too. She’s practically my whole world, it just feels kind of strange knowing that I want have to make us dinner tonight or help put her to bed.” He walked over to join Dongwoo at the stove, pushing the newly cut vegetables onto the skillet.

“Do I need to give you a pep talk too?” Dongwoo teased, and Sungyeol playfully nudged him with his hip.

“No, I was just telling you that it will be a little odd having the apartment to myself. And where is your rice cooker anyway?”

Dongwoo pointed him in the right direction. “Sure, but it will also be kind of nice, right? It’s been awhile since you’ve had some quality Sungyeollie time. Toss in the chicken for me.”

Sungyeol did as he was asked, adding the meat to the already sizzling pan. “It has been awhile, huh? I do deserve a little Sungyeollie time.”

Dongwoo nodded, using his spatula to move the food around in the pan. “Yeah, now you can do all those things you haven’t had time to do lately.”

They stood in a comfortable silence together at the stove for a few minutes as Dongwoo cooked their lunch. As the delicious aroma of the stir fry filled his nose he let his mind run over possible things he could do with his sudden amount of free time. “You know, I have been wanting to re-read the Harry Potter series…”

Dongwoo huffed, instructing Sungyeol to check on the rice as he finished up cooking the meat. “I’m not talking about books, silly! Do something that actually requires you to leave the house. I don’t know… go on a picnic or go rollerskating or try out that new sushi place downtown.”

Sungyeol unplugged the rice cooker, letting the steam out of the top as he turned to face his best friend. “Dongwoo, why would I do any of that? None of those things are fun to do on your own.”

“Then maybe you should find a date.” Dongwoo flipped off the burner, removing the pan from the stove top.

“Dongwoo…”

“I’m just throwing it out there! Maybe it would be kind of nice, a guy taking you out, treating you to dinner-”

“Dongwoo, I don’t know any guys that would just want to ‘treat me to dinner’.”

“Then you should find one! Seriously, you’re smart and kind, not to mention you’re gorgeous. Why wouldn’t someone want to date you?”

“I don’t know, maybe cause I have a five year old daughter?”

Dongwoo huffed, washing his hands and turned around with a sigh. “Jiseonnie is not a dealbreaker. You haven’t even let yourself get close enough to someone to find out since-”

“Dongwoo, can we please not go through this again? I’m just… not there yet. Please don’t misunderstand, I know that you only want the best for me. But it doesn’t matter how much eye candy you bring by Sarang’s - I won’t be ready until I’m ready.”

“But when Sungyeollie? You’ve been waiting so long, I’m starting to think that your anxiety about dating is much worse than the actual dating will be. I think you’ve built it up so much in your mind, that now it’s just become this scary thing. I wish I could lie to you but I can’t; there’s no easy way to do this. You just have to go for it and see what happens. I know you and I know you are lonely." He took a deep breath, looking deep into Sungyeol's troubled brown eyes. "I saw the way you looked at me and Hoya yesterday.”

Sungyeol felt a twinge of anger rise within him. “That’s not fair, anyone would look at you two that way. You guys have this perfect relationship and you’re crazy about each other. How could I not be jealous?”

“But you don’t have to be jealous because you could have that too!” He grabbed a couple plates from the cabinet, somewhat forcefully dividing up the food for the two of them. Sungyeol looked on in silence as Dongwoo scooped out some rice for their plates before adding the meat and vegetables on top. Dongwoo practically slammed down Sungyeol's serving in front of him, picking up his own plate to put some distance between them. They were standing across from each other at the island, their plates in front of them but neither making a move to take a bite. Finally Dongwoo picked up his fork, mixing together his stir fry. “The only reason you don’t is because you won’t even allow yourself to try,” he bit out, clearly upset by the way he refused to make eye contact with the younger.

Sungyeol immediately felt horrible, Dongwoo cared about him so much, and he knew how badly he wanted him to be happy. He hated that he was making Dongwoo feel this way, especially about something like this. He immediately moved to stand by his best friend’s side, wrapping him up in a hug as he whispered an apology. “I’m sorry Dongwoo. Please don’t get upset over me.”

“No, you’re right. It’s your life and I can’t force you to move on and be ready. I just worry about you so much." He set down his fork, his hands moving as he spoke. "You just put your everything into taking care of Jiseonnie and I just wish that I could know that there is someone taking care of you. Especially since I can’t put you first.”

“Hey.” Sungyeol said sharply, stepping back from the hug so he could look at the shorter man’s eyes. “It is not your job to take care of me. Hoya is your husband and it’s only right that he comes first. But don’t sell yourself short like that. You do so much for me, you’ve been my best friend for years, you’ve helped me raise Jiseon, I literally could not ask for more from you. Please don’t ever feel like you haven’t done enough, because the reality is that you do too much.”

Dongwoo nodded silently, reaching out to hold Sungyeol’s hand. “I just want you to experience love so badly. A real love, that makes all the hardships and heartache worth it. You deserve that, more than anyone else I know.”

Sungyeol surprised the both of them with what he said next. “Then set me up.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Dongwoo obnoxiously pretended to clean out his ears, to which Sungyeol responded with a shove.

“You heard me. Set me up with someone, but no one with a prior record no matter how reformed they seem.” He playfully flicked the elder’s bright hair.  “And no blondes, no offense.”

“None taken.” Dongwoo leaned onto the counter for support, just short of pinching himself. “I’m sorry, but is this real? Are you actually consenting to a blind date? Are you sure you didn’t take some drugs or something before you showed up here? Cause that would be disappointing and I would be obligated to arrest you.”

“If you keep picking on me I might change my mind-” Sungyeol started to threaten before Dongwoo cut in.

“Nope, not at all! No blondes and only clean records, I got it. And you don’t have to worry about putting out after dinner or anything; I’ll be sure to give him a firm talking to about making sure he respects the fact that my bestie is a good boy.” He winked suggestively at the younger who blushed red at the insinuation.

“Dongwoo,” Sungyeol pleaded and the elder gave in.

“Okay, okay! Now go eat the lunch I made you before it gets cold.” He shooed him back to his seat, and the two of them finally started to eat.

The rest of lunch was comfortable, Dongwoo clearly couldn’t hide his excitement at the prospect of setting him up with someone. He spent practically the whole time scrolling through his contacts, tossing some names away with a sneer while deeply pondering others. Sungyeol couldn’t stop himself from laughing, his best friend was so serious about the entire thing. He would occasionally throw out a few questions - does he have to be taller than you, how do you feel about younger guys, is self tanning a dealbreaker? - to which Sungyeol replied no, no, and yes, Dongwoo seemed to have a sense of direction.

Dongwoo let out a triumphant sound of joy when he found someone who seemed to meet most of his requirements, his fingers travelling over the screen with a sense of urgency. He finally set his phone down with an innocent look, as if the younger wasn’t completely aware of what he was doing. When the phone buzzed after a couple of minutes Dongwoo immediately reached for it, his eyes travelling over the screen before his face split into a grin.

“And it’s confirmed! You will meet your date tonight at The Olive Garden at 7 pm sharp!”

Sungyeol almost spit out his food. “What? Tonight?! Dongwoo!”

His best friend gave him a devious smile. “You said you wanted me to set you up, so I set you up!” He broke eye contact, choosing to look at the suddenly very interesting food on his plate. “And maybe I thought if I waited that you’d try to back out.”

Sungyeol put his head in his hands, his heart already beating faster in his chest. “Dongwoo, I know I said I was ready but I didn’t mean right this second ready!”

“But it isn’t right this second, it’s tonight!” Dongwoo pointed out the technicality with a smile.

“Same thing Dongwoo! Same thing.” He run his hand through his hair anxiously. “I don’t even know what to talk about! How do I make myself seem interesting? God, I don’t even have anything to wear. This is already a disaster and it hasn’t even started!”

“It will not be a disaster and you will be just fine. If you like him, great. If you don’t, then you don’t ever have to see him again. There’s seriously no pressure.” Dongwoo went back to eating calmly.

Unfortunately for Sungyeol, calm was nowhere near his state of mind. “At least give me something to work with here. What’s his name? What’s he like?”

Dongwoo shook his head stubbornly. “No way Sungyeollie. The reason they call it a blind date is because you’re supposed to go in blind. You aren’t getting any details out of me. And before you even try to argue, the reservation will be in your name at the restaurant so no problems there.”

“This is seriously one of those times when I can’t decide if I love or hate you.”

“Hopefully it is the former.” He winked at Sungyeol, who only rolled his eyes in response. Before he could further tease the younger, Dongwoo’s phone started to buzz again on the table.

“Another text from my mystery date?” Sungyeol stated obnoxiously but he quieted down when he saw the suddenly serious look on Dongwoo’s face.

“I wish... It’s my boss. He knows it’s my day off.” Dongwoo stared at the phone as if it were the enemy, and Sungyeol laughed.

“You know he’s just going to keep calling you until you answer. Maybe he just wants to ask a quick question about a case.”

Dongwoo scoffed. “You clearly have not spent enough time with Kim Sunggyu. He wouldn’t call unless there was a reason.” He let out a sigh, sliding his finger over the screen to answer the phone call. “Chief Kim… to what do I owe this pleasure on my wonderful day away from the department?”

“You know why I’m calling Dongwoo.” The voice of his boss was unforgiving, but Dongwoo still tried to plead with him.

“But Chief, it’s my day off!”

“Not anymore. Plus, it’s not like you are doing anything, your husband is busy at the hospital anyway.”

“How did you know Hoya got called into work too?” Dongwoo questioned.

“Because you just told me.” Sunggyu sounded much too pleased with himself.

Dongwoo let at a disappointed sigh. “Pretending to know information-”

“So that the person being questioned unknowingly admits the truth. Interrogation 101 Dongwoo.” He could just picture the smug look on Sunggyu’s face. “But now that I know your husband’s busy, there’s no reason for you to not be able to come into work today. And I could have called you this morning, I decided to be nice and give you a half day.”

“Yes… how nice of you to only make me work half of the day on my pre-approved day off. You totally deserve that ‘World’s Best Boss’ mug you got at the Christmas party last week.” Dongwoo grumbled, but he had already accepted his fate.

“Ah, I should have figured that you got me for Secret Santa. That explains the wonderful gift. But enough chit chat. I expect you to be here within the hour.”

“But Chief-” The sound of the phone call ending stopped his plea mid sentence. He set down his phone with an aggravated groan.

Sungyeol gave him a sympathetic grin from across the table. “I guess that’s my cue to go?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry Sungyeollie, I totally would have loved to hang out with you for the rest of the day. “ He grabbed their now empty plates from the counter, making his way over to the kitchen sink to wash their dishes.

Sungyeol shrugged. “It’s fine, work is work. I guess crime doesn’t stop just because it’s a holiday, right?”

“Unfortunately it doesn’t.” He put the dishes away and quickly washed his hands. “I’ve got to go get ready. Sunggyu just orders me into work and expects me to show up instantly.”

Sungyeol pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight as if that would console him. “Don’t rush, you get there when you get there. I should probably hit the road anyway, I’ve got the entire afternoon to obsess over my impending disaster date.”

Dongwoo looked up at him with a teasing smile. “Again, it will not be a disaster. Start thinking positively! And even if it does totally , at least you get free breadsticks.”

“Valid point.” Sungyeol laughed, ruffling the shorter man’s hair before grabbing his car keys off the counter. “Expect a phone call tonight or tomorrow! I’m sure I’ll have loads to talk about.”

“You better! And remember, don’t wear anything too revealing, you wouldn’t want your date to get the wrong idea!” He could hear Sungyeol’s exasperated oh my god all the way from the kitchen as his best friend exited the house.

After the door clicked shut Dongwoo headed to his bedroom to get ready for the rest of the afternoon shift; he didn’t know why Sunggyu had called him in specifically to work, but it better have been urgent.

A/N: Daddy!Yeol feels overload! But we think it’s super important to show you guys how well Sungyeol has been taking care of his little girl. And even if Jiseon is independent, she’s still a little scared to be away from her Daddy. The two of them are so close, they depend on each other so much, so we wanted to show you some more of their relationship! (as well as their superior teamwork at making chocolate chip pancakes) as well as a little glimpse into the Dongyeol friendship! And Sungyeol actually agreed to a date! So who exactly does Dongwoo have in mind for his best friend? And surprise! Dongwoo’s boss at the police department is none other than Sunggyu! So what exactly does Sunggyu need him for? Drop us a comment and let us know how you are liking things so far! :D

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