"Morning sleepyhead." Yongguk murmured as he kissed your cheek on Monday morning.
A small smile tugged at your lips as you kept your eyes closed. "Morning."
"Better get up and get ready." he told you. "It's Jaewoo's first day at his new school, remember?"
You felt your stomach flip at that. You did remember. Also how you pretended that everything was fine last night when Yongguk came home, despite the evident disappointment on his face when you told him that you hadn't spent time with Jaewoo again.
"You are coming, right?" your husband questioned, breaking you out of your thoughts.
You opened your eyes and looked up at him. "Of course. It's a big day for him."
He let out a breath, seemingly relieved. "Then up already." he teased as he leaned down. He pecked a bunch of small kisses all over your face.
You let out a tiny giggle as you kept turning your head to get away from his lips. Then he pulled back and smiled at you. You smiled back until he got up and walked out of the room. Letting your smile fade away, you sighed heavily before throwing the blanket off of you.
You quickly got ready for the day and went to the kitchen where you found Jaewoo still eating his breakfast. As you sat at the table with your own food, you didn't greet him and he didn't acknowledge you. The two of you ate silently as you stole tiny glances at him.
When he was done, he climbed off of the chair before grabbing his plate. He carefully carried it to the counter and set it by the sink.
"Are you done Jaewoo?" Yongguk asked as he walked into the kitchen. Then he saw the boy standing by the counter and smiled. "Did you clean up after yourself too?"
"Yep." Jaewoo replied, standing up straighter.
"Good job." Yongguk proudly said. "Wash up and get your school uniform on."
"Okay." the little boy replied without argument. Then he obediently hurried out of the kitchen.
Turning away, you stared at your food and swallowed thickly.
"What's wrong?"
You blinked and quickly glanced up to see Yongguk standing next to you. You saw the worry in his eyes, making you pause as you stared at him. "I..."
Suddenly he chuckled and grinned. "You don't have to be so nervous about his first day. I'm sure he'll fit in just fine." Then he kissed you on the top of your head before leaving the room.
Closing your eyes, you felt a small twinge of pain in your chest. This was quickly going from simply 'stretching the truth' to a complete lie. You had to come clean with him. Soon
Leaving the kitchen, you saw Jaewoo alone in the living room. He had his backpack on and his stuffed dinosaur in his arms.
"You can't take that to school with you." you declared.
No surprise, your words were ignored. Sighing, you knelt down. "You can't take toys to school. You have to leave him here." Then you reached for the toy.
Instantly Jaewoo clutched the toy tighter to his chest and glared at you. The same harsh glare he gave you before. You pulled your hand back quickly and gaped at him.
"We ready?" Yongguk asked as he came into the living room. He glanced between both of you and then looked at the toy in the boys arms. With a small chuckle, he crouched down in front of the boy as well. "Toys aren't allowed at school. If you take him, the teacher will take him away from you."
Jaewoo pouted as he looked at the floor. Then he did something that surprised you. He handed Yongguk his precious dinosaur.
"Here." your husband stated and put the stuffed animal on the coffee table. He positioned it so it was facing the front door. "When you get home from school, he'll be waiting right here to greet you."
"Okay." Jaewoo quietly relented. He reached over and patted his friend on his head.
Standing up, you felt like an outsider again as you watched the scene in front of you. Jaewoo petting the dinosaur and Yongguk reassuring him that they'll be reunited soon. Then you turned and walked away.

Yongguk drove to the three of you the short distance to the school. When you got out of the car, you noticed how Jaewoo made the point of stepping around Yongguk before grabbing his hand. Which put Yongguk in the middle and you far away from him. You didn't say anything though, especially when your husband didn't even notice. The entire time, he was too busy smiling at Jaewoo and insisting the boy had fun in school.
You walked him to his classroom where the teacher met you at the doorway. When she greeted Jaewoo, he politely greeted her back. Yongguk had to do some urging though for the boy to let go of him and walk into the classroom.
Jaewoo seemed hesitant as he glanced around the room and a couple of kids ran up to him. He pressed his lips together, staying quiet as the animatedly talked to him. Then one of the classroom helpers came up to him and took him to the cubby area where he could hang up his backpack.
Even with the way he was with you, you couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness. You knew it wasn't shyness with you but he seemed genuinely shy now. And you wanted to make him feel better.
"Come on." Yongguk said and grabbed your hand. "No use hovering. He'll be fine."
"Yeah." you uttered in agreement and let him lead you away.

Yongguk dropped you off at home before driving to work. Alone in the apartment, you took a big breath and let out an audible sigh. You made sure you had an alarm set to go get Jaewoo since Yongguk wouldn't be able to leave work on time to pick him up. Then you went to the workroom and concentrated on your own work.
After a few hours, you stretched your stiff muscles and decided you needed to move around. You headed to the kitchen and made yourself a quick lunch. Then you tidied up the house a bit.
When you were dusting, you picked up the dinosaur on the coffee table and cleaned under him. You were just about to set him back down when you noticed something was off with the toy. Upon inspection, you decided it was in dire need of a good cleaning.
You took the toy with you to the bedroom and tossed it in to the laundry basket. Then you took the dirty clothes out of the hamper and added them to the basket. You carried it to the washer and dumped the whole basket in before adding some soap and starting the machine.
Finished, you went back to the workroom and did a little bit more work until you heard the washer go off. You got up and went back to the machine. You put everything in the dryer and started it.
Not long afterwards, the alarm went off and you headed out the door to pick up Jaewoo.

You approached the playground a little apprehensively as you saw Jaewoo going down one of the slides. You watched for a moment before one of the teachers walked over to you.
"Pick up?" he inquired.
"Uh... yeah." you answered and pulled out your id.
He checked your name on the clipboard and then smiled as he handed your id back. "Alright."
You politely smiled back and thanked him. Then you turned your attention back to the playground. "Jaewoo!" you yelled above the children's screams.
He slid down the slide once more and then looked at you. He didn't move for a few seconds before finally going over to fetch his backpack. Then he made his way over to you while dragging his feet.
Silently, the two of you left the school yard and set off down the sidewalk. You kept glancing down at him but he never looked at you. Nor did he take your offered hand when you had to cross the street. He merely gripped the straps of his bag tighter.
As soon as you stepped into the apartment, Jaewoo ran to the coffee table. Then he stopped abruptly before taking off for the hallway. Only then did you realize what you had done. You left his dinosaur in the dryer.
"Jaewoo." you called out and made your way to his room. Stopping in the doorway, you watched as he frantically searched the room. "He's in.."
"Where's my dinosaur!" he suddenly screamed as he turned to you.
His outburst caught you off guard and your eyes widened in shock. Then your mouth dropped open as he started swinging his backpack, repeatedly hitting the floor with it.
"I want my dinosaur! I want my dinosaur!" he wailed over and over.
"Stop." you begged and quickly went to him. You knelt down and grabbed the bag so he couldn't swing it anymore. "He's.."
Pain exploded on your face as you closed your eyes and turned your head away. His hands didn't let up once as he smacked you over and over.
"Stop it!" you hollered and attempted to grab his arms. You managed to get a hold of one but then his foot came out and connected with your leg as he kicked you hard.
You did the only thing you could thing of to do and pushed him away from you. He stumbled back but didn't fall down. Then before he could attack you again, you got up and rushed out of the room.
You slammed the door behind you before leaning against it. Sounds of his anguished cries filled your ears as well as sounds of him throwing things. Tears welled up before rolling down your cheeks as your back slid down the door. You sat on the floor and cried while listening to him.