I promised some of you Donghae's point of view of the story, so here it is ^^ Sorry for the delay!

      Nothing lasts forever – and happiness makes the top of the list. Donghae should have known and expected that, but he didn’t; his life had been perfect until that point, literally too good to be true: he had a loving family and he had been raised in a wealthy environment, his childhood had been filled with joy and his teenage years with good fun times; he had a high school sweetheart and they loved each other so much that they got married soon after starting college. In Donghae’s vision, that was how things were supposed to be.

       The only thing missing from his picture perfect life was a baby. He and Jinah were married for two years when the revelation of becoming a father hit Donghae. He started to drop hints here and there to his wife, but she seemed oblivious to it and so Donghae decided to simply be frank with her; he brought the idea of having a baby into discussion one evening after dinner – and that was when everything started to fall apart. Jinah had not been as enthusiastic as Donghae, quite the contrary: she said it was too soon, that they were still too young; that having and raising a child involved more than just the act of producing one and giving birth to it and she wasn’t yet ready for such a commitment.

       Donghae had been disappointed, but he loved Jinah and he wanted her to be happy so he respected her decision for the time being. However, he was stubborn and a “what I want, I get” kind of person; he started bringing up the topic of babies more often as time passed and even tried persuading Jinah. The poor girl gave up eventually – she loved Donghae enough to give in to him despite her reluctance, but her behavior towards him changed drastically.

       Donghae, drunk on the joy of stepping into parenthood, had not noticed it at first. Sure, Jinah and him didn’t spend as much time together as they had used to and their conversations had become quite routine, but they were both newly-employed and poured everything they had into their jobs. It got worse after the baby had been borne; his wife barely talked to him except for short greetings, requests or some other kind of necessities. All of his attention was captured by the child then, though, so he once again failed to notice how their marriage was crumbling to pieces. When Jinah had finally had enough and told him that she wants a divorce, Donghae had felt like struck by lightning. He couldn’t understand her, he thought they had everything one could wish for, that they were happy and fulfilled, especially now that they had Jaehyun, who was a bundle of joy – Donghae couldn’t even remember how his days had been when they did not have the beloved baby.

       “You don’t love me, not really,” Jinah had told him with remorse, “not even Jaehyun. You love the idea of having us, of having a perfect family. You think that’s the absolute purpose in life and you had desperately sought after it, turning a blind eye to anything else … to me …”

       “That’s not true!” he had been quick to defend himself. It was true though. He had been so indulged in his apparently perfect life, that he had ignored everything that pointed to a direction he did not wish it to follow. Only then had he noticed how unhappy and miserable his wife had been looking – dark circles under her cold, empty eyes, a frown and slight wrinkles now constant on her previously flawless face; she looked tired, worn out. Pregnancy, giving birth and raising a baby had taken a toll on her; she looked done, done with everything and especially with Donghae’s bull.

       He had no choice but to let the poor woman go, peacefully, without arguments or fights. What’s done is done. And that’s how Donghae had gone from a happy man to a disoriented and lost single father in just a few days.

       That year and the one that followed had been the hardest and saddest for Donghae; a real challenge. Raising his baby boy by himself had been nerve-wracking and tiring and sometimes all the young father wanted to do was break down and cry his heart out or even run away from it all. But he could do neither of those, for he had a child to tend to and put before his own needs. He understood then why Jinah had been reluctant to having a baby and why she had chosen to walk away. Fortunately for him, his family had been by his side all the while.

       It got better with time, after Donghae had gotten the hang of parenthood and especially as Jaehyun started growing up. The still young father had even started to enjoy his life again, had found a new perspective to look at things. He had a secure job in his father’s company and the post as a CEO assured, his son was growing up happy and healthy and everyone loved and adored him, and the boy missed his mother much less than Donghae had expected. They were a happy family once again.

       Despite all this and because of the unfortunate experience with Jinah, Donghae had given up the pursuing of love. He had come to the conclusion that marriage ruins everything and he did not wish to make the same mistake again. Besides, it would be difficult to have a relationship when a child was involved and Donghae would much rather be a devoted father than lover. At some point, after two years of no romantic action whatsoever, not even the slightest innocent flirting, Donghae had come to the conclusion that he did not need love after all, that he had become immune to it somehow, and he was perfectly content with his newly-found discovery.

       That revelation of his burst like a soap bubble the moment Lee Hyukjae has come into the picture though. Nice and friendly, but very professional at the same time, vigilant and sharp, intelligent and open-minded, never turning down the invitation to engage in a conversation and so, so handsome and attractive, the new security guard instantly caught Donghae’s eye. Donghae didn’t even think he could ever be attracted to men until then, but there he was, hands sweaty and heart beating wildly every time he as much as glanced at Lee Hyukjae.

       They were introduced to each other by the head of the HR, who had been in charge of interviewing and hiring Hyukjae. They talked from time to time, sometimes just to greet each other, sometimes more. Their little conversations became more frequent after Hyukjae met Jaehyun. His adorable son has managed to charm the elder just as quickly as he charmed everyone else, but there was something special about the way Hyukjae interacted with the little boy – he was protective and playful and familiar, almost fatherly; that, of course, only fueled Donghae’s sudden attraction to the guard. Days and weeks passed and months turned into years. Still, no matter how much time had gone by, neither Donghae nor Hyukjae dared to cross the line of their formal, nothing-more-than-colleagues relationship.

       That didn’t stop Donghae, however, from hoping and daydreaming and making impossible scenarios in his head. He felt like he was a flustered, silly high school student all over again. He even talked to his son about Hyukjae sometimes when the boy had gotten older, because Jaehyun was a like a confident to Donghae and they kept no secrets from each other (Donghae didn’t even think of the possibility where Jaehyun would spill his father’s beans – especially to Hyukjae – but he was lucky enough to have a smart boy as a son, who understood the concept of “secrets”).

~~~

       The first time Donghae and Hyukjae had the chance to be something else than just co-workers was the night of the 15^th of December (not that Donghae noted the date or thought it was more precious than even Christmas or anything like that). Donghae was already appointed as the new CEO by then and he was as busy as a beaver building a new dam. The holiday season only made it worse. That particular day had been the most hectic one yet. He had had meetings both inside and outside of his company so he had to run from one place to another – oh, how he wished for a pair of wings – lots of papers to go over before signing and even more reports and complaint e-mails to carefully examine.

       Closing time had found him with his head stuck in front his laptop screen. His brain was on fire and his eyes stung - he swore he would only see letters and numbers for a few days, if he would still be able to see anything at all. He only intended to stay two more hours at most, but he somehow lost the notion of time.

       “Donghae-ssi!” An attention-demanding voice snapped him out of whatever wicked spell he had been under and he jumped a little when he spotted Lee Hyukjae at the door. “It’s midnight,” the security guard said and his obvious (but not so obvious to Donghae) statement sent the CEO into frenzy.

       He quickly gathered his stuff, his thoughts rushing to Jaehyun and Hyuna, who was probably going to torture him in ways he didn’t even want to think about; that is, if she wasn’t asleep already and Donghae could smoothly lie that he had gotten home earlier than he actually had.

       Hyukjae was waiting for him at the entrance, trying to conceal a tired yawn. Donghae saw it though and he felt terrible for keeping the poor man so late; he felt so terrible that he offered him a ride home. Hyukjae refused at first, saying that he will catch a cab, but Donghae would not let him wait for a taxi in that heavily-falling snow, so he insisted and the other eventually gave in.

       The ride home was mostly quiet and Donghae was extremely relieved for that; he feared that if Hyukjae said anything to him, he would be so nervous he will cause an accident and get both of them killed. The silence did not last though, because Hyukjae suddenly asked about Jaehyun and Donghae just can’t seem to keep quiet or reserved when he talks about his son. So, he told Hyukjae about him and their plans for the weekend, feeling excited himself as he thought about the boy’s excitement. But then he also thought about how he barely had any free time to spend with his child and the excitement washed away as quickly as it appeared.

       “What’s wrong?” Hyukjae asked as they arrived in front of the building he lived in.

       Donghae didn’t know what came over him when he started pouring his heart out to Hyukjae; it wasn’t like him to do something like that, to show the weak, vulnerable side of him, and yet he couldn’t stop letting out everything that had been chaining his heart for many years. Hyukjae took him into his arms and let him cry on his shoulder and even shared his own sad story with him, and Donghae felt like he was drowning in a pool of relief right in that moment. He needed someone to listen to him without showing pity, someone to tell him that happens sometimes and that’s okay, it’s life, but that he also has to stop mourning over past mistakes and look towards the future without emotional weights pulling him down.

       Donghae needed someone like Hyukjae. No, Donghae thought after Hyukjae left a warm, lingering kiss on his forehead – Donghae needed Hyukjae.

~~~

       The first time Donghae realized he was the worst father ever was on a Friday afternoon, while he was running like a mad man down the stairs towards his office, because he forgot to pick up Jaehyun from school. He seemed to move at the speed of light as he entered the office, grabbed his keys and run out again.

       “Mr. Lee, may I have a moment?” Bora, his assistant, stopped him.

       “Make it quick, Bora, please!” he panted.

       “Hyukjae-ssi, the security guard, —”

       I know perfectly well who Hyukjae is, thank you very much, Donghae thought, almost offended.

       “… came by earlier to drop off your son.”

       “Thanks, I’ll get back to you later,” Donghae mumbled and started walking away with haste, but then abruptly stopping as he took in the assistant’s words. “Wait, what?!”

       Bora looked at him with surprise and slight concern. “Uh … Lee Hyukjae from security came by earlier to drop off your son.”

       “Well where is he now? Jaehyun, I mean. He usually waits in my office.”

       “Jaehyun said he wants to stay with Hyukjae-ssi so they are probably at the main desk.”

       Donghae descended the stairs a little bit calmer this time, but his heart was beating wildly and his head was starting to hurt from trying to come up with a plausible explanation about why Jaehyun had been with Hyukjae in the first place.

       He thought his heart would burst because of all the emotions rushing trough him when he arrived at the main desk; Hyukjae was apparently helping Jaehyun with his homework, patiently explaining stuff to the boy or writing something on a piece of paper as an example while also checking the security cameras every other minute.

       “Hyukjae-hyung, you are a lot better at this than daddy is! His writing is so bad, I can’t understand anything!” Jaehyun exclaimed. Donghae should have felt bad about that, but he felt as if he could cry in happiness instead.

       “Oh, really?” Hyukjae asked, obviously amused. “Maybe I should get a job as a teacher then.”

       “You can’t, hyung! You have to stay here and take care of my daddy!”

       Uh-oh!

       Donghae decided that was a good moment to let his presence known.

~~~

       Jaehyun spent most of his time at the main desk with Hyukjae after that. Donghae had nothing against it – he knew his son was in good, capable hands; more than that, he actually encouraged it because he had an excuse to see and talk to Hyukjae more often. He started to avoid doing that however, after Jaehyun shamelessly told him he should marry Hyukjae … while Hyukjae was also there. That was by far the most embarrassing and awkward moment in his whole life.

~~~

       The first time Donghae realized that he really can’t live without Hyukjae anymore was on Christmas Eve.

       It all started because of the CEO's never ending work, as usual. It was almost evening and he was still stuck in a meeting that seemed to keep him there until next year (not even Christmas matters when you're CEO apparently). Donghae didn't know when he would be free to go, Hyuna was at a party and Jaehyun was home alone - the perfect combination to make the father go nuts with worry. He needed to get Jaehyun there somehow, without actually leaving the building and without giving a stranger his address. As if on instinct, his brain immediately provided him the perfect solution: Lee Hyukjae. He dashed to the main desk without thinking twice about it; he didn't even bother to wait for the elevator, going straight for the stairs.

       As always, Hyukjae was willing to help the distressed CEO. Drunk with relief and joy, Donghae threw his arms around the elder's neck and kissed his cheek with ardor. He only realized what he had done after he pulled away and saw Hyukjae's flabbergasted expression and he was so embarrassed that he shoved the keys into the guard's hand and run back to the stairs. Hyukjae then called after him and when Donghae turned around the CEO's heart was beating so loudly he almost didn't hear Hyukjae discreetly asking for his address.

~~~

       The next time Donghae realized he absolutely cannot live without Hyukjae anymore was when he finally arrived home that Christmas Eve night. He was welcomed with decorations and cookies and carols, and Jaehyun and Hyukjae greeted him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Donghae had been depressed after he had sent the guard to pick up his son - on one hand because he had once again disturbed Hyukjae with his personal troubles and on the other because Jaehyun hated him for all he knew - and the surprise they prepared for him left him completely speechless; he had expected that night to turn awful after all.

       The only thing Donghae could do was glue himself to Hyukjae and kiss him hard, pouring all the pent-up feelings he had for the elder in it. Hyukjae brings him even closer and kisses him back with just as much passion, making his knees go weak and his brain turn to mush.

       "Does that mean Hyukjae-hyung is going to be my daddy too now?" Jaehyun's excited voice breaks them apart and the two adults gaze in each other's eyes, finding assurance in them without the need of words.

       Donghae gave himself to Hyukjae entirely that night, after his son was long asleep, and it was the most wonderful thing to have happened to him in such a long time. Hyukjae was so gentle, so loving and sweet; he took so much care of the younger that Donghae couldn't help but cry in sheer happiness.

       Jaehyun had been right after all - his father needed the elder to take care of him.

~~~

       "Hyukjae-hyung, you're no match for me! You're even slower than daddy!" Jaehyun yells from the other side of the playground.

       It's Christmas evening. Donghae watches his son and his lover chase each other around the park, engaged in a "fierce" snowball-fight. All of them agreed to spend the day together, testing the waters regarding the whole new family concept. Donghae and Hyukjae also agreed to take it slow and not rush into anything, although they both confessed their love for each other and made it pretty clear that they're going to be each other's lasts.

       "I'm the oldest here, you know," the elder laughs it off. 

       The two start running around again and Donghae almost joins them; but he does not want to pick any side, so he chooses to simply watch from a bench. It shouldn't be long until Jaehyun gets tired anyway. When the kid eventually does, Hyukjae leaves him alone to build a snowman and comes to sit beside the father. Donghae notices that he's dragging the left leg behind the right one slightly, although he tries to hide it. Hyukjae told him about his injury and the younger knows he doesn't like people fussing over it, so he doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he hesitantly puts his hand on the hurting knee and massages it gently. Hyukjae intertwines their fingers together and brings Donghae's hand to his lips, kissing the back of it in gratitude.

       This is it, Donghae thinks as he leans his head against Hyukjae's shoulder and watches his son happily playing in the snow. This is how I want to spend the rest of my life.