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nuoyipeach · 4 months

Text

Play Pretend

Lee Taeyong X Kang Seulgi

warning: single parents

tags: @gerardeveryway @gomseulgiii @innssanityyy @seulyongggi (+anon requested)

"Baby have you got your report card yet?" Taeyong asked while buttoning his shirt and walking out of his bedroom. His eyes scanned the living room until it fell on the figure of the ten year old laying on the couch lazily, groaning as a response. "Hurry up, let me sign it before you go today." he ordered heading into the kitchen.

The young girl sighed before getting up and fixing back her school uniform, taking out a file from her backpack and handing it to her father at the dining table, where he drank his coffee. Taeyong took it and looked through the card.

"B- in Geography?" he looked at his daughter, raising an eyebrow.

"The teacher is mean OK!" she exclaimed. "I swear daddy she absolutely hates kids and decided to teach just to punish us."

Taeyong chuckled watching the girl pout and slouch into the chair opposite to him, shaking his head before taking out a pen from his pocket and signing the card, handing it back to her.

"Well, you still got As and Bs mostly, so I guess that counts for a little present, don't you think?" he watched as she sat up straight with gleaming eyes, nodding enthusiastically causing her father to laugh.

A smile on his daughter's face was his immediate ecstasy, the cure for all the sadness he felt since her existence.

"After school today, I'll pick you and we'll go to the mall, you can pick out one thing, budget is 40,000 won."

The girl got up and ran to her father's side, hugging his neck tight. "I LOVE YOU DADDY YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"Wow, all for one present huh." he fake sulked, making the girl sigh in exasperation, and he just laughed at her, giving a soft kiss to her cheek. "Go get your bag now, you'll be late."

>>>

"Seojin please calm down." Seulgi's voice shook as she didn't know what to do anymore, her one year old fussing in her arms as she sat in the clinic. She was so tired, but couldn't rest a second at the thought of her baby sick to the point of crying.

"Kang Seojin." she looked up as the nurse finally called them in after what felt like forever, and quickly headed in to the doctor's office with her daughter in one hand and the baby bag in her other. She was quick to fall into the patient's seat opposite the doctor, who was focused on his screen before turning to them.

"Hello, I'm Dr Lee." he greeted, and Seulgi responded. "So this is Kang Seojin, one year old, baby girl, right?" she nodded, and noticed the doctor eyes her fussing baby who had calmed for a second when seeing the new face. The doctor typed away in his computer, before motioning her to sit on the bed and lay Seojin on it.

"So what seems to be the problem Ms?" he asked taking is stethoscope off his neck.

Seulgi looked at her baby still fussing uncomfortably, pulling on her shirt as a sign to carry her again. "She's been like this since yesterday, it's never happened before so I'm incredibly worried. I don't know what to do, it doesn't seem like she's got a temperature, and everything else seems normal. I'm so scared and tired..."

The man took note of the baby's breathing, who had calmed again slightly feeling the cold metal pressed to her chest. Seulgi watched as the doctor smiled at her, making playful expressions while moving the stethoscope around. She wondered if he had listened to her at all with how attentive he was being to Seojin's behaviour, but she knew paediatrics were very smart.

"OK, her breathing seems normal." he put the tool away, then looked at Seulgi, pointing to the baby's little dress. "May I?"

Seulgi stared confused, until she realised what he was asking permission for and felt touched, nodding immediately. He lifted the dress and with light fingers pressed around her tummy, making sounds at the same time to entertain the infant. She watched the way he interacted with her daughter, and almost felt sad if not for the fact she was in public.

"OK, seems like she's a bit bloated." he put her dress down and sat the infant up, holding her hands and playing with them a little as he continued speaking. "I suspect she's having trouble with gas. Has there been any irregularity in her meals? Or maybe something new you've been feeding her recently?"

Seulgi stared at her daughter and thought for a while. She hasn't fed her anything new in the time she's been sick this way, so the only option could be the first.

With a guilty face, she looked at him and answered. "It might have been the meal times. I work as a teacher, and uhm, she only has me, and I only have her..." she bit her bottom lip trying to stop herself from sounding pitiful. "I take her with me to the school and keep her in the day care part time which is free for me as a staff, but I've had to take an extra afternoon class recently, so she stays there a little longer than usual, so me feeding her gets delayed until I get home..."

The man stared a little perplexed. "Doesn't the daycare feed her?"

"They do, I still have to pay just that because she's so young so she requires special meal preparations, but I can only afford to do one for her in the time she's there. She does have some baby snacks in case, but it's not really enough to count as a meal you know..."

Seulgi felt ashamed as her flaws as a mother laid out to the doctor, and she could only pray he didn't judge her or spread the news of a mother being this incompetent. She watched as he stared at Seojin deep in thought, before picking her up and placing the infant on her lap, motioning her to come back to the table.

Once they sat, he typed away in his computer before speaking again. "I see no father listed in her records?" her eyes widened, even more embarrassment washing over her as she nodded.

"She has one, biologically, but... he didn't want anything to do with a baby. It's been just been me since then."

"Well, I can give you a prescription to help with her current bloating, however if her missing a meal continues it won't help in the long run."

He saw how she clearly hated that hypothesis. "What can I do? I took up an extra class for more salary just enough for us two. I can't afford them to feed her twice either." she felt her voice nearly crack, quickly looking away and taking deep breaths to stop herself breaking down.

The doctor rested his chin on his hand, elbow on the table, as he thought about a solution. "How about babysitting?"

"I can't offer enough for people to accept..."

He was deep in thought again, before suddenly raising his brows as if making a discovery. "How about someone young? They won't ask for much." Seulgi stared at him confused, which he clearly noticed before continuing. "You see, I am a single parent myself actually. I have a ten year old daughter, and she goes to the local private academy. The issue is, their classes start eight and end at two, not nine to five like the public schools, and due to office hours I also get off at five. She ends up going home alone, and honestly I trust her but it worries me."

Seulgi empathised deeply with him. She knew despite him having a higher paid job than her and being able to afford niceties more, being a single parent was never easy no matter what.

He continued as she nodded, assuring she was listening. "You work at the local public school right?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Great, hers is just a few minutes walk from there. If you don't mind, I was thinking maybe she could watch Seojin after her classes. That way you won't have to pay double for the daycare meals, and considering she's only ten you won't have to offer too much for babysitting fees either. As her father, I can assure you that it's fine."

Seulgi took his idea seriously, her mind crossing out thr pros and cons of it all. "How will she watch her? I mean like, where?"

"Well, I usually use my lunch break to pick her up and drop her."

Seulgi still wasn't convinced. "But, you don't know my house, and I'm not sure I can let Seojin go to another one like that just yet."

He realised her concern, and nodded before responding. "Where do you live?"

"Well, it's a ten minute walk from the school..."

"Oh that's not far at all, I can just drop them there from now on, and pick her up after work."

"Are you sure?" hesitation filled her voice as she realised how burdensome it sounds on his part. "It sounds like a lot of trouble on your part..."

"It's not don't worry, your place sounds closer to here than mine, so it'll be quick too. I'm only offering because I'd like for her to pick up some responsibility instead of being alone for so long, and it's only for three to four hours."

After much more hesitation, mental debate, and some final thoughts, Seulgi decided it was the only option that doesn't compromise her daughter's health further, so she didn't have much of a choice anyways. Sighing, she agreed to the idea, planning for a meet up first before the young girl would start her job.

The doctor wrote something on two separate note pages. "I'll write her prescription to get her current bloating down, you can pick it up at the counter. And here's my number." he passed both papers across his table as they stood, and smiled putting his hand out. "My full name's Lee Taeyong by the way, my daughter is Lee Yoora."

>>>

After a quick lunch meet at a cafe, where Seulgi saw how Yoora adored Seojin and clearly showed signs of being responsible, she finally agreed wholly to the plan, and now sat in her classroom staring at the clock. Yoora should have picked up her daughter by now and already reach their home, and she had promised to let Seulgi know when she does.

Seulgi had left a pre-prepared meal for Seojin, as well as some lunch for Yoora, and left instructions for everything on a paper on the fridge. If her instincts were right during their meet up, Yoora should have no issue navigating everything.

Her phone dinged, and she was quick to grab and check the notification.

Lee Yoora: hi! we reached your home, Seojin fell asleep, do you want me to wake her and feed or wait?

She let out a sigh of relief, and smiled at how seriously the young girl took her job.

Me: hi yoora, glad to hear that. it's time for her afternoon nap, so why don't you go ahead and eat first. lay her on her mat in the living room and check on the fridge, I've left some directions, and lunch for you in the fridge

Yoora sent back a thumbs up, and Seulgi relaxed, focusing back on her classroom where students started coming in after lunch time. Unlike before she felt much calmer teaching the class, though hints of worry did wash over every now and then at the thought of whether Seojin was doing OK.

As soon as school ended, she clocked out and went home right away. She stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath to steady herself, then opened it to find the house completely calm and quiet. She went in further until she heard a soft giggle from Seojin, and finally peeked into their living room/dining space to see Yoora on the table doing work, while her own daughter sat in her baby seat next to her simply entertained by the jingling fluffy pen the older girl was using to write. Yoora was smiling too, and Seulgi watched a bit longer when the ten year old looked back at the infant and teased her with the fluffy end, causing her to laugh more.

Her heart tickled at the sight of her baby so happy in the care of someone else. Seulgi had felt so alone since having Seojin, with the man leaving her, and her family living too far away to be able to help at all, she was overjoyed that there was someone else her baby could finally learn to trust. She had feared Seojin might have had a separation issue from her, but luckily that wasn't the case as she sees now.

"I'm home." she decided to finally announce herself and entered, greeting Yoora before taking her daughter and kissing her cheek. "I see you two had fun today." she chuckled as she spoke, before turning back to Yoora. "I'll take her now, why don't you finish your work while I make us something to eat?"

"Oh no I don't want to bother you." Yoora waves her hands, but Seulgi shook her head.

"It's fine, you'll need nutrients to keep you brain running."

>>>

Their routine soon became natural, and Taeyong was the most relieved when seeing how happy Yoora had been the past couple of months whenever he picked her up. Sometimes he'd end up a little late due to patient emergencies, but Seulgi reassured him it was no issue for her, and if anything it was more helpful as she was able to get more done without worrying abt Seojin. Yoora also loved the arrangement as Seulgi being a teacher helped her with some schoolwork.

"Daddy we should invite them over next weekend. It's Ms Seulgi's birthday on the tenth, I wanna do something special for her." Taeyong listened to his daughter, and hummed in response. He figured it would be a good way for the two adults to get closer, especially considering he barely knew about them as much as Seulgi knew his side.

Once he tucked away Yoora for bed, he went to his room and pulled out his phone, thinking for a little before sending a text.

Taeyong: good evening seulgi. how are you & the little one?

He waited a few minutes before a reply came in.

Seulgi: hi dr taeyong, we're doing well

Taeyong: great to hear!

Taeyong: so yoora & I were wondering if you'd like to join us for dinner next week, say Saturday?

Seulgi: oh, I think it should be fine. what's the occasion?

Taeyong thought for a second, before deciding to make it a surprise.

Taeyong: just a simple dinner party

Seulgi felt hesitant despite having agreed to it already, and once the day came she stressed about what to wear and dress Seojin in. In the end she settled for a simple sleeveless yellow dress, reaching just below her knees, and a black cardigan over it. She then dressed Seojin in a similar yellow dress with ruffled sleeves and white tights.

She called a taxi and reached the Lees apartment just according to their agreed time, following the text of instructions on which floor and house number to head to. As she stood in the elevator, one hand with the baby bag and the other carrying Seojin, she suddenly felt a slight wave of tension. She didn't know why, but she felt oddly nervous entering Taeyong's living space. They've barely met much ever since the arrangement, just simple greetings exchanged when he picked up Yoora, and once more when she went for a follow up check for Seojin with him.

The elevator stopped, and she sighed stepping out and finding their door. The apartments weren't luxurious, nothing more than simple and modest, but still nicer than what she could afford. Another wave of nervousness washed over her until she found their door, taking a deep breath before ringing the bell.

The door swung open fast as a beaming child appeared. "Hi Ms Seulgi! Come on in!" Yoora cheered, taking the bag from her hand and leading her inside to the living room. "Sit here. My dad's coming out, food is ready too, even for Seojin. Come on Seojin let's go play!" she spoke so fast before swooping the infant from her mother's arms and running to her room, where Seulgi could look into and saw a floor mat prepared for Seojin to play on.

"Hi." a deep voice from behind made her stand and turn, smiling at the man appearing before her in a white collar shirt and dress pants, the top two buttons of his shirt left open. "Yoora sure loves Seojin, she couldn't wait for you guys to come sooner, got ready way before me." he chuckled, motioning for her to sit again as he did next to her.

"I'm glad." Seulgi responded, her eyes drifting to the children again. "I've wanted for Seojin to grow up with people around her. But being alone with her doesn't give me much time for playdates." her voice drifted off, and Taeyong sympathised deeply. He hesitated in questioning the obvious, but figured it would be OK to do so given their similar situations.

"How about any family?"

Her eyes darted towards him, and he almost regretted asking it until she sighed and shook her head. "My parents aren't happy about everything. They still keep in touch, but they live back in our hometown so we barely meet unless during chuseok or seollal. Any other relatives... I just don't keep up with." she looked down at her lap, biting her lip which he noticed started quivering, before her eyes landed on Seojin again and she smiled sadly.

"I don't regret having her, I love my baby to the most. I just wish I could have given her a better life without so much... stress about others."

He didn't know what took over him when Taeyong's hand suddenly slide across the couch and held hers, their eyes fixed on each other as he gave it a reassuring squeeze. He waited for a little, until she gave one back, and they exchanged soft smiles before he released her hand.

Both parents unknowing of the spark each other felt inside.

"How about you?" Seulgi broke the silence. "What's your story with Yoora?"

Taeyong chuckled. "I guess it's only fair. Well, you can see she's quite old. I was a second year med student actually when her mother got pregnant. We weren't ready for anything obviously, but she gave birth to her still. But..." this time he sighed, eyes drifting towards his daughter, except unlike Seulgi, guilt took over his face before he spoke very softly. "I haven't told Yoora the truth. Her mother is alive and well, but her family was some rich powerful one. I honestly didn't know much about her considering we were just a fling to be honest, but when Yoora was born they forced her to give up the baby and transferred her to complete her studies overseas. She called me immediately to take Yoora, haven't seen her since."

He looked back at Seulgi, and chuckled again seeing her bewildered expression. He swore never to speak of this in his daughter's presence, but he was glad it finally get it off his chest and talk about it.

"My family was upset with me obviously, but my sister did her best to help until I finished my degree and started working at the hospital. Once I had enough I moved out with Yoora and well, here we are."

They sat for dinner, Seojin seated by her mother on Yoora's old baby seat while Yoora sat on her other side. Taeyong watched as the two paid attention to the infant, a new kind of happiness filling up in him. He's always wanted a domestic family life, but between his shifts at the hospital and raising Yoora, he had no time for meeting new people let alone finding the right one.

As they finished eating, the children were back in Yoora's room while he invited Seulgi out to the balcony, handing her a glass of wine. She accepted with a smile, and they stood in silence out in the dark night, both leaning against the railing of the balcony, looking anywhere and everywhere.

"Do you ever wonder what would your life be like if things were... different?" Seulgi's voice broke the silence, and he turned to see her gazing out at the city. He stared at her for a while before taking a sip, thinking of an answer.

He knew exactly what she meant.

"Sometimes... I love her, but this life isn't what I wished for her."

She sighed, eyes darting down to her drink. "Can I confess something?" she peeked to see him still staring at her, and nodding slightly. "I never wanted to be a teacher. Before this job, I had a basic corporate one just to keep things going for me. That's where I met my ex, and I thought things would go well between us. But... when I got pregnant, I knew I wanted to keep my baby, even when he rejected it and broke up with me. That's when I left that job and started as a teacher here."

She took a sip, waiting for some form of response. She saw through the corner of her eye how he looked at her, suddenly moving closer until they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"What was your dream job?"

"A mother."

Silence filled again, nothing but the sounds of the cars and few people going past the building down on the road. Taeyong kept his eyes on her, wondering if she was going to explain further. But she didn't, which wasn't exactly needed because he knew exactly what she meant.

"I wish the same." he spoke softly, her head finally turning towards him as their eyes met. "When Yoora was born, I was too young to care about my future. But now I know that, no matter how much I love her, this isn't what I wanted her to have. I want her to have a mother, siblings, a family life, something even the most capable single parent won't be able to fill up themselves."

They're eyes locked, a look of sympathy in both as they stared at each other for a while. Seulgi suddenly realised how long they had been staring, not to mention their close proximity, and quickly looked down shying away, taking a last swing of her wine. Like Taeyong, she had no time or space for a new relationship, especially when her daughter had just newly turned one. And as far as she had heard, no one wants to start a relationship where a child is a given from day one.

She peeked towards him again, and noticed his eyes stayed on her. Pursing her lips she turned to him fully, his glass now empty as he gazed at her, his eyes changed from sympathy to something else. He got up from leaning on his forearms and faced her as well, and she saw his eyes dart up and down her face.

"I'm glad you came into my office that day." he spoke softly, the distance between them getting smaller. "I see how happy Yoora is when coming home from you. She talks as if Seojin is her sister, even in school..."

She gave a shy smile in return. "I love having her around, and I know Seojin does too."

A quick smile appeared on his face before disappearing again, and Seulgi suddenly felt hot despite the light breeze.

Taeyong knew what he was thinking about wasn't exactly right, or wrong, it was in fact a very grey area. She was beautiful, she wanted the same as him, she brought everything he ever wanted to fix his life. The seal was his daughter loved her.

A gust of wind lightly blew past them, Seulgi blinking as some of her hair went onto her face. But before she could push it back, his hand was already up, fingers lightly pushing her hair off and putting it behind her ear. Their eyes locked for much longer, his hand still on the side of her face, his knuckles unconsciously tracing her jawline. She didn't move or flinch, not even when he suddenly cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing her cheek this time.

The air felt heavy, Seulgi finding it hard to breathe all of a sudden. She wanted to move, but his touch felt so comforting all of a sudden.

"You've done well."

Three words, full of meaning. Seulgi had felt so stressed, scared, disappointed sometimes even with herself, she didn't realise that these three words was all she needed to hear to feel a wall break down in her heart. She felt so calmed, so soft, that she didn't bother to reject when his lips were suddenly on hers.

Taeyong played it safe, he moved close slowly, hovered his lips over hers at first, and when she remained still, he gave a soft kiss first. But once she kissed back, he let go of all hesitation as his hand moved to hold the back of her neck and pulled her closer as their kiss elongated.

Her skin felt like it was on fire, especially where he touched. She didn't know where it went, but his other hand was suddenly on her waist, simply placed there with no grip or push. Her one hand remained holding the wine glass by its stem while the other slowly gripped his shirt on his arm.

"Da-" they heard a light gasp, enough to break their kiss and quickly detach as they looked at the source of the sound, fear filling up both parents as they faced a still Yoora, looking as if she had faced Medusa and turned to stone.

No one spoke a word, Taeyong feeling guilty, Seulgi embarrassed, and Yoora still in shock. After about two minutes she gulped, looking at either adults, took a deep breath in, then out as she thought of what to say.

"So... you two a thing?"

"NO!" both parents simultaneously answered, shaking their heads.

Yoora looked more confused, then to their shock, a little disappointed. "Oh... thought it was a birthday miracle."

"Birthday?" Seulgi asked confused, to which the young girl covered her mouth before sighing.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. I remember your birthday was the past week, so I wanted to surprise you tonight. That's why I was calling you in actually." her eyes then turned to her father, who stood staring at the floor as if he was caught doing something shameful. "Was that your present or something daddy?"

Seulgi felt a tug at her heart. She hadn't celebrated her birthday since becoming pregnant, and even before that it was spent with a simple wish from her ex-coworkers during their lunch break. Her parents would send her gifts, but that was the most.

The father and daughter were quick to notice tears welling up in her eyes, and Taeyong signalled Yoora too take her inside to where she had readied the cake. She nodded and quickly grabbed Seulgi's hand, pulling her inside until the dining table, where Seojin was seated in the baby seat staring at the cake in awe.

"Mamma!" the infant called out to her mother, pointing towards the candles while laughing. Seulgi silently stared at the scene before her, feeling a deep warmth in the pit of her stomach at the words on the cake wishing her by name.

Happy Birthday to the most amazing mum, Seulgi

"Do you like it?" Yoora's voice took her out of her daze. "I wasn't sure what flavour you liked, but I noticed you baked red velvet cookies for your home so I got that!" she cheered a little shyly.

A tear finally spilled onto her cheek, but with a smile on her face as she nodded at the young girl. "I love it Yoora." she sniffed, when a hand cupped her cheek again, thumb wiping away her tear. She turned to see Taeyong next to her, and they smiled at each other. "Thank you both, you really didn't have to do this..."

"Of course we did." he replied. "You mean a lot to Yoora, she loves you. And well, you've taken a role in her life I could only attempt to."

Seulgi got the meaning behind his words, suddenly remembering the kiss back on the balcony. And through the rest of the night as they cut the cake and sat together talking, that memory flooded her mind every few seconds when she looked at the man in front of her.

Even as she went home and sobered up and laid in bed holding her daughter close to her chest, she started visioning how things would be if the four of them were a family.

Stop it Seulgi....

>>>

As the next week came, Seulgi sat with Yoora helping with her homework while waiting for her father to pick her up. Seojin was in her floor mat napping, her mother looking over at her every few minutes to keep her in check.

"Oh you know, Seojin said unnie today." Yoora suddenly spoke, getting Seulgi's attention off the book as she gasped with a smile. "I've been trying to make her say it to call me, took a few days but she did it. Is this how you felt when she first said mamma?"

Seulgi chuckled, filled with joy at the young girl's excitement. How she wished this was regular...

The bell rang, and she left Yoora to finish up to go open the door. Taeyong appeared with a smile, and a hand carrying three gift bags. She looked at them perplexed before giving him way into the living room, where he stopped and cooed at sleeping Seojin.

"What's all this?" she asked pointing to the three bags in his hand he had put down. He gave a more cheeky smile, then motioned her to sit next to her on the couch.

Yoora appeared out of the dining area, exclaiming softly at the sight of the bags before dashing to sit on her father's other side.

"I got off faster, but I knew Yoora would hate me picking her up earlier." he joked, getting a pout from the younger girl and a laugh from the woman. "I got some stuff for everyone."

Seulgi looked even more perplexed as he handed Yoora the smaller bag, which she immediately opened and pulled out a little purse from and hugged her father in gratitude. He pecked her cheek before turning to Seulgi, handing her a bigger bag. She took it reluctantly, opening it to look inside, gasping aloud as she saw the bigger purse inside.

"This... Taeyong it's a lot." she looked up and saw him smile at her. "I can't accept this, please."

"Please do." he put his hands on her as she was about to push it back to him. "I want you to have it. I noticed you'd carry everything in Seojin's baby bag, and you know, every woman should have that one good purse."

She was awed by his logic, still in shock when he handed her another smaller bag. "This is for Seojin, can't leave out the special one." he chuckled, taking out a small doll that rung a bell when moved around.

Seojin woke up hearing the bell, and was immediately up balancing on her feet and making way to them. Yoora called to her before grabbing the toy from her father's hand and taking her along to her toy corner to play.

Happiness filled Taeyong, and it was clearly evident on his face as he couldn't stop smiling for the whole time since entering. Seulgi on the other hand could only stare at the bags, hers full while Seojin's empty, while her face remained expressionless.

Once he looked at her and noticed it, he shifted closer to her on the couch and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Hey, what's wrong?" she looked up to see his eyes full of genuine concern.

"Taeyong, this is expensive... thank you but, its just so much for me."

She stopped when his other hand suddenly cupped her cheek, again, pushing her face to maintain eye contact as he smiled softly. "Please let me have this. I've always wanted to do something like this, and you know, you're thr closest that Yoora could have as-"

"Stop." she cut him off and abruptly got off the couch, push his hands away and dropping the bag to the floor. Right now, many thoughts ran through her head, but there was one she needed to clear up, to get off her chest. "I'm sorry Taeyong, but... I'm not here to play pretend."

She watched his knitted eyebrows as he stared confused, still sat down. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, she finally let it all out. "Taeyong, I love Yoora, but... she's not my daughter, she's not Seojin's sister, and you're not... you're not my husband. I don't know what happened that night with us, but it's made things so confusing for me. I agree this arrangement was really great for our kids, and to some extent for us as well, but I don't want it going some place without any guarantee about how it will end. Seojin is all I have, and as much as I hate it, I've come to accept that finding someone to full up the hole in our life is nearly impossible..."

Like the other night, a single tear fell down her cheek, except this time it wasn't a happy one. Stress and sadness piled up in her as she vented everything, and now the silence suffocated her. Before he could response, Seulgi turned away wiping her face and headed into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring out water for herself.

Except her emotions got the best of her as her hand shook picking up the jug, water spilling around the cup. A hand held hers to steady it, and she weakly released as the jug was taken away from her. Taeyong then took the cup, filled it, then helped her hold it. She took a quick chug of water, trying to drown any emotions that had bottled up until her throat.

"I'm sorry." she put the cup down hearing his soft voice, a hand on her back while the other he used to turn her towards him. "I didn't mean to make you feel this way. I know how hard it must have been, believe me, I've gone through it for ten years. But I can say this, no matter how great your life gets through everything, the tiniest piece of you will always crave for what's missing. And so will your child..."

The tone of his voice changed, which lead Seulgi look up at his now sullen face.

"She never says a thing, but I know and can sense how much Yoora feels the emptiness of a mother. Ever since she started coming here, she's been so happy... you don't know this, but she talks about you both a lot in school, not just Seojin. In fact, they had an assignment a few days ago to write about their mothers, usually Yoora would sit out of things like that, but when she came home with a well graded paper... I knew at that point that you're so much more to her than just the mother of a baby she watches over."

This time, his eyes remained down, and Seulgi could see the slight tears welling up in them. His hands slowly dropped down as well, and she was the one to hold his face in both her hands, pushing up to face her. Once their eyes met, he quickly blinked away the tears.

"I promised myself that if ever I get the chance to marry someone, my first priority would be Yoora. But believe me, that's not the only case with you..."

He was quick to grab her hands when she was about to retract them the moment she heard those last words, confusion written all over her face and even in her eyes.

"Every time I see you with either girl, I just get drawn to you. Ten years ago, as a medical student with an accidental baby, I wouldn't have looked at you this way. But now, as a working single father, I see you and I think, this is what I want." he pulled her closer, arms circling around her waist. "You're such a hardworking woman, somehow you manage to balance work and taking care of an infant. I can't imagine how hard it must have been those first few months after giving birth. But you've persevered. When you told me about how alone you were, I realised it didn't matter that I did it for ten years or more, because you started alone without help, and nothing makes you any stronger than all this."

Staring into his eyes, she could tell he was being sincere, every word was meaningful.

"What I went through, Seulgi, it was hard. And seeing you that day at the hospital with Seojin in your arms crying, your face filled with fatigue, stress, worry, I wanted to do so much more to help you. And now, seeing our daughters so attached, plus how attached mine is to you alone, I wondered, what if we were a real family? I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable today, but I wanted to test the waters by gifting you, obviously because you deserve it, but to also see how Yoora would react."

"You... want us to be a real family?" her voice shook. Taeyong sighed, staring at her silently before closing their distance and giving her lips a soft kiss, pulling away fast. He watched her expression, and noticed it was the same as last time. Except now, they weren't drunk.

"I'm willing to try." he pulled her in for a hug, one hand in her hair pushing her face against his chest while the other remained on her waist. A short smile crept on his lips when feeling her arms snake around him as she hugged him back. "I see the way you look at Yoora. And I promise, I will the same with Seojin."

"How do I look at Yoora?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Motherly. And as her father, nothing can make me fall for a woman more than how they feel about and treat my own daughter, she means the world to me."

This time, a more comfortable silence took over as they remained in each other's embrace, Seulgi's index tracing circled on his back while she thought about his idea.

"Will you be present in both their lives?" she asked again.

"If I don't, you can kick me out of the house. I'm sure Yoora would agree to it." she smiled at his response when feeling him chuckle softly, but his words still carried seriousness.

"Will you treat Seojin fairly?"

"I promise with all that I have, I will treat her as if she's my own."

Sighing, she thought of one more thing. "And if let's say, we... have another one?" she gulped asking this time, in fear of his answer considering the sensitivity of this final question.

Taeyong pushed her out, but his hands remained holding her arms as he faced her, smiling though his eyes remained serious. "Maybe not anytime soon, let's focus on Seojin first. But, if you want another, what kind of husband would I be to deny you of that?"

"Sit Yoora." the young girl froze as they entered their apartment, scared of her father's sudden serious tone. He only ever spoke like this one time before, when she got in trouble in school for punching a girl (which she still claims was deserved because she was making fun of her).

She sat opposite her father in the dining room, but unlike last time she noticed his nervous expression as his hands fumbled, his face clear that he was deep in thought of what to say.

"What's wrong daddy?"

Taeyong sighed hearing her concerned voice, and finally decided to speak up. "How would you feel about Seulgi becoming your mum?"

"What?!?" she stood up, whether from shock, excitement or disapproval he couldn't tell. But be understood it soon as a cheeky grin took over her lips. "Are you serious, you're gonna marry her?!" she asked aloud, to which he motioned her to calm down.

"Nothing is confirmed yet baby. It's... just more of a thought. We're still discussing, and how you feel about it is important to me, an-"

"Daddy shut up please and just propose already!"

>>>

The fear of accommodation filled both parents. As per Yoora's approval and request, they decided to move in together sooner than planned, and planned to get married in before Seojin turned two years old, which gave them five months for now.

But even if Yoora agreed happily, it was a whole different case when living under the same roof. Taeyong had cleared out an empty guestroom for them, but Yoora had coerced them into letting her share her room with Seojin, saying it was too big for her alone and she wouldn't feel as lonely at night. Seulgi was worried about Yoora's sleep schedule, but the first three nights proved it to be an OK arrangement.

Seulgi remained in the guestroom, until a week later when they sat for dinner, and Yoora spoke up all of a sudden.

"Don't you think married couples should live together?"

Taeyong stopped eating and stared perplexed. "We are though baby?"

"No. Why would parents be sleeping in different rooms?"

This time Seulgi cleared her throat and decided to answer. "It's my idea Yoora. I just didn't want to overstep boundaries, I know how it's always been you two only."

Yoora hummed, nodding as she acknowledged Seulgi's concern as if she was an adult too. Later on however, as Seulgi helped Taeyong clear away dishes, he suddenly stopped her moving away as his hand grabbed hers in the kitchen.

"She's right you know." she cocked her head sideways, as if to ask what he meant. "Yoora. We should be in one room."

"But... isn't it too soon? I'm worried she'll feel like we're invading her space and life an-"

Her face flushed when he stopped her talking with a quick kiss on the lips, frowning with a pout at his antics to which he simply chuckled.

"She wants to feel like a family, it's been so since that essay assignment... but don't feel forced, if you want to take time before officially moving in with me, go ahead. I'll make her understand."

Seulgi thought about it, hands still holding his while her thumbs rubbed the back of his palm. A cute habit he noticed by now that she was doing again, she bit her bottom lip when deep in thought, and he couldn't help a quiet laugh escape his lips.

She looked up, causing him to stop immediately, waiting for something. "Let's try tonight?"

>>>

Yoora was the happiest, standing aside her father in her beautiful light pink dress, holding the box enclosed with a ribbon, in which she carried two very important rings.

She giggled seeing Seojin toddle her way across the aisle from the entrance up to the stage, throwing flowers whenever she remembered to, until Taeyong stepped down a little and picked her up, lifting her in the air before kissing her cheek, both giggling along with the small audience. He then stood her by Yoora, who looked back at the entrance as everyone stood, and she was sure she saw an angel appear into the wedding hall.

Her eyes trailed her new mother, just as her father's did as he covered his mouth, surely a tear appearing in his eye. Never did Taeyong think he'd get to experience this as he became more of an adult, standing at the altar next to the officiant, watching his almost wife walk towards him in the most beautiful white gown, her face hidden behind the thin mesh veil through which he could tell she was just as nervous and emotional as he was.

And once the rings were worn and both said their I dos, Yoora was the first to cheer lifting her little sister up in her arms and twirling around with her.

"We're a family Seojin!" she let her go and tugged her along to their parents, going first immediately into Seulgi's arms and whispering into her ear. "Thank you for becoming my mummy."

>>>

hello anon, as you may know it doesn't always end up EXACTLY following the request, but I hope you still like it! (it's kinda hard to follow exactly cuz the flow just doesn't always come through like that) also I wrote it in what I call a "creative juice adrenaline rush"😅 so I hope it's good bcuz I wrote this fast lol

#nct #nct 127 #red velvet #nctvelvet #fluff #lee taeyong #kang seulgi #seulyong #kpop fanfic #nct fic #red velvet fic #romance #single parent au

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