Crumbling Bridges {YuJae} | complete

twenty-four

Sooo my finger slipped and I posted this chapter :D I couldn't contain myself okay???

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"Dad?"

Jaehyun scrolls through his twitter feed, coffee in hand and eyes weary from waking up too early. Monday mornings are always a scramble. Between getting Hyejin sorted and organising his own schedule for the week, there never seems to be enough time, especially now that he has to squeeze in cuddles with Yuta amongst all the chaos.

"Dad!"

Jaehyun's eyebrows furrow. The patter of water from the shower filters through the apartment. He can't wait for Yuta to finish up so they can eat breakfast together. For now, his chipped coffee mug is his companion. Another presence in the kitchen draws his attention mindlessly stirring the black liquid, and when he looks up he meets Hyejin's narrowed eyes.

"Jaehyun." She whines. "Can you iron my shirt? It's the only one I could find."

He drops his eyes to the crumpled shirt and softly takes it off her.

"Rolling it in a ball doesn't help, sweetie." Jaehyun says, flapping the shirt and thinking of where the others could be. "The rest are here. Still in the basket. Sorry, the service has been a bit slow recently." He doesn't mention it's because Yuta is a wonderful distraction from all the household chores. "Try this one. And can you hang the rest up in your wardrobe, please? That'd be a big help, love."

Hyejin takes the pile of ironed shirts but doesn't leave. Jaehyun pauses too, not quite sitting back down to examine her whitened knuckles where she grips the clothes hard and the thin line of her lips, words fighting to reach the air. When Hyejin offers an awkward smile that doesn't reach her eyes, Jaehyun realises.

"What did you say just now, sweetie?" He asks. He sips on his coffee, then cradles the hot mug in his hands to give them something to do, although he fears he might drop it if it turns out his ears did in fact hear correctly.

"Can you iron my shirt?" Hyejin speaks, words slow, lumbered with uncertainty, and her eyes divert to the floor.

"No. Before that."

Jaehyun drinks more coffee. He watches his daughter with intent as though she'd vanish if he were to look away for even the briefest second, fingers locked around his mug.

"I..." Hyejin swallows. She winces. Jaehyun bites his tongue. "I called you... Dad?"

Jaehyun blinks. The shower stops, the whirring of various kitchen appliances the only noise left in the apartment save for the pumping of his heart. Yuta calls out for a towel but his request falls on deaf ears. Jaehyun can't hear anything except the name that leaves Hyejin's lips.

"You called me Dad." Jaehyun repeats under his breath, a whisper of disbelief fragmented by a stunned laugh.

He replaces the mug on the table, still without sitting back down, and drops the crumpled shirt on top of Yuta's jeans in the washing basket. Jaehyun rubs his cheeks. He doesn't know what to say, how to respond, because no words carry enough meaning to convey the sheer happiness that explodes through his entire body, the tips of his fingers tingling and his knees weakening and his mouth dropping open to still attempt to utter something, the need to break the silence suffocating.

"Sorry." Hyejin beats him to it.

She turns to leave, but Jaehyun isn't prepared to let her go anywhere. He grabs her shoulder, makes her face him, and she sucks in her lips as she looks up at him. The stream of light entering through the blinds above the sink catches the conflict in her eyes.