Yeonjun drove to Kara's school, turning his head and smiling when Kara came inside the car, "Hey, sweetheart... How was school?"
"Kinda boring... But nothing bad happened."
Yeonjun started driving away as he asked, "How was your math test?"
"I think I did ok... Thanks for helping me study."
"Of course, Kar... Anytime."
"How was the doctor's office?"
Yeonjun sighed, "Your Appa is gonna freak out..."
Kara furrowed her eyebrows, "What happened?"
"I have a cyst in my wrist and I need to get it removed."
"Oh, ok... You're ok, though, right?"
"Yes, of course sweetheart... I'm perfectly fine."
"Then why's Appa gonna freak out?"
"Because I have to get surgery for it."
"Ohhhhh... Yeah, he's gonna freak out."
"I love him and I'm glad he cares about me... But he worries like it's the end of the world."
Kara reached over, patting Yeonjun's shoulder as she said, "Good luck, Dad."
"Thanks, Kar." Yeonjun said before there was a comfortable silence between them for a few minutes.
Kara broke the silence, "Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Ummm... Can I go to a party tonight?"
Yeonjun raised his eyebrow, looking over at her as he stopped at a stoplight, "Can I have a little more context?"
"Umm... Jason invited me. It's because they won their basketball game. It's at one of his teammate's house's."
"Will there be alcohol at this party?"
"I-I don't know."
Yeonjun sighed as he started driving forward again, "Listen, Kar, you're seventeen and you've never asked to go to a party before... But it's high school. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I promise, I'll be fine... Pleeeeaaassseee?"
Yeonjun sighed, "Let's talk to Appa about it when we get home, ok?"
"Ok."
. . . . .
"Juniiiieeeee~" Soobin sang as he saw Yeonjun walk in through the front door.
Yeonjun smiled as Kara walked in behind him, "Hey, bin."
Soobin turned around from the stove, walking over to the both of them, "How was school, Kar?"
"Good... I-I wanna ask you something."
"Of course, what's up?"
"Can I umm... Th-There's a party happening tonight and I wanted to go."
Soobin raised an eyebrow, "Party?"
"Yeah... The boy's basketball team won today so Yingi and I wanted to go... I think Uncle TaeTae said she could go already."
Soobin sighed, "I'm guessing no parents at this party?"
"Ummm... I really don't know, Appa."
Yeonjun saw the worry in Soobin's eyes, "Binnie, just say what you're thinking... I know that look."
Soobin sighed again, "I don't want you to get hurt, Kar."
"Please? I've never been to a party."
"O-Ok." Soobin said with hesitation.
Kara's eyes widened, "Really?"
"No drinking, no drugs, and you're home by eleven thirty. Good?" Yeonjun said.
Kara nodded and smiled, quickly giving Soobin a hug, "Thank you, Appa!..." She turned around and gave Yeonjun a hug, "Thanks Dad!"
"Call us if you need anything, ok? And please stay with Yingi." Soobin added.
"Of course."
"Go work on your homework and we'll call you down when dinner's ready, ok?"
Kara nodded before running up the stairs, leaving Yeonjun and Soobin in the living room. They just turned to each other and smiled, giving each other a kiss before Yeonjun softly said, "Hi, baby."
"Hi... How was the doctor?"
"Ummm... It was ok."
Soobin's smile instantly faded, "Oh no... What happened?"
"Please don't freak out, ok?"
"Oh my god, what's wrong?! A-Are you ok?!"
"Binnie... I promise, I'm fine... But I kinda have to get surgery—"
"What?! No, no, no—"
"Babe, lemme finish, ok? I promise, I'm fine."
"How're you fine when you need to get surgery?!"
"I just have a cyst in my wrist—"
"What?!" Soobin said as he grabbed Yeonjun's hand and frantically looked at his wrist.
Yeonjun sighed, "It's the other one."
Soobin threw Yeonjun's wrist away and quickly grabbed his other one, looking at it like he was a doctor, "Oh god... W-Why haven't I noticed it before?!"
"It's ok. I didn't either... That's why my wrist has been hurting recently. And I just need to go and get it removed. It's a pretty standard operation, ok? The doctor said surgeons can do it in their sleep."
"B-But you're hurt a-and—"
"ssssshhhhh..." Yeonjun said, cutting Soobin off, "Look at me... I'm ok, I promise. The rest of me is totally fine and the doctor was surprised with how healthy my blood test was... Probably because we eat most of the food you grow."
Soobin let out a small sigh of relief, "Are you sure?"
"Of course..." Yeonjun said before Soobin moved closer to him, giving him a tight hug. Yeonjun rubbed his back and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too."
. . . . .
"Binnie?" Yeonjun said, reaching out his hand towards Soobin on the couch.
Soobin furrowed his eyebrows, "Yeah?"
"Come dance with me."
"Dance?"
"Yes."
Soobin slightly smiled as he placed his hand in Yeonjun's, standing up from the couch and walking to an open space in their living room. Yeonjun held onto Soobin's hand while the other was placed on his waist. Soobin placed his free hand on Yeonjun's shoulder as they strted to sway, not needing music.
"What's wrong? You look stressed, bin."
"Do you think Kara's ok?"
Yeonjun sighed, "It's just a party and she's smart, ok?... She's a teenager... We gotta let her do stuff on her own."
"She's still my little baby." Soobin said with a pout on his face.
"Binnie, she's getting older, but she's always gonna be our little baby girl... I don't care if she's seventeen our fifty-seven. She's always gonna be our baby girl."
Soobin sighed and he rested his head on Yeonjun's shoulder, "She grew up too fast."
"I—" Yeonjun was cut off when Kara walked through the front door. Yeonjun loosened his hold on Soobin and gave her a smile, "Hey, sweetheart. How was the party?"
Kara looked away and closed the front door without saying a word.
Soobin lifted his head off of Yeonjun's shoulder, "Kar? Hey, what's wrong?"
Kara's eyes glossed over before she quickly ran upstairs and into her room, slamming her door shut.
Yeonjun and Soobin flinched at the loud noise and looked at each other with concern. They both instantly ran up the stairs without saying anything and went to Kara's room.
Soobin knocked on the door, "Sweetie?... What happened?... You can talk to us, ok?"
There was no response, only muffled sobs coming from the other side of the door. Soobin and Yeonjun both looked at each other and nodded.
Yeonjun softly said, "We're gonna come in, ok?"
Soobin slowly opened the door, seeing Kara curled up on her bed and crying into her pillow. Soobin and Yeonjun frowned as they moved closer to her, "Sweetheart, we're here, ok?"
Soobin sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her back, "Everything's ok, Kara."
Kara quickly sat up and instantly hugged Soobin tight, burying her face into his chest. Soobin wrapped his arms around her, "It's ok... sssssshhhhh... It's ok."
Yeonjun pouted as he sat down on the bed next to them and gently rubbed her back, "ssssshhhhh... Everything's ok."
Kara's sobs died down after a few minutes and she lifted her head off of Soobin's shoulder. Yeonjun quickly brought a hand up to wipe her tears away as Soobin handed her a tissue.
"Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Yeonjun asked.
Kara sniffled before saying, "I was talking to Jason at the party when this other boy came up to us..."
"Choi Kara, I've never seen you at a party." Jason said with a smile on his face as he walked over to Kara, shoving his hands nervously into the pockets of his jeans.
"Well, they're not really my thing, but you invited me... And you scored twenty-five points today with twelve assists and ten rebounds. It's hard to get a triple double."
"You're not too bad yourself, Choi... Twenty plus points in your last five games is something to be proud of."
Kara shyly smiled at the complement, "I'm just happy that I have one friend who understands basketball... My dads try their best to keep up, but they have no idea what's going on."
"What do you mean? You have all the girls on your basketball team to talk to."
"Those aren't my real friends, Jay. Except for Yingi."
"Where is she anyway?"
"Her girlfriend came so they're probably making out somewhere."
"Ahh, gotcha... Well, if you ever wanna nerd out about basketball, I'm your guy."
"Thanks." Kara said with a smile.
"Heyyyyyy..." A drunk boy said as he walked over to them, "Karrraaaa... damn you look fine as hell."
Jason cut in, "Hey... Show some respect, Sooyung."
Sooyung took another sip from his cup, "Nobody fucking cares dude."
"How much have you had to drink tonight?... Maybe I should take you home."
"Jason, stop being such a pussy. The party is just getting started." Sooyung reached out and slapped Kara's butt hard.
Jason was fuming and pushed him away before he got up in his face, "Don't you ever fucking touch her again."
"Bro, chill... I'm just having some fun."
"Fun isn't touching people without their consent."
"Geez, since when are you so uptight?... She has two dads so who gives a shit? Just another toy."
Jason gritted his teeth, "Don't you dare talk about her like that."
"Stop acting like you care about her."
"You are way too drunk and not thinking straight... Walk away... Now."
Sooyung rolled his eyes, "Whatever... Fucking cockblock." before turning around and walking back into the crowd.
Jason turned back to Kara, who felt the tears coming, "Hey... You ok? I'm sorry, he's such a jerk."
"I-I have t-to go." Kara quickly said and turned around, walking to the door.
"Kara! Wait!" Jason yelled as he ran after her.
Kara quickened her pace until she was out the door and walking home.
"... I was just upset."
Yeonjun gritted his teeth and stood up, "Where is this Sooyung boy!? I swear—"
"Jun, sit."
"Soobin, you can't be seri—"
"Yeonjun, sit..." Yeonjun huffed and hesitated before sitting back down on the bed. Soobin sighed and softly asked, "He didn't hurt you, right?"
"No... That's not why I'm upset."
Yeonjun furrowed his eyebrows, "Then what's wrong?... Talk to us, Kar."
"It's just... I've never had someone say anything about having gay parents."
Soobin and Yeonjun looked at each other and frowned before Soobin said, "I'm so sorry, Kar... We know you didn't ask for us to be your parents and—"
"What? What are you talking about? You're the best parents in the world. Seriously, I got so lucky being adopted by you... I was just sad because you guys don't deserve that."
Yeonjun noticed Soobin bite his lip and look down at his lap as he pouted, "Binnie... Please don't cry... You're gonna make me cry."
Soobin sniffled and picked his head up, "W-We're the l-lucky ones. Kar."
Kara felt the tears well in her eyes, "Appa... S-Stop... Y-You're making m-me cry a-again."
Yeonjun sighed before he stood up and moved to sit down in between his husband and his daughter. He wrapped an arm around each of them and let their tears stain his shirt. He leaned down and kissed the top of their heads, "I love you both so much, ok?"
"I love you too, dad." Kara said before sniffling and wiping her tears away.
"I love you too, Jun." Soobin said as he used Yeonjun's shirt to wipe his tears away.
"Kar?" Yeonjun whispered.
"Yeah, dad?"
"If someone ever touches you like that again, you tell me, ok?"
"I will... I promise, I'm ok, dad."
"Let's go make some of Uncle Jinnie's peach muffins so that you can give them to Jason tomorrow."
"Can we make blueberry instead? He's allergic to peaches."
Soobin smiled softly, "Does Kara have a crush?"
"Appa... Stop it..." Kara whined as she smiled softly.
"Kar, he seems really sweet if he stood up for you like that."
Kara smiled wider, "He's texted me like ten times since I left."
"What are you doing?! Text him back!" Yeonjun said with wide eyes.
"I don't know what to say."
"What'd he text you?" Soobin asked.
Kara took her phone out of her pocket and read the texts, "The first one is, 'hey kara you ok?'... Then he wrote, 'i'm really sorry. sooyung is such a jerk.'... 'are you ok? please text me back'... 'did you make it home?'... 'sorry i keep texting you. i just wanna know that you're ok'."
"Oh my god... He obviously likes you too." Soobin said.
"Text him back, Kar." Yeonjun added.
"What do I say?"
"Like ummm... 'Hey, I made it home. I was just upset. Thank you for standing up for me'." Soobin said.
"Oh, tell him he's sweet for standing up for you." Yeonjun added.
"Ok, ok..." Kara typed out a text, "How's 'hey, sorry. i made it home ok. you're so sweet thank you for standing up for me'."
"Send it." Yeonjun said with a smile.
Kara smiled as she pressed the send button on her phone.
"I'm just telling you now, if comes over here, the door stays open—"
"Dad... W-We're not even dating... He's just on the boys basketball team. That's how we met."
Yeonjun raised an eyebrow, "So he watches your games?"
"Sometimes. Whenever he doesn't have a game at the same time as me, he comes to watch."
"Is he coming to your game on Friday?"
"Why?"
"Well, why don't we meet this boy?"
Kara's eyes widened, "S-Sure..."
. . . . .
Yeonjun walked out of the bathroom, seeing Soobin reading his book on their bed with the only light coming from his lamp. Yeonjun quietly moved towards their bed, sliding underneath the covers and moving closer to Soobin. He wrapped his arm around Soobin's waist and nuzzled his head closer to Soobin's neck, rubbing his nose against Soobin's cheek.
Soobin smiled and turned his head, giving Yeonjun a kiss on his forehead, "What're you so cuddly for?"
"I'm always cuddly."
"Is everything ok?"
Yeonjun nodded, "I'm fine."
Soobin took a hand away from his book and tucked Yeonjun's hair behind his ear, "If you wanna talk, I'm here, ok?"
Yeonjun nodded and gave Soobin a kiss before closing his eyes, "Wait, Jun?"
Yeonjun hummed as he opened his eyes again.
"Lemme hold you better." Soobin replied before moving away in order to put his arm around Yeonjun, letting him rest his head on Soobin's chest. Soobin brought the blankets over Yeonjun to make sure he was warm before softly playing with his hair and continuing to read his book.
Yeonjun hugged Soobin's waist again, "Thank you."
Soobin giggled before planting another kiss on Yeonjun's forehead, "You don't have to thank me for cuddles."
"But I am."
Soobin pouted as he closed his book, putting it on the nightstand along with his glasses, "What's wrong, Junie?"
Yeonjun sighed and hesitated for a moment, "I'm worried about Kara."
"Babe..." Soobin said as he grabbed Yeonjun's hand, bringing it up to his lips and planting a soft kiss on his knuckles, "I am too... I think that's kind of our job as parents."
Yeonjun smiled as he tilted his head up, seeing Soobin already looking at him, "You think she's gonna be ok?"
"Of course... Think about it. She could've come home drunk or high and that would've been worse... Not saying that what happened to her wasn't bad, but I know she's gonna be ok."
Yeonjun quietly snuggled his head into the crook of Soobin's neck as Soobin turned the lamp off on the nightstand, "Thank you."
"I got you, babe."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
. . . . .
"Jay!" Kara said, spotting Jason at his locker.
Jason turned his head, seeing Kara walk closer to him, "Hey, are you doing ok?"
"I promise, I'm fine..." Kara said before handing Jason the container she was holding, "My Appa and I made you muffins."
Jason smiled as he took the container, "Why?... I-I mean, thank you... But umm... Why?"
Kara rolled her eyes, "Because you stood up for me yesterday... Thank you."
"You didn't have to do that... Sooyung was being an asshole."
"You deserve them... And my Appa grew the blueberries himself. He usually makes it with peaches, but I know you're allergic."
Jason softly smiled, "Wanna share them at lunch?"
"They're for you."
"Exactly, so I get to choose who gets to eat them... I'm sharing them with you."
Kara smiled, "Meet at our usual spot?"
"Definitely."
~
"These are incredible."
"It's my uncle's recipe."
"Well, I could eat a million of these."
Kara softly smiled and took another bite of her muffin, "My dads wanna meet you."
Jason gulped, swallowing the bite of muffin he just took, "R-Really?"
"Yeah... I told them about yesterday."
Jason softly smiled, "I'd love to meet them."
"They're coming to my game tomorrow."
"Perfect... I'll be there... I need to thank your Appa for the muffins."
"They're gonna love you."
. . . . .
"Choi!"
Kara turned around when she heard the familiar voice, seeing Jason trying to catch up with her, "Hey, what's—"
"Ok, so your Appa is the one who grows everything and he has the little farmers market. A-And then your Dad was the olympian a-and... Oh god... H-How many medals did he win again?"
"Wow... You need to take a breath."
"I-I don't wanna mess up."
"And you're not... Just be yourself."
"I-I've never met a girls parents before."
Kara softly smiled, "Trust me, they're goofy. Where do you think I get it from?"
"D-Do I look ok?"
"Jay, you're gonna be fine—"
"Kar!"
Kara and Jason turned towards the voice, "Hey Appa."
Jason stiffened as Soobin walked closer to them, "How was school?" Soobin said as he leaned forward, giving Kara a kiss on her cheek.
"Good... Umm... Appa, this is Jason." Kara said, gesturing to the guy standing next to him.
Soobin smiled and reached his hand out, "Hi... It's so nice to finally meet you."
Jason smiled, trying to hold in how nervous he was as he shook Soobin's hand and bowed to him, "I-It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Choi."
Soobin pulled his hand away, "Sorry, my husband's in the bathroom."
"Oh, it's ok, sir."
"Bin?..." Yeonjun said as he looked around the corner, smiling when he saw his family standing at the end of the hallway, "I lost you..." Yeonjun walked over them, giving Kara a kiss on her cheek, "Ready for the game?"
"Yeah... Dad, this is Jason."
Yeonjun reached his hand out, "Nice to meet you."
Jason shook his hand and bowed, "Nice to meet you too, sir."
Yeonjun pulled his hand away, "Thanks for protecting our daughter at the party."
"Oh, you don't have to thank me... Th-Thank you for the muffins. They're fantastic."
Soobin smiled, "You know, I grew the blueberries in them."
"Kara told me. They were really great, Mr. Choi."
Kara looked back into the gym, "Oh, shoot... I have to go."
Jason smiled at her, holding his fist up, "You're gonna do great, Choi." Expecting Kara to bump his fist with hers.
Kara just smiled and moved closer to him, quickly going on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek, "Thanks, Jay..." Kara turned to Yeonjun and Soobin, "See you later."
"Good luck, Kar."
"Have fun."
Kara smiled, seeing how red Jason's cheeks got as he still blankly held his fist up. She walked away as Jason snapped back into reality, "G-Good luck." He gulped as he anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, knowing her parents were still standing right next to him.
"Can we ask for a favor?" Yeonjun asked.
Jason nodded, "O-Of course."
"Can you teach us how basketball works? We don't understand a thing when we watch Kara's games."
Jason giggled a little, "Of course Mr. Choi... C'mon, we can get the best seats."