ACT I | SCENE III

❝CHECKOUT❞

YOONGI TOOK A minute before twisting around to look behind him. haneul's bright eyes glistened with tears that threatened to spill out. her brows were pulled together, features scrunched in sadness. next to her, rian's face was a mixture of confusion and surprise. "haneulie, that's not your—"

"daddy!" the girl yanked her hand free, running for yoongi. she wrapped her arms around his legs, tears now running down her soft flushed cheeks. "please don't go." she pleaded desperately. yoongi glanced down at her before meeting rian's shocked gaze. it took a second for her to recover and react, feet moving towards them.

she tried to gently pry haneul off him. "haneul, let the gentleman go. he's not your father." she spoke softly. "no! he is!" haneul held on to him even tighter. "i'm so sorry about this." rian apologised to yoongi who was still trying to make sense of what was going on. he shut his eyes, heaving a deep sigh. why is everything going sideways today?

"haneul?" he called as softly as he could manage. the girl looked up at him expectantly. bending over, he peeled her arms off his body. "listen to me." he gave her a kind smile, watching as rian slowly got a hold of the girl. he waited till the woman was able to lift her into her arms before continuing. "perhaps i look like him, but i'm not your dad. hm?"

his words did nothing to pacify haneul, if anything, they agitated her even more. her crying became louder, eyes squinting shut with running tears. he pressed his lips in a thin line, eyes shifting to rian. he was at a loss. what sort of situation is this? he scratched the side of his face with his index finger. "i'm just... i'm just going to go." he gestured behind him, deciding it was best to leave. "yes. i'm really sorry." she bowed her head apologetically.

yoongi wheeled his cart away, glancing back once to see haneul trying to fight her way out of rian's hold. the poor woman tried to console her, to no avail. blowing out a loud breath, he hurried away. he wondered if it would be better if he forfeited the whole shopping and just went home as his eyes shifted to his watch again. he decided he could still make it if he hurried. and avoided the little girl.

with the mindset of completing the task, yoongi went about his shopping. it was more tedious than it should have been, because he kept turning tail whenever he thought he caught a glimpse of haneul close by. it was almost laughable to him, but he thought it was necessary if he didn't want a sequel to the earlier drama.

by the time he made his way to the checkout counter, yoongi felt more exhausted than he should have. he watched with tired eyes as the cashier rang up his items. he handed over his card, feeling more impatient as the clock ticked.

he stiffened when he heard a now familiar voice. "it's daddy again!" haneul's voice was full of excitement, although it was still evident that she had been crying. "no, it's not, my little slice of heaven. i told you he had to leave for something important. it's just someone who looks like him. and what did i tell you about pointing?" rian's rich yet soft voice followed soon after. "that it's rude." haneul answered meekly.

he could tell that they were at the counter behind him. yoongi pretended not to hear, resisting the urge to hiss at the cashier to hurry up. practically snatching his card out of the man's hands, he pushed the cart full of groceries out of the store.

getting to his car, he loaded the bags into the car boot quickly. he wheeled the empty cart to the cart corral, making sure it was secure before heading back. he had almost made it back to his car when he heard haneul's voice again. it was hard for yoongi to believe that a grown up man like him who had his life together was sent into a panic at the idea of being caught there by a six-year-old. not when he was so close to getting away.

practically running the rest of the way, he dropped his car key in his frenzy. he crouched down to pick it up, bumping his head against the side mirror of his car in the process. hissing in pain, he winced, hand rubbing against his forehead.

"look, i told you i saw daddy!" haneul's voice travelled through the parking lot. yoongi peeked in the direction of the sound as he unlocked his car. haneul's small face was brighter than when he'd left her as she ran towards him. he yanked the door open, fumbling his way inside.

"choi haneul! get back here! stop running off like that, it's dangerous!" rian called after her, running with difficulty thanks to the backpack, handbag and shopping bags she held in her hands. yoongi felt sorry for the woman that had to deal with such an energetic and currently deluded child.

he started the car, the sound of the engine coming to life, music to his ears. just as his foot was about to push down on the accelerator, haneul's face pressed against his window, making him jump in surprise. "daddy!" she grinned at him, gums and all. yoongi stared straight ahead, trying to ignore her until rian came to get her.

he could tell she was standing on the tip of her toes, her head tilted up to be able to see him properly. "daddy, it's me!" she pressed her small palms against the glass, tapping it to get his attention. "daddy?" her tone dropped when he didn't acknowledge her presence.

rian finally caught up, pausing to take a breath. "choi haneul, please, i'm too young for a heart attack." she gasped out, rubbing a hand against her chest. "now, let's go so that the nice man can be on his way." she held out a hand. "but he's my daddy, rian." haneul argued, ignoring her outstretched hand.

her face was already contorting in sadness and yoongi knew she was about to start crying again. "daddy, let me in. don't leave me!" she wailed. shutting his eyes, he rubbed his fingers between his brows. a dull ache was already brewing between his temples at the situation he had found himself in.

rian tried to reach for her, but the child fought her off, her actions made easier by the bags the older woman held on to. rian sighed, crouching down to her level. "little slice of heaven, listen to me. he's not leaving you. he just has somewhere he has to be and little girls can't go there. he'll come see you later."

"no! i want to go with daddy!" haneul shook her head, tears flying around. rian rubbed at her temples in exhaustion. yoongi glanced at her tired face before looking around. they were starting to draw attention with the scene they were making. he could even see some phones coming up.

he glanced at a crying haneul who kept hitting the car and calling for her 'father' to let her in. the last thing yoongi needed was rumours about him being a terrible father who locked his own daughter out of his car going around. it didn't matter that none of it was true and this was just a very strange scenario he'd wound up in. the image they painted was what the world would see.

letting out a groan of frustration, his head hit the back of his seat. exhaling deeply to calm himself, he pushed down on a button. the window rolled down and he forced a smile on his face. "i'm not leaving you, haneul." he said nicely.

"you're not?" the little girl wiped at her tears, staring up at him with hopeful eyes. the smile that found its way to his face at her expression was more genuine. "of course not." he assured her. "but you can't sit in front with me. you're too little."

haneul beamed brightly, contrasting with her tearstained cheeks. in his periphery, he could see rian gawking at him. he fixed his gaze on her. "did you bring a car?" he asked softly, finally noticing just how exhausted her form was. she shook her head in reply. "you can come in. i'll take you where you need to go."

"are you sure?" she stared back at him with uncertainty in her eyes. he nodded. "we should hurry up so we can wrap up the show we've given everyone here." he leaned closer, whispering to her. she glanced around then, noticing just how many eyes were on them. her gaze came back to his, skin flushing in mortification.

"the longer you stand out there, the easier it will be for them to remember our faces." he remarked when haneul seemed to be the only one moving. "right! sorry!" rian straightened, opening the back door for haneul who was already attempting to unlock it. putting the seatbelt on the child, she dropped her grocery bags and the backpack next to her.

yoongi watched her as she ran around to the passenger's side, tripping once on her way. a soft chuckle slipped past his lips before he pressed them together. he waited for rian to fasten her seatbelt before putting the car in drive once more. "everyone comfortable?" he questioned. "yes, daddy!" haneul chimed from the back. he stiffened, still not used to hearing the word. glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw the six-year-old kick her feet happily, the biggest grin on her face.

god, what sort of mess had he gotten himself into?

🌻🌻🌻

i think i've unconsciously created a schedule for this. mondays are for daddy lessons haha