ACT XII | SCENE LX

❝MORNING COFFEE❞

YOONGI GENTLY DRAPED a blanket over rian's sleeping form. he let out a small sigh and stepped out of the room for a moment. taking his phone out of his pocket, he sent seokjin a text that they needed to talk soon. he needed someone to talk to about everything and his best friend was his go to.

it was late into the night already and yoongi was exhausted but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. there was just far too much on his mind. he heaved a deep sigh, chest rising and falling visibly with the action. he glanced around. the hospital hallway had an eerie atmosphere this late at night with barely anyone around and he found it somewhat disconcerting.

he slipped back inside after a few minutes, unable to stand the discomforting feeling the semi-dark space gave him. his gaze flickered to rian huddled on the small sofa in the room and he smiled softly.

moving quietly, he plopped down on a chair next to haneul's bed. he really wanted to get some sleep after the longest day of his life, but needed his mind to actually be quiet for that to happen. he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, hoping for a miracle.

"daddy?"

the small voice jolted him and he sat up, eyes snapping open. "haneul?" he looked over at her and saw her eyes were slightly open. he heaved a sigh of relief, taking her hand in his. "you're here, daddy." she said drowsily, her lips curved in a lazy smile. "yes, i am." he smiled back. "i'm here so you can go back to sleep now. thank you for opening your eyes for me." he engulfed her small hand in both of his, leaning his head against their clasped hands.

"what about the cake?" she asked and his chuckle was one of amusement and relief. "we can go next time. don't worry. just go back to sleep." he assured her. "okay," she attempted to nod and he beamed at her. "goodnight, daddy."

"goodnight, sunflower." and that was all it took for yoongi to finally fall asleep.

•••

"ugh," yoongi groaned as he lifted his head, his back and neck feeling sore from the uncomfortable position he had slept in. something fell off his shoulders when he straightened and he glanced back to see that it was a blanket. he didn't remember using one last night.

when he looked around, he saw that rian was no longer in the room. he got on his feet, stretching his body to work out the kinks he could feel. stretching and rolling his aching neck, he only stopped after hearing the satisfying crack. he continued to stretch the rest of his body, feeling a dull ache at the base of his spine.

he looked down at his watch and saw that it was eight in the morning. another tired groan fell from his lips. he'd barely gotten four hours of sleep. what he needed now was a cup of coffee to fully wake him. he didn't know how good hospital coffee would be though, and he wasn't exactly thrilled to find out.

the door slid open and he looked up to find rian walking in with two cups of coffee—that thankfully did not seem to be hospital coffee—in her hands. "good morning," she smiled, taking him in. "good morning," he replied, rubbing the inner corners of his eyes. "here, hoseok got us coffee." she handed him a cup. "it's an americano." she added. "thank you." he smiled graciously, taking a quick sip.

it was quiet as the two drank their coffees, slowly waking up. yoongi noticed how rian kept glancing at him like she wanted to say something but didn't know how to broach the topic. he smiled to himself when she looked towards him again and pressed her lips in a line. "you can just say it, you know." he glanced over at her from where he now stood by the window.

"huh?" she blinked at him from her chair. he smiled softly at her apparent confusion. "you keep looking at me like you have something to say." he remarked lightly. "oh," she looked down at the coffee cup in her hands.

"what is it?" he asked, now fully looking at her. "well..." she trailed off. he nodded at her encouragingly. she took a breath. "honestly, i was just wondering how you and haesun know each other." she admitted. he arched a brow curiously. "she didn't tell you?" he thought haesun would have told her since they were so close.

"it's more like i didn't ask her." she said. "she looked quite out of it this morning so i didn't know how to bring it up. then hoseok showed up and i thought it'd be better not to say anything yet." she explained softly. "ah," he nodded in understanding.

he took a sip from his almost empty cup. "um, where do i start?" he mused, staring out the window. "we went to the same university." he began softly. "we met—"

"daddy?"

yoongi stopped and turned towards the bed, smile taking over his face. "haneul!" rian jumped off her seat and straight to the child. the girl turned to her and smiled. "rian." she said as yoongi approached. "how are you feeling, sweetie?" rian asked, brushing the girl's hair out of her face. "i'm fine."

"ah! i brought your friends." rian said, going over to one of the bags she'd brought with her the night before. she pulled out two familiar plush toys. "ryan! peanut butter!" haneul beamed, holding her hands out for them. she hugged them tightly once they were in her arms. rian did a quick check herself to make sure everything was okay.

"you look more excited to see them than us." yoongi remarked with a chuckle. haneul looked up at him and beamed brightly, shaking her head. "i like daddy the most." she told him. "good. because i like you the most too." he confessed. "don't tell uncle jin." he whispered playfully and she giggled.

his every word to her suddenly held more weight. he wasn't simply indulging her now. it wasn't a role he was playing anymore. it was who he had become overnight. who he'd been for six years but was unaware of up until yesterday. and who he'd be for the rest of his life. his life had just undergone a cosmic change but nothing had really changed, and that part sort of frightened him if he were honest.

he felt eyes on him and looked up to see rian watching him. "what?" he mouthed. "nothing." she whispered with a shake of her head. "you just seem different." she noted. he cocked a brow at that, wondering what about him looked different to her. admittedly, something had shifted within him but he had no idea what she saw.

he glanced down at himself and she let out a small laugh. "not physically." she said, appearing very amused by his innocent action. "oh," he tugged on the loop of his earring.

the door opened, drawing both their attention. jeongguk stood there with a paper tray of coffee cups in one hand and a brown paper bag with the same coffee shop logo as the cups in the other. "good morning." his tired eyes trailed towards the bed and he gasped. "haneulie, you're awake!" he rushed towards them, bright smile on his face.

"uncle gukkie!" she grinned, clearly happy to see him. "oh, you're awake!" he repeated, sounding both relieved and like he was about to cry again. he leaned to hug haneul. reaching over the bed, yoongi took the drinks from his hands when he saw the tray tilt precariously and placed them on the table. "don't spill hot coffee on my child." he muttered to himself. god, his child. he picked up one of the cups that had his name on it and took a draft. he needed more caffeine in his system.

his phone began to ring and he reached into his pocket for it. holding the phone in front of his face, he checked the caller id as he took another sip of coffee. he nearly choked on his drink when he saw the name that flashed across his screen.

three pairs of eyes turned to him in question. "i need to take this." he said hurriedly, rushing out of the room. he took a deep breath and swiped the answer button once he was a good distance away from the room. shutting his eyes briefly, he pressed the phone against his ear.

"mum."

🌻🌻🌻

grandma!!