ACT IX | SCENE XLV

❝FLASH CARDS❞

BOTH NURSES WATCHED the deliveryman leave the front of rian's apartment and walk past them, staring after him for a moment. "did you order anything?" taehyung asked, looking back ahead. "not that i recall." rian's brows drew together in a frown of confusion.

they reached her front door, where nam jeongyeon still stood waiting, package in her hands. her lips turned up as she spotted the duo. "miss rian, mr taehyung, good evening." she bowed. "good evening, jeongyeon." the two nurses replied. "what's that?" rian pointed to the package in her hands. "i don't know, but it's from haneul's dad." the girl glanced down at the carefully wrapped package.

"millionaire min?" taehyung's brows went up. shaking her head at the persisting nickname, rian pushed him into the apartment. jeongyeon seemed surprised by the title, eyes rounding ever so slightly. "ignore him." rian advised, shutting the front door.

she turned back to the man. "if hoseok wasn't forced to have dinner with his parents because his 'girlfriend' was held hostage, i'd ship you off to him now." she told him. "you love me." he grinned like a child as he took off his shoes and slipped his feet into comfortable house slippers.

rian turned back to jeongyeon, taking the package from her hands. "where's haneul?" she asked. "she's in her room, playing story time with her toys." the babysitter answered. "i'll go get her." she added. "no, don't worry. i'll go." rian shook her head, beginning to carefully unwrap yoongi's package. she stopped in her tracks as she got the first peek at what lay inside.

"oh, my god." she mumbled, opening the box further. her lips parted in surprise, eyeing the contents. "this man..." she trailed off, lips curving from awe to mirth. a tiny giggle slipped past her lips. "unbelievable." she carefully stuck a hand in the box to see more of its contents, cradling it against her body.

"haneulie!" she called. almost immediately, there was a pitter-patter of small footsteps and the six-year-old came bursting out of her room into the small hallway where rian stood. she was holding ryan and peanut butter in her arms. "rian!" she tried to wrap her arms around the woman's legs. "you're back!" she grinned up at her. "i missed you!"

"i missed you too, my little slice of heaven." rian beamed at her. "what's that?" haneul pointed curiously. "ah, i believe..." the woman trailed off, crouching down to her ward's height. "this is a gift for you from your dad." she paused as she realised how easily the word had slipped out of her mouth. yoongi was actually beginning to feel like haneul's real father.

gasp escaping her lips, the little brunette's eyes widened, her irises practically sparkling. "daddy sent me something?" excitement coloured her voice. "mhm," rian nodded her head. "we should head back to the living room. nurse tae is here." she added, straightening.

"uncle nurse is here?" haneul gasped and rian grinned, watching her waddle her way to the living room. "uncle nurse tae!" she cheered, throwing her arms up in the air. taehyung's face instantly brightened at the sight of the child. "sky angel! my firstborn fake real child!" he held his arms out to her. giggling, haneul ran into his open arms and he hoisted her up.

"wow, i missed you, sky angel." taehyung grinned at the girl in his arms. "i missed you too, uncle nurse." she beamed right back at him. taehyung plopped down onto the couch, sitting the girl on his lap.

"how was school?" he asked. "it was good! i answered a question correctly!" she told him. taehyung made a show of gasping loudly. "you did?" he queried, eyes bright. "mm!" her head bobbed her head in a nod, cute smile spreading across her face.

grinning, rian watched them for a moment before turning to the babysitter. "thank you for watching her today, jeongyeon." she told her. "it's my job. and she's always a delight to be around." jeongyeon shook her head in assurance. "i'll get going now." she slipped on her coat over her sweater. rian nodded her head. "get home safely," she waved as the younger woman stepped out of the house. "have a lovely evening."

"you too." the nurse smiled before shutting the door. heading back inside, she picked up the box she had set aside. she found taehyung and haneul deep in conversation, talking seriously about whether or not he saved lives today. haneul was convinced all nurses and doctors were superheroes and nothing taehyung said in humility could change her mind. rian knew well enough not to try. truthfully, she rather liked the notion.

their conversation was cut short the moment haneul spotted her with the box in her hands. "daddy's gift!" enthused gasp falling from her lips, she slipped out of taehyung's hold and waddled over to where rian was now sitting. "i'll try not to be offended." taehyung remarked with a mock hurt look on his face. but rian could tell he was just as curious.

opening the box fully, rian let haneul peek inside. "storybooks!" she squealed excitedly, picking one up. "mhm, this side is in korean," the woman pointed to one stack. "and this side is the english version." she pointed to the other stack. "i think he's hoping it will help you learn english like you wanted." she told her. "wow, millionaire min is something else, huh?" taehyung remarked.

haneul looked up at her from the book in her hands and the sunniest smile took over her face. her eyes crinkled into beautifully ecstatic crescents and her lips curved up so wide her pink gums and milky dentition were on display. rian couldn't help but return the gesture.

she looked down at the box and noticed something else inside. brows furrowing, she reached inside and pulled it out. "flash cards." she muttered to herself in awe. they were handwritten. everyday, she was constantly in awe of yoongi, his sincerity, and his thoughtfulness.

"little slice of heaven," she whispered, eyes still on the ribboned stack of flash cards in her grip. the little girl looked up from rummaging through the box of books. "hm?" she blinked. "your dad..." she trailed off, realising she'd done it again. "mr min made you this." she held it out to the girl. dropping the books she was holding, haneul took the thick butter coloured stack of cards from the nurse. "what is it?" she frowned in confusion.

"hm?" taehyung plopped down on the floor next to the little girl. "these are flash cards." he told her. "wow," he drawled, reading what was on the top card on the stack. "can i?" he reached out for the cards. haneul eagerly handed it over.

carefully pulling out the first two introductory cards, he began to explain to haneul. "wow, this min yoongi is one amazing man." he commented. "sky angel, i think you have the best dad in the world." he glanced at the girl. beaming proudly, she nodded her head. "i know!" she chirped. chuckling, he pointed at the cards. "these are to help you learn the words easier."

his index finger moved over a word. "this is an english word." he said before moving his finger down. "he used hangul to show you how to pronounce the english word here." he smiled lightly. "and this is the meaning of the word in korean." he explained.

haneul's head bobbed slowly in understanding as she took the flash cards back, now studying the stack with interest. taehyung's eyes drifted to rian to find that she seemed to be in a daze. "hey," he snapped his fingers in her face. "are you touched?" he whispered, slightly amused when she looked at him. "a bit?" she answered unsurely. "doesn't look like just a bit to me." he remarked, lips tugging in a smirk. "you're being one-upped, hyung." he whispered under his breath.

"i'm just amazed. when did he even have the time to do this? he's always so busy." she said and taehyung could still see that awestruck look in her eyes. "when you want someone to be in your life, you'll always make time." he responded, getting up and sliding next to her on the sofa.

haneul was trying to read the card that had the english alphabet written on it, biggest smile on her face. the two adults watched her quietly for a moment. "i guess he really wants to be in her life. not because he's being forced." rian's voice was barely audible. "first the car seat and now this." she mused.

the six-year-old suddenly lifted her head, eyes meeting her still very much gobsmacked guardian. rian could see how brightly her irises sparkled like a secret treasure trove of diamonds lay behind them. "rian?" the child called. "hm?" the woman blinked, trying to concentrate on her little girl and not the man that put the stars in her eyes.

"can you call daddy for me, please?"

🌻🌻🌻

hi again butterflies! it's been forever ('only' three months but potayto potahto). i'll be taking things slowly for a while so updates still won't be as frequent. thank you for being patient and understanding! i've missed you guys. how have you all been doing? i hope you've been good. don't forget to take care of yourselves and stay safe!