ACT X | SCENE XLVI

❝THOUGHTFUL❞

YOONGI CLOSED THE last document he had to review with a heavy sigh. honestly, he was exhausted. running on even less sleep than usual was beginning to take its toll on him. his gaze drifted to his watch. 5:40 pm.

just as his gaze reverted to the document in front of him, contemplating calling it a day and taking the remainder of his work home, there was a knock on the door. jeongguk slipped inside, bowing quickly. "hyung," he mumbled. yoongi arched a brow in question. "i thought you'd have left by now, jeongguk."

"i didn't want to leave you here. plus, jin hyung threatened my life if i left without making sure you had no plans of staying here till 7 pm." jeongguk replied. suddenly, he began to clear out yoongi's desk, organising things and putting them away. brows arched in question, yoongi's gaze shot from the desk to the younger man. "what are you doing?" he queried. "making sure you get home before 7 pm." his secretary and friend answered, still going about with what he was doing.

"it's my neck on the guillotine this time, hyung. not yours." he swiped up his boss's satchel. carefully placing the man's belongings as well as files he knew the man would like to look through over the weekend, he slipped the all important flash drive into one of the pockets of the black satchel. zipping it shut, he headed for the coat rack and took yoongi's coat off before looking at the man expectantly.

"how would he even know if i stayed past 7 pm?" yoongi asked, making no moves to get out of his chair. jeongguk shot him a look at that. and yoongi got on his feet. "yeah, you're right." he mumbled. there were times when he had to confirm that there were no secret cameras around because of seokjin's uncanny ability to detect the truth in a heartbeat.

smiling like a child on christmas morning, jeongguk held out yoongi's coat. walking to where he stood, yoongi slipped into it and took the satchel that sat next to his friend's feet. "let's go." he nudged his chin towards the door of his office. still beaming wide, jeongguk led the way out of the office.

"call me when you're home, jeongguk." yoongi said as he slipped into his car. "okay, hyung." the man gave him a mock salute before heading away. shaking his head at the action, yoongi started his car and pulled out of the underground parking lot.

just as he got on the highway, the little screen on his dashboard flashed with a call. glancing at it and seeing rian's name, he pressed the answer button. "miss son–?" he started only to hear a different voice. "daddy, it's me!" the cheerful voice piped, full of excitement. brows going up in surprise, he smiled. "oh, hey, little one. you sound super excited."

"yes! because i'm very happy!" she giggled. "why is that?" he grinned at the little sounds she made. "because i'm talking to daddy! and you sent me presents! are they really all mine?" she answered. his smile softened. the package must have been delivered already. "of course. do you like them?" he asked. "i love them!" she declared. "thank you, daddy." she added more softly.

"i know i can't be there that often to teach you, so i want you to enjoy the stories and learn the words in english." he told her, keeping his eyes on the road. "i will." she replied with conviction. "and if you have any questions, you can always ask me." he said, running a hand through his hair. "okay." the smile in her voice was practically audible.

"daddy?" she called after a brief moment of silence. "yes?" he answered without hesitation, noting the tone in her voice. "when will you not be busy?" she asked softly. he smiled. "it's hard to say. i'm working on a project for a fashion company—" he cut himself short, realising he was speaking to her like she was an adult.

taking a breath, he tried again. "i mean i'm making something important to help someone who makes clothes, sell them more easily. and i have to show it to him when it's done to see if he likes it. but it's almost completed so it shouldn't be long. why do you ask?"

she didn't answer immediately. "i wanted to know when i'll see you again." she finally said. yoongi paused at that, wondering for a brief second if he was actually still conversing with a six-year-old. a sad little smile crossed over his lips. "little one..." he trailed off, unsure of how to go on. "i'll try my best to see you as soon as it is possible." he told her. "i know you don't like 'soon' but i can't give you a time i'm sure of right now without the possibility of breaking that promise. i'm sorry."

"it's okay, daddy." she replied. but the lowered tone of her voice told him that it was definitely not okay. a heavy sigh slipped past his lips, fingers sifting through neat locks and mussing up the dark tresses. "little sunflower," he mumbled out without much thought or even realisation.

he heard a soft voice speaking in the background and instantly recognised it. "little one, can you give the phone to rian? i need to talk to her." he asked. "okay," she replied and he heard a shuffle before a more mature but soft voice came on. "hello?" more shuffling and then soft footsteps. he figured rian was putting some distance between her the child. for a second, he thought he heard a deep voice call haneul's name but he ignored it.

"hello, miss son. how are you doing?" he said. "i'm very well, just a little tired from work. but i'm always tired. and you?" she replied. he smiled a little. "let's just say we share the same sentiments." he responded. there was a momentary pause on her end. "are you driving?" she queried.

he nodded though he knew she couldn't see. "yes, heading home from the office." he answered. she mumbled unintelligibly. "what?" he asked. "oh, nothing! sorry!" her voice went high like she hadn't meant to speak out loud in the first place. "okay," he managed to keep the amusement out of his voice.

he took a deep breath, eyes on the road as he made a turn to the right. "about haneul..." he began, one hand on the wheel as the other rubbed his nape. "i'm guessing she didn't get the answer she was hoping for." rian surmised. "she's disappointed, isn't she?" he asked. "a bit. but i'm sure she understands." she assured him. "i'm sorry." he apologised. "i thought you didn't do things you'd have to apologise for." her surprise was very evident in her voice and perhaps a little teasing. "ever since haneul, i seem to have a lot more to be sorry for."

"at this rate, you'll turn into me." she chuckled. "oh, no, i don't want that." he shook his head. "no offence." he added quickly with a breathy laugh. "i'll try not to be offended." she giggled softly. the corners of his mouth tilted up at the sound.

"but i think you're doing pretty well, actually." she added softly after a few seconds. "i know gifts don't equate to being around and i don't want to be that kind of person, but i still thought..." he tapered off with a sigh. "it's okay. you don't have to explain to me. and i thought it was very thoughtful of you." her tone was very sweet and reassuring.

"thank you, miss son." he said. "i think that's the first time you've ever said that to me." she remarked. "no, it's not." he argued with a furrow of his brows. "i don't mean for things like making a cup of coffee." she answered and he could imagine her rolling her eyes. "oh," he mumbled out. rian laughed again. yoongi thought she was being quite generous with the sound lately.

and honestly, he wasn't complaining.

🌻🌻🌻

a little yoongi x haneul interaction for you while we're still in the father's day spirit haha. i hope you've all been doing well and taking care of yourselves. stay safe and hydrated! till next time, my butterflies! 💛