ACT VIII | SCENE XXXVI

❝NOTES❞

YOONGI STARED DISTRACTEDLY at the blank screen of his phone for a moment after his call with rian. thinking for a brief second, he decided to redial a number from not too long ago. it rang three times before he heard the high voice. "hello? haneul's dad?"

he pursed his lips at the babysitter's words. he couldn't exactly blame her, seeing as she clearly had no clue what was really going on. "yes, miss nam. i just wanted to confirm that haneul has gone back to sleep now." he replied, slipping a hand into the pocket of his pyjama bottoms.

"ah, yes. she went to sleep right after you got off the phone. she even gave the thunder a little encouragement before she finally fell asleep." nam jeongyeon replied. at her words, the corners of yoongi's lips tilted up before he even realised. he had to admit, the idea of haneul encouraging the thunder she had earlier been afraid of because of a story he'd fabricated on the spot was endearing.

he let out a soft breath. "i see. that's good. i'll leave you to take a rest then. have a good night, miss nam." he said. "you too, sir." she responded before he ended the call. eyes staring out the french doors at the unrelenting storm outside, his chest rose with a deep intake of air.

the loud pitter-patter of rain persistently hitting glass echoed in his head, the thick thunderclouds that covered the expanse of the murky skies lit up by sporadic cracks of lightning. he watched the drops slide down the glass pane at an impressive speed, getting lost in his thoughts. the roar of the storm swallowed up whole by his travelling thoughts.

sucking in a breath, he adjusted his wool sweater. at this time of the year, coupled with the current weather, the night air was certainly much colder and he found himself wondering if haneul was warmly tucked in.

he replayed rian's words in his head. haneul liked stories and even the ridiculous one he had come up with was enough to put her mind at ease. he recalled seeing a pretty sizeable stack of books in her room. it seemed like she was a big fan of books and stories in general. and apparently could calm her down just as well as a cheerful song, perhaps even better. it was something he should take note of.

just as he spun on his heels, intending to head for his study, his phone began to ring. gaze shifting to the phone that was still in his hand, he saw seokjin's name flashing across the screen. a deep sigh slipped past his lips.

if he decided to answer this call, he would, without a doubt, get an earful. especially considering the fact that he had deliberately avoided seokjin's calls for the last couple of weeks. at first, it had been a petty act of defiance for the stunt his friend had pulled, and then he'd felt too embarrassed for taking what he considered a childish approach, that he didn't know how to explain himself.

he had only recently conversed with the man via text and was lucky seokjin had been far too tied up with his busy schedule to be able to make a personal visit and nag for hours about yoongi's ridiculous behaviour.

yoongi was still contemplating if he should answer the call or not when the screen suddenly went blank. he let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. his relief lasted all of two seconds before his phone was lighting up again with seokjin's call. the phone clattered to the floor and slid across the marble in his jump of surprise. his features contorted in a grimace as he walked the short distance and crouched down to pick the phone back up.

it stopped ringing once in his hand. another sigh of relief slipped past his lips and he hoped seokjin wouldn't call once again, because he would have no excuse. luckily, the older man chose to send a text instead. yoongi decided against opening and just read from the notifications.

you better pick up my calls soon or i will rip you a new one.

"i'll just call him tomorrow." he muttered under his breath, straightening to his full height. he made a mental note, hoping he wouldn't forget. "for now..." his gaze shifted in the direction of his study before he continued on his way.

entering the glass walled space, he walked to the desk and sat behind it. picking up the black journal with the sunflower print which was sitting on top of the stack, he flipped it open. he grabbed one of the pens on his desk.

quickly he wrote at the top of the blank page, haneul's likes. "she likes stories and reading." he mumbled as he scribbled over the page in a neat script. "banana milk and fruit snacks. sunflowers and the colour yellow." he continued as he made a clean list. "hm, stuffed toys. especially ryan and peanut butter." a small smile tilted his lips.

"i think she likes blueberries." he pursed his lips, cheeks puffing out in the slightest. "or maybe fruits in general, or just berries?" he scratched his hair with his index finger. scribbling down berries, he put down a question mark next to it.

"what else?" the skin between his brows wrinkled slightly as he tried to recall every interaction he'd had with the child. he pictured her bedroom, remembering the posters he'd seen amongst the sketches. "the sound of music soundtrack. cartoons, but i don't know which ones." he frowned. he put it down anyways, making a note to find out which ones.

"food." he chuckled softly, recalling when she sniffed food in the air and got so excited she left him and rian for miss lee. he had to admit she was an adorable child with a very endearing nature. shutting his eyes, he tried to picture the snacks he had seen rian put away for haneul. recalling a few, he quickly wrote them down. most of them seemed to be more on the healthy side than not, probably because her guardian was a nurse.

flipping the page over when he seemed to be coming up short, he titled the next page as important. "haneul has a peanut allergy." he mumbled, writing it out in capital letters. avoid foods containing even trace amounts of peanuts. it wasn't exactly something he would forget. he couldn't even imagine accidentally feeding her anything with peanuts but he put it down anyway. always speak gently and carefully to her. "i have to mind my words because she's not an adult." the words seokjin said echoed in his head.

letting out a breath, he flipped the book shut. he couldn't think of anything else at the moment. but he had a feeling it would quickly fill up as time passed.