Taehyung POV
He'd been restless all morning, thinking about what had happened yesterday. He wanted to call you so bad, but he was scared that it would anger you even more.
"Sajangnim." A knock made him look up from his phone.
"Yes? Is it time for my meeting?" He asked as he checked his watch.
"Not yet. There's a guest who insists on meeting you, although I've said that you can't be disturbed." His secretary apologetically said.
"Whoever it is, tell the person to go. I don't want to see any unexpected guest." He replied in annoyance.
"You sure you don't want to see me?"
It was you.
"Miss, I told you to wait outside." His secretary frantically pushed you out of the office.
"Kim miseo (secretary), it's ok. Let her in." He said as calmly as possible, without taking his eyes off you.
Your tired gaze stared right back at him, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. He looked away & his eyes laid on the ketchup stain on your light blue shirt, then down to the worn black ballet flats on your feet. The strong urge to hug you & beg you to let him share your burden was so strong that he had to physically stop himself by tightly clenching his fists.
"Please sit." He said after finally getting back to his senses.
"Thank you, but I don't have much time since I need to go back to work. So please just answer my questions as truthfully as possible." You sat down across from him & sighed.
"Ok. I'll try." He answered shortly as he leaned forward.
"How did you find us?"
"That was mere coincidence. I was passing by her preschool when I stopped & saw her. I didn't know that she was ou- I mean, your daughter at first, but then I saw you picking her up."
"How did you know that she was- that she was your child?" You swallowed your saliva, struggling to force those words out of your mouth.
"Ji- Well, I figured it out on my own. She told me that she'd never seen her father & her age.. I counted backwards, she had to be mine." Taehyung stopped himself in time before he revealed that actually Jin was the one who had told him the truth because he had promised Jin not to tell you about that.
"What's your intention of approaching her? I swear to God Kim Taehyung, if you try to take her away from me-"
"What? No! Why would I do that? I just want to get to know her, be a part of her life. That's it."
"You promise?" You stared at him through teary eyes.
"I promise. I won't ever do that." He put his palm over his heart & gently said.
"I- I still can't trust you." You looked away & bit your lip.
"Please Y/n. Please give me a chance. I know I screwed up back then, but I'd learnt my lessons. I won't betray your trust again." Desperately, he grabbed your hands & squeezed them.
His sudden touch surprised you & you immediately retracted your hands.
"O- ok, I'll give you one more chance. You can see Yebin once a week, but I need to be there with her. I still don't trust you enough to let you spend time with her alone." You hastily said, as if you'd regret your decision if you said it slowly.
"Thank you! Thank you so much Y/n. I swear I won't blow it this time." A huge weight in his heart was lifted & his face broke into a wide smile.
"You're welcome. And I'm sorry for keeping her a secret from you all these years. I hope we can work together & be good parents to her from now on." You smiled weakly & extended your hand towards him.
"I hope so too." He took your hand in his & shook it.

A month later, Y/n POV
"Appa! We're here!" Yebin excitedly waved at Taehyung from her seat.
"Ommo, uri Yebinie looks so cute today. I haven't seen you for a week & you've grown so much prettier than last time." Smiling, Taehyung gently pinched Yebin's cheek as he sat down beside her.
It had been a month since you'd acknowledged Taehyung as Yebin's father & allowed him to spend time with Yebin. So far, he'd been doing an excellent job. He'd never come late & he seemed to truly love & care about Yebin. His attitude towards you had changed a lot too. He was now more considerate, less selfish, & much gentler than he used to be. Sometimes, your heart stirred when you saw him interacting with Yebin & that scared you. You were afraid to fall for him again, so you tried to keep a distance & be on guard every time you were with him.
"Hey. Sorry for suddenly changing the venue. She insisted on coming here for ice cream." You apologetically said to him.
"No worries. Yebin ah, do you want to choose the ice cream with appa?" He clasped his hands together & beamed at Yebin.
"Yesss!" Yebin enthusiastically replied as she took his hand.
You watched them browsing the ice cream showcase from afar & a thought crossed your mind.
How would it feel to be a family again with him?
Realizing what you just thought about, you quickly shook your head to erase the idea from your brain.
No Y/n, don't even think about it. Don't risk the peace & calm that you have now for an uncertain future.
"Eommaaa!" Yebin called you as she rushed back to the table.
"Have you picked which one you want to eat?" You woke up from your daze & stroked her head.
"I have. Eomma, do you want to eat ice cream too?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Jjan jjan! Vanilla chocolate chip for Yebin & dark chocolate for appa." Taehyung came & put two bowls of ice cream onto the table.
"Yeayyy! Thank you appa." She immediately dug into her ice cream.
Both you & Taehyung avoided looking at each other, so your eyes were focused on Yebin. She suddenly looked up & a mischievous smile lifted the corner of her lips.
"Appa, eomma is so pitiful. She doesn't have ice cream. Why don't you give her some of yours?"
"Yebin ah, it's ok." Your cheeks inadvertently blushed at her remark.
"Huh? Oh. Sorry, I'll go order for her." Taehyung  hastily rise from his seat but Yebin touched his hand & shook her head.
"No. She has a weak stomach, she can't have too much cold stuff. Can you just feed her a spoonful of yours? My friend, Nara, said her parents fed each other all the time." Yebin coaxed.
You & Taehyung glanced at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Yebin's smile gradually disappeared & was replaced by a frown with each passing second.
"You don't want to? Ok..." She lowered her head dejectedly.
Taehyung couldn't stand seeing her sad, so he whispered to you.
"Y/n ah, should we do it once just to make her happy?"
"W-what? W-well, alright." You hesitantly agreed.
"Yebin ah, don't be sad. Appa will feed eomma now."
"But just one spoonful, ok Yebin ah?" You sternly said.
Yebin instantly perked up & nodded vigorously.
Taehyung scooped a spoonful of ice cream & moved it closer to your mouth. You reluctantly opened your mouth & bit into it.
"Yeay! See? That wasn't that hard, was it?" Yebin clapped her hands & said.
"Oho. Did you do that on purpose to embarrass us?" Taehyung put down his spoon & started tickling Yebin.
"Hahaha! Noooo, I just want to see you love each other like other parents." She said through her giggles.
You froze upon hearing her words. Taehyung's hand immediately stopped moving as well.
"Yebin ah-" You were about to explain the situation to her, but Taehyung quickly intercepted.
"Yebin ah, do you want another scoop? Let's go. Appa will but it for you." Taehyung lifted her up & carried her towards the showcase.
When Yebin wasn't looking, he turned towards you & mouthed,
"Not now."
Huhh.. how should I explain to her about this whole mess?

After Yebin finished her ice cream, the three of you took a stroll hand-in-hand through the busy shopping street.
"Eomma, can we do this more often? I love going out with both of you."
"Uhm.. Appa is busy. He doesn't have ti-" Your first instinct was to reject her request. However, Taehyung cut you off before you could finish your sentence.
"Sure! Let's do this more often." He grinned at her.
"Can we do that eomma?" Yebin looked up at you with pleading eyes.
"I'll have to think about th-"
"Eommaaaaaa.." She whined while pouting her lips.
"Ok ok, but-"
"Yeayyy! Thank you eomma!" She high-fived Taehyung with the biggest smile on her face & you couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"Excuse me?" A male stranger suddenly approached you with a camera in hand.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Taehyung discreetly moved you & Yebin behind him. It was an involuntary protective gesture, but it touched your heart.
"I'm from Kid HK magazine, a magazine about kids & family in South Korea. You have such a handsome family, would you mind getting your pictures taken for our magazine & maybe do a short interview?" The stranger asked as he handed Taehyung his name card.
"Well.. I don't think-" He glimpsed at you & saw your disproving look.
"Does that mean that our picture will be on the magazine?" Yebin asked out of a sudden.
Seeing his chance, the reporter knelt down in front of Yebin & talked to her.
"Yes of course. So can you persuade your parents to do it?"
"Appa, can we do it please?" She coaxed the easier target, Taehyung.
"Well.. ok then. But can you please send us a copy once it's printed?" He asked the reporter.
"Sure, no problem." The reporter gave him a thumbs up.
The three of you huddled & smiled for the camera. That exact moment made you feel like you were truly one happy family. You glimpsed at Taehyung & his smile made your heart skip a beat.
Same as four years ago, he was still shining so brightly like a star. You'd once tried to be the tiny planet revolving around him, but in the end you were too weak to handle the heat & got burnt. You really didn't want to repeat the same mistake again. However, the heart wanted what it wanted & you couldn't deny that there was a part of you that still long for him.

-•-

"Thanks for today. She had a lot of fun." You said to Taehyung as his car screeched to a stop in front of your apartment building.
Yebin was soundly asleep on Taehyung's lap, so you quickly got off the car & walked to his side of the door to take Yebin from him.
"I'll help you carry her upstairs." He slid out of the car with Yebin in his arms instead of handing her to you.
"It's getting late, you really don't have to. I can do it myself."
"I insist. Could you please lead the way?" His tone was final, so you gave in & guided him up to your apartment.
The door clicked open after you punched the passcode on the keypad. The first thing you noticed when you stepped in was the light. It was on, but you clearly remembered that you'd turned it off before you left this afternoon.
"You're home." A voice coming from the living room couch startled you.
"Jin? You're here?" You nervously glanced at Taehyung.
"Yes. We have, or 'had' I should say, a dinner date to celebrate my birthday, remember?" He slowly stood up to face you & put his hands in his pockets.
Fuck Y/n, what's wrong with your brain? How could you forget about that?
"Omg, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about-"
"Don't worry about it. It's just a dinner, we can always have it another time." Jin said as he gave you a hug & kissed the top of your head.
An awkward stretch of silence filled the air as Jin & Taehyung quietly stared at each other.
"Let me carry Yebin to her room." Jin extended his arms towards Taehyung.
"It's alright. I'll do it." Taehyung turned his body sideways avoiding Jin.
"Don't need to bother you. I've been doing it since way before you appeared." Jin moved closer to Taehyung with a serious expression on his face.
"She's my daughter. I'll do it." Taehyung replied with an equally stern tone.
"Taehyung, give her to me. Please." You sighed & opened your arms towards him.
He hesitated for a second, then finally handed Yebin over to you.
"Thanks for today. I'll see you again next week." You said flatly.
"Alright, thank you too. Good night Y/n. Good night Yebin ah." He leaned forward & kissed Yebin's forehead before he left without saying anything to Jin.
You put Yebin onto her bed & quietly closed the door. Jin was sitting on the sofa when you came out. The frown in between his brows was so prominent that you could see it from afar.
"Jin ah, I'm so sorry. I didn't know what got into me, I totally didn't remember about your birthday. I promise I'll make it up to you." You sat down beside him & touched his hand.
"I told you it's fine. It's just a birthday, nothing special." He said with a forced smile.
"Please don't be like that.." Guilt consumed you & you continuously cursed yourself inside for forgetting his important day while he'd never forgotten yours or Yebin's.
"Then, what am I supposed to say Y/n? Ever since Taehyung came back into your life, it's as if I don't matter to you anymore! You didn't even ask for my opinion when you decided to let him reunite with Yebin!" Jin's sudden loud voice surprised you, because he'd never raised his voice ever before.
"Are you angry because I let her spend time with Taehyung? Weren't you the one who told me to let her know about her real dad?"
"I know & I regret it deeply now. I didn't think that you'd cast me away once you had him back." He scoffed.
"Jin, I'm not casting you away!" You yelled in frustration.
"Yeah right. Now it's only a 'date' once a week, the next thing you know, he'll be moving in with you."
"You get it all wrong. I'm doing this for Yebin, like you said, she needs to know her father." You attempted to calm him down by stroking his arm but he moved his body away & averted your touch.
"Whatever Y/n. I'm just a tool to you, aren't I?" He abruptly rose from his seat & walked towards the door.
"Jin, wait. Please, don't leave like this." You begged, but he didn't stop & slammed the door behind him.
Tears rolled down your eyes. Your heart & mind were in a chaos.
What did I get myself into?
"Eomma? Where's appa?" Yebin's call made you hastily wiped away your tears.
"Yebin ah, you're awake? Let's go back to your room."
"Eomma, are you crying? What happened?" She looked up at you in concern.
"Nothing. Let's just go back to sleep, ok?" You faked a smile for her.
I need to properly apologize to Jin. He deserves so much better.