best of me | woosan (✓)

- epilogue -

— 5 years later —

"i can't do this right now..." wooyoung sighed, plopping onto the couch and trying to block out the baby's tantrum.

"just relax, woo... i'll take care of her. yeah?"

wooyoung nodded, blocking his ears and squeezing his eyes shut while san brought their daughter upstairs. the whole week had been overwhelming for him, between moving and getting settled into their new house, adjusting commutes and preparing for jongho and yeosang's wedding. and on top of it all, jisu's death anniversary was coming up.

san was well aware of how overwhelmed wooyoung was and was happy to bring minseo upstairs and get her to sleep. the couple had adopted the six-month-old baby girl when an old friend of jisu's had heard they were looking to adopt. she was unable to care for the newborn (at the time) and quickly got in contact with wooyoung. it took four months after minseo was born for her to legally become san and wooyoung's daughter, but it was worth the fight.

san softly began to sing minseo a lullaby, gently rocking her until she fell asleep. san smiled as he laid her in her crib, then flipped on the baby monitor and headed back downstairs. he heard sniffles coming from the living room and quickly made his way to wooyoung's side, the boy's cries growing as san pulled him into his chest.

"hey... hey, baby, what's wrong?"

"i-i can't do this, san... i-i can't..."

"shh... baby, breathe... take a deep breath with me," san begged, taking deep breaths as he stroked wooyoung's hair.

the younger followed, gripping onto san's shirt.

"talk to me when you're ready, my love..."

wooyoung nodded and clung to san, trying his best to calm down. once he had, he closed his eyes and took in san's scent, which made him feel at home.

"i'm so overwhelmed..."

"by?"

"e-everything... trying to be the best dad i can for minseo, trying to be the greatest best man i can for sangie, adjusting to our new home, trying to be the best possible husband for you, trying not to let jisu's death anniversary affect me too much... it's just so much."

"woo... you don't have to try to be the best, okay? you are the best in my eyes no matter what. minseo loves you so much, baby, and you already are the best dad for her. you don't have to try so hard."

"but—"

"woo, sangie chose you to be his best man because you've been there for him through everything. he's not expecting you to go out of your way to make everything perfect, he's just expecting you to be there for him the same way you always have been. he doesn't get married for another month, right? don't worry too much, it'll be okay."

"san... i-i wish it were that easy..."

"it's easier than you think, baby. you're overthinking all of this, and as soon as you step out of that mindset, things will be a whole lot easier."

wooyoung tightened his grip on san slightly, finding comfort in being so close to him.

"and woo? don't try to let jisu's death anniversary not affect you, because that will only make it worse. you can't numb yourself to this kind of pain. i know you want to, but it's impossible."

a sigh escaped wooyoung's lips and he nodded slightly, suddenly missing the feeling of having his baby girl in his arms.

"is minseo sleeping?"

"you need her, don't you?"

wooyoung frantically nodded and san smiled, kissing the boy's forehead and leading him upstairs. the boys entered little minseo's room and wooyoung quickly picked her up, smiling the slightest bit as he looked down at her.