imagine: it's been 5 years since minho left you alone with your baby boy, and he hasn't returned once. you finally meet him again, and your memories of being together come flooding back.
y/n's pov
you felt a tug on your leg, and reached down to feel your son, seok-min, pulling on your trousers. with a smile, you reach down to lift him into your arms and plaster him with kisses. his giggles warmed your heart, having him in your arms was the only time you felt happy.
living as a single mother wasn't easy for you. at times, you wanted to end it all. it felt impossible, but not nearly as impossible as it used to feel. when he was just a baby, you couldn't work, you had no income with minho gone, of course he sent you as much money as he could, but you couldn't afford rent. you'd have to borrow money from chan most of the time, and it was the most heart-wrenching thing ever. the feeling that you couldn't take care of your own child was the worst, you'd never feel anything as painful.
recently, you'd felt happier. you were in a better place now that seok-min had been accepted into school. he was finally six years old, and you could go back to work and start earning your money.
he tangled pieces of your hair between his fingers and smiled, "are we going out today, mommy?" he asked.
you hummed and thought about it, and nodded your head, "where do you want to go?"
"let's go to the park!" he jumped back to the floor and ran to find his shoes.
a part of you felt happy that he didn't worry about where his dad was, but you felt as though you owed him an explanation. since minho left, he hadn't visited his son once. he sent money every month, but that was it. he blocked you from everything, and didn't bother contacting you for five years. it made you feel isolated, as though you were all alone in the world. seok-min was the only person you had left.
you pulled out your phone, sending a text to chan.
y/n:
min wants to go to the park, are you coming?
read
he'd read the message, but there was no response.
another ten minutes had passed and min was ready to go, his bag was packed full of toys to play with at the park. you grabbed your shoes and heaved min up into your arms, cuddling up to him, "ready?"
he nodded excitedly, squealing as you left the house.
min was finally settled down in the car, and you started the engine. before you could drive off, your phone beeped, and chan finally replied.
chan:
sorry, didn't see your message
someone checked my phone before me
i'm working at the moment, i'll see if i can come over later tonight
you shrugged it off and drove toward the park, excited for your trip with min.
the park was full of children running about and screaming, parents chasing after their kids frantically. you sat comfortably on a nearby bench and kept an eye on min as he began to play with another group of kids of similar age.
you pulled out your book to begin reading, but a shadow approached you and darkened your book, making it so that you couldn't read.
"hey, do you min-" you look up to see minho standing in front of you, his hands deep in his pockets as he stares down at you with... comforting eyes.
you stare back, but with anger and frustration.
"how're you doing?" he asks, his voice rough as he speaks.
"why are you here?"
"y/n-"
"you shouldn't be here. not after all this time," you glance back at your book, but he kneels down before you and lowers it to meet your eyes.
he notices you tearing up, and lowers his head. "i should've been there-"
"you're right," you bite your cheek, "you should've. but you weren't. not once."
"y/n, i'm sorry."
"sorry's not enough, minho. you need to go before-"
"mommy, mommy!" min rushes over, holding his finger with a tear rolling down his cheek, "i got cut."
minho falls back and stares down at the boy, watching you tend to him.
you stare at minho before looking back at min, lifting him onto your lip and checking his finger. "oh, sweetheart, what did you do?" you quickly rummaged through your bag, but you couldn't find any plasters. "i'm sorry, baby, i-"
"here," minho knelt down, holding his hand out to take min's finger. he pulls out a pack of avengers plasters, and tugs one out, ripping off the wrapper and tightening it around min's finger. "now everyone will think you're cool," he smiles tearily, ruffling min's hair.
you lower your head and kiss min's head, pulling him from your lap. "go off and play."
he waves goodbye to minho and rushes back to play with his friends.
"so, what? you just carry those around? or is there another kid i don't know about?"
he takes the seat beside you and twiddles his thumbs, "y/n, i've been wanting to come back."
"what, and it took you five years to figure that out?"
he sighed and bit his lip, "i wasn't in korea."
you frowned at him, confused.
"the day you told me to leave..." he looked up to meet your eyes, "i started my two year service with the military."
you understood, and nodded. but was still slightly confused. "and the other three years? that gives you no excuse."
"i was still in the military," he gulped, "they wanted me to stay for another two years and help out. but, i was sent to afghanistan to fight. i spent two horrible years there, and everyday i waited to come back to you. after two years of watching innocent people die, children... i knew i had to come back to you, i needed to keep you safe. i needed to keep him safe."
you glanced up at him, eyes full of... sorrow. you longed for him to come home to you. for five years, you thought he'd just abandoned you, left you for good. but he waited everyday, fighting for his life, fighting for his country and those civilians, just to come home to you and your son.
"on the last week of my service i was caught in a bombing, almost lost my arm," he sighed, "i spent the past year in a hospital ward, trying to heal. i was lucky."
your heart broke for him. he risked his own life. and he still came back.
he pulled out his wallet, tugging out a dirty photo. it seemed covered in old dust, dirt, it was damaged by water, too. minho handed you the photo, and it was of you and min. the first photo he ever took of you holding your baby, the night your life really began.
"i've kept this with me the past five years, as a reminder that i had a family to come home to."
you sat silently, holding the photo between your fingertips. your eyes filled with tears, and your cheeks grew red. you felt embarrassed, more than embarrassed... ashamed. not only did he survive a war, but he sent you his monthly earnings so you could try to get by.
he lifted your chin, his palm grazing your cheek, "i'm home now."
you cried, letting out wails as you fell into his arms.
"baby, i'm home."
