Jungkook, a single father of his five year old daughter aera, His daughter longs for her mother, who vanished five years ago.
Jungkook, haunted by the ghosts of his past relationship, had yet to explain why her Mommy wasn't there.
A mistake, a rash...
"Wow," Aera breathed, her eyes sparkling with wonder. "Mommy sounds like a princess too."
Jungkook chuckled thinking about his love "he is the most beautiful princess I have ever seen," he said, planting a kiss against her forehead
Every week, they would head to the park after lunch for a dose of fresh air and playtime with Aera's friends. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was time.
"Alright, princess," he announced, gently nudging her off his lap. "How about we head to the park and meet your friends?"
Aera's eyes lit up. "Park! Friends!" she giggled, jumping off the couch.
Jungkook helped her into her favorite pair of pink sneakers, He grabbed a ball and a small backpack filled with snacks and waterbottle, then they headed out the door
The park bustled with activity as they arrived. Children laughed as they chased each other in the park. Parents sat on benches, chatting amongst themselves while keeping an eye on their kids.
Aera saw her friends from afar and she squealed wriggling out of Jungkook's arms before he could even blink. She raced towards them.
Jungkook watched her go with a smile. He sat on a park bench under a large tree, He pulled out his phone, intending to check some emails, but found himself scrolling through old photos instead.
Pictures of him and his wife, their faces beaming with happiness, filled the screen. A tear escaped his eye, tracing a silent path down his cheek, He missed him more than words could express, he traced taehyung's beautiful face with his thumb mumbling "love you tae"
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Jungkook felt someone standing infront of him, He looked up from his phone, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face as he puts his phone back into his pocket. he saw it was a teenage girl, she was smiling softly looking at jungkook
"Hello," she chirped, extending a hand. "My name is Lee Junha. I saw you sitting alone here and thought I'd introduce myself. Would you perhaps be interested in grabbing a coffee sometime?"
Jungkook froze for a moment as he looked towards Aera, who was happily chasing a butterfly with her friends, he smiled softly as he called out
"Aera, princess, come here for a second!"
"Yes, DADA!"
The little girl immediately abandoned her friends came bouncing towards him, throwing herself into his arms with a happy squeal. He hugged her tightly.
He turned back to the girl, furrowing his eyebrows feeling annoyed by her mere presence "Yes, what were you saying?" he asked
The teenager stood there awkwardly, her hopeful smile replaced by sadness. She understood that jungkook is not single and he has a daughter
The teenager stammered, her cheeks burning with embarrassment "Oh, uh, never mind," she mumbled, quickly turning on her heel and walking away, Jungkook watched her go, a small smirk playing on his lips
He had no time for awkward teenage flirtations, not when his whole world was giggling in his arms
He looked down at Aera, who was now giggling as he tickled her tummy.
"Looks like you saved dada, princess, mommy will be proud of you" he teased, Aera didn't understand what her papa actually meant, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer.
"Dada, can I go back to my friends?"
"Of course, princess," he replied, unable to deny her request. He knelt down, gently placing her feet on the soft grass
"Can I tell them about the funny girl who wanted to take dada on a date?" she chirped, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
Jungkook gasped, ruffling her hair playfully. "You can but dont tell all the details, naughty princess"
Aera grinned, "Okay, dada!" she said running towards her friends Jungkook watched her go with a small smile
He pulled out his phone from his pocket looking into the photo gallery, seeing pictures of aera– her first wobbly steps, her first painting, her first day at school and her face covered with chocolate ice cream
Aera was having the time of her life. Her laughter echoed through the park as she chased after her friends
They were playing catch and catch game with a ball, but the ball flew high over their heads and landing with a thud on the other side of the park.
"I Will bring"
Aera smiled running towards the other side of the park her ponytail bouncing with step, she picked up the ball as she turned running back to her friends
She gasped when her foot slipped as she fell on the ground, The ball rolled a few feet away
Aera sat up, blinking back tears that welled up in her eyes. A burning sensation throbbed on her knee, and when she looked down, she saw a nasty scrape forming on her knees
Her first instinct was to run towards her dada, she stood up carefully but stopped when she saw a boy of her age also falling down by tripping over the ball which belonged to aera
The boy cried loudly she saw his mother rushed towards him with a frown on her face, She scooped him up in a tight hug, murmuring soothing words.
Then she cleaned the dirt from his scraped knee, her touch gentle and comforting. Finally, she took a colorful bandage from her bag and carefully wrapped it around his wound
Hot tears streamed down aera's cheeks. A pang of longing, sharp and unfamiliar, twisted in her tiny heart. It wasn't just the scraped knee that hurt anymore.
It was the absence of that kind of touch, that gentle voice, that comforting presence. A presence she had only ever dreamt about – her Mommy
She missed her Mommy, A Mom she had never met, a face she could only imagine from the stories Papa told her. A Mom who would hug her tight, kiss her scraped knees, and make the pain disappear with a magic touch.
A loud sob escaped her lips looking at them, aera wanted her Mom. She wanted someone to hold her, to tell her everything would be alright.
