Ours {RenHyuck}

9

Donghyck was surprised how smoothly their parenting was going along despite the amount of changes and compromises it forced on their previous lives.

He was standing in the kitchen humming along to a children's song that was playing on the television for Eunbi while preparing lunch.

After he got to blow off some steam two weeks ago he felt a lot lighter and believed that everything could return to how it was before.

The little girl was growing rapidly and he found something new about her every day, almost scared of missing something if he didn't see her for a bit.

Living together with Renjun also proved to be very convenient, the shorter keeping things the way they were without disrupting his home was probably the highlight of his stay.

Thinking of the man Donghyck glanced over at the digital clock on the oven to see that it wouldn't be long until he arrived from work.

The older male was very punctual and would arrive exactly five minutes before one, or would at least call if he was running late, maybe ask his mom to jump in for a bit so that the tan male could leave for work.

But it was already past two o'clock and Donghyck had a meeting with a very important client in less than an hour, feeling annoyed to say the least.

He tried calling the shorter but it always went to the voicemail, his texts not getting delivered and the man still not back home.

With no more time to waste he grabbed Eunbi along with her travel bag and car seat and drove off to their office.

"Yo man, where have you been?" Mark was worried as his friend always showed up early to go over all the paperwork before meetings, but the sight of the carrier shut him up.

"That fucker ditched me and turned off his phone so I can't get a hold of him. I can't believe he decided to ditch his duties as Eunbi's dad today out of all days!"

"The clients called to inform me that they would be late since there has been an accident in the centre and the traffic was slowed down. You can just go through the paperwork now and I'll make sure this little one stays happy."

"You're a lifesaver! I'll call my mom to come pick her up if I don't hear anything from her other dad by the time the first meeting is over. There's everything that you could need inside that bag - formula, diapers, wet tissues, baby powder, towels, spare clothes, first aid."

"O-okay, I think I got this." Mark reluctantly accepted the heavy duffel bag with teddy bears printed on it, feeling severely under-qualified for the babysitting job.

Minutes turned into an hour, and then into two, yet still no news from Renjun so Mrs Lee was called over, much to Mark's relief.

"Hello darling! How did our princess behave today?" The woman happily greeted the man before snatching her granddaughter away for some aggressive cuddles that the baby surprisingly didn't mind.

"Hyuck had to leave a while ago for his next appointment but he fed her and checked her diaper before he had to go."

"Still no news from Renjun? I called his mother but she didn't know anything either, guessing that he might be stuck at work and his phone had died."

"I understand, but he could have been a little more considerate of Hyuck because it's not like he's the only one working."

The woman sighed while nodding, having gotten to know the young man during her stay with them and not wanting to believe he was this irresponsible.

Mrs Lee was having a weird feeling in her gut regarding Renjun's sudden disappearance, hoping for it to be nothing more than a bad hunch, and was ready for good news when she saw his mother call her in the evening.

It was a rather short conversation, the voice of the woman on the other side of the line sounding shaky as she informed her that the missing male had been hospitalized.

Mrs Huang didn't want to worry them much stating that her son had gotten into a smaller accident on his way back from work, and would be released home in a few days after they finished running some tests on him.

After asking Mrs Lee and her son for forgiveness about Renjun causing them inconvenience and for understanding his incapability to fulfill his duties as Eunbi's dad for the next few days the line ended.

Donghuck's mother sat down on the armchair as her gut feeling turned out to be correct, feeling bad about ever doubting the man she saw put his daughter before everything else.

At the same time Mrs Huang had choked on the sob she's been suppressing during the call, looking at her unconscious son being wheeled off into the operating room.

When the hospital finally managed to get a hold of them from the information Renjun kept in his planner it was already hours after the accident.

Apparently the man had collapsed onto the road while waiting for the traffic light to turn green and got hit by a bus.

He luckily didn't sustain any serious injuries but he did hurt his head quite a bit and broke one of his arms that needed surgical intervention.

She was also told that his overall health was in a bad condition, that with noticeable malnutrition his stomach problems from childhood had flared up again.

The woman felt horrible for not noticing her own son's suffering until it got to this point, having experienced his episodes where the pain would sometimes make him pass out from its intensity.

While the woman kept waiting for her husband to arrive and her son's surgery to pass on the other side of the city Donghyck had returned from work.

"Mom? What's with the bag by the entrance?"

"I'll be staying for a few days to help you out until Renjun returns. Dinner is ready and Eunbi is already sound asleep."

The man looked like he had lots to say but refrained from it once he saw the look in his mother's eyes, opting for a shower first so he could cool his head.

Once full and considerably more calm than the moment he realized that the shorter male was still absent he motioned to his mom to share what he didn't know.

"I got a call earlier from his mother. Renjun got into an accident on his way home and lost consciousness so they weren't able to contact anyone sooner because his phone got destroyed.

He was admitted to the hospital and they're keeping him in for some additional testing before he's allowed to come home."

Donghuck's mouth filled with a bitter taste after finding out what happened, having cursed the man internally the whole day for being irresponsible without even considering the possibility of something like this.

They've been living together for months, Renjun even moving in for convenience, yet he was so quick to write him off at the first given opportunity, making the man feel guilty for not being a good partner to his co-parent.