After he let the kids take over Daehyun's room, Wonwoo retired to his office, wanting to start his work as soon as he could. Month ends meant a rush of work, and unexpected, urgent calls that demanded a lot more than the usual days.
As he logged into his system once again, he could hear the quiet sounds of Daehyun and Micha helping each other out with their homework from the room adjacent to his — a task Wonwoo had set as a rule first thing after Daehyun's school had started.
He tried concentrating solely on his work, sifting through and reviewing various plans of a new vessel that was set for manufacturing in the next year. The fine details and lines in the design never came into focus, despite Wonwoo having done his best to ignore other issues plaguing his mind.
The incident from earlier came rushing at him, and the distressed look on Daehyun's face haunted Wonwoo. He knew it was going to happen some time or the other, but he hadn't expected it this fast. Daehyun was quite the curious one, and the impending dread of the boy asking him the same question some time later was strong.
Wonwoo could simply lie, driving out any of Daehyun's doubts about having a mum. But it wasn't fair — not to Daehyun, and neither to his mum, who was very much existent and still in contact with Wonwoo. It would be heinous of him to cut her out of the picture just like that, although she'd implied doing the very same just a few months after Daehyun's birth.
It still managed to make rage bubble up inside him — the painful memory of Eunha exiting their lives with a simple note, and leaving him back with Daehyun's full custody, and the entire house to himself. It seemed like a blessing on the outside, but the sharp stab he felt was the reason behind Eunha's departure.
"Forget it, Wonwoo," he willed himself to avoid dwelling too much on the past. "Nothing's gonna change. Hyunnie's more important," And that was the reality. The brighter side of the situation was that he was still on good terms with Eunha, and still regularly checked up on her. It had been a mutual decision, after all, after multiple meet-ups, calls and hearings in the courtroom — all hidden away from Daehyun. Until he was old enough to understand.
With a sigh, Wonwoo pushed his chair back from his desk, swivelling around in circles to calm his zooming brain. He stood up after a while, choosing to check up on the kids to distract himself.
As he made his way out of his office, he couldn't help but notice a feeling of uneasiness settling around him, giving him the idea that something unexpected awaited him. It was numbing and terrifying, and Wonwoo wanted to curl up and hide, wanting to avoid whatever that approached him.
"Daehyun?" he called, halfway on the stairway, his voice humiliatingly feeble, surprising him. "Mimi?"
"Yes dad!" came the boy's voice, getting louder as he ran out of his room, and Micha followed him.
"You guys hungry?"
The kids shrugged, much to Wonwoo's dismay. Swarming around in the kitchen would have been a good deviation from reality. "Oh," he whispered, "just let me know if you need anything," And Wonwoo turned, ready to drown himself in his thoughts once again.
"Wonwon!" Micha exclaimed, and Wonwoo couldn't help but be endeared by, and grateful for her adorable mispronunciation. It helped take his mind off of all worries tormenting him.
"Yeah?" he replied, a smile taking over his lips.
"We need help with homework,"
Wonwoo beamed. He could definitely do that — he was more than happy to help them out. "Sure!"
