The Underground - 3RACHA

43

Chan picked Yena up from school on Monday due to Yujin and her boyfriend getting stuck in traffic on the way back from their holiday, or so they said anyway. Chan didn't mind. He was more excited than he expected to be about picking her up, having never had the chance to complete that fatherly duty before. He'd worked that day, but after picking Yena up he was delighted to take her back home for their last evening together and watch the cartoons on the TV. He was getting ready to drop her back home when he got a call from Jisung, telling him he could join them in L.A. and they would make the album as 3Racha. He was elated, but as he drove Yena home the thought of leaving her behind was playing on his mind.

"How long will you be gone, daddy?" She asked once they reached her house. Chan knelt to her eye level on her doorstep after ringing the bell. He'd already called Yujin in advance to tell her he'd be leaving for a couple of weeks and she wasn't overly impressed.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but I promise that when I come back I'm going to get us out of here, ok? We can be as free as the birds you love so much and we'll live in a much nicer place, hmm? How does that sound?" Chan smiled, tucking a falling piece of hair behind her ear.

"That sounds great!" Yena said, leaning forwards and wrapping her arms around Chan's neck, "will you be with Jisung and Changbin again?"

"I will."

"And you won't have to cry anymore?" Yena asked and Chan let out an awkward chuckle, looking up at Yujin who was opening the front door.

"No more crying," Chan smiled, straightening up after pressing a kiss to her forehead, "if you need me, you've got daddy's number, yeah?"

"Yes, daddy. It's written in my notebook."

"Good," Chan said and picked her up for one last hug, drawing it out as long as he possibly could before Yujin cleared her throat, telling him she didn't have all day. His heart ached when he placed her down again and he felt awful leaving her behind, but he knew Yujin wouldn't hurt her. She was cold but she wasn't evil.

Once he reached his car and blew one last kiss to Yena, he headed straight for the airport. He was leaving a lot behind and if they didn't succeed, they were throwing everything away, but Chan had faith. Something deep down told him they were going to make it and he couldn't waste such an important opportunity. It was all he could think about on the plane ride, that and Jisung and Changbin. He wished he could have been with them already.

When he landed, he spotted Jisung and Changbin waiting for him outside the airport. They were standing across the road, hand in hand as Jisung rest his head on Changbin's shoulder and Changbin chuckled at something he'd said. Chan wasted no time running towards them and when they noticed him, they started running too, the three of them meeting with a tight hug. "Holy fuck, I missed you both so much," was the first thing he mumbled.

"We were only apart a week," Jisung giggled but that didn't matter to Chan. He'd been so terrified the other two would forget about him and move on. Every second apart was agonizing.

"I don't care. I never want to be apart for that long again. I was so scared you were going to forget about me. I thought you would be happy together and I'd stay back in The U.K., as a failure my whole life," Chan admitted, his eyes filling with tears before he could stop them. He'd tried so hard to stay strong and not cry in front of the other two. He didn't want them to know he was hurting, he didn't want to be selfish, but he couldn't hide it anymore, everything was out in the open.

"Chan," Changbin said, cupping Chan's face with his hand and brushing the tears away with his thumb. He looked so worried and that made Chan feel guilty. "Why didn't you tell us you were so afraid? If we knew we would have done something. You don't need to be scared, Channie, we love you and we always will."