nikki.

You get to the venue early to set up for Seora's birthday party with Wonwoo. To save money, you, your brother and your father got supplies through long-term family contacts and friends in order to create a large, beautiful center backdrop for her. The party was set to start at 11am, with the end time of 4pm— to give everyone a good amount of time to to hang out, but also go home at a decent time and get rest for the remainder of the evening. 

It was currently 7am, and your brother was yawning in your face.

"Dude." You shove him towards the wooden arches you, your dad, and Wonwoo worked together to cut. Your dad added legs to the back of the arches and made sandbags to place behind them for added stability, loading them onto his truck for you and your brother to take today. "Can you please move them to the middle?"

"Well shit, that's no way to treat your brother." He grumbles as he does what he's asked, anyway.

"I made you a hearty breakfast and gave you some money for helping!" Wonwoo clicks his teeth as he arranges the arches as you had briefed him. You step back, guiding him to arrange it perfectly in the center. You continue to pump the rest of the pastel-colored balloons, tying them together carefully to put the balloon arches together. Once Wonwoo had aligned the boards in the center perfectly, he helped you set the balloons against the wooden arches— pulling the backdrop piece together one by one. You smiled, pleased with how it was turning out. Wonwoo pumped air into the inflatable daises, while you decorated flower towers and created an extra tulle backdrop with string lights to go behind the arch panels and balloons. 

The rest of the hall [the tables, chairs, welcome sign, entry way] was decorated by the staff. 

After about an hour and a half, you and Wonwoo finished setting the center backdrop. You were satisfied with how it came together, grateful your brother came along to help because you weren't sure you'd be able to get this done alone within the short amount of time you had.

"Aye, this is not bad." Wonwoo nodded in approval, hands on his hips. "I'm actually impressed. Like, you could really pull this off as a side gig."

"Shut up." You nudge him on the side, making him yelp a bit. You took a photo just before Yunho's name flashed on the screen. 

"Your man is calling you."

"I see that."

"Is he on his way?"

"Probably. He has to meet the caterers here." You pick up the call. "Hey Yu. What's up?" Wonwoo mocks you on the side, pretending to twirl his hair around his finger. You gently shove him aside again, rolling your eyes.

"Hey beautiful, I'm about to be at the venue. The caterers are gonna be there any minute now. You're still there with your brother, right?"

"Yeah. Yu, are you sure you don't want me to just handle the caterers? I'm already here."

"It's fine, love. I had to pick up the cake, anyway. I should bring it over before something happens." You snort.

"You better not, Yunho. We spent a lot of time customizing that cake and perfecting it for Seora."

"I know, I won't. That's why I'm taking it over now. Before you get mad at me and there is no cake on accident." Then, you hear a gasp before you hear a faint 'fuck! that was close.'

"Hell no. Hell no, Jeong Yunho. I swear to god—"

"You know what, I should focus on parking. Bye baby, see you in about 2 minutes!" He says in a sing-song tone before abruptly hanging up the phone.

"Oh my god." You say, looking at your phone as he hangs up.

"What?"

"He for sure almost messed up Seora's cake on the way over here." Wonwoo laughs. 

"What kind of cake did you guys order her?"

"A chocolate mousse cake. But, the decorations are cute. It's like those vintage cakes. With ribbons and flowers on it. You'll see. It's really pretty."

"I'm sure."

"And it was a pretty penny."

"Also very sure about that. Don't doubt it."

"So, he better not—"

"Hey baby." Yunho comes strolling in with the caterers and the cake. You and Wonwoo turn, Yunho's tall figure approaching you with the cake box balanced on one hand. His eyes widen at the decorations behind you, the smile growing on his face. "Woah. What? You did that?"

"Mhm." You smile shyly, eyes crinkling. "With the help of my bigheaded brother and my dad."

"It's beautiful, baby. Thank you." He kisses you on the lips before looking at Wonwoo.

"No kisses for me, promise." Yunho laughs before giving your brother a dap and a tight hug. 

"Thanks. Seriously. For helping get this together."

"Got you." Wonwoo responds. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"She's still at home getting ready. Your mom is actually over there with her, helping curl her hair." You laugh.

"Of course,"

"Told her I'd be back for her as soon as I helped get the caterers set up."

"I could've helped with that." You pout.

"Nah, it's good." He gently flicks your bottom lip with his thumb. "You did enough with this. Besides, again, the cake was ready for pickup early and I was gonna drop it off anyway." You nod. "Are you really gonna stay here until we come back?"

"Mhm. They have a room in the back where I can get ready and everything. I'll be okay. Wonwoo won't leave to get my parents until later." Yunho lets out a breath.

"Alright, baby. Well, I'll bring the birthday girl over soon."

"Okay." You look down at the cake box still balancing on his hand. "Can you please put that cake away? You're making me nervous." He laughs.

"Why am I making you nervous?"

"I heard you on the phone!"

"Heard what?" He raises a brow, starting to take a few steps backward towards the kitchen area where he can store the cake in the fridge. You cross your arms and playfully glare at him.

"Fuck, that was close?" You repeat from earlier's call.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughs in typical Yunho fashion before briefly kissing your cheek then finally rushing over to the back kitchen to meet the staff to store the cake before speaking with the caterers— now setting up alongside the free wall to the right of the hall.

Sooner or later, the caterers had the long buffet line set up— the delicious food warmed on chafing dishes. You do one more look around the hall with Yunho to make sure everything was set in place before deciding to finally split ways.

"You sure you're good to stay here, baby?" He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before gently caressing your chin.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I'll make sure everything is all good until everyone comes." He nods, pecking you on the lips.

"I'll be over soon with the birthday girl, okay?" 

"Mmkay."

"Thank you. For all of this. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you." You shake your head.

"It's nothing, babe. Anything for Seora."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." You respond with another quick peck before Yunho walks away, heading back out to his car. Wonwoo also decides to bid his farewell shortly after, saying he'll be back soon with your parents. Once you're alone, you head to the back room to start getting ready— throwing on some cargos, an off-the-shoulder sweater and some platform chucks. You spray on some perfume before tucking your bag into the cabinet. You press in the code the staff member gave you to lock it up safely before heading out to the hall. You adjust your center backdrop a bit more before glancing at the tables and adjusting the tablecloths and centerpieces.

Then, Yunho finally brings Seora over, with Wonwoo trailing behind with your parents. She walks straight into your arms, showing you the main outfit you two picked out at the mall not too long ago. You beamed from ear to ear, loving the way your mother helped fixed her hair. Her eyes land on the backdrop and she gasps loudly, thanking you repeatedly for how much cuter the hall had become from your decorations alone. She hugged you tightly, not wanting to let go for awhile. 

Well, that was until her friends started to arrive— one by one. Slowly, but surely.

Starting with Chan-mi, of course.

The screams began, the loud 12 year old chit-chat began.

The mainstream music that 12 year olds listened to began to blast through the speakers with the help of the DJ.

"There she goes." Mingi walks in with Seonghwa, Noeul, and Sian next to him. You and Yunho laugh, greeting them and hugging them. "Where do we put our gifts for the birthday girl?"

"We said no gifts." Yunho raises his brow.

"Why the fuck would I walk in here empty-handed for ace's birthday? You're crazy." Seonghwa adds, finding an empty table off to the side to start setting the gifts on.

"Hey, I didn't make that rule! She did."

"And you think we're gonna listen?" Mingi snorts. "Absolutely not. Got her some good shit I know she'd love."

"I got her better stuff." Seonghwa looks at Mingi. "Sure she'll like mine more."

"Shut the hell up." Mingi nudges Seonghwa's arm, causing Sian to ask them to knock it off [and to stop cussing so loudly]. They continue to debate off to the side, while a few of Yunho's coworkers stroll in. You hug them with your quick 'hello's' before they all find Seora to greet her properly.

Everyone eats and is in good spirits while the DJ continues to play music. Before Seora gets too busy with her friends, Yunho calls her over to the center of the room— showing her the beautiful cake you and her father had ordered. The entire room sang for her before she took a few seconds to shut her eyes and make a wish. She pushed her hair back to blow out her candles, while you, Yunho, your parents and your friends captured the moment at many different angles. Afterward, everyone was spread throughout the hall— Yunho mainly entertaining Seora's classmates' parents, while you were caught in conversation with his coworkers in between. 

"So, I heard Seora and the girls won the championship game." Jihoon says, digging into the cake.

"Heard it was intense, too!" Taehyun adds, with Kyung-soo poking his head in from the side to hear better.

"Yeah. It was. She was so good during the game. Wish you could've seen her. They went into overtime and she was nervous. She really thought they weren't gonna make it. But, they pulled through." You respond to Taehyun.

—FLASHBACK

The buzzer goes off and the score is 44-44. 

Even. A tie. 

That means this game is going into overtime, and Seora isn't sure how to feel. She's glad they didn't lose, but she's also suddenly feeling overwhelmed. She wishes they could take the win now, and she hates not knowing how this tight game is going to turn out. 

She just wants her dad. She just wants you and her dad.

Coach gives the girls a few minutes to head to their families for a bit of a break before they have to regroup to go over plays. Sooner or later, overtime would start, and coach wanted to put his girls in the best position to win this game. He knew they could, and he wanted to shake off the nerves they were all feeling. He could sense it, see it on their faces. He knew they could do this. It was just a matter of showing them what they were capable of. Reminding them what they were capable of.

Seora takes a big gulp of her gatorade before heading towards you and her father, and your heart breaks at the way she looks so disappointed and defeated. Tired. Deflated.

"Shit." Yunho sighs heavily.

"Baby, you should take this. She needs you more than anything right now." You say quietly, gently pushing Yunho up by the arm. He nods and stands, heading straight for Seora. They meet in the middle and he takes her to the side of the bleachers where they could have some sense of alone time.

"Dad. I don't think I can do this." Seora is on the verge of tears— exhausted and anxious. She's got a grip on the sides of her jersey, head tilted up to prevent her tears from falling.

"Hey, hey. Ace. Look at me." Yunho says, cupping her cheek. "Ace. If there's anyone that's capable of pulling through and bringing this team the win, it's you."

"I'm scared. I don't wanna lose this. I don't wanna disappoint anyone."

"You won't. You won't, baby girl. There is no one in this world that you'll disappoint because in the end, you did your best. You got this, okay?" He says, caressing her cheek before kissing the top of her head. She lets out a heavy sigh before she nods, getting herself together. She shakes it off, trying her best to get rid of the nerves running through her body.

"I gotta get back to coach."

"You got this." He reassures her once more. Seora gives her father one more hug before coming towards you for a quick hug that she desperately needed. You also reassure her quickly, reminding her that there's no one like her on the court. 

Seora returns to her team just as the buzzer goes off. The game is officially in overtime, and the first team to make a basket wins the championship. Seora keeps her eyes trained on her coach, listening intently to the play he has scribbled on the clipboard in his lap. She lets out a couple of breaths until she feels herself somewhat grounded again, the buzzer going off once more to signal the start of the clock. Seora heads out onto the court, swiping at the bottom of her shoes for maximum grip. The other team has the ball, and Seora feels like she's going to be dizzy with the amount of times she's re-running the play in her head. 

All she wants is to execute this well and bring the championship home. 

The opposing point guard has the ball and Seora's eyes are glued on her. She runs the defensive play as they all had discussed— but as expected, the other team is fighting back just as hard and doing what they can to protect the ball. Seora feels like she needs to take initiative and stray away from the initial play again because obviously, the play isn't executing well as expected. If they continue to play at this rate, the other team will get a chance to score and everything will be over.

A girl on the other team manages to dribble around one of Seora's teammates and loses her on defense— eventually breaking free and getting a clear view of the basket. Seora panics, rushing over just as she takes the shot. Seora blocks the ball at the right time— Chan-mi coming to her aid by rebounding and grabbing the ball before it could travel out of bounds. She dribbles the ball down the court, Seora and her teammates following quickly afterward.

"Let's go, ace!" You and Yunho yell, along with your parents, Mingi, and Seonghwa.

"Bring it down, baby girl!" You yell, standing on your feet as you clap alongside of Yunho to give Seora that boost of energy. Chan-mi looks for Seora on the court, passing the ball to her when her other teammates are being double-teamed. Seora manages to lose the other girls on her tail, giving them a pump-fake before grabbing the ball from Chan-mi and heading to the basket for a layup.

It was the easiest shot she could take with how close the other team was hovering. 

Everyone in the crowd stood, especially families from Seora's team. Seora runs straight into the padded wall, the buzzer going off. 

Which, could only mean one thing.

"Seora! You did it!" Chan-mi yells, runining towards her to help her up. "You did it! The game is over! We won the championship!" 

"That's my fucking baby!" Yunho yells, while you cheer and jump alongside of him. Chan-mi helps Seora up, and they finally get to celebrate properly— hugging and cheering with the entire team before Seora runs over to you and her father, allowing her father to swing her around in a big bear hug before setting her down and kissing her head. "I'm so proud of you, ace. So damn proud of you. I knew you could do it. I told you!"

"You did it, Seora! You did amazing out there." You hug her tightly, your cheek resting on the top of her head.

—END

"Yeah, that girl is about to have full rides to college." Taehyun nods. "She's got a good future ahead of her." You chuckle.

"Eunha and Yunho raised her really well."

"Mmyeah. Well, and you, too. You've helped a lot recently and I know they appreciate having you around. I know they both want you around for the long run."

"That's—" The heat rises to your cheeks as you look down. "It's too early to say. You never know what the future holds."

"I'm just saying. I think you fit their space perfectly."

"What are we talking about?" Yunho comes along, sipping the drink in his hand while he looks at you two, doe-eyed.

"Nothing—"

"Just how you three work perfectly together." Yunho smiles, watching as you shyly look away and sip on your water.

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" You look at Yunho, eyes giving him the silent 'I love you' that he was looking for. The silent agreement he had hoped for.

"It's cute. You give me hope with finding love like this someday. Hopefully." Yunho chuckles at Taehyun's confession.

"For real. At work, too? What drama is this and where can I sign up?" Kyung-soo laughs.

"You guys will. No sign ups needed." Yunho responds, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Seora is dancing around and giggling with her friends, including the boy she has a crush on. He ended up showing face to the party with a few of his classmates that were cool with Seora and her friends, making Seora's entireday. She was all smiles, and it was cute to see Seora interact with him in between being with her friends and dancing around with them. Of course, you had to remind Yunho to let her be every time his father instincts kicked in— telling him that she was just enjoying herself and conversing with a good friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

Lots of 'he's getting a little too close.'

'Why does he look at her like that?'

'Look baby, his hand touched hers when he gave her that water!'

Yunho knew his daughter was developing a crush, okay. He's been there before. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, though.

His daughter was really growing on him and he didn't know how to accept it yet.

But, as you reminded him, it was her birthday and he was going to let it be. Thank god for having you here to keep him grounded, no matter how many times he wanted to overthink every move and every situation.

As Seora continued to enjoy her time with her friends, they took a break off to the side— grabbing some M&Ms to snack on while people watching.

"Seora."

"Yeah?" Seora looks at her classmate.

"Who is that next to your dad? Is your dad officially dating?"

"Yeah, that's my dad's girlfriend."

"Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?"

"I don't know, adjusting? To your dad's girlfriend and having her around."

"No, not at all. It was different in the beginning, but I wouldn't say weird." Seora looks over at you, smiling and waving. You wave back as you continue to cling against her father's side, returning the same, bright smile. "I like having Y/N around. She comforts me." Seora looks back at her friends. "She makes my dad happy and she makes me happy."

"That's good, then." Her friends nod and shrug. "So, is she basically, like, a stepmom then?"

"Mm, yeah." Seora looks back at you once more before shaking her head then turning back to her friends as if another thought just hit her. Like reality just hit her— like her response wasn't right. "Not just a stepmom. She's like..  my mom. She's, yeah. Like my mom. That's all." She looked back at her friends before excusing herself, telling them she'd be back after grabbing herself some juice.

But, she made a quick detour after grabbing some strawberry lemonade, heading straight for you, her father, and a few other parents. You spot her first, smiling at her as she walks over, cup in hand. She slips herself in between you two, her arms around Yunho's waist and yours— face dug into both of your stomachs. 

"Woah, what's going on?" Yunho laughs, looking down at her then you. You shrug, gently rubbing her back.

"You okay, Seora?"

"Yeah, socializing is tiring." You and Yunho laugh before she pulls back and looks up. "I just wanna say thank you for getting my party together."

"You're welcome, ace." She smiles.

"I'm having the best time."

"Seora! Our song!" Chan-mi yells as the DJ starts playing their favorite song, calling her over in the middle of the hall's makeshift dance floor.

"Oop, duty calls. Gotta go." She runs off to rejoin her friends.

"We did good, didn't we?"

"We did." You look up at Yunho, giving him a quick peck on the lips. And as Seora ran off to dance with her friends with a huge smile on her face, that's when you realized that Taehyun was right— maybe you did fit into their space after all. 

Home was where Yunho and Seora was. 

Their space was yours.

—A YEAR AND A HALF LATER;

The day was a bit gloomy for a fall day. Clouds had settled in, and the temperature dropped significantly. You tugged on your grey coat, your knee high boots giving your legs extra warmth as you walked alongside of Yunho and Seora towards Eunha's niche at the columbarium, giving them a small smile of reassurance as they step forward to greet her and pay their respects first. Once they've finished, you pay your respects before opening her niche and helping the two dust it off and re-decorate. You set the small, potted fake succulent next to her pictures [since they only allowed fake plants and flowers to keep things fresh and clean in the columbarium], while Seora set some other decorations in her mother's niche. A new drawing. A mother's day card. A bracelet she made. You smile at her as she dusted off her baby photo and sat it next to her father and her mother's wedding photo.

"It's pretty." You say, looking at the drawing and the beautifully written mother's day card.

"Thanks. I've been experimenting with different drawing styles lately."

"I love it." She chuckles a bit before the two of you take a seat next to Yunho on the bench in front of Eunha's niche. You give them their time to take her in for a bit longer, giving them their space to just be. Seora starts reminiscing about the few memories she has about her mother— the way she vaguely remembers the sound of her voice, the way she smelled[or what scents reminded her of her mother], the way she'd hold her, her touch. You listened attentively, not interrupting or looking away. Yunho would add on with his own stories, the two of them continuously painting this beautiful picture of Eunha in your mind every time you'd visit. 

You had no doubt that she was a beautiful person, inside and out. You could tell why Yunho loved her deeply.

You could easily see Eunha and Yunho in Seora.

And you were sure she may have been the reason you two crossed paths the way you did, at the time you did. That things aligned even though it didn't seem like at one point.

You're glad you held on, that Yunho did.

That Seora did.

Because the happiness and love you felt— you didn't think you'd find it anywhere else.

"Anyway." Yunho stretches after 30 minutes. It was a quick 30-minutes. It almost seemed like 5. "Should we get out of here soon? We need to make our way over to the movie theater." You and Seora nod. Today, you and Yunho decided to go on a date with Seora. The three of you decided to watch a movie together before heading out to dinner at a cute restaurant in the city. Seora was the one who chose the movie, and her input on the restaurant weighed the most.

Like tradition, Seora put on her favorite playlist— the car ride turning into a karaoke session on the way to the movies. Arriving to the theater, Yunho bought her favorite candy, along with some popcorn and drinks. The three of you headed inside, getting to your seats smoothly with how empty it seemed to be at the moment. Seora took her place in between you and her father, instantly popping open her box of Sour Patch Kids. The movie Seora chose was an action adventure movie, something the three of you could enjoy freely. Seora was happy to share her Sour Patches with you, giving you the blue ones since she knew those were your favorites. She gave her dad the ones she didn't like since he was happy to take whatever. Yunho popped them into his mouth without a care in the world, ignoring the mix of flavors just to keep his ace happy. The small bag of popcorn was passed along often throughout the movie— a good snack to keep you satisfied, but not too much that it kills the appetite for dinner.

After a good 2 hours, the movie had concluded, with the three of you agreeing on how good it turned out to be. You weren't gonna lie; there was a debate on the way to the car about how it good it would actually turn out and what paths the movie would take. There were a lot of twists and turns you didn't expect, which made the movie a lot better than expected. 

For dinner, Seora wanted to go to a Korean bbq spot nearby since she and her father hadn't been to one in awhile. It was packed, but you only had to wait for 15 minutes before you were seated at a corner booth. The server brought over a carafe of cold water with cups before serving banchan. You trusted Yunho to take the lead on ordering the best meats, continuing your conversation with Seora about how her new class level has been while Yunho sent in his first few orders. He sipped on his water, watching his ladies engage in girl talk [something about patterned pimple patches and new lip stains?]. 

It was a sight he always enjoyed seeing, especially now that you've moved in. The nights you'd brush her hair, the mornings you'd do her hair before school. The nights you'd all spend doing skincare routines together. The days you and Seora would leave him alone in the house to go on your nail dates. 

God, he couldn't be any more lucky to have this love find him again. To have you, to be blessed by your presence every day.

Once the first round of meat arrived, the server lit the grill and Yunho went straight to work for his ladies. He'd serve you two first— always putting his girls first before himself. He'd set some meat on Seora's rice bowl, then yours, before taking his own bite and restarting the cycle. You and Yunho shift the conversation to work and how the two of you are collaborating on a joint project again, but not as closely as the first [throwback: to when you two met]. 

It's nice to be able to work with Yunho in a way, seeing him throughout the day and collaborating on various projects, while also coming home to him at night. 

"Is it weird, working together?"

"No, of course not." Yunho chuckles.

"But, do you guys still get shy seeing each other at work?"

"I don't. I don't know about Y/N."

"I don't. I think." Seora giggles.

"You get shy when the big giant approaches you?"

"That itself may be it. A big, handsome giant approaches me and I don't know how to act."

"Oh god." Seora playfully rolls her eyes and snorts, making you laugh. "No but seriously, it really isn't weird?" You and Yunho shake your heads.

"We don't really see each other much besides the few times we collaborate on projects. And when we collaborate on projects, it's because my team needs to chip in for something or help troubleshoot. We don't necessarily play a big role in it like Y/N does. She's the big boss."

"Nah uh."

"Yeah, she leads everything."

"We love a boss lady." Seora takes a bite of her food, wiggling her brows at you.

"Yes, we do." You chuckle to yourself when Yunho adds to the fire.

"That's sweet. Then, you guys see each other at home again."

"Mhm." You hum. "I like the way life works sometimes, honestly."

"I do, too." Seora shrugs. "Or, I have been, lately." Yunho looks up at her before locking eyes with you and smiling. He places another piece of meat on her rice before grilling the next set of meat.

"Same, ace." He agrees, taking in the small pause. The small moment of silence. Then, he speaks up again. "Do you ladies want another round of meat?"

"Mm'stuffed, daddy. I dunno if I can take another round."

"Same, love." You agree.

"Alright. We can call it after we finish these up." You continue to make the best out of dinner until everything is finished and wiped clean. Yunho quickly grabs the check as you and Seora eat the free mints near the register. Yunho pops one into his mouth as you all walk out and let the cool, night air hit your skin— the walk to the car much needed after a good, hearty dinner.

When the three of you got home post-date night, you immediately head to the bathroom to shower, get ready for bed and throw on your pajamas. Seora did the same, while Yunho followed suit after you were finished. The three of you managed to watch a bit more TV before calling it a night—retreating to your rooms right by 10pm. The heavy dinner definitely did it for you, but Seora and Yunho were overall just exhausted from the day. 

Yunho slipped into bed next to you, immediately pulling you onto his chest with a content sigh, his large hand rubbing your back and shoulder. He smiled down at you, already noticing the sleepiness taking over your features.

"Thank you for today, babe."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, baby."

"I did. I think Seora did, too." You yawn.

"Yeah, she did." He chuckles, kissing your forehead. "Sleepy?"

"A bit. You know I can barely stay up late nowadays. Plus, that dinner is hitting hard."

"Why don't you go to sleep?"

"Because I like trying to stay up with you."

"But, I don't like it when you force yourself to stay up with me." He whines, smirking a bit. "You'll see me tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Cause quite frankly, you're stuck with me now, pretty girl. No take-backs."

"Mm." You hum sleepily. "I would never take that decision back. Even if my life depended on it."

"You say that now." He snorts.

"I mean it, Jeong Yunho."

"I know." He says, close to a whisper, brushing your hair back. "And that's why I love you."

"I love you, too." You gently dip your head upwards to give him a tiny peck on the lips.

"Go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

"Mhm." You throw your arm over his torso, snuggling tightly against him. "Will you fall asleep soon?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me." Yunho responds. He watches as you shut your eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. It only takes a few more minutes before he hears you silently snoring against him, causing him to smile to himself. He looks down and admires you for a second— wondering just how lucky he was to love you, to adore you. To have been chosen by you. He would never take this for granted. He was so overwhelmed by his emotions that he didn't think he could fall asleep anytime soon, despite his earlier response. He kissed your forehead once more before gently prying himself away from your body— careful not to wake you from your deep slumber. 

Yeah, he was exhausted. Not sleepy in the slightest. If that made sense.

As he exited the bedroom, Seora was also exiting the hallway bathroom and making her way over to the kitchen. Like father, like daughter. 

"Can't sleep?" Yunho asks quietly as he drags his feet over to the table, watching Seora grab the rocky road ice cream carton from the freezer and set it on the dining table with a spoon in hand.

"Mhm." Yunho grabs a spoon for himself, sitting across from her just as she digs in. "Is Y/N asleep?"

"Knocked out cold." She chuckles. "Dinner wiped her out."

"She sleeps early."

"She does love her sleep, yeah." Yunho chuckles as he starts to dig in himself. "Today was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." Seora looks over at the altar with her mother's picture, the various offerings of fruit and memorabilia laid out in front. "It was nice to go all together. Plus, the movies. Dinner."

"Yeah."

"It's always nice having Y/N there." She takes another big bite. "You don't think it makes her uncomfortable or anything, right? Visiting mom?"

"No, of course not. She always wants to go and support in any way that she can." Seora nods.

"She does, just by being there. I just don't want her to feel like, left out or anything. Like she isn't as loved, you know?"

"No, never. She understands, ace. You know that. She understands how much we love and miss your mom, but she also knows her place here with us." She nods again.

"I'm happy you're happy, dad." She says softly, looking at him. Yunho pauses before he looks up at his daughter. He sees the small, genuine smile form on her face. Her eyes crinkling as she takes another spoonful of ice cream. "She's a really good person."

"She is, isn't she?"

"Mhm. You and Y/N were made for each other." She shrugs cutely. "Soulmates or whatever." Yunho snorts.

"You think so?"

"Yes." Which, leads Yunho to another thought. Another single thought that he's been thinking about, but he wasn't sure how to break it to Seora. He had been planning it, rehearsing it, for days now. Although everything had been perfect between you, him, and Seora, and you've officially moved in for awhile now, he still wasn't sure how to bring himself to announce that he was ready to take his relationship to the next step.

"Hey ace. Speaking of .. that."

"Speaking of what? Being soulmates and all that cutesy stuff?" She tilts her head. "Yeah, what about it, daddy?"

"I've been thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?" She licks the ice cream off her spoon before setting the rocky road aside.

"About making it a forever thing."

"I thought the idea of soulmates was already a forever thing?"

"But, like, physically making it a forever thing."

"I'm sorry, dad. It's a little late, and I'm probably not catching on properly. Can you elaborate, please?" She cocks up a brow, making him laugh a bit.

"Like.. a ring." She gasps [as quietly as possible].

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Pause. Silence. Oh no, Yunho thinks. Fuck. Maybe this was a bad idea. He starts getting anxious, finding a way to backtrack. "But you know, if you're not ready, I can absolutely wait—"

"Do it. Please." Seora smiles from ear to ear. The biggest smile he's seen in awhile.

"Really? You're ready for that step?"

"I am. As long as you are."

"I am."

"Then, let's do it." Seora looks at her father once more. Of course, the love she had for her mother would never go away. It would always have a special place in her heart, and it would never be replaced. But now, she was finding new space for the love she had grown for you— right next door. 

Because she finally learned she could love both of you at once, and she realized that was all she needed to feel completely whole. "I know Y/N means a lot to you, and I know you love her. I-I do too, daddy. I do, too." She repeats, her eyes tearing up as her spoon digs random patterns across the surface of her ice cream. "I don't think I can continue without her by our side. My side."

"I don't think I can either, ace. She's our person, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Seora giggles, tears coming down her cheeks. Yunho starts to tear up, wiping the tears from his daughter's cheeks. "Mom would want this. I know she's happy seeing us happy." Yunho nods.

He was here. He was finally here.

His family was complete.

"I'll look at the rings tomorrow."

"Um, aren't you missing something?"

"What?" Yunho furrows his brows before Seora shakes her head.

"We'll look at rings tomorrow."

You get to the venue early to set up for Seora's birthday party with Wonwoo. To save money, you, your brother and your father got supplies through long-term family contacts and friends in order to create a large, beautiful center backdrop for her. The party was set to start at 11am, with the end time of 4pm— to give everyone a good amount of time to to hang out, but also go home at a decent time and get rest for the remainder of the evening. 

It was currently 7am, and your brother was yawning in your face.

"Dude." You shove him towards the wooden arches you, your dad, and Wonwoo worked together to cut. Your dad added legs to the back of the arches and made sandbags to place behind them for added stability, loading them onto his truck for you and your brother to take today. "Can you please move them to the middle?"

"Well shit, that's no way to treat your brother." He grumbles as he does what he's asked, anyway.

"I made you a hearty breakfast and gave you some money for helping!" Wonwoo clicks his teeth as he arranges the arches as you had briefed him. You step back, guiding him to arrange it perfectly in the center. You continue to pump the rest of the pastel-colored balloons, tying them together carefully to put the balloon arches together. Once Wonwoo had aligned the boards in the center perfectly, he helped you set the balloons against the wooden arches— pulling the backdrop piece together one by one. You smiled, pleased with how it was turning out. Wonwoo pumped air into the inflatable daises, while you decorated flower towers and created an extra tulle backdrop with string lights to go behind the arch panels and balloons. 

The rest of the hall [the tables, chairs, welcome sign, entry way] was decorated by the staff. 

After about an hour and a half, you and Wonwoo finished setting the center backdrop. You were satisfied with how it came together, grateful your brother came along to help because you weren't sure you'd be able to get this done alone within the short amount of time you had.

"Aye, this is not bad." Wonwoo nodded in approval, hands on his hips. "I'm actually impressed. Like, you could really pull this off as a side gig."

"Shut up." You nudge him on the side, making him yelp a bit. You took a photo just before Yunho's name flashed on the screen. 

"Your man is calling you."

"I see that."

"Is he on his way?"

"Probably. He has to meet the caterers here." You pick up the call. "Hey Yu. What's up?" Wonwoo mocks you on the side, pretending to twirl his hair around his finger. You gently shove him aside again, rolling your eyes.

"Hey beautiful, I'm about to be at the venue. The caterers are gonna be there any minute now. You're still there with your brother, right?"

"Yeah. Yu, are you sure you don't want me to just handle the caterers? I'm already here."

"It's fine, love. I had to pick up the cake, anyway. I should bring it over before something happens." You snort.

"You better not, Yunho. We spent a lot of time customizing that cake and perfecting it for Seora."

"I know, I won't. That's why I'm taking it over now. Before you get mad at me and there is no cake on accident." Then, you hear a gasp before you hear a faint 'fuck! that was close.'

"Hell no. Hell no, Jeong Yunho. I swear to god—"

"You know what, I should focus on parking. Bye baby, see you in about 2 minutes!" He says in a sing-song tone before abruptly hanging up the phone.

"Oh my god." You say, looking at your phone as he hangs up.

"What?"

"He for sure almost messed up Seora's cake on the way over here." Wonwoo laughs. 

"What kind of cake did you guys order her?"

"A chocolate mousse cake. But, the decorations are cute. It's like those vintage cakes. With ribbons and flowers on it. You'll see. It's really pretty."

"I'm sure."

"And it was a pretty penny."

"Also very sure about that. Don't doubt it."

"So, he better not—"

"Hey baby." Yunho comes strolling in with the caterers and the cake. You and Wonwoo turn, Yunho's tall figure approaching you with the cake box balanced on one hand. His eyes widen at the decorations behind you, the smile growing on his face. "Woah. What? You did that?"

"Mhm." You smile shyly, eyes crinkling. "With the help of my bigheaded brother and my dad."

"It's beautiful, baby. Thank you." He kisses you on the lips before looking at Wonwoo.

"No kisses for me, promise." Yunho laughs before giving your brother a dap and a tight hug. 

"Thanks. Seriously. For helping get this together."

"Got you." Wonwoo responds. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"She's still at home getting ready. Your mom is actually over there with her, helping curl her hair." You laugh.

"Of course,"

"Told her I'd be back for her as soon as I helped get the caterers set up."

"I could've helped with that." You pout.

"Nah, it's good." He gently flicks your bottom lip with his thumb. "You did enough with this. Besides, again, the cake was ready for pickup early and I was gonna drop it off anyway." You nod. "Are you really gonna stay here until we come back?"

"Mhm. They have a room in the back where I can get ready and everything. I'll be okay. Wonwoo won't leave to get my parents until later." Yunho lets out a breath.

"Alright, baby. Well, I'll bring the birthday girl over soon."

"Okay." You look down at the cake box still balancing on his hand. "Can you please put that cake away? You're making me nervous." He laughs.

"Why am I making you nervous?"

"I heard you on the phone!"

"Heard what?" He raises a brow, starting to take a few steps backward towards the kitchen area where he can store the cake in the fridge. You cross your arms and playfully glare at him.

"Fuck, that was close?" You repeat from earlier's call.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughs in typical Yunho fashion before briefly kissing your cheek then finally rushing over to the back kitchen to meet the staff to store the cake before speaking with the caterers— now setting up alongside the free wall to the right of the hall.

Sooner or later, the caterers had the long buffet line set up— the delicious food warmed on chafing dishes. You do one more look around the hall with Yunho to make sure everything was set in place before deciding to finally split ways.

"You sure you're good to stay here, baby?" He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before gently caressing your chin.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I'll make sure everything is all good until everyone comes." He nods, pecking you on the lips.

"I'll be over soon with the birthday girl, okay?" 

"Mmkay."

"Thank you. For all of this. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you." You shake your head.

"It's nothing, babe. Anything for Seora."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." You respond with another quick peck before Yunho walks away, heading back out to his car. Wonwoo also decides to bid his farewell shortly after, saying he'll be back soon with your parents. Once you're alone, you head to the back room to start getting ready— throwing on some cargos, an off-the-shoulder sweater and some platform chucks. You spray on some perfume before tucking your bag into the cabinet. You press in the code the staff member gave you to lock it up safely before heading out to the hall. You adjust your center backdrop a bit more before glancing at the tables and adjusting the tablecloths and centerpieces.

Then, Yunho finally brings Seora over, with Wonwoo trailing behind with your parents. She walks straight into your arms, showing you the main outfit you two picked out at the mall not too long ago. You beamed from ear to ear, loving the way your mother helped fixed her hair. Her eyes land on the backdrop and she gasps loudly, thanking you repeatedly for how much cuter the hall had become from your decorations alone. She hugged you tightly, not wanting to let go for awhile. 

Well, that was until her friends started to arrive— one by one. Slowly, but surely.

Starting with Chan-mi, of course.

The screams began, the loud 12 year old chit-chat began.

The mainstream music that 12 year olds listened to began to blast through the speakers with the help of the DJ.

"There she goes." Mingi walks in with Seonghwa, Noeul, and Sian next to him. You and Yunho laugh, greeting them and hugging them. "Where do we put our gifts for the birthday girl?"

"We said no gifts." Yunho raises his brow.

"Why the fuck would I walk in here empty-handed for ace's birthday? You're crazy." Seonghwa adds, finding an empty table off to the side to start setting the gifts on.

"Hey, I didn't make that rule! She did."

"And you think we're gonna listen?" Mingi snorts. "Absolutely not. Got her some good shit I know she'd love."

"I got her better stuff." Seonghwa looks at Mingi. "Sure she'll like mine more."

"Shut the hell up." Mingi nudges Seonghwa's arm, causing Sian to ask them to knock it off [and to stop cussing so loudly]. They continue to debate off to the side, while a few of Yunho's coworkers stroll in. You hug them with your quick 'hello's' before they all find Seora to greet her properly.

Everyone eats and is in good spirits while the DJ continues to play music. Before Seora gets too busy with her friends, Yunho calls her over to the center of the room— showing her the beautiful cake you and her father had ordered. The entire room sang for her before she took a few seconds to shut her eyes and make a wish. She pushed her hair back to blow out her candles, while you, Yunho, your parents and your friends captured the moment at many different angles. Afterward, everyone was spread throughout the hall— Yunho mainly entertaining Seora's classmates' parents, while you were caught in conversation with his coworkers in between. 

"So, I heard Seora and the girls won the championship game." Jihoon says, digging into the cake.

"Heard it was intense, too!" Taehyun adds, with Kyung-soo poking his head in from the side to hear better.

"Yeah. It was. She was so good during the game. Wish you could've seen her. They went into overtime and she was nervous. She really thought they weren't gonna make it. But, they pulled through." You respond to Taehyun.

—FLASHBACK

The buzzer goes off and the score is 44-44. 

Even. A tie. 

That means this game is going into overtime, and Seora isn't sure how to feel. She's glad they didn't lose, but she's also suddenly feeling overwhelmed. She wishes they could take the win now, and she hates not knowing how this tight game is going to turn out. 

She just wants her dad. She just wants you and her dad.

Coach gives the girls a few minutes to head to their families for a bit of a break before they have to regroup to go over plays. Sooner or later, overtime would start, and coach wanted to put his girls in the best position to win this game. He knew they could, and he wanted to shake off the nerves they were all feeling. He could sense it, see it on their faces. He knew they could do this. It was just a matter of showing them what they were capable of. Reminding them what they were capable of.

Seora takes a big gulp of her gatorade before heading towards you and her father, and your heart breaks at the way she looks so disappointed and defeated. Tired. Deflated.

"Shit." Yunho sighs heavily.

"Baby, you should take this. She needs you more than anything right now." You say quietly, gently pushing Yunho up by the arm. He nods and stands, heading straight for Seora. They meet in the middle and he takes her to the side of the bleachers where they could have some sense of alone time.

"Dad. I don't think I can do this." Seora is on the verge of tears— exhausted and anxious. She's got a grip on the sides of her jersey, head tilted up to prevent her tears from falling.

"Hey, hey. Ace. Look at me." Yunho says, cupping her cheek. "Ace. If there's anyone that's capable of pulling through and bringing this team the win, it's you."

"I'm scared. I don't wanna lose this. I don't wanna disappoint anyone."

"You won't. You won't, baby girl. There is no one in this world that you'll disappoint because in the end, you did your best. You got this, okay?" He says, caressing her cheek before kissing the top of her head. She lets out a heavy sigh before she nods, getting herself together. She shakes it off, trying her best to get rid of the nerves running through her body.

"I gotta get back to coach."

"You got this." He reassures her once more. Seora gives her father one more hug before coming towards you for a quick hug that she desperately needed. You also reassure her quickly, reminding her that there's no one like her on the court. 

Seora returns to her team just as the buzzer goes off. The game is officially in overtime, and the first team to make a basket wins the championship. Seora keeps her eyes trained on her coach, listening intently to the play he has scribbled on the clipboard in his lap. She lets out a couple of breaths until she feels herself somewhat grounded again, the buzzer going off once more to signal the start of the clock. Seora heads out onto the court, swiping at the bottom of her shoes for maximum grip. The other team has the ball, and Seora feels like she's going to be dizzy with the amount of times she's re-running the play in her head. 

All she wants is to execute this well and bring the championship home. 

The opposing point guard has the ball and Seora's eyes are glued on her. She runs the defensive play as they all had discussed— but as expected, the other team is fighting back just as hard and doing what they can to protect the ball. Seora feels like she needs to take initiative and stray away from the initial play again because obviously, the play isn't executing well as expected. If they continue to play at this rate, the other team will get a chance to score and everything will be over.

A girl on the other team manages to dribble around one of Seora's teammates and loses her on defense— eventually breaking free and getting a clear view of the basket. Seora panics, rushing over just as she takes the shot. Seora blocks the ball at the right time— Chan-mi coming to her aid by rebounding and grabbing the ball before it could travel out of bounds. She dribbles the ball down the court, Seora and her teammates following quickly afterward.

"Let's go, ace!" You and Yunho yell, along with your parents, Mingi, and Seonghwa.

"Bring it down, baby girl!" You yell, standing on your feet as you clap alongside of Yunho to give Seora that boost of energy. Chan-mi looks for Seora on the court, passing the ball to her when her other teammates are being double-teamed. Seora manages to lose the other girls on her tail, giving them a pump-fake before grabbing the ball from Chan-mi and heading to the basket for a layup.

It was the easiest shot she could take with how close the other team was hovering. 

Everyone in the crowd stood, especially families from Seora's team. Seora runs straight into the padded wall, the buzzer going off. 

Which, could only mean one thing.

"Seora! You did it!" Chan-mi yells, runining towards her to help her up. "You did it! The game is over! We won the championship!" 

"That's my fucking baby!" Yunho yells, while you cheer and jump alongside of him. Chan-mi helps Seora up, and they finally get to celebrate properly— hugging and cheering with the entire team before Seora runs over to you and her father, allowing her father to swing her around in a big bear hug before setting her down and kissing her head. "I'm so proud of you, ace. So damn proud of you. I knew you could do it. I told you!"

"You did it, Seora! You did amazing out there." You hug her tightly, your cheek resting on the top of her head.

—END

"Yeah, that girl is about to have full rides to college." Taehyun nods. "She's got a good future ahead of her." You chuckle.

"Eunha and Yunho raised her really well."

"Mmyeah. Well, and you, too. You've helped a lot recently and I know they appreciate having you around. I know they both want you around for the long run."

"That's—" The heat rises to your cheeks as you look down. "It's too early to say. You never know what the future holds."

"I'm just saying. I think you fit their space perfectly."

"What are we talking about?" Yunho comes along, sipping the drink in his hand while he looks at you two, doe-eyed.

"Nothing—"

"Just how you three work perfectly together." Yunho smiles, watching as you shyly look away and sip on your water.

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" You look at Yunho, eyes giving him the silent 'I love you' that he was looking for. The silent agreement he had hoped for.

"It's cute. You give me hope with finding love like this someday. Hopefully." Yunho chuckles at Taehyun's confession.

"For real. At work, too? What drama is this and where can I sign up?" Kyung-soo laughs.

"You guys will. No sign ups needed." Yunho responds, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Seora is dancing around and giggling with her friends, including the boy she has a crush on. He ended up showing face to the party with a few of his classmates that were cool with Seora and her friends, making Seora's entireday. She was all smiles, and it was cute to see Seora interact with him in between being with her friends and dancing around with them. Of course, you had to remind Yunho to let her be every time his father instincts kicked in— telling him that she was just enjoying herself and conversing with a good friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

Lots of 'he's getting a little too close.'

'Why does he look at her like that?'

'Look baby, his hand touched hers when he gave her that water!'

Yunho knew his daughter was developing a crush, okay. He's been there before. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, though.

His daughter was really growing on him and he didn't know how to accept it yet.

But, as you reminded him, it was her birthday and he was going to let it be. Thank god for having you here to keep him grounded, no matter how many times he wanted to overthink every move and every situation.

As Seora continued to enjoy her time with her friends, they took a break off to the side— grabbing some M&Ms to snack on while people watching.

"Seora."

"Yeah?" Seora looks at her classmate.

"Who is that next to your dad? Is your dad officially dating?"

"Yeah, that's my dad's girlfriend."

"Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?"

"I don't know, adjusting? To your dad's girlfriend and having her around."

"No, not at all. It was different in the beginning, but I wouldn't say weird." Seora looks over at you, smiling and waving. You wave back as you continue to cling against her father's side, returning the same, bright smile. "I like having Y/N around. She comforts me." Seora looks back at her friends. "She makes my dad happy and she makes me happy."

"That's good, then." Her friends nod and shrug. "So, is she basically, like, a stepmom then?"

"Mm, yeah." Seora looks back at you once more before shaking her head then turning back to her friends as if another thought just hit her. Like reality just hit her— like her response wasn't right. "Not just a stepmom. She's like..  my mom. She's, yeah. Like my mom. That's all." She looked back at her friends before excusing herself, telling them she'd be back after grabbing herself some juice.

But, she made a quick detour after grabbing some strawberry lemonade, heading straight for you, her father, and a few other parents. You spot her first, smiling at her as she walks over, cup in hand. She slips herself in between you two, her arms around Yunho's waist and yours— face dug into both of your stomachs. 

"Woah, what's going on?" Yunho laughs, looking down at her then you. You shrug, gently rubbing her back.

"You okay, Seora?"

"Yeah, socializing is tiring." You and Yunho laugh before she pulls back and looks up. "I just wanna say thank you for getting my party together."

"You're welcome, ace." She smiles.

"I'm having the best time."

"Seora! Our song!" Chan-mi yells as the DJ starts playing their favorite song, calling her over in the middle of the hall's makeshift dance floor.

"Oop, duty calls. Gotta go." She runs off to rejoin her friends.

"We did good, didn't we?"

"We did." You look up at Yunho, giving him a quick peck on the lips. And as Seora ran off to dance with her friends with a huge smile on her face, that's when you realized that Taehyun was right— maybe you did fit into their space after all. 

Home was where Yunho and Seora was. 

Their space was yours.

—A YEAR AND A HALF LATER;

The day was a bit gloomy for a fall day. Clouds had settled in, and the temperature dropped significantly. You tugged on your grey coat, your knee high boots giving your legs extra warmth as you walked alongside of Yunho and Seora towards Eunha's niche at the columbarium, giving them a small smile of reassurance as they step forward to greet her and pay their respects first. Once they've finished, you pay your respects before opening her niche and helping the two dust it off and re-decorate. You set the small, potted fake succulent next to her pictures [since they only allowed fake plants and flowers to keep things fresh and clean in the columbarium], while Seora set some other decorations in her mother's niche. A new drawing. A mother's day card. A bracelet she made. You smile at her as she dusted off her baby photo and sat it next to her father and her mother's wedding photo.

"It's pretty." You say, looking at the drawing and the beautifully written mother's day card.

"Thanks. I've been experimenting with different drawing styles lately."

"I love it." She chuckles a bit before the two of you take a seat next to Yunho on the bench in front of Eunha's niche. You give them their time to take her in for a bit longer, giving them their space to just be. Seora starts reminiscing about the few memories she has about her mother— the way she vaguely remembers the sound of her voice, the way she smelled[or what scents reminded her of her mother], the way she'd hold her, her touch. You listened attentively, not interrupting or looking away. Yunho would add on with his own stories, the two of them continuously painting this beautiful picture of Eunha in your mind every time you'd visit. 

You had no doubt that she was a beautiful person, inside and out. You could tell why Yunho loved her deeply.

You could easily see Eunha and Yunho in Seora.

And you were sure she may have been the reason you two crossed paths the way you did, at the time you did. That things aligned even though it didn't seem like at one point.

You're glad you held on, that Yunho did.

That Seora did.

Because the happiness and love you felt— you didn't think you'd find it anywhere else.

"Anyway." Yunho stretches after 30 minutes. It was a quick 30-minutes. It almost seemed like 5. "Should we get out of here soon? We need to make our way over to the movie theater." You and Seora nod. Today, you and Yunho decided to go on a date with Seora. The three of you decided to watch a movie together before heading out to dinner at a cute restaurant in the city. Seora was the one who chose the movie, and her input on the restaurant weighed the most.

Like tradition, Seora put on her favorite playlist— the car ride turning into a karaoke session on the way to the movies. Arriving to the theater, Yunho bought her favorite candy, along with some popcorn and drinks. The three of you headed inside, getting to your seats smoothly with how empty it seemed to be at the moment. Seora took her place in between you and her father, instantly popping open her box of Sour Patch Kids. The movie Seora chose was an action adventure movie, something the three of you could enjoy freely. Seora was happy to share her Sour Patches with you, giving you the blue ones since she knew those were your favorites. She gave her dad the ones she didn't like since he was happy to take whatever. Yunho popped them into his mouth without a care in the world, ignoring the mix of flavors just to keep his ace happy. The small bag of popcorn was passed along often throughout the movie— a good snack to keep you satisfied, but not too much that it kills the appetite for dinner.

After a good 2 hours, the movie had concluded, with the three of you agreeing on how good it turned out to be. You weren't gonna lie; there was a debate on the way to the car about how it good it would actually turn out and what paths the movie would take. There were a lot of twists and turns you didn't expect, which made the movie a lot better than expected. 

For dinner, Seora wanted to go to a Korean bbq spot nearby since she and her father hadn't been to one in awhile. It was packed, but you only had to wait for 15 minutes before you were seated at a corner booth. The server brought over a carafe of cold water with cups before serving banchan. You trusted Yunho to take the lead on ordering the best meats, continuing your conversation with Seora about how her new class level has been while Yunho sent in his first few orders. He sipped on his water, watching his ladies engage in girl talk [something about patterned pimple patches and new lip stains?]. 

It was a sight he always enjoyed seeing, especially now that you've moved in. The nights you'd brush her hair, the mornings you'd do her hair before school. The nights you'd all spend doing skincare routines together. The days you and Seora would leave him alone in the house to go on your nail dates. 

God, he couldn't be any more lucky to have this love find him again. To have you, to be blessed by your presence every day.

Once the first round of meat arrived, the server lit the grill and Yunho went straight to work for his ladies. He'd serve you two first— always putting his girls first before himself. He'd set some meat on Seora's rice bowl, then yours, before taking his own bite and restarting the cycle. You and Yunho shift the conversation to work and how the two of you are collaborating on a joint project again, but not as closely as the first [throwback: to when you two met]. 

It's nice to be able to work with Yunho in a way, seeing him throughout the day and collaborating on various projects, while also coming home to him at night. 

"Is it weird, working together?"

"No, of course not." Yunho chuckles.

"But, do you guys still get shy seeing each other at work?"

"I don't. I don't know about Y/N."

"I don't. I think." Seora giggles.

"You get shy when the big giant approaches you?"

"That itself may be it. A big, handsome giant approaches me and I don't know how to act."

"Oh god." Seora playfully rolls her eyes and snorts, making you laugh. "No but seriously, it really isn't weird?" You and Yunho shake your heads.

"We don't really see each other much besides the few times we collaborate on projects. And when we collaborate on projects, it's because my team needs to chip in for something or help troubleshoot. We don't necessarily play a big role in it like Y/N does. She's the big boss."

"Nah uh."

"Yeah, she leads everything."

"We love a boss lady." Seora takes a bite of her food, wiggling her brows at you.

"Yes, we do." You chuckle to yourself when Yunho adds to the fire.

"That's sweet. Then, you guys see each other at home again."

"Mhm." You hum. "I like the way life works sometimes, honestly."

"I do, too." Seora shrugs. "Or, I have been, lately." Yunho looks up at her before locking eyes with you and smiling. He places another piece of meat on her rice before grilling the next set of meat.

"Same, ace." He agrees, taking in the small pause. The small moment of silence. Then, he speaks up again. "Do you ladies want another round of meat?"

"Mm'stuffed, daddy. I dunno if I can take another round."

"Same, love." You agree.

"Alright. We can call it after we finish these up." You continue to make the best out of dinner until everything is finished and wiped clean. Yunho quickly grabs the check as you and Seora eat the free mints near the register. Yunho pops one into his mouth as you all walk out and let the cool, night air hit your skin— the walk to the car much needed after a good, hearty dinner.

When the three of you got home post-date night, you immediately head to the bathroom to shower, get ready for bed and throw on your pajamas. Seora did the same, while Yunho followed suit after you were finished. The three of you managed to watch a bit more TV before calling it a night—retreating to your rooms right by 10pm. The heavy dinner definitely did it for you, but Seora and Yunho were overall just exhausted from the day. 

Yunho slipped into bed next to you, immediately pulling you onto his chest with a content sigh, his large hand rubbing your back and shoulder. He smiled down at you, already noticing the sleepiness taking over your features.

"Thank you for today, babe."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, baby."

"I did. I think Seora did, too." You yawn.

"Yeah, she did." He chuckles, kissing your forehead. "Sleepy?"

"A bit. You know I can barely stay up late nowadays. Plus, that dinner is hitting hard."

"Why don't you go to sleep?"

"Because I like trying to stay up with you."

"But, I don't like it when you force yourself to stay up with me." He whines, smirking a bit. "You'll see me tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Cause quite frankly, you're stuck with me now, pretty girl. No take-backs."

"Mm." You hum sleepily. "I would never take that decision back. Even if my life depended on it."

"You say that now." He snorts.

"I mean it, Jeong Yunho."

"I know." He says, close to a whisper, brushing your hair back. "And that's why I love you."

"I love you, too." You gently dip your head upwards to give him a tiny peck on the lips.

"Go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

"Mhm." You throw your arm over his torso, snuggling tightly against him. "Will you fall asleep soon?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me." Yunho responds. He watches as you shut your eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. It only takes a few more minutes before he hears you silently snoring against him, causing him to smile to himself. He looks down and admires you for a second— wondering just how lucky he was to love you, to adore you. To have been chosen by you. He would never take this for granted. He was so overwhelmed by his emotions that he didn't think he could fall asleep anytime soon, despite his earlier response. He kissed your forehead once more before gently prying himself away from your body— careful not to wake you from your deep slumber. 

Yeah, he was exhausted. Not sleepy in the slightest. If that made sense.

As he exited the bedroom, Seora was also exiting the hallway bathroom and making her way over to the kitchen. Like father, like daughter. 

"Can't sleep?" Yunho asks quietly as he drags his feet over to the table, watching Seora grab the rocky road ice cream carton from the freezer and set it on the dining table with a spoon in hand.

"Mhm." Yunho grabs a spoon for himself, sitting across from her just as she digs in. "Is Y/N asleep?"

"Knocked out cold." She chuckles. "Dinner wiped her out."

"She sleeps early."

"She does love her sleep, yeah." Yunho chuckles as he starts to dig in himself. "Today was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." Seora looks over at the altar with her mother's picture, the various offerings of fruit and memorabilia laid out in front. "It was nice to go all together. Plus, the movies. Dinner."

"Yeah."

"It's always nice having Y/N there." She takes another big bite. "You don't think it makes her uncomfortable or anything, right? Visiting mom?"

"No, of course not. She always wants to go and support in any way that she can." Seora nods.

"She does, just by being there. I just don't want her to feel like, left out or anything. Like she isn't as loved, you know?"

"No, never. She understands, ace. You know that. She understands how much we love and miss your mom, but she also knows her place here with us." She nods again.

"I'm happy you're happy, dad." She says softly, looking at him. Yunho pauses before he looks up at his daughter. He sees the small, genuine smile form on her face. Her eyes crinkling as she takes another spoonful of ice cream. "She's a really good person."

"She is, isn't she?"

"Mhm. You and Y/N were made for each other." She shrugs cutely. "Soulmates or whatever." Yunho snorts.

"You think so?"

"Yes." Which, leads Yunho to another thought. Another single thought that he's been thinking about, but he wasn't sure how to break it to Seora. He had been planning it, rehearsing it, for days now. Although everything had been perfect between you, him, and Seora, and you've officially moved in for awhile now, he still wasn't sure how to bring himself to announce that he was ready to take his relationship to the next step.

"Hey ace. Speaking of .. that."

"Speaking of what? Being soulmates and all that cutesy stuff?" She tilts her head. "Yeah, what about it, daddy?"

"I've been thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?" She licks the ice cream off her spoon before setting the rocky road aside.

"About making it a forever thing."

"I thought the idea of soulmates was already a forever thing?"

"But, like, physically making it a forever thing."

"I'm sorry, dad. It's a little late, and I'm probably not catching on properly. Can you elaborate, please?" She cocks up a brow, making him laugh a bit.

"Like.. a ring." She gasps [as quietly as possible].

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Pause. Silence. Oh no, Yunho thinks. Fuck. Maybe this was a bad idea. He starts getting anxious, finding a way to backtrack. "But you know, if you're not ready, I can absolutely wait—"

"Do it. Please." Seora smiles from ear to ear. The biggest smile he's seen in awhile.

"Really? You're ready for that step?"

"I am. As long as you are."

"I am."

"Then, let's do it." Seora looks at her father once more. Of course, the love she had for her mother would never go away. It would always have a special place in her heart, and it would never be replaced. But now, she was finding new space for the love she had grown for you— right next door. 

Because she finally learned she could love both of you at once, and she realized that was all she needed to feel completely whole. "I know Y/N means a lot to you, and I know you love her. I-I do too, daddy. I do, too." She repeats, her eyes tearing up as her spoon digs random patterns across the surface of her ice cream. "I don't think I can continue without her by our side. My side."

"I don't think I can either, ace. She's our person, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Seora giggles, tears coming down her cheeks. Yunho starts to tear up, wiping the tears from his daughter's cheeks. "Mom would want this. I know she's happy seeing us happy." Yunho nods.

He was here. He was finally here.

His family was complete.

"I'll look at the rings tomorrow."

"Um, aren't you missing something?"

"What?" Yunho furrows his brows before Seora shakes her head.

"We'll look at rings tomorrow."

You get to the venue early to set up for Seora's birthday party with Wonwoo. To save money, you, your brother and your father got supplies through long-term family contacts and friends in order to create a large, beautiful center backdrop for her. The party was set to start at 11am, with the end time of 4pm— to give everyone a good amount of time to to hang out, but also go home at a decent time and get rest for the remainder of the evening. 

It was currently 7am, and your brother was yawning in your face.

"Dude." You shove him towards the wooden arches you, your dad, and Wonwoo worked together to cut. Your dad added legs to the back of the arches and made sandbags to place behind them for added stability, loading them onto his truck for you and your brother to take today. "Can you please move them to the middle?"

"Well shit, that's no way to treat your brother." He grumbles as he does what he's asked, anyway.

"I made you a hearty breakfast and gave you some money for helping!" Wonwoo clicks his teeth as he arranges the arches as you had briefed him. You step back, guiding him to arrange it perfectly in the center. You continue to pump the rest of the pastel-colored balloons, tying them together carefully to put the balloon arches together. Once Wonwoo had aligned the boards in the center perfectly, he helped you set the balloons against the wooden arches— pulling the backdrop piece together one by one. You smiled, pleased with how it was turning out. Wonwoo pumped air into the inflatable daises, while you decorated flower towers and created an extra tulle backdrop with string lights to go behind the arch panels and balloons. 

The rest of the hall [the tables, chairs, welcome sign, entry way] was decorated by the staff. 

After about an hour and a half, you and Wonwoo finished setting the center backdrop. You were satisfied with how it came together, grateful your brother came along to help because you weren't sure you'd be able to get this done alone within the short amount of time you had.

"Aye, this is not bad." Wonwoo nodded in approval, hands on his hips. "I'm actually impressed. Like, you could really pull this off as a side gig."

"Shut up." You nudge him on the side, making him yelp a bit. You took a photo just before Yunho's name flashed on the screen. 

"Your man is calling you."

"I see that."

"Is he on his way?"

"Probably. He has to meet the caterers here." You pick up the call. "Hey Yu. What's up?" Wonwoo mocks you on the side, pretending to twirl his hair around his finger. You gently shove him aside again, rolling your eyes.

"Hey beautiful, I'm about to be at the venue. The caterers are gonna be there any minute now. You're still there with your brother, right?"

"Yeah. Yu, are you sure you don't want me to just handle the caterers? I'm already here."

"It's fine, love. I had to pick up the cake, anyway. I should bring it over before something happens." You snort.

"You better not, Yunho. We spent a lot of time customizing that cake and perfecting it for Seora."

"I know, I won't. That's why I'm taking it over now. Before you get mad at me and there is no cake on accident." Then, you hear a gasp before you hear a faint 'fuck! that was close.'

"Hell no. Hell no, Jeong Yunho. I swear to god—"

"You know what, I should focus on parking. Bye baby, see you in about 2 minutes!" He says in a sing-song tone before abruptly hanging up the phone.

"Oh my god." You say, looking at your phone as he hangs up.

"What?"

"He for sure almost messed up Seora's cake on the way over here." Wonwoo laughs. 

"What kind of cake did you guys order her?"

"A chocolate mousse cake. But, the decorations are cute. It's like those vintage cakes. With ribbons and flowers on it. You'll see. It's really pretty."

"I'm sure."

"And it was a pretty penny."

"Also very sure about that. Don't doubt it."

"So, he better not—"

"Hey baby." Yunho comes strolling in with the caterers and the cake. You and Wonwoo turn, Yunho's tall figure approaching you with the cake box balanced on one hand. His eyes widen at the decorations behind you, the smile growing on his face. "Woah. What? You did that?"

"Mhm." You smile shyly, eyes crinkling. "With the help of my bigheaded brother and my dad."

"It's beautiful, baby. Thank you." He kisses you on the lips before looking at Wonwoo.

"No kisses for me, promise." Yunho laughs before giving your brother a dap and a tight hug. 

"Thanks. Seriously. For helping get this together."

"Got you." Wonwoo responds. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"She's still at home getting ready. Your mom is actually over there with her, helping curl her hair." You laugh.

"Of course,"

"Told her I'd be back for her as soon as I helped get the caterers set up."

"I could've helped with that." You pout.

"Nah, it's good." He gently flicks your bottom lip with his thumb. "You did enough with this. Besides, again, the cake was ready for pickup early and I was gonna drop it off anyway." You nod. "Are you really gonna stay here until we come back?"

"Mhm. They have a room in the back where I can get ready and everything. I'll be okay. Wonwoo won't leave to get my parents until later." Yunho lets out a breath.

"Alright, baby. Well, I'll bring the birthday girl over soon."

"Okay." You look down at the cake box still balancing on his hand. "Can you please put that cake away? You're making me nervous." He laughs.

"Why am I making you nervous?"

"I heard you on the phone!"

"Heard what?" He raises a brow, starting to take a few steps backward towards the kitchen area where he can store the cake in the fridge. You cross your arms and playfully glare at him.

"Fuck, that was close?" You repeat from earlier's call.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughs in typical Yunho fashion before briefly kissing your cheek then finally rushing over to the back kitchen to meet the staff to store the cake before speaking with the caterers— now setting up alongside the free wall to the right of the hall.

Sooner or later, the caterers had the long buffet line set up— the delicious food warmed on chafing dishes. You do one more look around the hall with Yunho to make sure everything was set in place before deciding to finally split ways.

"You sure you're good to stay here, baby?" He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before gently caressing your chin.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I'll make sure everything is all good until everyone comes." He nods, pecking you on the lips.

"I'll be over soon with the birthday girl, okay?" 

"Mmkay."

"Thank you. For all of this. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without you." You shake your head.

"It's nothing, babe. Anything for Seora."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." You respond with another quick peck before Yunho walks away, heading back out to his car. Wonwoo also decides to bid his farewell shortly after, saying he'll be back soon with your parents. Once you're alone, you head to the back room to start getting ready— throwing on some cargos, an off-the-shoulder sweater and some platform chucks. You spray on some perfume before tucking your bag into the cabinet. You press in the code the staff member gave you to lock it up safely before heading out to the hall. You adjust your center backdrop a bit more before glancing at the tables and adjusting the tablecloths and centerpieces.

Then, Yunho finally brings Seora over, with Wonwoo trailing behind with your parents. She walks straight into your arms, showing you the main outfit you two picked out at the mall not too long ago. You beamed from ear to ear, loving the way your mother helped fixed her hair. Her eyes land on the backdrop and she gasps loudly, thanking you repeatedly for how much cuter the hall had become from your decorations alone. She hugged you tightly, not wanting to let go for awhile. 

Well, that was until her friends started to arrive— one by one. Slowly, but surely.

Starting with Chan-mi, of course.

The screams began, the loud 12 year old chit-chat began.

The mainstream music that 12 year olds listened to began to blast through the speakers with the help of the DJ.

"There she goes." Mingi walks in with Seonghwa, Noeul, and Sian next to him. You and Yunho laugh, greeting them and hugging them. "Where do we put our gifts for the birthday girl?"

"We said no gifts." Yunho raises his brow.

"Why the fuck would I walk in here empty-handed for ace's birthday? You're crazy." Seonghwa adds, finding an empty table off to the side to start setting the gifts on.

"Hey, I didn't make that rule! She did."

"And you think we're gonna listen?" Mingi snorts. "Absolutely not. Got her some good shit I know she'd love."

"I got her better stuff." Seonghwa looks at Mingi. "Sure she'll like mine more."

"Shut the hell up." Mingi nudges Seonghwa's arm, causing Sian to ask them to knock it off [and to stop cussing so loudly]. They continue to debate off to the side, while a few of Yunho's coworkers stroll in. You hug them with your quick 'hello's' before they all find Seora to greet her properly.

Everyone eats and is in good spirits while the DJ continues to play music. Before Seora gets too busy with her friends, Yunho calls her over to the center of the room— showing her the beautiful cake you and her father had ordered. The entire room sang for her before she took a few seconds to shut her eyes and make a wish. She pushed her hair back to blow out her candles, while you, Yunho, your parents and your friends captured the moment at many different angles. Afterward, everyone was spread throughout the hall— Yunho mainly entertaining Seora's classmates' parents, while you were caught in conversation with his coworkers in between. 

"So, I heard Seora and the girls won the championship game." Jihoon says, digging into the cake.

"Heard it was intense, too!" Taehyun adds, with Kyung-soo poking his head in from the side to hear better.

"Yeah. It was. She was so good during the game. Wish you could've seen her. They went into overtime and she was nervous. She really thought they weren't gonna make it. But, they pulled through." You respond to Taehyun.

—FLASHBACK

The buzzer goes off and the score is 44-44. 

Even. A tie. 

That means this game is going into overtime, and Seora isn't sure how to feel. She's glad they didn't lose, but she's also suddenly feeling overwhelmed. She wishes they could take the win now, and she hates not knowing how this tight game is going to turn out. 

She just wants her dad. She just wants you and her dad.

Coach gives the girls a few minutes to head to their families for a bit of a break before they have to regroup to go over plays. Sooner or later, overtime would start, and coach wanted to put his girls in the best position to win this game. He knew they could, and he wanted to shake off the nerves they were all feeling. He could sense it, see it on their faces. He knew they could do this. It was just a matter of showing them what they were capable of. Reminding them what they were capable of.

Seora takes a big gulp of her gatorade before heading towards you and her father, and your heart breaks at the way she looks so disappointed and defeated. Tired. Deflated.

"Shit." Yunho sighs heavily.

"Baby, you should take this. She needs you more than anything right now." You say quietly, gently pushing Yunho up by the arm. He nods and stands, heading straight for Seora. They meet in the middle and he takes her to the side of the bleachers where they could have some sense of alone time.

"Dad. I don't think I can do this." Seora is on the verge of tears— exhausted and anxious. She's got a grip on the sides of her jersey, head tilted up to prevent her tears from falling.

"Hey, hey. Ace. Look at me." Yunho says, cupping her cheek. "Ace. If there's anyone that's capable of pulling through and bringing this team the win, it's you."

"I'm scared. I don't wanna lose this. I don't wanna disappoint anyone."

"You won't. You won't, baby girl. There is no one in this world that you'll disappoint because in the end, you did your best. You got this, okay?" He says, caressing her cheek before kissing the top of her head. She lets out a heavy sigh before she nods, getting herself together. She shakes it off, trying her best to get rid of the nerves running through her body.

"I gotta get back to coach."

"You got this." He reassures her once more. Seora gives her father one more hug before coming towards you for a quick hug that she desperately needed. You also reassure her quickly, reminding her that there's no one like her on the court. 

Seora returns to her team just as the buzzer goes off. The game is officially in overtime, and the first team to make a basket wins the championship. Seora keeps her eyes trained on her coach, listening intently to the play he has scribbled on the clipboard in his lap. She lets out a couple of breaths until she feels herself somewhat grounded again, the buzzer going off once more to signal the start of the clock. Seora heads out onto the court, swiping at the bottom of her shoes for maximum grip. The other team has the ball, and Seora feels like she's going to be dizzy with the amount of times she's re-running the play in her head. 

All she wants is to execute this well and bring the championship home. 

The opposing point guard has the ball and Seora's eyes are glued on her. She runs the defensive play as they all had discussed— but as expected, the other team is fighting back just as hard and doing what they can to protect the ball. Seora feels like she needs to take initiative and stray away from the initial play again because obviously, the play isn't executing well as expected. If they continue to play at this rate, the other team will get a chance to score and everything will be over.

A girl on the other team manages to dribble around one of Seora's teammates and loses her on defense— eventually breaking free and getting a clear view of the basket. Seora panics, rushing over just as she takes the shot. Seora blocks the ball at the right time— Chan-mi coming to her aid by rebounding and grabbing the ball before it could travel out of bounds. She dribbles the ball down the court, Seora and her teammates following quickly afterward.

"Let's go, ace!" You and Yunho yell, along with your parents, Mingi, and Seonghwa.

"Bring it down, baby girl!" You yell, standing on your feet as you clap alongside of Yunho to give Seora that boost of energy. Chan-mi looks for Seora on the court, passing the ball to her when her other teammates are being double-teamed. Seora manages to lose the other girls on her tail, giving them a pump-fake before grabbing the ball from Chan-mi and heading to the basket for a layup.

It was the easiest shot she could take with how close the other team was hovering. 

Everyone in the crowd stood, especially families from Seora's team. Seora runs straight into the padded wall, the buzzer going off. 

Which, could only mean one thing.

"Seora! You did it!" Chan-mi yells, runining towards her to help her up. "You did it! The game is over! We won the championship!" 

"That's my fucking baby!" Yunho yells, while you cheer and jump alongside of him. Chan-mi helps Seora up, and they finally get to celebrate properly— hugging and cheering with the entire team before Seora runs over to you and her father, allowing her father to swing her around in a big bear hug before setting her down and kissing her head. "I'm so proud of you, ace. So damn proud of you. I knew you could do it. I told you!"

"You did it, Seora! You did amazing out there." You hug her tightly, your cheek resting on the top of her head.

—END

"Yeah, that girl is about to have full rides to college." Taehyun nods. "She's got a good future ahead of her." You chuckle.

"Eunha and Yunho raised her really well."

"Mmyeah. Well, and you, too. You've helped a lot recently and I know they appreciate having you around. I know they both want you around for the long run."

"That's—" The heat rises to your cheeks as you look down. "It's too early to say. You never know what the future holds."

"I'm just saying. I think you fit their space perfectly."

"What are we talking about?" Yunho comes along, sipping the drink in his hand while he looks at you two, doe-eyed.

"Nothing—"

"Just how you three work perfectly together." Yunho smiles, watching as you shyly look away and sip on your water.

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" You look at Yunho, eyes giving him the silent 'I love you' that he was looking for. The silent agreement he had hoped for.

"It's cute. You give me hope with finding love like this someday. Hopefully." Yunho chuckles at Taehyun's confession.

"For real. At work, too? What drama is this and where can I sign up?" Kyung-soo laughs.

"You guys will. No sign ups needed." Yunho responds, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Seora is dancing around and giggling with her friends, including the boy she has a crush on. He ended up showing face to the party with a few of his classmates that were cool with Seora and her friends, making Seora's entireday. She was all smiles, and it was cute to see Seora interact with him in between being with her friends and dancing around with them. Of course, you had to remind Yunho to let her be every time his father instincts kicked in— telling him that she was just enjoying herself and conversing with a good friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

Lots of 'he's getting a little too close.'

'Why does he look at her like that?'

'Look baby, his hand touched hers when he gave her that water!'

Yunho knew his daughter was developing a crush, okay. He's been there before. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, though.

His daughter was really growing on him and he didn't know how to accept it yet.

But, as you reminded him, it was her birthday and he was going to let it be. Thank god for having you here to keep him grounded, no matter how many times he wanted to overthink every move and every situation.

As Seora continued to enjoy her time with her friends, they took a break off to the side— grabbing some M&Ms to snack on while people watching.

"Seora."

"Yeah?" Seora looks at her classmate.

"Who is that next to your dad? Is your dad officially dating?"

"Yeah, that's my dad's girlfriend."

"Is it weird?"

"Is what weird?"

"I don't know, adjusting? To your dad's girlfriend and having her around."

"No, not at all. It was different in the beginning, but I wouldn't say weird." Seora looks over at you, smiling and waving. You wave back as you continue to cling against her father's side, returning the same, bright smile. "I like having Y/N around. She comforts me." Seora looks back at her friends. "She makes my dad happy and she makes me happy."

"That's good, then." Her friends nod and shrug. "So, is she basically, like, a stepmom then?"

"Mm, yeah." Seora looks back at you once more before shaking her head then turning back to her friends as if another thought just hit her. Like reality just hit her— like her response wasn't right. "Not just a stepmom. She's like..  my mom. She's, yeah. Like my mom. That's all." She looked back at her friends before excusing herself, telling them she'd be back after grabbing herself some juice.

But, she made a quick detour after grabbing some strawberry lemonade, heading straight for you, her father, and a few other parents. You spot her first, smiling at her as she walks over, cup in hand. She slips herself in between you two, her arms around Yunho's waist and yours— face dug into both of your stomachs. 

"Woah, what's going on?" Yunho laughs, looking down at her then you. You shrug, gently rubbing her back.

"You okay, Seora?"

"Yeah, socializing is tiring." You and Yunho laugh before she pulls back and looks up. "I just wanna say thank you for getting my party together."

"You're welcome, ace." She smiles.

"I'm having the best time."

"Seora! Our song!" Chan-mi yells as the DJ starts playing their favorite song, calling her over in the middle of the hall's makeshift dance floor.

"Oop, duty calls. Gotta go." She runs off to rejoin her friends.

"We did good, didn't we?"

"We did." You look up at Yunho, giving him a quick peck on the lips. And as Seora ran off to dance with her friends with a huge smile on her face, that's when you realized that Taehyun was right— maybe you did fit into their space after all. 

Home was where Yunho and Seora was. 

Their space was yours.

—A YEAR AND A HALF LATER;

The day was a bit gloomy for a fall day. Clouds had settled in, and the temperature dropped significantly. You tugged on your grey coat, your knee high boots giving your legs extra warmth as you walked alongside of Yunho and Seora towards Eunha's niche at the columbarium, giving them a small smile of reassurance as they step forward to greet her and pay their respects first. Once they've finished, you pay your respects before opening her niche and helping the two dust it off and re-decorate. You set the small, potted fake succulent next to her pictures [since they only allowed fake plants and flowers to keep things fresh and clean in the columbarium], while Seora set some other decorations in her mother's niche. A new drawing. A mother's day card. A bracelet she made. You smile at her as she dusted off her baby photo and sat it next to her father and her mother's wedding photo.

"It's pretty." You say, looking at the drawing and the beautifully written mother's day card.

"Thanks. I've been experimenting with different drawing styles lately."

"I love it." She chuckles a bit before the two of you take a seat next to Yunho on the bench in front of Eunha's niche. You give them their time to take her in for a bit longer, giving them their space to just be. Seora starts reminiscing about the few memories she has about her mother— the way she vaguely remembers the sound of her voice, the way she smelled[or what scents reminded her of her mother], the way she'd hold her, her touch. You listened attentively, not interrupting or looking away. Yunho would add on with his own stories, the two of them continuously painting this beautiful picture of Eunha in your mind every time you'd visit. 

You had no doubt that she was a beautiful person, inside and out. You could tell why Yunho loved her deeply.

You could easily see Eunha and Yunho in Seora.

And you were sure she may have been the reason you two crossed paths the way you did, at the time you did. That things aligned even though it didn't seem like at one point.

You're glad you held on, that Yunho did.

That Seora did.

Because the happiness and love you felt— you didn't think you'd find it anywhere else.

"Anyway." Yunho stretches after 30 minutes. It was a quick 30-minutes. It almost seemed like 5. "Should we get out of here soon? We need to make our way over to the movie theater." You and Seora nod. Today, you and Yunho decided to go on a date with Seora. The three of you decided to watch a movie together before heading out to dinner at a cute restaurant in the city. Seora was the one who chose the movie, and her input on the restaurant weighed the most.

Like tradition, Seora put on her favorite playlist— the car ride turning into a karaoke session on the way to the movies. Arriving to the theater, Yunho bought her favorite candy, along with some popcorn and drinks. The three of you headed inside, getting to your seats smoothly with how empty it seemed to be at the moment. Seora took her place in between you and her father, instantly popping open her box of Sour Patch Kids. The movie Seora chose was an action adventure movie, something the three of you could enjoy freely. Seora was happy to share her Sour Patches with you, giving you the blue ones since she knew those were your favorites. She gave her dad the ones she didn't like since he was happy to take whatever. Yunho popped them into his mouth without a care in the world, ignoring the mix of flavors just to keep his ace happy. The small bag of popcorn was passed along often throughout the movie— a good snack to keep you satisfied, but not too much that it kills the appetite for dinner.

After a good 2 hours, the movie had concluded, with the three of you agreeing on how good it turned out to be. You weren't gonna lie; there was a debate on the way to the car about how it good it would actually turn out and what paths the movie would take. There were a lot of twists and turns you didn't expect, which made the movie a lot better than expected. 

For dinner, Seora wanted to go to a Korean bbq spot nearby since she and her father hadn't been to one in awhile. It was packed, but you only had to wait for 15 minutes before you were seated at a corner booth. The server brought over a carafe of cold water with cups before serving banchan. You trusted Yunho to take the lead on ordering the best meats, continuing your conversation with Seora about how her new class level has been while Yunho sent in his first few orders. He sipped on his water, watching his ladies engage in girl talk [something about patterned pimple patches and new lip stains?]. 

It was a sight he always enjoyed seeing, especially now that you've moved in. The nights you'd brush her hair, the mornings you'd do her hair before school. The nights you'd all spend doing skincare routines together. The days you and Seora would leave him alone in the house to go on your nail dates. 

God, he couldn't be any more lucky to have this love find him again. To have you, to be blessed by your presence every day.

Once the first round of meat arrived, the server lit the grill and Yunho went straight to work for his ladies. He'd serve you two first— always putting his girls first before himself. He'd set some meat on Seora's rice bowl, then yours, before taking his own bite and restarting the cycle. You and Yunho shift the conversation to work and how the two of you are collaborating on a joint project again, but not as closely as the first [throwback: to when you two met]. 

It's nice to be able to work with Yunho in a way, seeing him throughout the day and collaborating on various projects, while also coming home to him at night. 

"Is it weird, working together?"

"No, of course not." Yunho chuckles.

"But, do you guys still get shy seeing each other at work?"

"I don't. I don't know about Y/N."

"I don't. I think." Seora giggles.

"You get shy when the big giant approaches you?"

"That itself may be it. A big, handsome giant approaches me and I don't know how to act."

"Oh god." Seora playfully rolls her eyes and snorts, making you laugh. "No but seriously, it really isn't weird?" You and Yunho shake your heads.

"We don't really see each other much besides the few times we collaborate on projects. And when we collaborate on projects, it's because my team needs to chip in for something or help troubleshoot. We don't necessarily play a big role in it like Y/N does. She's the big boss."

"Nah uh."

"Yeah, she leads everything."

"We love a boss lady." Seora takes a bite of her food, wiggling her brows at you.

"Yes, we do." You chuckle to yourself when Yunho adds to the fire.

"That's sweet. Then, you guys see each other at home again."

"Mhm." You hum. "I like the way life works sometimes, honestly."

"I do, too." Seora shrugs. "Or, I have been, lately." Yunho looks up at her before locking eyes with you and smiling. He places another piece of meat on her rice before grilling the next set of meat.

"Same, ace." He agrees, taking in the small pause. The small moment of silence. Then, he speaks up again. "Do you ladies want another round of meat?"

"Mm'stuffed, daddy. I dunno if I can take another round."

"Same, love." You agree.

"Alright. We can call it after we finish these up." You continue to make the best out of dinner until everything is finished and wiped clean. Yunho quickly grabs the check as you and Seora eat the free mints near the register. Yunho pops one into his mouth as you all walk out and let the cool, night air hit your skin— the walk to the car much needed after a good, hearty dinner.

When the three of you got home post-date night, you immediately head to the bathroom to shower, get ready for bed and throw on your pajamas. Seora did the same, while Yunho followed suit after you were finished. The three of you managed to watch a bit more TV before calling it a night—retreating to your rooms right by 10pm. The heavy dinner definitely did it for you, but Seora and Yunho were overall just exhausted from the day. 

Yunho slipped into bed next to you, immediately pulling you onto his chest with a content sigh, his large hand rubbing your back and shoulder. He smiled down at you, already noticing the sleepiness taking over your features.

"Thank you for today, babe."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, baby."

"I did. I think Seora did, too." You yawn.

"Yeah, she did." He chuckles, kissing your forehead. "Sleepy?"

"A bit. You know I can barely stay up late nowadays. Plus, that dinner is hitting hard."

"Why don't you go to sleep?"

"Because I like trying to stay up with you."

"But, I don't like it when you force yourself to stay up with me." He whines, smirking a bit. "You'll see me tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Cause quite frankly, you're stuck with me now, pretty girl. No take-backs."

"Mm." You hum sleepily. "I would never take that decision back. Even if my life depended on it."

"You say that now." He snorts.

"I mean it, Jeong Yunho."

"I know." He says, close to a whisper, brushing your hair back. "And that's why I love you."

"I love you, too." You gently dip your head upwards to give him a tiny peck on the lips.

"Go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

"Mhm." You throw your arm over his torso, snuggling tightly against him. "Will you fall asleep soon?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me." Yunho responds. He watches as you shut your eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. It only takes a few more minutes before he hears you silently snoring against him, causing him to smile to himself. He looks down and admires you for a second— wondering just how lucky he was to love you, to adore you. To have been chosen by you. He would never take this for granted. He was so overwhelmed by his emotions that he didn't think he could fall asleep anytime soon, despite his earlier response. He kissed your forehead once more before gently prying himself away from your body— careful not to wake you from your deep slumber. 

Yeah, he was exhausted. Not sleepy in the slightest. If that made sense.

As he exited the bedroom, Seora was also exiting the hallway bathroom and making her way over to the kitchen. Like father, like daughter. 

"Can't sleep?" Yunho asks quietly as he drags his feet over to the table, watching Seora grab the rocky road ice cream carton from the freezer and set it on the dining table with a spoon in hand.

"Mhm." Yunho grabs a spoon for himself, sitting across from her just as she digs in. "Is Y/N asleep?"

"Knocked out cold." She chuckles. "Dinner wiped her out."

"She sleeps early."

"She does love her sleep, yeah." Yunho chuckles as he starts to dig in himself. "Today was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." Seora looks over at the altar with her mother's picture, the various offerings of fruit and memorabilia laid out in front. "It was nice to go all together. Plus, the movies. Dinner."

"Yeah."

"It's always nice having Y/N there." She takes another big bite. "You don't think it makes her uncomfortable or anything, right? Visiting mom?"

"No, of course not. She always wants to go and support in any way that she can." Seora nods.

"She does, just by being there. I just don't want her to feel like, left out or anything. Like she isn't as loved, you know?"

"No, never. She understands, ace. You know that. She understands how much we love and miss your mom, but she also knows her place here with us." She nods again.

"I'm happy you're happy, dad." She says softly, looking at him. Yunho pauses before he looks up at his daughter. He sees the small, genuine smile form on her face. Her eyes crinkling as she takes another spoonful of ice cream. "She's a really good person."

"She is, isn't she?"

"Mhm. You and Y/N were made for each other." She shrugs cutely. "Soulmates or whatever." Yunho snorts.

"You think so?"

"Yes." Which, leads Yunho to another thought. Another single thought that he's been thinking about, but he wasn't sure how to break it to Seora. He had been planning it, rehearsing it, for days now. Although everything had been perfect between you, him, and Seora, and you've officially moved in for awhile now, he still wasn't sure how to bring himself to announce that he was ready to take his relationship to the next step.

"Hey ace. Speaking of .. that."

"Speaking of what? Being soulmates and all that cutesy stuff?" She tilts her head. "Yeah, what about it, daddy?"

"I've been thinking about something."

"Thinking about what?" She licks the ice cream off her spoon before setting the rocky road aside.

"About making it a forever thing."

"I thought the idea of soulmates was already a forever thing?"

"But, like, physically making it a forever thing."

"I'm sorry, dad. It's a little late, and I'm probably not catching on properly. Can you elaborate, please?" She cocks up a brow, making him laugh a bit.

"Like.. a ring." She gasps [as quietly as possible].

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Pause. Silence. Oh no, Yunho thinks. Fuck. Maybe this was a bad idea. He starts getting anxious, finding a way to backtrack. "But you know, if you're not ready, I can absolutely wait—"

"Do it. Please." Seora smiles from ear to ear. The biggest smile he's seen in awhile.

"Really? You're ready for that step?"

"I am. As long as you are."

"I am."

"Then, let's do it." Seora looks at her father once more. Of course, the love she had for her mother would never go away. It would always have a special place in her heart, and it would never be replaced. But now, she was finding new space for the love she had grown for you— right next door. 

Because she finally learned she could love both of you at once, and she realized that was all she needed to feel completely whole. "I know Y/N means a lot to you, and I know you love her. I-I do too, daddy. I do, too." She repeats, her eyes tearing up as her spoon digs random patterns across the surface of her ice cream. "I don't think I can continue without her by our side. My side."

"I don't think I can either, ace. She's our person, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Seora giggles, tears coming down her cheeks. Yunho starts to tear up, wiping the tears from his daughter's cheeks. "Mom would want this. I know she's happy seeing us happy." Yunho nods.

He was here. He was finally here.

His family was complete.

"I'll look at the rings tomorrow."

"Um, aren't you missing something?"

"What?" Yunho furrows his brows before Seora shakes her head.

"We'll look at rings tomorrow."