DAD JAMES HEADCANONS
Can read this, too!
Fatherhood had made James feel emotions he never wanted to experience.He already had you, the person who had opened parts of his heart he once believed would remain locked forever. But now, with the reality of becoming a father settling in, he found himself experiencing something entirely unfamiliar. Nervousness.
The male figures he had grown up around had never exactly been examples worth admiring. Charles Choi.... was a scumbag, a man who had left behind wounds instead of guidance. The mere idea that he could somehow become like him made James nauseous. He remembered how Charles had slapped Crystal once… and suddenly, when he held his own child in his arms for the very first time, his heart nearly gave out at a singular terrifying thought:
What if I ever become like him?
And in that moment, he made himself a silent promise.He would never ever do something like that.
James had always been a good husband, supportive in ways most people rarely got to witness, and that would naturally extend into fatherhood. Unlike many men who initially assume that childcare is solely the woman’s responsibility, James would step up immediately. He understood that this period, especially postpartum, was delicate and that you would need him now more than ever.
So he balanced everything. Being there for you at your absolute most vulnerable while simultaneously learning how to care for a newborn. Somehow, instead of exhausting him, it became one of the greatest bonding periods between all three of you.
As a father, James was strict. And that strictness extended even to who was allowed around his child. Outside of the two of you, the first person he trusted completely would always be Crystal. Goo got a pass too, though only because Goo had practically demanded it, loudly insisting that he needed to see the child of his beloved noona, which conveniently ignored the fact that James was, in fact, the father.
James would ensure his children grew up with the absolute best resources, the finest education, the highest quality care, everything money could provide.
But he would also make sure they understood the value behind those privileges.
If his daughter suddenly announced she wanted to learn piano?
Fine. First she would commit to proper training and consistent lessons.Only then would the expensive piano arrive.
Lavish family vacations? Of course. But not before holiday homework was finished.
Because discipline, to James, was never negotiable. And discipline was never gender-based.
Whether he had a son or a daughter, the rules remained the same. Because James believed discipline was what built a person.
Discipline was the foundation.
And he wanted his children to possess that above all else.
When his child was still a baby, James would sing lullabies.
His voice — already naturally sweet and soothing — became something the baby immediately responded to. It quickly became their favorite thing.
And as they grew older, one of the most cherished routines between father and child became bedtime. James singing nursery rhymes, poems, or songs while they listened sleepily beside him. Raps also became indispensable part later on.
You had always thought James was soft with you. You had seen glimpses of tenderness nobody else ever would.
But watching him with his child made you realize there were entire layers of softness inside him that even you had never touched.
Because with his children… he was impossibly gentle. Tender in a way that almost didn’t seem real.
One night, you woke up in the middle of the night. The bed beside you was empty. You stepped into the living room and stopped.
There he was.
Sitting alone beneath the dim yellow light. The baby asleep against his chest. One large hand absentmindedly moving through impossibly soft hair. James’ head tilted downward. Eyes closed.
You simply stood there watching because… you had never seen him look so utterly unguarded before.
Just a father holding the tiny life that trusted him completely. And for some reason, it made your chest ache.
James would be there for every major event in his children’s lives.
School performances.
PTMs.
Competitions.
Birthdays.
Graduations.
Small victories.
Big failures.
He would bend over backwards, perhaps even break his back if necessary just to make sure he never missed the moments that mattered.
Interestingly enough, James was not the stereotypical overprotective “Who’s dating my daughter?” kind of father. If his daughter wanted to date someone?
Fine.
He respected autonomy. He wanted his children to grow into independent individuals capable of making their own choices.
But.
If someone ever hurt his daughter…
If someone broke her heart…
Well. Consequences would certainly follow. And those consequences may or may not involve mysteriously missing limbs. Perhaps fingers. Perhaps worse.
He would introduce martial arts training very early. Perhaps starting with Taekwondo. But eventually he would observe where their talents naturally leaned and allow them the freedom to pursue whatever discipline they wished to excel in.
Bad grades? A failed exam? Rejection from a dream university? James would never allow his children to think failure was the end of the world.
He would sit them down and tell them clearly.
Try again and work harder. Keep moving.
Because one setback never defined a person. And he wanted his children to understand that.
More than anything, James wanted to be what he himself never had. A father.A guiding light. Someone dependable and safe.
And through fatherhood, embarrassingly enough, he would begin realizing just how deeply wrong everything surrounding Charles Choi and his own childhood had been.
Why Crystal never liked speaking to Charles. Why their family dynamic had always been broken. What childhood should have looked like. What love should have looked like.
Fatherhood forced him to relearn everything. It made him more accepting of himself. And strangely, the notion of perfection slowly began fading away.
Because now, he no longer cared about perfection.
All he wanted was for his children to simply be children.
To have joy. To laugh loudly. To carry light in their eyes.
Something he himself had lost far too early.
When the two of you had your firstborn — a daughter — James quickly developed one habit.
He would strap her securely against himself and take long walks through the park. The sight alone was enough to melt anyone. A tiny female version of James tucked safely inside her father’s jacket. Protected completely.
Meanwhile, you walked beside him, fingers intertwined with his free hand. Sometimes the three of you would stop for little picnics. Afternoons spent beneath trees while your daughter slept peacefully against his chest.
And those simple moments became some of his favorite memories.
Overall, James became a wonderful father. A man trying to undo the damage left behind by people like Bum Choi. Trying to reverse every ugly thing he had learned growing up. James had always been the kind of man who gave his absolute best in everything he did.
So naturally, his love for his children ran deeper than most people would ever realize.
Because James loved deeply.
And as a father...perhaps deeper than ever before.
Divider by @cursed-carmine
