Hyerin received a phone call from Jaemin’s preschool halfway through the day, three hours before he should have been picked. Heart racing in the moments before she answered she thought of every worst case scenario.

Greetings exchanged, her son’s principal got to the point quickly. “There’s a man here that claims to be Jaemin’s father? He says his name is Park Jaehyung''

With that the phone slipped right from Hyerin’s fingers.

In front of the door of the preschool, Hyerin did all she could to catch her breath and blink back the icy tears pricking her eyes, frozen to her eyelashes by the frigid January wind.

Taking a deep breath, though she couldn’t swallow it with the lump in her throat, Hyerin pushed the door open.

His hair cut short, messily, as if done by an unprofessional, eye sagging down in permanent tiredness, cheeks hollow, thinner than he’d ever been before.

Nonetheless….

Hyerin’s breath caught like it had every time those eyes met hers, and lips pulled both up and down in an awkward, tearful smile, matching his. Her heart tugged her body forward with her mind on autopilot until she was enveloped by him, his familiar warmth his chin on the top of her head as she nuzzled his shoulder, breaths and heartbeats matching each other.

Calloused hands cupped her cheeks as he pulled away to stare at her, but only for a moment before their lips met, finally, after three years without each other’s touch.

“Hello princess” he choked, voice breaking for the first time in all the years she’s been in love with him.

“I missed you” she breathed back, hands roaming all over his shoulders, arms, and back, remembering the kinks and curves of skin against bone.

“I know” he grinned softly, pecking her cheek like he always had “I never forgot you”