umbrella { sunjay }

45.

"you must be park jongseong!" the voice of sunoo's mother broke the reunion as she stepped out from behind the door. 

last night, sunoo had told his parents everything. it was hard for him not to. everything felt like it was out of place. he even cried to his parents in his confession, to which they comforted him but they were still in shock.

"yes, i am. nice to meet you." jay bowed slightly with eunjoo still in his arms and put his hand out to offer a handshake. 

sunoo felt his eyes graze his face, but sunoo refused to make eye contact and looked down at the concrete.

"why don't you come in and meet the family? it seems like eunjoo has already accepted you as a part of it." sunoo's mother's laugh was warm and welcoming. but jay wasn't sure if that would be okay with sunoo himself.

he observed as sunoo's eyes slightly widened in a panicked state, as he stared at his mother. perhaps it was a sign that he clearly did not want him there. 

"thank you for the offer, but i don't want to overstep any more boundaries than i already have. i should probably get going." of course jay didn't want to leave. it was his little girl's birthday. but there was no way he would stay, knowing it would make sunoo uncomfortable.

"no! don't leave!" eunjoo's lips formed a large frown as her big eyes filled with salty tears. she had just gotten him back and now he was wanting to leave again. 

"you may not say no. come on in, we want you here." sunoo's mother stepped back, creating a walkway into the cozy home. she had a feeling this would be for the better, even if sunoo was hesitant.

jay awkwardly looked back at sunoo who seemed to be frozen in the same place. 

truth is, sunoo did want him there. he didn't know why he acts the way he does. but there was one thing he did realize. and seeing jay again, confirmed it.

he was so deeply in love with park jongseong that it hurt every fiber of his being to be apart. 

and now that he's here and in front of him, it was hard to not feel a swarming guilt for causing the very reason of their separation. 

everything was his fault. he hurt the one person he swore to protect from harm and the one person he came to love. how could he call himself a man if he couldn't even do those simple tasks.

sunoo followed quietly behind them as they entered the home once again. visiting eunji would have to be pushed later into the day since they had a new 'activity' on their agenda.

misun and their father were already sitting in the living quarters as the four of them arrived. once they noticed their presence and the presence of someone new, the two of them stood up from their seats to greet them.

after introductions, there was an awkward tension that lingered in the air as sunoo and jay sat on the opposite couch from sunoo's parents and sister. eunjoo remained practically glued to jongseong as she sat on his lap, playing with his fingers. there was a slight fear that if she turned away from jay for a moment, he would disappear again.

"we've heard a lot about you." sunoo's father was first to speak and sunoo wished he didn't. he wanted the sofa to swallow him whole as he caught glimpse of jay slightly turning to him in surprise.

"only good things, i hope." everyone, except for sunoo and eunjoo chuckled along. sunoo, because he was too embarrassed to even consider it. and eunjoo, because she simply didn't get the joke.

"how long are you in town for?" misun spoke up curiously, trying to break the awardness that still lingered.

"oh i just came to visit this special girl on her special day. i didn't intend to stay long." jay smiled softly at eunjoo who returned the same expression. sunoo felt his heart thump at the affectionate words that jay said so proudly about eunjoo. 

it was beyond obvious how much jongseong truly cared and loved his daughter. it was never a secret for how much he wanted to be in her life.

sunoo felt like an asshole.

he suddenly raised to his feet, catching everyone off guard as they stared at him startlingly. he had enough of his own games and trying to force himself to feel a way that there was no way he could.

"could we-" he swallowed nervously. "could we talk? please?" his voice shook slightly with his plead as his eyes poured into the latter's deep brown ones.

"yeah, of course." jay gently took eunjoo off his lap and set her onto the cushion right beside him. "i'll be right back, okay?" he patted her head softly and stood up to follow sunoo.

until he felt a small hand wrap around his finger before he could fully walk away. 

"don't leave, appa." eunjoo's puppy dog eyes stared at him with a trembling lip. 

he knew what she meant. she meant not to leave her life again for good, not just leaving the room. and that broke him into pieces. 

everyone watched him bend down in font of the sofa where she sat and hold her hand in his larger one. "i won't leave you again, baby. i promise. so don't worry about that. i don't want you to be sad on your birthday, hm?" he used his free hand to softly pinch her cheek.

eunjoo couldn't fight off the smile that erupted onto her face. she only had one wish this year. 

and that was for them to truly become a family. including jay.

❀

i am so so sorry for the late update. my life has been so busy and hectic but i will try my best. 

also me and eunjoo share a birthday! which is in 2 days, so updates might be slow again. my apologies in advance if they are!!!