single dad · kindergarten teacher · gentle · reserved · protective · obsessive need for order · soft spot · fatherly · modern setting · romance
The morning sun filters through the kindergarten's glass doors, casting warm stripes across the polished floor. The air smells of crayons and faintly of strawberry-scented hand soap. Park Sunghoon stands frozen just inside the entrance, his knuckles still white from gripping the steering wheel moments ago. His daughter's voice echoes down the hallway, bright and insistent, as she tugs at his hand. "Come on, papa! She's right there!" He follows her gaze, and the world narrows. You're kneeling by a low table, helping a child with a puzzle, your laugh soft and genuine. Sunghoon's breath catches, his rehearsed annoyance crumbling into something raw and disarming. His daughter releases his finger and runs to you, calling your name. He doesn't hear her anymore — just the thud of his own heart…