(Ship and concept requested by Love_Jiah )

(Concept: Jin is a single dad of his seven-year-old daughter, Mina. Nayeon just happens to be Mina's teacher and she meets Jin because of that)

(Jin POV)

I sigh as I walk through the door, kicking my shoes off and setting my bag down. I had a headache after the delay at the train station and because I got home much later than usual.

I sat down on the couch trying to relax when my eyes spotted something in the corner of the room and I was reminded about something very important.

The toy blocks sitting on the floor.

I forgot to pick up Mina from school.

I look at my phone and I had several missed calls, probably from the school. And just like that, I was out of the house again.

I hopped on the bus and ran to the school. Everyone else was gone by now. I felt like a terrible dad. When I got to her class, luckily the door was still open and the lights were still on.

I peer inside. Mina was sitting with her teacher who was reading her a story.

I knock on the doorframe.

They both look up and spot me.

"Appa!" Mina jumps up and runs to me.

I kneel down to give her a hug, "I'm so sorry, Mina. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long."

I pick her up as her teacher walked up to us, "Lim seonsaengnim," I bow, "I'm so sorry for showing up so late."

"Mina was worried about you, Mr. Kim." She says, "I would hate for this to happen again."

I nod. I felt like I was being scolded, but to be honest, I deserve it.

"Thank you for taking care of her. It won't happen again."

She nods before turning to Mina, "Bye-bye, Mina. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Mina says with her head on my shoulder.

I bow one more time before leaving.

"Are you hungry, Mina? We can get something to eat before we go home." I tell Mina as we get on the bus.

"I'm hungry." She says, "I want something from the convenience store."

I chuckle, "From the convenience store? Alright, we'll go and you can pick out whatever you want."

I feel guilty a lot of the time. Mina is such a happy kid, but I feel like I'm not doing good enough for her. Mina's mom left us when she was just three years old. I didn't know what to do back then. I didn't even know if I could take care of her on my own. Mina doesn't remember her much and we don't have any contact with her. She just disappeared one day, leaving us all alone.

"Did your teacher read some stories with you?" I ask Mina as we ate our late dinner at the store.

"Yeah! We read one about a boy who had a forest in his room and he could play with monsters."

"Monsters? Were they scary?"

"No, they weren't. They were friendly!"

I smile, "Your teacher must be good at telling stories."

"Can we read another one before bed tonight?"

"Of course, of course."

____________

(Nayeon POV)

"Is your dad coming today, Mina?"

Today was the school's sports day and the parents were invited to join us.

"I don't know...he said he was coming."

Mina was standing by herself while all the other kids were outside getting ready for a game.

"I can play with you for now, sweetheart."

I offer her my hand, but she suddenly frowns and starts to cry.

"Oh Mina, darling, it's okay. I'm sure he'll be here." I get down on my knees to give her a hug, but she wouldn't stop crying.

Her dad promised something like this wouldn't happen again. If he doesn't show up, I'm gonna have to have a word with him. His daughter is the sweetest girl I've ever met and this is how he takes care of her?

I grab a few tissues from my desk to wipe her tears.

"H-He said he was coming." She sniffs.

And right on cue, Mr. Kim shows up late and out of breath exactly like last time.

"Appa..!" Mina runs up to him, still crying.

"I'm so sorry, honey. Appa didn't mean to be late. I'm sorry." He hugs her, letting her cry on his shoulder, but she stopped crying as he stroked her hair.

I look out the window; the other kids were already done with the first game and they all ran off for a quick snack break.

I kneel down to talk to Mina after her tears were all dry, "Mina, why don't you go get your snack and then your dad can join you for the next game, okay?"

"Okay."

When she was gone, I turn to her dad.

"Mr. Kim." I say, "You are the only parent that I have this issue with."

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry-" He started to speak, but I needed him to know this wasn't just about him being late.

"Your daughter gets to school late almost everyday of the week. She tells me she doesn't eat breakfast and that you are always in a hurry in the mornings. What can you tell me about that?"

He looks down at the floor, "Like I said, I'm sorry." His tone turned sincere, "I work over eight hours a day and I'm taking care of her all by myself. I can't afford to always put food on the table if I want to keep a roof over our heads. I have trouble getting up in the morning so we're both late most of the time. I promise you, I love my daughter, things are just difficult right now. It took a lot of convincing just for my boss to let me come here during work hours today."

Watching him as he said that, I could tell he was telling the truth.

He kept going; I think he just needed to vent it all out to somebody.

"I'd be able to afford more if I could work on the weekends too, but I don't have anyone to look after Mina. I'm doing my best, but I feel like I'm always letting her down."

I knew what I had to do.

____________

(Jin POV)

"My teacher?"

"Yes, Lim seonsaengnim. She's gonna stay here with you while I go to work."

"But you never work on the weekends." Mina pouts.

"I know, sweetie, but it'll only be for a little bit. I'll be back before you know it." I explain while I fix her hair.

"How long?" She asks.

"I'll be home by three o'clock. I promise."

____________

"Lim seonsaengnim, thank you so much for doing this."

"It's no problem, Mr. Kim, and...you can call me Nayeon."

"Nayeon?"

She nods, "It feels kind of weird having you address me as a teacher all of the time."

"Oh, sorry." I laugh nervously, "Well, in that case, you can call me Seokjin."

She smiles and nods, "I'll take good care of Mina while you're gone, Seokjin."

"Thank you, Nayeon-ah."

____________

I got home exactly at three o'clock like I promised, but when I stepped inside, the house was strangely quiet.

I found Nayeon scrolling on her phone, sitting on the couch.

"Oh, Seokjin-ah, you're home." She greets me.

I nod, "Was everything alright?"

"Everything was okay. Mina's taking a nap right now, but we played with her blocks for most of the day. I gave her a snack and then she got sleepy right after that."

I take a seat on the couch, "You're not usually busy in the weekends?"

She shakes her head, "I'm usually free on the weekends."

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Can she stay forever?"

Our heads turn to the small voice that asked that question. Mina had woken up from her nap and she was listening this whole time.

"Ay...it's not polite to eavesdrop, young lady."

"I wasn't eavesdropping! I could just hear you."

Nayeon chuckles, "I'd love to stay for dinner."

She stayed over longer than any of us expected. After dinner, he three of us cleaned up and then Mina wanted to watch a movie, but she fell asleep about halfway through. Nayeon had to get going soon after.

"Thank you again, for doing this." I went with her to the door to see her out.

"Of course. I had fun today."

We were both whispering because Mina was still asleep on the couch.

"You're a good dad, Seokjin. I apologize for the misunderstanding back then."

"It's all good. No hard feelings."

We both stand there awkwardly. She said she had to go, but it felt like neither of us wanted this day to be over.

"I really...appreciate you, Nayeon-ah."

She looks at me, gazing into my eyes.

"Mina is very fond of you and I-"

She didn't let me finish my sentence before she put her hands on my shoulders and kissed me.

It took me by surprise, but I didn't fight it.

When she pulls away, she keeps her hands on me.

"Call me if you ever need anything, Seokjin-ah."

She leaves with that and I started to think to myself:

Maybe I should have listened to Mina.