Girl Dad Gyu - Hair
No warnings, just pure fluff. Mingyu is a stay-at-home dad and an amazing girl dad.
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Mingyu sat on the floor, surrounded by an array of hair accessories - clips, bows, and hair ties. He looked at his daughter, who was sitting in front of him, babbling happily and grabbing at the colourful items.
"Alright, Minju, let's see what we can do with this hair of yours," he said with a smile, reaching for a hairbrush.
Minju was barely a year, but boy, could she grow a lion's mane. He wasn't sure if it was something she had inherited from his wife or him, but he knew he had to do something about it. "Just get her a haircut honey," the mother of his child said. He had told her how he didn't want to take it the easy way. He'll need to learn how to handle their daughter's hair in the future anyway - the mere thought of his chubby baby growing got him choked up, but he continued strategising his mission.
Mingyu had taken it upon himself to buy all the hair accessories for Minju. He had even picked up a nice baby friendly hairbrush though his wife had already gotten one when they were preparing for their daughter's arrival, 'All good things comes in two,' he had rationalised to himself. It's fine. Surely, his wife can't be mad for having one extra comb. Right?
As he brushed her soft hair, he realized that he had no idea what he was doing. He had never been the best at styling his own hair, let alone someone else's. But he was determined to figure it out for his daughter. He refuses to find an easy way out. Minju hated going to the salons. Every time the hairdresser approached her delicate head, she'd show off her great set of lungs. Who knew a cute chubby thing like her could let out a mighty cry, loud enough for everyone in Seoul to hear?
Mingyu started with a simple ponytail, using a pink hair tie to hold it in place. He stepped back to admire his work, only to see that the ponytail was lopsided and messy. He groaned, "The tutorial says to do it this way, Minju-ya, why isn't it working?" His daughter, who was oblivious of her struggling appa, was preoccupied with sorting out the colourful hair bands between her chubby legs. At least that's what Mingyu thought she was doing.
He sighed and tried again, this time with a clip. But as soon as he let go of her hair, the clip fell out, and Minju grabbed it, putting it straight in her mouth. Mingyu chuckled at the sight, realizing that this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. He gently pried the clip off her mouth, she had protested but she hadn't protested too hard. It didn't taste as good as it seemed anyway. It was hard even. Minju frowned, her bottom lips stuck out mirroring her appa.
Mingyu had tried different hairstyles - braids, pigtails, and even attempted a messy bun - but nothing seemed to be working. He had gone through millions of tutorials at this point. "Your eomma does it so effortlessly. Surely I can do it too, right, Minju?" Minju just blankly looked at her father. She shoved a bunch of butterfly clips to him instead.
After several failed attempts, Mingyu decided to take a break and sit with his daughter, who was now playing with the hairbrush. As he watched her, he realized that it didn't matter if her hair was styled perfectly or not. She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
He picked her up and held her close, smiling as she giggled and babbled in his ear. Mingyu knew that there were more important things than being good at styling hair, like being there for his daughter and making her feel loved and supported.
As he put Minju down to play, he looked at the mess of hair accessories and laughed. "Maybe we'll just stick with the messy look for now," he said to himself.
Mingyu may not have been a hairstyling expert, but he was a loving father who would do anything for his daughter - even if it meant embracing her messy hair.
Later that day, his wife got home and trimmed their daughter's hair herself. Her mother, being an angel and her salvation, Minju had complied easily. In fact, she had stayed put in Mingyu's hold. "Told you this would be easier," chided his wife. He could only pout.
Author's Note: I might start a series of shorts like this based on Mingyu being a girl dad. I have a few in my drafts just waiting for an edit.