genre fluff , single parent au , established relationship , seok x single mom!reader cw reader has a 3-4 yr old daughter (not named in the fic) , seok is just a sweetheart :( , not proofread wc 775 request no note seok cooking rly got me thinking... net @kstrucknet
Seok was diligent in the kitchen, preparing multiple dishes on different counter tops, dressed in the light pink apron that your daughter had picked out at the store weeks ago. The same apron that Seok always found himself reaching for, even though the one his mom gave him when he moved out always hung right beside it. Perhaps it marked the new chapter in his life, or different priorities.
He hadn’t expected to fall in love so quickly. Certainly not with a single mother of a very strong-willed toddler who he would have to win over as well. But he absolutely adored you and your daughter. If he was going to see himself fitting in with your little family one day, maybe even calling himself her dad eventually, he needed to put in the work now. He wanted you to know that he was serious about this, but at the same time, not in a rush.
Seok was quiet with his love most of the time. He gave it to you in handmade dishes from his childhood, or discussing your favourite books that he had taken the time to read and annotate. You felt his love in the way he would always prepare something completely different for your daughter just in case she refused the main meal or when he would surprise you with one of your favourite dishes he had learned to make. And every time you came over to visit, he always had a new surprise for your daughter.
Never something big that would make you feel indebted to him, but always something special enough to create memories for years to come. He was meticulous with his hands whether with food or crafts. The toys he made were always ones your daughter accepted with excitement. Though, they could never top her favourite thing about Seok— singing with him.
Every time you visited, Seok would teach her the lyrics to a new song, and they would perform it together for you. From nursery rhymes to love songs you already knew the words to by heart, you had been an audience to their little concerts for over eight months. You could never get over the sight of the two of them together. Your daughter wasn’t shy with expressing how much she loved Seok, but it wasn’t until almost a year of knowing Seok that those words finally slipped from her lips.
You were seated around Seok’s small dining table, a spread of warm dishes set out, each made with care in his kitchen. Eating dinner together had started to become routine now that your daughter was in kindergarten. Seok’s apartment was closer to her school than your work, and he had started offering to pick her up when you were busy. Your daughter loved it of course, getting excited whenever Seok was waiting for her outside the school.
“Appa, can I have more dumplings?”
The sentence seemed natural for your daughter, but you had to blink before the words were properly processed. You looked at Seok, who had a similar stunned expression on his face. You were about to say something— apologize on your daughter’s behalf or spew some awkward monologue to your boyfriend of eight months that if he was at all uncomfortable with it, you would make sure that your daughter understood that he wasn’t her father.
But Seok bit back a smile, and you could just barely see a tinge of pink growing on his cheeks. He reached over to the plate of dumplings, transferring two to her plate with his chopsticks.
“You like them?” he asked. Your daughter hardly needed to answer him given the grin on her face as she popped another into her mouth, but she did all the same.
“They’re my favourite!”
After dinner while your daughter was preoccupied with colouring pages, you brought it up again with Seok in the kitchen.
“Are you okay with that? With her calling you appa?”
Seok nodded. “I’m okay with it— as long as you’re also fine with it?”
“I just didn’t expect her to say it then. She’s been including you in her school assignments, you know,” you told him. “Last week they had to draw a family tree. She drew you at the top of the tree and wrote ‘mom’s boyfriend’,” you explained, a little flustered. Seok only smiled patiently.
“I’m glad she thinks of me as family. I never wanted to push for something like this if it was unwanted— didn’t feel like it was my place to do so. But it’s her decision… and yours,” he said.
You smiled, “If you want this, then so do I.”
1verse taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @yudaies,, @lexeees
genre fluff , established relationship , single parent au , fiancé!seok x fem!reader cw reader has a 5 yr old daughter! , again seok is perfect dad material :( , not proofread wc 1026 request no note this is part 2 to dumplings , it's encouraged but not necessary to read that first :) the daughter was originally not named in the first fic but i couldn't really avoid it in this one, so her name is jia! net @kstrucknet
Seok really didn’t want to wake you up. Not when your face was still buried in his chest, arms wrapped tightly around his waist like you never wanted to let go. These were the moments between you and him that your daughter, Jia, never really saw. Of course she knows that you were in love with him, and it had already been a few months since he proposed to you, but Seok liked to keep the PDA low around her.
You respected the choice, and agreed with it for the most part, as well. It was only when he refused your kisses because your daughter was in the same room that you started to get annoyed with the rule. Seok still got shy easily, even around Jia.
But you made up for it after she went to bed and your fiancé went back to being just your Seok, instead of appa. After 8PM, he could rarely get you off of him. He didn’t mind it, of course. It was both amusing and endearing how you managed to miss him so much after spending the entire day together. You usually insisted on cuddling for the whole evening, and refused to even let him go to the bathroom without trying to keep him in your arms.
And given all the details he’d picked up about you over the last two years, he knew how precious the moments were where you could soak him up all to yourself and, for a moment, let the stresses of parenting escape you. That was why a bit of dread filled Seok’s stomach at the thought of leaving your warm bed and possibly disrupting your sleep in favour of checking up on Jia because he thought he’d heard a cough from down the hall.
But another uncomfortable wave washed over him at the thought of not making sure she was sleeping well. Sick with a cold for a few days now, he knew she often tossed and turned at night, unable to rest during the coughing fits. Although Seok wasn’t technically her legal guardian yet, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the little five year old who felt like his own daughter.
So with a torn heart, he carefully shifted his body away from you, moving as slowly and silently as possible. He made sure your head rested comfortably on a pillow before he stood up, praying you didn’t wake up from the adjustment.
Just as he had suspected, when he got to your daughter’s room, the unicorn night light that usually cycled through different rainbow colours was set to a pure white, and soft sniffles were heard from under the covers. He knocked softly on the already open door before entering the room, watching as Jia’s little head peeked up from under the covers.
“Appa,” Jia’s voice dragged out like she had said it a million times before, yet the word still made Seok’s heart soft.
“Did you try the cough drops?”
Jia made a face, “They taste like medicine.”
Seok blinked. The honey and lemon cough drops that he had bought would’ve practically tasted like candy to him when he was five. Though he had to remind himself that his childhood was vastly different from Jia’s, and he was relieved and grateful that she would never share any of his experiences.
“You’d rather keep coughing than have the cough drops… but then you can’t sleep.” Jia nodded along. “It’s already almost midnight. You’ve never been up this late before,” Seok said worriedly, brushing the girl’s bangs out of her face.
“I have been. When I was a baby, I used to keep my mom up alllll night long,” Jia explained like she was proud of the fact. Seok tsked, a smile on his face as he pictured it. He had seen almost every photo of Jia as a baby (and most of your baby photos as well). But you had had Jia very young, and from your stories alone Seok knew how much you struggled to care for her all by yourself. Jia was, of course, still too little to pick up on the undertones of painful reminisce in your voice, but Seok recognized it immediately.
“Baby Jia might have stayed up all night, but big girl Jia needs sleep. You have school tomorrow— and it’s photo day. You want to look your best for your picture, and that means a good night’s rest too,” Seok explained. The words flowing out of his mouth sounded like a true dad. Jia seemed to think about it for a second, not entirely convinced immediately.
“Will you sing me to sleep?”
Seok nodded, “Whatever you want. Only 2 songs, okay? Appa needs to go to sleep too.”
Jia nodded, making a big show of shutting her eyes tightly to show she was ready for the lullabies. Seok smiled at her antics, tucking her blanket around her more tightly as he started to sing. Jia still loved his singing more than anything, and although she hadn’t fully intended to fall asleep immediately, by the time the second song was finished, she was knocked out.
Seok wasn’t surprised when he saw the light on when he got back to your bedroom. Although he had hoped you would stay asleep, he knew your tendencies to wake up to the slightest shift or noise, or how you struggled to fall asleep when he wasn’t there.
You didn’t say much when he slid under the covers again, just rolled over to hug his waist again and settle your head on his chest. He smiled at the closeness and placed a kiss on your head.
“You’re such a good dad— I love you,” he heard you mumble into his chest sleepily. The words were barely intelligible, but he still caught them. He couldn’t escape the way his heart fluttered at your words, or the warm feeling that seemed to always wrap around him like a hug when he was with you or Jia. By now, there was no doubt that Seok was an important part of your family, even if you had to wait a few more months to tie the knot.
1verse taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @yudaies,, @lexeees,, @talkingsaxy
