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Kim Dokja looked around the colourful area, feeling like he was going to get a headache. He was on his own this time for the mission, having no one else to accompany him except…
“Baaht!”
“Biyoo! Don’t go off on your own-!” The worried single dad ran after her.
She happily floated around, loving the bright colours and giant pieces of candy surrounding her. She took a big bit out of a huge candy cane sticking from the ground.
“No baby I don’t think you should eat that-!”
The candy cane fell over and crushed him. He groaned, face planted against the floor. He looked up, pushing the delicious wreckage off. He stared at the crumbs left on his hand, then made sure no one was looking before tasting one.
“Mmm.” He smiled, kicking his lips. “Ah- Biyoo where did you go?!”
He ran around the area, trying to follow the sounds of giggles. He heard her nearby and turned a corner.
“Aha! Found… you?”
He paused, and looked around in dismay.
Kim Dokja ended up in a cotton candy land.
“NOOOOOO!”
Panicking, the man walked through the soft floors and stared at the piles of fluffy cotton candy around him, each having paper cones on top of them. They were in such a light pink shade it could easily be mistaken as Biyoo’s white fluffiness. He tried to calm down.
“Ok… it’s okay Dokja… just… look for a yellow horn that’s all. She’s your daughter, you should be able to recognise her from miles away.”
He walked around wearily, trying to not step on any cotton candy in case it was his daughter. Once he accidentally kicked her when she floated too close to the ground, then he cried for an hour while cuddling and apologising to her. He shook his head, trying to refocus. He got a message from Yoo Joonghyuk, who asked if he was done with his mission.
“I… uhm… Biyoo she-“
He felt a breeze and saw a blur rush past him. He turned around, and Yoo Joonghyuk had a dark look in his eye and tight grip on his sword, with an expression that said “what happened to the baby?”
Kim Dokja choked on the air in surprise.
“She just wandered off! That’s all!”
The taller looked around.
“…You lost your daughter in cotton candy land. Your daughter that looks exactly like cotton candy. In cotton candy land.”
He huffed. “S-shut up I’ll find her! How did you get here so fast anyway…”
Yoo Joonghyuk ignored him and put his sword away, looking around the pastel land. It looked like his sister’s dreamland. It was unfortunate they’d have to destroy the area before it became corrupted and swallowed the Earth whole.
The two walked around, searching for the troublemaker.
“…I’m surprised you were worried for her. Oh wait, it’s because of the Stream, isn’t it?”
Yoo Joonghyuk glared. “I care about her because she’s a child, and your child. If anything happened to her then…”
Kim Dokja looked in surprise. He didn’t know what to say so continued searching, pushing away piles of cotton candy.
“What do you think would happen if I ate this?”
The taller slapped it out of his hand. “Focus you idiot.”
“Hey the kid’s tougher than she looks.”
“She tried to swallow a watermelon yesterday.”
“And she succeeded!”
“She turned into the size of a beach ball.”
Kim Dokja coughed awkwardly. Then, something sparkling caught his eye. He grabbed Yoo Joonghyuk’s face and silently made him look in the same direction. He wondered why the man’s face felt so hot when it was chilly today but decided not to question it at that moment. Silently, he walked over to the glowing, yellow unicorn horn.
He smiled and grabbed it with his arms.
“There you… are?”
In his arms was a unicorn plush. On top of him was a sign that said “Cotton candy and white unicorn with yellow horns plushies land.”
“NOOOOOO.”
In front of him were even more balls of cotton candy, which each had a unicorn plush inside, their yellow horns sticking out of the fluff. He sunk to his knees, tears in his eyes. He felt hopeless until Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed him, holding him up in the air.
“Are you giving up? Your daughter is lost and you’re giving up?”
The shorter quickly shook his head. “No, no of course not!”
“You can’t. We’re finding her, we’re not leaving until we find her.” He set the man down, patting his arms after grabbing him so roughly.
He nodded, trying to get ahold of himself. Some giggles broke the silence. Kim Dokja’s eyes lit up at the sound of his baby’s adorable coos.
“Bibi!” He ran off to follow the sound.
Yoo Joonghyuk secretly thought it was cute how he managed to recognise her that quickly. He walked behind him, keeping a close eye around the area to make sure nothing was following them.
Kim Dokja ended up in a dark cave, hearing his baby happily in there, her voice echoing. He wondered why she was so excited in such a dark and scary cave, but gulped and went in.
“Biyoo?” He called out.
He turned the corner and saw her.
She was giggling and jumping up and down on a giant cotton candy ball. Kim Dokja smiled at the adorable sight. He stepped forward to collect her in his arms where she’ll be safe.
“Mama!” Biyoo babbled, hugging the giant cotton candy with her tiny arms.
The reader paused, his eyes widening.
The baby heard shuffling and turned around. She saw her teary eyed dad then frowned with worry.
“Dada!”
She quickly floated towards him, making panicked and little noises, as if trying to explain herself. He stopped her, cupping her tiny body in his hands and smiled.
“I know, I know we don’t look like each other but, that doesn’t really matter… does it?”
She shook her head frantically. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.
“I can see why you were so excited, you were surrounded by things that were almost as cute as you.” He tickled her tiny body and she giggled, floating over to give him a hug. “If only the other dokkaebi were as cute at you. But it’ll be okay, right? You have us to take care of you.”
She titled her head at “us” then noticed Yoo Joonghyuk lingering behind.
“Baaht!” She excitedly waved at him.
He tried not react but couldn’t help but wave back. Kim Dokja chuckled, happy they were bonding for once. He held the baby up to the man. Even he couldn’t resist petting the baby.
“Wow, there’s someone who made their way into the emo protagonist’s that wasn’t his sister?”
He scoffed. “I have at least 3 people.”
“Oh yeah… Seolhwa?”
He gave the shorter a bland look that said “you’re so stupid.” Biyoo replicated that look. Kim Dokja stared at the disappointed faces.
“What?”
Biyoo sighed.
Then, the area rumbled.
“…AH THE SCENARIO!” Kim Dokja panicked.
Before he could react, Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed him into a bridal carry and ran off with the panicking man, while Biyoo rested on Kim Dokja’s lap without a care in the world. He heard the taller mutter about already completing the scenario back when he went to look for Biyoo, so that was resolved, however he hoped they could make it out of the candy nightmare. When the cotton candy around them melted, Kim Dokja quickly covered his baby’s eyes before it upset her.
Needless to say, they did manage to return unscratched. Except that Kim Dokja was bonked in the head by Yoo Joonghyuk for losing Biyoo. The man sighed tiredly, falling onto the floor, not wanting to walk the rest of the way. Yoo Joonghyuk rolled his eyes at the dramatics. Biyoo sat on her dad, not thought behind her eyes.
Kim Dokja stretched. “Oh right, what was the scenario reward?”
“…”
Yoo Joonghyuk placed a giant jar of candy in front of them. Kim Dokja felt like he was going to be sick by the sight, meanwhile Biyoo squealed with job and charged at it, trying to bit the lid off.
“Bibi, you’re not eating that all at once.” Kim Dokja scolded.
He held the fussy baby and wrapped her in his coat, trying to soothe her to sleep after being awake for most of the day. Yoo Joonghyuk watched, then decided to sit next to them. Once the baby was settled and lightly snoring, he softly put a finger over her cheek.
Kim Dokja smiled at the gesture.
“How are you so good with kids? You’ve never had any,” the taller muttered.
“It’s called having compassion, you should try it.” He joked, earning a glare. “…I mean I guess I just treat them the way I wanted to be treated as a kid.” He added quietly.
Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to respond to that. Kim Dokja knew what he would’ve wanted to say anyway. Then he smiled, preparing to tease him for something.
“You know, isn’t it usually flirty to tell someone they’re great with kids? Let alone notice it?”
“Yes.”
“Ok ok whatever you say-“ His eyes widened, and he went red. “Did… did you just agree…?”
Yoo Joonghyuk blandly stared at him.
Kim Dokja nervously chuckled. “Wait, you’re just admitting you flirted with me, you do know that right-?”
“I’ve been flirting with you for months.”
The man stared, then buried his face in his daughter, screaming into her like she was a pillow. She shuffled awake and giggled at the sensation. Yoo Joonghyuk rolled his eyes.
“Your dad’s an idiot,” Yoo Joonghyuk said to her, giving his finger for her to hold while Kim Dokja kept screaming.
She nibbled on it as agreement.