Chapter Text
“But why?” Woonhak asked, his tiny legs struggling to keep up with Jaehyun’s hurried pace. “Because…” Jaehyun wracked his brain for an excuse that sounded believable enough for a five-year-old. A job that sounded easier than it actually was.
“Yeppi gets lonely on weekends, so you’ll have to keep him company.” The father said, making Woonhak’s brows quirk together. It wasn’t a complete lie, before Leehan and Jaehyun, Sungho had exactly zero friends and only saw his family every other month, if that.
The man claimed he didn’t mind his own company, but Leehan and Jaehyun weren’t having it…or maybe the two men just wanted to hang out. Either way, that was the start of their out-of-the-workplace friendship
and now, Sungho was Jaehyun’s go-to babysitter. He wasn’t sure how it started, but what he did know is that Sungho had saved his ass countless times.
“Are you Yeppi’s only friend?” Woonhak asked, tone curious as he stomped through a puddle just outside the apartment complex. Jaehyun breathed out a laugh. “Leehan’s his friend too.”
Woonhak let out a hum, “Only you ‘n him?” He questioned, tilting his head upwards towards his father. Jaehyun thought for a moment before nodding, “I think so.”
Before Woonhak could ask his dad yet another “Why?” , the door to Sungho’s apartment swung open, revealing the tall brunette man already beaming at both the father and son.
"Woonagi!" Sungho cheered, his tone going up slightly as it always did when speaking to the preschooler. Leehan liked to tease him about it since it was a complete 360 from his typical tone, but Jaehyun sort of understood.
Jaehyun himself had done a complete 180 in every aspect of his life when Woonhak was born. The late nights he used to spend out with his friends halted, replaced by spit-up and sleep-deprived arguments between him and Yejin.
"Yeppi!" Woonhak chirped, instantly unlatching his hand from his dad's and hurrying to hug Sungho's legs.
The black-haired man couldn't quite remember when the tiny human started calling Sungho yeppi, it sort of just happened, and well, Sungho certainly wasn't complaining about it.
"He already ate, so he should be fine until I'm back," Jaehyun explained, swinging Woonhak's backpack off of his shoulder and handing it to the older man.
Sungho took it and nodded, letting Woonhak run further into the apartment before lowering his tone, "I hope you two can work something out."
Jaehyun smiled weakly at his friend, trying to ignore how his heart was thumping against his chest. The weight of what he was about to do was becoming extremely real, and god, was it heavy. “Thanks. Call me if you need anything…or if anything happens…or if Woonhak gets sad and just wants to hear my vo-”
The door was slammed in Jaehyun’s face. Lovingly.
“Bye, Woonhak!” The father called out, laughing at how the five-year-old yelled goodbye through the door.
Jaehyun shook his arms, hoping it would release some of the nervous tension that had built up in his body before he began walking out of the apartment complex. The drive to the cafe where Yejin insisted on meeting was only a 10-minute drive from Sungho’s building, meaning that there were roughly about 15 minutes before the two parents would be face to face.
Which was fine. Jaehyun totally wasn’t worried, not at all.
The minute the man sat in the car, he cursed at just how shaky he was, dropping his keys on the floor as he attempted to stick them into the ignition. Jaehyun exhaled, placing his hand over his heart, a last-ditch effort to self-soothe whatever was making him this nervous.
He wasn’t sure why he got this shaky every time the topic of Yejin, or Yejin herself, was near. Sure, they had a messy breakup, but that felt like such a weak reason to be so anxious. Maybe it was the fact that Jaehyun knew how it looked to Yejin’s friends, he and Yejin were irresponsible- had a baby- broke up- and he hightailed it out of Daebang-Dongjak as quickly as his shitty car could take him…only for him to be flat broke now.
It wasn’t like Yejin’s financial situation was significantly better than Jaehyun’s, but it was a step up from whatever class Jaehyun fell under.
‘ Jaehyun: Here. Do you want me to wait outside for you?’
‘ Jaehyun: Where are you? I got us a table.’
40 minutes. It had been forty minutes since the black-haired man arrived, parked, and grabbed Yejin and him a table, only to receive zero reply.
“Sir? Are you ready to order, or are we still waiting on someone?” the waitress asked. This was the third time she had checked in, and Jaehyun knew exactly why. He’d worked in a restaurant for the past three years, and he knew she and her coworkers were probably whispering about the “poor man being stood up at table 5.”
The black-haired man weighed his options for a few moments. He’d already tried calling Yejin twice, resulting in her sending him straight to voicemail. He’d already sent her a text asking where she was, again, no reply
Jaehyun’s mouth felt dry, the lump in his throat nearly suffocating him right then and there.
“I uh- I’ll actually just go. Sorry for taking up the table.” Jaehyun mumbled, standing up quickly and maneuvering around the waitress before beelining it for the exit. Once outside, Jaehyun couldn’t help it- he didn’t care about the pedestrians strolling past; he let out an aggravated scream.
Some strangers stopped and stared at him for a moment; others just gave him an annoyed look before continuing.
Jaehyun quickly fumbled for his car keys, unlocked the doors, and slid into the driver's seat, shutting the door with a loud slam. He let his forehead hit the wheel, squeezing his eyes shut as he told himself not to cry.
It wasn’t that Jaehyun was against crying- he did not subscribe to the “men don’t cry” mindset, thank you very much. He was just against crying over Yejin. That woman had already pulled plenty of tears out of him, he’d be damned if she got anymore.
‘Ding!’
Jaehyun side-eyed his phone, which sat on the center console as if it personally wronged him. A scowl was already on his face as he flipped it over to read the text.
‘ Yejin: Hey, can’t make it. Tell Woonhak that Eomma misses him!!’
The tears fell without warning. Fast, angry, hot tears dripped onto the phone’s screen before he could even process the fact that he was crying. His breathing became labored as his chest heaved uneven, straggled breaths. He felt stupid.
His hands shook in a way they hadn’t in years. Not since the argument that severed whatever emotional connection he had to the mother of his child. He was angry, sad, confused, and hurt all at once.
He wiped his face with his sleeve as he dialed Leehan’s number; his sobs were the first thing the blonde heard when the call connected.
“Jaehyun-ah?” Leehan’s voice was groggy, he’d probably just woken up. The younger had awful sleeping habits, especially on his off days.
Jaehyun’s voice was weak, “She fucking canceled.”
“What?” Sounds of rustling blankets could be heard as Leehan shuffled around. “What did she say?”
“She-” Jaehyun took a sharp inhale followed by a shaky exhale, trying to calm his tears. “She let me sit in that stupid cafe for…for fourty-fucking-mintues!” The anger was building up again, an uncomfortable feeling that overtook the father’s rational thinking- “Just to cancel!”
“What the fuck…” Leehan let out a sigh. Jaehyun pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just- How can you do that?” The younger stammered around to find his words before continuing, “Knowing it’s about your child and still just- dip?”
Way to twist the knife, Leehan.
“Then she asked me to tell Woonagi that she misses him.”
“No, she didn’t.” Disbelief laced the younger’s voice, “Swear.” Jaehyun sighed as he dragged a hand down his face. “Are you serious? She doesn’t even-” Leehan took a breath, lowering his angry tone before continuing, “She doesn’t even know him.”
Those words sent a pang straight through Jaehyun’s heart. They were sad and hurtful but true. Jaehyun highly doubted Yejin could even remember her son’s favorite color, let alone what his food preferences were or his interests.
“She wouldn’t have given over the money anyway, probably doesn’t even know the kid likes dance,” Jaehyun grumbled, new hot tears glossing his eyes as he started the car. Leehan let out an intelligible noise like he didn’t know what to say, but he agreed.
“So what’s our plan now?” Leehan asked, “There isn’t one. This was the plan.” Jaehyun explained as he put the car into reverse. “There has to be a backup plan, maybe me and Sungho can-” Leehan was cut off.
“No! You and Sungho help out enough, I can- I will figure something else out.” Jaehyun said, embarrassment flushing his cheeks. He didn’t need help; Woonhak was his child. He could figure it out.
Hopefully.
“Jaehyun-ah, it’s no problem, really. We all love Woonhak and-”
“Leehan. St-”
Jaehyun jolted forward, his seatbelt harshly bringing his back back to the seat. “What the fuck?!” The father yelped in surprise, immediately slamming on the brakes and whipping his head up to peer out the rear-view mirror.
The black-haired man’s eyes widened in shock, he’d completely slammed into the front of a parked car. Not just any car, a fucking Bentley. Just his luck.
“Leehan. I’ll call you back.” Jaehyun’s hands were shaking, and his ears were ringing as he quickly hung up the phone and got out of his car. The owner of the luxury vehicle had already begun getting out as well. Jaehyun didn’t dare to meet his gaze.
Instead, he inspected the damage he’d caused to the vehicle. It was ugly, not just a small fender-bender…Jaehyun had almost entirely crushed the front of the car- Jesus, how fast had he backed out?
Jaehyun felt so sick he could cry.
“There’s really no need to cry about this, y’know.”
Oh, he was crying.
The father stumbled around his words for a bit, using the sleeve of his gray crewneck to dab away any stray tears. “Sorry- I’m- I’m sorry.” Jaehyun's breathing was even more staggered than it had been just moments prior. The mere thought of just how much this would cost was enough to make his head spin.
“What insurance company are you with?” The stranger asked, placing a hand on the undamaged parts of the Bentley’s hood and leaning his weight against the car. Jaehyun blinked, his mind playing catch-up with the words spoken to him.
“Uh- Dongbu. I use Dongbu.” Jaehyun said, clearing his throat and beginning to pat his pockets for his phone. “You?” He asked, looking up briefly at the man.
The man said something, but Jaehyun wasn’t focused on words right now. He was in utter shock at just how… wealthy this man looked.
Copper hair that danced on the line of orange, skin almost too pristine. In fact, that statement could be made about the man entirely. He was on the shorter side, but admittedly, only a few inches shorter than Jaehyun. But what really made him stand out was his outfit. It wasn’t the kind of outfit that screamed, “I just won the lottery and think suits are a good investment” - No. It was the kind of outfit that confidently but casually uttered the words, “I’m wealthy, wealthy enough to not put my entire ego into a suit.”
The shorter man was wearing khaki slacks that seemed to be tailored to his waist. A white undershirt that looked like its owner, pristine and untouchable. A simple yet expensive-looking jacket tied the outfit together, it was a deep burgundy, and if Jaehyun wasn’t in this current situation, he’d try to find a cheaper version online.
“I’m sorry?” Jaehyun asked, coming back to reality when he realized he hadn’t caught the name of the wealthy man’s insurance company. “Lee. Lee Insurance.” The copper-haired man said, a plain expression on his face.
Jaehyun furrowed his brow, tilting his head in confusion. “I’ve never heard of that one.”
The man made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “It’s a private company…I wouldn’t expect you to know it.”
At that, Jaehyun felt a sense of insecurity rush through his veins. He realized then, that just as he was able to tell that the man was wealthy just by one glance, the man was able to recognize that Jaehyun was not .
“Dongbu is private too…” Jaehyun mumbled under his breath as he finally found his phone, “Let me give you my number and-” The father was cut off.
“Have you eaten?” The man asked as if Jaehyun hadn’t just destroyed his grandeur car. “...No, no I haven’t,” Jaehyun said softly, awkwardly shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
The shorter man hummed, thinking for a few moments before looking towards the cafe. “Let’s have lunch then.”
It wasn’t a question, more like a command. Though at the same time, it wasn’t rude or forceful. It was as if the man knew that Jaehyun, who’d always been too curious for his own good, would follow when he began walking.
Only stopping to look at the wreck behind them for a moment. He wondered briefly if leaving the wreck as it was was a smart idea.
He hoped it was because the next thing he knew, he was sitting across from the man whose car he had just obliterated.
The man was quiet, but Jaehyun wasn’t really sure if that was his personality or simply because Jaehyun was…a stranger. “Have you been here before?” The man in the burgundy jacket asked, looking up and catching the father staring directly at him.
He had the gall to smirk.
“Me?” Jaehyun asked, before realizing they were seated at a two-person table. Of course, he was speaking to him. “Oh, um…No. I came here to…meet someone. They canceled.” He overexplained, quickly following his words with, “I’m sorry- What’s your name?”
The orange-haired man hummed thoughtfully, thinking through his words before speaking. “Riwoo. Who were you here to meet?”
It was invasive, yet Jaehyun supposed this entire ordeal was invasive.
“A friend.” A lie, but Jaehyun wasn’t about to explain the sob story that Yejin was to Riwoo. He highly doubted the man cared.
Riwoo let out a brief noise, deciding not to pry further. Thank god.
The table fell into the same uncomfortable silence that had been there since the two men were seated. Riwoo’s eyes were skimming the menu whilst Jaehyun simply sat across him, posture rigid yet somehow still not as perfect as Riwoo’s was.
“And you are?” Jaehyun couldn’t tell if he liked the way Riwoo gazed at him. It was sharp, yet for some reason, it wasn’t mean. It was just…calculated.
“Oh, um- Jaehyun. Myung Jaehyun.” He said, deciding to tack on his family name…for insurance purposes. Definitely not because he wanted to flex the fact that he had a rare family name in front of a wealthy man.
Sadly for Jaehyun, Riwoo only hummed- not impressed. Yet not annoyed either.
He was confusing, and Jaehyun hated that. Or maybe he liked it? Again, Riwoo was extremely confusing- or maybe the day that Jaehyun was having had finally fried his brain.
“I think I’ll get the tiramisu…and an americano. You?” Riwoo asked, finally putting down his menu. Jaehyun shook his head before realizing he should probably answer the man verbally, “I’m not hungry.”
It was a lie. The black-haired man was starving, but he could wait to eat something at home. Maybe he’d get lucky, and Sungho would send him and Woonhak home with some bulgogi.
Sungho always made good bulgogi.
Riwoo squinted at him, before nodding. The silence continued before the waitress circled back around, “Are we still looking at the menu?” She asked, glancing between both men, pausing as her eyes fell onto the black-haired man.
“Oh! You’re back!” She smiled before letting her eyes flow towards Riwoo, “Glad you could make it.” She joked, laughing to herself softly.
Jaehyun felt an embarrassed hue of red appear across his face as he gazed downwards. Riwoo let out a short but amused chuckle. “I ran into traffic.” He lied.
More like traffic ran into him.
The waitress and Riwoo made small talk for a few moments before the man put in his order. A slice of tiramisu cake and an iced americano, “And a…” Riwoo examined Jaehyun for a moment, looking at the man across from him like he was deciding whether or not to buy a shirt. “Chocolate waffle, for my friend.” The wealthy man decided, scooping up both their menus and handing them to the waitress.
She smiled and nodded before spinning on her heels and walking off.
“I’m not hungry.” Jaehyun’s attempt to strengthen the lie was laughable, which is why Riwoo let out another low laugh. It sounded exactly like how Sungho’s impression of Zico’s laugh did- annoyingly perfect.
Jaehyun scowled at this. “Seriously, I don’t-”
“I’ll have my assistant pick up the cars. I can arrange for a car to come get us,” Riwoo explained, pulling out his phone and beginning to type away. Jaehyun’s eyes widened before he instantly brought his brows together, a look of shock and confusion falling over his face- “What?”
“We’ll exchange information, don’t worry.” Riwoo shrugged as if what he said wasn’t completely out of touch.
“I don’t even know you. I’m not getting in a car with you, dude.” The black-haired man said, scooting his chair out slightly. He had no real plans of leaving- it’s not like he could anyway, at least not without being wanted for a hit-and-run.
Riwoo let out a deep breath. Jaehyun scoffed at the fact that he was frustrated with the information that Jaehyun had been taught stranger danger as a child.
“The repair alone will cost more than this entire cafe. Not to be rude, but I’m going to assume you don’t just have that much to dish out.” The copper-haired man said, “Ow.” Jaehyun bit back, failing to hide his playful smile.
Riwoo quirked up a single eyebrow, the corner of his lips curling upwards.
A new silence fell over the table; it no longer felt like the weight of the world was crashing down on Jaehyun’s shoulder. Riwoo’s posture was still as rigid as ever, but Jaehyun assumed that came with having enough money to have an assistant and a driver.
“I am sorry, like- really sorry…I never drive that way.” Jaehyun said genuinely, guilt still picking at him in the back of his mind. Riwoo waved a hand, “That was my bad Bentley, anyway.”
Jaehyun’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the same perfect laugh from earlier echoed in his ears.
“I’m joking .” The wealthy man chuckled, placing a hand over his heart. Jaehyun let out a breathy laugh, the same kind of laugh that he let out when customers joked that they had parties of “a hundred” with no reservation. The laugh he used when a joke wasn’t funny because as far as he knew- it could be true.
Riwoo was, surprisingly, easy to have lunch with. He wasn’t very talkative, but he listened whenever Jaehyun’s mouth moved before his nerves could stop him.
Jaehyun couldn’t remember the last time he had sat in a cafe and nursed a single pastry for over an hour.
“We should be going,” Riwoo grabbed his wallet from his pants pocket. “My assistant said the car got dropped off thirty minutes ago.” He laughed, Jaehyun felt too poor to laugh.
Jaehyun felt his eyes go wide for what felt like the 100th time today as Riwoo casually laid way too much won onto the table before standing up and beginning to walk. His eyes darted between the shorter man and the money, his brain short-circuiting.
It wasn’t until he heard the bell above the establishment’s entrance door chime that he was alerted to the fact that Riwoo had already exited the building. Jaehyun quickly scrambled out of his chair, nearly tripping over himself to catch up with the man.
“Woah.” Jaehyun breathed as he stepped outside. Whoever Riwoo had hired to “deal with the cars” had made the parking lot look as though there had never been a wreck, to begin with. On top of that, the car now waiting for both men looked even nicer than the one Jaehyun had ruined just hours prior.
As Jaehyun stood on the passenger-side door, he stared at the crisp leather seats- debating for a few seconds on whether getting into Riwoo’s other luxury vehicle was a safe choice. A smart choice.
The wealthy man cleared his throat, snapping Jaehyun out of his thoughts. “I have places to be, y’know.” Riwoo’s tone wasn’t playful, yet it wasn’t mean either. Just… honest.
Jaehyun couldn’t tell if he hated it.
“Sorry,” The black-haired man mumbled, stepping into the SUV and closing the door behind him before buckling his seatbelt. “Where should I take you?” Riwoo asked, slender fingers tapping at the GPS screen. It was only then that Jaehyun recognized that his nails were manicured .
The color was simple, just a sheer pinkish color, but it added to the man’s whole “I’m put together, and you aren’t.” look.
“Oh, um-” Jaehyun wrinkled his brows together, he needed to get Woonhak from Sungho’s place. From there, he could probably catch a bus. The father leaned forward, typing the address into the GPS like even the smallest mistake would cause the expensive screen to crack.
Riwoo hummed once the directions started, shifting the car into drive and carefully backing out the parking lot. It was the perfect time to make a sly comment and yet, the car remained quiet.
“I really appreciate this,” Jaehyun spoke up, shifting in his seat as he maintained his gaze on the moving scenery outside. Riwoo nodded, eyes fixed on the road ahead. The drive wasn’t long by any means, but the silence was like nails on a chalkboard to Jaehyun; even if the man knew Riwoo wasn’t upset about his car.
Unknowingly to Jaehyun, Riwoo kept glancing his way. Only for a few seconds at a time, but always with pure interest. It wasn’t every day that one of his luxury cars got rear-ended, and it especially wasn’t every day that he had an hour-long lunch with the other driver.
A bit of guilt sat on his chest, he’d left Taesan at the office to deal with the hell-storm that was the marketing department, but every time he glanced at the round-cheeked man in his passenger seat he felt the ball of guilt get lighter and lighter.
Riwoo cleared his throat, one side of his lips curling up into an amused smirk at how Jaehyun’s eyes darted toward him almost instantly. “We’re here.” He said, carefully yet seamlessly parallel parking at the curb of the apartment complex.
“Oh,” Jaehyun breathed, despite the fact he’d mainly been staring outside the car- it hadn’t occurred to him to recognize his surroundings; his mind was far too clouded with a plethora of thoughts about the events that transpired today.
Jaehyun waited until the vehicle came to a complete stop before opening the car door and unbuckling his seatbelt. He was just about to step out of the car when Riwoo spoke up,
“Wait.”
The taller man stalled, wide eyes finding Riwoo’s once again. He watched curiously as the orange-haired man lifted his hips ever so slightly (yet flawlessly) and slid his hand into his right side pocket, pulling out a sleek black leather wallet.
“This is my card, call.” Riwoo said, tone making Jaehyun sure that it wasn’t a suggestion but a command. The father plucked the business card out of the wealthy man’s hands, carefully placing it inside his hoodie pocket.
Jaehyun nodded, thanking the man for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
“Oh, and here.” Riwoo’s slender fingers moved to the cash compartment of his wallet, Jaehyun felt a bit silly for how wide his eyes got at the sight of that much cash. It wasn’t like Jaehyun was flat broke, he did carry cash…but certainly not as much as Riwoo did.
Riwoo carefully plucked out a few bills before holding them out towards the taller, “For the bus fare.”
Jaehyun’s brows knit together quickly, “I’m not taking the bus.” He lied- full-fledged defense mode taking over.
Riwoo looked at him and then towards Sungho’s apartment complex, “You live here?” He asked with an unimpressed stare on his face.
Jaehyun nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest protectively, “I do.”
Riwoo squinted at him as if reading into his soul. “No you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
The two stared in silence for a moment before Riwoo sighed, “I deal with liars all day at work, and you suck at lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
“That’s exactly what a liar would say.”
Jaehyun opened his mouth yet surprisingly, he had no snarky remark to make. Riwoo simply hummed, offering him the bus fare money again. The father merely rolled his eyes before taking it and grumbling out a sincere “Thanks” .
It wasn’t long after that that Jaehyun was watching the luxury vehicle exit the neighborhood street, turning onto the main road before becoming just another car in Seoul.
The father sighed and ran a hand down his tired face, messing up his hair as he did. It was definitely going to be a “Get Woonhak to bed as quickly as possible so I can stare at a wall and question how I got here” night.
With tired eyes, Jaehyun grabbed Riwoo’s business card out of his pocket.
‘Lee Insurance’
Lee Riwoo
CEO
Phone: 0XX-XXX-XXXX
Email: [email protected]
Jaehyun’s eyes widened, the tiredness disappearing in a matter of seconds. Riwoo owned his own insurance company. Quickly, Jaehyun scrambled to find the bills that were given to him, his knees faltering at the sight.
“YOU GAVE ME SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND WON FOR CRASHING INTO YOUR CAR?” Jaehyun screamed in the general direction Riwoo drove off in.