Chapter Text
After an exhausting shift at the ER, Hyunjin finally arrives at his apartment building. He’s emotionally drained, and needs a distraction. He’s basically falling asleep on the elevator ride up to his floor. As he gets to his door he notices a couple movers in the apartment next door. He forgot that eventually he’d get a new neighbor after the last couple moved out.
He smiles
“Maybe these new people won't be psycho crazy like the last couple”
He eventually made his way into his apartment and immediately made a move to the couch. After being on his feet since the early morning he’s exhausted.
Meanwhile Jisung finally brings Joon home. The little boy is carrying a cone with chocolate ice cream. There's probably more on his face than in his stomach at this point.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Joon came barreling across the apartment and launched himself at Hyunjin, who was barely awake on the couch after his shift.
“Jisungie got my ice cream!’ he announced proudly, holding up the rapidly melting treat like it was the greatest accomplishment of the day.
Hyunjin looked past his son and fixed Jisung with a glare so familiar that it made him snort. It was almost identical to the one that Changbin had given him earlier.
“I see that,” Hyunjin deadpanned.
Jisung held his hands up in surrender. “In my defense, he negotiated.”
Hyunjin's glare only continued. “You were out negotiated by a three year old?”
“Three and a half,” Joon corrected immediately.
Hyunjin laughed, the exhaustion from his twelve hour shift momentarily forgotten.
“My mistake. Out negotiated by a very intimidating three and a half year old…”
Joon nodded proudly before taking another bite.
Hyunjin reached over and gently wiped a steak of melted ice cream from his son’s cheek with his thumb.
“That looks really yummy, Joonie,” he said, smiling so fondly it almost hurt. “Though you do know it’s all over your face, right?”
Joon gasped dramatically and immediately tried wiping his cheeks with both hands, only succeeding in smearing the sticky mess even further.
“Oh, buddy,” Hyunjin laughed.
“Come on,” Jisung said with a grin. “Let's get you cleaned up before your dad has to hose you off.”
The three of them wandered into the kitchen together, Joon chatting happily the entire way.
As Hyunjin rinsed off a washcloth, he glanced over at Jisung.
“So,” he asked, trying, and failing to hide his amusement, ‘how exactly did my son convince you to buy him ice cream?”
Jisung groaned.
“Well it wasn’t just the ice cream.”
Hyunjin looked up.
“So, remember this morning when I was telling you about this guy named Chan? The producer Changbin and I work with?”
Hyunjin nodded while continuing to wipe his son's face.
“Yeah… so Joon met him.”
“...And?”
“And apparently they're best friends now.”
Hyunjin blinked.
“What?”, clearly confused what this Chan dude has to do with his son getting ice cream.
Jisung laughed from where he was leaning against the counter.
“Im serious,” Jisung said. “The second Chan sat down, Joon climbed right into his lap like he’d known him his whole life.”
Jisung thought for second before adding, “He even started calling him ‘Channie.’”
Hyunjin looked over at his son, who nodded enthusiastically.
“Channies nice! He showed me how to make my voice sound like a dinosaur! He even let me cuddle him!”
Jisung snorted.
“He didn’t just cuddle him. He was attached to Chan almost the entire day. When we finished our project, everyone was ready to go home, and Joon flat out refused to leave.”
Hyunjin laughed. “No…”
“Oh, yes,” Jisung said. “We kept telling him it was time to go, and every time we’d try to pick him up, he’d just cling tighter to Chan.”
“He had his arms wrapped around Chan’s neck,” Jisung continued, “and every time I said, ‘Come on, Joon,’ he’d shake his head and go, “No. Me stay with Channie.’”
Hyunjin pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh too hard.
“So the ice cream…”
“...was my last desperate attempt,” Jisung finished. “I agreed that we’d stop for ice cream on the way home
Hyunjin looked at Joon.
“You left Channie for ice cream?”
Joon nodded without a hint of shame.
“I hugged him bye bye first.”
Hyunjin and Jisung both smiled.
“He made sure to give Chan one last hug before we left. Then he told him ‘Bye bye, Channie. I hope I see you again soon.’”
“...and Chan?” Hyunjin asked.
Jisung stole a glance at Joon before grinning.
“I’m pretty sure Chan was just as disappointed to see Joon leave,” Jisung said before adding, “he looked like someone had stolen his favorite stuffed animal.”
Hyunjin couldn't help but smile at hearing how fun his son had all day, and even making a new best friend. After worrying all day, Hyunjin was relieved that his fears were just coming from anxiety.
He’d only seen Chan in the short video Jisung had sent him earlier, but hearing how quickly Joon had taken to the man he still hasn’t met, made something warm settle in his chest.
Apparently his son had made himself another friend.
~
After Jisung finally headed home, the apartment settled into its usual quiet. Hyunjin locked the door behind him and let out a long breath, every bone in his body aching from his shift. Twelve hours in the ER had left him completely drained, and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed.
Unfortunately, someone else still had plenty of energy.
“Daddy!” Joon tugged on the hem on Hyunjin’s shirt. “Bath time!”
Hyunjin smiled despite his own tiredness and exhaustion. “Bath time it is.”
The next half hour passed in the familiar bedtime routine Hyunjin had come to cherish. Warm bath. Dinosaur pajamas. Brushing tiny teeth that Joon insisted he could do “all by myself” before inevitably asking for help. Picking out three bedtime stories before only reading one because Joon fell asleep through the fifth page every single time.
Well… usually.
Tonight, Joon seemed determined to stay awake.
As Hyunjin helped him climb into bed, the little boy’s eyes lit up with sudden excitement.
“Daddy!”
“Hm?”
“I want cookies.”
Hyunjin laughed softly.
“Right now?”
“Mhm.” Joon hummed while nodding his head rather aggressively.
“It’s bedtime, Joonie. Daddy’s tired and doesn’t have the energy for cookies right now.”
Joon stuck out his lower lip in an impressive pout.
“But cookies…”
The glint in the boy's eyes from just a few seconds ago has now turned into begging puppy eyes that would've worked on Jisung in a heartbeat.
Hyunjin reached out and gently booped his nose.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
That immediately got Joon’s full attention.
“I have tomorrow off.”
“You do?”
“I do.”
“So…” Hyunjin continued, pulling the blankets up around his son, "tomorrow morning we’ll make cookies together.”
“We can?” Joon asked while the biggest grin was being created on his face.
“We can.”
Joon gasped like Hyunjin just offered him a trip to the moon.
“I help?”
“You always help.” Hyunjin conveniently left out that “helping” usually meant flour ending up on every surface in the apartment, chocolate chips mysteriously disappearing, and cookie dough somehow finding its way into Joon’s hair.
The mess was always worth it.
“We can make dinosaur cookies!” Joon declared.
“We’ll certainly try.”
“And…” Joon paused, thinking very hard. “We can give some to the new neighbor!”
It took him a second to remember the moving boxes he’d seen in the hallway throughout the week.
Hyunjin always prided himself on how considerate he raised his son. It always made him happy when he saw Joon thinking about others.
“They might like cookies,” Joon piped up again.
Hyunjin smiled.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Moments like these always reminded him that Joon had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever met.
“Then tomorrow we’ll make enough cookies for us…” he said, kissing the top of Joon’s head, “... and enough to welcome our new neighbor.”
Joon beamed.
“Okay!”
“Now,” Hyunjn said, reaching over to switch off the lamp, “it’s time for sleep.”
“Night night Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Joonie. I love you.” “I love you too.”
Within minutes, Joon’s breathing evened out. Hyunjin stayed beside the bed for another moment, watching his son sleep peacefully.
The exhaustion he’d been ignoring all evening suddenly caught up with him.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow they would make cookies.
Tomorrow they would have nowhere to be.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, Hyunjin was looking forward to a day that belonged entirely to him and Joon.
~
Sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows, filling the apartment with a warm golden glow.
Hyunjin had barely finished making coffee before a pair of tiny socked feet came thundering down the hallway.
“Daddy!” Joon yelled. “Cookie day!”
Hyunjin laughed into his mug. He reached down to ruffle Joon's hair.
“Good morning to you too.”
“We’re making cookies!”
“We are.”
Joon threw both hands into the air in celebration before sprinting into the kitchen. He had somehow managed to put his dinosaur apron on backwards, but the sheer confidence with which he wore it made Hyunjin decide not to fix it.
“First,” Hyunjin said, kneeling in front of him, “we wash our hands.”
Joon groaned dramatically.
“But they’re already clean.”
“They’re sticky.”
“...Oh.”
A few minutes later, they were finally ready.
Hyunjin measured out the flour while Joon stood on a step stool beside him, watching with intent concentration.
“Can I pour it?”
“You can,” Hyunjin replied with a laugh, “just be very careful, and do it slowly.”
Joon carefully grabbed the measuring cup.
For exactly two seconds…
Then nearly half of the flour missed the bowl entirely.
A white cloud exploded across the counter.
Both of them froze. Joon slowly looked down at the mess he had made.
“...Oopsie Daisy.”
Hyunjin stared at the flour coating practically every surface in the kitchen before bursting into laughter.
“I helped!” Joon said with the biggest smile on his face.
“You certainly did!”
Joon grinned proudly at the praise.
“I helper.”
“The best helper I could ask for.”
Over the next hour, baking became less about making cookies and more about containing chaos.
Every time Hyunjin turned around, another chocolate chip mysteriously disappeared.
“Joon”
“I didn’t eat one!” Joon exclaimed, stating his innocence.
“You have chocolate on your cheek.”
“...Maybe I ate one.”
Five minutes later…
“Joon…”
“I only had two!”
“There were five.”
“...Maybe five.”
Hyunjin couldn’t stop smiling.
When it came time to shape the cookies, he rolled neat little balls of dough while Joon enthusiastically squished his into… something.
“Daddy!”
Hyunjin looked over.
“It’s a dinosaur!”
It looked more like a deformed potato.
“Wow,” Hyunjin said with complete sincerity. “I can totally see it.”
Joon giggled.
“This one too!”
“...Annother dinosaur?”
“Mhm!” Joon nodded.
Every cookie Joon made was apparently a dinosaur.
Even the ones that looked suspiciously like blobs.
By the time the last tray slid into the oven, flour dusted the countertops, the floor, Hyunjin's shirt, and somehow even in Joon’s eyelashes.
Hyunjin crouched in front of him and brushed the flour off his nose.
“You know,” he said softly, “I think we used more flour on ourselves than the cookies.”
Joon laughed so hard he snorted.
“I love baking with you Daddy!”
The words were simple.
Matter of fact.
But they landed somewhere deep in Hyunjin's chest.
He pulled Joon into a hug without thinking.
~
Right next door, Chan was still surrounded by boxes. His apartment was beginning to look lived in, but only barely.
The kitchen was unpacked.
The bedroom was mostly finished.
The living room, however, looked like cardboard had declared war.
Chan opened another box labeled Bedroom before pausing.
Nestled between folded blankets was a framed photograph. It was old.
He and his ex-girlfriend smiled back at him from a beach vacation years ago, sunburned and impossibly happy.
Chan smiled.
It was bittersweet, but genuine.
They had loved each other.
Sometimes love simply wasn't enough when two people wanted different things.
He brushed a thumb across the edge of the frame before carefully placing into a smaller box he’d already labeled Memories.
Not because he wanted to forget, but because he was ready to move forward.
He closed the lid and reached for another box.
His new life wasn’t waiting inside old photographs.
~
That evening, Hyunjin balanced a plant of still warm chocolate chips in one hand while Joon bounced excitedly beside him.
“Remember your manners,” Hyunjin reminded me.
“I know!”
“What do we say?”
“Please and thank you!”
“And?”
“We don’t ask to pet people’s dogs if they don't have dogs?”
Hyunjin laughed.
“Close enough,” he said while patting his son's head.
He knocked on the apartment next door.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
Both men froze.
Chan blinked first.
“...Dinosaur kid’s dad?”
Hyunjin stared.
The face looked familiar.
He’d seen it in the video Jisung had sent him from the studio yesterday.
“...You’re Changbin and Jisung’s friend?”
Before Chan could answer, Joon threw both arms into the air.
“CHANNIE!”
Chan couldn’t help smiling.
“Hey, buddy.”
Joon looked ready to sprint through the doorway before Hyunjin rested a hand on his shoulder.
“I thought this was your best friend,” Hyunjin teased.
“He is!” Joon responded while jumping up and down from excitement.
Both Hyunjin and Chan laughed.
“I met him yesterday when I was with Jisungie and Binnie!”
“He says that’s long enough.”
“It apparently is.”
Hyunjin shook his head with an amused smile before holding out the plate.
“Joon insisted we bake cookies today. He also insisted we bring some to our new neighbor.”
Chan gratefully accepted the plate with a smile.
“Well I fully support his decision,” Chan said, “I love cookies!”
“I helped!” Joon announced proudly, “I made dinosaurs!”
Chan looked down at the cookies.
“...I can definitely tell.”
Hyunjin laughed.
“They’re his artistic interpretation.”
“I like them.”
There was a comfortable silence before both men realized they hadn’t introduced themselves.
“I’m Hyunjin.”
“Chan”
Hyunjin laughed before speaking again. “ So you’re the infamous Chan.”
Chan’s eyes widened.
“My best friend has mentioned you a few times before.
“...Changbin?”
“...Yeah.”
“Oh my god.”
Hyunjin started laughing.
“No way.”
“I’ve known Changbin and Jisung for years.”
“And somehow we’ve never met?”
Chan shook his head in disbelief, "That's actually ridiculous.”
“We’ve apparently been one degree apart this entire time.”
Joon looked between them.
“Are you guys friends now?”
Chan smiled.
“I think we are.”
Hyunjin nodded.
“Yeah… I think we are too.”
Standing in the hallway, laughing over the absurdity of it all, neither of them realized that this was the beginning of something neither of them had been looking for. Or that a three year old with a love of dinosaur shaped cookies had unknowingly introduced them long before they ever exchanged names.