Archive of Our Own

The sound of the wall clock echoes in the quiet classroom where only two people are sitting, waiting for the small interview to formally begin.

Hyunwoo’s hand sweats against his newly acquired shirt, but he refrains from making any movement that denotes his nervousness. Even with years of experience in the business field, and even more in being a parent, everything related to Changkyun still makes him nervous. He wishes to give his best to the kid, and any mistake from him means a mistake for his son as well.

In front of him, sitting behind the desk filled with drawings and books, is Mr. Yoo. He looks young, even younger than Hyunwoo himself, but after presenting himself and asking a couple of questions, Hyunwoo can’t help but feel a bit intimidated. He can tell the man is serious with what he does.

“Could you tell me how is your son like?” The teacher starts the interview.

“Of course.” Hyunwoo makes a small pause to think his next words. “He has always been a quiet child. He never misbehaves, he knows there are times for everything. He gets upset quite easily, and while he tries to hide it, his expression gives him away quickly.” He smiles, remembering all the times Changkyun got upset because he forgot about something. “It may be a little hard to understand him in the beginning, since he is quiet and doesn’t express himself much, but once you get to know him, it becomes easier. Of course, when he starts to trust someone, he becomes playful and jokes a lot. He is also a quick learner, it takes him only one or two tries before he can do something.”

The teacher looks at him with slightly wide eyes and then nods once before saying, “That’s impressive.”

“Yes. I think that’s because he likes to learn new things, he’s always interested in everything that surrounds him and asks every question he has, never being satisfied till getting an answer that convinces him.”

“That’s great for a kid of his age! He got excellent results on the test I did last week. You’ve got a really nice kid, sir.”

“Oh, thank you!” Hyunwoo smiles widely. “It’s all on him. He’s incredible.”

Mr. Yoo smiles and nods lightly before continuing with the questions.

“Can I ask about your family?” He asks, looking at the small notebook where he has been writing things.

“It’s just Changkyun and me.”

“His mother?”

“She passed away a few months after Changkyun was born.”

“I’m sorry about your loss.” He looks at him, sincere words making Hyunwoo smile and shake his head slightly, telling him that it’s okay now. “Now please, tell me about you two as a family.”

“I think we’re a common father and son. I’ve always tried to be there for him, and he is my number one priority. I’ve tried to show him that he can trust in me.”

The teacher smiles once again and looks at him, telling him that what he’s doing is important to have a good relationship with children, and he is glad to know Hyunwoo is a parent like that.

“Could you tell me why you decided to change kindergartens in the middle of the school year?”

Hyunwoo looks away to the wall clock on his right. The clock hand moves rhythmically, and a sigh leaves his lips. He had been wondering for days how to answer that question, knowing it would come. It’s hard to explain everything and he doesn’t even know if he even wants to answer with the whole truth. After what seems like an eternity, Hyunwoo decides to answer while the teacher looks at him patiently, without rushing or asking again.

“Changkyun was being bullied.”

Silence fills every corner in the room. The teacher’s expression seems complex and after a few seconds, Hyunwoo looks away. Maybe, after all, he shouldn’t have said that.

Hyunwoo shakes his head. He really regrets everything that happened, hopes that it would have been different, but now the only thing he wants is to bring his son to a better life with a new school. Changkyun should have never gone through that and Hyunwoo was going to make sure to fix it.

“Well, does he has a medical record?”

“Yes, he’s allergic to pollen, that’s why he usually gets sick in spring. He also had a knee surgery because of a fracture.”

“Very well, I’ll keep it in mind.” The teacher nods while looking at the notebook and then looks at Hyunwoo again. “Is there something in special you would like to tell me? Something I didn’t mention?”

Hyunwoo thinks it for a few seconds before nodding. “Please, take care of my son.”

Mr. Yoo smiles softly and looks at him in the eyes, nodding once. “Of course.”

The interview finishes, and in between polite words, Hyunwoo and the teacher leave the room, talking about different issues about the kindergarten. When they arrive to the door, they hear a scream, and shortly after, something collides with Hyunwoo’s legs. Laughing a bit and shaking his head, he reaches to pat Changkyun’s hair.

“Kyun-ah, what have I told you about running?”

“That I should be careful… But dad! The school is so big and there are a lot of fun things!” The kid answers, bouncing on his feet and he looks up to his dad.

“Is that so?” Hyunwoo asks, receiving an enthusiastic nod from his son.

“But you still shouldn’t run. We don’t want you to get hurt, right?

“Nuh-uh, I’ll be careful!” Changkyun smiles, tilting his head and Hyunwoo nods, looking up to see the teacher looking at them with an smile.

“We are going then. Say goodbye to Mr. Yoo.”

It seems that Changkyun hadn’t noticed the presence of the other adult, looking up and widening his eyes, he slowly makes his way behind his father’s legs.

“C’mon pumpkin, say goodbye.” Hyunwoo puts his hand on his son’s head, looking down to see him.

“Goodbye, Mr. Yoo,” says the child with a shy and quiet voice after a pause.

“Goodbye, Changkyun.” The teacher smiles. “See you next Monday.”

Changkyun nods, taking his father hand as he says his goodbyes to the teacher. They leave the school and the kid jumps every once and then, talking excitedly about his new school.

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It’s early in the morning, the air feels warm even with the sun not yet reaching it’s peak. Changkyun jumps excitedly while holding Hyunwoo’s hand, who is doing his best to keep the child in place and being careful that he doesn’t trip.

The arrive after a fifteen minutes walk from home. As they approach the gates of the kindergarten, Changkyun grows quiet and walks a few steps behind his dad. Hyunwoo notes this and squeezes his son’s little hand in reassurance.

They are welcomes by Mr. Yoo, who stands in the door of the classroom, greeting every kid and parent who comes in. When he sees the both of them approaching the door, he smiles kindly and nods in greeting.

“Good morning, Mr. Son, Changkyun.”

“Good morning, Mr. Yoo.” Hyunwoo answers and looks at his son.

Changkyun stays quiet, hiding behind his father’s legs. Hyunwoo notices Changkyun is grabbing his pants tightly as his fists tremble with nervousness. Hyunwoo reaches to pat his head a couple of times, stroking his hair in gentle motions.

“Kyun-ah?” He calls. The child makes an affirmative sound, saying he’s listening to whatever his dad is going to say.

“Angel, come out.” He says softly. “Greet Mr. Yoo.”

The child comes out after some time, his head looking down. He quietly says, “Good morning, Mr. Yoo.”

“Changkyun? A little bird told me you already know how to read.” The teacher crouches down to the height of the kid. “I recently got a couple of books with lots of tales. Do you wanna read them?”

Changkyun looks up slowly, peeking at the teacher who is looking at him expectantly. That definitely got his attention, so he nods tentatively. The teacher extend his hand toward him and after looking at Hyunwoo and receiving a smile, the kid takes it.

They both say goodbye to Hyunwoo and go inside the classroom.

Hyunwoo leaves the place with a smile on his lips, feeling his heart free of the heaviness that settled down since he saw Changkyun’s anxiousness. He made a good decision, and already waits patiently for his son to tell him about his day.

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It’s been two weeks since Changkyun started his new kindergarten and everything seems to be going perfectly. He doesn’t have any complains and is adapting well, much better than Hyunwoo expected.

 “Dad! I made a new friend!”

They are walking back home after picking Changkyun from school. The kid talks excitedly about his days and the activities they did. His smile gets bigger when he starts talking about his new friend.

“Oh? What’s his name?” Hyunwoo asks, looking at his son with raised eyebrows.

“Jooheon!” Changkyun answers, almost yelling the name,

“That’s a pretty name!”

“Yes! He’s one year older than me, but got into school late?” He makes a thoughtful expression. Hyunwoo pats his head. “I don’t know, but he’s a very nice hyung! He told me I could call him Jooheonie.”

“I’m happy you made a new friend.” Hyunwoo smiles at his son. “I’ll be glad to meet him some time.”

“Yes” I told him I had the bestest dad in the world and he told me he wanted to meet you!”

Hyunwoo laughs loudly, smiling even when the laughter has died on his lips. His heart feels warm and goes to pick up the kid, who complains about being a big boy that doesn’t need to be picked up, but Hyunwoo gives it little thought. He wants to hold his son for a moment.

 They talk on all their way home, both of their laughs can be heard on the streets.

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Hyunwoo is called to the CEO’s office without further explanation. The time to meet his boss is getting closer and he nervously at the clock, hoping not to be hold back for more that half an hour, given that he has to pick up Changkyun and he has never liked to arrive later, even less without notifying his son previously.

When he reaches the office, the secretary announces his arrival and make him go inside. The CEO greets him and invites him to take seat on the chair opposite from him. Hyunwoo sits down properly, and grabs the cup of tea in front if him to take a sip.

“Mr. Son,” He says after Hyunwoo has put down the cup. “I wanted to talk with you.”

Hyunwoo nods once, showing to the man that he’s listening and waiting for his next words.

“Your performance has been excellent on the last couple of years. You’ve helped the company a lot and this has made us grow. I consider that you efforts need to be rewarded.”

“Oh, thank you sir, you’re praising me way too much. I did what I had to.” Hyunwoo answers.

“No, you’ve done more than what you had to. That’s why I would like to propose you something.” He takes his cup and takes a sip before continuing. “We would like to promote you to sales manager.”

Hyunwoo stays quiet for a moment. He’s surprised the course the conversation has taken, never expecting to be promoted. He feels comfortable enough in the position he has right now.

“However,” the boss continues, “this means you would have to change the schedule you’ve had this last year. As you know, promoting you means more responsibilities that you need to fulfill in the time you’re currently absent.”

That makes Hyunwoo take a double take. This is a big opportunity, his salary would increase and even if he’s not really in a bad economic situation, with this raise he could give Changkyun more facilities. He knows he’s at risk if he denies such an offer from the CEO, but at the same time, he can’t bring himself to leave behind his son in exchange for work.

Since the moment Changkyun was on his arms for the first time, he promised himself that the little baby would always be his priority before anything else. He started working for Changkyun, always taking into account the schedules to be able to spent enough time with him, letting his son know his father would always be there for him.

The CEO seems to notice Hyunwoo’s internal turmoil and starts talking again. “You don’t need to answer me now. Take your time to think about it and next week we can talk about this again. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Hyunwoo bows. “I’ll take my leave then.”

He leaves the office with a troubled mind. As he starts to reconsider all the good and bad sides of the offer, he notices that it has been more than thirty minutes and that he needs to pick up Changkyun from school. He rushes down the halls and gets into his car, driving for ten minutes until he reaches the colorful building that is the kindergarten.

He quickly goes inside the gates, walking to the classroom that now seems lonely. Looking through the windows, he sees Changkyun drawing on a piece of paper while the teacher talks to him.

“Dad!” Changkyun shouts when he notices his father, throwing away all of his things to run up to him. Hyunwoo catches him easily and picks him up, swaying the kid from side to side.

“I’m sorry, bun. The boss wanted to talk with me and it got late.”

“Nuh-uh, it’s okay.” Changkyun shakes his head. “Did he tell you something bad?” He whispers, but Hyunwoo is pretty sure even the teacher, who is in the other side of the classroom, could hear him.

“No, don’t worry. I’ll tell you on our way home, okay?”

“Okay.” He answers, nodding his head once.

Hyunwoo walks towards the teacher, putting Changkyun down for him to gather his belongings. When Hyunwoo is sure the little one is focused on his task, he starts talking to Mr. Yoo.

“I’m really sorry.” Hyunwoo says tiredly, the meeting with the CEO having taken more from him that he expected. “Thank you for staying with him, I know this is out of your working hours and just— I’m relieved he was with you all this time, this never happens and I haven’t felt this restless in a long time.”

Mr. Yoo shakes his head and smiles at him, “It was nothing, don’t put much mind into it. I was glad to share a little more of time with him,” the teacher looks over Hyunwoo’s shoulder at where Changkyun has already finished, looking expectantly at them both. “Couldn’t have left him alone.

“Thank you, really.”

“It was my pleasure, we had a good conversation, Changkyun is a brilliant kid.”

Hyunwoo smiles, Changkyun is indeed a brilliant one.

Changkyun waddles with his rolling backpack following short after every step, right hand full of his favorite teddy bear and his left one reaching out for Hyunwoo to hold.

And just like that, with a smile full of small teeth and a little hand holding his, Hyunwoo feels like he’s able to breathe again. The weight he has been carrying the whole day is gone, and all his worries feel unimportant when he is finally there, together with his son. He can’t just give away the time he has with his little ray of sun.

With a calmer mind, Hyunwoo thanks Mr. Yoo one last time before parting.

On their way back, as they do everyday, Changkyun shares with Hyunwoo every little thing about his day, from the activities and tasks in class to the game he played with Jooheon while on their break.

On the other hand, Hyunwoo shares with his son what happened in the meeting with his boss. Changkyun has always shown an interest in his dad’s work, always repeating how interesting everything his dad does is, that’s why Hyunwoo always tries to tell him everything with simple words.

He starts with the proposition, Changkyun’s eyes shining with awe at how great his father is. Hyunwoo feels proud for a moment, but soon enough tells his son about what the while promotion means in their lives; the extra money but less time for them.

Changkyun always surprises Hyunwoo with his words.

“You should do it!” He answers as soon as his father finishes talking.

Hyunwoo’s chest tightens, his heart heavy.

“But I won’t be able to pick you up and eat with you, Kyunie.”

“I’m not a baby anymore! I understand because I’m all grown up now!”

That makes Hyunwoo chuckle, he ruffles Changkyun’s hair, who now whines about his disheveled hair.

“If you don’t take the offer then I’m gonna be very angry!” He frowns, crosses his arms and looks at Hyunwoo with a serious expression. it only makes the man suppress his laughter.

“Well, we don’t want this little man to be angry, do we?”

Changkyun nods once and goes back to take his father’s hand. They start to plan how things will work after Hyunwoo no longer can pick Changkyun from school.

Hyunwoo trusts Changkyun and Changkyun trusts him, things have worked like that since forever, and he will always be thankful for his child.

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It’s been a month since Hyunwoo started working on his new position.

The time he spends on the office prolonged quite a lot, even taking a few extra hours to finish all the work that piles up from day to day. He knew the company was very busy, but it wasn’t until he stepped on the sales department when he learned what was to be truly busy.

He’s on a meeting when his cellphone starts vibrating, he takes it out to hang up, but then notices that the contact name is from Changkyun’s kindergarten. Confused but with a raising panic on his stomach, threatening to explode at any moment, he apologizes and quickly leaves the room to answer.

“Hello?”

“Is this Son Changkyun’s father.” Says a woman’s voice through the phone.

Something cold travels down his spine when he hears his son’s name. He takes a deep breath before answering. Nothing bad happened, he tells himself. “Yes, is something the matter?”

“Changkyun was transferred to our medic office due to a strong stomach ache and vomiting. It doesn’t seem to be anything serious, but he’s going to need some medicine and lots of rest. It would be better if he went home right now.”

The panic increases and his stomach stirs with an unpleasant feeling. Changkyun hadn’t gotten sick in a while, and it’s in that moment when he remembers that his son was fidgety since the start of the week, eating less and less as the days went by, and Hyunwoo didn’t even thought about him being sick.

He thanks the woman on the phone and quickly apologizes to the CEO, telling him that something urgent came up. He probably saw the panic on Hyunwoo’s eyes and could only nod his head before Hyunwoo ran off.

Hyunwoo drums his fingers against the wheel, growing anxious as the red light takes an eternity before it changes to green. Thousands of thoughts come to his head but he can only feel something crawling down his skin.

Guilt.

The guilt is strong, revolving his insides, churning his stomach and compressing his chest.

He missed the symptoms of Changkyun getting sick, being too focused on his work that he failed to fulfill his role as a parent. The whole ride to the kindergarten passes like a blur, with his thoughts being the only thing clear.

He steps down the car and runs towards the school gate, they let him in and he goes straight to the principal’s office, who direct him towards the doctor’s office.

He finds Changkyun sitting on the right bed, tears rolling down his cheeks as Mr. Yoo talks softly to him. The sight breaks his heart and a lump grows on his throat. He goes inside and the three people there look at him. The doctor tell them he’s going to step out for a moment; the teacher looks at him with a tight smile and Changkyun hides behind him.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Hyunwoo gets closer. The teacher steps to the side and Hyunwoo sees Changkyun, who is looking down and clutching his stomach.

“Kyun-ah?”

Changkyun looks up at his father, tears fills his eyes once again and his lips wobble. He lowers his head once more and his words are almost silent. “I’m sorry, dad.”

“Why are you sorry, baby? You did nothing wrong.”

“I got sick and now you had to leave work. I’m sorry,” A hiccup leaves his lips. “I know you’re really busy.”

Hyunwoo eyes sting hearing his kid’s words. He thought he was doing things just fine, but noticing that Changkyun didn’t want to disturb him, thinking of himself as a nuisance to his dad, it hurts his heart to know he wasn’t paying attention at all. He wasn’t being a good father.

“No, baby,” Hyunwoo shakes his head and puts his hand on Changkyun’s head, softly stroking his hair and pulling him closer. “I’m never busy for you, okay? You can tell me anything, anytime, no matter what.”

Changkyun looks at Hyunwoo again, his eyes shine with tears, there is some snot leaving his nose while he nods diligently to his father’s words. Hyunwoo gets closer to embrace him until the tears stop and only sniffles can be heard. The teacher hands the child a tissue and Changkyun blows his nose loudly, laughing a little at the sound.

“Tell me, bun, what happened?” Hyunwoo asks once the child has calmed down.

“My tummy hurts.”

“Since when?”

“Since Monday.” That was two days ago, Hyunwoo thinks and sighs deeply. “But it wasn’t that bad,” he mutters, “it didn’t hurt a lot and I thought it was because I ate too much.” Changkyun pouts and his dad smiles.

“Changkyun,” Hyunwoo says with a stern voice. He doesn’t really use it frequently, but today seems to be necessary. “You have to tell me if something hurts, even if it’s just a little.”

Changkyun then looks down, nodding lightly. “I will.”

“Does it still hurt?” Hyunwoo questions with a softer voice.

“A little.”

“Fine. Let’s go home so you can rest.”

The teacher, who has been observing the exchange in silence, talks to Changkyun. “Can you go and pick up your things?” He says as Hyunwoo lets him lower Changkyun from the bed.

“Yes! I’m strong once again!”

The adults chuckle and watch Changkyun walk towards the exit. Hyunwoo keeps looking at the door where Changkyun has long since disappeared and his smiles slowly disappears. He doesn’t get out of his trance until Kihyun talks again.

“The doctor said it was due to stress.”

Hyunwoo sighs and looks down. He lets himself a moment to gather his thoughts, breathes let some things out. “I’m sorry, I— that says a lot of me as a parent, doesn’t it?” He laughs bitterly.

“No.” Hyunwoo looks up and sees Mr. Yoo shake his head. “You’re a good father.”

The words catch up to Hyunwoo directly into his heart. He tries to find something in the other’s eyes that tells him he doesn’t mean it, and when he only finds complete sincerity in them, Hyunwoo feels his eyes prick as emotion rises up his chest. He blinks a couple of times, trying to get rid of the tears trying to escape.

He longed to hear those words from someone, no mattering who it was. Four years ago, he wishes to hear them from his parents, but it seemed like an impossible achievement. Now, hearing them from the teacher who has just started to know them, it really makes Hyunwoo’s heart soar as the words repeat again and again on his head.

You’re a good father.

“You truly are.” The teacher assures, watching the man in front of his show a broken expression on his face. “You worry about him a lot, and you take good care of him. You always try to hear what he has to say and that means a lot for your son. He loves you a lot.”

Hyunwoo closes his eyes, lowering his head as a tear threatens to escape. He quickly wipes it off and it rolls down his cheek. “Thank you this...” He gulps, “this means a lot to me.”

He feels the teacher give a little pat on his shoulder tentatively, his hand lingering there for a moment before he takes it away. The hand leaves a warmth on Hyunwoo’s shoulder and on his heart. When he thinks he has regained his composure, he opens his eyes and lifts his head again, seeing the smile of the man in front of him and answers with one of his own.

A few minutes later, Changkyun comes up with his things on his hand and smiles brightly at his father. Hyunwoo takes his backpack, hanging it from his shoulder and picks up Changkyun, nuzzling his nose in his son’s neck, making him squeak with laughter.

“Let’s go home.”

Changkyun nods once, says goodbye to the teacher and hugs his father’s neck.

Hyunwoo says his goodbyes, thanking him one last time. They walk towards the car, driving home after a long day and hoping it finishes quickly for a better day to come.

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Since the day Changkyun got sick, and after reconsidering it for a couple of days, Hyunwoo decided to ask for a permission to work from home. A week later and with a serie of indications, his petition got approved after talking with the CEO, who was kind enough to listen to his reasons. Hyunwoo couldn’t thank him enough.

Everything went back to how it was, and Hyunwoo could pick Changkyun from school and spend time with him at home, even if he was doing work from his computer, all was good.

Every time he picks up Changkyun, Mr. Yoo smiles kindly at him and a small talk would arise. It seemed that after words were exchanged a couple of weeks ago, something changed in the way they saw each other. Now it feels as if they were closer, and it’s weird for Hyunwoo how it only took a few words to be more conscious of the teacher, and see him in a new light. It has never happened with someone else before.

Changkyun birthday comes closer and Hyunwoo decides to have a small party for his son’s fifth birthday. The kid is over the moon with happiness, having a party at his home. Hyunwoo has always celebrated his birthday, and even if he didn’t throw big parties, he still made sure his son had a day full of joy.

Father and son are in the living room of their small apartment, discussing some things about the party.

“Who do you want to invite?” Hyunwoo asks, writing down some of their previous agreements so he doesn’t forget.

“Uncle Hoho! And Jooheonie!” Changkyun bounces on the couch while talking. “And Mr. Yoo too!”

Hyunwoo laughs, patting his child’s head. “Do you wanna invite Mr. Yoo too?”

“Yes! I told him it was my birthday soon and that I would have a party! So I wanna invite him!”

“Very well, we’ll invite him, is that good?”

“Yes!”

With everything settled down, Hyunwoo starts with the preparations for the small party that is due to two weeks from now on their apartment. Getting everything ready, from the cake, to the small costume and the decorations, he starts to prepare the invitations to the few guests that Changkyun wants there.

The excitement of the child can be felt in the air and it spreads to Hyunwoo too, who feels high in spirits, waiting to celebrate the birthday of his son. He has grown up a lot, and even though it makes him kind of sad, it makes him happy to see that the small baby he used to take care of, has almost reached five years old.

Hyunwoo delivers the invitations to Hoseok and Jooheon’s mother, who gladly accepts it and promises that even if she can’t stay, she will definitely take his son, so the kids can have a enjoyable afternoon together. The only who is left is Mr. Yoo, he hasn’t had an opportunity to meet with him alone to give him the colorful invitation.

Changkyun offers to deliver it himself, but Hyunwoo insist that it needs to be the responsible adult who is in charge of telling the guests of the party. Changkyun pouts after his father dares to call him irresponsible —leaving behind the adult part—, but he goes back to smiling after his dad tells a really bad joke.

Finally, barely a few days before the birthday, Hyunwoo remembers he has yet to deliver the invitation to the teacher. An afternoon after he picks up Changkyun, he stays for a few minutes to wait for the teacher to be free so he can talk with him.

“Mr. Yoo, do you have time?” He gets close after all the kids and parents have left the classroom. Changkyun went to the playground after Hyunwoo told him he was probably gonna take some time.

“Yes, of course! Is something the matter?

“Not really, I just wanted to deliver an invitation for Changkyun’s birthday party. Or well…” Hyunwoo trails off and smiles. “It’s not really a party, just a small gathering of two kids and three adults.” He takes out the small card and gives it to the teacher, who takes it with a surprised face. 

“Oh, gods,” he chuckles. “Changkyun told me he was having a party but I didn’t think I would get invited.”

“Oh no, Kyun said you must be invited. “Hyunwoo laughs. “The guest list isn’t long, so he definitely wants you there.”

“Aw, he’s really so cute. I’ll be there” He answers, looking at the invitation once again.

“Thank you! Then…” Hyunwoo bows his head a little, straightened himself and touches his ear. “We’ll be off. See you tomorrow.” Feeling kind of awkward, Hyunwoo starts to slowly back off until he has gotten himself farther, turning to go and search for Changkyun.

“Have a nice day!” The teacher calls and Hyunwoo turns a little to bow his head once more and wave his hand.

Hyunwoo finds the child and they walk home, talking about their day and the next yet to come. It seems that they’ll be interesting and fun. Both of them anticipate the next days with excitement.

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Weekend comes and with it, Changkyun’s birthday begins.

Hyunwoo wakes up early on Saturday, having taken the day off from the office to spend the day with his son. He takes his time cooking seaweed soup for breakfast. He puts the bowls on the table and he heads towards his son’s bedroom, a small cupcake with a candle on his hands. He opens the door and starts to sing ‘happy birthday’.

Changkyun wakes up, opening his eyes little by little until they’re wide and full of joy. A big smile spreads through his lips, giggling happily as Hyunwoo continues singing, making some awful notes just to hear his son laugh.

“Happy birthday to you~” Hyunwoo concludes with an outstretched note. “Happy birthday, angel.”

“Thank you, dad!” Changkyun lunges to his father, who opens his arms wide after leaving the cupcake on the nightstand. Hyunwoo lifts him and hugs him tightly.

“Ready to start your day, bun?”

“Of course!” He answers with a yell.

“Yeah! Let’s go to eat breakfast, okay? I made seaweed soup for you.”

“Really?” He asks. “Thank you dad, you’re the bestest.”

“No, that’s you.” Hyunwoo reaches for the cupcake who was left aside and hands it to the kid. Changkyun closes his eyes and makes a wish, blowing the candle soon after.

Hyunwoo claps and Changkyun laughs. They both leave the room and go to the dining room, where they sit to start eating the soup. Changkyun compliments his father’s cooking and Hyunwoo smiles widely, happy that his cooking has improved since last year.

After they finish eating, Changkyun eats the cupcake and leaves the dirty dishes on the sink, tiptoeing his way back to his room, ready to spend his time drawing or watching cartoons while the time to get ready comes.

Hyunwoo starts doing the cleaning chores. He sweeps and mops the floor, and cleans the furniture. After he finishes the basic cleaning, Hyunwoo sits down to rest for a bit. It’s still early in the morning, so he takes his time to do things and not rush everything.

After walking Changkyun out of the shower towards his room, his cell phone starts ringing and Hyunwoo goes to his room to answer

“Hello?”

“Hey! Is Changkyun there?”  Comes a voice from the other side of the phone, Hyunwoo recognizes it quickly.

“Yes, did something happen?”

“Sorry, I don’t think I can make it today.” Hoseok answers, sounding truly apologetic. “Mom asked me to help her buy some things for the store.”

“Oh that’s fine. Send my greetings to her, okay?”

“Of course! We should go together to visit her soon, she misses Changkyun.”

“Tell her we’re visiting soon.” Hyunwoo says quickly. They truly hadn't seen Mrs. Lee in a while.

“She’s gonna be happy to hear that.” Hoseok hums. “Anyways, I called to talk with the birthday boy!”

“Let me give him the phone.” Hyunwoo walks to his son’s room and knocks on the door before opening it. “Kyun-ah, uncle Hoho wants to talk with you.”

“Uncle Hoho?” He looks up, still wrapped like a burrito on his bathrobe and towels, with January being cold enough that he can’t go around the house using only his bathrobe without getting cold. Hyunwoo nods and brings the cell phone close to Changkyun’s ear.

“Hey Kyunie!” He hears Hoseok say. “Happy birthday, you big boy!”

“Uncle Hoho! Thank you!” Changkyun giggles. “Are you coming today?”

“No, sorry Kyunie,” Hoseok sighs. “I need to go and buy some things with mom.”

“Oh,” Changkyun pouts a little, but goes back to smiling as he hears the word ‘mom’. “Tell auntie I said hi!”

“I’ll tell her.” Hoseok makes an affirmative sound and his smile can be heard. “I know you’ll miss your uncle Hoho, but don’t be too sad, okay? I’ll give you your present soon.”

“Uncle Hoho!” Changkyun squeals. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Yes, we can go play soon, okay?”

“Okay!” Changkyun answers and nods, the towels not letting him move too much.

“Well then, goodbye Kyunie, have a happy birthday!”

“Thank you, Uncle! I will!”

“Hello?” Hyunwoo takes the phone back, holding it with his shoulder as he lifts Changkyun to the bed and starts helping him get unwrapped so he can change.

“Hey, I’ll see you both soon.”

“That sounds good. Then see you, have a safe drive!”

“Thank you, bye!”

The call ends and Hyunwoo’s attention goes back to Changkyun. he passes the clothes to the kid, who diligently puts them on. After he finishes, Hyunwoo takes the bear onesie out and leaves it on the bed. He’ll wait till the time for the guests to arrive come, knowing Changkyun will probably take it out if he puts it on now. 

It was Changkyun’s idea for this birthday to be bear themed. At first it left Hyunwoo a bit confused, expecting more some kind of superhero or character from the cartoons the child watched, but to his surprise, Changkyun had a whole answer as for why he wanted bears. “They look like dad,” he said, “I wanna look like dad too!”

Hyunwoo laughed until he felt tears at the corner of his eyes. He didn’t know if they were because of laughing or because of something else. He took Changkyun’s word, so his fifth birthday was bear themed.

After Hyunwoo dried and brushed his hair, Changkyun started jumping around, pulling his dad by the hand until they started playing. Hyunwoo was accustomed to play with him, so he was quick to let himself be ran after while Changkyun started running behind him. After a couple of minutes, they ended up laying on the carpet of the living room, panting and laughing as Changkyun let himself fall over him.

They stay like that for a while, watching cartoons as they lay down on the floor. It’s nice, to be able to have these kind of moments on the most random times.

Changkyun stays on the carpet while Hyunwoo stands up to prepare the things as the hour for the two guests to arrive comes closer.

The clock hits 2:30 and Hyunwoo helps Changkyun get into the bear onesie. He takes some pictures of him, and some together, wanting to remember this moment for the rest of his life. He has always make sure to immortalize all the memories from his son’s childhood. Reviving those moments has helped him go through hard times, and he’s sure they will continue to do the same.

Finally the first guess arrives. Jooheon drops onto the house with his mom, who stays for a few minutes before leaving, thanking Hyunwoo for his invitation and telling Jooheon she’s going to pick him up later, before she leaves, she wishes Changkyun a happy birthday and gives him a small box. As soon as Jooheon steps inside, the kids start playing around the house, and it becomes more lively.

Hyunwoo watches them play while he makes the last arrangements to the food. He could’ve ordered food, but he at least wanted to give something to the guests, trying his best to cook what he could. Changkyun approved his dishes, so he counts it as a win, and hopes their guests like it too.

The doorbell rings again and Hyunwoo goes to open the door, greeting a smiling teacher who is welcomed by a chorus of excited “Mr. Yoo!” from the kids. The man greets them both and wishes Changkyun a happy birthday as soon as he enters to the house, pulled by smaller hands towards the living room. Before the  children disappear into Changkyun’s room, the teacher gives him a colorful present bag with bears printed on it. The kid beams, putting it next to Jooheon and his dad’s presents.

The two adults are left alone, an awkward silence hanging between them and Hyunwoo doesn’t know how to break it, so he stands up and asks the teacher if he wants something to drink.

“Anything is fine,” Mr. Yoo answers.

Hyunwoo brings two glasses of lemonade. The teacher thanks him and both sit in silence once again. Hyunwoo takes a sip from his glass, fiddling with his fingers once he puts it back on the table. Before Hyunwoo can think of a thing to say, the other man breaks the silence for him.

“Is there anyone else coming?”

“Uh, no,” Hyunwoo reaches to touch his ear and laugh awkwardly. “My friend got busy and couldn’t make it. Jooheon’s mother is busy too, so she couldn’t stay.”

“Oh.” 

Silence doesn’t leave them, the air full of discomfort. Hyunwoo takes a sip from his glass, fiddling with his fingers once he has put it back on the table,

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m not good at conversations as you can see.” He says after a moment, wanting to apologize for the awkwardness hanging on the air.

“Oh no, Mr. Son, don’t worry! This is good.”

Hyunwoo chuckles at his answer, this is not good at all, but he feels thankful Mr. Yoo said that. “Oh, it’s fine if you call me Hyunwoo.”

“Hyunwoo-ssi, then?”

“Yeah, that’s better.” He nods once.

“Then it’s only fair if you call me Kihyun too.” The teacher says and Hyunwoo looks at him, shaking his head.

“Oh, but you’re still Changkyun’s teacher I—”

“It’s fine,” the man says quickly. “We’re not at school and right now it’s just us.”

“Then… Kihyun-ssi?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He smiles.

They make small talk, talking about the cold weather of the past weeks and a political notice that came up recently. The awkwardness starts to dissipate and soon, they’re both comfortable even if silence envelops them.

“Uhm, can I ask why are bears the theme?” Kihyun chuckles, looking around the place and seeing the bears decoration everywhere.

“Oh.” Hyunwoo chuckles too, smiling fondly at the memory. “Well, Changkyun said I looked like a bear? So he wanted to look like me.”

A huge smile appears on the teacher’s lips, and his shoulders shake from trying to hold back his laugh. Hyunwoo can’t help but smile and let out a loud cackle. “You can laugh, it’s fine.”

Then, as if that was the only reassurance he needed, the man snorts and starts laughing. “He’s really cute, isn’t he?”

“He definitely is.” Hyunwoo agrees.

Once the laughter has died out and the silence dawns on them once again, it feels comfortable. Hyunwoo smiles on the inside, feeling relieved to have left the unpleasant feeling behind in just minutes.

“Hey, we don’t really know each other, and I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions. It’s fine if you ask, I don’t mind!” Hyunwoo says, wanting to hold a conversation with the man.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dare to ask something personal:”

“It’s fine, really!” Hyunwoo nods once. “You know, we don’t really have contact with anyone else besides my friend Hoseok and his family. That’s why there aren’t much people here.” He continues talking, not really minding the topic.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” The teacher says and Hyunwoo grimaces. Maybe this wasn’t the best topic to start with.

“It’s fine! We’re good and it’s better this way. As long as Changkyun is happy, everything is fine.”

“You really do everything for him.” The teacher answers quietly, as if he didn’t mean to say it out loud.

“Yes, he’s all I have.” Hyunwoo answers truthfully.

“It’s really sweet to see the relationship between you two. It’s not something you see everyday. I admire you both.”

“Oh, thank you.” Hyunwoo smiles, looking down and feeling suddenly shy over the small praises.

A full minute passes in silence, and Hyunwoo looks at the clock. It’s the perfect time to start eating, so he asks, “Should we eat?”

“Yes, sounds good.” The man answers and they make their way to the dining room. 

Hyunwoo calls the kids, and once they have washed their hands, all of them join in the table while Hyunwoo starts to bring the dishes to the table. Kihyun joins him at some point, and even when Hyunwoo refuses, he still takes the dishes to the table.

The meal is noisy, full of childish chatter and laughter. It’s good, it makes Hyunwoo feel happy to see his son talk excitedly to his friend, who answers in the same way. Mr. Yoo is, on the side, listening attentively and answering when they ask him something.

They like the food, and Kihyun compliments him when Changkyun states his dad made it. Hyunwoo can finally release the breath he was holding. His son laughs and pats Hyunwoo in the back, telling him he’s a good chef and that he makes the best food in the world.

When all of them finish eating, Hyunwoo puts a movie on the TV and the kids focus on watching it. Meanwhile, both adults clean the table, even when Hyunwoo tries to get the teacher to sit, he continues helping him around.

Hyunwoo was thinking about leaving the dirty dishes for later, when the guests left, but after he sees the other man start washing some plates, he rushes to help him and try to bring him back to the living room.

“It’s fine, I want to help:” Is what the teacher answers when Hyunwoo proposes to go back to the living room.

“But you're a guest! I can’t let you do this.” He insists.

“But I volunteered.” Mr. Yoo says quickly, going back to his task.

Hyunwoo sighs, shaking his head as he sees a smug smile form on the teacher’s lips, making Hyunwoo laugh exasperatedly.

“It’s okay, really, I like to clean around. So I’m doing this because I want to,”

“Fine. But at least leave some for me, okay?” Hyunwoo gives up, saying those last words hoping the man accepts.

“Okay.”

Kihyun continues washing the dishes with Hyunwoo hanging awkwardly by his side  while he watches him.

“You already told me a lot about yourself.” Kihyun says after some time in silence. “It’s time I tell you something about me, it’s only fair isn’t it? C’mon, ask whatever you want.”

“Oh no, it’s fine! I told you because I wanted to.” Hyunwoo answers, waving his hands to the teacher.

“I’m telling you because I also want to, then.” He smiles. “Let’s just talk.”

“Uhm, okay.” Hyunwoo stays quiet, thinking about a question to ask. “How… how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-five.” Kihyun leaves a plate on the dish rack. “What about you?”

“I’m twenty six.”

“Woah, almost!” He splashes water around as he moves his hand, making Hyunwoo get little drops on his face, which he doesn’t try to dry off. “I thought you were older.”

“Do I look that old?”

“Oh god, no!” Kihyun half shouts. “You look very young! It’s just—”

Hyunwoo interrupts him with a chuckle. “It’s fine, I think that’s because of Changkyun, people think I’m older, but no, he was born when I was twenty-two.”

“You were really young.” The teacher points out and Hyunwoo nods.

“Not much, but I was still studying, yes.”

“Oh. Was it hard to find a job afterwards?” Kihyun asks, a small frown on his face.

“Not really? I already worked part time before graduating, so I got some help with my former employer and my friend.”

“That’s good to hear.” He says, it becomes quiet.

“Is it good?” Hyunwoo asks, feeling curious about the other’s man profession. “Do you like being a teacher?”

“Yes.” The teacher says quickly, “I love it. I really love kids and teaching.” He smiles. “No one thought I had the patience to deal with young kids but here I am, very happy with by job!”

“I’m glad.” Hyunwoo nods. “You aren’t a patient person?”

“No.” Kihyun immediately answers. “Definitely no.”

“That was a fast answer.”

“Well, I just know it.” He shrugs and Hyunwoo laughs.

Kihyun finishes and they go back to the living room, where the kids are still watching the movie very quietly and attentively.

“Is it almost finished?” Hyunwoo asks, wanting to move onto the cake next.

“Shhh, dad! This is an important part!” Changkyun shushes his dad and frowns.

“Oh, sorry:” Hyunwoo starts whispering now. “Is there much left?”

“No, just the final scene.” Answers Jooheon, without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Very well.”

The adults sit on the couch, watching the movie too. It’s a superhero movie Changkyun has watched many times before, but it never fails to make him look as if it was the very first time he’s watching it, always focusing in whatever it happening. They all sit on silence, waiting for the movie to end.

After the credits roll and some comments between Jooheon and Changkyun are exchanged, Hyunwoo announces it’s time for cake. The kids answer happily, bouncing around and going quickly to the table,

Hyunwoo takes the cake out of the fridge and puts it on the table, lightning up the five candles around it and takes out his phone to start recording. He starts singing happy birthday, followed by Jooheon’s tiny voice and to his surprise, Kihyun’s melodic one. The three of them sing in unison as Changkyun watches the candles with a happy smile on his face. The song ends and it’s time for Changkyun to blow off the candles.

“Make a wish!” says Jooheon loudly. “You need to make a wish, don’t forget!”

Changkyun nods and closes his eyes, opening them again and blows the candle. They all clap and cheer loudly for the kid, who looks at them with a big smile. Hyunwoo steps closer, dipping a finger on the icing and smearing it on the tip of Changkyun’s nose and his round cheeks. Laughter comes from all of them.

He cuts the cake, giving a slice to everyone. They all chatter once again while eating the cake. It’s good, a vanilla cake with strawberries, Changkyun’s favorite lately, and he really seems to be enjoying it, taking his time to eat and even asking for a second slice.

After they finish eating, Changkyun takes his time opening the presents, looking at every single of them with a surprised expression and his smile never falters.

After all the presents were opened and appreciated by the kid, they go back to the living room, the children start playing again and the adults stay to continue talking. Not long after, the doorbell rings and Jooheon has to leave. His mom thanks Hyunwoo once again for the invitation and all the adults watch with fond smiles as Jooheon hugs his friend multiple times before saying goodbye and taking his mother’s hand.

Soon after, the teacher follows, apologizing for staying longer than necessary and imposing on their house. father and son deny it and are quick to express their happiness on having him there, thanking him for staying and helping around, for the present and the laughs. He leaves with a smile and a slice of cake on his hands, wishing once again, a happy birthday to Changkyun and a good night to Hyunwoo.

They go inside, cleaning all the things left. Hyunwoo finishes throwing the trash onto a plastic bag when he finds Changkyun sleeping on the carpet. He pick him up and takes him to his room, changing him to his pajama and tucks him on his bed. Hyunwoo goes to his own room, it’s still early but all energy has left his body.

It was a good day, and he’s happy he could bring all the happiness on his son’s special day.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

After Changkyun’s birthday, Kihyun and Hyunwoo exchanged numbers just in case. Hyunwoo didn’t thought much about it. He felt comfortable that day, getting to know the man as something else more than just his son’s teacher. They don’t really message each other, but it’s nice to know Kihyun trusted him enough to give him his number.

It’s late and Hyunwoo isn’t near done with the meeting. He calculated he would have time left to go and pick Changkyun from school, but the people attending arrived late and all of it got delayed. He’s starting to feel anxious, there’s only fifteen minutes left for classes to end and he’s stuck on here, unable to go out without the risk of getting fired.

Hoseok is busy and can’t pick up Changkyun. Without much left, he takes out his phone and starts typing a new message.

Yoo Kihyun

good afternoon, kihyun-ssi.
i feel really ashamed to be asking something from you on the first text i send you, but could i ask you a favor?

Good afternoon, Hyunwoo-ssi!
Please feel free to ask anything. Is something the matter?

im so sorry. could you leave changyun on the daycare? im afraid i cant go pick him up soon, the meeting got delayed

Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! If it’s okay with you, I could bring him to my house and you could pick him up? Daycare is closed for this week.

could you really do that? i feel like we’re imposing a lot on you

It’s fine! I don’t mind it! I’ll be glad to be of help.

im so sorry. thank you so much for this, i owe you a lot for this

It’s fine, really! I’ll see you latter, gotta end the day.

see you.

The meeting drags for another three hours. Hyunwoo tries to keep as calm as possible but he can’t help but feel antsy the whole time, constantly checking his watch and tapping his fingers on his thigh. The meeting seems like it’s never ending, until they finally wrap things up and Hyunwoo is the first to get out of the room once he has verified they don’t need him anymore.

He quickly texts Kihyun for his address, which he receives almost immediately and drives there as fast and safely as he can. It takes no longer than fifteen minutes to arrive, and soon he’s knocking on the door of a really clean and elegant apartment. 

The door opens, revealing the smiling face of the teacher, who greets him and invites him to go inside.

As soon as he crosses the door, he is welcomed by an excited “dad!” from his son, who is sitting on a cushion on the floor, surrounded by papers, books and colors. The sight makes him purse his lips, a scold ready on the tip of his tongue for all the chaos Changkyun has made in the house of another person, but decides to leave it for later, now feeling relieved to finally be able to see his son.

“Hi pumpkin, how are you?”

“‘M good! Mr. Yoo and me were reading and drawing!” He points to the mess around him and grins. “He also made food! Your cooking isn’t the best anymore.”

“Ouch.” Hyunwoo says out loud, clutching his chest and looking at the kid with a betrayed look. “How could you?”

“Just telling the truth! Mr. Yoo’s cooking is soooo good!” He draws out every syllable to emphasize onto what he’s saying.

A laugh comes from behind Hyunwoo and he turns around to see the teacher laughing and shaking his head. “Your dad’s cooking is also good, Kyunie!”

Something stirs in his heart at the affectionate name he calls his son. Is something completely normal, he reasons, it’s his student and he probably calls all of the kids with a diminutive of their name, but it makes Hyunwoo happy to hear someone, especially Kihyun, call his kid like that.

“He is, but not better than you!” Changkyun answers and gives a resolute nod.

“You just keep hurting me, son.”

“Not my fault!” He giggles.

Hyunwoo snorts at that, getting closer to his son, stopping in front on him and crouches down next to him. “What have I told you about keeping all spaces clean? This isn’t our house, Kyun-ah” He stands up, placing a hand on the child’s hair. “C’mon I’ll help you clean this.”

“Oh no, it’s fine! To be honest we got too focused on reading I didn’t even notice the mess.”

“Then we’ll just help you clean.” Hyunwoo looks at him and smiles. “ At least let us do this?”

“...Fine. We’ll all clean!”

The three of them start cleaning the papers and books, piling all of them so Kihyun can put them away. They finish quickly, only leaving the drawings Changkyun made on the table. Putting his sweater on, Changkyun gathers his things and clutches his teddy bear on his right hand, ready to part.

“Thank you so much, really. I don’t know how to thank you for this.”

“It’s all good.” The teacher shakes his head. “I’m glad to be of help, I couldn’t leave him alone.”

“Thank you.” He says more low, almost as a whisper, receiving a dashing smile from the other man.

“Let’s go, bun.” He takes Changkyun’s backpack and hangs it on his shoulder. “Say goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Yoo!” He bows shortly, “I had lots of fun today! Thank you for taking care of me!”

“It was my pleasure, Kyunie. I had fun too! I’ll see you on monday, okay?”

“Mn!” He nods and bounces. “See you!”

“Take care!”

They go outside, waving to the teacher until they are no longer on sight. Hyunwoo takes Changkyun’s hand and when they reach the car, he helps him go inside and buckle his belt on site. 

They drive home, Changkyun falling asleep as soon as he starts the engine. A smiles stays on Hyunwoo’s lips. After all this time, he’s finally letting another person into their lives, and it feels right. 

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Some weeks have passed and somehow, Kihyun and Hyunwoo start texting more 

They are always short conversations, just asking for the day and wellbeing of the other, but even that’s nice and makes Hyunwoo’s days feel complete. Sometimes they talk about themselves a little, but never reveal to much; he would prefer to do that in person, but they haven’t had another opportunity to talk beside greetings and Changkyun’s days at school.

Hyunwoo has been thinking a lot about getting to be closer with the teacher. He knows it’s not the most convenient thing to do, giving the fact that he, clearly, is Changkyun’s teacher. But it feels natural, the way they’ve get to know each other, even with all the awkwardness that it involved at first. He feels that he’s too old to be thinking about that, so he doesn’t stay for too long on those thoughts.

Father and son are getting ready to go out and visit a new small restaurant at the nearest mall. Jooheon told Changkyun about it and he hasn’t stopped insisting Hyunwoo to go and eat there, because his friend said the food was great and the desserts were the best. Hyunwoo finally got the time to take him there, and the kid hasn’t stopped bouncing on his feet since the day before, when his dad confirmed they would go to said restaurant.

They leave the house, get into the car and start driving towards the mall. Changkyun’s excited chatter makes Hyunwoo laugh, hearing the sometimes random sounds his child lets out when he notices they’re getting near. He doesn’t really know what’s so special about the restaurant, but as long as his son is happy, he’s willing to take him to the other side of the world.

They arrive, getting out of the car, Hyunwoo takes the small hand on his and walks together with his son towards the main building. It’s still early for lunch, but late for breakfast and he hopes the place is not full.

After searching for a while, following the directions Changkyun heard from his friend, they arrive to a small cozy local with lights and paintings hanging from the walls. Is a colorful place and luckily, there isn’t much people as Hyunwoo expected. They make their way inside, finding a table on the back of the place. Hyunwoo takes sit in front of Changkyun, facing each other as a waiter gives them a menu.

They both order, and it takes him by surprise when Changkyun talks to the waiter.

“Uhm, can… can we get decorations on our plates?” He asks with a tiny voice.

“Oh? Of course! What would you like on them?”

“Be—” He clears his throat. “Bears!”

“Okay!” The waiter nods before bowing and leaving.

Hyunwoo lifts an eyebrow to his son. “Is that why you wanted to come?”

“Jooheonie said they made cute decorations and that it was delicious!” He pouts.

“That’s fine.” Hyunwoo smiles.

They both talk, Changkyun talks about the things he has learned, and as always, he asks whatever questions that come to his mind and Hyunwoo answers them if he can. There are some that are so wild that Hyunwoo’s never thought about them before and always leave him too speechless  to come up with an answer.

He’s in the middle of thinking deeply about a question the kid just made, when he hears a voice calling his name.

“Hyunwoo?” He looks up and sees the face of an smiling man, making his way towards their table.

“Oh hi, Kihyun!” At some point during the text conversations, they came to convince the other to stop calling each other formally and start using just their names, al least when they aren’t at school.

“Oh! Mr. Yoo!”

“Hi, Kyunie!” The teacher greets.

“Did Mr. Yoo come to eat too?”

“Mhm.” He hums affirmatively. “Did you too?

“Yes! Jooheonie said it was delicious!”

“I also heard that from him.” he chuckles. “Did you already order?”

“Yes.” Answers Hyunwoo. “And you?”

“I did too.”

“Do you want to sit with us?” Hyunwoo asks, followed with an immediate “Oh!, Yes! Sit with us, Mr. Yoo!”

“Am I not bothering?”

“No!” Both father and son say in unison, shaking their heads.

“Then… If it’s fine with you...”

“Yes, yes, please.” Hyunwoo gets closer to the wall, even if there was still a lot of space besides him. The man sits down and tells the waiter if he could bring his order there, receiving a nod.

Now the talk involves two adults and a curious child, who still leaves them both speechless with some questions, to which he ends up laughing after not getting and answer and only leaving them confused. The food arrives soon after, and they all concentrate on eating, not before Changkyun asks his dad to take some pictures of the dishes, who has figures of bears made with food. Hyunwoo takes the opportunity to take a picture with both of his companions. They start eating, making appreciative noises at the delicious food.

They finish very quickly, leaving nothing behind, not even Changkyun, who usually leaves some things he doesn’t like or can’t finish. They take this as a signal to ask for some desserts. While Kihyun orders a cake, Changkyun orders ice cream and Hyunwoo some cookies.

The sweet things also prove to be delicious, and they’re gone in a blink of an eye. Kihyun laughs at father and son disappointed expressions when they notice all of the food has gone so fast.

It’s really nice, Hyunwoo notices, as he watches Kihyun and Changkyun talk animatedly about a topic the kid came up with. A smile stays on his lips as he closes his eyes, listening to their voices and laughter. He likes it, and even surprises himself thinking about getting to experiment that frequently.

After Hyunwoo has paid for their dishes—even as Kihyun complained about Hyunwoo paying for him too— they leave the small restaurant and offers to take Kihyun home, who accepts after thinking about it for a moment.

The ride is filled with every kind of sounds, with the radio on and Kihyuns melodic voice singing in unison with Changkyun the latest pop songs Hyunwoo has listened recently on everywhere. He sings the few lines he knows and is delighted to hear the laughter after each song has finished. When they arrive,  disappointment hangs in the air when the teacher says goodbye.

“He is really fun, I really like him, dad.” Changkyun says as they make their way home. Hyunwoo hums in agreement. I like him too, he doesn’t say, but his mind answers almost instantly.

After a few hours, when Changkyun has gone to sleep and Hyunwoo is scrolling down his phone, it rings with a new message.

Yoo Kihyun

Would you like to come for dinner next

weekend? 

Of course! We’ll be there.

It was a really good day, and the smile on his face doesn’t disappear even when he goes to sleep.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Weekend comes faster when they spend it thinking and waiting expectantly to visit Kihyun’s house.

It’s not something special at all, Hyunwoo tries to convince himself. They’ve become sort of friends and he’s just excited for his new friendship to develop. He hasn’t made friends in years and he can’t contain his excitement. Or that’s what he thinks.

Saturday morning and both, Changkyun and Hyunwoo are already up at 10 am, having breakfast and chatting about a movie they saw the night before. They’ve been awake since an hour ago and time seems to go slower now that the day has come. Hyunwoo tries to busy himself with cleaning chores so he isn’t just anxiously waiting for them time to come. He manages to calm himself down, leaving all the feelings of excitement and anticipation for later.

He promised Changkyun to play a board game he recently bought for him. Hyunwoo doesn’t really know what it is about, but he heard his son talk about it and thought it would be a good idea to buy it for him. Now, as they sit on the carpet, Hyunwoo is trying his hardest to decipher the rules of the game, even as Changkyun has explained them to him a couple of times. After the fifth time, he finally gets what he has to do and they start playing.

In the end, after a couple of laughter of yelling because of, in Changkyun’s words, his cheating father, the kid wins with two of three rounds.

Time has gone flying in the moment they started having fun and lunch time has come. Hyunwoo calls for some pizza, feeling too lazy to actually cook something and Changkyun beams when the doorbell rings, signaling that food has arrived.

They eat in silence, both of them too focused on eating the delicious pizza. They finish quickly, not even wasting a moment to eat. After they wash the dishes, both of them get into the shower and start getting ready to go to Kihyun’s place.

It takes time for them to get ready, and even like that there’s still two hours to go. Hyunwoo decides to search for a cartoon they can watch together, Changkyun chooses one and they watch a couple of chapters before the time to go out comes. The program is more interesting than Hyunwoo expected and he catches himself getting lost on time.

Time comes, and Hyunwoo immediately turns off the television, grabbing a sweater for Changkyun and they head out towards the parking lot. They get into the car and once Hyunwoo has verified everything’s fine, they drive to Kihyun’s home.

It’s not a long drive, twenty minutes at much, and they spend it listening to music Changkyun likes. The nerves have started to caught up to Hyunwoo and his stomach churns in anticipation.

They arrive shortly, parking on one of the lots made for guest to the apartments. Hyunwoo picks up Changkyun from the back seat and takes his hand to walk into the building.

Arriving to the door of the teacher’s house, Hyunwoo takes a breath while Changkyun watches him with raised eyebrows and dings the doorbell once, waiting for the door to open.

“Oh, hello!” Kihyun peaks through the door, opening it fully once he knows who it is. “Come in, come in!”

“Hi!” Changkyun chirps up excitedly before entering.

“Excuse us.” Hyunwoo bows his head lightly. “Thank you for having us.”

“No, thank you for coming.” They all go inside, closing the door behind them. “Take sit wherever you want, I’ll go for something to drink and snacks.”

“Yay! C’mon dad!” The kid tugs Hyunwoo’s hand towards the living room, walking fast and letting himself drop on one of the couches.

“Changkyun,” Hyunwoo says with a serious tone. “Don’t do that on people’s houses, be respectful.”

“Leave him! It’s no problem.” The teacher comes with a tray full of chips and cookies, some glasses and a jar.

“Oh please, don’t let him do that, he’s going to do it every time he can.” Hyunwoo shakes his head, sitting down on the couch and taking Changkyun who is pouting at him. He’s not falling for it.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” He takes two glasses and starts pouring the content of the jar in them. “It’s melon water, is that fine?”

“Yes!” Father and son say in unison, making Kihyun chuckle.

He puts the two glasses on the table, in front of them. Changkyun quickly grabs it and takes a sip, licking is upper lip once he has put it back on the table. “It’s really good!”

“Thank you!” The teacher answers.

Hyunwoo takes his own glass, and is on the brink of drinking when he hears a noise followed by a bark.

“Oh god, I had forgotten.” Kihyun mutters. “I’m taking care of my friend’s dog, I hope it’s no trouble.”

“Oh no, of course not, don’t worry.” Hyunwoo is quick to answer.

“Do you…” Changkyun starts, his eyes shining with delight. “Do you have a dog?” His voice becomes higher, and his last word is a shriek.

"Mn. Do you want to see it?”

“Yes! Yes! Please!” Changkyun says and looks at his dad with big expectant eyes.

“Yeah, you can see it. But be careful, okay?” 

“Yes!”

“Let’s go then.” Kihyun says and takes Changkyun small hand in his, guiding him towards another part of the house. Hyunwoo stands up and follows them. 

In one of the rooms they find a small dog with fluffy white fur and a pink ribbon tied on their neck. It immediately runs to them and jumps onto Changkyun, who squeaks and starts petting it with all the happiness in the world.

“Dad! Look! She likes me!” Changkyun exclaims.

“Yes she does.” Hyunwoo answers, nodding a couple of times, watching his son with a small smile on his lips.

“What’s her name?” Changkyun asks.

“She’s Dambi.”

Changkyun gasps. “That’s a really cute name!”

Kihyun nods, and crouches to pet the dog’s head and does the same with Changkyun. “Do you wanna play with her ‘till dinner’s ready?”

“Can I?” Changkyun asks with bright eyes.

“Yes!”

“Then of course!” He answers and hugs the dog, who lick his cheek and the kid erupts into giggles.

“Well then, I’ll leave her to your care. Be careful, okay?”

“Okay!”

Kihyuns stands up and looks at Hyunwoo, who smiles at him. “Are you staying here too?”

“No, let me help you with dinner.” He offers.

“Oh, you don’t have to!”

“I want to.” Hyunwoo insist, remembering the last time where Kihyun insisting on helping him

“...Fine. Let’s go.” The teacher answers, and it seems that he also remembered that.

They walk to the kitchen, where four pots are on the stove and another one seems to be on the oven. “What can I help you with?” Hyunwoo asks.

“Mhm, you can cuts these vegetables for the side dishes?” 

Hyunwoo nods and takes the apron Kihyun gives him. Then takes a knife that was there and continues chopping the vegetables that were already half cut.

They stay in silence for a moment, each one focused on his task. Hyunwoo isn’t even thinking about making a conversation, trying to get everything just fine.

“You’re really good at this.” Kihyun comments as he gets closer.

“Well, I’ve cooked since I got into college. And tried to learn a lot more since I got Changkyun.” Hyunwoo answers with a smile. “I had to learn.”

“Did you learn for them?” Kihyun asks, and Hyunwoo can identify the curious tone on his voice.

“Them?” He questions, confused about what the man is referring to.

“Changkyun’s mother and him?”

“Oh? Hyunwoo tilts his head until it hits him. “Oh, oh! No, I—“

“I said something I shouldn't right? I’m sorry.” Kihyun is quickly to amend.

“No! Don’t worry! I just remembered I never told you about this.” He waves his hand frenetically. “His mother wasn’t my partner, she was a friend.”

“Oh.” Is all that comes out as an answer.

“Yes! We grew up together, I don’t have any siblings, so she was like my sister.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear.” Kihyun answers but still seems confused

“I know what you’re thinking. Ask away.”

“I—“

“It’s fine, really, ask anything you want, I don’t mind it.”

“How… how did you got custody of Changkyun?”

“Oh, that. As you see, I’m not his biological father, she actually never told me who it was.” Hyunwoo makes a pause to shake his head. “She passed away a few months after having Changkyun, got some complications and well…” He sighs. “Her family didn’t want the baby, they were really conservative. As my family is. But you know, I couldn’t leave the kid alone, not after all the care his mother took of him in the few months she was with her son.

“I saw with my own eyes the love she had for him, and I also came to love the kid, he was so tiny and cute, and innocent, I wanted to protect him even when Soyoon couldn’t. It was hard to be able to be his legal guardian. They wouldn’t let me because I didn’t have any connection to him, I was an student and didn’t have a proper job.” Hyunwoo stops doing his task and turns to Kihyun, looking at everywhere while he talks. “But well I still had to take care of him. I lived alone and had no job and no support from my family as they rejected my choice to take care of a child that wasn’t mine. I took a year off from college and decided to get a job, which I fortunately got, in a small company. It wasn’t much, but the paid was decent and could afford to make it through the months taking care of a baby.

“After they saw I had a stable job and no other person would come to take care of the kid, with some help of a good lawyer I could officially adopt him.” He concludes, looking at Kihyun that is staring at him with an indecipherable emotion on his face.

“You really did a lot for him.  And he loves you a lot.” Kihyun says really quietly. “You raised him greatly, I really admire you.”

Hyunwoo is stunned to silence. He looks at Kihyun, and sees the sincerity his eyes hold. He breathes out and his hands tremble. He will never stop reacting like that every time anyone says something about him as a parent. He never really thought about it, thinking it was the least he could do for his son, the baby he saw being loved by his mother and that he would love just the same, if not more. But sometimes, he needed reassurance that he was doing fine, that all the things he decided were right.

Hearing someone as Kihyun —Changkyun’s teacher—, really assures him, and makes him feel a thousand emotions go through him. He looks down to his feet and mutters a small “Thank you.”

They stay like that for some minutes, and it seems hours have passed before Kihyun talks again. “What if you tell me some stories from when he was a baby?”

Hyunwoo feels excitement fill his body and a small laughter leaves his lips just thinking about what to say. “Oh, that’s gonna be a really good talk.” He says before starting to tell all the stories he can remember. 

Kihyun laughs, loudly and messily but it warms Hyunwoo’s chest to hear those reactions from him, he has long since finished his task, now focused on watching the teacher’s eyes crinkle with amusement and his cheeks turn pink with laughter. His shoulders shake every time Hyunwoo says an offhand comment about his anecdote, trying to suppress his laughter to finally end up snorting loud and funnily, making Hyunwoo laugh until his stomach hurts.

It’s a mess of laughter and stirring sounds that must be enough for Changkyun to peak and see what the adults are up to.

“What are you doing?” He asks as he stays out of the kitchen, the small dog on his arms.

“Oh, not much, just telling Kihyun the story about that time when you got stuck on a chair.”

Changkyun gasps loudly. “Why did you tell him?” He clutches the dog closer to him, pouting and stomping his feet.

“It’s a really good story! He needed to know it.”

Changkyun stomps out of the kitchen, leaving two laughing adults deal with the food, that has gone for way too long thanks to both of them getting distracted.

Finally, everything is ready and Hyunwoo helps Kihyun bring all the dishes to the table, where Changkyun expectantly looks up to. Everything smells and looks delicious, having their mouths watering after the long wait.

They sit down on the table, thank Kihyun for the food and start digging up as fast as they can. When Hyunwoo takes the first bite of every dish laid on the table, he makes an appreciative sound at them, Changkyun does just the same.

“This is really, really good! Oh god, now I understand why Changkyun said it was his favorite. I admit defeat.” He chews onto a piece of meat. “This is my favorite now too.”

“See?! It’s really good!” Changkyun exclaims in between chews of noodles and vegetables.

Hyunwoo nods and there’s no more talk until they finish eating. Father and son touch their stomachs, patting them and hearing the dull sound they make, laughing at it. Kihyun stands up and goes back to the kitchen, coming back with a cheesecake he also baked. Yelling happily, and even with full stomachs, they all dig up the dessert, tasting it and humming happily as soon as they try it.

The night goes on, they stay on the table and talk about everything and anything. It’s nice and Hyunwoo feels complete, like this is everything he needed and didn’t know. He takes in the moment, trying to keep all of it in his memory, the way the air smells of sweetness of the cheesecake, the soft voices of his son and Kihyun, the warm feeling on his chest traveling down his hands and making them tingly. 

The dog barks and Changkyun’s attention is back to it, leaving Kihyun and Hyunwoo to take all the dishes back to the kitchen.

Hyunwoo offers to wash them, being denied before insisting a couple of times. It takes him a little of convincing, but Kihyun finally accepts and they both got to the sink to start washing.

They continue talking about their lives, Kihyun tells his about his time at college, how he was always teased for studying education even with his nonexistent patience and the hard times he had. Hyunwoo talks about his own experience with college and work. Midway their talk, the topic goes back to Changkyun.

“You see how there are a lot of kids who cry when they are left on their first day of classes? Changkyun’s class was full of crying kids meanwhile he was just sitting in the middle, looking at them with furrowed eyebrows.” Hyunwoo laughs. “He said he didn’t understood why they were crying. The teachers were amazed.”

Kihyun answers with a chuckle. “Yeah, most of the kids cry and there are just a few who don’t. We feel blessed by them.” He nods, leaving a glass on the sink rack before turning serious and asking. “I’m sorry for asking but uh, you said something about Changkyun’s old kindergarten when I first interview you… What— what happened?”

Hyunwoo freezes and looks away to his hands full of soap. “I—“ he sighs and gulps down the bad feeling on his throat. “I told you… he was being bullied, right?”

Kihyun nods once, seeming to notice the stiffness on his shoulders. “If you don’t wanna tell me it’s okay, I don’t mind it and would prefer for you to be comfortable.”

Hyunwoo shakes his head. “It’s fine. It’s just—“ He takes a deep breath. “It was my fault.”

He feels Kihyun stare on him and suddenly feels ashamed. He made his own son be victim of something he didn’t deserve, and hadn’t even noticed about until it got bad. And all of that just for a stupid reason.

“It was a silly reason, really.” He sighs. “His teacher was uh, interested in me?” He says with uncertainty, his voice growing smaller. “And she actually told me about that. But of course I rejected her, I wasn’t interested.” He shrugs. “She took it nicely, or so I thought, she just apologized and I thought it ended there.”

He heard Kihyun take a sharp breath, and he feels the same.

“She didn’t. She took it on Changkyun.” Hyunwoo starts fiddling with his hands. “It started with petty things, like not paying attention or ignoring him. Then it escalated. She started telling him horrible things and just—“ he sighs. “Yeah. He never told me anything. I noticed it ‘till one day I went to pick him up and she was screaming at him in front of everyone, he was crying and she…” he trails off shaking his head a couple of times. “She raised her hand at him.”

Kihyun gasps, and Hyunwoo pursues his lips.

“I got mad, and immediately went to stop her. One kid went to the principal’s office and called for him. He went and we stayed to talk about it. She made a lot of excuses, but ended up saying she couldn’t believe I rejected her and took it off on my son. She said that everything she said was true anyways.”

“I–I couldn’t leave him there even if she was fired, his classmates saw all the bullying and started seeing him with other eyes. He wasn’t safe there.” His nails dig into his palm. “I just feel guilty. Maybe I did something for her to believe I was interested? Maybe I should’ve accepted? If it weren’t for me he wouldn’t have gone through that.”

“No.” Kihyun interrupts for the first time. “You had nothing to do with it, it was all on her.”

“But I—“

“No.” The other man shakes his head. “Don’t take the blame, Hyunwoo, you only did the best for him.”

Hyunwoo stays still for a moment and then nods lightly, feeling his eyes prickle and  swallows the lump on his throat. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay.” Kihyun gets closer and pats his shoulder a few times, taking of his apron. “Let’s go with Changkyun, okay?”

Hyunwoo nods, looking at him and noticing he went deep into thought as he walks away. He looks serious, biting his lips and looking at the floor. Hyunwoo feels bad for letting all the heavy story come out just like that, he probably shouldn’t have told him the whole thing. But what’s done has been done and he can’t take back his words. He follows Kihyun to the living room, where Changkyun is playing with the dog and all the tension leaves the air.

They spend the whole evening like that, going back to small anecdotes and stories, now with Changkyun joining them and taking his opportunity to embarrass his father in front of his teacher. All of them laugh whenever he comes up with a story of his embarrassing dad, making Hyunwoo hide his face behind his hands.

The heavy weight on his chest leaves after that and he forgets all about their previous talk, now just feeling happy with them having fun.

He doesn’t notice Kihyun looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and a conflicted expression. He misses the way the teacher gets lost in thought every once in a while.

The night ends with Changkyun rubbing his eyes and slowly falling asleep on Kihyun’s couch when they watch a new movie that came out not so long ago. Hyunwoo stays until it finishes, picking up Changkyun and letting him sleep on his shoulder while he says his goodbyes.

He thanks Kihyun for inviting them, he felt happy all night in company of them both and really enjoyed himself. Kihyun assures him he felt the same and smiles softly at him, his eyes crinkling in the sides when he teases Hyunwoo about one of the stories he heard from the child. Hyunwoo laughs lightly, not wanting to wake up Changkyun and retires for the night. With one more thank you and a final smile, he makes his way to the car.

Arriving home, he goes straight to bed, not even bothering to leave Changkyun on his own room and taking him to his. He quickly ends up a really good night, remembering all the good things that happened before he falls asleep.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The Son family has been hanging a lot with Kihyun lately.

It’s Saturday and Hoseok called Hyunwoo to tell him he was near and would go to greet them. Changkyun is not there, having been invited by Kihyun to a small play they were having in the theater. Hyunwoo couldn’t go because he had to go to work and do some things, but he insisted for them to go and have fun.

There’s a knock in the door and immediately know it’s Hoseok, he never rings the doorbell, saying it’s too loud and he would rather wait than to bother the family.

Hyunwoo gets up, opening the door and greets his good friend, who pulls him to an embrace he reciprocates.

“Hey, it’s been so long since I last saw you.” Hoseok says once they’ve pulled back.

“It truly has been, huh? You’re really busy these days.”

“I’m not the only one busy it seems.” He laughs, following Hyunwoo inside and sitting in the couch, looking to the sides and furrowing his eyebrows. “Where’s Kyunie?"

“He went to see a play with Kihyun.”

“Kihyun? Who’s that?”

“Uhm, his teacher?”

“Wait.” Hoseok holds a hand out, narrowing his eyes at him. “His teacher? The Mr. Yoo you once told me seemed like a very good person?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is he taking Changkyun to a play? Did all the class went?”

“No? He invited us but I had work, so they went alone.”

“Hold up.” Hoseok looks at him, a clear confused expression on his face. “When did you get all buddy with him?”

“Uh, since Changkyun’s birthday party? He wanted to invite him and we were the only adults since someone couldn’t come.”

“And you fully went first name base with him? And he invites you two out?” 

“Yes?”

“Wait. Is that why you also have been busy these days? You said you were going out but I never thought it would be with him.”

“Yes, we go to eat out, or he also comes here or we go to his apartment.”

“Oh god. Are you two dating?”

“What.” Hyunwoo blurts out, blinking a couple of times. “What? No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! He’s only a friend.”

“I never saw you get so close to anyone else and that look on your face is not one you have when talking about a friend.” Hoseok points out. “Do you want to only be his friend?”

“Uh.” Hyunwoo stays quiet for a moment, thinking about what Hoseok has just told him. He thought of Kihyun to be a good friend of his, he felt comfortable around him, and he liked spending time with him, always anticipating the time they would meet. He had good laughs and it always made him feel all giddy when he looked at Kihyun and noticed a soft expression on his face, both when he listened to him or Changkyun.

“Oh god please, from what you’re telling me you both are completely married. Didn’t you notice?”

“No?” 

“I’ll give you a minute to come to a conclusion.”

And so, Hyunwoo thinks. It’s been way too long since he was interested in someone. The last couple of years his mind was full of Changkyun and Changkyun’s well-being. It never crossed his mind that probably, his heart had made a space for another person in his life.

He thinks about Kihyun, about all the things that have happened so far in less than a year. He thinks about his smile, his kind words and his comforting presence. He thinks about the times they spent together, and all of those moments when Hyunwoo felt enamored by that person. He has beautiful features, he’s not going to lie. Since the very first time they saw each other, Hyunwoo took notice of how handsome the man was. He’s often looking his way, but never thought it would mean anything else.

He thinks about all those times he had a passing thought of holding the smaller hand in his, of bringing him closer and puts his arms around him, only to feel his warm. In the moment, he felt ashamed of just having those thoughts, thinking he shouldn’t, but never thought farther than that.

I like Kihyun, his mind supplies after all his internal turmoil.

I like Kihyun.

“Oh god, I like him.” Hyunwoo gasps, looking at Hoseok whose lips are spreading into a smile. A laugh come out and he pats him on the back.

“See? It wasn’t that hard. Took you long enough to notice.”

“I can’t believe it.” Hyunwoo says, still looking deep in thought. “I like him! And I didn’t notice!”

“You are just like that.” Hoseok laughs, shaking his head. “Now, what’s next?”

“Huh?”

“What’re you gonna do about it?”

“No— nothing?” Hyunwoo blurts out.

“Oh, c’mon. You can’t do nothing. Tell him!”

“Should I?” He says, shaking his head after thinking it for some time. “No, no. I shouldn’t, I like what we have now.”

“C’mon Hyunwoo, you’re two completely grown up adults. Even if he rejected you, nothing should change.”

“But he’s Changkyun’s teacher… if I make things uncomfortable, don’t you,” He gulps, “don’t you think it’s going to affect him?”

“Oh.” Hoseok says. “Oh no, he’s not like that. You know him, if you’ve came to like him it’s because he’s nothing like that.”

“But—“

“Don’t you trust him?”

“I do, but…”

“Then put that trust to work.”

Hyunwoo sighs, covering his face with his hands. “Thank you.”

“I did nothing.” Hoseok says and pats his back. “Wanna have dinner one of these nights?”

“Yeah.” Hyunwoo looks at him. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Good.” They stay in silence, knowing it’s the best thing to do after that conversation. Hyunwoo feels grateful for having a friend like Hoseok in is life, and he’s sure to make him know that when they’re saying goodbye and part ways.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

It’s been a week since Hyunwoo last saw Kihyun and the big revelation was made. That day when he went to pick Changkyun up, he made everything short, not wanting to spend much time in company of the teacher until he got his mind made up. 

He left the place quickly, and noticed the confused face of the man and felt quite guilty. He apologized, saying he needed to do another thing, and that definitely the next time he would stay.

He got a text in the middle of the week from Kihyun, who asked if they wanted to go and eat at a restaurant he found recently. Hyunwoo took a deep breath, thought that he needed to get his thoughts straight and answered that yes, they would like to.

He’s driving towards the place, fingers drumming on the wheel and hearing Changkyun sing to some English songs that have been playing on the radio for weeks. 

Hyunwoo is lost in thought, thinking about the nervous feeling on his stomach but the anticipation and excitement of meeting the other man after the big revelation. It’s different, even when he didn’t want anything to change, he’s more conscious over his own thoughts and feels not quite like himself.

He promised that he wouldn’t change, that everything would remain the same and that he would act the same. But it seems like his mind isn’t helping. His mind doesn’t stop repeating I like him, I’m in love with him, and even Changkyun noticed something is happening to his dad.

“Dad? Are you okay?” He stops singing to look at his father with a confused expression.

“Huh? Yes, I’m perfectly fine, why?”

“You are distracted!”

“Oh, I—“ Hyunwoo gulps. Should he tell him? No, no yet. He really need to stop the giddiness before he tell the kid something. “It’s nothing, bun.”

“Okay! But you can tell me if something happened, I’ll help you!”

“Thank you, angel, I know.”

“Mn!” The kid nods happily.

They arrive to the small cozy restaurant, Hyunwoo takes his son’s hand and they go inside, looking at the tables and they see a smiling Kihyun who waves at them.

“Hey! You came!” He says after they’ve made their way towards him.

“Of course!” Changkyun says before Hyunwoo can say anything.

“Sit down, let’s see the menu, they’ve got really good food.” Kihyun is quick to tell them. 

Both father and son sit in front of Kihyun, Hyunwoo ending up facing him. He takes a look at the teacher, who is looking at the menu with a thoughtful expression. Hyunwoo smiles, the teacher is always so serious when it comes to food, like him, who will eat almost anything and enjoy it in the same way.

A waitress comes and takes their order. Changkyun says his own and Hyunwoo pats him in the head, proud of his son, who has grown up so much that he has been wanting to speak for himself lately.

The waitress goes after promising their food will be there soon and they’re left alone. Hyunwoo slowly takes a deep breath and tries to ignore all the thoughts gathering on his mind; some screaming about having the object of his affection in front of him and the other yelling at him to stop.

Changkyun, bless his adorable son, starts talking to Kihyun, asking some questions he asked Hyunwoo but he didn’t answer, and Kihyun answers him in simple words. Hyunwoo may know a lot of things, but he can’t compare to Kihyun, who hold an entire universe of knowledge on his head. Changkyun is always happy to talk to his teacher, who answers almost all of his questions, except from those that are too crazy for even the man to answer.

Hyunwoo watches the exchange in silence, looking between his son and the teacher. He will never stop admiring those moments in where Changkyun and Kihyun interact, feeling happy his kid has found trust in another adult who always looks at him with a patient and soft gaze.

He’s thinking about how he truly loves those moments, the affectionate tone he has learned to identify and joyous laughs that leave man, all sincere to his child’s ideas, when he notices Kihyun eyes have landed upon him and is looking at him with a teasing smile.

“Lost in thought?” He asks after a moment of just looking at each other.

Hyunwoo wants to groan, and feels his face a little but warmer than before. He laughs before answering, “Yeah, thinking about the food.”

That gets a laugh out of the teacher, “You had a really loving gaze there, hm?”

Hyunwoo’s eyes go wide, his face falling from his hand. “What? Really?” Kihyun’s laugh only gets louder, some people look at their way but Hyunwoo can’t bring himself to care.

“Yeah.”

Now Hyunwoo really groans and hides his face in between his hands. Changkyun looks at them with a confused expression and Kihyun only coos at him, continuing the talk from before.

Their food arrives and they quickly start eating. It’s delicious, Hyunwoo notices and takes his time to taste every single dish.

Changkyun and Kihyun talk, Hyunwoo only answers when he’s asked something but mostly stays in silence, too focused on his food and the mess of his feelings.

They finish the food, both father and son patting their stomachs after all the food they’ve eat. The waitress comes to pick up their dishes and asks if they want dessert. Even when feeling full, all of them accept and ask for different pastries.

They wait for the dessert and when they arrive, Changkyun timidly asks the waitress where the bathrooms are. After she answers, he tells his dad he’s going and Hyunwoo nods, looking the back of his child as he enters the bathrooms.

Hyunwoo keeps looking at where Changkyun disappeared and it’s only when Kihyun talks that his attention goes back to him.

“Are you okay?” The teacher asks.

“Huh? Me?” Hyunwoo points at himself, furrowing his eyebrows when he receives a nod. “Yeah? I’m fine. Why are you asking?”

“You’re distracted and…” Kihyun trails off, looking down at his cheesecake and taking a bite before continuing. “You seemed conflicted last week when you picked Changkyun from my place.”

“Oh.” He answers, not knowing what else to say at being read so easily. “I’m fine, I just had a conversation with my friend before that.” He gets out an awkward laugh and reaches to touch the back of his neck. “I was just thinking about it.”

“But is everything okay?” His voice sounds worried, and Hyunwoo melts at the soft sound of it.

“Yes, yes, don’t worry!” He smiles to reassured him.

He gets an smile in response, and he can’t stop thinking about it for the rest of their time together. How didn’t he notice before the feelings this man ensued in without him? It’s so painfully obvious that he’s in love with him and yet, it took some help from Hoseok to come to that conclusion.

Changkyun gets back from the bathroom and they all start digging up the dessert, feeling really full when they finish. Hyunwoo gets ahead and pays for everything, getting some complains from Kihyun but he doesn’t bother, he’s more than happy to be able to invite him for some lunch.

They drive Kihyun to him apartment, giving that he walked all the way through the restaurant. When they arrive, they say their goodbyes in between smiles and laughter, Hyunwoo feels bad after being so distracted in today’s lunch and he decides to invite Kihyun at their home next week. The teacher accepts quickly and Changkyun gives an enthusiastic yell.

After that, they go to buy groceries for their home, and then go home to end their days. Hyunwoo keeps thinking about the younger man and his smile until he falls asleep.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

It’s Sunday and Hyunwoo is busy on the kitchen cooking for their lunch with Kihyun. It’s still early, an hour and a half left for their guest to arrive, so he doesn’t rush to have food ready.

Changkyun is on his room, reading a small book Kihyun bought him recently. The kid takes such good care of all the things he has bought and given to him, it actually makes Hyunwoo’s chest hurt with affection.

It takes him by surprise when he hears the doorbell ring, not expecting anyone at this hour. With furrowed eyebrows he opens the door and sees a grinning Kihyun looking sheepishly at him.

“Hi.”

“Uh, hi?” Hyunwoo answers, taken aback by the presence of the man.

“Sorry, I had nothing to do and decided to come earlier.” He answers and looks down. “Was I wrong to come?”

“Oh? No, no!” Hyunwoo waves his hands. “It’s fine! Come in, I’m still cooking.”

They go inside, Hyunwoo staying behind to close the door as the teacher waits for him.

“And Kyunie?” Kihyun asks after looking around and not seeing the kid.

“He’s on his room, I think he was reading, you can go and greet him.” Hyunwoo nods to the child’s bedroom. “I’ll go back to the kitchen.”

Kihyun nods and walks towards Changkyun’s bedroom, Hyunwoo looks him open the door and stays to hear the excited yelling of the kid, going back to the kitchen right after he hears they’ve started talking.

He’s in the middle of tasting some of the soup when he feels a presence behind him, he quickly turns around and sees Kihyun walking into the kitchen, looking at everything he has laid on the counters.

“Hm, let me help you?” He questions looking at him.

Hyunwoo hold his gaze for no longer than ten seconds, feeling too weak to go much after that. “Okay.” He answers without thinking too much.

They start working together, each focusing on a task and Kihyun takes some liberties to cook some extra dishes. Hyunwoo doesn’t complain, he’s the expert there. They start talking about their weeks, sharing some work experiences and Kihyun tells him about Changkyun’s work at school. In return, Hyunwoo tells him some anecdotes from the week, and how much Changkyun loves the recent gift Kihyun gave him. His smile is worth it.

“Dad! I’m gonna draw!” Changkyun voice reaches them and Hyunwoo nods, yelling back a ‘okay’ to his son, who is most likely sitting on the living room carpet and drawing there.

The conversation continues, and they start talking about the past again. This time, it’s mostly Kihyun the one who does the talk, telling him about his best friend who he has mentioned multiple times before, relating the story of how they met.

The conversation suddenly turns to Hyunwoo, who talks about his own younger adventures with Changkyun’s mom and Hoseok, both frequently mentioned when he talks about his life.

They then stay in silence, and everything sound so quiet that it’s unusual, usually Changkyun would’ve come by now, wanting to join their conversation. Wanting to check on him, Hyunwoo walks out towards the living room, where he finds Changkyun sleeping on the top of his book, breathing deeply and in peace. Hyunwoo smiles, getting closer to lift the kid to the couch and bringing a blanket to cover his son from the light breeze that comes from the window.

When he turns around, he sees Kihyun, who is looking at them with a soft expression. Hyunwoo takes his time to retain that gaze on his mind, the warm on it and the sweet smile on the man’s lips, while his mind keeps repeating I love him again and again.

They go back to the kitchen, and now that his mind has brought that thought up, he can’t stop being overly conscious of the presence of the other man in such a small space. He spaces out after accidentally touching Kihyun’s hand when he passed something to him, remaining on the thought of how it would feel to hold that hand on his.

“Ouch.” He hisses through gritted teeth as he gets an small cut on his finger from getting distracted. 

Kihyun quickly turns and looks worriedly at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just got a small cut.” Hyunwoo answers, trying to stop the bleeding that doesn’t seem to stop even with it being only a small cut.

“Oh god, we need to disinfect that and stop the bleeding.” Kihyun says, getting closer and reaching to take Hyunwoo’s hand on his. Hyunwoo stops working for a moment, nodding dumbly at whatever Kihyun is saying. “Your first aid kit is on the bathroom, right?”

“Yeah.” Hyunwoo says without paying attention. After repeating the question on his head, he gets out of his trance and answers again. “Yes, it’s below the sink.”

Kihyun nods and steps out of the kitchen, leaving Hyunwoo behind who turns looks around him and sees they can leave the food there without risking anything and follows the other man.

His hand still feels warm, and he suddenly craves for more. He shakes his head, trying to get rid of that thought. He shouldn’t. He arrives to the bathroom, where Kihyun is already pulling some things out of the first aid kid. He tells Hyunwoo to sit on the toilet and he obeys, seeing the serious expression on the man’s face.

As he gets closer with a wet cotton, he asks, “What got you so distracted you cut yourself? You should be careful!” He admonishes, and Hyunwoo feels scolded.

You. He doesn’t say, of course, but it’s near to blurt it out. “Nothing, ‘m sorry.” He answers with his head low.

He gets a snort in response, and he looks up, seeing the teacher shake his head with an amused expression. “You look just like Kyunie did when I scolded him for being careless.” He says after seeing the confused expression of Hyunwoo’s face. “Like father, like son.”

Hyunwoo pouts and Kihyun laughs, pressing the wet cotton on Hyunwoo’s finger. He scrunches his face, feeling the instant sting on the cut. Kihyun still has the amused expression on his face. “That’s what you deserve.”

Hyunwoo pouts again.

Kihyun focus on his work to disinfect Hyunwoo small wound. Hyunwoo looks at him, noticing he’s way too close. His mind tries to recall the moment he let Kihyun into their lives, to the point of being comfortable with him roaming free around their home, and they doing the same on his house. Kihyun knows his apartment like he always lived there, and they do the same. Changkyun feels at home in Kihyun’s place, he said once when they went back home after he stayed in his house for some hours until Hyunwoo could pick him up.

Kihyun has finished cleaning the cut and starts putting a little band aid on it. Hyunwoo looks at the frown on the man’s face, looks at the way purses his lips into a line in concentration. Hyunwoo gets lost once again, looking at every single detail on Kihyun’s face, trying to hold it onto his mind for as long as he can. 

Without thinking, he reaches out to smoother the frown in the man’s face. Kihyun looks at him in surprise, his mouth hanging a little open and eyes wide, Hyunwoo can’t stop looking at him. He’s so beautiful, and god, he really likes him a lot.

Kihyun eyes go impossibly wide and a high pitched sound comes out of him. “What?”

Hyunwoo blinks a couple of times. “What?”

He watches as a pretty pinkish color spreads on Kihyun’s cheeks, turning into red quickly. “What— what did you say?”

Hyunwoo blinks once more and a sense of panic raises on his mind. “Oh god what did I just said I—” He gets up and slowly steps back. “I’m so sorry, did I said that out loud? I’m sorry I know I shouldn’t but—”

“Wait. Did you...?” Kihyun buries his face on his hands. “Are you for real?”

“Huh?” Hyunwoo considers lying, but he can’t, not now. “Yes.”

He waits for a reaction and gets none. He feels a lump on his throat and cold travels down his spine. “I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, wait.” Kihyun looks up and his cheeks are still stained red. “I just can’t believe it.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “Do you have an idea of how long I’ve tried to get rid of this feelings?

“What.” Hyunwoo immediately says, not quite understanding what the man is saying. He can’t bring himself to hold hope. “What do you mean?”

“Do I have to spell it for you?” Kihyun gets closer. smiling widely. “I like you too. A lot.”

Hyunwoo definitely stops working right there and then. His mind not quite processing the words that Kihyun said, he dumbly stares at the man in front of him, who is looking at him with wonder and joy in his eyes. With love, and Hyunwoo feels like crying.

“You… are you serious?” 

“I couldn’t be more serious right now.” Kihyun answers sincerely.

Hyunwoo takes a hand out and reaches towards Kihyun, who takes his hand with a smile. Hyunwoo pushes him into his arms and hugs the smaller body tightly, but carefully enough to not hurt him. Arms embrace him back, holding him closer.

A laugh rings on his ear and he smiles widely, happily, burying his face onto the man’s neck. They stay like that for minutes, for an eternity, until Kihyun pulls back.

“Woah, am I not dreaming?” Kihyun says, lifting an eyebrow at Hyunwoo.

“I’m the one that should be saying that.” Hyunwoo answers, and he can’t stop smiling.

They go back to the kitchen, where they continue with the food, stealing glances at each other and laughing like silly teenagers in love. And that’s how Hyunwoo feels, like if it was the very first time he was in love, the excited feeling on his stomach and the never ending smile on his lips.

While they wait for the last meal to cook, they stay quiet, arms touching and looking at the floor, suddenly being hit by the reality of all that has happened.

“I was afraid.” Kihyun breaks the silence, voice small and quiet. He’s still looking down and Hyunwoo notices the way he clutches the table. “I already knew I had feelings for you since a while ago but.... After you told me what happened in Kyun’s last kindergarten I felt afraid and ashamed of myself.

Before Hyunwoo can say something, he continues. “I suddenly felt afraid of becoming like that woman.” Kihyun closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I felt ashamed for feeling like that when you needed a friend, not me liking you.” With his head hanging low, Hyunwoo still sees the way he bites his lips in between sentences. “I didn’t want to intrude into the small family of yours, into your relationship with your son. I knew that I wasn’t welcomed.”

Hyunwoo extends a hand to put in on Kihyun’s, who finally looks up with a small smile. Hyunwoo wants to kiss away the gloomy expression on the man’s face. But he’ll wait.

“But then you let me into your life, you told me your story and trusted in me, and I couldn’t bring myself to change that.” He continues. “I was happy with what we had, so I tried to hide and hope these feelings would go away. But they only increased.”

Hyunwoo gets close and kisses Kihyun’s forehead, “I’m glad they didn’t go away.” He notices the way Kihyun ears go pink, and leaves a kiss there too. “I’m the most oblivious person in the world, so I didn’t noticed about this until Hoseok pointed it out.” That makes the smaller man laugh, so he counts it as a win. “But I surely couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was also afraid of everything ending because of this, so I decided to never say anything.”

Kihyun mutters a quiet, “but you did.”

“But I did, because I was way too entranced looking at you I just blurted it out.” Hyunwoo says quickly, seeing Kihyun eyes go wide and look at him with an embarrassed expression.

“Stop!” Kihyun tries to turn around, but Hyunwoo gently pulls him by the wrist, making them face each other.

“No.” He says, meeting Kihyun’s gaze and getting lost in the way his eyes shine. “I like you, a lot. I’m in love with you.”

Kihyun grows impossibly red, but his face softens. “Me too, I’m in love with you.”

Hyunwoo touches Kihyun’s cheeks, feeling the warmth on them, gently caressing them as Kihyun closes his eyes, the hint of a smile on his lips. They stay like that, feeling lost in the moment and like nothing else exist. Kihyun opens his eyes, and wraps his arms on Hyunwoo’s shoulder, startling the taller man as he’s pulled down and his lips meet with Kihyun’s

They keep it slow and sweet, tasting the moment they have waited for. The kiss tastes like soup and seasoning, making Hyunwoo smile on Kihyun’s lips; it tastes of love and affection, not feeling the need to rush the start of a blooming love.

Kihyun breaks the kiss to laugh, loud and freely as Hyunwoo holds him closer.

Things finally feel completely right.

The rest of the day is full of joy, as both adults enjoy their time together, now free of repressed feelings. They spend the day laughing, eating and talking. Together, with Changkyun, it feels like a family.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Hyunwoo and Kihyun have been waiting until things got more stable, so they could tell Changkyun about their relationship.

Hyunwoo has been more than excited, but also nervous about telling his son about it. He doesn’t know how he’s going to reach, knowing he most likely wouldn’t react in a bad way, but still fearing the small probability that he does.

Kihyun is no longer Changkyun’s teacher, who ended his first year a few months ago. Now, with Kihyun’s friend —Minhyuk—, as his teacher, they feel more free to talk about the change in their relationship with the child.

Father and son are going to Kihyun’s place. They’ve finally decided to tell Changkyun, after three months since they confessed. They talked and made the decision to start going out casually. They went onto some dates when Changkyun visited Jooheon or Hoseok, and after two months, they made it formal. Hoseok was baffled to say at least, he congratulated Hyunwoo and said that if it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t be together, and Hyunwoo agrees. Kihyun also got congratulated by his friends, who apparently waited for too long listening to all his complains and talk about Hyunwoo, they finally felt free of that torture.

Now there’s only one person left, and the most important. 

Hyunwoo drives, signing with Changkyun songs from a playlist they made. While they wait at a red light, the song ends and Changkyun talks after a few seconds. “Are we going to Mr. Yoo’s house?”

“Yes? I already told you, bun.”

“Hm, he should come live with us! Don’t you think so?”

Hyunwoo chokes, coughing loudly at his son’s question. “Why do you say that, Kyun-ah?”

“Well, he’s always at our apartment or we always go to his.” He explains slowly, as if his dad needed it like that to fully understand. “That would make everything easier.”

“You’re right.” Hyunwoo says, feeling more composed now. “Wouldn’t you mind?”

“Nope.” The kids answers immediately. “I like him! And I know dad likes him too!”

“Yeah… Yeah I do.” Hyunwoo smiles, the slight anxiety dissipating at his son words.

“Right!” Changkyun says loudly and starts giggling. “Is he gonna be my other dad?”

Hyunwoo chokes for the second time, feeling glad to have parked already, fearing what could’ve happened if he wasn’t. His throat hurt and he can stop coughing, having Changkyun already patting his back. “Why—,” He croaks out. “Why do you say that?”

“Hm?” He looks at his dad worriedly, thinking back to what he asked. “Oh! Because you like him! And I saw you hugging him the other day! And you don’t hug anyone like that.”

Hyunwoo looks at his son with a pained expression. The kid continues talking much to his dad suffering. “Jooheonie told me that was probably because you loved him! And parents love each other!”

“But I also hug Uncle Hoho?” Hyunwoo says, trying to understand his son’s reasoning. 

“Yeah, but not like that! With uncle Hoho you just pat his back and he pats you! With Mr. Yoo you look happy!”

Hyunwoo is about to ask about that when Changkyun talks again. “And you kissed his forehead and he kissed your cheek! You don’t do that!”

“Fair enough.” Hyunwoo feels defeated, his son won another round of reasoning against him. “We… yes, I do like him.”

“Do you love him?” Changkyun asks, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Yes, I do love him.” Hyunwoo answers truthfully.

“Good!” The kid says enthusiastically.

“You don’t mind?” Hyunwoo feels the need to question. “Are you okay with the two of us going out?”

“Of course! If dad’s happy that’s what matters.” Changkyun reaches out to pat his father’s head. “And I really like Mr. Yoo! He seems like a good dad.”

That makes Hyunwoo laugh. He brings his son to the front seat and hugs him tightly, making the child squeak with laughter. “Thank you.” Says Hyunwoo softly.

Changkyun smiles at him, full teeth and eyes crinkled. The kid pats his father’s cheeks and they both get out the car, walking towards the building.

“Hm, now that you said that.” Hyunwoo starts. “Why don’t you call Kihyun papa?”

“Oh?!” Changkyun beams. “Can I?!”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Yes!” Hyunwoo watches as the kids runs down the hall to stop at Kihyun apartment and knocks on the door.

The door opens, and before Kihyun can say anything, Changkyun yells, “Papa Kihyun!”

Kihyun freezes, looking at Changkyun and then looking back at Hyunwoo. “What…?”

“He figured it out himself.” Hyunwoo says, walking closer and stopping behind his son. “He wanted to call you that.”

Kihyun looks back at Changkyun, who is smiling at him. Hyunwoo watches as the man’s eyes become glossy and he kneels to hug the kid, who happily answers hugging the man’s neck.

Hyunwoo watches both loves of his life and feel that things are perfect as they are now. He wouldn’t change them for anything, and would always be thankful for what he has got. 

He kneels down and hugs both bodies close to him, feeling the warmth of his family.