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I'm so sorry to ask on such a short notice, but they just asked me to go to this meeting first time tomorrow and it's quite important // 22:17
Could you drive her to school tomorrow morning? // 22:17
You said you were free this week and I don't wanna bother mom and dad // 22:17
He stared at his phone for a few minutes. Attached to the texts was a small video of her niece pouting and saying "Pretty please??" which was definitely playing dirty but her sister was right: He had taken some days off and okay, maybe he had planned to just stay up late watching reruns on TV and sleep the morning away, but who could resist that pout? Not him, and they knew it.
yeah sure, be there at 8 to pick her up! // 22:45
give her a kiss goodnight from me will ya? // 22:45
She's already asleep you dumb dumb, she's only 5 // 22:46
laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame // 22:46
By 7:55 he was already at her sister's, waiting for them to finish getting ready while checking his phone.
"Okay, here are her shoes, her snacks and her bag. She has to be there by 8:45. First day and all. Oh god Hyuk I'm so sorry, really, but it's been a mess at work and-"
"And dada is on a plane!" They both turned their heads at the little girl making a mess out of some cookies at the kitchen table and laughed.
"Yes, dada is on a plane, but he'll be back for our Saturday picnic! Are you excited?"
"Yup!" She grinned and went back to her cookies, making both of them laugh.
"Anyways, I'm so sorry Hyuk, I'll make it up for you somehow" She grabbed her bag and messed up his hair before leaving for the door. "Best brother ever!"
Hyukjae just laughed, trying to fix his hair, as he crouched by her niece with a smile on his face.
"So, big day today, little monkey"
"I'm not a little monkey anymore, I'm in school now!" Hyukjae laughed again. God he enjoyed this, even if that meant bending all of his schedules to help his sister and his brother-in-law from time to time.
"You're gonna be a little monkey until you are at least as big as me."
"So unfair…" She pouted and Hyukjae couldn't help but to laugh again.
"Super duper unfair, now if you're done let's go, you don't wanna be late on the first day do you?" She nodded and he picked her up, letting her get a piggyback as he tried to balance everything his sister had left him plus the car keys. "Okay little monkey, there we go!"
Did Hyukjae love kids? Yes
Did he love his niece? Definitely
But those were definitely way too many kids, by any standard. Were there so many when he went to school? He couldn't remember but oh god, so much noise right now. Was that one crying? He had her niece by the hand as he carried everything else on the other, while they waited. First days were always a mess, that much he did remember.
He felt a tug on his hand and looked down.
"That's my class!" She was pointing towards a door with a cardboard cut of a blue cat hanging on it.
"You sure, little monkey?"
"Yes! We are the kitty class! She pointed at her lunchbox and well, yeah, her sister had definitely tried to draw a cat there. She had never been really good at art."
"But I thought you were a monkey?" Hyukjae joked as he started making way for them to reach the group of mothers and kids closer to that particular door.
"Well I can be both, can't I?" and there it was the pout again. She was a little devil, and he loved her for that.
"You can be whatever you want, little monkey. Except for a full grown monkey. That's just me" he stuck his tongue at her and they both laughed when she mimicked him back. "Don't do that with your classmates or mama is going to hit me real bad" She laughed and nodded and Hyukjae pinched her in the cheeks in return. "Smart little monkey"
He raised his head again and realized the classroom door was now opened so he pulled her close and then he kinda just. Stopped.
"Oh shit, no."
He quickly turned to his niece and crouched trying to focus while pretending to fix her hair and clothes. Right now it was definitely not the time for this, not at school, not at her niece's school while making a favour for her sister . But oh god.
"You're annoying"
"Shhh little monkey, gotta look good for your first day!" Should he turn back? He could swear all the mothers were saying goodbyes and he was going to have to turn back any time. The earlier the better, right?
"But I look great!"
"You do look great little monkey, I'm just trying to make sure you look perfect, okay?" She giggled and smiled and Hyukjae was definitely feeling bad for this. He was old enough, for fucks sake.
And he felt his blood freeze the moment a deep soft chuckle behind him reached his ears.
"So, who do we have here, hmmm?" Hyukjae felt a figure crouching down by his side and before he could stop himself he took a peak. “ Goddamnit”
“I’m a monkey!” she was saying now as her arms mimicked one, her attention turned to the figure by his side who chuckled again.
“Oh, are you? But I thought monkeys lived in the jungle, and this is a school. Are you lost, monkey?” Hyukjae felt like he should say something now. He should, shouldn’t he? But his throat was feeling weirdly dry.
“Nah, I’m a smart monkey. I go to school now!” Another chuckle and Hyukjae was definitely sure he should have said something by now.
“I’m sure you are. Now, if you want to get smarter you’ll have to come with me and leave dad for a while, okay?” He stood up as he stretched his hand towards her, who quickly grabbed it with a giggle and nodded.
“Yah, but he’s not dada, he’s just another monkey.”
“Oh, he is?” He gave him a quick soft glance and Hyukjae, who had finally managed to make his legs answer and was standing up again, felt his stomach tighten. “You will have to tell me more about this monkey business of yours, but first, let’s go to class, okay? Say bye now, will you?”
“Bye bye monkey!” And they both waved at him with a smile as he gave Hyukjae a knowing look.
It took him more or less the same time for them to get to the door to realize that he still had the lunchbox in his hands.
“ Oh sh- “ He ran to the door and almost hit himself against it but luckily it had been reopened just in time.
“Sorry, so sorry” Was he blushing? He could feel himself blushing but he wasn’t completely sure and he really did not want to know . “Sorry.” Oh my god you’re an idiot. “I… her lunchbox, I almost forgot it” Hyukjae was trying really hard to avoid looking at him in the eyes as he handed it but that proved to be a bad idea, as it turned out that that meant he managed to see how his smile looked like a small heart.
“It’s okay, happens to the best of us.” And he must have felt that there was something kinda wrong with him because he tilted his head slightly and lowered his tone just a bit. “First time?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Yes. Definitely first time” The laugh that came out of his mouth had been definitely lame and he’d hit himself for that later.
“Don’t worry, you look like a caring father, and that’s the most important thing. More than lunch boxes actually. I’ll make sure she gets hers though, have a nice day!”
And with a nod of his head he closed the door.
Hyukjae didn’t really know how he had gone back to the car. Just that he suddenly was there and he was kinda hating himself kinda thinking if teachers back in his days had looked so good. Definitely not.
And really, how could anyone look that good with a lame brown knitted sweater and those silly thick rimmed glasses. And why, oh why had he texted his sister to volunteer to pick up her niece after school too?
He had definitely been single for too long.
“Little monkey!” He was waiting with his arms opened and she jumped right in them, giving him a loud kiss on his cheek before he stood up, still carrying her. “How was the day, huh?”
“So so good! We learned a looooooot of stuff!”
“That’s amazing… you’ll have to tell me everything over a snack.” And if he felt kinda guilty as he took the smallest of peaks towards the teacher he quickly buried it deep inside when he saw him peeking back.
“So, how was school, huh?” They had just arrived at her sister's place and his niece had left herself plop into the sofa by her mother’s side.
“It was great! We learned tons of stuff, my friends were all there and Mister Kim is so nice and makes the funniest faces.” She had crawled to her mother’s lap and was trying now to reach the remote.
“Oh, I see, and what did you learn, huh? You have to tell me everything!” But, as she kissed her hairline Hyukjae could not miss the funny look she gave him. Well, he was done for.
“So, I’m free all this week…” He started as they both sat down at the kitchen table, a coffee in their hands while the little girl played with some toys by the sofa.
“Uh-uh…”
“And I was thinking, maybe I could help you out. I mean, you’re pretty busy all alone these days and I really don’t mind.” The look she was giving him was making him quite nervous now.
“You really don’t mind, huh?” And it came that smile. He had never been able to hide anything from her, Hyukjae didn’t know if it was because he was so goddamn obvious with any thought that crossed his mind of because she just knew him so well but, anyways, fuck.
“Well… yeah.” His eyes focused on the cup in between his fingers, trying as best as he could to avoid her gaze, wondering if he was blushing again. Luckily for him, she just chuckled.
“Feel free to, I’m always glad for your help and she loves you so much. Just… don’t get in any trouble, would you?”
If he had actually tried his best to groom himself before he left the house that morning he would never, ever admit it.
And if he had felt just the tiniest bit proud when he caught Mr. Kim’s eyes on him for the smallest instant with a glint of surprise in them, he would never, ever admit it either.
“You blushed today.” The voice from the back of his car surprised him so much he thanked the heavens they were stopped at a red light.
“What did you say, little monkey?” He prayed he had heard wrong, but he knew it wasn’t the case and he knew he had blushed . But that awfully cute teacher had been talking with the other mothers as he waited for his niece to say goodbye to her friends and suddenly he was by his side, that damned smile on his lips, his arms crossed over his chest wearing one of those stupid oversized sweaters and he was actually cursing his past self for thinking all of this had been a good idea.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way but it’s actually nice to see something else but mothers here. 21st century and all of that.”
“What? Oh… yeah.” He coughed, metaphorically hitting himself for that answer.
“I mean, to each its own, but I suppose it’s nice to see more couples switching the classical dynamics.” And it didn’t escape Hyukjae the tiniest change in inflexion that had taken place while saying the word “couples”, followed but the tiniest of glances in his way. He had to cough again.
“Oh, no, no, it’s definitely not something like that ” He quickly answered, hoping to get some kind of weird point across.
“Oh, I see, that 's okay. Well, have a nice day.” And by the time her niece had said her goodbyes his blushing had already crept from his neck to his cheeks.
“You blush with Mr. Kim”
God if you are really out there please let this red light last longer.
“Mama blushes with dada too. Can Mr. Kim be my uncle too?”
God please I haven’t asked you anything in like, forever.
“What… what are you saying, little monkey?” he didn’t know how he managed to make a full sentence at that moment.
“I like him too, he’s nice! But I don’t like him like you. Puagh. ” She made a kissing sound that echoed through the car and giggled to herself before she went back to play with her toys.
He was really fucked.
The next day he tried to keep them both the furthest from the classroom door as he could manage when he dropped her in the morning and left as quickly as he could.
But, when he went to pick her up later (he really couldn’t ditch his sister now, and it’d be way too suspicious) she ran towards him, giving him a kiss on the cheek while she loudly said:
“You’re the best monkey ever! I love you so so so much!” Not suspicious at all, yeah . She was just too much like her mother. “Look at this! I made a drawing of us!” She was now showing him the piece of paper she had in her hands. “That’s me, that’s you, holding my hand, and I left a hand free so you can hold hands with somebody too. Do you like it? I asked Mr. Kim to help me with the monkey ears. Those are hard to do” Her eyes were sparkling now and he wanted to die as his blush came back but he tried his best to smile and nod.
“It’s great little monkey, you’re super talented.” He could swear he had heard a soft, warm chuckle not so far behind him.
“Oh god, sweetie, you forgot your lunchbox!” They had met his sister at a cafe near the school; she had promised to buy all of them cake, as a thank you for the help during the week to Hyukjae and as a treat to the little girl, just because.
“I’m so sorry mom.” She was pouting and they quickly reassured her it was okay until she went back to her snack.
“Hyukkie…”
“Huh?”
“Could you… go get it back? It’s her only lunchbox and I’m gonna need it…”
“It’s been 45 minutes already, will someone still be there?”
“They work after classes are over, there’s usually someone always there. I’m actually so sorry to ask you this after all the trouble.” Hyukjae sighed and smiled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.”
By the time he was crossing the school grounds he was kinda regretting it already.
And by the time he got to the custodian desk he was really wishin he could just go back to the cafe and forget all about this but he couldn’t make this to his sister. And he was a grown up man for fucks sake.
“Hummm excuse me. My niece forgot her lunch box at her classroom today. Is there any chance that I could…” The clerk smiled at him and before he could even finish he was picking up the phone by his side.
“Ah, kids. Happens almost twice a week, ya know?” He chuckled and nodded. “Which teacher?”
“Oh, uh… Mister Kim?” The man just nodded, pushed some numbers and, after a few seconds, talked for a bit on the phone. Hyukjae was not really paying attention anymore, he could feel his palms sweating like hell and was trying his best not to fix his hair over the reflection of the glass divider. He might have done that twice in the car before getting out. The noise of the handset hitting the phone brought him back to earth.
“If you wait a few minutes he’ll bring you the lunch box, no worries.”
“Oh, great… I… I’ll be outside if that’s okay? I need some fresh air I think.” The clerk just smiled at him and made a gesture of suit yourself as he went back to his own work.
So now a minute had passed and he was already pacing . Was this a new low for him? Perhaps.
But really, what was going on with him? It was silly, all of this. Okay, he was cute . And maybe 100% his type and the fact that he was also great with kids and looked so good in those stupid sweaters was perhaps a plus but he had had stupid crushes before and got over them.
“Ah, there you are” He stopped in his tracks and turned around all at once. And there he was, with that stupid smile, stupid glasses, stupid sweater and stupid lunch box on his stupid hands and really, couldn’t his niece teacher be like the ones he had had back in the day.
“I saw this under her table when I went back to class, I tried to give it back but you were already gone” And there it was that chuckle again. Goddamn it.
“Ah. Yes. We kinda…” He gulped, feeling the lamest being on earth. “Her mom was waiting for us.” With a sigh he closed his eyes for an instant, trying to get away from those dark eyes that were definitely giving him a funny look now. “My sister. She’s my niece, actually. Her, I mean, not my sister. My sister is definitely not my niece” Oh god Lee Hyukjae what is wrong with you? And now that look was being matched with a smile and a small tilting of the head and really, couldn’t he just give him the damn lunchbox already?.
For an instant that seemed to last forever for Hyukjae no one said a thing and then he just chuckled softly again.
“Yes, I know she’s your niece.” And his confused surprise must have shown on his face because he quickly added You do realize your sister called to let the school know she wasn't going to be the one picking her up, do you? We can't just let kids leave with anyone, that'd be awful."
Was he the biggest idiot to ever roam the earth? Perhaps.
"And we do have files on the kids, but it was a nice ruse, 10 out of 10, and you get a plus because she was just so into her role it was kinda endearing" Hyukjae was wishing for the ground to just part already and lead him into hell but he was laughing and oh god he did have a loud laugh, so cute. His ears were probably red by now.
"Anyways" He finally looked back at him with that heart shaped smile of him and Hyukjae felt like he was about to melt into a pool of goo. And was that maybe, just maybe, the smallest of blushes going up his neck? "Here's her lunchbox and here’s my number, I'm usually free on the weekends, so maybe text me if you wanna grab some coffee or anything? I’d love to know more about this whole monkey bussiness" And with that he disappeared back into the building, leaving Hyukjae with a small piece of paper in between his still trembling hands and a dumb smile on his face.