Work Text:
The usual low thrum of music vibrated through the walls as Seungmin made his way down the corridor.
Various music producers and artists were all at work around him, moving around chords and mixing beats and singing various lyrics into microphones as they worked on the songs flowing sporadically through the building.
It was a standard midnight for the company; too many of their producers being caffeine-filled insomniacs with inspiration that hit at various inconvenient times throughout the night.
Seungmin had originally thought that being on the nightshift meant his work would be dry, boring and tiring. It didn’t take him long to work out that judgement was extremely wrong.
There was never a lack of producers to bring coffee to, never a lack of lyricists who needed him to help find whatever notebook they had recently left in an unconventional place, never a manager who didn’t need Seungmin to pass a message along or fetch someone or sit in a meeting and make it look like he was paying attention.
Seungmin was only an intern, but he felt at home in the music company, especially in the middle of the night.
He also hoped, stupidly, dreamily hoped, that one day he’d end up in just the right room, or in front of just the right person, or involved in just the right project that maybe could get him promoted from intern.
Seungmin had entered the internship wanting to learn more about the music industry, he was now in the middle of the internship and he wanted nothing more than to sing. He just needed to finish the internship first.
He spent his night as usual, dipping into various producers’ and artists’ rooms and bringing them coffee, or reminding them of a looming deadline, or tidying up the rooms behind them as they left. It was quiet work, but it kept him entertained enough and he hummed contently to himself as he went.
He said hi to Jihyo as she belted into a microphone in a soundproof room he had to dip into. He waved at Itzy when he walked past window to the dance studio they were in, their two choreographers Minho and Hyunjin looking overwhelmed by the amount of energy the five girls managed to have in the middle of the night. Seungmin also dropped in on Jeongin, their most hardworking trainee who often needed reminding to go to bed.
After all those jobs were done and greetings were exchanged, there was just one thing left that Seungmin absolutely had to do.
Check up on 3racha.
3racha were the company’s most recent and most famous project. A group of three young producers and lyricists, all complete geniuses who lived and breathed music.
The company had found them on SoundCloud and offered them all jobs within the day, desperate to get their hands on the talented minds behind the purely beautiful and incredible songs that they had produced.
That had been weeks ago now and 3racha were on a roll; crafting songs for group after group, making a big name for themselves and gaining serious traction within the music industry.
But, behind all the musical façade, Seungmin simply knew them as Chan, Changbin and Jisung.
When they were in the studio, they were serious and firm. Seungmin brought them coffee that oftentimes was left to go cold, forgotten in the haze of music and lyrics that practically bounced against every wall of the room. They lost themselves in their music, enchanting their minds with all the wonderful songs they could create.
But outside the studio, they were three of the ditsiest, silliest men Seungmin had ever met. They made a point of introducing themselves to everyone they met. They joked and laughed with Seungmin. They teased and poked and bickered with one another, often encouraging Seungmin to join in.
Seungmin often let himself into 3racha’s studio not knowing what he was going to find. Sometimes it was three heads bent over a computer and lost in music, sometimes it was three heads hanging upside down off the sofa with legs dangling in the air. Sometimes it was a mix, depending on how many of the three managed to get inspired.
But what Seungmin always did find was three friendly faces.
Throughout all his time in the internship, Seungmin had begun to really look forward to his interactions with 3racha. He enjoyed that they were close to his age. He enjoyed that they were silly. And he particularly enjoyed just how much they were willing to teach him about music.
So, Seungmin hummed to himself as he made his way down the corridor, carrying the drink order he had already memorised. An iced americano for Jisung. An energy drink that looked like death in a can for Changbin. And a green tea for Chan.
Green tea also happened to be Seungmin’s favourite drink. Just like Chan was Seungmin’s favourite producer, not that he’d ever admit that out loud.
Seungmin couldn’t help but feel his chest fizzle a little in excitement as he knocked on 3racha’s studio door, excited to see his friends again. He entered without waiting for an answer, knowing that usually they had headphones too loud to hear him.
But this time all three producers weren’t listening to anything. Instead, Changbin and Jisung were draped asleep over each other on the sofa at the edge of the room and Chan was leant all the way back in his desk chair staring at the ceiling.
Seungmin quietly closed the door behind him. It was one of those nights.
“Hey, hyung,” Seungmin interrupted the silence of the room, speaking softly to Chan as he tiptoed to stand next to his desk.
“Oh, hi Min,” Chan smiled surprised at him, looking a little taken aback by his sudden appearance. Seungmin smiled back, having to hold back a frown at the deep dark circles under Chan’s eyes and the tired puffiness of his cheeks.
But even past all the exhaustion, Chan’s face still shimmered with its gentle light, looking so perfect under the harsh studio lights with his screen blaring at him. Chan just had a way of always seeming at home in a music studio.
“It looks like it’s past someone’s bedtime,” Seungmin grinned, gesturing his head at Changbin and Jisung. As he spoke, he carefully handed Chan’s tea over to him, trying not to react when Chan’s fingers brushed slightly over his.
“Yeah, we’ve been so busy this week that it was only a matter of time before they passed out,” Chan said, looking over at Changbin and Jisung in endearment before taking a sip of his tea, “I seem to have gained two extra babies.”
“Well, enjoy the peace,” Seungmin said with a wink, “Because something tells me these two babies are a little bit louder than the other one.”
At the words, Chan almost spit out his tea, letting out a loud laugh. He clapped a hand over his mouth when Jisung stirred at the noise. Both him and Seungmin held their breaths, watching as Jisung whined a little before turning over on the sofa and burying himself in Changbin’s chest before going limp again.
Chan sighed in relief.
“I’d say the other baby certainly gives these two a run for their money,” Chan whispered with a thumb jerked at Changbin and Jisung, “But they’re definitely strong competition.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but smile at the words, picturing Changbin and Jisung acting like the children they really were inside. Chan was basically a dad to them at times, which meant that Seungmin hadn’t been all that surprised the day he’d found out that Chan actually was a dad.
It had been a bit of a shock, but it had only made sense to Seungmin the day Chan had told him that he actually had a four-year-old at home, a sweet little girl that Chan loved with all his heart.
Since then, Chan had gushed about her often, showing Seungmin pictures of a cute dark-haired girl with dimples and full heart-shaped lips, usually some kind of kangaroo or koala plushies squeezed tight in her little fists. Seungmin had never met her before, but had been desperate to ever since he’d learned about her.
He was also pretty sure that Changbin and Jisung were both her makeshift uncles, which meant she was likely to grow up as the craziest, most talented musician in the whole world. If Seungmin could just squeeze a little bit of his own influence in, he was convinced that was all he’d need to have succeeded in life.
“Where is the little girl tonight?” Seungmin couldn’t help but ask, watching as a small, endeared smile appeared on Chan’s face.
“Felix is watching her,” Chan said, referring to the little Australian makeup artist who Seungmin had long since made friends with in the company. Felix was actually the one who clued Seungmin in to things like Chan’s favourite drink and the best time to drop in on him during the night and why Chan was the ‘sweetest, kindest, most annoying hyung in the whole world’.
“I think Felix likes babysitting her a little too much,” Chan carried on explaining, shaking his head to himself as he talked, “He speaks English to her like I sometimes do and she always comes back with the cutest little aussie accent.”
“Oh my god, hyung, that sounds adorable,” Seungmin’s lips pulled up at the corners, unable to resist positively beaming at the idea of a mini-Chan, “I really have to meet her sometime.”
Chan smiled back at him, “You will,” he said, “I’ll probably bring her to work soon, she loves it here. She gets to watch Bin and Ji record their songs and finds it hilarious to mess with all the software and see how much she can stress me out.”
Seungmin laughed, “Sounds like you’ve got a mini producer on your hands.”
“Oh god, not another one,” Chan pretended to be horrified, his eyes pulling into amused crescents, “I’ve got enough children who like messing with music.”
“You can never have too many, hyung,” Seungmin said with a wink, half-hoping the words were true and that if Seungmin ever wanted to wriggle his way into being one of the musical kids Chan took under his wing, he’d be welcomed with open arms.
“I guess you’re right there,” Chan admitted, the words squeezing in Seungmin’s chest, “But I suppose even musical kids have to rest,” he tilted his head behind him at Changbin and Jisung, “And these two are probably going to be knocked out for the rest of the night, so you can keep those drinks for yourself if you want.”
Seungmin blinked for a second, needing to process the words before he realised what Chan meant. He startled, suddenly remembering he was still holding Jisung’s iced coffee and Changbin’s energy drink.
“Oh, right,” Seungmin was quick to say, looking down at the drinks, “I’ll probably give them to Minho-hyung and Hyunjin. They’re both still up in the dance studios and I don’t really like coffee or energy drinks.”
“Well, you’re just like me then,” Chan raised an eyebrow at him, holding up his green tea in a little ‘cheers’ gesture, “What do you like to drink to keep you awake through the night?”
Seungmin couldn’t help but blush a little, rubbing the back of his neck as he gestured at the same tea Chan was now taking a sip from, “Would you believe me if I said that green teas are actually my favourite too?”
Chan’s lips stretched into a surprised smile, his dimples crinkling gorgeously in his cheeks. Seungmin’s heart warmed.
“Well, isn’t that a cute coincidence,” Chan said, “Next time you get me a green tea, get yourself one too. If management asks, say they’re both for me.”
The warmth in Seungmin’s chest started to blossom, “Seriously, hyung?”
“Of course,” Chan said without hesitation, looking at Seungmin in a way he usually only looked at Changbin and Jisung with; like they were tiny little lights that Chan wanted to see shine.
“Thank you,” Seungmin said softly, feeling a rare moment of shyness when Chan just winked at him.
“Don’t mention it,” Chan said, but Seungmin couldn’t help but feel that he wanted to mention it. He wanted Chan to know how thankful Seungmin was. He wanted Chan to acknowledge that he really was a really kind-hearted and lovely person.
Chan was just always so nice, always so accommodating, always so willing to be selfless. There was just something about him, something that made Seungmin love being in his presence.
But Seungmin also knew better than to try and overstep his bounds. He was only an intern; he wasn’t one of Chan’s little lights. Not yet.
“Well, I should probably get going,” Seungmin said, gesturing at the drinks he was still holding, “You won’t be able to write any songs with me annoying you.”
Chan pouted, small frown lines appearing at the top of his forehead, “You could never annoy me.”
Seungmin’s chest positively swooped at the words, the smile creeping back onto his face. Chan smiled back, making Seungmin feel like for a second, for just a little second, maybe he was special in Chan’s eyes.
But then Chan was turning back to his computer, reaching out and squeezing Seungmin’s wrist as he went.
“Have a good night, Min,” he said kindly, “Don’t work too hard.”
“You too, hyung,” Seungmin made sure to say, bowing to Chan before he carefully slipped out the room, casting a quick peek to Changbin and Jisung’s sleeping forms as he went.
Seungmin made his way back down the corridor with what felt like a hundred butterflies beating against his stomach, his heart fluttering in his chest. He was usually so confident, so assertive, but there was just something about Chan, something so caring about him that made Seungmin want to fall into his arms and stay snuggled there forever.
But Seungmin managed to keep his composure, knowing that, as an intern, he had to keep up at least some level of professionalism. He walked quietly back to the dance studios to deliver Changbin and Jisung’s rejected drinks to Minho and Hyunjin, wanting to fall back into his routine for the night.
Both Minho and Hyunjin accepted the drink offerings with a smile, looking knowingly at the blush on Seungmin’s cheeks and flicking him on the forehead with matching looks in their eyes. They too knew what it was like to be freshly caught in Chan’s spell, but they had both ended up falling for each other.
Seungmin could only pray that, for his own sanity, he wouldn’t end up falling for Chan.
But something told him it was a little too late to start praying for that. He may have been in denial about it, but there was a very strong part of Seungmin that was already falling.
~
It was during a particularly quiet dayshift that came along the first sign of change.
Seungmin was walking down the dance studio corridor, green tea in one hand, a stack of papers in the other and his phone balanced precariously between his ear and shoulder as he talked into it.
It was a pretty busy day, Seungmin already swamped with a load of tasks, half of which he’d already forgotten about. He was being sent to every corner of the building, passing messages and dropping off files and hunting down wandering artists with creative block.
He was just on his way to deliver some choreography notes to Minho and Hyunjin, his boss on the phone from the top floor telling Seungmin all the other things he was supposed to get done. Seungmin was only half-listening, knowing most of the tasks would change by the time he got to them and the mismatch of music blasting from most of the studios made it hard to hear anyway.
Seungmin was so lacking focus that he almost walked straight past Minho and Hyunjin’s usual studio, only stopping and spotting it because there was something unusual waiting outside.
Or rather someone unusual waiting outside.
Seungmin furrowed a brow, allowing himself a moment to use his green-tea-filled hand to push his glasses properly up his nose, double-checking that he really was seeing what he was seeing.
“Uh…” Seungmin interrupted his boss mid-sentence, stuttering a second before he spoke again, “I’m going to have to call you back, boss.”
His boss immediately tried to protest, but Seungmin simply released his shoulder from his ear, sending the phone clattering forward and into the mess of papers he was holding on the same side.
The ruffle of papers was enough to distract the child who’d been staring into Minho and Hyunjin’s dance studio.
Yes, the child.
Seungmin blinked to himself again, crouching to the floor and placing down all the stuff he was holding, managing to hang up on the phone call without taking his eyes off the kid.
She was a little girl, all tanned skin and wide eyes and little hands that she’d been smudging against the glass door she’d been using to watch Minho and Hyunjin dance through. There was a look of wonder in her gaze, the look of a child who’d just seen something amazing.
Seungmin supposed he couldn’t blame the girl for wanting to watch the dancing, Minho and Hyunjin were very enchanting, but he was also more than a little bit concerned about the seemingly unsupervised child loose amongst the dance studios.
The girl turned to Seungmin when he crouched down near her, blinking at him expectantly like she knew what an adult looked like when they were trying to get her attention.
Seungmin swallowed, not feeling remotely like an adult.
What the hell were adults supposed to do with lost children?
Eventually, Seungmin settled on a smile, holding out a careful hand for the girl to take. She did so with a little giggle, four of her fingers wrapping around one of Seungmin’s as he carefully led her away from the studio door and to the same side of the corridor as Seungmin.
“Hey, little one,” Seungmin said to her softly, feeling his heart squeeze when she giggled at him again, “Are you lost?”
The girl nodded eagerly, a look of what almost looked like pride appearing in her eyes. Seungmin had to hold back a smile, immediately recognising the look of happy mischief she couldn’t hide from her face.
Seungmin had seen that exact look many times on Felix and Jeongin.
“My daddy told me to follow him, but I wanted to watch the dancing,” the girl explained, pointing a tiny finger back to the dance studio and then looking back to Seungmin with a smile. Her voice was soothing and adorable, carrying all the happiness of a child and the attitude of what was probably a very powerful little girl.
Seungmin supposed that she was the type of child that if she decided she wanted to stay behind and watch the dancing, then she was going to stay behind and watch the dancing.
Seungmin could admire her will, but he also knew the girl was probably not supposed to be wandering alone.
“Well, do you want me to help you find your daddy?” Seungmin decided to say, keeping the gentle smile on his face when she pretended to think about it, “I’m sure he misses you a lot.”
It was then that the pieces seemed to fall into place for her, her little lips opening in a gasp and eyes widening dramatically. Seungmin had to stop himself from cursing out loud, recognising well enough when a child was about to cry.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Seungmin was quick to say, reaching out to engulf one of the girl’s hand in his, “I can help you find your daddy now if you want. Can you tell me your name?”
The girl nodded quickly, one of her hairclips bobbing in place as she did so, “I’m Berry.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but furrow a brow.
“Berry,” he repeated, more to himself than the girl. He’d definitely heard that name somewhere before.
“Yep,” the girl nodded again, her childlike fear fading away back to pride when she elaborated with a grin, “Berry Bang!”
Berry Bang?
Realisation slipped into place. That was where Seungmin had heard the name before; Berry was the name of Chan’s daughter. Seungmin’s eyes widened. He was actually standing there with Chan’s daughter…
More importantly, Chan’s daughter was missing, and Seungmin had found her.
“Okay, Berry,” Seungmin managed to keep his voice cheerful, pointing to himself, “I’m Seungmin, and I can definitely take you to your daddy.”
Berry gasped, her lips pulling up into an adorable smile and familiar dimples appearing on her cheeks, “Really?”
“Really!” Seungmin grinned, “He’s my friend and he’s definitely going to be scared without you. I can take you to him right now.”
A hairclip actually got dislodged when Berry nodded again this time, her little neck frantic and determined at the idea of finding her dad again. Seungmin couldn’t help but smile, letting go of Berry’s hand to pick up the bright yellow hairclip from where it had dropped. He smiled as he held it out to her, expecting her to take it and put it back in her own hair.
But instead, Berry stepped forward and angled her head to the side, waiting expectantly for Seungmin to put the hairclip in himself.
“Oh,” Seungmin said, taken aback for a moment. He was glad there was no one around to see him blush as he shuffled forward towards Berry.
He wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing as he clumsily un-clipped the hairclip and slid it carefully into Berry’s hair, tucking a few of her bangs away from her face. But Berry seemed happy with the result when he was done, pulling back with a satisfied giggle and another toss of her hair.
“Well, now that’s fixed, I guess we can find your dad,” Seungmin declared, nodding at Berry before turning back to all the things he was supposed to be carrying.
Seungmin couldn’t help but frown to himself, wondering what he was supposed to do now. It was hard enough to carry everything as it was, let alone whilst also keeping track of a child.
But then Seungmin realised he was already in the right place for half of it. He kept one eye on Berry as he quickly gathered up all the choreography papers, winking at her on the way past as he opened the studio door and slid the papers in. Minho and Hyunjin looked up at him as he did so, but didn’t stop their dancing, just nodded at Seungmin to let him know that they’d seen their papers sliding into the room.
With that out the way, Seungmin picked up his phone and slid it into his pocket, then grabbed his green tea and held it in his left hand.
He then turned to Berry and held out his right hand.
“You ready to go?” Seungmin said, squeezing Berry’s hand when she quickly grabbed onto his.
Seungmin knew it was likely that Chan was probably already scaling the building floor-by-floor and trying to seal off the country to look for his daughter, so he probably wouldn’t be in his studio. Instead, Seungmin decided to go to the reception desk, knowing that they could make an announcement or track Chan down so he could be reunited with Berry,
Berry’s little legs kept good pace with Seungmin as they started to walk through the building together, Berry pointing and marvelling at things as they went.
It only took Seungmin a second to realise that Berry was definitely one of those curious, chatty children who were in awe of everything they saw and wanted to know every single possible thing about it.
Berry asked about dancing, about the coffee machines, about whether they could go in the lift, about what drink Seungmin was holding, about whether Seungmin pressed a lot of buttons on musical machines like daddy did.
Seungmin answered all the questions he could, but could barely keep up, especially when most of his answers were met with the typical childish why? that got old very quickly. Seungmin supposed this was how Chan had learnt to be so patient with the antics of Changbin and Jisung. They weren’t exactly as chatty as Berry, but they certainly gave her a run for her money.
But it didn’t take long for Seungmin to figure out that one answer Berry did respond very well to was music. Seungmin started humming a nursery rhyme about halfway to the reception desk and Berry lit up like a lightbulb, immediately clumsily singing the words to the song Seungmin was humming and flexing the fingers on her free hand to match the rhythm.
Chan was raising a little musical genius indeed.
But it was when Seungmin had made it to the second verse that suddenly the sound of running footsteps catapulted towards them from the corridor to the left.
Seungmin barely had time to pull himself and Berry to a stop before suddenly a body was darting out from the corridor and skidding to a halt in front of them.
“Binnie!” Berry cried, Seungmin having to get his bearings before he realised that it was indeed Changbin in front of them. He had messy hair and sweat on his forehead, a panicked look in his eyes.
“Berry!” he cried back, barely giving Seungmin a glance before he was surging forward and pulling the toddler into his arms, lifting her off the ground and holding her tight to his chest, “We were so worried about you!”
Berry squealed into Changbin’s shirt, rubbing her face into his shoulder when he started bouncing her up and down a little. A look of relief appeared on Changbin’s face, his shoulders un-tensing as he cradled Berry against him.
Seungmin was about to speak, to thank Changbin for finding them because now he could take Berry back to Chan. But then Changbin suddenly whipped round to glare at him, his eyes piercing at Seungmin over Berry’s shoulder.
“What the hell were you doing with her?” Changbin borderline demanded, Seungmin blinking in shock for a moment.
“Nothing… I…” Seungmin stuttered, not expecting the sudden mood change, “I was just-”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Changbin huffed, looking away as he hoisted Berry further up into his arms, “I’m going to get to your dad, okay?” he said to her softly, “Let’s go.”
With that, Changbin was turning and striding back down the corridor he had come from without so much as a glance back at Seungmin.
Seungmin let his mouth drop open, trying to work out what the hell had just happened. He was glad that Berry was safe again, but couldn’t help but feel a small tendril of guilt start to curl in his chest about what Changbin said.
Had Seungmin done the right thing? Was Chan going to mad at him now? Had Seungmin just blown the one shot he may have had with Chan?
Seungmin forced himself to quickly shake his head, trying to banish the thoughts away. But they were relentless, Berry’s adorable giggle fading away in his mind.
But that was when the adorable little voice echoed over to him again.
“Bye Seungmin!” Berry called out cheerfully from all the way down the corridor, Seungmin whipping round to see Berry waving at him over Changbin’s shoulder with a bright smile on her face.
Seungmin waved back, keeping his hand up even after Changbin and Berry finally disappeared out of sight down the corridor.
Seungmin stood there for another minute, trying to go over the interaction in the mind and not moving until his phone started ringing again in his pocket, his boss pulling him back to his duties and back to what had started off as a normal work day.
The worries didn’t fade from Seungmin’s mind.
~
“Wait, so Changbin-hyung just yelled at you like that?” Felix said, his hand tightening slightly around his coffee cup, “Even though you were literally the one that had found Berry and were on your way to return her?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call it yelling,” Seungmin tilted his head, glancing at Felix for a second, “But he certainly wasn’t happy either.”
“Huh,” Felix said, brows furrowing as he processed the words, “That’s so weird. That’s not like Changbin-hyung at all.”
“I know, that’s what I thought,” Seungmin shrugged, “Maybe he was just having a bad day or something. Maybe he was worried about Berry.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t give him the right to be an idiot,” Felix said, but Seungmin shrugged again, knowing that Felix was right but also that there wasn’t much he could do about it.
It was a couple of days later, Seungmin on his lunch break during another dayshift. He was sat with Felix in one of the company cafes, both of them drinking tea and catching up on all the latest office gossip.
Felix had already heard about Berry’s little walkabout, but had apparently been spared the details of Seungmin’s encounter with Changbin. And so Seungmin had caught him up, realising halfway through the story that the same colourful hairclips Berry was wearing that day were the same ones Felix was also wearing in his hair.
Felix also had on some shiny lip-gloss and a baby pink crop-top, his makeup bag kept snuggly on the floor against his feet.
Also, apparently the fact that Felix had been doing makeup all day hadn’t deterred him from asking yet again whether he could do Seungmin’s eyeliner. Seungmin had only been strong enough to refuse ten times before Felix had finally gotten him to agree and now Seungmin was trying to remember not to rub his eyes and ruin the cat effect Felix had worked so hard on.
Apparently, letting people do his eyeliner and putting hairclips back in people’s hair was Seungmin’s new thing.
Seungmin was about to ask Felix just how many colourful hairclips he owned when suddenly they were both interrupted by a bright voice calling out from behind them.
“Lixie!”
Berry’s voice echoed through the whole café, Seungmin turning around just in time to see her catapulting her way past some tables and sprinting through the café before throwing herself at Felix.
“My little blueberry!” Felix called back to her, in English, catching her in his arms and pulling her into his lap, “How’s my favourite little cherry cupcake doing?”
“And here I was thinking that I was your favourite little cherry cupcake,” another voice spoke up, Seungmin’s eyes perking up and travelling to where Chan was walking towards them all, an amused smile on his face.
Seungmin’s heart squeezed, a small tingle of nerves starting to prickle in his hands and curl up his veins. He took a sip of tea to calm down, still unsure as to how Chan would feel towards him now.
Felix just tutted at Chan, manoeuvring Berry on his lap and scowling when a load of her curly dark hair fell into her face.
“Honestly, how do you even get around without me?” Felix huffed, still in English, managing to get Berry settled down before he started pulling the hairclips out of his own hair and tucking them carefully and gorgeously into Berry’s to keep it out her face, her giggles accompanying the action.
Seungmin welcomed the distraction, raising an eyebrow at the scene. Felix was apparently the one who Berry had gotten her hairclips from, and apparently also where she’d picked up the habit of expecting other people to put them back in for her. It was admittedly adorable, even if Seungmin wasn’t quite as skilled with hairclips as Felix was.
“Hello to you too, Lix,” Chan said as he pulled up a chair, “You corrupting my daughter again?”
“I think Bin-hyung and Ji are the ones you need to blame for the corruption,” Felix simply said, smiling with hairclips between his teeth as he kept his focus on Berry, “I’m the only one who does anything useful around here.”
Despite himself, Seungmin couldn’t help but laugh at the words, not used to seeing Felix act in such a motherly way.
But Seungmin’s laugh quickly faded out when Chan turned to smile at him, Seungmin’s cheeks dusting a light pink and his gaze ducking back down to the table. Chan looked just as carefree and happy and beautiful as he usually did, but Seungmin was still uncertain where he stood with Chan after the finding Berry and getting glared at by Changbin incident.
Chan seemed to notice Seungmin’s apprehension, a small frown playing over his lips.
“Hey, Berry,” Chan spoke up again, smiling as he turned to pinch his daughter’s cheek, “Why don’t you ask your uncle Lixie if he’ll take you to get a milkshake?”
Berry’s entire face lit up, her eyes widening in wonder as she started to bounce on Felix’s lap.
“Can I get strawberry flavour?” she squealed, and Seungmin almost melted at her cuteness, even more so when he noticed Chan’s eyes sparkling at her.
“I’m sure Lix will get you whatever flavour you want,” Chan said, exchanging a quick confirmation glance with Felix who nodded happily, “As long as you ask nicely.”
“Pleeeeeaaasse,” Berry whined, quickly twisting around to look up at Felix, her little face practically glowing, “Please, Lixie!”
“Hmmm,” Felix pretended to think about it, stroking a hand over his chin until Berry started babbling at him, “Okay, okay, I think I can manage that.”
With that, Berry squealed, hopping of Felix’s lap and using little fingers to try and tug on his hand, pulling him off the chair, “Let’s go!”
Felix laughed, pretending to flick Berry on the end of the nose before standing up and scooping her into his arms, resting her loosely onto his hip. In the corner of his eye, Seungmin saw Chan reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet, trying to hold out some money to Felix.
“For the milkshake,” Chan said as he held the money expectantly, but Felix just raised an eyebrow at the sight, turning to Berry with a comically serious look on his face.
“Berry,” Felix said, the little girl suddenly looking at him very seriously, “Tell your dad to stop being stupid.”
Berry promptly turned back to Chan, ordering out a “don’t be stupid, daddy!” before Felix was suddenly turning around and sweeping her away, her little arms pointing at the giant milkshake display Felix was taking her towards.
Chan just huffed as he watched them go, grumbling out a “Lix never lets me pay.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but smile at the pout on Chan’s face, admittedly finding the whole thing a little amusing.
But then Chan turned and winked at Seungmin, not giving him any time to work out what the hell that meant before suddenly Chan was reaching under the table and pulling Felix’s makeup bag towards himself. He unzipped one of the front pockets, stuffing the money inside before zipping it back up and sliding the bag back to where it had been before.
Chan turned back to Seungmin, “You didn’t see that.”
Seungmin just grinned, “See what, hyung?”
“Thanks, Min,” Chan smiled back, leaning back in his chair as he finally seemed to relax, “Now that I’ve managed to distract the rascals, I wanted to say that I’m actually really glad I ran into you today.”
Something stuttered in Seungmin’s chest, a tiny little wisp of surprise curling through his chest.
Chan was glad that he’d run into Seungmin?
“Oh yeah?” Seungmin said, trying to keep his voice natural, “Why’s that?”
“I wanted to thank you for the other day,” Chan said, his dimples popping out, “For finding Berry and returning her and everything. I was seriously freaking out and this building is huge so she could have gone for miles, so thank you for finding her and keeping her safe.”
“Oh,” Seungmin said, not realising Chan would actually want to thank him for that, “But I didn’t really do anything, hyung. I found Berry completely by chance, I didn’t even realise she was yours at first. I just like to think that anyone who works in this building wouldn’t leave an unsupervised child to wander alone.”
“I like to think that too,” Chan said, “But I’m thankful all the same. You took care of Berry and kept her safe, I really can’t put into words how much that means.”
A small flush of warmth blossomed in Seungmin’s chest, his lips pulling up at the corners and his gaze ducking shyly as Chan looked at him.
“Well, you’re welcome,” Seungmin said softly, “It was nothing, I promise. Berry’s a really nice kid.”
“That she is,” Chan nodded, letting the words hang for a moment before he carried on, his voice serious again, “I also want to apologise for Changbin being snappy with you. He was kinda having a bad day and he’s really protective of Berry, so when she went missing he started seriously freaking out and I’m sorry, he really shouldn’t have taken that out on you.”
For a moment, Seungmin felt himself straighten in surprise. But then he processed the words and couldn’t help but melt in relief. He’d been hoping that Changbin wasn’t actually that mad at him and that Chan wouldn’t be either, and hearing it confirmed out-loud made Seungmin release a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.
“Oh, thank gods,” Seungmin couldn’t help but say, slumping forward against the table, “I thought Changbin-hyung was super mad at me and that you would be too. I thought I’d done the wrong thing.”
“No, you did the absolute right thing,” Chan didn’t hesitate to say, placing his hand firmly on one of Seungmin’s and squeezing, “Changbin has already said that he’ll apologise next time he sees you. You did nothing wrong, Min.”
“I’m so relieved,” Seungmin couldn’t help but let out a laugh, sitting up again, “And I’m glad this has all worked out.”
“Me too,” Chan smiled, looking at Seungmin a moment before his eyebrows suddenly raised and he leaned forward to place his elbows on the table, resting his face on them, “You left quite an impression on Berry, you know?”
Seungmin felt his eyes widen, “Really?”
“Really,” Chan nodded, “She’s a chatty kid and she hasn’t stop talking about ‘the Seungmin man who sang the nursery rhymes’.”
On the last few words, Chan giggled, looking at Seungmin almost like a dad who’d just caught their kid doing something embarrassing. Seungmin blushed, looking down to fiddle with his coffee cup.
“I wasn’t really singing,” Seungmin mumbled, “Berry was the one who was singing, I was kinda just humming.”
“Well, Berry has declared herself as the kind of girl who recognises talent when she sees it,” Chan grinned, “And she loved you.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but smile a little at those words, looking up and over the café to where Felix had carried Berry over to one of the many pianos they had dotted around the building and was playing a gentle song to her whilst she sipped at her milkshake on his lap.
“Berry loves you too, hyung,” Seungmin said, looking back at Chan, “When I told her that I work with you, she asked me a million questions about whether I also sang lots of songs and ‘pressed buttons on the music machine’.”
A snort left Chan at that, his eyes endeared as he shook his head to himself.
“I really need to get Bin and Ji to stop showing her all the producing software,” he said, also casting a glance at Berry and Felix on the piano before he turned back to Seungmin, “But I meant what I said before. I know you can sing, and Berry says you can sing, you should be proud of that.”
Seungmin felt his heart sing, “Thank you,” he said quietly, dropping his gaze as he smiled, “Your approval really means a lot to me.”
“Well, you’ve certainly got it,” Chan said without missing a beat, “There’s a reason you were chosen for this internship, Seungmin. There’s big things waiting for you after this.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but look up at Chan.
“Really?” he said, sounding like a hopeful little kid at Christmas.
“Really.” Chan laughed warmly, reaching forward to place his hands over one of Seungmin’s again, “If you ever need help, or there’s something you want me to listen to, just come to me, okay? I’d be more than pleased to help in any way I can.”
Something that felt like hope started to sizzle in Seungmin’s veins, “Thank you so much, hyung.”
“Don’t thank me,” Chan waved him off, “It’s what you deserve. What kind of producer would I be if I was letting incredible talent go unnoticed?”
“You’re an amazing producer,” Seungmin was quick to say, feeling a small spark of confidence when Chan laughed with him, “And by the sounds of things, you’re raising an even better one.”
“Well, Berry will grow up to be whatever she wants to be,” Chan said with a soft smile, “But I want to make sure music will always be an important part of her life, it was the best gift my parents gave me.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but search for Berry again, a giggle bubbling in his chest when he tuned back in to the piano music Felix was playing for her and realising it had definitely changed.
“I think someone else might be trying to give her that gift,” Seungmin laughed, pointing to where Jeongin had showed up and was now playing some kind of upbeat nursery rhyme on the piano whilst Felix carried Berry on his back and bounced her up and down with an alarming degree of shouting.
Berry was laughing like a maniac and Felix and Jeongin seemed to be having way too much fun with the whole thing.
“Oh Jeez,” Chan said when he spotted them, turning and burying his face in his hands on the table, “It’s my responsibility to stop that, isn’t it?”
Seungmin couldn’t help but grin, “How many kids do you have exactly?”
“Well, it’s only supposed to be one,” Chan grumbled into his hands, “But it certainly seems like a whole lot more.”
“I reckon Berry is the most responsible one there,” Seungmin couldn’t help but tease, raising an eyebrow at the sight of Felix swinging Berry around in his arms, “You’ve raised a very well-behaved child.”
“It’s too bad the other ones can’t fall in line,” Chan pulled his head off the table, casting a glance at the ragtag trio before giving Seungmin a look, “I’ll be right back.”
With that, Seungmin could only watch and sip his tea as Chan strode over to Felix, Jeongin and Berry, rolling his eyes at them as he took Berry from Felix and threw her playfully over his shoulder. Berry squealed, wriggling her way onto Chan’s hip as Chan gestured his head at the table Seungmin was still sat at, silently telling Felix and Jeongin to go and sit down.
Felix and Jeongin, much to Seungmin’s surprise, actually listened. They giggled across the café together, arms linked and grins matching as they threw themselves in the chairs across from Seungmin.
Seungmin raised an eyebrow at them, about to tease them when they got there first. They both leant their elbows on the table and smushed their faces in them, looking at Seungmin with eerily similar looks of mischief.
“So, Seungmin-hyung,” Jeongin said, his voice almost unbearably smug, “Enjoying your conversation with Chan-hyung, were you?”
Seungmin furrowed a brow, sensing that he was a second away from falling into some kind of trap, “Uh… yeah?”
“Yeah,” Felix grinned, winking sickeningly at Seungmin, “We could tell.”
Seungmin was about to open his mouth and ask what the hell Felix had meant by that when suddenly Chan was back at the table, pulling up a new chair since Jeongin had stolen his own and falling into it with Berry in his lap, her milkshake firmly back in her grasp.
“I really can’t wait until all you kids grow up,” Chan groaned, probably more to himself than anyone else, but both Felix and Jeongin melted into laughter, Seungmin unable to resist a snort.
But it was when Seungmin found his gaze kept straying back to Chan, and Felix and Jeongin kept sending him knowing looks, that Seungmin realised Chan hadn’t actually been speaking to him.
Chan was excited for Felix, Jeongin and Berry to grow up. He liked Seungmin just the way he was…
~
Seungmin took a deep breath, stepping out the taxis and into the night. He stared up at the house, feeling his skin tingle with a confused and almost uncomfortable feeling.
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing there.
It was just dipping into evening, the sky a deep shade of dark blue with the stars just starting to blink into vision. The air hung with a little chill, a gentle breeze sailing through the air that rubbed goosebumps onto Seungmin’s skin.
He tightened his grip on the bag of colourful new hair bows he was holding in his hand, taking a deep breath to himself.
The house was fairly small, but clearly very nicely designed with big windows and an elegant porch. There were lights dotted all along its outside, the house seeming light and welcoming to anyone wanting to come in.
Seungmin supposed that was very fitting, it was Chan’s house after all.
Safe to say that Seungmin had been completely and utterly swept off his feet when only a few days after the meeting in the café, Chan had invited Seungmin over to his house for the evening. Apparently, it was a ‘thank you for finding my kid’ celebration, but also a nice opportunity to get to know Berry more.
Seungmin didn’t exactly know why it was essential for him to get to know Berry, but he wasn’t complaining, not when it meant he got to spend more time with her and Chan.
But as Seungmin stood outside their house, the evening air cold against his skin, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Seungmin looked up to Chan. Seungmin had utmost respect for Chan. Seungmin really, really, really liked Chan, and he wanted Chan to really, really, really like him back.
Maybe, accepting the invitation to Chan’s house hadn’t been such a good idea.
But it was too late now, to bail out at this point would basically mean standing Chan up, and Seungmin couldn’t imagine anything more mortifying.
So, he forced himself to take a deep breath as he started walking up the short path to Chan’s house. He held the bag of hair bows behind his back, not wanting the surprise to be ruined for Berry. Chan hadn’t exactly said that Seungmin should bring a gift for her, in fact he’d probably huff about it if the way he never let Felix pay for anything was a giveaway, but Seungmin couldn’t help but feel that it was rude to show up at Chan’s house empty-handed.
The porch path ended a little too soon for Seungmin’s liking and it wasn’t long before he found himself standing face-to-face with the front door. He ignored every instinct screaming at him to turn tail and run as he leant forward and pressed a finger against the doorbell.
For a moment, the night stayed completely still, and Seungmin really was tempted to duck into a bush and hide.
But then noises echoed from inside the house, and Seungmin was only just able to recognise Chan’s ‘dad-voice’ barrelling towards him before suddenly the front door was thrown open.
Seungmin startled a little, not expecting quite such a violent welcome, but then he looked down and saw Berry smiling excitedly up at him, her pudgy fingers extended upwards and clinging onto the door handle.
“Oh, hello there,” Seungmin smiled back, crouching down so he was eye-level with Berry, “Are you the lady of the house?”
“She certainly likes to think she is,” came a new voice, and Seungmin looked up just in time to see Chan slide his way behind Berry, “She’s supposed to be going to bed.”
“Oh,” Seungmin feigned surprise, looking back to Berry, “Is that right?”
“No,” Berry pouted, clearly lying, “Daddy’s mean.”
Seungmin couldn’t help but laugh at that, unable to resist reaching out to pull up the big fluffy hood that was hanging off the back of Berry’s onesie. It had two rabbit ears poking out the top, making Berry look simply adorable as she giggled at the hood being pulled over her eyes.
“I know daddy can be very mean,” Seungmin said, folding up a little bit of the hood so Berry could see, ignoring the scoff from Chan above them, “But he probably just doesn’t want you to be tired, so you can wake him up nice and early tomorrow morning.”
Berry giggled even harder at the words, seemingly quite happy with the idea. She took a step back and wrapped herself around Chan’s leg, burying her face in his knee and obviously trying not to look so tired.
Chan looked like he didn’t know whether to thank Seungmin or glare at him for the early morning he was definitely going to get the next day.
But Seungmin just shrugged and smiled warmly, standing up and stepping into the house when Chan moved out the way to shut the door behind him.
“Come on, trouble,” Chan re-directed his attention to Berry, bending down and pulling her up into his arms, “Why don’t we let Seungmin take his shoes off whilst we get you to bed, okay?”
Berry pouted, one of her hands coming out to splay out over Chan’s face, “But daddy, lullaby?”
“Don’t worry, trouble, you’ll still get your lullaby,” Chan smiled at her, turning to wink at Seungmin as he spoke again, “We’ll be upstairs, okay? First door on the right.”
Seungmin could only nod as he watched Chan turn and walk away, Berry waving over his shoulder before they both disappeared down the corridor.
Seungmin was quick to toe off both his shoes and add them to neat the line of shoes already by the doorway, half made up of scruffy black trainers and almost comically-platformed black boots, and the other half made up of cute tiny little lace-ups with colourful sequins and flashing lights up the sides. Seungmin couldn’t help but notice that his new pair of loafers seemed to fit quite nicely in with the mix.
He then dropped his bag off by the door, keeping hold of Berry’s gift before nervously making his way up to where Chan said he’d be.
The house was nice, really nice, with mostly minimalist décor and endless pictures pinned all over the walls. The fridge had several drawings pinned on it, clearly Berry’s handiwork if the brightly-drawn rainbows were anything to go by. Although Seungmin had never seen Chan draw, so he knew he couldn’t really judge.
In the hallway just by the staircase, there was a keyboard tucked away in the corner and several guitars leant against the wall, a few album covers pinned above them. Seungmin smiled, he was definitely in a musical household.
The stairs were silent as Seungmin made his way up them, following the sound of soft voices. He eventually found himself padding into what was probably the nicest child’s room he had ever seen. The walls were colourful and covered in cute art, a rainbow rug stretched across the room with toys positively everywhere.
Seungmin smiled at the sight, his smile only growing when he stepped into the room and the star-shaped fairy lights illuminated the two in the room.
Berry was tucked up in bed, unicorn blanket pulled up the way up to her chin as she gazed tiredly at Chan, her eyes sparkling and full of wonder as Chan sang softly to her.
It was a slow, English lullaby Seungmin recognised, one that he’d accidentally caught Felix humming to himself before. Seungmin knew the words, and he couldn’t help but join in as Chan sung.
Both Chan and Berry jumped and turned to look at him and Seungmin almost stopped, but then Chan smiled at him in the gentlest, proudest way and Seungmin almost melted.
They both sung together, Chan on the bed and Seungmin still in the doorway, voices low and harmonising perfectly as Berry looked at them like she was in heaven. Seungmin felt warmth blossom in his chest, his skin tingling with a feeling he hadn’t felt before.
It wasn’t long before the soft perfect blend of Chan and Seungmin’s voices in the air was enough to send Berry to sleep. Her eyes closed gently, her body sinking into the bed as Chan gazed lovingly down at her.
The room descended into slow silence.
Chan was careful as he stood up from the bed, wrapping Berry’s blankets even further around her and placing a kiss on her forehead before turning to Seungmin with something sparkling in his gaze.
“Hey, hyung,” Seungmin whispered and Chan smiled wider.
“Hey, Min,” Chan said, letting the words hang between them for a moment before he gestured at the door behind them.
Seungmin nodded, leaning over to carefully place Berry’s present on her dresser before turning and slipping out the room. Chan followed quietly, pulling the door shut behind them and gesturing Seungmin down the hallway.
They made their way back downstairs in comfortable silence, Chan still humming the lullaby under his breath and Seungmin feeling the noise send little sparkles of sunshine fizzling under his skin.
It wasn’t long before they were in the living room, Chan using a soft hand on Seungmin’s back to guide him to get comfortable on one of the long, black sofas before slipping over towards the kitchen.
Seungmin nestled himself on the sofa, tucking his feet under him and resting his head on the back. He was suddenly hit with the suspicion that he hadn’t been invited over to see Berry, he’d been invited over to see Chan.
The realisation was enough to make Seungmin feel like he had to panic, but he couldn’t bring himself to it. It was Chan after all; the most comfortable, homely, considerate person in the whole world. Seungmin found himself actually wanting the time alone with Chan, wanting to treasure him, wanting to stretch out on his long comfortable sofa with Chan smiling him in the soft way that made Seungmin feel like the most special person in the universe.
So, Seungmin allowed himself to get comfortable, waiting for Chan to come back.
It was only another minute or so before Chan shuffled back into the room, two glasses full of gorgeous red wine held carefully in his hands.
He held one out to Seungmin and grinned, “Drink?”
Seungmin grinned back and took one, also taking the initiative to reach out and take the other glass so Chan could settle himself on the sofa without having to balance a glass one-handed and not spill it everywhere.
“Thanks,” Chan said as he dropped himself in the spot directly next to Seungmin, leaving no distance between them as he took his glass back, “I don’t have a lot of food, but if you’re hungry we could order something.”
Seungmin just smiled warmly, enjoying the feeling of Chan’s legs brushing against his, “This is perfect, hyung.”
Chan blinked for a second, but then smiled warmly back, his face relaxing and his muscles un-tensing back into the sofa as he fully allowed himself to rest.
The air blanketed comfortably around them, surrounding them with a warm happy feeling that rested gently on the edge of Seungmin’s skin. It was like all barriers were gone between them, like they were finally alone, and the excitement of it had Seungmin’s heart squeezing in his chest.
He watched as Chan reached out and picked up the TV remote, taking a sip of his wine as he flicked the TV on and started scrolling through the channels.
“Any preferences?” Chan asked and Seungmin was about to hum that he didn’t mind when suddenly a certain movie caught his eye.
“Oh my god, Lady and the Tramp!” Seungmin exclaimed, bouncing up and down and pointing at the TV like a little kid, “I love that movie!”
“And here I was thinking that I’d escaped Disney films for an evening,” Chan smirked, reaching out the gently boop the TV remote against Seungmin’s forehead when his smile fell, “I’m just messing with you, I love that movie too.”
Seungmin felt himself flush when Chan flicked the movie on, starting it from the beginning and settling back on the cushions with a soft smile when it started to play.
A feeling of home settled over them both and Seungmin couldn’t help but relax completely against Chan, hesitating a moment before dropping his head to rest on Chan’s shoulder.
Chan made a brief noise of surprise, but didn’t falter to wrap a strong arm around Seungmin’s shoulders, keeping him in place. Seungmin couldn’t help but feel safe, his heart swaying comfortably as he took a sip of his wine.
They watched the film in a comfortable, loving silence, Chan speaking up occasionally to comment on how Seungmin was just as cute, if not cuter, than all the dogs. It made Seungmin blush and whack Chan in the shoulder every time, sending giggles rushing through them.
The further into the movie they got, the closer Seungmin found himself to Chan. They’d already been pressed against each other at the start, but it was only so long before Seungmin was practically on top of Chan, their half-drunk glasses of wine forgotten on the coffee table as Chan stroked fingers up and down Seungmin’s back, Seungmin’s head pillowed softly on his chest.
Seungmin could hear every beat of Chan’s heart, could every hear reaction to the movie, could feel Chan’s warmth spreading through him like sweet wine.
Seungmin truly was intoxicated.
It was when they reached the spaghetti and meatballs scene that Seungmin felt his face heat up, his body burning with the desire for the same kind of love. He couldn’t stop himself from twisting to look up at Chan, surprised to find Chan already staring down at him, his eyes shining with the force of a thousand universes and such an intense look of want on his face that it took Seungmin’s breath away.
The sweet romantic music continued to play in the background as Chan hesitantly brought down a hand to cup at Seungmin’s face.
“Min,” Chan whispered, his breath hot over Seungmin’s skin, “I’m really glad you came tonight.”
Seungmin gasped silently, managing to whisper out, “I’m really glad too.”
With that, Chan’s whole face seemed to come alive, the look in his eyes struggling for a second before he let go of all his worries, leaning down to close the distance between him and Seungmin.
A million sparks rippled up Seungmin’s face as Chan’s lips pressed gently on his, stilling there for a moment before he pulled back.
The two of them met eyes, entire constellations swirling between them, a million conversations taking place in a way that words could never convey as they simply stared at each other, eyes locked on each other’s lips.
And then Chan was leaning back down again and Seungmin was meeting him halfway and their lips were slotting together once more. Chan tasted like sweet wine, his lips soft and plush and perfect as Seungmin started to move against him.
They moved in sync, the entire universe seeming to slot into place around them. It was like music playing in Seungmin’s ears, like both of them singing to each other’s hearts, like a song had been written just for them as they kissed.
Seungmin’s hand moved to cup the back of Chan’s neck, the other pressed against his chest, desperately gripping on Chan’s shirt to try and keep him close. Chan’s own hands cupped Seungmin’s face, large thumbs stroking up Seungmin’s jaw and pulling him closer.
The kiss stayed mellow and wonderful, just the two of them pressed together and savouring the moment they’d finally found. The movie continued to play behind them, but it was long forgotten, the love between the characters just as bright and fairy-tale like as the love between Seungmin and Chan.
Seungmin had found his own little love story, and he was never letting it go.
Eventually, the two of them had to pull away, gazes still glittering in the soft living room lights and lips smiling and swollen. Seungmin couldn’t resist a giggle as he stared up at Chan, moving upwards to boop their noses together.
Chan giggled too at the action, the sound light and melodic as it floated through the air. He reached up and carefully brushed Seungmin’s hair out his face, his face so achingly familiar full of love and sweetness as he stared at Seungmin.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Chan said softly, his voice carrying fairy dust, “For loving me and everything that comes with me.”
Seungmin knew he was talking about Berry, about the other light of his life. Seungmin just smiled, moving his hand to carefully tilt Chan’s chin so they were looking right at each other.
“Thank you, hyung,” Seungmin said, “For giving me a chance.”
Seungmin knew what he meant by the words and Chan seemed to realise too. Seungmin wanted to thank Chan for taking a chance on an intern, for seeing beyond the job title and the young face and seeing a whole world of potential in a person.
Chan just smiled, leaning down to press a peck on Seungmin’s lips.
“Trust me,” Chan said, “I’d be the stupidest idiot in the whole world if I let this chance pass me by.”
Red dusted all over Seungmin’s cheeks at the words, Chan’s face pulling up into a laugh. Seungmin whined in embarrassment, quickly pulling himself up and landing his lips smack against Chan’s to shut him up.
The action definitely did the trick and the two were locked in another kiss only a second later, Seungmin’s whole body trilling with absolute joy.
They spent the rest of the night like that, curled up watching cute movies as they kissed and finished the rest of the wine, sharing stories and savouring one another.
The feeling of family stayed lovingly blanketed over them, keeping them knitted together and stitched forever more in each other’s hearts.