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Hoseok is a people person. He’s an extrovert, so interacting with others is his own way of gaining energy. As a child, he would go out of his way to include as many of his classmates as possible in games during recess. Even now, as an adult, his tendency to gravitate toward others is obvious in how he goes about his day. He always makes conversation with the cashiers at grocery stores and coffee shops, and genuinely greets people in passing on his daily walks.
And if there’s anything Hoseok is an expert in, it’s people. He’s a dance teacher, so it’s his job to deal with anyone from three year olds playing ballerinas to grown adults finally exploring their passion. For him, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the proud smile on his students’ faces when they nail a dance move after a rigorous day of practice.
When he got a teaching position at Park’s School of Dance, he was over the moon. While he was sad that he had to move to a brand new city away from his friends and family, they’d all encouraged him to apply for the job in the first place, and helped him prepare for the move when he eventually got hired. This was his dream and he knew it was ultimately the right decision.
Everything about his new life is almost perfect. The area he moved to is really nice. It’s just a fifteen minute walk from his apartment to the dance studio. His neighbors are welcoming, there is a shopping center nearby, and there’s a very nice park right in the middle of it all. His position at the dance studio is also amazing. There is never a dull moment while he is teaching. The energy in the room when everyone is practicing and perfecting a routine is electrifying, and it’s something he can never seem to get enough of.
However, this past week he has been preparing a group of seven preteens for next month’s novice dance competition, and he has to admit it.
He’s exhausted.
This is exactly what he signed up for when he took the job, and he doesn’t regret a minute of it. It’s extremely hard work, but it’s also extremely rewarding. However, as much as he loves it, he is completely drained. Today especially so, after hours of teaching a new group of children in a beginner’s contemporary dance class on top of practicing for the competition. As he walks home, all he can think about is having a nice, hot shower, then slipping into his bed and not moving for several hours.
As he passes the park on the way, however, he slows to a stop. There is a bench at the edge of the walkway with a perfect view of the setting sun. It almost seems to be calling to him. Despite living in this neighborhood for a month and a half by now, he hasn’t taken the stroll through the park that he always intended to. He is tired beyond belief, sure, but he thinks he deserves a quiet moment to be by himself and watch the sunset.
His mind made up, Hoseok makes a detour from his path on the sidewalk to settle onto the bench. With a relieved sigh and crack of his joints, he sits down, placing his duffle bag next to him on the bench. The sky is truly a beautiful sight to see. Fluffy white clouds are blanketed in purple, pink, and orange hues against the darkening sky. The crescent moon has just barely started to show for the evening, as if the sky itself is winking down at everybody below.
It’s all so beautiful and relaxing. What a perfect way to end the day. He knows it’s not a good idea to fall asleep here for obvious reasons, but he still takes a moment to close his eyes and just breathe it all in.
The peace is shattered by the shrill scream of a child.
Hoseok’s eyes fly open to find the source of the sound. The scream looks to have come from a little girl, sporting pink denim overalls and a black bob, standing in front of the swing set. If Hoseok were to guess, she looks to be no more than six years old. A man dressed in all black — black t-shirt, black jeans, black stomper boots… seriously does this guy shop exclusively at Hot Topic? — crouches in front of her with a strained smile. His left arm is adorned with many interwoven tattoos, and silver hoops line his earlobes.
From this distance, Hoseok can’t make out what the man is saying to the little girl, but she doesn’t look happy. Her small face is pinched with distress.
While the man’s words are lost, the little girl’s voice carries across the park. “No! I don’t want to go!” she yells, stomping her foot petulantly.
The man makes a pleading gesture with his hands, but the little girl shakes her head and takes a step back. That sets off alarm bells in Hoseok’s mind. Sitting up straighter, he pushes his previous exhaustion to the back of his mind as he focuses on the interaction between the two. If he squints, he can sort of read the man’s lips.
“Come with —— give you dessert tonight.”
The alarms in his head ring louder, and he clenches his fingers around the wooden bench seat as his heart pounds in his chest. Everybody knows that it’s a big red flag when some random guy promises sweets to children in exchange for them coming with him. He looks around incredulously at the parents and nannies mulling around the park. No one is batting an eye at the exchange between the man and the little girl.
How does no one care about a child’s safety being jeopardized right underneath their noses? When he moved to this neighborhood, his realtor told him it was one of the safest areas in the city. Either she had been lying to Hoseok, or she was just as oblivious as everyone else at this park.
Hoseok would in no way call himself a hero. Sure, his kind nature results in him offering to help pretty much anyone who asks, but he doesn’t actively seek out situations in which he can save the day. He’s a nice guy, but he isn’t stupid. Putting himself in harm’s way is not on his list of priorities. But right now, he can’t just sit here and watch this child be kidnapped. He has to do something.
Quickly, he slips his bottle of pepper spray out of his bag, slinging it onto his shoulder. It was an odd housewarming gift from his longtime friend Taehyung. Hoseok doesn’t have a confrontational bone in his body, and all of his friends know it too. But when he tried to deny the gift, Taehyung explained that one can never be too careful. Now, he is ever grateful for his friend’s foresight. He starts walking at an even pace toward the man and the little girl, not wanting to risk catching the man’s attention.
Just when he’s about fifteen feet away from them, the man loses his patience. He sighs angrily and wraps one muscular arm around the little girl’s waist, throwing her over his shoulder. She shrieks, kicking her legs as he turns to leave the park.
Hoseok leaps into action. He sprints the rest of the way towards them and without a second thought, raises the bottle of pepper spray and presses down on the nozzle, letting it loose right into the creeper's face.
The man positively howls. He collapses, dropping the girl when he hits the ground.
Hoseok doesn’t waste a moment as he hauls the girl up into his arms and hightails it out of the park. He doesn’t have a specific destination in mind yet, all he can think about is away and safety.
Blood rushes in his ears, intermingling with his heavy footfalls on the pavement and his labored breathing. He’s just rounded the corner of the convenience store across the street from the park when the little girl’s voice registers in his ears.
“Let me go! Daddy! Daddy!” she wails, squirming viciously in Hoseok’s grip.
Confusion cuts through the fog of adrenaline in his brain and he slows to a stop. The little girl sobs as he puts her down onto her own two feet. Leaning down, he puts two hands on her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now, I—OW!” his words are cut off by his own yelp of pain when she kicks him right in his left shin.
Falling down onto one leg, he releases the girl to clutch at his injury. She takes off down the sidewalk back the way they came, shouting, “Daddy! Stranger danger!”
Stranger danger— what? Hoseok limps after her, trying to call out to her not to approach the would-be kidnapper. She must be really freaked out right now, and she needs someone to warn her. Once he approaches the edge of the park entrance, he is close enough to see that the man is no longer writhing in pain. Instead, he sits on the ground with his hands covering his eyes. Two women, one with gray hair slicked back into a bun wearing a purple tracksuit and the other around Hoseok’s age with a blue sweater and jeans, huddle around him with metal water bottles in hand.
Good, Hoseok thinks. They’re keeping him subdued while they wait for the police. But then, the exact opposite of what Hoseok expects to happen occurs. The younger woman pries the man’s hands away from his face and carefully pours water from her bottle into his half-shut eyes. He flinches, but doesn’t shy away from the woman’s ministrations. At the same time, the little girl runs straight to the trio, and into the man’s arms.
“Daddy!” she cries, wrapping her arms around his neck, uncaring of the water trickling down his face and into her hair.
Daddy?
“Sooyoung!” the man exclaims. His fearful, pained expression morphs into one of relief as he hugs her back just as tightly.
Oh.
Oh no.
Everything clicks into place in Hoseok’s head right at that moment, and he realizes just how badly he fucked up. He completely misunderstood this entire situation. This man hadn’t been trying to kidnap someone at all. He’d just been a dad taking care of an unruly child.
The only kidnapper in this case is himself. Oh fuck.
Dread pooling in his stomach, he approaches the group cautiously. He can’t just turn around and walk the other way unless he wants to be painted as the new neighborhood creep. If he’s lucky, an apology and an explanation might be enough to keep this guy from pressing charges.
The gray-haired woman catches sight of Hoseok as he approaches, and her concerned expression hardens into an intimidating sort of glare that only a mother can pull off. She shifts her own water bottle in her hand to hold it like a club, shouting, “Don’t take another step closer! I know this thing can leave a mean bruise if I throw it hard enough!”
His hands go up in front of him placatingly as he stops walking, trying to put every ounce of remorse in his voice when he replies, “I’m so sorry, this was all one huge misunderstanding. I had no intention of hurting anybody!”
The younger woman pauses her actions and turns to look at him incredulously. “‘No intention of hurting anybody?’ You blinded Jungkook!”
Wincing apologetically, Hoseok glances down at the man. Jungkook, as the woman called him, looks relatively put together for someone who has just been pepper sprayed. Sure, his eyes are red and irritated, his breaths come out in little pained gasps, and his face and entire front are soaked with water, but other than that, he looks okay. Handsome, even. What the fuck is wrong with you? Hoseok thinks to himself.
“He’s not permanently blind. The effects should wear off in about thirty minutes, according to the packaging…” he explains hesitantly. “But if you want to go to the hospital, I can pay for the damages.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the police on you right now!” the gray-haired woman demands.
“I really am sorry— I thought he was trying to kidnap a little girl! I completely misread the situation, I had no idea she was his daughter.”
“That’s ridiculous. Everyone in this neighborhood knows Jungkook and Sooyoung.” At the sound of her name, Sooyoung detaches herself from her father to instead stand at his side. She peers warily at Hoseok, tilting her head in contemplation.
Turning his gaze skyward, Hoseok internally begs for the women to understand his predicament. The night sky is almost completely darkened by now. He needs to go home soon, preferably without being arrested.
“I’m new to the neighborhood, just moved here about a month ago. I’m so sorry I didn't know.” he tries again.
The gray-haired woman looks like she might keep arguing when Jungkook speaks for the first time.
“It’s fine,” he says, shocking everyone into silence. He pushes away the younger woman’s hand that holds the water bottle to his face, blinking rapidly for a moment. When he looks at Hoseok, his eyes are just barely open to slits. “He got confused and acted on instinct. If someone really was trying to take Sooyoung, I’d be grateful someone like him was around to stop them.”
Relief courses through his veins at Jungkook’s words. He nearly falls to his knees in gratitude, but instead settles on bowing deeply with his hands pressed together. “Thank you so much, again I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. Is there anything I can do?”
Jungkook shakes his head with a dismissive wave of his hand. “No, thanks for asking. Just don’t pepper spray me if we ever run into each other again.”
It sounds like he’s trying to make a joke, but all it does is make Hoseok's face heat up in humiliation. With another apology he turns to make a hasty exit.
“Were you scared?” Sooyoung’s tiny voice asks, freezing him in place. “Is that why you hurt my dad?”
Unsure if he should respond to Sooyoung or not, he turns back and sends a questioning look to Jungkook. When the father makes no move to stop the interaction, just patiently waits for him to answer, he says, “Yeah, I was scared he was a bad guy.”
Sooyoung nods somberly in understanding, both a bizarre and adorable thing to witness. “I was scared, too. I thought you were a bad guy, that’s why I kicked you and ran away.”
His heart practically melts at her words. Kids are the sweetest even in the worst situations. He doesn’t know what to say to that. Does this mean he’s forgiven? Jungkook runs a loving hand over Sooyoung’s hair, and she turns away from Hoseok to hug her father.
With that, Hoseok nods once and exits the park. As he walks away, he hears Jungkook saying, “I’m so proud of you, Sooyoung. Exactly as daddy taught you when a stranger tries to take you. Extra dessert for you tonight.”
Geez, how could Hoseok mess up so badly? He really needs to go to bed. There’s no way Jungkook could be a creep like he’d first assumed. The guy is way too nice.
Eventually, he makes it back to his apartment, even more exhausted but also relieved that he’s not in a jail cell. Forgiven or not, he is never stepping foot back in that park.
He goes back to the park a week later.
The guilt over what happened with Jungkook and Sooyoung has been eating at him for days. When he isn’t dancing, he is replaying the events over and over in his head. His shin hurt for two whole days after Sooyoung kicked him, and he can’t even blame her for it. His friends back home laughed at him for a minute straight over FaceTime when he recounted the story. Even Jimin, his new friend and the owner of Park’s School of Dance, thought it was a pretty funny situation when he heard about it over lunch on Friday.
None of them seem to understand how traumatizing it had been for Hoseok, which makes sense, because experiencing it and remembering it is much different than just hearing about it. He feels awful for leaving Jungkook on the ground and not giving him more than a desperate apology, no matter how sincere his words had been.
After work the following Wednesday, he searches up “how to apologize to someone for accidentally hurting them.” Lots of results come up, some less helpful than the others. The article he settles on is a WikiHow titled “How to Say You’re Sorry With Your Actions.” The drawings for each step are comically bad, but the advice is sound. In basic terms, the article suggests that he makes amends by giving the other person a small but thoughtful gift.
What type of gift would a virtual stranger with a child that he accidentally almost kidnapped like? The question sets him onto an even weirder Google Search, suggesting awful ideas like liquor, gift cards, and hand-me-down clothing. Then finally, like a beam of sunshine on a cloudy day, the answer comes to Hoseok.
Food. Everybody likes food, right?
When Friday rolls around, he finally has the day off, so he stops by the grocery store and buys a fruit basket. It’s as big as his torso, with an array of pears, apples, oranges, and bananas. All the fruit rests in a dark brown wicker basket, and the whole thing is wrapped in a sheer yellow cloth. He checks the greeting card section as well, but he doesn’t find anything amongst all the “Happy Birthday!” and “It’s a Boy!” cards. He hopes it’ll be enough.
Nervousness rolls in his stomach on his way to the park. What if Jungkook isn’t even at the park when he shows up? What if he hates Hoseok and throws the fruit basket right back in his face? Second thoughts threaten to make him turn back and eat everything in the fruit basket by himself at home, but he refrains. It’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?
The worst thing, as it turns out, happens. As soon as he steps foot in the park, several mothers pull their children closer to them and glare at him. It seems like word has spread over the past week about what went down. No doubt the women who helped Jungkook that night went around warning all the others about him. Maybe his initial instinct to steer clear of this place had been right.
It isn’t like he can just shout, “Hey, I’m not going to kidnap your kids! I thought he was the pervert!” Something tells him that will just make the situation worse.
Luckily for him, he catches sight of Jungkook and Sooyoung at the monkey bars. He holds her by the waist with two strong hands as she makes her way from one side to the other, giggling along the way. Today, Sooyoung is wearing a white t-shirt with multi-colored polka dots and purple shorts. Jungkook has also switched out his all black getup for a lighter shade of dark gray. His baggy, long-sleeved shirt covers up his tattoos, and his jeans are ripped above the knees, showing off muscular thighs that Hoseok absolutely does not stare at as he approaches the pair.
Ignoring the whispers and dirty looks from the other people at the park, he goes right up to Jungkook with his head held high. He stops just a few feet away from the monkey bars, waiting for Sooyoung to safely land on the other side of the playground to announce his presence.
Sooyoung finally gets her feet stabilized on the raised structure. She immediately starts jumping up and down in celebration of her accomplishment, and Jungkook cheers with her, waving his fists in the air. Looking at the two of them, it’s obvious that Jungkook is a great dad. Sooyoung’s pure, unadulterated joy is infectious, and Hoseok finds himself smiling softly at the scene.
He doesn’t want to ruin the moment, but standing here with everyone’s eyes on him while the father and daughter duo are oblivious is too much to bear for very long. He clears his throat awkwardly, drawing their attention. Jungkook turns his head to the side and surprise crosses his features when he sees Hoseok.
“Um.... hey,” Jungkook greets. It isn’t unkind, but he definitely looks less enthusiastic than he had been just a second ago. For good reason, admittedly.
All of Hoseok’s words die on his tongue as soon as Jungkook looks at him. He had planned out a whole apology on his way here, but now he can’t remember a single thing. So he just closes the distance between them and holds out the fruit basket.
“Here,” he says lamely.
Gingerly, Jungkook takes the fruit basket from Hoseok’s hands like it might bite him. “What’s this for?”
Words, Hoseok. You know them, you’ve been speaking your entire life. “For pepper spraying you and accidentally stealing your kid,” Oh God not THOSE words! “I mean– I just feel really bad about what happened last week. So I wanted to do something nice to show you I mean it. It’s a fruit basket, if you can’t tell.” His voice gets smaller and smaller the longer Jungkook doesn’t say anything.
Jungkook looks down at the basket for a few terse seconds. Then, he looks back up at Hoseok with a blank face. “Sooyoung is allergic to bananas,” he says.
“Oh. my. God. I’m the worst person ever! Forget about it, I’ll just take it back. I’m so sorry for bothering you again and for all the trouble I’ve caused you and your family—” Hoseok is spiralling, reaching for the fruit basket to remove the offending object from Jungkook’s arms.
Then, Jungkook throws him for yet another loop when he starts laughing. Really, genuinely laughing. The force of it makes his eyes crinkle with mirth and his shoulders shake. His laughter sounds like tinkling bells, almost like what Hoseok would imagine a fairy would sound like. Nonetheless, his whole face has turned red with humiliation and he is about thirty seconds from crying if things don’t start making sense right this minute. Sooyoung laughs along with Jungkook, probably because she wants to be included and not because she’s in on whatever joke Hoseok is clearly the butt off.
“I’m sorry, I had to,” Jungkook says, his laughter subsiding but his grin remaining on his lips. “I was just joking. We could always use some more healthy options at home. This is so thoughtful, thank you…” He trails off, looking expectantly at Hoseok.
It occurs to him then that after all of this, he never even introduced himself. Then again, there never really was a right time to exchange names between pepper spray attacks and guilty gift giving.
“I’m Hoseok. Sorry,” he replies, bowing slightly.
Jungkook bows his head in return, saying, “You really don’t have to keep apologizing. I know your intentions are good.”
“Sorr–” Hoseok snaps his jaw shut with an audible click to prevent himself from apologizing for constantly apologizing. Curse his people-pleasing tendencies.
“Do I get a present, too?” Sooyoung pipes up, drawing both of the men’s attention. She is leaning halfway out of the playground landing, her hands firmly wrapped around the first metal monkey bar for stability.
“This is a gift for both of us, Sooyoung! You love pears don’t you?” Jungkook says sweetly, holding the fruit basket up for his daughter to see better. She makes a sound of awe at the pretty arrangement and colors.
“Can we eat it now?” she asks. Her youthful enthusiasm makes both of the men laugh.
“Let’s wait until we get home and you’ve cleaned up, okay?”
“Okay! Let’s go home now, I’m done playing!” Sooyoung bounds down the steps of the playground and over to her father in anticipation. “Now, now, now! I want to eat pears!”
She takes Jungkook’s hand and tugs on it insistently toward the exit of the park. As much effort as she puts into the movements, however, her dad doesn’t budge more than one step in the intended direction. Sooyoung isn’t deterred, just keeps pulling even as she has to readjust her footing to keep from falling over.
“Wow, I’ve never heard of a child choosing healthy food over playtime before,” Hoseok comments.
Jungkook lets her pull on him like a ragdoll, looking unperturbed as he continues their conversation. “Yeah, she’s full of surprises. I should probably head out though, unless I want her to get the idea that eating fruits and vegetables isn’t a good thing after all.”
With an understanding nod, Hoseok takes a step back. “I totally get it. I should be leaving, too. I get the feeling that I’m not very welcome here.” he says, casting a glance at the people still watching their exchange.
It’s then that Jungkook finally looks around, only just now realizing they have an audience. He shrugs indifferently, saying, “Please, these people’s barks are worse than their bites. They'll forget about you by the end of the week when another juicy story spreads around.” He looks straight at a woman who’d been brave enough to get closer than everyone else, probably to eavesdrop. “Lovely afternoon, isn’t it, Nayeon?”
Nayeon’s ears turn red and she huffs, turning her back on the trio and walking to the grass field on the opposite side of the park. Hoseok stifles a laugh with his hand. So Jungkook is kind, funny, and not afraid to be a little petty? Good to know.
“I’ll see you around, right?” Jungkook asks, finally giving in to his daughter’s desires and starting to leave.
Hoseok follows them, since the exit they’re headed toward leads to the walkway to his apartment complex. “Sure thing! I hope Sooyoung saves you at least one pear.”
Jungkook laughs again, and wow is that sound incredible. Hoseok wants to hear it again and again and again.
“Say bye and thank you, Sooyoung,” Jungkook tells his daughter just before the men turn in opposite directions. Jungkook to the parking lot, and Hoseok to the crosswalk.
“Bye and thank you for the pears!” Sooyoung calls dutifully, still pulling her dad along.
Smiling from ear to ear, Hoseok calls out his own goodbyes. He turns his back on the pair and heads down the sidewalk with a bounce in his step, feeling significantly better than he had earlier this afternoon.
Weeks pass, and Hoseok is so busy that he doesn’t really have time to think about seeing Jungkook again. They never exchanged contact information, and he doesn’t feel super inclined to go back to the park anytime soon. Their kind-of-potential friendship is tenuous at best, and he fears that tracking the man down at the same place for the third time seems a little too stalker-ish.
Plus, he’s had to really crack down on dance practice. Competition day will be here sooner than even he can comprehend, and the team he is training is getting anxious. The pressure is getting to them, causing them to mess up the simplest of steps that they’ve never had a problem with before.
Not all is going downhill, though. Jimin, the saint that he is, took over Hoseok’s two other dance classes so that he could focus on just the competition. The group he is teaching finally decided on a name for themselves, settling on The Purple Whales for some obscure reason. But he’s still so busy.
Befriending Jungkook sounds nice, considering the fact that currently his only friend in this city is his boss. But the possibility just isn’t on the table right now. He’s given up all of his days off to add extra practice time in preparation for the competition, and by the time he gets back to his apartment he’s too exhausted to even think about doing anything other than sleeping.
That doesn’t stop him from slowing his pace on his way home one evening as he passes the park, trying to get a glimpse of a particular father-daughter duo. But they’re nowhere to be seen, so he keeps walking. It’s been a while since they’ve last seen each other, anyway. Jungkook has a whole child to take care of, and probably a partner back home. He’ll forget about Hoseok in no time, if he hasn’t already.
Unfortunately, Hoseok isn’t sure he’ll be that lucky.
Competition day comes and goes. The event is held in a high school auditorium on Saturday, and a surprisingly large number of people show up to watch the performances. There are ten teams in total, all from different dance schools around the city. The Purple Whales attend with their chins up and shoulders back, not letting it show just how terrified they are to perform for the first time. As Hoseok huddles them into a circle for a pre-routine pep talk, he can’t help but think how cute and cliche it all feels, like in a coming-of-age movie.
Hoseok watches his team dance from the wings of the stage, feeling like a proud parent as they flawlessly land every move in time with the background music. They’re all wearing the same color scheme, a combination of dark purple and black, which makes their dancing all the more alluring and pleasing to the eye.
This is exactly what he became a dance teacher for. The energy of the crowd, the satisfaction of the dancers after a successful performance, the passion for dance. There’s nothing in the world quite like it. He gives everyone high-fives as they walk off the stage, basking in the wide smiles on their faces and confidence in their steps.
At the end of the day, The Purple Whales win fourth place. Hoseok and the kids go crazy with excitement, screaming and jumping in celebration. He made sure while coaching them to push the mindset that first place isn’t the goal. If they enjoyed performing and feel accomplished in what they’ve done, then that alone is a win. Every team member gets a small plastic trophy with their placement along with the competition’s name on it.
They take a group picture on stage. Two members kneel down in the front on one knee with their trophies balanced on the other, two others try to jump on Hoseok’s back at the same time, and the remaining three wrap their arms around each other’s shoulders. Hoseok almost forgets to look at the camera, not wanting to take a single second to look away from his kids lest he miss an ounce of their joy. He’s definitely framing this photo and putting it up on the wall of the dance studio.
After that, things finally start to settle back into a sense of normalcy. He takes three days off just to recharge from the non-stop work he’s been doing the past few weeks, and come Wednesday morning it’s back to the dance studio. Today he is leading three dance classes all with new groups of people, and after his short break, he feels refreshed and ready to go.
When Hoseok isn’t coaching The Purple Whales, he teaches an array of different classes, but they always fall under one of three categories: four week beginner courses, seasonal intermediate courses, and perennial advanced courses.
Today, the first two classes he has are both advanced classes. First thing in the morning is an adults only class, mainly because anyone younger is in school this early. That goes smoothly, as they are just perfecting a routine that they’ve been learning since the second week of the course. His second class of the day is with a group of teenagers. It goes well until halfway through, when one of the boys falls and sprains his wrist and has to sit out for the rest of the class.
The boy’s mom throws a bit of a tantrum when she comes to pick him up, threatens to sue Hoseok for child endangerment, it’s all super eventful. Luckily, he is able to calm her down before Jimin has to get involved. Still, after that fiasco, can anyone blame Hoseok for using his two hour lunch break to take a nap?
His favorite classes to teach are always his beginners classes, usually for children ages five to eight years old. He never knows what he’s going to get with a group of kids that small. Most of the time the children are excited to dance, hoping to become like their favorite dancing cartoon character. Few and far between are the kids that were forced into dance class by their parents, and are so distraught about it that they cry and refuse to participate the whole time.
Within the first five minutes of his last class of the day, he can already tell that this new group isn’t going to have that problem. The group of children are all bouncing with excitement as their guardians drop them off for the hour and a half-long class. There are a total of eight students, four boys and five girls. As per usual, the kids run straight up to the wall-to-wall mirror on the far end of the room, making silly faces and watching each other twirl around until they’re too dizzy to stand up.
Some of the parents introduce themselves and have a brief conversation with Hoseok before they leave. They ask what time the class ends, what type of dance he teaches, and what they should expect their child to learn by the end of the course. Then they bid their farewells and leave Hoseok to do his job.
Beginner’s classes with children are always a bit different. They have shorter attention spans, and more energy than they know what to do with. So he always starts out the class with a game. He instructs all the children to sit in a big circle on the wood paneled floor, and then he sits at the head of the circle.
“Okay, everyone. Today we are going to start off with a get to know you game.” Hoseok begins, glancing over his students with a welcoming grin on his face. “One at a time you will all stand in the middle of the circle, tell us your name and how old you are, and why you want to be in dance class. I’ll go first.”
He stands up and steps into the center of the circle. Everyone looks up at him attentively, their big eyes and wide open mouths making them look like a school of fish. “My name is Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi. I’m twenty-six years old, and I’m in this class so I can teach all of you how to dance and because it makes me happy!” To finish off, he does a wave motion starting from his right wrist that carries all the way through his shoulders and to his left side. The kids make sounds of awe, and his heart just about melts.
“Okay, you can go next, and then we’ll go around the circle in a clockwise direction,” he explains as he moves to sit back down, instructing the boy sitting to his left to stand up.
The boy jumps up excitedly, running into the center of the circle. His Velcro sneakers slap loudly against the ground, lighting up blue and red along the soles. His two top front teeth are missing, giving him a slight lisp as he says, “Hi! I’m Beomgyu, and I’m seven! I want to dance so I can be an idol when I get older.”
Hoseok claps for him, and the kids follow suit. Beomgyu sits down, and then the girl on his other side takes her turn. Timidly, she stands up and walks to the middle of the circle. Hoseok’s eyes widen when he realizes who she is.
It’s Sooyoung. At first his brain doesn’t even make the connection, as she’s so different compared to the girl he interacted with briefly all those weeks ago at the park. That Sooyoung had been all smiles and loud, youthful exuberance. But now, she is quiet and shy. She barely spends more than a few seconds at a time looking at the other kids.
He definitely would have noticed if Jungkook had dropped her off, but if he recalls, a young woman he’s never seen before had been holding onto her hand when she walked in. The woman had bent down and whispered something to Sooyoung before giving her a hug and leaving. Hoseok hadn’t been able to introduce himself, too caught up with another parent. The woman must have been Sooyoung’s mother.
If she recognizes him, she doesn’t make any indication as she glances at him before looking down at her pink ballet flats. They match her pink ballet wrap skirt, but they’re both a stark contrast to her black t-shirt that has a cartoon cat on it. “I’m Sooyoung, I’m five, and I want to dance like in the Twelve Dancing Princesses.”
She sits back down in her spot, blushing as everyone claps, and the next child stands. Hoseok tries not to show his confusion on his face at her words. He knows the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Their type of dancing isn’t at all what he is teaching and, going off of her wardrobe, she seems interested in ballet. She’d be much better suited for Jimin’s beginner’s ballet class than the contemporary dance class she is in right now. He’d have to tell her mom when she got picked up to look into switching.
Since this is a beginner’s class and it’s the first of the course, Hoseok takes things slow. He leads them through a warm up, then spends the majority of the time teaching the kids how to move to eight-count rhythms.
The class ends at four o’clock. He leads the kids through a cooldown routine, explaining to them in simple terms why cooldowns are important after dancing and which stretches are most beneficial for the recovery of the muscles. One by one, the childrens’ guardians come to pick them up. Some of the kids get teary eyed when it’s time for them to leave, while others run up to their parents, eager to talk their ears off about what they did in class. By four-thirty, only Sooyoung is left to be picked up.
Hoseok doesn’t mind waiting, as he still has to pack up his equipment and make sure he is prepared for his classes tomorrow. The minutes tick by, and when another thirty minutes pass, he starts to get concerned. Sooyoung stands in the middle of the room, spinning in slow circles to pass the time, only stopping when he calls out to her.
“Sooyoung, do you know who’s picking you up, today?”
“My dad said he would pick me up after work, but sometimes he has to stay late,” Sooyoung explains. The way she says it makes Hoseok think this isn’t the first time that she’s been the last person to be picked up from somewhere before.
“What about that woman who dropped you off earlier, hm? Is she your mom?” he asks gently.
With a shake of the head, Sooyoung says, “That’s our neighbor, Minah. She drives me places sometimes. I don’t have a mom, but that’s okay, because my dad says lots of kids don’t have moms, and some have two of them.”
He laughs a little at how she speaks so bluntly, but his heart aches at the same time. For whatever reason, it’s obvious that Sooyoung’s mother is not in the picture. Now that he thinks about it, Jungkook looks relatively young to have a daughter Sooyoung’s age, but he doesn’t want to overstep by asking about it. Jungkook probably has it hard enough as it is raising Sooyoung on his own, he doesn’t need some guy he met all of two times pestering him about his private life.
While he doesn’t mind waiting with Sooyoung for her dad to show up, they can’t wait in the dance studio. The yoga studio next door has been shut down for the past month due to flooding, so every Wednesday and Friday evening Jimin lets the owners use his studios to hold their classes. Hoseok gathers his bag and leads Sooyoung out into the holding area at the entrance of the building.
He sits next to her in one of the chairs and puts a children’s TV show on his phone to keep her entertained while they wait. Heejin, the receptionist, briefly looks away from her computer to stare at him curiously, but he just waves off her concern. Sooyoung avidly watches the program, swinging her feet back and forth as she quietly giggles at whatever is happening on the screen. While she is distracted, Hoseok watches out the glass windows for any sign of Jungkook.
It isn’t until almost six o’clock when a car all but speeds into the parking lot. The car parks haphazardly in a spot close to the entrance and then Jungkook flies out of the driver’s seat. Today he is wearing a long sleeved, button up white shirt tucked into black slacks. The outfit is much fancier than what Hoseok has seen him in so far, and he can’t help but notice how the sleeves are pulled taut around his biceps. They flex as he yanks open the front door with urgency.
He rushes over to Heejin at the desk, out of breath, and says, “Hi, I’m here to pick up my daughter–”
“Daddy!” Sooyoung exclaims, leaping off the chair and running over to him. Jungkook turns at the sound of her voice, then crouches down to meet her halfway and lift her into his arms.
“Hey, beautiful! I’m so sorry I’m late, did you have fun dancing?” he asks, a tired but loving smile gracing his lips.
Hoseok carefully approaches him as Sooyoung begins rambling on happily about all the things she did today. She is back to her bubbly, talkative self now that Jungkook is here.
“Hey, stranger,” he greets.
Jungkook looks over to him and his eyes widen in surprise. He grins, saying, “Oh, hi! Funny running into you here.”
With a huff of a laugh, Hoseok rubs the back of his neck, contemplating how to broach the subject that he actually works here. He ends up not having to explain at all, because Sooyoung beats him to it.
“Hobi is my dance teacher! He’s really good, like a prince!” she tells her dad.
“Oh, what a coincidence. How long have you worked here?” Jungkook asks. His breathing is still a bit heavy from running, and sweat beads at his hairline, but he looks relatively calmer now that Sooyoung is in his arms.
“A few months. I moved to Seoul when I got the job. What about you?” Hoseok replies.
“I’m a waiter at Choi’s Bar and Grill downtown. I was supposed to get off work at four-thirty, but one of the hostesses never showed up for her shift, so my manager made me cover for her until someone could come in. I’m so sorry for making you wait with her.” A guilty, ashamed expression crosses over his face as he speaks, and Hoseok can't stand to see it. He shakes his head before Jungkook even finishes speaking.
“It’s no trouble at all! I don’t have any other classes today. I just had to give up the studio for another instructor, so we were waiting out here. I’m gonna head out now that you’re here for Sooyoung if you want to…” Hoseok gestures to the door, and Jungkook perks up.
They walk out together, Hoseok picking up his phone left on the chair and sliding it into his back pocket along the way.
“Which car is yours?” Jungkook asks, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
“Oh, I just walk. I live in the Sunshine Square apartment complex less than twenty minutes away, so it’s not too bad.”
With a surprised laugh, Jungkook says, “No way, us too! Guess we’re neighbors, then.”
There is a lull in the conversation as Jungkook unlocks his car and buckles Sooyoung into her carseat in the back. Hoseok watches silently, unsure of when he should say goodbye. He doesn’t really want to say goodbye, but he doesn’t want to hold them up. Jungkook obviously had a long day, and so has he. The difference between them is that Hoseok’s job is over when he leaves the dance studio, while Jungkook’s work never really ends even after he clocks out.
“I’ll see you two next week, have a good night,” Hoseok calls, turning to head down the sidewalk.
Jungkook’s voice calls out, “Do you just want to ride with us? We’re going to the same place, right?”
Hoseoks looks back, a tentative smile growing on his lips. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to overstep–”
“Nah, it’s the least I can do after you waited with her for so long.” Jungkook opens the driver’s side door, waving Hoseok over as he gets inside.
The people pleaser that he is, Hoseok acquiesces and hops into the passenger seat.
“Is Hobi coming home with us?” Sooyoung asks.
“No, honey, we’re just dropping him off,” Jungkook explains, briefly looking at her as he backs up out of the parking lot. She shrugs like that’s answer enough, and now she’s lost interest. There are two barbies in her hands, and a little doll-sized car rests on the seat next to her.
As they drive, Hoseok stares out the window, watching everything outside blur as they drive past. The sun is going down by now, and after-work traffic is in full swing. That’s another reason he prefers to walk, because why wait forty-five minutes behind slow cars when he can travel on foot and make it home in less than half the time. He glances back at Sooyoung, then remembers what he wanted to mention earlier.
“You know, Sooyoung seems to like ballet. She told the class she wanted to dance like in Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Hoseok says.
Jungkook smiles softly, not taking his eyes off the road as he replies, “Yeah, she got a book of assorted fairy tales for her birthday, and she makes me read that one story to her every night. She has trouble making friends at school, so I figured signing her up for dance classes could help her come out of her shell.”
“I see. Why did you sign her up for contemporary dance classes, then? Wouldn’t she be more interested in the ballet classes offered at the school?” Hoseok isn’t trying to say that he doesn’t want Sooyoung in his class, but he also wants her to get everything she can out of dancing.
“You’ve got a good point. I looked at the website for what was available, but none of the ballet classes fit with my work schedule. I had to pick up extra shifts just to pay for the course, and Minah helps me out when I can’t be there but… I don’t want to lean on her for everything. She’s too nice, I don’t want to take advantage of her kindness.” Jungkook’s voice gets softer as he goes on, as if he doesn’t want Sooyoung to overhear. “There’s a lot of things Sooyoung misses out on since it’s just us. I didn’t want to disappoint her over this too, so I just put her in a class.”
A few beats of silence pass between them. Hoseok is trying to collect his thoughts enough to reply, and Jungkook’s ears redden. He forces a small laugh.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all my baggage on you.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I obviously can’t fully understand what you’re going through, but I get why you did what you did. It’s inspiring what you’ll do for the people you love.” Hoseok tries to smile reassuringly, and when Jungkook glances at him, there’s vulnerability shining in his eyes.
Hoseok is reminded just how young he looks. At least a few years younger than himself, so he must have been a teenager or just barely in his twenties when Sooyoung came into his life. He seems the type to try and take on everything on his own, not wanting to ask too much of anyone lest he seem weak or like an inconvenience. There’s got to be a reason for that, and even as curiosity eats away at his mind, Hoseok doesn’t ask. In due time, maybe Jungkook will open up about it.
They pull into the apartment complex’s parking garage, and Jungkook helps Sooyoung out of the backseat. As it turns out, they live in the buildings right across from each other. They agree to hang out for dinner at some point when both of their schedules permit it. They exchange phone numbers, and that should be the end of it. But Hoseok can’t let go of the feeling that he should offer to do something more. Jungkook is struggling, that much is obvious, and he isn’t going to ask for help. But when has that ever stopped Hoseok before?
“Hey, Jungkook, if you ever are running late again, I can always take Sooyoung home with me. That way you don’t have to worry about rushing to the dance school after work.” Hoseok offers tentatively.
He expects to be shut down, for Jungkook to thank him for the offer but inevitably decline because he doesn’t want to be a bother. But instead, a hopeful look comes over his face and he replies, “That would be really great, Hoseok. Thank you. I’ll text you if I ever need to take you up on that, okay?”
“Of course! That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Yeah,” Jungkook’s smile softens. A passing emotion shows in his eyes for a moment before it’s gone. Something wistful or longing, Hoseok thinks. “Friends.”
Just as they are about to part ways, Hoseok is stopped abruptly, again. This time, by a small pair of arms wrapping around his waist and squeezing tightly. He looks down in shock to see Sooyoung hugging him. She stares up at him with a glimmer in her eyes.
“Thanks for teaching me to dance. And for waiting with me for my dad to show up.” She tells him.
It’s at this moment, with the sun going down and contentment in his heart, that he realizes it. Jungkook and Sooyoung have become a part of his life through the strangest of ways, and he has every intention of keeping it that way. He smiles down at her.
“You’re welcome.”