Chapter Text
“Unpaid Invoice...”
“DISCONNECTION NOTICE”
“ACCOUNT CLOSING SOON...”
Minseok throws the stack of his bills on his table and heads straight to his couch. He lets out a tired groan when the old thing creaks at the sudden weight of his body, and he tries not to think about the possibility of having to replace it any time soon.
It’s another thing he has to worry about again.
It’s too much, all too much.
He feels his phone vibrating in the pocket of his jeans and he immediately scrambles for it. Hope flares up in his chest when he notices that it came from an unknown number, desperately wishing that it’s from the old diner he applied to this afternoon. The pay is shit, but he’ll take anything at this point.
It’s been two weeks since he quit his last job as a bartender from the gay club downtown. Sure, the tips and his colleagues were nice, but his boss is a fucking asshole who doesn't know how to pay his employees on time. It wouldn’t be that much of a problem if Minseok had other jobs, but his bartender job is his bread and butter. It’s only a matter of time before Minseok’s bills and rent knock on his door yet again. He can’t just live off tips alone.
It’s the asshole’s fault that Minseok had overdue bills in the first place. He kept blowing them off during the first few months, hoping that the accumulated pay he’s bound to receive will pay for most of it after.
He was wrong, his boss only paid him for one month, and he hadn’t been paid a single won for more than four months already.
Did he regret punching his boss in the face for it? No.
Did he regret it after getting fired for it? Well, a little bit.
The asshole should count his lucky stars that Minseok only broke his nose. He honestly would’ve done more but he didn’t want to go to jail. He was even prepared to file a complaint against the whole company for the terrible working conditions, but he didn’t want to be the reason his other colleagues lost their jobs so he held his tongue.
But now that he’s jobless and swimming in debt, Minseok considers that he should’ve at least threatened to do more, he’s not above bribery at this point.
His face falls after opening the text message. It’s not from the old diner he applied to earlier.
It's a text message from his culinary school, reminding him about the usual payment plans for the next semester.
Minseok sighs, maybe he has to file for another leave of absence again. He really hopes he can find a decent job during his last month of break. Deferring another semester won’t be so bad if he has a steady job that can help him pay off his debts and save up.
He scrolls through the job postings he bookmarked the other night, trying to see if there are any part-time or full-time jobs that he can still apply to.
Almost as if on cue, as soon as he reaches the final page of the postings, his phone vibrates again. Minseok takes a second to read the name flashing on the screen before he answers.
“Hi Moonbyul-noona,” Minseok greets as he gets up from the couch to head towards his bedroom.
“So, how was the job hunting for the day?” Moonbyul asks brightly.
“As terrible as it sounds. The old diner was my last choice for the day, but it’s clearly not what I imagined it to be.”
“Oh? Does it not look like the ones in the movies we used to watch as kids?”
“Clearly, the movies didn’t really show just how dirty the kitchen looked.” Minseok mumbles tiredly as he places his phone on his desk, putting it on speaker. “The place is one step away from being a contamination zone!”
He heads toward his closet to pick out his pajamas, ready to turn in for the night.
Moonbyul lets out a small laugh, “You love cleaning though, it’d be a great challenge for you I think.”
“Except they didn’t offer me anything, and they said they’d get back to me within the day. I’m already considering it a bust at this point. Noona, why can’t you just let me work at your bakery? I’ll be good! You know I can help you out.”
“Like I said, I want you to finish your studies in culinary school first! You're very talented and hardworking Minnie, you have so much to learn, I don’t want you to feel bogged down by the family business. There’s so much for you out there.”
“But—”
“We can discuss this again after you graduate, alright?” Moonbyul cuts him off, ending the discussion. Minseok sighs. His noona can be stubborn once she puts her mind to it, he hasn’t won any argument yet once she puts her foot down.
“Anyway, I called to let you know that I might need your magic again.”
“Aw, you mean you’re not just worried about my welfare?” Minseok asks, feigning hurt as he puts down his clean pajamas on his bed. He heads toward his desk chair, sitting down as he listens attentively to what his older sister wants to say.
“You ass, of course I care about my only baby brother.”
“Noona, I’m 24.”
“Still a baby if you ask me!”
“What did you want to talk about again?” Minseok gently reminds her, before Moonbyul starts off on a tirade that he is her cutest baby before her first daughter, Yeji, was born.
“Oh, I was just wondering if you can take care of Ji-hoon and his siblings for tomorrow? Junghoo and I have this baking convention that will last all day, and we need a pair of extra hands to help us with the booth.”
“I see how it is, if you don’t want your baby brother to join you in the family business you could’ve just said,” Minseok teases.
“Oh shut up,” Moonbyul laughs. “If you manned our booth, girls and boys would flock to our space and we wouldn’t have any time to talk with potential clients and event organizers.”
It's a bit funny that Moonbyul never forgot that one time their products sold out in three hours when he joined their event last year. It would’ve been more flattering if the customers actually lined up for their confectioneries, but some of them just straight-up asked for his number. It was embarrassing to have his older sister witness that.
Minseok laughs brightly at the reminder. “Of course, noona, I have time to look after the babies tomorrow. What time will the event be?”
“It’ll start at ten in the morning. Please drop by the house at eight before we leave. You can eat your breakfast here. I’ll make that fried rice you like.”
Minseok does a happy dance in his seat. “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow, noona. I’m always proud of you. Love you!”
“I love you too!”
🏠👶🍼
It’s another sunny day. And when the sun is out, it’s easier for Ji-hoon and his other siblings to con Minseok into going out to the playground.
Minseok really wanted an easy, hassle-free day with the kids because he wanted to relax. He even armed himself with a lot of children’s movies and board games. But he supposes it’d be a miracle to even consider that kids have an attention span long enough to watch all day.
Minseok’s plan worked well after their breakfast. The Lion King was a great movie to start with, enough that Ji-hoon, Moonbyul’s second eldest after Yeji, was already trying to decide which DVD to play next for their second movie.
But the plans for the second movie never happened after Haneul, his sister’s middle child, asked if they could go to the playground. Moments after, Ji-hoon, together with Iseul and Yongsun, the youngest twins, joined in and asked Minseok for the same thing.
Minseok is helpless against puppy eyes, even more so if they are quadrupled in number. So naturally, he agrees. Just as well, his noona would probably kill him for even considering that they can use the television all day.
Minseok is thankful that their apartment is a quick 15-minute walk to the playground. The kids could use some fresh air every once in a while after being cooped up in school for the whole week.
Ji-hoon soon disappears the moment they enter the playground. He dashes off towards the swings with the rest of his friends from school. Since Iseul and Yongsun are still just toddlers, Minseok decides that he’ll entertain the babies in the sandbox while supervising them.
It’s also killing two birds with one stone since Minseok knows that Haneul loves making sandcastles, it keeps her entertained for hours. That, and the sandbox is a strategic place that Minseok can use to keep an eye out for Ji-hoon who’s hanging out with his friends. He’d be able to see immediately if any emergency occurs while making sandcastles. Minseok is not too worried though, Ji-hoon is a responsible kid, it’s not common for him to run into any trouble unlike other kids his age.
That’s why it takes Minseok by surprise when Ji-hoon dashes towards him, telling him about an emergency at the other side of the playground. Worried that there’s another kid that needs his help, Minseok quickly asks the old aunties he’s friends with in the sandbox to look after Haneul and the twins in the meantime.
He quickly dusts off his pants before heading towards the place Ji-hoon was talking about. Only to find out that the emergency is a crying baby.
“Ji-hoon, where did you find this baby?” Minseok asks, feeling a little alarmed that someone would leave a baby like this out in the open. He watches Ji-hoon try to get closer to the small child wailing her little lungs out near the swings.
“Hyung, can you do your magic?” Ji-hoon asks, worry evident on his face. “I found her all alone here. She’s so red, I think she’s been crying for a while now.”
“Have you looked for her parents already?”
“Yes, but she isn’t a usual visitor to the area, I don’t know who to look for.”
“Have you started seeing adults that looked frantic and worried?”
“If they’re concerned, they shouldn't have left her in the first place!”
Minseok tries not to laugh, he shouldn’t encourage sarcasm in his tone so early on. But the kid has a point. Ji-hoon is really too wise for his age.
Before Minseok can retort, Ji-hoon drags him closer to the baby, “Hyung, focus please! Your magic! I’m getting worried! Look at how red she is!”
In a panic, Minseok immediately picks up the crying child. Moving on adrenaline and muscle memory alone, he securely tucks the baby in his arms and leans her head on his left shoulder. He slowly rocks back and forth, softly shushing the baby and humming the twins’ favorite nighttime lullaby.
Surprisingly, his trump card for the twins worked like a charm to this unknown baby. Slowly, her cries quieted down into small little sniffs, until she finally succumbed to sleep. Minseok sighs in relief, it’s a good thing that the baby girl has already calmed down. She’d have cried herself sick if she continued like that.
He’s a little worried about what to do next though, he still has four kids to look after. But Minseok couldn’t just drag the baby with him, he might get arrested for kidnapping. Leaving her alone is also out of the question too. Who knows what will happen if some crazy sleazebag finds her.
His train of thought is suddenly interrupted when he hears a gasp from his right.
When he turns toward the source of the voice, he finds a disheveled-looking woman staring at him and the baby with wide eyes.
“Y-you,” she says, pointing at Minseok.
“M-me?” Minseok asks, utterly confused and alarmed.
“Are you by any chance some miracle worker? How did you make her stop crying?”
Startled at the sentence, Minseok quickly puts two and two together. Fuck, this must be the mom. He quickly goes to her and gently hands the now-sleeping baby in his arms over to her.
Minseok quickly bows and apologizes, wanting to escape before the rich-looking woman (judging by her suit), accuses him of something he didn’t do.
“I’m really sorry! My nephew saw her crying and we were worried that she might get sick from crying too much. We’ll be out of your hair immediately!”
Then, he quickly takes Ji-hoon’s wrist and walks away from the woman and her crying baby. When he hears the frantic cries of ‘Wait!’ from the strange mom, he and Ji-hoon sprint faster.
Minseok and Ji-hoon run toward the convenience store near the playground to shake the strange woman off. The two of them buy ice cream cones and hide behind some of the shelves, after three minutes, Minseok finally lets out a sigh of relief when the woman doesn't appear.
Minseok hopes that they’ll never see each other again. He’d really rather not add ‘baby-napper’ to his records.