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It’s the middle of the academic year when Jeongguk has a new student join his class.
An unfamiliar car pulls up in front of the colourful primary school and out gets an older couple accompanied by an adorable little girl. The three—alphas, Jeongguk’s nose identifies immediately—walk toward him where he stands at the outside entrance to his classroom, the small girl hiding behind the older woman’s legs.
“Hello, I’m Jeon Jeongguk. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says with a polite tone as he extends a hand which both of the adults shake.
“So polite. This is our granddaughter, Mirae,” the man tells him.
“She might be a bit shy at first,” the lady beside him adds in a hushed tone.
Of course Jeongguk already knew he had a new student starting today as the head teacher—Seokjin—had notified him last week and though he had been surprised that someone would be joining his class half way through the academic year he didn’t question Seokjin about it.
Jeongguk crouches down, sliding his silver thinly-rimmed glasses further up the bridge of his nose and smiles at Mirae.
“Hello, I’m Jeongguk but you can call me Gukkie. All of my best friends call me that.”
His friendliness draws a shy smile from the young girl as she timidly steps forward, waving sheepishly.
“My name’s Mirae and I’m an alpha,” she introduces herself quietly in well enunciated words, as if she’d rehearsed it over and over in her head.
“Ah, you must be such a brave alpha. I’m just an omega, that’s nowhere near as cool.”
She steps closer again, shaking her head vehemently. “No! Omegas are cool too! You’re a cute omega. Cute like a bunny.”
Jeongguk lets out an exaggerated gasp, internally cooing over the cute girl. “A bunny?”
“Mhm, I love bunnies. I have two!” She holds up two fingers, smiling proudly.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” he says before standing back up and meeting the eyes of her grandparents. “It was really nice to meet you but I think we’ll be fine.”
Both of the adults bid him goodbye with polite smiles, each giving their granddaughter a tight hug before leaving. Mirae waves after them and a subtle sadness takes over her features. Jeongguk notices and extends a hand down toward her.
“Want to hold my hand? I know it can be scary but I promise everyone here is super nice,” he speaks gently.
She holds out her pinky which Jeongguk wraps his own around.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
The small alpha smiles up at him and holds his hand as he guides her further into the colourful classroom.
Of course he has no favourite students; he loves all of the cute wide-eyed kids. But, this shy adorable little girl with bright sparkling eyes reminds him so much of himself when he was a child. She’s so timid at first but her wide doe-like eyes tell of an inner curiosity and eagerness to explore and learn. Jeongguk can’t help but smile fondly at her.
They walk toward a table that already has a young boy and girl sitting.
“Nari, I’m going to introduce you to someone special,” he tells the girl. “Mirae is new to our class and I want you to make her feel welcome and to stick with her at all times.” Turning to the boy, “You too, Jaehyunnie.”
They both nod eagerly as Mirae slides onto the chair beside Nari. Jeongguk watches as they all introduce themselves adorably.
“I’m Mirae, an alpha.”
“Hi Mirae! My name is Nari, I’m an omega and I’m seven.”
Jaehyun leans across the table excitedly, “I’m an omega too! I’m Jaehyun.” He adds, giggling mischievously, “I’m older than Nari.”
“Only by a week!” she whines before turning back to Mirae. They smile at each other cutely before Nari says, “You’re going to be our best friend!”
And with that Jeongguk goes to his place standing at the front of the class, saying good morning to all of his students. He’s sure that the adorable alpha will get on perfectly fine with the other two friends.
In the following few months, Jeongguk only ever sees Mirae being collected by her grandparents and he can’t help but be curious about her parents.
He understands that everyone has a different situation going on at home and he’s definitely not about to ask a seven-year-old about it in case there’s some sort of traumatic event that he doesn’t want to risk triggering. And, frankly, it’s none of his business.
Still, it doesn’t stop his curiosity.
Loosening his tie, Taehyung lets out a deep sigh of relief. As he slides into his sleek black Maserati he can feel the tension in his shoulders alleviate.
Infinitely glad that he managed to get out of work an hour early, Taehyung drives home with a smile on his face, already anticipating the joy on his daughter’s face that he knows will be there when he gets home early. Taehyung parks in the underground parking lot, double checking that his car is locked before taking the elevator up to the thirteenth floor. The keypad beeps as he types in the code for the apartment.
“I’m home!” he shouts as he walks through the door.
Taehyung unwinds the scarf from around his neck, hanging it up and sliding his shoes off to leave beside the door.
“Appa!” Mirae screams. She runs from where she was in the living room and jumps. Taehyung easily scoops her up in his arms. The young alpha giggles into her father’s neck.
“Appa, I missed you!”
Taehyung chuckles throatily as he strolls into the living room, the carpet soft beneath his socks.
“Missed me? I saw you just this morning!” he says exaggeratedly.
Taehyung notices his parents sitting beside each other on the large stone grey L-shaped couch and gives a smile and nod in greeting. He sets her down on the marble kitchen counter and she pouts up at him.
“Appa,” she whines, lower lip jutting out in that adorable way that makes his heart hurt, “I always miss you.”
Sighing, Taehyung doesn’t reply, just lifts her down to the floor and rests a large palm on the top of her head. Absentmindedly running his fingers through her long chocolate hair, he says, “Run along now and appa will get dinner started, hm?”
She nods with a wide toothy grin. One of her front teeth is missing, having fallen out last week. The young alpha had been adorably excited when she’d lost her first tooth. Now, Taehyung can hear her laughter floating through into the kitchen. His heart hurts at thinking about how much his daughter misses him.
Ever since being promoted last month, Taehyung’s yearly salary has substantially increased and they managed to move into this luxurious new apartment. However, it also meant Mirae had to move schools and leave her old friends behind—which he still feels guilty for—and, to make it worse, his work hours increased.
Luckily his parents were kind enough to volunteer to look after Mirae when work doesn’t allow him to spend time with her himself.
He’s rooting through the black stainless steel fridge when Mirae comes rushing back into the kitchen.
“Appa!”
Immediately, he turns around.
“What is it, princess?” he asks, worried at the crease between her eyebrows, identical to the one he knows that he himself gets whenever he’s concerned.
“Halabeoji spilled icky-juice on Cheonsa and Eunha!” she whines, tugging at his loose slacks with one tiny hand. In the other, she clutches her two stuffed bunnies by their ears.
Taehyung crouches down, swiping a strand of her soft brown hair behind her ear. He redirects his attention toward the two small rabbit plushies that she clutches. He notices the dark patches of what is presumably coffee that mat down the fluffy fur of the twin bunnies.
Looking back at Mirae’s wide eyes, shining with tears that threaten to fall, Taehyung’s heart seizes.
He tries his best to soothe her, “Aw, princess. Don’t be upset, appa’s going to clean them and they’ll be perfect again.”
Mirae nods, sniffling, and allows Taehyung to take the two plushies from her hand. Her father straightens up and shuffles over to the sink that sits embedded in the marble island.
Once again tugging at Taehyung’s trousers, Mirae whines. Without even having to ask her what the issue is, Taehyung leans down and picks the small alpha up to place her on the counter beside the sink.
To say Taehyung is experienced in cleaning the plush fabric of the two stuffed rabbits that Mirae lovingly calls Cheonsa and Eunha would be an understatement. The two plushies have been a part of their family for as long as Mirae, considering they were a gift for her when she was born.
He has endured seven years of spilled drinks, splashed paints, and rogue crayon streaks—as have the rabbits—meaning Taehyung has become a professional in knowing how to remove such stains.
Mirae watches diligently as he gently scrubs the faux fur, babbling about anything that pops into her tiny head. She intricately details the cartoon that she was watching with his mother earlier in the day before something else distracts her.
“Oh! Today Bunny let us draw whatever we wanted during art and I drew the flowers we saw at the park!” she recounts in a bubbly voice, full of excitement.
“Wow, I’m sure it’s a really pretty picture, cupcake,” he praises, taking a break from cleaning to lean over and press an adoring kiss to her forehead.
She flourishes under the attention, continuing her story with increased confidence and grandiosity.
“It is, appa! Bunny really liked it so I let him keep it by his desk but I’ll ask if I can bring it home for you to see,” she says, excited by the prospect of her father seeing her beautiful artwork.
This is not the first time that Taehyung has heard of the famous ‘Bunny’—or rather Jeon Jeongguk, as his parents had informed him.
Ever since Mirae started at her new school, when Taehyung gets home every day he is given an in depth recount of her day’s events and never once does she leave out what ‘Bunny’ had been doing.
Mirae is Taehyung’s daughter; his adorable, strong, little alpha whom he loves very much, so of course he’s not jealous. But when he comes home to listen to a long speech about the colour of Jeongguk’s shirt that day—to see the glisten in her eyes and her wide smile as she speaks to fondly of the man—he can’t help the feelings that plague him.
He shouldn’t think too deeply into it, she is only seven years old, after all.
Perhaps he’s jealous that this man gets to spend the entire day with his bundle of joy, meanwhile Taehyung is slaving away in his far too brightly lit office for a far too large portion of the day in order to maintain their far too expensive apartment.
Still, he listens to her daily soliloquies with a smile. Her happiness is his happiness.
“There you go,” he exclaims, holding up both plush bunnies, presenting them to the girl in an extravagant showcase of his efforts. Mirae squeals at her favourite toys being clean again, reaching out to grab them instantly, only to pout when Taehyung holds them away from her grasp. “Ah, they still have to dry, sweetheart. Why don’t they sit by the window while we have dinner, hm?”
She nods reluctantly, not satisfied with having to wait longer to have the soft little rabbits back in her clutches.
However, hunger soon overcomes her and she’s rushing off to the living room, distracted by dragging her grandmother and grandfather to the dining table, all too eager to eat.
Later, when the four of them are sitting around the impressive dining table—plates empty of everything but crumbs, stomachs full, and appetites sated—does Taehyung remember his good news. He reaches over to wipe a splattering of ketchup off Mirae’s sleeve before it stains too permanently while smiling wide.
“Guess what, pumpkin,” he ventures, peaking her attention immediately.
“What? What is it, appa? Tell me, tell me,” she insists, bouncing eagerly in her seat.
Taehyung smiles at her eagerness.
“Appa managed to get the afternoon off work tomorrow, so he’s going to collect you from school,” Taehyung informs, chuckling deeply as he watches her eyes light up.
Squealing, she surges from her chair and climbs onto Taehyung’s lap. “Appa! I’m so excited! You can finally meet Bunny, and we can get ice cream and, and—”
Mirae continues to ramble enthusiastically, seemingly planning an afternoon full of ice cream, colouring, and cartoons.
Any other twenty-seven-year-old might dread spending the afternoon in such a way but, truthfully, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Three o’clock rolls around and all of Jeongguk’s students are brimming with excitement at being able to go home, finally.
Even though he would be lying if he said he weren’t looking forward to a quiet evening at home with a glass of red wine and a reality T.V. show playing mindlessly in the background, he’s upset to watch them all leave at the end of the day.
Parents wander up to the main entrance, exchanging pleasantries with him before departing with their children. Eventually there are only a few left to be collected.
Among them is Mirae, who is bouncing at his side, overflowing with energy as she chatters about something or other. He’s not particularly listening to what she’s saying—rather, he observes her excitement fondly.
However, he does catch the end of one sentence and his attention is effectively captured.
“And— and he said he managed to get the afternoon off work so he can pick me up! Bunny, isn’t that great? You can meet him,” she squeals breathlessly, tugging at the cuff of his sleeve with her small fingers.
Before he can further question her on the matter, a sleek black Maserati elegantly glides into the parking lot. It’s definitely not a car he recognizes.
Then, the driver’s side door is opening and Jeongguk finds himself subconsciously holding a bated breath.
He barely notices Mirae squealing at his side, reaching frequencies he didn’t know humans were capable of generating, as a dashingly handsome figure emerges.
His first assumption is that the person is just a sinfully handsome uncle that looks after Mirae on occasion. The omega’s eyes are drawn to the way his loose black slacks fall effortlessly, hugging his figure in all the right places and how the crisp white sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows, displaying delectable toned forearms.
Jeongguk is abruptly dragged from his reverie by an ear-splitting squeak.
“Appa!”
In a flash, Mirae is no longer at his side but is instead speeding across the parking lot toward the gorgeous man. His heart seizes for a moment, wanting to scold her for her recklessness, but luckily most parents have left the school grounds meaning there are no cars moving about, so he forgets it in favour of focusing on the scene unfolding before him.
Mirae is leaping at the man and with what can only be practiced ease, he effortlessly catches her in his strong arms, pulling her into a tight hug, spilling with love. Jeongguk almost feels as if he’s intruding, simply by watching.
The man’s eyes drift upwards, toward where Jeongguk stands. His inner omega is suddenly timid in the presence of an intimidatingly handsome alpha—he assumes.
For a moment their eyes meet and Jeongguk can hear his heart beating in his ears. A light shudder runs down his spine and he finds himself becoming severely self-conscious.
How is my hair? Is it too long? I knew I shouldn’t have worn this shirt today. Do my glasses make me look—
Mirae starts fidgeting in her father’s arms so he lowers her to the floor. She comes bounding back over to Jeongguk, tugging enthusiastically at his sleeve—a noticeably growing habit of hers.
“Bunny! This is my appa,” she clarifies, a wide grin showcasing her missing tooth.
Blinking rapidly, Jeongguk draws his gaze away from where it was fixed on the ethereal man, down to the small alpha.
He smiles at her, finding her fervour charming. When he looks back up, though, her father is suddenly stood a mere meter away.
There’s a moment of silence in which Jeongguk finds himself holding his breath once again.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he greets, his low timbre vibrating through the omega’s frame. He extends out a large palm, offering it for Jeongguk to shake. “I’m Kim Taehyung, Mirae’s father—as you’ve probably already guessed.”
He chuckles throatily, winking at his daughter teasingly. She remains by Jeongguk’s side, small fingers bunched in the soft material of his sleeve as she smiles up at both men.
A charged moment later, Jeongguk holds up his own hand. He can’t help but notice how his looks dainty in comparison to the alpha’s.
From the point that their hands connect, a welcome warmth spreads all throughout him. The only way he could possibly describe the feeling would be homely. There’s a comfort that the warmth of the touch brings and neither can bring themselves to put an end to it.
Perhaps that’s why the handshake lasts much longer than it should.
After a tense moment of studying each other’s appearances—analysing the careful placement of each mole, the specific hue of their irises, the elegant arch of their eyebrows—Mirae whines, disrupting the prolonged silence, “Bunny, appa promised to get ice cream with me.”
Taehyung yanks his hand away, tucking it into the pocket of his slacks as if having to restrain himself from reaching out and touching the omega.
Looking down at her for a fleeting moment before his eyes inevitably stray back to meet Taehyung’s deep brown ones, Jeongguk offers a smile, “Wow, that’s exciting.”
He looks back up at the man, clearing his throat which suddenly feels very tight.
“I’m, uh, Jeongguk,” he trips over his introduction. “Jeon Jeongguk.”
A teasing grin blossoms on the alpha’s face as his head tilts slightly.
“Jeongguk?” And, God, is Jeongguk already obsessed with the way he says his name. “Not ‘Bunny’?”
For a split second, confusion contorts the omega’s features before realisation dawns on him.
Smiling sheepishly at the young girl by his side, “Oh, yeah...”
A blush creeps onto his cheeks as he fumbles over an explanation.
“She said— Apparently, I look like a rabbit? I don’t think—”
“Hm,” Taehyung hums, effectively quieting the omega, as his eyes dance over Jeongguk’s face. “She’s not wrong.”
Jeongguk blinks owlishly. “Oh?”
Biting his lip in an attempt to conceal a fond smile that threatens to grow, Taehyung nods. “I think it’s your eyes.”
“My eyes?” Jeongguk asks hesitantly.
“Mhm, they’re very adorable, like a bunny.”
Realising the reality of what he just said—to a man that he’s never met before—Taehyung desperately tries to divert the conversation as he notices the omega’s eyes widen at the statement.
“Actually, I, uh... I’m kind of embarrassed,” he admits, scratching the back of his neck.
“Embarrassed? Oh, um, why?” Jeongguk stammers, still flushed and recovering from the compliment.
“Mirae’s been your student for almost four months now and this is the first time I’ve even been here,” Taehyung admits.
The omega rushes to provide reassurance, stumbling over his words in his haste to alleviate Taehyung’s worries, “No, no, don’t be embarrassed. I’m sure you’re very busy...”
No words are exchanged for a moment, the quiescence in the conversation causing Jeongguk’s socially awkward self to panic.
As he’s wracking his brain for potential conversation topics, the tight grip on his sleeve—a feeling he’d grown comfortably accustomed to in these past four months—acquiesces and he watches Mirae jump the short distance from his side to her father’s.
“Appa,” she groans, “I’m bored! Can we go get ice cream now?”
He looks down at Mirae, having to drag his eyes away from where they were fixed on Jeongguk.
With a furrowed brown, he scolds, “Don’t be rude, Mirae.”
Pouting, Mirae goes to say something but Jeongguk cuts her off.
“It’s fine... I, um, I should go,” he explains, reluctant to end their interaction. “I have some stuff to, uh—”
“No, it’s totally fine! I should go too, before this little one explodes from ice cream deprivation,” he jokes, though his smile doesn’t quite reach his deep chocolate eyes.
“Yes, you shouldn’t keep such a beautiful little alpha waiting,” he flatters, winking teasingly at Mirae.
The girl flushes scarlet at the attention and bids Jeongguk a timid goodbye with a cute wave and a “Bye bye, Bunny!”
She bounds over to the car, tugging at the handle of the locked door, even after it doesn’t open. The rough treatment of his prized possession makes Taehyung cringe with internal pain.
He flashes Jeongguk a small smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Jeongguk.”
The omega bows slightly, floppy black hair falling over the lenses of his glasses.
“You too, Taehyung-ssi.”
Before he’s rushing over to stop Mirae was ripping the car door from its hinges, he says two words that bury themselves deep in the warmth of Jeongguk’s hammering heart, butterflies raging in his stomach.
“Goodbye, Bunny.”
For the entirety of the week following, Taehyung’s thoughts don’t once stray from the bunny-boy. His thoughts are constantly clouded by shining down-like eyes and his bashful smile, perfectly arched eyebrows, silky raven hair that he just wants to glide his fingers through—
“Hello? Taehyung? Are you listening?”
His mother’s insistent voice streams from his phone speakers, interrupting his spiralling thoughts.
Clearing his throat, Taehyung replies, “Yes, eomma, I’m here. I was just, um, reading through some files.” A blatant lie.
“Okay, but you never answered my question,” she presses.
“What?” he asks absentmindedly, more focused on retrieving his suit jacket from the back of his swivelling desk chair. “Oh, right. I begged my boss to let me get off work a few hours early so you don’t need to pick Mirae up.”
His mother hums through the phone. Taehyung recognises that sound.
“What?” he groans, combing his hair off his forehead.
“Nothing. You’ve taken a very avid interest in collecting her from school recently.”
Taehyung scoffs, collecting his bag from his desk and making his way from his office.
“So, wanting to pick my daughter up from school is a crime now?”
“That’s not what I’m saying... I’m just curious, is all,” his mother defends. “Taehyungie, that adorable little pup wouldn’t want you to hold yourself back because of her. Go out, experience new things; you’re only twenty-seven.”
The alpha climbs into his car, phone automatically connecting to the bluetooth and his mother’s voice is blasting through the car’s sound system.
“I don’t mean to pry, Taehyung, but—”
He finally surrenders with a deep sigh. “Yes, there’s something, I just don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It’s nothing just yet,” he grumbles.
The disbelieving scoff she lets out rumbles from the car’s speakers.
“So now you’re keeping secrets from your own eomeoni?”
The alpha lets out a dejected breath, rolling his eyes, as he smoothly directs the car around a corner, pulling into the car park of the school. “No need for the dramatics, eomma. And no need to mention any of this to abeoji either.”
He already knows that she’s about to go on a rant—‘now you’re asking me to lie to your father?’—so he speaks before she can.
“Listen, eomma, I’ve arrived so I need to go—”
The older alpha’s voice cuts his off, “You’ve only just arrived? Taehyung you’re late!”
“You’re the one that called me!” he defends. “It slowed me down.”
“Enough with your complaining, just hurry up,” she argues and ends the call before he can even finish the word ‘goodbye’.
Smile teasing his lips—he loves his mother, however much they may bicker—Taehyung gets out of his car, looking as professional and put together as ever, mood in pristine condition.
Of course, it all comes crumbling down when he catches sight of Jeongguk.
The omega is standing to the side of the main entrance, shoulders hunched, arms wrapped around himself as if he’s trying to become so small that he disappears.
Smile falling immediately, Taehyung rushes over. The sound of his Kensington Oxfords slapping against the asphalt alerts Jeongguk of his presence.
Startled, the omega’s head darts upward. As soon as he registers the alpha coming toward him, he straightens up completely. Sleeves balled in his fists, he nudges his glasses down his nose and rubs at his eyes vigorously.
Once he’s standing directly in front of him, Taehyung’s large palms reach out and stop the omega’s harsh rubbing.
“Hey, hey, you’re going to hurt yourself,” he whispers. “What’s going on?”
Gently drawing Jeongguk’s balled up fists away from his face which has turned red and blotchy, presumably from all of the crying.
“Wait, Jeongguk, why are you crying?” he worries.
A series of sniffles erupts from the omega, preventing any further questioning from Taehyung.
“I’m so sorry, Taehyung, I— she just— I don’t know what happened, it just—” His words dissolve into an unintelligible mess.
Taehyung feels helpless.
He has no idea how to calm down a crying omega; he’s never had to do this before—his parents are both alphas, mirae’s mother was an alpha, mirae’s an alpha. The only other situation that may be remotely similar would be a crying seven-year-old.
Pushing aside the rational part of his brain that screams ‘You’ve only met once’, Taehyung does all he can think to do in the moment.
He gathers the gentle omega in his arms, tugging him into a tight hug. Before he can give it any second thoughts, he combs his slender fingers through the velvety black strands.
“Jeongguk, please, calm down,” he pleads in a hushed voice. “Take a breath and tell me what happened.”
Releasing his comforting grip around the omega, Taehyung takes a short step back but his palms linger on Jeongguk’s shoulders.
Sniffling out a “Please don’t be upset with me,” Jeongguk casts his gaze downwards.
Squeezing his grip tighter for a fleeting moment, “Jeongguk, it’s going to be okay... just tell me what happened. We’ll sort it out together, hm?”
Nodding, Jeongguk rubs at his eyes with the soft material of his sweater enveloped hands before inhaling a deep breath.
He’s wearing a dark turtleneck that looks unbelievably comfy and his thin rimmed glasses are slipping down his nose with the dampness of his tears. With tears shining over his endless black irises, he looks infinitely more adorable and Taehyung feels bad for even thinking that at a time such as this.
Letting out a self-depreciating chuckle, “I can’t believe I was crying...”
“Guk, if you were crying I’m sure it’s something important. What is it?”
By now, his expansive palms have slipped down from the other man’s dainty shoulders, brushing over the soft material that clings to his arms, have slid into Jeongguk’s own hands and are squeezing his slender fingers to provide any droplets of reassurance that he can manage.
“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk finally starts, still unable to meet Taehyung’s line of sight, “I don’t know what happened. It was only Jaehyun and Mirae left to be collected and they were just playing together and then I hear crying and Jaehyun has blood streaming from his nose. I rushed him to the bathroom to get some tissue which was irresponsible of me and when we came back Mirae was gone, she wasn’t here anymore, I don’t—”
Breathing deeply, Taehyung tries to stay as calm as possible; it definitely won’t be helpful if both of them are panicking.
He forces a smile, “We’ll find her, Guk. Stay calm, it’ll be okay.”
“Okay,” he sniffles.
“Okay. First, where’s Jaehyun?”
“Um, his parents already came to collect him, just a minute before you arrived.”
Nodding resolutely, Taehyung says, “That’s good. So, she’s only been missing for a few minutes?”
Jeongguk confirms by nodding quickly.
“Fine, we just need to start looking. She’s only got little legs; can’t have gone far.”
That brings Jeongguk at least some semblance of reassurance as he visibly calms, posture relaxing as he takes a deep breath.
“Okay.”
“You know the inside better than I do, so you look in there and I’ll check the outdoor spaces, okay?”
“Okay,” he breathes.
Jeongguk readjusts his glasses before turning and starting a brisk walk toward the main entrance. Taehyung’s eyes only linger for a short moment before he turns and wanders in the other direction.
Now that he’s alone, his nerves erupt inside of him. Adrenaline fuels the panic that sets in at the thought of his little alpha being in trouble.
He can’t even find it in himself to be upset with Jeongguk—images of the omega’s eyes sparkling with tears and nose rubbed red surfacing in his mind.
Considering Taehyung has only even been here a few times before, he hardly knows which direction leads where. This ends up with Taehyung aimlessly searching the perimeter of the school, not knowing where to look.
Just as he is about to turn around and reconvene with Jeongguk at the main entrance, a high pitched voice pierces his ears.
“Appa! You’re here!” Mirae screams as she rushes toward her father as fast as her little legs allow.
Taehyung feels as if his heart starts beating again when he sees her face painted with joy, a concoction of wildflowers and grass clutched in her tiny grasp.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Taehyung jogs over to her—uncaring for the way it may crease the sharp angles of his suit. Just as he has done so many times before, Taehyung reaches down and scoops the small excitable alpha up into his arms.
Oblivious to the adrenaline and panic she caused just moments ago, Mirae smiles at Taehyung whilst holding tightly onto his silk tie.
“Mirae, you are in so much trouble,” he states, tone stern and unwavering as he starts walking back in the direction of the school’s main entrance.
The little girl whines as she tugs harshly at her father’s expensive tie.
“What? Appa, why?”
Bold eyebrows drawing together, Taehyung frowns. They’re only a short distance from the front entrance and he can see Jeongguk pacing up and down, raking his fingers through his soft raven hair; obviously distressed.
When the omega spots them, the stress in his features melts away and he comes rushing over. Wordlessly, he grabs Mirae from Taehyung’s arms and hugs her close to himself.
Surprise lifts Taehyung’s expression as he’s shocked by Jeongguk’s abrupt action of tugging his daughter from his arms without warning. Taehyung would consider it rude if the relief weren’t so plain on the omega’s face. So, he lets Jeongguk hug his daughter tightly.
“Bunny, you’re crushing my flowers!” the young girl complains, small eyebrows pinching together in a way almost identical to how Taehyung’s had.
“I was so scared you got hurt, Mimi,” Jeongguk whispers, eyes soft as he looks at Mirae.
Taehyung observes as his daughter reaches up with her free hand—the one that doesn’t maintain a firm hold on the wildflowers and grass—to pat Jeongguk’s head, providing an adorable reassurance.
“Sorry, Bunny. I went to pick some flowers for Jaehyunnie because his nose was being mean,” she explains, a cute pout on her lips.
A short laugh escapes the omega, gaze softening as his eyes obediently scan over the handful of nature.
“That’s very nice of you, but Jaehyunnie went home,” Jeongguk explains. Her pout intensifies as he continues, “His appas came to pick him up but his nose is fine now, don’t worry.”
At the sight of her eyes landing on the concrete floor, the omega offers, “Maybe I can help you pick some fresh flowers to give to him tomorrow.”
Mirae’s mood significantly perks up at the suggestion and she begins wiggling in Jeongguk’s arms. He sets her down carefully before straightening up and meeting Taehyung’s eye-line.
“I’m really sorry that she ran off, I promise I’ll discipline her when we get home—”
“No, it’s okay. It’s my fault,” Jeongguk interrupts, sadness glazing over his face as he picks at the soft black sleeve of his turtleneck. “I should have been watching her—”
Stepping closer—a wave of courage washing over him—and prying Jeongguk’s fingers from the delicate material, Taehyung gently intertwines their fingers to give his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“No,” he states firmly. “Stop blaming yourself.”
The alpha’s dominant presence leaves Jeongguk the only option of nodding and acquiescing, lips sealing together tightly.
Reluctantly, Taehyung releases the omega’s hand from his own and steps toward the car park where Mirae is repeatedly yanking on the locked car’s door handles. He notes the behaviour in his head, reminding himself to scold her for it later before turning to Jeongguk a final time.
“Goodbye, Bunny,” he teases, a flirtatious smile on his lips.
Jeongguk watches Taehyung walk over to his car, swinging his keys around his slender tan finger as he goes and once again Jeongguk is left with butterflies fluttering around inside of him.
Once again, Taehyung finds himself messaging his father that he doesn’t have to bother collecting Mirae from school as he climbs into his swift Maserati. It’s most definitely not because he finds himself itching for another interaction with a certain rabbit-resembling man.
But when he arrives Jeongguk is already wrapped up in a conversation with another parent and Mirae is barreling into his arms, drawing his attention away from the omega.
“Hello, princess,” he greets as he hoists her into his arms. “How was your day?”
“It was amazing, appa!” she informs him enthusiastically. “Jaehyunnie asked if I can have a sleepover at his house! He invited Nari too!”
Coincidentally, it’s at that moment that Taehyung hears footsteps approaching them, the signature sweet scent of omega arriving simultaneously.
He turns around and is greeted with the sight of a man and small girl at his side—presumably his daughter. The man offers a friendly smile, displaying a set of blinding white teeth.
“I’m Park Jimin, nice to meet you,” the shorter man introduces. One hand is held tightly in his daughter’s but he holds the other toward Taehyung. The alpha’s large palm all but engulfs Jimin’s. “I’m Nari’s father.”
The two girls are practically vibrating at their fathers’ sides, unable to contain their excitement.
Taehyung returns the smile and the introduction, “Kim Taehyung, Mirae’s father, but I assume you already knew that.”
Grinning sheepishly, Jimin nods.
“Of course. This little one has been begging me to organize a sleepover for ages now.”
Nari smiles sweetly, the spitting image of her father.
Mirae tugs at Taehyung’s hand, fixing him with a stern look that he supposes is intended to intimidate him into agreeing. Either way, she looks adorable.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Taehyung agrees.
His words make Jimin nod furiously.
“Amazing! We can trade phone numbers! I’ll text you Hoseok and Yoongi’s numbers too—” At the look of confusion on Taehyung’s face, Jimin cuts himself off before expanding, “They’re Jaehyun’s dads; super friendly, don’t worry!”
Slipping his phone out of the pocket of his slacks, Taehyung says, “Perfect.”
Handing his phone over, the alpha allows Jimin to create a new contact for himself and the other two men that he mentioned.
As he types away at Taehyung’s phone, Jimin continues to babble, “You should join the Parent Committee! We meet every few weeks to discuss issues and events... We’re actually meeting tomorrow evening; it’d be great if you were there.”
Finally, “I’ll be sure to message you in the next few days!” he confirms before tugging Nari by the hand. The girl is reluctantly peeled away from Mirae’s tight embrace.
The two couldn’t be more enthralled by the fact that they’re going to be able to have a sleepover, finally!
As abruptly as they arrived, the small family wander away.
“Thank you, appa! Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she squeals, jumping up and down, causing her silky chocolate hair to dance in the air.
Taehyung’s definitely disappointed that he wasn’t able to talk to Jeongguk but Mirae’s pure glee is more than enough to make up for it.
The phosphorescent moon is suspended in the endless darkness of the night sky. The gentle light that it reflects glides through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows of the apartment, shedding a silver hue on everything in the living room.
Taehyung takes a moment to appreciate its subtle glow before shuffling down the hall, carefully opening the door to Mirae’s bedroom.
Fairy lights sparkle, casting a golden glow over the entire room. Taehyung carefully navigates his way toward the bed, cautious of all of the toys and clothes strewn across the floor.
Mirae is nestled deep in her thick lilac comforter, blankets pulled right up to her chin. Her eyelids droop as she battles fatigue—there’s no way she’d allow herself to fall asleep without her goodnight kiss.
Silently, he perched on the edge of the bed. The girl lets out a whine and Taehyung instinctively stands back up again.
“Sorry,” he whispers when he notices he’d sat on the foot of a pastel purple stuffed rabbit. When Mirae’s frown doesn’t evaporate, he leans down and presses a light peck on the faux fur. “My apologies, Eunha.”
The little alpha exhales steadily, eyelids dropping closed before she forces them open again.
Taehyung shuffles closer—hesitant as to avoid sitting on any precious stuffed animals.
“Time to go to sleep, pumpkin,” he murmurs, reaching a hand up to swipe away a stray strand of hair that falls in front of her face.
“Don’ wanna,” she complains, whining even when she’s so tired.
“I’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart,” Taehyung reminds her, hoping this doesn’t turn into a tantrum.
Luckily for Taehyung, Mirae is too tired to argue so she acquiesces with ease.
He picks up Cheonsa and Eunha, moving to tuck the two purple and white bunnies beneath the duvet along side her. She cuddles them close, looking all too cute.
To save her the disappointment of realising she won’t be seeing her father tomorrow afternoon, he decides it’s best to inform her now.
“I won’t be able to pick you up after school tomorrow. I’m attending a Parents Committee meeting at your school straight after work so Halmeoni and Halabeoji will be there to pick you up.”
Sniffling, she enquires, “Is everyone’s appa and eomma going to be there?”
“Not everyone’s parents will be there, I don’t think,” he explains in a quiet voice. Trying to brighten her mood, he says, “Nari’s appa, Jimin, will be there, though. We’ll talk more about your sleepover.”
There’s a short pause in which Taehyung thinks she may have fallen asleep but eventually she mumbles, “Appa...”
“Yes princess,” he replies.
“...How come some of the other kids have eommas and appas but I’ve only got an appa?” she asks, words slightly mispronounced due to the encroaching need for sleep.
Breath catching in his throat, Taehyung hesitates before avoiding the question.
“You’re tired, baby. We should wait until tomorrow, hm?”
Albeit whining, Mirae gives in.
“‘Kay. Love you, appa,” she whispers as if confiding a great secret in him.
“Sleep well, love,” he returns, pressing a delicate kiss to her forehead before planting another on the head of each of her stuffed rabbits. “Night, Cheonsa. Night, Eunha.”
As he stands from the bed, his knees generate an unpleasant crack. When he moves to take a step away a small hand reaches out to wrap around one of his slender fingers.
A very slurred “Stay” comes from the huddle of blankets; Mirae’s barely visible beneath the swathe of blankets and myriad of stuffed animals.
Too tired to resist, Taehyung cramps himself onto the slither of surface between his daughter and the edge of the bed. It leaves him half hanging off the mattress and his head tilted at an awkward angle to rest atop Mirae’s.
The discomfort is entirely worth it for the way her small hand fists the material of his shirt and she finally slips into unconsciousness. He delivers another light kiss to her forehead before succumbing to fatigue himself.
When he wakes up an hour or so later his shirt is creased and his neck aches as he stumbles back in the direction of his bedroom. Luckily he makes it without tripping over a stray toy or stubbing his toe on a doorframe—something he’s been subject to several painful times.
Without bothering to change out of his work attire, Taehyung slides beneath his pristine white duvet, causing the smooth sheets to crumple with every movement.
Laying in the consuming darkness, Taehyung can’t help but notice how his bed feels far too large and far too cold; how he’d much rather there was another person to cuddle him and press kisses to his forehead until he falls back asleep.
Friday afternoon arrives and Taehyung finds himself in his office a half hour later than he was supposed to leave on the verge of yanking his hair out from stress.
Over the past couple of weeks he’d taken more than a few afternoons off work so that he was able to collect Mirae from school. It had caught up to him when his manager had entered his office unannounced earlier and asked him to take on a new project and he simply couldn’t refuse. It took him all afternoon to organise the baseline details and arrangements, and he hadn’t even gotten started on the actual project yet.
Trying not to get too overwhelmed, he decides that he’ll just leave the office now, hopefully make it to the Parents Committee meeting on time and work overtime on Saturday.
“Okay,” he breathes shakily, trying to reassure himself that everything will be fine.
He slides his suit jacket from the back of his chair and picks up is bag in the same fluid movement before heading straight for the elevator. Shooting the receptionist a friendly smile on his way out, Taehyung physically restrains himself from jogging to his car; the only reason being the need to maintain his image in front of his colleagues and subordinates.
Taehyung makes it to the school in record time, raking his fingers through his hair and rolling up his shirt sleeves just after he’s parked, trying to make himself at least somewhat presentable. It’s his first time meeting most of the parents of the other children in Mirae’s class so he wants to look smart and put-together, especially because he’s already late.
Definitely no other reasons or people that he wants to look attractive for.
Carefully closing the door of his Maserati—it undergoes a lot of stress and damage from Mirae so he likes to treat it with respect—Taehyung makes toward the school’s front entrance.
He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his fitted suit slacks and can’t help the feeling of anxiety that overcomes him.
Taehyung’s never considered himself to be an awkward person—he effortlessly conducts himself with confidence when at work but when he thinks about it, he realises he’s never actually tried making friends.
Somehow the prospect of socialising with other parents feels far more daunting than that one time he had to fire a person.
All of the other times he has been to the school have been to collect Mirae and by the time he arrived she was outside waiting for him. He’s never actually been inside so he has no idea where he’s supposed to be going.
Wandering up the front steps, Taehyung looks around hesitantly.
Luckily he notices a familiar face: Jimin is in the hallway, leaning against a brightly coloured wall display covered by inspirational quotes, a phone pressed to his ear.
The omega catches sight of Taehyung and a wide smile stretches across his cherubic face.
“Oh, sorry, I have to go!” he speaks into the phone before hanging up the call.
Practically skipping over to the alpha, Jimin squeaks, “Taehyung!”
His excitement almost reminds him of Mirae.
“Sorry, I know I’m late...” Taehyung apologises as he nervously adjusts his rolled up shirt sleeves.
“You’re totally fine! The meeting hasn’t even started yet—these things are pretty laidback,” Jimin explains, pocketing his phone before walking down the corridor.
Taehyung follows behind, scared to lose sight of the omega and get lost again.
After a short journey, Jimin leads him into a classroom. The walls are painted a subtle mint green but they are barely visible for the countless number of bright wall displays that showcase the childrens’ artwork, class photographs, colourful collages.
The wooden desks have been pushed together to create a large table in the centre of the room, reminiscent of the type that sit proudly in the myriad of meeting rooms in Taehyung’s office building.
Jimin was clearly telling the truth when he said the meeting hadn’t started yet as there are people scattered all around the room, mostly conversing in small groups to the other parents and few staff members that have also decided to attend.
Taehyung’s gaze seamlessly finds Jeongguk as if in his observations of the classroom he’d been subconsciously searching for the omega.
He’s wearing a black dress shirt tucked into slacks the same black as his shirt, matching Taehyung’s own trousers. The outfit is secured by a thick dark belt that accentuates his slim waist, accessorised by a pair of thinly rimmed silver glasses.
Taehyung has only ever seen the omega dressed in more casual clothes as ‘It makes the kids feel more comfortable around me,’ as Jeongguk had told him once, ‘I want them to see me as their friend, not some scary staff member.’
Sadly, Jimin pulls Taehyung away from his staring as he tugs him by the arm.
“Jimin-ssi,” Taehyung lets out a startled yelp.
Clicking his tongue, “Ah, drop the formalities,” Jimin admonishes.
All of a sudden Taehyung is stood in front of two people he doesn’t recognise. He’s struck by the stark contrast between them.
One has a beaming smile that showcases his pristine white teeth and causes his dark brown eyes to form crescents. The other is shorter with his lips sat in a determinedly flat line, deep eyes appeasing as they glide up and down Taehyung’s figure. Taehyung has never been so certain that someone is an alpha in all of his twenty seven years.
“Jung Hoseok, omega,” the first man introduces. Taehyung is almost too scared of the alpha to accept Hoseok’s handshake.
His alpha not allowing him to be intimidated, Taehyung shakes the omega’s hand with a pleasant smile.
“Kim Taehyung, alpha,” he replies.
The other man nods slightly, eyes softening as he introduces himself.
“I’m Min Yoongi,” he says, knowing he doesn’t even need to inform Taehyung that he’s an alpha, “Jaehyun’s father.”
It clicks in his head then, Jimin’s eagerness to introduce him to the pair.
“Ah, I’m Mirae’s father,” he feels the need to explain.
Smiling, Hoseok waves a hand absentmindedly, “We know! Jiminie has told us all about you. And Hyunnie never stops talking about Mirae and Nari.”
“The three are going to be a handful together,” Jimin chimes in.
All four of the adults chuckle at the omega’s comment before a silence settles over them. Taehyung is afraid that his presence as a newcomer may be the root of the awkwardness among the three who are clearly already extremely comfortable around one another. So, he speaks up.
“Have you been married for long?” he asks Yoongi and Hoseok, mostly Hoseok as he’s still a bit scared of directly addressing Yoongi.
Clearly he said the wrong thing as Yoongi lets out a deep sigh, checking his watch as if impatient for the meeting to start. Meanwhile Hoseok lets out a burst of laughter.
“We’re not married—just boyfriends,” he sputters out through settling snickers. Pointing at Yoongi, he continues, “This one here still hasn’t proposed. It’s been seven years! Can you believe that...”
Yoongi and Jimin both roll their eyes, obviously having heard this all before. Taehyung just laughs politely, feeling infinitely more comfortable already.
Someone in the room clears his throat loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. All heads turn toward a tall gorgeous man stood at the head of the table.
“Good evening, everyone. As I’m sure most of you already know, my name is Kim Seokjin, the head of this fine establishment,” he speaks with a firm yet teasing lilt to his tone, clear in his authoritative position and that he’s teasing.
There’s a low rumble of laughter throughout the room, everyone glancing around at the messy paint covered surfaces. ‘Fine establishment’ is not exactly how Taehyung would describe it.
“If everyone could take a seat, we’ll get started,” Seokjin continues with a welcoming smile, clapping his hands together.
Taehyung follows the other three to the table, sitting between Jimin and Hoseok. It’s an awkward manoeuvre to try and fit his long legs beneath the table designed for a child but he manages.
And so, the meeting commences with everyone sat around the table, eyes trained on Seokjin as he talks.
“We should get right into it! As you all know by now, we’ve been planning a trip to the coast, most likely Busan when we take into consideration travel prices that the bus company E-mailed over,” he explains. Honestly, Taehyung has little to no clue as to what he’s talking about. Even so, he listens attentively. “Thanks to our latest volunteers, we finally have enough adults to supervise the number of children that have expressed interest in the trip.”
Light applause resounds around the table at the good news.
The meeting continues with Seokjin explaining their plans for the upcoming trip that they’ve have been planning for a month or so now. Occasionally parents and members of staff chip in with suggestions and destinations they recommend visiting.
All of the details surrounding prices, activities, time frames, permission slips, and more fly straight over Taehyung’s head.
Seokjin ends the meeting with an announcement about the upcoming Parent–Teacher Conference scheduled to take place at the end of the school year.
“Thank you so much for coming, everyone. I really appreciate the continued investment and interest in the events of the school by parents and the dedication of the staff that have given up their time to facilitate this meeting,” he concludes, standing from his chair and bowing in respect and appreciation.
Taehyung pushes his chair away from the desk, stretching his legs and groaning slightly at the relief the action brings. Checking his silver Rolex, the alpha notices how late in the evening that it is.
Images of Mirae lounging on the couch, pouting, staring the the direction of the front door plague his mind. Suddenly he feels the need to get home soon. His little alpha is always disappointed when he gets home late.
Turning to Jimin, he says, “Sorry, Jimin, I should head home.”
“You’re right!” Jimin replies, usual smile that rests on his face more subdued that normal. “Nari’s with her babysitter right now but I still need to get home soon, too; she always throws a tantrum when I don’t wish her goodnight before she sleeps.”
Chuckling, Taehyung cards his fingers through his dark hair. “Mirae’s the same. No wonder they get on so well.”
People stand up from the table, exchanging pleasantries and goodbyes before departing.
His eyes dart around the room before settling on Jeongguk. The omega is stood beside Seokjin and another man at the head of the table, the three of them speaking with broad smiles and bouts of laughter erupting every few moments.
It feels wrong to leave without speaking to him, even if just to say goodbye. It also feels rude to interrupt his conversation just to say goodbye.
One feeling outweighs the other and Taehyung finds himself walking over to the trio.
“Um, hello,” he mumbles, smiling politely to the other two men as his hand rests on the omega’s elbow. “Jeongguk-ssi, I was about to leave and just wanted to say goodbye—”
The omega’s eyes widen, before stepping aside and nodding toward the unknown man.
“Taehyung! This is Kim Seokjin—as you know—and Kim Namjoon,” he introduces, “He’s Seokjin’s husband who works in reception and, more importantly, is my big brother.”
Suddenly, meeting Namjoon feels far more significant.
Said person smiles fondly at Jeongguk before meeting Taehyung’s gaze.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Namjoon-ssi,” Taehyung says as he shakes hands with the taller man.
His height and stature suggests power and dominance yet he doesn’t carry the same intimidating aura that most alphas do. This short calculation leads Taehyung to believe that Namjoon is a beta.
“Nice to meet you too, Taehyung. I look forward to getting to know you better.”
The words carry a certain weight that feels important in a way that he can’t quite interpret.
“I should probably head home, Mirae is—”
Jeongguk cuts him off, insisting, “I’ll walk you out.”
Before Taehyung even gets the chance to respond, Jeongguk’s fingers wrap around Taehyung’s tan wrist, warmth spreading from the contact.
They leave the classroom, Jeongguk leading Taehyung through the corridors in companionable silence. Never once does his grip on the alpha’s wrist subside.
Eventually they reach the front entrance, biting evening air chilling around them. It’s Taehyung’s turn to show Jeongguk the way, strolling at a leisurely pace until they’re stood beside his beloved car.
They both shiver slightly as they stand in front of one another.
“Thanks for walking me out here,” the alpha starts quietly, not wanting to be too loud and disrupt the calm atmosphere that surrounds them.
Tucking his hands deep in his pockets, Jeongguk grins.
“It was my pleasure. I hope you enjoyed meeting everyone.”
“I did...” Taehyung speaks truthfully, although he has realised as a result of the evening that he’s definitely not as sociable as he once thought he was. Scratching the shorter hair on the nape of his neck, he admits sheepishly, “Though, I wish you gave me more warning before introducing me to your brother.”
He’s half teasing, half serious.
Jeongguk giggles cutely and—although he feels as if he’s missing out on some sort of joke—the sound makes the corners of Taehyung’s lips curl upward.
“Namjoon isn’t my brother.”
Bold eyebrows knit together. “But you said—”
“I just tell people he’s my brother—I like to think he’s my brother. We’re just really close friends; not related by blood.”
Taehyung almost pouts as he whines, “Still, you should have warned me!”
Stepping closer to the alpha, Jeongguk looks up at him. “Why do you care what my brother thinks of you?”
Taehyung just settles him with an intense look that Jeongguk can’t quite decipher—it’s as if even Taehyung himself doesn’t know the true meaning of his feelings.
A silence settles between them. Taehyung takes it as a chance to openly allow his eyes to wander from Jeongguk’s shoes to back up to his eyes—freely observing how stunning the omega looks in the all-black ensemble.
“You look really smart, Guk. I’ve never seen you wear anything that’s not colourful before,” he observes.
“And I’ve never seen you wear anything other than a suit,” Jeongguk returns, his cute giggling not matching the dangerous glint in his eyes. “I’m just joking. Thank you, Taehyung. I wanted to look a bit more presentable considering there’s no chance of getting paint on these clothes like there is usually.”
Taehyung also explains, “I, uh, usually pick up Mirae straight after I get out of work, so I don’t have time to—”
“I understand, Taehyungie, I’m teasing. Besides, you look really handsome in a suit.”
Becoming all too aware of their proximity, Taehyung arches an eyebrow. The omega seems dangerously confident tonight.
“I’m glad you came,” the younger man admits, serious rather than his previous joking tone.
“Me too.”
They hang off each other’s every word, not wanting the interaction to end.
After a reluctant moment that consists of swimming in the dark pools of Jeongguk’s eyes, Taehyung whispers, “I should go.”
Even though Taehyung thought it impossible, Jeongguk manages to step closer. He reaches up and winds his arms around Taehyung’s neck.
Without even having to think, Taehyung returns the embrace by wrapping his arms around the omega’s slim waist.
The feeling of his strong arms tightly secured around the omega’s figure is addicting. So much so that they stay in each other’s arms for what feels like forever—it’s still not long enough.
It’s peaceful and warm and utterly perfect until Taehyung’s nose accidentally brushes over Jeongguk’s scent gland that is buried in the crook of his neck.
Shocked by the intimate—albeit unintentional—action, the two pull apart immediately.
Dismissing any potential awkwardness before if has the opportunity to form a wall between them, Taehyung reaches up and swipes the soft raven bangs off Jeongguk’s forehead.
“Goodnight, Bun,” he whispers, eyes never leaving Jeongguk’s.
“Night, Taehyungie.”
It’s the night following that Taehyung receives a message from Jimin.
The alpha is lounging on his couch, glass of wine delicately yet securely held in one hand, television remote control in the other as he surfs through channels. His baby blue work shirt is unbuttoned past his navel, revealing his smooth tan skin to the open air of his apartment.
Heat emanates from the electric fire place built into the wall below the television, flames licking upward as if desperate to reach the screen and choose a channel for Taehyung considering he seems too indecisive to select one himself. The warmth they exude clings to the fluid expanse of his skin, causing small pearls of sweat to bead there.
Most people would find the intense heat uncomfortable but Taehyung relishes in it. He finds that the almost unbearable warmth is far more durable than the all consuming reminder of loneliness that comes with being cold.
Taehyung isn’t lonenly per se, of course he has his parents one phone call away and Mirae is the light of his life, but he craves a certain companionship that none of them can provide.
Pressing the glass to his lips, Taehyung takes a long sip of the carmine liquid, feeling pure relaxation.
He had dropped Mirae at Jaehyun’s house earlier in the day before spending the afternoon at his office in an attempt to make up for the hours of work he’d missed over the course of the past few weeks.
Taehyung is startled when his phone vibrates on the coffee table beside him. Groaning at the interruption, he reaches for the device, trying not to spill any wine on the couch.
Jimin (Nari’s Father)
Today 9:47pm
Hi Taehyung!
Considering Hoseok and Yoongi are looking after both of our kids tonight I thought we could go out and have some fun
Maybe a bar or a club or something? Let me know if you’re free!
Reading over Jimin’s words makes Taehyung want to turn up the heat of the fire and melt into the couch.
Recently Taehyung has discovered that his idea of ‘going out and having some fun’ is staying at home, having a bottle of red wine and searching the depths of the channels on his television.
He’s about to type out a polite apology and fake excuse when his mother’s lecturing tone drifts through his mind.
“Go out, experience new things; you’re only twenty-seven,” she had said.
The scolding he’d receive if he refused and his mother found out...
The mere thought has him setting down his wine glass and rolling off the couch. He heaves a sigh, feeling the plush carpet pressing against his face. Going to a bar or a club isn’t something Taehyung’s done for about seven years, nor has it been high on his list of priorities concerning things he’d like to do in the near future.
A small voice—that sounds suspiciously like his mother—in the back of his mind forces him to muster up the energy to push himself off the floor, slip his phone into his pocket and shuffle into his bedroom.
Honestly he’s somewhat surprised to find going-out-suitable clothes still exist in the back of his walk-in wardrobe, buried behind all of his work shirts and suit pieces.
Hands on hips, Taehyung stares at the clothes in his wardrobe.
After a split second of indecision he pulls out his phone, slender fingers gliding over the pristine screen.
Jimin (Nari’s Father)
Today 9:47pm
Hi Taehyung!
Considering Hoseok and Yoongi are looking after both of our kids tonight I thought we could go out and have some fun
Maybe a bar or a club or something? Let me know if you’re free!
I’m actually free right now
Just send me the address and I’ll meet you there!
It sounds friendly enough even if Taehyung does grimace slightly as it makes him come across a bit too eager but he can’t be bothered to type out a new response. Closing the messaging app, he instead opens a search engine.
Even though no one is around to bear witness, he feels shame bubble within him as he searches ‘what to wear on a night out’. After scrolling through countless images of men wearing tight shirts and even tighter black skinny jeans, he tucks his phone back into his pocket and starts rifling through the neglected clothes.
Eventually his hands locate a pair of black jeans with rips decorating their length that he remembers from his college years. Dispelling the rush of unwelcome memories that come along with them, he stands out and yanks them on. Luckily he hasn’t grown much since he turned twenty.
Too lazy to change his shirt, he only buttons it back up—bar a few at the top to allow a sliver of collarbone to peak through—and tucks it into his jeans slightly. Aiming for an ‘effortlessly handsome’ air, he tousles his hair slightly with his fingers.
Satisfied, he finally leaves his apartment, typing the address that Jimin had sent him into his travel app. Luckily it’s not too far, barely a ten minute walk.
As he approaches, the club that Jimin had chosen is instantly recognisable; bouncer at the head of a short queue, a few men leaning against the wall smoking, and a neon sign that reads ‘Rainbow Palace’ making Taehyung cringe.
Just like the Parents Committee, Jimin is waiting outside, on his phone. So similar yet such different circumstances.
The omega is dressed in a stylish cherry red leather jacket that’s a size too large, making him look small, cute, contrasting with the tight leather pants that cling to his toned thighs. It’s a sinfully sexy ensemble, black on red that’d make any alpha, beta, omega go wild.
Taehyung finds himself waving to catch Jimin’s attention, thoughts of ‘What is Jeongguk doing right now?’ drifting though his mind.
“Tae!” he exclaims, practically skipping over.
He pulls the unsuspecting alpha into a quick hug before pulling back with a blinding smile on his face.
“I’m so glad you came!”
Smiling sheepishly, Taehyung replies, “Sitting at home alone was getting boring.”
The lie is harmless if it leads to him making a friend and his parents being proud of him.
“Let’s get inside then!” he squeaks, overflowing with enthusiasm.
He drags the larger man by the wrist and the two join the back of the line.
Minutes later they’ve make it inside—a very tense Taehyung is perched on a tall barstool and Jimin leans against the bar, elbows rested on the slightly sticky surface either side of him. Both have a glass of fruity flavoured alcohol beside them—Jimin had decided for the both of them.
Eyes examining his surroundings, Taehyung blurts out without thinking, “Is this a gay bar?”
Jimin is struck by shock, carefree expression fading.
“Oh, yeah... Is that okay? I just assumed—”
Genuinely laughing for the first time in the omega’s presence, Taehyung dismisses his panic with the light shrug of his shoulders.
“Don’t worry! It’s not a problem, I’m just curious,” he says, a tight lipped smile as he explains, “I haven’t been to a gay bar in— I haven’t been to any bar in a while.”
Mischievous smile in his eye, Jimin is unashamed as he asks boldly, “So you are gay?”
Sheepishly scratching the hair on his nape, Taehyung corrects, “Bisexual.”
“Twins!” the omega sings, taking a long sip of his Malibu Sunset as if in celebration at their shared attribute. “Though, if you didn’t have a daughter I’d think you were gay.”
Taehyung hums, taking an equally long gulp of his Amaretto Sour. Hands gesturing airily around the place, he asks, “Is that why you brought us here?”
“I do find gay bars more favourable,” he remarks with a teasing lilt to his tone.
After a short lull in the conversation, the only thing Taehyung can think of asking is “So, how come you’re single?”
To his defence, it doesn’t mean to come out so... abrupt.
Jimin takes it in stride, answering honestly, “I haven’t always been. Unfortunately, my wife died during childbirth, her name was also Nari and I saw it fit that the best way to honour her was to name her only daughter after her. Of course, she’ll always own a piece of my heart but I know she wouldn’t want me to stay cooped up and single for the rest of my life, so I’m always open to meeting new people.”
Taking a significant gulp of his drink, Jimin turns the question of Taehyung, “You?”
Honestly it should have been expected, but even so Taehyung fells caught off guard and has to stumbles around in his mind to find an honest yet concise answer.
“Nothing as loving. I was in a messy relationship and have been a single father since the day of Mirae’s birth,” he explains, doing his best to dispel any memories that threaten to resurface.
Not wanting the somber atmosphere to settle around them, Jimin swallows the last of his drink and stands up straight.
“Come on! Finish your drink and we’ll go dancing.”
Taehyung groans internally. He didn’t exactly want to come here, nevermind go dancing in that sweaty mess of bodies.
Swirling his drink around in its glass, he shakes his head lightly.
“You go ahead, I’ll come in a bit,” he suggests.
Jimin acquiesces relatively easily with a roll of his eyes, singing as he walks toward the edge of the dance floor, “Boring!”
Taehyung grins slightly at Jimin’s behaviour, amused by his cheeky actions. Truly, he admires the omega’s willingness to find someone new and dive into the depths of love once again—reflecting on the past seven years, Taehyung certainly can’t say the same for himself.
He watches Jimin blend into the crowd before calling the bartender over, ordering a different drink than the one Jimin had offered for him. Something less sweet.
The omega comes into view again on the periphery of the dancing mass. He moves fluidly, music flowing through him, controlling his energetic movements.
His eyebrows raise slightly in shock as he watches a taller figure approach the short omega and place his hands on either side of his waist.
The unknown man leans down to whisper something in Jimin’s ear, apparently the right thing as the omega practically melts against him, hips never stopping their movement along with the pounding rhythm of the music.
Taehyung doesn’t exactly expect Jimin to seek his attention any time soon in the night, considering he’s now preoccupied.
A part of him wishes he were as confident and forward as the unknown man. Maybe then by now he’d have actually said something to—
“Taehyungie!”
That familiar voice piques the alpha’s attention.
Before he can stand up from his chair a pair of arms are winding around his neck, Jeongguk’s soft scent washing over him.
The omega’s stuttered giggles float into his ears. Taehyung feels as if he’s stepped into heaven.
“Jeongguk? What are you doing here?”
Taehyung can’t see Jeongguk’s face as he lets out a whine considering his arms are still wound around the alpha’s neck and Taehyung can feel his warm breath on his temple.
“Thought I was Bunny!” he squeaks before grumbling, “Or at least Jeonggukie...”
Perplexed by the shock of Jeongguk’s sudden arrival and the alcohol he’s consumed in the last few hours, Taehyung feels almost numb.
“Who are you here with?” he manages to ask. “Where are your friends, Jeonggukie?”
“One friend! Not friends. Get it right, Taehyungie...” the omega corrects in a bratty tone before sighing. “Seonwoo’s disappeared though... He went to dance and left Gukkie by himself!”
Endeared by the younger’s whininess, he reaches up to unwind his arms from their hug and leans away to look up into Jeongguk’s eyes.
His eyes are slightly bloodshot, eyelids tugged downward to conceal the depths of Jeongguk’s dark eyes as if they’re too heavy to hold open.
“How much have you had to drink, Bunny?”
His plush lower lip juts out in protest at the question that he apparently finds very offensive.
“Not that much! I promise...”
“You think it’s time to go home?” Taehyung teases the tipsy man.
Unashamed in his inebriated state, Jeongguk wiggles his eyebrows. “You’re taking me home with you, Taehyungie?”
An unexpected chuckle erupts from his throat. He stands from his seat, straightening out his shirt and taking the omega’s hands into his own.
Before he can stop himself, Taehyung’s eyes glide down Jeongguk’s form. They travel from the unexpected chunky black boots, daring ripped jeans that he’d never perceive the omega wearing in a hundred years, to the right black T-shirt covered by a matching black jacket.
He’s a stark contrast to the bashful man he’s used to seeing when picking Mirae up from school.
Jeongguk knows that black is his colour.
“I’m taking you home and tucking you into bed and you’re going to get a good night of sleep,” Taehyung explains, making sure his phone and his wallet are in his pocket.
He casts a glance toward the dance floor and locates Jimin in a corner, the same alpha from before’s mouth attached to his own. His attention is drawn back to Jeongguk when he pouts and whines again.
“Fine then!”
“Pass me your phone, Jeonggukie?”
He’s all too eager to agree. “Yes! Save your number in there, Taehyungie.”
Although it wasn’t his initial intention, the suggestion does spark something within him.
He’s slightly appalled at Jeongguk’s lack of password when he unlocks the phone with ease. Opening the messages app, his eyes are drawn to the conversation at the top with someone presumably called Seonwoo.
He’s forced to type out the message with one hand as he has one arm wound around the unsteady omega’s waist to keep him stable.
seonnie
Today 10:49pm
Hello, this is Kim Taehyung, Jeongguk’s friend.
I ran into him at the bar and he’s very drunk
so I’m taking him home safely,
you don’t need to worry!
His thumb hovers above ‘Contacts’, hesitating for only a moment before he opens it and saves his own number with the name ‘Taehyung’ deciding it’s safest to forego any flirtatious emojis—though he did consider slipping a teasing heart after.
“What’s your address, Jeongguk—?”
“Jeonggukie!”
“Sorry, Jeonggukie,” he apologises, trying to stay serious and suppress the smile teasing his lips due to the omega’s cuteness. “Do you live far away?”
Jeongguk hums as his head tilts; considering. Once he’s decided, he shakes his head, eyelids fluttering.
“Nope! Five minute walk,” he speaks through a pout.
“Okay then,” Taehyung says, tightening his arm around Jeongguk’s waist. The omega leans into the hold and rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder; he’s the perfect height. “Let’s go, Bunny.”
Jeongguk sighs as Taehyung leads him toward the exit, no doubt a result of deep philosophical thoughts running through his drunk brain.
The alpha knows he should’ve sent Jimin a message to let him know he’d left but the omega did seem distracted by that other alpha and Taehyung didn’t plan on dancing with him anyways. At least that’s how he justifies it to himself.
They’re barely a few steps outside of the club when Jeongguk starts whimpering again.
“Taehyungie,” he starts.
“What is it, Jeonggukie?” Taehyung asks, casting his gaze down to the pouting omega.
“M’ head hurts,” the younger complains.
Sighing, Taehyung tightens his hold around his waist.
“I’ll get you some aspirin when we get home.”
Wait—that’s not how he meant to phrase it.
“I meant when you get home— when I get you home,” he fumbles.
Luckily the drunk man doesn’t pay much mind to the way he stumbles over his words, forgiving the alpha the potential embarrassment.
“Faster, Taehyungie,” he complains petulantly. “Faster.”
“What do you mean faster, Bunny?” Taehyung asks, mostly to tease him.
“Want to be home faster!” the omega clings to his bicep, tugging on it in a way that reminds him of how Mirae yanks on the car door handle, as he stumbles alongside the alpha.
“What do you want me to do, Jeonggukie?”
Whining, he rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder. Jeongguk exhales dramatically.
“Carry me?”
The alpha lets out a startled laugh, eyes widening.
“Really?” He’s taken aback, steps coming to a stop. “I don’t know if I’m able to, Bunny.”
Jeongguk grumbles at his walking being put to a halt, retaliating by grasping at Taehyung’s muscular arms. There’s undoubtedly muscle there, though it’s more toned rather than bulging muscle.
“You can, Taehyungie, please,” he complains, laying his head on the alpha’s shoulder and looking up at his through heavy eyelids. “Please, Taehyungie, m’ feet hurt and it’ll be faster!”
Using his free hand—that’s not placed firmly on the omega’s tiny waist—he threads his fingers through his soft raven hair. He contemplates as he looks down into Jeongguk’s endearing doe-like eyes.
How is he ever supposed to say no to such an enchanting face?
“I can try if you really want,” he accedes.
Jeongguk is so excited that Taehyung wouldn’t be surprised if he actually started jumping on the spot and clapping. His adorable face is lit with enthusiasm.
“Yes! Yes, yes, you can do it—”
“Okay, okay,” he chuckles, turning his back to the man. “Hop on then.”
Taehyung can’t see what Jeongguk’s doing—entertains himself with studying the intricate details of the chipped and damaged bricks that make up the wall in front of him—so it’s unexpected when the omega winds his arms around his neck with a vice-like grip and launches his weight onto his back.
Jeongguk’s legs wind around his waist as he clings onto the alpha like a koala. He pushes his face into the older man’s neck, nose skimming close to his scent glands in his inebriated state.
“Comfy?” Taehyung asks teasingly, turning his face to look at the omega and seeing his face barely an inch away from his own.
His breath hitches slightly at the proximity and he quickly casts his gaze away before he can become enraptured by the plush pout and softly closed eyes.
“Bun, don’t fall asleep yet,” he whispers, “You need to show me the way to your house.”
In response, the younger lets out a deep groan that rumbles through Taehyung.
“Come on, Bunny,” he prompts, continuing down the street in the vague direction that Jeongguk had instructed him previously.
A few minutes later, Taehyung feels soft puffs of warm air fan over his neck. A smile spreads across his face when he lets out a cute snore that sounds like a puppy growling.
His heart breaks just thinking about having to wake him up.
Alas, he reaches a physical crossroads and doesn’t know which way the omega lives.
“Jeonggukie, I need you to wake up now,” Taehyung whispers, jostling him slightly.
Luckily it only takes a moment or so for him to start mumbling in annoyance about being woken.
“Taehyungie,” he groans into his neck, frustration and exhaustion seeping into his tone.
“I know, Bun. I’m sorry but I need you to show me where you live,” explains Taehyung in an apologetic tone.
“...M’kay,” he concedes.
From the corner of his eye, Taehyung can see one of Jeongguk’s eyes open a sliver, revealing a slit of his sparkling black irises.
Jeongguk mumbles, “Keep going straight.”
Taehyung follows his directions until they’re outside a terrace apartment building constructed of burnt bricks and peeling paint that doesn’t strike Taehyung as being run down, rather that it has character.
“This is the one?” he checks.
Upon receiving a hum of confirmation, Taehyung takes the short concrete steps up to the front door. He types in the code that Jeongguk whispers into his ear.
The 0613 makes shrill beeping noises as he presses it into the metal keypad before a small green light appears and the locked door shudders open an inch.
It creaks as Taehyung pushes it open fully, shows shuffling on the rough carpet when he steps inside.
He dreads hearing Jeongguk tell him that he lives on the highest floor when he’s greeted by the sight of a steep wooden staircase in a narrow corridor. There’s nothing else besides a crisp white door with silver ‘1A’ nailed above a small glass peephole.
“Third floor,” Jeongguk mumbles.
Containing a sigh, Taehyung starts the perilous journey.
When Jeongguk had first jumped onto his back, he was delightfully surprised when the omega was easy to carry. Though he starts to feel the man’s weight by the time they reach the second floor.
Jeongguk begrudgingly climbs from Taehyung’s back when they reach his front door though the relief for Taehyung’s muscles doesn’t last long because he’s immediately leaning all of his weight onto the taller man.
He retrieves his key from his pocket and struggles to slide it into the lock considering how intoxicated he is and his tilted perspective as he rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.
The alpha saves him the trouble and unlocks the door, flicking the nearby light switch to reveal the inside of Jeongguk’s apartment.
Despite the disheveled appearance of the outside of the building and its cramped interiors constructed predominantly of creaking wood, the inside of the omega’s apartment is strikingly modern.
Every surface is a pristine white, cleaned perfectly until a reflection can be seen. Stepping through the door, after the short entryway corridor, the kitchen is immediately on the left. A tall bouquet of white lilies stands proudly on the outcrop of counter. Opposite, on the right is a floor-to-ceiling bookcase built in.
Further into the apartment is a cozy sitting area with a fabric white two-seat couch across from a moderately sized television.
The white isn’t overpowering as it’s diluted by colourful cushions, subtle unique ornaments carefully placed to liven up the room.
Taehyung only sees one door which is half open to reveal a bathroom, leading him to be curious as to where the omega’s bed is.
“Jeonggukie, where’s your bed?” he voices his enquiry.
Half asleep, the aforementioned omega grasps Taehyung’s hand and leads him toward the sitting room.
Then he turns and Taehyung sees that behind the bookcase isn’t a wall but in fact a bed. Taehyung realises that it’s a studio apartment comprised all of one room and a bathroom.
Jeongguk finally relinquishes his grip on Taehyung, moving so he can flop onto the bed. Taehyung huffs out a laugh at the cute display, stepping closer until his shins hit the wooden panel of the draws at the foot of the bed.
“You need to change out of your clothes, Jeonggukie,” Taehyung informs reluctantly, tugging at one of Jeongguk’s shoes gently to keep the man from falling asleep.
All he receives in return is a low groan.
“I’m serious, Bun,” he says.
When Jeongguk offers no cooperation, he begins to unlace the younger’s boots, pulling them off his feet along with his socks.
Shuffling onto the bed on his knees, he winds his arms around Jeongguk’s shoulders, sitting him upright. He slides the jacket from his shoulders, and combs his fingers through his hair.
Trying to not sound inappropriate, Taehyung asks, “Can I take off your trousers, Jeonggukie?”
A long hum comes from him and Taehyung looks up to see him nod so he takes that as enough permission. Jeongguk’s decision to wear tight jeans doesn’t exactly aid his efforts but he eventually frees the man’s legs of the clinging denim.
Not looking to invade his privacy, he quickly manoeuvres the duvet to tuck Jeongguk beneath. He stands from the bed, straightening out his shirt before quietly—not wanting to wake the omega—making his way to the kitchen.
Rifling through the white cabinets, Taehyung eventually finds one stacked with glasses inside.
He fills one with water from the tap before heading back to the bed, leaning down to place it on a shelf built into the wall above the pillows.
Before he can stop himself, he presses a careful kiss to the supple skin of Jeongguk’s forehead.
Thinking that he’s already asleep, Taehyung finds it innocent enough to whisper, “Goodnight, Bun.”
He’s shocked when—though his eyes remain closed—Jeongguk murmurs questioningly, “‘Bun’?”
Albeit surprised that he’s still awake and cheeks heating with humiliation at being caught kissing him on the forehead, Taehyung replies with a confirmation hum.
“Like it...” the omega mumbles, “cute version of ‘Bunny’.”
Scoffing, Taehyung remarks, “‘Bunny’ is cute already.”
Nose scrunching adorably, “It’s me so it has to be extra cute.”
“Of course,” the alpha concedes with an enamoured smirk.
“Mm. G’night Taehyungie,” Jeongguk mutters, sleep overcoming him.
“Night, Bun,” Taehyung whispers.
Before sighing, standing up from the bed and letting himself out of the apartment to return home, he leans over and places a more firm and assured kiss on Jeongguk’s forehead, unashamed whether or not the omega is asleep.
Parents Comittee
Today 3:42pm
Jimin (Nari’s Father)
I added Taehyung!
Kim Seokjin
Now that everyone is here, I’d like to confirm that we do have enough parents and staff members to go ahead with the Busan trip
Permission slips will be sent home with children tomorrow for parents to sign by the end of the week
All details will be on the slip for parents to read before they sign and return it to the school office
Parents Comittee Meetings will occur both Fridays until then in which details will be discussed
If everything goes to plan, we will be able to set off in two weeks’ time
An exhausted looking Yoongi drops Mirae off outside of the pristine apartment block on the Sunday.
After she bids goodbye to Jaehyun with a tight hug and he departs with his father, she starts recounting the events of the sleepover.
And she doesn’t stop.
Not during the elevator ride up to the apartment, not when they get inside and Taehyung puts her stuff in her room, not when they curl up on the couch together—not even over an hour later when they’re sat at the dinner table.
Usually food is the only thing that can quiet Mirae’s incessant babbling but this time even food fails.
By the time Taehyung’s gotten her out of the bath and is changing her into her pyjamas, he’s heard everything that happened between dropping Mirae off on Saturday afternoon and collecting her Sunday morning.
He didn’t think much could happen in such a short period of time but upon further consideration he supposes that there’s no limit to what three seven-year-olds and their imagination can get up to.
Judging by the fatigued look on Yoongi’s face when he dropped Mirae off outside, he and Hoseok will not be hosting the next sleepover. Taehyung knows he doesn’t have the patience to deal with three overexcited children for an entire weekend so he’ll have to find some way to convince Jimin.
Desperate for a change of subject, Taehyung mentions the message he received earlier.
Mirae is reluctantly climbing into bed with Cheonsa and Eunha in each arm, raving about the pillow fort that the three of them constructed when he says:
“Princess, you’ll never guess what the message that appa got today said.”
Immediately, her eyes light up.
“What did it say appa? Tell me!” she squeaks.
“Calm down, sweetheart. You’ll be going to sleep soon, so we don’t want to be so loud,” he cautions, strict tone of authority lacing his voice that she’s very familiar with.
Small eyebrows pinching together, some of her enthusiasm dissipating at the scolding.
Still, she insists, “Please, appa, tell me...”
“Well,” he starts, hand coming up to brush a strand of slightly damp hair from her forehead. “Kim-ssi from your school said that the trip to Busan will go ahead in a few weeks.”
Straight away her excitement is back as if it never went anywhere.
“Really? I can’t wait, appa!” The small alpha squeals. “Will you be coming? What about Nari and Jaehyunnie? And their parents? Appa—”
“Sh, what did I say about being calm, cupcake?” he lectures, before continuing, “I’ll be going but I don’t know if Nari or Jaehyun will be going; that’s up to their appas.”
Mirae pulls the comforter up to her chin, eyes squeezing shut as she attempts to conceal her happiness. A wide grin spreads across her face, showcasing the tooth that’s starting to grow through.
“Tomorrow I’ll have to ask them if they’re going!” she decides, talking more to herself than to her father at this point. “And Bunny! Appa, I really hope Bunny’s going.”
Me too, Taehyung thinks before he can stop himself.
All of a sudden she’s far more eager to sleep than to stay awake—impatient to ask all of her friends and her beloved Bunny whether or not they’re going on the trip to Busan at school the next day.
Flicking the lamp on her nightstand light off, Taehyung shuffles to the bedroom door, carefully avoiding the toys strewn all across the floor.
He knows that Mirae will take a while to fall asleep with all of the excitement bubbling inside but he can’t bring himself to regret telling the girl because he knows that when she does finally fall asleep, no doubt her dreams will be full of sand beaches, blue skies and friends.
Breakfast the next morning is a bubbly affair.
Mirae had gotten ready at lightening speed and wolfed down her cereal in record time. All the while she’d been gushing her excitement about the upcoming trip.
“Appa, I can’t wait to go to Busan with you and Jaehyunnie and Nari and Bunny!” she says for the millionth time that morning as Taehyung rinses her bowl in the sink.
“Me too, pumpkin,” he replies. “Are you excited to go to the beach for the first time?”
“Duh,” she sasses. Taehyung would scold her for attitude if she weren’t so cute.
There’s a sweet moment of silence in which Mirae strokes the ear of the stuffed rabbit that she’s clutching, thinking with a pout on her face—her signature concentration face, Taehyung recognises.
“Will Hoseok oppa and Yoongi oppa be there?” she asks, tiny crease between her eyebrows evident.
Turning off the tap, Taehyung raises an eyebrow at the serious tone in which she spoke.
“I’m not sure, love,” he says, drying his hands on the towel. “Why?”
“They’re Jaehyunnie’s appas... but, Micha in my class has an appa and an eomma,” she explains, eyes staring out of the window as her pout intensifies. “She said that everyone’s supposed to have an eomma and an appa...”
As Mirae trails off with uncertainty, confusion plain as day on her tiny features, Taehyung feels annoyance directed toward this Micha already—though he knows it’s slightly unreasonable considering he’s never even heard of the girl before now.
Frowning, Taehyung crouches down and places a large comforting hand on her shoulder.
“What’s Micha been saying?” he enquires, frustration obvious in the way his teeth worry his lower lip.
Nibbling on the furry corner of Cheonsa’s ear, Mirae shrugs slightly.
“Just... she said having only one eomma or appa or two eommas or two appas isn’t normal,” she mumbles, eyes cast downward.
Taehyung places both hands on her shoulders, bringing her closer.
“No, sweetheart,” he says, “That’s not true. At all. Don’t listen to anything this Micha says, she’s being silly!”
“Silly? Don’t be mean, appa!” she squeals, giggling.
Taehyung’s happy to see her sadness gone though he knows he’s going to have to ask Jeongguk about it later to make sure there’s nothing serious going on.
Before standing back up and continuing with their morning routine, he makes sure one last time, “You know that just having an appa is not a bad thing?”
Adorable smile plastered across her face, Mirae nods happily.
“Mhm. Nari only has on appa too!” she says, referring to Jimin, before whining through a familiar pout, “Jaehyunnie has two appas though...”
“Oh? Does that make you upset?” he asks, eyebrow raised as he strokes her soft hair.
“I wish I had two appas!”
Feigning a frown, Taehyung asks, “Is one appa not good enough for you?”
“Well,” she starts, thinking hard with concentration, “I have one appa and that appa is amazing so just imagine how amazing two appas would be!”
Laughing along with his daughter, Taehyung scoops the small alpha into his arms and twirls her around as she giggles wildly.
Their excitement subsided eventually, laughter becoming wide smiles.
“You’re precious, Mirae.”
“Love you appa,” she whispers before her face darts forward to place a timid kiss on Taehyung’s cheek.
“I love you more, my princess,” he teases and her smile grows sheepish.
Setting her gently on the floor, Taehyung pays her lightly on the head.
“Go and brush your teeth,” the alpha instructs, “Halmeoni and Halabeoji will be here soon to take you to school.”
She nods obediently, grin wide and eyes alight with excitement, Mirae surges off in the direction of the bathroom.
Taehyung’s nothing short of endeared at his daughter’s adorable eagerness for the day ahead.
Once again Taehyung finds himself begging his boss to let him leave work two hours early to make it to Mirae’s school for pickup.
Kim Family
Today 2:57pm
Eomma, appa, don’t worry about
collecting Mirae, I’m already on my way over
Eomma Kim
Why am I not surprised?
Appa Kim
...Is there something I don’t know?
Eomma Kim
Our Taehyungie has been keeping secrets again
Rolling his eyes at his mother’s shenanigans, Taehyung locks his phone and climbs out of his car.
Despite being told not to several times, Mirae runs straight across the car park and into her father’s arms before he can even close the car door.
“Princess, you can’t run in a car park, it’s dangerous,” he lectures, harsh tone a stark contrast to the loving kiss he places on her hair.
He notices Hoseok chatting with Jimin beside the short white metal face that surrounds the playground, Jaehyun and Nari chatting a metre or so away.
Placing Mirae carefully on the ground, Taehyung takes her hand and leads her back toward the school.
“Go and play with your friends, Mirae? I need to talk to Jeongguk about something,” he says, nodding toward where they are stood.
Albeit pouting slightly at having to part from her father so soon after being reunited, Mirae skips over to them and Taehyung approaches the omega that never seems to leave his mind.
It’s entirely unsurprising that he’s dressed in a colourful jumper, one that regretfully hides the omega’s flawless figure that Taehyung was awarded sight of on Saturday night.
Just thinking about the evening makes his cheeks heat.
He’s already engaged in a conversation with another parent but as soon as he notices Taehyung approaching—dressed in his usual black slacks with shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, suit jacket always abandoned in his car—he promptly ends the interaction with a polite smile and a tiny wave to the child stood at their parent’s side.
He turns to face Taehyung, nervous expression adorning his gorgeous features.
Before Taehyung can even offer a greeting, the omega is rushing words from his mouth.
“I’m so sorry if I was a mess on Saturday. I don’t remember the entire night but I’m sure I probably said some embarrassing things—” he apologises without even taking a breath, hands gesticulating anxiously in front of him.
Placing a large steadying palm on Jeongguk’s elbow, Taehyung smiles at the younger’s cute, needless worrying.
“Don’t worry about it, Bunny. I thought you were really cute. And you looked all nice, dressed up and cheeks red from alcohol.”
It was meant to be teasing but he ended up accidentally admitting how endearing he found the omega that night. A red tint steadily colours his cheeks making the overindulgence in honesty totally worth it.
“I’m embarrassed now,” he admits, soft material of his jumper covering his palms as he presses them to his own cheeks. Perhaps in a futile attempt to hide his humiliation.
“Don’t be,” Taehyung smirks, stepping closer.
He’s about to follow up with a compliment that he’s certain with further fluster the man when another thought distracts his mind.
“Um, Jeongguk...”
The omega’s smile diminishes slightly at the lack of a nickname. He stays silent, allowing Taehyung to continue talking.
“Is there a ‘Micha’ in Mirae’s class?”
After a brief moment of thinking, Jeongguk nods.
“Mhm, Yun Micha is in her class,” he informs. Upon seeing the alpha’s eyebrows pinch together, he asks, “May I ask why?”
Biting his lip, Taehyung crosses his arms and explains, “Mirae mentioned something that Micha said. She’s not giving her any trouble, right?”
“I haven’t noticed anything...” Jeongguk says, thinking hard as to whether he’s ever seen Mirae and Micha interacting. “Micha’s never caused any issues before but I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Okay,” Taehyung exhales, though Jeongguk senses his worries are not entirely sated.
Mustering a stroke of courage, the omega steps forward and reaches for Taehyung’s hand. Their fingers intertwine as if they’d practiced the action thousands of times before.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay, Taehyungie, don’t worry,” he promises with a reassuring smile.
The alpha smirks in return, attempting to lighten the mood.
“I know,” he says. “I trust you.”
Usually Taehyung’s parents would offer to do the grocery shopping for him considering they’re both retired and are always nagging him about eating healthier. Truly, he doesn’t know what he’d do without them.
But work has been piling up recently and he’s found himself practically drowning in it. It’s led to him focusing only on work and Mirae, realising he hasn’t done anything mundane in a while.
Seven years ago he hated any and all responsibilities but having a child changed him. Now, the prospect of doing something boring like food shopping means a very relaxing evening that he’d welcome with open arms any day.
Mirae tugs at Taehyung’s hand, excited by anything, even the sight of automatic sliding doors.
People come and go, in and out of the store as Taehyung does his best to keep Mirae from getting in their way—offering a polite apologetic smile to anyone’s shopping cart that she stumbles in front of.
“Mirae, can you please be more careful,” Taehyung practically begs as she narrowly misses another unsuspecting shopper in the fruit and vegetables aisle. “There’s a lot of people here and I need you to stop—”
His lecturing is cut off by Mirae’s enthusiastic squealing, “Bunny, bunny, bunny!”
Rolling his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Taehyung squeezes his eyes closed.
“Mirae, you have enough rabbit plushies, you can’t have another,” he sighs.
“No, appa,” she groans, tugging harshly on her father’s hand. “Bunny.”
Reluctantly, Taehyung looks up, only to be caught off guard by the sight of Jeongguk sorting through a shelf of—ironically—carrots.
At Mirae’s deafening enthusiasm, Jeongguk turns, eyes widening at the pair.
Surprise causes Taehyung to release his grip on the girl’s hand. She immediately bounds over to the omega, leaping into his arms which results in Jeongguk being forced to drop his metal shopping basket in order to ensure the small yet destructive alpha doesn’t fall.
“Oh— Mimi,” he squeaks in surprise, basket cluttering to the hard floor beside him.
Striding over, brows furrowed, Taehyung inhales sharply.
“Mirae, how many times have I told you—”
Smiling, clearly endeared by the girl’s behaviour, Jeongguk says, “Don’t worry, Taehyungie.”
The tiny alpha smiles cheekily at her father whilst Jeongguk actually looks rather delighted at their chance encounter.
“Hi Jeongguk,” Taehyung sighs, rubbing a hand across his forehead.
The omega observes that he’s clearly stressed out and decides to alleviate some of that strain.
“Want to help me with my shopping, Mimi?” he asks, turning to look at the girls who remains a bundle of happiness in his arms.
As expected, she nods furiously and wiggles, signalling her want to be set on the ground. Jeongguk complies, placing her down carefully before digging through his pocket to triumphantly pull out a slip of paper.
“Everything I need is on this list!” he explains, feigning over-enthusiasm for her sake. “Can you help me out?”
“Of course I can, Bunny,” she sighs as if disappointed that he’d even have to question her skills.
Taehyung watches the scene unfold with a loving smile—Mirae taking the list from the omega’s hand, replacing it instead with her own hand.
The pair set off down the aisle, hand-in-hand, Mirae reading the list and instructing Jeongguk what to put into the basket. Taehyung follows along a few steps behind, doing his own shopping, whilst observing them with an affectionate shine to his eyes.
The alpha can’t help but relish and revel in the domesticity of it all; something he’s sorely yearned for recently
Finally, finally, the time to go on the trip to Busan rolls around.
After two weeks of nonstop chatter about the trip from Mirae, Taehyung’s more excited for her squealing about Busan to end rather than the trip itself.
Of course he finds her bounciness cute and he’s so happy to see her happy, it’s been so constant for the past two weeks that it’s felt like a constant headache.
He attended the two Parents Comittee meetings; endured debates about prices, duration, destinations to visit, and so much more between parents and staff.
Eventually they established the itinerary: day one, Haeundae Beach; day two, Busan Toy Museum; day three, Beomeosa Temple; day four, cable cars and the beach a second time because they all already know the beach will be everyone’s favourite—all allowing freedom to travel for adults in the evenings and such.
They were a painstaking few hours followed by an even worse interrogation from his mother when he returned home.
Ever since he’d started to express interest in someone she’s been forcing him to ‘get out there more’—whatever that means—and do more for himself. She’s become unstoppable in lecturing him recently, even his father is in able to caution her.
Needless to say, he’s more than ready for the break.
...Not to mention spending an hour on the bus journey beside the most adorable omega he has ever met.
He had spent the Friday evening packing bags for Mirae and himself. Actually, he’d given the girl the liberty to pack her own luggage—trying to encourage her to become more independent—making sure she included the essentials once done. It had taken a considerable amount of time to squeeze the bag closed enough to zip it shut considering it was bursting at the seams.
“Why do you need so many bags, princess? I’m sure that when I checked through it there wasn’t by so much stuff.”
“I have to fit Cheonsa and Eunha’s things somewhere, appa.”
On Saturday morning they take a bus to Mirae’s school; he doesn’t exactly feel comfortable keeping his Maserati parked in an unsecured school parking lot for five days.
When they arrive the space is bustling with life: staff and parents loading their bags into the compartment below the bus, children squabbling over window seats, the few parents that aren’t coming on the trip saying goodbye to their kids.
Mirae abandons Taehyung with all of their heavy bags, running through the car park to join her two friends who are already chatting animatedly.
Sighing, Taehyung heaves the bags under his arms and shoves them into the compartment with all of the other luggage.
As he so often finds himself doing, Taehyung casts his eyes around in search of Jeongguk. With such frequent practice, he’s managed to become very efficient.
He manages to locate the omega in record time.
Stood talking to Namjoon and Seokjin by the bus’ entrance, Jeongguk wears a pair of faded blue jeans with strategically placed rips to reveal his knee and a portion of upper thigh with a black T-shirt tucked in and a belt to secure the outfit together.
Taehyung practically has to physically force his gaze away from the delectable exposed forearms to beckon his daughter over.
“Come on, Mirae! Time to get on the bus,” he calls.
Mirae only ignores him however the sound of Taehyung’s voice causes Jeongguk’s head to turn.
He mumbles a sheepish excuse to his friends before hastily walking over to Taehyung.
“Taehyung! I didn’t realise you’d arrived,” Jeongguk says and if Taehyung couldn’t see the smile stretched so blatantly across his face he’s think the boy sounded slightly uncertain.
Timidly scratching his nape, Taehyung grins gingerly. Somehow Jeongguk has a way of reducing him to a nervous puddle.
“Yes, I, uh, we just arrived,” he excuses, “Mirae’s here...”
They both glance over to where the mischievous alpha is giggling with her friends.
“They’re so cute together,” Jeongguk mumbles, looking at the trio fondly.
Taehyung watches on with an identical affectionate gaze, humming in agreement with Jeongguk’s statement.
It’s at that moment in which Mirae looks over in search of her father, waving cutely at Jeongguk before jogging over with her two best friends skipping behind.
“Hi Bunny!” she greets, hugging the omega’s waist.
Jeongguk grins, stroking the girl’s chocolate tresses.
“Are you going to sit next to your appa, Mimi?” he asks her cutely—Taehyung tries to keep himself from hoping that there may be an ulterior motive behind his question rather than surface level curiosity.
“Nope!” she exclaims proudly, small hands coming to rest on her hips—sass personified.
Her stance causes Taehyung to raise his eyebrows in surprise at how much she looks like a bratty teenager. He quickly dispels the thoughts, not wanting to consider the inevitability that his princess will grow up one day; at least not for a couple more years.
“Gukkie, Mirae’s going to sit next to me and Jaehyunnie!” Nari continues, satisfied smile plastered over her face.
Suddenly Jimin’s voice comes from beside their small group, he rests a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, correcting, “Jaehyunnie and I, my flower.”
Looking around at the rest of their gathering, the omega smiles, forcing his eyes into cute crescents.
“Ready to get this show on the road?” he asks, question mostly directed at Jeongguk considering he’s the only member of staff in their group.
Nodding, Jeongguk casts his eyes around at the people still hanging around the car park of the school.
He captures the attention of Seokjin, causing the beta to join their conversation, Namjoon also.
“If you’re sure everyone’s arrived then we should set off,” Jeongguk suggests to Seokjin, checking the watch on his wrist to confirm that it’s nearing 11 pm.
Seokjin hums, looking around, “Mhm, we’ll do a quick register to check everyone is here and then get on the road.”
And so people begin to gravitate toward the bus, Namjoon ticking off the names of everyone that get on. Only a few children are going on the trip unaccompanied by parents for whatever reason—work, prior engagements and such. They’re the last to trickle onto the vehicle as they try to draw out the last seconds before they’re forced to say goodbye for the next five days.
Taehyung watches Mirae follow Nari and Jaehyun down the narrow aisle between the bus’ stiff faded blue seats. They clap gleefully at securing three seats on the back-most row which have the wide window sat proudly above.
He bites his lip as he considers following but reconsiders as he doesn’t want to bother the three of them—they’ll be able to speak more freely without his lingering adult presence.
It seems all of the adults have taken seats at the front anyway so he starts looking for Jimin, hoping the overly friendly omega hasn’t found some other lonely parent to befriend and sit beside.
Luckily he’s saved from his qualms by a soft hand grasping his own.
“You can sit next to me if you want, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk says with a cheeky smile. “Don’t want you sitting by yourself and getting teases by a bunch of seven-year-olds.”
“Thanks Bunny,” Taehyung retorts, sliding into the seat beside the omega.
Jeongguk blushes at being addressed by the cutesy nickname originally gifted to him by the innocent seven-year-old girl, unknowing it would continue this far.
“Will that ever end?” he whines, leaning against the seat and resting his head at an uncomfortable angle onto the hard surface of the window.
“Are you saying you want it to?” Taehyung asks, though he suspects that he already knows the answer.
Jeongguk’s silence only confirms what the alpha already thought.
Not satisfied until he achieves the sight of red tinting Jeongguk’s plush cheeks.
“Don’t be shy, Bunny,” he teases.
Jeongguk only casts his eyes out of the window beside him, avoiding Taehyung’s gaze. Still, he catches a glimpse of the blush rising on the omega’s face and the timid smile adorning his cherry-lips.
Taehyung’s heart feels full.
The bus shudders to life, engine rumbling beneath their feet as it crawls out of the school parking lot.
Leaning his head against the uncomfortable headrest of his seat, Taehyung can’t help but feel anything other than unadulterated happiness at the thought of four hours of Jeongguk’s adorableness.
The first hour of the journey is filled with excited chatter from the children sat in suspense at the back of the bus and pleasantries shared between adults at the front.
Taehyung and Jeongguk exchange nothing other than short comments or polite observations. Under different circumstances, Taehyung would fear that he’d scared the younger off with all of his teasing earlier but based on the quiet smile that’s permanent on the omega’s lips and their fingers that are loosely laced together between them he’s fairly certain that he’s done nothing wrong.
When hour number two rolls around the elated babbling at the back tunes down to a hum of excitement and—despite being midday—some of the parents are resting their eyes. The exhaustion of parenthood, Taehyung supposes.
Taehyung understands that, of course he does, but with Jeongguk sat in such close proximity he can’t fathom wasting a second on sleep.
Eventually the silence becomes too much for him so he turns his head to the side and observes the omega.
He’s staring out of the window, watching scenery rush by, an unconscious pout resting on his lips.
“I can feel you staring at me,” he mumbles before lazily turning his head to meet the man’s line of sight.
Unashamed at being caught in the act, Taehyung continues to analyse his face. After moments of consideration he comes to the conclusion that Jeongguk is absolutely gorgeous—though that’s nothing he didn’t already know.
“Let me try on your glasses?” he blurts out spontaneously.
Jeongguk takes the question easily, not questioning the alpha as he slides the thin metal framed glasses from his face.
Carefully, Taehyung takes the silver glasses and pushes them up the bridge of his nose before ruffling his hair and tilting his head. He tries to imitate the omega’s cuteness but knows he falls incredibly short—what can be expected when it’s such an impossible target to hit.
“Wow, you look really good, Taehyungie,” he complements through giggles the float in the space between them.
The sound brings Taehyung a semblance of bliss.
“How would you know?” he replies with a chuckle, “I’m wearing your glasses; you can’t see.”
“My eyesight’s not that bad, I can still see!” he whines, weakly hitting the alpha’s chest.
Taehyung catches his hand before he can pull it away again, lacing his fingers through Jeongguk’s and squeezing his hand lightly. The omega gazed up into his eyes for a moment before leaning to the side and resting his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.
Their conjoined hands fall onto Taehyung’s thigh as they settle close together, slightly leaning on each other—cuddling closer—it feels only natural.
Three hours in, Jeongguk’s head remains on Taehyung’s shoulder and he lets out quiet little snores—ones that Taehyung recognises from that night two weeks ago.
Taehyung is staring at the hard gray plastic of the back of the headrest on the seat in front with a content smile resting on his lips. It grows into a wide grin when the omega snuggles closer, nose pushing into the soft skin of Taehyung’s neck as he unconsciously scents the alpha in his sleep.
It was a shock when two weeks ago his nose had accidentally bumped into Jeongguk’s scent gland—one of the most intimate locations on a person’s body; omega, beta, alpha alike, usually only accessible to close family, friends, and those in long term relationships to share scents and provide comfort.
Taehyung understands the implications of allowing a non blood related omega to come into contact with his scent gland but the feeling of Jeongguk’s adorable button nose nestled into the crook of his neck, sweeping across the fragile area of skin is incredibly addicting.
When the bus goes over a particularly deep divot in the road, Jeongguk startles awake, eyes flying open. He wipes at his eyes, drawing himself further and further from the depths of sleep.
Realising that he’s been cuddling into Taehyung’s side, he jolts upright and smiles sheepishly up at the alpha.
“I woke up early this morning,” he excuses in a timid voice.
Unashamedly, he says, “You’re cute, Bun.”
Letting his eyes fall closed again, Jeongguk leans his head on Taehyung’s shoulder finding it his new favourite place to rest.
Taehyung sighs and shuffles in his seat, readjusting his position to get comfortable. If this somehow leads to his head being propped atop Jeongguk’s that’s no one’s concern...
He picks up Jeongguk’s hand and begins to fiddle with the thin silver rings that adorn his slender fingers.
“So, what’s the plan once we arrive?” he asks, eyes remaining focused on their hands that dance together.
“Well,” Jeongguk starts. “We should get to the hotel around 3:30 pm. I know lots of the kids have been eager to go to the beach so after half an hour of settling into rooms and getting a snack, we should head Haeundae Beach. After a few hours there we could get dinner at the hotel... or if some parents want to take their kids to restaurants separately...”
Humming, Taehyung enquires, “How many kids’ parents didn’t come?”
“Only four, I believe.”
“Who are they?” Taehyung questions further, “I don’t want them to feel left out.”
Jeongguk reaches with his free hand at an awkward angle to retrieve a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.
A list of names sits neatly printed down the left side. Taehyung notices Mirae’s name located around half way down muddled with the myriad of other Kims. He also notes that four names have messily drawn stars beside them, one of which that stands out to him is Yun Micha.
“Yun Micha,” he whispers. “Do you know why her parents didn’t come?”
“Hm, not entirely sure. She doesn’t talk about her parents much at school like some of the other kids do... not as much as Mirae speaks about her beloved appa,” he teases.
“Oh,” Taehyung says bluntly, slightly regretting calling her a ‘silly girl’, “I feel kind of bad for her... I can’t imagine what it’s like not being close to your parents; I love my parents and I try to be as best a father I can for Mirae, especially considering it’s only me.”
Jeongguk remains eerily silent, even after Taehyung’s finished with his soliloquy but before Taehyung can question it the omega is smiling up at him.
“You’ve done an amazing job, Taehyung.”
“Thank you,” he mumbles bashfully, slightly flustered.
Hoping to hide his heated cheeks, Taehyung buries his face in the omega’s silky raven hair.
By the end of the fourth hour they’d arrived at the hotel.
Namjoon had reserved almost an entire floor of rooms to ensure their entire group stayed together. However, it may have been a mistake, Taehyung realises, when there’s a group of boisterous children running up and down the corridor between rooms.
He manages to drag Mirae away from her bustling group of friends and into the room they are going to share. They unpack their belongings and Mirae changes into her swimwear before dressing with her regular clothes on top. It’s all he manages before she’s speeding out of the door to rejoin with her friends.
Taehyung changes into a pair of loose shorts and sliders before trailing after the little alpha into the corridor.
He’s delighted to catch a glimpse of Jeongguk entering his own room, barely a few doors down from Taehyung’s.
Water laps at Taehyung’s ankles, cold and biting at his skin. It’s wholly unpleasant but he endures it, if only for the blinding smile sprawled across Mirae’s face.
She incessantly splashes water at her father, causing tiny droplets of ice to pelt against his skin—okay, maybe not that cold, but it’s definitely not the warmth he prefers—but the flurry of giggles that erupt as a result of Taehyung’s cringing away from the water makes it worth it.
The small droplets dampen the pigmented blue aloha shirt that he wears unbuttoned, hanging just past his waist which is adorned by a pair of plain black swimming trunks.
The rest of the children and parents behave similarly; splashing, swimming, smiling. The small section of the beach that they occupy is full of joyful laughter.
Mirae skips over to where Jimin in chasing Nari through the shallow water and playfully jumps onto her back, causing them both to topple to the sand in a coalescent mass of innocent giggles and grins.
It gives Taehyung a moment to gaze around the beach. He observes other families playing, people laying on sun loungers... and one lone omega sat on the sand.
Jeongguk is sat on a sprawled towel, has his glasses perched low on his nose, knees brought up to his chest and clearly has all of his concentration poured into the book he holds delicately in his hands.
Jogging up the beach, Taehyung calls out, “Not coming in the water, Jeonggukie?”
He comes to a stop, toes tickling the edge of the colourful towel. The sun shines harshly, causing Taehyung to lift a hand to shade his eyes.
After receiving no response, Taehyung plops down onto the towel next to the distracted omega and mirrors his posture by bringing his knees up to his chest and wraps an arm around them.
This unexpected presence effectively draws Jeongguk from his fiction with a cute squeak as his head whips around in Taehyung’s direction.
Laughing deeply, he mutters a quiet “Sorry” at startling the younger.
Jeongguk creases the corner of his page to create a perfect folded triangle before setting his book down on the towel and turning his full attention toward Taehyung.
“You’re not coming in the water?” the alpha implores.
He receives no verbal answer, only the demure shake of the omega’s head that causes his soft, dark hair to flop about; Taehyung notices that it’s gotten longer recently and has to suppress the urge to run his fingers through it.
“And why not?” he asks, tipping to the side slightly to knock his elbow against Jeongguk’s. “The water’s refreshing.”
“It looks freezing.”
“It’s not, trust me,” Taehyung retaliates.
When Jeongguk makes no motion to get up, Taehyung’s attempt to convince him persists.
“Ah, don’t be boring, Bunny,” he practically whines. “The little monsters all want you to come and swim with them.”
The omega casts his eyes to the shore but Taehyung’s gaze remains trained on the side of his face. His beautiful, adorable, perfect face.
Jeongguk lets out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t bring any swimwear.”
Aghast, “Who doesn’t at least bring a pair of swim shorts to the beach? Not even just in case?”
After a short moment of silence, Jeongguk replies, “I just don’t like swimming.”
Taehyung bites his lip, eyes softening. His voice turns from teasing to a more delicate tone.
“You’re not bored, sat up here all by yourself?”
“I’m not by myself, though, am I?” Jeongguk implores as he slowly turns to look at Taehyung, his head tilting slightly and small smile teasing the corners of his lips. “I have you.”
In that moment it takes Taehyung everything in his power to stop himself from surging forward and kissing the omega’s delectable lips to confirm those words, to press his lips to Jeongguk’s skin over and over until the younger knows that he owns every single part of Taehyung.
Instead, he channels all of his feelings into a painfully honest, “You have me.”
It’s getting late in the evening, the day coming to a close as their time at the beach drifts into memories at the past.
The sun is setting over the ocean in the distance, shedding a golden glow over the calm water. Taehyung stands at the window of his hotel room, watching as its glowing beauty disappears below the horizon.
He’s pulled away from his marvelling by Mirae surging into the room, eyes glassy with unshed tears.
Without even needing to think, he crouches down and pulls her into his arms. He brushes the stray strands of hair from her face with one hand, using the other to stroke the back of her head to soothe her—movements frantic with worry.
“Oh, princess, what’s wrong?” he rushes to say. “Tell appa, hm?”
“A-appa, she— I was in Nari’s room a-and Micha p-pulled my hair,” she stutters out trying to overcome the lump in her throat, battling tears.
Taehyung’s eyebrows pull together into a frown, upset and anger beginning to swirl through his mind.
“Oh, love,” he sympathises. “Are you okay? Do you want me to speak with her?”
Mirae sniffles, eyes cast toward the floor. She deliberates for a short moment before nodding timidly.
“Okay,” he mumbles, standing up and carefully taking Mirae’s hand into his own.
Slipping a thumb into her mouth, worrying the nail with her teeth, Mirae looks anxious.
“Don’t wanna see her again, appa,” she admits.
“That’s okay, cupcake,” he says, trying to acquiesce her worries. “I was just going to take you to Bunny’s room so I can talk to her—I’m not going to leave you alone.”
She seems more relaxed at the mention of Jeongguk, her beloved teacher, tension in her shoulders lessening and her thumb falling away from her mouth.
They walk in silence down the corridor toward the door that Taehyung is fairly certain leads into Jeongguk’s hotel room.
He knocks on the door lightly, softly calling out his name.
After a second, the metal doorknob twists and the door cracks open a fraction to reveal Jeongguk in all of his adorable glory.
The omega’s wearing a pair of comfortable looking gray sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt. It’s all oversized and probably the most basic outfit Taehyung’s ever seen him wear but it makes him look like a cute marshmallow that Taehyung just wants to squish.
Mirae’s sniffles distract him from his... observing.
“Taehyung,” Jeongguk mumbles, voice made heavy and thick with sleep as he brings a balled up hand to rubs at his eyes, trying to dispel his tiredness.
“Sorry, I know it’s getting late—” Taehyung starts, apology rushing out but Jeongguk cuts him off.
“No, no, it’s fine,” he assures, eyes drifting down to take in the sight of an upset little alpha. Immediately, concern plagues his features. “What do you need?”
Biting his lip, Taehyung hesitates. He doesn’t want to bother the omega when he’s clearly exhausted but he equally can’t leave Mirae in such a disheveled state. Jeongguk’s the only one he trusts to leave her with when she’s so clearly unsettled.
“Do you mind looking after Mirae for a bit?” he approaches tentatively. “Something happened that I need to sort out and you’re the only one she’d feel comfortable with...”
Jeongguk blinks, slightly taken-a-back by the information. He never realised how much trust Taehyung had awarded him.
“Of course she can stay,” the omega says, looking down at Mirae with sadness in his eyes.
He reaches out, offering his hand for Mirae to take. She accepts it without much thought, squeezing his hand tightly in search for comfort.
“Come inside, Mimi,” he coaxes quietly. “I have a packet of strawberries, and I know it’s not as good as strawberry ice-cream but, we can share them and I’m sure I can figure out how to get cartoons on the T.V.”
His words manage to make her lips quirk up into a subtle smile and take a step toward Jeongguk.
“We Bare Bears?” she requests her favourite show as of late, loving the animation of the three bears.
“We Bare Bears,” Jeongguk confirms with a smile.
As if by magic, the omega has lit up her face with a smile, eyes bright as if they had never been clouded by tears in the first place.
She disappears into the room without so much as a backwards glance at her father but it doesn’t hurt his feelings or anything of the sort—on the contrary, he feels rather elated that she is so clearly comfortable in Jeongguk’s presence.
Jeongguk leans his head against the door frame, awarding Taehyung with a cute bunny-like smile.
“Take your time,” he says, “do whatever you need to. She’ll be fine with me.”
“I know she will,” Taehyung says, utterly convinced.
Taking one of the alpha’s hands in his own, Jeongguk gives a squeeze to convey his confidence before stepping back and carefully closing the door.
He relishes in the warmth that remains on his skin as he pads down the corridor.
After knocking on Jimin’s door a wave of uncertainty washes over him; what is he even going to say? He’s never really spoken to another child besides Mirae.
“Tae?” Jimin asks rhetorically, opening the door widely.
Taehyung peers inside and notices Jaehyun, Nari, and two other kids sat on the floor in a small circle with a pile of snacks and treats in the middle. The television displays some random programme quietly in the background but none of them are laying any attention to it if the intense gossiping, loud giggles and shrieks of laughter are anything to go by.
“Sorry for coming unannounced, just— is Yun Micha here?” he asks tentatively, realising he doesn’t even know what the girl looks like.
Albeit slightly confused by the question, Jimin steps aside, inviting Taehyung to come in.
“Um, Micha,” Taehyung starts, stepping into the room with uncertainty. “Can I talk to you outside?”
Much to Taehyung’s surprise, the girl stands up full of confidence. She gives a curt nod and steps into the hallway, posture full of assurance.
She almost makes Taehyung feel intimidated.
Jimin closes the door behind them and then it’s just the two of them, the long corridor eerily silent.
Taehyung crouches down—wanting to appear less threatening in the hopes that they can speak civilly; he knows children tend to lose their temper easily—and clears his throat to speak but Micha cuts him off before he gets the chance.
“Is this about Mirae running off crying?” she asks, examining her fingernails as if bored with the entire ordeal.
“Yes, it is,” he confirms, doing his best to muster his most authoritative tone. “She told me that you pulled her hair... and last week you were mean to her about only having one parent...”
The girl sighs deeply, dropping her hand and crossing her arms. She looks up directly to meet Taehyung’s eyes, not undeterred by the power imbalance.
“I didn’t pull her hair,” she sounds mildly annoyed, “and I was only asking about her family, not being mean. She talks about you a lot, so I was just wondering...”
Taehyung’s eyebrows raise at her blatant frustration with his inability to grasp what she’s truly trying to convey.
“So you didn’t pull her hair?” he questions sceptically.
“No,” Micha huffs indignantly. She looks about two seconds away from stomping her foot. “I was just touching... it looked soft.”
The last part comes out as a mumble; extremely uncharacteristic of the girl, or at least Taehyung’s impression of her that he’s formed over the last few minutes.
Only then does it dawn on him. Oh. Judging by her shy blush and curiosity surrounding Mirae, Taehyung would say Micha has a crush. A small smirk creeps onto his face.
“Micha,” he questions carefully, “do you want to be Mirae’s friend?”
She nods shyly, cheeks tinting with a scarlet hue.
“Okay,” he exhales, standing up straight.
The girl gives him a sceptical gaze.
“I’m not in trouble?” she implores hesitantly.
Taehyung shakes his head and offers a reassuring smile.
“No,” he confirms, “just be kind to Mirae—she doesn’t realise you’re trying to be her friend.”
Micha nods furiously, eager to escape the situation before she can land herself in trouble. She rushes back into Jimin’s hotel room and joins the others in their little circle.
As soon as she sits down, the other three practically pounce on her, endless questions flowing out of their mouths, desperate to satiate their curious minds.
Taehyung bids Jimin a goodnight along with a pitying glance considering he’s hosting the kids’ miniature impromptu sleepover.
He makes his way back to Jeongguk’s room with the intention of collecting Mirae and getting a long night of deep sleep before his job as babysitter continues.
Taehyung forgoes knocking—however rude it may be—in his impatience to retire for the evening.
The sight that greets him on the other side of the door warns his heart.
They both lay on the large bed in the centre of the room: Mirae nestled into Jeongguk’s side with one of the omega’s arm curled protectively around him.
She lets out quiet snores that are familiar to Taehyung’s ears and he notices how Jeongguk’s eyelids threaten to fall shut.
“Taehyungie,” he mutters, eyes following the alpha as he slowly walks into the room.
Wordlessly rounding the bed, Taehyung comes to stand beside Mirae. He looks down at her sleeping form with an impossibly fond expression.
He leans one knee on the mattress, the supple material compressing under his weight, as he bends over to plant a gentle kiss to Mirae’s dark chestnut strands.
The gesture leaves his face mere inches away from Jeongguk’s.
The omega simply smiles, clearly unperturbed by their precarious proximity and reclines his head back against the plush ivory pillows—an angel’s face resting against a background of clouds. Absolutely beautiful.
“You’re perfect,” Taehyung whispers before he can help himself.
Jeongguk doesn’t appear to be taken off guard or surprised by the alpha’s confession, easily returning the intense compliment with a lopsided grin.
Perhaps it’s his drowsy state that causes no concerns to be raised in his pretty little mind, but either way Jeongguk seems content to drink in the praise.
His state of exaggerated fatigue could also be the reason for another thing—ever since the moment he stepped into the younger’s hotel room, he’s felt as if he’s drowning in his scent.
Initially he overlooked it—pheromones so thick, Taehyung felt as if he were wading through—attention focused on the adorable scene of Jeongguk and Mirae cuddling. But now it’s impossible to ignore, especially now that the omega is scarcely a hair’s breadth away.
“Jeonggukie, are you okay?” he asks tentatively.
Eyelids fluttering closed for a moment, he responds, “‘M okay... just a little tired.”
Taehyung’s worries are not satisfied: he can sense something’s off.
Any consideration comes to an abrupt end when Mirae squirms in her sleep; wriggling until she’s turned to face Taehyung’s direction, as if she senses his presence even in sleep.
“I should, uh, take her back to my room,” the alpha speaks reluctantly.
In lieu of a response, Jeongguk nods lightly and begins to slip into unconsciousness. Taehyung’s inner alpha preens at Jeongguk clearly feeling safe around him, enough to let himself be lulled to sleep.
Wrapping his arms around Mirae’s sleeping form, he eases her from the bed and she naturally leans against his chest, nuzzling her nose into Taehyung’s scent gland before sighing.
With great hesitance, he ambles back to his room.
His earlier conversation with Yun Micha drifts through his thoughts but he quickly dispels them—he’ll have to talk with Mirae tomorrow.
Taehyung’s wakes to the juxtaposition of a flurry of giggles and the harsh sound of mattress springs bouncing.
“Appa! Appa! Wake up, appa,” Mirae squeals as she continues to jump up and down on the bed like a child on Christmas morning.
Groaning, he rolls over and checks his phone. The harsh light practically sears his eyeballs but he manages to make out the bold 7:56 on the screen.
“Princess, please go back to sleep,” he pleads, pressing one of the soft pillow over his face.
Mirae only laughs at her father’s dismay, shaking one of his strong shoulders with her small hands.
“But, appa,” she complains—in true Mirae fashion with a whine in her voice. “I want to go now. Do you think they’ll have any bunny toys?”
The plan for the day is to visit a toy museum in Busan but they aren’t set to leave until 10 am, meaning Taehyung’s desperate for at least another hour of sleep.
Though, Mirae seems insistent on stopping that from happening.
“Please appa,” she begs, intentionally displaying her cutest face; lip jutting out into a pout, eyes widening to fully show her onyx irises— everyday Taehyung’s upset that she inherited her mother’s eyes and not his own that are more of a dark brown than the black ones that she possesses.
“Fine,” Taehyung gives in with a grumble.
It’s not as if he’d be able to get back to sleep after being woken so abruptly anyway.
Mirae falls silent, clearly not expecting her father to concede so easily. An apprehensive look casts over her features.
Taehyung notices the change from her usual bubbling excitement to a nervous disposition that he seldom sees from her.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asks, cupping her face with his large palm.
She seems hesitant to answer. He waits patiently until her caution to subside, providing soft reassurance in the way his thumb caresses the supple skin of her cheek.
“...Did you talk to Micha?” she mumbles.
Sighing, Taehyung sits up, preparing his wise father speech in his head.
“Precious,” he begins carefully. “Sometimes people tease others to get their attention—they don’t actually mean to upset you. Do you understand?”
Wordlessly, the little alpha shakes her head.
“Micha actually wants to be your friend, she just didn’t know a different way to talk to you,” he tries his best to explain. “Now, that doesn’t mean that you should be mean to other people or you should let other be mean to you... just— don’t worry, Micha won’t be mean to you again; she actually likes you.”
“Likes me?”
Taehyung nods, searching for a way to clarify.
“Like... she wants to give you a kiss on the cheek,” he decides is the best way to illustrate Micha’s feelings.
Really, Taehyung finds the entire situation rather adorable. He barely remembers his first ‘boyfriend’—he couldn’t have been any older than Mirae at the time and of course it consisted of nothing other than holding hands and sitting next to each other on the bus and definitely didn’t last any longer than a week. They were barely boyfriends, but it was enough for his parents to realise he wasn’t entirely straight.
Luckily his parents have always been accepting and the only reason he has any memory of it is because they often speak fondly of his child self, regaling him with stories of the past.
He decides it’s best to just let the situation unfold and allow the two of them to figure things out for themselves—as such is the essence of growing and learning.
“Oh!” Mirae chirps, finally seeming to understand. “Micha likes me the same way that appa likes Bunny!”
Initially Taehyung is going to protest but after he truly processes her words, he has to give it to her.
Mirae: 1. Taehyung: 0.
She clearly knows it if her triumphant grin is anything to go by.
“Yes, your appa likes Bunny,” he returns her smile with one of his own. It’s moments like this in which it’s plain as day that she’s truly his daughter.
Pride unfurls in his heart.
A doubt implants itself in his mind, causing him to approach delicately. “Are you fine with appa liking Bunny?”
Mirae nods her head fervently, sitting forward with enthusiasm.
“Yes! I want Bunny to be my appa too—”
Taehyung’s heart flutters at the thought.
“Slow down,” he cautions before her little mind can run uncontrollably.
Albeit pouting, Mirae complies. Though, after a moment she leans forward again.
She rests her hands on her father’s broad chest.
“Wanna hear a secret?” she sings, leaning forward surreptitiously.
Raising his eyebrows, intrigued, Taehyung encourages, “Of course.”
In a quiet voice, her words spill into Taehyung’s ear causing euphoria to spread all through him.
“Bunny likes appa, too.”
After locking the door to his room, Taehyung strolls down the corridor of the hotel. Mirae had skipped along ahead of him, eager to join the others for breakfast and delight Micha with the news that she wants to become friends.
He’s about to slip the room key into his pocket and begin rolling up his sleeves when something makes him pause.
A delectable scent flurries into his nostrils, numbing his mind and begging him to locate the source.
But Taehyung already knows who it belongs to; he could recognize Jeongguk’s scent from a mile away.
His pace increases to a jog as he makes his way to Jeongguk’s room, the pheromones getting heavier and heavier as he nears. It’s even more potent than the night before, making him absolutely insane for the man—as if he weren’t already.
Taehyung knocks tentatively, only to open the door when he only receives a whimper in response.
The undeniable scent of pure omega washes over him like a tsunami. If he thought the smell in the corridor was strong, it’s only a hundred times more so inside.
“Jeonggukie?” he whispers, voice breaking at the sight. “Oh, Bun.”
The omega is laying on the bed, sheets noticeably damp around with what Taehyung presumes is sweat. As soon as he notices the alpha’s entrance, he’s off the bed in a second, crashing into Taehyung’s substantial body the next.
“Taehyungie,” he whines, winding his arms tightly around the man’s waist—not letting him go even if he wanted to, desperate.
Now that he’s so much closer, Taehyung notices how his eyes are blown wide, pupils dilated, and he’s still wearing the clothes he slept in the night before; the baggy ones that hang attractively off—and accentuate—his dainty frame.
Be crashes his face against Taehyung’s neck, burying his nose into his scent gland.
“Taehyungie,” he whimpers delicately. “Alpha.”
Bringing a hand up to card his fingers through Jeongguk’s hair, hoping it soothes him—if only a little bit.
“Aw, Bun, what happened?”
In a rushed slur of worlds, “My heat came early—didn’t bring any suppressants with me.”
Sighing, Taehyung pulls out his phone and shoots Jimin a message, telling him and the others to go ahead with the planned trip without them, that he may join them later is he gets the chance. The whole affair is rather awkward and he’s more than certain that there are several spelling mistakes due to Jeongguk’s surprisingly strong grip that partially traps his arm.
Sliding it back into his pocket, Taehyung attempts to loosen Jeongguk’s hold around him.
“Let’s get you sorted out, hm?”
Nuzzling further into Taehyung’s warm, honey-toned skin, he insists, “Need you, Taehyungie.”
Pressing a sympathetic kiss to the omega’s forehead, Taehyung exhales steadily through his nose, trying to control himself.
“No,” he maintains, “what you need is a good shower and to head to sleep.”
“But—”
“No,” Taehyung reiterates. “Trust your alpha, he knows what he’s doing.”
What he certainly does not know is what made him say that. Still, his lasting presence and dominant insistence seems to be clearing the haze of desperation in his mind as he lets Taehyung unwind his arms and lead him into the conjoined en-suite bathroom.
He aids Jeongguk from outside of the—fortunately or unfortunately—glass-walled shower, not wanting to get wet and trying to be as respectful as possible; although Jeongguk seems to have calmed down and be more in control of his actions, he’s still not entirely in his right mind and the lines of consent are blurry.
Therefore, he keeps his hands to himself, leaving clothes beside the sink in the bathroom and waiting in the bedroom for Jeongguk to finish up; opening windows meanwhile in an attempt to dispel the cloud of pheromones that clog the atmosphere in the room and changing the sheets for a clean set that he found in a closet.
When the omega does finally emerge, he sits behind him on the bed, drying his hair for him, wanting to help him in any way he can. Then, he tucks him beneath the warm blankets, not wanting him to get a cold as well as his heat—if that’s even possible—and settles on the bed beside him.
They lay side by side in a comfortable silence. Taehyung strokes Jeongguk’s silky raven hair while the omega’s focused on pressing his nose into Taehyung’s scent gland, inhaling pure alpha pheromones with every breath.
Considering the rush of emotions he has been experiencing since waking up this morning and Taehyung calming him down, fatigue creeps up on him quickly.
Before Taehyung knows it, he has a passed out omega leaning his head in his shoulder, letting out little puffs of breath that fan over his neck.
After Taehyung-doesn’t-even-know-how-long, he reluctantly checks the time, only to find that it’s been almost a half hour since he first came to Jeongguk’s room. Breakfast will be over by now, he’s certain, and everyone will be making their way to the toy museum, that’s if they haven’t arrived already as he suspects they have.
He slowly shifts to the side stealthily replaces his shoulder with a pillow, keeping Jeongguk from waking up when he eventually climbs from the bed.
Due to the unfortunate restrictions concerning the number of staff that are required to oversee students on a school trip, Taehyung needs to join the rest of the group as soon as possible.
He presses a kiss to the top of Jeongguk’s head—gently as to not rouse him from sleep—causing a few rouge strands of hair to tickle the base of his nose.
The protective, possessive side of him picks up the door key from the nightstand beside the bed and locks the door behind him as he leaves, preventing anyone else getting into the sleeping man’s room. Though, he slides the key beneath the door so the omega can unlock it if he needs to leave.
As he reluctantly get farther from the sleeping man, he can’t help but think of how utterly fond of him he is.
The myriad of bright colours surrounding Taehyung threaten to give him a headache.
Toys of every size, shape, brand, type, surround him, all perched on the shelves of the gift shop, begging any child to pick them from the hoard and plead with their parents to purchase.
Of course, an eye catching colour is required to be noticed.
And, to Taehyung, it’s an eyesore.
“Appa!” Mirae comes bouncing over to him. “I’ve finally found the perfect one.”
Truthfully, Taehyung doubts his daughter’s words considering this is the fifth rabbit toy that she’s presented to him in the last twenty minutes.
“You’re certain?” he questions. His eyebrows raising with scepticism, he reminds, “You can only have one.”
Pout protruding in her concentration, her eyes scan over the toy because of the apprehension her father has planted in her mind.
Eventually she comes to the conclusion that the plushie doesn’t meet her standards as she shakes her head and turns to return it to the place she retrieved it from, muttering something about its ears not being floppy enough all the while.
As she disappears from his peripheral vision, distraction overcomes him.
He’s found all throughout the day that in any moment of quiet his thoughts automatically drift back to a certain omega.
What pains him the most is the unknown.
What is Jeongguk doing right now? Is he okay? Maybe he’s too hot...
“Appa, I’ve decided!” Mirae confirms, holding up her chosen plushie.
Taehyung nods absentmindedly, eyes glasing over the small bunny before taking it the the counter and paying only to return it to Mirae’s awaiting grasp.
His thoughts wander again.
What if another alpha found him? Stop being possessive, Taehyung... I hope he’s not hungry. I should’ve made him eat something before I lef—
Thankfully, he’s distracted from his worrying.
Taehyung watches Mirae clutch the brand new stuffed rabbit and timidly approach Micha. Her back is turned to the nervous alpha, casually chatting to another classmate. Mirae takes a shaky breath before lightly tapping the taller girl’s shoulder.
Attention seized, Micha turns to face Mirae, her mouth stretching into a small smile.
Without exchanging any words, Mirae shoves the bunny plushie into Micha’s unsuspecting hands.
Taehyung’s stood close enough to hear his daughter rush out her explanation, “I’m sorry for telling on you to my appa. I want to be your friend, too.”
Before Micha can return any words, Mirae scurries away to hide behind Taehyung’s legs.
When she starts biting at her fingernails Taehyung nudges her hand away, though he looks down at her with a fond smile.
His daughter’s adorable display has his heart warming, hope spreading throughout him. Maybe everything wouldn’t turn out half bad.
Jeongguk is forced to spend the rest of the trip holed up in his hotel room.
While Taehyung is out with the group at Beomeosa Temple, cable cars, and the beach—because the kids loved it so much they just had to return—laughing along with Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi as they watch watch Mirae Nari and Jaehyun—and Micha, the newest addition to their trio-turned-quartet—have a great time, his attention didn’t stray from Jeongguk for more than a few moments.
The thought doesn’t sit right with Taehyung: a struggling Jeongguk back at their hotel, yearning for an alpha to satisfy his heat.
Each day after they get back, Taehyung makes a beeline for Jeongguk’s room.
Dutifully, he changes encourages the omega toward the shower, changes his sheets and delivers a plate of warm food to him. Every time he does, Jeongguk pastes himself to Taehyung’s side, whispering needy requests into his ear, nuzzling his neck.
It would be a lie to say Taehyung doesn’t enjoy the attention—more specifically his inner alpha.
Still, he knows that it’s inevitable that once Jeongguk regains his inhibitions he’ll be extremely embarrassed and shy concerning his actions over the past few days.
His suspicions are are confirmed when everyone is loading back onto the bus.
Bags heavy with souvenirs are safely stowed away in the compartment below. The children sit in the seats at the back, adults at the front. The atmosphere is dismal as the lingering dread of returning to regular, everyday life looms in everyone’s minds.
Perhaps everyone accept for Taehyung.
No, as he steps onto the bus and looks toward where he sat on the journey to Busan, he’s more focused on the adorable bunny-boy that seems to be constantly clouding his thoughts for the last month or so.
Luckily his heat had died down yesterday, just in time for him to be able to travel back with the rest of the group—all of whom are under the impression that he had a mild case of the flu for the past few days as Jeongguk had begged Taehyung not to spill the truth to anyone.
This was especially hard considering Jimin thought it imperative that he knew the truth, though the omega’s curiosity subsided when Taehyung refused for the third time that he couldn’t explain. Thankfully he didn’t bring it up again but Taehyung figures Jimin correctly guessed what had actually happened to Jeongguk and felt too much empathy for his fellow omega to continue asking questions.
When he sits down beside him, Jeongguk refuses to meet his gaze—instead he stares intently out of the window as if something exciting was happening in the car park of the hotel.
Of course Taehyung understands the omega’s shyness and doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable by pestering him with questions so he doesn’t say a word.
But, he’s still yearning to offer some form of reassurance, refusing to let the delicate situation build a wall between them.
The best he can come up with is placing his arm around Jeongguk’s shoulders, staring at the back of the seat in front of him.
He figures it was the right move as Jeongguk lets out a soft exhale, silently thanking Taehyung as he moves to rest his head on the alpha’s shoulder, half-cuddling into his side.
Before he can give it any thought, Taehyung buries his nose in the man’s soft hair—admittedly one of his favourite traits of the omega’s—only to litter gentle and reassuring kisses there.
At some point during the four hour long voyage home, their palms slid together and fingers naturally interlaced. It all simply felt right.
They exchange no words, though it’s far from boring; Jeongguk continues reading the same book he had been absorbed in on the beach and Taehyung reads along with him, eyes dancing along the words from where his head is perched atop Jeongguk’s.
He suspects Jeongguk is aware of this as he hesitates longer before slowly turning each fragile page.
Mirae hasn’t shown up to school for three days.
To most three days would seem mildly insignificant. But, for Jeongguk the three days in which he doesn’t see his favourite little alpha scurry into his classroom in the mornings or delight him with her adorable paintings of her rabbit plushies are three long days which consist of painful overthinking.
He runs through every thing he can remember from the trip to Busan—admittedly there are some gaps in his recollection due to his time spent in heat and pretty much all of what he does remember makes him physically cringe. Though with the way Taehyung was acting on the bus journey home, he thought everything would be fine.
And everything was fine. They’d returned home on the Wednesday afternoon and Mirae had attended school on the subsequent Thursday and Friday, though he never saw Taehyung drop her off or collect her one those days—a detail which seemed insignificant at the time but now only serves as fuel for Jeongguk’s spiralling thoughts.
Maybe Taehyung feels weird or upset over what happened on the trip and realisation only truly set in when he arrived home.
Of course, the rational part of Jeongguk knows that Taehyung wouldn’t keep Mirae from her education due to a minor doubt surrounding his relationship with Jeongguk.
Still, it’s the afternoon of the following Wednesday and Jeongguk is... worried, to understate. This leads him to the only possible, logical conclusion which is to show up at Taehyung’s home, unannounced.
With some encouraging—bribery and blackmail—Jeongguk manages to convince Namjoon to give him Taehyung’s home address off the school system which is how he, only hours later, finds face to face with the pristine white door of Taehyung’s apartment.
He raises an uncertain hand to the doorbell and after a few seconds (it’s actually five minutes in which he nearly manages to talk himself into going home several times but ultimately ends up staying, but, either way, no one needs to know) brings himself to press.
From somewhere inside he can hear the chime of the doorbell followed by the pattering of feet and a gruff “Mirae, how many times have I told you not to open the door,” which excites butterflies inside of his stomach—whether it’s due to nerves, excitement, or anticipation, he’s entirely unsure.
The door opens widely and Jeongguk has to look down to see Mirae beaming up at him before she flings herself at him, arms clinging to his waist as she cheers, “Bunny!”
He hears more footsteps, much heavier this time, and Jeongguk looks up just in time to watch Taehyung stop abruptly in his tracks as he registers who’s at the door.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he visibly swallows, approaching slowly.
“Um,” he attempts, voice cracking before he starts again, “Would you like to come in?”
Jeongguk nods slightly, taking tentative steps inside.
Something about Taehyung’s entire demeanour and hesitance suggests he’s not exactly thrilled that Jeongguk has visited.
“I won’t stay for long,” Jeongguk says, not wanting to make the alpha uncomfortable because of his extended presence when he’s clearly unwanted. “I just noticed Mirae hasn’t been at school recently and I was worried...”
Taehyung’s eyes drop to the floor as he curses quietly under his breath.
“Mirae,” he calls and she looks back at him—gaze diverting from where it had been trained on Jeongguk’s face—mild annoyance displayed on her features. “Why don’t you go to your room and play with your toys? Jeongguk and I need to have a grown ups chat.”
It’s not exactly a question and evidently the little girl knows that from the way she sulks into her bedroom with little protest against her father.
As soon as she’s gone, it’s only Taehyung and Jeongguk, nothing to permeate the tense atmosphere heavy between them.
Scratching his nape, plagued by nerves, Jeongguk glances at the man in front of him.
“Sorry, this was a bad idea, I shouldn’t have come,” he croaks, stammering slightly. “I’ll let you have your privacy.”
As he starts to back out into the corridor outside of the apartment, Jeongguk hears Taehyung let out a deep sigh.
“No, no,” Taehyung says, voice tired. “Don’t go. I’m sorry I’m like this at the moment, it’s nothing to do with you...”
The omega stops his movements to leave once again stepping inside. His expression is full of doubt and uncertainty as he takes slow steps towards the man.
He’s never seen Taehyung look so frail, full of doubt. The man slouched in front of him is certainly not the self assured, confident alpha that Jeongguk’s used to.
Stepping forward cautiously, Jeongguk rests his palms delicately Taehyung’s cheeks, tilting his head carefully so that he’s forced to meet the omega’s gaze.
“Tell me what happened, Taehyungie,” he prompts in a whisper that is so light it could be erased by a gentle breeze.
Apparently the timid request is all it takes for Taehyung to fall apart.
He surges forward, face pressing into Jeongguk’s shoulder as silent sobs wrack through him.
“It’s my parents,” he cries, muffled by the fabric of Jeongguk’s sweater. “They’re gone— there was a car accident and— and they didn’t make it.”
“Oh, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk murmurs, pressing his lips against the man’s feathery chocolate-toned hair.
A steady hand strokes up and down Taehyung’s back whilst a quiet voice whispers hushed reassurances into his hair as Jeongguk tries his best to comfort him.
There’s a muted bang that comes from Mirae’s room, likely the result of a toy accidentally dropped or something equally as insignificant. It makes Taehyung bolt upright, hands immediately coming to scrub his tears away.
“Mirae’s here, I can’t fall apart,” he mumbles, more so to himself than the man stood in front of him. “I need to be strong.”
Jeongguk gently guides Taehyung’s hands away from their onslaught against his eyes.
“How about,” he suggests, “I take Mirae to the park or something and you can spend some time here by yourself. You can cry all you want, let it all out—it’s not good to keep emotions bottled up inside.”
After a second, Taehyung sniffles, agreeing quietly, “Only if you’re sure.”
“Of course I am,” Jeongguk reaffirms. “You’re not alone, Taehyungie; I care about you.”
“Thank you,” Taehyung mumbles, eyelids falling shut as he pulls Jeongguk in for a short hug. “Thank you so much.”
With a final “It’s okay,” from Jeongguk, Taehyung’s relinquishes his grip and wordlessly leads him deeper into the apartment.
From what Jeongguk catches a glimpse of, it’s easy to conclude that it’s far larger than his own, furniture much more sleek and obviously expensive, yet homey all the same with Mirae’s toys and stuffed animals scattered about, cartoons playing quietly on the large television, and small pairs of socks drying where they’re draped over a radiator.
Taehyung gestures to a door that’s slightly cracked open, allowing Jeongguk the scarce sight of only pastel purple wallpaper and an overflowing bookcase of children’s stories, from all of which he safely assumes it’s Mirae’s room.
He plants a firm kiss on Taehyung’s forehead before he allows the alpha to disappear into his own room, softly shutting the door behind him. Jeongguk turns his full attention to the other, much smaller, much more innocent and oblivious alpha.
Slowly stepping into her room, he calls, “Mirae?”
Immediately she perks up from where she’s on her bed, fiddling with the ears of a white rabbit plushie.
“Bunny,” she says, easing off the bed and approaching him. “What are you doing here?”
Clearly her initial excitement caused by Jeongguk’s unexpected arrival has subsided now that she’s calmer, a more inquisitive, apprehensive side to her surfacing.
“It’s a bit complicated, Mimi,” he starts slowly, crouching down so that he’s almost her height. “How about we hang out at the park and Bunny will explain what’s going on.”
Immediately her eyes light up and she skips over to her closet, pulling out a thin, outdoors coat.
“Now?” she asks eagerly, desperate to get out of the apartment for some fun. “Can we get ice cream, too?”
“I’m not sure, Mimi, you’ll be having dinner soon,” he reasons.
Though, once he sees her crestfallen expression, he easily gives in.
“...Fine! But only if it’s strawberry,” he conditions, knowing it’s Mirae’s favourite.
She hastily shoves her arms through her sleeves and fumbles around her cluttered carpet, searching for shoes.
Once she’s ready and they’re about to head out, Mirae hesitates at the door.
“Isn’t appa coming?” she mumbles through a cute pout.
“No, we’re just going to have some Bunny-Mimi time,” he says cutely, hoping to cheer her up.
Luckily the girl seems satisfied and skips down the corridor toward the elevator which leads directly to the lobby.
It’s more like Mirae’s taking Jeongguk to the park, not the other way around, considering Mirae knows the local area far better than Jeongguk does. She holds his hand obediently, crossing roads when he directs, and dutifully recites the route.
Eventually they arrive at the park—a sprawling green space with a section filled with colourful metal play equipment. Mirae rushes over to the slide meanwhile Jeongguk makes his way over to the ice cream van parked on the road adjacent, just a short while away.
When he returns with two strawberry ice cream cones, Mirae is swinging sadly on one of the swings by herself. The depressing sight causes Jeongguk to frown.
Silently, he crouches down in front of her, holding one of the cones toward her before it has an opportunity to melt in his hand.
“Mimi, don’t be sad,” he whines. “I thought you were happy to see Bunny?”
“I am,” she replies in a quiet mumble that contradicts her statement. “Just... I’m really worried about appa.”
Jeongguk knew that this is what would come—he just had no idea that he wouldn’t have a chance to prepare an answer beforehand.
“I know you must be confused, Mimi,” Jeongguk starts slowly, placing a hand on her small knee, as she looks down at him, occasionally taking small licks of her pink ice cream. “Of course your appa’s going to be fine, it’s just that... your halmeoni and halabeoji have gone away for a while.”
“Oh.” She clearly full of thought, a small crease forming between her soft eyebrows. “When will they come back?”
“Not for a long time,” he speaks regretfully.
He figured the white-lie is innocent enough—as she gets older she’ll grow to understand her grandparents’ death and come to accept that she won’t see them ever again.
For now, he just hopes it’s enough.
Mirae starts sniffling with a slight shine over her eyes, “Appa’s not going anywhere, though, right?”
He immediately scoops her from the swing and up into his arms, enclosing her into a tight hug.
“Oh, no, Mimi. Your appa’s not going anywhere,” he promises, peppering little kisses over her forehead.
“What about Bunny?” he mumbles, flecks of doubt still present in her eyes. “You’re going to stay with us forever, too?
He can’t help the smile that stretches across his face.
“Of course, love. How could I ever leave such an adorable little alpha, hm?”
Pouting, she holds up her pinky. “Promise?”
Jeongguk wraps his little finger around hers, practically engulfing it due to the size difference.
“Promise.”
Setting her down in the floor, he gently wipes away the remaining tracks of her tears.
The mood lightens significantly after she finishes her ice cream, handing the uneaten wafer cone—“It tastes boring, Bunny, I don’t want it!”—to Jeongguk before skipping over to the slide.
They spend a few more minutes playing in the quiet park; Jeongguk cheering as Mirae slides down the slide, Jeongguk pushes her as high as possible on the swings, Jeongguk slightly supporting her weight as she attempts the monkey bars countless times.
Eventually Mirae whines about wanting to get home to check on her father, therefore ending The Saddest Trip To The Park Ever™.
As the apartment door clicks closed behind the two, Taehyung’s head springs up.
Unlike Jeongguk had expected, the alpha is laying on the large grey couch, flicking through television channels, rather than in his bedroom like he had thought.
His eyes are still clearly red-rimmed but he manages a smile whilst Mirae bounds over to him. She throws her arms around his neck as she catapults all of her weight on top of him, causing him to fall onto his back, plummeting his head into the fabric cushions of the couch.
“I missed you, appa!” she squeals, practically sitting on his chest.
“You missed me? It was barely an hour, cupcake,” Taehyung teases, stroking her stray hair behind her ear.
Jeongguk leans a hand on the edge of the sofa, watching on the scene with a fond smile.
“Appa,” Mirae whines, lightly hitting his chest with a small balled up fist. “I always miss you!”
Sitting up, Taehyung pulls her into a hug, wearing an adoring smile that only Jeongguk can see.
“I always miss you, too, princess,” he confesses in a hushed murmur. “Always.”
“Don’t be sad, appa,” Mirae pouts, prodding her father’s neck teasingly, trying to cheer him up.
“How can I be sad? I have the best daughter ever!” he replies in an exaggerated voice, poking Mirae’s plush cheek.
She erupts into a flutter of giggles and both men chuckle with loving smiles. When she settles down, a small crease perforates the space between her brows.
“I’m hungry,” she whines, moving forward and pretending to bite her father’s nose.
“Even after having ice cream?” Jeongguk questions with a raised eyebrow.
Taehyung looks up at the omega, surprise painted on his features before directing his gaze back to the girl.
“Ice cream?” he gasps, dismayed.
A sheepish grin works its way onto Mirae’s face.
“Don’t worry, it was strawberry!” she excuses. “Strawberries are healthy.”
Taehyung stifles a laugh before shifting her from atop him, reaching for the television remote to turn on her favourite channel.
“I’ll make dinner now,” he assures with a kiss on the forehead—which she barely registers as she’s already enraptured by cartoons displayed on the wide screen.
Stretching as he stands, Taehyung slides his palm against Jeongguk’s, intertwining their fingers. He leads him into the conjoined kitchen.
Taehyung places both hands either side of him on the counter before pushing himself to sit atop the marble. He parts his legs whilst grabbing both of Jeongguk’s hands and pulling him to stand between his knees.
He reaches up to interlace his own fingers, resting them on Jeongguk’s nape.
“Thank you,” he expresses, pouring all of his emotion into those two simple words of gratitude.
“It’s okay—,” Jeongguk starts to convince but Taehyung clearly isn’t accepting any consolation.
“No,” Taehyung insists. His eyes bore into Jeongguk’s as he repeats, “Thank you.”
Nodding, Jeongguk bites his lip and simply accepts the man’s appreciation.
The alpha sighs as he leans forward to rest his forehead against Jeongguk’s shoulder, who threads his fingers through Taehyung’s silky chocolate locks.
The moment is heavy with grief yet gratitude—pure and genuine thankful recognition for everything the omega has done for him.
However, Taehyung only allows himself a brief moment of respite.
“I have to make dinner,” he sighs against the material of Jeongguk’s shirt, before sniffling and straightening his posture.
“Let me do it,” the omega suggests.
“No, I’ll do it—”
“No—”
“Bun—”
Eventually they decide it’ll have to be a joint effort considering it’s clear that neither of them will surrender.
It’s all a strangely domestic practice that they’re both growing dangerously comfortable with: making dinner, eating together, tucking Mirae into bed.
Once they’re certain that she’s sound asleep, they retire from the living room into Taehyung’s bedroom.
Settling against the headboard, Taehyung takes Jeongguk’s hand into his own—a movement that’s happening increasingly frequently as Taehyung finds himself depending heavily on the action to bring him comfort.
Tears begin to well up in Taehyung’s eyes and he closes them to ease the stinging.
Jeongguk apparently knows what’s happening—the bereavement ruling Taehyung’s emotions—as he leans his head against the omega’s shoulder.
He just lets him cry, pour all of his melancholy emotions out. At some point Taehyung runs out of tears and his cries acquiesce into muffled dry sobs.
Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Taehyung sniffles.
“I’m sorry,” he croaks, throat hoarse. “I can’t believe you had to come here and— and— I’m supposed to be looking after Mirae and I can’t even do that...”
“No, you always take care of everyone else all of the time, it’s my turn to take care of you... and Mirae,” Jeongguk comforts. “I really care about her, Taehyungie.”
“I know,” Taehyung sobs quietly. “You’re perfect.”
Jeongguk lets out an unexpected laugh, muffled by the alpha’s hair and he’s midway through planting a kiss to the crown of his head.
“You’re pretty perfect, too, Taehyungie,” he returns.
The conversation lulls into a comfortable quiet in which Taehyung tries to sort through the depressing thoughts and Jeongguk desperately searches for ways and words to use to console the older man.
“You know,” he approaches tentatively, “my sister died a few years ago, actually. She, um, drowned on a fishing trip with her friends. It was a while ago now, but it still hurts...”
“Oh, Guk, I’m so sorry—”
“I’m not saying it to make you feel sad or sorry for me, just know that I understand how you’re feeling right now and that I’m here for you,” he promises, “Whatever you need.”
Taehyung takes a moment to process and let out a deep sigh, breath shaky.
“My parents... they were all I had after Jihye left.”
“Jihye?” he prompts, though he suspects that he already knows the answer.
Taehyung confirms Jeongguk’s presumption, “Mirae’s mother.”
There’s a pause in which Jeongguk deliberates whether it’d be too invasive to ask. Luckily, Taehyung seems to sense where his thoughts are and continues to explain, unprompted.
“We met in college,” he starts carefully. “I was twenty, she was a year younger than me. It sounds cliché, but everything happened so fast and we fell in love but we received a lot of disapproval—mostly from her parents—due to us both being alphas.”
Outlining Jeongguk’s knuckles with a delicate fingertip, Taehyung inhales shakily before continuing.
“We did our best to ignore everyone else, to just focus on ourselves but things got worse after Jihye found out she was pregnant,” Taehyung explains with an unstable, weak voice. “My parents were supportive from the moment we told them, but we tried to wait until the last moment to inform her parents. When they found out, they were furious. Terrified of being a parent at nineteen and disowned by her parents, broke, realising she wasn’t even in love in the fist place, Jihye left as soon as Mirae was born—nine months after we started dating.”
“I’m so sorry, Taehyung,” is all Jeongguk manages to voice.
“I’m not,” Taehyung admits honestly, squeezing Jeongguk’s hand. “We were probably never going to work out. And I got the best thing in my life out of it, so... it turned out fine, I suppose; I finished college a few months later, took Mirae, moved to Seoul, and never saw her again.”
He lets out a particularly heavy sob.
“My parents were supportive and there for me through all of it—”
Wanting to divert Taehyung’s attention from memories of his parents, Jeongguk revisits the topic of his ex girlfriend—equally as risky.
“Are you angry at her?”
“I think I used to be,” he answers with complete candour. “But, even then, I could never truly hate her. How could I when she gave me my world, my precious Mirae?”
Humming, Jeongguk supposes Taehyung’s right—he’s never exactly been in the same, or a similar, situation so it’s difficult to share his opinion. What he does know is that Taehyung and Mirae are the perfect dynamic duo; she’s the spitting image of her father and exactly how he imagines Taehyung was at seven-years-old.
“‘Mirae’ is a beautiful name,” he observes.
“I chose it,” Taehyung states, a hint of pride lacing his words.
“Why?”
“‘Mirae’ means future,” he explains. “In that moment it felt like I had nothing else, only her. She was my future. She is my future.”
Taehyung seems to have largely calmed down, focused instead by his adoration for his daughter.
Enjoying the new depth of honesty that their relationship has seemingly reached, Jeongguk wants to maintain the truthfulness and figures it’s his turn.
“I’ve never told you this before, but I actually never wanted to be a teacher,” he reveals.
“No?” Taehyung encourages.
“Nope,” he confirms, popping the ‘p’ sound and grinning sideways at Taehyung. “I always planned to be a social worker or something similar, specializing in children to help kids in need.”
Sighing heavily, Taehyung slings his arm around Jeongguk’s dainty shoulders.
“I already told you you’re perfect, Jeonggukie, no need to rub it in,” he whines sardonically, nuzzling his nose into the omega’s pillowy cheek, full of fondness. “So, how come you ended up becoming a teacher?”
“Um, when my parents discovered I was gay, they disowned me, refused to pay for my college tuition,” he explains, suddenly finding that locking his fingernails is enthralling. “I couldn’t afford to attend but luckily I already had the basic necessary qualifications to become a primary school teacher.”
Taehyung stays silently, allowing Jeongguk to fully explain as he offers silent reassurance in tracing the lines on his palm.
“Also, I already considered Namjoon my older brother at this point so knowing the head teacher’s husband definitely helped.” He laughs dryly. “My twenty-one-year-old self moved into their apartment—which was kind of awkward for the first few months—but eventually I saved enough for my apartment.”
“You would have made a great social worker, Guk. But, there’s also something about you that fits being a teacher so well... I see how all of those kids love you so much and how you inspire them and I wonder how you could be anything else. I’m sorry about your parents, too, no one deserves to go through that.”
Silence settles over the pair and Jeongguk revels in the pride that unfurls in his gut at Taehyung’s words. But he can’t fully relish in the moment as one question remains lingering in his mind.
“If she came back... would you... do you still love her?” he asks reluctantly.
Before Jeongguk has a chance to overthink, Taehyung quickly answers, “No.”
It’s the most simple answer but Jeongguk feels like he might explode with how fast his heart is beating.
“I don’t love her anymore,” he further squashes any potential doubts that may still be sprinkled in Jeongguk’s mind. “Someone else has stolen my heart.”
Any other time Jeongguk’s insecurities would have likely swallowed him up but when he’s here, cuddling into Taehyung’s side, and they’ve just spilled their souls to each other, explained their vulnerable pasts, he knows for certain that Taehyung can’t possibly be talking about anyone else.
He turns to face Taehyung, only for their noses to bump clumsily due to their extremely close proximity.
Breath hitching in his throat, warmth blossoming in his chest at the sensation of being able to feel Taehyung’s breath on his upper lip which tingles with a sudden urge to be placed upon the alpha’s own.
Eager to satiate his need to know the taste of Taehyung’s lips, he shifts forward and lets his eyelids drift closer.
Taehyung evidently reciprocates as his tongue glides over his lower lip and he moves closer, causing his soft bangs to tickle Jeongguk’s forehead.
He can almost feel Taehyung’s pillowy lips press against his own when the alpha pulls away, moving instead to lean his forehead on Jeongguk’s shoulder as he exhales unsteadily.
Barely concealing a gasp, Jeongguk’s eyes squeeze closed. Dread washes over him.
Taehyung doesn’t want to kiss him. Taehyung doesn’t want to kiss him. Taehyung doesn’t want to kiss him. Taehyung doesn’t like him back—
“Jeongguk,” he starts, tone mournful and apologetic. It makes the humiliation worse.
“I’m so sorry—“
“Sh,” Taehyung immediately hushes, hastily moving up to endearingly peck Jeongguk’s nose. “None of that. I don’t want our first kiss to be because I’m upset and confused and emotional and grieving... I want it to be happy, romantic... full of love.”
Obviously Jeongguk’s disappointed—he’s been desperate to kiss the man for longer than he realises—but more than that, he’s overwhelmed with relief.
He hurriedly nods before Taehyung has the chance to change his mind.
“I understand,” he affirms, bringing their interlaced fingers to his mouth, pressing an adoring kiss to each knuckle.
Taehyung smiles with fondness, leaning up to return with a loving peck on his forehead.
The adoring exchange seems to be enough for the both of them, placating their neediness for more.
Reflecting on the emotional rollercoaster of a day that Taehyung has had, Jeongguk threads his fingers through his hair. He examines how his eyes are still subtly bloodshot with slightly heavy eyelids.
“You should probably get some sleep,” he whispers as Taehyung’s eyelids droop closed, soothed by the omega stroking his hair.
Taehyung knows he’s right, but he also knows he can’t part from Jeongguk just yet.
“Will you stay?”
Usually Taehyung is assured in himself, flirtatious as he flaunts his confidence. It breaks Jeongguk to see him so exposed, so vulnerable.
He could never say ‘no’ and leave him alone in his fragile state.
“Of course I’ll stay with you, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk soothes.
“Thank you,” he exhales. His head lulls onto Jeongguk’s shoulder, eyes closing completely as he leans into the rhythmic feeling of the omega’s fingers raking through his silky strands; now that he has Jeongguk’s assurance that he’ll stay, he can finally slip into sleep. “I don’t know what I’d do without my Bunny.”
My Bunny. Jeongguk loves the sound of that.
Morning golden glow filters through the pale grey curtains that decorate the wide windows of Taehyung’s bedroom. Sniffling, Jeongguk’s eyes crack open a sliver, light stinging his irises.
Memories of the previous night flash through his mind; a flurry of tears, giggles, grief, almost-kisses. It all pries him from sleep’s grip, helping him regain his senses.
Blinking blearily, he feels the silky supple skin that coats Taehyung’s firm bicep pressed beneath his ear, cushioning his head. The man’s other arm is draped across his waist, landing his veiny forearm on the smooth plain of Jeongguk’s stomach which is exposed due to the way the velvety material of his T-shirt has ridden up.
It successfully secures the omega’s silhouette against Taehyung’s chest. He feels warm puffs of breath fanning over his nape.
All that surrounds him is a comfortable warmth. He never wants to leave.
Unfortunately a shrill, jarring trill comes from behind him, Taehyung’s alarm interrupting his ephemeral moment of bliss.
Taehyung lets out a guttural groan that sends pleasurable vibrations through Jeongguk. He blindly reaches behind him and so removes the arm that was resting over the omega’s waist, fumbling with his phone to turn it off.
Blinking and blushing—and desperately hoping his hair isn’t too messy after a night of heavy sleep—Jeongguk rolls over onto his other side. He ends up face-to-face wit Taehyung’s chin.
Even though his eyes remain closed in protest against the early morning light, Taehyung feels the man turn in his hold.
“Morning,” Taehyung mumbles, lightly smacking his lips.
“Good morning,” Jeongguk returns shyly.
Humming, Taehyung eases his eyelids open. He huffs out a laugh when his eyes meet the sight of Jeongguk’s adorable face, the omega’s chin pressing into Taehyung’s solid chest.
“Look at that, you’re perfect forehead kiss height!” he jests, voice raw and thoughts still slightly delirious and nonsensical from sleep.
Though Jeongguk’s not complaining when he repeatedly plants soft kisses on his forehead and along his crown. It causes the younger to stutter out a series of short laughs.
The pure sound dissolves the blurriness of sleep from around the edges of his mind.
After a minute or so of basking in each other’s presence, Jeongguk hesitantly broaches the topic of the previous night.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he mutters, tracing the defined outline of Taehyung’s collarbones, hoping to make the question come across as casual.
Taehyung takes a deep breath, organizing his thoughts before trying his best to answer truthfully, expressing his honest feelings.
“They’ve always been there for me and have always been so supportive and helpful with Mirae but I can’t even remember the last time I even said ‘Thank you’ to them... I feel terrible.”
“Maybe you didn’t tell them, but, trust me, Taehyungie, they knew,” Jeongguk tries his best to console. “They were your parents and they loved you unconditionally. Not a moment passed in again they didn’t know how grateful you were for them and how much you loved them.”
Once he’s done talking, he litters sweet kisses over Taehyung’s exposed collarbones, slightly tugging down the collar of the alpha’s T-shirt. By chance, one of them lands a little higher than the rest, Jeongguk’s lips scathing the skin beside Taehyung’s scent gland.
The man’s breathing stutters and all of the tension seemingly melts from his body. Hesitantly, Jeongguk purposefully presses his lips to the smooth skin which is coated with Taehyung’s heady scent.
It’s as if Taehyung melts into him, every inch of contact between them tingling with desire.
However, the moment is interrupted by the door flying open and Mirae running inside. Without a second thought, she springs onto the bed and crawls over to poke at her father’s cheek. Only then does she notice Jeongguk’s presence.
“Bunny!” she squeals, moving over to lightly tug Jeongguk’s raven hair. “You stayed!”
Grinning lopsidedly, Jeongguk shifts onto his back, letting Mirae sit on his chest. Her smile is blinding and Jeongguk notices that the space her missing tooth left behind has now been half filled by a fresh tooth growing in.
“I promised I’d stay, didn’t I?” Jeongguk teases, poking the tip of his finger into her dimple.
Mirae nods swiftly before clambering off the bed and runs into into the kitchen, her socked feet padding against the smooth floors as she goes.
“Breakfast time, appa!”
Closing his eyes, Taehyung sighs. He only allows himself a moment of rest before easing from the bed, shifting the blanket aside.
Jeongguk chuckles shallowly, sitting up as the duvet pools around his waist.
“She certainly doesn’t get her morning energy from me,” Taehyung grumbles, raking his fingers through his tousled hair.
He makes his way into the bathroom, saying he’s certain that there’s a spare toothbrush in one of the cabinets and so Jeongguk obediently follows after sliding his glasses on.
A few minutes later, they find themselves in the kitchen whilst Mirae is lounging in the sitting room. Taehyung selects one of the stainless steels pans, inspecting it as he twirls it around in his loose grip as if it weighs nothing. Meanwhile, Jeongguk watches, thinking it shouldn’t be so attractive.
Taehyung gathers ingredients from the fridge and it’s a few minutes until he figures out what he’s making.
“You make her pancakes every morning?” he asks, impressed as he leans against the sharp edge of the marble.
Adjusting the heat on the stove and drizzling cooking oil into the pan, Taehyung lets out a chuckle, shaking his head.
“No, she usually has cereal,” he answers honestly. His gaze slide over to meet Jeongguk’s. “But this morning seems special, right?”
Butterflies flurry in his stomach and heat spreads through his chest. He can’t help but nod bashfully in agreement.
As the pan heats over the stove, Taehyung leisurely approaches the omega, leaning his hands on the counter either side of him. Automatically, Jeongguk winds his arms around Taehyung’s neck.
Dressed in Taehyung’s clothes and shrouded in his scent; arms wrapped around him; Mirae’s giggles coalescing with the sound of oil sizzling in the pan: Jeongguk is in domestic heaven.
He doesn’t know where he ends and Taehyung begins as they stare into each other’s eyes.
The polished floor is cool beneath his bare feet, especially the pads of his toes as he pushes up minimally to connect his lips with Taehyung’s.
Sparks ignite as Taehyung softly kisses him back, applying a gentle yet firm pressure to Jeongguk’s plush mouth; their lips brushing together tentatively for the first time.
The alpha’s lips are warm and pillowy. They part slightly, allowing Jeongguk’s tongue to slip inside languidly.
Before the exchange has the opportunity to become too heated, the cooking oil in the pan begins to sizzle more violently, causing them to pull apart reluctantly in efforts to prevent the apartment from burning down.
Taehyung moves to stand in front of the stove, altering the heat before mixing the ingredients for pancakes in a large glass bowl. Replaying the kiss in his head over and over and over, Jeongguk’s cheeks tint scarlet.
Usually he’d be overthinking, have thousands of terrible scenarios and troubling questions speeding through his mind. Instead, this is prevented as Jeongguk finds all of the reassurance he needs in the timid smile teasing Taehyung’s lips.
Jeongguk already knows everything’s going to turn out perfectly.
It turns out Taehyung’s list of talents isn’t limited to: extremely gorgeous looks and being an amazing father. It also includes making the most perfect pancakes.
Mirae devours her golden stack in no time at all which allows her the opportunity to talk throughout the entirety of the remainder of the meal.
She chatters about everything from what she plans to paint in school today to the sleepover at Micha’s house that she’s trying to convince her parents to allow.
Taehyung barely takes any of her words in, focusing predominantly on continuously having to warn her against talking with her mouth full of juice and wiping her sticky syrupy hands to prevent them from staining her pyjamas. However, Jeongguk laughs along the whole time, encouraging her to go on with keen questions and engrossed contributions.
Eventually—after a glance at the clock on his phone—Taehyung has to put an end to her gossiping.
“That’s enough, princess,” he informs regretfully, trying to nullify her disappointment with a loving forehead kiss. “It’s time to get ready for school.”
Through pursed lips, she concedes, “Fine! But first, I have have have to introduce Bunny to Cheonsa and Eunha!”
Allowing Taehyung no chance to protest, Mirae jumps from her seat, grabs the omega’s hand and drags him into her bedroom.
Taehyung stays behind to collect the dishes from the table, depositing them into the sink and running steamy water over them. He can’t help the smile that blossoms on his lips at the thought of his kiss with Jeongguk earlier.
Ever since they met, Taehyung has only increasingly discovered how amazing Jeongguk is and after seeing how he interacts with his daughter, he’s convinced that the younger man is nothing short of perfect.
Once the crockery has been sufficiently cleaned and set aside to dry, Taehyung makes his way to free Jeongguk from Mirae’s enthusiasm surrounding her favourite stuffed animals.
“Don’t worry, you’re still the cutest bunny!” he overhears his daughter’s reassurances and Jeongguk’s adoring laugh that follows.
Leaning against the doorframe, Taehyung observes the scene before him.
Jeongguk is sat on the carpet with his legs crossed, full attention on Mirae like a diligent student; she’s stood in front of him, her one rabbit plushie in each hand as she lectures him about all of the intricacies and nuances of their personalities.
When the omega notices Taehyung hovering in the doorway, he takes the hint.
“Mimi,” he says, “it’s really time to get ready for school. You don’t want to disappoint your friends by being late, do you?”
The two men escort the tiny alpha into the bathroom. Taehyung oversees her tooth brushing and face cleaning as Jeongguk takes the opportunity to look around the room—his head clouded with sleep when he brushed his own teeth earlier.
Before he can help himself, Jeongguk admonishes, “Your lack of face washing equipment is both appalling and impressive.”
“Impressive?” Taehyung’s evidently intrigued, eyebrows raising.
“Your skin is so smooth yet you have absolutely no skin care routine? Impressive,” he determines.
Mirae leans up onto her tiptoes to spill the frothy toothpaste from her mouth into the sink, giggling at their cute exchange. Her laughter echoes down the short corridor as she practically skips to her room to get changed.
Taehyung shakes his head at the girl’s cute behaviour as he wordlessly leads Jeongguk by their interlaced fingers into his bedroom, specifically over to his closet.
“Giving me free reign over your clothes? A dangerous game, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk teases, stepping inside and searching through the rows of shirts and shirts and suit jackets and more shirts.
Eventually he ends up in—surprisingly—one of Taehyung’s shirts, a rarer seen pale pink one, matched with a pair of generic black suit slacks. The shirt is oversized on him considering he doesn’t have Taehyung’s muscles to fill it in fully but he manages to style it out by loosely tucking it into the waistband of the trousers.
The scent of Taehyung’s fabric softener lingers on the collar and it’d be a lie if Jeongguk didn’t slyly bring it to his nose one or two times, indulging.
“Sorry, I’ll probably get paint on it by the end of the day but I promise to wash it before returni—”
Taehyung’s lips against his own successfully halt his attempt at a preemptive apology. Unfortunately, the kiss over before it even properly began and Jeongguk is left with a put on his lips and not Taehyung’s mouth.
“Keep it,” he insists before disappearing from the room.
The minx of an alpha sneaks another kiss as they’re leaving the apartment—Mirae repeatedly smashing the button on the elevator as if it’s going to make it arrive faster, Taehyung locking the apartment door and taking an unsuspecting omega off guard by pecking his lips and sauntering down the corridor, strides full of pride. Jeongguk follows after him with a flustered blush and delirious smile.
He figures he could get used to future mornings following identically with petrifying ease.
A month passes and Jeongguk wakes up each day with love in his heart, a smile on his face... and in Taehyung’s bed, but that’s besides the point.
He hadn’t technically moved in yet—although he did stay over most nights—as they’d agreed on not making anything official for Mirae’s sake, not wanting to overly confuse her.
Though, she seems to be pretty confident in her knowledge that the two are going to stay together forever.
Either way, Jeongguk and Taehyung are taking each day as it comes, the latter gradually overcoming his grief and focusing all of his attention on his love for his two favourite people.
On one of those days, Mirae saw Yuzuru Hanyu on the television and has been obsessed with going ice skating ever since.
Neither of them can ever so no to her so the three find themselves in the closest ice rink. Taehyung despises the biting cold, alas there are no limits to what he’d do for his daughter.
Mirae has a tight grip on Jeongguk’s hand, her entire body thrumming—due to the freezing cold or anticipation, it’s uncertain—as they approach the counter which provides rentable skates. Taehyung was busy securing their belongings in one of the lockers and had encouraged them to collect their skates without him, sensing how eager Mirae was to get on the ice.
“Two adult pairs of skates and one child’s please,” he requests the young girl lingering behind the counter.
“Okay!” she says before ducking down to retrieve the requested skates from below the counter.
At the sight of her small skates being set down, Mirae lets out an enthusiastic audible cheer.
Both Jeongguk and the counter-worker both laugh adoringly at her cute behaviour.
“She’s very sweet,” the girl compliments, flipping strands of her hair aside.
“Ah, she is adorable,” Jeongguk admits, placing a hand on the small alpha’s hand, petting her soft hair lovingly.
“She certainly has the eyes of her father,” she says, comparing the young alpha’s eyes to his own.
Instead of denying and explaining the truth of the situation, he simply smiles and offers a polite “Thank you.”
Ignoring the exchange between the adults, Mirae’s gaze stays fixated on her skates. Before she can eagerly clamber onto the counter and reach for them herself, Jeongguk passes them down to her and collects Taehyung’s and his own.
The rest of the afternoon is a blur of laughter, shivering, and bruises—at least mostly on Taehyung’s part.
The man is like a newborn lamb on the ice, wobbling around with his arms outstretched, desperately grasping for someone, something, anything to hold onto to stabilize himself.
Tired of humiliating himself, Taehyung eventually takes himself off the ice to go and stand at the side of the rink. But, he doesn’t feel left out, not at all. He spends the entire time taking pictures and videos, clapping and cheering for them each time they skate past.
Usually Taehyung despises being even remotely cold, but he finds it’s not too bad with the two people he loves most.
By the end of the afternoon Jeongguk’s cheeks hurt from how much he’s been smiling and his hand cramps slightly from how tightly Mirae had been holding it.
In the end, he feels no pain at all. If anything, all he feels is that familiar warmth spread through him at Mirae being acknowledged as his daughter—even in the freezing cold of the ice rink.
Once Mirae catches wind of her being able to stroke the rabbits at the zoo from Micha, it’s all she talks about. Taehyung books tickets as soon as possible, already knowing her enthusiasm for rabbits is far too much for him to handle.
As soon as they make it through the zoo’s entrance, Mirae rushes past all of the other animal enclosures which contain exciting and furious animals to reach the quiet petting zoo tucked away in the corner.
Jeongguk and Taehyung amble along behind her with their fingers laced together, swinging loosely between them as they gaze around at the different enclosures.
“Appa! Bunny! Faster!” she whines, eyebrows pulled together in frustration. “You’re so slow!”
Chuckling, Jeongguk pats Mirae on the head and teases, “I’m sorry, Mimi. You’re appa’s old age is catching up to him.”
Taehyung groans at yet another joke added to Jeongguk’s series of old-age taunts. “I’m only two years older than you, Bun.”
He presses a sweet kiss to Taehyung’s cheek in a charming apology.
“Sorry, Taehyungie,” he says with his wide rabbit-reminiscent smile and Taehyung doesn’t even know how he could possibly be upset with him in the first place.
They arrive at the quaint wooden gazebo that is enclosed by fences to prevent rabbits from escaping and is lined with benches inside which already has a few children sat on.
A zoo attendant wearing a dark jade polo shirt opens a gate to let them inside. Mirae barely contains a squeak of excitement as she carefully steps inside. The floor is a smooth concrete sprinkled with strands of hay, several rabbits of different sizes, patterns, and breeds hopping around.
Mirae honestly looks as if she’s in heaven.
Jeongguk and Taehyung sit either side of her on the rough wooden bench as the worker delicately places one of the rabbits on her lap.
Her eyes are wide as she scans over the animal perched on her thighs. It’s a soft grey with a strip of white running between its beady black eyes.
The girl runs a tentative palm along its silky back, mesmerized by the soft fur.
She looks up at Taehyung, eyes shining.
“Appa, it’s so soft,” she marvels, holding Taehyung’s hand and guiding it to stroke the rabbit.
Mirae gazes around, eyes scanning all of the other bunnies lopping around the floor and settled on other people’s laps.
“Appa, why is that one so big?” she asks, tiny hand pointing in the direction of one rabbit that is perched beneath a bench in the corner. It’s true that it’s noticeably bloated.
Apparently one of the zoo attendants overhears, eyes following to where she points and explains, “Oh, she’s pregnant.”
Mirae looks as if her mind explodes.
“Really? Does that mean there will be baby bunnies soon?” she wonders, gaping at the rabbit.
The worker nods, confirming that there will be around ten new bunnies hopping about next week.
“We have to come back next week!” she determines, practically vibrating with anticipation. Knowing Taehyung is more stern than Jeongguk, she turns to look up at the omega. “Please! Can we come back to see the bunnies, Bunny?”
Giggling at the fervent use of the word ‘bunny’, Jeongguk nods, ignoring Taehyung’s warning glare, silently begging him not to agree.
“Of course we can, Mimi,” he agrees, patting him on the head.
“Oh! Can we get a pet bunny, too?” she excites further.
This time Jeongguk doesn’t ignore Taehyung’s silent protesting.
“We already have bunnies, don’t we? Cheonsa and Eunha wouldn’t be happy with you replacing them,” he conveys sadly and Mirae pouts, reconsidering.
Jeongguk notices Taehyung physically let out a sigh of relief.
Not able to stand the sight of a pout on her cute face, Jeongguk links his pinky with hers.
“I promise we’ll come back to see the bunnies,” he whispers, as if confiding a great secret.
Taehyung’s gaze softens as he watches their adorable interaction. His eyes meet Jeongguk’ sand they share a warm smile. Not able to help himself, Taehyung leans over the top of the oblivious girl’s head to lay his lips atop Jeongguk’s.
They three of them sit tightly huddled together on the wooden bench with the docile rabbit between them.
Just the three of them—their perfect little family.
The end of the school year arrives with a swelter of seasonal heat and desperation for summer break.
It also brings along the time for the end of year Parent–Teacher Conference. Although it sounds formal, it’s only really a yearly evaluation to independently assess the children’s learning progress. As long as they’re developing well and not having any trouble in class, it’s a casual meeting between parent and teacher.
Taehyung’s already fed up with the whole process purely because it meant Jeongguk has to get out of bed early this morning.
But he finds himself unable to maintain a frown when he watches Mirae playing gleefully with her friends and he listens to Hoseok’s hilarious jokes.
The parking lot has parents and children scattered all around, waiting for their designated slot. Other parents are already inside, talking to teachers or lingering in corridors, away from the heat—which is exactly where Taehyung would be (his suit is so thick, he’s sweltering) if Mirae hadn’t begged him to stay outside so she can play.
“Oh! You’ll never guess who finally popped the big question last night,” Hoseok taunts, holding up his hand to flaunt the subtle silver band around his ring finger.
Before Taehyung can even comprehend Hoseok’s words, Jimin is squealing and rushing forward to examine the humble ring.
“I’m so happy for you!” Jimin cheers, throwing his arms around Hoseok’s shoulders and pulling him in for a celebratory hug. “Tell me all of the details, I need to know that Yoongi actually has a romantic bone in that tiny body of his.”
Whilst Yoongi grumbles about being the same height as Jimin, Hoseok indulges in all of the intricate details of their candlelit dinner the previous night.
When he finally gets to Yoongi on one knee surrounded by rose petals, he checks his watch and notices that it’s 10:28 am; his meeting with Mirae’s teacher—a certain bunny boy—is in two minutes.
“Sorry, everyone,” he interrupts Hoseok’s intimate retelling of the proposal. “It’s almost half ten, I should head inside.”
They all bid him goodbye—Jimin hastily begging Hoseok to continue the story immediately after—and Taehyung makes toward the school’s main entrance.
“Mirae!” he calls, nodding his head in the direction of the doors. “Come on, it’s our turn!”
She gives each of her three friends a hug and happily skips over to him, taking his hand as she excitedly chants, “Bunny, Bunny, Bunny!”
They pass the people leaving the classroom at the same time as they enter, Taehyung offering a polite smile to the parent as Mirae waves cutely to her classmate.
As soon as they step inside of the colourful classroom, Mirae releases her father’s hand and runs over to Jeongguk. He’s sat at his desk at the front of the room, looking all professional and studious as he clicks through files on his computer and shuffles stacks of paper.
His head flies up at Mirae shouting “Bunny!” and he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, smile spreading across his face.
“Hey, Mimi,” he greets, watching her take a seat on the chair in front of his desk.
Taehyung watches the display fondly, taking a seat beside Mirae.
“Good morning, Jeon-ssi,” he says, teasing with the formality.
Not understanding or not willing to play along with their professionalism, Mirae shifts forward in her seat and reaches over the desk to poke Jeongguk’s glasses.
“Appa! Doesn’t Bunny look cute with his glasses?” she squeaks, fiddling with the thin frames.
Usually he’d scold her and encourage her to sit back in her seat properly and behave, but he can’t help the smile that grows over his lips.
“Yes, Mirae,” Taehyung has no other choice but to agree, “he’s definitely cute.”
Since the moment he met the man, Taehyung’s never doubted—even for a second—that Mirae has the most adorable teacher in the entire world.