Work Text:
Doh Kyungsoo had it all at 35. A Successful career, a beautiful house, a loving husband Chanyeol and an adorable son Sehun aged 10. Until tragedy struck without a warning and he lost everything. Chanyeol died in a plane crash and he was laid off. To make matters worse, the bank seized their house due to failure of the loan repayment. So he packed his belongings and flew home to Seoul to live with his sister Joohyun’s family. Her husband Junmyeon was a partner in a law firm so Kyungsoo got a job as a lawyer due to work experience in the US. Sehun joined the same school as Joohyun’s son, Jongin and although it was in the middle of the year principal Minseok was kind enough to enroll him in Jongin’s class.
Kyungsoo was able to find a decent apartment with the help of his classmate, Yixing who lived in the same building and also worked in the same law firm. His son Mark is Sehun's classmate too. The apartment was few blocks away from his sister’s, so when Kyungsoo had to work long hours, Sehun used to spend the nights in Joohyun’s house. Although Kyungsoo had it all worked out, Sehun knew his father was barely managing his grief.
“Appa, are you okay?” Sehun asks Kyungsoo one night after they come back home from Jongin’s house.
“Yes baby, why do you ask?”
Sehun hesitates. “Auntie Joohyun was telling uncle Junmyeon that you always have red eyes because you cry thinking of daddy.”
“No I’m fine. I do miss daddy.”
Sehun decides to take control. He talks to his cousin Jongin.
“What can we do Nini?” Jongin thinks for a while. “Why don’t we set him up on a date. Uncle Soo is handsome so it will be easy.” The boys decide to take Mark’s help. Mark’s other dad, Jackson, works for a dating website. Mark uses Jackson’s laptop and opens an account for Kyungsoo. They even manage to upload a photo. Within minutes, they get three messages.
“Wow that’s fast.” cries Mark excitedly. They select all three but only one of them is available to meet soon.
“What now?” asks Jongin.
“Let’s meet him.” says Sehun. “Why?" asks Mark.
“We will try to prepare him to meet Appa. If we don’t like him we will not tell."
"Yes, if they get married, Sehunnie has to live with him.” It made sense.
That Friday, the three friends meet Jongdae at the coffee shop. Jongdae comes with his friend Baekhyun. When they learn of Sehun’s idea, Jongdae immediately likes him.
“I agree with you. It’s better to be safe then sorry.” says Jongdae. Baekhyun agrees. He realizes that Jongdae has fallen in love with Sehun more than his father. Jongdae tells Sehun that one date is not enough to get to know each other so they decide to extend the trial period to one month. By the end of the evening, the children love Jongdae and Baekhyun. Jongdae drops them off at Jongin’s house.
“It was nice meeting you Mr.Kim.” Jongdae smiles. “You can call me Jongdae.”
Jongdae meets Sehun often.
“I think you should ask your dad to meet him.” Mark opines.
“How do I do it?” asks Sehun. So Jongin and Mark tell Sehun to bring Kyungsoo to their football game on Saturday.
When Kyungsoo sees Jongdae, he is attracted. And when he gets to know that Jongdae is his blind date he is flabbergasted. “Look I know it’s a shock to you, but Sehun had good intentions. We can try for his sake. If it doesn’t work out, I will still be friends with him.” Kyungsoo likes Jongdae’s attitude and decides to try dating him.
That night, after Sehun’s bath, Kyungsoo reads his favorite bedtime story.
“Appa, are you mad at me? Because of Jongdae?”
“No baby. He seems nice.” Both father and son spend time talking about Jongdae. Over the next few months Kyungsoo hangs out with Jongdae a lot. Jongdae is polar opposite to him in nature but Kyungsoo feels it’s like a breath of fresh air.
On Valentines Day, they make it official. Kyungsoo invites Jongdae to a special dinner at his sister’s house. Everyone present are happy for them.
“So when are you guys getting married?” asks Yixing.
“December. We haven’t set a date yet.” says Jongdae.
“Remember it was I who set you up. So you can thank me specially.” says Jackson.
“Well the credit should go to the boys. It was their effort in bringing us together.”
“True that.” They all agree.
Sehun who was in the next room eavesdropping smiles cutely. He knows that he will always love his daddy Chanyeol but Jongdae will have a special place in his heart. He looks at his Appa and the smile brightens. Kyungsoo is happier. His eyes are no longer red.“What are you smiling at?” Jongin is curious.
“Nothing. I am just happy.” Sehun hugs his cousin and runs to join Mark and his sister Sooyoung.
The wedding day:
Sehun, Jongin and Mark look handsome wearing black custom made suits. The girls Sooyoung, and Baekhyun’s daughters Seulgi and Yeri make adorable flower girls. The ceremony itself is short and sweet. After the wedding, Kyungsoo and Jongdae head off to Jeju for their honeymoon. After seeing off his parents, Sehun and Jongin spend the night at Mark.
“Dude, we should start our own match making business.” Mark claims excitedly.
“Yeah I agree. How about we set up Uncle Minho next?” asks Jongin.
“I know of a perfect match for him.” Sehun smiles.
“Who? Who?” The boys scream. Sehun whispers the name and they all giggle.