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“Today, all of you will be working as temporary teachers for the Flower Bud Class.”
“We will?”
Wearing a bright yellow apron and tulip-shaped nametag despite having a cool-toned aesthetic was one thing; working as a temporary teacher at your child's daycare class was another. An exhale abruptly escaped through his nostrils. His heart pounded a little harder.
Kim Iwol couldn't help but to feel excited at the fact that he would see his son.
While everyone was busy making friends with the daycare children, Iwol did another. Among many children, all who shied away from his gaze, Iwol's eyes naturally searched for a specific one—a child he's most familiar with, one whose eyes shone whenever they sight him.
There was a tug on his pants. When he looked down, he was greeted by his number one fan. A smile immediately graced his face.
"Hello." He knelt down. "I'm Teacher Iwol. What's your name?"
A face full of confusion greeted him, but soon it turned into realization. Iwol imagined the child with a lightbulb flickering on after a brilliant idea came into mind. "Good morning, Teacher. My name is Kim Jaeyoon. I am five years old."
Just like they practiced. Pride swelled in Iwol's chest. He held back the urge to embrace his son and kiss him silly until Jaeyoon giggled at the ticklish feeling. What better way to reward him than with affection?
"Nice to meet you, Jaeyoon."
Iwol's smile visibly softened—it was only reserved for his son that no other people are meant to see. It was soon mirrored, though with a touch of childish mischievousness rather than the fatherly trace it originally has. Iwol could see how Jaeyoon's shoulders shake from how he was holding in his giggle. A secret between him and his father must be exciting.
Iwol caught sight of Flower Bud Class's teacher, who wore a shocked face at his interaction with Jaeyoon. He almost laughed. Well, it couldn't be helped. His Jaeyoon was normally shy around strangers, and the fact that he was conversing normally with a "new" teacher without any problems? Even Iwol would be shocked if news like that reached his ears.
"Teacher, please read me this book." Jaeyoon showed Iwol a familiar book that he had in his little hand.
It was more than familiar, in fact, because Iwol knew this book all too well. It's the book that Iwol always read to Jaeyoon at bedtime, about a cat and a child going on an adventure together. Jaeyoon had mentioned several times that it was his favorite because the cat looked like Iwol.
"Oh, but it's not nap time yet," Iwol said. Jaeyoon shook his head in response. "Are you sure you want me to read this to you and not talk to the other teachers over there?" Iwol pointed to the other members of Spark, who were slowly blending in with the children despite their earlier awkwardness.
Jaeyoon suddenly wrapped his arms around Iwol and muttered quietly, "Jaeyoon wants to be with teacher…"
As expected, his Jaeyoon was really so cute.
"Okay." Iwol wrapped his arms around Jaeyoon—practiced, steady. He was as gentle as he always had been, from the first time Iwol held Jaeyoon in his arms. "Teacher will be with Jaeyoon."
Jaeyoon had stuck to Kim Iwol's side like glue.
The morning went by with Iwol reading to Jaeyoon, and when he was done, he cleaned up the forgotten toys scattered throughout the floor courtesy of other children who would rather play with Choi Jeho or Park Joowoo. Jaeyoon helped him clean up, despite Iwol urging him to play with the others and promising that he'd be nearby as his son had wished.
Lunch was a mess. Iwol had expected that since they were in a daycare, but between six inexperienced men, they couldn't maintain cleanliness—especially when they're working with children with still awkward motor skills. Despite Iwol's experience with Jaeyoon, he was still pretty powerless compared to many children.
It was comical to see Choi Jeho getting cleaned up by a small child, though.
As a kitchen assistant, Iwol was too focused on making sure every child had something to eat that he'd forgotten to make one for himself. Jaeyoon, his savior, had offered his sandwich for Iwol to eat.
The sandwich's appearance was far from being perfect, having been crafted by clumsy hands. Iwol was overjoyed, so in exchange, he made one for Jaeyoon as well.
"It's a special sandwich," Iwol whispered to his son. "I made it with love."
The smile he received was one he would always cherish.
"Everybody get ready for nap time!"
The Flower Bud Class's teacher announced. The children protested loudly in response—even Jaeyoon, who was normally quiet during class. Iwol chuckled. It was cute how Jaeyoon wanted to stay awake because Iwol was here, but he could tell that Jaeyoon was off to dreamland the moment his head hit the pillow.
Fortunately, despite their earlier protest, the children were obedient enough to lay down and nap with a little nudge. Iwol tucked Jaeyoon in as soon as he and Jeong Seongbin closed the blinds and turned off the lights. As Iwol had expected, Jaeyoon was already sleeping soundly. Light snores escaped from his mouth, wet with drool. Iwol wiped it off with his thumb.
The other members, except for Lee Cheonghyeon, were napping alongside the children as well. With nothing else to do, Iwol tiptoed around, tucking the children who had kicked off their blankets back in.
"Ah." Iwol paused. He turned to Cheonghyeon, who was still engrossed in the songbook in his hands. "Cheonghyeon, I'll go out for a bit. Please keep watch over the children."
"You got it, hyung," Cheonghyeon whispered and flashed Iwol a thumbs up.
Iwol had only gone to the toilet for a moment, but as soon as he returned, there were sounds of someone shushing and the teacher on standby weren't behind the camera anymore. Cheonghyeon whipped his head towards Iwol when he heard him come back, distress clear on his face.
Iwol's gaze shifted. He moved before he could even think.
He muttered a quick apology to the teacher he had pushed away amidst his urgency. Iwol couldn't even feel guilty at the action when the sight of Jaeyoon crying was all he could see, and it tore him to the core.
"Jaeyoon-ah," Iwol cooed as soon as he cradled Jaeyoon in his arms, his son's arms resting automatically around his neck. He stood with practiced ease and began moving side to side. "What's wrong? Did our Jaeyoon-ah have a nightmare?"
It took a minute before Jaeyoon nodded against his wet shoulder. His crying had lessened, but Jaeyoon was still sniffling now and then. Iwol stroked Jaeyoon's back.
"It's okay, Jaeyoon-ah. I'm here now," Iwol said. He turned away from the adults watching him and lightly pressed a kiss on Jaeyoon's head. Iwol started patting Jaeyoon's back as he continued to sway, humming a familiar tune he would often sing to Jaeyoon whenever his son had difficulty sleeping.
"Appa…" Jaeyoon muttered, his arms tightening around Iwol.
Before long, Jaeyoon had finally calmed down. Iwol asked the teacher for water while he cleaned up Jaeyoon's face which was wet with tears and snot.
"Our Jaeyoon-ah is such a brave boy," Iwol praised as Jaeyoon blew his nose on the tissue Iwol held. It was already his fifth tissue. "Do you want to tell teacher what Jaeyoon-ah dreamed about?"
Jaeyoon stared at Iwol, then shifted his gaze to Cheonghyeon and to the adults present in the room. He turned back to Iwol and shook his head, a small pout on his lips.
"It's okay. Teacher will not ask anymore." Jaeyoon's teacher came back with drinking water and Iwol thanked them quietly. "Let's drink up so you'll feel better, Jaeyoon-ah, okay?"
Jaeyoon nodded and obediently drank the water that Iwol had offered to him.
"Did any of the children wake up?" Iwol asked Cheonghyeon, his hand caressing Jaeyoon's hair.
"Thankfully no." Cheonghyeon shook his head. "Jaeyoon only made sounds before he woke up and he cried quietly so no one heard enough to wake them up."
Iwol nodded thoughtfully. He inspected Jaeyoon's clothes and tucked him back in when he deemed him clean. Iwol pushed stray hair away from Jaeyoon's face and said, "Let's try to sleep again, okay? Close your eyes now, Jaeyoon-ah. I will be here."
Iwol started patting Jaeyoon's chest to lull him to sleep, but his son stubbornly kept his eyes open.
"Teacher, hold my hand too, please."
Cheonghyeon giggled when Jaeyoon closed his eyes as soon as Iwol granted his wish. "Hyung is so caring. You're already fitted to be a father."
Iwol's lips twitched into a small smile and he gazed lovingly at Jaeyoon.
That's good to know.
"You have snot on your clothes."
Choi Jeho immediately commented upon waking up. Kim Iwol didn't bother to check where the snot was; there was only one child who cried on his shoulder, after all.
"Do you need a change of clothes?" Jeong Seongbin asked, already poised to ask the staff.
"It's fine, I'm used to it," Iwol said. "Ah, unless it's a problem?" He asked the staff behind the camera, and when they shook their head, Iwol breathed a sigh of relief.
“You've had kid snot on your clothes before too?" Kang Giyeon asked, face slightly contorted in disgust.
"More or less," Iwol said vaguely. "Fix your expression."
As Giyeon's expression went back to something more pleasant, Iwol caught Jeho's eyes. Jeho was raising an eyebrow at him for some reason. Iwol decided to ignore his judgemental gaze and walked up to the staff filming their content with purpose. The talk about his dirtied clothes reminded him of something.
"I have a request," Iwol quietly said, his voice firm. "Please cut out the moment Jaeyoon had a nightmare until he fell asleep."
Saying goodbye felt a bit heavier than expected.
Some children were crying when they're informed that they have to part with their temporary teachers, but with Choi Jeho's gentle comfort, they stopped.
As the children greeted Spark goodbye, Kim Iwol felt a tug on his pants.
Jaeyoon was looking up at him.
"Jaeyoon-ah, did you have fun?" Iwol knelt down and caressed Jaeyoon's cheek. "Time to go home. Will you miss teacher?"
Jaeyoon nodded. He handed Iwol a crumpled piece of origami paper.
"It's a cat."
Ah. Jaeyoon learned something new.
Iwol gazed at the black origami paper with unshed tears. If Jaeyoon hadn't said what it was supposed to be, then Iwol wouldn't have known that it was supposed to be a cat. Nonetheless, he was still so proud of Jaeyoon. His baby was growing up well.
"Thank you," Iwol said with a bright smile.
Jaeyoon shifted a bit in his place before throwing his arms around Iwol. He buried his face on Iwol's shoulder.
"Appa, goodbye."
The words were quiet and muffled, but Iwol heard them loud and clear.
"Bye, Jaeyoon-ah." Iwol squeezed Jaeyoon in his arms. He then covered his mic and said, "Appa loves you always. I'll see you later at home, okay?"
Jaeyoon nodded and ran towards his guardian, who smiled at Iwol upon seeing him. Iwol waved at his noona and watched as they left the building.
"That kid seems attached to you, hyung," Jeong Seongbin said, his gaze trained on Jaeyoon.
"Really?"
Seongbin chuckled. "Yeah. It's cute because he kinds of looks like you. You could pass off as his dad."
"Jaeyoon-ah is more handsome than me, though."
A cheeky smile wormed up to Iwol's face. Seongbin was taken aback at the sight, before he shook his head as if to dispell the shock he felt.
"Oh no. We lost you," Seongbin teasingly said. "You got attached to the kid too, huh?"
Iwol shrugged lightly with a slight smirk and returned to greeting the remaining kids goodbye. He couldn't wait to go home to his own son and shower him with affection that he couldn't do with so many cameras present.