Chapter Text
jonghyun is walking his daughter to school, her hand gripping his firmly & he’s glad that at seven she’s not yet embarrassed to hold her father’s hand in public. this is a rare treat for him, usually gwiboon takes minjung to school but today is a special day.
suddenly jonghyun feels his daughter’s hand jerk out of his, the shrill cry of “minjung!” accompanying the loss. he watches helplessly as she falls to the ground, the soft grass buffering her fall, two little boys, slightly smaller than minjung, now lying on top of her, giggling over her prone frame. he goes to rescue his daughter from the mini attackers but pauses when she begins laughing loudly, her eyes crinkled in mirth, & wraps an arm around the neck of each boy, locking their heads in with her elbows.
from behind he hears a frantic call of “taemin! jongin!” & turns to see a man running up to his side, his face flushed, panicked. the boys on the ground, now identified as taemin & jongin, respond with a muffled “what?” their faces smothered against minjung’s chest, still locked in her iron embrace. the man runs a hand through his hair, seemingly unsure of how to proceed, glancing over at jonghyun who was now watching the children with a bemused grin, more than a little proud of his daughter’s strength in keeping the now struggling boys in her grip.
“I know you’re both excited to see minjung but did you have to knock her over?”
“minjung is our friend & we had to say hi.” came jongin’s muffled response.
“yeah, she’s our friend”, was taemin’s stifled reply, his tone implying that his father was dense for not having connected the two facts.
jonghyun laughs.
“i think you can let them up now minjung.”
“not until they say auntie!”
“it’s uncle, everybody knows that!” is taemin’s incensed reply.
“that’s stupid. i’m not an uncle, i’m an aunt. or i could be. say auntie!” she emphasized this last remark with a squeeze of their trapped necks. jongin was the first to concede, followed begrudgingly by taemin.
she releases them both & the boys push themselves up off the grass &, in unison, turn to stretch their hands out to help minjung up, the three of them grinning. she turns her bright smile towards jinki, stepping right up to him with a “hi mr. lee!” & stretching out her arms for a hug. jonghyun watches with a little confusion as a man he’s never met quickly scoops up his daughter into a familiar embrace, minjung giggling wildly as he swings her around before setting her feet back on the ground. she turns to jonghyun, eyes bright.
“dad! this is jinki.”
“he’s our dad,” jongin pipes up, slipping his hand in jinki’s.
“yeah,” taemin breaks in, his chest puffed out with pride, “he fixes cars. he’s awesome.”
“this is my dad jonghyun”, minjung says, slipping her hand around his arm. “he cuts hair & makes people look pretty. he cut my hair,” she says proudly, shaking her head back & forth so that the shoulder-length locks whip around her face.
taemin tilts his head, watching her appraisingly before remarking “you still look like a frog.” jonghyun frowns indignantly as jinki closes his eyes & sighs out an exasperated “taemin.”
“what?! she does!”
“but your hair is still really pretty,” jongin says softly from his place at jinki’s side.
“thanks,” she replies before narrowing her eyes at his brother. “i told you not to say that.”
taemin smiles mischievously before muttering “ribbit”. jonghyun has to hold minjung back as she lunges toward the younger boy & taemin falls back, hard, in his attempt to escape her blows. jongin & minjung laugh as taemin struggles back up, frowning.
“frogs are cool”, he says as he stands, exasperatedly, “they eat bugs.” minjung seems to ponder this explanation before nodding. “cool”, is her only reply & accepts taemin’s proffered hand of apology, the two shaking in reconciliation.
suddenly jonghyun notices that the hum of children & buses has quieted down & realizes they are quickly becoming the last ones in the yard.
“alright kiddo, i think it’s time for you & your friends to get to class.”
“m’kay”, she replies, stepping up on her toes as he bends down for her to kiss his cheek. taemin tackles jinki, joining jongin as the two hug their dad around his waist, their small hands overlapping. he ruffles their hair before they take off, the three children racing towards the doors.
suddenly minjung turns back & shouts, “hey dad! can jongin & taemin come over tomorrow to play?”
jonghyun pauses, glancing at jinki before responding, “i’ll ask their dad & let you know after school. now go to class!” she smiles & waves at them both before joining up with the boys, the three of them disappearing through the doors.
the men stand in silence for a moment, the sudden quiet of the school yard a bit jarring after the steady hum of sound. jinki turns first, a brilliant smile on his face & jonghyun notices for the first time just how handsome this man is, a thought that feels slightly inappropriate while standing in front of an elementary school. still, jinki’s full lips & dark eyes are making jonghyun’s heart beat a bit faster. he hopes it doesn’t show.
“so you’re minjung’s dad, jonghyun. good to meet you.” jinki puts out his hand & jonghyun takes it, surprised by the softness of jinki’s skin.
“same here. i’ve been hearing a lot about taemin & jongin.”
jinki laughs, his smile glowing & jonghyun swallows.
“i suppose it’s too much to hope it’s good.” jonghyun raises his eyebrows & shrugs non-committedly, a quirky grin on his lips. “well, they adore her. school’s been a hard adjustment for them since…” his sentence trails off & for a moment it is like he isn’t there, like he’s disappeared & jonghyun shifts on his feet, uncertain of what to do or say. it passes swiftly & then jinki’s smile is back, albeit a bit dimmer.
“minjung told me. about your husband. sorry.”
jinki nods. “thanks. it’s been…it is…hard.”
“yeah. she…well,” jonghyun chuckled, “she was reading taemin a book of scary stories & one of them took place in a graveyard. he told her that graveyards weren’t scary because his dad lived in one. which minjung thought was just the coolest & asked me why i didn’t live in one. it was a confusing conversation.”
jinki bursts out laughing & jonghyun is relieved.
“so, saturday,” jinki says expectantly, “when would be a good time for the boys to come over?”
“ah…probably 1? we’re having a bbq for kibum’s birthday & we should be set up by then. there’ll be a pool so have the boys bring suits if they want to swim. we have plenty of towels.”
jinki nods as jonghyun speaks.
“that sounds great. should we bring gifts? is kibum a cousin or something?” jonghyun looks at him with confusion & then breaks into a smile.
“no, kibum is minjung’s father.” now it’s jinki’s turn to look confused & jonghyun chuckles. “sorry, i thought they would have told you at some point, it seems to have been what brought the kids together in the first place. i’m not minjung’s biological father but i am her dad. gwiboon & i…it’s hard to explain. she’s my best friend, my plate mate. ” he chuckles at the growing confusion on jinki’s face. “platonic soul mate. anyway, minjung’s father, kibum, died before she was born in a car crash. she has no memory of him so gwiboon throws a birthday party for him every year, to make memories, make connections. everyone gets together & talks about kibum & have cake & ice cream & balloons. she wants her to think of her dad when she sees these things & not be sad. anyway, I’ve been there for them since minjung was born, late night feeds & diapers & all, & when she started hearing other kids calling the men in their life dad she started doing it to me too. i was a little unsure about it at first but it felt right & gwiboon was on board.” he paused & ran a hand through his hair. “i can’t believe i’m telling you all this. damn.”
jinki’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “i seem to have that effect on people.”
“you’re just really nice to look at. i mean you’re a really nice listener.”
jinki blushes, an eyebrow quirked in surprise.
“thanks.”
“can i have your number?” jinki seems taken aback before he laughs lightly, pulling out his phone. jonghyun realizes only belatedly how it sounds & blurts out, “for the party.” jinki nods & recites the numbers to jonghyun who types them in, watching as jinki swipes the screen to answer the message he’s just sent, the one with gwiboon’s address. jinki slips his phone back into his pocket, a soft smile on his face, one jonghyun hopes to see more of on Saturday.
“let me know if you have any trouble getting there.”
“i will.” there’s another moment of silence now, softer though, one with potential. jinki breaks it by putting his hand out, the soft skin again clasped in jonghyun’s hand.
“see you saturday.” they shake & jinki starts walking away.
“it’s a date.” he’s relieved to see jinki turn & laugh before disappearing in the parking lot.