ficlet: A Different kind of Peace {pre-slash, MinHo, Yunho-centric}
Title: A Different kind of Peace
Length: ficlet
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG
Genre: romance, humor, kids
Pairing/Characters: Changmin, Yunho, KPop ensemble (as kids)
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: So going through my journal, I realized that I had a handful of drabbles I'd done for various prompt posts in various comms that I'd never reposted here... So viola~ This one went a bit longer than just a drabble.
Summary: Yunho's peace as a small town kindergartner teacher is about to be shattered... somehow, he doesn't think he minds, though.
~*~*
There weren’t many children in Yunho’s class. That was one of the things he liked best about the small school he’d chosen. It wasn’t like the big city school’s where classes were overcrowded and it was hard to give each child the attention they deserved. Even the private schools… maybe even especially the private schools, where even the babies were being pushed to excel, to give 115% to academics. His mother had insisted that was where the money and prestige was and Yunho, ever the dutiful son, had tried, but too many suicides and homicides and accidents in the older kids had shown him the path he was shoving those children down and he hadn’t had it in him to continue.
Five years and one of his own former students, barely even in junior high, not even old enough to shave, dead because he’d been taking drugs to stay awake, to study longer, and Yunho had fled, seeking refuge somewhere saner, somewhere that believed in the individual and not the statistic.
His mother still sighed at him with vague disappointment, sure that he’d stepped down in the world, that he was going backwards instead of forwards when he moved away from the big city, back to their hometown and took a job teaching kindergartners. She thought of it as babysitting.
Yunho thought of it as peace.
The low number of students, only twenty this year, meant that he could get to know them. He could help shape them into more than just automated machines who put study above their own lives.
He knew when Jihyun’s father was in town. She was always quiet and tense, her uniform in perfect form, her hair tightly braided. He knew when the man headed back to the city to his job, when her mother let her wear her hair down with flowers tucked behind her ear and a whimsical pin on her lapel.
He knew that Jungsu and Youngwoon were inseparable and that trying would cause Jungsu to pitch the sort of fit that epic tragedies were made of.
He knew when Gikwang was being teased, when the sunny smile and happy go lucky personality grew dark and shaky.
He knew that Siwon was a model student, the epitome of polite gentility in miniature form, right up until the older kids pushed Ryeowook down or pulled on Heechul’s hair. Then he got into fights, determined to protect his classmates from bullies.
He knew when Jiyoon, Gayoon, and Hyuna were planning mischief, three adorably pig-tailed little heads ducked together as they whispered and giggled and conspired.
He knew that the small pictures covered with hearts that he found in his desk every morning were from Jessica and that she’d already invited Taeyeon, Yoona, and Tiffany to the wedding. Literally. He’d seen one of the painstakingly, if childishly, drawn out invitations before Yoona had been able to hide it one day.
He knew that no matter how spaced out it seemed like Jaejoong was, the little daydreamer always seemed to know when someone said his name.
He knew that Yoseob was convinced he could manifest mutant powers if he just tried hard enough and Doojoon always agreed with him, despite an ingrain skepticism of the idea that came from having doctors for parents. Yunho was especially glad that they were friends and that Doojoon usually managed to reign in Yoseob’s wilder ideas for mutation. He still had nightmares about a class trip to the zoo and Yoseob trying to sneak into the room where spiders - many of them venomous - that weren’t on display were kept.
He knew that Yoochun’s parents fought bitterly with little care for the fact that their sons could hear.
And he knew that Junsu and Junho’s parents had been planning on an extended trip, somewhere exotic, somewhere warm, and that their mother’s brother - or was it step-brother? Yunho couldn’t remember for certain, though he had a very clear memory of Junsu wrinkling his nose and telling Yunho how much he didn’t like the man in the same way Junsu had declared he didn’t like everyone at least once since Yunho had known the boy - was going to be taking care of them for the time.
Which is why he wasn’t too worried when they didn’t arrive to class on time the first day after their parents were meant to have left. It was possible, he knew, that the uncle could have decided to keep the twins at home for the first day, to get acclimated to each other.
There were a lot of possibilities and he knew there was no real need to worry because their’s was a sleepy little town and there wasn’t really any trouble that the boys and their uncle could have gotten into.
But Yunho was a worrier by nature, and he couldn’t help glancing up at the door off and on as roll call passed and the children pulled out their primers, wondering if he could sweet talk Boa down at the office into giving him the new contact info so that he could call just to make sure everything was okay. It probably wouldn’t work, though. She was one of the few people who knew that, Jessica’s daydreamed weddings aside, the odds of a woman getting him to the alter - or even to the movie theatre for a date, were slim to none. She’d take his attempts at flirting for the attempt at manipulation they were and ignore him. He’d get further if he just admitted he was worried, but…
Before he could really make a decision, the door flew open and the twins rushed inside, a harried looking young man following them.
Junsu ran right up to the desk. His voice was high and distraught as he clutched the edge of Yunho’s desk. “Did we miss show and tell? Please tell me we didn’t miss show and tell. Uncle Changmin got us lost and he wouldn’t listen when we were trying to tell him which way to go! He said kids suck at directions, but really he sucks. ” The little boy turned to glower at his uncle. “If we missed show and tell, I’ll never forgive you.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that to your uncle, Junsu.” Hiding a smile, Yunho patted the small hand. “And it’s all right. You aren’t that late.”
Junsu sagged in relief before running back to kick his uncle’s leg on his way to his seat at the desk he shared with his twin. Junho was already there, calmly getting out his primer like everyone else.
Laughing softly, Yunho stood up. “All right class. Look over the alphabet chart while I step outside, okay? We’ll go over it together when I come back.”
Outside, the younger man ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, okay. I promise they won’t be late in the future.”
“It really is all right, Mr…” He drug it out with a question.
“Uh, Shim, but you can just call me Changmin. Anything else makes me feel old.” He sighed and offered Yunho a smile. “I suppose I shouldn’t say things like ‘kids suck’ around Junsu.”
“No, probably not,” Yunho replied, returning the smile. “Most children repeat what they’ve heard.”
“Right,” Changmin winced. “All I need is the little rat telling his mother I was mean.”
“You probably shouldn’t call him a rat, either,” Yunho chided, gently, though he was amused. Junsu had been called much worse by a lot of people.
Changmin laughed. “Right. Okay. I’m really not very good with kids.”
“It’s all right. I’m sure you’ll get better while you’re watching them.” If Yunho remembered correctly, the twins’ parents would be gone for a month. Plenty of time for Changmin to either sink or swim. He hesitated for a moment, before smiling again. “If you start to feel too far out of your depth, just ask. I’d be happy to throw you a life jacket.”
Another laugh and Changmin was fishing out an expensive looking cell phone. “That is the best thing I’ve heard since I got to town.”
As he gave his number and watched Changmin leave with a jaunty wave, Yunho wondered how much of his offer had been about the twins and how much had been about sparkling, mismatched eyes and the way Changmin’s jeans fit his ass…
Then there was a loud crash from inside the room, along with Junsu’s yell of It wasn’t me!, and he pushed the thought away. He had more immediate things to worry about, after all.
~*~*~
fin
Length: ficlet
Author: M_K Yujji
Rating: PG
Genre: romance, humor, kids
Pairing/Characters: Changmin, Yunho, KPop ensemble (as kids)
Disclaimer: Though real people are used as characters, this fic bears no resemblance to Real Life and these people are not owned by me.
Comments/Notes: So going through my journal, I realized that I had a handful of drabbles I'd done for various prompt posts in various comms that I'd never reposted here... So viola~ This one went a bit longer than just a drabble.
Summary: Yunho's peace as a small town kindergartner teacher is about to be shattered... somehow, he doesn't think he minds, though.
~*~*
There weren’t many children in Yunho’s class. That was one of the things he liked best about the small school he’d chosen. It wasn’t like the big city school’s where classes were overcrowded and it was hard to give each child the attention they deserved. Even the private schools… maybe even especially the private schools, where even the babies were being pushed to excel, to give 115% to academics. His mother had insisted that was where the money and prestige was and Yunho, ever the dutiful son, had tried, but too many suicides and homicides and accidents in the older kids had shown him the path he was shoving those children down and he hadn’t had it in him to continue.
Five years and one of his own former students, barely even in junior high, not even old enough to shave, dead because he’d been taking drugs to stay awake, to study longer, and Yunho had fled, seeking refuge somewhere saner, somewhere that believed in the individual and not the statistic.
His mother still sighed at him with vague disappointment, sure that he’d stepped down in the world, that he was going backwards instead of forwards when he moved away from the big city, back to their hometown and took a job teaching kindergartners. She thought of it as babysitting.
Yunho thought of it as peace.
The low number of students, only twenty this year, meant that he could get to know them. He could help shape them into more than just automated machines who put study above their own lives.
He knew when Jihyun’s father was in town. She was always quiet and tense, her uniform in perfect form, her hair tightly braided. He knew when the man headed back to the city to his job, when her mother let her wear her hair down with flowers tucked behind her ear and a whimsical pin on her lapel.
He knew that Jungsu and Youngwoon were inseparable and that trying would cause Jungsu to pitch the sort of fit that epic tragedies were made of.
He knew when Gikwang was being teased, when the sunny smile and happy go lucky personality grew dark and shaky.
He knew that Siwon was a model student, the epitome of polite gentility in miniature form, right up until the older kids pushed Ryeowook down or pulled on Heechul’s hair. Then he got into fights, determined to protect his classmates from bullies.
He knew when Jiyoon, Gayoon, and Hyuna were planning mischief, three adorably pig-tailed little heads ducked together as they whispered and giggled and conspired.
He knew that the small pictures covered with hearts that he found in his desk every morning were from Jessica and that she’d already invited Taeyeon, Yoona, and Tiffany to the wedding. Literally. He’d seen one of the painstakingly, if childishly, drawn out invitations before Yoona had been able to hide it one day.
He knew that no matter how spaced out it seemed like Jaejoong was, the little daydreamer always seemed to know when someone said his name.
He knew that Yoseob was convinced he could manifest mutant powers if he just tried hard enough and Doojoon always agreed with him, despite an ingrain skepticism of the idea that came from having doctors for parents. Yunho was especially glad that they were friends and that Doojoon usually managed to reign in Yoseob’s wilder ideas for mutation. He still had nightmares about a class trip to the zoo and Yoseob trying to sneak into the room where spiders - many of them venomous - that weren’t on display were kept.
He knew that Yoochun’s parents fought bitterly with little care for the fact that their sons could hear.
And he knew that Junsu and Junho’s parents had been planning on an extended trip, somewhere exotic, somewhere warm, and that their mother’s brother - or was it step-brother? Yunho couldn’t remember for certain, though he had a very clear memory of Junsu wrinkling his nose and telling Yunho how much he didn’t like the man in the same way Junsu had declared he didn’t like everyone at least once since Yunho had known the boy - was going to be taking care of them for the time.
Which is why he wasn’t too worried when they didn’t arrive to class on time the first day after their parents were meant to have left. It was possible, he knew, that the uncle could have decided to keep the twins at home for the first day, to get acclimated to each other.
There were a lot of possibilities and he knew there was no real need to worry because their’s was a sleepy little town and there wasn’t really any trouble that the boys and their uncle could have gotten into.
But Yunho was a worrier by nature, and he couldn’t help glancing up at the door off and on as roll call passed and the children pulled out their primers, wondering if he could sweet talk Boa down at the office into giving him the new contact info so that he could call just to make sure everything was okay. It probably wouldn’t work, though. She was one of the few people who knew that, Jessica’s daydreamed weddings aside, the odds of a woman getting him to the alter - or even to the movie theatre for a date, were slim to none. She’d take his attempts at flirting for the attempt at manipulation they were and ignore him. He’d get further if he just admitted he was worried, but…
Before he could really make a decision, the door flew open and the twins rushed inside, a harried looking young man following them.
Junsu ran right up to the desk. His voice was high and distraught as he clutched the edge of Yunho’s desk. “Did we miss show and tell? Please tell me we didn’t miss show and tell. Uncle Changmin got us lost and he wouldn’t listen when we were trying to tell him which way to go! He said kids suck at directions, but really he sucks. ” The little boy turned to glower at his uncle. “If we missed show and tell, I’ll never forgive you.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that to your uncle, Junsu.” Hiding a smile, Yunho patted the small hand. “And it’s all right. You aren’t that late.”
Junsu sagged in relief before running back to kick his uncle’s leg on his way to his seat at the desk he shared with his twin. Junho was already there, calmly getting out his primer like everyone else.
Laughing softly, Yunho stood up. “All right class. Look over the alphabet chart while I step outside, okay? We’ll go over it together when I come back.”
Outside, the younger man ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, okay. I promise they won’t be late in the future.”
“It really is all right, Mr…” He drug it out with a question.
“Uh, Shim, but you can just call me Changmin. Anything else makes me feel old.” He sighed and offered Yunho a smile. “I suppose I shouldn’t say things like ‘kids suck’ around Junsu.”
“No, probably not,” Yunho replied, returning the smile. “Most children repeat what they’ve heard.”
“Right,” Changmin winced. “All I need is the little rat telling his mother I was mean.”
“You probably shouldn’t call him a rat, either,” Yunho chided, gently, though he was amused. Junsu had been called much worse by a lot of people.
Changmin laughed. “Right. Okay. I’m really not very good with kids.”
“It’s all right. I’m sure you’ll get better while you’re watching them.” If Yunho remembered correctly, the twins’ parents would be gone for a month. Plenty of time for Changmin to either sink or swim. He hesitated for a moment, before smiling again. “If you start to feel too far out of your depth, just ask. I’d be happy to throw you a life jacket.”
Another laugh and Changmin was fishing out an expensive looking cell phone. “That is the best thing I’ve heard since I got to town.”
As he gave his number and watched Changmin leave with a jaunty wave, Yunho wondered how much of his offer had been about the twins and how much had been about sparkling, mismatched eyes and the way Changmin’s jeans fit his ass…
Then there was a loud crash from inside the room, along with Junsu’s yell of It wasn’t me!, and he pushed the thought away. He had more immediate things to worry about, after all.
~*~*~
fin