Yours Truly, With Love & Confection [ 5/7 ]
Title: Yours Truly, With Love & Confection, part 5
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho-centric with hinted at Xiuho and Subaek,[endgame spoiler]endgame Subaek ^^; side!Layhan (side!Taosoo if you squint)
Length: 58,825 words
Summary: Sometimes Joonmyun feels claustrophobic living in a small town where literally the entire population knows either him, his mother, or his kids (or his weird and annoying next door neighbor). But when a mysterious young man arrives to fill in as his new intern for the summer, Joonmyun’s not sure he likes the change, either.
Warning/s: weird!Luhan, language, kid!Jongin, kid!Jongdae,[Spoiler (click to open)]mentions of feminine hygiene products; mentions of Suho and Kyungsoo having been previously married to women
A/N: *sad laughter that fades off into the gloaming* originally posted for Suholiday 2015
The most stressful part of Joonmyun’s job is not dealing with cranky production managers like Mr. Kyung, fielding the same round of uninformed questions at every corporate board of director’s meeting, or taking over bathroom duty on the janitor’s days off. No, the moment that makes Joonmyun’s blood race in his ears and his stomach feel like Mt. Vesuvius about to blow is right before he debuts his precious products, presenting samples to the common woman for beta testing and review.
Joonmyun knows his branch puts out quality products, but in politics and marketing perception is reality. The first impressions of the intended audience can make or break the market performance of even the most solid product line. Thus Joonmyun knows he can trust only the sharpest intuitions for initial beta testing. It's always a nerve wracking moment, walking into his kitchen with a sample box clutched in his sweating palms, but this is for science. This is for humanity. Joonmyun can do this. Okay.
"Oh, you're home early!" Victoria has a casserole dish balanced on the top rack of the oven. She steadies the pan with a quilted hot mitt as she pricks the top with a toothpick. The mashed potatoes on top have formed a crusty, toasted layer and the smell of brown gravy is rich in the air.
"Yeah, had to make a site visit to one of the plants today so I skipped the worst of rush hour traffic on the highway." Joonmyun slings his work bag onto the counter and checks the coast for little ears that might overhear his forthcoming sales pitch. "That smells delicious! Shepherd's pie?"
"Mmhm! Jongdae's request. We were watching English Country Cottage Recipes after lunch today."
"Where are the boys? Still playing outside?" Joonmyun taps his fingers against the embossed emblem on the pink box until he considers the possibility of fingerprinting it and hastily wipes it off on the leg of his slacks.
"I think Jongdae is helping Luhan weed the garden. I don't know about Jonginnie, though. He was working on a project upstairs."
"Ah, very good, very good." Joonmyun swallows down the tightness in his throat and tugs at the knot of his tie which he has yet to remove.
"Is everything...ok? You're acting kind of strange." Victoria narrows her eyes at him as she slips off the oven mitts, stacking them on top of the microwave for easy access.
"Of course, of course! Hehe. I just, well, I have one small favor to request."
"Oh no, not again.” Victoria shakes her head as her hands come to rest on her hips. “You're not about to ask me to be your hamster for the new product line, are you? Because I happen to have consumer loyalty to the brands I've been using since high school. I like my routines, thank you very much."
"Vic, Victoria! Now just a second," Joonmyun croons, managing to hold back the desperation welling in his veins, the need to succeed, for just a bit longer. His nanny knows all of his sweet talking ways ( heck, she also knows about his laundry piles in his bedroom and only raises her eyebrows at this point, they've shared the same living space for so long ) but he clings to the thread of hope that his charms might serve him anyway. "I'm offering you the chance to be the first to experience this revolutionary design, free of charge! And I won't even insist you fill out that survey like last time, all I want is a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer as to whether you liked it and would recommend it to your friends."
"You can have your simple answer right now, Joonmyun." Victoria crosses her arms across her chest as she leans back against the kitchen counter. "No. Because I'm not interested, thank you though."
"But you have the best business instincts, Vic! You're a phenomenal critic and always know exactly where things need a bit of tweaking!"
"That may be, but you hired me for my nutritionist background and childcare expertise, not to work on your product development team. So I'd appreciate it you leave that stuff at the office."
"Please?" Joonmyun's not above begging, not if it's for the sake of his children or as in this case, the sake of all humanity.
"Dinner will be in fifteen minutes, can you tell Jonginnie to come down when you--oh! Hey there, kiddo." Victoria lifts her hand to wave when Jongin strolls down the hall and stops in the kitchen doorway.
He grunts hello, nostrils flaring in interest in the direction of the steaming casserole set to cool on one of the stove burners. Joonmyun tries to shove the tampons back into the cardboard box before Jongin catches sight, but his frantic movements only draw his son's attention.
"Ooh! What are those, Dad? Some kinda candy?" He takes a wide step into the kitchen. The ragged hems of his sagging jeans trail on the polished tile behind him.
"Uh no, they're from our new product line. I was just offering Ms. Victoria a sample to try."
"Free samples? Cool! I wanna try one! What does it do?" Jongin plucks one of the plastic wrapped tampons from the open box and shakes it experimentally. Victoria smothers a giggle with her palm as he holds it up to the light and squints at the opaque packaging.
"Ah, I don't think you can try this one!" Joonmyun snatches it back, trying to think his way out of having to explain what exactly the samples are for right before they sit down to dinner. He's covered a basic and kid friendly version of the miracle of life with both of his boys, but Joonmyun had skirted around the, uh, more messy details of female health since no neither of them had explicitly asked about them.
"Why?" Jongin blinks back at him, lips curling with a tremor of confusion at his father's evasive response. Joonmyun makes a point to be open with his kids about the facts of life, even it leads to uncomfortable conversations. Jongin's old enough to handle some of the details Joonmyun has thus far omitted, but he wishes they were having this conversation at their favorite park over milkshakes and curly fries. Not in the middle of the kitchen with Victoria sniggering in the background when a rogue Luhan could waltz in and track mud all over the house at any moment.
"Vic?" Jongin turns to appraise her next, pointing at the box clutched to Joonmyun's chest. "Why don't you want one? They look cute!"
"Ah, maybe you should let your daddy explain this one. I'll...go call Dae in for supper."
Joonmyun lets out a shaky sigh as the screen door slams behind her. He's half disappointed Victoria escaped without agreeing to test the sample, and half relieved she was discreet enough to excuse herself before the tension got any more palpable.
"Could we maybe delay this discussion until our shopping date on Saturday?" Joonmyun gives his son a guilty smile and Jongin nods, smiling back in understanding. He gives his dad a quick squeeze around the middle and Joonmyun drops an impulsive kiss to the top of his head. He’s grateful for a family that unconditionally accepts all of his awkward moments, and a son who isn't too cool for physical affection, even when he's wearing ripped jeans and eyeliner.
"No problem," Jongin shrugs, shaking his shaggy hair back into place as he extracts himself from Joonmyun's tight embrace. "You can talk to me anytime, you know. About big things or small ones." He winks, and Joonmyun's heart squeezes with an impossible overload of affection for his oldest son. He can’t believe Jongin is so grown up and mature he's offering to be his dad's support system with the same phrase Joonmyun always tells his kids when he suspects they need some quality time and a chat.
"Well, there is one thing I've been thinking about a lot lately." Joonmyun slips the crumpled sample box into his work bag to deal with later. He'll have to apologize to Victoria after the kids are in bed, since he didn't mean to pressure her. He just gets really passionate about his work projects, is all.
"Yeah?" Jongin slides out the nearest kitchen chair and pats the seat in invitation before hopping up to sit on the table himself.
"You know what you asked me at the grocery store the other day? About if I...liked someone?"
“Yeah.” Jongin’s hooded eyes widen in interest as he waits for Joonmyun to continue.
"Well, I think I might like someone, but I’m not really sure… I mean I think about them a lot, but I haven’t known them on a personal level for very long. Is that...weird? Do you think?” It’s been a long time since Joonmyun’s experienced that wibbly feeling in his stomach, like eating eggs for breakfast without any coffee to wash them down. He can’t tell if this is a crush, legitimate attraction, or just, well, his stomach being weird.
“You know, I read about this thing,” Jongin says, leaning in to look his father in the eye as he smooths his palms up the thighs of his ripped jeans. “In one of my books. It’s called ‘love at first sight’.”
“Good point,” Joonmyun agrees. He squints at the cracks in dry his cuticles and tries to remember his exact feelings upon their first meeting. “Do you think, maybe, there could be such a thing as ‘love at third sight’? Or even fifth sight?” He cringes against the chair back as soon as the words leave his mouth.
He’s glad Victoria’s not here to witness this awkward process of talking out his feelings. Victoria gives whip smart advice, but she’s too matter-of-fact to be patient with Joonmyun’s convoluted processing of abstract matters. Luhan just makes fun of him in an encouraging way, which sometimes helps keep his mind from fixating on things, but today Joonmyun just needs someone to listen. And maybe a Jongin hug when they finish talking.
“Dad, I think,” Jongin lets out a heavy sigh, pursing his lips like he’s searching for the right words, “well, you always say that everybody is different, right? And everybody develops at their own pace?”
“Right,” Joonmyun nods, pleased that his son seems to have taken those words to heart.
“So wouldn’t it make sense if love were the same way?”
“I guess, yeah.” Joonmyun tilts his head in consideration to meets Jongin’s eyes with a soft smile. “I never really thought of it that way. The first time I fell in love it just kind of happened? And your mom asked me out first, so I never had to worry about that part, haha!”
“That’s ok, you don’t have to worry about it this time either, ok Dad? Just be yourself.” Jongin reaches over to squeeze his hand and Joonmyun slides his arm around his son’s waist for a quick side hug.
“Thanks, Jonginnie, for listening. You’re really good at giving advice.”
“Nah.” Jongin scrunches his nose as he pulls away, bare feet swinging as he kicks his legs. “I just told you all the things you tell me. Everyone needs to hear it sometimes.”
“Yeah.” Joonmyun lets out contented sigh as he pats his hair back into place. He really does feel better now that he’s aired out the confusion trapped in his chest.
“So, if you don’t mind my asking, who is the person you maybe-like? Have I met them?” Jongin hops to the floor to face Joonmyun. His eyes are sharp with focused interest now, and Joonmyun suddenly feels shy even though they just shared a lot of their feelings. “Is it--?”
“Hey, there you are, Jonginnie!” Victoria calls through the screen door as Jongdae comes running into the kitchen. He’s carrying an enamelware basin full of fresh greens and snap beans from the garden, which he shoves into Joonmyun’s lap before dashing down the hall to the bathroom.
“Dae, did you pick all these greens? Wow! So many!”
“Affirmative!” Jongdae calls over the rush of the faucet turning on.
“Good man, thank you for helping!” Joonmyun hands the bowl to Victoria so she can stash the vegetables in the drain to rinse, winking at Jongin to let him know they’ll continue their conversation later.
“Do you guys want salad? Or we can save them for tomorrow.” Victoria pulls down a stack of plates so Jongin can set the table. Joonmyun leans back in his chair to scan the backyard through the window in the door.
“Is Lu staying for dinner?”
“Nope, he had plans. He wouldn’t say what, but he was in a hurry to shower and get all dolled up for something tonight.”
“Oh my, it must be costume party night at the Board Game Association meeting.” Joonmyun rolls his eyes, very glad that he wasn’t blackmailed into joining this month’s session of Luhan’s club. It’s bad enough he has to fill in for his mother’s bridge club and mahjong soirees when they’re short a player.
“Yeah, I don’t even know.” Victoria slips back into the oven mitts to carry the casserole to the kitchen table. She sets the heavy dish on the trivet Jongin whisks into place just in time.
“Time to partake?” Jongdae skips back into the kitchen, wet up to his elbows and flinging the excess water in his wake.
“Just about.” Joonmyun settles the booster seat in Jongdae’s chair to make sure it’s stable before lifting him into the seat.
“Did you help your brother pack his backpack for tomorrow?” Victoria nods to Jongin as she slides a knife through the casserole, slicing the pie into neat squares. Jongin refills his milk glass from the pitcher and takes a gulp.
“Yup.”
“Oh, are you guys going on a field trip tomorrow?” Joonmyun fills a glass for Jongdae once Jongin’s finished with the milk and accepts a glass of sweet tea for himself. “Make sure you take your water bottles and the sunscreen!”
“Dad, we’re going with you though. It’s Vic’s day off, remember?”
Victoria nods in agreement with Jongin as she slides a heap of steaming vegetables and beef onto Joonmyun’s plate. “I know it’s been a few weeks since we arranged it, but we were planning a bring-your-kids-to-work day, since your mother is busy with the orphanage fundraiser and I’m going to my cousin’s birthday party. Is...that still going to work out for you?”
“Oh shoot, I forgot.” Joonmyun scrapes the gravy oozing across his plate back into the mashed potatoes. Amber usually lets Jongdae hang out with her while Joonmyun is in meetings, but she’s not going to be in for most of tomorrow. “But that’s ok! The boys can still come with me. We’ll make it work.”
“Thanks!” Victoria’s smile is relieved as she sinks into her chair at the end of the table. “I have to drive to Afton for the party so I’m leaving around 6:00, but I’ll leave breakfast on the table for you guys.”
“Oh, you don’t have to get up early just to feed us!” Joonmyun stabs into a green bean with his fork, still feeling guilty for forgetting about the change in schedule. He’s just been so distracted with work lately, especially now that he’s busy with the cooking class every weekend, that things are slipping through the cracks. He needs to do a thorough go-over of his planners and calendars tonight before bed.
“Hah, as if I’m going to trust you with breakfast alone.” Victoria’s laugh isn’t cruel but Joonmyun still flushes at the jibe.
“Hey, I can bake perfectly lovely breakfast muffins now!” he protests, feeling validated when Jongdae pats his wrist in solace.
“So you said, but since I haven’t seen physical evidence of this claim I think I’ll leave some oatmeal on the stove,” Victoria says, and hands him the bread basket.
“Next time I won’t take my hard earned kitchen creds to the office, and then you’ll see.” Joonmyun reaches for the butter. He nudges Jongin’s ankle with his foot when his son rips a dinner roll in half with his teeth and inhales the massive bite in one swallow.
“Or, we could just eat cereal?” Jongin suggests, ducking his head in meekly as he takes another smaller bite.
“Deal,” Joonmyun says, and changes the subject to ticket sales for the PGA Championship in August. He’ll worry more about tomorrow’s field trip when the time comes. He just hopes Baekhyun likes kids.
✌ ✌ ✌
Jongdae is the first one out of the elevator when they reach the fifth floor. The straps of his backpack bounce on his shoulders as he sprints for Amber’s desk.
“Walk, Dae!” Joonmyun calls a reminder and Jongdae slows to a trot as he rounds the corner. He grabs ahold Jongin to steady him as they follow, since he’s still blinking at the overhead lights in an unsuccessful battle to keep his eyes open
Amber is suited up, one arm balancing a stack of document portfolios and the other on holding the lid of her scanner in place while she waits for an invoice to print. “Hey guys, uh...I didn’t know you were coming to visit today!” Her smile is sincere as she nods to a grinning Jongdae, but she lifts a quizzical brow at Joonmyun.
“Ah, yes, it’s sort of a last minute change in plans but--”
“Daddy misconstrued the schedule,” Jongdae cuts in, shrugging his backpack off to drop at his feet. “It’s Vic’s day off.”
“I see.” Amber’s eyes crease into amused slits as she collects the last papers from the tray of and switches off the printer. “It’s too bad I have to take this stuff to a meeting today, because I haven’t gotten to hang with you boys in too long.” She glances at the clock with a guilty twist of her lips. “Sorry boss, I gotta run! But Baek should be here shortly.”
“He’s not here yet?”
“Nah, or at least I haven’t seen him around this morning. But don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll show up soon. He’s never been late before.” Amber stuffs the file folders into a tote bag. The canvas is printed with the pink R&V logo on the front and breast cancer awareness ribbons adorning the handles.
“I hope so…” Joonmyun waves to Amber as she dashes to catch the elevator Irene is just stepping off of.
“Good morning, boss. Hi, boys.” Irene swings her heavy braid over her shoulder as she strips off her gauzy silk scarf and floral cardigan and drapes them over her desk.
“Good morning.” Joonmyun gives a distracted greeting, already trying to corral Jongdae out of the walkway while making sure Jongin doesn’t shuffle into a support pillar and knock himself out.
“Hey Dad, what’s this?” Jongin asks as soon as they make it back to Joonmyun’s desk. Joonmyun is checking his phone messages in a panic and praying Baekhyun hasn’t left him a voice mail calling in sick.
“Hm?”
“Who’s it from?” Jongin sounds suddenly awake, his voice perky in contrast to the sleepy mumbles he had been capable of a few moments earlier. Joonmyun glances up from the landslide of emails that cascaded into his inbox overnight.
“Oh my! I have no idea.” At the center of the clean patch of space on Joonmyun’s desk is a small box wrapped in pale green foil and trimmed with bits of paper lace. A greeting card in an envelope is propped against the box. Jongdae snatches it up with greedy fingers, climbing onto Joonmyun’s chair to kneel at the desk for a front row view.
“Th-thank you for the muffins yesterday,” Jongdae reads aloud once he’s divested the card from it’s wrapping, sounding out the syllables with his tongue before he puts his voice behind each word. “They made my morning. And also my day. Please accept these treats in r-reciprocal appreciation. The whole office feels the same, btw ;)”
“Dad, what’s--precipitation?” Jongin asks, but his brother shushes him with a sharp hiss.
“Haven’t concluded, Jongin!”
“Sorry!” Jongin scowls, picking at the bits of trim on the box lid. It looks like someone snipped paper doilies into snowflakes, like something from a page of the Martha Stewart or Southern Living magazines Joonmyun’s mother props in the magazine rack of her guest bathroom.
“Signed, Yours truly, with admiration and confection,” Jongdae finishes with a proud hum.
“Excellent reading, thank you Jongdae!” Joonmyun gives his son’s shoulder a quick squeeze, nodding to Jongin so he knows he’s allowed to rip into the box now. “‘Reciprocal’ means a return or equal demonstration of feelings or favors.”
“Ah, like ‘right back atcha’?” Jongin nods in understanding as he slices through the tape on the box with his fingernail. “Wow, cookies! I wish we could come to work with you every day!”
“Believe me, it’s not always this exciting around here.” Joonmyun sinks into his chair with a tired smile after Jongdae hops down to get his hands on the treat box.
“Can we try some now?”
“Ok, but just one,” Joonmyun warns Jongin with a wink. “Why don’t you take the rest around to the other desks and ask the team if they’d like some refreshments?”
“Ok!” Jongin’s mouth is already full of half his allotted cookie, and Jongdae has chocolate streaked across his nose from licking his.
“But go quietly, ok? Someone might be making a phone call.”
Joonmyun listens as his children politely offer the cookies to his employees, smiling to himself at the cooing that ensues. Joy and Krystal are particularly vocal, exclaiming over how big the boys have grown since they last saw them.
“Hey boss! Good morning!” Baekhyun swings in and plunks down a carrier of drinks from Starbucks down on Joonmyun’s desk. “I brought coffee! We’re going to over the last of those spreads today, right?”
“Oh, yeah, um, about that...” Joonmyun accepts the coffee Baekhyun hands him with a grateful smile. He lets the heat from the take out cup soak through the cardboard sleeve into his palm as he tries to think of the best way to break this to his intern. “How do you feel about training in a new capacity today? It was on my schedule for weeks, arranged even before I knew you’d be coming to work here this summer, and I realize that’s no excuse for not informing you sooner but somehow it just completely slipped my mind and then I realized last night I don’t even know your cell number since you came through corporate and I never saw your resume so--!”
“Whoa, boss, did something serious happen? Is this like a shakedown?” Baekhyun’s grin is fierce. He grips Joonmyun’s arm and digs in with his fingers like he’s fighting his hardest to calm his boss from the state he’s working himself into, but Joonmyun’s reflexes are a bit slow today. His laugh is a weak trickle of anxiety through his lips as he sinks back into his chair.
“We’re not being invaded by the police today, no, but--”
“Salutations! Acquaintance not yet.” Jongdae raises an arm in greeting when he spots Baekhyun leaning against Joonmyun’s desk, and Baekhyun waves back with both his hands. Jongdae’s other fist is clamped around his brother’s wrist as he drags him around the corner. Only two cookies are left in the bottom of the tupperware clutched to Jongin’s chest.
“They almost cleaned us out, Dad. Here, you can have the rest.” Jongin offers the carton first to Baekhyun, then to his father.
“Thanks, Jonginnie! And thanks for taking those around to everyone.”
“Ooh, what are these from?” Baekhyun’s face lights up as he nibbles at the corner of his cookie, smearing chocolate across his lips with his tongue.
“I have no idea actually,” Joonmyun says, scratching at a loose thread hanging from the buttonhole of his sleeve cuff. He checks the clock and tries to ignore the fact that Baekhyun is almost as messy of an eater as Jongdae. “It appears to be an anonymous gift from somebody at the office, though.”
“Ooh, I’m so lucky I get to train at a branch with so many talented bakers in the house!” Baekhyun brushes the crumbs from his lips as he crams the rest of the cookie in his mouth all in one go. “And who are these handsome visitors? Are you by chance investors in for a tour of the firm?” He squats down to meet Jongdae at eye level and holds out his sticky hand for a shake. Jongdae giggles deep in his throat, eyes slanting into amused slits as he accepts the handshake with equally sticky fingers.
“This is the invasion I was, uh, referring to earlier,” Joonmyun explains, a nervous hand twisted in the front of his hair. “Baekhyun, meet my boys. Kids, this is Mr. B--”
“Hey guys! You can just call me Baek,” Baekhyun says, and gives them each a high five. “What’re your names?”
“Jongin,” Jongin says in a shy voice, though Joonmyun is proud to note his oldest son looks Baekhyun confidently in the eye as he introduces himself. “And this is Jongdae. He’s cute, but he’s too smart for his own good.”
“Affirmative,” Jongdae agrees with a solid nod, and Baekhyun breaks out into a throaty roll of laughter.
“I can already tell! It’s nice to meet you both. Are you guys on summer break right now?”
“Yes, that’s...well, they usually stay at my mother’s place when our nanny is off and they don’t have school, but they had to come with me today. And Amber usually keeps an eye on them when I have to take conference calls, etc., but she’s out of the office today so...we were wondering if, maybe…”
“You want me to hang out with them for a bit?”
“Are you ok with that?” Joonmyun searches Baekhyun’s face for any hint of stiffness behind his smile, any sign of grudging acceptance. “I know it’s not part of your job description, and it’s really asking too much so--”
“Boss, I don’t mind at all. It’s no big.” Baekhyun winks at Joonmyun. His fingers are already laced through Jongdae’s and Joonmyun’s heart sinks back into place inside his ribcage with a spasm of relief.
“Thank you, seriously! You are the best intern ever and I owe you so many jelly beans or whatever it is you’re always chewing on. I’ll--well, you guys can hang out in the conference room while I finish some calls? I guess the financial report drafts can wait til Monday. Amber won’t have time to proofread them until next week, anyway.”
“Sounds good!” Baekhyun salutes Joonmyun with another wink and lets Jongdae lead him away to the glass walled conference room across the hall. The boys know where everything is in the office, the extra rolls of toilet paper in the supply cabinet and where Amber keeps her emergency Kit-kats, so Joonmyun isn’t concerned about them for a few hours on their own with Baekhyun’s supervision.
The main perk of the extra conference room, besides the see through partitions that allow Joonmyun to keep an eye on the kids, is the fact that it’s relatively sound proofed. Most of the boys’ noise won’t disturb everyone else who’s hard at work even if they get rowdy. They seem to be having a blast in there. Every time Joonmyun looks up from his inbox to crack his back they’re on to some new game. Baekhyun doesn’t have a problem getting on his hands and knees, even in his expensive dress slacks, to roughhouse with Jongdae or be harnessed with the purple jump rope in a game of horsy.
Joonmyun almost coos aloud in the middle of a conference call and has to cover the sound with a forced cough when he notices the boys have his intern seated on an ottoman under the projector and are braiding his hair into cornrows. He doesn’t get to stick around for a fashion show of the end result, though. Five minutes before lunch break he gets a call from Mr. Kyung and has to run out to the plant for another site visit.
Joonmyun spends the rest of the day shuttling around in a rickety golf cart between warehouses and machinery sheds on the factory campus. He doesn't have time to think of what he's missing out on at the office, at least until he gets stuck in rush hour traffic on the way back. Baekhyun seems to be a natural with kids, willing to (literally) get down on their level and entertain them even though it's not a part of his job description.
Heck, if Joonmyun's boss had asked him to babysit a kid as precocious as Jongdae on his first summer internship, he might have cried into the medical files he was in charge of transcribing. That was a long time ago though, when Joonmyun was just a teen. He keeps forgetting that Baekhyun is nowhere near such a tender young age, he’s not an innocent. Although it's not as hard to remember when Baekhyun swirls his tongue around the tip of his sucker with obscene sucking noises while they're trying to go over tax files, blinking at Joonmyun with a lazy smirk and--
No. Joonmyun is not going there. Not today, when Baekhyun has been such a help taking care of Joonmyun's children and Joonmyun is on his way to pick them up for a nice family dinner with Victoria. And possibly Luhan, depending on how long Joonmyun's good luck decides to hold today.
It's been several days since they've heard from their neighbor, and Luhan is not exactly the type you can call quiet. Not that Joonmyun hasn't appreciated the respite, it just makes him a bit nervous, anxiety pooling at the backs of his knees and the inside of his ribs as he waits for the light to turn at the intersection. He's only a block from the office now. The setting sun glows amber along the grid of windows at the top floors of the building.
Joonmyun feels a wave of exhaustion flow from his fingertips, back through his limbs to his heart as he unlocks his car door and pushes it open in the crowded parking lot. The sudden backwash of fatigue creates a slog of resistance as he drags his heels to the elevator and Joonmyun realizes how on edge he's been all day. Between trying to keep one eye on his offspring and one on his inbox, and then dealing with cranky production managers in the afternoon, it’s been quite a day. Not to mention the fact he hardly slept the night before, worrying how Baekhyun would take the situation on such short notice.
Joonmyun takes the moment alone in the elevator to adjust his tie in the mirror and smooth down the frizz of his bleached hair into neat waves at either temple. He doesn't look quite refreshed by the time he emerges but he does look decent, and that's good enough for now.
Baekhyun's hair has been smoothed back into place as well, all except for his cowlick in the back that’s been emphasized by the teasing it endured under Jongdae's hands. Joonmyun feels a slight thrill of disappointment chasing the fatigue through his limbs when he peeks into the conference room to find the hair rubber bands they borrowed from Irene all cleaned up and out of sight. He doesn't have time to consider the feeling, though, or what it means. Jongdae springs to his feet and pounces into Joonmyun's arms as soon as he sees his father in the doorway.
"Hey there, Dae! Were you good for Mr. B this afternoon?" Joonmyun gives Jongin a pointed look as well as he addresses his youngest son. Jongin gets into his own share of mischief but is most likely to be honest about it when questioned. Jongdae can already lie through his teeth with a charming grin in place, though Joonmyun sort of prides himself on being the genetic source of that ability to sweet talk his way out of anything.
"They were good," Baekhyn confirms with a genial grin of his own. "Jongdae showed me me all his coloring book pictures, and even let me help shade in some of the backgrounds."
"Dae," Joonmyun tsks, the tip of his tongue against his teeth to hold back the laughter threatening to overcome his voice. "What did we talk about last night, eh? Does the word sharing sound familiar?"
Jongdae just squirms in Joonmyun's arms. He shakes his head against the padded shoulder of his father’s suit as Baekhyun chuckles low in his throat.
"It was with good reason, though, boss. Your kid’s handwriting is better than mine! Where did he learn Chinese calligraphy?"
"That would be Luhan's fault." Joonmyun pats Jongdae on the back of his head, sliding his palm down over his springy hair to cup the soft skin at the back of his neck.
"Ah, that's what you always say, Dad." Jongin shakes his head at Joonmyun, but doesn't offer any other explanation for his baby brother's calligraphy genius.
"Come on, boys. Let's let Mr. Byun go home now. Aren't you guys hungry for dinner?" Joonmyun hesitates, sliding the tip of his tongue across his back teeth. It would be polite to invite Baekhyun home with them for dinner, especially since he was kind enough to spend the day with the boys. But then again, maybe he's ready for a break from the kids. Joonmyun doesn't want him to feel obligated to sit through dinner with his family, and he doesn't like to make a habit of bringing home guests without giving Victoria fair warning.
Jongdae makes the decision for him, sitting up in Joonmyun's arms to address Baekhyun in his most grown up voice. "Interested in partaking with us? Vic is an excellent chef."
"Vic?" Baekhyun blinks in open curiosity, first at Jongdae and then at Joonmyun. His nose wrinkles up in a squashed in smile that squares off the corners of his lips. "Ah, that's ok, Dae." He declines with a shake of his head before Joonmyun can explain that Victoria is their nanny, not someone like--like a-- "Thanks for the invite, though! I better get home and feed my pet."
"You have a pet?" Joonmyun blurts in surprise. His mental focus on clearing up any misunderstandings about Victoria's identity are chased right out of his mind by sudden fantasies of Baekhyun cuddling a puppy to his chest while a kitten curls at his feet and a snapping turtle or two wander the balcony.
Joonmyun shakes his head with a snap of his neck. He has no idea where that ridiculous, romanticized image materialized from, and he needs to focus on Baekhyun's answer so he can successfully complete this social interaction and take his children home to feed them. After that, he would like to collapse in his bed and fall asleep with a few pillows banked over his embarrassing, fatigued brain. Yes. Hopefully that does the trick and he'll be refreshed and focused when he returns to the office in the morning.
"Yup! Gertrude is a gerbil. I only got her a few months back, but she rules the roost already."
"Ooh, can I see pics?" Jongin looks up from where he's kneeling on the floor still, cramming stray crayons into the front zip pocket of his brother's backpack.
"Maybe next time," Joonmyun sighs, shaking back his sleeve to get a look at his wristwatch. "Victoria is waiting dinner on us, and your grandmother is supposed to call at 7:00."
"Sorry, Jongin. Next time, ok?" Baekhyun gives Jongin a reassuring smile as he reaches down to give him a boost to his feet. Joonmyun's chest might squeeze a bit, watching his son smile back, but that's just because Jongdae is yanking on the tie knotted around his throat.
"Ouch, Dae!" Joonmyun loosens the knot with hasty fingers, shooting his youngest son a reproving look. Jongdae is still learning his own strength, and has to be reminded to be gentle. He snapped two of Luhan's calligraphy brushes in the last month, and Joonmyun shudders to think of the damage he might do with something as delicate as a gerbil in his grubby little grip.
"Have a nice dinner, ok?" Baekhyun nudges Jongin towards the door with a pat on the back and a wave to Jongdae. "See you guys! Have a nice weekend, boss!"
"Oh, thanks!" Joonmyun turns back to fix Baekhyun with his brightest smile as he holds the door for Jongin, who is juggling both his brother's bag and his own stack of comic books and nature magazines.
Baekhyun just twists his face into a cheesy grin as he winks, and Joonmyun might have dropped Jongdae in shock if his son weren't clinging to him like a baby polar bear to some tasty fish. He just turns and walks to the elevator, at a loss for words. They need to get on the road as soon as possible to beat the traffic across town, but Joonmyun will have to find a way to thank his intern properly later on.
Jongdae presses the elevator buttons for them, hitting the correct sequence of numbers without having to be reminded. Joonmyun kisses the top of his head with pride and catches Jongin pretending to gag at the security camera in the corner.
"Hey," Joonmyun says, his voice oddly shaky and neck flushed as he meets Jongin's eyes in the panel of mirrors, "it's not PDA if we're related, you know."
"That's just what you think, Dad," Jongin groans, but he doesn't try to shake off the arm Joonmyun sneaks around his shoulders as they step out of the lift. Joonmyun nods goodbye to the receptionists on the ground floor, who don't let them past the front desk without stuffing Jongdae's pockets full of mint lozenges and cinnamon candies first.
Joonmyun lets out a sigh of relief once they make it through the parking lot without getting stopped by any other curious coworkers. He rests his forehead against the ridged grip of the steering wheel as he waits for Jongdae to fasten the harness of his booster seat. He feels more emotional than he usually has the energy to deal with on a weeknight, perhaps residual separation anxiety from leaving the boys this afternoon. Or maybe--
"You know, Dad," Jongin says, breaking the silence with sly glance through his fringe as he clicks his safety belt into place, "if you happened to like your secret admirer back, I mean, like, if you reciprocated the feelings..." Jongin pauses to cough into his fist and rubs at the faded trail of letters inked into the heel of his hand in purple sharpie before continuing. "If you really like that person back, I’d give you all my blessing."
"Hm?" Joonmyun lifts his head from the makeshift pillow to catch Jongin's eye in the mirror. He's pretty sure he understood his son's words correctly, but he has no idea what Jongin is trying to get at. "But we don't know who left the cookies, right? So how do you know if you approve of that person?" Joonmyun bites into the inside of his cheek as he frowns out the windshield. "Unless you know who left that note and you're not telling me something?"
"I just mean..." Jongin makes a rough grunting sound in the back of his throat, probably annoyed his father is questioning his romantic instinct, or whatever it is that's inspiring this inspirational little speech. "I mean everyone currently working at your office is a great and kind person. Including the new guy. And I'd just...never met him before today, that's all."
"Ah, yeah." Joonmyun nods in understanding as he slides his car key into the ignition. "I’m really grateful Baekhyun joined the company this month. He's been a great help, especially in preparing our end-of-quarter statements and figuring out the tax forms. It's no fun to do those jobs alone, let me tell you one thing."
"Yeah," Jongin sighs as he shoves the long sleeves of his T-shirt up to his biceps and cracks the car window. "Math stuff, bleh."
"Just hang in there and you'll get the hang of it!" Joonmyun's phone buzzes in the cup holder, but he ignores it as he switches on the engine. He props a palm on the headrest of Jongin's seat for support as he backs out of the parking spot. "We have the rest of summer to work on those pre-algebra concept sets your homeroom teacher printed for us."
"Double bleh!" Jongin chokes, pretending to gag himself again in the mirror. They both laugh when Jongdae copies the expression with an identical nose wrinkle as his brother.
"But you like math, Dae!" Joonmyun shakes his head at his silly kids as he reaches over to switch on the stereo. They're a third of the way through Wagner's Ring Cycle, and Joonmyun won't be surprised if Jongdae insists on listening to the opera recordings on repeat once they finish the first time. He's been mixing lines of improv'd melodies into the pieces he's practicing for his lessons this week. Even Victoria's caught the fever, humming leitmotifs under her breath as she scrambles eggs for breakfast or scrubs out the sink while Joonmyun's starting on the coffee.
"It's a kid's prerogative to change his mind," Jongdae quips with another shrug in the mirror. His eyes are already closed as he reclines in his chair to enjoy the music.
"I suppose..." Joonmyun doesn't push the issue, just leans back against his seat and lets the music carry them down the highway towards home.
✌ ✌ ✌
Joonmyun doesn't check his phone messages again until after dinner, once the kids are tucked into their bunks and he's in his pyjama pants with a toothbrush in his mouth. He almost chokes on his mouthful of foaming toothpaste when he unlocks the screen to find Baekhyun's mouth pouting at him point blank, face filling the screen. His pursed lips loom at the lower end of the frame and tiny braids secured with a rainbow of silicon hair ties sprout from his scalp at all angles.
The look is equal parts ridiculous and adorable, and Joonmyun blames the reoccurrence of the fond squeezing in his chest on the fact that Baekhyun is such a good sport for humoring his children like that. Jongin is right, all of Joonmyun’s colleagues at the office are great people. But there's just something particularly attractive about a guy who is great with children.
Joonmyun leans forward, holding his fringe out of the way with one hand as he spits into the sink and scrolls to the bottom of the chat with his thumb. The next photo is a group shot, the boys squished cheek-to-cheek with Baekhyun in the middle. The last picture is in the same pose but everyone is making a silly face, Jongdae puffing out his cheeks like a blowfish and Jongin pulling his lips into a wide, frog lipped grin while Baekhyun's tongue stretches in a valiant yet unsuccessful attempt to touch the tip of his nose.
There's a single line of text below the photos:
Hey, Jonginq gave me your #, he wanted to have a copy of these pix. Have a great night and dinner and yeah!
Joonmyun saves the group shots to his gallery to show Jongin in the morning as he rinses his mouth with sips of water from the cup he keeps next to his sink. His thumb hesitates over the first picture, Baekhyun's individual pose, but he decides to download that one as well before he snaps off the bathroom light and tosses his damp towel in the direction of the hamper. Just in case Jongin might be interested in laughing at Baekhyun's funny face over his cereal tomorrow, no other reason.
Why else would Baekhyun have sent it to his boss?
✌ ✌ ✌
Luhan doesn't show up the entire weekend, much to Joonmyun's surprise and growing suspicion. Jongdae usually hangs with his Uncle Lu whenever their neighbor’s not barricaded in his attic and glued to his keyboard, but Victoria manages to keep Jongdae busy with another cooking adventure. Joonmyun drives them down to the riverside farmer’s market to pick up another round of peaches for canning while Jongin is still a blanket burrito zombie in his bunk upstairs.
No one will let Joonmyun near the pressure cooker or the trays of sterilizing jars, but Victoria gives him a small paring knife to slice bad spots off the seconds, the bruised or bird pecked fruit sold on discount that is perfect for preserving. Jongdae is in charge of slipping the skins off the whole fruits once they've been scalded and dunked in cold water, and Victoria heads up the end of the assembly line, quartering the peaches into the ready jars and covering them with apple juice and cinnamon once they're filled.
The counter is piled with fuzzy peach jackets and the sink drain is overflowing with a mountain of red pits by the time Jongin stumbles into the kitchen at half past eleven. Still no signs of life from Luhan, Joonmyun notes, swiping a sticky finger across his phone screen to check for new messages. There are a few new uploads to the team instagram feed, though. Joonmyun managed to install the app to his phone and receives the notifications every time Tao and Kyungsoo post pics of their practice creations, though he hasn't figured out how to upload images from his own camroll.
Luna and Kyungsoo have even been trading baking tips in the comments sections, and Yixing just hearts every post, regardless if it was a muffin top success or a burnt-to-a crisp-failure. Chanyeol hops on sometimes to post selfies as well as pictures of every baked good he's purchased during his business trip as "research". Besides Joonmyun, Luhan is the only member who hasn't posted this week, which is even more suspicious in the context of his unanswered texts and general all around absence. The team SNS documentary project was his idea, after all, and Luhan usually never shuts up about the things that are his idea.
"That was quite a sigh! Getting tired over there?" Victoria gives Joonmyun a look as she sets the pitcher of boiled apple juice back on the counter.
"No," Joonmyun sighs again, letting a trickle of peach juice drip from the blade of his knife down the inside of his wrist as he watches Jongin feel blindly in the fridge for the milk bottle. His son might as well be part-zombie, since he apparently doesn't need a fully functioning brain to guzzle milk and inhale a banana with his eyes still closed. "It's nothing important."
"Every problem is of consequence," Jongdae says with a serious blink as he straightens the apron doubled over and tied around his waist.
"This isn't exactly a problem. I just can't figure out this uploading thing." Joonmyun scrubs his sticky hands on the nearest dish rag before opening the Instagram app for a better look.
"Oh, like Facebook?" Victoria steals the rag from Joonmyun to take a swipe at Jongdae's messy hands next.
"No, I actually had Facebook figured out for awhile, until they changed it again. Do you by any chance have an Insta-tele-gram-whatever?" Joonmyun resists tugging at his hair in frustration when Victoria gives an apologetic shrug and tilt of her head, if only because he'll be smelling like peaches for the next week whenever he steps into the shower.
"Do you have one of those accounts, Jonginnie?"
Jongin just shakes his head in response to Victoria’s question. Joonmyun doesn’t scold him for not answering properly because he’s mid-yawn and still hasn’t managed to peel both eyelids open all the way. They're supposed to head out around noon to hit the mall for their father-son cosmetics shopping trip today, but Joonmyun doesn't mind that Jongin slept in. Joonmyun’s been feeling a bit done in himself these days, with plenty on his mind to consider long after he's tucked the thick edges of the comforter in around his own chin and added a sleeping mask to the light protection of his blackout curtains.
Joonmyun's phone gets pinged with more notifications throughout the day, while they're on the road, when they’re at the mall, and when they're stopped at DQ for m&m ice cream after a successful round of shopping. While Joonmyun was helping his son pick out eco-friendly sticks of eyeliner and jujube infused moisturizers, Tao and Kyungsoo apparently had another baking session to practice their muffins, as well as trying out a recipe for strawberry quick bread.
It’s not until after dinner, though, that Joonmyun realizes the reason Luhan has been absent all weekend. Luhan is tagged in a string of pictures uploaded by Minseok, where they’re both shown holding a sheet cake and decorating bags of pink and green icing. Luhan is one of the most talented students at the community center's new baking class who kindly volunteered to help us whip out thirty cakes for the fundraiser this weekend, the caption reads.
Joonmyun recognizes the event advertised in a banner in the comments section as the annual bake sale his mother's golf group and bridge club co-host. He's just confused as to why Luhan hasn't been spamming the page with selfies of his own, but it all makes more sense when he scrolls down to skim the rest of the comments.
lol talented at baking but cant believe u forgot the password to ur new ig dude lolol is Yixing's comment beneath Minseok's post, and Joonmyun notices with a sly smile that Yixing's profile photo is a selfie of him and Luhan, their faces squished together cheek to cheek and smeared with smudges of colored icing.
"Whatcha looking at?" Jongin lifts his nose out of his ice cream cone to lean over for a peek at Joonmyun's phone, curiosity no doubt aroused by Joonmyun's long suffering snicker embedded in a disdainful sigh.
"Looks like Uncle Lu had a blast this weekend."
"Oh hey, is that grandma's bake sale? I recognize that girl!" Jongin taps the screen, pointing out the side profile of a girl. She’s behind Luhan in the background of the photo, layering white fondant onto a row of tea cakes on a tray.
"Ooh, is she someone from school?" Joonmyun doesn't let any of the interest tickling at the back of his throat seep into his voice, but Jongin flushes a hot red without even a hint of teasing.
"Ah, she's on the track team," Jongin mumbles once his mouth is full with another giant bite of ice cream. "Taeminnie knows her, she's in his English class."
"Ah, I see. Do you ever get to talk to her yourself? Does Taemin like to hang with her?"
"Not...not really." Jongin shakes his head and curls his chin into his neck, which only results in smearing a stripe of melted ice cream across his nose and left cheek. Joonmyun hands him a napkin from the dispenser silently without another comment, not wanting to push the issue if Jongin isn't ready or willing to talk about it.
"Well, good luck on catching her attention," Joonmyun offers with a wink. "And wish me luck for tomorrow as well. I think Luhan's going to be insufferable, bragging about his date with the teacher all through class."
Jongin laughs, his shoulders bouncing when Joonmyun gives an exaggerated and mournful shake of his head. He brightens when Joonmyun spoons the rest of his m&m toppings into the volcano crater of Jongin's half-eaten ice cream cone.
"Good luck to both of us then, Dad!"
✌ ✌ ✌
On Monday morning Joonmyun scrolls through his inbox first thing, ignoring the accumulation of Instagram notifications that have popped up overnight. He browses the financial news while he spoons oatmeal into his mouth at the breakfast table, and hums along to the first prelude of Die Walkure on the stereo while he zooms down the highway to work. Not a single stressful thought of Luhan's weekend activities or any potential nefarious plots crosses his mind--or if it does, Joonmyun squashes it with his Monday zen like any old gnat on the windshield, nothing to be concerned about.
He's still humming when he steps out of the elevator onto the fifth floor. Though the coffee maker is empty and Amber hasn't turned on the light in the copy room yet, Joonmyun is pleasantly surprised to find another wrapped box placed at the center of his desk when he flips on the overhead. The accompanying note is simple this time: I hope you had a great weekend, and that the coming week keeps getting better and better :D Yours truly, with love and confection~
Not the most creative or inspiring personal note ever penned, but the lopsided smiley face at the bottom makes Joonmyun crack a matching grin. He slips the note into his desk drawer where it won't get lost in his growing mess of papers and sets the box aside to open later. Maybe once Baekhyun gets here, he'll be willing to help Joonmyun take the treats around to the rest of the office workers.
The box is wrapped in robin's egg blue this time, the wrapping paper textured with some kind of natural fibers that streak glossy strands through the surface. There is no deconstructed lace as adornment, just a smooth navy ribbon that forms a tight band around the lid. Joonmyun leans down to sniff at the edges of the box, hoping to catch a whiff of the contents. It's hard to tell for sure, but he thinks it might be something flavored with cinnamon.
"Uh, boss?"
"Yes?" Joonmyun's voice squeaks, scratchy with sleep and stiff with surprise.
"Are...you ok?" Amber clears her throat, tapping her fingers in a nervous rhythm against the empty file folder in her hands.
"Oh, yes, I just...never mind! Good morning, Amber!"
Amber nods but doesn't return the greeting with more than a tiny smile twisting her lips. Joonmyun spins his chair to face her, examining the pained expression on her face with a closer look. "I'm fine, but are you ok?"
"Maybe," Amber says, a shaky laugh bursting through her lips. Joonmyun reaches for his phone, already typing 911 into the dial pad.
"What's wrong? Are you sick? Here, have a seat!"
"No, no, I'm fine, boss! Problem is...well, I'm not sure yet if it's really a problem or not, sorry to bother you, but--" Amber cuts herself off with a jump and squeak of her own when the elevator bell dings another arrival to their floor.
"Good morning Amber, boss!" Irene waves in their direction as she strides out of the lift. Her car keys still in hand jingle a bright staccato tune as she heads for her desk.
"Just tell me what it is, Amber," Joonmyun resumes the conversation in a hushed voice after waving back to Irene. "And we'll deal with it together if it happens to become problematic later on."
"Thank you." Amber sniffs, on the verge of tears and Joonmyun can feel his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach in a slippery slide as if he'd just swallowed a stick of softened butter instead of a mouthful of clean air. "You know that stack of files, the confidential tax documents you left on my desk before you went home on Friday? I can't find them! Anywhere!"
"Didn't you lock the filing room before you left?" Joonmyun sinks back down into his desk chair, his knees buckling under him without any conscious command from his brain.
"Yeah, for sure. I locked it just like I always do, and you're the only one who knows where I keep the keys." Amber's fingers twist at the edges of the gray plastic folder until the stiff material dents and bends at sharp angles. "And… Could you check on the server? I haven't logged into the accounting database for a few days but some kind of error message popped up on my desktop when I rebooted it just now."
"Shit..." Joonmyun's fingers are tight in his freshly styled hair, digging into his scalp with the same insistence that clawing worry is assaulting the lining of his gut. Now he knows why she looks so scared. If someone managed to hack into the encrypted database server then...
"You don't--" Amber breaks off again, glancing over her shoulder where Joy and Krystal are moving into the office to greet their coworkers. "You don't think this is corporate espionage, do you?" Her whisper is barely audible but sends a series of shivers running from the base of Joonmyun's scalp down his spine.
"I don't know, but we can't rule out any options until we know how serious the leak is and get everything under control. Let's not tell the rest of the department right away, at least until I make a few phone calls to corporate and--"
"That's half the problem," Amber continues in a tremulous voice. She plops down on the edge of Joonmyun's desk next to the box of what Joonmyun is now hoping are the world's best tasting death-by-chocolate triple fudge devil's food brownies. He's going to need some major pick-me-up calories before he works up the chocolate courage to call headquarters.
"What's half the problem?"
"I already called over, because I thought maybe corporate was just doing some kind of maintenance and forgot to inform us about it. But the dude in charge of those departments is on a conference tour and won't be back til next week sometime."
"Oh dear," Joonmyun says, fisting his tie and the back of his hair with both palms now.
"Yeah, that's not quite the expletive I used, but I went into the filing room to rage for a minute and that's when...I noticed the missing files."
"Well..." Joonmyun passes Amber his box of aloe infused kleenex and she pulls out five with a loud sniff of thanks. "Let's not panic, not yet at least. Panic won't help the situation any. But keep your eye out for any other suspicious activity and we'll discuss this again...in private," he finishes in a whisper as he sees Baekhyun step out of the next elevator, side by side and laughing with Liyin about something.
Joonmyun focuses on cementing his professional smile back in place as Amber jogs back to her desk. He’s glad his intern is here already. He needs Baekhyun to saunter in and get nosy about what's inside the blue box, an about an uncertainty that's exciting and mysterious in a good way. But as soon as he greets his intern and delegates the refreshments distributions to him, Joonmyun has a few phone calls to make first. He cracks his knuckles and pulls out his favorite fountain pen and the trusty bottle of white out fluid.
✌ ✌ ✌
(part four here) (part six here)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho-centric with hinted at Xiuho and Subaek,[endgame spoiler]endgame Subaek ^^; side!Layhan (side!Taosoo if you squint)
Length: 58,825 words
Summary: Sometimes Joonmyun feels claustrophobic living in a small town where literally the entire population knows either him, his mother, or his kids (or his weird and annoying next door neighbor). But when a mysterious young man arrives to fill in as his new intern for the summer, Joonmyun’s not sure he likes the change, either.
Warning/s: weird!Luhan, language, kid!Jongin, kid!Jongdae,[Spoiler (click to open)]mentions of feminine hygiene products; mentions of Suho and Kyungsoo having been previously married to women
A/N: *sad laughter that fades off into the gloaming* originally posted for Suholiday 2015
The most stressful part of Joonmyun’s job is not dealing with cranky production managers like Mr. Kyung, fielding the same round of uninformed questions at every corporate board of director’s meeting, or taking over bathroom duty on the janitor’s days off. No, the moment that makes Joonmyun’s blood race in his ears and his stomach feel like Mt. Vesuvius about to blow is right before he debuts his precious products, presenting samples to the common woman for beta testing and review.
Joonmyun knows his branch puts out quality products, but in politics and marketing perception is reality. The first impressions of the intended audience can make or break the market performance of even the most solid product line. Thus Joonmyun knows he can trust only the sharpest intuitions for initial beta testing. It's always a nerve wracking moment, walking into his kitchen with a sample box clutched in his sweating palms, but this is for science. This is for humanity. Joonmyun can do this. Okay.
"Oh, you're home early!" Victoria has a casserole dish balanced on the top rack of the oven. She steadies the pan with a quilted hot mitt as she pricks the top with a toothpick. The mashed potatoes on top have formed a crusty, toasted layer and the smell of brown gravy is rich in the air.
"Yeah, had to make a site visit to one of the plants today so I skipped the worst of rush hour traffic on the highway." Joonmyun slings his work bag onto the counter and checks the coast for little ears that might overhear his forthcoming sales pitch. "That smells delicious! Shepherd's pie?"
"Mmhm! Jongdae's request. We were watching English Country Cottage Recipes after lunch today."
"Where are the boys? Still playing outside?" Joonmyun taps his fingers against the embossed emblem on the pink box until he considers the possibility of fingerprinting it and hastily wipes it off on the leg of his slacks.
"I think Jongdae is helping Luhan weed the garden. I don't know about Jonginnie, though. He was working on a project upstairs."
"Ah, very good, very good." Joonmyun swallows down the tightness in his throat and tugs at the knot of his tie which he has yet to remove.
"Is everything...ok? You're acting kind of strange." Victoria narrows her eyes at him as she slips off the oven mitts, stacking them on top of the microwave for easy access.
"Of course, of course! Hehe. I just, well, I have one small favor to request."
"Oh no, not again.” Victoria shakes her head as her hands come to rest on her hips. “You're not about to ask me to be your hamster for the new product line, are you? Because I happen to have consumer loyalty to the brands I've been using since high school. I like my routines, thank you very much."
"Vic, Victoria! Now just a second," Joonmyun croons, managing to hold back the desperation welling in his veins, the need to succeed, for just a bit longer. His nanny knows all of his sweet talking ways ( heck, she also knows about his laundry piles in his bedroom and only raises her eyebrows at this point, they've shared the same living space for so long ) but he clings to the thread of hope that his charms might serve him anyway. "I'm offering you the chance to be the first to experience this revolutionary design, free of charge! And I won't even insist you fill out that survey like last time, all I want is a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer as to whether you liked it and would recommend it to your friends."
"You can have your simple answer right now, Joonmyun." Victoria crosses her arms across her chest as she leans back against the kitchen counter. "No. Because I'm not interested, thank you though."
"But you have the best business instincts, Vic! You're a phenomenal critic and always know exactly where things need a bit of tweaking!"
"That may be, but you hired me for my nutritionist background and childcare expertise, not to work on your product development team. So I'd appreciate it you leave that stuff at the office."
"Please?" Joonmyun's not above begging, not if it's for the sake of his children or as in this case, the sake of all humanity.
"Dinner will be in fifteen minutes, can you tell Jonginnie to come down when you--oh! Hey there, kiddo." Victoria lifts her hand to wave when Jongin strolls down the hall and stops in the kitchen doorway.
He grunts hello, nostrils flaring in interest in the direction of the steaming casserole set to cool on one of the stove burners. Joonmyun tries to shove the tampons back into the cardboard box before Jongin catches sight, but his frantic movements only draw his son's attention.
"Ooh! What are those, Dad? Some kinda candy?" He takes a wide step into the kitchen. The ragged hems of his sagging jeans trail on the polished tile behind him.
"Uh no, they're from our new product line. I was just offering Ms. Victoria a sample to try."
"Free samples? Cool! I wanna try one! What does it do?" Jongin plucks one of the plastic wrapped tampons from the open box and shakes it experimentally. Victoria smothers a giggle with her palm as he holds it up to the light and squints at the opaque packaging.
"Ah, I don't think you can try this one!" Joonmyun snatches it back, trying to think his way out of having to explain what exactly the samples are for right before they sit down to dinner. He's covered a basic and kid friendly version of the miracle of life with both of his boys, but Joonmyun had skirted around the, uh, more messy details of female health since no neither of them had explicitly asked about them.
"Why?" Jongin blinks back at him, lips curling with a tremor of confusion at his father's evasive response. Joonmyun makes a point to be open with his kids about the facts of life, even it leads to uncomfortable conversations. Jongin's old enough to handle some of the details Joonmyun has thus far omitted, but he wishes they were having this conversation at their favorite park over milkshakes and curly fries. Not in the middle of the kitchen with Victoria sniggering in the background when a rogue Luhan could waltz in and track mud all over the house at any moment.
"Vic?" Jongin turns to appraise her next, pointing at the box clutched to Joonmyun's chest. "Why don't you want one? They look cute!"
"Ah, maybe you should let your daddy explain this one. I'll...go call Dae in for supper."
Joonmyun lets out a shaky sigh as the screen door slams behind her. He's half disappointed Victoria escaped without agreeing to test the sample, and half relieved she was discreet enough to excuse herself before the tension got any more palpable.
"Could we maybe delay this discussion until our shopping date on Saturday?" Joonmyun gives his son a guilty smile and Jongin nods, smiling back in understanding. He gives his dad a quick squeeze around the middle and Joonmyun drops an impulsive kiss to the top of his head. He’s grateful for a family that unconditionally accepts all of his awkward moments, and a son who isn't too cool for physical affection, even when he's wearing ripped jeans and eyeliner.
"No problem," Jongin shrugs, shaking his shaggy hair back into place as he extracts himself from Joonmyun's tight embrace. "You can talk to me anytime, you know. About big things or small ones." He winks, and Joonmyun's heart squeezes with an impossible overload of affection for his oldest son. He can’t believe Jongin is so grown up and mature he's offering to be his dad's support system with the same phrase Joonmyun always tells his kids when he suspects they need some quality time and a chat.
"Well, there is one thing I've been thinking about a lot lately." Joonmyun slips the crumpled sample box into his work bag to deal with later. He'll have to apologize to Victoria after the kids are in bed, since he didn't mean to pressure her. He just gets really passionate about his work projects, is all.
"Yeah?" Jongin slides out the nearest kitchen chair and pats the seat in invitation before hopping up to sit on the table himself.
"You know what you asked me at the grocery store the other day? About if I...liked someone?"
“Yeah.” Jongin’s hooded eyes widen in interest as he waits for Joonmyun to continue.
"Well, I think I might like someone, but I’m not really sure… I mean I think about them a lot, but I haven’t known them on a personal level for very long. Is that...weird? Do you think?” It’s been a long time since Joonmyun’s experienced that wibbly feeling in his stomach, like eating eggs for breakfast without any coffee to wash them down. He can’t tell if this is a crush, legitimate attraction, or just, well, his stomach being weird.
“You know, I read about this thing,” Jongin says, leaning in to look his father in the eye as he smooths his palms up the thighs of his ripped jeans. “In one of my books. It’s called ‘love at first sight’.”
“Good point,” Joonmyun agrees. He squints at the cracks in dry his cuticles and tries to remember his exact feelings upon their first meeting. “Do you think, maybe, there could be such a thing as ‘love at third sight’? Or even fifth sight?” He cringes against the chair back as soon as the words leave his mouth.
He’s glad Victoria’s not here to witness this awkward process of talking out his feelings. Victoria gives whip smart advice, but she’s too matter-of-fact to be patient with Joonmyun’s convoluted processing of abstract matters. Luhan just makes fun of him in an encouraging way, which sometimes helps keep his mind from fixating on things, but today Joonmyun just needs someone to listen. And maybe a Jongin hug when they finish talking.
“Dad, I think,” Jongin lets out a heavy sigh, pursing his lips like he’s searching for the right words, “well, you always say that everybody is different, right? And everybody develops at their own pace?”
“Right,” Joonmyun nods, pleased that his son seems to have taken those words to heart.
“So wouldn’t it make sense if love were the same way?”
“I guess, yeah.” Joonmyun tilts his head in consideration to meets Jongin’s eyes with a soft smile. “I never really thought of it that way. The first time I fell in love it just kind of happened? And your mom asked me out first, so I never had to worry about that part, haha!”
“That’s ok, you don’t have to worry about it this time either, ok Dad? Just be yourself.” Jongin reaches over to squeeze his hand and Joonmyun slides his arm around his son’s waist for a quick side hug.
“Thanks, Jonginnie, for listening. You’re really good at giving advice.”
“Nah.” Jongin scrunches his nose as he pulls away, bare feet swinging as he kicks his legs. “I just told you all the things you tell me. Everyone needs to hear it sometimes.”
“Yeah.” Joonmyun lets out contented sigh as he pats his hair back into place. He really does feel better now that he’s aired out the confusion trapped in his chest.
“So, if you don’t mind my asking, who is the person you maybe-like? Have I met them?” Jongin hops to the floor to face Joonmyun. His eyes are sharp with focused interest now, and Joonmyun suddenly feels shy even though they just shared a lot of their feelings. “Is it--?”
“Hey, there you are, Jonginnie!” Victoria calls through the screen door as Jongdae comes running into the kitchen. He’s carrying an enamelware basin full of fresh greens and snap beans from the garden, which he shoves into Joonmyun’s lap before dashing down the hall to the bathroom.
“Dae, did you pick all these greens? Wow! So many!”
“Affirmative!” Jongdae calls over the rush of the faucet turning on.
“Good man, thank you for helping!” Joonmyun hands the bowl to Victoria so she can stash the vegetables in the drain to rinse, winking at Jongin to let him know they’ll continue their conversation later.
“Do you guys want salad? Or we can save them for tomorrow.” Victoria pulls down a stack of plates so Jongin can set the table. Joonmyun leans back in his chair to scan the backyard through the window in the door.
“Is Lu staying for dinner?”
“Nope, he had plans. He wouldn’t say what, but he was in a hurry to shower and get all dolled up for something tonight.”
“Oh my, it must be costume party night at the Board Game Association meeting.” Joonmyun rolls his eyes, very glad that he wasn’t blackmailed into joining this month’s session of Luhan’s club. It’s bad enough he has to fill in for his mother’s bridge club and mahjong soirees when they’re short a player.
“Yeah, I don’t even know.” Victoria slips back into the oven mitts to carry the casserole to the kitchen table. She sets the heavy dish on the trivet Jongin whisks into place just in time.
“Time to partake?” Jongdae skips back into the kitchen, wet up to his elbows and flinging the excess water in his wake.
“Just about.” Joonmyun settles the booster seat in Jongdae’s chair to make sure it’s stable before lifting him into the seat.
“Did you help your brother pack his backpack for tomorrow?” Victoria nods to Jongin as she slides a knife through the casserole, slicing the pie into neat squares. Jongin refills his milk glass from the pitcher and takes a gulp.
“Yup.”
“Oh, are you guys going on a field trip tomorrow?” Joonmyun fills a glass for Jongdae once Jongin’s finished with the milk and accepts a glass of sweet tea for himself. “Make sure you take your water bottles and the sunscreen!”
“Dad, we’re going with you though. It’s Vic’s day off, remember?”
Victoria nods in agreement with Jongin as she slides a heap of steaming vegetables and beef onto Joonmyun’s plate. “I know it’s been a few weeks since we arranged it, but we were planning a bring-your-kids-to-work day, since your mother is busy with the orphanage fundraiser and I’m going to my cousin’s birthday party. Is...that still going to work out for you?”
“Oh shoot, I forgot.” Joonmyun scrapes the gravy oozing across his plate back into the mashed potatoes. Amber usually lets Jongdae hang out with her while Joonmyun is in meetings, but she’s not going to be in for most of tomorrow. “But that’s ok! The boys can still come with me. We’ll make it work.”
“Thanks!” Victoria’s smile is relieved as she sinks into her chair at the end of the table. “I have to drive to Afton for the party so I’m leaving around 6:00, but I’ll leave breakfast on the table for you guys.”
“Oh, you don’t have to get up early just to feed us!” Joonmyun stabs into a green bean with his fork, still feeling guilty for forgetting about the change in schedule. He’s just been so distracted with work lately, especially now that he’s busy with the cooking class every weekend, that things are slipping through the cracks. He needs to do a thorough go-over of his planners and calendars tonight before bed.
“Hah, as if I’m going to trust you with breakfast alone.” Victoria’s laugh isn’t cruel but Joonmyun still flushes at the jibe.
“Hey, I can bake perfectly lovely breakfast muffins now!” he protests, feeling validated when Jongdae pats his wrist in solace.
“So you said, but since I haven’t seen physical evidence of this claim I think I’ll leave some oatmeal on the stove,” Victoria says, and hands him the bread basket.
“Next time I won’t take my hard earned kitchen creds to the office, and then you’ll see.” Joonmyun reaches for the butter. He nudges Jongin’s ankle with his foot when his son rips a dinner roll in half with his teeth and inhales the massive bite in one swallow.
“Or, we could just eat cereal?” Jongin suggests, ducking his head in meekly as he takes another smaller bite.
“Deal,” Joonmyun says, and changes the subject to ticket sales for the PGA Championship in August. He’ll worry more about tomorrow’s field trip when the time comes. He just hopes Baekhyun likes kids.
✌ ✌ ✌
Jongdae is the first one out of the elevator when they reach the fifth floor. The straps of his backpack bounce on his shoulders as he sprints for Amber’s desk.
“Walk, Dae!” Joonmyun calls a reminder and Jongdae slows to a trot as he rounds the corner. He grabs ahold Jongin to steady him as they follow, since he’s still blinking at the overhead lights in an unsuccessful battle to keep his eyes open
Amber is suited up, one arm balancing a stack of document portfolios and the other on holding the lid of her scanner in place while she waits for an invoice to print. “Hey guys, uh...I didn’t know you were coming to visit today!” Her smile is sincere as she nods to a grinning Jongdae, but she lifts a quizzical brow at Joonmyun.
“Ah, yes, it’s sort of a last minute change in plans but--”
“Daddy misconstrued the schedule,” Jongdae cuts in, shrugging his backpack off to drop at his feet. “It’s Vic’s day off.”
“I see.” Amber’s eyes crease into amused slits as she collects the last papers from the tray of and switches off the printer. “It’s too bad I have to take this stuff to a meeting today, because I haven’t gotten to hang with you boys in too long.” She glances at the clock with a guilty twist of her lips. “Sorry boss, I gotta run! But Baek should be here shortly.”
“He’s not here yet?”
“Nah, or at least I haven’t seen him around this morning. But don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll show up soon. He’s never been late before.” Amber stuffs the file folders into a tote bag. The canvas is printed with the pink R&V logo on the front and breast cancer awareness ribbons adorning the handles.
“I hope so…” Joonmyun waves to Amber as she dashes to catch the elevator Irene is just stepping off of.
“Good morning, boss. Hi, boys.” Irene swings her heavy braid over her shoulder as she strips off her gauzy silk scarf and floral cardigan and drapes them over her desk.
“Good morning.” Joonmyun gives a distracted greeting, already trying to corral Jongdae out of the walkway while making sure Jongin doesn’t shuffle into a support pillar and knock himself out.
“Hey Dad, what’s this?” Jongin asks as soon as they make it back to Joonmyun’s desk. Joonmyun is checking his phone messages in a panic and praying Baekhyun hasn’t left him a voice mail calling in sick.
“Hm?”
“Who’s it from?” Jongin sounds suddenly awake, his voice perky in contrast to the sleepy mumbles he had been capable of a few moments earlier. Joonmyun glances up from the landslide of emails that cascaded into his inbox overnight.
“Oh my! I have no idea.” At the center of the clean patch of space on Joonmyun’s desk is a small box wrapped in pale green foil and trimmed with bits of paper lace. A greeting card in an envelope is propped against the box. Jongdae snatches it up with greedy fingers, climbing onto Joonmyun’s chair to kneel at the desk for a front row view.
“Th-thank you for the muffins yesterday,” Jongdae reads aloud once he’s divested the card from it’s wrapping, sounding out the syllables with his tongue before he puts his voice behind each word. “They made my morning. And also my day. Please accept these treats in r-reciprocal appreciation. The whole office feels the same, btw ;)”
“Dad, what’s--precipitation?” Jongin asks, but his brother shushes him with a sharp hiss.
“Haven’t concluded, Jongin!”
“Sorry!” Jongin scowls, picking at the bits of trim on the box lid. It looks like someone snipped paper doilies into snowflakes, like something from a page of the Martha Stewart or Southern Living magazines Joonmyun’s mother props in the magazine rack of her guest bathroom.
“Signed, Yours truly, with admiration and confection,” Jongdae finishes with a proud hum.
“Excellent reading, thank you Jongdae!” Joonmyun gives his son’s shoulder a quick squeeze, nodding to Jongin so he knows he’s allowed to rip into the box now. “‘Reciprocal’ means a return or equal demonstration of feelings or favors.”
“Ah, like ‘right back atcha’?” Jongin nods in understanding as he slices through the tape on the box with his fingernail. “Wow, cookies! I wish we could come to work with you every day!”
“Believe me, it’s not always this exciting around here.” Joonmyun sinks into his chair with a tired smile after Jongdae hops down to get his hands on the treat box.
“Can we try some now?”
“Ok, but just one,” Joonmyun warns Jongin with a wink. “Why don’t you take the rest around to the other desks and ask the team if they’d like some refreshments?”
“Ok!” Jongin’s mouth is already full of half his allotted cookie, and Jongdae has chocolate streaked across his nose from licking his.
“But go quietly, ok? Someone might be making a phone call.”
Joonmyun listens as his children politely offer the cookies to his employees, smiling to himself at the cooing that ensues. Joy and Krystal are particularly vocal, exclaiming over how big the boys have grown since they last saw them.
“Hey boss! Good morning!” Baekhyun swings in and plunks down a carrier of drinks from Starbucks down on Joonmyun’s desk. “I brought coffee! We’re going to over the last of those spreads today, right?”
“Oh, yeah, um, about that...” Joonmyun accepts the coffee Baekhyun hands him with a grateful smile. He lets the heat from the take out cup soak through the cardboard sleeve into his palm as he tries to think of the best way to break this to his intern. “How do you feel about training in a new capacity today? It was on my schedule for weeks, arranged even before I knew you’d be coming to work here this summer, and I realize that’s no excuse for not informing you sooner but somehow it just completely slipped my mind and then I realized last night I don’t even know your cell number since you came through corporate and I never saw your resume so--!”
“Whoa, boss, did something serious happen? Is this like a shakedown?” Baekhyun’s grin is fierce. He grips Joonmyun’s arm and digs in with his fingers like he’s fighting his hardest to calm his boss from the state he’s working himself into, but Joonmyun’s reflexes are a bit slow today. His laugh is a weak trickle of anxiety through his lips as he sinks back into his chair.
“We’re not being invaded by the police today, no, but--”
“Salutations! Acquaintance not yet.” Jongdae raises an arm in greeting when he spots Baekhyun leaning against Joonmyun’s desk, and Baekhyun waves back with both his hands. Jongdae’s other fist is clamped around his brother’s wrist as he drags him around the corner. Only two cookies are left in the bottom of the tupperware clutched to Jongin’s chest.
“They almost cleaned us out, Dad. Here, you can have the rest.” Jongin offers the carton first to Baekhyun, then to his father.
“Thanks, Jonginnie! And thanks for taking those around to everyone.”
“Ooh, what are these from?” Baekhyun’s face lights up as he nibbles at the corner of his cookie, smearing chocolate across his lips with his tongue.
“I have no idea actually,” Joonmyun says, scratching at a loose thread hanging from the buttonhole of his sleeve cuff. He checks the clock and tries to ignore the fact that Baekhyun is almost as messy of an eater as Jongdae. “It appears to be an anonymous gift from somebody at the office, though.”
“Ooh, I’m so lucky I get to train at a branch with so many talented bakers in the house!” Baekhyun brushes the crumbs from his lips as he crams the rest of the cookie in his mouth all in one go. “And who are these handsome visitors? Are you by chance investors in for a tour of the firm?” He squats down to meet Jongdae at eye level and holds out his sticky hand for a shake. Jongdae giggles deep in his throat, eyes slanting into amused slits as he accepts the handshake with equally sticky fingers.
“This is the invasion I was, uh, referring to earlier,” Joonmyun explains, a nervous hand twisted in the front of his hair. “Baekhyun, meet my boys. Kids, this is Mr. B--”
“Hey guys! You can just call me Baek,” Baekhyun says, and gives them each a high five. “What’re your names?”
“Jongin,” Jongin says in a shy voice, though Joonmyun is proud to note his oldest son looks Baekhyun confidently in the eye as he introduces himself. “And this is Jongdae. He’s cute, but he’s too smart for his own good.”
“Affirmative,” Jongdae agrees with a solid nod, and Baekhyun breaks out into a throaty roll of laughter.
“I can already tell! It’s nice to meet you both. Are you guys on summer break right now?”
“Yes, that’s...well, they usually stay at my mother’s place when our nanny is off and they don’t have school, but they had to come with me today. And Amber usually keeps an eye on them when I have to take conference calls, etc., but she’s out of the office today so...we were wondering if, maybe…”
“You want me to hang out with them for a bit?”
“Are you ok with that?” Joonmyun searches Baekhyun’s face for any hint of stiffness behind his smile, any sign of grudging acceptance. “I know it’s not part of your job description, and it’s really asking too much so--”
“Boss, I don’t mind at all. It’s no big.” Baekhyun winks at Joonmyun. His fingers are already laced through Jongdae’s and Joonmyun’s heart sinks back into place inside his ribcage with a spasm of relief.
“Thank you, seriously! You are the best intern ever and I owe you so many jelly beans or whatever it is you’re always chewing on. I’ll--well, you guys can hang out in the conference room while I finish some calls? I guess the financial report drafts can wait til Monday. Amber won’t have time to proofread them until next week, anyway.”
“Sounds good!” Baekhyun salutes Joonmyun with another wink and lets Jongdae lead him away to the glass walled conference room across the hall. The boys know where everything is in the office, the extra rolls of toilet paper in the supply cabinet and where Amber keeps her emergency Kit-kats, so Joonmyun isn’t concerned about them for a few hours on their own with Baekhyun’s supervision.
The main perk of the extra conference room, besides the see through partitions that allow Joonmyun to keep an eye on the kids, is the fact that it’s relatively sound proofed. Most of the boys’ noise won’t disturb everyone else who’s hard at work even if they get rowdy. They seem to be having a blast in there. Every time Joonmyun looks up from his inbox to crack his back they’re on to some new game. Baekhyun doesn’t have a problem getting on his hands and knees, even in his expensive dress slacks, to roughhouse with Jongdae or be harnessed with the purple jump rope in a game of horsy.
Joonmyun almost coos aloud in the middle of a conference call and has to cover the sound with a forced cough when he notices the boys have his intern seated on an ottoman under the projector and are braiding his hair into cornrows. He doesn’t get to stick around for a fashion show of the end result, though. Five minutes before lunch break he gets a call from Mr. Kyung and has to run out to the plant for another site visit.
Joonmyun spends the rest of the day shuttling around in a rickety golf cart between warehouses and machinery sheds on the factory campus. He doesn't have time to think of what he's missing out on at the office, at least until he gets stuck in rush hour traffic on the way back. Baekhyun seems to be a natural with kids, willing to (literally) get down on their level and entertain them even though it's not a part of his job description.
Heck, if Joonmyun's boss had asked him to babysit a kid as precocious as Jongdae on his first summer internship, he might have cried into the medical files he was in charge of transcribing. That was a long time ago though, when Joonmyun was just a teen. He keeps forgetting that Baekhyun is nowhere near such a tender young age, he’s not an innocent. Although it's not as hard to remember when Baekhyun swirls his tongue around the tip of his sucker with obscene sucking noises while they're trying to go over tax files, blinking at Joonmyun with a lazy smirk and--
No. Joonmyun is not going there. Not today, when Baekhyun has been such a help taking care of Joonmyun's children and Joonmyun is on his way to pick them up for a nice family dinner with Victoria. And possibly Luhan, depending on how long Joonmyun's good luck decides to hold today.
It's been several days since they've heard from their neighbor, and Luhan is not exactly the type you can call quiet. Not that Joonmyun hasn't appreciated the respite, it just makes him a bit nervous, anxiety pooling at the backs of his knees and the inside of his ribs as he waits for the light to turn at the intersection. He's only a block from the office now. The setting sun glows amber along the grid of windows at the top floors of the building.
Joonmyun feels a wave of exhaustion flow from his fingertips, back through his limbs to his heart as he unlocks his car door and pushes it open in the crowded parking lot. The sudden backwash of fatigue creates a slog of resistance as he drags his heels to the elevator and Joonmyun realizes how on edge he's been all day. Between trying to keep one eye on his offspring and one on his inbox, and then dealing with cranky production managers in the afternoon, it’s been quite a day. Not to mention the fact he hardly slept the night before, worrying how Baekhyun would take the situation on such short notice.
Joonmyun takes the moment alone in the elevator to adjust his tie in the mirror and smooth down the frizz of his bleached hair into neat waves at either temple. He doesn't look quite refreshed by the time he emerges but he does look decent, and that's good enough for now.
Baekhyun's hair has been smoothed back into place as well, all except for his cowlick in the back that’s been emphasized by the teasing it endured under Jongdae's hands. Joonmyun feels a slight thrill of disappointment chasing the fatigue through his limbs when he peeks into the conference room to find the hair rubber bands they borrowed from Irene all cleaned up and out of sight. He doesn't have time to consider the feeling, though, or what it means. Jongdae springs to his feet and pounces into Joonmyun's arms as soon as he sees his father in the doorway.
"Hey there, Dae! Were you good for Mr. B this afternoon?" Joonmyun gives Jongin a pointed look as well as he addresses his youngest son. Jongin gets into his own share of mischief but is most likely to be honest about it when questioned. Jongdae can already lie through his teeth with a charming grin in place, though Joonmyun sort of prides himself on being the genetic source of that ability to sweet talk his way out of anything.
"They were good," Baekhyn confirms with a genial grin of his own. "Jongdae showed me me all his coloring book pictures, and even let me help shade in some of the backgrounds."
"Dae," Joonmyun tsks, the tip of his tongue against his teeth to hold back the laughter threatening to overcome his voice. "What did we talk about last night, eh? Does the word sharing sound familiar?"
Jongdae just squirms in Joonmyun's arms. He shakes his head against the padded shoulder of his father’s suit as Baekhyun chuckles low in his throat.
"It was with good reason, though, boss. Your kid’s handwriting is better than mine! Where did he learn Chinese calligraphy?"
"That would be Luhan's fault." Joonmyun pats Jongdae on the back of his head, sliding his palm down over his springy hair to cup the soft skin at the back of his neck.
"Ah, that's what you always say, Dad." Jongin shakes his head at Joonmyun, but doesn't offer any other explanation for his baby brother's calligraphy genius.
"Come on, boys. Let's let Mr. Byun go home now. Aren't you guys hungry for dinner?" Joonmyun hesitates, sliding the tip of his tongue across his back teeth. It would be polite to invite Baekhyun home with them for dinner, especially since he was kind enough to spend the day with the boys. But then again, maybe he's ready for a break from the kids. Joonmyun doesn't want him to feel obligated to sit through dinner with his family, and he doesn't like to make a habit of bringing home guests without giving Victoria fair warning.
Jongdae makes the decision for him, sitting up in Joonmyun's arms to address Baekhyun in his most grown up voice. "Interested in partaking with us? Vic is an excellent chef."
"Vic?" Baekhyun blinks in open curiosity, first at Jongdae and then at Joonmyun. His nose wrinkles up in a squashed in smile that squares off the corners of his lips. "Ah, that's ok, Dae." He declines with a shake of his head before Joonmyun can explain that Victoria is their nanny, not someone like--like a-- "Thanks for the invite, though! I better get home and feed my pet."
"You have a pet?" Joonmyun blurts in surprise. His mental focus on clearing up any misunderstandings about Victoria's identity are chased right out of his mind by sudden fantasies of Baekhyun cuddling a puppy to his chest while a kitten curls at his feet and a snapping turtle or two wander the balcony.
Joonmyun shakes his head with a snap of his neck. He has no idea where that ridiculous, romanticized image materialized from, and he needs to focus on Baekhyun's answer so he can successfully complete this social interaction and take his children home to feed them. After that, he would like to collapse in his bed and fall asleep with a few pillows banked over his embarrassing, fatigued brain. Yes. Hopefully that does the trick and he'll be refreshed and focused when he returns to the office in the morning.
"Yup! Gertrude is a gerbil. I only got her a few months back, but she rules the roost already."
"Ooh, can I see pics?" Jongin looks up from where he's kneeling on the floor still, cramming stray crayons into the front zip pocket of his brother's backpack.
"Maybe next time," Joonmyun sighs, shaking back his sleeve to get a look at his wristwatch. "Victoria is waiting dinner on us, and your grandmother is supposed to call at 7:00."
"Sorry, Jongin. Next time, ok?" Baekhyun gives Jongin a reassuring smile as he reaches down to give him a boost to his feet. Joonmyun's chest might squeeze a bit, watching his son smile back, but that's just because Jongdae is yanking on the tie knotted around his throat.
"Ouch, Dae!" Joonmyun loosens the knot with hasty fingers, shooting his youngest son a reproving look. Jongdae is still learning his own strength, and has to be reminded to be gentle. He snapped two of Luhan's calligraphy brushes in the last month, and Joonmyun shudders to think of the damage he might do with something as delicate as a gerbil in his grubby little grip.
"Have a nice dinner, ok?" Baekhyun nudges Jongin towards the door with a pat on the back and a wave to Jongdae. "See you guys! Have a nice weekend, boss!"
"Oh, thanks!" Joonmyun turns back to fix Baekhyun with his brightest smile as he holds the door for Jongin, who is juggling both his brother's bag and his own stack of comic books and nature magazines.
Baekhyun just twists his face into a cheesy grin as he winks, and Joonmyun might have dropped Jongdae in shock if his son weren't clinging to him like a baby polar bear to some tasty fish. He just turns and walks to the elevator, at a loss for words. They need to get on the road as soon as possible to beat the traffic across town, but Joonmyun will have to find a way to thank his intern properly later on.
Jongdae presses the elevator buttons for them, hitting the correct sequence of numbers without having to be reminded. Joonmyun kisses the top of his head with pride and catches Jongin pretending to gag at the security camera in the corner.
"Hey," Joonmyun says, his voice oddly shaky and neck flushed as he meets Jongin's eyes in the panel of mirrors, "it's not PDA if we're related, you know."
"That's just what you think, Dad," Jongin groans, but he doesn't try to shake off the arm Joonmyun sneaks around his shoulders as they step out of the lift. Joonmyun nods goodbye to the receptionists on the ground floor, who don't let them past the front desk without stuffing Jongdae's pockets full of mint lozenges and cinnamon candies first.
Joonmyun lets out a sigh of relief once they make it through the parking lot without getting stopped by any other curious coworkers. He rests his forehead against the ridged grip of the steering wheel as he waits for Jongdae to fasten the harness of his booster seat. He feels more emotional than he usually has the energy to deal with on a weeknight, perhaps residual separation anxiety from leaving the boys this afternoon. Or maybe--
"You know, Dad," Jongin says, breaking the silence with sly glance through his fringe as he clicks his safety belt into place, "if you happened to like your secret admirer back, I mean, like, if you reciprocated the feelings..." Jongin pauses to cough into his fist and rubs at the faded trail of letters inked into the heel of his hand in purple sharpie before continuing. "If you really like that person back, I’d give you all my blessing."
"Hm?" Joonmyun lifts his head from the makeshift pillow to catch Jongin's eye in the mirror. He's pretty sure he understood his son's words correctly, but he has no idea what Jongin is trying to get at. "But we don't know who left the cookies, right? So how do you know if you approve of that person?" Joonmyun bites into the inside of his cheek as he frowns out the windshield. "Unless you know who left that note and you're not telling me something?"
"I just mean..." Jongin makes a rough grunting sound in the back of his throat, probably annoyed his father is questioning his romantic instinct, or whatever it is that's inspiring this inspirational little speech. "I mean everyone currently working at your office is a great and kind person. Including the new guy. And I'd just...never met him before today, that's all."
"Ah, yeah." Joonmyun nods in understanding as he slides his car key into the ignition. "I’m really grateful Baekhyun joined the company this month. He's been a great help, especially in preparing our end-of-quarter statements and figuring out the tax forms. It's no fun to do those jobs alone, let me tell you one thing."
"Yeah," Jongin sighs as he shoves the long sleeves of his T-shirt up to his biceps and cracks the car window. "Math stuff, bleh."
"Just hang in there and you'll get the hang of it!" Joonmyun's phone buzzes in the cup holder, but he ignores it as he switches on the engine. He props a palm on the headrest of Jongin's seat for support as he backs out of the parking spot. "We have the rest of summer to work on those pre-algebra concept sets your homeroom teacher printed for us."
"Double bleh!" Jongin chokes, pretending to gag himself again in the mirror. They both laugh when Jongdae copies the expression with an identical nose wrinkle as his brother.
"But you like math, Dae!" Joonmyun shakes his head at his silly kids as he reaches over to switch on the stereo. They're a third of the way through Wagner's Ring Cycle, and Joonmyun won't be surprised if Jongdae insists on listening to the opera recordings on repeat once they finish the first time. He's been mixing lines of improv'd melodies into the pieces he's practicing for his lessons this week. Even Victoria's caught the fever, humming leitmotifs under her breath as she scrambles eggs for breakfast or scrubs out the sink while Joonmyun's starting on the coffee.
"It's a kid's prerogative to change his mind," Jongdae quips with another shrug in the mirror. His eyes are already closed as he reclines in his chair to enjoy the music.
"I suppose..." Joonmyun doesn't push the issue, just leans back against his seat and lets the music carry them down the highway towards home.
✌ ✌ ✌
Joonmyun doesn't check his phone messages again until after dinner, once the kids are tucked into their bunks and he's in his pyjama pants with a toothbrush in his mouth. He almost chokes on his mouthful of foaming toothpaste when he unlocks the screen to find Baekhyun's mouth pouting at him point blank, face filling the screen. His pursed lips loom at the lower end of the frame and tiny braids secured with a rainbow of silicon hair ties sprout from his scalp at all angles.
The look is equal parts ridiculous and adorable, and Joonmyun blames the reoccurrence of the fond squeezing in his chest on the fact that Baekhyun is such a good sport for humoring his children like that. Jongin is right, all of Joonmyun’s colleagues at the office are great people. But there's just something particularly attractive about a guy who is great with children.
Joonmyun leans forward, holding his fringe out of the way with one hand as he spits into the sink and scrolls to the bottom of the chat with his thumb. The next photo is a group shot, the boys squished cheek-to-cheek with Baekhyun in the middle. The last picture is in the same pose but everyone is making a silly face, Jongdae puffing out his cheeks like a blowfish and Jongin pulling his lips into a wide, frog lipped grin while Baekhyun's tongue stretches in a valiant yet unsuccessful attempt to touch the tip of his nose.
There's a single line of text below the photos:
Hey, Jonginq gave me your #, he wanted to have a copy of these pix. Have a great night and dinner and yeah!
Joonmyun saves the group shots to his gallery to show Jongin in the morning as he rinses his mouth with sips of water from the cup he keeps next to his sink. His thumb hesitates over the first picture, Baekhyun's individual pose, but he decides to download that one as well before he snaps off the bathroom light and tosses his damp towel in the direction of the hamper. Just in case Jongin might be interested in laughing at Baekhyun's funny face over his cereal tomorrow, no other reason.
Why else would Baekhyun have sent it to his boss?
✌ ✌ ✌
Luhan doesn't show up the entire weekend, much to Joonmyun's surprise and growing suspicion. Jongdae usually hangs with his Uncle Lu whenever their neighbor’s not barricaded in his attic and glued to his keyboard, but Victoria manages to keep Jongdae busy with another cooking adventure. Joonmyun drives them down to the riverside farmer’s market to pick up another round of peaches for canning while Jongin is still a blanket burrito zombie in his bunk upstairs.
No one will let Joonmyun near the pressure cooker or the trays of sterilizing jars, but Victoria gives him a small paring knife to slice bad spots off the seconds, the bruised or bird pecked fruit sold on discount that is perfect for preserving. Jongdae is in charge of slipping the skins off the whole fruits once they've been scalded and dunked in cold water, and Victoria heads up the end of the assembly line, quartering the peaches into the ready jars and covering them with apple juice and cinnamon once they're filled.
The counter is piled with fuzzy peach jackets and the sink drain is overflowing with a mountain of red pits by the time Jongin stumbles into the kitchen at half past eleven. Still no signs of life from Luhan, Joonmyun notes, swiping a sticky finger across his phone screen to check for new messages. There are a few new uploads to the team instagram feed, though. Joonmyun managed to install the app to his phone and receives the notifications every time Tao and Kyungsoo post pics of their practice creations, though he hasn't figured out how to upload images from his own camroll.
Luna and Kyungsoo have even been trading baking tips in the comments sections, and Yixing just hearts every post, regardless if it was a muffin top success or a burnt-to-a crisp-failure. Chanyeol hops on sometimes to post selfies as well as pictures of every baked good he's purchased during his business trip as "research". Besides Joonmyun, Luhan is the only member who hasn't posted this week, which is even more suspicious in the context of his unanswered texts and general all around absence. The team SNS documentary project was his idea, after all, and Luhan usually never shuts up about the things that are his idea.
"That was quite a sigh! Getting tired over there?" Victoria gives Joonmyun a look as she sets the pitcher of boiled apple juice back on the counter.
"No," Joonmyun sighs again, letting a trickle of peach juice drip from the blade of his knife down the inside of his wrist as he watches Jongin feel blindly in the fridge for the milk bottle. His son might as well be part-zombie, since he apparently doesn't need a fully functioning brain to guzzle milk and inhale a banana with his eyes still closed. "It's nothing important."
"Every problem is of consequence," Jongdae says with a serious blink as he straightens the apron doubled over and tied around his waist.
"This isn't exactly a problem. I just can't figure out this uploading thing." Joonmyun scrubs his sticky hands on the nearest dish rag before opening the Instagram app for a better look.
"Oh, like Facebook?" Victoria steals the rag from Joonmyun to take a swipe at Jongdae's messy hands next.
"No, I actually had Facebook figured out for awhile, until they changed it again. Do you by any chance have an Insta-tele-gram-whatever?" Joonmyun resists tugging at his hair in frustration when Victoria gives an apologetic shrug and tilt of her head, if only because he'll be smelling like peaches for the next week whenever he steps into the shower.
"Do you have one of those accounts, Jonginnie?"
Jongin just shakes his head in response to Victoria’s question. Joonmyun doesn’t scold him for not answering properly because he’s mid-yawn and still hasn’t managed to peel both eyelids open all the way. They're supposed to head out around noon to hit the mall for their father-son cosmetics shopping trip today, but Joonmyun doesn't mind that Jongin slept in. Joonmyun’s been feeling a bit done in himself these days, with plenty on his mind to consider long after he's tucked the thick edges of the comforter in around his own chin and added a sleeping mask to the light protection of his blackout curtains.
Joonmyun's phone gets pinged with more notifications throughout the day, while they're on the road, when they’re at the mall, and when they're stopped at DQ for m&m ice cream after a successful round of shopping. While Joonmyun was helping his son pick out eco-friendly sticks of eyeliner and jujube infused moisturizers, Tao and Kyungsoo apparently had another baking session to practice their muffins, as well as trying out a recipe for strawberry quick bread.
It’s not until after dinner, though, that Joonmyun realizes the reason Luhan has been absent all weekend. Luhan is tagged in a string of pictures uploaded by Minseok, where they’re both shown holding a sheet cake and decorating bags of pink and green icing. Luhan is one of the most talented students at the community center's new baking class who kindly volunteered to help us whip out thirty cakes for the fundraiser this weekend, the caption reads.
Joonmyun recognizes the event advertised in a banner in the comments section as the annual bake sale his mother's golf group and bridge club co-host. He's just confused as to why Luhan hasn't been spamming the page with selfies of his own, but it all makes more sense when he scrolls down to skim the rest of the comments.
lol talented at baking but cant believe u forgot the password to ur new ig dude lolol is Yixing's comment beneath Minseok's post, and Joonmyun notices with a sly smile that Yixing's profile photo is a selfie of him and Luhan, their faces squished together cheek to cheek and smeared with smudges of colored icing.
"Whatcha looking at?" Jongin lifts his nose out of his ice cream cone to lean over for a peek at Joonmyun's phone, curiosity no doubt aroused by Joonmyun's long suffering snicker embedded in a disdainful sigh.
"Looks like Uncle Lu had a blast this weekend."
"Oh hey, is that grandma's bake sale? I recognize that girl!" Jongin taps the screen, pointing out the side profile of a girl. She’s behind Luhan in the background of the photo, layering white fondant onto a row of tea cakes on a tray.
"Ooh, is she someone from school?" Joonmyun doesn't let any of the interest tickling at the back of his throat seep into his voice, but Jongin flushes a hot red without even a hint of teasing.
"Ah, she's on the track team," Jongin mumbles once his mouth is full with another giant bite of ice cream. "Taeminnie knows her, she's in his English class."
"Ah, I see. Do you ever get to talk to her yourself? Does Taemin like to hang with her?"
"Not...not really." Jongin shakes his head and curls his chin into his neck, which only results in smearing a stripe of melted ice cream across his nose and left cheek. Joonmyun hands him a napkin from the dispenser silently without another comment, not wanting to push the issue if Jongin isn't ready or willing to talk about it.
"Well, good luck on catching her attention," Joonmyun offers with a wink. "And wish me luck for tomorrow as well. I think Luhan's going to be insufferable, bragging about his date with the teacher all through class."
Jongin laughs, his shoulders bouncing when Joonmyun gives an exaggerated and mournful shake of his head. He brightens when Joonmyun spoons the rest of his m&m toppings into the volcano crater of Jongin's half-eaten ice cream cone.
"Good luck to both of us then, Dad!"
✌ ✌ ✌
On Monday morning Joonmyun scrolls through his inbox first thing, ignoring the accumulation of Instagram notifications that have popped up overnight. He browses the financial news while he spoons oatmeal into his mouth at the breakfast table, and hums along to the first prelude of Die Walkure on the stereo while he zooms down the highway to work. Not a single stressful thought of Luhan's weekend activities or any potential nefarious plots crosses his mind--or if it does, Joonmyun squashes it with his Monday zen like any old gnat on the windshield, nothing to be concerned about.
He's still humming when he steps out of the elevator onto the fifth floor. Though the coffee maker is empty and Amber hasn't turned on the light in the copy room yet, Joonmyun is pleasantly surprised to find another wrapped box placed at the center of his desk when he flips on the overhead. The accompanying note is simple this time: I hope you had a great weekend, and that the coming week keeps getting better and better :D Yours truly, with love and confection~
Not the most creative or inspiring personal note ever penned, but the lopsided smiley face at the bottom makes Joonmyun crack a matching grin. He slips the note into his desk drawer where it won't get lost in his growing mess of papers and sets the box aside to open later. Maybe once Baekhyun gets here, he'll be willing to help Joonmyun take the treats around to the rest of the office workers.
The box is wrapped in robin's egg blue this time, the wrapping paper textured with some kind of natural fibers that streak glossy strands through the surface. There is no deconstructed lace as adornment, just a smooth navy ribbon that forms a tight band around the lid. Joonmyun leans down to sniff at the edges of the box, hoping to catch a whiff of the contents. It's hard to tell for sure, but he thinks it might be something flavored with cinnamon.
"Uh, boss?"
"Yes?" Joonmyun's voice squeaks, scratchy with sleep and stiff with surprise.
"Are...you ok?" Amber clears her throat, tapping her fingers in a nervous rhythm against the empty file folder in her hands.
"Oh, yes, I just...never mind! Good morning, Amber!"
Amber nods but doesn't return the greeting with more than a tiny smile twisting her lips. Joonmyun spins his chair to face her, examining the pained expression on her face with a closer look. "I'm fine, but are you ok?"
"Maybe," Amber says, a shaky laugh bursting through her lips. Joonmyun reaches for his phone, already typing 911 into the dial pad.
"What's wrong? Are you sick? Here, have a seat!"
"No, no, I'm fine, boss! Problem is...well, I'm not sure yet if it's really a problem or not, sorry to bother you, but--" Amber cuts herself off with a jump and squeak of her own when the elevator bell dings another arrival to their floor.
"Good morning Amber, boss!" Irene waves in their direction as she strides out of the lift. Her car keys still in hand jingle a bright staccato tune as she heads for her desk.
"Just tell me what it is, Amber," Joonmyun resumes the conversation in a hushed voice after waving back to Irene. "And we'll deal with it together if it happens to become problematic later on."
"Thank you." Amber sniffs, on the verge of tears and Joonmyun can feel his heart sinking into the pit of his stomach in a slippery slide as if he'd just swallowed a stick of softened butter instead of a mouthful of clean air. "You know that stack of files, the confidential tax documents you left on my desk before you went home on Friday? I can't find them! Anywhere!"
"Didn't you lock the filing room before you left?" Joonmyun sinks back down into his desk chair, his knees buckling under him without any conscious command from his brain.
"Yeah, for sure. I locked it just like I always do, and you're the only one who knows where I keep the keys." Amber's fingers twist at the edges of the gray plastic folder until the stiff material dents and bends at sharp angles. "And… Could you check on the server? I haven't logged into the accounting database for a few days but some kind of error message popped up on my desktop when I rebooted it just now."
"Shit..." Joonmyun's fingers are tight in his freshly styled hair, digging into his scalp with the same insistence that clawing worry is assaulting the lining of his gut. Now he knows why she looks so scared. If someone managed to hack into the encrypted database server then...
"You don't--" Amber breaks off again, glancing over her shoulder where Joy and Krystal are moving into the office to greet their coworkers. "You don't think this is corporate espionage, do you?" Her whisper is barely audible but sends a series of shivers running from the base of Joonmyun's scalp down his spine.
"I don't know, but we can't rule out any options until we know how serious the leak is and get everything under control. Let's not tell the rest of the department right away, at least until I make a few phone calls to corporate and--"
"That's half the problem," Amber continues in a tremulous voice. She plops down on the edge of Joonmyun's desk next to the box of what Joonmyun is now hoping are the world's best tasting death-by-chocolate triple fudge devil's food brownies. He's going to need some major pick-me-up calories before he works up the chocolate courage to call headquarters.
"What's half the problem?"
"I already called over, because I thought maybe corporate was just doing some kind of maintenance and forgot to inform us about it. But the dude in charge of those departments is on a conference tour and won't be back til next week sometime."
"Oh dear," Joonmyun says, fisting his tie and the back of his hair with both palms now.
"Yeah, that's not quite the expletive I used, but I went into the filing room to rage for a minute and that's when...I noticed the missing files."
"Well..." Joonmyun passes Amber his box of aloe infused kleenex and she pulls out five with a loud sniff of thanks. "Let's not panic, not yet at least. Panic won't help the situation any. But keep your eye out for any other suspicious activity and we'll discuss this again...in private," he finishes in a whisper as he sees Baekhyun step out of the next elevator, side by side and laughing with Liyin about something.
Joonmyun focuses on cementing his professional smile back in place as Amber jogs back to her desk. He’s glad his intern is here already. He needs Baekhyun to saunter in and get nosy about what's inside the blue box, an about an uncertainty that's exciting and mysterious in a good way. But as soon as he greets his intern and delegates the refreshments distributions to him, Joonmyun has a few phone calls to make first. He cracks his knuckles and pulls out his favorite fountain pen and the trusty bottle of white out fluid.
✌ ✌ ✌
(part four here) (part six here)