The Nanny. [Neo] Chapter 2: Ice Cream
Fandom: VIXX (au)
Pairing: Neo
Word Count: 9,300+
Rating: G. (Warning of cuteness overload and Hakyeon's inappropriate thoughts)
Summary: Single father Taekwoon hires a nanny...for the kids, not for himself. And it's Hakyeon's first day.
| Chapter 1|
“Hello, Hakyeon-ssi?” Taekwoon held the phone up to his ear, sitting at his cubicle during his lunch break.
“Oh! Taekwoon-ssi, hello! How are you?” Hakyeon was loitering at a cafe killing time before he had to be at the dance studio; it just so happened to be the same cafe he had met Taekwoon at less than 24 hours ago.
His voice was light, polite as he clicked away on his laptop’s touchpad, browsing through the “help wanted” ads again, “How are Hyogi and Binah? Did they behave themselves after I left?”
A light chuckle followed though there was a hint of nervousness lingering in the undertones of his voice; he was preparing himself for the worst, that this was a rejection call.
Hakyeon mentally cursed himself, knowing he shouldn’t have said such stupid things while at dinner, let himself get so flustered he had shamelessly flirted with Taekwoon, or gotten so attached to Hyogi and Binah. “Ah, I’m sorry if the kids caused any trouble because of me. I know some kids act out when there’s strange people in the house.”
“No, no, they were fine. That’s how they always are,” Taekwoon informed, knowing his children the best. In fact, they were so much like their normal selves that Taekwoon was more worried about that than anything.
“Oh I’m glad!” Hakyeon quickly blurted out before realizing he was interrupting, that Taekwoon had more to say, “Oh, sorry.”
“I…” Taekwoon started again once Hakyeon apologized. Knowing he rehearsed this many times but as per usual, the words slipped his mind and left him scrambling for replacement ones, “...want you.”
Hakyeon had to drop his phone to keep his coffee from spilling onto his computer at the blunt “confession”, the cup having slipped from his hands as he was in the process of taking a drink when Taekwoon spoke.
Taekwoon’s palm slapped at his forehead, cursing himself mentally. “I want you to be my nanny. The kids’ nanny,” he corrected his slip of the tongue, his eyes fleeting to the wall of his cubicle to make sure no one was passing by. It would be difficult to explain the current shade of red on his face.
“A-Ah...yes, yes of course. The kids’ nanny.” Hakyeon went silent for a moment after he had recovered his phone and placed his coffee at a safe distance from his computer, “Wait, that means I’m hired! Oh my god!”
Hakyeon leapt from his seat as he shouted, the other patrons in the cafe shooting him a mix of strange and annoyed glances as he disrupted the quiet atmosphere.
Taekwoon as well had jerked his phone away from his ear, staring at the touch screen with a reprimanding glare that obviously went unseen. Slowly returning the device back to his ear, his hardened features slowly softened and he smiled; it was a benign smile at the realization that Hakyeon was truly excited to be with his kids.
With hushed apologies Hakyeon sat back down, closing his computer as he lowered his voice, “When do you want me to start? …tomorrow? I can do that! What time do the kids start school? ….ok I’ll be by at seven then. Ah, thank you so much, Taekwoon-ssi! Thank you, thank you!”
After agreeing on a start time, Taekwoon hung up the phone. It was perfect timing for Wonshik walked up right at that moment, peeking over the top of his cubicle.
“What’s with the smile?”
Okay, it was awful timing. Taekwoon flicked his eyes up, any false traces of a smile instantly hollowing out into a frown. “What smile?”
His cover up didn’t deter Wonshik though, who knowingly grinned with a small shrug, “Nothing. I’ll…come back later at a better time.”
Taekwoon swore he saw Wonshik’s eyebrows bounce as he walked off.
Sighing deeply, he swiveled his chair back to his computer and furiously started typing his reports. Not even five minutes passed before his mind was already drifting back to an excited voice and imagining the smile that matched it.
~*~
Even though Hakyeon still had another hour before he needed to leave for the studio, he was too happy to sit still. He was going to see Taekwoon again. No, the kids! He was going to see the kids again, every day, and he was thrilled.
“Today is your last day? Aww, Hakyeon-ah what are we going to do without you?”
“It won’t be the same without you.”
“No one else here is as cute as you.”
Hakyeon had broken the news to the mothers of his students, earning him sympathetic pouts and sweet compliments.
“I will still work on weekends, don’t worry,” he reassured them with a warm smile, bringing their own smiles back to their faces.
The mothers’ smiles quickly shifted into sly grins as they interrogated him about this new job, relentlessly teasing when they found out that Hakyeon was going to be working as a nanny.
“A single father?”
“Is he cute?”
“How tall is he?”
Things only got worse once they caught sight of the red rising to the surface of Hakyeon’s cheeks, quickly shooing them out so he could start class.
~*~
The next morning, the Jung family’s daily routine started.
Binah and Hyogi woke Taekwoon up five minutes before his alarm sounded. He poured the cereal while still half asleep, causing the sugary puffs to spill over the edges of the bowl.
His shirt was inside out--he hadn’t detected that mistake yet, too occupied with finding Binah’s other matching sock. He had forgotten to set aside her school uniform the night before, running into the same fiasco as the previous day of mismatched socks.
At this particular serendipitous moment, the doorbell to the house rang out.
Taekwoon paused, wondering who could be at their house this early when all of a sudden he remembered. Straightening up in a slight panic, he abandoned Binah who was sitting on her bed, one sock on and the other foot still bare.
“Hey!” she called out indignantly, wiggling her toes. Her father was out of the room too quickly.
Taekwoon rushed through the hallway to the front room. He paused though, his abrupt haste slowing to a halt. On the other side of that door was the key to resetting his life with his family. Today marked the calendar for when hopefully their life would change for the better.
Breathing in and out, he reached out for the knob and turned, pulling it open with ease.
The vision of Hakyeon standing there on this doorstep sent Taekwoon’s heart for a loop, his poor racing organ landing in the pit of his stomach.
Dressed in a navy and white striped long-sleeve that hung a bit baggy on his thin frame and light wash blue-jeans rolled up to his ankles, Hakyeon was looking rather well kempt and chipper for it being so early in the morning. His hair even seemed to have an extra bounce to it as well.
“Good morning, Taekwoon-ssi!”
While he gave off the impression he was quite the morning person, what Taekwoon didn’t know was that Hakyeon had been up an hour before his alarm went off getting himself ready. His room had turned into a warzone with the amount of clothes thrown over every surface of the small space.
Hakyeon hadn’t been able to come up with a justifiable excuse to why he had put so much effort into making himself look so presentable.
Sure, it was his first day of work but if the interview was any indication of what this job was going to be like, he would be a sweaty and ruffled messed by the time he was finished playing with Binah and Hyogi when they returned from school.
Taekwoon didn’t feel half as remarkable nor put together yet. His inside-out shirt was still unbuttoned, the undershirt beneath barely tucked into the waist of his slacks. He hadn’t delinted them yet, the black fabric having a mysterious green string on the pant leg, waiting to be detected. And of course his hair was still a bit tousled from sleep.
The only two things he’d really accomplished so far was finding his own matching socks and brushing his teeth.
Finally, he felt his mind creaking into coherency, enough for him to greet Hakyeon with a simple, “Good morning.”
Taekwoon stepped back to allow Hakyeon inside.
Hakyeon couldn’t hide the laugh that crept up at Taekwoon’s disheveled appearance, smiling brightly as he stepped inside and toed off his black boots, “Ahh, rough morning?”
A cafe cup was pushed into Taekwoon’s hands, Hakyeon having overheard what he had ordered the other day when they had met for his interview, “Looks like you could use this.”
Glory of the heavens, the clouds just opened up and light shone down onto this paper cup of coffee. “Thanks,” he quickly showed his appreciation and cupped it gingerly in his large hands.
Hakyeon stood with his hands on his hips now, eyes fully assessing just what the damage of Taekwoon’s appearance was, “Ah, you get yourself fixed up, Taekwoon-ssi. I’ll go take care of the kids.”
Hakyeon gave Taekwoon a reassuring pat on the shoulder, noticing something on his pant leg then reaching down to remove the mysterious green thread from his slacks.
Taekwoon held a large breath at the unexpected touch, about to ask what he was doing; the green string between his fingers said it all though and his pufferfish reaction quickly diffused.
Hakyeon lingered for a moment as he twisted the string between his fingers, thinking about just how adorable Taekwoon looked in his rushed morning state and noticing that his heart had begun to beat a little faster, “Ah, I would start with putting your shirt on properly.”
Taekwoon’s small eyes enlarged as he dipped his chin down, pulling at the seams of his unbuttoned shirt to see they were indeed inside-out. This was now how Taekwoon wanted to convey himself to Hakyeon, but he supposed it was realistic and further proved why he needed Hakyeon in the first place.
He immediately began to one-handedly pull his undershirt free from his pants, heading further into the house as he started removing the button up as well, the back of his shoulders coming into view.
“The kids are in their rooms getting ready,” he announced to Hakyeon without looking over, honestly too embarrassed to face Hakyeon while he was still in a flustered, disorganized state.
Hakyeon could feel heat rising into his cheeks as he continued to smile, his eyes scanning over the pale span of Taekwoon’s broad shoulders, and before he got caught staring he retreated to the kids’ bedrooms, met immediately with delighted screams from both Binah and Hyogi.
“Thank god you’re here! This is a disaster!”
Hakyeon’s laughter echoed through the house as Binah was quick to throw her father under the bus, Hakyeon quick to swoop in and save the day.
It only took Hakyeon another ten minutes before he was ushering both kids towards the door, Binah’s missing sock found, slipping their backpacks onto their shoulders.
“But I’m a ninja! I have to wear my headband!” Hyogi whined, Hakyeon crouching down in front of him and ruffling his hair, “Ah, but Master Hyogi, a ninja’s greatest strength is his ability to be stealthy. How can you have that if everyone knows that you’re a ninja, hmm?”
Hyogi’s eyes widened in shock as he quickly untied the headband from around his forehead and hastily shoved it into Hakyeon’s hands, “You have to keep this a secret! Promise me, Hakyeonie-hyung!”
Another chuckle fell from Hakyeon as he stood and ran his fingers through the young boy’s hair to straighten it up, “Don’t worry, Master Hyogi. It’s our secret. Now go say goodbye to your father.”
Taekwoon had been listening in the whole morning while he was reestablishing himself; to hear the laughter coming from the other rooms placed a smile on his features.
For the first time in a long time, he actually felt relieved. There was no added stress of combing his hair for two seconds in between getting Hyogi to put on his school uniform, and definitely no anxiety from sipping down a few drops of coffee after getting them both to brush their teeth.
When his children had run up to him as he was leaving his bedroom, ready to leave for work as well, Binah’s shocked appraisal only proved the difference. “Wow, you combed your hair!”
Taekwoon would take that as an overall compliment.
He had done more than just comb his hair, dressing himself in a classic white dress shirt and complimentary patterned tie. His suit jacket was black, like his slacks; he would dress in all black if he could with just an accent of white or gray. The only reason he had that tie with some purples in it was because Binah forced him to purchase it.
Hakyeon hung back by the front door, arms casually crossed over his chest, watching the interaction between Taekwoon and his children and feeling his heart swell with warmth from the touching moment. He didn’t think he’d ever get sick of seeing how much love there was in this family. He truly felt blessed to be welcomed to witness it.
Patting at their backs as they squeezed his legs, Taekwoon glanced up to see Hakyeon standing there, still looking as clean and bubbly as when he arrived.
It was then Hakyeon took the initiative to wave the kids back over, opening the door in time to see the neighborhood group of children waiting for them. Binah ran right off, scampering exuberantly across the lawn and to the line of children wearing their yellow hats.
“You’ll be here later, right, hyung?” Hyogi had remained back. His round eyes and wide nose were turned upwards, peering straight at Hakyeon.
Taekwoon’s eyes shifted to Hakyeon, wondering what kind of magic he wafted over his family for the kids to become so attached to him already.
The expectant look in Hyogi’s eyes had Hakyeon hiding a snort of laughter behind his hand, “Of course I will! I’ll be here waiting to play with you when you get back from school so make sure you behave.”
Once Hakyeon answered, he stood there and waved, already stepping into the place Taekwoon would normally take. Taekwoon wasn’t offended. He was quite the opposite, pleased to witness the fruition of his decision already blossoming.
Hakyeon had stepped outside to watch the kids disappearing down the sidewalk until they were only voices ringing in through the quiet morning, and only once those had left the range of his hearing did he finally step back in.
Finally the door shut. “Mm, thanks again,” Taekwoon licked at his lips, a habit he undertook when he had nothing else to do with himself.
“It’s my pleasure! They’re such darling kids, I miss them already.” Hakyeon gave a little laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck.
His eyes wandered as he took the time to fully examine Taekwoon’s changed appearance, having begun to open his mouth to say something but the words caught in his throat.
Taekwoon was stunningly handsome in the charcoal suit, even if Hakyeon had a gun to his head he could never deny that. Every part of the suit hugged Taekwoon’s body perfectly, accentuating his still muscled frame even though Hakyeon was certain he hadn’t had the time to work out in years.
How this was even relevant to his job Hakyeon had no idea, but there was no harm in making a factual observation, right? The moms at the dance studio had asked if Taekwoon was handsome and Hakyeon owed them an honest report.
“I have to get going as well, but…” Taekwoon didn’t know how to end it, fading off awkwardly.
His legs also stayed where they were, locked into place as if waiting for Hakyeon to make the first move.
“But…?” It was the only part of Taekwoon’s comment that he had caught when he finally snapped back to the present moment, sure he was blushing quite profusely and his mouth was hanging open like in one of those absurd cartoons.
As his eyes were trailing back up to Taekwoon’s face he happened to catch a glimpse of the time on the clock on the wall behind him, “Oh! You’re going to be late for work!”
Hakyeon suddenly disappeared into the kitchen, the sounds of cupboards opening and closing a few times as well as the fridge reaching Taekwoon's ears.
He was thankful for the distraction for he wouldn't have been able to finish his sentence. But... what? But what Jung Taekwoon?
Confusion was inscribed on his face for several reasons. He certainly wondered what Hakyeon was doing to create such a commotion in the kitchen.
When Hakyeon came scurrying back, he had something in his hands.
“Binah and Hyogi told me you always come home late and hungry.” He presented Taekwoon with his briefcase which had been sitting on the kitchen table; Hakyeon had glimpsed at some of the papers inside but he hadn’t been able to make sense of what Taekwoon did for a living, “They made me promise I would make you a sandwich before you left so you wouldn’t get hungry at work, so it’s in here.”
The smile Hakyeon wore on his face felt rather childish, feeling more proud than he should have for listening to the demands of two young children and hoping to gain some sort of praise from Taekwoon, as if he were some young puppy waiting to be rewarded, when all he had done was just make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Ah, I do get rather...hard to deal with when hungry." Taekwoon almost used the word "grumpy", but he didn't want to describe himself like that in front of Hakyeon.
Hakyeon couldn’t imagine Taekwoon grumpy, filling the word in for himself, but like everything Taekwoon did he would probably find that adorable as well.
"Thanks," Taekwoon said again while briefly meeting Hakyeon's eyes, noting quickly this was going to be one of his new favored vocabulary words with Hakyeon around.
Suddenly noticing that Taekwoon’s tie looked a bit loose, Hakyeon was setting the briefcase down, stepping close to Taekwoon, and putting his nimble fingers to work undoing the sloppy knot before he realized he hadn’t even asked if it was okay for him to be doing this.
“Oh, oh crap I’m sorry! It’s just...your tie was loose…” Hakyeon quickly dropped his hands, hiding them inside his long shirt sleeves as he glanced sheepishly at his socked feet tilting inwards in embarrassment.
After a moment of observing Hakyeon, Taekwoon's lips almost quirking up into an amused smile, he finally said rather dryly, "My tie is still undone."
The implication in his words were enough to hint to Hakyeon to at least finish his job and tie it properly.
Now Taekwoon was fully aware of how he could redo the silken fabric himself, but it was the act of letting Hakyeon walk away unabashed. If he finished the job maybe he wouldn't feel so shy around Taekwoon. This is what he told himself, ignoring any other prodding notions.
If Hakyeon wasn’t feeling foolish enough already it was definitely getting worse.
He was completely fine when Binah and Hyogi were around, having every excuse to be able to act like a huge dork when playing with the kids, but with them gone and him left alone with Taekwoon he completely unraveled in an entirely different way.
Hakyeon wasn’t shy, he didn’t get embarrassed, at least not easily.
He had interacted with plenty of parents before and attractive men and women. The only difference was those parents were all married, and the attractive men and women were the students at his old college he still lived near.
Taekwoon was both a single parent and incredibly attractive; Hakyeon was in uncharted territory, up the creek without a paddle as they’d say.
When Hakyeon started wordlessly redoing his tie, wrapping the two ends diligently around each other, Taekwooon carefully held his breath. The close proximity unnerved him for an unknown reason, but he wasn’t averse to it.
Just a glance away was Hakyeon's concentrating eyes and if he really focused, he could feel the nimble movements of his fingers.
Try as he might Hakyeon couldn’t bring himself to speak. He decided to try this new thing of repeating what he wanted to say over in his head a few times before actually letting himself speak.
You smell really nice...you smell really nice…Nope.
How do you keep your body in such good shape? How do you keep your body in such good shape? ...Absolutely not.
I bet all the women at work have a crush on you…
“I bet all the women at work have a crush on you.” The sound of his heartbeat was ringing in his ears as loud as if a chorus of bass drums pounded inside his head. Hakyeon froze, praying to whatever god that there was that Taekwoon hadn’t heard him.
When there was no response Hakyeon gave a deep exhale as he finished the final tuck of the fabric, thanking every deity in existence that he must have just mumbled it to himself; the closeness of their bodies was clearly making him lose his mind.
By the time Hakyeon finished, Taekwoon was gulping and quickly implementing his escape route, grabbing his briefcase at the last second. “You’re free to go, if you’d like,” he went to the kitchen while explaining in his soft melodic voice. “Here’s the house key.”
Taekwoon handed over a metal key, careful not to brush his fingers with Hakyeon’s in the exchange. “Just make sure to return by the early afternoon to be here for the children. If you stay, you may eat anything you’d like. I just ask that use your time appropriately and either clean or do laundry…or both.”
Hakyeon nodded in acknowledgement that he heard everything Taekwoon was saying even if he couldn’t look directly into his eyes like he usually did when conversing with another person.
“I have a meeting today so I won’t be home until late.”
With those last words, Taekwoon didn’t give Hakyeon a last glance before he headed out the door leading to the garage.
There was too much at stake in the moment to catch another glimpse of those tan features; Taekwoon admittedly might end up making a fool of himself again and stutter out an ambiguous, “but”.
He blamed it on his nerves for it being the first day he was entrusting his household and family to someone he barely knew.
~*~
In the meeting, Taekwoon paused to glance at his phone; there were no new messages. He supposed that meant everything was going well.
As it was already evening, his sandwich having successfully tided his stomach over until now, he was beginning to get restless. The Chief Editor kept pointing at a display board, relaying their next quarter’s goals.
His stomach grumbled and his hand swept over his shirt, as if that’d suppress the noise from disturbing the meeting.
Taekwoon’s curiosity kept drifting to what Hakyeon could possibly be doing at home: was he currently in a ninja battle with Hyogi, or pouring over a textbook with Binah? Maybe he was tangled up in rope and being double ambushed. More importantly, was he cooking dinner?
Swallowing quietly, Taekwoon reached for his phone and slid it onto his lap beneath the table, carefully texting the words to a recently added contact.
“What’s for dinner?”
Hakyeon was busy hanging up the last load of laundry on the drying racks when he felt his pocket buzz, reaching to pull out his phone.
A smile crept across his face as he read the message, not knowing why because it was a perfectly acceptable question for Taekwoon to ask given the time of night it was.
“Oooh! Is it from your girlfriend?” Binah had snuck up next to him, startling him, and he almost dropped the phone, “N-no!” Why was he stuttering? “It was your father wondering what we’re having for dinner.”
Binah simply giggled before hugging Hakyeon around the waist as far as her little arms could reach, grinning up at him with that all-knowing smile that Hakyeon could feel he was going to begin to distrust, “Can we have macaroni and cheese? Daddy bought it special for us!”
How could he say no? Especially when she was batting those long eyelashes over her large, pretty brown eyes; Hakyeon guessed she had gotten them from her mother.
“Of course, now go finish cleaning your room before your father gets home.” Hakyeon sent her off with a hair ruffle and a wink, Binah giggling shyly as she retreated back to her bedroom.
Hakyeon pulled the message back up on his phone and began carefully typing, wanting to avoid any typos or autocorrect incidents that circulated around the internet in mass quantities.
“Binah requested mac and cheese! Hope that’s ok!”
He sent the first one off, pausing for a few seconds before sending another.
“I hope it isn’t too hard :)”
“Work I mean! I hope work isn’t too hard!”
“Shit!”
Hakyeon clamped a hand over his mouth, hoping one of the children hadn’t decided to try and skirt their chores again by wandering out into the living room and overheard him; that would be a hell of a thing to have to explain to Taekwoon how his children had picked up a colorful new word.
He wanted to beat himself over the head with his phone, wondering why in the hell he had sent that second message; of course Taekwoon would have known he meant work!
Nothing could be done about it now though and Hakyeon just prayed again, something he felt like he’d be doing a lot of at this job, that Taekwoon wouldn’t bring it up.
It’s not like Hakyeon knew that on the other side of the phone Taekwoon was currently staring his screen down with the notification, a straight-laced poker face masking the way he was fidgeting in the swivel chair.
Is it Taekwoon’s fault that he’s now recalling Hakyeon’s comment, about women at the office crushing on him? Yes, Taekwoon had heard Hakyeon’s mumbled words and yes, he pretended not to hear for it wasn’t worth entertaining.
Taekwoon’s eyes shifted over to one of the female editors sitting across the conference table. She smiled at him slowly and he averted his gaze.
“Hakyeonie-hyung, I’m hungry.” Hyogi had ventured out now, lips pushed into a full pouty display. His little hands were clutching at his chubby belly but the pout didn’t last long as a loud grumble from his stomach sent Hyogi into a fit of giggles.
Hakyeon joined in his laughter, poking at the boy’s stomach playfully, “Looks like the little monster is hungry. Go tell Binah it’s time to wash up and I’ll get dinner started.”
Hyogi skipped off to happily go boss his sister while Hakyeon draped the few remaining articles of clothing over the bars of the drying rack; thankfully neither child was there to see the blush that overtook his face when he had to hang Taekwoon’s boxer briefs.
~*~
Hakyeon had spent the afternoon cleaning and doing laundry, the amount of work needing to be done around the dust-covered and toy-ridden house had been more than enough to keep him busy for hours until Binah and Hyogi had returned home.
They were an overwhelming amount of energy the second they stepped through the door, a lethal combination as they had thrown themselves at Hakyeon, who was vacuuming the rugs, almost knocking him to the floor.
It had been a bit of a rough afternoon: Binah’s homework was on biology, something Hakyeon had never done well with and it turned more into her tutoring Hakyeon on what she was learning than of Hakyeon being any actual help.
Hyogi had finished all his work at school, insistently tugging on Hakyeon’s arm while he was trying to help his sister finish hers.
Binah had excused Hakyeon to go play with Hygi after the third time of explaining something to him about sitosis, mitosis, ditosis...something. Did eight year olds really learn this stuff these days?
“Waaaah!” It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that Hyogi was sitting in the middle of the floor crying. Hakyeon had been chasing him around and in the process Hyogi had run his shin into one of the sharp corners of the coffee table.
Thankfully it wasn’t a deep cut, easily fixed with a Transformers band-aid and a kiss. Hakyeon had cradled Hyogi in his lap until he had settled down, and then it was back to their ninja battle.
Despite the little hiccups, the kids had listened well and Hakyeon was having a lot of fun, knowing this was something he would be happy to do every day.
By the time Taekwoon returned home, Binah and Hyogi were already seated at the table and eating, trying their best to beg Hakyeon into taking them out for ice cream after dinner.
With his wool coat already off, briefcase tucked beside the couch in the living room, Taekwoon approached the table with a warm smile. He came to hug Hyogi from behind who was already reaching for him.
“Guess what! Hyung made us mac and cheese!” Hyogi pointed to his empty bowl with remnants of melted cheese on the ceramic.
“And he’s about to take us for ice cream!” Binah slipped in sneakily, though Taekwoon caught the surprised look on Hakyeon’s face.
“Yeah! Ice cream!” Hyogi was not too far behind, continuing their dessert haggling.
“It’s too late for ice cream. Tomorrow you have school,” Taekwoon interrupted their duet of pleads.
“But dad! We finished our homework and Hakyeonnie-oppa cleaned the whole house! We should celebrate his first day!” Binah put on her best pout, lower lip sticking out so far. Taekwoon wanted to allot this trait to her mother, but he begrudgingly knew that he was the king of pouts.
“Ah… he did?” Taekwoon blinked, straightening up as he took a scan of the surrounding area.
It was true. The stains on the backsplash in the kitchen and the toys that had been laid to rest on the carpet were now all cleaned up.
“I’ll eat first and then…we can go for ice cream,” Taekwoon caved in, bracing himself as he knew what was to come. Binah and Hyogi both jumped up from their seats and bombarded him with tight hugs, jumping up and down as they squealed in delight.
Taekwoon directed his gaze over to Hakyeon, appreciation written across his face the best he could, feeling the signs of a smile tugging at his lips.
“You know I’ve been fighting them off about ice cream for over half an hour? You just ruined all my hardwork.” Hakyeon stood with hands on his hips for a moment, tsking Taekwoon before matching the smile he received, “Alright, go get washed up and put your warm clothes on while your father eats, it’s getting chilly out.”
Binah and Hyogi were about to dart from the table before Hakyeon halted them with a clearing of his throat, both kids bringing their empty dishes to the sink before scurrying off.
Hakyeon removed two bowls from the cupboard, grabbing two forks from the nearby drawer, scooping them both some of the yellow pasta before placing them at the empty seats at the table, “I hope you don’t mind if I eat with you, I wanted to make sure the kids had their fill first.”
And make sure you weren’t eating alone but that part remained unvoiced.
“You never told me how much they could eat, I had to make an extra box once they devoured the first.” Hakyeon commented as he took his chair, stabbing the noodles and placing a large bite into his mouth.
He chewed a few times before continuing, shielding his partially full mouth with a hand, “How was work? I hope the sandwich helped?”
Taekwoon had been quiet until then, patiently at the table and eating his food diligently. At the question, he nodded while spooning another round of the cheesy noodles into his mouth.
Just a few spoonfuls later it felt, Taekwoon was finishing up his bowl, scraping along the edges. “Mm, that was good.” It was easy and simple, but he sensed right away there were some ingredients Hakyeon added on his own, “Did you put extra cheese in this? And some herbs?”
“My mom used to make it this way when I was younger. She tells me I was quite the cheese enthusiast.” Even though it wasn’t much conversation it was still some, and Taekwoon was even going so far as to ask a question himself.
Hearing Hakyeon’s answer, Taekwoon felt this fluttering in his chest. Hakyeon was truly a cook if he learned from his mother, and food was definitely the way to Taekwoon’s…happiness.
“We’re ready!!!” Came the unison of his children, stomping back into the kitchen.
Binah was in a deep blue coat, the hood lined with gray fur that tickled along her round, flushed cheeks. Hyogi was in a black jacket, wearing his ninja bandanna and jumping from one foot to the other; Taekwoon wondered at times how he was blessed to have such adorable kids.
“Let’s go!” Hakyeon exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as the children as he quickly cleared the dishes from the table.
Once he was dressed in his black leather jacket, white beanie and matching gloves Hakyeon ushered the kids outside. As they started walking down the street, Binah and Hyogi each slipped one of their hands into Hakyeon’s as they excitedly discussed which ice cream flavors were the best.
Taekwoon didn’t remember the last time he had taken his children out for ice cream.
For as much as he loved sweets one would think he’d make this a weekly ritual; however, as they stood in the ice cream parlor, looking at the different flavors through the display case, Taekwoon just as enthusiastically asked for tasting samples.
His eyes lit up in particular when he had an almond cheesecake bite, liking the perfect balance of sweetness.
Hakyeon tended to be a creature of habit once he found something he really enjoyed; it was why his selected flavor of milk had been banana for over 10 years.
He already knew he was going to get mint chocolate chip, but seeing the fun the rest of them were having, surprisingly Taekwoon as well, Hakyeon decided that sampling a few other flavors wouldn’t hurt.
Glancing over at Hakyeon with this unseen vibrance to his eyes, an extra bounce in his toes even as he wiggled some in his spot, he asked him, “How was the peanut butter fudge?”
He was deciding if he wanted to try that one too.
“Hmm?” Hakyeon had taken a small lick of the sample, letting the sweet flavor settle on his tongue as he turned towards Taekwoon, “It’s really good! Here, try some!” He held the small plastic spoon up to Taekwoon’s mouth, shifting his gaze over to the kids as they were beginning to get a little carried away.
“Ok that’s enough now. Pick your flavor.”
Taekwoon of course took this opportunity to take the spoon from Hakyeon’s hand and try the flavor himself, turning his back to Hakyeon while he slipped the small plastic spoon into his mouth. Well that just made his decision harder.
Shortly after they were leaving the store with their cones in hand: Hakyeon with his green mint chocolate chip, Binah with cream Birthday Cake Batter, and Hyogi with his red and blue Superman scoops.
The kids walked ahead of Hakyeon and Taekwoon, babbling away in some sort of language Hakyeon figured they had created themselves.
He chuckled as he looked up at Taekwoon, “So what flavor did you decide on, Taekwoon-ssi?” Hakyeon asked as he licked at his cone.
“The almond cheesecake and peanut butter fudge.” Who said he had to settle on just one? Taekwoon was a happy bumbling bee, humming to himself after each avid lick of ice cream.
Hakyeon laughed immediately at the answer, giving Taekwoon a playful nudge with his shoulder, “That’s cheating!”
With this pleasant glow on his paler features, illustrating a resemblance to his children’s faces, Taekwoon looked like he became twenty years younger. His stoic father demeanor transformed into this carefree spirit that was eating ice cream on a cold night, wearing a suit.
Thankfully Taekwoon seemed completely absorbed in enjoying his ice cream, which Hakyeon was glad for because he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off him. Aside from the few times he glanced ahead to make sure Hyogi and Binah hadn’t run off, his gaze was fixed up at Taekwoon from the corner of his eyes.
It was nice seeing this side of Taekwoon, Hakyeon thought, really nice apparently as he could feel his heart beginning to race again seeing this entirely new side taking over him; Hakyeon hadn’t even noticed he had stopped eating his ice cream until he felt the cold, melted liquid dripping down onto his hand.
By the time they had reached the house, Taekwoon was taking the final crunchy bite of his cone, his cheeks puffed out due to the rest of the cone still stuffed within.
When they stepped back into the warmth of the house, Taekwoon and Hakyeon helped the children out of their coats so they wouldn't drop the remainder of their ice cream.
"Hurry and eat so you can get ready for bed," Taekwoon ordered.
Hyogi looked up and there was a thick strip of red and blue along his upper lip. "I'm almost done!" He announced to the room, proud that he hadn't dropped any on the ground--or his father.
Binah must've read Hyogi's mind for she hooted out, "Remember that time you got ice cream all over daddy's pants? He was so embarrassed when he had to ask for napkins from that pretty lady!"
Taekwoon frowned. Why did his children always bring up embarrassing stories?
He refused to look at Hakyeon though he did listen for his response while he led the children to their rooms.
“Goodnight pretty Binah, goodnight Master Hyogi! I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Not knowing whether he was supposed to leave or stay at this point, Hakyeon just lingered around the front door while waiting for Taekwoon to return; he at least wanted to say his goodbyes to him as well.
As Hyogi laid there, teeth freshly brushed for bed and holding onto his yellow Minion plush, he looked up at Taekwoon with the biggest eyes.
"Daddy, are we gonna get to eat ice cream every day now with Hakyeon-hyung around?"
Taekwoon sighed out a laugh, shaking his head as he smoothed the edge of the blanket about his son's shoulders. "No....do you like him?"
Since Taekwoon was still warming up to the idea of Hakyeon around, he needed affirmation from his children since their feelings were more important.
The floppy nod from Hyogi was enough to reassure him. Smiling softly, Taekwoon kissed him goodnight and left the room.
Binah was already asleep by the time he reached her room, surprised to see her passed out already; it looked like she was trying to squeeze in a few more science terms, her book sprawled on her chest with her little fingers still clinging to it.
He removed it gently and ran a hand through her hair. Binah looked a lot like her mom: dewdrop eyes, a smile betraying some mischief and her firecracker personality brought it all together.
When he came back out, his thoughts fell silent as soon as his eyes laid on Hakyeon.
“So it seems like you meet a lot of pretty ladies.” Hakyeon remarked, saving his comment for when Taekwoon had returned from tucking the kids in.
His hands were stuffed into his jacket pockets, a little smear of ice cream left forgotten on the corner of his lips that were stretched into a teasing smile.
He couldn’t help but wonder if those ladies felt like he did right now: heart still pounding, palms sweaty, his nerves twisting his stomach into knots.
What sort of attention had Taekwoon given them? Had they gotten to see his thin lips pulled into a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes so adorably? Had they gotten to see the way Taekwoon’s face lit up whenever he was around his children?
The sudden thoughts plaguing Hakyeon’s mind made him feel ridiculous, wishing he had said his goodbye to Taekwoon with the children so he could go curl himself up in a heap of blankets and ponder these things in the safe privacy of his apartment.
"A lot of women are pretty," was Taekwoon's bland reply. He walked past to the kitchen, his gentler voice piping up, "Would you like some tea?"
Hakyeon's eyes had rolled halfway back into his head before he caught on that he was doing it; why did he continue to tease Taekwoon when clearly he was getting no reaction? At this point Hakyeon figured it was just his stubbornness, determined to get some sort of chuckle or even a tiny smile out of him.
Taekwoon skirted around Hakyeon's comment for the basic fact that he had no interest in these mentioned pretty ladies. There was only one pretty woman in his life and she was gone.
Well, he supposed Binah would become a pretty woman one day too. But that was too far in the future to think about.
“Tea sounds great.” Hakyeon answered even though Taekwoon had already started the water, essentially making up his mind for him.
While waiting for the water boiler, Taekwoon leaned back against a counter to fold his arms and stare at Hakyeon.
Taekwoon stared directly at him probably for the first time so intently. He just hadn't figured Hakyeon out yet and Taekwoon was normally astute with the people he cared to know about.
Following Taekwoon into the kitchen, Hakyeon paused a few feet away when he felt the small, dark eyes boring into him too intensely, “Is there….something on my face?”
Hakyeon felt around his cheeks and then looked down at his clothes, thinking he had spilt some ice cream there. Nope, all clear.
Unfortunately Hakyeon missed the corner of his mouth which still had a dab of that mint chocolate. Taekwoon noticed it of course, but he kept silent about it, finding it too awkward to point it out.
Hakyeon slowly pulled out a chair, carefully, as if any sudden movement would have Taekwoon springing on him like some animal stalking their prey.
That’s what he felt like right now, Taekwoon’s prey. He couldn’t imagine anything good swimming around in that handsome head of his; he was thankful Taekwoon couldn’t see what was going on in his own either.
Once Hakyeon had sunk his body down into the chair, still warily watching Taekwoon, he tilted his head to the side and flashed his straight line of white teeth, “Go ahead, ask me anything.”
If Taekwoon was going to study him so intently, Hakyeon at least wanted to give Taekwoon the truth and not leave him whatever crazy concoctions were brewing in his mind.
What Taekwoon didn't understand was what Hakyeon's intentions were.
Taekwoon always viewed life as valuable since you didn't know how short it could be, so did Hakyeon plan on always working and being with kids? What kind of aspirations did he have, as predictable as that question was.
"What do you want to be?" He left it open-ended, up to Hakyeon's interpretation.
What did he want to be? Of all the questions Taekwoon could have ask that was one on a short list Hakyeon didn’t have an immediate or planned answer for.
“Well…” He paused a moment, thinking, “When I was seven I wanted to be a dolphin until my mom told me that people couldn’t turn into animals. I cried every night for a week.”
Embarrassing, yes, but it only felt fair since Taekwoon, or rather his children, had shared some stories with him already.
Hakyeon's response almost dug out a smile from Taekwoon--almost. The only factor retaining it was that Taekwoon thought there was an uncanny resemblance between Hakyeon and dolphins. It was too similar to be funny.
“Now though?” Hakyeon shifted his weight in the chair, leaning back as he chewed on the corner of his lip thoughtfully, “I majored in dance so it would make sense to do something with that ideally I guess.”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth as he pondered about the future a little more; he was only 25, still young, but many of his friends had settled into their chosen career paths already and he was still floundering around.
“It would be nice to open up my own dance studio. I mean I’ve thought about it quite a lot but it takes so much money and time and planning that it’s truthfully something I don’t ever see happening.”
It was disheartening, yes, but while usually an optimist Hakyeon was also a realist as well.
Taekwoon knew from the interview that Hakyeon worked at a dance studio, teaching all age ranges including kids.
Once upon a time he would've criticized that mindframe, of establishing a stable living off of dreams like dance, but after meeting his wife he understood that some people didn't care about the money. They wanted to do what felt right and live off their passions--that was all the stability they needed.
Taekwoon was where he was now due to following a dream.
“What is your job, anyways?” Hakyeon inquired in return, realizing he still didn’t know what Taekwoon did for a living.
"Ah," Taekwoon croaked, the tiny sound coming out rather surprisingly. Lowering his eyes finally, the tips of his ears peeking out from his jet black hair burning a bright red, he answered more appropriately. "I'm...a published author."
Taekwoon left it at that, suddenly feeling all of the universe's embarrassment pounding down on him.
Thankfully the boiler started rumbling and he turned, clicking it off. Taking out two mugs, he poured steaming water into each one. Then he took out the jasmine tea, putting the fresh bags into the mugs and letting them steep.
With his back to Hakyeon now, he could use this moment to recollect himself.
If Hakyeon’s brows weren't hidden beneath his thick bangs Taekwoon would have seen them shoot right up and almost off his forehead, “You’re an author?”
There was no sense in hiding the surprise in his voice but it was a pleasant surprise, “With the fancy suit and all I assumed you were some stuck-up corporate floozy.” Not that that was a bad thing, it certainly would have explained why Taekwoon always seemed so brooding whenever his kids weren’t around.
“So what kind of author are you? How many books have you published? Are you famous?”
Hakyeon was up from his seat and suddenly perched on the counter next to where Taekwoon was fixing their tea, shamelessly berating him with questions now that one more piece of his Taekwoon puzzle had been put in place.
This was the part that he was more hesitant to answer. Taekwoon didn't bode well with sharing this information, since most people always made a big deal out of how it didn't suit him, or worse, how awfully adorable of him.
Clearing his throat, he simply said in a mysterious manner. "Next time you can look in one of my children's rooms. I have some books in there."
Hakyeon made a mental note to interrogate Binah and Hyogi about this after school tomorrow.
That was that, and Taekwoon made it final by sliding a mug over to Hakyeon still perched there. He lifted his own to blow across the surface before sipping slowly.
The mug was left untouched; truth be told Hakyeon had only used the offer of tea as an excuse to spend a little alone time with Taekwoon on the off chance that he might get to learn a little more about him, but it seemed Hakyeon was the one doing all the sharing.
"Mm...do you want kids of your own one day?" This may have been a too personal question, but Taekwoon assumed it was still appropriate. Hakyeon didn't seem like the type to mind talking.
This question Hakyeon was more than prepared to answer, unable to even fathom the amount of hours he had spent asking himself the same thing and playing over the choices in his mind.
“I’ve wanted kids for as long as I can remember," he started, leaning back on his hands as if he were settling in for a long stay, which “long” was what his story was about to become. "One of my clearest memories from my childhood was my mom scolding me for always taking my older sister’s baby dolls and playing with them myself. She had so many and my parents wouldn’t just buy me my own. I got so mad.”
Hakyeon chuckled to himself as he relived the memory, his legs swaying as they dangled over the edge of the counter.
His eyes turned away from Taekwoon as he continued, Hakyeon feeling the tiniest bit self-conscious about just how much he was about to share, “I always thought I’d be married with kids by the time I was 30. My parents got married and had kids young and that’s what I always wanted to do. They were my role models and I set really high standards for myself because I didn’t want to settle for anything less than the true love I saw between my parents. I guess that’s come back around to bite me in the as-butt--"
He had to do better at remembering there were still kids around; even though Hyogi and Binah were in bed he knew children these days had ears like a bat’s and always picked up on the things their parents didn’t want them hearing, never listening to what they were actually supposed to.
"--I had a pretty serious girlfriend in high school but then we broke up before I went into the military. Then I went right into college. I dated a few girls, a couple guys, and while I got along really, really well with a couple of them it just never quite clicked. I didn’t feel what I felt looking at my mom and dad. I was never the type for one-night stands or sloppy relationships and I never really found anyone interested in something so serious at such a young age.”
Occasionally he would glance over at Taekwoon, hoping he wasn’t boring him to death.
“By the time I knew it I was graduating, single, and still looking for a full-time job. Now here I am, 25, no dating life and barely able to support myself, let alone another person or family.”
Hakyeon gave a rather heavy sigh, glancing over at Taekwoon and offering a small smile, “Ah, I’m sorry. You probably weren’t expecting a grand-telling of my life. But when you get to know me you really get to know me.”
He reached up and patted Taekwoon on the shoulder before hopping down from the counter, “I’ve never seen much point in holding anything back so when someone wants to know something about me, they get to know it all. I guess this was me easing you in.”
Taekwoon was positive Hakyeon just exhausted every word in the dictionary. One innocent t question certainly gave him more than he bargained for.
Silence dragged on, for he didn't know exactly how to respond. His original question had been answered but so had many more questions that he wasn't intending on ever asking.
"You could've eased me in slower," Taekwoon muttered, not realizing what innuendo his words held.
“Better to find out sooner rather than later, huh?” Hakyeon rebuttaled, trying not to let his mind overthink Taekwoon’s words all while pressing back a rising blush.
"It'll take me a few days to process all of that." His words were frank, but as he lifted his eyes to Hakyeon, he added, "I think I've heard enough for tonight."
And finally, out of the blue, Taekwoon slowly smiled. Hakyeon was truly a character and Taekwoon began to understand that Hakyeon was more than just his surface level of warmth and friendliness.
Hakyeon was clearly transparent, introspective and self aware. Taekwoon liked that. It made Hakyeon easier to trust.
"If you're not going to drink your tea, you can leave." Taekwoon assumed Hakyeon knew how to get home. He arrived somehow so he could leave the same way too.
Momentarily distracted by the smile, more like blind-sided, the rest of whatever Taekwoon said was all muffled gargon yet somehow the words “tea” and “leave” jogged him back to the present moment and Hakyeon quickly wrapped his hands around the mug and brought it to his lips, “I’m drinking it! See-ah! Damnit it’s still hot!”
So much for watching his language.
Hakyeon’s face twisted in displeasure at having burned his tongue. Thankfully the tea hadn’t been scalding, having cooled some while Hakyeon had been going on and on and on and on about himself.
Hakyeon kept his tongue out though, waving it around as if circling it in the air would have some sort of cooling effect on the burn, his eyes crossing in the process.
Taekwoon's fatherly instinct cut in, swiftly crossing over to the freezer and within seconds while Hakyeon was fooling around with his tongue, Taekwoon suddenly presented him with an ice cube. It delicately sat in the palm of his hand.
"Suck on this," he commanded, staring with furrowed brows at Hakyeon. This was Taekwoon's way of showing concern, his intent imploring stare.
There was no stopping the red that crawled up all the way from Hakyeon’s neck to the tip of his ears, coloring his already dark skin an even deeper shade of bronze.
Taekwoon just had to say it like that, hadn’t he? Hakyeon supposed there was no other way to say it…put this on your tongue would have had his mind dancing around the gutter just as much. Lord, when had he become so perverted?
Wordlessly he snatched the ice cube from Taekwoon’s hand and popped it into his mouth, presenting him with a thumbs up as his face contorted to try and adjust to the cold sensation numbing the inside of his mouth, “Sanks.”
Hakyeon finally replied after most of the ice cube had melted, his tongue feeling better though still a bit tingly, creating a slight lisp.
“Ah, it’s late, I should get going.” Hakyeon couldn’t afford to embarrass himself further, quickly turning and shuffling across the wooden floor to the door.
Taekwoon did agree that this was a good idea. Hakyeon probably had to wake up even earlier since he needed to travel all the way back here. He never asked where Hakyeon actually lived.
Walking with him to the door, he watched out of the corner of his eyes as Hakyeon slipped into his shoes and pulled on his leather jacket; the fabric to it looked supple, forming along Hakyeon's arms nicely.
"Be safe going home," Taekwoon politely said.
Hakyeon gave him a smile and benignly bowed out. Taekwoon quietly watched as Hakyeon made his way down the pathway.
Hakyeon stopped once, turning on his boots to wave goodbye and call out, "Good night, Taekwoon-ssi! Have sweet dreams!"
When Taekwoon shut the door, he released a big sigh he didn't notice he was holding. Only one day had passed and Taekwoon was already feeling like...actually, he didn't know how he felt.
That thought alone scared Taekwoon more.
>>Chapter 3<<
a/n: Sorry we're not consistent with updating this or posting stories ;; We're just posting as we right and our schedules don't like up very often >: Thank you for all the love, support and patience! And don't worry, the mystery of the ice cream will be solved next chapter! ~Mars
Yesterday was my birthday and I was hoping to post this then, sorry it's one day late but I hope you enjoy! ~ JKun
Pairing: Neo
Word Count: 9,300+
Rating: G. (Warning of cuteness overload and Hakyeon's inappropriate thoughts)
Summary: Single father Taekwoon hires a nanny...for the kids, not for himself. And it's Hakyeon's first day.
| Chapter 1|
“Hello, Hakyeon-ssi?” Taekwoon held the phone up to his ear, sitting at his cubicle during his lunch break.
“Oh! Taekwoon-ssi, hello! How are you?” Hakyeon was loitering at a cafe killing time before he had to be at the dance studio; it just so happened to be the same cafe he had met Taekwoon at less than 24 hours ago.
His voice was light, polite as he clicked away on his laptop’s touchpad, browsing through the “help wanted” ads again, “How are Hyogi and Binah? Did they behave themselves after I left?”
A light chuckle followed though there was a hint of nervousness lingering in the undertones of his voice; he was preparing himself for the worst, that this was a rejection call.
Hakyeon mentally cursed himself, knowing he shouldn’t have said such stupid things while at dinner, let himself get so flustered he had shamelessly flirted with Taekwoon, or gotten so attached to Hyogi and Binah. “Ah, I’m sorry if the kids caused any trouble because of me. I know some kids act out when there’s strange people in the house.”
“No, no, they were fine. That’s how they always are,” Taekwoon informed, knowing his children the best. In fact, they were so much like their normal selves that Taekwoon was more worried about that than anything.
“Oh I’m glad!” Hakyeon quickly blurted out before realizing he was interrupting, that Taekwoon had more to say, “Oh, sorry.”
“I…” Taekwoon started again once Hakyeon apologized. Knowing he rehearsed this many times but as per usual, the words slipped his mind and left him scrambling for replacement ones, “...want you.”
Hakyeon had to drop his phone to keep his coffee from spilling onto his computer at the blunt “confession”, the cup having slipped from his hands as he was in the process of taking a drink when Taekwoon spoke.
Taekwoon’s palm slapped at his forehead, cursing himself mentally. “I want you to be my nanny. The kids’ nanny,” he corrected his slip of the tongue, his eyes fleeting to the wall of his cubicle to make sure no one was passing by. It would be difficult to explain the current shade of red on his face.
“A-Ah...yes, yes of course. The kids’ nanny.” Hakyeon went silent for a moment after he had recovered his phone and placed his coffee at a safe distance from his computer, “Wait, that means I’m hired! Oh my god!”
Hakyeon leapt from his seat as he shouted, the other patrons in the cafe shooting him a mix of strange and annoyed glances as he disrupted the quiet atmosphere.
Taekwoon as well had jerked his phone away from his ear, staring at the touch screen with a reprimanding glare that obviously went unseen. Slowly returning the device back to his ear, his hardened features slowly softened and he smiled; it was a benign smile at the realization that Hakyeon was truly excited to be with his kids.
With hushed apologies Hakyeon sat back down, closing his computer as he lowered his voice, “When do you want me to start? …tomorrow? I can do that! What time do the kids start school? ….ok I’ll be by at seven then. Ah, thank you so much, Taekwoon-ssi! Thank you, thank you!”
After agreeing on a start time, Taekwoon hung up the phone. It was perfect timing for Wonshik walked up right at that moment, peeking over the top of his cubicle.
“What’s with the smile?”
Okay, it was awful timing. Taekwoon flicked his eyes up, any false traces of a smile instantly hollowing out into a frown. “What smile?”
His cover up didn’t deter Wonshik though, who knowingly grinned with a small shrug, “Nothing. I’ll…come back later at a better time.”
Taekwoon swore he saw Wonshik’s eyebrows bounce as he walked off.
Sighing deeply, he swiveled his chair back to his computer and furiously started typing his reports. Not even five minutes passed before his mind was already drifting back to an excited voice and imagining the smile that matched it.
~*~
Even though Hakyeon still had another hour before he needed to leave for the studio, he was too happy to sit still. He was going to see Taekwoon again. No, the kids! He was going to see the kids again, every day, and he was thrilled.
“Today is your last day? Aww, Hakyeon-ah what are we going to do without you?”
“It won’t be the same without you.”
“No one else here is as cute as you.”
Hakyeon had broken the news to the mothers of his students, earning him sympathetic pouts and sweet compliments.
“I will still work on weekends, don’t worry,” he reassured them with a warm smile, bringing their own smiles back to their faces.
The mothers’ smiles quickly shifted into sly grins as they interrogated him about this new job, relentlessly teasing when they found out that Hakyeon was going to be working as a nanny.
“A single father?”
“Is he cute?”
“How tall is he?”
Things only got worse once they caught sight of the red rising to the surface of Hakyeon’s cheeks, quickly shooing them out so he could start class.
~*~
The next morning, the Jung family’s daily routine started.
Binah and Hyogi woke Taekwoon up five minutes before his alarm sounded. He poured the cereal while still half asleep, causing the sugary puffs to spill over the edges of the bowl.
His shirt was inside out--he hadn’t detected that mistake yet, too occupied with finding Binah’s other matching sock. He had forgotten to set aside her school uniform the night before, running into the same fiasco as the previous day of mismatched socks.
At this particular serendipitous moment, the doorbell to the house rang out.
Taekwoon paused, wondering who could be at their house this early when all of a sudden he remembered. Straightening up in a slight panic, he abandoned Binah who was sitting on her bed, one sock on and the other foot still bare.
“Hey!” she called out indignantly, wiggling her toes. Her father was out of the room too quickly.
Taekwoon rushed through the hallway to the front room. He paused though, his abrupt haste slowing to a halt. On the other side of that door was the key to resetting his life with his family. Today marked the calendar for when hopefully their life would change for the better.
Breathing in and out, he reached out for the knob and turned, pulling it open with ease.
The vision of Hakyeon standing there on this doorstep sent Taekwoon’s heart for a loop, his poor racing organ landing in the pit of his stomach.
Dressed in a navy and white striped long-sleeve that hung a bit baggy on his thin frame and light wash blue-jeans rolled up to his ankles, Hakyeon was looking rather well kempt and chipper for it being so early in the morning. His hair even seemed to have an extra bounce to it as well.
“Good morning, Taekwoon-ssi!”
While he gave off the impression he was quite the morning person, what Taekwoon didn’t know was that Hakyeon had been up an hour before his alarm went off getting himself ready. His room had turned into a warzone with the amount of clothes thrown over every surface of the small space.
Hakyeon hadn’t been able to come up with a justifiable excuse to why he had put so much effort into making himself look so presentable.
Sure, it was his first day of work but if the interview was any indication of what this job was going to be like, he would be a sweaty and ruffled messed by the time he was finished playing with Binah and Hyogi when they returned from school.
Taekwoon didn’t feel half as remarkable nor put together yet. His inside-out shirt was still unbuttoned, the undershirt beneath barely tucked into the waist of his slacks. He hadn’t delinted them yet, the black fabric having a mysterious green string on the pant leg, waiting to be detected. And of course his hair was still a bit tousled from sleep.
The only two things he’d really accomplished so far was finding his own matching socks and brushing his teeth.
Finally, he felt his mind creaking into coherency, enough for him to greet Hakyeon with a simple, “Good morning.”
Taekwoon stepped back to allow Hakyeon inside.
Hakyeon couldn’t hide the laugh that crept up at Taekwoon’s disheveled appearance, smiling brightly as he stepped inside and toed off his black boots, “Ahh, rough morning?”
A cafe cup was pushed into Taekwoon’s hands, Hakyeon having overheard what he had ordered the other day when they had met for his interview, “Looks like you could use this.”
Glory of the heavens, the clouds just opened up and light shone down onto this paper cup of coffee. “Thanks,” he quickly showed his appreciation and cupped it gingerly in his large hands.
Hakyeon stood with his hands on his hips now, eyes fully assessing just what the damage of Taekwoon’s appearance was, “Ah, you get yourself fixed up, Taekwoon-ssi. I’ll go take care of the kids.”
Hakyeon gave Taekwoon a reassuring pat on the shoulder, noticing something on his pant leg then reaching down to remove the mysterious green thread from his slacks.
Taekwoon held a large breath at the unexpected touch, about to ask what he was doing; the green string between his fingers said it all though and his pufferfish reaction quickly diffused.
Hakyeon lingered for a moment as he twisted the string between his fingers, thinking about just how adorable Taekwoon looked in his rushed morning state and noticing that his heart had begun to beat a little faster, “Ah, I would start with putting your shirt on properly.”
Taekwoon’s small eyes enlarged as he dipped his chin down, pulling at the seams of his unbuttoned shirt to see they were indeed inside-out. This was now how Taekwoon wanted to convey himself to Hakyeon, but he supposed it was realistic and further proved why he needed Hakyeon in the first place.
He immediately began to one-handedly pull his undershirt free from his pants, heading further into the house as he started removing the button up as well, the back of his shoulders coming into view.
“The kids are in their rooms getting ready,” he announced to Hakyeon without looking over, honestly too embarrassed to face Hakyeon while he was still in a flustered, disorganized state.
Hakyeon could feel heat rising into his cheeks as he continued to smile, his eyes scanning over the pale span of Taekwoon’s broad shoulders, and before he got caught staring he retreated to the kids’ bedrooms, met immediately with delighted screams from both Binah and Hyogi.
“Thank god you’re here! This is a disaster!”
Hakyeon’s laughter echoed through the house as Binah was quick to throw her father under the bus, Hakyeon quick to swoop in and save the day.
It only took Hakyeon another ten minutes before he was ushering both kids towards the door, Binah’s missing sock found, slipping their backpacks onto their shoulders.
“But I’m a ninja! I have to wear my headband!” Hyogi whined, Hakyeon crouching down in front of him and ruffling his hair, “Ah, but Master Hyogi, a ninja’s greatest strength is his ability to be stealthy. How can you have that if everyone knows that you’re a ninja, hmm?”
Hyogi’s eyes widened in shock as he quickly untied the headband from around his forehead and hastily shoved it into Hakyeon’s hands, “You have to keep this a secret! Promise me, Hakyeonie-hyung!”
Another chuckle fell from Hakyeon as he stood and ran his fingers through the young boy’s hair to straighten it up, “Don’t worry, Master Hyogi. It’s our secret. Now go say goodbye to your father.”
Taekwoon had been listening in the whole morning while he was reestablishing himself; to hear the laughter coming from the other rooms placed a smile on his features.
For the first time in a long time, he actually felt relieved. There was no added stress of combing his hair for two seconds in between getting Hyogi to put on his school uniform, and definitely no anxiety from sipping down a few drops of coffee after getting them both to brush their teeth.
When his children had run up to him as he was leaving his bedroom, ready to leave for work as well, Binah’s shocked appraisal only proved the difference. “Wow, you combed your hair!”
Taekwoon would take that as an overall compliment.
He had done more than just comb his hair, dressing himself in a classic white dress shirt and complimentary patterned tie. His suit jacket was black, like his slacks; he would dress in all black if he could with just an accent of white or gray. The only reason he had that tie with some purples in it was because Binah forced him to purchase it.
Hakyeon hung back by the front door, arms casually crossed over his chest, watching the interaction between Taekwoon and his children and feeling his heart swell with warmth from the touching moment. He didn’t think he’d ever get sick of seeing how much love there was in this family. He truly felt blessed to be welcomed to witness it.
Patting at their backs as they squeezed his legs, Taekwoon glanced up to see Hakyeon standing there, still looking as clean and bubbly as when he arrived.
It was then Hakyeon took the initiative to wave the kids back over, opening the door in time to see the neighborhood group of children waiting for them. Binah ran right off, scampering exuberantly across the lawn and to the line of children wearing their yellow hats.
“You’ll be here later, right, hyung?” Hyogi had remained back. His round eyes and wide nose were turned upwards, peering straight at Hakyeon.
Taekwoon’s eyes shifted to Hakyeon, wondering what kind of magic he wafted over his family for the kids to become so attached to him already.
The expectant look in Hyogi’s eyes had Hakyeon hiding a snort of laughter behind his hand, “Of course I will! I’ll be here waiting to play with you when you get back from school so make sure you behave.”
Once Hakyeon answered, he stood there and waved, already stepping into the place Taekwoon would normally take. Taekwoon wasn’t offended. He was quite the opposite, pleased to witness the fruition of his decision already blossoming.
Hakyeon had stepped outside to watch the kids disappearing down the sidewalk until they were only voices ringing in through the quiet morning, and only once those had left the range of his hearing did he finally step back in.
Finally the door shut. “Mm, thanks again,” Taekwoon licked at his lips, a habit he undertook when he had nothing else to do with himself.
“It’s my pleasure! They’re such darling kids, I miss them already.” Hakyeon gave a little laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck.
His eyes wandered as he took the time to fully examine Taekwoon’s changed appearance, having begun to open his mouth to say something but the words caught in his throat.
Taekwoon was stunningly handsome in the charcoal suit, even if Hakyeon had a gun to his head he could never deny that. Every part of the suit hugged Taekwoon’s body perfectly, accentuating his still muscled frame even though Hakyeon was certain he hadn’t had the time to work out in years.
How this was even relevant to his job Hakyeon had no idea, but there was no harm in making a factual observation, right? The moms at the dance studio had asked if Taekwoon was handsome and Hakyeon owed them an honest report.
“I have to get going as well, but…” Taekwoon didn’t know how to end it, fading off awkwardly.
His legs also stayed where they were, locked into place as if waiting for Hakyeon to make the first move.
“But…?” It was the only part of Taekwoon’s comment that he had caught when he finally snapped back to the present moment, sure he was blushing quite profusely and his mouth was hanging open like in one of those absurd cartoons.
As his eyes were trailing back up to Taekwoon’s face he happened to catch a glimpse of the time on the clock on the wall behind him, “Oh! You’re going to be late for work!”
Hakyeon suddenly disappeared into the kitchen, the sounds of cupboards opening and closing a few times as well as the fridge reaching Taekwoon's ears.
He was thankful for the distraction for he wouldn't have been able to finish his sentence. But... what? But what Jung Taekwoon?
Confusion was inscribed on his face for several reasons. He certainly wondered what Hakyeon was doing to create such a commotion in the kitchen.
When Hakyeon came scurrying back, he had something in his hands.
“Binah and Hyogi told me you always come home late and hungry.” He presented Taekwoon with his briefcase which had been sitting on the kitchen table; Hakyeon had glimpsed at some of the papers inside but he hadn’t been able to make sense of what Taekwoon did for a living, “They made me promise I would make you a sandwich before you left so you wouldn’t get hungry at work, so it’s in here.”
The smile Hakyeon wore on his face felt rather childish, feeling more proud than he should have for listening to the demands of two young children and hoping to gain some sort of praise from Taekwoon, as if he were some young puppy waiting to be rewarded, when all he had done was just make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"Ah, I do get rather...hard to deal with when hungry." Taekwoon almost used the word "grumpy", but he didn't want to describe himself like that in front of Hakyeon.
Hakyeon couldn’t imagine Taekwoon grumpy, filling the word in for himself, but like everything Taekwoon did he would probably find that adorable as well.
"Thanks," Taekwoon said again while briefly meeting Hakyeon's eyes, noting quickly this was going to be one of his new favored vocabulary words with Hakyeon around.
Suddenly noticing that Taekwoon’s tie looked a bit loose, Hakyeon was setting the briefcase down, stepping close to Taekwoon, and putting his nimble fingers to work undoing the sloppy knot before he realized he hadn’t even asked if it was okay for him to be doing this.
“Oh, oh crap I’m sorry! It’s just...your tie was loose…” Hakyeon quickly dropped his hands, hiding them inside his long shirt sleeves as he glanced sheepishly at his socked feet tilting inwards in embarrassment.
After a moment of observing Hakyeon, Taekwoon's lips almost quirking up into an amused smile, he finally said rather dryly, "My tie is still undone."
The implication in his words were enough to hint to Hakyeon to at least finish his job and tie it properly.
Now Taekwoon was fully aware of how he could redo the silken fabric himself, but it was the act of letting Hakyeon walk away unabashed. If he finished the job maybe he wouldn't feel so shy around Taekwoon. This is what he told himself, ignoring any other prodding notions.
If Hakyeon wasn’t feeling foolish enough already it was definitely getting worse.
He was completely fine when Binah and Hyogi were around, having every excuse to be able to act like a huge dork when playing with the kids, but with them gone and him left alone with Taekwoon he completely unraveled in an entirely different way.
Hakyeon wasn’t shy, he didn’t get embarrassed, at least not easily.
He had interacted with plenty of parents before and attractive men and women. The only difference was those parents were all married, and the attractive men and women were the students at his old college he still lived near.
Taekwoon was both a single parent and incredibly attractive; Hakyeon was in uncharted territory, up the creek without a paddle as they’d say.
When Hakyeon started wordlessly redoing his tie, wrapping the two ends diligently around each other, Taekwooon carefully held his breath. The close proximity unnerved him for an unknown reason, but he wasn’t averse to it.
Just a glance away was Hakyeon's concentrating eyes and if he really focused, he could feel the nimble movements of his fingers.
Try as he might Hakyeon couldn’t bring himself to speak. He decided to try this new thing of repeating what he wanted to say over in his head a few times before actually letting himself speak.
You smell really nice...you smell really nice…Nope.
How do you keep your body in such good shape? How do you keep your body in such good shape? ...Absolutely not.
I bet all the women at work have a crush on you…
“I bet all the women at work have a crush on you.” The sound of his heartbeat was ringing in his ears as loud as if a chorus of bass drums pounded inside his head. Hakyeon froze, praying to whatever god that there was that Taekwoon hadn’t heard him.
When there was no response Hakyeon gave a deep exhale as he finished the final tuck of the fabric, thanking every deity in existence that he must have just mumbled it to himself; the closeness of their bodies was clearly making him lose his mind.
By the time Hakyeon finished, Taekwoon was gulping and quickly implementing his escape route, grabbing his briefcase at the last second. “You’re free to go, if you’d like,” he went to the kitchen while explaining in his soft melodic voice. “Here’s the house key.”
Taekwoon handed over a metal key, careful not to brush his fingers with Hakyeon’s in the exchange. “Just make sure to return by the early afternoon to be here for the children. If you stay, you may eat anything you’d like. I just ask that use your time appropriately and either clean or do laundry…or both.”
Hakyeon nodded in acknowledgement that he heard everything Taekwoon was saying even if he couldn’t look directly into his eyes like he usually did when conversing with another person.
“I have a meeting today so I won’t be home until late.”
With those last words, Taekwoon didn’t give Hakyeon a last glance before he headed out the door leading to the garage.
There was too much at stake in the moment to catch another glimpse of those tan features; Taekwoon admittedly might end up making a fool of himself again and stutter out an ambiguous, “but”.
He blamed it on his nerves for it being the first day he was entrusting his household and family to someone he barely knew.
~*~
In the meeting, Taekwoon paused to glance at his phone; there were no new messages. He supposed that meant everything was going well.
As it was already evening, his sandwich having successfully tided his stomach over until now, he was beginning to get restless. The Chief Editor kept pointing at a display board, relaying their next quarter’s goals.
His stomach grumbled and his hand swept over his shirt, as if that’d suppress the noise from disturbing the meeting.
Taekwoon’s curiosity kept drifting to what Hakyeon could possibly be doing at home: was he currently in a ninja battle with Hyogi, or pouring over a textbook with Binah? Maybe he was tangled up in rope and being double ambushed. More importantly, was he cooking dinner?
Swallowing quietly, Taekwoon reached for his phone and slid it onto his lap beneath the table, carefully texting the words to a recently added contact.
“What’s for dinner?”
Hakyeon was busy hanging up the last load of laundry on the drying racks when he felt his pocket buzz, reaching to pull out his phone.
A smile crept across his face as he read the message, not knowing why because it was a perfectly acceptable question for Taekwoon to ask given the time of night it was.
“Oooh! Is it from your girlfriend?” Binah had snuck up next to him, startling him, and he almost dropped the phone, “N-no!” Why was he stuttering? “It was your father wondering what we’re having for dinner.”
Binah simply giggled before hugging Hakyeon around the waist as far as her little arms could reach, grinning up at him with that all-knowing smile that Hakyeon could feel he was going to begin to distrust, “Can we have macaroni and cheese? Daddy bought it special for us!”
How could he say no? Especially when she was batting those long eyelashes over her large, pretty brown eyes; Hakyeon guessed she had gotten them from her mother.
“Of course, now go finish cleaning your room before your father gets home.” Hakyeon sent her off with a hair ruffle and a wink, Binah giggling shyly as she retreated back to her bedroom.
Hakyeon pulled the message back up on his phone and began carefully typing, wanting to avoid any typos or autocorrect incidents that circulated around the internet in mass quantities.
“Binah requested mac and cheese! Hope that’s ok!”
He sent the first one off, pausing for a few seconds before sending another.
“I hope it isn’t too hard :)”
“Work I mean! I hope work isn’t too hard!”
“Shit!”
Hakyeon clamped a hand over his mouth, hoping one of the children hadn’t decided to try and skirt their chores again by wandering out into the living room and overheard him; that would be a hell of a thing to have to explain to Taekwoon how his children had picked up a colorful new word.
He wanted to beat himself over the head with his phone, wondering why in the hell he had sent that second message; of course Taekwoon would have known he meant work!
Nothing could be done about it now though and Hakyeon just prayed again, something he felt like he’d be doing a lot of at this job, that Taekwoon wouldn’t bring it up.
It’s not like Hakyeon knew that on the other side of the phone Taekwoon was currently staring his screen down with the notification, a straight-laced poker face masking the way he was fidgeting in the swivel chair.
Is it Taekwoon’s fault that he’s now recalling Hakyeon’s comment, about women at the office crushing on him? Yes, Taekwoon had heard Hakyeon’s mumbled words and yes, he pretended not to hear for it wasn’t worth entertaining.
Taekwoon’s eyes shifted over to one of the female editors sitting across the conference table. She smiled at him slowly and he averted his gaze.
“Hakyeonie-hyung, I’m hungry.” Hyogi had ventured out now, lips pushed into a full pouty display. His little hands were clutching at his chubby belly but the pout didn’t last long as a loud grumble from his stomach sent Hyogi into a fit of giggles.
Hakyeon joined in his laughter, poking at the boy’s stomach playfully, “Looks like the little monster is hungry. Go tell Binah it’s time to wash up and I’ll get dinner started.”
Hyogi skipped off to happily go boss his sister while Hakyeon draped the few remaining articles of clothing over the bars of the drying rack; thankfully neither child was there to see the blush that overtook his face when he had to hang Taekwoon’s boxer briefs.
~*~
Hakyeon had spent the afternoon cleaning and doing laundry, the amount of work needing to be done around the dust-covered and toy-ridden house had been more than enough to keep him busy for hours until Binah and Hyogi had returned home.
They were an overwhelming amount of energy the second they stepped through the door, a lethal combination as they had thrown themselves at Hakyeon, who was vacuuming the rugs, almost knocking him to the floor.
It had been a bit of a rough afternoon: Binah’s homework was on biology, something Hakyeon had never done well with and it turned more into her tutoring Hakyeon on what she was learning than of Hakyeon being any actual help.
Hyogi had finished all his work at school, insistently tugging on Hakyeon’s arm while he was trying to help his sister finish hers.
Binah had excused Hakyeon to go play with Hygi after the third time of explaining something to him about sitosis, mitosis, ditosis...something. Did eight year olds really learn this stuff these days?
“Waaaah!” It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that Hyogi was sitting in the middle of the floor crying. Hakyeon had been chasing him around and in the process Hyogi had run his shin into one of the sharp corners of the coffee table.
Thankfully it wasn’t a deep cut, easily fixed with a Transformers band-aid and a kiss. Hakyeon had cradled Hyogi in his lap until he had settled down, and then it was back to their ninja battle.
Despite the little hiccups, the kids had listened well and Hakyeon was having a lot of fun, knowing this was something he would be happy to do every day.
By the time Taekwoon returned home, Binah and Hyogi were already seated at the table and eating, trying their best to beg Hakyeon into taking them out for ice cream after dinner.
With his wool coat already off, briefcase tucked beside the couch in the living room, Taekwoon approached the table with a warm smile. He came to hug Hyogi from behind who was already reaching for him.
“Guess what! Hyung made us mac and cheese!” Hyogi pointed to his empty bowl with remnants of melted cheese on the ceramic.
“And he’s about to take us for ice cream!” Binah slipped in sneakily, though Taekwoon caught the surprised look on Hakyeon’s face.
“Yeah! Ice cream!” Hyogi was not too far behind, continuing their dessert haggling.
“It’s too late for ice cream. Tomorrow you have school,” Taekwoon interrupted their duet of pleads.
“But dad! We finished our homework and Hakyeonnie-oppa cleaned the whole house! We should celebrate his first day!” Binah put on her best pout, lower lip sticking out so far. Taekwoon wanted to allot this trait to her mother, but he begrudgingly knew that he was the king of pouts.
“Ah… he did?” Taekwoon blinked, straightening up as he took a scan of the surrounding area.
It was true. The stains on the backsplash in the kitchen and the toys that had been laid to rest on the carpet were now all cleaned up.
“I’ll eat first and then…we can go for ice cream,” Taekwoon caved in, bracing himself as he knew what was to come. Binah and Hyogi both jumped up from their seats and bombarded him with tight hugs, jumping up and down as they squealed in delight.
Taekwoon directed his gaze over to Hakyeon, appreciation written across his face the best he could, feeling the signs of a smile tugging at his lips.
“You know I’ve been fighting them off about ice cream for over half an hour? You just ruined all my hardwork.” Hakyeon stood with hands on his hips for a moment, tsking Taekwoon before matching the smile he received, “Alright, go get washed up and put your warm clothes on while your father eats, it’s getting chilly out.”
Binah and Hyogi were about to dart from the table before Hakyeon halted them with a clearing of his throat, both kids bringing their empty dishes to the sink before scurrying off.
Hakyeon removed two bowls from the cupboard, grabbing two forks from the nearby drawer, scooping them both some of the yellow pasta before placing them at the empty seats at the table, “I hope you don’t mind if I eat with you, I wanted to make sure the kids had their fill first.”
And make sure you weren’t eating alone but that part remained unvoiced.
“You never told me how much they could eat, I had to make an extra box once they devoured the first.” Hakyeon commented as he took his chair, stabbing the noodles and placing a large bite into his mouth.
He chewed a few times before continuing, shielding his partially full mouth with a hand, “How was work? I hope the sandwich helped?”
Taekwoon had been quiet until then, patiently at the table and eating his food diligently. At the question, he nodded while spooning another round of the cheesy noodles into his mouth.
Just a few spoonfuls later it felt, Taekwoon was finishing up his bowl, scraping along the edges. “Mm, that was good.” It was easy and simple, but he sensed right away there were some ingredients Hakyeon added on his own, “Did you put extra cheese in this? And some herbs?”
“My mom used to make it this way when I was younger. She tells me I was quite the cheese enthusiast.” Even though it wasn’t much conversation it was still some, and Taekwoon was even going so far as to ask a question himself.
Hearing Hakyeon’s answer, Taekwoon felt this fluttering in his chest. Hakyeon was truly a cook if he learned from his mother, and food was definitely the way to Taekwoon’s…happiness.
“We’re ready!!!” Came the unison of his children, stomping back into the kitchen.
Binah was in a deep blue coat, the hood lined with gray fur that tickled along her round, flushed cheeks. Hyogi was in a black jacket, wearing his ninja bandanna and jumping from one foot to the other; Taekwoon wondered at times how he was blessed to have such adorable kids.
“Let’s go!” Hakyeon exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as the children as he quickly cleared the dishes from the table.
Once he was dressed in his black leather jacket, white beanie and matching gloves Hakyeon ushered the kids outside. As they started walking down the street, Binah and Hyogi each slipped one of their hands into Hakyeon’s as they excitedly discussed which ice cream flavors were the best.
Taekwoon didn’t remember the last time he had taken his children out for ice cream.
For as much as he loved sweets one would think he’d make this a weekly ritual; however, as they stood in the ice cream parlor, looking at the different flavors through the display case, Taekwoon just as enthusiastically asked for tasting samples.
His eyes lit up in particular when he had an almond cheesecake bite, liking the perfect balance of sweetness.
Hakyeon tended to be a creature of habit once he found something he really enjoyed; it was why his selected flavor of milk had been banana for over 10 years.
He already knew he was going to get mint chocolate chip, but seeing the fun the rest of them were having, surprisingly Taekwoon as well, Hakyeon decided that sampling a few other flavors wouldn’t hurt.
Glancing over at Hakyeon with this unseen vibrance to his eyes, an extra bounce in his toes even as he wiggled some in his spot, he asked him, “How was the peanut butter fudge?”
He was deciding if he wanted to try that one too.
“Hmm?” Hakyeon had taken a small lick of the sample, letting the sweet flavor settle on his tongue as he turned towards Taekwoon, “It’s really good! Here, try some!” He held the small plastic spoon up to Taekwoon’s mouth, shifting his gaze over to the kids as they were beginning to get a little carried away.
“Ok that’s enough now. Pick your flavor.”
Taekwoon of course took this opportunity to take the spoon from Hakyeon’s hand and try the flavor himself, turning his back to Hakyeon while he slipped the small plastic spoon into his mouth. Well that just made his decision harder.
Shortly after they were leaving the store with their cones in hand: Hakyeon with his green mint chocolate chip, Binah with cream Birthday Cake Batter, and Hyogi with his red and blue Superman scoops.
The kids walked ahead of Hakyeon and Taekwoon, babbling away in some sort of language Hakyeon figured they had created themselves.
He chuckled as he looked up at Taekwoon, “So what flavor did you decide on, Taekwoon-ssi?” Hakyeon asked as he licked at his cone.
“The almond cheesecake and peanut butter fudge.” Who said he had to settle on just one? Taekwoon was a happy bumbling bee, humming to himself after each avid lick of ice cream.
Hakyeon laughed immediately at the answer, giving Taekwoon a playful nudge with his shoulder, “That’s cheating!”
With this pleasant glow on his paler features, illustrating a resemblance to his children’s faces, Taekwoon looked like he became twenty years younger. His stoic father demeanor transformed into this carefree spirit that was eating ice cream on a cold night, wearing a suit.
Thankfully Taekwoon seemed completely absorbed in enjoying his ice cream, which Hakyeon was glad for because he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off him. Aside from the few times he glanced ahead to make sure Hyogi and Binah hadn’t run off, his gaze was fixed up at Taekwoon from the corner of his eyes.
It was nice seeing this side of Taekwoon, Hakyeon thought, really nice apparently as he could feel his heart beginning to race again seeing this entirely new side taking over him; Hakyeon hadn’t even noticed he had stopped eating his ice cream until he felt the cold, melted liquid dripping down onto his hand.
By the time they had reached the house, Taekwoon was taking the final crunchy bite of his cone, his cheeks puffed out due to the rest of the cone still stuffed within.
When they stepped back into the warmth of the house, Taekwoon and Hakyeon helped the children out of their coats so they wouldn't drop the remainder of their ice cream.
"Hurry and eat so you can get ready for bed," Taekwoon ordered.
Hyogi looked up and there was a thick strip of red and blue along his upper lip. "I'm almost done!" He announced to the room, proud that he hadn't dropped any on the ground--or his father.
Binah must've read Hyogi's mind for she hooted out, "Remember that time you got ice cream all over daddy's pants? He was so embarrassed when he had to ask for napkins from that pretty lady!"
Taekwoon frowned. Why did his children always bring up embarrassing stories?
He refused to look at Hakyeon though he did listen for his response while he led the children to their rooms.
“Goodnight pretty Binah, goodnight Master Hyogi! I’ll see you tomorrow!”
Not knowing whether he was supposed to leave or stay at this point, Hakyeon just lingered around the front door while waiting for Taekwoon to return; he at least wanted to say his goodbyes to him as well.
As Hyogi laid there, teeth freshly brushed for bed and holding onto his yellow Minion plush, he looked up at Taekwoon with the biggest eyes.
"Daddy, are we gonna get to eat ice cream every day now with Hakyeon-hyung around?"
Taekwoon sighed out a laugh, shaking his head as he smoothed the edge of the blanket about his son's shoulders. "No....do you like him?"
Since Taekwoon was still warming up to the idea of Hakyeon around, he needed affirmation from his children since their feelings were more important.
The floppy nod from Hyogi was enough to reassure him. Smiling softly, Taekwoon kissed him goodnight and left the room.
Binah was already asleep by the time he reached her room, surprised to see her passed out already; it looked like she was trying to squeeze in a few more science terms, her book sprawled on her chest with her little fingers still clinging to it.
He removed it gently and ran a hand through her hair. Binah looked a lot like her mom: dewdrop eyes, a smile betraying some mischief and her firecracker personality brought it all together.
When he came back out, his thoughts fell silent as soon as his eyes laid on Hakyeon.
“So it seems like you meet a lot of pretty ladies.” Hakyeon remarked, saving his comment for when Taekwoon had returned from tucking the kids in.
His hands were stuffed into his jacket pockets, a little smear of ice cream left forgotten on the corner of his lips that were stretched into a teasing smile.
He couldn’t help but wonder if those ladies felt like he did right now: heart still pounding, palms sweaty, his nerves twisting his stomach into knots.
What sort of attention had Taekwoon given them? Had they gotten to see his thin lips pulled into a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes so adorably? Had they gotten to see the way Taekwoon’s face lit up whenever he was around his children?
The sudden thoughts plaguing Hakyeon’s mind made him feel ridiculous, wishing he had said his goodbye to Taekwoon with the children so he could go curl himself up in a heap of blankets and ponder these things in the safe privacy of his apartment.
"A lot of women are pretty," was Taekwoon's bland reply. He walked past to the kitchen, his gentler voice piping up, "Would you like some tea?"
Hakyeon's eyes had rolled halfway back into his head before he caught on that he was doing it; why did he continue to tease Taekwoon when clearly he was getting no reaction? At this point Hakyeon figured it was just his stubbornness, determined to get some sort of chuckle or even a tiny smile out of him.
Taekwoon skirted around Hakyeon's comment for the basic fact that he had no interest in these mentioned pretty ladies. There was only one pretty woman in his life and she was gone.
Well, he supposed Binah would become a pretty woman one day too. But that was too far in the future to think about.
“Tea sounds great.” Hakyeon answered even though Taekwoon had already started the water, essentially making up his mind for him.
While waiting for the water boiler, Taekwoon leaned back against a counter to fold his arms and stare at Hakyeon.
Taekwoon stared directly at him probably for the first time so intently. He just hadn't figured Hakyeon out yet and Taekwoon was normally astute with the people he cared to know about.
Following Taekwoon into the kitchen, Hakyeon paused a few feet away when he felt the small, dark eyes boring into him too intensely, “Is there….something on my face?”
Hakyeon felt around his cheeks and then looked down at his clothes, thinking he had spilt some ice cream there. Nope, all clear.
Unfortunately Hakyeon missed the corner of his mouth which still had a dab of that mint chocolate. Taekwoon noticed it of course, but he kept silent about it, finding it too awkward to point it out.
Hakyeon slowly pulled out a chair, carefully, as if any sudden movement would have Taekwoon springing on him like some animal stalking their prey.
That’s what he felt like right now, Taekwoon’s prey. He couldn’t imagine anything good swimming around in that handsome head of his; he was thankful Taekwoon couldn’t see what was going on in his own either.
Once Hakyeon had sunk his body down into the chair, still warily watching Taekwoon, he tilted his head to the side and flashed his straight line of white teeth, “Go ahead, ask me anything.”
If Taekwoon was going to study him so intently, Hakyeon at least wanted to give Taekwoon the truth and not leave him whatever crazy concoctions were brewing in his mind.
What Taekwoon didn't understand was what Hakyeon's intentions were.
Taekwoon always viewed life as valuable since you didn't know how short it could be, so did Hakyeon plan on always working and being with kids? What kind of aspirations did he have, as predictable as that question was.
"What do you want to be?" He left it open-ended, up to Hakyeon's interpretation.
What did he want to be? Of all the questions Taekwoon could have ask that was one on a short list Hakyeon didn’t have an immediate or planned answer for.
“Well…” He paused a moment, thinking, “When I was seven I wanted to be a dolphin until my mom told me that people couldn’t turn into animals. I cried every night for a week.”
Embarrassing, yes, but it only felt fair since Taekwoon, or rather his children, had shared some stories with him already.
Hakyeon's response almost dug out a smile from Taekwoon--almost. The only factor retaining it was that Taekwoon thought there was an uncanny resemblance between Hakyeon and dolphins. It was too similar to be funny.
“Now though?” Hakyeon shifted his weight in the chair, leaning back as he chewed on the corner of his lip thoughtfully, “I majored in dance so it would make sense to do something with that ideally I guess.”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth as he pondered about the future a little more; he was only 25, still young, but many of his friends had settled into their chosen career paths already and he was still floundering around.
“It would be nice to open up my own dance studio. I mean I’ve thought about it quite a lot but it takes so much money and time and planning that it’s truthfully something I don’t ever see happening.”
It was disheartening, yes, but while usually an optimist Hakyeon was also a realist as well.
Taekwoon knew from the interview that Hakyeon worked at a dance studio, teaching all age ranges including kids.
Once upon a time he would've criticized that mindframe, of establishing a stable living off of dreams like dance, but after meeting his wife he understood that some people didn't care about the money. They wanted to do what felt right and live off their passions--that was all the stability they needed.
Taekwoon was where he was now due to following a dream.
“What is your job, anyways?” Hakyeon inquired in return, realizing he still didn’t know what Taekwoon did for a living.
"Ah," Taekwoon croaked, the tiny sound coming out rather surprisingly. Lowering his eyes finally, the tips of his ears peeking out from his jet black hair burning a bright red, he answered more appropriately. "I'm...a published author."
Taekwoon left it at that, suddenly feeling all of the universe's embarrassment pounding down on him.
Thankfully the boiler started rumbling and he turned, clicking it off. Taking out two mugs, he poured steaming water into each one. Then he took out the jasmine tea, putting the fresh bags into the mugs and letting them steep.
With his back to Hakyeon now, he could use this moment to recollect himself.
If Hakyeon’s brows weren't hidden beneath his thick bangs Taekwoon would have seen them shoot right up and almost off his forehead, “You’re an author?”
There was no sense in hiding the surprise in his voice but it was a pleasant surprise, “With the fancy suit and all I assumed you were some stuck-up corporate floozy.” Not that that was a bad thing, it certainly would have explained why Taekwoon always seemed so brooding whenever his kids weren’t around.
“So what kind of author are you? How many books have you published? Are you famous?”
Hakyeon was up from his seat and suddenly perched on the counter next to where Taekwoon was fixing their tea, shamelessly berating him with questions now that one more piece of his Taekwoon puzzle had been put in place.
This was the part that he was more hesitant to answer. Taekwoon didn't bode well with sharing this information, since most people always made a big deal out of how it didn't suit him, or worse, how awfully adorable of him.
Clearing his throat, he simply said in a mysterious manner. "Next time you can look in one of my children's rooms. I have some books in there."
Hakyeon made a mental note to interrogate Binah and Hyogi about this after school tomorrow.
That was that, and Taekwoon made it final by sliding a mug over to Hakyeon still perched there. He lifted his own to blow across the surface before sipping slowly.
The mug was left untouched; truth be told Hakyeon had only used the offer of tea as an excuse to spend a little alone time with Taekwoon on the off chance that he might get to learn a little more about him, but it seemed Hakyeon was the one doing all the sharing.
"Mm...do you want kids of your own one day?" This may have been a too personal question, but Taekwoon assumed it was still appropriate. Hakyeon didn't seem like the type to mind talking.
This question Hakyeon was more than prepared to answer, unable to even fathom the amount of hours he had spent asking himself the same thing and playing over the choices in his mind.
“I’ve wanted kids for as long as I can remember," he started, leaning back on his hands as if he were settling in for a long stay, which “long” was what his story was about to become. "One of my clearest memories from my childhood was my mom scolding me for always taking my older sister’s baby dolls and playing with them myself. She had so many and my parents wouldn’t just buy me my own. I got so mad.”
Hakyeon chuckled to himself as he relived the memory, his legs swaying as they dangled over the edge of the counter.
His eyes turned away from Taekwoon as he continued, Hakyeon feeling the tiniest bit self-conscious about just how much he was about to share, “I always thought I’d be married with kids by the time I was 30. My parents got married and had kids young and that’s what I always wanted to do. They were my role models and I set really high standards for myself because I didn’t want to settle for anything less than the true love I saw between my parents. I guess that’s come back around to bite me in the as-butt--"
He had to do better at remembering there were still kids around; even though Hyogi and Binah were in bed he knew children these days had ears like a bat’s and always picked up on the things their parents didn’t want them hearing, never listening to what they were actually supposed to.
"--I had a pretty serious girlfriend in high school but then we broke up before I went into the military. Then I went right into college. I dated a few girls, a couple guys, and while I got along really, really well with a couple of them it just never quite clicked. I didn’t feel what I felt looking at my mom and dad. I was never the type for one-night stands or sloppy relationships and I never really found anyone interested in something so serious at such a young age.”
Occasionally he would glance over at Taekwoon, hoping he wasn’t boring him to death.
“By the time I knew it I was graduating, single, and still looking for a full-time job. Now here I am, 25, no dating life and barely able to support myself, let alone another person or family.”
Hakyeon gave a rather heavy sigh, glancing over at Taekwoon and offering a small smile, “Ah, I’m sorry. You probably weren’t expecting a grand-telling of my life. But when you get to know me you really get to know me.”
He reached up and patted Taekwoon on the shoulder before hopping down from the counter, “I’ve never seen much point in holding anything back so when someone wants to know something about me, they get to know it all. I guess this was me easing you in.”
Taekwoon was positive Hakyeon just exhausted every word in the dictionary. One innocent t question certainly gave him more than he bargained for.
Silence dragged on, for he didn't know exactly how to respond. His original question had been answered but so had many more questions that he wasn't intending on ever asking.
"You could've eased me in slower," Taekwoon muttered, not realizing what innuendo his words held.
“Better to find out sooner rather than later, huh?” Hakyeon rebuttaled, trying not to let his mind overthink Taekwoon’s words all while pressing back a rising blush.
"It'll take me a few days to process all of that." His words were frank, but as he lifted his eyes to Hakyeon, he added, "I think I've heard enough for tonight."
And finally, out of the blue, Taekwoon slowly smiled. Hakyeon was truly a character and Taekwoon began to understand that Hakyeon was more than just his surface level of warmth and friendliness.
Hakyeon was clearly transparent, introspective and self aware. Taekwoon liked that. It made Hakyeon easier to trust.
"If you're not going to drink your tea, you can leave." Taekwoon assumed Hakyeon knew how to get home. He arrived somehow so he could leave the same way too.
Momentarily distracted by the smile, more like blind-sided, the rest of whatever Taekwoon said was all muffled gargon yet somehow the words “tea” and “leave” jogged him back to the present moment and Hakyeon quickly wrapped his hands around the mug and brought it to his lips, “I’m drinking it! See-ah! Damnit it’s still hot!”
So much for watching his language.
Hakyeon’s face twisted in displeasure at having burned his tongue. Thankfully the tea hadn’t been scalding, having cooled some while Hakyeon had been going on and on and on and on about himself.
Hakyeon kept his tongue out though, waving it around as if circling it in the air would have some sort of cooling effect on the burn, his eyes crossing in the process.
Taekwoon's fatherly instinct cut in, swiftly crossing over to the freezer and within seconds while Hakyeon was fooling around with his tongue, Taekwoon suddenly presented him with an ice cube. It delicately sat in the palm of his hand.
"Suck on this," he commanded, staring with furrowed brows at Hakyeon. This was Taekwoon's way of showing concern, his intent imploring stare.
There was no stopping the red that crawled up all the way from Hakyeon’s neck to the tip of his ears, coloring his already dark skin an even deeper shade of bronze.
Taekwoon just had to say it like that, hadn’t he? Hakyeon supposed there was no other way to say it…put this on your tongue would have had his mind dancing around the gutter just as much. Lord, when had he become so perverted?
Wordlessly he snatched the ice cube from Taekwoon’s hand and popped it into his mouth, presenting him with a thumbs up as his face contorted to try and adjust to the cold sensation numbing the inside of his mouth, “Sanks.”
Hakyeon finally replied after most of the ice cube had melted, his tongue feeling better though still a bit tingly, creating a slight lisp.
“Ah, it’s late, I should get going.” Hakyeon couldn’t afford to embarrass himself further, quickly turning and shuffling across the wooden floor to the door.
Taekwoon did agree that this was a good idea. Hakyeon probably had to wake up even earlier since he needed to travel all the way back here. He never asked where Hakyeon actually lived.
Walking with him to the door, he watched out of the corner of his eyes as Hakyeon slipped into his shoes and pulled on his leather jacket; the fabric to it looked supple, forming along Hakyeon's arms nicely.
"Be safe going home," Taekwoon politely said.
Hakyeon gave him a smile and benignly bowed out. Taekwoon quietly watched as Hakyeon made his way down the pathway.
Hakyeon stopped once, turning on his boots to wave goodbye and call out, "Good night, Taekwoon-ssi! Have sweet dreams!"
When Taekwoon shut the door, he released a big sigh he didn't notice he was holding. Only one day had passed and Taekwoon was already feeling like...actually, he didn't know how he felt.
That thought alone scared Taekwoon more.
>>Chapter 3<<
a/n: Sorry we're not consistent with updating this or posting stories ;; We're just posting as we right and our schedules don't like up very often >: Thank you for all the love, support and patience! And don't worry, the mystery of the ice cream will be solved next chapter! ~Mars
Yesterday was my birthday and I was hoping to post this then, sorry it's one day late but I hope you enjoy! ~ JKun