Archive of Our Own

“Hey, I’m sorry I couldn’t look after Hyejin today.” Jinhyuk’s voice comes gravely from the phone tucked into the juncture between Wooseok’s ear and shoulder. Meanwhile, he uses both hands to fumble with his keys, trying to get the coffee shop’s door to open. “It’s fine,” shrugs off Wooseok. “My next door neighbor offered to watch her.”

“The old lady who’s always trying to introduce you to her daughter?” 

“Yeah, that’s the one.” he replies with a chuckle. “But I’m pretty sure she knows I like men. I think she just wants me to have more friends.”

“Aw, that’s nice. Are you almost at work?” Jinhyuk inquires at the same time Wooseok flicks on the lights and the establishment comes to life at once. The shop takes up the first floor within a two-floor building, squished between one of those vintage boutiques that are way too expensive for the neighbourhood they’re in and a small bookstore. Despite only having been functioning for two months or so, the movement is decent enough to keep the place running with minimal staff and word spreads quickly around town, specially when it involves good coffee, freshly baked goods and nice baristas. Wooseok’s coffee shop has all of it. (meaning: the coffee shop he works at has all of it, since it technically belongs to Seungwoo, one of his friends from college days) 

“Just got here.” Wooseok chirps, finally being able to free the phone from his neck and grab it properly. “You?”

“Yeah, same. I’m like, five minutes away from the lab.” Jinhyuk works as a research assistant at a biomedicine laboratory and it’s his uttermost pride and joy. Except for days like these when they make him work saturdays, but hey. 

“Cool,” mumbles Wooseok. He puts the call on speaker for a moment to tie his apron behind his back and start opening up the dough left by the staff from the day before. “Are our plans for tomorrow still up?”

“Obviously! I’d never miss lunch with my favorite person in the whole world. And by that I mean Hyejin.”

Wooseok scoffs. “I can’t believe you love her more than you love me.”

“Suck it up, loser. She’s my number one.” he taunts. Then, there’s a scraping noise and a loud exclamation of ‘Shit!’, like he had just dropped his phone. More static as Jinhyuk quickly retrieves the device and gets closer to the mic. “Fuck. Anyway, I’m here now. Bye Wooseokie, have fun at work.”

“You too. See you tomorrow.” And that’s the end of it. Wooseok shifts his focus back to the dough he’s supposed to be handling, smiling big. Jinhyuk is Wooseok’s longtime best friend and also the person who has been by his side through everything, including Hyejin’s lengthy adoption process after her biological mother ― Wooseok’s own older sister ― passed away due to a car accident. As corny as it sounds, having Jinhyuk in his life is one of the things Wooseok considers his blessings.

― 

When Wooseok’s co worker arrives, it’s been an hour and Wooseok is almost finished putting the dough ― now pastry-shaped ―  in the oven, apron smeared with flour and a satisfied look on his face. The guy’s name is Minhee, and he’s the only thing stopping Wooseok from being bored out of his mind on Saturday morning shifts. He walks in with an easy smile and palpable good mood, running a hand through his blonde hair.

“Hi,” he says with a wave, sliding to the small kitchen to put on his own apron and his voice can still be heard, echoing slightly on the tiled walls. “you’re here early.”

“Yeah, I wanted to get started on the baking as soon as possible.” 

Minhee hums in lieu of an answer and heads to the counter with a tray of cupcakes from the fridge, all decorated with rainbow sprinkles. Together, they assemble the rest of the pastries throughout the shop’s long display case as the scent of sugar and cinnamon spirals around. At last, Wooseok goes over to the coffee machines just to make sure they’re all working smoothly.

They finish right on time, with a few minutes to spare when the first client of the day walks through the door and makes the entrance bell ring. From that moment on, they fall into a familiar rhythm. Wooseok handles cashier duty while Minhee gets to play barista, passing orders and drinks around like they were born to do it. It’s surely more entertaining than Wooseok could ever imagine when he had first started working there — which was actually supposed to be a temporary thing, just to help Seungwoo out until he got established enough to hire more staff, but they’re heading into the third working month and Wooseok finds he doesn’t really want to quit — , the only downside is having less time to spend with Hyejin, but you know. The money is good enough and his shift ends at 2pm anyway.

Sometime after the morning rush is gone and the waiting line has died down, a boy walks in. He looks around thoroughly, like he’s taking everything in and when he finally stands in front of Wooseok that’s literally all he does. He just stands there, mouth agape in slight shock. Wooseok’s gaze is immediately drawn to his shirt, the white sweatshirt with Hanyang University’s blue logo and mascot. It reminds him of his own black SNU hoodie, crumpled and forgotten somewhere in the back of his closet.  

“Hi?” Wooseok greets tentatively, and he pays half a mind to how Minhee’s trying ― and failing ― to muffle his laughter behind him. “How can I help you?”

“Huh?” the boy stutters, blinking rapidly “Oh! Yeah, sorry! I’ll have an— uh, iced americano. Venti, please.”

 “Uh-huh. Anything else?” 

“Nope, that’s all.” his eyes roam around trying to focus on anything that isn’t Wooseok’s face. At one point the boy chooses to simply stare at his nametag instead.

Wooseok punches the order into the register with a hum. “Your name?” The customer widens his eyes and his cheeks dust in pink so Wooseok elaborates, half-amused. “For the cup sleeve?”

“Oh. It’s Yohan.” he spits out a little too quickly. Yohan pushes his money towards Wooseok and takes a half step back in embarrassment, subtly tapping his own cheek as if in a reprimand. His black hair catches under the mild lighting, shining glossily.

“Alright. It’ll be a moment.” Wooseok recites sweetly, handing Yohan the receipt along with his change and motioning for Minhee to get started with the drink. Yohan nods and slides over to the far end of the counter. 

“Dude,” Minhee scoffs softly from where he stands beside the coffee machine.

“Don’t even mention it.” Wooseok turns around on the balls of his feet, hand placed discreetly over the corner of his mouth to muffle the conversation. 

“Did we really just witness that poor guy have a whole meltdown in front of you.” he whispers, sounding way more excited than he probably should. “He was so flustered! You should totally write your number on his cup, you know, like a gentleman.”

Wooseok rolls his eyes. “I’m just trying to do my job here. Besides, he’s a college kid.”

“So am I!” 

“My point exactly.”

“Oh, please.” Minhee shrugs him off at the same time the machine beeps, signaling the drink to be ready. “He’s super cute.”

“How about you give him your number, then.” Wooseok huffs. The entrance bell rings and another customer walks in, at the same time Minhee softly rolls his eyes and grabs the americano from the cup holder.

Wooseok sees it out of the corner of his eye when Minhee calls out to Yohan to hand him his drink. The dark-haired smiles at him — beams, really —, although a little sheepishly, and retreats to one of the tables closest to the windows. He stays at the café for a couple hours, typing frantically away at his phone for a few minutes and then doing some more typing on the laptop he takes out of his backpack. Wooseok glances his way a couple times, too, with Minhee still talking his ear off about how he should walk over and ask him out, all encouragements which Wooseok promptly ignores.

When Yohan walks out the door with one last look towards Wooseok’s general direction, he pretty much walks out of Wooseok’s thoughts as well. Wooseok sort of forgets about him as the week progresses, pushing the weirdly awkward exchange to the back of his mind.

Until Yohan walks right back in the following Saturday, that is.

It’s a cold morning so the movement’s a bit slow, barely anyone out in the streets and Minhee has already started whistling out of boredom, to a song Wooseok isn’t familiar with. Nevertheless, Yohan comes in with flushed cheeks ― due to the wind outside or maybe something else entirely, Wooseok wonders ―, wearing a gray hoodie that seems to be a few sizes too big, the sleeves going all the way down to his palms. He comes a little earlier than he had the time before, too. This time, he orders a regular cappuccino — and Wooseok remembers his name, but lets him say it again anyway —, drumming his fingers on the counter as he waits for Wooseok to finish typing in his order. Though he looks much more relaxed, Yohan still looks oddly embarrassed whenever their gazes meet.

Suddenly, Yohan takes a big breath. Wooseok is slightly startled and looks up right away to give him his full attention. “Hey, I—” Yohan starts, but is cut short by the sound of the entrance bell ringing sharply, accompanied by a high-pitched voice.

“Dad!” 

Wooseok’s eyes zero on the small figure rushing through the open door and his mouth curls into a smile as if on cue. Hyejin wears a padded jacket and her favorite yellow beanie, gummy smile bright on her face as she sprints her way behind the counter to latch onto Wooseok’s legs. Naturally, Jinhyuk comes a couple beats behind her, closing the coffee shop’s door carefully.

Jinhyuk smiles at him and Wooseok hums in acknowledgement, simultaneously running his fingers through Hyejin’s shoulder-length hair.  

“Hi, love. Where’s Jinhyuk taking you today?” Wooseok murmurs and only then does he remember Yohan who is very much still standing there, looking somewhat stunned.

“Sorry,” Wooseok mumbles, hurriedly handing Yohan his change. The other shakes his head as if to say he doesn’t mind.

At the same time, Hyejin pulls softly at his apron to get his attention back. Her voice is quieter now, but just as gleeful. “Jinhyukie said we could go watch a movie!” 

“Really?” Wooseok coos, petting the back of her head.

Hyejin hums and jumps over to an over-excited Minhee who has just finished making Yohan’s cappuccino. Minhee gives Hyejin a high five and compliments her beanie, making her laugh. The sound has Wooseok smiling again, a nice little memory of his late sister. Farther away, Jinhyuk has already settled on a table and looks intrigued by something on his phone. 

“Is that your kid?” Yohan’s voice drags Wooseok’s focus back to him. 

“Yeah,” he says, and he just can’t help the edge of pride that bleeds through his tone. “Yeah, she is.” 

Yohan hadn’t moved to the other end of the counter so Minhee comes over to hand him the drink as quickly as he can, since Hyejin seems to be in the middle of telling him a story and Minhee is nothing but weak for her. 

“She’s adorable,” Yohan says with a smile but the look in his eyes changes right at the end of the sentence, from excited fondness to something unsure. Wooseok furrows his eyebrows slightly and straightens his posture, used to dealing with people who aren’t the biggest fans of small children, though it doesn’t seem to be exactly the case. Then, Yohan grabs his drink and rushes out the door, hurriedly wishing all of them a good day. Suddenly remembering Yohan’s unfinished question from moments before, Wooseok goes to say something, tell him to wait, but he’s already outside by then. He shrugs, taking a mental note to ask him about it if Yohan ever comes by again.

Before Wooseok even realizes, Jinhyuk is standing in front of him, smiling smugly. “Who was that?” 

Wooseok huffs. Jinhyuk’s tone snatches him out of his thoughts and sends him into full defensive mode instead.  “A customer?”

Jinhyuk raises a single eyebrow, unconvinced. “He’s cute.”

“That’s what I said last time!” Minhee butts in. He’s given Hyejin some cookie cutters to play with and she looks thoroughly entertained.   

Wooseok mentally slaps himself on the forehead. Despite not knowing each other too well, Jinhyuk and Minhee often joined forces with the single purpose of annoying Wooseok to hell and back.

“Oh?” taunts Jinhyuk with a tilt of his head, “So it’s not the first time he’s come here?”

“Nope.” Minhee shakes his head excitedly, “He came in last week and could barely order with how much he was stuttering. Looking at Wooseok’s face must have melted the poor guy’s brain.”

Jinhyuk cackles, at the same time Wooseok groans.

“He stepped it up today, though.” Minhee continues, “Didn’t stutter at all. I was watching.”

“Leave me alone. You’re too interested in my love life.” Wooseok mumbles.

“So you do admit he’s part of your love life, now.” Jinhyuk almost hoots, “Minhee, what’s his name?”

“I didn’t say that!” Wooseok fumbles, trying to salvage some dignity.

“Yohan!” Minhee promptly chimes and in return gets glared at by Wooseok.

Jinhyuk whistles and Wooseok pulls the child card before any of them can say anything else. “Hyejin, are you hungry? Come here.” he says with a clap, loud enough to force any remnants of the subject to die down. Minhee scoffs but stays wistfully quiet as Hyejin stares hard at the glass container, like choosing her breakfast treat is the most important thing in the world.

Once she’s settled with a grilled cheese and a juicebox on a table next to the café’s wall, Jinhyuk hums: “Yohan is a really nice name…” 

Wooseok looks at him like he dares him to continue speaking while Minhee snickers. Jinhyuk just shrugs and mouths ‘What?’, feigning innocence. He also picks out a sugar-sprinkled pastry for himself and Wooseok types his order on the register with a huff, feeling just a little sour.

“You’re both insufferable,” he says, sulking. “I don’t want to see anyone right now. Hyejin and I are perfectly fine on our own,” 

“Hyejin might want another dad. Ever thought about that?” Jinhyuk fires right back, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh, shut up. Yohan’s in college . He can’t be a dad.”

“Wow, why do you talk like you’re forty? Wooseok, you’ve just turned twenty-five.” says Minhee, handing Jinhyuk his pastry. He also tries to hand him a cup of coffee on the house, but Wooseok intervenes.

“No way, he’s paying for that. That’s what you get for annoying me.” 

 “Whatever,” Jinhyuk rolls his eyes, “But anyway, this is an opportunity. He clearly likes you since he’s been coming here for weeks in a roll. I mean, it has to be because of you. No coffee is that good.”

“It’s only been two weeks,”  Wooseok points out but Jinhyuk shrugs him off with a gesture. “No, really. Did you catch the way he rushed out of here when you and Hyejin came in? Maybe he doesn’t like kids.” 

He takes a moment to glance at Hyejin, who is still busy eating and doesn’t seem to be paying attention to their exchange in the slightest. Jinhyuk hums, a habit he’s very fond of. “Which would suck, yes, but you don’t know that for sure!” 

Minhee butts in again after being oddly quiet for the past few minutes. “How about this,” he starts, and Wooseok can already feel it’s a bad idea. “ If he comes back next Saturday, then you’ll know he doesn’t hate kids. Or at least, that he’s still interested in you. Then, if he asks you out, you say yes. Like Jinhyuk said, it’s an opportunity.” 

“Yeah!” Jinhyuk chuckles and gives Minhee a fistbump over the counter. 

“Okay, no,” Wooseok deadpans and Minhee straight up pouts at him.

“Please?” he insists, “You’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Time, for one. I work full time, remember?” 

“Come on, one dinner. Or lunch.” Jinhyuk joins in, “Have one meal with him and you’re free. Maybe it’ll turn out bad, but it’s gonna feel so much worse if you say no and come to regret it later.” 

Wooseok goes very quiet for a second, hating the way he can see a smile forming on Minhee’s lips out of the corner of his eyes, then groans. “Fine. Fine! But he has to ask me . If he doesn’t, forget it. I’m not pursuing a teenager.” 

Minhee snickers, pleased nonetheless. “That’s very judgemental of you, but alright. I’ll be here next week to make sure you follow through.” 

“I really fucking hate both of you, you know that?” Wooseok mumbles.

“ Language!” Jinhyuk whispers sharply, nodding his head at Hyejin who still doesn’t seem to be interested in them at all. Minhee laughs again and Wooseok just shakes his head, defeated. 

A few moments later another customer walks in to save Wooseok from his misery and the rest of the day goes by smoothly, though Minhee never stops looking irritatingly smug. Jinhyuk and Hyejin don’t take long to finish their food and soon they leave hand-in-hand to watch the movie Hyejin had been so excited about. 

During the days that follow, Wooseok goes to his boring office job and hangs out with Hyejin at night, brushing Jinhyuk off every time he decides to suddenly mention Yohan on a conversation like the compelling asshole he is. But Wooseok would be lying if he said he wasn’t anticipating the Saturday-to-come. 

Which is exactly why he can’t help but feel a little disappointed when said day rolls around and Yohan isn’t there early in the morning like he had been the previous times. It’s already half past midday and Wooseok can feel Minhee watching him from behind, his gaze boring holes into the back of his head so he turns back on a whim. 

“Stop it.” he says, holding back the urge to sigh, “Maybe he’s not coming. That’s totally fine.” 

“It’s not fine! He—” Minhee starts, but gets caught in a very dramatic gasp in the middle of the sentence. He points at the entrance of the shop quickly then swiftly turns around to face the coffee machines, trying to appear natural and failing, “Speak of the devil,”

Wooseok’s eyes widen and he can barely school his expression back to neutrality before turning around. Indeed, Yohan is walking through the door right that second, but so are a couple of other customers. Instead of making his way towards Wooseok, Yohan looks his way and holds his gaze for a second then sits down on a table. Puzzled, Wooseok shrugs and tends to the small line that has already formed in front of him. While he’s at it, however, Yohan keeps stealing glances at him, looking rather nervous. So much that Wooseok grows a little uneasy himself and it causes him to mess up the spelling of a customer’s name. He apologizes, writes the name over on another cup sleeve and the line moves forward. Soon enough, he’s all done. 

Yohan is now busy typing on his phone, Wooseok realizes belatedly so he goes to Minhee and tries to keep his nerves at bay which is of course, useless, because Minhee sees right through him anyway. 

“Why do you look so nervous? I thought you didn’t care,” Minhee half-whispers, actually sounding concerned.

“Oh, don’t be a dick,” Wooseok huffs with no real bite to his tone, “He’s right there and he’s probably going to come over and ask me out sometime in the next few minutes. Of course I’m a little nervous.” 

Minhee nods thoughtfully. “You know you don’t really have to say yes, right? Jinhyuk and I weren’t that serious, but I do think you should. Also, turn around. Yohan’s getting up.”

Wooseok’s mouth gets just a little drier than usual and he swears he can feel his heart rate speeding up. Internally, he frowns and reminds himself he’s a whole adult, with an actual job and a four year old at home. What’s his business getting flustered over pretty college boys, anyway? Shaking his head discreetly, he touches the bracelet on his left wrist, a gift Hyejin had made for him at school the previous week. The string is red and the beads spell out ‘DAD’, with a smiley face at the end. 

“Hi, how can I help you?” says Wooseok when Yohan finally stands in front of him. He pats himself mentally for how contained his voice sounds and it would be perfect if Minhee weren’t shamelessly staring at them from his spot on the other end of the counter. 

“Hey,” Yohan says with a smile while he fidgets with his shirt, twisting the hem with his fingers. “I’ll have a tall latte, please.”

“Coming right up,” Wooseok chirps and starts scribbling on the cup right away, without pausing to ask Yohan for his name. Yohan notices and his smiles grows, front teeth jutting out over his lip slightly. 

The drink is done quickly but once Yohan has it in his hands he doesn’t move away. He stammers for a second and takes another deep breath, just like the other day:

“Hey,” he starts, and Wooseok freezes, “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Would you wanna go out with me some time? To have lunch, or something?” 

Minhee goes into a coughing fit and Wooseok’s lips part on their own. “Uh,” is all he gets out before his brain blanks because expecting something to happen is very different from actually experiencing it and Wooseok allows himself a couple silent seconds to take it in.

“Oh— oh,” Yohan panics at the pause, getting red at the ears. “I mean, I’m sorry, only if you want to. I thought—” 

“No!” Wooseok blurts out, and then continues softening his tone. “No, I mean I would, yeah. I’d like to go out with you.” 

Yohan’s eyes light up in surprise. Then he smiles again, bigger and brighter than ever before. Wooseok finds himself smiling too before he can help it. “Oh! Okay, great.” Yohan fumbles and meekly adds: “Then, could I get your number?” 

Wooseok hums and motions to get the cup back, carefully writing out his phone number below Yohan’s name. “There,” he says tilting his head and stepping back just a little. “Have a nice day,” 

Yohan’s eyes crinkle joyfully as he waves his way out and Wooseok doesn’t miss the way the blush on his face darkens. He also doesn’t miss the way Yohan half-trips on the small step outside the door and takes a second to steady himself before walking away sheepishly. 

“Yes!” exclaims Minhee with a laugh, catching the attention of the few people seated on the tables. “Oh, that was just great.” 

Wooseok sighs and laughs quietly, too. “You know, he does look sweet. Young, but sweet.” 

“Ah, there you go again.” Minhee sighs. “He’s probably in his twenties too.”

“Well, guess I’ll find out.” 

The entrance bell rings and cuts the conversation short. Minhee grins at him and heads back to the coffee machines while Wooseok shrugs amusedly and drags his focus back to the register.

—

Yohan texts him the very next day and Wooseok is glad to realize he hadn’t been the only one feeling impatient. They agree on meeting for dinner the following Wednesday, at a high-end restaurant downtown and the remaining days seem to fly by. In no time, Wooseok finds himself dropping Hyejin off at Jinhyuk’s house for the night with a kiss to her forehead and a wave.

When he gets to the restaurant, Yohan is already waiting for him at a table and Wooseok checks his watch just to make sure he isn’t late. He’s not, which means Yohan is early and the thought brings a smile to his lips, unexplainably.

“You’re wearing glasses,” is the first thing Yohan tells him once he sits down, acknowledging Wooseok’s golden-framed round glasses that compliment the rest of his outfit, a peach-colored sweater paired with dark jeans. 

Wooseok chuckles, “Yes, I always wear them at night.” 

Yohan nods thoughtfully before snapping out of it, shaking his head. “Uhm, sorry. I meant, hi. Thank you for coming.” 

“Yeah,” Wooseok chuckles some more, watching the other get more fidgety by the second. “Thank you for asking me,” 

They stare each other down for an oddly charged second and suddenly a single thought won’t leave Wooseok’s mind. He tries to will his brain into forgetting it but it simply won’t go away so he indulges the obsessiveness and just asks at once, stammering just the slightest bit:

“Hey, so just to get it out of the way, you don’t… not like kids, do you?” 

“What?” Yohan’s eyes widen, “No, of course not! I have two younger sisters actually, so. Definitely not a problem.”

“Oh, okay. It’s just because the other day you were about to say something to me, but then my daughter got there and you kind of ran off. So I thought that maybe…” Wooseok trails off, shifting in his chair.

“Oh!” Yohan lets his mouth fall open in the shape of a heart then coyly cards his fingers through his dark hair. “My bad. Honestly, I planned on asking you out that day. But then I saw you with your kid and you just looked so… mature. So I panicked. I freaked myself out thinking that you wouldn’t be interested in me anyway, or that maybe you were already married or something. But my best friend convinced me to give it a shot.” he pauses, pointing at Wooseok’s hands. “Also, you don’t wear a ring.” 

“You’re right. I’m not married.” Wooseok says, smiling when Yohan’s eyes flash curiously but choosing to leave it at that. “It was my best friend who convinced me to give this a shot, too.”

A waitress approaches the table to take their orders before Yohan can reply and they skim through the menus quickly, trying not to waste her time since they hadn’t exactly been paying attention to the food options. They decide on matching bowls of bibimbap garnished by servings of bossam and chicken feet — Wooseok’s personal favorite. As for drinks, they discuss for a while before settling for a type of rice wine the restaurant is famous for.

“What’s your daughter’s name? I forgot to ask.” tuts Yohan once the waitress returns to the kitchen with their order properly scribbled on her notepad. “And how old is she?”

Wooseok can’t help perking up at the mention, a very much dad-like habit he had quickly picked up after the adoption. “Her name is Hyejin. She’s turning five in a couple months.”

“Aw,” he hums, before pausing and giving Wooseok a subtle once-over. Yohan’s probably trying to do the math in his head right now, he guesses. Yohan shakes his head after a moment, ready to change the subject but Wooseok is quicker.

“Let me save you the trouble,” Wooseok says amusedly. “I’m twenty-five.”

“So you had her when you were twenty?” Yohan blurts out, having the decency to blush after realizing his outburst.

“No,” Wooseok laughs softly at his expression, “I adopted her when I was twenty-two. Her mom — my big sister — passed away, so I stepped in.” 

“Oh. Oh.”  he says, still looking somewhat regretful. “That makes sense. I’m sorry about your sister.”

“It’s fine,” Wooseok easily shrugs it off, “Hey, what are you majoring in again?” 

“I don’t think I mentioned it, actually. I major in film and television, specializing in screenwriting and directing.” Yohan gladly complies to the swift subject change.

“Oh, that’s awesome,”

“Yeah, I really like it,” Yohan beams, proudly. “What did you major in?”

“I didn’t,” Wooseok sighs, half-apologetic about the fact they have stumbled across a tender spot once again. “I dropped out. I would’ve majored in psychology, though.”

Yohan’s face falls and he drops his head to the table, supporting it on his crossed arms. “I’m sorry,” he grunts, “I’m being awful,” 

Wooseok laughs, a little louder than intended. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You’re asking very normal questions. It’s not your fault I have odd answers.”

Yohan looks up, raising the corner of his mouth in a smile, and that’s the exact moment their food arrives in all it’s colorful and scented glory. They resume talking over the meal and in the hour that passes, Wooseok discovers three things:

One, Yohan is also friends with Seungwoo, which is the reason why he had visited the coffee shop in the first place, and also explains how he had known to only visit on Saturday mornings. Yohan falteringly admits to getting Wooseok’s work schedule through Seungwoo all those weeks ago and Wooseok makes a mental note to have a word with his friend some time in the future, though he’s not all that annoyed. 

Two, Yohan is a former taekwondo black-belt and Wooseok doesn’t really understand the importance of the title until Yohan explains that he could’ve very realistically had a career as a professional athlete, but chose to quit and focus on his studies instead.

And three, Yohan is a very energetic person and the way he can’t go five minutes without fussing with the cutlery or fidgeting with his dark blue button-up is nothing short from endearing. That last realization is accepted with only a minimal amount of resistance from Wooseok’s part. Yohan blushes easily and halfway through the night Wooseok figures it’s useless to fight the fact that he finds the younger at least a little attractive. And that their three-year age difference doesn’t bother him so much anymore. In fact, he can’t really recall if it ever had in the first place. Mentally, he prepares to be relentlessly made fun of by Jinhyuk later on.

When his watch marks 11pm Wooseok excuses himself from the table, remembering he’s supposed to pick Hyejin up soon and despite Wooseok’s protests Yohan walks him to his car anyway, claiming that it’s just the polite thing to do.

“Thank you for tonight. Really, I had a great time,” says Wooseok, softly, leaning against his car’s door.

“I’m glad,” Yohan beams, and for a fractioned second his eyes seem to flick to Wooseok’s lips. Yohan opens his mouth as if he were about to say something but changes his mind at the very last moment. Instead, he goes: “Well, goodbye. I had fun too.”

Then he nods, more to himself than anything and turns around to leave. Wooseok lets him take two steps before making up his mind. There’s some wine in his system and that gives him the extra kick but he’s nowhere near drunk. He is conscious enough to know that he wants this.

So, he calls out to Yohan, who promptly turns around with a startled look on his face.

“Yeah?” 

Wooseok smiles, cutting through the distance between them, and kisses him square on the mouth, angling his head so his glasses won’t be in the way. Yohan stills for moment with a half-gasp before easing into the kiss, sliding a hesitant hand down to the curve of Wooseok’s waist. Wooseok hums lowly in approval and finally moves away, entranced by the way Yohan slowly lets go of his waist and settles for touching the corner of his own lips instead, looking just shy of smug. 

“Bye,” says Wooseok, getting into his black Mitsubishi Mirage and driving away.

—

“You’re happy,” is the first thing out of Jinhyuk’s mouth when he opens his apartment’s door to let Wooseok inside. “I’m assuming it went well.” 

Wooseok can’t stop the corners of his mouth from quirking up. “I may have kissed him,” he says, feigning nonchalance.

“ You did?” Jinhyuk gapes, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline, “Oh, we’re celebrating tonight,”

Wooseok laughs and follows Jinhyuk to the kitchen where he pops open a cheap bottle of champagne and pours a single glass. Before Wooseok can argue, Jinhyuk tuts: “None for you, you’re driving,” Wooseok sulks but ultimately agrees and together they make their way to the sectional couch in Jinhyuk’s living room. 

“Hyejin is asleep, by the way. I tucked her in just now,” 

“Just now?” Wooseok muses, frowning, “You know she’s supposed to be in bed by ten,”

“Shhh,” Jinhyuk shrugs him off, “I’m the cool uncle,” 

Wooseok rolls his eyes then shuffles on the couch, trying to get comfortable. “Listen,” he starts, voice almost a sigh which catches Jinhyuk’s attention immediately, “This is isn’t something I say very often, but maybe you and Minhee were right. In making me go, I mean.” 

Jinhyuk’s i-told-you-so smile slices through his features. “Talk me through it. What was he like?” 

“He was really nice. But not like, boring-nice. And he’s cute — Wooseok glares at Jinhyuk before he can retort. He surrenders with a gesture, smiling sheepishly — I actually had a lot of fun,” 

“Did you get his age?”

“Yeah,” chuckles Wooseok, “Turns out he isn’t a child. He’s twenty-two,”

“See?” Jinhyuk says, nudging Wooseok’s shoulder. Wooseok ignores him and continues speaking. 

“He’s majoring in film and television and he knows Seungwoo.” he pauses and crosses his arms, “He said he begged Seungwoo for my work schedule. And Seungwoo actually gave it to him! I’ll definitely have to talk to him later. That’s fucked up, he could’ve been a creep,”

Jinhyuk cackles, “I think you should thank him, honestly. Seungwoo’s carelessness just got you a boyfriend,”

“Woah,” Wooseok hisses, scandalized. His heart jumps a little at the word. “Who said anything about a boyfriend? We just met,”

“Why, does he hate children? Does he chew with his mouth open or something?” Jinhyuk huffs.

Wooseok pouts, toeing his shoes off and bringing his knees to his chest before answering. “He doesn’t. Yohan has younger siblings and he eats just fine.”

Jinhyuk sips from his forgotten champagne glass and shuffles closer, placing a warm hand on Wooseok’s shoulder, “Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Wooseok hums, “I’d like to see him again, I think. But I have Hyejin to think about. It’s a lot of commitment. A lot of compromising. And maybe that’s not what he wants. It’s a little scary,”

“Well, it’s not like he’s going into it blind,” reasons Jinhyuk, rubbing at the other’s shoulder, “He knew about Hyejin. If he decides to back out later that’s no one’s fault but his own.” 

“I guess,” Wooseok eases into the touch, leaning his head into Jinhyuk’s hand.

“Besides, if he tries anything I’ll find him and I’ll fuck him up. No kidding,”

Wooseok laughs, slightly caught off guard. “Please don’t. He did mention being a taekwondo master.”

“We’ll see,” Jinhyuk retorts, doing his best to sound menacing. He places his glass on the center table and brings Wooseok even closer, squeezing him affectionately and adds, softly: “I’m happy for you, you know. I’m happy if you are,” 

“I know,” Wooseok squirms at the honesty, but he’s sincere in his answer nonetheless. “You big softie,” 

Jinhyuk huffs and elbows him playfully. Wooseok nudges him right back and they laugh wildly, at nothing in particular, until Wooseok remembers Hyejin’s sleeping presence just a room away and promptly covers both of their mouths with the palms of his hands. 

—

Wooseok hears from Yohan a couple days later. The younger texts to ask him out again and Wooseok is only the slightest bit embarrassed by how unhesitant he is with his reply. They agree on meeting at a park on the following Sunday, planning for a picnic, and with some very active encouragement from Jinhyuk’s part Wooseok decides to string Hyejin along. To spend time with her, obviously, but mostly to see if she and Yohan would hit it off well. 

Wooseok and Hyejin get there about twenty minutes late, having lost track of time while preparing sandwiches and cutting them into neat triangles but Yohan assures them he doesn’t mind. He waves at them from the table he’s settled on, his own basket in hand which turns out to contain various fruits and boxes of banana milk. The weather is the nicest it has been in a while. The sky blue and clear and a nice, refreshing breeze only strong enough to ruffle the foliage on nearby trees.

The day goes by quickly and in all honesty, it goes better than Wooseok could’ve ever imagined. His biggest concern, Yohan and Hyejin not getting along for any reason whatsoever, is proven very much groundless. Hyejin ends up liking him a lot. Maybe a little too much. For a good portion of the afternoon Yohan chases her around with a bubble-shooting toy Hyejin had brought with her, both of them running around the table and zigzagging through the trees while Wooseok reminds them to take a break every once in a while to drink some water and get some food. The pauses are also a good time for Hyejin to catch her breath after laughing so much, he figures. Yohan is all smiles and Wooseok doesn’t even mind the fact Hyejin is monopolizing his attention, he is content enough watching the two of them have their fun. So much, he finds his lips tugged into involuntary smiles more than a few times over the course of the day. 

In no time, Hyejin foregoes honorifics and simply calls Yohan by his name. The small gesture doesn’t go unnoticed. Yohan laughs, equal parts stunned and amused and Wooseok laughs, too, with unexplainable pride blossoming inside his chest. He knows it means his daughter has judged Yohan as a presence that is safe enough for her to be comfortable around. And Hyejin has always been vocal about what she does and doesn’t like. Wooseok had learned all about her preferences early on their bonding process, important things such as her love for cheese and anything yellow, as well as her shrimp allergy and hatred for sandals.

By the time the sun makes its way down to meet the horizon, sky turning orange and purple, they have already finished most of the food and lay comfortably on a big blanket provided by Wooseok. Hyejin is only minutes away from completely dozing off, nestled in between Wooseok’ and Yohan’s bodies. Wooseok catches himself overthinking the domesticity of the situation. As he gently pets the side of Hyejin’s head Wooseok’s mind finds it very reasonable to worry about how an outsider might perceive the way the three on them are displayed closely huddled on the ground. He frowns slightly, thoughts jumping fast until Yohan’s voice snaps him out of the trance. 

“She’s asleep already,” he coos with a chuckle, nodding at Hyejin who is now snoring quietly, brows pinched cutely in sleepy distress. 

“Yeah,” Wooseok hums, then adds thoughtfully: “In the end, this turned out more like a playdate than an actual picnic. Hope it wasn’t too tiring for you.”

“Oh, I had fun alright,” Yohan dismisses his concern with a bright smile. “I’ve never had a little kid address me by name like that before, though.”

Wooseok laughs. “It means she likes you,”

Yohan seems proud at that, eyes sparkling. “Really? Well, I like her too.”

They chat for a while, until it starts to get dark. Wooseok talks a little about his office job at an insurance company and Yohan excitedly describes the project he’s been working on for uni, an audiovisual production that involves the recollection of family memories. Wooseok has never been particularly keen on movies but seeing Yohan rambling about the technical aspects of his work so passionately makes him want to learn more, just so the conversation could last a little longer.

When it’s time to leave, they clean up and Wooseok offers Yohan a ride, which he gratefully accepts. In his own way to retribute, Yohan helps by carrying a still sound asleep Hyejin to the car and Wooseok watches them fondly. 

Yohan’s apartment complex is nearby, only a couple minutes away, and when Wooseok parks in front of the building they part with a kiss over the car gear. It’s just a peck, really. Sweet and short but it leaves a tingly feeling in the pit of Wooseok’s stomach anyway. Later on, Wooseok catches sight of himself on the rearview mirror still smiling stupidly even after he has already driven away. Hyejin wakes up from her nap as they enter their own building’s garage and Wooseok orders pizza through the phone while they’re going up the elevator, since they’re running a little later than expected and Jinhyuk is supposed to be over to have dinner with them soon.

The pizza is half mozzarella — Hyejin’s favorite — half pepperoni and Wooseok has to keep offering Hyejin the bits every once in a while since she’s much more interested in telling Jinhyuk about their day in fine details.

“Yohanie played with me the whole time!” Hyejin beams while Jinhyuk sets up the video game console for the both of them, the Mario Kart start screen flashing brightly. “He never gets tired!”

“Really?” Jinhyuk laughs, “And did you like him?” 

“Yeah,” she hums, then adds wistfully like the information is crucial: “He said his favorite color is blue,”

Jinhyuk nods solemnly and repeats it to Wooseok. “See? His favorite color is blue.”

“Shut up,” Wooseok snickers and feeds Hyejin another bite of pizza. 

“No but, when do I get to meet him?” Jinhyuk chirps and Wooseok chokes on his food for a second, before the sound gets drowned out by their game. 

“Not on the third date,” he sputters and Jinhyuk shoots him a very unimpressed glance. 

“Okay,” he hums, “Is the fourth date fine with you?”

“It’s too soon,” Wooseok fumbles, “Yohan probably doesn’t think it’s that serious yet,”

Jinhyuk rolls his eyes, “Hyejin, do you think your dad should let me meet Yohanie?” 

“Uh-huh,” she replies, without ever moving her eyes away from the screen. “Yohanie likes cheese sandwiches like me. I think you’d be great friends.”

Jinhyuk turns back at Wooseok and raises his eyebrows, like that is all the reasoning they need. 

—

Despite Jinhyuk’s insistence, Wooseok is set on having at least one more outing with Yohan before taking the huge step that is introducing him to one of the most important people in his life. 

So, for the first time yet, he texts Yohan first.

They decide to go watch a movie on a weeknight. Yohan says he’s up for anything so he lets Wooseok choose and that’s how they end up watching a cheap, rom-com like comedy. By the time they’re out of the theater room Wooseok has his cheeks flushed from laughing too much and an empty popcorn bag clutched into his hand.

“Did you like it?” he asks Yohan, eyes sparkling just the slightest bit. 

“It was a lot better than I expected,” he admits, “And even if it had been bad, just seeing you laugh makes me wanna laugh, too.”

Wooseok chuckles, half-embarrassedly, and nudges him on the shoulder. “Are you hungry?”

Yohan hums. “Not really. You?”

“Nope,”

They walk around the mall for a little bit. It’s barely past 7pm and it just seems a little too early to call the night to an end. After building up the courage for a couple minutes, Wooseok tuts: “Do you wanna go back to my place? I have wine,”

Yohan looks very much caught off guard, eyes wide and mouth parted. “Is it really okay? Yeah, I’d love that,”

Wooseok smiles to himself, admiring the way the youngest’s eyebrows knit together for the briefest second. 

Once they’re inside the car and driving towards Wooseok’s apartment complex, he remembers something.

“Hey,” he starts to catch Yohan’s attention, trying not to stammer too much, “Next time we go out like this, you think you’d be up to meet a friend of mine? He’s been bugging me,” 

Yohan laughs, “Sure. I have a friend who might want to meet you, too,” When he finishes the sentence, Yohan scoots closer and places his hand on Wooseok’s thigh, the warmth of his palm seeping through the fabric of Wooseok’s pants. 

Wooseok shivers lightly and he’s sure Yohan feels it too, though he doesn’t say anything. It feels nice, being like this. They go the rest of the ride in comfortable silence. 

Before they actually head into the apartment Wooseok makes a quick stop by his next door neighbor’s to pick up Hyejin. He finds her already asleep on the couch, with a blanket draped over her body so all he needs to do is take her to their own home and tuck her in, after thanking Mrs. Park who had so generously volunteered to watch Hyejin for a couple of hours.

“Your neighbor was staring at me,” Yohan muses once they’re alone in Wooseok’s living room. “Not in a mean way, I hope, but she was,”

Wooseok laughs softly as he opens a bottle of red wine and pours it onto two sleek glasses. “Mrs. Park is always looking out for us. And she’s been talking about how she wishes I’d have more people around. I guess she must’ve been happy to see a new face.” 

“Okay, that’s sweet,” Yohan coos and sips at his drink, 

“It is!” Wooseok continues on with a smile, “Her kids are all grown now so she dotes on Hyejin instead. She used to brings us food all the time when Hyejin was younger because she didn’t think I could cook and was afraid we’d starve,”

Yohan raises his eyebrows in interest, “So you can cook?” 

“I mean, yeah. I’d say my cooking is pretty decent,” Wooseok says bashfully, and then adds rather playfully: “What about you?”

“Oh, no,” Yohan shakes his head vehemently. “I tried, once, and my flatmate banished me from our kitchen. For undetermined time.” 

Wooseok throws his head back in laughter and Yohan follows right after, softly, scrunching his shoulders up with the movement. 

Two and a half glasses of wine later, Yohan is more relaxed then Wooseok has ever seen him. He’s propped up on his elbows half laying on the round table, eyes just shy of droopy and his speech isn’t quite slurred yet but he’s getting there. Wooseok subtly moves the bottle away from the center of the table and out of Yohan’s reach.

Yohan giggles at nothing. Wooseok chuckles at him and teases, fondly: “Are you sure you’re allowed to drink?”

The younger takes another small sip from the glass before answering, cheeks flushed pink. “I swear!” he giggles some more, “I’m just happy.”

“Alright,” Wooseok hums, “I’m glad.” 

Yohan tilts his head and gazes straight into Wooseok’s eyes, lips curling in a tight smile. He doesn’t say anything and Wooseok starts to squirm after a few seconds under the scrutiny.

“What?” he tuts embarrassedly.

“Nothing,” Yohan’s smile grows wider and his eyes crinkle. “You’re so pretty. Like, ridiculously pretty. I thought I was gonna die, the first time I saw you.” 

Wooseok laughs, certainly not expecting that, and feels his cheeks getting warmer. “I remember. My co worker was worried you wouldn’t be able to order with how much you were stuttering.”

 “Yeah.” Yohan shakes his head solemnly, eyes all wide and excited like a child’s. “But you’re not just pretty, that’s the thing! I thought that maybe it’d be weird, between us, since you’re a grown man with a kid and a job and responsibilities, and I’m just… Not. I thought that might be a problem. But you’re genuinely so cool! You’re a great dad, and you’re funny and amazing .” There’s a pause where he shifts his gaze to his own glass’ contents, like he’s collecting his thoughts, then adds very quietly. “I like you so much,” 

To say Wooseok is stunned is an understatement. And he’s definitely blushing now. He sucks in a large breath and before he can say anything, Yohan slides out of his chair and stands up, wine glass still in hand.

“I rambled,” he pouts with his head down, “Sorry. I’m a little drunk right now,”

After the few seconds he spends frozen in surprise, Wooseok shakes his head and can’t fight the huge smile that cuts through his face as he stands up, too. 

“Yohan,” he calls out, and only resumes speaking once the other has looked up at him, “I like you too. I really, really like you.” 

Yohan eyes widen so comically it has Wooseok worried for a moment there, and his mouth falls open with a gasp. “Oh!” he fumbles with his words but ultimately settles for the most expressive expletive he can muster. “Fuck, okay,”

Wooseok reaches forward to pluck the glass out of Yohan’s grip and place it back on the table. Yohan eyes the minimal distance between them and blinks rapidly.

“Kiss me?” he blurts, “Please?”

 “Yeah,” Wooseok laughs softly — with no ulterior motive whatsoever. Surely not to mask the shiver that runs through his body right then — and places a hand on his cheek, stroking the warm skin with his thumb, “Whatever you want,”

Wooseok takes one last look at Yohan’s face, trying to engrave his expression into his memory, and kisses him. Yohan kisses back so enthusiastically they stumble backwards and Wooseok needs to lean on the table with one hand to steady himself and his other hand finds purchase sliding down and curling around the back of the younger’s neck. Yohan hums into his mouth and rubs at the expanse of Wooseok’s waist, all the way down to the curve of his hip. Granted, they both taste like wine. Wooseok just hadn’t expected the whole thing to be so addictive. He teases his fingers under Yohan’s shirt, scratching the skin lightly and Yohan actually shudders at that, so Wooseok breaks the kiss for half a second to grin at him. 

Before Wooseok knows it, Yohan is mouthing away at the underside of his jaw, one hand just kind of stationed on his ass, kneading the flesh and keeping him close but Wooseok will die before he admits to the way his knees wobble at one particularly hard nip. Yohan moves down to the column of his neck and Wooseok can feel him smile against his skin when he lets out a sound similar to a keen. With half a mind to retaliate, Wooseok scratches the other’s scalp then tugs at the dark strands. It backfires, though, because it makes Yohan sigh, hot and dreamy against the sensitive spot next to Wooseok’s Adam’s apple and Wooseok couldn’t have stopped the whimper that comes tumbling out of his mouth if he wanted to. 

With the slightest frown, Wooseok pulls Yohan back up by his neck and joins their mouths together again. They kiss for what feels like hours, lips sliding together frantically and warm hands roaming around every bit of skin they can find. Until Wooseok’s child-conditioned hearing picks up on something and it yanks him back to reality so violently he needs a second to compose himself. He steps back to put some space between them and taps at Yohan’s chest twice, softly. Yohan looks down at him with very confused puppy eyes, lips red and a little swollen from being bitten and Wooseok has to fight away the urge to coo, before shushing him and telling him to wait.

As if on cue, a mumbled, high-pitched voice comes from the hallway that leads to the other rooms in the apartment. “Dad?” 

Wooseok snickers as Yohan belatedly understands what’s happening and all but jumps backwards, trying to fix his rumpled clothes and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hyejin appears at the hallway’s entryway, leaning against the wall with her eyes barely open due to sleepiness and dark hair tangled all over. 

“Come on, baby. I’ll tuck you back in,” Wooseok says with a smile and takes her by the hand.

Ten minutes and a lullaby later, Wooseok comes back to the living room to find Yohan downing the little wine left on his glass. 

“I’d offer you more, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Wooseok chuckles with his arms folded across his chest.

Yohan laughs, although a bit bit shyly. “Yeah. I should probably go home, actually. Uh, classes. Tomorrow.”

“Are you gonna get an Uber? I can wait with you, downstairs.”

“Okay,” Yohan smiles sheepishly and Wooseok mirrors him.

They’re standing in front of Wooseok’s building, waiting for the right car when Wooseok nudges Yohan’s shoulder with a grin tugging on his lips. “So, you like me,”

Yohan scoffs and rolls his eyes endearingly, then nudges him right back. “And you really like me. Or so I’ve heard.”

Wooseok laughs and tugs at his shirt to get one last kiss before Yohan’s Uber driver pulls up into the driveway and takes him away. 

The very next morning, Wooseok freezes as the first words out of Hyejin’s mouth when she sneaks into his bed, instead of ‘good morning’ or even ‘hi’, are: “Dad, was Yohanie here last night?” 

“Yes, love, he was. Why?” Wooseok replies though his mouth is suddenly super dry.

“Thought I heard his voice,” she hums thoughtfully. 

Wooseok nods and shifts around to make room for her. Hyejin chooses to lay directly on top of him instead, which tickles a little bit, and then, looking up at Wooseok with her eyes as big and round as the moon itself, she asks: “Dad, do you love him?”

Wooseok blinks, once, and manages not to choke on air as he takes a mortifying second to fumble with his thoughts. His mind is basically white noise and Yohan’s infuriatingly pretty face and only when Hyejin makes a noise out of impatience does he remember she’s still waiting for an answer.

“Not… Not like I love you . But maybe.” he stammers, trying to be as honest as possible.

Hyejin simply smiles, brightly, and tucks her little face into Wooseok’s shoulder. To hug him, or just to get comfortable enough to sleep again, Wooseok can’t really tell.

—

A week later, Wooseok finds himself sitting around a table with Jinhyuk, Yohan, and Yohan’s best friend and flatmate, Hangyul. The red-ish marks on the side of his neck have almost completely faded yet it still embarasses him to no end when Jinhyuk makes a point of glancing at him suggestively anytime he can. The only thing that comforts him is the fact that Yohan can’t look at that particular patch of his skin without getting a little red on the cheeks, too.

They’re having lunch at a place right down the street from Wooseok’s office, which is great, because his lunch break is really not that long.

The meal goes well and serves its purpose as they all get to talk and know each other a little better. They share weird and funny stories about one another, since both pairs of friends have known each other for the longest time and conversation sails smoothly. At one point, however, Yohan comes to place his hand on top of Wooseok’s own, absentmindedly rubbing at his knuckles for the briefest moment. That simple action confirms Wooseok’s theory that Best Friend is indeed an universal role, as both Jinhyuk and Hangyul halt their actions completely — Hangyul gasps, not so subtly, and Jinhyuk, like the dramatic bitch he is, has the nerve to go into a coughing fit, — to ogle shamelessly at their joined hands like it’s middle school all over again.

Yohan and Hangyul end up leaving early, something about Yohan having an important lecture and Hangyul being the one to drive him to uni. It leaves Wooseok and Jinhyuk by themselves and Wooseok can barely contain himself before asking the question: “So?” his tone is hopeful as he looks up at Jinhyuk through his lashes.

Jinhyuk wiggles his eyebrows before giving a proper answer. “Yeah, okay. He’s cool,”

“That’s it?” Wooseok raises his eyebrows coyly.

“He’s very charming,” Jinhyuk enunciates and Wooseok scoffs, “And polite. And. He held your hand,” 

 “Yeah,”

“The tenderness of it all…” Jinhyuk rambles, “The domesticity … He’s a gentleman and I respect him for it,” 

“Okay, great,” Wooseok hums with a laugh, teasing edge to his tone, “No need for you to fuck him up, then,”

“Hum. Guess not,”

Wooseok and Yohan text back and forth relentlessly after that. Their schedules don’t really match for a while so it gets a little harder for them to meet in person, but they make up for it by talking about everything and anything through phone calls and messages and that arrangement lasts for a couple weeks.

Until Hyejin gets really, really sick. 

Out of nowhere, she comes down with a terrible cold. One she can’t seem to fight off and it leaves her feverish, bed-bound and aching all over. Wooseok is more than worried. It has been over an entire week now — and Wooseok had practically had to beg his supervisor for those days off. He really doesn’t know what’s he’s going to do if she doesn’t recover soon —, spent almost entirely feeding Hyejin soup and other comfort foods, constantly checking for her temperature and ultimately letting her nap the sickness away. 

Everything else in Wooseok’s life has been pretty much left unattended. For example, he doesn’t quite know where his phone is right now. Or if it’s even charged. But that’s very low in his current list of worries. The house is a literal mess, which is of course what happens when the only set of hands available to complete chores is overpowered by other obligations. With a deep sigh, Wooseok decides to take advantage of the fact Hyejin has just been put back to sleep — with the help of a lukewarm shower and a change into clean clothes, after a bellyache caused her to get rid of every bit of breakfast in her stomach — to wash the growing pile of used dishes and handle their laundry. 

By the time he’s finished and the apartment looks somewhat presentable, it’s past midday. Wooseok heats up the pot of chicken soup, scoops some into a yellow bowl and takes it to his own room. The windows are open to let in sunlight and fresh air but Hyejin still looks distressed curled up in the middle of the bed with a thick comforter, cheeks flushed an angry red and short hairs matted to her forehead with sweat. 

He places the bowl on the bedside table and caresses Hyejin’s cheek with his palm, feeling the heat that seeps through her clammy skin. For a second, Wooseok is convinced she feels a little less hot than she had a couple hours before, then he isn’t so sure anymore. He checks again, with his other hand this time. Yes. Hyejin’s cheeks are definitely not as warm as the last time he checked them. Silently, Wooseok sighs, relieved. He proceeds to pet Hyejin awake, arranging pillows behind her so she can sit up and eat. 

When Hyejin finally opens her eyes, they’re red-rimmed and glassy like she’s in pain. The sight pulls at Wooseok’s gut and he hurries to pick up the soup container. Hyejin shakes her head minimally, bottom lip trembling slightly. “I’m not hungry,” 

“I know, baby,” Wooseok whispers, kissing the top of her head. “But you need to eat and get strong, so you’ll get better. Your belly is all empty,” 

He pokes at her stomach softly and Hyejin tries to smile at him but it’s nothing more than a twitch of her lips. Wooseok swallows and tries to make his hands as steady as possible while he feeds her spoonful after spoonful. It’s at times like these that he misses his sister the most. The knowledge that Hyejin is his responsibility and his only is a little overwhelming. Of course, there’s help. They have Jinhyuk, and Mrs. Park and Wooseok’s parents who live too far away and still send them gifts every once in a while anyway. But at the end of the day, it’s just Wooseok and Hyejin. The two of them on their own. Wooseok patching up Hyejin’s scraped knees and helping her with homework at night; watching cartoons in the morning and looking through old family photo albums together. Wooseok allows himself to dwell in the heavy feeling for a moment before shaking it off and drifting back to the task at hand. 

Later that day, Wooseok has already fed Hyejin dinner — alongside with herbal tea Mrs. Park had brought over — and checked her temperature, confirming that it had indeed gone down a couple decimals. He is now lounging on the couch as he waits for his phone to charge, having finally found it after taking the time to look through the stuff scattered around his room.

Just as his phone screen lights up, there’s a knock at the door. Wooseok scrambles to go get the door but apparently he’s not fast enough because another knock comes seconds after. He pauses to check his living room for any dirty cups or forgotten clothes and only after he’s sure there are none does he open the door.

Standing right in front of him is Yohan.

“Oh,” Wooseok blurts out before he can help it and surprise washes over him on a whim, “Hey. Why are you here?” 

Yohan has his dark eyebrows pinched downwards like he’s sad and his entire face is a little red, but the realization only hits Wooseok when the younger starts to speak. “Are you avoiding me? I’ve been calling,” 

He’s drunk. Very drunk, at that. He’s leaning his weight on the doorframe and upon a closer inspection Wooseok notices a small stain of unknown liquid near the hem of his shirt and the way his pupils look over-dilated. 

“I’m sorry, my phone wasn’t charged and I haven’t — ,” Wooseok starts but Yohan speaks right over him before he can finish.

“That’s the excuse? If you didn’t wanna see with me anymore you could’ve just said so, Wooseok.” He slurs out the syllables of his name and Wooseok winces, expression hardening immediately. Though Yohan had been an adorable drunk back when they had wine together, the way he’s behaving now is nothing like that.

“You’re drunk,” says Wooseok, stern and slow. “Let’s not do this right now,” 

Yohan just scoffs and stumbles a little to the side. “I’m upset !” he almost whines, volume going up, “You ghosted me for no reason. That’s not very adult of you, now, is it?” 

“Don’t raise your voice to me.” Wooseok scowls and glances towards the extension of the hallway. He’s way too tired for this and a noise complaint is the very last thing he needs.

“Great. Now you treat me like a child,” 

“Because you’re acting like one! ” Wooseok fumes loudly and there’s a sharp edge to his tone. One his doesn’t break out often and Yohan must notice, because his eyes widen the slightest bit. “You didn’t even let me finish. Hyejin is sick , for fuck’s sake. Really sick. So I’m sorry if I haven’t exactly been keeping you updated,” 

Wooseok feels just a twinge of satisfaction when Yohan’s face falls. Everything else is just frantic irritation that makes his skin tingle. 

“She’s… she’s sick?” he mumbles, suddenly sounding very small. 

Wooseok doesn’t have the energy to care anymore. He sighs and crosses his arms: “Yeah,” 

Yohan just stares at him and his mouth moves but he can’t seem to figure out what to say so Wooseok simply nods to himself and goes: “I think you should go home,” 

“I—” Yohan gasps like the air has been punched out of him and it would’ve been funny if Wooseok weren’t so over it already. 

“Go home, Yohan,” he repeats, with a little more bite to it before the other says anything else, “Please, just go,” 

They stare at each other for a charged second. Yohan, pleading. Wooseok, unrelenting. Finally, the younger bites his lip, turns around and slowly makes his way to the elevator down the hall. Wooseok has his gaze glued to his back, just to make sure he won’t stumble and fall and roughly ten minutes later Wooseok is watching from his living room’s window as Yohan gets into a car and disappears around the street corner.

Sitting on the couch once more, Wooseok feels his eyes start to burn and stubbornly talks himself out of it. Maybe he’ll cry tomorrow when he calls Jinhyuk and talks him through what just happened, but right now he just feels too spent. Instead, he walks to the bedroom and has his breath promptly sucked out of him when he finds Hyejin already awake, blinking up at him in the dark room.

“Dad? I heard yelling,” she whispers, frowning.

Despite his no-lying parenting policy, he figures it’s not fair to get Hyejin involved, specially when she sees Yohan as a friend and the issue doesn’t concern her in the slightest. Wooseok takes his deepest breath yet and shakes his head, forcing a gentler expression onto his features as he lies through his teeth. “It was nothing, love. Probably outside,” 

— 

The following Saturday, Wooseok calls in to work at Seungwoo’s coffee shop. Hyejin is not one hundred percent healthy yet but she’s doing much better, and Wooseok decides to bring her along because going out of the house can’t hurt after so many days stuck in bed. And it’s not like she has any complaints, since she gets to be comfy on a table close to the wall with a blanket thrown over her legs, supplied with a juicebox, sheets of paper to draw on and headphones as she watches cartoons on Wooseok’s phone. 

“You have no idea how boring it is to be here without you,” Minhee pouts.

“Yeah, missed you too,” Wooseok laughs and pets his head affectionately, straining a bit to reach since Minhee is built like a freaking light post. “Who even covered for me, anyway?”

“Seungwoo himself,” 

“Ohh,” Wooseok feigns excitement and then mumbles before really thinking it over: “Did he give out my work schedule again? Maybe second time’s the charm,”

Minhee raises his eyebrows questioningly. “Uh oh. Are things not going well with Yohan?”

Wooseok pinches the bridge of his nose at the mention and takes the briefest glance at Hyejin. “I don’t know. We had a fight, kind of.” 

The conversation pauses for a bit as a woman approaches the counter and Wooseok hurries over to take her order.

“Okay,” Minhee hums, tilting his head once the customer has already left, “Well, was it bad?”

“I mean, he was really drunk,”

Minhee’s mouth falls open into an “O” shape and that sums it up, honestly.

“Yeah,” Wooseok shrugs and they move away from the topic. Minhee swiftly takes over the conversation and rambles about the guy from his 3D design class who he might or might not be interested in and Wooseok listens gratefully, happy to have something else to pay attention to. 

Roughly half past midday, Hyejin finishes her sandwich for lunch and heads to the tiny break room —  which was actually supposed to be a storage room, before they realized they really didn’t have that much stuff to store and could just use some of the big cabinets in the kitchen — to take a nap on the even tinier couch. Wooseok is focused watching as Minhee prepares a caramel latte with extra foam, and is thoroughly startled when the younger widens his eyes, almost drops the cup he’s holding and exclaims: “Oh shit. You might not want to turn around right now.”

The warning just spikes Wooseok’s curiosity and he turns around right away, locking eyes with an abashed-looking Yohan as he walks through the door with a bouquet of blue flowers in hand —  Hyacinths to be specific, if the many hours spent watching his mother paint flowers in his childhood home taught Wooseok anything. 

“Oh shit,” Wooseok whispers and Minhee pats his back in silent support as Yohan makes a beeline for the counter, standing just behind the girl whose order Wooseok is currently taking. 

Wooseok doesn’t know what to expect when finally Yohan slides forward and it must show, because Yohan offers him a nervous half-smile before speaking. “Sorry for showing up so suddenly. To be fair, I texted you,” 

“Hyejin has had my phone the whole morning,” Wooseok simply replies, as politely as he can and without much of a reaction.

At that, the younger’s expression changes from shy anxiousness to worry. “Oh! Is she feeling better?”

“Yeah, a little,” 

“Okay, I’m glad,” he says with a hum, not very sure of what to do next.

Behind Yohan, a line has already started forming. Wooseok waits for him to resume speaking but he takes a moment too long so Wooseok just sighs, and goes: “Yohan, you’re holding up the line. Are you actually going to order?”  

Yohan looks equal parts startled and a little sad. “Fine,” he says with a nod, “I’ll wait until you’re free to talk,” He walks towards the café’s wall and patiently waits there, just watching with the bouquet clutched to his chest until there are no more customers in Wooseok’s line of sight.  

When he’s done, Wooseok closes the register and walks right over to Yohan with his lips pressed into a tight line. Yohan is a little more fidgety than usual, and Wooseok can’t help but notice the way his hands shake when he hands him the flowers.

“They’re for you,” he starts, “I told the girl at the shop I had fucked up majorly and needed to earn a special someone’s forgiveness, so she gave me these. And I know blue is your favorite color, so,” 

“Okay,” Wooseok nods and takes the bouquet from his hands, allowing him to continue.

“I know that’s not enough. So I came here to tell you that I’m sorry. Really. What I did was stupid, and childish and if I could go back in time I would’ve just stayed home that night. I was upset because I thought you were sick of me, so I got ahead of myself when we could’ve just talked it out,” Yohan pauses to take a breath and looks Wooseok in the eye, “I’m very sorry, Wooseok,” 

“Well,” Wooseok wets his lips. Yohan sounds genuine, and that is enough. “I need you to know that Hyejin is — and always will be — my priority. I feel like you understand that, now. But it means that I can’t be chasing after you all the time, and you can’t jump to conclusions by yourself. If something like this happens again, we’ll work through it together. We’ll talk, and we’ll figure it out. But you definitely can’t show up shit-faced at my house on a Thursday night. 

Yohan laughs softly, scratching the back of his head and agrees. “Yeah. Definitely not,” 

Wooseok eyes him tenderly with a small smile on his lips and Yohan twists his fingers nervously as the silence stretches. “Yohan,” Wooseok starts gently, breaking the brief silence and Yohan’s eyes light up like stars, “I know it can be hard, with a kid. I know it’s a lot of compromise. But I like being with you. I really do. And If you’re willing to make an effort, well, I bet we can make this work,” 

“Yes!” Yohan jumps in immediately, sliding the slightest bit closer to Wooseok, “Yes, fuck, if you let me, there’s nothing I want more than to be a part of your lives.” He stops to let out a shuddering breath, taking the time to build some courage, “I’ll take good care of Hyejin, promise. And, I love you.” 

Wooseok’s breath hitches and somewhere to his back he hears a sharp gasp which he could bet real money belonged to Minhee. Yohan looks a little surprised himself, but confident nonetheless. Wooseok’s smiling before he knows it and his words come out jumbled with delighted laughter. “Okay. Yes, okay!” 

“Okay? So are we good?” Yohan perks up, heavy expectations written all over his face. 

“We’re good,” Wooseok nods happily and pulls Yohan by his elbow to kiss him briefly, careful as not to crush the bouquet between them. Against the corner of Yohan’s lips, Wooseok hums: “I love you, too,” 

“Are we actually dating now?” Yohan whispers, eyes crinkling.

Wooseok quirks one eyebrow and pulls back, tauntingly. “I don’t know. Have you properly asked me?” 

Yohan scoffs, shaking his head and steps back to intertwine their fingers, dopey smile on his lips. “Kim Wooseok, would you like to be my boyfriend?” 

“After all this, you really think I’d say no?” 

“So it’s a yes?” Yohan practically beams and Wooseok can’t help letting out another, breathier laugh. 

“Of course,” 

“That’s very sweet, you guys,” Minhee coos from behind them, much, much louder than he actually needs to, “Wooseok, I love you and I’m happy for you, but I could really use some help over here,” he says, motioning at the line of half-amused, half-annoyed customers. 

Wooseok smiles apologetically, gives Yohan another peck and hops back behind the counter.

They decide to tell Hyejin the news a couple days later, and doing it together feels like the only appropriate approach.

Hyejin is sat on the couch, rubbing her little hands expectantly as Wooseok looks down on her. Yohan has his hand casually placed on the top of the dinner table, a couple steps behind, but the way he keeps nibbling at his bottom lip does nothing to mask his anxiousness. 

“Hyejin, love,” Wooseok starts, smiling and doing his best to go through the sentence as naturally as possible, “How would you feel if Daddy told you he had a boyfriend?” 

“Hmm,” Hyejin hums then widens her eyes, brows going up, and blurts out as she eyes Yohan intently: “Is it Yohanie?” 

Wooseok turns to flash Yohan a grin and the younger looks just a little mortified. “Yes, yes it is.” 

The girl beams and jumps from the couch, making a run for the hallway as she tells them to wait. Barely a minute later she emerges from her room, still smiling although sheepishly now, holding a sheet of paper. “It’s all of us,” she says, waving the drawing as Yohan steps closer to take a look at it, too. 

“This is me,” Hyejin points excitedly at a stick-figure girl wearing a yellow dress, “Here’s Dad,” motioning to a stick-figure man, “And this is Yohanie,” she finishes, pointing at another, taller stick-figure man. She beams up at Yohan, shoving the paper towards him, “I made it for you!” 

Yohan takes it with shaky hands and a smile, ruffles her hair as a thank you and only when Hyejin goes back to the couch does he turn to face Wooseok. His eyes are glassy and the corner of his mouth twitches when he whispers: “She made it for me.”

Wooseok laughs quietly and takes one hand to stroke the short hairs on his nape. “I told you. She likes you,” 

—

“Hey, Seungwoo,” chirps Wooseok from where he’s standing next to the window in Yohan’s apartment.  

The voice on the other end of the line comes after a moment, sounding cheerful. “Oh, Wooseok! It’s been a while,” 

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “I’m calling to thank you, actually.”

“Huh? Why?” 

“Remember months ago? When a friend of yours asked for my work schedule and you , instead of protecting my privacy, gave it to him? Yeah. We’re dating now,”

A loud cackle resounds from the phone. “Yohan? That’s awesome! I’m glad it worked out,” 

“Me too,” Wooseok hums, shaking his head which goes by unnoticed by Seungwoo. “If you ever pull that shit again though, you’re dead to me,”