Chapter Text
“You’re limping,” Namjoon observed, frowning as Jeongguk moved across the gym towards the supply closet. “You should ice tonight.”
Jeongguk scoffed. “You know I’m working tonight,” he pointed out. He would love nothing more than to sit and relax and take care of himself for the night, but unfortunately he had already promised Yoongi he would work tonight and after everything his hyungs had done for him, he really felt bad not following through with a promise.
Namjoon sighed, obviously not happy. “If you need a night off you know we don’t mind. I don’t want you killing yourself.”
Jeongguk wanted to scoff at the irony of that statement, but just brushed it all off. “I’m fine, hyung. I have to go, I have a class starting soon.”
Namjoon just nodded as Jeogguk left the office room. The younger boy headed towards the main gym where he could see parents dropping their kids off. Teaching the adorable little kids martial arts was the highlight of his day. There was just something so incredibly endearing about having the tiny humans beating up wood and plastic with their little yells and excitement. Call him weird, but he found it therapeutic.
“Guk-ah.”
Jeongguk looked up from where he was watching the children to see Jimin smiling at him. His small hand was clutching his son’s smaller one. Minjun was small, only five, the youngest in his class. But he was a quick learner and he obviously had fun every class so Jeongguk enjoyed teaching him. He was quiet, often kept to himself, away from the other kids. This had led Jeongguk to be a little more friendly with him. Jeongguk understood Minjun a little; even he, at the age of 26, still felt like a scared child sometimes.
“Jimin,” Jeongguk said, bowing his head slightly at him.
Jimin rolled his eyes playfully. “That’s hyung to you, brat.”
Jeongguk smirked at him. He enjoyed pushing Jimin’s buttons. He was older than Jeongguk, but shorter and Jeongguk enjoyed teasing him about it. Jimin made it so incredibly easy to do so, always fighting back and complaining. It only made Jeongguk tease even more. They both knew it was all playful teasing and Jeongguk really liked Jimin and respected him.
“Hey, I just wanted to say that I won’t be here to pick Minnie up later,” Jimin said.
Jeongguk looked down at Minjun who was hiding a little behind Jimin. He was usually more timid at the beginning, but would warm up after a few minutes. “That’s fine, is his mother going to be picking him up?” Jeongguk knew Jimin wasn’t married, but he didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with Minjun’s mother; Jeongguk had never seen or heard about her.
But as soon as Jimin started laughing Jeongguk knew his answer. “Oh god no,” Jimin giggled. “She’s long gone. My friend will pick him up.”
Jeongguk nodded. “Can I have a name for safety? I don’t want just anyone to come in and claim him, you know?”
Jimin looked pleasantly surprised. “Oh, that’s actually really smart,” he said. “His name is Taehyung. He usually works during this time, that’s why I’m always dropping Jun off and picking him up. But he’s able to get off early today so he can pick him up.”
Jeongguk didn’t comment on that weird arrangement. Why would someone else drop off and pick up Jimin’s kid? Just because his friend is free he gets the right to take Minjun? Jeongguk knew that sometimes people have weird arrangements with friends, but this was definitely up there. But Minjun wasn’t his kid so he wasn’t going to question other people’s parenting choices.
“Alright,” he said, giving Jimin a small smile. “I’ll make sure no one other than Taehyung takes him.” Jeongguk sent a smile Minjun’s way that is thankfully returned as Minjun comes out from behind Jimin’s legs a bit.
“Thanks, Guk-ah,” Jimin said. Jimin’s eyes shoot behind Jeongguk and a flirty smirk replaces the friendly smile. Jeongguk didn’t have to turn around to know who Jimin spotted. “Hi, hyung!” Jimin sing-songs.
“Jimin-ah,” Yoongi’s gruff voice returned. He sounded exasperated, but Jeongguk can hear the pleased tone underneath it. Yoongi stepped up next to Jeongguk. “Still stalking me I see.”
“Do you blame me?” Jimin asked, looking rather mischievous.
Yoongi gave a crooked smile. “It’s good to see you, Jimin,” he said. “Let’s let Guk take Minjun so I can buy you a coffee.”
Jimin, looking incredibly pleased, nodded. “I guess I can spare some time for that.”
Jeongguk rolled his eyes at the pair. They had been flirting heavily since Jimin started bringing Minjun here. Jeongguk knew this wasn’t the first time the two had gone on a date, he was sure they were more than friends, but wasn’t sure if they were official yet.
“Alright, Minjun, let’s head to class,” Jeongguk said to the boy.
Minjun smiled at him before turning to hug Jimin. Jimin said something to the boy that was too quiet for Jeongguk to hear before he kissed the boy’s head and stood up to face Yoongi. Jeongguk offered Minjun his hand which the boy took. He led the boy towards the gym while Yoongi led Jimin out of the gym and probably to the coffee shop down the street.
Jeongguk let Minjun stay by his side and help him set up for the class, Minjun babbling to Jeongguk about his day and school while they set up. Jeongguk enjoyed listening to him talk, always amused at the things the boy had deemed as important information. Like the cloud that looked like a bunny apparently was the highlight of his day.
“It reminded me of you,” Minjun said as Jeongguk carefully wrapped the boy’s hands for protection.
“Me?” Jeongguk asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Minjun nodded. “You look like a bunny when you smile.”
Jeongguk chuckled, probably proving the boy’s point. He had been told many times he looked like a cute little bunny when he smiled. Maybe that was why he tended not to smile too much at people. He had an image to uphold and that did not involve looking “cute”.
Once Jeongguk had wrapped the boy’s hands, he moved on to help wrap the other kid’s hands. Minjun moved to go talk to another kid in the class that he was friends with. He was a quiet kid at first, but once he got comfortable he became very talkative.
Class went smoothly as always. Jeongguk never taught the kids anything too crazy; they were too young for that. But he did make sure they knew the basics and all that. As they got older and stronger he would step up the difficulty. He had an older class of kids that did the more hardcore stuff, but they were reaching teenage years and could handle it. These kids were all under the age of ten and didn’t need to know that just yet.
The easy movement seemed to help Jeongguk’s sore muscles though. He figured it was a form of stretching for him since all the movements were calm and nothing too strenuous. By the end of it he was going to feel so much better, which would help him immensely later.
The class actually went by pretty fast and soon it was over. Jeongguk went around helping some of the kids take their hand wrappings off before he started cleaning up. Parents were already milling in to pick up their kids and most of them would simply nod in Jeongguk’s direction, not needing to talk to him. He was grateful for that. Kids were easy to talk to, parents just made Jeongguk anxious.
Minjun skipped towards him, a large boxy smile on his face. “Class was fun,” he cheered.
Jeongguk smiled at him. “That’s good,” he said. He grabbed Minjun’s hands and started unraveling the wrappings.
“I can’t wait to tell Appa all about what I learned,” he said, clearly excited. If there was one thing Jeongguk had learned about Minjun, it was how close the boy was to his father. It didn’t totally surprise him, he had witnessed Jimin and Minjun together and knew there was a strong bond between them. Minjun clearly looked up to him and cherished him. It was something Jeongguk would admit to being a little jealous of. He barely remembered his parents and the memories he had were never all that great. He had been on his own for so long he really didn’t know what it was like to have a loving family. The closest thing he had was Yoongi and Namjoon.
“Minjunie!” a deep, and incredibly loud voice called. It was so sudden that Jeongguk actually jumped a bit.
He turned around to see who had called out so loudly only to be struck by the most beautiful human being Jeongguk has ever seen. He was tall and lean, with long dark hair that was a little messy but oh so stylish. He was wearing a long coat over his dark slacks and white button up that made him look even taller and thinner. His face seemed to be sculpted by gods. But the best part was the large boxy smile on his face.
The man crouched down and held his arms out in order to catch Minjun who had flung himself at the man. The man lifted Minjun up, holding him close as he kissed all over the boy’s face, causing Minjun to giggle.
Dumbstruck, all Jeongguk could do was stare. It wasn’t until the man turned his attention to Jeongguk that he realized he was just sitting there on the floor staring with his mouth open. He quickly shut it and shot up. “Hello,” he said, bowing a little.
The man looked a little shocked at him, but soon he smiled and bowed back. “Hi,” he said. “Jimin said he would let you know I was picking Jun-ah up today.”
“Uh, right,” Jeongguk said, having momentarily forgotten about that. “Uh, can I ask your name?”
The man cocked an eyebrow at him. “It’s Taehyung,” he said. God his voice was so nice to listen to.
“Right, thanks,” Jeongguk said. “Safety reasons, I had to make sure you weren’t a kidnapper or anything.”
Taehyung seemed pleased by that. “Good to know my son is in safe hands,” he said.
“Wait,” Jeongguk said, shocked. “Your son? No, he’s Jimin’s son… right?” Jeongguk thought back to all the times that Jimin had been here with Minjun. The two were so close that it seemed obvious to Jeongguk that Minjun was Jimin’s. Jimin was the only one he had ever seen with Minjun.
Taehyung laughed at him, his deep voice seemingly vibrating Jeongguk’s entire body. “He does act like a father figure, but no. Minjunie is my baby.” As if to emphasize this point, Taehyung squeezed Minjun closer to him, the boy giving a squawk of protest.
Now that Jeongguk really looked, he noticed the resemblance. They had the same tan skin, the same boxy smile. Minjun really did look more like Taehyung than Jimin. Jeongguk had just assumed that Minjun got his complexion from his mother and not Jimin, but clearly he had gotten it from his real father.
“Jimin’s my best friend,” Taehyung went on. “He’s helped me all of Jun’s life. He has a much more flexible work schedule so he’s the one that’s been bringing him to class.”
Jeongguk could only nod, still a little surprised at this new information.
“Appa,” Minjun said then, getting both men’s attention. “I saw a cloud today that looked like a bunny!”
Jeongguk couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. Minjun was pretty cute. There was just something about the boy that instantly softened Jeongguk.
Taehyung seemed to think so, too, as he had his own smile. “Oh yeah?” he asked. “Was it a fluffy bunny?”
Minjun nodded. “It looked like hyung!” he declared, pointing to Jeongguk.
Taehyung looked at Jeongguk and cocked an eyebrow. “You think your teacher looks like a bunny?” he asked his son.
Minjun nodded. “A cute fluffy bunny.”
“Oh my god,” Jeongguk said, feeling his face heat up with a blush. He covered his face with his hand hoping to hide from the embarrassment.
Taehyung simply laughed. “Kids say the darndest things.”
Jeongguk looked up from above his fingers to see Taehyung smiling at him. He smiled back, lowering his hand. “They do,” he said. He felt his smile grow a little and his nose scrunch a bit.
“Oh,” Taehyung said, sounding surprised. “But apparently he’s not wrong. You do look like a bunny when you smile.”
Jeongguk wanted to glare at the older man but instead he just smiled wider, rolling his eyes. Dammit, he wanted to come across as hot and sexy, not cute.
“I like bunnies,” Taehyung said. “What’s your name, bunny?”
Jeongguk felt his face heating up again, but he ignored it. “Jeongguk,” he said. “It’s nice to finally meet Minjun’s real father. He’s my favorite student.”
That seemed to make Taehyung really happy to hear. “He’s a very special boy.”
Jeongguk nodded his agreement. “He’s a great student, and he always helps me before and after class.”
Taehyung smiled at his son, looking proud. “That’s very nice of you, Junie,” he said to his son.
Jeongguk knew that it wasn’t going to be much longer before Taehyung would take his son home, but he didn’t really want that. He wanted to get to know Taehyung more and he figured this was probably going to be one of the only chances he got. The fact that this was the first time he’s even seen Taehyung in the past six months that Minjun has been his student means that it's a rare occurrence. Who knew when Taehyung would be able to come pick his son up again. Jeongguk just couldn't let this chance pass him by. Right?
“Uh,” Jeongguk started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He was off to a strong start. “Feel free to say no or tell me I’m being unprofessional, but would you maybe want to go get coffee? There’s a cafe down the street from here. I just, you know, would like to know the father of my favorite student a little more.”
Taehyung seemed taken aback by that and Jeongguk wondered if he overstepped. But then Taehyung smiled widely. “Sure,” he said. “I would like to get to know the teacher my son always talks about a little more.”
Jeongguk smiled wide, nose scrunching again. “Great!” he said, a little giddy. “Let me just clean up and change real quick.” He was wearing loose clothes easy for moving around in, but didn’t want to look like a bum on their little date.
Taehyung nodded and moved to wait in the foyer of the gym while Jeongguk finished putting the equipment away. After everything was put away, Jeongguk went to the small locker room they had. It had some space to put their things and a couple shower stalls. Jeongguk didn’t feel the need for a shower since he didn’t really do too much during today’s class, but he did put on more deodorant and wash his face quickly. He pulled out the only decent clothes he had there which happened to be black ripped jeans and a white shirt. He laced up his black boots and grabbed his black jacket before heading back out. He patted his pockets double checking that he had his phone and wallet.
Taehyung was standing at the front counter, talking to Yoongi who was sitting behind the computer. Minjun was sitting on the counter playing with a toy motorcycle. Jeongguk recognized it immediately. It had been a gift from Yoongi to him when he was sixteen. Jeongguk had said he wanted a motorcycle because he was a young boy with a lot of issues and it just seemed so fitting. And being the smartass that he was, Yoongi had bought him a toy motorcycle. Jeongguk had grumbled a lot, but kept the toy. It usually sat behind the counter where Jeongguk could fiddle with it whenever he was working there.
“Hey,” Jeongguk said, smiling at Taehyung. “Ready?”
Taehyung nodded.
“Where are you two going?” Yoongi asked Jeongguk.
“Taking a page out of your book and taking him to the cafe you took Jimin,” Jeongguk said.
Taehyung cocked an eyebrow at Yoongi. “You took Jimin on a coffee date?” he asked.
Yoongi simply shrugged. “I had some free time,” he said nonchalantly. He was always like that, always trying to brush everything off like it wasn’t a big deal. But Jeongguk knew that he actually liked Jimin and was trying to downplay it.
“Guess I get to listen to him gushing about your date later then,” Taehyung said, laughing lightly. “He always comes over and spends at least an hour talking about the dates you two have.”
Yoongi blushed slightly. “He talks about me to you?”
“Never shuts up,” Taehyung confirmed.
Yoongi’s blush deepend.
“Alright, let’s go so we can let hyung calm down,” Jeongguk said, smirking at the older boy.
Taehyung went to pick Minjun off the counter when he noticed the boy still had the toy. “Oh, your toy,” Taehyung said. “Sorry, Jun, but you have to give Yoongi-hyung his toy back.”
Minjun seemed to deflate at this. He frowned at the toy motorcycle. “Okay,” he said, his voice quiet.
“It’s mine,” Jeongguk said.
Taehyung looked at him a little surprised. “Oh,” he said. “Well then give Jeongguk his toy back.”
Minjun held the toy out for Jeongguk to take, but Jeongguk gently pushed it back to Minjun. “Keep it,” he said.
“Guk-ah,” Yoongi said, his voice surprised. “That’s literally your most prized possession.” It really was. It held a lot of sentimental value to Jeongguk. He’s had it close to him for the past ten years and through the few moves he’s made. It’s like his comfort toy.
Jeongguk just shrugged. He smiled at Minjun. “Just promise to take good care of it.”
“You really don’t need to do that,” Taehyung said, frowning at the toy. “If it means that much to you.”
“It’s fine,” he assured both of them. “My favorite student can have my favorite toy. I’m a little too old to be playing with toys anyway.” He sent a wink towards Minjun who giggled at that.
Taehyung seemed to melt a little, smiling fondly at Jeongguk. “You’re far too sweet.”
“He’s a brat, don’t let him fool you,” Yoongi quipped, but he had his own soft look on his face.
Jeongguk stuck his tongue out at Yoongi. “Come on, hyung, let’s go before he tries to embarass me.”
Taehyung laughed but let Jeongguk lead him out the door. They walked down the street towards the coffee shop, Minjun walking between them still fiddling with the motorcycle. Jeongguk learned real quickly where Minjun got his ability to ramble from, Taehyung easily filling the silence with his own random rambles. Not that Jeongguk minded at all—it was fascinating to listen to Taehyung talk and ramble about the most random things. And by the time they had reached the cafe, Jeongguk was inclined to believe there were bunnies on the moon.
Jeongguk offered to buy them all drinks and food. Taehyung tried to protest, but Jeongguk insisted. Taehyung relented, ordering for himself and Minjun before letting Jeongguk order and pay for them all.
They found a table in front of the big window that looked out on the street. Minjun was still playing with the motorcycle and it made Jeongguk happy that something he cherished so much could make the little boy so happy. It reminded him of when he was younger and felt like that motorcycle was the only thing he had that was truly his. He hoped it would one day be as special to Minjun and it was to Jeongguk.
“Tell me,” Taehyung said, getting his attention. “Why a boy in his, what? Mid-twenties? Has a toy motorcycle anyways.”
Jeongguk chuckled. “I’m 26,” he confirmed.
Taehyung smiled. “I’m 28,” he said. Jeongguk already knew he was older so that wasn’t really surprising, but he nodded anyway.
“Yoongi bought me that toy when I was sixteen,” Jeongguk explained. “I had complained that I wanted a motorcycle, meaning a real one. But Yoongi-hyung had bought me that toy instead.”
Taehyung smiled at that, a little surprised. “You’ve known him for that long?”
Jeongguk nodded. “Yoongi-hyung and Namjoon-hyung took me in when I was fifteen. They practically raised me. I would still be living on the streets if it wasn’t for them.”
Taehyung’s smile fell and his mouth opened in surprise. “Oh,” he said, clearly shocked.
The waitress came by just then, dropping off their order. Jeongguk thanked her with a small bow before turning back to smile at Taehyung. “It’s fine,” he assured him. “I’m over it. It was a long time ago.”
Taehyung still seemed saddened by the news. “Homeless at fifteen? That’s awful.”
Jeongguk simply shrugged. “Unfortunately, not everyone has a happy childhood. I’ve accepted it and moved on.”
Subconsciously, Taehyung moved his hand and started stroking his fingers through Minjun’s hair. “At least you have a happy family now,” he said.
Jeongguk nodded. “I’m grateful for them,” he said. “They’ve done so much for me.” More than Taehyung would ever know probably. He wasn’t inclined to tell Taehyung just how Yoongi and Namjoon helped him, not now and maybe not ever.
Taehyung smiled at him. “I guess I have something similar,” he said. “Jimin and my other friend Seokjin-hyung help me a lot with Minjun.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, is Minjun’s mother not in the picture?” Jeongguk asked. He knew it was probably a sensitive subject, but since he had just opened up he hoped Taehyung would do the same. He also remembered Jimin saying something about her earlier today and wanted to clear up the confusion.
Taehyung shook his head. “Apparently being a mother was too much for her,” he explained. “She left shortly after Minjun was born. I was left all alone. My family offered to help, but they live all the way in Daegu and I already had my career and life here. I couldn’t pack up everything and move back. And they weren’t going to move here.”
Jeongguk nodded. “That must have been hard,” he said. “But you clearly have done an amazing job raising Minjun, he’s really one of the sweetest kids I’ve met.”
Taehyung blushed a little. “Thank you,” he said, looking down at his drink. He had gotten some fruity drink instead of coffee. “It’s hard, but rewarding.”
“What do you do for a living?” Jeongguk asked, trying to move away from the heavier topics.
“I’m a biology researcher,” Taehyung explained. “Specifically, I work in genetics.”
Jeongguk’s eyes bugged a little. “Oh! So you’re like smart. ”
Taehyung chuckled at that. “I guess,” he said, shrugging.
“You’d probably get along great with Namjoon-hyung. He’s a genius, like literally. His IQ is over 140. You two could probably have smart people conversations no one else would understand.”
Taehyung laughed at that. “You’re overestimating my intelligence,” he said.
Jeongguk smiled at him. The two of them talked for a while, going back and forth with questions, getting to know each other. Jeongguk had never liked someone as quickly and as easily as he liked Taehyung. The man was so friendly and warm. He made Jeongguk feel comfortable. It usually took awhile for Jeongguk to warm up to people, but with Taehyung it seemed almost instantaneous.
Jeongguk also got to bond with Minjun more as well. Minjun was just like his father with their random rambles, but it was clear that Minjun was also intelligent like his father. Jeongguk had started teaching him the different parts of the motorcycle when Minjun had asked what one thing was. Taehyung seemed to really enjoy the way Jeongguk and Minjun got along, if his smile was any indication.
Their time together was great, but it was over far too quickly. Jeongguk checked his phone and saw that he needed to go and start getting ready soon.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, frowning at the time. “I have to go.”
Taehyung nodded, still smiling. “Thank you for the drinks and food,” he said.
Jeongguk smiled at him, nodding. “Anytime,” he said.
Taehyung bit his lip, looking a little nervous. “Uh, can I have your phone number?” he asked.
Jeongguk’s smile widened. “Of course!” he said. Taehyung offered him his phone and he punched in his number quickly before calling himself from the phone. “There, now I have your number too.”
Taehyung smiled at that. “Thank you,” he said again.
Jeongguk stood, and Taehyung stood with him. “I’ll see you around?” he asked, hopeful.
Taehyung nodded, picking Minjun up. “Definitely.”
Jeongguk left the cafe with a smile on his face. He had really enjoyed his time with Taehyung and he felt a little hopeful. He was happy, riding a high that wasn’t going to come down anytime soon. Well, at least until he got back to the gym and had to prepare for the night.