Chapter Text
"Mr. Jeong?" the receptionist called out.
the boys had just finished their dance practice for today when his name was called.
"there's something you should see." she whispered where he could only hear.
he thought maybe about how he might have left the seat up in the company bathroom or maybe he lost his receipt for his condoms that he thought fell out of his pocket when he jogged to the elevators.
but he didn't think about an adorable hazel eyed 4 year old, sitting in a pretty pink princess dress with pigtails in her hair, with a letter and bag.
"daddy!" she shouted, springing onto her feet and rushing over to hug the man's leg.
jaehyun feels as if he had been hit by a truck, gazing at all of the surrounding eyes. "w-what?"
"hi daddy!" the smaller bounced, letting him stand up correctly. "I'm Harlee!"
"this is what I was referring too." the receptionist explains. "a cab let her off here about 20 minutes ago, then she came to the desk, asking if you worked here.. saying that you were her father."
shaking his head, he looks down at the little girl in front of him. "that's impossible.. there's no way I have a kid. she's not my kid."
"yes I am!" harlee tells him, stamping her foot. "my grandpa told me so!"
"you're not my kid."
"yes I am. "
"no you're not."
"yes, I am!"
"no."
"yes."
"Mr Jeong? if I may?" the receptionist interrupted. "say, harlee, who is your grandfather?"
harlee looks up at jaehyun, who's face is unreadable to her and she folds her arms across her chest. "I won't talk to you.. only dad." she states.
the older woman glances up at jaehyun whose nose has scrunched up at the use of the word "dad."
"go on kid, tell her." jaehyun sighed.
"he's Choi Alan." Harlee tells them. "and my mommy's name is Choi Chungha.. I was named after my mom's best friend, Harley!"
jaehyun sucked his teeth at the girl's response, it took him a few seconds to take deep breaths before taking the younger girl's hand and pulling her with him.
"wait! my stuffy!" she cried, causing people to stare at the scene. jaehyun lets her hand go immediately. "what?"
she points to the stuffed dumpling plushie sitting on the couch where she had been sitting earlier. "lincoln.. my stuffy."
"grab the stupid plushie and let's go."
"is she really your daughter?" the receptionist asks, watching as harlee grabs the stuffed plushie and runs back to grab jaehyun's hand.
jaehyun doesn't respond, waiting for the litter to catch-up before pressing the buttons on the elevators. "how did you know to come here?" he asked harlee.
harlee shrugged her shoulders. "mommy told me that I was going to see you, and told me to not get out unless it was safe."
"and where is your mother?"
she gives him the same response. "I don't know..."
the rest of the group had been sitting around, waiting for jaehyun to return.
"do me a favor, take this phone, sit on the couch and stay quiet, alright?" he instructed, handing his phone to her as they reach the practice room.
"is that your niece?" jungwoo asks, appearing from the sidelines. "she looks a little taller?"
"that's not his niece genius." yuta chuckles. "is it?"
taeyong shrugs his shoulders. "okay, so who is that?"
"I bet it's the daughter of a super secret ninja and jaehyun just found it was his." mark guesses.
"look at his ears!" taeil exclaims. "he did just find out about that girl."
"shut up." jaehyun swats, propping down on the floor, then proceeding to lay directly on his back and stare at the ceiling.
holy shit he was so fucked.
he had ignored all of the boys taunting until a unfamiliar voice spoke to the group.
"I bet you he's Spiderman and now he has a spider daughter." Johnny laughs.
"Spiderman is not real." Harlee checks him. "and leave my daddy alone.. you're making him mad."
"d-daddy? doyoung chokes out. "what?"
taeyong looks at the small girl. "did you can him your daddy?"
harlee nods.
"point to your father. " jungwoo instructs, and the girl points towards the man laying on the floor with his hand over his face.
"can you do that for us one more time?" taeil pleads. harlee nods her head, pointing towards jaehyun again.
"okay, what the fuck?" haechan asks, finally breaking the silence, earning him a smack on the wrist. "ouch?"
"there's a child present." doyoung scolds.
haechan shrugs. "and?"
"just watch your mouth." mark sighed. "jaehyun, bro what's going on?"
the room becomes silent when jaehyun sits upward.
"what does it look like mark?" he questioned the blonde. "there's obviously a small human sitting over there, calling me her dad."
"you have a kid?" yuta gulped. "how the hell did that happen?"
"I didn't even know you fucked someone." Johnny whispered, holding his hand over his mouth. "when did this happen?"
"why did it happen?" taeyong sighed. "now we have to go through a bunch of shit because of this."
"can everyone just shut the fuck up and leave me alone?" jaehyun groaned, causing the group to silence. "god damn it.. it was a stupid fucking mistake and now I have a kid.. and I do not need all these fucking question about the how and why."
harlee jumps down from the couch and walks towards her father, watching him run his hands through his hair and let out a sigh. she offers him a weak smile, wrapping her hands around his neck and hugging him softly. "it's going to be okay, daddy."
"she's so cute." mark whispered to Doyoung, who nodded in response. "are we sure it's his? "
"I swear I'm going to murder you." jaehyun deadpans to mark, then turns to the small human next to him. "have you eaten?"
she shakes her head.
"do you like bibimbap?"
she nods. "I like it alot!"
jaehyun stands up, extending his hand out for her to hold. "I'm gonna take Harlee to get some food and see you guys later at home."
"at home?" harlee pondered. "they live with you?"
"yeah, we're his roommates." mark explains. "do you know who NCT is?"
harlee taps her chin. "the older kids at my school used to talk about NCT.. but mommy wouldn't let me listen to them." she tells them, dropping her head. "I miss my mommy."
jungwoo crouches down, meeting harlee's height, he places an hand on her shoulder. "I know you miss your mommy, but your daddy is going to take great care of you and get you some delicious food, doesn't that sound fun?"
wiping away the tear that fell from her eyes, harlee nods at jungwoo's words.
"and at home we have a gigantic set of Jenga blocks, do you want to play later on with me?"
"yes!" harlee exclaimed. "I like Jenga."
"Like father, like daughter. " Johnny sighed.
"come on, harlee, let's get you some food." jaehyun demand, pulling her towards the elevator.
"bye everyone! see you later."
once the two disappeared from the practice room it became awkwardly quiet.
"I can't believe he has a kid." haechan says.
Johnny nods in agreement. "but I mean she definitely is his, did you see the way she smiled? Almost as if he was smiling."
"and her nose, just like his." taeyong added. "what the hell are we going to do?"
"don't be over emotional." doyoung tells them. "we'll figure something out.. we always do."
yuta begins stretching." but it didn't involve a child before.. now it does."
"can we just ship her back to her mom?" haechan asked, causing the guys to stare at him. "I mean there must be some way she can go back to her."
"but she's met jaehyun already.. and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to leave him." Johnny argues. "how would you feel if you met your father for the first time, after being with your mother so for long and probably thinking that your father never existed."
"well according to this, harlee knew about jaehyun." yuta tells them, holding up a sheet of paper.
"where did you even get that from?" mark pondered.
"it was attached to the girl's bag.. jaehyun must've missed it.. but it says that the mother is sorry but it isn't safe for harlee to stay with her anymore so she shipped her off here" yuta summarizes. "she says she's sorry for doing this to him but harlee's safety is the most important thing to her and that it's not like jaehyun is a stranger, harlee knows what her father looks."
"so just like that huh?" taeyong asks in bewilderment. "now we have to take care of a little human, just out of the blue?"
"you're acting as if you wouldn't do the same for your own child." Johnny laughed.
"I wouldn't be this stupid." taeyong argued, earning a sharp smack on the head from taeil. "taeil?"
"watch your mouth." taeil demands. "how do you think jaehyun is feeling hm?" learning 30 minutes ago that he has a child?! Don't you think he's going through enough shit and you whining on and on isn't helping."
taeyong sighs in response. "you're right, you're right."
"the only thing we should be doing is supporting him and figuring out what the next steps are." Johnny adds.
"but how are we sure that's his kid?" haechan pondered. "she can say it all she wants, but I'm not sure.."
"what do you mean?" taeil scoffed. "didn't you see her smile? her nose? her dimples? the kid is definitely his."
"yeah, yeah." haechan nods. "you're right."