⇋

“Sehun, do you want me to give you a ride home? We can go pick up Sowon together.”

Sehun freezes, in the process of organizing his files properly before heading home. “Umn…”

Honestly, he doesn’t really want to face Jongin right now. Or Kai. Doesn’t want to see either of the twins and the inducing headache that will result.

His mind is a mess, and he doesn’t know what to do.

His savior comes in the form of a call from his cell phone.

“Please excuse me,” he tells Jongin before answering. “Hello?”

“Sehun?” Chanyeol’s voice booms from the other line. “Wanna have dinner together? I’ve missed your cooking~”

“Chanyeol-hyung!” Sehun clings onto the phone in relief. “Yes, sure, of course.”

“Great! I’ll come pick you up, so wait for me, okay?”

“Okay!”

When Sehun hangs up the phone, he finds Jongin silently staring at him, and holds back a wince.

“I’m fine, I’ve already made plans with my friend… He’ll come pick me up, so don’t worry.”

“Your friend… You mean the man from last time when he had brought Sowon here, too?”

Sehun nods. “Anyway, see you tomorrow, Jongin,” he stammers before grabbing his bag and rushing away.

He doesn’t see the contemplative look on Jongin’s face as he watches the younger leave.

⇋

“So what are we having today, daddy?”

Sehun hums as he opens the door, letting the child and Chanyeol in first. “How about some pasta? Chicken alfredo? You like chicken, right Sowonie?”

“Yes!” Sowon throws his hands up in the air in a cheer. “Sowonie loves chicken! Especially chicken al-fa-do!”

Sehun giggles at the child’s mispronunciation of the Italian word, patting his head fondly. “Okay, go wash your hands and do your homework. I’ll be done in a bit and we can eat, okay?”

“Yessir!” Sowon salutes. Sehun can see the smudges of colored crayons all over his palms, and that only makes him giggle more. “Uncle Chanyeol, will you help me with my homework? Alphabet is hard!”

“Sure thing!” Chanyeol grins at the boy. “But go wash up first. I’ll help your daddy in the kitchen for a bit before helping you, okay?”

“Okie!” With that, Sowon trots away to the bathroom while the two adults head towards the kitchen.

“You can go play with Sowon,” Sehun tells him once they finish putting away all the groceries. “I can make this by myself.”

“I didn’t say I’d be helping you with cooking.”

“Huh?” When Sehun looks up, eyes focused on the other man for the first time, he notices there’s a solemn gaze inside Chanyeol’s orbs. “Is something wrong?”

“That’s what I should be asking you!” the older huffs, walking towards him. “Did something happen? You’ve been quiet the entire ride home. You may fool Sowon since he’s easily distracted, but not me. Something is definitely upsetting you.”

Sehun deflates, leaning back onto the counter. “You can tell?”

“Sehun, I’ve known you for years! You think I can’t tell when you’re feeling down but are trying to hide it?”

The younger makes a sad expression, dropping his head. “It’s nothing, just… a lot has happened lately.”

“A lot? Is there trouble with that Kim Jongin again?”

“Oh no, not him, but…” A sigh.

“Not him, but… someone else?” Chanyeol guesses.

No reply.

“Who? If anyone dares to hurt my Sehunnie I’m going to punch them in the face!”

Sehun chuckles at the words, knowing that Chanyeol actually means it, too. “Silly, you’re a lawyer. You can’t break the law yourself.”

“I will, for you,” Chanyeol declares, sticking his tongue out.

Sehun’s expression softens, a grateful smile on his lips. “Thanks, hyung.”

“Anything for you, Sehunnie,” Chanyeol pats a hand on his shoulder, concerned. “So tell me what’s wrong. If there’s anything I can help you with…”

I don’t think it’s something you can help, Sehun thinks, but holds back. Instead, he discloses, “It’s just… I’ve met my ex recently.”

“Your ex… You mean Kim Kai?”

The younger nods. Chanyeol had went to the same high school as them, but Sehun didn’t start getting close to him until after Kai had left and Sehun had drifted blankly alone without anyone to really rely on and count as a friend.

Sehun isn’t sure how he would have made it through his last year of high school, being pregnant and still trying to finish all his classes to graduate, not to mention his parents’ constant oppositions, if it hadn’t been for Chanyeol by his side, cheering him on every step of the way.

“I met… Kai…” Sehun confesses, peering up at the other. Chanyeol has an undecipherable expression on his face, like he’s in deep thoughts, and his brows are furrowed. “Chanyeol-hyung?”

“Kai is back after five years?” he whispers, eyes wide in disbelief. “And he came to you? Did he bother you?”

Sehun bites on his lip, hesitating.

“Sehun, tell me what happened!”

There’s a desperate sort of tone layered inside the older’s voice, and that prompts Sehun to blurt out the truth. “He tells me he still loves me. I think he wants to get back together…”

Sehun jostles in surprise when Chanyeol suddenly grabs onto both his arms, clutching tightly. “And do you? Will you get back together with him?”

“I… I shouldn’t,” Sehun replies, telling the truth. Even disregarding Jongin, Kai has moved on and found a new lover in Kyungsoo, and Sehun doesn’t want to get in-between that.

And of course he can’t possibly disregard Jongin, who had been there by his side whenever he broke down because of Kai.

The pas