t w o

Kim Minseok was in the worst of his moods ever. And that was saying something, since the man always found some or the other reason to stay in a bad mood. As if his three kids dragging him out of the house to watch some stupid animated movie wasn't enough, he just had to have a run-in with one of the most annoying women he had ever had the misfortune of meeting. That's exactly what he hated about women, they just couldn't keep their snooty, powdered noses out of other people's business. Who did that lady think she was, exactly, to start lecturing him about raising a bunch of kids? He had noticed that her two sons were quite well behaved during the entire incident, but that didn't change the fact that she had managed to annoy him, and she definitely was not going to be in his good books anytime soon.

And now, he had to deal with a client's messed up accounts, just because the company he worked in couldn't even bother to hire competent employees. On days like these, Minseok really doubted if the recruitment team of their company was really as good as they claimed to be.

He was currently nursing a cup of scalding hot coffee -- just the way he liked it -- as well as the headache of the century as he sat across from his computer, staring at the screen as he tried to find discrepancies in the financial statements. The others milled about the office, deep in conversation with their colleagues or hunched over their desks in their respective cubicles, and Minseok was barely managing to block out the endless chatter. One voice, however, startled him as its owner's face suddenly appeared next to Minseok's, peering over his shoulder at the computer screen.

"Who, in their right mind, adds expenses under Assets?"

Minseok jumped violently, his hold tightening around the coffee cup, almost crushing it in a vice grip as he looked up at his fellow worker and -- unfortunately and regrettably -- best friend in the office, clutching at his chest with the other hand.

"For heaven's sake, Jongdae! Why do you always sneak up on me like that?" Minseok hissed as he tried to keep his voice down, scowling at the way Jongdae gloated with that stupid wide grin of his. To others, that grin was something that could literally make their day, but to this father of three children, it was just plain annoying. Ever since they had met in college, Kim Jongdae had practically hot-glued himself to the older guy, and even if Minseok was a couple years older, he always found himself hanging out with his junior. It had been tolerable while they were in college, but once they both got jobs, and Minseok had to deal with juggling between his work and the kids, the very presence of his best friend was enough to irritate him.

"You know why I do it," Jongdae said simply, pointing to the other guy's face. "To elicit that reaction from you."

In response, Minseok huffed loudly with a roll of his eyes, before turning his attention back to the task at hand. He had hoped that his friend would leave him alone after that, but no such luck. Jongdae grabbed one of the empty chairs lying around in the corner, before sitting down on it- heavily, if one might add.

"Aren't you supposed to be the class topper or something?" Jongdae asked, sighing audibly when he received no answer from the other man. "You haven't answered my first question yet. Why have you posted expenses under Assets?"

Minseok whirled around in his revolving chair swiftly to face Jongdae, his face inches away from the latter's as he shot the younger man a murderous glare. "I didn't do that, I'm just correcting all the terrible mistakes made by that new incompetent intern in the Finance department," he snarled.

Jongdae leaned back in the chair, his eyes slightly wide as he held his hands out in surrender. "Okay, geez, I'm sorry," he said, hurriedly pushing Minseok out of his face as he stood up. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, huh?"

There was a hint of concern in his voice that Minseok noted all too well, and with a small sigh, he shook his head. No matter how much Jongdae bothered him, at the end of the day, the two of them were still best friends, and no one could understand Minseok better than Jongdae.

"It's all because of this woman I ran into yesterday. God, she was so annoying," Minseok groaned, burying his face in his hands as he massaged his temple to make the headache go away.

"Oh, so it's just your gynophobia acting up, that's nothing new," Jongdae said, nodding in understanding as he crossed his arms across his chest, giving Minseok his infamous I'm-judging-you look.

"My guy- what? What does that even mean?" Minseok asked, shooting the other an incredulous glare as he continued.

"Your fear of women, obviously, Minseok-hyung."

"I most certainly do not have a fear of women," the older growled, glaring at Jongdae's back as the latter turned away from him to study some random notice pasted on the wall.

"No? Okay, then you're just another misogynist."

"Shut it, Kim Jongdae, I'm not."

"Well then, why do you hate all women so much?" Jongdae countered, spinning on his heels as he faced Minseok once again, his hands placed on his hips.

"I don't hate them, I just- whatever. We're ending this discussion right now."

Jongdae watched as Minseok turned back to correcting whatever mistakes the 'new incompetent intern' had made, a frown on his face. As his best friend, the two of them had been through thick and thin together, and as a result, Jongdae knew literally everything about the other man. He really couldn't blame the father for being so irritable all the time, especially not when the poor guy had a ton of things to deal with. He had been there for Minseok when the latter's wife had died, supporting the widower in every way possible, but he also knew for a fact that just opening up to Jongdae wasn't enough for Minseok; he needed someone else in his life, too, someone who wouldn't think twice before loving the man who was presently typing away furiously on the keyboard.

Jongdae wouldn't dream of saying this to his friend, but to be honest, he missed the old Minseok dearly.

"Heading home, Minah?" Came the soft, lilting voice of her Chinese colleague as he walked up on her shutting down her laptop, leaning against the wall of her cubicle while she stuffed her belongings inside her shoulder bag. Minah rolled her eyes good-naturedly with a sigh in response as she proceeded to grin at Luhan, slinging her bag over one shoulder as she patted him on his upper arm. "Why do you ask me the same question every day when you know what the answer is going to be?" She asked with a little laugh, shaking her head as she took in the guy's bright grin.

"Okay, fine, you can walk with me to the kindergarten."

Luhan let out a small cheer of delight as he threw his hands up in the air, and once again, Minah was forced to doubt if he really was the twenty-nine-year-old he told everyone he was. For her job as the creative director of an advertisement company, she had purposely chosen the shift that made her stay in the office only till the afternoon, following which, she would resume her work at home. This gave her time to pick up her sons from their respective schools, and she could also ensure that she was not leaving them alone at home at any given time of the day.

Her two overly energetic boys were quite famous among the department, and more often than not, she would find one of her colleagues accompanying her on her walk to the schools. As a result, Sehun, who was usually pretty reserved around outsiders, would get the opportunity to open up more towards them, and over time, he had started to like the 'uncles', as the boys referred to them. Minah would often wonder why her coworkers went out of their way to become friendly with the kids; it never seemed like they did that to try and get closer to her, so she would usually pass it off as a friendly gesture.

The walk towards the kindergarten where Sehun learned was not a quiet one with Luhan as company, for the guy rarely ever shut up. He always had some interesting incidents to share, or random facts and stories that would make her burst out laughing. It usually left her wondering how someone who seemed mature and well mannered could hold such a childlike demeanor, yet be perfectly able to handle a stressful job with calmness and responsibility. However, not a single moment spent with him was boring, and she thoroughly enjoyed his presence.

The second they walked inside the doors of the school, Minah saw her younger son patiently waiting for her next to one of the teachers. He had been speaking animatedly to one of the students, but as soon as he saw his mother, his face brightened and he came barreling down the steps. Minah threw the kindergarten teacher an apologetic glance as he bounded towards her, but Sehun chose to hug Luhan tightly by his legs. The two adults erupted in a fit of laughter as they watched the kid snuggle against Luhan's trousers, and the man bent down, picking Sehun up with a slight grunt. "Oh dear, someone's growing too fast," he commented as he watched the boy giggle with joy from all the attention he was currently getting.

Minah reached over and patted Luhan on the shoulder, sighing in mock dismay. "I swear he likes you more than he likes me. He is your biggest fan," she said as they walked out after bowing to Sehun's teacher. She smiled faintly when she saw her colleague turn pink upon hearing her comment, before he laughed softly.

"I'm just glad he's okay being around me, I remember how aloof he was in the beginning."

Minah was glad, too; out of all her fellow workers, she knew Sehun was the closest to Luhan, and the man never let the kid down, showering him with attention every time they met. They fell into comfortable silence on the walk to the elementary school, and she looked around them casually as Luhan spoke in hushed tones with the boy. She hardly ever bothered to find out what they were talking about, trusting Luhan enough to know that it would never be anything bad.

There was still half an hour before Baekhyun's school ended for the day, and finding a bench facing the elementary school, the two of them sat down. Little Sehun stood in front of Minah with his back facing her, and his elbows resting on her knees as he leaned back, giving her his usual adorable smiles every now and then. She and Luhan talked about the pending work in their office, but slowly, the conversation shifted to the previous evening, and Minah ended up spilling everything about the rude man she had met. There was an amused frown on the man's face as he watched her rant, and he chuckled once she was done speaking.

"If I didn't know you better, I would have said that you hated men, Minah," he said, watching her shake her head with a weary sigh.

"I don't really hate them, Luhan," she stated, shrugging slightly. "I just hate the way they set aside or try to escape from their responsibilities, and I couldn't help but feel that the man from yesterday was the same." As one of her closest friends, Luhan knew a lot about her past, and why it affected her behaviour the way it did. He rarely brought things up that evidently upset her, though, and his understanding nature was what made him extremely likeable, not just to her, but to everyone else who acquainted themselves with him.

The sound of footsteps coming closer to them fell on her ears, and she turned her head to look at the source, gasping involuntarily as she recognised the man who was now walking over to the school.

Speak of the devil, she thought.

Hearing her gasp, Luhan glanced at her with a questioning look, before following her gaze to look at the man as well. "I take it he is that man?" He asked with a tilt of his head, and she nodded, the shock visible on her face as she stared at his back. Luhan frowned, poking her on the shoulder. "What's wrong? Why are you looking so astonished?"

Minah shook her head, letting out her breath slowly. "Nothing... with the way he was behaving yesterday, I never expected him to personally come to pick his children up," she said as she stood up, holding Sehun's hand. "Let's go, Baekhyun will be out any moment."

It was on their walk to the school's front doors that they noticed the little boy running after the man, yet keeping his distance. She was reminded once again of how scared the three boys had been whenever their father was with them, so the space the kid was keeping between himself and his father was understandable.

Upon reaching the area where the kids were waiting for their parents, Minah could see her elder son deep in conversation with the boy known as Chanyeol, and even if she knew the topic would be something that would interest only kids, she couldn't help but feel proud knowing that her son wasn't completely alone. Another boy had attached himself to Chanyeol, and was listening intently to their conversation, occasionally speaking up in between.

Baekhyun looked around, and as his eyes fell on Minah, he grinned widely, before waving to the other two kids. Their reaction, however, was the complete opposite of Baekhyun's as they glanced at their father sullenly, before trudging over to him.

"Hi, Uncle Luhan!" Baekhyun beamed as he walked to the two grown-ups, put on his shoes and then shifted his attention to his mother as he hopped on his feet while reaching out to her, silently asking to be carried by her. She sighed, shoulders slumping forward as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Come on, Baekhyun, really?" She asked, offering him her hand instead, which he promptly swatted away, before making grabby hands at her again. To their side, Luhan watched mother and son with amusement, before bending down, his arms extended.

"Here Baek, I'll carry you," he said, which somehow seemed to offend Sehun as he escaped from his mother's hold and latched on to the man's hand. Luhan blinked at the kid who had puffed up his cheeks.

"Like I said, your biggest fan," Minah said, chuckling as she lifted Baekhyun up, albeit huffed at how heavy the six-year-old was. Luhan followed suit with her younger son, and immediately, Baekhyun began narrating the happenings of the day with growing fervour. However, Minah found herself tuning out her son's chatter, instead focusing her attention on what the man with three kids was saying to his boys.

"I don't have all day, hurry up and wear your shoes!" She could hear him snap, and even though her back was turned to him, there was no mistaking the irritation and impatience in his tone. Judging from the formal clothes he had been wearing when she had caught sight of him a few minutes ago -- a grey shirt pushed inside a pair of black trousers -- as well as his tidily slicked back hair, he ought to have come to the school directly from work. Clearly, the man had never heard of leaving the office pressures back in the office, and it was rather easy to guess that he had had a bad day at work.

As she turned to leave with Luhan and the boys, her younger son piped up from over the other man's shoulder.

"Jonginnie!" He called out, waving madly at someone behind them. Turning around, Minah saw one of the mystery man's sons dart ahead until he came to a stop in front of Luhan's legs, staring up at Sehun. Blinking slightly, she realised he had been the same boy her son was talking to in the kindergarten, and returned the polite smile the kid gave them, while thinking about how coincidental it was for her sons to be familiar with the man's. Even before 'Jonginnie' could say anything, though, déjà vu struck her.

"Like I said, Jongin, I don't have all day! You know I have to go back to work," the mystery man -- that's what Minah had dubbed him as -- boomed, and she could see her colleague flinch out of the corner of an eye, before hurriedly waving to the kid in front of him and ushering him silently towards his father. With a tiny wave thrown towards Sehun, Jongin gloomily drew back to the man's side, and as Minah turned to look at him, she noticed him staring fixedly at her and Luhan, before he tore his gaze away from them with a slight smirk, walking away with the three boys in tow.

"What's his problem?" Luhan uttered incredulously from her side, frowning as he glared at the man's retreating figure while she patted him on the forearm.

"Can you blame me now, for being pissed at him?" She asked wryly as they exited the front gates of the elementary school, Luhan heading back to the office after a civil goodbye to the lady and her two sons.

Author's Note:

Ha ha.... another abrupt end, what is wrong with me ._. I promise the next chapter will have more plot! I just hope I don't break that promise eep

I just kind of wanted to write this one from both the characters' perspectives, and showed a glimpse of how Minseok is. I really hope the drama doesn't feel too clichéd, and don't worry, their pasts will be revealed bit by bit, when the time comes.

Did you guys guess it right that the mystery man was Minseok? But, well, the tags say it all so XD

I would really love and appreciate it if you guys commented your thoughts about the story so far, and I'm not gonna be that author who cribs about her own written work, but I feel that the latter part of this chapter could have been written a bit better. I blame writer's block!