It's another stressful day for Kyungsoo when the alarm's annoying sound fills the cold bedroom. A few sunbeams light up the wooden floor, one of them falling right on his closed eyes, earning a low groan from in between his heart shaped lips. His thick, dark eyebrows knit together when he takes a deep breath and opens his eyes slowly. His feet drag after one another on his way to the little bed in the small room next to his bedroom; His face lighten up when he looks down to see the small girl looking up at him with big, round eyes which she inherited from him. A weak smile pull up his lips as he bends down and takes her in his strong arms in the most delicate way, like he's holding a fragile doll or something. And he actually is holding something fragile; the most important thing in his life, the one thing that keeps him happy, the one thing he never could have enough of – his daughter. "Are you already awake?" he asks with a wide smile, pecking her pink cheeks.

"Good morning, appa." She smiles back, her small hands come to touch his nose.

He laughs at this, kissing her little palm. "Let's get you dressed, huh?"

"Yes!" She calls in return, her little brown eyes spark in excitement. "Can I wear the new dress today, daddy?" her voice is so sweet, pleading cutely.

"But we wanted to save it for the weekend when we'll go to grandmother's house, Eunie." He calls her by her nickname.

"But I really want to wear it today," she whines a bit. "Pretty please?" her big eyes and the little pout that formed on her lips make him sigh in return.

"Sorry, love, but it'll ruin and we can't buy another dress right now."

The little girl's lips turn upside down when tears gather in her brown eyes, but she's quite while Kyungsoo dresses her up with a pair of blue pants and a blue shirt. "Look at how beautiful you are." He presses his lips to her temple and wipes away her tears. "I promise you'll wear the dress on weekend, ok, honey?"

He doesn't get an answer in return.

 

The weather is warm and nice as they walk hand in hand out of the building and into Kyungsoo's car. He still has enough time to get Eunyeong to daycare without additional stress; The ride is surprisingly silent, Eunyeong playing with one of her toys in the back of the car while Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, thinking about the long day that waits only for him. Right when he stops in a red light his phone rings, and he puts it on speaker. "I'm on my way with Eunie," he says the sentence that turned into a code so his friends won't curse or talk too loudly next to the little four-year-old.

"Hey, Eunie," Baekhyun's voice fills the car.

"Baekhyunnie!" the girl cheers with such delight to hear her father's best friend's voice.

"Good morning, baby-"

"I'm not a baby." She pouts in the back seat. She hated being called "baby" by anyone, especially by her favorite human being (besides her dad).

His laugh lingers in Kyungsoo's ears when he continues, "I'm sorry, Eunie." And then turning to his old friend. "Listen, Soo, I'm heading out today with Chanyeol so I won't be able to take Eunie from daycare." He says, and the little girl protesting from the back of the car.

"But you promised me."

"I'm sorry, honey, I promise I'll come tomorrow…"

"It's okay, Baek, I'll just talk to Jongdae or something. Have fun." He smiles weakly. Baekhyun is one of his best friend, and practically Eunyeong's uncle already. He is babysitting her a few times a week, when Kyungsoo can't come back early from his job. He takes care of her like his own child, even bathing and cleaning the mass she leaves behind her in almost every place her little foot steps in, and he is doing it from his own will. Kyungsoo thanks to god (or maybe Baekhyun, in this case) for his precious existence in his life.

Kyungsoo closes the door behind him and opens the back door, undoing Eunyeong's belt. "Uncle Jongdae will come to take you today, ok?" he smiles to her, but the younger doesn't seem to be satisfied by this. "Be a good girl, Eunie. I know you wanted to be with uncle Baekhyun today." He takes her off of the seat to his arms, and still she doesn't react to any of his words. Only the pout on her face is visible when she doesn't even put her hands on Kyungsoo's neck, like she always does. "Love, look at me-" he tries to ease the atmosphere but then she starts to whine.

"Put me down." She almost cries.

As much as Kyungsoo's heart breaks to see her so disappointed, he doesn't have time to make deals so he takes her little backpack and puts her down. "Slow there, tiger. Come here." He puts the stripes on her shoulders, leaning forwards to give her a kiss but she's already gone, running into the building of her daycare.

A sigh finds its way out of his plump lips when he straightens up, watching his daughter's little figure disappearing into the group of little kids.

"Tough morning?" An unfamiliar voice makes him jump in his place as he looks to his left side, eyes wide in surprise. None of the parents were actually talking to him in the mornings, and he was totally ok with it. Most of them were snobs or just unpleasant people to talk to, so when someone who was taller then one meter approached him it was surprising.

"A-What?" he asks stupidly while looking with his owl eyes.

The god on his left chuckles, his wide smile getting to his beautiful eyes when he moves his hand through his chocolate rich hair. He's absolutely gorgeous; He has tan skin and white pearls instead of teeth (straighter than Kyungsoo himself), brown orbs and long lashes. He's taller than Kyungsoo by a head or even more. He doesn't have many muscles like Kyungsoo but it's obvious he's working out. Or maybe even dancing, because his long legs seem perfect for dance and something in his body language just screams that he like to dance.

"Tough morning?" he repeats his words. "Your daughter, she seemed a bit sad." He elaborates then, signaling with his head towards the short building.

Kyungsoo sighs in the mention of Eunyeong and nods. "Yeah, I didn't let her wear a white dress because we're visiting my parents on the weekend and I know she'll stain her, and now my friend can't babysit her because he has a date and it's totally cool but she's disappointed-" he cuts himself off when he suddenly notice that he drifted far too much in front of a total stranger. "Oh, I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away," he smiles awkwardly while the other chuckles in return.

"It's ok. I had quite a rough morning too. My daughter didn't want to eat her sandwich and then she fell on our way to the car and she started crying. I almost cracked myself when she literally ran away from me." He sighs once but then a smile finding his place on his handsome features. "Don't worry, though. She'll be as usual when you'll come to pick her up." His words are warm almost like the wind that caresses Kyungsoo's cheeks.

"Yeah… I'm not even picking her up because of my job." He sighs too, and then his phone buzzes in his pants. "Sorry," he says while picking up the call. "I'm on my way, Junmyeon." He wants to curse his pain-in-the--co-worker but he doesn't want to leave a bad impression on the man that is standing in front of him as well, so he bites his tongue. "I'm sorry, but I really have to go. Have a nice day!" he calls to the stranger from the front of his car before entering it and driving to the big company he was working for for the last two years.

 

Being an employee in a big company's building isn't simple at all; Most of the seniors are sure you're their personal assistant, when they're even noticing your existence. Kyungsoo wasn't even working there if he had another option; the payment was fine just because he worked for so many hours, missing a lot of time he could've spent with his daughter. It was almost a routine coming home late when she was already sleeping, most of the time Baekhyun and sometimes Jongdae were sitting in the living room and watching TV. Only two months ago Kyungsoo gathered enough courage to talk to his boss and ask to come back home early at least twice a week. It was noticeable in his salary, but at least he could've seen the most important person in his life for more than ten minutes a day. He never regretted this decision.

And being in the same building with one of his co-workers, Junmyeon, wasn't the first thing he wanted to do right now. He feels bad; he didn't want to let Eunyeong go like that without even giving him a goodbye-kiss. She never was one of the clingy children that cried before going to daycare, but she never missed a kiss too. She was disappointed, he knew. She is a smart kid, and being so she realized today would be another day she won't see her dad at night, another day one of his friends (that she really loved but how can you even compare) would put her to sleep.

"Soo, where are you?" Baekhyun's voice wakes him up from his daze.

"Sorry, Baek," he sighs in response.

"Whoa! Wait," the younger suddenly jumps and puts his hand on Kyungsoo's. "You almost stapled yourself to the paper. What's going on? Is it because of Eunyeong?" he asks with furrowed eyebrows, clear concern in his eyes. Kyungsoo just nods in return and for a long moment he doesn't even notices Baekhyun's words coming in and out of his ears. "Soo?" he calls when he notices the other is back in his daze.

"Sorry, Baek," he repeats his words from earlier. "She literally ran away from me this morning. She hates me." He almost sniffles, tears gathering in his big eyes. Kyungsoo isn't someone to cry easily, but when it comes to his one and only daughter he can start crying in a matter of a few seconds.

"Hey, hey, she doesn't hate you." Baekhyun's voice suddenly turns to be silky and comforting while his arms wrapping around the smaller's man frame, taking him into a side-hug. "Stop saying nonsense. You know she loves you, it's just hard for her, you know it."

"I know." He says and hurries to wipe away the tear that escaped from one of his eyes. "It's hard for me too. It's so hard, Baek-"

"What's going on here?" Junmyeon peeks into their little office. "Are you going to talk for the rest of the shift?" he asks rhetorically. "Get to work." his stiff voice makes Kyungsoo fist his palms. He hates this so much.

"ing head." He curses under his nose and takes a deep breath. "I swear, once I'm finding a better job I'm so off of this garbage can." He hisses and returns to his work, stapling the papers together.

 

It's already dark for a few hours when Kyungsoo walks out of the building, his bag on his right shoulder. He sighs while entering his car, spearing a glance to the back of the car, where Eunyeong's safety seat is, empty and the toy she likes to play with thrown on the other seat besides it. He takes a small shaky breath and starts the car, opening the window to let the warm breeze of October caress his cheeks, ease the heart throbbing pain in his chest. He misses his little girl so much that he can't bare the tears that fall on his cheeks. He sits inside the car in the parking lot for a few long minutes, crying silently. He had a few breakdowns here and there when he felt guilty for not being there for her as much as he wants; it's hard to manage a life with a daughter when you're a single parent and having a full time job in addition.

After a few minutes he finally calms himself down and stepps out of the car.

 

"Hey," Jongdae smiles at him when he enters the small apartment, eyes a bit puffy.

"Hey," Kyungsoo returns, pretending to be tired so the other won't ask any unnecessary questions. "Is she already asleep?" he asks.

Jongdae nods in return. "Yeah, I made some soup and bathed her. She was a bit off today but I guess she was just tired," he shrugs, unconscious of the real reason behind the sudden change in her behavior.

"She didn't do any problems?"

Jongdae smiles warmly. "Nah, she was sweet as always. Is something wrong?" he finishes with a worried tone, furrowing his eyebrows.

Kyungsoo only shakes his head in return. "No. Thanks for coming in such a short warning."

Jongdae then smiles again and walks to the door. "Sure, anytime." He says like it's the most casual thing for him. "I better go, you look tired. Good night, Soo. Don't hesitate if you need me to babysit her again."

Kyungsoo nods in return with a smile of his own. "Thanks, Jongdae. I really appreciate it."

And then he leaves him alone in the living room, closing the door behind his back. Kyungsoo takes a deep breath before coming into the nursing room, walking past the small closet and the bunch of toys on the floor. He stands next to the bed, looking down at the sleeping creature in it. Her lips are slightly parted and her small hands forming fists around the blanket. It seems like she's deep asleep, so Kyungsoo sighs under his breath and leans forwards. He presses his lips to her forehead in a warm, tender kiss. "I love you." He whispers to no one. "I really do." And with that he goes back to his old bed, flopping onto it and drifting to sleep.

 

Another week passes by. The same routine for every day; Kyungsoo wakes up, takes a short shower, gets Eunyeong ready for daycare and goes to work. He has to stay late for the rest of the week because of a project or something like that which the seniors are responsible of, but all of the other workers have to attend meetings and help with the small details the seniors are basically "too busy to do themselves". Eunyeong seems to be upset every morning, even when Kyungsoo tries to talk with her and ask how was her day yesterday. She just mumbles something and continues to play with the little toy which Kyungsoo always keeps in his car. He wishes it to be gone, only so she could listen to him for a whole minute. She lets him give her a kiss before waddling into the building.

Kyungsoo stands next to his car, taking a deep breath while watching his little daughter's figure disappearing into the crowd of other children. "Hey," an unfamiliar voice calls, making him turn his head to his left in curiosity. It's the tall man again, smiling at him.

"Hey," Kyungsoo smiles back. He didn't see him for a week, every morning hurrying to his job so much that he can't even let himself watch her walk to the building out of his car. He watches her from his seat, because there's no way he would leave before reassuring she's inside the building, and then hurries to his job.

"I didn't see you lately," the taller's voice is smooth and deep, making shivers go down Kyungsoo's spine.

"Yeah, well, I had to leave quickly." He explains with a shrug.

"How is she?" he asks, looking straight to the daycare's building.

Kyungsoo sighs. "Still mad. It turned out to be a tough week, not just a morning." The sadness is obvious in his voice. The taller looks down at him, his lower lip pouting a bit.

"I'm sure it'll be gone soon. Take a day off or something, be only with her." he suggests with pure will to help.

"I wish I could. I can't even leave the work early because of this stupid project." He mumbles in dissatisfaction. "Nevermind… I'll just tell my boss I had to leave early. My daughter is way more important than everything else."

The latter smiles widely. "I'm Jongin, by the way." He stretches out his hand. Jongin, what a name… Kyungsoo thinks to himself and then blinks a few times, realizing he was staring.

"Kyungsoo." He hurries to shake his hand, making the latter chuckle in amusement.

"Nice meeting you, Kyungsoo." The way his name rolls on his tongue makes him want to scream.

"You too." His heart shaped lips stretche in a shy smile. He looks down at his phone, eyes go wide the minute he realizes he's being late. "Sorry, but I have to go." He says then pressing his lips.

"Sure," Jongin smiles in return. "Don't forget to talk to your boss. Children before anything." He sends him a wink and turns his back.

Kyungsoo sits in his car for a few seconds, staring blankly at the steering wheel with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. He sighs and closes his eyes. He probably has a wife, how can someone this handsome not be married? He chuckles to himself bitterly, scolding himself for being so dumb to get excited because someone who probably isn't even gay. He sighs once again and ignores the ongoing buzz in the pocket of his pants.

 

"Why aren't you answering to any of my calls?" Baekhyun shoots the minute Kyungsoo enters the small kitchen. His eyebrows knitted together in a mixture of irritation and worry.

Kyungsoo shrugs with a straight face and starts doing his morning coffee. "Didn't see, sorry." It isn't completely a lie; he really didn't see who called. He didn't even take out his phone from his pocket, so basically, he didn't know it was Baekhyun who's calling.

"How's Eunie?" he asked with interest.

Kyungsoo chuckles, but it's not one of his sweet amused chuckles. It's a bitter one, almost like the coffee he's holding in his right hand. "You saw her two days ago, Baek." He says. The bitterness filling him even more because it's ridiculous. It's all ridiculous; how his bestfriend gets to spend more time with his own daughter than he himself. It's so ing messed up.

"Still-"

"I'm heading to Mr. Park, I'll talk to you later." He announces and exiting the little kitchen, walking towards his boss' office. His fingers are trembling a bit before he inhales deeply and knocks on the door.

"Come in." the deep voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Good morning, Mr. Park," he greets with a deep bow, trying to be as polite as he can.

"Good morning, Kyungsoo." The older smiles at him. "Please sit." He signals with his head to one of the chairs on the opposite side of his table.

"Thank you," Kyungsoo says and sits in front of him. "I just wanted to inform you that I have to go home early today." The smile fades off of his face when he presses his lips into a thin line. "I stayed late everyday in the past week, and we agreed that I can leave early twice a week, so-"

"It's ok, Kyungsoo." The older says, making his eyes sparkle with bewilderment. "I know you have a daughter at home, and you have to see her more often. So it's ok, but only today. We have a lot of pressure before the project. Once we're done with it you can leave early everyday."

Kyungsoo's excitement crashed into an imaginable wall with the face of his boss on it. He sighs in return and nods. "Ok. Thank you so much." he stands up and bows once again.

 

The excitement is rushing in his veins when his fingers tighten up on the steering wheel. It's been more than a week since he left his job early, since he saw his daughter actually smiling to him and not making a face or pouting. His stomach rages and heart races in his chest when he stops his car and opens the front door, exiting it so fast he almost falls on his face. He stands there for a few minutes, the sky bright with cotton-candy-like clouds. The wind is warm and nice, caressing his cheeks in almost a comforting way. "You came," a smooth voice is heard in Kyungsoo's ears, making his heart twitch in a weird manner.

"Hey," he smiles to the tan male besides him, who flashes him a bright smile that almost making his knees weak. "Yeah, I talked with my boss."

"It's great." he comments. "My daughter always talks about yours." He says after a long minute of comfortable silence.

Kyungsoo quirks up a brow. "How do you know it's my daughter?"

Jongin smiles as if he knows a secret. "She showed me her when one of your friends came to take her, and I remembered the day she ran away, so… yeah." he chuckles in awkwardness.

"I don't even know her friends' names." Kyungsoo smiles half a smile, yet again, it was a sad and bitter one. "I'm such an awful dad-"

Jongin doesn't let him finish a sentence when cutting him off with a scolding tone in his words. "Hey, you're working really hard to give her what she needs. You're not an awful dad for trying to create her a reality when nothing is missing-"

"Besides my attention." Kyungsoo is the one to cut him off now.

"Don't be mad at yourself. She's a smart girl, she knows you're working hard for her. And I'm sure she gets enough love from your wife, too." He tries to comfort the shorter.

Yeah right, the wife that ran away from her responsibility. A mocking voice rises up in the back of his head, but he just smiles in return. "Thanks, Jongin." He says. "You don't even know me and you're comforting me." He chuckles, until a warm, tanned hand founding her way to his shoulder and his whole body tenses under the taller's touch.

"It's really nothing. You shouldn't feel bad for trying to make a stable reality for your daughter. Plus, you're trying your best to spend time with her-" his words cut off when a familiar voice calling out.

"Appa!" it's Eunyeong who comes running to Kyungsoo. He smiles widely, bending down to catch her in a tight hug. "You came today." She says in excitement, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I missed you too much, love," he says in response, tightening the embrace even more.

She laughs and moves away a bit, only to kiss her dad on his cheek. "I missed you too, daddy." she smiles, two rows of small teeth appear behind her small lips.

Kyungsoo just kisses her back and then standing up, placing her on his hip. Jongin stands there with his daughter in his own arms, smiling fondly to the shorter male. The two girls smiling to each other, as if there's something they share with only their looks. "So this is Eunyeong who you talk so much about, Minsu?" he asks with his smoldering voice and makes both of the girls blush in shyness.

Kyungsoo laughs and tries to ignore the sudden glance the taller is spearing him. The speed his eyes shoot to his direction makes his stomach rage. "Say hello to uncle Jongin, Eunie." He encourages her.

She smiles, cheeks getting a light pinkish color when her little palms catching Kyungsoo's white button up in two fists. "Hello, uncle Jongin." She mumbles shyly and hides her face in the crook of Kyungsoo's neck, making both of the fathers laugh. Jongin's laugh sounds so heavenly good that Kyungsoo almost blushes from the thought in his mind. He can't let the blush reveal the sudden shyness he feels too.

Jongin encourages his daughter to greet Kyungsoo as well, but she doesn't hide. "You have a beautiful name, Minsu." He compliments and the kid smiles proudly.

"Thanks to daddy," she says and makes the short male laugh in amazement.

"I guess she learned how to be sharp from her dad, huh?" he teases the taller who scratches the back of his neck with his free hand.

"I guess so." He laughed in return.

"Appa, I'm hungry." Eunyeong whined against his neck.

Kyungsoo wanted to stay and talk with the taller male for a bit more, but the thought of spending time with his daughter after so long was so exciting, that he had to smile a shy smile inside his heart shaped lips. "Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow?" he says with raised eyebrows.

Jongin nods with a bright smile. "Have fun," he says in return and they both part ways.

 

Kyungsoo tightens the seat belt around the small giggling ball of happiness. Eunyeong seemed so happy; the last time he saw her so happy was more than a week ago. "Do you want to go to the park? Or you rather the jamboree?"

"Let's go to the park! Minsu said she'll go there with her dad too." Her little brown eyes sparkle when reminding her friend's name. Kyungsoo tries to ignore the reference of her father –Jongin- with a smile.

"Sure. Let's go home first and eat something?"

"Can you make me black noodles?" she asks, eyebrows twitching with anticipation.

"Of course, honey. I'll make everything you want." He leaned in to peck her forehead.

 

Throughout the entire ride Eunyeong doesn't close for a second. She tells Kyungsoo excitingly about her day and how she loves Minsu, calling the girl her bestfriend with shiny eyes and a smile on her face. "Minsu's dad said that I'm welcome at their house if you're busy at work."

"Did he?" Kyungsoo asks with raised eyebrows. "That's so nice of him." he smiles fondly. "Yeah, but he said that he'll talk to you before so you won't worry." She adds with a knowing tone, unconscious of the swell in Kyungsoo's heart.

"It's a great idea, honey. But I'll talk to him tomorrow and we'll see, ok?"

"Yes, daddy. And I don’t want to go there everytime because I miss uncle Baekhyunie and I know it's uncomfortable for them to have guests everyday."

Kyungsoo's smile widens to the sound of her words. Being only a four year old girl means that you're supposed to be kind of oblivious of the surroundings, so he is in a total shock to hear his daughter being conscious about stuff like this. "I'm sure Minsu would like to see you everyday but you're right."

"Even when Baekhyunie comes almost everyday it becomes a bit too much." she mumbles to herself, making Kyungsoo burst out with a surprised laughter.

"What did he do to be 'too much' for you?"

"Nothing!" she called in response, smiling. "He's just a bit tiring. But don't tell him I said it, he won't want to be with me anymore."

Kyungsoo laughs once again. "I won't tell him, don't worry."

 

They enter the small apartment and Eunyeong hurries to her room then coming back after a few minutes, already dressed in a skirt and a new shirt. "I'm ready." She says with a big smile.

Kyungsoo laughs while picking her up. "You haven't eaten yet," he takes her to the kitchen, places her on the counter. "Want to help me make us launch?"

"Yes!" she calls excitedly and nodding enthusiastically.

"Break the pasta into half," he orders while making the black sauce.

 

"It's tasty, appa." Eunyeong exclaims happily while slurping a long noodle into .

Kyungsoo smiles in return and wiping her stained lips and chin with a napkin. "Only because you helped me," he smiles and returns to eat his own dish. She giggles shyly and continues eating with appetite.

 

The wind is warm and the sky is still bright when they arrive to the park. A loud sound of children screaming and playing around fills Kyungsoo's ears when he finds an empty bench to sit on. "I'm here if you need anything, ok, Eunie?" he asks in confirmation and the little girl nods once, smiling at him before she lets go of his big hand and runs to her friends. He watches as she plays with a little boy, laughing enthusiastically when they run around the big slide. "It must be a miracle," a familiar voice calls from afar, and Kyungsoo smiles right away when he sees Jongin approaching the bench. "Seeing you twice a day?" he gasps, making the shorter male laugh in an adorable awkward manner.

"It's fate, what can I say?" he says teasingly.

Jongin sits next to him and crosses his long legs. These long, beautiful legs. "I never saw you here." He says with a smile of his own.

Kyungsoo shrugs once. "Most of the time I'm not even capable of bringing Eunie here, so yeah, it kind of makes sense."

"And when you're leaving work early? I never saw you here before."

Kyungsoo shrugs, a bit flushed with embarrassment. Why does he even care? "Uh- well, most of the time I'm sitting on this bench," he points to a bench on his far left. "And I'm reading a book or listening to music. Or both, so maybe you didn't notice me."

"Maybe." Jongin shrugs in return.

They sit silently for a few minutes, but Kyungsoo's mind is storming with thoughts. I can try and ask something about his personal life. Maybe he's married and I'm just deceiving myself. Jongin's phone rings and cuts his train of thought. "Hey," he smiles widely. "I'm with Minsu in the park. We'll be home in a few hours. Yeah, sure. Don't forget the movie." He finishes the call and shoves his phone back to the pocket of his Jeans.

"Was that your wife?" Kyungsoo asks curiously.

Jongin looks down at him for a long minute. The smile fades away, and he just staring blankly at the other, making him regret his question. "I'm not married," he says eventually, and Kyungsoo feels like it's the best day of his life.  

"And your girlfriend is okay with you having a child?" he asks after a few seconds.

Jongin tries his best not to smile in return. "Who said I have a girlfriend?" he asks, eyes looking innocently at Kyungsoo.

He feels his cheeks flush with redness in embarrassment. "Uh- Well, I guessed you have, because-"

"Because what?" Jongin asks curiously, raising his dark eyebrows.

"Because you look like someone who's married." He blurts out in one breath.

"And what do married people look like?"

Like ing gods. His mind speaks for himself when he bites down his lower lip. His lips part when he tries to produce some kind of sound –something-, but then a loud voice calling him and he looks down, only to feel his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach when Eunyeong approaches the bench with two stripes of blood down her nose. "Eunyeong," he calls, almost in tears. "What happened?" he asks while crouching in front of her bleeding face, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"I fell, but it's ok, it doesn't hurt-"

"Honey, you're bleeding." He informs her with a strict tone while taking out of her small bag a bunch of tissues. "Here, hold it and look up, it'll stop the bleeding." He instructs her little palm to her nose. "How did you fell?"

"I was riding the metal horse and someone pushed me too hard." She said through her nose, voice becoming a bit squeaky.

"Who was it-" Kyungsoo asks with boiling blood under his milky skin, but then Jongin puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and his tongue suddenly feels numb.

"It doesn't matter, Kyungsoo. What's matter is that she's ok. Her nose will stop bleeding in a few minutes."

Kyungsoo sighs and pats her dark hair. "Please be careful, love. Don't go near that kid, ok?"

She nods in return. A few minutes later she's back into the playground, Kyungsoo watches her with furrowed eyebrows and his bottom lip squeezed between his teeth.

"You'll start bleeding from biting too hard." Jongin comments from his right.

Kyungsoo sighs. "Maybe we should have gone home?"

"Don't be over protective. Look at her; she's such a strong child. I bet she kicked this stupid kid or something." He chuckles.

"Nah, I don't teach her to fight other kids." He finally looks at Jongin, who smiles fondly in return.

"You should. Kids nowadays are a bunch of bags," the nickname makes Kyungsoo laugh.

"bags?"

"Yeah, one time someone pulled Minsu from the slide because he wanted to slide it. I told her to fight him back, and after she returned him he wasn't getting a kilometer near her." he says proudly, smiling his bright smile.

Kyungsoo's stomach starts raging in excitement; his smile is so gorgeous. His soft and moist-looking lips stretch in the most beautiful way. He runs his hand through his chocolate hair, dark eyes literally pinning Kyungsoo to his place. His heart pounds fast in his chest, lips partly slighted. The words swirl inside his head, but his vocal cords betray him when he opens his mouth in order to say something, and nothing comes out. Then he reminds the conversation he had with Eunyeong just two hours ago in the car, and a little smile tugs at his heart shaped lips. "Eunyeong said you offered her to come to your house." He says with big eyes, looking up at the other.

Jongin's smile widens when he hums. "Yeah, you said most of the time your friends come pick her up, so I thought it would be nice if she could come and play with Minsu. You know, that way your friends will have a bit more time for themselves." He chuckled, making the shorter blush in discomfort.

"Ah- yeah, I guess it's a good idea." He stutters adorably. "I wish I could leave work early everyday. It's just so hard. I don't want her to grow with her dad's friends and not himself." He sighs.

"What about your wife?" Jongin asks, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

Kyungsoo bites down his lip hesitantly. Should he admit he's not even married? What does he need to do? He knows Jongin for barely a week. What if this is his chance? What if- it. He thinks to himself and lets out a sigh. "She's probably in the US right now," he shrugs. "It's a bit complicated to babysit while on other country."

"Oh, a business trip?" Jongin asks totally obliviously.

Are you ing kidding me? Do I really have to say it explicitly? "She's not even my wife." He shrugs once more, hoping he'll understand the clue.

"Oh, are you one of those couples who doesn't want to get marr-"

"She ran away, Jongin." He says it with a smirk.

The tanned male shuts up within a second, eyes as wide as his mouth. "Oh." He mumbles with flushed cheeks, embarrassed from not getting the point from the first time. "I-I'm sorry," he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

Kyungsoo just laughs in return. "It's okay." His smile is so cute and warm and absolutely amazing. "She literally had the baby and left me alone, but I don't really care. It gives me more time with Eunyeong." Almost immediately he chuckles bitterly at the ironic statement. "Well, not really, but-"

"I'm sorry," Jongin says again, but this time his eyes are full of something warm and a bit dark, something Kyungsoo couldn't really get from first sight. His palm rests on his small knee. "I'm the first to know how hard it is to be a single parent. My wife and I divorced a year ago. Minsu still sees her every other weekend and on Wednesdays," he elaborated, and Kyungsoo felt his heart dropping once again this afternoon, but this time with pure excitement. And then it suddenly strikes him; Jongin was single. He was totally single. Maybe he had a chance to ask him out. But he couldn't get himself to think about the option seriously while he was seeing Eunyeong properly only on weekends. After the project. I'll find one day to myself, if he'll accept my suggestion. He took a deep breath unconsciously. Right when he starts to get back to himself, Minsu runs towards the two males with a call, "Appa," her sweet voice lingers in Kyungsoo's ears while she's looking up at Jongin who smiles back at her and takes her in his arms. "Can you give me a tissue, please?" she asks and Jongin's smile fades away. He pouts at her.

"I didn't bring tissues, honey-"

"Oh, wait a second?" Kyungsoo interrupts and turns to the backpack on his left side, taking out a small packet of white tissues with some paintings on them. He hands the packet to Minsu with a warm smile, and she looks up at her dad with question.

"Take it," he encourages her. "Kyungsoo's our friend." He reassures and only then she smiles shyly and taking the tissues from Kyungsoo.

"Thank you." She says politely and takes one out of the packet, wiping lightly at her nose. She jumps off of his lap and goes back to her friends on the other side of the playground.

"She's so sweet." Kyungsoo finds himself mumbling with a smile.

Jongin laughs. "Yeah, she earned it from her mother," he chuckled lightly. "I really hoped Minsu could have a happy family, you know with both parents and all. But I felt like the girl I loved so much during high school wasn't the same as the one I woke up next to every morning," the last sentence made Kyungsoo's thoughts swirl again in his head; I wonder how it'll be to wake up next to him. His morning voice must be so y, and those tanned arms wrapped around- he blushes suddenly, making Jongin furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "Kyungsoo?" his name rolls perfectly on his tongue. Damn, how bad Kyungsoo wants to kiss him right now.

"Huh?" he looks up, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.

Jongin chuckles. It was already something in norm to see the shorter male's eyes opened widely and his cheeks flushed, almost like he's always thinking of the same embarrassing thing. "Are you listening to me?" he asks.

"Sorry," Kyungsoo presses his lips awkwardly.

"You drifted away for a second there," Jongin says teasingly, smirk stretched on his beautiful plump lips.

"Yeah, sorry," he chuckles in return. "Do you mind repeating it?" he scratches the back of his head nervously, narrowing his big eyes.

"I said that I kind of lost somewhere on our way my love for my wife. It was mutual, honestly. And we decided to part our ways in the most peaceful and nice way a couple can divorce. We didn't want Minsu to be traumatized because of it, and because my ex-wife works outside of town we decided that it'll be better for Minsu to stay with me." He says and sighs. "I miss it." he then admits, and Kyungsoo feels like dying.

"Her?"

"It," Jongin emphasizes. "I miss living with someone; having someone cooking me dinner, not sleeping alone, you know… the basic stuff." He shrugs. "Minsu is one of the best things that happened in my life, but I truly miss being in a relationship. I need this warmth," he sighs once again, closes his eyes for a second and then re-opens them with a shy smile. "I'm sorry. I bet you don't really care-"

"I honestly feel you," Kyungsoo admits too, the same smile on his own lips. "I'm single for already four years. Most of the time I don't think about it because I'm working or I'm with Eunyeong so things like that don't bother me. But at nights, when I'm finally alone I think about these things and I miss it too." He leans his cheek on his fist.

Jongin smiles, and opens his mouth to respond but then the two girls are coming hand in hand. "We're hungry!" they announce, making the two dads burst into laughter.

 

Kyungsoo hates McDonalds. He doesn't like the greasy meat or the soaking-with-oil-fries and even what they called 'salad' is a lame excuse in the costume of a lot of lettuce, one cherry tomato and maybe a few slices of cucumber. But Eunyeong smiled almost as bright as she smiled earlier that day, when she saw her dad was coming to pick her up, and Kyungsoo couldn't help the content sigh that escaped his lips. The girls are eating enthusiastically while Jongin and Kyungsoo talk with each other. "Appa," suddenly Eunyeong tugs at one of his fingers. He hums in response, looking down at her with raised eyebrows. "Did you talk with uncle Jongin already?"

"Oh," he smiles widely at her and looks back up. "About your idea…"

Jongin smiles while Eunyeong continues to munch on her fries. "Yeah, here's my number if you ever need me or anything," he takes a napkin in order to write it down, but then remembers he doesn't even have a pen.

"Here," Kyungsoo takes a pen out of his bag.

"What don't you have in there?" Jongin laughs while writing the numbers on the piece of paper.

"You should always be ready, Jongin." Kyungsoo smiles at him and takes the napkin and the pen, tries as hard as he can to hide the excitement that filled him once he got the y-dreamy-single-dad-and-probably-not-gay's number. (Well, you should always give it a try just in case…)

 

It's already dark when Kyungsoo and Eunyeong are back at home. The little girl sits on the carpet, playing with her toys while her dad is watching the news. It's nice and calm, until Kyungsoo reminded he had to go to work tomorrow and he won't be able to leave work early again up until next week. "Eunie," he calls softly, catching her attention. He picks her up from the floor and sitting her on his lap, caressing slowly her cheek. "Daddy won't be able to leave work early until next week," he says, and she presses her lips into a thin line with slight disappointment but listens quietly. "I'll talk with uncle Jongin so you would go to play with Minsu, ok?"

She nods excitedly, her eyes suddenly light up once again. "Yeah!"

"I'll come to pick you up and we'll go to Minsu's house?"

"I can go with them, appa."

"Still, I'll ask my boss to come pick you up and then go back to work. At least for your first time, ok?" he raises his eyebrows.

"Ok, daddy." she smiles and nuzzles into his neck. "Remember you told me today you'll make everything I want?" she asks with a smile on her face, making her dad hum in interest. "So I want you to make more days like this," she says innocently, totally oblivious to the ache in Kyungsoo's heart. He knows how much she misses him and it's ridiculous how he only sees her properly on weekends. Right in this moment, when his eyes fill with tears, he cherishes these little moments of pure happiness. He never talks with her about the sensitive subject; they both know and understand it's impossible otherwise.

Kyungsoo tightens his embrace and nuzzles into her dark hair, sniffs it in an attempt of calming himself. "I'm sorry it's like that," he says, the quiver in his voice audible through the news' sound. "Never forget that I love you, Eunyeong," he uses her full name, and the kid presses her lips once again. She used to pet names and her nickname, so when her dad calls her by her full name she realizes it's something important. "Even if I'm coming late, I miss you so much everyday and think about you so-" his words are cut off when she moves and looks up at him with big, wide eyes.

"Appa," she calls with a soft voice, her little fingers touch the trails his tears leave on his chubby cheeks. "Don't cry. I know you love me." She wipes his eyes, making him let out a short laughter. "I'm a smart girl, appa. I know you work for us, it's okay." She stretches her neck and presses her lips to the tip of his nose. "Don't feel bad, appa." She smiles weakly and wraps her arms around his head. "I love you too," she says and Kyungsoo can't bare it anymore; a sob escapes his lips when he buries his face in her shoulder.

"You're the smartest girl, you know that?" he mumbles.

"Only because I'm your daughter." She giggles adorably while playing with his short black hairs. "Even I'm not crying, daddy. Stop, you look funny like that." She laughs and makes him laugh too.

"I love you, Eunie." He kisses her forehead.

"I already know that, appa." She smiles widely and wipes his cheeks. "Want to hear a song I learned?" she asks enthusiastically in an attempt of easing the atmosphere.

"Always," Kyungsoo smiles in return.

 

Kyungsoo bites down his lip anxiously when his eyes jump from the phone on the nightstand to his left to the curtains that moves lightly because of the warm wind. It's barely past 10pm, Eunyeong is deep asleep for almost an hour, and the thought come to attack him again. His fingers itch and his eyes burn because of the tiredness that lingers right above his eyelids, but he can't go to sleep before talking to Jongin. I'll just ask him tomorrow morning. He thinks and nods to himself. Yeah, that's a good idea. But right when he closes his eyes the level of anxiousness increases and he opens his eyes sharply, taking a short breath through his parted lips. But it's rude. What if he has plans? I can't just come and ask him to babysit Eunie out of the blue. He'll think I'm egoistic or something like that. He releases an almost silent and frustrated groan and pouts to himself. A few minutes pass by, until he finally takes the little napkin, scanning the scrambles numbers on it. It's almost unreadable because the napkin was folded in his pocket, but it I'll just get over with it and go to sleep. He thinks to himself and once again biting his lower lip, a habit he gained only a week and a half ago.

His heart almost explodes when the phone buzzes and lights his face. Hey, no I'm not asleep yet. And it's totally fine, I'll take her with us tomorrow.

Actually I though it'll be better if I'll pick her up and come with you? Because it's her first time in your house, and this way she'll feel more comfortable.

A few long minutes pass and he already feels the regret gnawing inside of him. What if it was rude? What if Jongin doesn't want them to come at all now? What if-

Sorry, I walked my friend out. And sure, it's a great idea. The message makes him smile in relief. He was just a bit busy, everything's okay. But then another message comes and he practically chokes on the other's words while repeating them a few times in his head. You can stay if you have a little break or something, I'm making hell of a coffee and we just baked some chocolate chips cookies, so, yeah.

Did he just offer me to stay in his house? What does it even means? It sounds amazing to be honest, but I have to go back to work. He sends without noticing, and his eyes go wide when he rereads his own message. His breath becoming uneven. He just made himself look desperate, great. ing well done, Kyungsoo. So he hurries to add something that could (somehow) save him from his own awkwardness. But I'll remember the offer for another time. He smiles at his own words. Damn, he's smooth.

He can almost imagine Jongin's chuckle. Looking forward for it. Kyungsoo just stares at the words for a few minutes, mouth hung open and cheeks flushed with blush. He finally gulps and smiles widely, setting the phone on the bedside table and closing his heavy eyelids.

 

"Wait, so there's this really hot single dad who's you're into and he invited you for coffee yesterday?" Baekhyun technically summed up the past week and a half.

Kyungsoo grinned widely, trying to hide his blush by turning his back to his bestfriend. "Just because Eunie is playing with his daughter." He corrects him while making himself a cup of coffee.

"So you're finally getting laid?" the casualty he's saying those words makes Kyungsoo's blush deepen.

"N-No!" he exclaimed embarrassingly and finally turned around. "I'm not even staying for coffee, Baek."

The younger just shrugs in return. "I'm saying go for it. He told you he's single, you're single and you need this, Soo. It's perfect."

"Yeah, besides the fact he's not even gay?" he cocked an eyebrow with clear judgment. His friend loves jumping to conclusions.

"Try flirting with him. Maybe he just thinks you're not gay too, although it's clearly you are-"

"Shut the up, Baekhyun." He scrunches his nose in response. "I at flirting, ok? I'll just make fun of myself."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes while sipping from his own cup of coffee. "You're just being a . Try it, why do you care? In the worst case he's not gay, so what? You can just keep him as a close friend until he decides to cross the road," he winks shamelessly and makes the older blush again.

Kyungsoo can't hold the laughter. "You're such an idiot, what the hell am I even doing with you?"

"Wishing to me but because I have standards you're compromising on Jongun." His sarcastic comeback is pretty funny, but Kyungsoo won't admit it in the face of his oh-so-arrogant-friend.

"It's Jongin," he corrects with furrowed eyebrows. "And you need to see him. He's a god, I swear."

"And sounds gay as so do something before he'll find someone else!" Baekhyun throws a tissue at him.

"Shut up already, ." Kyungsoo rolls his eyes on his way out of the kitchen.

Of course he knows Baekhyun is right. He has to do something before someone will catch Jongin's attention. Someone as good looking as him can't be single for a long time.

 

Kyungsoo arrives to the daycare just in time. Eunyeong comes running and hugs him tightly. Jongin is surprisingly anywhere to see, and then he sees Minsu standing alone next to the gate. "Minsu?" he calls by her name while approaching her with a wide smile.

"Hello, Eunyeong's dad." She greets him with a smile.

He laughs in return and crouching next to her, Eunyeong placed on his right hip. "Where's your dad?" he asks with interest.

She shrugs in return, looking up at him. "He'll probably come in a few minutes. Today is his day off so he's probably in the gym." She answers knowingly.

Kyungsoo nods in respond. "I'll call him, wait here girls?" he puts Eunyeong on the ground and straightens in his place, taking his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll be there in a minute," Jongin answers right away.

"Oh, ok." Kyungsoo says and returns the phone into his pocket. "He's almost here." He announces to the girls who seem to not pay attention at all. He smiles to himself and takes a deep breath of the warm air which surrounding them.

A car stops next to them and Jongin exits it in a rush. "I'm so sorry you had to wait." He looks at Kyungsoo with a broken smile and crouches in front of the girls to take Minsu in his arms but she backs away.

"Appa! You're sweaty," she whines in disgust.

"Oh, come on, give me a hug-"

"No, it's gross." She scrunches her nose and makes Kyungsoo laugh in response.

"Can I at least get a kiss?" he asks with a small smile, eyebrows raised.

She sighs and goes closer to him to give him a kiss, but he already wraps his arms around her and squeezes her with a tight hug. She starts to wiggle in his grip, whining, "Ew, let go of me." But finally gives in with an unsatisfied pout.

"Drive after me?" Jongin asks when he's finally standing with Minsu in his arms.

Kyungsoo nods in return and hands his own daughter his large hand. "Let's go, Eunie." He smiles down at her while they're going to his car.

 

The walk from the cars to the apartment is embarrassingly silent. Kyungsoo finds out Jongin lives just a few blocks from his own building. "I'll come at around 8, ok?" Kyungsoo asks when they enter Jongin's apartment. He gives a short look around the living room; it's small and warm, with a fireplace under a big TV to his right, and two couches from across.

"Yeah, of course. I hope she likes chicken?" he asks with an adorably shy smile on his face.

Kyungsoo nods in return. "Sure." He smiles and turns to walk away, when suddenly Jongin chuckles behind him.

"Kyungsoo?" he asks, and the other turns around and raises his thick eyebrows with a hum. "Her bag?"

Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly when handing him the backpack. "I almost forgot." He scratches the beck of his neck, trying not to show the excitement that fills him once his fingers graze against the others.

Jongin smiles back, trying not to stare too openly at the shorter male's bicep that starched under his short-sleeved-shirt. He was obviously working out. "Ah, I'll call once I'm on my way." Kyungsoo announces, even more awkwardly, and turns on his hills to walk away.

 

Kyungsoo takes a deep, relieved breath when he back in his car. The moon shines through the front window of his car, lights up his face. He smiles to himself while dialing Jongin's number. "Hello?" his voice sounds ten times ier on the phone.

"I just finished, can you text me the address?" he asks, a bit nervously.

"Yeah, of course."

"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes." He hangs up and takes another breath. His heart is already pounding like crazy in his chest when the text message appears on the screen of his phone.

 

He knock on the door and waits for a few seconds. "Just a sec," he hears the familiar voice from the other side of the door. His fingers are already a bit sweaty while tangling with each other; a bad habit he gained in the past few years as a sign for nervousness. "Hey," Jongin's smile makes his heart drop to the pit of his stomach and he feels the blood gathers under the skin of his cheeks.

"Hey," his heart shaped lips stretches into a cute smile.

"Come in." Jongin opens the door and walks into the living room, Kyungsoo in his steps.

"Eunie?" he calls into the empty living room. Soon the girl comes running to him. "Hey," he smiles widely while crouching in front of her and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Hey, daddy." she responds. "I'm going back to Minsu, ok?"

"We should go home, honey-" he feels a bit uncomfortable staying in Jongin's apartment more than needed. Still, he probably was already tired from both of the girls together.

"Where are you running to? You can go, Eunie." The taller smiles down at her. "I'm making my famous coffee and we have chocolate chips cookies. Come on, who says no to chocolate chips-"

"Ok, ok." Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly. "We'll stay but not for long. Uncle Jongin is probably tired. I'll call you when we have to go, love," He looks at Eunyeong who nods enthusiastically in return, a big smile on her small face. He walked with Jongin into the kitchen and leaned against the counter while the taller started to make the coffee. "Thanks for babysitting. You literally saved me." He smiles faintly, the tiredness visible in his dark, round eyes.

Jongin smiles in return. "Sure. Eunyeong is so sweet and smart, it's obvious she's your daughter." The compliment drops out of nowhere.

Kyungsoo freaks out a bit on the inside. Why did he just compliment him? The blush is already creeping to his cheeks when he smiles awkwardly and lets out a short laugh while scratching the back of his neck. "Oh, thanks."

"So, you don't have a girlfriend too, right?" Jongin asks curiously.

Kyungsoo shakes his head in return. "I'm too busy to go on dates, and even when I have time… I'm too old for nightclubs. Plus, I won't leave Eunyeong for this." He presses his lips and shrugs it off.

"You're too old?" Jongin asks, eyes narrowed a bit. "How old are you?"

"I was born on January '93." He answers simply.

Jongin's eyebrows rise with bewilderment. "Really?" he asks with a slight smirk on his mouth. "So I should call you hyung?" he chuckles amusingly.

Kyungsoo blushes a bit in embarrassment. "When were you born?"

"Exactly a year after you, hyung." The formal nickname rolls on his tongue in such a way that Kyungsoo almost chocks on his own spit.

"Stop, you don't need to use formalities." He laughs awkwardly. Oh god please do something I'm literally burning here. He tries to keep the smile on his lips.

"Are you hot?" his smooth, low voice makes Kyungsoo almost jump in his place.

"What?" he asks with wide eyes.

Jongin chuckles in return. "You're red, are you hot?"

"Ah- a bit, yeah." he smiles and takes the jacket off of him, revealing the muscles on his arms. "I can finally leave work early from next week." He sighs in relief while both of them sit next to the small table.

"It's great." Jongin says. "Eunyeong told us you're singing her before bed sometimes." He suddenly remarks before sipping from his cup of coffee.

"Yeah, she likes it and it makes her fall asleep faster, so why not?" he shrugs with a small smile.

"She said you could be a singer," he says, a smirk stretching on his plump lips. "Are you really that good?"

Kyungsoo laughs and scratches his nape one again, the blush deepening on his cheeks. "I don't think so. It's just a hobby for me. Like cooking," he presses his lips for a second. "She loves my food but I'm not going to open a restaurant." He chuckles only from the ridiculous idea.

"Try me." Jongin's straightforwardness hits him once again.

"What?"

The younger smiles. Such a brat. "Sing me something, and I'll tell you if you're that good or not." He suggests with raised eyebrows, sipping calmly from his coffee.

"What? N-No, I don't really-"

"Come on, Kyungsoo. Are you being shy?" he teased with a giggle.

I hate you for making me do this , Jongin. Kyungsoo sighs in response. "God, you're so awkward."

"Yeah, I know. Now sing." The words sound a bit harsh but the smile on his face makes the butterflies in Kyungsoo's stomach go wild. He wants to sip from his coffee but then suddenly Jongin's fingers graze upon his and the cup disappears from his grip like he never held it.

"Hey," he pouts with dissatisfaction.

"Sing first, drink later." The younger is so determined to embarrass him, so Kyungsoo just sighs in return and starts singing the first song that popped into his mind; EXO's Dancing King. He was one of the biggest fanboys back in his late teen years, and he was secretly still listening to their songs up until now. Well, maybe not-so-secretly anymore. Jongin sits with an O shaped mouth, eyes wide with bewilderment. Kyungsoo finally closes his own mouth, presses his lips embarrassingly into a thin line and opens his big eyes only to see Jongin's shocked expression. The blush on his cheeks deepens and he smiles awkwardly. "What?"

"Am I still alive?" the younger asks, making him furrow his brows with confusion. "Because I just heard an angle's voice-"

"Oh, shut up." Kyungsoo mutters after a short embarrassed laugh escapes his full lips.

"No, but seriously," Jongin smiles honestly while handing him back his cup of coffee. "Your voice is amazing." His compliment makes Kyungsoo's heart twitch in excitement and blush a bit deeper.

"I-It's nothing special." He stutters and sips from the already cold coffee in an awkward attempt of hiding his blush.

"Hey," he calls, his suddenly soft voice catches the older's attention. "Would I ever lie to you?"

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes with half a smirk painted on his lips. "You're so annoying."

Jongin's laughter fills the kitchen and sends waves of pleasure down his spine. He bits his lips so a sigh won't find its way out. He was already embarrassed enough. "What would you do without me, Soo?" the sudden use in the nickname makes Kyungsoo's eyebrows rise with surprise.

"Probably ask one of my friends to babysit Eunyeong," he smiles teasingly.

Jongin pouts in return. "What am I? A potato?" he asks with furrowed eyebrows. "Am I not one of your friends?"

The fact the answer seems so obvious for Jongin surprises the older even more and he feels the blush creeping back to its already permanent place. He coughs awkwardly. "Uh- of course y-you are," he stutters and takes another long sip from his iced-coffee. When he puts down the cup he gets to see the younger's smirk lingering on his plump lips. "What?" he asks with a laugh.

"You know, I wanted to talk to you for a really long time," he suddenly confesses, the smirk on his lips turns into a warm smile.

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows once again. Is he laughing at me again? He fights the urge to bite his lower lip. "Oh, really?" he asks, clearly flustered. "Why?"

The tanned male shrugs in response. "You seemed distant and you never talked to any of the other parents. But you had this little cute pout the day you fought with Eunyeong and I had to talk to you." He sips from his coffee casually, as if he didn't just compliment –again- the older.

What the ? Cute pout? Is he… is he flirting with me? Kyungsoo has to admit; he wasn't in the dating business for so long that he couldn't even recognize a flirtatious tone anymore. Come on, Soo, why the hell would he flirt with you? He's not even gay. The small voice rises in the back of his head.

"A- thank you," he probably looks like a tomato right now.

Jongin smiles in return. The shorter male tries his best not to panic in front of him. "You're the only parent I really had a descent conversation with." He elaborates then.

Can you give a break for just a second? He almost cries on the inside. "You too," Kyungsoo admits. "That's why I never talk to them. They all look so snobbish… The way the look at me is just so disgusting." He rolls his eyes.

"Who cares how they look at you?" the younger snorts. "I had enough of them when one mother tried to flirt with me," he huffs and rolls his dark eyes. "She had a ing ring on the hand she handed me!" he calls outrageously. "People don't have tact these days…" he sighs.

Kyungsoo laughs in return, the butterflies flying around in his stomach. "What if she was single?"

"She was cute, I'd tell you the truth, but not my taste." He shrugs.

"What's you taste?" the older asks in interest, biting unconsciously his bottom lip.

Jongin's eyes linger for a short minute on his lips, and then he smiles softly, "I like them short," he says and if Kyungsoo was that pathetic he would have thought the younger was scanning him. "Short hair, full lips, not so curvy but- Is that a tattoo?" his eyes suddenly spark with excitement when Kyungsoo looks to his right.

He was mid-stretching his arms over his head, the short sleeved shirt shows a bit of the tattoo he had on his inner-right-bicep. "Yeah," he answers casually and rolls a bit of the sleeve to reveal the whole tattoo; the black ink stretched on his milky skin and was totally contrasted to the rest of his appearance. "I did it before Eunyeong was born, when I graduated from high school," he elaborates, pointing to the variety of geometrical and non-symmetrical forms. His whole body freezes when he feels the hot pads of Jongin's fingers on his skin.

"I always wanted a tattoo." He says while his fingers trail on the older's sensitive skin.

Kyungsoo gulps before asking, "But?"

"I'm too scared to do one," he says and the excitement fades away from his brown eyes while he returns to his seat. A sigh leaves his lips when he's back on his chair.

"I can come with you one day, if you want to," Kyungsoo smiles fondly.

Suddenly the latter's eyes lit once again and a big smile spreads on his face. "Really? You'll come with me?"

Kyungsoo laughs. "Yeah, we can go to the parlor I went to. I have a friend there," he shrugs in return and returns his arms to their place. The shock hits him suddenly when he realizes he just suggested the other to go with him somewhere. Alone. Only the two of them-

"Kyungsoo?" his warm palm is waving in front of his eyes.

"Huh?"

Jongin chuckles. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, sorry." He smiles nervously.

"I'd like to go with you."

Kyungsoo chuckles, and the response is coming out of his lips without him controlling himself. "I'll even hold your hand, if you want to." He smirks on the outside, but wants to punch himself and then disappear on the inside. What is going on with you? Stop flirting with him, you're embarrassing yourself! The familiar voice calls in the back of his head.

Jongin's angelic laugh sends shivers down his spine. "I'm not that of a coward." He sounds pretty amused to Kyungsoo. Everything is ok. He doesn't think you're a ing weirdo like you are.

The older just laughs in return. They sit silently for a short minute, and then Kyungsoo reminds they have to go back home already. "It's already bed time for the girls," he says while standing up. "I have to bath Eunie," he sighs to himself, the tiredness suddenly flows through his veins. "I hope she's already tired. You don't even know how much trouble she does when she's energized,"

Jongin chuckles. "I thought she won't let me bath her because she doesn't really know me, so I didn't bath her…" he presses his lips apologetically while standing up too.

Kyungsoo smiles in response. "No, no. You don't have to at all. It's enough that you're basically spent the whole afternoon with her."

"I already told you, she's sweet and very smart. I'm glad Minsu has a friend like her." he compliments with a smile of his own.

"I'll go get her." he informs before going to Minsu's bedroom.

 

Another week passes with Kyungsoo leaving work in a late evening hour. A few times he got to see Eunyeong before she fell asleep, and he couldn't be happier about anything in his life. He smiles to her, reads her another story because Jongdae didn't read it like he does, kisses her forehead and wishes her goodnight. Then, only when she's asleep he lets himself take a short nap before having to cook something for the little werewolf he raises in his house. It's a Monday night when he walks to the fridge, only the slight light from the small lamp in the kitchen lights the area. His phone buzzes in the pocket of his pants. Who can call me this late? He thinks to himself and takes the phone out; a wide –yet confused- grin stretches on his heart shaped lips. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," the smooth voice never fails to send shivers down his spine.

He takes a shaky breath while washing the tomatoes in his hands. "What's up?"

"Did I wake you up?" the worry and regret reflected through Jongin's soothing voice.

"I just woke up," Kyungsoo's voice's a bit raspy, so he clears his throat. "I'm making lunch for tomorrow." He elaborates with a little smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh, should I call later?"

"No, it's ok."

"Hoped you'll say it, because I'm bored." His response is so straightforward, something Kyungsoo already got used to in the past two and a half weeks they've been talking to each other.

He chuckles in return. "What's up?" he asks with interest, starting to cut the vegetables.

"I just put Minsu to sleep. She was so energized today, I don't even know why," he sighs.

"Wow, really?" Kyungsoo's thick eyebrows knit together with bewilderment. "It's almost midnight, what did she eat to be so energized?"

Jongin's laughter makes his heart skip a bit when a smile covers his own face. "I don't know-" his words cut off when Kyungsoo suddenly yelps in surprise, feels a sharp wave of pain filling his palm. He looks down to find out he just cut himself by mistake. "Kyungsoo? What happened?" he asks frantically, voice worried.

Kyungsoo presses the phone between his cheek and shoulder, sighing slightly while washing the blood off of his thumb. "Nothing serious, I just cut myself by mistake," he says and puts the finger inside of his mouth, tongue the metal taste off of his finger. "Wait a sec," he muffles into the phone while taking out a bandaid and wrapping it around his thumb. "Sorry, I'm with you."

"Maybe I should call later? I don't want to distract you-"

Kyungsoo smiles in response. How can someone be so hot, so considerate and funny all at once? Is he a ing god or something? He holds back the sigh, "No, it's totally fine, Jongin. Please continue."

Jongin sighs on the other side of the line. "Well, I honestly don't remember what I wanted to say," he chuckles afterwards.

The older chuckles too while continuing cutting the vegetables. "Hey, can you maybe babysit Eunie tomorrow?" Kyungsoo asks hopefully. "I promise it'll be the last time. I'm finishing with this stupid project on Wednesday, so tomorrow is actually the last day I have to stay late-"

"Soo, it's totally alright," Jongin laughs. "I already told you that I don't mind. The girls are playing with each other for most of the evening. I'm planning to go to the park tomorrow though, is it ok with you?"

"Sure, it's a great idea," he smiles in relief. "Thanks again, Jongin. I really appreciate you for helping me like this." He sighs to himself and turns on the oven.

"So you'll come at around eight like last time?"

Kyungsoo hums in return. "Yeah, I'll call you when I'll be on the way back." He answers. There's a short silence, until the younger decides to cut it off.

"So what're you cooking?" he asks curiously.

Kyungsoo smiles to himself. "Chicken with vegetables and potatoes," he answers and pours the said ingredients into a baking dish.

"Sound so good," Jongin sighs in response, making the older chuckle.

"Why won't you come on Wednesday?" he asks casually and then realizes he just offered him to come to his own house. Alone. Well, he didn't mean to ask him out at all, it just felt so casual-

"I'd love to, but Minsu…"

"I meant you and Minsu," Kyungsoo literally jumps on the opportunity to get himself out of the embarrassment he got himself into.

"Oh." Jongin's voice sounds weird, almost like he's disappointed. No way he's disappointed. Stop deceiving yourself, Kyungsoo. He scolds himself in his head.

"So is that a yes or no?" he tried not to show how anticipating he is for the younger's response.

He thinks for a second, and then answers, "Yeah, sure. You already showed me you can sing, now it's the cooking time," he laughs amusingly, making shivers go down the older's spine.

"Ok," he said. "Do you need a babysitter? Because I happen to be free from noon,"

Jongin laughs once again. "It's ok, it's my free day so I'm already at home."

Kyungsoo remembers the first time Jongin babysitted Eunyeong for him, when Minsu said it's his free day. He never thought about it deeply. "Free day?" he asks curiously.

"Yeah," Jongin answers. "I'm a P.E. teacher," he adds, making the older's eyebrows raise with bewilderment.

"Shut up."

"What?" He asks confusingly.

Kyungsoo smiles at his adorable response. "Nothing, I'm just shocked. Why didn't you tell me you're a teacher?"

He laughs in return. "I don't know, why did you never ask?"

Kyungsoo shrugs even though he knows he can't see him. "That's so weird… When did you even learned to be a teacher at 25?"

"Right after I finished high school. I always wanted to teach kids, they're so smart and you can learn a lot of them."

"What age are you teaching?"

"Elementary schoolers, the younger," he explains.

"That's why you're so good with kids, huh?" Kyungsoo asks, clearly impressed. He never thought Jongin would be a teacher. Sure, the man was totally teacher-material, being so charismatic and nice to everyone… when he thinks about it, it's not something so shocking to see Jongin as a teacher.

The calming sound of his laughter makes Kyungsoo snap out of his daze. "I just love kids, I guess," he says, the smile still stands in his soothing voice. "Wait, so what are you even doing yourself?" he asks interestingly.

Kyungsoo crouches in front the oven in order to put the baking dish in it. "Well, um, I'm just an employee in a computers company, so they're working on a project about a new program and everyone is stressed as hell," he sighs. "They're letting all the new employees do the black job, basically, so yeah…" he stretches his arms while standing up.

"Oh, so you're like one of these nerds that really likes computers?"

Kyungsoo's laugh echoes in the small space of his kitchen while he sitting in the in the chair. "I'm not a nerd!" he calls in protest, feeling his lips tug up into an amused smile.

"Do you wear glasses?"

"Oh, come on, that's such a stupid stigma. I look super hot with my glasses on, ok?" he snores in protest, making the other laugh.

"I bet it, but ok."

"Yah, did you just say I'm not looking good?" he frowns in dissatisfaction, feeling his heart twitch a bit in his chest. He knows this conversation is absolutely humorous and not serious, but it was still hurting to hear something like that from Jongin.

"I'm not going to compliment you, Kyungsoo," he huffs in response.

His lips stretch into a wide grin. "So I do look good."

"Never said it,"

"Admit it, punk."

"What am I, your girlfriend?" he asks sarcastically.

"I don't have one." Kyungsoo reminds him in response.

"Yeah, because no one likes nerds," the teasing tone in his voice makes the older's cheeks paint with redness.

"I bet girls flow over the sweaty-stinky you after a P.E class, right?"

"The only female-teachers I have in school are thrice older than me, no thanks." He laughs, and even though Kyungsoo tries to ignore the sound he can't resist the contagious sound to escape from his lips.

"Gross, Jongin." He mutters in between waves of laughter.

"So does your chicken will be if you'll let it burn, Soo," he doesn't even realizes the younger uses his nickname when he jumps off the chair to look into the oven.

", Jongin, it's been only ten minutes. It has an additional half an hour, don't make me jump like that ever again."

The low chuckle makes his stomach rage. "I'm not promising anything." He says.

What the actual ? Was that a ual comment? Oh god, no way, Kyungsoo, he's not even gay, stop hallucinating already you idiot. Say something, you're ing leaving him hanging. "Kyungsoo?" his low voice makes shivers go down his spine for the second time that night.

"Y-Yeah?" he stutters awkwardly, cheeks flushed.

"Are you here?"

"Yeah, I am." He fumbles in response.

"Good, I thought you swallowed your tongue or something," he chuckled once more.

"N-No, not yet-" his words were cut off when suddenly foot steps were heard from the living room.

"Appa?" Eunyeong's shaky voice echoed in the empty room, making Kyungsoo turn his head to look at the little girl standing in the middle of it.

"Jongin, I'll call you later, ok?" he says and without waiting for a response he hangs up and hurries to his daughter.

"What wrong, Eunie?" he crouches in front of her teary face; her bottom lip trembling and eyes full of tears. His eyebrows knit together in concern when his hands cup her chubby cheeks.

"I had a bad dream," she sniffles.

He takes her in his arms and hugs her lovingly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "It's just a dream, love. Everything is ok." She kisses the tip of her head and rubs her back with circular motions in an attempt to calm her down. "Do you want to tell me what it was?" he asks while sitting on the couch carefully, moving a bit away to look into her eyes.

She shakes her head in return, her little palms clenching on his shirt. "No," she says and pulls her nose once again. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asks with big, teary eyes.

He smiles in return. "Of course you can." He plants a small kiss on her forehead and hugs her back. "Do you want me to sing you something?"

"Yeah," she mumbles in return, face buried in his neck. He lulls her back to sleep; the only sound heard in the apartment is his singing voice and the light breaths of Eunyeong. When she's finally asleep and the scent of roasted chicken fills the living room he untangles her arms from his neck and puts her carefully on the sofa. Once he turns off the oven and gets back to the living room, he leans forward to take Eunyeong in his arms and carries her to his bedroom. He doesn't even bother to change to his pajamas and just sinks into his bed, Eunyeong curled up against his chest and the small and even breaths come out of her lips and fill the silent room.

 

"Have a good day, sweetheart. I talked to Jongin so you'll go with him and Minsu today, ok?" Kyungsoo smiles fondly while crouching in front of his daughter.

She nods enthusiastically back. "Ok, daddy." she smiles afterwards and plants a small kiss on his cheek.

Kyungsoo straightens in his place with a silent sigh escaping from his lips. Today is the last day, Soo. He tries to encourage himself in his head. "Good morning." Jongin's voice echoes in his ears, making him smile in return.

"Good morning," he greets in return, then remembers he promised him to call later last night and never did. "Oh, sorry for not calling back," his smiles turn into an apologetic one while he scratches the back of his neck.

"It's ok." Jongin reassures with his amazing smile. "I realized you probably went to sleep or something." He shrugs casually, never cutting their eye contact.

The older presses his lips in return. "Eunyeong had a bad dream so I relaxed her and then we went to bed so I forgot to call you." He plays with his fingers, the old habit comes into hand (literally) again.

"If it makes you feel so uncomfortable, just pay me back or something," The younger's lips stretch into a playful smirk.

Kyungsoo's eyes widen in surprise. "What?"

"Stay for coffee when you're coming to pick Eunyeong up." he says simply. He's so overwhelmed with the words that swirl around his mind, cheeks flush with a light pink tint. Did Jongin just played him into staying over? Who even does that? "Swallowed your tongue, Soo?" his teasing tone wrapped around his suddenly low voice.

"Ah- Well, ok?" Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows.

"Great," Jongin flashes him a wide grin.

He wants to say something in return, but his phone rings in the pocket of his Jeans and he jumps immediately. "Hello?" he answers, still looking at the younger's eyes.

"Where the hell are you, Soo? There's a meeting in half an hour and I can't finish this mountain of paper work in half an hour!" Baekhyun calls frantically into his ear.

"Baek, relax, I'm coming in a few minutes. I just dropped Eunyeong in the daycare."

"I really hope you're not being late because of this single dad because it's not the ing time for flirting, ." He hisses into the phone, making the older blush in response.

"W-What? Am not!" he tries to pick the right words to not reveal himself in front of the younger. "I'm coming in a few minutes."

"You better to, because I'm so not going to do it all by myself." He hangs up abruptly and makes the other sigh in response.

Jongin looks at him with an amused smile. "Sorry, but I really have to go to work or I won't be able to even come for coffee," he chuckles awkwardly. "I'll come at around eight, ok?"

"Sure." Jongin nods with an adorable giggle escaping his lips. "Good luck,"

"Thanks, I need it!" Kyungsoo shouts back from the front of his car and drives away.

 

The minute he enters the small office he shares with Baekhyun the other stands up and huffs. "I have to drink something or my head will explode. Start with the pile over there," he points to the other side of the room and exits the door.

"Good morning to you too," Kyungsoo sighs and scans the messy office; it's going to be the most tense half-an-hour in his life.

The messages Jongin was sending him didn't help either; the first time he checks his phone he reads the terribly weird joke the younger just sent him, the second is a ridiculously attractive picture of him and the third is just a reminder that he's making hell of a coffee. Shut the up already, I can't concentrate because of your pretty face. Kyungsoo groans and flips over his phone so he won't be able to see the other's name on the screen. "Soo, come on, we have three more piles of this to end in the next ten minutes," Baekhyun hurries him up. "I know you're thinking about him, you little , but please do it later."

"Stop it, I'm not." He says, but the blush covering his cheeks and spreading to his ears is saying otherwise.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." He snores in response before returning to their work.

 

The two males finally finish with their work and can lay back in their seats, sighing in relief. Kyungsoo grabs his phone and types a response to Jongin's messages. Don't you have to teach kids how to throw a ball or something?

He puts his phone back on the table, but gets a response surprisingly fast. His heart flutter in his chest with excitement. Don't you have to do some paper work or something? The teasing reply makes him smile playfully. He wants to write something back, but his phone is already buzzing in his hands. Just kidding. Sorry, didn't mean to disturb your super important job.

A laugh founds it's way out of his plump lips. I bet yours is much more important, right?

The screen lights once again after a few nerve-wrecking minutes. Hey, I'm educating our next generation! He could almost see the pout the younger was making at the moment.

You're teaching them how to dodge a ball, Jongin. He rolls his eyes at the younger's exclamation.

That's more important than what you're doing, I bet.

I'm going to do some actual work, talk to you later. He tries to ignore the next time his phone buzzes on the desk, his eyes flicking to the object and a sigh leaves his lips.

You're just jealous that I'm doing something meaningful.

He scrunches his nose in response. I'm going to lose my job if you won't shut up in the next few seconds.

Well, at least then you won't need to find a babysitter so frequently. He couldn't resist the laughter that escaped his lips when his head tilted back in amusement. He's not answering this text and just shoves his phone into the pocket of his Jeans in hope Jongin won't distract him too much.

 

It's getting pretty chilly in this period of time in October. The sun is already lighting up the other side of the world when Kyungsoo exits the big company's building. He sighs in relief, feeling the nice breeze caressing his cheek and smiles to himself while clicking the remote to his car.

"I'll be at yours in ten minutes," he tells Jongin on the phone while powering his car.

"Ok." Jongin answers simply.

Kyungsoo suddenly feels awkward again as he presses his lips into a thin line. "Uh- See you then?" he asks and mentally facepalms himself for being so stupid.

Jongin chuckles in return. "Yeah, sure," he hangs up afterwards, leaving Kyungsoo to sigh silently.

He rolls down the window in an attempt of chilling his bright red cheeks up. The excitement starts to rush through his veins once again when he realized tomorrow he'll be leaving work early. He's going to take Eunyeong from daycare. No more babysitters, no more asking favors from his friends. He can finally spend a whole afternoon with his daughter. A wide smile stretches on his heart shaped lips when he parks next to Jongin's building and rushing to get out of his car, to see again his precious daughter. Even though he saw her only at the beginning of the day, he already finds himself missing her like he didn't see her for a whole week.

"Hey," Jongin greets him with his amazing smile, exposing his white teeth that are contrasted so beautifully to his tanned skin.

"Hey," Kyungsoo smiles in return when the younger lets him get into the apartment.

"The girls are in Minsu's bedroom. You can go say hello to them while I'm making the coffee." He suggests with a warm smile.

Kyungsoo chuckles. "You're so stubborn sometimes, you know?"

"You get the best by being stubborn." He winks and before the older can let the words sink into his conscious he is already gone in the kitchen.

He shakes his head lightly, ignoring the small voice in the back of his mind that reminds him again that Jongin is maybe flirting with him. Shut up already. He thinks to himself, not sure if it's meant for himself or for Jongin.

"Appa!" Eunyeong calls in excitement and runs towards him, jumping into his tight embrace.

"Hey, honey," he smiles in return and nuzzles into her neck. "Hey, Minsu," he flashed the other girl a smile. She just smiles in return. "How was toda-" he doesn't even get to finish the sentence before she jumps off of him back onto the bit carpet.

"Can we play for a few more minutes?" she pleads with big eyes.

Kyungsoo smiles. "Yeah, sure. We'll get going in half an hour, ok?" hey raises his eyebrows and the child nods enthusiastically in return. "Appa…" she mumbles and looks at him in anticipation.

"What?" he turns around, only to see his daughter urging him to leave the room. "I'm going, I'm going…" he pouts in response and leaves the room.

 

Jongin was standing next to the kitchen counter, stirring the hot liquids in the two ceramic cups. He places a few biscuits on an oval plate and turns around to see a pouting Kyungsoo nearing the kitchen. He smiles at him amusingly. "What's wrong?" and asks while putting the cups on the table.

"My own child shoos me out of the room." He sticks out his bottom lip.

Jongin laughs in return while taking a sit in front of the older. "Oh, they're playing, don't pay that much attention. I bet she's more excited than you about the fact you'll be picking her up tomorrow and not one of your friends." he tries to comfort him with a genuine smile.

Kyungsoo sighs in return, not managing to resist the smile tugging at his plump lips. "Man, I'm so excited about it," he almost sings.

Jongin smiles fondly in return. "I'm so happy for you, Soo." He puts his hand on the older's own.

Kyungsoo's so excited and bubbling that he's not noticing the sudden skinship. "I want to take her to the park or something, maybe we'll go eat outside. Damn, it feels like I didn't see her for a whole week or something." He almost giggles.

"That's a great idea, Kyungsoo. It's about time you start being more with your daughter and not you lame boss." He says and takes back his hand to wrap it around the hot cup.

Only then Kyungsoo feels cold air hits his exposed skin and his eyes flicker to the back of his left hand. His stomach starts to rage in a different kind of excitement and cheeks flush with a light pink tint when he realizes Jongin just touched him. And he didn't even notice.

"Y-Yeah," he stutters awkwardly, trying to hide his flushed cheeks behind the cup of coffee. "It's so good, Jongin," Kyungsoo sighs when the hot liquid flows down his throat. He realized how bad he sounded at the moment (almost ) and the blush spreads to his ears. "T-The coffee," he hurries to add, making the younger burst in laughter.

"Never thought otherwise," his teasing tone was even more embarrassing.

They sit silently for a few minutes, sipping from their coffee and look at each other comfortably. "Say, why aren't you going out?" Kyungsoo feels the urge to slap himself burning as hard as the urge to know the answer.

Jongin a confused brow at the older. "What do you mean?"

He clears his throat. "You said you're missing being in a relationship." He says and looks up at the taller male, as if waiting for some kind of an approval. "So why aren't you going out? Yeah, sure, I get that someone needs to be with Minsu, but you can ask someone to babysit her for you once in a week." He shrugs. "If you're missing it so much…"

Jongin smiles a bit in response. "Even if I will find a babysitter, I'm not a person to do one-night-stands, and if I'm starting to date someone, h-" he cuts himself off suddenly. "She has to be ok with the fact I have a daughter. I'm not going to accept anyone into my life if Minsu's against it."

Kyungsoo nods. "I get it, but still, you can talk about it with her. She's old enough, and she's extremely smart." The compliment makes Jongin smile, and Kyungsoo can't hold in the warmth that spread in his core. It was so warming to see the proud in his eyes.

"Yeah, but still… It's not like I can just bring home someone and tell her 'hey, Minsu, look, your daddy has a girlfriend'." He sighs. "I have to know this person is ready for raising a child with me, and I just don't want to start a relationship that Minsu will start to get used to and then break up because this person is not ready for being a parent." He sighs finally.

"I think you're being too harsh with yourself. It's not that complicated… you start to date someone and tells them from the start you have a daughter. Only when the things are getting serious enough you tell about her to Minsu. She doesn't even have to know you're dating someone so she won't get attached or something, if that's what scares you so much." he shrugs.

"Easier say then do," Jongin sips from his cup of coffee. "What about you, loner-boy? You're single for how long, four years?" he sounds a bit teasing but also curious.

Kyungsoo smiles bitterly. "Yeah, but it's not like I really have time to go out and find someone good enough for Eunie." He rests his head on his palm. "Why is it so complicated?" he whines with a pout.

Jongin smiles. "It's not that complicated. You start to date someone and tells-" He's being cut off by Kyungsoo's chuckle.

"It's different," he rolls his eyes. "You're not working as much as I used to, plus you're really good looking… it's a simple task for you to find someone easily." He flushes a bit by his own compliment, feeling a bit awkward while playing with his own fingers.

"You look good too, you're aware of that, right?" Jongin says as if it's the obvious.

Kyungsoo looks up with wide eyes. "W-What? Not like you. You're tall and tanned… you look different." He stutters and his eyes widen even more when he realizes what he just said. "Good different!" he exclaims almost immediately. "Don't get me wrong. It's just that I'm short and not so special, so I don't know-" he cuts himself off when Jongin's hand finds it's place again on his palm. It's warm and somehow comforting, making his voice fade to the warm air surrounding them.

"Soo, you look really good. Plus, you can sing and cook," he paused for a second and smiled teasingly. "Still waiting for dinner tomorrow by the way," . Kyungsoo remembers he invited both Jongin and his daughter to his place tomorrow. He has to cook for them, to clean the house… . "And believe me; it won't be so hard for you to find someone. You're being insecure about nothing." His hand slips back to its place and Kyungsoo wants to protest (both because of the absence of his warm touch and his words) but keeps quite. "Focus on the good side; you can see Eunyeong for half a day from now on."

Kyungsoo's lips stretch into a wide smile. "It's the best thing I could have ever asked for," he feels the tears gather in his eyes and hurries to take a sip from his coffee. He doesn't want Jongin to see him like that. "I'm just so, so, happy. You can't even imagine how excited I'm to finally spend a whole afternoon with her-" he cuts himself when he notices Jongin's expression turns worried; his eyebrows furrow and his hand reaches again for him, but this time his slender fingers wrap around his left cheek and cup it in them. He freezes in an instinct, eyes go wide.

"Don't cry…" Jongin's voice falls a few octaves into a whisper when his thumb wipes a tear from under his eye.

His stomach starts to rage in excitement, cheeks flush with a light pink tint and suddenly everything is so hot; his face, the air, Jongin. "I'm not crying." He's totally oblivious to the tears falling from his eyes.

Jongin's hand finally leaves his face and the older doesn't get to understand what's going on when his face suddenly meet something soft and warm. Jongin wraps an arm around his neck, standing in front of him, head low and fingers grazing over the other's shoulder. "I know how important it is for you, and I'm honestly so happy for you. Don't cry, it's literally the best thing that happened to you lately," And meeting you. Kyungsoo manages to somehow think to himself, even when his face buried in Jongin's chest. Jongin's ing hugging him. He just initiated skinship by himself. "But don't cry."

Kyungsoo chuckles against his shirt. "I'm crying from happiness, Jongin. I'm not sad." He says the obvious. He can feel the younger's muscles tense a bit around him, and then loosen up when he tries to let go of him but he's wrapping his own arms around Jongin's waist. "But thanks." He mumbles into his stomach and sniffs once.

Jongin shudders a bit, but the latter tries not to show he notices it. "E-Everytime." He says in response.

They stay like that for a long minute, until Kyungsoo remembers they probably look weird for two single-dads-who-are-straight and moves away, looking up at Jongin with a smile.

The younger smiles in return and gets back to his original place. "T-The coffee is so good," Kyungsoo tries to make the atmosphere a bit less awkward than it already is.

Jongin's lips stretch into a smile. "Told you so." He brags proudly, making the older laugh in response.

"Who wouldn't want you with this humbleness?" he teases the younger.

"I'm just kidding, hyung." His eyes widen a bit to the sound of the nickname coming so casually out of his mouth.

"I already told you that you don't need to be official." Kyungsoo scratches the back of his neck, smiling cutely.

"I-I know." Jongin seems a bit embarrassed himself when he chuckles afterwards.

They sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, and when Kyungsoo finishes his coffee he takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the time. "We should probably get going," he says while standing up. Jongin nods in return. "I'll go pick Eunie up." he announces before disappearing into the living room.

 

"Thanks for everything, Jongin." Kyungsoo smiles warmly when they're standing next to the door. Eunyeong is placed on his right hip, head resting against his shoulder and eyes closed. She was so tired she fell asleep rather fast. He indicates to a lot of things in the simple 'thank you'; the coffee, the babysitting, the hug…

"Everytime." Jongin says, and it sounds so much better when he's not stuttering.

"I'll send you the address tomorrow. Come at around seven?"

He nods in return. "Yeah. Good night." He smiles fondly.

Kyungsoo wants to hug him so bad. It's not like it'd be weird, right? They already hugged, and it was Jongin's idea. The time it takes him to decide whether to hug him or not it's already awkward, because for the past minute he was plainly staring at Jongin. "Good night." He hurries to blurt out, flash him an awkwardly adorable heart-shaped smile and exit the apartment that makes him excited every single time he steps into.

 

Kyungsoo puts Eunyeong in the safety seat as carefully as he can, trying not to wake up the small angle in his arms. Her head falls to the side and makes him chuckle in amusement while leaning down to place a small kiss on her forehead and closing the back door afterwards. It's already dark for a few hours when they get home. Kyungsoo is so tired when they get home that he skips taking a shower; he puts Eunyeong in her bed, covering her with her blanket and presses another small kiss to her forehead. "Good night, love." He smiles down at her.

"Good night, appa." She mumbles adorably.

He stands there for a few minutes, and after contemplating himself if to stay or go to his own bedroom, he decides to climb onto her bed and lean on his right elbow. His fingers caress Eunyeong's small cheeks back and forth. It's the first time in the last month he can finally say he feels happy. Truly, innocently happy; on most of the nights Eunyeong is already asleep when he comes home, and on other days he's so tired himself that he just kisses her goodnight and goes to his room. But right now, when this whole evening sending chills down his spine, he can allow himself to sit a bit more with his precious daughter and just watch her sleeping. She looks so peaceful. The most beautiful thing in the whole world. He loves her so much, and in this very moment he realizes how much he missed her. yeah, of course, he sees her everyday even if for less than an hour, but he misses her so much during the day, and coming back to see her sleeping is making him miss her even more. He smiles to himself, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier on his eyes by the second, and finally falls asleep with his palm resting against Eunyeong's shoulders.

 

Jongin waves to Minsu when she's going into the building. He smiles at the small figure disappearing from his eyesight and sighs silently. He didn't see Kyungsoo yet this morning, so he waits a bit longer next to his car. The whether gets a bit less warm by the days passing, already at the middle of October. "Hey," it's not Kyungsoo to greet him this morning, and he scrunches his nose for a short second then opening his eyes to see a familiar feminine figure in front of him. It was one of the moms, the one he told Kyungsoo about, that's married and tried to flirt with him once.

"Hey," he smiles in return.

"We're talking about something quite important, do you mind joining us?" she asks with raised eyebrows and lips colored in a way-too-bright-red.

He looks to his sides in hope Kyungsoo will come to his save, but no one comes. He then looks back at the waiting woman in front of him and nods. "Sure." He smiles his best smile and walks with her to the other parents standing in a circle outside of the daycare's gate.

They're talking about something, no one explaining the subject to Jongin (who heard something about planning a party, not that he really cares about like that. If it wasn't something that was about the safety and comfortableness of the kids, he thought all of these special parties were just an excuse to make parents pay even more on food and stuff like that.) So he just smiles to them once in a while, nods in response to someone who asks him something and keeps looking around. His eyes fill with sincere excitement that he tries to control when he locates Kyungsoo's small figure stepping out of the car. He's kissing Eunyeong as he does every morning, and when he straightens up Jongin gets to see the most adorable seeing in his life (after Minsu, of course): Kyungsoo's looking around with his big, round eyes, his heart-shaped lips a bit parted when his head turns right and left, and he looks for something unknown. He looks so lost, like a small puppy. "… So what do you think, Jongin?" one of the fathers in the group asks him.

"Uh- of course, sounds like a great idea." He flashes him a smile. "Sorry, but I have to go." He says and without waiting for a response he's already on his way to Kyungsoo. "Hey," he smiles to him, making the older snap his head to his left and smile widely.

"Hey," he says in response. "I was looking for you, where were you?"

Jongin laughs. "The parents behind me asked me to talk about a stupid party they want to do, I don’t know and honestly I don't really care. It's just another way to take money from us." he rolls his eyes.

Kyungsoo laughs. "I don't know, I actually like these parties." He shrugs. "It's cute, besides the whole money thing." He scrunches up his nose and sighs.

Jongin shrugs in return. "So, what's your address?" he asks straightforward. "For tonight." He feels like he has to explain the sudden question, smiling a bit awkwardly.

Kyungsoo chuckles and writes it down on his phone. Jongin's own buzzes in his pants, announcing that he just got a new message. "Be there at seven. I have to go to work or my boss will force me to stay late," he chuckles amusingly. "See you tonight."

Jongin smiles in return. "See you tonight."

 

It's the tenth minute Baekhyun's nudging the left side of Kyungsoo's head with a pencil. "Baek, I swear I'll punch you in the face if you won't stop in the next few seconds." the older says without looking at his bestfriend, eyes shuffling above the paper in his hand.

"Just admit it, you have a crush."

Kyungsoo blushes when he turns his head and gets a thump of the eraser on the other end of the pencil right on his forehead. "I don't." he says firmly.

"Oh my god, you're talking about him for almost a month now and you actually saying you don't have a crush on him?"

"What the hell do I look like? A fourteen years old schoolgirl?"

Baekhyun giggles to the image build in his eyes. "Well-" he's cut off with his own gasp when Kyungsoo hits his shoulder.

"You're so annoying." He murmurs and tries to get back to his work (unlike his coworker), but Baekhyun looks even more satisfied by his reaction.

"And you basically asked him out." His smile is getting wider on his handsome face when Kyungsoo blushes in embarrassment.

"I didn't!"

"Well, you were too coward and invited his ing daughter-"

"It's a play date for Eunie, not for me!" he exclaims awkwardly.

"You're dying to get into his pants."

Kyungsoo is on the verge of crying in frustration. Yeah, Baekhyun was a pain in the but he was a right-pain-in-the-. He had a huge crush on Jongin and he wanted him so badly in so many ways. But Jongin isn't even gay and he's too shy to ask him out.

"Am not!" he exclaimed once again.

"That's sad, Soo. Just ask him out, you're so desperate for it."

"He's not even gay, Baekhyun." He looks up at him with pressed lips. "Stop being so ing annoying-" his phone buzzes and he feels his heart skipping a beat. He immediately turns his head to the front and slides his finger on his screen. A wide grin stretches on his lips when he receives Jongin's picture with a peace sign on the bottom of it.

"See?" Baekhyun's faint whisper makes him jump in his place and hit him on his shoulder. "Ok, ok, I'll shut up!" he calls when the older doesn't stop.

 

Kyungsoo's more than happy to be out of the small office finally. Baekhyun was getting really annoying and awkward when the older decided to call Jongin and ask him if he likes chicken or beef better. He seemed as red as a tomato when Baekhyun called "Oh, you're so lucky to take him out for a date." And got hit by the latter. Thank god I'm finally alone. Kyungsoo sighs to himself while starting his car.

The sight of Eunyeong running to him makes him smile widely with a fluttering heart. "Appa!" she calls enthusiastically and hugs his neck.

"Hey, kiddo," he mumbles into her dark hair.

"Are you going to pick me up everyday from now on?" she asks with doe eyes, anticipation in her brown orbs.

He chuckles with a nod and pressing a kiss to her forehead while lifting her up from the ground. "Yeah, I am."

She claps excitedly and cheers hurriedly. "Yay!"

Kyungsoo laughs in return and kisses her once again. "You remember that Minsu and Jongin come today, right?"

"Yes, appa," she smiles in response. "I talked with Minsu and promised her she'll love your food. She's kind of a picky eater but I told her she'll like it."

He chuckles in return. "I hope she'll like it. Jongin said they're both fans of chicken, so chicken it'll be."

"With potatoes?" she asked with wide eyes, hope glistening in them.

He laughs and nods again. "With potatoes."

"Daddy, you're the best." She plants a big kiss on his cheek, making his arms tight a bit around her small frame.

"I'm trying my best, honey-"

"Never though I'll see you here in this hour of the day." Jongin approaches to them, Minsu on his hip and a beautiful teasing smile on his plump lips. "Hey, Eunie." His smile turns into a warm one.

"Hey, Jongin." The both of them got closer on the single week Jongin babysitted Eunyeong almost everyday for Kyungsoo. "I already told Minsu, but I just want to warn you that appa makes the tastiest food in the world, so be ready." She smiles widely, exposing her small teeth.

Kyungsoo laughs awkwardly, cheeks a bit red. "I'm not some kind of a chef, don't expect something-"

"Appa just being humble, he's the best at cooking." Eunyeong surprisingly winks to Jongin and her bestfriend. They both smile at her.

"We're looking forward." Jongin laughs.

Kyungsoo feels that his cheeks are already a deep shade of red, and they have to go to the supermarket so he uses this excuse to stop the embarrassment he's having right now. "We better get going, we still have to go to the supermarket…" he smiles awkwardly at Jongin who just nods in return.

"We'll come at seven." He smiles at him and pinches Eunyeong's nose. "See you later."

"Bye!" Eunyeong calls excitedly while they part their ways, Kyungsoo puts her carefully in the safety seat. "Appa, why are you so red?" she asks with a confusion look in her eyes, putting one of her little palms on his burning cheek.

"It's kind of hot in here," he smiles down at her and closes the back door.

 

The moment they get back from the supermarket Kyungsoo hurries to put all of the bags on the small dining table in their kitchen. Eunyeong puts her backpack in her room and runs back to her father, smiling happily while asking, "Appa, do you need any help?"

Kyungsoo smiles in return and nods. "Want to help me make dinner?" She jumps a few times, her dark hair pigtail jumps with her. "Ok, wash the potatoes while I'll start to make the chicken," he instructs her while standing a small chair right in front of the sink so she could reach it. They both work on the meal enthusiastically; Eunyeong tells Kyungsoo about her day and the fact both she and Minsu are excited about tonight, because it's not like meeting because of babysitter and there's her dad's (in her words, super-duper-tasty-that-you-can-fly-because-of) food.

They sit in the living room after Kyungsoo puts the chicken in the oven. "Daddy," Eunyeong calls when they sit silently in front of the TV, her whole body located in Kyungsoo's lap. One of his arms slung casually around her small body, and her head resting on his chest. He hums in response, looking down at his daughter. "Are you going to leave work everyday from now on?" she asks with big eyes.

Kyungsoo smiles warmly and moves a bit so he could see her properly. "Yeah," he pats her head.

She doesn't look happy about it. Her eyebrows knit together when she observes his face, trying to find the words to build a sentence in her mind. "Is something wrong, Eunie?" he asks, his own eyebrows furrow in concern.

She sighs and plays with the collar of his shirt. "Are you sure it's okay?" she asks.

His confusion deepens in his big eyes. "What do you mean?" he tilts his head a bit to his left.

She shrugs once. "I don't know… Are you sure it's okay that you leave work early everyday? You know, I don't mind to hang with uncle Baekhyunnie sometimes. I know it's not good that you leave work early everyday." She almost pouts.

A warm feeling spreads in his core. Once again, Eunyeong shows that knowledge and understanding don't really have age. He cups her chubby cheeks in one palm, the other pressing her shoulder tightly. "I worked enough, love. Don't worry about it, ok? I do it because I want to spend more time with you-"

"But you can spend time with me at night or on weekend." She frowns. "I don't want this to hurt us."

He sighs, the smile fades away from his face. "Angel, look at me." he asks softly. "I'm your father; you're the most important thing in my life, Eunyeong. And I don't care if I have to leave work early. I miss you way too much, and I don't want you to grow up with your babysitters. I'm the one who should be with you, not uncle Baekhyun or Jongin or Jongdae. So don't feel bad about it, it's not hurting anything." He ends with a smile. Well, the fact he leaves work early does hurts his salary, but Eunyeong doesn't need to worry about it.

"Ok," she says finally and nuzzles into his neck.

They sit silently from now on, the only time he moves is only to take the chicken out of the oven. Kyungsoo gently caress Eunyeong head and back when they return to their comfortable spot on the sofa, eyelids heavy on his eyes. He falls asleep easily with the background sound of Eunyeong's favorite TV show.

 

It's around 6:30 pm when Kyungsoo opens his eyes lazily. The scream from the television makes him scrunch his nose and reach for the remote. He looks down at Eunyeong who's sleeping soundly on his chest, her right cheek resting on his shoulder and one of her arms wrapped around his neck. He smiles to himself and fishing his phone out of his pocket in order to take a picture of the angel resting in his lap, then he sees the time and his eyes widen in panic. There's half an hour until Jongin and Minsu have to come, and he didn't even decide what to wear. "Eunie," he calls softly while shaking her shoulder. "Honey, wake up. We have to get dressed." The child shifts in his arms, a small sigh leaves her lips.

"Can I wear my white dress?" she asks lazily.

Kyungsoo smiles. "Of course." And he lifts both of them from the sofa to get ready.

 

He tries to ignore the way his heart beating in his chest rapidly. He gulps while checking out his hair once again. Eunyeong is sitting on the sofa and chuckles at him. "You look good, daddy," she reassures him.

He bites his bottom lip while turning around. "Do I?"

She laughs and jumps off the couch, walking to him and climbing on the chair next to the mirror. She does something in his hair for a few seconds, tongue stacked out of in concentration. She looks adorable like that, and Kyungsoo smiles to himself. "There." She says finally and jumps back to the floor.

Kyungsoo looks hesitantly in the mirror, anxious about what his daughter did in his hair. He's surprised to find out his hair looks pretty damn good. "Thanks, love," he smiles down at her and pats her head.

She laughs. "Don't be so nervous, appa. I'm sure Jongin will love your food." She says and disappears back deeper into the living room.

Kyungsoo furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Did she just- he blushes immediately when he realizes she used only Jongin's name and not also Minsu's, almost like she could notice his nervousness and anticipation towards the younger man's opinion. And maybe she did notice it. But before Kyungsoo can think about the subject more deeply, the door bell rings and he swears he heard his daughter chuckle at the way he jumps in his place. "I'll open," she smiles at him playfully while walking to the door and reaching for the door knob.

Kyungsoo practically faints on his inside. The minute the door opens, a wave of vanilla scent comes into the apartment and he almost sighs from how good it smells. Then he looks up to see the most beautiful smile plastered against Jongin's tanned skin. He holds Minsu by the hand and steps in when Eunyeong opens the door a bit wider so they could enter the apartment. "Hey," his voice is lower than usually and almost a bit raspy.

"Hey," Kyungsoo tries to hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks; Jongin looks so damn hot; he wears a simple white button up that contrasts to his tanned skin perfectly, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and exposing a bit of his arms. He wears dark Jeans that wrapped around his long legs in the most flattering way and Kyungsoo officially loses it. "F-Feel free, mi casa et to casa," he says in an adorable Korean accent and Jongin's smile widens a bit when he laughs at this.

"You can go play in Eunyeong's room, girls. The food will be ready in a few minutes." Kyungsoo looks down at them and smiles reassuringly.

"Let's go, I'll show you my room." Eunyeong calls excitedly and they both run towards the short hallway and disappear into her bedroom.

It's only him and Jongin right now, and the older feels so nervous he could practically crack under the pressure. "Please, feel free. You can sit while I'll hit the food." He smiles weakly at the younger who only nods and goes into the living room, looking around curiously.

Kyungsoo sighs in relief when he's all alone in the kitchen. He takes a few vegetables out of the fridge and start washing them. His whole body tenses up when the vanilla scent becomes more present in his nostrils, and a sudden weight lands on his left shoulder. "I came to help," Jongin's voice makes shivers go down his spine.

"T-There's nothing really something to help with. I'm just making a salad-" he says while washing a cucumber, when suddenly Jongin's hands wrap around his own under the flowing water and start moving up and down the green vegetable. His face flushes with redness that spreads to his ears and neck. It looks like an innocent action from aside, but the way their hands move together on it makes him think about inappropriate things.

"It washes all of the dirt like that," Jongin says innocently, chin still pressed against Kyungsoo's shoulder.

"Ah- yes." He stutters awkwardly and hurries to take the cucumber and start cutting it.

"Sure you don't need any help?" Jongin asks, his hot breath making chills attack the older's neck.

"No- It's okay," he says without looking at him.

"Ok, I can also just stay here, right?"

Kyungsoo's as red as the tomato he's cutting right now. "Of course," he tries to sound normal but fails pathetically.

"So, how was today?" he asks with interest.

"Uh- ok, I guess? Nothing special." He mumbles in response.

Jongin smirks in return. "What was that your friend yelled? 'You're so lucky to' what?"

Kyungsoo freezes in his place. "Oh my god," he hisses under his breath. "You heard that?" he turns his head and his stomach flips when he realizes how close he's to Jongin.

The younger chuckles. "Not all of it." he shrugs. "What was it? It's interesting-"

"No, it's not." Kyungsoo almost snaps in nervousness. "It's just my stupid friend. Sorry for that."

"But tell me what it was," Jongin asks. "Come on, Soo, I'm curious-" he shuts up when Kyungsoo shoves a piece of the cucumber he already cut into his mouth. His eyes widen in response but soon enough his plump lips stretch into a playful grin when he moves them and takes the piece into his mouth, his upper lip grazing against Kyungsoo's finger. "You're mean." Jongin pouts.

"I'm saving your IQ, thank me." he says while turning around back to his cut board. He can swear he heard the younger mumbles something like Oh, I will. But it's so surreal that he only shakes his head and concentrating on cutting the other vegetables.

"You know, my favorite vegetable is cucumber." Jongin suddenly says, and Kyungsoo stiffens once again. Oh my god this kid is trying to kill me tonight?

"Why's that?" he asks in an attempt on hiding the effect of his voice on him.

"I don't know, it's a good-looking vegetable, you know?"

What the actual , Kim Jongin? What the hell is wrong with you? "What?"

"I just like it. It's really fresh and juicy-"

"Oh, the chicken!" Kyungsoo calls and moves abruptly to the oven, crouching in front of it. The movement was so sudden that Jongin found himself standing with his neck stretched out on the air. He takes the big utensil out of the oven and hurries to put it on the counter. A sudden yelp escaped his plump lips when one of his fingers touched the hot object.

"Are you ok?" Jongin asks with a worried look in his eyes.

Kyungsoo sighs in response. "Yeah, it's just a little burn-" he isn't getting the chance to finish his sentence when suddenly Jongin's fingers wrap around his right hand and before he understands what the is going on, he feels something wet on his ring finger. Jongin just put his finger in his ing mouth.

"W-What are you doing?" Even if Kyungsoo wanted he couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks right now; his eyes are wide with shock and his whole body tensed.

"It's the best way to heal it." Jongin answers simply while looking down at the shorter male.

"N-No need to-" he tries to take back his finger but Jongin doesn't let him. It all feels so unrealistic that he doubts the situation is actually happening right now.

"There," Jongin finally releases his finger. "Better?" Kyungsoo just stares at him, too shocked to actually produce a sound out of his throat. "Hyung, are you ok?" the nickname makes him blink once, then again and he's finally back into reality.

"Yeah," he says finally and turns around to avoid any eye contact.

 

The whole dinner time Kyungsoo tries to ignore Jongin's stares and smiles. He tells jokes once in a while, making all of them laugh. "It's really tasty, Kyungsoo." Minsu says mid-eating, smiling up at him.

He smiles warmly back, patting her head. "I'm glad you like it." he takes his hand back to hold the chopsticks between his fingers. "You know, Eunie helped me today."

Jongin and Minsu both look at the little girl sitting between them. She smiles proudly and takes a piece of potato into . "You did?" Jongin asks with a smile. She nods in return.

"It's tasty." He compliments with an adorable smile, making Kyungsoo's heart swell and flutter in his chest.

 

The girls are back in Eunyeong's room when Kyungsoo silently puts all the utensils in the sink. Jongin helps him kindly, standing next to him with his face facing the table across them so he can look right in his face. "It was really good." He says and makes Kyungsoo look up at him with flushed cheeks.

"It's nothing special," he smiles awkwardly. "Just chicken and potatoes." He chuckles in addition. "Coffee, tea?"

"Coffee. Thanks." He smiles back and letting his head fall back, a silent sigh leaves his plump lips. "Is there something else you should show me?" he asks suddenly, making Kyungsoo freeze in his place.

He looks to his right, fingers tightly gripped around the metal spoon he's holding. His eyes meet with the younger's and a rush of excitement and anxiety fills him when he inches closer, smirking. He hums once to catch Kyungsoo's attention, who just snaps from his daze and gulps nervously. "W-What do you mean?" he asks, flustered.

Jongin shrugs his broad shoulders. "I don't know, that's why I'm asking." He chuckles, deep and low and Kyungsoo wants to kiss him so badly. "Do you have any other tattoos?" he suddenly asks with raised eyebrows.

Kyungsoo feels a lot more comfortable when he mentions tattoos and basically something that's not making him blush like a teenage girl. He even smiles weakly and looks down at his torso. "Yeah," he says, and Jongin's eyes widen at the moment, curiosity flaming through his brown orbs. "One here," he points to his right shoulder. "One here," his fingers draws slowly to the area under left side of his chest. "And that's it." he looks up at Jongin. "But I'm planning to do another one soon."

Jongin's eyebrows soot high once again. "Really? Where?" he asks in bewilderment.

Kyungsoo chuckles at his adorableness. "Still thinking about it, honestly," he shrugs and looks to his left when the kettle whistles and he pours the hot water into two cups. He finishes making their coffees in comfortable silence and they sit back to the table. "What about you?" Kyungsoo asks with interest.

Jongin furrows his eyebrows while blowing on the coffee in his hands. "What about me?" he asks confusingly.

The older chuckles in response, "You said you wanted to do a tattoo," he says simply.

Jongin smiles awkwardly. "Oh, this," he scratches the back of his head. "I didn't really think about it, to be honest."

Kyungsoo nods in an understanding manner. "What about you going with me next time I'm getting a tattoo?" he asks with a warm smile.

Jongin's eyes widen. "W-What?" for the first time this evening, Kyungsoo isn't the one to look flustered, and he loves it so much.

He laughs at the younger's cute response. "You said you wanted a tattoo but you were too scared, and I told you I can come with you if it'll make you feel less nervous," he reminds him of one of their conversations. "And I'm planning to go get one for a long time, so why won't we go do it together? We can even get a discount," he jokes.

Jongin presses his lips anxiously into a thin line. "I-I don't know…" he mumbles.

"Think about it," The older smiles warmly. "Update me about it. I'm planning to go next month when I'll get the salary. If you're interested, it'd be nice." He sips from his coffee cautiously and closes his eyes for a short moment.

"It's nice," Jongin says suddenly. "But mine's better." A teasing smirk stretches on his tanned skin, making the older frown in response.

"Shut up." he mumbles and Jongin laughs.

 

It's an early night hour when Kyungsoo lays in his bed, shifts from one side to the other. He sighs silently and opens his eyes sharply. It's so hot under the blanket, and the blush creeping to his cheeks doesn't helping him with it. He can't stop thinking about Jongin; the way his chin rested on his shoulder so casually, how his slender fingers wrapped around his own small palms, moving up and down-

His hand travels downwards without him noticing it. His half-closed eyes widen when he feels the bulge in his pajama pants. you, Jongin. He thinks to himself and whimpers in frustration. He's so tired; and if he couldn't fall asleep earlier, now, with his little problem between his legs, he's sure won't be able to. His hand opens the drawer briefly, taking out a small bottle from it and soon enough his right hand is already slicked with lube, resting on his half-hard member under his boxer briefs. He lets out a small sigh and immediately looks to the half-opened door of his bedroom. He can't let himself e when his daughter is literally in the next door, so he gets up and locks the door. Eunyeong is a really deep sleeper anyway.

He flops back onto his bed, hand reaching again under his underwear. His eyes tightly when he starts to move it up and down, himself lightly. The feeling of Jongin's broad shoulders again his own smaller ones makes his whole body shudder, the hot breaths on his neck. He can almost feel those plump lips of his kissing down his throat, hot, wet kisses. He quickens his pace even more, the unoccupied hand muffling his pants against his lips so he won't wake his daughter up. The teasing tone in Jongin's voice echoes in his mind. He probably sounds so y while - A moan escapes his lips into his palm when his finger brushes against the slit and his whole body tingles in excitement and arousal. He imagines how Jongin's deep voice calls his name out into the bedroom's air, and with another of his fist he releases white stripes of come into his hand. After he cleans himself up, Kyungsoo lays on his bed with half-closed eyes and weak limps. He just jacked himself off to the father of his daughter's best friend.

 

Kyungsoo knows it's stupid as hell, but he's so awkward reminding last night's… activity, that this morning he hurries to put Eunyeong on the ground, kiss her goodbye and once she's already in the building he practically runs back into his car. He can see Jongin's confused expression from the mirror attached to the left side of his car, but his face gets distant more and more when Kyungsoo drives away.

 

Baekhyun's obnoxious laugh makes Kyungsoo squirm in discomfort in his chair. "Wait, wait," the younger wipes the tears from his eye. "So you're saying he washed the cucumber for you?" Kyungsoo doesn't get to answer him when he starts to laugh once again, clenching his stomach in pain from too much laughing.

It's like that for already ten minutes; Kyungsoo starts to regret his stupid decision of telling his bestfriend about the awkward night. "Ok, OK, I'm sorry. But did he seriously do that?"

Kyungsoo groans in frustration. "No, , I'm laughing with you."

"Dude, he literally showed you his skills. Don't tell me you still believe he's not gay."

The older blushes immediately. "He just joked. Why would he do such thing? He had a wife, Baek. For like, a really long time-"

"So what? You had with a female too." He raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but he had a wife. They loved each other, Baek. He didn't just do ." He rolls his round eyes.

"So how can you explain last night?"

His cheeks turn a shade deeper. "I-I don't know." He sighs in frustration. "It's like… what the ? I don't even know what that was. He's making fun of me, I'm saying-"

"How was this morning?" Baekhyun asks interestingly.

Kyungsoo looks down at his own tangled fingers. "T-There wasn't." he stutters.

"What?" Baekhyun sounds confused.

"I-I…" Kyungsoo sighs once again, shuts his own and blurts out the next sentence, "I jerked off to him last night and I was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes."

Baekhyun starts laughing again, earning a hit on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Soo, but that's the stupidest yet the most adorable thing I've ever heard."

He looks like a tomato by now. "I ing hate you, ok? You're my bestfriend, stop laughing at my misery."

The younger chuckles but the smile disappears the moment Kyungsoo's threatening glance speared in his way. "Listen, you're just making it hard for yourself," he giggles at the double meaning, a surprised yelp escaping his lips when he gets hit once again. "But seriously, you just need to ask him out. Even if he's not gay, he'll say he's not interested and that's it. But in my opinion, he'll take the offer." He smiles comfortingly.

Kyungsoo looks up hesitantly. "I offered him to go get a tattoo together, but that's not a real date." He sighs.

Baekhyun's palm suddenly finds his shoulder and squeezes it lightly. "Hey, that's a grate progress. What did he say?"

"That he'll think about it. He's kind of scared." He chuckles to himself. "He's so adorable, Baek. You had to see the look on his face when I told him I have a few more tattoos." He smiles widely, playfully.

"Did you tell him about the one on your inner thigh?" Baekhyun asks amusingly.

The latter laughs in response. "I didn't want to scare him or make things awkward."

"Yeah, because helping your friend wash a cucumber isn't 'making things awkward'?" he snores and makes Kyungsoo laugh.

 

Kyungsoo waits for Eunyeong patiently in his car. He doesn't want to see Jongin or talk to him – everything's so awkward; his cheeks are flushed and his palms start to sweat, his words fumble and he just looks like a ball of anxiety and awkwardness all in all. He has to take a little break from the thing that keeps his mind occupied in the last month nonstop. He hurries to get out of his car when he sees Eunyeong walks out of the daycare's building, smiling widely at him. Minsu's walking next to her, hand in hand, and the other hand waving. . He thinks to himself. Jongin's probably here already. . He curses himself under his breath and smiles at Eunyeong, taking her in his arms and hurries to the car. The poor confused child, who didn't even get to hug her friend properly, looks behind his shoulder with a frown. He closes the back door and goes around his car to open the front door, going through the opposite way so he wouldn't see Jongin on his way. He jumps in his place when Jongin's smile flashes in front of him, his heart stops pounding for a second. "Oh my god, you scared me." he mumbles while trying to catch his breath. Jongin smiles and opens his mouth to answer something back, but Kyungsoo isn't in the mood of embarrassing himself in front of his crush. "We really have to go home," he says and enters his car, driving away with a protesting Eunyeong in the back of his car.

 

"Appa, why did we go so fast from daycare?" Eunyeong asks, her small palm splashing bit water in the bath she's having.

Kyungsoo bites his bottom lip. He wasn't prepared for his daughter asking questions. But then again, it's Eunyeong we're talking about. He sighs and flashes her a small smile. "I just wanted to get home. Today wasn't a good day at word, so I just wasn't in the mood for talking," well, it wasn't completely a lie. Besides the conversation Kyungsoo had with Baekhyun, his work was ty today; he got yelled by a stupid programmer for "ruining" him something because a shelf fool of ring binders fall on his head and all of the papers scattered around in the small office. Of course he had to file them back again, so yeah, basically it wasn't a complete lie. Besides, it's not like he can tell his four-year-old daughter he jerked off to the ing father of her bestfriend, right? So it's ok-

"Appa?" Eunyeong's voice calls him, snapping him out of his daze.

"Huh?" he asks in return.

"I said it's okay," a smile rises to her small face when Kyungsoo leans forward to scrub her back. She giggles when the loofah tickles her ribs. He smiles in return and nods.

 

It's afternoons like that that Kyungsoo adores the most; like yesterday, he sits on the couch in the living room, Eunyeong sitting on his lap, her head rests peacefully on his chest. They watch a culinary show together silently; Kyungsoo plays with her already-dry hair with his fingers and just enjoying the company of his little girl. The peaceful atmosphere breaks though when his phone buzzes next to him on the couch, and his heart starts to race when he gets glimpse of Jongin's name. He hopes Eunyeong can't feel his heart beats because it'd be so awkward to explain her why he's so excited and nervous suddenly. You literally ran away today… is everything ok?

He takes a deep breath. As much as he doesn't want to look Jongin in the eyes, texting him is something else. He unlocks his phone and starts to write a response; Yeah, just a ty day at work… not really in the mood for talking.

The answer comes so fast he doesn't even get to exit back to the main menu. Oh, ok. Guess I'll see you tomorrowJ his heart clenching to the fact he just made Jongin stop texting him, because he was a ing . He sighs and types something back; even if he feels too awkward to actually talk to the younger, he still doesn't want him to feel bad. Sorry about that, by the way. I'll talk to you tomorrow or something. He adds the last part of his message because he's not sure he won't run away tomorrow too. He hopes he won't, though you can't really know with the sudden awkward symptoms of his. He doesn't get a response and just puts the phone away on the sofa, trying to concentrate on the small angle snoring on his chest.

 

In the next morning Kyungsoo practically puts Eunyeong on the ground, and just like the previous morning, drives away the moment she enters the building. Today he doesn't hear Jongin's call, but a text appears on his phone in the middle of his way to work. You're late today? It's Jongin. Kyungsoo's muscles clench in nervously but he feels some kind of relief he was able to disappear before Jongin came. He didn't like the thought that bothered in the back of his mind that Jongin could get hurt and think he was avoiding him. Well, he did. But that's only for a couple of days and it's not like he's happy about it. He sighs to himself and slides his finger on the phone.

I'm actually on my way to work already. Had to come early because my stupid coworker can't do anything on his own.

A response comes immediately. Oh haha, I know the feeling. And then another text appears in front of his eyes. I'll talk to you later, gotta keep tomorrow's generation educated. Kyungsoo laughs at his text and rolls his eyes. He feels much lighter; Jongin doesn't notice anything special.

Gotta do some real job, contracted to some of us… he types back with a grin and puts his phone aside when the red light turns green and the traffic comes back to life.

 

Baekhyun greets him with a smile and a cup of black coffee. "Morning," he says.

"Morning," Kyungsoo says in response while they're heading to their office.

"You look weird." The younger remarks when they enter the small space. Kyungsoo shrugs in response and flops on the black lather chair.

"I can't look him in the eyes." he says with a sigh, feeling a bit devastated and mostly tired from running away all the time. Physically and mentally, if you asked.

"Don't tell me that's because you jerked off to him." Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows in an unbelieving manner.

Kyungsoo's cheeks flush in embarrassment. "I can't look at him without imagining things, and I see him only around the girls. I can't let myself having a in front of them-"

"Oh, come on, Soo. Man the up. You have a crush on him for almost a month now and you didn't have a once. Besides, it's not like he's touching you or something. Just act natural. He probably feels like you don't want to talk to him." he scrunches up his nose.

"I thought about it too. But it doesn't look like he noticed something yet-"

"So you're waiting he will? Come on, Soo, don't do it. You know he'll feel like he's bothering you and you just stop talking. Do you really want it?"

Kyungsoo sighs. "No." he pouts.

"So stop playing around and just ask him out already before he'll get sick from your stupidity." Baekhyun huffs in response.

The older knows his bestfriend is right and just being, well, his bestfriend by telling him the truth in his face, but it still doesn't make him feel better.

 

It's starting to be a routine for the next three days; Kyungsoo hurries to run away the minute Eunyeong is in the daycare's building, safe and sound, goes to work, texts Jongin once in a while so he won't think the other is avoiding him, then smiles weakly at the younger when he picks Eunyeong up (he never thought picking up his daughter would be such a tensing activity) and hurries back home. Eunyeong started to feel something's wrong in the second day, asking her dad why is he running and hurrying back home when they clearly have nothing to do more than eating and taking a bath. He just repeats his lame excuse that he's really tired and sorry.

But on Monday, when Kyungsoo picks up Eunyeong he's being stopped by his little daughter right before he physically takes her in his hands. "Appa, can Minsu come today?" the other girl looks at him shyly, hand gripping her bestfriend's palm.

Kyungsoo presses his lips into a thin line. He's been a total jerk to Jongin and to his daughter in the past days, acting from only his own needs. He was being egoistic, and didn't even think about his daughter and how she couldn't even greet her friend properly just because he was a stupid coward. He sighs and then a small smile tugs up the corners of his lips. "Sure," he says and the both of them squealing in excitement.

"Does you father know you're coming?" he asks.

"No, we just talked about it. He'll come in a few minutes."

Kyungsoo knows their little play date means confronting Jongin, means Jongin will be in his apartment. He also needs to talk to Jongin and ask him to take Minsu to his house because he only has one safety seat, and he doesn't want to risk any of the girls' safety. "Ok, I'll talk to him then." He smiles and all the three of them standing patiently, waiting for Jongin to come.

He comes a few seconds later, the silver car parks right next to the sidewalk and the beautiful male exiting the car. He's surprised to see Kyungsoo actually standing with the girls – in the last few days he either saw him driving away neither said him a brief 'hi' and the older was already gone. His eyebrows furrow when he notices the anticipating looks on their faces. "What's going on?" he asks with a confused adorable smile.

Kyungsoo feels his heart pounding when he opens his mouth to answer but Minsu is already talking: "Daddy, we want to go to Eunyeong's, can we?"

Jongin's glance shift to the other father in front of him in question. "Is it okay for Kyungsoo?" the way his name rolls on his tongue makes Kyungsoo shiver in delight.

"Yeah, sure," he mumbles weakly.

"Well, if so than ok." Jongin smiles warmly now. "I'll drive her to your house?"

Kyungsoo nods, and with that he takes Eunyeong to the back of the car. "You still have the address?" he asks the younger from his car.

"I'll drive after you." He answered and entered his own car with Minsu.

 

The girls already ran into the apartment the minute Kyungsoo opened the door, leaving the two males alone on the outer side of the apartment. Jongin chuckles and Kyungsoo tries to smile weakly, too concentrated in not looking at him. Kyungsoo knows it's rude and he's probably being –again- a total jerk, but the thought of having Jongin inside of his house and being alone with him scares the out of him. The younger seems uncomfortable when he doesn't invite him in. "Uh- I'll come at around eight?" he asks.

Kyungsoo nods in response. "Y-Yeah, see you around." He says and hurries to enter the apartment, shutting the door quickly.

 

Kyungsoo's heart rate speeds in his chest when a knock is heard on the front door. The girls are playing in Eunyeong's room, their small laughs and calls come into the living room. He stands up and approaching to the door, a shaky hand resting on the doorknob. He knows he can't let Jongin stay outside. It's rude and he doesn't want to hurt him, so he smiles in the best way he can and invites the taller male in. "Coffee?" he suggests while Jongin only nods in response.

They part their ways; Kyungsoo's heading towards the kitchen while Jongin goes to greet his daughter. Kyungsoo takes in a deep breath while making both of them coffee. He tried to relax his muscles and tell himself that it's just Jongin, his really good friend whom he just accidentally thinks the hottest, kindest, most perfect man in the world. But yeah, overall he just freaks out silently when his cheeks flush with this thought. Damn it, Kyungsoo, control yourself. He scolds himself and sighs into his hands.

His heart beat finally returns to normal and his cheeks lose their pink tint, making him feel in a lot more ease. He doesn't even feel Jongin's presence in the small kitchen until arms lock him against the counter and a hot breath tickling his neck. A manly cologne scent fills his nostrils and makes the older clench his jaw. "Why are you avoiding me?" Jongin asks straightforwardly, not hesitating for a second.

"W-What? I'm not ignoring you." Kyungsoo almost huffs in an attempt to exaggerate how stupid the latter sounds.

"Don't lie to me, I know you are." He hisses in a low tone, dangerously close to his left ear. "Did I do something wrong last Wednesday?" he asks, concern suddenly wrapping his soft, deep voice. "Did I- did I scared you?" Kyungsoo gulps. He didn't scare him, maybe just embarrassed him. "Say something," he almost pleads.

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, the younger's chest grazing lightly against his back, sending shivers down his spine. "N-no, you didn't-"

"So why are you avoiding me, hyung?" the nickname makes his heart swell. Jongin felt, he noticed. Of course he noticed; how can he not notice when the man he was talking to so much literally runs away everytime he sees him?

"I'm sorry, Jongin, it's just that I'm really tired-"

"Can you please stop lying to me? You stayed for coffee when you worked all day, and now you're tired when you're leaving work early?" his voice quivers a bit. "Did I do something to make you feel uncomfortable? Don't you want to talk to me? Because if that's the case I can totally understand-"

Kyungsoo turns in his place immediately when the younger start to blubber without noticing. His palm rests on his cheek, reassuring. "It's not because of you, Jongin. I… I just felt a bit embarrassed."

His eyes looking down at his own. "Because of me?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head in return. How can he tell him this without embarrassing himself and not making himself look like a total creep? Hell, he doesn't even know if Jongin is gay or not.

"N-No, I just felt really shy suddenly, I'm sorry. I never intended to make you worry." He purses his lips into a thin line.

Jongin's lips pout in the most adorable, heart breaking way and his arms are suddenly wrapped around Kyungsoo's waist, face buried in his neck. "I was sure you don't want to talk to me ever again. I thought I scared the hell out of you, hyung. Don't do this again, I thought I lost you." He nearly sobs against his bare skin.

Kyungsoo tries to ignore the fact they were having such an intimate moment and slowly hugs him back, letting his forehead fall on the taller male's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Jongin," he caresses his back.

"Don't dare to do it again." he mumbles, plump lips brushing his neck.

He tries to hold himself from tightening his grip. "I won't. I'll never do it again, ok? I'm so sorry." Eventually, he tightens his embrace around the younger's waist and pulls him closer to him. "Let me make that up for you." He says, his muscles clenched and lips pressed into a thin line. A sudden rush of adrenaline flows in his veins when the younger moves away a bit, only to look him in the eyes.

"How?" he asks curiously.

"Go on a date with me." Kyungsoo pulls up a wicked smile, hoping the younger won't run away like he did in the last few days.

He feels his heart pounding quicker in his chest and his stomach raging in excitement as the younger smiles back widely, fingers dig into his waist. "I thought you'll never ask that." he says with his own excitement in his deep voice.

---

Hey guys! I'm having a small writer's block with 2jae's fic but I'll try to get over it quickly. I was realy eager to finally post this fic for so long oh my god and I really hope you like it because I worked so damn hard about it.

Love you all! <3