“No, I don’t want to go shopping with you.”

Sehun squinted at the clock on the wall across, it read 8 am. A cleft formed between his eyebrows, too early for . Letting out a yawn, he set his phone next to his ear on the pillow, he didn’t even need to put it on speaker to hear Baekhyun whining on the other line.

“It’s my day off, Baekhyun. Stop bothering me.”

He barely got enough sleep because of work last night and the caffeine effects only started to wear out a few hours before dawn, so his eyelids still felt too heavy for him to function. He didn't even realize when Baekhyun had ended the call until his phone started blowing up one more time.

“For the last time, Baekhyunー Oh, Hyung?”

His brother’s voice slightly forced back the drowsiness, he felt somewhat annoyed and a little bit more awake now.

“How did you know I have a day off?”

His day off was not something that he could predict. He happened to finish the project with a client faster than the estimated time and it was amazing how his big brother still had a way to make him occupied even on his day off.

“I see.”

His brother asked him to pick his son from school today because his wife had a meeting. He instantly felt bad for ever thinking bad about the call because Kyungsoo was his sweet little nephew and he would do anything for him, if you asked Sehun.

“I’ll be there in time so I don’t make Kyungsoo wait.”

As much as he was excited to see his nephew, Sehun couldn’t help but feel a little lethargic. He put his phone away to stretch his long limbs and felt a great weariness from the lack of sleep accumulated over the past three weeks. He got out of the bed and dragged his steps into the bathroom to get ready for the dayーalready longing the warmth of his bed.

---

It wasn’t the first time he was asked to pick Kyungsoo up from school but he still felt expectedly out of place. He arrived earlier than he would have liked, after burning his toast and deciding to give up on making breakfast for himself. It made him wondering why he bought the toaster even if it was only for roughly ₩10000 but then again, he blamed the ridiculous amount of time he had spent scrolling on an online home shopping app.

Sehun stepped into the area of the playground, looking for a place where he could sit and rest his legs but the benches were full of a group of squealing moms. He walked past those moms to a more secluded area where there was a man sitting at a bench which he never noticed was there. It was actually quite a strategic place for he could still get the view of the entire playground and the noises didn’t quite reach the area, so it was quiet and peaceful.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Sehun asked hesitantly, sneaking a glance at the man.

“Not at all,” the man said with a smile.

Sehun sat himself down on the bench with a socially respectable distance between him and the man. “Thank you. I find that I don’t really… fit in there.”

The man’s laughter completely destroyed the awkwardness that he wasn’t even sure was there since the beginning. It was when he was closer that he noticed the man was wearing sportswear that fit snugly into his tiny figure and Sehun didn’t need to stare long enough to recognize the cat-like eyes and pretty facial features. Sehun could already feel that it was going to be a pleasurable companyーhe was just hoping he didn’t get caught checking the man out.

“Me too. I still can’t seem to get used to it even though we’re in a group chat.”

Sehun was genuinely surprised. “There’s a group chat?”

“For the parents, yes. The teachers keep us updated about what the kids do at school. Are you, perhaps, new?”

“Not really…”

It was relatively new to him and he didn’t ask for the sake of keeping the conversation going, although it might seem so but Sehun found that he didn’t care. Well, maybe he shouldn’t be that surprised since everyone made a group chat for the smallest matters but he was more interested in the fact that the man was in a group chat full of moms.

“Ah, really? So, who are you here for?” the man asked and he could see that he was genuinely curious.

Before Sehun could answer, though, he saw the kids spilling out of their classrooms into a small field near the playground where wooden boards with bulls-eye on each of it were set in a line.

“Is that archery?” Gotta keep the conversation going.

“Yes!” the man replied enthusiastically. “My baby is really good at it-”

From the corner of his eyes, Sehun saw he was petting a stray cat and he could’ve paid more attention if he wasn’t so busy looking for Kyungsoo. He tried his best to listen to what the man was saying while still trying to locate his nephew in the field but his phone blowing up interrupted the man and simultaneously ruined his focus. How dare Baekhyun.

He picked it up, “Yes, I saw the pictures you sent me. I prefer the second one, red collar. I’m hanging up now, okay? Bye.” and said into his phone in one breath.

He then turned to the man with an apologetic smile, waving his phone slightly. “My friend asked me to choose a collar for his dog. I’m sorry, where are we again?”

The man smiled and shook his head. He looked amused. “No, it’s fine!”

Sehun could hazily remember how the man started talking about his pet and it actually proved the suggestion from how he handled the stray cat with such a gesture that could only come from someone who had a pet like him. He made a mental note to pick Vivi up at his brother’s place later, now that he had a day off to play with his dog for the rest of the day.

“My boy really doesn’t go out that much and I let him. Maybe, that’s why he seems lazy and doesn’t have that much energy to run around like the kid his age.” he said, falling easily into a whole different topic.

The man looked taken aback. “Oh, no, you don’t take him to exercise?”

“No, not really? I’ve also been very busy that I don’t even have time to exercise myself.” Sehun replied, not quite understand why he had to feel hesitant to tell a stranger about it. It wasn’t like he had been trying to impress that stranger, right?

“We can go on a playdate once in a while. You guys either need an excuse to go out or an exercise buddy.”

He failed to comprehend the reason why the man would want to suggest a playdate with a stranger and his pet but Sehun was far too pleased to care.

“Sounds like a pretty good idea.” he replied, determined.

He saw the man’s face lit up at that. “Right? So, uhhh-”

“Sehun.”

The man nodded in confirmation and said, “Right, Sehun. How about this weekend?”

 

Sehun managed to get the stranger’s name and exchanged phone numbers with him. Minseok appeared in the new friends column on kakaotalk and that made it easier when he preferred kakaotalk than other messenger platformsーhe left a message to create a chatroom for the both of them and it was cute how the man replied a few hours later to tell him he didn’t use kakaotalk as much as whatsapp.

In a span of days, he learned so many things about the other. Minseok was a single father and despite his youthful appearance, he was four years older than Sehun but it didn’t quite surprise him since the man had a kid. The name was Jongin and he vaguely recalled Kyungsoo ever telling him about the kid named Jongin in his class who liked to bother him a lot by asking him to do something cute which his nephew disliked the most.

It was like high school all over again. Minseok’s messages were the first thing he read in the morning and the last thing he saw before going to bed at night. Sometimes, when Sehun least expected it, the man would forward the messages and pictures from the parents’ group chat and they always made his day better to an unimaginable degree. Sometimes, it was just the man and his dad jokes and he would sulk when Sehun left him on read.

 

> (PICTURE ATTACHED)

> Kyungsoo did well so Jongin gave him a star.

 

                                                    They’re both such a smart kid.

 

> Forgive me for ever doubting your parenting.

 

                                                    I’m hurt :<

 

> (LOCATION ATTACHED) Here’s my address.

   Don’t be late, okay?

> I’m not really good at parenting either

   if that makes you feel better.

 

Sehun was working on his reports when he received the messages and he had to pause, thumbs hovering over the touchscreen keypad as he pondered the messages over and over again. Kyungsoo and Jongin? Parenting? His mouth fell open when it finally dawned on him that Minseok had been talking about real kid, his kid and not a ing pet. It wasn’t the man’s fault if he was expecting Kyungsoo to come with him tomorrow.

He quickly pulled up the chat window with his brother and see if he could still save himself from the embarrassmentーbut in the end, he told himself, he still had to tell Minseok the truth.

 

                                      Can Kyungsoo go with me?

 

> Where do you want to take him?

   We’re going to the see the penguin at the aquarium.

 

                                      Nevermind.

 

Letting out a frustrated groan, he put away his phone to lean his forehead against the keyboard, his reports forgotten. Sometimes later, after realizing that he had been leaving Minseok on read, Sehun gathered himself and typed in a reply.

 

> I was joking, Minseok. Anyway, I will come.| 

 

He pressed send.

---

Sehun arrived at Minseok’s house, standing at his door with Vivi heavy in his arms. His brother never brought up about him needing a trim so he didn’t know until he saw it himself. Now he had a whole dog resembling a baby polar bear with him, he was considering to go to the pet salon after this but his train of thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, revealing Minseok in his sports attire and a confused smile on his face.

“You guys made it... here.” the man said, seeming to choose to address the matter later and stepped aside to let him in.

As soon as he was inside, Sehun found himself greatly surprised by the living room interior design. The deep blue shade made the room feel more calm and relaxing. The hue was more dramatic than dusky denims, but less fierce than sapphire or cobalt. It’s important to balance it with large areas of neutral so the furnitures in Minseok’s living room were either white or pale greys in color. Sehun found lighter blues as well and the combination felt natural, almost gentle and it was very pleasing to the eyes.

He was too busy marvelling the midnight blue walls to notice Minseok approaching him. Only when the man tapped him on the shoulder and waved his phone in his face that Sehun finally snapped back into reality. There was a chatroom window pulled up on the man’s phone screen.

“Sehun, is this your…” Minseok trailed off, unsure.

“Ah, you found out.”

It was the parents’ group chat and there were messages from his sister-in-law. The messages said that he would pick Kyungsoo up from school for an entire week starting next Mondayーwhich Sehun had no idea of and made a mental note to ask his brother about it later. He didn’t mean to get exposed this way, he wanted to confess when the playdate was over but seemed like he had to execute it earlier than planned.

The man lowered his hand and looked away, seemingly to be the one who was having an embarrassing moment. “Were you talking about...your dog last time?”

Sehun nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m really sorry, Minseok.”

It was silence but it didn’t last long because Minseok laughed and Sehun hoped the man didn’t see the way he jumped a bit at the sudden burst of laughter.

“Well, we’re all here now. Might as well get on with it, right?”

Sehun agreed. “You’re right. Shall we go now?”

 

To Sehun’s great relief, Minseok didn’t seem to mind at all and to his surprise, he didn’t have a pet like he assumed the man did. He used to raise a cat but his sister took it with her when he got married and it seemed like he had no intention of adopting another one. He was already as busy as it could get to be a single father but he couldn’t deny that sometimes he wanted a company for Jongin when it was just the two of them. Sometimes, his sister would come with their pet cat, Tan, but only when Minseok had an overtime.

Sehun didn’t remember the last time he actually enjoyed jogging. He was surprised at how fit he was for someone who didn’t have regular exercise routines. His energy was quickly drained when he, Jongin and Vivi agreed to play around a small field in the park, thoughーwhen the sun was much higher in the sky.

“I’ve seen you several times at school,” Jongin said suddenly after he was done examining Sehun’s face now that the boy had the chance to take a look at it closely.

Sehun raised an eyebrow, putting some dog treats onto the boy’s open palm.

“You’re really Kyungsoo’s uncle!” he exclaimed then brought his open palm to Vivi who wagged his tail at the sight of treats.

Sehun nodded proudly. “Yes, I am. Do you have something you wanna say to him?”

“I do! Please tell him that I’m not bullying him. I just…”

There was a thoughtful pause and Sehun tried to encourage the boy to continue.

“I just find his smile really adorable and his cheeks are so cute when they’re all bunched up!”

The pureness of it made Sehun chuckle, he then nodded assuringly. “Okay, I will let him know.”

“Thank you. Can I call you uncle?” Jongin’s eyes were sparkling.

Sehun reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair. “Sure. You can call me anything, Jongin.”

They lost track of time and if it wasn’t for Minseok reminding them of dinner, they wouldn’t be on their way home. The wind blew through their sweaty fringe as they walked leisurely to Minseok’s house. Jongin had Vivi’s leash, pulling the dog with him as he ran ahead of them. Sehun had never seen his dog so excitedーmaybe Minseok was right. It was either he needed a friend or he just liked the boy a lot.

“Jongin is so...active. You must be talking about him at that time.” Sehun said, a bit breathless.

Minseok turned his head to him. “I wasn’t aware you were talking about Vivi.”

“Stop, I’m getting embarrassed.” Sehun tried not to meet the smaller man’s eyes.

Minseok’s laughter was sweet. “Stay for dinner, okay? Jongin must have exhausted you so much.”

“He was such a fun kid with a lot of energy. I couldn’t keep up but he was cute and smart and that sort of made up for it.” Sehun didn’t realize he was babbling until he noticed the smaller man was watching him with an amused smile on his face.

Minseok grinned. “Yes, he’s cute. Also, Sehun, please don’t spoil him with ice cream.”

Sehun smiled sheepishly. “I couldn’t help it, you know.”

“Look at them. So cute.”

It was the first time he heard Minseok giggled, obviously, and Sehun didn’t know why he found it so cute and he momentarily forgot that the man was older than him by four years. Good thing the smaller man didn’t catch him staring as he was so busy watching Jongin and Vivi playing around the house. He tried to make himself occupied by gathering the dishes and got out of the chair to put them in the sink.

“They get along just fine. You can bring Kyungsoo with you some other time.”

Minseok was at his side, reaching out to take the pink rubber gloves draped over the tap. He silently told Sehun to get out of the kitchen and let him wash all the dishes so without making himself useless, he went to the living room where Jongin and Vivi were on the sofa, dog treats scattered all over the carpet. He took a seat on the floor to clean it and asked if Jongin wanted to watch something. They ended up watching the rerun of the ultimate spider-man.

When the credits started rolling, Sehun turned to find Jongin was fast asleep on the sofa with Vivi sleeping in the boy’s arms. It was such a lovely sight but he had to take Vivi and tuck Jongin to bed, so the boy could sleep more comfortably. With Minseok’s direction, he found Jongin’s room and made a quiet celebration when Jongin stirred a bit but didn’t wake up. He then got out of the room to help Minseok in the kitchen.

“Here I thought you were really Kyungsoo’s father,” he said, leaning against the counter when he saw him.

Sehun took a seat in one of the chairs. “Now you know I’m not.”

“I thought you have a wife waiting for you at home.” Minseok shrugged, fumbling with the cloth he used to wipe the counter in his hand.

It was such a silly thought but it amused him. “I’m not even married, Minseok,” he said in reply, fishing for the older man’s reaction.

“That’s a relief, I guess?”

Sehun certainly didn’t expect that.

“Marriage .”

Ah.

“How long has it been?” he asked when Minseok was now sitting next to him, leaving the cloth on the counter. He looked exhausted but his posture was relaxed.

“Two years. She found out I’m not into women,” he laughed, light and heartily.

Sehun frowned. “You deserve someone better.”

“You think so?” there were sparkles in Minseok’s eyes and it reminded him of Jongin.

“It must have been tough on your part.”

Minseok smiled. “Not really. I have Jongin. He’s my little angel.”

“I can see that. He’s such a lovely kid.”

The older man clapped his hands as if he just remembered something and then exclaimed, “You’re really good with kids.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that from you,” Sehun replied with a smile.

He was genuinely pleased.

 

“Thanks for, uhh, the playdate.”

It was already so late when Sehun excused himself. He lost track of time because of how much he enjoyed talking with the older man.

“No, thanks for the dinner. The cheese tart was amazing!”

Minseok beamed. “I’ll bake some more for you tomorrow.”

The thought of being able to taste it again soon delighted him. “Yeah, I’d love that. Good night, Minseok,” Sehun said with a grin

The smaller man waved. “Good night, Sehun. Good night to you too,” he reached out to ruffle the sleeping Vivi’s fur.

Sehun turned to go with Minseok still standing on the doorway waiting for him to get into his car. He felt the thing Minseok did was strangely intimate but it left a pleasant feeling throughout his entire being. He could feel his body was going to ache all over but he surprisingly found that he wouldn’t mindーit was worth the aching limbs.

 

 

                                  Do I get paid for this? 

 

> You make money more than I do, you bastard.

 

                                  Since when does an interior designer

                                  make more money than a CEO?

 

---

> You’re doing it voluntarily now?

 

                                  Shut up. I’m Kyungsoo’s favorite uncle. 

 

> Because you’re his only uncle.

> What is it, Oh Sehun?

 

                                  None of your business, Hyung. 

 

“Sehun, I was wondering if you want to, uhh, have dinner at our place today?”

Sehun turned around to find Minseok with Jongin who immediately got distracted at the sight of Kyungsoo. The boy took his nephew to play at the playground like the time they spent playing during school time was nowhere near enough but he let him and Minseok also didn’t seem to mind.

“Sure. Why not? It could be like a dinner playdate or something.” he nodded, feeling quite happy with the offer.

Minseok nodded, “Right. I’m going to grocery shopping. Text me when you’re leaving for our house later.” At the mention of texting, he patted his pocket to make sure his phone was still there. He took it out and chose to hold the device in his hand.

“Grocery shopping? I’ll go with you.”

Since then, grocery shopping became a thing between him and Minseok. He found himself in Minseok’s apartment more than he was in his own. He knew they were both aware and Sehun was glad they didn’t always make it about the kids. If anything, they were both willing and the kids just happened to get along very well and Sehun was truthfully so ecstatic about it.

“Hey, Vivi. Come here, sweetie.”

Sehun heard the older man make cooing noises when the white dog ran in the span of seconds to the dining room. He said without taking his eyes off the current drama airing on the local TV station, “Ohhh, he likes you.”

“Do you want some snacks, Vivi?”

At this, he sat up on the sofa and turned around to snort then shake his head. “No, don’t spoil him too much he will get too comfortable.”

“Like you’re one to say.” Minseok grinned playfully at Sehun who was now back laying on his side on the sofa eating an apple tart leftover.

He acted like he was watching Jongin and Kyungsoo playing blocks as the older man sorted the groceries the whole time and turned the volume down a bit when Minseok’s attention was on him, before he noticed the time.

“Shoot, look at the time. Let’s go home, Kyungsoo.” he said and picked Kyungsoo into his arms who stayed quiet.

Jongin looked a bit sad for getting interrupted while he was playing with his most favorite classmate, though. “What’s wrong big boy? You’ll be seeing each other again tomorrow so no crying, okay?” Sehun ruffled his hair and noticed Kyungsoo’s slightly concerned gaze at the boy.

Jongin sniffed then smiled before nodding.

“I’ll be back, Minseok.”

Minseok put his hand on Jongin’s shoulder and smiled up at Sehun, the smile he had gotten used to and would probably never get enough of. “Drive safely, okay?” he said, reaching out to ruffle Kyungsoo’s hair. “Good night, sweetie.”

Sehun came back when it was almost midnight to Minseok’s apartment with Jongin asleep and tucked in. It was warm inside the apartment but it wasn’t the most pleasing thing about it that made him keep coming back and forget he had his own place to sleep and live.

“Do you live here now?” Minseok greeted as he opened the door for Sehun.

This, Sehun thought, was the best thing.

Sehun loosened his tie and ed his collar as he sat on the sofa, hearing the door closed. “Is Jongin asleep?” he asked as Minseok came with a glass of water for him and took a seat next to him on the sofa.

Minseok’s frowned and his lips got poutier and it made Sehun think of doing something to themーmaybe to soothe the crease on his forehead and smooth the pout on his lips.

“Of course, it’s like midnight-” he said but was cut off by Sehun’s lips. “Oh my god, Sehun. What did you just-” Minseok covered his mouth.

“It’s called kissing. You don’t know?” Sehun replied with a teasing smile.

Minseok stammered, “No, I mean- forget it, come here.”

Sehun gladly compiled as the smaller man pulled him by the collar and kissed Minseok as he backed the other against the sofa. He was lucky to have found Minseok who gladly kiss his unshowered considering how the older man valued cleanliness above everything. Sehun felt his smile form against the kiss when Minseok made small noises as he caressed the skin on his slender hip.

“Do you think Jongin would mind if he has two dads?”