(Two days later)

It had been two days, but Ilhoon hadn’t really come to terms with the fact that Junhyung was his father just yet. They stayed in the same house, and Junhyung tried to get his son to like him, but it didn’t seem to be helping much as of yet. There were moments when it seemed like Ilhoon accepted him, like whenever he bought ice-cream or snacks for the boy, but it only took a few seconds for Ilhoon to register the fact that Junhyung was the one giving the treats to him and he’d huff before walking away – with the treats.

It was Doojoon’s 31^st birthday today and he and Yoseob were going out on a date. Gikwang, Dongwoon, Hyunseung and Junhyung were tasked with the responsibility of taking care of the kids, although Gikwang and Dongwoon still didn’t know that Junhyung was back yet. It’d only been two days after all and both of them had been rather busy with Minhyuk and work. Hyunseung had shrugged and said, “They’d get a pleasant surprise then, I guess,” when Junhyung pointed it out.

It was currently nine in the morning, on a Saturday, and Ilhoon was enjoying sleeping in. Junhyung was up and preparing breakfast, telling Hyunseung to get some sleep and leave the cooking to him. It was just like old times, when Junhyung was always the one making their meals and taking care of most of the housework. Back then, though, Hyunseung was still pregnant. Nonetheless, Junhyung felt that Hyunseung deserved some rest after the past seven years of being a single mother.

According to Hyunseung, Ilhoon loved pancakes, so Junhyung was making them and he hoped that Ilhoon would like them. His cooking skills were slightly rusty after not having cooked for seven years, after all. Thankfully, the pancakes tasted fine when he took a small bite, so Junhyung smiled satisfactorily and went to wake Hyunseung up. He still didn’t want to wake Ilhoon up on his own, worried that he would get mad at him.

“Seungie, wake up, I made pancakes. Can you wake Ilhoon up, too?” Junhyung whispered.

Hyunseung yawned and nodded, stretching and blinking tiredly. He smiled at Junhyung and raised his hands. “Carry me to the toilet?” he asked, his muscles slightly aching from dance practice yesterday. One of his students had asked him to demonstrate a slightly difficult move and he might have overexerted his muscles because of that. He wasn’t getting any younger.

“You’re so lazy,” Junhyung said, chuckling, but he bent down and let Hyunseung wrap his arms around his neck. Scooping the elder into his arms, he walked over to the toilet before setting Hyunseung back down on the floor. “I’ll be waiting here,” he told Hyunseung, causing the elder to sigh and shake his head.

“Alright, I’ll be quick,” Hyunseung conceded, going into the toilet and closing the door behind him. Junhyung groaned, falling back onto the bed and sighing heavily. He really wanted to get Ilhoon to accept him, but he was also so afraid of being rejected again. He didn’t want to hear Ilhoon say that he hated him, because it hurt enough the first time he heard it. But he also knew that he couldn’t avoid his son forever, especially when they were going to be a real family from now on.

Before Hyunseung came out of the toilet, Ilhoon walked into the master bedroom, dragging his bolster on the floor and rubbing his eyes tiredly. Junhyung didn’t know whether to laugh at how cute his son was or to cry at how similar the two of them were. The only bad thing about them being similar was that Ilhoon, like Junhyung, was overprotective of his mother. It would really be great if Ilhoon didn’t have a predetermined bad image of him.

“Where’s umma?” Ilhoon asked, yawning cutely and pouting slightly. “I want food.”

“I, um, already made breakfast. Pancakes are your favourite, right?” Junhyung asked unsurely, watching Ilhoon closely for his reaction. The boy nodded with another yawn, and he walked out of the room without another word. Almost right after, Hyunseung came out of the toilet, grinning at Junhyung like an idiot and making the younger wonder if he’d heard everything.

“You’re too cute, you know that?” Hyunseung teased. “I told you Ilhoon would warm up to you. He needs time to change his image of you,” he explained, fixing his hair and pulling Junhyung out of the room. “Let’s eat and go wish Doojoonie happy birthday.”

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The family of three finished breakfast relatively quickly, and Ilhoon mumbled “Thanks” when Hyunseung asked him to thank his appa for the food. It wasn’t much, but Junhyung was really beginning to believe that Ilhoon was accepting him.

While Junhyung cleaned up, despite Hyunseung’s protests, Ilhoon got dressed in his favourite shirt. Of course Hyunseung had picked the outfit out for him the night before, since Ilhoon was only seven and Hyunseung didn’t trust his son’s fashion sense much.

Hyunseung was changing his shirt when Ilhoon ran into his room with what seemed to be a card, looking extremely excited and waving the card in front of Hyunseung. “Umma, umma, I made Uncle Doojoonie a card!” he exclaimed, jumping furiously so that the card would be on eye level with Hyunseung. Chuckling, the young mother squatted down and took the card from his son.

“I know he’ll love it,” Hyunseung assured. “It’s so cute!”

“Uncle Doojoonie likes soccer, so I drew him playing soccer!” Ilhoon explained, worried that Hyunseung wouldn’t be able to make out what his drawing was.

“Do you want me to put it together with the present?” Hyunseung asked, earning a nod from his son. He put the card into the plastic bag that contained the birthday present he and Ilhoon had picked out together, the jersey of Doojoon’s favourite team. It wasn’t much, but Ilhoon had insisted that he pay for some of it with his allowance and that’s what mattered most. “Go put on your shoes and we’ll head downstairs, ok?” Hyunseung said. Ilhoon nodded eagerly and was out of the room in a flash, running past Junhyung who walked in with a slightly amused expression.

“Isn’t he excited?”

Nodding, Hyunseung grabbed the present and looked at Junhyung. “Are you going to change or…?”

“Yeah, give me a moment. We’re going for lunch after the kids play for a while, right?” Junhyung asked, taking his shirt off and searching for a suitable one to wear. Hyunseung nodded absentmindedly, unable to tear his gaze off Junhyung’s body. It wasn’t the first time in the past two days that he’d seen the younger topless, but why was it that he would spot a new scar every single time? How many fights had Junnie gotten into?

“Is that another scar?” Hyunseung asked, tracing the inch-long line along Junhyung’s waist.

“Yeah. Some guy walked into me, got angry, and pinned me against the wall. There was a short nail sticking out of it and that happened,” Junhyung sighed. He quickly put a shirt on so that Hyunseung wouldn’t see any more of his scars, although he was sure that the elder had already seen at least half of them. “Prison’s like that.”

“You never even fought back. Why would they hit you like that?” Hyunseung mumbled.

Junhyung shrugged, not wanting to bring up the past seven years in jail. Every time Hyunseung saw one of his scars, he’d get all quiet and Junhyung knew that he felt guilty. Even if he didn’t see a scar, he would mention that Junhyung was so much thinner and that he was at fault. Junhyung didn’t like making the elder so upset, even if he couldn’t help it.

“I’m sure Ilhoon’s getting impatient. Let’s go,” Junhyung said, snapping Hyunseung out of his thoughts and wrapping an arm around the elder’s waist. Sighing and nodding, Hyunseung leaned into Junhyung and they walked out of the bedroom together. As expected, Ilhoon was sitting on the couch with his shoes on and a very annoyed look on his face.

“Come on, I want to wish Uncle Doojoonie!” Ilhoon whined.

Hyunseung nodded and chuckled slightly, hastily putting his shoes on and rushing Junhyung. Then, making sure that they got everything they needed for the day, the three of them went downstairs so that Ilhoon could finally wish Doojoon a happy birthday.

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“Happy birthday Uncle Doojoonie!” Ilhoon nearly yelled when Yoseob opened the door. The latter frowned in amusement, sure that his husband heard the seven-year-old even from inside their room. He let them in, telling Ilhoon that Doojoon was in the master bedroom being smothered by the twins. Watching as Ilhoon ran off, Yoseob chuckled and took the present from Hyunseung.

“Will that boy of yours ever calm down?” Yoseob asked.

Shrugging, Hyunseung replied, “Maybe in a couple years.”

“So… what did you plan for your date?” Junhyung asked curiously.

Yoseob smiled mischievously, giving his best friend a knowing look. “Stealing ideas, are we?”

Junhyung snorted. “As if I’d need to steal ideas from you,” he retorted, and it was probably true.

“You always did plan the best dates,” Yoseob frowned. “I should learn from you, hyung.”

Hyunseung shook his head disapprovingly. “Nope, I’m keeping all his dates ideas to myself,” he said, sticking his tongue out childishly at the younger male. Yoseob rolled his eyes at how possessive Hyunseung was being, noting how he was holding onto Junhyung’s arm tightly. It was as if Hyunseung was afraid to let Junhyung go, and with good reason too.

“Anyway, we’re heading to Hangeng hyung’s place for lunch. Heechul hyung said he wanted to treat, as usual,” Yoseob explained, for Junhyung’s benefit. The latter nodded, remembering Heechul’s Chinese husband just vaguely from Jungsu’s birthday party all those years ago. “Gikwang and Dongwoon should be getting here soon, too. I wonder how much Minhyukkie grew this time.”

Hyunseung laughed at their inside joke. “Think he’s going to be as tall as Dongwoon someday?” he asked, knowing that Yoseob had an issue with how short he was. The younger constantly worried that all their kids, even the girls, would outgrow him someday, and with good reason too. When Yoseob pouted and gave Hyunseung an indignant look, the elder shrugged. “Gikwang’s short too.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if the kids are taller though?” Junhyung questioned his best friend with a raised brow. He didn’t exactly want Ilhoon to be short like Yoseob, although there wasn’t really a problem with that. It just didn’t seem like a child with two tall parents would be short.

Before Yoseob could reply, there were a series of knocks on the door and both mothers looked at Junhyung expectantly, knowing that little Minhyuk was at the door. “Go open it. They’ll be surprised,” Hyunseung told his boyfriend, nudging to younger slightly. Junhyung grumbled, worried about how Minhyuk would react, but went anyway.

He pulled the door open to reveal a miniature Dongwoon, with a little Gikwang here and there. The boy looked at Junhyung in confusion, clearly not recognising who the strange man was, and ran to where his parents were walking over. “Appa, Auntie Yoseob move?” he asked cutely, and Junhyung heard Yoseob and Hyunseung laugh and coo at his adorableness.

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t, Minhyukkie. Did you go to the wrong house?” Gikwang asked. Junhyung felt himself slightly choked up at the thought of meeting all his old friends again. He never realised how much he really missed them during all those years in prison.

“Minhyukkie go correct house!” the boy whined, dragging his father over and pointing at Junhyung. Gikwang’s jaw dropped and behind him, Dongwoon stopped dead in his tracks. “See! Strange man at Auntie Seobie house!”

Deciding to save Minhyuk from all the confusion, Yoseob came out from behind Junhyung and picked the two-year-old up. “This isn’t a strange man, Minhyuk-ah. He’s Ilhoon hyung’s appa,” Yoseob explained, causing Minhyuk to gasp as he registered the similarity between the two. “Do you want to play with your hyung and noonas?” Yoseob asked, heading into the house when the boy nodded profusely. He looked at Gikwang and Dongwoon, rolling his eyes at their shock and telling them that he was bringing their son in.

In went Yoseob, and out came Hyunseung. “Guys, this is Junhyung you’re seeing. He’s real,” he told them, grabbing the younger male’s hand and leaning against him slightly. Gikwang opened and closed his mouth repeated like a fish out of water, trying to find the words to say but clearly not knowing how to start.

Dongwoon, on the other hand, walked to stand beside his husband and smiled at Junhyung. “You have no idea how much we’ve missed you, hyung,” he said slightly awkwardly, unsure if he was supposed to give the elder a hug.

“I missed you guys, too.”

“Group hug!” Hyunseung decided, seeing as how Gikwang was still in a state of shock. The four of them hugged before going into the house to catch up on the past seven years. Junhyung had a feeling that he still had a lot to catch up on, and he was glad that he still had all his old friends around to help him.

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Gikwang and Dongwoon spent the next half hour catching up with Junhyung, surprised that the elder had been in prison for seven years. When Junhyung told them that Sunggyu, Sungjong and the others actually were helping him, Gikwang rolled his eyes and muttered, “I knew it.”

They could talk for hours, really, but they decided to continue at lunch. Gikwang and Dongwoon took their own car, while Junhyung took Doojoon’s car. The two girls sat at the back of the car and Junhyung sat in the middle with Hyunseung and Ilhoon. He could tell that his son wasn’t too pleased about having to share Hyunseung’s attention with him, but at least Ilhoon wasn’t shooting him death glares anymore. It was an improvement, albeit a small one.

The drive to Heestory was short as usual, and they were at the family-owned restaurant within ten minutes. It was rather busy, since it was lunchtime on a Saturday, but Hangeng made time to welcome his friends anyway. Heechul was with him, carrying a toddler and holding the hand of a young girl.

“Happy birthday Uncle Doojoon!” the girl, who Junhyung assumed was Heekyung, exclaimed with a toothy grin. He saw Heechul gasp in shock upon seeing him, and Hangeng’s eyes widened in disbelief. While Doojoon thanked Heekyung and Dongwoon carried Minhyuk out of his car seat, Junhyung went over to awkwardly say hi to Heechul and Hangeng.

“You’re back, for real?” Heechul asked.

Junhyung nodded with a small smile. “Yeah. And before you ask, I was in prison. Hyukjae and Donghae should know,” he added. Heechul frowned, already pulling his phone out with his free hand and dialling his friend’s number. “Is this your son?”

“Yup, Kyungchul’s the same age as Minhyuk,” Heechul replied, smiling when the boy reached out towards Junhyung. “He wants you to hold him,” the elder said, not giving Junhyung a chance to reply before handing his son over. A second later and he was scolding Hyukjae through the phone for not telling anyone about Junhyung’s whereabouts, leaving the younger to hold Kyungchul awkwardly.

“At least Kyungchul likes you. That’s a start,” Hyunseung whispered, adjusting the way Junhyung was holding the toddler. Junhyung sighed and nodded, watching Ilhoon who was talking animatedly with Heekyung about something. Hangeng offered to show them in, although there was really no need to because they ate in the same place every time they visited the restaurant. Hangeng left after giving Heechul a kiss on the forehead, saying that he needed to get back to work already.

“Umma, is this Ilhoon’s appa?” Heekyung asked curiously. “Sohyun said so, but Ilhoon didn’t reply.”

Heechul raised a brow at Ilhoon, nodding in reply to his daughter’s question. “He sure is.”

“Then why won’t Ilhoon just say so?” Heekyung questioned.

Hyunseung sighed softly and gave his son a disapproving look. Before he could say anything, however, Jihyun said, “Ilhoonie doesn’t like his appa.”

Yoseob shook his head. “Jihyun, don’t say that.”

“But it’s true!” Sohyun piped up.

Junhyung looked at Ilhoon whose lips were jutted out slightly, brows furrowed, and stood up. “I guess I won’t join you guys for lunch. I’ll be waiting at home,” Junhyung said, hugging Hyunseung briefly before leaving the room.

Everyone just sat in stunned silence, and Hyunseung sighed once more.

“Sorry, Doojoon-ah. I need to bring Ilhoon with me. We’ll have lunch together another day, alright? Happy birthday,” Hyunseung said, getting up as well and taking his son with him.

The others looked at each other and Yoseob gave his daughters a look. “You girls aren’t getting to play today. Stay home and do your work today. And I don’t want to hear you talking about Uncle Junhyung like that again, understood?”

“Yes umma,” the twins mumbled with similar pouts.

Hangeng walked in with Zhoumi and Henry with the food just then, and frowned. “Where are Hyunseung, Ilhoon and Junhyung?”

“They left. Let’s just eat and discuss this next time, please?” Doojoon asked. The Chinese man nodded slowly and served everyone their respective plates of food, and without another word, everyone dug in.

Ok so Ilhoon kinda has a love-hate relationship with Junhyung because pancakes ice-cream and another snacks/treats, KiWoon find out that Junhyung's back, Jihyun and Sohyun can't keep their mouths shut, and Minhyuk is an innocent adorable little boy who thinks that Junhyung is a strange man

So actually I was planning to make this longer but then it would never have ended so I split the chapter into two heh

Anyways I'm on holiday now so hopefully I'll get the next chapter out in a few days?

Hope you guys enjoyed this (somewhat) filler chapter ok that's all from me! Annyeong~ ^^