04.
OopsHimchan glanced over his shoulder and held a plastic folder tightly in his hands, making sure no one was following him before he entered Jung Daehyun's classroom. He couldn't stand it anymore – it seemed like Youngjae was never going to tell Mr. Jung and as time went on, things were becoming more complicated. His friend didn't have anything the baby needed and there was no way in hell his hobo of a best friend could even afford any of it to begin with. Himchan hated to be at school any earlier than he had to be but he'd made sure to get there before any of his teachers or classmates after dropping Youngjae off for another doctor's appointment.
He stood in front of Mr. Jung's desk before placing it on the desk. He paused for a moment, deciding to double check everything. Himchan flipped open the notebook, staring blankly for a moment until he realized it was gone – The ultra sound photo. It was gone. Gone. Himchan's eyes widened and he snatched up the folder, flipping it upside down and shaking it, hoping the little ultra sound photo he'd stolen was maybe hidden deeper in the pockets but nothing fell out.
Himchan's jaw went slack as he stared at the folder. “Oh, .” He breathed, repeating it over and over as he slowly backed out of the classroom. He'd lost Youngjae's ultra sound photo.
He had lost Youngjae's ing ultra sound photo.
Himchan started retracing his steps, his eyes glued on the floor the entire time as he searched for the photo. This was a problem – a huge ing problem. One: He lost Youngjae's ultra sound photo, the one his best friend was always and talking to and two: the photo had Youngjae's name on it, with the blunt message he'd written on the back.
'Congratulations, you're a father.'
Himchan finally made his way to his car, looking under the seats, under the car and in each and every nook and cranny for the damn photo but it was nowhere to be found. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all. Youngjae was going to kill him, absolutely murder him and if someone at the school found the photo – all hell was going to break loose.
And it was his own fault. Himchan sat down in his car and closed his eyes, wondering what damage he'd caused. This wasn't like him; he fully blamed Youngjae on this. Sure, it wasn't actually Youngjae's fault but being around his best friend so much had definitely killed a few brain cells because otherwise, this never would have happened. Yeah, that worked. In his opinion, that was a good excuse for this major up.
Himchan let out a loud groan before hitting the steering wheel, jumping in surprise when the horn went off before rubbing his face.
Youngjae was definitely killing his brain cells.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Youngjae grunted, shifting his book bag ever so slightly as he walked towards school. The appointment had gone well, really well. Little demon was still doing fine, no problems so far. He felt just as happy as he had the first time hearing his babies heartbeat and more than just a little uncomfortable when Dr. Kang did a 3D ultra sound on him. He loved his baby, really, but right now little demon looked like. . . a blob. An actual creepy, moving blob. Mr. Kang had had to choke back a laugh when Youngjae asked to switch back to the normal ultra sound. All in all, it was surreal to see his baby like that. Creepy but beautiful too.
The teen sighed loudly when school finally came into view. He didn't want to be here. He just wanted to go back to Himchan's place, lie down and watch TV, not come to this hell hole. Youngjae was in no mood to even see Jung Daehyun's face right now. Sure, it was partly Youngjae's own fault for not telling Mr. Jung but he was starting to feel more than just a little resentful at his teacher. He was going through this alone and it was scary. Really scary.
Youngjae had spent almost all night, tossing and turning as he tried to think of what he was going to do. It , it really having to tell a man who purposely ignored his whole existence he was pregnant with their baby. The teen snorted at that; Little Demon was his baby, not Jung Daehyun's and if he ever got around to telling the man, he was going to make sure Mr. Jung knew that.
“Youngjae!”
Youngjae nearly let out a scream when his best friend jumped out in front of him. “What the , Himchan?!” He held his hand over his heart. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Where the did you even come from and - Aren't you supposed to be in class?”
Himchan swallowed thickly, staring at him for a long while. “How. . . How did the appointment go?”
The younger teen stared at his friend for a moment before slowly crossing his arms over his chest. “What did you do?” He narrowed his eyes, watching as his best friend smiled sheepishly, guilty written all over his face. “Kim. Himchan.” He hissed. “What did you do?”
“The school knows you're pregnant.” Himchan held his hands up to guard his face. “I accidentally lost your ultrasound photo and someone found it-”
“What the were you doing with my ultrasound photo?” He nearly shouted, getting into his friend's face. Honestly, Youngjae wasn't too angry, it was bound to come out eventually but he enjoyed seeing his normally fearless friend cowering because of him. At least, he wasn't angry until he realized what exactly Himchan had said. “Wait, where is my baby's picture?”
“I, uh, don't know.” Himchan replied.
“You're going to die.” Youngjae's voice was so calm and collected – that was what made him so scary. “It will not be a quick death either, Kim.”
“Look, I was trying to help you.” The older quickly tried to defend himself. “I only took the picture to put it on-” Himchan looked around before leaning forward to whisper. “Mr. Jung's desk so he'd piece together and finally help you through this.”
Youngjae let his arms drop down by his sides before sighing loudly. That was kind of sweet of Himchan. Kind of. Sort of. “How bad is it in there?”
“You're pretty much a celebrity.”
“I've always wanted to be known for being seventeen and pregnant.” Youngjae shrugged off his book bag and shoved it at his friend. “Carry it.” He demanded before walking ahead. “We better find that picture or I'll kill you.”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Everyone knew and that wasn't an exaggeration. His classmates, random students, the teachers, everyone knew. Youngjae had never felt more thankful that today he didn't have a class with Jung Daehyun because getting through that class would have been absolutely impossible for him, considering how everyone stared and was whispering about him. He'd even had a couple of teachers come up to him and ask him if it was true or not. Youngjae didn't lie; there wasn't any sense in lying. After all, he could only hide a pregnancy for so long.
Still, he hadn't expected everyone to learn of it so quickly and it had overwhelmed him more than he wanted to admit. Youngjae breathed in deeply, ignoring the stares and whispers as he walked towards his locker. I haven't ever even seen your face before, stop looking at me. He thought grumpily. Youngjae was just thankful school was over and he could go home and cry into Himchan's pillow. The teen felt so ing stressed and he knew it wasn't good for the baby.
He sighed softly, putting some things away in his locker before slamming it shut and locking it up. School was officially hell. He'd thought it was hell before but nope, now it was hell and all he could do was hope this would blow over soon. Youngjae moved through the crowded hallway, telling himself he was close, so close to the exit and that everything would be okay as soon as he was out those doors and on his way back to Himchan's place.
For the first time, that was really getting to him. Youngjae just wanted to go home, his home where he could lie back in his bed and in peace. He wondered if his mother had calmed down some yet; this wasn't actually the first time he'd been kicked out but this was the longest he had been away from home without hearing anything from her. It was frustrating, everything was so ing frustrating. He pushed open the doors, letting out a loud sigh of relief once he was outside.
Youngjae was still pretty pissed at Himchan for losing his ultrasound. That picture was so important to him, sure – he had a new one now, a bigger blob thing but that one was still special. It made him even angrier that someone in the school had it and still hadn't given it back to him. The teen figured he would go around tomorrow and demand to know if anyone had seen his ultrasound photo. Sure, it might be a little weird to run around screaming 'Where is my ultrasound picture?!' but it certainly wasn't the weirdest thing he'd ever done in his years at the high school.
Youngjae grunted, his book bag was feeling heavier than normal and he silently debated on whether or not he wanted to walk all the way back to Himchan's house or wait for his best friend to drive him home. He sighed loudly, going towards one of the benches near the front parking lot. Himchan was in detention – not that that was anything new. The teen shrugged off his book bag, letting it hit the ground with a loud thud before sitting down and waiting, happy that most of the other students had already gotten their ride home and it was mostly quiet now.
Youngjae tapped his fingers against the bench, sighing impatiently. He really needed his own license – not that those were really good without a car. He really needed a license and a car. Not that he could afford a car. No, what he really needed was a job, license and car. I'm a mess. The teen thought before slouching down on the bench, deciding he would try and find a job this weekend.
Youngjae closed his eyes, relaxing and enjoying the cool breeze before the sound of someone's footsteps caught his attention. His breath caught ever so slightly when he met eyes with Jung Daehyun's own. The two stared at each other for a moment and Youngjae expected him to turn away, to pretend like he didn't exist but instead his teacher walked towards him.
Mr. Jung leaned down and grabbed his wrist, gently pulling him towards his feet without any words. Youngjae quickly grabbed up his bag before he let himself be pulled away. “Where are we going?” He asked when the older man unlocked a very expensive looking car. “Are you kidnapping me? You know, if I go missing Himchan will notice and -”
“Please just get in.” Mr. Jung sounded so exhausted and Youngjae had to hold back a snort. Old man. He thought before getting inside the expensive car, followed by his teacher. Daehyun was finally acknowledging his existence – did he know?
Things were quiet for a while, neither saying anything until Daehyun finally broke the silence. “Is it mine?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Yes.” Youngjae answered without any hesitation.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Youngjae's mouth nearly dropped open. “Do you know how many times I've tried to talk to you? Each and every single time, you've ignored me and pretended like I wasn't there. This isn't my fault.” He couldn't help but snap, after all, he'd been trying for almost three months to tell his teacher.
Mr. Jung finally looked towards him, the irritation obvious on his face. “Look, I didn't know you were p-pr-”
“Pregnant.” Youngjae easily said, amused by how he was struggling to say the word.
“Thank you.” Mr. Jung cleared his throat before trying again. “I didn't know you were p-preg”
“Pregnant. The word is pregnant.”
Mr. Jung narrowed his eyes, gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. “Thank you, again, Youngjae.” He said through gritted teeth. “I didn't know you were pregnant, otherwise I wouldn't have ignored you. I had no idea.” The older man covered his face with his hands. “I could lose my job because of this, hell, I could go to jail because of this. It was just safer to pretend I didn't know who you were, okay?”
Youngjae pursed his lips. “Yeah, I guess.” He trailed off for a moment. “Do you have my ultrasound photo?”
Mr. Jung nodded slowly, reaching inside his shirt and pulling out the small photo. The younger quickly snatched it out of his hand and he nearly felt like crying as he gently touched the photo, that 'Reunited' song playing somewhere in the back of his head. Youngjae had really thought he'd never see this picture again.
“Do your parents know?” Mr. Jung broke him out of his thoughts.
Youngjae slowly nodded his head. “Yep.” He replied before he trailed off for a moment. “My mother kicked me out right after I told her.”
“Where are you living?” The older man's eyes went wide.
“With Himchan.”
Mr. Jung stared at him thoughtfully, trying to remember who exactly Himchan was before finally he was able to put a face with the name. Kim Himchan, always sat in the back either sleeping or staring off into space. The man let out a long sigh, rubbing his forehead. “I want you to move in with me. Had I known all of this, I would've been there. I am really, truly sorry that you've been going through all this without me.” That made Youngjae feel a little better, at least Mr. Jung did seem to care. “I'll take care of you and the baby from now on.
“What if I don't want to move in with you?” Youngjae asked, just to see what his answer would be. He knew damn well he needed the support and help the older could offer him. “I don't even know you.” The younger watched in amusement as Mr. Jung closed his eyes in annoyance, his fingers wrapping tightly around the steering wheel.
“Because I will take care of you and the baby.” The older finally opened his eyes again, looking towards Youngjae. “What do you even have prepared for it yet?” And when the teen didn't reply, he continued. “Look, I know we don't know each other but that's my baby.”
Youngjae pursed his lips, his protectiveness fighting to come through – this was his baby. Not Daehyun's. He didn't like that at all. “Okay.” The younger shrugged. “Though, I wanna make something clear, Mr. Jung. . .” Youngjae trailed off for a moment, meeting eyes with his teacher. “If you do anything to take my baby away from me, I will personally ruin your whole life.”
Daehyun's body tensed up as he stared at the teen and all he could wonder was what had he gotten himself into. “I have no intentions of taking the baby away from you.” He breathed and Youngjae smiled, a pleased 'Good, because I would actually kill you.' leaving his mouth. At least he seems to actually care about the baby. Daehyun thought, his eyes going towards Youngjae's stomach. “You're already showing.”
“ you, I'm not showing.” Youngjae hissed. “I just had a big lunch.” Youngjae nearly laughed as the older man turned red and hurriedly apologized. He's so stupid. The teen thought before letting his eyes wander, taking in just exactly how expensive this car was. Was Mr. Jung rich? Please be rich.
“So, um, anyway-” Mr. Jung cleared his throat. “When would it be best for you to move in?”
“I don't know.” Youngjae shrugged. “I don't have much so I guess this weekend would be okay.” Things went silent for a moment, Daehyun clearly wanting to say something else before he finally gave a big sigh. “What? What do you wanna say?” The younger raised an eyebrow.
“This. . . us -” He motioned to both of them with his finger. “Will be kept a secret, correct?”
“Yeah.” Youngjae casually answered. Daehyun was nothing like he was that night at the club. That night, this man had been wild, carefree and fierce – now it seemed like he was just a big nervous nerd. . The younger thought, holding back a snicker. That was definitely the most suitable name for him. “Well, I'll be going now.” Youngjae said as he reached for the door handle.
“Do you have a ride?” Mr. Jung quickly cut him off, realizing just how much time had passed by. The sun was setting and he certainly didn't want Youngjae walking in the dark.
“Nah, I'll just walk back.” Youngjae replied, figuring Himchan was long gone by now.
“Let me take you home then, okay?” And Youngjae agreed, simply because one: his book bag was heavy as and two: his feet were sore as . Plus, Daehyun had a lot of making up to do for all that time he spent ignoring him. Neither said much, just Youngjae occasionally telling him where to turn.
“See ya, Mr. Jung.” Youngjae said once they pulled into Himchan's driveway. He looked towards Daehyun, taking note of how tense he was again.
“Are you sure it's -”
“If you even ing ask me that question, I will scream.” The teen knew exactly why that question pissed him off so much. “Look, Mr. Jung, whatever I should call you, if you're going to be in and out of my baby's life, then we don't need you.” He crossed his arms over his chest. His own father was never there for him or his mother. Youngjae could still remember how his father would show up, promise to be there and then leave again. It had hurt so much and he simply wouldn't allow Mr. Jung to do that to his own child.
“I won't walk out on the baby or you.” Daehyun promised, trailing off for a moment. “I've always wanted a child – not like this. This was never the plan but. . anyway, I promise you I won't walk out.”
“Good.” Youngjae grabbed the door handle again. “Because if you hurt Little Demon, I'll hurt you.”
He's so violent. Daehyun thought, frowning deeply as he watched the teen grab his things. “Wait, wait – what did you just call the baby?”
“Bye.” Youngjae got out and slammed the door behind himself, almost skipping up the front steps of his friend's house. Daehyun waited until he was safely inside to back out of the driveway and get back on the road, his head pounding.
Yoo Youngjae was certainly going to be a handful.
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