Taemin loved his job. He loved it so much that he didn’t mind waking up at 5 am, nor did he mind the long hours he spent away from his cozy apartment. Everything about his job was perfect.

Except the fact that his ex was his boss.

Things were great between him and Jinki for a long time, but then suddenly the older man was spending longer hours at the office than normal, and he stopped spending as many nights at Taemin’s apartment, and when he did, he would have lipstick stains on his shirt collar and he would reek of Minseok’s Marc Jacobs perfume.

At first, Taemin ignored it. Maybe if he pretended the problem didn’t exist, it would eventually fizzle away into nothing. Jinki would say, “I love you,” every day to him, and he wanted to think that the older man really meant it.

But then the I love yous and the quick pecks on the cheek became scarce, and they eventually stopped happening at all.

Minseok, the secretary, got all the attention from the head publisher, and Taemin felt his heart break into millions of teeny tiny little pieces with each high pitched giggle and flushed expression the woman tried to hide every time Jinki passed by her desk.

So Taemin started making little digs at his boyfriend of four years. He would cross out things Jinki would write on papers, figure out every flaw in Jinki’s plans and point them out during meetings, and tell clients they should try the publisher on the floor above them.

So Jinki had him transferred to the office across town.

He also told him they weren’t working out anymore.

Taemin wanted to cry.

He packed his things from his desk in large boxes and heaved them out to his car without so much as a single glance at his now ex boyfriend. When he got back to his apartment, he tore down every photo that had Jinki in it and ripped them to pieces. He slashed Jinki’s face into the same amount of pieces that the older man broke his heart into. He threw away anything that belonged to or reminded him of Jinki.

He threw away the teddy bear the man gave him on their first anniversary, ripping it’s head off with his bare hands and then throwing the stuffing and mutilated body into the trash can. He found every sweatshirt, dress shirt, jeans, and pair of boxer briefs that belonged to Jinki and stomped down to the dumpster with the pile in his arms, unceremoniously flinging them into the green, smelly box for the garbage man to come take to the dump. Taemin flung menus of their favorite takeout places out the window, not caring in that moment that he was littering, because they reminded him of Jinki; of the way the man would laugh while he ate, and the way he would steal little pieces of meat off of Taemin’s plate and then only stick half of it in mouth, waiting for him to take the other bite and kiss him like the Lady and the Tramp.

Every movie, every CD, every blanket, and every little thing the older man brought and left at his apartment was thrown out, and by the end, Taemin could hardly breathe or see through the mess of tears spilling down his face.

The only thing left was the simple silver band he wore on his right index finger. It had small diamonds around it that sparkled in the light, and the words, “I love you, Taemin,” engraved on the inside.

Jinki gave it to him last year with the promise that one day, they would have their own family.

Taemin wanted children. He wanted children more than anything in this world, and Jinki had promised him children and a happy family.

Taemin wasn’t going to get that, now. Not from Jinki.

With a strangled sob, he stood above the toilet, intent on throwing the ring into the bowl and flushing it down into the sewer. He tried four times to toss it, but with each flick of his wrist, he could not find it in himself to throw away every hope and dream that came with that ring.

He sinks down to the floor, sitting against the edge of the bathtub as he holds the silver band to his chest and cries. This ring represented every promise Jinki made him, every kiss and every intimate moment, and he wanted that back. He wanted his boyfriend, and he wanted the family the man promised him.

So Taemin holds onto the ring, and he takes it with him the next day when he has to go back to the office to retrieve the papers of a client who will be seeing him the following week at his new office. The ring, instead of on his finger, is tucked away in his pants pocket. It feels heavy, like it’s making him drag his leg with every step he takes.

He walks right up to Jinki’s office, not knocking on the door as he walks in to see the man shuffling through papers with his reading glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Taemin doesn’t wait for the man to look up, and he takes the ring out of his pocket and launches it right at Jinki’s forehead.

"You promised me a family!" Taemin yells at him, and it doesn’t occur to him that he didn’t close the door or that everyone on the floor will hear him and come to see what’s happening.

"You promised me happily ever after! Where the hell is my happily ever after?" Taemin screeches, and his throat is burning and the tears are welling up in his eyes.

"Taemin-" Jinki mutters through clenched teeth, because he can see the crowd forming outside his office door.

"Shut the up! You ing cheated on me! You’ve been cheating on me for months! How the is that happily ever after?” Taemin sobs, “You think I didn’t notice when you came over smelling like some ’s perfume? With her ing lipstick all over your goddamn shirt?”

"She isn’t a !" Jinki yells at him, standing at his desk so fast it send his chair toppling back.

"Oh, you’re right, I’m sorry." Taemin says, his voice showing no sign of remorse, "You’re the ing , because you’re the one who was ing two people at once!"

"We weren’t official." Jinki tries to reason.

"We weren’t official?" Taemin repeats in a disbelieving tone, "You gave me a ring and promised me children! How the is that not official?"

"Get out of my office; you don’t work here anymore." Jinki tells him.

"I don’t work here anymore because you’re a ing cheater!" Taemin yells, "I hope you rot in hell, you bastard. I hope everything you have crumbles into nothing!"

With that, Taemin leaves the building he used to love working at, not looking back at the man he used to love.

His new office is on the eighth floor of a building that takes him an extra thirty seven minutes to drive to. The ceiling his higher and the windows are bigger, but the desk is smaller and the picture he has on his desk is of him and best friend instead of him and his boyfriend. His new boss is shorter than him, named Kim Jonghyun, and he’s more carefree than Jinki ever was. At his new office, he’s the new guy instead of the guy with eight years of experience that people actually knew they could trust.

Jonghyun asks him why he was transferred, and Taemin tells him a condensed version of his boyfriend/boss cheating on him and it creating too much drama for a workplace setting.

Jonghyun only nods, tells him if he needs to, he can confide in him. Taemin appreciates the offer, but doesn’t take him up on it until three months later, when it would have been his and Jinki’s fifth anniversary. He spends that Friday night drinking at a bar with his new boss. He spends that night drinking Harvey Wallbangers and the occasional sip of water while his boss lets him rant drunkenly about his ex. Taemin barely notices that Jonghyun only orders soda for himself that night, and by the time they go to leave, Taemin is stumbling and slurring and close to crying.

His boss, now friend, is supporting him with one of Taemin’s arms around his shoulders, his own arm around Taemin’s back as he leads the younger man to his car.

"There’s no way in hell you’re driving home right now." Jonghyun tells him.

"My car," Taemin mumbles.

"Will still be here in the morning." Jonghyun assures him, "You can crash at my place tonight."

"Tha’s no’ appropriate fer ‘da workplace." Taemin stumbles over his words, and Jonghyun only smiles at him.

"It’s fine, don’t worry about it." The older man helps him into his car, and soon they’re driving off and Taemin can barely tell where they’re going.

When they arrive at Jonghyun’s home, the older man warns him to try and be quiet, because his son should be asleep by now.

"I always wanted a kid." Taemin mutters, "Jinki promised me."

Jonghyun smiles sadly at the drunk man, and he leads him to the guest room where he lets Taemin fall onto the bed in a tired heap.

The next morning, Taemin awakens at the feeling of something poking his cheek, and he groans and rolls over. His eyes open a crack when he feels another poke on the back of his neck, and he realizes he’s not in his apartment. He sits up quickly, groaning at the way to world spins too fast for his liking.

"Mis’er are you ‘wake yet?" Taemin turns at the sound of a child’s voice, and he smiles despite the pounding in his head.

This kid is adorable, with messy black hair standing up in every which direction and partially covering one eye. His green pajamas have little colorful dinosaurs all over them, and he looks so curious and innocent that Taemin can’t stand it.

"Yeah, I’m awake." Taemin responds in a crackly voice, "What’s your name, sweetie?"

"Kibum!" The little boy, Kibum, answers with a wide grin, "Daddy told me ta see if you’re ‘wake yet."

"Who’s your daddy?" Taemin asks, because he can’t remember how he got here or who brought him here.

"Daddy’s my daddy!" The child giggles, "Daddy made brea’fast! Come eat!"

The boy’s small hands grasp one of his, and he’s being pulled out of the bed by this tiny little ball of energy.

He’s being led down the stairs and into a kitchen that smells like bananas and freshly brewed coffee.

"Kibum, I told you to see if he was awake, not to drag him out of bed." Taemin’s eyes go wide at the sound of his boss’s voice, and he smiles sheepishly at the man.

"But he woked up!" The little boy protests, and Taemin tries not to cringe at the way the loud little voice makes his head burn.

"He woke up, baby." Jonghyun corrects softly, chuckling at the way the child bounces to his seat with Taemin in tow.

"Tha’s what I said, daddy." Kibum smiles cutely at his father before turning to the man sitting in the seat next to him, "Daddy made bana pancakes, do you like those?"

"Yes, I love them." Taemin responds enthusiastically to the little boy, who grins in response.

"I helped." Kibum informs him.

"Then I’m sure they taste better than any other banana pancakes in the whole wide world." Taemin tells him, and he soaks in the way the boy beams at him.

"See, daddy, he’s all woked up." Kibum tells his father, and Taemin laughs lightly at the antics of the toddler.

A glass of water and two pills are placed in front of him, a mug full of coffee sitting next to it. Taemin smiles gratefully at the man who winks in return.

"Daddy, I want coffee, too." Taemin laughs at what the boy says, and Jonghyun only moves to tap his son lightly on the back of the head.

"I told you, you’re too young to drink coffee; now drink your milk." Jonghyun smiles at Kibum as he motions for Taemin to take some pancakes from the plate in the middle of the table.

"So, uh, is your wife at work or something?" Taemin asks tentatively.

Jonghyun looks like he wants to laugh, but Kibum speaks up before his father can, “Mommy’s at her own house, mis’er.”

Taemin’s confused expression prompts Jonghyun to elaborate, “My wife and I got a divorce almost two years ago.”

"Oh, I’m sorry." Taemin tries to apologize, but Jonghyun shakes his head.

"It’s fine, don’t worry about it." Jonghyun assures him, and an hour later finds the three of them in the parking lot of the bar the two men visited last night so Taemin could get his car.

"Thanks, for letting me stay at your place and everything." Taemin rubs his arm awkwardly, and Jonghyun only laughs.

"No problem. I’ll see you on Monday, okay?" Taemin nods, smiling gratefully at the man.

"When am I gonna see mis’er Taemin again, daddy?" Kibum bounces eagerly in his place next to his father.

"I don’t know, why don’t you ask mister Taemin yourself?" Jonghyun smirks at the man standing across from him who stares at the pair of them with wide eyes.

"Uh, whenever you want, Kibum." Taemin laughs, and the little boy grins widely.

"I wanna see you tomorrow! You can come to the park with me and daddy!" Kibum moves to grab Taemin’s hand and shake it in his, "Please, please, please?"

"Uh, if you don’t mind?" Taemin questions his boss, who smirks and nods.

"We usually go to the one by the Starbucks, around noon." Jonghyun informs him, "You know where it is?"

"Yeah, I do." Taemin smiles before crouching down in front of the excitable little boy, "I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Kibum. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Sammiches." The little boy looks at him with a serious expression, "With crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jelly, but no chunky strawberries because that’s gross."

Taemin laughs at the specific request, and Jonghyun tells his son he shouldn’t be so picky about his food if he’s asking someone else to bring it.

"No, it’s fine." Taemin dismisses before whispering to Kibum dramatically, "That’s how I like my pb&j’s, too."

Kibum grins at him before Taemin asks, “With the crusts cut off?”

"No crusts!" Kibum nearly shouts, and Taemin laughs before ruffling the boy’s hair fondly.

"I’ll see you tomorrow, with sandwiches." Taemin tells him.

"Kay." Kibum smiles before going back to his father, "Bye bye, mis’er Taemin."

"Bye bye." Taemin waves as he gets into his car.

Maybe this was how things were meant to be.