regression (n) - the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion

  

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

  
It was Thursday afternoon, and Chanyeol was sitting in his black Audi A7 in the parking lot of the Seoul Foreign School waiting for the bell to ring. He took a look at his watch and realized that he still had fifteen minutes until the first bell rang, and with fifteen minutes to spare, he decided to take a short nap.

  

When the first bell rang, indicating that parents were now allowed to walk up to the fence and wait for their child(ren), Chanyeol got out of his car, straightened out his white button down shirt and black slacks, and walked towards the school’s entrance where all of the students were lined up.

 

He looked around until he saw Hyunsoo sitting on the ground in line with his fellow classmates, and noticed that his son’s face was devoid of any emotions and he constantly had his head down. Chanyeol thought maybe his son was just tired and continued to look at him to see if there would be any change in expression, or at least for him to look up and make eye contact with his dad; but unfortunately, Hyunsoo never looked up. When the second bell rang and he still could not figure out what was bothering his son, Chanyeol realized that his son had been acting off the entire week.

 

Even though his son was usually the quiet type, Hyunsoo would always smile and greet his dad brightly whenever he saw him, so seeing him this way was a bit alarming.

 

“Hyunsoo!" Chanyeol called out from the other side of the gates.

 

Hyunsoo got up and walked towards his teacher at the entrance gate when he saw his dad. Once the teacher verified that Chanyeol was there, she opened the gate for him.

 

“Hey buddy. How was school today?" Chanyeol said as he grabbed Hyunsoo's backpack and held onto his son’s hand, trying to start a conversation.

 

“It was okay." Hyunsoo replied in a low voice.
 


Shocked at the response, Chanyeol didn't know how to feel. He wanted Hyunsoo to look up to him as a father; however, he also wanted to be the friend that Hyunsoo could confide in or share his excitement with. He tried very hard to be a good dad, to do everything he could for his one and only son, and to be there every single day for Hyunsoo. When Kyungsoo left them, Hyunsoo was just a baby who had barely just e. Chanyeol made a promise to himself to not only be a parent, a mother and a father, but to also be a friend—Hyunsoo's best friend.

 

Even though Hyunsoo was typically a quiet kid, he never failed to give his dad a smile. He also never failed to give his dad a more enthusiastic response when asked a question so seeing the normally smiling and happy Hyunsoo with a downcast expression was a bit shocking.

 

 

 

❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

Chanyeol never really moved on from Kyungsoo nor did he stick to loving Kyungsoo. He half-heartedly vowed to himself that he wouldn't try to bring another person into Hyunsoo's life because Kyungsoo leaving him with a baby had scarred him; he believed that no one else would be willing to stay. It was one thing to leave a lover, but he laid there during those countless nights pondering why would anyone leave their child? Call him a pessimist, but it was a hard hit for him when Kyungsoo left.

 

He loved Kyungsoo; he honestly thought that they were going to last forever, or at least longer than five years, and especially longer than after Hyunsoo e. Having to do everything on his own—working, paying the bills, taking care of a new born baby—there were many times where he wanted to just give up, but one look at the sleeping baby and he regretted ever having those thoughts.

 

Five years later, he had adapted to the lifestyle of a single dad. He was now the CEO of his own telemarketing company and he had no one to thank except for his motivation—his now six-year old son. He had worked hard to get to where he was at, but more importantly, he had worked even harder as a father. He never thought about giving love another chance and he definitely did not give anyone else besides Hyunsoo the time of day.

 

His goal was to show everyone around him that he could make it on his own, that he could take care of his son all on his own without the help of a significant other. He knew everyone around him—his friends and family—wanted him to find somebody, but he refused to. He hated to be pessimistic, but he really didn’t believe in a happily ever after. All of those fairytale stories expressing that having a partner, a significant other, a lover, or even a soulmate would make your life complete… he thought all of those were complete and utter bull.

 

They still had a housekeeper who came by and cleaned and cooked for them, but when Kyungsoo left, Chanyeol made a promise that he was going to do everything in his power to be the one to take care of Hyunsoo, to show him that he was a true dad; and the first thing he promised himself when Hyunsoo started school was that he was going to be the one to drop Hyunsoo off and pick him up every single day, regardless of the circumstances. And now that he was in first grade and had homework to do, by the time they both were home and in their comfort zone, Hyunsoo would be doing his homework while Chanyeol would finish up the rest of his work for the day. With the fact that he was able to work from home, he decided to make a little work area for Hyunsoo in his office; that way if his son had any questions about his homework, he could always ask Chanyeol right then and there.

 

 

 

❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

The dejected look on Hyunsoo's face, the empty response and lack of emotion, Chanyeol slowly felt like he was failing as a father. It was Thursday and it was only now that he had realized his son had been acting this way all week.

 

When they got to the car, Chanyeol opened the backseat and Hyunsoo immediately got into his booster seat and buckled the seatbelt by himself. Chanyeol got into the driver’s seat and put Hyunsoo’s backpack in the passenger seat and then turned his body to face his son. He saw his son’s emotionless face and decided that he won’t be working this weekend, it’ll be all about Hyunsoo. Whatever he wanted to do, Chanyeol would do it.

 

 

"Hey buddy, what do you say we go get some ice cream and have a Transformers marathon tonight? Hm? I'll even extend your bedtime to 9 o'clock. How does that sound?"

 

"Okay.."

  

"And tomorrow after school, we can go eat at your favorite sushi restaurant and then we’ll head to the park so you can practice riding your skateboard."

 

"It's fine dad. You don't have to." Hyunsoo said as he turned to look at his dad.

 

"But I want to, it's been awhile since we've gone out." Chanyeol tried smiling, wanting to excite Hyunsoo a little bit.

 

"Okay. Thanks dad." Hyunsoo said, but as soon as he was finished, he turned back to look out of the window.

 

 

They stopped at Baskin Robins and Chanyeol grabbed a pint of Pistachio Almond for himself, a pint of Cookies and Creme for Hyunsoo and also a pint of Jamoca Almond Fudge for the both of them. This apparently brightened his son’s mood and made Hyunsoo giggle because his dad was always the more excited one when it came to ice cream. Even though Jamoca Almond Fudge was Kyungsoo's favorite, Chanyeol still ordered it because it became a norm for both father and son to eat it.

 

Hyunsoo never questioned it and just went along with his dad's quirky ways.

 
It wasn't until they finished eating their dinner, watched three of the Transformers movies, and finished a third of each pint of ice cream that Chanyeol sat Hyunsoo down at the dining room table. He waited all day for his son to come talk to him about his problems but it seemed like he wasn't going to so Chanyeol decided to take initiative. It was already getting close to 9:00pm and Chanyeol knew he had to hurry up if he wanted his son to get a full 10 hours of sleep.

 

 

"Hey buddy, so, what's been going on lately?" Chanyeol started. He took a scoop of the Pistachio Almond Fudge ice cream and put it into Hyunsoo’s bowl to make the situation seem more normal. He didn't want Hyunsoo to see how nervous he was.

 

"Nothing much, really." Hyunsoo replied instantly while taking another scoop of ice cream without looking at his dad.

 

Seeing as though the conversation wasn't getting anywhere, Chanyeol tried to be a little more straight forward, "How's school been? Everything's been good? Everyone’s being nice?"

 
 

At the mention of school, Hyunsoo didn't look up but Chanyeol saw how his son tensed then. And that’s when it occurred him that that was where his son’s problem was.

 
 

"S-school's okay." Hyunsoo hesitated to say, all while still looking down at the ice cream and digging his spoon in.

 

"Hyunsoo." Chanyeol called out to his son.

 

 

Hyunsoo looked up and Chanyeol could see the troubled expression he had in his eyes. He hated it. He doesn't want his son to go through any trouble at six years old. It was bad enough Chanyeol went through hell with the breakup; his son doesn’t deserve anything else less than love. Chanyeol had long been over that threshold that was holding him back from getting up and moving past the problems, he doesn't need Hyunsoo to have to go through his own sort of problems, dammit his son was only six! It broke his heart to see his son so troubled, yet so afraid to admit it or talk to him about it.

 

 

"Hyunsoo..." Chanyeol tried in a softer tone and he could see his son's facade falling. "Are you having trouble at school?"

 
 

Hyunsoo remained silent, but this time he put his head down and started to play with his spoon in the ice cream.

 

 
"Hyunsoo..." This time Chanyeol reached over and grab Hyunsoo's wrist lightly so he could understand that it was okay to speak: that it was okay to talk about it, that it was okay to be afraid, and that it was okay to want someone to be there for you. "Tell me what's going on at school."

 
Hyunsoo stayed quiet for a bit before he hesitantly began talking.

 
"Umm... I-I... There's..." Hyunsoo hesitated.

 
"Do you have a crush on somebody?" Chanyeol attempted. Hyunsoo looked up at his dad with shocking eyes that made his dad chuckle, "Is that a yes?"

 
"N-no!" Hyunsoo stuttered as he whipped his head up to look at his dad, eyes wide in shock as if he just got caught.

 
"Are you sure?" Chanyeol grinned at his son.

 

"Yes!" Hyunsoo said defensively.

 

"Don't lie to me."

 

"Daddy~" Hyunsoo groaned and whined in return.

 

"What's so wrong with having a crush on somebody? I mean, yeah you're too young, but it's okay if you think somebody is cute."

 

"It's not that."

 

"Then what is it? I know you're not failing, you're a straight A student, even Mrs. Smith had been emailing me to let me know that you've been excelling. She said you're the top student in English, Math, Science and Reading. She's also thinking about getting you screened for gifted and—"

 

"I'm getting bullied." Hyunsoo said in a low voice, head still looking down at his bowl of ice cream.

 

"—maybe put you in the program—What?!" Chanyeol said in a tone halfway between talking and screaming. Hyunsoo doesn't respond nor does he repeat what he said, but Chanyeol wants to reassure that he heard right.

 

"Hyunsoo, what did you say?" Chanyeol asked for clarification, hoping what he heard wasn’t what his son said.

 

"It's no big deal dad. It's okay."

 

"No son, that's not what I asked. I asked what did you say?" Chanyeol asked with authority seeping from his question.

 
 

Chanyeol didn't mean to sound demanding because he knew how much it scared Hyunsoo. He vowed to himself to never use a harsh tone and seeing how Hyunsoo cowered to himself, he wanted to punch himself for breaking in front of his son, but he couldn't help it. He stopped himself for a moment to pray and hope that what he heard wasn't what his son said, but he knew better than hope for something else.

 
 

Hyunsoo let out a very long sigh and replied in a low voice, "I'm getting bullied."

 

"Since when?" Chanyeol asked after a moment of silence. He could already feel his hands starting to sweat and his heart beginning to palpitate. This wasn't what he signed up for. He already went through hell with his failed relationship. Why did the heavens feel the need to punish his baby as well?

 

"Like two weeks ago."

 

"T-two weeks?!” Chanyeol closed his eyes and began to rub his eyelids, “Why didn't you tell me?" He said when he opened his eyes to look at his son.

 

"Because it's no big deal at all. I can handle it."

 

"Son, being bullied is not something you should have to go through. It's not something you handle by yourself, especially since it's been going on for two weeks. I'll have a talk with your teacher tomorrow."

 

"No! Daddy! Please don't. I promise I'll handle it tomorrow."

 

"Hyunsoo—"

 

"Daddy, please."

 

“Son, I can’t know about you getting bullied, and let it happen by not doing anything about it.”

 

“Daddy… please…” The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes was begging Chanyeol to not interfere, as if it’ll make things worse. Chanyeol knew he would regret it, but he didn’t want to disappoint his son.

 

"Fine, but if I see that you haven't handled tomorrow, then I'm going to talk to your teacher. Understood?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Good, now come here and give me a hug and then we'll go finish the last part of the movie before you go bed."

 

 

Hyunsoo got up and went straight into Chanyeol's opened arms. He buried his face in his dad's chest and it made Chanyeol even more protective of his son. He held onto Hyunsoo tightly and rubbed his head while he left a long lasting kiss to the top of his son's head, promising that things will get better.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

The next morning when Chanyeol dropped Hyunsoo off at school, usually he would wait in his car until he saw that his son has made it inside the school gate, but today, he decided to walk his son up to the gate. Once Chanyeol and Hyunsoo got to the gate, he gave his son a hug and a kiss on the head and reminded him to make sure he confronted his bully today—no fighting, but to stand up for himself.

 

When Hyunsoo confirmed that he was going to, he walked off with a wave to his dad. Chanyeol stood there and continued watching Hyunsoo as he walked towards the school’s main building. He was about to turn and walk back to his car when he saw Hyunsoo suddenly stopped walking and tensed up. He was about to yell out to his son, but then he saw Hyunsoo immediately sped-walk his way into the main building.

 

Chanyeol looked at the direction that Hyunsoo was looking at when he stopped and he saw a very small, tiny and very dainty man with an adorable little girl that probably got her appa’s genes because she was extremely petite as well.

 

Chanyeol thought he must have been hallucinating in thinking that Hyunsoo probably saw his bully because there was no way that adorable angel could be a bully. She looked up at—who he assumed was her appa—with the brightest and cutest eye smile. Then she gave him a big bear hug, waved at him and ran towards the school’s main building. He knew right then and there that she was not and could not be his son’s problem.

 

He scanned that area to look for a bigger kid, or someone who looked like he would be a bully but he couldn’t find any. After he saw that Hyunsoo had made it safely inside the building, he walked back out to his car.

 

 

 

❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

It was that afternoon and he found himself 20 minutes early in picking Hyunsoo up, but instead of taking his usual nap, he was anxious. He wanted to know who the person that was bullying Hyunsoo was and if his son had actually confronted the kid or told the teacher. He drove up to the pickup section and immediately had to slam on his break because some idiot decided to cut him off at the last second without even signaling or asking or waiting to get in.

 

He was going to honk at the dumb driver but decided not to disturb the school. Instead, he put the car and license plate number to memory and was waiting for the parent to get out of the car to see what type of person would be so rude.

 

When the first bell rang, Chanyeol got out of his car and as soon as he walked towards the fence, he saw the same car that cut him off. When the owner of the car opened the door and got out, he was surprised to see that it was the very same person he saw earlier that morning with the adorable little girl.

 

Chanyeol didn’t like the way the person was driving so he walked up to him and tapped him on his shoulder. When said person turned around, Chanyeol was met with a tiny face wearing sunglasses that were covering half of his face, pink glossy lips and a head full of ash blonde hair. He was about to comment on the sunglasses when the person narrow his head down a bit and pulled his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose so he could peek over the lens as if he was the most important person in the world.

 

 

“Can I help you?”

 

 

To say Chanyeol was momentarily stunned was a complete lie. This person was so beautiful: his eyes so bright and shiny, skin clear to perfection, glossy lips that were thin but so full, and voice like sweet honey. Chanyeol was captivated by this gorgeous man. Everything he wanted to say was stuck in his throat, until the beautiful man cut off his thoughts.

 

 

“I said, can I help you?”

 

 

The tone in his voice and the delivery of the message shook Chanyeol out of his reverie. His senses finally decided to come back to life and it was then that he realized the reason why he had gotten his attention in the first place.

 

 

“Next time, could you not be so rude and cut people off? That was dangerous. You could have caused an accident.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The honey-voiced man said while he pushed his sunglasses back up to the top of the bridge of his nose as he turned back around and began walking towards the fence.

 

“Excuse me, I was talking to you!” Chanyeol raised his voice a little higher.

 

 

When honey-voiced man continued walking, refusing to listen or even acknowledge his existence, Chanyeol felt even more frustrated.

 

Chanyeol wanted to continue confronting honey-voiced man and wanted an apology in the least, but as soon as he began running after the man, the bell rang.

 

He decided that it was best to leave the situation as it was and that his son was more important so he walked over to pick up his son. Yet what Chanyeol failed to realize was that the petite man’s daughter was in the same class as his son.

 

 

“So, did you confront your bully today?” Chanyeol asked as soon as they stepped into the house.

 

“No, I wasn’t bullied today.” Hyunsoo replied.

 

Chanyeol stopped walking and looked at his son as he took off his shoes. “Son, that doesn’t mean that you don’t confront them. Just because they didn’t bully you today doesn’t mean they didn’t before or they won’t next time.”

 

“I know, but there’s no point in starting a fight without reason.” Hyunsoo said cautiously.

 

 

Chanyeol was shocked to hear the way his six-year old was talking, handling the situation with utmost caution. At that moment, Chanyeol felt like he was setting a bad example for Hyunsoo and that was not something he was proud of.

 

 

“I’m sorry Hyunsoo. I just want to make sure that you won’t get bullied again. I just thought that the sooner you handle the bully, the sooner they’ll leave you alone.”

 

“Yeah, but some things... it’s better to wait for it to happen and then handle it.” Hyunsoo said with his eyes down-cast.

 

 

Hearing the words coming out of his son’s mouth, Chanyeol dropped the backpack and the satchel he was holding. He walked to his son and knelt down so he could hug his son close to his chest, fitting Hyunsoo’s head right into the space in his neck.

 

 

“I’m so sorry baby. I’m sorry you’re going through this, but I promise it’ll get better. I promise. Daddy promises.” Chanyeol held onto his son even tighter at the sound of his son’s sniffling.

 

 

Chanyeol was concerned when Hyunsoo said he didn’t want to go to the park to skateboard that evening. He thought that maybe Hyunsoo was feeling under the weather again, but when his son asked if they could go tomorrow, Chanyeol was relieved. Hyunsoo loved the skateboard that one of his Uncle Sehun had gifted him. Chanyeol’s best friend loved spoiling Hyunsoo.

 

That Friday night, both father and son ended up playing video games and eating snacks until 2am.

 

 

 

❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Saturday morning came and Chanyeol was excited for the planned day they had ahead of them. As soon as they finished eating breakfast, Chanyeol took Hyunsoo to the supermarket and purchased ingredients to make snacks for their outing at the park. Chanyeol wanted to spend quality time with his son and not have the easy way out. He was determined to be on full daddy mode: he wanted to be the one to give Hyunsoo the best time and be the dad that could make him laugh, smile, and be proud of.

 

With all the necessities packed in the back of the SUV, Chanyeol and Hyunsoo were making their way to the park, singing loudly to all of their favorite songs, and laughing at each other when one got the words wrong. Chanyeol was excited to see his baby back to his normal self.

 

After what had happened yesterday, Chanyeol wanted to break down, but seeing that his son was back to his normal and exciting self, Chanyeol let out a breath of relief and was happy to know that today was going to be a good day.

 

As soon as Chanyeol parked the car right in front of the skateboard area where the tables were, Hyunsoo unbuckled his seatbelt, jumped down from his car seat, grabbed his skateboard and open the door. Chanyeol chuckled at the eagerness of his son and knew how independent Hyunsoo was so he decided to let his son be and not reprimand him for going on without his dad.

 

 

“Come on daddy! Hurry up!” Hyunsoo said with full excitement, ready to make his time at the park worth it.

 

“I’m coming! I’m coming! Do you want to go ahead and skate first while I grab our stuff?” Chanyeol said as he knelt down to be eye-level with his son.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah, I can still see you from here so if anything goes wrong, just scream for me. I shouldn’t be that far behind you... Just gotta grab some stuff from the back.”

 

“Okay daddy!” Hyunsoo said excitedly. He gave Chanyeol a kiss on the lips before running off to the skateboard area.

 

 

Chanyeol couldn’t help but shake his head with a small laugh escaping his mouth.

 

Chanyeol was watching Hyunsoo riding his skateboard when he got a phone call from his secretary. He yelled out to Hyunsoo that he will be right back and made his way to the parking lot. Chanyeol knew he had upcoming deadlines and had a time sensitive schedule. With his back against the side of his car, he closed his eyes and rubbed the temples of his forehead, deciding to work overtime on Monday instead—Hyunsoo deserved his undivided attention, at least for today.

 

As he was walking towards the table, Chanyeol glanced up, but couldn’t find Hyunsoo at the skateboard park. Panicking, Chanyeol sped walked towards the area, that was, until he saw his son sitting at the table with his head down and legs swinging.

 

 

“Hey buddy, what’s up? Why aren’t you skating anymore?” Chanyeol asked, putting his hands on his son’s shoulder.

 

 

Hyunsoo looked up at his father and Chanyeol’s heart almost broke at the sight. His son looked at him solemnly, on the verge of tearing up but Chanyeol could see how much he was holding back.

 

 

“C-can we go home daddy?” Hyunsoo said brokenly.

 

“What’s the matter?” Chanyeol crouched down and patting his son on the head. “What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s just—”

 

“Ya! Park Hyunsoo!” Chanyeol and Hyunsoo whipped their head to the side towards the voice.

 

 

When the both of them saw the person who called his son’s name, Chanyeol could not believe what he saw. A little girl, no younger than his own son, stuck her tongue out at them. Not only that, but he recognized that face. She was the little girl he saw at the entrance of the school the other day. The little girl he thought was so innocent. Chanyeol looked back at his son, who had his head faced down again.

 

 

“Who was that?” Chanyeol asked. When he didn’t get a response, he looked back at the little girl, who was skipping her way around with her hair swinging back and forth, looking every bit of carefree and harmless.

 

“Do you have a crush on her?” Hyunsoo shooked his head.

 

Realizing the situation, Chanyeol grabbed his son’s face into his hands. He looked straight into his eyes before he asked the most dreaded question, “Hyunsoo, is that... your bully?”

 

 

When his son looked down, he got his answer. He closed his eyes to take in the revelation of everything. He didn’t know why but when he found out that his son was being bullied, it hit him like a train wreck. Not to mention, the fact his son was being bullied by such a small girl—a little ”innocent” angel— left him flabbergasted. He didn’t know what to make of the situation. All of his talks of telling his son to handle his bully and to confront his bully went over his head. There was absolutely no way his son could fight against this little girl.

 

Chanyeol was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted his son to handle the situation his own, but he knew it was impossible now that he knew the gender of his bully.

 

 

“Come on son, let’s go find her parents. I’m sure they’re here since she can’t be here alone.”

 

 

Chanyeol grabbed Hyunsoo’s hands and walked towards the little girl. When they reached her, she looked up at Chanyeol with big, round doe eyes that were so innocent that Chanyeol almost wanted to call Hyunsoo a liar. For a moment, Chanyeol thought it was impossible that the girl in front of him was his son’s bully, but then, he suddenly remembered the way she called Hyunsoo by his surname and then sticking her tongue out at him before running off and giggling. Chanyeol couldn’t let his eyes deceived him.

 

 

“Excuse me.” Chanyeol said.

 

“Hi.” She said with her angelic smile—a smile so innocent Chanyeol wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

 

“What is your name?” Chanyeol asked.

 

“And why would you like to know, Mr. Park?” The little one said as she smiled and batted her eyelashes at him.

 

Chanyeol chuckled, “ I just saw you sticking your tongue out at my son here. Do you have a problem with him?”

 

“Oh, you mean him?” She said as she pointed to his son. Chanyeol was certain this little girl had her personality from one of her parents. There was no way a kid should be able to act this way without the influence of her environment.

 

“As a matter of fact, yes. This little guy here is my son, and he has a name.”

 

“I know.” She sassed.

 

 

Chanyeol was speechless. What the hell was a little girl doing talking like this to an adult? Does she not know what manners were? How was she raised with such a nasty attitude?

 

 

“Are your parents here? I would like to have a talk with them please.”

 

“Sure, but I’m warning you right now. My appa will eat you alive.” She said with a smirk before skipping to the other side of the playground. This time, Chanyeol had no doubt that this little girl was the spawn of the devil—given the fact that her father was the jerk that cut him off with no guilty conscious.

 

 

The fact that this little girl was alone at the playground was shocking. Chanyeol would never let Hyunsoo play by himself; he always made sure to keep an eye on him every minute they were together.

 

Regardless if she was able to handle herself against any situation, he would never ever let his six-year old wander around on his own… and this little girl was doing just that! Chanyeol was never really one to judge, but he couldn’t resist the urge to find this girl’s parents and ask them if they were aware of the problem she was causing. He vaguely wondered if her parents knew that they were raising a bully.

 

 

“Appa!” The little girl yelled before running into a man’s arms.

 

“Aeri! What’s wrong baby? And who are these people?” That rude, annoyed and y tone was so familiar, Chanyeol could never forget it.

 

 

Chanyeol almost snickered to himself. Go figure—like father, like daughter. He knew it. The father of this little spawn of the devil was the devil himself.

 

 

“Excuse me, I am Park Chanyeol and this is my son Hyunsoo.” Chanyeol looked down at his son, who refused to even raise his head, standing behind his father’s leg instead.

 

“Good afternoon. And what are you doing following my daughter?” The devil said as he looked over his sunglasses, the same way he did the day before.

 

 

Chanyeol was dumbfounded, speechless and beyond shocked. He wanted to laugh because what the hell? He was coming to confront the parents of this little devil of the bullying that’s been going on but here this devil was, accusing him of being a child hunter?! Is this person serious?

 

 

“Look, I am in no way stalking your child and I would really appreciate it if you would stop speaking to me in that rude tone of yours,” Chanyeol sighed, getting progressively more irritated. “I am here to discuss the situation that has been going on between your daughter and my son.”

 

“What have your son been doing to my daughter? Has he been doing something to you that he shouldn’t have? Aeri, what did this little boy do to you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Let appa see.” Said devil turned to his daughter to examine every inch of her.

 

“No, he did not touch her nor has he ever done anything to her. The problem is with your daughter.” Chanyeol said sternly.

 

“Excuse me? The problem is with my daughter?!” The devil retorted in a dramatic and sarcastic tone. Then he had the nerve to laugh. “What kind of problem do you think my daughter has with your insignificant son?” The devil raised his eyebrow, challenging Chanyeol as if he didn’t just call his son insignificant.

 

“She has been bullying my son for the past couple of weeks. Maybe if you were more of a parent then you would know!” Chanyeol knew he was beginning to raise his voice, but tried to remain composed.

 

 

Suddenly, the devil stood up and marched right up to Chanyeol’s chin.

 

 

“Look here mister Park. I don’t know who the hell you think you are and what the hell you think you’re doing, but if you’re going to come here and accuse my precious daughter of being a bully, then I will tell you right now that you better get your facts straight before I straighten them out for you.” The little one threatened.

 

“Are you serious, right now? How can you deny that your daughter is bullying Hyunsoo when I just saw it with my own two eyes? Why do you think I came to talk to you in the first place?” Chanyeol said annoyingly. He almost wanted to pull his hair.

 

“Well…” The girl’s father narrowed his eyes. “Maybe your son should man up and defend himself. What? Baby boy can’t defend himself from a girl?” He paused, crouching down to meet Hyunsoo’s eyes. “Aww… do you need daddy to come to the rescue?”

 

 

That did it for Chanyeol. He was not a person of hostile confrontation, but this person had pushed every last button. Letting go of Hyunsoo’s hand, Chanyeol stepped forward, towering over the grown man in front of him.

 

 

“The way you’re letting your daughter run free on her own without any supervision at the playground indicates what type of person— no, what type of parent—you are. I almost feel sorry for your spouse with having to deal with someone like you. You should take up some parenting 101 lessons, maybe that will teach you a thing or two. I know a bad parent when I see one. Hell, I know an evil person when I see one. The way you act so damn entitled and arrogant. The way you cut me off and then acted as if you didn’t do it. The way you’re letting your daughter behave this like.” Chanyeol flailed his arms. Before anyone could speak or breathe, he turned to his son, “Come on Hyunsoo, let’s not waste our time or breath on them anymore.”

 

 

Having said what he had to say, both Chanyeol and Hyunsoo left quickly. He couldn’t manage standing there another second. In all his fury, Chanyeol was oblivious to the way the devil tensed up at the words that spilled from his mouth— how the devil stood frozen in his spot.

 

 

“Thank you, daddy.” Hyunsoo muttered quietly as they walked back towards their table.

 

“What are you thanking me for, buddy?” Chanyeol forced a smile, but he still couldn’t get over what had just happened.

 

“For standing up for me. I’m sorry Mr. Byun was being so mean.” Hyunsoo said as he squeezed his dad’s hand tighter with his head down. It completely broke his heart seeing the top of his son’s head.

 

 

Chanyeol stopped walking and knelt down in front of his son. He lifted his son’s face, hands cupping each cheek. The both of them just stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Chanyeol ran his thumb underneath his son’s eyes where the tears were threatening to fall.

 

 

“You don’t ever have to thank me for standing up for you. It is my job to make sure that you are okay and protected. You know that I will be the one to protect you.” Chanyeol ran his hand through his hair, growing frustrated. “Hyunsoo, daddy is so sorry. I couldn’t protect you from the bully at school, but this is a promise that from now on, I will do everything in my power to protect you. Okay?” Hyunsoo nodded in response.

 

 

Chanyeol pulled his son into a tight hug to let him know that no matter what happens, he would always be there.

 

 

“I love you, daddy.” Hyunsoo said against his dad’s chest.

 

“I love you too, buddy.” Chanyeol replied as he patted down his son’s hair.

 

 

The rest of Saturday was spent leisurely. Chanyeol and his son returned to their side of the playground so Hyunsoo could continue practicing his skateboard. Later, after eating lunch at the park, Hyunsoo decided that he wanted to go watch the new Star Wars movie. Chanyeol was relieved that the earlier interaction with Mr. Byun and his daughter didn’t ruin his son’s mood: Hyunsoo even went to so far as asking Chanyeol if they could get ice cream at his favorite place before heading home for his usual weekend nap.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Monday came around sooner than Chanyeol imagined. He was not ready for a busy week of work ahead of him, especially with Hyunsoo and his bully in the back of his mind. He wanted to walk his son all the way to his classroom when he dropped him off, but Hyunsoo reassured that he would be okay, especially after his dad stood up for him.

 

Walking back to his car, Chanyeol was too distracted that he didn’t notice a person standing in front of him. He walked straight into the person and by reflex, grabbed the person by the waist before they could fall.

 

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to push you! I wasn’t looking at where I was going— my sincerest apologies.” Chanyeol stuttered. He removed his hands from the person’s waist and bowed down, but when he looked back up, he was shocked.

 

“You!” That person yelled, pointing a finger at him. “I’ll call you back later. I have to deal with some idiot.” He said to the person on the the other end before hanging up and pocketing the device.

 

Chanyeol could only chuckle sarcastically, “What a coincidence.”

 

“Shut up! You did that on purpose, you imbecile!” The devil pointed his phone at Chanyeol.

 

“How old are you again? Who even calls someone an imbecile nowadays?” Chanyeol laughed, which only aggravated the other even more.

 

“Look here, Mister Park. I don’t know what your problem is but know this. I am going to sue you for purposely pushing me, inappropriately touching me, and ually harassing me!” The devil accused, pushing a finger right into his chest.

 

“What?! Are you kidding me?! It was an accident and I apologized! Had I not caught you, you would have fell. The least you could do is either accept my apology or thank me for saving you!” Chanyeol countered.

 

 

Chanyeol was so frustrated. He didn’t even know the name of this person and here he was accusing him harassing him?!

 

 

“Look, Mr…” Chanyeol started, trying very hard to stay calm and collected.

 

“Byun, Byun Baekhyun. Remember that name because you will hear from my lawyer!”

 

“You know what, I was trying to be nice and cordial, but it’s a given that I can’t communicate with an adult who continues to act like a little kid. Is this your way of compromising? Is this your way of talking to everyone? Do you talk to your spouse like this? How do they even deal with you?!”

 

“Don’t you dare bring my husband into this.” Baekhyun warned with gritted teeth.

 

 

For a fleeting moment, Chanyeol’s eyes widened, this Byun Baekhyun guy was gay, too? Chanyeol began to panic, he was losing his train of thought.

 

 

“W-Well, he must love you a lot to put up with you. You must have won the husband lottery or something. I’m trying very hard to be nice to you and apologize even though— even though I am the one who saved you but look how you’re treating me!”

 

“If you bring my  husband up one more time I swear to God I will beat the out of you.” Baekhyun threatened through clenched teeth.

 

 

Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun was getting more and more anxious with every mention of his husband. Perhaps he had found Mr. Byun’s weakest link.

 

 

“Why are you so sensitive when I bring up your husband? Aww… your husband isn’t here to defend his little prince?” Chanyeol mocked. Seeing the surprised face on Baekhyun, he knew he hit a nerve. Satisfaction began to creep on his face, as he continued. “That’s right. That’s exactly how I ing felt when you degraded my son. Karma’s a , Byun.” With that, Chanyeol walked away.

 

“Ya!” He heard Baekhyun yelled, but just like what happened to him last week, he walked away as if he didn’t hear the devil calling out for him.

 

 

Closing the door to his car felt so good that he couldn’t help but smile. Being able to give Baekhyun a taste of his own medicine was more than Chanyeol could ask for.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Chanyeol was pleased that he did not have anyone cutting him off when he picked Hyunsoo up from school that afternoon. Yet, for some reason, Chanyeol caught himself looking around for the devil’s father. He shook his head to keep himself from having those thoughts as he walked up to the fence.

 

Chanyeol noticed Aeri was sitting alone against the wall, playing with the little pink furry pom-pom bunny that was attached to her backpack.

 

He thought back to the first time he saw her when he thought she was the cutest, most innocent angel in existence (she was still cute but boy was he wrong about the innocent angel). How was it that such an adorable little girl could be a bully. Then he remembered the afternoon at the park and Chanyeol’s thoughts wandered to the little girl’s father again.

 

Seeing Aeri sitting there all alone began to concern Chanyeol—damn that parental instinct—as he vaguely wondered if Baekhyun was coming.

 

As Hyunsoo made his way towards the gates, Chanyeol felt the urge to ask his son about his situation with Aeri. However, upon noticing his son’s brighter attitude, Chanyeol figured that things must have been handled at the park the other day.

 

As Chanyeol and Hyunsoo were doing work in their shared office, an e-mail notification popped up on Chanyeol’s computer. He checked his e-mail and saw that Mrs. Smith had sent a mass email about a Parent-Teacher Conference that was scheduled for Thursday—all parents were encouraged to attend. Chanyeol immediately sent a reply to Mrs. Smith indicating his attendance and requested for a meeting after the conference to talk about the gifted screening and program.

 

Chanyeol looked over at his son and saw how concentrated he was on his homework and he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. Despite everyone’s doubts that he couldn’t raise a baby all on his own, Chanyeol was extremely proud of how far he had came, proving everyone wrong. Although, he may not be the perfect father, Chanyeol believed he did a damn good job raising his son.

 

Somehow, his thoughts ended up with Baekhyun and Aeri. He wondered how Baekhyun and his husband’s relationship were to raise an adorable girl to be such a strong character. He wondered if Baekhyun was this rude towards his husband as well, or if his personality was completely different. Chanyeol thought it may be safe to assume it was the former.

 

Realizing that his thoughts had strayed to a subject he didn’t want to think about—a forbidden subject he self-declared—Chanyeol shook his head and continued his work, excited about getting his son enrolled into the gifted program.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Thursday night, Chanyeol dropped Hyunsoo off at his parent’s house and drove straight to his son’s school. It was the day of the conference and he was excited to talk to Mrs. Smith about the gifted program. Chanyeol was worried about mingling with the parents of the other children. Being the CEO of his own company made him a prominent public figure in their little town; it also didn't help that the news that Kyungsoo left him and Hyunsoo spread like wildfire through the community. The gossip had left its mark on how the other adults perceived him and his son, and Chanyeol knew it, but he shrugged his shoulders, plastered on a smile, and entered the building.

 

Chanyeol stopped in the hallway and took a deep breath before he walked into his son’s classroom. As he entered the classroom and greeted the teacher, it was just like he predicted, everyone started to ask him personal questions—have you found anyone yet? how do you take care of your company and Hyunsoo at the same time? do you want me to set you up with one of my colleagues?—and so many other annoying questions that he honestly did not want to nor did he feel comfortable answering.

 

It was some time later when Baekhyun walked into the classroom that Chanyeol scoffed because who would show up an hour late to their own child’s Parent-Teacher Conference? Chanyeol quietly admonished Baekhyun and his lack of respect before he found himself standing just a few feet away from the two and eavesdropping on their conversation.

 

 

“Sorry I’m late again! Aeri didn’t want to go to her grandparents’ house. So I had to stay until I could find an opportunity to sneak out.” And then Baekhyun had the audacity to laugh!

 

“It’s okay Mr. Byun, you know we could always e-mail or talk over the phone if you can’t make it, I completely understand.” Chanyeol was surprised that Mrs. Smith was so understanding because he knew how strict she was when it came to the kids’ education.

 

“I didn’t want to cause any inconvenience to you again and it wouldn’t be fair to the other parents who came. Besides,” Baekhyun’s voice dropped to a whisper, “I wasn’t able to come the last two times and you even met me outside of work.” 

 

 

Chanyeol was confused. Couldn’t come and had to meet outside of work? Why didn’t Baekhyun’s spouse come as the parent? Why didn’t his spouse watch Aeri while he came instead?

 

 

“It’s okay, you’re here this time, but next time, please don’t feel obligated to come because I totally understand. Just let me know in advance and we’ll figure something out.” What the hell? Why was she even willing to go out of her way for Baekhyun. Why was he getting special treatment?

 

“Thank you so much for understanding, Nicole. You’re truly the best.”

 

 

Chanyeol was suspicious. Why was Baekhyun calling her by her first name. Were they dating? No, definitely not because Baekhyun mentioned that he had a husband and there was a ring on Mrs. Smith’s finger. Are they friends? Old classmates?

 

Throughout the entire conference, Chanyeol noticed that Baekhyun and “Nicole” had no other special interaction with each other. Admittedly, it was a bit weird, but Chanyeol wanted to know the relationship Mrs. Smith shared with Baekhyun that allowed them to be so informal with each other.

 

As the parents began leaving one by one, Chanyeol stayed back to talk to Mrs. Smith about getting Hyunsoo screened for the gifted program. Their conversation was lengthy, but Chanyeol thanked Mrs. Smith, grabbed the paperwork and pamphlets he received, and started making his way to the car. Just as Chanyeol was about to start the engine, he realized that he had forgotten his blazer inside of the classroom and needed to go back to retrieve it.

 

Chanyeol was walking towards the entrance when he saw Baekhyun walking. Just as he was about to say something, Baekhyun looked up and rolled his eyes at him. Offended, Chanyeol couldn’t help his mouth.

 

 

“What is your problem now? Teacher’s pet,” Chanyeol said sarcastically.

 

“No, what the is your problem? And teacher’s pet, really? Now you’re actually the 1st grader, right? Ah yes, you immature kid.”

 

“You were unprofessional and came late to a Parent-Teacher Conference. Who the hell shows up late to an event regarding their child’s education?” Chanyeol scoffed.

 

“I have my reasons so stop being an and mind your own damn business.”

 

“Reasons? Because your little baby princess didn’t want her appa to leave her? Why don’t you get your husband to watch their own child so you could show up on time? Better yet, why didn’t he show up instead? There is such a thing called compromise in relationships.” Chanyeol’s curiosity was getting the better of him.

 

“Shut the up, Park. You don’t know .” Baekhyun said as he walked away.

 

“Very immature,” Chanyeol emphasized. “Just walk away.”

 

 

He was about to turn and enter the building, but Baekhyun had stomped his way back towards him. Chanyeol tensed up when he heard the harsh breathing and saw the red, angry face Baekhyun was wearing, afraid he really was going to get beat up.

 

 

“I’m ing serious Park. If you don’t stop bringing my husband up…” But Baekhyun didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he stood still with hatred-filled eyes, breathing heavily for what felt like forever before he finally turned around and walked away without saying another word to Chanyeol. The taller could have sworn he saw Baekhyun’s eyes tear up before he left, but he knew that couldn’t have happened. A person like Baekhyun would never cry.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Chanyeol really didn’t feel like going to the park today. He had a lot of work to do, plus he was starting to feel light-headed. He almost told Hyunsoo to go another day, but when he saw his son hop down the stairs and run towards the garage door to grab his skateboard, Chanyeol knew he couldn’t take this time away from Hyunsoo. He just got off of learning how to ride the cruiser (skateboard for beginners) and he had just began practicing riding his skateboard.

 

Ignoring the incoming fever, Chanyeol took some medicine and made his way to the park with his son.

 

 

“Daddy! Watch this! Uncle Sehun taught me this!” Hyunsoo yelled from the top of the ramp he was on.

 

“Be careful!” Chanyeol yelled back, feeling his head get dizzy.

 

 

Chanyeol shook his head, convinced that it was only a headache, and turned his attention to his son. While Hyunsoo was doing his safe stunts, Chanyeol closed his eyes a bit in hopes to ease the pain.

 

When he felt slightly better, he opened his eyes and watched his son practice diligently.

 

It became a tradition that every time Chanyeol and Hyunsoo were at the park, they would visit the small ice cream shack, tucked away in the corner behind one of the indoor recreation center. However, they weren’t able to visit last time because of the altercations between Chanyeol and the devil. Chanyeol was waiting for Hyunsoo to finish his practice session before the little one got tired. As soon as he walked up to his father, Chanyeol laughed because he saw it coming.

 

 

“Ready for ice cream, daddy?” Hyunsoo asked with glistening eyes.

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Chanyeol replied to his son, trying very hard to hide the fact that the heat was killing him, making his headache more prominent. He didn’t want to sacrifice Hyunsoo’s park time just because of a measly headache.

 

 

Hyunsoo smiled, the toothiness resembling his dad’s own smile, before jumping on his skateboard to get to the ice cream shack.

 

 

“Last one’s the rotten egg daddy!” Hyunsoo yelled back, earning a headshake and a chuckle from his dad.

 

“I have long legs you know I can beat you any day!” Chanyeol yelled in return as he began taking bigger steps.

 

“You wish, old man! You are too slow!” The little one yelled in victory as he made it to the shack before his dad did.

 

“Since I won, you’re paying for ice cream!” Hyunsoo declared as his dad walked into the shack, Hyunsoo already ordering his own.

 

 

With an ice cream in each hand, Chanyeol and Hyunsoo left the shack and started to walk back towards the bench Chanyeol was sitting at earlier. Both father and son sat down and enjoyed the beautiful spring view and weather.

 

 

“So, how’s school been? Has the little devil been bothering you?” Chanyeol asked, still concerned over the bullying situation and afraid that it had gotten worse.

 

“Not really.” Hyunsoo said as he ate his ice cream, swinging his legs. They were so short that they didn’t touch the ground. Chanyeol let out a breath of relief. “But Daddy...”

 

 

Chanyeol hummed a noise of approval, encouraging his son to continue.

 

 

“Aeri has been looking a little sad these days.” Hyunsoo said.

 

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol stopped eating his ice cream cone to look down at his son.

 

 

Even though the little spawn of the devil and the devil himself irked him, he was a father himself, and he didn’t like it when his son was sad. He couldn’t imagine how the strong-personality-ed devil could be sad.

 

 

“I don’t know.” Hyunsoo twiddled his thumbs. “She used to walk around and smile and laugh even if she was by herself, but now she just sits in the corner and holds onto one of her doll keychain. She rarely ever smiles now.”

 

 

Chanyeol didn’t know why but hearing that pained him. Perhaps Baekhyun was going through a hard time, or maybe Baekhyun just wasn’t being there for Aeri. He knew parents can get so busy that they’ll accidentally neglect their kids and for a person like Baekhyun, he wouldn’t doubt it if that was what happened. Which was also weird because he also had a husband. Unless they were having marital problems; but then Aeri would be too young to understand, right?

 

 

“Do you think something happened at home?” Chanyeol questioned.

 

“I don’t know really… but it makes me sad.” Hyunsoo replied. He continued eating his ice cream, ignoring the fact that his father was shocked at what he shared. Sometimes, Chanyeol questioned if Hyunsoo was really an old man stuck in a kid’s body because his son was too mature for his age.

 

 

Suddenly, they heard a small voice singing and both father and son looked up to see Aeri walking along the edges of the grass and holding onto the keychain his son mentioned. He wasn’t even surprised at the coincidence anymore. Before all of the bullying happened he never noticed the others at the park, but now he couldn’t help but laugh at these coincidences because it seemed like they were always at the park on the same day, at the same time.

 

He looked down at his son to gauge his reaction and he could see Hyunsoo not affected at all. His son continuing eating his ice cream, watching Aeri as she walked through the grass with one foot ahead of the other, as she tried to keep her balance on the ledge.

 

 

“These days, she always looks like she’s going to cry. It makes me kind of happy to not see her like that.” Hyunsoo said as he looked up at his father.

 

“Do you like her?” Chanyeol questioned absentmindedly.

 

“No!” Hyunsoo said in defense.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I’m sure dad. I just want to make sure she’s happy. I know she bullied me but I’m not mad anymore. I think everyone should always be happy, even bullies.” Hyunsoo smiled at his father, reminding him of how much he’s accomplished at bringing up his son all on his own.

 

 

Chanyeol smiled and ruffled his son’s hair; both of them were enjoying their time until they heard a yelp and a little girl crying. Both father and son looked up to see Aeri on the ground, holding onto her left knee and crying. With his heightened “father instinct,” Chanyeol ran over to Aeri.

 

 

“Aeri!” Chanyeol heard a scream from behind him and it was only then that Chanyeol realized that her own father wasn’t far behind. He had been sitting on the swing talking on the phone.

 

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked as he got to Aeri and crouched down to examine her injury. Since he got there before Baekhyun did, he had to take initiative, especially after seeing how Baekhyun was close to freaking out.

 

“N-no…” She sniffled, “It hurts…” Streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.

 

“Move away, Park!” He yelled as he pushed the taller man away before turning to his daughter, “B-baby, appa is so sorry… oh-oh my god, you’re b-b-bleeding. Oh my god. A-Aeri… Oh my god!” Baekhyun was on the verge of having a breakdown and Chanyeol couldn’t have that right now. Even though it was just a scrape, one wrong move will cause Aeri to go into another fit of distress.

 

“She’s gonna be okay. I’ll be right back. Hyunsoo, keep an eye on Baekhyun and make sure he doesn’t freak out, I’ll run to the car and get the first-aid kit. I parked in the front so you guys can still see me. Scream if anything happens okay?” Chanyeol warned Hyunsoo. After he got a nod from his son, he frantically ran straight for his car.

 

 

“Be careful next time, Aeri.” Hyunsoo said with care.

 

 

But of course, like appa like daughter, both Baekhyun and Aeri glared at Hyunsoo.

 

 

“N-no, I mean… you should be careful so you don’t hurt yourself again.” Hyunsoo clarified, just as his dad came back.

 

 

Chanyeol pushed Baekhyun, who was still hovered over his daughter and inspecting her injury, out of the way.

 

 

“Excuse you! What do you think you’re going?! Don’t touch her!” Baekhyun yelled as he saw Chanyeol grabbing onto Aeri’s shin. “I said stop touching her, you ert!”

 

Ignoring Baekhyun’s incessant insults and screams, Chanyeol straightened out Aeri’s leg, then bent it. He was no doctor, but he knew enough to tell that she hadn’t broken her leg. Chanyeol grabbed the antiseptic and once Baekhyun saw what Chanyeol was doing and what he actually had with him, he spluttered a very quiet “O-oh...”

 

 

Chanyeol continued to ignore Baekhyun as he wiped the dried blood from her knees, sprayed her injury with the antiseptic, grabbed a gauze and patted it a bit before putting a band-aid over her scrape. He smiled up at her.

 

 

“There you go. All better.” He smiled at the little girl, then looked over at her dad and gave him a look of disapproval. “You’re welcome.”

 

“E-excuse me?” Baekhyun spluttered.

 

“The least you could have done was thank me,” Chanyeol paused. “You still haven’t apologized for insulting me and calling me all of those names.”

 

“Excuse me, but I did not insult you and you would have reacted the same way! So don’t act like you’re all high and mighty like you’re some kind of hero!”

 

 

Being so close to the devil and seeing his angry face with dried tears, Chanyeol couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh. He shook his head. There was no denying that Baekhyun was very beautiful, but his attitude, goddamn, Chanyeol couldn’t stand his attitude.

 

 

"You know, for such a small body, you have such a big attitude." Chanyeol said as he gathered the trash and stood up to throw it away.

 

"W-what did you say?” Baekhyun retorted, getting up as well and following Chanyeol to the trashcan.

 

“You heard what I said.”

 

“W-well. W-With such a big head, you have such a small brain!" Baekhyun tried to fight back, which was only met with a laugh from the other male.

 

 

Once Chanyeol threw away the trash, he turned around and stopped so the two of them were facing each other.

 

 

"I’m not denying that you aren’t beautiful, but with such a beautiful face, you have the ugliest mouth."

 

“Are you mocking me?” Baekhyun asked, hands on his hips and eyebrows furrowed up at the giant.

 

 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and was about to walk back… until Baekhyun retaliated.

 

 

"With such a handsome face, you have such an ugly… an ugly personality!"

 

 

The argument—were they compliments? or insults?—continued. Both of them were so engrossed in their banter that they failed to keep an eye on their kids.

 

Hyunsoo stretched out his hand towards the little girl. She glanced at it; hesitation flickered through her eyes. Hyunsoo could tell she was holding back because of her pride.

 

 

“Come on, I know something that will cheer you up.” Hyunsoo said with a smile.

 

“What?” Aeri replied, all venom erased from her tone.

 

“I won’t tell you! If you want to know, come on.”

 

 

Aeri reached for Hyunsoo’s outstretched hand and he carefully helped her up. They looked up at their parents who were still arguing and Hyunsoo shook his head. He knew he shouldn’t do this, but it didn’t seem like the grown-ups were going to stop arguing anytime soon.

 

 

“Let’s go. It’ll be a while before they stop.” Hyunsoo said as he lead Aeri to his secret ice cream place.

 

“Oh my god! How did you know about this place?” Aeri said excitedly, trying to pick up her pace. Hyunsoo held her back though, worried that she would strain her knee.

 

“It’s my secret place. My dad and I come whenever we’re here. A lot of people don’t know about it because it’s hiding behind that big building,” Hyunsoo said as he opened the door to the ice cream shack for Aeri.

 

“Hyunsoo! Back again? Where’s your dad? Oh! Hello little one. What’s your name?” The worker asked Aeri.

 

“Hi noona, my dad is outside with Aeri’s appa. Noona, this is Aeri, she’s my classmate and my friend. Aeri, this is Yoonmi noona.” Hyunsoo said, smiling up at the cashier and then looked over at Aeri to see her standing frozen.

 

“Hello Aeri. Such a pretty name for a pretty girl. What can I get for you today?”

 

“Noona, she hurt herself and I wanted to cheer her up. Can you make her a very special one?” Hyunsoo asked.

 

“Of course! Choose anything you want, Aeri! I’ll make you the best mashed ice cream you’ve ever had!”

 

“Strawberry shortcake, please! Can I please get extra cake too? It’s so yummy!” Aeri said with excitement, already her lips.

 

“Of course you can! You can get anything you want. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll have it ready for you over there, okay?” The worker said as he pointed at the end of the counter where the cash register was.

 

“Hyunsoo, I need to go ask appa for some money.” Aeri turned and said to Hyunsoo-

 

“I told you I was going to cheer you up so I’m paying for it. This is my treat.” Hyunsoo said, his tiny little fingers taking out his small wallet.

 

“Why do you have money? My appa doesn’t let me touch money. He said money is dirty and kids shouldn’t touch it.” Aeri said with a pout, wondering if her appa had been lying to her this whole time.

 

“My dad gives me money when I do good in school and when I do chores around the house. I told him I want to be just like him when I grow up, so he taught me how to earn my own money,” Hyunsoo said proudly.

 

“Wow. Your dad is so cool.” She replied sadly.

 

“What’s wrong?” Hyunsoo asked worriedly, sensing the change in her tone.

 

“N-nothing.” Aeri said as she walked away when the worker called for them to pick up Aeri’s ice cream.

 

“How much is it, noona?” Hyunsoo asked, one hand holding his wallet open and the other hand ready to pay.

 

“It’s on me today, kiddo. Are you sure you don’t want any for yourself?”

 

“I’ve already had one today, and daddy won’t be too happy if he knows I went without him.” Hyunsoo said with a laugh.

 

 

The kids went to a table in the corner and decided that they would just sit for a bit while Aeri eats her ice cream.

 

 

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.” Aeri said all of a sudden.

 

“Huh?” Hyunsoo looked up, shocked.

 

“Thank you for taking care of me today, and I am very sorry for always being mean to you,” Aeri said sadly, putting her ice cream down.

 

“It’s okay, you’re not acting mean anymore so it’s okay. Are you okay? You look sad a lot now.” Hyunsoo asked.

 

“I am sad…” Aeri said gloomily.

 

“Why?”

 

“I don’t have any friends… I want friends too…”

 

“You can make friends.”

 

“No one wants to play with me. My appa is so scared that I will be taken away from him like how my daddy was taken away… He scared everyone away from me in preschool and kindergarten so I think no one wants to play with me anymore. I was mean because I thought no one wanted to be my friend so I had to show people that I am strong, but I’m sad, I want friends. It’s so lonely playing by myself… and the other kids always laugh at me.” Aeri said dejectedly.

 

“I will protect you from now on! I’ll be your big brother and best friend!” Hyunsoo said, offering his pinky finger towards Aeri. “I promise.”

 

 

Aeri linked their pinkies. “You’re my big brother from now on and if you don’t protect me, I will tell my appa and your daddy!” She giggled when he nodded.

 

 

“Come on, my little sister!” Hyunsoo said, knowing it was time for them to leave. He knew their parents will really get angry at them for leaving without permission.

 

 

The two of them were walking out of the building when they knew they were in deep, deep trouble. Hyunsoo looked up and saw a frantic Baekhyun running towards them with his father in tow.

 

 

“Aeri! Oh my god! Where did you go?! Why did you leave? What were you thinking?! Do you know how scared I was?” Baekhyun was hyperventilating. Aeri looked like she was on the verge of crying.

 

“Calm down Byun, freaking out will only cause her to be more distress.”

 

“Shut up, Park. Just because I complimented you earlier doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do,” Byun said defensively.

 

“Whatever.” Chanyeol turned to his son. “Ready to go?” He said, while rubbing his eyes, a gesture Hyunsoo knew very well.

 

“Daddy, are you okay?” At the question and worried tone, Baekhyun and Aeri both looked up at the giant.

 

“Hm? Oh, yeah I’m fine. Just a little headache. The medicine I took earlier doesn’t seem to be  helping. Either that, or someone is making it worse.” Chanyeol looked over at Baekhyun.

 

 

Baekhyun looked up at the tall man with an annoyed expression plastered on his face. Baekhyun was about to say something, but was interrupted by Hyunsoo.

 

 

“Ready to go?” Chanyeol reached over and ruffled Hyunsoo’s hair.

 

“Yes sir! Bye Aeri! See you at school on Monday!” Hyunsoo waved.

 

“Bye Hyunsoo!” Aeri yelled in return. The kids’ friendliness towards each other shocked both of their parents, who stopped to looked at the kids waving to each other and then at one another with both of their eyes mirroring each other.

 

 

 

❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Chanyeol felt like this entire week had flown by too quickly—he saw a particular face far more times in a span of a week than he had expected or wanted to.

 

For the past week, he was having mixed emotions on the situation at hand. Chanyeol was extremely happy that his son was being so open and friendly with another child—his bully nonetheless. He was extremely grateful: At least his baby wasn’t getting bullied anymore.

 

On the other hand, Chanyeol knew he would have to start getting used to seeing the little spawn’s parent. They have already had to spend time together at the park because of their kids. Twice. On Monday, both parents refused to acknowledge each other, opting to sit on opposite ends of the playground. They sat as far away from each other as they could while still being able to keep an eye out for their kids.

 

When Hyunsoo called for Chanyeol to come to him, he didn’t hesitate to come. However, when Aeri called Baekhyun to come as well, Baekhyun shook his head and told her he’ll watch from his spot on the bench.

 

Chanyeol knew, he just knew it was because he was there, given the fact that Baekhyun had stood up but stopped when he saw Chanyeol getting up as well.

 

Childish. Chanyeol thought.

 

It was a wonder that Aeri was able to change so much in such a short amount of time. Chanyeol was glad that his son could make a difference in someone’s life, but he didn’t think the devil could ever be changed.

 

For the next hour at the playground, Chanyeol made sure to avoid the devil, just as the devil was avoiding him.

 

The next day at the park, the kids made their parents sit with them while they took turns and played with Hyunsoo’s new iPad. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol kept stealing glances at each other, though neither realized what the other was doing.

 

Now that he was finally able to see Chanyeol up-close, Baekhyun could definitely tell where Hyunsoo got his looks. When he realized what he was thinking, he turned to the tall man—who was showing the kids something on the iPad—and made a disgusted face because ugh why are all of the good-looking ones such s.

 

Not wanting to dwell on these thoughts any longer, Baekhyun decided to distract himself with his phone, responding to e-mails and text messages that he wasn’t able to look at earlier.

 

 

“I know the kids are busy with the iPad, but you should enjoy time with them too,” Chanyeol voiced.

 

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun responded, appalled at the words directed at him.

 

“Nothing, never mind.” The taller said with a roll of his eyes.

 

 

Baekhyun wanted to retaliate, but for the sake of the kids that sat in between them, he decided it was best not to say anything. Once Baekhyun got started, he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop. It was bad enough that Aeri had scolded him about being mean to her “brother’s daddy”, the name which made him internally vomit. They left the playground that day without saying a word to each other.

 

Chanyeol wanted to apologize for attacking Baekhyun, but he knew that children are influenced by the environment they’re raised in. He only allowed Hyunsoo to play on the iPad for two hours a day on weekdays.

 

Seeing Baekhyun casually on his phone made Chanyeol’s blood boil. He didn’t want to teach the kids that it was okay to be on their electronics whenever they wanted to. It was bad enough that Baekhyun was on the phone when Aeri fell and hurt herself. Had he not been on his phone, maybe he would have been able to react fast enough so Aeri wouldn’t have hurt herself.

 

But on this one particular day, Chanyeol felt like the world, the gods, and everyone else in the entire universe was against him.

 

Hyunsoo's school had an annual fundraiser. Most of the teachers never really encouraged parents to participate; however, Mrs. Smith was different. She had sent the kids home with a flyer earlier that week, strongly urging all parents to take part in the event. With the bake sale she was organizing, and had scheduled a meeting this Thursday for all parents who wished to be a part of it.

 

One of the promises that Chanyeol made to Hyunsoo was participating in most (if not all) of the events Hyunsoo’s school and class held. Chanyeol had immediately signed himself up for the event, notifying Mrs. Smith that he would be more than happy to help.

 

Come Thursday, the meeting had a decent turnout of more than half the parents: of course, this included Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

 

 

“What are you doing here?” Baekhyun sneered as soon as he caught sight of the tall man, making sure that no one else heard his spiteful tone.

 

“Can’t I help my son’s school without you attacking me? Give me a break, would you?” Chanyeol replied as he rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide his distaste for the devil.

 

 

What would have escalated into a heated and petty argument was quickly stopped by Mrs. Smith as she appeared looking pleased by the attendance. She was wearing a bright smile on her face as she greeted them all and thanked them for taking the time out to come.

 

She then went on to explain why this event was so important in regards to their children’s education and addressed other formalities that didn’t necessarily catch Baekhyun’s attention until she mentioned that she wanted the parents to pair up.

 

 

“To make it easier for you all, I thought it would be a good idea to pair you all up. I hope you don’t have any problem with that.” Smiling, she grabbed a small fish bowl from her desk containing little scraps of paper with their children’s names and handed it to the closest parent, the bowl travelling along in a line, revealing the partners for each adult.

 

 

Chanyeol, for the most part, wasn’t worried. He, being the polite and friendly man he was, got along with all the other parents. But there was always an exception…

 

Baekhyun looked nervous as the bowl was passed further along and neither his nor Chanyeol’s children’s names were picked out. He was willing to work with anyone, even Satan himself, than Chanyeol.

 

My luck can’t be this bad, it can’t. Baekhyun thought when it was Chanyeol’s turn. There was only one tiny scrap of paper left in the bowl. It didn’t need to be unfolded to know whose it was.

 

 

“Aeri,” He revealed, holding it up for Mrs. Smith who looked excited with the pairings, completely oblivious to the looks of utter annoyance of the last pair.

 

 

The young teacher jotted down all the pairs and what they planned on making. She was able to make her way around the room quickly. However, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were not as easy to talk with.

 

 

“So, Mr. Park and Mr. Byun, what did you two have in mind? So far we have brownies, snickerdoodles, and even a pie!”

 

“Uh… actually… Mrs. Smith, do you think it’s possible that… I don’t know… I could bring something by myself?” Baekhyun pondered with an uneasy smile, getting a confused look from the young woman and a roll of the eyes from Chanyeol. “It’s just that... I’m rather busy and I don’t think I’d have time to collaborate with… Mr. Park… but I’d still love to help out any way I can,” He tensely explained, barely able to call Chanyeol “Mr.” without gagging.

 

 

His request threw the teacher off, but Chanyeol could tell she was going to agree. He didn’t want to see Mrs. Smith’s best efforts all be in vain thanks to Baekhyun’s pettiness.

 

 

“You know what, Mr. Byun? I’m sure Mrs. Smith here has been planning the details of the fundraiser as best she could. Let’s not cause her any trouble. We’ll work something out to fit your schedule, which I don’t doubt is incredibly busy.” He turned to look at the teacher. “I’m sorry about that, Mrs. Smith, please sign us up for cookies and brownies duty.”

 

 

The sarcasm in his voice made Baekhyun squint his eyes at him, but seeing the bright smile back on Mrs. Smith’s face indicated he had no way out. Baekhyun walked away and whispered a ‘Thanks, you ’ to the other.

 

After the meeting was adjourned and the parents were allowed to leave, Baekhyun couldn’t help but draw a line between with them. He wasn’t going to put down his pride or dignity for the damn .

 

 

“Park!” He called out as he saw the man walking towards his car.

 

“What do you want?” Chanyeol answered as he turned around and leaned against his car. Baekhyun had to try very hard not to look at the flexed arms.

 

“Look, I really don’t have time to work together tonight or tomorrow morning so why don’t you bring what you want to bring, and I will bring what I want to bring. Both of our schedules—“

 

“Fine.” Chanyeol cut him off.

 

 

Baekhyun was stunned. He didn’t think Chanyeol would agree that quickly, but then again, of course he wasn’t going to complain.

 

 

“Bring your best desert and I will bring my best desert.” Chanyeol challenged.

 

“I am and I will. It’ll be so good you’ll regret ever bringing whatever it is that you’re going to bring, which I’m sure won’t be good anyway.” Baekhyun sassed.

 

Chanyeol could only laugh. “We’ll see Byun, we’ll see.” He said before he went inside his car and drove off.

  
The next day, when it was time for the parents to show up around noon to set up for the afternoon bake sale, Chanyeol made sure to come a little extra early. Being a business owner, he had a certain way he handled scheduled appointments: being early was one of them.

 

 

As Chanyeol approached the 1^st grade area, he was surprised to see Baekhyun already there, setting up what looked like typical sugar cookies.

 

 

“Really? You don’t allow Aeri to have ice cream, but you’re serving sugar cookies? What are these? Artificial sugar? Non-sweet sugar?” Chanyeol laughed.

 

“Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Park.” Baekhyun replied with clenched teeth, not even attempting to look up and continued to set up his individually packed cookies in neat lines.

 

 

Chanyeol walked around the table and took out his packed tupperware. From the corner of his eye, he could tell Baekhyun was trying to see what it was that he had brought. He wanted to laugh, but he knew he had to show his professional side and act as if he didn’t notice Baekhyun’s curiosity. So instead, he proceeded to remove the lid of the container and take out all of the individually wrapped brownies.  He was in the midst of lining up the brownies neatly when he heard a snicker. He looked to his left and saw the devil trying hard not to laugh.

 

He ignored the little snicker that was thrown at him and decided that he was going to be the bigger person out of the two. There was no way a devil would ever be tamed anyway.

 

Before they knew it, the bake sale had started. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were too engrossed in selling their own snacks that they didn’t exchange a word with one another. By the end of the bake sale, they came to realize that it was a complete success. All of the cookies and brownies were sold and there were even people who came back for more and were disappointed to find out that there were none left. Mrs. Smith was extremely proud and did not hesitate to boast that the first set of parents who sold out of their goodies were from her class. Even Aeri and Hyunsoo ran up to their parents and gave them a hug and pat on the back.

 

 

“You two are an unbeatable pair! Boy, am I glad that you two were partners! I think I’ll keep you both as a pair from now on!” Mrs. Smith said before she walked away, not giving the duo a chance to refute her idea.

 

“You know it was my cookies that made everyone come back for more.” Baekhyun sassed again, hands on his hips with smirk.

 

“Oh please, Byun. Well if your cookies are what made them come back for more, you know my brownies were the reason why everyone flocked our tables. After all, my brownies did sell out before yours,” Chanyeol shot back.

 

“I’ll have you know that my cookies are the bomb. They are in very high demand.”

 

“Nah, I think my brownies are more bomb than yours, Byun. Your cookies looked mediocre. I mean, seriously? Anyone can go to the market, buy the already-made and packed cookies, sprinkle a little sugar on there, and call it their own,” Chanyeol said as he leaned his hand on the table, the other hand on his hip.

 

Baekhyun gasped, “How dare you! You know what? I’m sure your brownies tasted like what they look like… . I can make my tiramisu with my eyes closed and it’ll probably still taste better than your .”

 

“You mean your tirami? Yeah, I bet they taste like they sound. And while you are sure, I am positive my carrot souffle tops everything.”

 

“Whatever Park. I am 100% sure all of your stupid pastries look and taste like ! I can do better than that stuff you brought called brownies.”

 

“Okay, but too bad you didn’t. Let’s not forget, my brownies sold out before your cookies did. Your cookies may have tasted good, but they weren’t in perfect circles, the colors were not consistent, and even the sugar sprinkles were a mess,” Chanyeol said as he stood up straight.

 

“Shut up. I was half asleep while I baked these and even if I was, they still came out perfect and tasted wonderful.” Baekhyun said.

 

“That’s dangerous, Byun.” Chanyeol voiced in concern as he stood up straight.

 

 

Baekhyun thought maybe this did have some humanity in him. He was beginning to feel a little flustered because he hadn’t thought about the dangerous aspect of—

 

 

“What if you didn’t know what you were doing and poisoned the kids?” Chanyeol drawled, snickering afterwards to himself.

 

 

Or maybe ing not.

 

I hate him.

 

Baekhyun hurried and packed his empty tupperware, put it in his bag, and walked away in angry and heavy steps. He didn’t even stop when Chanyeol called out his name. Whatever he wanted to say, Baekhyun didn’t give a . He needed to get away or else a fight would break out.

 

Due to the fundraising event, school was let out early after the second break. When Chanyeol went to pick Hyunsoo up from the playground so they could leave, he had a feeling something was up; his son was laughing and nodding his head at the little spawn before waving to her and then walking towards him.

 

Taking the backpack from his son, he asked the usual questions about school and what his son wanted to do, and when Hyunsoo answered, he should have known his son wanted to go to the park again.

 

It was Friday and the third time this week Hyunsoo had asked Chanyeol if they could go to the park for a bit before heading home, with promises that he had already finished most of his homework earlier in class.

 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring his son, he very much wanted to because he had never seen his son this active, happy, hyper, energetic. He had never to go somewhere or do something this much before, not even with his skateboard, and he absolutely loved his skateboard. Trying to strike up a small conversation on the way to their car, Chanyeol wanted to know the reason why his son and his ex-bully-turned-best-friend wanted to go to the park again. On Monday, it was to show her his skateboard. On Tuesday, it was to show Aeri his new iPad. And today, well, Chanyeol couldn’t imagine why.

 

 

“Hyunsoo, you see Aeri everyday at school. What else is there for you two to do at the playground? Why do you want to go again?”

 

“It’s the weekend, daddy.” Hyunsoo shrugged as he gave his dad the very vague answer.

 

 

When the two of them arrived at the playground, Hyunsoo immediately ran for ‘our spot’ (they dubbed the area under the tree as the HyunAeri spot) as he ‘raced’ with the spawn, and hearing the laughter of both of the kids made his heart flutter a bit. Chanyeol absolutely loved it.

 

Chanyeol didn’t particularly like his son keeping secrets from him (call him childish but he was slightly—though he won’t admit it—jealous of the adorable spawn) because his son always shared everything with his dad. This entire week though, he has been ‘Aeri, Aeri, Aeri’ and he wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t slightly hurt.

 

He had to laugh at himself sadly though because seriously, why was a grown adult man getting jealous over his six-year old son and his classmate. He chuckled to himself with a headshake, not being able to believe the situation he put himself in.

 

 

“Weirdo.” He heard the very familiar voice behind him say, but he resisted the urge to shoot a returning insult; he ignored the devil and continued walking to the kids.

 

 

Both of the parents ended up sitting on the same bench, each at opposite ends, not wanting to sit close to each other at all, especially not after the petty argument they had at the bake sale. They sat in silent for the most part, both finding entertainment in their phones and talking to the kids when they came by for sips of their drinks or a bite of their snacks.

 

 

“You know, you should try to be a little nicer to me,” Chanyeol stated.

 

Baekhyun let out a scoff, “Me? Be nice to you? And why should I? You attacked me first, you assaulted me—which I am still very much going to sue you for—and you even… ugh you’re so childish.”

 

“Says the one who argues with me over everything.”

 

 

Baekhyun took a few breaths with his eyes closed before he opened them again and when he was about to say something—

 

 

“Daddy! Mr. Byun! Can we go get some ice cream?” Hyunsoo asked politely, as he walked towards them. The boy never stopped surprising Baekhyun with his manners.

 

“Yes, we can buddy, are you kiddos ready?” Chanyeol asked as he got up and put his phone back in his pockets, putting his hand out for Hyunsoo to grab.

 

 

When the four of them reached the ice cream shop, Aeri immediately ordered the same thing she ordered the last time she and Hyunsoo were there. Chanyeol and Hyunsoo both got two scoops on a cone and Baekhyun… well, he didn’t order anything. Chanyeol knew it was because he didn’t want to have him pay for his ice cream. Whatever floats your boat, devil.

 

Aeri couldn’t stop raving about how much she missed eating the ice cream, how much she loved it and how much she craved for it. When Hyunsoo asked her when was the last time she had ice cream and she answered “Last week when you took me,” Chanyeol immediately was thrown off.

 

 

“Why don’t you eat ice cream when you want to?” Hyunsoo asked.

 

“Because appa said it’s not good to eat too much of it. Too much sugar is bad for me,” Aeri said as she scarfed down a spoon full of the ice cream.

 

“Yeah, but you don’t seem like you eat it too often.” Chanyeol mentioned.

 

“I don’t.…”

 

“What kind of parent would deprive their kids of ice cream?” He laughed at his joke as he turned to Baekhyun, who was sitting across from him. “I mean, granted she shouldn’t eat too much, but come on Byun, live a little. She’s a kid. Kids love ice cream.” He shook his head as he continued eating his own ice cream and talking to the kids, not realizing that his words were like venom to devil.

 

“Yeah, well I’m looking out for my daughter. At least she won’t grow up with diabetes.” Baekhyun finally responded.

 

“Who said ice cream is the only thing on Hyunsoo’s menu?” Chanyeol defended.

 

“Well, you make it seem like I’m punishing my daughter because I don’t give her enough ice cream.”

 

“No, that’s not what I said Byun, stop putting words in my mouth. All I said was that it wouldn't hurt for her to be allowed to eat a little more ice cream. I bet you don’t even have any ice cream in the freezer at home.”

 

“We don’t!” Aeri yelled. “Appa said he doesn’t want to see it because that if I can’t have any, he can’t either. It’ll make him want some.” She finished sadly.

 

“Well, that’s a shame.” Chanyeol mocked. When he looked up, he saw the angry look on the devil’s face. He waited for a verbal attack but was surprised when nothing came out.

 

“Appa is just worried about my health, I guess.…”

 

“Come on Aeri, we have to go... Halmum is waiting for us.” Baekhyun said with annoyance and anger seeping through every word and action as he gathered her stuff before getting up.

 

 

Chanyeol was left speechless but was broken out of his reverie when Hyunsoo walked back to their table and asked if he was ready to leave.

 

He left the ice cream shop feeling a bit guilty but he still felt like he had to defend the honor of ice cream for Aeri. No one should be deprived of ice cream, no one, and especially not kids.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Even as more and more years pass, this particular day never becomes any easier to endure.

 

Chanyeol woke up with his heart feeling a bit heavy. It was his late grandfather's birthday and he knew it was another year celebrating a birthday without his hero.

 

Chanyeol parked his car and reached to the back-seat to grab one of the bouquet of flowers he had bought before coming out. His mom never visited his grandfather at the graveyard on his birthday because she couldn't handle it, so he always made sure to buy two bouquets every year—one for his grandfather’s grave and the other one for his mom to cheer her up.

 

He was walking through the pathway towards Grandpa Park's grave when he noticed a very small figure sitting in the grass far on the other side. A sad smile slowly formed on his face because today was a special day for him and seeing that someone else may be celebrating today for the a special reason at a grave as well made it bittersweet. He silently wished that person's well-being blessings and happiness before walking all the way to his destination.

 

Chanyeol ended up spending almost an hour telling his grandpa about everything that had been going on with the company, Hyunsoo, his life, and even the altercations he has been getting into with his son's classmate's father.

 

His grandfather was the man behind everything in his life. He was the one who encouraged him during his adolescent years when he would stray away from doing what was right. His grandfather was also the one who helped him throughout his entire life from his heartbreaks all the way to when Kyungsoo had left both him and Hyunsoo. His grandfather was also the one who helped him achieve his dreams of opening his own company. He was the man who shaped Chanyeol into the man that he was today.

 

After an emotional parting, Chanyeol gave the picture a kiss before walking through the same pathway he came from. Being the curious person that he was, Chanyeol looked up to see if the same person was still there. Once he saw the person, he felt even more emotional. That person had been here for quite some time: the person was already there before he came and had stayed during the entire hour he had been there. It also didn’t seem like he was leaving anytime soon.

 

Chanyeol felt even worse thinking that the possibility of the person staying here for so long was because they had just recently lost their loved one. He remembered back to when his grandfather had first passed away and how hard it was for him.

 

 

"I hope that you'll cheer up and find happiness through this rough time." Chanyeol silently said to himself before continuing his walk, knowing that person wouldn't be able to hear him.

 

 

Chanyeol was driving towards the exit when he passed by a very familiar looking car. He instantly stepped on his breaks to look at the license plate number. When he saw it, a wave of shock flooded his body and couldn’t help feeling remorseful as the seconds went on. He began contemplating on whether or not he should leave or make sure the person was okay, the same person he never thought he'd run into here, of all places— at the cemetery. Deciding against all odds—he was a good man with a heart after all—he parked his car, reached to the back, and grabbed the extra bouquet of flowers (he'll go buy another one for his mom later) and walked back to the graveyard.

 

As he got closer, he could see the person on the ground with his legs straight ahead and crossed at the ankles picking the grass around the grave, sniffling and mumbling. The scene itself made Chanyeol feel sad and bittersweet, but as soon as he got close enough, it was the words that came out of the person's mouth that made Chanyeol feel all of the guilt in the world—all of the animosity, all of the hatred, all of the negativity had crashed and burned and no longer existed inside of him.

 

 

"I'm sorry I have failed you... I'm so sorry I'm not a good appa to your daughter... I'm so sorry..."

 

"You are a good appa." Chanyeol voiced softly.

 

 

Chanyeol could see how startled Baekhyun was with the way he whipped his head around quickly and gaped at the taller in shock. He smiled as he lowered himself and put the bouquet into the flower pot.

 

 

"Hi... " Chanyeol leaned over to see the name engraved on the plate, "Mr. Kris Wu. I am Aeri's classmate's father, Park Chanyeol." He smiled sadly as he bowed. "Your husband is an amazing dad, and you have a very adorable daughter with a very strong but cute personality." He let out a small laugh as he sat down on the grass next to Baekhyun. He could still feel the death glare that Baekhyun was boring into the side of his face. When he turned his face to look at Baekhyun, he couldn't help but smile even wider. He decided that he liked to see this side of Baekhyun—the sad, emotional, and vulnerable side to him. This was the real Baekhyun.

 

"I don't want your sympathy. Please leave," Baekhyun said harshly as he turned back around to pick at the grass.

 

 

Chanyeol could hear the waver in his voice, the desperation to be strong, but at the same time, he could also see the tears falling freely on rosy cheeks and the non-stop sniffling. He didn't know what came over him, but on instinct, he pulled Baekhyun into his embrace and made sure the little angel in disguise wouldn't be able to escape.

 

He needed to apologize because not only was Baekhyun no longer married, he was indeed a single parent just like Chanyeol himself. The entire time, he kept bringing up. Baekhyun’s late husband. And not only that, he said some extremely mean things. He wanted—no he needed to make sure Baekhyun knew that it wasn’t out of sympathy, but out of pure sincere empathy because if there was anyone out there who could relate to a degree or at least understand half of what Baekhyun was going through, it would be him.

 

 

"I'm sorry, Baekhyun, I am so sorry." Chanyeol said apologetically, tears already forming and threatening to fall.

 

 

That was all it took for Baekhyun to begin sobbing into Chanyeol's chest. The heart-wrenching sounds coming out of him made Chanyeol feel even more guilty. In that moment when Baekhyun grabbed a hold of the front of his shirt and began shaking to his loud cries, something in him sparked the need to protect this vulnerable person, the urge to make sure Baekhyun doesn’t feel hurt again, and the possessiveness to make sure that he was going to be the one to take care of Baekhyun.

 

 

"I am so sorry... I didn't mean anything I said, I promise," was all Chanyeol could say as one hand held onto Baekhyun securely behind his neck and the other one rubbed his back. “Okay well, maybe some things….” He whispered jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a bit, earning a hit on the chest from the crying male in his arms.

 

 

Once Baekhyun's cries subsided, they gently pulled away from each other. Chanyeol could tell Baekhyun felt embarrassed that he had let his guard down. But he didn't want Baekhyun to feel that way at all, so he grabbed hold of his shoulder and squeezed it lightly with a smile, reassuring him that it was okay. That everything was going to be okay.

 

 

"You really aren't a bad appa," Chanyeol said.

 

"Yes, I am. You said it yourself so don't deny it," Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes.

 

"It was out of spite, more or less." Chanyeol shrugged. "And besides, if you weren't, Aeri wouldn't have been so proud of you." Chanyeol grinned at a confused Baekhyun.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"She was more than happy to tell me that I should watch out for her daddy because he was going to chew me up and spit me out the first time I met her at the park… the first time we met." Chanyeol's grinned widened.

 

"Damn right, that's my baby." Baekhyun let out a laugh as he took a tissue from his bag to wipe his nose.

 

“And also the other day when she came to your defense at the ice cream shop… which I should apologize for… I have also come to the conclusion that I don’t think I can ever win against Aeri.” Chanyeol let out a small laugh.

 

“You really can’t, she has a mouth on her that even surprises me sometimes,” Baekhyun voiced, earning a shocked look from the other.

 

“Really?” Chanyeol asked sarcastically.

 

“Shut up, I’m not always like that. It’s just you. You make me angry all the time.” The both of them laughed.

 

"I’m sorry. I do get a little hot-tempered around you. But… Are you okay?" Chanyeol asked, worry in his eyes.

 

 

Baekhyun nodded with a small smile.

 

 

"I'm sorry, Chanyeol, I really am." Baekhyun lowered his head.

 

"I am too. I truly am, but I'll forgive you only if..." Chanyeol looked at his watch and saw that it was already 11:05AM, "you'll have lunch with me. I don't want you to drive right now because you're still emotional and unstable." Chanyeol playfully grinned.

 

"Shut up! I am not." They both laughed.

 

“If you tell me to shut up one more time, then you’re going to have to do all of the talking.” Another laugh was released.

 

“If only you can hear the things you say… you really should shut up most of the time.” Baekhyun retaliated.

 

“Be quiet, you. So what do you say? Lunch?”

 

"Fine, but I'm picking the place and you're paying. Oh and you're still a jerk." Baekhyun said and smiled so innocently that Chanyeol could have sworn it was the exact same image he saw of Aeri that same day he doubted her to be Hyunsoo’s bully. But that smile alone brightened up the mood, and Chanyeol was more than happy to know that he was the reason for that smile. Chanyeol had concluded that from now on, he only wanted to see that beautiful smile.

 

 

Once they made it to the cafe, Baekhyun had apologized once again for his behavior and he wanted to reassure Chanyeol that he really wasn’t a bad person. It was just that these past few months had been harder on him than usual because Aeri had became more attached. She kept asking why she doesn’t have a father so he needed to be more protective of her.

 

Chanyeol didn’t want Baekhyun to apologize anymore because he knew exactly how it was to want to protect your child. After all, he and Hyunsoo were in the same predicament as Baekhyun and Aeri were—they both no longer had their spouse and their child was left with a single parent. Chanyeol wanted Baekhyun to know that he didn’t hold him accountable for anything because he was also in the wrong, so he decided to play it off as if their little volatile episode never happened. So when Baekhyun apologized again, Chanyeol responded with a very cliche, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” with a grin. The both of them laughed and began talking and before they knew it, they had spent almost four hours just talking and getting to know more about each other.

 

Chanyeol found out that Baekhyun's late husband, Kris Wu, had actually died in a car accident while he was on the way to the hospital while he was giving birth to Aeri. Baekhyun, in returned, discovered that Kyungsoo had actually left Chanyeol and their son right after Hyunsoo's first birthday.

 

Chanyeol quickly realized that Baekhyun was actually a soft, kind-hearted, but oh so very sarcastic person. The strong facade that he put on was because he was very protective of Aeri, afraid that he would lose her in a blink of an eye like he did his late husband. Chanyeol also concluded that he liked this side of Baekhyun as well and wanted to see more of this side than the devil side.

 

 

Baekhyun had laughed when Chanyeol told him the nickname he gave to Baekhyun and Aeri— to his surprise, Baekhyun even nodded and said "That sounds about right."

 

“Baekhyun…” Chanyeol hesitated.

 

“Hm?"

 

“Do you think it would be okay… if… If I… If I could have your number?” Chanyeol asked hesitantly with his hands still around his coffee mug. His eyes were going back and forth between Baekhyun and the mug.

 

 

When he looked up, he saw Baekhyun’s smirk and was prepared for a devil-ish response that he became so accustomed to these past couple of weeks. When it never came, he was ready to apologize, but it seemed as though Baekhyun had read his mind and beat him to it.

 

 

“Yes, Chanyeol. Yes, it would be okay for you to have my number.” Baekhyun said as he blushed, trying very hard to look away so they didn’t make eye contact.

 

 

Chanyeol let out a breath of relief before taking his phone out of his pocket and switching it for Baekhyun’s. Once they exchanged numbers, they continued their talk. It wasn't until Chanyeol's phone beeped that they realized it was time to pick up the kids from school. Baekhyun thanked him for lunch and said he could walk back to the cemetery from the cafe. But for some reason, Chanyeol didn't want to part ways yet so he suggested that they pick up the kids together, with the excuse that Baekhyun was still too emotional to drive— which only earned him a smack on the arm and a laugh that he was growing more and more fond of.

 

On the way to school, they joked about how their kids would react when they see both of them walking together. Baekhyun said Aeri would most likely give Chanyeol a smile and walk away as if nothing happened. Chanyeol said Hyunsoo would also most likely not say a single word.

 

Just as the both of them predicted, the kids’ reactions were almost identical to their predictions. Aeri was the first one to spot her appa and as soon as the teacher verified that the parents of both kids were there, the kids walked towards the parents, faces full of confusion.

 

Chanyeol was prepared for an insult, a smart comment, or something rude from Aeri, so he got on his knees to be eye-level with her.

 

 

“Hello Mr. Park Handsome,” She said sweetly with a smile before walking towards her appa and hiding behind his legs.

 

 

Chanyeol was stunned at the compliment. He had not been prepared for that.

 

Chanyeol chuckled and shook his head before turning back to look at Hyunsoo, who stood frozen and watched the entire thing play out. He walked up to his father and as soon as he did, Chanyeol took his backpack from him and both father and son gave each other a knowing smile.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Later that night, Chanyeol thought it was time to let Hyunsoo in on what he found out earlier that day.

 

 

"Hyunsoo, you know how you have always wanted an appa-figure?" Chanyeol asked hesitantly.

 

 

Hyunsoo's eyes were wide in shock, not understanding why his dad would bring this up right now, but he nods anyway.

 

 

"Well, Aeri doesn't have a father...." Chanyeol started slowly, which only made Hyunsoo's eyes widen even more. "Yeah, her father passed away while Baekhyun was giving birth to Aeri. So Aeri never had a father in her life... it's the same with you and your appa... except he left us." Chanyeol lowered his head. "I'm sorry Hyunsoo, I know it's a sensitive topic but I just wanted you to know why Aeri was acting that way."

 

"Actually, daddy... Aeri told me that the reason why she bullies me is because she thought I didn't like her so she bullies people who don't like her. She said her appa scared all of her friends away in pre-school and kindergarten because he thought they would take her away from him," Hyunsoo said. "I don't want Aeri to be sad anymore, daddy. At the ice cream shop, she told me she was sad because she wants to have friends, but she doesn't have any because no one likes her."

 

"Do you want to be her friend?" Chanyeol asked.

 

"Well... I sort of told her I'll start protecting her like a brother." Hyunsoo said shyly, his cheeks flushing.

 

 

It took Chanyeol all but a second to realize that his son had declared Aeri as a little sister, which only caused the fluttery feelings in his stomach to emerge.

 

 

"You guys call each other brother and sister?" Chanyeol asked. When Hyunsoo nodded his head shyly, Chanyeol couldn't help but ask a question that he had never had to ask before.

 

"Hyunsoo, truthfully, between me and you—man to man—how would you feel if I started asking Baekhyun to go on dates and to come around more often?" Chanyeol asked cautiously.

 

"You mean, like you like like Mr. Byun?" Chanyeol was shocked that Hyunsoo wasn’t surprised at his question.

 

"Well, I wouldn't say I like like him, but just like how you felt that sense to protect Aeri, today I felt the urge to protect Baekhyun as well. And...." Chanyeol's voice faded.

 

"’And’...? And what, daddy?" Hyunsoo grinned. Chanyeol knew his son was smart, but he didn't think Hyunsoo would be the type to be type to pick up situations this quickly.

 

"You took him on a date today, didn't you?" Hyunsoo's grin formed to a smirk that Chanyeol did not miss.

 

“N-no! No! It w-wasn’t a d-date! W-what are you t-talking about?!” Chanyeol said quickly, his cheeks already giving away the obvious. Hyunsoo couldn’t help but smile at his dad being so shy.

 

“It was a date, daddy.” Hyunsoo teased.

 

“Fine! It was a date….” Chanyeol said with a blush, which earned him little giggles from his son. “Oh gosh, I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with my six year old son.” He said as he put his hands to in his face to cover his blush.

 

“It’s okay, daddy… but what else did you wanted to say earlier? You didn’t finish your sentence.” Chanyeol swore Hyunsoo had been hanging around Aeri too much because he could hear the teasing in his son’s question, that little devil.

 

 

Chanyeol sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be able to flee the wrath of his son, "And I may or may not have enjoyed his company," He whispered, jumping up to avoid the teasing slaps from his son.

 

 

“You did enjoy it, just say it daddy. It’s okay, I won’t laugh at you,” Hyunsoo giggled with a grin that seemed like it was going to outstretch his face.

 

"Yes, yes I did enjoy it, you little brat." Chanyeol grinned in return as he grabbed his son by the neck and put him in a headlock. Both father and son burst into laughter and giggles.

 

"But are you sure you're okay with it? You know I'm not going to do anything you don't like. I will always put you first before I do anything." Chanyeol’s tone turned serious.

 

"I approve, daddy. I want you to be happy." Hyunsoo said as he leaned in to wrap his hands around Chanyeol's neck, hugging him tightly. "And I know you like like him."

 

“You brat.” Chanyeol said before he hugged him even tighter.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

It became routine: Hyunsoo and Aeri made plans to hang out after school and when their parents were there to pick them up. Both of them would only hear an earful of the kids' chattering, laughing loudly and just having so much fun together. And as parents, who were they to deny what their kids wanted?

 

They began to find themselves hanging out a lot more than expected, be it at the park, the ice cream shop, anywhere. However, it was still a shocker to Chanyeol when Baekhyun suggested that the two of them to go to lunch together again.

 

Ever since their first lunch “date”, it became sort of their daily routine. They would never call it as such, but it was something both of them looked forward to every day. It started with the both of them meeting up for lunch, to Chanyeol picking Baekhyun up for lunch, and then gradually turned into Chanyeol picking Baekhyun up in the afternoon so the both of them could pick the kids up from school together.

 

It was another day of Chanyeol picking Baekhyun up from his house so they could pick up the kids that he had decided he wanted to spend more time together as a family. So instead of finally asking Baekhyun to go on a romantic date, Chanyeol asked if he would like to enjoy a family day out at the park. He wanted the kids to be able to get along more and to be completely comfortable with one another so when the time comes for his and Baekhyun’s first real date, the kids would be fine being at either one of their grandparents' house as long as they have each other.

 

Initially, he had thought that Baekhyun would reject his idea. But then Hyunsoo and Aeri, who somehow heard Chanyeol ask, ran up to both of them and answered for Baekhyun with screams of excitement and talks of what they could do together. Hyunsoo suggested that he could teach Aeri how to ride a skateboard and Aeri said she was going to teach him how to make a tiara of flowers whether he liked it or not.

 

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol, who was smiling from one end of the earth to the other, and shook his head as he smiled.

 

 

"I don't know how they heard you ask from where they were standing. They were literally two meters away." Baekhyun laughed.

 

"Well, they did inherit our big ears for a reason," Chanyeol joked.

 

Baekhyun gasped, "How dare you! I do not have big ears!" Baekhyun exclaimed, hands covering both of his ears only attracting attention to his rather large ears.

 

"Your ears are as huge as mine are. They just don't stick out like mine." Chanyeol laughed as he grabbed both of Baekhyun's hands and put them down. "It's cute, I like them."

 

"W-well I don't like yours! Yoda!" Baekhyun tried to defend himself, but the blush on his cheeks completely gave him away.

 

 

It had only been a few days since the graveyard incident and Chanyeol had become bolder to initiate contact between the two. He honestly never thought that he would have another partner in his life, but spending time with Baekhyun, talking on the phone and texting each other every chance they could, learning more about the other and enjoying every moment of it, made Chanyeol realized that he could see something forming between the two.

 

Although they haven’t been on an official romantic date,

 

Chanyeol was warming up to the idea of having a family day since their kids had became inseparable— what with Hyunsoo calling Aeri his baby sister because she was so much smaller than he was. To everyone's surprise, she didn't object to the idea of being his little sister at all. She even voiced that she loved being protected by her brother because he always made sure she was okay (not to mention that he also buys her snacks and ice cream during lunch).

 

Since Chanyeol had promised Aeri earlier that he would take her to the ice cream shop, the both of them walked to the ice cream shop hand-in hand while Baekhyun and Hyunsoo stayed back by the skate ramp. Once Chanyeol and Aeri made it there and ordered their favorites, Chanyeol held his hand out again for Aeri to grab before walking to a table near the window.

 

Aeri was constantly talking about school and how much fun she has been having when Chanyeol decided it was time for him to man up.

 

 

"Aeri..." Chanyeol called.

 

"Hmmm?" She replied while still her ice cream.

 

"I want to apologize for being so mean to your appa. Also for saying mean things about you, your appa, and also your dad," Chanyeol said apologetically. "I honestly had no idea about your dad, and I should have been more careful with the things I said say... especially to people who I don't know because I don't know what they're going through, and I can hurt them tremendously"

 

Aeri got up and held her free hand out to Chanyeol so he could grab them. Once he did, she squeezed his hands. "It's okay, Mr. Park Handsome," she said seriously.

 

 

Chanyeol got off of his chair to kneel down to be eye-level with Aeri and smiled a sad smile at her.

 

 

"Baby, it's not okay and I am truly and honestly very sorry about everything. I promise I didn't mean anything I said," Chanyeol said as he locked eyes with her.

 

"It's really okay. But I'm just really sad..." Aeri said as her eyes began to get teary.

 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad. I just want you and your appa to be happy from now on."

 

"No… you didn’t make me sad… I'm sad because I don't have a daddy... I’ve never had a daddy and I want one really bad. Everyone in the class has a daddy but I don't." She said as her head dropped low and Chanyeol could feel his heart ache at the scene unfolding before him.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, this was his son's bully, someone who he thought was as innocent as she was evil, but all of those were facades to cover up the real baby he was currently seeing in front of his eyes. The scene in front of him was one he never wanted to see happen again and it hurt him so much because she was just a child yearning for the love of a father she never had.

 

Before Chanyeol could pull Aeri into a hug, she popped her head up quickly, "BUT! You have to promise me THAT you won't make me sad or make appa sad again... OR ELSE!" She demanded and threatened at the same time as she put her tiny little pinky finger right in front of his face. Her eyes, nose, and lips scrunched together in an attempted angry face. Chanyeol smiled so widely at the adorable face and empty threat because it reminded him so much of the person who gave birth to her. Chanyeol had no doubt that she was Baekhyun's daughter because she threatened people the exact same way Baekhyun does — scarily yet adorably.

 

 

"I promise I won’t make you or appa sad anymore. And if I ever break the promise, I give you permission to turn me into a frog." Chanyeol winked as he linked his pinky finger with hers. Both of them laughed and giggled.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Since Chanyeol had promised Aeri he’d take her to go get some ice cream, Baekhyun thought it was the perfect time to personally apologize to Hyunsoo for his previous behavior.

 

 

"Hyunsoo...." Baekhyun nervously said as he watched the little boy skate up and down in front of him.

 

"Yes, sir?" Hyunsoo stopped riding his skateboard on the sidewalk and looked up at him. His politeness and manners never failed to amaze Baekhyun.

 

"I… um… I… I want to properly apologize to you for everything," Baekhyun said. When he didn't get a response right away, he looked up and saw Hyunsoo walking towards him with his skateboard in his hands.

 

"It's okay. There's no need to apologize. I understand why everything happened and I don't blame you," Hyunsoo said as he grabbed a hold of Baekhyun's hand — who was completely shocked to hear the words coming out of his mouth. Not only was Hyunsoo a polite, well-behaved, and well brought-up kid, he was extremely smart and mature for someone who was and is so young.

 

"But that still doesn't make it okay." Hyunsoo could tell Baekhyun was feeling really guilty about what happened. Sure, he felt bad that his dad had to hear the mean things Baekhyun said to him, but he never once had any ill feelings towards Aeri or Baekhyun. Hyunsoo wanted Baekhyun to know that he didn’t blame him for anything he said. Hyunsoo also realized that his dad lived to please and take care of him. He didn’t want his dad to sacrifice his life and happiness, all for his son because he really wanted his dad to be happy too. Now Hyunsoo realized that he wanted the same for Baekhyun as well.

 

"Then let's just forget about everything that happened. Let’s start all over. Let’s be happy from now on." Hyunsoo smiled a very bright and genuine smile, wanting to lift up Baekhyun's mood— which it did because he received the same bright and genuine smile in return.

 

"You're so smart Hyunsoo. I really like how you're so mature and understanding of everything. I wish I could have brought up Aeri that way."

 

"I like Aeri the way she is. She's like a little baby, but she’s a lot of fun to be around. She's like the little sister I never had," Hyunsoo said with a blush, the same blush forming on Baekhyun's cheeks. “She is a sister I never had…”

 

"She is a little crazy, isn't she?" The both of them giggled and nodded their heads together. Baekhyun couldn't help it, but he reached up to Hyunsoo's ears and gently rubbed them with a sweet, motherly smile, "I like your ears too. They look just like your dad's ears. So big and pointy. So unique. So—"

 

Hyunsoo's smile slowly formed into a smirk and said without hesitation, "You like my dad."

 

Baekhyun removed his hand from Hyunsoo's ears in shock at what Hyunsoo could say so casually. Before he could deny the accusation, Hyunsoo completely struck him into complete speechlessness again: "It's okay, I won't tell."

 

Hyunsoo smiled at the still dumbstruck Baekhyun. He raised his small baby hand up to Baekhyun's cheek and rubbed it.  "If it’s okay to say, I really want Aeri to be my sister."

 

 

And then the hand disappeared from his cheek as quickly as it got there as the little body was riding away on the skateboard, leaving Baekhyun to take in everything that Hyunsoo said. The underlying message to that statement didn't go unnoticed: Baekhyun understood it right away. It made Baekhyun's stomach flip upside down, and his heartbeat had increased tremendously. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't attracted to Chanyeol or that he wasn't affected by Chanyeol's affection. He really enjoyed Chanyeol's company and no one knew this, but time spent with Chanyeol was what he looked forward to the most.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

It was weird. Baekhyun was never late: he was always there to pick Aeri up before the second bell rang, but Chanyeol decided to stay with Aeri until her appa showed up. But when it was ten minutes after the second bell and he had yet to show up, he decided to be the one to take her home instead.

 

He thought something was up because usually they would text or talk on the phone all day. But today, right after Chanyeol dropped him off after lunch, Baekhyun had mentioned that he was going to take a nap because he wasn’t feeling well. Since then, he hadn’t returned a single text. He was getting extremely worried and he knew he had to get to Baekhyun’s house as soon as possible.

 

He talked to Mrs. Smith to let her know that he would take Aeri home instead since it was out of the norm for Mr. Byun to not show up. At the mention of that, she realized that he was right. She knew the parents had been getting along lately, waiting for the bell together and holding conversations so she did not hesitate to allow Chanyeol to take Aeri.

 

 

“Mr. Park Handsome, why isn’t appa here? Is he okay?”

 

“I don’t know baby, we’ll go find out soon, okay? We’ll be home in about ten minutes.” Chanyeol reassured. He was trying very hard not to sound nervous so Aeri would stay calm.

 

 

When they got to the house though, Chanyeol kept ringing the doorbell excessively and when the door opened, his heart dropped. Baekhyun looked horrible. After a few seconds, Baekhyun realized the situation. The shock and realization made his headache worsen and Chanyeol was barely able to catch Baekhyun before he fell backwards.

 

 

“Come on kids, let’s go inside.”

 

“A-Aeri… appa is sorry.” Baekhyun said weakly, walking while holding onto Chanyeol.

 

“I-it’s okay appa…  A-Are you okay appa?” Aeri asked, on the verge of crying.

 

“Aeri baby, appa is fine. Can you and Hyunsoo do me a favor? Go upstairs and play, okay? Don’t make too much noises though because appa needs to rest without any loud noises okay?” Chanyeol told the kids.

 

“Yes, sir!” Both kids said simultaneously.

 

 

While Aeri went to grab the blanket, Chanyeol helped Baekhyun walk over to the couch to lay him down. After putting the blanket over him and getting the kids upstairs quietly, Chanyeol went into the kitchen to get a cup of water. When he came back, his heart hurt at the sight of the fragile person. Baekhyun was snuggled under the blanket and had his eyes closed with his eyebrows furrowed. Chanyeol reached over to move his bangs away. When Baekhyun opened his eyes to look at him, he leaned in and pressed a kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead.

 

Baekhyun squirmed a little so he could move his body to get a better look at Chanyeol; he couldn’t stop his smile. When Chanyeol smiled down at him as well, he poked his hands out from under the blanket to reach for Chanyeol’s.

 

 

“Thank you.” He said weakly.

 

“No problem. Just rest okay? I’ll go make some porridge for you and then start on dinner.” He said before getting up, leaving another kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead, and walking off into the kitchen.

 

 

After three hours of cooking, feeding Baekhyun, and helping the kids with their homework, it was dinnertime. Chanyeol was more than grateful that his cooking skills were up to par since he didn’t cook as often as he used to. Having a housekeeper had really kept him away from the kitchen. But after the dinner he cooked, he wouldn’t mind getting back into the kitchen more often, especially if he had more people to cook for and enjoy his food.

 

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of being able to cook for Baekhyun and Aeri.

 

Dinner was a scary scenario. Everything tasted delicious, everything was perfect, everything was… normal… and that was scary. It was scary how normal it felt to take care of somebody who was sick; it was scary how normal it was to cook a family dinner; it was scary how normal it was to enjoy dinner like a family.

 

Family.

 

That word made Chanyeol think about the incident that happened at the park the previous week.

 

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were enjoying their conversations and eating the fruits Baekhyun had brought when Aeri called out for her dad.

 

 

“Appa! Look! Hyunsoo is so cool! He can draw so well!” Aeri said excitedly as she got up and went to sit on Baekhyun’s lap, all while holding onto the book Hyunsoo had brought with him.

 

 

Aeri was showing the book to Baekhyun. Since Chanyeol was sitting in front of Baekhyun, he couldn’t see the content of the book, but he could clearly see how Baekhyun became tense and his eyes went wide in shock as he held his breath. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he figured he should wait until Aeri showed him the book.

 

Just as he was about to look away, Baekhyun looked up at him with eyes in shock and fear.

 

Curious as to what would be in the book to make Baekhyun react in such a way, Chanyeol leaned over just as Aeri stood up to walk over to him. She sat on the other side of him so he was sandwiched between the two kids and put the booklet in his lap.

 

She went on the talk about how beautiful the drawing on the cover was and when she turned to the first page, the word “My Family” was alarming and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue to look at the rest of the book.

 

The next page had a drawing of himself and his son holding hands and a house in the background with the sentence:

My daddy and I have always lived together…

 

The next page was the same scene, but instead, it was Baekhyun and Aeri holding hands with a house in the background as well:

You have always lived with your appa…

 

As the pages went on, the pictures began to morph into a story.

 

A picture of a house and in the picture, Hyunsoo’s hand was holding onto a question mark and Chanyeol’s hand was also holding onto a question mark.

I have always wanted my very own appa, and my very own sister…

 

This time, it was a picture of the playground they were currently at with Hyunsoo and Chanyeol standing on one side, and Aeri and Baekhyun standing on the other side.

The day it started…

 

And the next page had the four of them, each on a swing and smiling…

We were starting to become what I have always wanted…

 

The next picture had the four of them holding hands: Chanyeol - Baekhyun - Hyunsoo - Aeri.

We are what I have always wanted...

 

Chanyeol wasn't prepared for the last page if the one they were looking at already described them as a family... but when Aeri excited flipped the page, he was beyond touched.

 

It was a picture of the four of of them, and Aeri holding onto a question mark.

Our family will be completed one day.

 

By the time they left the playground, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were still speechless.

 

 

It was scary, everything was so scary... and Chanyeol wasn’t sure if he was ready for this type of scary, but when he looked up at Baekhyun, he knew his answer.

 

 

 

 ❅ ❅ ❅

 

 

 

Hyunsoo was sitting on the bed and laughing at his usually composed dad running back and forth from his closet to his bed like a headless chicken.

 

 

"Daddy, just pick something!" Hyunsoo said to his freaking-out dad.

 

"Hyunsoo, you don't understand, I have to look handsome. What if Baekhyun decides that he doesn't want to go on dates with me anymore because I look horrible?" Chanyeol threw in hands in the air and collapsed onto his bed—on top of all of the clothes he tried on—in defeat.

 

"He will still like you. Trust me. Aeri is helping Mr. Byun get ready right now too."

 

"How do you know?" Chanyeol perked his head up. "Did she say anything about me? Did Baekhyun say anything about me?"

 

"No she didn't. She used Mr. Byun's phone and called your phone earlier, but you were showering so I just picked up. She actually called because she wanted to talk to me. She just told me that she's excited to show me her playroom." Hyunsoo shrugged, leaving out the detail that Aeri had forced her appa to wear eyeliner and that he was going to be looking ‘super pretty’.

 

"Should I just wear a suit? That way I'm well-presented?" Chanyeol groaned. He didn't want to resort to this, but it really was his last option.

 

"No, daddy! You are such a child." Hyunsoo mumbled as he walked into his dad's closet. A few minutes later, he walked out with a few items in his hands.

 

"Here, I picked this out for you. Trust me, you will still look handsome." Hyunsoo said as he gave his dad the items in his hand.

 

"Really? But this looks so casual. This is what I wear when we go around town."

 

"Exactly. Be casual. If you're dressed up like you're going to work, he is going to feel pressured.. You should relax and enjoy your date. I'm six and even I know these things. How old are you again?" Hyunsoo smirked.

 

"You little runt!" Chanyeol said as he grabbed his son and held him in a headlock. It had been their thing lately, and Chanyeol had come to understand that Hyunsoo likes the little rough-play as well. "You've become a really smart mouth lately. I think you really are an old man stuck in a little kid's body." Chanyeol said as he began tickling his son.

 

 

Chanyeol finally released his son and went into the bathroom to change. When he reached over for the hair gel, Hyunsoo stopped him.

 

 

"Leave it down. Don't put that sticky thing in your hair."

 

"Why not? I have to do my hair. It looks like a lion's mane right now." Chanyeol said as he attempted to style his hair the way he usually does everyday.

 

"No daddy!" Hyunsoo yelled as he grabbed his dad's hands and put them down and began, instead, to brush his dad’s hair down with his small fingers. "You're going to look too done-up. Look casual! Casual, daddy! Casual! Nothing about suits and styled hair is casual!" Hyunsoo sternly voiced.

 

"How old are you again?" Chanyeol asked as he stared at his son, not believing that his six-year old son was actually dressing him for his date and telling him what was casual and what was not. "I mean, are you sure you're not 20?" Hyunsoo giggled.

 

"There, all done." Chanyeol stood up and turned to look at the mirror, moving his head from side to the side to see the back of both sides. He must admit, his six-year old son did a better job than he did.

 

"Wow. I think you could start a business for this. Though, I would prefer for you to take over the company."

 

"I'm only six dad, we still have twelve years before I can decide what I want to do. Come on, let's go. We're going to be late."

 

 

Chanyeol stopped in front of the floor length mirror, looked at himself and did a last minute pat down before he smiled to himself. His son did an excellent job with picking out his outfit and styling his hair. He was currently wearing black skinny jeans, a white button up shirt with his teal sweater, looking very much like a handsome man in his 20's rather than a father in his early 30's.

 

 

"Okay daddy, yes, you look handsome, now can we please go?" Hyunsoo said, standing by the door and waiting for his dad to finish checking himself out.

 

 

Once they made it to Baekhyun's house, Hyunsoo unbuckled himself, got off the booster, jumped onto the passenger seat, opened the door, and ran to the front door before ringing the doorbell a few times. This earned a headshake and a chuckle from his dad. It was amusing to see how excited his son was. Who would have ever thought things would turn out to be like this?

 

As soon as Chanyeol walked up behind Hyunsoo, the door was opened by Aeri. Both of the kids immediately gave each other a high-five and a ‘yes’ pump; Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh at their adorable greetings.

 

 

"Hi, Mr. Park Handsome." Aeri greeted as she batted her eyelashes, blushing slightly.

 

"Hello, beautiful Aeri." Chanyeol replied and smiled.

 

"Come in." She said as she opened the door wide for both of them to enter. Once they were inside, she closed the door, grabbed a hold on Hyunsoo's hand and began running towards the stairs while yelling. "Appa! Mr. Park Handsome is here! Halmum! Hyunsoo and I will be upstairs in the playroom!"

 

 

Chanyeol was about to ask Aeri if Baekhyun was ready, but just then, someone, who Chanyeol assumed was Baekhyun's mom, walked up to him and embraced him in a tight hug and whispered a very low and sincere ‘thank you’ to him. He was shocked at the sudden hug but even more shocked with what she said next.

 

 

"For the past six years, all I have ever wanted for him was to be happy and to fall in love again because he deserves it. He's the most beautiful when he's in love, but no one was able to melt that cold heart of his, at least not until you came along. Even without meeting you, and hearing all these things about you from him, I honestly believe that you are the one for him. I haven't seen him smile so brightly or be this happy since he found out he was pregnant. Please, please hold onto him and keep him this happy forever," She said. She pulled away and Chanyeol reached up and wipe the tears from her eyes.

 

 

He wasn’t sure if he should brush off what was said, but then decided against it and go with his honest feelings.

 

 

"I'm not sure how long this will last or if it will, but I promise you that I won't give up without a fight. I'll try my best to make him happy and keep the smile on his face for as long as I can. There will be times when we will argue and fight, but when that happens, I won't give up easily." Chanyeol smiled, reassuring her that he had no intentions of leaving Baekhyun ever.

 

 

Once she understood, she nodded her head and patted his to get him to move towards the kitchen.

 

 

"I knew there was a reason why I already trust you.” She smiled at him, a smile that was definitely similar to that of her son and her granddaughter. “Now come on, let's go grab a drink while we wait for the little diva. He's still getting ready." Mrs. Byun said to Chanyeol.

 

 

When Chanyeol was walking ahead of her, she looked up at the top of the stairs where Hyunsoo and Aeri were peeking out from the side. She winked at them and the two gave her a thumbs up and giggled before disappearing and running off into the playroom.

 

After sitting and chatting with Mrs. Byun for a bit, Chanyeol finally heard the voice he's been waiting for.

 

 

"Okay I'm re—” Baekhyun stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Chanyeol. "Holy , who are you?" Baekhyun whispered, walking towards Chanyeol with a blush on his cheeks.

 

 

Baekhyun was shocked to see Chanyeol in such casual clothes, but loved it even more that Chanyeol had opted to leave his hair down. When he got in front of Chanyeol, who was still standing there with his eyes wide and completely in shock, he couldn't help the blush on his cheeks as it grew more prominent.

 

 

"Hi." Baekhyun said shyly to a still shocked and speechlessly handsome Chanyeol.

 

"Wow... you are so gorgeous." Chanyeol said, not being able to stop his hands that reached up to touch Baekhyun's cheek.

 

 

The latter was dressed casually as well. Baekhyun was wearing a white v-neck and a white button down shirt that wasn’t buttoned, adorned with ripped jeans. The white accentuated his skin and Chanyeol couldn’t help but admire the beauty in front of his eyes. Not only was his outfit was perfect, but his eyeliner, oh man, his eyeliner. Chanyeol could never get over Baekhyun wearing eyeliner, but seeing him in casual clothes and eyeliner and his hair slightly curled and parted midway, he was mesmerized.

 

 

"Th-thanks." Baekhyun blushed even more. "You look handsome yourself. I really love your hair." This time it was Baekhyun's turn to reach his hand up to touch Chanyeol.

 

"Okay, okay. Break it up kids. Go before you guys start doing some rated scenes in front of the babies." Mrs. Byun shooed and pushed the both of them towards the door.

 

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol immediately turned towards the top of the stairs as soon as they heard the kids giggling. The both of them flushed and waved to the kids, reminding them to be good and make sure to brush their teeth and go to bed early, before heading out.

 

 

"Don't worry about coming home early! Stay out as late as you both want and enjoy yourselves, okay? I have everything under control here." Mrs. Byun reminded them as she closed the passenger door behind Baekhyun and waved.

 

 

Chanyeol drove the both of them to the restaurant where he made reservations and as soon as they got there, Baekhyun started laughing.

 

"What?" Chanyeol asked nervously, almost afraid that he had done something wrong.

 

"This is actually my favorite restaurant." Baekhyun had said when he saw the nervous look on Chanyeol. "I'm surprised, that's all." He smiled.

 

"Really?! This is my favorite restaurant! Even Hyunsoo loves it!" Chanyeol said excitedly, which only made Baekhyun laugh even more at his adorable date.

 

 

When both of them got out of the car, Chanyeol decided to stop with the hesitation and go for everything. He laced their fingers together and began pulling the both of them inside, not missing the blush and shy smile Baekhyun gave him.

 

Dinner was full of jokes, giggles, laughter and so much more— and it was then that Baekhyun had realized he hasn't had this much fun in so long.

 

 

"Thank you for everything, Chanyeol." Baekhyun sincerely said.

 

"Are you trying to get rid of me already? This date isn't over! The night is still young!" Chanyeol said jokingly.

 

"As if! I haven't had this much fun in so long. I can't remember when was the last time I laughed this hard before I met you." Baekhyun smiled sweetly.

 

 

Walking out of the restaurant hand-in-hand, Chanyeol stopped midway to their car and turned to face Baekhyun. With one hand laced in between Baekhyun's, Chanyeol let his other hand reach up to cup Baekhyun's cheek before leaning in to give him a kiss on the forehead.

 

 

"I'm happy it's me you're having fun with." Chanyeol said, smiling when he saw Baekhyun’s eyes wide in shock. He pinched Baekhyun’s nose before pulling him towards the car.

 

 

When they got back into the car and Chanyeol started driving away, Baekhyun's curiosity started to peak.

 

 

"Where are we going now?"

 

"You’ll see." Chanyeol grinned.

 

 

During the drive, the both of them ending up singing songs as if they were doing duets: singing songs ranging from ballads to pop and even rapping, promising each other that if one of them were to ever get famous, they were going to give the other a shout-out on live TV.

 

They ended up doing all of the cliche first dates; going to the Namsan Tower and riding the cable car while Chanyeol stood behind Baekhyun and wrapping his hands around his waist. They went to the Hangang river and walked up and down the strip, talking and getting to know each other more—even stargazing in the park together.

 

The park was where they spent the most time on their date since they had grown fond of the place. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the fact that they were both doing normal things for the first time in what felt like forever, with one another and were having such an amazing time was what made Baekhyun’s heart soar. He knew everything happened for a reason and that the people you meet: you meet them for a reason. Thinking back to how they started off wanting to kill each other to what they were now, Baekhyun couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

 

 

“What’s so funny?” Chanyeol asked, turning his head to look at the man leaning on his shoulder.

 

With his eyes closed, Baekhyun shifted closer to Chanyeol until the latter wrapped his hands around the smaller man’s shoulders, “Just the fact that it took you almost two months to ask me out on an official date.”

 

“It was the kids’ fault 99.99% of the time! I was always ready, but I’m telling you, those sneaky spawns could read my mind. They always plan for a play date at the same time I was about to ask you!” Chanyeol whined.

 

Baekhyun let out a loud laugh at Chanyeol’s defense, “Pick on someone your own age, old man,” He said with another laugh before leaning into Chanyeol’s embrace, enjoying the night sky view with the perfect person.

 

 

When the parents got home that night, the first thing they did was go up to Aeri’s room to check up on the kids. By some miracle, Baekhyun’s mom had an extra bed put inside of Aeri’s room, parallel to hers with only a nightstand and a lamp separating the two. Not only that, but the bed Hyunsoo was currently sleeping on, was themed with Rilakkuma's, opposite of Aeri’s Hello Kitty theme.

 

Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at the image of his mom taking the kids to go shopping for furniture. He knew he should be scared because everything was moving on so fast—they literally just went on their first date—but he couldn’t help what he felt. It made him feel a lot better knowing that it was only his mom’s first time meeting Chanyeol, but she had already accepted both him and Hyunsoo as if this was where they belong.

 

Baekhyun didn't know how long he stood there and stared at the children for, but when a hand came up and wrapped around his waist and a kiss landed on his temple, he knew this was what he wanted, what he needed, what he was deprived of, what he had been missing and longing for, not only for himself, but for Aeri as well, all this time.

 

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol and smiled sweetly. He tip-toed and gave the handsome man a long peck on the lips before telling him—

 

 

“Thank you.” He whispered softly, smiling lips only a few inches away from the taller man’s very own.

 

“For what?” Chanyeol replied as his smile became brighter and cheeks became more flushed.

 

“For coming into my life. For accepting me after everything that I have said and done. For giving me a chance. For taking me on the perfect date today, and for also giving Aeri a chance at having a perfect family.” Baekhyun said with a beautiful smile adorned on his lips and tears threatening to fall.

 

“I’m also thanking you for all of the same reasons, for me and for Hyunsoo, and for also allowing me to be a part of yours and Aeri’s life. I promise you won’t regret it.” Chanyeol replied as he wiped the tears that fell from Baekhyun’s eyes before leaning down to capture his lips.

 

 

It wasn’t what either one of them were used to, and it definitely wasn’t what a lot of people of their social class would call a “date” or the “perfect time”, but to them, this was the perfect start of it all.

 

The start of their imperfectly perfect lives together.

 

 

“Mr. Park Handsome… you’re officially mine now.”

 

 

 

 

---

 

A/N:

Some people may question Hyunsoo's maturity and the way he talks, but my 4-year old nephew literally talks like this (like he's 10 years old) and my 6-year old nephew is just as sweet and caring as Hyunsoo. I mixed both of their personalities and also the way they talk/respond into Hyunsoo's character.