Jiyong figured he won Christmas gifts. He'd given Minseok a cat.

His son adored Ai, Dami's cat, and Jiyong figured it'd be a decent investment. When his son wasn't around, he'd have company. Minseok had named her Peanut. He'd carried the cat, which was almost as big as he was, around nearly the whole week.

 

Jiyong peered into Minseok's bedroom. The child was asleep with the cat curled into his side. He smiled softly.

He was disappointed it was already going to be New Year's Day and Minseok would have to go back to Seunghyun's house. Their schedule had them switch weekly, but Jiyong wished he could keep Minseok for longer.

But, he didn't have time to whine and Jiyong was looking forward to spending time with his son at Youngbae's New Year's Eve party.

He entered the five-year-old's bedroom, stepping over his toys carefully. Jiyong climbed onto his bed and lay down. He Minseok's hair lightly, then pet Peanut.

“Time to get up, little guy.”

Minseok grumbled and rubbed at his eye, his other arm instinctively wrapping around Peanut. The teenager cat woke up immediately and flailed her legs. Jiyong laughed. Minseok let out a whine and let the cat go, and rolled over to curl into Jiyong's chest.

“Five more minutes.”

Jiyong burst into laughter. “Oh my god. What are you? Your dad?”

Minseok didn't respond in favor of going back to sleep. Jiyong tickled him, making the child start to giggle.

“Appa!!” he squealed.

Jiyong grinned and hugged him. “It's New Year's Eve. We're going to Uncle Bae's house tonight.”

“Yay. Pawdy.”

“What do you want to wear?”

“Shorts,” Minseok said.

“Minseok, it's winter. You are not going to wear shorts again. I don't care if Daddy let you on Christmas.”

Minseok pouted. “I'm gonna tell Peanut you're mean to me.”

Jiyong was stuck between being mad and entertained. While he was a bit offended his son had told him he was mean, he found it adorable he was going to tell on him to a cat.

He kissed Minseok's cheek. “Peanut will know you're being difficult.”

“Nuh-uh.”

Jiyong laughed again and squeezed Minseok in his arms. “I love you.”

“I wub appa.”

He smiled again. Minseok lay against his chest and lulled to sleep after a few minutes. Jiyong wished they could stay like that forever.

 

They went to Youngbae's house at five-thirty. Jiyong brought champagne for the adults and sparkling cider for the kids.

Minseok had let Jiyong select his outfit and they were both wearing black pants and turtlenecks. Jiyong let Minseok ring the doorbell when they arrived, which consisted of ringing it five times fast.

The door swung open to reveal Daesung, who carried a small child on his hip. Jiyong's eyebrows lifted.

“Hi, guys!” Daesung said.

He stepped aside to let them in. Jiyong removed his coat and shoes.

“Are you on duty tonight?”

“Oh, no. This is my girlfriend's son.”

“Oh my god! Is she here? I can finally meet her!” Jiyong cried.

Daesung nodded and laughed. He turned to Minseok, who was unlacing his shoes.

“Minseok, this is Baekhyun. Maybe you'd like to play with him?”

Minseok shrugged. He stood up. “Appa wouldn't let me bring Peanut.”

“Who's Peanut?” Daesung asked, taking Minseok's hand.

“My cat.”

Daesung escorted Minseok away, who talked to him easily. Jiyong was thankful for their nanny.

He followed them into the house and found Youngbae in the large open kitchen, preparing a feast. He placed the bottles he'd brought on the counter.

“Are you ever not cooking?” Jiyong asked.

“Only on Sundays,” Youngbae said. He put down his tools and pulled Jiyong into a hug. “Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year, Bae,” Jiyong said.

He skirted around Youngbae and went into the living room. Seungri was standing nearby, rocking a baby in his arms.

“Ri!”

Seungri looked up and brightened. “Hi, Jiyong.”

“Happy New Year. How's the little guy?”

“Jaebum is doing great.”

“Hi, Jaebum,” Jiyong cooed at the baby.

The baby giggled a little in response, looking up at Jiyong. He grinned at the sound. He really missed when Minseok was small. Seungri smiled and adjusted his hold on the bundle.

“Minseok looks like he's getting along with Baekhyun.”

“I can't believe Daesung finally brought his girlfriend! What's she like?” Jiyong said.

“She's super nice! She seemed like she'd be stuck up, but she's actually really soft-spoken. She's really pretty too.”

“Where is she?”

“She's handling her youngest in the other room,” Seungri said.

“She has two kids?!”

“Yeah. Divorced. She's Daesung's age.”

“Really?! I thought she was younger,” Jiyong said in surprise.

The doorbell rang and Jiyong went to open it since everyone was occupied. Seunghyun was on the other side of the door.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” Jiyong said.

Seunghyun offered him a smile and Jiyong realized he was in the way. He stepped aside. He felt like an idiot just standing there, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

“Where's Minseok?”

“He ran off with Daesung.”

Seunghyun removed his shoes. He stepped up out of the walkway to beside Jiyong then. They looked at one another. A soft padding of feet alerted them and they looked over to see their son.

His fingertips were in his mouth and he was looking up at the ceiling. His hand fell away and he actually smirked at them.

“Now you gotta kiss.”

Jiyong and Seunghyun were startled. They looked up and found mistletoe hanging over them. Jiyong let out a sigh. He couldn't believe it. They weren't ones to disappoint Minseok though.

Seunghyun leaned in and bumped noses with Jiyong before kissing him. It was soft and chaste, a pure kiss. Jiyong hadn't shared one like that with Seunghyun in a very long time. It was over just as quick, but Jiyong felt like he was lightheaded.

Minseok giggled and scampered away.

Seunghyun let out a frustrated laugh and put his hands on his hips. “That kid.”

“Only ing Youngbae would leave mistletoe hanging after Christmas for our kid to catch us with.”

Seunghyun nodded and laughed harder. Jiyong shook his head and headed for the kitchen.

“Youngbae, you . Why is there mistletoe still hanging?”

“Oh,” Youngbae laughed, “It's there so Seungri has to kiss me in the morning. Why?”

Seunghyun came into the kitchen then. Youngbae looked at him, then back to Jiyong, and a grin spread on his face.

“Did you...?”

“Minseok made us do it!” Jiyong said quickly.

“Right.”

Youngbae smirked at his implication and Jiyong crossed his arms over his chest.

He and Seunghyun had broken up only a year prior and they had been murkily traversing how to go about their lives when they were both in the art scene, had a child, and had the same group of close friends. Sometimes Jiyong didn't want to see him at all and other times it was fine, like at holiday parties. It was one thing to be together with friends and one thing to be alone together. But it seemed like everyone and their mom wanted Seunghyun and Jiyong back together. Jiyong wasn't really sure what he wanted anymore.

Jiyong stalked away without a response to talk to Seungri. Seunghyun was with him, cooing over Jaebum the baby like Jiyong had done just earlier. He was making faces and Jiyong hated how cute he was.

“Daddy!”

Minseok ran over to hug Seunghyun's legs, as if he hadn't just forced his parents to adhere to the rules of mistletoe like the devious little thing he was.

“Hi there, munchkin. Was your week fun with appa?”

Seunghyun picked up Minseok like it was no big deal. Minseok was small for his age. The only big thing about him were his adorable chipmunk cheeks.

“Yeah. I played with Peanut.”

Seunghyun lifted an eyebrow and turned to look at Jiyong. “Who's Peanut?”

“My cat,” Minseok said matter-of-factly.

Seunghyun gave Jiyong a look, but responded to Minseok. “I thought you liked dogs.”

“Silly, daddy. I wike all animals.”

Minseok booped Seunghyun's nose with a laugh and Seunghyun grinned, dimples on full display. Jiyong internally swooned. That was an image he was likely to never forget.

Daesung came back in, carrying Baekhyun on his hip. A woman with long bleached blond hair followed, a toddler in her arms.

“Seunghyun, you're here!” Daesung said with a grin. “Jiyong, Seunghyun, this is Taeyeon, Baekhyun, and Daehyun.”

Taeyeon smiled. “Hello. It's so nice to finally meet you.”

“It's so nice to meet you! I've been waiting so long, but Daesung didn't want to share,” Jiyong said.

Taeyeon laughed. She bowed slightly to both of them. Jiyong looked at the children then.

“You have beautiful kids.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Baekhyun, say hi.”

Baekhyun gave a toothy grin, though he was still missing a few. “Hi.”

Jiyong grinned. “Oh my goodness, he is so cute! How old are you?”

Baekhyun held up three fingers. Jiyong clapped. Baekhyun giggled and buried his face in Daesung's side.

“Do you guys want to play for a bit?” he suggested.

Minseok gave a thumbs up. Seunghyun set him down as Daesung put down Baekhyun. The two headed for the play room without a word.

“Minseok is making a friend,” Jiyong said with a smile.

“Maybe Daehyun and Jaebum will be friends later,” Seungri said.

Taeyeon smiled. “That'd be sweet.”

“I'm glad you could come tonight,” Seunghyun said with a smile.

Taeyeon smiled back. Youngbae clapped.

“Our feast will be ready in a few minutes!”

“So, who's ready for champagne?” Jiyong asked.

 

After they ate a filling dinner, which consisted of far too much food, they had all played board games with the kids until they got grouchy and put them on the couch to watch a movie. After a while, Minseok and Baekhyun dozed on the couch. Daehyun and Jaebum were asleep in the pop up crib nearby. The adults were sitting at the table, sipping on champagne.

“Can you believe the year is already over?” Youngbae said.

“It's crazy,” Jiyong said.

“It is,” Seungri agreed.

“I think most of us had a really great year though, don't you think?” Seunghyun said, tipping his glass towards his mouth right after.

Everyone gave a collective nod.

“To the new year!” Daesung cheered, holding up his glass.

They all toasted and drank.

“How much longer?” Seungri asked.

“About an hour now.”

“I need a smoke break,” Seunghyun said.

He got up from the table and headed for the front door. Jiyong watched him go. He'd been considering a cigarette as well, but didn't want to seem as if he was following Seunghyun's heels. He sighed and put his face in his hands.

“Jiyong, you're peaceminusone, right?” Taeyeon asked then.

Jiyong looked up and nodded, showing his index finger which was tattooed with his artist logo. Taeyeon smiled a little.

“Daesung has shown me some of your work. I really like it. It's cool to meet a famous artist.”

“Ah, I wouldn't really say I'm famous, but thank you,” he said.

“Taeyeon can draw well, y'know,” Daesung chimed in.

Taeyeon blushed and pushed Daesung's shoulder. “Honey, no, shush.” She waved her hands in front of herself. “I just doodle with the kids!”

Daesung laughed and put an arm around her. Jiyong smiled a bit, though he was jealous of them. He needed a cigarette.

“I'm going to take a smoke break too.”

He got up and went back to the front, where he shrugged on his coat. He went out the front door. Seunghyun was standing a little distance away, standing in the dark, scrolling on his phone and smoking. Jiyong didn't approach, just leaned against the front wall and lit his cigarette.

He smoked about a quarter of the cigarette before Seunghyun noticed he was there, when he turned back toward the door.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Jiyong said back, holding his cigarette in his hand.

Seunghyun came over to him. “Only thirty minutes until the new year.”

“Yup.”

He exhaled some smoke. “What time should I pick up Minseok tomorrow?”

“How about five? You can have dinner together.”

“That works. Did you really buy him a cat?”

“He loves Ai and it's an investment for me, really. I don't see why not. He shouldn't have to be stuck with stuffed dog Cola,” Jiyong said, exhaling smoke.

“Hey. Cola is cute and doesn't make messes.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Jiyong waved his hand and Seunghyun chuckled a bit.

“Can I talk to you?” Seunghyun said then.

Jiyong felt nervous, but nodded. Seunghyun sat down and patted the pavement beside him. Jiyong carefully took a seat.

For a moment or so, they just sat with their cigarettes wafting.

“Want to go on a date?” Seunghyun asked.

Jiyong had just taken a drag off his cigarette. He choked and coughed. He whipped to look at him.

“What?!”

Seunghyun gave a smile as he took a drag.

“Want to go on a date?” he repeated after he exhaled.

“What the hell do you mean?”

“I dunno. Maybe we should try again.”

“You have to be ing joking,” Jiyong said.

Seunghyun shrugged and sighed. “Well, guess you didn't feel anything from that kiss earlier.”

Jiyong's eyes widened. “What?!”

“How many times are you going to say 'what'?” Seunghyun gave him a look.

“You have to admit that this is really unusual!”

Seunghyun shrugged.

“Ugh. You're so irritating.” Jiyong took a drag. “I can't believe you're doing this to me.”

“Sorry. You know I have no tact.”

Jiyong waited a moment. “You felt something from that kiss?”

“Well, I mean, we could have just said 'no.' It's not like Minseok had us dangling in peril and we had no choice. Talk about being weak parents.”

“But...you wanted to?”

“I wouldn't have if I didn't want to,” Seunghyun said.

Jiyong stared at him. He didn't know what to say.

“I don't...”

“You can say no, Jiyong. I'll understand.”

“But...”

“Maybe we gave up too easy. That's all I'm saying.”

Jiyong bit his lip. “Maybe. I mean, we still flirt and we have Minseok...”

Seunghyun finished his cigarette. Jiyong took another drag off his.

The front door swung open and Youngbae leaned out.

“Five minutes,” he said.

Seunghyun and Jiyong got up. They went inside, where everyone was gathered, getting ready to go outside and watch the fireworks. Seungri was pouring drinks, while Youngbae and Taeyeon were waking up the babies. Daesung had Baekhyun up. Minseok rushed over to his parents.

“Hey, munchkin. Have a good nap?” Seunghyun asked as he picked him up.

Minseok rubbed at his eye and nodded.

“Almost time for the new year, baby boy,” Jiyong cooed, fixing Minseok's hair.

“I want Peanut,” Minseok grumbled out, laying his head on Seunghyun's shoulder.

They both laughed. Jiyong grabbed them glasses and offered sparkling cider to Minseok. He accepted his small cup.

“One minute!” Seungri cheered.

They all shuffled into the backyard in their coats, battling the cold. Youngbae looked down at his phone, waiting for it to change.

The clock ticked over.

“Happy New Year!!” Youngbae cheered.

In the distance, fireworks went up and exploded. Baekhyun and Minseok were awake for that, oohing and ahhing as they sipped on their cider. The adults drank champagne. Daesung and Taeyeon kissed and Youngbae and Seungri followed suit.

Jiyong looked up at Seunghyun.

“Happy New Year, baby,” he said.

Seunghyun smiled. He leaned in and kissed Jiyong's cheek. Minseok giggled and did the same, making Jiyong grin.

They all drank champagne and watched the fireworks until it ended.

Jiyong took Minseok home, who sleepily demanded Peanut be put in his room. The Scottish Fold curled up without much prompting and Jiyong grinned at the sight.

He got out his phone and checked the time. It was almost one-thirty. He also had a message from Seunghyun.

Hope you got home safe. Think about what I said, please.

Jiyong sighed a bit. He texted back they were safe and Minseok was already back to sleep. He shut off his phone and lay down. Jiyong found it easy to fall asleep.

 

The next morning, Jiyong woke up to find Minseok had crawled into his bed with Peanut. The child was curled up, drooling on the pillow. Peanut had settled on Jiyong's stomach, which was why he'd woken up. He chuckled and lay back down all the way. His fingers pet Peanut's head and the Scottish Fold stretched out her legs and toes before getting comfortable again.

This was the kind of life he wanted, to be able to lay around in bed in the mornings with his family and no responsibilities. Maybe that could be his next art series.

He dozed off quickly from the warmth of the cat on his chest and his son snuggled up close.

 

He awoke again when the cat jumped off of him. Minseok was leaning back against the pillow, holding the television remote and watching cartoons on low volume. Jiyong smiled softly and rolled onto his side.

“Morning, buddy. You been awake long?”

“One episode,” Minseok said, eyes not leaving the screen.

Jiyong tickled him lightly, then sat up and pulled him into his lap.

“What are you watching?” he asked, smoothing down Minseok's hair with his fingers.

“Yokai Watch.”

“Anime, huh?”

Minseok nodded, leaning against him. He chuckled.

“What do you want for breakfast, hm?”

“Porridge.”

“New Year's porridge, huh? I like that idea,” Jiyong said.

Minseok hummed, not responding. Jiyong pet his hair more, enjoying sitting together. He kissed the top of his head.

They watched two episodes before Jiyong went to make their breakfast. It was barely ten, so it was acceptable to make breakfast still.

He made them abalone porridge, using the leftover abalone and rice he'd had from another meal. Once he'd dished it out, he took the bowls on a tray back to the bedroom. Peanut was lying on the bed with Minseok.

“Oh. Better get Peanut's food.”

Jiyong backtracked for cat food. He was going to be nice and feed the cat on the bed, just that one time, since it was a new year and all.

They ate together quietly, Minseok singing quiet praises for the abalone when he them off his spoon.

Once finished, Jiyong washed the dishes and cleaned up a bit. After he was finished, he watched a few more episodes with Minseok, before switching it off and reading to him. Jiyong let Minseok practice his own reading, sounding out words carefully as he went. They ate lunch, sandwiches and apples, which Jiyong cut up carefully.

Eventually, Minseok was ready to nap and Jiyong tucked a blanket around him.

He grabbed his sketchbook, plopped down on the couch in the living room, and began to create sketches of the ideas he'd had the night before. Jiyong had paved his career via his street art style, but he wanted to branch out and advance. It was the only way to assure his career stayed viable. He wanted to go back to painting on canvas, like he had when he'd gone to school for a time. Now seemed as good of time as any.

Jiyong sketched a bit before Minseok wandered in to the living room. He climbed onto the couch and put his head in Jiyong's lap. Jiyong chuckled and ruffled his hair gently, tucking the blanket back around him. Peanut followed a few minutes later and curled by Minseok's feet.

Jiyong returned to sketching, filling up a couple of pages with rough sketches that filled his mind. His phone went off a little while later.

I'm here early. Can I come up?

Jiyong texted back a “yes.” A few minutes later, Seunghyun came up to the apartment, unlocking it with his key.

He'd been allowed to have one, in instances when he needed to get Minseok or something for Minseok when Jiyong wasn't home. So far, he hadn't abused the privilege.

He came into the living room and smiled.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Sorry I'm early.”

“It's okay,” Jiyong whispered back. “I was sketching while Minseok napped.”

Seunghyun nodded. He pointed at the cat and gave a thumbs up. Jiyong chuckled a bit. Seunghyun sat down on the couch and stretched.

“I have to go out of town on Thursday night. Do you want to take Minseok?” he asked.

Jiyong opened his calendar app to check his schedule, but luckily he had nothing planned.

“I'd love to. I don't have anything scheduled for that day.”

“Cool.”

Minseok sat up suddenly. “Daddy?” he said, rubbing at his eyes.

“Hi, munchkin. Did I wake you?”

Minseok crawled over to him and flopped down. “You're erwee.”

Seunghyun rubbed his back. “I am. You still have time to get your stuff together.”

Minseok looked at Jiyong. “Can I take Peanut?”

“No, baby. I'm sorry,” Jiyong said, setting his sketchbook aside.

Minseok pouted and kicked his legs. Seunghyun rubbed his back more.

“Don't worry, munchkin. Walnut will be here when you get back.”

“Daddy!” Minseok shot up. “She's Peanut, not Walnut!!”

The child playfully pushed his shoulder and Seunghyun laughed, scooping him into his arms and jostling him. Jiyong grinned.

“Minseok, let's go pack your bag so you and daddy can go have dinner,” he said.

Seunghyun put Minseok down, who rushed to his bedroom. Jiyong followed, grabbing the small child's favorite backpack.

They packed some clothes, but mostly just toys. Minseok had most necessities at both homes, but sometimes he'd take a few things back and forth. Mostly it was toys and his stuffed dog, Cola. Minseok brought Jiyong a toothbrush, which he packed despite that he knew Minseok didn't need it.

“That everything?”

Minseok nodded. “Appa, are you sure I can't take Peanut?”

“I'm sure, baby boy. She doesn't like being in cars. It's only going to be a week, and hey, your daddy said he has to go somewhere on Thursday night and you can come over here, so you'll see her again.”

Minseok gave a toothy grin. “Otay.”

Jiyong ruffled his hair and picked him up to hug him. “I'll be counting the days.”

Minseok hugged him back, nuzzling into his shoulder affectionately. He carried him out to Seunghyun, who took the child into his arms.

“Ready to go, munchkin? What should we eat?”

“Sgetti.”

Seunghyun laughed. “Spaghetti it is.” He looked to Jiyong. “See you Thursday?”

“Yeah.”

Seunghyun headed for the door. He put Minseok down to get his shoes on and slid his own on. Minseok finished tying his laces and got up. He put his coat on and took his backpack from Jiyong.

“Bye, appa,” he said, hugging his legs extra tight.

Jiyong his hair. “Bye, baby boy. Peanut and I will miss you.”

“Bye, Peanut!” Minseok hollered to the cat, which was lurking just around the corner.

The two adults laughed.

“See you, Jiyong,” Seunghyun said, taking Minseok's hand.

“Bye.”

He opened the front door and Minseok stepped out. Seunghyun held the door open and Jiyong watched him go with crossed arms. He waited until Seunghyun was about to let go.

“Oh, and Seunghyun,” Jiyong said.

Seunghyun looked back at him.

“My answer is yes.”

A grin spread on Seunghyun's face, all dimples. For a moment, he said nothing, just standing there, but Minseok began to tug on his arm.

“We'll talk about it next time,” he finally said.

“Sure. Get home safe.”

Seunghyun nodded and the door swung shut, leaving Jiyong alone in his apartment. Peanut brushed up against his leg and Jiyong reached down to scoop up the Scottish Fold.

“Just you and me until Thursday, Miss Peanut. Let's eat some dinner and get painting.”