Anyeong Everyone! Hope you guys had a great week ( I had a very busy one, but I was very happy thnkx to dream show ^^)

Alright this will be a long *ss ride chapter, and I strugled so much of getting it right. But since it will be a long one, I decided to update, while deviding chapter into 2 parts.

Chapter 20 Part 1:

*Flashback*

Jaehyun was out of breath when he reached the Kindergarten gate, his lungs hurting like hell, his legs feeling numb, but he dragged himself as fast as he could towards the familiar class, eyes looking for a familiar face. Mark was sitting on the chair, sitting still no like 6 year old kid could do, while a teacher was applying ice on his forehead.

“Mark!” Jaehyun’s heart ached, yet it felt so much warmer as his son eyes found him, the frown that had decorated his face disappearing as he smiled, immediately running his way towards him.

Jaehyun opened up his arms, the moment Mark dived into them.

“You okay Minhyun-ah?” Jaehyun hugged him tightly before letting go of him, scrutining his entire face. His heart ached at the blue-ish bruise that decorated Mark’s fair skin, lightly swollen thanks to the pack of ice the teachers had applied on it.

Mark however nodded, hugging him again, which Jaehyun complied as he held him tighter. He kissed Mark’s head before lifting him up, carrying him, careful to not touch the bruise as his right hand softly the blond locks out of his face. Mark nuzzled himself into his chest, clearly tired of his day as Jaehyun finally looked back at the teacher who had an apologetically smile on her face.

“We apologise for this occurrence. Usually Hochi is a very cheery kid, quite handful but never mean.  And Mark usually prefers to not be involved with others, so we did not expect for things to turn out like this…”

Jaehyun frowned, as he smiled to her icily: “I was called because my son got hurt by a kid throwing a metallic plate on his forehead. For the same price, a metallic knife could have hurt him. Would you also not expect things when they were too late?”

Teacher Han, had never thought that dealing with a parent could be this scary and handful. The man in front of her was handsome, vested in a very classy business attire, yet his eyes who had been soft an instant ago, turned out ready to kill her with ice-bullets. She felt a shiver going down her spine, and lamented to volunteer herself for talking with Mark’s parent. Usually it was the very soft cold fairy beauty who picked Mark up, and though his appearance was cold, Taeyong-shi was always respectful and soft.

“Appa, it’s not teacher fault.” Mark who was quite comfortable in his chest, softly whispered as he didn’t want any trouble for his teacher.

Jaehyun sighed inwardly, as he felt his son was way to kind for his own good.

Mark felt that the whole time his appa’s body had been tense, and he gave a kiss on Jaehyun cheeks, something he had seen his dad do before whenever his appa came stressed back at home.

Jaehyun’s heart melted as he understood his son’s intention and the ice-cold glare melted along with it. Truly his business partners would have been very surprised at the scene, as Lee Jaehyun was a very decisive and cold business men, yet Mark always managed to break down that façade.

He must have caught it from Taeyong.

“Then if it was not teachers fault, who’s fault was it?” Jaehyun asked while looking softly into his son eyes.

Teacher Han had never been so grateful to Mark (she never knew she could love the kid more, yet she did), as she could finally breath. For the most obedient kid of the class, he sure had the most scariest dad.

Jaehyun nevertheless wouldn’t let things go like this unpunished. He would like to see who in the world dared to touch his precious son without paying the price for it.

Mark rolled his eyes: “Its Hochi’s fault. But Hochi is stupid, so I don’t care.”

Jaehyun, curious, raised his eyebrow up. His son never insulted someone, even though that Hochi kid sure deserved some fouler words then “stupid”, in his opinion.

“Oh? And why is he stupid?”

“Because he said kids can’t have two dads. And when I told him it could, because I have appa and dad, he laughed saying it was weird and wrong. So, I told him that if dad and appa were wrong and weird then his parents too, are wrong and weird. And that he was even weirder, having rice in his hair so he shouldn’t talk.”

Jaehyun blinked at the explanation of Mark before a very beautiful smile, that blinded teacher Han, emerged on his face.

“You told him what?” Jaehyun couldn’t help but be amuzed at Mark’s logic.

Mark looked at his dad wronged; “But he really had rice in his hair! So, the other kids laughed at it and he got mad. Hochi is stupid, I did not put that rice in his hair, he did it himself because he can’t eat properly. So I told him that maybe his parents didn’t teach him how to eat? Appa and daddy at least taught Mark how to eat properly!”

Jaehyun laughed, his face glowing from love, as he peppered his son face with kisses, till the younger whined.

“Oh Minhyun-ah, what to do with you?” Jaehyun chuckled. Mark pouted cutely as he looked at his appa with a wronged expression: “Mark didn’t do anything wrong…Hoshi is just stupid, but I don’t like it when he talks about Appa and dad like that.”

Jaehyun’s smiled faded away as he looked with eyes full of love at his son.

“I see…so ourie Minhyunie got hurt because he defended us. Thank you Minhyun-ah. Appa is sorry.”

Mark shook his head, saying it wasn’t his fault, while Teacher Han felt the scene before here was a bit to intimate to witness.

“Jae, why did you do this again?” Taeyong’s annoyed voice came through the speaker as Jaehyun was busy going over a bunch of documents his secretary had deposed on his desk this morning.

“Eh?” Jaehyun distractedly asked as he was interpreting the financial report of a potential business ally.

“I heard this morning the parents talking Jae. That Hoshi kid. The one that argued with Mark last week. He’s moved with his family to another city. Because of financial reasons! Lee Jaehyun what did you do?!”

Jaehyun sighed. “Taeyongie.”

“No, don’t Taeyongie- me. We were very clear about this Jaehyun. Mark is- Mark is your son too, but he is going to grow up in my world Jaehyun. It’s a world where he will have to hear lots of things he doesn’t like to, and he will have to defend himself by smiling and working hard, not by going to his appa to ask if he doesn’t want to use money to deal with it!””

Jaehyun sighed again: “Taeyongie.”

“What?” Taeyong snapped.

“I didn’t do it.”

“….”

“Hoshi’s dad happened to be an accounting manager at NCT subsidiary company. I just looked him up , and found out that there was something fishy with the reports he handed over. He was stealing money by reporting wrong numbers, and it didn’t happened only once but a couple of times. As a business man tell me, could you really blame me to fire him?”

 “…I… I am sorry Jae.” Taeyong’s voice was weak as guilt could be clearly heard through it.

“Don’t be. You were right, I wouldn’t have let him stay even if he hadn’t done anything wrong.”

“Yah! Lee Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun chuckled: “I won’t let anyone hurt our son without paying a price Tae. But I am no monster. I would have given him a bit of a hard time, but not fired him. You can tell me I am wrong doing so, but this is who I am. I was learnt to use everything to protect what is mine, because my world can be dangerous. So I protect with everything I have. Money is one of the ways I have, and I am not ashamed to use it. And I will protect our son. And you. Even if you hate me for it…”

“….”

“Tae, please.” Jaehyun sighed.

After a long silence Taeyong sighed too.

“It’ just doesn’t feel right.”

“Are you disgusted with me? Is that why….” Jaehyun couldn’t finish his sentence, as he felt he was going to break a dam that he had tried to prevent from tearing up.

“What? No, of course not! That’s my problem…my fault...You are not the one to blame.”

“….”

Taeyong sighed again as he said, “Jaehyun…I think… we really need to talk.”

Jaehyun closed his eyes.“About us? Or about Mark?”

There was a silence before Taeyong whispered, “Both”

“I am listening.”

“ I don’t care if you name Mark as your heir, or if you want to stay in our life, nor if you want to protect us in your way if you want to...But I have a condition. ”

Jaehyun smiled sadly, knowing where this conversation was gonna end. He knew it, though he had tried to run away from it.

“Fine. I will sign those divorce papers.”

*end flashback*

Doyoung shrieked when he saw the pictures of Mark, lying on the gym floor, after he had fighted off those fourth years, his bruised body clearly pictured for everyone to see.

Mark closed his eyes as he did not dare to look at anyone.

Jaehyun calmly took the pictures, looking at them one by one, his face devoid of emotion.