During the drive over to the location that Jihyo sent, it began to rain; first it was light and soothing, but then Seungcheol noticed that it had picked up the closer he got. It wasn’t a shower by any means, but it was definitely not weather someone should be trying to face, let alone with a child. Seungcheol ended the drive by pulling up to a small florist shop, Jihyo and Tzuyu sitting at the singular table sitting right outside the front. Tzuyu was seated in Jihyo’s lap—posture perfect still, something he had noticed from the moment he met her—while her mother’s arms wrapped comfortably around her waist; the two gazed out at the rain, in something like a trance. The sight of the two made Seungcheol smiled softly to himself, they really looked like twins at this moment.

“Dad, wake up~” Hansol called out from the back seat with a giggle in his voice.

“I’m awake~” Seungcheol replied, snapping out of his own trance and unbuckling his seat belt. He left the car in a hurry, calling out to Jihyo to signify his presence. The woman jolted (Tzuyu did not, however, as she simply blinked slowly and turned towards the car’s direction) and she began to rise, but Seungcheol stopped her. He brought out the newly bought car seat and brought it under the safety of the awning.

“Did you really buy a car seat for Tzuyu?” Jihyo asked as she got up from her seat, placing Tzuyu there instead. “You’re really something else, you know? Here, let me go get you a towel and something to help you open the box,” Jihyo patted Seungcheol’s shoulder with a myriad of emotions twinkling in her eyes, but they looked fond nonetheless. She disappeared into the building to retrieve the offered items and Seungcheol spent the short waiting time showing off the car seat to Tzuyu.

“Do you like this color?” He asked the little girl who had slid out of the chair and cautiously made her way over. Tzuyu inspected the box for a short moment, poking the picture and glancing at Seungcheol before answering. She nodded her head with a shy smile, moving to hug the box. Seungcheol huffed out a laugh and patted Tzuyu’s head lightly. “Oooh, so cute,” Seungcheol smiled, wide and gummy.

“I guess she really likes it,” Jihyo had returned with a towel, a pair of scissors, and also a knife (“Just in case,”). “Do you like it, sweetie?” Jihyo asked, bending down to Tzuyu’s level with a endearing smile on her face. Tzuyu nodded once more, this time she was less shy about it and her smile was dazzling. Jihyo entertained Tzuyu while Seungcheol worked on opening the box; the process was smooth and quick, and before Jihyo knew it, Seungcheol was placing the knife and scissors on the table and hanging the towel over the chair before rushing around to the other side of the car to set up the car seat.

After he was done, Seungcheol hurried back under the awning, much more drenched than before, but he didn’t look bothered. “Alright, everything’s good to go!” Seungcheol watched as Jihyo nodded a bit distractedly, and he offered to get Tzuyu situated into the car while Jihyo put away the tools and dealt with the cardboard. As Jihyo gathered the things, she watched as Seungcheol removed the cap he was wearing and placed it gently on Tzuyu’s head (the little girl giggled because the hat was big and Seungcheol smiled endearingly at her) before also securing the towel around her so she wouldn’t get wet.

When Jihyo had exited the building for the second time, Seungcheol was waiting for her with the towel; his bangs were slightly curled and pressed against his forehead and his shirt—his plain white and easily see-through when wet shirt—was sticking to him even more now and Jihyo resisted the urge to stare a bit too long. She hesitantly made her way over to Seungcheol who, in turn, wasted no time in draping the towel over her and guiding her to the passenger’s seat, managing to get not one drop on the woman as she entered the car. Seungcheol was finally able to seek relief from the rain as he got into the driver’s seat, towel draped across his head despite the fact that it was now pretty drenched itself.

Jihyo sighed. “Look at you…” She followed it up with a soft whine. “You’re drenched, I’m really sorry about this…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Seungcheol said once again, as if it were his catchphrase. “you know, when I was a kid, I loved playing in the rain. It’s refreshing, really. Makes you feel alive in a weirdly special kind of way.” Seungcheol grinned, pulling away from the florist and heading in the direction of the nearest gas station. After getting gas—which Jihyo helped pay for—Seungcheol was finally on his way towards Jihyo’s apartment, to which she directed him to. The drive ended up becoming a bit of a stretch, and the four of them relaxed into their own things.

Hansol and Tzuyu were happily chatting in the back of the car, and from what Seungcheol could hear, Hansol was explaining the lore of Pokemon to Tzuyu who looked to be listening attentively from Seungcheol’s quick glance. When he glanced over at Jihyo, she was totally relaxed if her unwound shoulders and closed eyes were anything to go by; her head was also tilted slightly towards the window and a small, pleasant smile was on her face. Seungcheol took a subtle deep breath as he turned his attention toward the road again.

He usually didn’t allow himself to get lost in fantasies, not after his first fantasy ended quite tragically, and especially not with people he just met, but it was hard not to think about it. At this moment (and he thought about before, too, at the florist shop), they felt like a family, and that thought squeezed at Seungcheol’s heart. Seungcheol swallowed dryly and took another subtle, deep breath as he shook the little fantasy away. He already assumed he was a bit overbearing with all of the insisting about helping Jihyo out, he didn’t want to be creepy too—that is, if he already wasn’tseen a creepy.

“Thinking hard? Or hardly thinking?” Jihyo spoke up softly. Before Seungcheol answered, Jihyo directed him on where to turn next.

“Is it possible to do both?” Seungcheol chuckled, smoothly turning another corner.

Jihyo hummed. “I think so...I feel like I tend to do both a lot,” Jihyo chuckled, light and quiet.

“Then I guess I was doing both. Probably more of thinking too hard, though,” Seungcheol pouted with a slight shake of his head.

“I think we’re really similar then...” Jihyo trailed off, resting her head against the window, eyes lazily scanning the familiar landscape of the city streets.

“Yeah...maybe,” Seungcheol muttered quietly with a nod. With that final quip, he was able to relax a bit and focus on the drive once more.