“Hey, Sunmi noona,” Seungcheol glanced behind him to make sure the kids were still playing happily—though, he truly expected nothing less from Hansol and Tzuyu—before making his way over to Sunmi who had long since forgone pretending to do any kind of work and was now playing games on her laptop. Sunmi grunted in response, sparing the quickest of glances at Seungcheol to signify him to continue. “okay—well, do you think it’d be weird if I offered to just pick Tzuyu up for Jihyo? I mean, it must be troublesome having to hurry over here every day, you know.”

Sunmi quirked a brow and paused her game. “I don’t think it’d be weird? You two are friends now, right?”

“Y-yeah, you’re right,”

Sunmi, about to return to her game stopped, and then she turned to look at Seungcheol with a smirk. “Unless…” She trailed off, ready to attack, but Jihyo came hurrying into the room.

“How late am I this time?” Jihyo questioned through slightly heavy breaths. If there was any benefit to this current arrangement, it would be the fact that she was getting in some good cardio, Seungcheol thought.

“About the usual, really,” Sunmi answered while checking her watch, a sympathetic smile on her face. Jihyo ran a hand through her hair and groaned.

“I thought I was getting better...” She mumbled to herself before going over to Sunmi’s desk and taking a seat in the too-small “time-out” chair. Sunmi rummaged around in her desk, pulling out a lollipop and holding it towards Jihyo to take. Jihyo made a face at first, rejecting the treat, but she changed her mind as Sunmi began taking it away. Seungcheol snorted at the sight, but he quickly pouted when he wasn’t offered a candy either. Sunmi sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling out another er.

“You know, getting a candy isn’t your main concern here, Cheol,” Sunmi scolded, hitting the lollipop against Seungcheol’s head lightly before handing it to him. Jihyo chuckled as Seungcheol sputtered and whined.

“And what is my main concern?” He questioned while struggling to unwrap the lollipop. When he didn’t receive an answer, he looked up and saw Sunmi deadpanning at him with a quirked brow.

“Really, Choi Seungcheol?” Sunmi gestured towards the kids, particularly Tzuyu, and Seungcheol’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands together, startling the children.

“Oh, yeah,” Seungcheol replied after apologizing to Hansol and Tzuyu, who went back to playing after scolding him.

“Are you two best friends now? What’s with the secrets?” Jihyo pouted as she looked between the two.

“Ah, no, it’s just tha—”

Sunmi scoffed. “Wow, rude.” Seungcheol exhaled and flopped forwards, resting his face into his lap. Sunmi laughed loudly at the display, startling the children once more. Jihyo placated the children with soft chuckles lacing her words, and after inquiring about the candy, they eventually moved closer to their parents with their toys and other things.

“So?” Jihyo nudged Seungcheol as Sunmi handed the children much smaller pieces of candy. Seungcheol rose from his position and moved closer to Jihyo.

“I was just thinking about our situation—well, your situation that I’m also willingly apart of—and I was thinking that it might be easier for me to just pick Tzuyu up along with Hansol and then pick you up from work, you know?” Seungcheol explained, his words hurrying as he saw the refusal crossing over Jihyo’s face

“Seungcheol, I can’t, you’re already doing more than enough for us—”

“C’mon, Hyo, it’s basically the same thing we’re already doing,” Seungcheol attempted to coerce Jihyo, catching her off guard with his sudden and unconscious use of a nickname.

“He’s right, though. Besides, compared to Cheol, you’re doing a lot better,” Sunmi chimed back in after the children were satisfied with their candy.

“Uh?” Jihyo turned towards Sunmi with a face twisted in confusion.

“A few years back, Cheol hardly ever saw Hansol, let alone pick him up. He was a single dad who had to work his way up from the very bottom. A good friend of his practically raised Hansol while Cheol worked.”

“What—how do you even know all of that?” Seungcheol asked incredulously.

Sunmi shrugged. “Alcohol is real powerful sometimes. That’s why you shouldn’t go drinking with me, kiddo, I’m old enough to know my limits.” Sunmi cackled, but this time she was mindful of the children that weren’t paying attention and made sure to do so quietly. Seungcheol sighed and shook his head, but he turned towards Jihyo and admitted to the new information with a raise of his brows and his own little shrug.

“Anyways, you two can talk about it on your way home. You stay here late enough as it is, no time to have a semi-life changing discussion.” Sunmi got up and hurried around her desk to tug the two up by their arms. Seungcheol and Jihyo gasped and checked the time, realizing that it was getting late and the ride to Jihyo’s place wasn’t a quick one. The young parents gathered up their children and their children’s things before heading out with a thankful and sorry goodbye to Sunmi who waved them off with a bright smile regardless.

Seungcheol and Jihyo didn’t get a chance to resume the conversation until they were in the car and on their way towards Jihyo and Tzuyu’s home. The children finally getting a chance to tell their parents about their day, and other miscellaneous things. Eventually, Hansol and Tzuyu settled back into their own conversation and Seungcheol and Jihyo finally had the time to talk.

It started with a sigh from Jihyo, and while Seungcheol had gotten somewhat good at reading the younger woman, he couldn’t tell if that was a rejection sigh or acceptance sigh yet. “Thanks for your offer... Cheol . I’m really sorry about all of this, you know, but God I’m so, so grateful.” Jihyo chuckled weakly and turned towards Seungcheol; he glanced at her a few times, trying to keep his eyes on the road. Her smile was warm and kind, as always, but she was tired and it was obvious. Before he could comment on it, Jihyo turned away, leaning her head on the window and closed her eyes; Seungcheol took the time to steal several more glances at her before turning his attention back towards the road.

They rode in a pleasant silence all the way to Jihyo’s house, the soft chatter of the kids keeping Seungcheol entertained as Jihyo seemed to have drifted off to sleep. However, she managed to get shaken awake by a few bumps in the road and sleepily directed Seungcheol into the parking garage for the apartment complex. “If you’re going to be picking up Tzuyu and then myself, then you’re going to need my schedule, I’ll draw it up for you really quick.” Seungcheol offered to carry the children up if Jihyo got their bags, to which Jihyo agreed because she was still a bit groggy and didn’t feel like refusing at the moment.

“Woah, Dad! You’re so strong!” Hansol giggled, wiggling in Seungcheol’s arms. Tzuyu nodded along, wiggling as well. Seungcheol grinned and he began to play around with the kids as they headed up to Jihyo’s apartment. Jihyo, who was leading the way, began to walk alongside the rest of them to keep an eye on their playing, not afraid to smack Seungcheol with a bookbag if he got a bit too daring (not just with Tzuyu, but in general).

“We’re finally here,” Jihyo sighed. She slipped her shoes off and kicked them to the side, placing the children’s things on the sofa before hurrying off to her room to get started on her schedule. “make yourself comfortable!” She called out from the door frame before disappearing back inside of her room.

“Will do~” Seungcheol called back, helping the children take of their shoes before removing his own and lining them all up neatly (along with Jihyo’s). The children hurriedly went off to play, and Seungcheol flopped onto the sofa to finally relax for the first time that day. He laid for a moment, then he rose again, searching for the remote to the television and turning it on. He channel surfed for a little while before settling on a music show—the singer was amazing and the rapper she had to accompany her seemed something like a legend—and it kept him entertained long enough for him to forget exactly where he was and doze off a bit.

“Hey, Cheol,” Jihyo came into room, holding her cell phone against her shoulder. “sorry, but this might take a little, or a lot honestly, longer than I intended, so I hope you won’t mind staying for dinner?” Jihyo explained as she leaned against the back of the couch, poking Seungcheol’s face. A wide smile grew across her face as she watched Seungcheol pouted and try to wiggle away from the poking while simultaneously trying not to fall off the sofa.

Seungcheol groaned. “Did you hear anything I said?” Jihyo rolled her eyes. Seungcheol groaned again and opened an eye to signal that he was awake and listening. “If you’d like, you can order take out while I finish this up. My purse is on the kitchen table for money.” Jihyo patted Seungcheol’s head, chuckling as he groaned about being older and needing respect before heading back to her room. Eventually, Seungcheol got up and called the kids in to ask what they wanted to eat, receiving various answers in return.

“Pizza!” Hansol jumped up and down as he looked up at his father.

“Chinese! I want Chinese!” Tzuyu whined and pouted, hugging her doll closer to her.

Seungcheol looked between the two kids and sighed, unable to choose one or the other. “How about we get both? Don’t tell your Mommy I’m paying for both, though, Tzuyu.” Seungcheol whispered, leaning closer to the little girl and bringing a finger to his lips. Tzuyu smiled brightly before doing the same, her big eyes looking up at Seungcheol innocently. Seungcheol smiled and lightly pinched the children’s cheeks before telling them they can go play again before he worked on ordering their dinner.

“Im free!” Jihyo emerged from her bedroom with her schedule in hand. Seungcheol turned around quickly while taking the Chinese take-out from the delivery man, cheering for her freedom. Seungcheol thanked the man (as well as the kids who were excited for dinner) and closed the door behind him. “What’d you get?”

“I just want you to know that I’m a weak human being,” Seungcheol started as he sat the Chinese food down on the small, foldable table in the living room. Before he could finish what he wanted to say, the doorbell rang again and Jihyo gave Seungcheol a questioning look. Hansol and Tzuyu cheered once more, but this time for Pizza, and Seungcheol made his way to the door sheepishly.

“Oh my god…” Jihyo sighed and walked around the couch to start setting up the Chinese take out and make room for pizza also (apparently).

Seungcheol thanked the delivery woman and, after giving a generous tip, closed the door behind him and returned to the living room. “Like I said, I’m a weak human being. Now you know you can’t trust me to make decisions with the kids around.” Seungcheol chuckled and set the pizza box down on the space Jihyo cleared. Jihyo only grunted, getting up to get drinks. Seungcheol followed her with his eyes and pouted.

“You’re not mad, right?” He asked when she returned with juice, water, and cups. Jihyo didn’t respond, resolutely ignoring him as she poured drinks for the kids and for herself, setting the drinks aside for Seungcheol to choose for himself. “You know, I paid for everything...Don’t be mad, please?” It’s been a while, but Seungcheol pulled out his award-winning smile that stole hearts guaranteed and he made his eyes look exceptionally big and dazzling.

“ Choi Seungcheol! ” Jihyo gasped and swatted at Seungcheol’s shoulder.

“Is that why you said not to tell Mommy?” Tzuyu paused before stuffing a dumpling into . Seungcheol looked at the little girl, fake hurt, and nodded furiously. Jihyo huffed and swatted at Seungcheol again, lighter this time, and the children giggled as Seungcheol recoiled as if he were greatly hurt.

“Let’s hurry and eat before your money goes to waste,” Jihyo pulled Seungcheol up, the two of them saying a quick thanks for the meal before digging in.

Halfway through dinner, Tzuyu exclaims about wanting to show Hansol her favorite movie. Jihyo instructed the little girl how to work the DVD player and how to put the movie in. Tzuyu struggled with popping the DVD out of the case, bringing it over to Seungcheol who popped it out with ease. Tzuyu thanked him before going back over to the DVD player and putting the movie in—upside down at first, which Jihyo hurriedly corrected her—and then the movie was finally playing. Over the course of the evening, one movie turned into watching the whole series and eventually Jihyo and Seungcheol had to escape by assuming clean-up duty and moving to the kitchen to talk.

“So, I didn’t get to ask before, but what was the deal about the whole friend thing?” Jihyo questioned after they had finished cleaning up the last of the mess and putting everything back in its place. Seungcheol settled against the counter, taking a moment to remember the conversation from earlier that afternoon.

“Oh yeah, well, my friend Jihoon is the one I stayed with after coming back to Korea. He’s actually more than just a friend, he’s my best friend, known him for as long as I can remember. He worked from home—still does actually, I don’t think he goes out unless it’s for food, but that’s besides the point—and had extra room for us. I worked hard on getting a job, and worked hard to keep that job, which meant I couldn’t always be there for Sol. Jihoon, though, took a liking to Hansol luckily and gladly babysitted for me.” Seungcheol explained simply, recalling the past with a slight smile that seemed a bit tight around the edges.

“Jihoon sounds like a godsend,” Jihyo joked a bit, but it was just as sad as Seungcheol’s smile.

“He really is, kinda wish we actually tried the whole dating thing out...but I guess everything works out in the end, even if some things go wrong along the way,”

“So, is this  Jihoon your only friend, or do I finally one-up you on something?” Jihyo grinned and took a sip from her cup.

“Jokes on you, I have, like, one more friend than you do,” Seungcheol smirked.

“Damn—does Sunmi unnie count?” Jihyo countered.

“If she counts for you then she counts for me too,” Seungcheol chuckled as Jihyo her teeth and muttered another curse under her breath.

“Anyways, Mr. Popularity, tell me about your friends then,”

“Well, most of my friends are from work, and by most I mean all of them.” Seungcheol admitted with a feeling of a retort coming.

“Hah! Lame! I declare myself the more popular one!” Jihyo laughed and danced around slightly. Seungcheol pursed his lips and nodded, trying to hold in his laughter for once.

“ Anyways , Ms. Popularity,” Seungcheol reached over and lightly shoved at Jihyo to stop her from gloating. “my friend from the company was Junhui. As you can probably tell, he’s a transfer from China. Although he’s good at what he does, whether he’s allowed to be an actual adult that functions in society is debatable. Then there’s Soonyoung and Wonwoo who were a package deal; Junhui introduced them to me when we went out for drinks one time. On the outside looking in, they’re literal opposites, but when you get to know them it’s like they share one mind. No surprise when they started dating a year or so ago.”

“Sounds like the perfect sitcom, I’m enjoying this,” Jihyo quipped, genuinely amused.

“Yeah, well, to add fuel to the fire, we recently got a transfer from America. He goes by Joshua, but he’s officially registered as Jisoo, which is funny because a lot of guys from other departments try to swing by for a look at the “hot American transfer” since the only Jisoo’s we have in the office are female.” At this, Jihyo almost spat her drink out laughing. She crumbled to the floor in a fit of laughter and Seungcheol couldn’t help but join her. Their conversation continued that way—them on the floor, laughing at all of Seungcheol’s amusing office stories with Jihyo griping here and there about the lack of amusement that happens at her jobs.

The two were having a great time going back and forth about their lives until they had finally had to get up to check on the kids as they noticed that the menu for the movie had played for another time. When they made their way into the living room, they found that the kids had fallen asleep, so the two young parents scooped their children up into their arms. Seungcheol gathered Hansol’s things, grabbed the schedule that Jihyo drew up for him, rejected taking some leftovers back with him, and made putting on his and Hansol’s shoes the slowest ordeal he possibly could. However, one could only stall for so long when putting on shoes.

Seungcheol sighed and groaned as he stood up, hoisting Hansol up again. “Well,” Seungcheol drug out, turning around a bit. Jihyo was leaning against Tzuyu, swaying from side to side with a sweet smile on her face.

“Well,” Jihyo’s voice was a bit tired, but it was as melodic as ever.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at your—” Seungcheol shuffled a bit, bringing the paper up to his face. “piano lessons, then?”

“Yep, see you tomorrow. Today was fun as always.” The two shared one last chuckle before Seungcheol was finally forced to head out. Seungcheol made his way down to his car, maybe a bit too surprised at how dark it had gotten. Seungcheol settled Hansol into his car seat and placed his things next to him, handing the little boy’s plushie to him knowing that Hansol’s little arms would wrap around it instinctively and snuggle into it (which made Seungcheol almost cry, which also, in turn, made him wonder just how tired he was because he wasn’t that weak).

“Time to get you home buddy.” Seungcheol muttered and stretched after he got into the driver’s seat. He started up the car and headed out back home.