(A/N: This story takes place 1 year after 'Kitten On Board' ^^)

♡

“But I don’t wanna,” Jongin whines for the nth time as he stabs at his cereal with a pout. “Why can’t you do it instead?” He sloshes the milk around with his spoon for a second, only sighing when he gets no response. The sound of a crayon rolling across the floor fills the air and he sighs again.

Sehun picks the tiny red backpack up off the floor and places it on the kitchen table. “You know there’s nothing to worry about,” he chuckles and runs a hand through his hair as he eyes the objects carefully placed out across the surface; a spare change of clothing, a box full of kitty treats, two stuffed rabbits, a tiny, yellow pencil case chocked full of stationery and a panda shaped milk bottle - all of which Sehun made sure to prepare last night for Jonghun’s first day of preschool. He mentally checks off every single thing for the nth time before he looks at Jongin, who is still pouting to himself across the table.

Surprisingly (yet inevitably), Jongin was entirely against the idea of coming along to drop Jonghun off at preschool, ever since Jonghun got accepted two months ago, due to all the strangers that were guaranteed to be present. Despite Sehun repeatedly reassuring Jongin that none of the children (or parents) were out to get him, and that preschool was actually a whole lot of fun (especially for somebody like Jongin, which the latter refused to believe), Jongin continued to avoid the topic like the plague. Sehun wholeheartedly believed that Jongin would change his mind and gradually warm up to the idea, especially with Jonghun constantly and eagerly demanding that both of them come along to drop him off, but all it seemed to do was fuel Jongin’s decision anxiety to impossible extents.

Despite that, Sehun insisted that Jongin come along, mostly because Sehun hates the idea of having to tell Jonghun that Jongin wouldn't be there (which would definitely result in a lot of tears), but mainly because Sehun sort of knew, ever since he visited and stepped inside the red building for the first time last month, that Jongin would most definitely fall in love with the playful and energetic atmosphere once actually he crossed the threshold. No matter how many times Sehun tried explaining it to Jongin, though, the latter would always insist that getting his tail pulled, stepped on and having children running up to him every second was way worse, before he changed the subject completely.

Jongin bites his lip and looks up, ears nervously twitching as he watches Jonghun sitting on the floor and scribbling all over a sheet of paper with a red crayon. Jongin eyes the blue card - the one Sehun’s youngest sister sent them upon finding out about Jonghun’s arrival, which is still lying face down on the floor next to the shelf (as a result of Jonghun accidentally colliding with it whilst he chased after a fly just now). Jongin honestly has no idea how and why somebody could be so eager to be trapped within a loud, hectic environment full of ten billion children for two whole years, considering how ecstatic Jonghun was when he pulled Jongin from his sleep at six o’clock this morning and repeatedly squeed something about being 'so, so happy to play with his new friends'. Jongin doesn't think that he'll ever wrap his head around it, but he figures that it must be a kitten thing as he sloshes his spoon around in his cereal, which has gotten soggy at this point.

As Sehun carefully places each item inside Jonghun’s backpack, Jongin rests his head on his hand and tries to stifle another sigh. While he won’t ever admit it, Jongin would be lying if he said that Luhan’s idea of Jonghun devoting his kittenhood to climbing trees, hunting and catty things in general, was a terrible idea. At first, Jongin found himself intrigued by the idea of learning new things every day at school, but it wasn’t until Sehun picked him up from Luhan's house and told him about all the seemingly thousands of children Jonghun would meet and hang out with later on (as well as how cute all the tiny furniture was), that Jongin immediately took everything back. In fact, Jongin spent the following weeks trying to convince Sehun that Jonghun going to preschool was an awful idea, since no cat deserved to spend their kittenhood locked up inside a small building, which unfortunately had no effect on Sehun, who seemed dead set on placing Jonghun on the road to “a good education” no matter what (whatever that meant, Jongin thought). Surprisingly enough, Baekhyun also insisted on placing Jonghun in preschool, after Jongin desperately called him up in a final attempt to get Sehun to change his mind, which only had Jongin questioning Baekhyun’s so called "Einstein-like knowledge" of hybrids.

“But I don’t wanna,” Jongin whines, mainly to himself, as he keeps his gaze fixated on the faded, red crayon markings scattered all over the (white) walls by the shelf. When Sehun only hums in response, Jongin groans. “Can’t I just wait in the car??” he asks and nibbles on a spongy piece of cereal. Inevitably, his voice falls on deaf ears, and it’s not until Sehun claps and rubs his hands together, which has Jonghun squeeing with excitement, that Jongin childishly buries his face in his hands. “But-”

“You won't hate it once we get there, I promise,” Sehun chuckles and immediately scolds Jonghun after the latter excitedly hops onto the table (which has Sehun cursing Jongin for passing on his unearthly jumping abilities, ever since Jonghun turned old enough to discover the true strength of his legs). After placing Jonghun back down on the floor, Sehun adjusts his suit before he helps Jonghun snake his arms through the red straps on his backpack. He doesn’t even get a chance to ask Jonghun if he needs to go potty before the latter excitedly zooms towards the hallway before he proceeds to put his shoes on (on the wrong feet, Jongin notices). Sehun fixes his hair, which is in desperate need of another dye job, and sends Jongin a smile. “You coming?”

Jongin looks up and blinks. He opens his mouth to protest, but realizes that doing so would be wholly useless when Sehun beckons him to come over before he disappears down the hallway. With a loud sigh, Jongin slowly gets out of his chair, not even bothering to put his bowl inside the dishwasher before he trudges towards the hallway. He mentally prepares himself for an hour's worth of getting his tail tugged and stepped on as he watches Sehun help Jonghun with the velcro on his shoes, before he sinks to the floor and reaches for his own sneakers. Jongin toes them on and blinks when Jonghun excitedly tugs on his hair and asks for a piggyback ride to the car, which has Sehun swooping in and picking him up before Jongin can say yes (and thus possibly drop Jonghun for the third time this week).

Jongin isn’t sure if he’s got his overall fatigue to blame, but he finds himself pouting all the way to the parking lot whilst Jonghun drags Sehun towards the car by the index finger. Jonghun nearly trips on his own tail (which has grown eight whole inches since his first birthday) before he jumps up and clings to the car door handle, all whilst Sehun pulls out his car keys and tells Jonghun to stop tugging on the handle before he falls and hurts himself. Jongin climbs into the back seat and straps Jonghun in his car seat, whilst the latter bounces up and down and claps his chubby hands together in anticipation.

After Sehun checks his watch and jams the key in the ignition, Jongin fastens his seatbelt before he reaches out and wipes a few cracker crumbs from the corners of Jonghun’s mouth. Jongin eyes the milk stain on Jonghun’s blue shirt, which the latter picked out all by himself, and managed to put on inside out in his exhilarated state (after he raided Sehun's entire closet). Even though Jonghun is essentially on the verge of tearing his backpack to shreds from how much he's kneading it in excitement, Jongin still can’t wrap his head around the idea of Jonghun being trapped in a loud, stressful environment with a bunch of people he doesn’t know for 730 days. Sehun tells Jonghun all about how many new friends he’s going to make and how much fun he’s going to have, to which Jonghun merely responds by gleefully kicking his legs. At some point during Jonghun's endless series of squealing, Jongin suddenly recalls his phone call with Chanyeol two weeks ago, a few days before he called up Baekhyun.

Jongin doesn’t remember much from said call, since he was simultaneously in the midst of picking out a Disney movie to watch with Sehun and Jonghun, but what he does recall is Chanyeol shamelessly questioning the idea of Jonghun attending a “normal" preschool, to which Sehun (who seemingly heard their conversation through the phone) responded by informing them that the only hybrid preschool in Manhattan was located forty miles from the office, much to Jongin’s dismay. It wasn’t until Chanyeol got the bright idea to bring up the possibility of Jonghun being mocked by the other pupils, since he knew how 'goddamn dumb kids could be sometimes', that Sehun made Jongin hang up the phone. Despite Sehun repeatedly reassuring Jongin that children weren’t actually as evil hearted as Chanyeol made them out to be, Jongin found himself unable to concentrate throughout the entire film (which resulted in Sehun scolding Chanyeol over the phone for planting 'such a ridiculous seed of doubt' in Jongin’s mind). In fact, Jongin even took it upon himself to look up the number to Jonghun’s preschool the very next day, but Sehun managed to convince Jongin to hang up the phone before he could threaten to slash everybody’s eyes out if they ever bullied Jonghun.

As Jonghun watches the cars outside while grooming his ears, which are close to becoming swallowed up by his fluffy, black hair, Jongin reaches out and adjusts the tiny collar around his neck. The thought of the other children being mean to Jonghun, either by calling him something along the lines of a ‘Freak’ (which Jongin has had his own fair share of already), abusing his tail or just making him sad (and thus ruining his very first day), has Jongin wanting to burst into tears himself, and he gently grasps Jonghun’s chubby hand before Jonghun begins fiddling with his wedding ring. Jongin tries thinking about what Baekhyun told him - that children are usually far more accepting and kind hearted than most adults, but it does little to make him feel better.

“Luhan said it’d be better if he spent his kittenhood learning how to climb trees and hunt,” Jongin absently mumbles, mainly to himself, as he watches Jonghun wave at a couple of girls sitting in the car to their right. Jonghun, being the photogenic kitten he is, automatically grins when they proceed to snap photos on their phones, which has Jongin’s ears twitching in awe. “But what if he doesn’t like it??? What if they bully him???”

Sehun steps on the accelerator before he sends Jongin a smile through the rear view mirror. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?” he replies with a reassuring smile, to which Jongin only responds with a weak nod.

Even though he hasn’t told Jongin, Sehun actually contemplated the (existing) possibility of Jonghun being treated differently by the other pupils weeks before he made the first phone call (and before Jongin called up Chanyeol on that godforsaken Friday evening). Even though the idea kept him up for a few nights, Sehun eventually came to the conclusion that that most likely wouldn’t be the case, given just how well Jonghun got along with the other toddlers he met during their daily trips to the playground. In fact, Sehun would argue that, more often than not, other children would approach Jonghun after being intrigued by the latter’s ears and tail, before they would proceed to frolick in the sandbox, on the slide and sometimes even on the monkey bars (which had Jonghun climbing about, and hanging upside down, many feet above the ground, whilst the other children and their parents watched in both awe and crippling anxiety).

After a few minutes of silence, Jongin looks up and feels his ears droop when he sees a large, red building appearing in the distance. It’s not until Jongin notices the sea of adults and children standing outside, and looking at them, that he has to focus on Jonghun drumming his chubby fingers against his backpack before he can shoot through the roof like an anxious rocket. As they pull up outside the building, Jongin watches the adults converse with each other as Sehun parks the car. None of the parents spare Jonghun a glance when he waves at them through the window, which has Jongin’s tail twitching in slight irritation. 

Fixing his hair, Sehun puts the parking brake on before he steps outside and stretches. He checks his watch and figures that Jongin’s reluctance might actually be a good thing, since he promised Taemin that he would be present at the office for their meeting half an hour after they dropped Jonghun off. Shaking the thought, Sehun briefly nods at all the (presumably single) mothers sending him interested looks before he watches Jongin reluctantly unstrap Jonghun from his car seat, the latter nearly kicking Jongin in the face as he excitedly flails his limbs in all directions. Hearing the children and parents shuffling about and talking outside, Jonghun accidentally tumbles out of his seat in his hurry to get out. He easily lands on his feet beside the car, much to Sehun’s relief (because even though Sehun got used to Jonghun’s amazing agility skills long ago, he will forever blame his overly-protective-mother-hen side for freaking out every time Jonghun comes dangerously close to hurting himself).

From his spot inside the car, Jongin watches Sehun chase after Jonghun when the latter excitedly zooms towards a little blonde girl with a Hello Kitty bag. She only stares at Jonghun after Sehun catches up to him and holds him back, and it’s not until she reaches out and curiously pokes the fuzzy tufts of fur atop Jonghun’s ears that Jongin contemplates throwing the car door open and running towards them. Much to Jongin’s relief (and surprise), she grins, and through the closed car door, Jongin hears her talking about her love for cute cats before she envelopes Jonghun in a friendly hug, to which the latter responds by pointing to her bag and squeeing something along the lines of ‘Me and Daddy’. Jongin watches them for a while, and it’s not until he turns his head to look at Jonghun's car seat that he sees a little boy curiously peeking his head inside the car through the open door, which has Jongin scrambling out of the vehicle before he practically spills out onto the pavement below.

Sehun has to cut his talk with the little girl’s father short after he sees Jongin standing up and brushing himself off a few feet away, and Sehun quickly jogs over to the car and locks the doors before any curious children can climb inside. As Jongin eyes a flock of birds up in the sky, Sehun hears Jonghun, who has attracted an entire crowd of children (and parents) at this point, proudly telling everybody that he combed his hair all by himself this morning (as much as his limited vocabulary will allow him to, that is). Sehun rubs the small of Jongin’s back as they watch from a few feet away, but he doesn’t get a chance to tell Jongin to relax a bit before Jonghun rushes over and grabs Jongin’s finger. Sehun only watches as Jonghun drags Jongin towards the little girl, whose jaw hits the ground after seeing two cats standing in front of her.

After coming to the conclusion that she has no intentions of permanently damaging his tail, Jongin scratches the back of his neck as he keeps a tight grip on the back of Jonghun’s shirt. Jongin sort of feels like he’s trapped in a room with people closing in on every side, but he’s quickly pulled from his thoughts when Jonghun tugs on his sleeve - a gesture that Jongin recognizes all too well at this point. Knowing just how harsh Sehun is when it comes to public hunting, Jongin restrains himself from closing in on a sparrow that lands within arm's reach (which Sehun promptly shoos away upon noticing the dangerous glint in Jonghun’s eyes) before he bends down and picks up a handful of ants. Sehun doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry when people wrinkle their noses in disgust after Jonghun grabs them and gobbles them up all at once.

Jonghun wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, but Sehun doesn’t get a chance to retrieve a tissue from his pocket before Jonghun suddenly squeals after seeing a magpie perched on the stairs leading up to the main door. Jongin sort of hates Sehun for abandoning him with a bunch of random strangers after Sehun whirls around and flies after Jonghun, who is already halfway up the stairs before any of them can blink. Jongin loses Sehun in the crowd seconds later, but he doesn't have time to feel anxious about it when he feels his chest swelling with pride, after Jonghun jumps eight feet in the air and clasps the bird’s right wing with a chubby hand and a triumphant squeal. To Jongin’s relief, majority of the people surrounding him immediately leave him alone when Jonghun rushes towards him whilst holding the bird up by its (certainly broken) wing. A few children seem to stay behind, though, but Jongin ignores them as his eyes fill with hearts upon seeing Jonghun’s ears twitching with joy. A little boy curiously points to the animal while Jongin pulls out his phone to take a picture, since he knows for a fact that Luhan will be bouncing off the walls upon finding out that Jonghun just caught his very first bird all by himself.

Jonghun automatically grins when Jongin holds up his phone, but Jongin finds it difficult to get a good shot since the bird won’t stop thrashing in Jonghun’s grasp. As he tries getting his camera to focus, Jongin watches as Jonghun holds the bird, which is twice as large as his torso, close to his chest like he usually holds his stuffed animals. However, Jongin still finds himself unable to take a picture due to the bird repeatedly flapping its healthy wing right in Jonghun’s face, and Jongin is about to give up when Jonghun grasps the animal’s neck and promptly breaks it in half with a loud crunching sound (just like Luhan taught him, Jongin thinks), which has every adult within a ten foot radius fleeing with their children in panic. Jonghun only grins, tail swishing from side to side as he smiles up at the camera, and Jongin hurries to take a picture before he texts it to Luhan. The reply (which consists of at least a million crying and praying emojis and way too many 'omfg’s' for Jongin’s liking) is nearly instant, but Jongin doesn’t get a chance to tell Jonghun how proud uncle Luhan is of him before Jonghun skips towards a group of children and proudly shows them what he’s got in his hands. They only stare in wonder, and it’s not until Jonghun proceeds to take a large bite that Jongin pulls out his phone to record a video.

However, Jongin doesn’t even get a chance to unlock his phone before Sehun walks over (after successfully managing to escape a fifteen-minute-long dinner invitation from a handful of single mothers, all of whom straight up refused to accept his excuse of being happily married and not interested in the slightest). Jongin is about to tell Sehun what he missed when Jonghun rushes over to Sehun with bright red blood staining his chin and cheeks, his ecstatic squeals muffled as he chews. Jongin takes a few more pictures as Jonghun proudly holds up his catch in front of Sehun (and just about everybody else), to which Sehun only responds by cursing under his breath. A few children point as Jonghun hops up and down and tries gifting it to Sehun (which definitely doesn’t make Jongin pout with envy), who bends down and whispers something Jongin can't hear. It’s not until Jonghun shakes his head and gives the bird a tight squeeze (which Sehun prays won’t end up staining his shirt with blood) that Sehun stands up and ushers Jonghun towards the back of the building.

Not wanting to finagle himself through the massive crowd of people blocking the path, Jongin simply puts his phone back in his pocket before he runs a hand through his hair and nervously scans his surroundings. Most of the people surrounding him aren’t even sparing him as much as a glance, which Jongin is thankful for, and he opts to sit cross legged on the ground and stack stones on top of each other, hoping nobody will walk up and talk to him while he waits for Sehun to return with Jonghun. Suddenly, Jonghun’s loud crying fills the air (which Jongin can sort of sympathize with, since he knows exactly how it feels to have somebody reject your gift), and Jongin is about to resume completing his pebble tower when the door suddenly opens. 

A woman with black hair and large glasses (and blindingly pale skin) cheerfully waves at everybody before she beckons them to come inside. To Jongin’s relief, every single child surrounding him rushes towards the door with their parents hot on their heels. Jongin soon finds himself sitting all alone on the ground outside, but his relief is short lived when the woman suddenly looks at him and sends him a smile. Despite Sehun’s numerous attempts at changing Jongin's opinion of strangers, Jongin still feels his ears folding back before his tail goes bushy behind him. It’s not until she sends him a puzzled, yet friendly look that Jongin contemplates crawling underneath Sehun’s car to hide, but he doesn’t get a chance to when he notices Jonghun gleefully running towards him with Sehun close behind.

Jongin nearly sprains his ankle as he scrambles to his feet and scoops Jonghun up in his arms. Despite the wet tears staining Jonghun’s (blood free) cheeks, Jongin instantly catches a whiff of salmon kitty treats as soon as Jonghun reaches out and playfully tugs on his hair. Sehun brushes himself off before he leans in to place a kiss on Jongin’s forehead, only to whirl around when the woman, who is still standing by the door, clears by the door. Jongin doesn’t even get a chance to react before Jonghun squirms out of his grip and scampers towards the door. Sehun follows close behind, with Jongin reluctantly dragging his feet behind him. However, it doesn’t take them long to figure out that Jonghun is actually rushing towards her, and Sehun manages to grab the straps to Jonghun’s backpack in the nick of time before Jonghun can climb up her skirt and grab the silver pendant on her necklace.

---

Jongin swallows upon seeing all the adults and children within the room, but he's immediately distracted as soon as he spots the hundreds of toy boxes, colorful (and sort of terrible) drawings, children's costumes and brightly colored curtains hanging from every window. Sehun makes sure to keep a tight grasp on the back of Jonghun’s shirt as to not lose Jonghun in the crowd of erratic children and parents scurrying about, and he soon finds himself keeping a tight grasp on the back of Jongin's shirt, as well, when he notices Jongin staring a little too contently at a few paper cranes hanging by a thread from the ceiling fan. At first, Sehun figures that they’re no longer in the center of attention (save for the couple sending Jonghun terrified looks from across the room), but he takes it back when just about every head in the room turns in their direction after little girl accidentally steps on Jongin’s tail in the commotion, which has Jongin flying through the roof with a wall shattering shriek of pain.

Coiling his tail around his ankle (which he figures he should have done earlier), Jongin stops himself from growling at the little girl when Sehun sends him a warning look. Figuring it probably wouldn’t be good to get themselves kicked out minutes after walking in the door, Jongin simply sends her an evil glare before he resumes clinging to Sehun’s arm like a baby koala. Jonghun is practically bouncing off the walls with anticipation as his ears twitch in all directions, and it’s not until he rushes over to sit around a table with the other children that Sehun realizes just how tiny Jonghun really is. In fact, Sehun finds himself biting his lip in worry when Jonghun momentarily disappears in the crowd of eager children, before he reappears and zooms towards a yellow chair. Sehun makes a mental note to tell Jongin off for constantly encouraging Jonghun to sit informally when the latter climbs onto said chair and perches himself on the edge.

The woman, who reminds Jongin of a ghost, walks up to the front of the room and introduces herself, but Jongin quickly finds himself zoning out before he hears her name, and the next thing he knows, he’s quietly slipping away from the crowd and humming to himself as he inspects the colorful posters and alphabet letters lining the walls. A box of toys catches his eye and Jongin is careful to avoid stepping on a rock solid action figure lying on the floor as he walks towards it. His ears twitch upon seeing a small, pink table with two green chairs on either side and a box of crayons in the center, but he doesn't dare use them, given his nonexistent drawing skills. It almost reminds Jongin of the waiting room he and Sehun sat in mere minutes before they found out that they were having a baby, and Jongin wastes no time in perching himself on the exceptionally tiny chair, only to scramble into a normal sitting position when he worries it might collapse under his weight.

Jongin ends up bending his long legs at an awkward angle and he eventually resorts to perching himself on the center of the table after he worries his legs might actually break off. As the group of children giggle at something a few feet away, Jongin’s eyes roam around the playroom until they land on an ajar door with a bright yellow moon sticker. Feeling his ears twitch, Jongin approaches it and carefully swats the handle. The door swings open and Jongin nearly screams in relief when he sees a row of what he assumes is tiny mattresses with neatly folded, and equally tiny, blankets and pillows on top of each one. Figuring he’s pretty much obligated to catch up on his beauty sleep, since Jonghun woke him up two hours after dawn, Jongin eagerly skips inside the room, which reeks of baby powder and plastic, ears twitching as he tries to settle on the comfiest looking mattress. He soon settles for the one closest to the window, since it’s by the corner and all Jongin wants is to sleep in peace as far away from people as possible.

While the mattresses may be suited to easily accommodate a two year old child, they certainly weren’t designed to accommodate a fully grown, 6’2” male hybrid, which Jongin realizes after he skips across the room and lies down, only for his entire lower body to end up on the rainbow carpet. He huffs and gets to his feet, figuring nobody will have anything against him using a few extra mattresses (since he can’t help being taller than average, after all) as he grabs three more mattresses and places them next to one another on the floor. Jongin ends up grabbing a fourth mattress, as well, which he places to the right of his handmade mattress column, on which he rests his tail.

Brushing his hands together, Jongin inspects the cluster of mattresses on the floor before he gets to his knees and finds a comfortable spot to sleep on. Jongin ends up settling for the spot near the middle, and he gently kneads it for a minute before he curls up and places the blanket on top of himself. However, it doesn’t take long for him to realize that the paper thin blanket is not only doing nothing to keep him warm, but that it barely even covers his torso. With a huff, Jongin ends up getting to his feet a second time, and he finds himself grabbing all thirty blankets before dumping them all in the corner. Jongin makes sure to cover his entire body after a cold gust of wind enters the room, until he’s absolutely positive that not a single square inch of his body is visible beneath the blankets. A series of muffled laughter coming from the other room echoes inside Jongin’s head as he slowly feels himself drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

---

A wave of giggles fills the room after the woman - the group’s (and thus Jonghun’s) teacher, tells a funny joke (as funny as toddler humor gets, that is), and Sehun finds himself chuckling along with a handful of other parents as he watches Jonghun’s tail sway from side to side as he listens contently. Even though Sehun worried that Jonghun might have been having second thoughts after he turned to look at Sehun mid lecture, he simply waved at Sehun with an excited grin before Sehun waved back. Apart from the fuzzy ears on his head and tail swishing back and forth, Jonghun’s bright red backpack makes him stand out like a sore thumb amongst the other children surrounding him, which makes Sehun feel all warm inside.

At first, Sehun worried that Jonghun’s excitement might get the best of him, which turned out to be true when Jonghun excitedly climbed onto the table after noticing the pink potted flower in the center. After he plopped himself down in a cross legged position on the tabletop, before anybody could react, Jonghun grabbed the (artificial) plant and stuffed it in his mouth before he tossed it away from him with a grimace and missed a little boy’s eye by an inch. Sehun eventually had to rush over after one of the girls forcefully tugged on Jonghun’s tail in an attempt to drag him off the table, which resulted in Jonghun growling right in her face while he attempted to slash her small wrists. Jonghun's teacher briefly had to put her allergy lecture on hold whilst Sehun went on to tell Jonghun that he, just like Jongin, wasn’t allowed to scratch or hiss at anybody no matter how mean they were to him. Jonghun only nodded and swung his tiny legs back and forth on the chair, all whilst the other children stared at him in curiosity (especially when Jonghun proceeded to groom his ears shortly after, which had just about everybody in the room, including the parents, paying more attention to him than the tune blaring from the speakers at the front of the room).

Another thing that Jonghun didn’t inherit from Jongin was Jongin’s tendency to whine and or throw a minor hissy fit after being reprimanded, which clearly wasn’t the case with Jonghun (aside from when Sehun forced him to leave the dead bird behind the building earlier, after rejecting it when Jonghun gifted it to him again, which resulted in ten seconds of crying on Jonghun’s part before he calmed down and forgot all about it), which Sehun couldn't be more thankful for as he waves at Jonghun for the nth time and discreetly checks his watch. Sehun figures that he’ll make it to work just in time after the introduction ends, and he pulls out his phone to text Taemin to prepare the meeting room. However, Sehun forgets all about it when he blinks upon realizing that he hasn’t seen or heard a peep from Jongin ever since Jonghun sat down half an hour ago. Sehun assumes that Jongin must have slipped outside after getting overwhelmed by the large crowd, but he doesn’t get a chance to think about it any further when all of the children scramble out of their seats and run to their parents.

Sehun finds himself ruffling Jonghun’s hair after the latter rushes over to him and points down the hallway. At some point in the commotion, Sehun manages to figure out that they’re going to be taking a look at the nap room and snack area, which makes him realize that he should probably let Taemin know that he'll be running late as Jonghun drags him away by the finger. Sehun briefly contemplates stepping outside and asking Jongin if he’d like to come along whilst he tries his best to keep Jonghun at an arm’s distance (whilst simultaneously trying to avoid being trampled by the crowd), but Sehun shoves the thought aside as he makes his way down the hallway. The colorful drawings scattered all across the walls only makes Sehun think about the fact that they will soon be hanging Jonghun’s drawings from preschool up on the fridge at home, which sort of makes him want to scream.

They soon come to a stop outside a door with a cartoon moon sticker on it, and the sweet smell lingering in the air reminds Sehun of the baby powder they have stashed away at home as he peeks his head inside the room. As he grips Jonghun’s hand tightly, Sehun barely makes out a few mattresses in the center of the room, with baby blue pillows on them, as well as a bookshelf filled with story books and lullabies (which sort of makes him wish that they had a nap room at the office). After Jonghun points to a box of toys sitting near the door, Sehun ruffles his hair before he eyes the ajar window and colorful carpet. Sehun wonders if he’s obligated to inform Jonghun’s teacher about the fact that Jonghun usually prefers curling up on the floor over a mattress and or bed, but he decides against it when she opens to speak.

While she explains that this is where they will all be napping, Sehun, along with a few other parents, finds himself staring at the blue mountain of blankets piled up in the far right corner. She briefly apologizes for the mess with a rather puzzled look on her face, but Sehun barely pays her any attention as he tries to get Jonghun to return his wedding ring, which the latter managed to yank off as he tugged on Sehun's hand just now. A couple of children jump up and down in anticipation and Sehun manages to stop Jonghun from hopping along with them, but he doesn’t get a chance to pry his ring out of Jonghun's hand before Jonghun suddenly zooms inside the room after squeeing something along the lines of ‘Daddy!!!’. Jonghun nearly trips on his own tail thrice as he rushes towards the heap of blankets in the corner, all whilst he emits a drawn out squeal. Sehun doesn’t get to feel all warm on the inside for very long, though, when the thought of Jonghun tossing his ring (or jumping) out the open window hits him, and Sehun hastily excuses himself before he chases after Jonghun.

Sehun manages to grab ahold of Jonghun’s arm before the latter can do anything that might send Sehun into cardiac arrest, and he quickly bends down and slides his ring back on his finger after getting Jonghun to hand it over (which the latter does without protest, much to Sehun’s relief). With just about everybody staring at them at this point, Sehun apologetically clears his throat as he stands up, and he's about to tell Jonghun to rejoin his new friends when the large mass of blankets on the floor suddenly stirs, causing Sehun to jump five feet in the air and Jonghun to loudly squeal.

Now, while Sehun didn’t expect for somebody to actually be underneath said mass, he figures that he sort of should have expected to see Jongin curled up by his feet, and Sehun honestly doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry when Jongin sits up and groggily rubs his eyes, which has a handful of adults awkwardly clearing their throats. It’s not until Jongin sits up and looks around the room in his dazed state, his bed head making it difficult to distinguish his hair from his ears, that he immediately freezes up upon seeing the sixty or so people staring right at him. Sehun can only watch as Jongin’s ears straighten in surprise before he scrambles underneath the blankets again. Jonghun only hops up and down, clearly amused as he claps his hands together, and it’s not until he attempts to wriggle underneath the blankets to join Jongin (presumably for a father-son nap, Sehun figures) that Sehun has to bend down and tell Jongin to come out.

Inevitably, Jongin doesn’t even move a muscle (especially with all the children emitting curious noises in all directions), but it doesn’t take long for him to catch a whiff of Sehun’s perfume, and the next thing Sehun knows, he’s toppling over and tumbling down onto the mattress with a low ‘Oof!’ after Jongin excitedly wraps his arms around his legs. Jonghun immediately climbs up Sehun’s back and perches himself on the latter’s broad shoulders, all whilst Jongin nuzzles his face in the crook of Sehun’s neck. With Jonghun tugging on his hair, Sehun simply flicks Jongin’s forehead in a scolding manner, hoping they’re not on the verge of getting kicked out for all eternity as he stands up and brushes himself off.

They somehow manage to get out of putting all the mattresses and blankets back in their respective places, despite Sehun insisting that it's the right thing to do, all while Jonghun drags Jongin away to show the latter the blonde girl’s Hello Kitty backpack. Jongin merely responds with a shy smile, but he seems much more interested in her mother’s dangly, diamond earrings, both of which he stares at with a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. Thankfully, a handful of curious children run up to Jongin and effectively distract him before he can grab them. Jongin sort of feels like a giant when he finds himself surrounded by pretty much every single child in the whole building, all of whom eagerly touch his tail (not his ears, thankfully, but Jongin figures that they easily would have done so if they were roughly three feet taller). Despite Jongin looking like he’s on the verge of a mental breakdown over being treated like a zoo animal, Sehun can’t help but crack a smile as he stands off to the side and watches Jonghun climb up Jongin’s back like an excited baby koala. Jonghun's weight causes Jongin to bend down ever so slightly, which in turn leads to his fuzzy ears being touched, yanked and tugged on by small, grabby hands coming at him from every single direction.

Jonghun's teacher eventually has to usher them outside to show them the snack room, and Sehun watches as everybody scampers out of the room, Jonghun included, before he turns his head to tell Jongin to come along, only to blink when he doesn’t see Jongin anywhere. For a second, Sehun worries that Jongin might have escaped through the window to get away from all the children, and he contemplates walking over to check, just in case. However, Sehun barely makes it three steps before he hears himself letting out a not so manly shriek after Jongin suddenly appears in front of him, two inches from his face, with a loud thud. It takes Sehun a minute to reassure himself that he isn’t dying from a heart attack, which he realizes after the familiar, melodic sound of Jongin’s loud laughter fills his ears, and it takes every fiber of Sehun’s being not to launch Jongin into the deepest parts of outer space after he looks up and sees the latter literally rolling around on the carpet and laughing his face off.

Jongin has to get up off the floor after he worries he might actually die from laughing so hard, and he brushes himself off before he beams. “I was up there!!!” he chuckles and repeatedly points to the tall bookshelf (which Sehun definitely didn’t think could hold 160 pounds of extra weight until now) as he bounces up and down. Sehun’s unamused expression only has Jongin cry-laughing all over again, but his loud guffaws are effectively silenced when Sehun suddenly tickles him all over without a warning.

Jonghun immediately rushes inside the room upon hearing Jongin’s loud, wail-like shrieks, his ears curiously twitching in all directions as he watches Sehun mercilessly tickle Jongin, who is practically doubled over in Sehun’s iron grasp and thrashing everywhere (and begging for mercy, much to Sehun's amusement). Sehun eventually frees Jongin when he sees Jonghun hopping up and down and clapping his hands by the door, and Sehun quickly says something about Jonghun needing to stay with his friends (whilst feeling awfully guilty for leaving him all alone) before he ushers Jonghun out of the room and into the hallway. Jongin peeks his head out the door and watches as Jonghun drags Sehun towards the large crowd of people, all whilst the latter mouths an apology to Jonghun's teacher, who simply sends them both a smile.

Sehun returns a minute later, after Jonghun reassured him that he could, in fact, behave all by himself 'since he was a big cat now', and sends Jongin a smile. “We should go now,” he says and checks his watch. He mentally prepares himself for the verbal beating Taemin is going to give him for arriving half an hour late to the office before he ruffles Jongin’s hair. “I think he’ll be just fine on his own, don’t you?”

Jongin bites his lip as he watches Jonghun smile at the little blonde girl before they both scamper inside the room. Even though she doesn't look remotely threatening (probably because she only reaches up to his kneecaps), Jongin knows for a fact that he wouldn't have anything against giving her a piece of his mind for bullying Jonghun for whatever reason, but he doesn't tell Sehun about it. Instead, Jongin finds himself nodding his head when Sehun sends him a reassuring smile and promises him that they'll leave the office at 1 PM sharp to pick Jonghun up. The sound of muffled, childish giggling (which only emphasizes Jonghun's loud laughter) puts Jongin at ease and he's about to follow Sehun out the door, along with the other parents, when he suddenly spots a colorful box of fluffy animal plushies near the table. Sehun makes a mental note to call Taemin and tell the latter to postpone their meeting by another half hour as he chases Jongin around the room, before Jongin can kidnap all of the rabbit plushies for himself and Jonghun. 

♡