Five month into his son’s journey as a preschooler and Jongin was absolutely sure of two things.

1. Parents who complained about having their kids talk about school non-stop are stupid and should not be taken seriously. Soojung and him had never been more happy to see how much Jongdae was enjoying preschool and every adventure the little boy shared with them was definitely the highlight of their days.

2. He was sure he knew little Junmyeon a lot more than he should for someone who had never actually met the child. Jongdae had made sure to fill him in on Junmyeon hyung’s favourite foods and colours and even words. He wasn’t really sure when he signed up for Junmyeon course 101 but he was glad he got a free subscription anyway, because Jongdae was always his happiest talking about this mysterious - but no longer so unfamiliar- boy.

He truly enjoyed spending time with his four-year-old and would do so as much as he could, however Jongin was an adult - a businessman at that and he had a lot of things, boring grownup things to tend to as well. And even if he could count on Krystal, Sehun and Yixing, they were also working adults, therefore sometimes Jongin had to make it work.

So as he got the little boy ready for school, the dancer could see that Jongdae was a little mopey - sad that he wouldn’t spend the weekend at his mom’s house because she had travelled to the US again. And also upset because his father would probably be late to pick him up today.

Jongin had a series of meetings and while usually he’d try to shove all of those to Sehun and Yixing, this time he had no choice. The company they were going to sign a contract with had specifically requested that he be present. So this time, instead of a skipping little boy, Jongin had a quiet and clingy toddler.

He carried his son to school, cuddling him close and trying to cheer him up on the way.

“You promise to try, daddy?” the little boy asked, big brown eyes sparkling with hope. And Jongin didn’t want to give him false hope, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell the little boy that he had no control over the duration of his meetings.

“I promise to try to get here on time, baby Dae” he reassured him, placing a loud and wet kiss on the boy’s chubby cheek, heart soaring as the toddler squealed and tried to push his face away.

“Now go on, you don’t want to be late, do you?”

And with that he watched his little boy run into the school. His mind switching from loving dad to serious businessman as he walked to the station, already thinking about the astronomical headache he’d get by the end of all the meetings.

Jongdae was happy.

Despite not being able to see his mum this weekend, things were going great at school that day. Baekhyun hadn’t tried to bully him into doing something ms. Seulgi would disapprove, his dad had packed him peanut butter sandwiches and soon he’d get to play with Junmyeon hyung.

Still, thinking about his mum did put a pout on his usually happy little face.

Now, Jongdae loved his dad - he wouldn’t trade him for anything nor anyone in the world, but he also loved his mum. He would never tell his father, but mum had the best cuddles. She was softer, and more cuddly than dad. Which is why she always managed to put him to sleep in seconds.

The little boy sighed again. Junmyeon hyung was late.

Jongdae knew the older boy was probably helping little Yewon with something, and he was definitely not jealous - because Yewonie was sweet and kind and she always shared her snacks with him willingly, because apparently he was nicer than Baekhyun, whom she almost never shared snacks with.

“You’re sad…” he heard that soft soft voice before he saw the older boy. And immediately the frown on his face vanished. Jongdae turned to look at Junmyeon and gave him a very bright smile.

“Hyung!” he exclaimed, a hand reaching out to grab onto Junmyeon’s coat. “You’re late hyung ~” Jongdae whined, and smirked as he saw the older rolling his eyes.

“Sorry, I was helping Joohyun noona to put some stuff away” the quiet boy replied, a small smile making his chubby cheeks look even chubbier.