6:53 A.M

Jongin stirs awake a few hours later, and he sits up like a bullet when he notices that he’s somehow managed to roll over to the middle of the bed at some point during the night. The morning sun tints the white walls a shade of gold, but Jongin is more hung up on the fact that he’s waking up without a splitting headache for the first time in forever. 

The shirt he’s wearing is so tight that it constricts his sore ribs. Jongin runs a hand through his tousled hair as he tries making any sense of his empty thoughts. It barely works, and he practically drags himself out of bed when he’s unable to fall back asleep. 

Jongin halts outside Jungah’s bedroom. He figures that he should help her prepare her outfit for school if she’s going to make it by eight o'clock. He opens the closed door a crack, only to still when he takes a peek inside.

The first thing Jongin notices is the purple textbook lying face down on the floor, which is closely followed by Jungah curled up next to Sehun, both sleeping soundly with her giant Rilakkuma plushie snuggled up between them. It doesn’t take Jongin long to notice that Sehun is wearing one of his shirts and sweatpants, and he nearly screams when he sees that he’s got a protective arm wrapped around Jungah’s shoulders. A part of Jongin considers taking a photo, but the thought slips away after Jungah stirs awake.

Jungah's eyes immediately light up when she spots Jongin standing in the doorway. All traces of fatigue melts off her face when she scrambles out of bed and rushes towards him.

Bending down, Jongin envelopes Jungah in a tight hug. ”Morning, sweetie,” he whispers, smoothing out her bedhead. ”Let’s be quiet, okay? We don’t want to wake Sehun.” He gestures at Sehun’s sleeping form, which is much too tall for the tiny bed.

Jungah grabs Jongin's hand. ”Okay,” she giggles. ”We studied for a long time, so I think I’ll do well on the quiz today,” she adds not so quietly.

Jongin closes Jungah’s bedroom door as softly as he possibly can. ”That sounds good,” he says, hoping his fatigue won’t make him tumble down the stairs and break his neck. 

Jungah immediately makes herself a bowl of cereal and rice puffs. ”Sehun talked about you a lot when we were studying,” she hums, words muffled by the spoon in .

Jongin blinks. ”Did he now,” he mutters and feels himself flush.

”I asked him what he thought of you,” Jungah continues, ”and he said you were really brave and cute.” Her cheeks flush with joy. ”He told me not to tell you, though, so don't tell him, okay?”

Nodding, Jongin grabs himself a clean mug. ”I won't,” he responds while turning on the coffee machine. It’s not until he catches a glimpse of the wall clock that he considers waking Sehun up, not only so that they don’t run late to the office, but also so that he can drive Jungah to school on time. However, Jongin forgets all about it when his phone buzzes.

To Jongin’s surprise, his mother’s contact photo greets him. He tries not to think about the fact that she’s calling him for the first time in days as he puts his phone by his ear.

”Hey,” Jongin mutters, unconsciously walking towards the window. The neighborhood outside is dead empty, yet it seems to glow in the morning sun. 

”Good morning,” she hums and her warm tone makes Jongin relax ever so slightly. ”How's everything?”

Jongin stares at the two sculptures on the windowsill, and he averts his gaze when his eyes land on the faceless, white cat. ”Things are pretty good,” he replies while Jungah sloshes her spoon around in the bowl.

”Is that Nana?” Jungah asks, turning around in her seat.

Nodding, Jongin puts a finger by his lips. ”I was going to help her pick out an outfit for later,” he says into the receiver. 

For a second, there’s nothing but silence. ”The thing is, Jungah’s teacher called us and said he came down with a nasty flu this morning,” his mother says. ”He said that they’re all free to study at home since he wasn’t able to find a good enough substitute.”

Jongin automatically looks at Jungah, whose silk pajamas are nearly blinding in the sunlight.

”I’m going out of town with your father in two hours, and we’ll be back in Cali at around eleven tonight,” she continues, seemingly reading his mind. 

After walking back to the counter, Jongin picks up his steaming cup of coffee before bringing it to his lips. It’s so scalding that it nearly burns his tongue clean off. ”I’ll think of something,” he mumbles before Jungah motions for him to hand her the phone.

Jungah immediately puts their conversation on loudspeaker. ”Hi, Nana,” she squees.

”Morning, sweet pea,” Jongin’s mother coos. ”Did you sleep well?”

Shoving a mouthful of cereal in , Jongin hums in approval. ”Sehun slept with us,” she says and Jongin nearly cries in embarrassment. ”We were studying for today’s quiz and we got too tired, so we decided to sleep instead.”

Jongin runs a hand down his face. The day hasn't even begun yet and he already wants to sink through the floor.

”Sehunnie’s a great teacher,” Jungah says dreamily. ”And he's really smart, so it’s great that he loves Dad so much-”

”Jungah, finish up so we can get going,” Jongin interjects. Thankfully, he manages to distract himself by taking another swig of coffee. It burns his throat going down, but he forgets about it when he looks up to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

Jongin takes back everything he’s ever said about Sehun merely looking his best at work, because there’s something about the way his fluffy, blond bedhead sticks up in all directions that makes Jongin want to kiss him all over. Even though Sehun is clad in baggy sleepwear instead of his usual suit and tie, Jongin nearly chokes on his coffee when Sehun sends him a wink.

Sehun opens his mouth to speak, only to remain silent when he notices Jungah deep in conversation on the phone. He simply sends her a nod as a greeting before making his way over to Jongin. To say that Jongin nearly jumps out of his own skin when Sehun kisses his forehead would be an understatement.

”Morning to you too, sleepyhead,” Sehun chuckles, rubbing the small of Jongin’s back. ”We got a little carried away with outer space last night, if you couldn’t tell.”

Jongin tries to ignore his reddening cheeks. ”It’s fine,” he says, watching as Jungah picks up her bowl and loudly slurps milk.

Sehun checks his watch, which he must have forgotten to take off before going to sleep last night. ”I take it that you’re dropping her off in a little bit?”

Jongin doesn’t get a chance to respond before Jungah looks up from the kitchen table.

”I’m coming with you guys!” she says with a blinding grin. ”Mr. Z called Nana and said that he’s sick, so I’m coming with you guys today!” 

Jongin automatically looks at Sehun, whose eyes are already glimmering with interest. Jungah hangs up the phone before she hops off her chair and races upstairs to change into her nicest outfit.

8:30 A.M

Jongin is glad that he managed to remember to inform his boss about bringing his child to the office, because they immediately run into her as soon as the elevator doors slide open. To his surprise, a small grin tugs at her red lips the second she lays her eyes on Jungah. Come to think of it, Jongin is pretty sure that this is the first time he’s seen his boss smile in nearly ten years.

”What should we do now?” Jungah asks after Sehun steps into the hallway to join them. ”Can we make some origami?”

Looking around, Jongin is worried that, with the office being so vastly large, he might end up losing Jungah at some point during the day. A sound that closely resembles a hoard of buffalo charging at full speed fills the air, and Jongin looks up just in time to see Minseok and Luhan racing each other to the very last cup to the water cooler.

Minseok halts right in his tracks when he looks aside and spots Jungah. Being a father of four, he inevitably leaves the water cooler behind before making his way over with large, confident strides. For a second, Jongin worries that Minseok will rat him out for bringing Jungah despite it not being bring-your-child-to-work day, only to forget about it when Minseok breaks out in a huge grin.

”Well, well, who do we have here?” Minseok sing-songs, bending down in front of Jungah. ”I don't think I've ever seen you around before.”

Jongin is glad that Jungah’s past introversion has crumbled at a rapid pace ever since meeting Sehun, because instead of scrambling to hide behind him as usual, she sends Minseok a small wave. 

”My name's Jungah, what's yours?” Jungah chirps. Her tiny hand nearly disappears when Minseok gives it a gentle shake.

Minseok straightens his tie. ”Minseok,” he responds and nearly whacks Luhan in the face by accident when the latter walks up behind them. To say that Jungah nearly laughs her chin off would be an understatement. ”And this is-”

”I dunno if you’ve noticed, but I’m an adult and fully capable of introducing myself, moron,” Luhan scoffs before patting Jungah's head. ”I’m Lu Han, nice to meet ya! We don’t usually see new faces around here, so this is great!”

To Jongin’s relief, Luhan and Minseok’s oozing adoration for children doesn’t seem to be scaring Jungah off. If anything, it seems to intrigue her that much more, since she immediately goes on to ask them what they work with and how many pets they have. Next to him, Sehun watches with a fond smile on his face.

Jungah suddenly points to Minseok. ”He calls you 'Minnie'!” she squees. ”I think it’s adorable, right? Like Minnie Mouse!”

Minseok looks like he’s torn between punching Luhan square in the jaw and kneeing him in the groin when he bursts into a fit of ugly guffaws.

”That’s worse than what my kids call me,” Minseok grumbles while he scratches the back of his head. ”And who might’ve given me such a title?”

Jungah grabs Jongin’s sleeve and yanks him forward, which only makes Jongin realize that he’s been standing at an awkward distance of ten feet away the whole time.

”Dad did!” Jungah giggles, poking Jongin’s sore ribs.

Sure enough, Minseok and Luhan immediately exchange blank looks before they fall into silence.

Luhan is first to break the ice. ”’Dad’?” he echoes.

”That’s a first,” Minseok mutters, but the puzzled expression disappears when he gestures at Luhan. ”Whatever happened to bringing your little man to work? Didn’t you say you’d let me see him like, forever ago?”

”I haven’t had the goddamn time,” Luhan huffs with an eye roll.

Minseok tuts. ”The least you could do is send me a picture on Line, -”

"Aren't you the one who always says I'm annoying on Line?” Luhan retorts.

”Dad says you always steal his lunches,” Jungah interrupts, seemingly ignoring Jongin's squawk while she points to Luhan. 

”Little girl, he steals everyone’s lunches,” Minseok chuckles and jabs Luhan’s shoulder.

”First of all, that was one time,” Luhan huffs after whacking Minseok’s shoulder. ”Don’t act like you’ve never done it before.”

Jongin makes sure to tune Luhan out when he goes on a five minute rant about the one time that Minseok accidentally swiped his can of Coke six years ago, all while Jungah listens with an attentive twinkle in her eyes. All Jongin can do is pray that Jungah is picking up any friendship advice from his colleagues.

It’s not until the elevator doors open and Siwon nearly collides with them that Jongin ushers Jungah further down the hallway. Thankfully, most of his colleagues haven’t arrived yet, and Jongin makes sure to keep a tight grip on Jungah’s hand when she goes on to pick and prod at every little thing within her reach. All the while, Minseok pulls Sehun aside to fill him in on the statistics reports they were supposed to take care of earlier this week.

”I want to see Sehunnie’s office!” Jungah says, after which Jongin frantically tells her to keep her voice down. ”He said it was upstairs, right?” She gestures at the marble staircase ten feet away. 

Jongin reluctantly bites his lip. The fact that he isn’t allowed upstairs unless he’s been sent to drop something off is enough to make him want to shake his head, not to mention while simultaneously trying to control Jungah’s ecstatic self. However, he doesn’t get a chance to respond before Sehun speaks.

”Your father technically isn’t supposed to be upstairs since he doesn’t work there,” Sehun says, running a few fingers through Jungah’s long ponytail. ”But since I do, I’ll give you both permission.” He sends Jongin a wink.

Jungah excitedly claps her hands. ”Does that mean Sehunnie is the upstairs boss?” she asks, seconds before a coffee machine whirrs to life in the break room.

Jongin looks at Sehun, and he fights an impulse to say that, with Sehun’s work skills and ethic around the office, he very well could be in the near future. The thought fills him with a sense of warmth that makes him want to rip his coat off before he can break out in a sweat, but he doesn’t get a chance to before Jungah drags him towards the stairs.

____

The sales department is practically empty, which Jungah seems to perceive as a free pass to skip up and down the hallway while peeking her head inside every single cubicle in sight. A part of Jongin is worried that she might end up giving some poor, unsuspecting salesman a heart attack, and he has to fly over  when Jungah is seconds away from stepping inside Taeyeon’s cubicle due to it smelling like strawberry perfume.

”We’re only here to see Sehun’s office, remember?” Jongin says, tightening his grip on Jungah’s wrist. ”I don’t want you running around and possibly breaking something, okay?” 

Jungah nods, but Jongin doesn't bother repeating himself when Sehun leads them to his cubicle. Jungah begs Jongin to let go of her hand before she skips inside. Sure enough, she immediately comments on its tidiness before walking over to his equally tidy desk. Thankfully, Jongin’s warning glare has her merely scanning Sehun’s computer and office supplies from a safe distance of two feet. 

”It looks so grownup-py,” Jungah mutters, eyebrows furrowing as she tries to make sense of one of the reports on the tabletop. 

Sehun slides his coat off after Jungah tries to pronounce the word ’extemporaneous’ out loud. ”That’s because it is,” he chuckles, hanging it on its hook. ”But you’ll get there someday, don’t worry.”

Jongin watches as Jungah tightens her backpack straps. He can hear his boss’ loud heels clacking downstairs, which has him ushering Jungah back into the hallway. 

”Don't forget that you’re here to study for your quiz,” Jongin says and pats Jungah’s head when she pouts. 

”Does this mean I can’t see Sehun for the whole day?” Jungah asks with a crestfallen expression. ”Why can’t you work in the same room for just a tiny bit?”

Jongin shakes his head, not even wanting to think about what his boss might do to him if she catches them in the act. ”Maybe some other day,” he says. ”But if you ask Sehun nicely, he might let us eat with him in the cafeteria in a few hours.” He high-key prays that Sehun will say yes when Jungah immediately grins.

”That’s perfectly fine with me,” Sehun responds. ”But I was thinking we could--” He cuts himself off when Siwon exits the break room down the hallway.

Jongin doesn’t get a chance to stop Jungah before she rushes downstairs at the sound of Minseok’s loud voice. On the other hand, he’s overjoyed that she isn’t here to witness him flush in embarrassment when Sehun proceeds to kiss him square on the lips. 

”I’ll see you in just a bit,” Sehun says, pinching Jongin’s reddening cheeks. Jongin doesn’t even have the energy to smack the -eating smirk off his face.

10:43 A.M

Jungah carefully scribbles out a pink rose, her science textbook long abandoned as she swings her legs back and forth. The stool that Minseok offered to fetch her is slightly too tall, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Jongin is glad that she agreed to remain in his cubicle if he went out of his way to fetch her a pile of paper and colored markers from the supplies room an hour ago.

”What do you think of this?” Jungah asks after holding up the paper. 

Tearing his eyes off his computer screen, Jongin sends her a small smile. ”It’s just as pretty as the other ones you made,” he hums, glancing at the pile of completed drawings all over the carpet.

Jongin eyes his desk. At this point, Jungah’s drawing supplies, schoolwork and backpack are taking up more than two thirds of it, but he doesn’t have it in him to tell her to move her things to the floor. He’s just surprised that he’s actually managed to get quite a lot done in such a short amount of time, especially with Jungah speaking up about all sorts of things every three minutes.

It’s not until Jongin catches a glimpse of his watch that he figures that he should give Sehun a call and ask if he’d be willing to meet up in the break room soon, given that he’s on the verge of starving to death. While he hasn’t bothered bringing any lunch with him, an apple or two is all Jongin really needs to make it to the end of the day. 

Jungah seems to read his mind, because she subsequently caps her marker. ”Can we eat something?” she whines, pointing to her stomach. ”I heard Minseok say that Luhan brought chocolates!”

”You shouldn’t ask him about it, it’s rude,” Jongin says, stretching out his long legs, which are all cramped up after nearly three hours of sitting still. His lower lip is still tingling, and he has to dismiss the warmth that swells in his chest when he gently runs his tongue across it.

Amid the commotion everywhere, as well as Jungah complaining about how hungry she is, Jongin is suddenly struck with a thought. 

”You know your birthday’s tomorrow,” Jongin smiles, spinning around in his chair until he’s facing her. ”And you haven't told me what you'd like.”

Jungah looks flabbergasted for a moment before she grins. ”A horse!” she exclaims after barely two seconds of thinking.

Jongin nearly falls off his chair in surprise. ”A horse?” he squawks, at which Jungah vigorously nods. ”Are you…do you know how much a horse eats?”

”It could sleep in my room!” Jungah says, smoothing out her pink skirt. ”I want a pony since I could use it instead of my teddies, right? You always say I'm getting too old for stuffed animals, remember?”

Jongin nearly gives himself whiplash as he shakes his head. ”How about something smaller?” he asks, not even bothering to remind her that, even though their apartment may be slightly larger than average, their future pet horse is going to have to live on the roof. Not to mention his childhood fear of gigantic animals might have something to do with it.

”But Lisa’s mother signed her up for lessons last week,” Jungah retorts. ”How about riding lessons? Is that small enough?” She bounces up and down in her seat when Jongin blinks. ”Please? Please?”

Running a hand through his hair, Jongin sighs. ”I’ll think about it,” he says and pats her head.  

”Could you check over these and get them on her desk by four? It's urgent.”

The sudden sound has Jongin whirling around in his seat. A cold shiver travels up his spine when he sees Chanyeol absently flipping through a pile of papers in his hands. The smell of Axe is already starting to fill the small cubicle. 

”Who’s that?” Jungah asks, eyes twinkling with curiosity as she stares at Chanyeol from her spot six feet away.

Chanyeol automatically looks up at the sound of her voice, and Jongin clearly hears him mutter a low ’What the ’ when their eyes meet.

”I like your hair!” Jungah squeals and points to Chanyeol’s silver locks. ”You look like a superhero!” 

Jongin looks away just as Chanyeol grumbles a string of curse words to himself. It’s not until Jongin lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding that the lingering pain in his abdomen spreads to every inch of his body, which only grows when Jungah excitedly points to Chanyeol’s face.

”You have ears like me,” Jungah says while pointing to her own ears. ”Lots of people in my class tease me about them and it makes me feel really sad, but you have them too, so now we can be best friends!” Jongin doesn’t get a chance to stop her before she gets out of her chair, rushes over to Chanyeol and nearly tackles him in a hug.

As much as Jongin wants to get up and drag Jungah away, he remains bolted to his chair as Chanyeol emits a shaky breath that's drowned out by the commotion everywhere. His ribs are aching so badly that he wants to double over just to relieve the pain, but he can’t move a muscle no matter hard he tries. 

It’s not until Jungah goes on to ask Chanyeol if he’s any good at making origami cranes that Jongin opens his mouth to speak. ”Jungah, get back here,” he croaks.

”But I want to show him-”

”Now,” Jongin growls, thankful that he doesn’t have to raise his voice when Jungah trudges back to her seat with a huff.

Despite the loud noises and voices coming from all directions, the silence is almost deafening. His own frantic pulse echoing in his ears is all Jongin hears as he watches Jungah resume her flower drawing, and he doesn’t even need to turn his head to know that Chanyeol is staring right at her. It’s not until Jongin notices the spark flashing in Chanyeol’s eyes that he flies out of his seat as quickly as his trembling legs will allow him to.

The smell of Axe grows stronger as Jongin practically rips the papers from Chanyeol’s grasp. ”Could you get the out of here already,” he hisses.

Chanyeol's gaze hardens. ”How feisty,” he chuckles, low enough for Jongin to hear. ”That's a first."

Ignoring Jungah asking them what they’re talking about, Jongin clenches his sore jaw. ”Seriously, if you don’t-”

”Man, what happened to you?” Chanyeol asks and Jongin wants to smack the smug smirk off his face. He reaches out to pinch Jongin’s cheek, only for Jongin to slap his hand away. ”I mean, you used to be a nobody, but now you’re a nobody ruining lives with a kid on your arm instead.” He chuckles low in his throat. ”Times sure change, huh?”

Jongin grits his teeth. ”And what’s that supposed to mean,” he mutters, doing his best to keep his voice down so their boss won’t hear.

Something flashes in Chanyeol’s eyes. ”You used to be all that, and now look.” He doesn’t take his eyes off Jongin as he gestures everywhere. His voice suddenly drops two octaves. ”Was ruining things for me and Baek not enough for your sorry self, or what? Now you won’t even let a man talk to his own damn kid without-"

Jongin doesn’t want to think about Jungah’s expression when he subsequently lashes out and slaps Chanyeol square across the face. His razor sharp cheekbone immediately makes Jongin's palm go numb, but Jongin pays it no mind as he tries controlling the heat bubbling in his chest. However, he doesn’t get to process it before he’s moving aside in the nick of time to avoid getting his nose smashed in when Chanyeol’s fist comes flying towards his face. The sound of his knuckles colliding with the wall is drowned out by the loud talking everywhere, yet it nearly shatters Jongin’s eardrums as he tumbles to the floor.

After telling Siwon, for the sixth time in the past hour, how to properly label his reports, Sehun leans back in his chair. Most of his colleagues are either in the smoke room or busy stuffing their faces with the sixty chocolate muffins Luhan’s wife made, which only makes him realize how much he’s starving himself.

To Sehun’s surprise, Jongin hasn’t called him ever since they parted ways three hours ago. While he knows that Jongin is definitely behind on most of his assignments, Sehun finds himself checking his phone every two minutes, just in case. Since neither of them remembered to bring any food to the office, Sehun figures that they could take Jungah to the local ramen shop in town during their one hour lunch break. Given its child friendly atmosphere, Sehun already knows that she’ll adore it before she even tastes the food.

Siwon goes on to ask him another question, but Sehun forgets all about it when frantic footsteps scurry up the stairs just outside his cubicle.

Jungah rushes towards them like a pink bullet. Sehun opens his mouth to suggest that they head out to eat, only for his words to die in his throat when he sees the distressed look on her face.

”He’s hurting him,” Jungah babbles, so quickly that Sehun can barely make out a single word she’s saying. ”He’s hurting him, he’s hurting Dad—” She frantically yanks on Sehun’s sleeves with each word. 

Sehun blames his hunger for making him unable to process what he's hearing. ”What do you mean?” he asks. ”Who’s hurting him? What’s going on?”

"I don’t know him,” Jungah breathes. ”But he has metal hair and he’s tall and looks scary.” She points to the staircase. ”He tried hitting Dad and now they’re fighting and screaming at each other. You have to help, you have to help him before one of them dies!” 

Sehun doesn't even bother excusing himself to Siwon as he flies out of his seat with Jungah hot on his heels.