“I am never drinking ever again,” Hyojin said, stumbling into the kitchen, leaning her head against the cold table. After Jinyoung managed to get both women into the car and back inside the apartment, she had fallen asleep in Hyun Tae’s room, allowing the couple their privacy in her bedroom. She woke up with a major hangover and remembered why she didn’t go out drinking with co-workers. “I want someone to cut my head off,”

 

“I don’t think that’s something your son would want to see,” Seon Joo said, patting the girl’s head as she placed a pain killer and a glass of water in front of her. “Breakfast and cookies will be ready in five minutes,”

 

“Cookies?” Hyojin sat up. “You baked cookies?” she got up, walking to the oven where she saw two trays of peanut butter cookies baking. “Oh man, can you guys live with me?”

 

“No, we can’t,” Jinyoung said from the stove where he was frying eggs, hitting Hyojin’s shoulder the slightest bit. “But you can come back and visit often,”

 

“You can just say that you miss me,” she said, throwing a cheeky smile at him as she wrapped her arms around her best friend.

 

“It’s more your son, but we miss you too,” Seon Joon patted her back, holding her tighter.

 

“I love you so much that I don’t care that you love my son more than me,” Hyojin answered. It had been 4 months since she hugged her best friend, and she forgot how great Seon Joo’s hugs felt. “I’m supposed to go pick up Hyun Tae in a half hour,” she said, pulling away to eye the clock that told her it was 11:30 AM.

 

“Give us the address, we’ll pick him up and take him out today, so you can relax until your hangover feels better,” Jinyoung said, placing plates of food on the table. “We’ll bring him back in the evening because our train back home is early tomorrow morning and you have work as well,” he added.

 

“You guys are the best,” Hyojin smiled at the two, her eyes getting the slightest bit teary. She may no longer live in the same town as her family, but they would always help her with everything without being asked.

 

“Oh, and you have to take a plate of cookies to your neighbour,” Seon Joo said.

 

“I do?” Hyojin looked up from her plate. “Junsu is allergic to peanut butter, I can’t give them those cookies,” she said.

 

“Not the Nam family, your other neighbour,” Seon Joo smiled. “The hot cop!”

 

“The cop?” Hyojin choked on her toast. “Why the hell am I giving him a plate of cookies?”

 

“Well, you didn’t seem to have any problem dancing and grinding up against him for hours last night, I thought that it would be the nice thing to do since he’s new, he’s helped you in the grocery store, and he was the cop that was with Hyun Tae,”

 

“I was not grinding on him! I was drunk, but not that drunk,” Hyojin felt her face warming up. Had she really done that?

 

“I was very much sober last night. You were grinding up on him,” Jinyoung said, eating his food casually. Hyojin let out a groan, placing her head against the table.

 

“I am never drinking again, why didn’t you stop me if you saw me with a man I didn’t know!” she said, giving Jinyoung a look.

 

“I was going to, but Seon Joo stopped me,” he said, pointing at his girlfriend who found her eggs very interesting that she couldn’t look up.

 

“Seon Joo,” Hyojin said. “I thought you were my best friend. How could you let me do something like that with someone I have a good chance of running into?” she whined.

 

“Please, I’m making your life interesting for you,” Seon Joo rolled her eyes. “I’ll put the cookies in a plate for you, make sure to give them to him after you’re done eating. We’re going to go get ready to pick up Hyun Tae, so we’ll see you in the evening,” she got up, taking her plate to the sink to wash them before heading to the bathroom.

 

“Don’t worry, Hyojin,” Jinyoung patted her back. “I think this will be a good change for you,” he smiled, walking towards the bedroom.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

Hyojin waited as long as she possibly could. After she finished eating, she did the dishes and then proceeded to dust, broom, and mop the entire apartment. After taking a shower and throwing a load of laundry in the washing machine, she knew that she had nothing else stopping her from delivering the cookies to their destination. She sighed but grabbed the plate of cookies that seemed to be taunting her before leaving the comfort of her apartment to walk next door. She stood there for a minute before finally knocking on the door. She was in the middle of praying to herself that he was out when the door opened.

 

Gone were his slicked back hair and black clothes that hugged his body from last night, replaced with his usual wavy hair that covered his eyes with grey joggers and a white shirt that seemed just the slightest bit tight against his arms, but Hyojin was not complaining.

 

“Yes?” Jaebum asked when moments had passed and the girl hadn’t spoken yet.

 

“Oh!” Hyojin was brought out of her daze. “Oh, um these are just some peanut butter cookies that I baked - well no, not me, my best friend. They’re ‘welcome to the apartment building, new neighbour’ cookies. And ‘thank you for helping me that night in the parking lot’ cookies. And also ‘thank you for helping my son’ cookies. I guess a three-in-one, haha,” she laughed awkwardly, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as she felt them turning, handing him the plate.

 

“You - ” Jaebum started.

 

“Talk a lot, yeah, I’ve been told,” Hyojin said, her smile faltering the slightest bit. “Sorry for bothering you, enjoy your day,” she waved, turning to walk around when Jaebum grabbed her hand.

 

“I was going to ask if you would like to come in for some coffee,” Jaebum clarified. He knew that his blunt words hurt those around him, but this is the first time that he truly regretted his words.

 

“Oh,” Hyojin said, looking to study the man’s face. His offer seemed genuine and she knew that coffee would help the slight headache that she had. “Sure,” she replied, pulling her hand out of his. His touch caused a spark that was making her feel some sort of way, and she didn’t want to act like a bigger fool in front of him. He lead her inside the apartment and Hyojin couldn’t help but let her eyes wander.

 

The apartment layout was the same as hers, but it was decorated much differently. Whereas hers was brightly coloured with mismatched curtains and throw pillows with toys sprawled in one corner, Jaebum’s apartment was minimal with grey furniture. She couldn’t find a speck of dust as she took in the white couch against the grey wall, taking a seat at his pristine white island. “You have a beautiful home,” she said, turning back to the man that was at the coffee maker.

 

“I guess,” he shrugged, bringing two mugs back to the counter. “Milk and sugar?”

 

“Yes please,” she nodded, waiting another minute before she was handed a black mug. “Thank you,” she nodded, taking a sip of the beverage. ‘Man, how does this taste better than the coffee I make for myself?’ she closed her eyes as she took another sip, already feeling her headache subdue.

 

“I take it that you woke up with a major headache,” Jaebum commented, his eyes on her. His face was clear of all emotion, and for some reason Hyojin felt it was better than seeing his smile. The brightness of it was too dangerous for her.

 

“Ah, yes,” she let out an embarrassed chuckle. “It’s been a while since I went out clubbing and really drink. Ever since I had Hyun Tae, I only really have a glass of wine some nights when I feel a little stressed out, and I try not to drink a lot when he’s around either. I had Hyun Tae before I turned the legal age to drink, so I didn’t have any experience being drunk, and didn’t want to bring any harm to him,” she explained. ‘You idiot, he doesn’t care, stop blabbering!’ she thought to herself. She really needed to learn to take a hint.

 

“Was it hard?” Jaebum spoke up after a few moments. He couldn’t help but admit but after seeing her in the police station the other day with the little boy, she was on his mind quite a lot. No other woman had ever done that before, not even his exes.

 

“Excuse me?” Hyojin asked, placing the mug on the counter in front of her.

 

“Having a kid at an age when you’re just become an adult. I mean you were still in high school,” Jaebum explained. “I’m sorry if this question makes you uncomfortable, that wasn’t my intention,” This was one of the first times that someone had asked her this question. She got a lot of looks in her old hometown, and even though she was in Seoul now, she knew that a lot of people looked at her differently when Hyun Tae called her “mommy” in public.

 

“It was hard, I won’t deny that,” she started slowly, her eyes studying the black mug as she played with her fingers, “Hyun Tae’s father, my boyfriend at the time, he wasn’t something serious to me, but I wasn’t important to him either. At the time, maybe we thought we were madly in love with each other, but we were just really having fun and fooling around, we weren’t the most serious with our relationship. My mother always told me to stay away from him, he had a reputation of being a player in our neighbourhood, but he just had this charm to him,” she chuckled, thinking of the boy she was once intimate with. “It was all fun and games until I was getting sick and I realized that my period was two weeks late. I put two and two together, and then on my 18th birthday, I took a pregnancy test, positive. Anyways, Hyun Tae’s father and I decided that we would raise the baby together, but six months later, he was on a plane to England and I was left in Busan. I always knew that he wasn’t serious about having a kid - like you said, we were still kids ourselves in a way. He never came back to visit Hyun Tae, but around the time that Hyun Tae was a year old, he started sending money. I opened a bank account when the first cheque came, putting the money there, and even today, any money that his father sends, it goes into that account. When Hyun Tae turns 18, he can decide what he wants to do with that money,”

 

“Do you ever regret having your son?” Jaebum spoke, his voice soft.

 

“Never,” Hyojin smiled, looking up at the man. “During my pregnancy, I was terrified, but the minute I held him in my arms, I was so happy. At the moment, he became my everything, and if I had the chance to go back in time and change my mind knowing what would happen, I would do the same. Hyun Tae is my world,” she said. Jaebum smiled softly at her, and she could feel her heart beat a little faster.

 

“He’s lucky to have such a good mom,” he said.

 

“I’m lucky to have him,” Hyojin shook her head. “And I didn’t do it alone. My parents helped out a lot. After graduating high school, I took a gap year to work and stay with Hyun Tae, and my parents supported every decision I took. When I went to college, they watched Hyun Tae and also took care of me, and I managed to graduate early and I was so thankful for everything they have done for me. And Seon Joo,” she chuckled, thinking of her best friend. “Seon Joo was one of the only friends that I had left at that time, and she didn’t leave my side once. She had even been in the room with me when I gave birth. She had temporarily moved in with my family, claiming that if I was becoming a mother at a young age, she was too,” she giggled. “When Hyun Tae was learning to talk, he would call both of Mommy, and for whatever reason, I didn’t seem to mind. Hyun Tae is the kid that he is today because of my parents and Seon Joo, not just me,”

 

If Jaebum didn’t feel anything for the girl in front of him before, he was definitely half-way in love with her now.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

“Mommy!” Hyojin took her eyes off the pot of pasta that was cooking to see the little boy running towards her.

 

“My baby!” she smiled brightly, reaching down to pick him up. His little legs wrapped around her waist as he snuggled against her neck. “You can never leave Mommy alone ever again,” she said, hugging him tightly.

 

“I want a baby,” Seon Joo called, her head against Jinyoung’s as she saw the mother-son in front of her.

 

“No, you don’t,” Hyojin laughed, putting Hyun Tae down on the floor. “You want my baby,”

 

“You’re right, no one will ever be as amazing as Hyunnie,” Seon Joo said, ruffling her godson’s hair as he smiled brightly at her.

 

“Hyun Tae, why don’t you go do bathtime with Uncle Jinyoung while Auntie Seon Joo helps me finish cooking dinner, okay?” she gestured at Jinyoung to take her son into the bathroom while she returned to the pot of the pasta. “You think this needs more salt?” she asked her best friend, holding out a fork. Seon Joo took a bite, chewing while thinking, before nodding.

 

“Just a little bit more,” she said, jumping to sit on the countertop next to the stove. “So, how was the hot cop?” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

 

“Fine,” Hyojin answered, concentrating on the food, as a smile played on her lips.

 

“You’re smiling,” Seon Joo leaned closer to the girl. “What happened, you have to tell me!”

 

“He just invited me in for coffee,” Hyojin shrugged. “We talked about stuff,”

 

“Girl, you need to give me details,”

 

“We talked about Hyun Tae,” she answered.

“Hyun Tae?” Seon Joo asked.

 

“Yeah,” Hyojin slowed the gas, turning to face her best friend. “I don’t know why, but I told him everything, it was so easy to do so, everything just came flowing out,”

 

“Maybe this could be the start of a beautiful relationship,” Seon Joo said.

 

“Or, he’s a cop and knows how to get people to open up and talk,” Hyojin rolled her eyes, plating the food to place on the table.

 

“Hyojin,” Seon Joo spoke softly. “You may be Hyun Tae’s mother, but you’re still you. You’re still Cha Hyojin, and she is allowed to find her happiness, and if that happiness is a man, then so be it,”

 

“The only men I need in my life are Hyun Tae, my father, and Jinyoung,” Hyojin patted Seon Joo’s back. “Plus, if I ever date someone, they can’t just be my boyfriend. They have to love and accept Hyun Tae as well,” Hyojin turned away to walk towards the bathroom to take over bathtime.

 

“What if Jaebum is that person, Hyojin?” Seon Joo spoke softly, alone in the kitchen.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

Jinyoung and Seon Joo had returned to Busan the next morning, and Hyojin and Hyun Tae fell into their usual routine as well. Jaebum too fell into his usual workload of long overtime hours, going home only to shower and sleep. It was almost three weeks after their coffee rendezvous when Jaebum had seen the mother-son duo. It was 8:30 AM and he was inside the elevator when he heard her.

 

“Don't let the elevator doors close!” He quickly stuck his hand in the middle just in time to stop the doors from closing and he saw Hyojin run in with Hyun Tae right behind her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, her shirt wasn’t tucked into her skirt, and her sweater was hanging off her purse. She was bent down, combing Hyun Tae’s hair, who looked like he had just woken up. “Come on, Hyun Tae, we’re already late, you have to wake up, kiddo,” she was saying, adjusting the child’s backpack’s straps. “I’m going to drop you off at the school before going to work, okay? Make sure to be a good boy for Junsu’s mom, okay?”

 

Jaebum was studying the two. The little boy was leaning against his mother’s leg, his eyes closed as he nodded. “Okay, mommy,” he mumbled, and Jaebum couldn’t help but smile at the small child. Hyojin was looking at her reflection in the elevator wall, tucking her shirt into her skirt and fixing her ponytail. She took out her lipstick, quickly applying it before smacking her lips together.

 

“This will have to do for today,” she muttered to herself before realizing that she wasn’t alone in the elevator. “Oh, Senior Officer Im!” she exclaimed. “Good morning, long time no see,” she said, nudging her son. “Hyun Tae, what do you say?”

 

“Good morning, Mr. Police Officer,” the little kid bowed, his eyes still closed before returning to his position leaned against his mother’s leg.

 

“If you don’t mind, I can drop him off at school,” Jaebum offered.

 

“Oh no no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Hyojin shook her head.

 

“I don’t mind, really. The school is on the way to the precinct and I’m early anyways,” Hyojin hesitated. She was running late and her office building was in the opposite direction of the school. Plus, Jaebum was a cop and from her few encounters, he didn’t seem too dangerous.

 

“I owe you one,” she said. “Like anything you need, just let me know,” the elevator dinged their arrival at the lobby and the three of them walked to the parking lot. “Let me grab his car seat,” she said, quickly running to her car to grab the seat before returning to Jaebum. “Hyun Tae, today Jaebum Ajusshi is going to drop you at school, okay? Make sure to listen to him or else no ice cream tonight,” she turned to Jaebum who had quickly installed it in his backseat, waiting for Hyun Tae. Hyojin quickly lifted the little boy into the car seat, buckling his belt.

 

“Bye bye Mommy, I love you,” the little boy opened his eyes the slightest bit to press a kiss on her cheek.

 

“I love you too, my Hyunnie,” she smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead, closing the door to face Jaebum. “I really owe you one, thank you so much,” she nodded at Jaebum before running back to her car and driving away. Jaebum watched her drive away before getting into the driver’s seat.

 

“Are you ready to go?” Jaebum said, looking at Hyun Tae from his rearview mirror.

 

“Aren’t you the police officer that fighted the bad guy with me?” Hyun Tae, slowly fighting his drowsiness away.

 

“Fought,” Jaebum corrected the boy, smiling. “And yes, I am,”

 

“Are you dating my mommy?”

 

Jaebum coughed, turning to face the kid. “No, I’m not,”

 

“Then why were you in our apartment building?” the little boy questioned, and Jaebum couldn’t help but smile at the child’s innocence.

 

“I live next door to you and your mom,” Jaebum explained. “I’m just helping her out today,” The little kid nodded, looking out the window. The car ride was quiet, turning the radio to play the kids station as Jaebum pulled into the school parking lot. He got out of the car and opened Hyun Tae’s door for him, holding out his hand for the child to hold. “What door do you go through?” he asked, and walked the child towards the door he pointed out. “Have a good day, Hyun Tae,” Jaebum smiled at the kid, patting the top of his head. The child held on to his straps, his neck craned all the way back to look at Jaebum’s face.

 

“Thank you Mr. Police Officer,” he smiled, bowing before running inside the school building. Once he was inside, Jaebum turned to walk back to his car, smiling at the thought of the little boy as he drove off to the precinct.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

“Can I go to school with Mr. Police Officer?” Hyun Tae asked. It was almost 9PM and the little boy was tucked into bed, snuggling against Hyojin as she was reading him a book.

 

“Hm?” Hyojin looked down at her son. “You want to what?”

 

“He’s very nice, and even let me wear his hat when we walked to the school,”

 

“Oh, did he now?” Hyojin smiled at the image of the big hat on his small head. “Well, he only took you today because we woke up late and he was being nice, but we can’t bother him everyday, okay?” the little boy nodded, his drowsy eyes getting the best of him. “Good night, Hyunnie,” she kissed the tip of his nose lightly.

 

“Night Night, Mommy,” the little boy mumbled, shifting in his bed until Hyojin heard his breathing slow down. She turned off the light, leaving his night light on and closed the door behind her, walking into the bathroom to take a hot shower. Wrapping her wet hair into a towel, she changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie. She had just settled onto the living room couch after drying her hair, her work papers spread on the table with a glass of red wine when the doorbell rang. She got off the couch, looking through the peephole to see who the late night guest was.

 

Jaebum.

 

“Sorry to be bothering you so late,” Jaebum started, “but I just got off work. I wanted to return the car seat, figured you would need it tomorrow,” he said, holding up the seat.

 

“Oh, thank you! I completely forgot about it,” Hyojin said, taking it in her own hands. “Um, would you like to come in?” she asked, opening the apartment door a little more. “I have some left over budae jjigae,” she offered.

 

“My favorite,” he smiled a little, coming inside her apartment. Hyojin closed the door behind him, walking to the kitchen to heat up food for him while he trailed behind her, taking in the apartment. Her apartment was brightly colored, with pale green walls, a bright yellow couch with different printed throw pillows. There were papers spread on the coffee table with a glass of red wine and he could find some toys thrown in the corner. He smiled. Her apartment was cozy, it felt like a home.

 

“I hope it’s to your liking,” Hyojin walked to the living room with a tray in her hands, placing it on the table to quickly pile her papers. “Sorry for the mess,”

 

“No no, it’s my fault for bothering you so late at night,” Jaebum apologized, helping her.

 

“9 PM isn’t that late,” she joked, sitting back on the couch next to him.

 

“I don’t see Hyun Tae,” Jaebum said in between bites.

 

“He’s in bed. 9 PM is late for him,” she took another sip of her wine. “Thank you for this morning, seriously,”

 

“This meal is a pretty good way to say thank you,” he lifted his fork. It had been awhile since he had a home cooked meal and he would do just about anything to have another meal. “Can I get more?” he moved the empty plate towards her.

 

“Of course!” she smiled, jumping up to get him more food. “You’re one of the few people that I actually like my cooking,” she said, heating up the food. “My mother is an exceptional cook, which explains why my cooking seems plain in comparison. Hyun Tae says mine is better, but I personally think that he’s being biased since I can let him have dessert before dinner,” she chuckled, bringing the plate back to the man on her couch.

 

“I can’t cook to save my life and I haven’t had my mother’s cooking in years, but this is some pretty amazing stuff,” he gobbled up the rest of the food, leaning back against the couch closing his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this satisfied. “Thank you for the meal,” he said.

 

“Of course, it’s the least I could do,” she said, taking his plate to the sink. “Water, tea, anything else to drink?” she asked.

 

“Some wine, if you don’t mind,” he said, letting out a sigh. “Thank you,” he took the glass from her hand, taking a large sip. “I don’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed after a long day of work,”

 

“So this may be a dumb question, but what do you do exactly as a senior officer?” Hyojin asked, sitting on the other end of the couch.

 

“I help train the new recruits sometimes, sometimes work as security like at the museum a few weeks ago, but most of the time, I deal with burglary, assault, and homicide cases,” Jaebum explained.

 

“That’s so cool,” Hyojin said. “What kind of cases - ” she was cut off by whimpers and the sound of footsteps running towards her.

 

“Mommy!” Hyun Tae called, jumping into her arms. Hyojin quickly placed the wine glass on the table to wrap her arms around his body, rubbing his back and she rocked him back and forth in her lap.

 

“Did you have a bad dream?” she whispered softly. “Don’t worry, Mommy’s here,” Jaebum looked at the two, feeling out of place with the two.

 

“I should go now,” he said gently, getting up.

 

“I’ll walk you out,” Hyojin nodded, getting up with Hyun Tae still in her arms. He turned his face to look at Jaebum , wiping his cheeks.

 

“Hey there, little guy,” Jaebum said, leaning towards to ruffle his hair. “Had a bad dream?” Hyun Tae nodded, leaning his head on Hyojin’s shoulder. “I used to have bad dreams too when I was your age, but then I remembered that they’re just dreams and they don’t happen in real life,” Jaebum said, smiling at the child. Hyun Tae returned the smile. Hyojin couldn’t help but smile either. Hyun Tae wasn’t exactly shy, but he took his time warming up to people, and to see him somewhat comfortable with Jaebum already made her feel some sort of way.

 

A good sort of way.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

Another two weeks had passed before Jaebum had seen the two of them.

 

It was 6 PM that Friday evening and Jaebum found himself at home. He had worked the night shift the night before and was off for the weekend and he wasn’t sure what to do. He went to the grocery store on his way home and after taking a nap, he had cleaned his apartment and showered. He was about to start cooking dinner when he heard the doorbell ring, followed rapid knocking. He quickly walked to the door, opening it without checking who was at the door.

 

“Ms. Cha?” he asked, looking at the woman with her son next to her.

 

“Hi,” she smiled, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but I have this last minute business dinner that I have to go to, my co-worker is sit so I have to cover for her, and I usually ask the Nam family to look after Hyun Tae, but they went out for dinner and can you please do me a huge favor and watch Hyun Tae? I promise he’ll listen and do anything you want. You want him to clean your gun, your badge, your floors? He’s your man,” she spoke fast, her hands together as she begged him. She looked down at the little boy, nudging him to do the same as her and he followed.

 

“I…” Jaebum hesitated. He had no experience with kids, he seemed too scary and they always steered clear of him. But how hard could taking care of a little kid like Hyun Tae be? “Sure,” he nodded, opening his door to let the little kid.

 

“Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I really owe one! Here’s my number in case of an emergency,” she exclaimed, pressing a quick kiss against Hyun Tae’s cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark before running towards the elevator, waving once before getting in. Once she was gone, Jaebum looked down at the little kid that was smiling back at him.

 

“Hello, Mr. Police Officer,” he bowed.

 

“Hello, Mr. Cha,” Jaebum smiled back, guiding the kid into his apartment. Hyun Tae giggled.

 

“I’m not an old man. You can’t call me Mr. Cha,” he said between his giggles.

 

“Well, you call me Mr. Police Officer. Why don’t you call me Jaebum?”

 

“Mommy said it’s rude to call adults by their first name,” Hyun Tae replied. Jaebum smiled. A young mother, but Hyojin taught her son well.

 

“She’s right. Then, why don’t you call me Officer Jaebum? That way, you can still call me by my first name, but it’s not rude, okay?” Hyun Tae thought about, then nodded.

 

“Do you have any games?” the little kid asked, tilting his head to the side. Jaebum’s eyes wandered to where his T.V. sat untouched.

 

“I don’t have video games, but how about you watch cartoons?” Jaebum asked, and the two walked to the couch. Hyun Tae climbed up, his feet just barely hanging off the seat while Jaebum sat comfortably with his feet against the floor. “What do you wanna watch?”

 

“Baby shark!” Hyun Tae exclaimed. Jaebum’s face scrunched together.

 

“Baby...what?” he asked.

 

“Baby shark!” the little boy gasped, his eyes widening as much as possible. “You don’t know Baby Shark?” Jaebum shook his head no, handing the remote to the child to change the channel. The child pressed a few buttons and a few minutes later the music started playing. Jaebum looked in wonderment at the video playing while Hyun Tae jumped in his seat, singing along.

 

“Ahgi sangeo

Doo doo doo doo doo

Gwiyeon

Doo doo doo doo doo

Padasok

Doo doo doo doo doo

Ahgi sangeo”

 

Jaebum smiled at the child, singing along with him. Maybe he wasn;t good with kids, but he was good with Hyun Tae.

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

 

A few hours had passed, and since then, Jaebum had cooked dinner for the two of them and even played a board game that Jaebum found in his storage closet. It was a little past 9:30 PM now and Hyun Tae had fallen asleep in Jaebum’s arms after watching a video on his phone. His head was against the older man’s chest while Jaebum leaned back against the couch. He had covered the child’s body with one of his sweaters that was lying around and was now reading a book as Hyun Tae slept, his chest moving up and down slightly. Jaebum heard knocking at the door and knew that Hyojin had arrived but he wasn’t sure how to get up without waking the child. He put his book beside him on the couch, shifting Hyun Tae so his head was against Jaebum’s shoulder, his small arms wrapping around the older’s neck, and Jaebum wrapped one arm around the child to secure him as they went towards the door.

 

Hyojin waited outside the door, tired, as she waited for the door to open. She wasn’t supposed to be attending the dinner, but when her boss called her last minute asking her to go because her co-worker fell ill, she knew that this would look good for her as the company was in talks to give her a promotion. She wasn’t thinking when she quickly got ready, already calling her neighbor across the hall but was disappointed when she was busy. She told her not to worry and to enjoy her night out, thinking of who could watch Hyun Tae. For a second, she thought about taking Hyun Tae to the dinner, but knew the poor boy would be too bored out of his mind. On a whim, her mind went to the handsome cop that lived next door, and decided to try her luck as she finished getting ready.

 

Three and a half hours and one successful dinner later, she was tired and just wanted to hold her son in her arms.

 

When the apartment door opened, she instantly changed her mind. Jaebum stood there, tolding the small child in his arms and smiled softly at her. He looked like Hyun Tae belonged in his arms, like they were father son.

 

She wanted to be held by Jaebum.