“Soon—“

 

He brings his arm down.

 

“Nevermind.”

 

Seungcheol gives out a forced smile at some parents cooing at his son who never fails to make everyone laugh. They’re at the playground in front of the school building as it’s already time for the kids to go home. Seungcheol was pretty much late when he exited his car, but seeing Soonyoung dancing around while another kid was playing a xylophone was enough to make him feel at ease.

 

He’s never late when he picks Soonyoung up.

 

“You really have a great son,” The awkward smile falls down and he faces Mingyu, tall man in a navy blue suit with a child in his arms. “I wish Seungkwan’s like that.”

 

“Did you just—“ Another male, probably his husband, sighs and hits his forehead. He takes the sobbing boy from Mingyu’s arms then looks at Seungcheol. He smiles. “I’m sorry about that. My name’s Jeon Wonwoo.”

 

“My husband!”

 

“Shut up.”

 

That took Seungcheol by surprise. He takes a hand out as he observes Wonwoo’s very striking features.

 

They don’t look compatible at all.

 

“Is Soonyoung your son?”

 

“Yes, he is my son.”

 

They look at the direction of the mini stage some teachers set up. The boy is still dancing energetically in front of the parents as they clap in amusement. Even the baby in Wonwoo’s arms stops crying when they erupt in loud cheers. Soonyoung’s laugh is louder than the voices and music combined.

 

He stops abruptly though, when he catches a glimpse of his father by the side and his eyes widen slightly.

 

“Appa!”

 

Seungcheol isn’t a confident soul out there. So when all eyes turn to him he goes in a deep shade of red that gets hidden by his scarf. Mingyu chuckles.

 

“Right, I forgot about your people phobia.”

 

“Appa!” Soonyoung is clinging on his legs in an instant. “Did you see me dance?! I did great, right?! Even Jihoon’s laughing!”

 

“Jihoon?”

 

“Yeah! That kid over there!” The four of them look at the same direction but find no one sitting on the swing. It’s slightly moving though, all they see are leaves falling from the branch on top. “Huh. I guess he left?”

 

“You did great today!” Mingyu gives him a high-five. Soonyoung grins widely then makes grabby hands at the baby—Hansol’s his name, Seungcheol heard—who laughs at him back. “We better get going. See you at work tomorrow, hyung.”

 

“It was nice meeting you!” Wonwoo then takes another child’s hand who came running to them. “Say bye to Soonyoung, Seungkwan.”

 

“Bye!”

 

“Bye!”

 

The parent and son duo approach the car in front of the playground, Seungcheol making sure that Soonyoung’s belt is completely secured. He runs around the car to get to the driver’s seat.

 

“Appa, do I have taekwondo today?”

 

“Um not today, Soonyoung.” He drives away.

 

The father sees the flash of disappointment on his face. He gives out that forced smile he’s accustomed to before he parks the car in front of the house. “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, appa. There might be a reason?”

 

Seungcheol could just watch as his son exits the car, his bang clinging around his neck. He has his own house keys that the parent doesn’t bother worrying about him as he enters the house.

 

He takes out his wallet and looks at their family picture.

 

“Younghee, what should I do?”

 

—

 

Seungcheol wakes up extra early the next day. He does his usual routine; stand from the bed, wipe his face with his wrinkled hands, get up, go straight to the bathroom, take a piss, then go straight to the kitchen. Taking a bath is his last priority. Forget about being late, his son needs him more.

 

He opens his internet browser to search for simple recipes that he can cook for Soonyoung. Right. Seungcheol’s never the good cook. He constantly looks for child-friendly stuff, despite having to raise Soonyoung for 3 years already.

 

He’s not that confident.

 

“Okay, here we go!” He wears the pink apron, suddenly feeling nostalgic about something but he shakes his head. “Now’s not the time to think about that.”

 

As he cooks more of the eggs he already cracked open, his son pops out of the living room with half-opened eyes and a deep frown.

 

“Appa?”

 

Seungcheol’s almost finished and he’s just transferring everything in the lunch box.

 

“Good morning.”

 

“Good morni—What’s that smell?”

 

Seungcheol takes both his cheeks and kisses him straight on the lips.

 

After having breakfast and taking both their baths, Soonyoung jumps on the passenger sit. Seungcheol locks both their seatbelts then the engine is .

 

It only takes 15 minutes to get to school, sometimes Seungcheol would have a few more minutes to spare before going to work. There are also times Mingyu and he would go to work together as they also live near the school. More time for their kids.

 

“Soonyoung hyung!”

 

Everyone hears Mingyu’s dramatic scream followed by his son’s bag falling from his grasp when he closes the car door, Seungkwan running toward Soonyoung and his dad. Seungcheol snickers at him. Whenever he sees his colleague at school he can’t help but expect something clumsy happening. Mingyu grins at him then takes the bag, running to his overly excited son.

 

“Hey, Kwanie!”

 

“I’m going to leave you for now, okay?”

 

Soonyoung smiles brightly at his dad. The single