The one thing people don’t tell you about parenting is it’s a ing crapshoot.  There are no hard and fast rules, only ones that you observe and make up as you go from one learning experience to another. And Eric is never prepared for any of those heart-stopping moments: for the midnight puking, or the unstoppable nose-bleeding, or the sudden loss of a small hand that should have been holding on to his in the middle of Costco. Or for when there is sudden silence when a child is supposed to be crying.

(No one trains you for this ! he complains, nearly in tears, to Yumi on the phone, as she talks him through Andy’s first stitches, after the baby slipped and hit his head on the corner of the coffee table. Then there was the first MRI. The first hospital stay. The Kawasaki virus scare.

I’ll be there in three hours, tops, babe. Hold on, okay?

I can’t do this without you.

I’m coming. I’m coming. It’ll be okay.)

His footsteps echo in his own head as he runs. He isn’t crying, why isn’t he crying, oh my God. He can’t run fast enough, think clearly enough, breathe deep enough –

“Junjin!”

And then, the spell breaks. 

There is hysterical sobbing and plenty of tears now coming from the six-year-old lying on his back on the floor but thankfully no broken glass or blood. Eric brushes away the echoes of face is red, raise the head; face is pale, raise the tail rattling in his brain as he drops on his knees beside the boy.

“Are you all right?” Stupid question. “Do you hurt anywhere? Can you move?”

Junjin is crying loud enough to bring the roof down on their heads so Eric deduces there must be pain felt somewhere, but he’s too frightened to move him in case there are other injuries he can’t visibly see. Customers from all sides start to swarm in and supply him with their observations.  

Was standing up on the stool…didn’t hit his head but may have fallen on his side…we asked him to get down because it was dangerous but he fell trying to do it…

“Eric!” Minwoo yells from behind the counter. “I’ve called an ambulance okay? Just make sure he doesn’t move.”

The word ‘ambulance’ scares him but Eric places a light hand on Junjin’s chest and attempts to keep his voice steady to not contribute to the rising panic in the room.

“It’ll be okay.” He says the one thing he himself wants to hear. “Help is coming. It’ll be okay…”

“I want my Daddy.” Junjin is crying, hiccupping between sobs. He’s clutching his right arm. “Tell him it’s a ‘mergency.”

.

“Daddy!” Somewhere, Andy is crying as well. He is frightened, but safe and whole. Eric forces himself to stay in his spot, trusting Minwoo to take care of Andy in the meantime. Inasmuch as he wants to bundle up both boys and wish every single fiber of pain and panic away, he can only deal with one issue at a time.

“I’ll call him for you, okay? I promise.” He has Dongwan’s number on his phone. He’ll have to call Dongwan first, then the father. “He’ll come. We’ll get you to a hospital first.”

“Okay.” Junjin sobs. “He’ll be mad.”

“No, he won’t.” Eric is focusing all his energies on not upsetting Junjin further. He settles his hand on top of the boy’s and holds on to his fingers lightly. “He won’t be, I promise. Just hang tight, ok? Just look at me and try to take deep breaths.”

(One. Two. One. Two. Breathe with me, babe. Find your center.

I can’t.

You can. One. Two. One. Two.)

“Eric! Ambulance is outside!”

(One. Two. One. Two.)

He doesn’t let go of Junjin’s hand.

--

The next hour is a blur of lights, sirens, and bright, bright white and metal that Eric has to close his eyes several times so he doesn’t fall over.

“Sir?”

(Sir, please, you have to calm down—)

“Sir.”

(It was on the news. The stunt cars Yumi and the crew were filming in were in flames, the whole line of them lined up on the highway a roaring inferno. He has just driven six hours through unusually hellish spring heat and even more hellish LA traffic. He will not calm down.)

“Sir, do you need to sit down?”

Eric blinks and sees the emergency care physician in front of him, staring. The chaos in his head disappears and is replaced by the less frantic commotion of the ER in the hospital they’re in. His tongue unsticks from the roof of his mouth and flops against his teeth.

“N-No.” He says, and the more he speaks the more he’s able to anchor himself in the situation at hand. The images of burning cars and bloodied shirts mingling with the smell of burnt skin have been overwhelmed by the cold stinging scent of anesthetic that lingers in hospital corridors and the mechanical buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead. “Don’t mind me, I’m fine.”

The doctor looks skeptical but nods, then continues doing the routine examination that he was in the middle of on Junjin. The initial assessment was a dislocated shoulder, but they have to do a more thorough physical exam to make sure there aren’t any more injuries caused by the fall. Sometime in between Junjin crying and the doctor explaining the procedure he had also popped Junjin’s shoulder back in and had placed his arm in a sling. Junjin’s cries have significantly decreased but tears are still evident on his small, pale face.

“Don’t leave me, Uncle Eric, okay?” Junjin pleads, and his voice is enough to fully ground Eric in the here and now. His son’s friend is hurt and he has to focus.

“I won’t.” Eric promises. He lifts his hand and brushes the boy’s hair back from his forehead, then wipes his face with a clean tissue. “I’ll be right here. Does it still hurt?”

“A little.” Junjin says, tearful. “Is my Daddy coming?” His voice is worn and pained and Eric imagines he must be downright miserable. Poor kid. “I need him to come.”

“They’re coming,” Eric says, although he wasn’t the one to have done the call. Minwoo had, and had confirmed to him some time back that he had spoken to Dongwan, and Dongwan would be in charge of contacting the father. That was nearly an hour ago. “I’ll wait until he gets here, okay? I’m not going to leave.”

“What about Andy? Is Andy okay?”

“Andy’s fine, he’s with Uncle Minwoo. They’ll be here too.”

“Andy warned me not to go up, but I didn’t listen. I just wanted to see if I could do it…I’m never gonna do it again, I swear. I’m sorry….”

Junjin looks upset enough that Eric is dissuaded from any further lecturing that he would have done under normal, non-ER circumstances. If anything, he too is equally shaken up. He uses the opportunity instead to comfort the boy, since Junjin looks just about ready to unleash another wave of tears.

“I’m not mad, and we’ll talk about it when you’re better, okay? What I want right now is for you to feel better.”

“You’re not mad?” Junjin repeats, hiccupping.

“No, I’m not…”

Eric is interrupted by a minor commotion suddenly taking place beyond their curtained walls. Someone – a man – is yelling in panicked tones, high and loud enough to cut through the ER hubbub. The clamor is accompanied by the sound of harried footsteps.

“My son…no, I was told he was here, he should be here!”

“Hyesung—”

“This is your fault, why the hell would he even be in an emergency room?!”

“Sir, which patient are you looking for?”

“Shin Choongjae! His name is Shin Choongjae, he’s six years old and he’s this tall and should have been wearing a maroon sweater and khaki pants and—”

Under Eric’s touch, Junjin seems to stiffen as though in reaction to the words being said. He attempts to jump off the hospital bed he’s sitting on but is held back by the doctor, who blocks him with relative ease.

“Whoa, young man, what’s gotten into you—?”

“Daddy!” Junjin suddenly calls at the top of his lungs, straining against the hold the doctor has on him. “Daddy, I’m here! Daddy!! DADDY!!!”

Eric is suddenly on his feet, alarmed at the commotion and thinking there may be something else wrong, when the curtains they’re surrounded by are suddenly whipped open, and he is suddenly face-to-face with a man he’s never seen before. The stranger is tall and slender, all elegant curves and angles dressed in a sharp blazer over a graphic shirt and form-fitting jeans. He has the general air of someone who always gets his way, and the familiar confident glint in his eyes also tells Eric right away who he is. This is Junjin’s father, he thinks. His stomach churns.

The man seems perplexed at his reaction and can only stare back at him in relative confusion, until Junjin starts openly crying and reaching out towards him.

“CHOONGJAE!” the man exclaims, before rushing forward to the boy, cupping his face in his hands and kissing his forehead over and over, but wary of the arm now set in a sling. “What happened to you? Huh? Are you all right? Who did this? Who did this to you, tell me.”

He turns and quickly locks a glare on Eric, who hasn’t moved from his spot. Before Eric can even attempt to reply, the man has charged towards him and has grabbed the front of his shirt with his fists. Although Eric is mildly threatened, the only coherent thought his brain manages to form is that he’s still wearing his café apron, and that he wishes he had taken it off at some point.

“Who are you and what have you done to my son?” the stranger demands with gritted teeth. His frame is much slighter than Eric’s and so is hardly menacing, but Eric can also recognize the raw fear of a parent who had not been there to protect their child when they should have been. He knows it all too well.

He raises his palms in surrender. “Look, I can explain—”

And then several things happen.

First: the doctor trying to calm them down with, “Sir, if you are this boy’s parent, I will have to ask you to please calm down or we will be forced to vacate you from this area…”

Second: Dongwan suddenly appears, charging in through the curtains and taking in everything that’s happening with wide eyes. “Hyesung, STOP!” he says with his palms up, although it already seems too late.

Third: Eric looks at the man, an apology and an explanation already ready on his lips when a fist connects with his jaw and knocks the words right out of his mouth.

--

(He’s thinking ramen.)

No police are called, but Minwoo arrives and together with Dongwan, the both of them manage to sit everyone on opposite ends in the same room. The room is the doctor’s office. Security nearly escorted them out but Minwoo managed to sweet-talk them into at least waiting until Junjin is cleared.

(Something light and earthy and warm. Mushrooms, perhaps?)

Eric is sitting opposite the man who punched him: Junjin’s father, Shin Hyesung. His jaw is still throbbing and tender where Hyesung had hit it, and the only form of relief he has is the ice pack that he’s been given by one of the nurses. Hyesung seems remorseless and isn’t even bothering to make eye contact with him as he listens with rapt attention to the what the doctor is saying. Junjin is curled up in his father’s lap, doped up on pain medication and leaning his head heavily against his chest. Andy is in Eric’s, tired and confused but relatively calmed down after seeing that Junjin is generally all right. He his thumb as he watches the proceedings. It’s a nervous habit that Eric thought they had kicked, but he doesn’t have the heart at the moment to tell his son to stop. Besides, the headache Hyesung’s punch gave him is attacking him in waves; he’s just thankful Andy is behaved enough at the moment to let him suffer in silence.

“…We’ve done the x-rays and everything seems fine.” The doctor is running them through the gamut of examination results. “We just have to watch out for any abnormal pain or swelling in the shoulder since that may mean further complications. It was a pretty nasty fall. He’s lucky he didn’t hit his head.”

(Cremini. Shiitake. Portobello. King oyster. Porcini. All will work.)

“What exactly happened here?” Hyesung asks. “How did he fall? Where did he fall?” He gestures towards Minwoo and Eric. “How did you two get involved?” He also casts a seething glare at Dongwan, who’s standing by the doorway with his arms crossed. “And where were you, for God’s sakes?”

Dongwan, at least, has the decency to look ashamed. “It was a working arrangement we had set up. Some weeks back. The boys are friends, and Andy’s father owns the café near the school.”

“Some weeks back?” Hyesung’s tone rises. “And you didn’t even tell me?”

“It was working, Hyesung, you know I would end up picking him up super late anyway, and he would have been bored and alone at school. I’m still working on the Vogue account and I can’t just drop it.”

“Still, Dongwan, for God’s sakes—”

“If it’s of any consolation…” Minwoo interrupts, coming forward with a disarming smile. “It really was going well, Mr. Shin. The boys do their homework at the café and then we wait until Dongwan picks Junjin up. What happened today was an accident. The boys are usually very well-behaved.”

“An accident.” Hyesung deadpans. “My son fell at your café and dislocated his shoulder. I should sue.”

Eric closes his eyes.

(You’ll need other ingredients to make the ramen more flavorful: Tofu. Freshly minced garlic. Green onions. Cilantro. Some soft-boiled eggs. Chilis. The base can be vegetable or chicken stock. Fresh or canned would work fine.)

“That would be unfortunate, Mr. Shin, but perhaps we can settle on an arrangement…”

“The reason this happened was because there was an arrangement involving my son that I wasn’t informed of!”

(You can get the dry ramen noodles from any of your preferred noodle brands. Keep the MSG packets for future use.)

“Just to make things clear,” Eric doesn’t notice at first that he’s speaking. He only realizes it when Hyesung looks at him directly, his dark eyes gleaming with barely-controlled anger. “Minwoo is not Andy’s father; I am. And yes, it was a failing on our part that your boy fell at the café. We should have been more careful, and I apologize for that.”

(Cook the noodles according to package instructions and set aside when done. In a separate pot, heat olive oil to cook the mushrooms and garlic in. Add salt and cook until tender. Transfer when cooked and use remaining oil to cook the rest of any of your ingredients.)

Hyesung narrows his eyes at him. His lips are pressed together so tightly that they almost disappear into his face. Both his arms are wrapped protectively around Junjin, his hold gentle where the boy’s injured shoulder is.

“Your name again?”

(In the same pot you had cooked the mushrooms in, bring your chosen stock to a boil.)

“Eric Mun. My boy is friends with yours at school. Perhaps if you picked your son up more often, you’d know this.”

He doesn’t know what he’s so brave for, but now that the adrenaline of that day’s events has gone and all he’s left with is a throbbing jaw and a pulsing headache, plus the fact that he’s still in his work clothes and it’s nearly time for his son’s dinner, he’s past the point of diplomacy.

“Eric-sshi!” Dongwan says, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

Somewhere behind him, Minwoo pokes his shoulder hard, but Eric ignores it and continues to stare at the man in front of him. Something like fury flashes hot in Hyesung’s eyes.

“What exactly are you insinuating?” Hyesung asks in a low tone. No honorifics.

“You heard what I said. Junj—Choongjae,” Eric makes sure to use the boy’s real name, which had surprised him, “is a good friend of my son’s, and he’s a sweet kid. We’ve had him at the café every day for over three weeks since school started. I’ve not seen you at all on any of those days.”

(Pour the prepared stock on noodles and garnish with desired ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot.)

Hyesung’s nostrils flare. “And I’m supposed to explain to you why that is?”

“Well maybe if you were there, this wouldn’t have happened, so I don’t see any reason for you to be on your high horse and start solely blaming us.”

When Hyesung’s mouth starts to open in protest, Eric can already feel himself tensing up in defense, but the doctor suddenly clears his throat loudly and effectively kills any upcoming argument about to take place.

“Gentlemen, please. This is hardly helpful to the situation and I would suggest discussing it in private to clear up any matters. Keep this out of my office.”

Eric feels petty enough to throw one last pot shot in but restrains himself from doing so. Instead, he turns his attention towards the doctor.

“Will there be any long-term damage? What else should we look out for?”

The doctor shakes his head. “Children are pretty resilient and he’ll likely bounce back quickly, just as long as he lets his injured arm rest. He’ll probably have to wear the sling for a week. Then come back for another x-ray so we can check on his shoulder. Only then can we determine whether or not he’ll need rehab.”

“Rehab?” Hyesung says, looking as though he’s about to have a . Eric nearly rolls his eyes.

“It’s normal, Mr. Shin. It’s just to make sure we get his shoulder working properly again and not be at risk for another dislocation.”

Eric clears his throat and attempts to extend a proverbial white flag towards Hyesung. Issues aside, he’s also a father; he understands how harrowing this is. “I can cover part of the medical expenses—”

“That won’t be necessary.” Hyesung snaps back, cutting him to the quick. “I am more than capable to handle any expenses related to my son. And frankly, you’ve done enough.”

The statement makes Eric bristle but he says nothing further. He only wishes for the entire conversation to end altogether. Dongwan, to his credit, at least vouches for him.

“Hyesung, that really isn’t fair. Eric and Minwoo have been taking good care of Junjin—”

“Yeah well I’m not done speaking with you yet either,” Hyesung says. “If taking care of him will end up with him at the hospital I’m not really sure you have any right to speak on it.”

“Neither do you, if you have to ask me,” Eric blurts out, unable to help himself. This time Minwoo raps him on the back of his head.

“Shut it, will you? Jesus.” Minwoo says exasperatedly. He fishes out a business card from one of his jacket pockets and slides it over to Hyesung. “Just in case you would need it, Mr. Shin. Eric is a little high-strung right now but rest assured we are willing to discuss further should you request for it.”

Eric watches as Hyesung pockets the business card with no hesitation; it’s Minwoo’s personal one, which tells people who he is and whom he’s connected to and what family he belongs to, rather than the cards they had made for the café. He tries not to think of lawsuits. His headache is getting worse.

“Keep an eye out for fevers, and perhaps it would be best to let him rest for a day or two from school.” The doctor gives them last-minute reminders, possibly to get them out of his office as quickly as possible. Frankly, Eric can’t blame him. “Is he right-handed?”

“Yes.” Eric and Hyesung say simultaneously. The death glare he sees Hyesung shoot at him from the corner of his eye is priceless.

“Ah, well that may be a bit challenging then, especially for school…”

“I can help him.” Andy suddenly speaks, and Eric startles, having nearly forgotten that he has his son on his lap. Andy turns his head to look up at him and tugs at his shirt collar, stage-whispering: “Right, Daddy? I can help Jinnie with coloring and writing.”

“Of course.” Eric can’t help but smile. What he lacks in anything, thankfully his son makes up for. “You can help Jinnie.”

“Yeah, ‘cause he’s my friend. You can tell his Daddy that.” Andy says, looking satisfied at his father’s approval. He leans back again against Eric and puts his thumb defiantly back into his mouth. Hyesung at least says nothing more, although Eric wonders if it’s because Andy had spoken in English and had caught him off-guard.

“Anyway, I’ll expect to see Choongjae back next week for the x-ray. For now, just please make sure he’s comfortable and bring him back to us as soon as possible if you notice anything out of the ordinary. I’ll write you a prescription for some painkillers you can use should he need it…”

“If you need a ride, I’ve also brought a car—” Minwoo offers as soon as the doctor concludes the appointment but is silenced by Hyesung’s withering stare.

“No, thank you, I brought my own vehicle.” Hyesung makes to stand, surprisingly gentle in his movements as he adjusts Junjin, who’s still asleep, in his hold. “Please stop offering me or my son any more help. Should we need it, I will ask for it. Goodbye now. I hope to never repeat this incident again.”

Eric watches as the other man leaves without any further statements, with Dongwan scurrying in his wake. Once they’re gone from view, Minwoo sighs, removing his cap to be able to brush his hair back with his hand.

“Well that could have gone better.” He says, shaking his head.

Eric snorts. “You think?” He can barely move his jaw from the pain. He winces as Minwoo pulls his chin to look at it.

“You’ll live, don’t worry.” Minwoo tsks, studying the tender spot. Eric can already feel the bruise forming. “I just hope he doesn’t sue.”

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there.” Eric sighs. “Did you have to close the café early?”

“I had to, but it’s okay.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Hey, don’t worry. That guy was a grade-A . He has issues, man.”

Andy, who had been quiet and leaning his head on his father’s shoulder, sits up and gasps in Eric’s hold. “Daddy, Uncle Minwoo said a bad word!”

“He deserves it.” Minwoo makes a face, and Eric elbows him in the ribs. “But no repeating that word, Andy, ok? Not til you’re like…eighteen.”

“I don’t say bad words ‘cause they’re bad.”

“Good because good boys shouldn’t say bad words.”

“Quit while you’re ahead.” Eric snaps at Minwoo. Fortunately, Andy is too distracted to even notice.

“But why were you and Jinnie’s daddy fighting, Daddy?” Andy asks, frowning. “Is Jinnie okay?”

“Yes, he’s okay. He’s just going to have some ouchies for a while, so it will be nice if you can help him at school.”

“But did you do something bad? Is that why Jinnie’s daddy was mad?”

Once again, Eric closes his eyes. Pain is ringing against several points in his skull and he just can’t answer Andy’s questions. Not right now, at least. He needs a shower, a drink, and a hot meal before he can come close to feeling remotely human.

(Savor the salt, fire, tang, and warmth of your dish. Feel your cares melt away with each slurp.)

“Andy. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” A beat. And then: “What’s for dinner?”

He almost forgot. It’s nearly eight and past the reasonable hour to be serving his son dinner on a school night. .

“Daddy?”

(Enjoy the knowledge that this meal cost you the least amount of brain cells and effort while hitting up all of the major food groups.)

“Andy.”

“Yeah?”

“How about some mushroom ramen?”

tbc

Author's Notes
1. I am sorry this took so long!!!!!!! I was sick the past two weeks so couldn't really write and was also having a hard time pinning down Hyesung. Once he entered though, he...pretty much made his presence known.
2. Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I really love them and I ~will~ reply to the comments as soon as possible.
3. The characters are taking on a bit more shape now that OT6 have been introduced (after like, a thousand years of waiting, right) so I'm generally pleased with how their personalities are slowly forming. Hyesung...as usual is an enigma and no one knows what is going on in that head of his.
4. I hope it's not too much of a jolt that Eric is thinking up a recipe while in a stressful situation ahahaha. In my head, it's also how he copes?? Like, his brain is wired to distract him to not make him feel so stressed and it does that by...thinking of recipes. LOL.