It was not even nighttime when the rest of the kids' belongings finally arrived in the house. Jungsoo stared at the luggage for several minutes, his mind oscillating whether his decision was right. Even only for a short period of time, Heechul would surely leave an impact on his children's lives and he wanted to make sure it was nothing bad.

"Got it. I hang up, Kyunghoon-ah. See you—"

Heechul's words were caught in his throat when he saw his professor standing in the middle of the living room facing some baggage. He almost cursed to himself to ever feel like he was caught red-handed talking to Kyunghoon over the phone—as if it were a sin. Mayhaps, it was the way Jungsoo ate him alive with his deadly stare; he didn't know.

"D-do you need help, Prof. Park?"

Heechul immediately offered, intending to break the strain he and his professor were constantly in. Jungsoo lingered his eyes for a few seconds before he retorted.

"I thought you were busy."

Knowing that rebating what his professor threw would result in no good, Heechul wordlessly grabbed the bags and trailed behind Jungsoo, staggering for his foot was still aching but it wasn't as bad as this morning. They walked in silence to the alley Jungsoo showed him on the first day he came here—the one whose doors were forbidden for him to open. Jungsoo took out a set of keys and unlocked one of the rooms.

After the lamp was flicked on, Heechul finally got a good view of what was inside. As if it weren't clear enough, this room screamed kids' room from every edge. Inside were two small beds in the shape of cars with one of them equipped with a relatively high fence—he guessed it was Donghae's—, several colorful drawers full of books and stationery, and two big containers of toys and robots. On the wall hung pictures of his professor and the kids, some messy drawings very much like kid's works, and some other unspecified things. 

Heechul walked over to see one of the frames better; his smile bloomed unknowingly. It had to be one of the birthdays, showing his professor's face full of cream with two smiley boys snuggled against him. What caught his attention was the smile his professor had looked so sincere that he could feel fatherly aura surrounding the photo.

"Hyuk's fourth birthday."

Heechul felt a presence close behind him and he needed not to question who it was. His eyes were still sweeping each and every picture.

"This one?"

Heechul pointed to a photo displaying Donghae, on Jungsoo's lap, excitedly open a present with Hyukjae peeking behind his father. Again, they looked so happy that if Heechul was being honest, he envied it.

"Ah..."

Jungsoo sounded uncertain, advancing to take a good look at the pic. He was unaware of the sudden proximity to his student which sent Heechul stiffened. From his peripheral, he could see a glimpse of Jungsoo's thinking face.

"Honestly, I don't really remember. It's either Hae's birthday or last Christmas."

Jungsoo turned to his student as he answered and just then, he realized how close they were. He could even see his own reflection in Heechul's clear eyes. None of them moved, not even inched away from each other. They were engaged in a battle of depths of one another's world through their eyes. No one knew how they suddenly moved closer, slowly decreasing the distance between them. It was when Jungsoo's stare dropped to his lips that Heechul was finally aware of what was about to happen yet he couldn't resist. 

He was drawn to the magnificence his professor's gaze offered.

"Daddy, is the room ready?"

Both Heechul and Jungsoo suddenly snapped back to reality when Hyukjae's voice coming closer. Neither of them uttered any words about what they almost did earlier as they were burning in embarrassment, cheeks reddening noticeably. It was no use to defend themselves because there were no logical explanations other than what they felt.

"I'll go and get Hae, P-prof."

Heechul hurriedly excused himself, dragging his leg to leave the room. He didn't know what could've happened if he stayed any longer. Even after he was outside the room, the pounding inside his heart didn't want to go away. He forced himself to calm down, breathing through his mouth, before he went to get Donghae.

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Good morning."

Heechul hesitantly strode over to the dining table where three people had already been seated. He was welcomed by Hyukjae's gummy smile as the kid pulled a chair next to his for him to sit. Heechul beamed and did what Hyukjae wanted him to do. His smile widened when he saw Donghae shoving a big slice of avocado inside his mouth and hummed as if acknowledging the taste.

However, the peacefulness was fractured when Heechul couldn't keep his defense any longer. Since he was sitting, he tried to ignore the existence of the person across him on the table. Heechul dared not to bring his stare up higher than where the cup of coffee was put on the table. After what happened last night, neither he nor his professor tried to talk to each other and he actually preferred that way. He couldn't bear having an awkward encounter like he did right now.

"Uncle, are you going to school like me?"

Finally. Someone ought to stop this psychological war and Hyukjae took the honor.

"Sort of."

Hyukjae, munching his toast, tilted his head to the side.