“Where? Where are we going? Where?” Yun chirped happily as his chubby legs swung back and forth. Seokmin and Joshua had gifted him the cutest little Nike sneakers for his third birthday but they packed a punch when they hit Minghao’s body and he tried to distance himself as he secured the straps of his car seat. “Where? Where Daddy? Where Daddy where? Where we going?”

“You want to go to school?” Minghao asked and his little son smiled a dazzling smile at him before frowning. “Daddy come too?” his bottom teeth peeked out of his mouth as he clutched tightly to his stuffed cat and Minghao wanted to throw it out of the window. Yun’s mother had send it for his second birthday and, much to Minghao’s disappointment, the little boy had instantly clung to it.

“Daddy will come today.” Minghao didn’t want to lie to him. He wasn’t sure how he would go being separated from him but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. First he had to find the right place.

The closest place on the list was very modern looking. A young woman greeted them and sprouted off about an impressive early mathematics program and introduction to STEM. “These are their coding bracelets,” she said as she showed a bracelet with patterns on it and Minghao side eyed Mingyu. The other shook his head as the woman described set meal times, progress meetings, and their high success rate of entry into schools of parent’s preference. “Thanks for your time,” Minghao said as Yun clung to his neck and the three made their way back to the car.

“Absolutely not,” Minghao said and Mingyu nodded his agreement.

The second place was worse. The floor looked dirty and, while Minghao was never super neat or fastidious in his home, Mingyu was. The taller could barely contain his shudder of disgust as they watched a man wash the faces of six children with the same washcloth. “We need to leave,” Mingyu hissed under his breath and Minghao didn’t even bother making excuses.. “No, no, no,” Mingyu said when they got back into the car. “Agreed,” Minghao said without hesitation.

“This is the cheapest place on the list,” Minghao said as they sat in the car outside the third centre. “I can see why,” Mingyu said. They didn’t bother going inside. They just drove off.

The fourth place looked promising. “This one is the second most expensive,” Minghao said as he leaned in to get Yun out again. “I’m tired,” the little boy whined and kicked his legs and Minghao tried to shush him a little. He cuddled him closer but Yun whined until Mingyu took him and lifted him high into his arms. The place was beautiful, a neat front entrance hiding a surprisingly open space inside and as soon as they walked in they were met at this door.

“Hi, I’m Soonyoung the centre director,” the man was smiling cutely as he held his hand out to shake. He had floppy blonde hair and a tshirt covered in tigers. He held his hand towards Mingyu who tried to shake it. “I’m Minghao,” Minghao held his hand out and the man turned to him immediately. “So sorry, I just assumed....” Minghao shook his hand. “It’s fine.”

“You must be Yun,” he said to the boy who his his face in Mingyu’s neck. “Would you like to play while I talk to Daddy?” Another man appeared, dressed head to toe in the colours of the rainbow, and held his arms out towards Yun. “I’m Hansol,” he said. “We have water toys outside if you want to come and see...”

Minghao watched his son frown, then think hard, then smile as he unwrapped himself from Mingyu’s neck. “Māo Māo!” he cried out as the toy cat tumbled from his grip and Hansol picked it up and took the boy from Mingyu.

“He’ll be fine,” Soonyoung waves any concern away with his hand as he led them through the centre. “We have a multilingual Centre here,” Soonyoung had picked up on Yun’s name for his toy. “Hansol speaks English and we also have another staff member who speaks Mandarin and Cantonese...”

Mingyu’s eyes flicked over to Minghao who smiled at him. This was much more promising. A story time area was filled with soft blankets and bean bags giving off a warm feeling. Soonyoung showed them an open area with birds painted on the walls and explained their focus on creative arts. “We have dance and music every day and the children just love it.”

They walked outside to find six children standing at easels in the shade while another ten or so were gathered around a big table filled with water. A man with soft dark hair and a bright gummy smile was supervising the easels. Minghao watched as one little girl tossed her brush aside, smushed her chubby hand into the paint, and pressed it into her artwork. The man supervising smiled and praised her and washed her hand clean like it was no big deal at all.

Minghao liked it here.

He barely noticed Yun in the middle of the children gathered around the water table. There were so many and in the middle of them was one man, tall and pretty, smiling widely as he helped them pour water into the various fountains and water mills. He seemed complete unperturbed by the shrieks of the delighted children splashing their hands and toys into the water.

Minghao watched him splash and play, talking loudly and making all the kids laugh along with him, his expressions swinging wildly across his handsome face. His looks were stunning but Minghao couldn’t help but laugh a little as he watched him interact with the children. He seemed a little goofy and over the top. Mingyu chuckled beside him and whispered “Check out that guy. Ridiculous...”

“That’s Junhui. He’s.....” Soonyoung searches for the right word. “He’s very unique. He has a lot of energy and the kids just love him. He’s the man I mentioned before that speaks Mandarin and Cantonese.”

Unique, Minghao thought, exhausting sounds more like it.

“So,” Mingyu turned to Soonyoung as they stood outside in the sun, “this seems like a great place. Why do you have vacancies?” Minghao elbowed him in the side but Soonyoung just steered them back towards the door. “That’s a good question. We are very relaxed here and it’s not a good fit for parents who want a more serious and formal preschool experience. We don’t have a strict early learning curriculum and focus instead on the arts. We let the children call us by our first names and decide what they want to do for the day.”

He smiled at both men as they walked into the lunchroom. “Also we have an all male staff. That’s very unconventional.”

Minghao watched a man lay out big plates of fruit and cheese and tiny sandwiches. “This is Seungkwan and he’s our number one nursery rhyme singer!” The man blushed but smiled widely at them. “After lunch Seungkwan sings and then it’s nap time. Anyone who doesn’t want to sleep can stay with Seungkwan and sing songs and listen to stories.”

“Minghao can I stay here and sing songs and take a nap?” Mingyu asked. They all laughed but Minghao thought it sounded great as well. This place was awesome.

“Okay, I’m totally sold,” Minghao smiled at Soonyoung. “Can we do the paperwork please?” “There’s one more thing we have to do first,” Soonyoung led the way back to the yard where they found Yun splashing in the water while the man called Junhui held his toy cat away from the water.

“Yun, time to go,” Minghao held his arms out and the little boy shirked away. “No, not go, I wanna stay and play....” “Yun,” Minghao said, his tone slightly irritated, as he moved to pick up the child. He hated Yun acting up in public. He always had this paranoia that because he was a single father people would assume he was a terrible parent. Unfounded but still always worrying away in the back of his mind.

Yun shied away again and before he could grab him the man Soonyoung called Junhui dropped to his knees to placate the little boy.

“I’m sure if you listen to Daddy now you’ll be able to come and play again.” Junhui spoke softly and held the cat toy out towards him and Yun smiled his chubby cheeked grin. “Māo Māo,” he grabbed it with both fists and Junhui’s face lit up. “Oh,” he smiled at Minghao before turning back to Yun. “Come and play with me soon  xiāo Yun,” he said softly in mandarin and Yun’s face lit up with delight. “Daddy!” he ran and pressed himself into Minghao’s legs, “Daddy that man knows our other language!”

“Would you like to come here and play with us Yun?” Soonyoung asked the boy with all the sincerity of a man speaking with another adult. “Can I bring Māo Māo?” he asked, dark eyes blinking up at Soonyoung and the man smiled kindly at him. “Of course.”

“Take him please?” Minghao scooped Yun up in his arms and passed him over to Mingyu before following Soonyoung into the office.

“I like it here,” Yun chirped as he patted Mingyu on the cheek with one hand. The other clutched tightly around his little stuffed cat as his legs swung freely and Mingyu cuddles him closer. “That’s good,” he said, “your Daddy needs to get out more.”