Getting The Job Done

When Chaerin sent Christian an address to meet her at on Christmas day, he really didn't expect this. 

If he's being honest, at first glance of the building, he thought that she had either accidentally sent the wrong location or she was pulling a prank on him. After all, she had re-sent a new address at the last minute with an apology for the sudden change. But when he texted her with a picture of the building to confirm, her response was immediate:

You found it! Come on in! 

He makes his way past the reception area with ease; it seems that Chaerin notified the older ladies of his pending arrival. He didn't miss the way they exchanged a knowing glance and whispered about his good looks as he went to the room they said Chaerin would be in. 

When Christian sees her, a smile immediately tugs at the corners of his lips. Chaerin is being tackled by three kids who look to be no older than five years old. While two of them latch onto each of her legs, making it impossible for her to walk, the third clings onto her back with his arms around her neck and legs around her waist. She inevitably falls to the floor with the weight of the children on her, going down with a mini scream which excites the kids as she plays along. 

"Tickle her!" the oldest of the bunch yells out, drowning out the silver-haired woman's protests as the trio pounce and attack her with tickles on the foam squares that line the floor. 

Christian's smile turns into a laugh that catches all of their attention, including Chaerin's. She appears to be relieved for the opportunity to catch her breath and get to her feet again. The bright, genuine smile she sends his way has his heart racing. When last had someone been so happy to see him? 

"Rom!" she calls out, making her way over to him before drawing him into a tight hug. And there it is, her familiar jasmine and vanilla scent that will forever be etched into his memory; the same scent that he's been craving for months. "I've missed you," she says sincerely, the smile never leaving her lips as they pull back slightly but still remain in each other's hold. 

Her eyes trail over his face in the same manner that he does with hers, both appreciating and inspecting to ensure that all is as it was before their time apart. How was it possible for her to become even more beautiful within just two months? 

"Me too." 

"You've missed you too?" she teases with an understanding look, knowing that he's shy when it comes to expressing his feelings. 

But her joking dies down when she truly considers her previous words. Missing this man is an understatement, to say the least. Thoughts and cravings for him had to be pushed to the side so she could focus on work in order to return to Seoul as soon as possible. It was difficult to do, but not impossible. She knew that he had to do the same as well. Both focusing on themselves and their work for a while, they are now ready to reap what they've sown.

Yes, Christian thinks when they embrace each other once more, too overcome with happiness, I'm ready for this with her. 

They pull apart when one of Chaerin's three followers wedges her way in between the pair and pushes Christian away, standing protectively in front of the woman. 

"Unnie," Seowoo starts up, her arms crossed over her chest in a brave, defiant manner as she glares at Christian who is struggling to hold in his laughter. The little one reminds him so much of Chaerin already. "This man is bad! People who draw on their hands are scary!" 

"No, honey," Chaerin denies with the shake of her head as she stoops to get on the same level as Seowoo, indicating for Christian to follow suit. She takes hold of one of his tattooed hands and holds it out for the kids to see the mandala. "Barom-oppa isn't bad at all. He just likes art. Look at how pretty this design is. Someone took a lot of time to do it for him."

"But...why, noona?" The little boy asks, genuine curiosity leaking into his voice. He seems thoroughly fascinated by Christian's tattoos and those are just the ones that he can see on the man's hands. His eyes would probably pop out of his head if Christian were to reveal his full sleeves.

"Tae-woo, you can ask him. I promise that he doesn't bite," Chaerin giggles, sparing a glance at Christian to see that he's amused but also a bit nervous. She reckons that he's never had to explain tattoos to kids so this might be good for him. "Sunghwa, you can ask Barom what you want, too." 

Chaerin uses their moment of distraction to start cleaning up the play area before the caretaker, Hyejin, returns from the nearby café with the Christmas treats for the kids. 

As she replaces all the toys back in their appropriate boxes, she listens in on the inquisition that Christian is facing. No one asks more questions than a kid and now it's multiplied by three? Well, she has to give credit where it's due because he's handling it like a champ. She might even say that he's a natural.

Of course, kids never linger on one topic too much. Their fascination with his tattoo passes by just as quickly as it came, replaced by talks of dinosaurs and spaceships. It's amusing to her when the kids struggle to find a word pertaining to space but Christian is no help either due to his limited Korean. But the man is cute, she'll give him that! 

Eventually— and almost inevitably she might add in— the kids get nosy and wonder if Chaerin is Christian's girlfriend. When Seowoo brings up the question, Taewoo and Sunghwa both giggle uncontrollably as if it's the most scandalous thing in the world. Chaerin wants to laugh at their innocence, but she also doesn't want to key Christian in on the fact that she's listening to what they're saying, awaiting his response just as eagerly. She could almost feel his eyes on her as he gathers his thoughts, maybe wondering if she can hear them, maybe looking for some help that she isn't about to offer. 

But the response never comes because Hyejin returns at that moment with Christmas themed cupcakes and chocolatey drinks for the kids. She greets Christian warmly then wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at Chaerin when he isn't looking. Chaerin signals for her to cut it out before he sees.

She decides to make her departure then because she knows that the kids will be too distracted by the sweet treats to care too much about her absence. Hugs are passed around to both her and Christian, but thankfully there are no tears this time. That always breaks her heart. 

"Promise you will both come back?" Taewoo begs of the pair, hugging onto Christian's left leg. 

"Of course," he nods, patting the child's head gently. "And I always keep my word."

"Okay!" And with that, Taewoo is off to munch on his cupcake with Seowoo and Sunghwa. 

"I will wait for you!" Seowoo calls out to them with a wave to see them off, red icing all over her face. 

Once they're outside, Chaerin points up the alley as the next place they'll go to get to her house nearby. "Sorry," she shoots him an apologetic look. "I had to wait for Hyejin to come back before I could leave so that's why I sent this address. I didn't want you to wait for me in the cold." 

"Don't be sorry at all," Christian tells her firmly, hoping that she wouldn't apologize for such a thing again. "How long have you been here?"

She shrugs as they walk, "A couple of hours, I guess. I kinda lost track of time."

"And you come here often." It's not really a question. Anyone could look at the children or look at Chaerin and see the love and affection they have for each other. Protective on both sides but also with a teasing element to their relationship. It's refreshing to see that side of Chaerin, but knowing her, he shouldn't have been so surprised by it. The woman is an amazing human being.

"Yeah," she nods, moving to walk on the inside when he tells her to because he doesn't like how close the passing cars are to her. He walks on the outside instead. A simple gesture, but it's often overlooked; hell, she hadn't even considered it. But that protective side of him makes her heart race. "But since I couldn't come for two months because of the album, I made sure to come today. I didn't want them to be lonely today, you know, of all days." 

"Well, they're incredibly cute but I think that Seowoo is hanging around you too much because she was ready to fight me for getting too close to you," Christian chuckles and his words cause Chaerin to laugh out loud as she recalls the earlier moment. 

"Hey! I'm not a fighter so she got that from someone else!" Chaerin defends herself, holding her hands up as if that would evidence her innocence. "I'm pretty sure it's Hyejin. You should've seen the way she wrestled with a Pororo plushie this morning to entertain the kids. Poor guy didn't stand a chance."

"I'm not buying it," Christian teases, taking hold of her gloved hand before she could replace it in the pocket of her puffer jacket. He doesn't know what came over him that caused him to do that, but she doesn't protest. In fact, she even holds onto his hand tighter, moving to walk even closer to him. 

"You know," Chaerin starts up as they go. She spares him a glance to see that he's pointedly looking forward but his cheeks are flushed. Thank goodness for makeup otherwise he'd surely notice the redness on her own cheeks. "You never did answer that question the kids asked you." 

He plays dumb. "Which one?" 

"Don't pretend!" She laughs, nudging his shoulder with hers. His smirk lets her know that he knows exactly which question she's referring to. 

"I knew you were listening."

"Obviously! I had to know what kind of propaganda you were filling the innocent children's minds with."

He halts his gait for a moment to consider his answer, her own stride paused because of their interlocked hands. 

"Hm, well I suppose that the answer would have to be 'no'," Christian tells her, not failing to notice the way her smile fades at his words. He backtracks immediately so she'd understand where he's coming from, "It would be bad manners for me to assume that you and I ate dating without properly taking you to dinner and asking you. My mum would kill me if she found out that three months have passed and I still haven't taken you on a date." 

Chaerin laughs softly and takes hold of his other hand too as she looks up at him. "Well, I like your mother already," she declares. "And also, I'm free tomorrow night as well for that date. Today doesn't count because I asked you out." 

"You beat me to it today!" He protests. He wanted to ask her about their status when they got to her house, but now he has to wait a whole other day? 

She snickers at his pouty self, "Take it or leave it, Mr. Ian."

"Of course I'm taking it," he rolls his eyes at her antics, but he is unable to restrain his smile. "You're so stubborn, Chaerin."

She sends him a wink, pulling him forward again so they could continue walking to her house and get out of the cold. "But it gets the job done."

Here's a cute, kinda Christmas-y fluff in case anyone is having a hard time or misses CL/Ian. Be sure to check out 'No Blueberries' which comes out in a couple of days and even has DPR Live on it too. 2020 is almost over, let's push through :)