o35 || zoo (double update! check the previous chapter if you haven't!)
the pursuit of happiness
35
zoo
Jaehyun sat down on the floor with the stupidest smile on his face as he held up the camera.
“Come on, Sungchanie, come here, come here, you’re doing good! Come to your hyung!”
Yerim encouraged the boy as she clapped happily beside Jeno who had his arms opened wide.
The whole family erupted in cheers when Sungchan successfully dove into Jeno’s embrace after taking fourteen steps.
“Come on, Sungchanie, come here, come here, you’re doing good! Come to your hyung!”
Yerim encouraged the boy as she clapped happily beside Jeno who had his arms opened wide.
The whole family erupted in cheers when Sungchan successfully dove into Jeno’s embrace after taking fourteen steps.
“Oh my god, I think I’m crying,” Yerim said as she wiped a few tears. She never knew it would feel this rewarding to see Sungchan walk more than ten steps. Earlier at the wedding, the boy successfully took seven steps. Tonight, he doubled his own record and Jaehyun managed to get it on camera as well.
“I swear I’m going to be sending his video to eomma, appa, and Woo. They’re going to have a field day watching this,” Jaehyun said with glassy eyes as he re-watched the video.
“Does this mean Sungchan can play with me at the park now?” Jeno looked up to his parents in excitement.
“He can now, but he can’t walk too fast so you might have to walk very slowly with him,” Yerim smiled as she brushed off Jeno’s bangs.
“Shall we celebrate by going to the zoo tomorrow? Taeil hyung and his wife planned to check out the zoo with their daughter tomorrow,” Jaehyun said.
“What is a zoo?” Jeno asked curiously as he gently swatted away Sungchan’s chubby fingers that were trying to rip his hair out.
“I swear I’m going to be sending his video to eomma, appa, and Woo. They’re going to have a field day watching this,” Jaehyun said with glassy eyes as he re-watched the video.
“Does this mean Sungchan can play with me at the park now?” Jeno looked up to his parents in excitement.
“He can now, but he can’t walk too fast so you might have to walk very slowly with him,” Yerim smiled as she brushed off Jeno’s bangs.
“Shall we celebrate by going to the zoo tomorrow? Taeil hyung and his wife planned to check out the zoo with their daughter tomorrow,” Jaehyun said.
“What is a zoo?” Jeno asked curiously as he gently swatted away Sungchan’s chubby fingers that were trying to rip his hair out.
“A zoo is a place where you see animals,” Yerim explained.
“Like in your clinic?”
Yerim shook her head, “Not really. You will see wild animals. Like pandas!”
“And bears?”
“Bears too.”
“Lions?”
“Even tigers.”
“Elephants?!”
“You could even ride them there,” Jaehyun added, laughing when he saw the starstruck face Jeno was making.
“Let’s go there, please, appa! Eomma! Okay? Please, I promise I’ll be good and I will walk slowly with Sungchan. I won’t run away! Promise!” the boy clasped his hands together and pleaded.
Jaehyun smiled and nodded his head, “Of course, baby. Of course.”
“Jaehyun! Nice to see you again!”
Jaehyun grinned as he gave his senior from college a hug.
“Yerim, you too,” the man patted her shoulder affectionately and Yerim smiled back.
“This is Byul, right?” Yerim asked as she glanced at the little toddler in a pink stroller.
“Yes, this is my daughter Byul. She just e a week ago,” Taeil’s wife, Nari, answered.
“Hello Byul, this is Sungchan and he’s only a month older than you,” Yerim smiled.
Jeno peered from behind her back and looked at the baby curiously.
"Eomma? Is this baby?" He tugged Yerim's pants.
"Yes, sweetheart. Like Sungchan and Lining."
"Can I touch her?" He asked curiously.
Jaehyun smiled before turning to Taeil and Nari, "Jeno asked if he could touch your daughter."
"Of course! Byul is generally good with strangers."
"Yes, sweetheart. Like Sungchan and Lining."
"Can I touch her?" He asked curiously.
Jaehyun smiled before turning to Taeil and Nari, "Jeno asked if he could touch your daughter."
"Of course! Byul is generally good with strangers."
Jaehyun pulled Jeno forward, letting the boy look at the baby closely.
"Hello. You are cute," Jeno smiled as he touched the baby's cheek. The little girl beamed and grabbed Jeno's finger. Jeno grinned, shaking his finger lightly, causing the little girl to burst into another fit of toothless giggles.
The adults cooed at the cute interaction.
"He's good with kids. Even Sicheng's little baby is comfortable with him," Jaehyun brushed Jeno's hair proudly.
"By the way, Yuta said he'd be joining us with his wife. He's already close by, let's wait for him, shall we?" Taeil said.
"Hello. You are cute," Jeno smiled as he touched the baby's cheek. The little girl beamed and grabbed Jeno's finger. Jeno grinned, shaking his finger lightly, causing the little girl to burst into another fit of toothless giggles.
The adults cooed at the cute interaction.
"He's good with kids. Even Sicheng's little baby is comfortable with him," Jaehyun brushed Jeno's hair proudly.
"By the way, Yuta said he'd be joining us with his wife. He's already close by, let's wait for him, shall we?" Taeil said.
Ten minutes later, Yuta appeared with his wife in tow.
"Sorry we're late, we got lost," the man apologized profusely.
"It's okay, we didn't wait too long. Shall we go inside now?" Yerim hugged Yuta's wife as she assured her in Japanese, in which the woman was thankful for.
After paying for the tickets, they went inside, and Jeno nearly went ballistic when he saw the animals.
"Sorry we're late, we got lost," the man apologized profusely.
"It's okay, we didn't wait too long. Shall we go inside now?" Yerim hugged Yuta's wife as she assured her in Japanese, in which the woman was thankful for.
After paying for the tickets, they went inside, and Jeno nearly went ballistic when he saw the animals.
"Eomma! It's a giraffe! Like in books!" Jeno tugged Yerim's arm and jumped excitedly.
Yerim smiled as she let him drag her near the cage.
"Do you know, Nono-ya, your neck has seven bones," Yerim softly touched Jeno's neck, counting his bones one by one.
"What about giraffes? The neck is so long," Jeno asked.
"They also have seven bones! Like you! But one bone is probably this long," Yerim demonstrated using her hands.
Yerim smiled as she let him drag her near the cage.
"Do you know, Nono-ya, your neck has seven bones," Yerim softly touched Jeno's neck, counting his bones one by one.
"What about giraffes? The neck is so long," Jeno asked.
"They also have seven bones! Like you! But one bone is probably this long," Yerim demonstrated using her hands.
"How do you know such information?" Jaehyun mused as he approached them while pushing Sungchan's stroller."I'm a vet," Yerim flexed nonchalantly, causing Jaehyun to roll his eyes at her.
Yerim turned to Jaehyun's friends and repeated the little fun fact, and his friends were thoroughly surprised by the random information.
Yerim turned to Jaehyun's friends and repeated the little fun fact, and his friends were thoroughly surprised by the random information.
"Eomma, what is that?" Jeno pointed to another cage.
"Oh, that's a camel."
"It has two shoulders on its back?" Jeno asked curiously.
"That's not the shoulders, Jen. Those are called humps. So, camels usually live in the deserts. In deserts, it's very hard to find water and food, especially in summer. So, when camels find food, they eat very, very much, and then they store the food in their humps."
"When they can't find food, they just take some from the humps?" He asked again.
Yerim nodded.
“Like the fridge?”
"You could say that," Yerim nodded with a chuckle at Jeno’s amusing response.
"Oh, that's a camel."
"It has two shoulders on its back?" Jeno asked curiously.
"That's not the shoulders, Jen. Those are called humps. So, camels usually live in the deserts. In deserts, it's very hard to find water and food, especially in summer. So, when camels find food, they eat very, very much, and then they store the food in their humps."
"When they can't find food, they just take some from the humps?" He asked again.
Yerim nodded.
“Like the fridge?”
"You could say that," Yerim nodded with a chuckle at Jeno’s amusing response.
Jaehyun smiled at the mother and son interaction. Jeno has always been interested in animals, and it's such a blessing that Yerim had an extensive knowledge on them so Jeno could learn from her.
"Your wife seems to know a lot about animals," Taeil commented as they all saw Yerim explaining something about tigers animatedly to Jeno.
"Ah, she's a vet. You could ask her about the animals if you guys want to," Jaehyun smiled.
"Oh, I will," Yuta grinned.
"Yerim-san, I heard from Jaehyun that you are a vet. Can we ask some questions then?" Yuta asked her politely in Japanese.
"Of course!"
"Ah, are you a vet for wild animals like this?" Yuta's wife asked.
"Ah, no. I'm mostly a doctor for domesticated animals even though I have quite a large number of snake patients," she grinned.
"What university did you attend? Jaehyun mentioned that you went to vet school in Japan," Yuta asked.
"Ah, I was enrolled in Nippon Veterinary School."
"NVLU? Wow! You're amazing! Oi, Jaehyun, your wife is top-notch!" Yuta exclaimed.
"Ah, she's a vet. You could ask her about the animals if you guys want to," Jaehyun smiled.
"Oh, I will," Yuta grinned.
"Yerim-san, I heard from Jaehyun that you are a vet. Can we ask some questions then?" Yuta asked her politely in Japanese.
"Of course!"
"Ah, are you a vet for wild animals like this?" Yuta's wife asked.
"Ah, no. I'm mostly a doctor for domesticated animals even though I have quite a large number of snake patients," she grinned.
"What university did you attend? Jaehyun mentioned that you went to vet school in Japan," Yuta asked.
"Ah, I was enrolled in Nippon Veterinary School."
"NVLU? Wow! You're amazing! Oi, Jaehyun, your wife is top-notch!" Yuta exclaimed.
"Huh?"
"She graduated from NVLU! It's a very prestigious private vet school in the whole Japan. Wow, seriously, if you ever have a kid of your own, your kid will be one hell of a genius. Both of you are alumni of prestigious schools. Wow…" Yuta grinned, patting his back as Jaehyun digested the newly acquired piece of information. He never knew Yerim went to that university. He turned to Yerim and gave her a proud smile.
"Shall we move to the pandas?" Yerim asked and they all nodded.
"Eomma! They're so big! And fluffy!" Jeno remarked while jumping excitedly.
"Hey, do you see the babies there?" Yerim pointed to a group of baby pandas playing.
"I can't see!" Jeno pouted.
Jaehyun laughed before squatting down.
"Come sit on appa's shoulder. Appa used to sit on halbae’s shoulder a lot when appa was a little," Jaehyun said as he beckoned Jeno to come closer.
Yerim helped Jeno climb up Jaehyun's shoulder and the boy yelped happily when Jaehyun rose up, liking the incredible height.
"Appa is so tall; now I can see everything!" Jeno pointed out excitedly.
"Shall we move to the pandas?" Yerim asked and they all nodded.
"Eomma! They're so big! And fluffy!" Jeno remarked while jumping excitedly.
"Hey, do you see the babies there?" Yerim pointed to a group of baby pandas playing.
"I can't see!" Jeno pouted.
Jaehyun laughed before squatting down.
"Come sit on appa's shoulder. Appa used to sit on halbae’s shoulder a lot when appa was a little," Jaehyun said as he beckoned Jeno to come closer.
Yerim helped Jeno climb up Jaehyun's shoulder and the boy yelped happily when Jaehyun rose up, liking the incredible height.
"Appa is so tall; now I can see everything!" Jeno pointed out excitedly.
"Jaehyun is such a good father, isn’t he? He's not the oldest between us but he always took good care of us. Now seeing him with his actual kid… He's truly a good father," Yuta muttered and Yerim smiled at him. She took out her cell phone and quietly snapped a picture of their back side. Jaehyun with Jeno perched on his shoulder and Sungchan on the stroller next to him.
"Kim Yerim? Is that you?!"
Yerim turned around and shrieked.
"Jisoo! Oh my god!" She laughed as she gave the woman a hug.
Jaehyun turned around curiously when he heard his fiancée laughing cheerily.
"Jisoo, meet my fiancé, this is Jaehyun. And these are our children Jeno and Sungchan. And these are my fiancé's friends."
Jaehyun smiled and bowed to the lady, happy that Yerim introduced him as her fiancé.
Yerim turned around and shrieked.
"Jisoo! Oh my god!" She laughed as she gave the woman a hug.
Jaehyun turned around curiously when he heard his fiancée laughing cheerily.
"Jisoo, meet my fiancé, this is Jaehyun. And these are our children Jeno and Sungchan. And these are my fiancé's friends."
Jaehyun smiled and bowed to the lady, happy that Yerim introduced him as her fiancé.
"I'm Jang Jisoo, Yerim's friend from college. Ya, Kim Yerim, you never told me you're engaged with kids!"
Yerim grinned sheepishly.
"Anyways, do you want to come with me? I work here as a vet. I can get you inside to see the baby pandas."
"You can? Wait, can I bring—"
"All your companions can come along. Come on!"
Yerim grinned sheepishly.
"Anyways, do you want to come with me? I work here as a vet. I can get you inside to see the baby pandas."
"You can? Wait, can I bring—"
"All your companions can come along. Come on!"
Yerim beamed before turning, "Uhm guys, this lady, Jisoo, is my friend from vet school in Japan. She works here. She invited us to see some baby pandas. Do you want to come?"
"Oh, can we? We'd love that!" Taeil smiled.
Yerim relayed the message to her friend and they all followed her into a room. Jeno squealed immediately when he saw the cute baby pandas crawling around.
"Eomma, can I touch it?" He tugged Yerim's pants. Yerim smiled and shook her head softly.
"Sadly, we can't, Jeno. The babies are still very young, so they get sick easily if people touch them. See? Even the vets inside had to use gloves and extra clothings when touching them," Yerim brushed away Jeno's bangs, explaining slowly, and the boy pouted even though he nodded in understanding.
"Oh, can we? We'd love that!" Taeil smiled.
Yerim relayed the message to her friend and they all followed her into a room. Jeno squealed immediately when he saw the cute baby pandas crawling around.
"Eomma, can I touch it?" He tugged Yerim's pants. Yerim smiled and shook her head softly.
"Sadly, we can't, Jeno. The babies are still very young, so they get sick easily if people touch them. See? Even the vets inside had to use gloves and extra clothings when touching them," Yerim brushed away Jeno's bangs, explaining slowly, and the boy pouted even though he nodded in understanding.
Yerim turned to her friends and smiled when they all looked around in awe. She got around explaining about the pandas which they all appreciated.
"Appa, can we keep one at home?" Jeno asked innocently, causing Jaehyun to laugh.
"Oh, baby. We can't, sadly. Pandas are wild animals, so they shouldn't live in houses. And plus, our apartment doesn’t have bamboo trees. Pandas have to eat bamboos a lot."
Jeno sighs, "I really like them. When I grow up, can I be a vet too?"
"Like eomma?" Jaehyun asked softly.
Jeno nodded, "I want to be just like eomma! But I want to be a doctor for bears and pandas. And tigers! I want to be a tiger doctor!"
Jaehyun laughed, "Of course you can. But you have to study hard first at school."
"I will!"
“If you became a vet in the future, you could work at the zoo, but you should help eomma too in the clinic, okay? Who would help take care of Snowy, Cookie, Tabby, and Russo then?” Yerim said playfully.
Jeno beamed, bobbing his head excitedly, “I will be eomma’s best assistant in the whole world!”
Yerim felt her heart melting at Jeno’s excitement and innocence.
Jaehyun smiled fondly, hoping Jeno would keep his promise and really become a vet in the future. That will be cool. But no matter what Jeno wants to do in the future, Jaehyun vowed he’ll do everything he can to support his dreams.
"Hyung, can I try holding Byul?" Jaehyun asked.
Taeil laughed, "Of course. Go ahead, she's the chillest baby in the world."
Jaehyun smiled as he picked up the little girl from her stroller. The kid giggled, completely at ease.
"Hello, pretty. I'm Jaehyun samchon," he cooed, making the little girl laugh.
For a while, Jaehyun really enjoyed playing with the little girl, making funny faces and hearing her excited laughter in return. But then he heard a familiar wail. He laughed as he noticed Sungchan trying to climb out of his stroller with tears running down his chubby cheeks, probably jealous of his father carrying another baby.
"Oh, Sungchanie! You're a little green monster, aren't you? Come here, you need to be friends with Byul. You shouldn’t be jealous. You guys are the same age, so be friends, okay?" Jaehyun balanced Byul on one arm before picking up Sungchan with his other arm.
"Oh, Sungchanie! You're a little green monster, aren't you? Come here, you need to be friends with Byul. You shouldn’t be jealous. You guys are the same age, so be friends, okay?" Jaehyun balanced Byul on one arm before picking up Sungchan with his other arm.
Yerim who heard Sungchan's cries turned back immediately and her heart softened as she saw Jaehyun with the two babies.
"The two of you should get married fast and have a daughter. Jaehyun is such a good father. And we can already predict how much of a daddy's girl your daughter is going to be in the future if you ever have one," Taeil said as he approached Yerim.
Yerim smiled, "That would be lovely. But maybe wait until Sungchan's a bit bigger. Unlike Jeno, he hasn't understood the fact that he's adopted yet. We need a ton of explaining to do once he grows up."
"Anyways, I'm so glad Jaehyun ended up with you. We always heard bits and snippets about Jaehyun's first love back in Korea but he never liked to talk about it. But we all knew; you left a lasting impression on him. He never looked at any girls in college. Not even to Hana, who was his girlfriend."
"He said he was forced to date Hana, which confuses me," Yerim confessed.
"Ah, that. It's true. At that time everyone knew how much Hana idolizes your fiancé. And Jaehyun was still dwelling on whatever past he had with you. Everyone thought he needed to move on so we pushed him to accept Hana's confession. I pitied Hana since it really doesn't feel like they're dating at all. It was more like Hana dragging Jaehyun around and him tolerating her."
Yerim gulped nervously, "Wow. But really, Jaehyun and I didn't have any past whatsoever. We didn't even get to date. I admit there were definitely sparks between us, and we even got to share our first kiss together. But then things got rough for me and I had troubles with my family so I cut ties with everyone and fled to Japan. I kind of regretted my decision."
"You don't have to. This is your destiny. Maybe you have to be separated first before finally uniting. Don't be sad. Fate likes to catch people off-guard. You know what people always say. Love comes when you least expect it," Taeil smiled kindly at her.
"The two of you should get married fast and have a daughter. Jaehyun is such a good father. And we can already predict how much of a daddy's girl your daughter is going to be in the future if you ever have one," Taeil said as he approached Yerim.
Yerim smiled, "That would be lovely. But maybe wait until Sungchan's a bit bigger. Unlike Jeno, he hasn't understood the fact that he's adopted yet. We need a ton of explaining to do once he grows up."
"Anyways, I'm so glad Jaehyun ended up with you. We always heard bits and snippets about Jaehyun's first love back in Korea but he never liked to talk about it. But we all knew; you left a lasting impression on him. He never looked at any girls in college. Not even to Hana, who was his girlfriend."
"He said he was forced to date Hana, which confuses me," Yerim confessed.
"Ah, that. It's true. At that time everyone knew how much Hana idolizes your fiancé. And Jaehyun was still dwelling on whatever past he had with you. Everyone thought he needed to move on so we pushed him to accept Hana's confession. I pitied Hana since it really doesn't feel like they're dating at all. It was more like Hana dragging Jaehyun around and him tolerating her."
Yerim gulped nervously, "Wow. But really, Jaehyun and I didn't have any past whatsoever. We didn't even get to date. I admit there were definitely sparks between us, and we even got to share our first kiss together. But then things got rough for me and I had troubles with my family so I cut ties with everyone and fled to Japan. I kind of regretted my decision."
"You don't have to. This is your destiny. Maybe you have to be separated first before finally uniting. Don't be sad. Fate likes to catch people off-guard. You know what people always say. Love comes when you least expect it," Taeil smiled kindly at her.
"What are you guys talking about? Anyways, hyung, I'm giving you your baby back," Jaehyun said as he neared them, handing Byul back to her father.
"Nah, just talking randomly," Taeil shrugged before winking knowingly to Yerim.
"Nah, just talking randomly," Taeil shrugged before winking knowingly to Yerim.
A/N
i did a double update! i have some more time to squeeze in between my shifts and i happened to have this written down already so... here you go!
enjoy!
and yes, the quote from the poster, "love comes when you least expect it" came from taeil's sentence here!
and yes, i'm imagining jeno as a vet in the future!!!
Love, btfg <3
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