A/N: because i'm the most horrible person in the world- or satan (whichever you prefer)- i haven't been following through with anything so um...here's an apology type thing??? over 6k so um yeah im really really REALLY sorry

 

 

Joonmyun hurriedly carried his 2 sons into the large building. He glanced down at his wristwatch as he half-walked half-ran to the elevator. 7:22 AM. He was making good time.

In the elevator, as he hoisted little Sehun up onto his waist, he made sure Jongin was next to him, "Jonginnie, can you press the button with the 7 on it?"

Jongin nodded as he looked at the wall of buttons, his finger hesitated over the 6 before jabbing the 7 and grinning up at his father, "I remembered!"

Joonmyun grinned back at him, "I'm so proud! My Jonginnie is so smart!"

Jongin continued grinning as Joonmyun set down his briefcase and ruffled his hair.

When they reached the 7th floor, Jongin picked up his father's briefcase with 2 arms, holding the large case tightly to his chest as he followed his dad out of the elevator. The family of 3 quickly walked through the floor area full of cubicles, soon arriving at a large end cubicle directly across from an office door. The desk in the cubicle was large and wrapped around 3 of the 4 walls. A printer sat in the corner of the desk and a computer was placed in the middle of the desk on the left wall of the cubicle.

Joonmyun placed Sehun on the floor and set the bag of toys down next to him. Instead of turning to dig for his toys, the 2 year old stood up and waddled over to his father.

Jongin had placed his father's briefcase on the desk next to the computer, opened it, and was taking papers out of it, stacking them neatly across the desk counter so his father would be able to see them.

Joonmyun was sitting in his rolling chair as Sehun waddled over and placed his tiny hands on Joonmyun's knees. Joonmyun looked down and smiled sadly at his youngest, "I'm sorry, Sehunnie. Miss Kim quit on me and I can't afford to take you to daycare. I know this isn’t a fun place but appa has to work. Try not to get too bored, ok?”

Sehun shook his head, "No! I wanna work like appa!"

Joonmyun couldn't help but smile sadly at his son's innocence. He bent over and pulled Sehun into his lap, "Well baby, when you're older, hopefully you won't have to work a job like this. Wouldn't it be more fun to be a dancer or a painter?"

Sehun nodded happily as his father pet his head. Joonmyun sighed as he set Sehun back down, the 2 year old now digging in his backpack for a coloring book.

Jongin stood at the side of Joonmyun's chair, "Appa, I fixed your stuff!"

Joonmyun looked at the 3 neat stacks of papers sitting next to his computer. He pulled Jongin in for a hug, "Aww, my little Jonginnie is such an amazing helper! How about for lunch, we go to Chuck E. Cheese's?"

Instead of shouting in joy, Jongin beamed and nodded, remembering the only rule of his appa’s workplace: always be quiet.

Joonmyun quickly grabbed a handful of papers and hurried to the office across from his workstation. He smiled at his sons when he returned and slipped into his chair to get some work done. As Joonmyun set to reading files and analyzing data, Jongin sat next to Sehun and colored.

 

The 3 had been in the cubicle for 30 minutes and Joonmyun felt like he was actually making progress. Hopefully, he could finish earlier than 8 PM and leave the office early. That thought turned to dust when he heard a door slam.

He sighed heavily as he counted down from 5. When he reached 1, he heard it.

"JOONMYUN!"

Jongin quickly gathered all their toys and shoved them under the desk counter before grabbing Sehun and pulling him under the cabinet. The 2 babies sat under the counter with wide eyes as they watched their appa stand up and walk out of the cubicle.

Joonmyun refused to let his boss intimidate him, "Yes sir?"

The tall man with graying hair looked like he'd been a weightlifter when he was younger. Not only was he tall, standing at 6'3, his arms and chest bulged out of his shirt almost comically.

He flung a stack of papers at Joonmyun, getting angrier when Joonmyun managed to catch them without dropping them.

"What the hell is this? I said I wanted the proposals on my desk by 7:45 AM and it is now 7:46 and this does not look like proposals to me."

Joonmyun sighed, "Sir, you called me last night and asked for the contracts this morning. You said the proposals could wait until after lunch."

The man's face reddened in anger, "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THESE DAMN CONTRACTS! I WANTED THE GODDAMNED PROPOSALS ON MY DESK AT 7:45 THIS MORNING!"

Joonmyun stopped himself from sighing again, "Yes sir, sorry sir."

Jongin crawled out from under the desk and hurried over to the neat stacks of papers, he grabbed one stack and hurried out of the cubicle to his father, "Here appa!"

Joonmyun looked down at his son, his frown slipping away as he noticed what Jongin was holding. He took the stack, "Thank you so much, Jonginnie! You're so smart and helpful!"

He turned back to his boss and handed him the papers, "Here you are sir. The proposals."

The man snatched the stack away from the father, "And what have I said about letting those little bastards run amok here? Those heathens do nothing but cause trouble!"

Joonmyun clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, biting down hard on his tongue to stop himself from hurting his boss. He did not tolerate anyone badmouthing his sons.

Before either of them could say anything, someone else cleared their throat. Both men turned to see the company VP standing a few feet away, watching the commotion.

Joonmyun's boss quickly stood up straight and bowed, "Good morning, sir. What brings you down to the 7th floor?"

The man hummed, "A termination and a promotion."

Joonmyun's boss blinked in confusion then smiled, "Ah, yes sir. If I may have the honors."

He turned to Joonmyun and cleared his throat, "Joonmyun, you cause more trouble than you're worth. Your time here has been full of nothing but problems. I’m glad they finally listened to me. You will not be missed around here.  You're fired."

Joonmyun stood as still as possible, hoping that those words weren't true. If he lost this job, how would he take care of his boys? That thought set his heartbeat pumping thrice as fast and his breathing increased. What was he going to do?!

The company VP, an elderly man by the name of Mr. Park, shook his head, "Unfortunately, I must correct you, Mr. Green. Joonmyun here is not fired. You are."

Both Joonmyun and his boss stopped breathing, wondering if they'd heard correctly.

Mr. Green regained his thoughts first, "Sir! I-I-I'm not understanding! Why would you fire me?"

Mr. Park didn't seem bothered with a man almost 2 heads taller than him on the verge of a nervous breakdown, "Well... How did you put it? 'You are more trouble than you're worth'? Now. If you could please pack up your possessions and have all your belongings off the property by 7 PM today."

The finality in the VP's tone was enough to shut Mr. Green up and had him shuffling into his office and shutting his door with a little more force than necessary.

Joonmyun blinked. Did that really just happen? He looked at the now smiling VP, "I apologize sir, I'll get back to work immediately."

Mr. Park smiled, "Why on earth would you do that? Looks like your little tots over there want to come out and meet me."

Joonmyun turned to look behind him and saw the tops of 2 heads with eyes peeking curiously around the edge of the cubicle wall. When Jongin and Sehun noticed they'd been spotted, they ducked back into the cubicle, Jongin shushing a giggling Sehun.

Joonmyun blushed as he turned back around, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm going through a bit of a rough patch and I don't have anywhere else to take them. I promise they'll keep quiet it's just they've been up for so long and-"

Mr. Park cut him off with a chuckle, "It's fine, Joonmyun!"

Joonmyun watched helplessly as Mr. Park walked around him, heading for the cubicle.

Jongin sat curled up under one of the desks in the cubicle, Sehun curled into his side and pressing his small face into his older brother's side. He watched, scared, as the old man walked into the cubicle and stopped right where they were hiding.

Jongin held his breath as the man kneeled down and smiled at him, "Hello there. I have heard so many great things about you! Now which little angel are you?"

Jongin glanced nervously at his appa, who was standing at the entrance of the cubicle. Joonmyun nodded slightly and Jongin looked at the old man again, not forgetting his manners. He tried to bow with Sehun still attached to his side, "Hello sir, I am Jongin and this is Sehun. We didn't mean to get appa in trouble. We'll be good little boys! We promise!"

Sehun whimpered into Jongin's side and clutched at Jongin's shirt tighter, his little body shaking slightly.

Mr. Park beamed, "Why look at you! Formal and all! And you can't be more than 4! Your father has really raised you right! Joonmyun your sons are adorable!"

He slipped a hand into his pocket, eyes squinting just a little bit as he rummaged around for something. He pulled out 2 neatly wrapped pieces of chocolate and held them out to the 2 boys, "My grandson made them. They're delicious! Go on, try one. Oh, you must ask your father first of course."

Jongin looked at his appa, who looked relieved. When Joonmyun nodded and smiled, Jongin hesitantly reached out and carefully took the pieces of candy. He kept his arm around Sehun's shoulders as he held the candy to his chest where Sehun could see it, "Look Sehunnie! Chocolate!"

The 2 year old slowly lifted his head up and looked at the old man, "H-hewwo my name is Sehu.."

Mr. Park chuckled as Sehun's voice trailed off, "Nice to meet you, Sehun. Now why are you boys hiding under there? Your toys are all out here! Come on out, I have a surprise for you."

With a little more prompting from the old man, Sehun moved away from Jongin and crawled towards him. Without missing a beat, Mr. Park grabbed Sehun and stood up, swinging the toddler onto his hip with a smile, "Oh, Jongin. Come on out here, my boy! The surprise is for you too!"

Jongin hesitantly crawled out and stood next to his father, holding tightly onto Joonmyun's pants leg.

Both father and eldest son watched as Sehun nervously unwrapped his chocolate. Instead of taking a bite, he surprised them all when he held it out to Joonmyun. His father shook his head with a soft smile, "It's ok, Sehunnie. It's all yours."

The 2 year old still looked skeptical as he took a small bite out of the square of chocolate. He bit off a piece and chewed it slowly before rewrapping the chocolate and holding it tightly in his little hand.

Mr. Park smiled, "Now, Joonmyun, if you could please pack up your personal belongings. You won't need the office supply. You also don't need to worry about those contracts or proposals."

Joonmyun nodded, swallowing thickly, "Yes sir."

He prayed that whichever job he was demoted to would be enough to support his kids.

Jongin helped his father repack all his things. He put all of their toys back in the bookbag and grabbed the only thing in the cubicle that was Joonmyun's: a framed picture of the family of 3.

Jongin clutched the picture to his chest with one hand as Joonmyun picked him up and held him on his waist.

Joonmyun followed Mr. Park to the elevator with his head high, ignoring all the hard stares and harsh whispering all around the office. He refused to look weak in front of these people.

In the elevator, Mr. Park pressed the button marked 10 and chuckled at Joonmyun's surprised face.

Joonmyun nodded in understanding, "Oh, right. I have to complete the termination process with an evaluation."

Mr. Park chuckled again as the elevator gave a loud ping, "You seem to remember the handbook very well. Maybe we should switch you to the head of the training department instead."

Mr. Park led Joonmyun to the opposite side of the large room where a set of cherry wood double doors stood intimidatingly. The gold doorknobs shined brightly, contrasting the dark wood of the doors and walls.

Joonmyun gulped as Mr. Park grabbed a doorknob and turned it. Jongin giggled and poked his daddy's cheek. Joonmyun smiled softly at his son before following his boss into the room.

The room was very large and open. The entire wall opposite the door was a window that held a breathtaking view of the city. On either side of the window was a bookshelf that spanned from floor to ceiling. In between the bookshelves was a large desk that matched the cherry wood walls. There was a beige leather couch sitting against the wall to the right of th doors and a large flower pot stood on the other side of the couch. To the left of the doors were a gathering of chairs forming a circle around a small table.

Behind the desk sat a woman writing something down as fast as she could. She looked up when the door opened, "Ah, Jungkook. Is that Joonmyun? Are those his sons? Mr. Park I thought I said I'd meet you at the new office when I finished all this paperwork."

Her tone switched from pleasantly surprised to genuinely surprised to irritated as she spoke. 

Joonmyun's mouth went dry when he saw who the woman was. Why was he in the owner/CEO's office? What had he done for such an evaluation? Was she going to humiliate him in front of his sons before blacklisting him?

A million questions were running through his head and he completely missed Mr. Park's sheepish answer.

"I forgot which office was his so I just brought him here! Aish, I'm getting old, pity me!"

The woman smirked as she stood up and straightened out her blazer, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim."

Joonmyun nodded dumbly before snapping out of his daze. He bowed as deep as he could, Jongin clutching tightly to his chest and giggling into his ear.

"How do you do, Mrs. Jung? It's a pleasure to meet you."

She nodded, "While I'd love to sit around and play with these adorable little babies, we have business to attend to. Mr. Park, Mr. Kim if you could follow me."

She led them back out of the room to the elevator. Pressing the button for the 8th floor and smiling at the still-confused Joonmyun. The oblivious Sehun played with Mr. Park, poking at his face and giggling when his own face was poked.

When they arrived on the 8th floor, she led them down the hallway. To the right of the hallway was a large opening. Around the perimeter of the room were 5 doors, 4 leading to small offices and the only door on the left wall led to a large conference room. In front of the 4 office doors were 4 reception desks. There was a medium-sized couch on the wall next to the conference room, 2 matching chairs sitting across from it.

She walked to the door on the far left of the wall opposite the entryway. The door opened to a corner office, the wall opposite the door was all glass, showing almost the same view of the city as the window in Mrs. Jung’s office. There was a wrap-around desk in the far left corner of the room, taking up most of the office space. There were 2 chairs sitting in front of the desk and a large office chair behind the desk. There was a computer and a printer on the desk as well as other types of office supplies.

Joonmyun watched as Mr. Park placed Sehun on the ground. Once his feet were on the ground, Sehun quickly waddled over to the window and leaned against it, peering down at the city.

He screeched, "Appa lookie!"

Joonmyun cleared his throat, "Sehunnie, be careful ok!"

The 2 year old nodded absentmindedly as he continued to stare out the window in awe.

In Joonmyun's arms, Jongin had begun rubbing his eyes. Joonmyun looked at him, concern written all over his face, "Jonginnie, don't rub too hard or you'll irritate your eyes. Are you tired?"

Jongin nodded, his head resting against Joonmyun's.

Joonmyun turned to look at his bosses, "I'm not understanding."

Mr. Park smiled, "Earlier I said there would be both a termination and a promotion. Lee was fired sooo what does that mean?"

Joonmyun gaped as he realized what was going on, "But this is way out of my league! I don't even know what I'm being promoted to!"

Mrs. Jung smiled slyly, "Tell me, Mr. Kim. Do you know what we hired you to do?"

Joonmyun nodded slowly as he set Jongin down, "To proofread and fix any problems with any documents or files in the system."

Mrs. Jung nodded, impressed, "Well now that we know how good of a job you do, we decided to put you in charge of it."

Joonmyun shook his head, "But why would you want a proofreading department?"

Mr. Park smiled, "We want to expand and we noticed that there have been a lot of flaws in some of the paperwork, specifically any paperwork that doesn't get approved by you. So since there have been so many errors, we sent everyone who was hired to proofread back to training. On top of that training, we have opened a new office across country so we had to send a lot of our workers over there to get some things done."

Joonmyun nodded, remembering when he'd turned the opportunity down because of the divorce.

Mrs. Jung spoke up when she saw Joonmyun glance nervously around the office, "You probably don't want to be called Head of the proofreading department so we changed the department name. You are now the head of the editing and analysis department, or HEAD for short."

Joonmyun cracked a smile at his title's nickname. He frowned again after a minute, "But why me? I can't be the only one who hasn't made mistakes."

Mrs. Jung made a noise of understanding, "You were actually 1 of 4 but they have other tasks now. Their offices are the rest of the offices in this area. Oh! You also have a secretary."

Mr. Park spoke before Mrs. Jung could continue, "It's my grandson! That boy is smart enough to take my place but he's just so darn stubborn!"

The corner of Joonmyun's mouth lifted slightly, "I've never had a secretary before."

"Well technically he's your assistant."

Joonmyun didn't notice his hands sweating, "Oh. Um. Ok..."

Mrs. Jung set her briefcase on the desk and opened it, pulling out a few stapled papers. She held them up and Joonmyun could see the bold letters across the top of the first page.

Contract of Employment

Joonmyun gulped as he watched her grab the top of the papers with both hands.

She watched him over the edge of the papers, “This is your contract.”

Joonmyun’s breath caught in his throat, still not fully believing that this wasn’t just some elaborate prank to hurt him before they kicked him out. He stayed frozen as he watched her rip the papers into large pieces before ripping those pieces into smaller pieces. She ripped the contract up until it was confetti then dumped all the scraps into the trashcan.

“And this,” she reached back into the briefcase and held up another contract, “is your new and improved contract.”

Joonmyun almost fainted from the huge sense of relief. He set the squirming Jongin down and took a shaky step forward, “May I have time to read over the new contract?”

Mr. Park laughed, “Even when he’s on the verge of passing out, he’s still business-minded! I knew he was the right choice!”

Mrs. Jung smiled and nodded, “Of course, you have the rest of the day off to read over the contract. Feel free to change anything you need. We’ll leave you to it then.”

With that, Joonmyun watched numbly as his 2 bosses strolled out of his office and back to the elevator. When the elevator door closed, Joonmyun dropped into one of the chairs, eyes closed as he tried to steady his breathing.

Sehun broke him out of his trance, “Appa, potty.”

Joonmyun opened his eyes to see his 2 sons standing to his right, holding hands as they watched him curiously. Joonmyun stood up and moved between the children, grabbing their small hands and walking to the door, “Let’s go potty.”

The restrooms were to the right of his office and he inspected the hallway of his new workspace as they walked.

Jongin went to his own stall, proud that he could go to the bathroom by himself. Sehun dragged his father into one stall, in a rush to pee.

Joonmyun helped Sehun go to the bathroom and wipe himself before pulling the 2 year old’s pants back up and leading him out of the stall. Jongin stood at the sinks, waiting patiently for his appa to pick him up.

The single father smiled as he wrapped an arm around his sons’ waists and hoisted them up high enough to wash their hands, “Ah ah ah. Don’t forget the soap. Only clean boys get Chuck E. Cheese’s.”

When the 2 boys had finished washing their hands, Joonmyun checked the time. 8:44. Good.

He led them back out of the bathroom and down the hallway to his office. Joonmyun was too busy talking to his sons to notice someone sitting at his assistant's desk.

He stood up when he was a few feet away, stopping in his tracks when he saw the black-haired man arranging things on the desk.

The man looked up, smiling when he noticed Joonmyun, "Hello, you must be my boss. My name is Do Kyungsoo and I will be your assistant."

Joonmyun was still frozen as Kyungsoo stood up and walked around the desk to offer a handshake.

Sehun and Jongin stared up at their frozen appa, wondering why he wasn't moving.

Joonmyun finally snapped out from his daze and let go of Jongin's hand to shake Kyungsoo's, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Do. And please, call me Joonmyun."

Kyungsoo nodded and smiled, "Only if you call me Kyungsoo. And I'm sorry for the late appearance but I usually come to work at 8:30. Will that be a problem?"

Joonmyun shook his head quickly, "Oh no! Not at all! Before I was here, I had to arrive at 7 but I could get used to setting my own hours."

They both chuckled before Kyungsoo looked down at the 2 small boys. He kneeled and smiled wide, "Hello, my name is Kyungsoo. I'm going to be working with your father."

Jongin had hidden behind Joonmyun's leg and was peeking out every so often. Sehun was still standing beside Joonmyun, holding his hand and staring at Kyungsoo curiously.

Sehun spoke first, "Noona! Pretty!"

Joonmyun's face reddened as he looked down at Sehun, "Sehunnie, that's a boy. He's hyung, not noona."

Sehun eyed Kyungsoo skeptically, "......hyung?"

Kyungsoo had thrown his head back and laughed at the wrong title. Joonmyun was glad he didn't get offended.

"Yes? You must be Sehun. So that would make you," he turned to look at Jongin who was still peeking from behind his father's leg, "Jongin. Come out from back there, I won't hurt you."

Joonmyun put his hand on Jongin's shoulder, forcing the 4 year old to move from his hiding spot. Jongin nodded shyly, "Hello, my name is Jongin."

Kyungsoo beamed, "You boys are so handsome! It's nice to meet you!"

Sehun stepped forward, holding out his hand, offering his forgotten piece of chocolate, "Pretty..."

Kyungsoo looked at the candy and stood up, walking to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a box. When he set it on the desk and opened it, he held up a piece of chocolate identical to Sehun's piece.

Kyungsoo chuckled, "No thank you, Sehun. I already have some. I make these."

Sehun's jaw dropped and he hurried over to the desk, trying to stand on his tip toes to peer into the box. Kyungsoo continued to smile as he lowered the box into Sehun's view.

Sehun grinned at Joonmyun, "Appa! Candy!"

Joonmyun smiled, happy that his secretary and sons were getting along, "You still haven't eaten breakfast yet, Sehunnie. Maybe after lunch, you could ask Mr. Kyungsoo if you could have another piece."

Sehun nodded before looking back up at Kyungsoo, "Did you magics?"

As Kyungsoo talked to Sehun about the chocolate, Joonmyun looked down at his other son, "Jonginnie, don't you want to look at the chocolate too?"

Jongin shook his head and clutched his father's hand tightly, "I wanna stay with appa."

Joonmyun chuckled, "Ok, baby. Let's go into my office and figure out what to do for breakfast."

Sehun had by now, made himself comfortable in Kyungsoo's lap, watching in awe as Kyungsoo turned the big box on the desk on. The computer screen came to life and Sehun screeched in happiness, staring as Kyungsoo typed in his password.

 

In Joonmyun’s office, Jongin had climbed into one of the chairs and began coloring in his book. Joonmyun was carefully reading over his contract, underlining some things and crossing out others. After 30 minutes of silence, save for the scratches of pen and crayon on paper, Jongin’s stomach growled and the toddler looked pleadingly at his father.

Joonmyun sighed, since he was getting a promotion, maybe it would be ok to splurge a little. Just as he was about to get up and head out to find them come breakfast, he heard the ding of the elevator. Curiously, he slid his large office chair to the left and peeked to see who was getting on or off the elevator.

Kyungsoo stepped off the elevator, Sehun bouncing around his legs as he made his way to Joonmyun's office.

Kyungsoo rushed into the office, placing several plastic bags down on the large desk, "I'm so sorry! I sent Sehun back in here to tell you I was getting breakfast but he followed me instead! I didn't even notice until I got halfway down the stairs! And I didn't have your number so I couldn't call you! I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, please forgive me!"

Kyungsoo finished his plea by dropping to his knees in a bow. Sehun giggled and imitated his pose, dropping down next to Kyungsoo and throwing his arms out in front of him before resting his head on the floor.

Joonmyun blinked, eyes wide as saucers as he took in what Kyungsoo said. He stood up and walked around his desk to pull Kyungsoo off the floor, "Kyungsoo-yah. It's fine. I'm not blaming you. Sehun usually follows instructions but he must really like you to follow you around."

Kyungsoo looked down to see what his boss was pointing at. Sure enough, Sehun had gotten up and was clutching a handful of Kyungsoo's pants while hiding behind him. When the 2 year old noticed he was being watched, he looked up and raised his arms, silently asking to be picked up.

Joonmyun chuckled as Kyungsoo scooped the baby up.

Sehun squealed as he flew up in the air into the nice lady's man's arms.

Joonmyun eyed his youngest son sternly, "Sehun. You know you're supposed to listen to adults when they tell you something. Next time, you'll be in big trouble if you don't listen to Mr. Kyungsoo."

"But noona is so pretty! I had to go with her so I could protects her and beat up all the bad guys!"

Joonmyun gaped at his son for a few moments before taking him from Kyungsoo, "Sehun, Kyungsoo is a boy. A boy. Not a noona. Hyung. Not noona."

"Noona!"

Joonmyun's shoulders dropped. Kyungsoo just laughed at the cute 2 year old and walked to the desk to get rid of the bags.

"Boss, I brought you and the boys some breakfast. I didn't know what you wanted so I got a little of everything."

Jongin looked up from where he'd been curled up on a blanket in a corner of the room, "Food?"

Kyungsoo chuckled, "Yes, food. It was way too early for you to have eaten so I took it upon myself to feed you."

Jongin looked at his father, as if asking for permission. When Joonmyun nodded, Jogin flew up and tore across the room to grab some food.

Kyungsoo laughed softly as he pet Jongin's hair as the 4 year old hurriedly pulled food from the bags.

"I helped noona! I told her what we usually eated!"

Joonmyun paled as he set his son down. He hoped Sehun didn't tell Kyungsoo about the times they would have to go without food, sometimes for days. He didn't want his secretary to know about his struggle. It was no one's but his to bear and Joonmyun did not take too kindly to pity and sympathy.

Kyungsoo noticed his boss' expressions souring, "Uh, boss? Can I talk to you outside?"

Joonmyun nodded shakily before following the other man out of the room, closing the door just enough to hear his sons.

"Sehun told me."

Joonmyun took a sharp breath but Kyungsoo continued talking, "Don't worry! I don't pity you! If anything, I respect you. I've heard all the bad stories of Mr. Lee and I don't think I could have dealt with him even on a full stomach."

Joonmyun's lips twitched but he still felt a little wary.

Kyungsoo kept talking, trying to calm his boss down, "At first, I didn't believe Sehun. But you really are something else. You raised 2 perfect sons while dealing with your own personal life and a boss like Lee. I respect you so much."

Joonmyun exhaled shakily, silent for a few moments, "Sorry... I'm not used to other people knowing about my personal life."

Kyungsoo nodded in understanding, "I totally agree! I only know that sometimes you guys didn't eat and I won't ask you for your life story unless you want me to. I will respect your privacy. But I do want you to know that I'm here if you need anything."

Joonmyun smiled softly and Kyungsoo felt his face redden. His boss was really cute.

"Thank you, Kyungsoo. I think you're the first person to tell me that. It means a lot."

Kyungsoo forced his blush down as he smiled back, "It's no problem. If we're going to be working together closely, I might as well make myself more helpful."

They walked back into Joonmyun's office to see Jongin and Sehun laying across the chairs and staring at the ceiling in a daze.

Joonmyun gasped as he hurried over to check on his boys. He rested a hand against Jongin's forehead while rubbing Sehun's stomach.

Kyungsoo also walked over, kneeling next to Sehun's chair, "Did you boys eat too much too quickly?"

The children nodded sheepishly. Kyungsoo smiled, "I'll get you guys some water. Just lay still and try to sleep."

Joonmyun pulled his hand away from Jongin's head, resting it on his stomach and rubbing small circles, "Food coma?"

Jongin nodded weakly as Sehun whimpered.

Kyungsoo quickly returned with 2 small paper cups of water. He passed one cup to Joonmyun before hurrying over to Jongin.

The 2 men carefully helped the babies sit up and drink the water. Sehun whined more as he was forced to drink all the water, his tiny stomach feeling like it would burst with another sip. Joonmyun cooed at him when he finished the drink, “There. You finished it all. My big boy. Now get some rest, ok?”

Sehun nodded weakly, his eyes never having been opened as he drank.

Kyungsoo rubbed circles on Jongin’s stomach as he held the cups to his lips.

Jongin eyed him wearily as he tried to take the cup with his slow hands but eventually he gave up, eyes closing as he took small sips from the cup. Kyungsoo smiled softly when Jongin finished drinking and leaned against the chair, enjoying the slight massage his bloated tummy was feeling.

When Kyungsoo stood up and began to pull his hand away, Jongin sleepily groaned out his displeasure and his side, small hands reaching out for the warm soft massager.

Kyungsoo chuckled as he knelt down again and continued rubbing circles on Jongin’s belly. Eventually Jongin fell asleep and Kyungsoo was able to stand up and throw away the cup.

Joonmyun and Kyungsoo ate the rest of the food- a few muffins and crepes filled with (according to Jongin) “icky white stuff”- and began talking about their schedules.

Joonmyun would admit that he never thought he’d ever be in this position; a high-paying job, full custody of his sons, and a friend. That last one was what really blew his mind. He’d had a really hard time keeping his friends ever since he’d met his ex-wife. After everything that’s happened, he soon gave up on having anyone but his parents and his sons.

Kyungsoo could feel his cheeks heating up as Joonmyun continued talking about his hopes for the future. The way his boss would phrase things- “their future,” “together,” & Kyungsoo’s personal favorite “as a pair”- would get his heart thumping slightly faster.

It wasn’t hard for Kyungsoo to admit that he was going to fall for his boss. Even though they’d just met, Kyungsoo could already feel the tugs of attraction in his belly and he knew that attraction would turn to love. From what he’d heard about Joonmyun- thanks to his granddad and Sehun- it was easy to see that Joonmyun was the perfect prince to anyone’s princess/prince. He was charming, witty, smart, kind, and extremely attractive.

Kyungsoo repeated the mantra he’s not gay over and over in his head as he watched as Joonmyun animatedly began talking about his evenings with his sons.

When they’d finished eating, Joonmyun gathered up all the trash and threw it out before checking on his sons again. He carefully moved his boys from the uncomfortable chairs to the blanket in the corner of the room, smiling softly as Sehun curled into his older brother, clutching at the front of his shirt.

Kyungsoo looked up when his boss’ door opened again, revealing Joonmyun and a small stack of papers. Joonmyun smiled sheepishly as he pulled up a chair by Kyungsoo’s desk, “They’re really light sleepers. Well, Sehun is. And if he wakes up, he’ll be cranky and wake up his brother.”

Kyungsoo smiled at the explanation, pushing a few things to one side of his desk to give his boss some space, “No problem. I was actually just about to ask you if you needed help going over that contract.”

Joonmyun’s smile rivaled the sun, “Would you really? That would be a big help! I don’t think I could get through this by myself in one day.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, “No problem, boss. But I bet you’d have gotten through it in no time.”

Joonmyun’s cheeks turned pink since he wasn’t used to getting compliments so he just mumbled his thanks shyly and handed half the stack over to Kyungsoo.

They worked for 2 hours and 30 minutes, managing to change a few things and fix a few others before they heard a loud wail.

Joonmyun hopped up and dashed into his office, hurrying to the corner and picking up a sobbing Sehun. He sat down in one of the chairs, pulling the toddler onto his lap and rocking him.

Kyungsoo rushed in as well, noticing Jongin still sitting on the blanket, staring sadly at his father and brother. He rushed over and sat next to Jongin, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “Hey, Jongin. It’s ok. You can cry. Your father’s right there. It’s ok to cry.”

Jongin stubbornly wiped his eyes and nose but he continued watching his father coddle his baby brother, feeling a pang of jealousy because he’d never been treated like that since Sehun had been adopted.

Kyungsoo could practically see the boy’s thoughts so he pulled the 4 year old into his lap and hugged him tightly to his chest, “It’s ok, Jongin. He loves you too. Don’t be sad. Your appa loves you too, ok? He just heard Sehun first, is all. He notices you. I notice you. It’s ok. Let it all out.”

Jongin began weeping into Kyungsoo’s shirt, tiny fists clenching tightly at the fabric as he left large tearstains all over the front. He wrapped his tiny arms around Kyungsoo, finally happy that someone was comforting him. Jongin was sick of being a big boy all the time, he missed being a baby.

He held on tighter as his thoughts overwhelmed him, tears streaming down his face as he choked on his sobs in attempts to breathe.

Eventually his sobbing died down and he was only sniffling as the tears fell silently. He turned to look at Kyungsoo, who’s eyes had begun to water because of the crying.

Jongin wrapped his little arms around Kyungsoo’s neck and laid his head on his shoulder as his crying finally stopped. Maybe this new man won’t be so bad after all.