"My mommy says that trees have feelings too, so you shouldn't rip their leaves off," the chubby-cheeked five-year old insisted, pulling the clump of greenery from the other child's hands.

"My daddy says trees don't feel anything," the elder boy declared, reaching up defiantly to rip off another leaf from the low-hanging plum tree.

"Well, your daddy is wrong."

"No, my daddy is right. Your mommy is wrong. My daddy is the smartest daddy in the world!"

"Too bad, 'cause my mommy is smarter than your daddy!" Youngjae quipped back, stomping his leg to add emphasis to his point.

"No she's not!" Yongguk exclaimed, scrunching up his brows in an attempt to mimic the way he had seen adults frown.

"Yeah!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh times infinity. Ha! I win," with that, the victorious six-year old reached over, pinching the skin on the younger's arm as painfully as his weak fingers could manage.

"Ouch! Mommy!" Youngjae shrieked, tears already filling his eyes as he tore away from his playmate and raced to the pretty, brown-haired male sitting on a park bench under the shadow of a large tree. "Mommy, mommy!"

The man raised his gaze from the documents in his lap, smiling tiredly at the distressed boy that had appeared in front of him. His exhausted smile fell only seconds after, and he dropped out of his seat and onto his knees immediately, ignoring the dampness that seeped through his khakis and the papers that fluttered to the ground. Himchan pulled the child into a tight embrace, cooing softly and rubbing soothingly up and down his son’s back. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” he asked gently, pulling back to press his lips tenderly to Youngjae’s forehead.

The male in question hiccupped, lower lip trembling as he pointed a plump finger at a spot on his arm. Himchan took the arm carefully in his hands, turning it over as he looked for a reason to the five-year old’s tears. “I don’t see anything, Youngjae-ah,” he said, relaxing slightly when he realized that the cause of the salty streaks on the boy’s cheeks wasn’t anything serious.

“Gukkie pinched me!” Youngjae whined, bringing another bout of tears slipped from the corner of his wide eyes.

“Do you want mommy to kiss it all better?” Himchan inquired, rocking his devastated son back and forth comfortingly.

The younger nodded meekly, sniffling noisily before bringing up a hand to wipe at his running nose. His father bent forward, placing a loving kiss to a random spot on the blonde’s arm. “All better?”

“Nuh-uh,” the boy shook his head. “He pinched me here, not there.” Again, the kid pointed to a seemingly unblemished part of his chubby limb. Without a second’s hesitation, his parent planted another kiss where the child had directed him. Two kisses turned into three, then four, then many more as the brunette travelled up to Youngjae’s face, which he showered in sweet kisses as well. In a matter of moments, Youngjae was reduced to a giggling, squirming bundle, eager to get back onto the playground.

“Mommy, stop!” he screeched, trying to push the elder’s face away while laughing uncontrollably. At last, Himchan let the energetic male go, grinning as he watched his son trundling back to Yongguk, who was looking considerably bored.

Yongguk lived just a few floors beneath Himchan’s apartment, so Youngjae saw the brown-haired six-year old quite often. As the two boys had become fast friends, the elder boy’s parents would occasionally entrust Yongguk in Himchan’s care so that the children could play together. Likewise, Mr. and Mrs. Bang were always willing to take Youngjae off of the brunette’s hands for a little while so that the man could have an hour or two (sometimes a whole night) to himself.

The young adult sighed, getting up off the ground and looking at the grass stains on his khakis glumly. He bent to pick up the documents that had fallen from his lap, groaning at the spike of pain that throbbed in his shoulder. He was hardly twenty-six, and the back pains were already starting. He settled back on the bench, shifting through the papers in an attempt to put them back into the organized mess they had been in before.

He focused back on his work, nibbling on his lower lip as he read steadily through the papers, flipping occasionally to an earlier page for references. Though he may have seemed preoccupied, (and he was) he’d been a parent for five years now, so he had eyes on the back of his head and his hearing was sharpened specifically to hone in on the sound of children playing. Himchan knew there was something wrong when suddenly, the sniggering from the mischievous boys quieted. He looked up in alarm at the same time as he leapt up, and strode over to where he could see a blonde tuft of hair sticking out from behind a slide.

As he was nearing, a brown-haired head appeared from the same place, slowly rising until the man could see all of Yongguk’s body. The little male was climbing up to reach the monkey bars.

“Yongguk!” Himchan exclaimed, frowning and quickening his pace to grab the younger around the waist and lower him, shrieking and protesting, to the ground. “How many times have I told you not to go on the monkey bars?” he scolded, holding the culprit firmly by the shoulders so that he couldn’t escape. “You’re only six years old, Yongguk, it’s dangerous for you to try to go on them,” the man continued, frowning in disappointment. The younger looked down, sulking and trying not to sniffle. “If you wanted to do it so badly, you could have asked me, and I would have helped you,” he added, voice a little softer, and ruffled the boy’s hair.

The youngest present pouted, stomping his foot at the feeling of being left out. “Mommy! I wanna go on the monkey bars too!”

Himchan held back a chuckle at the cute, childish behavior, turning to his son and squeezing his cheeks with a rather unmanly squeal. “Of course sweetheart, here, let’s get you up there,” the elder said, picking up his son and setting the child on his shoulders so that the boy could reach the sturdy iron and pretend to swing across the row of monkey bars.

“Again!” Youngjae demanded as soon as they got to the end, and Himchan complied, ignoring the fatigue in his own body in order to see the younger beaming with happiness. “Again!” This continued for another three trips, until the blonde was utterly worn out, and falling asleep right on top of his father’s shoulders. The man set the five-year old on the bottom of a nearby slide carefully, turning to Yongguk with his hands on his hips.

The elder of the two young ones was evidently still brooding, but a simple sentence was all it took for his mood to take a complete one-eighty. “Do you want to try next, Gukkie-ah?”

The male nodded frantically, leaping to his feet from his criss-cross-applesauce position and stretching his small hands up to the elder, fingers curling and uncurling in a grabbing gesture. He wanted to be lifted. Himchan chuckled. There wasn’t anything he liked more than children. His love for the younger generation was what had pushed him to become a nurse at a large pediatrician’s office, caring for the boys and girls who had come for their physicals, shots, or were simply sick and needed a prescription. It was also the reason he had a five-year old son when he was only twenty-six himself.

She had been barely legal. Her eighteenth birthday had been only a month ago, and he was almost three years older than her. They shared the same passion for children, and dreaming of a large family earlier than necessary was what had gotten them into the terrible situation.

Monster! ! How could you get my daughter pregnant? She trusted you! We trusted you! People like you shouldn’t exist!

Not only had her parents hated him, but his own family had distanced themselves from him. Yet, she had stayed by him, and he had eagerly returned the favor. They painted an illusionary world where they didn’t need parents. The only needed each other, and their baby.

Her parents had almost forced her into an abortion, but she ran away out of anger and frustration, arriving panting and crying in front of Himchan’s door. She was only starting university, and Himchan had another two years before he could graduate. There was no way to support themselves and the coming baby, and the couple knew it. However, they were strong; they wouldn’t let it bother them. They pushed forward, trying to see even an inkling of hope, but the closer the date drew, the farther apart they grew.

They could barely hold their crumbling relationship together long enough for the baby to come. It was too late to back out by the time they realized that nothing was working. Himchan had hoped the newborn would sow the wounds they had inflicted on each other together, but the pain was engraved in their hearts, and nothing could make it go away.

Two months later, she was gone.

Now, Himchan had only Youngjae and that was enough. Youngjae was never a mistake.

Youngjae would never be a mistake.

The sun had begun to disappear by the time Yongguk was satisfied, but Himchan didn’t mind. Playing with the children was always something he enjoyed, as he was able to forget about the troubles waiting for him at home and at work, and could indulge in a blissful ignorance of toys, laughter, and endless energy.

He packed his forgotten papers into a folder, tucking the cardstock pocket into his bag and swinging it over his neck and shoulder so that his arms were free. He took a hold of one hand of each boy, hurrying the sleepy kids along to their apartment building. The Bang family had invited him and Youngjae to dinner that night, and Himchan was more than glad to take them up on that offer. Things had been busy at the office, and he had been staying later and later every day, therefore bailing on going to buy food. The refrigerator in his tiny apartment was practically empty.

Mrs. Bang’s cooking was as superb as ever, Himchan noted, and he made sure that he commented on this fact. They made small chat at the table in between bites of food, but when both Yongguk and Youngjae dozed off, almost falling right into their half-finished pasta, the adults decided it was about time to tuck the kids in and get ready for bed themselves.

Himchan put his already slumbering son into bed as soon as they entered their flat, pressing a kiss to each cheek. “One from mommy,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the boy’s right cheek. “And one from daddy,” this was punctuated by a kiss to the left cheek.

The brunette switched on the night-light plugged into the wall, before turning off the main lamp in the small bedroom. He closed the door just slightly, leaving a rather wide gap, just the way Youngjae wanted it. The younger didn’t like having a big barrier between his father and him.

The parent sighed heavily, going to his own bedroom and plopping into the desk chair in front of the small worktable. He had a long night of work ahead of him. The documents needed to be finished by tomorrow, and he wasn’t even halfway done. He’d probably be pulling an all-nighter.

Damn, why did they have to switch up the nurses?

An old doctor had recently retired from his position in the pediatrician’s office, and now there was to be a new doctor coming in on Wednesday. He’d pulled the short straw, and ended up being assigned to the new arrival. The nurses usually worked for the entire office, but they would also be allocated to a doctor, who they would always assist.

I never thought I’d actually say ‘I wish it was Monday.’

Today was Tuesday, which meant that in less than twelve hours, he’d be meeting the man he would be stuck with until someone else retired. (Which wasn’t going to happen for a while. The oldest doctor they now had was in his mid-forties.)

Moon Jongup, huh? Let’s see if you’re any good.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Was the first thing Himchan managed to force past his lips when a young, brown-haired male stepped into the office. The entire staff was gathered by the front desk, excitedly anticipating the appearance of the worker. The new doctor looked not a day over twenty, but that couldn’t be possible, because he’d had to have gone through quite a few years of school to be a pediatrician. The man was shorter than he was, but still of a relatively tall height, with his hair dyed a pretty, caramel-chocolate color. He had slightly smaller eyes than average, but it seemed to suit the sharp contours of his face. “How old is he?”

The darker-haired brunette was by no means attempting to make his voice any quieter, and the shrill tone obviously caught the man’s attention. The young male smiled cheerfully at the aghast looks he was receiving (Himchan wasn’t the only one who was surprised, but the rest of the staff had more decency than to express it in such a dramatic way) and bowed deeply.

“Hello, my name is Moon Jongup. I am a new pediatrician here and I look forward to working with all of you. Please take care of me!”

The females (who made up more than eighty percent of the office workers) were instantly charmed. Even Himchan had difficulty acting as haughty as he had been earlier when Jongup directed his wide, ridiculously happy grin toward him.

“It is nice to meet you, Jongup; we are excited to work with you.” The head doctor had stepped forward with his own smile. “Your nurse will be Himchan, and he will give you a little tour and get you comfortable in your own office. There’s no work for you today, but make sure you are ready to start the job tomorrow.” Reluctantly, the mentioned man stepped forward, bowing slightly so as not to be completely rude. He refused to apologize for his previous outburst, however.

Jongup nodded, and Himchan wasted no time in whisking him away to show him his office.

“So, how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-four,” the younger replied, the smile still plastered on his face. The nurse almost walked into a wall.

“Only twenty-four? How are you a doctor then? You should have gone through at least eight years of school and a year of interning!”

“Well, I finished high school early, then got my Bachelor’s in only three years. I went through all four years of Medical School, but I didn’t have to do an extra year of interning because I’ve been helping my father out in his hospital since I was twelve.”

“You sure love to brag,” the elder retorted snidely.

“But you asked!”

“Doesn’t mean you have to brag.”

“I wasn’t bragging! I was just answering your question.”

Himchan pointed at the younger rudely. “You’re never going to get a girlfriend if you keep arguing with everyone like that.”

Jongup burst out laughing, draping himself over the nurse in the process.

“What’s so funny? And get off me!” the man screeched, pushed at the boy’s arms. He had to suppress a shiver of delight at the muscular biceps hidden beneath the white coat the doctor was wearing.

“Nothing, Channie,” the brunette answered, shaking his head and plopping into his desk chair, amusement evident in his eyes at the way the elder blanched at the nickname. “You look like you haven’t slept much lately, how come? It’s important to get at least eight hours of rest each day for-”

“Shut it with your dumb doctor stuff. Everyone knows that anyway.” Himchan pulled out a dark blue folder, throwing it onto the desk. “I was working on your stupid paperwork all night. You need to learn to do your own , I’m your nurse, not your personal servant.”

“Hey now, you shouldn’t curse where there may be children nearby.”

“I said shut it, before I kick you where it hurts. You’re a doctor, you should know enough about the human body to realize it’s not going to be much fun.”

Jongup didn’t seem fazed by the threatening words in the least, and he simply chuckled, watching as the elder traipsed around the room, fixing things up and scrunching his nose at the abundant amount of dust.

The days passed by quickly, and sooner than expected, it was Saturday. However, it did not seem as if Himchan would be getting any rest that weekend.

He sighed worriedly, pouring more cough syrup into a tiny plastic cup, grabbing a room-temperature bottle of water on his way back to Youngjae’s room. He could hear the weak coughing all the way in the kitchen.

“Here you go, baby. Drink this and then take a sip of water to help it go down.” Youngjae nodded meekly at his father’s words, obediently opening his mouth as the man pressed the plastic cup to his lips and tilted it so that the peppermint medicine could go down the blonde’s throat. The boy shuddered at the revolting taste (he absolutely hated peppermint) but swallowed anyway, and grabbed at the water bottle. He ended up taking more than just a sip, yet Himchan only smiled sadly and pecked the child on the cheek.

By Monday, the situation was not any better. In fact, Himchan thought it might have been worse. The Bang family was unavailable, and could not take care of Youngjae while the elder was at work, so the brunette found himself walking into the medical building with the boy clinging to his neck. The five-year old hated doctors more than he hated peppermint (which was really saying something.)

“Youngjae-ah, why don’t you play here for a little bit while I go do some work, okay? I’ll come back to check on you every once in a while,” the father murmured, leading the boy to the playroom for the sick patients and unwrapping the chubby arms from his neck.

Youngjae pouted drowsily, but was too tired to care and sat into the ball pit. It was much too early for him to be awake.

Less than two hours had gone by before a middle-aged female nurse knocked on Jongup’s office door. Himchan let her in, eyes widening at the tiny figure holding onto her skirt. “Youngjae! What happened?” he turned to the woman.

“I found him sleeping in the ball pit. I woke him up to get him out of there and he started crying for his mommy.”

The man sighed, kneeling and holding out his arms for his son, who ran over as quickly as his little legs could take. “Mommy…” he mumbled, burying his face into the crook of the brunette’s neck.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, Elisa-sshi, he’s been sick all weekend, and there wasn’t anyone I could leave him with today.”

The woman smiled and shook her head. “It’s alright, Himchan-ah, you know Youngjae is always welcome here. He’s such a sweet little boy. Poor thing, I hope he gets better soon. Maybe you should have Jongup check on him?”

Himchan nodded, tightening his grip on the child. “Thanks a lot, Elisa-sshi.” Elisa waved away the thanks, turning and heading back to her own doctor.

Jongup, who had been watching from the exchange from his desk, raised an eyebrow. “You have a son?”

The male nurse sighed, taking a seat on the small leather couch opposite the desk and placing Youngjae in his lap. “Yes. This is Youngjae. Youngjae, that is Jongup, he’s a new doctor here.” The boy refused to budge from his position, not even lifting his head to look at the pediatrician. “Sorry, he’s not feeling very well today.”

“Mommy, my head hurts…” the blonde whined, and Himchan put his hand on the child’s forehead, frowning at the hot skin.

“He’s got a fever. Jongup, you wouldn’t happen to have any medicine on you, would you?” The elder asked hopefully, and Jongup was only too glad to pour some liquid Tylenol into a medicine cup, handing it to the other along with a glass of water. “Thanks,” came the grateful reply.

After the medicine had been forced down the stubborn kid’s throat, the dark-haired male settled his son on one end of the couch, covering the boy with his coat and telling him to rest. The elder two sat in silence for sometime, Jongup going back to working on some papers and Himchan watching worriedly after Youngjae. The pediatrician didn’t have many appointments as of yet, as he was still very new to the office, so he did practically nothing all day long. He glanced at the nurse out of the corner of his eyes, finding his lips curling upwards softly at the obvious care in the male’s eyes as he his son’s hair. It’s a pity he’s already taken. Although Himchan did not wear a ring, if he had a child, then of course he had a wife (or at least a girlfriend) as well.

“How come your wife couldn’t look after him today?” Jongup asked out of pure curiosity, confusion forming line in his forehead when he saw the way Himchan immediately tensed up.

“I don’t have a wife.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Then who is Youngjae’s mother?”

“He doesn’t have one. She left two months after he was born.” Jongup’s eyes widened and his lips parted, forming a small ‘o’.

“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

Himchan chuckled dryly. “It’s alright, it’s been five years, I should be fine with talking about it anyway. I’m more worried about the way Youngjae’s taking it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s got a friend, Yongguk; they’ve been practically inseparable since birth. Yongguk has a father and a mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and since they’re so close, Youngjae sees the familial environment all the time, but when he looks at his own family, I’m the only one he has. My parents haven’t talked to me since I got her pregnant, and I don’t have any siblings, so there’s only the two of us.

"He started calling me his “mommy” when he was three, and he’s still doing it. All the same, I’m also his “daddy” and he calls me that as well. He’s switching between the two depending on his mood, and I don’t know how to take it. I’d do anything to make him happy, so it’s fine with me, really, but I’m afraid that he’ll start thinking that’s how it’s supposed to be. I can’t think of anything to do to get him to realize that I can’t possibly be his mother. If I just straight out tell him, he won’t understand because he’s too young and he’ll get so upset. On the other hand, if I wait until he’s old enough to understand, it might be too late!” Himchan put his face in his hands, fingers pulling at the strands of his hair in frustration.

He’d never had the chance to tell anyone about his anxieties, and now that Jongup had leant a listening ear, the words had spilled from his mouth without a sign of stopping. He was a naturally optimistic person, always was and always would be, so he hadn’t given himself the permission to think too deeply on the matter, but it had been reaching a critical point. Youngjae had almost completely stopped calling him his father, and it was always “mommy”.

Jongup had somehow ended up sitting beside the elder man, arms wrapped firmly around his waist, murmuring soothingly. “Why not try to get a girlfriend or something, then?” he inquired tentatively, hoping that he hadn’t hit a nerve.

Himchan shook his head. “But I… I don’t like girls anymore. Not after she left,” he said quietly, a blush rising on his cheeks as he realized he had just told someone he barely knew a secret he hadn’t mentioned to anybody.

“Alright, a boyfriend, what’s the difference? All you need is two parents, right? There are plenty of good guys out there that would be great as another parent for Youngjae, and you could love them, too. It doesn’t matter if the two parents are the same gender.”

“Since when did you get so smart?” the other scoffed, but he had visibly calmed down. “Thanks. I needed that,” he muttered, training his gaze on the floor as the cracks in between the wood planks suddenly seemed extremely interesting.

“Anytime, Channie,” Jongup said, his trademark grin stretching across his face as he stood up. “I’ve got an appointment now. See you later.” The doctor hesitated for a moment, before leaning in and pressing his lips swiftly to Himchan’s cheek, then rushed out the door.

The remaining brunette felt his eyes widening, but the fact that the pediatrician had just kissed him didn’t quite register in his mind. He brought his hand up to lightly touch the spot where the younger’s lips had been just moments before, feeling the skin there tingling and sending a pleasurable prickle throughout the rest of his body.

a/n: This got really long and now it's a twoshot. ><
I'm hoping to be done with the second part by the end of the week. ^^

Also, yes, I DO consider Jongup to be tall. 5 feet and 9 inches is most definitely not short. I find it strange how people often protray him as abnormally lacking in height just because he's the shortest in B.A.P. (I am 5 feet 2 inches. THAT is short.)

Here is Channie touching the part that just got kissed by Jongup. XD

Baaaaiii bye bye bye~
-Jess