Junmyeon clicks on the little diskette icon to save the report he has been working on. He stretches his cramping arms. He has been working non-stop since lunch, only taking a few toilet breaks in between. He takes a glance at the clock; it’s 5 already. Do Kyungsoo whose cubicle is next to him has left half an hour ago. The office is almost empty.

He is supposed to pick his son at the daycare at 4, but his boss decided to give him more to work on. Junmyeon prefers to finish all his work at the office and have his evenings dedicated to his son. His son has already gone through difficult times at such a young age, and he is not going to make it harder.

The trip to the daycare from the office is twenty minutes by car. Today Junmyeon takes a shortcut to avoid the heavy traffic at the main roads. He imagines Jongin being angry at him for taking so long. He decides to stop by a bakery and buy cakes that Jongin likes. Hopefully it would be enough for his son to forgive him. Jongin could be a difficult boy sometimes.

He parks his car by the road and hurriedly walks towards the daycare. The nurse smiles when she sees him. He apologized for being late, and is quickly being ushered to the playroom where Jongin waits.

“Jonginnie, papa is here,” he announces when he enters the room. He makes sure the cake box is visible in his left hand.

“Papa!” The two-years old boy scrambles to his feet and runs to his father’s arms.

Junmyeon carefully holds him as he stands up. He Jongin’s hair. It’s getting long, he should get a haircut soon. “I’m sorry I’m late.” He kisses Jongin’s pouty lips. “Were you good while waiting for me?”

“Yes.” Jongin nods his head. “Sehunnie played with me.”

“Sehunnie?” Junmyeon shifts the boy in his hand to see another boy staring up at them near the blocks. “Hello, Sehunnie. Thanks for playing with Jongin.” He approaches the boy and ruffles his hair. Sehun shies away from the touch. He runs across the room to grab at a pororo plushie.

“Pororo!” It successfully grabs Jongin’s attention. He struggles in his arms, so Junmyeon puts him down. He rushes to Sehun and takes the green dinosaur plushie he likes so much. “Crong!” He says to Sehun, and they break down into giggles.

“Sehun-ah!”

Junmyeon turns around at the sound. A man in white shirt and dark fit trousers is standing at the door. He looks like he is out of breathe, perhaps he has been running all the way here. He is not much taller than Junmyeon, and his round face is rather cute. Not that Junmyeon has been checking him out.

“Daddy!” Sehun squeals upon seeing the man. “You’re late.”

“Sehun-ah, you didn’t cry?” The man asks, taking Sehun into his arms. “He didn’t cry today?” He asks the nurse, who shakes her head in confidence. “What a good boy!” He pats the boy’s head, making him smile.

The smile takes its place in Junmyeon’s face, too. He adores the man already for handling the boy so well.

“Papa, hold me.” Jongin has ran to his leg, clutching on his pants. He takes him up with ease, letting the boy snuggling onto him.

“Oh.” Sehun’s dad seems to notice him. He bows deeply, urging Sehun to do the same. “Nice to meet you. Are you Jongin’s father?”

Junmyeon bows back. “I am. I got caught with work today so I came late. I’m glad Sehun has kept him company while I was away.”

“Sehun talks about Jongin a lot. He is a good boy.” The man smiles. “And I know about work, I had to work harder on my projects to keep Sehun happy. My name is Minseok.” He offers his hand, which Junmyeon gratefully accepts.

“I’m Junmyeon. Nice to meet you.” He manages to shake Minseok’s hand, despite Jongin is being difficult and tugging on his collar.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Sehun whines to his father, hands flailing around. “I want to eat. I want to eat.”

Then it gets Jongin too. He starts to fuss, grabbing at Junmyeon's shirt idly. “Me too, papa. I want to eat, too.”

“I bought cakes,” Junmyeon says. “They’re enough to share, I hope. We could eat together at the park if you want to.”

Minseok blinks. He looks like he wants to decline the offer but Sehun has gotten excited to hear the word cake. 

“Daddy cakes!” He squeals happily. Then he starts to repeating cake in a tune.

“I just want to share it since I think I bought too many,” Junmyeon tries to explain. He doesn't want to scare Minseok off, especially when they have just met. “I would be glad if you could join us, but if it would upset your wife at home…”

“Oh no. No wife.” Minseok grins.

Junmyeon finds himself smiling. “Me too,” he says. “No wife either. Husband?” He hopes he doesn’t sound too hopeful. He isn’t surprised to hear that Minseok has no wife. If he does, she would be the one picking the boy from the daycare.

Minseok chuckles. “I’m a single fighter.”

“I’m a single fighter, too.” Junmyeon smiles, feeling warm. It is rare to find someone who would understand what he feels. “Then I hope it is okay to invite Sehun for a cake? Maybe we could talk, too. It’s kind of hard to find single fighters like us. I’m too excited.” He says in a genuine tone, hoping Minseok wouldn't catch his intention falsely.

“Yes,” Minseok replies with an enthusiasm. He shifts Sehun to a more comfortable position in his arms. The boy is still shouting Cake! happily. “Yes it is.”

--

notes: you have seen this coming, haven't you :)