Wonsik entered the restaurant, took his usual table and waited for the waiter to take his order while stealing glances in the direction of the kitchen. When he couldn’t spot Taekwoon, his eyes roamed the place for his daughter, Solji, who was sitting at another table opposite of his. He looked closely and tried waving his hands at her a couple of times but she seemed too immersed in drawing and coloring. He waited until the waiter approached him and took his order before walking up to the girl. Solji looked up when she noticed a shadow hovering over her table and gave Wonsik a bright smile before jumping off her seat and hugging his leg tightly. “I missed you!” She said after letting go of him and taking her seat again motioning him to sit next to her. He listened intently to her description of the new family picture she was still coloring. “Last week your hair was white, but now it’s brown. What should I color it? White or brown?” He chuckled. His hair was silver and for some reason he decided he no longer liked it and chose to dye it brown instead. “Choose any color you want. Which one do you like more?”

“Brown looks good on you too.” Taekwoon said when Wonsik saw him this morning on his way to work, even though his work was in the opposite direction, and shyly asked him if he liked his new hair color. Taekwoon didn’t really say he disliked the silver color but he said it made Wonsik look a bit aggressive, which didn’t really suit him. He wasn’t aggressive or scary as his looks might imply. He was… well Taekwoon said “cute” and Wonsik could only blush more. 
 

“I like white more,” the girl said with a chuckle. Wonsik smiled at her as she picked up her white pencil and started coloring his hair. He watched her color the rest of his outfit as he waited for the waiter to get him his order. A few minutes later, he was staring at the note the waiter delivered with his order. He flipped the note a couple of times before unfolding it. He had no idea who it could be, so when he read it he was left puzzled. “We’re going to the zoo after work; do you want to come with us?” We? The zoo? Could it be…? He looked up but Taekwoon was nowhere to be found and he was left with more questions. He glanced at the note again before deciding to ask Solji. If it’s Taekwoon then she’d know about the zoo trip already. He looked at her as she continued coloring and then asked “Will you go anywhere when daddy is done working?” She looked up at him and then said “Daddy said we’re going to the zoo. He said he’ll ask you to come along. Did he ask you yet? Are you coming with us? Please say yes!” She tugged at his sleeve and gave him her irresistible puppy eyes and a tiny pout, something she probably learned from Taekwoon. “Well… he did ask me, but I didn’t say I’ll go yet.””Please uncle Sik, please please please come with us, please!” She begged as she continued tugging at his shirt and he let out a giggle before patting her head and saying “Okay okay, I’ll come with you.” 

She jumped off her seat and ran toward the kitchen yelling in joy. Wonsik followed her afraid she’d get hurt running recklessly like that. She was faster than him and within a second she was inside the kitchen looking for her father. Once she spotted him she starting yelling again “Daddy! Uncle Sik said he’s coming with us! Let’s go now!”Wonsik stood behind her as he glanced at Taekwoon. Taekwoon looked at him and asked “Really? You’re coming?” Wonsik could feel his cheeks heat up as he answered “If you want me to.” “I’d love to! I mean… we’d love to. I’ll finish in an hour if you want to come back or we can pick you up if you want.” “Is… is it okay if I wait here? I don’t have anything else to do so…” “Sure! I’ll see you in an hour.”
 

Wonsik left the kitchen and walked with Solji back to their seats. His cheeks were still red from his little conversation with Taekwoon. Although it wasn’t much, he always looked forward to talking with him. Wonsik always thought Taekwoon had a charming voice and an interesting way of pouting his lips when speaking. But that wasn’t the only reason he was blushing. He could tell Taekwoon really wanted him to join them in their trip to the zoo and that was more than enough for him.

He suddenly remembered the first (and only) time Taekwoon had held his hand. It wasn’t anything near romantic since Taekwoon was about to punch his face a few seconds before holding his wrist. Wonsik smiled to himself when he remembered how Taekwoon held into him asking him not to go and how they both stood there in the storage room awkwardly avoiding each other’s gaze. Taekwoon didn’t think Wonsik would forgive him so easily for accusing him of trying to harass his daughter. He expected him to yell at him or at least leave in furry. But Wonsik didn’t, not after the confession. Taekwoon then broke the silence when he whispered a “sorry” and Wonsik could only nod. Wonsik then excused himself and left the restaurant. He didn’t know what to expect. Blurting his confession out wasn’t something he had planned to do, not then and there at least. So the lack of reaction from Taekwoon wasn’t very disappointing, considering the circumstances.

However, after that little incident Taekwoon had been overly nice to him, starting conversations and sometimes complimenting his outfit and he thought it was his way of saying “sorry.” He was also allowed to spend time with Solji since he was everything she talked about all day long and Taekwoon was now sure Wonsik was harmless. This allowed Wonsik to get a bit closer to Taekwoon. Instead of the ious ‘hi’ and ‘good morning’ he can now ask him how his day is going and sometimes even ask him what he did during the weekend, which Wonsik thought was a great progress. But to have Taekwoon invite him to join them for their little trip wasn’t something he saw coming. He was beyond happy, but he was also nervous. He’s always been clumsy around Taekwoon and he was starting to think of all the possible scenarios that could happen at the zoo. He could lose Solji when Taekwoon would ask him to keep an eye on her while buying snacks. He could embarrass himself running away from bugs or making a silly joke when they pass by the monkeys’ cage. There were countless scenarios in his head, all of them including some kind of an embarrassment.

He held Solji’s hand as he waited for Taekwoon outside the restaurant. A few minutes later he saw him leaving and walking in their direction. “I’m sorry I’m late, the other chef arrived just now and I had to wait.” “It’s okay.” Wonsik said with a smile on his face. Taekwoon suddenly noticed how Solji was holding hands with Wonsik. “She doesn’t usually allow anybody to hold her hands except for me.” Wonsik glanced at his hand holding Solji’s tiny hand and then looked back at Taekwoon who said with a giggle “She seems to like you, a lot.” Wonsik smiled, “I like her too.” “Should I be jealous?” Taekwoon said and Wonsik could swear his ears were turning a light shade of pink. Wonsik giggled, “Of me? You don’t have to. I bit she’d forget about me if I stop coming for a week or so." 
There was a tiny bit of awkwardness following Wonsik’s answer and they both looked at each other without saying anything until Solji interrupted the silence urging them to get on their way. 


The trip went smoother than Wonsik thought. Solji of course let go of his hand and clung to her father for the rest of the day. He walked on her left while Taekwoon was on her right. Wonsik spent the whole time thinking about the nature of this trip. What was he doing going out with them? Why did Taekwoon ask him to join them? They didn’t talk much during their walk around the zoo and even when they sat down for dinner, Taekwoon asked him few questions, mainly what he wanted to eat and if he had a good day at work. Solji did ask him to come with her to the monkeys’ cage since Taekwoon was taking a rest. She also asked him about the tattoos while eating and he glanced at Taekwoon who gave her the answer he thought she’d understand without offending Wonsik. But that was it. They were on their way home and he was disappointed because he thought the trip only made things more awkward. He spent 3 hours with the guy he likes without managing to say anything except for "Burger, and good." 

Taekwoon pulled over in front of Wonsik’s building even though the latter told him he can walk home or take a taxi. “I really want to thank you for joining us today. Solji doesn’t stop talking about you and it was her idea to ask you to come along.” Wonsik’s heart sunk in. He thought it was Taekwoon’s idea but now he was realizing why the walk felt too awkward. Taekwoon probably didn’t want me there, he thought to himself. “You’re welcome. I had fun today too. Thank you for asking me to join you.” Wonsik was trying to sound as cheerful as possible. He didn’t want to show any signs of disappointment regardless of how bad he felt. He opened the car’s door and was about to get off when Taekwoon held his wrist again, “Wait.” Wonsik turned back to look at Taekwoon. The latter took a quick glance at Solji who was past asleep in the back seat before saying: "I… When I said I’d be jealous, I meant… Of her.” He said as he tried to hide the blush creeping onto his face. Wonsik’s eyes widened in surprise. Is that a confession? He swallowed hard as he stared at Taekwoon who was still avoiding his gaze. He was confused. Very confused. A second ago he thought Taekwoon didn’t really want him there with them but now he could feel his heart pounding in his chest at the sudden confession. He gathered his courage and took advantage of Taekwoon not looking at him as he leaned closer to him and printed a quick peck on his lips leaving him in awe. “You don’t have to be, I like you more.”