"When love comes, it comes without an effort like perfect weather."
Helen Yglesias

*

Wu Yifan has a lot of good qualities for a husband and a father. He has a good heart, he’s respectful, he’s patient, and he loves and protects his family with everything he’s got. What Wu Yifan is not is a good singer, and 4-year-old Wu Sehun seems to have inherited this trait. Maybe he has yet to develop his vocal talent, but his parents aren’t getting their hopes up. Despite his obvious tone-deafness and occasional screeching, which are by no means pleasant, Sehun has taken it upon himself to entertain his parents on their 30-minute drive to the kindergarten.

Joonmyeon hears a snort coming out of his husband when Sehun’s voice cracks at the end of Pororo’s theme song playing in the car stereo. The young boy claps and bounces in the booster seat as if giving himself a round of applause for a job well done.

“Please play Itsy Bitsy Spider next, Appa,” Sehun says, Pinku Pinku tightly glued to his chest.

“I think you’d better rest your throat, Hun-ah? You got a big day ahead of you,” Yifan answers, pulling up at the red light. Joonmyeon chuckles at his husband’s insinuation and gives his side a nudge. He secretly hopes that Sehun tones it down, though, because as much as he loves his youngest and as much as he looks adorable, Sehun’s singing is not easy on the ear.

Sehun doesn’t get the hint—which is expected considering his age—but hums in agreement anyway. He swings his legs up and down and squeezes the Rilakkuma stuffed doll in his arms while letting out indistinct murmurs. Joonmyeon guesses that his 4-year-old is whispering to Pinku Pinku about how elated he feels on his first day of real school.

Soon after, a large white three-story building appears before their eyes as Yifan steers the Mercedes-Benz SUV into a spacious parking lot. Yifan peers at his son through the rearview mirror and sees him looking outside through the window with his tiny mouth slightly ajar. Sehun has grown quiet within the past few minutes and Yifan reckons the child is beginning to feel nervous. The 40-year-old swiftly parks in one of the vacant spots and turns off the engine.

“Here we are, baby. Let’s go,” Joonmyeon sounds cheerful as he unfastens his safety belt and steps off the car. Yifan turns around to take a good look at Sehun in the back seat and gives him an encouraging smile.

The father and son lock eyes, and Yifan is instantly taken back to the day he and Joonmyeon took their first son to the kindergarten for the first time. Here we are once again, Yifan sighs. He feels a mix of emotions—proud, happy, worried, and even a little sad—and he knows for sure Joonmyeon shares the same sentiments. Joonmyeon surprised him this time around, though; Kyungsoo almost missed his first day of kindergarten because that morning his Appa was crying so much over ‘my baby is growing up too fast!’

“Daddy…” Sehun’s voice is hushed, but it wakes Yifan out of his reverie.

“Yes, bud?”

“Will they like Sehunnie?” The 4-year-old has his chubby fingers clutched around Pinku Pinku’s ears and his eyes are watery.

“Of course they will, Sehun-ah! You are the best and they will love and adore you just like Appa and I do,” Yifan reaches over to detach Sehun’s seat belt. He then carries his son’s small but plump body over to the front seat and into his lap, Pinku Pinku discarded unceremoniously on the floor.

Sehun sniffs as he plants his face on his Baba’s chest. Yifan knows all too well that it will only take two seconds before his son bursts into tears. Both of their sons are quite emotional, they get that from their Appa.

Yifan puts his hands on both sides of Sehun’s face; the boy’s head looks tiny in his ginormous hands as he softly his thumb on Sehun’s cheeks to wipe invisible tears.

“It’s okay to feel scared, baby. Everybody feels scared sometimes. Your hyung, Appa, and Baba… We’re big people but get scared too. But it’s only scary because you haven’t tried. If you go in there and try, it may not be scary anymore. Do you think you can do that, hmm?”

Sehun nods and rapidly blinks away the tears that are threatening to fall. He sniffs as his pout turns into a smile and Yifan feels a sense of pride washing over him. A knock on the tinted car window causes the father and son to turn and when Yifan opens the door, they’re greeted by Joonmyeon who’s smiling softly.

“Aww, our big boy Sehunnie,” Joonmyeon takes Sehun out of Yifan’s hold as his husbands grabs Sehun’s backpack off his hand. “Are you ready to meet your new teachers and friends?” he asks while kissing his son’s temple.

Sehun nods eagerly and wraps his short arms around his Appa’s neck. I’m a big boy now, Sehun thinks. Yifan pats Sehun’s head before putting on the yellow hat and winks when he sees the determined gaze in Sehun’s eyes. That’s my boy, the proud father smirks.

___

“Hot daaamn, Wu da man?” Park Jongdae, a.k.a Funky Chen as he likes to call himself, hollers the minute Kyungsoo steps inside his classroom. Kyungsoo shoots him an annoyed look and strides over to the back corner of the class where Jongdae is sitting on one of the desks. It’s fairly early, so there are only a few other students present, but Kyungsoo is not a big fan of attention. Too bad for him, he’s been friends with Jongdae since they were babies, and attention seems to follow Jongdae everywhere he goes.

“I saw your new ride, dude. Nice! Up top,” Jongdae raises his hand for a high-five, which earns him a jab in the stomach from the owl-eyed teenager.

“Shut up, Jong,” Kyungsoo pouts, trying to hide his smile due to his best friend’s silliness.

Jongdae flops onto the chair next to Kyungsoo, “Jeez, Kyungsoo-yah, you should just go ahead and change your name to Wu Killjoy.”

“Do you enjoy getting hit, Jongdae-yah?”

Jongdae lets out a fake gasp and looks scandalized for a second, but then pinches Kyungsoo’s cheeks and makes a kissy face at him.

“Stop that, Jongdae, or you’ll get your first bruise as a high school senior,” Zitao a.k.a Tao, the panda-eyed basketball captain, remarks as he walks by their desk to sit one row behind them.

Jongdae sticks his tongue out at Tao, “Maybe then I’ll have two black eyes to keep up with yours.”

“Well, why don’t I punch you and we’ll see if that’s true?”

Kyungsoo can only chuckle hearing two of his best friends bicker. He’s been friends with them long enough to know that they mean no harm to one another. It’s just the way these two always interact. The day they stop their childish arguments is the day Kyungsoo will start worrying.

Kyungsoo sighs as he glances at his watch. School will start in around 20 minutes. He ponders over what his Baba said earlier this morning. This is his last year of high school. He’s going to start college in less than 12 months, and he hears that in college, people don’t make friends like they do in school. Most college students are more of ‘hi-bye’ friends, meaning they interact during classes, but outside, they don’t really hang out. Kyungsoo is grateful for his four best friends, but he isn’t in any way close with his fellow students, even his own classmates. The only reason he was appointed the student body president was because he’s been the top scorer for three years straight. Had it been done through voting instead of appointment by the principal, Kyungsoo wouldn’t have stood a chance. I bet most of the students in my grade don’t even know my face, Kyungsoo thinks sadly.

The doe-eyed teenager is awoken out of his daze by the loud ringing of the school bell. He checks on his cell phone one last time to make sure it’s on silent mode and finds a message from his Appa that says ‘Kyungsoo sunbae, hwaiting on your first day!’. Attached in the message is a photo of his parents and little brother inside the car, smiling widely; Sehun is making a shape of heart with hands over his head. Kyungsoo giggles as he slips his phone into his pocket and pulls a textbook out of his backpack.

___

“Good morning, Mr Wu and Mr Kim, how are we doing today?” A friendly middle-aged woman by the name of Mrs Jang greets them the moment they enter the lobby. Yifan and Joonmyeon have met her a few months ago when they came in, along with Sehun, for an interview.

Sehun, who is still safely nestled in Joonmyeon’s arms, hides his face in his Appa’s neck while mumbling inaudibly. He isn’t very fond of Mrs Jang. Despite the wrinkles on her face due to old age, the lady is actually quite beautiful.