Chapter Text
The kids are all asleep within ten minutes of the bus journey back to school, which leaves Jaehyun sitting next to Doyoung in relative silence. The young father wracks his brain, trying to come up with something to say that doesn’t feel awkward in his head, but luckily enough, Doyoung speaks first.
“Thank you for coming with us today, Mr. Jung,” Doyoung says, voice low. They don’t need anyone waking up after the day’s excitement.
“You were a lot of help,” Doyoung continues, “And the kids all like you a lot.”
Jaehyun feels a blush forming at the compliments. “My little one insisted,” he brushes Doyoung off. “It was a pleasure.”
“Besides,” he adds. “It was only a couple of hours. I don’t know how you handle fourteen monsters by yourself at once. Just keeping up with one is a handful.”
Doyoung laughs quietly. It’s a nice sound, Jaehyun thinks.
“It’s… chaotic at the very worst,” he shrugs modestly. “But I love my job. I learn so much from them every day, I wouldn’t swap for the world.”
And more than anything, it’s Doyoung’s sincerity and love for his job that makes Jaehyun’s heart squeeze traitorously.
“You’re a good teacher,” Jaehyun says, meaning it, and there it is again—Doyoung’s wide smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Jung,” he nods. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Call me Jaehyun,” Jaehyun blurts out without thinking.
Doyoung raises his eyebrows in surprise and Jaehyun instantly feels like an idiot.
“I mean— uh, we’ll probably be seeing each other a lot… and I’m probably younger than you…” he trails off dumbly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment and cringing internally at his own awkwardness.
Doyoung looks like he’s holding in a laugh, but he nods graciously anyway. “I’m twenty-seven,” he shares with a smile.
“Ah, I’m right, then. You’re my hyung. I’m a year younger,” Jaehyun replies. His face is too warm.
“Jaehyun, it is, then. You too, please call me hyung,” Doyoung grins. “Since you offered, and since we’ll be seeing each other a lot.”
Jaehyun’s face heats up even more at Doyoung’s teasing, but he rolls his eyes and laughs along with Doyoung, enjoying the exchange too much.
When the mini bus pulls up to the front of the school, the adults help shuttle the children safely into the schoolyard. Doyoung does a quick head count, and Jaehyun spots Taeyong walking over from where he must have parked his car.
“Hi there, buddy,” Taeyong smiles, hoisting Jisung up on his hip. “Did you have fun?”
“So much fun,” Jisung nods, and tells his godfather about his newfound friendship with Jadu the goat.
While the two are immersed in conversation, Jaehyun feels a light tap on his shoulder. It’s Doyoung.
“Sorry to interrupt, Jaehyun-ah. I just wanted to thank you again for coming today. I hope you volunteer again.”
“It was my pleasure, hyung. I definitely will,” Jaehyun answers, sincere.
Glancing at Taeyong and Jisung, Doyoung pauses.
“I’m sorry, it’s rude of me not to have introduced myself,” he says to Taeyong, reaching out for a handshake. “I’m Jisung’s teacher, Doyoung. Are you Jaehyun’s partner, perhaps?”
“God, no,” Taeyong denies as Jaehyun shakes his head, eyes wide.
“It’s not like that at all—”
“Jaehyun is really single. Super single,” Taeyong stresses.
Doyoung laughs, slightly red in the face. Jaehyun wants to die.
“He’s my godfather,” Jisung pipes up, and Doyoung ahs, understanding finally settling in.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologises. “This is the second time I’ve made such a careless assumption. It’s nice to meet you. Taeyong-sshi, I believe?”
“Jisung talks about you a lot,” Doyoung smiles when Taeyong nods in affirmation.
They chat for a while about Jisung and his classroom activities, before the young boy gets bored.
Tugging on Taeyong’s collar, Jisung whines. “Can we go to the shop now, uncle? I’m hungry.”
“That’s our cue to go,” Jaehyun nods, apologetic.
“Sorry to have kept you,” Doyoung shakes his head graciously. “Have a good weekend, Jaehyun-ah. And you too, Taeyong-sshi.”
They exchange goodbyes and Jisung waves to his teacher as they go their separate ways.
“He was totally relieved when he found out we aren’t together,” Taeyong grins as they walk towards the school gate. “Did you see his smile?”
“Shut up,” Jaehyun grumbles, red in the face. “He was just being polite. He smiles at all the parents.”
“Do all the other parents also call him hyung?”
“Could you just shut up?”
Taeyong snorts.
“Factually, he’s my hyung because he’s older than me, just like you’re my hyung—”
“Those are two completely different things—”
Once again, the conversation is interrupted by Jisung, except this time, he’s yelling to someone.
“Yuta-teacher!” he calls, moving an arm from Taeyong’s shoulder and waving furiously as Taeyong and Jaehyun stop in their tracks.
A man slightly shorter than Jaehyun stops in front of them. He’s dressed in fitted black sports vest and matching sweatpants, and he’s got one of the most dazzling smiles Jaehyun’s ever seen.
He dips his head in a bow and stretches his hand out. “Hi,” he greets, casual and sunny as he exchanges handshakes with both Jaehyun and Taeyong. “I’m Yuta-teacher. I’m in charge of the kids’ PE lessons and outdoor activities.”
“Hey, Jisung-ah,” Yuta grins, turning his attention to the young boy and reaching up for a high-five, which Jisung happily grants. “Are these your dads?”
“That’s my appa,” Jisung points at Jaehyun, “And this is my godfather, Taeyong-uncle,” he explains, petting Taeyong’s hair in the same way Taeyong pets his cat.
“Isn’t he pretty?” Jisung coos. Jaehyun chokes on his laughter as Taeyong’s blush spreads all the way up to his ears.
Returning Jaehyun’s grin, Yuta glances Taeyong, who’s staring at the PE teacher, dumbstruck.
“He is,” Yuta answers with a wink, and Jaehyun wishes he could take a picture of the shell-shocked expression on Taeyong’s now-scarlet face.
“Unfortunately, I have to run off,” the PE teacher says then, ruffling Jisung’s hair. “It was nice to meet you both.”
He waves goodbye to Jisung and bows again.
“See you around,” he smiles (mostly to Taeyong, Jaehyun thinks.)
“Not a word,” Taeyong hisses as Jaehyun bursts into laughter.
After the first field trip, Jaehyun finds himself enjoying the morning school run even more than before, as the kindergarten becomes a community that both he and Jisung are a part of. He finds a new commute buddy in Jieqiong, who takes the same subway line to work as him, and he makes friends with more parents as they start to recognise each other and organise activities for their children. He even gets to chat with Doyoung-teacher more often, and polite ‘good mornings’ become sincere ‘how was your weekend’s and ‘have a good day’s.
Before Jaehyun even knows it, they’re halfway into spring, and Jisung is fast approaching his 5th month in school.
It’s a couple of weeks later when Jisung hands Jaehyun a note from school. It’s a mid-semester progress report from Doyoung-teacher, who writes in impeccably neat hangeul that Jisung is doing great in school. He’s a fast learner and a confident speaker in class. He struggled a little in the beginning with spelling, but with Jaehyun’s help at home, he’s improved a lot in a short time and seems to really enjoy reading and writing. He’s a good sport in PE and is a creative student in art class, and has demonstrated a good grasp of the qualities the teachers have been encouraging: teamwork, empathy, and a willingness to help his classmates, among others.
Jaehyun glows with pride. The note is secured proudly to the refrigerator with a Pororo magnet, and pictures are sent to grandma and grandpa, and Taeyong-uncle, too.
Their usually quiet apartment becomes a hub of activity on the weekends: Chenle and Donghyuck come over to play soccer one Saturday while Jaehyun, Taeil and Jieqiong enjoy some beer and some much-needed time off; the week after, Jeno brings his train set over and Jisung helps him assemble it in Jaehyun’s living room, furniture pushed around to make room for the miniature track, complete with two model trains and a station conductor. A few nights after that, Taeyong cooks a big pot of ggalbijjim for everyone to eat when Koeun and Injun swing ‘round to watch Peter Rabbit on Jaehyun’s couch—Saturdays become a little hectic and a lot noisier, and Jaehyun’s heart becomes more and more full as the days go by.
When at long last his department pulls off the merger they’ve been working on for a number of long months, Jaehyun finally takes a Friday off and treats himself to a long weekend with his son.
He surprises Jisung by picking him up from school, and the four-year-old looks delighted to see his father waiting for him outside his classroom when school is out for the day. Before Jaehyun can say anything, Jisung throws his backpack into his father’s arms and rushes back into his classroom. He emerges a few seconds later, dragging Doyoung gently out by the arm.
Sorry, Jaehyun mouths sheepishly at his son’s manhandling of the older man, but Doyoung waves it off good-naturedly.
“Appa, appa,” Jisung squeals, tugging on the hem of Jaehyun’s shirt, “Today Doyoung-teacher told us about this place called the ac- ac…”
“Aquarium,” Doyoung helps with a smile.
“—yeah, aquarium, appa, and you can go there and see otters and penguins, appa, can we please go?”
Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at Doyoung, who shrugs. “The penguins are pretty awesome,” he says seriously.
“Please, appa?”
Laughing, Jaehyun gives in. “Of course, buddy, sure we can go. How about tomorrow?”
Jisung literally jumps for joy. “Thank you appa!” he launches himself at Jaehyun, squeezing his father’s knees into a huge hug.
Doyoung gives him a thumbs up, and Jaehyun feels his ears warm.
And then, to Jaehyun’s complete surprise, Jisung turns back to his teacher and asks, “Do you wanna come too, Doyoung-teacher? Are you busy?”
Jaehyun freezes, heart pounding furiously in his chest as Doyoung opens his mouth. Closes it again. Licks his lips nervously.
“I—I would love to come, Jisung-ah, if that’s okay with your appa…?” Doyoung trails off, looking to Jaehyun to gauge his reaction. It’s the first time Jaehyun’s seen him uncertain.
Jaehyun clears his throat. “Uh—yes. Yes,” he fumbles out, glancing at the expectant look on his son’s face. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Please join us,” he says, hoping his face isn’t as red as he thinks it might be.
Jisung cheers. They both laugh. It’s a little nervous; awkward.
“Give me a second,” Doyoung murmurs, and slips back into the classroom. He returns with an apple-shaped post-it note.
“My phone number,” he says, and Jaehyun nods, shy.
The green post-it finds itself a home on the fridge next to Jisung’s progress report, and Jaehyun heads to bed that night (after confirming his plans with Doyoung) with anticipation thrumming in his chest, unfamiliar but welcome all the same.
All the calm and cool Jaehyun tried to imbibe on the way to the aquarium disappears when he sees Doyoung waiting at the entrance. Jaehyun wills himself not to focus on Doyoung’s slightly messy hair or glasses perched high on the bridge of his nose (he hasn’t seen the glasses before and Doyoung looks good, Jaehyun’s brain narrates traitorously), and instead busies himself with ticket collection.
The two adults trail behind Jisung as he wanders from enclosure to enclosure, marvelling at the sights and sounds before him. Jaehyun listens as Doyoung talks about how he got his job (he had been recommended by a former classmate), about his older brother the hotshot lawyer and about his old-man love for gardening (Jaehyun swears he isn't endeared). Jaehyun finds himself sharing stories about Jisung and his work friends, and is surprised at how well Doyoung has become acquainted with his mother.
“She’s an extremely friendly woman,” Doyoung relates, and Jaehyun snorts quietly.
“She’s pushy. I think she’s a bad influence on Jisung,” he jokes.
Doyoung shrugs. “Maybe I should thank her, in case it was her influence that got me my invitation to this outing.”
And there it is. The thrumming in Jaehyun’s chest.
He exhales. “Maybe you should,” he nods, ignoring the slight shake in his voice.
His palms are clammy against his jeans. “I’m glad you came, though, hyung,” he says softly.
Jisung runs over to ask for Jaehyun’s phone, interrupting them. He wants to take a picture of the turtles. Jaehyun hands over his phone, and his little whirlwind of excitement is off again.
Doyoung is still looking at him when Jaehyun turns back to face him.
“I’m glad I came too,” he says with a soft smile. The warmth in his gaze almost makes it hard for Jaehyun to breathe. If not for Jisung running back, Jaehyun thinks he probably could’ve stopped and stared for ages.
“Appa, I’m hungry, can we get some food, please?” the four-year-old asks, tugging on Jaehyun’s shirt sleeve.
They manage to snag a table at the aquarium café, which luckily for them, isn’t too crowded despite it being a Saturday. Leaving Jisung with Doyoung, Jaehyun heads to the counter to order and collect their cutlery. He gets a bibimbap set each for himself and Doyoung, and orders a fish and chips off the kids’ menu for his son.
When the food arrives at their table, Jisung is excited and runs off to get some ketchup. Doyoung is horrified.
“You ordered fish and chips?” he demands, stricken. “It’s an aquarium, Jaehyun. It’s just… It’s immoral. We’re eating their marine brethren.”
Stifling his laughter has never been harder for Jaehyun.
“The fish they use for fish and chips doesn’t come out of the tanks, though,” Jaehyun tries, unable to wipe the smile from his face.
“That’s not the point,” Doyoung huffs. “We should be showing the marine life some solidarity. Who comes to an aquarium and eats fish 10 metres away from the fish?”
He’s so distressed and it’s so adorable, Jaehyun is in pain.
“I love fish and chips!” Jisung exclaims when he hops back into his seat.
“You do,” Jaehyun agrees, shooting Doyoung a look. “It’s one of your favourites, isn’t it?”
Jisung's responding nod is reverent. “Thank you for the food,” he says sincerely, before tucking in with verve.
It’s so earnest that Doyoung can’t help but deflate.
“Fish are friends, not food,” he whispers seriously to Jaehyun, careful not to let Jisung hear him. Again, Jaehyun is not endeared. Not even one bit.
As they fill their stomachs, Jisung chats animatedly with the two adults about everything he’s seen so far—he loves the rainbow fish and he wants to live inside a coral like a seahorse. The Nemo fish are so cute, appa, but penguins are the best. They’re so super cute and Jisung wants to be one.
“I think you would make a good penguin,” Doyoung says approvingly, giving Jisung a thumbs up. “Is your dad a penguin too?”
Jisung pauses to consider this for a second, tilting his head and sticking his bottom lip out. His thinking pose makes Jaehyun smile.
“No,” he shakes his head firmly. “I think you and appa are more like the sharks,” he tells Doyoung.
“You’re not scared of the sharks, Jisung-ah?” Jaehyun asks, surprised.
“They won’t be scary if we don’t scare them first,” his four-year-old answers. He sounds so matter-of-fact. “If we just look at them and don’t do bad things to them, they’re not scary. They’re pretty. I love them.”
Jaehyun sneaks a glance at Doyoung, who looks just as proud as Jaehyun feels.
Later, as they walk through the aquarium’s ‘submarine tunnel’ zone, in awe of the majestic sharks swimming overhead, Jaehyun hears Doyoung sigh quietly.
“What Jisung said about the sharks over lunch makes me happy I’m a teacher,” he says honestly to Jaehyun. He’s looking up at a tiger shark, and pulls his phone out to take a video.
“For the kids to see on Monday,” he murmurs, captivated.
Gorgeous, Jaehyun thinks instinctively, before quickly banishing the thought.
“The kids are happy to have you as their teacher,” is all he can bring himself to say, and hopes the redness in his face isn’t obvious. Doyoung’s responding smile is beatific.
They linger in the tunnel, spending a good thirty minutes marvelling over the beautiful marine life. Doyoung helps Jaehyun take father-son pictures along the way, and the two men take turns helping Jaehyun’s awestruck four-year-old as he pores over the display panels and info guides.
Jaehyun’s phone is full of pictures, many expertly taken by Jisung, of the different creatures and their corresponding write-ups, along with a number of (slightly shaky, Jaehyun notes fondly) videos of his son’s specific favourite. It’s no surprise to Jaehyun, therefore, when Jisung reaches for Jaehyun’s phone again, eager to take more photos.
What Jaehyun isn’t expecting, though, is for his whirlwind to turn the camera on him and Doyoung instead of the fever of manta rays gliding by.
“Doyoung-teacher, can you stand by appa so I can take a picture, please?” he points the camera at the two adults, and Doyoung laughs.
“Where would you like us to stand?” the young teacher asks, and Jisung hums thoughtfully.
“With the blue shark,” he decides, and ushers the men in his desired direction.
After some shuffling and creative direction from his son, Jaehyun finds himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Doyoung as they lean against the railing right by Jisung’s chosen blue shark. The warm press of Doyoung’s arm against his own is comfortable, and Jaehyun briefly lets himself consider what a nice feeling it is before Jisung is positioning the camera and counting, one, two, three, smile!
“It’s a great picture. Thank you, Mr. Photographer,” Doyoung says approvingly, and Jisung giggles, extremely pleased with himself.
Doyoung passes the phone to Jaehyun, and he’s right, it is a really nice picture. Doyoung’s smiling wide, teeth showing. His eyes are crescent moons behind his glasses. He looks achingly handsome.
“I’ll send it to you,” Jaehyun promises, and receives an appreciative nod from the other man in return.
They don’t stay for long after that, having exhausted most of the enclosures, and Jaehyun knows that when his four-year-old gets tired, shuttling him home will be challenging for them both.
They ride the subway home together, Jisung dozing off as he clings to Jaehyun’s shoulders, until Doyoung has to make a transfer at Noryangjin.
“Thank you for the wonderful day,” Doyoung says as the train approaches his stop, reaching up to gently ruffle Jisung’s hair. “I had a great time.”
Jaehyun almost wants to tell him not to go.
“Thank you for coming, hyung,” he settles on instead, “You made this little one really happy.”
“And you?” Doyoung asks, grinning at Jaehyun. His cheeks are slightly red, and Jaehyun’s heart speeds up in his chest.
“I— Me too,” he admits, feeling embarrassingly shy.
Doyoung beams, and maybe it’s worth it.
“See you on Monday?” the young teacher asks as the train comes to a stop and the doors slide open.
“Looking forward to it,” Jaehyun smiles, and means every word.
