Work Text:
The sun has barely peeked over the horizon when Jeno wakes up.
His eyes snap open as he pulls himself out of his slumber, and he gently shifts over in bed to look at the other sleeping figure next to him. He smiles, leaning close to plant a kiss on his husband’s messy head of short black hair before silently getting up and out of the bed. Mark deserves a few more minutes of sleep, Jeno thinks to himself before slinking out of the sheets and over to the bathroom to get himself ready.
Today is the day.
He and Mark had been anticipating this day all summer. Mark had taken vacation leave months in advance. Jeno had told his work that he’d be coming in late—his workplace of all places would understand. Days of school supply shopping, reading, teaching their child basic safety and courtesy skills so that not even the slightest mishap will befall their angel on her first day. Jeno knows he can’t prevent everything—that isn’t physically possible—but he prides himself in knowing that he’s prepared their daughter in every way they can.
Today is the day—it’s Dasom’s first day of school.
Jeno splashes his face with ice-cold water to wake himself up. This is it—this is the day he’s been preparing for his entire life, practically. Excitement thrums through his veins as he thinks about the excitement, the worries, the late-night talks and the reassurances whispered to Dasom before bed. It’s all going to be worth it, because this is the day.
Jeno steps into the shower a worried man and comes out of the shower an excited, sopping wet man. He skips over to his side of the closet and picks up the predetermined outfit chosen especially for today before skipping right back into the bathroom. He’s just about done buttoning up his shirt when the bathroom door slides open to reveal a very sleepy Mark stepping inside and moving straight to the sink to wash his sleep away.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Jeno greets as Mark splashes his face, finishing up the last of the buttons on his sky-blue shirt and moving to grab the white tie on his side of the sink.
“Morning,” Mark mumbles, half-awake as he lathers shaving cream over the bottom half of his face, putting his razor under the running water before beginning to shave. “You got up earlier than me today, that’s new.”
“I’m nervous! You know how it is. Besides, I only got up about an hour and a half earlier than my usual 6 AM.” Jeno adjusts his tie as he looks at the mirror, which is still foggy from being in the shower. “This is what we’ve been waiting for. I just hope Dasom makes friends and enjoys the lessons… and doesn’t get hurt on the playground—” He’s interrupted by a hand around his waist and lips pressed into the side of his neck, right above his neatly ironed collar.
“It’s gonna be fine, babe. You’ve been—...we’ve been getting ready for this for a while. It’s a big step, and I know you’re nervous, but I’m honestly excited. Dasom’s definitely really excited too, I saw it in her eyes during bedtime last night.” Mark pulls away from where he’s kissed Jeno, a sleepy smile stretched across his lips as he pats Jeno on the back and returns to his morning hygiene, beginning to slip out of his pajamas for a shower. “Speaking of, you’d better get her out of bed soon so she can get ready.”
“Oh, shoot,” Jeno says, checking the time on his phone. “Where did all my morning time go?” He runs his hands over his face and through his hair one more time before leaning in to give Mark a quick kiss on the lips and running out of the bathroom. “Thanks for the pep talk, love! I feel a lot better now.”
“You’re basically ready, I think you just need that final push!” Mark yells after Jeno as he’s exiting the bedroom and making his way over to the room just down the hall.
Pushing open the door reveals a few glow-in-the-dark stars just barely glowing, natural light beginning to filter through the curtains as the sun rises higher and higher. The room is painted a soft, pale cerulean—one of Dasom’s favorite colors. The sheets are a solid green, with a pattern of alternating stars and suns—a choice that he and Mark had made together during their Ikea trip to buy Dasom’s new twin-sized bed once she’d outgrown her crib.
Under the solid green sheets is a peacefully sleeping Dasom, her chest rising and falling with slow breaths. Jeno smiles, making his way over to the bed and sitting on the edge. He reaches over and gently shakes the sleeping child’s shoulder, sweeping some of the neatly-cut bangs out of her face. They’d just taken her to the salon for a brand new haircut—and Jeno can’t help but think she looks beautiful with bangs.
“Dasom-ah, it’s time to get up,” Jeno gently calls, continuing to slowly and gently shake Dasom until she begins to stir, rolling around from under the sheets and quickly sitting up.
“Is it today?” Dasom asks, raising her arms in quite the theatrical stretching gesture and sliding out from under the covers, crawling over to where Jeno is seated. “Daddy, is today the day?”
“That’s right, Dasom-i. It’s your first day of school!” Jeno delightfully helps Dasom out of bed and glances over at the clothes hung on the back of her door. They were clothes specifically picked out by Dasom herself, with gratuitous assistance from Jeno’s close friend and coworker Yeeun, as well as help from Jeno and Mark: a pretty white dress with blue flowery patterns paired with white shorts and frilly white socks to match. On her vanity sits a white and blue flower headband to top it all off, along with a small bracelet that Yeeun had given her for her fourth birthday. Everything was set—it all just needed to be put on.
“I’m happy! Today is the day! New friends, new school, new pretty dress!” Dasom practically leaps and runs to the vanity, grabbing her hairbrush with her little hands and beginning to run it down her shoulder-length hair, looking back at Jeno and smiling brightly. “Daddy, will you and Papa help me?”
“Of course, dear. We’ll get you ready for your big day. Papa’s getting ready too, so let’s get you washed up and squeaky clean for the first day, okay?”
“Bathtime? Will we have time to play with all five of my duckies?” Dasom tilts her head in interest, pausing her hair brushing for just a moment. Her hair is already quite neat, and Jeno knows that he’s going to have to brush it again, but Jeno nods enthusiastically nonetheless.
“Yes, Dasom-i. All five. I’ll race you to the bathroom?” Jeno motions down the hall with his head in question, already turning to face the door frame.
“I’m going to win! Bye!” Dasom immediately drops her hairbrush back onto her vanity and practically flies out of the room and into the hallway, the faint echo of “I’m winning!” sounding out from down the hallway.
Jeno laughs as he bounds after Dasom, laughing even harder when he easily catches up to her and picks her up, listening to her squeals of delight as he spins her around. “Let’s get your bathtime done quickly so we can get ready for your first day.”
Jeno quickly manages to get Dasom bathed and washed up, making sure to quickly play with her five assorted rubber ducks before helping to dry her as well as her hair, all done as she sits on the toilet seat while wrapped in her small bathrobe. When he enters her bedroom, Mark quickly gets up from the bed and holds his arms out. Dasom is quick to shout “Papa!” and immediately runs over to her other dad, wrapping her arms around his leg.
“Someone’s dressed nice. Are you trying to make me feel underdressed?” Jeno crosses his arms as he looks Mark up and down—he’s dressed quite well in something different from his usual work attire, donning a white button-up shirt with a blue sweater vest pulled over it, along with black pants that match Jeno’s own.
“I was trying to match with you and Dasom! You don’t like the fit?” Mark sits Dasom down on the bed and turns around to show off his outfit, holding out his arms as Jeno laughs and uncrosses his arms, making his way over to the bedroom door.
“Daddy and Papa are matching?” Dasom asks curiously, tilting her head.
“We’re matching with you, Dasom-i,” Jeno answers, taking the dress from where it had been hung and crouching down to hold it out to Dasom, who grips the small hanger with sparkling eyes. “Now you go get dressed and let us know when you’re done, we’ll come back in and help you out with your hair.”
They stare at each other in front of Dasom’s bedroom door as she gets dressed. Excitement wells up in Jeno’s chest as he looks over at Mark’s neatly combed hair and sparkling eyes. Even though he knows that Mark and Dasom aren’t genetically related, he can’t help but to think that Dasom takes after her father in that regard. The same could be said for himself—Dasom’s eyes when she smiles curl up like crescent moons, something Mark has commented on numerous times.
He notices sometimes that little pieces of him and Mark can be found within Dasom—and it’s all Jeno can ask for, really. To be able to see himself and Mark in their only child makes Jeno feel something indescribable in his chest. If he could put a name to it, he would say it’s something close to unadulterated adoration for both his husband and his daughter.
Jeno pushes his sentimental thoughts to the side as Dasom yells “Okay, done!” from the other side of the door. He follows Mark into the bedroom as he gently pushes the door open, and Jeno is taken aback by just how pretty their daughter looks in the dress picked out just for her. She has a bit of a bashful smile on her face, with her hands clasped together by her side as she sways back and forth. Her socks remain splayed out on the bed—she was likely unable to put them on herself.
“Oh my God, you look so good! Our little princess.” Jeno can practically see the tears welling up in Mark’s eyes as he crouches down to fix the ribbon on the dress. “Do a little twirl for us?”
Dasom quickly obliges, spinning around and letting the dress flow with her. Jeno’s heart soars, and he grabs the little socks on the bed and the headband on the vanity and kneels by the small mirror.
“Dasom-ah, sit here so we can get the rest of your clothes on.” Jeno pats the white wooden chair placed next to the vanity and smiles when Dasom runs over and plops herself onto it. “There you go. Let’s see how pretty you’re going to look with these.”
Jeno helps to get her frilly socks on, then grabs the white shoes placed next to the dresser and takes great care in gently slipping them on. Finally, he takes the headband and places it on her head, pushing back her bangs and parting her hair so some strands just barely fall over her shoulders. She’s practically ready for school pictures looking like this—that will be an entire other endeavor, however. Jeno will make sure to snap a picture or two to forever preserve Dasom’s look from today, though.
“I think she’s all ready. Mark?” Jeno turns to look at his husband, who unsurprisingly already has his phone out and is snapping pictures. He stands up straight and hides his phone behind his back, shifting from foot to foot as if he’s been caught stealing from the cookie jar.
“Couldn’t help myself. You two look stunning, but especially my daughter. Just look at you! You’re so gorgeous.” Mark walks over and picks up Dasom with ease, and Dasom beams with delight as she’s carried out of her room and into the kitchen, where Jeno grabs the car keys and all of his work materials from the kitchen counter. Files with worksheets, daily plan, coloring books for the kids are all in his bag, and Dasom is all dressed up, with her lunch box and backpack already set up and placed on the counter next to all of Jeno’s work things.
Everything’s ready. Jeno feels a great weight leave his shoulder as he takes a deep breath and turns to Mark. The pieces are all falling into place.
“I think we’re all good to go,” Jeno breathes out nervously, looking down at the car keys in his hand, then smiling at Mark, who is carrying Dasom with one arm.
Mark smiles back just as much and happily takes the car keys from Jeno. “Let me drive this time, you’re the one still working today.”
Jeno opens his mouth to protest, but quickly relents, sighing as he shrugs and opens the door for Mark and Dasom. “Hm… fine, but you’re picking me up after work too.”
🏠
The ride to Dasom’s new school is fairly quick—they’d picked a school relatively close to both their home and Jeno’s workplace, another primary school not too far down the street. Dasom is safely strapped into her spot in the back, her booster seat allowing her leverage to be able to look out the window at the urban sights of Seoul. She holds a hand up against the window, looking in wonder at the outside world. Dasom has been outside before, but Jeno doesn’t doubt that she’s feeling some kind of nervousness and anticipation for her first day at school.
They park and get out of the car, and Jeno gently takes a hold of Dasom’s left hand, Mark to Dasom’s right. She tightly holds onto their fingers as she skips the rest of the way to the school, bright blue backpack settled on her shoulders and bouncing with each step she takes. Jeno’s heart is overflowing with adoration at this point, and he delicately squeezes Dasom’s hand as they approach the brightly colored building. Jeno knows there are people and parents escorting their kids all around them—but all he can focus on right now is Dasom.
Dasom begins skipping faster, so fast that Jeno and Mark almost have to pick up their pace as they walk through the school gates and navigate their way to the designated kindergarten building. In front of the building, there are teachers and assistants meeting with parents and guardians in order to escort their kids to their designated classes. They all wish their children goodbye after briefly speaking with the caretakers and teachers, waving at them until they leave their sight. Jeno can hear the sound of sniffling all around him, and he knows that will probably be him soon.
Jeno looks around at the various classroom numbers, trying to spot Dasom’s class among the letters and numbers all around him. He’s pretty quick to spot it—he knows his way around any school if he tries hard enough, and Jeno wants Dasom to be early to her first day.
In no time, Mark and Jeno have found Dasom’s teacher. She and Jeno talk the time away while Mark holds onto Dasom, watching as she waves to all the kids and parents passing by, looking up at Mark every now and then. Jeno checks his watch after a bit more conversation, taking a deep breath when he realizes it’s almost time to send Dasom on her way. He turns around to face Dasom and Mark, looking down at their daughter as excitement bubbles away in his chest.
“It’s time to go to your class, Dasom-ah. Are you ready?” Jeno crouches down in order to talk to Dasom face to face. Dasom stares back at Jeno with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, and Jeno swears he sees a bit of Mark in her face every time she beams up at him.
“I’m ready, Daddy! I’m ready, Papa!” Dasom looks between Jeno and Mark, letting go of Mark’s hand in favor of bouncing up and down, her backpack bouncing happily with her. Not even an ounce of nervousness is radiating off of her—only genuine happiness pouring out from her joyful expression. “Wanna go to school now!”
“Well, Miss Kim over here is going to take you. Just take her hand and she’ll take you to your class down the hall, okay? Then we’ll be back at the end of the day.” Miss Kim walks up to the couple and holds her hand out, smiling brightly as Dasom turns to face her, looking up at her with wondrous eyes.
“Hi, Dasom. I’m Miss Kim, I’ll be your teacher. Ready to go to your class?” She laughs as Dasom shyly nods and shuffles her way over. Dasom holds onto Miss Kim’s hand, and she turns around once more as Jeno stands up and wraps an arm around Mark’s waist, letting his hand rest on the small of his back. He can already feel the tears welling up in his eyes as Dasom looks up at her dads with those same eyes that glimmer with delight.
“Bye, Papa! Bye, Daddy!” Dasom waves at Mark and Jeno, and the two wave back without hesitation as she quickly turns around and begins to skip along the hallway, guided by Miss Kim into her classroom. Jeno remains frozen in place for a bit longer after Dasom disappears into the classroom, his eyes feeling glassy. He feels Mark’s hand rubbing his back after a couple more seconds, his husband also seemingly stuck in his spot.
“It’s okay to cry, you know. That’s our kid right there,” Mark mumbles into Jeno’s ear, snaking his hand through Jeno’s and intertwining their fingers.
“I know. I just… I’m feeling so much right now, I don’t even know whether I want to cry.” Jeno squeezes Mark’s hand and smiles gratefully at him. “Come on, I can’t be late for my own class.”
“Yes, sir.” Mark chuckles softly, and they turn to exit the building and walk back to where Mark’s car is parked.
And sure enough, tearful expressions and sniffles are exchanged between the two as Mark drives Jeno down the street to his own school. Jeno can’t quite describe just what he feels, but one thing he knows for sure is that he’s ready to spend the rest of his life living out each stage of Dasom’s life and spending every single joyful memory with his husband.