Chapter Text
“Sweetheart,” Jimin calls out as he strolls into Harin’s room. “It’s time to get up for school.”
His daughter is still in dreamland, cozily tucked into her mound of blankets. The weather during early spring in Seoul is quite cold, the remnants of winter lingering, and Harin insists on at least three layers of covers every night. Too many layers, in Jimin’s opinion, but he’s guilty of often just letting Harin do whatever she wants. He takes in the peaceful view for a few moments before tossing the top two covers aside.
His child’s eyes slowly blink open. The first thing out of her mouth is, “No,” almost too quiet to be heard as she rolls to face away from him. “I’m still sleepy. Do I have to go?” Jimin fights the urge to lift up the comforter and get in alongside her to wrap her up in a warm embrace. He admits that it might be partly his fault that she’s so tired this morning. They had stayed up later than usual last night cuddling on the couch while watching a Disney movie. He still made sure that she got her full ten hours of sleep, though.
“It’s the first day! You can’t skip the first day,” Jimin tells her. But he knows that she’s not serious and just likes to whine in the morning, the thought making him giggle. “You’re only starting third grade and are already like this! What will I do with you?” He settles on the edge of her bed to stroke her hair.
“I dunno,” Harin replies. Even though she’s turned away from Jimin, he can still hear the pout in her voice. “Five more minutes, please?”
“Okay, five more minutes,” Jimin agrees. “I’ll get your breakfast ready and come check on you. You’d better be ready to get up by then!”
He heads off to the kitchen to make fried eggs and toast for Harin. When the food is done, he plates it all neatly on two plates. Jimin prefers sticking to simple meals for breakfast, especially since they’re running a little late today, but he adds his own special touches. He spreads some jam on Harin’s slice of toast in the shape of a heart and puts a small pile of kimchi on the side of his own dish.
With breakfast done, Jimin walks back down the hallway to Harin’s room, passing his own bedroom on the way. He’s pleased to see that Harin has gotten up on her own and has finished brushing her teeth. He helps her get dressed into her school uniform, tugging the sweater over her shoulders, and begins styling her hair.
As a single dad of a daughter, Jimin has had to learn a lot on his own. The one thing he’s gotten confident with over time is his ability to create fancy hairdos with Harin’s long and straight hair. He likes to think it’s partly thanks to the dexterity he has from his job as a florist. Harin constantly voices out her jealousy of her dad’s dyed hair from his younger days, so Jimin makes it up to her by giving her the prettiest hairstyles. He completes the look by tying blue ribbons at the end of Harin’s braids.
All finished, Jimin asks, “Excited to meet your new teacher?”
“Kinda. Mari’s sister had him before and Mari said that he’s nice,” Harin responds. “But I’m gonna miss Choi-seonsaengnim.”
“Well, Choi-seonsaengnim will still be at your school, so maybe you’ll see her around!” Jimin points out. “And you can make friends with the kids in your new class!”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m still nervous though. What if there’s no one I know?”
Jimin frowns a bit. “Don’t worry, my love. That’s perfectly normal. At least I’ll be with you when you meet your class and teacher.” He had received an email from Harin’s new teacher that notified parents to be at the first day of school, so he could meet the parents and children together and discuss the school year. Jimin is thankful that he’ll get to stay with Harin a little longer, even if it means arriving at work later than usual. Seokjin-hyung had told him that it’d be fine, and he’d be able to open up the shop on his own anyway.
He finishes with Harin’s hair and straightens out her cardigan. “Let’s go eat!”
As they eat, Jimin tries to talk about random topics, like Harin’s art class and the movie they watched last night, in an effort to keep Harin from worrying too much about school. He knows that she doesn’t exactly feel comfortable around new people, so being in a new environment might be intimidating for her. Harin had always been a quiet kid. Jimin knows that it’s not unusual for children to be shy, but a lot of people assume that it’s because of their family situation, and they shamelessly voice their concerns to Jimin’s face. Jimin genuinely doesn’t think that’s the case, but still, he can’t help but to worry sometimes.
He shakes his head of these negative ideas and gives Harin an encouraging smile as they finish eating. He hopes that she’ll meet many new friends this school year. It would be good for her and would definitely give him some relief as well.
She seems calmer now, not quite as anxious as she was when she woke up. Some of the stress that had built up in the back of Jimin’s mind dissipates, his tense frame relaxing by a small fraction. After breakfast, Jimin double checks Harin’s backpack to make sure all the essentials are packed, and they head off, hand in hand, on the short walk to her elementary school.
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“Daddy! Get up! Let’s go!”
Jeongguk wakes up to the shouts of his child. He opens his eyes to see a blurry view of Hyesoo climbing onto his bed.
“Wha– No, don’t jump!”
His pleas are useless, as he feels his daughter get up on her feet and start to bounce on his bed. Her hops gradually shift Jeongguk’s blanket off his body and he’s forced out of the warmth and into the cold air of their apartment.
“You little brat,” Jeongguk quietly groans. He waits for a couple seconds, letting Hyesoo have her fun for a bit. Then, he sneakily grasps both of her hands in his own, pulls her down onto himself, and wraps her up in a tight hug.
Hyesoo squirms and squeals. “Daaaad,” she whines while kicking her feet, trying to escape Jeongguk’s embrace. She’s already in her school uniform and it’s getting wrinkled from her wild movements.
“What? You go into third grade and you’re too old for cuddles from me?” he jokes. He pretends to mope, really exaggerating it, but she shows no remorse.
“Whatever,” Hyesoo mutters as she rests her head on her dad’s chest. She relaxes there for a few moments, and Jeongguk starts to close his eyes again. Before he dozes off, he hears Hyesoo loudly whisper, “Get up already.”
Jeongguk sighs and looks down at Hyesoo. He sees eagerness shining in her eyes and knows that she’s been waiting for today. “Okay, okay. I’m getting up missy.”
He carefully places Hyesoo on the pillow next to him and hops out of bed to walk to the attached bathroom. Hyesoo rolls off the bed as well and chases after him.
“Put on your slippers. The floor is cold,” Jeongguk tells her. He knows bare feet on tile in this weather is not fun.
But Hyesoo ignores him. Instead, she asks, “Can you make me pancakes?”
Jeongguk pauses what he’s doing. He acts like he’s thinking hard, but he already knows the answer he’ll give. “Sure, to celebrate your first day. Can you go get dressed and prepare the ingredients? You know where they all are, right?”
“Yeah!” Hyesoo exclaims as she runs off in the direction of her room. Jeongguk lets out a sigh of affection as he starts his morning routine. Once he’s freshened up, he peers into his closet to decide what to wear for the day. He decides on a more put together look than his typical, since he wants to make a good impression on the other parents he knows he’ll meet today. That means no baggy workout clothes.
After he’s done getting ready, Jeongguk wanders over to the kitchen to see if Hyesoo had really gathered all the ingredients for her pancakes. He sees her sitting at the dining table, watching a video on her iPad, and the ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter. He stands in the doorway of the kitchen, taking in how adorable she looks before she finally notices his presence and looks up.
“I couldn’t reach the mixing bowl. You keep it too high up for me,” Hyesoo explains seriously. Jeongguk holds back a laugh. He can’t quite understand why she’s being so prim and proper all of a sudden, compared to her usual chaotic self.
“That’s fine, I’ll grab it. C’mere so we can make it together.”
Hyesoo turns off her iPad and skips over to where her father waits. Jeongguk measures out the ingredients, and Hyesoo mixes them all together carefully until the batter has the right consistency. Then, he pours the batter on the pan and places his hand around Hyesoo’s as she skillfully flips the pancakes with his help.
When Hyesoo begs for her pancakes to have rainbow sprinkles, Jeongguk reluctantly allows it. It won’t be him who will suffer from the consequences of her sugar rush. He adds blueberries that Hyesoo helped wash to his own pancakes. He cuts up some strawberries and bananas for the both of them while Hyesoo impatiently waits at the dining table. Jeongguk finishes up and brings all the food to the table. As he nears, Hyesoo sits up straight in anticipation.
Jeongguk grins and asks, “You were looking forward to today, huh? You got up earlier than usual.”
“Of course! I’m gonna be in Yoongi-samchon’s class!” Hyesoo’s eyes widen as she answers his question, and she raises her arms in excitement. Jeongguk feels like he might burst from happiness, just from seeing her being this happy.
“Okay well, remember you still need to call him Min-seonsaengnim like everyone else,” Jeongguk reminds her.
Hyesoo dramatically rolls her eyes. “Duhhh. I know that, Dad.”
He raises his eyebrows at the sass he receives. “Okay, good,” he chuckles. Jeongguk finds her cheeky attitude towards him endearing and not at all annoying, like some other parents might. He knows she’s not intending to be rude. It’s just her personality, and he loves it.
They eat, and Hyesoo chats with her dad, jumping from topic to topic. Jeongguk gives her his full attention and reacts accordingly to everything she says. He loves the pure enthusiasm and innocence that radiates off her when she speaks, and he wishes for that spark to never go away.
When they finally finish eating, rushing a bit at the end when Jeongguk notices the time, he asks, “Ready to go? Let’s get you to school.”
Hyesoo jumps out of her chair with an unintelligible shout and races out the door, backpack in hand. Jeongguk grabs a coat and his work bag and hurriedly chases after her.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
As Jimin and Harin arrive at her elementary school, Jimin leads Harin in the direction of her classroom. The school hallways are packed with restless children and exhausted-looking parents. Jimin follows a straight path to Harin’s new classroom. He knows his way around the school well enough by now, so he chooses the quickest and least crowded route to get there.
When they near the room, Jimin spots a man standing outside the propped open door.
“Hello!” he greets. “You must be Min-seonsaengnim?” Jimin puts his arm around his daughter’s shoulder. “This is Harin and I’m her dad, Park Jimin.”
“Nice to meet you Jimin-ssi,” the man replies in a hospitable tone. “Yes, I’m Min Yoongi, and I’ll be Harin’s teacher for this year.”
Jimin thinks that if he didn’t meet Min Yoongi for the first time here at school, he wouldn’t have guessed that Yoongi was a teacher. He seems more like an introverted type of person, not one to spend their days surrounded by loud children. But looking more closely, Yoongi has the attributes that make up a good teacher for young students – a soft but firm voice, an intelligent smile, and a gentle kindness in his eyes. Harin would be in good hands this year.
Yoongi turns to face Harin. “Welcome, Harin! How are you doing? Ready for third grade?”
Harin shyly nods at her teacher. “Yes,” she says softly.
“She’s a bit quiet around new people,” Jimin explains to Yoongi.
“Oh, that’s completely okay,” Yoongi makes eye contact with Harin and gives her a sympathetic smile. “I was the same as a child, Harin, so don’t worry. You can call me Min-ssaem if you’d like.”
Jimin releases a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, and his posture relaxes. A fraction of the concerns that were occupying his mind seem to float away, thanks to the soft spoken assurances from Yoongi.
“Why don’t the two of you head inside and wait for the rest of the kids to arrive?” Yoongi suggests, with a pat on Harin’s shoulder.
Jimin gives Yoongi a small bow and steps into the classroom, Harin following alongside him. The room seems cozy and warm, despite the chill outside. Near the door, there are cubbies for the students’ backpacks and coats. Jimin helps Harin place her belongings on the shelf that has a small sticker with her name. He gladly notices that it’s at the perfect height for her to be able to reach it by herself.
Jimin peers at the four walls and gazes at the decorations that are hung up. There’s a calendar on the wall across from the door that lists the dates of holidays and marks each student’s birthday. Next to it is a bulletin board that is blank, aside from the word “WELCOME” spelled out in rainbow letters across the top. There are about twenty or so desks, facing the front of the room where the blackboard and Yoongi’s desk are. The back of the room is mostly empty, the only noticeable furniture being some small floor cushions. Jimin guesses that Yoongi and the class will sit there sometimes when doing various activities. The room as a whole is quite unusual, not the standard cold and plain classroom he was accustomed to back in his own days as a student.
They walk around, looking for Harin’s seat. He spots it, after observing that they are all in alphabetical order, and sees that Harin’s classmate from last year, Chaewon, is sitting on her left. Jimin is thankful that one of her seat partners will be someone she’s familiar with. Right on time, Chaewon and her mom step into the classroom. Jimin notices Chaewon’s eyes light up when she spots Harin.
“Harin! You’re in my class!” the little girl yells out. She scampers over, and her mother Minji follows.
As Chaewon excitedly chats with Harin, Jimin strikes up a conversation with Minji. The topics they talk about start off frivolous, but Minji soon addresses the topic of Harin’s other seat neighbor. “Oh! Do you know Hyesoo as well?” she asks Jimin.
“No, she wasn’t in Harin and Chaewon’s class last year, was she?” Jimin replies. He doesn’t remember meeting any kid with that name before. Jeon Hyesoo, he wonders.
Minji hums. “She wasn’t, but her dad threw a birthday party for her last year and Chaewon was invited,” she explains. “Hyesoo’s whole class was invited too.”
“Oh, really? How do two you know Hyesoo?” Jimin inquires.
“She and Chaewon take violin classes from the same teacher. Their lessons were back to back, so I got to talk with her father a few times. He’s a very nice man.”
Their conversation is cut off by the high-pitched squeals of a child and the patter of speedy footsteps. The noise captures the attention of nearly everyone inside the class, including Jimin. He looks over to the open door of the classroom and sees the culprit cannonballing towards Min Yoongi.
“YOONGI-SSAEM!” the girl shouts as she seemingly tries to tackle the teacher and grabs his legs in a hug that looks much too strong for what a third grader should be capable of. Yoongi has a bashful but affectionate smile on his face as he calmly strokes the girl’s shoulder length hair. Jimin then sees what appears to be the girl’s father walking up behind her.
The first thing he notices is how handsome he is, despite being dressed in a simple black sweater and pants. The next thing Jimin notices is the man’s muscles, which can be easily seen through said sweater and pants. He spies tattoo ink on the man’s forearm which peeks out from under his sleeve. When the man speaks up, Jimin realizes he’s been staring and quickly looks away.
“Yah, Hyesoo,” Jimin overhears the unfairly hot man calmly saying. “I told you at home to act like a normal student at school. Don’t get Yoongi-hyung annoyed already.”
Hearing the name of Harin’s deskmate, Jimin’s ears perk up and he starts actively listening in on the conversation between Hyesoo, her dad, and their teacher. (Bad example, he knows. But honestly, it’s not like they were trying to be quiet anyway.)
The man looks up apologetically at Yoongi. “Sorry hyung, she promised to me that she would call you Min-seonsaengnim.”
“No worries, Jeongguk-ah,” Yoongi reassures. “It’s her first day, she’s excited. Aren’t you Hyesoo?”
“Of course!” Hyesoo affirms. She jumps away from Yoongi and backs up until she’s comfortably tucked into Jeongguk’s legs. Jeongguk looks at Yoongi with a weary smile. It seems like the two of them have a whole conversation through their eyes, and Jimin wonders how close they are.
“We’ll be waiting for you inside, hyung. Good luck with the school year.” Jeongguk walks away with a clap on Yoongi’s back.
“Thanks, I’ll be right in.”
Jimin watches Jeongguk and his daughter make their way around the classroom to find Hyesoo’s seat. He quickly straightens up his shoulders as they near him.
“It’s here, Dad! I found my nametag! It says ‘Hyesoo’ on this desk!”
Jeongguk makes a show of closely examining the piece of paper and finally confirms, “Yeah sweetie, it does.” He pulls out the chair for her, and she hops into her seat while he stands behind her. Jeongguk turns to face Jimin, but before either of them have the chance to say anything, they’re cut off by the sound of chimes that signal the start of class. On instinct, they both direct their attention towards the front of the room.
“Alright! Welcome to third grade, everyone. It was very nice meeting all of you this morning,” Yoongi begins. He goes on to talk about the daily class schedule, homework policies, and class rules. While listening to the teacher, Jimin finds himself peering over at Jeongguk, admiring the array of tattoos on his strong forearms that have been revealed by his rolled up sleeves. Jeongguk suddenly glances in his direction, and Jimin quickly turns his head and pretends to be engrossed in Yoongi’s presentation.
Oops.
Jimin is so incredibly embarrassed. He should not be checking out the father of Harin’s new classmate. He didn’t spot a ring, but in all likelihood, Jeongguk was taken. For the rest of the introduction, Jimin decides to actually focus. (And mentally bashes himself for setting yet another bad example for his kid.)
He hears Yoongi mention something about class parties and how they’ll need volunteers later in the school year. This gets him actually interested. He works closely with event planners at his job, so he feels like he has decent experience. He’ll never turn down an opportunity to be creative outside of work, and to become closer to a part of Harin’s life.
“Okay parents, that'll be the end of our first day of school meeting. Feel free to ask me any questions now or you can reach me through email. Kiddos, say goodbye to your moms and dads!” Yoongi finishes.
“Will you be okay, Harin?” Jimin checks up on his daughter one last time before he leaves.
Harin playfully glares up at him. “Yes, dad,” she replies.
Jimin notes that she looks much more relaxed than earlier. He is not as worried as before either. If Harin has the energy to give him all that sass, then he’s sure she’ll be fine.
“I’ll come pick you up right when school ends, okay? Be good for your teacher. I love you.” He leaves a quick kiss on the top of her head before following the rest of the parents out the door.
He’s about to head to work, thinking about Seokjin and all that’s awaiting him, but before he can get far, Jimin is stopped in the hallway by a newly familiar voice.
“Hey, excuse me?”
Of course. Of course it had to be Jeongguk, Jimin thinks. “Yes?” he politely responds, half-distracted by trying as hard as possible to refrain from checking Jeongguk out.
“You’re Jimin right?”
“Uh… Yes, I am, but how do you–”
Before he can finish his sentence, Jeongguk awkwardly interrupts, “Well, it’s just that I’ve heard of you.”
“You’ve heard of me?” Jimin is so confused. How does this ridiculously good looking stranger know who he is? He quickly wracks his brain to think if they’ve met anywhere before, but he comes up empty.
“Yeah, um… I heard that you helped organize Class 2’s Christmas party last year,” Jeongguk explains.
If Jimin was asked to describe what it looked like inside his brain at that moment, he would say there was nothing but a large floating question mark. “You’re right, I did,” he says slowly. “But again, how did you hear about that?”
“Well, I helped with Class 1’s party, and…” Jeongguk trails off.
“Yes?” Jimin prompts, beginning to get impatient. A moment goes by before Jeongguk replies.
“Everyone was talking about your party instead of mine,” Jeongguk spits out cooly. But was that annoyance in his voice?
Well, that was unexpected, Jimin thinks. Why is he even bringing this up?
Jimin’s bewilderment must show on his face because Jeongguk quickly adds, “Yoongi told me that all the teachers knew about it too.” Jimin is even more perplexed. How is Yoongi related to this? Jimin doesn’t know the exact relationship between Jeongguk and Yoongi, but he gleaned from their conversation earlier that they do have some sort of friendship. Still, what is Jeongguk’s point? It doesn’t matter to Jimin that the teachers were talking about his party. Why are they even talking about class parties right now anyway?
But given Jeongguk’s attitude, he decides to entertain the idea of this competition Jeongguk has going on in his head.
“Oh, they all thought it was pretty good, then? You’re right, I did help out with it.” Jeongguk’s stare turns slightly hostile as he narrows his eyes a bit, and the great contrast makes Jimin realize how round his doe eyes usually were. Jimin is a bit concerned that he actually offended Jeongguk. He’d be more focused on being scared if Jeongguk’s expression wasn’t so attractive.
What have I gotten myself into?
“Cool. Well, don’t expect the same thing to happen this year,” Jeongguk warns.
Jimin had, in fact, not been expecting, or even thinking about that at all. Even now, he’s stuck on how out-of-nowhere this conversation is. But he still replies, “We’ll see about that.”
It’s not his intention to make an enemy out of one of the parents of Harin’s classmate, especially on the first day of school. But really, the words leave his mouth without thinking. If Jeongguk is going to single him out, he’s going to return the energy. To top it off, Jimin gives a slight, uncaring shrug of his shoulders.
If Jeongguk wants a competition, that’s what he’ll get.
“Yeah, I guess we will. See you next time.” Jeongguk plasters a cocky grin on his face and turns to walk away, leaving a somewhat agitated and very confused Jimin in his wake.
Jimin wants to have the last word, but unable to, he has no choice but to finally head off to work. He admits to himself that he’s a bit disappointed with his first conversation with Jeongguk. It’s not like he was expecting Jeongguk to come up to him and tell him how pretty he looked and how he would’ve loved to get to know Jimin better. (That would’ve been nice though, he laments in his head.) Jimin just doesn’t understand why it seemed like Jeongguk had such a cold attitude towards him when they’ve never even met before.
Was that really the “nice man” Minji told me about? It’s all so strange.
As Jimin walks away annoyed by the conversation, his vision seems to blur, along with his thoughts. Maybe with anger that’s lingering in him, or maybe because he’s still lost in the stars in Jeongguk’s eyes.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
“You’re late” is the first thing that Jeongguk hears when he walks into the gym.
“It was Hyesoo’s first day of school, hyung. And Yoongi-hyung forced us to stay to listen to him talk about the class,” Jeongguk grumbles to Namjoon, his business partner and closest friend.
“I know, he told me. I’m just messing with you, Kook.”
Jeongguk has known Namjoon since university. They’d first met at the school’s gym, in fact. Jeongguk was actually the one who approached Namjoon first. He looked big and impressive, his muscular thighs being one of the factors that drew Jeongguk in. As they started hanging out more outside the gym, Jeongguk got to know more about the wise and sophisticated side of Namjoon.
Over time, they formed a strong brotherly bond, and in Namjoon’s final year of school, they came up with the idea of opening a personal training gym together. With Namjoon’s knowledge in business, the major he studied, and their shared love for fitness, it became the main goal they worked towards. Over time, their idea has become quite successful.
“How was the first day?” Namjoon asks, following Jeongguk to the small office they share, where he drops off his gym bag.
“It was a long morning,” Jeongguk sighs, but not in annoyance. “Hyesoo was bouncing off the walls this morning at the idea of being Yoongi-hyung’s student.” He fondly recalls her liveliness this morning. She’s never been so excited for school before, so he’s predicting that this will be a good school year. “I wish him luck, having my crazy daughter as a student,” he adds.
Namjoon was also the one who introduced Jeongguk to Yoongi. He and Yoongi had been roommates in Namjoon’s freshman year, and they had stayed friends ever since. As soon as they first met, Yoongi got along well with Jeongguk. They both tend to be reserved, but Jeongguk’s impish side comes out when they’re together. The three of them are now extremely close, and Jeongguk couldn’t be more thankful for solid friends he can rely on while raising a child.
“Plus,” Jeongguk continues, after quickly changing into his exercise clothes. “None of the other parents even had a clue that I helped decorate the classroom. And they all looked so impressed. It was awesome.”
“Oh that’s right, Yoongi sent me a picture of it. You guys did a great job,” Namjoon comments. It indeed looked amazing.
Many people still hold onto the outdated belief that fathers should be less involved in their kids’ lives, having the notion that men should be busy with work while children should be taken care of by their mothers. While times have changed and most people don’t agree with these traditional perspectives anymore, Jeongguk still experiences some prejudice towards him as a single dad. Very few explicitly say it to his face, but some of the stares he gets in public when he’s with Hyesoo make him aware that their situation is not the norm.
For this reason, Jeongguk does everything to try to be the best dad for Hyesoo, so she won’t ever feel any shame or judgment from her peers. He tries to be a part of everything she has going on, even though he’s also occupied with running a business. Namjoon, the amazing person he is, understands that and is willing to take care of things at work when Jeongguk is busy with his daughter. Jeongguk couldn’t be more grateful because there’s nothing he values more than being able to spend time with Hyesoo.
Hence, he had also brought Hyesoo to school when he offered to help Yoongi with preparations for the first day. She wanted to tag along to see Yoongi, her favorite uncle. Jeongguk ended up doing ninety percent of the hard labor, with Hyesoo teaming up with Yoongi to boss him around. He didn’t mind, since it was truly a wholesome sight.
However, Jeongguk had not assisted with assigning seats, so imagine his surprise when he realized this morning that Hyesoo had been placed right next to Jimin’s child. He’d never met Jimin before today, but Yoongi and the parents of Hyesoo’s classmates have briefly mentioned him to Jeongguk a few times. He formed an image in his mind based on the descriptions he received, but upon seeing Jimin, he realized that the man standing before him did not fit his preconceived notion at all. He actually looked quite sweet and charming.
“Thanks, hyung. Hey, speaking of the other parents, I met Park Jimin today.”
“Okay… Who is that?”
“Hyung, I’ve told you about him!” Jeongguk complains. He doesn’t care how he sounds, since he’s known Namjoon for long enough, and being around him is one of the only times Jeongguk still gets to act a bit immaturely. “The one who planned a better Christmas party than me,” he clarifies, lilting up the end of the sentence to prompt Namjoon into remembering.
“Ah, that’s right.” Good, seems like Namjoon remembers. “Your rival in fatherhood.”
Jeongguk is so stunned by that phrase that he can’t even respond. “That’s not what it– You make it sound so weird, okay?” He huffs. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter anyway. It seemed like he didn’t even know who I was.”
“Makes sense. You’d only heard of him through the grapevine,” Namjoon reasons. “Did you want him to know who you are?” Jeongguk doesn’t answer. Namjoon sighs and asks, “Why do you dislike him again?”
Honestly, Jeongguk has no explanation for that. It’s just a gut feeling he has, and he can’t quite put it into words. He tries describing that to his friend, but his point doesn’t really come across well.
Still, Namjoon nods wisely, understanding the gist of it. “I think you should let it go, Gguk,” he ultimately concludes. “It’s probably a one-sided rivalry you have going on. Honestly, not many people are as competitive as you when it comes to things like that.”
“Well, you know it means a lot to me… ‘Things like that.’ Being able to be so involved in all aspects of Hyesoo’s life.”
The elder looks him in the eyes and empathy shines back at Jeongguk. “I know. It’s admirable of you. You really don’t need the additional praise with how big your ego already is, but…” he trails off, eyes darting around awkwardly before finally settling on Jeongguk again. “You’re a good dad. I’m proud of you.”
Jeongguk looks up at Namjoon with a small and thankful smile. He loves his hyungs because spending time with them can instantly make the stress from a difficult day melt away.
“Okay, enough of the sappy stuff. The first client comes in twenty minutes. We need to prepare.” Namjoon claps his hands and sets off to organize and clean the weights, even though they were just cleaned last night. Jeongguk knows Namjoon gets a bit embarrassed when conversations become emotional, and he’s just trying to escape that. He laughs and sets off to start the day as well.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
To be perfectly honest, Jimin prefers to stay at home, lounge around, and order in after a long day. The first week of school had been exhausting, with both him and Harin having to get readjusted to the daily grind. But his friends decided to make plans to drag him out for dinner tonight so they could catch up. Jimin agreed, since Harin is at her weekly art class and he would be free for two hours anyway. He sees Seokjin everyday at work, but he admittedly misses Hoseok and Taehyung.
He suddenly hears someone shout his name from afar. “Jimin-ah!”
He spots his friends up the street, waiting for him at the entrance of the small restaurant. The place they chose is a family-owned hole in the wall, a spot that they frequent for any and all occasions. Jimin hastily walks towards them, but when he reaches about halfway, Taehyung suddenly starts running towards him. They crash in the middle, and Jimin lets out an “oof” while Taehyung wraps his arms around Jimin’s body.
Taehyung squeezes hard, and Jimin feels like he might burst. “I haven’t seen you in so long, Minnie! I missed you,” he practically cries.
“Gosh, you’re so dramatic. It’s only been a week!” Jimin realizes this might not have been the best reply, as Taehyung pulls them apart so suddenly that Jimin worries for a moment that his neck might snap.
He gazes down at Jimin with puppy eyes. “But that’s a week too long without seeing my soulmate,” Taehyung pouts.
“Ok Tae, I get it. I’m sorry for not seeing you for a whole week,” Jimin answers half-heartedly. “I did text you though.” He untangles himself from Taehyung’s grip and hooks his arm around the other’s. They walk to where their other two friends are waiting for them. They seem exasperated with Taehyung and Jimin’s actions, and Jimin makes an apologetic expression. But he knows Seokjin and Hoseok are used to the pair’s antics, and they just like to act annoyed to tease them.
“Hi hyungs, how have you both been?”
Hoseok places his hands on Jimin’s shoulders and dons a sad expression. “I missed you too Jimin!”
“I didn’t,” Seokjin quips.
“You see me everyday,” Jimin deadpans.
The others laugh and they head into the establishment. The hostess easily recognizes them and takes them to their usual spot.
Their group is seated at a table that’s tucked into a quiet corner of the building. Posters with pictures of menu items hang on the walls above them. Just seeing the images makes Jimin realize how hungry he actually is. He pulls up the menu in front of him, but they’ve been here so often that he doesn’t actually need it. The restaurant serves classic Korean dishes, and Jimin’s go-to is their simple but tasty kimchi fried rice. They decide on a few other dishes to be shared among the four of them.
About ten minutes after they order, the food comes out, steaming and bringing with it a delicious aroma. Unable to wait any longer, they all dig in. The rice scalds the top of Jimin’s mouth as he takes a large bite.
“So Jiminie,” Hoseok begins. “How has Harin been?”
“Oh, well she went back to school this week..”
That’s right. Jimin realizes he hasn’t told them about his strange first encounter with that man, Jeongguk. But it was nothing right? Is it even worth telling them?
“Did something happen?” Taehyung asks. Jimin has no doubt that Taehyung could recognize his hesitation.
Jimin ends up telling his friends about meeting Jeongguk and the weird vibes he gave off. He figures if it really was nothing, then they would tell him so. He does leave out the details of him finding Jeongguk attractive, though. They don’t need to know that much.
“Wait, so you had no idea who he was before this?” Seokjin questions once Jimin finishes relating everything that had happened.
Jimin shakes his head and replies, “No, I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days but I really don’t think I’ve even heard of him before.”
“That’s weird, then, that it’s like he’s holding this grudge against you,” Hoseok reflects.
“Yeah, who could dislike my sweet Jiminie?” Taehyung adds as he wraps his arms around Jimin’s shoulders like a koala. Once again, he feels like he’s having all the air squeezed out of him, but Jimin appreciates the sentiment.
“Just ignore him, Jimin. He’s probably just some asshole who gets off on putting others down,” Seokjin concludes. He chomps down on a bite of food with finality.
As much as Jimin wants to take that advice, he has a sneaking feeling that it’ll be a hard task. And although Jeongguk’s actions were quite rude, Jimin doesn’t see him as “just some asshole.” He feels like there was more to it than that, and he’s hesitant to judge the other father based on their very first meeting.
The group continues talking about various topics – work, the new episode of a TV show they all watch, Hoseok’s new partner – until all their plates are empty and they can barely move from how stuffed they are.
“Sorry guys, I’m gonna quickly go and order something to bring back for Harin. I’ll be right back,” Jimin tells his friends.
He walks up to the worker standing behind the cash register at the back of the restaurant. He decides to get Harin an order of pan fried dumplings. He notices a small freezer by the counter, which stores various types of ice cream. Sliding the door open, Jimin selects a strawberry flavored ice cream for Harin. A thought quickly flashes through his mind. I hope it won’t melt. He decides to add the takeout items to the table’s bill and pays it along with the total for their group.
“Okay, we’re all set!”
Seokjin gives him an angry look that’s not really all that angry when he realizes that Jimin paid. “Yah, Jimin-ah. Did you really foot the bill? That’s a betrayal to your hyungs, you know.”
“It’s no problem, really. I wanted to treat you all since I’ve been too busy to spend time with you lately.”
Hoseok frowns. “Jimin, you know we know you’re taking care of Harin most of the time. We don’t mind if you put her first over us,” he says.
Despite their reassurances, Jimin still feels a bit guilty. Taehyung seems to sense it (bless his soulmate). “Hey, how about this? We can come over to your house to have a playdate with Harin! That way, we can all hang out together! And while we’re over, we can help take care of her too,” he suggests.
Hoseok claps. “That’s a perfect idea! Let’s plan that for the future!”
“Did you guys just invite yourselves over to my house?” Jimin asks, a bit stunned.
“You don’t want us, Jimin?” Hoseok sulks. “It’s not about you! We miss Harin!”
“That’s not what I meant!” But Jimin loves his friends too much to seriously argue with them. He’s thankful, anyway, that they’re so caring of Harin, even if she’s not their child. And today was another reminder of how fun spending time with his friends is. In the end, he agrees to their plan, and decides to take his leave, aware of the fact that Harin’s class would be over soon.
“Well, I’m off to pick her up from art class. I’ll text you guys!” He bids farewell to his three friends.
“You’d better. See you, Jimin!” Taehyung yells in reply.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
“Dad. Dad. Dad.”
“Yes, darling?”
Jeongguk is getting dinner ready when Harin walks into the kitchen. She’s still in her school uniform, her socked feet padding quietly on the kitchen tile.
“Yoongi-samchon said our class will celebrate White Day next week by gifting each other small things. And he’s combining it with Valentine’s Day so boys and girls both get stuff.”
Jeongguk thinks he remembers Yoongi mentioning something like this. “That sounds fun, sweetheart. Do you have an idea of what you want to give your classmates?”
Hyesoo ponders the thought for a few minutes. Jeongguk lets her think and returns to stirring the soup he’s preparing. He’s just about to lean in to have a taste, and that’s when Hyesoo speaks up.
“Well, I like candy.”
Jeongguk grins and replies, “What I’m hearing is that you want to give out candy to your friends as an excuse to get me to buy you candy?”
Hyesoo returns a toothy grin. “Kinda.”
Jeongguk wants to laugh at her straightforwardness. She definitely gets that from him.
“I’ll consider it if you go put on your slippers. Your feet are gonna freeze off.”
“They’re not!” She drags out the last word, but still heads to her room and emerges with her house slippers on her feet.The soup and rice that Jeongguk has been cooking are finally ready, so he portions it out for Hyesoo and himself and brings the bowls to the dining table. Hyesoo watches him closely and follows him to the table. She climbs onto her chair, kneeling on it instead of sitting properly. Their discussion continues over dinner.
“So what kind of candy do you want?” Jeongguk asks.“Chocolate! Or those candy hearts. You know the ones where some are sweet and some are sour? Oh yeah, and I want to get something special for Harin too.”
A couple weeks have passed since the day Jeongguk met Park Jimin. A few days after that fateful event, Hyesoo had left school telling her dad all about her new friend and how much she liked her. Lo and behold, that new friend turned out to be Jimin’s daughter. It made sense, given that the two girls were seat partners, but Jeongguk half-believes the universe is playing some kind of joke on him.
Of course, Jeongguk has nothing against Hyesoo being friends with Harin. In fact, he encourages, and he’s grateful that Hyesoo is able to make friends so easily. But when your kid has a friend, you inevitably end up spending a lot of time with their parents, through playdates and whatnot. Jeongguk cannot see himself doing that with Park Jimin. After their first meeting, Jeongguk left with the feeling that Jimin didn’t exactly like him. It’s honestly quite a shame. He has thought about Jimin recently, more than he’d like to admit, and what stands out in his mind is his enchanting smile (that was never directed at Jeongguk) and the cute natural pout of his lips (which seemed to curve into a scowl when he was talking with Jeongguk).
Whatever. He doesn’t want to be thinking about Park Jimin right now.
“I’ll buy whatever you want,” Jeongguk declares.
“Really?” Hyesoo’s eyes light up.
“Within reason,” he quickly corrects. He knows his kid well enough to know that she might actually end up asking for twenty pounds of chocolate or something similar.
Hyesoo squints her eyes and assumes a grumpy expression. “I’m always reasonable!” she insists.
Jeongguk chuckles. “Sure you are. Okay, do you wanna go out now?”
“We can go now?” Her eyes grow big.
“After dinner,” Jeongguk says. “Don’t you want to finish the yummy food I made?”
Hyesoo beams and nods. She plays around with her food, looking like she wants to say something. “Can you help me write a card for Harin too?” she asks after a few minutes.
“Why do you need my help with writing? Doesn’t Yoongi-hyung teach you that?” Jeongguk jokes. He thinks her idea is incredibly sweet, though, even if he makes fun of her for it.
His daughter huffs and stuffs her mouth with a spoonful of rice and soup. Jeongguk groans when he feels her kick his shin under the table.
They do end up going to the grocery store that day to buy goodies. Hyesoo ends up wanting an absurd amount of candy, but Jeongguk obliges. He did say he’d buy her whatever she wanted, after all, and he doesn’t want to go back on promises he made to her. Anyway, it isn’t too bad since they would be giving almost all of it away.
And of course, Jeongguk does end up helping Hyesoo write her card for Harin. As much as he teased her, he thinks it was really considerate of her, and he wants to support that. He’s admittedly proud of himself for raising such a kind-hearted kid. Hyesoo is incredibly pleased with the finished product and beams at the idea of giving it to her friend tomorrow.
Is it a coincidence that Jeongguk runs into Jimin just three days later, the day after White Day? Jeongguk had managed to get Hyesoo out of bed earlier than usual, so they're not in a rush like usual when he walks her to class. They happen to come across Jimin and Harin in the hallway. While Jeongguk inwardly braces for the awkward atmosphere, Hyesoo seems excited as ever to see Harin.
She runs up to her friend and exclaims, “Good morning!” while taking hold of her hand. Hyesoo’s enthusiasm is reflected on the other’s face.
Harin quickly introduces her dad to her friend. Hyesoo gives Jimin a curious look and bows.
“That’s my dad!” Hyesoo replies. She points at Jeongguk and impatiently yells, “Come here, Dad!”
The two girls don’t seem to notice the tension rising as Jeongguk steps towards Jimin.
Be nice, he thinks. He’s Hyesoo’s friend’s dad. Not your rival, like Namjoon-hyung said. Just Hyesoo’s friend’s dad. Hopefully he’s forgotten about last time.
“Hi Jeongguk-ssi,” Jimin calmly says to him.
Hyesoo gasps loudly before Jeongguk even gets the chance to say anything. “You know his name?” she asks dramatically.
“We’ve met before, sweetie. On the first day of school,” Jeongguk softly tells her.
Her jaw drops open. “So you were friends before me and Harin were friends?”
Jeongguk smiles and runs his fingers down her hair. “Not quite,” he finally says.
Hyesoo tilts her head, thinking about what that could mean, but before she gets the chance to voice her thoughts, Jimin quickly says, “By the way, thank you Hyesoo for bringing gifts for Harin yesterday. It was very kind of you."
“You’re welcome!” Hyesoo grins at Harin.
“Are you gonna tell Harin how much you liked her card?” Jeongguk nudges Hyesoo. She had received a handmade card from Harin as well, and wouldn’t stop showing it off to Jeongguk.
“I loved it!” she adds.
“Thanks, I made it with my dad!” Harin says.
“Wow!” Hyesoo exclaims. At the same time, Jeongguk says, “Oh, is that so?”
Jimin looks him directly in the eyes, smiles, and happily nods. “It’s true,” he confirms.
Negative thoughts stew in Jeongguk’s head, but he wills himself to keep quiet, in an attempt to stay positive. He does take note that this is the first smile he’s received from Jimin, though, genuine or not.
Noticing that the conversation had lulled, Hyesoo grabs Harin’s hand and takes a few steps towards their classroom. “Class is starting soon! It was nice meeting you, Harin’s dad!” she shouts before they run off together. “Bye Daddy, see you later! Love you!”
“Bye Dad!” Harin calls out as well.
Jeongguk and Jimin both wave and say their goodbyes to their daughters.
Then, they’re left with just the two of them.
Jeongguk is desperate to fill up the awkward silence. “Coincidence seeing you here,” he blurts out. He wants to smack himself in the face for sounding like a complete idiot.
“No, it’s not really a coincidence at all,” Jimin replies.
Jeongguk thinks of a way, any way, that he can save himself. “Well, it’s been a couple weeks of school and I still haven’t run into you since the first day. So it kinda is,” he mumbles.
Jimin hums and says, “Because I bring Harin to school on time.” It seems to Jeongguk that he’s implying that he and Hyesoo are always late. Which is partly true, but still, he takes offense to it.
“Are you insinuating that I’m a bad parent for not bringing my child twenty minutes early to school everyday?” Jeongguk questions.
“Hmm, no. Not quite. Just that I’m better.”
Jeongguk gapes at him, but quickly closes his mouth before he looks too stupid in front of his enemy. So much for Namjoon saying the competition was one-sided. Jimin obviously has something against him too.
Seeing that he’s left Jeongguk speechless, Jimin smiles once again and saunters off. Jeongguk is left standing there, in disbelief. He wants to call after Jimin, not wanting to lose this battle, but he has no comeback. He grudgingly counts this as a loss in his books, and wills himself to go all out against Jimin in the future.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
It had been a few weeks since Jimin and his friends all got together, and they’ve been spamming their group chat about coming over to visit him and his daughter.
Jimin: Okay, but you can’t stay any later than 10
H oseok: Why not? :(
Jimin: Harin needs to sleep!
Taehyung: It’s the weekend Jimin! Let her have some fun!!
Jimin: I have to sleep too.
Seokjin: Wow, look at Jimin being the only responsible adult out of the four of us.
Taehyung: Who goes to sleep at 10? That’s weird Jiminie.
Hoseok: Stop it, Tae
Hoseok: That’s fine Jimin. We’ll all be gone by then :-)
They decided on this weekend, one of the rare days when all four of them were free. Jimin is currently frenziedly cleaning the whole apartment, and he’s tasked Harin with tidying her own room. He knows his friends would say they don’t care about the state of his home, but at the same time, he doesn’t think they realize just how much messier a place gets with a kid.
He’s just about finishing up in the living room when he hears the doorbell ring. Harin squeals and runs from her room to the front door. She turns on the doorbell camera and playfully says through the speaker, “Who is it?”
“Harin-ah,” Seokjin replies. Jimin knows that while Harin can see him, he can’t see her, but he still plays along. “It’s your uncles! We brought you presents!”
Did they really? Jimin thinks. They spoil her too much.
“Really?” Harin also questions. At least she seems excited. She hurriedly opens the door for the three waiting outside, and is subsequently wrapped up in Taehyung’s arms.
He lifts her up, making a fuss. “Ah, my Harin! You’ve gotten so big. Stop growing or I won’t be able to carry you anymore.”
Harin giggles. “I can’t just stop growing!” Taehyung sticks his tongue out at her and she laughs at his silliness. He steps inside and puts her down, making a show of groaning as if it’s hard work.
Seokjin and Hoseok follow him in, and Jimin gets up to greet them. He sees Seokjin holding a plastic bag. There’s no logo on it, but Jimin guesses it’s from the convenience store. It looks like it’s filled with snacks.
“Here are your gifts, Harin,” Hoseok tells her. He takes the bag from Seokjin’s hands and gives it to her. Jimin’s unsure if this could even be considered a present, but he’s just glad that it didn’t end up being something expensive.
He peers in the bag as Harin goes through it and is immediately stunned by the amount of goodies inside. “Hyung, no way! That’s way too much for her to eat alone!” he protests.
“I’ll share with all of you!” Harin immediately offers. Jimin sighs and warily nods in agreement, defeated when seeing how elated she is.
“Yah, our Harin is such a good kid.” Seokjin claps proudly.
They eventually settle down in the living room, deciding on what to do first. Harin suggests that they play games, so they break out Super Mario Party. Seokjin immediately snatches up Mario as his character. Harin spends a while deciding between Daisy or Peach, a difficult decision but she eventually settles on Daisy. The adults go easy, purposely allowing her to win a few rounds. But they know she’s smart enough to realize if they’re completely throwing the game, so they actually do try to win most rounds.
After playing several games, of which Harin wins two, the four adults need a break. Jimin orders delivery from a restaurant a few blocks over that Harin likes. While they wait for the food to arrive, Hoseok and Seokjin encourage Harin to break into her new load of snacks and goodies. Jimin frowns at the idea of eating snacks before having a proper meal, but lets them do it anyway. After all, he doesn’t want to be a party pooper for the four children around him.
The sound of the doorbell signals that the food has arrived. It’s still warm, and the savory scent flows throughout the apartment. The dishes are promptly brought to the kitchen table, split up, and gobbled down. Jimin doesn’t often see Harin eat this much, but he assumes that the presence of her uncles egged her on. After dinner, they round out the evening by watching the most recent Minions movie.
Harin must be tired out from today’s activities, seeing as she dozes off despite it only being seven in the evening. Jimin carries her to her bed so that she can rest somewhere more comfortable. He tucks her in like usual and drops a light kiss on her forehead. After, he heads back to the living room where his friends are still gathered, sprawled across his couches and the floor.
“Any updates about that Jeongguk guy?” Taehyung brings up.
Seokjin huffs and says, “I thought we agreed to not talk about him.”
Taehyung glares at the older man. “Well, I want to make sure my best friend isn’t being bullied by some self-righteous idiot.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry, Tae, I can stand up for myself. Actually, I did stand up for myself. Harin and his daughter actually became friends, and we ran into each other the other day, so I had no choice but to talk to him.” He recaps to his friends the encounter he had with Jeongguk last week.
“...And I told him that I’m a better dad than him and left before he could reply.”
“Wow,” Taehyung says. He genuinely seems shocked. “That’s pretty serious, Jiminie.”
On the other hand, Seokjin beams and reaches out to high five Jimin. “Nice Jiminie, that’s how you do it.”
Hoseok doesn’t seem to agree. “Is it such a good idea to make an enemy out of the dad of your daughter’s friend? What if he brings it up to their teacher?”
“Relax, it’s not like we’re fighting because we really hate each other. Or maybe he does hate me, but I don’t actually hate him! I’m just returning the energy. And I don’t think he’ll tell Harin’s teacher. He’s not like that,” Jimin quickly clarifies. He doesn’t elaborate on what he means about Jeongguk not being ‘like that’ because he suddenly realizes that he’s been talking way too much about the guy.
“Okay. Just be careful, Minnie,” Hoseok says warily. “The way you talk about him… I’ve never seen you talk about anyone else like that before.” Taheyung nods in agreement.
“In a good way or a bad way?” Jimin jokes. Still, he drops the topic, after assuring Hoseok that he wouldn’t go too far. Also, he knows Taehyung is extremely perceptive, and Jimin’s not sure if his tiny crush on Jeongguk is obvious or not.
After his friends leave, Jimin is left alone to get lost in his thoughts. They mostly revolve around Jeongguk these days. He wonders what Hoseok meant, when he said that the way he talks about Jeongguk is different. It must have to do with the fact that Jeongguk is always on his mind. That’s bound to drive a person crazy. Quietly to himself, Jimin reiterates his question.
In a good way or a bad way?