Chapter Text
“So you’re telling me you… inherited a baby?” Wooyoung said as he stared at the little bundle in Yeosang’s arms.
The bundle in question was Yeosang’s first cousin once removed, Kang Haneul, a sweet little baby boy of only 5 months. He was currently blessedly asleep, still wrapped in the blanket that Yeosang had put him in earlier.
“I did not ‘inherit’ him…” Yeosang said, rolling his eyes. “He just had nowhere to go…”
Haneul was the son of Yeosang’s distant cousin, Nami, who had suddenly passed away along with her husband just a few days ago in a car accident. Baby Haneul had been taken to many different places, between the hospital, the police station and the child protection services. The latter had tried to trace his entire family for someone to take care of him, the alternative being the orphanage. No one had accepted to take him in, Yeosang was his last hope…
So, being a 26 years old with his own place and a stable job… He had said yes. Plus, caring for Haneul made him get access to some of the money Nami had saved away for him, so it wouldn’t affect his finances that much, for now at least. Maybe it was the biggest mistake of his life, but he’d rather give all the happiness he could to Haneul than gamble his life away in the adoption system.
“So you’re a dad now? A DILF?” Wooyoung teased.
“I’m not his dad, I’m his… wait what am I?”
“Let’s just say you’re his uncle for now. I know you’re not used to babies, but I am. I basically raised Kyungmin. So, you can count on me.” Wooyoung said with a smile before making grabby hands towards the sleeping baby.
Yeosang handed him Haneul before leaning back in his seat with a sigh. He’d have to reorganize his whole life… But it actually sounded exciting? Caring for a little human, and seeing him grow up… He could get used to it. He just had to live up to the challenge.
***
The first thing Wooyoung helped him do was buy baby stuff for Haneul, like some clothes, toys, and baby formula. The social worker who handled his case had been very supportive and kind, glad to see that Haneul still had one person who cared enough to take him in. So, she had helped him claim ownership of baby stuff that was left at Nami's house, along with memorabilia of his parents for Haneul to look at later.
This way, Yeosang didn’t have to buy a new crib, changing table, or stroller. It kind of saddened him that all the stuff his cousin had been carefully gathering wouldn’t be used by her and her husband much in the end, but at least Haneul would be enjoying them. Yeosang’s apartment didn’t have a second bedroom, so for now he put Haneul’s bed near his double one. He’d move out once he had saved enough and the baby needed more space.
“When are you starting work again?” Wooyoung asked as they finished setting up the baby’s stuff.
“Next Monday. The paternal leave for an adopted kid is ridiculously short.”
“What are you gonna do with him? We work the same hours, I can’t exactly watch him.” Wooyoung reminded him.
Shit. Yeosang had somehow completely forgotten about that.
“Do you think Seonghwa-hyung will mind if I bring him?” They both worked at a locally owned gym and fitness center, Wooyoung as a pilates and yoga teacher and Yeosang as a personal trainer. Park Seonghwa was both the owner and the manager. While he could be strict on some aspects of the work, he was a generally chill guy.
“Will he mind? Yes. Will he let you? Also yes. Especially in your situation. He’s strict, but he has a heart.”
“Okay… I’ll call him real quick.”
Yeosang took his phone out of his back pocket and clicked on his boss’ number, calling him immediately.
“Hello and welcome to Sweat Drop, I’m Seonghwa, how can I help you?” Seonghwa answered in his customer service voice
“Hyung… You don’t have my number saved?” Yeosang asked, pretending to be offended.
“Yeosang-ah? Shit sorry, things have been so hectic I picked up without looking. What’s up? How’s the child?”
“Haneul is doing great, sleeps a lot, eats a lot, poops a lot. I’m calling you about next Monday…”
“Please I beg you don’t ask for an extension, we're already on a thin thread.” Seonghwa said, desperation clear in his voice.
“I can come, but I don’t have anyone to watch Haneul. Can I bring him? He’ll stay on me or in his stroller…”
Seonghwa sighed over the phone, clearly hesitating.
“Okay. Bring him. But this has to be temporary, okay? You need to find someone to watch him, like a daycare or something.”
“Yeah! Thank you, hyung. I’ll start calling all the daycares now.”
“Great… I can’t believe you’re a dad… You have so little survival instinct and now you have another human being under your care?”
“Gee, thanks.” Yeosang huffed.
“I’m just saying I’m impressed, you’re very brave. Oh shit, the spin class is starting, I gotta go. Bye Sangie!”
Yeosang put his phone away with a sigh. Was he really so… unreliable? Sure he sometimes burned his food, or followed strangers who promised he could pet their cat, but he was a responsible adult who paid his bills (almost) always on time and could keep a home. Wooyoung, his best friend, helped for a lot of things, but Yeosang didn’t think he was that lost.
He went to find his friend who was currently singing a song to a wide awake Haneul. Damn it, Wooyoung was probably a better guardian for Haneul than him.
“Do I rely on you too much?” he blurted out, making the other pause. Yeosang wanted to laugh when he saw Haneul squint his way, probably upset someone had interrupted Wooyoung's solo concert.
“No? I mean, I don’t mind.” Wooyoung shrugged.
“Yeah, but should I be more self reliant? Like… you even take care of Haneul more than me… and better.”
Wooyoung stood up, baby in arms, and handed him over to Yeosang.
“Then learn. I’ll teach you everything, and you’ll be the best uncle Haneul could have ever gotten.”
And Yeosang did learn. Over the next few days, Wooyoung taught him to hold him properly, what his needs were, to deal with diaper rashes… And all these other baby knowledge things Yeosang didn’t know about. By Friday, he felt ready enough.
“I’ll take care of him by myself this weekend.” Yeosang said with confidence he didn’t know he had.
“Okay. If you need me, I’m only a phone call away.” Wooyoung said before squeezing his shoulder in encouragement.
Yeosang nodded and Wooyoung was gone. For the first time since he took him in, he was going to be fully alone with Haneul. The baby was currently wide awake and staring at him with slightly squinted eyes.
Yeosang sat on the couch with Haneul in his arms and briefly wondered what one was supposed to do when a baby this small was awake, didn’t need a diaper change and wasn’t hungry. So, for a while, they just stared at each other. Haneul was really cute, Yeosang thought. He had a button nose, round eyes, little pouty lips and a head full of black hair. At barely five months, he was less newborn and more baby. Yeosang smiled instinctively, maybe he had maternal instincts in the end. To his surprise, Haneul mirrored his smile. Oh. Yeosang felt something bloom in his chest, and he hugged the little baby close to his chest, rubbing his back comfortingly.
“I’m not going anywhere…” He muttered as a promise to Haneul.
The baby gurgled back some agreement of a noise before using his little arms to push himself out of Yeosang’s hold. They were face to face again, and Haneul held out his chubby hand towards Yeosang’s face. He patted Yeosang’s cheek awkwardly before putting said hand in his mouth, a big smile on his face. Great. They had adopted each other, it seemed.
The weekend was more or less peaceful. Since Haneul had started trusting Yeosang, he was also crying way more than before. He cried for his bottle, when he was tired, when he was bored, when he had to take a bath, when Yeosang was in the bathroom to pee…Luckily, Haneul only woke up once at night to feed.
In a way, Yeosang was relieved when Monday came. He got them ready as best as he could and walked to work with his stroller. Haneul was babbling nonsense and grabbing his feet when they passed the door.
“Haneulie, we’re here!” Yeosang told the baby.
Seonghwa, who was at the main desk working on some paperwork, perked up when they came in.
“Oh god, the baby.” The elder exclaimed.
“Indeed, Hwa hyung, meet Haneul.” Yeosang said with a huff which the baby completed with his own noises.
Seonghwa got up from his seat and walked to them, crouching to greet the baby.
“Hi little fellow. I’m your uncle Hwa.” He greeted.
Haneul only babbled back.
“Oh, you got some spit, here let me…” Seonghwa said, using a tissue to wipe the drool off of Haneul’s face.
“Thanks, hyung. I brought his baby carrier. I was thinking when I teach my class, I’ll leave him in his stroller, and when I’m doing my rounds I’ll have him on me.”
“You do whatever you can, just make sure he’s safe okay? I don’t want gym equipment falling on him.” Seonghwa worried.
“Of course.” Yeosang would never let that happen.
He had tried to contact a lot of daycares over the weekend, but none had any vacancies. He was starting to run out of options for the little boy.
Luckily, the people at the gym were very nice about the whole baby thing, some even coming over to coo over him. It helped Haneul was a very chill baby. He did cry a few times when noises scared him or when his diaper was full, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Around the middle of the afternoon, Yeosang was starting to tire though, and Haneul too. He had taken a nap earlier, but he most likely needed to go home and play in a calm environment. Shit, Yeosang was stuck.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of one of the gym’s regulars. He didn’t know the guy’s name, but he often came to his classes and Yeosang had sometimes found him… staring at him? For a while, he had wondered if the guy needed advice, but from how buff he was, Yeosang doubted it.
The man looked about his age and had very impressive muscles even to Yeosang’s standards. His arms and chest were the most defined, though Yeosang didn’t doubt he had a nice six pack under his shirt. He had feline features, with a defined jaw and cheekbones, paired with sharp eyes and full lips. Yeosang had always thought he was handsome despite being a tad intimidating. He had never seen him smile, which probably added to his mysterious aura.
When Yeosang looked his way, Haneul in arms, said man was once more staring at him, eyes wide like saucers.
“You okay there?” Wooyoung asked from behind him, startling Yeosang slightly.
“Perfect.” He blurted.
“Oh, he must be relieved to see you.” Wooyoung said, discreetly nodding in the guy’s direction.
“What do you mean?” Yeosang asked, eyebrows furrowed.
“This guy, I swear last week he looked so sad you weren’t here.” Wooyoung whispering while stifling a snicker.
“You have to stop making shit up.” Yeosang huffed.
“I swear! He’s so expressionless and yet I thought he was gonna cry.”
“Why would he cry…”
“I think he has a crush on you honestly. Maybe he thought you quit.” Wooyoung shrugged.
Well, if the guy truly had a crush on him, he must be relieved to see Yeosang was back with a goddamn baby in his arms. Yeosang would probably ease his worries further by teaching his usual classes.
“I have a crossfit class after this…” Yeosang winced. He hadn't thought that he music might be too loud during his classes for Haneul to be there.
“I’ll take him to pilates. It’s more peaceful.” Wooyoung shrugged before taking Haneul in his arms. “We’re going to pilates class, little man! Are you happy?” he said in a baby voice. Haneul babbled something in return, little hands trying to grab Wooyoung’s nose which earned a laugh from the young man.
“See you later Yeosangie!” Wooyoung sing-sang as he took the baby away along with his stroller.
Yeosang heaved out a sigh. He had to find a solution, but for now he had a class to give.
As expected, the mysterious man attended his class. Crossfit was the perfect mix of cardio and muscular training, and Yeosang’s favorite kind of class to give. For a while, he worked out as much as he could and tried to forget about his predicament.
By the end of it, he felt miles better and was properly out of breath. He high-fived his joiners before taking a big swig of water. He almost choked on his drink when he noticed the muscular man from earlier approaching him. He was wearing a wide black tank top and some grey joggers that left little to the imagination.
“Hey… uh I just wanted to ask something.” The man asked. He had a pretty soothing voice, Yeosang thought. Not at all rough. And Yeosang’s surprised he sounded kind of shy as he talked to him.
“Sure, what’s up?” Yeosang responded, trying to sound nonchalant.
“I noticed you had a baby with you and uhhh, maybe you’re looking for a daycare?”
“Oh!” Yeosang perked up, “Yeah, I am, I have no one to watch him while I’m at work.”
“My sister works at a daycare. They’re quite busy, but if I put in a good word, I think she’d be happy to welcome… What’s his name?”
“Haneul, his name is Haneul.”
“For real?” the man spluttered, “My sister is also called Haneul.”
“Oh really? That’s quite funny…” Yeosang chuckled.
“I’m San, by the way. Choi San.” The man introduced himself.
“Kang Yeosang, but you must already know…”
“Yeah,” the man laughed awkwardly.
“So your parents called you mountain and sky? It’s kind of cute.” Yeosang noted.
“I think so too. Anyway, I don’t know what time your work ends, but I could take you there?”
“I should be done soon, but I do need to finish up here. Otherwise, don’t worry about it, I’m sure I can figure it out…”
“I’d be happy to. Plus, it’d give me the opportunity to see my sister.” San shrugged.
“Then, thank you San-ssi.” he bowed slightly.
“Please, no need to be so polite.” San chuckled, revealing the most adorable dimples on his cheeks.
Oh. He was kind of cute. No, not the time. Yeosang had way too much on his plate to worry about men.
“I need to clean up the class and go find Haneul now, see you later? I recommend you take some time to stretch and cool down after the class.”
“I will, thank you!” San smiled again before he jogged away. This guy had just done a one hour crossfit class and still had enough energy to run? Yeosang was slightly impressed.
After he was done tidying up the class, he headed for Wooyoung’s studio a few rooms away. What he found surprised him to say the least.
“Alright everyone. Raise your legs up like Hannie!” Wooyoung instructed as he mimicked the pose Haneul was doing from his stroller.
The baby was sitting down with both legs up effortlessly against his chest. Wooyoung’s students were having a hard time to replicate the baby’s position, but all looked endeared as they looked at him. Haneul himself looked unbothered as he chewed on his favorite soft toy. Yeosang watched with a fond smile as he dropped his toy to the floor and brought his foot to his mouth instead.
“Okay Haneul, you like a challenge but that might be too difficult for our old bones…” Wooyoung laughed. “We’ll stretch and call it a day.” he announced, earning sighs of relief from the participants.
Once they were fully done, Yeosang came to pick up Haneul who welcomed him with a cute smile.
“Hi darling. Was it fun with uncle Woo?”
Haneul cooed in agreement and both adults laughed.
“How was crossfit?” Wooyoung inquired as he rolled his yoga mat.
“Fun. The guy you talked to me about, his name is San, told me he might have a solution for Haneul.” Yeosang retold.
“Ooooh he saw the opportunity to help his crush and thought it was his moment.” Wooyoung teased.
“C’mon, he’s just being nice.” Yeosang whined, not wanting Wooyoung’s wild imagination to get to him.
“Just saying… So, what’s the solution?”
“His sister works as at a daycare, he’s taking me there after work.”
“See, I told you. A normal person would just have given you her number or the address. He’s walking you there…” Wooyoung said with a shrug.
“Fine, I get it. He’s really kind. Now excuse me, I have to finish for today so we can go. Haneulie? You okay?”
The baby only gurgled. Yeosang took him out of the stroller to smell his diaper, but it didn’t seem to be dirty. His next bottle wasn’t for another hour, it seemed everything was okay.
Yeosang tried to put him back in the stroller, but Haneul whined, not wanting to. Before his whines turned into real tears, Yeosang conceded and asked Wooyoung for help with the baby carrier. With Haneul comfortably strapped to his chest, Yeosang was finally ready to head out.
As expected, San was waiting for him in the hall, wearing just a hoodie above his clothes and his gym bag on his back.
“Yeosang! You need help?” San asked, looking at the stroller, the baby, and Yeosang’s own bag.
“Oh, sure, if you don’t mind. Maybe you could simply push the stroller.” he suggested.
San easily agreed, and they stepped out into the street, looking every bit like a couple and their son. Yeosang felt a bit embarrassed at the realization, but San didn’t seem to mind.
“I don’t mean to be rude but is Haneul your son?” San asked after a while.
“Oh, no. He’s my cousin’s baby. She… died. And no one wanted to take care of him.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s very brave of you to accept.”
“I didn’t want him to go through what I did… or worse.”
Yeosang could tell San was curious but didn’t dare ask him about it, so he sighed before he kept going.
“I won’t go into details, but I went into foster care as a kid. It’s not a fun place. Sure, Haneul could have gotten adopted, but I don’t know what his new parents would have been like. I didn’t want to risk his life like that.”
San hummed “He’s very lucky to have you, and I’m sorry for what you went through.”
“It got better once my grandparents could take me in, but let’s say I had a few tough years before then.”
From ages six to nine, Yeosang had gone through 4 different foster homes, including some foster families. While some of them weren’t that bad, one in particular had left him slightly traumatized.
“But enough about me.” Yeosang said as he wasn’t feeling like going down memory lane. “What do you do for work, San?”
“Oh, I’m a firefighter.”
“Really? That’s amazing! I don’t meet a lot of those…”
“It’s nice because it allows me to justify working out as much as I do, and because the times of my shifts vary a lot. Today, for instance, I’m off because I worked all day yesterday.”
“That’s so interesting. But it must be scary and tiring .”
“It can be, but I only ever got small injuries so far. I’ve been lucky.”
San being a firefighter explained a lot actually. It made sense that he was so fit and muscular as he probably had to go through intense training sessions and be able to carry people during rescue operations. It was also pretty logical that his shifts wouldn’t be very regular considering the intensity of his work. Yeosang wondered what he looked like in the middle of an intervention...
“We’re here.” San announced, putting an end to Yeosang’s day dream.
The daycare looked cute, with decal stickers on the windows and the outside walls painted a soft beige. It was still the middle of the afternoon, so Yeosang could hear children laughing from the playground.
“Give me a minute, I’ll call Haneul.” San said, whipping his phone out.
San quickly called her, and just a minute later, a woman emerged from the daycare. Haneul was a short lady with long black hair and the same smile as San. She wore an apron with a big lady bug patch in the middle and overall very cute clothes, the typical portrait of a daycare worker.
“Sannie-oppa! I got your text. Is this baby Haneul that I see?” she asked.
Haneul was currently napping against Yeosang’s chest, so he turned sideways to let her see him. She cooed before meeting Yeosang’s eyes.
“And you must be Yeosang-ssi. Nice to meet you, I’m Choi Haneul, San’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you, thank you for accepting to see me.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re a small daycare, so we don’t often show up in the Google search results, but we always leave a spot for kids in emergency situations like Haneul.” she explained.
“That’s very kind of you.” Yeosang bowed slightly;
“Of course! Now, follow me if you will. I’ll show you the inside.”
San and he both followed her inside. The daycare seemed quite soothing, walls painted in pastel colors and cute decorations everywhere.
Haneul showed him the place where kids napped, ate, played… The place was fully equipped, and the few workers he met were all kind.
“So, when could Haneul start?” he asked once they were done with the tour
“We just need a few days to process his enrollment, so let’s say Thursday? It should be good by then.” Haneul said with a big smile.
“Great, thank you so much. You’re a life saver.” he said, bowing to her once more.
“You’re welcome! See you soon, Haneulie!” she said as she waved to the still asleep baby.
San and he both exited the building and Yeosang finally felt like he could breath.
“San, I don’t even know how to thank you. You’re a life saver.” Yeosang said, meeting San’s eyes with the hope to convey his full sincerity.
“Don’t mention it… I just wanted to help.”
“And you really did…”
For a minute, Yeosang considered offering him free classes, or a free month of membership… Something to convey his thanks. But then, he felt just a little… greedy.
“Could I treat you to dinner? To thank you?”
If San really liked him like Wooyoung pretended… Maybe he’d say yes. Yeosang didn’t know him very well for now, but San was kind and handsome, maybe he could let himself hope. He felt slightly pleased to notice San’s blush at the suggestion.
“Oh uh- Yes, I’d love that. But you don’t have to, I mean.” San spluttered. He wasn’t so intimidating after all.
“You really helped me a lot, it’s the least I can do. What day works for you?”
“I don’t work nights on Fridays…”
“Great then, Friday it is.” Yeosang made a mental note to plan to make something that wouldn’t easily burn or taste bad. He wasn’t exactly a great cook. “Could I get your number? To send you the details.”
“Of course,” San said, taking out his phone. “Here, type yours in.”
Yeosang did, and his phone soon vibrated with a new text from Choi San. Perfect.
“Should I walk you home? You have so much stuff.” San said, nodding towards the stroller and the bag.
Yeosang didn’t feel like profiting off San more than that, so he politely declined.
“You’ve already been so kind, I’ll handle it. Thank you again.”
Then, they split ways, San heading for the subway while Yeosang was only a short walk away. As he walked back home, Yeosang couldn’t help thinking about San. In his defense, his last relationship had gone terribly, and dated back to two years prior. He was at that point of his life when he wanted a stable, long term partner who wanted the same as him. He was done playing around and dating bad boys for fun, he wanted commitment. And yet, now that he was basically a single parent, he had subconsciously given up. His profile didn’t seem so attractive from an outsider’s point of view. Sure, Yeosang was quite handsome, he had a job and a home, and he was a good person, but he also had a five months old baby under his care that he was raising solo. That kind of commitment… he wasn’t sure many guys would agree to it.
Becoming someone’s boyfriend was something, but someone’s dad… Even if San liked him and he (potentially) liked him back, he would never ask that of him. Now, Yeosang didn’t think Haneul was ‘ruining’ his life or any of that bullshit, but his presence was definitely changing things. It was putting an end to his wild era, his life of irresponsible decisions. But Haneul brought him and would bring him so much more than Yeosang couldn’t bring himself to care.
***
Over the next few days, Yeosang felt like he had the whole baby thing under control. He only had to call Wooyoung once when he worried about the temperature of Haneul’s bath being too warm. Otherwise… It was pretty peaceful. He had taken two days off to avoid bringing the baby to work again. Seonghwa, despite being short staffed, had agreed and was actually glad that he did.
“I can’t imagine the amount of trouble we would be in if your baby got injured or something.” he had said over the phone.
His baby. Haneul was his baby. Yeosang struggled to realize he had a baby now, a whole ass human being under his care. One that breathed, ate, slept, cried, laughed… And would grow into a person. Yeosang would get to watch him grow. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but the thought brought tears to his eyes one evening.
He also found the time to prepare for San and his dinner date. Luckily, Haneul was a chill baby who slept early enough that he didn’t need to ask Wooyoung to watch him while they ate. The only issue was that Yeosang sucked at cooking. So much so that he often only had protein shakes, or simple stuff like rice and chicken breasts. Making a meal seemed out of his reach.
So, he did like what any man does in this situation and planned on ordering pizzas. He felt a bit bad, so he prepared small appetizers to counterbalance it.
He tried following a recipe for simple kimchi jeon and showed Haneul the result. Even the baby, despite not even having good vision yet at that age, didn’t seem convinced.
“I made these, looks good, right?”
“Guuurg”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Tomorrow would be the little one’s first day of daycare and Yeosang couldn’t help but feel very nervous about it. What if it didn’t go well and Haneul cried the whole time? What if Haneul missed him? What if… He really felt like a mother hen, but he kept spiraling.
Still, the next day, he had Haneul ready super early, dressed in a very cute onesie he had found in the stuff Nami bought for her kid. He felt a little sad to be the one to see him dressed in the cute outfit, but at least Haneul was wearing his own clothes. Soon, he would grow out of the pieces his mom had gotten with him in mind, and that thought saddened Yeosang to no end.
He tried to gather himself as he pushed his stroller. He had noticed over the last week that seeing a young man push around a baby earned some looks from passerbys. It probably didn’t help that Yeosang usually wore gym clothes, had bleached hair and was obviously buff. People must be wondering why the hell a gym bro was taking care of a baby.
And yet, Yeosang walked with confidence. Yes, he looked liked gay as hell, what about it? He was, and that baby was his. Haneul was just babbling to himself and chewing on a poor elephant stuffie his mom had bought for him, unaware of all the glances people were throwing at them. Yeosang decided to take inspiration from his nonchalant vibes and also not give a fuck.
He reached the daycare and dropped Haneul off, not without his chest feeling tight. The other Haneul promised him that they’d call or text him if anything happened, which immediately allowed him to breathe easier. He kissed Haneul’s forehead, a gesture he wasn’t yet used to doing, and left.
Since Yeosang only had two classes to teach today, he’d be back to pick up his kid by early afternoon. One was crossfit, and the other body combat. He hoped to see San for at least one of these as he seemed to like this kind of work out.
He jogged to the gym since he left the stroller at the daycare, and got into his routine. He didn’t see San for the first class but he did show up for the second. They exchanged a smile before Yeosang had to start teaching. This one was intense, even he was left sweating and panting by the end of it.
Once it was over and all the other people had left the room, Yeosang found that San was waiting for him.
“Hey! Nice work.” He praised.
“Thank you, you did well too.” Yeosang chuckled. “Oh before I forget, is there anything you don’t eat?”
“Nope, I’m a pretty simple guy. I can’t drink alcohol though.”
“Oh,” Yeosang said in surprise. “Is that a firefighter thing? Or because it’s bad for health?”
“No… it’s because I can’t handle it at all.” San chuckled nervously, probably afraid he was making a fool of himself.
“Ah! It’s totally fine, I also suck at drinking. I don’t wanna be tipsy with Haneul around anyway.” he tried to reassure him. In Yeosang’s opinion, there was nothing shameful about refusing to drink for any reason. It was toxic after all.
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow? Sorry, I can’t stay, I have to pick up Haneul.”
“Sure! I wish I could walk you, but I gotta go to the fire station to start my shift.”
“That’s fine, I’ll see you tomorrow!” he said, waving as San before he jogged away, missing how the latter’s eyes softened as he watched him leave.
Yeosang said bye to his boss and colleagues and ran to the daycare. He didn’t feel like making his baby wait any longer. The older Haneul hadn’t called or texted him at all during the day, so he was pretty sure everything was fine, but he couldn’t help but worry.
He made it in record time, panting a bit when he reached the door. He guessed he was the only person picking up a kid this early, because no one else was waiting at the gate.
After he rang the doorbell, a lady he didn’t know opened the door.
“Yes?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him.
“I’m here for Kang Haneul. My name’s Kang Yeosang” he explained with a smile, hoping to sympathize with her.
“Wait here.” She said sternly.
Yeosang felt a bit anxious. Had he done something wrong. Soon after, he could hear footsteps getting closer.
“-irresponsible guy, raising a kid by himself… young people these days…” he could hear the old lady mutter.
Oh. She was talking about him.
She opened the door and handed him Haneul and his stroller.
“Here. He ate well and was changed twice. Nothing major happened.” she explained with a bored tone.
“Thank you,” he said, taking Haneul and greeting him with kisses on his chubby cheeks. “Hey, Haneulie! Was it fun at the daycare? Did you miss me?” he said in a high pitched tone. The baby looked quite happy, and he smiled at Yeosang while reaching out to touch his face.
“See you tomorrow.” the woman said.
Just as she was about to close the door, Yeosang interrupted her. “And I’ll have you know, I’m not irresponsible. Haneul’s parents died. I’m the only one who would take care of him, and I’m doing my best right now. If that’s irresponsible to you, then I don’t know what to tell you.” he said, staring her down.
She looked properly chastised, and Yeosang left before she could say anything. He didn’t want to hear any half hearted apologies.
He put Haneul in his seat and started the walk home. He still had enough formula and diapers to last him a week, there was no need to stop by the store so he went straight back to his flat.
Yeosang was still a bit irked by the lady’s reaction to seeing him pick up his baby. Sure, he was young and didn’t look very serious, but he was taking care of Haneul as best as he could. The latter was healthy and happy, wasn’t it enough? Apparently it mattered more that he had his ears pierced and bleached hair.
He tried to distract himself by talking to Haneul.
“Haneulie, tomorrow we’re doing the same thing, how does that sound? Were the ladies nice at the daycare? Did you make friends?”
Haneul babbled a high pitched sound that sounded like a happy one to Yeosang, so he chuckled in response.
“Good, I’m happy for you darling.”
Once back home, he played with him for a bit, and bathed him. He cried the first few times he had to give him a bath, but after Yeosang introduced bath toys and learned to hold him properly, Haneul actually loved it. Yeosang thought it was probably relaxing in a way.
He dressed him in a cute bear onesie that served as pajamas and had to stop himself from cooing. He set Haneul in the baby lounger he had bought with Wooyoung and snapped about a hundred pictures. He sent some to the latter who immediately gushed about how cute he was, and debated sending San some as well. He didn’t know him well, and had only sent him his address for their Friday dinner so far…
Screw it. Haneul was too cute not to share, so he sent San the damn baby picture.
“*image attached* Haneul wishes you a good shift!”
San was probably busy, so he didn’t read the text immediately. Yeosang put his phone down and focused on preparing Haneul’s bottle as it was almost time for bed for him. After he fed him, the little boy was basically falling asleep in his arms so he rocked him for a bit before zipping up his wearable blanket and setting him in his crib.
The baby was asleep in seconds. Yeosang heaved out a breath and escaped to prepare his own meal. As he ate, he watched a show about babies and their needs. He had so much to learn so these days he tried to fill all his free time with baby lessons.
He was so immersed he almost startled when his phone vibrated in his pocket. San had answered him.
“Thank you much Haneulie! And thank you Yeosang for sending me such a cute picture :)”
Yeosang bit his lip to stop himself from smiling like a fool.
“You’re welcome! I hope your work is going well”
“It is, but we’re getting quite a lot of calls.”
“Ah :( good luck”
“<3”
A heart? What the hell did that mean? Yeosang almost felt like asking him directly but refrained, maybe it was actually no big deal to send hearts to people like that and he was just out of touch with the trends.
He put his phone down and went to shower before heading to bed. He felt so stupid for developing a crush so easily just because of Wooyoung’s silly comments. Maybe San just took pity on him after seeing him with his baby. Or maybe he just wanted to be friends. Sure, Yeosang’s gaydar activated when he looked at him, but that didn’t mean he was into him specifically.
As he lied under his covers, he leaned to look at Haneul. The baby was sleeping peacefully, his little chest rising up and down at a steady rhythm. As he admired him, Yeosang couldn’t help but think that this little boy deserved two parents.
***
The next day went by in a blur. Like yesterday, he dropped off Haneul at daycare and taught his two classes, except this time San was nowhere to be seen. Seonghwa had been very kind and allowed him to adapt his work hours to his needs. Jongho, another coach at the gym, could teach the same classes as him, so he did so whenever Yeosang couldn’t. In exchange, Yeosang agreed to take on more personal coaching shifts during his working hours. It wasn’t what he liked the most, but it worked out.
As soon as he was done with his classes, he ran back to the daycare to pick up his son– his baby. Only this time, when he rang the doorbell, it was the older Haneul who opened the door.
“Hello, Yeosang-ssi. Here for baby Haneulie I presume?”
“Yeah! I hope everything went well?” he asked, slightly out of breath.
“Yes, Haneul is a sweetheart. He ate well, slept just enough and laughed a bunch today. There is just one thing I wanted to talk to you about…”
“Go ahead.” Yeosang said, feeling a weird anxious feeling climb up in his stomach.
“My colleague, Areum-ssi, told me of an incident that happened yesterday and would like to apologize for it.”
Oh. He hadn’t expected that.
“Uh, sure. Okay.” he said, stuttering.
“Great! I’ll go fetch baby Haneul and her then!”
Yeosang waited anxiously, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Did she really feel sorry, or was she told to apologize?
Just a few minutes later, Haneul was handed to him by the bigger Haneul. Yeosang peppered his face with kisses, earning a few giggles from the baby.
“Hi darling… I missed you today…” he muttered as he nuzzled Haneul, breathing in his soft, baby scent.
Haneul gargled and put his hand in his own mouth.
“Don’t chew on your hand, here.” Yeosang said as he procured his pacifier from the nursery bag he had attached to his stroller.
He strapped Haru in his seat before turning to the two women who were glancing at them with a fond smile.
“Yeosang-ssi,” the older lady from yesterday started, “I wanted to apologize. I was not aware of Haneul’s backstory, or of your own, and made a cruel judgement based on what I saw and only that. Even if you had been Haneul’s father, it wasn’t fair of me to insult you like that. I can tell you’re a good father to him, I’m sorry for what I said.” she said, before bowing deeply.
“Thank you… But I’m not Haneul’s father…” Yeosang muttered.
“You don’t think you are, but… from the outside it looks like you are.” The older Haneul commented.
“Really? I don’t look like an overgrown teen who stole a baby?” he asked, eyes wide open from how surprised he was.
“No, you look at that baby with love, and you take care of him perfectly well. He’s becoming your son, Yeosang-ssi.”
“Really…” Yeosang feels strangely relieved at hearing that. He didn’t dare consider himself anything else than Haneul’s awkward uncle, but it was true that his feelings for the little boy grew everyday that passed.
“I… Thank you. I need to process, I think. Up until two weeks ago, I was just a normal twenty six years old who never thought of becoming a parent.”
Yeosang didn’t add that, since he was a raging homosexual, he never considered getting anyone pregnant either.
“And that’s fine. Parenthood is not always something you choose. I don’t doubt you’ll raise him well, though.” Areum said with a small smile on her face.
“Thank you Areum-ssi. I accept your apology. I’m very sorry, I have to go now. But thank you for taking care of Haneul today as well.”
“See you next week!” the big Haneul said with a wave of her hand.
Crap. Yeosang had kind of failed to consider that daycares closed on Saturdays while gyms didn’t. He didn’t have time to panic now, so he simply hurried home.
He had told San to come by at 6.30pm and ordered the pizza for 7pm. Since it was only 4pm, he had plenty of time to take care of Haneul and get himself ready.
He started by spending a bit of quality time with the baby. For now, there wasn’t much he could do at only 5 months of age. But, Yeosang had obtained a play mat from the case worker, one that had different textures and toys attached to it. Haneul seemed to love spending tummy time on it. Yeosang was pretty sure that if he could crawl, Haneul would be unstoppable. He felt strangely relieved he was still too small to do so as he would be totally unprepared for that.
While Haneul played, Yeosang played baby songs on his JBL speaker that he usually brought to house parties. It was a nice change from the EDM music that he usually played on it. He sang to it while showing Haneul how to clap to the rhythm. The baby simply looked at him with wide eyes like he was performing a magic trick, but Yeosang kept going hoping to earn a giggle or two. It ended up working, Haneul collapsing on his side in laughter. To Yeosang’s utter surprise, the baby ended up rolling over fully. The baby shows he watched had told him that babies that young usually couldn’t roll over. Was Haneul a genius? He clapped to congratulate him, only to laugh out loud when Haneul awkwardly copied him.
After their little play session, Yeosang dressed him in a cute striped pajama and used baby wipes to clean the grime of the day. Then, he placed him in his lounger. Yeosang was kind of at a loss, because he usually waited for Haneul to be asleep to shower, but he didn’t exactly want to meet San while he was all sweaty. But, one of the first baby rules Wooyoung had taught him was to never ever leave Haneul alone. So… How could he shower? Only his friend could tell him.
Yeosang : Wooyo, I need to shower but Haneul is awake and in his lounger, what do i do?
Wooyo : Idiot. Bring the lounger to the bathroom.
Yeosang : But he’ll see me naked
Wooyoung : do you think he gives a fuck? His vision is still blurry anyway
Wooyoung had a point, and yet Yeosang felt very awkward as he set the baby lounger in his bathroom. First, he tried to spin it so Haneul would face the wall, but the baby ended up hating this idea, so he turned him back to face him. Yeosang didn’t want him to cry over something like this.
Yeosang very awkwardly undressed, avoiding Haneul’s precious eyes as he did, before slipping in the bathtub and closing the curtain. This earned some whines from Haneul again, but Yeosang wouldn’t concede. Once he was done, he quickly wrapped himself in a towel and awkwardly shuffled his underwear up his legs. He could immediately relax once he was dressed enough.
“Never doing that again…” he muttered as he carried the lounger back to his small living room.
Haneul was looking at him a little like he was crazy, but being naked in front of a kid was not something Yeosang really vibed with, especially one that stared so much.
Yeosang got dressed in what he considered a nice outfit from his perspective. He traded his usual sweat pants for some fluid ones, slightly oversized but much more elegant. On top, he wore a white shirt left unbuttoned at the top. He tried to comb his bleached blond hair into something vaguely neat, but the best he could do was make it fluffier. Yeosang sighed and decided this was probably good enough.
“What do you think? Do I look cool?” he asked Haneul, hands on his hips.
The baby only smiled at him, waving his toy at him. Yeosang decided to try making him laugh by posing exaggeratedly and pouting his lips. Haneul loved it, wiggling wildly in his lounger as he giggled.
Yeosang laughed and picked him up. He didn’t want San to witness a diaper change when he came, and this little one was probably due one.
After he changed him, it was time for his bottle. He fed him on the couch, like he often did when it was almost time for him to go to bed. This last bottle often put Haneul to sleep, Yeosang found, so he tried to make it as relaxing as possible for him.
Once he was done, it was almost time for San to arrive. Just as he was trying to make him burp, his phone vibrated with a text from the man indicating he was downstairs. Yeosang texted him the door code and told him which floor he lived on before he stepped out in the corridor to welcome him, Haneul still in arms.
Just a few minutes later, San emerged from the elevator, earning a small gasp from Yeosang. The man looked… very handsome. He was also wearing day clothes, in his case a tight black t-shirt and slightly baggy jeans.
What truly made Yeosang feel a little warm was the way he had styled his hair was styled away from his face, letting his forehead show. Yeosang realized his mouth was slightly agape as he watched San approach, so he closed it before he noticed.
“Hi,” San greeted, a dimpled smile on his face.
Haneul tried to turn around in Yeosang’s arm when he heard him, little whines erupting from his mouth.
“Here, mister grumpy pants.” Yeosang said, turning him around so he could see. “Hi, San. Did your day go well?”
It was only then that he noticed San was limping slightly. He furrowed his brows and sent him a questioning look.
“It did, don’t worry. I just twisted my ankle at work yesterday. I’m only a bit disappointed it means I can’t come to your classes for a few weeks.” San said, rubbing his nape in embarrassment.
“Oh I see… thank god it’s not anything worse-”
He was interrupted by Haneul babbling and kicking his feet, hands reaching towards San in an attempt to catch his attention.
“Hi, Haneulie.” San greeted, leaning to his level.
“Do you… want to carry him?” Yeosang asked. Haneul seemed to really want to be in San’s arms.
“Oh uh… Sure. If you’re comfortable with that.”
Yeosang wordlessly handed him the baby who seemed delighted to be held by the other man, little hands coming to rest on his shoulder. Haneul’s eyes were fixated on San’s face like he wanted to stare at him forever.
“He seems to like you…” Yeosang chuckled. He was also surprised to see that San seemed used to holding babies, his arms naturally positioning Haneul correctly against him.
“I like babies too. My sister, Haneul, has two kids.”
Yeosang finally invited San inside and closed the door behind them.
“Really? But she seems so young…”
“It was her calling, both to work with kids and to have some.”
“I see… I understand her in a way. It was also a dream of mine to have a family, not necessarily in the sense of having babies though.”
San hummed, and the two of them sat on the couch with Haneul still in San’s arms. The baby was leaning his head fully on San, eyes slowly closing as he probably felt very sleepy.
“It’s a bit early for his bedtime… But if he falls asleep, I’ll put him to bed.” Yeosang chuckled as he petted Haneul’s soft hair.
“Little guy looks like he’s falling asleep right as we speak…” San agreed.
Yeosang gently took him from San, not wanting to rustle him. After he zipped up his wearable blanket, he put Haneul in his bed and the baby was out like a light. He leaned to kiss his forehead before coming back to the living room where San was waiting.
“So? He’s in dreamland?”
“Yep. I don’t know what happened, it usually takes longer. Maybe he got excited when he saw you and that tired him out.”
“Maybe.” San chuckled. “What were you saying about wanting a family?”
“Oh yeah. When I was little I didn’t really have a stable one, so I always wanted to, you know, settle down and have a stable life. I guess my family is Haneul now.” Yeosang smiled.
While it was not exactly what he had pictured, Haneul needed him and he wouldn’t give up on him for the world.
“But I guess you had other aspirations initially?” San said, a kind smile on his face.
“I… I would never say Haneul is a bother. I’m happy with him. It’s just… as a gay dude I never thought I’d end up being a single parent…”
Well, now the cat was out of the bag, just in case San had a defective gaydar.
“Maybe you were hoping to get a partner too.” San nodded in understanding.
“Yeah. But well, some things in life are unexpected.” Yeosang chuckled.
Just as they were chatting his phone chimed with a notification from the food delivery app.
“Food is here, I’ll go pick it up.” he announced before standing up to the door. He picked up the pizza from the delivery guy and came back inside.
“Sorry, I ordered some take out ‘cause I suck at cooking. I definitely need to get better at it for Haneul's sake, but I just always end up distracted and burning the food. I’m also a bit clumsy so…”
“Don’t worry about it, I’d rather you order something than get injured. Cooking is like the most likely way to get hurt. If you knew the amount of calls we got for small burns or cuts due to people not being careful…” San sighed.
“Good then, I hope you like pizza.”
Yeosang put the two cardboard boxes on the table before he went to find the kimchi jeon he had made the previous day.
“I made this still, but I don’t know if it’s good. It’s a bit black…”
He had burned the pancake a bit while frying it. Nothing too bad, but it could still alter the taste.
“I’d be happy to give it a try.” San said, taking a pair of chopsticks to take a bite.
Yeosang watched as the man chewed on the piece, his face a mask of neutrality. When San swallowed, he thought he’d pass out from the nerves.
“While it is a bit too cooked, it’s still good. Maybe ease out on the salt too.” San said.
“Thank you for the constructive criticism.” Yeosang smiled before setting the pizzas in front of them.
Then, they chatted as they ate. San ended up eating a few more bites of the kimchi jeon, so it must not be that bad.
During their dinner, they talked about a lot of random things. San ended up retelling his most unique encounters on the job as a firefighter.
“One time, I had to save a dog who had climbed up a tree. It was like… the smallest poodle. Neither the owner nor me knew how he went that high up.”
“That’s so… impressive?” Yeosang laughed.
“Yeah! And kind of funny. I’d rather save dogs and cats every day than extinguish fires honestly. I’m not scared of it, but the devastation it leaves behind…” San said, a somber look on his face.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve witnessed.” Yeosang said, placing a hand on San’s over the table before he could think about it. The latter didn’t seem bothered and sent him a kind smile, taking Yeosang’s hand in his. Oh.
“I’m alright. We’ve got a team therapist who helps us deal with it. And the captain is great with that stuff. ”
“I’m glad.” Yeosang smiled back, feeling shivers climb up his arm from the touch.
A noise from the baby monitor Yeosang had placed on the table made them both startle, causing them to remove their hands. It was just a sleepy whine from Haneul, probably a noise he was making in his sleep.
“I’ll go check on him.” Yeosang said before rushing to his room.
The baby was indeed asleep, but his pacifier had slipped out of his mouth. With a fond smile, Yeosang slipped it back in.
He paused for a bit before going back, feeling like an idiot.
“I’m so dumb…” he whispered as he was leaning over the crib. Still, he gathered himself and came back to the living room.
“Why are you dumb?” San asked, a small teasing smile playing on his lips.
Shit. The baby monitor.
“I… uh-” Yeosang panicked.
“I’m just teasing, you don’t have to tell me anything.” San quickly reassured him.
“No, I… Tell me, am I reading too much into this?”
Yeosang decided to be brave. He had to know before he was in too deep. For a few seconds, San looked at him with wide eyes. Had Yeosang made a big mistake?
“I know I’m not… Ideal. I’ve got a kid, I’m not rich or working a super nice job… But I still find myself hoping that someone could like me and want to be with me. So, tell me. Am I reading too much into this? Or am I hopeless?”
“You’re not hopeless.” San blurted. “Definitely not. I’m… I honestly wanted to talk to you for a while, but never found the courage, or a good reason to. I was hoping we could get to know each other. Sorry if I wasn’t honest enough about my intentions.”
“No it’s… It’s fine. I just didn’t know if I was making things up or not.”
“You weren't. Even though I don’t know you very well for now, I like what I do know. And I really want to know you better.”
“Okay. Great. I’m on the same page. But… you don’t mind that I have a baby? He’s not going anywhere.”
“I know. And I really don’t. I’ve always liked kids, I just thought I’d never be able to have any since I’m, well, gay too. So.. while it’s unexpected, it’s not a bad thing.”
Yeosang took a deep breath. This was going much too fast for him to keep up.
“Okay, okay… Let’s take it slow, get to know each other… I’m still getting used to my new life, so I’m not sure I can emotionally handle getting into a relationship as well. But I do like you too.” he confirmed.
San smiled at him fondly.
“Part of the reason why I didn’t, like,… flirt with you, was because I didn’t want to burden or pressure you. So, I’m more than okay with waiting.”
“Great. Thank you…” Yeosang said, suddenly feeling a bit emotional. Would he really get to have it all? A loving partner and a cute baby?
Only time would give him the answer.
Without thinking, he sat back down at the table and took a bite of the left over kimchi jeon. He nearly spit it out as it was about as salty as the dead sea. It seemed that San liked him more than he thought.