Work Text:
This is how it started:
There were sniffles coming from the dress section. Jeongguk hesitated in his steps, slowing down as he passed by. He didn’t see anyone, and he didn’t have much time to spare to look for the source. He was already running behind schedule, but he needed to buy a last minute birthday present for his brother’s wife. It slipped his mind until he realized he was leaving the house empty handed, and he didn’t want to seem inconsiderate. Jeongguk was going to continue on deeper into the mall, but then he heard it again. This time it was a hiccup accompanied by a sob.
With a furrowed brow he stepped into the section, walking through the isles quickly -- backtracking when he realized there was a lump on there ground where one shouldn’t be. He crouched down when he recognized said lump to actually be a young girl who couldn’t be older than four or five. She was by herself and crying quietly into her knees. Her arms were wrapped around herself, fingers digging into her legs. He was at a loss for words but didn’t want to leave her by herself. He would be a terrible human being if he did so, and that could also be dangerous for someone as young as she was.
“Hey,” he spoke in a soft tone, hoping to not startle her. She looked up at him and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest at how distraught she was. Tears clung to her eyelashes and her cheeks were red from the exertion of crying as hard as she was. “Are you lost?”
She had to be, there was no parent in sight and really no other reason for a child this young to be crying alone in the middle of the department store. She confirmed his suspicions by nodding carefully, her tears slowing slightly by her curiosity of who he could be.
“Who,” her voice caught on the beginning of another sob, “who are you?” She asked as she rubbed her hands under her eyes to wipe her face. She looked around nervously, as if though her parent would suddenly appear and take the place of the stranger.
“My name’s Jeongguk.” He stuck his hand out in greeting and she accepted it hesitantly, her own smaller hand sticky and wet against his. She sniffled again, pulling her hand back.
“I’m Sooyun.” She paused. “I don’t know where appa is.”
“Hi Sooyun. Do you know where you last saw him?” He kept his voice gentle, trying to soothe her.
Her little eyes welled up with tears again as she shook her head. “I don’t know. I wanted to see the pretty dresses.” She gestured at the racks around them that were full of dresses. Definitely far too big for her and meant for adults, but he could understand how the dresses that shimmered underneath the lighting caught her eye.
“Hey hey, that’s okay. I can still help you find him.”
Sooyun’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Of course. He’s probably looking for you too.” Standing up, Jeongguk held his hand out towards her to help her up. She grabbed his hand tightly and didn’t let go once she was upright, seeking out the source of comfort. The hesitance she showed him earlier seemed to be going away with his reassurance.
“I don’t know. He was looking at the shoes real hard. Maybe he doesn’t know I’m gone.” She said, her voice starting to tremble. Jeongguk’s heart sank, he really didn’t want her to start crying again. They would find her dad, he was sure of it.
“I’m sure he knows because he loves you, right? So he’d know if you were missing.”
“He does love me a lot.” She responded quietly. “I miss him.”
She mentioned he was looking at the shoes before she wandered away, distracted by the other sights in the store. Jeongguk knew where that section was. There was a chance her father hadn’t gone too far from it in the event that his daughter returned, right? That sounded like a good place to start, at the very least. Jeongguk pulled her hand gently, leading her through the isles and out of the dress section. He could see where the shoes were from here, but there didn’t appear to be anyone lurking around the area who could potentially be looking for their lost daughter.
Sooyun tugged at his hand. Looking down at her, she wiggled her hand out of his and held her arms up expectantly. “I can’t see. I wanna look too. Please?” She was pouting, rather adorably in his opinion, at feeling left out and wanting to help more in the search for her dad.
“Anything for you,” he said with a soft smile, hoisting the young girl up into his arms so she could see over the isles of clothing along with him. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck.
“Thank you,” she whispered shyly and he couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face. She was adorably polite.
Nearing the shoes, Jeongguk stopped in his tracks as he overheard a conversation at the check out. Looking over to see what was going on, he observed a guy around his age appearing to be very frazzled, pacing back and forth as he ranted.
“...help me. My daughter must have walked away from me and I don’t know where she went. She’s very young, only four, have you seen her or has anyone said anything? I swear I’ve run around the store twenty times now but I haven’t spotted her. Oh god.” The voice was frantic, clearly panicking and Jeongguk started towards it abruptly as he put everything together.
Sooyun tightened her arms around him. “Jeonggukkie that’s appa! That’s appa!” Her elated voice was loud enough to carry over to the check out, and the father in question picked up on her voice right away. The relief on his face was immediate and he broke away from the counter, appearing next to Jeongguk’s side in a flash.
“Holy shit, Sooyun, where did you go?” he cried, reaching out towards her and Jeongguk quickly transferred her over as her hands were already grabbing at her father as well. She latched onto him as he wrapped his arms tightly around her in return.
“Bad word,” she mumbled, snuggling her head into his chest.
“Sorry bun.” He rubbed her back in a soothing manner, looking down at the young girl apologetically.
“S’okay. I wanted to look at the dresses but then I forgot where I was.” She said, voice small and sad. “I cried a lot cause I couldn’t see you. But Jeonggukkie found me and he was so nice. He said you were looking for me too cause you love me and that we would find you together.”
The dad finally looked over at Jeongguk as though he had just realized he was there. His lips parted in his suprise. “Oh.” He exhaled. “I’m so sorry, I hardly noticed you.”
“I understand, you were worried about her. But hi, I’m Jeongguk.” He greeted nervously. Was it wrong to say that now that the father’s attention was solely on him, he was starting to realize how attractive he was? Like -- insanely gorgeous. Raven black hair paired with strong eyebrows and a defined face, yet there was a softness to it as well. Maybe it was in his eyes, in the clearly displayed love he was showing towards his daughter.
Jeongguk was always a sucker for cute guys that were good with kids. Fuck.
“Jeongguk. Hi. I’m Taehyung. Thank you so, so much, I don’t know what I would do without you. You’re a lifesaver.”
He smiled sheepishly. “It’s no problem. I heard her crying and I wasn't going to ignore it. That would have been terrible of me.” Jeongguk turned his attention to Sooyun. “Are you feeling all better now?”
He missed the way Taehyung’s gaze softened in surprise as he watched him check up on his daughter. Sooyun turned to face him, nodding with a relieved smile on her face, her expression no longer carrying the anxiety of never seeing her dad again.
“Yes. You’re so nice. Appa, can we keep him?” She questioned seriously, leaning back to look her father in the eyes and Taehyung gasped, mouth dropping open at her bluntness.
A startled laugh ripped from Jeongguk’s chest. “Keep me?” He giggled.
“Yes.” She stated firmly. “That way I can never get lost again.” She reached her hand out towards him and Jeongguk accepted it carefully, but her grip was tight, and she waved their hands together to make her point.
“Hey!” Taehyung interjected. “I’m not planning on losing you again and you know it. You just want to keep every cute boy you see.” Her eyes widened and she dropped his hand immediately, crossing her arms over her chest.
“That’s not true,” she muttered, embarrassment laced throughout her voice.
Jeongguk blushed immediately. “Cute?” Did Taehyung think he was cute? Or was he just used to Sooyun behaving like this?
“Ah,” Taehyung’s cheeks flushed pink as well. “Sorry. Sooyun has a habit of asking this question when she has her eyes set on someone.”
“Nuh uh.” She protested. Taehyung narrowed his eyes at her.
Smiling teasingly, Jeongguk shrugged it off. “That’s okay. I am pretty cute, so I get it.” Taehyung spluttered. “Unfortunately though, I can’t come live with you Sooyun. I don’t think your dad would like that very much and I have to take care of my dog.”
“Appa wouldn’t mind,” she grumbled, before she picked up on the fact that he said he had a dog. “Wait. Dog? You have a doggie? Can I see him?”
“What’s the magic word?” Taehyung prompted.
“Please?”
“Of course,” Jeongguk agreed easily. Unlocking his phone, he opened the album in his camera roll specifically for his dog. “This is Bam,” he said as he turned the phone so she could see. His heart fluttered as Taehyung leaned in closer to take a look as well.
Her eyes widened. “Oh. He looks scary.”
Giggling, he swiped to another picture. This one was a selfie of the two of them after Bam had jumped onto his bed, waking him up early in the morning a few days ago. “He’s just big, but he’s harmless and really sweet.”
“Pretty,” Taehyung said quietly. At Jeongguk’s quizzical glance he looked away, clarifying “the dog. I meant your dog.” Jeongguk giggled at the red appearing once again on the other man’s cheeks.
“Hm. Can I meet him? Pretty please?” The young girl begged.
“Ah, Sooyun. Don’t ask him that.” Taehyung scolded gently, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears as it fell in her face.
“Why not,” she whined. “I want to pet Bam.”
“Because, you--”
“Um.” Jeongguk paused. “I mean...I wouldn’t mind. That’s up to you, I--” he stopped himself as his phone started ringing. It was his brother, he realized, as he looked down at the screen. “Oh, I forgot I have somewhere to be, uh…” he clicked the deny button, not wanting their conversation to end like this. Junghyun would understand if he called him back in a few minutes. It’s not like it’ll make that much of a difference at this point.
“Give me your number?” Taehyung blurted out once Jeongguk’s attention was back on the two of them.
Jeongguk’s lips parted in shock.
“So..so we can figure something out maybe? If you want? You don’t have to, I just--”
“That sounds perfect.” He said with a shy smile. Accepting Taehyung’s phone when the other extended it towards him, he added his number quickly, looking over it to make sure he typed it correctly. “Text me so I have your number? I have to go now, I’m sorry.”
Taehyung nodded. “That’s alright. Have fun, wherever you need to be.”
Jeongguk smiled in gratitude. “Bye Sooyun, I’ll see you soon maybe.” He said with a small wave.
She pouted, waving back. “Bye bye Jeonggukkie. See you soon. With Bam.”
He giggled. “Of course, with Bam,” he agreed.
He rushed through the store, calling his brother back after he left the checkout, deciding to just go with a giftcard -- the safest option for someone you didn’t know very well, in his opinion. He didn’t have time to look at his phone again until after he got to their house, and was surprised to find himself looking down at several messages from an unknown number.
So...about the dog… the first message read.
He bit back a smile, scrolling through the others. If someone asked him, he wouldn’t be able to explain why, but something about this felt like a new beginning -- like it wasn’t just a one time thing. He couldn’t say he minded the possible change. It felt like it was supposed to happen, and he welcomed it with open arms.
~~~
This is how it’s going:
There’s icing smeared on his face, and on Sooyun’s. It’s probably also smeared on every surface that the young girl is able to reach. That’s Jeongguk’s fault for trusting her with the act of decorating the cake. He should’ve known something was up when she batted her eyes innocently, claiming she wanted to make the cake look pretty. If he’s learned anything over the past several months of getting to know her, she was always scheming.
Today, she decided that the icing looked much better everywhere other than the cake, apparently. However Jeongguk won’t lie and pretend he’s a saint, her betrayal of his trust with the icing might have led him into starting a food fight with the four year old in Taehyung’s kitchen. The two had just called a truce, giggles spilling out from the both of them despite trying to act annoyed with the other, when Taehyung walks in through the front door.
His mouth drops open as he looks at the state of them and his kitchen. It definitely wasn’t a pretty sight with vibrant icing on the countertops and cabinet drawers. “What…”
“He did it!”
“She did it!”
They point at each other at the same time. Luckily for Jeongguk he’s empty handed and Sooyun is the one holding the bowl of icing, except he is the adult. Maybe he should have had a better handle on the situation, but Sooyun was having so much fun and he didn’t want to scold her for it. Truth be told he wasn’t sure if it was his place to do so yet anyways.
Taehyung narrows his eyes and someone steps in through the open door behind him, finally closing it. Jeongguk freezes. Fuck . He completely forgot that the reason Sooyun wanted to bake a cake in the first place was because Jimin was visiting. Jimin, who happens to be Taehyung’s best friend. His best friend that Jeongguk had yet to meet, up until right now.
Jimin takes one look at them in the kitchen, his eyes widen, and he begins to laugh immediately. Nearly falling over from it he grabs onto Taehyung’s arm in support. “Oh god,” he says as he straightens back up. “This is great. You picked a good one Tae, he matches Sooyun so well.”
Both Jeongguk and Taehyung flush a deep red.
“Picked?” Jeongguk begins to question, because what did Jimin mean by that?
(He’s not stupid. He has an idea, the two of them have been toeing the line between friends and more than that for quite some time now, but they’ve never crossed it completely. Suspecting that his feelings might be reciprocated is one thing, but hearing Taehyung’s best friend imply it is another.)
“Jimin,” Taehyung hisses.
“What,” he snickers. “He’s good with her. You know you love th--”
Taehyung smacks his arm harshly and Jeongguk looks away, biting down on his lip to suppress a smile. It’s then that he notices Sooyun’s head is hanging sadly and the smile slips off his face.
“Hey. What’s up?” He asks quietly, sitting down beside her. He didn’t want to draw attention to her if she was upset because he knows she gets embarrassed about that sometimes, and doesn’t like it when everyone runs to her to see if she’s okay.
“I ruined Minnie’s cake,” she whispers, pouting heavily. Her hands are fiddling with the bowl and Jeongguk takes it from her, setting it down on the floor next to them.
He glances up at the cake, taking in the appearance. It’s definitely not completed to the extent Sooyun had envisioned, only half of it is iced and Jeongguk had only been able to help her write Jim on it before things turned chaotic. But overall it wasn’t terrible, the cake hadn’t gotten caught in the crossfire and it was the thought that counted. If Jimin adored her anywhere near as much as he did -- and Jeongguk was sure Jimin did -- then he knew he would love the gesture anyways.
Reaching out to gently wipe the icing off her cheek, he smiles reassuringly at her. “Well I think that’s the best cake I’ve ever seen.”
Sooyun looks at him doubtfully, glancing between him and the cake with a skeptical gaze. “You’re lying. Lying is bad,” she mumbles.
He gasps. “I would never lie to you. I mean it. You’re a pro baker and cake decorator, I wish I was as talented as you.” He sighs, slumping against the counter drawers and watches as her mood begins to lift. She giggles slightly.
“Really? But we forgot to finish it.”
“Maybe we did...or maybe you’re a trendsetter. Soon enough everyone will be icing their cakes like that and you’ll be able to say you came up with it first.” He winks and she scrunches her nose. “Besides. If we didn’t stop to play I wouldn’t have been able to win our food fight.”
Her eyes light up and he cheers internally -- she was successfully distracted from thoughts of the cake.
“Nuh uh! I won.”
“Hmm...I’m not so sure you did, I think--” Sooyun threw herself on top of Jeongguk, wrapping her little arms around him. He cut himself off, laughing.
“You’re so silly. You already told me I won.”
“I don’t remember saying that.” He hugged her back, gently. “Are you lying to me now?”
“Never…” she paused and sighed. “Maybe.”
Giggling, he pulled back from the hug. “Thought so.” Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he finally remembered that they weren’t alone and Taehyung and Jimin were watching them the whole time. Taehyung was looking at them with an indecipherable expression on his face, while Jimin was beaming from ear to ear.
“I think the cake looks lovely, Sooyun.” He gushes, clasping his hands together over his heart. “You made it for me?”
Sooyun nods shyly as Taehyung kicks his shoes off and begins to make his way over to the two of them, crouching down to where they’re sitting on the floor together.
“It’s a beautiful cake. You’re so sweet, doing that for Jimin. You missed him, hm?” Taehyung questions as he gently rubs at the spot of icing by her eyebrow. She nods again and Taehyung finally smiles. His other hand drops to curl around Jeongguk’s wrist.
The heat from his hand sends Jeongguk’s heart racing, and he’s sure his ears are turning red. Taehyung bends down to press a kiss to Sooyun’s forehead, pauses, and turns to Jeongguk. Jeongguk’s eyes widen as Taehyung leans in, pressing his lips to Jeongguk’s forehead as well for a brief moment before he pulls back. Sooyun squeals, clapping her hands together. Sliding off his lap, she stands up so she can kiss Jeongguk’s forehead too.
“There. Now Jeonggukkie has two kisses because he’s the best.”
He’s sure his face is on fire right now. He also might be crying, because he’s a little overwhelmed and feels so lucky to have met the two of them. The young girl confirms his blush by laughing. “His face gets red so much. It’s funny.”
Jeongguk is afraid to turn to Taehyung, afraid to see how the older’s looking at him. But Taehyung slides his hand down his wrist until he can lace their fingers together, and he tugs at Jeongguk’s hand, standing up.
“Come on. Let’s get the two of you cleaned up before we eat dinner.”
Jeongguk stumbles behind them towards the bathroom, a little bit in shock and a little bit in love. He picks Sooyun up to sit her on the counter while Taehyung wets a washcloth to wipe her face off.
“You’re lucky none of this got on your clothes, that wouldn’t have been good.”
“I know! Jeonggukkie said we had to be careful so I didn’t stain my favorite shirt.” She chirps, looking satisfied that it was spot free.
Pausing for a moment, his gaze slides over to Jeongguk and the corners of his lips quirk up into a small smile. “Very thoughtful of him.”
He spends a few more minutes wiping the icing off of her and getting it out of her hair the best he could for now, before he pats her head and sets her back down onto the floor. “Why don’t you go see Minnie so he’s not by himself out there, hm? Gukkie and I will be out in a few minutes.”
“Okay!” She exclaims, racing away to go find her beloved Jimin. Taehyung waits to speak again until the sound of her footsteps fade down the hallway.
“Well.” Taehyung says, patting the counter. “Up you go.”
Jeongguk snorts, shaking his head. “Very funny.”
Giggling, Taehyung wets the washcloth again and begins to wipe at Jeongguk’s cheek with it.
“You know,” he says. “Despite you making a mess out of my kitchen -- which you will be cleaning up, by the way -- I appreciate what you did for her. What you always do.”
Jeongguk flusters. “I’m just nice to her,” he says quietly.
“Not true. You care about her a lot and it shows. That...that means a lot to me. Some people just tolerate her being around because I’m their friend, but I know you genuinely like spending time with her as much as you do with me.” He goes quiet. “Well, I hope so at least.” He cups his cheek as he moves to the icing on the tip of his nose, getting it off.
He nods quickly. “I do. Genuinely like spending time with the two of you, that is. I like you a lot.” The confession slips out of him accidentally, but he barely has time to regret it because Taehyung is smiling fondly. He sets the cloth down at the edge of the sink and his hand is still cupping his cheek. Jeongguk swears he’s looking down at his lips.
“I like you a lot too.” He leans in even closer than the two already were. “Can I kiss you?”
Jeongguk’s heart stops. Then it restarts -- much faster than before. It seemed to do that a lot around Taehyung.
“Yes. yes.” He leans in the rest of the way, slotting their lips together and warmth blooms in Jeongguk’s chest. He feels like he’s floating as Taehyung moves his lips against his, pressing in deeper. Jeongguk reaches to curl his hands around Taehyung’s waist, pulling him even closer than he already was. It was slow and intimate -- all of their unspoken feelings were finally being expressed.
Taehyung pulls back enough to rest his forehead against Jeongguk’s with a happy flush on his cheeks. “You’re very important to me. You’re important to Sooyun too,” he says quietly as he strokes his cheek.
Jeongguk is so happy he feels like his heart might burst. “You’re both important to me too. I...I love being with you. You make me happy.”
Taehyung’s smile widens. “We should do something about that then. Are you free tomorrow night?”
“I’m always free for you Tae.”
He snorts, smacking his chest. “Don’t be cheesy.”
“It’s true though,” he admits, leaning forward again in a moment of courage for another kiss, pecking his lips lightly.
“Good to know. I wanna take you out tomorrow, if that’s alright with you?” He seemed nervous to ask, and Jeongguk couldn’t help but to be endeared by it. Taehyung was always so sure of himself, it was rare for his shy side to come out.
“Of course it is. I’ve been waiting for this since the first time I met you,” he admits.
Rolling his eyes, Taehyung shakes his head. “No you haven’t been. You’re dramatic.”
“Yes I was! Do you realize how insanely attractive you are?” He exclaims, and the other blushes. “You’re kinda a dilf.”
“Excuse me?” Taehyung’s eyes widen and his expression becomes incredulous, unbelieving of what Jeongguk has just said.
Jeongguk giggles, and wiggles his eyebrows before darting out of the bathroom, ignoring Taehyung’s yells.
“What did you just call me? Come back here!”
“Nope!”
He skids into the living room, and Sooyun looks up from where she’s sitting to smile, waving him over. Before he can take another step, a pair of arms wrap around his waist and hold him in place. “I think Jeonggukkie needs to go in time out,” a deep voice mumbles in his ear.
Jimin’s head snaps up, looking faintly horrified. “Please not in front of me or the child.”
He can practically feel Taehyung rolling his eyes. “Relax. I mean it literally. He’s being a brat.”
Sinking back into his hold, Jeongguk sighs. “Your brat though, right?”
“I guess,” he says, but the fondness in his tone gives him away. He seems to realize that. “You know you are.”
Jeongguk wishes he could stay in this moment forever.
~~~
This is where they’ll end up:
One day Jeongguk won’t have to wake up anymore and wish Taehyung was in bed with him. He’ll be in arms reach, always, but most often he’ll be curled into his side, tracing lazy patterns onto his chest because he always wakes up before the younger. Sometimes he’ll wake up to a soft pair of lips being pressed onto his, and his eyes will flutter open slowly to the most beautiful sight he has ever laid his eyes on. (The only thing better than that, he’ll think, is when he wakes up to infectious giggles in his ear and a small body snuggled in between the two of them.)
He won’t have to wonder what it’s like to pick Sooyun up from school everyday, imagining if she would jump into his arms with a happy smile or not. (She does, always. The only exceptions are on the days she’s upset, and on those days Jeongguk scoops her up himself and presses kisses on her forehead and cheeks until she starts giggling.)
They’ll begin to call themselves a family, and will fall into it so naturally that they can’t remember what their lives were like before they met. ( Extremely lonely, Jeongguk will always state. I was missing the most important people to me and I had no idea. Taehyung will call him cheesy, but his smile when he says that is always so, so fond.)
Soon enough Jeongguk will start wearing a pretty ring on his finger and not too long after, Taehyung will have one as well. They’ll spend every holiday together with their combined friends and families. Jeongguk will learn how excited Sooyun gets at Christmas, and that she loves gift giving as well. Their first Christmas together she shyly gives him a drawing of the three of them along with Bam, and he absolutely Does Not Cry Over It. (Of course he does. It’s the best thing he’s ever received and it will stay framed on the wall of his bedroom for all of eternity.)
Their life will fall into a very comfortable, and very happy routine. Jeongguk will get the life he never thought he would, because he never dared to dream of something so wonderfully perfect in every single way. But life is full of surprises, and he couldn’t be more appreciative of that. Showing up late to his brother’s house because he heard someone crying is the best decision he’s ever made.
He is in love with two beautiful human beings. And he couldn’t be happier.