Work Text:
"Sir, really, we shouldn't have bothered mister Yoo for such a trivial matter—"
Wonjin already liked whoever said that. As his brother couldn't be reached, he had been the one called to come to school. And, really, he loved both his nephews and could probably kill for them— but he was in the middle of a photoshoot when his phone rang and now he was parading in a primary school with a full face of makeup.
He didn't bother to knock when he entered the principal's office, already kind of pissed. The lady on the phone told him it wasn't a health issue, so he knew it couldn't be serious enough for an adult to be called at ten in the morning.
"Good morning." He vaguely bowed to the adults in the room, only smiling when he saw the little ball of sunshine that was his nephew. "Hey Hyeongjunnie ! Oh my, you've grown so much since I last saw you !"
Hyeongjun giggled, already throwing himself in his uncle's arms. "Uncle Jin ! That's silly, you saw me yesterday !"
Wonjin got up easily, even with the seven years old boy in his arms. Ha, I knew going to the gym was my bestest idea so far, he thought to himself.
"I was certain we called Hyeongjun's father." The old man who was certainly the principal said, looking at Wonjin with a slight frown. Huh .
"I'm Ham Wonjin's, Yoo Kihyun's brother. He's in court right now, you know, lawyer activities. "
The old man frowned ever more at the mention of Kihyun's job. Oh, probably didn't even check student's parents jobs. Wonjin snickered.
"So, what's happening ?" He asked, sitting on one of the chair, letting Hyeongjun put himself comfortably on his lap. The kid really felt too light— he made a mental note to ask his brother if this was normal.
"Well—" The principal started.
"Oh, I wasn't asking you . I'm asking Hyeongjun."
The other guy in the room failed to contain a snort— Wonjin definitely liked this guy, whoever he was.
"Mister Principal Lee doesn't like my shirt." Hyeongjun failed at whispering in his ear, making Wonjin furrow his eyebrows, looking at what the kid was wearing.
He knew this shirt pretty well— it was his . A black shirt with a band logo on it ( tour merch , probably as old as the kid himself since Wonjin stole it from his own dad) that was so big on Hyeongjun's body it might as well be called a dress. There were no offensive words, no naked woman (it happened once, because rock bands have the weirdest merch ever), really, nothing that could be worth calling a child's parent.
"What's wrong with it ?" He asked, this time looking at the other adults in the room.
"If you didn't interrupt me the first time, I would've told you earlier." The old man was condescending, making Wonjin tsk . Gosh, he really hated snobs who thought they were better than everyone. "So, while there's nothing wrong with the shirt per se , we noticed that Hyeongjun wasn't wearing anything underneath except underwear."
"Okay, first of all, weird . What were you doing looking under his shirt ? And anyway, what if he's wearing it like a dress ? It falls below knee level, I saw little girls wearing shorter skirts. Not that I think that literally kids should have that kind of dress code, though."
"Well, mister Ham, Hyeongjun here is a boy . While he can wear whatever he likes at home , school is for learning, not for exposing life's beliefs. What are we supposed to do if suddenly all the little boys start to want to wear dresses ?"
Wonjin couldn't believe his ears, and visibly neither could the mystery guy.
"Hyeongjunnie," he started instead of answering to the principal, "can you go wait outside for a little bit ? Uncle Wonjin would like to have a grown-up conversation. Here, take my phone, you know how to call your Woobin-hyung right ? I'm sure he'll prefer to talk to you instead of his yucky teachers."
Wonjin patiently waited for his nephew to be outside the door with the phone (that was bigger than both his hands, cute) to completely lose his smile, looking at the principal like he did to the disgusting guys he often encountered on shoots.
"I want to know how you knew he wasn't wearing shorts. I just saw him with his arms up and the shirt doesn't even reach his knees." He said sternly, taking out another phone from his pocket. "And just so you know, I'm recording this conversation to show to his father. You know, the lawyer. I'm sure he'll be pleased to know how you treat his child."
The old man lost all his condescending mannerisms in the split of a second. "Well— You know, he was playing—"
"Principal Lee asked a female staff member while she accompanied him to the bathroom earlier in the day." The other guy replied and Wonjin was definitely asking him out after all of this mess was sorted because people who stood up to creepy old men were just so sexy.
The principal was redder than a tomato, probably both from embarrassment and anger. Ah, the shame of not being backed up, Wonjin could never relate.
"That's really weird. And probably illegal. Anyway, what you said about boys in dresses was actually so stupid I don't even know where to start. Seriously, he's comfortable, nothing is showing, once again I would like you to know that dress coding children for short skirts is incredibly creepy, and really, it's not personal beliefs or whatnots, it's a piece of tissue on a seven year old. "
"Well, it's distracting !" Mister Lee tried to defend himself. "And, what if parents complain ? Are you going to handle the responsibility to explain why a boy is wearing girls' clothes ? What next, we let him use the girl's restroom ?"
Wonjin could feel his blood boil. He took a deep breath, not wanting to possibly lose his temper and end up needing someone to bail him out of jail, but this guy was really in need of getting some sense knocked into him.
"I don't know who's distracted, but if it's your staff, you should probably call the police. He's seven , for fuck's sake. If parents complain, you kindly tell them to open their world's view because in 2023 there's worse things than a little boy wearing his uncle's shirt. Next, I don't know if you're aware, but clothes have nothing to do with gender. And once again, you're teaching children between 6 and 11, I don't think any of them is interested in Hyeongjun's clothing more than they are on fucking pokémon cards. So now, what we're going to do is simple."
Wonjin stood up from his chair, looking the principal dead in the eyes.
"I'm gonna take Hyeongjun for an early lunch because he deserves it. I'm also gonna send the audio to his father, he'll probably sue you and win because it's Yoo Kihyun and you probably shouldn't have messed with him. And when he comes back from lunch with his cool uncle, you are going to be waiting for him with an apology letter. And you're gonna read it to him until he accepts your apologies. If he doesn't, then you're doing it again and again."
"That's a bit much—" One look and the old man stopped himself, looking like he could pee his pants.
"Did I make myself clear enough ?"
"Yes, sir."
"Nice. Now, what do I sign to get him off earlier ?"
.
Wonjin walked out of the office a few minutes later, accompanied by the mystery man.
"Hey, Hyeongjunnie, you ready to hang out with me ?" He asked the kid that was patiently waiting on a chair, playing something on the phone.
"Am I sus— sups— suspended ?" The little boy asked, looking so shy Wonjin could actually cry.
"Oh, no no no ! Uncle Wonjin got it all sorted ! We're just hanging out as buddies for a little bit, and then we go fetch Woobin-hyung to eat pizza, isn't that great ?" Hyeongjun nodded vigorously, already making grabby hands to be held, because he knew Wonjin was too weak to say no.
"Where's your classroom, budd ? I'll let you say bye-bye to your friends and take your bag before we go."
"Right here, I'll show you the way." It wasn't Hyeongjun that answered, but the guy Wonjin still didn't know the name of. He figured it was a staff member or a teacher, but it wasn't that important for now.
Together they walked to the classroom and only then Hyeongjun got on the ground, rushing in to go do whatever a seven year old does when he's let out of class early. It was in the middle of the kids' free time, meaning chaos everywhere, so Wonjin didn't even try to keep an eye on his nephew.
"So," he said, turning to the mystery guy (who was quite tall, now that he looked properly at him) "who are you exactly ? I want to know who I'm thanking."
"Oh, shoot, I forgot to put on my name tag. I'm Koo Jungmo, teacher assistant slash intern slash probably going to quit if I have to work for this butthole one more day because I didn't study so much to be asked to look under kid's clothes." He extended his hand to him, and Wonjin could only nod and shake his hand.
"Thank you, Mister Koo, I appreciate you standing up for Hyeongjunnie. Don't quit yet, give my brother a week to get this creep fired and replaced. My name's—"
"Ham Wonjin, I know. You said your name earlier. And you're also on my favorite Nivea Moisturizer and I follow you on instagram. Wait, was that weird to say ?"
Wonjin paused for a bit, but laughed right after. Well, this was the most direct way for Jungmo to tell him he knew his job.
"No, not at all. I appreciate the directness, I don't like when people try to convince me they don't know what I do for a living. Once again, thank you for Hyeongjunnie."
"Eurgh, I didn't do much, really. I tried to explain that it was weird to look or call anyone for that, but you still had to get here, so I was pretty much useless." Jungmo seemed so unsure and disappointed in himself, Wonjin had to take a second to remember how to breathe. Since when am I attracted to losers ?
"Hey, you did your best by not being the one looking under his shirt. And telling me how he knew he wasn't wearing shorts. That's probably enough for my brother to get him forbidden to even look at a school building ever again. "
"Oh, then I guess I did my job right." Jungmo chuckled a little bit.
Thankfully, before Wonjin could do anything stupid like ask the guy to marry him on the spot, a little hand patted his knee. Looking down, he smiled.
" Mini ! TY ! Minmin ! How you doing ?"
He crouched to be at the kid's level, a big smile plastered on his face. Wonjin absolutely loved Hyeongjun's friends, even having a personalized handshake for all three of them.
"Is it true that you're stealing Jjuni to eat pizza ?" Seongmin asked, struggling with a lisp because of missing teeth.
"Hm-hm." Wonjin nodded. "Because principal Lee was being a meanie, Hyeongjunnie is going with me and his big brother now so he can come back later and happier than right now, isn't that great ?"
"That's cool ! Can he play blocks with me when he comes back ?" This time it was Taeyoung, still tanned from his year in Malaysia, his little accent being absolutely adorable.
"I'm sure he'll be very happy to play with you after lunch, buddy."
Wonjin shook hands with both of them and they got back inside the room making plane noises, leaving only Minhee behind them. As always, the kid looked way too tall for a seven year old and full of judgment. Wonjin always found that hilarious, seriously, being judged by a kid who couldn't count well past 30.
"Hey, Min', watcha thinkin 'bout ?"
"I tried to stop the mean noona from looking under his dress but she put me in timeout instead of listening to me." The kid confessed. "But I didn't cry because Junie was scared and since I'm taller I needed to be brave !"
Wonjin wanted to explode. He had to refrain his cute aggression from violently shaking the kid, but really, he could cry from how cute this was.
"That's very nice of you, Minhee. I'll be sure to tell your dad how brave you were ! You're the bestest best friend in the world." He said instead of imploding.
"I'm not his best friend, Hyung !" Minhee actually sounded upset, making Wonjin a bit confused. "Dad told me that when you find someone pretty and want to protect them, it means you love the person. I love Hyeongjun, so I asked him to be my lover and he said yes so I can't be his best friend because I'm his boyfriend and I can't be both hyung !"
Wonjin couldn't do it anymore. Someone tell Serim he could have all his music albums, because this is exactly where Wonjin was going to die. He'll put 'death because of cuteness' on his tombstone and his paradise will consist of rainbows and unicorns and little stars.
"I'll tell you a secret, Mini." He whispered after taking a long breath to really resist the urge to actually punch a wall. "You can be both his boyfriend and his best friend."
That seemed to completely change Minhee's way of looking at the world, making Wonjin chuckle. "Why don't you go make him a pretty drawing for when he comes back ? He'll be really really happy if you do that."
Minhee nodded solannelly and instantly got back to the classroom, looking like a man on a mission. Cute.
Wonjin got up and dusted his pants (he was certainly the only one who didn't care about dirtying these 400 dollar jeans). When he looked at him, Jungmo seemed completely dumbfounded.
"What ?" He asked. "Is something wrong with my face ?"
"No !" Jungmo blurted out. "I mean, no. Just— how can you be so good with kids ? I'm the one working with them but Minhee would never tell me someone put him in timeout unfairly.."
"Oh, that." Winjin scratched the back of his head. "Well, I wanted to be a teacher and actually started to study kids and shits like that before I became… Influencer ? I guess I can be called that, anyway. And well, Hyeongjun's been close to these ones since he was a baby, so I spent a lot of time with them. They're my brother's friend's kids, so like, they're all my nephews at this point."
"Oh, that's actually so cool."
Wonjin giggled. Giggled . Full on giggled . Jungmo didn't even make a joke yet he giggled . Huh, guess I'll kill myself sooner than planned .
Really, Jungmo had something that made Wonjin all mushy inside, which was weird. Choosing his nephew's teacher as his newest crush wasn't what Wonjin had planned when he woke up this morning, but hey, life does its things.
"I'm ready to go !" Hyeongjun's little voice tore Wonjin away from the start of a daydream. "I said bye-bye to eve— ervy— everyone and mister Allen even gave me a sticker because I didn't cry today !"
"Wow ! Where are you going to put it ?"
"Can you put it on your phone with the one that shines ?"
"Sure thing, buddy. We'll do it at the pizzeria, okay ?" Hyeongjun nodded. "Great, say bye-bye to mister Jungmo and we'll go, alright ?"
"Bye-bye mister Jungmo ! Thank you for holding my hand in the office !"
"Bye Hyeongjunnie, have a great time with your uncle alright ? Eat a good pizza and tell me about it once you come back !"
With the little boy now on his back, Wonjin bowed to Jungmo and after a little smile, he and Hyeongjun got out of the building.
.
A few hours later, it was time to put Hyeongjun back in jail (to accompany him to his classroom for two hours of learning).
Smug smile plastered on his face, Wonjin looked at the principal that was waiting for them in the playground. In the few hours they were outside, Wonjin took his nephew to do some shopping.
Now, they both wore matching glittery dresses, Hyeongjun even had a little blush and big lipstick kiss stains on the forehead and the cheek, little gifts from his uncle and big brother. (Yes, Wonjin had asked Kihyun before doing something that crazy. He said ' yes' and ' go wild with the dresses ', explaining why they now looked like disco balls.)
"Hey, Junni, I think principal Lee wants to tell you something." Wonjin pointed at the man who was waiting with a piece of paper and a pissed look.
And the fact that Wonjin helped raise the kid really showed when Hyeongjun made the man repeat himself three whole times before deciding that even if it wasn't enough, he was bored and wanted to play with his friends.
Wonjin stayed for a little bit, just watching his nephew play with the other kids (he even witnessed a kiss on the cheek from Minhee!). He was ready to head back to work when Jungmo stopped beside him.
"Hum, sorry if this is weird, but I just wanted to tell you that this color suits you quite well. And the dress, too. It's really cool, what you do to support him."
Wonjin smiled even more.
"Thank you, Jungmo. I'm really just doing what I think is right, because I'm not gonna let him think that he's worth less than the other kids just because of what colors or clothes he likes. I know he looks up to me a lot, so if I wear a pink glittery dress, he'll know that there's nothing to be ashamed of. And honestly, I'm actually slaying in this dress, I'm definitely wearing it again."
"You really are.." Wonjin felt like Jungmo didn't mean to say that out loud. Cute.
"Well, Koo Jungmo, as much as I would like to talk more, I actually have work soon. Let's chat another time, I'll steal Hyeongjun from his dad as an excuse to see you. Bye-bye !"
Jungmo was even cuter with a blush on his cheeks, Wonjin kinda combusted on the way to his car, even if he acted all cool on the outside.
Let's all take a second to remember Serim, who surely will have to endure all the gushing Wonjin was about to do.
______
Jungmo really liked his job.
Sure, being with kids all day could be tiring. He had to make sure around twenty-five kids between 6 and 7 weren't accidentally killing themselves or something, that they were all fine, that they felt heard… it was a lot to do, he often came home completely drained. But it was also so rewarding.
Like, nothing could top the feeling of watching shy kids play with the others. Nothing could beat the happiness he felt when a kid who didn't talk much to adults came to him and asked to play. Jungmo loved being the kid's confidant, someone here for them and them only, like a big brother or an uncle.
And it was even better now that the old principal had been replaced by a younger lady that was just wonderful at her job.
.
Free periods were his favorite— sometimes they'd go to the playground to run for a bit, but as it was currently raining, they just stayed in the classroom, playing together.
In a little under half an hour, Jungmo played princesses, drew with two shy little girls, served as a makeshift landing path for plastic planes and now was letting a few kiddos put clips and colorful hair ties on his head, hoping he'll still have some hair left when it was time to give everyone back to their parents.
"Jungmo, can you come here for a second ?" Allen, Teacher of the class and Jungmo's boss, asked for him. He just came back from a phone call in the corridor, and now he looked a bit down, making Jungmo stressed. Phone calls in corridors were never bearers of good news.
"Coming !" He gently asked the little kids to let him get up, promising them that he'll let them play with his hair another time. Then he joined Allen at the teacher's desk. "What's happening ?"
"Hyeongjun's brother is at the hospital." Oh. Jungmo felt his stomach drop. "Oh, my, that's the worst way to say that, sorry. He's good ! Just a broken arm."
"My god, I thought you were asking me to tell a child he just lost his brother !" Jungmo whisper-shooted, finally feeling like he could breathe again. Seriously, those had been the most stressful fifteen seconds of his whole life.
"Sorry, sorry. No, he's fine, I asked. Hyeongjun's uncle is just gonna get him a bit early, could you help him to tidy his things ? I'm gonna print him some homeworks."
"Yeah, sure. When is mister Ham coming ?"
"Less than half an hour, if I understood correctly."
Jungmo nodded and took a second to breathe, trying to sort out his thoughts. Was he supposed to tell Hyeongjun what was happening or just tell him he'd be picked up early ? Wouldn't it be stressful for a kid to know his brother was in the hospital ?
Anyway, he'll have to do it quickly. Looking for the kid, he found him with his little friends in a corner, playing with construction blocks.
"Hey kids, what are you making ?" He asked, crouching by them to see their little blocks.
"A big house." Taeyoung answered, followed by a few nods.
"That's really nice. I like how you did the foundations." Jungmo continued to look at the blocks for a few seconds. "I'm sorry kids, but I'll need to steal Hyeongjun. You can put three more blocks and then we go talk, okay ?"
"Why ? Am I in trouble ?" Hyeongjun asked with his little voice, always so afraid to be punished.
"No, no, don't worry. I just need to tell you something, okay ?"
The kid nodded and Jungmo waited patiently for him to put his last blocks before taking his hand and taking him to the corridor to talk with a bit of privacy.
"So, Hyeongjunnie." Jungmo started. "Your uncle Wonjin is going to get you a bit early today, so we need to put your things in your bag and go to the lobby to wait for him, okay ?"
"Why ? Daddy said uncle Jin was busy yesterday."
Jungmo really hoped the kid would just be happy to get off early, but he should've expected it : Hyeongjun really liked to know everything.
"Your big brother has a big boo-boo, Hyeongjun. So you and your uncle are going to go see him, alright ?"
"Oh." Hyeongjun frowned. "Is it a hop— hospital boo-boo ?"
Jungmo nodded. "It is. But he's alright, just hurting. I'm sure he'll be even better when he sees you, okay ? How about we go make your bag now ?"
Hyeongjun easily agreed. Jungmo was definitely giving him a sticker before letting him go.
.
It's exactly on time that Wonjin shows up in the lobby, looking the most disheveled Jungmo had ever seen him. Seriously, he followed the guy on Instagram and YouTube for years and watched every vlogs he made, but never would Wonjin show himself with his hair everywhere or with a badly removed makeup. But somehow, it was kinda cool— Wonjin really was a human, after all.
"Oh Hyeongjunnie, I'm so happy to see you !" The man dropped on his knees in front of the kid, hugging him directly. Jungmo didn't really know what to do, so he just waited.
Wonjin got up a few moments later, keeping Hyeongjun against him in a koala hug. "Good afternoon, mister Koo. I'm sorry for.. that." He said, pointing at his face. "I was just wrapping a video when Kihyun-Hyung called me."
"No worries, mister Ham, I totally understand. Is everything alright at the hospital ?"
"Yes, yes, everything's alright. Woobin did us quite a scare, but he's alright. They're just keeping him overnight because he reacted badly to some meds, so I was tasked to pack a bag for him and his dad." Wonjin explained, swaying from side to side like someone holding a baby would, except that the baby was already seven. "Did you hear Hyeongjunnie ? We're going to see your hyung and daddy, isn't that nice ?"
"Hm, I was playing with the others, I couldn't finish the house !"
Both adults laughed. Ah, kids and empathy.
"I'm sorry Jjuni, we'll arrange a playdate another day alright ? I'm sure being the first one to draw on Woobin's cast is better than blocks."
That seemed to be enough for Hyeongjun, as the kid asked to be let down and kinda just stole Wonjin's phone from his pocket.
"So, where do I sign to steal this little one ?"
Wonjin asked, making Jungmo remember that he wasn't watching him on a screen and should actually do his work.
"Right here, Hyeongjun's teacher already filled everything." He handed the slip of paper to Wonjin. "Should we expect him tomorrow ?"
"I don't think so, their dad is probably going to make me babysit them, it's gonna be a rough night."
Jungmo nodded. "Okay. Drive safe and take care, then. Hyeongjun has a sheet of homeworks in his bag but the most important thing is that everyone's alright."
Wonjin smiled at him and Jungmo kind of wanted to drag the moment the most he could. But he wasn't going to— he knew how Woobin was important to Hyeongjun (really, the kid talked about his big brother at least once a day) so he didn't want the kid to wait too long to join his brother because of a stupid celebrity crush.
"Thank you, Mister Koo. We'll be on our way. I hope one day I'll see you because I wanted to and not because I have to sign these stupid papers again."
Not knowing how to react to that (was he really being flirted with or was Wonjin just being nice?) Jungmo could only wave at the uncle and his nephew when they passed the lobby doors.
______
"Hyeongjun !" Wonjin barged into the lobby, letting his bag fall behind him as he directly crouched to be at Hyeongjun's level. Nobody in their right mind would care about a Gucci bag when there was a full on sobbing Hyeongjun waiting to be held in front of them.
Wonjin quickly took Hyeongjun in his arms, hugging him tightly. "My tiny baby, what happened ? Please stop crying, you're gonna make yourself sick.."
The kid tried to say something, but with the sobs interrupting him every few words, Wonjin didn't understand a thing. So, naturally, he turned to the one who called him : Jungmo.
"What's happening ?" He begged, clearly moved. Hyeongjun really cried like he was going to die or something, sobs so loud and breath so shallow it was actually alarming.
"I don't know, he was kinda under the weather all morning but he only started to cry like, an hour ago. I tried to call mister Yoo but he didn't answer, so I called you. He's kinda feverish but that's all I managed to test since he won't tell me anything."
Wonjin winced : he was the fun uncle, for fuck's sake ! His job was to take the kids on fun trips to the mall, let them eat way too much sugar and give them back to their dad when they were cranky. He had absolutely no idea on what to do to calm down Hyeongjun.
"Hyeongjunnie, let's breathe a little bit together, please ? You're gonna be sick if you continue.." Wonjin practically begged the kid, feeling like he himself was going to cry.
After a moment where nothing changed, Wonjin took his nephew on his hip like he'd do it when he was a baby, walking around the lobby while bouncing him a little bit. "Here, Jjuni. Everything's alright, see ? You're with uncle Jin and there's no reason to cry like that anymore hmm ? Tell me what's happening and I'll make it better."
It took a long time for Hyeongjun to actually stop sobbing so much, now being just a sniffing mess on Wonjin's drenched shoulder. Jungmo stayed the whole time, watching the little family with worried eyes.
"Can you tell me what's wrong now ?" Wonjin asked again, not stopping his bouncing.
"It hurts.." Hyeongjun finally managed to articulate.
"Where does it hurt, buddy ?"
The kid pointed to his belly, and both adults blanched when his little finger derived to the right side.
"Shi— Hyeongjun-ah, do you feel like throwing up ?" Jungmo asked, having seemingly the same hypothesis about what was happening.
Hyeongjun nodded.
"I'm taking him to the hospital right now." Wonjin tranched. "Fuck, please don't be appendicitis, please please please." At this point, he didn't care about his language, just praying to whatever was up there that Hyeongjun just had a stomach ache and didn't exactly know where to point.
"Yeah, that's the better option." Jungmo easily agreed. "Go now, the paperwork can wait."
"I— I don't have a car seat for him, I wasn't supposed to take him this week—" Wonjin was starting to panic. Seriously, why did it have to be right when Kihyun was in a trial ? Wonjin wasn't old enough to be responsible !
"I can drive if you hold him ?"
"Please, I don't trust myself behind the wheel right now." If he wasn't holding the kid in his arms, Wonjin just knew he'd be shaking like a leaf.
"Okay, huh, I'll be right back, I gotta tell someone where I'm going."
Wonjin only nodded as an answer.
Jungmo only took a minute or two before coming back, his own bag in hand. "Let's go." He said and, like a true gentleman, he took Wonjin's bag from the floor.
.
With a groan, Wonjin let himself fall on one of the chairs of the cafeteria. Kihyun finally came and took over, meaning he could now let the adrenaline come down and mop for a little bit. Never again, he thought.
He heard the chair in front of him move a few minutes later, making him look up from where he was staring at nothing.
"Oh, you're still here."
"Yeah, I can go if you don't want me here, but I was really worried.." Jungmo looked as exhausted as Wonjin felt.
"No, no, stay. I could probably use some company." He sighed. "It's really an appendicitis. They're giving him antibiotics for now, then they'll see if he needs surgery. He's with his dad now, and definitely calmer than when you called me. Even made me give him a penny because he heard me curse."
Jungmo made a face. "Poor baby. Crying probably made everything worse.."
"It did. But since you didn't wait much to call me, we were quick enough to make him stop, so that wasn't as bad as it could've been."
"That's a relief, then."
They both stayed silent for a moment.
"Thank you so much for driving us. I think I would've crashed the car if I had to drive. I'm sorry I panicked so much earlier." With both his hands on the little table separating them, Wonjin couldn't do much more than scratching around his nails to ground himself.
"No need to thank me, it was only natural. Are you alright now ? It seemed like a panick attack."
"I'm.. not sure. The adrenaline's coming down, so all I'm sure of is that I need to take a nap. But I'll drive you back to your car, or at home, let me just get a coffee or something."
"No need for that, I'll grab a taxi, stay with the baby and your brother."
"I made you drive here, it's the least I can do—" Jungmo stopped him by putting a hand on his.
"Don't worry about me . Really, I'm fine taking a taxi, and I'm sure Hyeongjun will need your company if he's going to get surgery."
Jungmo was just so nice , seriously, why were they only seeing each other when something bad was happening ?
The second they had the confirmation that everything was alright with Hyeongjun, Wonjin would ask the guy out, it's a promise.
"Thank you so much for today. I'll pay for your taxi, here, take this." Wonjin grabbed a few bills from his wallet, not even counting it, and pushed it into Jungmo's hands.
"Wait, that's way too much—"
"Buy you something nice with the rest, I don't care. Please, take it."
Jungmo took a second to accept, but he did. In Wonjin's vocabulary, it meant that he won.
______
"Jungmo, someone's asking for you in the lobby." Allen singsang from where he was sitting at his desk, the request coming from their little stationary phone.
Jungmo looked up from the paper stars he was folding, curious. "Who is it ?"
"Someone you'll like. Take Hyeongjun's things with you, they'll grab it too."
Even if he was confused, Jungmo did as told. He took Hyeongjun's backpack that had been forgotten here a few days ago and the little bag they prepared for him with a lot of drawings, origami and letters from the whole class, wishing him a good and fast recovery. The only people he could think of were Hyeongjun's father himself or the kid's brother, because last time he checked Wonjin's instagram story, the guy was still busy doing whatever in a café. (Yes he still followed Wonjin's instagram. In his defense, Wonjin was still a celebrity with a really good fashion sense and was overhaul a good guy to follow.) ((He also had the big gays for him.))
Except that when he entered the lobby, Wonjin was really here in all his glory. Exactly the same as seen on Instagram— perfect outfit, perfect makeup, expensive handbag, sunglasses that were probably worth two salaries perched on top of his head, flower bouquet and Starbucks cup in his hands… probably heading out for a date right after that.
"Jungmo !" Wonjin waved at him, and Jungmo wondered when exactly he started to call him by his name and not 'mister Koo'. Probably the hospital.
"Wonjin !" He answered, happy to be able to be this friendly with the guy. "How's Hyeongjun ?"
"Perfect. He came home yesterday and now he's resting with his dad. He can't wait to show everyone his cool scar, saying that now he's a real pirate."
Both of them chuckled.
"Cute. Here, that's his things and a few cards from his friends. Minhee told me to tell you to tell him that his card should be the specialest of them all because he added a lot of glitter. I hope there isn't too much carpet at home, it's going to be hell to clean up everything."
"I'll make sure he opens it on the living room carpet, I want to see his dad suffer ." Jungmo snorted at how mischievous Wonjin looked.
"Anyway, I wasn't here only for that ! Put that bag down." Wonjin ordered and Jungmo just did as asked , because he was kind of a simp and confused.
Then, Wonjin just gave him the huge bouquet and the cup.
"As a thank you for driving us to the hospital—" He started.
"You already paid me back—" Jungmo tried to make him take back everything, but Wonjin just pushed it back.
" And also because I said I wanted to see you outside of emergency situations ! Nobody's dying, crying or at the hospital today, so it was just time I asked you out."
Jungmo's brain just stopped working.
"Huh ?"
"Why are you so confused ? I thought I made myself clear from our first encounter ?"
Wonjin had the audacity to look confused, as if he didn't just make Jungmo doubt his entire life. Was he really flirting all these times ?
"Were you really flirting with me ?" He asked, incredulous.
"Yes ? I thought it was obvious !"
"I thought you were just being nice to me ! You're like, a celebrity !"
That made Wonjin snort. "Dude, you've seen me in a panic attack, how can you still think I'm just a celebrity ?"
Jungmo didn't know how to answer.
"Anyway. If you don't want a date, no probs, I won't force you. We can be like, friends or something."
"Wait, I do want it, I mean, the date ! I just was not ready like, at all. But I want a date."
"Alrighty ! Can I steal you after work on Friday ?"
"Sure ?"
"It's settled, then. I'll see you around, have a good day !"
And just like that, Wonjin disappeared with Hyeongjun's things, leaving a confused Jungmo behind him.
"What am I even supposed to do with so many flowers ?"
.
On Friday, Jungmo made sure to be presentable. He put on his good pants, a button up and a green sweater, and prayed all day that the kids and their sticky fingers weren't going to ruin his clothes.
There had been a few close calls, but when he texted Wonjin (he had his number because of school files) to tell him he was waiting for him outside, he only had one stain on his pants, which was impressive for someone who used paint with children.
Wonjin arrived in his car a few minutes later, and now that Jungmo looked at the vehicle, he could only be proud of himself for driving it without problems.
Wonjin got out of it with a smile that could probably kill anyone on the spot with how much he shined.
"Hey, Jungmo. You're cute, green looks cute on you."
"Thanks. You're pretty in blue." Jungmo managed to say without stumbling on his words.
Wonjin smiled even more widely. "Great. You ready to go ?"
"Yes, yes. What are we doing ?"
Jungmo asked, walking to the passenger seat side to sit.
"Hyeongjun and co' said you liked planes when I asked them, and there's this aeronautics museum that shouldn't be too crowded at this hour, I thought it could be fun. Then I'm taking you to a good restaurant. Sounds alright to you ?"
"That's absolutely perfect."
.
The moon was already high when they got out of the restaurant, hands in hands. Jungmo couldn't stop smiling, neither could Wonjin.
Wonjin drove him home and even accompanied him to his building's entrance.
"So, we're definitely going out again, right ?" Jungmo couldn't stop himself from asking, maybe a bit scared that Wonjin finally found him boring.
"Obviously, duh." Wonjin answered. "I'm so taking you with me to test all the restaurants in town. But now, it's late and I need to tell my friends I didn't die."
"Text me when you get home !"
Wonjin nodded. And, with all the courage he didn't he had, Jungmo kissed the boy goodnight. Just a quick peck on the lips, nothing scandalous, but it seemed absolutely perfect for the moment.
______
A few months later, Hyeongjun couldn't stop calling Jungmo "Uncle Mo" even at school and Wonjin's instagram was plastered with photos with his mystery boyfriend, whose face was always behind cute emojis.