Chapter Fifteen (1/1)
Jeonghan dresses Joshua in his school uniform. He combs Joshua's bangs gently, straightens his blazer diligently, and brushes off the remaining lint. He looked down at the boy with a smile. "You're just too handsome." He said to the young one. "Dad.. you've seen me like this for two weeks now.." He pouted a bit. Jeonghan kissed Joshua's cheek. "And I still mean it. Do you have your book bag?" He asked as he stood up properly. "Yes." He held it up. Seungcheol looked at them while eating a small bowl of cereal. "Jeonghan, can we have a talk after you drop Joshua off at school?" He asked as he put his bowl down on the table. Jeonghan looked him up and down. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" He asked with a laugh. "Don't take off work, we can talk when you get home." He insisted. Joshua looked between them. "Or does he not want me around?" He looked up at Jeonghan. Jeonghan gasped. "Of course daddy wants you here. Right Seungcheol?" He looked up from Joshua to see Seungcheol giving a serious expression. Joshua nodded. "I can walk to school, Daddy. I know where it is." He said excitedly. Jeonghan shook his head furiously. "No way am I letting my little boy walk alone. Let's go." He took Joshua's hand. "I'll be back soon, Cheol." He waved. Seungcheol nodded and picked his spoon up. He looks down at the table with a sigh before he feels his leg being hugged. He put his spoon down and looked under the table. "Jun? What.." He looked back at the basket to see it knocked over with another baby under it. He got up and picked the baby from his leg. "You can't do that, Jun." Seungcheol pinched the baby's nose before leaning down and putting the basket ride-side up. "Daddy and I have some serious stuff to talk about. Don't hurt each other." He laughed as he put Junhui back in the basket. Seungcheol looked at the feeding schedule and saw that it's close enough to Junhui's feeding time. He took the formula from the counter and prepared it while watching Hoshi nibble at his hat. He scratched his neck as the hat was getting spit all over it. "Hoshi, take that out of your mouth." He took the hat. However, the child started crying. "Uh.. no, no, Hoshi. Here." He gave the hat back, and the baby instantly turned happy. Seungcheol held his forehead before hearing the doorbell. He raised a confused eyebrow as he walked that way. He opens the door and sees an unfamiliar face. "Hi, I'm Jinyoung. Your neighbor." He bowed. "Jeonghan usually asks me to look over the kids while dropping Joshua off at school. He didn't come by today, so I got worried." He explained. Seungcheol nodded. "Oh.. right.. I'm Seungcheol." He bowed back. "Uhm..." Jinyoung looked up and down at Seungcheol before looking away. "I guess I'm not needed for today. Have a good day." He bowed and turned around. "You too." He watched the younger walk off. Seungcheol sighed and looked back at the kids. He probably knows how to handle the kids way better than I do.. He closed the door. "Alright, Junhui. Time to eat." He held up the bottle. Junhui took the bottle and shook it in Hoshi's face for a moment. He then sucked on the food. Seungcheol sat on his chair and watched in amusement as Junhui lay down in the basket, pulling Hoshi on top of him while eating. "So cute but so confusing.." He picked up his cereal bowl. Seungcheol raised his eyebrows as Hoshi spinned his hat around while Junhui sucked on his food, looking around and finally letting his eyes rest on Seungcheol. Hoshi then began crying. "Hm? You have your hat though.." Seungcheol looked around the boy. "You-" He stopped with his nose scrunching. "Come on.." He picked the baby up and took him to the bathroom. An hour passes by, and Seungcheol's cereal gets soggy. He looked at the marshmallows and charms with a pout, eating them anyway. The door opened up and Jeonghan came back without Joshua. He took his shoes off and looked Seungcheol's way. "Wow, you're still eating?" He asked with laughs. "The boys were quite active." Seungcheol replied as he looked back at the kids who are now sleeping. Jeonghan nodded and sat next to Seungcheol, crossing his legs and putting his hands together. "You have my attention Seungcheol, let's talk." He said, watching Seungcheol put the spoon down again. Abandoning the cereal by pushing the bowl away, Seungcheol clears his throat after swallowing the last bit of milk. "It's about transportation and relocation." "Are you moving to a different office?" Jeonghan asked as he relaxed his legs. Seungcheol shook his head. "No.. but the manager said that I might be looking at another promotion if I keep working diligently." He said with a confident smile. Jeonghan took Seungcheol's hands. "I'm so proud of you." He leaned in to kiss Seungcheol's lips. "That's not what I wanted to talk about though," Seungcheol paused Jeonghan's kiss, "I noticed that you've been walking Joshua to school and back. Walking to the store and to some other places. I know you like to walk, but soon these kids are going to be growing up too." Jeonghan looked at the sleeping kids in the basket. "What are you getting at, Cheol?" Jeonghan asked seriously. "You need a vehicle to drive them to their school. You can't walk three children to school each day and not have the possibility of something bad happening to one." He said seriously too. Jeonghan widened his eyes. "Something bad happening?" Seungcheol thought for a moment while holding his chin. He snapped his finger. "You know the ducks?" He asked, getting an eager nod as a response. "The mother duck has all of the ducklings in a row, but what about the ones in the back? She can't protect those if she's so far away and a snake comes swimming by to get one." He used the ducks as an example. Jeonghan hitched his breath while looking at the kids next to them. "But.. Can we afford another vehicle?" He whispered. Seungcheol made circles on the table. "After that, I know we're not done with kids." He continued, getting Jeonghan's attention. "I was talking to Dongwoo the other day, and he said that the letter with Gongchan said he was the last one. So Hoshi's not the last one of ours." Jeonghan nodded and looked around. "So.." "We're going to need a bigger place. I told the apartment manager that it would just be us three, but now Jun and Hoshi’s here.. he says that if we have any more, he might kick us out." Seungcheol explained with a worried tone. Jeonghan sighed and held his forehead. "Maybe we should start using condoms then.." Seungcheol held Jeonghan's hand. "We could.. but those start getting expensive too.. especially with how often we do it." He teased. Jeonghan's frown lifted a bit, seeing Seungcheol's playful eyes. "So what do you have in mind, Cheol?" Seungcheol took out his phone. "I was looking at land online during my breaks these past couple of weeks. It's got a house on it, but there's the option to build onto the house." He said in an excited tone. "The land is going cheap right now, so.." Jeonghan looked at the phone. He clicked on different images of the land and also the house. "Why is it cheap right now?" He asked, looking up at Seungcheol. "The owner has to move to the States to help his parents out. But he can't pay the land and live in America. So he's looking for buyers to take it for him." He explained. "And there's no giving it back to him when he's done in America, I already asked." Jeonghan nodded and looked at the pictures a bit more. "The kids would love playing in the grass.." He muttered. "It's a bit farther away from here, so walking to school would probably take double or triple the time." Seungcheol included. "I can afford the land right away, but the vehicle will definitely be paid off over a few years." He scratched his neck. Jeonghan sat back and looked at the kids. He sighed worriedly. "I should start working too, right?" "It's fine, Jeonghan. I'll be doing some overtime to help with the cost of whatever vehicle you pick out." Seungcheol said, brushing off Jeonghan's thought. "Of course I don't expect you to make a decision right away. It's a big change." He kissed Jeonghan's cheek. Jeonghan looked around the table frantically. "I need some time to think, definitely.." He whispered. "Oh, but the land.. it's only going to be on the market for so long.." He muttered. Seungcheol furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, Jeonghan.. I didn't mean to-" "Buy the land." Jeonghan stood up. "Take the deposit out of the apartment at the end of this month so we have the other nine months rent to use on the purchase." He stood up and walked around the kitchen nervously. Seungcheol nodded and watched the other pace back and forth. "As for the vehicle.. It can wait awhile. I'll walk Josh to school and.. Jun and Hoshi have about six more months until they need to enroll. So let's see how things are then." He said while reaching for Seungcheol's bowl of cereal. Seungcheol watched the older scoop up some of the cereal before he noticed the younger wanted to feed him. He opened his mouth. "Eat, eat, eat." Jeonghan whispered. "We're going to have to cut back a bit on ourselves, but the kids need to eat." He said when he tilted the bowl for Seungcheol to drink the milk. The older swallowed the milk and hugged Jeonghan. "Thank you," He whispered to the younger, "I'm so sorry for the sudden-" "Thank you for waiting until Josh was gone." Jeonghan pulled back. "I don't think I could have survived if he heard any of this.." Seungcheol nodded and put their foreheads together. "I'm going to go to work now. I'll be home late, so eat without me, okay?" He whispered. "How late..?" "Josh won't see me before bed for a few weeks," Seungcheol said honestly, "but I want you guys to live comfortably." He continued. "Start packing their things, okay?" Jeonghan nodded and fought the tears in his eyes. "Text me when you can, okay? I don't want to.. lose you.." He said in a weak voice. Seungcheol nodded and kissed the younger. "Things are going to work out, and I'll make sure I see our children plenty." He assured. Jeonghan smiled sadly. "Be good, Seungcheol. You don't want to worry me." He said with a small laugh. Seungcheol laughed along and kissed Jeonghan. "I love you so much.. the kids too." He whispered as he sat Jeonghan on his knee finally. "We love you too, Cheol. All of us," He looked back at the sleeping kids momentarily, "let's work hard together, hm?" He suggested. Seungcheol nodded. "I'll see what I can for you to get a home job, but I don't want to put stress on you." He said when the younger stood up. "I want to contribute too," Jeonghan said, "even if it's just something small." "I know," Seungcheol held Jeonghan's hands, "we'll work it out. In the meantime, please prepare Josh for the move. I know how stressful it can be on children too." Jeonghan nodded. "I'll do my best." He walked Seungcheol to the door. Jeonghan closed the door and sighed. The children there just woke up and are clueless as to what's happening. They slap each other playfully and play with each other's clothes. Jeonghan looked down at them and wiped his tears before they noticed it. "Daddy's working really hard for you guys," He whispered, "let's do our best to work for him." He encouraged himself. Jeonghan picked his phone up and hovered over his mother's contact. He breathed in and out before pressing on it. She deserves to know that we'll be moving farther away. Even if she hates us. He nodded and put the phone to his ear. "What do you want, Jeonghan?" He heard the music playing in the nail salon. "I'm sorry to bother you.." He realized that it's working time. "Is there a good time I can call back?" He asked as he sat down on the chair Seungcheol had been sitting on. "I'm on break, so tell me what's up." He detected her annoyed voice, but there was also concern there. His mother didn't hate him, no, he could tell that she had some love for him. She loved him enough to not give him away. She loved him enough to take care of him for nineteen years. She loves him enough to not block his number. "Seungcheol.. he's moving us farther away.." He said, holding his forehead. "I just.. I wanted to tell you.." "Do you have a problem with it? Do you not want to move?" She asked, opening a cabinet. "I don't know, honestly." He said, looking at the table. "I want what's best for them, but I'm scared.." He confessed to the woman. She clicked her tongue and sighed. "Have you said this to him?" She asked. "Not really.." "You love him, right?" She got a hum of confirmation. "Then he needs to know your concern. I was scared when I wanted to open my own salon, but your father suggested that I do it. He was there when no one else was." She said, opening a bottle of juice. Jeonghan bit his lip slightly. "Your business is booming.." He commented. "And it wouldn't be if I chose to give up. But I didn't, I did what I thought was best." She sighed. "If you think moving is best, then it's worth a shot. It'll get you farther from me and your sister." She laughed at the end. Jeonghan laughed a bit too. "You still hate me, don't you?" He asked. "Mostly Seungcheol, but yeah. I lost a lot of customers because of you." She said honestly. "So don't think about bringing him and your little spawns over here to say goodbye.. I'll tell your sister." She said calmly. Jeonghan nodded and wiped a tear. "Thanks.." "Just.. don't stress over anything. You'll get ulcers and worry Seungcheol..." She said. "I'm hanging up now." Jeonghan hummed. "See you.." He looked down at his phone and sighed in relief. This is what needs to happen. He nodded and stood up. He walked to his bedroom and picked up his bag. "Joshua will understand too." He said as he walked into the child's bedroom. "He'll have a big yard and he won't even have to change schools." He encouraged himself. "He'll love it there." He continued as he looked at the little plush toys. He picked up a framed picture from Joshua's nightstand. He decorated the frame with stickers and little drawings. "Jun and Hoshi will enjoy it there too.." He muttered as he thumbed the boy's face in the picture. He heard something knock over in the kitchen. He got up and walked out to see Junhui walking around the basket. "Already? Daddy wasn't here to see you walk." Jeonghan laughed as Junhui fell over. "I got you, come on~" He picked the child up and walked him to the couch. "Hoshi's trying to sleep, shh." He kissed Junhui's forehead. He rocked back and forth slowly and stroked Junhui's head. "We'll start packing soon. Let's just wait a little longer, hm?" He suggested with a small laugh. "Daddy needs to give his heart a break for a moment." He whispered while looking at the wall where a TV is supposed to be. He closed his eyes and imagined the kids running around the rooms he saw on Seungcheol's phone. "It's going to be wonderful." He whispered.
A time where Jeonghan's mother supports Jeonghan in his emotional state.
Seungcheol will make sure things work out, we all know it ;)
<3