Chapter Twenty-eight (1/1)
The new year passed by a week ago. All of the festivities and celebrations have been cleaned up from the house and the kids are back to school. Jeonghan stretched his arms as he watched Seungcheol clean up the last bit of the celebration. "I liked this year a lot better," Jeonghan started, "relaxing and fun for everyone." He rhymed and sat down at the table.
Seungcheol sat down beside him and picked up his mug of coffee. "Joshua was really happy this year." Seungcheol started. "Oh, and Jun enjoyed himself too." He included. He can still remember last year, when his Chinese child was all tears. But this year he was all smiles and made more friends at school. The house was booming with kids that their kids liked to hang out with. Of course, Woozi and Seokmin mostly stuck to each other while being at school. They're like twins: incompatible with anyone else. They don't mind other people, but they can't ever be on the same level as Woozi and Seokmin.
"You know what?" Jeonghan started while holding his forehead. "I haven't spoken to my family in a long time.. I wonder how they're doing.." He realized. There was last new year when Jeonghan invited the family over. However, the only response he received was that they were busy. He didn't even bother inviting them this year, knowing fully well that his mother is set on her celebrations. New Year's was the biggest event in his family. Everyone from the nail salon showed up. Everyone from across the country came by to eat her cooking and talk with her. Even relatives from abroad came by ust to visit the family. It was incredible! "Do you want to talk to them?" Seungcheol asked, putting his mug down and correcting his posture against the chair. Jeonghan pursed his lips. "I suppose.. I just.." Seungcheol smiled and held his hand. "If you want to make a trip this weekend, I'm available. I can watch the kids or Joshua can be in charge. He's grown so much since the last time you put him in charge for the day." He chuckled. Jeonghan smiled when he remembered coming home from the car dealership. He chuckled when he imagined Hoshi running around. "That was the day Seokmin came to us.." He remembered. "Are you sure you'd be okay driving me to see them?" "Just make sure it's okay with your mom first. But I'd be okay with flying to the moon and back with you." He said, breaking his posture to kiss Jeonghan lightly on the lips. Jeonghan blushed and nodded. "Okay then. I'll text her." He whispered. Seungcheol cups the younger's cheek, bringing them closer in their kiss. The kitchen door opens and their kiss stops. Jun walks up to them and puts his tie up. "Can you help me, Daddy?" He asked Seungcheol. "Sure, come here." He lifted Jun's collar and put the material around the boy's neck. "You look so handsome, you know." He commented, fastening the tie for Jun. Jun looked up at Seungcheol with sparkles in his eyes. The parent melted and leaned down to kiss the boy's cheek. "My Juni, sit on my knee for a minute?" He asked, holding the growing boy's shoulders. Jun agreed and let Seungcheol try to pick him up. "Oh you've grown!" He put his head back when he felt Jun's weight on his knee. "You're gonna outgrow me, you know. You're gonna be so big and strong compared to me." He said with a cheerful smile. "Daddy's big and strong, I can't compare myself to you." He hugged Seungcheol. Jeonghan smiled, watching the two play together. Why does he always get so adorable when he's playing with Jun? It's like he becomes softer than a marshmallow whenever Jun's involved. Jeonghan noticed. Seungcheol loves and gets excited with all of the children, but Jeonghan has noticed Seungcheol gives Jun his own special attention. An attention that turns the strong man into a soft and adorable man. A man who loves rolling around in his work clothes just to make the boy giggle and smile. A man that is lost in his own world that involves Jun. His whole world revolves around Jun. Everything is Jun. And Jeonghan loves watching him escape into that world. The time changed to the next hour, and Jeonghan hates that he has to get Seungcheol out of that world. "Cheol," He tapped the man's shoulder, "you're late for work." He said with raised eyebrows. Seungcheol looked at the time. "Whoops, we got carried away again, didn't we?" He laughed while putting Jun on his feet. "You be a good boy at school, okay?" He patted the boy's head. The other kids came into the kitchen with their uniforms on and their hair perfect. They were surprised to see Seungcheol still there. "Daddy?" Hoshi looked up at him. "Did you stay to tell us goodbye?" He asked excitedly. "No, but I'm glad I did." He laughed, kissing the tiger's cheek. He kissed the other kids as well, aside from Wonwoo and Woozi who backed away at the kissing motion. "See you all later. I'm gonna be a bit late tonight, obviously. Eat without me." He kissed Jeonghan. Jeonghan watched the man leave before doing a headcount. He then made sure everyone had their things before driving them to school. Parking at a cafe, he ordered his usual iced Americano while having his phone out. He sat down at one of the tables in the back and looked at his mother's contact while slowly sucking on the beverage. He pressed on the text button while breathing in and out. He put the cup to the side and started on his text.
Jeonghan (9:03am)Hey, mom. It's been awhile.I know you're working rightnow, but could you pleasetext back when you getsome time? I'd like toarrange a day we can meetyou and dad.
He put his phone down and let out his long-held breath. He looked up at the cafe worker and bowed at the teenager. "You look stressed," The worker started, "is everything okay, Sir?" He asked, handing Jeonghan his plate of sweets. "It's.. I don't have too close of a relationship with my family, but I wanted to text my mom." Jeonghan was open as the kid's eyes were friendly. "So I did.." He nodded and looked down at the floor. "I understand how that can be," He said with a sigh, "my aunt literally hates me." He scratched his arm. "But if you're reaching out to her, then you're already in the right direction, Sir." Jeonghan gave a small smile and looked at the worker's name tag. Jaemin.. "Do you have a minute to talk? Or..?" "Oh, you're the only customer as of now." He replied. He sat down across from Jeonghan when the adult motioned him to. "I don't come here too often, I hate coming alone." Jeonghan said, picking his fork up. "Tell me about yourself, Jaemin." He requested.
Jaemin nonchalantly looked at his name tag before the table. "I'm a high school student, but I'm looking to be a lawyer soon. I work here and a few other places." He replied. "I want to raise my own funds so that I don't put a financial burden on my parents." Jeonghan nodded and swallowed the bite of muffin. "What do your parents think of that?" He asked, realizing that his kids will have a dream of their own soon. Especially Joshua. "They said I don't have to and that they would pay my college funds and law school fees, but I don't want them to. Especially since they recently adopted my little sister." Jaemin replied, playing with his nails. "I see.. I would want to do the same for my kids, honestly. To think about them going out working all day after school.." He sighed. "I can't think about it." He laughed while holding his forehead.
Jaemin laughed and looked down. "You have kids?" He asked. "You look too young to have kids." He said. "I'm definitely old enough. I've got eight." He said before sipping on his coffee.
Jaemin opened his eyes widely. "You're joking." He sat up properly. Jeonghan shook his head. "Let me start from the beginning, Jae." He said, putting his hands in his lap. "My mom wanted me to be a doctor. She said that the only thing getting in my way was my stubbornness. "She fixed my teeth, she fixed my nails, and she did this and that to try to correct my vision." He said, not making eye contact with the teenager. "When lasik didn't help, she gave up on that and continued to try to make me presentable while I did what I wanted to do." Jaemin relaxed in his seat. "What did you want to do, Sir?" He asked. "I wanted to be an advertiser." Jeonghan chuckled. "I wanted to go out and tell everyone about amazing products, deals, and so much more. And she said I had to pay for it myself because her funds were solely going to my little sister." He answered. "So I got a job at a convenience store nearby where I met a man I wish I never met." Jeonghan stated. "It was really stressful to work and do school at the same time. I commend you for having more than one job while still studying, Jaemin." He smiled, putting some hair behind his ear.
Jaemin looked into Jeonghan's eyes. "It's not the easiest, Sir." Jeonghan nodded. "Mom was against me having friends or even thinking about dating. She's super against same-sex relationships too." He mentioned. "So I kept that horrible man being my boyfriend a secret from her. She did accept him as my friend, however. He was an important man at a huge company down in Gwangju." "Gwangju? What was he doing in Incheon?" Jaemin laughed. Jeonghan shrugged. "So then I met a guy that my mom hated, but I loved." He continued. "That guy saved me from the horrible man and we continued to be friends in front of mom but lovers in front of his parents." He smiled, thinking of young, naive Seungcheol. "Rebellious child you are." Jaemin joked. Jeonghan nodded with a devious smile. "She found out on New Year's Day when the stork left our first child on the porch." He said, looking at Jaemin. "And two weeks later, I made a big decision, one that I don't regret but still leaves me sad." "What's that?" Jaemin asked. "I ran away with my now-husband and child." Jeonghan laughed. "And since then, I haven't really been too much in contact with my mom. But it's been a couple years, hasn't it?" Jaemin nodded and thought back to the day. "It's only a week after the new year.. So you want to meet her and catch her up on what's been going on in your life?" He asked, putting his hands together. Jeonghan nodded. "That's right.. And she's probably busy at the nail salon right now, so I won't get a message back from her for awhile." He included, putting his phone in his pocket. "What about you? Why does your aunt hate you?" Jaemin sighed. "Can you give me a minute? I want a drink too." He stood up and bowed before leaving. He came back and sat down with a fancy cup of coffee. It has a swirl of cream on the top. "What's that one called?" Jeonghan laughed. "Caramel Brulée Latte." Jaemin introduced. "It just got added to the menu last week." He smiled. The younger offered him a sip, so Jeonghan tasted a bit of it. "Woah," He gave the cup back, "that is.. sweet.." He opened his eyes widely.
Jaemin laughed a bit before clearing his throat. "My story isn't as long as yours, Mr.." "Yoon." Jeonghan said. "Mr. Yoon. My mother married my dad with the family's blessings and wanted to have children together." He started. "Everything was going well until I wasn't showing any signs of wanting to come out of my mother." He continued before drinking down half of the cup. Jeonghan cut the next muffin with the side of his fork. "So they had to induce the labour?" He asked. "Yep, and it took a lot of energy out on my mom." He said, spinning his straw in his cup silently. "After it was all done, the doctors said that her body wouldn't be able to handle another child, so they made it that way." He included with a sigh. "So your parents were forced to not have any more kids together..?" Jeonghan asked, receiving a nod. "That's terrible.. I'm so sorry." He said. Jaemin smiled. "It did sadden my parents for awhile, but they realized that they can be happy with adopting too." He mentioned. "And so now I have a little sister. She's Chinese, and she's so cute." He laughed. "She's only a toddler right now.. poor girl." Jeonghan nodded. "Looks like things aren't as bad as they could be then." He commented. "True.. but my aunt, my mom's sister, blames me for my mom not being able to have any more children. She will absolutely not talk to me, look at me, or even be in the same room as me whenever she visits." He said in disbelief. "She said if it weren't for me, that my parents would be happier and have the children they wanted." Jeonghan narrowed his eyes. "Oh what a bitch.." He clenched his fist. His expression fell when he realized what he said and did. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.." "No.. My mom said that I'm the child she wanted. So I try not to listen to my aunt." He assured. "It's just.. sometimes it's hard.." Jeonghan finished his muffin and the bell at the door rang. "Thank you for the chat, Mr. Yoon. In a way, it really took the stress off of me." He said with a bow. "Same here.. I hope that one day your aunt doesn't give you trouble and will love you." He stood up with the younger. "And you with your mother." Jaemin said, picking up Jeonghan's plate and cup. "Take care, Mr. Yoon." He bowed. "You too, Jaemin." Jeonghan bowed back and exited the cafe. Sitting down in his van, he hears a text come in from his phone. Taking the device out of his pocket, he unlocks it and clicks on the text message. Surprisingly, it came from his mother.
Mom (10:04am)Come by this Saturday.I'm not cooking for abunch of kids, so justbring your husband.
Jeonghan smiled a little. He texted back and then put his phone in the center console. He breathed in and out before starting the engine. We can do it.. He assured himself. He backed out of the space and started driving back home.
Jeonghan wants to update his parents on how life's been in the last couple of years.
Young Jaemin gave Jeonghan the confidence he needed.
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