The Seamster and The Demon

8. Two Dragons

Seonghwa started his day with urgency.

He had to meet San today and discuss their plans for the upcoming art and crafts market one town over. Apart from his online store, the frequent markets the two of them visited were Seonghwa's main source of income, and he couldn't miss out on one even if a short demon wreaked havoc in his house.

A long list of tasks awaited Seonghwa, and he didn't have the time to stay around and reprimand Hongjoong for drinking milk straight out of the carton. Instead, he hurried to get Wooyoung ready and dressed for preschool. He would have to ask Yunho to take care of Wooyoung when he spent his day working. Wooyoung was still a bit too young to keep him company during the whole time and not get impatient. Hongjoong was a whole other topic, and Seonghwa had to figure out where to put him still. The combination of the two at home would be horrific. Later, once he came back from San's, Seonghwa would ask the demon about it.

Wooyoung was in his room, struggling to get dressed, when Seonghwa came searching for him. The boy couldn't decide what he wanted to wear, and all of his options weren't fit for the weather. By the time he finally gave a satisfied squeal after rummaging through all of his drawers, Seonghwa already glanced impatiently at his watch.

"Dad! Can I be Toothless today?"

"Is today a Toothless day?"

Wooyoung nodded gravely at him, so Seonghwa rolled with it. He helped his son into his big sweater that had a tail attached to it and a hood meant to resemble his favourite show character. It even had little wings. If he crouched, he looked just like a little dragon on the hunt for unsuspecting food. Once Wooyoung had pulled his hood over his head and taken his rucksack, they were ready to go.

Hongjoong sat in the kitchen and counted his eggs when they passed him.

"Bye-bye, Joongie!" Cheerful, Wooyoung waved at the man. Hongjoong grinned in response.

"I'll visit a friend, so I won't be back as soon. It would be great if you could do the dishes, but if you don't want to, I can do it later."

Seonghwa snatched his keys from the hook and slid them into his pocket. He had to spend an excruciatingly long moment fiddling the laces back into his shoes because somebody had taken them out.

"Alright!" Hongjoong chirped from the kitchen. Then, Seonghwa and Wooyoung were off.

Seonghwa dropped Wooyoung off at the kindergarten. Today, he didn't go in to greet Yunho, but Wooyoung promised him in his grave tiny voice to say hi to him for Seonghwa. As soon as his black dragon of a son had disappeared inside, Seonghwa took off to annoy San. When he called on the way to announce his arrival, the man's voice sounded groggy over the phone.

"At least brush your hair until I'm there," Seonghwa chuckled at his yawning friend. San had grumbled.

"I think my teeth are in more dire need of cleaning. See you in ten."

Seonghwa was kind enough to pick up some coffee for the two of them. While he waited for the barista to finish his order, he set a reminder on his phone to get Yunho some chocolates as thanks if he was willing to keep Wooyoung over the weekend.

The door to San's flat was already open and just leaned against the frame when Seonghwa stepped out of the elevator. He let himself in and kicked his boots off before he shuffled inside.

"I got your drink. Hey, Byeol." Seonghwa nodded at San's cat in passing. His friend had already spread out on the sofa, his hair still a mess and wrapped in a pale yellow blanket. His laptop was set up in front of him, but he still looked half asleep. Once Seonghwa had handed him his drink, he gently ruffled the man's hair. San yawned in response.