THE LITTLE COPY ⋮ markhyuck

Chapter 𝟰

Fearing running into Mark, Donghyuck walked his son to the entrance, and then, excusing himself for being late to work, he asked the Dongchan to find the class by himself.

"Can you do it?" he asked his son unsurely because he knew Dongchan loved to get taken care of more.

"Yes, Papa," the kid said, surprisingly. "Don't worry. I remember where to go."

The process got easier when another kid with whom Dongchan was already familiar came up to them with his mom. Now Donghyuck was sure his son would be taken to the right classroom by his friend and a helpful adult.

Sighing as the hardest was finally done, Donghyuck went to his car. He was about to turn the engine and drive off when he saw Mark exiting the car just a few cars away. Running a hand through his hair, he looked up at the school building, lifting his sunglasses a little to see it better. Then he said something once, then twice. Donghyuck was confused about who the teacher was talking to until he saw black earbuds in his ears. As if that wasn't enough, Mark had a smart water bottle in his hand. The bottom of the bottle was glowing!

Apart from the high technology impression, he looked very simply. A white high-collar shirt with long sleeves and a black tie that was loose at first but went back to its place as soon as the car door was closed. Mark opened the door of the passenger's seat and pulled out a briefcase. With everything he needed in his hands, he headed toward the school.

Donghyuck sighed and finally drove off.

📚

Every other day, Donghyuck would be calm as steady water. His job was monotonous, nothing new—collecting and analyzing the data, talking to his coworkers, working again, and finishing the work for that day.

Such monotony changed just because that particular morning, Dongchan went to school and had his first-ever classes. Everything would be normal, just a simple excitement and nervousness that every parent experiences. But no. Donghyuck was also worried because Mark was there with Dongchan. And, even though Donghyuck was sure his secret was safe, he still couldn't help but get nervous as questions of 'what if' ran in his head.

Another thing that completely changed the trajectory of Donghyuck's job had to be the schedule and time of his son's classes. Before he went to school, Donghyuck would drop him at his sister's and don't worry too much. But now, he knew he had to pick the kid up and bring him here—he didn't have any other places to put his kid. He didn't want to bother his sister anymore, either.

So, he had only four hours to work to fulfill his potential, and then he used his lunch break to drive to Dongchan's school, which, thankfully, was nearby. He still had to go inside and fetch Dongchan, who was stuck by the exit door as he was talking to his friends.

Feeling sorry for separating them, Donghyuck apologized and took his son toward his car. As expected, just as it was just the two of them, the little boy began sharing how fun it was that day.

"Teacher Lee taught us about dialects in Korea. I had a lot of fun. He let us pronounce the words differently," the kid began chirping. "Then another teacher came in. She's Teacher Kim, and she introduced us to numbers. I was the only one who knew what happens when we add numbers! We also had a few classes about discipline."

"Today must've been fun," Donghyuck smiled, getting happy on his son's behalf.

"It was! I made lots of friends."

"That's cool. Just make sure you don't talk with them too much during the class, okay?"

"Okay!"

Donghyuck took his son to work and let him join other kids in a kids' room. This room was built about two years ago when many employees began bringing their kids to their workplaces. As talkative and lively human beings turned out to be unbearable, especially when they belonged to strangers (Donghyuck could understand as he found other kids annoying), they needed a place to stay all together. So, a room such as this became a lifesaver. Dongchan was kept busy with toys and other kids. This let Donghyuck continue working with no disturbance.