a better life // hwang hyunjin ✔️

chapter seven

hold onto whatever makes you happy

"hi baby! did you have a g-"

"hyunjin!" daehyun shouts, cutting off his mother as he runs up to hyunjin, wrapping his arms around his leg. hyunjin chuckles, bending down to his height

"hey buddy! did you have a good day at school?" he asks, looking up to seulgi bashfully.

"yeah! i made new friends!" he smiles happily, seulgi felt her heart warm up.

"that's great! i'm so proud of you!" seulgi smiles at him, patting his head.

"i've missed you!" he exclaims, putting his attention back on hyunjin.

"i know, i've been very busy..." he motions for daehyun to come closer so he could whisper in his ear. "i'm on a top secret mission..." he teases, seulgi holding back a snort as she hears him.

"a secret mission?" daehyun attempts to whisper back, but as we know, he's not very good at whispering.

"yup! so you might not see too much of me for a while, but just know i'm doing super cool things." he winks up at seulgi, just like he always does.

"when will you be done?" he asks.

"hopefully soon, but for the time being, i need you to make sure you listen to your mom, and be kind to her." he tells him, remembering how she seemed a little extra tired. hyunjin was sure daehyun was well behaved, but he didn't want any extra stress added onto seulgi. he wanted to at least try to help, and seulgi loved the small things he did to make her happy. daehyun nods obediently, finally going over to give his mom a hug.

"i'm sorry for being mean to you recently." he apologizes, squeezing her leg tightly. hyunjin takes this opportunity to stand back up, admiring the two.

"aw baby, it's okay. we all get a little frustrated sometimes." she coo's, ruffling his hair. the sight warmed hyunjin's heart, if he was going to be a father figure to anyone, he was glad it would be daehyun. "hey, i have a surprise for you." she says, wanting to lighten the mood. daehyun instant looks excited. "you're gonna hang out with uncle minho this friday." she says with a wide smile.

"uncle minho? yay!" he cheers, jumping up and down. seulgi chuckles, looking over to hyunjin as he watches the happy boy with a smile of his own.

"but for now, hyunjin is going to take us to get ice cream!" she adds, laughing as daehyun once again wraps his arms around hyunjin's leg.

"this is the best day ever!" he exclaims, using his small arms to pull open the door of seulgi's car. hyunjin laughs, helping him open it the rest of the way as he happily climbs in, eager to get ice cream.

"you go ahead and get in, i'll buckle him up." she tells hyunjin, squeezing her way between him and the car, not leaving him with much of a choice.

"alright..." he trails off, backing away and climbing into the passenger seat. he watches in the rear view mirror as seulgi secures his seat belt, giving it a final tug before closing the door and making her way to the drivers side.

"you ready?" she asks, looking over to hyunjin, buckling and tugging on her own seatbelt.

"yup." he replies with a smile, clicking in his own seatbelt. and with that, she drives off, heading to the nearest ice cream parlor.

-

"daehyun baby, come on, you know i can't carry you like that anymore." seulgi speaks cautiously, trying to wake up the sleeping boy. he had fallen asleep after eating his ice cream. she undoes his seatbelt, carefully shaking his shoulders in attempt to wake him up.

"i'll get him." hyunjin offers. seulgi nods, stepping back, watching as hyunjin hooks his arm under his legs and the back of his neck, effectively lifting him from the car. seulgi subconsciously smiles at the sight. hyunjin follows her up the driveway, and into the house, holding daehyun securely against his chest.

"his room is right over here." she tells him, pushing open the door to daehyun's bedroom. "i'll wake him up for dinner later." she says, stepping aside to allow hyunjin to enter the room. he carefully lays daehyun on his bed, removing his shoes, and throwing the blanket over him.

hyunjin quietly exits the room, seulgi shutting the door carefully behind him.

"thanks." she mumbles, leading him back out into the living room.

"of course, he must've had a long day." he chuckles, keeping his voice low.

"i guess so." she agrees. an awkward silence enveloping the two as seulgi heads into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.

"so 'uncle minho' is okay with watching daehyun friday night?" hyunjin attempts to make conversation, not really wanting to go home yet.

"i haven't asked him yet, but usually he's always happy to take daehyun for a few hours." she replies, and he nods.

"how long have you known him?"

"we met in high school." she responds, purposefully avoiding anything that could lead to him questioning about daehyun's dad. she was not ready to tell him that story yet.

"is he..." hyunjin trails off.

"no, he's not daehyun's father if that's what you were about to ask." she chuckles at the thought. "but he's been here for everything, so i trust him." she adds.

"it's a good thing you had someone like him by your side." hyunjin smiles, feeling just a little bit jealous again, but by the way she talked about him, he was sure there wasn't anything between them.

"yeah..." she trails off, the awkward silence falling over them once again. "you should probably go before daehyun wakes up, otherwise he won't want you to leave." she tells him, trying not to sound rude, but she meant what she said about limiting the time with him.

"yeah, right. i'll see you on friday?"

"i'll see you on friday." she smiles at him, reassuring him that she does want to go on the date. hyunjin felt giddy, and he couldn't wait for friday to come, despite the fact that he had no idea what to cook for her. he would figure it out. and with that in mind, he quietly leaves her house, shutting the door gently behind him to not disturb the sleeping boy.

seulgi found herself smiling, feeling like a happy teenager going on a first date. it had been a while since she'd felt like this, and it made her happy. of course she still had a few anxieties about the whole situation, but she knew if she didn't put herself out there, she would never find someone. she couldn't be afraid to try, and with hyunjin, she felt a lot of hope.

she always made it a point to think realistically, but just like everyone else, she wanted a nice happy ending. she felt as if she'd already suffered enough tragedy, and hyunjin was her light at the end of the tunnel. people told her her whole life, that something good would come her way, and she had been waiting for it.

hyunjin might be just that.