THE LITTLE COPY ⋮ markhyuck

Chapter 𝟯𝟮

Upon seeing the group of kids, screaming and running around the chosen area—the park where the picnic took place—Donghyuck shivered in thought that he'd have to endure all of this. But he didn't let his tired, experienced, and exhausted adult self to ruin Dongchan's day. So, instead of sighing at how hard this would be, he smiled and encouraged his son to greet his classmates.

Donghyuck watched how his child approached others in interest. He didn't forget that Dongchan was a bully, and it was obvious from the reactions of some kids too. They appeared confused but played along as soon as one boy replied to Dongchan and included him in their game. Even so, it made Donghyuck question whether his son stopped picking on other kids. Mark didn't say anything about it anymore, so everything must have been fine.

Speaking of Teacher Lee, Donghyuck spotted him standing by a thick Sakura tree and talking to someone's mom and dad. Even though this was an informal gathering, a picnic, he still wore a white dress shirt like the teacher he was. But instead of long sleeves, he wore one with short ones and appeared well prepared for the hot weather. He was also in brown trousers, but they didn't look as formal, so he looked in the right place.

Scared of being alone because he never made friends with other parents—he simply forgot—Donghyuck brought his family members to keep him company. He was nervous with them, though, as two out of five had hard feelings toward Mark and they kept looking at him.

They talked to each other for the first minutes, then as someone's grandma spotted Donghyuck's mom and dad and went to say hi as they seemingly knew each other, the siblings slowly retreated and went separate ways, perhaps to look for friends too. As an ambivert, Donghyuck suddenly forgot his fears and felt the urge to talk to someone he didn't know and get to know them. He approached companionless parents at first, those who kept their distance and just admired their children. They got along right away, as they had one thing in common—they were as tired as Donghyuck and wanted silence. So, under a beautiful Sakura tree, he gathered five different people and began talking about their kids and everything that wasn't related to work. At some point, they even sat down and would've talked more if Teacher Lee hadn't approached them.

"Hello to those I haven't seen yet," he said, smiling subtly and just glancing at Donghyuck before looking at others. "May I ask you all to come closer? We put a few picnic blankets there."

Donghyuck's new friends nodded their heads and said something in agreement. Mark turned away after the announcement, and they had to leave their spot to come to other people. Although Donghyuck regained his energy, he preferred smaller groups rather than a big company of parents. He didn't like the idea. It always made him confused about who to talk to.

"Teacher Lee is so handsome," one mom grabbed Donghyuck's arm and whispered, confessing secretly when her husband walked ahead. "If I weren't married, I would sin with no regrets."

"Well, he is," Donghyuck chuckled. He couldn't lie. "But I don't know about sins..."

"Don't lie. I bet every single parent thought something unholy about our kids' homeroom teacher. It's just impossible," said another, male parent. "He spreads that... western energy which is so..."

"Hot?" the woman, who still clenched Donghyuck's arm, asked.

"Definitely hot. Maybe even devilish."

"Stop it, you guys," Donghyuck awkwardly laughed. "Be appropriate."

Not everyone was decent and appropriate at this gathering. When Donghyuck was already on the blanket, surrounded by his friends, all of their eyes unintentionally locked on Teacher Lee, who had a blonde woman next to him, obviously someone's an outgoing mom, dressed in a somewhat luxurious tracksuit. Her energy was all over the place, and everyone could tell she was really horny for the teacher. Donghyuck heard from someone that her husband was overseas, and she was looking for fun. Although that was just a rumor created by other parents, Donghyuck didn't think the fun part was a lie.