puzzle piece | jeong jaehyun

7

"Is your husband joining us?" Jaehyun asked, wondering if he should grab another plate to set on the table and Yunhui snorted

"I hope not, last time I checked I was divorced" she replied with a lighthearted smile and he awkwardly nodded

"Sorry" he said, grabbing the cutlery instead

"So you're single?" He asked and she whipped her head around to meet his face

"I didn't mean it like that—I meant are you a single parent—I could have phrased it so much better" Jaehyun said, an awkward chuckle emitting from his lips

"Well if you're asking if he's still in the picture then no, he's not. It's just me and that little troublemaker" she replied honestly, leaving the details behind closed curtains. After all, he was still a stranger. A stranger that she was now making a grilled cheese for.

"I think he's a pretty smart kid" Jaehyun said, his mind remembering how the boy had stood infront of the sensor yesterday to wait for his mother to make it on time. A small gesture but a pretty smart one in his eyes.

"Yeah, smart in a different way I guess" she said, placing the last grilled sandwich on a cutting board and grabbing a knife

"He doesn't eat the crust?" Jaehyun asked with a slightly amused smile, learning more about the boy in more subtle ways

"He hates them. They should just invent un-crusted bread. They made billions since sliced, we could use some more of that innovation" she mumbled making him smile a little at her monologue as she placed into a plate, carrying them out to the table with him behind her.

The kids were already seated across from each other, Jaehyun and Yunhui taking their own seats from across each other as well.

"Thank you for the food" Jinah said cutely with a smile and Yunhui patted her head

"You're welcome, it's nothing fancy" she said with a smile, looking towards Jaehyun who already seemed immersed into watching over Minhyuk

"Careful bud, it's really hot" Jaehyun said quickly, noticing how his hands were reaching for the food immediately and remembering his was the last one to be cooked

"You might burn your tongue" Jaehyun said, switching his plate with Minhyuk's only for the boys to push it away

"I don't like the crust" Minhyuk said, looking up at him

"Why not?" Jaehyun asked, stalling him for a while so his sandwich could cool down. The boy shrugged and looked up at him

"It hurts my mouth when I eat it" he said, giving him a real answer this time, Jaehyun furrowed his brows a little

"Maybe your teeth are about to fall out" Jaehyun said and Minhyuk shrugged again

"Does the tooth fairy leave you lots of money?" Jaehyun asked and Minhyuk nodded shyly before cupping a hand over his mouth and beckoning for Jaehyun to lean in closer

"But I think it's from my mom" he whispered with a giddy laugh and Jaehyun smiled

"You should ask for more money then" Jaehyun whispered back with a wink making the boy giggle

"Here you go, no crust for you" Jaehyun smiled, switching their plated back around again. His eyes looked towards Yunhui who seemed to find herself busy, cutting the sandwich into little chunks for Jinah, something he usually had to.

The two momentarily met each other's eyes, a content smile on their lips as they both were grateful they could move on from their wrong start and notice that although they were incredibly petty and competitive individuals, they would always be amazing parents first. Even if they were both doing it alone.

It wasn't much long after until dinner was over and the two kids settled back onto the sofa playing with Minhyuk's toys while the adults cleaned up.

"Thank you again, it saved me a good hour of cooking" Jaehyun said and she shook her head with a small smile

"No worries, it was nice having some company. The kids seem to get along really well" Yunhui said with a smile, closing the dishwasher shut so it can start it's cycle

"Hopefully we can too" Jaehyun said

"Hopefully" she nodded

"I can drop the kids off to school tomorrow by the way, take it as a thank you. I really owe you for today" Jaehyun said and she nodded

"I would decline but my office is the opposite direction so it would actually save me so much time" she said, grateful for his offer and he nodded

"Oh and...for future reference. If you don't have buttermilk you can mix lemon with milk and it pretty much does the same thing—but you don't like my cooking so..." she trailed off playfully and he rolled his eyes

"Hey, I only insulted you because you accused my daughter of being tone deaf. The cookies were great" Jaehyun said with a smile

"I wasn't accusing her, she is actually tone deaf" Yunhui corrected and he scoffed a little

"Well you kid sucks at playing the piano but you didn't hear me complain about that yesterday" Jaehyun shot back and she rolled her eyes this time

"And yet, here you are complaining about it" she challenged and he eventually decided to drop it, unfortunately his daughter didn't inherit the same musical gift as him—he always found it cute though, never once thought it was embarrassing—even during the school plays where she would belt out a line off key.

"Jinah, let's go. Are you sleeping already?" Jaehyun called out, but she too tired to move already. He chuckled before his arms reached over to her up and place her in his arms, carrying her.

"I'll drop you off to school tomorrow okay, night Hyuk" Jaehyun said, ruffling the boy's head

"Goodnight Mr. Jaehyun" Minhyuk said shyly and the older man laughed

"Just call me Jae buddy" he said before turning around and walking towards the door, grabbing the shopping bag with his free hand as well.

"I'll come at around 8, is that okay?" Jaehyun asked

"8 is perfect, thanks" Yunhui smiled, waiting by the door until he unlocked him to make his way inside

"Goodnight" he said looking towards her once more as he began to close his front door

"Night, Jae."