Jaehyun raised his glass, swirling the whiskey as he leaned back in his chair, taking in the warm ambiance of Yunhui's living room. Across from him, Doyoung let out a sigh, waving his glass in a mock toast.
"To the South Korean won," Doyoung chuckled drunkenly
"May it someday be worth more than a box of cereal." He said with a giggle. The group laughed, clinking their glasses. Taeyong shook his head with a grin.
"At this point, my paycheck is basically Monopoly money" Taeyong added with a whine. Yunhui rolled her eyes, elbowing Taeyong
"Stop, you guys. Don't remind me. I ordered Christmas decor from an American website and it felt like I was trying to buy a plane ticket" she said, remembering how high the prices had soared with the new conversion rates. Jaehyun laughed at her comment, taking a sip of his own drink again.
"Hey, if Vogue cuts my travel budget, I'll just start hitchhiking to Milan." He said, trying to join in with their cries of desperation only to have them all scoff. Haechan raised an eyebrow, eyes gleaming
"Milan, huh? All those Prada shows must be rough, Jaehyun. How do you handle it?" he teased, feigning dramatic sympathy for the man who was clearly a lot more well off and lucky than the other few in the bunch. Jaehyun chuckled nervously, realising he had spoke wrong and ran a hand through his hair.
"It's hard work, really. I get jet lagged just thinking about it" he said, trying to earn their sympathy
"Imagine, the great editor of Vogue Korea, struggling in his front-row seat at Prada while us peasants suffer here with our sad exchange rates" Yunhui said with a sigh, shaking her head in disapproval of his attempt to act like he was lower in whatever social status he was trying to avoid grouping himself with right now
"Hey, hey, don't forgot that you used my work discount the other day" he said with a small grin and Yunhui pursed her lips as the group made an 'oooh' sound—she clearly left out that detail at work when she was talking nonstop about this man
"It's part of the job description too—no escaping the front row" Jaehyun added with a light sigh and Doyoung leaned in at the comment, as nosy as usual
"Do you meet all the celebrities?" Doyoung asked and Jaehyun chuckled with a shrug, not answering his question directly but the action itself making it pretty obvious—at this point, they had all googled his name through their office computers.
"And the parties? Are they actually fun or are famous people genuinely boring?" Haechan asked and Jaehyun laughed again
"They're...something. The fact that I'm having more fun sitting here talking to you guys than any work party speaks volumes, doesn't it?" Jaehyun said lightly and Doyoung let out a laugh
"Oh that's so sad...write that down in the next magazine—Jaehyun, chief editor of Vogue, finds accountants more interesting than celebrities" Doyoung joked and Jaehyun laughed
"Can't imagine dealing with that crowd. I'd be running for the door. Who looks after Jinah when you're off at these events?" Yunhui asked, pouring another round in her glass and filling up his as well even though he hadn't asked—only his.
"Mostly my mom and sometimes a babysitter I trust. But I'm picky about who I leave her with. Not too many people I'd trust around my little girl" he said, thanking her for the glass that was now a bit too full
"Oh, well, you can definitely cross Yunhui off that list" Haechan chimed in with a smirk
"What?" Yunhui protested, laughing
"Remember the time you forget to pack Minhyuk lunch and only realised it when he came home starving?" Doyoung asked, quickly throwing her under the bus
"Oh my god. You guys really keep track of my disasters, huh?" She said with a groan, remembering.
"Good to know what happens on this side of the door" Jaehyun chuckled, shaking his head and Yunhui sent him a little glare which he laughed at
"I'm gonna check up on the kids, just to make sure they're okay" Jaehyun said quickly, setting his glass down and standing up
"Aww, he really is protective over his daughter" Doyoung cooed with a small pout and Jaehyun shyly smiled as he turned to walk down the hallway
"I want a kid" Doyoung said from behind him
"Well last time I checked, men can't impregnate each other" Yunhui said in response. Jaehyun laughed a little, turning his head over his shoulder to see the group huddled up in the late hours of the night before he quietly entered the kid's room
He poked his head in first to make sure the both of them were fast asleep and not up playing games or talking all night. A smile planted itself on his face as he saw the bed side lamp still on by Hyuk's side. Jinah hated sleeping with the lights off, she was scared of the dark. Jaehyun always had to make sure he went back in to turn off the lamp before he headed to bed himself.
He snuck into the room and tip toed towards the lamp to turn it off, hoping the wood underneath him wouldn't creek and wake the kids up. And as quiet as he thought he was being, his eyes soon met the lazy ones of Minhyuk who had noticed him presence
"Hey bud...did I wake you?" Jaehyun said with a soft smile and Minhyuk shook his head no, hugging his dinosaur plushie even tighter
"What are you still doing up?" Jaehyun asked with a whisper, sitting down against the bed by the boy's legs. Minhyuk didn't give him much of a reason but only shrugged and Jaehyun let out a light sigh.
"Hey" he said softly, catching Minhyuk's gaze again
"Why were you hiding under the counter today?" He asked out of curiosity but also care for the child next to him. Minhyuk hesitated, his eyes drifting over several object in his room
"You... left me alone..." he mumbled, his eyes no longer holding eye contact with the man infront of him. Jaehyun's heart clenched, and he patted the boy's leg, meeting Minhyuk's solemn eyes again
"But I was going to come back and get you, kiddo" he said, voice soft but certain.
"I would never leave you like that. I just needed to help Jinah, and then I was going to come right back for you" Jaehyun explained his side softly after hearing the boy's perspective
"Really?" Minhyuk asked with a low voice and Jaehyun nodded
"Yeah. You're important to me, Minhyuk. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I left, I was just worried about Jinah...and I wasn't angry at you today either, I just didn't understand why you were hiding, okay?" He asked and the boy lightly nodded, his lips remaining tightly shut
"I'm sorry...do you forgive me?" Jaehyun asked again, trying to get the boy to reply to him. Minhyuk looked down towards his plushie as he tried to process the words. He stayed quiet, but Jaehyun noticed the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm sorry for being a bad boy" Minhyuk said softly and Jaehyun sighed, shaking his head
"You have nothing to apologise for...you're not a bad boy. Why would you say that?" Jaehyun asked again but the boy remained silent
"Does your...mom say that to you?" Jaehyun asked slowly, as if he didn't even believe the question he was asking. He never saw Yunhui as the type to get mad and say such stuff at her son, even though she had a pretty bad temper. But he was seeing another side of her tonight—maybe things really were different on the other side of the door.
"You're not a bad boy, okay? I'm going to take Jinah home now, so get some sleep" Jaehyun said lightly before he moved over towards his little girl to pick her up. It wasn't his intention to leave this early but something had struck a chord in him after his conversation with the little boy.
Maybe he was wrong about Yunhui.
YOU ARE READING
puzzle piece | jeong jaehyun
Fanfiction"It's like I keep picking up my broken pieces and putting them together but..." "A piece is still missing, right?" --- Jaehyun dad!au #1 JAEHYUN #2 NCT #1 SINGLEPARENT
