[VIXX Neo] Butterflies

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"Everyone! Stay close together and hold hands tightly~"

"Ok!"

The kids were in pairs and held each other's hand tight at my instructions. They waddled along behind me in a train-like formation.

Today was the first time they were out of the school and on a field trip. I expected some chaos to occur but fortunately, the children were listening well.

To be honest, I was really worried about this field trip. For one, our childcare was short staffed and what made things worse was that the other teacher had to take urgent leave last minute. Thankfully, one of my best friends could spare the time. I turned to look behind the children to see my friend. He seemed tired from his work but it wasn't so obvious. Noticing my gaze, he smiled and pointed to the front where I had almost bumped into a family.

"Sorry."

I bowed as I apologized to the lady.

"Oh dear me. It's alright. Haha, you taught them well young man."

She smiled. I was confused at her response. It made me turn around and it took me a few seconds for me to realize that the children had done the same thing as I did. I looked on and felt a surge of pride.

"Ya! Hyung, are you ok?"

My train of thoughts was broken by the familiar voice shouting at me.

"Yup Hyogii... Let's go."

I continued to lead the children to our first enclosure. The giant grey creature loomed over the children. Without a doubt, some seemed frightened while others stared back in awe.

"Seonsaengnim! What animal is this?"

"It's an elephant."

A voice responded back to the question before I could answer. I searched for who had responded and smiled when I realized who.

"Minyul is right! This is an elephant. See the long nose and it's huge body and ears?"

"Wahh an elliwant~"

"Can it fly like dumbo?"

I started laughing a little before responding with a 'maybe'. I carried on quickly to the next animal.

The kids managed to see land and sea animals. What made them all squeal and lose formation was definitely the baby animal pen. Yong Min, one of the older kids, pointed at it before starting a catalytic reaction as they all noticed bunnies, puppies, and kittens.

As soon as they got to the fence, their tiny hands gripped it to see the animals closer. A few of the boys even climbed up to try and touch anything they could.

"Hello! Welcome to our zoo's petting pen. Do you want to come in?"

"Yes!!"

The lady opened the fence to let the children in and they rushed quickly to what they wanted to touch most. Jae Na, who is normally timid, slowly approached one of the bunnies. The white furball stayed still for her to stroke its ears down to its body. Ha Dong tried to carry the bunny which tried to escape but he managed to calm it down.

Hyuk made sure everyone was in the pen before he walked to my side.

"I still don't understand what made you suddenly want to apply for this job. Is it very tiring hyung?"

"Not really. I feel proud and happy so I'm contented."

I looked at all the children and tried not to face Hyuk. I could imagine his expression showing how he didn't believe what I said and his eyes full of worry. Thankfully, he kept silent and didn't pursue the matter. After fifteen minutes, we rounded them up again and made our way back to the bus.

On the way back to the childcare center, I asked them how they knew what kind of animal it is from their appearance. Many raised their hands saying how a lion has crazy hair, zebras have stripes like the pants ahjummas would wear, leopards have many eyes and even snakes are long and has tiny eyes like a celebrity on the television.

"In conclusion, everyone has their own characteristic that makes them. They may change over time but you can still easily identify them from their traits."

The children didn't seem to understand but they nodded their heads. I smiled before handing out their snacks. I passed each row and distributed everything. I scanned to check if everyone was eating when my eyes came to a stop as I noticed Minyul sitting alone.

I sat next to him and he raised his head when he sensed my presence.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Um."

"Are you tired?"

"Um."

As soon as he replied, he closed his eyes and dropped his head onto my shoulder. I stroking his head with my left hand as little snores came from my right.

The angle at which I was looking at Minyul, reminded me of an incident. I started thinking about my past and how everything drastically changed in less than an hour. We were in the same position and...

Something wet landed on my jeans and I tried to wipe it away but it seeped through the fabric, forming a circle patch.

As usual, when I try to make things better, it doesn't go well. This was why I stayed out of a lot of things and did not go out of my way to help. But when I got to know Minyul better, I was reminded of the child I used to know.

Wanting to forget or just not be bothered by anything, I leaned deeper into the seat and watched the scenery outside the window go by.

~
A/N:
First ever authors note! Thank you so much for the support and I would like your feedback on this fanfiction. And I'm sorry for the late update; I've been working 6 days in a row and every time I reach home I get really tired and just fall asleep .. Let me know what you think about this so far and please show more love💕