lean on me » showki

san

Kihyun's eyes flickered up to the analogue clock plastered on the wall above the interactive whiteboard.

3:46pm, it read.

Everyone else had already gone home - Jooheon and Hoseok included - which left Kihyun in his classroom alone with Minhyuk.

He wasn't angry, more like concerned.

For the entirety of the day, Kihyun's mind had been drifting back and forth from Minhyuk's father. He didn't suspect anything negative, as Minhyuk was always too happy for a child who was - supposedly - neglected, but Kihyun still feared somewhat.

Granted, the boy was currently colouring on his lonesome, being the only child left in the class, and Kihyun found a slight frown appearing on his brows as he watched him, little legs swinging back and forth on the chair as he hummed to himself happily.

Minhyuk (obviously) was more than happy on his own, but still Kihyun decided to join him.

"What are you colouring there, Minhyuk?" He asked cautiously, sitting down on the child-sized chair opposite the young boy, who looked up and smiled at Kihyun.

"A bear for Daddy!" The blonde answered enthusiastically, holding the half-coloured picture up for Kihyun to see.

The male smiled in response, and Minhyuk returned to colouring.

"Why a bear, Minhyuk?" He decided to ask next, testing the waters before diving straight in.

"Because Daddy is just like a big teddy bear!" Minhyuk exclaimed, and Kihyun felt his jaw go slightly slack.

The warmth he felt in his heart only grew as he watched Minhyuk colour in the bear's face, seemingly determined to make the picture look as meaningful as he could. Obviously Kihyun knew Minhyuk loved his father, but - for some reason - this simple colouring could easily paint a thousand pictures in Kihyun's mind.

"Is that so?" Kihyun asked, more as a filler as he thought of something better to say (or ask). "What else can you tell me about Daddy, Minhyuk?"

Maybe he was crossing a line, and Kihyun actually thought of taking back his question for a moment before Minhyuk's head whipped upwards and he grinned widely at Kihyun, more than willing to talk about all the good things about Hyunwoo.

"He works a lot!" Minhyuk began listing off. "And he seems really scary and moody but he really isn't! He's just tired lots, and works really hard so that I can be happy!"

Kihyun felt his heart sink a little at that. How Minhyuk could sound so happy and fond of his father while describing his tough home and financial situation was something Kihyun found very endearing about the boy.

"Is that why he's running late, do you think?" Kihyun whispered, like this was some dirty secret he couldn't share with anyone else - apart from a four-year old boy. "Because he works a lot?"

Minhyuk nodded again, going back to colouring, and Kihyun's heart filled with sympathy. Like he'd said, he wasn't angry that Hyunwoo was running late, as it wasn't like Kihyun had anything else to do with his free time.

(And if he had to be a little biased, Minhyuk was his favourite student in the class, so he didn't mind spending an extra hour with him).

"What does Daddy do?" He asked hesitantly. At any moment he felt like Jooheon would jump out of the cupboard and scold him for being weird and creepy.

Minhyuk looked up from his colouring with confusion written all over his face, not understanding Kihyun's question.

"What's Daddy's job?" He rephrased. "You said he works a lot, so what does he do?"