Maybe It's Not So Bad

meeting and nicknames

the strangers decided to introduce themselves based on age. they'd go from youngest to oldest, beginning with jaemin and ending with taeil.

the first person stepped up, and he was very pretty. his hair was brown and was effortlessly styled, yet it still looked like he just came from a hairdresser. his eyes were a nice brown and everything about him seemed to scream perfection. "my name is na jaemin. i'm 18 years old. i'm the youngest of the group. it's nice to meet you." his voice was as soft as his features.

the next person stood behind him, and was about as handsome as jaemin was pretty. his hair was a blondish-brown and his eyes were a deeper brown than the other's. he rested his hand on jaemin's shoulder and the latter moved aside. "my name is lee jeno, and i'm 19 years old. it's nice to meet you." jeno's voice was deeper than jaemin's, but it was still nice to listen to.

jungwoo sniffed as the next person walked forward. he was also very pretty—why does lucas have so many good-looking friends?—and his smile was sweet. "my name is huang renjun, i am 19. i am from china. it's a pleasure to meet you."

and so the greetings went on. each and every person caught jungwoo's eye.

"my name is dong sicheng, i'm 21. i'm also from china."

"jung jaehyun, 22. nice to meet you, jungwoo."

"my full name is chittaphon leechaiyapornkul, i'm 23. i go by ten, of course. i'm from thailand."

one face after another. a bunny—

"my name is kim doyoung. i am 23."

—another handsome man—

"i am nakamoto yuta. i'm from japan. i am also 23. it's great to see you."

—and the "mother", as jungwoo has nicknamed him.

"my name is lee taeyong. i am 23," jungwoo noticed quite a lot of them are 23 years old, "it's wonderful to meet you, jungwoo."

a tall— very tall— man had stepped forward next. "my korean name is seo youngho, but i go by johnny. i'm 24 years old and i'm from america." jungwoo perked up; he's always been interested in american culture.

the last person stood by johnny, and looked very short in comparison. "i am moon taeil, the oldest of the group. i am 24. it's nice to meet you."

jungwoo was dumbfounded by the beauty of all of these men. it's no surprise lucas would have attractive friends, as he himself was pleasing to look at, but this many?

he smiled at everyone and bowed respectively, thanking them as best he could while still in his headspace. he looked at lucas, who was holding jungwoo protectively in his arms. lucas immediately understood what this meant.

"i'm sorry you weren't able to stay for as long, but i think jungwoo wants some alone time. thank you for coming, guys." it was at this point jungwoo zoned out at starting playing with lucas' significantly larger hands. he waved at them as they made their way out, and was glad to finally be able to relax.

jungwoo pulled lucas to the couch and pushed him down, plopping on top of him and snuggling into the warmth. they stayed like this for a while.

after a few minutes, jungwoo had gotten lucas' full attention by softly saying one word. "daddy?"

lucas' eyes widened. "wh-what did you just say?"

jungwoo looked him in the eyes. "daddy."

"i- wha- why are you calling me that?"

"do you not like it..?" jungwoo looked like a kicked puppy, eyes watering and lips forming a slight pout.

"no, no that's not it at all, i just—baby, please don't cry, i'm sorry, you can call me daddy if that's what you want, okay? please, please stop crying, no..." lucas frantically wiped away the tears that had fallen from jungwoo's eyes.

after successfully calming jungwoo down, he offered a gift to make up for making his baby cry. "you want dinner? i'll make mac 'n' cheese."

////

a soft voice called for lucas from the entrance of the kitchen. "daddy?"

lucas nearly choked on his own saliva, but easily regained his composure. "hm?"

"your friends are nice."

"are they, baby?" he responded, stirring the simple meal. he received a nod.

another moment of silence passes. "where'd you learn that word, babyboy?" lucas asks while setting the fork down on the counter and facing the other.

"dunno. sounded nice."

"is that what you want to call me?"

"mmhmm."

"alright then."

////

it seems lucas wasn't getting a break.

"daddy.." he heard a sleepy call from his husband.

the taller male turned around and stared at jungwoo, who was already half asleep on the couch. his crayons were scattered on the floor and his blanket was near falling off his body.

"what's wrong, baby?" lucas fixed the blanket and began cleaning up the mess.

he heard a mumble. he finished putting the crayons away and turned back to the older, running his fingers through the other's hair. "what was that?"

"i love you, daddy.."

"i love you too, babyboy."

he waited until jungwoo was asleep before carrying him to their bedroom and settling down for the night.

~~
my endings are getting worse and worse. sorry for a boring one, here's my awful attempt at redemption for going missing

love you babes!
-Kiki 💛