Pastel Palette ㅡ Taekook

sixty

All was absolutely well for the day, that is, until Taehyung sees Gail outside the faculty room. The little girl was distressed, her lips jutting into a pout. Taehyung failed to notice the other child behind her, but not until Gail steps aside to push Storm inside the room gently.

Taehyung immediately stands up, cutting the words the should've come out from Sana's mouth. The latter, however, also sensed that something was wrong so she looks at the direction of where Taehyung was heading to.

"Gail? What's wrong? Storm? Are you alright?" Taehyung kneels to level their height. He sees Storm's tiny fists clench and unclench, big fat tears escaping his eyes. When Storm doesn't utter a single world, his gaze shifts towards Gail.

"Teacher Tata, Storm's tummy..." Gail mumbles, voice wavering from fear.

"Oh, dear. Is Mr. Tumtum hurting you, baby?" Taehyung asks softly, fingers immediately reaching up to fix Storm's fringes. The said child nods in reply.

"Come here. Papa's got you. Do you want papa to kiss the booboo away?" He scoops up the child and bounces him in his arms in attempt to calm him down. Storm clutches at the collar of his shirt tightly, now releasing the sobs he was suppressing just a while ago.

"Hurts, pa..." Storm whines amidst his sobs.

"Thank you for bringing Storm in here, Gaily. You can go back to your classroom now for your nappy time. I'll take it from here," Taehyung makes sure to pat the little girl's hair after telling her that.

"Will he be okay, teacher Ta?"

"Trust me, he will, petal," Taehyung assures and sends a sweet smile towards the girl. She beams widely before skipping her way outside the room.

"Papa, daddy Gukkie please..." Storm whispers under the crook of Taehyung's neck. The latter hums in understanding, sitting back down in front of the stunned female who was just observing the two.

"Will you be a good boy and sit still for a while? Papa will just grab his phone-"

"No!" Storm protests, now squirming inside Taehyung's embrace. He tries his best to wrap his short legs around Taehyung's torso, pulling his papa closer to him. Taehyung could only sigh at the behavior and do nothing about it because he knows that Storm is usually clingy when he's sick or upset.

"Sana-san, if you don't mind, can you please get my phone from my bag?" The request was enough to snap Sana out of her senses. She immediately scurries her way towards the black bag that was on top of Taehyung's desk. She hands the device to him, her gaze lingering on the little boy who was caged inside Taehyung's arms.

"Is he your son, Taehyung-ssi?" She asks before she could even stop her mouth from blurting it out. "Y-you don't have to answer of course, how rude of me, I'm sorry, I'm just-"

"Hey, it's okay," Taehyung cuts her off with a soft voice. "Legally, he isn't, but soon, he will be. I treat him as my own, anyways."

"So, uh, he's your girlfriend's then?"

"Actually, my boyfriend's," Taehyung replies, eyes full of pride and happiness. Sana breathes out a soft 'oh' before emitting a tight-lipped smile.

When Taehyung makes sure that Sana is done interrogating him, he instantly presses speed dial to contact Jeongguk. Not a minute had passed, Jeongguk accepts the call, voice probably strained from exhaustion because of work. The latter had mentioned a rush photoshoot for a new group that was to debut under the same company Namjoon worked for back then. The management was strictㅡ not only pressuring the trainees, but also the people that work for them; and as much as how Jeongguk would like to turn down the offer, he can't because Namjoon already dragged him into this, plus the pay was undoubtedly too good to reject.