kim jongin imagines (hiatus)

seat mate

when i get to my seat on my flight, i'm glad to see that no one is sitting beside me yet. i know i'm going to have someone beside me but i want the window seat for the short flight so i'm glad i can have it.

i sit down and get myself settled in, and about 5 minutes later i see my seat mate arrive. i look up and can't help but internally groan when i see that the man is holding a baby. but then i get a look at his face and all complaints fly out the window. he's gorgeous, looks like he could even be a model; tall, handsome and buff. he's so much more handsome than any other man i've seen in my life.

"hi," he says as he sits beside me.

"hi," i reply. i can see the baby looking at me so i look down at her and smile.

"she's really cute," i say to the man.

"thank you," he says. "she's almost 2 but she's really good on planes. i don't think she'll be a bother."

"oh, of course, that's totally okay." he smiles so i give him one back before turning to my screen to scroll through whatever movies they have.

the flight takes off about 30 minutes later and when we're in the air i put my headphones in to watch a movie on the tv. i settle back in my chair and my eyes flicker to the baby beside me for a second who is staring at me. i smile at her and she smiles back, giggling right after. it makes me laugh, too, so i make a face at her and she laughs more. the man turns to look at me so i immediately stop, pulling a headphone out and mouthing a 'sorry'.

"don't be sorry," he says. "she likes people so i like it when she interacts with others."

"okay, that's good," i say. "i really like babies."

"do you have any?"

"not yet, i'm not in a serious relationship and i'm not interested in having any until i'm in one."

"that's very practical. i wasn't interested in having any kids but then i fell in love and after being together for about 6 months, we found out we were having sunmi."

my eyes flick down to his left hand and notice he's not wearing a wedding ring. but then again, not everyone does.

"are you and her mother still together?" i ask.

"no, she actually, uh, passed away just after sunmi was born," he replies, a sad smile on his face.

"oh, gosh, i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to-"

"don't worry, it's okay," he says. "it was over a year ago, i've moved on."

"you're really strong, it would take me a lot longer if i was in your position."

i see his cheeks begin to pinken and it's really cute that i made him flustered. "thank you. having sunmi really helped, my whole life became about looking after her."

"may i ask how old you are?" i ask.

"i'm 26," he replies. my eyes widen a little and he chuckles. "i know, really young, right? we really weren't expecting to have a baby but you know, life just throws things at you suddenly and you can't do anything about it."

"well, it's good that you're a responsible father, a lot of men would have not bothered to take a baby in so young," i say.

"she's my life." he grins at his baby who squeals at the attention. "so, you said you're not in a serious relationship but are you in one at all?"

"no," i reply. "i'm hoping to find someone soon, with me just having turned 30. i don't have much time left for babies."

"i'm sure you'll find someone soon," he says, smiling sweetly at me. i found myself smiling back, his pretty one just so contagious.

"thank you, i hope so."

"i'm jongin, by the way." he holds a hand out for me so i shake it.

"(y/n)," i reply.

"it's nice to meet you," he says. "i hate to ask but i have to run to the bathroom so could you watch sunmi for me for a few minutes?" 

"yeah, of course." he hands sunmi to me and thanks me before rushing to the washroom. sunmi is staring at me with a confused expression so i just smile at her, reaching out to tickle her sides. when she begins to giggle, i relax. you never know if a baby is going to like you or not. sunmi looks out the window, seemingly amazed by the clouds, so i move her to sit closer.

"can you see the pretty clouds?" i ask her. she looks up at me and grins wider, babbling incoherently while pointing out the window. i pretend to understand what she's saying until jongin comes back a few minutes later. he sits back down, thanking me as he takes sunmi back.

"no problem," i reply. sunmi whines and reaches back out for me, face scrunching up likes she's about to cry. jongin quickly hands her back to me and sunmi settles on my lap, playing with my fingers holding her stomach.

"she really likes you," jongin says, a soft smile on his face.

"the feeling's mutual," i say, moving one hand up to stroke her hair. i look at jongin and i'm relieved that he doesn't seem to be upset that his baby likes me a lot already.

we exchange sunmi multiple times throughout the short flight and by the time we land, i can't believe it's over already. having sunmi and jongin to talk to really made it go by fast. we get off the plane together and when we finally have to part ways, i leave happy with a new phone number in my phone and a plan for a date soon.

i hope you guys like this!