Chapter Text
“Fuck–”
It’s Sunday morning. Church day.
Minho doesn't expect to find Dahyun in bed, but he is still met with relief when he sees the spot next to him is already empty, her pajamas neatly folded on top of her fluffed pillow.
He rubs his eyes with force, trying to ignore the situation in his pants. He had one of those dreams again. Sweaty, musky, rough. The strain on his body feels so real he has to pinch himself to come back to reality, far far away from the haunting images that call him back to sleep.
Groaning, he forces himself out of bed and into a cold shower, when he enters the kitchen to see his family eating breakfast, he’s nothing like the man in those dreams. He’s Lee Minho, husband, father, renowned Computer Science professor.
It’s Sunday and they are all going to church together, just like any happy family would.
Fridays are Minho’s days to pick up Yuna after school. He’s running late because one of his students had a question that should have been an email, but Minho still stayed behind to talk to her. It doesn't escape his mind how Dahyun always says they should make an effort to be on time so Yuna won't feel like she is only a second thought to them. Minho dismisses that thought though, he made her favorite blueberry pancakes that morning, he thinks he can be forgiven for the fifteen minute delay. After all, Yuna always complains when he’s the first parent to arrive, as it often is, because it cuts her time with her friends short and it means she has to go home to study.
The fifteen minutes turn into twenty five and Minho can already picture Dahyun’s stern eyes looking at him when the first thing he sees as he drives down the elementary school parking lot is Yuna’s bored-out-of-her-mind face. Unfortunately for him, this time all her friends were picked up before her and he is definitely going to hear about it. She’s sitting on the curb, idly grazing the concrete with a stick. Behind her is a woman who Minho recognizes as her teacher, she’s talking to a man Minho has never seen. He’s got a youthful face, definitely a few years younger than Minho. Bleached blonde hair and a brown set of dress pants and blazer. Adorning his neck and wrists are colorful jewelry, a sight so out of Minho’s world he has a hard time figuring out who this man could possibly be.
Rolling the windows down, he calls for his daughter, “Yuna darling, let’s go!”
At once, the seven year old stands up and runs to her father’s car. She’s already on the backseat, buckling up, when her teacher, Mrs. Park finally sees Minho and waves happily, gesturing for him to stay, walking towards them, mysterious man following right behind.
“Mr. Lee, could we steal a few minutes from you?” she asks in her pearly white smile.
“Sure, did something happen today?” He’s already turning around to question Yuna when Ms. Park speaks again.
“Actually I wanted to introduce you to Yuna’s new music teacher, Mr. Han.”
As if on cue, the man steps forward, bending in Minho’s direction to greet him.
“Pleased to meet you.” Mr. Han smiles, gummy and heart-shaped. It’s a little blinding.
“I thought we would be introduced to the new teachers at the parent-teacher conference next week.” Minho is confused as to why this is so important that it needs to be done now. Through the rearview mirror he can see Yuna eyeing the whole interaction with interest. Some idea of what’s happening brews in his mind.
“Ah, well, yes–” Han flounders with his words, looking back and forth between Minho, Yuna and Ms. Park. Minho would pity the poor man if he didn't want to be on his way home by now. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you before that.”
“Did Yuna misbehave in class today?” he asks, once again turning around to face his daughter, who shakes her head no vehemently. “Music is her favorite class, she always does so well.”
“No, no, don't you worry, Mr. Lee,” Mr. Han rushes to clarify. “That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. Yuna is almost old enough to start joining after school clubs, but I wanted to personally invite her to the music club already.”
Minho studies the man’s face for a few seconds, finding nothing but genuinity in it.
“Well, I’m sure if I talk to her mom–”
“Daddy, please!” Yuna cuts him off, kicking her feet. Minho looks from his daughter to her new teacher with questioning eyes.
“Well,” Mr. Han starts, looking sheepish. “I may have already introduced her to the members of the club and told her about our goals for the semester.”
“I’m gonna learn how to play the guitar, Daddy!” Yuna squeaks, now practically shaking with excitement.
“Yuna is very musically skilled,” Han says sweetly, brows curving apologetically.
“I know that,” Minho says flatly. He doesn't need a stranger to tell him that, Yuna has been learning piano with Dahyun ever since she was able to sit on the stool.
“I hope you and your wife consider our invitation.” Han looks to Yuna then, bending to meet her eye to eye over the car window. “I’m sure little Yuna will be a great addition to the club.”
“I’ll make sure to talk to Dahyun about it,” Minho says, already eager to return home. “We’ll see you at the conference next week. Bye Ms. Park.”
The drive back to their home is filled with Yuna’s stories of her first week in elementary school. She sounds excited about this music club, claiming it’s much nicer than regular music class since the kids there all know how to play an instrument just like her so—in her words—she won’t have to slow down just so the other kids can keep up. In a much shier voice she adds that all the kids in the club are one or two years older than her as she’s the only first grader who’s been invited so far. While that detail makes Yuna’s eyes sparkle, Minho can only worry.
In the end, he says her mom will have the final word in this and it makes Yuna quiet down a little. Wanting to cheer her up and also show that he’s proud of her, he stops to buy her bungeoppang at a market near their neighborhood and asks her to tell him more about the new music teacher which she happily abides with. He learns the man’s first name is Jisung and that he lived for five years in the United States and is now coming back to Korea. Suddenly, it makes so much sense as to why the man had so much colorful jewelry on him. Yuna seems to love it, saying she wants bracelets just like his, though Minho still finds it a little funny that a grown man would wear daisies on his neck paired with a boring brown suit.
At home, Dahyun greets them with the predicted stern look on her face and a baby on her breast. Minho apologizes over and over for not telling her they would arrive late and gets started on dinner right away. As he prepares the kimchi stew, Minho can hear Yuna excitedly playing the piano in the living room and he promises himself he’ll talk to Dahyun about the club before bed.
“So, do you trust this teacher?” Dahyun asks him later that night as she applies the fifth beauty product on her already perfect face.
“I didn’t really get a chance to know him, but he seemed genuine.” Minho is already on his side of the bed with his book, a japanese mystery novel, opened on his lap. “A little funny though.”
“What makes him funny?” Their nightly conversations usually go like this, Dahyun in the suite bathroom with the door open, back facing him and Minho in bed, trying to read a few paragraphs of his book.
“He had an interesting style, Yuna told me he lived in the United States so that must be it.” Minho doesn't know why he’s so fixated on the way the man dresses, it shouldn't matter to him, but deep down he recognizes he is a little intrigued.
“Well, I’m more interested if he’s a good teacher,” Dahyun says, finally turning off the bathroom light and facing him.
“Yuna seems to like him and Ms. Park too.” Minho recalls the interaction they had at school, Mr. Han really did seem like a nice guy.
“If it doesn't distract her from her other classes then it might be a good idea.” Dahyun settles on the ground next to the bed, ready for her prayers. With a subtle smile, she adds “let’s wait till the parent-teacher conference next week to give her the OK.”
His days always end like this: reading his book while his wife prays next to him. They kiss each other goodnight, but it’s only a chaste peck. He is content, there’s nothing really he could ask for in life besides this.
The community gym is not a place men like Minho usually frequent and that is exactly why he goes there. Now that he’s older, Minho has finally admitted to himself that he’d much rather do pilates than lift weights as his form of exercise, but he would never admit it to his fellow academic buddies. So he goes where it’s cheaper and the lovely instructor never makes fun of him for being the only man in class.
“Great class today, friends!” Momo exclaims, clapping her hands in front of her chest, ever so enthusiastic to be teaching to a bunch of geriatric ladies and a grumpy college professor. Minho likes her classes, she’s very serious about her technique but always makes sure people are having fun. Once Minho told her that he did his doctorate degree in Japan and now she makes sure to greet him in Japanese every time. It’s a safe escape from his boring routine that he looks forward to every week.
That day though, his safety bubble breaks right before his eyes as he spots a new presence in his beloved gym. He is in the locker room getting dressed when a man comes in, humming a song, disturbing his peace. At that time of the day, the gym is usually frequented by only the old people who pay Minho no mind and he wants to try and be like them and pay the stranger no mind, but the song he’s humming is familiar to Minho and he can’t help but look. Much to his dismay, he recognizes the face of the slightly younger man with bleached hair and round cheeks and even worse, the man recognizes him.
Han Jisung, as opposed to Minho, doesn't seem to mind seeing a known face at the gym. He smiles when they lock eyes and waves. “Hey, Mr. Lee, right?”
At the moment, Minho wishes he could be a bit of an asshole and say no, that Jisung got him mixed up with someone else. But then Minho remembers all the lessons his mom taught him which he is now teaching Yuna, about being polite, and nods with a tight smile.
“Hello, Mr. Han.'' His tone is much less casual than Jisung’s, but the man doesn't seem to mind. Minho silently prays for this interaction to end soon so he can go home and wipe it off his mind. He really does not like meeting new people at the gym, or anywhere for that matter.
Jisung, on the other hand, seems to have other things in mind.
“I’m new in town, today is my first time here.” Minho doesn't know how to reply to that so he just hums, hoping Jisung will take it as a clue that the desire to have a conversation is not reciprocated. He doesn't. “Do you come here often?”
“Not really,” Minho lies. “Only when I have time.”
“Oh, I get it. You’re a teacher too, right?” Minho has no idea where the man could have gotten that information, but he’s more worried about going home right now.
“College professor, yes.” He admits, it’s a bit of a standoffish answer, but if it works, it works.
“Right.” Jisung chuckles a little awkwardly, seeming to finally sense Minho’s discomfort. “I’ll see you at the parent-teacher conference, then?”
“Yeah, see you there, Mr. Han.”
Minho really hopes he doesn't have to run into his daughter’s teacher again. He doesn't know why he’s so bothered by the guy, he seems fine, nice even. But Minho is in no way looking for friends, especially one who goes to the same gym as him, proudly displaying his tanned and muscled body to anyone who may look his way. Minho is comfortable with his life, he’s friendly with the other professors at University, his only close friend, Changbin, has been in his life since his student years and every Wednesday he allows himself to laugh at Momo’s jokes during pilates. This is good enough for him, he doesn't see the need to add any more people to his quiet life.
In his car, Minho wonders if his flare pants and tight long sleeved shirt are a dead give away that he doesn't go to the gym to lift and if Jisung could tell. Minho brushes the thought off, annoyed, and kick-starts the car. Why does he even care what his daughter’s happy-go-lucky music teacher thinks of him?
By the time the parent-teacher conference finally arrives, Minho hasn't gone a day where he didnt think about his two encounters with Han Jisung. He mostly blames it on Yuna who hasn't shut up about the music club, making Minho really happy that the day his wife will probably say yes to their daughter joining is finally here.
The three of them get dressed in their best making-a-good-impression-to-the-other-rich-parents clothes and leave their baby boy, Junho at Minho’s sister's place. “Thanks Jeongyeon,” he tells his sister who’s already comfortably holding the sleeping baby in her arms. “Well, be back soon. Please don’t let him swallow a lego.”
“Okay, Minho. Bye, have fun!”
“It’s a parent-teacher conference, noona.”
She closes the door on his face at the same time that Yuna yells at him to hurry up, earning a scolding from Dahyun. This is going to be a long day.
Parent-teacher conferences, in Minho’s opinion, are the worst thing after college faculty parties—those really cannot be saved. Teachers trying their best to impress the parents, parents showing off the kids to other parents and the kids getting bored of all the talking pretty quickly and it’s up to each parent to calm down their own child so everyone knows they are the best at this. Minho hates it.
The first hour comes and goes with Ms. Park introducing everyone in her class and the plans for the semester. Yuna sits between Minho and Dahyun, restless feet kicking the air. Minho knows she’s anticipating the moment they’ll introduce the new teachers that will be joining them in this new chapter of school life.
A bell rings, taking Minho back to his school days. He grimaces, but Yuna jumps off the chair in excitement, it's time to meet the new teachers. To Yuna’s annoyance and Minho’s relief though, they get a twenty minute break.
“Parents, I’m going to take the kids to help me set the food table in the main hall. You may talk to each other for the next few minutes and we will all meet back here with the Art teachers,” Ms. park announces in the most sweet yet somehow cold smile that only elementary school teachers can manage.
“Minho, I’m going to talk to the other parents, will you join me?” Dahyun asks. Minho knows it would make a good impression if he went with her, but the brightness of the classroom is giving him a headache and he would rather get some air and silence before having to meet a handful of new people.
“Would it be okay if I took a little breather outside?”
Dahyun’s eyes say not really, but she replies with a tight smile, “Sure, just don’t take too long.”
The moment Minho steps outside he can feel his shoulders relax. There’s no reason to question why he is so tense today, it’s not as if he is the most relaxed person all the time, especially not in situations where he’s required to be the perfect husband and perfect dad in front of people he doesn't know. Lucky for him, he can always count on a cigarette to feel better.
He pulls out the trusty cigarette, but when he goes to fish out the lighter, he finds it’s not in his pocket as it should be. “Fuck,” Minho mutters, immediately looking around to make sure no kid is around to hear him.
“Honestly, you should be more worried they see you smoking here than cursing.”
It doesn't surprise Minho at all when he looks towards the voice and sees Han Jisung smirking at him. He chuckles, rolling his eyes, of course it’s him he finds when he’s trying to hide from people.
“Need a lighter?” Jisung offers, never letting the devious smile drop.