Chapter Text
Kihyun wakes to a wight landing on top of him, squishing the air out of his lungs.
“Kinhyun, wake up, wake up! It’s the first day of school!”
Ah, yes. Today was Changkyun’s first day of kindergarten. The boy had been so excited that Kihyun had a great deal of difficulty getting him to go to sleep last night. How the child was so energetic so early in the morning, Kihyun would never know and he considered himself a morning person.
He wraps his arms around the little bundle thats seated on his chest and pulls him into his embrace.
“Oh no, it’s not Kihyun,. It’s a sea monster!” He growls and Changkyun tries to wiggle out of his grasp, giggling all the while. Kihyun holds tight. “How are you gonna go to school if your trapped my a sea monster!”
Changkyun wriggles around harder and ends up accidentally kneeing Kihyun in the stomach which causes him to let go. Changkyun leaps up and runs toward the bedroom door.
“I’m free! I’m free! You’ll never catch me octopus man!” He shouts as he sprints out into their living room. Kihyun slides out of his bed, pausing for a moment to rub some of the sleep from his eyes. Then he chases Kihyun out into the living room.
The musty morning air of their apartment is filled with giggles and shrieks as they chase each other. Eventually, Kihyun scoops Changkyun into his arms, holding him close.
“Hey, hey, you’ve gotta have breakfast before you head out for your first day at school, honey bee.” Changkyun relaxes in his arms and Kihyun is able to place him in his chair at the kitchen table. Changkyun is still a little too short to reach the table comfortably, so there is a cushion on his seat to give him some extra elevation.
Kihyun ruffles his short brown hair before heading to the fridge to pull out some ingredients for breakfast.
Kihyun can’t help but be reminded of early mornings when he was young, his sister and him racing around the house, driving their parents crazy. He’s glad that Changkyun is better behaved than they were when they were that age.
Changkyun looks a lot like his sister too. Brown hair, soft angled eyes, thin lips and a small but slightly hooked nose. It made sense, he supposed. It was just kinda funny that Changkyun didn’t get any of his fathers traits.
It’s important to note that Kihyun isn’t actually Changkyun’s biological father. No, when he was around sixteen years old, his older sister had gotten married and by the time he was seventeen he had a little nephew. Then when he was eighteen, his sisters husband was killed in an accident. He had been a soldier and there had been a misfire during one of the training sessions. And when he was nineteen his sister had shown up on his door step and thrusted a three year old boy into his arms, saying she just couldn’t bare it anymore. That every time she looked at her son, she just saw his face. With their parents dead, there was no where else to turn. She didn’t want to put him up for adoption because that wouldn’t be fair to the boy. At the time, Kihyun had thought about saying that this wasn’t fair to him but he didn’t. And he’s glad, for the most part. He had taken the boy from his sister’s arms and he couldn’t say no.
So Kihyun had become the boys legal guardian and his sister had disappeared somewhere. She still sent him some money every month and around two hundred dollars a month goes into Changkyun’s college fund from the military, since his father was a soldier.
They certainly weren’t well off but they got by. Kihyun had quit school and had picked up a couple jobs. Currently he was working at a bakery not far from their apartment and sometimes in the evenings he would sing at a local cafe or pub for a little extra cash.
So their life isn’t always great. Sometimes Kihyun can’t afford to buy Changkyun the toys that he wants and their Christmases are always rather lack lustre but they’ve got each other. Changkyun has always been a very understanding child. He knows that they don;t have a lot of money and he never complains but Kihyun can’t help but feel sorry. He just wants to be able to give Changkyun everything he wants.
“Kihyun?” A small voice speaks up from behind him. He’s startled out of his memories and he realizes that he’s just had his head stuck in the open fridge for a couple of minutes.
“Sorry, kiddo. I was just thinking and I got a little lost.”
“That’s okay. If you get lost, I’ll always find you and bring you back.”
Kihyun feels his chest compress with love for the little boy at the table. Three years later and he still doesn’t regret taking this boy in and taking care of him. The things he had given up were well worth this child’s happiness. A lot of the time he thinks that he gets a lot more out of having Changkyun by his side than the kid gets from him.
He quickly whips them up some breakfast and the two of them dig in together. When they’re finished, Kihyun collects their plates and puts them by the sink to go into the dish washer. He tells Changkyun to go get dressed and brush his teeth and then he grabs the remainder of his coffee and heads out onto their tiny deck.
The air outside is cool and refreshing and he reminds himself to open a couple windows before he goes to work to allow from some airflow in the apartment. He sips his coffee and watches as the sun sneaks up the horizon.
Then, very quietly, he hears something coming from the deck to his right. It sounds like humming. Its some song he doesn’t recognize, but the tune is melodious and sweet and it compliments the morning air.
Kihyun can’t help but wonder who it is that humming. The apartment on their right has been empty for months. The last couple who had lived their had bought a house when they found out they were going to have a baby.
The decks are walled on the sides to offer some privacy to the tenants but if you lean far enough over the edge you can see the far corner of your neighbours deck.
Kihyun sneaks up to the edge of his deck. Turns out that he doesn’t have to lean as far forward as he thought he would because the other man is leaning over the edge of his balcony too. Unlike Kihyun, he’s not trying to snoop in his neighbours. On the railing of the deck he has a window box filled with beautiful flowers. He seemed to be checking them over to see if they're healthy, watering can in one hand, the other sifting through petals and leaves.
Kihyun can feel his heart rate picking up. His new neighbour doesn’t even look like he should be a real person. He’s got a strong, sharp jaw and thick, pink lips that curl up at the ends pressed together in concentration. His nose is long and straight, curving up to sharp, angled, almond shaped eyes and gently curved eyebrows. His hair is bleach blonde but it still looks soft as it falls across his forehead. And that’s just his face. He’s wearing a loose t-shirt, probably what he sleeps in, his mind helpfully provides. Though it hangs off his body, Kihyun can still tell that he’s got a broad, thick chest and his arms are on display for everyone to see. They are think and well muscled but that’s not even the most interesting thing about them. From what Kihyun can see his new neighbour has a full sleeve of black and white flowers tattooed on his skin.
His neighbour has headphones in but he must have seen some movement out of the corner of his eye because he turns and looks directly at Kihyun. Kihyun’s eyes widen but he doesn’t move back.
“Its rude to spy on people.” The man says removing his headphones. He’s got this devil may care smirk on his face so Kihyun knows that he’s just teasing but he feels his face heat up anyways.
“Sorry, I was just curious. I didn’t realize anyone had moved in beside us. That place has been empty for months so when I heard humming I couldn’t help but look.”
“You heard that?” The man asks and when Kihyun nods its his turn to blush. “I’m sorry. I’ll be quieter, I promise.”
“No, I don’t mind. It was pretty nice actually.” And with that, his new neighbours sheepishness disappeares and he’s grinning full force. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something but someone calls to him from inside. Kihyun can’t quite tell what was said. His neighbour looks breifly over his shoulder and then his eyes are on Kihyun again.
“I’ve gotta go. Good chat though.” He says with a teasing grin. “I’ll see you around.” And with that, he turns and disappears out of Kihyun’s sight. He slumps back on the wall between their decks, long forgotten coffee is placed on the ground beside him. He tries to remind himself that just because his new neighbour is beautiful and also kind of flirty doesn’t mean that he should immediately fall for him. His brain seems to get that pretty easily but his heart is struggling to receive the memo as it thrums against his ribcage.
He has Changkyun to think about. That’s his first priority.
He heaves himself up off the ground and heads back inside. He finds Changkyun in the bathroom furiously scrubbing his teeth. He picks up his own tooth brush and they brush their teeth side by side.
Kihyun gets dressed, grabs his coat and keys and slips his shoes on before helping Changkyun with his. Then he’s grabbing Changkyun’s hand and they head out the door, down the stairs and out of the building on their way to a new school.