Chapter Text
Jisung stood outside of the school building, trying to look as relaxed as possible. He could feel how the gazes of other parents pierced through him. They talked about him, Seoyeon had told him, asking questions about why he was always picking up his little sister and not their mum or dad.
It was easier in her old school, where nobody questioned anything. But since Seoyeon had transferred to the other part of the city, where people cared way too much about others, things were different. When he had shown up to the first parent-teacher conference, he could feel the pity and curiosity radiating from everyone in the room.
As he tried to ignore their lingering stares, he could see kids storming out of the building. It was easy to spot his sister, always clinging to her best friend with his burning red hair. As soon as they spotted him as well, there was a happy scream to be heard. Seoyeon let go of Taemin's hand and came running to him.
“Jisung-oppa!” Seoyeon squealed, jumping into his arms and hugging him tight.
“Caution, Seoyeon. One day we will both break a leg if you continue like this,” he said, catching her and spinning her in a circle. His heart always filled when he got to do it. He loved seeing how happy she was when he could find the time to pick her up.
Giggling, he set her down on the safety of the street again. Taemin was patiently waiting, trying to calm his excitement for Seoyeon.
“You also want a spin, Taemin?” Jisung tilted his head to the side and tried to look clueless. He could already see the pout forming on the younger's face, the need to maintain his pride fighting with his excitement.
Jisung didn’t let the other wait any longer and opened his arms. Not even one blink later, Taemin was in his arms with a happy smile on his face. Jisung spun him the same way he did to Seoyeon.
“What are you doing here, oppa? I thought you had work today?” his little sister asked as they finished the greeting, taking his hand as they started to distance themselves from their school.
“The store closed today because of a power outage, and I thought what is there better to do than surprise my favourite little sister and her strong protector.” Both kids made happy faces at the reasoning.
He explained his plan of getting ice cream and then going to the park to watch the ducks. He had even stolen some bird food from his old neighbor, so they could get a little interaction with the little creatures. To be honest, they scared the shit out of Jisung, but he knew Taemin loved them, so he bravely decided to get over his fear.
He also just wanted to see his sister happy. For the last few months, he barely had time with her, so he thanked god, or whatever higher being, for the chance to take her out again and do something fun.
Seoyeon swung her legs while they were waiting for the bus to arrive. They had dropped Taemin off earlier at his house to make their way home themselves. Taemin's mother had given them enough Gimbap to probably last for the next month. Jisung had the suspicion that she had made it just for them, but she had insisted that it was just too much for them. How she could make so much as to easily feed three more people didn't help her case. But Jisung was thankful.
Taemin’s mum, Soonja, was one of the only parents that didn't immediately give them the feeling of being unwelcome at Seoyeon's school. As soon as both kids had become friends, she had tried to arrange a playdate, even though Jisung was hesitant to agree. But his little sister had a way of wrapping him around her little finger, and it didn't take long to arrange a meetup at the local park.
Soonja never tried to ask where their parents were, he was sure she knew there was something wrong with their family. But she was just there, showing him and Seoyeon that she would always help them when she could. Packing them food, looking after Seoyeon, and brewing Jisung coffee when he looked like he was about to fall asleep while standing.
So today he was just happy he didn't have to worry about food for himself and his siblings. The bus arrived 5 minutes later than it should have. Just when he had gotten worried that it might be too cold for his sister and wondered if he should give her his jacket.
Minjun got the same treatment as Jisung the second he stepped off the bus. Seoyeon was wrapped around him with so much happiness and adoration in her eyes that Jisung wished with all of his heart that he could always see this look on her.
Even though Minjun was already thirteen, he wasn't too cool for his siblings yet. He loved their sister with all his heart and looked up to Jisung more than Jisung liked him to. He mostly did as he was told and tried to act more grown-up than he should have to.
“Long time, no see, hyung,” Minjun said while setting his sister down with a smile on his face. Jisung wasted no time in slinging an arm around him, took Seoyeon's hand in his other, and started walking.
“Also good to see you. You missed me that much since this morning?” he laughed. They walked towards the main street, which earned him a confused look from Minjun.
“Sure, tell yourself what you want to hear,” he hummed. “Where are we even going? This is not the way home. Unless we moved,” Minjun added with a curious glint in his eyes.
“I have a little money to spare, thought we could spend it on going out to eat today,” he answered. Even though it was more or less a lie. They never had money to spare. He tried to save up as much as possible, but he knew there was no legal way they would soon get to move out of their house.
But thanks to Taemin's mum, they had enough to eat for tomorrow. So he decided that they deserved a treat. Especially since they hadn't had any time together lately. Jisung was almost always at work, and when he got home, he only got to cook for them and help them with their homework before they all had to go to bed.
So today was their evening, where they got to do something fun.
The next day, Jisung was heading to work in a haste. He knew he was fucked if he was only 5 minutes late. His boss was an obnoxious asshole. He worked in a storage facility, where everything he had to do was lift things from one spot to another. A mind-numbing job, if anyone asked him. Still, his boss had a power complex. He loved to threaten to fire him because he knew Jisung needed the job.
So, he ran down the street like a madman. They couldn't afford to cut down on money just because Jisung was stupid enough to oversleep. God, they had even wasted money going out yesterday. How could he be so careless? The word stupid rang through his head, over and over, as he sped around a corner.
But to his surprise, he collided with something. Hard.
Jisung crashed onto the street with anything but grace, scraping his knees and hands along the way. The first thing he felt was the grit on his knees. The adrenaline rushed through his veins. As he looked up, he saw a man who you could describe as a literal goddess. He briefly thought that maybe he was dreaming. Perhaps the stress was finally getting to him.
Because why would the man of his dreams run him down? Or rather, he had run him down. He was pretty sure the man had only been walking down the street like a normal human being.
Said man, who had apparently also fallen on his ass, blinked at him. He looked as dazed as Jisung felt. Jisung could make out that he had dark, kind of cat-like eyes. His face was sharp, but soft in all the right places. His hair was short, falling in soft waves over his face in a bright, alluring blonde.
Would it be too forward to ask him to marry me right here and now? Jisung asked himself.
Probably. But god, that man was beautiful. Like, straight-out-of-a-magazine beautiful. He wore all black, just joggers and a t-shirt, and still, Jisung couldn’t stop staring. It was truly unfair how everything hugged his body in the perfect way. God had his favorites, no joke.
“Shit, are you okay?” the man spoke as he stood up and came over to Jisung, holding out his hand to him. “I didn’t see you coming there.”
He smiled at Jisung. And god, Jisung could probably die a happy death now. His smile was gorgeous, but his eyes were so incredibly soft when he looked at him. A feeling like someone had just given him a hot chocolate with marshmallows washed over him.
Jisung needed a few moments to register the question, just looking at the hand that was reached out to him. Just as he wanted to take his hand, reality came crashing back to him.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Jisung huffed through his breath, starting to get up. “Are you okay? Do you want me to pay for your clothes? I can just give you my number? I will pay for everything, I swear.” he rambled.
The blonde looked at him, concerned. “No, there's no need for that. It was an accident, and my clothes will be fine after a wash.”
God, he was also nice. It would have been easier to leave if he were an asshole, after Jisung had basically tackled him to the floor. Still, he really needed to get going if he didn't want to lose his job.
So he apologized again and left the man of his dreams there to look after himself, while he started to run again.