one hundred nine

Minho rubbed his hands together as he parked the car outside Felix's daycare. "You ready for this?" he asked Jisung, glancing over at him in the passenger seat.

Jisung looked slightly nervous, fiddling with the zipper of his jacket. "W-What if they hate me..."

Minho let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Hate you? Are you kidding me? They'll love you, Sungie. Who wouldn't? Plus, Felix has probably been hyping you up to them since forever."

Jisung smiled nervously, glancing out the window. "Yeah, but I'm not exactly... great with kids."

Minho reached over, patting his head reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just be yourself, hm?"

His fingers lingered, gently running through Jisung's hair in a soft, comforting motion. "They're gonna love you as much as I do."

Jisung's cheeks flushed, though he tried to hide it with a small smile. "You're just saying that," he mumbled.

Minho's hand slid down to Jisung's cheek, his thumb grazing softly against his skin. "I'm serious. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Felix already thinks you're the best, and the kids will, too. And if they don't, well," he smiled teasingly, "I'll just have to show them what they're missing."

Jisung chuckled, but his eyes softened at Minho's words. "Thank you..."

Minho smiled softly, tilting his head. "Now, come on, Sungie. Let's show those kids who the real coolest person in the room is." He winked, giving Jisung a playful nudge on the shoulder.

O-Okay... But if this goes wrong, I'm hiding behind you the entire time."

"You can hide behind me anytime, Sungie. I've always got you."

With that, Minho leaned in, pressing a light kiss to Jisung's cheek before pulling back. "Let's do this."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"There they are!" Felix called, making his way over. The kids momentarily abandoned their toy blocks, eyes wide with curiosity at the newcomers.

Jisung stood awkwardly at Minho's side, looking a bit unsure as Felix approached with his usual wide grin.

"About time you two showed up," Felix teased, giving Minho a quick hug before turning to Jisung. He reached out and pulled him into a tight hug. "Awee, I missed you!"

Jisung chuckled, relaxing into the hug. "I missed you too, F-Felix."

"Uncle Minho! Uncle Felix!"

"Hey, Hana!" Minho greeted, crouching down to her level. "Remember I told you I'd bring someone special today?"

Hana nodded eagerly, her big eyes darting toward Jisung. She stepped forward shyly, hiding a little behind Minho's leg but still peeking out curiously.

"This is Jisung," Minho said, gesturing toward him. "He's my—"

"Your best friend?" Hana interrupted, her innocent eyes wide as she looked between the two of them.

Minho glanced at Jisung with a soft smile.

"Yeah," he said, eyes flicking back to Hana, "He's my best friend." He paused. "And something even more special."

Jisung blushed immediately, his fingers nervously fiddling with the zipper of his jacket again as he gave a small wave. "H-Hey, Hana..."

Hana blinked up at him for a moment, then slowly stepped out from behind Minho's leg. Her eyes darted between the two of them with newfound interest, her little mind working to process Minho's words.

"So... does that mean... Uncle Jisung's your... like... girlfriend...?"

Felix, who had been grinning knowingly from the sidelines, let out a chuckle. "Sharp kid."

Jisung's blush deepened, and he shifted awkwardly on his feet, glancing at Minho for help. Minho just laughed softly and nodded. "Yeah, Hana, he's my boyfriend."

Hana's eyes widened even more. "Oh!" she said, sounding almost in awe. Then, suddenly, her shy demeanor disappeared as she broke into a grin. "That's cool! I want to have a boyfriend too!"

Felix looked at her with wide eyes. "Hey, hey, hey—"

Hana laughed and took a few bold steps forward and wrapped her little arms around Jisung's legs in a hug. "Hi, Uncle! I'm Hana! Uncle Minho talked about you a lot!"

"R-Really? He... he did?"

"Yup!" she said, pulling back and flashing him a bright smile. "He says you're the best person ever."

Jisung's heart fluttered at that, and he quickly glanced at Minho, who was grinning back at him with that fond, affectionate look that always made Jisung's heart skip a beat.

"You're really good at making him blush," Felix chimed in, clearly enjoying the scene.

"Felix..." Jisung whined, his face now an even deeper shade of red.

Minho just laughed, wrapping an arm around Jisung's shoulders and pulling him close. "See, I told you they'd love you."

At that moment, three-year-old Ren shuffled up to Jisung, staring up at him with wide, curious eyes.

He didn't say anything at first, just reached up and grabbed Jisung's hand, as if deciding right then and there that Jisung was officially part of the group.

Jisung's crouched down to Ren's level, smiling softly. "H-Hi! You must be Ren? Minho showed me pictures of you before!"

Ren giggled, clearly not shy at all, and climbed onto Jisung's knee like they'd been friends for years.

"Guess that's a yes," Minho said, smiling down at them.

"Well, you're officially part of the daycare family now," Felix announced, clapping his hands together. "Don't be surprised if they start asking for you all the time."

Jisung laughed and carefully took Ren into his arms. "I guess... I'll have to come by more often, then."

Hana, full of energy, immediately grabbed Jisung's hand and started dragging him toward the play area. "Come see what we made!"

Minho chuckled, watching as Ren stared up at Jisung in awe.

As they settled in, Hana eagerly showed Jisung a colorful stack of blocks she and Ren had been building. "Look! We made a castle!"

"W-Wow, that's amazing!"

"Well, I guess you're stuck with us now," Felix whispered to Minho. "The kids won't let you two leave without a fight."

Minho sighed dramatically. "As long as they don't steal Jisung away from me, I guess I'll survive."

Felix chuckled. "No promises."

To be continued...

This story is finally coming to an end y'all T^T

Imma proofread this whole chapter again tomorrow cuz it's midnight rn and I'm supposed to be asleep already lmao