Daeul - Kwon Hyuk

4

y'all dean's vip tickets in Canada require you to be 19+ sos

--

"Y-You're kidding, right?"

Minji held her stomach tightly in pain from laughing at her sister's story about her new employer. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she pointed at Hanji with her other hand.

"Stop laughing! The man definitely hates me.", Hanji frowned at her older sister who continued to laugh at her misery.

"Oh my goodness, you know what would be hilarious? If he tries to sabotage you, then you lose your job.", Minji joked as she stifled her laughter for a quick moment before bursting once more.

Hanji scoffed at her sister's dark sense of humour, not understanding what could possibly have been so funny at a time like this.

"Minji! It's not something to laugh at! I yelled at my boss without even knowing it and now he probably thinks I'm a stuck-up little girl who thinks she knows more about being a parent."

Like a miracle, Minji stopped her laughing but kept a smile on her face. Shifting her body to properly face her sister across her from the coffee table, she leaned forward to get close.

"What exactly did he say to you this morning?"

--

"I am so sorry, Mister Kwon!", she remembered herself bowing with utmost politeness to the man in front of her. She stared in fear at his black laced dress shoes.

Hearing him chuckle, she straightened her posture and tucked her brown locks behind her ears.

"Welcome, Miss Oh. I'm sure you'll teach me what you believe parenting is.", he said as he slowly circled around her with a grin on his face.

She sighed quietly before biting her lip in nervousness. "That's not my intention at all--"

"It's alright, I wouldn't expect a minor to understand.", he said from behind her and she could practically feel his smirk from behind her head. She frowned in annoyance from the word he had described her.

"I-I'm not that much younger, sir.", she defended herself turning around to face him, although she had to crane her neck upward to meet his gaze.

He tilted his head with the look on his face she had expected.

"I uh, I'm turning twenty-seven this September, Mister Kwon.", she said with a determined look on her face.

"Is that so? And how old do you think I am?", he asked in almost a taunting tone in voice. She contemplated if she should admit to having done her research or just say she's guessing his age.

"Uh, thirty?"

She saw how his left eyebrow twitched just a little but enough to let her know she had won. He averted his eyes from her scanned the tiled floor below them.

"I've worked with children in my first couple years in Incheon. I'm sure I could be of help in this household.", she grinned warmly as she saw him slowly shy away once he realized she was definitely not a minor.

He could only purse his lips and nod quickly in response before checking his watch.

"Well, Miss Oh. I hope you will be. Tell Missus Chae I'm heading back to the studio."

--

Now that she thought of it, what she had said about their ages probably made him hate her more.

"Yea, I'm gonna lose this job before I even start."

Minji waved her hands in front of her younger sister in an attempt to get her to stop talking.

"Ok, let's not think like that anymore. So you've told him you've had practice with kids hence why you got the damn job. Now, just show him. The man can't fire you for proving that you're capable."

--

Her second day of the job felt like her second year slowly eating at her in remembrance of the slow and painful days. She took the number eleven bus early in the morning as Minji needed the car they shared for her early shift at work.

Her first day only lasted a couple hours and she hadn't even managed to meet Daeul, yet. Today would be her first full length day which she was incredibly nervous for but was excited to meet the little boy.

One of her tasks in the morning was waking him up as soon as she arrives, however she had seen that he was already up and seated at the dining table to have his breakfast.

"Good morning, Hanji.", she heard Missus Chae's familiar voice greet her. She clutched her small body-bag tightly as she grinned tightly at the older woman.

Missus Chae gestured toward a seat at the table, next to Daeul. The little boy's eyes were half open as he rested his bobbing head on his small hand which surprisingly was able to hold up the weight.

Hanji smiled tightly at the sight and proceeded to take her seat. Upon sitting next to him, she noticed he sat on a booster which allowed him better access to his food on the table.

"Daeul, it's breakfast time.", Missus Chae gently shook the boy to wake him up. He stumbled over a little but Hanji was quick to place her hand on his back to balance him. She rubbed his back gently and fixed his gray Sheriff Woody t-shirt.

When his breakfast arrived, she noticed he enjoyed a Western breakfast made up of toast and strawberry jam with a strip of bacon on the side. She herself, was offered the same plate but with plenty more servings to suit her age and size.

Daeul, still refusing to eat needed much encouragement from Missus Chae who tried her best to get him to eat just a small piece of his toast. He shook his head in annoyance, crossing his arms and leaning back on his chair.

Noticing the older woman needed help, Hanji tore off a piece of her own toast and spread some jam onto it.

"Look, Daeul.", she started as she folded the piece up to squish the jam and began circling it in the air while imitating plane engine sounds with her mouth.

"Vroooommm~", she waved the piece around before stuffing it in her mouth and made sounds of approval with a smile on her face, in hopes to encourage the boy.

He looked at her through mono-lidded eyes with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. He smiled upon seeing her eat her "airplane-food" and straightened his posture. This may have worked as he began to motion toward Missus Chae to feed him his toast.

"Oh, I'll do it.", Hanji volunteered to let the woman eat her own breakfast as she knew she would have more work to do later on that day. Additionally, she figured this would be a good opportunity to get closer with the child.

She tore off a piece of his own toast before doing the same thing she had done with hers, making him smile widely as she changed each sound from a plane to a train and to a car. Every now and then, she found herself having to wipe his chin from the excess jam falling and worried about his pajamas but was reassured when she remembered he would have to change attire anyway.

Once she finished feeding him, she remembered her own breakfast and consumed it quickly as to not keep the boy from waiting too long.

--

Fun Story Fact #4:

Daeul much like in real life, enjoys Western food for breakfast while his father enjoys Korean.