a/n: jeongwoo and reader aged up for the sake of the story flow
✩ MANNER LEGS & TIME-OUTS ✩
"Are you sure you want to do this? I didn't tell them about you, so it'll be fine if you can't."
You assured your boyfriend, watching him tie his shoes before standing next to you.
"I've always wanted to see where you worked. You've been to the company a billion times, and the studio is basically a second home." Jeongwoo shrugged, shoving his hands in his pant pockets. "It'll be fun, right?"
"It will be very fun! I can't wait for you to meet the kids!" You giggled to yourself, excited for your students to finally meet your boyfriend. "Not that I'm bluffing, but it'll be difficult to get them to like you at first."
Jeongwoo laughed, nodding as you struggled to contain your smile. "Guess we'll have to stop by the bakery and grab some donuts before we go then," he suggested, watching you as you excitedly clapped, rushing to leave the house faster.
You worked at a small school that mainly handled playschool and elementary kids — and Jeongwoo was finally going to get a taste of what you did for a living. Trying to make use of his free day — other than gaming and sleeping — he accompanied you to your workplace.
Jeongwoo had his fair share of interactions with kids — not that every interaction was a success. He knew how to handle their tantrums and play with them, but teaching them was something he wasn't familiar with, so it was a pleasant change to see what you spent your weekdays doing to make a living.
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" You cheered, overflowing with excitement as your favorite small hoomans were going to meet your favorite tall one. "You are going to love the kids, I promise!"
"The real question is whether they'll love me."
***
"Everyone. get your aprons and line up! Let's do some painting!"
You announced, going over to the shelf, grabbing the box full of aprons and placing them on the floor so the children could easily get them.
"Yay, painting!" They responded in sync, forming a line while a student handed each of them an apron for their art class.
Jeongwoo leant against the table as you put on your apron, sitting on the little chair as you waited for them to come to you. "You've taught these kids well," he commented out of the blue, taking you by surprise. "They are childish, but at the same time, they have certain mature aspects. It's really admirable." He watched the smile on your face widen as you looked at the kids before turning to him.
"Trust me, it's all them." You shook your head, letting him know you had nothing to do with their behaviour. "They play, they fall and they learn. I only teach them basic math and do fun activities with them."
"Are all teachers here as humble as you?"
"I don't know." You chuckled, smiling widely as your first student rushed towards you, her apron in her hands. "Daeunie! I love your pigtails, they are so cute!" You complimented as you tied the apron for her.
Jeongwoo watched you interact with each student one after the other, fondly smiling at every comment you gave them. As he listened and observed more, he figured the children were more excited about receiving a compliment from you rather than the art class they had.
"Siwon-ah! You are looking twice as handsome as yesterday!"
"Wah, your hair clips are so pretty, Areum!"
"Minseo! Minwoo! I love your matching shirts!"
After finishing the apron-tying line, you gestured to Jeongwoo to get his apron, wanting him to join in on the art class with the youngsters as well. Your boyfriend complied, grabbing his apron — but instead of wearing it, he stood in front of you, holding it out.
You furrowed your brows, looking confused. "What?" You took the apron out of his hands, hiding your laugh when you saw him raise his hands — just like the kids when they got their aprons tied. "Oh, I see. We have a new student, it seems."
Not thinking much about it, you took the apron, wanting to place it over his head. However, the height difference between the two of you became a slight obstacle. You cleared your throat, wordlessly point out the issue to your boyfriend who eagerly waited for his apron to be tied.
"Woo, if you could ..."
"Oh, right, sorry!"
Jeongwoo immediately grasped the situation, using 'manner legs' as he stretched his legs a little so you could easily place the apron over his head and tie the strings. You smiled at your boyfriend, turning away to join the children who were waiting with their mini canvases.
"You forgot something!" He pointed out, holding your hand as he turned you to face him. "You can't go until you say it."
Confusedly looking at your boyfriend, you wondered what you were missing. And the smug smile on Jeongwoo easily gave you the answer. He wanted a compliment. "Thank you for coming with me today. I love you," you whispered, discreetly blowing a kiss in his direction before joining the kids.
"Ah, Y/N, you are gonna give me a heart attack at this rate."
***
"Finally! I finished it!"
Jeongwoo exclaimed, stretching in his seat as he held the notepad with the completed lyrics on it. He listened to the melody he had made earlier, singing the lyrics multiple times to make sure the flow was there.
For the first time that day, Jeongwoo walked out of the room, trying to find you so he could boast about his accomplishment. Finding you sitting at the kitchen counter, he excitedly ran up to you, not seeing that you were busy with finalizing lesson plans for your classes.
"Y/N, Y/N! Look!" Jeongwoo shoved the notepad in front of you, but you held his hand to the side, single-handedly typing out the email to your higher-ups. "I finished it! See!" He wanted to share the joy of finishing the lyrics to the melody he had struggled on for so long.
"Give me a minute, love," you stated, blindly reaching for your boyfriend's shoulder and patting him. "I'm a bit busy."
The brunet male froze in his place, not used to the tone you used with him. You never speak to me with such a sickly sweet voice. "Huh?" He confusedly scratched the back of his neck, patiently waiting until you were done.
After hitting send on the email, you turned to your boyfriend, ruffling his hair out of reflex. "Aigoo, good job! You did so well! I'm pro–" You paused, immediately touching your throat as you realised you used your 'teacher voice' with him.
"Did you just speak to me like you do with your students?"
"Hm?" You hummed, turning your attention to your laptop as you feigned innocence. "N-no. Why would I do that? You are not my student. That's crazy," you blabbered, internally screaming at the situation.
Jeongwoo crossed his arms over his chest, raising his brows in question. "Really?" He inquired, smugly smiling.
"Really." You nodded, facing your boyfriend. "What did you want to tell me?" You gave a tight-lipped smile, wordlessly begging him to drop the minor mistake on your end.
Fortunately enough for you, Jeongwoo was more excited about sharing his mini accomplishment rather than teasing you, so he instantly grinned, showing you the notepad. You had a smile of adoration on your face as you looked at your boyfriend, feeling your heart flutter at the endless passion he has for his work.
Quite a time passed as you went back to your work, with Jeongwoo sitting in front of you as he scrolled through his phone. You two usually had some quiet time whenever you worked, but you found it odd for it to be this silent — especially when Jeongwoo was done with his work. Looking up from your laptop, your gaze meets his sparkling eyes, with him just staring at you with a look of mischief on his face.
"What?"
"About earlier, did you really use your — okay, okay, I'll stop."
***
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I promise I'll–"
Jeongwoo shut himself up as you glared, not in a good mood after all your white clothes had turned pink.
You took a deep breath, slowly blinking. "I told you multiple times ..." You stressed on your words, because you indeed had mentioned the dangers of mixing colored clothes with white ones to your boyfriend. "... that you should be careful with the laundry."
Walking away from the pink clothes in an attempt to calm yourself, you sat on your bed, taking deep breaths. After a while of breathing, you went back into the kitchen, wanting to get your laptop and complete your work.
"Jeongwoo, can you get–" You paused in your tracks, seeing the tall male standing in front of your papers, his hands covering his face. "What did you do now?" You sighed, already knowing from his posture that something was wrong.
"Look, Y/N ... baby, I really love you, yeah?" Jeongwoo had his hands together, wordlessly begging you to forgive him as you walked towards him. "Just stay there, don't come closer."
You bit your lip as you saw your cup of coffee had fallen, and all its contents covered the lesson plan printouts you had worked hard to make. Running your fingers through your hair, you tugged on it out of frustration, eyes twitching as you controlled the anger you felt.
"Y/N, I'm really–"
"Ssh! Save it, Jeongwoo."
You grabbed the nearest chair, picking it up and placed the chair in the room's corner before silently going towards the storeroom. Trying to remember where you kept them, you found the party hats you were looking for.
You beckoned Jeongwoo to follow you, taking him towards the chair. "Come. Sit here." You pointed at the seat, making him wear the party hat before making him face the wall. "This hat is your cone of shame. Sit here and think about what you did."
Frowning, you crossed your arms over your chest, staring at your sulking boyfriend before you took your laptop, starting your work from the beginning as you sat at the dining table, keeping an eye on the male.
"Babe, are you really–"
"You are in timeout right now. Keep your mouth shut."
Jeongwoo sighed, turning from his seat. "Come on, Y/N. You can't be serious," he said, looking at you with a bored look on his face.
"Park Jeongwoo!" You slammed your hand against the table. "You don't speak when you are in a timeout!" You grumbled, still pretty mad about the little messes Jeongwoo had made.
In an instant, he was there by your side, ignoring all the glares you gave him. "Does it hurt?" He asked, worried as he held your hand, shaking his head as he saw the reddening marks.
"Mhm." You nodded, pouting at your boyfriend. "But it doesn't hurt as much as it does to see all my white clothes pink."
"I'm sorry, baby. I really am. If you forgive me, I promise to replace all of those clothes and help you out with your lesson plans."