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Jimin and Jeongha had a talent for arriving at the kindergarten at the same time - and usually, it was completely by accident. Today, it was more or less planned. It was late afternoon and only a handful of kids were present which meant the teachers weren’t quite as overwhelmed.
As they stepped into the foyer, Taehee, who was carrying a big box full of paint sets to the craft room, halted in her steps and sent them a big smile. “One second, I'll let the kids know you’re here.”
“No rush,” Jeongha said with a smile that might look normal to anyone else but Jimin could tell, she was incredibly nervous. “We wanted to ask you something first, anyway.”
“Oh.” Taehee hesitated, before rushing off to presumably put the box in their hands down. When she came back, she hurriedly wiped her hands on the overalls she was wearing. She bowed her head to them. “Jimin-ssi, Jeongha-ssi, how can I help?”
Bumping her shoulder against Jeongha’s, Jimin gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s not really about the kids, it’s- uh- may we ask something personal?” Jeongha asked, trying not to sound as jittery as she felt. It’s not like this was going to be the most embarrassing moment of her life, right?
With a frown, Taehee nodded. “Sure, yeah.”
Jeongha swallowed. “So, a while ago, the kids said something, and it kind of sounded like - I mean, they might’ve misunderstood - but it sounded like you might be polyamorous. Sorry, if we’re overstepping any lines here but-”
“We were wondering if you’d like to go out with us,” Jimin interrupted softly, taking Jeongha out of her misery. Taehee’s eyes widened. “We’re aware it’s a little inappropriate to ask you at work.”
“No, I mean, yes, I mean…” The kindergarten teacher let out a soft laugh, brushing a strand of hair behind their ear. “It’s definitely a little inappropriate, but it’s fine. I didn’t know you two were together, the kids never said anything.”
“It’s kind of a new thing,” Jeongha said, the blood rushing into her cheeks. She had been pining over Jimin for years and in the end, it took the both of them ranting about their mutual crush on Taehee for them to realize they might like each other as well. “But we’re really interested in… you.”
There was a beat of silence - except, it wasn’t silent in the kindergarten at all. Kids were chattering in another room and Jimin could tell by their laughter that the teacher in the room was probably Hoseok. Taehee rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Both of you?”
Jeongha couldn’t believe they had made it this far into the conversation without Taehee shooting them down completely. Maybe there was some hope after all. “Yes. Together. If you’d like to.”
“Well…” Taehee pursed their lips, folding their arms behind their back. “Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to go out with parents of kids that I look after. It’s our policy.”
Even though it wasn’t all that surprising, Jeongha and Jimin couldn’t help but deflate a little. “Ah, no worries,” Jimin said, her hand resting on Jeongha’s back. “We understand.”
Taehee nodded, smiling softly. “Yeah, I just can’t date any parents while their kids come here.” She looked innocently at Jimin, who immediately seemed to understand before Jeongha could.
She grinned, her hand on Jeongha’s back sliding down into the back pocket of her jeans. “That makes sense and you really are a great teacher. We’re almost sad that the kids are gonna start going to primary school soon.”
With a soft laugh, Taehee ducked her head. “Thank you. I’ll get the kids now, I’m sure they’re excited to get home.” As she walked off, Jeongha pressed a short kiss to Jimin’s lips before stepping away. They hadn’t told the kids about their relationship yet. They wanted to figure out how things would work long-term before they did. The twins especially would ask a lot of questions and Jeongha and Jimin just wanted to be sure they had the answers.
Namjoon was the first one to walk into the foyer, his glasses strapped to his head with an elastic band. His hair was stuck to his head on one side, probably because he had propped his head on his hand again for a long time. He usually spent the afternoons reading comics or building with Legos. He gave Jimin a tight hug in greeting before shuffling over to his cubby to put on his outside clothes. As Jimin followed him to ask about his day, Jeongha’s attention snapped away as soon as she heard a clatter of footsteps.
The twins barrelled into her, almost throwing her off her feet. Yelping, she held both of them by the back of their shirts, trying to find her balance. Yoonji and Seokjin grinned up at her cheekily. “Hi Eomma,” they said in unison, which she was sure they practiced regularly just so they could turn into creepy horror twins one day.
“Hi babies.” Jeongha pressed a soft kiss to each of their heads before patting their butts and sending them to their cubbies. “What trouble did you get into today?”
“None,” Yoonji replied instantly as she slipped into her sneakers - which translated to, a decent amount. Jimin always joked that Jeongha wasn’t capable of raising a quiet child and it was very true. Both Yoonji and Seokjin were quiet kids by themselves but once you put them together or paired them up with other kids, they quickly came out of their shells and filled the room with laughter and mischief. She couldn’t blame them though, they definitely got that from her.
The rain boots on Seokjin’s feet squeaked. “Yoonji hit someone,” he said and put on his raincoat. It wasn’t raining today. He just liked to look like a little fisherman at all times.
A pout formed on Yoonji’s lips before she frowned up at her mother. “I did not, Eomma, I promise. Wooyoung pinched me and I flinched and accidentally hit him.”
“Accidents happen,” Jeongha replied and hummed in understanding. She wouldn’t be surprised if Yoonji one day ended up hitting someone on purpose since she had a strong sense of justice, but she just hoped that Yoonji would try to talk it out first.
The kids said goodbye to the teachers before they left the kindergarten hand in hand with their mothers. Outside in the parking lot, the twins sandwiched Namjoon between them in a hug. They saw each other almost every day but still, they treated every goodbye like they wouldn’t see each other again for weeks. It was adorable.
“We’ll see you on Monday,” Jimin said with a smile as she helped Namjoon escape the group hug. She gave Jeongha a one-armed hug and mouthed “I’ll text you”.
•---------•
The last day of kindergarten was a celebration. The kids got to eat cake and play their favorite games, and each was to leave with a little bag full of goodies that reminded them of their wonderful time at kindergarten.
Unfortunately, the morning started quite tearful for Jeongha. She was the first to shed a few tears after she woke up, simply because she remembered just how fast her babies were growing up. But she quickly wiped them away and got ready for the day. Then, at breakfast, Seokjin burst into tears. He loved kindergarten, he didn’t want to go to school where he wouldn’t be able to play all day long. Even though Jeongha could relate to that sentiment very much, she rocked him in her arms. She ended up pulling Yoonji into the hug as well when her daughter teared up at the prospect of all of the changes that were to come.
Jimin on the other hand had quite a calm morning. Namjoon was more than excited to start school. In fact, he was so excited that he woke up two hours too early even if it wasn’t his first day of school yet. Alright, maybe calm wasn’t the word Jimin would choose to describe the start of their day.
Namjoon, Yoonji, and Seokjin had sat together and worked on a couple of gifts to give to their kindergarten teachers for the last week. Hoseok and Taehee ended up with the biggest pile of gifts shoved into a little bag.
And yes, maybe Jimin and Jeongha used that opportunity to slip Taehee their numbers. Now that the kids were leaving Taehee’s care there was nothing standing in the way of a first date - or well, at least they could properly ask her out again.
“We left you something in there as well,” Jimin quietly told Taehee, pointing to the bright green bag. “In case you were planning to just throw it straight into the trash.”
Taehee giggled. “Oh, I would never.”
Jeongha got a feeling that Taehee was telling the truth. She smiled softly. “No pressure, though. If you don’t feel up to… our offer.”
“You’re too kind,” Taehee mumbled, her cheeks heating up. “I’ll let you know.” When they winked, it was Jeongha’s turn to blush. She still couldn’t believe Taehee hadn’t shot them down immediately. What were the odds?
•---------•
It turned out that the odds that Taehee would actually want to go out on a date with Jimin and Jeongha, even after they bothered them at work, were exceptionally high.
It took them a week to find a day on which they were all available since Jimin and Jeongha had to ask their babysitter as well. When it was finally Saturday, the day they all had time on, Jimin and Jeongha drove to the park early to prepare the date.
A picnic felt like the perfect chance to hang out together and have comfortable conversations. The weather was amazing and it gave a great opportunity for both Jimin and Jeongha to wear their favorite dresses.
“Oh my god, did you get me a cake?” Taehee asked with a squeak when they placed their own basket on the blanket and saw the cake in the middle. “You’re too nice.”
“I got it for us,” Jimin corrected teasingly. “I work at a cake shop.”
“That sounds amazing.” Smiling, Taehee gave both of them a tight hug before sitting down on the blanket. Jeongha tried her best not to make it obvious that she was staring at Taehee’s bare thighs under her beige skirt. They looked all preppy and adorable with their brown cardigan slipping off their shoulders - for work they always wore more baggy, comfortable clothes. “I brought some strawberries and cheese. And wine of course.”
Jimin giggled and made grabby hands at the wine bottle. “Yes, great, I love it. Let’s get those glasses.”
One bottle of wine later, the three of them were all huddled together, leaning into each other as they giggled over this and that. Jeongha was incredibly glad that their hunch that Taehee would fit right in with them was correct. Adding another person to their relationship should be difficult but with Taehee it almost felt easy.
“This is the best cake I’ve ever had, I swear.” Taehee hummed and licked some icing off her fingers. Somewhere between their first and second glass of wine, they had given up on using cutlery. Using forks was overrated anyway.
“Hold on, you’ve got-” Jimin leaned in and wiped a bit of icing from Taehee’s bottom lip. Both of them froze, Jimin’s hand still hovering next to their face.
Jeongha leaned in as well, her head next to Taehee’s. “I think this is where you kiss,” she whispered in amusement.
Taehee smiled and looked at Jeongha out of the corner of their eyes. “What? And make you jealous?”
Scoffing, Jeongha pushed her lips out in a pout. “I won’t- I mean-”
“Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Jimin said with a grin, already holding out her fist. “Winner gets the first kiss.”
“This is ridiculous and very unromantic,” Jeongha replied and mirrored the gesture. “One round, no redos.”
Taehee snorted. “You guys…” But Jimin and Jeongha were already playing. Jimin picked paper, Jeongha picked rock. Taehee realized that she disagreed with Jeongha, this was actually quite romantic. Two women were fighting over the privilege of who got to kiss her first. It was cute. It made the butterflies in Taehee’s stomach go crazy.
Those butterflies fluttered even faster when Jimin’s hand cupped their face. The kiss was gentle and short, nothing but a lingering peck on the lips. Taehee let out a sigh as they pulled apart.
Jimin laughed when she saw Jeongha’s face. “Alright, come here, you.” She pulled Jeongha in by the collar of her dress and pressed a kiss to her lips as well. It was a good kiss from what Taehee could see. Good enough to make her a little envious. Her lips were still tingling from Jimin’s kiss and yet, they wanted more.
Jeongha looked dazed, her lips wet when Jimin let her go again. “Well,” she said quietly, her voice suddenly an octave higher than usual. “I’m, uh-” Her voice died again as Taehee ran their fingers through her hair, pulling her closer by the nape of her neck.
“Can I?” Taehee asked with a smile, Jeongha’s wide eyes staring back at her as if she had forgotten what the little game of Rock, Paper, Scissors had been for in the first place. Wow, Taehee needed Jimin to kiss them like that as well. But first Taehee needed to kiss Jeongha.
“Yeah, yes, please,” Jeongha replied, her fingers already gripping Taehee’s cardigan. She tasted like the strawberries they’d had earlier. Taehee hummed against her lips. They hadn’t been in love for years, they weren’t in love now (yet). But something about today, about the way Jimin and Jeongha clearly seemed to cherish each other and them, made them feel like they could be. She was so incredibly thankful that they had waited for her and hadn’t just moved on after she rejected them the first time.
“You’re worth the wait,” Jimin told Taehee when they brought it up later. They had just dropped Taehee off at home. Jeongha nodded from where she was wrapped around Taehee from behind. “We’d have waited much longer.”