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“Daddy, daddy wake up!”
A second later there’s a tiny body jumping on him, tiny hands tapping his chest impatiently and tiny knees digging into his stomach. Without even opening his eyes, Jeongguk cuddles the little pixie and covers them both with a duvet, turning to the side.
“Daddy, no!”
“Shhh,” he murmurs and hides his face in Sunhee’s neck, scenting her thoroughly.
He hates it that since she started to sleep in her own room, after the whole night there is almost no remains of his scent. The first nights were the worst, he kept waking up every other hour, checking if she’s still safely tucked in her bed, that no one stole her from him. It was irrational, he knows, but he couldn’t help it. His alpha way too worried about the pup was driving him crazy while the little girl seemed to not care at all. One would think that a new flat and separate bedroom would scare a small kid but not his daughter. She was more than okay with having her own space to play and after all her daddy was still just behind the wall, so what is the problem?
Now he is used to it but he still scents Sunnie first thing in the morning. It calms him down, her milky scent pleasantly mixing with his juniper and coffee and suddenly everything is fine again, the balance in the world restored. Even Sunhee can feel it, snuggling closer to her father, planting her small nose to his scent gland and scenting him back.
His chest tightens at the feeling. He still remembers how much he cried when she scented him for the first time and how Jackson made fun of him because of that (Jeongguk knows his best friend also cried when Sunhee scented him for the first time a couple weeks later but he’s good enough friend to pretend he didn’t notice).
Jeongguk is about to fall back asleep but his little gnome starts wiggling out of his hold and she jumps on top of him again.
“Daddy, no! You promised we’ll get coffee for uncle Taetae!”
Ah, yes, that. Last month Sunhee changed a group in kindergarten (she’s already in the five-year-olds!) which only means that all kids in her class transferred from ‘Kittens’ room to ‘Rabbits’ room and they got assigned a new teacher. Here enters uncle Taetae - a newly developed crush of his sweet little girl.
It’s adorable, honestly. The way she was getting all shy around him in the beginning, hiding behind Jeongguk’s legs every time they entered the kindergarten in the morning and Taehyung greeted them with a big, cheerful smile. Or how red she got at every goodbye hug received from the omega.
And the cutest part started around a week ago, when Sunnie approached Jeongguk before her bath, holding something behind her back.
“Daddy, do you think uncle Taetae will like it?” she asked shyly, showing him a drawing.
It showed her holding hands with the teacher, a lot of flowers and bunnies surrounding them and a big rainbow in the background. He could tell that she put a lot of effort in the picture as the colours hardly went behind the lines anywhere.
“I think he’s going to love it, sunshine.” he smiled and beaming she ran back to her room to pack the drawing.
He didn’t put much thought into that at first but two days later she started to mention how uncle Taetae always drinks coffee in the morning and after three days he finally pushed her a bit more why she keeps talking about it.
“Daddy, do you think we could get him coffee one day?” she looked at him with big, pleading eyes, knowing very well that he can’t say no to her when she does that.
He was about to though, because from the sudden head movement the crown braid he’d been working on got all crooked and messy. He would have to use extra butterfly pins.
“Well, today is too late for us to do it,” he answered but when he noticed the glimpse of tears he quickly continued. “But we could do it on Monday, after the weekend. How about that, Sunnie hmm?”
Honestly, Jeongguk was pretty sure she was going to forget all about it, especially because she didn’t mention it anymore after that breakfast conversation.
But clearly he was wrong.
“Okay, little rascal. Let’s eat breakfast and get coffee for your uncle Taetae.”
When they park in front of the kindergarten Sunhee is practically vibrating in the backseat. Jeongguk keeps checking on her in the rearview mirror, barely holding in laughter. She’s way too cute for her own good. Especially in those two space buns she insisted on this morning.
He steps out of the car and before he gets to open her door, she’s already unbuckled herself from the seatbelt.
“Daddy, don’t forget the coffee!”
“I remember, sweetheart.” and to confirm his words, he lifts the cup.
She grabs his hand and almost drags him toward the entrance. They enter the building and stop next to her hanger with a raccoon sticker, so she can take off her jacket and change shoes to the house slippers. She does it in impressive speed, clearly impatient to get to the classroom.
The door to the room is already open, so they walk in right when one of the kids skips away from the teacher after their good morning hug.
“Uncle Taetae!” she screams and runs right into the omega’s arms, not even letting him stand up.
“Good morning, Sunnie,” Taehyung greets her. “How was your weekend? Did you do something fun?”
“Yes! We had a movie marathon with daddy!” at the mention of her dad, she gasps and turns around. “Daddy! Come, come!”
Jeongguk chuckles and walks inside, careful to not step on the carpet with his boots. Sunhee grabs his hand and jumps in place, unable to contain her excitement.
“Good morning, Mr Kim,” Jeongguk bows a bit. “Here, Sunnie got something for you.”
The omega receives the cup with a surprised look on his face but before he can say anything, Sunhee starts talking again.
“It’s coffee! And there’s a note, did you see?”
The note says simply “Have a nice day, uncle Taetae!” but it’s written by Sunhee’s hand, guided by Jeongguk so it’s a bit crooked but in Jeongguk’s opinion that makes it a hundred times more adorable.
“Oh, Sunnie, thank you!” Taehyung crouches down and the girl happily gives him another hug. “My day is already so much better now!”
Jeongguk can’t help but smile while looking at the scene. He has to admit that the omega has an excellent approach to children. He’s always sincerely interested in whatever they have to tell him, showing the exact amount of enthusiasm expected from him and making them feel important. And the best part is that his expressions always look genuine. There’s nothing fake in the way he opens his almond eyes a bit wider in surprise or the way he high fives kids in a proud gesture. He doesn’t like it but he needs to go.
“Okay, pup. Come give me a bye-bye hug.”
Sunhee immediately comes back to him, hugging him tightly and (to his and his wolf’s immense content) scenting him once more.
“Bye, daddy, I love you.”
And just like that she’s gone, already joining her friends in play.
“Yeah, I love you too.” he shakes his head and stands up. He looks at Mr Kim who sniffs the coffee curiously. “It’s a mocha. She kept insisting she wants to get you coffee and hot choco so I decided it’s the closest we can get.”
“Thank you, Mr Jeon.” Taehyung seems pleased when he takes a sip, so Jaeongguk takes it as a win.
“You’re welcome. And here,” he hands him a small bag. “There is a fresh, scented blanket and a few plushies for her nest. Oh, and my jumper, she insisted yesterday to take it as well, I hope there will be enough space for all of it.”
One of his favourite things in this kindergarten are pup’s nests. Every Monday (or more often, if they wish) parents provide the teacher with scented items which later are used to create a personal nest for kids, where they spend nap time or they can lie down when sad or miss parents.
“Don’t worry, Mr Jeon, we will make it work.” Taehyung smiles at him and then the clock behind the teacher catches his eye.
“Shoot, I really need to go. See you in the afternoon!” he bows again and quickly rushes out of the building to not get late to work.
After this, Sunhee insists on showering her uncle Taetae with gifts. Sometimes it’s a cup of coffee or a few chocolate candies she carefully chooses in the store. She also draws more pictures, sometimes asking Jeongguk for help, when her vision gets too complicated for the little pup’s skills.
When they enter the kindergarten one day with a candle which Sunnie chose when they were buying a new stock for their home, for the first time he feels a bit uncomfortable. He starts asking himself if indulging his daughter was a good idea and has no clue how he’s going to bring it to stop. But the moment he smells the pleasure in the omega’s scent, making the jasmine more prominent and overtaking the usual almond Jeongguk got acquainted to during their short encounters, he calms down. As long as Sunhee and Taehyung are happy, there is nothing wrong with letting his daughter act on her innocent child adoration.
“Worst case scenario, she is changing teachers next year,” Jackson tells him later when they meet for lunch. “You can stop then.”
“It’s only in March and we have May,” Jeongguk points out.
“But there’s summer and winter break.” the alpha waves his hand dismissively. “You won’t even notice the time passing. One blink of an eye and she’s already six…”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Stop,” he’s terrified with the mere thought of his little baby growing up. “Maybe you’re right. Or maybe she’ll get bored soon.”
As expected, she doesn’t get bored.
Taehyung is talking with parents of a new pup, who joins the group today, when he smells the familiar juniper and coffee and he can’t help but get excited. It’s even harder when he finally sees his favourite couple of father and daughter stopping at the door, the girl holding some box in her hands.
With all of his willpower he focuses back on the Hwang family.
“I am sure Hyunki will feel very happy here,” he says with a warm smile and notices that the boy is eyeing the kids drawing at the closest table. “Do you like drawing, sweetheart?”
Hyunki nods shyly and Mrs Hwang strokes his head.
“He is a little artist after his father,” she informs. “If he could, he would paint and draw all day long.”
“Then it’s a big luck we do that a lot here.” Taehyung waves at Hoseok, the second teacher in their group to join them. “Do you think you can go with uncle Hobi and check out the paint collection we have?”
The little pup quickly hugs his parents and walks away with the beta to the other side of the room. Then the Hwangs hand Taehyung the bag with all the necessities for Hyunki’s nest and now after all formalities he starts to get impatient for them to leave. The parents stay a bit longer, though, making sure their pup is doing okay and after another two minutes Mr Hwang finally nudges his wife.
“Susanna, come on, he’s going to be fine.”
Omega is clearly not pleased with being rushed but after another encouragement from her husband she relents and they thank Taehyung once again before leaving.
The very next second Sunhee is right in front of him.
“Good morning, uncle Taetae!” she beams at him, as joyful as always. “This is for you.”
She hands him a food container and when Taehyung opens it, there are two chocolate muffins, each decorated with an excessive amount of colourful sprinkles in butterfly and star shapes.
“Oh my, Sunnie, they look delicious, thank you.” he hugs her tightly and gets up. “Thank you, Jeongguk-ssi.”
The alpha bows and smiles. “I only helped. Sunnie was the mastermind behind everything.”
“We baked them yesterday! For you!” she interjects, looking very pleased with herself.
Taehyung laughs quietly and watches the girl saying goodbye to her dad. He doesn’t miss the tint of pink on Jeongguk’s cheeks and his omega growls delighted at the sight.
Both Taehyung and his omega think it’s cute of the alpha to use his daughter for courting. He has to admit it does work very well on him but he can’t help but wonder when Jeongguk’s going to overcome his shyness and start doing it properly.
The funniest part is that the alpha doesn’t appear to be the shy type. Since the very beginning he’s been very confident both in posture, speech and scent. Never avoiding eye contact or at the loss of words. It makes Taehyung’s omega double pleased that such a strong and attractive alpha decided to court them.
Because an attractive alpha Jeon Jeongguk is indeed. Tall, still quite a lot taller than Taehyung who is surprisingly tall for an omega, well built and, as Taehyung noticed the other day when Alpha showed up in just a t-shirt to pick Sunhee up, covered in tattoos. He ticks all the boxes look-wise for Taehyung and on top of that he’s extremely polite and kind.
And if that would not be enough, it’s clear that he’s a total goner for his pup, which in Taehyung’s language means he’s basically perfect.
He’s brought back from his reverie when Jeongguk stands up after Sunhee runs away to join other kids in drawing.
“I hope you will enjoy the muffins. Have a good day, Taehyung-ssi.” he smiles warmly and Taehyung doesn’t even try to hide the spike of happiness in his scent.
“Thank you, Jeongguk-ssi, have a nice day as well.”
Jeongguk bows once again and leaves, passing in the doorway with Jimin.
“Soooo… What did you get this time?” he whispers the moment he gets to Taehyung.
“Two muffins.” Taehyung blushes, opening the box to show its content to his best friend.
“He’s courting you or trying to give you diabetes?” Jimin scrunches his nose at the sight of the little monstrosities.
Taehyung hits his arm but laughs nonetheless.
“Sunnie decorated them! Don’t be mean.”
“Well, I hope it was Sunnie because if that were Mr DILF, I'd be concerned.” Jimin smirks at the sight of Taehyung’s red cheeks.
“Stop calling him that, I beg you. Don’t you have work to do?”
“Jin is good on his own for a minute, thank you very much.” The omega rolls his eyes but walks away, turning around at the door. “Yoongi asked me to remind you that this weekend we’re meeting at your place.”
Now it’s time for Taehyung to roll his eyes.
“Namjoon already texted me. A man forgets once and they don’t let him live it down. It was two years ago!”
“Give them another two and maybe ruts will erase their memory.” Jimin winks and finally disappears.
Jeongguk is scrolling through Pinterest and watching Youtube tutorials for new hairstyle ideas for Sunhee, when she emerges from her room with furrowed brows.
“Daddy, how big should I make the bracelet for uncle Taetae?” she asks putting strings of different length right in his face.
“I don’t know, my love. You can measure my wrist and then probably make it a bit smaller.” Jeongguk extends his hand for her to try if anything would fit.
He goes back to scrolling when she runs away, clearly satisfied with her discovery. She comes back two minutes later with her big jewellery making kit and plops herself on his lap. Figuring there will be no more research for him, he throws his phone away. He doesn’t mind. There’s nothing in this world that he’d prefer doing than spending time with his sweet girl anyway. So he hugs Sunhee close to his chest and blows a raspberry on her cheek.
“What’s up, doc?” he squeals in her ear, making her laugh out loud.
“Daddy, stooop!” she giggles, wiggling in his hold, trying to run away from the tickles. “Daddy, my pearls will spill and get lost!”
“Okay, okay,” he chuckles, enthralled. He loves how she calls her cheap beads ‘pearls’.
“Could you help me?” she looks at him with pleading eyes, identical copies of his own. “I still sometimes can’t pull the string through these thingies.”
“Of course, my love.”
They end up making three bracelets: for uncle Taetae, daddy and Sunnie. She is absolutely ecstatic when Jeongguk tells her she can choose ‘pearls’ for him so now his wrist is decorated with a ridiculous amount of bunnies (because you look like Bugs Bunny, daddy) and purple round beads, only one pink heart (it’s me!) in the very centre.
He’s never going to take it off.
In return, she allows him to design a bracelet for her and she looks very pleased that he decided on butterflies, suns and flowers. No boring balls or cubes. She’s way too cool for that.
“Okay, pumpkin, time to sleep,” he says after looking at the clock. It’s way past her bedtime.
But it’s not like it never happens. Jeongguk tends to not notice how the time flies when he’s playing with a little human, who owns his heart.
Only when Sunhee’s already in bed does she start to look a bit uncertain.
“What’s wrong, love?”
“Do you think uncle Taetae will like it?” she peeks at the green-yellow bracelet at the bedside table.
Jeongguk takes it into his hands and inspects it closely. “Hmmm… some fine artist made this one, I see,” he hums, and Sunnie giggles, nesting herself in bed. “It looks like a very precious bracelet. I’m sure there is no one who wouldn’t like it.”
“I hope so,” she whispers, her eyes already closing on their own. “Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Can we make one for uncle Jackjack, too?”
Jeongguk chuckles. Oh yes, they can. And it’s going to be even more ridiculous than his, he’s going to make sure of that. Sunnie will be overjoyed.
“Sure thing, pup.”
“I love you, daddy.”
“I love you, too.” he leans down and when he’s pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he can tell she’s already asleep.
They enter the kindergarten hand in hand, Sunhee still unsure how her beloved uncle Taetae is going to react. If Jeongguk were to guess, he’d say Taehyung’s going to act as if it was a golden jewellery packed with diamonds.
And of course, he’s right. Taehyung’s loud gasp scares poor little Hyunki who is already so immersed with his drawing at the table next to them and Hoseok needs to take him to his nest.
It’s clear that the omega feels bad but after making sure that the little boy is taken care of, he turns back to Sunhee.
“Sunshine, it’s so pretty, I love it!” he pulls it onto his wrist and shows Sunnie smiling widely.
“Daddy helped me! I have one, too.” She lifts her arm to Taehyung’s face, who needs to cross his eyes to see anything. “Daddy chose my pearls. Daddy, daddy, show yours!”
She acts like she is on a sugar rush, running between them so frantically, her dutch braids look a bit traumatised already.
“It’s all Sunnie’s design.” he lifts his arm with a smile.
“Because daddy looks like Bugs Bunny,” she explains to Taehyung. “And he keeps asking me ‘what’s up, doc’ with a very funny voice, like in the cartoon. Daddy, show uncle Taetae!”
Teacher laughs out loud at the look on his face. There’s no way Jeongguk is going to embarrass himself like this in front of the omega.
“I think your daddy is a bit shy,” Taehyung winks at Sunhee. “But I can do a pretty awesome Donald Duck.”
He then starts to talk in the voice Sunnie loves so much, making her laugh and Jeongguk’s heart grow.
Jeongguk checks his watch and he doesn’t want to interrupt their little moment but he’s not sure if he can go through the entire day without a goodbye hug from his sunshine. He didn’t have to worry though, because perfectly tuned to him as always, Sunhee runs to him and says her goodbye with a sweet kiss to his cheek, that makes his entire day.
It is so weird. It’s Friday and dinner time and the entire house is absolutely silent. Jeongguk’s alpha is restless and he is not sure if it’s because of a rut lurking behind the corner or because of deafening silence meaning Sunhee is not home. Sunhee’s not in the nest. Sunhee’s not close. They can’t protect Sunhee. Sunhee’s missing. Pup’s not in the nest.
It is not the first time she is away for his rut but it doesn’t make the situation any better. He keeps wandering to her room where her scent is the most prominent and where the wolf calms down at least a little bit. He tried to sit in their small nest on the couch in the living room but they’re already at the point of it not being enough.
He decides to eat his dinner on the floor next to Sunnie’s bed, where when he rests his head against her pillow, he can pretend she is still home, watching cartoons he turned on in the living room to kill the overwhelming silence.
Soon this stage will pass and he’ll turn the TV off to move to his bedroom to spend the entire weekend jerking off, humping pillow and fucking his toys, syndrom of empty nest totally forgotten, but right now he can’t help but miss his little rascal.
He hates his ruts mostly because they separate him from her and he and his wolf absolutely despise every kind of separation from Sunhee. The strong will to knot and breed when he doesn’t have an omega isn’t pleasant either but that’s nothing a hand or toys can’t help with.
But nothing can help with the longing for his daughter.
Rationally, Jeongguk knows that Sunhee is totally safe, probably having the time of her life with her favourite uncle and aunt, who always spoil her rotten when she spends the weekend at their place but it doesn’t help much when his instincts take over. He just hopes the Monday afternoon comes fast so he can pick her up from kindergarten himself.
He closes his eyes and rests his head on Sunnie's pillow. The alpha inside him keeps howling after their missing pup in despair.
Monday morning makes Taehyung positively buzzing with expectation. Weekends became restless anticipation for a new week to start so he can at last see his favourite alpha and little girl again. Last Friday he couldn’t talk with Jeongguk when he picked up Sunhee because he was with another pup at the kindergarten nurse, so he is even more impatient now.
Right when Mrs Hwang leaves the classroom he finally smells the awaited scent. However, there’s something wrong with it and he can’t really pinpoint what until Sunhee shows up in the door but there’s no sign of her father behind. Instead there's a long haired female omega, smiling down at the girl.
She’s covered with conifer scent, mixed with… lotus? and something milky but in a different way than Sunhee’s scent. Taehyung’s brows furrow in confusion but then he notices a baby bump, making him freeze in place.
There's a pregnant omega in front of him, covered with Jeongguk’s scent.
He doesn’t have time to recover from shock when Sunhee runs to him, excited for her morning hug.
“Uncle Taetae!” she screeches, throwing herself in his arms.
“Good morning, Sunnie,” Taehyung breathes out, feeling a little dizzy. Jeongguk has an omega. Pregnant omega. He’s courting him while he has pregnant omega.
“I missed you so much!” she tightens her hold on his neck.
“I missed you too, sunshine.” he smiles and lets her go, hiding the wrist with his precious (or not) bracelet behind his back.
Sunhee then goes back to the strange omega for a hug. To Taehyung’s utter horror, the girl scents the woman before leaning down to kiss the baby bump.
“Bye, bye, pup! Don’t miss me too much!” she pats the belly and runs to greet her friends.
The omega struggles to stand up, so Taehyung quickly walks over to help her.
“Thank you, you must be Mr Kim,” she says with a smile and he feels so, so sick. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Vicky.”
“Nice to meet you, Vicky-ssi” it is so hard to speak with the lump in his throat. “I’m Taehyung, Sunhee’s teacher as you know.”
“I know, I know.” Vicky nods and reaches to her bag, taking out a blanket smelling even more prominently like conifer mixed with lotus and milk. “Here is Sunnie’s blanket. I think Jeongguk-ah is going to bring more things tomorrow but he said it’s going to be okay for today.”
“Y-yes, of course,” Taehyung takes the blanket with shaking hands. Jeongguk is courting him while he has pregnant omega. “Thank you, I will add it to her nest.”
“Thank you. I have to go now, have a nice day, Taehyung-ssi.” she bows as much as her belly allows her to and after hearing his goodbye, she turns around and leaves.
He doesn’t have time to compose himself and add the reeking blanket to the girl's bed, before Jimin enters the room.
“Who was that?” he asks but after noticing Taehyung’s distressed face and scent of burned almonds, he power walks through the room and holds Taehyung’s forearms. “Taehyungie, what happened?”
“Jeongguk’s omega,” he whispers and the way Jimin’s eyes widen, brings tears to his own. “That was Jeongguk’s omega.”
“I thought he’s a single father?”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“Wasn’t she…”
“Pregnant, yes.”
Jimin quickly shouts to Hoseok to greet still incoming kids and leads Taehyung out of the classroom. They lock themselves in the teacher’s room and Taehyung bursts out in tears. He throws the blanket he’s still holding in his hands on the table, absolutely disgusted.
“Oh my god, Jimin,” he cries, the omega in him wails in despair. “He... he…”
“What an asshole of an alpha!” Jimin whisper-yells, his outraged scent of rotten cherries takes over the room, stressing Taehyung out even more. “Sorry, sweetie.”
Jimin takes a deep breath to calm himself down and takes Taehyung in his arms. He waits a few minutes for him to calm down and then he strokes his hair delicately.
“What are you going to do now?”
Only silence answers him.
It takes all of Jeongguk’s self-control to not speed through the city while driving to the kindergarten but he still arrives there in record time. He jumps out of the car and almost runs to Sunhee’s classroom, just to see his little baby as fast as possible. It was awful enough that he had to wait to pick her up right before closing hours, because he still didn’t feel totally comfortable with his post rut scent. It’s not as prominent anymore but it’s still distinguishable.
He stops at the threshold and takes in the sight in front of him.
Sunhee, pup, pup, pup, pup is here, is drawing at the small table and Taehyung is sitting next to her, saying quietly something that makes the girl laugh happily. Sunhee is happy. The pup is happy. Omega is making their pup happy.
Jeongguk knocks at the door frame, making both of them look up from the drawing. Sunhee gasps and immediately abandons her art to run to him. Pup, pup, pup.
“Daddy!” she jumps and he’s more than ready to catch her. “I missed you!”
He scents her thoroughly, almost fiercely and he’s really glad there’s no one else except the two of them and Taehyung in the room because he’d probably not be able to do it in other circumstances. To his great joy, she scents him as well and only then his alpha finally calms down and he can feel that his rut is over for good. Pup is safe. Sunhee is with them and she is safe.
“I missed you, too, my baby,” he chokes out, overwhelmed as always after being separated from his sweet girl. “I’m never leaving you again.”
“Daddy!” she laughs, leaning back, still in his arms. “Don’t be silly. I have to go to kindergarten.”
“I’m going to quit my job and stay home with you.”
“Silly daddy.” she pats his head but Jeongguk knows she’s pleased with all the attention and affection.
He kisses her forehead before putting her down. That’s when he finally looks at Taehyung and he’s surprised to see a stone cold face. The expression only changes when Sunhee turns around.
“Sweetheart, could you please go with uncle Jiminie? He’s going to help you put on your jacket.”
Jeongguk and Sunhee turn around to see Jimin already waiting in the corridor. Sunnie looks up at Jeongguk in a silent question, so he nods. She walks away and when he turns back to Taehyung, the omega is right in front of him, burning almond clouding the two of them and there’s undeniable fury in his eyes.
“Care to explain yourself?” Taehyung hisses out and Jeongguk is even more confused.
“Umm, I’m sorry. I…” he swallows. “I preferred to pick her up after everyone else left. I was pretty sure you’re working till this hour…”
“Is this funny for you?” the omega interrupts him. “Are you playing dumb or you really are dumb?”
Jeongguk looks at the teacher shocked. He’s never seen him this angry, angry at all actually as the omega’s always been the example of composure and calmness.
“I really don’t know… I was in my rut and…”
“How dare you court me when you have a pregnant omega at home?!”
Silence. There’s deafening silence after the outburst. Taehyung is panting heavily and Jeongguk is totally lost.
“Pregnant omega? What are you talking about?” he furrows his brows and then it clicks. “You mean Vicky?”
“Yes, of course I mean Vicky!” Taehyung throws his hands in the air agitated. “Or do you have more omegas scattered around the city?”
Jeongguk knows he should be offended by the accusation but he can’t help but snort.
“Is this funny for you?”
“Sorry.” he chuckles again. “Vicky is not my omega. To be clear, I do not have any omega. Scattered around this OR another city.”
“But… the scent…”
“Her alpha, and my best friend, has a very similar scent to me. Both from the conifer family.”
Taehyung looks stunned and the stench of burned almonds is gone. He doesn’t talk for a minute and that’s when Jeongguk’s brain registers something else.
“Wait, you think I’ve been courting you?” he asks and the way the teacher blushes makes him strangely pleased.
“You… You haven’t? But… all those courting gifts…” Taehyung stutters and it all becomes clear for the alpha.
“Oh my… Taehyung-ssi, I’m really sorry but… it really was all Sunhee. She would kick me if she knew I told you but you became her sort of crush from day one and she kept nagging me to do small things for you and I just… agreed. I am so sorry, I didn’t realise…”
“Oh god,” Taehyung whispers, covering his mouth with one hand, the jasmine layer of his scent becoming a bit rotten and that makes Jeongguk speak again quickly in panic.
“Please, it’s all my fault, I didn’t think how it might look from your perspective but…”
“I have to go,” Taehyung interrupts him and runs out of the classroom.
Jeongguk runs after him but the omega locks himself in the teacher room and before he can start knocking, the other omega appears next to him.
“Sunhee is ready to go, Mr Jeon.”
He looks over at Jimin’s serious face, again at the door and then at his daughter. She’s looking at him curiously, standing next to her hanger.
Jeongguk nods at the other teacher and walks over to Sunhee. Maybe it really is better to leave it for tomorrow. At least he’ll have time to figure out what the hell just happened.
“So, you are telling me that a smoking hot teacher, Vicky’s words not mine, thought you were courting him and you said that absolutely no, it was just your 5 year old daughter?”
Jeongguk groans, resting his head at the armrest, careful to not spill his drink.
Sunhee is already asleep and he's on the phone with Jackson, in urgent need of advice. He should have known, though, it’s not going to be a pleasant conversation but rather ‘make fun of Jeongguk’ hour.
“I panicked, ok? I didn’t have time to think and he took me by surprise.”
“I really have no idea how you managed to get laid at any point of your life,” Jackson laughs out loud. “If not for Sunnie bunny I’d never believe you. She’s too much like you, only prettier, to not be conceived by you.”
“Fuck you, Wang,” he snarls but he gets only even more laughter in response. “Plus, I really haven’t been courting him.”
“That is actually the interesting part. Why? When Vicky came back from the kindergarten she was ready to leave me and run away with the guy. She even checked if it is possible to remove a mating mark.”
Jeongguk can hear his friend’s wife yelling something in the distance but he can’t understand anything.
“That would actually serve her better, she wouldn’t have to endure your stupid ass,” he snickers.
“Jokes aside, really, why aren’t you courting Taehyung?”
Jeongguk swirls the ice in the glass.
He’s never actually thought about courting anyone. Since the day Sunhee was born Jeongguk decided that that’s it for him. There is going to be him and this little creature, who immediately took a hold of his heart and claimed absolute ownership. No one else needed.
Of course, there were moments, still are, when Jeongguk wishes he had someone to share life with, who would raise Sunnie with him, someone to join in bed and prepare coffee for in the morning. To have another scent in their nest, mixing pleasantly with his juniper and coffee and with Sunhee’s lovely milk. Who would love him and his daughter and who they could love in return.
But it’s always only a fleeting thought, for over five years he hasn’t actually had time to go and meet someone. And Jeongguk’s been fine with it.
However, thinking now about the omega, one of his daughter’s favourite people in the world, his heart skips a beat. He remembers how caring Taehyung is around Sunhee, the fondness always clear in his eyes when he looks at the pup. How easily he made her laugh just before Jeongguk entered the classroom earlier today and how he still wore the bracelet Sunnie gifted him. He thought it’s a courting gift from Jeongguk, who supposedly tricked him but he still wore the jewellery, probably perfectly aware how much it means to the little girl.
And no matter what, Jeongguk can’t say that he’s not attracted to the omega. Vicky didn’t lie saying he’s smoking hot but not only that. He’s also cute, when he blushes (he blushes so much, he always thought it's the teacher's characteristic but maybe…) or when he laughs at Sunhee’s jokes. He’s soft, always in light sweaters, with brown locks surrounding his face, adorable little moles under his eye, on the tip of his nose and many more adorning his skin (when did he notice that?).
He’s exceptionally pretty. Beautiful. Stunning with his full, plush lips and different eyelids.
Taehyung is breathtaking.
“Now when you’re asking like this, I have no idea.”
Jackson on the other side of the line hums. “That’s what I thought.”
The bell above the door rings when Jeongguk and Sunhee enter the shop. She decided that with the rain outside it would be nice to brighten up uncle Taetae’s day with a pretty flower. Jeongguk of course agrees and now they are looking at all different plants, half of them totally foreign to him. He doesn’t buy flowers often, just from time to time a single rose or a small bouquet of lilies of the valley for Sunnie but that would be it, so he is not sure which flower would be appropriate for the occasion.
“What do you think, baby? Which one will uncle Taetae like?” he finally asks, tapping Sunhee’s braid bun delicately, careful to not destroy the construction.
He’s pretty sure it won’t last till the second breakfast but the way she squealed in front of the mirror when she saw it was worth all the trouble.
“Sunflower,” she says firmly. “Uncle Taetae always draws sunflowers. They must be his favourite.”
Jeongguk nods. Hard to argue with that. He extends his hand to Sunhee so they can walk to the counter together.
“How can I help you, sir?”
He’s nervous when they park in front of the kindergarten. Yesterday Taehyung was absolutely furious and then Jeongguk made it clear he was not courting him, so he has no idea how the omega is going to behave today. Is Taehyung going to hate him? Make them change groups for Sunhee? Or worse, kindergarten?
That sounds a bit extreme but Jeongguk’s thoughts start spiralling and he needs to get to the omega quickly or he’s going to grab his pup and run away.
Sunhee knows that something is going on but she doesn't really understand the implications behind Jeongguk’s small lecture at the breakfast. Plus, he’s not sure how much she actually registered as she was more interested in the ladybug wandering around their dinner table than in listening to her father.
They walk in the classroom and luckily Taehyung is standing alone. He notices them immediately and blushes, averting Jeongguk’s eyes. His alpha growls lowly, pleased at the sight of flustered omega.
“Hello, Sunnie,” Taehyung greets and before he can hug her, she presents him with the sunflower.
“Good morning, uncle Taetae! It’s raining outside so we got you a small sun on a stick!”
She came up with that comparison in the car and she couldn’t wait to share it with her teacher.
“Oh sweetheart,” the omega embraces her delicately, careful to not destroy the flower. “You are sunshine yourself as well.”
Remembering their conversation before leaving the car, after their greeting Sunhee quickly says goodbye to her dad and runs away to play with her friends. One of the braids in the bun is already getting loose.
“Taehyung-ssi…”
“Please, don’t. I am so embarrassed.” Taehyung whispers, looking at his feet ashamed. “I made a fool of myself. I am terribly sorry for my behaviour, I had no right to attack you and insinuate any of those terrible things.”
Jeongguk walks closer to him and reveals the second sunflower, hidden before behind his back. At last Taehyung looks up at him, with confusion written all over his face.
“As long as what I said yesterday was true and I haven’t been courting you,” he stops for a second, trying to read Taehyung’s expression. “I would really like to start now. Officially.”
The omega widens his eyes at him and appears to be at the loss of words. He receives the sunflower cautiously, holding both flowers close to his chest.
“And Sunhee…”
“She graciously agreed for me to give you gifts as well,” Jeongguk grins. “I had to bribe her with a new jewellery making kit, so you may expect more bracelets and necklaces in the near future.”
That finally makes Taehyung laugh. Cheerfully and lightly.
“I can’t wait,” he chuckles and glances in Sunhee’s direction. After a few heartbeats of silence he turns back to Jeongguk. “I’d love to be courted by you, Jeongguk-ssi.”
***
“Thank you again, Jeongguk-ah.” Jackson pats him on the back when he’s ready to leave the house.
“No problem. I still remember how many times you helped me since Sunnie was born.” Jeongguk smiles.
Those were good times. The first time Jackson babysat for him, his friend video called barely half an hour later, panicked and asking to walk him through diaper change.
Thankfully Jeongguk didn’t have such problems when it was his turn to help his friends out. It’d been some time but he quickly remembered the procedure, Jihyun didn’t even have time to register her butt was out and she was already dressed up again. Now after over a year of occasional babysitting he’s back to being pro. And Jihyun is a sweet little pup, very calm and easy to entertain. Jeongguk has no idea how it is possible that she's Jackson’s daughter.
The two friends exchange their goodbyes and Jeongguk walks to his car. He sighs. He enjoyed the evening with Hyunnie a lot, sometimes he misses the times when Sunhee was younger, but he can’t wait to be back home.
He enters the hallway and he doesn’t even have time to take off his shoes, when a high-pitched barking sounds from behind the door. He rolls his eyes. The little rat behaves like he has no idea who he is but the moment he walks through the door, it’s going to jump with happiness.
As expected, that’s exactly what happens and Jeongguk crouches down to scratch the dog a bit before he walks to the living room and stops in the entrance.
There, taking over the entirety of the unfolded couch is their nest. It used to be small, built only on a chaise end, then it spread to the whole sofa and a few months ago they even had to unfold the furniture. His alpha growls pleased at the sight in front of them.
Sunhee is lying down, dressed in her Stitch onesie she refuses to take off for the last two days, since she got it. Her little feet keep wiggling under the blanket and Jeongguk’s heart soars because no matter how much she grows, she always does it while watching TV.
She is pressed close to Taehyung, her head on his chest and his hand in her hair. They tend to do that a lot, their need to nest even greater now than usual. Yeontan didn’t stop with him to look at the view, so he’s already squished between Sunhee and a huge belly the girl keeps stroking.
“Hello, my loves.”
The two of them look away from the movie and smile at him.
“Daddy! How was Hyunnie?”
“She was an angel, as always. What are you watching?” he asks, while joining the nest on the other side of Taehyung. Immediately, he’s enveloped in a nice cocoon of juniper, jasmine, almond, coffee and milk.
“It’s “Moana”,” Sunhee rolls her eyes. She aspires to be a sassy teenager, Taehyung keeps joking. Jeongguk tries not to think that their pup is going to become one one day. “As if you didn’t know.”
“I wish I didn’t. But someone made me watch it everyday for months.” he leans over the omega, to tickle her tummy but stops, when she kicks out her legs. “Be careful, berry is here.”
He strokes the belly delicately and kisses it, when he feels a powerful kick being delivered in his direction. “Yes, yes, daddy’s back home, little one.”
Well, berry is not as little anymore, the huge baby bump being enough evidence of that, but for Jeongguk it’s still their little blueberry, just as when they met them for the first time on the ultrasound screen.
“They didn’t want to calm down,” Sunhee quickly snitches. “We were trying to bake cookies but berry was attacking papa all the time and we needed to come to the nest.”
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Taehyung brings Sunhee closer and snuggles himself further into Jeongguk, covering him with their blanket. “We can go bake them now, berry’s already going to sleep. I hate how much they’re attached to you,” he looks at his mate with reproach. “I am literally growing them inside of me and they only want your scent.”
Jeongguk laughs quietly when he sees his pout and he immediately kisses it away. “I am sure they’re going to be crazy for your scent out here.”
It seems to satisfy the omega for now as he goes back to watching the movie with Sunhee. He bares his neck for a bit more of scenting first though and the alpha of course indulges him right away.
Jeongguk stays with them but pays no mind to what is happening on the screen. In moments like this, he prefers to observe his family.
His growing pup, such a beautiful and amazing girl. His stunning and marvellous mate. His little berry, still hidden in their papa, but Jeongguk already can’t wait to hold them. And a little rat between these three. They keep insisting it’s a dog but as long as it fits in both of Jeongguk’s palms (which is forever, considering that Yeontan is already an adult) he refuses to acknowledge that. When berry is big enough he’s going to get them a proper dog, not just a sample of one. Maybe a doberman or something.
It’s been around two years since he decided to court Taehyung and he remembers the conversation with his best friend, when he started to play with a thought of a new scent in his and Sunhee’s nest. Of welcoming in his life someone who would love him and his daughter and who they could love in return.
He looks over at the bouquet of sunflowers in the corner of the room and rests his head against Taehyung’s, breathing in deeply. The scent of juniper, jasmine, almond, coffee and milk, saturated with content and joy fills his lungs.
Pups are in the nest. Mate is in the nest. They are close. They are safe. They are protecting them. Mate and pups are in the nest. They are happy and safe. Their pups and mate…