#dad7

You did this to yourself. You really should have listened when Jaebeom said to leave it but you always had to get your two cents in. Not that you would ever admit to him that he was right. That was never happening. You sighed and opened the door. Youngjae looked as tired as you felt and you remembered why you'd agreed to this in the first place. There were very few people you'd have sacrificed your Saturday sleep in for, your best friend was at the top of that list.

You stepped forward to fix the ruffed mess that was his brown hair and he blinked at you. You laughed and handed him a to go cup of coffee.

"Good morning Jae."

He grumbled something in response and in the time it took for the first sip of coffee to perk him up you were already stepping past him towards the car. Youngjae doesn't even blink as you get his kids out of their carseats, the chorus of "auntie y/n" that follows making him wince as you free first one and then the other. He looks much more awake by the time you rejoin him at the door, one boy on each hip talking your ear off. You see why he looks like he hasn't slept in days. He probably hasn't.

"How much sugar did you feed them?"

He just shrugs. "Their mother decided lucky charms were acceptable for breakfast on the weekend."

Yup, that would do it. You just shake your head and leave him in the peace of your front entranceway while you carry the boys into the living room.

"Okay, say bye to daddy. I'll be right back."

They yell their goodbyes as you pop on the latest episode of their favourite cartoon and then you're meeting Youngjae in the driveway with your keys. You agreed to swap your smaller car for the kidmobile for the weekend. He pulls the mini van onto the street while you move your vehicle, your small driveway not big enough to accommodate two vehicles parking in the same space so the game of musical cars takes place every time you have the kids for more than a few hours.

Youngjae's single parenting this week while his wife is on a work trip and he got called in for some last minute weekend overtime last night when his boss came down with food poisoning at their kickoff business dinner. You know this is a huge opportunity for him and a promotion would make a big difference so you offered to take the kids.

He had sounded so relieved on the phone you knew he'd tried everything else before asking. It was why you'd said yes. As you park the car in front of your house he pulls the van into your driveway and hops out with a duffle bag slung over one shoulder. You grab the small suitcases from the trunk and meet him at the front door.

"Thank you again for doing this."

"There’s no one else I'd drop weekend brunch for."

He laughs. "You hate weekend brunch and weekend yoga. You're also probably going to rope Jaebeom into some kind of tiring them out competition dressed up as a fun time and I'm never hearing the end of it from him."

You blink innocently.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

You kiss his cheek as he drops the bag inside and pulls you in for a hug.

"Seriously, thank you. I have to run but you have Eunji's number right?"

You smile and hand him your keys. "You've been married for a decade loser, yes I have your wife's number and all of the instructions. Go kick ass, I can handle your little demons."

He sighs. "You really have to stop calling them that."

"Mhm, and you’re going to be late. Bye dad. See you on Sunday."

He grumbles as you close the door in his face and go to get your pseudo nephews settled in the guest room before you have to rush them off to their weekly piano lesson.

---

Youngjae's kids are usually pretty polite and well-behaved, as far as six year olds go, so you're not too surprised to find them going along with your routine. They whine a little as you turn off the tv and make them grab their things but they really like their new piano teacher. You've heard Youngjae mention that they got along better with the new guy than the last one but you didn't realize just how fond they were until you heard his name on repeat the entire drive over.

From the moment you buckle them into their carseats Minho and Minjae chirp on about Mr. Kim this and Mr. Kim that. They talk about him so adoringly that you figure he must be a kindly older man. They tend to get along well with those types, seeing how Jaebeom is their favourite uncle and he's always in his grandpa era.

You're surprised when you pull up to the studio, Minho wiggling at your hip where you hold him close to keep him from escaping while Minjae swings the hand he holds and skips along at your side, only to find a man your own age in the room. At first you assume he's another parent, just dallying after the last lesson, until Minjae lets go of your hand in favour of throwing himself at the man's legs.

"Mr. Kim!"

You grab the bag of sheet music he dropped in his haste and hurry over to apologize but the tall man has your nephew well in hand, scooping him up and setting him on the piano stool as he crouches down on one knee until they're face to face.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite student."

Minho protests loudly at this and you laugh as you let him down to join his brother. "What about me?"

The man handles them and their bickering easily, getting them focused on a new task within minutes. He dusts himself off as he stands and makes his way over to greet you.

"I'm Yugyeom, you must be y/n."

You nod. "Youngjae remembered to give you a heads up I see."

He smiles and nods as you take the hand he offers, shaking it firmly.

"Yeah, I'm their guardian for the weekend. It's nice to finally meet you. I feel like all we've heard since he dropped them off this morning was how great you are."

His laugh is much mlre infectious, and lighter, than you were expecting. He quickly has you smiling along as he glances over to check on the boys. They're too immersed in their little warmup competition to notice either of you.

"I'm glad. They're good kids."

You nod. "Usually. They were struggling a lot before you came along so I'm just happy to see they've found someone who understands how to make learning fun for them."

Mr. Kim, Yugyeom, nods. "What's the point if they're not enjoying learning?"

You smile at how down to earth he seems. Youngjae made a good choice with this man. He seems to understand how your nephews work and you've already seen that he knows how to handle rowdy little demons. You love the boys but they can be a lot and it’s nice to see someone who doesn't find it a chore dealing with them.

"It definitely helps." You agree. "And I know Jae appreciates the time to himself."

Yugyeom laughs again and you set the boys' bags by the door.

"I should get out of the way and let you guys get on with your lesson. They're done at 10?"

He nods. "Yeah, you can come get them a few minutes earlier if you'd like."

"You must be Min's mom."

You burst out laughing, wiping the tears from your eyes and straightening up as you realized he was serious. "Oh god no. I might love Jaebeom's kid more than him but no way."

You'd arrived a little early to pick your nephew up from his class. Your brother was working late and he'd assured you that the instructor knew you were coming in his place. You'd expected a little confusion but this wasn't quite what you had in mind.

You had to admit, Jaebeom had taste. The man certainly looked like he knew what he was doing and the studio was well maintained. A little worn but you'd say it all looked well loved, especially as the sounds of children's laughter echoed through the large room.

Seungmin's instructor wasn't too tall, a little shorter than your brother, with a lanky build that screamed athlete. Jaebeom was wider in shoulders and more muscular where this man looked wiry and compact. He was built more like a runner than the martial arts expert your brother claimed him to be but you could see how he'd make a good gymnast. He was cute too and Jaebeom's warning rang through your head as you tried not to stare.

He looked sweet, cozy even, in the oversized black t-shirt and shorts he was sporting today. His dark hair was ruffled and you could see tattoos on both arms. You didn’t look too closely. Your brother was kind of a killjoy sometimes. Normally he didn't mind who you flirted with but in this case, you could see why he was being such a stickler, the man was Seungmin's teacher and he wanted to keep things professional.

"You must be Mark."

The man before you nodded, holding out a hand. "That's me."

You took it. His grip was firm but not overly so and he didn't make any moves to seem cool or macho. Just shook your hand like anyone else and offered you a soft bow as you let go.

"Mr. Lim said a woman would be coming to pick Seungmin up today but he didn't exactly give me any more details besides what you looked like."

You really were going to lord this over your brother for a while. It sounded like him but you hadn't thought he knew Mark that well. Maybe you were the one who hadn't asked enough questions.

"I'll have a word with him about it."

Mark opened his mouth to say something else when Seungmin came running over. His little limbs waving as he hurtled your way. If there was one thing you could forgive your brother for, it was that despite his bad track record with women he had made a pretty great kid and he loved his son.

"Auntie y/n!"

Your nephew threw himself at your legs and you bent to scoop him up, settling the six year old on your hip. He let you smooth his hair, making a face but not swatting your hand away. You made eye contact with his instructor over his head and the man looked more sheepish than you'd expected. You almost felt a little bad.

"Hey there kiddo, how was class today?"

"It was good. Lix nearly broke his nose but mister Mark showed us a cool new move so it was fun."

Only Seungmin would be excited about his friend messing up. You knew Felix, one of his friends from the class, was clumsy and you hoped the little guy was okay. He had seemed like a polite kid when you'd met him at Minnie's birthday party last month.

"Mister Mark knows all kinds of cool moves huh?"

Seungmin nodded. "Uh huh, but he says some of them are too dangerous so we only get to learn the easy ones for now."

You glanced over at Mark and he shrugged. "When you master the basics we can talk about more complicated tricks."

"You promise?"

Seungmin eyes him. Mark doesn't blink. Your nephew nods and Mark holds out a hand for a high five. Seungmin slaps it enthusiastically.

"Auntie y/nie says promises are special and you shouldn't break them."

Mark nods. "Your aunt is pretty smart."

He shows Seungmin his hands and once the little rugrat is satisfied that he wasn't crossing any fingers he goes on to tell you all about today's class. In great detail. Sometimes you love being his only auntie.

Your nephew rambles away as you bounce him lightly on your hip and Mark scratches the back of his neck, an embarrassed smile on his face as his mistake settles in. You've already waved it off but you can see that he feels bad. His face is flushed and you think it's cute the way he went red all the way to the tips of his ears.

"Sorry about that." You blink up at the man as Seungmin wriggles out of your grasp, hurrying over to change his shoes. "I didn't mean to assume."

You decide to take pity on him. He seems nice and you know your nephew likes him. Seungmin can be picky about who he decides is okay in his book and Mark is pretty up there so he must be a decent guy. Your nephew has a good head for these kinds of things. He's inherited Jaebeom's skill at measuring people with a glance and a few words.

It's a little disarming but you’re glad of it because the world can be a scary place and the kid needs every advantage he can get these days.

"It’s okay." You assure the still blushing instructor. "You've actually given me something new to tease my brother about."

He seems to relax a little at that, leaning in attentively. "Oh yeah? I didn't know Jaebeom had a sister."

You laugh. "He's not exactly the world's most open book." You agree. "I'll think of you every time I remind him how alike we look now."

Mark laughs this time and you keep an eye on your nephew as he says goodbye to a couple of other boys before making his way back over to the two of you.

"He doesn’t think you do?"

You snort. "He knows. He just takes offense to his son looking more like me than his own father. It's usually the other way around. He does take after Jaebeom in personality though."

Mark nods. "I don’t know him as well as you, but I'd say that seems accurate."

Seungmin reaches up to tug on your hand. "Time to go. You promised we could get ice cream on the way home."

You glance between Mark and your nephew for a second. "So I did. We'll see you next week mister Mark."

You both wave as Seungmin insists on carrying his own bag and you hold his hand all the way to the parking lot.

"What flavour do you want today?"

"Mint chocolate?"

You nod. "You're just like your appa sometimes."

"That's okay. He's pretty cool."

You nod, smiling as you buckle him into his carseat. "Yeah, I think so too."

"Can we see uncle Youngjae after ice cream?"

You check your phone, sending Jaebeom a text before climbing into the driver's seat. "He has to work late today but uncle Jinyoung is coming to pick you up after dinner, okay?"

"Pfft." Seugmin makes a noise and you turn to look at him as you start the car.

"What? You love uncle Jinyoungie."

He pouts at you. "He always steals all my ice cream!"

You laugh and turn back to the front, reversing out of the parking spot. "Does he now?"

"Mhm, he says he just wants one bite to taste it and make sure it's not poison but then he eats half of it." Your nephew reports, sulking already just at the thought.

"Well, what if I promise he isn’t coming for ice cream and next time I'll get uncle Jinyoungie his own cone?"

Seungmin considers this. "Okay I guess."