I realize this is very late and I apologize but we can still have a good time!!!
link!
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Valentine's Day has always been something that was a littler different in your house. Yes, love was still celebrated, flowers brought home, gifts exchanged, and way too much candy eaten, but it was also your husband's birthday. Usually, you'd keep the 14th free for it to be all about Jaehyun and just celebrate the day of love on the day before or after. That plan had worked well all through your years of dating and first few years of marriage. Even the first few years of your daughter going to school still went according to plan.
Except for this year. First grade.
You'd sent your daughter off to school with a smile and a wave, not thinking that this Valentine's Day at school would be any different than those of the past. You were expecting some cards, goodie bags, and far too much candy for a six year-old. It was a complete surprise when she'd climbed into the car with a bouquet that was almost half her size and a gift bag of the same size.
You already had an inkling on who the gift was from but your daughter was too shy to reveal anything. All you knew was that there was a little boy in class who was her "...friend." Only ever told to you once with rosy cheeks and bashful, batting lashes.
You bit your lip as you pulled up to the house, Jaehyun already waiting in the driveway with a bouquet of flowers for your daughter, just like he did every year. He smiled brightly as he pulled the door open, "hello, my little love! I got these flowers for my tiniest valen— what are those?"
Your daughter whines, "I got a Valentine!"
"Your friend? Bora or Jia... right?" He shoots back quickly.
She hid her face, mumbling under her breath, "no, they're from Taeo."
"A boy?!" Jaehyun chokes out, "you said no, right?"
"Appa," she drawls out, "he's nice!"
"But what about me?! I'm your Valentine every year!"
"You can share!" She complains, letting Jaehyun help her out of the car while she maintains a tight grip on her gifts.
"I do not have to share! It's my birthday so that means today I get whatever I want. I want to see what stinky Taeo got you," Jaehyun goads, smoothly swooping the girl into his arms.
He hooked one of the handles of the gift bag open and peered in. There was a stuffed bear, candies, little toys, and a frame. He picks out the frame and feels his heart drop. There, behind a piece of glass, is picture of your daughter smiling brightly at the camera with her cheek pressed against the cheek of a little boy smiling just as brightly.
"Oh Princess—" Jaehyun groans, "why are you even smiling so big in this picture? He's just a boy!"
She wiggles her way out of his hold with a huff, her foot stomping against the hard wood floor of the kitchen, "Because I love him!"
Jaehyun bends forward, playfully glaring at the girl, "you can't love anyone else besides the people in this house!"
"But I do!"
He runs a hand down his face with a long sigh, "fine, but it starts tomorrow because today is my birthday and you have to be nice."
She thinks for a few moments before nodding, "fine."
"Ah ah ah," Jaehyun tsks, curling his finger toward his daughter who had already gone skipping toward her mountain of candy, "give Appa a kiss for hurting his heart."
She exhales and presses a kiss to his cheek with a mumbled, "happy birthday."
You let her have a few candies before she wanders off to the dining table. You arrange both her bouquets in their respective vases before glaring at your husband, "you can't emotionally manipulate a six year-old when things you don't like happen."
He snatches up a fun-sized candy bar, "that's alright. She's only six for a few more months anyway."
→ genre: ceo/single dad!jaehyun, secretary!reader, friends to lovers!au, fluff
→ summary: they say it’s lonely at the top, especially for jung jaehyun, owner and founder of jung industries. as a single dad who just wants to be the best father to his daughter, he realizes that his life is a little sweeter when you’re by his side.
→ warnings: none
-
The aroma from the steam billowing out of your cup of coffee is enchanting as you rapidly type on your computer. Displayed on the screen is your boss’s schedule for the upcoming week, and if you had any way of describing it, it is nothing less than hectic, filled with meetings, brunches, charity fundraisers, and public interviews.
You almost jump in your seat when you see Jaehyun standing beside you, having left his office which is placed behind your desk.
Jung Jaehyun is your boss, the owner and chief executive officer of Jung Industries, but you also consider him a friend as well. Despite being at the top of the corporate food pyramid, he treats you like an equal and trusts you; when he left his former company Neo City Tech, where you were also his secretary, to start Jung Industries, he asked you if you would like to move with him, in which you happily agreed. Something told you he was going to be big someday. And looking at his schedule, at how nice his corner office looks, at the financial reports, and at what people say about him in their publications, your instinct was right. Moving your gaze away from your computer screen, you look up at him.
“How can I help you?” You ask.
He holds up his phone. “Mrs. Kim called my cell. She can’t look after Yeona today due to personal reasons,” he says. Mrs. Kim, the babysitter. She is usually the image of reliability, which is what got her hired to herald Yeona from school and watch her until her father got home from work. Today was the first day she canceled since she was hired two years ago.
“Can you call another babysitter?” Your boss asks.
“Jaehyun,” you say looking at your watch. “Yeona’s school lets out in forty-five minutes. There’s no way I can arrange for any other babysitter to come now.”
Surprise paints Jaehyun’s expression when he looks at his watch as well. “You’re right,” he says, sighing. He blows raspberries, running a hand through his hair. He shakes his head. “Then it seems that I’ll have to take care of Yeona tonight. I think you’ll have to cancel whatever else I have today.”
Your eyes widen. “But that meeting with Huang Shipping Co.!” You say. “The Huangs are notoriously busy, I had to fight tooth and nail to get this meeting,” you say drolly.
“Then what do you suggest?” He asks.
“Um,” you say, tapping your fingers against your desk. You’ve had many problems, especially problems that appear last minute in your line of work, but this was certainly out of your wheelhouse. But eventually, your eyes light up with an idea.
“Why don’t I watch Yeona?” You ask.
Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” He asks. “That’s not exactly a part of your job description.”
“Well,” you shrug your shoulders. “My job description is to make your life easier. Watching Yeona today will give you peace of mind so that you’re focused,” you say.
Jaehyun still looks a little wary of this idea.
“Besides,” you continue. “What other choice do we have? If I start driving now then I can pick her up from school on time.”
“Alright,” he says finally.
“Your schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow is already printed out and is here,” you point to a collection of papers stacked on your desk. “Do you think you’ll need me for the rest of the day? My phone will be on.” You add at the end.
“No. I think I can manage.” He says. “I think that’s because I have the best secretary in the world.” You smile at the flattery. Jaehyun inhales deeply. “But in all seriousness, thank you for doing this Y/N.”
“I’m just doing my job.” You smile.
-
The last time you babysat was in high school. Considering your years of corporate experience along with attending college, that was a long time ago. And you used to babysit for the neighborhood kids who knew and respected you pretty well. You’ve never actually met Yeona before, only seeing a photo of her and Jaehyun together on his desk when you would hand him his schedules. You couldn’t believe it, but you were actually scared of meeting a six-year-old. Six-year-olds can either be one of two ways: adorable and cuddly or rowdy and not listening to anything you say.
The one word you could use to describe Yeona’s school was grand. Of course Yeona would be going to a very nice private school given her father’s status as CEO of Jung Industries. She would be surrounded by others who are like her, whose parents have equally important jobs. The children of doctors, lawyers, judges, and all the like would be attending this school.
Taking a deep breath, you enter the building. As your shoes meet the marbled floors, they make an echoing sound that makes you feel… sort of small. Your elementary school did not look like this. Heading to the main office of the school, you knock on the door, and a woman waves for you to come in.
You show her your ID and a note from Jaehyun himself that would allow you to pick up his daughter from school today, and the administration seems satisfied enough with this. Since you recognize how Yeona looks from all the times you’ve been behind Jaehyun’s desk, you’re able to spot her in the waiting room, most likely waiting for Mrs. Kim.
“Hi Yeona,” you say in a friendly tone, in your best voice suited for talking to a child.
The girl looks at you in question. “Who are you? Where’s Mrs. Kim?” She asks, her words strung together quickly.
“I’m Y/N, and I work for your daddy. Mrs. Kim had to cancel today, so I’ll be babysitting you.”
Yeona stares for a few moments at you, her grip on the handle of her lunch box tightening. The explanation seems to make sense to her after she processed it, so she smiles.
“Okay. When we get home, can I show you my dolls?”
“Absolutely,” you say, smiling.
-
Your worries about what type of six-year-old you were going to deal with were unfounded; Yeona turned out to be the adorable and cuddly type. Once you got home together, she practically dragged you into the playroom that was filled with all sorts of dolls and toys. If you thought the school was grand, so was the Jungs’ residence. Your little apartment downtown could fit into this penthouse at least three times.
After entertaining you with her dolls and toys, Yeona showed you her legos, and you put some together to make a lego castle. Eventually, she got hungry, so you grabbed something from the pantry, and you both watched her favorite TV shows together. Yeona would narrate what was going on, describing the characters in her own words, which ones were “good,” which ones were “mean.” You listened carefully, enjoying the ecstatic look on her face and asking further questions to keep her engaged.
As the sun sank lower in the sky, so did Yeona’s energy, and she fell asleep on the couch around thirty minutes before Jaehyun came back home.
“Where’s Yeona,” he asks, briefcase in hand once he enters his home to meet you near the elevator.
“Sleeping on the couch.” Leading him to the spot, Jaehyun bends down, hoisting his daughter up, and Yeona’s head finds its place in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck.
“Daddy?” She asks drowsily. She brings her little arms to wrap around Jaehyun’s manly frame.
“Yeah?” Jaehyun responds in a soft voice.
“Can you read me a bedtime story?”
Jaehyun smiles, pressing a kiss on the crown of her head.
“Of course I can. Let’s start off where we left off last night.”
-
You come to work again the next day, and you already find a cup of coffee sitting on your desk. You smile. It was in one of those cups with a large plastic dome on the top, filled with whipped cream and chocked-full of sugar.
You turn around and look into Jaehyun’s office surrounded by glass doors. He’s looking at you too, a ninety-watt grin starting to emerge on his face as you sip your drink.
Walking in, you point at the drink.
“Was this your doing?” You ask, your lips forming a small smile.
“Maybe,” he says, shrugging his shoulders with mock nonchalance. You continue to stare at him, with your brow raised.
“Alright,” Jaehyun sighs. “So it was me.” He shrugs his shoulders, sighing. “I don’t understand why you like those coffees with skim milk when there’s sugar and whipped cream anyway.”
“Hey,” you say, cocking your head. “I’m able to have whipped cream and sugar because there’s skim milk.” You make sure to emphasize the ‘because.’
Jaehyun only snorts, but slowly, his expression becomes more serious.
“I wanted to thank you for being with Yeona yesterday.”
You chuckle. “Jaehyun, you’ve thanked me a million times. I told you that it’s my job to help you. Like right now, for instance,” You step closer, placing your hands on his tie, which was crooked. Yesterday was a long day for Jaehyun, so you aren’t so surprised that his tie looked off. He lifts his chin up as he lets you fix his tie.
“Thanks,” he says, the light in his eye dancing.
Grinning, you put a hand to your hip. “We can’t have your tie looking bad when you have important clients to take care of today.”
“You went above and beyond,” he says, “with Yeona I mean. And she really likes you. More than she likes dolls.” You both laugh.
-
This year, Jung Industries wanted to start its first take-your-kid-to-work day. It’s considered a field trip for children, and the whole point would be to give the youth a glimpse of the workplace and its culture. The only requirements for a parent would be that their child or children had to be of school age (this wasn’t daycare) and they had to be well-behaved.
As expected, the office today is swarming with children; those who are in elementary and middle school are adorned in little suits and dresses as they follow their parents around and listen with wide and star-struck eyes to what their parents do all day, from listening in on phone calls to watching their parents participate or conduct meetings. The teenagers, though, were in more casual clothes, most likely of the sentiment that this is a free day off of school.
“Daddy, your job is so cool! You get to tell people what to do and they listen!” You hear a few footsteps away. Prying your eyes away from your desktop, you see Yeona, dressed in a striped frock as she stands with her father, looking at him with amazed eyes.
Jaehyun leans down, getting on face level with her. Ever the doting dad he is, he smiles, putting a hand to her cheek.
“That’s only just the beginning. Being the boss has a lot of other jobs too.” Yeona only continues to stare, excitement in her eyes.
“Sir?” You see two other guys stand by Jaehyun and Yeona. They both look young and seem nervous; from the looks of it, this is probably their first time dealing with the CEO himself. When Jaehyun turns his attention to them from where he’s kneeling, one of them clears his throat.
“Sir, we need your urgent attention at marketing. Alone,” he adds.
“Alright,” Jaehyun sighs. “Sweetie,” he turns his attention to Yeona. “Why don’t you go and see Y/N right now?” Yeona’s gaze shifts to you sitting at your desk, and she smiles, running to you.
“Y/N!” She says. Jaehyun and the two other guys walk off into a hallway.
“Hi Yeona,” you reply.
“I miss you,” she pouts. “Are you going to come over to babysit again? I had a lot of fun with you when you last came.”
You click your tongue. “It’s been pretty hectic at the office recently, so I haven’t been able to come. I’ll try to find time for you in the future.” She nods slowly. “How has your day been?” You continue.
“It’s been great!” She says with a big smile on her face. “Daddy took me to a meeting and he looked so cool talking to everyone!” Her excitement is contagious because now you feel a little happier just looking at her happiness.
“I’m glad it’s going great,” you say.
“I showed Daddy my report card yesterday, and he says that I’m going to be something big like him one day!” She chirps with joy.
“I agree,” you say. “You’re growing up fast.”
Yeona nods surely. “Yeah. I am. I’m almost seven.” She straightens her back when she says this, making herself seem as ‘grown-up’ as possible.
“Wow,” you say with awe. “When are you gonna be seven?”
“Two weeks,” she replies. “I’m a big girl,” she states proudly. “When I went shopping with Daddy for a new dress to wear today, I told him that polka-dots are babyish, so he got me stripes.” Yeona twirls around, showing off her new dress.
“I think you look like a big girl,” you say.
“Big girls drink coffee, don’t they?” She asks. Her eyes wander to your mug sitting at your table, a curious look on her face.
“They do,” you say smiling, knowing what she’s going to ask next.
“Can I try it?” She asks.
“I drank most of it. Let’s get you some fresh coffee,” you say, extending your hand so that you don’t lose her among the teenagers and adults grabbing a sip of coffee before heading back to work.
Yeona cheers, grabbing your hand. “I want it just like Daddy has it.”
Following you out from your desk into the break room, you both stand in front of the coffee machine, where you turn it on, grabbing a disposable cup and watching the coffee drain from the machine into the cup. You only take a very small quantity; you don’t want Yeona to be wired for the rest of the day. Jaehyun only has his coffee black with a little sugar, so you mimic what you make for him, being sure that the concoction in the disposable cup is proportionate to what you usually make for Jaehyun.
“Make sure you blow on it more so you don’t burn your tongue.” Yeona nods, blowing on her coffee a few more times before taking a sip. She grimaces.
“Yuck!” She whines. “That’s gross.” She puts the cup on the counter, sticking her tongue out with disgust. You go into the fridge where there is some water, and she drinks it willingly.
“How does Daddy even drink that every morning?” She asks.
“As you get older, you’ll like the taste.”
“I’ll never like it!” She exclaims.
You laugh. You probably shouldn’t hang around in the break room for too long since you still have a lot of work to complete today, so you grab Yeona a snack from a cupboard before migrating back to your desk. You grab another chair for Yeona and sit down by your desk while you type vigorously.
Munching on her food while silence hangs between both of you, Yeona looks at your computer screen curiously.
“What do you do for my Daddy?” She asks.
“Well,” you start off, “I arrange what he does for the week, answer phone calls for him, make reports, and organize meetings,” you say.
“That sounds like a lot,” she says.
“Yeah, it is,” you say.
“Do you ever get to relax?” She asks.
“Sometimes.” Silence ensues between the two of you. Yeona takes her index finger and places it on her chin thoughtfully. You watch from the corner of your eyes when you stop typing, picking up the phone on the desk.
“Jung Jaehyun’s office, how may I help you.” As you grab the details of the caller and respond back (Forbes, who wants to interview Jaehyun as one of the youngest CEOs to be on the top 50), you notice a big smile appearing on Yeona’s face.
Putting down the phone, Yeona starts talking again.
“You should come to my birthday party,” she says, thrilled. “There’s going to be cake and ice cream and ponies and princesses. Daddy is hosting it, and it’s going to be lots of fun.” The look on her face is bright as she waits for your response.
Her excitement is childish and endearing, warming your heart. What else could you say?
“Of course I’ll come,” you respond, grinning.
-
Despite Jaehyun’s multiple assurances that he wouldn’t fire you if you really didn’t want to come to his daughter’s birthday party or had some other weekend plans, you only brushed him off. He would probably need you around as emotional support anyway; a few hours of boisterous six to seven-year-old girls would probably take a toll on anyone.
So you come to the venue for Yeona’s birthday party, stepping out and locking your car. It’s a very large private park with lush green grass and beautiful flowers that felt like they could go on forever. As the timid rays of the sun kiss your skin, you can hear children shrieking in excitement as they go inside the bouncy house, jumping energetically.
There’s a sunshade standing at a corner of the park and a table under it where there are presents stacked high, and you add your gift as well. Most of the girls attending Yeona’s birthday party are far richer than you can ever imagine being, so your gift, just a cute princess doll you found at the mall the other day, probably seems small compared to what everyone else brought for Yeona.
“You didn’t have to bring a gift. Trust me, Yeona already has enough toys,” a voice says from behind. In an instant you know it’s Jaehyun, so you turn around. He’s dressed casually, just in some jeans and a t-shirt, and he has a hand on his hips.
“I know but,” you shrug your shoulders. “It feels strange coming to a party without a present.” You smile.
“You’re finally here!” Yeona says. Dressed in a blue frock, she runs to you, wrapping her little arms around you for a hug.
“Did you really think I was going to miss this?” Delightedly, Yeona pulls away, grabbing your arm and dragging you to where the other girls are playing in the bouncy house.
“Everyone,” she says. Their attention turns to Yeona, the birthday girl. “This is Y/N. She’s really fun,” she says proudly.
-
Jaehyun really outdid himself with this party. There was ice cream, cake, carnival games, princesses…
And ponies.
When Jaehyun announced that the ponies were here, all the girls practically sprung from their seats like jack-in-the-boxes, running to the eight instructors handling the ponies. As soon as all the girls are settled down, either riding a pony or waiting for an instructor to assign one, you and Jaehyun stand together, watching.
“Look, Daddy, I’m doing it!” Yeona yells from her horse as an instructor keeps pace with her.
“Good job!” Jaehyun responds back loudly, a big grin on his face.
“You seriously have the softest spot for Yeona,” you chuckle, crossing your arms as you look from the girls talking with excitement to Jaehyun.
“I do.” He says in agreement. Jung Jaehyun, the man who is able to prioritize his family and work, the same man who wears the bracelet his daughter made in art class last year, the same man that asks you to schedule meetings and events around Yeona’s dance recitals.
In your gaze is a bit of admiration…
Maybe even a bit of adoration.
“Hey!” You and Jaehyun’s heads move in unity to identify the source of the voice. It’s one of the instructors jogging up to you. He smiles at you both before he starts speaking.
“We have a couple of extra ponies here. Do any of you want to take a spin?” He asks.
“I’m good,” you respond. “I prefer watching.” After noting your answer, the instructor looks at Jaehyun curiously.
“Sure, why not?” He replies. You quirk an eyebrow at this response.
“Good. I’ll set up the pony and bring it to you?” He asks. Jaehyun nods.
As the boy runs back to where the extra ponies are, you stare at Jaehyun curiously. He seems to be entertained by your look.
“I used to ride in high school. I was a part of the equestrian team.”
From the time that you know Jung Jaehyun, you didn’t know about this. All you knew was that he was relatively wealthy growing up, taking a huge grant from his parents to start Jung Industries.
Jaehyun is amused by your surprise. “Did you think that I always just sat in a room full of other rich people all day?”
You raise a brow. “That’s pretty much what I organize for you.” At your sarcasm, Jaehyun snorts a little.
By now, the guy is back, holding a pony by the rein.
“Need any help?” He asks.
“No, I think I’ll be fine.” The guy acknowledges, running back to check on the girls.
You watch Jaehyun as he puts a foot in the foothold, gripping the rein of the pony as he leaps on. Watching you at ground level, Jaehyun smiles.
“Do you want to get on?” He asks. You look a little nervous. “Come on, just try it! It’ll be fun!” Jaehyun continues in an attempt to convince you.
Sighing, you look up at him. “Fine. But you better not kill me.”
“I’ll be extra careful.” Holding out his hand, you take it, placing your foot on the foothold. You look hesitant.
“Just spring up and get on,” he says in a calming voice, further instructing you. Doing as he says, you swing your other foot around the horse.
“There you go,” he says. “Now, hold onto me tight.” Shaking the reins, the pony starts. You gasp at the sudden movement, holding onto Jaehyun for your dear life. Your nose burrowed into his back, you think he smells kind of nice.
-
After opening all of Yeona’s gifts, it was time for everyone to go home. This four-hour birthday bash was finally over, leaving you and Jaehyun very exhausted. As the hired help loads Yeona’s presents into the car, you and Yeona stand in the park, where the setting sun dips in the sky.
Yeona smiles at you. “Thank you for coming Y/N,” she says.
“No problem. I had a great time.” As odd as it sounds, you think you had more fun at this party than you expected.
“Sweetie, why don’t you get in the car?” Jaehyun asks after talking with the help.
“Okay.” Yeona waves at you before heading into the Porsche, in the backseat. Now, it’s just you and Jaehyun together.
“We should do this again sometime,” Jaehyun starts off.
“Yeah. I had a lot of fun, surprisingly,” you say.
Silence ensues between you both. Out of curiosity, you turn your head to look at Jaehyun standing by your side, thinking deeply about something.
“What could you be thinking that deeply about on a Saturday?” You ask jokingly. He looks at you, his previous expression wiped off.
“Just thinking about a nice restaurant to take you some time.”
“By ourselves?” You ask a little dumbly. He nods.
You gape. “Jung Jaehyun, are you asking me out on a date?”
“Yeah,” he smiles. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Ever since I’ve seen how great you’re with Yeona…” He trails, a little smile on his face. “Maybe next Saturday?” He continues.
You gaze at Jaehyun with a little smile on your face. “I think I would like that.”
‘Wow!’ Amelia launches her bag onto the sofa, having just arrived home from school to see the Christmas Tree up in the living room.
‘Hey sweetheart,’ you smile, still fluffing the branches out, ‘had a good day?’
‘Alright,’ she heads over to Josh, who’s playing with some toy cards on the floor, ‘hi Joshie.’
Jaehyun and Alissa trail in behind her, Jaehyun tossing his car keys into the pot in the doorway.
‘Oh, cool!’ Alissa marvels at the scale of the tree, which goes all the way up to the ceiling.
‘We’re gonna put the lights on and decorate after dinner, ok? When it’s darker and cosy.’
The girls finish homework and play some multiplayer video games together while you prepare dinner, Jaehyun joining Josh in playing with his toy car garage. Once your dinner of kimchi fried rice is finished, the twins clear away the dishes while you and Jaehyun string up multi-coloured fairy lights across the Christmas Tree.
Christmas songs play from your speaker, and you and Jaehyun hum along, occasionally chucking when Josh starts singing and dancing.
‘Okay kids, lights are on!’ You call, and the three of them quickly gather around, already beginning to rifle through the piles of ornaments and baubles on the floor.
Alissa starts first, grabbing a Tokyo Disneyland ornament from the pile, while Amelia picks up a hanging photo frame of Jaehyun holding a newborn twin in each arm. Josh takes a little longer, the girls having put on three or four baubles each before he’s even chosen one. Jaehyun helps him loop the ribbon over the tree brach, albeit a very low branch due to his height.
‘Good job, buddy,’ Jaehyun pats the back of his head, ‘wanna choose another one?’
He toddles over to the pile once again, returning to Jaehyun with a snowflake ornament.
‘Are you going to try it yourself this time?’ Jaehyun asks, pointing to an empty branch within Josh’s reach. Josh successfully places the ornament on the tree, Jaehyun giving him similar words of praise.
You love seeing Jaehyun like this, being so sweet and caring towards your children, absentminded smile, bare face, fluffy hair, dimples and eye scrunch on full display. It makes your heart all warm and your stomach all fuzzy.
With five of you, the tree fills up with baubles from around the world, various colourful ornaments and pine scent sticks.
‘And for the final touch,’ you produce a silver star, wires intertwining inside the shape with little white lights.
‘Now, since Amelia did it last year, and Alissa the year before,’ Jaehyun says, ‘and now that our Josh is all grown up, it’s his turn to put the star on the tree this year!’
Josh giggles and claps excitedly, making grabby hands for the star.
‘It’s ok, daddy’s gonna lift you up, little man,’ Jaehyun lifts him up from under his armpits, Josh waving the star around in his chubby little hand.
‘Go on, Jaehwan-ie,’ Amelia encourages.
It takes some guidance from Jaehyun, but eventually Josh manages to slot the large ornament onto the top stalk of the tree. The rest of you clap and cheer, much to Josh’s delight, who happily laps up the attention.
The three year old then very quickly loses interest, preferring to watch cartoons on the television rather than help all of you decorate the rest of the house. Alissa volunteers to watch over him (although you suspect she likely just can’t be bothered to help anymore) while the rest of you go through hanging wreaths on doors and wrapping fairy lights and tinsel around the bannisters, as well as placing ceramic ornaments on mantlepieces and tabletops.
Later, when all of the children are in bed asleep, you and Jaehyun enjoy hot chocolates on the sofa, admiring your work.
‘Another Christmas,’ Jaehyun smiles, ‘it’s crazy. The twins will be ten this year.’
‘Josh is old enough to put the star on the tree.’
‘They’re really growing up, huh?’ Jaehyun sighs, a little sadly, ‘anyway, Merry Christmas, love. We’ve had another amazing year.’
jaehyun would be ready for a baby since the day you both got married. you’re not even four months into your pregnancy by the time he finishes building the crib.
he can’t help but cry when lays his eyes on his daughter for the first time, and his heart melts when she smiles at him and he notices her identical dimples.
he makes fatherhood look so easy, which is helped by the fact that his daughter is such a daddy’s girl. even when she’s in your arms, she’s always looking around for jaehyun with wide eyes and making grabby hands at him so he can hold her.
he’s also the only one that can make her stop crying. as soon as that first tear falls from her eye, your passing her off to him and she calms down immediately in his arms. jaehyun holds her against his chest and lightly rocks her, pressing gentle kisses to the top of her head.
he can’t sleep unless he knows that she’s asleep and when she cries in the middle of the night he literally jumps out of bed to get to her.
he starts daddy-daughter dates from a young age, to let you rest and to spend more time with his little girl. chats to her the whole car ride as she babbles back at him, stealing glances in the mirror at her with a warm smile.
he takes her out in her stroller to scenic parks, talking to her the whole time about everything as she stares at her daddy in awe. he holds her up in front of him to show her the views, watching her with the fondest eyes.
jaehyun’s so happy that you had a winter baby because he’s obsessed with dressing her in hoodies with bear ears, because she looks so cute all bundled up.
he captures every single milestone on his phone. her first bath, first word, first steps, etc. his entire camera roll is full of photos and videos of his daughter, and when he has to leave for schedules he’s always scrolling through his gallery.
he loves taking her to see all of her uncles, and keeps a close eye on her at all times even when they tease him that he can relax but he can’t help but be protective over his little girl.
the absolute best at distracting her for needles. he hates seeing her in pain so she doesn’t even have a second to process what happened before he’s bouncing her on his lap and making her giggle.
makes you take photos of the two of them literally whenever you go anywhere (but you don’t mind because it gives you more choice for your lockscreen !)
jaehyun loves getting her ready to go out and you’re honestly not surprised to find out that he can do her hair super neatly, brushing it into little cute pigtails.
he’s the most patient dad ever, never turning down a movie night even if it’s the same movie they’d watched daily for a month now because it’s his daughters favourite.
packs her lunch for school every morning without fail and definitely cuts her fruit and sandwiches into hearts shapes.
gently stern with her if she needs to be disciplined, which is rare since your daughter is such an angel !
all in all he would be the perfect dad and his daughter would be the luckiest little girl <3
dad!Jaehyun and y/n having a wholesome fancy dinner out with their kids. The image is so cute in my head. And you compliment Jaehyun, saying he looks rlly good in his new suit, or the way he styled his hair is rlly sexy, and he giggles shyly in that cute bread face he has. And every now and then he also tells you how pretty you look. You guys are married with kids, but the young love is still very much love. Getting giddy and shy at compliments, blushing at any public physical contact. *sigh*. I want a husband. Preferably Jaehyun.
Okay, this is really a sweet and cute and ugh makes my heart melt.
You glance over at Jaehyun as he moves the knives out of reach of your children, smiling as you watch him. "You look really good, babe," you tell him softly, reaching for your water.
Jaehyun looks over at you and smiles, his dimples appearing like magic. "Thank you. So do you, sweetheart," he returns, leaning over to press a kiss to your cheek.
You blush and shake your head a little. You open your mouth to say something, when one of your kids squeals. "Ew! Daddy kissed Mommy!" your son says, slapping his hands over his eyes.
You and Jaehyun both laugh, and you lean over to pinch his cheeks. "You don't like kisses?" you tease, before pressing your lips to his hand.
He shakes his head with a giggle and pushes you away. "No, stop it."
Jaehyun laughs again and shakes his head a little, his gaze finding you again as you sit up straight. "He'll change his mind when he doesn't get his goodnight kiss," he says.
You smile as you reach over to brush your son's hair back from his face and sigh softly. "I hope so. I don't want to stop giving them."
Jaehyun looks at your children, your son and daughter, who are both happily coloring in their coloring books, and smiles as he reaches for his wine. "They look just like you," he says, before taking a small sip from his glass.
"Nah. They definitely have more of your genes. They have your dimples, which I love. I'm a sucker for your dimples," you return, looking back at him.
He chuckles softly and meets your gaze, a faint redness creeping into his cheeks. "They're not that special."
You shake your head and reach over poke one gently. "They are, because they're yours. And I love them. Just like I love you."
He takes your hand before you can pull it back, pressing a soft kiss to your fingertips. "And I love you," he replies as your own cheeks flush with warmth.
You lean over to press a quick kiss to his lips, both of you smiling as you pull back.
Hi!! I super love your dad! Jaehyun post 😭 I was kinda wondering if u could write another one? Like a dad! Jaehyun au where he spends some time with them at home? 🥺
[12:02 am]
“Okay, stop crawling out of bed? Please? Your mother doesn’t like it when I let you stay in our bed. Be good for Daddy, okay?” DAD!JAEHYUN bit his cheek, looking at his twin sons crossly.
“You’ll behave right? Goodnight my loves,” he said, leaning in to give each boy a soft kiss on the cheek. The younger, in the bottom bunk, giggled as Jaehyun pulled up the galaxy comforter higher, making sure the boy was tucked in tight. Stepping away from the stacked beds, he added, “I love you both.”
He switched off the light but before he could exit the room completely, the older twin called out. “Daddy?”
Jaehyun immediately dropped his hand from the doorknob and returned to the beds. “Yeah? What is it?” he asked, reaching up to stroke the little boy’s arm comfortingly.
“There’s a monster under my bed,” he whispered, grasping his father’s hand tightly.
Jaehyun snorted. “That’s your brother, idiot. Goodnight, for reals this time.”
“Goodnight Daddy!” they chorused back in unison.
a/n :: it’s short and probably not what you expected but i hope you enjoyed it anyway anon! <3
Request: Can you please do a scenario where Jaehyun from nct cheats on his wife and they get back together.
Genre: One shot|ANGST|Fluff|dad!Jaehyun
Warning: Language and cheating.
Word count: 2.5k
A/N: Supposed be super short but I just kept writing. Unedited!
The three loud knocks at your door on Sunday evenings became your favorite sound. You looked forward to seeing your son, after his weekends away with his dad.
“JJ!” You shout as you open the door; squatting low enough for the small 5 year old to run into your arms.
“I missed you mommy!” He laughs, his puffy cheeks on full display.
“I missed you too, my love! Thanks so much for bringing him-“ You stop short when you notice that Jaehyun is standing in the doorway.
“Why are you here? Why didn’t your mom drop him off?” You stand up tall and look at Jaehyun, shuffling from foot to foot awkwardly.
“She’s working Sundays now; so if it’s okay, I’ll be doing drop offs.” He says, his eyes void of any emotion, much similar to how yours must have looked right now.
“Wasn’t part of the agreement but sure, whatever.” You roll your eyes and he’s quick to snap,
“Why do you always have to have an attitude, huh?”
“Because I don’t want to see you!” You lash out at him.
“Please! Please don’t argue.” You hear a little voice whisper, both hands hovering his ears as he squeezes his eyes shut.
“You’ve traumatized him.” You mouth immaturely to Jaehyun, who just snarls and picks his son up and holds him tight.
Jaehyun walks past you and invites himself to your living room; avoiding you gaze and he rubs your child’s back.
“Daddy, will you eat dinner with us like you used to?”
Jaehyun sucks in a breath before he speaks, but before he’s able to get a word out, you speak for him,
“No. Daddy has to go, baby.” The two of them give you a defeated look, before looking back at each other; leaving you to look like the villain. You let out a loud sigh before walking towards the kitchen,
“I made your favorite for dinner! It’s-“
“I’m not hungry.” JJ mumbles, “I just want to go to sleep now. Can I go to sleep early, please?”
You can feel pieces of your heart shatter when you take in the sad look on his face.
“Of course you can. I will leave it in the fridge incase you change your mind.”
Your son acknowledges your words with nothing but a simple nod before sliding off of the couch and walking quietly to his room.
“Look what you did!” You whisper shout to Jaehyun, who is already looking back at you furiously.
“Me? You’re the one who wouldn’t let me stay for dinner.”
“Well I’m sorry I don’t want to sit across from my cheating EX husband!” You grunt a little louder than necessary.
Jaehyun raises both of his hands up in defeat,
“I was willing to do anything to fix us, you’re the one that wanted the divorce, y/n.”
“You slept with your coworker! While I was at home with our child! You did this to us!” You complain, crying tears of anger and sadness all in one.
“It was a mistake, y/n. One I will never forgive myself for.” Jaehyun defends himself, the tears he began to shed did nothing but disgust you.
“Did you cry while you fucked her in your big fancy office? Save your tears. You ruined our marriage, my confidence, and my trust.”
“Y/n, that’s not fair-“
“Leave.”
Without another word he gets up, wiping tears from his eyes and exhaling loudly.
“I’ll never forgive myself.” He admits, and then he’s out of the door.
*** ***
Being a single mom was not something you saw your future. You’d picture growing old with Jaehyun. He was perfect in your eyes, everything and more. When you found out you were having a boy, you knew that he’d take Jaehyun’s full name.
What you didn’t envision was calling him solely but his nickname, JJ, because you couldn’t bare calling him Jaehyun without being reminded of the man that gave you everything only to ruin it all.
It’d been two months since that encounter with Jaehyun, and since then you’ve made changes. Jaehyun picked up JJ and dropped him off at your mom’s house so you wouldn’t have to interact with him at all. This angered Jaehyun, but it didn’t stop him from calling and texting you.
‘Can we talk?’
‘Are you home?’
‘Can I come by and pick up some things I’ve left at the house.’
‘I miss you.’
All which were left on read.
“Mommy. Stop zoning out, seriously.” JJ exhales as he climbs to sit next to you, his sassy attitude catching you by surprise time and time again.
“What is it, baby.”
“I said- please make my favorite meal for dinner tonight. The baked chicken with apparagust, and fried bread.”
You squeeze your lips shut to avoid laughing, JJ had been particularly moody lately and you did not want to spoil his good mood.
“You mean asparagus and baked bread?”
“Yeah, that!”
“That’s not even your favorite meal, it’s-“
“Daddy’s favorite meal, which means it’s basically my favorite meal too. We do have the same name.”
You shake your head at his reasoning but think nothing of it before telling him,
“Okay, I’ll make your new favorite meal for you.” He smiles a victorious smile before grabbing your iPad and running off to his room.
As begin setting up the dinner table, multiple loud knocks at your door make you jump off your feet; as you approach to see who it is, you can hear keys enter the lock and you jump back!
“Who is it, I have a gun!” You yell, small gunless hands clenched at your sides as look around the room to find the most threatening makeshift weapon.
“Jesus, y/n.” An out of breath Jaehyun comes stumbling in. The keys you could have sworn you took from him when he moved out 6 months ago sat comfortably in the palm of his hand.
“What the fuck?” You gasp, you would have been less angry if it were an actual intruder.
“Jaehyun told me you were really sick, and that I needed to get here as soon as possible.” He explains, hiding the keys behind his back when he noticed you eyeing them for far too long.
“Is that why he had my iPad? JJ come out here now!” You boom, unsure of what your son was trying to do.
“Did my plan work? Are you guys going to get married again? Do you love each other again?” JJ peaks out from his door and shyly begins to walk towards the two of you.
Jaehyun kneels and spreads his arms wide and JJ runs full speed into him. Jaehyun’s stern features soften as JJ begins to bawl.
“JJ, mommy and I... We- it’s-“ You watch as your ex husband tries and fails at an explanation. His eyes watering at the brim before he continues,
“I love mommy, JJ; but sometimes daddies and mommies mess up. That doesn’t change our love for you one bit. You know that, right?”
JJ looks as though he’s lost in thought, and then his large eyes finds yours before he looks back towards his dad and says,
“I hear mommy crying from her bedroom at night and it makes me sad.”
Your eyes widen and you take in a deep breath. Jaehyun lowers his head in shame, and carries JJ to his room; where they stay for the next 25 minutes.
You walk lifelessly to the kitchen and sink into the chair closest to you. You’d been holding tears back long enough; and now, it’s your turn to cry. And you do, silently; traumatized that JJ was witness to hearing you choke back tears in the middle of the night.
You hear the door to your son’s room open and close, and Jaehyun emerges from the hallway into the dining room; looking into the kitchen where you sat quietly.
“Can I sit with you?” His hoarse voice pleads weakly.
“Sure. Is JJ okay?” You speak up quietly, waving a hand for him to join you at the table.
“He’s sleeping. I didn’t know what to say, I just held him until he started snoring.”
He exhales loudly before taking a seat across from you and perking up a bit,
“You made my favorites.”
“I didn’t make it for you. I made it for JJ, he said it was his new favorite meal but we now know he was just planning this.”
“A for effort though don’t you think? Shouldn’t we at least enjoy it?” A smile graces his face, one you haven’t seen in a while and it makes you grin in return.
“Yeah, I guess we should.” You reply, getting up to warm up the food but he interrupts you, taking the pan from you and says,
“Let me do it, you sit.” You slouch in the wooden chair silently as he warms up the food, humming songs quietly to himself; just like he used to when he lived home, before he ruined everything.
“Bon appetite!” He cheers, setting two plates down on the table, along with a bottle of wine that was on the counter.
The meal is silent for the most part, only acknowledging him when he asks if you want another glass of wine.
“JJ is going to be happy we had dinner together.” Jaehyun speaks up, standing up from his seat to put the plates in the sink and begins washing them.
“Yeah, too bad he slept through it.” You walk towards the sink where he stood and grabbed a cloth, drying the dishes he washed.
As you dried off the last dish he nudges your shoulder, looking down at you with a small smile, not that you’d see it as you keep your eyes firmly on the dry dish that you continue to rub the cloth over. Jaehyun takes the plate from you and places it in the dish rack, tossing the cloth carelessly in the sink.
He leans into you and whispers,
“If someone would’ve warned us naive high school sweethearts that this would be our lives less than 7 years after graduating high school, would you believe them?”
“Hell no.” You laugh, a bitter laugh, but it was better than ignoring him. You walk towards the living room, knowing he’d follow, before making yourselves comfortable on the couch.
“It’s not supposed to be easy I guess.” He preaches,
“Marriage is not supposed to be gut wrenching either.” You snap back, which makes him cringe.
“I meant life as a whole. Raising kids, making good decisions-“
“Was it that hard for you not to cheat, Jaehyun?” You push further.
“No!” He yells before snapping his mouth shut. He thinks for a minute before continuing,
“I’m trying here. It’s been a year since my mistake; 7 months since we finalized the divorced, and I’m still walking on egg shells.”
“Is there a time frame for forgiving a cheater?” Your relentless tone shuts him up; and the two of you sit there quietly. Soon enough, he tries a different approach,
“I wrote you a letter, my therapist recommended I write it and get rid of it; but I wanna read it to you. It’s on my phone notes, I hope you don’t mind.” Your eyes snap to his before he continues,
“I never meant to crush your confidence. I failed as your husband to make sure you remember just how perfect you are to me. If I could go back in time, I would take it back. I would leave the office and come back to you and JJ like always. But I didn’t, and now I am paying the consequences for that. I would give anything to take it back.”
Jaehyun finishes his letter and begins to cry, his sobs became a depressing familiar sound in your small apartment. You watch as he crumbles to the ground, his near 6ft build lied small on the floor as he let out the emotions he’d been feeling for months,
“I made a mistake. I made a mistake. Forgive me! I made a mistake!”
“Stop crying.” You demand breathlessly, he was broken, that was clear to you now; and it was hard to watch. You wondered if it was the same pain you had felt the night you found out that he’d been unfaithful.
“I haven’t seen you ugly cry that hard since our wedding.” You complain, and he chuckles, “I ugly cried after our divorce was finalized too.” He replies with a chuckle. The mood is still uncomfortable; the two of you afraid to speak, you hadn’t been around each other for longer than an hour since you divorced.
“Y/n?” He calls your name quietly, you can hear his voice cracking in the process.
“Yeah?” You sigh, wishing for an end to emotionally draining night.
“Do you think you’d ever be able to forgive me? I mean like really forgive me, not just tolerate me being around because JJ’s dad.”
“I don’t know, maybe. I want to forgive you it’s just.. it’s not easy.”
“No, of course, I understand. I just- I want a chance to win you back, start fresh. Like when we first started dating freshman year of high, except this time we already have a child together. I want to make you trust me again. I want to kiss you again. I want to make love to you again. I want to sing you songs again. I want to make you feel beautiful all of the time. I’m so sorry that I made you feel any less than you’re worth, because, baby you’re everything to me.”
By the time he’s finished, your fingers are tangled with his and there is a small smile on your face.
“Did you practice that speech or what?” You tease, lightening the mood.
“A little.” He admits with a laugh, holding your hand tighter the moment he feels you try to pull away. He continues on,
“Please give me another chance. Please don’t give up on me that easily.”
You stare at him for what seemed like eternity; taking in his widened eyes, quivering up, and the way his hands still held tightly to yours. You think about how torturous the last year has been for you both. You think about what people would think if they saw that you two were back together after getting a divorce. You think of how much you love to be around him. How amazing the previous years of your marriage had been.
“Is it okay if we take it slow? So much has happened already, I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Let’s start here and now. This night was the night of healing, you agree?” He asks letting go of your hands to do some waving motions as he spoke that just made you laugh.
“I would like to come to therapy with you.” You state matter-of-factly.
“You can come with me anywhere- wait therapy?”
“Yeah. Maybe we can see a therapist together. You know, work on our problems in a healthy way.” Jaehyun bit back a smile, unbelievably happy the you were truly willing to give him another chance.
“I love you, y/n.” He admits. You knew he meant it, and maybe one day, you’ll be able to reciprocate those words again.
A/N: Think I’m gonna do a part two. Masterlist is here!
