Orange Sherbet » Chae Hyungwon
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summary: “I was thinking hyungwon as a single dad would be super hot so could I have a single dad hyungwon au where he’s got a son/daughter and he starts bringing them to daycare where you work and the first day he brings his kid he sees you and you’re trying to ask him questions but you’re so pretty and he’s really flustered around you and when he sees you with his kid his heart just melts and he’s always asking his kid about ‘miss y/n’ and the kid is so over it” words: 4086 category: fluff, single father!hyungwon, nurse!hyungwon a/n: this ends in dialogue but hopefully it’s not as messy as it seems i don’t know. anyway i think this is one of the cutest things i’ve written so pls enjoy and support monsta x thanks
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Woosung was Hyungwon’s pride and joy. No matter how dark things got, or how gloomy the world seemed, it was okay, because Woosung would always be there when he got home.
It was a long journey, beginning with a drunken night and a mother who didn’t want her child. Hyungwon and she made a deal, and that was that he would take full custody of the child and she would never have to see either of them again. As frustrated as Hyungwon was that his child would grow up without a mother, it was better than the child going to a random family, where Hyungwon would have little to no contact with him.
Once he was born, Woosung spent most of his days with his grandparents so Hyungwon could finish getting his nursing degree. Every day, no matter how tired he got, Hyungwon couldn’t wait to pick up his son and be able to spend get some quality father-son time before he had to sleep and repeat the process all over again.
Soon, Hyungwon moved farther away, and not wishing to burden his parents any further—though they would disagree—he signed Woosung up with a daycare program while he worked shifts at the hospital for his internship.
So, dressed in bright blue scrubs and nervous at the thought of his son being alone for roughly eight hours, Hyungwon kept the three-year-old close to him as he walked into the lobby of the daycare center. “I wasn’t supposed to drop you off until next year during preschool,” he sighed, adjusting Woosung’s weight to his left side so he could sign in.
The receptionist smiled, “Woosung will be in Miss Y/n’s class, with the rest of the three-year-olds. Just keep walking down the hall until you find classroom A4. Have a good day!”
“Thank you,” Hyungwon mumbled, still hating the idea of having to leave his child. What if Woosung thought he wasn’t coming back? What if he hated his father forever?
Hyungwon was so busy fretting that didn’t even notice the sign hanging over one of the doors, conveniently stating A-4 in bubbly font. Until he ran into it, that is.
“Are you okay?” You ran outside your room as soon as you heard the thump, only to see a tall man wincing as he held his head in one hand and a child in the other.
Hyungwon looked up, and immediately regretted his entire life decisions. Why? Why did the one teacher who noticed him have to be so pretty? Why couldn’t Woosung’s teacher have been a seventy-year-old woman with bad breath?
While Hyungwon was having an inward crisis, Woosung was wriggling around, wanting to be let go. “I want to play with the dinosaurs!”
Hyungwon snapped out of his mortified thoughts and looked at his son, rather confused at how open Woosung was to the whole daycare thing. Slowly, he let Woosung down and watched the little boy run to a corner filled with a few more children. Hyungwon focused on Woosung’s light-up sneakers and sighed. “He was supposed to kick and scream.”
You giggled, drawing Hyungwon’s attention back to you. Now that the pain in his head had dulled to a soft throbbing, he could see all your features more thoroughly and he found himself wishing your eyes weren’t so bright and cheerful. He also hated how soft and comforting your voice was when you spoke, “Sometimes kids can be more open to new environments, especially if they move around a lot.”
Hyungwon nodded. His tongue suddenly felt like a sandbag weighing ten pounds. He had no idea why he couldn’t speak all of a sudden.
“So, what’s his name?”
“Woosung,” Hyungwon answered, finding ease when it came to talking about his son.
“That’s a wonderful name. What about you? Are you his father?”
Hyungwon forced himself to answer, wanting to be polite. “Y–Yes. I’m Hyungwon.”
-
“Hyungwon,” you repeated, feeling rather confused when the man in front of you turned a dark shade of red. Ignoring it, you continued to ask the questions you needed to ask, “When will you or your wife come pick him up?”
“I’m not— I mean, it’s just me and Woosung.”
You looked up from your clipboard. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s cool,” Hyungwon clapped his hands together and nervously rocked on the heels on his feet. “My shift ends at six, so I’ll try to get here around fifteen after? Is that okay?”
You bit your lip. The daycare closed at six. Technically, he was supposed to have someone come and get his child early if he couldn’t make it. Even so, it seemed like he was trying his best. Maybe this was just a one-time thing anyway. You would watch Woosung for a little longer. Hyungwon wouldn’t have to know. “Sounds good. I’ll have him ready to go home.”
“Thank you so much,” Hyungwon said. He checked his watch and blinked in surprise, “I’m gonna be late if I don’t leave. Again, thanks so much and here’s Woosung’s bag. If he gets fussy it’s probably because he wants to hold his stuffed tiger. It’s his safety object. Just give it to him and he’ll stop crying. He also might want a hug. Okay, now I’m leaving. Bye.”
You watched him dart away on his long legs, a blur of sky blue.
As you turned your attention back to your class, you smiled.
He was pretty handsome.
-
Hyungwon was thirty minutes late and you really weren’t sure what to do. All of the kids—save Woosung—had left forty-five minutes ago. It took forever to beg your supervisor to let you stay after hours, waiting on Woosung’s father. After a loud chastisement (“If he can’t make it on time, tell him to get someone else to pick his kid up! I’m not paying you overtime!”) and a stern glare, you were finally left alone with Woosung.
He was fairly tall for his age, balancing on knobby knees and long limbs. His eyes fluttered closed every once in awhile, and you couldn’t tell if he was tired or if that was just the way he blinked. You thought he would get bored of having no one to play with, but he didn’t even seem to notice. He simply asked for his tiger stuffed animal and sat down by the books, leafing through the pages and stopping at the pictures he liked.
“Would you like me to read to you, Woosung?”
“No, ma'am,” he replied politely, shaking his head.
You sighed and checked your watch. Soon it would be seven o'clock, and you weren’t sure how long it would take for Woosung’s father to pick him up. Your mind went to the worst, wondering if the seemingly-caring father from this morning was actually a horrible man, who went clubbing after his shifts, forgetting the responsibility of his son entirely. “Woosung, what’s your family like?”
Woosung’s head snapped up. He gathered his tiger in his arms and walked over to where you sat, climbing on the seat across from you. “My dad puts needles into people.”
Your eyes widened, “What?”
Woosung nodded seriously. “In their arms, legs, and elbows. Even their butts,” he giggled, “He says I’ll have to get one in my arm soon, but he said he’d do it so it won’t hurt too bad. We’ll get ice cream afterward too.”
“That sounds nice,” you mentioned. “What’s your favorite type of ice cream?”
“Chocolate,” Woosung said, as if it were obvious. “My dad only buys chocolate because it’s the best in the world.”
“I like orange sherbet,” you said. “Have you ever tried it?”
“Nope. I had raspberry sherbet once. It was good.”
“You’ll have to ask your dad to get you some one day. Then tell me how you like it, okay?”
“Okay, Miss Y/n!” Woosung replied, shooting you an adorable smile.
As the two of you were talking, you heard footsteps pound down the hallway, startling you into standing up.
Hyungwon appeared at the open doorway, leaning against the frame with one hand as he struggled to catch his breath. His hair was damp with perspiration and his chest heaved up and down as he struggled to apologize to you. “I’m … so sorry … my car broke down … and I had to wait for the tow truck … I ran as fast as I could …”
“Dad!” Woosung chirped, jumping out of his seat and running to hug Hyungwon’s legs.
“Hey, little dude.” Hyungwon ruffled Woosung’s mousy hair. “Sorry I’m so late.”
“It’s okay! Me and Miss Y/n had fun. She said you should buy me orange ice cream!”
Hyungwon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked up at you. “Orange ice cream?”
“Orange sherbet,” you supplied. “I told him he should try it one day.”
Hyungwon nodded, and sent Woosung to pick up his toys and grab his bag. He turned to you, “I’m really sorry. I know how late I was and I promise it’ll never happen again. I owe you big time for watching him an hour extra.”
“I was happy to do it,” you assured him, turning to watch Woosung gently lay each dinosaur figurine inside the toy box. “He’s a great kid.”
Hyungwon brightened, and you noticed how much pride took over his face when someone mentioned Woosung. “I think so too.”
You smiled. Something about Hyungwon made you feel warm inside. Perhaps it was how much he obviously loved his son, or how hardworking he seemed. You weren’t sure, but you were hoping you could see more of it. “Will you guys be coming tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Hyungwon said, looking down as Woosung finally returned and grabbed his father’s hand. “I have a shorter shift so I’ll be able to pick him up earlier.”
“We can get ice cream!” Woosung said, swinging Hyungwon’s hand back and forth.
Hyungwon chuckled, “If you’re good, we can go try some orange sherbet from the market.” He turned to you, “Thanks again. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” you said quietly, watching the two walk out with smiles on their faces.
-
The next day, Woosung appeared more jovial, excited to spend another day at daycare. While he was showing you all of his favorite dinosaurs, you asked him why he was so happy.
“Grandma and Grandpa never had this many toys at their house!”
“Oh? What toys do they have?”
Woosung pouted. “Toys from when I was a baby. But they have a puppy! I want a puppy but Dad says puppies aren’t allowed in apartments so we can’t get one.”
“I have a dog,” you said. “Her name is Belle and she’s really big and cute.”
“Can I come over and see her?”
You laughed, “I don’t know if your dad would like that, Woosung.”
“Yeah he would!” Woosung announced, leaning across the table excitedly, “He wouldn’t stop asking about you last night.”
“W–What?” you asked, surprised at the turn this conversation had taken.
“He asked me a lot of questions about you,” Woosung repeated. “I don’t know why, though. I was trying to ask him for my own set of dinosaur toys.”
Woosung soon went to go play with the other children, and while you supervised them, you couldn’t help but wonder why Hyungwon had asked about you.
Part of you wanted to pretend it was because he fancied you, but the logical part overruled that thought by reminding you, hey, lots of parents ask their kids about their teachers. It’s a bonding exercise and also helps them find out if they should keep sending their child to your class.
So you didn’t bring it up when Hyungwon came at four o'clock. He looked extra tired, and you asked him if he was okay while he waited for Woosung to find his tiger. “I helped deliver three babies today. It sucked. I hate the smell of blood.”
You winced. “Woosung did tell me you poke people with needles.”
Hyungwon’s cheeks turned rosy. “He could’ve phrased it differently, but yeah, I work in the pediatrics ward right now. I want to move closer to surgery.”
“Then you’ll be smelling blood all the time, though.”
Hyungwon blanked. He looked like his life had just been sucked out of him. “Why didn’t I think about that? It’s gonna be birthing day twenty-four-seven over there. Maybe I’ll go help the old people. That’s fun. Or kidney stone patients. They’re nice.”
You giggled, about to say something when Woosung ran up to the two of you, crying. “I can’t find Cody!”
Before Hyungwon could react, you were eye-level with Woosung, speaking in a calm voice. “It’s okay. You can stay here until you find him. You don’t have to leave without him.”
Woosung wiped his eyes messily and nodded, his lip quivering as he struggled to stop crying. “I don’t know where he is.”
“I’ll help you look,” you said hastily, your voice low and gentle as you spoke. “Where was the last place you were playing with him?”
“With the dinosaurs,” Woosung hiccuped.
“Let’s start there, then,” you held onto Woosung’s hand and led him over to the toy bin, where Cody the Tiger sat unharmed with a bunch of dinosaur figurines.
“Cody!” Woosung cried, gathering the small plushie in his arms and nuzzling his nose into it.
Woosung ran back to Hyungwon, now content to go home.
Hyungwon opened his mouth to thank you, but you had already turned around to help another child with their things.
-
That’s where it began. Hyungwon could see how dedicated you were to your work, and he could see the way you treated his son.
Ever since Woosung was born, Hyungwon hadn’t had time to think about girlfriends or dating. He knew that now he would need to date someone willing to care for Woosung too, and that was often too big of a commitment for someone Hyungwon’s age. Any time Hyungwon managed to land a date, they would make excuses and leave as soon as he mentioned Woosung. So, Hyungwon gave up. It was fine really, just him and Woosung against the world. There were times, of course, when he wished he had someone to kiss and hold in a romantic way. There were times when he wished Woosung had a mother to care for him in a way only mother’s could.
Woosung had been around mostly men all his life. Hyungwon’s friends from college stuck around, treating Woosung like their own nephew and pitching in whenever they could. It was nice, but Hyungwon thought Woosung needed some female role models in his life too. He needed more women in his life than just his grandmother. He needed a mom.
And it wasn’t like Hyungwon meant to think of you that way … it’s just when he saw you getting along with Woosung so easily, he let his mind roam to a fantasy where you were Woosung’s mother, and the three of you were a family. It was crazy of him to think like that. It was absolutely mad of him to begin looking forward to seeing you each day, along with his child, as if the two of you were already a packaged deal.
As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Hyungwon found himself legitimately falling for you, and secretly hoping you’d fall for him too.
He didn’t know how to ask you out. He wasn’t even sure if that was appropriate, really. As the clock ticked down, however, and the days of Woosung entering preschool got closer, Hyungwon knew he had to do something before he stopped seeing you daily.
He didn’t want to be flashy or weird. He didn’t want anyone else to know about his crush on you, because he didn’t want you to feel pressured into accepting him.
So he picked up Woosung at the normal time, with a not-so-normal heart rate and sweaty palms.
You were beautiful. Every time he entered classroom A-4 he felt a smile creep onto his face because of how comfortable you looked. Your natural smile was so beautiful to him and it made him wish he could stare at it all day.
Woosung seemed to be the last child in the classroom, and Hyungwon realized he had just made it before being considered late. He wiped his palms on his purple scrubs and grinned shyly at you. “Sorry for being late … again.”
“You’re always late on Fridays,” you said casually, only to turn pink as you realized what you had said.
Hyungwon rose his eyebrows, “You take notice?”
“I have to,” you answered quickly, avoiding his eyes as you cleaned up. “I’m the teacher.”
Hyungwon checked his watch. “Do you mind if we stay and help you clean up? It’s getting pretty late and you probably want to get home.”
You stood up and tucked a flyaway lock of hair behind your ear. Shooting him a shy smile, you averted your eyes to the floor and nodded. “That would be great.”
Hyungwon began to place all the legos in their respected boxes, but you could see him putting together a small ship when he thought you weren’t looking. “So, did you have anymore births, today?”
Hyungwon subtly slid the ship behind him as he picked up more toys. “No, thankfully. They let me work with the already-born babies. It was kind of nice to see all the newborns. It reminded me of when Woosung was born.”
You spoke hesitantly, “Do you mind telling me about it?”
Hyungwon suddenly donned a sad smile as he answered. “No, it was a long time ago. I— She— It was a drunken one night stand. We were both completely hammered, so I guess neither of us thought to use protection. When she found out, she got into contact with me, and told me she was going to put the child up for adoption. I guess I hated that thought, of my first child living with another family while I pretended he didn’t exist. So I asked her if I could keep him. If she could let me have custody. She eventually agreed, and I supported her through the pregnancy. During that time, I think I fell for her … ” He stopped and sighed, biting his lip and reaching behind him to tinker with the lego ship, “I’ve never told anyone that before. Heck, I didn’t even tell her that I was falling head over heels. She had another life, anyway. She had plans outside of a child and we had an agreement. When Woosung was born, I signed all the papers and took him home. I haven’t seen her since. I don’t even know if she still lives around here.”
You wiped down the tables, unsure of how to reply. Finally, you managed to speak, “You’re really brave, you know? I know a lot of dads who would take the easy way out and just give up their kid, but you didn’t. You pulled through and now you have this wonderful son who adores you with all his heart. You guys are amazing. Every time you’re together I feel like I’m intruding on this extraordinary father-son bond.”
Hyungwon glanced over at Woosung, who seemed far too interested in a book about Cinderella than he did in your adult conversations. “Hey, Y/n? Would you like to go out for ice cream after this? I know a great place that serves both chocolate and orange sherbet.”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
Hyungwon shrugged. “Yeah. But if you don’t like me like that then we can just go as friends and it’ll be a way to repay you for always staying late with him, even though it isn’t your job.”
“You know I don’t mind doing that.” Your eyes softened.
“I know. Just that fact makes me like you even more. So, what do you say? Is it a date?”
You grinned, “Let me grab my bag.”
-
Woosung insisted that he didn’t want chocolate or orange sherbet, once the three of you arrived at the ice cream parlor. He was settled Hyungwon’s hip, leaning so close to the glass that he fogged it up with his breath. “I want the pink one.”
“Strawberry?” Hyungwon asked.
“No, the other pink one.”
“Watermelon?” you tried.
“No,” Woosung sighed. “The other pink one.”
Hyungwon leaned over and looked again, his eyebrows knotted together in confusion as he searched for another pink flavor. “Oh, bubblegum?”
“Yeah! That one!”
Hyungwon pried Woosung’s chubby fingers off of the glass before he could smudge it up any further and began to order for the three of you.
Once everyone had their ice cream, Hyungwon let you choose where to sit.
“Let’s sit outside and get some fresh air. We’ve been inside all day.”
Hyungwon rolled his eyes, “What a teacher-like answer.”
You bumped his shoulder playfully, hoping your actions weren’t too forward for a first date.
Feeling stupid, you scolded yourself. Honestly, you’re a grown adult. Stop acting like a teenager on her first date!
Despite your inner warnings, you blurted out your insecurities as soon you sat down. “This is my first date in awhile.”
Hyungwon smiled gently. “Mine too. I feel really out of my element.”
Both of your eyes drifted to Woosung, who was busy licking his ice cream cone and watching cyclers as they passed.
“At least someone isn’t nervous,” Hyungwon said, ruffling Woosung’s hair affectionately. “He’s such a good kid, you know? Everything in his life seems so abnormal, and yet he just has a way of going with the flow. I have a lot to learn from him.”
You took a bite of your ice cream and watched Hyungwon for awhile. “He’s got a great father to look up to. He doesn’t have anything to worry about when someone like you is always looking out for him.”
Hyungwon chuckled shyly. “We’re talking too much about me and Woosung. Tell me about you. Why did you go into teaching? At a daycare specifically?”
You shrugged. “I like kids, but I like them when they’re little. I don’t have much experience with older kids. I guess it’s just a job I don’t mind doing every day. I kind of feel like each kid is my own, so it’s not too hard to take care of them day in and day out.”
Hyungwon was silent for a moment. Then, “I really like you. Would it be too much on the first date if I asked you to be my girlfriend?”
“No,” you said, “because I would’ve been disappointed if you hadn’t.”
-
Hyungwon drove you back to the daycare center, where you had left your car. Woosung fell asleep on the way there, so the two of you exited the care slowly as not to wake him.
Hyungwon grabbed your hand as the two of you walked, causing you to giggle, “My car is like five steps away, Hyungwon.”
“I know, but I don’t want this date to end yet,” he confessed, the tips of his ears growing red.
“Well, you have my number, and tomorrow is Saturday, if you wanna go do something,” you said, not really wanting the date to end either.
Hyungwon nodded and let go of your hand. Instead of turning around, he gently brushed your cheek with his hand, causing you to blush. “Can I kiss you?”
He was leaning in, halted over your lips as he waited for an answer. When you nodded, your nose bumping against his, he cupped your cheeks and closed the gap. His lips were cold, but they tasted like chocolate. His scent filled your nose and you grabbed his shirt, tugging him closer to you. With a slight hum, he pulled away, just enough to lean his forehead against yours and give you a cheesy grin. “I really hope there are more where that came from.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck, ready to kiss him again when you both heard a loud “Ew!” from Hyungwon’s car.
Woosung had awoken, and his widened eyes were trained on you and his father. “Dad, gross! Don’t kiss my teacher!”
Hyungwon gave you one last subtle peck before he let you go. “I’ll talk to him.”
You nodded, “Call me tomorrow, okay?”
“Eager, are we?”
“Oh, shut up or I’ll just take Woosung out and leave you at home.”
Hyungwon gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
»the end«