umbrella { sunjay }

6.

song recommendation: moonbeam -cassandra coleman

sunoo and eunjoo arrived at the ballet studio and as quickly as they entered, eunjoo was leaping with excitement. "wait honey, i need to take off your jacket." sunoo attempted to tame the wild child who wanted nothing more than to race off to her friends.

"okay, okay, go have fun my love." sunoo stood up after removing the small pink coat from the girl. without a second thought, eunjoo ran towards the middle of the room where all the other little ones were. 

'they forget about you so fast.' sunoo chuckled to himself at his own thought. 

there was a line of seats where parents sat to watch their children follow ballet instruction and every time it was time for her lessons, sunoo sat in the same seat that was directly in the center. 

this time, there happened to be another male sitting in the seat next to his usual chair. it was rare, if not ever, for him to see another man in the studio. ninety percent of the other parents were women. not that he had any complaints though. he got along well with the other parents and they were all usually nice to him.

"hello." kim sunoo greeted the new male with a welcoming gaze as he took his seat next to him. the unfamiliar man turned to face sunoo and this took the father by surprise. 

the new parent was extremely handsome. his facial features were sharp but gentle. he had a kind face, if that made any sense. 

"hello." the man greeted sunoo back with a polite, tight lipped grin. 

"i'm kim sunoo." he introduced himself. what was the harm in creating a little small talk? it gets a little repetitive, talking to a four year old every day.

"i'm park jongseong." the handsome male replied. his face fit his name perfectly in sunoo's opinion.

"it's rare for me to see another man here. which one is yours?" sunoo chuckled at his own observation. 

"oh no, i'm just here with my niece. i don't actually have any kids." sunoo nodded his head in acknowledgement. it was sweet that the man showed up for his niece.

"mine is..." sunoo looked across the room to find eunjoo, only to find her running around in circles in the corner by herself. "there..." sunoo pointed to the silly girl who was in her own world and heard a soft laugh from the man adjacent to him.

"she has a big personality." jongseong's perfect teeth was on display as he turned his attention back to sunoo. 

the father couldn't help but feel his face heat up. of all times, eunjoo decides to run aimlessly in circles when he was trying to show her off. as much as he tried to hold it in, he couldn't help but to join jongseong in laughter.

"she sure does." sunoo spoke with fondness as their mirth died down. 

an hour later, the ballet lesson came to a conclusion and eunjoo and heera ran towards the two males with the biggest beams on their face.

"daddy can heera come over to play? please?" eunjoo skipped a greeting to her father and instead, her hands rested on his knees with the biggest eyes she could offer. she knew sunoo was a sucker for her and all she had to do was ask.

"can i, uncle jay?" heera followed eunjoo's pleads with her hands clasped together. 

"well, i don't mind, but that's up to mr. kim." jongseong was also a fool for his niece and couldn't bare to say no to her. 

sunoo looked at the other male for a second before sighing. he had never really invited someone over to their home before. eunjoo has only hung out with her ballet friends while in the studio. but since he felt comfortable around jongseong and they had already made conversation, he figured it was fine.

"alright, let's go." sunoo nodded in agreement. the two girls cheered with glee and jumped around while putting on their jackets.

❀ 

the four of them entered the kim residence and as soon as the front door opened, the two children scurried off towards the living room that was filled with all kinds of toys that eunjoo had received throughout the years. some items were gifts from her grandparents or her aunt, but the majority of them were purchased by her father. 

"be careful you two." sunoo lightly reminded the little ones because their wild behavior. eunjoo had always loved to share with the people she liked so sunoo had no worries about them playing together. he was more worried about them getting hurt from being so excited.

"would you like a cup of coffee or tea?" sunoo turned his attention towards the man who, like him, was taking off his blazer and hanging it on the coat rack. 

"coffee, please." jongseong sent sunoo a small polite smile as they walked into the mall connected dinning area. 

since the kitchen was next to the dinning space, jay took his seat and observed his surroundings as sunoo prepared two cups of coffee. jongseong didn't know what it was about the home, but you could just feel the love emitting from every corner.

the apartment wasn't big, just enough for the two of them. but the fridge and walls were decorated with eunjoo's artwork and pictures of different occasions. the house looked like a home. 

jay felt warmth in his heart as he waited patiently. his home had no scribbled lines with rainbow colored people inside. there was no toys scattered along the floor that he would accidently step on and fall down in a dramatic manner over.

this left a bitter taste in his mouth. bitter than the blackest of coffee. 

"here you go." sunoo placed the white mug in front of him as he set himself across the table. "i didn't know how you liked yours so i just put a little cream and sugar, i hope that's okay?" 

"that's perfect, thank you." jongseong dipped his head in appreciation before taking a small sip from the warm coffee. it was sweet, but not overly cloying.

"so, mr. park, what do you do for work?" it wasn't much, just enough small talk to fill the silence. sunoo was curious. the thin wired frames that sat on the bridge of jongseong's perfectly angled nose made him look sophisticated and well educated.

  "i work at seoul university as a professor. what about yourself?" jay answered routinely. he wasn't a stranger to new people quizzing his occupation so he gave the same response every time.

"wow, i'm impressed. i work from home as a digital media marketer. it's not much but it gets us by." sunoo's job was in the comfort of his home so it made it easier to raise a growing child.

"do you enjoy it?" 

"hm." sunoo thought for a moment before answering the simple question. "it allows me to spend more time with my daughter. even though it can be a lot of work sometimes, i'm more than happy to do it if that's what i get in return."

that's what he truly cared about after all.

❀