Work Text
“NO. Absolutely not! Not in a million years! Not even over my dead body! No,
seonsaengnim
(teacher). I do not care what you want to say, and how important this is for
the overall development
of
my
child. But please be assured, with all due respect, that I will make sure to become a strong enough ghost to push you away the second you try to pull this off with me,
again
.”
Taehyung was throwing a tantrum in full mode and if anybody were to pass by the teachers’ room at that moment, they would bet it was a kid going through it, being that they couldn’t peep inside the room. Jung Hoseok, the teacher enduring this, was already done with him.
And if they
were
to peep inside, they would certainly agree it was a kid’s doing, based on the screams, and, yeah, all the papers currently lying on the floor that Taehyung had thrown the second he heard the news.
All of this over what?
The Annual Lemonade Stand contest.
Aka Kim Taehyung’s nemesis.
The contest that every single one of the kids and parents loved, except for one person.
Himself. Professor by occupation, and father by choice.
Caught in this precarious situation, Taehyung chose the
only
sane way out - throwing a full-fledged tantrum in the teachers’ room, and keeping his fingers crossed that he could get out of this without too much hassle—for himself, and for his lovely little girl.
🍋🍋
On the other side of town, yet another parent received the same news about the contest.
The reaction though…
“YES! Finally! Yes. Oh my god. I have been
waiting
for something like this for so long. I cannot believe this is finally happening. This is wonderful, hyung!”
Jeon Jungkook, lawyer and father, and a keen enthusiast in showcasing his charm whenever and wherever possible, especially if it was a fun activity.
The tough, sad, serious cases he had to deal with on the daily were enough to bore him to death at least three times everyday. So, a break from that routine was more than welcome.
Kim Seokjin, Jungkook’s cousin, who happened to be in the office just then, was looking at the younger man with an amused expression. Coming to drop off some food for the lawyer and his son, he had been witness to Jungkook’s euphoria when the school had called about the contest. And by the current expression on Seokjin’s face Jungkook knew that he wouldn’t be hearing the end of teasing for the dance he had danced in his sudden excitement.
“Are you really
that
excited about a school contest for selling lemonade? Don’t you think that’s a bit embarrassing for your son?” Jin started the teasing, not a moment to lose.
“Why would it be embarrassing for him if I win? That’s all he needs to know, that his papa will win this for him.”
Jin was amused, realizing that the last time Jungkook was so excited about something he almost ended up getting married. He also knew how competitive his little cousin could get, but thankfully, this was just a school contest, not the Mister Universe pageant, right?
“Also, it will prove all those hopeless omegas wrong when they say, an alpha cannot take care of a child!” Jungkook mumbled to himself and Jin caught it.
“Jungkook-ah, you’re an amazing parent to little Ji-wanie, you know that right?” He stressed on the word
parent
instead of saying father. It had been a sore spot for Jungkook ever since he lost his omega partner during childbirth. It had been a difficult eight years for the single parent as well as the child, with the society not expecting a single alpha father to bring up a child well, and constantly making it their business to let Jungkook know what
they
thought.
Seokjin had seen how Jungkook had managed both his profession and his parenthood with zeal, not bowing his head to any societal expectation or pushback. He has stayed off the marriage market as well (except for the one time that he had almost slipped up) to make sure that Ji Wan received the best upbringing he could without having to bring in someone new into their equation.
Not that Seokjin really approved of this idea of trying to do everything single-handedly. But well, Jungkook had his own troubles, and he didn’t want to add to them.
Namely, realizing that he was just not attracted to omegas.
He left his cousin after some more chit chat, smiling at the wide grin that Jungkook still had on his face, after a long time. This new school had turned out well for the father and son.
He didn’t know how right he was.
🍋🍋
Taehyung had gone home dejected. The school principal, just like teacher Hoseok, had refused to give into his tantrums, and said very clearly, (and sternly,
even though
Taehyung had pouted), “Professor Kim, this is a long-standing tradition. If you do not participate, you will be setting a wrong example for your daughter. Just because you lost last year, doesn’t mean that you will not participate ever again. First of all, this is to raise funds for a good cause. Second of all, is winning everything for you?”
“Yes?” Taehyung had responded.
To which the principal had scowled, and Taehyung had realized that, although in his mind, his answer was perfectly reasonable after last year’s fiasco when
all
the children ended up making fun of him, there was no way to get out of it this year, at least with the principal. The only hope laid at home.
Now he was at home, and so was a very sulky little girl. And Taehyung had already lost the fight. He could say ‘no’ to everyone, but he couldn’t see his little Yu-Mi sad. Yu-mi had come into his life by his choice, but whatever happened after that, was completely dependent on how the little one wanted it to happen. As a well-to-do, well respected alpha professor, when Taehyung had decided not to mate an omega (he never felt attracted to the ones that he was set up with, and neither was he comfortable with the unconventional option of betas) and went straight in for the option of adopting a child, the society had gasped, judged, and made fun of him.
Now, eight years later, Yu-mi had the professor wrapped around her little finger, and Taehyung was perfectly content being her appa.
And being Yu-Mi’s appa, he would now
have
to participate in the school competition to keep his girl’s heart. So he would.
🍋🍋
On the day of the competition, Taehyung was sorely disappointed that it was bright and sunny. Jungkook couldn’t be happier about it. Coincidentally, their stalls were adjacent to each other. Taehyung, being associated with the school for over two years, knew the drill. While Jungkook had no clue about it, this being his very first year.
The school would organize these yearly lemonade competitions to raise funds for the local old age home. Here, the students would help make the lemonade, and the parents would have to sell them. The highest seller from each class would be given a prize.
From the way the parents had jumped into the competition this year too, it was clear that the thing separating them from each other at this point was the amount of experience, and their
very contrasting
black cat - golden retriever moods.
“Okay, so Jiwanie told me to definitely make sure the lemonade glasses were to be kept on the right side and the lemonade right next to them at the left,” Jungkook repeated his son’s interactions carefully, unaware that he was being loud, while at the stall next to him -
“You should never put the glasses and lemonade so close to where the people are going to be standing, you amateur!” Taehyung was mumbling under his breath at his neighbor’s trials and tribulations, convinced that his experience would give him a headstart but still keeping his voice low, a hint of remorse present there.
“Ah, this is more difficult than I thought, a marketing team would know how to present this better. I know how to talk, and oh boy do I
know
how to cook, but table arrangements are definitely not my strong point,” Jungkook continued, clueless at how his neighbors' ears had suddenly become interested when they picked-up the subtle idea that he knew how to cook.
From the outside it looked like a normal school fair setup, each parent trying to prepare their lemonade stands in the best way possible, each of them knowing how important it was to win such a contest in the matter of the all important school hierarchy. Some were on the phone with their children, others were just going with their intuition, while yet another group had a whole list of several pages on their phones with detailed points to follow.
While Jungkook was definitely part of ‘others’, Taehyung was part of the ‘yet another’ for sure. Therefore, after having adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, he was currently poring over the painfully detailed notes and sketches Yu-Mi had loaded onto his phone. No matter how much they disagreed on the topic of the lemonade stand, Yu-Mi and Taehyung were a hundred percent synced on other things. Taehyung didn’t trust himself with the competition, and Yu-Mi agreed with him wholeheartedly.
So they had sat and drawn out a full-fledged plan to make this year’s run go smoothly. Well, uhh… Yu-Mi had drawn out the plan, and Taehyung had nodded and taken notes—as went most decision-making in their household.
His phone vibrated and a smile immediately took over Taehyung’s face as he connected the call.
“Appa, turn the camera towards the stand, let me see what you’ve done,” Yu-Mi’s voice rang out from the phone.
Taehyung nodded, smiling, and followed the instruction. “No appa,” Yu-Mi was clearly not happy, “please see the diagram once more and then arrange the glasses
properly.
Okay?”
“Yes, my princess,” Taehyung said, sad to have failed the test.
“Now turn the camera, let me look at your face,” the girl commanded.
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“Nothing. I just like to see my appa’s pretty face when I wish him good luck!” The young one quipped. “All the best, appa. Please remember that it's alright if you don’t win. We
just
need to raise some money,” she said. Then lowering her voice conspiratorially, Yu-Mi added, “this whole winning thing is a
scam
appa. That’s how they get the parents to try and sell more.”
Taehyung suppressed his laughter, blew her a kiss, and disconnected the phone after saying his goodbyes. “It’s alright if you don’t win, she said,” Taehyung mocked after, “as if.”
And as if on cue, Jungkook’s phone rang too. Ever the enthusiast, Jungkook picked it up with a “hello, my light, the love of my life, the one I could die for!”
Of course, Taehyung’s ears perked up.
Too much PDA for a school atmosphere, don’t you think?
He thought.
“Papa! Keep your voice down!” Came the voice from the phone.
Ohh,
Taehyung winced internally. When it came to the child, he understood those emotions. He also agreed to them, but that was really not the point here, it was how good his neighbor sounded while cooing.
“I am almost ready, Ji. You wanna see?” Jungkook was still bouncing off of his feet in excitement.
“Sure! Show me.”
“See how well I followed your instructions, and then added my intuitions to it. Isn’t this looking like the prettiest lemonade stall ever?”
“Yes papa! This is so pretty! All the best to you, and I am behaving myself at the daycare, and I will love you the same even if you don’t win! Alright? I have faith in you!” Ji-Wan quipped.
Jungkook had his hand on his heart, “ohh my, little one. You sound so grown up, I’m going to cry!”
And Taehyung could bet by now that the voice was already wobbly.
“I love you papa!”
“Love you too Ji.”
For a few moments, there was no sound, so Taehyung stole a glance. Jungkook was still standing with his hand on his chest, his eyes distant and on the verge of tears spilling out of them.
Taehyung huffed.
The emotions some people showed out here were a bit off the charts for a lemonade contest, but oh well, everyone couldn’t be perfect, although he didn’t feel the same way about this particular neighbor,
he almost chuckled fondly at the thought and that reaction alone caught him by surprise.
Oh no, emotions towards your lemonade stand neighbors were never a good sign. And neither were ones for people who stood anywhere close to those stands.
See, the simple truth behind all of Taehyung’s serious, no-nonsense facade (that included holding a banner saying “no” in his arms), and a sassy attitude, was the hopeless romantic that he actually was. One that would prefer to die in a battle protecting his heart for
that special someone,
than melt in front of their crush or a newly acquired one for that matter.
And last year’s disaster was partially because his heart
had
skipped a beat, or two, or a few–and again, that is really not the point here.
Having a crush wasn’t as bad as
that
time when he was almost ready to get married, the memory alone sending shivers down his spine at exactly the same time Jungkook lifted his eyes to look at him.
And now Jungkook was rushing towards him, fearing that Taehyung was just about to faint.
Great.
“Hey, excuse me, are you okay?” Jungkook sounded worried. Fuck. “Sorry, my name is Jungkook, are you feeling ok?” Jungkook said, while almost…
almost
gathering Taehyung in his arms when the other turned and gave him a look that could save the glaciers from melting.
“Do I look like I am not fine?” Taehyung snapped, sending Jungkook one step backwards. That made Taehyung realize that he was being rude again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that but yes, I am perfectly fine. No need to rush here.”
“Well, I am just
standing next to you
so it wasn’t really that much of a problem,” Jungkook chuckled and
Oh God, that chuckle was bordering a giggle and that sound will definitely be the death of me,
Taehyung whined internally. As a result of trying to hide that very emotion, his face was looking like he was about to be sick.
“Uh, if you want to take a break I can look out for your stand for a bit. You really look like you are going to be sick any minute now.” Jungkook continued, now actually getting worried.
“I am fine, uh, what did you say your name was?” Taehyung asked while straightening up and fixing his hair as a tic.
“Jungkook,” he smiled, “and you are?”
“I’m Taehyung. Nice to meet you, Jungkook. I am a professor at the National University, but better known as the slave of my daughter’s wild ideas.” Taehyung said and outstretched his hand with a beautiful boxy smile.
Oh no no no, this is it, Jungkook. The small crush you had last year only from hearing his voice, is gradually materializing again, reaching out for you to shake his hand. Remember that he’s a father, and most likely, he’s happily married so keep it together. Keep it professional, you got it? Good! You can do this!
Jungkook went on and on inside his head, while all that Taehyung could see in front of him was a person smiling widely, but frozen at the same time.
Until-
“Ah, sorry, for a second I got lost in my head,” Jungkook said and giggled.
Giggles…giggles…GIGGLES! Oh God, this is not happening now!
Taehyung thought, as now, it was his time to lose it inside
his head,
because those were the same giggles that made him all warm and tingly inside last year when he first heard while passing by a senior class’s stall.
Because it made no sense for the Universe to make one of them have a one-sided crush. Oh, no. Where’s the fun in that? It had to be done to both of them. At the same time. On the same day. And then it was also mandatory to inform them through various signs and people that the other one was taken.
Taken, how?
Well, that remained to be seen.
The only clear fact was that both of them harbored major crushes on each other during the previous year’s contest: Jungkook on Taehyung’s voice and Taehyung on Jungkook’s giggles.
And it looked like this year, the situation would only escalate.
🍋🍋
Flashback that no one asked for:
Until last year, Jungkook was still living in a neighborhood that was far away from this school. But he was considering moving to this area, so upon Seokjin’s recommendation, he had come to support his lemonade stall, and check out the school—two birds, one arrow, you know what this means.
It was when he was standing there, minding his own business, that he heard a baritone that changed the direction of his life and made him choose the school on the spot. (Not really, the interest of his son came first, but it did make this school a strong contender). He had turned around to find the most beautiful man with the most beautiful smile sipping on Seokjin’s lemonade and asking for its
recipe
with the most sincere expression. The entire scenario had seemed so surreal that Jungkook had broken into a giggle. (He had that reaction to events that flustered him).
The world had stopped turning, the breeze had stopped blowing, the birds had stopped chirping, the violins had stopped… no. Violins had
started
playing all around them, and they were both stuck in the moment for an eternity when he sensed, and then saw, an omega around Taehyung, who dragged him back to his stall.
“He takes this competition too seriously, tsk,” Seokjin said, shaking his head. “Who asks for a lemonade recipe? What is there except for water, lemons, sugar and salt?”
“Who’s he?” Jungkook had croaked out.
“He’s one of the kid’s dad. Obviously, since he also has a stand,” Seokjin had clarified.
“Right,” Jungkook’s heart had been shattered to pieces then and there.
This would be the third time. The first time was when he had lost his partner at childbirth. The second, when he had almost stepped into an arranged marriage set up by his family, more with the intention of having an omega parent for Ji Wan. He had said yes to that one, hoping for the best, getting excited at the prospect of Ji Wan having a
regular
household. He had made plans, drawn out schedules, even gone to the extent of figuring out wedding dates, only to walk into the omega telling Ji Wan that he would send the child off to boarding soon after the wedding. (Aah, stereotypes. They happen, sometimes).
This third one wasn’t as bad as the second one, but still. This was the very first time an alpha had actually looked at him with those dreamy eyes.
Jungkook had sighed before turning back to talk to Jin.
On the other hand, Taehyung was
this
close to biting Jimin’s head off.
“That was the most wonderful sight you dragged me away from, you idiot!”
“Why were you staring at someone else’s father?” Jimin was his sassy self, nothing new. “Are you looking for a daddy?”
“Ewwww. Why did I even ask you to come here?” Taehyung muttered angrily, and then, “And what do you mean someone’s father?”
“I saw him near the school office, enquiring about admission procedures for his son. Obviously, he’s a father. Which means, there is another parent.”
“Ohh. Oh.”
“That’s why I pulled you away before you threw yourself at him like you did that time with the cheating bastard. You should be thanking me, not shouting at me, smartass.”
Okay, yes. Here you get Taehyung’s story.
In his quest to find an alpha partner, Taehyung had fallen for one who had promised him the universe, the moon, and the stars, only to find out that he was already mated and two-timing him. So for him, this was the second time his heart was broken.
And if he knew that Jungkook led the heartbreak score 3-2, he would have felt a little bad, because damn, winning was everything. But he probably would have recovered from it really fast, given the fact that no one was cuter than the giggling alpha he had lost his heart to.
Something that kept him so occupied throughout the rest of the day, that he had ended up losing the competition when he had accidentally overthrown the entire container, causing the kids to point at him and laugh. (He didn’t have the heart to blame the giggler, it
was
the school’s fault. We’ll keep it at that.)
🍋🍋
With heavy hearts
, both alphas had gone back to strategizing their moves for the lemonade competition. Now here’s a small detail that you might like to know. While Jungkook was a food enthusiast, Taehyung was an experiment enthusiast. Jungkook figured out recipes by doing intense research and then by making them so many times that he could recreate them from muscle memory.
Taehyung, on the other hand, would sometimes get so engrossed with trying out new things, that he forgot that the basic objective of cooking was to make things… edible. Therefore, in order to win the lemonade competition this year, he had decided to bank on an X-factor—a mystery ingredient that would add
zing
to his lemonade. No one, not even his dear darling daughter knew about this ingredient (because he loved experimenting but he feared for his life too, obviously).
You see, recently, he had developed a crazy obsession with cinnamon buns. Before you bang your head on the walls, yes, he did choose to add a pinch of cinnamon to every single glass of lemonade he served, in his bid to be the ‘lemonade extraordinaire’ (which he kept calling
lemonaire
because he was too excited. Aah yes, he was cute like that.
So as it were, within an hour or so of the competition getting started, Taehyung realised that his sales were… not happening.
On the other hand, there was a long queue forming in front of Jungkook’s stand. And along with all the longing in Taehyung’s heart, he could suddenly sense the presence of a familiar feeling, this time directed at Jungkook—jealousy.
Jungkook, however, the sweetheart that he was, was feeling really bad for Taehyung’s dwindling sales. He wanted to win for his son, but he also wanted to tie with Taehyung. Or tie up Taehyung. Or let Taehyung tie him up. Or maybe….
Abort thought process, Jungkook!
Then suddenly he spotted his colleague Min Yoongi strolling towards his stall with a bored expression on his face, though he couldn’t blame him because he literally forced him to come by emotionally blackmailing him via a video call featuring his son. It was unnecessary because, in Yoongi’s own words - “Who the fuck needs to support their colleague’s lemonade stall in a fucking kids’ school?” Sound logic right there.
As soon as Yoongi reached his stall, two things happened. Jungkook hugged him out of happiness, and Yoongi pushed him back. And Taehyung’s already rising temperature shot out of the roof. Therefore, when Jungkook went over to his lemonade stand after entrusting his own stand’s responsibility to a begrudging Yoongi, Taehyung scowled at him. The scowl didn’t land well because Jungkook being Jungkook, was too busy noticing his hands that were playing with lemons to feel bad.
“Hey, I was wondering… do you need some help with the lemonade recipe?” Jungkook asked.
“Eh? Why? Why on earth!!” Taehyung scowled a little more, sending Jungkook a few steps back.
“I mean… like… to sell more?” Jungkook scratched the back of his head, unsure. “Because I can help you make a fresh batch if this one is not working,” he mumbled, a little scared.
“Ohh! So now you think my lemonade isn’t
tasty enough?
” Taehyung wanted to cry, but he couldn’t show that he was terribly hurt, heartbroken, sad, and wanting to jump off a cliff. Therefore, like a sane man, he shouted, “go back to your tasty lemonade stall you beautiful looking talented person. Leave this poor bad lemonaire maker alone! I can handle this by myself!”
Jungkook ran away before he could ask what
lemonaire
meant and his hasty retreat made Taehyung even angrier, Taehyung’s compliment already forgotten in the process.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Taehyung stomp around his stall, which made him coo, but also hurt him because he had genuinely wanted to help. However, Taehyung stomped a little too hard, his foot landing on the paper covering the table, and that resulted in all the lemonade landing up on the ground. Déjà-fucking-vu.
Taehyung stared. He stared at the spilled lemonade so hard that if he stared a little longer the lemonade would have gathered itself and put itself back into the jar, but Jungkook (forgetting whatever had happened just now) was immediately by his side, ready to help.
Not only did he help Taehyung clean up, he also made a fresh batch of lemonade in the school kitchen and shared it with Taehyung for him to sell it. Taehyung was dumbfounded with the kindness, and had also promised to write his entire fortune in Jungkook’s name, silently.
Yes, he did mumble his thank yous and sorries.
🍋🍋
The next hour went mostly without any major incident, except for the moment when Jungkook tried to explain a bit too enthusiastically the process of lemonade production to an eight-year-old and the boy backed-up and ran away faster than he would if he was being called for an ice cream.
Jungkook was a bit disappointed but in the end, this was his very first lemonade stand of his life, mistakes were bound to be made and lessons were bound to be learned. As long as he won his son’s prize at the end, all would be good in the Universe.
He kept stealing glances to his side, hoping to catch Taehyung without the other alpha noticing him. What he didn’t think of, was the possibility that the other had the same plan.
So here they were, suddenly catching each other’s eyes, and not knowing where else to look, so now they were caught in a staring war, until suddenly, a slap came and collided with the back of Taehyung’s head out of thin air.
“What did I tell you?” Jimin stepped in front of Taehyung, hands on his hips and his expression as sassy as it could get.
“Do
not
look at the cute Alpha with a family,” Taehyung said, rolling his eyes. “But Jimin-ah, I saw him looking at me too. What if… what if he is actually single?”
The second part of the question may have been whisper-shouted, but that didn’t save Taehyung from getting a second slapping.
“You shall not lay your eyes upon him until we find out his status, capisci?” Jimin said. (Ordered)
The pout that Taehyung pouted may have been intended to melt Jimin’s heart but instead, only set Jungkook’s heart on fire.
Why was his crush pouting so hard? Did he get some bad news? Were they having a lover’s quarrel? Or was he waiting for his omega, the one that hadn’t turned up yet?
And as if by automation, Jungkook’s own pout appeared on his lips.
Now both of them were pouting and neither of them knew what happened to the other.
But both of them thought that the other’s pout was caused by their partner, or their partner’s absence.
So every hour turned out to be a little more dramatic than the previous one, but who was keeping score?
Taehyung’s stand had picked up on sales really fast, and he was really, really thankful to Jungkook for it, but he was extremely distracted because— Jungkook was pouting the hell out of his existence.
And Taehyung was both baffled and annoyed. So he decided to do the only
logical
thing in this situation: scold Jungkook.
During another break in the sales rush, Taehyung arranged his stand a little, put the money aside and
after
fixing his hair (extremely important activity when helping out a hot alpha) went towards the adjacent stand.
It wasn’t that the closer he got, the hotter he felt. Sure, this was just his one- year-old
temporary
crush which refused to go away, but what if he was right and Jimin was wrong and there was
a chance?
Once he got really close to the stand, chaos ensued: Jungkook was still pouting, Taehyung still had no clue why, and on top of that a very hot and familiar looking guy had reached Jungkook before Taehyung could (un-fucking-fair).
“Jungkook-ah! What the hell are you doing? I left you alone for a couple of hours and you managed to look like you are the most miserable person on Earth!” Seokjin was speaking in his normal pitch,
which amounted to shouting for others
.
“Hey, that’s no way to talk to another person!” Taehyung’s protective instinct sprung into action. “He is clearly upset about something, insults are not going to do any good.”
Now that was enough for Jungkook to look at Taehyung like he was his saviour. No, scratch that, his knight in shiny armour. No, scratch that as well, his strong, gorgeous, strawberry-smelling alpha protector.
Oh shit, I’m in trouble,
Jungkook realized quickly, but at this point it was a little too late.
“Oh?” Seokjin arched a brow. “Okay, pretty boy, who might you be? And why do you look familiar? Also, why do you think you are telling me what to do? And most importantly, why are you almost as good looking as I am?” Seokjin enquired. It was an amazing thing to see, two equally good-looking men facing each other, hand on their hips, slightly bent forward aggressively, almost like two mother hens ready to protect their kid.
Only that the kid in question seemed to be a very confused, very bunny-looking, very adult Jungkook.
“Excuse me! I am Taehyung. I am one of the parents participating in this competition.”
“A parent? A good-looking parent?” Seokjin nodded his head thoughtfully. “Oh, so you are the hunk Jungkook mentioned? Wait a minute, we met last year too! At my stand. And since then—”
“Hyung, no!” Jungkook shouted. Both men looked at him with contrasting expressions, Jin almost bursting out laughing. And Taehyung, confused and blushing profusely.
“I am so-sorry, he did not mean that. I absolutely did not call you a hunk. No, wait. I mean you are obviously very good looking but I did not say that, I would never! Unless you would want me to! But you wouldn’t, obviously, so that is just a joke from Seokjin hyung. So please, kindly, excuse him. And me!” Jungkook managed to ramble, going absolutely red in the face, and quickly grabbed Seokjin’s arm and rushed away from the scene of the crime.
“Jungkook-ah,
that
was the best stutter you have ever produced. I swear, if you don’t have that guy wrapped around your finger by the end of the contest for how cuuuute you are, he’s an idiot.” Seokjin proceeded to reassure the younger alpha while grabbing the other’s cheeks and kneading them like bread.
🍋🍋
Taehyung was
this
close to throwing hands at the way people were staring (read ogling) at his gorgeous neighbor, and the way two grown men (Jin and Yoongi) were treating his neighbouring stall owner like a child.
He should be the one to pinch Jungkook’s cheeks, damn it
.
And he was going to, when he heard his brother calling out to him to break his trance. “Taehyung-ah,” the dimpled man smiled at him. “How’s it going?”
“Hyung! You came!” Taehyung exclaimed, happy. And in the next moment, “please stand a little away from the stand. I have already done your job for the day.”
Now, don’t think that Taehyung was being rude. It was just that Kim Namjoon, his older brother, had this reputation of being clumsy. Having already had to set up his stand a second time, Taehyung just didn’t want a repeat of that. Namjoon laughed out loud, and moved a little backwards. He knew how to treat a joke like what it was—a joke. “Why? What did you do, Taehyung-ah?” he asked.
And Taehyung narrated the entire incident, with Jimin butting in, as usual, with his wisdom and prudence (his own words, not the author’s). Stopping Taehyung midway, Jimin continued to give his version of the situation—about how he felt that Jungkook
may
be taken, and how Taehyung should not be hitting on him before knowing his status. How the narrative on what happened to his lemonade stand turned into what happened to his heart, Taehyung didn’t know—but this was Jimin. And you never really knew anything with Jimin. So Taehyung let it go, sighing deeply, listening to Jimin’s version of ‘how to break Taehyung’s heart into pieces.’
“But one second Jiminie,” Namjoon suddenly interjected, calm and collected, as he always was, and Jimin stopped talking because of course,
everyone
listened to the leader, err, Namjoon.
When he was sure he had the attention of both, he said, “Jimin might just be right about Jungkook being mated. But there’s just one thing I don’t understand.”
“Yes?” Taehyung said, frowning, very surprised with the fact that there was something in the world that Namjoon
didn’t
understand.
“How are you planning to find out about him without even asking? Are you expecting someone to walk over to you and just give you the information on a platter?”
A few moments of silence followed, where Jimin looked at Taehyung, and Taehyung looked at Jimin… because, of course, they
hadn’t
thought about
that.
Who would have thought about
asking
someone directly?
Jimin was so deep in thought with that idea, that for a minute Taehyung thought he had fallen asleep while standing. But then he started to scan the section where Jungkook’s stand was, and his sudden shriek of “let me go and ask,” seemed highly suspicious. So Taehyung followed his gaze and realised that it wasn’t on Jungkook, but on the pale, shorter one in the group of three, who was standing near Jungkook with an expression that could mean several things.
Like– I want to kill everyone, or, I need to get out of here, or, why am I here, or, what is today’s date?
And Jimin was looking at him with an expression that could only mean one thing—I want this man.
Taehyung sighed. Yet again. If anything, Jimin would be the one walking home with a date tonight, definitely not him. He was already going to sigh again when Jimin started speed walking towards that man to ask the question that could make or break Taehyung’s future, and Hoseok walked into the scene, therefore causing the collision that was definitely on the cards for the day.
The way the shorter man from Jungkook’s stand ran towards them and helped Jimin up, not even bothering with the fact that another man had also fallen down in the collision, made it pretty clear that it wasn’t
only
Jimin who was
smitten.
🍋🍋
Hoseok stood up, brushing the dust off himself as Jimin stood like the prince he was, Yoongi brushing the dirt off him as gently as possible, looking at Jimin with exactly the same heart eyes that Jimin was looking at him with. So Hoseok cleared his throat.
And nothing happened.
Because Jimin and Yoongi were busy staring at each other, and Taehyung was busy sighing, Namjoon was wondering how a collision happened when he wasn’t involved. On the other hand, Jungkook was still staring at Taehyung, and Jin was wondering when the drama would end, realising that a romcom had just started with Yoongi and the other cute boy next door.
So Hoseok cleared his throat again. And the only person to look at him was Taehyung.
“Mr Kim,” Hoseok said, “imagine throwing a tantrum in my office against this competition, and then ending up winning it!” He grinned.
“Huh?” Taehyung shrieked.
Everyone looked at him then. Hoseok shook his head. It was true, he realised, that the only thing that sold in kid’s schools was unnecessary drama.
“I am here to let you know that this year, you’ve ended up selling the most lemonade at this competition! Congratulations! Please come to the school office with me to collect your prize, and please… I hope you will be happier to participate next year!” Hoseok smiled, relief coursing through his veins.
“How?” Taehyung asked, surprised. “How do you know I won?”
“Well our volunteers are checking on every stall, and your board is reflecting the highest amount,” Hoseok explained. “Same like last year, Mr Kim. Now come on, let’s go and get the prize before little Yu-Mi comes here to
pick you up.
”
And that was the tradition. On the day of the competition, instead of parents picking children up from school, it was the children who picked their parents up from school.
So Taehyung started walking behind Hoseok, elated that he had
finally
won after two whole attempts.
It must have been the cinnamon,
he thought
.
It was while he was crossing the adjacent stall, that he habitually glanced to his side, and caught Jungkook sulking. And he stopped in his tracks.
“
Seonsaengnim
,” he called after Hoseok.
“Yes?” Hoseok turned around, tired. He just wanted to get the day over with.
“Who came second?”
“Huh?”
“Who came second?”
“Ohh. That’s a new kid’s parent. In fact, the one with the lemonade stand that was right beside yours.”
“Jungkook’s? Uhhh… I mean Jungkook-ssi’s?” Taehyung asked.
“Yes. That’s him. Come with me now please,” Hoseok didn’t understand why this piece of information was important. But knowing Taehyung and his antics, he could very well imagine the man sticking his tongue out to his stand-neighbour.
That wasn’t his problem. He taught the kids, and not their parents.
“
Seonsaengnim
, give the prize to him please.”
Hoseok stopped in his tracks. He turned around in the slowest motion possible (he was a fabulous dancer with amazing control over his body, okay?), and stood facing Taehyung with his hands on his hips (why does this seem familiar?).
“I’m sorry, my ears must be ringing. What did you just say?”
“You heard me. He… he made a whole new batch of lemonade for me to sell when I spilled mine. He deserves it,” Taehyung mumbled. “I’m unreasonable
sometimes,
but I’m not unfair. Come on, I have a child to raise. I have good values.”
Hoseok felt all the day’s tension leaving his body, feeling that the day’s objective had been achieved. After all, this wasn’t just a competition. It was just a way to build compassion among the children, and rekindle it in the hearts of the parents. His face broke into a brilliant smile, and he patted Taehyung on the back, mumbling,
I’m proud of you.
And so, when Hoseok went to relay the news of winning to Jungkook, Taehyung stood at a distance, his hand on his heart, and his face lighting up with a shy smile when he saw how excited Jungkook looked with the news, on the verge of jumping around his stall in glee.
Taehyung felt like the real winner of the day because he made that happen.
🍋🍋
Another few yards away stood two kids who had just walked into the scene unfolding in front of their eyes. They were holding hands, having become best of friends from the day that they had met.
“Yumi-ah, I think
your
papa just let
my
papa win the competition,” Ji Wan whispered.
“You know what Jiwan-ie? I think… I think
my
appa likes
your
appa. He would
never
let anyone else win, except for me. Ohh wait! I think he
loves
your appa. Because he definitely
loves
me!!” Yu Mi whispered back, the wheels turning faster in her head than it turned in the heads of any of the adults in front of them.
“What do you think about it?” Ji Wan asked, shy.
“What do you mean? Let’s get them married!” Yu-Mi said, as if that was the only acceptable option.
“You’d be okay with that? With having another papa?”
“See, you’re so sweet. So I’m guessing your papa is sweet too,” Yu Mi derived. Ji Wan nodded along, saying, “he’s the sweetest.”
“And then, you come free with him, right? I mean, if he becomes my papa too, you become my brother, right?” Why Yu Mi was more like a lawyer than Ji Wan, nobody knew. Ji Wan’s eyes lit up at that inference. It was a perfect plan indeed. He’d not just get another appa, but also, his best friend would become his sister, and that would mean they’d all live in the same house!
“Let’s go and get them married, Yumi-ah! That’s the
best
idea in the whole world!” Ji Wan shrieked.
“Shhh… let’s make a plan first. These adults cannot be trusted with anything,” Yu Mi said, like the fake-adult that she was.
So they created a master plan in two minutes, like the two intelligent (unlike their fathers) beings that they were, and strode confidently towards the lemonade stands. Only Yu Mi walked towards Jungkook’s stand, and Ji Wan walked towards Taehyung’s.
“Hello Mr Yu Mi’s appa, my name is Jeon Ji Wan,” he said, tugging at Taehyung’s trousers. Why was this man wearing a suit at a lemonade competition in a children’s school? He was very good looking, but also a little weird. And Ji Wan loved it! Taehyung looked downwards to spot a boy who seemed like the mini version of Jungkook. He crouched down immediately to reach Ji Wan’s level.
“Hello there Mr Jeon, how can I help you today?”
“You’re pretty. Woaaa. You’re prettier from this close. I could see from so far,” Ji Wan said, his doe eyes getting bigger.
“Far? Ohh you mean because I’m taller?” Taehyung chuckled. This kid was definitely as cute as his dad.
“Yes, too far up for me. Listen Mr Appa, I wanted to say thank you for letting my papa win. He’s very happy after a very long time. So, as a reward for your kindness,” Ji Wan took a breath because now he was supposed to share an important bit of information. “As a reward for your kindness, I am here to ask you, will you marry my papa and make Yu Mi my sister?” He blinked at Taehyung, smiling his cutest smile possible (because they had decided that that was the best weapon).
“M..ma…mar… what?”
“Marry. You don’t want to? Yu Mi was confident that you love my papa. Do you not?” Oh no, the mini pout was starting to form slowly and Taehyung could never let that happen.
“One second, one second. Do you not have your eomma or another papa?”
“No,” Ji Wan looked at Taehyung like he was speaking nonsense. “Why would I ask you to marry my papa if I already had one? Yu Mi told me you’re very intelligent, but…”
Taehyung broke into a delicious laughter. Trust children’s logic to be irrefutable!
And then he broke into a furious blush as well. So Jungkook
was
single after all.
At the other end, Yu Mi was ready to give a class on sassiness. She had walked towards Jungkook, cooing at how similar Ji Wan and Jungkook looked. Whenever she saw Ji Wan she wanted to protect him, and the closer she went to Jungkook, the more she wanted to protect him too.
After a little bit of fun, of course.
“Mr Jeon,” she said, beckoning for him to come to her level, because of course her appa always spoke to her like that and she was used to it. “I have something important to discuss with you.”
“Hello, pretty girl,” Jungkook smiled. How he’d always wanted to be a girl-dad. “What’s your name?”
“Kim Yu Mi. I am his daughter,” she pointed at Taehyung. Jungkook was startled. Then he realised this was a child, and smiled again.
“Tell me.”
“Your son is very sweet,” Yu Mi smiled. “We have been best friends from the day we met. But I don’t like the fact that we have to separate everyday.”
“Okay… and?”
“So I’m here with the solution. Come and stay with me and appa. Or, if your house is bigger, we can come over. Do you have space for me and my appa to move in?”
The double-take Jungkook did was all that Yu Mi was looking for. She was happy. Especially because immediately Jungkook’s ears and face started becoming red and he looked like he would turn into a tomato. “Listen, Mr Jeon,” she said in a conspiratorial tone. “I also came to tell you a secret.”
“Ye… yeah?” Jungkook didn’t know if he could handle this torture on his heart anymore.
“My appa told
seonsaengnim
that you deserved to win because you helped him with his stall. Do you know what that means?”
Jungkook’s eyes were as big as tennis balls. Kim-obsessed-with-winning-Taehyung had done what?
“No,” he said, feeling extremely stupid and elated and shy and confused at the same time. “I don’t know.”
“Adults,” Yu Mi whispered, shaking her head. “You make things very complexicated. It means that he
loves
you. Because the only other person he loses to
happily
is me. And obviously, he loves me the most. You can be second.”
Jungkook had never heard a more
complexicated
emotion explained so matter-of-factly. “He what? What about your other parent?” Jungkook whispered back.
“My other who? I was born from appa’s heart. He adopted me when I was even more little than I am now. But,” she said, her eyes shining, “I am offering you the golden chance to be my other papa. Now tell me, isn’t that the best thing on earth?”
Jungkook would have cried from the wave of emotions that hit him at that moment. He looked at the sassy little girl, wanting to hug the hell out of her, and then he lifted his eyes, only to see that Taehyung was looking at their exchange with the fondest expression on his face.
And it was at that precise moment that he knew, his family was now complete.
🍋🍋
A little later that day, the four hyungs gathered to cheer for a lemonade stand contest at a children’s school took the opportunity to get to know each other better, while babysitting the two most amazing children and it was just them vying for the ‘best uncle’ tag. Nothing, nothing at all to do with the fact that the two fathers were not available for the rest of the day.
Because maybe, just maybe, Jungkook and Taehyung took the rest of the day to gaze at each other, admiring the beautiful view in front of them, and all of that gazing had nothing to do with the fact that they had suddenly run out of words.
And also, somehow, in a wonderful turn of events, they shared the sweetest kiss before their marriage-proposal-from-kids-turned-date ended that night, of course
only
because they
had
to finish the homework their kids had set for them.
“Do not come back home without getting a kiss for yourself and another appa for me.”
“Do not come back home without a kiss and my second papa.”
They both knew how genuine those threats were. So even if their noses booped because they leaned in at the same time, and they giggled, they knew that they
had
to kiss. It wasn’t in their hands. At all. They were just victims of two little angels (willing or not, you decide).
The little family grew well together, with Jungkook’s special lemonade being a part of every celebration, and Taehyung’s experiments limited to table arrangements only. Not that he minded. He fucking
hated
making lemonades. But at least he made everybody laugh and that was his biggest prize.
And Jungkook’s prize was Taehyung’s smile.
And the school got the best-looking couple in the hottest lemonade stand year after year.
So basically, everybody
did
manage to get the lemonade they liked from all the lemons life threw at them.
And that’s the end of this story. Or, is it?