That night after the blonde left, Seungcheol went to have a shower but the latter's angry words didn't leave his mind. The spark in his eyes, the way his face had turned red. Those angry eyes...They were really se...

He stopped himself from thinking further. This shouldn't be what he should think of.

"I'm boring? Uninteresting?" Seungcheol scoffed. "What does he know? I can be fun..."

He shook his head. Why would he even care? It's not like he wanted to be close to him or anything. Soon, in less than a few months, the pretty blonde will be gone. He would make sure of it.

*****

Everything had already been finalized between Jeonghan and Mrs. Choi. He was having second thoughts anytime he remembered Seungcheol's cold attitude towards him but he always reconsidered when he thought about those adorable kids. He hardened his mind. He would at least try his best. 

It was Sunday night when he received a text from Mrs. Choi. She informed him she would be leaving on Monday the day her grandkids would be resuming school. She wanted him to come to the house before she returned to Jeju island where she lived. 

Jeonghan was nervous but he was determined. He figured that this was a challenge, A challenge he had no intention of losing. Besides, he needed the extra cash. He was planning to save up enough money to travel to America. There was someone he was eager to see. 

Jeonghan had already spoken with his manager at the eatery and he was given the night shifts on weekdays while the weekends were free. 

Monday arrived suddenly and Jeonghan woke up at exactly five-thirty am. He dressed up and headed out with his necessary things. He felt tired but quite excited and he didn't know why. Jeonghan reached the Chois residence and as he stood at the front door, his fear returned but he still managed to ring the bell. It took a few seconds but the door opened and it was Mrs. Choi. She smiled warmly as soon as she saw him. 

"You are here on time, welcome," He said and they entered together. The house was quiet. Jeonghan looked around. 

"What's going on?"

Mrs. Choi snickered. "They are still asleep" 

She took his hand "I'll go wake the kids. Try making us something for breakfast" 

She hurried away and Jeonghan went to the kitchen. First of all, he took a look inside their fridge. There was mostly junk food. The drawers were filled to the brim with ramyeon. He smiled to himself. The family il probably only cooked because he came visiting. He would have to do something about that. He was going to make use of the ingredients he saw and make some rice and kimchi. He also saw some unpeeled oranges and decided to make some fresh juice. He set to work immediately.

He heard noises outside the kitchen just as he set the rice to boil. He came out and saw Mrs. Choi with the kids. They looked surprised to see him. 

"it's an angel!" Seokmin whispered to Chan whom he was carrying on his hips. The boy seemed sleepy. He wiped his eyes and opened them slowly looking adorably at Jeonghan.

"Angel" he whispered.

"How are you, kids?"

They all greeted him with energy. 

"Your grandmother is leaving today. So from now on, I'm going to be taking care of you"

They all looked skeptical.

"Is appa going to like it?" Minghao said. 

"Well he has no choice," Jeonghan said trying to sound positive.

"Alright kids, you all go upstairs and take your bathe. I'm going to supervise you" Mrs. Choi said. 

"Eish grandma we are too big for that" Seokmin groaned. 

"Too big for what?" Mrs. Choi teased. 

"Supervise Chan. He's still a baby" Seungkwan said with a pouty mouth. 

"upstairs now! Until you learn to properly wash up, I'm going to continue supervising you"

They all groaned as they marched back upstairs. Jeonghan watched with amusement until they were out of his sight and finally returned to the kitchen. He liked the kitchen. It was big and spacy with just the right equipment. He didn't see anything unnecessary there. He liked it. Whoever designed the kitchen did a good job. He was preparing the kimchi after taking down the pot of rice. Just as he prepared the food, he felt a presence at the door. He turned and saw Seungcheol.

The man froze at the sight of him. There was an uncomfortable silence between them. He wore only a tank top and shorts looking good but tired. Slowly, his expression turned deadly as he stared at Jeonghan.

"Good morning" Jeonghan finally managed to utter but Seungcheol didn't respond. He just walked past him, stopped in front of the drawer behind Jeonghan, and opened it. He brought out a packet of coffee, grabbed a teacup and a big flask all the while ignoring Jeonghan until finally, he made his way out of the kitchen without a second glance.

Jeonghan stood there dumbfounded.

"Did he just ignore me? How rude!" He whispered to himself. He shook his head and continued to cook trying to forget the rather absurd attitude of the man drinking coffee outside. 

As soon as he finished cooking, he heard the kids chattering. He came out and saw Mrs. Choi with a huge traveling bag.

"Has Seungcheol woken up yet? She asked. 

Jeonghan nodded 

"What did he say?"

"Nothing!"

Mrs. Choi frowned "Nothing?"

Jeonghan sighed. "He just came in here to make his coffee and even ignored me when I greeted him"

Mrs. Choi heaved deeply. "Choi Seungcheol!" she shook her shoulders. "Anyway, don't lose to him. If you are resilient, he will give in"

Jeonghan just shrugged. He didn't know Seungcheol so he had no idea what to expect.

Mrs. Choi suddenly pushed a piece of paper into his hands. 

"What is this?" he asked.

"Memorize them, they are vital things you should know about Seungcheol and his kids"

Jeonghan looked confused 

"Just trust me"

Jeonghan pocketed the paper and began to set the table for breakfast. It was quite a task getting the children to finally sit at the table but he did so with the help of Mrs. Choi. 

"Yay! Rice!" Vernon shouted happily as Jeonghan set the food before them. 

"You've not had rice," Jeonghan said with shock. 

They all wore sober expressions. "We hardly eat rice because appa is too busy to make it for us. Grandma makes it sometimes but she always gets tired to cook" Seokmin said. 

"I can't stand for long" Mrs. Choi defended herself. 

"Well, I'm here now and you are going to be eating a lot of rice and other nice dishes"

They all chattered away happily until they heard the voice of Seungcheol. He was speaking to someone on the phone.

"Yah! tell him I'll be there" He shouted and cut the call. He paused when he saw them all at the dining. His eyes flew from the food to Jeonghan but there was no coldness or animosity in his eyes. It just seemed indifferent. They had already started eating and Mrs. Choi looked at her son. 

"Seungcheol come eat"

"I'm not hungry" He replied dryly. Instead, he walked past them and looked straight at his children, avoiding Jeonghan again.

"Kids, eat quickly so I can drop you all at school" He turned to his mother. 

"Eomma, are you ready so that I can drop you at the bus station"

Mrs. Choi pointed to her traveling bag beside her. "I'm all packed"

"I'm done!" Vernon shouted and he left his seat. The rest of them finished including Chan. They packed their bags. Jeonghan saw that Chan was having trouble with his bag so he put it on for him and he got a smile as a reward. 

Once he was done, he saw Seungcheol giving him that cold look again and he shook with nervousness. 

"You're all set," he said and backed away from the child. Mrs. Choi hugged him tightly.

"I'll be calling you regularly to check on your progress"

She tightened her fist "Fighting!"

With a smile, she grabbed her bag and headed out the front door. Jeonghan ushered the kids out of the house but his skin crawled when he noticed that Seungcheol just stood at the doorway watching him. When the last child had entered the car, he looked at him and he looked back.

"I want to have a serious talk with you when I return," He said and started to leave when Jeonghan's voice stopped him. 

"You have to be back before seven because that's when I'll be leaving"

Something just sparkled in Seungcheol's eyes as he looked at him but it vanished almost immediately.

"Fine then," he said and left him to go to his car. Jeonghan stood at the front of the car and watched the family drive off. He snickered when he saw Mrs. Choi holding up the fighting sign from the car glass till the car was out of sight. 

Jeonghan attended to his duties. Taking out the trash and cleaning the entire house till they were sparkling clean. Later that day, the kids returned home. It was a disaster. Jimin had no idea the slightest clue about what to do. The children chattered endlessly running around and causing destruction. It took everything he had for him to get them to settle down and eat lunch. He stood up with them helping in their school work until it got late. The children had warmed up to him quickly and Jeonghan was glad they didn't make his job too difficult.

After the children left for bed, Jeonghan waited for Seungcheol but it looked like the latter was running late from work. Jeonghan didn't even know when he slept off.

Thanks for reading