•••

6:10 am.

Now that I am done, I get out of the bedroom and walk up towards the kitchen.

"Happy birthday!" Joonha and y/n both startle me with a confetti shooter, the two of them wearing a cute hat, and y/n carrying Choco who has a small hat as well. I giggle, finding it adorable and meaningful. "Thank you so much," I get closer to them, and I look down at our puppy. "You're forty today, you're getting so old," Joonha does not miss a chance to provoke me, and I set my eyes on him but fake a smile. "You're not getting anything for your birthday."

"I was joking!" he gives a tap on my arm, forcing himself to laugh and pretend he was not serious. "We both know you're still young, dad. You look like me, smooth skin, no wrinkles, don't worry at all. No one could tell you've aged since your twenties."

"You're so desperately trying to make it up, but this is too late, boy," I pet Choco but make eye contact with y/n, and we both smile at each other. "That's not even true...You're mean. I got all this stuff ready, cooked some food in the middle of the night to make sure you'd have breakfast this morning, and you do that to me..."

I grin and give him my attention again after those words he said. "You cooked in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, just for you. And did your girl do that for you? I don't think so—" he gets cut off by a small hit y/n threw in his arm. "Don't you dare! You begged me to let you do it all by yourself!"

"I know I'm just kidding," he giggles at her and puts his eyes back on me. "She wrapped up all the gifts while you were working last night, so she did a lot too."

"You both didn't have to do this, and on top of that, you have to work today, you're going to be tired," I try not to sound like I am scolding him. "I'm fine, it was for a good reason," he only cares about making me happy. "Alright, I take back what I said, you'll get something for your birthday."

"Thank you," he now expresses his happiness, and I scoff but take a look at what y/n is doing after putting Choco down to walk up to the kitchen counter. "The food is waiting for you on the table," Joonha drags my attention to the dining table I did not even look at, and once I see the different dishes full of food, which smells good, I feel comfort. "Wow. I'm so spoiled today," I gape at the amount of warm food that is waiting for me, and I ruffle his hair. "Thank you so much."

"Y/n helped me too, I was not alone," he does not take all the praise for himself only, and I step towards her to kiss her lips. "Thank you as well."

"Don't thank us," she gazes down at my lips, seeming joyful. "I can't," I refuse to do that, but I turn around and walk to the meal. "Come and join me. I'm not eating all alone on my birthday."

"Emotional blackmail is bad, dad," he still does as told and takes y/n with him to sit down at the table too. I chuckle, not denying what he understood by that sentence. I dig in without saying anything more, and I make sure y/n is feeding herself too.

"This is delicious," I compliment them, and they both smile but share this meal with me, making me happy.

•••

8:20 am.

I enter the classroom to start my day with the first class, but all my students surprise me. "Happy birthday, Mister Jeon!" they all shout, putting a bright smile on my face, and they start singing for me. "Thank you very much," I chuckle, feeling bashful and not knowing how to react. I put my bag down on the desk, and I look at them. "Thank you, but don't be too loud, otherwise, we'll get into trouble," I warn them so that they do not go crazy.

"Let's go buy some cake and eat it together," one of them believes this is a special day for them, but I shake my head and ruin his hopes. "No. We're going to work."

"Oh, come on! It's your birthday, let's celebrate and chill..." he complains, but I do not give in. "I have three different classes today, do you really think I'm going to eat cake with all of them then do it at my house as well?" I raise my eyebrows at him and get my laptop out of my bag. "You're all muscular and fit, you can have a cheat day," one of the girls compliments my body, and I smile but refuse. "I'll have a cheat day at my house, not here," I put my glasses on. "Now, open your sketchbooks, and if you all work well and listen, I'll maybe let you do whatever you want for the last twenty minutes of this class, alright?"

"We will, Mister Jeon," they all agree to be very assiduous to get the reward, and I grin but start the class.

•••

12:10 pm.

"See you tomorrow, Chohee," I tell her goodbye as she bowed to me, and she leaves the room, but two of my female students stay as if they wanted to talk to me. "What is happening?" I fix my glasses on my nose bridge and close my bag, but one of them steps aside. "I'll wait for you outside, I'd like to tell you something," she points her finger at it, so I nod. "Sure. I'm coming."

"Good," she smiles and steps out, so I lean over my desk and focus on the one who stayed with me. "What's wrong, Jiso?"

"I...I wanted to ask you something," she shyly responds, obviously feeling doubtful and nervous. "Tell me. You know you can always talk about anything with me."

"Well, I...Wait," she takes her bag off her shoulder and uses the desk on her left to put it down, and she opens the zipper. I watch her do everything with no confidence at all, and she takes a frame out of it. "I've been hearing you talk about how much you love Renoir and Monet's work, so I tried to paint Monet's painting for your birthday," she hands it to me, and I straighten my back to take it and see how this looks like.

As soon as I have the details under my eyes, I gape at the beauty of this piece of art. I am not surprised though, I know she is one of my most talented students.

"This is so beautiful, Jiso," I smile and scrutinize every inch of it. "This means a lot, thank you so much," I look up at her, feeling touched by this gesture. "I'm happy you like it," she closes her bag and shows delight. "I do. I love it. How long did it take you though?" I carefully place it down on the desk.

"I did it in two days," she states and impresses me even more. "But it's all because of you, I learned so much and got much better with all the lessons and tips you give us."

"But all the hard work is what matters the most, so without all of it, you wouldn't be here. I only gave you support and help," I smile at her and make sure she takes the gratification for herself, and she glances down but shows fluster. "Thank you very much, Mister Jeon. I hope you'll have an amazing birthday," she bows to me, so I thank her as well, and she bows once more. "See you tomorrow," she tells me goodbye, and I do the same to let her go.

When she is outside, I open my bag to carefully put the frame inside, then I grab my suit jacket to put it back on and take my bag to go out and check on my other student, who was waiting for me.

"I'm all ears, Goeun," I lock the door as I always do when my classes are done, and she already hands me a box of chocolate. "Happy birthday, Mister Jeon."

"Aw, thank you so much," I take it, appreciating all the attention I am receiving from everyone today. "You picked the best ones," I read the name of this brand and my favorite flavor she got me. "Oh, I'm glad I didn't change my mind."

"I am too," I do not hide my eagerness to eat those, and she giggles. "Have you received a lot of gifts today?" she follows me as I am heading downstairs to the teachers' room, and I nod. "I did. I've already received much more than expected. I feel terribly spoiled."

"It's good. You deserve it, you're literally every student's favorite teacher," she flatters me, and those words fill me with pleasure. "Well. I try my best to be there for all my students and make their school years less stressful."

"You make it much better. You have no idea how many students are happy to come to school when they know they have classes with you," she smiles, praising me way too much. "Really?" I nervously chuckle. "Yes, art class has become our favorite, and many of us wish you could teach every subject."

"I'd need to duplicate myself for that," I laugh but stop myself now that I am near the teachers' room. "But anyway, thank you very much for those chocolates. Eat well for lunch and have a good day."

"Have a good day and meal too, Mister Jeon. See you tomorrow," she bows to me. "See you tomorrow," I kindly say and enter the room. I get around the table to put my stuff down, but without doing anything else, I go to the fridge to get my food. I take it out and move to my chair to sit down and finally have a break.

I open the Tupperware that contains the food that y/n and Joonha both cooked for me, and I check my phone to read the messages I received.

I first open y/n's one which is the most important.

< I hope you're having a good day, eat well and don't overwork❤ ]

I do not answer but check what time it is, and since I know she is on a break as well, I quickly answer my ex-wife to thank her for wishing me a happy birthday, then call y/n to hear her voice.

While waiting for her to pick up, I bite into one of the wraps I have to not starve anymore.

"Hello," she makes me smile with a simple word, and I wipe my lips with a tissue. "Hey, baby. How is your day going?"

"It's going well, there aren't a lot of customers today, so I'm not working a lot," she tells me good news. "What about you?"

"It's going well too," I take a sip of water. "I can't wait to be home though," I look down at my food to be ready to take another bite, and she speaks. "Why? Is it hard today?"

"No, it's not because of that," I shake my head and glance up at a colleague who grasped my attention, and I wave back at her to say hi. "I just want to be home, celebrate my birthday with you and Joonha, and cuddle tonight," I lower my voice and smile. "I want that too. I'm going to cuddle and kiss you a lot more tonight."

"Really?" I lick my lips, eager to be there. "Yes. There'll be a surprise, but I can't talk about it."

"Hm. I hate that," I lean back and raise my eyes up to check how far away my colleagues are from me. "I want to know what's that surprise now. What kind it is."

"I won't say anything, you'll see tonight," she tortures me with suspense I cannot stand at all. Out of frustration, I tongue my inner cheek and smirk. "I think we're going to have to continue this conversation by text," I speak in a low voice to not be heard, and she chuckles. "Why? Are you not alone?"

"I'm not, I'm eating in the teachers' room," I take another sip of water, the heat making me thirsty. "Oh, that's really bad. Does that mean that if I start teasing you, you're gonna have to keep a straight face on in front of them?"

"You wouldn't dare, and I hide my emotions well, so no need to try," I discourage her, and as soon as I hear her hum, I understand she is in the mood to bug me. "Well...I can just tell you one thing about the surprise," she changes her mind. "It's nothing compared to what I want to do, but I'll give you a massage."

She excites me, and I tilt my head to the side but cannot stop peeking at my colleagues. "What kind?"

"What kind of what?" she spurs me to say the word, and I do not fear this one. "Of massage."

"I only know one type of massage, like, using my hands and kneading the right spots to relieve some pain. What were you thinking about?" she feigns innocence when she knows exactly what she is doing. "Oh, and I'll kiss your neck too, but I won't be gentle this time. I warned you."

I scoff at her attempts, finding her pretty brave compared to when I face her. "I hope you won't, but I won't either."

"Alright, then I'll wear my cat ears, get on your lap, and bounce again like I did last time," she finds a way to make it difficult to answer properly. "I hope you will, baby," I pretend not to be much affected by her words. "Ah yeah? Then I won't wear the cat ears or chokers."

"You will. Even if you don't want to, I'll make you do it," I smile and bite into the wrap. "And what if I say no?"

"I can't tell you yet," I refuse to talk about it with my colleagues around. "Why?"

"Because," I do not give her what she wants and hear her click her tongue. "That's not an answer, Mister Jeon."

"It is, baby," I contradict her, trying to change the topic. "It is not, daddy."

I nervously chuckle at the sound of this nickname that always turns me on, and I put my elbow down on the arm of my chair to cover my mouth. "What? Is daddy mad at me?"

"Baby," I bite my lips and rub my chin. "I'm gonna end the call, okay? It's your fault."

"I didn't do anything, I just wanted to tell you that you'll be pampered tonight. There's nothing wrong about it, you're mean," she pouts through the phone. "I'm not mean, I'm the kindest man on earth," I decide to close my food and stand up, and I take a cigarette and my lighter to go out. "You are, but I forgive you because it's your birthday so you can do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want? For a whole day?" I walk out of the school to feel some wind cool my body down, and I light my cigarette up. "Yes. You can until midnight. I won't ever have the right to tell you no if you ask for something."

"Oh, that is very interesting. I love that," I bring my cigarette up to my lips and take a drag, feeling free to speak about whatever I want now that I am not surrounded by people. "What are you going to ask for then?"

"Well, first of all," I tap the ash off. "I'm going to make you regret being such a brat, but this time, for real, this won't be just empty words. Then, I'll tell you what to do. I can assure you that you will think twice before acting that way in the future."

"Are you threatening me?" she does not take it seriously, not understanding that since it is my birthday, that she is sending me hints, and that I waited for this day to come, I will not control myself if she teases me. "Am I?" I sneer but smoke and look at the schoolyard, where some students are enjoying their break in the sun. "If you are, I'm sorry, but I'm excited to see it happen."

"We'll see that tonight," I do not trust the confidence she never shows at home when I touch or stand near her. "We will, but anyway, I gotta go back to work because Moosaeng is waiting for me."

"Don't overwork, alright?" I remind her. "I won't, but same goes for you. By the way, since I talked about him, we were having a conversation earlier, and I talked about you since I tell him about anything, and he said that he'd love to meet you one day."

"Sure, I'd love to meet him too. I want to know what he looks like, it's odd to hear a lot about someone and not know his face," I stick my cigarette between my lips to comb my hair, in which the pleasantly gentle wind is blowing. "Well, he already saw yours because I showed him, and he said, I quote him, "he looks like a rich and rude drama guy"," she giggles, and I shake my head out of disbelief. "I wish I never heard that. It's actually not the first time someone tells me that."

"You maybe look like one, but you're not arrogant, you're kind-hearted, sweet, caring, considerate, smart, sometimes cute, so literally perfect," she showers me with compliments and fills me with delight. "Stop, I could tell you the exact same. That's the reason why I fell in love with you."

She suddenly goes quiet as if my confession had made her speechless, and my lips curve up at the thought of her smiling. "We both fell for each other the same way then."

"Yes," I look down to watch the ash leave the tip of my cigarette. "But I'm going to leave you alone. Have a good afternoon, baby."

"Have a good afternoon as well, and don't think too much about the surprise," she brings it back up to make sure I do not forget about this, making me laugh. "I'll try not to."

"Good, see you later, daddy," she calls me, and I beam. "See you, baby," I wait for her to end the call, and a few seconds are enough for her to hang up. Now that I cannot hear her comforting voice anymore, I check what Joonha sent me.

< have you eaten yet? If yes I hope you liked the wraps because y/n and I put all our love into it ]

[ I haven't finished them yet, but they're amazing. That's why my meals are always better than the others you eat, thats because I put my love into it🥰 >

< I know:> ]

< btw, the shop closed earlier today, so I'm going to the theater with a few friends before going back home ]

[ Okay, have fun then. Is it with Seunggil? >

< he's here but there is Munhee and Iseul too ]

[ Iseul? She's the one you hung out with on her birthday, right? >

< Yes, and I know what you're thinking, but no, I'm not into her:) ]

[ That's what I was about to ask lol, what's the reason though? Is she a disrespectful girl >

< no, she's not. She's cute and sweet with everyone so she's a good person, but I just don't wanna date at all rn, I feel better single ]

[ As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me, but make sure you don't give her hopes >

< I know, don't worry ]

Not receiving anything anymore, I lock my phone and end my cigarette, but another text, which I did not expect, from y/n makes my phone ring.

I keep my cigarette between my lips to use both of my hands on the phone and unlock it, but once I open what she sent me, a corner of my lips curves up, and I take my cigarette out for the smoke to run out of my mouth.

< I put my choker around it, does it look good? ]

She asks, with a picture of her bare thick thighs and the leather choker wrapped around one of them. She is testing me so badly.

[ I don't know, put it a little higher. Under your dress would look good too >

< it's too big so it can't fit over there ]

[ I'm not sure I can believe you so I'll try it myself tonight >

< I never said I'd let you do that:) ]

[ You're begging for my attention right now, what are you even talking about? >

< :0 thats not true, I was asking for your opinion. That's all ]

[ I gave you my opinion, I love it, but it looks better around your throat. So you put the choker around your throat, and I'll buy you garters for your thighs >

< okay daddy:3 ]

[ Now you stop being such a brat and teasing me when I'm at work >

< you're the one who took it as some tease, it was not intended ]

[ You love doing that, don't you? >

< I do ]

[ We'll see that tonight, baby >

< can't wait:> ]

I smile and shake my head. I love how playful she can be.

•••

10 pm.

I leave my bathroom, shirtless, and close the door behind me, and I set my eyes on y/n to see her lying down on the bed. Her cat ears but no choker on, wearing the nightie I picked any other she owns. We both make eye contact, but I do not join her on the sheets, I step up to her and slide my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants, and I stare down at her. "You know what's coming for you, right?"