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He'd been to the workshop. And Wooyoung was far too excited to see his teacher again. According to him, since he'd spent a few days with San at the Park house, he'd found Mr Park even more brilliant and wanted to live with him and San. Especially since, come to think of it! San had a cuddly toy collection, and what's more, he had THE shiba inu plushie called Shiber, so Wooyoung definitely couldn't live without him. Now, Hongjoong understood that his son was making excuses, but in practical terms - if you'll excuse his language - his children were going to be a pain in the arse for the rest of his life. He found it touching to see all the efforts the three children were making to get their father to find someone. And it wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but even if he really liked this man, he was almost certain that he would never be able to fall in love again, at least not to the point of trusting someone again. Besides, Seonghwa must have had other things to do - like children to look after.

"- Dad? What are you doing?"

Hongjoong slid his hands over the steering wheel of his parents' Clio, and saw his son's questioning gaze through the rear-view mirror. He cleared his throat before opening the driver's door to get out, as well as that of hisplpppp son, who couldn't do anything because of the child safety lock. As soon as Wooyoung got out of the car, he tugged on the sleeve of his father's denim jacket to point at a man standing in front of the school, talking to a woman from behind. The older boy quickly recognised his best friend and was surprised to see him there. He raised his hand in greeting, and Hongjoong couldn't help but cringe at the way Maddox greeted him back; he seemed overwhelmed by his appearance, as if it was completely unexpected to bump into him here - at the same time, he was standing outside his son's school... Kyung Moon seemed to say something in a low voice to the woman who left almost immediately, without asking for a second, not even making a single move to turn around. 

"Hello Hongjoong. Are you well? asked the young man.

Wooyoung then asked Maddox to give him a hug, since with his wrist in the bag he was careful not to jump around. As for the father, he frowned.

"- Aren't you at work? 

- I've got the day off today, so I thought I'd drop by.

- And you're going to spend your life with me? I thought you preferred women. he scoffed.

- Stupid. Kyung Moon sighed. Am I not allowed to come and see my best friend?

- How did you know I was coming here? I didn't tell you about this art class. 

- This class... Mingi told me so I could surprise you!"

Now Hongjoong had doubts, his best friend was too confused for this to be normal and something was wrong. And his intuition was telling him it had something to do with the woman present moments before. 

"Mmmh, you don't have to know everything about my life either... muttered the blue-haired man.

- Why wouldn't you want me to know about an art class with your boyfriend?"

Hongjoong decided to ignore the older man's last remark, brushing it aside with a glance towards the sky. He then entered the playground gate, closely followed by Maddox and Wooyoung in his arms, clinging tightly to his "uncle".

"- Who was that woman, I feel like I know her?"

His friend's immediate frown was not lost on Detective Kim, despite the fact that he automatically smiled afterwards, as if nothing had happened. It was weird, for sure.

"She was looking for directions. he replied.

- Mmh."

What are you hiding from me, Kim Kyung Moon...

The three boys entered the building, and Hongjoong remembered the corridor where he had first met the teacher. His gaze automatically went to their coat racks, and he saw his son's face again, but he still wasn't smiling, unlike his neighbour. When his head turned again towards the classroom door, Seonghwa opened it energetically. However, the grimace he made afterwards remained engraved in Wooyoung's father's memory.

Was he waiting for someone else to arrive? Why the grimace, is he so disappointed to see me?

Mr Park's outstretched hand drew him out of his thoughts, however, and by reflex he simply bowed politely, an awkward smile on his lips. Physical contact was forbidden today, Hongjoong hadn't been sleeping well recently and he was too exhausted for that. He hoped that the look on his face was enough to make Seonghwa understand that he was sorry.

"- Unfortunately there aren't many of us here today, I haven't organised my communication very well. Mr Kim, I'll leave you to get to know the other parents."

Before Hongjoong could get to the few mums and dads in the classroom, he was greeted by Little Sunshine, aka San, in a long hug. Little Sunshine then went over to Wooyoung, who he didn't jump on so as not to hurt his wrist, but soon the classroom was filled with their infectious laughter. He wasn't much of a hugger, but San's laugh had really invigorated him, so it was with a smile on his face that he went over to the other parents to say hello, at least to be polite. That's when he met the father of a boy called Jeong In, apparently called Christopher Bahng and a very polite person. There was also the father of the twins in the class, Kai and Tae Hyun, Soo Bin Choi, and the mother of a little girl called Shuhua, called Jeon Soyeon. It was then that the teacher interrupted the introductions, clapping his hands and smiling broadly. Hongjoong and Maddox took their seats, Wooyoung between them.

"Hello everyone! Thank you for coming to this workshop, it's great to see you, some of you for the first time. Today's workshop is going to be simple, I'll just ask you to agree, you and your child, to create something that inspires you both. You're allowed to use any technique you like, pastel, felt pen, watercolour, paint etc."

Wooyoung immediately raised his hand, stretching out his arm as far as possible so that Seonghwa could see him clearly. He also fidgeted in his chair to make sure he got Seonghwa's attention. The teacher's affectionate gaze landed on the child to question him.

 "Yes, Wooyoung? 

- Do you have to draw an object or can you draw a person? asked the little boy.

- You can draw anything you like, even an alien. Joked the teacher.

His son's chuckle made Hongjoong smile. I'm willing to bet he's got something up his sleeve. 

"And do you also do it with San, Master Park?

- Of course!"

Proud and happy with this answer, Wooyoung finally lowered the hand he'd been holding aloft all this time and looked intently at the sheet of paper. While the child thought about what he could do, Hongjoong advised him to write down each of his ideas so that they could be discussed together, before turning his head towards Maddox and whispering:

"- Why did you come, everyone will think we're a couple now.

- What's the big deal? It's OK to be gay.

- Loving you is.

- Just admit that you're afraid your Mister will think you're taken.

- No!" choked Hongjoong. It's just that maybe for you it's not shocking, but a lot of people don't accept it.

- Aren't you going to hide for some idiots? Kim Hongjoong, you're just afraid of his reaction, admit it!

- Kyung Moon...

- Daddy! Daddy! When do we start, I know what I want to do!"

The questioned man turned his gaze back to his son, deciding to ignore the discussion he'd just had with his best friend - for the moment at least. A smile spread across his face as he stroked the boy's hair, looking at what appeared to be a very messy... very messy brainstorm. 

"Explain everything to me, loulou. 

- I know you're not going to want me to draw you with Master Park, so I want us to draw San and his dad in flower."

What the...

Looking at his son's sketches, Hongjoong quickly understood his idea, and he couldn't help but chuckle. In any case, if Seonghwa asked him, it was Wooyoung's idea, not his. Besides, Wooyoung had decided that his father would do the sketching and he would do the colours. Maddox just wanted to watch... well, that was until he fell asleep on the table, and fortunately he wasn't snoring or breathing heavily. As the blue-haired man lifted his head from time to time to sketch Seonghwa and San, he saw the first of the two approach him.

"Do you need anything, Mr Kim? he asked him in a low voice.

- No, thank you for your kindness."

This gentle attention made Hongjoong smile gently in spite of himself.

"You were looking at me, I thought something was bothering you.

The smaller man could almost hear glass shattering, and by glass he meant it was his idea that had just shattered. He'd been totally off the mark, and now he was ashamed of it. It was a good thing Maddox was asleep, otherwise he'd definitely have heard about it again. 

"Oh... um. Actually Wooyoung wanted me to draw you. 

- Mmmh."

The man didn't seem to believe it, and the sad smile on his face disturbed Hongjoong, who didn't understand why he was wearing that sweet expression. It was then that their eyes met, and what happened next seemed lunar. He was fascinated by those eyes, which he had never dwelt on before and could barely describe because he was so lost in those two brown orbs. They seemed to be filled with a thousand and one stars and suddenly Hongjoong wanted to name every one of them, even if he had to spend the rest of his life there. His heart was whispering something imperceptible to him with every beat, and he knew he wasn't going to like it, so he decided in an instant that he would ignore those whispers and continue to admire the glitter dancing in Seonghwa's eyes, until... they disappeared. 

He blinked several times, snapping out of his reverie. The gaze in which he had lost himself had darkened so suddenly that he had returned to reality, so silent and so much less starry. Professor Park had looked away from Kyung-Moon and had suddenly left in a strange way, to go and see other parents and children. Hongjoong felt an immense emptiness in his heart that made him frown. This was an emotion he was far from appreciating, and especially far from accepting; he had suppressed it to protect himself and now he was talking to himself. The man absent-mindedly slid the finished sketch towards his son, who was drawing freely on sheets of paper with pastels while waiting for his father to finish his share of the work.

"What happened? Maddox asked, yawning loudly.

"Nothing happened. Nothing at all."

Yet Hongjoong's voice had given him away, he'd replied very curtly and his best friend had frowned automatically. And before he could even open his mouth, the younger man shook his head quickly, he didn't feel like getting into this discussion when the main man concerned was chatting to Soyeon a few metres away. And what pissed Hongjoong off the most wasn't the fact that he was smiling while talking to him, it was that he felt sick about it. Yes, he was angry because he was jealous. And even though he was afraid to say the word, he couldn't describe the situation any other way.

I need to go out.

He went out, leaving Maddox to look after Wooyoung - which he was only half happy about. It was cooler than in the classroom and that did him a world of good. Thinking back to what had happened for a moment, which was also his trigger, he realised that what had broken the moment was Kyung-Moon's presence. Did Seonghwa really think he was in a relationship with Maddox? The real problem, however, hit Hongjoong hard because with this man, Park Seonghwa, it was different:

He was falling in love with him.

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Whooo ! It's happening !!

See yaaaa ♡