Station 553 | Taegyu & Heehoon

19) Soobin's Dilemma

"Come on," Sunghoon said, taking Kai's hand. "You must be hungry. Have you eaten yet?"

Kai shook his head just as his stomach grumbled loudly.

"Wow," Sunghoon laughed, reaching out to affectionately ruffle Kai's hair. "Perfect timing. I made pasta for dinner. Soobin, would you like to join us?"

The oldest boy tilted his head. "Actually, I, uh... I'm busy tonight."

"Oh?" Sunghoon giggled. "With what?"

Soobin looked up, nervously grinning. "A date."

Heeseung blinked at him. "A date?"

Soobin nodded, tucking his hands inside his pockets. "It's just some guy I met at work. I'm not like- like outlandishly attracted to him or anything, but he, uh, asked me out and I thought that maybe it was time to, you know. Get back in the dating game."

He sighed dreamily, oblivious to the awkward silence between Heeseung and Sunghoon. "Okay. I lied. He's very good-looking, but... You know. I don't know if I'm ready. I still miss Yeonjun."

A chilly breeze nipped at their cheeks. Another moment passed before Soobin became aware of Heeseung and Sunghoon's staring.

"Oh." The oldest boy pursed his lips. "You guys think this is a bad ide-"

"We didn't-" Heeseung started.

"-which means it's definitely a bad idea and I should probably just cancel the-"

"Soobin," Sunghoon giggled over his rambling. "We never said it was a bad idea."

He crouched in front of Kai, zipping up the boy's puffy winter jacket. "It's been two years since Yeonjun died. Do you think you're ready?"

Soobin softly smiled. "Yeah. For the first step, at least."

Heeseung laughed, bumping Soobin's shoulder. "Well then, congrats, man. We'll be expecting to hear all the details later."

"Yes. Of course." Soobin's posture straightened with an air of happiness. He left the graveyard in higher spirits than before.

***

"This feels surreal." Sunghoon leaned back, arms folded behind his head. "I can't believe we're parents now."

"I know," Heeseung breathed. "This is insane, Sunghoon. We're still kids. I can't even cook pasta!"

"I can cook pasta."

"Oh, shut up."

They sat on the park bench together, cuddling as they watched Kai run around the playground with a gang of kids.

"How do we adult?" Sunghoon asked.

"I don't know."

"Are we supposed to join the PTA?"

Heeseung blinked. "The what?"

"The Parent-Teacher Association? For his elementary school?"

"And do what?" He snorted. "Bake brownies? Go to garden parties? Host fundraisers?"

Sunghoon tilted his head, shrugging. "I mean, yeah. It'd be good for Kai. And we should try to be more involved in the community. This is our home now, Heeseung. We're never going back."

Heeseung gently smiled. "I know."

He took the younger boy's hand. "I'd love to do normal people things with you."

Shouting erupted on the playground as Kai and another boy got into a shoving match. Heeseung shot up, but didn't even have time to open his mouth before it was all over and the children resumed playing. He let out a long sigh as he leaned back again, touching his chest.

"Scared?" Sunghoon asked.

"Terrified," Heeseung replied. "What if we mess him up?"

"I don't know. We might, honestly." Sunghoon turned his head and smiled, squeezing Heeseung's hand. "But fuck it. We'll do our best anyway."

Heeseung laughed, tossing his dark hair out of his eyes. "Alright, Park Sunghoon. It sounds like a plan."