There she goes again, calling him ugly. He wasn't ugly, alright?
"You should be like my Oppa," Mia said, always proud of her brother, no matter what he did. "You should find some pretty oppa or unnie and get married."
"Our Mia's talking like an old Ahjumma, no?" Kim Dokja told Yoosung and Gilyoung who nodded, much to Mia's chagrin.
"I'm not!" the girl yelled angrily. "Shut up, Ugly Ahjussi!"
"Stop bothering Mia, Kim Dokja," Yoo Joonghyuk glared at him through the rearview mirror.
"Ugh, look at this siscon," Kim Dokja said with an exaggerated drawl.
"Don't bother my Oppa, Ugly Ahjussi!" Mia launched at him.
"Copy, paste, wasn't it?" Kim Dokja said and Lee Seolhwa chuckled along.
Kim Dokja stared at the letters that read 'SEA WORLD' at the entrance gates. He had gotten off with the kids and sent the others off to park their cars and meet up at the entrance again. He had to wait for his date anyway.
They'd never gone on a group date before, or a triple date in this case. Well, he hadn't been on a group date with Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't someone who enjoyed having the private time he wanted to spend with his lover ruined by other people's presence. The only time he met up with others, who also happened to be couples, was when they were meeting as friends. Not with a date in mind.
Kim Dokja had been on double dates and group dates with his other friends before though. He'd gone with Han Sooyoung so many times, even before she had started dating Yoo Sangah. He had been on double dates with Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung as well.
Double dates were easy for him. Given how overprotective his friends were, he just had to sit back and let them take the reins of the interaction and talk to whoever he had been dating at the time.
And if he got questioned by his partner, demanding why he was so out of it that day, he had an excuse ready.
'I was just. . .happy. Seeing you getting along with my friends. . .They're important to me, you see. They've always been there for me, and when I saw you with them I was just happy. I couldn't—nothing came to—haha, I guess you could say I was speechless. . .Ah, that was cringe. Sorry...Haha.'
And when he brought some water to his eyes, and trembling lips, it was a home run—He would know, he had done it plenty of times before.
A paediatrician, Lee Seolhwa had told him in the car, someone who worked at the same hospital as her. Well, he supposed the date wouldn't be too awkward since they had a few common topics to talk about, the kids, their mutual friends, reading apparently, so that's one trouble saved.
He kept an eye on the kids who were talking about something that happened at school. They seemed to be cribbing about a math teacher who gave them too much homework.
He waved when he saw the rest of their group and they hurried over.
"So, Park Siwoo, twenty-six," Han Sooyoung was listing off.
"Twenty-seven," Lee Seolhwa corrected her.
"Twenty-seven," Han Sooyoung said. "Feline features, a pretty boy if you will."
"He's got a nice personality," Lee Seolhwa said. "Like a puppy."
"Golden retriever kind," Yoo Sangah put her hands together. She'd been with Han Sooyoung for a bit too long, she was catching onto the tropes and all.
"Plan's a date, we leave you two alone," Han Sooyoung continued the briefing. "And then we meet up for lunch at around one thirty, two o'clock. If it tanks, you two split ways, and we continue having fun. You're babysitter obviously."
"Not complaining," said Kim Dokja.
Han Sooyoung made a face.
"If it goes well," she said. "We continue from there, go for BBQ, some drinks. And if that goes well too, the rest is up to you. You can even go to a hotel or something."
Yoo Joonghyuk clicked his tongue when he realised the topic was going in a different direction and ushered the kids away.
"He's younger and you have a Hyung kink so," Han Sooyoung gave a shrug, a teasing smirk on her face. Yoo Sangah laughed.
"I don't have a Hyung kink," Kim Dokja hissed.
"Yeah, right," Han Sooyoung scoffed. "Just don't forget to be prepared, you know what I mean."
Kim Dokja rolled his eyes.
A few feet away, Yoo Joonghyuk had herded the kids away from the disturbing conversation. He had a disapproving frown on his face and was grumbling about something, probably complaining about how indecent they were being and Lee Seolhwa was smiling up at him fondly. They were holding hands, Kim Dokja noticed, and the silver bands on their ring fingers caught his eye. He felt like he was being choked all of a sudden.
Don't look, he told himself firmly. He had perfectly schooled his reactions around this, he shouldn't look for longer than a second. He moved his eyes to Yoosung who was thankfully in an argument with Gilyoung.
He could pass off whatever expression he had on his face as concern for the arguing kids.
"Nervous?" Han Sooyoung said. She reached an arm out and slapped his shoulder gently. "Hey, chin up, man. It's not the end of the world, yeah?"
"You've got this, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Sangah cheered him on.
Kim Dokja smiled to reassure his friends. He wasn't nervous though.
When was the last time he had been nervous for a date? Had he ever been nervous for a date? He always went with a set of guidelines he followed for dates, as long as he followed it there was no reason for him to be nervous.
This Park Siwoo guy was exactly as they had described him. The golden retriever type.
He seemed to get along fine with the kids during the introductions.
Then they set off, splitting up into two groups.
It became awkward quickly. Kim Dokja would have done something to make it better, but he didn't find the need to and even if Park Siwoo decided to ditch him first because he was so boring, he considered it a win.
"You're not very interested in this date, are you, Dokja-ssi?" Park Siwoo said as they outside the aquarium to give the others a head start. It was a nice sunny morning and Kim Dokja was the one who suggested that they get some nice sun and vitamin D by staying outside for a little longer.
"You aren't either, Siwoo-ssi," Kim Dokja said.
"Ah, was I obvious?"
"A little."
Kim Dokja didn't need to know why Park Siwoo was uninterested in the date. That was none of his business, nor did he care about it.
"Have you ever suffered from unrequited love, Dokja-ssi?" Park Siwoo asked suddenly.
Where was this coming from?
"No," Kim Dokja replied. "Have you?"
"Yes," the younger man said, his shoulders drooping. He reminded Kim Dokja a little of Lee Hysunsung.
What was he supposed to say to that?
Kim Dokja's love for Yoo Joonghyuk was a secret he kept from everyone, the only exception being the other Yoo Joonghyuk. But even when he told him about it, he hadn't been in his right mind, he was drunk and blurted out everything to the first person who would listen. And he had been under the impression that they would never cross paths again.
Whatever. It all ended well.
"It's getting hotter, should we head inside now?" Kim Dokja suggested.
"Yes, that would be nice."
Kim Dokja was thinking about how he would at least get to walk around lazily and look around at pretty fishes, when he heard someone scream, "PARK SIWOO!"
The man beside him spun around before Kim Dokja could even remember that the name that had been yelled and the name of his date was the same.
Kim Dokja stopped his trek towards the entrance and looked around the crowd to see a hulking dude barrel his way towards them.
"Juhyun Hyung," Park Siwoo who was standing next to him gasped out.
Oh. . . What was this progression? Kim Dokja was ready to go through a couple more hours of this boring date, but this was unexpected.
"Hey! Park Siwoo, you son of a bitch!"
"Is that a loan shark?" Kim Dokja said innocently.
Park Siwoo jumped at his voice, like he forgot he was there. . .That was a little rude. Besides, he didn't seem to get Kim Dokja's little joke. Shame. See, it would never have worked.
"You idiot, how could you abandon me like that?"
Woah . . .This guy seemed taller than Lee Hyunsung and Park Siwoo was a few centimetres shorter than Kim Dokja. A squirrel and a bear?
"Hah?!" Park Siwoo scoffed indignantly. "I abandoned you? You're the one who left me!"
Oh, wow, they were shooting their own drama, huh?
Go for it. Free entertainment, he supposed. But did he have to be stuck here? Did they forget that they were in a public space and that people were staring at them?
"I didn't leave you! I—I—Fuck!"
You can do it, big guy; Kim Dokja cheered in his head. He didn't really know much about anything that was going on at the moment, but this man that Park Siwoo had called Juyeon Hyung or something, he seemed to be two seconds away from crying in frustration, so he supposed this was a very important moment. There wasn't any hostility to be seen, just desperation.
"If you have nothing more to say, you should go," Park Siwoo turned his face away. "Dokja-ssi, let's get going."
"Don't go!"
. . .He should text his friends, and tell them the date was probably ruined. He wasn't complaining though, he would get to see his lovely kids and roaming around with them was so much more fun than going on a date.
"Hey, Park Siwoo," the big dude was saying. "I may not be as smart as you, I may not have a nice cushy job like you either, but that doesn't mean I can't—I—Fuck!"
Poor guy. Keep it up, buddy.
"I can make you happy!" he yelled. "No, I will make you happy. Because I like—You know what, I love you!"
Park Siwoo gasped loudly.
Kim Dokja kind of wanted to know their story. It seemed interesting. While he wasn't big on romances, he seemed to be witnessing a major scene, so he would like to know the rest of the story as well.
"So—So, stop going on these damn dates and just date me!"
Woah. A round of applause, everyone.
"...please."
Kim Dokja turned to look at the person who was receiving the rather aggressive confession. . .Nice. Park Siwoo seemed close to crying now. Was that speech supposed to be touching? He just thought it was a bold confession.
"Siwoo-ssi," Kim Dokja decided to get this done with.
The man jumped at his voice again and Kim Dokja pretended he couldn't see the glare that was being sent his way by the guy who had just confessed. Kim Dokja was sure he would die if he got punched by the dude. While he had no qualms about dropping dead randomly, getting beaten to death was one way he absolutely didn't want to go.
"Do you need a moment?"
Park Siwoo gulped, blinked his tears away and then shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Dokja-ssi," he said. "But I think I should go. Thank you for today. . .I'll let Dr Lee know about this later."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Kim Dokja waved it away. "Good luck, Siwoo-ssi."
Kim Dokja sent his date off with a polite smile.
Park Siwoo ran up to the other guy he had been calling something Hyung, balled up his fist and punched him right in the gut, causing the large man to double over with a groan.
. . .Huh.
"You idiot, what are you doing in public?" Park Siwoo scolded and dragged the man away. Even though he was berating his...partner? Whatever it was, even though he was snapping at him, he didn't seem angry. Kim Dokja would even bet that the smaller man was smiling.
Oh, well. That concludes that.
Kim Dokja pulled his phone out of his pocket, a sense of comfort falling over him now that he had his familiar device in his hand. He sent out a text to his friends and told them that he would meet them inside.
That was the shortest date ever. He had made a record today, it hadn't even lasted half an hour. He must really have the worst luck when it came to romance.
It was blue inside. It was also cool.
It was nice. He wanted to see his kids running around. He knew they were no longer as young as they used to be, and he wanted to see as much as he could before they grew up.
Was this how parents felt? He wasn't sure. But they were all growing old. The kids were already turning twelve, they would finally become teenagers next year and go to middle school and all. . .Kim Dokja didn't have any good memories from middle school. He didn't have any good memories from his childhood. Things had only become a little more bareable after he met Yoo Joonghyuk when he was seventeen.
Kim Dokja read Yoo Sangah's reply to his text and followed her instructions to wait for them near a jellyfish tank that wasn't too far away from both him and the rest of the group.
He found it soon enough. A gigantic cylindrical tank stood in the middle, with pearly white things that seemed to give out a blue glow in the aquarium lights.
His phone already in hand, he remembered that he had to send Yoo Joonghyuk a text as well, telling him that he might not be able to make it tomorrow.
Once he sent the message, he went back to staring at the jellyfish.
. . .That oversized shirt did make him look stupid. He couldn't believe he'd even entertained the thought of going out with that one. He was thirty for crying out loud! It might have suited him if he were younger, in his early twenties. He'd outgrown the age to wear stuff like that. He should just stick to what he usually wore.
And that outfit that everyone seemed to dislike, yeah, he could see why they would say that. It did make him look a bit sloppy.
There was a reason his go-to white shirt and slacks worked well every time. He could make it casual if he wanted by switching out the trousers for jeans or he could make it formal by adding a coat and a tie.
The blue shirt sitting inside his closet came to his mind. Not just the blue shirt, but all the other ones. Kim Dokja was not the one for excessive colour, especially when it came to what he wore to work. But the clothes Yoo Joonghyuk had got him had different colours. Not something too bright or gaudy, but he had more colours than just white and black now. And they surprisingly didn't make him look stupid.
Uriel's charm, he supposed. She was the one who apparently put in most effort into that. He was touched, he truly was. That was the only reason he was even wearing them. He was yet to go through all of them. He didn't want to make it too obvious, so he wore the three suits, changing the button-up shirt systematically, his own little mix and match.
He sometimes thought a uniform would make things easier. But that was just him.
"Dokja-ssi!"
Kim Dokja snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see his friends walk towards him. Yoo Sangah said something in worry when Yoosung and Gilyoung broke into a sprint, running through the crowd towards him.
Kim Dokja caught them as he always did when they collided with him in a hug.
He wondered if they would stop doing this when they got a little older.
Han Sooyoung's face was funny, she looked constipated. Lee Seolhwa looked extremely apologetic, there was no need to. He should tell her that.
"What happened?" Han Sooyoung said the second she was a foot away from him. "Did you scare the guy away?"
Kim Dokja gave her a bland look. "Really?"
"Then what?" she cried, frustrated.
"We were going go inside and this man just came up and confessed his love to him and took him away," Kim Dokja recounted.
"And you didn't do anything?!" Han Sooyoung snapped.
"Why would I do anything?" Kim Dokja said, confused. "What does that have to do with me?"
Han Sooyoung slapped a hand on her forehead and sighed heavily.
"I'm so sorry, Dokja-ssi," Lee Seolhwa said, downcast.
"Ah, don't worry about it Seolhwa-ssi! It's not like any of us knew it would happen," Kim Dokja said frantically. "I already had no expectations."
Lee Seolhwa's face fell further.
No! That's not what he wanted!
"I was prepared for it to fail anyway," Kim Dokja said quickly. "The only reason I even came today was so that I could spend time with the kids."