With the kids awake, the others in the house stirred and soon everyone was up and about by nine o'clock.
Jung Heewon had just walked out of the bathroom and into the living room after freshening up when she saw Yoo Joonghyuk interrogating the groggy, clearly pissed-at-being-put-through-this-shit-first-thing-in-the-morning people gathered in the living room.
"Who cleaned up last night?" he said angrily.
She was assuming he was angry. That guy mostly had the same expression, no one could really tell what was going on in his mind, except for his sister.
"I think it was Kim Dokja," Hayoung said and quickly stifled a huge yawn behind her head.
"It was," Hyunsung nodded. "I remember Dokja-ssi waking me up for a bit in the middle of the night."
"And this?" Yoo Joonghyuk thrust a plastic bag that was clutching in his hand into the air in front of them. It looked a little heavy from the way it swung, suspended from his fist.
"What the fuck is your problem this early in the morning, you prickly psycho?"
Look, Han Sooyoung, the grouchiest-asshole-when-woken-up was here.
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at the woman who was dragging her feet as she entered the living room.
Han Sooyoung waved a hand and Gilyoung who was sitting on the sofa scooted over to give her some space.
"Where is Dokja-ssi?" said Lee Seolhwa and everyone snapped out of their sleepy daze.
Yeah, where was that guy?
Jung Heewon had seen Yoo Sangah go into the bathroom after she had left it, so she knew where she was. And everyone else was in the living room.
Yoosung hopped off the sofa and hurried towards the front door.
"Ahjussi's shoes are gone!" she called and ran back, an anxious look on her face.
"What?!" Gilyoung and Mia yelled making the adults who had prickling headaches wince painfully.
"He left us?" Mia said, scandalised.
"But," Gilyoung gasped. "Hyung said he'd be there for breakfast."
"Well, now we know who that is from," Jung Heewon nodded at the plastic bag Yoo Joonghyuk still had up in their faces.
"Where is that rat bastard now?" Han Sooyoung grumbled, patting her pockets down to find her phone. "Hey, someone give me your phone. Dunno where mine is."
"He probably fell into the toilet," Namwoon said, his head bent over his knees as he sat on the floor.
"I wish you'd fall into the toilet," Jihye spat, her hands over her face, still lying down. "Can you shut up? You're all giving me a headache and I'm going to commit homicide at this rate."
"What's in the bag anyway, Joonghyuk-ssi," said Hyunsung, passing over his unlocked phone to Han Sooyoung who pulled up the contacts and found Kim Dokja's number.
Han Sooyoung called the man and put the phone on speaker. As the ringing filled the air, Yoo Joonghyuk handed the plastic bag to Hyunsung with a disgruntled scowl.
Hyunsung opened the bag and pulled out bottles of hangover cure.
Jung Heewon couldn't stop the indignant huff from leaving her mouth. Of course, Kim Dokja would have done something like that. Who else would?
Now that she was looking around, the living room was tidy and tidy was not the state they had left it in the previous night. Since Yoo Joonghyuk seemed pissed off about someone cleaning up or some shit, and everyone else had just woken up, it was clear to see who the culprit was.
"Hello," Kim Dokja's voice said from the phone Han Sooyoung was holding and Han Sooyoung spoke before anyone else could descend on that idiot who liked taking all sorts of burdens onto himself and not going to anyone for help.
"Where the hell are you?"
"Oh," said Kim Dokja, impish. ". . .I'm not sure."
"What?!"
"I got out of the house for some fresh air and I thought it was a nice day, so I took a walk and now I'm not really sure where I am," Kim Dokja explained. "I'll head back now, I'll use the maps. Not sure how long it will take though."
"Why the hell are you outside anyway?" Han Sooyoung snapped as the others sighed in relief. Kim Dokja hadn't vanished after all.
Jung Heewon turned around when she felt someone touch her back and she saw Yoo Sangah with a confused look on her face.
'Kim Dokja,' Jung Heewon mouthed silently.
"I just told you," Kim Dokja's annoyed voice clarified the rest for Sangah. "I just stepped out for a breather, and it looked nice outside. I was walking around and I forgot the time. I'm walking back now anyway. Wait for me."
"Ah! Shit!" Kim Dokja cried suddenly. "Han Sooyoung, can you tell the kids not to worry? They're going to think I left again, tell them I didn't. I'm hurrying back."
Jung Heewon rolled her eyes, and pulled her hairband off, letting her hair fall open.
"Oh, and I went to the convenience store earlier and I got some stuff," Kim Dokja continued, thinking that he was only talking to Han Sooyoung, unaware that everyone could hear him. Jung Heewon gathered her hair properly and re-tied it.
"There's hangover cure in there. I got honey water for Jihye, she doesn't like that other stuff."
Lee Jihye dropped her hands from her head and opened her eyes at the mention of her name.
"I wasn't sure if anyone would need it, but I got pain relief patches. Hyunsung slept on the chair last night. And you too, I found you on the floor. Heewon's neck's probably fucked up too."
Hyunsung's eyes were shining, deeply touched by Dokja's actions.
Heewon supposed all of them were. It wasn't all that surprising though. Kim Dokja always did this. As annoying as he could be, he was just so loveable like this, they couldn't even get properly mad at him, ever.
"Hmm, what else did I get?. . .Ah, that gum that Namwoonie said he'd run out of, I got that for him, so give it to him before the kids find it."
Mia's eyes glinted at the mention of chewing gum. She wasn't allowed to have any because her brother was a little strict about junk food, especially stuff like chewing gum.
"Especially Mia," Kim Dokja added as though he was present in the room with them at the moment. Mia opened her mouth heatedly, only for Yoosung and Gilyoung to put their hands over her mouth, keeping her quiet.
"Oh, and I got those batteries Seolhwa-ssi was saying she needed last night. For that dresser mirror. I think it was AA, so that's what I got. If it's not, do whatever you want with it."
"Jeez, what the fuck were you even doing? Did you empty out the whole convenience store?" Han Sooyoung huffed, but she was smiling as she leaned back on the sofa.
"Exaggeration is all you know and still you write bullshit."
"Hey!" Han Sooyoung said, indignant. "I'm warning you, jerk."
"What?" Kim Dokja was nonchalant. "Right, I got that lemon candy you like so much too. And those fruit jelly Sangah-ssi likes. You can say it's from you when you give it to your girlfriend."
Han Sooyoung looked up at her girlfriend who was smiling widely at their friend's antics.
"I don't need your help to make it work with my girlfriend," Han Sooyoung scoffed.
"Just trying to help," drawled Kim Dokja. "I'm just worried for you, Sooyoung-ah. You've got no game. You pined after someone for what? Two years?"
"Oh, my fucking god! Shut up!" Han Sooyoung screamed, colour blooming high on her cheeks as the others hid their laughs behind their hands.
"Sure, sure, silence the ones who speak the truth—I forgot! I got chocolate for the kids, they'll know which one is for them if you show it to them. Except for that chocobar, that's Hayoung's. Give it to her before someone else steals it. Or before Yoo Joonghyuk finds it. That guy'll probably make a fuss if he does."
Jung Heewon couldn't help but smile widely.
"Jesus, please, Sooyoung-ah, get the bag before that guy finds it. He's going to be so pissed. I left it on the dining table, grab it before he sees it."
Yoo Joonghyuk pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed quietly.
"And just say you guys cleaned up last night. That sunfish doesn't need much to go poof. He'll die out of high blood pressure at this rate, really. And also, tell him we were very careful with that non-stick pan he loves so much. Did not waste any water either. Tell him to relax instead of storming up and down the house."
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at the air as if Kim Dokja had just insulted his ancestors.
But he was right though. Yoo Joonghyuk had indeed been storming up and down the house demanding answers, waking everyone else up and questioning them.
"Tell him yourself," Han Sooyoung huffed. "Get back soon, asshole."
"Yeah, yeah, coming," Kim Dokja called. "You, if you have a headache, stop snapping at everyone and just make yourself coffee, okay? Ask Seolhwa-ssi to distract that sunfish while you raid his kitchen. If you die, rest in peace, I'll cry for you at your funeral."
"I'll kill you when you get your ass here. We can both die together."
"Cool, that works. I'm hanging up now. Bye."
Kim Dokja only waited until he heard Han Sooyoung reply, "Whatever." and then he hung up.
Sooyoung handed the phone back to Hyunsung.
"He's alive and well, from all the bullshit he's just blabbed," Han Sooyoung said, slumping into the cushions of the sofa. "And you heard the idiot. Go take whatever is yours from the bag."
Seolhwa coaxed her fiancée and got him to walk away instead of confiscating all the snacks that Dokja had got for everyone. They passed around the hangover cure, honeywater for Jihye as the buyer had made sure to specify.
"He's so stupid," Jihye muttered, holding the bottle in both her hands.
"Dokja-ssi woke up in the middle of the night and tucked you all in," Hyunsung told them proudly.
"He did?" Hayoung looked up from the bar of chocolate in her hand. Hyunsung nodded.
"Oh, so it wasn't a dream," Sangah said as she kept the kids from attacking the plastic bag with only the candy remaining in it now. "I did think I saw Dokja-ssi last night. It was a little weird when I woke up in the bed."
"I don't remember any such thing," said Sooyoung.
"That's because he carried you to bed with me," Sangah told her girlfriend who sniffed, trying to sound pissed but it was obvious to see that she was touched as well.
"If you two took the bed," Lee Seolhwa looked around. "And Heewon-ssi was on the sofa, Hyunsung-ssi on the armchair. Where did Dokja-ssi sleep last night?"
Han Sooyoung groaned loudly, and she wasn't the only one who had grievances about Kim Dokja's behaviour.
Heewon's neck was indeed fucked. It looked like she'd slept on it wrong. The pain relief patch sure came in handy.
"He could've just waited," she muttered, feeling guilty, even though her words came out as irked. "We could've cleaned up together."
"Since when's that jerk ever asked anyone for help?" Namwoon snorted though he held the pack of gum like it was the greatest treasure in the world. He would probably spit something snarky at Kim Dokja the second he walked in because he was too shy to admit that he considered the guy someone important too.
"Joonghyuk Ahjussi, can you not put tomatoes in the food today?" Yoosung could be heard asking Yoo Joonghyuk in the kitchen.
"I wasn't going to," Yoo Joonghyuk answered.
Looking like they would be having dishes that Kim Dokja liked for breakfast that day. No one found a problem with it. If Yoo Joonghyuk had let them into his kitchen, Heewon was sure every single one of them would have thought of making the things Kim Dokja liked anyway.
Kim Dokja, that idiot, took around half an hour to turn up at the house again. Where on earth had he gone walking?
They heard the security system at the door chime and everyone got up from their seats.
The door opened and Kim Dokja walked in, talking, so they had no choice but to keep everything they wanted to say to themselves.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," Kim Dokja was saying. "I just remembered. . .Yes, I think it'll be better to discuss it in person. . .Ah, alright. I'll be there."
Kim Dokja looked at the little crowd waiting for them with mild confusion as he toed his shoes off at the entrance.
"I know I said next week, but I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow," Kim Dokja laughed lightly, walking into the flat. "Of course, not. I'm not drinking though."
Kim Dokja ruffled Gilyoung's head and then moved on to Yoosung.
"Don't do that," Kim Dokja said, suddenly worried. "Absolutely not. Think about how that'll look. Nope, no way. I won't get in, I'll just head over straight from work the same way I always do. . .It's my reading time—Hey, I'm pretty busy these days, you know? And I've just found a nice novel."
Yoosung stuck her tongue out at Gilyoung when Kim Dokja's hand remained on her head, forgotten due to his preoccupation with the call he was on.
"That is not what I said. You know exactly what it would look like if we did that. . .Seriously, though, please, don't do that, Joonghyuk-ssi."
Oh! It was that Joonghyuk-ssi guy?
Jung Heewon had thought it was an exaggeration when Han Sooyoung prattled on about how Kim Dokja became a simpering maiden in love when it came to this Joonghyuk-ssi guy.
Looked like there was some truth to her words, now that she was seeing it for herself.
While he wasn't kicking his feet, twirling his hair and giggling like Han Sooyoung had made it sound, Kim Dokja's demeanour was different. He was relaxed and sounded incredibly comfortable talking to this person. He was so engrossed in the call that he hadn't even moved his hand from Yoosung's head.
"I'll talk to you later. Yeah, I've reached. And by the looks of it, I'm going to get interrogated again," Kim Dokja chuckled. ". . .Hmm, see you tomorrow, then. . .And, Joonghyuk-ssi, thank you again. . .Take care. You too. Bye."
Kim Dokja seemed to finally regard his surroundings properly once the call ended.
"I walked a bit too far," was his excuse when they grabbed his shoulders and dragged him into the living room.
By ten in the morning, they were back, crowded in the living room, thankfully eating breakfast that Yoo Joonghyuk had made for them.
Kim Dokja looked a little taken aback by the number of side dishes people kept piling onto his plate. Honestly, after what he'd pulled, he deserved it. No one bothered explaining it to him though. He ought to figure it out by himself.
"Stop buying the kids junk food," Yoo Joonghyuk growled, putting a large rolled egg onto Kim Dokja's bowl of rice.
"I get to do that," Kim Dokja waved it away. "It's the favourite uncle privilege."
Yoo Joonghyuk rolled his eyes, muttering, "Idiot."
"Thank you for the batteries, Dokja-ssi," Lee Seolhwa said, beaming.
"It's alright, don't mention it. I was out and I remembered you mentioned last night that your batteries had run out, I thought I might as well get them since I was there."
Lee Jihye and Kim Namwoon were having a little scuffle, Lee Jihye trying to manhandle Kim Namwoon into confessing his true feelings that he was masking behind grunts and huffs and thanking Kim Dokja for the gum.
"Was it the right one?"
"Yes, it was the right one. I changed it out already."
"That's great!"
"Dokja-ssi," Yoo Sangah called, getting the man's attention. "Thank you for the jellies. I was running out of them."
Kim Dokja smiled back. "I was getting something for the kids and happened to see it."
"Heard you carried me to bed," said Han Sooyoung.
"Dragged you, you mean?" Kim Dokja replied languidly. "I dragged you across the room like a sack of rice."
"I should just kill this bastard. Does anybody want him? If not, I'm getting rid of him right now."
"Me!"
"I do!"
Kim Dokja laughed pleasantly as the kids launched into protest, shielding their beloved Hyung/Ahjussi from Han Sooyoung's murder threats.
"Could've just waited, you know," Jung Heewon sighed. "We could've all just cleaned up together."
"It's all good," Kim Dokja said dismissively. "I was awake and bored. Don't worry too much about it. And, Joonghyuk-ah, I really was careful with your non-stick pan."
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed lightly and said nothing more.
"Did you get any rest last night, Dokja-ssi?" Lee Hyunsung asked.
"Oh, yeah, I slept for a while and then I woke up," Kim Dokja said. "I think around four? Five? Not sure, somewhere in the morning."
"That isn't a long time," Jang Hayoung was concerned. Again, Kim Dokja pushed the worry away like it was nothing.
"I usually get about as much sleep anyway," he said. "Not a big deal. Worse comes worse, I have today to catch up on any rest needed."
"This is why you have those eyebags," Han Sooyoung said, nudging Kim Dokja's knee with her foot from the armchair she was settled in. "You're going to end up looking like a raccoon at this rate."
"Says you, raccoon number two," Kim Dokja snorted and Han Sooyoung kicked his knee harder.
Kim Dokja had a hard time refusing all the food Yoo Joonghyuk was forcing him to take home. He already had tons of stuff at home that he had yet to finish. No more!
They found a reluctant middle ground when Kim Dokja grabbed a passing Jang Hayoung and gave her some of it, and then passed around a little more to Lee Jihye and Kim Namwoon to take home.
This way, no food was wasted.
Kim Dokja was there to see everyone off, waiting for the kids to get ready so that they could head home before lunch. He got into the car with Yoo Joonghyuk and the kids; Mia in the passenger's seat next to her brother and Kim Dokja between Gilyoung and Yoosung in the backseat, while Yoo Joonghyuk drove.
The kids told him all about their sleepover last night on their drive to Kim Dokja's place.
They all lived nearby anyway. Kim Dokja and Gilyoung's apartment complexes were neighbours and Yoosung lived just across the park.
They dropped off Yoosung first, Kim Dokja hugging her and sending her off with a bright wave. Gilyoung came next, Kim Dokja felt he'd snuck in a longer hug than Yoosung had received from him and was probably going to brag about it when they met at school tomorrow.
Finally, it was time for Kim Dokja to go home.
"See you later, then," Kim Dokja said before opening the car door.
"Bye!" he waved his hand and once he saw Mia return the gesture from the window she had rolled down by her seat, he turned around and walked towards his old apartment building, hearing the car drive off behind him.
He couldn't wait to take a shower and get out of these uncomfortable clothes.
Kim Dokja was very glad to be rid of the clothes he was wearing and he stood for a while in the hot shower. He could almost live there. However, he remembered that he had to pay a water bill and got out of the shower quickly.
Slipping into the clothes he wore at home, Kim Dokja fell onto his bed. He was barely up for two minutes before the fatigue took over, his body sinking into his mattress and he was out like a light, finally falling asleep.
Kim Dokja didn't really want to go to work on Monday, but he dragged himself out of work, took a shower, got dressed into the suit he still found a little stuffy, grabbed his bag and set off.
The trudge to the station was very uncomfortable in his suit. He missed his old outfit; a shirt, a tie and a coat. There was none of the vest nonsense going on with that. Damn the team leader image he had to maintain.
Workday progressed as it always did. Kim Dokja was getting used to this now.
It was completely different from what he used to do. He had tons of emails to respond to and the number of meetings that he got dragged into, online or otherwise had increased at a massive rate. Before, he would have to attend a few team meetings every couple of months or so, but here he was, doing it on a constant. It was especially worse because he was the one who had to initiate most of them, being the team leader and all.
The thing that was different about that day was that he was going over to the older Yoo Joonghyuk's place after work.
When he had asked him if he could the previous day, Yoo Joonghyuk offered him pick him up from work himself.
Kim Dokja felt a little bad refusing because Yoo Joonghyuk sounded excited at the prospect of leaving work together, but that was actually a very horrible idea. Imagine someone seeing a mere employee getting into the CEO's car at the end of work. And since Kim Dokja's position wasn't very stable just yet, it was something he couldn't afford to happen. It would ruin everything he was trying to accomplish.
So at the end of the day, Kim Dokja walked out of his office and loudly clapped his hands once.
"Another day done. Good work, everyone," he called.
He felt a little like a school teacher when the members of his team looked away from their screens and leaned back in their chairs.
"Anyone doing overtime today?" he asked.
A couple of hands rose.
Kim Dokja had a no-overtime-until-absolutely-unavoidable policy. And his team loved him for that.
He'd heard that other teams envied his team members because they had a team leader who was so lenient. Kim Dokja wasn't lenient though. He sort of made them cram in all the work during their hours. With sufficient encouragement, they sort of ignored that he was overworking them as well.