SERIES I: DREAM DAYCARE

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every classroom in dream daycare had a birthday wall that matched with the class theme. class sea would have an under the sea themed board while class sunny would have a garden themed one. everyone's birthdays would be posted on said board, even the teacher's birthdays are included.

and to say that the kids in class sky didn't see the upcoming birthday on that board would be a total lie. minjoo was actually the first to notice since his table was closest to the board. the little boy was excited to share the news to his classmates and to hopefully plan a surprise for their hardworking teacher.

so, when renjun stepped out for a quick restroom break and left jaemin there to monitor his kids for him, minjoo whispered to his table mates first about his plan. there were a few looks of confusion before the fact sunk in about their teacher's upcoming birthday.

"i can't make a cake but at least i can sing happy birthday." one of his table mates, sihyun says.

"me too me too!" joined in another and soon enough, his whole table agreed to that one statement.

"but...wouldn't teacher be sad if we don't give him cake? i would be sad if no one gave me cake for my birthday." minjoo mutters, fiddling with his fingers underneath the table while pouting.

"then how are we going to get cake for teacher?" before any of them could respond, jaemin popped in out of no where, scaring the living cheese balls out of them. it was obvious they weren't being as secretive as they initially thought, so jaemin could clearly hear in on their conversation.

"well, the other teachers and i can get the cake." the kids blinked at him, then sihyun was the first to break out of their short reverie.

"really? you'd really help us teacher nana?" her eyes were practically sparkling in happiness, and slowly the others showed the same amount of excitement.

jaemin rolled his eyes playfully, "of course i will. besides, we wanna wish teacher junnie a happy happy birthday too."

"will that mean teacher will get happy birthday kissies from you and teacher nono?" piped up a rather shy looking chanri. the young girl looked at jaemin in pure curiosity while jaemin himself, was quite taken aback by the question.

"kiss?" jaemin asks once more to make sure that he was hearing correctly.

chanri nodded her head, her little pigtails moving along with the motion. by now, the whole table of four kids were looking at him expectantly.

since jaemin was never one to disappoint, he responded with, "of course." the table broke out into giddy laughs.

right as he finished talking to the kids, renjun returned with a nod of appreciation to jaemin, dismissing him. class went on with minjoo's table secretly talking about spreading the news to their classmates during recess. the plan was that they would meet under the castle playground to announce their grand master plan to surprise their teacher.

since jaemin promised that him and the other teachers would help with the cake, all that was left were decorations. throughout the day, minjoo thought of possible ideas and one struck him at the end of the day on his car ride home. since his teacher loves moomin so much, maybe he could get everyone to draw a big moomin? or he could ask teacher nana to get a moomin cake!

the next day, he managed to gather his class with the help of his table mates. underneath the castle playground, away from the renjun's sight, they started to discuss the details. minjoo got sihyun to lead the meeting, because after getting everyone seated crisscross apple sauce on the floor in front of them, he couldn't take the fact that all eyes were on him. he instead wandered off to the side, to let his more extroverted friend to lead.

"alright, monday is teacher junnie's birthday and we are going to give teacher the bestest birthday party ever!" she began, trying to get her classmates all riled up and excited.

they all murmured to each other, mostly in mild shock because they had totally forgot about their teacher's birthday. see, in class sky, birthdays are a special thing. it didn't matter if your birthday lies on a weekend to day of break, it was still celebrated.

since the kid's birthdays were quite scattered, renjun decided that on that kid's birthday, they got to take the class moomin plush on an adventure the whole day. plus a special cupcake from renjun himself. it was something all the kids looked forward to, and renjun was happy to hear them retell stories of moomin's adventure with them.

now, in a way, the kids wanted to give back to their teacher and that's exactly what they were going to do. with the help of the other teachers of course.

-

one thing renjun didn't expect to see when he got back to the daycare after being taken out to help kun with some lesson plans was for his class to be completely deserted; his kids were nowhere in sight and neither was their temporary teacher, jaemin. panic surged through his body as he knows it wasn't recess nor lunch time, so they should be in the classroom with jaemin. yes, he told jaemin to watch his kids for him because funny enough, the latter was the only person he trusted with his kids other than himself.

he took a quick u-turn to jeno and jaemin's classroom and knocked on the door. not too long after, jeno opened up the door with a shocked expression. "you're back? already?"

renjun looked at him weirdly, "yeah? i told you i should be back at around two."

jeno muttered a curse before looking back up at renjun. "so-"

"also, where in the world are my kids? jaemin should be watching them, but he's nowhere to be found as well." renjun shifted his weight over to one foot, crossing his arms while looking at jeno expectantly. "i swear, if any of them are hurt i will not hesitate--"

"they're fine! they're completely fine. jaemin's got it under control no worries." jeno says quickly, though he didn't seem so sure himself. that only made renjun worry even more.

"lee jeno--"

he gets cut off by jeno grabbing onto his arm and pulling him into the classroom, closing the door right after he made sure the both of them were in. "how about you help us out a bit huh? the kids are doing finger painting today and last time i checked, you are quite the artist yourself."

"what? jeno, just tell me where my kids--"

"oh look over there! sounds like jihoon needs our help, let's go." and with that, renjun was unwillingly dragged over to one of the tables. renjun didn't even get to put in another sentence before he had to pull out a friendly smile in front of the paint covered child.

"oh! teacher junnie! look at what i made!" jihoon raised up his piece of parchment to show of a big colorful blob that suspiciously looked like moomin. "does it look good?" his big puppy eyes stared straight into renjun's soul, and he couldn't help but melt at the sight. the poor boy had smudges of paint on his cheeks and nose, but it didn't seem like he cared for it at all.

"that looks wonderful jihoon-ah. who is it for?"

"it's a secret! i can't tell you yet. teacher nono said to wait." renjun scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. okay, something was definitely up here. his kids being missing along with jaemin, jeno acting completely panicked for seemingly no reason, and now this? it can't possibly be a coincidence now.

back at the teacher's desk, jeno was furiously texting the group chat. his thumbs never moved so fast in his whole entire life, they practically flew across the screen. by now, everyone should be gathering into the theatre room, or the extra classroom kun decided to renovate to be a theatre like room so that during the holidays, everyone can gather round to watch movies and whatnot.

when planning out renjun's birthday surprise, they all thought it would be a breeze. turns out it wasn't such a breeze.

convincing kun to take renjun out was a lot harder than anticipated, and it took chenle to guilt trip him until he let up. on the other hand, jaemin had to secretly conspire with renjun's kids so that they could make their a ideas into a reality.

jaemin was trying his best to keep calm right now as he read the texts jeno was sending in. he and the kids just got done decorating the walls with their moomin drawings and other party decor. the theatre room wasn't much before as it was just an empty old classroom that hasn't been used in ages, but with kun's renovation gave it a new look. the walls were painted to look like the sky and the floors was a fluffy white carpet instead of the usual tile. a projector was also installed, hence the name. everything else was added by the teachers and kids over the years.

any who, while the kids took a little snack break, jaemin started to set up the piano and place it on its stand. it may have been a while since he's touched the darn thing, but he did get to work during the weekends to learn the moomin theme song. the whole plan was to first get renjun into the theatre room for a little performance by jaemin, donghyuck, and the kiddos. then, they would exit the theatre room to go outside, where everyone else will be.

it was a simple plan. the only problem was their terrible timing.

jeno had texted their group chat about renjun arriving and how he had to completely improv to save all of their asses. ("you all owe me boba! and no, i'm not giving up until i have my boba!")chenle responded mockingly, with a 'sucks for you' and a few laughing emojis for good measure. the others were a mix of 'good luck' and threats that if he doesn't keep renjun contained until they were done, he was gonna be the one cleaning everything up afterwards.

so, yeah, everything is currently very under control.

after finishing their miniature stage at the front of the room he waited for everyone to finish their snacks before getting 'operation moomin' into motion.

-

"tell me again why i am blindfolded and letting you lead me somewhere i don't even know?" renjun asks, holding onto jeno's arm like his life depended on it. i mean, if he was going down, jeno was going down with him.

jeno huffed, "that's mean, renjunnie."

"just tell me where i'm going unless you really want me to cut your arm's blood flow."

"if i tell you, that would just ruin the surprise." renjun's brow raised at the statement. "i'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. it's pretty obvious."

renjun heard a door open, and the next thing he knew, he was sat on the floor. from what he knows, they were still in the daycare and the only place that has full carpet floors was the theatre room. now he just needs to figure out why he's in the theatre room.

he felt the blindfold loosen around his head until he was able to see again. renjun's eyes widened at the display of moomin pictures colored in different and unique ways plastered all over the walls. the most intriguing sight was jaemin sat behind a piano while donghyuck sat comfortably on a chair next to him. his kids on the other hand sat around him with huge grins on their faces.

"you guys," he breathed out. "what's...what's all this for?"

"last time i checked, there was a birthday today am i right everyone?" a round of yes's chorused around him, causing him to break out in a small smile.

he didn't think anyone would notice. renjun was never one to throw extravagant birthday parties (nor really remember them—), and the most he did was treat himself to his favorite hot pot place.

then, out of nowhere, this happens?

renjun couldn't say anything else before a soft melody began to play, drowning them in the dreamy tune. from the first few notes, renjun could tell it was something vaguely familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it. it wasn't until donghyuck started singing that he finally put two and two together.

he was singing the moomin theme song. a song that brings back so many memories from his childhood, he couldn't help but feel tears prick at the edge of his vision. it wasn't just the dreamy melody that pulled him in, but the way jaemin arranged it while donghyuck took the liberty to sing it.

right before it ended, only having a few verses left, more voices joined in. his kids were singing with donghyuck, and gosh, renjun felt so happy. he swayed his body side to side, enjoying it to the very last note.

"that...that was so sweet guys. thank you, all of you." he motioned to his kids to come in for a group hug, and they complied almost immediately. renjun was flat on the floor with tiny bodies piled atop of him, giggling and yelling a bunch of 'happy birthdays'. he responded with more 'thank yous' before a cough interrupted their moment.

renjun looked up to see donghyuck looming over him, "we still got something else so i'd suggest you to pick your butt up if you don't want the cake to melt in the burning sun."

he rolled his eyes, and told the kids to get off of him before he stood up himself to follow donghyuck and jaemin. to make sure everyone was following them, renjun got out last to monitor from behind the group.

"teacher junnie?" renjun looked down to see minjoo nervously fiddling with the edge of his shirt.

"yes, minjoo? what's the matter?"

"um...d-did you li-like our song?" he stuttered out, clears turning a bright shade of red as he walked beside renjun.

"of course i did! it was perfect. everyone sung so well." he answers honestly, smiling down at minjoo.

the boy perked his head up, "really? you really think so?"

renjun reaches down to ruffle the kid's hair fondly, "i know so."

when they finally made it outside onto the hardtop, renjun could see the other kids as well as the teachers holding up a big sign that read, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY R̶E̶J̶N̶U̶N̶ RENJUN!!' he chuckled at the little mistake made, but in a way, it made it all the more heartfelt. the sign was also decorated with doodles of everything and anything, probably done by the kids themselves.

in the center of the group was one of those foldable tables, and on top of it was a cake decorated with lit mismatched candles.

he heard a quiet countdown before a chorus of 'happy birthdays' were said. renjun covered his mouth in order to hide the stupidly big smile he had on, a little embarrassed at how genuinely happy he was.

the kids started to jump around waving and blowing into party blowers while cheering for renjun to come a blow out the candles, which were being closely guarded by jeno.

"hurry up and make a wish ge! the wind is gonna blow it out!" chenle screamed, dramatically waving him over.

so, renjun scrambled over to the table and quickly clasps his hands together then closed his eyes to make said wish. after he did, he opened his eyes and blew out the candles with all his might.

the cheers continued, and in the midst of the chaos he heard a loud, "smile for the camera everyone!" looking up, there stood jaemin with his camera strapped around his neck. the teachers tried their best to calm the children down, shushing them as well as showing them to put a bubble in their mouths.

at last, everyone quieted down and jaemin started the countdown, "one...two...three, say cheese!"

"CHEEEEEESE!" click. click. click.

-

the whole celebration lasted for about an hour outside, with the kids being let go to play on the playground so that they could get rid of their sugar high. (they were all given cupcakes while renjun's class got to share the cake.) in that time, donghyuck got to force renjun into a cone birthday boy hat, so that was fun.

and when everyone finally dialed down, they were lead inside to rest for the remainder of the day. it wasn't like the teachers planned much for that day besides preparing for renjun's birthday anyways.

back in his class, renjun once again thanked his kids, going in for a second group hug that thankfully didn't knock renjun to the ground again. right when everyone was going back to their seats, sihyun pulls at renjun's sleeve to gain his attention.

"what is it sihyun-ah?" he asks, looking down at her questioningly.

"did teacher nana and teacher nono give you a kiss yet?" renjun freezes up, his smile turning a bit stiff.

did she just ask what he thinks she just asked?

"hm? what do you mean sweetie?"

"well...teacher nana told us that teacher nono and him will give you a kiss on your birthday." she answers innocently.

renjun chuckles nervously, "i'm sure they were just playing around. besides, they both like each other, not me."

"nuh uh! they like you thiiiis much!" the little girl spreads her arms out as wide as she could to emphasize her point. "and i like you too!" she proceeds to hug renjun tightly. "everyone likes you because you're super dooper nice and you let us play with moomin!"

renjun wanted to melt at the little girl's kind words. he hated how soft he could get, but he couldn't help it either.

"awe, thank you sihyun. you're too kind." she looked up at renjun and gave him her best smile. even though there was a gap where she lost her tooth, she still looked as cute as ever. sihyun finally released his legs and went back to her table, immediately joining in on her group's conversation.

renjun sat back in his desk and stared at his kids doing their own little things. when did he become so lucky?

-

( bonus // after all the kids left )

renjun was peacefully cleaning up his classroom, making sure everything was in its designated cubby and any left behind items were stored in the lost and found box under his desk. just as he was grabbing onto his coat that was draped over his chair, he felt something feathery pass by his ear and he swore he jumped a good ten feet into the air.

"holy—! what the hell was that for jaemin?" when jaemin entered his classroom, he didn't know. was he that tired to have not hear the door open?

sending renjun a mischievous smirk, jaemin says, "well hello to you too birthday boy."

"next time you do that, i will not hesitate to knock out your pearly whites." renjun threatened, turning back around to gather his coat that he dropped when jaemin gave him a little spook.

"awe, that isn't such a nice thing to say renjunnie." renjun stilled when he felt jaemin's arms wrap around his torso, locking him into the latter's embrace. he felt jaemin rest his chin onto one of his shoulders, close enough to feel his light and feathery breaths on his skin.

renjun could practically feel his face heating up from the sudden intimacy, while his heartbeat decided to speed up on its own.

"y'know...i made a promise to your kids last week and i'd say i'm a man of my word." jaemin leaned in closer to his ear. "do you know what that promise was?"

"no..." yes, his mind answered.

"i would tell you what it is, but i think showing you is much better." jaemin unwrapped his arms and gently turned renjun back around to face him.

by now, renjun was more than sure his face looked like a tomato and he wasn't about to look at jaemin when he was this flustered.

"renjunnie. look at me will you?" jaemin whined, putting on his child like facade.

reluctantly, renjun finally made the move to look at jaemin and boy did he want to book it out of there when he saw his stupid shit eating grin. before he could make a comment, or really say anything, jaemin dove in for a kiss on the corner of his lips.

pulling back, jaemin sees renjun's jaw slack while his eyes widened comically. ruffling up the other's soft brown locks, he makes his leave but not before saying, "jeno will deliver his present in a few, so i'd suggest you stay and wait a little alright cutie?"

jaemin wasn't wrong when he said that jeno was going to visit him shortly after. the latter came in when renjun was nervously fidgeting with his phone to get the previous event off his mind.

"knock knock?" renjun looked up to meet jeno's eyes.

"hey, jeno. come in." he was glad that jeno had the decency to not scare the living hell out of him, unlike a specific someone. "i heard you were here to deliver a present."

as jeno walked towards his desk, his nerves evident in the way he carried himself. in his hands was a box that was no larger than his own hand, tied up with a pretty white ribbon.

"yeah. jaemin was supposed to come in with me but the idiot said that it was my time to shine or something like that." jeno rolled his eyes, remembering the younger's little speech about him needing to be a bit more confident in his abilities and whatnot.

renjun chuckled, "classic jaemin."

"so, uhm, happy birthday renjun. i hope you like what we got for you." jeno passed over the box and watched in anticipation as renjun opened it.

inside was a small drawstring pouch along with his favorite brand of jasmine tea that he couldn't find anywhere after moving to korea years ago. taking out the pouch first, he opened it and there was a bronze colored bracelet in it. upon pulling it out for further inspection, he realized that it was the same style as jeno and jaemin's bracelets; the only difference being the color.

"it's a matching set, and it doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to of course. we just thought you would like it, so we got you one too." jeno quickly explained, playing with the small chains of his own bracelet. "also, we always heard about you complaining about korea not having that brand of tea so we kinda got chenle's parents to send us some."

renjun couldn't really describe the feelings that were washing over him right now. it was just all in jumbles, but the one emotion he can for sure confirm was the pure euphoria he felt.

"you guys didn't have to go through all of that to get me this or plan the whole surprise. i would've been just fine with a quick 'happy birthday' you know?"

"but we wanted to alright? so don't worry your pretty little head over it."

renjun looked up at jeno, "thank you. really. today was amazing, and i couldn't have wanted anything more."

jeno beamed at the elder, satisfied with the hard work they put into this day. "anytime, renjun." waving goodbye to the other, he turned around to leave but stopped midway saying, "oh! i totally forgot!" turning back around, he quickly ran up to renjun and placed a kiss onto his cheek. "happy birthday, renjun."

-🌈-

look, i know this is real late since ya boi's birthday was days ago but i still wanted to get it out :) the song hyuck and the kids sung was the japanese opening of moomin called 'yume no sekai he' if anyone was curious.

happy belated birthday to the one and only huang renjun, and may you all have a wonderful day/night!