Thread by @quinnpriv1

#dokhyuk #dokjoong fam AU pt 16 (FINAL - an epilogue of sorts)

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It’s a Sunday, which means that the restaurant is bustling—or, it would be, if it wasn’t gloomy outside.

Juwon is lazily attending to the day drinkers sitting at her table,quillifer.carrd.co/#dokhyukdads

dependable come rain or shine.

The drizzle lightens up after the would-be lunch rush, giving her every reason to believe she’s going to have a decent evening. When the bell above the entryway jingles, she hops to it, eager to seat the next guests.

She opens her mouth to

introduce herself, but she winds up staring, slack-jawed at the family who walked in, all five of them captivating in different ways.

The two middle-aged men—their parents, obviously, genetics too strong to deny—are busy whispering to each other, elegant in a casual way.

One of them is ruggedly handsome and the other is more easily compared to a model, indescribable using normal standards. There are two young women, one of them closer to Juwon’s age than not, and her gaze is sharp. Molten, almost. Juwon nearly stumbles, watching them

take a seat.

The younger girl squeezes in the middle, preoccupied with telling one of her fathers a story. Her brother is standoffish, but he sneaks in a few quips whenever he can.

Blessed with an opportunity to escape and grab drinks, Juwon fans her face in the back.

“Is there some kind of convention in town?” she asks, discreetly peeking at the family from around a corner.

“Out here in the suburbs?” Her colleague asks, lifting an eyebrow.

It was a distant wish, made with a sense of yearning, but Juwon can think of no other explanation

that makes sense. Surely, she would have heard of people this pretty living in her neighborhood.

Putting on her best game face, Juwon returns. She commits their names to memory, eager to look them up when she gets a break. The Kim family, consisting of Dokja, Junghyeok,

Mia, Jimin, and Hayun—one or all of them could pass as celebrities.

“Wipe the drool off your mouth,” says one of the cooks, noticing the way Juwon keeps making eyes at the Kims.

It really can’t be helped. The couple keeps flirting with each other mercilessly, much to the kids’

disgust. Juwon is half-convinced /she’s/ being flirted with as well, Mia committed to asking questions since the restaurant isn’t too busy, long waves of dark hair coquettishly falling into her face.

At long last, she is granted a reprieve. The dishes have been neatly

stacked and dessert has been ordered, bringing them to the end of the exchange.

Juwon laments her loss, resigned to filing this incident away for later, telling all of her friends about it.

She’s startled, then, when Dokja crashes into her outside of the restroom, waiting

his turn to go in after her.

“She wanted your number, you know,” Dokja hums, arms folded over his chest. His cologne, or maybe his aftershave, fills her nostrils, has Juwon looking away to stay focused. /Married. Off-limits./

“She should have asked for it, then,”

Juwon insists, pouting stubbornly.

Dokja laughs. “I agree.”

The door opens, meaning she should go ahead and enter to relieve herself. Something compels her to open her mouth. “How long have you been married, sir, if you don’t mind me asking?”

She’s going to write the

Wikipedia article on them herself if it doesn’t exist yet.

Dokja strokes his chin, considering. “Twenty-five…no, six years? I’ve lost count.”

Suddenly, Juwon feels sorry for his husband.

“We raised kids together. Time is no object. He’s stuck with me whether he likes it

or not.”

Juwon giggles at the childish statement. “I’m sure he would appreciate it if you could commit your anniversary to heart.”

“…Fair enough.”

She goes inside, does her business, then she washes her hands. They meet eyes on the way out.

Juwon means to head for

the back again, but someone familiar snags her elbow. “Hey. If you’re free on Monday, would you want to hang out?”

She smiles, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “What happened to asking for my number?”

“I’m cutting to the chase.”

Juwon agrees, making arrangements

with Mia. The beautiful family exits, taking all of the sparkles and lovely outfits and aura with them.

Dokja is the last to leave, throwing a wink over his shoulder on the way out.

Juwon feels like she wished on a shooting star and a dream came to life, fleeting

and ethereal. She has no idea if things with Mia will go anywhere, but the prospect of being ensconced in their warmth, blasted by their beauty at any even /closer/ proximity, is overwhelming.

Her coworkers congratulate her on a job well done. That night, she falls down a rabbit

hole of rumors about the Kims, the married couple infamous for kissing each other in public—among other things. Hayun had been snapped by several news outlets and was a hopeful for the world stage of women’s mixed martial arts. Likewise, Jimin’s notable achievements in debate

club and accolades in small poetry collections stood out.

In every single family photo, the four or five of them looked like they belonged on the runway, casual but in a way that caught the eye. Their good looks were undeniable and their feats were just as impressive.

Dokja, as it turns out, is the most mystifying one of them all.

“Pluto Corp?”

Juwon has no need to write a Wikipedia article about him.

It already exists.

/Kim Dokja, 60 years old, CEO of Pluto Corp./

“Sixty?!” Juwon gasps, marveling over his youthful demeanor

and graceful aging process.

A moment later, her brain catches up with the rest. She puts a hand over her eyes, woozy. “I can’t believe I served such an important person looking like this,” she moans, hiding her face. Mia, at least, had liked her well enough to want to

talk to her outside of work.

Humbled, she slaps herself on the cheeks. She’s been given the chance of a lifetime. Next time, she would dress to impress. She would be someone worthy of joining them at the table.

With a pep in her step and

a fire in her heart, Juwon makes killer tips that evening.

It’s a start.

// END! 🥳

(thank you all for joining me on this journey and for all your sweet requests! i ran out of steam before i could fill them all but this one was too funny to skip LOL. have a great day! 🌺🌸)

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