A Cliché Family Twenty A   Jinki grabs Minho’s hand and stops him from running on the platform. Jonghyun yawns and Kibum is holding onto the stroller in which Taemin is humming a melody in an unknown language. Kibum’s parents stand beside them and look toward the slowly approaching train.



They have been on a long weekend in Daegu to visit Kibum’s parents and now they’re on their way home. Minho has a ridiculous amount of energy, Taemin just woke up after his afternoon nap and Jonghyun is getting increasingly annoyed with the waiting time. For God knows what reasons, Kibum and Jinki had decided to take the train instead of driving but they’re regretting that decision right now. Driving with the boys is easy and although it takes about an hour more to drive, it is slowly becoming Jinki’s favorite way to get to and from Daegu.

Minho jumps in place and looks up at his father.

“Daaaaaad,” he says and swings their intertwined hands. Jonghyun clings to Kibum’s side and leans his head against his chest.

“I want to go home,” Jonghyun says and Taemin whines a little when Kibum momentarily forgets to push the stroller forward and backwards slowly.

“We have to wait for the train to stand still, Jonghyun,” Kibum says and Jinki stops Minho from lurching forward towards a pigeon on the platform. The train finally reaches the platform and when the door opens, Jinki has to let go of Minho’s hand so he can help Kibum with the stroller. Minho hurries into the train and Jonghyun follows his brother.

“Minho!” Jinki shouts after him. Minho looks back at them and points to the right, into the train wagon.

“Is it this way?” he asks. They get the stroller inside and Kibum reaches into his pocket so he can find their tickets and their seats.

“73, 75, 77, 79,” Kibum reads off of the tickets and Jonghyun and Minho dashes inside to find the seats. Jinki pushes past Kibum and the stroller so he can follow their sons. Kibum turns around in the doorway and sends his parents a smile. “Thanks! I’ll call you.”

Kibum waves at them as the doors close and he watches them get smaller when the train starts moving again. When he pushes the stroller inside the wagon, he finds Jinki and the boys at their seats.

Jonghyun and Minho have the window seats while Jinki sits closer to the aisle. Kibum parks the stroller and grabs the bag. He slings the bag over his shoulder while Taemin starts whining before he looks at his youngest son and unbuckles him. Jinki takes the bag from Kibum when they get close and puts it in the overhead bin and Kibum sits down next to Jonghyun.



They're only 10 minutes into the ride when Jonghyun leans against the window and sighs loudly.

“Dad, I’m hungry,” he says.

“Dad, I have to pee,” Minho says right after. Kibum shifts Taemin on his lap and the toddler frowns a little. Jinki stands and grabs the bag and places it on the table so Kibum can rummage through it with difficulty to find their packed lunches while he helps Minho to the toilet.

Minho can go to the bathroom himself but Jinki has an inkling that the boy is going to run throughout the entire train if he isn’t there to catch him when he finishes and Jinki really doesn’t want Minho to go missing.

Jonghyun is eating when Jinki and Minho returns and Minho crawls into his seat again. He reaches towards the bag and finds his gameboy, although his leg is still bouncing with unus