A/N: Hi, guys! Kinda fast update. I’m hoping to start Book 4 this January, so I’m trying to speed-write the rest of Book 3’s chapters. Let’s hope I can do it.

Before the actual update, I want to address some inquiries first. Zhoumi and Henry. You guys might have noticed that they’re not in my other DBSK-SJ stories as well. As I’ve said before in disclaimers, I’m not an ELF (proud Cassie instead here). Yes, I really like Super Junior a lot; yes, I’ve watched some of their shows and concerts and I’ve listened to their songs; yes, I read and write more SJ fics than DBSK ones these days. But I’m not really at “ELF level” with SJ knowledge. The shows and songs that I’m familiar with, Zhoumi and Henry aren’t there. I do know they’re part of SJ, and I do like reading stories where they’re present, but I don’t really feel that I know enough about them to be able to write them successfully/believably into my stories, you know? It’ll be worse if I try to include them and just mess up. So, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be in this story. Sorry about that. :(

Anyway, here’s the next update.

P.S. as usual, dialogues that are completely italicized (basically the lines that are said around Xiari and/or at school) are spoken in Chinese.

Book 3: The (Crazier) Toddler Years

Chapter 6: Pre-school

"But Minhyunnie doesn't want to go, umma!" Minhyun said tearfully as he clutched tightly onto Kyuhyun's pants. The little boy just couldn't understand why his mother was making him do this!

"Cho Minhyun, you have to go," Kyuhyun sighed as he rubbed his face roughly with his hand. "Everyone needs to start going to school at some point!"

"But umma says Minhyunnie is a genius like him! If I'm already a genius, then why do I need to go to school?" Minhyun didn't get why he needs to go to school.

Kyuhyun's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, the evil maknae not quite sure about how to respond to that statement from his son. Hankyung was working on a schedule in Beijing and wasn't with the evil mother-son duo this time, but Kyuhyun could imagine and hear his hyung's voice in his head: ’This is what you get for filling Minhyun's mind with your crazy ideas!’

Kyuhyun was kind of unnerved at how his hyung and his conscience (yes, the evil maknae does have a conscience, thank you very much!) were starting to merge and become one, but he needed to focus on the more important matter at hand.

Getting his son to let go of his leg and go into his pre-school classroom.

Kyuhyun had to search his mind for a moment or two to be able to formulate an answer for his son.

"Because .... uhm ... because ..." the evil maknae pursed his lips, thinking hard. Then, the lightbulb in his head finally clicked. "Because you need to show to others how much of a genius you are! It's not much fun being a genius if you don't get others to acknowledge it and bow down to your superior intellect, Minhyunnie!"

Xiari, who had gone along with them in line with her promise to the worrywart hyung that she'll do her best to make sure that Minhyun's first day of school goes smoothly, just rolled her eyes at Kyuhyun's response. Sure, as an ELF, she agreed that no one can match Kyuhyun's and Minhyun's intelligence. But since Kyuhyun's intelligence was superior, he really should have been able to give a better response, shouldn't he?

Just then, the school bell sounded.

"Minhyun, you really need to get inside now," Kyuhyun told his son seriously.

Instead of letting go, Minhyun's grip on Kyuhyun’s pants just tightened, and the little boy pressed himself even closer to his mother's leg.

"Minhyun doesn't want to be away from umma!"

"Minhyunnie, you'll see me again after school is over."

"I don’t want to go! No!"

Kyuhyun's eye twitched as he heard that dreaded word from his son again.

The teacher came out of the classroom, and Minhyun began to really start sobbing. This elderly lady was coming to take him away from his mother! Minhyun was quite sure that the warm smile on the lady's face deceiving! She can't take him from his mother! The little boy locked his arms around his mother's leg.

"Minhyunnie, don't cry!" Kyuhyun said anxiously, starting to go into panic mode again with his son's crying.

"Minhyunnie doesn't want to go!" Minhyun insisted firmly through his tears. "Minhyunnie wants to stay at home and be with umma and plan for world domination with him!"

The teacher's eyes widened at the last part, but Xiari just smirked fondly and shook her head. Kyuhyun, for his part, was feeling quite proud that his son evidently shared his fondness for world domination.

"We'll go back to our plans when you get home, okay? For now, you need to go to class and get even smarter! This way, world domination will be easier for us!"

By now, the teacher's mouth was hanging open as she heard Kyuhyun's encouragement for world domination. Kyuhyun, Minhyun, and Xiari just ignored her shock, though.

"No! Minhyun's not going!" was all that Minhyun cried out as tears continued to roll down his chubby little cheeks.

Minhyun was clearly experiencing "first day blues" and having separation anxiety.

Unknown to everyone else, Kyuhyun was actually calm today just because he'd already been able to get out all the panic and anxiousness and worries about "his little dumpling going to school for the first time ever" last night.

And of course, distance wasn't even enough to protect Hankyung. Because Kyuhyun had chosen to "unload his baggage of emotions" by phoning his hyung last night...

Flashback

Hankyung had just gotten home and was starting to relax on his couch. "What a day!" he groaned to himself.

Unknown to the Chinese man, his tiring day wasn't over yet. He had yet to deal with his biggest challenge for the day (which was also the biggest challenge in his life currently, coincidentally): the evil maknae.

His phone suddenly started ringing.

Not bothering to look at the caller ID, Hankyung just answered the call. "Hello?"

And was immediately flooded with the said evil maknae's panicky and even mildly paranoid speech.

"What if school doesn't go well tomorrow? What if it's awful? What if the quality of education's not good? What if the place has y facilities? What if the classroom's cramped and small and smelly and makes Minhyun sick? What if the teacher's mean to my son? What if the other kids bully my little dumpling? What if--?"

Hankyung really needed Kyuhyun to stop with the "what ifs" before the Chinese man went crazy as well (since it was already apparent to him that Kyuhyun had already gone nuts).

"Kyuhyun! Knock it off! Calm down!"

"How can I be calm?! It's my little dumpling’s first day of school tomorrow, hyung!" Did the older man not understand Kyuhyun's current predicament?

"Exactly," Hankyung rolled his eyes even though Kyuhyun couldn't see it. "He's going to school. You're panicking like he's about to be executed or be in something life-threatening." His dongsaeng really could be such a drama queen sometimes.

"Well, yeah, but what if—“

Hankyung groaned loudly. It seemed like the only way for Hankyung to be free from the younger's paranoid "what ifs" is to actually address them.

"First, all your questions about the school itself are pointless," Hankyung began firmly. "You've been there and checked out the school and Minhyun's classroom. You know that everything there's great! And it's the same pre-school that Lin had gone to! As Xiari had already assured you, the education there's good as well, and the teacher's very nice! And why are you worrying about what the other kids might do to Minhyun, anyway? Frankly, it's the other kids that I'm worried about."

Hankyung loved his nephew to bits, but he also knew that the kid quite often doubled as a little demon. Kyuhyun's little evil minion. Hankyung found it almost laughable that Kyuhyun worried that Minhhyun would be bullied. If anything, it would be the other way around. And the reason why Hankyung could only "almost laugh" about it is that he really pitied the kids that would be his nephew's classmates. The poor little kids would have a little evil minion unleashed upon them.

"But, hyung, what if ..."

Hankyung could only let out another helpless sigh as Kyuhyun went on with his worries about his son's first day. And the Chinese man endured about an hour of dealing with Kyuhyun's paranoia before the evil maknae managed to calm down about "his litt