A week passes and everyone starts falling into the rhythm. They get up in the morning, eat breakfast, and go to school until the weekend. The same routine, over and over again, and Ryeowook always watches the same events unfold.

He pouts, sitting stationary on one of the swings in the school playground. He can see Kyuhyun near the slide, picking on a kindergartner who is only half his height. Ryeowook wants to help the poor kid overcome his younger brother’s bullying, but he is too afraid.

He clenches his little hands around the swing chains, looking away. In a moment, a teacher will probably come to put an end to Kyuhyun’s wrath, and Ryeowook will have been useless, yet again.

He wants to help, but he can’t. So he starts swinging.

He kicks his feet back and forth, creating the lift he needs to go higher and higher. High enough to ignore what’s going on down below.

Kyu is a big meanie. Ryeowook closes his eyes and feels the rush that goes through his head. But he’s my brother and I love him.

And he always will.

~

Kyuhyun doesn’t wait for the teacher to come before he puts an end to his bullying. He takes the kid’s sandwich and walks off, eating it. The kindergartner wails, calling for his mommy.

If that was Kyuhyun, he wouldn’t have a mom to call to.

He could cry and cry and cry, but no one would answer to that name.

Well, except for Jungsu.

Kyuhyun hates his adoptive family with a passion: Youngwoon is too rough with him, Ryeowook is a big crybaby, and Jongwoon is a big show-off. But Jungsu is different. He isn’t the mother Kyuhyun wanted—heck, he’s a man!—but he is someone whom Kyuhyun can actually call family.

Jungsu is always so gentle and loving with him, and the only reason why Kyuhyun hasn’t run away from this family yet, as if he would know what to do with himself if he did run away. He could never hurt Jungsu, his precious Umma. His Umma who held him when he stubbed his toe, who kissed his head when he broke his first game, who sends him to school with a special message in his lunchbox every day.

If Ryeowook wasn’t constantly crying and hurting himself, Kyuhyun would be the one to be with Jungsu, twenty four-seven.

Kyuhyun hides under a tree on the playground and takes out his Star Wars lunchbox. He does have his own food; to be honest, he doesn’t know why he stole that kindergartner’s sandwich.

Well, he did want to make the kid cry. Ryeowook’s wails bother him because it means that Jungsu is on the way to care for him instead of Kyuhyun, but any other child’s cries make Kyuhyun feel empowered.

He opens his lunchbox and looks inside. There is a Granny Smith apple nestled in the corner, a bag of carrot sticks on the side, a grape juice box on the other side, and a bowl of leftover teriyaki chicken and rice in the middle. Kyuhyun smiles. There is also a strip of paper taped to the top of the container.

Be a good boy today, Kyu, my little scholar.

Kyuhyun tears the message off and kisses it.

He loves his Umma so much.  

~

At seven o’clock the next Monday morning, Jungsu is standing at the kitchen sink, washing apples for the kids’ lunches. He turns the faucet off, reaching into the dishwasher for a clean knife, and begins to slice the fruit on a cutting board.

Youngwoon comes in, rubbing his eyes sleepily, Ryeowook trailing on his heels in the same half-asleep condition. Both are still wearing their pajamas, the father in boxer shorts and a wifebeater, and the son in yellow giraffe footie pajamas. They settle onto the wooden chairs, somewhat ready for breakfast.

“Up late last night?” Jungsu asks, chuckling at the sight of them.

Youngwoon sniffles, “Maybe…”

“I think you should change into your clothes before you come to eat,” the eldest smirks, putting the apple slices into Ziploc bags and walking over to his boys. He picks Ryeowook up before he falls off the chair. “And Wookie is up too early…”

“Umma, I had a nightmare and now I can’t sleep…” Ryeowook whines, as his father carries him back to his bedroom, “Can you sing to me?”

“Of course, Wookie,” Jungsu whispers. They enter the room, which is only slightly lit since it’s quite early in the morning. Kyuhyun is still asleep, bunched up in his heavy covers. Jongwoon sleeps in his own room across the hall.

Jungsu places his son gently into his bed, and covers him up with his quilts. Ryeowook grips them in his hands and looks up expectantly at the man who kneels at his bedside. So Jungsu begins singing.

It’s a song he often sings to his sons whenever they’re afraid or tired, a song about the wonders of the land of dreams, sung in his native language. His tenor voice resonates nicely in the quiet of the room, lulling the eight-year-old slowly to sleep.

Once Jungsu hears the light snores of his son, he kisses his little forehead and stands up. When he passes by Kyuhyun’s bed, there is the sound of a sniffle. Jungsu leans down to see his youngest son’s face, and his eyes widen.

Kyuhyun must be having a nightmare as well; tears streak down his cheeks and his mouth forms a whimpering pout. Jungsu wipes his sweaty forehead with his own shirtsleeve and runs his fingers through the boy’s hair. He begins singing again.

A few moments later, Kyuhyun is back into a deep sleep. Jungsu places a kiss on his temple and then leaves the room filled with a sense of peace.

He loves his sons to the end of the earth. Jongwoon, with his passion and intelligence. Ryeowook, with his sweetness and the cries that drive Jungsu to his side each time. Even Kyuhyun, who has been the most difficult by far.

Kyuhyun is a smart kid, especially in mathematics. So smart, in fact, that sometimes Jungsu asks him for the answers when he’s trying to help Ryeowook do his homework. And he has a great sense of humor, along with the moments where he is so adorable that Jungsu cannot handle it.

Yet, Kyuhyun does have one big issue: a bad attitude. Jungsu has gotten more than a few phone calls from teachers saying that Kyuhyun was being rude in class, or he was bullying a kid on the playground.

Jungsu doesn’t understand what he has done to make Kyuhyun like this, but he constantly blames himself. He’s the parent, the responsible one.

Well then, that means Youngwoon is responsible too.

Said man is still in the kitchen, only half-dressed and making toast for his breakfast. He has a pair of tan slacks on, and a white shirt over his wifebeater, completely ed.

Jungsu feels obligated to button it for him. His thin fingers make quick work of it, smoothing out the fabric over the soft, but strong, mass of Youngwoon’s torso. The younger mutters a thanks, toast muffling his words. Jungsu nods, moving back to the countertop where the kid’s unfinished lunchboxes are.

It’s moments like these when Jungsu notices their spark going out.

They used to grin, stupidly in love, when their eyes met. They used to kiss for the simplest of reasons, or for no reason at all. Now there is silence in their stares, and their lips hardly ever touch.

Jungsu doesn’t know what caused this change.

~

Youngwoon doesn’t notice that there is a change. He goes about his days normally, teaching class every weekday morning at one college, afternoons at another one, and nights every Friday as a seminar. He comes home to a full house since his husband has picked up the boys on the way home from work. Everything is calm and mostly under control.

Obviously, except for Kyuhyun. But Youngwoon has done all he can to curb the worst of that child’s behavior, so he shouldn’t be complaining. He loves all of his sons equally, even Kyuhyun.

Youngwoon finishes eating breakfast, watching the back of his husband as he puts juice boxes in the kids’ lunches. The tie of his blue apron is unraveling, so Youngwoon stands up and walks over to retie it.

He doesn’t notice Jungsu tensing under his touch and stopping his work, nor does he see the blush on his face. Youngwoon sits back down after he double-ties a neat bow, having thought nothing of it. He checks the time on his phone, answers a few student emails, and then gets up to leave. He grabs his keys and wallet from the dish in the kitchen and murmurs a daily goodbye to Jungsu, who doesn’t reply.

Youngwoon passes Jongwoon’s bedroom on his way out. The preteen is just getting up from bed.

“Have fun at school today,” Youngwoon smiles, waving at his son. Jongwoon smiles sleepily, waving back and stretching in a yawn.

Kyuhyun and Ryeowook are still fast asleep when their father walks past the open door. He smiles, knowing that they will have fun at school too.

Youngwoon’s drive to the city’s community college only takes fifteen minutes, as opposed to his afternoon class which is in a university thirty miles away. The drive there is a pain, but listening to music on the way makes everything better.

He arrives at school, and settles into his room for morning office hours, before class. A few students come in for help with homework; they’re so energetic about the subject that Youngwoon is surprised that most of them aren’t statistics majors. Later, a colleague of his brings complementary coffee.

“Thanks,” Youngwoon says to his friend before locking his office and leaving to hold class, “With these students, I’ll need the energy.”

~

Jungsu drops each of the boys off at school; Jongwoon first, before eight, and the younger two later, at nine fifteen. They each leave him with a kiss on the cheek, and a thank you for making their lunch, as they do almost every morning. Jungsu smiles and kisses them back. Not a single one of the boys wipes his kiss of their cheeks. Not even Kyuhyun, who smiles even brighter.

“Bye, Umma!” he waves, hopping out of the car after Ryeowook. He speeds on ahead to catch up with one of his classmates.

Jungsu giggles, and then drives back home. He doesn’t have work until four in the afternoon, when he picks up the kids, drops them at home where Youngwoon has just arrived, and then goes to work until ten o’clock at night. The only days off he has are Fridays, because of his husband’s night seminars. Jungsu is a host at a fancy, Italian-style restaurant called Principessa, where he has worked his way up since he was in his twenties. He is very close with his co-workers, and is always friendly with the newcomers that arrive every once in a while. He enjoys greeting the guests, making reservations for them, and leading them to their tables. The restaurant is well-known in the area, so the amount of customers who come for dinner is large.

Jungsu has a lot of alone time each day while the kids are in school. He makes meals for later, plays music aloud and sing along to it, and often visits the neighbors. This morning, he happens to visit the Choi household.

Jungsu isn’t surprised to see Siwon opening the front door for him. It’s a Monday, so Siwon is spending the day at home with his husband and son. Donghae seems to already be at school, the only place he can go now that Heechul has grounded him for skipping class last week.

“Ah, Hyung. Welcome.” He gives a charming smile, and lets the man in. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” Jungsu declines. They go into the kitchen anyways, where Sungmin is happily chewing on a teething toy, waiting for his breakfast.

“Morning, Minnie,” Jungsu coos, pinching the baby’s cheek softly. Sungmin grins and gurgles, adorable little teeth showing.

Siwon pulls a chair out politely for him to sit down in it, “Chullie isn’t awake yet, but I can get him if you want.”

“Ah…” Jungsu considers whether he really wants to see a Heechul who hasn’t had enough sleep, “It’s alright. I can wait. I have basically all day.”

Siwon nods, grabbing a sippy cup full of juice. Sungmin reaches for it with his tiny, chubby hands, and drinks the juice heartily. The men laugh at his adorable demeanor.

“How are the boys?” Siwon asks, sipping from his mug of coffee.

Jungsu considers the conditions of his sons. “Jongwoon won second place in the spelling bee yesterday.”

“Oh, tell him I say congratulations.”

Jungsu nods and continues, “Ryeowook and Kyuhyun had nightmares this morning, but they seemed fine when I dropped them at school.”

“I’m sure they are,” Siwon smiles reassuringly, “Nightmares are nothing. When Donghae comes to me after having a nightmare, I send him back to bed with a warm glass of milk.”

“Still?” Jungsu questions.

“You’re never too old for a glass of milk in the middle of the night,” Siwon chuckles, “Plus, Donghae is a child at heart. I doubt he’ll ever change.”

Jungsu smiles reminiscently. From the way Ryeowook still wants his Umma to carry him around, Jungsu can tell that he’ll be just like Donghae. Jongwoon and Kyuhyun, on the other hand, seem far more mature, maybe a little too much for their ages.

A loud crash from somewhere inside the house interrupts Jungsu’s thoughts. He starts, and Siwon gets up to find out what it was.

“I’m okay!” They hear Heechul shout from the master bedroom. Siwon exhales a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head and sitting back down.

A minute later, Heechul comes into the room nonchalantly, clad in only a pair of pink boxer-briefs. “Wonnie, have you seen my robe?”

Jungsu waves at him, and Heechul smiles back, not embarrassed in the slightest that he is in his underwear in front of his best friend.

“Chullie, put some clothes on,” Siwon escorts his husband out of the kitchen, “I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“My robe?” Heechul asks.

“Hanging on the terrace, drying.” Siwon replies, leaving Heechul satisfied as he goes to find it.

Siwon comes back with a rueful look on his face. “Sorry you had to see that.”

Jungsu laughs, dimple showing, “It’s okay. I’d imagine I’m used to his lack of shame by now.”

Siwon sighs, “I have yet to.”

Sungmin giggles, as if he understands.

~

Kyuhyun stays inside the classroom for lunch today. No one bothers to sit near him or even talk to him; either they’re too afraid or they simply dislike him. At the moment, he doesn’t care.

Because Max shows up.

Max is possibly the only person Kyuhyun can call his friend. They have known each other since kindergarten, although it feels like much longer than three years. Max has the biggest ears Kyuhyun has ever seen, and he’s the only one who is willing to join in on one of Kyuhyun’s pranks or help him steal something from a first grader. They are partners in crime.

Max takes a seat next to Kyuhyun. He has a big grin on his face.

“What?” Kyuhyun asks, opening his lunchbox.

“Nothing. Just wanted to see what your mommy made you for lunch.” Max has always been curious about Jungsu; why he’s a man, what he writes for Kyuhyun’s daily lunch messages, why Kyuhyun loves him so much.

Kyuhyun sticks his tongue out, “Nothing for you to eat.” He pulls out the contents of his lunch: a bag of sliced apples, a cheese sandwich, a pack of crackers, and a juice box. There is the message, taped to the front of the juice box.

“What’s it say? What’s it say?” Max bounces in his seat.

“Good luck on your science test.” Kyuhyun reads, “Don’t forget to make something pretty for your Appa’s birthday tomorrow.”

“Aww…” Max giggles when Kyuhyun smacks his shoulder. “Whaddya gonna make?”

“A card during art class.” Every day, his class gets to make art after lunch. Kyuhyun doesn’t really know what to make for Youngwoon, so he’ll go with the basics. It’s not like it’s Jungsu’s birthday.

“Make it glittery,” Max says cutely.

“Appa isn’t a girl, Max.”

Max giggles, “True...Oh, speaking of girls, have you seen that weird girl who stares at you during class?”

“Who?”

“The one who always wears the same pair of kitty cat socks and those clunky shoes that are way too big for her feet. I dunno her name.”

Kyuhyun shakes his head, “I haven’t noticed her.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure she’s crushing on you.”

Kyuhyun grimaces, “Ew. Girls are gross.” He shudders comically, and Max copies the motion.

“Yeah. Ew,” he sticks out his tongue, “I only mentioned her because she’s really creeping me out. She stares at you most of class time. I’m surprised that she isn’t here now, trying to talk to you.”

“Not that I would want her to talk to me.” Kyuhyun snickers.

~

Ryeowook spends lunchtime outside, as he usually does. He eats his homemade lunch on the benches, humming a song to himself. His friends are already playing; he wanted to finish eating his apples, which are harder to eat since he has a few loose teeth.

“Wookie!” A first grader approaches his bench, one with adorably pudgy cheeks and a lovely eye smile. Henry plops down on the seat next to him. He is wearing denim overalls and sneakers, and he has something hidden in his little hands.

“Hi, Henry!” Ryeowook closes his lunchbox, having finished his apple slices finally. He points to Henry’s hands, “What’s in there?”

Henry holds his cupped hands to one of his eyes, “It’s a bug I caught.”

“Oh, Jongwoonie loves bugs! He caught a butterfly for me one time.” Ryeowook claims, “Can I see what you got?”

Henry shoves his hands in Ryeowook’s face, “I don’t know what the name is. Can you tell me?”

Ryeowook peers into the hole between Henry’s thumbs, but he can only see darkness. “Can you open your hands a bit?”

Henry opens them all the way, and the insect bounces off. “Ah!” Henry shouts and goes chasing after the bug. Ryeowook follows behind him, leaving his lunchbox on the bench. They chase it through the grassy field, past the swing set, around the large oak trees, and into unfamiliar territory. It isn’t until Henry finally catches the thing that they realize where they are.

“It’s the upper graders’ playground!” Henry squeals in fear, “Run back before they find us!” He turns around and starts back to the lower graders’ playground, but only ends up bumping into Ryeowook, who hasn’t turned around yet. They both hit the grass with a loud “Oof!”, Henry’s head on Ryeowook’s chest.

“Sorry,” Henry apologizes, scrambling to his knees and brushing the grass off of his overalls.

Ryeowook sits up, smiling, “It’s okay. Can I see the bug?”

“Wait, what about the—” Henry turns around to see that there are no upper graders on the playground. “Oh. I forgot. They don’t eat until after us.”

Ryeowook giggles, “I forgot too. Now can I see it?”

Henry grins widely, showing the elder the insect caught in his hands. He only opens them a little bit this time. Ryeowook looks into them, mouth dropping open in awe. “Wow, Henry! You caught a baby grasshopper!”

“I did?” Henry pulls his hands back and examines the insect, “Cool! I can’t wait to tell Hyukkie and Mimi!”

“What are you going to do with it?” Ryeowook asks, standing up. He helps his friend stand as well.

“I dunno. I think I’m gonna ask my teacher if we can keep it for a class pet!” Henry’s eyes sparkle, a contagious grin on his lips.

Ryeowook smiles too, “Yeah! Let’s go ask!” He makes sure to grab his Rilakkuma lunch box from the bench before they go inside.

~

Jongwoon spends his lunchtime in the library, studying for tomorrow’s algebra test. There are a few other students in the room, but they are mostly here to quickly check out books and leave with their friends. No one pays Jongwoon any mind, just how he likes it. This way, he can get his A-pluses in peace.

“Woonie?” A book edge lands on his shoulder heavily, “Hey!”

“Ouch!” Jongwoon rubs his shoulder, looking up into the eyes of his best friend, “What’d you do that for?”

Zhoumi snorts, sitting down next to him and placing his novel on the table, “Sorry. I was trying to get your attention. You were off in la-la-land again.”

“I was studying,” Jongwoon blows his bangs out of his eyes, returning to his textbook. If anybody else had interrupted him, he would be very irritated. But it’s Zhoumi, whom he can never be mad at.

“Uh huh,” Zhoumi purses his lips, and then reaches into his backpack, “Guess what I brought…”

Jongwoon’s eyes don’t leave the page. Knowing Zhoumi, it’s probably something lame, “What?”

Zhoumi drops two rectangular items on top of the younger’s textbook. One is a Nintendo 3DS, and the other is the newest Super Mario game. Jongwoon raises an eyebrow, “When did you get this?”

Zhoumi chuckles, opening the game box and taking out the chip, “Borrowed it from your little bro when we walked home last Friday. He gave it to me in exchange for eating his vegetables the next time I come over for dinner.” Zhoumi winks.

Jongwoon shakes his head, “You know we can’t play games in school.”

“Yeah,” Zhoumi shrugs, “I know. But we’re in the library, and there’s basically no one around. The librarian can’t see us from here anyways.” He gives the younger puppy-dog eyes, “Come on, please? I need help passing a level...”

Jongwoon considers. On one hand, he should be studying for tomorrow’s test. On the other hand, he has already studied everything that’s going to be on it, and would only be studying the material over again to solidify it in his brain. Plus, he’s been here since the beginning of lunch and could use a little break.

“Fine,” Jongwoon sighs, smiling at the elder’s bright, perfect grin. “But we should find a better hiding spot.”

They find one in the empty space between a bookshelf and a corner of the room, behind the window curtains.

~

I’ll pick up the boys, Youngwoon texts Jungsu, You can go to work early.

Jungsu smiles at the message. His husband hardly ever comes home early enough to pick up the kids; perhaps he had to cancel his afternoon class, or something.

He thanks Siwon and Heechul for the wonderful lunch, kisses the top of Sungmin’s head, and hops into his white Camry.

The drive to work is full of traffic; it takes him a whole hour to make a ten mile drive. And to top it off, the restaurant parking lot is full, even the spots reserved for employees. He parks along the street on the next block over, which entails in a fifteen minute walk, meaning he’s really only a few minutes early to work.

Jungsu grabs his uniform from his trunk and starts walking. The sidewalks are pretty packed, which is strange since it’s neither lunch nor dinner rush. Perhaps there is a special event today.

Speaking of special events, tomorrow is Youngwoon’s birthday, and Jungsu has no idea what to do for it. It’s a school night, which means nothing big can happen, unless it’s for a short time. Heechul suggested everyone getting together again, and maybe inviting a few more families. Jungsu didn’t like the idea; it would be too much fuss. He supposes they will just be spending Youngwoon’s birthday at home. Maybe they should go out for dinner.

No, Jungsu has work.

He sighs. One day at a time.

He finally arrives at Principessa, entering through the front door and walking into the “Employees Only” doorway. He steals away into the bathroom to change into his uniform, a simple, black-and-white formal garment.

Jungsu emerges from the restroom into a chaotic, yet somehow ordered kitchen. He passes his co-workers, whom he knows all by name, although only one of them is actually what Jungsu can call a friend. Mainly because his son, Max, is Kyuhyun’s best friend.

“Hey.” Standing at the host’s podium, Yunho greets him with a soft smile, welcoming him to yet another work night.

A/N: By making Zhoumi and Yesung best friends, I’m starting to ship it. LOL Though YeWook is one of my faves...Anyways, hope you enjoyed chapter 3! I'll try to update the next chapter before my 2 week 'deadline' because this is the week of finals and then IM DONE (for now lol). Look forward to Youngwoon's birthday in chapter 4!!!