s i x

It was not easy being the head of the finance department, especially with a relatively bigger and successful company. It had taken Minseok a few years and a lot of effort to get to this position, though, and he knew he could hardly complain. The boss placed a tremendous amount of trust in the thirty-year-old man, and Kim Minseok knew better than to disappoint the very man who had given him such a high and honorary rank in the affairs of the business. Gone were the hellish days spent hunched over his desk, peering at the computer screen till he felt that he would either go blind or go insane (although he still felt like he was losing his sanity sometimes at work). He had worked hard, harder than quite a lot of people in the office, to be able to reach where he was now.

His job was still pretty tiring on most days; having to oversee the finances of the company on a regular basis, as well as making quite a few important decisions, was no easy task, and by the end of each day, he would feel deflated from the lack of energy. His day did not get over with just that, though. The very thought of coming home to a bunch of excited kids -- his sons -- would hardly ever be an interesting prospect for him. Taking care of their diet and nutrition, making sure they went to school, helping them with their homework, if any -- even though he wasn't that willing to -- would prove to be even more tiresome than he had thought. It had been easier when his wife was alive; she would look after the three boys so that he could fully concentrate on his work. No such luck now, though.

Minseok had been of the opinion that he would be able to sleep a bit more on a Sunday, but his youngest son was having none of it. Despite numerous protests from Junmyeon, the boy had managed to drag his two older brothers over to their father's room, peering up at the man's sleeping figure. They could hear the soft snores, the oldest taking advantage of being slightly taller than the other two to peek over the bed. He looked back down at his brothers, laying a hand lightly on Jongin's shoulder.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Jonginnie. Dad must be exhausted, he's in a deep sleep," he tried to explain, sighing when the other shook his head obstinately. Shrugging off his brother's hand, Jongin proceeded to trot over to the edge of the bed, placing both hands on the mattress and bouncing up and down on the spot.

"I think he wants us to lift him up," Chanyeol whispered, ignoring the oldest to walk over and help Jongin up. He had always had a soft spot for his younger brother, and honestly, who wouldn't? Jongin was a shy but cheerful, and lively kid. Which was apparent at the moment as his face immediately brightened up once he managed to climb up on the bed. He took a moment to look around, before crawling over to his father, who was sleeping smack in the middle of the double bed, his face looking peacefully serene for a change.

With a small grin, Jongin rose to his feet on the bed, and waddled over to the man's side, plopping himself square on his father's broad, firm chest. That little action was enough for Minseok to wake up as he let out an 'oof', groaning softly before opening his eyes. Two dark orbs stared back at him, an innocent, puppy-like expression in them. The father of three sighed, carefully lifting his youngest son to be able to sit up.

"What is it, Jongin?" He mumbled as he sat up, propping himself up with an arm as he glanced at each of his sons in turn, his gaze coming to a stop on Jongin.

"Play with us, Dad!" The kid exclaimed, raising both arms as he reached out towards his father, and patted the man on the thigh. Minseok regarded the kid for a few seconds, before his eyes flickered to the digital clock on the bedside table. He sighed loudly, wordlessly tucking his hands under Jongin's arms and letting the boy down on the floor.

"Why don't you let me sleep?" He complained, his voice taking on a whiny tone, and he realised, somewhere at the back of his mind, just how much he was behaving like a kid in front of the children.

"But you never play with us," Chanyeol piped up, paying no heed to his older brother who had tried his best to keep the six-year-old quiet, but to no avail. The adult turned to his adopted son; it seemed that Chanyeol had managed to muster quite an amount of courage to be able to say that. His hands were shaking by his sides, and while he met the man's eyes evenly, it looked as if he would burst into tears any second.

Minseok took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, sighing again before pushing himself off the bed. "Fine, you win. Let me wash up, and we need to have breakfast first," he relented, scratching at the back of his neck as he disappeared inside the bathroom.

Junmyeon, who had been expecting a major amount of scolding from their father, was stunned as he stared at the now closed bathroom door, mouth slightly agape. He heard Chanyeol's sharp intake of breath beside him as Jongin left the two of them cheerily, walking out of the room and down the stairs to get ready for playtime with his older brothers and father.

"He wasn't angry?" Chanyeol questioned, looking up at his brother with equal surprise before his face broke into a grin. "That's nice, isn't it, Myeon?"

Junmyeon smiled that typical matured, 'older-brother' smile of his, reaching over to ruffle the younger's hair with a nod. "That's really nice. Maybe Dad is not too stressed about his work now than he was before. I wonder what happened," he mused, then patted Chanyeol on his back. "Come on, let's go, or Jongin will pick some atrocious game to play with," he joked, smiling again as the other kid laughed, and the two of them set off to look for the youngest downstairs.

"What is this you're making, Dad?" Chanyeol asked as he bounced on his feet, hands rested on the kitchen counter as he tried to peek into the bowl his father was stirring. Minseok glanced at him for a second as he stirred the contents of the bowl.

"Pancakes," he answered simply, sighing as his son's expression twisted into confusion. "You'll see, just wait. Your friend Baekhyun's mother told me about this recipe she had tried out a few days ago," he explained. He wondered exactly how he had managed to remember every single ingredient and its quantity, seeing as how the woman had spoken a mile a minute, clearly feeling exhilarated at how well her pancakes had turned out to be, and how her kids had loved them. The corners of his lips twitched ever so slightly at the memory; the bright smile on her face that day would have even rivalled the sun, and it seemed like nothing could change her happy mood.

He was reminded of what had happened to her older son almost a week ago, though, and after that day, Minah had seemed a bit guarded around him. Baekhyun was back to being cheerful right from the next day, and even if his mother still talked to him quite a bit, something about her had changed. The two of them didn't meet as much for discussing their work, but she was an efficient employee of the advertisement agency, and that had helped Minseok a lot with his work. He didn't need to worry too much about that particular contract, which meant that he could focus on his regular work, with a lot less stress than he had imagined. This also helped him stay more level-headed than before, and Minseok didn't realise just how much she had helped him, in more ways than one.

"Dad, can I eat this?" Came a small voice, and Minseok turned around to see Jongin pointing at a box of walnut cookies kept on one side of the counter. He shrugged, nodding slightly as he turned to heat the frying pan on the cooktop.

"Go ahead. Chanyeol, will you open it for him?" He said, looking over his shoulder at the boy, who nodded with a smile before hurrying to help his little brother with the packaging.

Everything was quiet and peaceful for a while, and Minseok could hear the soft munching sounds as his sons ate the cookies. He had just finished frying one pancake, and was about to pour the batter for the second one, when he heard a loud cry from behind. Swiftly turning his head, he was met with the sight of Jongin suddenly bursting out crying, his face buried in his tiny hands as the other two boys ran over to him. What happened?! He thought as he turned off the gas, walking over to the kids' side in long strides, and crouched down in front of the youngest.

The words déjà vu crossed his mind fleetingly, remembering the day in the school when he had tried to console Baekhyun. Presently, he took a hold of Jongin's arms, gently trying to pry his hands away from his face, but the kid was stubborn. As he looked more closely, though, he realised that the boy was not covering his face, but was scratching at it. A quick peek at the skin on the youngest's face showed a red rash, that was starting to spread all over his cheeks, and the sight of it scared Minseok more than anything else. It was the first time he had seen something like this happen to any of his sons, and he was terrified.

He finally managed to pull Jongin's hands away from his face, turning to his two older sons, who were shocked at the sight. "Don't let him scratch his face!" He ordered, waiting till both of them had grabbed each one of Jongin's arms, before standing up and lunging for his phone on the dining table, searching for the number of the only person that he could think of.

"You're fine now, okay, honey?" Minah whispered as she patted Jongin on the shoulder, smiling as she saw him nod slowly. She sat next to him as he lay on the double bed in the boys' room, gently the kid's hair to calm him down. It had taken quite a while for his sobs to die down, but he had now become silent, the tear tracks on his cheeks already having dried up. The swelling on his face had reduced, and the redness had almost vanished completely.

The other two boys were sitting on the other side of the bed, regarding their kid brother worriedly, while Minseok leaned against a wall, biting his lip, his eyes on the woman in front of him. He felt even more helpless now with Minah having to take care of his son, when he should have obviously known what to do in such a situation.

"Rest for some time now, alright?" She said as she stood up, giving Minseok a meaningful glance as she walked out of the room. He hesitated, but stepped forward, lightly ruffling Jongin's hair before following her.

He waited till the two of them were out of hearing range of the children, looking at her as she turned around to meet his gaze. He was ashamed, however, and looked down at his feet, sighing.

"I really, seriously can't thank you enough, Minah. I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you, I mean, look at me. I was so shocked that I didn't even think about taking him to a doctor, how stupid could I be-"

"Minseok," she interrupted him, gently placing a hand on his arm as she smiled at him, shaking her head. "You don't have to beat yourself up about it, I completely understand. Food allergies in your kids are always scary, I know." Her voice was so soft, so kind, and Minseok could feel it getting enveloped around himself, calming him, soothing his nerves. It felt like he had her full support in helping him raise the three boys, and as strange as it seemed, she reminded him of his late wife at that moment.

"What was that thing you gave him, though?" He asked as he joined Minah at the dining table, a cup of tea in his hand. After what she had done, he owed her at least that -- actually, a lot more than that, he knew -- and he refused to let her go without having some tea at his house.

She looked up from blowing at the hot liquid, shrugging. "That was diphenhydramine."

"Di-what?" Minseok frowned, and she watched as his nose scrunched up cutely, like a little boy's. She tried not to laugh, but failed as a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

"Diphenhydramine," she repeated slowly, "it is a medicine effective against most food allergies, and is pretty useful for mild allergy symptoms. I would still suggest taking Jongin to a doctor, though," she instructed, smiling as the man nodded obediently.

"How do you know about treating food allergies?" He questioned further, and she leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table.

"When I was still in high school, I had visited my cousin's family. Her daughter had suffered from a mild allergy attack, and the doctor had prescribed that medicine. I kind of never forgot about that one incident, and now I always keep some of it in my first aid kit back at home," she explained, smiling slightly before bringing the cup in her hand to her lips, taking a sip of the drink. "Mm, this tastes refreshing," she commented, closing her eyes as she breathed in the mild scent of the tea.

"Jasmine tea," Minseok said, the ghost of a smile on his face as watched the lady in front of her. "Where are your boys?"

"I asked the middle-aged lady who lives next to us to look after them till I was done," she said, tilting her head towards nothing in particular.

Like lightning, Minseok was struck with a sudden thought: during his entire time of having known Minah, he had been nothing but rude to her, yet here she was, ready to help him no matter whatever happened. He froze in his seat, his gaze never leaving her even when she looked at him.

"Um, Minseok? You're staring," she said, an amused frown on her face. Her voice effectively snapped him out of his daze, and before he knew it, tears welled up in the thirty-year-old's eyes. He blinked rapidly, but it was too late as they escaped his eyes, rolling down his cheeks as Minah watched in growing horror.

"Minseok, what's wrong?" She asked, voice urgent as she stood up, rushing over to his side and placing a hand on his shoulder. He proceeded to bury his face in his hands as he cried, and her heart hurt at the sight of his body racking with his sobs. She had never seen him so vulnerable before, she always thought he was a tough man who faced every obstacle with a grim, straight demeanour.

"I'm just... so sorry for the way I've behaved with you so far," he spoke, his voice coming out muffled through his hands, and Minah sighed, his back.

"It's okay, Minseok, really. I know you didn't mean any of it," she said, her voice calm and soothing as always. He shook his head, his sobs never ceasing.

"But I did-"

"Shhh," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper as she surprised Minseok by wrapping her arms round him in a warm, friendly hug. "It's all in the past now, okay? Don't think about it too much. We're friends now, right?" She asked rhetorically, not expecting any form of answer from him as she patted his shoulder.

Friends? He thought. Are we really?

He didn't say any of it out loud, though, letting the woman console him as he felt strangely comfortable in her company, as well as her arms. She gave off such motherly vibes sometimes, and Minseok couldn't help but think of his mother.

Once she was sure that he was okay, Minah slowly let go of the man, straightening up as she still stood next to him, her hand still on his shoulder. "Geez, when you called me and described what was happening to Jongin, I kind of figured out that he was suffering from an allergy. I didn't think that I would have to take care of two kids, though," she joked, letting out a laugh as Minseok swatted at her hand lifelessly.

"Shut up," he muttered, although she could hear the humour in his voice, and she glanced at the clock on the wall before turning back to him.

"I should go back now, before the boys start wondering what happened," she said, leaning down to meet his gaze. His cat-like eyes were red and swollen, but he looked at her unwaveringly as he nodded. "You will be okay now, right?" She asked for good measure, grinning as he finally gave her a small, albeit genuine smile.

"I'm fine now, sorry for keeping you here for so long," he said, and she patted his back, silently saying that it was no problem. He stood up to walk her to the front door, watching her as she put on her sandals.

"Minah?" He called out just as she was about to walk out the door, meeting her eyes once again as she turned at his voice. "Thank you."

In reply, she gave him another one of her tender, beautiful smiles, before leaving.

On the dining table, the two cups sat, completely forgotten, the jasmine tea having gone cold.

Author's Note:

Gosh, with the amount of drama in this chapter, you could dig a hole in it and bury someone inside XD but it was all necessary for the plot, and I have had this idea of food allergy in one of the kids since practically ages.

Speaking of the allergy, whatever I've written about the symptoms and the medication was taken from the internet, and I have no idea (nor do I have any personal experience) if it's correct. I'm no doctor, and I haven't studied medicine, so please don't criticise me too much about it.

There's a huge, major character development for Minseok in this chapter, just what I had intended. I'm slowly trying to crack that shell of his, bit by bit.

Hope you guys liked it! As always, would love to read your comments.