“Umma, no like,” Ryeowook whined and pressed himself closer to Leeteuk to avoid the many strange people in the courtroom. The low chatter continued again after people had stopped and looked over to see who had just entered the room.

“I know, Wook. It’s okay, though, umma and appa are here,” Leeteuk soothed while he followed Kangin and the lawyer to the front of the room where they were seated by a table on the left. Sora was sitting at the table on the right, luckily out of Ryeowook’s line of sight even after Leeteuk had sat down with him on his lap. Leeteuk reached into the diaper bag he had brought and found Kiki, handing her to Ryeowook to take his mind off of where they were and all the people around them.

“Are you sure it was a good idea to bring him?” Leeteuk asked worriedly, holding Ryeowook a little tighter to his chest while he glanced nervously in Sora’s direction.

“I hope so,” Kangin muttered back through clenched teeth and then reached out to pet Ryeowook’s hair. They had both been against bringing the toddler to the court but after they had explained everything to the lawyer he had advised them to bring Ryeowook as a secret weapon. If, for some reason, Sora was gaining the upper hand, a panic attack from a toddler would probably convince a judge that said toddler’s biological mum was not really the best choice of guardian for him and, by extension, his brothers. However, the lawyer had agreed to only use Ryeowook as a weapon if absolutely necessary.

Leeteuk looked over his shoulder to where Heechul, Hangeng and Henry were sitting. They all smiled encouragingly at him and he quickly lifted Ryeowook up so the toddler could stand on his thighs and look over his shoulder to see them.

“Uncle Tullie! Uncle Hewwie! Uncle Geeeeeeeeng!” Ryeowook exclaimed and waved at his uncles over Leeteuk’s shoulder with a handful of Kiki. All three uncles waved back and made funny faces at him to make him laugh, knowing that the toddler was probably feeling uneasy and would be happy for the distraction. Sora was glaring at Leeteuk but he pointedly ignored her in favour of making sure Ryeowook didn’t fall down.

“Will someone please explain this mess to me,” the judge exclaimed as he stepped into the courtroom with the file in hand and walked to table up front, sat down and looked sternly back and forth at the two lawyers over his glasses. Kangin’s lawyer quickly stood up.

“We are here today to determine the custody of the four Kim boys. Over a year ago Miss Kim decided to leave her husband and four sons in the middle of the night to run off with the gardener, your honour. Now she has suddenly decided to claim custody of their sons, whom she hasn’t seen since she left, out of nowhere. Her youngest son doesn’t even remember her and when he was faced with her for the first time since she left, it resulted in him having a panic attack,” he gestured to Ryeowook who was clutching Leeteuk’s hand along with Kiki and looking around with big eyes. “She claims that my client, Mr. Kim, is engaged in a romantic relationship with Park Jungsoo and therefore is and unfit parent. However, Miss Kim seems to build her case on nothing but fiction as Mr. Park is actually Mr. Kim’s live-in nanny, hired under contract and paid monthly according to said contract for the care he provides all four sons.”

At this point Sora suddenly seemed uneasy and leaned over to whisper angrily with her lawyer.

“And what does Miss Kim have to say to that?” the judge asked, once again looking over his glasses to pierce Sora with his gaze. Her lawyer cleared his throat and stood up to defend the slightly hidden attack.

“Today’s case is not about the past, but about what is in the four boys’ best interest. Miss Kim clearly believes that it is not in her sons’ best interest to stay with their father when he has decided to engage in a homoual relationship with Mr. Park,” the lawyer claimed before nodding proudly as if he had already won the case and sat down.

“What proof do you have that Mr. Kim and Mr. Park are in a relationship?” the judge asked, directing the question towards Sora while at the same time lifting some pages of the file so he could make a note on one of the last pages in it.

“He lives with them and my son called him ‘umma’,” Sora all but spat, her dislike for Leeteuk clear. She was once again wearing black stiletto heels, this time matching with a red pencil skirt and a red blazer over a white shirt. She looked like a professional business woman rather than a woman fighting for the right to be a mother to her children.

“’Him’ being Mr. Park?” the judge asked for clarification to which she nodded eagerly. “I see,” he hummed thoughtfully and made another note in the file.

“Your honour, I hired Jungsoo to help me with the kids,” Kangin interjected and