Irony of the Maknae
Attack of the Chibis
“What are we supposed to do? How did this happen?” asked Yunho as he covered his ears to keep the piercing cries from deafening him.
Jaejoong who couldn’t think properly with all of the crying, responded, “Molla! I’m not sure, but let’s get them to stop crying first.” Jaejoong approached the little Yoochun and Junsu. He held both of their hands and whispered to them, “Shh, everything is going to be okay.”
“He’s poking me,” said the chibi Junsu as he rubbed his watery eyes.
“Yoochun, stop poking Junsu,” Jaejoong told Yoochun in a soft voice.
“Okay, ahjusshi,” replied Yoochun.
“Ahjusshi?” asked a confused Jaejoong. He turned around to see what Yunho thought of that, but Yunho wasn’t there. By the lack of crying coming from the kitchen, Jaejoong assumed that Yunho went in there to get Changmin to calm down. He turned back to the mini versions of his band mates and asked, “Do you remember who I am?”
Junsu giggled and a cute little smile lit up his face as he said, “Of course, you Jaejoong-ahjusshi.”
“No, no. I’m Jaejoong-hyung,” replied Jaejoong.
Yoochun laughed that time, and tried to whisper (although Jaejoong heard him) to Junsu, “Ahjusshi is crazy, right dongsaeng?”
Jaejoong was perplexed. He was about to say something when he heard Yunho call him from the kitchen. “I’ll be right back,” he told little Junsu and Yoochun. Jaejoong walked into the kitchen to see Yunho kneeling next to a full-grown Changmin sitting on the floor.
“Hyung, what’s going on?” asked Changmin as he and Yunho both looked up at him.
Jaejoong was about to reply with his third “I don’t know” when he himself turned into a little mini version of himself.
“Hyung!” Changmin cried out.
“I’m not your hyung, silly ahjusshi,” responded the toddler Jaejoong.
“Ahjusshi needs a nap?” asked a now chibi Yunho.
“Shh, don’t say that word, or ahjusshi might make us take one,” little Jaejoong whisper-shouted to little Yunho.
“Oh, right!” responded Yunho before covering his mouth with his hand.
Changmin just looked at the two kids who used to be his hyungs. His eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. He was so scared and confused. He didn’t know what to do, but sit there and gape at the weirdness that has become of his Jaejoong and Yunho hyungs.
“Changmin-ahjusshi looks like a fish with his mouth and eyes like that,” said the little Junsu as he and Yoochun entered the kitchen too.
“Junsu! Yoochun-hyung! You too?”
“They’re not your hyungs either, ahjusshi,” Jaejoong said in a sing-song voice.
“Ooh! I want to be ahjusshi’s hyung,” said Junsu as another one of his cute smiles appeared.
“You can’t,” replied Yunho, “you’re the maknae.”
“No, I’m the maknae,” said Changmin. He was still sitting on the floor, and now pouting. He was the grown-up amongst toddlers, but he could easily be categorized as a child in the position he seemed to be taking, despite his 6’1” appearance.
Jaejoong, Yunho, and Junsu started laughing at Changmin. Junsu bent over, holding his side while laughing, and Jaejoong fell over laughing. Yoochun, the only one not laughing, walked over to Changmin with a serious look on his face. He placed a hand on Changmin and asked, “Is ahjusshi okay? Ahjusshi sick?”
“No, I’m fine, Yoochun,” replied Changmin. He silently wondered if he was fine. Maybe Yunho’s cooking sent him into a coma, and he was just dreaming all of this was happening. Or he could just be asleep! That had to be it. It’s all a dream.
“Ahjusshi, I’m hungry,” whined Junsu.
“Oh, me too,” added Jaejoong. Yunho and Yoochun also looked attentively at Changmin like he would feed them.
“But we all just ate,” said a perplexed Changmin.
“Nuh uh, ahjusshi,” replied the little Yunho.
“Ahjusshi is sick,” Yoochun whisper-shouted to the other minis.
“I’ll get ahjusshi some medicine!” shouted Junsu.
“No! I’m the oldest, I’ll do it,” said Jaejoong as he raced Junsu over to the bathroom, where they knew the medicine was.
“You two come back!” Changmin shouted as he chased after the two with Yunho and Yoochun hot on his heels. “I’m not sick.”
“You’re not right either,” said Yunho. When Changmin turned to glare at him, Yunho added a respectful “ahjusshi” at the end.
“I can’t reach,” said Junsu as Changmin entered the bathroom. Jaejoong was climbing onto the sink to reach the medicine cabinet, but Changmin picked him up to stop him from falling or making a mess.
“Ooh, ahjusshi gives piggyback ride?” asked Jaejoong.
“I want a piggyback ride,” said Junsu as he looked up at Changmin with puppy dog eyes.
“Me first!” shouted Yunho.
Changmin was about to say no to the three chibis when he felt a tug on his pants leg. He looked down at Yoochun who was pulling on his pants. Yoochun asked, “Ahjusshi, can I ride?”
“I thought you were all hungry,” he said.
“Yes, food!” shouted Jaejoong, right in Changmin’s ear. Changmin almost dropped Jaejoong when his mini hyung screamed in his ear. He quickly placed him down and ushered all of them out of the bathroom.
“Ahjusshi will feed us, ‘cause ahjusshi’s the best!” sang Jaejoong, Yunho, Yoochun, and Junsu as they ran and skipped back to the kitchen.
Changmin just sighed as he followed them. How did he, the maknae, end up becoming the hyung, worse, “ahjusshi?”
Jaejoong and Yunho sat at the table. Junsu was having trouble getting into a chair, so Yoochun helped him up. But then Yoochun couldn’t get himself into the chair next to Junsu. Changmin picked him up, causing Yoochun to giggle, and placed him into the chair.
“Okay! Here is hyung’s French… something,” said Changmin as he placed the food that they ate earlier onto the table.
“What’s this?” asked Yunho.
“You’re cooking,” Changmin whispered to himself.
“I want japchae,” said Jaejoong.
“I want a sweet bean paste cake,” said Junsu.
“This is yummy,” said Yoochun with a mouth full of the food that Changmin put on the table.
“Eww,” said Yunho and Jaejoong.
Changmin smiled and rubbed Yoochun’s head while saying, “You’re the good one.”
“Hey!” shouted Jaejoong, “ahjusshi can’t have favorites.”
“I’m better than Yoochun,” mumbled Yunho as he pouted and folded his arms.
“I want to be ahjusshi’s favorite,” said Junsu before he started to cry.
Changmin rolled his eyes before he went over to console Junsu. “Hey, don’t cry. You can be my favorite.” Jaejoong and Yunho both yelled out at that, but Junsu stopped crying and brightened up. “You’re all my favorites.” Junsu looked sad again, and began to sniffle.
“I’m ahjusshi’s favorite-favorite,” said Yunho with a grin.
“Well I’m ahjusshi’s favorite-favorite-favorite,” Jaejoong said to Yunho and stuck his tongue out at him.
Junsu started to cry again. Changmin picked him up, and said, “How about a piggyback ride.”
Junsu stopped crying and mumbled, “Piggyback?”
Changmin nodded and put Junsu on his back. He began to run around the kitchen with a giggling Junsu holding on to him.
“I want a piggyback ride,” pouted Jaejoong.
“I’ll give you a piggyback ride,” said Yunho.
Changmin laughed at the sight of Yunho trying to carry Jaejoong around. They kept falling to the ground, but getting back up to try again. Junsu was laughing too. Changmin was about to tell them that he’d give them all a piggyback ride when he noticed that Junsu was getting heavier and heavier. Eventually he fell, just like Yunho did.
“Changmin, what happened?” asked a fully grown Junsu as he got off of Changmin.
“Hyung! You’re you again!” said a happy Changmin as he got up off the floor.
“I was little!” shouted Junsu. “I can remember some things. I called you ahjusshi!”
Changmin laughed at Junsu’s horrified expression. “Yeah, and you were a crybaby too.”
“Nah, he was cute,” said a deep voice at the table.
“Omo! Yoochun-hyung! You’re back to normal too,” said Changmin.
“Hey! You called him the ‘good’ one,” recalled Junsu.
“How did this happen?” asked Yoochun as he got up from the table and approached the other two.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” responded Changmin, “but I’m glad that I’m not the only adult now.
“Oh it couldn’t have been that bad,” said Junsu.
Yunho walked up to the three and pulled on Yoochun’s arm. “Ahjusshis,” he said, “Jaejoong doesn’t feel good.”
“Ahjusshi?” asked Yoochun and Junsu.
“Just go with it,” whispered Changmin. He went to see if Jaejoong was running a fever, but each step he took away from the others and towards Jaejoong, he shrunk a bit in size. By the time he reached Jaejoong, Changmin was a little toddler too. “Ooh, ahjusshis,” said Changmin as he turned back to Yoochun and Junsu, “Jaejoong-hyung throwed up.”
“It’s threw up,” corrected Yunho.
“I’ll threw you up.” Changmin glared at Yunho.
“Little maknae,” Yunho grumbled.
“Who’s going to clean that up?” asked Junsu.
“Ahjusshi,” answered Changmin, pointing at Junsu.
“And ahjusshi,” said Yunho, pointing at Yoochun.
“Hyung,” whispered Junsu as he pulled on Yoochun’s arm, “I don’t want be the ahjusshi.” He looked at the sick Jaejoong sitting on the floor and holding his stomach; Yunho who looked bored, and Changmin who was smirking at him like he knew that Junsu was nervous. He definitely didn’t want to be their ahjusshi.
“Just remember that they’re just our band mates,” Yoochun whispered back.
Junsu looked back at Changmin, who still had that evil smirk on his face. Junsu gulped and repeated what Yoochun said. “They’re just our band mates.”
Comments