BOINKYbleh

 

“Jongin… wake up,” you turned off the blaring alarm clock and softly pat the arm tightly secured around your waist. Your husband didn’t budge one bit. You wiggled away from his embrace and sat up with your eyes still barely open. You both probably only had 3 hours of sleep and it would be both a blessing and miracle to get at least 5 hours but you had matters to attend to.

 

You softly shook him before letting out a yawn, "Jongin... The parent-teacher meeting."

 

“10 minutes,” he groaned as he pulled you back down and lay on top of you. He buried his face in the crook of your neck and you were trapped. “I have to get the kids ready,” you reasoned with him. “Just 10 minutes…” he mumbled with a rather deep and husky voice. He nuzzled your neck and softly pecked your jaw before falling back asleep. The softness of the linen sheets and once again being in Kai’s warm embrace, you couldn’t resist as you wrapped your arms around his body and closed your eyes.

 

Clang!

 

A loud crashing sound was heard from downstairs followed by a series of screaming and shouting.

 

Well that was a beautiful 30 extra seconds of sleep. Kai and you bolted down the stairs to the source of sound. The bickering and arguing was endlessly coming out like bullets. You peeked into the kitchen and it was a mess.

 

There were several raw eggs on the floor, pans and eating utensils scattered all around, there was a large puddle of milk and flour coated the kitchen. Your kids literally had breakfast on them as they continued with their food fight. This was a rare moment; everyone was up and about at such an early time of the day.

 

The twins, Jongsoo and Jongkyu were busy drawing patterns on each other’s faces with the flour while Jongup was laughing at Jaehwa who had accidentally slipped over the milk, throwing an egg at him in return. Jaekyung and Jaemin were fighting as usual. The oldest of the 7, Jongjin, was nowhere to be found.

 

They finally stopped when they realized their parents were just standing by the doorframe.

 

“What on earth happened?” you raised an eyebrow, still trying to process the whole situation.

 

“Mom! Dad! We wanted to make breakfast-“

 

“Jongkyu said he’d show a magic trick with the milk-“

 

“The milk spilled on the floor, Jaekyung noona slipped and bumped into Jaemin noona!”

 

“Then the flour and egg was everywhere, looked just like snow! It was so cool, you should’ve seen it!”

 

There were too many voices at once and you had no idea who to listen to but at this point, you and Kai had a clear picture of what happened. The look of shock etched on your faces worried the kids but in truth, you and your husband’s brains were still rendering. The both of you took a second to look at each other and just ended up laughing.

 

“You’re not mad?” the 4 year old twins ran to their parents and clung to their legs.

 

Kai shook his head and let out a soft laugh, “How could we be mad?”

 

“Dad, let me give you a reason to get mad. Jaekyung bumped into me on purpose!”

 

“Unnie’s lying! If she wasn’t too busy texting her boyfriend then she could’ve moved out of the way!”

 

Kai blinked several times, he was irked… not because of what he was meant to be angered by but because of the word that triggered many fathers’ frustration – ‘boyfriend.’ “Boyfriend?” he mumbled through gritted teeth.

 

“Ew! Boys…” Jaehwa commented even though she was dripping wet.

 

Jongup rolled his eyes and scoffed. “No, ‘ewwww’ to girls!”

 

“Oh, I forgot the word ‘imaginary’ before the boyfriend!” Jaekyung rubbed salt into the wound. You had no idea why but Jaemin, who was 16, always got into fights with Jaekyung, with an that was just a little less than two years, you would’ve expected them to be pretty close but it was the total opposite. Their personalities clashed completely, Jaekyung was a bookworm who took joy in studying while Jaemin was more interested in the world of fashion and makeup.

 

“Ah, good,” Kai nodded his head slowly, relieved that he he didn’t have to kill anyone... yet.

 

“Dad! You’re missing the whole point!” Jaemin groaned.

 

“It was an accident, Jaemin… Jaekyung, just apologize to your sister. Sorry never killed anyone.”

 

“Oh dad, I will be the first then because over my dead body will I apologize to this brat. To apologize is to take responsibility and I-“

 

It was way to early to start the day off on the wrong side so before the arguing could turn into another fight, Kai intervened and clapped his hands to grab everyone’s attention, “Alright, let’s say this is everybody’s fault and responsibility so let’s get this place cleaned up and get ready for school.”

 

The twins tugged at their father’s shirt and Kai bent down to their level. Jongsoo and Jongkyu swept their little fingers across Kai’s cheeks, leaving two horizontal lines. “Sir, yes sir!” They both saluted before running to grab cleaning paraphernalia.

 

“Wake up Jongjin, I’ll help the kids…” you pecked Jongin’s cheek.

 

“I want a proper good morning kiss!”

 

“Mmm… I’ll think about it,” you stuck your tongue out before helping the kids. Kai huffed and puffed his cheeks before heading towards his oldest son’s room.

 

Jaemin sighed as she looked at her phone and the cracked screen, “This is so not fair…”

 

“It was an accident, Jaemin, cut your sister some slack,” you ruffled her hair which was by now a shade of white.

 

“No, it’s just that you and dad always take her side,” she frowned. You looked at her and softly brushed her hair away from her face. “I’m sorry if it seems that way, Jaemin… you know that dad and I love you all so dearly but you’re old enough to differ wrong from right so we do expect more from you and to be more responsible compared to your younger siblings. I’m sure Jongjin felt the same way and missed the time he was an only child.”

 

Jaemin bit