Soohyun carried his toys away and left them in a neat pile at the side, before running (yes, he mustered the art of walking already from his very responsible brother) towards Kevin. “Be careful, don’t fall!”

Kevin grinned and ruffled Soohyun’s hair. “Okay, I won’t.”

“Sit down and rest.” Soohyun smiled. “Daddy says so.”

“Okay, okay. How about playing ball?” Kevin laughed, watching Alexander sweep the floor with difficulty, unable to hold the broom properly at his height.

“No! Later ball hit baby, no! Daddy will scold me!” Soohyun shook his head fearfully, and Alexander nodded.

“No ball!”

Kevin chuckled. Whatever did Kibum do to brainwash these two little kids?

Alexander then threw the broom on the floor, fed up with the broom for being taller. He waddled to his room and brought a book out, before passing it to Soohyun, who passed it to Kevin.

“Read us a story and teach us words, please?” Alexander asked sweetly.

Kevin nodded with a smile, holding the book cover and showing the two kids on either of his side. “This is Cinderella. Isn't she pretty?”

Soohyun nodded, while Alexander shook his head.

“Why, Xander?”

“Her clothes are ugly.” Xander stuck out a tongue in disgust.

“Alexander, you have to see a person by his or her inner self, not the clothes. Pretty clothes doesn't make an evil person pretty. A golden heart does.” Kevin corrected. “See, if I cover her body and make you look only at her face, isn't she pretty?”

“How do we know from her face that she has a golden heart?” Alexander frowned.

“Oh, yeah.” Kevin chuckled sheepishly. “I forgot.”

“Read us story!” Soohyun tugged excitedly.

“Okay, okay.” Kevin opened the book to the first page. “Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom. In this tiny kingdom, there was a girl named Ella. She had lovely parents-”

“Like daddy and mommy?” Alexander cut in.

“It's nice that you think so.” Kevin smiled. “So she had lovely parents, but her mother died when she was three years old.”

“Oh no! Will you die when I turn three too?” Alexander gasped and hugged Kevin's waist tightly.

“Silly. You're Xander, not Ella. I'll die when you turn three hundred, all right?”

“NO! I don't want you to ever die!” Alexander stubbornly said and Soohyun nodded eagerly.

“We live forever, happily ever after forever!” Soohyun grinned adorably. “Did I say right?”

Alexander laughed and nodded. “Yes!”

“Okay, we'll live forever then.” Kevin chuckled. Telling fairytales to kids isn't as easy as he thought. “Daddy didn't want Ella to not have a mother, so he remarried to a woman who had two daughters at Ella’s age, and was very nice to him. He thought, she'll treat Ella well too, and thus they started living together.”

“If mommy ever die-”

“Ew, ew, ew! Never! Mommy won't die!” Alexander glared at Soohyun.

“But if mommy does, I don't want daddy to remarry!” Soohyun finished his sentence.

“Oh! Me neither. Mommy's the best!” Alexander nodded in agreement.

“Mommy's the best.” Soohyun repeated.

“Okay, sweet darlings, daddy won't remarry. Besides, if he does, I'll haunt him.” Kevin pinky promised his two children, quickly reassuring his two sons. “As I was saying, the family lived together and the stepmother, a mother that isn't your real one, treated the father very well. However, she doesn't like Ella because the father dotes on her more than the stepmother's two daughters.”

“What is dotes?” Soohyun raised his hand.

“Dotes means something like love, giving someone excessive attention. When you dote on someone, you love someone very much.” Kevin explained.

“Why wouldn’t stepmother like Ella just because daddy loves Ella? Daddy SHOULD love Ella!” Alexander furrowed his eyebrows.

“Because now the father has two new daughters, and the stepmother thinks her daughters deserve some love too.” Kevin smiled. “One day, the father dies.”

Alexander and Soohyun gasped.

“I don’t want daddy to die!”

“I don’t want it too!”

Kevin couldn’t help himself but laugh out loud. “Darlings! It’s a fairytale, not our life story!”

“Oh yeah.” Alexander and Soohyun chorused. “Continue!”

“Okay, so after the father dies, the stepmother finally shows her true colours.” Alexander gasped for dramatic effect. “She sent Ella up to live in the cold attic, made her do chores for her and her two daughters and continuously mistreat her. However, Ella never hated her. Instead, she was thankful for being able to have a shelter over her head and stomach constantly filled.”

“Question!” Soohyun raised his hand again. “You keep saying Ella, Ella and Ella. Why is title Cinderella?”

“For that, when Ella was very young, she already started doing chores. One day, she was scrubbing the floor next to the fireplace. She got so tired that she slept there, the next day waking up in cinders and ashes. Her stepsisters then called her Cinderella, and that nickname stuck with her throughout her life.” Kevin smiled as he saw Alexander nodding in understanding.

“If I wash the sink and sleep there, waking up with soap bubbles all around me, will I be called BubbleXander?” Alexander asked innocently.

“If you want.” Kevin ruffled Alexander’s hair lovingly.

“Her stepsisters treat her badly too, jealous of her because she’s beautiful.” Kevin narrated. “One day, invitations were sent out to all eligible maidens to enter the castle and have a dance with the Prince. The one that the Prince set his eyes on would be his wife, also the future Queen.”

“Wow, you can choose who you like after a dance?” Soohyun widened his eyes. “Did you and daddy meet after a dance?”

Kevin scratched his head. “No, we didn’t. And Hyunnie, this is only a fairytale. Anything can happen.”

“Oh.” Soohyun nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

“The stepsisters and stepmother did everything they could to stop her from going to the castle to have a dance with the Prince. She was very sad about that, crying the night her stepsisters and stepmother dressed up prettily and left for the castle.”

“Poor Cinderella!” Alexander sobbed a little. “I would want to dress up pretty too!”

“BUT!” Kevin cut in with a smile. “Her fairy godmother appeared. She told Cinderella that she could meet the Prince if she found a pumpkin, six mices, six lizards and a whiskered rat. Cinderella was confused, but she brought them to her fairy godmother.”

“Ew! I wouldn’t want to find six mices, six lizards and a whiskered rat!” Alexander showed a disgusted face and leaned away.

“Well then, you wouldn’t meet Prince Charming.” Kevin shrugged.

“Okay, that made me think again.” Alexander giggled sheepishly.

Soohyun rolled his eyes at his older brother. “Shh! I want to hear story!”

“...”

“The fairy godmother then turned the pumpkin into a beautiful golden coach, the six mices into six white horses, six lizards into six footmen dressed in the finest clothes and the whiskered rat into a skilled coachman. The problem was, she didn’t have a dress.”

“Use magic! It’s a fairytale! Anything can happen!” Soohyun shouted excitedly.

“Exactly.” Kevin patted Soohyun’s head. “The fairy godmother turned the old rags on her into the most beautiful gown ever created.”

“What’s the colour?” Alexander eyes were bright with interest. “Was it a mixture? Pink and white goes nice together. Oh. It’s blue.”

Kevin saw Alexander pout and immediately used his hands to cover the picture on the book. “It can be pink and white. This is only one version of Cinderella. We can make a Xander’s version!”

“Really?! It can be pink and white silk chiffon dress then?” Alexander questioned gleefully.

“Definitely.” Kevin nodded with a pretty smile. “So the fairy godmother made Cinderella wear a pink and white silk chiffon dress, before changing her footwear to a pair of glass slippers. She told Cinderella to leave the castle before the clock strikes midnight, because then, the spells will be broken and everything would return to normal. The glass slippers however, is her gift to Cinderella, and would never change back.”

“Glass slippers! They must be pretty!” Alexander gasped.

Soohyun frowned, putting his finger on his lips and shushing Alexander up. “Shhh!”

“So Cinderella goes to the ball where there is the Prince.”

“Ball? Ball?” Soohyun asked excitedly.

“Yes, ball.” Kevin ruffled Soohyun's hair.

Soohyun picked up the soccer ball nearby and looked at it in fascination. “How big is the ball?”

“Very grand and big.” Kevin smiled as Alexander watched the pictures in the book in fascination. “Isn't it pretty?”

“Yes, I want our house to look like this!” Alexander jabbed his finger at the book excitedly.

Soohyun was still wrapping his head around the idea of Cinderella going into a ball. He stared at the ball in his hands. “Mommy, what do you do in a ball? Roll around?”

“Sweetie, you dance!” Kevin laughed and stopped when he saw Soohyun with a ball in his hands.

“You dance in this? How is it possible?” Soohyun blinked.

“Silly, a ball is a place where you dance. Ball means many things, this,” Kevin pointed at the soccer ball, “is only one of those many.”

“Ohh!” Soohyun nodded in understanding. “Continue! Continue!”

“The Prince and Cinderella fell in love at first sight, sharing the dance for hours and neglecting everyone around them. The clock then striked twelve, meaning that Cinderella had to run away. Otherwise, the Prince will see her revert back to her real self.” Kevin frowned at the clock and realised the time. “Oh look, daddy’s coming home soon. Mommy shall go prepare dinner!”

“NO! WAIT!” Alexander frantically held Kevin’s wrist. “You haven’t finished the story!”

“Erm...The Prince holds Cinderella back and he sees her become the real her. He insists that she stays till the next morning where they will marry each other in front of the entire kingdom. The stepsisters and stepmother saw Cinderella experience a happy ending and decided to be as kind as her to get their own happy endings. Cinderella and the Prince then lived happily ever after. The end.” Kevin quickly made his own version, before gently prying off Alexander’s fingers.

“Yay!” Soohyun clapped his hands, before following Kevin. “Mommy, be careful. Daddy will be angry if you fall.”

“Yes, darling.” Kevin smiled and hurried to prepare the ingredients for dinner.

Alexander blinked at the book left behind by Kevin. “Hmm...Shall I go make a BubbleXander book?”

-

THE COMING CHAPTERS ARE DAMN CUTE I TELL YOU ;~~~;
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/psh, Kevin's birthday and Kibum no wish him :(