I was going to kill Kim Jongdae.

            “Daehyun! Stop! You can’t run into oncoming traffic!” I shouted to one little boy in sagging cargo shorts as he sprinted down the sidewalk.

This is what I get for volunteering to babysit. I get a phone call asking to come four hours early because someone got his own handwriting confused. I get two tiny monsters straight off of a sugar high from school. I thought I would get a nice, pleasant afternoon. Instead, I get a migraine and a half from listening to two demons tear through my brother’s apartment. I couldn’t take it in that tiny space any longer, I decided to drag them to the meeting room where at least they would have other people to terrorize besides just me.

            “Daehyuk, move faster!” I scolded the matching little boy whose one hand was glued to mine. His other hand was stuck in his mouth as he fiddled (grossly) with a loose tooth.

            “Oona ees alos ouah!” Daehyuk tried to communicate. I sighed as we finally caught up with his brother.

            “Hyuk, didn’t anyone ever teach you not to talk with your mouthful?” I lectured.

            “Yea, but Daddy only said it when I was eating.” Daehyuk said with a hand finally out of his jaws.

            Because most people think that’d be the only time they need to….

            “I think Daddy would also not want you to talk with your hand in your mouth.” I tried to reason. Daehyuk just shrugged and shoved his hand back in.

            “Hyung just wants to get the tooth out so he can impress Hanna.” Daehyun pointed out as I grabbed his hand with my free one so we could cross the street.

            “Why does that impress Hanna?” I asked, curious. “Also, who is Hanna?”

            “HANNA IS DAEHYUK”S GIRLF-“ Daehyun shouted just as Daehyuk took his slobbery hand out of his mouth and clamped it over his brother’s lips.

            “Girlfriend??!” I said in surprise. “Daehyuk, why didn’t you tell me you had a special lady?” I .

            “Because she is NOT my girlfriend!!”Daehyuk cried.

            “She is too!” Daehyun yelled. “They shared apples at snack time!!”

            “Apples??” I gasped. “Daehyuk, apple is one step away from hand holding, and two steps away from kissing!”

            “See?” Daehyun humped in satisfaction.

            “Whatever!” His brother protested. “She is still not my girlfriend. And the tooth isn’t for her!”

            “Then who is it for?” I asked.

            “The tooth fairy! Duh!” Daehyuk said with an incredulous look, like it was obvious. “Daddy said I could get a whole DOLLAR if I put the tooth under my pillow.”

            Suddenly, the perfect idea for revenge popped into my head.

            “A dollar? That’s it?” I said.

            “Yea, why??” Daehyuk pressed.

            “Oh, nothing…”

            “No, what??” He asked again.

            “It’s nothing, I guess the tooth fairy is just going through some tough times right now, but when I lost my teeth, I never got less than twenty dollars!”

            “WHAT??!”

            “Maybe your Dad just forgot that part.”

            “No fair!”

            “You should talk to your Dad about it.” I encouraged. “Make sure he’s got the right tooth fairy in mind.”

            “Yea!” Daehyuk agreed.

            Jackpot. I knew that kid wouldn’t settle now, he was almost as stubborn as his own Dad.

            When we finally made it into the meeting room, I heard music blasting from the other side of the door as I tried to remember who had shifts today. As we got closer, I heard voices on the other side of the door.

            “No man, you have to wait for the third beat to start the twirls.”

            “I thought it was second?”

            “No, third! Trust me, that’s why you always end early and step on Kara’s toes.”

            “She really hates it when I do that…”

            “Jee, I wonder why. Just trust me here.”

            “I’m not sure you’re the best person to help me with this, why did I ask you for help again?”

            “Because we are in this together, man! C’mon try again.”

            I heard the music resume and decided to walk in. When I opened the door, my eyes were assaulted by the twin towers attempting to dance (at least, I think they were dancing. It could’ve passed for trying to step on swarming ants or mashing berries into jam with their feet, but I kept my options open.)

            “Hey guys!” I greeted as the twins ran into the room and straight for the Xbox.

            “OH YISOO HI!” Chanyeol screamed as he froze in place. “LOVELY WEATHER UH WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE THIS FINE AFTERNOON?”

            Kris seemed equally flustered, cheeks turning firetruck red.

            “Whatcha doooin’?” I asked cutely.

            “Umm, you know, just chillin’.” Chanyeol said as he turned off the music and tried to smoothly lean his hand on a near by chair. Too bad he missed and just ended up slipping and falling over.

            Kris shook his head, pony tail flapping, as he helped his friend up.

            “I know this looks weird, but I promise we can explain.” Kris explained.

            “Let me guess. You guys are sick and tired of having your creativity boxed in with the structured dance classes and just needed some time to let your bodies express themselves freely?” I asked.

            Kris and Chanyeol looked at me dumbfounded and I took their lack of response to mean they didn’t catch my sarcasm.

            “Uhh, that was a joke, guys.” I tried to laugh it off. “I know why you’re here, and don’t worry, I’m not judging you or anything bad.”

            “We know that!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “We just, uhh, don’t want you to tell anybody. That’s it.”

            “Relax, I won’t tell anyone. I actually think it’s cute.”

            “Cute?” Kris asked.

            “Yea! Trying to get better at dancing for the sake of your kids, it’s really sweet.” I said.

            “Well that second part’s technically only true for Kris.” Chanyeol pointed out. “Chanyong could care less about the dancing, I’m doing this for my own personal pride.”

            “Still admirable.” I said, ruffling the tall boy’s hair. “So, is this why you two were so adament about babysitting together?”

            “Was it that obvious?” Chanyeol asked. I thought back to the end of the camping excursion when Junmyeon organized us to schedule the babysitting for the week. Chanyeol had looked about ready to murder Tao when he offered to watch with Kris. Kris had gone about it much more smoothly, making up some excuse about how Tao should take Nabi over to the Gucci outlet today for some sale they were having, so that they could watch together. The whole situation seemed to go over most of the other boy’s heads, but I had thought there was something fishy about it all.

            “Just to me, I’m sure.” I reassured Chanyeol. “So, do you guys need any help?”

            “You would help us?” Chanyeol looked surprised.

            “How?” Kris asked.

            “I’ve been to every dance class, guys. I’m pretty sure I know the routine down cold.” I explained. “And I’m not nearly as good as Miyeon, but I’m sure I could be of some help to you two.”

            “That would be awesome!” Chanyeol grinned and Kris nodded in agreement. They hit the music back on and started from the top.

            The routine was anything but difficult (it was designed for three year olds) but the two giants seemd to have four left feet. I blamed it in part to their large builds, which were anything but lithe, but it was also just their complete lack of rhythm.

            “Chanyeol, your a half beat early on every step.” I sighed when they stopped. “I thought you played drums and guitar and stuff? Why can’t you at least keep rhythm?”

            “This is completely different from those! When I play music, I’m making it myself. When I dance I’m constantly just trying to remember the steps Miyeon told me to do and not mess up.”

            “Maybe that’s part of your problem…” I pondered.

            “What do you mean?”

            “You’re trying too hard to do everything exactly as you were told and it’s stressing you out. You tense up and forget the steps and get awkward.”

            “Yes, I know all that.” Chanyeol sighed.

            “You just need to loosed up! Don’t try to match the music, flow with it. Get in your own groove! Even if you don’t do the steps exactly as Miyeon does, that doesn’t mean you are doing it wrong. There’s nothing wrong with putting in your own flair!”

            “Hmm, that makes sense actually!” Chanyeol brightened up.

            “See! Try it again and see how it works.” I hit the music and they started again. It took a little bit for Chanyeol to get into it, but about halfway through he seemed to find his groove. He wasn’t doing exactly all the right steps, but he was in rhythm at least and for once, looked like he was enjoying himself.

            Kris, on the other hand, was a different story.

            “That was so much better.” Chanyeol sighed when the music stopped. “I should’ve just asked you for help, not this giant tone-deaf koala.”

            “Hey.” Kris yelled. “Koala has a name… and ears.”

            “Kris, I don’t really know how to help you.” I said.

            “That’s fine… I’m just doing it for Kara at this point. I’ve started helping Tao with his thing too a bit, with Ace.” Kris paused.  “I just wish I would stop embarrassing her in front of the class.”

            “I think at this point, just let her shine.” I said. “She is really good, one of the best students in the class. Miyeon told me herself. I think the best thing you could do for her at this point is just… give her space. Maybe sway around a bit and help her when she twirls, but keep your distance otherwise.” I hoped I didn’t sound too harsh.

            “You mean… just fake it?” Kris asked. “And let Kara do all the dancing?”

            “Well, I mean, you could do a little-“

            “That’s a great idea!!” Kris exclaimed and his face lit up. “You’re totally right. No one is going to be watching me anyway!”

            I was surprised by his sudden enthusiasm, but I encouraged it. “Yea! It’s all about the kids, anyway.”

            “Why does Kris get the easy way out?” Chanyeol butted in.

            “Because man,” Kris answered. “I just don’t feel the groove you do. You got something special.”

            I crossed my fingers, hoping that would work, and luckily it did.

            “That’s true, Kris. Sorry about that.” Chanyeol lightened up. “Not everyone can have my same groove, it’s very unique.”

            “It sure is, Yeol.” Kris laughed and I joined him.

            The three of us discussed the dance a little while longer, but soon we were all back to just watching the kids. Kara and Ace were with Jihye and Dahye playing house (where Ace was so lovingly given the role of family dog), and the twins were with Chanyong building with Legos. Jin, as usual, was tucked in a corner with his head hidden behind a book while Hyein and Sehee were both strapped cutely in bouncers.

            “Can we just take a moment to appreciate this?” I asked the two dads.

            “Appreciate what?” Chanyeol asked as he looked up from his game of 2048.

            “The fact that it’s been almost an hour, and no one has had a melt down!” I beamed.

            “Huh, I didn’t even notice.” Kris mused. “But it’s almost peaceful.”

            “SHHHHHH!” Chanyeol suddenly shushed before whispering, “Don’t say anything, you might jinx it!”

            “Chanyong!” Dahye suddenly called over to the younger boy. “Come play house!”

            “Ok!” The little boy agreed, abandoning the twins and their half built spaceship.

            “Yay! Now you can be the Daddy!” Dahye grinned. “Me, Jihye-Unni and Kara-Unni are your daughters and Ace is the puppy!”

            “Can Daehyun and Daehyuk play too?” Chanyong asked.

            “We don’t wanna!” The twins shouted in unison, not even looking up from their project.

            “Jin, you wanna play?” Kara asked the little boy.

            “What are you playing?” Jin asked, slightly intrigued.

            “House! You can be another Daddy if you want to!” Kara grinned.

            “Or another puppy!” Dahye added.

            “Wait!” Jin interrupted. “Where’s the mommy?”

            “We don’t have one!” Kara said.

            “But every family has a mommy.” Jin added.

            “Not every family!” Kara said back. “Me and Ace just have Daddy, and so do Dahye and Jihye!”

            “But don’t you want a mommy?” Jin asked. “My mommy was the best.”

            There was silence in the room for a moment as Kara pondered the question. The entire time the children had been talking about mothers, I had noticed Chanyeol and Kris go rigid. It was obviously a sore subject for the two of them but I had no idea what to say or do.

            “I don’t want a mommy.” Kara finally replied. “My family is perfect, just how it is.”            

            I couldn’t help but feel proud at the little girl’s strong words.

            “Jin!” I said. “Do you want to be another Daddy and play with them?”

            Jin put down his book and looked deep in thought before he replied.

            “I think I want to be the Uncle.” He replied simply, before running over to the girls and joining their game.

            “The Uncle,” Kris laughed quietly. “Of course.”

            “I swear, he’s turning into a carbon copy of Minseok.” Chanyeol added with a grin.

            “And like his Mom.” Kris added.

            “You knew her?” I asked.

            “Just a little.” Kris replied. “Her husband was a friend of mine from high school.” He laughed. “Actually, she was the one who introduced me to my ex.”

            “Ohh.” I laughed along awkwardly, not knowing what to make of the tone in his voice.

            “You can lighten up.” Kris laughed again, sensing my discomfort. “We don’t see each other anymore. She’s with that bastard and I have our kids, it worked out for the best, really.”

            “Oh, that’s good.” I said with a small smile, still feeling somewhat awkward.

            “And they never ask about her anymore, which takes a whole lot of pressure off of me.” Kris added.

            “You’re lucky.” Chanyeol piped up. “Chanyong has been starting to ask about his mom… I just don’t know what to tell him.”

            “What do you mean?” I asked, realizing I didn’t even know what had happened to Chanyong’s mother.

            “I mean I don’t even know who she is.” Chanyeol responded.

            “What??” I gasped. “How does that even happen?”

            “It’s a good story, actually.” Kris put in with a smirk.

            “Hey!” Chanyeol said before attempting to clear things up. “Ok, so basically what happened, is I just found him on my doorstep one morning after I went grocery shopping.”

            “What?” I asked again, thinking it was a joke.

            “Like, I went out to get some milk and I came back and saw his carrier sitting on my welcome mat. Honestly, I thought it was a prank at first, but he had all his papers and stuff too, and they had my name on all of them.”

            “And then, poof? You became a dad?” I asked, still in shock.

            Chanyeol laughed, “I guess so, poof.”

            “And you have no idea who his mom is? None at all?” I asked skeptically.

            “Ok, well over the past couple years I’ve pretty much narrowed it down.” Chanyeol replied. “But she left a note saying she didn’t want to be bothered, and I figured the least I could do was respect her wishes. I am the one that caused all of it to begin with.”

            “You don’t think she wants to see how her son has grown?” I asked.

            “If she does, she does, if she doesn’t, that’s ok too. But all I know is that our life is perfectly fine and simple without her in it. If she came back… it would just get complicated.” Chanyeol shook his head.

            “I see…” I mumbled. If she came back… it would just get complicated.

            “Besides, our family is perfect without her!” Chanyeol cheered up, becoming his usual bubbly self. “Kara’s right!”

            “Exactly.” Kris added. “Families come in all shapes in sizes, it doesn’t matter what they look like, just as long as they are filled with love.”

            “Well aren’t you all cheesy and stentimental.” Chanyeol teased.

            “Shut up Chanyeol,” Kris said, going back to his ususal cold self. “And by the way, I think your kid’s trying to eat a newspaper.”

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A/N: Hi guys, I'm back!! Firstly, Korea was amazing :D I loved seeing the country and freaking out mildly (ok a lot) when we watched TV and Exo came on for a commercial or something hahaha. Anyway, hope you like the update! Please comment and subscribe :)