It was finally here. I never thought the day would come, but the talent show was finally happening.

    “Yisoo, is my bowtie straight?” Kyungsoo asked me as he fixed his hair in the mirror. I went over to adjust the slightly crooked bowtie wrapped around my brother’s neck. He had on a crisp white shirt, dark blue jeans, red bowtie and green suspenders (Baekhyun’s idea). Kyungbin was sitting on the floor at his side, looking at his own reflection and trying to fix his hair like his dad. He had on an adorable matching outfit and a goofy grin on his face.

    “You look fine.” I reassured him. “Stop worrying so much. It’s going to be great!”

    “You’re not the one about to go sing in front of hundreds of people!”

    “Soo, let’s think logically here. This is a talent show for one of the hundreds of community centers in this city. There are not going to be hundreds of people there.” I said. “A hundred, maybe. My money’s on fifty or less, and I better be right.  I bet Sehun six hours of free babysitting on this because he thinks there will be more than two hundred and sixty seven.”

    “Why so specific?”

    “It’s Sehun, I didn’t question it.” I shrugged. I had been with these boys long enough not to question some actions anymore. And that included just about everything that Sehun did.

    “I guess.” Kyungsoo agreed, still furiously combing his hair. “When is Jongin getting here?”

    “Soon, I think.” I said, checking my watch. It was quarter to four. Kyungsoo and Jongin had to be there at four because they were in the show, but the show didn’t start until five. Just then, a knock came at the door.

    “There he is!” I chirped as I leapt to go open the door.

    “Hey!” Jongin said as I opened the door. The smile grew on his face. “You look… beautiful.”

    I gave him a silly twirl as I lead him into the apartment. I had on a long sleeved, scoop neck,  A-line red dress that flared out and fell just above my knees and black lace stockings. I had promised Jongin I would wear a dress tonight because I rarely wore them otherwise. Based on the look on his face, I’m pretty sure he liked it.

    “Thank you.” I cooed back before going on tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, leaving a mark from my red lipstick.

    “Hey!” He said, wiping the lipstick of his face.

    “Oh come on.” I teased. “Don’t act like you don’t like it.”

    “Okay, I won’t.” He joked back before wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and leaning down to kiss my cheek back.

    “Yisoo, you realize Jongin has a job to do this evening, right? You can’t make out with him all night.” My brother deadpanned as he walked into the living room, Kyungbin resting on his hip.

    “Don’t worry Kyungsoo Hyung!” Jongin said as he immediately dropped his arms from my waist and stood like a soldier at attention. “That’s it for tonight, promise!”

    “Until after you mean…” I gave him a sly grin that he returned before catching himself and putting a stone face back on in front of Kyungsoo. My brother was not impressed.

    “Yisoo, don’t distract him. This is important!” Kyungsoo fretted.

    “Kyungsoo’s a little nervous.” I explained to Jongin.

    “It’s ok…” Jongin started. “I am too. And I’m not even performing!”

    As assistant dance instructor, Jongin had choreographed the dance for the upper level half of the class while Miyeon worked with the less experienced dancers. He had taken the job very seriously and seemed just as anxious as my brother to see his work be performed.

    “I’m sure it will be great! How was Hyein?” I asked.

    “Well, she wasn’t so happy about me leaving her with Sehun, but I’ll see her later tonight.” Sehun was bringing Sehee and Hyein to the show so that Jongin could go early. “I just hope Sehun can handle both of them…”

    “He’ll be fine.” I said. “He’s gotten a lot better the past few months.”

    “So are we ready to go?” Kyungsoo asked, grabbing a coat to put on Kyungbin.

    “Yup!” Jongin and I replied together.

The four of us trekked over the the community center in the chilly December air. It was milder considering the weather we had been having lately, but still cold.

    “See!” I chattered. “This is why I don’t wear dresses… in winter!”

    I watched a girl pass by in a skirt shorter than mine and no leggings on at all.

    “How does she do it??!” I asked no one in particular. “Girls in this city… they’re incredible!”

    Kyungsoo and Jongin laughed.

    “I thought girls never felt temperatures as long as they looked cute.” Kyungsoo pondered.

    “Please!” I huffed. “It’s all a front. Girls like to pretend what they are wearing is totally comfortable, even if it’s completely unsuitable for the weather. It’s a pride thing.”

    “So are you saying you have no pride?” Jongin joked.

    “I have pride!” I huffed again.

    “Believe me, she has her pride…” Kyungsoo agreed with a bit of sarcastic bite in the tone of his voice.

    “I just pride myself over more important things!” I explained as we finally reached the community center and walked into the warm lobby.

    “Oh thank goodness we’re here.” I sighed as I began to regain the feeling in my fingers. We followed the signs to the auditorium and soon found ourselves in a large, busy theater. Tech people were running around left and right setting up sets and lights while participants in the show were all over too, doing last minute rehearsals. After a bit of searching, we found Miyeon and the rest of the dancers.

    “There you are Jongin!” Miyeon sighed when she saw us approach. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!

    “Sorry, am I late?” Jongin said with a worried expression.

    “Yes!! Well, not really, but I’ve been here since noon and I’m kind of losing it.” Miyeon gasped again. “Your group is all on the stage warming up, why don’t you go talk to them and get ready for the dress rehearsal?”

    Jongin agreed and quickly hopped on stage where the more advanced dancers and their kids were. I saw Yixing and Bing and sent them a quick wave before going to take Kyungbin from Kyungsoo, who had found the other dads in the group and was chatting.

    “Hi guys!” I greeted the other dancers. Luhan and Junmyeon were stretching while Kris was sitting with Ace in his lap, checking his phone. Kara, Jihye and Dahye were all sitting in a circle fixing each other’s hair while Jaehan was practicing his dance steps.

    “Hey Yisoo, can you take Ace?” Kris asked right away. “He fell asleep and I kind of need to get up and stretch, my leg’s falling asleep.”

    I went over to scoop up the drowsy little boy and took Kris’ seat as he got up to walk off his sleepy leg.

    “I feel like we ask this a lot, but where is Chanyeol?” I said as I adjusted Ace sitting in my lap so that his head rested on my chest.

    “Late, as per usual.” Luhan answered.

    “He better show up soon!” Junmyeon fretted. “We have our rehearsal next!”

    “Weren’t he and Baekhyun coming together?” Kris asked.

    “Baekhyun better get here soon…” Kyungsoo said. “We really need to rehearse.”

    The boys continued to stretch and Ace finally woke up, finding it more fun to crawl around the auditorium with Kyungbin and explore. Kara had insisted I fix her hair again because her dad had no clue how to make a ballerina bun. As I was finishing up her hair, Jongin and Yixing’s group’s rehearsal finished and they came over to the rest of the group.

    “How’d it go?” I asked.

    “Good! I can’t wait to see it all come together later.” Jongin said with a nervous grin.

    “How was it, Bing-ah?” I asked the little boy.

    “Good! Appa is good at dance! Fun!” The little boy giggled before running over to Miyeon to tell her something.

    “He really likes her doesn’t he?” I chuckled as I watched Miyeon’s face light up when Bing came over.

    “So much.” Yixing replied with a huge smile. “Sometimes i think she likes him more than me! She’s really opened him up, he talks nonstop whenever she’s around. Even started calling her Umma…”

    “Woah!” Luhan joked. “Moving a little fast there aren’t you, Yixing?”

    “Hey!” Yixing defended. “I didn’t tell him to call her that! He just started and well, she didn’t say anything to correct him… and I kind of like it too.” He grinned shyly to himself.

    “Hey group 2!” Miyeon suddenly called over to our group. “You’re dress rehearsal is about to start, come up to the stage and get in position!”

    Junmyeon took Jihye and Dahye’s hands in each of his and lead them up to the stage. Luhan and Jaehan raced his each other up to the stage as Kris scooped Kara up onto his back and carried her up as she giggled and pretended to want to be put down.

    “I know we say this a lot,” Jongin started, “But where the heck is Chanyeol?”

    “Late… with Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo replied as he began to nervously shake his leg. “Where the heck are they? I think I’m going to go give them a call…” My brother got up and began to dial his phone.

    “Where is Chanyeol??!” Miyeon shouted from the stage.

    “We don’t know.” Jongin replied as he sat down in the chair next to me.

    “WHAT??!” Miyeon nearly shrieked. “How are we supposed to rehearse if he’s not here? He’s not skipping out last minute is he??”

    “He’ll be here soon,” Kyungsoo replied suddenly as he hung up his phone. “Him and Baekhyun got hung up at the courthouse and are on their way. He said, and I quote “Just go on a rehearse without me, it’s not like Chanyong and I are gonna get any better in 30 minutes anyway”.”

    Miyeon sighed, but just turned the music on and started her rehearsal, accepting fate.

    “Courthouse?” I asked my brother as he went to pick up Kyungbin and Ace.

    “Yea, I didn’t get a chance to ask.” Kyungsoo asked. “Chanyeol was driving, Baekha was screaming, and Baekhyun was warming up his voice in the background. I figured he was a little busy to be answering my questions at the moment.”

    “At least you know they’ll be here soon.” Jongin said.

    “Hopefully.” Kyungsoo said as he plopped Ace in my lap and went to go find a place to warm up with Kyungbin.

    “Have you watched the other group dance much?” I asked Jongin as the group pranced around the stage.

    “Yea, they aren’t too bad.” Jongin replied with a chuckle. “Well, most of them aren’t too bad. Kris just kind of stands there while Kara dances and Chanyeol doesn’t really follow the choreographed moves, but at least they seem to be enjoying themselves.”

    We watched the rest of their rehearsal together but when they finished, all the performers had to go backstage to wait for the show to start.

    “You can watch Ace and Kyungbin, right?” Kris asked.

    “Yea, the other guys should get here soon, they’ll help.” I replied as I took the boys hands in mine and went to go find good seats. It took a couple tries to keep Ace and Kyungbin in their chairs (Ace kept trying to crawl under the chairs and eat the gum stuck on the bottom of the seats and Kyungbin kept trying to crawl up to the stage to find his dad), but eventually they were sitting and distracted by an episode of Pororo I had found on my phone.

    “Yisoo!” Sehun’s voice surprised me but I stood up to find the young boy approaching me with two little girls in his arms. Tao and Nabi not far behind.

    “Hey guys!” I said as I stood up to take Hyein from him. “Are you excited for the show?”

    “Yea, it should be… interesting!” Sehun said slowly as he took the seat next to me as Tao and Nabi sat behind us.

    “I think you should be more excited to see Nabi and I’s project later.” Tao chirped and I laughed.

    “Oh don’t worry, we are!” I replied and elbowed Sehun to agree.

    “Oww- oh! I mean, yea! Super excited!” Sehun sputtered but Tao rolled his eyes.

    “Please…” He muttered as Jongdae, Minseok, Jin and the twins arrived and filled in the seats behind and around us. We were all joking and talking as the lights began to dim. Suddenly, a tap came on my shoulder, making me jump.

    “Yisoo!” I turned around to see Baekhyun and Chanyeol. They each looked jumpy and disheveled, clearly freaking out at how late they were.

    “Baekhyun! Chanyeol!” I hissed. “I thought you guys were already here! What are you doing here? You need to get backstage!”

    “Backstage?” Baekhyun reiterated. “Ok, thank you! Chanyeol come on!” The shorter boy grabbed the taller’s arm and dragged him over to the stage where they stealthily climbed the stairs and slipped behind the curtains backstage.

    “Why are they only getting here now!” I whispered. “The show is starting!”

    “At least they showed up!” Minseok replied before he began trying to negotiate with Jin to put his book down and pay attention to the performances.

    “Wait!” Sehun said suddenly. “Yisoo, how many people are here? More than 267??”

    I scanned the auditorium, which had filled up more than I had expected, but decided it still wasn’t more than two hundred people.

    “No way.” I replied in a whisper. “200, tops. Probably only 170 or so I’d say.”

    “Lies!” Sehun hissed. “There’s like eight hundred people in here!”

    “Sehun, it said on the door the maximum capacity is 500, and it’s not even half full!” Jongdae butted in.

    “But-!” Sehun started.

    “Oh hush!” Tao hissed. “Sehun, you lost this one. But please shut up, the show’s about to start!”

    Sehun pouted, but sat quietly as the first act came to the stage. I borrowed a program from Minseok and saw that the dancers were second to last, and that Kyungsoo and Baekhyun would close out the show. After an array of acts passed the stage, the first group of dancers (the more advanced group) took the stage.

    “Where are Yixing and Bing??” Sehun whispered to me and I pointed to the snapback wearing pair in the middle of the group of dads and daughters.

    “I like this concept!” Sehun whispered excitedly. “It’s like, hip hop!” Everyone was wearing loose looking clothes, hats and sneakers. As the music started, I saw Jongin slip down from the stage and find a seat in the front to watch his work.

    The music started and Yixing and Bing started the routine, doing a cute little back and forth dance where Yixing would do a move, and Bing would adorably try to imitate it. I watched in awe at the fluidity of Yixing’s moves as he owned the stage. Soon, the rest of the group joined in for the synchronized part before each other father-child pair did their own little routine too. By the end, the whole audience was clapping and cheering the dancers on. For the grand finale, the dad’s moved to the back as the kids did a miniature breakdance routine on their own, which earned a standing ovation from the crowd. I was sad to see the routine end, but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I clapped like a mad man for the group.

    “That’ll be tough to follow.” I heard Minseok whisper to Tao behind me and I had to agree. As the lights began to dim again and the next group took their places on the stage, I sent a quick prayer to every god I knew that the other boys would do just as well.

    The music started softly, but gradually got louder as the little girls (and boys) filed in on stage with their dads. As the music swelled, the dancing began. It was a simple ballet routine fit to match the music. Jihye, Dahye and Junmyeon all had huge smiles on their faces as the plied and pranced across the stage. Jihye and Dahye were extremely graceful and Junmyeon was a little less so, but you could see how hard he was trying by the serious look in his eyes. Kara danced perfectly, even getting a solo as Kris stood next to her, helping her twirl on occasion but mostly just staying out of her way. Jaehan was an absolute riot, blowing kisses to the crowd as he performed and Luhan couldn’t help but laugh in the middle of the dance. Chanyong even seemed to be enjoying himself, though he wasn’t exactly dancing in sync with the others (mostly just walking on his tip toes and spinning on occasion) and Chanyeol looked just as awkward, yet still had a giant, silly grin on his face. Their routine wasn’t nearly as well put together as the other boys’, but by the end they all still got a standing ovation. Jongdae even brought flowers to throw on stage, which Kara and Jaehan scooped up with glee.

    “That…” Sehun started. “Wasn’t nearly as terrible as i thought it was going to be!”

    “Aww! I’m sure they really appreciate that.” I said half jokingly. “Ace, did you like watching daddy and noona dance?” I asked the little boy sitting next to me, and he nodded his little head before starting to doze off.

    “Just one more act…” Sehun said nervously. “What do you think the odds are Kyungsoo murders Baekhyun on stage in the middle of the song??”

    “Sehun!!” I scolded as I slapped his arm. Just then, the lights began to dim again and Kyungsoo and Baekhyun walked out onto the stage. For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

    “Hello everybody!” Baekhyun said into the microphone. “My name is Baekhyun,”

    “And I’m Kyungsoo!”

    “And we are going to close out the show tonight! It’s a been a long night, with many great performances, I hope you guys enjoy this last one.”

    “But,” Kyungsoo continued. “Before we start, we need to invite two very special people to come join us on stage before we can start singing our song.”

    “See this is a song that we composed together.” Baekhyun said. “And we wrote it with two very special people in mind when we did. My daughter.”

    “And my son.” Kyungsoo added.

    “We wrote this song for our children,” Baekhyun continued. “Because they are our entire world. And even though sometimes things can be tough, and we feel like we are just making things up as we go along, just having them with us makes it all worthwhile.”

    “So, could we please have Byun Baekha and Do Kyungbin join us on stage?” Kyungsoo asked and I went to grab Kyungbin from his seat and carry him up.

    “Come on Binnie!” I whispered as I picked him up. “Time to go see Daddy!”

    Kyungbin’s eyes lit up at the sound of “Daddy” and as I carried him towards the stage, he stretched out his little arms towards the direction of his Dad. As I was bringing him up, Chanyeol had brought Baekha out and two big chairs were brought to stage for the kids to sit on.

    The audience oohed and awwed at the sight of the little kids, and I couldn’t blame them. Kyungbin and Kyungsoo looked adorable in their matching outfits, and Baekha was wearing a green and red dress that matched the boys outfits too. I put Kyungbin in the chair and shot Kyungsoo a grin as I left stage and went back to my seat.

    “Psst!” Someone whispered to me from the front row and I saw Jongin. He waved me over to the empty seat beside him and I gladly went over to sit down next to him.

    “You guys were great.” I whispered to him as I sat down and the audience burst out laughing. Before Jongin could respond, we both turned to the stage to see what had happened, and I laughed when I saw Kyungbin had climbed down from the chair and crawled over to Kyungsoo’s side. The little boy had reached up both his arms to his dad, asking to be picked up, but Kyungsoo just laughed and sighed as he picked up his son and placed him back in his chair.

    “Kyungbin-ah! You have to stay there and listen to the song, ok? I can’t hold you while i sing too!”  Kyungsoo said, causing the audience to laugh again.

    “Are you all ready??” Baekhyun asked, and the audience cheered. “Alright! Here is our song, “Baby”. Please enjoy!”

    The music kicked on and I felt Jongin’s hand find mine.

 

    This moment when I’m closing my eyes to pray

    I will hug the heart in you slowly

    Today is a one time chance

    My first step I take

 

    I will promise I am going to do good

    As expected, I, as predicted, happily

    Took our dream’s first step

 

    The boys sang their hearts out on that stage. Singing towards the audience, but mainly singing towards their babies. Pouring their hearts into the melodies and bridges, the audience seemed almost moved to tears. And I couldn’t help but tear up a bit myself.

    The song ended and I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I wish they could’ve kept singing forever, and the rest of the audience seemed to agree. We all stood up to give them a standing ovation, and Kyungsoo and Baekhyun bowed for an eternity on stage. When they finally left the stage, Jongin and I got up to go find the other guys in the audience.

    “That was so good!” Tao said as he brought a tissue up to his eyes. “So touching, so beautiful!”

    “Stop the waterworks, Tao!” Jongdae whined.

    “Didn’t you think it was beautiful though?” I asked Jongdae.

    “Of course it was!” The boy said, looking appalled. “But I’m just saying, I could’ve sung it better…”

    “Hah! I’d like to see that, Hyung!” Sehun joked.

    “What, you don’t think I can sing??” Jongdae spit.

    “I’m sure you can, camel boy.” Sehun joked further, causing Jongdae to slap him up the side of the head. Daehyuk then decided to imitate his father and do the same move to his brother, you fought back by punching Daehyuk’s nose.

    “Hey hey boys stop that!!” Jongdae yelled as he tried to break up their fight.

    Minseok shook his head and tsked. “Are they ever going to change?”

    “Jongdae is a good singer when his sons learn some manners!” Sehun added.

    “Wha- hey!!” Jongdae refuted again. “I told you guys, I can sing!!! Just watch, I’m going to sing for you all, and Daehyun and Daehyuk are going to sit still through the entire thing, and say please and thank you, and wash their hands and not try to kill each other once and--” Jongdae continued, but we all began to file out of the emptying auditorium to go to the lobby and find the other guys. We had a dinner to get to and then later, Tao’s big surprise.

    “Junmyeon’s paying for this food, right?” Sehun asked Jongin and I as we walked to the restaurant.

    “Why would Junmyeon pay for twenty people to eat dinner?” I asked incredulously.

    “Junmyeon pays for this kind of stuff all the time!” Sehun replied. “He’s got one of those fancy credit cards that has no limit on it or something, from his parents.”

    “Which he doesn’t like to use often.” Jongin pointed out. “Because he wants to prove he is self sufficient.”

    “Well he doesn’t have to prove his self reliance to my hungry tummy.” Sehun pouted. “Or Sehee’s!”

    Jongin and I exchanged eyerolls as we entered the Chinese restaurant. They had a large private room set up for us all under Junmyeon’s name, and steaming bowls of Jjajangmyeon, Jjamppong, Tangsuyuk, Mandoo and fried rice were already waiting for us when we walked in.

    “Yisoo! Jongin!” Miyeon called over to us as we walked in. “Come sit with Yixing and I!”

    We gladly went to go join them at the end of a large, long table as Yixing brought over a high chair for Hyein to sit in.

    “Thanks, Hyung.” Jongin said as he settled Hyein into her seat. She was getting fidgety, obviously hungry and waiting for food.

    “No problem!” Yixing replied as he took Bing’s hand and lead him over to a table lower to the ground that the older kids were going to eat at.

    “Ugh. I’m starving!” Miyeon sighed as she looked longingly at the steaming bowls of food in front of us. We were all about to dig in when Junmyeon stood up out of his chair at the opposite end of the table and began to dink on his glass of water to get our attention.

    “Guys, hello everybody!” He started, but no one heard him. Chanyong had started crying because Ace took the seat he wanted, and as Chanyeol got up to go comfort him, he tripped over his feet and fell onto a waitress who was bringing in more water, spilling all the cups on the both of them.

    “ - I mean - shoot! I’m so sorry Ma’am!” Chanyeol apologized to the dripping young waitress as he tried to help her clean up. But they bent down at the same time and knocked heads, causing her to yelp out in pain and Chanyeol’s furry hat the fall off and land in the huge puddle of water.

    “It’s, it’s ok.” The waitress said quietly. “I’ll clean this up and try to find you a dry shirt, go help your son.”

    As Chanyeol went to go pick up Chanyong, Miyeon leaned in to whisper to me.

    “I’ll go help the poor girl.” She said as she stood up. “I’ve been there before, I’ve waitressed, cashiered, you name it. I know what it’s like.”

    “Umm, can I have everyone’s attention please!!” Junmyeon announced again and finally the boys all turned their attention to him.

    “Ahh,  I would just like to say a few words since we are all here, and it’s been such an exciting day!” Junmyeon started, which was met by numerous sighs and eyerolls from the group, but they continued to listen to him nonetheless.

    “Alright, alright, just hurry up!” Jongdae whined. “We’re hungry!”

    “Yes, I will make this brief, do not fret!” Junmyeon waggled his finger like an elementary school teacher and continued. “I just wanted to say how proud I am of us all. The past couple months, we have all taken on projects to help us get closer to our children, and I think they have all worked out for the best! We have had our fair share of good times and bad, but we have made it through it all with smiles and positive attitudes, which I think makes it all worth it.”

    We all started to clap and cheer as Junmyeon continued.

    “I am sad to see this chapter in our lives come to a close, but we have all learned valuable lessons and created great memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We tried new things,” He stared pointedly at Sehun and Luhan, “made new friends”, this time, he stared at me, “rediscovered things we love with people we love”, he gave a knowing look at Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, and then Yixing and Jongin, “but most importantly, had fun with our kids. So everyone, please let’s congratulate ourselves for being the best dads in the world!”

    The boys all whooped and cheered again, complimenting each other profusely and asking Junmyeon to take a deserving bow. Junmyeon bowed awkwardly, before sitting down and encouraging us all to dig in and eat.

    “Did I miss anything?” Miyeon asked as she suddenly came back from helping the waitress clean up.

    “Just a very, very heartwarming speech made by our dearest, beloved Junmyeon.” Jongdae joked as he shoved a huge bite of noodles into his mouth.

    “Aww, I’m sorry I missed it!” Miyeon pouted.

    “Here, I can reenact it!” Luhan said dramatically. “My dear friends,” Luhan sniffled and pretended to tear up, “I just love you guys so much! We created so many beautiful memories to cherish for our lifetimes and, and I’m just so touched by everyone’s warm hearts!” Luhan fake sobbed as the guys burst out laughing.

    “Very funny.” Junmyeon tried to be angry, but one look at Kris, who was nearly in tears, and he broke into a smile too.

    “Hey guys, we’re back.” Chanyeol said as he and Chanyong walked back into the room. Chanyong was no longer crying and sat down and began to eat, and Chanyeol had a fresh shirt on. It must have been a spare uniform for the waiters because it had the restaurant’s logo on the pocket and looked about two sizes too small for him.

    “Nice shirt, Yeol.” Baekhyun snickered.

    “The waitress just handed it to me, said she would throw my other shirt in the washer and give it back to me later…” Chanyeol huffed as he sat down and began to eat.

    “Or maybe she just wanted to check out your body by giving you a shirt that reveals… everything.” Luhan snickered as Chanyeol selfconsciously wrapped his arms around himself, trying to appear smaller.

    “Can we please change the subject?” Chanyeol whined.

    “Yes!” Baekhyun announced. “I have to explain to you guys why we were so late!”

    “Oh yea!!” Miyeon suddenly burst out. “WHY WERE YOU TWO SO LATE???!”

    “Seriously!” Kyungsoo added. “Baekhyun, I was panicking!”

    “Chanyeol, I could not have had them go on and perform without you guys!!” Miyeon said.

    “Relax!” Baekhyun shouted. “I’m about to explain everything, it’s a great reason too, trust me!”

    “Kyungsoo said you guys were at the courthouse?” Jongin questioned.

    “Courthouse??” Jongdae sputtered.

    “Chanyeol, did you finally pay those parking tickets?” Yixing added.

    “I’ll get to it!” Chanyeol whined. “But we weren’t there for me, it was for Baekhyun he-”

    “He didn’t get arrested, did he?” Minseok questioned. “For disrupting public peace?”

    “Hey!” Baekhyun yelled but Minseok just chuckled. “It was for something good, no, amazing!” Baekhyun paused dramatically.

    “I got full custody of Baekha!” Baekhyun cheered.

    “That’s fantastic, Congratulations, Baekhyun!” Junmyeon said.

    “That’s really good to hear, Baek. I’m so glad it finally all worked out.” Kris added, looking very pleased.

    “Thanks, guys. I feel really good about it all. I’ve been trying to do this practically since she was born, and I finally got my ex to sign it all off. She’s mine, and only mine now. For good!” Baekhyun squealed and pinched his daughter’s cheeks as she slurped noodles in a highchair next to him.

    “Full custody is so much easier, you’ll be glad you made this decision in the long run, I promise.” Kris added as he glanced over at his kids, who were happily chatting and eating with the others across the room.

    “Yea,” Baekhyun agreed. “So that’s why we were late! Took way longer than I expected to sign off on everything, but we came as soon as we could.”

    “You cut it a little close,” Junmyeon said. “But alls well that ends well, right?”

    We all nodded in agreement as we continued to eat. The food was so delicious, I did nothing but eat for a while as I listened to the other guys make conversation around me.

    “Jongin, you need a job.” Sehun said.

    “Where did that come from??” Jongin refuted.

    “I’m just saying! You have a daughter, a girlfriend, a house. You need to become financially independent.” Sehun said.

    “Since when were you the voice of maturity?” Jongin asked.

    “I have been feeling myself grow wiser the past few months, Jongin hyung.” Sehun started, sitting up in his chair. “I think I’m finally figuring out what it means to be an adult.”

    “That’s surprising…”Jongin chuckled after Sehun said that statement, because the younger boy he had puffed out his cheeks and made a fishy face at Sehee to make her giggle.

    “And for your information, I’ve actually started going to school.” Jongin said.

    “He has!” Miyeon chimed in. “I got him into a couple of my dance classes at university, and he applied and got in to start next semester!”

    Jongin shot Sehun a knowing look.

    “Plus, I have been talking to the community center about starting a hip hop dance class that I would teach on weekends.” Jongin added. “I’m more mature than you think!!”

    “I’m so proud of you.” Sehun joked. “My little baby is growing up!”

    Jongin scowled and flicked Sehun on the side of the head, but Sehun just laughed in return and pretended to talk to Jongin like he was a little baby.

    “Wittle Jonginie is gwowing up! He’s gonna be a big boy soon!” Sehun joked.

    “Yea, and I’m the immature one. Jin is more mature than you!” Jongin said.

    “I can’t argue with that logic,” Sehun sighed. “That kid is going places, I guarantee it.”

    “You bet he is!” Minseok chimed in, having overheard our conversation.

    “Hey! Daehyun and Daehyuk are going places too!” Jongdae added.

    “Yea, juvie.” Tao joked earning him a death glare from Jongdae. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

    “Ow, Jongdae stop kicking me!” Kyungsoo yelled. “Those are my legs under the table, not Tao’s!”    

    “Sorry, Kyungsoo.” Jongdae said as he kicked under the table again.

    “Ouch!” A little voice came from under the table and out popped Jaehan’s head right in front of Luhan’s lap.

    “Oh man, sorry Jae!” Jongdae apologized again.

    “Jaehan, what are you doing here?” Luhan asked his son.

    “I’m hiding.” Jaehan said as he buried his head into his dad’s lap.

    “Hiding from what?”

    “From Daehyuk!” Jaehan complained. “He keeps telling me I’m gonna get cooties from Jihye because I held her hand!”

    “What!” Luhan asked is an exaggerated voice. “You won’t get cooties from her, Daehyuk doesn’t know what he’s talking about, a lot like his dad, actually…”

    “Why are you guys always like this to me? Why??” Jongdae whined.

    “You can sit with Daddy here, Jae.” Luhan said as he pulled his son up onto his lap. “It’s ok.”

    Jaehan happily climbed up onto his dad’s lap as we continued to eat our food, though I was getting really full and felt just about ready to burst.

    “Hurry up guys, we have to go soon!” Tao rushed us. “It’s a bit of a walk to where my project is, I want to get there before it’s too dark!”

    “Where is it?” Baekhyun asked.

    “That will give it away!” Tao said. “I’m not saying yet, just hurry up so we can go!”

    We wrapped up our meals, all feeling full and happy, and soon departed the restaurant.

    “Hold up guys, I need to get my shirt back!” Chanyeol called out as we began to file out of the restaurant. On one of my sides, Jongin’s hand found mine and slipped both our palms into his coat pocket. On my other, Miyeon started giggling like a hysterical madwoman.

    “Yixing, keep an eye on Miyeon… I think she’s just about lost her mind…” Jongin noticed.

    “Oh, I’m fine, really I’m fine!” Miyeon giggled some more.

    “Ok, what did you do.” I asked.

    “Nothing!”

    “Miyeon. I’m going to ask one more time nicely. What. Did. You. Do?”

    “I am about to make Chanyeol verrrry happy.” Miyeon giggled some more.

    “Umm… should I be worried?” Yixing asked cautiously, his brows furrowing in confusion.

    “Not like that!” Miyeon slapped his arm. “Well, actually kind of like that…”

    “WHAT??!”

    “But not with me, silly!”

    “You nearly gave me a heart attack, Miyeon!” Yixing sighed.

    “Sorry, sorry. But I definitely just got Chanyeol the best Christmas present ever.”

    “And that is?” I asked.

    “That cute waitress’s phone number.” She gave a coy smile.

    “What?? How?” I asked incredulously.

    “When I went to help her clean up, I couldn’t help but notice she had been checking him out ever since we walked into the restaurant… I just thought I could, you know, speed up the process just a bit…”

    “You are actually insane.” Jongin said.

    “How did you get him her number, though?” I asked.

    “I told her to put it in the pocket on his shirt! Genius, am I right?” As Miyeon self-congratulated, Chanyeol and Chanyong came out of the restaurant to join us on the walk to Tao’s project.

    “Chanyeol!” Miyeon called over to him. “How’s your shirt?”

    “Great! Thanks for asking!” Chanyeol replied with a big grin. “It’s nice a warm too, just out of the dryer!” The tall boy began to pat down his shirt lovingly, but stopped out of confusion when he felt a lump in the pocket on his shirt. Miyeon started smiling like an idiot next to me.

    “What’s in your pocket, Chanyeol?” She asked, egging him on and garnering the attention of some of the other guys.

    “It’s, I don’t know… it wasn’t here before…” Chanyeol pulled out the slip of paper from the pocket.

    “Hello, I don’t normally do these kinds of things, but your friend told me to give you my phone number because I told her I thought you were cute. I feel embarassed just writing this, but if you are interested too, give me a call ? From - Yoorin.” Chanyeol read the note as his face began to flush scarlet.

    “Woahhoho!” Baekhyun said. “Who is that from?”

    “It must be that waitress at the restaurant…” Chanyeol said slowly, still in shock. “Dude, she was really cute! And nice too, gave me that shirt to wear, dried my old one too! She even complimented my hat! Said she loved furry hats! Guys, I think I found my soulmate.”

    All of us immediately began to object to Chanyeol’s sudden epiphany, well all of us except Miyeon.

    “Yesss!!” She cheered for herself. “Guys, I am a genius! A perfect matchmaker!” Suddenly her eyes grew wide as an idea popped into her mind. “That’s it! It’s perfect!”

    “What is perfect?” Luhan asked.

    “I know what I’m going to do for you guys!” She continued. “I am going to get you all girlfriends!”

    “WHAT??!”

    “Ok, boyfriends too, if you want just let me know, but guys this is awesome! See, I’ve already found one of your soulmates, I will find the rest too!” Miyeon squealed. “Just call me cupid!”

    The boys continued to object and sputter nonsense at the idea of Miyeon setting them all up, but she shot down all of their rejections. If there was one thing I had learned about this girl since I met her, it’s that she did not give up without a fight.

    “Oh hush! All of you!” Miyeon complained. “This is good for you! You can’t just hang around the same guys and your kids all the time! I know a lot of people, I’ll find great girls for all of you!”

    “Miyeon,” Jongdae began. “It’s not that I’m against dating, I’m just against forcing anything! Plus, do you know how hard it is to find a girl that is still interested in me after she finds out of I have twin boys?”

    “Jongdae, I think you mean, monsters.” Minseok added and for once, Jongdae didn’t correct him. (Considering the fact his kids were currently trying to see who could shove more snow into his mouth).

    “I’ll find someone! Don’t you worry! Just let Dr. Ju do her thing.” Miyeon laughed at her own joke.

    “Why are you a doctor?” Yixing asked.

    “Because I’m your looooove doctor!” She sang the last words and the guys all moaned in disgust at her cheesiness just as Tao stopped walking and pointed at a building.

    “There is it guys!” Tao said. “Seoul Season’s Art Exhibits!” He pointed at a large white building at the end of the block.

    “Is it in there?” Chanyeol asked.

    “Yup!” Tao started to explain. “Hurry up on in!”

    We all entered the art gallery and stood in the spacious lobby. Paintings and sculptures decorated every inch of the walls as Tao and Kris lead us down a hall to a new section of the gallery. On one wall that they stopped in front of, a large curtain covered the wall, shielding whatever art stood behind it.

    “This is it!” Tao exclaimed as we all filed in to get a view of the curtain.

    “I didn’t know your project was to make a giant shower curtain!” Jongdae joked and Tao glared at him.

    “The project is behind the curtain, Jongdae!” Tao huffed before continuing. “So, for the past couple months, without you guys knowing, I have been watching us all closely and documenting what I see.”

    “Only mildly creepy.” Baekhyun chimed in.

    Tao rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I have been taking pictures and whatnot from whatever we have done together and put them all together to make… this!” Tao reached up to grab an end of the curtain as Kris grabbed the other and they yanked it down. Behind it was a large collage, covering the wall from floor to ceiling with pictures… of us.

    There were individual shots, shots of the dad’s talking with one another, laughing and joking around. Shots of the boys with their kids, all sorts. Scolding them, helping them, talking to them, making them laugh and smile. There were posed shots and  action shots. Snapshots of our entire lives in the past few months. I saw Jongin dancing, trying to teach Kris and Chanyeol how to plie. There were the twins and Jongdae running around in Taekwondo uniforms, kicking around at each other. There was one of Jin as he whispered something into Minseok’s ear, and Minseok was just about to burst out laughing. There was a picture of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo singing together, from the time they tried to make us decide who was the better singer. Baekhyun was mid-sentence and Kyungsoo was mid-eyeroll - it was almost too perfect. There was one picture of Bing and Ace with contorted, disgusted faces and I noticed the wrapper of Sehun’s failed muffins at their side. There were too many pictures to count, but they each told a story. I could look at them forever and remember something new each time. In the middle of them all, though, were three words. They were printed on a large piece of paper and read simply: We Are One.

    “We are one.” Tao echoed the voice in my head. “Because that’s what we are, right? Just one big, dysfunctional family.”

    “You forgot loud.” Kyungsoo added.

    “And crazy.” Said Junmyeon.

    “And chaotic.” Minseok chimed in.

    “And disorganized.” Said Kris.

    “And handsome.” Joked Luhan.

    “And wonderful.” Added Baekhyun.

    “And hilarious.” Said Chanyeol.

    “And entertaining.” Grinned Jongdae.

    “And caring.” Said Yixing.

    “And helpful.” Added Sehun.

    “And supportive.” Said Jongin.

    “And… just perfect.” I finished.

    You know, I never will know why I agreed to help my brother when he asked me to come help out his friends in his “single father support group”. But what I do know, is that why I started doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I’m here now. That I have a new family to love and cherish, through good times and bad, for the rest of my life. And I wouldn’t trade it in for anything else in the world.

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Wow. It's finished!! This is my first chaptered fic ever, and to be honest I didn't think I would I fnish it. I don't consider myself a strong writer, but this was just such a joy to write. It was so entertaining imagining these scenarios and then putting them all into words. I want to thank all of my readers for reading, subscribing and commenting. You guys truly made this fic worthwhile! I'm sad to see it end... there is still some more I would love to write for this story but I think I will save it for when I have more time. For now, I will mark the story as complete... but I don't think it's over just yet :)