"Boys, come help me with something."

Terror falls over the living room. Jongup and Junhong freeze in their place on the floor, their half-complete lego castle completely forgotten. Yongguk pierces his lips into a fine line and closes his eyes as defeat settles in his chest. Himchan rolls off the couch and across the room, eyes never leaving his phone’s screen as he peacefully rolls away down the hallway and out of sight.

"Hey, buddies," Yongguk tries warily, his smile hiding absolutely nothing; he’s always been a terrible liar. "Why don’t you go check up on dad, huh? See if you can help him out?"

The twins are completely unimpressed. “Do we look like ers to you?” Junhong deadpans and Yongguk winces at the language. If Youngjae heard of this, the twins would be served as dinner that very night, gravy and everything. Where did they pick up such words at their age, anyway?

There’s a rustle and a bang from the kitchen and Daehyun lets out a string of rather colorful curse words.

Yongguk nods to himself; right. That’s where.

Himchan walks back into the living room and plops on the couch gracefully. “I realized I can’t roll up the stairs,” he supplies as an answer to the questioning looks his brothers give him. Jongup turns to Yongguk, a terribly serious expression etched on his five-and-a-half year old face.

"We want money."

Yongguk stares. “No.”

"We’re not doing it without something to make it worth our while," Jongup says with a shrug. "Have you seen him do this before? It’s gonna be a bloodbath in there."

As if to validate his words, a crash and the sound of breaking china comes from the kitchen, and they all sigh. The twins are right; it’s not gonna be easy.

"Rock paper scissors?" Junhong suggests hopefully, and Himchan pockets his phone and sits up, reaching out to participate in the game. "If I’m going down, I’m taking everybody with me," he warns gravely. No one bats an eyelid.

They’re just about to start the first round when a sigh comes from the kitchen and Daehyun’s voice is heard. “Alright, the twins and Himchan, get in here,” he calls, and Yongguk sits back in his chair with a triumphant grin as the twins wail and Himchan stares off into the distance in accepting silence.

"This is how we die."

———

Himchan eyes the instruction manual suspiciously, looking at the distinctly Swedish word written in proud bold letters at the top of the first page. On his right, the twins squint and tilt their heads to the side, hoping to better understand the scene in front of them. Himchan isn’t sure, either.

"So what is this supposed to come out as?" He questions the slightly sweaty Daehyun, who’s currently sitting on the floor surrounded by different pieces of yet-to-be-put-together furniture and three bags of different kinds of bolts and screws. He looks dead tired, Himchan notes with slight dread, and they haven’t even started yet.

"Nightstand," Daehyun throws over his shoulder, pulling close two long pieces of white wood and inspecting them closely. After a few moments he shrugs and tears one of the small bags open, pulling out a small screw and fitting it in the hole already drilled to the longest of the wooden pieces. "Himchan, hand me the hammer."

It has begun, Himchan thinks with terror as he grabs the hammer and hands it to his father.

Jongup splutters. “Shouldn’t you be following the instructions, dad?” He asks hesitantly, glancing at his twin. Junhong just looks horrified.

"I don’t need them."

"You’re not even using the hammer right!" Jongup cries in exasperation as Daehyun attempts at hammering the nail in with the side of the hammer. "Can’t you wait until dad comes back home?"

That seems to strike something within Daehyun, and he lowers the hammer and turns around to face his sons, a careful look in his eyes. “Why did you ask that, Uppie?” He asks carefully, and Jongup winces, but still answers the question. “Well, just… he’s tidier than you.”

"And he didn’t build a storage shack which later collapsed on uncle Jongdae," Himchan adds helpfully. Daehyun waves his hand in dismissal, as if seriously injuring your brother-in-law was nothing to dwell on.

"I don’t need your father because I’m a man and I can do things myself, okay," he states clearly, and Junhong feels like crying at the madness that is about to unfold.

Daehyun smiles and turns back to the almost-nightstand, rubbing his hands together in delight. “Let’s get started, then.”

Junhong holds back a sob.

———

"Did he start building it already?"

Yongguk peeks over the couch and sees Daehyun sitting on the floor with what seems to be a quarter of a nightstand standing in front of him on two wobbly legs; Himchan catches his gaze and mouths a silent Please. Yongguk ducks, his heart beating fast at the close call. “Yes,” he breathes into the receiver, ignoring the hiss of pain coming from the kitchen. “He’s doing pretty good, but I think it’s too early to let our guards down.”

A cry of pain echoes in the background and Youngjae sighs over the phone, a slight undertone of regret to his voice as he says, “Just make sure he watches his fingers when he uses the hammer. He tends to—”

"Ah, sweet mother of—" Daehyun curses silently, nursing his swollen thumb.

"-hit himself. I trust this wasn’t the first time?"

"Sixth, actually," Yongguk confirms gloomily, flipping over so he can stare at the ceiling. "I have no idea how you do it, dad. You’re a hero."

Youngjae laughs. “You mean how I handle him? I love him, no matter how stupid and stubborn he is.”

"Amen."

Silence ensued. Faint noises of rustling and banging and complaining from the twins could be heard from the kitchen; Himchan muttered something about not being paid to do this while Daehyun examined the nightstand who now owned four whole(!) legs, nodding to himself in satisfaction before picking up a stocky piece of wood and looking at it.

"The is this," he says bluntly, and Jongup gapes.

Another sigh comes from the other end of the line, and Yongguk returns his attention to the phone. “I’ll be back in an hour, okay? Keep him in line.”

Yongguk smiles. “No problem, dad.”

———

"I’m pretty sure that crack is supposed to be exposed, dad."

"What crack?"

"The one they show in the instruction manual."

"This one?"

"Yeah, this one. The one completely covered up by the supporting beams."

"Well what’s it for?"

"I think the back panel should slide into it, like in this drawing—"

Silence.

"Well why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

"You would’ve known if you used the instruction manual!"

"I don’t need it!"

"Yeah well good luck building your back-less nightstand then!"

"How do I take this apart, Himchan help me-"

"Watch the out!"

———

"Well, it took us two hours, but we did it." Daehyun announces proudly, pulling his sons closer by the shoulders and inspecting his finished piece of furniture with his chest puffed out stubbornly. Junhong looks at Jongup warily, and his twin returns the uneasy look, glancing at Himchan for help. The boy squints and crosses his arms, shifting his weight from one foot to another uneasily.

"The bottom drawer is missing," he points out matter-of-factly, rubbing his chin in thought. Daehyun’s chest deflates a little.

"Yeah, well. I guess this explains all the spare parts."

"It still doesn’t have a back panel."

"I couldn’t take it apart after screwing it all together," Daehyun says weakly, a look of disappointment in his eyes. "I just thought it’d be fun to do it together."

A feeling of guilt washes over them and they shuffle in their standing places awkwardly, feeling quite uneasy.

"It really was fun, dad," Junhong says finally, look up at his father with a bright smile and twinkling eyes. Daehyun smiles back and rubs his back fondly, turning once again to look at the incomplete nightstand.

It’s quiet for a few minutes as they all look at their creation and silently thank God it’s finally over, until Himchan snorts and leaves the kitchen, his brothers’ protests following him up the stairs. “Why can’t I roll up stairs,” he mumbles bitterly, pulling his phone out of his pocket and turning it on.

1 new messages

From: dad y

take care of your dad for me, okay?