Hyung and dongsaeng

“Min-ah, wake up!” Yunho opened the green painted door gleefully but frowned when he found the classic single bed empty. The Spongebob sheets were strewn on the floor and the closet door was open with things falling off it.

Yunho’s arms subconsciously crossed and he shook his head. “that excitable boy….” He mumbled good-naturedly knowing full well where his five-year old son is.

Yunho now opened the blue door beside the previous room. This door opened to a nursery instead of a child’s bedroom.

The father found his targets beside the window, giggling and playing with each other’s faces. The older of the two saw his father and immediately put on a bright smile.

“Hi-hi!” Changmin cheered and fixed his hat. “We’re ready.” He announced while demonstrating his and brother’s appearances.

Yunho resisted the urge to chuckle loudly. While Changmin’s learnt to dress up himself of the past few weeks, he can’t do the same for his little brother. 15 months old Taemin is wearing his shorts over his diaper making it look extra poofy especially since his skinny upper-half is exposed. And he has Changmin’s scarf and matching beanie.

Obviously Changmin had taken these clothes from his closet earlier and dressed himself and Taemin. Despite the larger beanie, Taemin’s strawberry blonde hair still peeked under it.

Everyone knows Jaejoong’s grandmother was a foreigner but there’s a funnier story. The running joke in the family is he’s blonde because Jaejoong had dyed his hair blonde when Taemin was conceived.

Jaejoong theorises Taemin’s hair will grow into black since Jaejoong was born with light brown hair too that eventually after one too many haircuts starting growing blacker and straighter.

Yunho bent lower to plant a kiss on his boys’ heads. “you're very excited for school aren’t you?” Changmin nodded eagerly. Poor boy doesn’t know his little brother can’t follow him like he thinks and his parents haven’t mustered the courage to tell him that lest Changmin refuses to go to school.

Yunho pulled Changmin’s hat off his head. “you can’t wear this mister. This is for your Halmeoni’s birthday party on Sunday.” Changmin’s bottom lip jutted out. He was looking forward to wear his new outfit on his first day to school. Yunho ruffled his sulking boy’s hair. “Why don’t you go to your room, your Umma will dress you up.”

“Okie…” Changmin ran to his room leaving Yunho to take care of his brother.

Yunho lifted Taemin in his arms, getting rid of the scarf and beanie on him. little Taemin rubbed the remainder of sleep from his eyes and gave his father a cute toothless smile. “goo’ munning.” He said with difficulty but brightly.

“morning baby…how did you get out of your crib?” the last time Yunho checked, Taemin hadn’t succeeded in breaking out of his crib-prison.

“Hyungie he’p.”

“of course he did.” Yunho nuzzled his younger son as he walked to Taemin’s bathroom. “let’s get you dressed up. We don’t want to be late dropping your brother at his school.”

~~~

After some drama, the family of four were now standing outside the gate of the school. in the fluster of feeding his younger son and packing his older son’s first lunchbox, Jaejoong had a tongue slip.

He blurted the bit about Taemin not going to school with Changmin and both boys began bawling with Changmin declaring he’s not going to school.

But children are easy that way.

The promise of a fantastic dessert, a new game and dinner outside, both boys were all giggly in the car on the way.

“let’s take this off shall we…” Jaejoong undid Changmin’s dolphin headgear. Changmin thought his white tee and shorts are too simple. So he made a bold fashion choice and went with the dolphin headgear instead of the pink deer one.

“Ummaaaa~!” Changmin whined and made grabby hands at the dolphin but Jaejoong held it up. “No baby. It’s not allowed in school.”

“school boring.” Changmin huffed.

“now, now kiddo…you haven’t even tried school yet.” Yunho rounded the car and put Taemin down near Changmin.

The little brother held his hyung’s hand. “Hyungie go an’ come shoon, sho play with Min-Min.”

“You hear that baby?” Jaejoong cooed while ruffling Changmin’s hair then setting it again. “let’s get you inside.”

Jaejoong picked up Changmin and walked to the gate. While Jaejoong talked about the friends he’ll make and nap time Changmin kept waving at Taemin and his father till he disappeared behind the school wall.

Yunho sighed. Sending your first kid to school is harder than he thought. His parents warned him about that. Hopefully, he won’t be as worried when Taemin’s turn comes and probably, he’ll have a third baby, preferably a girl, to hold on to when Taemin and Changmin are in school.    

Yunho looked at his little boy. Taemin’s quite the picture in his pink fluffy jumpsuit, golden apple hair, big black eyes and rosy cheek complete with his favourite plushy. Yunho has seen the baby picture of Jaejoong sitting atop Mr Kim’s study desk. He swears Taemin looks exactly like Jaejoong did just as much as Changmin looks like Yunho.

Yup, he doesn’t want his boys to grow up.

“You’l