Chapter seven

The weekend finally came and the kids were looking forward to seeing their cousins and uncles. Ji Yong was a bit sad that neither his uncle Yi Fan or uncle Chanyeol came, but he was still excited to see the others. He was especially looking forward to getting the long waited answers to his questions.

Lu Han picked up Joonmyun's kids, Amber and Minki, at twelve am and Minseok got snacks ready. When the clock was a quarter to one, it rang on the door.

"Hi!" Lu Han greeted as he opened the door. He welcomed Kyungsoo and Jongdae inside and gave them a hug. "How are you?"

"Good," Kyungsoo smiled.

"And how are you two?" Lu Han looked down at the two six year olds: Jonghyun and Namjoo.

"Fine," they mumbled and shyly hugged Jongdae's legs. Lu Han smiled at them.

"Minseok is in the kitchen preparing snacks. Amber and Minki are already here; Joonmyun and Taeyeon unfortunately couldn't make it though," Lu Han told. Then he called for his kids to come. "Ji Yong, Chanhee and Sohee! Come and welcome our guests!"

The three came to the hallway one by one and glared at the new arrivals. More specific: Jongdae.

"Why are they staring at me like that?" Jongdae whispered to Kyungsoo who shrugged. Then his husband narrowed his eyes.

"What have you done, Jongdae?" he said.

"Me? Nothing! I just came here, and those three are staring at me like I've done something regrettable!" Jongdae exclaimed and Lu Han sighed.

"Kids, stop staring at him like that. He'll explain later. Now just go say hi."

Jongdae and Kyungsoo looked questioningly at Lu Han, as the three kids gave them hugs.

"I'll explain later. But now, please come in!"

They went to the living room where Amber was sitting in the couch quietly reading a book, and Minki was sitting on the floor playing with Ji Yong's old action figures.

"Hey, kids!" Jongdae said happily and Amber smiled friendly at the new comings. Minki shyly stood up and sat beside his older sister in the couch. Jongdae walked to them, first giving Amber a hug and then turning to Minki to ruffle his hair. Minki shyly smiled.

Kyungsoo also walked to them and gave them hugs, while their kids stood in the back.

"How are you? I heard your parents couldn't make it?" Jongdae politely asked the kids.

Amber nodded and looked down. "Eomma and appa had to work," she said. Kyungsoo nodded understandingly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said.

"But luckily you're here with us!" Jongdae exclaimed and the eight year old smiled widely as he tickled her younger brother, making him laugh.

Minseok silently came into the living room, carrying a plate full of snacks. Kyungsoo noticed him and gave him a hug.

"Oh hi, hyung!" Jongdae said and hugged him too. Before they could start a conversation, it knocked on the door.

Around a quarter past one everyone sat in the living room, eating snacks and having multiple conversations. The youngest - Baekhyun's son, Jongdae's "twins", Zitao's kids, and Minki - sat on the floor playing with some toys they had found in Sohee's room. It was clear that it was the little five year old Minki who controlled the game, but everyone seemed to enjoy. The girls - Sohee, Amber and Baekhyun's niece Luna - were talking in a corner by themselves. They had taken some snacks and juice and whispered secretly with each other. Chanhee was sitting by the table leaning against Lu Han's legs, and Ji Yong was sitting on the couch with the adults next to his appa.

Suddenly the girls stood up and Luna went in front of her uncle.

"Auntie?" she said.

"Mmh?" Baekhyun responded with a smile.

"Sohee unnie told me that her dads are telling them how they met. I want to hear how you and uncle Chanyeol met," she said cutely.

Baekhyun smiled. "Sure. We can tell that story when we come home, sweetie."

"Wait, is that why your kids were staring at me weirdly?" Jongdae, who had been listening to Luna's request, asked Lu Han. "Did you tell them something weird about me?"

Lu Han grinned and suddenly Ji Yong got reminded of something he wanted to ask.

"Why were you dating my appa?" he asked Jongdae, who got surprised by the sudden outburst. It almost sounded like an accusation. The kids had also heard his accusation, and all looked at them interested, waiting for Jongdae to answer.

"Wait what?!" Jongdae said, at lost for something to say. "You told them that?" Minseok looked down and Lu Han just grinned.

"We are telling them the story from beginning to end. We couldn't leave anything out," Lu Han told.

"I want to hear too!" the five year old Taehyung said and went to Baekhyun, who put him on his lap.

"Well, we can tell you," Baekhyun said.

"Of course! It's EXO after all. The story of how we all met!" Lu Han said.

"It's a very long story," Jongdae said.

"I want to hear!" Namjoo, his daughter, exclaimed.

"Well, where should we begin?" Kyungsoo asked. "There's so much."

"I also need to ask you, uncle Sehun," Ji Yong started and Sehun looked at him, "why you and uncle Jongin were dating? And to all of you: who didn't date each other?!" The adults all looked at each other and then slightly down getting embarrassed or somewhat ashamed. Ji Yong smirked at the sight of the grownups not knowing what to tell them.

Sehun's 4 year olds, Junhong and Hayoung, stared at their dad with wide innocent eyes at the new information. Sehun noticed and looked at them afraid of what they might say, but they said nothing. He wasn't sure if he should say something either, but luckily Minseok interrupted.

"Ji Yong, it's such an accusation to say that we all dated each other. We only dated the ones we had those feelings for, and ended up with the ones we love." He smiled at Lu Han, and received a smile back.

"Do you really think that I would date someone like... Zitao, for example?" Baekhyun said teasingly and Ji Yong laughed. Everyone giggled, except for the small kids who didn't understand it, and Zitao who felt offended.

"What's wrong with me?! You're not that attractive yourself! I'm at least more handsome," he exclaimed.

"Cut it out. Let's tell the children a story instead," Jongdae said. The kids smiled and sat comfortably before the story telling would begin.

"I remember one time when we were filming 'EXO Showtime'," Jongdae began as the children had found their places to sit. "We were going to a haunted house." Zitao sighed and shivered at the thought, and all the former members laughed at the memory.

We needed to go into the haunted house all by ourselves. But some of us could be lucky to walk with another. Before we entered the haunted house we played a game: the first three persons to sledge down a hill and catch a flag, could pick another person to walk with. I was lucky to get a flag, but I didn't need it, so I gave my flag to Tao because he was almost crying by the mere thought of entering the haunted house. At first he teased and said he would walk with our leader, Suho, but because he had promised to walk with Sehun and the maknae was plain scared too - even though he didn't want to show it - they went together.

The others who had won the flags and possibility to not go in alone, were D.O. and Chanyeol. D.O. chose Luhan to walk with, and Chanyeol chose Kai. And the rest had to go by themselves.

I remember how everyone was so scared and screamed their faces off: even Kris. I didn't think of it as a big deal, and neither did Xiumin. He went in without complain and came back out ten seconds later. Turns out he didn't even register the people and things inside to terrify us.

The one who was the most terrified, was Tao. He screamed every second and even cried a bit. Sehun wasn't even a big help: he was afraid too, but shook it off with laughs.

D.O. and Luhan went in together, but D.O. somehow left Luhan halfway. Luhan was so scared, and didn't know whether to go further or back in case he had left D.O. behind. When Luhan finally came out, D.O. had hidden himself and Luhan went inside again, even though he was dead scared. Luckily D.O. managed to get him before he went far.

The kids giggled when Jongdae was finished with his story. They had laughed at Zitao being scared and Sehun shaking it off with laughter. They had laughed at Lu Han who had to go in again and Minseok who hadn't even noticed the ones meant to scare him. The adults looked ashamed because Jongdae now had revealed one of their weak spots.

"I don't believe my baba was scared," Junhong said quietly.

"Me neither," Hayoung exclaimed. "Baba's the bravest man I know." Zitao smiled proudly at his kids.

"You are so sweet! Come here, my kids," he said and the two children walked to him, putting their arms around their baba. "I'm never scared."

"Hey, what about me? Aren't I one of the bravest men too?" Sehun asked offended.

Baekhyun laughed. "Please, baby Sehun, you're the least brave man!" Sehun pouted, but his kids hurried over and hugged him.

"You're cool too, appa!" Hayoung smiled and kissed his cheek. Sehun smiled.

"But what about my question?" Ji Yong said. "Uncle Jongdae!" Jongdae looked at Ji Yong with a scared expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Why were you dating my appa?"

Jongdae thought about it for a moment, not really sure if his answer was going to be alright for the twelve year old boy and the kids who all stared at him with interest and patience. "Because I liked him?" The answer came out as a question, even though it wasn't for him to ask.

Ji Yong looked at him. "But what about my baba? He was all alone and should have been with appa instead of you." Now it was Lu Han's turn to look ashamed and down at the floor. Jongdae looked back and forth between Lu Han and Ji Yong.

"You mean, they haven't told you?" he asked and Ji Yong furrowed his eyebrows, looking questioningly at his uncle. "About three months after me and your appa started dating, your baba and Sehun started dating as well." Ji Yong turned his now wide eyes towards Lu Han.

"Seriously?" he asked. Lu Han slowly nodded, kind of embarrassed, and Jongdae smirked satisfied at the now turned table. "For how long?"

"Only for five months," Sehun defended.

"How many have you even dated, uncle Sehun?" Sehun twitched a bit by the sudden attack on him. "No, let me ask you instead: who haven't you dated?" Baekhyun laughed at this and Sehun glared at him angrily.

"I haven't dated that many! Don't think that about me."

"You didn't answer my question, uncle." Now all of the kids stared at him.

"Don't harass your uncle Sehun, Ji Yong," Minseok said, earning a glance from the teenager.

"Have my appa also been boyfriends with one of you?" it suddenly came from Minki. They all stared at each other.

"Well... yes, he has," Jongdae was the one to answer. "But only for a short period."

"With you?" Minki asked and looked at Jongdae innocently.

"No, not with me." Jongdae smiled at the kid.

"What do you say if I go make the dinner ready, and then you kids can play in the meantime?" Minseok stood up from the couch.

"But I haven't gotten answers to all of my questions!" Ji Yong said.

"Well, you can get them another time." Minseok sent him a glance and Ji Yong didn't say more.

The kids were all playing while the dinner was getting prepared, except for Ji Yong who sat in his room, feeling too big to play with the younger. Jongdae and Baekhyun had joined the game too, making it all the more fun for the kids as they laughed and ran around.

The people who made dinner were Minseok and Kyungsoo. Even though it wasn't Kyungsoo's house or treat, he loved to cook and insisted on joining. Lu Han, Zitao and Sehun sat in the kitchen, talking with each other and with Minseok and Kyungsoo, while having a small glass of wine. And when it was dinner time they all laughed and talked like it hadn't been long since they last saw one another.

A/N: helloo ~ Did you like this chapter? Now more characters have paid a visit in the "present". The story Chen told... well, I promise the future flashbacks won't just be something taken from their own shows (of course I don't own any of the characters nor the show) - though, I still hope you enjoyed it ^_^

I added something in the foreword in Luna's description, by the way (something short about her name).

Thank you for reading and please comment and subscribe! Have a good day ~ ^_^