A/N: So, what I said last time about an early December update became a near-the-end of December update. Sorry about that. D:

Btw, the Jaejoong fan meet last month was awesome! 8D Best of all, I was one of the lucky ones chosen for the poster signing before the actual event!  There was only a table between Jae and me! O_O I was only in front of him for some seconds (he signs too fast for my liking lol), and I was mostly just speechless in front of him. xD But to have Kim Jaejoong say even just a few words to you was already woah…

Anyway, please excuse my Cassie-self that just had to fangirl about that moment. xD Here’s the next update! :D

Book 3: The (Crazier) Toddler Years

Chapter 5: Story

Most kids loved stories and story-telling time. Minhyun wasn't any different from most kids in this respect. When it comes to the usual kinds of stories that Minhyun hears, though ... Well, that's when things get interesting.

Because Minhyun's main storyteller is, of course, his evil maknae mother.

And we can all imagine how "well" the story telling goes.

Kyuhyun believed like that as an evil genius, Minhyun should be well-rounded. So, we can say that Minhyun was also quite familiar and well-versed in all those typical stories. Fairy tales, Aesop's fables, Disney ...

But what Kyuhyun loved telling more (and what Minhyun loved hearing about more as well, much to his Uncle Hannie's dismay) are the stories that have a ... well, a dark edge to them.

Fairy tales in their original versions. You know, the horrific and even kind of gruesome original versions.

There were also the short stories from Edgar Allan Poe that were definitely counted as dark gothic.

And the tragedies of Shakespeare. Not even the comic ones. Kyuhyun loved telling and Minhyun loved hearing about 'em tragic ones. (Fortunately or unfortunately, it looks like Kyuhyun's reading of tragic plays like Hamlet to Minhyun as a baby paid off.)

"Are you not even worried that Minhyunnie will get nightmares from those stories?!" Hankyung had cried out in dismay when he had found out just exactly what bedtime stories Kyuhyun had been telling to Minhyun.

"Why would he?" Kyuhyun had scoffed dismissively. "You're forgetting who we are, hyung."

Hankyung hadn't even been able to refute that statement. The Chinese man knew quite well that Minhyun was quite like Kyuhyun. And Kyuhyun had been the nightmare of his Super Junior hyungs (and still is the nightmare for Hankyung nowadays, unfortunately). Why then would Kyuhyun and Minhyun be afraid of creepy, nightmarish things when they were "nightmares" themselves.

Real, living nightmares, the pair of them, in Hankyung's opinion.

That still didn't mean that Hankyung approved of the stories, though!

But, really, Hankyung would very much prefer the dark, creepy stories over that other story.

The one that Hankyung detested the most. Which is also the one that Kyuhyun loved telling the most. Which is also the one that Minhyun loved hearing about the most. (Yeah, Hankyung was obviously outnumbered and outvoted.)

It's not just a story, but it's THE story, in Kyuhyun's opinion.

Because when it comes down to it, the story (or series of stories, really) that Kyuhyun loved to tell about the most was "The Tales of The Great King Kyuhyun and His Twelve Servants of the Round Table."*

Once upon a time, in a land far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far away ...

"Wow, umma," Minhyun said with his eyes round and big as he listened interestedly. "The place must be weally far away, huh?"

"Yes, it is, isn't it, Minhyunnie?" Kyuhyun grinned back at his son.

"Or your mother can just be a horrible story teller," Hankyung muttered.

"Quiet, Uncle Hannie! Umma's story telling," Minhyunnie pressed his finger against his lips to signal his uncle to keep quiet.

"Yeah, hyung, quiet," Kyuhyun smirked triumphantly.

Hankyung just sighed.

... there was a stupendous kingdom called ... uhm ... called ... uhm ... called Suju Land!

Yes, that's right. The kingdom was named Suju Land.

It was a wonderful place. There was a magnificent castle made of polished white marble. The lands were fertile and green, and everything was plentiful. The town by the palace was quaint and lively.

But the best part about the kingdom? Evil thrived in everyone's heart! Bwahaha!

Kidding. Maybe. You'll never know if it's really true. Bwahahaha.

Anyway, all the people in the kingdom were quite loyal and devoted to and practically worshipped their leader. Their king.

And why wouldn't they? The king was awesome-pawsome!

The king was handsome. And smart. And witty. And also cute when he wants to be. And intelligent. And superior. And brave.  And dominant. And all-powerful. And unbeatable. And unsurpassable. And the best in practically everything under the sun.

He was the great King Kyuhyun.

"Umma, his name is just like yours!" Minhyun cheered excitedly, clapping his little hands.

Behind him, Hankyung was just groaning upon hearing about the "main character."

"Of course his name is just like mine," Kyuhyun said proudly, even puffing up his chest in pride. "All the great people are named 'Kyuhyun'."

Then, to Kyuhyun's surprise and great confusion, Minhyun's bottom lip stuck out, and his eyes started to get watery.

"Minhyunnie's name ain't 'Kyuhyun'. Minhyun's not great?" Minhyun's lip was starting to tremble and wobble.

"No, no, no!" Kyuhyun started to panic right away. When it comes to Minhyun crying, not much has changed since he was a baby. Kyuhyun still panicked when Minhyun started to cry.

"Great going, Kyu," Hankyung chimed in sarcastically from the back.

"Of course Minhyunnie's great, too!" Kyuhyun said quickly as he pulled his son to him and sat the little boy on his lap. "How can my little dumpling not be great? Minnhyunnie's great! Not just great even, but the best!"

"Weally?" Minhyun looked up at his mother hopefully.

"Yes, weally," Kyuhyun replied, even copying Minhyun's pronunciation. "Really, really."

With the potential disaster having been impeded With Minhyun happy and smiling again, Kyuhyun went on with the tale, his son still sitting on his lap.

Honestly, the kingdom was great because their king was great. The king was the source of all the greatness, really.

The king ruled everyone and everything. And so the kingdom was in tip-top shape. The king was a genius, so he was able to solve any problem that the kingdom faced. From solving the day-to-day problems that his people brought up to him to the issue of dominating and conquering other nearby kingdoms, the king could think of everything!

He was so smart! :3

But I guess you can't really have everything in life, can you? Because to the king's great dismay, as smart as he was, he was stuck with twelve idiots.

Like any ruling monarch, the great King Kyuhyun needed servants. And the great King Kyuhyun had twelve servants that, he had to grudgingly admit, were quite loyal and devoted to him and gave in to his every whim.

Unfortunately, they were as ... "unsmart," to say it in a nicer way, as much as the king was smart.

And as much as it had his advantages (the servants were much easier to manipulate with their simplistic thinking), the king was constantly exasperated with having to put up with such simpletons!

The twelve servants' names were ... were ... You know what, the story's really about the king, so the servants aren't really important. Let's just leave them nameless, 'kay?

From behind Minhyun, Hankyung was glaring at Kyuhyun.

The oldest servant was ... well, old. He was so old that he was practically a grandpa. Kekeke. He claimed that he was an "angel without wings." The king had to admit that the oldest servant was indeed good, but the king was also of the opinion that the servant was too coddling and mother-henish! The oldest servant also constantly worried about his looks and aging. And the king would "nicely" tell the servant that he shouldn’t be worrying ... as it was already too late, seeing as the servant really was old and wrinkly, anyway. Forgetting the hierarchy for a moment, the oldest servant would attempt to strangle his king whenever the king said this.

In a medieval kingdom, you'd think that all the people lived simple lives. But there were also divas. Well, one diva in Suju Land. The second servant was a diva, no denying it. The king would even claim that the second servant was more demanding and lived a more lavish life than him! The second servant was a beautiful, and he knew and acted like it. He was loud. And he was often blunt, sometimes to the point of being rude already. Though the king would never admit it, he liked the second servant for this (the king would never admit being fond of his servants! *cough*eventhoughheis*cough*).

The third servant was originally from a different kingdom. They spoke a different language back there, so the servant struggled a bit with communicating in his new home. The servant knew how to use the language barrier to his advantage, though! Whenever the king would give really hard and strenuous orders (like "Arrange all the books in my library