“Do you think it’s dead?”

“Well it’s not moving.”

“You should touch it.”

“Ew no!”

“What are you, a baby?”

“What are you, a grownup?”

“Alright, alright, you two, stop it.” Seungcheol says, toddling over so he could stop Soonyoung and Seokmin before they rip each other’s diapers off. The two turn their heads unamused, huffing at each other.

Seungcheol sighs. Being the oldest baby in this playground is difficult. Not only does he have to change his own diaper, but he has to look over all the other babies. There are thirteen of them. Thirteen. Now Seungcheol may not be able to count that high yet but he is pretty super, duper sure thirteen is a big number. Imagine having thirteen chocolate bars. That’s a lot.

“Hyung! Soonyoung called me a poopyhead!” Seokmin shrieks and Seungcheol cringes at the ear piercing, glass breaking, chalk clawing sound. Seokmin had always been the loudest of them, next to Seungkwan of course but Seungkwan, well, he’s a different story.

Seungcheol walks over to the two, accidently stepping on a barbie on the way. Eh, it’s probably not important anyway.

“Soonyoung, say sorry to Seokmin.” Seungcheol demands, his baby hands on his baby hips. He calls again when Soonyoung sticks his tongue out at him. “Soonyoung, say sorry!”

“Yeah well Seokmin called me a diaper eater!”

Seungcheol turns to Seokmin. “Seokmin, is that true?”

Seokmin glares at Soonyoung. “You tattle tale!”

“You poopyhead!”

As the two resume to call each other names, Seungcheol facepalms his baby face. He could do it you know. He could stop them, he really can. It used to be so easy to stop the two kids. But that was before Doyoon had transferred to another babycenter. Boy, how he misses Doyoon and how easily he stops the kids.

“Both of you are poopyheads.” An angelic voice giggles from the back. Jeonghan walks towards the three, his long hair swinging back and forth.

Jeonghan doesn’t like getting haircuts, crying and thrashing every time his mom would put him on the barber chair. So it came to the point where he just doesn’t get haircuts anymore and wears those cute little Hello Kitty hairbands.

“Soonyoung, say sorry to Seokmin. And Seokmin, say sorry to Soonyoung or else I’m going to eat both of your cheeseburgers during lunchtime.”

The two kids gasp. “You wouldn’t, hyung!”

“We’ll starve!”

Jeonghan smiles. But not that angelic smile he has, the other smile. “Try me.” He says, placing his baby palms on both the two kids’ backs.

Seungcheol swears he felt a shiver up his spine.

Soonyoung and Seokmin eventually apologize to each other and go off to the kitchen play kit. Jeonghan smiles at Seungcheol, a smile that says, “you’re a weak baby,” before skipping off to Joshua.

Joshua, now Joshua is the real angel here. When Jeonghan skipped over to him, he’s busy watching TV. Joshua and Jeonghan first arrived at the daycare relatively around the same time, making them best friends.

“Hong Jisoo~” Jeonghan loves to sings Joshua’s Korean name. “What are you watching?”

Joshua looks up and smiles that adorable, heart filling, full of kitties smile. He pats down on the mat. “I’m watching Soul Eater! Join me!” He pleads, smiling and Jeonghan happily does so, not because of Soul Eater but because he just feels so happy around the LA native.

“Oh are you talking about Soul Eater?” Hansol questions as he toddles over, emphasising Soul Eater. He and Joshua are both from the States so they would randomly speak English to each other, mainly to talk about how Seungcheol’s diaper smells like poop all the time.

Joshua smiles at him. “Yeah, Soul Eater!”

“Oh my gawd, I love that!”

“I love Soul Eater!”

“Hansol, you’re not supposed to say oh my god.” Jeonghan says as he points a finger at Hansol. The said baby pouts.

“Can I watch with you, Josh hyung?” Hansol asks and Joshua laughs and nods, as if Hansol had to even need to ask.

Okay so things are pretty smooth on this side, but meanwhile on the other side…

“Hyung, hyung give it back!” Chan’s cries get louder each time as he jumps for his stuffed teddy bear in Mingyu’s hands. “Hyung!”

Chan is the youngest of the babies and the second shortest (we do not talk about who’s the shortest, shhh…).

He’s probably the most adorable and naive of the whole bunch. His name is LEE CHAN for christ’s sake. That’s how adorable he is.

“Grrr, just you wait hyung!” Chan stomps his foot. “One day I’ll grow taller than you and then I’ll steal your teddy bear!”

Mingyu chuckles with his palm against Chan’s forehead. “Keep dreaming, little kid.” Being the tallest of the babies, Mingyu likes to tease the shorter kids (except for one but ehem). Because of his height, he’s known to be a clumsy giant, usually tripping over his own feet or spilling his bottle during lunch time.

“I will! I will be as tall as a Dinosaur!”

“Dinosaur?” Mingyu laughs evilly. “Then I will call you Dino.”

Chan growls. “Give me back my teddy bear!”

Mingyu continues to laugh.

“What’s with all this noise?” A sleepy voice comes from the door behind Mingyu. The tallest baby turns around and smiles brightly, quickly pushing Chan into the pile of cushions. “Wonwoo hyung!” He calls happily, jumping up and down around the sleepy baby.

Wonwoo yawns. “Why are you so excited?” He asks as he rubs his sleepy eyes. He feels Mingyu hug him from behind.

“Hyung, you’re finally awake! I was so bored! Let’s play!” Mingyu squeezes Wonwoo tightly who remains expressionless.

No, don’t get Wonwoo wrong. He’s normally expressionless, leading him to be called a sloth. But he’ll get happy in just a few minutes, once he has a little dose of Mingyu’s constant cheers.

The two are like two peas in a pod and it takes a lot to separate them.

“Chan, I got your teddy bear back for you.” This time it’s a little cute, adorable, fluffy, puppy voice of Xu Minghao toddling over to Chan. “It’s full of Mingyu’s germs but I think it’s still good.

There are two little Chinese babies in the daycare. Minghao is the younger of the two. He’s this cute, adorable little elf that probably can cure the world’s problems.

“Should I clean it for you?” Jun asks. He’s the other Chinese baby. This one is full of affection and loves to hug all the other babies.

Despite their adorable looks, Jun has a black belt in karate and Minghao can break dance. Yeah. Take that Bieber.

“SEUNGCHEOL HYUNG.”

Okay here’s the loud one.

“SEUNGCHEOL HYUNG. DID YOU BREAK MY LIMITED EDITION ONE OF A KIND THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD SILVER BARBIE’S SUMMER ADVENTURE SET AGAIN.”

Okay so that’s Seungkwan. If there is one word that can describe him, that would be: diva.

“THIS IS THE SECOND TIME HYUNG. THE. SECOND. TIME. I’M NOT DEALING WITH THIS. I CAN’T. I CAN’T. I’M TELLING MY MOMMA.”

“S-Seungkwan ah, c-calm down.” Seungcheol pleads, his hands holding in front of him. The other babies stay silent as well, because they’re afraid they know what’s going to happen next.

“MS. SONG. I NEED TO CALL MY MOM. NO, NO, I NEED THE PHONE. WHERE IS THE PHONE. WHAT IS MY HOME NUMBER?”

“S-Seungkwan ah, p-please you have to calm down or else…” The other babies are practically huddled in the corner with Seungcheol bravely in the front of the group. “Seungkwan! Sh! Or else he will wake up!”

“HELLO? HELLO? UMMA? HELLO? SEUNGCHEOL HYUNG BROKE MY BARBIE SET AGAIN. HELLO?...WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THE PIZZA STORE. WHERE’S MY MOM? HELLO?”

“Seungkwan please! You have to calm down!” Seungcheol screams this time. By now Chan is already bursting into tears and Minghao follows because he cries whenever someone else is crying as Jun tries to comfort him.

Hansol stays silent, his wide eyes darting back and forth at everything. Mingyu is hiding scared of out his diaper behind Wonwoo who the latter yawns. Jeonghan and Joshua remain calm, probably because who would hurt these angels but Soonyoung and Seokmin hide behind the two.

Seungkwan continues to scream into the plastic phone and Seungcheol gives up and hides behind the group. He shuts his eyes. “It’s all over now! We’re doomed! We are so doomed!”

The door slams open.

Seungkwan immediately shuts his mouth and the whole room goes silent. He gulps as he gently and very quietly puts down the plastic phone. “H-hello Jihoonie hyung. Y-you look lovely today.”

Jihoon’s eyes are covered by his dark bangs. He had just been rudely woken up from his nap. He closes the door, quite quietly and walks over to Seungkwan. He picks up with pink plastic phone. “Where is that Choi Seungcheol.” His voice is ice cold and his eyes are still unseen.

The group in the corner parts like the red sea and reveals Seungcheol frozen in the middle. The oldest baby smiles awkwardly and slowly walks forward. “H-hi Jihoonie.” He calls. “How was your nap?”

The plastic phone crushes a little.

The other babies feel a shiver up their backs and they stare at Seungcheol from behind.

Jihoon puts down the phone. He’s the type of baby that can adorable sometimes and is still adorable when he tries to chase you down with a guitar twice his size. He doesn’t like nuisance. Period.

“Ji-Jihoonie, think of your blood pressure, Hoonie”

The said baby flips his bangs, revealing his eyes. The others gulp. Jihoon is smiling. “Where’s the guitar, Cheollie?” He asks brightly.

Shiver.

“L-Last time I saw it, it was with Joshua.”

Jihoon smiles over at Joshua who smiles back. The LA gets up and hands over Jihoon the guitar. It isn’t a real guitar instead a toy one but it is still manageable.  Seungcheol and Seungkwan’s mouths drop at how easily Joshua gave over the guitar. Maybe he’s secretly not such an angel after all.

Jihoon pats the guitar against his tiny palms as if testing how hard it is. He smiles at Seungkwan. “Seungkwan, why were you shouting into the phone earlier before? When I was taking my nap?” He circles around his prey.

Seungkwan gulps. “I wanted to call my umma.”

“Oh? And why so?”

“B-because Seungcheol hyung broke my barbie set again.”

Jihoon circles around Seungcheol. “Cheollie hyung, are you upset Doyoon hyung went to another daycare?”

Seungcheol pauses. “Y-yes…” He answers and Jihoon pouts in front of him.

“I’m sad too.” Jihoon says. “Now, did you break Seungkwan’s barbie set.”

No answer.

“Cheollie hyung?”

No answer.

Jihoon smiles and pats the guitar against Seungcheol’s back twice. “Cheollie hyung~”

“It was an accident!” Sungcheol breaks down. “I swear Jihoonie it was an accident! I-it was just on the floor and I accidently stepped on it when I tried to stop Seokmin and Soonyoung from fighting.”

“Seokmin and Soonyoung?” Jihoon repeats and Seungcheol nods. The guitar leaves Seungcheol’s back and the latter feels as if he regained ten lives.

Jihoon walks over to Soonyoung and Seokmin. They’re whispering something with each other but stop when Jihoon stands in front of them.

Soonyoung beams a smile. “Good morning Jihoonie~” He sings and Jihoon smiles. The shorter likes Soonyoung, he really does.

Besides Seungcheol, Soonyoung is probably Jihoon’s best friend. They often sing and dance together and Jihoon really enjoys the dorky kid’s octopus dance.

“Were you two fighting?”

Seokmin shakes his head and smiles that sunshine smile of his. “We’re not fighting anymore! We’re best friends now, right Soonyoungie?” He says, his arm over Soonyoung’s shoulder as they beam at each other.

“Right, Seokminnie!” Soonyoung replies but Jihoon is only smiling.

“That wasn’t my question.”

“Kids, lunch is almost ready!” Ms. Song says from the doorway, a bright smile on her face as if nothing dangerous is currently happening at the moment.

Jihoon gives a huge, adorable smile. “We’ll be right there, Ms. Song~” He sings and Ms. Song giggles at the kids.

“Alright make sure you clean up and wash your hands. Ugh, such precious children. The world needs more of you.”

Pause.

Jihoon turns to Seokmin who looks down at the ground, his hands in front. “Yes, we were fighting.” He confesses.

“Why?”

“Soonyoung called me a poopyhead.”

“Seokmin called me a diaper eater.

Jihoon stares at the two. Unbelievable. “You’re both poopyheads and diaper eaters.” He says before moving on to the other patch of kids.

Minghao. Innocent.

Jun. Innocent.

Jeonghan. Innocent.

Joshua. Innocent (or is he).

Hansol. “Don’t say oh my god, Hansol.”

Chan. Oh precious child.

Wonwoo. Asleep.

Mingyu….Oh Kim Mingyu. “Mingyu, what did you do this time?”

Mingyu’s mouth falls. “What? Hyung, how can you just assume that I always do something.”

Jihoon gives him a look. “Because you do always do something.”

“He took my teddy bear!” Chan shouts next to Jihoon who pauses at how loud the younger baby is. “He took my teddy bear and put his dirty germs on it!”

“Okay now that’s just plain crossing the line!” Mingyu retaliates. “Wonwoo hyung doesn’t think I’m dirty!”

“That’s because Wonwoo hyung is asleep all the time!”

“Yeah well you’re a tiny baby!”

“You’re a big baby!”

“ENOUGH. ENOUGH.” Jihoon shouts, covering his head. “It is too early for this!”

Mingyu and Chan look at each other. “Sorry hyung…”

Jihoon sighs. “Mingyu, just make sure you wash your hands.” He says and Mingyu nods. “And Chan,” Jihoon pats Chan’s hair. “Take care of your teddy bear.” Chan giggles and hugs his Hoonie hyung.

There’s a yawn. “Is it lunch time yet? I want my cheeseburger.” Wonwoo says and smiles, his nose crinkling in response.

The kids hurried off to the small lunchroom with the tiny tables and the tiny square chairs of every single color and Chan, Hansol, Seungkwan, and Minghao have to sit in those baby seats because BABY SEATS ARE ADORABLE.

“Chicken? Chicken!” Jihoon squeals as Ms. Song places the small pieces of chicken in front of the kids.

“Wait, so no cheeseburgers?”

“It’s okay, Wonwoo hyung.”

“Jisoo! You love chicken!” Jeonghan exclaims, his plastic fork almost stabbing out Seungcheol’s eye.

Joshua smiles happily at the food. “I love chicken!” He shouts. “I feel really great, that we are able to eat this chicken, that’s very nutritious and will heal our hearts from all the heartbreak.”

“Wait whoa whoa what why would chicken heal your heart- what?!”

Minghao giggles from above on the baby seat, his tiny feet swinging back and forth. “Chicken heals our hearts!” He repeats happily. “Mansae! Chicken! Mansae!”

Hansol laughs at the Chinese baby next to him and soon joins him, followed by Chan then Seungkwan then Junhui then Soonyoung and soon all of them even Jihoon.

“Mansae! Ooops.” Mingyu knocks over his bottle, spilling the orange juice across the table and the kids watch as the juice slowly trails onto Jihoon’s lap.

There’s a gasp.

Jihoon looks up. He’s smiling. “Joshua hyung.”

“Yes, Jihoonie?”

“Get my guitar.”