With every step he takes, further into Kyungsoo’s apartment, his mind traces back to the handful of memories filled with Kyungsoo. Memories Jongin had permanently bound to his heart.

            Jihwan and Jihoon are in Kyungsoo’s arms now, the strain in Jongin’s arms now beginning to alleviate. As Jongin twists and turns both of his arms to stretch them out, he sees Kyungsoo stifling a laugh. “What?” he asks with a raised eyebrow, eyeing Kyungsoo who was currently setting the twins on his couch.

            “You really haven’t had any experience with kids, have you?” Jongin catches the smile appearing in Kyungsoo’s lips, which quickly fades away.

            The corners of Jongin’s mouth fall into a frown. He’s frowning because he doesn’t know why Kyungsoo is acting like this. The cold demeanor that replaced Kyungsoo’s soft smiles and reddening cheeks unnerved Jongin to his core.

            Why was Kyungsoo so adamant in pushing him away? And most importantly – was he going to remain this way?

            The way Kyungsoo had been acting towards Jongin made him reconsider his decision to stay. He wonders if it would be best if he just left, if he turns his back before things worsen. Before Jongin’s anger deteriorates into nights of mindless drinking and bloodshot eyes.

            But Jongin doesn’t want to bail out now. Not when Kyungsoo is here, in front of him.

            In a metaphorical, and highly sentimental sense, Kyungsoo was a thread Jongin held at the ends of his fingertips and he had to be careful, oh so careful, not to let go.

            “Well, in the past twenty-years of my life, my parents never decided to give me younger siblings, so,” Jongin says after he decides that it’s the best response to justify his scowls and glowers when Jinhwan and Jihoon were a little louder than Jongin had wanted them to be. “Yeah, I guess I haven’t had any experience with kids. Zero experience, really.

            Jongin’s two feet were momentarily glued on to the spot he had been standing in ever since he stepped into his apartment. Kyungsoo excuses himself and scurries to his bedroom to pick up a few things, leaving Jongin alone with the twins who were now clawing at each other’s faces.

            Kyungsoo’s temporary absence causes Jongin to bask in the familiar surroundings of his apartment as his eyes bounce around the room, observing the things that he remembers and the ones that he does not. It didn’t come to him as a surprise when Jongin realizes he remembered possibly ninety percent of the things in Kyungsoo’s living room. But really, Jongin shouldn’t take much pride in such an achievement, seeing as Kyungsoo kept scarcely anything in his living room.

            When Kyungsoo appears again, he’s carrying a sizable child mattress in one hand and a small box of toys in the other. He lays out the toys on the coffee table first, before placing the mattress on the ground.

            “Looks a little heavy. Do you want any help, perhaps?” Jongin says as he watched Kyungsoo lift (or at least attempting to) the coffee table to the edge of his room whilst also simultaneously keeping an eye on the twins.

            Despite seeing Kyungsoo clearly shake his head in response, he approaches him anyway. Both of Jongin’s hands grip on to the other end of the coffee table as they lift the coffee table upward. Jongin suppresses the laugh that had been begging to leave his mouth when he sees the violent shade of red on Kyungsoo’s face caused by him trying to lift the hefty movable. Or possibly because of something else? A certain someone, maybe?

            They set the coffee table on the edge of the room, right in front of the glass panels that led to Kyungsoo’s balcony. Jongin helps lay out the baby blue-coloured mattress on the floor and when he’s done, Kyungsoo moves the twins from the couch and on to the ground.

            The box of toys is cracked open by Kyungsoo, making squeals of delight to come out of Jihwan and Jihoon’s mouth at the sight of the colourful toy cars and vibrant building blocks. Jongin sits cross-legged on the mattress, beaming at the twins as they turn from face-clawing, hair-pulling little monsters to an adorable pair of toddlers.

            “They should be good for now. A-are you sure, you’d like to –“ Kyungsoo’s stuttering again, making him flush in embarrassment.

            “Stay?” Jongin finishes the sentence, that equivocal smile resting on his lips again – the smile that evokes a sort of stop-before-I-punch-you-in-the-face emotion in Kyungsoo. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

            “Okay, well. Just a heads up, things aren’t going to be as peaceful and quiet as they are now.”

            Kyungsoo’s warning didn’t really manage to intimidate Jongin when he’s looking at him with kind eyes and a soft smile.

            “Okay, Kyungsoo,” Jongin hums in response, averting his attention to Jihwan who was biting one of the toy cars. “I believe you.”

            “Hyung,” Kyungsoo’s eyes are fixed on Jongin, who had been trying to stop Jihwan from smearing the toy car with his saliva and was now looking at him weirdly. “Kyungsoo hyung. I’m twenty three.”

            Now it was Jongin’s turn to flush in embarrassment – and oh how pleased Kyungsoo was to see his cheeks blushing for a change.

            “You look like a tomato.” He remarks, a cunning smirk emerging from his lips.