f o u r

Once their father had given them the green light regarding the safety of playing with the kitten, the boys did not need further permission, and instantly, the five of them scooted closer to the tiny animal. Chanyeol was the first to bravely put a hand out and lightly the kitten on its head, and the others cooed in extreme delight as the baby responded by butting its head against the boy's hand.

"Look, look Myeonnie! Cute, right?" The youngest of Minseok's sons, Jongin, exclaimed as he incessantly patted his oldest brother on his upper arm, stopping only when the other boy let out a laugh.

"It's adorable, Jongin," Junmyeon replied, a bright smile on his face as he watched his brothers fuss over the animal, glancing at the other two little boys as they inched even closer to it.

"Baek, Sehun," he called out softly, making the two said boys turn their heads to look at him questioningly.

"Be careful, okay? It's still a baby, so don't overwhelm it by constantly touching it. Take turns petting it, or it might get scared or upset," he advised, smiling as they nodded, and chuckled when little Sehun even gave him a thumbs up. As the oldest of the five kids, he knew he would have to be responsible for keeping an eye on them at all times, and even though he was but a mere two years older than Baekhyun and Chanyeol, he was aware of how overexcited they could get sometimes.

His few words of advice definitely did not fall on deaf ears as all four of them behaved properly, trying their best to not scare the kitten. After a while, though, the five of them began to get bored of doing the same thing, and upon realising that the furry animal was starting to get a little cranky and irritable, they gave it a final pat each, letting it go on its own way.

"Let's go play in the sandbox," Baekhyun suggested, grinning broadly as everyone nodded, glad that they hadn't dismissed his idea. He gave a hand to Sehun, pulling his brother up. Sehun, however, wanted to walk with Jongin, and after standing up, promptly pulled his hand away, linking arms with his friend from the kindergarten. Chanyeol laughed at the pout that had formed on Baekhyun's face, and even Junmyeon couldn't help but let out a soft giggle as he moved around the boy, holding one of his hands as his younger brother took a hold of Baekhyun's other hand. The last thing kids wanted was to be left alone.

The three older kids walked at a leisurely pace, swinging their arms in perfect rhythm with their footsteps. Besides them, the younger ones had decided to race to the sandbox, and began running as fast as their short legs could carry them. By the time Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Chanyeol reached the sandbox, the other two had already started playing, digging little tunnels out of a mound they had formed with some of the sand.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol plopped down in the sand, deciding at once that they would make a sandcastle, and the oldest sat himself down on the edge of the sandbox, silently watching the younger ones with a faint smile on his face. He brought his knees together, resting both elbows on his thighs as he propped his chin up on his cupped palms, answering the kids' random questions that he was being bombarded with once in a while. Admittedly, not even Junmyeon knew the answer to every single question, and that was a downside of being the oldest, but he still did his best to respond.

He had been staring off into the distance when he felt a light tug on his pants, and he looked down to see Chanyeol gazing up at him, an undecipherable look in his eyes.

"What's the matter, Channie?" He asked, frowning slightly as his brother stood up, dusting the sand off his pants as he joined Junmyeon by the edge, sitting down next to him. Out of the corner of an eye, Junmyeon could see Baekhyun staring at the two of them, confusion etched on his face. His confusion was justifiable, because Chanyeol hardly ever stopped playing until it was time to go home, and he was such a big ball of energy that it was unusual to see the boy so quiet all of a sudden.

"Junmyeon," he began, "how come Dad looked so happy when he touched that kitten? Why can't he be happy during other times, too?" He asked, innocent eyes slightly wide as he gazed at his older brother, lips pulled down in a frown.

Junmyeon sighed before opening his mouth. "I'm really not sure, Chanyeol," he said honestly. He had no idea himself why their father was always so rude, it had been so different when their mother had been alive. Junmyeon was currently only eight years old, but he had a sense of maturity to him. Even then, he couldn't figure out the sudden change in their Dad's behaviour, and it saddened him even more when he thought of how much his two younger brothers hated being with the older man. They were a family, so why couldn't their father give them the love they needed?

A loud gasp from Chanyeol brought Junmyeon out of his thoughts, and he blinked at the younger boy, who seemed to have got an idea.

"I know! What if we get ourselves a kitten as a pet? Then Dad won't be angry anymore, right?" He said, clapping his hands loud enough for Sehun and Jongin to glance at them for a few seconds, before going back to their tunnel-digging adventure. The oldest boy let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"As appealing as that sounds, Chan, you know he would never agree to getting a pet," he said, comfortingly patting the younger's back, and lightly brushed the bangs off his brother's forehead as he saw the pout on Chanyeol's face. He was vaguely aware of Baekhyun by their side, who was had heard every word the two of them had said, but he knew that Chanyeol wouldn't want to keep things a secret from his best friend. With a sigh, Junmyeon's hand reached up, patting his brother's cheek softly.

"Come on, cheer up," he said, a warm smile on his face. "Things will be okay soon, all right?"

"When is that 'soon' going to happen, though?" Chanyeol mumbled, slinking back down on the sand, before turning his attention back to the castle that had begun to form between him and Baekhyun. That brought a small smile on his face as he peeked a glance at Baekhyun, seeing the other boy shoot him a grin.

"Hey, don't sulk, or we're never going to build this thing in time," Baekhyun joked, literally winking at his best friend, and that sent Chanyeol into fits of giggles, and he kept his limbs to himself when he realised he was getting dangerously close to kicking the little castle.

The sandcastle soon grew a bit in size as the two boys worked on it, with a little help from Junmyeon, who the other two had deemed to be an expert in such things, making Junmyeon blush a faint pink from the compliment.

"Are you hungry?" Baekhyun asked, tilting himself slightly to catch a glimpse of Chanyeol from behind the castle. Upon receiving a nod and a wide grin from the other, he stood up, wiping his hands on his T-shirt to get rid of the sand stuck to them. He carefully circled round the castle so as to not raze their hard work to the ground, and walked over to Sehun was still playing with Jongin. The two little ones had given up on the tunnels, now resorting to drawing random stick figures in the sand with their short, tiny fingers.

"Hey kids," he huffed, placing his fisted hands on his hips, which made Chanyeol and Junmyeon burst out into laughter from a side, "we're going to eat, let's go!"

Jongin and Sehun immediately perked up at the mere mention of food, and abandoned their temporary slates of sand as they hurried to stand up. The two seemed to have some kind of telepathy as Jongin ran over to where Junmyeon was, grabbing a hold of his oldest brother's hand, before beginning to pull him towards the direction of the picnic tables. Meanwhile, without whining or complaining, Sehun took each of Baekhyun and Chanyeol's hands in his own -- more like buried his tiny fists into theirs -- and dragged them ahead, a little slower than Jongin. The two six-year-olds merely exchanged glances, smiling as they took smaller strides to match the little one's pace.

"Are you still not going to tell me your name, Mr. Grumpy?" Minah asked with the tiniest of grins and an amused frown painted on her face as she gazed evenly at the man sitting in front of her. He had taken out his phone again, and was presently peering at it, brows furrowed in concentration. I can bet that he is answering work emails, she thought as she watched his fingers tapping at the screen as he held the phone with both hands, probably typing out replies; somehow, he seemed like a workaholic to her.

His cat-like eyes rose to look at her, lips pursed together in vexation as he stayed silent for a few seconds, before opening his mouth.

"... No."

Minah blinked in surprise and slight disappointment; clearly, he was not even going to pretend to be friendly with her. She was actually surprising herself, more so because of her determination to talk to him regarding his overall attitude with the kids, but how was she supposed to say anything when he wasn't even giving her a chance? With a loud sigh, she lowered her face on the table till her chin touched the surface, stealing glances at his face -- or whatever she could see of it from the sides of his phone -- every few seconds. She was obviously beginning to ruffle his feathers from the visible twitch in his eyebrows, but he had likely decided to completely ignore her.

"Didn't your husband come with you?" The male suddenly asked, and Minah had to resist the urge to gawk at him. Had he actually tried to start a conversation with her? Before she could say anything, though, he had quashed her doubts.

"Don't get any weird ideas, I'm just curious."

She cocked an eyebrow at that; what, did he think that she felt he was flirting with her? She rolled her eyes with a soft huff, shaking her head, before her eyes widened. In her initial shock at him speaking up, she had almost forgotten the question he had asked her.

"My... who?" She asked, her voice tentative and her eyes narrowed as she stared at the mystery man.

"Your husband. God, do I need to spell it out for you?"

Ignoring the latent sarcasm directed towards her, Minah cleared , frowning slightly. "I don't have a husband, what made you think so?" She asked, looking at him curiously as his mouth hung open in shock and confusion, before literally slapping her palm on her forehead.

"Oh, dear God. You thought Luhan was-" she ended up groaning loudly as she shook her head, pressing the bridge of her nose with the thumb and forefinger.

"So his name is Luhan?" He asked, eyebrows raised till they disappeared beneath his bangs.

"No!" She exclaimed, bringing her hand down hard on the table with a bang, before scowling at him. "I mean, yes, the man you saw that day was Luhan, but he is not my husband. Didn't you hear me just now when I said that I don't have a husband?" She spoke, starting to get frustrated at his continuous assumptions. Her not having a partner was still a sore topic for Minah, and would continue to be so for at least a few more years.

"So..." Mr. Grumpy trailed off with a hum, his hand lightly his chin in thought. "Are you dating him, then?"

"I'm not- why are you so concerned about this?!" Minah yelled out, flushing slightly from embarrassment as a few parents from nearby tables glanced their way. Taking a deep breath to try and stay calm, she held up her hands, palms facing the man seated across from her. "Look, I don't care how 'curious' you are about my personal life," she said, making double quotes with her fingers around the word curious, "but I don't want another word from you about this. Luhan is just my colleague, and if you ever try to assume anything about my relationship with him or with any other person, I swear I'll hit you on your head with my bag."

She hadn't meant for her threat to sound so silly and funny, though.

Honestly, Minseok was just curious.

He sometimes wondered why it was only her with the kids every time he saw her, and his initial anger towards her had faded to curiosity. Not only was she extremely good with kids -- he had unwillingly admitted that to himself, although he would never in his life say it out loud -- but she was also smiling all the time. Granted, there had been a couple occasions when he had seen her frowning, but he knew that was mostly because of something he had said or done.

When he thought back to those two days, especially that evening at the movie theatre, he realised he had been a bit harsh and rude to someone whom he knew nothing about. But there was nothing he could have done at that time to control his barely functioning brain-to-mouth filter, and now, there was nothing he could do to take back whatever inappropriate things he had uttered. He had always been taught by the people around him to be respectful towards everyone, especially towards women. And he really had been just that for the majority of his life of thirty years, treating each individual he met with utmost respect. But when things start spiralling downwards faster than you can comprehend, you cannot help the sudden changes in your mood.

Minseok had tried to distance himself as much as possible from women in general, but in the process, had completely isolated himself. It had taken less than a year, but now, Minseok was no longer the fun-loving man, having turned into an irritable person, someone who no one wanted to hang out with. He wanted to be happy, and he had three adorable children to go home to every evening. He had tried, he really had, to find those little things in life that gave him happiness, like people often advised him to. But no matter what, that part of his personality was never going to come back.

He had just wanted to know about her husband, and why he would never accompany her. He hadn't realised that he would be venturing into dangerous territory, and her outburst had scared him a bit. He didn't mean to upset or annoy her, but obviously, that was a topic she didn't want to talk about, exactly how he hadn't wanted to talk about his own problems. However, once he had heard the end of her angry ramblings, he couldn't unhear it, and his lips parted to let out a laugh before he could stop it.

"You will hit me on my head? With your bag?" He chuckled, even while being confused due to how foreign his own laughter sounded to him. Strangely enough, though, it didn't seem unpleasant. Minseok peered at the woman as she rolled her eyes again before smirking at him.

"You are springing surprise upon surprise today, Mr. Grumpy. First a smile, and now you're laughing," she said with a snicker, which promptly made him shut up and avert his gaze. She was definitely weird, what with all her mood swings and sudden teasing, and Minseok did not want to be friends with her. No, he would never tell her his name.

"Mama!" Came a shout as five kids barreled towards their table, currently led by Junmyeon being tugged along by an excited Jongin. Sehun, the one who had called out, had proceeded to run as fast as he could on his short legs, while pulling the two best friends along with him as he tried his best to outrun Jongin. The sneer on Minah's face faded slightly as she turned around, watching over her shoulder as the five kids reached the table she and the man were sitting at. With her arms extended and a bright smile on her face, she tucked her hands under her younger son's as she lifted him up and sat him down next to her, Baekhyun sitting on her other side, Chanyeol literally attaching himself to his friend as he sat shoulder to shoulder with the boy.

Minah could see that the five of them had ended up flustering Mr. Grumpy a little by scampering towards their table, and she watched, feeling amused at the somewhat confused look in his eyes as Jongin and Junmyeon sat on either side of their father. That look of confusion faded quickly, however, getting replaced by the trademark frown she had seen on his face every time she had met him.

"Hungry?" She asked simply, and was met with five heads bobbing up and down in response, With a soft chuckle, she reached over to her bag that was kept on the table, feeling around inside it till she found the box of brownies they had baked the day before, along with another box filled with sandwiches. Taking both boxes out of her bag, she opened them and placed them in the middle of the table.

"Here you go, kids, eat to your hearts' content," she announced, smiling as the five little boys leaned over to peer at the food. Her gaze hovered to the man in front of her, who was rummaging in his bag. He produced two lunchboxes from within, as well as a pair of chopsticks and three forks. When he opened the lunchboxes, Minah couldn't help but be curious as she stared down at the food inside them. It seemed like a simple, home cooked meal of kimbap, rice and ramyeon, and she was impressed that this man had taken the efforts to cook all of it. Upon closer inspection, she could also see that Mr. Grumpy had managed to add a variety of vegetables to the food, but it still looked appetising to her -- which was admirable, really; a good way of making kids eat their veggies.

She was amused as the kids took turns eating a little bit of everything from all three boxes, and glanced at the guy. He had packed one of the two lunches for himself, and was currently eating from one of them. Seemingly sensing her eyes on him, he looked up from the food at her, swallowing a morsel of rice before clearing his throat.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" He asked, leaving Minah slightly surprised at his concern. She quickly shook her head, smiling faintly.

"I had quite a heavy breakfast before coming here, so I'm good. But thanks anyway." She gave him a grin, which she guessed made him uncomfortable as he swiftly lowered his gaze, going back to gobbling up his meal. A grown man who looks like a hamster when he eats, she thought unconsciously, before mentally shaking herself with a sigh.

"Hey Dad, you should try one of these brownies the lady has made. They're so delicious!" Chanyeol exclaimed as he held out a piece of the chocolate flavoured dessert to his father. However, the man leaned back in response, regarding the brownie in the boy's hand with caution and alarm. His eyes turned wide as he blinked for a few seconds, then lightly pushed Chanyeol's hand away, shaking his head.

"I don't want it," he muttered under his breath, but as alert as ever, Minah heard it.

"Should I be offended?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Mr. Grumpy. "They're just brownies, it's not like I've poisoned them." Somewhere at the back of her mind, Minah knew that she had most likely overreacted, but she couldn't help but feel humiliation because of the guy's reaction.

The table went silent for a while as the five youngsters looked back and forth between the two adults, a look of slight panic on Junmyeon's face as he gazed worriedly at his father. The latter, however, just rolled his eyes at the woman.

"I never said that, don't put words in my mouth," he said, proceeding to completely ignore her as he ate the rest of his lunch. Minah shook her head, letting out a deep sigh as she focused on the children, who were taking a bite each out of all three lunchboxes. It was a good thing that all five of them had learned to share their food with their friends, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for Baekhyun and Sehun. No matter what anyone said about her upbringing, she knew she had raised them to be polite, and she was sure that they would rarely cause her or anyone else any trouble while growing up.

Soon, they were done with lunch, and it seemed that the boys were too full to be able to play anymore. However, the table was full of chatter as they talked about anything of interest. Once in a while, Minah would be made to participate in their banter, which she didn't mind at all. All the while, though, Mr. Grumpy remained totally silent, doing whatever he was doing on his phone. His answers to any of the questions thrown towards him by the boys were short and half-hearted, but Minah was back to being in a good mood to pay too much attention to him. Somehow, Chanyeol had resorted to calling her 'lady' -- "Because you're really ladylike, you know!" The kid had tried to elaborate -- and it did not sound bad at all. She could definitely get used to being called that, no complaints.

She knew, after a few more minutes, that it was time to go home. Judging by how silent Sehun had gone, his chin resting on the table as his eyes threatened to droop, and Jongin lazily slumped against his father's side, the two youngest were about to go to sleep very soon. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were still full of energy, chattering excitedly, and Junmyeon was just observing the kids from where he was sitting. Clearing , Minah looked at her older son with a smile. "Ready to go home, Baekhyun?"

The kid let out a soft groan, clutching his best friend's arm tightly with both hands as he jutted his bottom lip out in a pout while staring at his mother. "But I want to play more with Chanyeol, Mom," he whined, making the eldest kid in the bunch smile from the other side of the table. The woman chuckled as she lightly ruffled her son's hair, then nodded towards his brother.

"I know you want to, honey, but we can't let Sehun sleep here, can we?" She asked, brushing Baekhyun's bangs out of his eyes as a habit. He seemed to contemplate the situation for a few seconds, before nodding reluctantly.

"Okay Mom, I guess we should go," he mumbled, grudgingly letting go of Chanyeol's arm. The latter giggled, patting Baekhyun on the back with a wide grin.

"We'll meet in school on Monday, so don't worry!" He said, then turned to Minah, a bright smile on his face. He kept his gaze on her as all the occupants of the table stood up, and gave her a bow. "Thank you for the brownies, lady, we really liked them a lot."

Minah was in awe of how well behaved this kid was. Even at a young age of six, he didn't forget his manners, and she was reminded of that moment in the cinema theatre when he had apologised to her instantly after bumping into her. Such an amount of maturity was surprising for someone his age, and she couldn't help but smile widely in return. "Why, thank you Chanyeol, I'm glad you liked them," she replied, lightly patting his cheek. Keeping both (now empty) boxes back inside her bag, she slung it over her shoulder, Baekhyun trotting to her side.

"Sehun?" She called out, the kid in question turning to her from where he was chatting with Jongin, both of them standing next to the man. "Come on baby, it's time to go home."

In response, Sehun surprised her as well as Mr. Grumpy by defiantly shaking his head, before hugging the latter's leg. "No, wanna stay with Mr. Cat Man," he said stubbornly, proceeding to look up at the guy with an innocent and disarming smile. The man was frozen for a while as he stared down at the kid in shock.

Mr. Cat Man? Minah wondered with a frown, before shaking her head. "We need to go home, Sehun, come on," she said, making a beckoning motion towards him. Even though they had caught a glimpse of the man's uncharacteristic kindness during the incident with the kitten -- as well as that laugh she had been witness to a while later -- he was still far away from earning her respect, and there was no way Minah was going to let her sons associate with the likes of Mr. Grumpy. Her younger son kept springing surprise after surprise on her, though, as he shook his head once again, stomping his foot on the ground for added effect.

"Lee Sehun!" She finally shouted, immediately regretting it as she saw the boy flinch. "We need to go. Come here. Right. Now." She enunciated each word slowly, pointing to the empty space on her side, Baekhyun nervously holding on the bottom of her blouse. She was aware of the other three boys and their father staring at her, but she kept her eyes on Sehun as he forlornly let go of the man's leg as he sullenly walked over to her. The two boys gave one final goodbye wave to their friends, before following their mother out of the park, wondering what had made her so angry. She rarely ever raised her voice at them, so what had happened to make her snap so suddenly?

Minseok couldn't help but watch, confused, as the lady walked away. During all their interactions, he had never see her scold any of her sons, so why now? Was it because of him? Did she not want her son to get close to him? Was he that unreliable? Just when he had begun to understand what kind of a person she was, she would do something totally unpredictable. Women, he thought as he led the three boys out, hoping he would forget about this day soon.

Author's Note:

Wow, okay. 4.5k+ words. That's an achievement for me. I mean, even my one shot wasn't this long haha.

Anyways, is this story starting to make sense now? Or is it still pretty confusing? I literally have almost the whole thing planned in my head, I just need to figure out how to write all of it without seeming too amateurish. (Well, I am an amateur writer, but that's besides the point.)

As always, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter~