ten didn't know what came over him when he found himself staring at the candy filled shelf in the convenience store on his way to class. he was taking too long to choose what to get that even the person working at the counter is curious as to what he was doing. hopefully not attempting shop theft over a bar of chocolate. he was supposed to only get his daily dose of caffeine like he always does every morning to start his day, but right at this instant he's paying for his coffee and a couple bag of jellies and candies. the worker scanned the items and looked at him weirdly when he picked up the bag of jellies with pororo printed on the bag.

ten blushed a little and cleared his throat, "it's for my little brother."

the worker did not question him anymore and placed everything inside a bag. ten bowed and mumbled a thank you after paying for the items. he left the store quickly and didn't look back.

on his way back into the campus, he bumped into hansol was also on his way to class. hansol caught a glimpse of the bag and he laughed. "dude, we'll be looking after a bunch of 12 to 15 years old. I don't think they'll like pororo printed on their jelly."

ten rolled his eyes and slapped him. "it's the thought that counts!" he huffed. "I'm trying to be the best father I can be."

"you haven't even met the children yet." hansol answered as he adjusted the strap of his cap. "but kudos to you for being such a thoughtful parent, unless if it was to impress taeyong then I have no words for you." he shook his head in disapproval.

the thought of taeyong hasn't occurred a single time that morning at all, but now that hansol had mentioned it, what if he's doing this just to impress taeyong? this made ten feel awful. he slapped the older boy.

"I could say that about you too. don't pretend you didn't swerve towards yuta's lane so quick, the dust bunnies came out to play." ten scoffed. he stuffed the bag of junk food into his bag. "since when did you have feelings for that Japan imported wasabi?"

hansol glared at him, trying to ignore the fact that his face was starting to burn from the heat rushing up to his face. "I don't know. things just happen, okay?" he tried to act normal but his mind brought him back to the day he started liking the feisty Japanese when he woke up in the infirmary with yuta watching him by his side worriedly. he looked so attractive to hansol right there and then and the fact that he was worried for him makes his heart swoon.

"but aren't you quick. you've got game ji hansol. I always thought you were this awkward giant with too much things going on in his head for no reason." ten was impressed, giving him a pat on the back. "do you know what this means right? you both are technically married with a child or maybe two until this project is due." he even more, causing him to blush harder.

"shut up, aren't we all? I hope johnny's happy for wanting to marry young."

they were the last one to arrive in class with the exception of ms yook. ten and hansol parted ways and made their way to their seats.

"good morning taeyong." ten greeted him with a sing along voice and a bright smile that could outshine the sun outside.

doyoung who was seated in front of taeyong and was conversing with him about something before ten arrived, rolled his eyes. ten had ignored his presence again as per usual. taeyong shifted his gaze from doyoung to ten and he greeted ten back with a smile. it only takes one smile for ten's mood to become brighter than it already was and become flustered.

"good morning to you too, ten." doyoung said sarcastically.

"oh, morning doyoung." ten said, settling down at his seat.

doyoung sighed and shook his head, "it's like I don't exist at all whenever taeyong is around." he mumbled under his breath, loud enough for only him to hear.

"what was that doyoung?" taeyong asked.

"nothing."

ms yook appeared at the door right at the same time when the bell rang. she walked in with a bright smile on her face and kun said something in chinese. if yuta was able to translate part of what he said correctly with his basic mandarin skills, it would be something about ms yook not eating her medicine again this morning.

"I'll be introducing your children shortly but I would like all of you to stand up first." she said. everyone were confused but did what they were told anyway. "okay, and now place your right hand over your heart." ms yook waited for everyone to place their hand over their heart patiently while assuring them they aren't going to sing the national anthem or recite the pledge. "okay now repeat this oath after me,"

everyone groaned, "hush guys."

sicheng's legs were starting shake as they stood behind their desks for who knows how long while they recite the oath. it was too long for his liking, not to mention he had struggled pronouncing some words while trying to catch up with the rest at the same pace. taeil sighed, staring at the clock on the wall while his lips moved, reciting the oath quietly to himself.

finally, ms yook ended the oath with a cheesy, 'I'm not a guardian, I'm a parent' which had earned some grunts from some people. "alright, you can all take a seat now." she laughed. "now would you excuse me for a moment, I'll go get the children."

she was gone in a blink of an eye out the door. she must've been so excited about the project. for this special occasion, everyone were seated next to their partners with an extra chair next to them. doyoung was tapping his fingers against the desk anxiously while he watched the door. this had caught jaehyun's attention and he grabbed doyoung's busy hand.

"relax, it'll be fine." he smiled, patting his back. "I'm here with you so don't worry." jaehyun rubbed circles into the palm of doyoung's hands to calm him down and he turned crimson within seconds from the contact.

the door suddenly opened and ms yook waltz in, her face was beaming. trailing behind her were a bunch of younger looking boys who looked like they were 'fresh out of the womb' quoted from johnny and yuta, walking in a straight line like how little ducklings would behind their mother. ten squealed at the sight of them, cooing over how cute they looked to taeyong.

the uniforms that the boys were wearing were easily recognised as majority of the people in ms yook's class had worn those uniforms before. it belonged to the elementary-middle school that their school incorporated. see, their school is a huge private all boys academy that serves over thousands of students. nearly everyone started attending this school since they were in the first grade up till high school where they are now.

the buildings for the middle school block and high school block are 10 minutes walk away from each another, while the elementary block is all the way on the other side of campus near the security post since younger children are seen as more vulnerable. after seeing their uniforms, they all knew why the school proposed this project like it was a piece of cake.

"you adults are playing dirty." johnny shook his head in disappointment. "I see why you said the school will be able to take care of our 'problems' if we start on this project." he crossed his arms, shooting ms yook a dirty look.

"johnny." ms yook said in a threatening tone which translates to: please shut your pipe before I throw your out in front of these foetuses.

johnny raised his hands in the air as a sign of surrender and he sat back in his chair. taeil slapped his partner's arm and shot him a warning look.

"anyways, if I call your names please raise your hands so your child would know where to go to." ms yook gave the younger boys a reassuring smile and she proceeded to read out the names from her laptop.

the first couple to be read out was hansol and yuta. hansol raised his hand hesitantly while yuta's eyes scanned the row of boys, eager to know who their 'son' would be. one of the boys stepped out and yuta frowned, "he looks like he'd break girls hearts during his free time for fun." he commented.

hansol chuckled, "why? 'cause he's handsomer than many of us combined?"

yuta didn't answer him. his eyes were still fixed on the young boy until he stopped in front of their desk. the boy flashed a bright smile and bowed politely, "hello, my name is na jaemin."

doyoung gasped. "yo takoyaki, he has your smile!" he exclaimed from across the room.

jaemin looked at doyoung confusedly and turned to his new 'parents'. he doesn't know how to react to the sudden outburst from a bunny like looking male.

"your name is takoyaki?"

"no, no. he was just joking, he's from Japan. that explains the Japanese cuisine thing." hansol gestured to yuta. "his name is yuta and I'm hansol."

jaemin nodded in understanding. hansol pulled out the seat next to him and patted it, gesturing him to have a seat. "come on, don't just stand around kid."

meanwhile, ten and taeyong were up next. ten perked up the moment his and taeyong's names were called. he grabbed taeyong's hand in his and waved it up in the air eagerly as he observed the row of boys. unlike ten, taeyong was calm and composed in his seat as ten looked like he's about to detached his arm from its place. he doesn't mind though, in fact he thought that ten looked adorable right at that moment from the way the thai boy's eyes sparkled in excitement.

a tall, lanky boy with raven hair stepped out and ten beamed. he was about to walk through the space between the desks when he stopped and turned around to face his friend.

"jisung-ah." the raven haired boy called out to his friend.

though they were as confused while observing the situation, taeyong shook his head when his eyes landed on a boy with dyed strawberry blond hair, the boy's friend whom he was calling out specifically. kid is about to experience balding before he hits his 30s if he don't stop bleaching his hair at this age

the blond boy—jisung, they assumed—was looking down, his hands fidgeting by his sides. and when he realised that the raven haired boy had called him, he finally looked up. his eyes were shaking as he looked around the classroom. ten noticed that jisung looked a little younger than the other boy, he kind of reminded him of a baby chick.

jisung finally stepped out and followed the raven haired boy. taeyong's eyes widened in surprised while ten's mouth fell open. doyoung and jaehyun both exchanged looks and doyoung turned around in his seat, looking as surprised as they are.

"ten and taeyong, you'll be one of the lucky ones to have two children." ms yook winked at their direction.

the two boys soon appeared in front of taeyong and ten. the raven haired boy bowed first and jisung followed suit after nervously.

"hello, my name is mark lee. you can also call me by my korean name, minhyung if you want."

the raven haired boy introduced himself, stumbling over his words a little but nonetheless more confident than jisung whose expression is between looking spaced out and confused.

when mark was done introducing himself, they waited for jisung to do the same too. after realising that jisung probably is too nervous for his mind to process, mark nudged him and the boy jumped.

"I-I'm jisung, park jisung." he looked down.

jisung jumped heard the sound of the chair screeching against the floor as taeyong got up from his seat. the young boy thought he could've have wet himself and died from hyperventilating. taeyong pulled over another chair for either one of them and flashed a warm smile. ten had to stop himself from fanboying over how dreamy and husband material taeyong is and did the same too, carefully warming up to the two young boys. taeyong was being extra careful with jisung especially since he knew his looks could've scared the poor kid with one look. he had to learn this cold hard truth the hard way when he was handed his new born nephew to hold.

it took ms yook half an hour to assign each couple a child or for some of them with two, and everyone were given an hour to get to know each other. not that anyone was complaining. they were pretty much given a entire free period to roam around the campus with a valid excuse why they aren't in class.  johnny decided to seize the chance to finish his chemistry homework while taeil entertain their son next to him.

the couple that everyone's been curious about were assigned with a rather quiet child, though not as quiet as jaehyun and doyoung's—johnny and taeil thanked the heavens for that. at least that was what they all initially thought about the young curly haired boy.

unlike the rest of the couples, taeil and johnny decided to stay in class instead since being outside was too overrated. after complaining that his stomach was grumbling, taeil had disappeared saying he'll get some snacks and beverages and johnny was left alone with the kid.

"what are you starin' at, kid?" johnny joked when he realised the boy had been staring at him since taeil left. he has this look on his face which johnny couldn't quite tell if he was mad or that was just his face. he still looks adorable though, especially his full cheeks. johnny decided to go with the latter since it assures him that he was doing okay on his first day of being a dad. "dong... uh, what's your name again?" 

the boy glanced over at johnny's homework before meeting eyes with johnny again. "your memory is horrible for someone your age. are you really a high school 3rd year student? 'cause from what i could see from your homework, you're either forgetful or dumb. that chemical equation is wrong. also, my name is donghyuck." 

johnny blinked. his mind wasn't able to process what he just happened. "say what now."

"donghyuck i hope you like seaweed flavored chips, cause that's what they have left in the school mart-what's wrong johnny?" taeil walked in just in time to see reality uncover the truth about their quiet squishy son. 

donghyuck turned around to face taeil and he grimaced. "seaweed is disgusting, just like your ugly shoes and i want strawberry milk!"

that was the first time taeil and johnny had seen hell right before their eyes. their son is a little squishy spawn of satan and they have all been decieved. it was no wonder ms yook wished them good luck while introducing their son to them. that . 

"jisung-ah, you can stay silent forever." taeyong says gently when he checked on the boy. 

the little family was outside, sitting at a picnic table near the school's sports stadium. taeyong was sitting next to jisung, across ten and minhyung. they were able to click well with the exception of jisung who still can't open up to ten and taeyong yet. 

"he was like this when i first met him. please give him time." after hearing this from mark, taeyong and ten felt relieved and was assured that soon enough they will be able to joke freely and hold a conversation for more than 5 seconds.

they were sharing their interests when mark's stomach growled suddenly. he blushed and look down, apologising in embarrassment. that was when ten remembered something; the snacks he bought in the morning! 

"oh, i have something in my bag!" ten ped his backpack and took out a plastic bag full of goodies. "i bought these this morning so don't worry about expiration." he grinned, pouring out the contents of the plastic bag. taeyong picked up the pororo themed jelly and shot the same look hansol had this morning, at ten.

"i don't know what kids these days enjoy eating so..."he laughed sheepishly. "it's alright if you don't eat them, i'll just keep it in my bag." ten was about to put the jelly away when jisung placed a hand on his and ten froze. 

"i will eat this... i like this... thank you." jisung's lips curved up into a small shy smile and he bowed. this little action caused ten's heart to flutter. it makes he want to wrap the shy young boy in a warm blanket and feed him chocolate milk and freshly baked cookies.

"see, nothing to fear." taeyong whispered. 

ten's eyes met his and taeyong smiled. ten nodded and blushed slightly, "yeah."