It was Hongbin’s first day off in a long time, and he was so ready to spend the day in sweatpants and a huge jumper that had once belonged to someone larger than him. Judging by how it covered his hands by a mile, it was probably Taekwoon’s.

His plans were going well, so far. He’d slept in until eight in the morning before the forced habit to be an early bird forced him out of bed. He’d indulged in disgustingly sweet cereal he had no idea where it came from and why it was in his kitchen at first, but he eventually figured it must have been from when Jaehwan stayed over the week before when his apartment had flooded.

He’d all but melted into the corner formed by the arm and the backrest of his couch afterwards, and was currently half way through a drama he’d meant to binge watch ever since it ended. He had totally not waited until it had finished airing to watch it all in one go because he knew from the previews that week long waits between episodes would destroy him. Nope. And he was certainly not completely invested and suffering almost as much as the fictional characters on screen. Not at all.

(The balled-up tissues on the floor in front of his couch might have told another story, but thankfully, no one asked them.)

With a slightly shaky deep breath, Hongbin brought up the remote to select episode 8, choosing to postpone using the toilet until after this episode; he might have said the same after episode 6, but he just couldn’t bring himself to get up and wait even just that much longer to find out if the second lead’s love interest had died for real now or not. It was a curse with those second leads…

The intro theme song was about to end, when his phone rang.

He threw his head back against the couch, mouthing a silent but desperate ‘Nooooooo!’. There was nothing he could do about it, though, and he didn’t want to ignore his phone when the name ‘Pabo Hyung’ flashed up at him. He grinned when he read the name; he should probably have changed it sometime after all these years, but it was in moments like these that the name was just too fitting.

After a deep sigh, he picked up the call. He was greeted by the wail of a child in the background, and he frowned instantly.

“Hyung?”

“Shhh, it’s ok, baby, I’ll- Hongbin? Bin-ah, I- help!”

Hongbin’s frown intensified upon hearing the distressed voice of his hyung, sounding as if the older was more than ready to cry alongside his child. Unconsciously, he sat up straighter, leaving the corner of the couch for the first time in hours.

“Ah, hyung, what- What’s going on?”

Taekwoon took a shaky breath on the other end of the line, and by the sound of it took a few steps away from his crying child, too.

“Seojunie- Bin-ah, it’s your day off, right? I’m sorry, but- I can’t reach Hakyeon, I don’t know- Hyejin is still at her friend’s and Heejoon will be home later from his field trip, it’s really just Jieun- I, I can’t- I need-”

Hongbin didn’t understand a thing and decided to interrupt Taekwoon.

“Hyung! Hyung, I didn’t get a thing you said! What is with just Jieun? What happened, who’s crying there?”

Taekwoon took a deep, shaky breath.

“Seojun. I think he- he broke an arm, I need to take him to the hospital, but I can’t- Hakyeon isn’t picking up and my parents are on vacation and-”

Hongbin jumped up, alarmed, as all colour left his face.

“Hyung! I’ll be there in a minute. Just take care of Seojun, I’m on my way. If I’m not there when you’re ready to leave, just go, I have the keys.”

Taekwoon took a few seconds to answer.

“Really?”

Hongbin scoffed, already pocketing his wallet and reaching for his shoes.

“Of course, what did you think? Go take care of your son, he needs you!”

Taekwoon heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Hongbinnie. I’ll- I- Ah, Hyejinie-”

“She’s at her friend’s and Heejoon is coming home later, I got that. Just go, hyung!” Hongbin interrupted the older again as he pulled his front door shut and turned towards the stairs, almost yelling.

A breathless “Ok.” sounded from Taekwoon’s end of the line before he hung up, and Hongbin shook his head, sprinting down the stairs and out the door to his car. As soon as he was on the road, he had his phone call Jaehwan on speaker. He wasn’t exactly free today, but except for him the one most likely to be able to make time.

He almost thought Jaehwan wouldn’t answer, when he eventually did after all.

“Bin-ah? Sorry, I was in the shower. Is there something important? You had the phone ring for ages…”

Hongbin looked over his shoulder, setting a blinker and pulling over to another lane before he answered.

“Hyung, do you have a minute-… hour?”

Jaehwan spluttered a little.

“Ah- what? Hour? Hongbin, why are you, like, panting?”

Hongbin took a deep breath.

“Taekwoon-hyung thinks Seojun broke his arm and is taking him to the hospital. I’m on my way to theirs to watch Jieun.”

Something shattered on Jaehwan’s end of the call.

“Seojun- . What about-?”

“He said Hakyeon-hyung isn’t picking up, but I thought someone should go to the hospital to take care of him, too. He sounded close to a mental breakdown.”

Hongbin could tell Jaehwan was pacing.

“This situation sounds oddly familiar…”

Hongbin hummed through gritted teeth as his car skidded slightly in a corner.

“Right? Oh, I think they just passed me; I’m about to pull up to their house. Can you-?”

An indignant “Yah!” from Jaehwan interrupted Hongbin.

“Who do you think I am? Tss… Go take care of the baby… I’ll take the other one.”

Hongbin chuckled lightly as he pulled into the now empty driveway of the Cha residence, hearing Jaehwan hang up as he turned off his car.

The house was quiet when he unlocked the front door, and it looked as if a typhoon had passed through the living room. To be fair, it often looked like that.

“Jieunie? Ah, where did your appa leave you…” He called out softly as he petted the dogs that came to greet him as soon as they realized it was not their owner that had already come back.

“Hey Chewy, where’s the baby, huh?”

Sadly, the Retriever mix couldn’t answer. Hongbin found the baby at the same time as she made a small gurgling noise that would have clued him in to where she was anyway, playing happily with a stuffed blue elephant toy in her play corner.

“There you are!” He sat down on the edge of the fluffy blanket, watching the baby lower the elephant toy to look up at him with wide eyes.

“Hi Jieunie. What were you playing?” He gave her a big smile, and the baby gurgled again, smiling just as brightly back at him, though slightly more toothless.

Hongbin chuckled, booping the elephant’s trunk in Jieun’s hands.

“It looks as if it’s going to be just the two of us for now, Jieunie. What mischief should we get up to? Have you watched The Mysterious Case of Yoon Jisoo yet? Ah, your oppa owes me one for interrupting my binge-watching... Please don’t ever break your bones, Jieunie; you’d break my heart, you’re too cute to be in that much pain! Of course, your oppa is, too. Ah~ Why is he so clumsy…”

Jieun looked up at him with wide, confused eyes, and then insisted in handing him her blue elephant plushie.

*#*#*#*

There was nothing Taekwoon wanted more than to break all the speed limits and a few speed records on his way to the hospital, but it was impossible. He wanted to curse at every single other car or pedestrian on the road, but he refused to do that in front of his son.

“Seojunie, baby, it’ll be ok, alright? You’ll be fine, baby. You’ll be fine. I’m bringing you to the hospital and the doctors will make your arm not hurt anymore, ok? I’m sorry I can’t do more, but we’re almost there. Almost there… Be strong, ok? It’ll all be ok…”

He wasn’t entirely sure who he was trying to reassure anymore as his son sniffled in his seat in the back, whimpering occasionally but otherwise quiet.

There was nothing in Taekwoon that was quiet, though, his whole being on an incredible adrenaline high, guilt screaming at him as much as powerlessness and the need to soothe his child, to make sure he was alright, to help him in some way. He felt his throat close up repeatedly, his eyes burning with unspilled tears, but he forced it all down for Seojun’s sake. He needed to take him to the hospital, that was all that mattered. Nothing else. He needed to get help for Seojun first and foremost, the rest of the world could burn for all he cared.

Eventually he pulled up in the hospital’s parking lot, hurrying around the car to unbuckle Seojun and take him inside.

Seojun protested when he had to move his arm out of the way, and Taekwoon wanted to die for causing his son more pain.

“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Come here, come, use your good arm to hold on, like this. Ok, let’s make your arm not hurt anymore, alright?”

Seojun cried, hiding his face against Taekwoon’s shoulder.

“Appaaaaa…! I d-don’t want d-doctors…!”

Taekwoon locked the car, then set out to the entrance of the hospital.

“The doctors will help you, though, baby. They’ll take the pain away, you’ll see.”

Seojun shook his head, though, his small hand balling in the fabric of Taekwoon’s jumper and his sobs growing louder.

Taekwoon felt like he was about to crumble and cry just as hard as his son.

“Shhh, Seojunie… It will be ok. You will be ok. You won’t be in pain for much longer, I promise… I promise, baby… Thank you, Sir.” He nodded at the stranger that held the doors open for him, almost as an afterthought, he was so distressed. The stranger didn’t seem to mind, but even if he had, Taekwoon didn’t care if he did or not, hurrying inside and to the information desk.

“Hello, please, I need… My son, he broke his arm, where-?”

The lady behind the desk quietly pointed him towards a grey door to the left, and he nodded his head in thanks, not daring to bow to not jostle Seojun too much and hurried towards it, pushing it open with his shoulder.

Another desk sat at the end of a short hallway and he hurried towards it.

“Hello, I’m- My son broke his arm, he needs-”

The elderly nurse behind the desk gave him a stern look that interrupted him. She reached under her desk and pulled out a clipboard, which she pushed over the counter at him.

“Fill this form out first, please.”

Taekwoon frowned, not even glancing at the clipboard.

“But, my son-… He’s in pain, for f- heck’s sake!”

The nurse didn’t budge.

“I am aware, but he doesn’t seem to be in a life or death situation, so we won’t rush him anywhere. Please fill out the form; someone will come up to you soon.”

Taekwoon gaped at the impassive nurse, then snatched angrily at the pen that came with the clipboard and set out to fill out the god forsaken form, when the nurse interrupted him again.

“Please go sit down in the chairs over there to fill that out so you don’t block the way for others that might be coming in.”

Taekwoon wanted to launch over the counter and strangle the woman for her coldness, but Seojun clutching at him and whimpering against his shoulder stopped him from any such actions.

“Appaaa… It hurts…” He cried, and Taekwoon felt as if his soul was being torn to shreds.

“I know, baby, I know…” He whispered soothingly, shooting the impassive woman a heated look. Anyone could see how much Seojun was suffering; why couldn’t she?! He wanted to scream in frustration. Instead, he walked over to an uncomfortable looking set of plastic chairs and sat down carefully in one of them. Once again, he set out to fill out the form, but the words written on it didn’t make sense to him. He had to read them three, four times before he knew what was being asked of him, and it took him just as long to remember the answer, and twice as long to write it down.

Sheer endless time passed while he tried to fill out the form, until eventually a younger nurse came up to them.

“Little boy with a broken arm?” He asked as he stopped in front of Taekwoon, and Taekwoon almost dropped the clipboard.

“Yes, yes, that is us.”

The nurse crouched down in front of them.

“Can I see?”

Seojun shook his head, clinging tighter to Taekwoon, who set the pen and clipboard down on the chair next to him before turning to Seojun.

“Seojunie, show the nice nurse your arm, baby, ok? He’s going to help you.”

Seojun protested, though, and Taekwoon’s heart sank.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” He bowed slightly to the nurse nervously, then pushed at Seojun’s shoulder to get him to let go of him.

The nurse shook his head with a patient smile, signaling it was ok.

“Seojun, you have to. You have to show the nurse your arm so he can make it all better. You don’t want to be in pain, right?”

Seojun protested, still, but Taekwoon got him to let go and sit on his lap in a way the nurse could inspect his arm. Taekwoon had to grip the edge of his chair tightly to not punch the man when Seojun cried out as he touched the arm, repeating to himself that he was just trying to help, he wasn’t hurting his son on purpose.

“Oh, that definitely doesn’t look right. We’ll have to make an x-ray of the arm to see the extent of the damage. You’ll have to come with me for a moment, little man!”

Seojun’s eyes widened and he held on to Taekwoon tighter as his tears came faster.

“No! Appa!!”

Taekwoon swallowed, the world spinning slightly at the edges as he made to get up.

“Seojunie, it’s ok…”

The nurse stopped him.

“You’ll have to wait here, Sir. Did you finish filling out that form?”

The world spun faster.

“What? The form-… N-no, I didn’t get to…”

“Then please finish filling that out. I’ll be right back with your son.”

Seojun wailed, crying heavily against Taekwoon’s shoulder, and Taekwoon unconsciously held on tighter as well. He wasn’t ready to leave his son in the care of this man.

“W-why-… Can’t I come with? I’ll fill out the form later!”

The nurse sighed.

“We can’t give him anything against the pain before the form is filled out, and you can’t come with him into the x-ray room for your own health and safety reasons.”

Despite how fast the world in the edges of his vision was spinning, Taekwoon saw red.

“Do I look like I care about my health right now?! If my son can go in there, so can I!”

The nurse took a surprised step back, then frowned.

“Sir, please calm down.”

Taekwoon swayed a little.

“I am calm!”

The nurse shook his head.

“No, Sir, seriously! You’re going to faint like this. You won’t want to faint while carrying your son, right?”

Taekwoon swayed again, harder this time, and the nurse had to steady him, guiding him back to his seat. Taekwoon complied, but only because everything was unfocusing so bad he couldn’t have resisted even if he wanted to.

“You have to control your breathing, Sir. Focus on me. Breathe in now, further… More… Like that. Now breathe out…”

Taekwoon tried to follow the instructions; the nurse was right, he didn’t want to faint in front of Seojun. Slowly, the world around him focused again, and the nurse breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good. Are you with me again?”

Taekwoon nodded, slightly sheepish, but the nurse didn’t seem to mind, peeking at the form Taekwoon had been filling out.

“You’re almost done here anyway… Does your son have any known allergies, especially against any drugs?”

Taekwoon shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“Any diseases? Diabetes, kidney or liver problems, asthma…?”

Taekwoon shook his head again, weakly.

“He’s perfectly healthy… He was premature, but he’s perfectly healthy now…”

The nurse nodded, taking it upon himself to check a few boxes and scribble something on the form. Eventually, he looked up again.

“Ok. Do you think you can stand-… walk again?”

Again, Taekwoon nodded.

“Then follow me, please.”

He led the way, and Taekwoon hurried to follow the young nurse down another hallway and into a room that led into another room. The nurse closed the door behind them.

“Alright, we need to take that jumper off for the x-ray…”

Seojun whimpered as Taekwoon had him sit up again, and even more so when Taekwoon tried to help him get out of his jumper. Again, he noticed the world starting to spin when the nurse stopped him.

“Sir, let me… Don’t go fainting on us, ok? Remember to breathe, easy, like I showed you, ok?”

Taekwoon shook his head lightly, doing as the nurse told him while he watched the young man skillfully maneuver Seojun out of his little jumper without jostling his arm too much. He almost fainted again, though, when he saw the angry bruises starting to form on his son’s skin.

The nurse eyed him worriedly.

“If you are going inside the x-ray room with your son, you’ll have to wear protective gear like everyone else, Sir. I’m already breaking protocol letting you in here in the first place, I’m not breaking it any further.”

Despite everything, Taekwoon had to respect that. He let the nurse help fix a lead coat around him before he fixed a similar but smaller one around Seojun.

“Ok, lay down up here…” The nurse instructed Seojun afterwards, helping him onto a bench, but Seojun only complied when his father was next to him.

“I’m going to move your arm a little, be strong now, Seojun-ssi.” The nurse warned, and probably wondered who he actually needed to tell to be strong, since Seojun only clenched his teeth while he adjusted his arm for the x-ray, while Taekwoon -already as pale as a ghost- managed to pale even further.

“Here, Sir, hold this shield like this.” The young man instructed Taekwoon, holding a shield over Seojun’s head. Taekwoon complied.

“Now, don’t move, at all, Seojun-ssi, and we will be done here in a second. Sir, turn your head towards that wall, don’t look into the light…” The nurse hurried behind a paravent-kind of screen, a beeping sounded, and the nurse came back.

“Ok, one done… Seojun-ssi, I’ll move your arm again, ok?”

He turned the arm carefully, and Seojun didn’t even react.

“You’re a tough one, aren’t you? Stay still now. Sir, please turn your head away again.”

Again, the man went behind the screen again and the beeping sounded once more.

“Ok, that’s it. I got everything I need for now. Let me help you out of these…” He helped first Seojun, then Taekwoon out of the lead-coats, and then indicated them to follow him.

He waited by the door as Taekwoon picked Seojun up again, carrying him after the nurse until he led them into a small room with a chair and a bed.

“Wait here for now, someone is going to come over soon.”

Taekwoon hated that phrase, but there was nothing he could do. At least Seojun wasn’t crying anymore, looking extremely exhausted instead.

He was even about to doze off after they’d waited a good while, but that changed abruptly when a doctor came in, followed by two nurses they hadn’t seen before.

“Good afternoon… So, here’s the boy who broke his arm… Ah, yes…” The doctor paged through a thin folder.

“Right. It’s a slightly complicated fracture and it’s going to need proper surgery… Nothing out of this world… When did your son eat last?”

Taekwoon blinked confusedly, not able to compute what the doctor had said that fast.

“T-this morning… He said he forgot to eat in school, and I was cooking lunch when he fell and-” He paled. The stove! Had he turned that off? Would Hongbin see-

“When this morning?” The doctor interrupted his thoughts.

“Around 7…”

The doctor thought for a moment.

“Nine hours… That should be enough.”

A sense of dread overcame Taekwoon.

“Enough for what?” His throat went dry suddenly.

“To put your son under for surgery.”

Taekwoon gasped, and Seojun leaned closer against him, not understanding what any of that meant, but his father’s reaction scared him.

“Now?” Taekwoon croaked.

“The sooner the better.”

Bile rose in his throat, but he forced it down. What choice did they have?

“Appa…” Seojun whimpered, and Taekwoon held him close, kissing the top of his head.

“It’s ok, baby. You’ll be fine. They are going to fix your arm so it doesn’t hurt anymore, ok?”

The doctor cleared his throat.

“Well then, Mr Jung, I’m going to ask you to set little Seojun down on that bed so we can prepare him for surgery and wait outside… The hallway around the corner leads to a door at the very end of it that opens to the hallway leading to the cafeteria. There is a waiting area about half way down the hallway, too, but I think the vending machine there is still broken and this is going to take a while…”

Taekwoon didn’t hear anything the man said after suggesting he leave his son behind, tuning out the rest as that was the only thing Seojun registered, too, and held on tighter.

“Appa, don’t leave me…!” Seojun gasped, tearing up again. Taekwoon couldn’t answer, his throat drier than a desert.

“Ah, sorry, little man, but that won’t be possible…” the doctor interrupted himself, addressing Seojun.

Seojun had no mind for him, though, looking up at Taekwoon with the most desperately pleading look Taekwoon had ever seen -and Seojun had managed to show him quite a selection of desperately pleading looks so far in the past six years. Taekwoon’s heart ached, and his look was probably no less pleading when he looked up at the doctor.

“Please…” He croaked, but the doctor shook his head.

“That is not possible, Mr Jung. We’re going to have to take your son into a sterile environment, and you would contaminate it. You’ll have to wait outside.”

Taekwoon had feared as much, resigning to their fate, but Seojun didn’t even think about it.

“Nooooooo!” He wailed, starting to cry loudly as he held on.

Desperately, Taekwoon tried to soothe him, but Seojun was beyond hearing him out. Taekwoon sighed, distressed, and got up to sit him on the bed

Seojun’s cries grew in volume, and every single one of them cut into Taekwoon’s heart and soul, leaving him raw and bleeding.

“Seojunie, please… They’ll take very good care of you, I promise, Seojun. Let go, please…”

Seojun shrieked, his whole body shaking as he held onto Taekwoon, until he lifted his broken arm to hold onto Taekwoon, too. The cry he let out would be haunting Taekwoon in his nightmares for the rest of his life, and the nurses didn’t look any better, but the child managed to hold onto Taekwoon’s shirt with both hands.

“Don’t go…!” He cried, and Taekwoon couldn’t help but hold him tight.

“Seojunie, don’t move… Don’t move that arm, please, you’ll hurt yourself… Please don’t hurt yourself, let go, Seojunie, don’t-… Don’t use that hand, let go, please…” He felt something wet on his face, and he knew he was crying. His father heart wasn’t made to withstand seeing his son in such despair, he couldn’t take it.

“Don’t leave…!” Seojun wailed, and Taekwoon couldn’t bear letting go of him, prying his hand ever so gently off his shirt, but letting Seojun hold his hand instead.

“I guess… This won’t do… I guess you’ll have to stay… He’s going to hurt himself even worse otherwise…” The doctor mumbled, and Taekwoon looked up at him with barely concealed hope. The doctor looked positively annoyed, but he waved at the nurses to step forward, leaving the room.

Taekwoon didn’t care what the doctor thought, as long as his son never had a reason to cry out like just now ever again.

With Taekwoon nearby, Seojun eventually allowed the nurses to help him into a hospital gown, and they even managed to set him up for an IV. Seojun seemed more curious about the small blue butterfly they taped onto the back of his hand than concerned, unlike Taekwoon, who felt like throwing up at seeing needles being poked through his son’s skin. This was why Hakyeon always took the kids to the doctor’s for their vaccines, never him.

Eventually, Seojun was all set up, though, and one of the nurses left to call the anesthetist. She came back with two men in tow, the anesthetist and the doctor who would be performing the surgery. The latter had a kind smile ready for Seojun, and Taekwoon was somewhat relieved it wasn’t the same mas as before.

“Hey there. What’s that on your hand?” He addressed Seojun, and the boy looked up at him trustingly.

“A butterfly.”

“A butterfly? That’s a very cute butterfly. Do you know what that butterfly does?”

Seojun shook his head, and Taekwoon followed the interaction between his son and the doctor closely.

“That butterfly is there to hold your hand and lead you to sleep while I’m going to fix your arm. It’s best if you sleep through that, it’s a long and boring process and you must be exhausted by now from all the pain. And you’re going to want to be well rested to show everyone the brand-new cast I’m going to put on you later, right?”

Seojun nodded enthusiastically, but then faltered and scooted closer to Taekwoon.

“Appa is going to hold my hand, though…”

The doctor smiled.

“Of course he is. But the butterfly is going to come with you into your dreams. At least that is what it said earlier… You’ll have to tell me later if it was telling the truth, ok?”

Seojun nodded, and then looked up at the doctor pleadingly.

“Appa doesn’t have to leave?”

The doctor shook his head.

“No, your appa isn’t leaving. You’ll have to let my friend here check on your butterfly for a moment, though. They have something secret to tell each other, so you have to look away!”

The doctor stepped aside to let the anesthetist through, and Seojun squeezed his eyes shut, going as far as hiding his face against Taekwoon’s chest while the man injected a liquid through the IV.

“There you go, all done. Your butterfly is going to be there just for you now!” The doctor announced when the other man stepped back, and Seojun swayed a little already when he turned to look down at his hand.

“And it will be there even in my sleep?”

“It will. Do you feel sleepy?”

Seojun hummed, nodding.

“You can lay down if you want… You’re in a bed, after all.”

Seojun’s eyes rolled back slightly, but he caught himself jerkily. He let Taekwoon help him lay down, and again his vision unfocused before he blinked himself awake again. Taekwoon bit his lip at how limp and heavy his son suddenly felt, the narcotic’s effect settling in quickly.

“Appa…” Seojun mumbled, and Taekwoon hummed.

“Hmm?”

The boy didn’t answer, though, going completely limp and still in Taekwoon’s arms, and he gasped. It was scary, seeing -no, feeling- him like that. He normally never felt like that, even when he was asleep.

“Mr Jung… Certainly you know you can’t stay with him during the surgery, right?” The doctor addressed Taekwoon now, calmly. Taekwoon nodded.

“I know, I just-”

“You have to let go now so the nurses can take him with them.”

Taekwoon hadn’t even been aware of how tightly he was holding onto his son, and he almost shied away as he let go of him, watching as the nurses unlocked the wheels of the bed and started pushing it out of the room. It felt as if they were ripping a part of him away.

“Mr Jung, your son is in good hands. It isn’t a complicated surgery, and we should be done in an hour to an hour and a half.”

Taekwoon nodded weakly.

“I’m… I’m sorry for the fuss, I-… He’s not-…”

“He was scared, and so were you. It happens. I need to go now, but I suggest you call someone to wait with you. I’ll see you later, Mr Jung.”

Taekwoon nodded mechanically as he watched the doctor leave, and just as mechanically he picked up the paper bag in which the nurses had placed Seojun’s clothes. He didn’t know how his feet led him to the designated waiting area, but he reached it just in time to see the light of the “surgery in progress” sign switch on over the large double doors on one side of the area, and that was what tipped him over. His body lurched forward of its own volition, heaving drily at the same time as a sob wrung itself past his throat, his whole world tilting around him as his eyes swam with tears, and he would have hit the cold, tiled floor if it wasn’t for a pair of strong arms that wrapped around him.

“Hyung! Hyung, hey, easy… Hey, hey… Come, let’s sit down over here, hyung…”

He vaguely recognized Jaehwan’s voice, though he had no idea why Jaehwan should be here. He held onto him regardless, not moving from his spot. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.

“Aish, hyung… Ok, ok, I got you, it’s ok, hyung. He’ll be ok, hyung. And you will, too. Ah… Ok, you cry all you want, I got you. I won’t go anywhere. And I won’t tell anyone, either… Not anytime soon, anyway. Maybe in a year. There, there… Aish, why did I have to wear this jumper for you to wipe your snot on…? It doesn’t matter, a 670 million won tissue is only just good enough for you, let it all out, hyung… You’re kind of heavy, though, you think we can go over to the chairs now? No? Ok, that’s fine, I was cheating on my work-out anyway, it’s only fair for karma to come back at me like this. Hyung, hyung… It’s been hard on you, huh? Our poor Seojunie… He’s in less pain than you are right now, though, hyung. He’s sleeping peacefully while you are here like this-… Maybe I should go ask them for a shot of whatever they gave Seojunie for you, too. Should I, hyung?”

Taekwoon didn’t react to Jaehwan’s rambling, not listening to what he was saying, but the constant chatter, familiar and comforting, helped him calm down eventually, and Jaehwan guided him to the chairs.

“When did you have your last coffee, hyung? You look like . Latte-vampires like you shouldn’t go too long between meals, I thought you knew that by now. Should I go get you a coffee? It’ll just be hospital cafeteria brew, which is probably the same as diluted sewage -yes, not even pure sewage, that’s how low quality it is- but if it brings at least a tiny spark of life back into you it should be worth it. Should I?”

Taekwoon shook his head, slumping into his chair, and Jaehwan hummed.

“Alright, if you’re sure… Did you manage to reach Hakyeon yet?”

Jaehwan could actually see how Taekwoon’s heart dislodged itself from between his ribs and fell to somewhere under the chair.

“I’m going to take that as a no. Or a ‘I forgot to try again’. Probably the latter. Let’s call him again, ok?”

Taekwoon fumbled his phone out of his pocket, his hands shaking as he tried to pull up the contacts and find Hakyeon’s number at the same time as he wiped at his still wet face with his sleeve.

Jaehwan let him, though, hoping to distract him at least for a while. Eventually, Taekwoon found the number and called his husband, but it kept ringing and ringing and Hakyeon didn’t pick up.

“He’s been busy…” Taekwoon croaked, and Jaehwan nodded, not sure if glad Taekwoon didn’t have to explain himself to Hakyeon now or bummed that the distraction didn’t work… Great distraction it would have been, too, he chastised himself.

“Did you call Hongbin in the meantime to ask how things are going at home?” He suggested instead, and Taekwoon paled.

“The stove!” He remembered, fumbling with his phone again, but Jaehwan stopped him by placing his hand over Taekwoon’s and shaking his head.

“The stove is off, Binnie told me when I called while I was waiting for you to come out of there. Your lunch burned, though.”

Taekwoon sat back, exhaling a shaky breath.

“So I did leave it on…”

“That’s ok, it happens, and you have a really good excuse, having to rush Seojunie here-”

“I could have burned the house down, with Jieun in it!” Taekwoon interrupted him, ghostly pale and gripping Jaehwan’s arm to the point Jaehwan wondered if it would bruise.

“Hyung, you’re exaggerating. You called Hongbin so that something like that wouldn’t happen, right? You did nothing wrong and took all the necessary measures, it’s ok. Speaking of Hongbin, let’s call him now, shall we?”

“Jaehwan…”

“Hyung, I know you’re stressed beyond your wits. You’ll feel better once you know how your other kids are doing, so let’s call Hongbin, alright? You can yell at me for how irresponsible I am afterwards; and no, it wasn’t my fault my apartment flooded, it was a water leak from a pipe belonging to my upstairs neighbor! I had nothing to do with that!”

Taekwoon eventually gave in, handing Jaehwan his phone, but Jaehwan refused.

“No, hyung, you dial. I’ll just end up messing something up and accidentally cracking your password for the folder with all of Hakyeon-hyung’s nudes, and I’ve seen more than enough skin of that hyung to last me several lifetimes!”

Taekwoon groaned, elbowing Jaehwan over the armrest of his chair, and Jaehwan grinned widely as he watched Taekwoon pull up Hongbin’s contact to call him. This was more like the Taekwoon he knew and wanted desperately to coax back into the all but lifeless body next to him.

Hongbin picked up after the third ring.

“No, Heejonie, give me that, you can continue to play later, this is important- Hello?”

“Hongbin?”

“Hyung! Hi, how is Seojun?”

Taekwoon’s face fell.

“In surgery. He’s… They said it’s a complicated fracture…”

A second of silence answered him.

“Oh… Well, but he’ll be alright afterwards, right? Seojun is a little trooper, a broken arm won’t slow him down!”

Taekwoon sniffled.

“Yeah… I guess. How-... How’s-… Heejoon is home already?”

Hongbin hummed in answer.

“Yeah, Hyukie picked him up and brought him over. He’s on the way to the company now to see what Hakyeon-hyung is up to since he isn’t picking up his phone. I mean, Hyukie is on the way to the company, not Heejoon. Heejoon is- Heejoon is rolling on the floor with Sora, what else. And Jieun is eating the trunk of a blue plush elephant. I hope no one will miss the trunk too much. Soobin’s mother just called that she’s bringing Hyejin over soon. Is it ok to order take-out? I don’t feel like I should risk touching anything in your kitchen besides the water cooker. I’ll make sure it’s at least somewhat healthy.”

Taekwoon sighed.

“Yeah… Yeah… Order chicken, but make sure it’s not too spicy.”

“Hmm, is kids’ menu ok? Is that spicy?”

Taekwoon shook his head, then remembered Hongbin couldn’t see him.

“No, that’s ok.”

“Alright. Do you know when you will be home yet? I mean, no rush, I’ll stay as long as needed, just wondering if I should order dinner for you, too.”

“I don’t know…” Taekwoon whispered weakly, and Hongbin picked right up.

“Alright, that’s ok. Oh, Hyejin is here. Hold up, I’ll get the door. Hyung, can I talk to Jaehwan hyung really quick? Ah, good evening Mrs Choi, thank you for bringing Hyejinie over… Ah no, they’re out, but I got this, I’m on the phone with Taekwoon-hyung right now… No, no, that won’t be necessary, thank you very much, that’s very nice of you, though… No, no, it’s ok. Good night, Mrs Choi, bye! Hyung? You still there?”

Taekwoon hummed into the phone.

“Good. I was asking if you could pass the phone to Jaehwan-hyung for a minute? I have to ask him something real quick… I just… Everything is ok around here, everyone is well and happy, so don’t worry about us here, ok?”

Taekwoon sighed.

“Alright. Thank you… I’ll pass you to Jaehwanie.”

He held the phone out to Jaehwan, who looked slightly puzzled but took it from Taekwoon nonetheless.

“Yeah?” He lifted the phone to his ear.

“For fu-…dges sake, Jaehwan, what the hell is going on there? Hyung sounds like death!” Hongbin whisper-shouted into the phone, and Jaehwan could hear a door closing and the background noise dimming. He glanced at Taekwoon, but the older didn’t seem to notice.

“Ah~… It wasn’t easy, I guess… You know, it’s different for-… When it’s your own-…”

Jaehwan could practically hear Hongbin roll his eyes.

“You can talk freely, you know, hyung won’t even notice what you’re talking about, he’s so out of it. Get him a coffee or something sweet or he’ll faint on you soon!”

“He almost did.”

Hongbin sighed.

“Great. Listen, Sanghyuk is on the way to find Hakyeon-hyung, and you know how hyung will react when he finds out about this. Hyukie is going to try to calm him down, key word being ‘try’, though, so prepare for a typhoon named Hakyeon to storm into there, and I don’t care if you value your skin or not, do not let him barrage into Taekwoon-hyung with all his rage in place, alright? One broken arm a day is plenty enough and I don’t want to peel bits of Taekwoon-hyung out of the hospital’s ceiling lamps!”

Jaehwan huffed.

“But you’re ok with peeling bits of me out of the hospital’s ceiling lamps?”

He earned a puzzled look from Taekwoon for that.

Hongbin huffed.

“You’re resistant and in a shape to defend yourself and Taekwoon-hyung, you’ll be fine.”

Jaehwan snorted.

“Thank you ever so much. Your wish is my command, Sir!”

Hongbin chuckled.

“Don’t take me wrong. That isn’t a wish, that is a command!”

“Your command is my wish, then? Wait, no, that doesn’t make sense…”

Hongbin groaned.

“Just make sure you calm Hakyeon-hyung down before he can slice Taekwoon-hyung into tiny little bits of Taekwoon-filet, ok?”

Jaehwan chuckled.

“Will do. I never planned otherwise. Go order chicken now, before Hyejin sees you as a good enough substitute!”

Hongbin snorted.

“As if. She would never hurt her favourite uncle!”

Jaehwan laughed at that.

“You’re not her favourite uncle; that would be Wonshikkie.”

He could almost feel Hongbin’s scathing glare.

“I hate you, hyung. Bye!” Hongbin hung up, and Jaehwan chuckled. Then, he noticed Taekwoon staring forlornly at the ‘surgery in progress’ sign, and he nudged him lightly.

“Hey… I’ll go to the cafeteria real quick, ok? Will you be alright on your own?”

Taekwoon gave him a blank look, and Jaehwan sighed.

“You won’t. Come, get up, you’re coming with me. Sitting around here this whole time isn’t good for you.”

Taekwoon resisted Jaehwan pulling on his arm to get him to stand up though, shaking his head.

“No, I’ll-… Seojunie-…” He croaked weakly, and Jaehwan sighed.

“Hyung, it’ll still be quite a while until Seojun comes out of surgery, and you sitting here worrying yourself sick won’t help anyone. You need to be in shape when he wakes up so you can reassure him should he be scared or something. He depends on you, and you need to live up to his expectations, especially when he’s vulnerable like that. And to be able to do that you need to take care of yourself now. You can’t let your son see you like this, he’ll get the shock of his life thinking you died and are a ghost now. Do you want that?”

If looks could kill, Jaehwan would have been the one in ghost form right then, but he remained remarkably unfazed by it and eventually managed to get Taekwoon to stand and follow him to the cafeteria.

Jaehwan guessed that was as good as he could get for now and took it upon himself to get them both a cup of coffee. Taekwoon didn’t seem particularly interested at first, but eventually downed the whole cup in one go. Jaehwan would never understand how his hyung could drink that stuff piping hot, but once he took a single sip of his own cup, he grimaced and couldn’t understand how Taekwoon could have drunk that stuff at all.

“Uuurgh, this isn’t even diluted sewage, but undiluted! How could you drink that? I would dump this into a potted plant somewhere, but I think that would be considered first degree murder on an innocent bystander. Ugh, this is bad!”

He pushed the cup away from him to the middle of the table, not intending to touch it ever again, when Taekwoon’s phone rang. It was a different ringtone from Taekwoon’s usual one, and it let them both know who the caller was without checking the ID.

“Hakyeon-hyung!” Jaehwan gasped as Taekwoon fumbled his phone out his pocket clumsily, his hands shaking too much to pick up the call and looking as if he would faint soon again. Jaehwan sighed, snatching the phone out of Taekwoon’s hands.

“Give that here, I’ll talk to him!”

Taekwoon barely had the time to gasp and reach after it when Jaehwan had already brought the device out of his reach and picked up the call.

“Hyung? Jaehwan here, I-”

He didn’t go farther, a distressed Hakyeon interrupting him immediately.

“Jaehwan? Where’s Taekwoon? Why do I have 27 missed calls from him, you and Hongbin? What the hell happened?!”

Jaehwan unconsciously held the phone a bit further away from his ear just in case Hakyeon might actually be able to reach through the phone and bite his ear off.

“Hyung, calm down. Taekwoon-hyung is right here sitting next to me and he’s alright. We didn’t think you were that busy so we kept trying to call you hoping you’d eventually have time to answer…”

“Twenty-seven times, Jaehwan? Something happened, didn’t it? What is it? Is everyone ok? Where are you-? Not now, Sanghyuk!”

Jaehwan took a deep breath; good, at least Hyukie was there with Hakyeon now.

“Hyung, no one is dying or anything, everyone is going to be ok…”

“Lee Jaehwan, you better tell me what the is going on right now this second, or else I swear I will make Swedish meat balls out of you!”

Jaehwan paled a little.

“Hyung, calm down, please, it’s not that bad… We’re in the hospital right now-”

Hakyeon’s shriek was deafening, and some people from the tables around them looked over worriedly, even though Taekwoon’s phone wasn’t on speaker.

“What?! Why- Where- What the hell, what happened?! Jaehwan, you better tell me immediately!!”

Jaehwan sighed.

“I was about to when you interrupted me, hyung.”

“Don’t you smart- me, Lee Jaehwan! Why the hell are you in the hospital?!”

Jaehwan bit his lip, his heart beating timidly somewhere next to his spleen, but nowhere near its usual spot now.

“It’s Seojunie, hyung. He broke an arm.”

Deafening silence answered him from Hakyeon’s side, and he eventually hear soft rustling, before Hakyeon’s voice sounded again, weak and raspy.

“Seojunie? How is he? Omo, my baby… What happened? Why did he-? Which hospital are you at?”

Jaehwan took a deep breath.

“He’ll be fine, hyung. He’s in surgery now, but he’ll be fine. Sanghyuk will take you here.”

“I-in surgery?” Hakyeon’s voice broke. “Why? How bad-? How could that happen, how- Why did he-? Just what the hell happened, what, what-?”

Jaehwan could hear Sanghyuk mumble something in the background, interrupting Hakyeon.

“I don’t know what happened, hyung, but you know how clumsy Seojun is… It was always only a matter of time until something like this happened-…”

The sound Hakyeon made on the other end was terrifying, and Jaehwan knew instinctively that that had been the wrong thing to say.

“Ah, what I mean, is that-”

“Give me Taekwoon!”

Jaehwan paled a little.

“Lee Jaehwan, let me talk to my husband! How could he- How could he let this happen? I’ll-”

Jaehwan sat up straighter at that, his expression becoming more determined.

“Hyung, no. None of this is Taekwoon-hyung’s fault, and I won’t let you blame him!”

Taekwoon shrunk into his seat, his face falling even more, and Jaehwan swore he saw him crumble right then and there. It only steeled his resolve.

“He was supposed to look after Seojun, if not his then who else’s fault is it, huh?!” Hakyeon yelled, but Jaehwan didn’t flinch this time.

“No one’s! Hyung, it’s no one’s fault! This is not a time to look for who is at fault for anything! Accidents happen, and no one can watch their kids closely 24/7, every second of every day! Kids play, and kids get hurt; Seojun has gotten hurt countless times before without it being anyone’s fault. He was just a tad more unlucky this time, but it still isn’t anyone’s fault! Don’t blame Taekwoon-hyung for this!”

“Lee Jaehwan, I swear, once I get there-!”

“Swear all you want, hyung, but consider this: do you remember when Taekwoon-hyung had his accident?”

Deafening silence answered him after he interrupted Hakyeon.

“Remember how you felt back then. Taekwoon-hyung has been going through the exact same during the past few hours, all on his own.”

Still, only silence answered him.

“Hyung, both Seojunie and Taekwoon-hyung need you right now, and neither of them needs you to blame and be mad at anyone. Just calm down and let Hyukie drive you over here, ok?”

Jaehwan didn’t get an answer, just hearing the call being hung up, and he sighed.

Taekwoon sank even further into his chair, if that was even possible.

“He’s going to kill me…” He whispered, emotionless, like someone who had resigned and accepted his fate.

“No, he won’t. I won’t let him!” Jaehwan huffed through gritted teeth.

Taekwoon shrugged.

“I probably deserve it, though…”

Jaehwan narrowed his eyes at him.

“No, you don’t! Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault! It wasn’t you who broke his arm, right? That means it wasn’t your fault! He is a clumsy child, and whether you like to hear it or not, it was bound to happen at some point with how reckless he is! And it probably won’t be the last time, either!”

Taekwoon flinched.

“I should have kept a better eye on him, though…”

Jaehwan sighed, frustrated.

“You were cooking, hyung. Do you usually keep an eye on all of your kids while cooking?”

Taekwoon bit his lip.

“No… But I should.”

Jaehwan shook his head.

“That’s impossible. You’re not to blame, hyung. Seojun just-… Actually, how did it even happen?”

Taekwoon winced, then rubbed his hands over his face, stalling.

“I-… Don’t know. I heard a thud and a wail suddenly and ran to him, and he was sitting in the living room, on the floor, holding his arm. I didn’t ask how it happened, I was too shocked, I just thought I had to get him to the hospital and needed someone to watch Jieun-!”

Jaehwan reached across the table, settling a hand on Taekwoon’s forearm and squeezing comfortingly.

“It’s ok, hyung. Seojun can tell us later what the hell he climbed this time or what toy he tripped over. Anyway. Shall we go back? It wasn’t going to be a long surgery, right? They might be done soon…”

Taekwoon perked up a little at that, and Jaehwan led him into the waiting area. They had just reached it when they heard angry voices down the hallway.

“I swear, what an incompetent-… I am his father, what could be more family that that, for ’s sake?!”

Jaehwan sighed as he stopped before sitting down.

“Hakyeon-hyung is here…”

Taekwoon shrunk into the same seat as before, but in that moment the light over the door went out and seconds later the door opened, the doctor coming out.

“Mr Jung Taekwoon? Do you have a minute?”

Taekwoon jumped up, hurrying over to the doctor who led him through a double door into an adjacent hallway. He let the door fall closed behind them before turning to Taekwoon, just as Hakyeon appeared in the waiting room, together with Sanghyuk. The doctor paid them no mind.

“Mr Jung, I want to inform you that the surgery went well and that there should be no lasting damage. We’ll just have to wait until your son wakes up and monitor him for an hour or two, and if everything is alright then, you can take him home tonight already. He’s wearing a rigid full-cast for now, which is going to hinder his movement quite a bit, but that is the purpose of it. He is to keep his arm still as much as possible for the next three weeks, and then I’ll ask you to come back for us to check up on the healing progress and maybe renew the cast. You’ll have to be careful he doesn’t get it wet, too, and you should know that he might get itchy under it, but you can’t allow him to try to scratch. Also, avoid letting him exert himself too much so he doesn’t sweat a lot; that makes it all harder as well.”

Taekwoon nodded at everything the doctor said, trying to keep it all in mind, and sighed a little in the end.

“He’s going to hate it…”

The doctor chuckled.

“I bet… He’s an energetic kid, isn’t he?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“You have no idea… He has more energy than the other three combined…”

Again, the doctor chuckled.

“I don’t envy you your task to get him to stay put, then. But it is necessary to make sure his arm heals properly and doesn’t retain lasting damage.”

Taekwoon nodded slowly.

“What about the pain? Will he be hurting when he wakes up?”

The doctor shook his head.

“No. Not as long as he keeps his arm still.”

Taekwoon flinched.

“Can’t you prescribe him something against that pain? It will be too hard for him to stay still…”

The doctor shook his head.

“As cruel as that sounds, pain is the body’s self-preservation mechanism, there to keep us from making bad decisions. The pain your son will feel when he gets too rowdy is what’s going to keep him from doing just that and what will ensure his arm gets enough rest to heal.”

Taekwoon sighed, defeated. There was no fault in the doctor’s logic.

“I’ll have a nurse come pick you up when you can go see your son, Mr. Jung. Good luck to you and all the best for Seojun.”

Taekwoon bowed when the doctor made to leave, thanking him, and then turned to return to the waiting room, where Jaehwan was holding on to Hakyeon. It was time to face his furious husband and almost certain death.

*#*#*#*

Jaehwan breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor called Taekwoon over just as Hakyeon appeared around the corner.

Hakyeon seemed to barely hold his emotions in check as he stopped in front of Jaehwan, hands clenched to fists and body shaking.

“I swear I thought he was going to rip my head off for not being able to drive faster. An angry mother lion is tame compared to him, be careful, hyung.” Sanghyuk muttered as he passed them, dropping into one of the plastic chairs and followed the muted conversation on the other side of the double doors through the partially frosted windows.

“At least the doc seems to have good news…”

Hakyeon, who’d been glaring at Jaehwan, looked past him now to watch the doctor and Taekwoon talk, too.

“Hyung? What are you planning to do…?” Jaehwan asked warily when Hakyeon advanced on him and was about to brush past him. Jaehwan reached out and stopped him as it became evident he was heading towards the door Taekwoon and the doctor were behind.

“Hyung, you can’t go in there right now-!”

“That is my son they are talking about, I have a right to know-…!”

Jaehwan huffed from exertion as he wrapped his arms around Hakyeon to hold him back.

“Yeah, and that is your husband -who happens to be the love of your life, just thought I’d remind you of that real quick- who’s dealing with whatever it is the doctor has to say, like he has been for the past hours. And the last thing he needs is for you to go in there and make a scene!”

Hakyeon growled angrily.

“If you value your life, you’ll let go of me right now, Lee Jaehwan!”

Jaehwan chuckled drily, strained.

“I guess I’m feeling particularly suicidal today, then.”

Hakyeon pushed against Jaehwan, but Jaehwan didn’t budge, and as quickly as his struggles had started, they stopped, and the older seemingly deflated in Jaehwan’s hold.

“Jaehwan-ah, please. I need to know-… Please, let me go.”

Jaehwan expected deceit, and held on to Hakyeon even tighter, just in case.

“I know, hyung, and you’ll know everything in just a minute. But I won’t let you attack Taekwoon-hyung with all that pent-up rage you have here. He’s been through enough for one day, he doesn’t need the man he loves and depends on to put him back together after disasters ripping his head off for something that isn’t even his fault.”

Hakyeon sighed against Jaehwan’s shoulder.

“I won’t rip his head off…”

“He doesn’t need you yelling at him or glaring at him or even just huffing at him, either, you know.”

Hakyeon pushed at Jaehwan weakly.

“Jaehwan, please…”

“No.”

From the plastic chairs somewhere to the side, Sanghyuk cleared his throat.

“Taekwoon-hyung is coming back…”

Jaehwan only heard the door open, but upon seeing it Hakyeon renewed his struggles and eventually managed to push out of Jaehwan’s hold, darting past him. Sanghyuk jumped up, just in case, but to all their surprise, Hakyeon merely threw himself into Taekwoon’s arms, wrapping his arms around Taekwoon’s neck and holding the other tightly.

Taekwoon gasped for air for a second, before he wrapped his arms around Hakyeon, too.

“He’s ok, Yeonie… He’s ok. Our baby will be fine…” He whispered into Hakyeon’s ear, and Hakyeon held him tighter, almost choking him in the process.

“And you? Are you ok?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“I am. Now.”

“Aish, I seriously don’t understand these hyungs! Here I am thinking I have to keep one from murdering the other and instead they go all sappy on each other again!” Sanghyuk shook his head, glaring lightly at the two oldest and thus missing Jaehwan’s attack, which hit him full force in the shoulder.

“Yah! You were just sitting there while I was trying to hold Hakyeon-hyung back! How’s that doing anything?!”

Sanghyuk took a step away from Jaehwan, rubbing his hurting shoulder where Jaehwan’s fist had hit him.

“I would have intervened if something happened!”

“You got up half an hour too late, Hakyeon-hyung would have had all the time to snap Taekwoon-hyung’s neck before you even reacted, you filthy liar! Letting me do all the work and claiming it was you, you brat!”

“Yah! Stop it, you two! You’re making a scene!”

Jaehwan and Sanghyuk looked over at Taekwoon and Hakyeon, perplexed. Hakyeon had an arm around Taekwoon’s waist, while the other had one around Hakyeon’s shoulders. They looked like the dictionary definition of love and harmony.

“Us? Making a scene? May I remind you you were about to tear down doors just five minutes ago?”

Hakyeon huffed.

“You kept me from doing that, though, and now I’m keeping you from making a scene. Please behave, ok?”

Sanghyuk groaned, sitting down on the much too small chairs, at least for his frame.

“I hate all of you…” He muttered, still nursing his shoulder, and earned an eyeroll from Jaehwan for it.

Hakyeon looked as if he was going to chastise Sanghyuk, when a door opened behind them and had the parents whip around. A nurse stood in front of them.

“I’m looking for Cha Seojun’s family to show them to his room…”

“That’s us!” Hakyeon answered quickly, just as Sanghyuk and Jaehwan were coming up to stand close behind him

The nurse blinked up at them, confusedly.

“Just family, please.”

Taekwoon cleared his throat.

“We are his family. I’m Jung Taekwoon, his father. I brought him in. This is my husband. And these…”

“Their brother’s. We’re their brothers.” Jaehwan gestured at the older two, but flinched when Sanghyuk elbowed him in the side and gave him an incredulous look. ‘What?!’ he mouthed silently, and Sanghyuk rolled his eyes.

The nurse still looked at them weirdly, then sighed and shrugged.

“Seojun is still sleeping but should wake up soon. His father should be with him when he does, and he needs a quiet environment.” She said sternly and the four of them nodded solemnly. The nurse frowned, but eventually led them through a door, into an elevator, three stories up, along a hallway and to a room about two thirds down another hallway. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but then shook her head and motioned for them to go inside.

Sanghyuk and Jaehwan stayed back as Taekwoon and Hakyeon approached their still sleeping child. Hakyeon ignored the chair next to the bed and sat on the edge of the bed instead, half curling around Seojun’s sleeping form as he leaned over him. Taekwoon did take the chair, though, reaching to gently hold Seojun’s good hand that was peeking out from under the blanket.

“He looks way too small in that giant bed…” Sanghyuk whispered, and Jaehwan nodded, his throat closing up a little as his eyes trailed over the humongous looking cast that covered the sleeping boy’s arm from his shoulder to the tips of his fingers.

Sanghyuk sighed.

“Hyung, we should leave for a bit. The hyungs are fine now and we should give them a little time with each other and their son, without us intruding.”

Jaehwan frowned a little, until Sanghyuk continued.

“Let’s check if there’s a gift shop and see how we can start spoiling the little rascal, shall we?”

That convinced Jaehwan, and without making a noise, the two slipped out of the room.

Hakyeon and Taekwoon didn’t hear any of that, and didn’t notice them leaving, either. After reassuring themselves that Seojun was indeed there with them, in one piece (mostly), and breathing just fine, the tension slowly seeped out of the parents.

“Woonie… I’m sorry for how I reacted earlier, on the phone, and-… You must have gone through hell all alone, and you didn’t need me yelling around…”

Taekwoon shook his head, placing his free hand on Hakyeon’s knee and squeezing comfortingly.

“It’s ok… You were worried about our child… I would have been concerned if you’d reacted any differently.”

Hakyeon flinched, and then sat up and slipped off the bed to sit in Taekwoon’s lap instead, hugging him.

“It still doesn’t make it ok, and I’m sorry. Especially that you had to deal with all of this alone, and couldn’t reach me.”

Taekwoon hugged Hakyeon back.

“Hongbin and Jaehwan helped…”

Hakyeon sighed.

“Jaehwan deserves an award for how he’s handled both of us today.”

Taekwoon hummed.

“And Hongbin is at home dealing with the other three. I hope we find him in one piece…”

Hakyeon nodded with a small smile, then looked back at their son.

“He should be fine… The wildest of the bunch isn’t there to torment him, after all.”

Taekwoon snorted lightly.

“In all his sweetness, Heejoon can be quite the handful on his own, and I hope Hyejin has one of her good days today, for his sake. And Jieun…”

Hakyeon smiled softly.

“Jieun adores Hongbin, and I don’t know how aware Hongbin is of that, but he’s a total fool for her, too. He would die for her.”

Taekwoon nodded.

“All of them would die for any of our children, though…”

‘All of them’ being all their dongsaengs.

Hakyeon sighed, tightening his embrace slightly on Taekwoon.

“Let’s hope it never comes even close to that, though. And that none of our kids find out, or else I’m sure they’d take full advantage of that knowledge, and we all know they are being spoiled way too much already!”

A small noise from Seojun interrupted their hushed conversation, and their full attention turned to their son, who shifted a little and then blinked his eyes open, finding his fathers quickly.

“Appa…” He croaked, sleepily, and Hakyeon glided off Taekwoon’s lap to sit on the bed again.

“Hey sweetie, how are you?” He ran his hand softly through the boy’s hair, brushing it out of his face.

“Thirsty…” He replied, coughing a little, and Taekwoon got up from his chair immediately.

“I’ll get you something, hold on, baby.” He hurried out of the room, intent to find a nurse to ask for water.

Seojun woke up quickly, the last rests of the narcotic leaving his system.

“Appa…?” He wriggled a little to sit up, and Hakyeon helped him, mindful not to jostle the cast on his arm.

“Hmm?”

Seojun blinked up at him curiously.

“I slept, didn’t I?”

Hakyeon blinked confusedly.

“Yes, you did, honey. Why?”

Seojun huffed a little.

“I don’t remember falling asleep, but it feels like I just slept for one second, but it even got dark outside in that one second, and the butterfly wasn’t there, either.”

Hakyeon tilted his head curiously.

“Butterfly? What butterfly, love?”

Seojun lifted his good arm to show him the back of his hand, and there it was, the ‘butterfly’.

“Oh…” Hakyeon nodded slowly, his stomach lurching a little. Seeing an IV attached to his son’s hand was not something he could take easily, but then again… How had Taekwoon coped with that? He was even more sensitive to those kinds of things when it came to their children.

“The nice doctor said it would take me to sleep and stay with me, but I don’t remember seeing it there… I didn’t even dream, I think, since I only slept for a second, but it’s late now, isn’t it?”

Hakyeon smiled softly.

“A little. It’s dark out, but it’s not terribly late.”

“Can I stay up later today, since I already slept for so long? I won’t be tired in school tomorrow!”

Hakyeon chuckled softly.

“It’s Saturday tomorrow, dear, there is no school.”

Seojun’s eyes widened.

“Did I sleep for a whole day, after all? Why is it Friday?”

Hakyeon laughed lightly again.

“It’s been Friday all day, since you woke up, silly.”

Seojun hit his forehead with his good hand just as the door opened.

“I thought it was Thursday! That’s why I forgot my writing book!”

Hakyeon sighed softly, then noticed Taekwoon had come back with a nurse. Seojun leaned closer to Hakyeon, who kept an arm around his back as the nurse stepped up to the bed.

“Hi there, young man. Slept enough for now?”

Seojun peeked up at the nurse from under his bangs, nodding lightly, before he spotted the bottle of water the nurse was carrying.

“I’m thirsty, though!”

“Mhm, I bet you are. I can’t give you the water just yet, though. First you have to answer a few questions.”

Seojun made a face, and Hakyeon cleared his throat. The boy smoothed his expression then, just glancing shortly at his father before turning back to the nurse.

“What questions?”

The nurse hummed shortly.

“I need to know if you’re feeling sick, for example.”

Seojun shook his head.

“Or dizzy?”

Seojun shook his head harder.

“Ok. So, you’re not feeling queasy at all, are you?”

Seojun shook his head.

“No. Just thirsty. So thirsty my throat hurts. And I’m hungry…!”

The nurse hummed again.

“Ok, in that case, you can drink a little bit of water. Just tiny sips, though, ok? If you drink too much you’ll need to throw up, and we don’t want that, do we?”

Seojun made a disgusted face and shook his head, but then made grabby hands at the bottle the nurse was uncapping and handing him.

“Tiny sips, I said!” She warned again, and Seojun took a big gulp. Hakyeon sighed, making Seojun lower the bottle.

“Seojun, that’s not a tiny sip!”

Seojun whined.

“I’m so thirsty, though!!”

Hakyeon screwed the cap back on the bottle as the nurse handed it to him, and Seojun pouted.

“I know you’re thirsty, but you heard the nurse: you will be sick if you drink too much!”

Seojun sighed, discontent and pouting, but his face lit up when he saw the door open behind Taekwoon.

“Uncle Hwanie!”

Jaehwan grinned as he stepped into the room.

“Hey champion! How’s it going?”

Seojun grinned widely at him.

“Great! Uncle Hwanie, I broke my arm! Look!”

Jaehwan chuckled, a little forced.

“I can see that, you little rascal. You got us all worried with that.”

Seojun bit his lip, a little contrite.

“I’m sorry… It wasn’t on purpose…!”

Sanghyuk snorted lightly.

“I’m tempted to actually believe that, for once…”

Seojun tilted his head as he finally spotted Sanghyuk, ignoring that the nurse left him to go talk to his Taekwoon-appa.

“Uncle Hyukie! I didn’t know you were here!”

Sanghyuk sat down on the foot end of the bed.

“I know, I’m so small I’m always overlooked.”

Seojun chuckled, leaning sideways and letting himself fall against Hakyeon’s chest.

“Is everyone here?” The boy asked happily.

Jaehwan shook his head as he, too, sat down on the bed.

“Nah. Your siblings are at home with your uncles Hongbin and Wonshik.”

Hakyeon looked up at that.

“Wonshik, too?”

Jaehwan nodded.

“Apparently, he heard your side of our call while he was sitting in a meeting and only just managed to see you and Sanghyuk rush out of the building. He called Hongbin and drove over to yours as soon as he could.”

Hakyeon grimaced, but hid it quickly when Seojun turned to look up at him.

“Can we all go home now to meet the others? I haven’t seen uncle Binnie in aaaages!”

It was his other father who answered him, though.

“Not quite yet, love. We have to wait until a doctor says you are allowed to leave.”

Seojun pouted.

“Uncle Hongbinnie will still be there when we come home, though.”

Seojun still pouted.

“I’m thirsty, I’m hungry, and I can’t go home… I don’t like it…”

Taekwoon sighed.

“I know, baby, but you can’t eat right now and we have to wait. You can drink again in a few minutes, though.”

Seojun looked sadly at the water bottle that stood just out of his reach on the bedside table behind Hakyeon.

“Seojunie, no one said you can’t play, though. Look what me and uncle Hyukie found in a store downstairs!”

Jaehwan caught his attention, pulling out a small wrapped gift and waving it in front of Seojun. The boy’s interest was sparked immediately and he reached out for it, yelling in frustration when Jaehwan pulled it just out of his reach to .

“Jaehwan, careful! He shouldn’t move around too much! Seojun, sit back down. You have to play carefully for a while now, ok?” Hakyeon intervened quickly as he got up from the bed, seeing the look Taekwoon was giving him that they needed to talk about something out of Seojun’s hearing range.

Jaehwan scooted up the bed and handed Seojun the gift, finally, effectively distracting the boy. Seojun struggled quite a bit to get the wrapping off with just one hand, ending up kicking the blanket away so he could hold the gift with his feet while tearing at the wrapping paper with his good hand. Eventually, it fell off enough so he could reach inside and pull out a small figurine.

“A blue Pegasus! I’ve wanted this one since forever! Thank you, uncle Hwanie!”

Jaehwan chuckled when the boy hugged him.

“It was actually Hyukie who found it and knew you didn’t have this one yet…”

Seojun shuffled so he could hug Sanghyuk, too.

“Thank you, uncle Hyukie!”

Sanghyuk ruffled the boy’s hair.

“You’re welcome, buddy. What is it that this Pegasus can do, though?”

Seojun sat back and lifted the toy.

“Well, like all Pegasus, it has wings, look! And it glows in the dark. The blue Pegasus is the second strongest of all Pegasus, after the Unicorn Pegasus, and it protects everyone!”

Sanghyuk chuckled.

“That’s cool. Is it a boy or a girl Pegasus?”

Seojun shook his head.

“Neither. That’s why it is so strong! See, and when it runs over the sky and its hooves hit a cloud, they make lightning bolts, but no sound! Sometimes you can see that, at night, there is lightning but no thunder, and then you know that the blue Pegasus is running up there!”

Hakyeon smiled at his boy’s enthusiastic lecture about Pegasus, but then closed the door behind himself. He gave Taekwoon a meaningful look.

“So much for not spoiling him too much…”

Taekwoon sighed.

“It was inevitable, admit it. And it’s not the end of it yet…”

Hakyeon hummed.

“What did you talk about with the nurse?”

“We’ll have to kill time for about an hour and a half longer, then we can take him home, if he doesn’t get sick or dizzy in the meantime.”

Hakyeon sighed a breath of relief, but interrupted himself when he saw Taekwoon’s still worried expression.

“I sense a ‘but…’”

Taekwoon nodded, shifting his weight.

“He hasn’t eaten since this morning, though, and we can’t let him have anything for at least four more hours because of the lingering narcotic in his system.”

Hakyeon paled a little.

“That’s until… 11pm. Why hasn’t he eaten, you made him a lunch box, though, didn’t you?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“He said he forgot to eat in school and I wasn’t done making lunch when… It happened, which was why he could have the surgery when he did.”

Hakyeon sighed, rubbing his temples.

“I give it one hour until he becomes absolutely terrible to deal with…”

Taekwoon nodded slowly.

“What happens if he eats despite the narcotic in his system?”

Taekwoon scrunched his face up.

“He’ll throw up.”

Hakyeon mirrored Taekwoon’s expression.

“Great…”

Taekwoon nodded.

“And at home it’ll most likely still smell wonderfully like chicken…”

Hakyeon slumped against the wall next to the door.

“Amazing. A Seojun temper tantrum was exactly what I still needed after today…”

Taekwoon huffed, leaning against the wall right next to him.

“Ask me… I have no idea how I am still functioning after the day I’ve had…”

Hakyeon propped himself off the wall a little to look at Taekwoon, who had his head resting against the wall and his eyes closed. He looked totally worn out, and Hakyeon pushed himself off the wall completely, but only far enough to turn over and hug Taekwoon close.

The other didn’t open his eyes as he let his head rest against Taekwoon’s shoulder instead.

“It’s because you are incredible and wonderful, and the best father a child could ever wish for. Also, the best husband anyone could wish for.”

Taekwoon mumbled something unintelligible and looped his arms loosely around Hakyeon’s waist.

Hakyeon nuzzled his face into the side of Taekwoon’s head, just above his ear. He left a small kiss on the shell of it.

“I love you, Jung Taekwoon. And I admire you, and am so, so proud of you…”

Taekwoon’s hold on Hakyeon tightened, pulling him closer.

“I love you, too…” He whispered softly, only for Hakyeon to pick up, when the door next to them opened.

“Hyung-… Ah~ Seojun says he’s really hungry and he hasn’t eaten all day…” Sanghyuk sounded concerned, and he hadn’t even witnessed a Seojun temper tantrum yet.

Both Hakyeon and Taekwoon tensed.

“And so it begins…” Hakyeon whispered, taking a sharp breath as he stepped away from Taekwoon.

“What begins?”

Hakyeon gave Sanghyuk a longsuffering look.

“The revelation of the monster Seojun really is when he’s hungry… And I can’t even fault him this time, he hasn’t eaten in 12 hours.”

Sanghyuk’s eyes widened as Hakyeon and Taekwoon brushed past him into the room.

Seojun was leaning -more like slumping- against Jaehwan’s chest as he watched Jaehwan make the Pegasus toy step-dance on his brand-new cast. He looked up, though, when he noticed his parents returning.

“Appaa~ I’m hungry!”

Hakyeon sighed softly.

“I know, love, but the nurse said you have to wait a little longer before you can eat or else you will be sick.”

Seojun frowned.

“I feel sick with hunger!” He declared with vehemence.

Taekwoon paled slightly, and Hakyeon looked a little spooked, too.

“Hmm… Sick with hunger, you say? After only 12 hours? That’s not a lot…” Jaehwan mused behind Seojun, making the boy look up at him with a pout.

“It is!”

Jaehwan shook his head.

“Not when you’ve slept all day… See, blue Pegasus here didn’t eat for four days when they had to save black and yellow Pegasus from the Cerberus.”

Seojun gaped at him.

“Really?”

Jaehwan nodded solemnly, making the Pegasus walk up Seojun’s arm.

“Mhm. When the Cerberus kidnapped first Black and then Yellow, they stopped by in the cloud kitchen and ate everything they found; including the plates and cutlery! And when Blue wanted to eat, there was nothing left, but Blue didn’t even think about that and went after the Cerberus to save their friends. It took them three days to find them in the depths of Hades -and there is no food in Hades, you know that, right? And then it took them another whole day to bring them back home, and only there could they finally eat again.”

Seojun pouted.

“But Blue is a hero, and I’m not…”

Jaehwan snorted.

“Of course you are a hero, Seojunie! Aish, such nonsense!”

Seojunie didn’t look convinced, and Jaehwan sighed patiently.

“You are a hero because even though today has been hard for you, you can still laugh, right? I know you can, I saw you laugh a little while ago when uncle Hyukie got surprised by the lightning of Blue’s hooves. You laughed, and that makes you a hero!”

Seojun thought about it for a moment.

“Really?”

Jaehwan nodded.

“Of course. Blue laughs, too, even when things are hard for them, right? And Blue is a hero. That means you are a hero, too.”

Seojun smiled lightly.

“Uncle Hwanie, can you teach me how to draw Blue?”

Jaehwan hummed.

“Of course I can. I just need a pen and some paper…” He looked urgently at the other three adults gathered in the room, two of whom were absolutely perplexed at how Jaehwan with his faulty logic managed to distract Seojun enough to at least postpone the hunger tantrum.

Sanghyuk was the only one with a minimum of reaction speed left and quickly searched his jacket pockets before he spotted an abandoned pen laying on the windowsill, which he handed Jaehwan.

“Hm, there is no paper… Can I draw on your cast?”

Seojun looked at him with wide eyes.

“I- Is that… Can you?” He turned to look at his parents, and thankfully Hakyeon managed to catch himself, nodding hastily.

“Ah, sure, sure! Casts are meant to be drawn on, right?!”

Seojun didn’t even listen to the second part anymore, urging Jaehwan to draw on his cast, which he then did. One Pegasus became two, then three, clouds appeared between them, then stars, the Unicorn Pegasus, a rainbow… Jaehwan promised to colour the figures in later when they would have more colours, and then the doctor appeared, about an hour later than originally announced. And no tantrum had been thrown; partly due to the fact that Seojun was just too tired once again, and he could barely focus on the stories Jaehwan told him while he drew on his cast, never mind remember how hungry he was.

It startled him, though, when the doctor came in and his parents and uncle suddenly looked up from where they were sitting, interrupting their mumbled conversation.

“Good evening, gentlemen… Ah, how is little Seojun doing?”

Seojun sunk further against Jaehwan’s chest, pouting up at the doctor.

“A little tired, isn’t it, Seojunie?” Jaehwan provided helpfully as the boy yawned and nodded.

The doctor hummed.

“Hmm, it is late, so that isn’t surprising. How are you feeling, though, Seojun? Do you feel sick or dizzy?”

Seojun shook his head, frowning a little.

“Just… hungry…!”

The doctor rose an eyebrow.

“Oh, really? We can’t have that, now can we?”

Seojun shook his head, and the doctor checked his watch.

“It’s… half past nine now. I think it should be ok if you eat something once you get home…” He turned to Taekwoon and Hakyeon. “Some rice and chicken, not too spicy or too greasy, eaten slowly and not too much of it… It should be alright. I’ll need one of you to sign the check out forms with the nurses at the station’s desk, and then you can take him home.”

Hakyeon all but jumped up.

“I’ll go! Thank you, doctor!” He hurried out quickly, and the doctor turned to wave at Seojun.

“Alright, Seojun-ssi. Get well soon, and be more careful in the future, alright?”

Seojun nodded, but didn’t have much interest left, turning to Taekwoon instead.

“I can eat now?”

Taekwoon nodded.

“At home, dear. We’re going home now. Come, let me get you dressed…”

Jaehwan helped Seojun sit up, getting up and making room for Taekwoon to help the boy get dressed. At least somewhat, since it was sheer impossible to get his shirt and jumper over the cast. In the end, he ended up wearing Sanghyuk’s jacket, which was big enough to wrap three times around the whole boy and dragged over the floor, but for some reason that fact delighted the child, and he wasn’t going to walk anyway.

In the meantime, Jaehwan texted Hongbin to get some chicken out of the freezer and the rice going, to which Hongbin replied with 31 distressed emojis and the question if Jaehwan wanted him to die if he messed up something in the sacred temple that was Jung Taekwoon’s kitchen.

Eventually, Hakyeon returned and they were ready to go, Seojun having become a very smug leather-jacket burrito in Taekwoon’s arms.

*#*#*#*

Wonshik looked up from where he was helping a rather sleepy Hyejin finish up her homework, which she had of course ignored while she was at her friend’s.

“Hongbin-ah? What’s wrong?” He asked his terrified-looking friend, who kept staring at his phone.

“Jaehwan-hyung wants me to cook rice and thaw some chicken.”

Wonshik frowned.

“So? What’s the problem?”

Hongbin finally ripped his eyes away from his phone, glaring at Wonshik.

“The problem is that this is Taekwoon-hyung’s kitchen, and I’m not a good cook! The last time I tried cooking rice in Taekwoon-hyung’s stead he basically banned me from cooking rice for the rest of my life!”

Wonshik shook his head.

“You have cooked rice again since then, though. And you didn’t destroy anything in the process, I know that much.”

Hongbin groaned, lowering his phone and tilting his head back over the back of the couch.

“I know, but I’m sure when I try to do it here it will go wrong again and hyung will skin me alive.”

Wonshik chuckled lightly, as well as Hyejin, who’d followed their exchange. They shared a look and an amused grin before Wonshik addressed Hongbin again.

“You’ll be fine, hyung’s rice cooker is the same model you have.”

Hongbin whined pitifully, making Hyejin laugh behind her hand. Wonshik gave her an admonishing look, but he, too was grinning.

“Can’t you do it instead?”

Wonshik shook his head.

“I’m helping Hyejin with her homework. Right, Hyejinie?”

The girl nodded seriously, demonstratively focusing on the book in front of her.

“I can help her instead!” Hongbin offered, sitting up quickly, but Wonshik shook his head.

“No. You’ll take too long figuring out what it’s about, and we want to be done here soon.”

“Come on! I’ll be able to figure out how to help a 3^rd grader with math in no time!”

It was Hyejin’s turn to speak up.

“Uncle Wonshik, I tried again but it still comes out the same. I can’t find the mistake…”

Wonshik pulled Hyejin’s book over to him, giving Hongbin a teasing look.

“I don’t know, Bin-ah… If you can’t even cook rice…!”

Hongbin groaned again, trying to throw a balled-up tissue that lay on the couch next to him at Wonshik. It didn’t even make it halfway there, falling to the floor inoffensively. He resigned, though, keeping himself from cursing Wonshik in front of the child and made his way to the kitchen.

The day had been going too well; even bathing Heejoon had worked out without incidents after he’d come home all muddy from the field-trip and with a gooey substance covering his arms that he hadn’t wanted to analyze further. Feeding Jieun had been no problem, and she hadn’t cried once all day, and Hyejin and Heejoon had loved the chicken he’d ordered for dinner, and even refrained from making a big mess (even though he had to keep Heejoon from feeding the dogs chicken as well). Everything had gone too well. Way too well. He should have expected that a disaster like this would be coming up.

Grumpily, but very carefully and methodically, he set up the rice to cook and the chicken to thaw. He didn’t know what would go wrong, but he was sure something would, and he hovered nearby anxiously until Wonshik dragged him out of the kitchen.

“You’re being ridiculous. You should go put Heejoon to bed instead, it’s not good for him to sleep on the couch.”

Hongbin pouted.

“Why don’t you do that?”

Wonshik rolled his eyes, pushing Hongbin into the living room.

“Because I’m not the one behaving ridiculously because of some rice!”

Huffing, Hongbin shrugged Wonshik off, but did as he suggested. Heejoon didn’t even wake up when he picked him up and carried him upstairs. He’d long since been changed into his pyjamas, but he’d insisted in waiting up for his parents for as long as he could. He hadn’t lasted long before he fell asleep on the couch, though.

Hongbin was just about to climb down the stairs again when he heard the key in the front door and Hyejin running towards it.

“Appa!” She exclaimed when Hakyeon pushed the door open and stepped inside. Hakyeon patted her head affectionately when she hugged him at waist height but maneuvered her out of the way gently to let the others coming up behind him through.

“Hey, Hyejinie.”

“Appa, where’s Seojun?”

Hakyeon steered her further out of the way so he could take his shoes off and come inside properly.

“Taekwoon appa is carrying him.” He nodded at Taekwoon who was just stepping inside, carrying a bundle of leather. Hyejin’s eyes widened as Taekwoon set him down and she recognized her brother, looking a bit disheveled and clutching the jacket around himself with a big, satisfied grin.

“Did you really break your arm?!” She asked, incredulous, and Seojun nodded, almost proudly.

“Did you get a cast?” Her eyes widened when Seojun nodded again.

“Yup! And uncle Jaehwan drew all the Pegasus on it!” He was getting ready to drop the jacket to the floor when Taekwoon took him by the shoulder’s and steered him further inside the house as well, away from the door.

“Seojunie, you can show everyone once you’ve actually gone inside. Come, we’re blocking the door and Sanghyuk and Jaehwan would like to get their shoes off as well!”

Neither child showed much interest to what he was saying, but they hurried into the living room anyway, where Seojun eventually let go of the jacket and showed off his cast to Hyejin.

“Whoa, amazing!” His sister marveled, and then poked the middle of the cast.

“Did that hurt?”

Seojun shook his head.

“Nope! I didn’t even feel it!”

Hyejin poked again, harder this time, and gave him a questioning look. With a big grin, Seojun shook his head.

“Still not! It’s like an armour, I’m invincible now!”

Hakyeon sighed, shaking his head.

“You are everything but invincible, Seojunie… You have to keep that arm still and rest a lot so it can heal, remember?”

Seojun pouted.

“But…”

“Ew. Resting and Seojun don’t go together.” Hyejin mused wisely, and Hakyeon gave her a chastising look.

“They will go together from now on. And as his noona, it is your responsibility, too, to make sure he doesn’t play too wildly when you’re playing together.”

Both siblings pouted and gave Hakyeon an unimpressed look.

Meanwhile. Taekwoon had picked up Sanghyuk’s jacket and draped it over the arm of the couch while he greeted Wonshik and Hongbin.

“Thank you for coming and looking after the kids…”

Wonshik smiled softly as he picked up Hyejin’s books and pencils.

“Of course, hyung. Don’t mention it.”

Taekwoon gave him a grateful nod.

“Jaehwan said he told you to set up the rice?”

Hongbin nodded.

“Yes. It’s in the cooker, and the chicken is thawing, too.”

Taekwoon rose an eyebrow at that.

“Unsupervised?”

Hongbin paled, fearing he’d messed up big time now, until Taekwoon chuckled and patted his shoulder as he passed him on his way to the kitchen.

“I’m just kidding, relax. Thank you, Bin-ah.”

Hongbin exhaled slowly, glaring at Taekwoon’s retreating form.

“I hate you, hyung!” He muttered, knowing himself out of earshot of the children.

Taekwoon prepared the food for Seojun quickly, knowing the boy was starving, and his son wasn’t even half way done with eating when he became too tired to keep going.

The parents brought both children to bed then, checking on the ones that were already sleeping, before they returned to the living room.

“I took the liberty to order some chicken for you guys as well. I put it in the oven to keep it warm and out of Seojunie’s sight.” Hongbin announced once Taekwoon and Hakyeon joined them again, and both looked like they wanted to kiss Hongbin in that moment.

Once everyone was settled around the kitchen table, the chicken heated up some more again, leftover rice distributed and a few side dishes brought out, the late feast started in relative silence. Of course, it was Jaehwan who eventually broke it.

“Hey, did y’all know our hyungs are that kind of parents that all doctors hate? Those that think themselves above all rules and on going everywhere with their kids?”

Hongbin groaned, shaking his head.

“I should have known it. I kind of did. What did they do now?”

Jaehwan chuckled, ignoring the murderous glares the two oldest were giving him.

“Taekwoon-hyung insisted on going with Seojun into the x-ray, and they had to put Seojun under out of the sterile section because he had to stay with him until the very last possible second. And Hakyeon-hyung was about to tear down doors and bite off heads to get answers just that fraction of a second sooner… So extra…!”

The three younger ones groaned, sighed and uttered various statements about how embarrassing their hyungs were, how they should send the hospital staff a fruit basket to apologize for their behavior, and how they could never go back there for fear of being associated with those embarrassing hyungs.

Hakyeon set his chopsticks down calmly, finding Taekwoon’s gaze across the table.

“Honey, I think I lost the keyring with the guest bedroom keys… All of them.”

It took Taekwoon only a second to understand what Hakyeon was doing, and he lifted a hand to cover his mouth slowly, feigning shock.

“Oh no! But… What should we do? The dogs always sleep on the couches; we can’t just tell them they have to sleep somewhere else now!”

Hakyeon clucked his tongue, letting his gaze wander over his dongsaengs.

“Too bad… It looks like you lot will be sleeping on the floor tonight… I hope the keys to the cabinets in the laundry room are where they’re supposed to be, or you won’t even get blankets…”