It’s Victoria’s first time working in the afternoon shift, and unfortunately she’s stuck teaching nine children with distinctive characters.

“Once upon at time,” Victoria begins and suddenly there’s a hushing sound that renders all the children silent. The group turns to face the culprit, who innocently stares back at their teacher.

“Thank you Seohyun,” Victoria says, much to the delight of the child who beams widely before continuing to munch on her sweet potatoes. She doesn’t miss the way that Jessica’s eyes dramatically roll backwards before shutting themselves closed.

Before she can continue her storytelling, a squeal interrupts the teacher who turns her head towards the two kids at the back, Yoona and Taeyeon, who are currently engaging in a tickle war. She sighs; the both of them are known as the resident troublemakers and although they are both adorable children (according to her co-worker, Luna), they’re nightmares whenever they’re together.

“Taeyeon, I want you to move to the front,” Victoria commands. The child gives her a loveable pout but the woman remains firm in her decision, pointing towards the spot she wants the child to sit and patiently waiting for her to move.

Taeyeon grumbles before toddling towards the front of the group and plopping down beside the ice princess, Jessica. At the sound of wrinkled plastic followed by the delightful cheer of “gummies!”, Jessica lazily opens her eyes and prepares herself to scream at the person who woke her from her precious sleep when she sees Taeyeon’s large brown eyes twinkling in happiness as she stuffs full of candy.

Victoria’s shocked to see Jessica immediately tackle Taeyeon and wrap her arms around the small girl, especially since she’s never seen them interact before. In fact, she doesn’t recall Jessica interacting with any other child (death glares and eye rolls don’t count).

“Taengoo!” the girl chirps and nuzzles her face into the poor child’s cheeks.

Victoria recovers from her surprise and sighs; at least it’s better than when Yoona and Taeyeon are sitting beside each other. She shudders as she remembers the time she had to explain to their parents why they were covered in marker lines all over their face and arms. She thanks God that they used whiteboard markers; she’s made sure to place the permanent markers on a very high shelf and she definitely does not want to know the repercussions of allowing the two kids to meddle with them. 

Once she makes sure that all the children are silent and listening, she continues the story.

“Once upon a time, there were nine princesses who lived in a place called Soshi Palace. Each princess had a distinctive character –”

“Teacher! What’s the stink ‘tive’?” Sunny inquires. Victoria gives her a confused look, causing Sunny to repeat her question.

“Oh! You mean ‘distinctive’?” Victoria replies and Sunny nods. “To be ‘distinctive’ is to be different, to have something that only you have.”

“So like, to be special?” Hyoyeon pipes up, a look of mischief displayed on her face.

“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”

“Yes!” Hyoyeon says, then turns to face Sooyoung. “I’m cool,” She boasts and Sooyoung dramatically fans her face and bats her small eyelashes.

“I’m flawless,” the child says and Hyoyeon scoffs.

“Did something go in your eye, giant?”

“Yah!” Sooyoung says and reaches forwards to slap the other girl when Victoria decides that damage control is needed before another mess occurs.

“Sooyoung, no slapping! Hyoyeon, do not say that to Sooyoung. I want the both of you to apologise to each other.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Sooyoung whines, crossing her arms in front of her and giving Victoria a look of upset.

“I know you didn’t, but you had the intention of slapping Hyoyeon and violence is not acceptable under any circumstance. Do you understand?” Victoria scolds, careful to use a clear and gentle tone. The girl nods, turns to face Hyoyeon and apologises, receiving an apology in return.

Victoria thinks she hears Sooyoung mutter ‘at least I’m taller than you will ever be’ under her breath, but it’s too faint to decipher correctly.

Making sure that all the children are not misbehaving, she returns her attention back to the story.

“Anyways, there were these nine princesses who were very different to each other. The 1^st princess was the oldest but also very child like. She was very caring but also a cheeky person and would play pranks on her sisters. The 2^nd princess was very cold when you first met her but was warm the more you knew her. She liked sleeping but didn’t like cucumbers.”

Jessica pulls a face of disgust at the mention of the green vegetable and adorably scrunches her face. Victoria silently chuckles at the reaction.

“The 3^rd princess was the shortest and very careful when she spoke to others. She listened to her sister’s problems but would also annoy them by acting cute. The 4^th princess was the most mother-like sister and would keep her siblings in check whenever they were up to no good. She also liked the colour pink.”

At the mention of the word ‘pink’, she sees Tiffany’s eyes brighten before grinning at her teacher.

“No Tiffany, you can’t have it. It’s a story,” Victoria says and immediately feels a tinge of guilt when she sees the happiness deflate from the small girl. However, the frown is quickly replaced by another smile as she crushes the girl beside her.

Yuri yelps in surprise and spills the cup of ma juice in her hands.

“Yu-wee peed her pants! Wee Wee!” Sunny squeals and shifts away from the poor girl.

Victoria sighs and stands up from her seat. She walks over to the door, pokes her head into the hallway and calls out to Luna to help. The younger woman enters and the older teacher briefs her on what happened, shaking her head when Luna tries to stifle a giggle behind her hands. The younger teacher scans the crowd of children before she notices something amiss and a frown is adorned on her face.

“How come Yoona and Taeyeon aren’t sitting next to each other?” Luna asks, holding an outstretched hand out for Yuri to take.

“They’re always mucking around with each other – and no that’s not adorable Luna,” Victoria replies, raising an eyebrow at how Luna’s face brightens up at the children’s actions.

“But they’re so cute!” Luna squeals. Victoria can imagine the hearts coming out of her colleague’s eyes, so she waves a hand to dismiss the woman before she’s given an argument to convince her that Taeyeon and Yoona are delightful kids (Victoria wants to believe they’re Satan’s children).

“Continuing on from before, the 5^th princess was the one who easily got along with others. She was one of the more energetic sisters, had no shame and took pride in everything she did. The 6^th princess was one of the more fit sisters and always made sure to exercise every morning and every evening. She liked to drink lots of juice.”

“Juice?” Yuri calls out, re-entering the classroom with Luna in hand. She totters over to the group and plops down beside Hyoyeon and away from Tiffany, who pouts at her.

Victoria’s about to continue the story when she notices her co-worker still in the room, her brow still furrowed as she stares at 2 particular individuals that are currently not sitting together.

“What are you doing?” She whispers.

Luna shrugs.

“I need my daily dose of YoonTae,” She replies and instructs Yoona to sit on the other side of Taeyeon before leaving the room.

Victoria groans; it’s never a good idea to put the two rascals together.

When Yoona settles down beside Taeyeon, the older girl flashes her a cheeky smile. Yoona returns the favour by repeatedly poking her chin.

“Where ish the dimple?” Yoona asks, showing no signs of stopping her actions.

“Where ish…the ?” Taeyeon misinterprets, completely befuddled by her friend’s question.

Victoria gasps; she’s astounded that Taeyeon knows such an ‘adult’ word and can pronounce it correctly.

“Taeyeon!” She reprimands, staring down at the child who is wearing an innocent facial expression coupled with a look of bewilderment.

“But Yoongie asked where the –”

“No!” Victoria raises her voice at the child, stopping her from repeating her question. She immediately feels horrible when Taeyeon’s bottom lip juts out and is astounded when the young child begins to loudly wail – she’s never seen or heard Taeyeon cry before. She reaches out a hand to pacify the girl when an icy glare is sent her way and Jessica wraps her arms around her friend. Disregarding the frightening look, she removes a hand from Taeyeon’s face to prevent her from vigorously rubbing her eyes.

“I’m sorry Taeyeon,” Victoria conveys sincerely and wipes a tear with the pad of her thumb. A knock on the door causes all the heads in the room excluding Taeyeon’s to turn to the door.

Victoria’s shocked when Krystal enters and Jessica waddles over, desperately clutching onto her legs whilst pointing an accusing stubby finger at the other teacher in the room. falls open at the sight of her co-worker softly calling for Taeyeon, who glances up, blinks through her tears and shyly waves before making her way over. Krystal scoops the tiny girl into her arms and lightly caresses her hair before planting a kiss on the child’s head.

“Is Taeyeonnie scared?” The woman says softly. Taeyeon nods and buries her head into the space between Krystal’s neck and her collarbone.

“It’s okay Taeyeonnie; Soojung-unnie will buy you candy after class is over, okay?” Krystal coos, patting the girl’s back in a reassuring manner.

“Thank you Soojung Unnie,” Taeyeon mumbles, although her pronunciation makes it sound like she’s saying her own nickname aloud at the beginning of the sentence. The child pushes herself away from the adult to create enough space between them before planting one big wet smooch on the woman’s cheek. Jessica’s eyes zero in on the action and she begins to blubber.

“Unnie,” Jessica whines, clutching desperately onto Krystal’s legs. Her sister chuckles; it’s rare to find Jessica jealous of anything. She lightly nudges the girl in her arms, who turns her head to look down at Jessica.

“Sooyeon be happy like Taengoo.”

She fumbles around her pocket and extracts the unfinished packet of candy. Taeyeon selects a clear gummy bear from the packet and holds out a chubby little hand to her friend, watching in anticipation as Jessica’s face transitions from a look of confusion to surprise to delight.

Krystal carefully places Taeyeon on the floor so that Jessica can reach the other child more easily.

“Clear ish the closest thing to white,” Taeyeon says.

Krystal and Victoria are terrified when Jessica lunges forward and embraces Taeyeon so tightly that her sister reaches forwards to unwrap her death grip around the poor girl.

“Sooyeonnie, you’re holding onto Taeyeonnie very tightly,” Krystal speaks softly, causing Jessica to unlatch herself from Taeyeon. She flashes a bright smile towards her friend and pulls her to sit down in their previous spots. Jessica places a protective arm around Taeyeon’s shoulders in case Victoria sets her off again, and the teacher gulps before continuing the story.

“Moving on, the 7^th princess was the tallest out of all her sisters. She loved eating and would always be seen with food in her hands. She didn’t like it when other people took her food. The 8^th princess was a very cheeky child and would prank people with her eldest sister. She also liked to eat and would throw her head back whenever she found something funny. The last princess, the 9^th princess, was the youngest but the most well-mannered sister. She was very careful with what she ate and scolded others when they weren’t eating healthily. She loved reading books.”

“Boring!” Sunny says, and begins to tug on the packet of potato chips that Sooyoung picked out of her pocket.

“Sunny, reading is not –”

“Vics, time’s up. Their parents are here.” Amber pokes her head into the classroom and waves at Hyoyeon and Yuri, who eagerly wave back in response. Victoria groans; she was just about to begin the story after introducing the characters.

“Fine, you kids can go home now,” Victoria says in defeat and stands up from her chair. Hyoyeon, Yuri and Sunny immediately run out the door with their small backpacks in hand. They hurriedly say goodbye to their teachers as their footsteps resonate through the corridor towards the entrance of the child care centre where their parents are patiently waiting to pick up their children.

Jessica brightens up upon the announcement and pulls on Taeyeon’s hand before making their way towards her sister. A hand bunched into the back of Taeyeon’s shirt prevents her from moving forwards however, and the smaller girl turns around to face Yoona’s sad eyes.

“Taeng ish mine,” Yoona says defensively, stepping forwards and possessively wrapping her tiny arms around Taeyeon’s waist.

Jessica’s nostrils flare up.

“No, Taengoo ish mine,” She says, tugging on Taeyeon’s wrist so that she can move forwards.

“No, mine!”

“Mine!”

They then notice the terms of endearment they had used to address the girl in between them before launching into another childish argument.

“Taeng ish better than Taengoo!”

“No, Taengoo ish a better name!”

“Taetae ish mine!” A loud voice exclaims, causing three heads to turn in her direction. Tiffany moves forwards and removes Yoona’s and Jessica’s arms around Taeyeon. She holds the poor child in question behind her back and fiercely glares at the other 2 girls. Tiffany gulps when Jessica flashes her an icy glare, but doesn’t back down. Sensing the danger, Taeyeon looks at her surroundings for help.

“Sooyoungie, play with me!” Taeyeon calls out, only to be rejected at the sight of Sooyoung’s mouth watering from the food she has discovered in her bag that she devours in seconds. She turns back to face the three girls remaining in a death stare contest with each other and feels scared.

Krystal comes to Taeyeon’s rescue by picking her up in her arms, smiling widely when the child nestles her head onto her shoulders and lightly pushes up the woman’s body to seek comfort.

“Come on Sooyeonnie, we’re going to be late to dinner with the Kims. Mummy said we need to be there so Taeyeonnie can take a bath before we eat. Plus, I need to buy Taeyeonnie the candy I promised,” Krystal calls out, watching in amusement as the three girls look up at her before Jessica runs to her and holds her hand. She walks her sister out of the classroom and can’t contain her laughter when Jessica decides to turn around and stick her tongue out at Yoona and Tiffany over her victory of winning Taeyeon.

Taeyeon lifts her head from Krystal’s shoulders and just manages to say “Bye Yoongie! Bye Fany!” before she’s no longer in sight.

Yoona grumbles and turns to face Tiffany.

“You’re a pig!” She shrieks before running out of the room. It takes Tiffany three seconds to register Yoona’s words before her voice can be heard all over the child care centre as she chases the cackling girl.

Throughout the commotion, Victoria runs a weary hand through her hair whilst her other hand tiredly rubs her eyes. She yawns and it takes her a while to notice that there’s only one child left in the classroom.

“Yes Seohyun? Did you lose something?”

Seohyun seems to be deep in thought before her eyes brighten up and she looks up at her teacher.

“Is the story about the nine of us?” the child asks.

Victoria chuckles; out of all the children she’s had to look after, Seohyun is by far the most intelligent. She nods and Seohyun squeals in delight before hugging her teacher’s legs and rushing out of the room, not without a ‘see you tomorrow teacher’ as she hastily puts on her shoes.

At the end of the day, Seohyun is the only child who diligently listened to her teacher.

Victoria groans; given the nature of the class, she’s never going to finish the made-up story at this point.

A/N: Let me know which moment you guys liked the most in this one-shot.

Also, bonus points if you manage to find the Instagram hint that I included in this one-shot (Hint: it includes a pairing that is adorably childish in real life and a recent Instagram chat session)(well, not so recent anymore since I edited this one-shot AHAHAHA).