“MOM” 

“Uh?” - Heeyeon snapped. She was supposedly watching over the boys when her mind decided to drift off to old memories - “What’s wrong baby?”

“I’m not a baby” - Eunhyuk frowned annoyed and folded his arms 

“Can we borrow your paints?” - Donghae rushed to say - “Please?”

“We won’t break them” - Sungmin reassured - “Or lost it. We will be careful”

“Paint?” - Heeyeon was still too confused to think properly 

“For tomorrow’s class” - Eunhyuk shrank shoulders - “We want to paint with our friends”

“Alright but why—-“

There was a crashing sound. It wasn’t followed by crying, so… it meant there was probably no one injured. 

“HENWY BAD!” - the twins accused their little brother really quick 

“Henry” - Leeteuk was cleaning what it looked like a broken flower pot - “Do this again and I will spank your ”

Henry ran to hide behind his mom. So far, she was the only one that would remain calm towards him whatever he did. 

Heeyeon was trying to prevent the kids would get hurt from the broken pieces of the pot but it was hard to handle so many boys at once. 

“Mom, can we—-“

“Yes, baby” - Heeyeon just wanted to get rid of the triplets as soon as possible - “Just go play upstairs, ok?”

“Cool!”- The boys chirped happily 

“Do you need help?” - Heeyeon said softly as Leeteuk cleaned the floor in a bad mood 

“No” - It was a short and cold answer… meaning he didn’t really want to talk at the moment. Heeyeon realized that she should focus on the boys. 

Henry was up to something again. Heeyeon could tell that whatever he was thinking… it was probably nothing good. Lately, the toddler had gotten incredibly naughty and daring. Heechul and Leeteuk were only half right when they said Henry would go back to diapers out of pure frustration when he found out the baby was indeed… a baby. 

Again, they were only half right. Unlike the twins, who were the type of kids who would experience unwanted regressions when they felt overwhelmed… Henry was in total control of the situation. So, it wasn’t like he would have ‘accidents’. He would actually provoke them or use them wisely to create the bigger amount of chaos possible. That meant that diapering him back to avoid having wet furniture was a must… but not an infallible solution. The toddler knew what to do to get his own way. 

“Henry, baby” - Heeyeon tried to sound as calm and soothing as she could - “Do you need to go potty? Do you need to pee?”

The toddler glanced at her with a poker face and shook his head. 

“Henry, I think you do need to pee” - Heeyeon was getting frustrated. If something troubled her, was knowing the toddler would rather hurt himself than allow them to ‘win’ - “It’s bad for your body to hold back like that, you know? You could get reaaaaaally hurt”

Henry decided to change tactics and ignore her. Heeyeon was beyond scared. 

“Henry” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “Y-you could get sick, y-you know?”

Again, another refusal. At least this time the boy did looked at her… but only to shrank shoulders like saying ‘I don’t care’.

“Don’t worry” - Leeteuk found them - “He will eventually let go and wet himself”

“I truly hate this” - In the few months Heeyeon had as a parent, she quickly learned how important was to little kids to evacuate properly. Her own personal reminder was playing with her hair at her back. 

“Kyunnie, stop messing with mommy’s hair” - Leeteuk smiled a bit seeing the toddler so focused on curling Heeyeon’s hair around his little fingers - “Why don’t you go play with your twin?”

“Wookie busy” - Kyuhyun left out - “He wen’ ouzzide”

“OUTSIDE?” 

“Lookin’ for antz ” - Kyuhyun nodded like if it was nothing 

“I’m gonna kill that brat” - Leeteuk said in a low voice as he headed to the garden - “Where is Yesung? He was supposed to look after the twins”

“He is in the shower” - Kangin told the former babysitter 

“Still?” - Leeteuk rolled his eyes - “Maybe we should go knock the door to see if he haven’t drown” 

“Ohhhh! I can do that!” - Kangin jumped out of the chair and ran upstairs. He loved the idea of bothering Yesung. 

“Please Henry” - Heeyeon was almost begging - “Just go pee…” 

She was trying her best to make the toddler pee. 

“No diapey” - Henry grunted when his mom tickled him 

“Fine” - Heeyeon agreed - “Potty?”

“No powy” - Henry refused again 

“If and only ‘If’ I take your diaper off… where do you plan peeing?” - Heeyeon suspected the answer. She was just trying to make sure. 

Henry pointed at the couch. Heeyeon left out a tired sigh. Kyuhyun giggled. 

“Henry, you can’t ‘go’ there” 

“Awkziden’ “ 

“It’s not an accident if you do it on purpose”

“No pee” - Henry folded his arms. 

Again, Heeyeon was extremely worried and running out of options. Leeteuk returned holding a cheerful toddler full of dirt. 

“He was digging holes in the backyard trying to look for ants” - Leeteuk was exhausted - “Lucky for us, he didn’t find them”

“Why are you looking for ants?” - Heeyeon found funny the cute boy would give silly smiles to his clearly upset uncle 

“He wants to ‘play’ with them” - Leeteuk shook his head - “I blame Heechul for this one”

“I should give them a bath” - Heeyeon smiled softly as Kyuhyun hugged his full of dirt twin despite hating getting dirty 

“Wubblez” - Henry ran after her too. Leeteuk rolled his eyes. Upset and misbehaving… Henry was still their cute toddler after all. 

“Mmmm” - Heeyeon doubted it when the youngest toddler asked her to join - “Would you go pee first, please? I don’t want you to pee in the bathtub”

“Ewww” - The twins agreed with her 

Henry sighed. He nodded. 

“Fine” - Heeyeon smiled pleased - “Do you want me to help you go potty?”

Another nod. 

“See? It’s not that hard” - Heeyeon said to herself- “all you gotta do is try harder…”

“I HAVE TERRIBLE NEWS” - Heechul came back from the parents meeting at school - “LIKE, HORRIBLE NEWS”

“What did you do now?” - Leeteuk glanced at Kangin who shrank shoulders with a confused face 

“I have been selected to direct a play” - Heechul was aiming for the whipped cream but Heeyeon slapped his hand - “ A PLAY!”

“It can’t be that bad” - Heeyeon giggled - “I could help you”

“Babe, they are first graders! Of course it’s going to be bad!” - Heechul was pulling his hair - “THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!”

“Wait” - Siwon was wearing a bright happy face - “Are you directing OUR play? YAY!”

“No! No!” - Heechul whined - “I don’t have time for this!”

“We are doing Snow White” - Siwon jumped happily - “I’m going to audition for the prince” 

“Awww” - Heeyeon was excited - “You are so handsome” 

“Pfff” - Kangin rolled his eyes - “That’s so gross. He is going to kiss a girl” 

“No, no” - Heechul rushed to say - “No real kiss allowed in this play. I don’t want the parents of the girl playing Snow White knocking my door to complain”

“I guess you already thought of it” - Leeteuk giggled - “Meaning you already know you WILL direct this play” 

“I hate my life” - Heechul bumped his head against the table on purpose. The twins whined and held their own heads like complaining it hurt. 

“Wait” - Sungmin frowned - “If you are not directing OUR play… who is in charge?” 

“Oh, that would be your aunt” - Heechul left out - “Mina”

“WHAT” - Eunhyuk widened his eyes in panic - “DADDY! That’s BAD!”

“Why? She was so eager to do so” - Heechul rolled his eyes - “He even offered herself, you know” 

“You didn’t offer yourself for mine?” - Siwon pouted 

“No, of course not” - Heechul sighed - “Usually no one wants to direct this kind of plays involving children. I just ‘won’ the lottery because I participated in a lot of them…”

“Well, it was harder to not get selected considering you have six boys attending that school” - Leeteuk teased - “but I’m glad for you and Mina. I’m sure you will do a great job” 

“IM NOT” - Eunhyuk seemed troubled - “She will give the bigger role to Mimi!” 

“You mean the lead role” - Heeyeon corrected 

“It’s not fair” - Donghae sulked - “I wanted to do so” 

“Yeah” - Eunhyuk sighed - “I practiced hard”

“Well, I think is normal to want your kid to have the lead role” - Heeyeon tried 

“Does that mean I already have the role I want?” - Siwon looked at Heechul with big pleading eyes 

“Ugh, no” - Heechul shook his head - “You have to audition for it like everyone else. I’m not going to play favorites just because you are my child”

“Woohoo” - Kangin chuckled - “That sounds like fun”

“But… I’m your son” - Siwon was a little hurt - “And mom says is normal to want your child to have a the big role”

“Lead role” - Heeyeon smiled - “But your dad is right. He shouldn’t play favorites”

“But aunt Mina will play favorites” - Eunhyuk complained - “Why do you think she offered herself? Mimi at acting! He would have never gotten the role if she wasn’t directing the play” 

“Honey” - Leeteuk pouted - “He is your cousin. Why can’t you be happy for him?”

“Cuz is unfair!”

“I’m sure there are other roles you could try…” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “Which one you wanted?”

“The prince!” - Eunhyuk yelled 

“The little mermaid!” - Donghae shouted excited 

“Well” - Heechul raised an eyebrow - “You are definitely not getting cast as the little mermaid, Donghae”

“MY LIFE SSSSSSUUUUUUCKS!” - Donghae ‘melted’ on the floor and started to cry

“Minnie, you are too quiet” - Leeteuk glanced at the calm triplet - “Weren’t you aiming for a lead role too?”

“Mmm, I wanted to” - Sungmin sighed - “But if Aunt Mina is directing the play, I guess I will end being a cute background coral. There are not trees under the sea”

“You don’t seem sad” - Heeyeon worried the boy was hiding his true feelings - “Are you giving up or you actually want to be a background coral?”

“Not any ‘coral’, mama” - Sungmin stretched - “The cutest one” 

“Oh, there you are!” - Leeteuk changed the subject by accident when Yesung showed up - “Where were you?”

“Showering” 

“Again?!” - Leeteuk scoffed - “Yesung, you sure are lucky your father is rich. If not, water bill would end us” 

“I will try to take lesser time” - Yesung said annoyed - “why is Donghae crying on the floor?”

“I WONT BE THE LITTLE MERMAID!”

“Oh, the stupid plays” - Kangin laughed - “It’s that time of the year again. Guess what: Dad is directing Siwon’s one”

“Oh” - Yesung forced an smile - “Yeah, those silly plays”

“Which one are you doing, baby?” - Heeyeon asked him cutely 

“None” - Yesung looked away - “I mean, I won’t participate. I never do. My class is going to do a musical” 

“Don’t you love singing?” - Heechul was eating something he managed to steal from the kitchen - “I thought you would like it this year” 

“Why would you want to join that crap?” - Kangin laughed - “That’s for nerds and silly kids”

“I’m glad you mention it” - Heechul chuckled - “you see, you forgot one category. It includes kids that ‘forgot’ to submit their art homework and now have to participate”

“No way” - Kangin let himself fall on a chair in a very dramatic way - “No f—“

“Say that word and you will be grounded until the plays are over” - Leeteuk was covering the twins ears just in case - “And is not the end of the world, honey”

“I’m glad you also think like that” - Heechul left out a silly nervous laugh - “Oh, you are not going to believe this”

“No” - Leeteuk could see it coming- “You didn’t!”

“They said they needed someone to help control Kangin and I—- I ALREADY HAVE MY HANDS FULL WITH THE FIRST GRADERS!”

“It can’t be…” - Leeteuk was now sharing Kangin and Donghae’s dramatic act - “Why me?”

“See the bright side! You are third in the list! There is no way you will end directing that play” - Heechul tried 

“Oh, trust me” - Kangin burrowed his face on his knees - “He will. Those parents who came out first will look out for an excuse to flee”

“Sweetie, why didn’t you write my name?” - Heeyeon pouted - “I’m free, you know” 

“You are pregnant” - Heechul said like it was common sense. Leeteuk nodded in agreement.

“I know” - Heeyeon pointed at her belly - “but, uhm, I could be helpful. I have experience—“

“Heeyeon, that’s out of the question” - Heechul sighed - “You don’t need additional stress. You have enough exposure to risks living with us” 

“Well, maybe not being totally in charge of the play but… I still can go and help, right?”

“There is no need for that” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “How hard could it be?” 

“Oh, hi! I’m Leeteuk! Kangin’s un—-“

“Great! You are here!” - an old woman basically shoved a giant script book on Leeteuk’s chest - “There you go. Everything you need is written down there”

“T-there must be a mistake” - Leeteuk laughed nervously - “I’m not in charge of this play. I came as support. I’m the third—“

“The other two already quitted” - Kangin hissed from behind - “I warned you they would do so” 

“Honey” - Leeteuk tried to keep up an smile - “Don’t make it harder”

“Hurry up” - The old woman clapped her hands - “It’s time to pick up the roles”

“What about the auditions?” - Leeteuk whispered to Kangin

“There are no such things in second grade” - Kangin folded his arms - “I told you. No one wants to do this!”

“So… none of you are participating willingly?”

“Nope” - Kangin shook his head - “Well, most of us. I’m pretty sure some weirdo actually asked for this… but most of us are just being punished”

“Oh, good” - Leeteuk smiled nervously one more time - “I get to direct a play in which all kids are the problematic kind” 

“Heechul, we need to talk” - Mina showed up at the first year practice room with three guilty looking kindergarten boys - “Now”

“Did you already go through the auditions? How fast” - Heechul scratched his head with a pencil - “Mine are still practicing” 

“Aunt Mina gave the lead role to Mimi!” - Eunhyuk blurted out - “and he !”

“She won’t let me be the little mermaid!” - Donghae protested 

“Oh, did they start sabotaging you already?” - Heechul was half laughing until he caught up to Eunhyuk’s clearly distressed face - “Wait, you let them audition, right?”

Eunhyuk shook his head. Donghae looked down. Sungmin was hiding his hands behind his back with a blank expression. 

“No, I didn’t” - Mina admitted - “but not because I didn’t want to. They were grounded by the time I arrived” 

“Grounded? Why?”

“Because they brought Heeyeon’s nail polish to the school and charged their friends in exchange for a manicure” 

“Boys” - Heechul frowned - “Seriously? Stealing your mom’s nail polish and making money out of your friends?”

“Ugh, no” - Sungmin finally said something - “It’s not like that. We didn’t ‘steal’ anything. Mom said it was fine to borrow her paints”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t know what you meant” - Heechul sighed in a tired way 

“And we didn’t charge our friends! Friends from our class don’t have to pay!” - Donghae explained - “Just the girls from other classes!”

“Anyway, they were grounded and didn’t get the chance to audition on the first round” - Mina cleared - “the three of them got casted in nice side roles… but now they refuse to cooperate”

“I won’t play a stupid bird” - Eunhyuk rolled his eyes - “Why is there even a pidgeon in this play?” 

“It’s not a pidgeon” - Mina said sternly - “Scuttle is a seagull” 

“At least I get to be Nemo” - Donghae nodded 

“No, you are Flounder” - Mina tried again - “The cute yellow fish, remember?”

“Oh” - Donghae seemed to realize it now - “Right, we are doing  the little mermaid… can I be a mermaid?” 

“And Sungmin is Sebastian” - Mina rushed her explanation as she was losing her patience - “He has tons of lines to practice” 

“Poor Sebastian is always under stress” - Sungmin said thoughtfully- “I guess being a nanny is not easy” 

“You tell that to your uncle” - Heechul agreed - “And boys, be nice to your aunt. I bet she had her own reasons to choose Mimi for the lead role! Even if you didn’t get the one you wanted… let’s work hard, ok?”

“Fine” - Eunhyuk rolled his eyes - “I’m going to be the best sea pidgeon you have ever seen”

“You will be the first” - Heechul teased 

“Seagull” - Mina said softly - “You are a seagull” 

Soon after the kinder team was gone, Kibum approached his uncle. 

“You know” - Kibum leaned on him - “Mimi does at acting. I’m pretty sure mom wasn’t fair about the casting and so”

“I know what you doing” - Heechul shook his head as he inspected the script - “But it won’t work with me. I won’t fall for it” 

“Im just saying I have found a way to bother her” - Kibum shrank shoulders - “In case you want revenge or something”

“No” - Heechul scoffed - “Kibum, your mom and I are friends” 

“But it’s fun to ” - Kibum grinned 

“Yes, it is” - Heechul admitted 

“We would have so much fun” - Kibum insisted - “Besides, You could also annoy my dad as well” 

Heechul bit his lips. Would he actually fall for it? Playing along with his nephew wicked mind just to annoy his brother and his sister in law? 

“So? How was the first—-“ - Heeyeon could tell judging by their faces - “That bad?”

“They were a mess” - Leeteuk fell on the couch 

“It , Mom” - Eunhyuk was clearly annoyed - “I’m a stupid bird and Donghae is a stupid fish! Sungmin is a stupid crab!”

“Oh, Sebastian is not stupid” - Sungmin shook his head - “He is smart”

“Aunt Mina won’t let me be the little mermaid” - Donghae folded his arms - “or Nemo!”

“Nemo is not even from that movie” - Leeteuk muttered with his face still facing the couch 

“Seems like first day was hard, huh?” - Heeyeon looked at the other boys 

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad” - Kangin nodded - “I mean, I even got a good role” 

“Really?”

“We are doing Beauty and the beast” - Kangin announced - “and I’m beast” 

“Cool! You got a lead role!” - Heeyeon congratulated him - “You must be so happy!”

“Yeah, I didn’t really want lead roles since they have too many dialogues” - Kangin did a face and then lightened up - “But I get to be a jerky hairy beast! I can misbehave and be rude, and the costume is so hairy!”

“Lovely” - Heeyeon tried to smile - “Siwon?”

“I’m the prince” - Siwon said with a poker face 

“But that’s what you wanted!” - Eunhyuk whined - “Why aren’t you happy?”

“You will never guess who is playing Snow White”

Next day, Heeyeon was alone at home when someone rang the bell. 

“Heeyeon, hi” - Mina greeted her softly - “How are you and Cherry doing?”

“We survived another night with her ninja brothers” - Heeyeon teased - “Heechul is not here now. He should be at work. Should be. You never know” 

“It’s fine, I didn’t come to talk to him” - Mina shrank shoulders - “I wanted to talk to you” 

“Me?” - Heeyeon shook her head- “Mina, I—“

“It’s about the play” 

“Oh, I know. But there is nothing I can do about that” - Heeyeon did a face - “You see, Heechul is in charge of that play and he gets to cast whoever he wants as Snow White” 

“It’s not about Kibum wearing a silly dress” - Mina bit her lips 

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Of course it does” - Mina forced herself to smile - “But I’m also sure this was Kibum’s idea to begin with. Heechul is naughty but my son is the wicked one” 

“Huh” - Heeyeon found funny Mina would admit so 

“I came here to ask you for advice” - Mina said calmly - “You are good at these type of stuff. I… this is not my field”

“And even so, you volunteered” - Heeyeon said dreamily - “Did you really do it for Mimi?”

“He is my son” - Mina nodded with her eyes closed - “I would do anything for him” 

“Stop this madness” - Donghee was chasing Heechul around the practice room while the older brother inspected the prop - “My son won’t go out wearing a dress with short hair” 

“Of course, he won’t” - Heechul rummaged in a Bag and took something out - “He will wear a wig” 

“Why didn’t you cast him as a dwarf or something else? Why Snow White?”

“Because he is cute” - Heechul teased - “and he is actually good at acting! If it wasn’t for the fact he auditioned for the female lead role, he would had been the prince” 

“Yeah, right” 

“Oh, Donghee… don’t tell me you are one of those parents!” - Heechul’s voice was full of mischief 

“How would you feel if Donghae got casted as the little mermaid?!”

“Relieved, actually” 

Both brothers laughed. 

“Look, I’m not mad” - Donghee sighed - “I’m just worried. My little boy going around dressed like a girl in front of the whole school? What If they start teasing him after it? What if they start bullying my boy?”

“Honestly? Poor of them!” - Heechul grinned - “I wouldn’t dare to mess up with Kibum” 

“He is my son but I do admit he is scary” - Donghee half agreed - “Still, he doesn’t stop being a boy” 

“Here is the problem” - Mina was still at their house having a tea party with Heeyeon - “I recorded it”

“Oh, our boys really ignore you” - Heeyeon felt a little embarrassed seeing how the triplets messed up the instructions on purpose - “I will—“

“Not them” - Mina blushed as she pointed at the other boy in the video - “Him”

“Mimi?” - Heeyeon focused on the boy. Well, it was true the kid should get some acting classes… - “He is… cute” 

“We are friends, ok?” - Mina bit her lips - “I have eyes and ears too. I know he is my son and I love him more than anything in the world… but he is terrible” 

“I wouldn’t say so” - Heeyeon tried - “Maybe he just need a little practice” 

“Oh common, even your twins would be able to remember the script” - Mina left out a tired sigh - “We have been practicing at home too… even before the play actually started! And truth to be told… I wouldn’t be surprised if MOMO managed to say the lines first” 

“Ok” - Heeyeon placed aside her cup of tea - “How do I help you?” 

“I don’t know” - Mina shrank shoulders - “I have tried everything I could think of but I can’t just tell my boy he is not good enough… I just tell him he needs to work hard and practice… and he does… but doesn’t really improve…” 

“I have an idea” - Heeyeon tried - “Today after school, I will go with you to the practice and see what we can do” 

“Heechul won’t like that idea” 

“He has nothing to say” - Heeyeon said coldly - “I need to get out of this house before I turn crazy. I mean, crazier” 

“Fine” - Mina agreed - “I know how it is” 

Heechul was supposed to be at work. He wasn’t. That morning he went to the school to check on the props and prepare the practice room for the kids rehearsal. He complained a lot about having to direct the first graders play… but he wasn’t a quitter and he was definitely not going to do a ty job. He had his own weird pride when it came to things like that. 

Running into his brother was just pure coincidence. Or maybe Donghee knew him well enough to know he would be there. Nevermind. He didn’t care. However… what wasn’t planned at all… was walking pass the gym class. Heechul grinned seeing the kids play. He was wearing a silly smile until he noticed Yesung was sitting on a bench. Alone. 

“Yesung” 

Father instinct kicked in. He didn’t think twice and opened the door only to be met by several confused looks. 

“Mr Kim?” - The gym teacher recognized him - “Oh, did Yesung call? I didn’t know he—“

“N-no” - Heechul shook his head slightly as he noticed the panicked look on Yesung’s face - “He didn’t…? Why would he?”

“He said he had an stomachache” 

“You do?!” - Heechul ran to the kid - “Quickly, where does it hurt? On a scale from one to—“

“Dad” - Yesung blushed - “Not here” 

“Fine… uhm…” - Heechul looked around - “I-I will take him home with me” 

“Sure” - the teacher agreed - “Yesung, go pick your stuff. I hope you feel better soon…”

“Thanks” - Yesung said shyly as he looked down unable to face them 

“So…” - Heechul was whispering on the halls - “Don’t you want to try going… you know” 

“If you say ‘potty’, I will bury myself in the backyard once we get home” - Yesung turned deep red - “I’m not a baby” 

“I know” - Heechul cleared his throat - “But even adults get constipated all time. I remember once I—“

“Dad, please” - Yesung begged - “Don’t” 

“Wait. Where does it hurt…?” - Heechul was getting paler - “Not on the lower right… that could be the appendix!”

“Dad, I don’t need a surgeon” - Yesung found his backpack - “I’m fine” 

“When was the last time you got a shot?” - Heechul was checking the medical appointment calendar on his phone - “Mmm it can’t be a side effect if you got it like two weeks ago, right?”

“Look, I’m fine” - Yesung said straightforwardly - “I lied, ok? I’m not in pain” 

“Oh” 

“Sorry for worrying you” - Yesung gulped down - “I just… didn’t expect you would show up” 

“I always show up” - Heechul misunderstood and got hurt 

“When we call, yes” - Yesung explained - “But I didn’t and I thought my teacher wouldn’t bother you over an stomachache. I’m in fourth grade, this is not daycare” 

“Your teacher didn’t call me” - Heechul sighed - “It was pure coincidence. I came here to check on the props I can use for the play” 

“You are actually doing it, huh” 

“Come to think of it” - Heechul tilted his head - “I truly believed Troy Bolton lived at my house. You know basketball and singing” 

“Troy Bolton” - Yesung was half amused - “the guy from high school musical?”

“ yeah” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “I thought you would take part in the musical your class is preparing” 

“Why would I?” - Yesung was putting on his seat belt 

“Because you like singing and you are good at it?” - Heechul tried - “And you are a lot more confident now” 

“I was” - Yesung said in a low voice 

“Yesung, is there something you haven’t been telling us?” - Heechul saw him using the mirror - “What are you hiding from us?” 

“Nothing” - the boy clearly lied - “It’s nothing” 

“Well, uhm… if you ever want to talk” - Heechul offered help without judging. Heeyeon told him that since Yesung was a pre teen now, they needed to approach him carefully or he would stop sharing his concerns with them - “I listen. You know. Just chill. No judging” 

Yesung rolled his eyes and sighed. Heechul worried. 

“What on—-“ 

“I promised Mina I would go help her” - Heeyeon was busy getting ready to go out - “And you guys need to go to the school anyway” 

“Yeah but…” - Leeteuk glanced at the toddlers - “Them?” 

“We can’t leave them alone and I didn’t find a babysitter” - Heeyeon pouted - “My mom ignores my calls and your parents have been avoiding us for over a week now”

“Mm, right” - Leeteuk turned to Heechul - “I still blame you for that”

“Why?” - Heechul shook his head - “I didn’t do anything!”

“ Seriously? Last time mom was here she was with YOU” - Leeteuk prickled him - “And then she left and haven’t bothered to come by” 

“I did nothing!”

“Oh, sweetie” - Heeyeon saw the very moment Kyuhyun held his big penguin plush - “I don’t think is a good idea to bring Wewi with us today” 

“Why?” - Kyuhyun sulked 

“Because there will be many other kids” - Heeyeon tried - “and your plushie is so cute everyone would want to play with it” 

Kyuhyun gasped and hugged his plush tightly. He seemed to be having a hard time saying goodbye to it… but he understood. His twin was busier creating chaos before leaving. 

“Tawe diz!” - Ryeowook shot a cute plastic arrow at Leeteuk 
 
“RYEOWOOK” - Leeteuk almost cursed as another arrow hit his back - “HEECHUL, I DONT KNOW WHATS GOING ON WITH HIM LATELY BUT IM PRETTY MUCH SURE THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY ON YOU”

“Oh” - Heechul swayed his head - “He is into superheroes now. He is trying to find his abilities”

“Playing with ants is related to this weird behaviour?” - Leeteuk glanced at the happy toddler with the plastic arrows 

“Ant man” 

“And the arrows?” - Leeteuk raised an eyebrow - “Is he aiming for the Justice league or something?” 

“He could be the next Oliver Queen” - Heeyeon daydreamed - “Rich and handsome. Fighting crime with arrows”

“Terrible description of the character but ok” - Heechul sighed 

“Ewil iz defeawed!” - Ryeowook announced as a plastic arrow landed on Siwon’s chest

“DAD! WOOKIE SHOT ME!” 

“Nice” - Kangin laughed - “Wookie, can you shoot me too? I want to skip rehearsal”

“You won’t” - Leeteuk pulled his ear - “You are our precious male lead role” 

“Why do I have to go out too?” - Yesung was a bit taken aback - “I’m not in the plays” 

“No, but you are a kid and you can’t stay home by yourself yet” - Heechul patted his back - “Cmon. You will find something to do at the school” 

Everything involving children was hard. But having kids memorize and represent an script was something closer to hell than getting ready for bedtime. 

Heechul was an strict teacher. Lucky for everyone, his leads took seriously the job and they were kinda good at it. Kibum was exceptionally good as Snow White and Siwon was definitely charming. 

Leeteuk struggled a lot trying to convince the mischievous kids to behave. But truth to be told, he was starting to connect with them… and it was reciprocated. The kids would listen to him now. Kangin class was starting to get interested in the play. 

Heeyeon didn’t know what to say. She thought the kids were cute. The triplets were indeed very good at their roles… the girl playing Ariel mixed up the lines most of the time but she was so cute and funny the woman actually enjoyed her portrayal of the little mermaid. 

Zhoumi was different. The kid clearly struggled to deliver the lines. Heeyeon was almost sure memorization wasn’t the problem. Mimi was an smart kid… but he was also really shy. Maybe he suffered stage fright or just didn’t know how to act differently from his usual self. Whatever the reason, ‘Prince Eric’ seemed out of character all time and whenever his scenes played… it was exasperating for everyone involved. 

“Say your line!” - The girl playing Ariel was losing her patience - “Zhoumi, now is your turn!”

“Uhm… Mmmm” - Mimi would fidget with his fingers and glance at the public looking for help 

“Cmon, baby” - Mina urged - “you got this”

“Wazz you’w name?” - Ryeowook mimicked in a silly tone 

Kyuhyun played along by being mute and just putting on faces. 

“Wachel?” - Ryeowook tried his best- “Nuh… Awiel” 

Kyuhyun nodded merrily. 

“I can’t believe they actually learned the script” - Heeyeon glanced at the twins fully amused 

“Why won’t you say the line?” - The little girl was upset since Zhoumi just gave her silly smiles but wouldn’t talk at all 

“Oh dear” - Mina lamented over and over again worrying about what the kids would say knowing very well kindergarteners weren’t famous for their patience - “Mimi, sweetie… Come here” 

“Mommy!” - Zhoumi approached them with a huge cute smile - “Did you see me? Did you see me? I’m ‘acting’ !”

“Yes, you are cutie bee” - Mina kissed his head - “But hun, you are supposed to say your lines… like we practiced at home, remember?”

Zhoumi played coy and then rejoiced. It was clear he was happy despite not being able to say his lines out loud. Heeyeon couldn’t avoid giggling. He was way too cute. 

“You must be tired, right? Let’s take a break and let the others rehearse as well” - Mina tried - “What about our cute crab Sebastian?”

“On it” - Sungmin raised his hand obediently

“All Ariel friends” - Mina chased Eunhyuk and Donghae to the center - “Cmon, cmon” 

“Can I wear my costumeeeeee?” - Donghae stretched that last syllable in a funny way - “Pleaseeeeeeeeeee?”

“Isn’t it easy to practice just like this?” - his aunt laughed - “No? Well, I don’t have a problem—-“

“Seagulls have funny feet” - Eunhyuk observed his own costume - “They look like weird ducks”

“Pawade fee’ !” - Ryeowook pointed at them cheerfully 

“What?” - Mina tried to understand what the toddler meant - “What with the feet?”

“Pawadeee!” - Ryeowook wobbled in a silly way. His twin imitated him. 

“I think he means ‘palmate’ like in palmate feet“ - Heeyeon was more used to Ryeowook’s way of speaking - “They are very smart. Yesterday Daddy read about seagulls for us and we learned a lot of things, right?” 

“Webbed feet” - Kyuhyun say softly - “Liwe Wewi” 

“Yes, penguin feet look similar to seagull’s” 

“Cuz they fwy n’ zwim!” - Ryeowook explained to his amused aunt 

“They are so smart” - Mina praised the twins - “I’m glad Heechul managed to get Hyukkie interested in his role by teaching him about seagulls” 

“Well, he did get interested in playing a seagull” - Heeyeon put on a face - “but not for having funny feet…the triplets found several videos online of seagulls being total…”

“Jerks” - Donghae giggled 

“That’s a bad word, baby” - Heeyeon frowned - “let’s say they were naughty” 

“They stole food and pecked people” - Sungmin smiled widely - “It was cool” 

“Scary” - Kyuhyun hugged Heeyeon looking for comfort

“Awww, are you still scared of the mean seagull?” - Heeyeon sat with the toddler on her lap - “Don’t worry. Hyukkie is going to be a very nice seagull. He is Ariel’s friend, remember?” 

“Diz a ‘Dinwehowpew!’ “ - Ryeowook said in a funny voice

“A dinglehopper!” - Mina exclaimed back - “Oh my! They also learned their brothers lines!”

“Well, Mimi isn’t the only one practicing at home” - Heeyeon rolled her eyes - “the younger boys love this whole role playing stuff. Henry is also into it”

“Why do I have to babysit Henry?” - Yesung complained again - “Why do I have to be HERE”

“I already explained it to you” - Heechul sighed - “You can’t  stay home alone”

“You said I would find something to do here” - Yesung sulked - “But you just wanted me to babysit Henry”

“I didn’t” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “But is not like you have got anything better to do” 

“I could go and watch what my class is doing” - Yesung pouted 

“You want to? I thought you weren’t interested in that musical play” 

“It’s not like that. I said I didn’t want to participate” - Yesung tried - “But my friends are there… Hangeng too” 

“And why don’t you want to join them?” - Heechul asked carefully - “Sounds like fun. And you like singing” 

“I have my own reasons” - Yesung sulked 

“Go watch your friends” - Heechul winked at the boy as he held Henry’s hand - “You are supposed to have fun too” 

“I’m just going to watch” - Yesung insisted - “I won’t participate” 

“Fine” 

“I will be back in no time” 

“Oh, don’t bother” - Heechul shuddered- “we are going to take long here” 

Leeteuk was actually having fun now. He didn’t know why, but the kids were listening to him and his instructions. For a moment, he even considered himself daydreaming. 

“Well, that’s everything for today” - He dismissed the rehearsal when he glanced at the clock and realized kids parents would be there to pick them up in no time - “Thanks to all of you and your hard work! It was great today!”

“Thank you, Kangin’s uncle!” - a boy hugged him in a lovely way 

“You are nice, Mr” - Another girl told him - “I like you” 

Leeteuk was little dumbfounded since the kids seemed to have taken a like on him despite not doing anything out of the ordinary. Or at least that was what he thought. 

“They like you” - Kangin smiled pleased 

“Yeah… isn’t it… how to… they barely know me” - Leeteuk couldn’t express it with words 

“But you treat them better than most adults” - Kangin left out without blinking - “We are the ‘troublemakers’ “ 

“So? There has always been kids naughtier than others…” 

“But not everyone like us” - Kangin shrank shoulders- “Some people call us ‘bad’ or will just yell at us. You were nice to them, so, now they like you”

“Well, I’m glad they like me… but a little sad to find out why” - Leeteuk sat tiredly - “You are just… kids. You deserve to be treated nicely” 

“Can I have twice dessert today?”

“No” 

 
“Dad” - Yesung sounded clearly distressed - “we have a problem” 

“You tell me” - Heechul frowned - “Siwon refuses to ‘kiss’ Kibum”

“I won’t do it” - Siwon rolled his eyes - “He is being silly!”

“Just give me a kiss, cousin” - Kibum laid on the fake flower bed teasingly 

“Ew, no!”

“I don’t understand what the big deal is” - Heechul sighed in frustration- “Siwon, you spend half of the time chasing your siblings and giving unwanted hug and kisses to them” 

“And to us” - Kibum added - “Last Christmas you were a total nightmare” 

“Yeah but! It’s not the same!” - Siwon objected- “That’s how I show affection! This is just a pretend play!”

“Sooooo?” - Heechul grew annoyed - “That’s exactly what ‘acting’ is about!”

“I don’t feel comfortable faking love” - Siwon folded his arms - “I mean, lying is wrong. And lying about love is even worse” 

“” - Heechul muttered highly annoyed 
 
“Uh hum” - Yesung looked at the first graders and then turned to his dad again - “we have a REAL problem” 

“Why you keep insisting on ‘we’ when is most likely YOUR problem?” - Heechul bickered 

“Cuz you are MY dad and if I have a problem then you do too!” - Yesung protested - “one of the leads of my class got sick and I got casted for the role!”

“Well, it’s just a musical and the only ones watching are kids families” - Heechul smirked - “And I bet more than half of them will fall asleep” 

“Thanks for the support” - Yesung stormed out - “Dad” 

“You are welcome” - Heechul shouted back in a teasing way 

Heechul woke up earlier than usual when he listened little footsteps at the hall. Years before, he wouldn’t have cared if a ghost or an evil goblin ran around the house when he was that tired… but now, being a father…

“Who is there?” - Heechul rubbed his tired eyes and walked out of the bedroom - “Hello…?”

He checked the boys one by one. He fixed blankets and kissed them one more time. It was hard to resist when they looked that cute. He did so until reaching an empty bedroom. 

“Yesung” - Heechul whispered to himself. 

He looked for the boy in the upper floor but there was no sight of him. The now worried parent went downstairs and searched for his missing son. 

“Where did that brat go?” 

Yesung was at the laundry room. He was starting the washing machine when Heechul gave him a scare. 

“Dad!”

“Yesung!” - Heechul teased 

“Dad, I can explain” - Yesung blushed - “I… Uhm…”

“I understand ” - Heechul yawned - “You know… It also happened to me when I was your age so… it’s not weird” 

“Seriously?” - Yesung tilted his head - “wait. Do you know what’s going on?”

Leeteuk and Heeyeon woke up thanks to the yelling. 

“FINE! BUT THEN DONT ASK FOR MY HELP!”

“YOU ARE CLUELESS! TOTALLY HELPLESS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM GOING THROUGH!”

“I WAS TRYING TO BE HELPFUL!”

“BUT YOU ARE NOT! HOW COULD YOU THINK THAT?!”

“WELL, LAST TIME I CHECKED YOU WERE MY SON!”

“Hey hey hey” - Leeteuk the lights of the kitchen- “What’s going on here?”

“Sweetie, you are going to wake up the entire house… or neighborhood” - Heeyeon pouted 

“Dad accused me of something horrible!” - Yesung whined - “And then he got angry at me for getting mad!” 

“I just don’t see what the big deal is!” - Heechul bickered - “I was trying to be understanding” 

“What did you say?” - Leeteuk frowned at Heechul 

“I found him washing clothes at this hour and I thought he could have… you know” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “Had an accident?”

“You thought he wet the bed” - Heeyeon nodded - “Uh, but Yesung doesn’t… right?”

“You doubt it?!” - Yesung was terribly offended 

“Yesung doesn’t wet the bed” - Leeteuk stated 

“Thank you!” - the boy folded his arms and gave a bad look to his parents - “at least someone in this house seems to know me well”

“Baby, is not like that” - Heeyeon was hurt since Yesung implied she didn’t know him - “It’s just… It wouldn’t be hard to believe taking into account your siblings do it and your dad—“

“The point is” - Heechul interrupted her as he turned deep red from embarrassment- “it’s not unusual… and definitely not impossible. I didn’t want to offend you” 

“Sorry for overreacting” - Yesung looked down - “I just… got caught off guard”

“That’s nice” - Leeteuk was tired and the sun haven’t come up yet - “But what were you doing at the laundry room so early?”

“Washing some clothes”

“Don’t you have enough clean ones in your room?” - Heeyeon worried. Have they left Yesung clothes by accident out of the laundry? - “were you missing something?”

“Not really” - Yesung bit his lips - “I just… didn’t want to let them in the laundry basket” 

“Any particular reason?”

“I… Uhm… no” 

The adults exchanged looks. 

“Cmon” - Heeyeon offered a hand - “let’s go back to sleep. It’s still pretty early and you need to sleep in order to grow up healthy”

“He lied to us” - Heechul was running towards the washing machine

“Oh, what happened with being a ‘cool’ parent?” - Leeteuk slapped Heechul’s hand when he pressed the ‘pause’ button - “What about Yesung’s privacy?”

“He is lying to us. I don’t like it”- Heechul opened the washing machine and inspected the wet clothes- “This is…”

“His basketball uniform” - Leeteuk sulked - “does he have practice today? Maybe he wanted it clean for-”

“No, and even if he did, he has plenty uniforms to not need to wash them every day” - Heechul said annoyed 

“Oh yeah, sorry” - Leeteuk was a bit taken aback- “I forgot he was a rich kid”

“Sorry” - Heechul snapped - “For real. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today”

“You are worried about Yesung, I get it” - Leeteuk patted his shoulder - “It’s ok. He will be fine. I’m sure he will talk to you when he is ready”

“Do you really think so?” 

“Of course” - Leeteuk’s smile grew bigger - “He has always been kinda attached to you” 

“Fine” - Heechul fought against his eyes getting watery - “Today we have many things to do. Those silly school plays need us”

Heeyeon found this one of the hardest week she had even faced when living with the kids. Leeteuk and Heechul were really busy with the school plays (and leaving her out of it). She barely got to see the older kids at home and she could tell there were problems arising but the other two weren’t that aware of. But that wasn’t what hurt her the most. Henry had been misbehaving ever since he understood there was a new baby coming (this time for real) and his attitude changed from a wild naughty toddler to a little terrorist. 

He manipulated her the way he wanted. She was still inexperienced when it came to toddlers if you compared her to Heechul or Leeteuk who had to survive to the twins during the terrible two.

“Hey baby” - Heechul kissed her - “Ready for today? It’s the big day”

“Yeah, I know… about that” - Heeyeon was clearly stressed - “I don’t know if I should go. I mean, Henry is acting weird” 

“Are you going to miss our play?!” - Donghae heard her - “MOMMY IM GOING TO BE A FISH!”

“We worked so hard” - Eunhyuk lamented 

“She is not missing anything” - Heechul shook his head - “We worked really hard” 

“But I’m taking Henry with me” - Heeyeon was adamant - “We are not leaving him behind”

“Oh cmon, Mrs Jung offered herself to babysit him” - Heechul whined - “She has to look after Momo anyway”

“Henry won’t misbehave” - Leeteuk tried some psychology on the boy - “He is a very nice kid and he understands today is special for his brothers”

Henry pouted. Yikes. His uncle was good at this game. His plans of sabotaging the plays didn’t feel right now. Everyone would be sad if he did so… he was a naughty boy but he had feelings. 

“Goo’ “ - Henry agreed - “Hewy goo boy” 

“Of course you are, my angel” - Heeyeon kissed him so sweetly the toddler actually forgot his own agenda - “We are going to enjoy the school plays, right?”

“So fun” - Ryeowook was so excited he kept jumping on his feet 

“We gonna watch em all” - Kyuhyun told them like warning he didn’t want to leave before time 

In order to make things a little more fair and less predictable, each class got a random number to decide the order. Third graders were first. None of their kids belonged to that class. Henry and the twins were immersed into it anyway. Same with the next one that happened to be the fifth graders. 

“They are good, aren’t they?” - Heeyeon was fascinated since the twins wouldn’t bat an eyelash. They were truly into it. 

“Finally” - Donghee was sitting next to Ryeowook- “It’s their turn, you see?” 

“… the little mermaid by the kindergarten class!” - the teacher finished the introduction 

Heeyeon and Donghee clapped and cheered loudly. Only to get confused when another teacher whispered something to the one hosting the event. 

“We have been informed of a change… Kindergarten class needs a little longer to prepare and we will be moving into the next one following the order… let’s welcome our cute second graders with their version of ‘the beauty and the beast’ !”

“Wait, what” - Heeyeon was about to stand. She really wanted to go backstage and check on the boys but Donghee stopped her - “Donghee?”

“It’s better if I go” - Donghee whispered to her - “that’s Kangin’s class. He won’t forgive you if you miss it” 

“Oh, thats right” 

Kangin’s class did incredibly well. They were very coordinated and just too funny. Kangin was so silly as the beast people wouldn’t stop laughing. He took his role seriously. Heeyeon found so cute the little girl playing Belle. She was so elegant and kind it was hard to believe someone would have labeled the little miss as “naughty”. 

“Your uncle is right” - Heeyeon whispered to Henry - “No one should call a kid ‘bad’ “ 

“No ba’ boy?” 

Henry asked back. Heeyeon wasn’t really thinking the kid would listen to her but she was happy to know Henry seemed to not ignore her now. 

“No, sweetie” - Heeyeon patted his back playfully - “None of you is a bad boy”

“Mmmmm” - Henry seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment - “Powy”

“Uh?”

“Powy” - if his words weren’t clear enough… his hand sign was obvious and hard to miss. 

“You need to pee” - Heeyeon grew anxious - “Now” 

Good thing… Henry was wearing a diaper thanks to his unusual terrorist behaviour the last few days. Bad one… Heeyeon was alone with three toddlers and two of them weren’t going to let her go out that easily. 

“Cmon boys” - Heeyeon tried convincing the twins - “Let’s have a potty break” 

“Nuh” 

“No no” 

“This is not—-“ 

Heeyeon got emotionally hurt when the twins rejected her hand and ignored her. 

“Wee wee” - Henry whimpered 

“Ryeowook? Kyuhyun?” - Heeyeon looked at her options. Being so pregnant at the moment, there was no way she was going to drag two three years old by force - “Please? ” 

The twins frowned at her and refused to leave. 

“Hey, Heeyeon… do you think—-“

“Oh Leeteuk” - Heeyeon took Henry with her without doubting - “Please look after the twins, ok?”

“I—-“

“Thank you!” 

“Well” - Leeteuk turned to his nephews - “Did you enjoy the play?”

“…and now let’s cheer for the fourth graders!”

“Fourth graders ?” - Leeteuk made a face - “I thought kindergarteners were next… why they keep skipping them?”

Ryeowook and Kyuhyun shrank shoulders. They didn’t care at all. They were enjoying all plays. 

Heeyeon was actually fast for a pregnant lady. She managed to reach the toilet before Henry’s bladder gave up and used her opportunity to tend her own needs as well. 

“Wee wee!” - Henry chirped amused as Heeyeon sat on the toilet 

“I’m sorry” - Heeyeon was a bit embarrassed of using the toilet with Henry around - “But your little sister keeps pressing—- OH NO NO DONT GET OUT! HENRY!”

Henry was small and flexible enough to run away from the stall by just crawling out. Heeyeon cursed out loud. She rushed herself all she could thinking the toddler would run out of the restroom. 

“Wee a boo!” - she heard the toddler playing peek a boo with someone 

“Henry! Stop—- Mimi?” - Heeyeon got alert. What was the boy doing there? Wasn’t he supposed to 
be at the play? - “Mimi, what are you doing here?”

“Hiding” - Zhoumi sighed - “I’m scared” 

“From what?” - Heeyeon asked automatically. Then, she got an idea of what - “Oh” 

“I don’t think I can do it” - Zhoumi sulked 

“I’m sure you can” - Heeyeon tried - “You worked really hard~ you practiced all days~”

“No…” - Zhoumi sighed - “I lied to mommy” 

“You what?” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure she was following - “Wait, does this have to do with the play?”

Zhoumi shrank shoulders. 

“You didn’t want to do this at all, did you?” - Heeyeon realized why Zhoumi struggled so much with the play - “Why did you tell her you wanted to be in the play?” 

“Cuz I was jealous of Hannie and Bummy” - Zhoumi admitted- “Mom is proud of them cuz they are good at acting” 

“Oh, baby” - Heeyeon hugged the boy - “your mom is proud of all of you! She won’t stop talking about you” 

“I will do it” - Zhoumi gulped down - “I will ‘act’ and then I will tell her the truth” 

“That sounds nice” - Heeyeon offered a hand - “Let’s go back there. I’m sure your parents are worried” 

At the end, the best plays were Yesung’s class and the one Heechul directed with the first graders. Siwon and Kibum were great actors and their chemistry was unmatched. Also, it was just plain funny to see Kibum fully dressed as a princess. 

“He asked me to do his nails and wanted to try fake eyelashes…” - Mina told Heeyeon - “I drew the line with the lipstick, so those were out of the question”

“Mommy, there’s something I want to tell you” - Zhoumi approached her 

“Baby! You were awesome!” - Mina hugged her boy full of love - “I’m so proud of you!”

“WE are very proud of you three”- Donghee hugged his family - “You all did so good! You are all so brave for standing up there!”

“We gonna miss you so much!” - Kangin’s class was holding onto Leeteuk full of tears 

“Don’t go away Mister! You are the best!”

“Please don’t forget us!” 

“Come play with us sometime” 

Some parents even went as far as asking him if he was available to tutoring their kids. Leeteuk was a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. 

Mina’s family seemed to be doing well too. They were hugging and cheering for each other in their way to the parking lot. 

“I guess we should say goodbye here” - Mina hugged them - “Thanks to all of you for everything. Specially, you guys! I couldn’t have done it without your help”

The triplets folded their arms and twisted their lips.

“Boys…” - Leeteuk urged - “don’t you have anything to say?” 

“Yeah” - Sungmin cleared his throat - “Mimi at acting. I hope he never gets a lead role again and gets to be a background tree forever. The only reason why he got the lead role was because you were his mom and played dirty” 

“MINNIE!” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe his nephew 

“Oh goodness” - Heechul pretended he was shocked - “And I thought you were the sweet one”

“Minnie, you can’t talk like that to your aunt or anyone” - Heeyeon scolded - “Say you are sorry”

“No” - Sungmin shook his head - “I don’t want to” 

“I’m so sorry Mina… “- Heeyeon apologized in his behalf- “I will talk to him later, I swear” 

“It’s fine” - Mina was a bit surprised but she didn’t take any offence - “I bet he has been bottling up this frustration since the casting took over” 

“Anyway, that is not excuse for being disrespectful” - Leeteuk glanced at the boy that pretended to ignore them - “We will talk about that tomorrow after some rest, ok?” 

Leeteuk and Heeyeon were concerned about what Sungmin said. Frustrated or not, talking like that to his aunt was something they wouldn’t allow. Moreover, what troubled them the most was that it meant Sungmin had to swallow his feelings for over a week until it was too much to handle. It wasn’t healthy to bottle up like that and they needed to help him solve it. 

Meanwhile Heechul… he was happy to have survived through the school plays and just wanted to reach home, take a bath, have dinner and enjoy some spare time with his friends once the kids went to sleep. 

Of course, nothing was never easy when you had kids. Heechul’s plan of a relaxing friday evening after a long week, changed as soon as they reached home and Leeteuk informed him the twins had wet themselves in the car and Henry decided it was a great idea to poop his diaper to annoy his uncle. 

“I will let you choose” - Leeteuk was also tired but he found hilarious Heechul was banging his head against the car - “Clean the car or help cleaning the three little piggies”

“The car” - Heechul didn’t even doubt it - “Knowing my luck, Kyuhyun would in the bathtub and Henry would pee on me while removing the diaper”

Henry, otherwise, far from being proud of his doing… he regretted his choice. He didn’t expect Heeyeon to be that crazy. Now the woman was giving him cuddles and treating him like a baby.

“Let’s clean that yucky diapey” 

“Oh, I was going to do that” - Leeteuk noticed Henry’s spark of hope in his eyes - “But you know? I think it’s fine. I will take care of the twins”

Henry was dying inside while Heeyeon kept baby talking to him. 

“Mmm~ I think we should add some cream to prevent your bum getting red” - Heeyeon looked around - “Uh? Where is the diaper cream?”

Henry rolled his eyes. How could he annoy his mom? She seemed immune to his diaper threatening. 

“Nope. It’s not here” - Heeyeon closed the diaper just in time unaware of what was going on - “let’s go take a look in the other room”

Heeyeon didn’t find the diaper cream in the bathroom cabinet she shared with Heechul. She usually didn’t care about how it was organized… but something was odd. 

“Baby, did you rearrange our bathroom cabinet today?” - Heeyeon asked as soon as she found him - “Like did you organize it better or—-“

“Sorry, no” - Heechul didn’t understand what Heeyeon was talking about - “I have had no time for anything… I know our bedroom and the whole mansion is a mess but I promise this weekend I will work on it”

“Oh, it’s ok” - Heeyeon thought maybe she was imagining things - “I just think we run out of diaper cream” 

“I will add it to the shopping list” - Heechul sighed - “Next to disposable pads or something that saves me the trouble of washing baby seats” 

“Absorbent pads sounds like a good idea” - Heeyeon kissed him 

“I really want to engage” - Heechul kissed her back and then separated from her - “but those baby seats need another wash” 

Heechul went to the laundry room to search for a cleaning product when he slipped with what it felt like soapy water. 

(Why is it wet…)

…

(Nevermind. It was probably Teuk. The twins wet themselves, so… it’s probably something related to that)

And so, another scholar week ended and the well deserved weekend came. 

“Next week will be easier” - Heechul told Heeyeon - “I’m sure of it. I have a good feeling”

“NO! STOP IT! YOU CANT FLY!” - Leeteuk was chasing after a three years old that ran to the stairs - “KIM RYEOWOOK!” 

“WOOKIE GONNA FWY!” 

“Tummy huwtz” - Kyuhyun was wobbling towards his parents

“Uh oh!” - Donghae kicked his soccer ball and hit a lamp

“Dad, Yesung is taking very long in the shower” - Siwon whined 

“I think I failed my math test” - Kangin shrank shoulders - “Teacher said she wanted to talk to you” 

“You were saying…?”  - Heeyeon teased 

“Nothing” - Heechul saw the birds flying free around the mansion - “Henry”

The toddler was busy playing inside the cage of the birds. He had managed to eat some of the seeds they put there for them. 

“At least he seems in a good mood” - Heeyeon said with a cute smile - “You know? I was worried about Henry turning into a little monster… but he is just so cute” 

“Teuk, do you need to attend class on Monday?” - Heechul suddenly turned to his brother 

“I don’t think so” - Leeteuk grew suspicious - “Why?”

“I think Heeyeon needs to see a doctor” 

“UH?” - Leeteuk worried 

“What kind of doctor?” - Heeyeon tilted her head 

“A psychiatrist” 

Leeteuk sighed in relief. It was just a silly joke. Heeyeon was sticking her tongue at Heechul while she carried the toddler full of seeds and bird feed. 

“Don’t worry my cutie little pie” - Heeyeon was cleaning Henry - “Mommy will always think of you like a cute innocent baby. Dad is just crazy” 

(Maybe you are the crazy one. I can’t believe I haven’t managed to annoy you…) 

Henry was starting to believe that it was impossible Heeyeon got mad at him. Somehow, he felt relieved. But at the same time… it was challenging to find something that would make her lose her temper. Would he be able to find out? 

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Author comments 

Hi there! It’s been a while (a long time actually, I’m so sorry). To be fully honest I did started to write when I said so… problem was that I did not liked the chapter and I got “stuck” with it. Then, I decided that it was easier to just start all over…

So. I know this chapter (and the one that follows) is messier than usual… but don’t worry, Im just warming up! 

^-^ thanks a lot to everyone following this story. I hope new years brings all you need! Remember to be kind to everyone and yourself! 

Let’s be happy :) 

PS: next chapter is almost done! I just hope nothing bad happens and I get to update on time!