Heechul’s wish of a happy relaxing weekend wasn’t granted. Instead, he got two busy days with whiny kids acting out for whatever reason. Henry’s misbehaving was going way too far. Although it was unfair to blame him of everything that happened that weekend. 

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this” - Leeteuk was covering his face with his arm - “Thanks God tomorrow is Monday” 

“I think teachers need a raise” - Heechul sighed - “by the way, did you—“

“I don’t want to talk about it” - Leeteuk cut him quickly 

“Was it that bad?” - Heechul was genuinely shocked - “I thought he would have been more… ‘receptive’ today”

“I don’t get to half of the scolding and he is already walking away” - Leeteuk confessed - “Usually I would call the kid back and make him sit through it but… it’s not ANY kid, you know”

“Why do we need to get out of OUR room?” - Eunhyuk made emphasis in the word - “It’s OUR room” 

“You can’t—“ - Heeyeon wet her lips. She wasn’t just going to make it worse arguing with another two boys - “Minnie, can you come with me? Please?”

She saw the very moment Sungmin’s expression hardened. He was all bubbly and happy seconds ago. Hearing he was getting call to another room made him alert. 

(This is not going to be easy) Heeyeon have been preparing herself for a while. 

“Please have a sit” - Heeyeon patted a chair - “Come. I don’t bite” 

Sungmin sat without taking his eyes off her. She just turned and locked the bedroom door. Last thing she wanted was one of the kids interrupting or spying on them. 

“Why you lock the door?” - Sungmin asked in a low voice 

“For privacy” - Heeyeon replied as she sat in front of him - “We need to talk, remember? We haven’t talked yet”
 
“Uncle told you I run away” - Sungmin frowned a bit - “that’s why you locked the door” 

“Minnie, it’s not like that” - Heeyeon tried to hold his hand but the boy took it away - “I’m not mad at you. We are not mad—-“

“That’s a lie” - Sungmin accused - “You are a liar. You are angry cuz I told auntie the truth”

“First of all, don’t call me a liar. It’s hurtful” - Heeyeon was sweet but firm - “In second place, I don’t think you understand why we want to talk to you. It’s true that what you did was wrong but it doesn’t mean that we don’t understand why you did so”

Sungmin stared at her without saying a word.

“I don’t want to scold you. You know I don’t like scolding you” - Heeyeon took a deep breath - “But I have to. You are my son and it is my responsibility as a mother to make sure you understand there are consequences to your actions. I know that back then I asked you to apologize right away before talking to you but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to listen to you now” 

“I don’t want to apologize” 

“Uh?” - Heeyeon actually had troubles listening to what the boy said. He was speaking in such a low voice it was really hard to keep track of whatever he mumbled - “Minnie, I can’t understand you if you talk like that”

Sungmin was back to being quiet. Heeyeon felt bad for him but she wasn’t going to indulge on this one. 

“Why did you say that to your aunt?” - Heeyeon fixed the boy’s hair with her hand - “You were upset, right? Did you want to be the prince too?”

The boy wouldn’t say a thing. Heeyeon knew he would cry soon or later. He had that face little kids made right before they started crying. 

“Let’s do something. Listen to me for five minutes and then you can go to play” - Heeyeon gave him her phone and showed him a chronometer- “You can take the time if you want” 

The woman had a hard time. It was heartbreaking to scold such a sweet gentle boy that probably was just too upset to admit so. Yet, she knew very well that being disrespectful was a line he couldn’t cross being angry or sad. 

“I know you probably didn’t get the role you wanted and it hurt you seeing Mimi get it” - Heeyeon just hoped she could finish talking before the boy broke into tears - “It was frustrating and you tried to ignore it until you just couldn’t. But you don’t get to be rude to people just because you are feeling sad. What you said to your aunt was not nice and when we do something wrong, we need to apologize—-“

“No, no” - Sungmin whined as he started tearing - “I don’t wanna apologize!”

“Come here” - Heeyeon tried to hug him when the boy started crying loudly - “Do you want a hug?” 

“I DONT WANNA HUG YOU!”

“You don’t? It’s fine” - Heeyeon sat calmly- “Tell me if you change your mind” 

“Mamaaaaaaa” - Kyuhyun was trying to open the door - “le’me iiiiiin~”

“I’m busy, baby!” - Heeyeon shouted back - “Go play with Dada and Uncle” 

Convincing the three years old to go away was hard but Heeyeon finally succeeded after a couple minutes. She almost crashed with the crying boy. She haven’t noticed he followed her across the room. 

“Don’t leave” - Sungmin sobbed as he held her dress

“Sweetie, I wasn’t going to leave” - Heeyeon soothed - “I was just talking to Kyu”

“Ung… ok” - Sungmin kept sniffling - “Sorry”

Heeyeon was a bit confused. Sorry for what, exactly? She wasn’t sure if Sungmin was finally agreeing to apologize.

“I was mean” - Sungmin explained a bit more. He seemed to notice his mom was confused - “To you”

“To me?” 

“Not hugging” - Sungmin sulked - “And calling you a liar” 

“Do you want the hug now?” - Heeyeon offered. She got her answer right away as Sungmin looked for comfort - “Let’s hug for a while, ok?”

“Im done crying” - Sungmin rubbed his eyes - “I think…”

“It’s ok to cry sometimes” - Heeyeon cleaned his face with care - “We have discussed that before. Many times already” 

“I don’t know why I cried” - Sungmin shrank shoulders 

“Because you were sad and upset” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure if the boy was feigning ignorance 

“And angry” - Sungmin added - “Very angry” 

“You were angry?”

“I AM angry” - Sungmin pouted - “Mimi and auntie Mina cheated and it’s unfair he got the lead role when he ”

“So… you wanted to be the prince too” - Heeyeon tried 

“Not me” - Sungmin shook his head - “Hyukkie”

“Then…? Why are you upset?” - Heeyeon was lost - “Because Hyukkie didn’t get the lead role?”

“No”

“I don’t get it” 

“It’s unfair” - Sungmin shrank shoulders - “And I don’t like it when it’s not fair” 

“Mmm” - Heeyeon hugged him - “You have a strong sense of justice” 

“Auntie and Mimi were WRONG” 

“Fine. But still, just because they did something wrong doesn’t mean you have free pass for acting out”

“I won’t apologize to them for telling the truth” - Sungmin grunted - “It’s not fair” 

“Oh, you are not going to apologize for telling the truth” - Heeyeon tried - “You are going to apologize for HOW you said it. I bet your aunt got hurt” 

“And Mimi?”

“I’m not sure if he listened to you” 

“Cool” - Sungmin smiled a bit - “Then, I’m not saying anything” 

Heeyeon was internally screaming. One side found incredibly hilarious how Sungmin was so stubborn… and the other one worried for exactly the same. 

It was hard to discipline a child when you kinda agreed with him. Sungmin was right when he said Mina wasn’t fair casting Zhoumi as the lead role. He also had a point when it came to not apologizing for telling the truth. Problem was, if she let him get away with it… he wouldn’t learn the lesson. 

“You told me to tell the truth” - Sungmin was now making sure they shared the fault - “Remember?”

“I… did” - Heeyeon couldn’t believe a four years old had better arguments than her - “But it was in a different context. I asked you to be honest with us… to not hide yourself”

“Well, that’s what I did” 

“Mmm nope” - Heeyeon shook her head - “If you had been honest, you wouldn’t have hidden your true feelings when the casting took part. You tried to pretend everything was fine and it got so overwhelming that you exploded”

“I’m going to cry” - Sungmin warned her - “again”

“Cry if you need to” - Heeyeon started wiping the new tears - “But you will think about your actions and apologize to your aunt and cousin. The sooner you do so, the sooner we can move on” 

Heeyeon hugged the boy as he cried. Sungmin seemed to be truly upset over that matter and she hoped he wouldn’t be so stubborn about it. Mina wasn’t angry or anything… she would probably just ruffle the boy’s hair and tell him he was a good boy. Nothing more. 

“Your dress is all wet now” - Sungmin was tapping the wet spots with his little hand - “Sorry” 

“It’s ok, I will change later” - Heeyeon wiped the boy’s nose - “I don’t care getting wet” 

“I cried on your dress…” - Sungmin pouted and started to cry again

Heeyeon was still rubbing the boy’s back thinking that she had never seen Sungmin like that. He was way too upset over something she didn’t find that ‘bad’ . Specially, since Sungmin was always so calm and mature. He was one of the sweetest and nicest boys she had ever met. 

“Minnie, are you ok?”

“I’m crying” - the boy sniffled - “Cuz I’m sad” 

“Yeah, I know… I just…” - Heeyeon was trying to check the temperature placing a hand on his forehead - “Are you feeling sick? Does something hurt?”

“I’m just sad” - Sungmin was leaning on her - “and I want to cry” 

Heechul laughed when he saw Heeyeon’s dress. Leeteuk was going to comment on it too, but he saw her expression first.

“Don’t” - she warned the mischievous looking adult - “He is truly upset, ok? Don’t make it worse. Please” 

“Oh, did you finally scold him?” - Heechul was still wearing a silly smile - “My, my. Heeyeonnie scolding a kid! I can’t believe it!”

“Heechul, I’m being serious” - Heeyeon frowned- “It wasn’t easy and I think I have never seen Sungmin like this” 

“Really?” - Heechul was now concerned - “Like what?” 

“Like… I don’t know” - Heeyeon whispered - “He gets upset and irritated… he rejected me first but then he was clingy…? I don’t know” 

“Oh” - Leeteuk stood up quickly - “Is he sick?”

“I don’t know” - Heeyeon shuddered- “I took his temperature but it’s normal… he says he is just ‘sad’ but that doesn’t feel quite right” 

“Mmm” - Heechul swayed his head - “we will find out later. In the meantime, let me keep you posted about what happened during the hour you were locked in the room…” 

“Did… something happen?” - Heeyeon now realized the living was way too quiet - “Oh my, what happened”

“They are taking a nap” - Leeteuk had a frozen smile - “you know. Kids get drained when they fight a lot” 

“To summarize the fight, Donghae and Kyuhyun fought over the soccer ball… and the twins ended quarreling with the two triplets that weren’t with you. Siwon and Kangin took sides and it got ugly” 

“How… bad?” - Heeyeon saw Leeteuk doing faces - “that bad?”

“You know” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “Just the usual. Like, “I hate you” and “I don’t like you”. Normal thing between brothers” 

“Oh my, that’s terrible” - Heeyeon was still grabbing her chest - “Wait. What about Yesung and Henry?”

“Yesung is in room. He pretty much ignores us lately… I bet he is playing videogames or something” - Heechul smiled - “and Henry… well. Your brat made a mess in the kitchen. I still don’t know how he did it, but he opened the fridge and took the eggs out”

“I have moped at least three times… but it still smells” - Leeteuk was exhausted- “And we ran out of eggs”

“Well, I can go buy those” - Heeyeon offered - “and stop calling Henry ‘my’ brat anytime he misbehaves”

“Nah, you won’t take that chance from me” - Heechul stretched- “I was just waiting for you to come down. It didn’t feel right to leave Teuk by himself… and he is YOUR brat”

“OUR brat” - Heeyeon pinched him 

“They are sleeping anyway” - Leeteuk rolled his eyes - “and it can’t be worse than before” 

“Mama…” - Sungmin was whining - “Hyukkie and Hae are sleeping! Everyone is sleeping!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Hey buddy! How are you?” - Heechul freaked out when Sungmin started crying - “what did I say…?”

“You are leaving!” - the boy pointed at his dad holding the wallet 

“I was going to buy eggs…” - Heechul tried - “For tomorrow’s breakfast…?”

“I will go with Papa to buy eggs” - Sungmin held his hand 

“Are you sure you want to go out…?” - Heechul was going to curse out loud. This weekend was really testing his patience.

Heeyeon cooked dinner hoping the boys would be in a better mood after their nap and a good bath. Ryeowook was back to his normal self asking too many questions while Kyuhyun was up to his special torture: the tadpole song. 

“Mama! Mama! We got the eggs!” - Sungmin was cheerfully announcing their arrival from the store - “and Papa bought me stickers and a new book” 

“Stickers?!” - Donghae ran to his brother - “I want to put the fish!”

“You can have it” - Sungmin took the sticker out and placed it on Donghae’s hand - “Here”

“Can I have the monkey?” - Eunhyuk asked nicely - “Please”

“Yes” - Sungmin gave the monkey to Eunhyuk - “Penguin is for Kyu, Giraffe for Wookie, Bear for Kangin, Turtle for Yesung…”

Heeyeon smiled pleased. The kids were getting along just fine. Dinner was being normal. At least until Henry emptied his water cup on the new sticker book and it got ruined. 

“Aw aw aw aw” - Heechul was carrying the now upset boy - “Minnie, its ok… I will get you another one tomorrow” 

“MY STICKERSSSSSS!” 

“What’s wrong with Minnie?” - Kangin asked quietly - “He is usually calm” 

“Yeah, it’s not like him” - Yesung agreed - “He barely gets angry at anything” 

“Everyone can have a bad day” - Leeteuk tried - “it’s nice to see you again, Yesung” 

“I was in my room” - Yesung rolled his eyes - “I wasn’t out”

“If I didn’t know you, I would say you spent the whole weekend avoiding us” - Leeteuk pressed 

Yesung almost choked. 

“Ohhhhh, I bet you are hiding something” - Kangin squinted his eyes - “Did you get a new turtle without permission?” 

“Don’t be stupid” - Yesung frowned - “I just had a lot of homework… nothing else”

“Does your arm hurts?” - Heeyeon noticed the awkward movement the boy did 

“Too much ‘homework’ “ - Kangin teased his brother - “I bet he spent the whole time playing video games”

“I wasn’t playing videogames” - Yesung insisted 

“Riiiiiight” - Kangin loved to provoke his brother - “But what else could you be doing alone in your room that now your arm is hurt?”

The adults choked. 

Monday was finally here. Heechul haven’t been so happy over a Monday in a long time. 

“I’m not going to school” - Sungmin was still wearing his pink pajama - “I don’t feel well”

“You don’t have a fever” - Leeteuk was checking the temperature- “Does your tummy hurt?”

“No”

“Your throat?”

“No”

“Ears?”

“…”

“Head?”

“No”

“Minnie, you seem fine to me…?” - Leeteuk lifted the boy’s shirt looking for red marks or something - “Why don’t you want to go to school? You can tell us the truth”

“I’m telling the truth” - Sungmin whined - “I don’t feel well”

“Let’s do something. Let’s wash and have breakfast like usual…” - Leeteuk helped the boy out of the bed - “and if you don’t feel well after, then you can stay”

“Do you think he is faking it?” - Heechul asked Leeteuk with a serious face - “If it was Kangin, I wouldn’t doubt… but Minnie…”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to face Mimi” - Leeteuk sighed - “I don’t know. He seems fine. I just don’t like this sudden temper change. Kids usually get whinny and clingy when they are sick…”

“I will take him to school… if I see anything that could make me thing he is not fine, I will bring him back” - Heechul drank his coffee - “Maybe he will cheer up after seeing his classmates”

The parent did as promised. He even went as far as carrying the boy inside. He hugged him before leaving. Sungmin seemed… fine. The kid was cheerfully greeting his classmates. 

“Boys, I’m going ok?” - Heechul waved goodbye. He left after asking the teacher to call him if he suspected something was wrong. 

The parent had just gotten back to the car when his instinct kicked in. Something wasn’t right. Something felt wrong. 

As soon as he got into the classroom, Sungmin ran to hug him. 

“Sorry… I guess I’m taking him home” - He explained to the teacher 

Sungmin sang the whole ride back home. Heechul was starting doubt his choice. Yet, he preferred it that way. If Sungmin wasn’t sick and was just being clingy… it was fine. It wasn’t like the others haven’t had days like that. 

“I want my bunny sweater” - Sungmin told him as soon as they crossed the door - “Please”

“Minnie, my love” - Heeyeon hugged the boy - “How are you feeling?”

“Cold!” - Sungmin shivered - “I’m going to freeze!”

“Cold? But honey, you are sweating” - Leeteuk was inspecting the boy as well - “And you already feel warm” 

“Do we have a winner?” - Heechul teased as he took out the thermometer- “ah ha! I knew it!”

“Minnie, you have a fever” - Heeyeon kissed him - “Let’s wear comfy clothes and play quietly today” 

“Together?” - Sungmin asked cutely. 

At kindergarten, things weren’t going exactly right. Eunhyuk and Donghae were in a bad mood since they could tell Sungmin wasn’t right. Worrying over their twin, their were more likely to have temper tantrums. They were preschoolers after all… you couldn’t just ask them to regulate their emotions like an adult would. 

Their teacher was aware of that. He made sure the kids were included in the activities but he didn’t want to put pressure on them. He offered help whenever they asked for it and tried to be as patient as possible. It was working until the first break when the kids got into an argument. Everything from there went downhill. 

Sungmin was definitely sick. He had a fever and seemed uncomfortable. He wouldn’t just lay down. 

“My poor baby” - Heeyeon was sitting on the couch with the boy over her lap - “Don’t worry, mommy is here” 

“She definitely has a master degree spoiling kids” - Heechul commented on the scene - “But at least Sungmin feels better this way” 

“All of them like being spoiled when they feel unwell” - Leeteuk was soft watching Sungmin cuddle with her - “It makes them feel safe” 

“Heeyeon will turn all the boys into rotten brats” - Heechul sighed - “But right now she is fiercer than ever. I just tried to ‘suggest’ her handle the boy to me and it didn’t end well”

“It can’t be helped” - Leeteuk pulled his ear - “Moms are like that when their kids are sick. Our mom is the same” 

“No, I’m pretty much sure my mom would have sent me to school anyway” - Heechul complained - “she would have said something like ‘it’s just a fever, you will survive’ “ 

“The same mom that came to babysit you after one call?” - Leeteuk smiled - “The first time I met her, she came because you were sick and I didn’t know what to do” 

“Oh, that awful stomach flu” - Heechul nodded - “You are right. She came to scold me” 

“She came to help” - Leeteuk shook his head - “She even cooked for you! How can you be so ungrateful?”

“Teuk, relax. I’m just kidding” - Heechul found cute Leeteuk was defending their mother like that - “ I always joke about mom being a witch but truth to be told I know she would do anything for us. And you are right. She also spoiled me lots whenever I was sick” 

“You should give her a call” - Leeteuk shrugged- “Like… Mmm, you know. Letting her know you love her”

“You can do that yourself” - Heechul laughed - “Are you feeling clingy too? Should I take your temperature?”

“I…” - Leeteuk bit his lips - “I tried. I send her texts and she will reply with short sentences… and when I try to call, she doesn’t take the calls and then asks me by text if we are fine or if something happened” 

“Alright…” - Heechul didn’t see anything weird on that - “Do you want to talk about it…?”

“I even sent her videos of the boys rehearsing for the plays” - Leeteuk seemed sad - “I-I thought she would come… you know?” 

“Mmmm” - Heechul put on a teasing face - “As your older brother—“

“You are not older than me” 

“As your older brother” - Heechul ignored Leeteuk’s complaints- “I have more experience being ignored by mother. She is like that. I bet everything is fine and nothing has changed” 

“Can you give her a call… please?” - Leeteuk almost begged - “Just to make sure…?”

Heechul took out his phone and texted something to the old woman. In less than ten minutes… she was ringing the doorbell. 

“Mom?!” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe it 

“My baby! Are you alright? What happened?” - Mrs Kim was clearly looking for signs he was unwell 

“Oh, do you see it Teuk? Mom does care about you too” 

“What did you tell her?” - Leeteuk pulled Heechul’s ear - “Cmon… confess” 

“Oh, he sent this to me” - Mrs Kim showed Leeteuk her phone:

“Hi mom. Can you come? He is not feeling well. He has a fever. He cried so much yesterday” 

“…”

“Heechul” 

“You have to admit is a clever one”

“I’m going to kill you” 

“Boys, boys, boys” - Mrs Kim was meddling between the two men - “Do you mind to explain what’s going on?”

“Teuk was very sad because you were ignoring him” 

“I…” - Leeteuk turned deep red 

“And you had nothing better to do than lie to me?” - Mrs Kim frowned at Heechul- “I would have come if you told me the truth, you know”

“I didn’t lie” - Heechul defended himself - “You were the one that assumed the text was about Teuk. I never said it was about him” 

Mrs Kim made a face. Heechul got her on that one. It was definitely a clever move. 

“Then, who is sick?” 

“Heeeey, look who is here” - Heeyeon was holding the four years old much to Heechul’s dismay - “Grandma came~”

“Heeyeon are you out of your mind?!” - Heechul was basically snatching the boy from her earning the ugliest glare in the world - “I-it’s n-not safe f-for you or t-the b-baby…”

Leeteuk couldn’t believe Heeyeon actually made Heechul flinch just with one look. To be honest, it was kinda scary. The room was tense until Mrs Kim spoke. 

“Don’t worry. I know how you feel” - Mrs Kim cleared - “He is my son but I also feel like wanting to kill him” 

Heechul widened his eyes. He didn’t want to think Heeyeon was THAT angry at him. 

“You shouldn’t lift weight” - Heechul explained himself - “You are pregnant…?”

“Oh, is Minnie the one who is feeling sick?” - Mrs Kim tried to take the boy from Heechul - “Come here with grandma” 

“I don’t want to” - Sungmin refused and pushed away his grandma’s hand 

“Hey” - Heechul half scolded - “Be nice”

“Heechul, when a kid is sick they get incredibly clingy ” - Mrs Kim said softly - “It’s ok if he doesn’t want to come with me. He probably feels better with you or Heeyeonie”

Heechul nodded in understanding. He started to pace around the living room as Sungmin seemed to be getting whiny. 

“Also, another free advice: never take a sick baby away from the mother” - Mrs Kim said softly - “We tend to be overprotective when they are sick. And yes, she is pregnant. Even bigger reason to not mess with her” 

“Sorry” - Heechul apologized 

The adults were interrupted as Sungmin fussed even more. Heechul ended having to place him down trying to prevent a fall. The kid sat on the floor and cried. 

“This is totally out of character” - Heechul sat next to him and rubbed his back - “Maybe I should take him to the doctor” 

“Just to make sure is nothing but a virus” - Leeteuk agreed - “I will go with you” 

“I know this is going to be hard… but I think is better you stay here” - Mrs Kim held  Heeyeon’s hand - “Heechul does have a point when he says you are pregnant”

Leeteuk glanced back before leaving. Mrs Kim gave him a kiss. 

“Go” - Mrs Kim nodded - “We will talk later” 

Leeteuk found hilarious Sungmin decided to show everyone at the ER his dance moves. People were in a good mood thanks to him. Heechul would just record him and shake his head like saying ‘unbelievable’. 

“Papa! Papa! Did you see me?” - Sungmin was making sure his performance wasn’t missed - “Did you like my dance?”

“Sureeeee” - Heechul kissed him - “I even recorded it so your mom won’t miss it”

“Really? Can I see it?” - Sungmin smiled sweetly - “do you think Mama will like it?”

“She is going to love it” - Heechul smirked - “See? She is writing” 

“What did she say?” - Sungmin was interested but Heechul stopped answering him - “Papa?”

“Uh… she loved it” - Heechul was clearly lying. Leeteuk got alert - “Hey, can you stay here with uncle? I need to go… out”

“Are you going to pee?” - Sungmin whispered like if it was a secret 

“Yeah” - Another lie - “You got me” 

“Fine, I stay here with uncle” - Sungmin held Leeteuk’s hand - “I will be good”

Heechul just gave him a sweet smile… but it didn’t feel quite right. Leeteuk could tell the parent was stressed. He could only think Heeyeon probably scolded him for letting Sungmin dance that much. 

“Are you sure?” - Heechul was asking in a low voice 

“Baby, I have seen the triplets practice that dance over and over again” - Heeyeon was at the other side of the phone - “and it doesnt go like that… Minnie is skipping all spins and I don’t think is just for fun”

“Mmmm”

“Problem is… even if I know there is something wrong I can’t tell what exactly” 

“But I do” - Heechul said softly - “Thank you for being such a good mom. Now I do know where to look” 

“You do?” - Heeyeon sounded relieved - “Well then… thanks for being such a good dad”

Leeteuk glanced at the parent when he came back to the waiting room. He asked him just with a look and felt better when Heechul just winked back. 

“Sungmin?”

“Thats us” - Heechul held the boy’s hand - “Go go go”

Sungmin cheerfully ran inside. He greeted the doctor with a huge smile. 

“Hey there” - The doctor was amused - “What happened? What brings you here?”

“Believe it or not I think he has an ear infection” - Heechul explained - “He had a fever just an hour ago and my wife says he avoids spinning”

“Does your ear hurt?” - The doctor asked the chirpy boy who ignored the question - “Sungmin?”

“What is this?” - Sungmin was inspecting the objects on the desk - “why you have so many toys here? Do you like toys too?”

“Sorry” - Heechul apologized when the boy tried to take one of the toys - “Sungmin, the doctor wants to know how you feel. He asked you a question”

Sungmin ignored his dad’s commands and went back to playing with one of the toys on the desk. Heechul sighed. 

“Kids are like that” - The doctor laughed - “Hey, Sungmin. I’m going to check your ears, ok?”

“Okay” - Sungmin agreed - “Papa makes toys like these” 

“He does?” - The doctor giggled - “I’m going to check the other one… that’s it, good boy” 

“Please stop” - Sungmin tried to push away the doctor - “No, no… I don’t want to…”

“Sorry” - Heechul mumbled to the doctor - “Minnie, just a second. It’s almost done he just needs to take a look” 

“No no” - Sungmin was already crying - “I don’t like it” 

“All done” - The doctor made sure of being careful - “You did well! You are so good”

“I don’t wanna be here” - Sungmin sobbed - “I wanna go home with Mama and Grandma” 

“Does he…?”

“It’s a pretty bad ear infection” - The doctor explained - “Treatment is easy but... His ear must be killing him. He is incredibly well behaved considering how much it must hurt him” 

“You are probably right” - Heechul sighed - “He has been whining and crying a lot lately... but even so, he is still nice. I guess we are lucky he is such a sweet boy”

“Here” - Heechul was returning the boy to Heeyeon - “Ear infection. Doctor already gave him the first dose of meds. If you have any questions, you can ask Teuk or mom—“

“Wait, where are you going?” - Heeyeon pouted - “Are you upset because of me?” 

“I’m going to the pharmacy before having to pick the boys from school ” - Heechul laughed - “Why? Are you feeling guilty?” 

“Kind of” - Heeyeon admitted - “I’m sorry for being mean to you. I wasn’t really thinking” 

“For the record” - Heechul kissed her - “I think is wonderful you love the kids so much”

“Awww” - Heeyeon tried to hug him but Sungmin got in the way - “Hi baby, are you feeling better?”

“No” - Sungmin frowned - “I’m tired and just want to cry” 

“Do you want mommy to spoil you?”

“Yes, please” 

Heechul laughed all the way to the pharmacy thinking about how Sungmin could be so cheeky yet so introverted. He stopped laughing when he realized that it was probably troublesome the kid had no problem to admit he was clingy but said nothing about his ear hurting. 

“I will give him a warm bath and if we are lucky… maybe he will take a nap after” - Heeyeon told Leeteuk - “I think I can handle it by myself” 

“Oh don’t worry” - Leeteuk teased - “I’m not Heechul. I don’t dare messing around with a pregnant woman”

“Very funny” - Heeyeon rolled her eyes - “You are lucky I have a soft spot for clingy babies” 

Leeteuk turned deep red. He caught his mom giggling. 

“It’s not like that” - Leeteuk said in a low voice - “I was just worried because you wouldn’t come and… It doesn’t sound convincing, right?”

“I actually feel good learning that my big boy still needs me” - Mrs Kim pinched his cheek - “Even if Heechul teases you, I bet he was actually feeling the same” 

“Maybe” - Leeteuk shrank shoulders- “But I can’t deny that I’m the clingy one. I missed you, mom. And I miss dad too. I felt like you were avoiding me” 

“We were” 

Leeteuk felt like if an arrow just pierced through his heart. But it wasn’t like the plastic arrows Ryeowook shot at him everyday… this one was pointy and pretty sharp. He never thought he would experience such pain from just a sentence. 

It was just a sentence. Yet, he felt his blood pressure drop and started sweating cold.

“Baby, we have our own reasons” - Mrs Kim was holding his hand - “Why don’t you take a sit? You look pale”

Leeteuk couldn’t talk. His parents were avoiding him? On purpose? Why? What did he do to deserve that? 

“Here” - Mrs Kim made sure he was safe in the couch - “Teuk, baby. Look at me. It’s not like that” 

“Y-you were… avoiding me?” - Leeteuk didn’t want to sound that scared but he did - “Why? Did I do something to upset you?”

“No, no… and I’m sorry because it was unfair to you” - Mrs Kim hugged him - “It’s just… I wasn’t ready. To be honest, I don’t think I am right now…”

“Ready for what?” 

“To have ‘that’ conversation” - Mrs Kim wet her lips - “And this is not how I planned having it… but I guess it’s never a good time” 

“Mom, I don’t understand”

“I know you found who your parents were” - Mrs Kim held his hands tightly- “and I told you I was ok with that” 

Leeteuk got the chills. He now understood what was the conversation about. 

“I just didn’t think it would affect me that much to learn WHO they were” - Mrs Kim explained - “I have so many things on my mind right now… Not even in my craziest dreams I could think you were related to them” 

“You don’t like it…?”

“I actually find it cute but that’s not my main concern” - Mrs Kim shook her head - “I don’t know the full story. And I don’t think you do either. And I’m scared of what you could find out” 

“Mom” 

“And that should be my main concern but it isn’t” - Mrs Kim was nervous - “To be honest, the thing I worried the most was that we could ‘lose’ you. Which is silly… and stupid… and it doesn’t make any sense because even if you decided to go with them you are still related to—-“

“I’m not going anywhere” - Leeteuk hugged her tightly - “You are my mom… and dad is my dad! And Heechul is my brother…” 

They cried silently for a while. Then, Leeteuk laughed. 

“What’s funny?” - Mrs Kim was wiping some tears away from his face - “The fact we are all crybabies?”

“No…” - Leeteuk giggled - “I kinda forgot about Donghee. Please don’t tell him” 

“Oh, dearie” - Mrs Kim laughed too 

“And that I’m lucky I am not in elementary school anymore” - Leeteuk joked - “My family tree is such a mess” 

“Your adoptive brother married your blood related sister” - Mrs Kim made an amused expression - “Sounds weird if we say it like that”

“Heechul says that since I’m the uncle of the kids from both sides of the family, I can’t run away from them” 

“That’s actually true”

“And I take very seriously the fact Heeyeon is my baby sister” - Leeteuk confessed - “she behaved like one even before we knew we were related to each other” 

“About the Ahn…”

“They don’t know. Yet” - Leeteuk gulped down - “We don’t know how to tell them. And… I don’t know if I can handle the truth…” 

“Whatever it is” - Mrs Kim placed a hand on his cheek - “The past is in the past. You are my son now. I won’t let anything bad happen to you” 

Leeteuk was hugging his mom again when he noticed Heeyeon tiptoeing away. 

“Heeyeon? Are you ok?”

“Sorry…” - the woman apologized - “I didn’t want to interrupt. I came to ask for advice but it can wait a few minutes” 

“What happened?” - both of them asked at unison 

“I was wondering what to do in case Minnie threw up ” - Heeyeon sighed - “I don’t know if I should give him the medication again or what to do” 

“What did they give him?” - Mrs Kim asked 

“Paracetamol” - Heeyeon was sure of it 

“it’s safer if we don’t give him another dose” - Leeteuk explained - “If he has a fever or if he complains about pain we can try ibuprofen”

“Right” - Heeyeon nodded in understanding and showed them a baby monitor - “He fell asleep after the bath”

“He seems to be fine” - Mrs Kim smiled - “I would let him sleep for the moment”

“Thank you” - Heeyeon tried to flee - “I guess I should go upstairs… He could need me anytime…” 

“Mom knows we are blood related”

“Did you tell her?” - Heeyeon was shocked 

“Actually… she already knew?” - Leeteuk was a bit confused now - “Mom, how did you find out?”

“Heechul told me” - the old woman explained carefully - “Although I’m not sure he had that intention”

“So… this whole situation was indeed Heechul’s fault” - Leeteuk scoffed - “I knew it” 

“Yeah, he is indeed a troublemaker” - Mrs Kim put on a face 

“Ah, speaking of troublemakers” - Heeyeon turned to Leeteuk - “It’s almost time to pick up the boys from daycare”

“I would like to go too, if you don’t mind” - Mrs Kim was fixing her hair - “I love it when the boys run to us” 

“Maybe the twins” - Leeteuk teased - “Henry is more likely going to run away from us” 

Heeyeon had fallen asleep while looking after the sick boy. When the boy woke up violently and pushed his covers away really quick, she woke up abruptly and did the first thing that crossed her mind and offered him a bowl. 

“Here” - she said in a rush- “Do it here” 

She looked away. She could stay there and be supportive but she hated vomit so much. She would clean after he was done but she was definitely not watching. 

“Mama! ” - Sungmin sounded so scared

Heeyeon bit her lips and gathered courage to turn around. Only to laugh at the ridiculous situation.

“Cmon, I will hold it for you” - Heeyeon was laughing as she helped the desperate boy to pee in the bowl - “That’s it, good boy” 

“It’s not funny” - Sungmin pouted - “I almost wet the bed” 

“Sorry, baby” - Heeyeon gave him a kiss and spoke softly trying to not laugh anymore. She misunderstood the urgency…- “It’s just that you are too cute” 

Sungmin sighed. Heeyeon felt a little guilty. She let her fears take over and didn’t react properly to the situation. And then, to make it worse… she laughed. Sungmin was probably angry at her. He seemed upset. 

“Are you upset?” - Heeyeon feared another outburst. A sick kid was like a time bomb.

“I peed”

“Yeah, I can see that” - Heeyeon glanced at the bowl 

“Before that” - Sungmin explained - “I leaked in my undies”

“You did? Aww” - Heeyeon inspected the damage. Well. If you could call it that way. She had a hard time looking for the wet spot that Sungmin said should be there. She found what it looked like two droplets in the undies - “This?”

Sungmin nodded.

Heeyeon had to do her best to not laugh again. For Sungmin, a non usual bed wetter and a long time potty trained kid… this was “leaking”. Heeyeon was used to accidents that involved a full bladder release. 

“Let’s change the undies and go back to sleep” - Heeyeon kissed the boy - “Ok?”

“I don’t want to go back to sleep” - Sungmin whispered full of mischief- “I want to go to Yesung’s room”

“Oh, that’s a no” - Heeyeon shook her head - “You shouldn’t play with your brother stuff just because he isn’t here”

“Pleassssseeeee” - Sungmin begged cutely - “Just a quick look. I want to see the turtles” 

“We just say hi to the turtles and then we go out” - Heeyeon negotiated- “And no crying” 

“Oh, is that so?” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe what the teachers had to say at daycare - “but… for real?”

“Henry is such a sweet boy” - the teacher told him - “he follows instructions very well”

“Uh, fine” - Leeteuk scratched his head - “If not too much bother… do you know if he used his diaper?”

“Not really. He peed in the potty twice. No bowel movements” 

“Ah” - Leeteuk glanced at the innocent looking toddler holding hands with his grandmother- “Thank you”

The twins teachers were pretty much the same. According to them, the twins were role model students. Well behaved, happy, sweet… they were real angels. 

Leeteuk was pleased to know that even if the kids misbehaved the whole weekend, they were good at daycare. He hoped the boys were back to normal. 

The answer was no. 

Five minutes into the car and the twins were singing loudly a song Leeteuk had forbidden them before and Henry was digging his nose. 

“Henry, stop” - Leeteuk complained as he watched from the mirror - “Don’t do that”

The boy now attempted to blow bubbles with his saliva much to his uncle’s disgust. The old lady just laughed. 

“Well behaved” - She teased - “Oh my, I think they gave you the wrong kid” 

“I’m sorry” - Leeteuk blushed - “Henry is being a handful lately. All of them are… but Henry takes things further” 

“Sweetheart, kids are like that” - Mrs Kim giggled - “And that doesn’t mean you are not doing a good job. In fact, whenever I look at the boys I realize how good you three are with them” 

“Really?”

“They are such happy and healthy kids” - The grandmother sounded proud - “Isn’t that what’s important? I bet they are going to be wonderful people when they grow up” 

“Henwy is farting!” - Ryeowook accused his little brother 

“He farted!” - Kyuhyun was laughing - “Fart co’petition!”

The twins were now trying to fart too. 

Leeteuk looked at his mom like asking “are you sure?” 

“Do you like the lettuce, Donnie?” - Sungmin was feeding the turtles - “If Yesung is mean to you, you can come to my room” 

“Don’t be silly” - Heeyeon was watching over the boy - “Yesung LOVES them”

“Can I pet them, please?” 

“Nope” - Heeyeon made sure of taking the boy away before he tried anything - “I learned my lesson with reptiles and bacteria. You are not petting those in a long time”

“But you let Yesung play with them” - Sungmin pouted 

“But Yesung is a very clean boy and he always wash his hands well” 

“Same as me” 

“You are still not touching the turtle” 

“But I want toooo!” - Sungmin was whining again - “Please, let me touch them!” 

“No” - Heeyeon saw how Sungmin was ready to cry but stopped - “What’s wrong?”

“I promised not to cry” - Sungmin was holding his face in a very funny way - “I won’t cry” 

Heeyeon was still having fun with Sungmin’s way of being when she saw something on Yesung’s desk that didn’t feel like it belonged there.

(Diaper cream? Did we leave it here by accident? No… did Yesung take it?)

“Why would you use diaper cream for?”

Heeyeon was actually asking herself out loud in a try to figure it out. She didn’t expect an answer. 

“For a rash” - Sungmin shrank shoulders 

“Uh? A rash?” - Heeyeon was left dumbfounded. Sungmin was right. Diaper cream wasn’t only meant to prevent rashes… it helped to treat them - “You are so smart”

“I know” - Sungmin smiled - “I’m going to be president”

“You are? I thought you wanted to be an astronaut” 

“I can be both” - Sungmin said confidently- “Or I can be an astronaut, go to space, and become aliens president” 

“You are sure an interesting kid” 

Sungmin was still explaining his future (and impossible) plans to his mother when Leeteuk’s team arrived. 

“Hey, let’s meet your siblings” - Heeyeon rushed the boy out of Yesung’s room - “Cmon cmon”

“Uncleeeeee! Grandmaaaaaa!” - Sungmin basically skipped the last segment of the stairs and jumped - “Guess what!”

“He is definitely feeling better” - Leeteuk was so relieved - “You are full of energy, huh”

“When I grow up I’m going to be the aliens president” 

“He is not delusional” - Leeteuk whispered to the amused grandmother- “He is like that all the time” 

“I will have a big spaceship and live in a big planet with many aliens” 

“No!” - Kyuhyun was against it - “NO PWANET! NO AWIENS!” 

“Minnie no ‘way!” - Ryeowook was also annoyed - “HOUZE HEWE!”

“I will come to visit” - Sungmin joked- “Maybe in Christmas”

The twins didn’t find the joke funny and hit him. As expected from a boy that was an emotional mess… he cried. 

“Heyyyyy” 

Heeyeon arrived when there were three crying boys. The twins felt bad for hitting their brother. They were just upset since he was talking about moving away and they didn’t like the idea…

“I forgot to ask” - Mrs Kim was pointing at Henry - “Wasn’t he potty trained?” 

“He IS” - Leeteuk saw it too - “But he is back to diapers until he behaves”

“Henry was bad” - Sungmin was cleaning his own tears using his pajamas - “He peed everywhere”

“Oh” 

“Heechul lost it when he decided to poop in a shoe” - Heeyeon explained - “The owner of the shoe wasn’t pleased”

“It was Yesung’s  shoe” - Sungmin provided context - “He got really angry and it was scary” 

“So… he is terrorizing you using his own body waste” - Mrs Kim wasn’t impressed - “That’s why you put him back in diapers”

“We have to tape them in a very special way so he won’t be able to take them off” - Leeteuk was tired - “And he always tries to pee on you during the changes” 

“What did you do for him to be so upset?” - Mrs Kim worried 

“Getting pregnant” - Heeyeon raised her hand - “carrying his little sister in my womb. That’s my crime” 

“Well, Heechul wasn’t very pleased when we announced he was having a little brother” - Mrs Kim nodded - “I would like to say it got better with time but… that would be lying. Heechul and Donghee didn’t get along that much when they were young” 

“It’s fine” - Heeyeon smiled sweetly - “They get along now and they love each other very much” 

“Dad, what are you doing?” - Yesung was anxious as Heechul grabbed Donghee by his collar - “He is uncle Donghee!”

“No no! Don’t hit daddy!” - Zhoumi tried to pull Heechul’s leg to stop him - “please, uncle Hee” 

Heechul shut his eyes and loosened his grab. Donghee was sure that it took his brother a lot of control to not hit him in the spot. Heechul was hotheaded. It was a normal response coming from someone like that. 

“I’m sorry” - Heechul apologized first - “I was out of my mind” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry too” - Donghee was also feeling guilty - “It wasn’t my intention… I just…” 

The older kids that just got there had no idea of what was going on. Eunhyuk, Donghae and Zhoumi were crying. 

“I can’t do this right now” - Heechul shook his head - “I’m taking them home. I will go to your place later… or you can come to mine. Just… I need to calm down”

“Same” - Donghee nodded in understanding- “See you later, bro” 

“What was that?” - Kangin was half amused - “Why were you fighting?”

“Kangin, shut up” - Yesung scolded 

“Daddy, why are you fighting with uncle?” - Siwon was worried - “You are brothers”

Heechul was clearly ashamed. He just made sure the kids were all wearing their seat belts and then took a few minutes to calm down before driving. 

The only kids that had an idea of what happened were the ones involved in the incident. Eunhyuk and Donghae had an argument with Zhoumi about the lead role incident. Usually, silly kindergarten arguments wouldn’t scale that much… but the twins were still hurt about the play, and it turned out… they weren’t the only ones. So, what started like a foolish argument between cousins ended in a whole class against one boy. 

It’s not easy for a kindergartener to get bullied by his own class. It’s even worse if some of those are your relatives. The fight couldn’t continue during school hours because the teacher stopped them… but it continued outside as soon as their parents showed up to pick them up. 

Zhoumi was a calm and shy boy. He haven’t hit anyone before (maybe his brother Kibum for self defence but nothing else). He didnt really want to fight. But the siblings crossed the line when they brought his mom into the argument. He wasn’t going to allow them speak ill of her. 

Suddenly, there was a fight between the three boys. Donghee arrived first and seeing his boy getting hit by the two others, he tried meddling. Problem was, that he didn’t think twice and pushed the boys away from his son a little too hard. What Heechul saw was a full grown adult pushing two kindergarteners onto the floor. 

His kindergarteners. 

Heechul’s initial reaction was to grab his brother by his collar. It didn’t cross his mind it was an accident. He was just so mad. 

Now thinking it with a cold head, Heechul felt like an idiot. He knew Donghee would never harm his nor any children. He probably didn’t mean it. Taking into account he was the one to break the fight, he probably just wanted to protect his own son. 

“Why were you fighting with your cousin?” - Heechul asked quietly 

“C-cuz he c-cheated with the p-play!” - Donghae cried 

“Again with that?” - Heechul was trying to remain calm - “Haven’t we discussed earlier that sometimes we don’t get what we want?”

“Auntie was unfair” - Eunhyuk was folding his arms - “And Minnie got so sad he got sick”

“Your twin has an ear infection” - Heechul sighed - “it has nothing to do with the play or the role he got” 

The two triplets folded arms and looked away. They were too upset to keep talking.

“What did you do to your cousin?” - Heechul inquired - “If you don’t tell me, the only version I will get is the one your teacher and Mimi give me” 

“We told him he ” - Eunhyuk confessed - “and the whole class agreed” 

“It’s not our fault is truth” - Donghae said in a low voice 

“So, you exposed him infront of the whole class?” - Heechul scoffed - “That’s bullying. What have we talked about bullying others?”
 
“That is wrong” - all boys in the car replied 

“But Mimi said bad things to us too” - Eunhyuk sulked - “Even about Minnie and he wasn’t there” 

“I’m not saying your cousin is fully innocent. But honestly, what Zhoumi does is Donghee’s problem. Not mine” - Heechul looked at them using the mirror - “I’m responsible of you two and your brothers. Whatever you do or not, it’s my concern. So, I need you to be honest. What else did you do?” 

“We called aunt Mina a cheap fairy” 

“…”

“…”

Kangin was the first one to break the silence and laugh. Yesung was doing his best to not to… he didn’t want to get in troubles. Siwon was puzzled. 

“A what?” - Heechul had to remain serious but his bad mood suddenly drifted away - “what did you call your aunt?”

“A cheap fairy” 

“Well, it’s not nice to call her names like that” - Heechul scolded quietly doing his best to sound as serious as possible- “it’s disrespectful and it hurts feelings. You need to apologize”

“Sorry”

“Not to me” - Heechul sighed - “To her. Them. Mimi too… I bet he got sad because you messed up with his mom” 

“Boys, how come you are exceptionally well behaved at daycare but will create chaos at home?” - Leeteuk teased as the twins were now up to mischief again - “You are being naughty”

“Naughty!” - Kyuhyun bounced excited 

“We baaaaaaaad” - Ryeowook’s expression made the adults laugh 

“They wont misbehave in daycare cuz they could get scolded” - Sungmin was playing on the floor with his plastic aliens 

“Honey, I scold them” - Leeteuk snorted - “All time” 

“It’s not the same” - Sungmin made a funny expression - “You are our uncle” 

“And you feel easier to misbehave around me?” 

“Yes!”

Leeteuk freaked out when the four boys replied. They all giggled watching their uncle’s reaction. 

“Seriously guys?” 

“Don’t worry” - Mrs Kim was laughing - “I’m pretty much sure they apply the same logic with their parents”

“Uh hum” - the boys agreed 

“Kids may seen ‘naughtier’ when they feel safe” - Mrs Kim hugged Leeteuk - “It’s good thing actually. It means they trust you” 

Leeteuk knew she was right. Also, it wasn’t like he could ask kids to stop being kids. It was unfair to think toddlers and little boys should always be quiet and follow instructions.

“We wuv u” - Ryeowook was hugging him - “Loooooootz!”

Kyuhyun was handling over to him his favorite penguin plush. Coming from a three years old, that was like the biggest honor someone could get. 

“MOM MOM MOM” - Kangin was running to Heeyeon - “YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS! DAD GOT IN A FIGHT WITH UNCLE DONGHEE!”

“I do believe it” - Mrs Kim said playfully as Siwon ran to her - “Your daddy is like a match. He only needs a little push to fire himself up” 

“Grandma, you didn’t come to our play” - Siwon was snuggling against her - “But don’t worry. We recorded it” 

“What happened?” - Leeteuk could recognize a kid that had cried just by taking a quick look - “are you ok?”

“We got in troubles, uncle” - Eunhyuk sighed - “Like REAL troubles. We fought with Mimi and we said bad things”

“Bad things?” - Leeteuk grew concerned 

“Oh dear” - Heeyeon was already stressed. It was bad enough having to scold Sungmin for that. Now Eunhyuk and Donghae too…

“We even called auntie…” - Donghae came closer to Leeteuk and whispered into his ear - “A cheap fairy” 

“What?”

“Cheap fairy?” - Sungmin asked amused - “sorry” 

“It’s not funny” - Heeyeon glared at the boys - “You will apologize properly, ok?”

The triplets just looked down. None of them wanted to do so. They felt that apologizing was like admitting they were wrong… and they didn’t feel they were. In their heads, they were making justice after suffering an unfair treatment. 

Not even Mrs Kim managed to convince the boys to apologize. Adults had to stop pressing when Eunhyuk cried so much he even threw up. 

“Go take a rest” - Heechul made sure Heeyeon wouldn’t get too stressed - “We can handle it ourselves” 

Heeyeon was exhausted. Having a sick kid was hard, pregnancy was hard, a toddler who didn’t want a baby sister was hard… she was drained. She was so relieved Mrs Kim was there. She trusted her as much as she trusted Heechul and Leeteuk. Maybe more. 

“Mama?” 

“Are you ok?” - Heeyeon rolled to her side to have a look at the boy lying next to her - “Did you come to sleep with me?” 

“Mama, are you sick too?” - Sungmin’s question made Heeyeon smile- “you look tired”

“I’m fine” - Heeyeon giggled a bit - “I’m just really exhausted”

“Why?”

“Because… I have many things on my mind” - The woman playfully twirled the boy’s hair - “Things I can’t stop thinking of” 

“Like what?” 

“I don’t know” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure how much she could share with a four years old without overwhelming him - “Like… you…?” 

She didn’t have intentions to make it awkward. She was too tired and the bed was comfy. She fell asleep right there leaving a confused four years old alone in the waking world. 

“Minnie, what are you doing dressed like that?” - Leeteuk found hilarius Sungmin was wearing formal clothes in the middle of the afternoon without apparent reason - “those aren’t that comfortable”

“Maybe he thinks he is dying” - Kangin’s idea was so creepy all adults looked at him with worried eyes - “what?”

“Honey, are you feeling that bad?” - Leeteuk actually bought it. Sungmin was an odd boy. Things like that weren’t uncommon- “It’s just an ear infection. I know it hurts but—-“

“I’m ready to apologize to Mimi and Aunt Mina” - Sungmin stood up in front of Heechul - “can you take me to their house… please?”

“You are not going anywhere with that ear infection ” - Heechul raised an eyebrow - “And why did you dress like that anyway?”

“Cuz mom and uncle said I was supposed to give Auntie a ‘formal’ apology” - Sungmin fixed his bowtie - “and I look well like this” 

“I’m not going to deny that…” - Heechul found funny the boy took it so seriously- “But I think the hat is a bit too much”

“Honey, when we said a ‘formal’— Nevermind” - Leeteuk tried to focus on what was important - “I’m glad you are ready to apologize, but maybe now it’s not the best moment for it. You are sick and you don’t feel well” 

“But I wanted to do it now…” 

Heechul could tell they could cause another outburst. Leeteuk and Mrs Kim weren’t on his side when he accepted Sungmin’s request and got ready to go out. 

“Heeyeon is going to kill you” - Leeteuk hissed - “Didn’t you learn anything from this morning? How do you think she will react when she finds out about Minnie going out with a fever?”

“He doesn’t have a fever” - Heechul was sure Leeteuk was right about Heeyeon - “Right now…”

“Heechul…”

“Teuk, it’s ok” - Heechul sighed - “I know how to take care of a sick boy, ok? I will just take him there quickly… we apologize and we come back in no time” 

Mina and Donghee didn’t live that far from them. Heechul carried the boy all the way there despite his complaints. 

“Sungmin, I need to ask” - Heechul doubted before ringing the bell - “Is this some kind of joke? Because I swear I’m not in the mood for—“

“I won’t do anything wrong, I promise” - Sungmin pouted 

“I trust you, buddy” - Heechul was sweating. Kids were unpredictable- “Don’t let me down” 

“Hey there! Donghee told me you would come!” - Mina opened the door - “Awww! Minnie is here too! Are you feeling better now?”

“No” - Sungmin sighed - “But I came to do the right thing” 

“The right thing?” 

“Mama says I was rude to you and that I need to apologize for my behaviour” - Sungmin explained softly - “So, I came here to give you a formal apology”

“Oh” - Mina did her best to not laugh. Now she understood why the boy was dressed like that - “It’s ok, sweetheart. Apology accepted. You can tell your mom you did awesome”

“But that’s not true” - Sungmin frowned - “I haven’t apologized yet” 

“Sorry” - Mina realized Sungmin was a righteous boy. She thought she was doing him a favour saving him the troubles but she offended him - “I will listen to everything you have to say. But first, come in please”

Mina gave Heechul an amused look. Heechul shrank shoulders. 

“I’m sorry for yelling at you” - Sungmin bowed - “And I’m sorry for calling you a cheater and a liar. That was dis-res’-pect-ful” 

“Disrespectful” - Heechul helped - “You are doing great” 

“And I’m sorry for being mean to Mimi” - Sungmin sighed - “and that my brothers got in a fight with him and called you a cheap a fairy” 

Mina remained calm and serious playing her role. She almost bursted into laughter earlier that same day when Zhoumi told her what the triplets called her. 

“I forgive you” - Mina smiled - “and also… I’m going to apologize to you and your brothers. Because I was wrong too. I know I’m biased because Mimi is my son… but, you guys got hurt and it was my fault. So, I’m truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me” 

Sungmin nodded. Heechul was feeling better. It seemed like they could move on at least when it came to the boys. 

“Oh, Heechul” - Donghee greeted him. He was coming back with the kids - “Boys, go play to your rooms, ok?” 

“Hello, my little princess” - Mina was holding her daughter - “How was your outing with your brothers? Did you have fun?” 

Momo made some cute bubbly sounds. 

“Do you want to hold her?” - Mina offered to Heechul - “She is getting bigger, isn’t she?”

“I would like to… but I have to pass” - Heechul glanced at Donghee - “Mina, I know I shouldn’t ask for—-“

“Oh, it’s fine” - Mina hugged Sungmin - “I will keep an eye on him” 

“I will be quick” - Heechul told the boy - “Please behave” 

“What’s he doing here?” - Zhoumi asked annoyed. He wasn’t amused seeing his mom being so sweet with one of the triplets considering their fight

“Mimi, that’s not way of treating our guests” - Mina scolded - “and he is your cousin”

“He is mean” - Zhoumi remarked 

“No, he is a very sweet boy” - Mina was Zhoumi’s hair - “He came to apologize to us. He says he is really sorry for what he said”

“Do you think I did good in the play?” - Zhoumi was smiling a bit 

“Uhm…” - Sungmin looked away 

“Why aren’t you talking?” - Zhoumi insisted 

“Baby, stop it” - Mina warned him - “Minnie is not feeling well today, remember? He was feeling sick and that’s why he didn’t go to school” 

“Mimi, you at acting” - Kibum was ready to stir the chaos building - “Don’t ask questions if you don’t want to hear the answer” 

“Kibum” - Mina scolded - “To your room. Now” 

“Fine” - Kibum shrank shoulders - “Punish me for telling the truth” 

“Boys, why don’t we watch some tv?” - Mina was in a rush trying to stop another fight from happening - “Oh! Minnie, would you like some cookies?” 

“My mom’s cookies are the best. They are better than the ones your mom make” - Zhoumi glared at Sungmin - “and you can’t have them cuz she made them for me” 

“Mimi… what did I say about being nice?” - Mina sighed. The preschooler sure wanted to pick on a fight that day - “and you know? Even I admit Heeyeon’s cookies are way better than mine”

“No, they are not!” - Zhoumi protested and went to his room crying - “My mom is the best! She is prettier and makes better cookies!”

Sungmin tilted his head. He was somehow… not offended by what Zhoumi said. In fact, he could understand him. And that’s when he finally got it. 

“Sorry for that” - Mina hoped Sungmin wouldn’t get that upset - “It’s ok to disagree on this. Every child thinks their mom is the best. Well, maybe Kibum doesn’t but he is something else” 

“Moms also think their babies are the best?” - Sungmin asked cutely

“Yeah, of course” - Mina smiled pleased - “All parents do. I bet your mom and dad also think you are the best” 

“Can I have one?” - Sungmin pointed at the cookies- “Please?” 

“Well, these were made by a ‘low budget’ fairy” - Mina teased- “I know they are not as good as the ones your mom makes but… they are not bad either” 

“I like it” - Sungmin was munching the cookie - “It’s different and I still like Mama’s cookies better… but I like this one too” 

“Thank you, you are so nice” - Mina cleaned some crumbs on the boy’s clothes- “I bet Heeyeon is very proud of you” 

“Oh, there you are” - Heechul was in a good mood. Clearing up the misunderstanding with his brother gave him peace - “Are you having fun?”

“Hold me” - Sungmin ran to his dad and asked to be held. Mina and Donghee laughed - “Papa, I’m tired” 

“Little boys get so clingy when they are sick” - Mina pouted - “it was nice to see you both but I need to go and make sure Mimi is ok. Oh! And take those please. Those are cookies for the boys” 

“See you to tomorrow at school” - Donghee patted Heechul’s back - “I bet everything will be better from now on”

“YOUR MOM’S COOKIES FEEL LIKE EATING SAND!”

“YOUR MOM’S FAT!”

“MOMMY IS NOT FAT, SHE IS PREGNANT!”

“I’m glad Sungmin is still at home” - Heechul was drinking soda next to his brother - “He has the sharpest tongue out of the triplets”

“Why do they need to bring their moms to their argument?” - Donghee sipped his soda - “I haven’t heard them mention us” 

“Because they don’t give a crap about us” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “they are all mommy boys” 

“You are awake!” - Heeyeon was greeting the confused boy - “You should see your hair!”

“Where is everyone?” - Sungmin was dazzled- “What happened?” 

“Baby, you overslept” - Heeyeon was kissing him lots - “You slept for over fourteen hours! I was worried but your dad said it was better to let you sleep” 

“I overslept…?” - Sungmin was so confused. Sleeping so much made him disoriented- “I was so tired…” 

“Do you want to try some cookies?” - Heeyeon was holding a tray full of them - “I baked them this morning! Since your aunt Mina sent cookies to you and your brothers, I thought I should send some to Mimi!”

Sungmin raised his eyebrows. He could only imagine the fight taking place at Kindergarten and he was relieved to be sick at home. This way, he would stay out of troubles. 

“Your aunt called me” - Heeyeon said softly - “I’m very proud of you. I know it was hard and you didn’t want to do it… but I’m sure that going there and apologizing properly meant a lot to her” 

(I didn’t do it for her) - Sungmin just smiled a bit. 

“Thank you” - Heeyeon kissed the boy’s forehead - “You are the best”

“I know” - Sungmin smiled widely - “All moms think their kids are the best”

(And that’s why Aunt Mina chose Mimi for the play. She just loves him so much she doesn’t see he )

“Well, but some of us are lucky because is actually true” - Heeyeon kissed him again - “I’m glad I get to be your mom” 

Sungmin blushed deeply. Of all things he had heard in his entire life… this one was his favorite by a lot. 

“Your face is all flushed…” - Heeyeon panicked - “Where is the thermometer? Oh my, did the fever come back?!”

(Mama is so funny)

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Author comments:

Happy new year! Best wishes for all of you!

PS: Yesung is fine! Next chapter will explain what’s going on. Also, don’t worry about Mimi and the triplets… they are just boys. They will get over it.