“Middle child syndrome” 

“I’m telling you it’s not that” 

“Just look at him” 

“Perhaps, you could be right...”

Heechul glared at his parents. He was still too young to understand the conversation at all, but he knew they were talking about him. The four years old boy kept drawing with his crayons as if nothing happened. He did a disgusted face when his baby brother crawled towards him and tried to take a a few paper sheets from him. Unable to fight back, Heechul saw how the baby ripped apart some of his best drawings. 

There were no tears. Not even retaliation. Heechul just walked away and laid on the couch with that look on his face: the look of someone who already gave up. 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kyuhyun was laughing hysterically thanks to the scene. His grandma had managed to  kiss his dad not once, not twice, not even thrice but several times. 

“Mooooooom” - Heechul whined- “Please stooooooop”

“Oh Cmon! You are not receiving one of these for a while!” - The old lady stamped another kiss on his forehead- “I’m going to miss you so much!”

“Its only four days” - Heechul tried to get away from the old lady - “I think I can make it without you. Also, Teuk will be here for me!”

“He is the only reason of why I leave without crying” - The old lady teased - “You are my beloved son, but I don’t trust you at all to take care of nine kids by yourself”

“I’m not that clueless now ” - Heechul pouted - “You could give me some credit, you know” 

“Fine” - The old lady smiled - “We are leaving now. Please behave and try to survive without making a show” 

“I won’t make any show” - Heechul stuck out his tongue - “I’m not a kid”

Ryeowook and Kyuhyun laughed. The old lady rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“Please take care of dada” - The old lady hugged the twins - “Make sure he eats proper meals, take a bath and sleep well”

“Ung~” - The little toddlers nodded 

“Four days, mom” - Heechul insisted - “I Can make it”

“We will see” - Leeteuk teased - “You have grown too close to your mom in this past few weeks. Are you sure you won’t miss her?”

“Ptffff” - Heechul did a weird sound again. The twins laughed even more than before. 

“ ‘Our’ mom” - The old man corrected - “Now both of you are ‘our’ sons” 

“Sorry” - Leeteuk blushed - “I’m just getting used”

“Teuk, my dear” - The old lady kissed him as well - “Please make sure of keeping all these crazy boys alive while we are away”

“Yes ma’am!” - Leeteuk smiled widely 

“Have a nice trip” - Yesung waved goodbye to his grandparents - “I’m going to miss you so much~”

“Only four days!” - Heechul hissed again

“Bye~” 

“What happened with the ‘only four days’ thing?” - Leeteuk was having fun watching his friend suffer - “You are sad because your mom left, aren’t you? Who would have told you were a ‘mama’s boy’ “

“Shut up, hippie” - Heechul didn’t lift his face from the couch - “I’m just trying to rest” 

“You look depressed to me” - Leeteuk tilted his head - “Are you sure you don’t want to call them? I wonder if they arrived safely...”

“They are at Donghee’s place” - Heechul sulked - “No big deal”

“They went to take care of the kids while Donghee and Mina go out of town” - Leeteuk nodded - “Such a good thing to have grandparents as helpers”

Heechul did another squeaky sound and turned to the other to not face Leeteuk. He covered his head using a cushion. 

“Are you upset because your mom left after saying she would take care of you?” - Leeteuk tried - “You told her you were feeling well”

“Don’t you have anything else to do?” - Heechul complained - “Maybe Henry needs a diaper change or Kyuhyun is drawing on the walls”

“Alright~ If you need me...” - Leeteuk hugged Heechul - “I will be right here”

An alarm rang. Ryeowook gasped and ran to Leeteuk followed by his twin. 

“UKWEEEE!” - The boys jumped - “ITZ TIME”

“Yeah, I just heard it” - Leeteuk walked to the kitchen followed by the two cute boys - “I will pour it for you. Make sure of not dropping it”

“Ung~” - Kyuhyun received the medicine from Leeteuk - “Say ahhhh~”

“Ahhhh~” - Ryeowook opened his mouth to allow his twin gave him his meds - “Ew”

“Good boys” - Leeteuk ruffled both boys hairs - “Now Ryeowook’s body will be able to defeat the bad bacteria”

“Kill em all!” - Kyuhyun shouted excited - “We win!”

“Yay!” - Ryeowook bounced happily - “Bawtewia go ‘way!”

“I think we are lucky we didn’t caught that bug” - Kangin teased - “That antibiotic tastes like ”

“Language” - Leeteuk warned - “Also, nobody asked you to try it”

“I didnt” - Kangin wrinkled his nose - “It’s just that smells horrible. I can imagine that is not that tasty”

“Ryeowook you are such a brave boy~” - Yesung was hugging the toddler - “I’m so proud of you~ You are so well behaved”

“Kyu Too” - Kyuhyun nuzzled his face against Yesung’s chest - “Pwease”

“What a good boy!” - Yesung hugged Kyuhyun as well - “You are so lovely”

“They are in heaven since you both are spoiling them” - Leeteuk laughed seeing how the twins behaved like cute babies while their older siblings cared for them - “It’s a pity you two won’t get along with the triplets” 

“It’s not like we don’t like them” - Yesung sighed - “But Eunhyuk keeps teasing me and Donghae is too clumsy” 

“Sungmin is just... weird” - Kangin twisted his lips - “I cant find anything we have in common, therefore, I get bored when I am with him”

Leeteuk did a shocked expression.

“What? Everyone knows Sungmin is probably my less favourite” - Kangin shrank his shoulders. 

Yesung pointed at the boy’s back. Kangin ly to face a teary boy holding a book about planets. 

“S-Sungmin” - Kangin regretted his own choice of words - “Hi” 

The boy left without saying a word. Leeteuk worried and followed him. He found the little boy sitting on Heechul’s lap. 

“What happened now?” - Heechul rubbed his tired eyes. Apparently, he had fallen asleep for a while - “Last thing I remember was that that dreaded alarm...”

“He listened to something he shouldn’t” - Leeteuk pouted - “Honey, Kangin loves you. He just... he was fooling around”

“No, I wasn’t” - Kangin approached - “But I do feel bad for what I said. I shouldn’t have said that, Minnie... and I’m sorry”

Sungmin buried his face between his knees. 

“Don’t you find cute that he behaves just like me when depressed?” - Heechul’s eyes were piercing Kangin just with the stare - “Because I don’t”

“Minnie” - Kyuhyun was trying to cheer up his brother by pure force - “Minnie! Pway! Kyu lovez Minnie!”

“Bee?” - Ryeowook was offering his own bee to his brother - “Pway?”

Sungmin sulked and refused to separate from Heechul. The tired parent ended carrying the boy with him. 

“Whats going on?” - Eunhyuk entered the living room covered in stickers - “Why Minnie sad?”

“Sick?” - Donghae worried. The boy was also full of stickers - “Oh no!”

“He is not ‘sick’, he is sad because Kangin said something rude to him” - Heechul was ready to pick on a fight with his second son 

“I didnt” - Kangin hissed - “He listened by mistake. It wasn’t my intention!”

“Don’t shout” - Heechul warned - “You started this. Who on earth would go around speaking so carelessly like that?”

“You, maybe” - Leeteuk said in a low voice 

“Did you say something?” - Heechul wouldn’t mind bickering with Leeteuk if needed 

“It was Teuk who started it” - Kangin pointed at the babysitter - “He was nagging me about my preferences!”

“N-no” - Leeteuk got nervous now that Heechul’s bad mood seemed directed at him as well - “It wasn’t like that! I just said that I would like those two to interact with the triplets in the same way they do with the twins!”

“So you did caused this” - Heechul sighed - “By accident or not, it was your fault for bringing out the topic...”

Heechul sat on the couch defeated. If it was Leeteuk’s mistake, then there was no kid to blame and therefore, it wasn’t his problem at all. 

“Aren’t you going to say something?” - Yesung asked bitterly - “Or are you holding back because it was Leeteuk who committed a mistake?”

Leeteuk stared at Yesung. The boy was  testing his dad and was ready to judge whatever Heechul did. 

“I’m sure Leeteuk didn’t have any bad intentions” - Heechul kissed Sungmin - “I say that we should forget about it” 

“Uhmmmm” - Yesung twisted his lips - “But Sungmin is still upset” 

“I’m upset too!” - Kangin stomped his feet - “You were angry just seconds ago but once you learned it was Leeteuk’s fault you got calm! It’s not fair! If it had been my fault, you would be still yelling!”

“Do you want me to yell?” - Heechul’s voice left no doubt he was getting angry again - “If you want, I could prove to you that my patience does have a limit”

“Heechul” - Leeteuk shook his head but Heechul glared at him again - “I get it”

Leeteuk didn’t need to listen to it. He knew Heechul was mad as Sungmin got hurt. He understood the parent wasn’t angry at him but to the fact he didn’t know how to solve that crisis. It didn’t help them that Heechul’s heart was also hurt by his parents departure just a few hours ago. 

“I’m tired” - Heechul placed Sungmin on the floor - “Please be nice to each other and don’t cause troubles, ok? I need to rest”

“Are you feeling sick again?” - Yesung worried - “Grandma told m—“

“If you dare to call her and tattletale on me, you are done” - Heechul was holding Yesung by his collar 

“Roger” - Yesung gulped down anxiously as he was placed on the floor again - “I won’t tell her”

Heechul went upstairs and slammed the door. Leeteuk was too scared to say something else. 

“It’s alright...” - Kangin told him - “Dad just has a strong temper”

“You mean a bad one” - Yesung sighed - “Maybe he is feeling unwell and behaves like that to hide it. We should keep an eye on him. Also, Teuk, please refrain from making another comment like that... as you can see, you could end our family with your careless thoughts”

Leeteuk felt humiliated as he was being lectured by an eight years old whose arguments were totally right. Sometimes Leeteuk felt that Yesung was too mature for his age. Heechul often told him it was because of his role of being the big brother to eight little siblings. 

“Yesung has the same number of brothers that his age in years” - Heechul was lying on the bed with an ice pack on his forehead - “Of course he is ‘mature’ compared to other kids his age” 

“Still... that doesn’t change the fact I got truly scared” - Leeteuk was keeping his distance from Heechul - “are you angry?”

“Do I look like angry?” - Heechul asked him with a serial killer glare 

“Sure you do” - Leeteuk’s voice shook - “Right now, you are scary”

“I’m sick” - Heechul smiled a bit - “My mood is worse than ever. Nothing else. I’m sorry for scaring you... It’s not my intention”

“Are you feeling sick?” - Leeteuk approached him slowly - “Mom asked me to keep an eye on you as well”

“Good” - Heechul yawned - “If I die, I want sunflowers in my funeral”

“Do you feel that bad?” - Leeteuk worried - “I was told you only needed to follow a diet and take some meds”

“They skipped the part when I take the meds and they give me a tummy ache” - Heechul lamented- “I can barely eat and I need to take those in order to kill any remaining bad bacteria in my body” 

“I could ask Mrs Jung to make some rice for you” - Leeteuk pitied his friend - “Maybe just eating soup and apples, you won’t tolerate at all those strong meds”

There was no response. Leeteuk worried. He got closer and relaxed once he found out his friend had fallen asleep. 

“You need to rest~” - Leeteuk made sure of covering him with a blanket- “Lets get well soon”

“... and you, please be nice to your grandparents” - Mina was still saying goodbye to her children - “Did you hear me? Don’t give them troubles”

“Yeah” - Hangeng shook his head and rolled his eyes - “We are going to have fun”

“Mommy...” - Zhoumi was really anxious- “Don’t go”

“Kibum, arent you going to say goodbye to your parents?” - The grandpa asked softly- “They are leaving—“

“Only for four days” - Kibum didn’t lift his face. He kept playing with his toy - “I heard them the first time. I don’t know why they take so long to go”

Mina’s sad expression didn’t pass unadvertised. The old couple exchanged looks. 

“Everything alright?” - The old lady asked as she helped her in law with her hair - “You look concerned”

“Maybe you have more experience in this field” - Mina sighed - “Kibum just started to behave oddly. He is like a rebel now... I heard it could be middle sibling syndrome and I worry about it” 

“Well, please don’t worry about that” - The old lady - “For the next few days, you and my son will enjoy your time together and prepare for the future. I promise you that everything will be under control” 

“Please call me if Kibum gives you too much troubles” - Mina was still worried - “I cant believe he had turned into a little monster”

“Are you awaaaaaake~?” 

Heechul felt how his dear sons tried to open his eyelids by force. He grunted and turned to the other side hoping for the kids to go away. It didn’t work. The kids just giggled and climbed him again. 

“DADDY!” - Donghae was basically jumping on the bed - “WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”

“Papa, is not night” - Sungmin said softly - “Are you napping?”

“I was” - Heechul sulked as he realized his precious time with the bed was over - “What are you up to?”

“We want to ride our bikes!” - Eunhyuk chirped - “We are ready!”

“Are you?” - Heechul smirked - “My my~ You are sure a thing”

The triplets were dressing their watches, helmets and shoes. Heechul nodded pleased. 

“Good” - Heechul clapped - “We are almost done, but there is something else you guys need”

“Whats This?” - Donghae got curious as his dad helped him putting on his new pads 

“Knee pads” - Heechul smiled - “and elbow pads. You won’t get hurt on my watch”

“WOOKIE TOOOOOO!” - Ryeowook was chasing his dad around the house while the man got ready to take the triplets out - “MA BIWEEEE”

“How do I say this?” - Heechul smiled - “You are not going out. You are sick. Also, you pee like every five minutes so, you wouldn’t enjoy being outside”

Ryeowook froze. His dad had a point. If only he was reasonable enough to understand that. 

“BUAAAAAAAAH” - Leeteuk was struggling with the crying toddler - “DADA!”

“Good luck teaching them” - Leeteuk giggled - “I will take care of this troublemaker”

“I wanted to take Siwon with me but he said he didn’t want to go out” - Heechul pouted - “Maybe you should talk to him. He looks down”

Kangin widened his eyes. The boy ran upstairs before any of the adults could say anything. Even Ryeowook had stopped crying as he forgot about the fact his dad wasn’t taking him out. 

“Good boy~” - Leeteuk kissed the toddler - “Lets go have fun together, ok?”

“Kay” - Ryeowook leaned on the babysitter- “Wookie ztays liwe diz”

“Leaning on me?” - Leeteuk chuckled - “Are you still feeling tired?”

“Uhum” - Ryeowook his thump. Leeteuk couldn’t hide his surprise. Usually, Ryeowook would save those behaviours for the time he was being spoiled by his dad. 

“You shouldn’t do that~” - Leeteuk grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled the thump out - “You will damage your teeth~ Wookie is a big boy now. You don’t need to your thump”

Leeteuk knew it was something some kids did so relieve stress. He knew it was just a bad behaviour that needed to be corrected on time but wouldn’t harm anyone. 

“Ummmmm” - Ryeowook seemed to understand but sulked 

“It’s alright~ Uncle will spoil you” - Leeteuk kept the boy closer to him. He was sure Ryeowook was feeling clingy as he was sick - “You are such a good boy”

“Read this, Pwease” - Kyuhyun was approaching them with a book - “Kyu liwes it”

“Sure you do” - Leeteuk sat with three young boys on his lap - “Lets See...”

Henry fell asleep first. Ryeowook was fighting drowsiness while Kyuhyun was wide awake. Leeteuk was about to end the story when Kyuhyun made a question related to one of the characters. 

“I forgot” - Leeteuk admitted - “I would have to read it again...”

“Uh hum” - Ryeowook shook his head as his eyelids got heavy - “Hewe...”

Leeteuk found amazing Ryeowook’s memory. The boy could not only memorize an entire story but also remember some of the pages where important events took part. The babysitter was still amazed by the boy’s skills when he noticed Ryeowook was already asleep. 

“Wookie sleep” - Kyuhyun smiled pleased - “Cute~”

“Kyuhyun~ Maybe you should take a nap as well” - Leeteuk tried - “Your brother will wake up full of energy and you won’t be able to catch up if you are tired”

“N-no! You can’t tell them” - Siwon was nervous as Kangin kept asking him to tell the truth - “I don’t want to cause a fuss!”

“Yeah because dad is not going to get crazy if you faint or something” - Kangin folded his arms - “You are obviously not getting better... maybe you got the same as Ryeo—“

“I didn’t!” - Siwon fussed 

“Yes you did” - Kangin pointed - “That’s why you wet the bed”

“I’m telling you it’s different” - Siwon was almost crying 

“Really? Why would you say so? I think you got the same sympt—“

“Ryeowook’s pee isn’t pink” - Siwon sulked - “T-that’s not normal, right?”

“Pink?” - Kangin worried - “I have never heard of that before”

“Am I dying?”- Siwon asked scared - “What can I do?”

“Wait here. I will ask Teuk for help”

“Kangin, please” - Siwon pulled his brother’s shirt - “Dont tell him”

“I won’t” - Kangin sighed - “But I cant leave it like that. What if you got a bad bacteria too? We need to get rid of it”

The boy found the babysitter watching over three sleeping kids. He entered the room calmly and pretended everything was fine. 

“Hi” - Kangin smiled to him - “I was just wondering... What colour does Ryeowook’s pee have?”

“That’s such a strange question” - Leeteuk found it funny - “why? Do you think the color changed thanks to the bacteria?”

“Ehm... Yeah?”

“Well, it doesn’t work like that” - Leeteuk laughed - “Ryeowook’s pee is light yellow and almost transparent. If your pee is too dark it’s because you don’t drink enough water”

“Have you ever heard about pink pee?” - Kangin asked again 

“Pink? You mean like the one you get from eating beets?” - Leeteuk scratched his head. Boys were often curious, but this was a whole new thing - “Did something happen?”

“N-no” - Kangin felt guilty for lying - “I’m just curious”

“I haven’t heard from other causes of pink pee, I’m sorry” - Leeteuk ruffled the boy’s hair - “But you we can look online or ask Heechul when he returns”

“Nah” - Kangin shook his head - “Its Alright”

“Are you hiding something from me?” - Leeteuk was suspicious- “I do feel like you are hiding something “

“Oh look at the time!” - Kangin pointed at the clock - “It’s almost lunch time and I haven’t finished my homework! Dad is going to get mad!”

It was a stupid lie but it would work. Kangin ran to the kitchen and started rummaging. He knew he needed to do something even if he couldn’t tell the adults what was going on. He found Ryeowook’s meds. 

“Let’s see...” - Kangin Read the instructions that came with it - “Got it”

The boy ran to Siwon’s room and Locked the door. 

“You need to drink this” - Kangin urged - “You are sick and you need help”

“Uh” - Siwon didn’t want to argue. He was fine as long as Kangin didn’t tattle tell on him. 

Lunch time was messy as usual. Leeteuk was trying hard to feed Henry but the boy was at that age when he wanted to eat by himself even if just half of his food actually got into his mouth. Heechul was having a hard time resisting temptation of eating his boys’s lunch as he had to follow that annoying diet. 

“Siwon, buddy...” - Heechul observed the boy playing with his food - “Arent you hungry?”

“I’m already full” - Siwon sighed - “I don’t want more” 

“But you barely ate” - Leeteuk glanced at the boy’s plate - “You haven’t touched it” 

“Ohhh what a pity” - Heechul faked he was deeply hurt - “Wasting food is sure a big sin... but you don’t worry! As your father, I, Kim Heechul, hereby—-“

“You won’t eat that” - Yesung and Leeteuk cut him coldly 

“I hate my life” - Heechul went back to sulking as he played with his rice - “I’m rich and yet I can only eat rice” 

Sunday’s afternoon was normal. Leeteuk spend most of the time pulling Heechul’s ear as usual just that this time he actually felt guilty for it. 

“Stop, you are giving me a hard time” - Leeteuk sighed - “You can’t eat that, so if you are hungry... I can go and cut an apple for—-“

“I don’t want more applesssssss!” - Heechul was hitting a tantrum. Leeteuk couldn’t believe how similar he was to his sons - “I’m hungry and tired! And I’m sad! And you will only feed me ‘apples’ !”

“You heard the doctor” - Leeteuk tried again - “Soup, rice, Apples—“

“NOOOO” - Heechul squirmed on the floor - “I beg you... Teuk... please... please...”

Leeteuk knew it would be hard to say ‘no’ again. Heechul was the type of person that liked to have snacks every few minutes. He would eat anything he could when no one was watching him. It was actually impressive he had survived more than 24hrs without snacking nor having proper meals. Two days was obviously his limit. 

“I understand you are feeling bad” - Leeteuk sat on the floor - “And I swear I would like to feed you something tasty or let you eat whatever you want... but if you got worse because of that, I wouldn’t be able to face mother nor the kids and will never forgive myself”

“You are trying to manipulate me” - Heechul covered his ears - “I don’t wanna listen”

Leeteuk rolled his eyes. Heechul was sure another kid to take care of. 

“What about crackers?” - Kangin whispered to the babysitter- “Can’t he eat that?” 

“Not yet” - Leeteuk pitied his friend - “Nothing with flour until the diet is over”

“How long?” - Siwon worried 

“Ummm five days?” - Leeteuk bit his lips 

“He won’t make it” - Yesung scoffed - “It’s been only two days and he is already at his limit. Just look at him!”

Heechul seemed desperate. He was having a hard time resisting the impulse of not eating anything that didn’t stick with the diet. He was trying his best. 

Monday started with a cheerful Heechul whose eyes sparkled when Leeteuk placed an omelette in front of him. 

“Don’t say anything” - Leeteuk took a deep breath - “I read online that starting today, you can eat well cooked eggs” 

“Thank you?” - Heechul’s eyes filled with tears - “TEUK I LOVE YOU!”

“Don’t talk while you eat” -Leeteuk blushed - “Also, it’s the plainest omelet you will ever see. I don’t even know if you can call it omelet but—-“

Leeteuk stopped talking when he realized Heechul was dancing as he ate. Leeteuk’s heart hurt as he understood Heechul probably suffered even more than he expected. He was getting the kids ready to school when the parent approached him. 

“Teuk?” 

“I’m not feeding you again until mid morning” - Leeteuk warned 

“N-no, it’s not about that” - Heechul felt it was embarrassing that Leeteuk thought he would only think about food - “I was wondering if you gave Ryeowook his meds”

“No, not yet” - Leeteuk kept helping Eunhyuk with his backpack - “You can give it to him. I left it next to—“

“I know where is it” - Heechul continued - “It’s just that... it doesn’t seem right. There is a lot missing”

“What?” - Leeteuk was finally paying full attention to the parent 

“Did you spill it?” - Heechul scratched his head - “I noticed some of it was missing yesterday, but I thought it had been an accident”

“No, Ryeowook haven’t wasted any of it” - Leeteuk shook his head - “We haven’t spilled not a single drop. How much is missing?”

“Like three servings?” - Heechul shrank his shoulders - “If This were candy, I wouldn’t have a doubt kids took it but... This doesn’t even taste well”

“Kangin” - Leeteuk recalled the strange conversation he had with the kid - “He was acting weird yesterday. He asked me a few things—“

“What did he ask you about?” - Heechul grew suspicious - “Knowing him, he could be feeding Batman with this. Oh, geez, poor raccoon”

“Pink pee?”

Heechul didn’t lose a second. He went upstairs and dragged Kangin to the restroom. 

“Dad?” - Kangin was still recovering from the shock - “Everything Alright?”

“Go pee” - Heechul gestured - “Cmon. It’s not that difficult”

“Can I ask why?” - Kangin tilted his head amused 

“Because someone has been taking Ryeowook’s meds and I have this feeling of you being responsible for it”

“I haven’t drank Ryeowook’s antibiotics” - Kangin denied the accusation

“Then, Who?”

“I won’t t—-“

Heechul pierced the boy with his eyes. Kangin gulped down anxiously. 

“Siwon” - Kangin said in a low voice - “Please don’t get mad. He said he didn’t want to tell you anything... The antibiotics... that was my idea and—-“

“Why didn’t you tell me?” - Heechul hissed - “This is not a game... Kangin, I thought you were smarter” 

Kangin sulked. He felt he had disappointed his dad. He was sure Heechul was angry. 

“We will discuss it later” - Heechul tried to smile for the boy’s sake - “Go get ready for school. Have a nice day, ok? I swear I’m not mad”

“Disappointed?”

“Maybe” - Heechul sighed - “I don’t really know. At the moment, my mind is busy thinking about your brother”

“Sure” - Kangin nodded - “I will be going then. Bye dad... I love you”

“I love you too” - Heechul kissed the boy - “Please don’t hide things from me...”

Kangin nodded again and went back to his room to finish dressing. Heechul managed to lock Siwon inside his room before the boy could even notice his presence. 

“Hi there” - Heechul sat on the bed - “Would you sit with me? Please?”

“I guess so” - Siwon smiled a bit - “But Uncle Teuk is going to get crazy if I’m not ready for school on time”

“Uhmmm” - Heechul patted the boy’s leg as soon as he sat - “Do you have anything you want to tell me?”

“Mmm... remember the project you helped me with? I got an A” - Siwon smiled shyly- “I spoiled the surprise~ I wanted to keep it secret until teacher—“

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” - Heechul’s voice was full of suffering- “You got an infection, didn’t you? Why did you hide it from me?”

Siwon widened his eyes. He didn’t expect getting caught. He haven’t prepared for that scenario. 

“Does it hurt? Are you feeling ill?” - Heechul couldn’t keep calm any longer. He was staring at the boy like if he was a time bomb. He kept trying to take his temperature just using his hands.

“Just when I pee” - Siwon confessed - “It’s like ‘burning’ but then it goes away. I do feel tired... I didn’t want to worry you and... I... I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t good enough to take care of myself”

“Why would I think that?” - Heechul tried. Sometimes he realized kids wouldn’t think in the same way an adult did. He  recalled how afraid he was to tell his parents about his problems when they often were supportive rather than judging - “Do you think I would get mad because you got sick? If I did, I can assure you wouldn’t be the one I’m mad at but me. If this is someone’s fault... it’s my fault, you get it?”

“I thought you would think I wasn’t clean enough...” - Siwon’s eyes filled with tears. He didn’t want Heechul to get upset for something like that - “I didn’t want to ruin the relationship we had”

“Have” - Heechul corrected - “It wont change just because you got an infection. Look at me! I got sick as well!”

“But you didn’t wet the bed” - Siwon left out without realizing it - “I mean—“

“I used to wet the bed when I was young” - Heechul sighed - “It bothered me all the time. Your father, Gunhee... he often helped me to clean after so your grandparents wouldn’t notice it. When I grew older, I started to take care of the problem all by myself... sneaking into the laundry room at midnight when it happened” 

“Why are you telling me this?” - Siwon felt better somehow. He could feel Heechul was trying his best to connect with him 

“One day... I just stopped” - Heechul did his best to continue - “It just happened. No more wet beds. Then, years after, I had another accident and worried a lot about what my parents and brothers would think of me, so I tried to hide it” 

“Did you get caught?” 

“Of course I did” - Heechul smiled - “My mother... your grandma, she got me when trying to wash my sheets. I thought she would scold me or at least tease me about it... but instead, she was very nice to me. Next day, I also wet my parents’s bed and they were just... fine with it. Do you know why I had those accidents?”

“No?” - Siwon shook his head 

“Because I had an UTI. It’s like a ‘pee related  infection’ “ - Heechul explained - “My parents took me to the doctor and helped me getting better. What do you think about it?”

“I want to get cured too ” - Siwon pouted- “Did it hurt you?” 

“No, I just needed antibiotics and some rest” - Heechul ruffled the boy’s hair - “You will probably need the same”

“Can’t I just take Ryeowook’s med?” - Siwon tried 

“You are older and bigger than him” - Heechul sighed - “Those meds won’t probably work at all” 

“Oh” - Siwon realized his mistake - “I didn’t think about that” 

“Because you are still young and you are not supposed to think about it. Not you and definitely, not Kangin. Not even Yesung, to be fair” - Heechul pinched the boy’s cheeks - “Leave that for the adults” 

“I’m scared” - Siwon leaned on Heechul - “What If I die?” 

“Then I die too” - Heechul kissed the boy - “Lets go. Let’s get you checked” 

Siwon agreed. He followed Heechul to the entrance while the others finished getting ready for school. 

“Don’t say anything, I will explain it to

You later” - Heechul warned Leeteuk - “Also, you are in charge of taking the kids to school today. Ask Mrs Jung to look after Henry”

Heechul realized something wasn’t right when he spotted many doctors gathering. He was hoping for the worst. He kissed Siwon’s head in a try to release stress. 

“Mr Kim” - a doctor called him - “We need to have a talk”

“Sure” - Heechul stood. Siwon chased after but another doctor stopped him - “Wait here, I will be right back~ “

The doctor locked the door. Heechul sat at the office and got pale. Now that the kid was away from him, all his fear showed. 

“How bad...?” - Heechul’s voice cracked when the doctor did a sad expression. 

“We think it reached his kidneys” - The doctor sighed - “Its just a matter of time before he starts having fever and feeling worse. We are also concerned about the boy’s health situation since he is allergic to many things. We believe that the best for him is staying here, in the hospital” 

“How long?” - Heechul’s eyes were filled with tears - “H-he is just four. He gets scared easily and he is often feeling insecure... I would like him to stay here the less time possible” 

“Maybe two days” - The doctor twisted his lips - “Maybe three. Maybe four. I would ask someone to bring you some of his belongings to... well, you know”

“Right” - Heechul tried to remain calm. Those things happened after all. 

The parent called his best friend asking for help and advice. He would have to face one of his biggest fears on earth. 

“But I don’t want to stay here!” - Siwon cried - “I wanna go home! I promise I won’t hide anything from you! I promise! I promise I will be good!”

Heechul’s heart ached. This wasn’t about the kid being good or bad, this was about his health. 

“I don’t wanna be alone” - Siwon sobbed - “I’m scared!”

“Oh... you won’t be alone” - Heechul shook his head - “I wont separate from you. I will stay here with you” 

“Really?” - Siwon pouted - “All time?”

Heechul nodded. He knew he had eight children that needed him as well... but he was worried about Siwon’s mental health. He was concerned about the fact a four years old would rather suffer than tell his dad the truth. 

Leeteuk brought them a lot of stuff from home. He kept telling Heechul  not to worry about the other kids while Siwon’s head. Heechul almost cried when the babysitter left to take care of the other boys. 

“Are you bored?” - Siwon asked as he saw Heechul bitting his finger again - “You Look bored” 

“I’m sleepy” - Heechul admitted- “I haven’t slept that well the past days. Either I wake up because I am hungry or because Ryeowook has to pee”

“What if you drink coffee?” - Siwon knew adults liked to drink coffee to get awake

Heechul’s eyes suddenly grew bigger. Coffee. The so loved beverage that was now forbidden. If he could only get a cup of coffee, this horrible day would be better. He didn’t care about the diet... his stomach already felt good. 

“Would you wait for me while I look for some coffee?” - Heechul smiled to the boy - “I promise I won’t take long”

“Five minutes?” - Siwon asked innocently 

“Yeah~ Five minutes” - Heechul giggled. 

Heechul ran at full speed to the coffee machine. He was selecting his order when he spotted the vending machine filled with what it looked like a paradise for him. 

“Chocolate” - Heechul couldn’t avoid smiling - “Oh My goodness” 

The parent ended losing track of the time as he inspected the whole thing. He had made a deal with himself about just choosing one. He would eat just one. But which one?

“Sir? Are you going to take too long?” - a kid asked from behind. 

A kid. Siwon. Heechul remembered his promise. 

“Which one do you like?” - Heechul smiled to the kid - “I need help choosing one”

Heechul was walking back holding the simplest chocolate bar he could find. He wanted to share it Siwon and therefore, had to take care about his allergies. He had read the package at least three times to make sure he got the right one. He was smiling widely as he held the bar when a few nurses almost crashed with him. 

“Oh God” - Heechul felt the chills. He was used to see a lot of movement in there. After all, it was a hospital. However, he got scared after remembering one of his sons was also a patient there. 

The parent got such a shock he just walked slowly. He held his breathing before turning to the room’s direction hoping his imagination was just playing a trick to him. 

“He is fine... he is just fine. You are just over worrying” - Heechul tried to convince himself - “Lets go... 3...2...”

The chocolate bar hit the floor as soon as the parent’s muscles felt weak. The nurses got inside the room where Siwon was. 

Heechul entered the room looking so pale a ghost would have more colour than him. 

“What’s going on?” - Heechul’s voice cracked - “Whats wrong now? Wha—“

“Mr Kim, we are sorry but please wait outside” 

“He is my son” - Heechul cried - “My boy”

“Can you come with me, please?” - another nurse dragged Heechul outside. 

“What’s wrong?” - Heechul asked again as fat tears rolled down his cheeks - “My boy—“

“He will be fine. Siwon just got a fever” - the nurse gestured Heechul to sit - “We knew this could happen so we kept an eye on him. It’s alright, in just a few minutes you will be able to go inside with him again”

“It’s my fault” - Heechul cried - “I was supposed to be in there but but... But I went to drink that stupid c-coffee and...”

“He will be fine” - the nurse reassured - “Can I bring you something? Would you like a tea? Camomile maybe?”

“N-no... thanks” - Heechul shook his head and wiped his tears - “I’m fine. Thanks. I will just... stay here, I guess”

Heechul felt the minutes passed like ages. It had been only ten minutes when he felt someone approaching. 

“Hi dear” - His mother spoke softly - “How are you feeling? Are you ok?”

“Mom!” - Heechul couldn’t help it. He was so afraid that having his mom there meant a lot - “Mom, Siwon got sick! He is truly ill and I didn’t realize it until it was too late and n-now... now he is got a fever and and and—“

“Shhh” - The mother hugged her son - “Everything will be alright. It could happen to anyone~ I already talked to the doctors and they say Siwon is out of danger. You just have to wait”

“I don’t like waiting” - Heechul sulked - “I feel useless...”

“Sometimes, all we can do—“

“Don’t dare to say it” - Heechul rushed - “I’m already at my limit”

“Sweetheart, its not your fault” - The old lady sighed - “Kids are kids” 

“But he didn’t tell me he was sick” - Heechul’s eyes showed fear - “Why? Does he think I’m scary? Or maybe he thinks I’m not trustworthy... I don’t know. I just know it hurts me”

“Are you upset?”

“I am” - Heechul said firmly- “Not only Siwon but Kangin also hid it from me. He lied! He could have told me earlier and yet... he chose to be on his brother side rather th—“

“I remember a boy that would cover up for his brother” - The Old lady interrupted- “Actually, I remember three boys doing so”

“But I never succeeded” - Heechul pouted - “You always found out about my secrets. I couldn’t hide anything from you”

“That’s because I am a witch”

“Mom!” - Heechul complained - “Not now!”

“You know... I recently noticed Kibum isn’t the same boy he used to be. Mina is a little concerned about it and Donghee... he is clueless about this new behaviour”

“Oh yeah, they did told me about it” - Heechul scratched his head - “They said something about taking him to a psychologist. I just think they are overreacting“

“I was once in the same spot” - Heechul’s mother smiled - “After Donghee was born... You changed. I couldn’t understand why or how, but it affected you a lot. I never thought it could happen because when you were born... Gunhee behaved differently”

“Was I Bad?” - Heechul did a funny expression 

“Not really” - The old lady swayed her head - “You got extremely quiet. The cheerful boy that was often talking non stop turned utterly quiet. I got hurt when I realized you weren’t speaking to me like you used to do. I thought you were jealous of your newborn brother or that daycare was too hard for you” 

“I don’t remember anything about it” - Heechul shrank his shoulders - “I was too young, sorry”

“Have you ever heard of Middle child syndrome?” - The old lady cleaned Heechul’s face with a napkin - “I think that Siwon and you share more in common that you think” 

“Middle child? I’m the middle child but Siwon isn’t... right?” - Heechul doubted - “Oh God, Maybe he IS the middle one”

“I think that just like you and Kibum, Siwon has his own way of expressing his feelings” - The old lady ruffled her son’s hair - “I’m sure he loves you, honey” 

“But he doesn’t know I love him” - Heechul pouted- “I love him as much as I love the others. I know it sounds crazy but I love those nine brats a lot”

“You have a big heart, sweetie” - The old lady giggled- “I need to go back now because I don’t think your dad will be enough to handle those three without help. I will try to come here tomorrow and pay you a visit~ please try to survive ok?”

“I will tell Siwon you came” - Heechul smiled - “He is going to be happy”

“Sure”

“Mr Kim? “ - The nurse was looking for him - “You can come in now “

“Bye~ take care” - Heechul waved to his mom before running to the room where his boy was. 

Siwon was sleeping peacefully. He seemed to be better. Heechul smiled sweetly. 

“He is such a brave boy” - a nurse told him - “We asked him if he would like to wait for you to come before starting treatment but he decided to do it while you were away. He said you hated needles and would get dizzy”

“He is such a sweet boy” - Heechul the boy’s head - “I love him a lot but I don’t know if he knows that”

“I’m sure he does” - the nurse smiled - “He told us his dad was the best” 

Heechul only smiled. He couldn’t feel happy at all. Somehow, one part of him believed Siwon was still referring to Gunhee instead of him. The boy was reluctant to call him ‘dad’ . Only Yesung and him called him “uncle” most of the time. Kangin only did so as a way of punishment. 

“I can’t sleep” - Kangin was lying next to Yesung - “How can you be so relaxed?”

“Siwon will be fine. He is with uncle! Nothing bad will happen to him” 

“What about dad?” - Kangin worried - “Teuk is not there to-“

“Don’t worry about that, I called grandma and she went to look after him” - Yesung confessed 

“But dad told you—“

“To not tattle tell on him, I know” - Yesung laughed - “Sometimes you need to go against the people you love in order to protect them”

“Wow” - Kangin did a surprise expression- “That’s actually a good advice”

“I learned from the best” - Yesung turned off the lights - “Goodnight, Kangin”

“Night night~” - Kangin yawned - “I will go back to my room”

Siwon woke up feeling better. He felt something heavy on his legs and worried. He laughed when he found out it was just Heechul that had fallen asleep in a weird position. 

“Hey” - Siwon couldn’t avoid chuckling- “Good morning”

There was no response. Heechul had a deep sleep. The tired man was finally sleeping after so long. 

“Your dad fell asleep on you” - the nurse teased - “He refused to leave the room”

“He is amazing” - Siwon patted Heechul’s head - “But he is not my ‘dad’. He is actually my uncle”

“Oh... I thought—“

“That’s ok” - Siwon smiled - “I also think of him as my own dad” 

Heechul woke up minutes later thanks to all the noise in the room. 

“Oh ” - Heechul realized he had fallen asleep - “Siwon!”

“I’m here” - Siwon hugged him - “Did you sleep well? Are you feeling better ?”

“I should be the one asking those questions” - Heechul sulked - “Thansk for asking but I’m fine. What about you?”

“A lot better” - Siwon smiled shyly- “I’m actually happy”

“Why would you?” - Heechul sighed - “Skipping school? That’s the only reason I can think of” 

“Because you kept your promise” - Siwon was displaying the biggest smile Heechul had ever seen - “You stayed with me”

“Of course I did” - Heechul faked he was offended - “How you dare to doubt my word, brat?”

“Can you pass me my backpack?” - Siwon pointed to the place where his things were - “Uncle Teuk brought it for me yesterday”

“Yeah I know” - Heechul pouted - “Here”

“Thanks~” - Siwon starting looking for something - “Here”

“Whats This?” - Heechul was amused by the cute handmade envelope - “A letter?”

“We were asked to write about our hero” Siwon couldn’t look at his dad from shyness- “I wrote about...”

“Me” - Heechul sat on the chair with teary eyes. He read the letter many times before looking at the boy again - “You wrote about me”

“I admire you” - Siwon said in a low voice - “When I grow up... I want to be just like you”

“Oh my” - Heechul felt his heart jump - “OH MY”

“I used to believe we didn’t have many in common and I worried I couldn’t be like you” - Siwon confessed - “I thought that if I told you I got sick you could think I was stupid and not good enough to be like you”

“Oh Siwon” - Heechul sighed - “You are definitely smarter than me, so don’t worry about that. You won’t be exactly like me, but you are perfect just the way you are”

“Do you think I will be as cool as you?” - Siwon asked 

“You will be a better version” - Heechul whispered to the boy 

“When will I be brave like you?” - Siwon I leaned on his dad 

“I’m not brave” - Heechul smiled - “I still fear needles and a few things more”

“Like what?” - Siwon grew curious- “Whats your biggest fear? Mine is the red monster that lives in the closet”

“I’m sure Kangin was just lying about it” - Heechul giggled - “But Hey, I’m also scared of that monster. Im sure he is the one that ate our socks!”

“Yeah he did! I lost two socks!” - Siwon chirped - “And and... my sweater got tangled with a shirt!”

“Oh my! What a bad monster!” - Heechul successfully connected with his boy. Siwon wouldn’t stop talking. In just two days, father and son created a new bond. 

“I miss—“

“DADAAAAAAA!” - The twins interrupted the nanny - “DADADADADADADADADA”

“Hi” - Heechul greeted them - “Did I miss something?”

“Wookie leawned to kount to twiwty!” - Ryeowook chirped happily - “Wookie lewaned a new zong” 

“Oh no! I missed so much in these three days!” - Heechul joked 

“You can joke all you want” - Leeteuk twisted his lips - “but you got a lot of things to learn. I mean, these three days without you were... a thing. Many things happened and you need to catch up”

“Did something happen? I was told everything was under control”

“Well, technically is nothing we didn’t know” - Leeteuk twisted his lips - “Lets say we have a ‘little’ problem” 

“Little...?” - Heechul noticed how Leeteuk glanced at the little toddler that was hugging his dad’s legs - “Him?”

“Uhum” - Leeteuk took a deep breath - “We need to talk about Wookie”

“Uh?” - Ryeowook looked at his caregivers with innocent eyes. 

——————————————————————-

You already got the title of the next chapter ^-^ 

What do you think of Siwon and Heechul? Their relationship improves little by little but still, every child’s relation with his/her dad is unique and develops differently.