“Did you hear it? About the crazy family that has eight children?” 

“Werent they nine? I think they have an even younger one!”

“That’s right! That’s right! I have seen them with a wild toddler!”

“Don’t you think is crazy he finally found someone to live with them?”

“I’m really shocked to discover he actually looked for a woman… I mean, we all know that he has a weird relationship with the babysitter”

“Right? I think that’s why the old lady decided to adopt him. She saw it coming and wanted to stop it!”

“I truly pity the poor soul that got trapped in that family… she must be so desperate”

“Or maybe she is just taking advantage” 

“Yeah, as far as we know she could be a gold digger” 

“Oh my, so horrible. Shouldn’t the authorities do something about them? Those kids are being raised in such a bad environment they are gonna be criminals when they grow up!”

“Oh, you can do whatever you want when you have money. Didn’t you hear they are transferring to that super exclusive school?”

“Well, I don’t think it is that ‘exclusive’ if they are going in” 

The women laughed. Heeyeon just sipped her cold beverage in silence. She was trying to focus on Kangin’s game rather than the comments the women made about them. 
Leeteuk was sitting next to her wondering if she was better at emotional control than Heechul. He was sure Heechul would have already got into a fight not caring they were women. 

“Kangin is doing fine, right?” - Leeteuk tried to start a conversation feeling Heeyeon was in a bad mood - “isn’t he lovely?” 

“Uhum” 

“It’s a pity Heechul couldn’t come” - Leeteuk gave her an awkward smile - “S-should I record it for him?” 

“Maybe” 

“Oh my, look who we have there” - one of the women got a glimpse of them - “Is she the poor girl? She looks young, right? I bet she barely has experience with kids” 

“Tsk tsk” - another one continued - “They probably came to see the rascal one. He is the one with the yellow helmet” 

“Seriously? What a bad taste. Who on earth buys a yellow helmet for baseball?”

(Kangin wanted that one. Heechul specifically chose it for him. Who cares if it doesn’t look good at all? He is freaking boy. He is just about to finish first grade. ITS NORMAL) 

Heeyeon sipped from her cup again. It was making a sound considering that it was almost empty. Leeteuk gulped down. He could feel she wasn’t that different from Heechul. Somehow he knew they were almost at the breaking point. 

“But where is the other man? Do you think she is cheating him with the babysitter?” 

“Forget about the adults, the wild brat is about to bat now” 

“Such a savage. He is truly uneducated” 

“He is such a troublemaker” 

“Whooo! Kangin!” - Leeteuk did his best cheering for the boy despite being about to cry at any moment - “You can do it!”

Kangin waved at them with a worried face. He could see his mom was in a terrible mood. 

“I bet he won’t be able to score a single point” 

The women laughed again. That was it. Heeyeon put aside her cup and tried to leave her sit. Leeteuk stopped her by pulling one of her pink long sleeves. 

“Where are you going?” - He inquired 

“To pee” - she lied - “I think I drank too much tea” 

Leeteuk doubted it. Yet again, he wasn’t going to stop Heeyeon from using the restroom. Her story could be actually true. 

“It’s a pity, you will miss it” - Leeteuk sighed as he let go - “But hey, I was going to record it anyway” 

Heeyeon gave him a mischievous smile. Leeteuk worried. 

“Where is she going?” - Yesung was also concerned - “Is she ok?”

Leeteuk just smiled to him. He didn’t want to worry the boys. 

“Focus on the game , ok?” - Leeteuk told the boys - “We are here for Kangin, remember?”

“Whats mommy doing down there?” - Siwon pointed at Heeyeon- “Is she going to play too?”

“What is she doing there?” - Leeteuk repeated in dismay 

“Hey coach! Can I have few words with my son?” - Heeyeon was close to the field - “It will be just a minute”

“Kim! You mom needs to talk to you!” - the coach called Kangin - “just two minutes” 

“What’s going on?” - Kangin asked nervously as Heeyeon dragged him apart - “Did I do something wrong?”

“Look, you got this. The bases are loaded, so if you do well, your team can score four points more” - Heeyeon started - “A home run would be nice right now” 

“What— I don’t get it” - Kangin was shocked 

“All your friends need to trickle ‘home’ “ - Heeyeon sounded half annoyed - “Send that ball out of reach and you guys will score four points. You are losing just by three, so, if you score four… you will win. This is the last inning!” 

“No, what I don’t get is how you actually know the rules” - Kangin giggled - “Dad and Uncle have no idea of how to play this thing” 

“Well… I do” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders - “and I refuse to sit back there listening to those witches speak ill about our family. So, at least try it” 

“Any advice?” - Kangin smiled in naughty way - “You do know hitting a home run right now would be just pure luck, right?”

“You are the best batter of your team. And Heechul makes sure you don’t miss any practice” 

“Because he wants to get rid of me for a few hours” 

“You know? Sometimes it’s not about ability but being cunning” - Heeyeon whispered into his ear - “You get it?” 

 “I will do my best” - Kangin chuckled 

Heeyeon nodded as the boy went back to the field. Leeteuk was waiting for her with arms crossed. 

“To the restroom, uh?”

“Shut up and start recording” - she instructed- “Heechul can’t miss this” 

“Strike!” 

“See? A total failure” - A woman commented as Kangin missed the first ball - “I knew it” 

“He didn’t move at all” - Siwon observed

“What is he doing?” - Yesung was desperated - “Cmon Kangin! Cmon!”

Leeteuk grew nervous. It had been a long and difficult game. It was the last one from the season. He somehow wished Kangin’s team got to win that year considering it would be his last time with that team. 

“Strike!”

“” - Yesung left out as he covered his face using his cap - “We are doomed”

“Hey” - Leeteuk warned the boy 

“I don’t wanna see!” - Siwon covered his face 

“Oh no, keep watching” - Heeyeon made sure both boys paid attention - “Look closely” 

The whole crowd went crazy. 

“ITS A HOME RUN! KIM KANGIN JUST HIT A HOME RUN!” - even the speakers went crazy - “THE BASES WERE LOADED! IT COULD BE? IT COULD BE?”

“No way” - the women behind them left out a sigh of sadness- “How could it happen?”

“HOME!” - Kangin chirped excited as he stepped on it the last - “WE WON! WE WON!”

“KANGING YOU DID IT!” - The whole team was running towards him - “YOU ARE THE BEST!”

“See that boy over there?” - Heeyeon turned to the women behind - “He is my son. He is the best, isn’t him?”

Of course, they didn’t reply. They just left looking at them with despise while Heeyeon smiled and waved goodbye in a silly way. 

“MOM! MOM! I DID IT!” - Kangin was hugging her - “DID YOU SEE IT?”

“Yeah, my cute little bear” - Heeyeon pinched his cheeks - “we all saw it! It was amazing!”

“My heart is still beating fast” - Leeteuk had his hand on his chest - “What a day… I didn’t think you would win, Kangin. I’m so happy for you and your team” 

“Dude! You were losing just five minutes ago!” - Yesung was so rushed since he was excited - “It was totally awesome! I thought you were done when you failed twice!” 

“Oh, I didn’t fail” - Kangin confessed with a mischievous smile - “I did it on purpose” 

“Why?” - Siwon was clueless 

“Mom’s advice” - Kangin nodded - “She told me to slow the game. She said that if I wasted a few minutes, victory was most likely ours. So I dragged my feet over and took some time adjusting. I failed the first and second ball and yeah, the third one… was incredibly easy to bat” 
 
“Whoah” - Yesung tilted his head - “that’s interesting. I didn’t know about that strategy” 

“Cuz it doesn’t really work on professional games” - Heeyeon giggled as they walked to the parking lot with the trophy - “But kids… kids are different. They can’t keep focus very long and sometimes rush things in order to make their way out sooner. Specially, if they really really need to go out”

Leeteuk watched the recording. Yeah. He already saw what was Heeyeon referring to. Anyone who had worked closely with kids would notice. The boy pitching was definitely urged and needed a potty break. Poor thing. 

“Oh, hey! Just look who came!” - Heeyeon was pointing at a rushed Heechul holding several kids at once. 

“Oh no… did we miss it?” - Heechul sounded sad - “Boy… I’m so sorry” 

“No problem dad” - Kangin was hiding the trophy behind his back - “It was a good game”

“Oh Kangin” - Heechul kneeled down to be closer - “It’s ok if your team isn’t first place… Second place is not bad either and… more importantly, I’m really proud of you. Like really proud. You will always be number one in my heart” 

“And charts” - Kangin smiled playfully as he showed him the trophy and his medal - “WE WON!”

“OH BOY! OH BOY!” - Heechul was making a scene lifting Kangin up high - “JUST LOOK AT YOU!”

“They even gave me a … how you call this piece of paper? Whatever. I was the best player in the game!” 

“That’s a diploma” - Heechul found it funny - “Oh, how good Kangin” 

“Such a noisy family” - One woman of the looser team complained 

“Mom, why is the ugly grandma looking at us?” - Donghae pointed at the woman with his index finger 

“Oh no no, Hae” - Heeyeon corrected him - “We don’t point at people like that” 

The woman obviously got the hint as Heeyeon didn’t correct Donghae for the words he said. 
Heechul was laughing as he knew the woman got upset because she got called ‘ugly’ and ‘old’ by a four years old. 

“Did you know Mom actually knows how this game works?” - Kangin commented on the ride to the restaurant - “She understands it!”

“Well, it makes sense” - Heechul chuckled - “You see, Gunhee used to take her to baseball games” 

“Really? Why would he?” - Kangin giggled - “Dad didn’t like baseball, did he? I think he preferred soccer” 

“But Hani did” - Heechul got soft remembering the old times - “So, my brother would do anything to impress her. He was crazy”

“I didn’t know you were into sports” - Leeteuk said amused  - “I was told you were more ‘artistic’ “ 

“Ballet, rhythmic gymnastics, piano” - Heeyeon recalled - “I excelled at those and failed in everything that had a ball but… I know the rules. I used to watch lots of games” 

“You did?” - Leeteuk was surprised - “I had no idea you liked watching those” 

“I wasn’t really interested at first… but a cute guy took me to the games” 

“Seriously? Did you date anyone else? Heechul is not the type of guy who would take his girlfriend to a baseball game, is he?” 

Heeyeon checked the mirror. The twins were fast asleep. 

“Heechul wasn’t that type of guy” - Heeyeon said softly - “but Gunhee… he was going to do anything in order to date my sister” 

[several years ago]

“Are you going out?” 

“Why are you so surprised?” - a young Hani was applying make up - “I already told you I would meet Gunhee today” 

“Gunhee” - The little girl did a face - “Is he your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, he is” - Hani laughed - “are you jealous?”

The girl shrank shoulders. She seemed upset. 

“Why are you so upset, Heeyeon?” - Hani turned to her - “I will play with you later. For real” 

“I finally get out of that stupid place and you won’t have time for me” 

“Well, sorry for making plans with my boyfriend” - Hani sighed - “But I had no idea you would be home this weekend” 

“It’s not fair” - Heeyeon sulked - “I didn’t want to waste a minute of our time together” 

Hani was still trying to figure out a way of lifting her mood when he heard Gunhee and her uncle talking. 

“I will nice to her, sir” - Gunhee was being polite as always - “I swear she will be back before night” 

“And you know what happens if you—-“ 

“Make her cry for any reason” - Gunhee continued - “I will be forever banned of this place and I won’t be allow to contact her by any—“

“Uncle!” - Hani scolded as she found them - “What are you doing?”

“Just setting some boundaries” - Mr Ahn scoffed - “Do you really think I’m ready to let my girl date? Pfff no” 

“You are not my dad” - Hani hissed - “I truly appreciate it but… just don’t” 

“Well, someone has to make sure you date the correct guy” - Mr Ahn explained calmly - “I promised your father that I would take care of you. FOREVER. I think of you like my own daughter” 

“Fine” - Hani admitted defeat - “Can we go now? Gunhee is taking me to a baseball game and more” 

“Hey there, little fella” - Gunhee was offering a hand to a little upset girl - “What’s your name?”

“Heeyeon, stop sulking” - Hani sighed - “She is my little… cousin. We are like sisters. She is just upset because I’m going out with you” 

“For real?” - Gunhee did a cute face - “Would you like to come with us?” 

Heeyeon widened her eyes. She didn’t hope for such a kind invitation. In fact, she still didn’t believe it. Used to being the girl who everyone messed with… she thought Gunhee just wanted to . 

She ran to hide behind Hani. 

“She is shy, isn’t she?” - Gunhee took it well - “How old are you?” 

“Answer him” - Hani was also patient - “Cmon. You can talk to him” 

“I’m seven” - Heeyeon said softly - “Nice to meet you… mr” 

“Mr? Oh, I’m not that old!” - Gunhee was being funny and made her laugh - “Do I look THAT old?”

Heeyeon shook her head playfully. She was still giggling. 

“So” - Gunhee clapped his hands - “do you want to come? I wouldn’t mind” 

“But Hani…” - She looked at Hani waiting for approval

“You can join us” - Hani smiled pleased - “Since Gunhee is fine with it…” 

“Good” - Mr Ahn cleared his throat and leaned towards his young daughter - “You make sure those two don’t get ‘too close’, get it?” 

“UNCLE!” 

[end of flashback] 

“He took you to your first game” - Leeteuk smiled pleased - “And you started liking sports?”

“Not actually… I started liking HIM” - Heeyeon chuckled shyly - “I went crazy. It was like having an older brother! He even bought me a hot dog and a baseball cap!”

“Oh” - Leeteuk wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to - “Did you have a crush?”

Heeyeon hit the braces. The twins only grunted a bit but they were so drowsy they fell asleep again. 

“You did!” - Leeteuk was smiling widely - “Does Heechul know?”

“Red light” - Heeyeon defended herself pointing at the traffic lights - “See? It wasn’t because of your question”

“I know that” - Leeteuk wasn’t going to stop any sooner - “But your face! You are so red!”

“Am I?” - Heeyeon checked herself in the mirror - “Oh my… I am!” 

They both laughed. The twins finally woke up due to the noise but they found the whole situation hilarious even if they didn’t know why the adults were laughing. 

“Why are you laughing?” - Heeyeon checked the boys using the mirror - “Are you in a good mood?”

“Yeah!” - Kyuhyun laughed hysterically- “Uncle and Mama funny!”

“We are, indeed” - Leeteuk replied amused - “Did you have a good sleep?” 

“Ung!” - Both boys stretched 

“So cute” - Heeyeon giggled

“Dada?” - Ryeowook noticed they were the only ones in the car - “Mama’s car” 

“Yeah, this one is mine” - Heeyeon said pleased - “ Dada has your brothers. Uncle Teuk and I couldn’t ride it since we wouldn’t fit and since you were sleeping… we thought you would be better with us” 

Ryeowook pouted. 

“Are you sad because you are not with daddy?” - Heeyeon worried - “It’s ok, we are almost there!” 

Leeteuk found strange how the twins were quiet all of sudden. They used to get dizzy when they were younger but he thought they had stopped. Also, Heeyeon drove better than he did…

“Are you boys ok? Are you dizzy?”

“Uh… Nuh” - Kyuhyun shook his head 

Leeteuk turned to them. He caught the very moment Ryeowook crossed his legs and squirmed in his seat.

“Do you need to pee?” - Leeteuk knew the answer. He bit his lips when both twins nodded. It made sense… after a nap, they always wanted to pee - “Hang on, ok? We are almost there” 

“Are they gonna be ok?” - Heeyeon asked the experienced babysitter - “There is only five minutes left but… they are toddlers” 

“I know” - Leeteuk looked around. There was no way to pull over that quickly - “Let’s just be prepared to run as soon as you park the car” 

“Mama… Kyu needs potty” - Kyuhyun whined - “wee wee” 

“I know, baby” - Heeyeon worried as she could sense fear in his voice - “Can you hold it a little bit longer?” 

“Dun know” - Kyuhyun sighed 

“It’s ok” - she said calmly- “If you have an accident now, nothing bad will happen” 

“Uncle! Uncle!” - Ryeowook was moving too much. It was clear who was in a bigger urge. 

“Finally” - Leeteuk sighed in relief when Heeyeon managed to park. 

Both adults unlocked their doors really quick and got to the back. Ryeowook was already out of his special seat as he knew how to unlock it. 

“Wookie pee! Wookie pee!” - Ryeowook was incredibly stressed as he felt his bladder giving up - “Huwy! Huwy!” 

“They are not going to make it inside” - Leeteuk said as he unbuckled Kyuhyun - “They are truly in a hurry” 

“Good thing mom is always ready” - Heeyeon pulled out two empty bottles from the seat pockets - “You help Kyu, I help Wook” 

While Ryeowook had no problems with it, Kyuhyun seemed deeply confused at first.
He eventually peed since his bladder couldn’t hold it longer. He got scared.

“Don’t move, don’t move” - Leeteuk worried they could make a mess since Kyuhyun moved uncomfortable- “It’s ok, Kyunnie. You are doing great” 

“I peed lotz” - Ryeowook was happy since he felt relieved- “Hehe”

“Are you feeling better now?”- Heeyeon wiped a few tears from Ryeowook eyes - “It was troubling you, right? My poor baby”

“Wookie awkcident “ - Ryeowook pouted - “Pee pee”

“Let me see” 

Heeyeon inspected his underwear. He was right, it was a bit wet. Lucky for him, toddler underwear they used was thicker than normal one. That meant his pants would be safe as long as they only leaked a bit. 

“You leaked a bit” - Heeyeon cleaned him using wet wipes and offered some to Leeteuk - “Let’s undress ok? I will give you a clean one” 

Leeteuk found amazing Heeyeon kept a suitcase with full clothes changes for the kids. 

“See? This one is yours” - Heeyeon helped to dress the boy and then kissed his cheek - “Ta da. Nothing happened” 

Ryeowook was beyond pleased as he also got a kiss. Kyuhyun demanded one right away. 

“Kyu kizz too” - He pouted annoyed 

“I just realized you must be the smarter out of us” - Leeteuk shared his thoughts - “I mean, you seem to have everything under control. It took us a few potty accidents to realize that we needed empty cups and some toilet paper” 

“I’m a woman” - Heeyeon scoffed - “I’m always prepared”

Leeteuk’s strategy consisted mainly in avoiding those situations by providing several chances to the kids to relieve themselves. Heechul’s one… well, he didn’t actually have one. He just improvised and sometimes things ended really bad. Most of the times it happened in the car, it ended with a wet seat. 

“Why did you take so long?” - Heechul complained as they got inside - “cmon. We are about to order”

The twins seemed ashamed. Heechul squinted his eyes. 

“What did you do?” 

“They were sleeping so deeply I couldn’t wake them up” - Heeyeon lied with skill - “Leeteuk had to help me”

“Yeah, it was nothing” - Leeteuk shrank shoulders. He was a terrible liar - “They were so hard to wake up” 

Heechul raised an eyebrow and glanced at Heeyeon looking for an explanation. She just winked at him like asking for complicity. He took the hint and stopped making questions. Whatever it was, he would know later. 

“Can I order a real hamburger?” - Kangin asked them - “pleassssseeeeee?”

“What do you mean?” - Leeteuk checked the menu not understanding the kid - “Are there fake ones?”

“Oh, they have special menu for children!” - Heeyeon chirped amused as she showed the twins - “Which one do you want? Nuggets? Pasta? Burger?”

“PASTA!” - Kyuhyun bounced really excited - “ ‘mato zguetii!” 

“You truly like spaghetti” - Heeyeon was pleased - “what about you?”

Ryeowook doubted a lot. He seemed to have a hard time choosing something. He wasn’t used to do so. He usually just ate whatever they cooked for him. 

“No, no” - Kangin was explaining himself - “I mean I want a REAL burger. Like the ones YOU eat. Not the kiddy one”

“Fair enough” - Heechul agreed - “He is almost eight. It makes sense, right?”

“Maybe… but a normal one” - Leeteuk pointed at a few options - “not those with several layers” 

“Im gonna order the monster one!” - Kangin teased 

“Monster? Where?” - Siwon looked around - “There is no monster here, right?” 

“Mine is prettier” - The triplets were busier doing some coloring. They had zero interest in the menu. They were just having fun with the activities for keeping kids busy at the table 

“I also want a burger” - Yesung nodded - “With mushrooms” 

“Eewwww” - Kangin complained - “Why mushrooms? I want mine with cheese and bacon” 

“That’s also cool. But I like onions and mushrooms” 

“Blegh. I don’t like mushwooms” - Eunhyuk did a face - “And lettuce. Ew. Not tomato. And pickles. So gross” 

“We get it” - Heechul rolled his eyes - “You can eat a napkin” 

“I want nuggets” - Siwon raised his hand - “with fries” 

“So? What do you want?” - Heeyeon was still trying to help Ryeowook decide - “Can’t you decide?”

“Ize cweam!”

“That can be your dessert” - Heechul told from the other side of the table - “But if you guys don’t eat well, there won’t be any dessert”

“Noooo” - Eunhyuk whined knowing he was the one Heechul was referring to - “I want dessert”

“Then choose something and eat” 

Heechul could feel how Heeyeon gave him a deadly look. He shook his head like saying ‘I won’t take it back’ and obviously annoyed her. 
Ryeowook finally chose the kiddy burger of the menu and Leeteuk made sure Siwon’s choice was free of the things he was allergic to. 

Of course, whenever they ate, outside or at home, there were always complaints. 

“I don’t like it” - Eunhyuk whined when he saw the pasta had something green on top - “It has veggies” 

“That’s parsley” - Heechul sighed - “I will remove it, ok?”

“No, it touched it” - Eunhyuk did a grossed face - “I don’t want it” 

“Kyuhyun didn’t care” - Leeteuk observed pleased how the boy ate with energy 

“Do you want me to help you and cut this in pieces?” - Heeyeon was helping Ryeowook since the burger was hard to handle for a toddler - “or you want me to help you eat it like a sandwich?”

“Liwe zandwichhh!” - Ryeowook was in a good mood. He laughed when his face got dirty with ketchup - “I wuv it!”

“You like it? That’s good!” - Heeyeon smiled pleased - “make sure of chewing well, ok?”

“ITS AMAZING” - Kangin was having a blast since he got a big burger - “Dad, look! It’s huge!”

“Do you want some salad?” - Leeteuk was offering Heeyeon- “This thing is bigger than I thought” 

“Nice! I love it!” - Heeyeon took a share while Ryeowook stole a chicken finger from her - “One for Kyu too” 

Kyuhyun took the chicken finger with gratitude. He was pleased to receive more food. He was also taking some of Ryeowook fries since his twin didn’t care at all. 

“Fine” - Heechul sounded angry - “Don’t eat. But there won’t be any dessert for you, ok?”

Eunhyuk sulked. His twins on the other hand, were eating well. Everyone else was eating well. He knew he was going to be the only one left out of dessert and it bothered him. 

“Don’t you want to try something else?” - Leeteuk tried meddling- “What about some fries? Or nuggets…? Or chicken finger?”

“Whatzzzz dizzzz” - Ryeowook was trying to steal from Heechul’s food - “Give me” 

“Its spicy” - Heechul lied - “You won’t like it”

Ryeowook just laughed but took what he wanted anyway. One of the advantages of being little is that no one could get mad at you for taking food. Even if Heechul was still in a bad mood after Eunhyuk said he wouldn’t eat, he still found Ryeowook so cute, he laughed. 

“There are boiled eggs in this salad” - Leeteuk kept offering options to the sad boy - “Don’t you want to try them?”

“No! I don’t like eggs” - Eunhyuk pouted 

“But you like the cheese omelette I make for you” - Heeyeon tried - “And you ate boiled eggs for dinner last week” 

“I don’t want em! I don’t want em!” - Eunhyuk started a tantrum. He even kicked the table - “I don’t want to eat!” 

“Shhh it’s ok” - Heeyeon was hugging him - “It’s ok if you don’t feel like eating, ok? Let’s just try to be nice and remain calm at the table” 

“Hyukkie, do you want nuggets?” - Donghae offered - “I still have many! Many!” 

“No!” - Eunhyuk shook his head and cried - “I want to go home!”

“You can’t. We are still eating” - Heechul scolded - “And you can’t leave the table either” 

Eunhyuk cried annoyed. 

“This is why I told you we should leave them with grandma” - Kangin complained - “But nooooo, you only left Henry. You wanted the young ones to come too” 

“Kangin is right, you are disturbing the other tables” - Yesung scolded his brother - “and ruining a precious family outing” 

“Come sit with me” - Heeyeon moved the kid next to her - “Werent you doing a drawing? Don’t you want to finish it?”

Eunhyuk sobbed a bit and nodded. He went back to coloring using crayons while the rest of them ate. 

“Done” - Ryeowook announced as he played with some fries and ketchup - “Now Ize cweam, pweaze” 

“Daddy” - Donghae was pulling Heechul’s shirt- “Daddy, daddy” 

“What?”

“I wanna poop” 

Heechul sighed. It was normal since they just ate… and his kids had this ability to poop in the worst possible scenario. He actually was surprised no one asked for the toilet before. 

“Minnie wanna pee” - Sungmin also got down of his chair 

“Can I go too?” - A shy Siwon asked 

Heechul sighed again when he saw at least four boys following him. He wondered how much time he would keep having to interrupt his meals to take kids to the toilet. He laughed internally when he recalled Cherry was a girl and Heeyeon would probably have to take her all time when possible. 

Dessert time came and of course, the mess continued. At least they were happy, he thought. Of course, there was one kid in sorrow but it couldn’t be helped. He didn’t keep his promise and he would set an example. That’s why he got mad when he saw Heeyeon feeding him some of her dessert. 

“Do you like it?” - Heeyeon asked sweetly - “It’s a brownie. This is whipped cream and this is vanilla ice cream” 

“Heeyeon” - Heechul called her coldly - “Ahn Heeyeon”

Leeteuk got the chills. He had never listened to Heechul calling Heeyeon like that. Not using that tone. He could tell he was pissed. 

“Yeah?” - Heeyeon pretended not to know what was wrong 

Yesung got anxious when he saw Heechul getting angrier. 

“We said he wouldn’t have dessert, remember?” - Heechul did his best to not raise his voice despite the anger - “He didn’t eat anything” 

“No, you said that” - Heeyeon shook her head - “I never agreed on that”

Leeteuk widened his eyes. Contradicting Heechul infront of eight of his children? In something so important like that? Heeyeon was crossing a line and he knew it. He got incredibly concerned about the couple relationship. 

“We will talk once we get home” - Heechul stated coldly noticing his kids seemed anxious - “Ok?”

“Fine” - Heeyeon seemed hurt yet stubborn kept eating her dessert like nothing - “Whatever” 

Kangin looked at Yesung like saying: whaaaaat. Siwon sighed. Eunhyuk was incredibly sad.

If Leeteuk could ever go back in time, he would rewind until they left Henry with his grandparents and ask them to look after Eunhyuk as well. All the situation could have been avoided like that. Now, he only listened to a long discussion between Heechul and Heeyeon. They were really arguing, and they were both stubborn. 

“What the hell? What is wrong with you?” - Heechul complained - “How you dare dismissing my authority in front of them?” 

“Oh sorry” - Heeyeon was sarcastic - “I didn’t know this was a power game. I thought you were just torturing a kid for fun” 

“Torturing?” - Heechul was clearly upset because of the accusations - “I was trying to educate him!”

“On what? The only thing you managed to do was scaring him and making him cry!” - Heeyeon shouted - “you shouldn’t force a kid to eat!” 

“Oh, ho ho” - Heechul shook his head - “He can’t just skip meals. That’s unhealthy” 

“No, you know what’s unhealthy? Teaching kids to eat even if they are not hungry or they don’t like the food” - Heeyeon grunted - “What if Eunhyuk develops a trauma because of this? What if he gets sick?” 

“A trauma? You are exaggerating things” - Heechul even scoffed - “he is a child! He gets scolded when he acts wrong! It’s the normal thing to do!”

“This wasn’t a joke they played on you or a fight at kindergarten” - Heeyeon shook her head - “Eunhyuk is picky, yeah I know. And I know it causes a lots of troubles since cooking is hard and going to eat outside is even worse” 

“Oh, so you recognize he has a problem” 

“He is just a child! It’s ok if he is picky” - Heeyeon continued - “If you want his relationship with food to improve then don’t go around adding reasons to associate eating with something bad” 

“You are spoiling him” - Heechul accused - “The kids need to learn what is best for them. It’s parents duty to teach them” 

“And I agree with that” - Heeyeon calmed down a bit - “but I didn’t like how you handled it. And yeah, I shouldn’t have gone against you like that but… it’s was just awful” 

“Oh, so now you have more experience than me when it comes to kids?” - Heechul mocked - “Do you think you could handle it better?”

“You are being a jerk” - Heeyeon said coldly 

“Of course” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “Why not? Eunhyuk misbehaves, you go against my rules but I’m the mean one” 

“I don’t think we should keep going” - Heeyeon said exhausted- “I need to go out” 

“Just run away like you always—“ 

Leeteuk heard the sound of a slap. And even if he thought Heechul deserved it, he worried about what would come next. 

“Heeyeon” - Leeteuk tried to stop her  as she rushed outside 

“Dont” - She warned him. 

Leeteuk felt his heart heavier than usual. Heeyeon was crying when she left. He knew that even if they fought, they still loved each other. He just wondered how much time it would take to them for go back to their lovey dovey usual being. 

“Dont” - Heechul warned him as well - “I know I screwed it up” 

“I’m not saying she was right… but you were rude” - Leeteuk said as he sat on the bed - “Heechul, are you ok?”

“Of course not!” - Heechul was crying uncontrollably- “She was upset! And how could I said that to her? And you know something? I do think she is half right. I ruined the family outing” 

“Well, we still had a great time” - Leeteuk did his best to console his brother - “of course that your little fight with Eunhyuk was unnecessary but the kids still had fun eating outside” 

“I wanted to celebrate Kangin’s triumph” - Heechul kept crying - “And I ruined his day by fighting with his brother and his new mom” 

Leeteuk remained silent for a while only hugging and patting Heechul’s back occasionally. The man was devastated. He had never seen him like that before. He had seen him cry over the kids and more, but this was different. It’s not that one felt more important than the other, it was just different. 

“Boys?” - They heard Mrs Kim asking for them - “are you in there?”

“, what is she doing here?” - Heechul cursed between sobs - “Send her back or something”

“She must be here to drop Henry” 

“Are you crying?” - the old woman approached them quickly as she locked the door - “what’s wrong baby?”

Leeteuk tried to shook his head and ask her to stop but of course, his mother just wouldn’t stop worrying. It didn’t make sense to ask her to leave. He tried to give them some privacy but Heechul pulled his shirt really hard and made him sit back. 

“You stay” - He cried annoyed 

“Oh my poor baby” - The old lady was inspecting Heechul’s face - “What happened? And where is Heeyeon by the way?” 

Heechul cried harder. Leeteuk sighed. 

“Did she leave?” - The old woman worried - “Again?!”

“Mom” - Leeteuk got a bit upset by the way his mom made it sound - “please” 

“Sorry” - The woman really felt sorry for her words - “But what’s wrong with her? Did you two fight?”

Heechul nodded. He couldn’t talk at all. 

“Oh” - Mrs Kim smiled a bit - “No big deal, then” 

“N-no big deal?” - Heechul complained - “I-I got mad at her! And and she got mad at me! And—-“ 

“So? Do you think you are the first couple to fight?” - Mrs Kim raised her eyebrows the same way Heechul usually did - “I got you news: all couples fight”

“Yeah, but not like that” - Heechul was in despair 

“I’m guessing this one. You fought over your children” 

“Uh? How you know that?” - Heechul eyes were so red from crying - “It was over Eunhyuk being picky and something that took place at the restaurant”

“Because… couples have a hard time when it’s about the kids” - Mrs Kim smiled softly - “It doesn’t matter how many times you had discussed things before raising kids, you will always find new things to argue for” 

Heechul listened carefully. 

“Your dad and I? Pfff. We fought every other night” - Mrs Kim chuckled - “Mostly because of you” 

“Me?” 

“You were a total brat” - Mrs Kim placed a hand on Heechul’s head - “You got in troublers all time and I was going crazy. There were days in which I would scold you and then your dad would play ‘good cop’ and give you toys and tasty stuff. I always got mad because he made me look like the mean one” 

“But dad also scolded me” - Heechul looked at her with big eyes - “and you spoiled me too” 

“True” - Mrs Kim agreed - “and that how it is. We had our differences but we both agreed always on the same” 

“Which was?”

“We love you” - Mrs Kim also took Leeteuk’s hand - “All of you. To the end of the world if needed” 

While a beautiful family moment was taking place at the mansion, Heeyeon was a sea of tears at her parents house. 

“Oh baby, don’t cry that much” - Mrs Ahn was wiping her tears away - “You will hurt yourself”

“I even slapped him” - Heeyeon closed her eyes in pain - “You should have seen his face… he was so sad! I— I—- I never wanted to make him sad! He deserves to be happy!”

“All of you deserve to be happy” - Mrs Ahn was serving tea - “Heeyeon, do you like being a mom?”

“Yeah, I do” - Heeyeon nodded - “I love the kids. It’s hard but they are so cute I can endure anything for them” 

“Do you love Heechul?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I do! He is the love of my life! He… He probably don’t want to see me right now” - Heeyeon sulked - “Do you think he will ever forgive me?”

“Trust me” - Mrs Ahn winked at her - “He already did” 

“You dont know that”

“Heechul is a good kid” - Mrs Ahn smiled - “and he is totally in love with you. He is the best in law we could ever ask for” 

“Gunhee was good too” 

“Yeah, he was” - Mrs Ahn agreed - “But Heechul is way cuter” 

Heeyeon laughed a bit. 

“So, did you already choose a name for Cherry?” - Mrs Ahn gave a cup to Heeyeon- “Or you plan on keeping it secret till birth?”

“No, it’s not a secret” - Heeyeon rubbed the cup - “We haven’t decided on one yet” 

“Keep me posted” - Mrs Ahn got up and went to look for something - “It’s not finished yet but… I thought I could do this for Her”

“Mom, is Beautiful” - Heeyeon observed how well done the baby blanket was done. It was knitted so carefully - “It must have taken a lot of time”

“Well, I have been working on it since you told me you were expecting a girl” - The woman confessed - “And your father… he is so happy he even build a crib” 

“A crib?” - Heeyeon was amused - “I thought dad didn’t want to work with wood anymore” 

“He changed his mind when he learned you were pregnant” - Mrs Ahn confessed - “He got so happy…” 

Heeyeon saw the beautiful white crib. It had so many details. ‘Cherry’ was carved in some of the walls with some cherries next to the name. 
But the room had some other stuff that got her attention. Judging by the quantity of knitted clothes, her mom was working hard. 

“Are those for Cherry?” - Heeyeon found them really cute - “Oh my, such a cute dress” 

“Speaking of which… we kept plenty of your childhood clothes” - Mrs Ahn said dreamy - “We hoped for the day you could dress your daughter like you” 

“You kept my clothes all this time?” 

“And some of your toys” - Mrs Ahn added - “and basically everything we could” 

Heeyeon laughed. It was an accurate description. She didn’t know why she haven’t realized the whole house seemed like a museum dedicated to her. There were pictures everywhere, things that she made in class (like an old set of cups she wished her mother would get rid of), prizes that she earned and more. 

“Seriously?”  - She teased - “Mom, I got a third place” 

“And we were—- are, so proud of you” 

“What’s with this ribbon? It seems pretty normal to me” 

“That was the first ribbon you ever used during a competition” - Her mom explained - “You were so pretty… the other girls were jealous”

“Yeah, I kinda remember so” - Heeyeon got the chills recalling how the other girls did their best to bully her - “What are those?”

“Oh those” - Mrs Ahn looked away 

“These are for boys” - Heeyeon inspected full bags of stuff: handmade clothes, toys and more 

“Not any boys” - Mrs Ahn clarified- “Your boys”

“Oh, but why don’t you go and—- are you waiting for Christmas?”

“No, I just… I don’t have the courage to meet them” - the woman sighed - “I want to snuggle with them but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to see them play and not cry my lungs out. They remind me of Hani and Gunhee” 

“I know” - Heeyeon pouted - “I miss them so much” 

“But you know? Somehow, ever since you told me you were pregnant… I felt like if I had come back to life” - Mrs Ahn said with teary eyes - “After losing my sister, Hani and you became the light of my life” 

“I love you too” - Heeyeon hugged her - “I think I should go. It’s time I face Heechul”

They heard the door bell. 

“Oh, daddy is home!” - Heeyeon chirped. She went to open the door without checking twice who rang the bell - “Heechul”

Heechul was just standing there with a big flower bouquet and giant teddy bear that said ‘sorry’. 
 
“I know I’m the last person you want to see right now” - Heechul started - “But I’m so but so sorry” 

Heeyeon kissed him. Then they hugged and cried a bit together. 

“What are you doing?” - Heechul was sobbing again - “Why are you crying?”

“I’m crying because you are crying!”

“Well, I’m crying because YOU are crying” - Heechul chuckled between tears - “So I guess that it doesn’t really make sense for both of us to keep crying…” 

“Maybe not but I missed you so much” - Heeyeon teased - “Those has been the longest two hours in the world”

“Quoting the triplets? Nice” - Heechul put her down - “Heeyeon, listen I… I was complete jerk” 

“I know” - Heeyeon teased - “But I was also insufferable. Cmon, get inside. Mom made cookies” 

“OH HEECHUL CAME?” 

“As you can see, she still excited to see you” - Heeyeon giggled - “You need to see what they did for Cherry”

“My boy! My cute boy!” - Mrs Ahn hugged Heechul like if it was her son - “Long time no see! Did you lose weight? You look so skinny. I’m gonna bake more cookies” 

“Can we exchange moms?” - Heechul teased - “Just kidding. Mom was really helpful today” 

“I know you are kidding” - Heeyeon played coy - “I bet your mom was the one stripping your wet sheets” 

“How did you—- Damn it, Gunhee” - Heechul bit his lips - “sometimes I forget you were actually very close” 

“Yeah, I loved Gunhee like my own brother” - Heeyeon smiled softly 

“You had a crush on him, didn’t you?”

“Damn it, Teuk” - Heeyeon blushed 

At the mansion, Leeteuk was shocked to see the older kids were completely immune to the situation that took place earlier. 

“Mom and dad fought all time” - Yesung explained calmly - “And they would always reconcile” 

“Dad would buy her flowers and mom would make him his favorite for dinner” - Kangin recalled  - “Dad would also do house work and mom would iron his shirts” 

“It was their way of saying ‘sorry’ “ - Yesung nodded 

“I’m surprised you also remember that” - Leeteuk told a calm Siwon that played with his toy car 

“Oh, I don’t” - Siwon smiled softly- “But mommy and daddy can’t divorce cuz they are not married yet”

“Oh” - Leeteuk found cute Siwon’s way of thinking - “I guess you are right” 

“Whewe Dada?” - Ryeowook seemed to be flustered - “Dadaaaaaa! U PWOMIZEEEE!”

“He promised you, what?” - Leeteuk sighed. Little boys didn’t care if the mood was odd or not. They always put themselves first - “Maybe I can help” 

“Nuh, you can’t” - Kyuhyun said it so cheekily Leeteuk got a bit salty over it - “We need Dada”

“Ok… why you need ‘Dada’ so much?” - Leeteuk tried again 

“Loo’ hewe” - Ryeowook gave him a small calendar. Leeteuk exhaled with exhaustion. He knew what was next - “T’day twinz have piano cwazz WITH Dada” 

“Yeah, you are right” - Leeteuk agreed in a try to get rid of Ryeowook- “But Dada is not home now, and he was so but so tired. I think you should ask him TOMORROW” 

Ryeowook gave him a deadly stare. He hated waiting, his uncle knew that. Also, he truly disliked it when adults made promises they couldn’t keep. 

“By myzeef” - Ryeowook folded his arms - “Wookie pwactizes” 

“You want to practice alone?” - Leeteuk translated - “You know very well you are not allowed to play the ‘big’ piano without supervision” 

“Why not?” - Kyuhyun tilted his head cutely - “We won’t bweak it” 

“It’s not about the piano” - Leeteuk grabbed their little hands - “but you. See these tiny hands? They are so cute! Yet so small and fragile… what if you hurt yourself with that ultra dangerous—“

“Wookie won’t” - Ryeowook cut him coldly - “I pwactize” 

“That key lid is very heavy for you, Wook” - Leeteuk wondered if the kid was going to listen to him - “if I see you playing with the big piano, I’m going to spank you” 
 
Ryeowook rolled his eyes. Leeteuk sighed. “Threenager” he thought. The twins just graduated from the terrible two just to become little threenagers. He wasn’t very fond of spanking kids but a soft spank was better than a broken finger. Sometimes the twins wouldn’t just listen to him. Henry was pretty much the same. Heechul even had to ‘hit’ his hand once so the boy would stop trying to get it inside furniture. It wasn’t a hard hit, but he got the message and stopped being so reckless. Leeteuk’s heart was already heavy since he knew the twins were most likely going to disobey and he would have to at least ground them. 

Ryeowook would use any opportunity he could to get his hands on the piano. He awaited patiently until Leeteuk was out of sight. Lucky for him, Henry gave him troubles and he had to go upstairs for a while. His older brothers wouldn’t snitch on him as long as they were distracted with their videogames or the TV. Ryeowook was definitely smarter than them. 

The toddler removed the piano lid smoothly with skill. He played a bit. He still remembered Heechul’s lesson from the other day. Kyuhyun panicked when he found his twin doing exactly what their uncle asked them to not. 

“Wook! Ukwee said no no!” - Kyuhyun urged trying to pull his twin out of the piano - “Bad boy! Bad boy!”

“Shhhhh” - Ryeowook shushed at him - “Ukwee won’t know” 

“Wookie Pweaze” - Kyuhyun was desperate. He hated it when his twin got in troubles - “No bad boy” 

Ryeowook sighed. He was ok with whatever consequences he had to face… but it ached seeing Kyuhyun like that. Actually, he would endure any punishment the adults gave him, but watching Kyuhyun suffer? He couldn’t take it. 

“Wookie good” - Ryeowook whispered softly as the got down of the bench - “won’t pway wi’ou Dada”

Kyuhyun smiled relieved. Ryeowook sighed defeated and went away to find something else to play with. He didn’t want to cause troubles to his twin. He loved him so much. 

Kyuhyun didn’t have time to waste. He fixed the bench in a try to make it look like Ryeowook was never there. Then… his eyes got fixed in the lid. Heechul always covered the keys with the lid when he was done… he said he hated dust getting on them. Ryeowook forgot to close it. It was obvious someone used the piano. 

“Kim Ryeowook, I hope you are not doing something wrong!” - Leeteuk warned from upstairs 

Kyuhyun’s mind raced. His heart beat went faster and he felt cold going down his spine. He had to fix it. Even if Leeteuk didn’t notice the lid, his dad would. They would know. And they would ground Ryeowook for sure. Without even thinking twice, the young toddler jumped on the bench and tried closing the lid using his smalls hand while adrenaline kept hitting him. 

But it wasn’t the only thing that hit him. Kyuhyun was still a clumsy a toddler. Compared to his twin, even if he was bigger and stronger, he failed measuring what strength to apply during the closing process. The weight of the lid, the gravity and his clumsiness… ended in a painful experience as one of his hands got trapped. 

Kyuhyun gasped really scared. It hurt him lots. He wanted to scream. His tears fell without warning. Not only he was in pain but he was sure Leeteuk and Heechul… even Heeyeon… all of them were going to get mad at him. 

Desperate to end his suffering, he tried pulling his hand out only causing him more damage. He did get his hand out… but he pulled it so hard he also fell from the bench. 

“What was that?” - Yesung asked the others while still focusing on the video game - “Something fell”
 
“Dude, it could be anything” - Kangin wasn’t going to stop the game for something he considered silly - “Either Henry threw something or Steve and Robin managed to get out of their cage” 

“DID THEY GO OUT AGAIN?” - Siwon rushed to the bird cage - “THEY ARE STILL INSIDE!” 

“Good” - Kangin was happy he didn’t have to move to check it - “I bet it was Henry, then” 

“The triplets are here” - Yesung glanced to his side quickly. The silly trio were having fun sharing a control - “What about the twins?” 

“Oh ” - Kangin finally paused the game - “Ryeowook” 

“Uncle is going to kill us” - Yesung sighed. They were supposed to keep an eye on the little ones while Leeteuk was away- “Wook! Come— oh there he is” 

“Wook did noffin’ “ - Ryeowook excused himself quickly as Kangin squinted his eyes - “Uh… diz”

“That’s my medal” - Kangin sighed - “How did you get it? I thought I had put it somewhere you couldn’t reach” 

“Uhmmmm” - Ryeowook dodged the question by playing cute - “It shinezzz” 

“Yeah, of course it’s shiny” - Kangin smiled pleased - “I won, remember? If you get first place then it’s golden cuz gold is that color” 

“Mmmmmm” - Ryeowook kept inspecting the medal. He got extra happy when Kangin put it on him - “Pwetty!”

“You didn’t let me have it!” - Donghae protested annoyed as Kangin was clearly playing favorites - “I wanted to try it too” 

Sungmin just rolled his eyes. Out of his siblings, his relationship with Kangin was the worst. Either he ignored him or complained about him being ‘girly’ or ‘too cute for being a boy’. Eunhyuk was still sulking about what happened earlier and couldn’t care less about the medal. 

“Ugh, Kangin” - Yesung was stressed - “Something is wrong with Kyu” 

“Why?” 

“He is hiding under some furniture” - Yesung sighed - “I can’t reach him and he won’t come when I call him” 

“Have you checked the floor? He probably wet himself again” - Kangin sighed - “He gets all sulky when it happens” 

“Twin?” - Ryeowook worried when he saw what Yesung meant - “KYU! KYU! GET OUT THEWEEEE!” 

Ryeowook was even smaller than Kyuhyun. Fitting down there wasn’t difficult for him. Yesung almost get an heart attack when the boy tried crawling under too. 

“No, no” - Yesung was holding Ryeowook- “You are supposed to convince him to get out… not going next to him” 

Kyuhyun was crying. He was so scared. It hurt him so much and he was definitely in troubles. 

“Kyu, what’cha doing there?” - Donghae was crawling under while Yesung had his hands full with Ryeowook- “Why you crying?” 

“Is he ok?” - Eunhyuk grew nervous realizing Kyuhyun wouldn’t cry that much over a potty accident - “Is he sick?” 

Sungmin noticed it first. 

“There is blood” - He pointed at Kyuhyun - “He got hurt” 

“IS HE HURT?” - Siwon was worried - “Oh GOD. I will go look for the first aid kit!” 

“Whats going on here?”  - Leeteuk almost crashed with Siwon - “Why is Siwon running like that? Why are you crowding like that? What did you do now?”

“We did nothing” - Donghae said first - “But Kyu is crying” 

“How come?” - Leeteuk tried to get a better glimpse of the boy - “Kyu, come here baby. What are you doing there?”

Kyuhyun shook his head. He kept sniffling. He wouldn’t go out there if possible. He didn’t want to face Leeteuk. He didn’t want to receive his scolding.

“I already asked him” - Yesung wondered if Leeteuk would get angry at them depending on how bad the injury was - “But he won’t move. He is scared” 

“Can’t we just move this thing?” - Kangin kicked the couch and earned a warning look from Leeteuk- “Alright, just saying” 

“Kyu get out! Get out! Get out!” - Ryeowook was hysterical- “GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!”

“Why are you crying too?” - Donghae was about cry himself - “are you hurt too?!”

“KYU IZ HUWT!” - Ryeowook was about to lose it - “KYU ZAD! KYU CWY! KYU—“

“Ok, calm down, calm down” - Leeteuk hugged the toddler - “what happened? Did you see what happened?”

“Nuh…”. - Ryeowook cried. He was telling the truth, he had no idea what happened to his twin and he was anxious - “Ukwee, Kyu Kyu” 

Kyuhyun finally got out feeling even worse seeing Ryeowook like that. He crawled out slowly keeping an eye on Leeteuk. 

“KYU” - Ryeowook hugged him tightly 

“OUCH” - Kyuhyun whined 

“Where is this blood from?” - Leeteuk inspected the kid trying to figure out what was going on - “How did you get this scratch?” 

Kyuhyun looked down. He was nervous. 

“Kyu, did you fall?” - Leeteuk received the first aid kit from Siwon - “Tell me where it hurts, ok?” 

Another refusal. Leeteuk was clueless until he saw the toddler hiding his hands behind his back. 

“Did you hurt your hands?” - Leeteuk finished cleaning Kyuhyun’s knee and tried to get a look of the hands - “Kyu, Cmon” 

The boy shut his eyes tightly when Leeteuk grabbed his hands carefully. His uncle was being delicate but even so, his finger hurt him lots. 

“This one is swollen” - Leeteuk bit his lips - “I think it’s broken” 

“For real?” - Yesung worried - “I will bring some ice” 

“Yeah, please” - Leeteuk was holding Kyuhyun in a sweet way - “Kangin, bring me my phone”

“Is that bad? Are you going to call an ambulance?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m going to call your dad” - Leeteuk would have laughed if he wasn’t that worried - “Cmon, pick it up. Why is he taking so long?” 

“Heechul?” 

“Uhm, no. Donghae” 

“Donghae, what are you doing with your dad’s phone?” - Leeteuk complained as he ended the call - “Where was it?”

“In his room” - The triplet shrank shoulders - “we heard it” 

“I guess today is not our day” - Yesung commented as he got back holding a few ice packs - “Is this enough?” 

“More than enough, thank you” - Leeteuk smiled softly- “Kyu, I can’t take you to the ER right now… I need you to be brave ok? Just wait a little bit until I call someone else”

Kyuhyun nodded. He had stopped crying. Leeteuk was being so nice to him… 

“Let’s call Mom” - Siwon said calmly- “She will take care of us while you go to the hospital” 

“Ehmmmm” - Leeteuk doubted it. Heeyeon wasn’t ready to come back, was she? She left in a very bad mood - “I don’t think that’s a good idea”

“Actually, I think it is” - Yesung was using Heechul’s phone. He activated the speaker so Leeteuk could heard too - “I bet those two are together”

“Hi, Yesung” - Heeyeon picked up the phone right away - “Everything ok?”

“How did you know it was me?” - Yesung was shocked - “I haven’t said anything yet”

“Heechul says you are the only of the kids that knows his password” - Heeyeon giggled- “And Leeteuk has his own phone” 

“So do I” - Yesung complained - “It’s just that Dad confiscated it!”

“Cuz you spend too much time on social media!” - He heard Heechul’s voice 

“see? I told you he was there” - Yesung gave the phone to Leeteuk 

“Hey” - Leeteuk relaxed as he heard the couple in a good mood - “Everything ok?”

“We are fine” - Heechul said in a worried tone - “what about you? I’m guessing this call is not about me forgetting my phone”

“Heechul, I… I think Kyuhyun has a broken finger” - Leeteuk said trying to sound as calm as possible - “it’s not urgent, but I do think we should take him to the ER as soon as possible. It hurts him” 

“Wait for us, ok?” - Heechul said instantly- “We will be there in a minute” 

“We” - Siwon told the triplets - “that means she is coming back” 

Eunhyuk smiled a bit. His parents were going back home. Both of them. 

“Let’s not waste a second, ok?” - Leeteuk carried the boy upstairs- “Let’s get ready before they get here”

Kyuhyun remained quiet. Leeteuk changed his clothes. He wanted Kyuhyun to be as comfortable possible and also, easy to undress in case the doctors needed to do so. He quickly prepared a backpack with stuff that could be handy and then decided to take the kid to the toilet to avoid accidents. 

“Kyu” - Leeteuk was helping the kid pull up his pants again - “The doctors need to know what happened to you… if not, they can’t help you” 

“Kyu fell” 

“From where?” - Leeteuk just needed to know if he should worry about the height of the fall - “Can you show me?” 

Kyuhyun doubted.  He knew Leeteuk was going to be mad… but he would have to tell the truth someday. 

“There” 

“You were playing piano?” - Leeteuk’s voice grew sterner. He was furious. Still, he tried to sound calm - “Did you hurt your finger with the lid?” 

Kyuhyun nodded. He was sure Leeteuk was going to start yelling at any moment. His eyes filled with tears. He gasped when Leeteuk just took a deep breath and said nothing. 

Two minutes of silence and Kyuhyun felt like dying. He could tell Leeteuk was mad at him. 

“Ukwee?” - Kyuhyun tried 

“What?” - Leeteuk sounded angry but calm - “Do you need something?”

Kyuhyun shook his head quickly. 

“No? Then… let’s just wait for daddy, ok?” - Leeteuk ruffled his hair- “He will be here any—“

“MY BABY” - Heechul stormed in and held Kyuhyun up in the air - “Oh my Kyu!” 

Kyuhyun smiled a bit. Dad was funny. He was being playful on purpose. 

“Teuk, I can stay with them” - Heeyeon offered - “If you want, you can go with Heechul to the ER”

“Yeah, uncle” - Kangin rushed him - “You better go with him” 

“Mommy! Mommy!” - Donghae was already climbing Heeyeon- “Where did you go? Why you didn’t take me with youuuuuu?”

“Mommy, are you ok?” - Eunhyuk worried as he saw her puffy eyes - “mommy cried” 

“You can handle this by yourself, right?” - Leeteuk told Heechul- “have your phone. Oh, and this backpack is for Kyu…” 

“Ukwee?” - Kyuhyun worried Leeteuk was not going with them because he was angry at him - “No Ukwee?” 

“He is busy helping mom” - Heechul explained as he buckled Kyuhyun’s belt - “So, I ask for you cooperation. Tell me if you need anything, ok? Once we get to the ER, we will play with those toys Leeteuk packed for you, ok?” 

It didn’t make any sense two adults went to the ER considering they had eight children at home. Leeteuk chose to stay knowing Heeyeon would have a hard time handling so many kids by herself. Toddlers didn’t understand that. Kyuhyun somehow convinced himself Leeteuk was rejecting him and chose not to go with him because he was angry. 

Kyuhyun received a cute splint and a good lecture about why it was dangerous to climb the bench by himself and ‘touch’ the piano while Heechul or any other adult weren’t there. He got scolded thrice: by Leeteuk, by Heechul and by the doctor. 

“Well, he cried a bit during the X-rays but overall… he is doing fine” - Heechul hit Leeteuk with a folder that had Kyuhyun medical record - “do you want to see his little cute bonesssss?”

“No” - Leeteuk replied coldly - “I want to know why no one listens to me” 

“I listen to you” - Heechul said playfully

“No, you dont” - Leeteuk was clearly upset - “I told you the piano was dangerous! And then I told the twins to not go near of it while I wasn’t looking but turns out both of them did!” 

“Oh” 

“Yeah, ‘oh’ “ - Leeteuk covered his face - “Ryeowook confessed to me he was the one that played with it first!” 

“Damn it” - Heechul bit his lips - “So… the twins won’t listen to us” 

Leeteuk shook his head. Poor man was still feeling bad over Kyuhyun’s broken finger. 

“And you think the piano is dangerous” 

“Kyuhyun even fell from the bench” - Leeteuk was about to cry - “and you know what’s worse? Instead of looking for help right away… he hid. He was so scared, he preferred to endure the pain” 

“Alright… Maybe I should get rid of the piano” - Heechul sighed - “Maybe it was a bad idea after all” 

“No” - Leeteuk shook his head - “The boys love it. You can’t just take it away” 

“Then, what do you want to do?” 

“I don’t know” - Leeteuk was restless - “I… I’m tired. Really exhausted. Today has been a long day” 

“Yeah, it was” - Heechul sighed - “Nothing good happened” 

“Yes, it did” - Heeyeon corrected him from behind - “Kangin and his team got first place! And we went to celebrate together at a cute restaurant!” 

“Speaking of that… I owe my boys some apologies” - Heechul sighed - “Eunhyuk and Kangin didn’t deserve that. I overreacted about Hyuk being picky and ruined Kangin’s day. It was supposed to be about him… not his brothers” 

“Nice” - Leeteuk nodded - “Then you put them to bed. Heeyeon and I will take care of the others” 

“I want Henry!” - Heeyeon chirped - “I want to change his diaper. I need to practice!” 

“Fine, uh, you take care of Henry and will put the others to bed” - Leeteuk winked - “Yesung goes to bed by himself and Siwon only needs me to turn off the light” 

“And the twins?” - Heeyeon asked carefully - “Kyunnie sure needs some attention after what happened today…” 

“Whoever finish first” - Leeteuk told her. He knew she wouldn’t finish on time having Henry - “Ok? See you in a few minutes” 

Heechul apologized first to Kangin. The boy was receptive and jumped out of happiness when Heechul offered to take them to another restaurant in a few days. 

“I have the best team” - Kangin yawned 

“Yeah, you are going to miss them” - Heechul was turning off the lights - “Your baseball team was good” 

“No~ we are the best team” - Kangin was drowsy - “I like our family” 

Heechul felt his heart warm. After such a horrible day, hearing such kind words coming from his rascal son… it meant everything to him. He moved to the triplets room only to find them already in bed waiting for him. 

“Can you stay until we fall asleep?” - Sungmin asked cutely. Heechul learned recently he didn’t like being alone when dark - “please?” 

“Daddy, can you read us a story?” - Donghae rubbed his tired eyes - “Hae wants the one with the girl with long hair” 

“Ah, Rapunzel” - Heechul giggled - “Am I right?”

“Daddy, I want my sister to be Rapunzel” - Donghae told him as he started dozing off - “Or Ariel. Or Melody. Cinderella” 

“All those are princesses” - Sungmin was half asleep as Heechul tucked them - “Cherry is a princess too” 

Sungmin and Donghae were so exhausted they drifted off to dreamland right away. Heechul made sure they were fine and then focused on the silent boy. 

“Im not going to scold you” - Heechul sat on Eunhyuk’s bed - “I came to apologize… for being… Uhm, meanie. Can you forgive me?”

Eunhyuk nodded and jumped on him. He gave him a big hug. 

“Daddy, I’m sorry for not eating well” - Eunhyuk sulked - “I will try next time, I promise” 

“I think we both need to work on that” - Heechul ruffled his hair - “I don’t want you to eat things you don’t like but I want you to be healthy… so, we need to figure out something, ok? Starting today I won’t force you to eat” 

Eunhyuk was relieved. Heechul got a little sad learning Eunhyuk probably felt terrible every single time he commented on his picky habits or tried to force him to eat. He now understood what Heeyeon meant. 

“Daddy, Hyukkie can’t eat veggies” - Eunhyuk looked at him in a serious way - “I get sick when they touch my mouth!”

“Hmmm” - Heechul found the kid cute - “Sure, you do. Now go to sleep” 

“Don’t go” - Eunhyuk sulked when Heechul tried to leave - “Please” 

“Fine, I think being clingy tonight is more than allowed” - Heechul sighed - “Only until you fall asleep” 

“Goodnight, daddy” - Eunhyuk chirped as he closed his eyes. 

Heechul kept his promise. He stayed in the room making sure the triplets were fast asleep. 

Heeyeon struggled with Henry. Changing his diaper was the easiest part of the bed routine even if Henry squirmed like a worm during the whole change. The toddler wasn’t sleepy at all. At least, it didn’t seem so. 

“Should I sing for you?” - Heeyeon thought she was going to make a hole in the room from pacing so much from side to side - “How come you are not sleepy?”

“Pway! Pway! Pway!”

“Dear God” - Heeyeon sighed. It was going to be a long night. 

As Leeteuk predicted, Yesung and Siwon were easy. Now, it was his turn to face the twins. 

“Alright, are you ready to sleep?” - Leeteuk asked as he entered the room and found the toddlers waiting in their beds - “Did you remember to go pee before? We don’t want wet beds, do we?” 

Ryeowook yawned. He was too tired to tease his uncle. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

“You are so tired” - Leeteuk fixed his blanket - “goodnight, Wookie. Have nice dreams” 

Kyuhyun was struggling to find comfort. He wasn’t used to have a splint in his hand. 

“Do you need help? Let’s put a cushion like this~” - Leeteuk made sure the hand was safe - “Try to sleep, Kyunnie. You need to rest to heal faster”

“Ukwee angwy?” - Kyuhyun‘s question pierced Leeteuk’s heart - “Kyu huwt finger” 

“I don’t like it when you disobey and get hurt” - Leeteuk told the toddler - “I get twice as hurt when that happens” 

Kyuhyun started crying.

“Oh, my baby” - Leeteuk held him - “You are so upset” 

Leeteuk felt even worse when Kyuhyun cried himself to sleep. Even fast asleep, the toddler was stuck to him. He decided to sleep there with them since he also feared Kyuhyun would wake in the middle night feeling insecure. Visits to the ER and hard days had effect on toddlers. 

Leeteuk woke up very early when he felt something moved. Kyuhyun kicked him. Sleeping with a toddler was sure hard. Heechul often joked the kids turned into martial arts experts at night. If that was the case, Kyuhyun had a black belt. 

Unable to receive another hit, Leeteuk decided to just get out of the bed. Waking up so early had advantages… for example, no one else would interrupt his morning coffee. 

“Oh, Teuk” - Heeyeon greeted him - “You are awake” 

“What are you doing here?” - Leeteuk looked around the kitchen - “cooking? What’s so important for waking up so early?”

“You” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders as she searched for some stuff - “You see, I know I gave you a hard time yesterday… and I didn’t apologize to you. So, I wanted to make you breakfast” 

“What about Heechul?” - Leeteuk teased - “He is going to be jealous” 

“Oh no, I… apologized to him in a different way” - Heeyeon cleared - “And I don’t think he will be waking up any sooner” 

Leeteuk almost spat the coffee. 

“Too much information, sorry” - She realized - “Uhm, I’m not at good as my mom but… here” 

Leeteuk found cute Heeyeon even bothered to write ‘sorry’ on the cupcakes. He tried one and got really confused. Somehow, it felt like going back to his childhood. He doubted for a second… he didn’t get the chance to eat many sweets back in the orphanage. But he definitely had tried it before. He was sure. 

“Teuk?” - Heeyeon worried - “Are you ok? Oh my God, are they that bad? Did I try to poison you?” 

“They are really good” - Leeteuk was being honest - “It’s just that, I get this feeling I have tried them before” 

“Uhm, well it could be” - Heeyeon looked around - “I adapted the recipe from the one my mom gave me. I mean, it’s supposed to be a big cake but I had no time for that so… I made cupcakes?” 

“WHOAH” - Heechul entered the kitchen in a noisy way - “Don’t tell me you tried to eat those without meeeeee?” 

He stole a cupcake before Heeyeon could stop him. 

“Delicious” - Heechul was the fingers that got cream on them - “exquisite” 

There was no reaction. Heeyeon seemed startled. She was immobile. Leeteuk worried. 

“Are you upset? He is just being silly” - Leeteuk tried - “I’m used to it… seriously, don’t worry” 

“Are you going to throw up?” - Heechul worried too - “Babe, what’s wrong?” 

“Come here” - Heeyeon grabbed their hands - “She is moving! I can feel her!” 

“Where?” - Heechul tried tapping her belly carefully - “Cherry, are you there?”

“I think she stopped” - Heeyeon smiled - “But I swear I felt her moving” 

“Really?” - Heechul went back to eating - “I felt nothing” 

“Maybe because she can feel her from inside” - Leeteuk was looking up in the internet if Heeyeon could be right - “How would you describe it?”

“Like… bubbles?” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure - “bubbles popping” 

“So, you felt a fart” - Heechul  

“Heechul, Cmon” - Heeyeon pouted - “It’s not a fart! It’s Cherry!”

“What do you think Teuk?” - Heechul asked his brother - “Was it Cherry or a fart?” 

“I think Heeyeon didn’t slap you hard enough” - Leeteuk replied as he ate another cupcake.

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Author comments: 

Hit there! <3 are you enjoying the updates? 
I hope you are all doing fine~ 

Examination period began last week… can’t believe it takes a full month!! 
\(^—^)/ Please Wish me luck! (And pray for my soul)