Friday came. Siwon still gave him the ice treatment and Heechul’s heart ached. The boy refused to talk to any of them and ignored everyone when possible. 

The sorrowful dad basically dragged his feet to the twins classroom. He didn’t want Kyuhyun to start daycare so soon. In fact, since there was nothing but a week left before the scholar year ended… he even proposed to let the boy skip what was left. Kyuhyun got upset at the thought of not going back to his classroom with his beloved teachers and friends. Heechul ended giving up as he didn’t want to make him sad. 

“Oh, Kyunnie came!” - the teachers were happy to see him again - “How are you feeling?”

Kyuhyun ran and hugged them in sweetest way possible. Ryeowook did the same despite attending daycare all those days. 

“Is your tummy better now?” - A teacher asked him 

“Ung! Kyu poops lotz!” - the boy shared cheerfully while Heechul covered his face ashamed. 

Daycare teachers were used to listen to those type of comments. They just laughed and took the twins inside. One of them stayed with Heechul a little longer while the busy parent kept explaining everything.

“…so we packed diapers, wipes, baby powder… his snacks, his water bottle, a change of clothes in case he——“

“Mr Kim”- the teacher laughed - “Breath. We understand your concern but we are aware of the situation and we are more than pleased to help him” 

“It’s just… I don’t want to…” 

“We are well prepared for accidents” - Another class teacher joined - “and we are used to them. Kyunnie is not the only one wearing diapers” 

“And we have taken care of sick toddlers before” - The first teacher smiled to him - “We know what to do, and when to call the parents. We will do our best and give you a call if things don’t go well”

“We are so happy to have Kyu again. Ryeowook sulked a lot since he wasn’t here”

“He did?” - Heechul scratched his head. Not that he thought Ryeowook was fine with the whole situation, but he wasn’t sure how it affected him - “I guess is good they have each other…”

The teachers giggled. Heechul couldn’t stop watching his boys. He didn’t want to say goodbye. 

“Bagels, daddy is going home…” - Heechul wanted to cry - “I will come for you later, ok? Have a nice day. If you need anything ask your—“

The twins were hugging him tightly. They were in a good mood. 

“Are you sure you want to stay?” - Heechul’s heart ached when Kyuhyun nodded - “I’m gonna leave, ok?”

The teachers were nice. They knew Heechul wasn’t ready to separate from his recently sick boy and they understood him. They made sure of reassuring him everything would be fine. 

“Mina, that’s too much” - Heeyeon was shy since Mina was there filling their fridge with food for an entire platoon - “You shouldn’t have bothered…”

“Of course we should!” - Mina pinched her - “We are family. And family helps you whenever you need it. You had a terrible week: your baby got sick, Heechul got hurt… I bet you haven’t been sleeping well! I know how it is!”

Heeyeon sighed. Mina was bossy, but she was a nice person. She took serious her role as an aunt. She was there bringing them food and stuff for the kids. 

“I baked these” - she was handing her a basket of bread - “Not for the children. These are for the adults. You guys need to eat too”

“Thanks” - Heeyeon blushed 

“And these are for the kids” 

“Oh, no we shouldn’t—“

Mina gave her three gifts. 
 
“Cmon, it’s not big deal” - the woman shrank shoulders - “Kyu needs lots of spoiling now”

“Ok but… why three?”

“Kyu is a twin and also has a little brother” - Mina explained- “I thought there could be troubles so…” 

“Mina, I’m really thankful for everything” - Heeyeon was almost tearing - “We are very thankful. Leeteuk told us you even came to help him babysit and we…”

“It’s nothing” - Mina reassured - “We are here for everything you need. Feel free to give me a call or ask me to stop by if you need anything”

“Well, now that you mention it” - Heeyeon sighed - “there was something we wanted to ask you” 

“Ok”

“Heechul told me Mimi got into a bad accident and that he needed special cares for a while” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure how to put it into words - “I heard Mimi went back to diapers at that time and… Sorry, it’s just that Kyu is having a hard time adjusting to his new life back in diapers. He is still a potty trained child after all”

“No, I get it. You are worried” - Mina patted her shoulder - “It’s normal. Mimi was fully potty trained before the accident and he had to go back to diapers for a few months after it happened. We are still working on night control”

“Oh” 

“Kyunnie needs time” - Mina said softly - “and so do you, guys. It was pretty scary, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was”

“What if you let me babysit Henry for the morning?” - Mina asked - “Think about it. You would get a free morning after a while”

“I really dont—“

“Are you planning on taking MY baby away from me?” - Heechul was back and heard her 

“Yes, I am” - Mina replied sassily 

“For real?” - Heechul was shocked - “Would you babysit Henry the entire morning?”

“I will bring him back to you for lunch” 

“You are joking”

“No,I’m serious” - Mina found Heechul’s reaction really funny - “I will take care of him. You guys need to rest”

Heechul and Heeyeon exchanged looks. It had been a while since they had time for them. 

“We will be in debt with you” - Heechul was grateful- “Thanks a lot” 

“You don’t owe me anything” - Mina shook her head - “You two have done a lot for us too” 

And so, Mina left with Henry. The adults were alone in the big house. They glanced at each other. 

“So…” - Heechul gulped down - “are you thinking what I am thinking?”

“I think so” - Heeyeon cleared  

“I really need it” - Heechul said embarrassed 

“Let’s go upstairs then” - Heeyeon agreed

Leeteuk was reading the same sentence for the fourth time and he still couldn’t decipher the meaning behind it. He gave up and decided to go look for help. Heeyeon was good at those things. He heard footsteps earlier, so she was probably at the bedroom. 

He opened the door without knocking and entered the room like always. 

“OH GOODNESS” - Leeteuk covered his face quickly as he found his friends in the bed under the blankets - “I-I- am sorry!”

“Do you want to join us?” - Heechul asked him - “There is plenty space, I don’t mind”

“Baby, I think he got the wrong picture” - Heeyeon was laughing - “It’s ok Teuk! You can open your eyes! We are not doing that”

“Ohhhhh” - Heechul laughed too - “Don’t worry Teuk. We have no energy for that” 

Leeteuk uncovered his face and took a better look. They were fully dressed. 

“What are you doing?” - Leeteuk was completely red - “I didn’t know Heechul was here”

“Trying to sleep” - both adults replied 

“Oh”

“Mina took Henry with her… and we thought we could use some time to sleep” - Heeyeon sighed- “But truth to be told, we just can’t”

“I’m still worried for Kyu and Wonnie” - Heechul left out - “I’m tired but… they come first”

“I don’t want to sleep” - Heeyeon whined - “I wonder if Kyu is doing fine” 

“Did you need anything?” - Heechul sat up - “Oh, you were studying”

“Trying to” - Leeteuk shook his head - “I have troubles focusing. I guess I’m too tired”

“Hum” - Heechul did that sound he did when plotting something - “What if we go out? The three of us. It’s been a while since we got to spend time without the kids”

“Oh, I— You can go” - Leeteuk didn’t want to interfere- “Just the two of us”

“What’s wrong with you?” - Heeyeon hit him with a pillow - “Don’t you want to come?”

“I think he doesn’t like us” - Heechul said dramatically- “He wants to get rid of us”

“Don’t you like us?” - Heeyeon pouted at him - “I feel so sad now”

“You guys are worse than the kids” - Leeteuk sighed - “I will join you…”

The three adults were heading outside to have brunch when Heechul’s phone rang.

“KYUNNIE?” - Heeyeon was the first to take the call - “Hello?”

Heechul was driving. Leeteuk was sitting next to him and Heeyeon was at the backseat. They could only hear her agree and say ‘ok’. Then she finally added ‘we are going to get him’.

Heechul felt cold. He thought his boy was sick or had an accident. Anyway, he pictured a sad crying boy. 

“To daycare, I guess” - Heechul was about to change directions when Heeyeon asked him to go straight - “That’s not—- School?”

“Yeah, it was from the school” - Heeyeon said softly - “Yesung is not feeling well and teachers think is better for him to go home”

“Did they tell you what was wrong?”

“He has a slight fever and a sore throat” - Heeyeon worried - “He was fine this morning, right?”

“Mmm, hard to say” - Leeteuk folded his arms - “He is the type of kid that won’t complain that much about feeling unwell”

“I hope he is fine”

“Oh, it wasn’t my intention”- Yesung was shocked seeing the three adults - “I’m not that sick, there was no need for everyone to come” 

“Silly” - Heechul was checking the boy’s temperature- “Well, fever is going down” 

“Nurse gave me something” - Yesung showed him the paper where they wrote what they gave him - “she saw my medical record and said this was fine”

“It is” - Heechul smiled pleased - “since you are feeling better do you mind going out with us?”

“Where are we going?” - Yesung asked amused 

“To have brunch” - Heeyeon hugged him - “Would you like to come?”

“Yes but… where is Henry? Did you forget him somewhere?”

“OH NO!” - Heechul faked it - “Kidding. He is with Aunt Mina”

“Oh! So it would be only us?!” - Yesung was way too excited - “For real?” 

“I guess so” - Leeteuk found the reaction very cute 

Yesung was having a blast. Despite being a little feverish, he was having the time of his life. Heechul was teasing him again. He laughed. And he laughed again. It had been a while since he laughed so much. 

“Baby, you are so happy” - Heeyeon covered his mouth - “Sorry, I know you don’t like getting called ‘baby’ “

“I never said so” - Yesung was cheeky - “It’s ok”

“You literally said so” - Heechul mocked - “You said you weren’t a baby and didn’t want to be called like one”

“Thats different” - Yesung defended himself - “I told you to not call me child like names when with my friends or classmates. It’s embarrassing! Also, she gets a pass. She is my mom” 

“I’m your dad!”

“I’m not your baby” - Yesung did a funny face - “we are best buddies”
 
“We are best buddies” - Heechul agreed - “But you are also MY BABY”

“Go it” - Yesung was playful - “Your baby wants a cake” 

“A cake?” - Heechul looked at the cakes in the fridge - “Which one?”

“I don’t know” - Yesung was so happy - “I didn’t think you would say yes”

“Do you want to take a closer look?” - Heechul stood from the table - “cmon. Let’s go see which cake the baby gets”

“He is so happy” - Heeyeon commented - “just look at him. He is even bouncing!”

“I know” - Leeteuk found it cute. Yesung was giving little jumps of joy next to Heechul- “They really enjoy spending time together”

“Yesung is the older child so he is like Heechul’s best friend” - Heeyeon smiled at the scene. The boy and his dad were ordering together - “Heechul is really proud of him” 

“Look! Look!” - Yesung was louder than usual - “It’s lemon pie! And choco cake! And this one has strawberries!”

“Whoah, are you going to eat all that by yourself?” - Leeteuk - “You will end with an upset stomach”

“I won’t” - Yesung was giving them spoons - “It’s for sharing”

“Oh, how cute” - Heeyeon liked the idea - “I like this type of things”

“Here we go” - Heechul sat again and took a big spoonful of cake. His face got dirty. Yesung laughed - “what? Oh, the cream”

“You are like a baby” - Heeyeon was wiping his mouth - “Now we know why Henry is like that”

“Uncle, I needed to tell you something” - Yesung was eating merrily - “I’m sorry for getting angry the other day”

“Awww, I’m sorry too. I feel like I didn’t understand you at all” - Leeteuk was touched Yesung wanted to apologize- “Let’s get along, ok?”

After eating, they took a little stroll. They would eventually stop at some stores and buy stuff. Heeyeon had to be dragged out of an haberdashery. She bought cute buttons to use in the children clothes. They stopped at a toy store. 

“Awesome!” - Yesung was taking a look at the display section of some Lego- “It’s Star Wars!”

“Ohhhh, that’s the baby Yoda” - Heeyeon pointed at a keychain

“Baby who?”
 
“Mom” - Yesung used that sassy tone he had to correct others - “It’s not ‘baby Yoda’, it’s Grogu”

“Don’t feel bad, two days ago Ryeowook scolded me for not knowing the difference between Bulbasaur and Charmander”  - Leeteuk patted her back

“Oh, I do know that one” - Heeyeon got excited - “Bulbasaur is a grass type pokemon that has something like a cabbage on his back. Charmander spits fire and is like a weird lizard” 

“Way to go” - Heechul teased as Yesung laughed at the description she provided - “What do you say, Yesung? Should we get the awesome Lego?”

“I—“ - Yesung thought a lot - “I’m not sure I can build it… seems big and complicated…” 

“I will help you” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “I’m good at this stuff too”

“For real? You are not only buying it for me but also helping me build it?!” - Yesung jumped on him when Heechul nodded - “THANK YOU DADDY!”

“Let’s buy Pokémon cards” - Heeyeon was choosing a few packs - “and some cute stickers too. Oh, what are these?”

“Sticker albums” - the seller explained - “You buy sticker packs to get random stickers and fill the album”

“Perfect” - Heeyeon grinned - “This is what I need. I will get nine of these and two of the big package boxes”

The seller was surprised but went to look for them. 

“Someone is planning to bribe children using sticker cards~” - Leeteuk sang 

“You have no idea” - Heeyeon chuckled 

Heechul exited the store holding a big Lego box while his incredibly happy son walked next to him with a new videogame. Heechul wanted to compensate for the lost time and the fact he had paid less attention to the older boys due to being busy with the little ones. 

They went back home to get lunch ready and to let Yesung rest a while without his siblings. As soon as they got inside, Yesung stormed to his room to look for the special rubber rug he had to build legos and not damage the floor. He then went to ask Heechul to start.

“Aren’t you tired? You should rest” 

“Let’s build! Cmon! Cmon!” - Yesung was pulling his dad - “I Can rest later!”

“Let’s build this later and rest now”

“But you won’t have time for this later” - Yesung sulked 

Heechul felt bad. It was true he probably wouldn’t have that much time to play. 

“Only for an hour” - Heechul started searching for the instructions - “And then, you will rest until lunch”

“YAY!” - Yesung jumped on his bed

“Yesung!” - Leeteuk wasn’t scolding him. He was just shocked the boy would behave like that

“Sorry, uncle!”

“N-no, just be careful of not falling” - Leeteuk chuckled. 

“I will go look for Henry” - Heeyeon announced - “I bet he is driving Mina crazy, but she is too stubborn to admit it”

Heechul’s heart raced with every step he took to get to the twins classroom. Was Kyuhyun doing fine? Did he cry? Did he miss them?

“Dadaaaa!” - Ryeowook was the first to run to him - “Loo! We paintin’ !!” 

“Oh, it’s really cute” - Heechul could tell Ryeowook tried painting a giraffe - “it’s very nice, Wook” 

“Dada” - Kyuhyun walked to him slowly holding his painting- “Diz mine…” 

Heechul had a hard time figuring out what it was supposed to be. He saw something blue and round… and there was no doubt it was probably an animal as well, but he had no clue at all what the boy tried to paint. He thought for a moment and tried to guess based on the fact it was Kyuhyun.

“Is this a penguin?” - Heechul was anxious. If he was wrong… boy would get upset for sure 

“IZ WEWI!” - Kyuhyun was excited since his dad got it - “DADA LOO’ WEWI” 

“Yeah! It’s a cute penguin!” - Heechul relaxed a bit - “How was daycare today? Did you have fun?” 

“Yeah!” 

“How are you feeling?” - Heechul patted the toddler - “everything alright?”

Even though Kyuhyun said he was ok, his face betrayed him. His eyes were puffy and it was clear he had cried. Teachers told Heechul his boy was quick to tears that morning. He would start crying out of nowhere for the smallest thing. Heechul knew they were right and Kyuhyun was probably unwell despite saying otherwise. Having so many kids, Heechul knew it was a normal behaviour after a traumatic experience or getting sick… taking into account Kyuhyun just had both, it made sense. 

Later at the afternoon, boys were sitting together with Leeteuk working on their homework. The twins ‘homework’ (if you could call it that way) was colouring. They were working hard on it with their crayons. Ryeowook painted a blue lion and Leeteuk asked him if he had seen one before. The short toddler laughed hysterically knowing he haven’t and lions weren’t that color. He kept messing up on purpose in a try to frustrate the babysitter. 

“Aish, Wook” - Leeteuk chuckled when the toddler showed him a pink chicken - “What is that, uh? Is that even a chicken? Can you imagine the eggs it would lay?”

“Eastew eggz!” - Ryeowook chirped - “Pwetty And Cowowfuw” 

Leeteuk had no choice but to laugh. Ryeowook inherited Heechul’s big imagination. He was unstoppable. The babysitter was having fun until he heard that sound. 

“DONT YOU DARE POOPING HERE!” - Siwon raged and pointed at Kyuhyun who was as shocked as the others - “GO AWAY” 

Kyuhyun cried. Leeteuk was mad. He rushed to hold the boy. 

“Dude, relax” - Kangin was annoyed - “It was a fart” 

“It was me…” - Donghae pouted - “Sorry…”

Leeteuk was so busy trying to calm Kyuhyun, he forgot he had a twin who wouldn’t stay quiet if someone messed with his beloved brother. Before he could stop it, Ryeowook was in front of Siwon yelling at him. Being in a bad mood, Siwon pushed the toddler away. It wasn’t his intention at all, but since Ryeowook was so small and light compared to him… he miscalculated the force he should apply to give him a push and Ryeowook ended hitting the floor. 

“BUAAAAAH” - Ryeowook was now crying too  - “It huwtzzzzzz!” 

“Not nice, Siwon” - Leeteuk limited to say as he picked up the other twin - “We need to talk about this. Right now, I have got my hands full… but we need to talk”

Leeteuk had a hard time holding both twins at once. One of them was emotionally hurt, the other was in pain. As soon as Heeyeon appeared the twins stretched their arms at her. They wanted her to hold them. 

“Let me help” - Heeyeon took both boys - “I will take them upstairs and see if I can put them to sleep” 

“NO SWEEP!” - Ryeowook cried out loud annoyed 

“Mama… Mama…” - Kyuhyun kept whimpering

Heeyeon took the boys to their room. They were crying non stop but got interested when she showed them the sticker albums she bought earlier. 

“PIKACHU!” - Ryeowook forgot about the hit and was now immersed looking at the album - “Mama, loo! Pikachu!”

Heeyeon giggled a bit. Ryeowook would mispronounce a lot of words but that one was perfectly said. Kyuhyun had also stopped crying. He was trying to figure out why the strange book had empty slots. 

“These are stickers” - Heeyeon opened a small package that only had ten of them - “Five for each one”

The twins eyes sparkled. They inspected the little cards look alike and got mesmerized when Heeyeon demonstrated how they would stick to their album. 

“You need to check the number and place it on the empty space” - Heeyeon stamped one of the stickers they got - “See? This friend is-“

“WAICHU” - Ryeowook was beyond happy 

“Yes, Raichu” - Heeyeon didn’t know that much about pokemon but he recognized many thanks to Heechul and the boys - “It’s like a fat Pikachu, right?”

“Kyu got Buwbazauuuu!” - Kyuhyun jumped excited- “Mama, help Kyu! Wanna use zticke’!!”

The boys were so happy with their new albums. It was their first time having one of those. They were still too little to be passionate about collecting stuff, but since their brothers did, they wanted to do so as well.

“If you want more stickers, you have to earn them” - Heeyeon explained - “I will give some to you if you are good boys” 

The twins jumped out of happiness. They were definitely going to earn those. 

“Also, your Aunt Mina brought you something” - Heeyeon took out the gifts the aunt left earlier - “This one is Kyu’s , this is for Wookie”

Heeyeon recorded a short video of the twins ripping the paper and discovering their gifts. She got to caught on camera how the boys squealed and stomped their feet out of joy. Apparently, Mina knew them and knew what they liked. 

“PIKACHUUUU!” - Ryeowook was shouting so much Heeyeon was thankful she didn’t have to worry for the neighbors 

“Say ‘ thank you auntie’ “ - Heeyeon was still recording - “And blow a kiss to the phone” 

“THWANK U AUNWIE!” - they did as told 

They got two sets of pokemon figures. It included a round thing called “pokeball” that it was supposed to be used to “catch pokemon”. The boys were hitting that stage in which they got truly invested liking ‘monster like creatures’. Once they graduated from baby cartoons, they would like stuff like that. Leeteuk found hard to keep up with all names and things. He still confused Digimon and Pokemon. The kids liked both but would get upset when he didn’t know how it was called or which one it was. 

Heeyeon was struggling with the wire that held the figures to the box. She had heard from Heechul those were hard to undo and kids would get annoyed if you took long. The twins were polite… they really wanted to play with their new toys and even so, they waited patiently while Heeyeon took her time figuring out how to undo the plastic wire. 

“One out” - she was sweating. There were another seven figures to free as each set came with four - “This is Kyunnie’s, so I will take one of Wook’s out now”

She thought that it was fair to do it that way. Freeing the plastic monster took time and she already felt bad Ryeowook having to wait to get his. The boys were squatting next to her looking closely at how she worked. 

“Uh” - Kyuhyun suddenly whined - “Huwtz!”

“What hurts?” - Heeyeon worried thinking he pinched himself with something - “Where ?”

“Here” - Kyuhyun had both hands on his tummy - “Huwtz, Huwtz, Huwtz” 

Heeyeon got a little scared at first. She then saw the kid strain his face and turn red from effort as he pushed instinctively. 

“Watcha doin?” - Ryeowook was amused his brother was putting on some funny faces while squatting down. He thought it was a game - “Me too! Me too!”

Heeyeon did her best to not laugh. She didn’t want Kyuhyun to get the wrong idea. Ryeowook was way too funny. 

“Are you having troubles?” - Heeyeon rubbed Kyuhyun’s back - “Its fine, take your time” 

“Wookie wanna pwayyyy” - Ryeowook was trying to get his brother to play with him - “Kyu let’s pway”

“Kyu is buzy” - Kyuhyun told Ryeowook in a way Heeyeon found hilarious- “Can’t pway now”

Ryeowook pouted. He looked at Heeyeon with big pleading eyes like asking for help. He didn’t understand why Kyuhyun wouldn’t play with him. 

“Come here” - Heeyeon called the boy and whispered into his ear - “Kyu is pooping. Go play somewhere else and I will call you after he is done” 

“Kay” - Ryeowook was pretty understanding. He took his set box and went out of the room - “Wanna show Dada!”

Ryeowook didnt find Heechul and feared going down as he recalled Siwon was in a bad mood. He decided to pay a visit to his wise older brother who probably knew how to free his toys from the box. Yesung. 

“What are you doing here?” - Yesung asked amused as Ryeowook entered his room holding the box - “Oh, how nice. You got the starters!”

Ryeowook had no idea what Yesung meant but he nodded anyway. He handed the box to him, put on big eyes and asked for help. 

“Do you want me to take them out?” - Yesung stopped playing with his videogame - “Let me see. Which one you want first?”

“Pikachu” - Ryeowook was sure of his answer - “Wookie wantz Pikachu” 

“Sure” - Yesung managed to get it out - “Here you go. Next one?”

“Mmmmmmm” - Ryeowook fixed his eyes on the orange one - “Diz”

“Charmander?” - Yesung found cute Ryeowook- “I’m so happy you like Pokemon like me. It makes me feel proud as an older brother”

Ryeowook was in heaven. His big brother, who he admired the most out of his siblings… just praised him and told him he was proud. Nothing could be better than that. 

“Do you want to hear a secret?” - Yesung said in a low voice - “But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone. Not even Dad or Kyu”

Ryeowook fidgeted. He wanted to hear the secret but he wasn’t sure he could keep it. He wasn’t that good at it. 

“Out of my siblings…” - Yesung whispered - “You are the one I like the most” 

Ryeowook hugged him and cuddled for a while. Yesung really found him cute. He wasn’t just saying so for being nice. Ryeowook was definitely his favorite sibling. 

Heeyeon felt sorry for the boy. He was still panting from effort with his eyes full of tears. 

“Good job!” - Heeyeon kissed him and patted his back as they hugged - “Kyunnie, you are so brave!” 

“Wanna see” - Kyuhyun tried to take off his diaper himself  but Heeyeon stopped him preventing an accident 

“Let Mom do it, ok?” - Heeyeon saw the very moment Kyuhyun got terribly upset - “Just wait a little” 

“I wanna see my poop” - Kyuhyun was about to cry - “Poop huwt Kyu” 

“Ohhh, did the poop hurt you?” - Heeyeon’s heart ached. Kyuhyun was still in pain after all - “You want to see why it hurt so much, isn’t it?”

Kyuhyun nodded. He was already sniffing again. 
Heeyeon sighed. She tried being patient… toddlers were so easily upset when feeling sick. She didn’t want to hurt Kyuhyun’s feelings over something so trivial. 

“I will show it to you” - Heeyeon found it gross but there was no other way - “This is Kyunnie’s poop”

Kyuhyun inspected the dirty diaper and frowned. Heeyeon laughed when the boy stuck his tongue at it. Apparently, Kyuhyun got beef with his own poop. He even followed Heeyeon to the toilet when she went to get rid of his ‘enemy’. 

“Kyu wanna flush” 

“Alright, flush the toilet and say goodbye to it” - Heeyeon wasn’t going to argue with the toddler over the silly situation.  

“Mama hold Kyu hand” 

Heeyeon sighed one more time. This was incredibly silly. Why would they hold hands for flushing the toilet? Was Kyuhyun doing some sort of ritual for getting rid of his enemy? She stopped looking for a reason as soon as she touched the boy. 

“Are you cold? Why are you shivering?” - Heeyeon worried - “Kyu… could it be you are scared?”

Kyuhyun nodded slowly. Heeyeon grew concerned. One thing was using diapers, another one was having a panic attack just being near the toilet. She had no problems changing diapers but she wasn’t going to allow Kyuhyun develop a trauma. She thought quick and decided to start solving the problem. The sooner, the better.

“Kyunnie, would you like to play a game with mom?” 

Leeteuk was still hurt from what happened earlier. Overall, Siwon was a nice polite kid who wouldn’t get in troubles. Problem was that when mad, he was one of the worst when it came to personality. Leeteuk only feared three kids when being mad: Yesung, Siwon and Ryeowook. The others would be insufferable too, but less dangerous. Those three would plot actual revenges and wouldn’t forgive easily. He was sure back then that the trait came from the Kim family… yet, Heeyeon told him it could come from both sides since Hani was also like that. 

“I’m telling you” - Leeteuk was speaking in a low tone - “He is out of his mind. He managed to hurt both twins in less than ten minutes”

“I know” - Heechul sighed - “I will talk to him, ok? Try to be patient. This is my fault…”

Heechul entered the boy’s room despite not getting any answer from him. Siwon was laying on the bed reading a book. 

“Heeeeey~ what are we reading?”

“Why you care?” - Siwon replied annoyed - “It’s not like you care about me”

“I do care about you!” - Heechul was hurt - “It’s just… I’m sorry for not going to the preeschool event. I totally forgot, we were in the hospital—“

“I don’t wanna hear that” - Siwon covered himself with his blanket “You are only giving excuses”

“Right… Uhm… how can I make it up for you?” - Heechul bit his lips - “spending time together? Going to eat outside? Buying toys?”

“I don’t want any of that” - Siwon uncovered his face just for Heechul to see he was ‘angry’ - “I wish you came to the event!”

“Boy, I don’t own a Time Machine” - Heechul sighed - “I can’t fix that”

“Exactly! You can’t!” - Siwon pointed at the door - “Get out, please. I want to be alone”

“No, no” - Heechul wasn’t going to leave without solving the problem - “we need to talk. We need to understand each—“

“I do understand you. You play favorites all the time” - Siwon was now accusing him - “When I was wetting the bed almost daily and asked you for diapers, you said those were for babies and made my life impossible. Now, Kyuhyun is pooping in a diaper whenever he wants”

“First, it’s different” - Heechul’s patience was running low thanks to the comment about Kyuhyun- “Second, I have changed. I’m a new improved version of my old self” 

“I don’t want you to come to my preschool graduation” - Siwon left out - “In fact, I won’t go. I’m gonna skip it”

“Oh, but your mom worked so hard on your robe…” - Heechul sulked - “and it’s a nice opportunity to hang on as—“

“I don’t care. I won’t go and I won’t wear it”

“Ok” - Heechul took a deep breath. Siwon was upset. It was normal for people to say they didn’t mean when being upset - “I will allow it if that what’s you want. We can also have our own celebration”

“No” 

Heechul was in despair. He took a long breath and decided Siwon was too upset for being reasonable. Maybe giving him some space wasn’t bad. He would think a better strategy.

“Well, uhm… I’m leaving now” - Heechul wanted a reaction - “Get ready for dinner, ok?”

“Im not going to eat” 

“Uh? Why not? Are you feeling sick?” 

“I don’t want to see Kyuhyun” - Siwon said annoyed - “All this is his fault. He is really annoying. He is a stupid baby”

Ok, Heechul tried the so called ‘Gentle parenting’. He really did. Now it was time to go back to his own raising methods.

“Watch your mouth, boy” - Heechul warned him - “If you say anything bad to Kyu or any of your siblings I will get mad. Your mom and uncle are also out of the equation. You can mess with me all you want but they are out of your reach”

“Whatever” - Siwon was even more upset than before

Heechul exited the room feeling sorrow. Siwon and him were distancing and he didn’t know how to fix it. 

On the other hand, Heeyeon was succeeding with the bribing. She would give Kyuhyun some stickers if he sat on the toilet. Each minute = one sticker. She set a cute toy clock on the floor so Kyuhyun could keep track of the time. 

So far, even if Kyuhyun whimpered and attempted to cry… he endured it well. He really wanted stickers. Heeyeon felt a little guilty as the first two minutes were like hell for the boy. Even though he was sitting on the lid and with his pants on… he wouldn’t stop shaking from fear. 

“Four minutes” - Heeyeon announced - “Whoah! That makes it four—“

“No more” - Kyuhyun shook his head. He sounded like about to cry - “Get dow’ Pwease” 

“You did very very well” - Heeyeon was sure to praise him lots - “Do you want to open the card package yourself?”

“Mommy, Kyu had an awkcident” - Kyuhyun confessed- “Peed diapey”

“You peed? It’s no big deal” - Heeyeon felt sorry. The poor boy probably peed himself out of pure fear - “Do you want to change now?”

“No, Kyu ‘till scawed”

“Fine, then what if we go see what amazing cards you get?” - Heeyeon carried him. He needed to be spoiled - “What Pokemon are you looking for?”

“Mmmm” - Kyuhyun thought - “Nidowan, Powiwag, Pidgey”

“You want those? I hope you get them…” - Heeyeon handed him the package for him to draw four cards - “oh, baby you earned four cards not two”

“Two for me” - Kyuhyun explained calmly - “Two for twin”

“You want to share with Ryeowook” - Heeyeon melted. Twins bond was something else 

“Let me see your throat” - Leeteuk asked  Yesung to open his mouth - “It’s red and swallowed”

“I’m feeling cold” - Yesung was shivering. Fever was back - “Can I take something for this?”

“Sure, but you gotta eat first” - Heechul coaxed - “If you take meds without food in your tummy, you will regret it” 

“I don’t feel like eating” - Yesung sighed when he sat at the table - “My throat hurts too much”

“Would you like jelly?” - Heechul offered. He remembered the lesson ‘food they can eat’ and proceeded- “Or a yoghurt…?”

“I like jelly” - Yesung gave him a cute smile - “can I have one even if I don’t eat dinner?”

“You can have jelly for dinner” - Heechul pinched his cheeks - “Sick boys get a pass”  

Heechul was very sweet towards Yesung. He was weak for his boys when sick. He was pampering his boy after so long. Yesung was an almost nine years old… he behaved like a big kid and therefore wouldn’t go around the house looking for cuddles. So, Heechul wouldn’t waste the opportunity to spoil him. 

Saturday. Heechul was having a hard time: Siwon was still upset and refused to talk to him, Yesung was feeling a bit down due to the virus and Kyuhyun wouldn’t stop crying. 

“WEWISSS” - Kyuhyun cried like if his souls was ripped apart - “Kyu’s wewis!”

“What’s wrong with Kyu?” - Sungmin worried - “Why is he crying so much?”

“He wants to go to the zoo…” - Heechul sighed - “It’s my fault. Back at the hospital I told him I would take him to see the penguins if he let the doctors work”

“So strange!” - Siwon was being sarcastic- “Kyuhyun crying!”

“Dude, stop” - Kangin looked at Siwon with annoyance- “You have been a nuisance lately” 

“To the zoo…” - Leeteuk got the chills. No way. He was not coming back to that hellish place… specially if they were hanging out with nine boys - “Kyunnie, don’t you want to play something?”

“Wanna see wewis…” - Kyuhyun sobbed - “Wewis, wewis…”

“Shall we go?” - Heechul whispered to the other adults - “I really wanted to stay home today but I guess is unfair for the kids not going out…”

“The zoo… why would you tell him that?” - Leeteuk hissed in a low voice 

“Because he was sick and hurt and—-“ - Heechul hissed back 

“You promised him we would see penguins” - Heeyeon was using her phone - “But you didn’t say which ones”

“Excuse me? Do you know any friend that has a pet penguin?” - Heechul mocked 

“No, but the oceanarium also has penguins” - Heeyeon showed him the phone - “I think is a better option since we are not outdoors and is a smaller place. Donghae would love it too” 

“And no dangerous animals” - Leeteuk was pleased - “Ryeowook won’t get eaten by a giraffe” 

Convincing the boys to go was easy. They all wanted to go out as they expected doing so on weekends. They arrived at the oceanarium wearing the same clothes… it was one of the conditions the adults gave. That way, kids were easy to spot from distance. 

“You can’t take off your cap” - Heechul was scolding Ryeowook- “Leave it on or dad won’t find you if you get lost”

“Kaaaay” - Ryeowook chirped- “Wookie good” 

“What are you going to do if you get lost?” - Leeteuk asked the triplets 

“Cry” - The three of them answered in choir 

“No” - Leeteuk face palmed himself - “You are supposed to ask for help”

“And then we cry” 

“No crying is needed” - Leeteuk sighed - “If you get lost, just ask someone for help”

“OUTTTT!” - Henry protested from his stroller - “HENWY OUUUUUUUT!”

“Henry, we had a deal” - Heeyeon told the boy hitting a tantrum - “you said you would behave”

“NO WOWEW!” - Henry kicked while trying to undo his belt - “OUT!”

“We agreed on you being in the stroller” - Heeyeon explained calmly - “It’s safer that way”

“NOOOOOOO” 

“Well, I suppose next time you prefer staying home with Auntie or Grandma”

Henry stopped. Oops. No. He wasn’t going to risk future outings. He gave Heeyeon an smile and started playing cute.

“That’s my boy” - Heeyeon chuckled - “Smart as always” 

“Dada, dowfiiin” - Ryeowook was trying to pull Heechul forward - “Cmon, Cmon” 

“Dolphin? I’m not sure they have dolphins here” - Heechul was looking at the map - “Oh, seems like they do have them”

“Wewis?” - Kyuhyun asked carefully. He got a little disappointed after learning they were going to the oceanarium and not the zoo. He wasn’t sure if penguins lived there too. 

“There” - Heechul pointed with his finger - “Shall we go see the penguins?”

“There is no hurry” - Heeyeon was holding hands with the triplets - “We should use the route they recommend” 

“Agree” - Leeteuk pushed the stroller - “The boys are going to enjoy a lot” 

“Kyunnie, is that ok for you?”  - Heechul was wary of the recently sick toddler - “We will see the penguins anyway”

“Kay” - Kyuhyun chirped excited. He was so happy he was bouncing - “Kyu wanna see wewisssss!”

Siwon rolled his eyes and did a sound Leeteuk found worrying. He was sure the boy was up to something and would try to ruin their fun. He wasn’t going to allow it. 

“UNCLE LOOOOOOOOK” - Donghae was already stuck at a big acuarium - “NEMO”

“That’s right, honey” - Leeteuk giggled as the triplets were mesmerized- “That’s Nemo” 

“That’s not Nemo” - Siwon scoffed - “That’s a common clownfish” 

“The only clown here, is you” - Kangin complained - “Why would you ruin their fun?”

“Mommy, I want to use your phone” - Eunhyuk asked cutely - “I wanna take pictures of Nemo” 

“Better idea” - Heeyeon gestured them to pose - “I will take pictures of you with Nemo and it’s family” 

“Ohhhh” - Kangin got interested - “Then, I want a picture with a shark”

“Kyu picwtwue with wewis”

“I want to see the big turtles” - Yesung pouted - “I will take a selfie with one”

“What about you?” - Heechul ruffled Siwon’s hair - “You like seahorses, right?”

“No, I don’t” - Siwon lied. He liked those, but he was still mad at him and wouldn’t let him know he was right - “You know nothing about me”

“Did you know male seahorses are the one that carry the ‘eggs’?” - Yesung was in his professor mode - “Female gives them to the male and he is the one that goes through pregnancy” 

“Oh, I’m so jealous” - Heeyeon teased 

“Dad! Yesung is being a nerd!” - Kangin accused - “He is sharing weird facts again!”

The twins got fully terrified when they met a huge shark. They ran scared to hid behind Heechul. Henry was the total opposite. Little toddler had no clue at all and kept pacing next to the acuarium and asking things. 

“Teeth” - Henry also did the sign he learned for it - “fizh big teeth” 

“This is a shark” - Heeyeon carried him. She felt safer that way - “It has a loooooot of teeth”

“Sharks can have over tens of thousands teeth in a lifetime” - Yesung was once again proving he did read the encyclopedia he asked Heechul to buy - “However, human teeth are better quality” 

“How do you know so much stuff?” - Kangin was actually impressed - “I can barely remember if I finished my homework”

Heechul raised an eyebrow to him. 

“I did” - Kangin defended himself 

Once the adults were focusing on something else, Yesung turned to his brother. 

“I know you didn’t” - He chanted - “And dad is going to freak out when we go back home and you ask him for help”

“Why do you think I will ask him for help?” - Kangin shook his head - “It would be suicidal”

“Cuz you have no idea of how to add large numbers” - Yesung teased 

“Yeah, well” - Kangin shrank shoulders - “I have a plan”

“You do?” - Yesung was interested - “Which one?”

“You will do it for me” - Kangin grinned 

“Why would I do that?”

“First, because you are a nerd and you actually like maths” - Kangin grimaced - “Second, because we are going to bet on that”

“What kind of bet?” - Yesung was in. He loved those games 

“Siwon is still upset and will try to ruin our day here” - Kangin explained - “So, I bet it will be Dad the one that will explode after it happens”

“Dad?” - Yesung shook his head- “Uncle Teuk is going to KILL him. Yesterday you could hear him raising his voice for what happened with Kyu. And uncle barely raises his voice”

“Dad will explode soon” - Kangin insisted - “He has been holding himself because he feels guilty but he is about to surpass his limits”

“Fine. If Dad explodes first… I will do your homework” - Yesung shook Kangin’s hand like sealing a deal - “But if Uncle does it first…”

“You can tattletale and tell dad I didn’t do my homework” - Kangin chuckled 

Heechul was having fun too. He loved those type of stuff. His kids inherited from him the love for animals. He was as immersed as the kids at each stop. 

The twins started shifting oddly. Heechul got the cue on time. 

“Who wants to go potty?” - Heechul raised his hand playfully. Ryeowook did as well. Kyuhyun remained quiet. 

“Kyu, don’t you wanna go potty?” - Heechul was sure he did - “To pee?”

“But… wewis…” - Kyuhyun sulked. He wanted to see the penguins so badly… and going to the toilet meant waiting more for their lovely encounter. 

Leeteuk just came back from his third trip to the restroom. Henry would say he wanted to pee every single time they passed a toilet sign. It didn’t help that being in a place full of water, ignoring the need was impossible. 

“They have to pee” - Heechul told Leeteuk- “but they refuse to come since we haven’t seen the penguins yet”

Leeteuk left out a big sigh. Heechul shrank shoulders. 

It didn’t help the twins were usually anxious at public restrooms. It was a busy place so the restroom was a busy place too. The noise of the hand dryers was really scary for them. People going in and out… parents fighting their children, boys splattering water everywhere…

“Scawy” - Ryeowook refused to go in 

“Nuh” - Kyuhyun hid behind Heechul 

Heechul hated those as much as his boys did but for different reasons. He considered those the crib of diseases and infections. He was convinced they would catch something the very moment he inspected the stalls.

“Alright…” - Heechul gulped down - “You are lucky to be boys. Guess who is learning how to use the urinal” 

Problem was, it was a crowded place. Even the carefree Ryeowook struggled to let his bladder relax. And for the shy Kyuhyun, it was an impossible task.

“You can’t do it, uh?” - Heechul felt bad for the boy. His eyes were filled with tears - “It’s ok. No biggie. Let’s go outside, ok? You did well anyway”

Heechul was thankful for the fact Kyuhyun was wearing a diaper. His boy’s reaction to the crowded place would have been the same even without his recent trauma. 

“Wewis” - Kyuhyun whispered to Heechul- “Kyu wanna wewis and go home” 

Ok, it was fair. He was tired and probably annoyed since he couldn’t relieve himself. 

“Let’s go look for penguins” - Heechul agreed - “And then we go home”

Kyuhyun’s bad mood drifted away at the sight of his black and white friends. The boy jumped excited as they got closer. Heeyeon was recording a video of the kids. They were so happy. 

“Wewis~ wewis~ wewisss” - Kyuhyun was singing a made up song about the penguins - “Kyu’s fwiendzzzzz” 

The boy had a blast since the penguin caregivers fed the penguins for them. They saw a bunch of cute kids singing and dancing next to the penguins and thought they would like to see how they ate.

“Look, Kyunnie” - Heeyeon was excited too - “they are feeding the penguins!”

“WHOAH” - Ryeowook was in awe - “DADA DADA! WEWI ATE BIG FWISH!”

“Look uncle! The penguins are playing!” - Eunhyuk pointed at two penguins doing something Leeteuk recognized right away - “They are friends” 

“Oh, they are VERY good friends” - Heechul said 

The adults exchanged quick looks and laughed. Children innocence. The penguins were mating. Spring was about to start and it showed. 

“That penguin is holding a rock” - Sungmin pointed out - “Is he making a nest?”

“Probably” - Heechul was holding the boy to get a better view - “those are nests over there”

“One, two, three…” - Leeteuk was counting the kids. He had that strange feeling again - “… seven, eight. EIGHT”

“What’s wrong?” - Heeyeon asked him - “are you ok?”

“Where is Siwon?” 

“Uh?”

Siwon was nowhere to be found. Heechul called for him a couple times and there was no answer. 
The busy parent re did their path hoping to find him. Maybe he got separated from the group and got lost, or maybe he just got stuck at some other exposition during their route. Either way, he was going to find him. 

“It started” - Yesung whispered to Kangin’s ear 

Not being able to find the kid and almost panicking, Leeteuk and Heeyeon decided to call it a day and announced they would leave as soon as they found Siwon. Kyuhyun was sulky about it as he wanted to keep seeing the penguins. 

“I’m sorry, baby” - Heeyeon kissed him - “I promise you we will see the penguins again some other day. Right now we need to find your brother ok?”

Kyuhyun nodded in understanding. He wanted to keep watching penguins pretty badly but his brothers came first. He knew it was how it was supposed to be. 

Heeyeon felt her blood pressure drop when she saw Heechul jump into the otters habitat. He was swimming there while a guard started whistling at him and asking him to get out. He showed them a cap. It was one cap like the ones their boys wore. Heeyeon froze. Had the kid fall inside? 

“I can’t find him, I can’t find him” - Heechul would go deep and comeback to the surface and shook his head - “where is him?”

The guards were also on alert as Leeteuk explained they had lost a five years old. He even provided the description. It was very helpful everyone got a hint of how he would look like since his brothers were dressed the same. 

“Mom…” - Sungmin was pulling her sleeve - “I know it’s not a good time… but I need to pee” 

“Me too” - Eunhyuk sulked 

Heeyeon was scared like hell but she knew the triplets didn’t deserve being ignored. They probably tried holding all they could. 

“Let’s go quickly, ok? I bet they will find Siwon in no time”

Heeyeon was waiting out of the stalls checking her phone. Waiting for a call. Just a simple call. She was crying a bit as she worried. She kept count of the occupied stalls with her boys. 

(One… two… three… four…)

(…)

(It can’t be right)

Heeyeon’s heart jumped. She knew there was a chance another kid had the same shoes as her boys but… if by any chance…

“Siwon, are you in there?” - Heeyeon asked full of hope. There was no answer - “Siwon…?”

What she did saw was that the kid inside probably stepped on the toilet. She couldn’t see his shoes and the stall looked empty despite being occupied.

“Open up, kiddo” - Heeyeon was losing it - “I know you are in there” 

Again, no answer. Heeyeon waited for the triplets to come out. 

“Is mommy going to pee?” - Donghae asked as Heeyeon went inside the stall in a hurried way. 

She climbed the toilet and had a look at the next stall inside. Siwon was there. The boy panicked as soon as their locked eyes. In a rushed way, he jumped down and crawled outside the stall.

“Wonnie!” - the triplets chirped relieved as their sibling ran away at full speed 

At time like this, Heeyeon was reminded of her condition as a pregnant woman. She couldn’t run after the kid at full speed. She was left without air before she could catch him. 
Now that adrenaline hit her and she was sure the kid was fine…she found her feelings changed dramatically from being worried to being really angry. 

Siwon kept running. He thought he had lost her and sat on a bench. He had put his t shirt inside out so he wouldn’t fit the given description to the guards. Also, he threw his cap on purpose at the otters habitat. He thought he had won when he felt his ear being pulled as never in his entire life. 

“OUCH” 

“Ouch? OUCH?” - Heeyeon had his ear and wouldn’t let it go - “You have any idea of what you did?”

“Stop it! It hurts!” - Siwon whined - “It’s your fault for being mean to me!”

Heeyeon let free the ear not before grabbing an arm. 

“Let me go! I don’t wanna go home with you!” - Siwon kept trying to get free - “I hate Kyu! I hate you! And I hate D—“

The sound of a slap filled the air. The triplets flinched. Siwon was astounded. He never expected Heeyeon to go that far. As soon as the shock was over, he got angry. 

“Why you hit me?!” - He yelled at her 

“You have any idea of the troubles you have caused?! You have any idea of how dangerous it was?!” - Heeyeon was mad - “Your dad dived with the otters thinking you were there!”

“So?” - Siwon shrank shoulders in a bratty way - “it’s his fault for not noticing I was gone”

“You won’t get it, do you?” - Heeyeon shook her head - “You overdid it this time. You could have caused a real problem… what if… Nevermind”

As expected, the ride home was nothing pleasant. Both cars remained in silence. In one, Heeyeon only sniffed from time to time. Leeteuk would take deep breathes. 

“Mama, are u Kay?” - Ryeowook finally asked 

“Yes, baby” - Heeyeon did her best to sound normal - “I’m just a bit tired. Don’t worry about me, ok?” 

“Mama, dun cwy…” - Kyuhyun was also concerned - “Kyu gonna be good”

“Wookie too…”

“Henwy ‘oo’ “ - Henry joined his brothers 

“This has nothing to do with you, ok?” - Heeyeon looked at their gloomy faces on the mirror - “You boys were so good today. And we had a lot of fun, right? We saw the penguins, the sharks, the turtles…” 

“I once jumped inside the pond because I thought the kids were in there” - Leeteuk recalled - “I took a swim with the ducks”

“At least ducks don’t smell so bad” - Heeyeon smiled a bit - “Heechul smells like fish” 

The toddlers laughed. They were less tense now that the adults were talking. 

They finally got home. They arrived first. Leeteuk took Henry and Ryeowook out of the car while Heeyeon helped Kyuhyun. 

“Wook, wait for me” - Leeteuk chased after the toddler that walked to the door - “It’s not good to go alone” 

“Oh?” - Heeyeon touched Kyuhyun’s - “Kyu… did you pee?”

Kyuhyun turned deep red of embarrassment. Yes, he had done so. His bladder gave away during Siwon’s missing incident… but it didn’t feel like the right time to say something about it. He endured the whole ride back home in a wet diaper. 

“You are really wet” - Heeyeon sounded frustrated- “What a bad mommy, huh? I bet it was uncomfortable to sit all the way like this” 

“Kyu Sowy” 

“Oh, no baby” - Heeyeon kissed him twice - “It’s not your fault. Mom is just… a bit disappointed at herself. Next time let us know right away ok? We don’t want a diaper rash” 

“Mama, Wonnie hatez Kyu?” - Kyuhyun was fidgety and nervous - “Cuz Kyu wears diapey?” 

“Siwon doesn’t hate you, baby boy” - Heeyeon carried him inside the house - “He is just upset because he felt bad for something else”

“Dada n mama no go to kinwer cuz Kyu zic” - Kyuhyun knew the reason and blamed himself for it - “Kyu guilty” 

“No, Kyu, no” - Heeyeon hugged him tightly - “No one likes to get sick. You didn’t do it on purpose, ok? You can’t control that”

Kyuhyun nodded. He felt a little better after talking with Heeyeon. 

Heechul arrived with the others kids soon after. He made sure the triplets and his two older were safely inside. He caught Siwon by his arm before he got the chance to run away. 

“Siwon, I…” - He had teary eyes - “Don’t ever do this to us again, ok?”

“So, I say it’s a tie” - Yesung told Kangin - “Neither of us was right”

“Yep” - Kangin looked around - “I never thought she would hit him, tho” 

“He deserved it” - Yesung sighed - “Let’s do something. Since neither of us was right… I won’t tattletale on you and… I will help you with your homework” 
 
“For real?”

“I’m going to teach how to do it and supervise you” - Yesung explained - “I’m not going to do it myself” 

“It doesn’t matter… thank you” - Kangin was happy - “You are a nice older brother when you want”

“I’m ALWAYS a nice brother to you all” - Yesung whined 

Siwon was confined to his room. It wasn’t a high price to pay considering all he had done that day. He recalled his actions again and again… and definitely sided with his mom. What he did had no excuse. It was reckless and stupid. He ruined everyone’s fun and Heechul and the others were clearly hurt. What did he want to prove by going missing? Did he doubt they were going to look for him? He already knew by experience that his dad always worried about them. Leeteuk and Heeyeon weren’t different. There was no reason to behave like that. 

“I’m coming in” - It was Heeyeon’s voice. The boy awaited calmly. She was probably there to scold him again - “I know I’m the last person you want to see… but I brought you ice and… Uhm, some snacks”

She was carrying a tray with a sandwich, a juice box and a fruit cut in pieces. 

“I realized you must be hungry…” - Heeyeon handed him an ice pack - “For your cheek. It will hurt less this way” 

“It doesn’t hurt” 

“Don’t be prideful and just take it” - Heeyeon did it herself - “I already feel bad enough knowing I was the one who slapped you. Siwon, I— A mom should never lost her temper like that” 

Siwon looked at her with wide eyes. 

“I’m sorry” 

“I’m sorry too” - Siwon held the ice pack as he was told - “and I really mean it. It doesn’t hurt. You didn’t hit me hard”

“It doesn’t make it better “ - Heeyeon left out a frustrated sigh - “Siwon, It’s ok if you never forgive me. I will endure it. But for the sake of this family… just forgive your dad”

Siwon looked down. He knew she was right. He knew it but…

“I’m not saying is easy or that you have no rights to be upset about what happened” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “But I swear we would have gone to your kindergarten event if we could. You need to understand that Kyuhyun was truly sick and we were worried”

“I was the only kid whose parents didn’t show up” - Siwon was teary - “I spent the whole day by myself watching the others play with their parents” 

“But that was just once” - Heeyeon pouted - “What about all those time in which your dad did show up, uh? What about all the good moments we have together?”

Again, she was right. He knew that. 

“I don’t want to forgive him…” 

“Do you want to part ways?” - Heeyeon sighed - “You saw it yourself, didn’t you? What happens when child and parents hold grudges for too long” 

Siwon did a confused face. He didn’t get it at first. Then, he recalled what his dad said about his parents. His grandparents and his dad didn’t have a strong relationship until recently. 

“Heechul was just like you” - Heeyeon sulked - “He wouldn’t forgive his parents easily… and held grudges all his childhood. When he became a teenager… well, their relationship worsened and then they stopped being close for a long time. Years!. Do you think you can live like that? Do you think your dad wants that?”

If Heeyeon was enough for him… Leeteuk came to his room soon after and made him feel even worse. Because he wasn’t mad. He was just upset and he could tell the adult had cried too. 

“You are not hurt, are you?” - Leeteuk was checking for injuries - “I know you don’t want to talk to us… but if you feel bad… you should tell us, ok?”

“I’m fine” - Siwon felt a lump in his throat - “I’m just tired”

“Siwonnie… Even if we are not in good terms right now…” - Leeteuk was so honest Siwon’s heart hurt - “We love you and we want the best for you. Never forget that”

Ouch. It hurt him twice. Siwon was always a good boy… he wasn’t used to disappoint. He wasn’t used to cause troubles. And he definitely hated it and hated himself for trying. 

Just like the ghosts from the Christmas carol book  Yesung once read to him… the third ghost appeared in his room soon after the second one left. 

Kyuhyun was holding his penguin plush and a few sticker cards he had gotten that afternoon after managing to sit on the toilet for ten minutes straight. He was freaking scared and almost pass away from stress… but he thought it was the only way he could get so many cards at once. 

“You shouldn’t be here” - Siwon complained - “I don’t want to play with you”

Kyuhyun handed him the sticker cards. 

“What’s that for? The album?” - Siwon sighed 

“K-kyu Sowy” - Kyuhyun was serious - “Apogowy” 

“Take this as an apology?” - Siwon translated - “I don’t think so” 

“Why?” - Kyuhyun was defeated. He went through a lot of troubles to get the cards… he thought Siwon would like them - “No zticke?”

“Do you think you Can fix all this mess and that I will forgive you just for ten stupid Pokémon cards?”

“Mowe zticke…?” - Kyuhyun pouted sadly - “Twendy?

“No! I don’t want ten nor twenty stupid cards!” - Siwon hissed - “I wanted dad and mom to attend my kindergarten event and they couldn’t because they were busy taking care of you. I felt horrible!”

“Sowy” 

“Stop saying you are sorry” - Siwon scoffed - “You don’t know what is like to feel sorry. In fact, you don’t even know how I feel. It’s like if you have taken from me what I wanted the most”

Kyuhyun did a painful expression. For a moment, Siwon thought Kyuhyun would break into tears and the adults would ground him for the rest of his life. Instead, the boy closed his eyes really hard and offered Siwon his penguin plush. 

“What are you doing?”

“Wonnie can have wewi” - Kyuhyun didn’t open his eyes. It was too painful for him to watch how he would give away his beloved penguin plush - “Tawe it”

Siwon melted. He knew how important was that silly doll for Kyuhyun. He would take it everywhere since he was a baby. He slept with it, ate with it, took it with him everywhere… and he barely let others touch it. He only let Ryeowook borrow it. And he was there… offering it to him. It looked like a silly action… but it was meaningful.

“Kyu, can I have the penguin ?” - Siwon wanted to make sure 

Kyuhyun nodded. Some tears rolled down his cheeks. Siwon gulped down. 

“Open your eyes” - He tried - “I want you to look at me” 

Kyuhyun obeyed. 

“Do you love me?” 

Kyuhyun nodded. 

“Well… Uhm” - Siwon felt bad for the toddler - “I guess I love you too. So… don’t cry” 

Kyuhyun looked at him in sorrow.

“Fine, and…” - Siwon pushed the penguin back to his rightful owner - “Thank you. But I don’t need this. You can keep it”

“N-no w-Wewi?”

“No” 

Kyuhyun tried offering the cards again.

“I don’t really need those either” - Siwon said softly - “can you give me a hug?”

Kyuhyun approached him slowly. He still feared for himself. After all, Siwon did push his twin the other day. Yet, Siwon hugged him tightly. 

“Don’t cry, ok?” - Siwon patted his head as the toddler started sobbing - “I forgive you. I’m not angry anymore… I… I’m sorry” 

“Kyu? Where are you?” - Heechul was looking for the boy - “did you have an accident? I Can hear you cry, Kyuuuuu”

Heechul froze when he found the two kids hugging. He was tempted to leave the room and come back later. He didn’t want to ruin the brotherly moment. 

“Daddy” - Siwon was calling him - “I’m sorry” 

Heechul eyes went big. He still waited for the boy to be mad at him. 

“I’m really really sorry” - Siwon hugged him - “And I don’t hate you. I love you. And I love my whole family…”

Siwon was doing a full bow to the adults. He was apologizing for everything he had done on the past few days. Truth to be told, even if he knew he was going to get punished… he was at peace. He didn’t want to be angry at anyone and feeling upset all time was draining. He just wished things went back to normal as soon as possible. 

“Uhmmm” - Leeteuk was shaking his head - “I don’t know. What do you say, Heechul? Any idea for his punishment?”

“A few ones” - Heechul nodded as he pretended to think - “I have been thinking a few ones” 

“I will do it” - Siwon was serious about it - “I deserve whatever you have chosen”

“First, I thought about taking away your cars” - Heechul glanced at the boy. Siwon was pale - “Then, after you made me swim with otters… I thought you should help changing Kyuhyun’s diaper”

Siwon gulped down. He hated the idea… it was gross and messy and… God, just the thought of it made him sick. 

“But I got a better idea” - Heechul continued -“this one fits you better” 

Siwon was feeling cold. His dad’s mind was twisted sometimes. What could be possibly worse than helping with the diaper changes?

“I don’t get it” - Siwon looked around as Heechul helped him wear the safety helmet - “Why are we here?”

“Your punishment, duh” - Heechul made a funny face - “Now, is the helmet too tight?”

“It’s fine” - Siwon shook his hands horizontally- “But I still don’t get it. What are we doing here? This is for karting” 

“Exactly” 

“I love cars” - Siwon continued - “and I have always wanted to drive”

“That’s correct”

“This is not a punishment” - Siwon said almost laughing - “where is the trap?”

“Oh, well… you see” - Heechul did a sound with his tongue - “If you have taken my invitation days ago… You would have come with me alone. Just the two of us… but now…”

Heechul pointed at the other side where Siwon siblings were getting ready. 

“That’s still not that bad” - Siwon teased 

“Oh, I know how competitive you are” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “So, I thought that losing was enough punishment for you”

“I’m not going to lose” - Siwon got into his kart car - “I’m going to beat them” 

“Oh, not that fast” - Heechul did another sound - “You are forgetting something… or someone” 

“What?” - Siwon looked around. Ryeowook was sitting with Yesung… and Kangin had Henry next to him - “What’s going on?”

“You see, even if this is a place of karting for children… boys under four can’t ride alone” - Heechul did a painful face as a joke - “So, your baby brothers need help. Make sure of driving safely~ don’t go too fast or he will get dizzy” 

“Da—“ - Siwon sighed when he saw Kyuhyun wearing his helmet and holding his penguin plush… who also wore a helmet - “Hi, Kyunnie…”

“We pway together!” - Kyuhyun was excited to go karting - “Kyu pwayz with Wonnie!”

Siwon took a deep breath. Yes, he definitely was going to lose. At least his older brothers also played with a handicap. It took him just one minute to realize he was in the biggest disadvantage as Kyuhyun would get nervous when he speeded up. As a result, just like Heechul predicted… they got last. In every single round. 

“What do we say to them?” - Kangin had a blast with Henry. Both of them were crazy and loved speed. They won most of the rounds 

“Lozeeeeeeeeeewssss !” - Henry stuck out of his tongue. 

“Don’t worry Wook” - Yesung patted the boy - “the only reason Kangin won was because this stupid virus makes my eyes dry”

“We won over the four eyed team!” - Kangin teased them - “Wooo!”

“Woooo!” - Henry imitated 

Ryeowook didn’t care. He was happy as he got to ride with Yesung. They both had fun. 

Siwon was finally finishing the last round. He thought a snail would have gotten faster to the goal. 

“And… we are last” - Siwon sighed defeated - “again”

“Kyu had fun!” - Kyuhyun clapped his hands excited - “ ‘gain! ‘gain!” 

“Ohhhhhh, seems like he wants to play again!” - Leeteuk  

“Awww, how cute” - Heeyeon smiled pleased as she took pictures - “Kyunnie is so happy to play with you!”

“Should we pay another round?” - Heechul smirked playfully - “I have all day” 

“Pway! Pway! Pway!” 

Siwon was almost begging him to stop. He was already so tired. Heechul ended paying another round as Yesung wanted one more chance to win. If he did, it would be a tie between his team and Kangin’s. 

Siwon knew they would be last again. He wondered what had he done to deserve that. Oh, well. He remembered. He sighed again. 

Kyuhyun gave him a kiss and a big smile. At least he was happy. 

“Kyu wuvz Wonnie!” - Kyuhyun said out of nowhere 

Maybe it wasn’t that bad, Siwon thought. If Kyuhyun was happy… it was worth it. Or maybe not. 

“Kyu, did you fart?” - Siwon covered his nose - “It smells!”

“Kyu pooped” - the toddler pouted 

Ok, that was his limit. He gave up. 

“DAAAAAAAD!” - Siwon called for aid - “I SURRENDER!” 

“I have this odd feeling you knew this would happen” - Leeteuk glanced at a laughing Heechul 

“Of course I did” - Heechul was having fun 

“He is still salty over the swimming with otters experience” - Heeyeon sipped her ice tea 

“You would be too if you had showered twice to get rid of the smell!”

————————————————————————————-

Author comments: 

Hi there! Just as promised! Another chapter <3 
^-^ Hoping you Enjoy the story getting updates… it’s been a while since I had time for that ~