“I’m really sorry” - Leeteuk apologized again as Mrs Ahn served him tea - “Technically, I’m the host and—“

“You are upset” - Mrs Ahn cut him a piece of cake - “It’s normal you can’t focus” 

“I.. I am not—-“ - Leeteuk couldn’t lie. He was upset. He was devastated over his family going out without him - “Just a little bit” 

“Why would you keep it to yourself?” - Mrs Ahn made sure the table was cute - “I’m pretty sure Heechullie and Heeyeonnie would have understood”

“Because I’m a fool” - Leeteuk left out a little nervous laugh - “I never thought of myself like a clingy person. I… I couldn’t just say I wanted to go with them after being mean to the twins” 

“You were tired and it was a complete valid response”

“They got hurt”

“Congratulations, you are a parent now” - Mrs Ahn teased - “Heeyeon once cried because I cut her candy into little pieces” 

“Uh?”

“Yeah, she was so small… and I thought she could choke so” - Mrs Ahn sighed - “Anyway she got upset and I felt like the worst mom for an entire weekend”

Leeteuk chuckled a bit. He could picture a little Heeyeon being as cute and dramatic as Donghae. 

“I have been waiting for a moment of silence the whole week and now I don’t want it” - Leeteuk sulked - “last night I didn’t want the kids sleeping with me and right now I would give anything to just feel those sticky hands grabbing my face” 

Mrs Ahn laughed. 

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” - Leeteuk smiled shyly - “I’m such a weirdo” 

“You remind me of myself” - Mrs Ahn confessed - “My sister and I were twins. We used to do everything together… so, we wished for the day we could take separate ways…”

“But you didn’t like it” - Leeteuk said softly 

“I wanted to study, but her… she had different dreams in that marbled filled head” - Mrs Ahn remembered the old times - “She became a florist and soon married a handsome guy that worked in the tea shop across the street. They didn’t wait long and welcomed Hani into their lives” 

Leeteuk was immersed in the story but couldn’t avoid thinking about the food. He loved the tea, and the cake was just amazing. Heeyeon was so lucky to grow with someone so skilled for cooking like her mom. 

“Do you like it?” - Mrs Ahn couldn’t avoid commenting about Leeteuk’s way of enjoying his tea - “Hibiscus tea is nice, isn’t it?”

“It’s my favorite” - Leeteuk blushed - “And I heard from Mr Ahn, you also like it. It’s funny”

“That’s how we met” - Mrs Ahn blushed - “Those two worked at the tea shop together. My cute husband and his silly friend Mr Park” 

“Really?”

“I went to pay a visit to my sister at the flower shop… and we decided to go have lunch at the tea shop across the street. I already knew she liked that boy… but what I didn’t expect, was to fall in love with his best friend” 

Leeteuk was a bit too excited. He loved those kind of stories. He was a romantic fool after all. 

“Would you like to listen to it?” - Mrs Ahn giggled - “It’s been ages since I told the story” 

“I’m all ears” 

[Back to the past. Many years ago]

A slim guy wearing suit and hat entered the flower shop. He was holding a big bouquet and seemed nervous. The girl at the counter decided it was her time to play. 

“Good morning, Sir” - the girl in her twenties wore an oversized overall and her hair tied in a pony tail - “How can I help you?”

“I- I…” - The guy gathered courage - “I see you everyday when we come to work. We take the same train and— and— And I can’t stop thinking about you. You are the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my entire life—-!”

“Oh, well thanks” - the girl laughed but pushed away the flowers - “but I think you got the wrong person”

“What are you talking about…?” - The man seemed devastated - “That day at the tea store I could have sworn… I… Uhm…”

“You are not very eloquent, are you?” - the girl teased - “Like I was saying, you got the wrong girl. I think you are talking about my sister… who happens to have a huge crush on the tea shop guy… That I guess, It’s you”

The man turned redder than the flowers he was holding. 

“Minseon ! Piggy!” - The girl shouted - “The guy you like brought you flowers!”

“Minjin!” - A girl wearing a cute dress and straight hair complained - “Don’t say things like that!” 

“I… uh…” - the man couldn’t believe what his eyes saw. They were identical. It was really hard to tell them apart… maybe impossible. 

“Like I was saying” - The older twin called Minjin pointed at her sister - “I think she is the one you are looking for”

“Are these really for me?” - Minseon asked cutely - “Could it be…”

“W-would you date me?”

“Yes!”

“You gotta be kidding me” - The older twin sighed - “How can you be so carefree?” 

Days went by and a new season arrived. Not wanting to interrupt their silly date, Minjin was hanging out at the tea shop across the flower store sitting at a different table than them. 

“You seem bored, pretty lady” 

“This is better than third wheeling” - the girl complained without lifting her sight from her book - “He is going to ask her for marriage today”

“Is he finally doing it? Guess I will have to go look for a suit…” 

“You are his best friend, aren’t you? You will probably be the best man”

“And you are his twin sister. You will be her bridesmaid” - The man chuckled - “ is that why you cut your hair?”

Minjin finally put the book down. She was red, but she couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. 

“What are you? A stalker?” 

“No, I’m just a guy that passed by” - the man placed a glass of hibiscus tea in front of her - “This one is your favorite, isn’t it?”

“I cut my hair to avoid people confusing us” - Minjin confessed - “And yeah, I like hibiscus tea and so does my sister. But it’s not like you need to bring me one glass of it every time I come” 

“Back in Victorian times… giving hibiscus to a girl meant that the giver acknowledged her beauty” - The man sat in the same table - “Dont you think is a clever way of flirting?”

“It’s not If the girl you are flirting with had no idea about it” - the girl laughed. She actually found him good looking and gentle - “What is such a smart guy doing in a tea shop?” 

“It’s just a part time job to help me pay for my studies” - the man shrank shoulders - “I’m studying to become a teacher” 

“Oh, so you like kids” - The girl made a funny face 

“And you don’t? Kids are the best” - The man daydreamed - “One of these days I will have my own school and my grandchildren will study there”

“Grandchildren?” - Minjin laughed - “Then you want to have kids” 

“At least one” - the man teased - “To continue with the Ahn’s legacy”

There were cheering from other tables. People was clapping excited as a girl wore a ring and hugged her fiancé. 

“I guess she said yes” - Minjin smiled pleased -
“My sister is going to be Mrs Park”

“Mmmm” - The boy whose last name was Ahn did a funny face - “Maybe one day you could be Ahn Minjin. ‘Mrs Ahn’ ” 

“Stop it” - The girl hit him with the book she was reading- “Don’t say stupid things” 

About a year later, the offspring of the Park couple was born. Hani. A girl that inherited her good looks from her mother and that silly personality from his father. A girl that genetically speaking, was also her aunt’s daughter. 

[back to the present]

“We were so young back then” - Mrs Ahn blushed - “We used to spend a lot of time together. We babysat Hani whenever my sister needed help… there was a time… let’s just say she wasn’t in a good condition to chase after a toddler” 

Leeteuk tried to think what could it be. Maybe a disease? It didn’t feel good to ask. He would have to keep his curiosity for himself. 

“Hani was such a naughty kid” - Mrs Ahn sighed - “Always noisy and climbing everywhere. She was full of energy… She was one of the reasons I started seeing often my now husband. He was nice with kids and I was scared of them so…” 

“It would have been nice to see you back then” - Leeteuk pouted amused 

“Oh, you can” - Mrs Ahn searched for something in her purse - “Here. I always carry these with me” 

“Is this Heeyeon?” - Leeteuk found extremely funny a picture of a very cute looking toddler Heeyeon - “She was so cute!”

“She still is!” - Mrs Ahn joked - “But at least now she will tie her hair. Back at that time it was impossible!”

“Oh, God” - Leeteuk found the old pictures the woman told him about - “I can’t tell the difference between you and your sister!”

It was a family picture. Leeteuk recognized Mr Ahn and the twin sisters. The other man must have been Mr Park then. There was a young girl hugging one of the twin women, so he assumed that one was Hani’s mother. Hani’s mother looked chubbier than her twin, he thought. 

“See these earrings? They were a gift from my husband. I still have those!” 

Leeteuk always loved seeing family pictures. He always wished for having their own… being raised as an orphan, most of his childhood wishes included versions of himself having a ‘real’ family. He didn’t complain about his childhood back there since he made tons of friends and grew up well with love… but of course he had dreamed more than once how his life would have been of meeting the Kim family before. He and Heechul would have childhood pictures together and more stories to tell the kids when they were older. He had none of it. 

“There are more” - Mrs Ahn made him look at another old picture - “This one was Heeyeonnie’s first birthday”

Leeteuk was smiling. One of the twins held a baby Heeyeon over a decorated table with the number “one” . Next to her, two kids poked the cake while Mr Park scolded them. At the other side, Mr Ahn And… wait. Why was Mrs Ahn sister holding Heeyeon at the picture? Maybe it was silly… but Leeteuk was sure that usually at birthday parties… mothers were the one holding their children at that type of events. 
Mrs Ahn was clearly the woman next to Mr Ahn. She was wearing the same earrings that in the previous picture. Also… who was the other child? It was a toddler not older than three.

He said nothing and moved into the next picture trying to not think too much about it. Again, something was odd. This one was from before. The twins were sitting together. One of them was pregnant. The one who wasn’t… wore Mrs Ahn earrings. At the background, you could intuit there were two kids playing together. 

Judging by the year of the picture… the woman couldn’t be pregnant with Hani. In fact, the date was closer to… but again, it was silly. Judging pictures just based over something so stupid as earrings.  

“And that’s it” - Mrs Ahn sulked - “I’m afraid I only keep those with me all time…but you are welcomed to come to our place and seen more of these if you want”

“Oh, thanks!” - Leeteuk was still confused but he was feeling better thanks to Mrs Ahn - “And thanks for the tea and the cake… I swear is the best cake I have ever had”

“Is that so? Then tell me when your birthday is and I will make one for you” - Mrs Ahn saw how the man smile wasn’t as bright as before - “Is there something wrong with that?”

“My birthday…” - Leeteuk struggled to say it - “I have always celebrated it the same day as Heechul’s but… is not my real one. It was the one given at the orphanage”

“Still, a birthday is a birthday” - Mrs Ahn held his hands - “It doesn’t stop being a day to celebrate yourself another year. So, this year… I will make two cakes for my boys”

Leeteuk blushed deeply. 

“Oh, I always call Heechul my son” - Mrs Ahn chuckled - “I thought it would be ok to call you like that since you are basically a brother to my Heeyeon and my Heechul” 

“It’s fine…” - Leeteuk felt warm - “Thank you so much for your time… Mrs Ahn”

“Mrs Ahn is too cold for us” - The woman laughed - “Calling me ‘mom’ is not possible because Mrs Kim could get jealous. But Aunt Minjin is not bad” 

“I…” - Leeteuk was so embarrassed. He found it difficult to say but he did his best after Mrs Ahn treated him so well - “Thank you, Aunt Minjin”

Weird. He got the feeling of saying something similar years ago. It was like if his body remembered the sensation. 

“I will go now” - the woman called Ahn Minjin pointed at the sky - “It’s going to rain soon… and I want to go back home before my husband starts eating the whole pantry. Would you be ok by yourself?”

Leeteuk nodded. He was feeling better. He was still lonely after Mrs Ahn left… but now he felt strong enough to wait for his family to comeback. 

“Oh, yikes” - Leeteuk saw a forgotten picture over the table. He decided he would save it for her until they met again - “The birthday party…”

He got caught on it again. He couldn’t get it off of his mind. 

It was a dangerous desperate move and it was one of the stupidest things he had ever done. Yet, Leeteuk searched for the photo albums the Ahn couple sent to Heeyeon when the kids asked for her baby pictures. 

Heechul had those printed and saved in a try to prevent Heeyeon got rid of them. Also, Heechul’s late brother, Gunhee, was a photography maniac. He kept pictures of everyone and they were pretty well organized. 

A trip to Heechul’s office ended with several photo albums in his own bedroom. Even though there was no one home… he locked the door fearing getting caught. How could he explain such an odd behaviour to his friends? He could tell them he got bored and they would believe him but… still… he didn’t want to get caught. 

First, he looked at all Hani and Heeyeon baby pictures he could find. They were like two water droplets with a few slight differences. The more he looked at Heeyeon and Hani…

Leeteuk knew he wasn’t as smart as Heechul but… still, he wasn’t dumb either. He suddenly realized that in Heeyeon’s later birthday parties two people went missing in comparison to his first one. First, Mrs Ahn twin Minseon, Hani’s mother. 

“My aunt passed away when I was very small” - he recalled Heeyeon’s words 

Then, the other kid. He was only in Heeyeon’s first birthday… the way Mr Park scolded him… the way the kid looked at Mr Park…

“He is family too” - Leeteuk muttered to himself 

He then remembered something else. Heeyeon mentioned Hani’s mom was a sad person. She didn’t seem like that in the old pictures. Same went for Mr Park… what happened to them? Why would they be so sad they couldn’t take care of their own daughter? Nothing is more important that your own child. Your own child. 

“He was their son” - Leeteuk felt like crying - “They had a son…” 

Flashbacks of previous conversations echoed in his mind. Heechul saying the Ahn couple always wanted a boy and treated him like their own, Heeyeon saying Hani and her were raised like sisters, Heeyeon saying she didn’t look like her dad…

It was maybe a little too much to think about… but if Leeteuk trusted his gut, he would say Hani, Heeyeon and the missing boy were all siblings. All of them, children of the Park couple. 
It would explain why only one of the twins was pregnant in some pictures. Maybe the one in which she looked chubbier than her sister was her second… and judging by Hani’s age… it was possible. 

He felt overwhelmed when a sudden wave of guilt hit him. Why was him so interested about Heeyeon’s family? It was none of his business to go around deciphering whichever secret they tried to hide. Heeyeon was happy with how things were now… why would he search for a motive to ruin her happiness? How can you tell your best friend she is adopted and she probably had a brother? 

Leeteuk cleaned his mess and put the pictures back at Heechul’s office. He then got another idea. He searched for his file at the orphanage. Heechul had a copy… he contacted the place when he first started working for him. 

“Where is it…? Ah, there is it” 

He wasn’t bothered by his records. He just wanted to see if they had a picture of him when they found him… and how old was he. 

“Around four years old” - Leeteuk read out loud.

To be honest, Leeteuk had already read his file many times before… but never paid attention to it. All he always remembered was that he was young and was in a pretty bad shape when they found him. 

Those few hours he spent alone felt like ages. Leeteuk couldn’t get out of his head all information he had gathered that day. He really didn’t want to think about it. He wished he could just live in ignorance like a few hours ago. After all, his brain was giving him false hopes again after so long… what if… by any chance… he was indeed Heeyeon’s brother?

He shook his head and slapped his face.

“Stop fantasizing” - He told himself 

In a try to stop thinking, he decided to cook. Yeah, that was it. He would have lunch ready by the time the kids came back. They would be so hungry after a day playing in the zoo! And he should make many yummy things for them in a try to apologize for his behaviour. Oh, right. He thought he owed  Ryeowook and Kyuhyun an apology. If needed, he would sit through a whole session of karaoke with the tall twin. 

“Don’t go in there!” - Mina shouted to a naughty Kibum - “Don’t push your cousin! Donghee go get him!”

“Daddy! Kibum pushed me!” - Siwon was trying to get away from his cousin - “Help me!”

“This is like a free spectacle” - Yesung, Hangeng and Kangin ate pop corn - “Oh, look at the triplets!” 

“Wewis…” - Kyuhyun kept sulking inside the stroller - “Wanna see wewis” 

“We already saw those at the oceanarium” - Donghae walked next to the strollers- “Lets go see something cool like a tiger”

“Big kitty” - Ryeowook giggled - “ROAAAAAR!”

“Wee wee” - Henry sulked on Heechul’s arms - “Potty” 

“You want to go potty?” - Heechul looked around - “Where is the toilet here? Oh, I don’t think we will make it on time” 

Henry pouted. 

“Just let’s pee in the diaper this time” - Heechul put down the boy and held hands - “I will change it when we find the toilet” 

Henry had not troubles doing so. Unlike his siblings who were stubborn on that type of things, he was carefree. No toilet? No problem. He quickly took a leak in his diaper and kept going like nothing. 

Heechul was actually very pleased with how Henry’s personality was turning. Yes, he was his wildest son… but also, the toughest. He would fall and get up without crying. He wouldn’t let others push him without pushing back. He would be carefree about the world and not crying during scoldings. He thought that maybe in a close future the boy would be an unstoppable naughty brat, but he was excited for it. The toddler had the biggest self steem in the house. 

And he was pretty clever too. He learned fast. Not only he signed like a pro despite his short age but also learned to accuse his brothers. Before he could communicate well, his siblings would use him as a excuse whenever they did something wrong. Who broke this? Henry. Who took that? Henry. Turns out only half of those were right. 

“Look Daddy, is King Julien!” - Eunhyuk bounced excited as he saw a lemur - “I like to move it, move it!” 

Heechul laughed out loud when his boys started doing the dance. He recorded a cute video of it. Henry stole the stage with his moves. He was a natural born dancer and would probably compete with Eunhyuk for the spotlight in a few years. 

“No, Henry! Get away!” - Eunhyuk was annoyed since Henry was overshadowing him - “Stop! Stop!”

Donghae stumbled during his dance and ended falling in a puddle. Heechul took a deep breath. 

“Oh my, are you ok?” - Mina was first to react - “Let’s see if you got hurt” 

“Auntie, Hae is fine” - Donghae shook it off and just let his aunt wipe the mud - “I didn’t hurt myself!”

“What a tough boy” - Donghee raised an eyebrow - “Our Kibum and Mimi aren’t like that”

“Papa, look at this” - Sungmin was holding a little snake with his bare hands - “Slytherin!”

“Sungmin, put that down” - Heechul warned him - “It could bite you” 

“Is it poisonous?” - Donghee was scared 

“Uncle, it could never be unless you are planning to eat it” - Yesung rolled his eyes - “If it bites and you get bad then it’s Ve-no-mous”

“Is he always like that?” - Mina found him funny 

“All time” - Heeyeon smiled pleased - “Our Yesung is so smart and clever. He studies a lot”

“Ewephant!” - Kyuhyun chirped excited when he spotted the gray friends - “uh? Wacha doin?”

“Daddy, the elephant has a hose” - Donghae pointed at the animal - “Lots of water” 

“Did you know elephant can void ten liters each time they pee?” - Yesung shared another fact

“Like your brothers” - Heechul pointed at Kyuhyun and Henry 

Kyuhyun blushed deeply. Henry just laughed. 

“Ewephant must need vewy big diapey…” - Ryeowook said surprised 

“Toddlers pee around one hundred twenty milliliters per time” - Yesung rolled his eyes - “And that would be zero point twelve liters”

“Yesung does know a lot of things” - Mina was still shocked at how much knowledge the boy had 

“I’m surprised he can do the math” - Heeyeon was still trying to convert the milliliters to liters

“I’m not sure of that. I disagree” - Heechul teased Yesung - “And for the sake of your education and science, I think you should change your brother diaper once”

“Nice try” - Yesung squinted his eyes - “I’m not doing that even if you pay me” 

“We should go indoors” - Heeyeon glanced at the sky - “It’s pretty dark and is starting to get windy…”

Ryeowook squeaked when there was a lightning. He hated those. Henry started cheering. 

“Let’s go see the fish and the bugs…” - Heechul rushed the kids - “Those are all under a roof” 

“Reptiles too” - Yesung grinned. He loved those. 

Rain started to fall. Leeteuk felt lonelier watching the heavy rain hit the windows. Today, more than any other day, he wished he wasn’t alone. He found the lightnings nostalgic as he remembered the small Ryeowook crying and climbing him for comfort. He found himself humming Kyuhyun’s song about the rain and then smiled recalling the one about a spider and rain the twins learned at daycare. 

He looked at his phone. Would it be too bad to call his brother? Would he think he was being annoying…? Not a single text from him in the last few hours. Usually, the couple would write in the chat the three adults shared… but today chat remained silent. 

“I think the sky is falling” - Heeyeon grew concerned watching the heavy rain - “Seems like we will be trapped here for a long time…” 

“My phone has no signal” - Heechul was trying to get at least a bar - “Do you think is because the rain?”

“What a downpour” - Mina sighed - “I wonder if Momo misses me” 

“She sure does” - Donghee pouted - “Mom and Dad are really good at taking care of babies”

“Mama…” - Kyuhyun seemed sad - “Iz Ukwee kay?”

“Uncle?” - Heeyeon thought for a second - “Uncle Teuk? He is at home, baby. I’m sure he is fine” 

“I miss him” - Kyuhyun said softly - “Kyu no Wanna come zoo wi’out unkwee” 

“Awww” - Heeyeon pouted - “I know how you feel” 

“Dada, ukwee iz missing fun” - Ryeowook was still leaning on Heechul’s shoulder as he was being carried - “He kay?”

“He is fine” - Heechul kissed the boy - “He must be feeling lonely with all this rain, but at least he has time to rest” 

“Why can’t we call uncle?” - Donghae frowned annoyed - “Tell him to come here”

“Baby, even if he wanted to come… It’s raining too much” - Heeyeon sulked - “It’s not safe to drive like that” 

“Can we come again with uncle?” - Eunhyuk asked nicely - “I promise to behave” 

“Yeah, I won’t pick up animals” - Sungmin placed a toad back at its designed area - “I promise” 

“Uncle wasn’t feeling right” - Zhoumi said in a sweet way - “That’s why he didnt come” 

It sounded like either Mina or Donghee told that to the boys. 

“But we can get him something” - Siwon pointed at the gift store - “Can we buy him something?”

“Do they sell bee related stuff here?” - Kangin looked around - “It doesn’t seem so” 

“Bees? His favorite animal is a fat bug with stripes?” - Kibum mocked - “He is weird” 

“Kibum” - Donghee pulled his ear - “Be nice and pay him some respect. He is your uncle too”

“Ukwee favowite iznt bee” - Ryeowook was sure of that - “Duckies” 

“Ducks?” - Yesung giggled - “Make sense”

“He even took a swim with them once” - Kangin teased - “But Wookie is right. Uncle likes ducks” 

“Look Daddy there is big ducky there!” - Donghae was cheerfully pointing at a huge Duck plush - “We gonna buy him that one!”

“Seems cool but that’s not—-“

“It’s not for sale” - the man at the counter yawned tiredly. He had to endure noisy children all day - “It’s a prize. You need to earn several points for it” 

“How many points…?” - Heeyeon asked. She was decided to help the kids get the big pretty plush for Leeteuk - “And how do we earn them?”

“You need 150,000 points” - the man gave her a cocky smile Heechul didn’t like - “You earn them playing games at the recreation centre”

“Well, thats a lot of points” - Heeyeon was a bit worried but she was stubborn to try anyway - “Where is the recreation centre?”

“Over there” - The man pointed in a bothered way - “And of course its a lot of points. This doll comes with an special edition of ‘the ugly duckling’ “ 

Heeyeon turned to Heechul. It was beautiful. The story book was just so good. Leeteuk loved that story… he would love having such a cute version and the huge plush. 

“Can’t we just buy tickets or something?” - Heechul asked the man half annoyed

“No, I wouldn’t waste time. Recreation centre goes on lunch break in about an hour” 

“Kyuhyun, what’s wrong?”

“Wewi!” - Kyuhyun was pointing at a cute penguin cup - “Kyu wantz it!”

“Baby, we need to earn points for it, ok?” - Heeyeon tried - “Let’s go play some games and see if we are lucky…?”

As expected getting 150,000 points was a Herculean task. Each game would give you points according to the difficulty. Many of those would only let you score 200 points at once if you did it everything right. The trick was participating in the contests celebrated there since you could aim for a huge amount of points like 10,000 at once. Of course, they weren’t easy to win and you participated playing against other families or their children. 

“This is nothing” - Heechul scoffed as he cracked his knuckles - “I can win this game five hundred times” 

“Yeah baby, that’s fine” - Heeyeon sighed - “but even so… We need to go  home before lunchtime… and we have around an hour to get as many points as we can” 

“I will help too” - Donghee pointed at another game - “Heechul will play here and I will play there” 

“Oh, well… since it’s for Teuk” - Mina was also warming up - “I guess we all need to work hard. Boys, everyone choose one of those kiddy contest and make sure of winning some points” 

“That’s right, those who are five years or older go around seeing what you can do” - Heechul split the kids in two teams - “Those who are four or less stay with an adult” 

“Wookie pwayz too!” - Ryeowook protested - “Wookie helps!”

“Fine, go find something you can participate in” - Heechul ruffled his hair 

“But…” - Heeyeon wanted to earn points too. If she stayed with the boys… she wouldn’t be able to do so 

“Heeyeon, each kid gets 100 points just for trying” - Heechul whispered into her ear - “Make sure of letting them play in as many contests as possible” 

Heeyeon did a quick math. Counting Henry, Zhoumi, the triplets and the twins… they could get as many as 700 points each time they participated even if they didn’t win. Also, kids would have fun. 

Yesung was the first one to collect a huge amount of points. He and Hangeng got into a contest for children aged from seven to twelve years old that consisted in answering questions about animals. Yesung was like an encyclopedia himself. It was a piece of cake. 

Kangin, Siwon and Kibum participated in physical activities. They didn’t win first place but they got many points anyway. 

Heeyeon’s team participated in the preschoolers category. Those needed to be kids under six and they got it. First contest it was about guessing animals based on given facts. The children would need to choose in a tablet with the pictures of the animals . At the end of the round, It would win whoever got more answers right. 

Heeyeon couldn’t believe it when Ryeowook and Sungmin tied on the first place. Kyuhyun was second. The others only received the participation points… but still, she didn’t expect to gain so much points at once. 

Next contest was a dance one with animal related songs. Eunhyuk got first place, Henry second and Sungmin and Donghae third. The twins were too shy to dance so they didn’t get points for trying. Zhoumi did. 

The third contest was a treasure hunt following hints. The kids did well. Henry and Ryeowook won the first places. Ryeowook got first after deciphering the hints… and Henry used his physical skills to get advantage: boy ran around the place digging holes until he found the treasure. 

“Good job Henry, you are like a mole!” - Heeyeon snuggled him pleased - “And Wookie you are so smart!”

Done with the contest they could participate at, the older boys all played games to earn more points. Of course, those were fun but not good to get many points. There was a basketball ring, a soccer kick the ball area and more. Still, it was better than doing nothing. 

“We only have fifteen minutes left…” - Heeyeon puffed her cheeks and took out her phone. Unlike Heechul who could to math just with his head… she needed to make sure using a calculator- “Let’s see…” 

She added all points the kids had collected so far. The older kids had collected 46,150 points. 
The younger ones: 55,500” 

“So far we got 110,650 points” - Heeyeon bit her lips. It was a good amount of points considering they played for around forty minutes only - “Heechul texted me saying he has 20,000 points… Mina and Donghee collected 18,000 together…” 

Yesung looked at the calculator. Not enough. 139,650 points. He sighed in disbelief. After all those troubles they were still short… even if the adults managed to score again… they were still far away. There was no time… the only thing they could do was taking another contest and pray they were good at it. 

“There is only one contest we haven’t participated at” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “But is only for preschoolers”

“It doesn’t matter” - Yesung urged her - “700 points is better than nothing…” 

Kangin was about to cry out of frustration. It wasn’t fair. Last contest was too hard for the young team. It was impossible for them to get in the three first places… it was math. MATH. To begin with, not only the triplets hated maths but Henry was too small to know what was going on and only answered “nine” all time. Zhoumi wasn’t “bad” at it, but he wasn’t a genius either. 

“Mimi could get third place if we are lucky” - Hangeng sighed - “Those are 2.500 points”

“We would be short by 7,250 points…” - Yesung did the math himself. It was a pity he couldn’t take that contest - “The adults won’t get that much points in ten minutes” 

No one was actually paying attention to the contest. Heeyeon and the older boys were calculating over and over again how many points they were missing and thinking in ways to get them in less than ten minutes. They concluded it was impossible unless a miracle happened.

The thing is, it wasn’t a “miracle” but close enough to one. Heeyeon finally paid attention to the chart and got shocked when she saw the first place. Kyuhyun was leading. How…? How could it be…?

“So, two plus ten…?” 

Kyuhyun pushed the button really quick. 

“Twelve!” 

“That’s correct!” 

Heeyeon couldn’t believe it. Was Kyuhyun a math genius? She didn’t know that! And judging by his siblings faces… they didn’t either!

The contest was over. Kyuhyun got first place and Zhoumi third as Hangeng predicted. 12,500 points added. 

“152,150!” - Heeyeon showed them the calculator- “We did it! We did it!”

“Now let’s go before that stupid man goes to have lunch!” - Kangin pulled Heeyeon quickly - “Cmon Cmon!”

The adult team joined them at the place. They managed to earn a few points more, but were sad thinking they couldn’t make it. Heechul was so happy to know they had the points he even lifted Heeyeon up in the air. 

They got it. They had the perfect gift for Leeteuk after working hard for an entire hour. 

“Well, we got the gift and we still have around 3,000 points left” - Heechul was carrying the big bag - “I would say this was an awesome team work” 

Kyuhyun kept glancing at the prize corner. Heechul caught him doing so and went to the counter. The penguin cup Kyuhyun wanted was 2,500 points. They could get it. 

“Keychain” - Kyuhyun saw a cute keychain with a swan as soon as Heechul lifted him to get a better look of the cup he wanted - “Ukwee duckie!”

“How many points…?”

“One thousand” - the man was so done with Heechul and his family - “So, you can’t get both” 

“I know how to add, thank you” - some years ago, Heechul would have dragged the man out the counter by his hair - “Kyunnie, it seems we can’t get it, ok? It’s ok, uncle already has a big gift. You can get your penguin cup”

Leeteuk was about to make a hole in the living room as he paced around making circles. Where were they? It was lunch time already! Did they forgot warning him and decided to have lunch outside? Maybe they didn’t want him to join. Or maybe they just forgot telling him. Which one was worse?

“These are stupid thoughts” - Leeteuk found himself having anxiety - “they are my family. They will come back. They always do”

He couldn’t avoid feeling ashamed of himself. How could he be so desperate to see them come through that door? All he wanted to do was hugging them and never let them go again. He hated himself for saying he didn’t like the zoo. He would go to the zoo every weekend if that saved him the stress of being home alone feeling abandoned. 

He had already set the table. The food was ready waiting to be served. All he had to do was waiting. But he couldn’t. Not after the morning he had and the things he learned. He was restless. And so busy having troubles controlling his thoughts he didn’t realize they were already opening the door. 

“Guess who—“

Heeyeon froze when Leeteuk hugged her tightly. 

“Heyyyyy” - Heechul was complaining - “Hug ME. You missed ME more, didn’t you? I’m your BROTHER” 

Leeteuk hugged them both. Heechul felt guilty realizing he was crying. Heeyeon was just enjoying the hug. 

“We missed you too uncle!” - the boys joined the hug 

“WHOAH! UNCLE COOKED A LOT!” - Donghae jumped inside in a cheerful mood 

“It smells soooooo good” - Eunhyuk his lips 

“Uncle thank you so much!” - Sungmin did a heart 

“I know you hate the zoo” - Kangin was whining - “But next time, please come with us… Uncle” 

“We missed you” - Yesung admitted - “Mom and Dad sulked the whole day because you weren’t there” 

“They… did?” - Leeteuk was wiping his tears. He didn’t want the kids to see him cry - “That’s funny” 

“We love you so much” - Heechul kissed him playfully - “The kids wanted to do something special for you and… ta da~”

“It’s a duck! And whoaaaaaah! Just look at this book!” - Leeteuk was so happy. He loved the gift… but specially, he loved knowing they thought of him. 

After listening how they earned so many points in a short time just for him… Leeteuk felt like crying again, but from happiness. He was so touched knowing everyone tried to help and did their best for him. 

“Turns out Kyuhyun is really really good at maths” - Heeyeon told them - “He won first place!”

Kyuhyun blushed when his uncle praised him. He walked slowly to him holding hands with his twin. 

“Ukwee” - Kyuhyun took something out of his pocket - “Diz is for you” 

“Diz too” - Ryeowook gave him a card 

Leeteuk accepted both things. Kyuhyun gave him a keychain with a swan. Ryeowook’s card was a  photo of them signed in the back by the kids. 

“Ah, they got those with the points we had left” - Heechul smiled pleased- “They said you would love it” 

“It was very cute because Kyunnie chose your keychain over a penguin cup he liked” - Heeyeon explained in a low voice - “We were so touched… and then Ryeowook said he wanted to print a picture for you to have” 

“I think we could do anything for you” - Heechul teased - “Seems like we have fallen for you” 

“But you couldn’t text me” - Leeteuk rubbed his eyes - “I was so worried…” 

“Oh? Didn’t you get the message?” - Heeyeon seemed shocked - “I swear I saw Heechul writing it”

“But it never made it out…” - Heechul sighed annoyed - “Signal was pretty bad there. I guess it was for the rain and so” 

“Oh! That’s right! The rain!” - Heeyeon ran outside - “Boys!  Come here!”

“What’s wrong with her?” - Heechul was amused - “how can she have so much energy left?” 

“WAINBOWWW!” - Ryeowook was jumping excited - “UKWEE LOO!” 

“Somewheeeeeeweww o—-“ - Kyuhyun covered his mouth and looked at Leeteuk with wide eyes. He didn’t want to cause him a headache - “Kyu Sowy! No singing!”

“I actually wanted to hear it again” - Leeteuk held the boy - “I missed your singing” 

Kyuhyun got extremely happy. He hugged Leeteuk tightly. Ryeowook and Henry hugged his legs. 

After lunch, they were supposed to have one of those movie afternoons. But by the time Leeteuk the tv… they were all asleep. After a hard day playing, it was normal to be tired. Leeteuk smiled playfully. He took his phone out and took a selfie with the whole sleeping family. 

He went upstairs to put his gifts safe. He carefully opened the storybook. It was so cute. The drawings were beautifully done and the calligraphy was so pleasant to the eyes. 

Heechul woke up when Henry kicked him. He just shook his head and went out of the blankets. Blankets. Someone made sure they weren’t cold… Leeteuk. He decided to go and have a talk with his brother. He thought he and Leeteuk needed it. 

Once upstairs, he found the man sleeping in his desk with the fairytale book wide open next to him. Heechul giggled and tried putting the book away to prevent the man damaged it by accident. His eyes then fixed on a photograph that was under it. 

It was Heeyeon’s first birthday. He knew that. He had seen the picture before… and everytime he did, he would get the same cold chilly feeling running down his spine followed by an infinite sadness. It didn’t matter how many years passed… that memory of a crying Hani would never go away. 

He tried to get over his memories and focused on something else.

“You will get cold sleeping with your window open”

Heechul went to close the window and saw it again: The rainbow. So colorful, so beautiful…

“That’s right” - Heechul told himself as he wiped a few tears - “After rain comes the rainbow” 

————————————————————————————————
Author comments:

I’m only one test away from freedom. Please pray for my soul >_<‘’ If everything goes well, I will be able to update again by weekend! 

I know this chapter solves some questions but also creates more of them. How will Leeteuk handle it? How much does Heechul know? What about Heeyeon? 

Anyway, thank you all for leaving comments. You make my day! I always read them all! 

Ps: have you ever heard “Sarang” the song Leeteuk and Heechul sang together during “Magic” era? It had been pretty stuck in my head lately~