It had been three days since the boys started daycare again. So far, Henry did extremely well. Leeteuk was actually kinda hurt by the way Henry not only waved goodbye to him like nothing but hit an awful tantrum when it was time to go back home. 

Not having to babysit in the morning, he studied better and had the house almost for himself. Almost. Heeyeon worked from home most of the time. Ever since she started living with them, she relegated more work to her employees. Apparently, she was the type of person who got pretty involved in everything… and now, she had to endure not being able to supervise everything that happened in her firm. 

“I brought you tea and cookies” - Heeyeon was in his room with a tray - “I thought you would be hungry” 

“Thanks a lot” - Leeteuk accepted the food with a huge smile - “You really know how to make tea” 

“I learned from my dad who is a tea maniac” - Heeyeon giggled - “Mom taught me how to bake” 

“Mmmm” - Leeteuk enjoyed it - “I’m so lucky” 

“I’m the one who is lucky” - Heeyeon let herself fall in his bed - “Having such a nice brother” 

Leeteuk choked. Heeyeon got alert. 

“Are you alright?” - the woman was already worrying 

“I’m fine” - Leeteuk was still red - “It’s just… I ate to fast” 

“Ohh” - Heeyeon puffed her cheeks - “But Teuk, you know… I truly meant it. I love you as my own brother!” 

Leeteuk limited himself to smile. How can you go and say ‘yeah, well. I think you are right and we could be blood related… by the way, you are adopted too’.

“Oh, it’s my phone” - Heeyeon tilted her head - “From.. daycare?” 

Leeteuk got ready to go out. He knew it would happen. Heeyeon haven’t ended the call by the time he was already at the door still holding his cup of tea. 

“You won’t guess what it was about” 

“Ryeowook refuses to go in the pool” - Leeteuk smiled confidently

“You are only half right” - Heeyeon did a funny face saying ‘wrong’ - “It’s Kyuhyun” 

Ryeowook actually entered the pool (not without complaining first) as he had promised to give it a try. He was wearing his new cute prescription goggles as he found difficult to wear his glasses there. 

He still hated the pool and considered it ‘dirty’ but he did liked all the props that came with swimming classes. Ryeowook was as vain as his father. Having different swim suits and goggles for every day? He was in. He also got a pair of sunglasses for when waiting outside in the sun. He loved his new waterproof long sleeves and his flip flops. If he was going through this torture… he would do it with style. 

Of course, nothing could be perfect. If Ryeowook wasn’t going to give them troubles, it was Kyuhyun’s duty to do so. The tall twin loved water and was the first to ask for swimming lessons. Why would he complain now? 

The adults arrived at the pool and found a very relaxed Ryeowook floating around with a colorful swim ring. He had somehow mastered a way to laze during swimming lessons. Leeteuk raised an eyebrow. The kid was definitely something else. 

Heeyeon took a video as proof. She knew Ryeowook would deny he was having fun when he saw them… so, she wanted to make sure of having real proof for Heechul who didn’t get to see him live. 

“Do you like the pool, Wookie?” - Leeteuk got closer- “Where is your brother?”

“Back in cwasswoom” - Ryeowook stretched his arms to his uncle - “Can we go home now?” 

“You can stay there for a while” - Leeteuk - “Don’t you want to play here a little bit longer?”

“Not weally” - Ryeowook was sassy - “It’s bowing without Kyu!”

“You don’t seem bored” - Leeteuk flinched when the boy retaliated and splashed him water - “Upset maybe” 

“Kyu, I’m he—-“

“Mama!” - Kyuhyun ran happily to give her a tight hug 

“You seem fine” - Heeyeon was confused - “Your teacher said you were sad and were feeling bad” 

“Tummy huwtz ” - Kyuhyun pouted - “Mama, Kyu tummy huwtz” 

“Are you sure?” - Heeyeon found the kid too happy for that being true yet, the teacher nodded - “Was he in pain?” 

“He looked troubled not long ago… he got cheerful when he saw you” - The teacher explained - “They were at the pool but Kyuhyun started feeling unwell and wanted to get out of the water. We changed him into dry clothes and asked him to rest but he kept saying he wanted you and that his tummy hurts” 

“Is that so? Poor you” - Heeyeon kissed the boy and rubbed his belly - “Are you feeling better now?”

“Huwtz” - Kyuhyun said cutely as he leaned on Heeyeon - “But Mama is hewe. Kyu no scawed” 

Heeyeon found so endearing that Kyuhyun would say something like that. He felt safe around her. He was letting her know that. 

“Kyukyu” - she carefully kneeled on the floor to face him better  - “do you think you will throw up?” 

“Mmmmm” - Kyuhyun shook his head - “No zic’. Just huwtz” 

“Maybe we should go home” - Heeyeon said softly - “Let’s go. Let’s find your brothers and go home” 

“Where is Henry?” - Heeyeon asked her tired friend as he showed up only holding hands with Ryeowook- “I thought we would take them all home…” 

“Heechul says he will get him before picking up the others from school” - Leeteuk sighed - “He wasn’t in a very good mood” 

“Heechul or Henry?”

“None of them” - Leeteuk showed her the new bite on his arm - “Henry didn’t take well I tried to interrupt his day at daycare… I called Heechul to ask him for the favor and he sounded annoyed. It’s not my day” 

“And you are wet because…?”

“Ryeowook was upset and splashed water” - Leeteuk tilted his head - “Just a normal day in my life” 

“Kyuuuu” - Ryeowook was trying to hug his brother but the other twin refused - “No hug?”

“My tummy huwtz” - Kyuhyun pouted cutely - “No hug now” 

“Kay” - Ryeowook his brother head - “Wookie spoils uuuuu” 

“Maybe I should ride back” - Leeteuk proposed - “In case Kyu gets sick or something” 

“Fine, but then… we need to take out Henry’s seat” - Heeyeon pointed at three baby seats in a row - “Help me put that one in the trunk” 

They did so. Now, Leeteuk could ride between the twins. The kids were amused. Leeteuk was a little uncomfortable riding in the middle of the back seats with two baby seats at his sides. He was used to, not the first time he did so. Yet, he felt cramped. 

“Kyu, if you get dizzy let me know” - Leeteuk was almost sure they wouldn’t make it home without the kid throwing up. He was starting to look pale - “It’s ok if you feel sick but let us know” 

Kyuhyun nodded. Lucky for them, there were no incidents in the ride back home. The shortest twin coughed a bit but nothing else. Ryeowook fell asleep. Playing in the pool drained him and riding the car made him sleepy. 

“Ouchieeee” - Kyuhyun whined as he bended holding his belly with both hands 

“These are stomach cramps, I’m sure” - Heeyeon pitied the boy - “Kyu, let’s lay down for a while. Come here” 

Heeyeon would rub Kyuhyun’s belly in circles and sing soft songs for him. She let him cuddle with her even if that stopped her from doing her job or doing any other activity. 

“Are you feeling better?” - Leeteuk took the boy from her in a try to give her some space 

“Uhum” - Kyuhyun nodded shyly - “No huwts now!” 

“Whaaah” - Leeteuk snuggled with him - “Those are very good news”

“Well, I just talked to his doctor” - Heeyeon announced - “He says it could be the medication. Starting tomorrow the last med added stops and we lower the dose of the other two” 

“Oh, THOSE are very good news” - Leeteuk smiled pleased - “I felt bad for him taking so much stuff” 

“But you know? Kyunnie is such a brave boy” - Heeyeon praised him - “He barely complains and takes all his meds! He is doing his best” 

“It’s really admirable that you could go back to daycare like that” - Leeteuk praised him too - “You are so responsible~ It would be ok to stay home if you are not fully recovered yet” 

“Noooo” - Kyuhyun shook his head - “Kyu fine! Kyu heaffy now!” 

“Oh, but wouldn’t you like staying home with uncle? Singing the whooooooooole morning?” - Heeyeon teased 

“Noooooo” - Kyuhyun was laughing hysterically- “Kyu liwes daycare” 

“Do you have so much fun in daycare?” - Leeteuk was happy knowing that - “What’s your favorite thing there?” 

“Everything!” - Kyuhyun chirped excited. His loud answers ended waking up his twin. - “Whoops! Wookie awake!”

“Yeah, Ryeowook is awake!”

Leeteuk glanced at the boy. He somehow expected him to be in a bad mood. Ryeowook just smiled to him in a silly way and hugged Kyuhyun. 

“Did ya sleep well?” - Kyuhyun asked sweetly 

Ryeowook nodded and kissed him. 

“You kay now ?” - Ryeowook patted his twin’s head - “No zic?” 

“Kyu fine!” - Kyuhyun bounced a bit - “Tummy no ouchie ouchi ay’mowe!” 

“Teuk, sorry” - Heeyeon was in the kitchen - “Could you go to the store for carrots? I was planning on making stew but…”

“Like beef stew?” - Leeteuk asked interested 

The twins also exchanged excited smiles and big eyes. 

“Well, yeah but…” - Heeyeon sulked - “It’s not the same without carrots so… I suppose we can eat—“

“WE BUY CAWOTS!” - Ryeowook raised his hand and voice - “WE GO ZTOWE FOR CAWOTS!”

“That’s sweet, cutie but you can’t go by yourself” - Heeyeon giggled 

“Kyu gonna help too” - Kyuhyun offered - “With Wookie” 

“Awww” - Heeyeon found them cute - “But I think you should stay home and rest…” 

“I will go look for the carrots, you guys stay here—- hey” 

The twins were already putting their shoes on. They waited for Leeteuk at the entrance. Heeyeon waved goodbye to them still laughing of Leeteuk’s defeated face. It was supposed to be a quick trip to the store for getting carrots but having two toddlers with you… things always took longer. 

“Cawots, cawots, cawotssssss” - Kyuhyun sang cheerfully as he held his shopping basket - “For Stew, stew, stew~”

“Not here ” - Ryeowook was taking out half of a basket with cucumbers - “This is not” 

Leeteuk sighed. He was sure the twins were going to put the store upside down just for the carrots. Kyuhyun had already emptied the lowest shelf of the veggie aisle. 

“Boys, boys” - Leeteuk was placing the things back were they belonged to - “Don’t make a mess, ok?” 

“Kay” - Ryeowook was putting back the cucumbers in their basket - “No mess” 

“Exactly” - Leeteuk saw how Kyuhyun almost crashed with a woman while running in his direction - “Kyu, don’t run inside—-“

“Ukwee…” - Kyuhyun seemed distressed. Leeteuk could tell the boy was scared 

“Did you break something?” - Leeteuk looked around - “What’s wrong? Is your tummy hurting again?” 

“Yeah” - Kyuhyun whined a bit - “Ukwee… hold me…” 

Leeteuk tried to remain calm. It was very likely Kyuhyun was having normal cramps again… but even so, he couldn’t let his guard down. If by any chance the kid was sick, throwing up at the store was messier than on the way back home. It was the same in case the boy needed to poop. Better if it happened outside and they didn’t bother anyone. 

The busy man paid for the carrots while holding the boy in pain. Ryeowook wailed a bit seeing his brother suffer but did well not going away from Leeteuk and holding the shopping bag with his free hand. 

“Are you going to carry that yourself?” - Leeteuk didn’t mind holding the bag with carrots but Ryeowook wanted to help - “You will? Such a big boy. Thanks for helping, Wookie” 

“I… use… diz hand fow cawots… and… diz one… for hooooldin’ hands… wi’ Ukwee…” 

Ryeowook was clearly out of air. Leeteuk didn’t realize that he was walking too fast for the short boy to keep his pace. The uncle just thought about getting home soon to take care of the suffering toddler. 

“Hey, that was fast…? “ - Heeyeon realized something wasn’t fine judging by Leeteuk’s face - “Is Kyunnie hurt?”

“His stomach hurts again” - Leeteuk said softly - “He needs to rest… he shouldn’t be going out now…” 

“Mama” - Kyuhyun stretched his arms towards her. The kid wailed when Leeteuk refused Heeyeon to hold him - “Kyu wantz mommy!”

“I know, but your mom can abuse from lifting weight” - Leeteuk gestured Heeyeon to sit - “She needs to rest too” 

“I’m fine” - Heeyeon pouted but Leeteuk firmly insisted until she sat down - “alright… can I have my baby now?” 

“All yours” - Leeteuk let the whining toddler cuddle with her - “I will go help in the kitchen. I can chop and cut the ingredients…” 

“Oh, I already did so” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders- “But you can help me washing and peeling the carrots. Those weren’t here before” 

“Ma…ma…” - Ryeowook was incredibly tired - “Hewe. Ca…wotz…” 

“Thank you baby” - Heeyeon worried a bit - “are you ok?”

“Yeah…” - Ryeowook didn’t want to draw attention over him. His twin was in pain, he being breathless was nothing. 

Kyuhyun fell asleep soon after. Heeyeon went back to cooking and Leeteuk stayed with the boys making sure everything was alright. 

The triplets were pretty energetic. Siwon was cheerful since he got an special homework and Kangin complained again about his math assignment. 

“ARE WE GETTING MOM’S STEW TODAY?” - Yesung was the first to notice the familiar smell - “WOOHOO!”

“Do you like it that much?” - Heeyeon hugged him - “Thank you for liking my cooking, Yesung”

“Who wouldn’t?” - Heechul was trying to steal some from the pot - “I’m so hungry right now…” 

“This is my favorite” - Kangin was also smiling - “Mom did this whenever we were feeling down” 

“I’m sure Hani’s one was better than mine” - Heeyeon removed the stew and saw the bubbles popping - “She was such a good cook” 

“Half of the time” - Yesung whispered - “The other half she was busy burning down the kitchen” 

“Donghae’s black toast is actually a family recipe” - Kangin joked 

“Hani was an awesome cook” - Heechul disagreed with the boys - “her food never disappointed” 

“Because you didn’t eat it daily” - Kangin argued - “Mom did her best whenever you came to visit” 

“Nonsense” - Heechul was still defending Hani’s honor when a very happy Kyuhyun jumped on him - “oh, the bagel that skips class” 

“Kyu hungwy” 

“Well, those are good news” - Heechul giggled - “at least I don’t have to worry that much” 

At the afternoon, Heechul was helping Siwon with his homework. The kid was supposed to make the typical school craft model. Out of his children, Siwon possessed the most beautiful handwriting and inherited part of his talent for drawing. However, he didn’t inherit his talent for building things or working with materials. The model was chaotic and everything but clean. Heechul was dying inside. 

“N-no…” - Heechul would try to fix stuff and Siwon would ruin it again - “Hey, Wonnie~ aren’t you tired? Why don’t you go to play and Dad finish this silly homework?”

“Nooo, it’s my homework” - Siwon was happy with the results - “It’s looking good” 

“I think is cute” - Leeteuk was trying to help the boy - “Are you making a city?”

“Yes! This is a city and this is my car and…”

Heechul was about lose it. No good, he thought. The craft model was messy and used materials he had never thought of for a school project. How could Siwon think it was fine? He was a kid but still… Heechul recalled he was a very proud kid when it came to things like that…

“Do you think you will get the cards you are missing? ” - Heeyeon was reading a parenting book while Kyuhyun sat on the toilet with his pants down - “You are doing very well today, Kyu” 

They had an agreement. Pokémon cards in exchange for minutes spent at the toilet. Of course, Heeyeon wasn’t dumb. She would increase game “difficulty” in order to make the boy lose his toilet fear. First, he only had to sit there. Now, he was supposed to do it with bottoms down. Kyuhyun would sing songs to entertain himself and not think about his fear… although, truth to be told, he was starting to feel comfortable there. 

“Kyu wanna pee” - Kyuhyun called her attention 

“Do you want to stop playing and pee standing up?” - Heeyeon asked him - “Or you want to try going while sitting in the toilet?” 

Kyuhyun glanced at the little clock his mom put on the floor. He was so close to getting a bunch of cards. He and Ryeowook needed those to fill the album. They were so close. 

“Kyu going to pee liwe this” 

Heeyeon made sure the boy was sitting correctly and cued him to go. It took him a while but they both laughed amused when hearing the tinkling. Out of nowhere, Kyuhyun wailed and asked her to get closer. Heeyeon grew concerned but then heard another familiar sound. 

“You are doing amazing, sweetie” - Heeyeon was preventing the toddler to stand up as he wanted to run away - “Let’s calm down. Breath in, breath out…”

“Mama, Kyu scawed” - Kyuhyun started whimpering- “No sit hewe ay’mowe pwease” 

“Remember what we practiced before? Smell the flowers and blow the candles?” - Heeyeon resourced to the parenting tricks she learned online from other moms - “Let’s do it together ok? Smell the flowers…”

Kyuhyun took air. He let it out when Heeyeon asked him to “blow the candles”. That was a popular breathing exercise for toddlers. It helped them calming down. It worked like the breathing ring app for adults. 

“Again” - Heeyeon noticed the boy was getting calmer - “Let’s try breathing in and out again, Kyunnie” 

“Fwower” - Kyuhyun took air and then expelled it - “Blow candlwe…” 

“Good job” - Heeyeon was trying her best to distract him. She could feel it was a very important moment and they needed to achieve success now - “When do we blow candles? Can you think of an special occasion?”

“Mmmm… birthdays!” - Kyuhyun chirped - “wi’ my twin!”

“Yeah, you and Ryeowook share birthday because you are twins, right?” - Heeyeon wiped his wet nose - “You blew the candles together” 

“Wookie no good blowing candlews!” - Kyuhyun giggled - “He whooooosh whooosh liwe diz”

“But he practiced and got a lot better, remember?” - Heeyeon his hair with love - “it is said ‘practice makes the master’ “ 

“Uh?” 

“It means that you get better at something if you practice lots” 

“Ung!” - Kyuhyun agreed - “Like piano!”

“That’s it. Like piano” - Heeyeon chuckled - “Kyunnie, do you know something?” 

“What?” - Kyuhyun looked at her with curiosity 

“You just pooped in the toilet”

“Kyu pooped…” - Kyuhyun realized it now - “no diapey… potty” 

“That’s right, baby” 

Kyuhyun face enlightened. He smiled widely and started making happy sounds. 

“Kyu fwushes! Kyu fwushes!” - Kyuhyun demanded it was his moment to flush the toilet after Heeyeon finished wiping him - “BYE BYE POO!” 

Heechul was still suffering watching Siwon make the ugliest craft model ever seen, when Kyuhyun stormed in the living room being loud.

“Honey, don’t run—“ - Leeteuk started 

“KYU POOPED BIG POTTY!” - Kyuhyun jumped and did a celebration dance - “NO DIAPEY! BIG POTTY!”

“WHOAH” - Heechul played his role by lifting the boy up in the air - “KYU IS SO BRAVE!”

“YAY!” - his brothers cheered for him and danced around. They didn’t care at all about Kyuhyun using diapers anymore, but they knew it was something important to him. Even Henry clapped for him. 

“UKWEE UKWEE!” - Kyuhyun wanted Leeteuk to praise him - “KYU POO POTTY!” 

“You are the best!” - Leeteuk made sure of being as supportive as he could - “Im so happy for you!” 

“It’s time for awards ceremony” - Heeyeon cleared . She was holding a big box filled with card packs - “by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Play doh kingdom, I Heeyeon, fairy of the realm, queen and mother… hereby declare you, prince Kyunnie, the owner of this incredibly box filled with Pokémon sticker cards” 

“May the luck be with you” - Heechul added as Kyuhyun received the box - “I hope you get the cards you are looking for” 

“Congrats, Kyu” - Heeyeon kissed him - “You earned it” 

“NO! That’s my homework!” - Siwon stopped the silly ceremony when Ryeowook tried to get rid of his homework - “GIVE IT BACK” 

Ryeowook looked at the thing he was holding. He was sure it was trash. It looked like so. He stared at the adults like asking ‘what is this?’. 

Heeyeon was speechless. She definitely would have tossed the project away thinking it was garbage. She was glad it was Ryeowook who tried to do so first. Leeteuk cleared his throat and explained it was Siwon’s homework. Ryeowook just scoffed and placed it back. Heechul worried. 

As expected from the perfectionist, unable to hold back longer… Heechul went to bed really late at night working in a perfect craft model of a city. He even went as far as making a small circuit for the lights inside the buildings. He thought the kids would love it. 

“I’m not taking that one to school” - Siwon was amused by Heechul’s idea - “I didn’t make that one. This is the one I did” 

“Yeah, but—“

“But? I did it myself” - Siwon was proud of his job - “Yours is better but… I didn’t do it” 

“Siwon… I really think…” - Heechul wasn’t sure of how to put it into words - “it will be better if you take this one to school”

“No” - Siwon insisted - “I’m taking mine” 

Siwon got a hard time that day. Kids made fun of his hard work and even went as far as ruining the craft model. They ripped off tree made of clay and the roads made of paper. His buildings got smashed, broke and teared apart. Even if the teacher praised him lots for his effort and even gave him a prize for his hard work… Siwon felt bad. It wasn’t just the fact his classmates and made fun of him. It was realizing they had a point: his craft model was uglier than theirs. They all had nicely done models. Maybe if he had used the one his dad made for him… he would have had the prettiest one. 

Heechul got a call from Siwon’s room teacher asking to pass by before taking the boys back home. Heechul agreed and arrived a few minutes before the kids class ended. He found a gloomy Siwon sitting outside the classroom holding the leftovers of his craft model. 

“What happened? Did you fall?” - Heechul inspected the boy - “How did it turn like this?” 

“My classmates did it” - Siwon was trying his best to not cry - “Not all of them but… many of them did” 

“How awful. Those kids are mean” 

“But they were right” - Siwon sighed - “My model was ugly… it wasn’t good” 

“Oh, honey… I don’t—“

“You thought it was ugly too, right?” - Siwon knew that - “That’s why you wanted me to take the one you did” 

“I… uhm…” - It wasn’t Heechul’s best moment. He struggled to find the correct words.

“It’s ok, I know it’s ugly” - Siwon pouted - “I was just proud because I did it myself… but I guess I was wrong and should have taken yours to class”

Heechul found those words disturbing. He did the craft model thinking about Siwon bringing to school an ugly model knowing how children were. Yet, now he realized his mistake. It wasn’t his intention to attempt against the boy’s self steem. As a father, he found himself doing so very often. However, he wasn’t a bad one. He admitted his mistakes and tried to solve them the best way possible. 

Right now, Heechul didn’t care if Siwon had or not abilities for craft arts. He only cared about teaching his son a very precious lesson. 

“Siwon, dad was wrong. I shouldn’t have interfered and try to ‘fix it’. You were right, this was your homework” 

“It ” 

“Look at me” - Heechul grabbed his chin - “You worked hard. You put all your heart doing that craft model. It may not be the best one out there… but you did it yourself and you should feel proud of your work” 

Siwon blushed a bit. He was being praised. Yes, his dad just called his craft ugly in a very poetic way, but still… he said nice things. 

“I’m proud of you” - Heechul nodded - “You should value your own effort” 

“Hey, bagel boys” - Heeyeon was greeted by a couple of cheerful twins - “How was your day?”

“WE PWAYED IN POOL” - The boys were talking non stop about their swimming lesson - “AND NEW FWIEND…”

Heeyeon couldn’t focus at all. She got lost in Ryeowook eyes. Why were they so glassy? Chlorine? No. Chlorine would turn his eyes red…? It looked more like when kids were about to have a fever. He was also wearing his sweater. Why? It wasn’t cold right now. Did he feel cold? Oh god. 

“He has been coughing a bit” - a teacher informed her - “He also had a runny nose, so we shortened his pool time and made sure he was dry and warm” 

“Oh, is that so? Thank you” - Heeyeon pouted as she tried taking Ryeowook’s temperature - “He feels well for now” 

“Wookie no sic, mama” - Ryeowook found funny Heeyeon’s concerned face - “Wookie iz fineeee” 

Leeteuk didn’t understand what was all fuss about. Henry demanded him go wait a little longer and made him sit in his classroom. Leeteuk was used to toddlers being bossy and unpredictable but what came next… sure was new. Henry was giving him a big card that said ‘SORRY’ with a huge bee and his little hands stamped with paint. 

“He made it for you” - one teacher helped- “He said he was feeling sorry and wanted to make you an apology card” 

“Ukwee, Henwy iz sowy fow biwin u” - Henry hugged him tightly - “Henwy no wanned huwt u” 

“Awww, it’s ok. I forgive you” - Leeteuk hugged the boy still kneeling down to be his size - “I feel warm now…” 

But literally. He felt warm. Leeteuk soon realized Henry was probably too excited. 

“Oh, take these” - A teacher was offering him paper tissues to clean a bit - “We will change Henry. We have spare clothes for accidents but…”

“It’s ok” - Leeteuk smiled even though he was wet - “I’m used to it. I have nine nephews” 

“You must be a very patient person!” 

“Who knows” 

“Heechul, for the last time” - Leeteuk found himself losing his patience a few hours later- “No one is burning a diaper in the middle of the backyard”

“But hear me out, it would be fun” - Heechul insisted. His pyromaniac self was showing up - “I bet Kyuhyun agrees” 

“Don’t put pressure on him!” - Heeyeon scolded - “He has succeeded just twice. It’s still too soon to think he will be magically diaper free” 

“And he needs those for night time” - Leeteuk added - “so does Henry. Stop making a fuss about burning diapers because I won’t allow it!”

“Don’t burn a diaper as a graduation ceremony..” - Heechul mimicked Leeteuk’s voice - “blah blah blah” 

“Dad? Mom? Uncle?” - Yesung was calling for them - “Where are you? Can someone come?”

“What’s wrong?” - all adults were alert.
If Yesung was asking for help… nothing good was going on. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” - Yesung sighed - “We are not dying! It’s just that… Wookie and Kyu opened the whole box of stickers and… they are still missing one” 

“For real?” - Heeyeon thought it was impossible they could be so unlucky - “It can’t be…” 

“Yeah, and… No one of us has it either” - Kangin urged - “They won’t finish the album on time” 

“What do you mean by ‘on time’ ?” - Leeteuk was clueless - “can’t we just buy more cards later?”

“Yeah, but… it ends this Sunday” - Yesung showed him the last page of the album. It said that if you filled it fully and showed it to the store… they were supposed to give you a prize - “see? They want those” 

“Those are Pikachu dolls” - Heechul twisted his lips while thinking - “We can buy ones at the toy store in case they don’t get them” 

“What are the odds…?” - Heeyeon still couldn’t believe their bad luck. She didn’t think they wouldn’t complete the album having so many packages left - “are they missing the same card?”

“Well, only Kyu is missing it” - Yesung explained - “Ryeowook got that one weeks ago..” 

Heeyeon asked Mina if their boys were by any chance filling the same album. They were not. The boys that attended school took some repeated stickers cards with them in a try to trade them with the one Kyuhyun was missing. Each of them tried hard. 

The twins also asked their classmates at daycare… but they were too young to understand what was going on. The twins knew how to collect stuff thanks to their older brothers… but they were still little for that, so their classmates didn’t play with things like that yet. 

“No luck…” - Ryeowook sulked when Leeteuk showed up at daycare to get them home - “Ukwee… we… had… no…” 

Ryeowook started coughing again. He had been coughing a lot the day before too. They thought he had a cold but it didn’t make sense. He was fine at the afternoon the day before. 

“He is wheezing” - Heeyeon worried when she came closer - “Teuk, is this normal?” 

“I don’t know” - Leeteuk sighed - “But he wasn’t doing that before” 

“Mama, Kyu wanna go schoo’ “ - Kyuhyun pulled her overall 

“School? The one where your brothers are? What for?” 

“Twade” - Kyuhyun showed her the pokemon stickers - “Kyu findz missing card and gets the pwize” 

Ryeowook coughed again. This time he even threw up a bit. Leeteuk was cleaning him using wet tissues. 

“Kyu, some other time” - Heeyeon glanced at the sick boy - “We need to go home. Ryeowook is not feeling well”

“Yes” - Kyuhyun understood it. He was the one getting sick often and knew how awful people felt - “home” 

“Hey babe, don’t get scared” 

Heechul warned her before entering the house. Somehow, the school team managed to arrive before than them. Suspicious.

“WHAT THE—-“ - Heeyeon bit her tongue to not swear in front of them - “HOW DID YOU GET THIS?” 

“He tried trading stickers with older boys” - Siwon explained - “And they were really mean! they just tried to steal the cards!” 

“It’s ok, it doesn’t hurt” - Sungmin was holding an ice pack over his purple eye - “And purple is a nice color” 

“Did you talk to the boy’s parent?” - Leeteuk was also mad. Sungmin was such a sweetheart… - “This is unacceptable”

“No, but I get the feeling they will contact us first” - Heechul sighed - “Kangin nearly kills the kid” 

“You did?” - Heeyeon smiled a bit. Leeteuk warned her it wasn’t good - “Oh, you should let the adults handle it”

“Gin fought like this!” - Eunhyuk and Donghae demonstrated - “And the kid when ‘uwaaaah’ and ran away!”

“He won’t tell his parents it was us” - Yesung chuckled - “he is eleven. ELEVEN. He is way older than us… and still lost”

“Well, honestly speaking… what on earth is an eleven years old doing hitting a four years old?” 

“Im almost five” 

“Yeah, hun, I know” 

“Minnie…” - Kyuhyun was sad to know his brother got hurt trying to get him the card - “thank u” 

They hugged. Ryeowook held his chest. Heechul thinking the boy was jealous of Kyuhyun hugging someone else. 

“He was coughing a lot back in daycare” - Leeteuk explained - “He even threw up a little bit from coughing so much”

“He was wheezing” - Heeyeon nodded - “do you think he is allergic to the pool?”

“Babe, he can’t be” - Heechul found cute Heeyeon would think that - “He can be allergic to something else but that one is very unlikely”

“Yeah, but he haven’t been somewhere else” - Heeyeon pouted- “Whatever causes it, is at daycare. He comes back like that and then gets better…” 

As Heeyeon predicted, Ryeowook was fine after an hour at home. The kid was even testing the adults patience by trying to get out of the house saying he was going to ‘buy Pokémon sticker cards’. 

“Do you want to go out that badly?” - Heechul caught him red handed again - “ If you really want to go out I know a place in which we can meet many other kids and trade cards…”

“WEALLY?” 

“You twaitow” - Ryeowook was gloomy in the waiting room at the hospital - “You lied” 

“Oh no, I didn’t lie” - Heechul stretched - “look around! There are many friends here!”

Kyuhyun sighed. His dad tricked them. They forgot about the following appointment. Kyuhyun was having weekly check ups due to his previous condition. 

“Dada, they no wanna twade” - Ryeowook sulked. The other kids were mostly sick and wanted to be hold by their parents and cry 

“Owww, well” - Heechul did a sad face - “I guess we can buy more of those stickers and see if we are lucky”

“Kyuhyun?”

“They are calling us!” - Heechul went inside holding hands with the boys 

“Kyuhyunnie! How are you d—“

“Kyu pooped in toiwet!!!” - Kyuhyun shouted excited and showed his little fingers to the doctor - “Liwe this!” 

“Three times already?” - the doctor played along - “whoah! We need to celebrate it!”

“Yeah, the other one was an accident but it’s ok” - Heechul laughed when Kyuhyun frowned at him for exposing his failure - “He is doing very well” 

“Don’t be too hard on him” - The doctor was exploring Kyuhyun like always - “How to say this… he is on special meds now, so, he can’t ‘hold it’ the way he did before” 

“Oh” 

“did he get any other stomach cramps after stopping the stimulant?” 

“No, he did fine these two days” - Heechul smiled pleased as Kyuhyun asked the doctor to explore his penguin plush - “I know the appointment was for checking up on Kyu but… do you mind having a look at Ryeowook? He is been coughing a lot lately”

“Coughing how?” - The doctor was trying to listen to Ryeowook’s lungs - “Seems fine to me”

“Ever since they started the pool, Ryeowook comes back home coughing” - Heechul explained - “Heeyeon even thinks he is ‘allergic’ to it” 

“I am” - Ryeowook agreed 

“No, you are not” - Heechul squinted his eyes - “I think he is just out of shape”

“Ryeowook, do you want to earn a reward?” -the doctor chuckled when the kid nodded with sparkling eyes - “Then, run and jump for a while” 

Ryeowook thought it was silly, but he wanted his reward. He did as instructed and ran and jumped as the doctor asked him. Five minutes after intense playing… he started coughing again. This time, doctor listened to his lungs and and gave Heechul a silly look. 

“Come closer. Here, try hearing” 

“I don’t know how is he supposed to sound…? Is he whistling?” 

“Yup. That’s asthma” - The doctor searched for a puffer and a mask - “Ryeowook, sweetie come closer. That’s it, leave it on~ what a brave boy! I’m just going to use this and you will breath normally” 

Ryeowook breathed carefully as the doctor puffed the weird thing. The toddler had no clue what it was but in less than five minutes, he felt better. His chest felt lighter and he wasn’t coughing anymore. 

“Are you kidding me?” - Heechul was in despair - “ASTHMA?”

“Heechul, is no big deal. Many kids have it” - The doctor was prescribing the inhalator - “And his one isn’t that bad. He has the one induced by exercise… so, all you gotta do is make sure he receives a ‘puff’ of this before playing hard and if he starts coughing, you use it again” 

“That’s it?” 

“That’s it. And he will be able to play like any other kid his age” - the doctor opened a drawer and searched again - “I recommend buying an inhalator chamber like this one. Ryeowook is still little and using an inhalator without one could be hard for him” 

“Oh, like the one you just used” - Heechul got it - “nice”

“Also, boys” - The doctor pulled out two packs Heechul and the twins recognized right away - “Here is your prize for being good today” 

Kyuhyun opened his. No luck. He still didn’t get the card he needed. Ryeowook took a deep breath. The toddler basically prayed they would get it with his package. 

And they did. 

“ DADA DADA LOO!” - Ryeowook was jumping around holding the card up high - “KABUTO”

“How come he mispronounces most of the time but that one is perfect?” - Heechul couldn’t believe it - “Also, he is not coughing now” 

“It’s super effective” - the doctor teased as he held the puffer 

The twins insisted on retrieving the prizes that day. Heechul and Heeyeon were exhausted. Leeteuk was tired too, but he had no heart to make them wait another day. 

“PIKACHU” - twins eyes sparkled after receiving their pikachu backpacks. 

Leeteuk giggled. Those weren’t normal dolls… those were backpacks. Still, Heechul probably could find ones looking almost the same but he felt happy for the twins. Being rewarded for their hard work sure felt better. 

The twins walked with their backpacks on. Leeteuk was having fun holding their hands. Somehow, the cute scene made him think about it again: that maybe, he wasn’t just their uncle because he was Heechul’s adoptive brother… maybe, just maybe… he was their uncle because he was Hani’s brother. The simple thought made him smile. 

(I need a signal. Please, Hani in heaven… if we were siblings… just send me a signal. That’s all
I need to gather courage and ask Heeyeon)

Leeteuk prayed internally. His wish for knowing the truth was so pure he thought that if he and Hani were ever related… She would answer back. 

“PARK!” - the twins ran to a children playground

“Hey! We are supposed to go home…” 

Leeteuk didn’t think the twins would have so much energy left to play there. He and Heechul usually avoided passing by playgrounds knowing the boys would want to play. Today, he was distracted and forgot about that one. 

The twins started playing on an up and down game. They were two, so, they were used to those games that involved at least two people. 
Leeteuk sighed. He would give them some minutes to run around and burn some calories. 

The twins asked for his help when they wanted to try the swings. Leeteuk helped them in when he noticed a little boy asking him for the same. 

“Wanna pway too!” - The kid pointed at the empty swing next to the twins - “Pwease, hewp me Mr” 

“S-sure… but… where are your parents?” - Leeteuk grew nervous as he didn’t see any other adult around - “are you alone?”

 The kid grew nervous. Apparently, he had run to the park by himself not noticing his guardian was left behind. 

“Uh?! DADDY?!” - The kid was about cry 

“Oh no no no” - Leeteuk placed the boy in the swing - “Let’s play a bit and calm down. What’s your name?”

“Onew” - the twins replied first 

“Hey, do you know this boy?” - Leeteuk never thought the kids would know him 

“Daycawe” - The twins replied at unison 

“Oh, well… those are good news actually” - Leeteuk pulled out his phone. He searched on the parents group chat from a parent that had a kid named Onew. There was no luck. - “Are you sure his name is Onew?” 

“He is our NEW fwiend ” - Ryeowook shrank shoulders - “OH iz NEW. ONEW” 

“Is that his nickname ?” - Leeteuk asked the boy who just giggled at him  - “What’s your name t—?”

“JINKI!” - A man came running fast - “OH GOD YOU GAVE ME A SCARE!” 

“Daddy!” 

“Oh, you kept him safe…? Thank you so much Mis— Don’t we know each other?” - the man was already shaking Leeteuk’s hand - “We know each other, don’t we!?”

“Maybe from daycare?” - Leeteuk wasn’t sure - “But, now that you mention it…”

“I don’t want to be rude… but were you in an orphanage?” - The man was anxious - “you see, I’m adopted. I was raised in an orphanage the first years of my life and you really look like a friend a used to have there” 

“Im Leeteuk” - Leeteuk nodded - “And Yeah, I—“

“LEETEUKIE!” - The man hugged him - “I can’t believe it! It’s been ages! Don’t you remember me? Im Kangta! You were like a little brother to me!” 

“Kangta?” - Leeteuk remembered- “For real? WHOAH! I never thought I would meet you again!” 

“Oh, Teuk I’m so happy for you” - the friend called Kangta hugged him tightly - “We moved here recently! I never thought I would meet you again!”

“Daaaaaaddddyyyyyy” - the cute kid on the swing asked for attention - “Puzh meeee!”

“Oh, this little friend is Jinki” - The man smiled proudly - “He is my first son” 

“First?” - Leeteuk was shocked. Jinki was around the twins age. Apparently, Hani and Gunhee weren’t the only ones having so my kids - “How many kids you have?”

“Three… soon to be four” - The man seemed nervous - “Jinki is almost three… and soon after he e my wife and I had twins. TWINS! You can’t imagine how are they like…” 

“Oh, I have a clue” - Leeteuk pointed at the silly twins playing by themselves- “I know height difference is a thing but they are twins too”

“So cute! They really look like you!”

“Actually, they are not ‘mine’ “ - Leeteuk shook his hands - “They are my brother children. He has nine boys” 

“NINE?!”

“Yeah…” - Leeteuk found hilarious his friend reaction - “Long story. But it’s a really nice family. I love them so much” 

“I can see why they adopted you” - The friend nodded confidently- “the kids really look like family so, I’m guessing you really look like your brother and your family” 

Leeteuk wasn’t sure what to say. That wasn’t quite right… Heechul and him didn’t look alike… if the kids resembled him somehow… was because he and Hani did. 

Wait. Was this his signal?! Did Hani answer his prayers?! 

“Ukwee, I’m hungwy” - Ryeowook sighed - “Home…” 

“Oh, my” - Leeteuk lost track of time talking with his friend - “It’s almost dinner time!”

“My, my Jinki” - Kangta held his son - “Mommy must be worried!” 

They said goodbye to each other after exchanging numbers. Still, being boys classmates … It seemed like Leeteuk would see them around at daycare. He arrived at the mansion with two energetic children showing off their new Pikachu backpacks. 

“Heeyeon, there is something I want to ask you” - Leeteuk’s heart was pounding hard - “It’s about the pict—-“

“OH, LEETEUK! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU” - Heechul was being louder than usual. Leeteuk was dragged to his office in less than five seconds 

“Heechul, I—“

“It’s this about Heeyeon’s birthday pictures?” - Heechul closed his eyes unable to look at his friend - “Cmon, I’m not mad. But I do know when someone touches my stuff. Also, Heeyeon’s mom came the other and…” 

“Heeyeon isn’t just ‘Hani’s cousin’ , am I right?” 

“They were sisters” - Heechul nodded - “Although Heeyeon isn’t supposed to know that. Which bring me to the next part: mentioning anything about this to her is completely forbidden” 

“But—“

“Boys? Dinner is served!” - Heeyeon was calling for them 

“In a minute!” 

Heechul shouted with a fully different voice tone. Then he turned to Leeteuk and gave him a warning look. 

“I will explain everything I know after they go to sleep” - Heechul whispered into his ear - “I know you have questions… but she doesn’t need this right now” 

“F-fine” - Leeteuk gulped down. He had a big lump in his throat - “But you will be honest, r-right? You won’t lie to me” 

“I would never” - Heechul gave him a soft smile - “Now, let’s go eat before Heeyeon calls us again. Next time she won’t be that nice” 

—————————————————————————————-

Author comments:

Hey there! ^-^ I hope you had a great week (better than mine…) Good luck to those still on examination period. Studying can be challenging and a pain in— but it’s also rewarding. 

About the recently introduced characters… SHINEE IS BACK! <3 . Don’t worry, they are just secondary characters in this story. I tend to use names from other groups (like Jiyong and Taecyang from Big Bang). Luna (twins classmate) is also from F(x)! . 

I thought a lot about this. I wanted to mention shinee here, but I wasn’t sure if I should include our dear Jonghyun. After thinking a lot, I decided to not since my heart can’t really take it. (T - T) 

PS: This week I have been listening to the boys performances on Masked Singer. I’m a big fan of Ryeowook and Kyuhyun ones! But had never listened to Heechul’s before and now I can’t get his performance out of my head! ><