The air was tense. Leeteuk didn’t know how to describe the feeling but even if he had spent lots of nights in the mansion… that one felt incredibly weird. He was glancing at the moon from his window. It was a full moon. Very bright, incredibly pretty. He wondered how many nights he had missed the view from being too tired to look at it. He wondered how many nights he prayed  under the moonlight and the shining stars to get a glimpse of his past. 

Tonight, it could be the night his wish finally got granted. Tonight, Heechul had promised to share his information with him. Tonight, at midnight, he could be a different man. 

The clock tickling seemed to slow down as the time passed by. It wasn’t real, it was just his perception. Unable to stay in bed until it was exactly midnight… he walked slowly out of his room and went downstairs to Heechul’s office. 

His brother was already there. Heechul liked being on time, so it made sense. Leeteuk wanted to give him a smile but his body wasn’t responding to him. He could faint at any moment just from stress. 

Heechul made sure the door was locked and no one was spying on them. On his desk, several pictures Leeteuk had previously inspected awaited from them. 

“Just do it” - Leeteuk was too anxious - “I can’t take this anymore” 

“Mrs Ahn twin sister was married to this guy over here” - Heechul showed him the first picture - “They were the Park couple. They had three children” 

“Go on…” 

“Remember what I told you about Hani and Gunhee having an argument about the school?” - Heechul sighed - “Well… around those days…”

[Flashback to the past] 

“Hani, are you drunk?” - Heechul was concerned 

“Your brother is a jerk!”

“Oh, we agree on something” - Heechul cleared his throat - “But even so, I think I should call h—“

“Don’t you dare, boy” 

“Should I call Heeyeon then?” 

“NO!”

“N-no?” 

“No, she is last person I want to see right now…” - Hani whined - “Heechul, Heeyeon can’t know! She just can’t!”

“Uh… I see…?” - Heechul wasn’t really sure what was he supposed to do. He had never seen Hani like that - “Is this still about the school?” 

“What? Do you think, silly?” - Hani glared at him - “It’s the future of my children, I have all rights—“

“I don’t know who is right and who isn’t” - Heechul cut her quickly - “But I do think is weird you don’t want your kids attending your uncle’s school. He owns it! Kids would benefit so much—“

“No. No no no no” - Hani shook her head - “They already took Heeyeon from me. They aren’t going to take my children”

“They… took…?” - Heechul sighed - “Heeyeon is your little sister, right?” 

“Does it matter?” - Hani shrank shoulders anxiously- “She doesn’t even remember. She was too small. She doesn’t remember me, mom, dad… Jungsoo” 

“Who?”

“Im so doooooone” - Hani slapped her face. She must have realized how drunk she was - “I talked too much” 

“Hani, what happened to your family?” - Heechul asked worriedly

“Why would you want to go around digging the past? Just leave things as they are…” - Hani sighed - “I just can’t…” 

“Because Heeyeon is my girlfriend” - Heechul sulked - “And I have known from long time ago that her ‘parents’ weren’t her biological ones. I helped her doing her biology homework… it just couldn’t be. Blood types don’t lie” 

“Smart guy” - Hani scoffed - “I bet she noticed too but didn’t have the guts to ask” 

Heechul went silent. He tried to take Hani’s glass and drink from it but she stopped him. 

“At least one of the two should be sober” - She stated - “You need to drive back” 

“Fine” 

Heechul nodded in understanding. He wasn’t going to contradict her. 

“Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the past” - Hani explained - “Ever since we started discussing schools and Gunhee brought up we should let them attend my uncle’s one… I just… I lost it. Heeyeon is my baby sister… but she wasn’t the only sibling I had. I had a baby brother… Jungsoo” 

“I never heard that before…”

“Because that’s something we don’t mention” - Hani bit her lips - “We ‘lost’ him. And no one ever recovered from it… Mom got so sad that she basically let herself die. Dad couldn’t take losing his boy and wife and started… drinking. He wasn’t in condition to take care of us, so, my aunt and uncle raised Heeyeon as her own… and, technically, they also raised me” 

“I don’t know what to say” 

“There is nothing to say” - Hani covered her face with both hands - “there was a time in which all I wanted was to tell Heeyeon the truth… but then, I realized sometimes ignorance is bliss. It doesn’t matter if she knows the full truth or not… we were raised as sisters and I know she thinks of me like one”

“I’m so sorry, Hani” - Heechul felt like crying - “I’m sorry you had to go through this alone…” 

“I wasn’t alone. And to be fair, it wasn’t me who got it worse… of course, I was young and stupid and didn’t realized it until recently” 

Hani made a pause.

“My aunt is a saint, Heechul. I said so many hurtful things to her… I was mad at the world and she paid for it. She lost her sister, her friend, her nephew… she opened her house to us…changed her entire life… and I couldn’t say ‘thank you’ and instead of that; I even yelled at her she wasn’t my mom” 

Heechul remained quiet. Nothing he said would make Hani feel better. He quietly rubbed the cold glass in which ice melted slowly. 

“We should go home. I need to talk to Gunhee” - Hani cried - “I’m being stupid right now. I already lost a family… I won’t lose it twice” 

“Are you sure you should go back in that state?” - Heechul asked softly - “You could stay with me until… you know”

“Do you worry the kids will see me drunk?” - Hani found the man cute and reliable - “You are definitely a good man. Heeyeon is so lucky”

“My brother isn’t that bad either” - Heechul sighed - “I bet he is worried and just wants the best for the kids” 

“I know” - Hani was still tearing - “He is such a loving husband… and a good father. He is amazing” 

“Hani, uhm… Thanks for letting me know about your family” - Heechul gulped down - “And for being honest with me. I just want you to know that if there is something I can do for you… I’m here and—“

“Don’t be silly” - Hani kissed him - “You are the best in law in the whole world. You are a nice uncle to my kids, a nice boyfriend to my sister, and a good friend and brother to my husband. I can’t ask for more” 

Heechul blushed deeply. Hani chuckled. 

“By the way, did Gunhee tell you we are planning on having another round?” 

“Are you kidding me?” - Heechul widened his eyes - “MORE OF THEM? YOU HAD TRIPLETS A FEW MONTHS AGO!”

“Yeah, but they are so but so cute!” - Hani giggled - “I mean, can you imagine a new set?”

“I will definitely move out of the country” 

They teased each other during the ride. Heechul was making sure she made it to the door when Hani started talking again. 

“Do you know why my aunt fell for you the very moment she saw you?” - Hani smiled sweetly - “It’s because you and him would have the same age. It was true you are a cute kid but still… I think my aunt treats you better than Gunhee because she remembers Jungsoo”

“That’s good to know” - Heechul smiled back - “Maybe I should be nicer to her” 

“Is that even possible?” - Hani hugged him - “Please don’t tell Heeyeon, I beg you. And if by any chance she gets to know… promise me you will be there for her”

“I do” 

“Hani!” - Gunhee was running to them - “Oh, Heechul! Thank you so much for bringing her home! Sweetie, let’s put you to bed… I’m so sorry for being an … the kids won’t attend any school you don’t want to…” 

“Its ok” - Hani kissed him - “We will figure it out” 

[end of flashback]

“That’s a lot of information…” - Leeteuk glanced at Heechul carefully - “But… what happened to ‘Jungsoo’ exactly?”

“I don’t know” - Heechul sighed - “I was afraid to ask. By the way Hani talked about him… she was sure he… well” 

Leeteuk looked down. His hopes of being the missing kid lowered down as he understood he wasn’t some kind of ghost or zombie. Maybe it was better to forget all that madness and keep his dreams to himself. 

“Leeteuk, until we don’t know the full story… we can’t tell Heeyeon anything of this” - Heechul pouted - “and you have to promise me, we will only let her know in case there are good news… and even so, at the rightful time” 

“At the rightful time…” 

“She is pregnant right now. It’s dangerous to receive news like that” - Heechul explained - “I will help you investigate what happened to the boy… and we definitely will find out if you are siblings”

“How?”

“Oh Cmon, uncultured swine” - Heechul laughed a bit - “DNA rings a bell to you? If you are siblings, you share genes. So, we can run a test and see if you guys are related to each other!”

“Awesome… but how are you going to do that without Heeyeon realizing so?” 

“Good point” 

Heechul took Heeyeon’s hair brush to the clinic. He and Leeteuk were expectants… but the doctor basically laughed at them saying ‘it wasn’t good material to run a test’. She said hair was only valid if taken from the root. Which meant, that if they wanted to test Heeyeon’s hair… they would have to pull it out. 

“Well, that’s easy” - Heechul grimaced - “I can do it” 

“She is going to complain. No one likes hair getting pulled” - Leeteuk shook his head - “Also, how would you explain that?”

“There won’t be any need” - Heechul giggled naughtily 

“EEWWW” - Leeteuk hated himself for understanding the subtext- “I hate it when you comment about your life!”

“Oh Cmon, you love it” 

“No, I don’t! And for God’s sake she is PREGNANT!”

“And you think they can’t have…? Oh Teuk, poor uncultured swine” - Heechul laughed - “Also, she is the one that starts it most of the time. Aish, pregnancy hormones…”

“Stop! I don’t want to hear it” - Leeteuk whined 

“I just realized something…” - Heechul froze horrified- “If Heeyeon and you are siblings… I would be—- oh. Uh oh”

“Let’s do the dna test first” - Leeteuk was now losing it - “But if it turns out she is my little sister…” 

The triplets were in their classroom doing some art work. They were supposed to be painting something that made them happy… but instead they were just playing with the paint. Eunhyuk was using his brush to draw a purple circle around Sungmin’s non purple eye. 

“Boys… what are you doing?” - their teacher was already used to their silliness - “Why are you painting on your brother?”

“I’m gonna be a purple panda!” - Sungmin chirped - “I already had one purple eye so…”

“It’s dangerous to play with paint too close to the eyes” - the teacher cleaned him quickly with skill - “Lets focus on doing our job and finish those awesome paintings” 

“Mine will be the acuarium” - Donghae nodded 

“Mine when we dance on the big stage!” - Eunhyuk started working on it 

“What about yours?” - The teacher asked a doubtful Sungmin - “When do you feel happy?”

“I…” - Sungmin smiled a bit - “You will see”

Kangin fell asleep during history class. He found it incredibly boring. He wondered how Yesung would sit through the whole lessons and them comment stuff about them. So far, second grade was nothing but a pain in the for Kangin. Maths got harder, books to read were longer, words were complicated… Kangin only thought of baseball and playing with his scooter and raccoon pet. Everything else was boring. 

He got caught by the teacher, who kindly reminded him sleeping in class wasn’t allowed. Being the second warning already, teacher wrote a note for Heechul asking him to check on the boy’s bed time. 

During free period, Kangin avoided Siwon with skill. He had gotten used to it. Bad part of it was… he ended getting in troubles almost daily. He and his friends were a bunch of mischievous kids that would get out of the safe perimeter assigned to them. This time, they overdid it. 

“Let’s play hide and seek… with the teachers” - one of Kangin friends smiled naughtily - “I bet they won’t find us” 

“I’m not sure we should do that” - Kangin’s responsible side showed up - “They are going to worry” 

“Ohhh, are you an scaredy cat too?” - another classmate teased - “Like your baby brother? Are you going to cry?”

“No, I’m not a crybaby!” - Kangin pushed him a bit - “I just don’t think we should play like this!” 

“I dare you to come with us and play outside!” - the first friend held Kangin’s shirt - “Cmon, I’m daring you. You won’t refuse it, right? If you do… you are a coward”

“I’m not a coward!” 

“Then, you will come with us!” 

“Cmon chicken!” 

Kangin was impulsive. He had an exploding character and couldn’t take it when the others started making chicken noises. Yeah, he knew that it was wrong to play like that. But… he was prideful and stubborn, and no one would ever for being a coward. 

“See what I got here?” - one of his classmates was holding a box of matches - “I took it from my mom! She thinks she is smart leaving those at the kitchen but I figured it out!”

“Those are not for playing” - Kangin shook his head. Leeteuk would definitely kill him if he touched one of those - “Those are matches. It’s dangerous”

“Dangerous? Awesome” 

“You will see what’s dangerous” - Another kid pulled a bunch of sparklers - “We still had these from new year party!”

“I don’t want… My uncle says they are not for children” - Kangin refused to hold them - “He says you can get burn badly” 

“Is your uncle also a coward? Seriously, what’s wrong with your family?”

Kangin was hurt at that last comment. He cherished his family and wouldn’t let anyone speak ill of it. 

“I don’t want to play with you anymore” - Kangin stood up and walked away 

“Ohhhh! Are you going to cry? Are you going back to the classroom?”

“If you leave now, we won’t play with you again!”

“Yeah, we are the ‘cool’ guys, remember?”

Kangin struggled to decide. He wanted to fit in with the cool boys at his new school. He didn’t want to be labeled as ‘baby’ or a ‘crybaby’. He wasn’t a nerd either. What was he going to do? His dad always talked to him about peer pressure and how he wasn’t supposed to fall for it. His uncle was also very vocal about it. Being cool or listening to his parents? He was a second grader… 

Heechul was trying to get Heeyeon’s hair… and maybe something else. He didn’t want to wait that long… and the woman seemed to be very focused on her job being a ‘perfect’ mother. 

“Heechul, babe. Im trying to read” - Heeyeon pushed him away when Heechul started kissing her neck - “If you are too , go and take a cold shower” 

Heechul twisted his lips. It wasn’t like he couldn’t wait for that or leave for another time. It was about the hair. He wanted it now. He wanted the DNA test to start running. 

“Oh, my bad” - Heechul was good at acting - “Your hair got tangled” 

“It’s ok” - Heeyeon kept reading her parenting book. Lately, she read a lot of those - “Do you think we should get the boys a stepping stool for the toilet?”

“Uh?” - Heechul wasn’t really paying attention to what she said. He was ‘untangling’ her hair with a brush… and pulling a few hairs every single time - “come again?”

“Yeah, they say small kids can’t reach the floor when sitting on the toilet” - Heeyeon explained - “and that it helps them having something they can place their feet on. It says it can help with constipation…” 

(One… two… three… four… how many of these do I need? )

“Sounds good” - Heechul knew that if he went quiet Heeyeon would suspect something - “Are you thinking of Kyu?” 

“All of them” - Heeyeon chirped - “Ryeowook and Henry are kinda small too. And the triplets feet don’t reach the floor at all either”

“Oh… they would hate it” - Heechul pulled a few hairs at once - “I mean, not the stepping stool… the fact you called them little” 

“These books are awesome” - Heeyeon was pleased - “I learn so many good tricks from this. It also comes with a full section about ideas for healthy fun lunches”

“Really?” - Heechul was placing the collected hair inside a little plastic bag for samples - “Sounds good. Although you don’t need those. The boys are very happy with their lunchboxes. Well, all of them except Kangin but—“

“Hey” - Heeyeon suddenly turned to him. Heechul was forced to hide the bag really quick behind his back

“Yeah ?”

“Why isn’t Kangin happy with his lunch box? I didn’t know that!”

“Uhm… because… he said it was childish” 

“So? He is a child!” - Heeyeon frowned a bit. Clearly, her pride got hurt - “Those are just cute!”

“Yeah, but cutie pie” - Heechul did his best to move naturally - “He finds embarrassing things like that. He is a very ‘manly’ kid who is not ‘a baby’. You get it?”

“No” - Heeyeon shook her head - “Why are men so complicated? He is still a boy! He doesn’t need to be a ‘man’ yet” 

“I agree—“

“I used to think boys were simple minded” - Heeyeon sighed - “You know. They just like fart jokes and peeing on everything. And then they behave ‘rude’ but will run away scared of a caterpillar ” 

“What a way to describe us” - Heechul couldn’t deny it was right 

“Do you think I hurt Kangin man pride by giving a lunchbox he considered too cute?” - Heeyeon worried - “But if he was bothered by it… he could say something, you know? Why would he keep it to himself…?”

“Maybe he feared hurting you” - Heechul finally managed to put the plastic bag inside his jacket - “I mean, he loves you. We all do… and we want to protect you—“

“From the truth?” - Heeyeon scoffed - “I’m a woman. Not a fragile flower pot that you need to make sure it doesn’t break”

“But you are clearly upset now!” 

“So? I get upset, I may cry too… but I can handle it!” - Heeyeon protested - “You don’t need to hide things from me just because you fear I will get hurt! The boys are kids! They don’t need to hold back…” 

“Oh, not all of them do it” - Heechul tried - “The triplets and the twins are always demanding things, right?”

“They are actually pretty calm and understanding” - Heeyeon smiled softly - “They don’t really give me troubles”

Heechul was about to when his phone did a beep. Then, it seemed like it was going to explode from so many messages.

“Did something happen at the company?” - Heeyeon raised her eyebrow - “Heechul?”

“It’s from the parents chat room. One of them” - Heechul started the app - “This one is from Kangin’s class… they say—“

“Heechul?”

“There was an accident and some kids are severely injured” - Heechul told her in a rush while he got his car keys - “I will go and make sure our boys are fine, ok?” 

“But do the texts say whose kids were involved?”

“They only know they are second graders And…” - Heechul’s voice shook - “I need to go there, ok? I will explain it to you later” 

“Maybe I should go with you…” 

“No, no” - Heechul was anxious - “Please stay here. Wait for us and don’t go out unless is time to go look for the kids at daycare…”

“Ok… but what’s going on?”

“I…” - Heechul caught Leeteuk who just passed by - “Teuk, you come with me” 

“I was going to—“

“Just come with me” - Heechul urged him as he pulled him to the car by his arm 

“So… what happened now?” - Leeteuk didn’t want to annoy Heechul… but he definitely needed to distract himself - “everything alright?”

“There was a fire in the school” - Heechul explained - “Some kids managed to get matches and fireworks. They started a fire at the back of the school and the firefighters had to intervene… the kids got burnt” 

“Ouch… How come? Poor boys…” - Leeteuk pitied them and their parents - “Wait, you won’t believe—“

“They are second graders” 

Leeteuk cursed internally. He already knew what bothered Heechul. 

“Look, Im not the one to judge kids playing with fire” - Heechul sighed - “but for the sake of his , I hope Kangin stayed away from that game”

“Those kids probably learned a lesson in the hard way, Heechul” - Leeteuk sulked - “I really hope our Kangin wasn’t involved. We have talked to him about the dangers of playing with fire” 

“But he is a boy… and he is my son” - Heechul gulped down anxiously- “My dad also talked to me about not playing with fire and even so… I did” 

“It was different” - Leeteuk squirmed in his seat - “You were always trying to call your parents attention” 

“Yeah, my boys are not that different” - Heechul checked on his brother and raised an eyebrow - “Are you ok?”

“Why you ask?” - Leeteuk complained after Heechul’s car hit a speed bump - “Oh dear” 

“Well, I suppose it’s ok since I basically dragged you out of the house without asking twice” - Heechul’s stress was lowered down a bit thanks to Leeteuk’s funny situation - “Are you going to compete with the boys? Yesung, Siwon, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Kyuhyun… they all had wet my car before” 

“I assure you my bladder is way bigger than Kyuhyun’s” - Leeteuk whined - “Besides, I have my pride” 

“There is another speed bump” - Heechul sighed - “Are you going to be ok?”

“Just drive” - Leeteuk barked annoyed - “If I end wetting my pants here, I’m not helping you clean” 

“If it wasn’t because we are in a hurry I will make sure you wet your pants” - Heechul grimaced - “But hey, my boy could have been playing with fire and be severely injured. So, I really don’t ing care about your bladder or the car seat” 

“Sorry” 

“For the seat?” 

“NO! I— JUST DRIVE!” 

“Aren’t you going to park?” - Leeteuk whined when Heechul took the other side - “The parking lot…”

“I will drop you at the main door so you can go take care of your problem” - Heechul explained carefully - “Then, I will go park the car and search for the firefighters, teachers or whoever is in charge of delivering the news in this madness” 

“Thanks” - Leeteuk loved how caring Heechul was sometimes- “I really appreciate it” 

Even if Heechul took the trouble to let him closer… Leeteuk had no clue where the toilets were. He found himself lost in the principal hall looking around for the signs… 

“Where is it? Where is it?” - Leeteuk almost crashed with someone - “Oh, my bad—“

“LEETEUKIE!” - the old man hugged him - “It’s good to see you! Did you come here for Kangin? He is alright! I already called Heeyeonnie… but she said Heechul and you were already coming since the parents group chat went crazy—“

“Mr Ahn, Hi” - Leeteuk tried his best to control his expression - “really? Kangin is fine? Oh, those are wonderful… news”

“Are you alright? You are sweating” - Mr Ahn worried - “You look a little pale—“

“I’m sorry, but could you please tell me where the toilet is?” - Leeteuk almost begged - “I’m in a hurry” 

“The one at my office is closer” - Mr Ahn offered as he gestured Leeteuk to follow him - “Have you been looking for a toilet since you got in?”

“Yeah…” - Leeteuk confessed as he turned red from embarrassment

“It’s just that you missed two already” - Mr Ahn scratched his head as he opened his office door for the man - “Maybe the signs should be bigger…”

After taking care of his business and washing his hands, Leeteuk also washed his face. He still felt hot from the previous interaction. He found himself embarrassed one more time when he exited the restroom and Mr Ahn gave him a silly smile. 

“Are you feeling better?” 

“Way better, yeah” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe his luck. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad - “I’m deeply sorry for causing you troubles”

“Oh, no” - Mr Ahn shook his head and gestured him to sit - “it’s always a pleasure to meet you. My wife was quite impressed the other day” 

Great. Another moment of his life he wanted to forget, Leeteuk thought. One of them saw him almost wetting his pants and the other being a clingy crybaby. Nice. He wondered what impression Heeyeon’s parents had of him. 

“Tea?” - The man offered - “I recall your favorite was same as mine” 

“Thanks…” - Leeteuk accepted the offer. He had already humiliated himself from his point of view… what could be worse? - “Your wife, Mrs Ahn… She is a really good person too. Now I understand why Heeyeon is so lovely” 

“She was really happy to meet you. She said you reminded her of an old friend we had” - Mr Ahn examined Leeteuk’s face - “I quite agree. I noticed it the first time I had you here but… you know. Sometimes it feels like you are chasing ghosts”

“Is your friend… gone?” - Leeteuk realized Mr Ahn could be talking about the man that could be his father - “I’m sorry, that was out of—“

“He was Hani’s dad” - Mr Ahn smiled softly - “We used to work together in a tea shop back in our young days. We were pretty close” 

“Ohhh, the tea shop! Mrs Ahn did mentioned it!”

“Oh, the old times…” - Mr Ahn laughed - “So many good memories…” 

“Mr Ahn, if you don’t bother… could you talk to me more about your friend?” - Leeteuk knew it was risky but hey, he had nothing to lose. His pride was moping the floor already - “I’m really curious”

“Sure! Why not?” - Mr Ahn smiled pleased- “Let me see…”

“Kangin!” - Heechul hugged the boy tightly and then, soon after, pulled his ear - “KANGIN” 

“Ouch! Dad!” - Kangin whined a bit 

“Ah, Mr Kim!” - The teacher approached him - “We need to talk” 

“Yeah, looks like he inherited my pyromania” - Heechul sighed exhausted. Stress drained him - “I’m really sorry. I will make sure it never happens again…”

“Actually, Kangin wasn’t involved in that incident” 

“Yeah, dad! I didn’t do it!” - Kangin complained - “Why do you think I was the culprit?”

“You didn’t ?”

“I was invited but I said no. You and uncle always talk to me about not letting others decide for yourself and doing what you think is right” 

“And you… preferred listening to us than your friends?” - Heechul smiled in a silly way - “Whoah”

“Yeah, that…” - Kangin made a pause - “And I realized that you would kill me if I played with those” 

“True” - Heechul agreed - “That’s my boy”

Kangin smiled shyly. His dad was proud of him.

“Then… why did you want to talk to me?” - Heechul turned to the teacher 

“He falls asleep during classes. I wasn’t sure if it was because he doesn’t get enough sleep…” 

“Oh, he does” - Heechul found funny Kangin was taking naps at class. The triplets were also caught doing so but their teacher let them sleep - “but I’m afraid he has troubles focusing on the same thing for a long time”

“Well, if that the case, I will work on a solution for it” - the teacher chuckled - “You can take him home now if you want. It’s been a hard day for the kids… many of them got very impressed about the fire and had to leave…”

“The firefighters came! They were pretty cool!”
- Kangin smirked - “they let me try their helmet and listen to the radio! It was awesome!” 

“He wasn’t scared at all” - the teacher smiled - “Kangin is a very brave and sweet boy. He helped those who were scared and acted like a true leader” 

Kangin blushed at the compliment. He wasn’t used to be so praised for acting good. He was a sweet guy… but his rebel naughty side often made him look a “bad boy”. 

“For real?” - Leeteuk was having fun with Mr Ahn - “He wasn’t a good driver?”

“He was awful! You got into a car with him and you would kiss the ground as soon as you were out!” 

Leeteuk laughed hard. He could picture it, yes. Heechul did something similar after their first driving lesson. Yesung too. 

“Oh and the clothes. My wife said he was a hippie! He liked his hair long and then wore flower printed shirts!” - Mr Ahn couldn’t stop laughing - “But he cut it short when trying to impress Minseon! you should have seen his face when the girl told him she actually liked his long hairstyle!” 

Leeteuk didn’t want to give himself fake hopes… but, his possible ‘dad’ sounded a lot like him. Hearing those stories from Mr Ahn were totally worth his embarrassing moment of the month. 

“Ohhhh” - Heechul found it cute. The triplets were all still dirty with paint since they were taking a nap on their art work - “Little angels” 

“I didn’t want to wake them up…” - the teacher had a soft spot for them - “They worked really hard and got tired” 

“I suppose I should increase bed time” - Heechul sighed. If four of his kids were sleeping at class… either those were too boring or they were too tired - “They attend dancing classes… Sungmin has music too and Donghae recently started soccer…”

“I see” - The teacher smiled - “but even so, you don’t need to worry. They are adapting pretty well to kindergarten! They are very good kids!”

Heeyeon had a hard time at daycare. She usually went with Leeteuk to get the kids. It wasn’t like doing it alone supposed a problem… but today it was a bit trickier since Kyuhyun fell asleep. Apparently, the kid played really hard in the pool. 

She doubted if she should let him sleep and just carry him… but, Kyuhyun wasn’t the only kid she had to take care of. Henry was wide awake and giving troubles and Ryeowook was a toddler after all. She couldn’t risk not holding hands with them. 

“Kyunnie, baby” - Heeyeon coaxed softly - “Wake up~ we need to get in the car~”

Kyuhyun cried a bit. Heeyeon sighed. It was common sense toddlers didn’t like being waken up from their naps. 

“Kyuuuuuu~ mama can’t howd u nowwwww” - Ryeowook pinched his brother in a sweet way - “Pwease wakey wakey!”

“WAWEY WAWEY!” 

Heeyeon saw troubles coming when Henry slapped Kyuhyun’s face really hard. Now the toddler cried from pain. Ryeowook hit Henry. Henry cried too but tried to pull the shortest twin hair in retaliation. Heeyeon ended dragging to the car three crying toddlers. 

“No! Hey!” - she raised her voice - “Don’t fight! Don’t hit each other!”

“Mamaaaaaa!” - the three boys cried out loud. They were definitely upset by the whole situation. 

She drove the better she could checking the mirror every other minute. She kept talking to them in a soothing voice even if they cried. By the time they reached home, the kids had stopped wailing. 

“Look at your face…” - Heeyeon used a wet cloth to clean Ryeowook carefully - “Don’t cry so much, my love…” 

“Mama! Mama!” - Henry demanded attention as he was the last one Heeyeon helped outside the car - “HHUUUU!” 

“Come here” - Heeyeon carried Henry. He was a runner… he would run around like crazy if he wasn’t hold - “Oh no, no. Be careful,baby. Don’t kick me or Cherry” 

Kyuhyun stretched his arms towards her. She asked him to wait and he got upset. She placed Henry down only after locking the door of the house behind her. 

Henry ran around like crazy. He went straight to his toys to spread chaos around the neat living room Leeteuk had cleaned that morning. In less than five minutes, the uncle’s work was lost. 

“Oh, Henry” - Heeyeon sat on the couch exhausted - “Your uncle worked so hard…” 

Ryeowook climbed the couch and leaned on her. 

“Mama, Wookie is zad” - Ryeowook pouted - “give me wuv” 

“Do you want hugs or kisses?” - Heeyeon asked playfully - “Or maybe… TICKLES!”

Ryeowook’s screams of joy filled the place. The kid had a loud laugh. Heeyeon only let him catch some air and would start again. The boy loved that game and the one Heeyeon did pretending he was going to get eaten. 

Henry joined almost immediately. He wanted to have fun too. Heeyeon pretended to eat him and the boy went extremely happy. He was also being loud. 

Kyuhyun played with his penguin plush on the floor. Alone. Not smiling. He would eventually give bad looks to them. 

“Kyu, come here!” - Heeyeon called the boy - “come to play!”

“TWIIIIN! HEWP MEEE!” - Ryeowook was having so much fun being tickled ‘to death’ - “FUUUUN”

Kyuhyun remained silent. When Heeyeon called for him again, he took his penguin plush with him and went away. 

“Kyu…?” - Heeyeon knew it. Her mother instinct kicked hard. He was upset - “Kyu, baby… come here” 

For a moment, Heeyeon thought Kyuhyun was going to ignore her. She waited patiently for him to come. Lucky for her, the kid approached slowly holding his penguin plush tightly.

“Mama!” - Henry tried climbing her again 

“Wook, Henry” - Heeyeon spoke softly to them - “Let’s play again later. Right now it’s Kyuhyun’s turn ok?”

“Uhmmm” - Ryeowook nodded - “Kay!” 

“Kay!” - Henry copied his brother and ran after him. Playing with Ryeowook was also fun. 

“Should I tickle the boy? Or the penguin?” - Heeyeon teased as she sat Kyuhyun next to her - “What do you think?” 

Kyuhyun shook his head. 

“No? Don’t you want tickles too?” - Heeyeon saw how the boy had teary eyes. Kyuhyun was going to cry soon - “hugs and kisses?” 

Kyuhyun nodded. He sniffed a bit when Heeyeon started kissing him. 

“Alright, alright… it’s ok” - Heeyeon was now hugging a very crying boy - “Let it out. Let it out. Crying can be good too” 

“Mama, Kyu no liwe it when u say no!” - Kyuhyun sobbed - “Kyu Wanna get hold too!” 

“I know, sweetheart. It’s unfair… but mom can’t hold you like daddy or uncle ” - Heeyeon sighed - “You are so big now” 

“Nuh, Kyu iz mama baby too!” 

“That’s right, even if you grow up to be tall like your daddy, you will always be my baby” - Heeyeon wiped away a few tears - “But mom isn’t that strong now, Kyunnie… I can’t lift too much weight…” 

“Why?” - Kyuhyun was concerned - “Mama sick?” 

“No, it’s because I’m already carrying your sister all time” - Heeyeon explained carefully. She didn’t want Kyuhyun to feel Cherry was responsible for her lack of strength or the fact she shouldn’t hold him often - “She is so small… She needs mom to protect her all time…” 

“Kyu pwotec Cherry too” - Kyuhyun nodded in understanding- “Kyu gonna be big bowther ‘gain” 

“That’s it, you are the big brother” - Heeyeon kept cleaning Kyuhyun’s face - “You will help Cherry to grow up strong and healthy, right?”

“Fee’ her bottles!” - Kyuhyun agreed - “and and and change diapey, and baths and… share toys! And sing together!”

“Whoah, seems like you have thought a lot about it! Which song are you going to teach Cherry?”

“The tadpole song” - Kyuhyun smirked naughtily. He was somehow sure the adults hated that one 

Heeyeon was still laughing when Kyuhyun leaned on her belly and closed his eyes like focusing. 

“Mama, Cherry asweep” - Kyuhyun pouted - “Nap?” 

“Do you think she is taking a nap now?” - Heeyeon rubbed her belly - “could be… but you know? Cherry can hear and feel you. So, if you ever feel like you want to talk to someone… she is also here for you” 

“Cherry this is Kyu” - Kyuhyun started - “Kyu iz u big brother!”

Heeyeon laughed a bit. Kyuhyun was so cute talking to Cherry like that. He was very polite introducing himself first. 

“Cherry, I wuv u” - Kyuhyun whispered softly- “Pwease pway with me when you gwow up and leave mama bewy”

There was a hard kick. Heeyeon didn’t expect that, she gasped surprised. 

“Cherry!” - Kyuhyun was happy since the baby in the womb replied - “Cherry, are u wakeyyyyy?”

Heeyeon saw how Ryeowook and Henry ran fast to her. They also leaned on her belly and grew happy when they felt the kicks. 

Heechul and Leeteuk arrived with the kids from school only to find Heeyeon sitting on the couch with three toddlers sleeping on her.

“What did you do?” - Heechul found it funny - “Did you read a magic trick from one of those parenting books?” 

“No, this is Cherry’s magic. She started kicking and the boys focused to listen… and then fell asleep” - Heeyeon giggled - “They were so tired… They were so whiny because of that”

“Well, uhm… your dad told you first but” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “Good news: Kangin is fine… he didn’t play with the fireworks! He said he got invited but rejected it. I’m really shocked… I thought he would be reckless like me” 

“I love Mr Kim a lot” - Heeyeon smiled - “but you are a better father to Kangin than the one he was for you. To me, it makes sense Kangin listens to you more than you listened to your dad” 

Heechul felt warm. Was he a good dad after all? 

“I should go change” - Heechul stretched - “I think I will send this jacket to the laundry. It got paint from the triplets”

“Cool, I love the design” - Heeyeon as she sneaked out of the toddler trap - “But remember to ‘empty’ your pockets before. I don’t want them to think we are into witchcraft or something”

Heechul furrowed his eyebrows. What was she saying?

“The sample bag with my hair” - Heeyeon did a face like saying ‘oh Cmon’ - “It would be hard to explain” 

“I don’t know what you are talking about” - Heechul feigned ignorance- “Hair? Yours? Why-“

“Heechul, a girl knows when you are pulling her hair out. Also, it couldn’t be the brush. I bought that one specifically to avoid hurting the kids when untangling their hair”

“Hehe” - Heechul chuckled and blushed - “I guess I got caught” 

“The results should be out today” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders - “I just… I didn’t want to tell Teuk until I knew for sure. I didn’t want to give him false hopes” 

“Wait, were you that convinced that we are siblings?” - Leeteuk heard her - “Heeyeon… I… How did you get my hair?” 

“Not your hair, dummy” - Heeyeon smiled playfully- “Saliva is way better for the test. But I suppose you already knew that” 

“Yeah, but… Getting a sample of that is way harder than a couple hairs” - Heechul scoffed - “Wait! Did you take his toothbrush?”

“No, he would have noticed if it was gone” - Heeyeon played with them - “I took a direct sample using a swab and everything” 

“How?” - Leeteuk was shocked. He didn’t remember anything - “I don’t…”

“You have a very deep sleep” - Heeyeon nodded - “And sometimes you sleep with your mouth wide open” 

“That’s right, he even drools” - Heechul laughed 

They were still making fun of Leeteuk when Heeyeon’s phone did a sound. 

“Is that an email?” - Heechul asked nervously 

“Yup” - Heeyeon was also anxious - “Should we open it together?”

“Oh, this it about you so…” - Heechul tried to take steps back but both of them held him tightly - “no…?”

“Not matter what it says… the three of us are like siblings” - Heeyeon said - “so, we will face it together”

“Agree” - Leeteuk gulped down - “together” 

“This is exciting! We are like the three musketeers!” - Heechul was so nervous 

“You ready for this?” - Heeyeon asked Leeteuk. He held her hand as an answer - “at the count of three… two… o—“

“UHHH!” - the toddlers fell from the couch. Apparently, one of them rolled down and dragged the others. 

“Aww, baby” - Heeyeon went to console Kyuhyun 

Leeteuk had Henry and Heechul was holding Ryeowook. The three of them were too busy to remember what were they doing seconds ago

“Five two” - Ryeowook suddenly said 

“What?” - Heechul asked him.

“It zayz five two” - Kyuhyun pointed at Heeyeon’s phone. She was holding it awkwardly while carrying the boy… the twins had a better view of it. 

“D- N - A” - Ryeowook spelled - “five two… dun know tha’ numbew ” 

“It’s not a number… it’s a percentage symbol” - Heechul carefully took the phone from Heeyeon - “according to these results… you guys share around fifty two percent of your genes”

“Oh…” - Leeteuk didn’t sound happy at all - “Just fifty two…?”

Heeyeon pouted a bit. Heechul bit his lips. 

“You truly don’t know what it means?” - Heechul was losing it - “For real? None of you paid attention to biology classes?”

“I think I never had one” - Leeteuk tried remembering 

“I did. It was awful. I ran away when they opened a frog” - Heeyeon sulked 

“Well, full siblings share around thirty to sixty percent of their genes!” - Heechul said with a big smile - “Now you get it?!”

“We are…”

“… siblings!” 

Both adults laughed and cried at the same time. It was too much to handle. They put the kids back on the floor. 

“So, Heeyeon… whats the first thing you want to do now that you know Leeteuk is your bother?” - Heechul was also holding back his tears 

“Hug him, of course!” - Heeyeon hugged Leeteuk tightly - “Welcome to the family, Teukie!”

“And Leeteuk, what’s the first thing you want to do after learning Heeyeon is your little sister?” - Heechul was already crying  

“I- I already did the first one…” - Leeteuk’s voice cracked - “S-so I will move into the second one…”

“OUCH!” 

Heechul received a direct hit in the shoulder. 

“What was that— ?!” - Heechul did a face - “Oh. Yeah, I deserve it” 

The adults laughed. They were hugging each other tightly. 

“Heeyeon?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you collected the sample in the right way?” - Heechul didn’t want to ruin the moment with his overthinking but he couldn’t avoid it

“The results of the blood test will be ready tomorrow” - Heeyeon said softly- “So, if they match or are similar we can confirm it”

“Oh, that’s great” - Leeteuk smiled and then got shocked - “Wait, what blood test?!”

“You really have a deep sleep…” 

—————————————————————————————

Author comments: 

Now we know they are indeed siblings… but how did Leeteuk get ‘lost’ ?

Thank you so much for your kind words. I try replying to everyone but sometimes I forget! ^-^