He didn’t need the alarm clock to wake up. Leeteuk could hear the busy couple discussing something at the other room. He stretched lazily and managed to get out of his bed.

He took care of his own morning routine and went straight to the kitchen: whatever had woken up the couple in the bedroom next door… was probably his business too and they would need coffee to survive. 

“Good morning, sunshine” - Heeyeon was the first to arrive holding a very sleepy Ryeowook who just waved to his uncle - “Did you sleep well?” 

“I did… did you?” - Leeteuk took the boy from her. If she was holding what it looked like their sheets with the other hand… - “I thought Heechul said no more ‘sleeping in parents bedroom’ …” 

“Oh, he had to go back on that” - Heeyeon chirped amused as she went to the laundry- “He couldn’t stand the crying” 

“Who cried?” - Leeteuk chuckled - “The twins? The triplets?”

“Mama…” - Ryeowook said with a blank face 

“You did?” - Leeteuk found it funny - “seriously?”

“Of course, I did!” - Heeyeon pouted - “it’s unfair! They are so young and little! Babies need their mom and dad!” 

Ryeowook nodded in agreement with his eyes closed. He wasn’t a morning boy. 

“So, I’m guessing by the fact you woke earlier and that you just put those in the wash machine… that we had an accident” 

“I didn’t” - Ryeowook stated calmly - “KYU did” 

“Mmm” - Leeteuk just rubbed Ryeowook’s cheek - “are we in a bad mood today?”

“Wookie wanned to sweep moreeee” - Ryeowook leaned on the table tiredly - “I wanned to ztay in bed”

“But bed was wet” - Heeyeon shook her head - “and you said you were hungry” 

“Im twhirsty” - Ryeowook sulked - “and hungwy…”

“Would you like some juice?” - Heeyeon caught his attention with a small juice pack - “Which flavour?”

“OWANGE” - Ryeowook happily accepted it and started drinking 

Leeteuk found hilarious how the boy loved juice so much his mood lifted instantly. He kept sipping and dancing at the same time. 

Heechul was facing one of the biggest challenges of being a parent: not interfering with your son learning moment. In a try to incentive his independence and get rid of diapers… Heeyeon taught Kyuhyun to take care of his accidents. Ever since the boy managed to poop in the toilet, he had tried his best to stay out of diapers and go back to being a fully potty trained boy. 

However, Kyuhyun had two main problems: one, his bowels movements were unpredictable and different from the ones he had before… so, he still had accidents despite not fearing the toilet. Two… he lacked nighttime control. Heeyeon suspected the boy never had it to begin with. According to Leeteuk and Heechul, Kyuhyun wet the bed regularly even when he was “fully potty trained”. And having seeing Eunhyuk and Donghae plus knowing Siwon was also a bed wetter… she was sure Kyuhyun wasn’t ready to be diaper free at nights. She didn’t have problems with it… but her stubborn son insisted on the fact diapers were “for babies”. Heeyeon wasn’t going to let him pee the mattress three times per week, so, she tried something else.

“Kyu…” - Heechul bit his tongue. He didn’t want to say it… but Kyuhyun was taking too long. He was getting desperate knowing that he could just wash him in less than five minutes. 

Kyuhyun learned the routine. First, undress. Then, put his special underwear in his own laundry basket. Next one, clean himself. He used wet wipes because it was easier that way. 

“Done” - Kyuhyun was proud of his job. He was still half only wearing his pajama shirt - “Kyu clean ‘gain!”

“Mmm, I think you forgot something” - Heechul hinted him glancing at the cream - “Can you guess it?”

“ cweam!” - Kyuhyun took the cream bottle… and pressed it so hard he covered himself with it - “uh oh”
 
“We are still half way there…” - Heechul took off the boy’s shirt and sat with him in the shower using plastic benches- “I will wash you, ok?”

“No did good?” - Kyuhyun pouted sadly

“Oh no, you were awesome” - Heechul washed him diligently while making sure his self esteem didn’t get hurt - “Such a big boy!”

Kyuhyun was very happy hearing that. He got very excited.

“Kyu wanna pee” - the toddler announced 

“Now?” 

Heechul bit his lips. Of course, why not? He was still wet and getting washed. Of course his lovely son would want to pee now. He was lucky he didn’t say ‘poop’. 

“Alright, uhm” - Heechul pointed at the drain - “you can do it here. I will rinse it out with water” 

Kyuhyun gave him a puzzled look. 

“Kyu, here” - Heechul couldn’t believe how different the twins were. Ryeowook would do it without thinking twice - “Go pee pee, Cmon” 

“Pee pee in toilet, dada” - Kyuhyun gave him a ‘duh’ look - “No hewe” 

“You are not going out to pee” - Heechul blurted out. His patience reached a limit - “Either you do it here, or you hold it until we are done washing” 

Kyuhyun was definitely his son and Ryeowook’s brother. As a proud member of the Kim family… he was born to be stubborn. Heechul finished washing him and as soon as he placed the kid on the towel outside the shower… he peed. 

“Go back inside” 

Heechul was doing his best to not scream or strangle the toddler. He moped the floor quickly while Kyuhyun waited patiently in the shower. 

“Kyu is sowy” - Kyuhyun sobbed - “Sowy, dada! Sowy!”

Heechul melted. It wasn’t his favorite way to start the day… but Kyuhyun was a toddler. And Heeyeon was right when she said he was just a small boy needing his parents. Getting mad at him wouldn’t change anything, it was just going to make it worse and hurt them. 

“No, Kyu. Dad is sorry” - Heechul kissed him - “You told me you had to go and I didn’t help you. That one is on me, ok? It doesn’t count as an accident” 

“Kyu wet bed ‘gain” - Kyuhyun sulked - “No good…” 

“About the bed… you probably didn’t put well your special underwear” - Heechul was washing him again 

Kyuhyun’s ‘special underwear’ were bed wetting pants. Those were reusable and looked more like common underwear. That way the boy didn’t feel bad wearing ‘diapers’ and the bed was supposed to stay dry. So far, they worked just fine. They couldn’t hold that much as a diaper and only leaked during a ‘heavy’ night. However, just like with any other diaper or training pants… there was a trick involving boys. There was something you needed to make sure of not matter what. 

“Show me how you wear a pull up” 

Heechul was letting the toddler dress himself. At nights, Kyuhyun was in charge to change himself into his special underwear. Giving him responsibility made him feel like a big boy.

“See? That’s the problem” - Heechul held the pull up waistband with a hand - “Where is your willy?”

“Hewe” - Kyuhyun pointed at it. The boy knew his body parts well enough to know that 

“and is pointing ‘up’, see?” - Heechul showed him a finger - “We put it pointing ‘down’ like this, ok? If not, when you pee… it goes out” 

It was common knowledge for every single boy parent out in the world. That, and covering yourself when changing a diaper. But Kyuhyun was a toddler so he didn’t know that. He probably just put his underwear without noticing where was he aiming at. 

“Wahhh” - Kyuhyun was happy with the lesson. He would remember it this night - “thank u!”

“Thank you? For what?” - Heechul found funny Kyuhyun would be so thankful over something like that - “Its daddy’s job to teach you this stuff. You are a boy after all” 

“I love you, dada” - Kyuhyun hugged him in such a sweet way… Heechul didn’t care the way his morning started. In fact, if he was going to get rewarded like that, he wouldn’t care repeating the same all days. 

“Did you bring the laundry basket?” - Heeyeon was done making breakfast- “Such a good boy! Did you do it all by yourself or daddy helped you?”

“Dada helped” - Kyuhyun mumbled shyly - “and Kyu peed towel too” 

“Ok, and what do we do now?” - Heeyeon pointed at the little basket- “Do we let it here?”

“No, we do waundwy” - Kyuhyun pointed at the laundry room - “Wazzmawine”

“In the wash machine, right? You need to use the one that is empty” - Heeyeon patted his head - “Can you do it? Can you put this inside?”

“Yeah!” - Kyuhyun was disciplined. He went to the laundry room followed by his uncle. 

Leeteuk helped the boy opening the wash machine door. He let the kid put the wet towel and his clothes inside. 

“Now?” - Kyuhyun asked carefully. He didn’t know how to start it - “Pwezz button?”

“Yeah, but… that’s not Kyunnie’s job” - Leeteuk ruffled his hair - “Yours is done now. I will set it later after making sure there is nothing else we need to add” 

“Zoap” - Kyuhyun pointed at the detergent - “Kyu addz zoap”

“That wasn’t what I meant but… oh, I knew it”

“Uncle…” - Eunhyuk was holding the small laundry basket he shared with his brothers - “Hae and I…” 

“Just place it inside, ok?” - Leeteuk smiled softly- “I will put it to work once we make sure no one else needs to wash something urgently” 

“You mean, until you make sure no one else peed their underwear” - Kangin teased from behind 

“I didn’t! Mine is dry!” - Siwon shouted from the hall 

“Minnie didn’t either” - Sungmin joined 

“Wookie no wet~” - Ryeowook sang merrily 

“Fine” - Leeteuk laughed - “I will show you how it’s done”

“WHOAAAAH” - the kids clapped when the wash machine started working 

“UNCLE YOU ARE SO SMART!” - Donghae hugged him 

“You think so?” - Leeteuk blushed as the kids praised him - “It’s not big deal”

“Yeah, It’s not that awesome” - Kangin scoffed - “I could do that” 

“Really?” - Heechul heard him - “I would like to see you try” 

“You just need to roll this to get to the option you want and then press start” - Kangin rolled his eyes - “Videogames are more complicated” 

“Well, if you really think so… I’m letting you do laundry in exchange for money” - Heechul cleared his throat - “But not only putting the machine to work. You will sort the clothes by color, choose the right detergent and hung it up to dry once it’s done” 

“For real? Would you pay me for that?” - Kangin eyes sparkled- “IM IN” 

“If you do so regularly, I’m increasing your allowance” - Heechul smirked - “What do you say?” 

“Why are you giving Kangin a raise?” - Yesung protested - “He is younger than me! He shouldn’t get a bigger allowance than me!”

“I haven’t given him any yet” - Heechul ate breakfast - “He has to earn it. We made a deal”

“Which one?” - Yesung was interested 

“If he takes care of laundry, I will increase his payment” 

“That’s silly! Are you saying you would increase mine if I did some chores?!” 

“Uhm… yeah” - Heechul had another bite - “of course” 

“Cool! Which ones should I do?” - Yesung smiled widely 

“I want to do it too” - Siwon raised his hand - “I want money!”

“Money? Me too!” - Eunhyuk was definitely going to earn some. Kid loved money. 

Heechul looked at the other adults for ideas. 

“Well, there are many chores that need to be done” - Leeteuk explained - “For example, taking out the trash, cleaning the toilet, doing the dishes, setting the table, vacuuming the floor …”

“I’m doing the dishes” - Yesung was quick to choose 

“Set the table!” - Siwon followed 

“That’s unfair!” - Eunhyuk whined - “some are harder than others!”

“That’s right… for making it fair, we are going to divide the chores taking into account your age and abilities” - Heeyeon proposed - “And for being even fairer, you will have different ones each day” 

“Sounds… fair” - Yesung agreed on that - “I guess Kangin and I are in the same group?”

“I’m going to win this” - Kangin smirked - “I’m going to be the top scorer in our category!”

“That’s silly, we are just two” - Yesung giggled - “But hey, challenge accepted” 

And so, after taking the kids to school, Leeteuk found Heeyeon working on a big board.

“What’s that?” - Leeteuk found it cute - “Ohhh, it’s for the chores” 

“Yup. These are the days of a week” - Heeyeon explained how it worked - “each color represents a child. And we use these magnets to choose the chore of the day”

“Sounds like fun” - Leeteuk played with a magnet - “is this one for cleaning toilets?”

“Yes” 

“I’m giving it to Kangin” - Leeteuk placed it for the day - “I’m done with him peeing on the seat”

“It’s him?” - Heeyeon nodded amused - “I wasn’t sure who did it”

“It’s him” - Leeteuk rolled his eyes - “His aim is terrible. I have told Heechul about it but nothing we do has worked… but, maybe cleaning his own mess will show him some respect”

“Sounds nice” - Heeyeon giggled - “If that the case… then, Donghae is in charge of vacuuming the floor. He eats like a parakeet… leaving crumbs everywhere” 

“This is fun” - Leeteuk was holding several magnets

“Yeah it is” - Heeyeon agreed

After working hard and laughing the whole time, Leeteuk and Heeyeon shared a cup of tea. They were both tea lovers… even if one of them liked it hot and the other cold.

“You always drink ice tea” - Leeteuk - “Don’t you like a warm cup of tea?”

“You sound like daddy” - Heeyeon chuckled - “But no, Im not very fond of hot beverages”

“I thought you liked hot choco”

“That’s an exception” - Heeyeon laughed - “Who doesn’t like a hot choco cup with melting marshmallows?”

“It sounds really good, actually” - Leeteuk agreed - “But you know what I really want now? Cinnamon rolls” 

“Are you kidding me? You like those?” 

“Why? Don’t you?” - Leeteuk feared the answer

“Those are some of my favourites” - Heeyeon smiled pleased- “Are you telling me we share something in common?”

“You didn’t expect it?” - Leeteuk was amused - “We are related, aren’t we? We took the test three times!”

“I know!” - Heeyeon blushed - “It’s just… I’m so happy I have found my brother” 

“Well, I found you” - Leeteuk chuckled - “I was the one who came to the city” 

“And Heechul brought you here” - Heeyeon said dreamily - “It was almost like we were meant to meet. I had like to think… that Hani helped us from heaven” 

“I’m sure she did” - Leeteuk kissed her in the head - “Heeyeon, Im glad you are my little sister”

“And I’m glad you are my big brother” - Heeyeon said shyly 

“No, I truly mean it. I always worried I wasn’t related to good people” - Leeteuk confessed - “I read my file several times and… I couldn’t help thinking that maybe, I came from a bad place… and… Heeyeon, no, it’s not—“

Heeyeon was crying. Leeteuk felt like crying too. He just wanted to do so, but he felt like he should just make sure she wasn’t getting the wrong idea. 

“I- I… during these past weeks…” - Heeyeon sobbed - “I-I w-wanted to know it so b-badly… Because deep inside I knew w-we were related but… I wasn’t brave enough to ask you for a test because…” 

Leeteuk suspected the reason. He hugged her. 

“It’s ok, we are fine now” - Leeteuk felt his heart aching - “everything is going to be ok” 

“Because I feared the truth…” - Heeyeon did her best to calm down - “Because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know why you were separated from us… I was so scared thinking—“

“Heechul told me Hani said my—our parents were devastated” - Leeteuk said softly - “So, you can stop worrying about that. I was a loved child. Whatever happened to me… they didn’t want it to happen” 

Heeyeon nodded in understanding. She cried for a while. She was so overwhelmed thinking all nights in ways that Leeteuk could have gotten separated from them… and then, she felt guilty for being ‘the lucky’ one. She got to stay in the family… she was raised by their relatives with so much love… she got to meet their older sister. In fact, they were very close. So, yeah. She felt awful knowing all opportunities she had compared to her brother. 

“Don’t cry, let’s think about something else” - Leeteuk wiped her tears away - “you know? when I first met you I thought you would be one of those full flower pink things girl” 

“And… I am not?” - Heeyeon wiped her face - “are you telling me Im not as girly as you thought?” 

“Not exactly” - Leeteuk chuckled - “I mean, I thought you wouldn’t survive to nine boys” 

“What?” - Heeyeon finally smiled - “Why?”

“Because… they are boys” - Leeteuk did a funny face - “and you  are a very cute girl. So, I didn’t think you would adapt to fart jokes and boys peeing in the garden” 

“That’s nothing to worry about… Heechul is pretty much the same” - Heeyeon teased - “And the boys are really cute” 

“Yeah, but… It’s fascinating. You are so calm about everything” - Leeteuk massaged her shoulders - “You didn’t struggle changing diapers or stripping wet beds. You don’t care when kids get into your bed at midnight… You enjoy messy meal times” 

“So?” - Heeyeon giggled - “I think all those are cute” 

“I can’t believe there isn’t anything you haven’t adapted to yet” - Leeteuk scoffed - “I mean, there MUST be something… but I can’t tell what is it” 

“Oh, trust me” - Heeyeon paled - “There is something” 

“What is it?” - Leeteuk was curious - “Smelly feet? Sweaty boys after soccer? Spit competition?” 

“None of those” - Heeyeon shook her head - “But the thing I don’t ever think I will adapt to… the one I can’t handle… I already told you” 

“You did?”

“Im pretty sure I did” - Heeyeon raised an eyebrow - “And if I didn’t, I’m certain my face gave me away” 

“I can’t remember anything like that” - Leeteuk thought for a moment - “Blood? Needles ? No, that’s Heechul…”

“You really don’t remember?” - Heeyeon laughed - “Well, I hope you never find out” 

“What is it? Cmon, tell me” - Leeteuk tried - “Heeyeonnieeee” 

“Now you are acting like Heechul” - Heeyeon - “Stop it, I’m not telling you~ Soon or later you will find out or just remember it” 

“Fine” - Leeteuk hugged her - “But whatever it is, I bet is nothing to worry about. You are the best mother to the boys… and I doubt that ‘thing’ can change that fact”

“Well…” - Heeyeon had her doubts 

“Teuk, have you ever played Harvest moon?” - Heechul was getting Leeteuk’s attention as the man read a book - “No? Story of season? The one of the farm…?”

“No, I’m not a gamer” - Leeteuk was used to Heechul’s nagging about things like that - “Why?”

“Well, in those games… you are a farmer and you run your own farm” 

“Uhum” - Leeteuk wasn’t really understanding why was Heechul talking about it

“But is sort of like a magical world… and there are these little creatures with pointy ears called ‘harvest spirits’ that you can hire to help you in your farm with the chores…”

“I see where this is going” - Leeteuk sighed as he closed the book 

“At the beginning, they really at the chores and you basically endure hiring them for nothing” - Heechul did a funny face - “but then, they start getting better at the chores and you can laze around while they basically run the farm themselves”

“I recommend keeping low expectations” - Leeteuk chuckled - “that’s not going to happen here. The boys are not going to ‘run the house’ themselves”

“But… it will get better right?” - Heechul tried - “Like… less work to do?”

“I hope so” - Leeteuk shrank shoulders - “But this is not about having less work to do. It’s about teaching them independence”

“Suuuuuuure” - Heechul smiled naughtily - “Independence”

“I hope you don’t try anything stupid” - Leeteuk warned him - “Ruin this and you will be doing all chores yourself” 

Turns out, Heechul was somehow right. The kids didn’t do well their chores the first day… but at the third one, you could tell the difference of having many helpers around. Leeteuk found himself having less laundry to do, less clothing to fold, less dishes to wash… everything seemed to be marching. The younger boys were also doing chores like feeding the birds or cleaning the rooms. 

“This go here” - Ryeowook placed Henry’s toy inside the toy box - “and this… too”

“Can you lift your feet please?” - Siwon was vacuuming the floor - “Thanks” 

“Uncle, can I take this glass to the kitchen?” - Kangin was asking him about the empty glass next to him - “Or you need it?”

“I’m already done, Honey” - Leeteuk smiled pleased - “Thanks”

The kids worked hard. The house looked way cleaner than before… and it was never ‘messy’ to begin with. The boys didn’t get exhausted. Each day they were assigned just a simple chore… but being eight the ones that could fulfill them… It ended being easy for them but a lot of help for the adults. 

“I must admit I’m impressed” - Leeteuk slid his finger on a table. Clean.. there wasn’t a single speck of dust - “I never thought they would be so good at this” 

“I love capitalism” - Heechul smiled pleased - “If I knew they were willing to do all these for a few extra bucks… man, I wouldn’t have agreed to ‘free’ allowance in the first place”

“Just make sure of not exploiting children” - Leeteuk joked - “I think this is all good… but they are still kids” 

“I know that” - Heechul leaned on the couch enjoying his free time - “But now, I have more time to myself and—“

“Dada!” - Kyuhyun sounded in distress - “Pwease Hewp Kyu!”

“Where are you?” - Heechul asked fearing the answer 

“Toilet!” 

“He probably pooped” - Leeteuk warned him - “And he needs assistance to—-“

“Wipe his Royal ” - Heechul teased 

Heechul wished it had been that. He truly did. Leeteuk couldn’t believe it when he heard Heechul cursing out loud. He rushed to the toilet and found the reason. 

Kyuhyun probably had an accident in his underwear… and tried to take care of it by himself. But… toddlers were messy. There was poop everywhere. He didn’t understand how could someone make such a mess trying to clean one… but the restroom was definitely going to be hard to clean. 

“Kyuhyun, are you insane?!” - Heechul was scolding him - “Look at the shower! What hell boy? How could you— oh, no no no… don’t cry” 

Heechul felt like the worst parent award was given to him when Kyuhyun started crying. He was mad, yes, but the kid just tried his best. It wasn’t his fault at all… and yelling at him was plain cruel. 

“Kyu wanned to hewp…” - Kyuhyun cried - “But no go well!” 

“I see…” - Heechul was having a hard time. He still wanted to scold him and shout how annoyed he was… but again, Kyuhyun was three…

“Oh God” - Heeyeon arrived at the scene - “Kyunnie, are you ok?” 

“Mama, Kyu twied to hewp—-“

“You did? Aww, how cute baby” - Heeyeon was already carrying the dirty boy carefully - “But when we have poopy accidents, we need more help ok? For that one we call an adult” 

“Kay” - Kyuhyun sniffed 

“We can start cleaning the restroom” - Leeteuk gave a nudge to Heechul- “You take care of Kyu”

“Sure” - Heeyeon smiled to the boy - “Mommy is so proud of her good boy. He meant well” 

“Whatever she is taking…” - Heechul told Leeteuk as they looked for the mope and several supplies - “I want some” 

“She really loves the boys”

“And so do I!” - Heechul whined - “but that restroom over there is full of . And she barely reacted to it! So, either she is on drugs or women are made differently”

Leeteuk rolled his eyes. Truth to be told, of course he was shocked by what Kyuhyun did. But it wouldn’t be his first time cleaning a mess like that… and he would have definitely handled it better than Heechul. Everyone would react differently but that didn’t mean one loved the kid more than other. They just had different personalities and each of them had things that they considered ‘upsetting’. 

After the situation was cleared off, Heechul deeply apologized to Kyuhyun. The toddler held no grudge and didn’t understand at all why his dad apologized so much. 

“Kyu wuvs Dada!” - Kyuhyun snuggled with him - “Dada dun be sad!”

“He is an angel” - Heechul felt sorry for reacting wrong earlier - “I don’t deserve such an angel”

“Kyu wanna sing you a song” - Kyuhyun said softly - “The tadpole song”

“Alright, I do deserve this” - Heechul bit his lips. He hated that song. The song itself had nothing wrong… but his boys were obsessed with it and he heard it all time. 

Heechul was distressed again by dinner time when Kangin broke something while doing the dishes. Again, even if they had to help cleaning pieces of a broken plate… he had no heart to discourage his son from doing the dishes. And he had to learn someday anyway… better doing it now that he was cute and Heechul couldn’t complain that much. 

His stress only kept growing. He received a pile of folded clothes from Siwon and immediately pulled his ear. 

“What happened to my shirt?” - Heechul asked in a stern tone 

“I don’t see the problem…” - Siwon sulked 

“It was WHITE before” - Heechul couldn’t believe it was now pinkish - “What happened to it?” 

“I don’t know” - Siwon pouted - “I just fold the clothes. The triplets were in charge of doing the laundry” 

“Oh, about that…” - Sungmin apologized and showed him a red bodysuit that probably belonged to Henry - “We missed this” 

“You brats…” - Heechul bit his tongue. No, no no. They were like the harvest spirits. They just needed to learn - “Minnie, we check the tags to see if we can wash them with other colors—“

“I know, but we didn’t see it” - Sungmin sulked - “Next time Uncle says we should shake clothes to make sure we don’t mix anything we don’t want”

“Uncle is very wise”

“And he is wearing pink socks now” - Sungmin sighed - “We are sorry for causing troubles…”

“You are still learning. It’s normal to make mistakes” - Heechul was sure the boys would get better at it - “I love you, Minnie” 

“Love you too, papa” 

Leeteuk found himself struggling to not say anything when Ryeowook had the brilliant idea of putting Henry toys away from the boy… so he couldn’t make a mess. Of course, Henry cried and hit a tantrum realizing his toys were gone. 

“That’s not how it works” - Leeteuk explained to the boy - “Your duty is to clean after Henry… not to prevent he makes a mess” 

“But Henwy is soooo mezzy” - Ryeowook sighed - “Wanna do som’thin else…”

“Mmmm” - Leeteuk thought of another chore Ryeowook could do - “What about cleaning—- oh, Eunhyuk is doing it” 

Ryeowook sulked. He wanted to help too… but young toddlers like he and his twin barely could do more house chores than putting their toys away. He weren’t good at folding clothes and they were still too clumsy… 

“Something to do? This one is suitable for you” - Heechul took Ryeowook to his office - “See this chaos? I need to separate this folders from those” 

Ryeowook inspected the job he had to do. Heechul was asking to separate documents based on the folder color. He could do it. 

“Kay” - Ryeowook sat on the floor and started working carefully. 

Heechul totally forgot Ryeowook doing the task… until he returned to the office and found two piles of neatly arranged documents. He later teased on, he would hire Ryeowook as his secretary.

“Wasn’t that shirt white?” - Leeteuk made fun of Heeyeon’s ‘new’ pink pajama - “Oh right, the triplets”

“Stop it, they did their best” - Heeyeon chuckled - “and it’s kinda cute this way too” 

“I thought you would be stricter towards clothing…” - Leeteuk squinted his eyes - “Since you love clothes so much…”

“I’m not dumb. I separated the delicate ones from the ones they can play with” - Heeyeon smiled - “I wasn’t going to risk they ruined my hard work” 

“Smart” - Leeteuk nodded - “Really smart” 

Being the oldest boy, there was nothing Yesung couldn’t do. He was pretty good at all chores. He also had this inner competition with Kangin and didn’t want to lose. He had his pride and would show off his skills to compare himself with the other kids. 

Problem was, there was one thing he refused to do. Heechul tried bribing him several times before but failed. This time, he was going with everything. 

“I will pay you extra” - Heechul tried - “and buy you a new videogame”

“No”

“Fine, uhm… what about duplicating your allowance?” - Heechul gulped down anxiously 

“For real?” - Yesung widened his eyes 

“Yeah! Do we have a deal?”

“No” - Yesung laughed - “I just wanted to see if you were willing to do so” 

“You brat…” - Heechul grunted - “Why dont you want to babysit Henry ?!”

“Because…. I’m not stupid” - Yesung scoffed - “Henry is my little brother and I love him. But he is a pain the ” 

“Language!” - Heechul complained - “and he is your baby brother! You are supposed to babysit him!”

“I’m not doing it” - Yesung folded his arms - “Go and assign me something else”

Heechul was pissed. So, he thought on giving Yesung the most displeasing experience possible.

“Go clean the toilets” - Heechul gestured him to go - “I want them really really clean. Sparkling and everything” 

“Fine” - Yesung actually preferred that - “I will take pictures as proofs. I don’t want you to say I didn’t do my job even if the triplets ruin it” 

“EWWWW” 

Heechul smiled when he heard Yesung screaming. He thought the boy would change his mind and babysit Henry. It didn’t happen. Yesung would rather clean the toilet than admitting he was wrong. Heechul couldn’t believe that out of his traits, he managed to pass stubbornness to all children. 

The week went by easily with the boys being busy between school, their extra activities and their chores. Weekend was nicer since it was time to spend in family. Sunday was filled with joy as Heechul treated them a meal outside and gave the kids their payments. 

The kids were hardworking and earned a good amount of money thanks to their commitment to the house chores. Yet, they didn’t stop being kids… so, most of them, instead of saving up or spending it wisely, took wrong decisions. Caregivers were too naive and didn’t pay enough to attention to what the kids decided to do. And that’s how, one by one, troubles started appearing. 

“Teuk, can you get the door?” - Heeyeon asked for help - “I’m busy right now” 

“Coming!” - Leeteuk opened the door. Two men were carrying a heavy package- “Ehm, Excuse me…?”

“Hi, Are you Yesung?” - one man asked 

“No… but it must be a mistake” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe it - “Yesung is eight”

“Is he? Whoah” - One man laughed - “Someone is in troubles then” 

“Yes, I can picture it” - Leeteuk frowned a bit seeing the large package in the living room - “Can you just…?”

“Since the boy already paid for it… we can’t” - the man felt sorry for Leeteuk- “But you can process a devolution later If you want”

“Thanks” - Leeteuk grew concerned. What did Yesung order? And specially… who told him it was ok to do so? 

“What’s that?” - Heeyeon was amused - “Did you order something?”

“Yesung did” 

“Ohhhh” - Heeyeon did a painful face - “Does Heechul knows?”

“I suspect he doesn’t” 

As expected, Heechul had no idea. The parent was rather confused. He thought Yesung would have ordered videogames or Lego… or stuff that suited better his age…?

“That’s a computer” - Leeteuk frowned - “How much you paid him for the chores? This is way too much, Heechul”

“Not exactly… I mean, he has been saving money from a long time and… he earned a big amount not long ago” - Heechul bit his lips - “But I never thought he would buy this” 

“I see nothing wrong” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders - “He paid it with his money, right?”

“That’s not the point” - Leeteuk shook his head - “He is not even nine yet. He is too young to own a computer and have access to it all time” 

“Oh, you mean internet” - Heeyeon cleared - “It’s ok, we can use parental control” 

“I guess we should try that…” - Heechul shut his eyes. There was no way they would convince Yesung to get rid of the new computer… Heeyeon‘s idea was less aggressive - “And set some rules… like how many hours a day and so” 

Leeteuk worried a little bit less when Yesung confessed he wanted the computer to play minecraft and do school projects. 

“Because, sharing a computer with them is chaotic” - Yesung accused his siblings - “They have deleted my homework by accident more than once!” 

“We understand that… and we are going to let you keep it” - Heechul explained carefully - “But you have to promise us that you will use it for good things” 

“I want to play minecraft” - Yesung shrank shoulders - “can I do that?”

“But you are not allowed to go multiplayer with people you don’t know” - Heeyeon rushed to clarify - “So, unless you know the other kids… I don’t want you online talking to strangers”

“Ok…” - Yesung was a bit sad with that, but still, single player mode was better than nothing - “I hoped I could make online friends…”

“You are still too young for that” - Heeyeon was firm - “and I know you mean well, but not everyone playing online has good intentions” 

“Fine” 

“With great power comes great responsibility” - Heechul teased 

“Are you quoting uncle Ben from Spider-Man?” - Yesung sighed - “Anyway, I’m happy since you let me keep it… I won’t let you down. I will be good” 

If Leeteuk thought his biggest worry would be about Yesung having a computer… the others proved to be completely unreasonable. At least Yesung spent his money in something good and durable… his brothers basically ‘ate it’ and of course, they faced consequences that night. 

“How come they have a sugar rush?” - Heeyeon couldn’t believe it when the kids went crazy - “We didn’t feed him sweets…” 

“Think again” - Heechul found a empty big bag of what it was once a huge pack of mini chocolate bars  - “Brats smelled like chocolate! I knew it!”

“Heechul, how many times will I tell you to keep your junk food away from them?” - Leeteuk sighed - “This is not the first time”

“I didn’t buy this” - Heechul glanced at Heeyeon who shook her head - “Wait, it wasn’t you?”

“I BOUGHT IT” - Siwon raised his hand up high - “I bought it to share!”

“Oh” - Heechul faked a smile - “we found the culprit” 

“I bought it with my money” - Siwon explained - “I asked for the huuuuuuge pack because I wanted to share with everyone!”

“Did you share with your classmates?” - Heechul hoped the whole bag didn’t end in his boys stomachs - “N-no?”

“Only Bummie” - Siwon shrank shoulders - “I don’t get along with the others yet… so…”

“Are you telling me you and your brothers ate this full bag today?” - Heechul wanted to cry - “for real?”

“I saved you some” - Siwon gave each of them two pieces of choco bars - “I also wanted to share with you” 

“That’s lovely, baby” - Heeyeon stepped up thinking Heechul would blurt out something - “but next time you should ask us before eating candy like this…”

“Am I in troubles?” - Siwon asked sulking- “I didn’t want to be mean! I wanted to be nice!”

“Sure, honey” - Leeteuk hugged him - “We understand! It’s nice you wanted to share with your siblings! It really is! You are so generous!”

“Maybe we should ‘share’ the headache too” - Heechul complained. With the information they already had… he concluded that night would be chaotic.

“Please dont throw up, please dont throw up, please don’t—-“ - Heeyeon was somehow praying - “I beg you, please dont…”

“Oh baby” - Heechul found amusing Heeyeon still had hopes for it - “they will. Don’t get your expectations high”

Heeyeon wailed on the bed. Leeteuk found it cute. The woman was definitely naive if she thought kids weren’t going to get sick after eating so much candy. 

“I can’t handle vomit” - She left out - “I really can’t. Please don’t me go through this again…” 

“I thought you had overcome this” - Heechul teased as he read a comic book - “You did so well during the salmonella crisis…”

“That was different! And I did suffer too!” - Heeyeon was burrowing her face in a pillow - “I can’t do this…” 

“Babe, you won’t” - Heechul sighed - “Leeteuk and I will take care of them… you need to rest” 

“It’s not fair…” - Heeyeon sulked - “You guys will need help… and we are three. It doesn’t make sense I don’t help you” 

“I didn’t know this affected you so much” - Leeteuk worried Heeyeon was getting too stressed- “Its ok if you can’t do this. Heechul and I will survive and—“

“What kind of mother can’t handle sickness?” - Heeyeon whined - “Gosh, the kids deserve better… I at this… Cherry… my poor Cherry won’t have her mom holding her hair when…”

“She will have her daddy” - Heechul smiled- “Don’t worry about it. There are other many things you already do for them. You don’t need to be able to handle ‘everything’. “

Heeyeon hugged them both very tightly. Leeteuk felt bad as he could feel her shaking in fear. She wasn’t faking it. She was truly troubled by the whole situation. 

“So… let me see if I get it” - Leeteuk was her hair - “You can handle being peed on, cleaning a restroom full of poop, smelling sweaty dirty feet after dance practice or sports plays, getting sneezed on… but… if they throw up…?”

“Don’t judge me…” - Heeyeon peeked from behind the pillow - “I don’t really get sick that much. I didn’t have little siblings either… so, I guess I wasn’t used to it…” 

“Well, back at the orphanage it was common someone was sick… too many kids of different ages” - Leeteuk recalled - “I guess that’s why I’m immune to it. But Heechul…”

“University parties” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “Too much alcohol and weird mixes. It was normal to end throwing up and watching others doing so” 

“DADDY!” 

“It begins” - Heechul went out the bed - “Wish me luck…?”

Heeyeon hid under the blanket. Leeteuk giggled. 

“I will go help him, ok?” - Leeteuk said softly - “the others will start waking up too…” 

Heeyeon was living a nightmare. She felt useless hiding behind a blanket pretending to be asleep in case one of the kids asked for her… 

A few minutes later, she panicked when she heard footsteps inside the room. She was gathering all her courage when Heechul spoke softly. 

“It was Donghae” - Heechul explained - “But we got to the toilet on time. Same with Eunhyuk and Sungmin” 

“A-are they ok?” - Heeyeon asked sadly 

“They are fine. They just said their tummy hurt but felt better after… well” - Heechul kissed her - “Have some rest, ok? I worry about you too. It’s not good to stay up the whole night giving your condition”

“I’m not sick” 

“You are pregnant” 

“Ah, that’s right”

“I will go check on the boys” - Heechul snuggled - “Please try to sleep. Leeteuk and I will handle it well and if we are lucky… you won’t find anything different tomorrow morning” 

Easy to say so… but when you have kids with tummy aches crying for help and having a hard time… All help is needed. Heechul spoke too soon. He lost faith of having some sleep when Henry got involved. Taking care of sick kids because of too much candy was a thing… but an small toddler like Henry, needed stricter vigilance. 

Heeyeon couldn’t sleep at all. She would doze for minutes and then woke up again due to the noise or her own guilt. She finally gave up trying to sleep and just read things online in a try to distract herself. 

“Babe, go to sleep” - Heechul scolded her as he got inside the room to change clothes - “at least one of us need to be in shape for the day…” 

“Why are you getting dressed?” 

“In case we need to take Henry to the ER” 

“IS THAT BAD?” - Heeyeon was already crawling out of the bed - “My poor baby…” 

Heechul couldn’t convince her to go back to bed. Despite all her fears, she convinced herself to face the challenge. 

“Heeyeon, there is no need to push yourself” - Heechul reassured - “We can handle it” 

“I know you can!” - Heeyeon pouted - “But… little boys need their mommy too. It’s not time to be a coward” 

Most kids were asleep again. Siwon and Henry were the only ones awake at the moment. The youngest seemed tired but didn’t look that bad. 

“Hi cutie pie” - Heeyeon tried - “Why are you awake? Is your tummy hurting?”

“I don’t feel well” - Siwon was gloomy- “It’s all my fault” 

“Oh, baby… it’s not…” - Heeyeon hugged him - “You did what you thought was something good. No one can blame you for it”

“I heard Daddy said Henry could need a doctor” - Siwon wiped his nose - “I didn’t want to hurt him… I just wanted to share”

“We know” 

“Mom, is Henry going to be ok?” - Siwon asked nervously - “He is so small… and… he doesn’t deserve this” 

“Go back to sleep, my prince” - Heeyeon kissed him - “It’s pretty late already. I don’t think you will go to school tomo— today” 

Siwon glanced at the clock. Supposedly, in a couple hours they needed to wake up to get ready for school. He doubted so. No one slept more than two hours straight. 

“I’m going to check on the others, ok?” - Heeyeon turned off the lights - “Sweet dreams” 

“I don’t want anything sweet” - Siwon - “Im done with candy for a long time” 
 
Heeyeon checked on Kangin. The kid was sleeping deeply. She fixed his blanket and made sure his pillow was placed well. She moved into the next room: Yesung was doing fine too. 

Having the three older brothers fast asleep was already a blessing. She just hoped the triplets were doing fine too. She found Donghae awake. 

() 

“Heeey” - Heeyeon cursed her own fate. It couldn’t be good he was awake - “Hi, Hae” 

Donghae did a face. Heeyeon took the kid out of the bed at full speed. They barely made it into the toilet. She couldn’t force herself to look, so instead, she just patted his back as a way of support. 

“You are doing fine… It’s almost over… “

Heeyeon wasn’t really sure if she was saying that to herself or the sick boy. She guessed it was probably the first one. 

“Now, let’s brush teeth…” - Heeyeon did reproving sound when she got his toothbrush- “Donghae… did you chew on this again? We changed it not long ago…” 

“Mommy” - Donghae whined - “Don’t scold me now” 

“Oh, sorry. You are right” - Heeyeon forgot about the damaged toothbrush- “Let’s just use it now and… we change it later for a new one”

“I want new one to be orange” - Donghae demanded - “Like Nemo”

(Nemo, of course) 

“Rinse well, Cmon” - Heeyeon was making sure mouth was clean - “Thats it, you are doing well”

“Mommy, I asked for you before” - Donghae’s voice was huskier than ever - “But Daddy said you were asleep” 

“I was… sorry” - Heeyeon lied - “why did you ask for—- sorry, stupid question”

“Cuz you are Hae’s mommy” - Donghae hugged her - “And you love me” 

“Dad and uncle love you too” 

“Yes, all my family loves me” - Donghae tried clearing his throat. It was no use - “Mommy, do you think Cherry loves me too?”

“She does” - Heeyeon nodded - “I’m really really sure” 

“Even if I wanted her to be a boy?” - Donghae asked in a low voice 

“She is sweet like candy ” - Heeyeon realized that it wasn’t very good to say so considering the situation - “Sorry, you probably don’t want to hear anything about sweets right now” 

“Why?” - Donghae rubbed his eyes - “I didn’t get sick from eating candy” 

“You did not?” - Heeyeon chuckled - “How many chocolates you ate, huh?”

“None” 

Heeyeon couldn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense. The kid was sick like the others. 

“Donghae, you need to be really honest with mommy” - Heeyeon faced the boy carefully- “Did you have any sweets yesterday?” 

“No” - Donghae shook his head - “I don’t really like sweets” 

Well, that was quite right. Donghae was the boy who didn’t like sweets that much. For the boy, fruits were a better treat than having chocolate or sweet cakes. Weird for being a child… but it was like that. Sungmin was the complete opposite… he loved sweets so much. Eunhyuk was picky even for those. 

“Did Sungmin and Eunhyuk have any?” 

“Minnie ate some. Hyukkie tried one… but spat it. He said it was weird” 

(Eunhyuk is highly sensitive. It makes sense he doesn’t like unknown things…)

Heeyeon put Donghae back to bed and went to check on the discarded empty package Heechul tossed in the trash can. 

Yeah, those were small chocolate bars… But they had a crunchy cereal inside. Eunhyuk disliked those. The kid wouldn’t eat them… and if Donghae confessed he haven’t either…then… the kids didn’t get sick from eating candy. 

She was about to share her theory with the others when she heard noise again. 

“Oh, someone got sick again” - Heeyeon fought her instinct of running away - “Fine, I can handle this. A good mop and—- This is horrible” 

She cleaned the mess diligently. She was somehow concerned she haven’t heard Heechul or Leeteuk said anything… and she could tell there was someone getting sick inside the toilet. 

(This wasn’t a little boy. I’m guessing Yesung or Kangin. Maybe Siwon? Toddlers can’t make that much mess) 

“Oh, Heeyeon” - Leeteuk looked terrible - “Dont worry, I will clean that—“

“Are you sick too?” - Heeyeon realized Leeteuk was too pale and sweaty for being fine - “Wait. Where is Heechul?”

“Over here…” - Heechul was even weaker - “I dont think it was the c— Ow!”

Heeyeon worried when Heechul ran back to the toilet. 

“It wasn’t the candy” - Leeteuk finished the sentence - “I think is something we ate on Sunday” 

“Really?” - Heeyeon grew concerned - “So, we are doomed” 

“Probably” - Leeteuk winced - “Are you feeling well?”

“Well, a little overwhelmed but… I’m fine” - Heeyeon sighed - “I think you need to rest” 

“The kids—-“ 

“I can take care of them” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “I have to” 

“Cool” - Leeteuk seemed to be doing worse - “I trust you, little sister”

Heeyeon had no time to answer. Leeteuk ran to another toilet at an incredibly speed. The busy woman checked all rooms to make sure the kids were fine. Apparently, they were doing better than the adults. They were all sleeping peacefully. Even Henry slept soundly in his crib. 

On the other hand, Leeteuk and Heechul were doing worse. It didn’t take long before she ended taking care of them in the same room. It was complicated since both of them were bigger than her and unlike a toddler you could carry… they were heavy. She found herself graduating from nurse school in a few hours. 

She was so busy trying to keep them alive until it was a reasonable hour to ask for reinforcements… that she totally forgot about her fears. She now understood how she survived the salmonella crisis: a biggest fear showed up and displaced her initial one. 
She was a little happy to discover that she was willing to do anything for the ones she loved. 

“Are you singing?” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe his ears - “After all this mess…” 

“Heeyeon, stop celebrating” - Heechul teased with a husky voice - “We are not dead yet” 

“I’m just happy” - Heeyeon stretched - “Its already morning. We survived!” 

“Yay” - Leeteuk was feeling awful… but Heeyeon’s randomness made him feel better - “We made it…” 

“I wouldn’t claim victory yet” - Heechul pouted - “We are not doing fine and you are a pregnant woman. Things don’t look good” 

“That’s why I asked for help” - Heeyeon was humming in a good mood - “Mom is coming to help” 

“Well, Mrs Ahn is really good spoiling kids” - Heechul relaxed on the bed 

“Oh” - Heeyeon shook her head - “I didn’t call MY mom” 

“DID YOU CALL MINE?” - Heechul sat straight up quickly - “Why would you do that?”

“Because you both are sick, duh” - Heeyeon folded her arms - “And I can’t really take care of you while having nine kids at home” 

“She has a point” - Leeteuk agreed with her - “and mom is very helpful at times like these” 

“Your dad is coming too” - Heeyeon left out 

“Good” - Heechul half covered his face - “The three of them are going to have so much fun” 

“Three?” - Heeyeon only took a few seconds to catch on - “Oh no… Heechul, tell me you didn’t—“

“Mooooooom!” - Yesung was calling from downstairs- “Nana and Pops are here!”

“Oh, she brought your dad” - Heechul found it funny - “Seems like the FOUR of them are going to have fun” 

“I want to kill you” - Heeyeon closed her eyes and breathed - “But you are sick. So, I will punish you later when you feel better” 

“Why would you do so?” - Heechul complained - “You called my parents too! I did the same because I was worried about you!”

“Me? But baby, I’m not sick…” - Heeyeon couldn’t get mad at him. Heechul was a good man… and he probably had good intentions

“You are pregnant” - Both Leeteuk and Heechul said at unison 

“But being preg— whatever” - Heeyeon put on a happy face - “I think you are right on this one. We need as much help as we can get, right?”

“Do you think ‘help’ will get along?” - Heechul asked doubtful- “I’m not sure witches and fairies like each other ” 

“Why not? They both live in the woods” - Heeyeon winked playfully - “I’m going down to say hi. Don’t die while I’m not here” 

“Sure, if I start dying I will just pause it until you get back” - Heechul agreed in a funny way - “I know you don’t want to miss it” 

“Don’t worry, Heeyeon” - Leeteuk pulled Heechul’s ear - “If he is joking like that, he clearly feels better” 

“Of course I feel better” - Heechul smiled in a silly way  - “If Mrs Ahn is here, that means we get to eat cake or cookies” 

“You won’t eat any of that” - Heeyeon stated coldly - “You are on a diet” 

“DIET? WHY?” 

“Seriously? After all we went through?” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe Heechul could think of food at the moment - “I also think is normal to eat less during the next few days” 

“DAYS?” - Heechul was about to cry - “Now I’m really dying!” 

————————————————————————————-

Author comment: 

Hehehe<3 I’m back. I didn’t forget you~ 
Hoping you had a great week and will have another good one! 

PS: for those wondering… last test results came out and everything is fine (^-^ )/ 
I survived the whole examination period woohooo~ 

Good luck to everyone studying!