Seungcheol was sitting in the living room bouncing baby Chan on his knee. His cute babbling noises distracted him from all the other important things in life, which he knows is a bad thing but just listening to the adorable baby babble away he could die right now and have no complaints. "Aren't you the most talkative baby cutie pie?" he cooed. Chan responded with more pitched squeals and squeaks. 

It was lunch time so Wonwoo and Jihoon were busy in the kitchen, Mingyu the keeper of the living room while they were away. "Don't stick that in your mouth Seungkwan! You threw that on the floor just earlier! NO! Seokminie don't color in the books, those are for reading not coloring!" Mingyu was busy telling off the younger kids, using the power he was given to its maximum. Seungcheol would help him but baby Chan was just sooo distracting. "You cute baby~" Yeah, there is no way to save him.

The door rang, notifying him that Joshua and Hoshi had arrived. Taking Chan with him he greeted them with a grin. "Hiiii boooyyyysssss." He slurred. Joshua shoved his face aside and stepped in, giving the baby in Seungcheol's hands a pat on the head. "Bye moron, hi baby." Hoshi trailed after, his mind drifting off to elsewhere. 

"Children! Hyung-deul! Lunch is ready!" The pitter-patter of tiny feet on the hardwood floor thundered through the doorway, each one scrambling to their seats. "Up! Up!" Hansol chanted, standing by his high chair. Mingyu being the best older brother ever, picked him up with a grunt and strapped Hansol in. "Now what do you say, Hansol-ah?" He prompted his younger brother. With a smile with all his pearly whites, Hansol cheered a loud, "Thank you hyungie~". 

Ah! The children are teaching each other manners. My heart can't take it!! Seungcheol squealed internally; externally he was grinning ear to ear. Joshua was just as infatuated but he kept his cool better. "Come on you big baby, sit with them don't block the road." Joshua shoved Seungcheol forward. Hoshi once again was spaced out and just followed after Joshua. 

The children were eating well, baby Chan chugged down his milk a bit too fast for Jihoon's liking but everything was nice. None of them were making too much of a mess, not a single concern necessary for the children. So why was there still a grey cloud in the corner of the dining table? Wonwoo was trying to ignore it, since Hoshi was an adult and adults could deal with their own problems, but the rain cloud was still hanging around the atmosphere, dampening his mood.

"Hoshi hyung, is something wrong?" At the mention of his close friend's name, Seungcheol finally took a good look at Hoshi. He was expressionless but his eyes said that he was troubled by something. The lack of laughter and smiles was a little eerie but otherwise Hoshi appeared to be of normal health. "Hoshi?" Joshua reached over to draw his attention. His blank eyes met Joshua's before mumbling something. "...over." "What's going to be over?" "My music....over." "Honey, you better speak up or I'ma hafta whoop ya." 

"Once my music is done I can't contact Woozi anymore. My life is over!" Hoshi finally cried out. He was going into hysterics panicking over this fear. With the mention of Woozi's name, Jihoon and Wonwoo flinched, now fully concentrating on the conversation at hand. "You what now?" Joshua asked incredulously. Just because he wouldn't have a reason to talk to Woozi, his life is now over? That is called being dramatic. He sighed and rubbed between his brows. "Hoshi-yah, your song isn't done yet, just cherish what you have left." Seungcheol just rolled his eyes and continued to stuff food in his mouth. Not his concern. Wonwoo looked at Jihoon once before speaking up. "Hyung, maybe you can try asking Woozi if you could keep in contact about music. I'm sure this Woozi isn't that unreasonable." Wonwoo mused as if he was related at all. Trueth to be told, Hoshi has all the right doubts since Woozi never collaborated with anyone, never spoke to anyone, never seen in public. But, being half of Woozi and being the owner of half the persona, he could decide what could and could not happen. There's a first for everything.

"Really? You think so?" Hoshi blinked his wet eyes at Wonwoo as if he held all the answers to the world. Wonwoo suspected Hoshi was drunk but there wasn't any alcohol under Jihoon's care so that couldn't be the case. Or maybe he had a drink before he arrived? Maybe. "Sure. Why not." Once Hoshi was appeased, joy returned to the family around the table, no grey clouds in sight. Everyone was well fed, each and everyone had a wide smile, they painted a very nice family picture. 

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Jihoon was forced to stay in the living room as the older ones took over cleaning the lunch war. Wonwoo had some things to do, he sat in the far corner of the couch typing away at his laptop. The children were sated by food so their playing was less rowdy and more cuddly. The younger ones had fallen asleep, napping on the large bean bag courtesy of Seungcheol. Seokmin was dozing with Myungho at his side, flipping page after page of a picture book. Mingyu was sat next to Jihoon, hand fiddling with his hyung's petite hands. He felt the callouses and rough skin around the nail and on the palm, but felt at peace with the familiar feeling. "Hyung, your hands are getting softer. I like that." Since Jihoon and family had moved in, there was more often than not an extra hand to help in the kitchen. Seungcheol found every excuse to buy the best soaps and shampoos stocking up on products that were not harsh on baby skin. He unintentionally saved Jihoon's hands from further damage, but he would take full credit on that. Mingyu remembers when Jihoon and him had to work in the kitchen of the orphanage, Jihoon's hands soaked in water for longer than enough, then doing laundry after, fabric rubbing away at his already weakened skin. He continued to play with his hyung's hand, threading his own fingers through. "I wish hyungie's hands were as soft as baby Chan's chubby cheeks."

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Hi!

I have amazing news! I've been accepted for a fully funded study abroad in Korea! I'm going to be there for about a month starting the last week of June! I'll be in the city of Sokcho in person, the same city Jun's nephew's origin story was set at. What a coincidence! I must of predicted the future. I'm hoping that there will be enough time to write while I'm there but it seems the schedule will be running from 6 am until 8 pm most of the time. If it doesn't work out, I'll try to write longer updates when I return.

As always, thank you for reading! I love you ♡

BlueMoonStone