Chapter 3

SM Global Artist Training Center

Nine pairs of sparkling eyes marveled at the building in front of them as they exited the minivan with their training gears. The SM Global Artist Training Center was a place where no mere mortals tread—at least to non-SM trainees.

“Pinch me. I must be dreaming.” Doyum tapped Byeonghee who was next to him.

“We’re having the same dream then.” Byeonghee replied.

The three youngest had their mouths slightly open as they marveled at the sight. Luckily, there were no lurking fans yet as it’s still in the middle of the morning, so they were able to slip into the building relatively well with the help of their amused father.

They were even more impressed at the interior of the building, but they knew they had to slip in to not gather any attention at them, but they were still gawking, either way. “This interior reminds me of Appa’s lobby.” Wumuti whispered at his brothers.

Hyukjae smiled at his sons as they marveled at the interior of his label. This was the kind of interior that inspired his dance studio, after all. When the group had disbanded, it didn’t mean that they quit the company. They were still under the company and the SJ Label. The group had just decided to focus on other areas of the entertainment industry, and for people like the K.R.Y. sub-unit, they decided to wreak havoc in the hearts of the trainees, hell-bent on cultivating only the best idols for the company.

No really the best thing to do for the three most evil members of the group, though they have to admit they produce great results.

The moment they got to the practice room that Siwon provided for all of them, all hell broke loose in the form of his squealing ex-members. It would seem that almost everyone was already there except for them, and were anticipating their arrival. Typical.

“Ooh! There they are!” Ryeowook exclaimed loudly, giddy at the prospect of seeing his hyung’s kids.

Hangeng, Zhou Mi and the others who simply back-read the chat last week were surprised at the crowd that Hyukjae had brought in, but not unwelcome. They have every intention of spoiling their ‘nephews’ as they had put it, just as much as they spoiled Sungmin’s now four year-old daughter Minji.

 “Wow. They don’t look like Eunhyuk.” Kangin blurted out.

Jungsoo rolled his eyes at his bluntness. Heechul had to elbow him for him to review his words.

“Way to be blunt. Different moms, remember?” Kibum told him.

“Oh,” Zhou Mi said as he approached Wumuti with interest, “You’re Wumuti from SWIN-S, right?” he inquired in Mandarin.

Wumuti nodded, “Formerly, but I left the group already…” he said, quite uncomfortable at the situation. “Zhou Mi…we had worked on the same promotional video three months back, right?” he recalled.

Zhou Mi nodded and pat his shoulder, “Well, this is a good thing, meeting again. I never thought you’d be Eunhyuk’s kid, but I can see the inheritance in your talent.” He praised. “And…I’m sorry for what happened a few months back…” For some reason, from Zhou Mi's observation, the boy averted his gaze.

Their conversation was halted when they heard a cough from the man in charge. “Mind introducing them to us, Eunhyuk?” Siwon, who was refreshingly in practice clothes, asked as he and their other ex-bandmates looked at the nine of them with interest.

Turning to his kids who were now lined up horizontally, and by age, he motioned at them to introduce themselves.

“I’m Kim Shihyun.”

“Wu Muti Tursun.”

“Lee Seunghwan.”

“Song Byeonghee.”

"Kim Junseo."

“Jeon Doyum.”

“Park Siyoung.”

“Soel Soin, or Suren.”

“Kim Jongwoon.”

“Please take care of us from now on.” The nine said in unison.

Hyukjae smiled in approval. “Happy now?” he asked his ex-members who had their hands on their chins. He knew what it meant. Teasing.

“No traces of anchovies.” Ryeowook said.

“I can't imagine them looking like Eunhyuk-hyung in their childhood.” Kyuhyun said.

“Way to go moms.” they all said in unison.

Hyukjae scowled, “Yah! What's that supposed to mean?!” he said as he approached the two youngest. The two, in turn, hid behind Siwon who was the nearest buff from their position.

“The fact that it's unbelievable that you produce cute kids.” Hangeng stated with amusement.

It was then when Yesung decided to speak. “I want to see what they can do, based on what Heechul-hyung told me.”

In one split second, the nine brothers all locked eyes, all of them expressing one thing: fear.

Hyukjae immediately picked up on it and was trying to stop himself from laughing at their fear. Instead, he turned to Yesung, “Why so interested in proving they're mine? Do you really doubt me?” he asked them.

“No. I just want to know how good they are. They're idol trainees, right?” Yesung raised a brow.

In an instant, the nine formed a single line and all hid behind their father. It seems that horror stories about Yesung was a bit too overboard if this is their reaction.

“No scaring them, hyung.” he playfully chided. He then faced his kids, “And you boys, whatever story of cannibalism and human sacrifices for youth you heard from others, it's a lie.”

From the widening of Yesung's eyes, he knew it wasn't the first time he heard of the rumors. It was then replaced with a scowl as he looked at the two people who has the highest chance of being the source of the story. “You two!” he called out at the two who were still hiding behind Siwon. “What thoughts have you been feeding the trainees?!”

Kyuhyun had the audacity to act all innocent. “What? We only told the trainees that if they aren't careful, you'd eat them alive.”

“And we all know how you get when someone screws up monumentally.” Ryeowook added.

Yesung didn't think twice when he started going after the two who ran for their lives from their ‘boss’ for dear life around the training room.

“Get back here you useless trainers!” Yesung shouted.

The nine boys watched as three fully-grown men run around the training room, with one of them gunning for their heads on a silver platter. Siwon and their father then approached the three running adults to stop the near murderous Yesung off the trails of the two devils.

How old were they again?

“Is it like this all the time?” Suren dared ask.

“No. Usually it would be Eunhyuk fighting with Donghae back in our day.” Heechul replied. “Though these two really do like messing with Yesung's training methods.” He told them with a bit of a smile.

This was not the first impression they were expecting of their father’s ex-bandmates.

It looked like not a single one of them were in their late thirties and forties.

They act like children.

They didn’t know if it made things comfortable for them or not.

“Donghae? As in, the actor Lee Donghae?” Seunghwan asked, eyes unusually bright.

Heechul hummed at Seunghwan, “You’re a fan?”

Seunghwan nodded enthusiastically. “I love the dramas he’s been in, especially the most recent one where he played the leading role of a blackmailed husband who was forced to divorce his wife and marry a .” He told him. “I followed him since four years ago!” he said enthusiastically.

Heechul laughed amusingly at him, “Then you will be in for a treat. He’s running a little bit late, but he’s on his way.” He told him. “In fact…”

The man was unable to finish his sentence as the door to the training room opened again revealing a very haggard Lee Donghae. “Sorry I’m late. There was some scuffle in my last shoot…” he excused himself.

It stopped the antics of the K.R.Y. sub-unit/trainers, and most especially, it stopped not only Hyukjae, but the said man’s heart.

No one seemed to pick-up on it except for the nine who knew their father well enough to know that Donghae was more than just an ex-member.

“Late is late, fishy.” Heechul chided as he gave him a hug. “Wow, you’ve gotten bulkier.” The man added as he felt his abs shamelessly. Typical of Heenim.

“Hey, I worked hard for it!” he protested. He was about to say more when he laid eyes on the nine teenagers a few meters away from Heechul. “Oh…hyung, these are?” he dared ask.

Heechul was a bit hesitant as he looked at the curious teenagers, but it was now or never, and Hyukjae is currently not in the state of mind to tell him. ‘Why do I always have to drop big bombs?’ he thought to himself. “They’re Hyukkie’s kids of course!” he said as he introduced them in age order. Donghae had to observe each one of them, trying to look for any resemblance they have with Hyukjae, but he can’t find anything.

“They don’t look like him.” he stated bluntly.

The comment awakened Hyukjae from his frozen state and frowned, “What do you know about genetics, Donghaek?” he frowned at him.

The nine were shocked at their father’s icy voice. They hadn’t heard that voice since someone instigated bullying one of their advanced team classmates, Eddie, just because he was openly gay, good with girl group dances and can wipe the floor with almost everyone with it, and not Korean. Hyukjae never uses his icy tone unless it really angers him.

“Enough to know that they’re not from the same woman.” Donghae returned.

Hyukjae was on the verge of committing murder. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Donghae, seemingly avoiding his icy voice when mad, simply shrugged. “Have you already started?”

Siwon shook his head. “Not yet, but Eunhyuk already prepared the sets, so we need to review them.” He then looked at the boys and pointed at the door across from them, “I also reserved the adjacent room so that you kids can rehearse your part in the concert, or to plan it, if you still have no decision in the interval performance.” He told them.

Shihyun, as the eldest and the spokesperson, bowed in thanks, “Thank you, Siwon-sshi. We’ll try not to make too much commotion.” He promised and one look from his brothers, they all went to the adjacent training room after giving their father a hesitant look, which instantly bothered Hyukjae.

When the doors closed, the nine heaved a sigh of relief at the tension that built up for the last five minutes.

…

“This isn’t the first time we’ve heard Appa’s icy voice, but it still scares me out of my wits all the time…” Byeonghee said as he tried to inhale and exhale deeply, calming himself down. They were now huddled in a small circle with Shihyun's tablet in the middle.

Wumuti and Doyum, who had been observing their father and Donghae since he arrived, thought that it was strange that the man had triggered something like that. Did they hate each other even from back then?

Luckily, Jongwoon found the words they were dying to let out. “Appa and Donghae-sshi might have a history which ended in disaster. We really shouldn’t dwell on adult matters.” He told them.

Doyum sighed. “Jongwoon is right.” He said as he stood up. “Come on. We’ve got to practice. We have to prove that we’re Appa’s kids, don’t we?”

And with that, the matter of their father was forgotten and nine pairs of eyes showed a look of determination and challenge as they all huddled in the middle of Shihyun’s tablet to plan their performance. After all, their Appa gave them free reign on what song of Super Junior they want to perform.

It took them thirty minutes to decide, and all nine of them were content on what they had decided.

Black Suit ☺

SPY- too complicated

Swing- too much props

Evanesce- can’t reach the high notes yet

U ☺

Rokkugo- Appa might kill us

Mamacita- too manly

Superman- TOO DEEP

FINAL DECISION: U and Black Suit

Shihyun looked back at his brothers, “So, is this the final decision?”

“No complaints here.” Suren agreed.

Wumuti nodded at Shihyun, “Now, what say we pull up some old videos? I’m dying to see Appa’s look evolution.” He said with a small smile.

There was really very little information that they know about the idol life of their father, and even after knowing him, they only knew that he was a member of Super Junior and had debuted back in 2005, where there is a lack of resources to know what their father had been up to throughout his career. They didn’t bother looking through old videos until now, with respect to their father, wanting him to tell them instead.

It didn’t stop them from looking at their sunbaes and hoobaes of SM though. They just stayed away from Super Junior-related content, wanting to hear everything straight from their father.

So far, DBSK are their favorite next to SHINee.

They only found out about their father's look evolution thanks to Heechul's big mouth, and they wouldn't let it slide that easily when Hyukjae had threatened Heechul with bodily harm if he had continued showing them old pictures.

They spent the next hour reviewing the choreography (while laughing at their father since he really did look like an anchovy with spiky hair in U. Clearly Visual Kei never suited him) with Doyum already coming up with the formation by doodling on his notebook.

They were too into their own little practice planning that they didn't notice someone watching them with amusement.

…

The moment the boys closed the door to the adjacent training room, Hyukjae sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “Great. The kids saw me mad…” he muttered.

Jungsoo gave the two a stern look, something that he has always done when he was really displeased. The other members couldn't help but feel lucky that they were not the subject of his ire. Park Jungsoo, a.k.a. Leeteuk the disappointed hyung is scary.

“Look. We all knew what happened between the two of you, but this is not the time to revisit old wounds. When you two agreed to be civil with each other after everything, I expect you to still act that way for the sake of the ELFs and our health. Even more so now for the boys, now that you're a father, Eunhyuk.” he lectured. “A father must not be seen mad in front of his children who does not even know the cause of it. From the looks of it, they were pretty shocked and a little scared at your change of mood and tone earlier.”

Hyukjae looked down in shame and a little bit of fear on the fact that his children might go on treading on eggshells with him. That was one of the things he didn't want the children to see as it may put a wedge on their still-growing bond.

“I'm sorry hyung. I'll try to control myself.” Hyukjae managed.

“If this is what it takes to make the concert a success, I'll comply.” Donghae agreed awkwardly.

Jungsoo found it good and nodded in approval. “Well then, shall we begin the meeting?”

…

Four hours.

That was how long it took for the nine of them to realize that they hadn’t eaten anything since they left the Seoul flat this morning after breakfast.

The one that tipped them off was Seunghwan’s stomach which has growled while they were working on a break dance that would be the perfect transition to Black Suit.

“And the black hole has spoken.” Byeonghee said with amusement.

“Well, it has been four hours since we went on it non-stop.” Jongwoon said as he looked at his watch. “We better get lunch before Seunghwan eats us all.”

“I’m not that bad.” Seunghwan said.

Byeonghee raised a brow, “The last time we left you hungry for more than half an hour, you bit me in the arm.”

“But that was when I was hungry and sleepy!”

Junseo sighed. “Can we stop by at the café we saw downstairs?”

Shihyun nodded. “But let’s tell Appa first.” He said as they all went to the door. They didn’t want to intrude, so they did the next best thing. Peek at the door.

Shihyun turned the knob carefully and slightly opened the door, and in a few seconds, nine heads appeared at the gap and watched fifteen adults dance to the choreography of SPY.

It was the first time they had ever seen their father perform with all seriousness without watching over his students, and it was also the first time they were watching veteran idols work hard as they pushed themselves to their peak condition in the name of their fans. Their father, especially, watched himself in deep concentration, moves never faltering even as they transition to another formation.

They didn't know how long they stared, but they were taken out of their reverie when the music stopped and Jungsoo spotted them gaping at the fifteen ex-idols.

“Well, look who's awed.” Jungsoo mused.

The adults couldn't help but smile as they saw nine heads propped up on top of each other on the doorframe.

Hyukjae chuckled, “Did you boys need anything?”

Junseo was the first to speak. “Seunghwan's black hole has awakened.”

“This late already?” Hyukjae looked at his watch. It was two and a half hours past lunch time. “We were too into it…”

“I guess this calls for a break.” Jungsoo decided. “Anyone want to eat out?”

Shindong held up his phone, “Already done. I told the manager to reserve a spot for us at our restaurant when I noticed it was lunch time and knew that we’d never eat on time. As always.” He told them with a slightly concerned look. “We really need to stop this habit of ours of being too into things.”

“We’re already in our late thirties. No use saying it now that we're old.” Hangeng said as they gathered to get out of the training room.

“Don’t you dare say that!” Heechul smacked his arm hard, earning a wince from the man. It was hard to remember that baby-faced Heechul may be, he was already in his forties according to Korean age. It didn’t really sit well with him much.

Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Henry snickered. As the three youngest, they always poke fun at the fact that their hyungs were getting older, and the one who hates it being pointed out the most was Heechul.

“Teukkie, I don’t look that old, don’t I?” Heechul asked his husband.

Jungsoo held his hands up in surrender, “Jagiya, if anything, you always look perfect to me.” He tried to soothe the man.

Right behind him, Kyuhyun and Hyukjae went close to the nine teenagers and made gagging faces, eliciting them to cover their snickers too.

“Ugh. Stop being so lovey-dovey in the middle of the corridor hyung, it’s sickening.” Yesung groaned.

Ryeowook huffed, “At least they’re showing they’re actually in love and not taken for granted.” He said with a slight sting in his voice.

The nine stared at each other, suddenly realizing something.

Most of the members are married to each other.

And they have front row seats to a lovey-dovey couple and one in the middle of a fight.

Siwon, noticing that the kids were a bit afraid that a lover’s spat would be broadcasted in front of them, laughed, “Don’t worry. They’ll make up before the day is out.” He told them. “Yesung tends to say some things that will really rile up Wookie, and well…”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, “The two are arguing because Yesung-hyung forgot their wedding anniversary will be next month, so he’s raging mad.” Kyuhyun said honestly. “I don’t think they’ll live this down anytime soon, Siwon.”

“I had to hope.” Siwon replied.

“It looks like I’m watching the beginning of a romcom that Byeonghee likes to watch with our moms.” Siyoung replied.

“Hey! They were good romcoms, and your moms agree with me!” Byeonghee protested.

Junseo snickered, “Such a mom-brother, you are. You always get along with our moms more than us. Even Doyum’s grandmother is close with you.”

“Not all moms.” Jongwoon corrected, reminding them of his own family dynamics.

Kyuhyun tilted his head to the side, “Your moms interact?”

Byeonghee and the three eldest looked at the man like he grew two heads. “Well, yes? We did need supervision when we see Appa at the beginning. Of course they meet with Appa when we’re at his place. Besides, he also gets a say in our gatherings and when they will happen, not to mention the time when he got guardianship duties during summer for us.” He listed with his hands, as if it was the most obvious thing to do when it comes to kids and adults.

“So this isn’t just a sleep and run then.” Siwon muttered to himself but loud enough for Shihyun to hear, startling him. “Well, it’s good that he has a good relationships with your moms. I’m pretty surprised of the turn-out considering he did conceive nine kids in four years.”

That was when the nine noticed one thing in the conversation with Kyuhyun and Siwon.

They didn’t know.

Well. This is going to be interesting.

TBC

You didn’t think only Eunhyuk and Donghae will have their own story, did you?

I plan to have this set mainly in the point of view of the nine teens, while adding some little things about what the SJ members are up to before this timeline. We do need a lot of scheming teenagers, and my notes are full of them! I can’t wait to actually put them in an actual chapter, but we’ll see. As for Donghae’s reaction, well, you can’t expect someone to react violently when there are over ten people present who knew their past, right?

All will be revealed in due time.

I didn’t expect you guys to like this story so much! 36 subscribers~ I don’t know what Upvotes are for, though, but I’m glad four people actually did it! Maybe I should take a chance and cross-post this with my Ao3.

See you all next chapter!