If Kyungha knew she was going to be confined in a sketchy minivan filled with obnoxious children and a person with the big bolded S as an initial, she would have chosen to jump out of the window before they were speeding along the freeway at most likely an illegal speed.

She should’ve known better to trust Jongin with the wheel. Kyungsoo should’ve known better. With Jongin’s creative imagination, which only served him well as a film director, they could be reliving Fast and Furious, and that, Kyungha did not want to find out when she was done and dead like roadkill.

A week ago, Jongin had claimed with melancholy that he’d missed Mama Do’s cooking. Kyungsoo had agreed (to his demise) and suggested that they should take a road trip down to their mother’s place to celebrate Independence Day. Kyungha steadily agreed because, at the time, she thought oh, it’ll just be her, her brother, Jongin, and Jungkook. No biggie.

She was wrong. Jongin went all out and rented a Chevrolet Suburban. And to her horror, Kyungsoo happily played along and invited Sehun and Haeeun’s family. Kyungha wanted to cry because not only did that mean she had to endure an eleven-hour drive, but she had to endure it with kids, especially an evil child with the name of Taeyong.

On the morning of July 3rd, at 4 AM in the morning, Kyungsoo came barging into her room with an expression of certainty. Kyungha was already awake, but she was horrified when it came to her attention that in fact, Kyungsoo was not a morning person, and he hadn’t had his morning coffee yet.

Also, Jongin was fooling around as usual with Jungkook and that certainly did not help the case. By 4:30 AM, the Do/Kim family packed themselves in the car, heading toward the Byun household. It was insane.

Kyungha’s jaw dropped when she saw little Taeyong running on the streets . Kyungsoo had to rub his eyes twice before asking his husband, “is that Tae?” The child seems to have no sense of shame as he ran around, jumping happily or catching butterflies or whatever four-year-olds did these days.

“I believe that is indeed our lovely troublemaker,” Jongin comments, shaking his head with amusement.

Kyungha carefully props a sleeping Jungkook back against his seat before running to catch the overly exuberant four-year-old. “Byun Taeyong!” She shouts, frowning because the little sees her, but he turns only slightly to stick his tongue out.

“You can’t catch me, you book whisperer!”

She chokes on her spit. “Where did you even learn that?” Taeyong doesn’t answer and turns to dash away from her.

Jongin laughs gutturally. “Ah, I remember the time when you were running around like this as well. It was the day I discovered that I wanted to make out with my husband.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “You must be quite proud of yourself. I’m going to find Haeeun and ask her why her child is in the middle of the street.” He turns to abandon his husband heartlessly.

Jongin sulks but follows suit. Meanwhile, Kyungha is struggling to catch up with the little devil reincarnate. He had the stamina of a bull, and she was starting to see that maybe this was karma for making Kyungsoo chase her around when she was in her diaper days.

Kyungha grins wickedly when she’s managed to trap Taeyong between two cars. The minute she tries to reach him. Bright car lights blind her, and she freezes for a split second. And Taeyong is smart. He uses her off guard moment to sprint away. She curses the driver with colorful language that Kyungsoo would probably dunk her head in soapy water if he heard her.

The driver, Sehun who she recognizes the moment he steps out of his car, lifts a brow at her. “Do I want to know why you’re playing tag with a toddler?”

She sneers, “well, do I look like a e to you?”

He chuckles. “I have a thing for convicts, so I guess that’s fine by me.”

Kyungha ignores him. “Let’s catch this er,” she says instead with determination. Sehun grins and tells her he’ll go the other direction.

Taeyong is squealing and kicking when Kyungha pulls him off of the ground into the air. Sehun offers to take the kid, but she shakes her head, mouthing to him that she was fine. He doesn’t listen and takes Taeyong anyway.

To her irritation, the toddler stops fighting and curls up against Sehun’s neck. She tsks. If Sehun was triumphant with his win, he wasn’t showing it. Instead, he puts his free arm over her shoulder, urging her in the house. She whips her shoulder away, scowling, but it goes unscathed by him. He hides an adoring smile.

When they walk inside the house, the situation isn’t any better. In fact, Haeeun’s house is utter chaos. There are random things scattered around the house. It ranges from diapers to toys. A lot of toys. Painful legos that she wasn’t fast enough to avoid. Kyungha was surprised at the mess since she knew Baekhyun was a neat freak.

Soleil, to her relief, is dressed and pleasantly dangling her feet from the high barstool. She was playing with her uneaten Nutella toast. Her eyes brighten when she sees the two. “Kyungie! Hoonie!” She cheers, throwing her hands up.

Sehun beams, blowing her a kiss that she cutely catches with her own lips.

Her forehead furrows down at the younger. “Sol, didn’t you know Taeyong was outside?”

She sighs, holding her hands up to her head. “Mommy and Daddy were frantically looking for him until Uncle Kyungsoo came in to tell us that Tae was outside.”

Kyungha snorts, “you’re telling me you lost track of a rabid four-year-old?”

“I have ears, you imbeseal!” Taeyong shouts with a grating voice.

She shoots a murderous glare at him, but he only turns his head with a huff. “Firstly, it’s pronounced imbecile and I can see you laughing, Hoon. Stop laughing. It’s not funny.”

Sehun bites his lips immediately. “Sweetheart, the late nights are catching up to you. You’re seeing things.”

Kyungha crosses her arm. “No, I can clearly see the stupid crinkles around your eyes.”

“Never in my life have I heard someone call these crinkles stupid. Women throw themselves at my feet when I smile,” he notes, but Kyungha can tell he’s only half-serious.

She rolls her eyes. “Stop laughing.”

“It's a little funny,” he retorts.

“Try being talked down to from a bratty four-year-old. Why don’t you just keep laughing?”

Taeyong butts in, “I may be bratty, but at least I’m not the one in the middle of heavy al tenseen.”

Sehun chokes out a cough, while Kyungha stares horrified at the toddler who’s mouth is years ahead of him. “Sol, what have your parents been feeding your brother?” Sehun asks, trying to contain his laughter.

Soleil hops off her barstool, abandoning her toast. She hums, tapping her chin. “Too much HBO for his big head.”

Kyungha hears the sound of grunting and groaning from the direction of the stairs. She turns her head to see Baekhyun and Kyungsoo lugging baggage behind them. Haeeun and Jongin follow behind with cheeky smiles.

“What took you so long?” She questions Kyungsoo who shoots her an exasperated look.

He answers unhappily, “packing because Haeeun is a terrible friend.”

Haeeun raises her hand in defense. “Hey, hey. Blame my husband. He was the one who wouldn’t keep his hands to himself.”

Baekhyun scoffs, “Eun, I strangely just recalled the memory of your mouth full of my di—“

“There are children here!” Kyungha interrupts, glaring pointedly at Baekhyun who purses his lips unapologetically.

Jongin smiles warmly, “can you believe this? We went from , stupid high school students to fully functioning adults.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t hesitate when he spews, “in my opinion, you still think with your di—“ Then, he realizes that Soleil and Taeyong are still here and clears his throat. “Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the ceiling, wondering what went through my mind when the words I do left my mouth.” An awkward silence falls in the room.

Sehun lets out a good-natured laugh. "Come on, guys. I’m pretty sure Jungkook loves both of his dads. Let’s keep it that way.”

Jongin throws his arm around his husband. “I love you. And I’ll still love you forever and ever, even though your punches hurt like a . In fact, I’ll be your . Just give me the word.”

Everyone laughs except for Kyungha and the two kids who blink innocently. But then Soleil asks, “what does it mean to be someone’s ? Can I have one too?”

And Taeyong asks shortly after, “I hate to ruin the moment, but my is still hanging out. Mommy, where are my clothes?”

Baekhyun whips his head to his wife so quickly that Kyungha’s surprised it’s still attached. “Babe, I told you to stop swearing around him. And are you still letting him watch—“

Haeeun is quick to roll her eyes. “Maybe if you stop trying to give them another sibling, then I wouldn't be blackmailed by my own child!”

And right then and there, for some apparent reason, Kyungha chooses to gauge Sehun’s expression. However, it seems he’s beat her to the chase because he’s coincidentally smiling at her, eyes twinkling. Kyungha doesn’t think Sehun expects her to return one because his pupils slightly dilate. And her heart squeezes.

Everyone manages to get a move on and into the minivan without any—Kyungha would love to say no hassle, but who was she kidding?—more big mishaps. She’d take that any day anyway.

The seating chart is decent. For now, Jongin is driving. Her older brother occupies the passenger seat. The next row down, Haeeun and Baekhyun are sitting with Soleil in the middle. In the very back, Kyungha is stuck with Sehun. She doesn’t mind Jungkook who is currently snoring away on her left shoulder. However, she still has the strong urge to strangle Taeyong who is bouncing on Sehun’s lap with endless questions.

Perfectly illegal, but no one had the heart to say no to the foxy toddler. So, Sehun was stuck with his very own agitator, but he showed no dissatisfaction. In fact, the man was in his element. Sehun had a big heart, and children had occupied most of it. Where Kyungha would search the trunk for a roll of duct tape, he had stayed absolutely levelheaded as he answered every single question from the younger.

Kyungha tries to shift further away from Sehun, but with four people in the back seat, what more could she do? Sehun seems to notice her discomfort, especially since Jungkook was pushing against her movements.

Without any warning, he tugs her in one fluid motion toward him. Her side clashes with his, but he doesn’t mirror her wince. Instead, he pulls the arm buried under her side over her head and rests it over her shoulder before she could sit up straight.

Kyungha wants to complain, but he’s annoyingly smooth. So disgustingly smooth. But not so surprisingly, she likes the warmth radiating from his body. His skin is soft around her neck. She closes her eyes, taking a whiff of forest and man.

“Are you comfortable?” He asks, breaking her daze.

She leans back, adjusting her nephew’s head on her shoulder. Then, she turns to meet Sehun’s gaze. “No, but do I really have a choice anyway?”

Taeyong sasses, “ayeee, you like it, noona. Why are you such a faker?”

Sehun snorts a laugh but closes his mouth when Kyungha glowers. “You heard what the kiddo said. Wise words from a little man.”

The toddler grins, “why thank you, Hoonie.”

She pinches the bridge of Taeyong’s nose, watching him hiss. “Don’t be smart with me, Tae. I can’t guarantee what will happen to you when we get out of this car.”

“Ooh, scary. Hoonie, was I supposed to be scared?” Taeyong mocks with no fear.

Kyungha reaches for him, but Sehun moves his body over the younger protectively. “Come on, sweetheart. What good will the dead body of a four-year-old do you?”

She grunts, “some self-satisfaction that I really could do with right now.”

Sehun wrinkles his nose cutely. “You got me. What do want? Praise? Hugs? Kisses?”

She ignores the last part and smirks, “are you offering your face for me to punch right now?”

He leans in close. “Sure, if it helps you sleep at night, sweetheart.”

Taeyong glances between the two with distaste. “Can y’all stop flirting? It makes me uncomfable.”

“Uncomfortable,” she corrects. “Tae’s right. I’m quite uncomfortable as well. Please cut it out.”

Sehun simply smiles with a knowing look on his face.

In another hour or so, Jongin kills the engine, telling them that it’s time for snack and pee break (his words, not hers). She had preferred to use less crude words, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

To Haeeun’s dismay, she’s shaken awake from her sleep by her husband so they could pull the seat out to let Kyungha out.

She’s never missed the ground more than right now. Kyungha takes her chance to stretch out her numb legs. Her was also pretty sore from sitting.

She whirls around unhappily when she sees that Sehun has followed her instead of gluing his down in his seat as he should’ve. “Don’t I just love it when you treat me affectionately?”

Kyungha shakes her head. “What do you want now?”

Sehun laughs incredulously. “Sweetheart, do I have to want something when all I want to do is hang out with you?”

She ignores him and enters the 7/11. She scans the aisles meticulously, marching toward the candy section. He follows her like the pesky person he is.

At this time, she has two important choices to make. White chocolate kit kats or regular kit kats? To her, it was the hardest dilemma of her life.

Sehun snorts, “sweetheart, what’s the holdup?”

She ignores him, focusing all her might on making the important decision.

He pokes her. “Personally, I’d go for sour worms because they’re the pinnacle of life. At least, that’s what a cultured person would think.”

Kyungha knits her brows together, staring at him like his insides were made of random squiggles. “You’re a psychopath,” she states outright. “Everyone knows kit kats are the best.”

His wiggles his index finger. “Nuh-uh, if people like Kim Kardashian were ambassadors for eating kit kats weirdly, I’m already turned off. Besides, chocolate gets tiring. Sour and sweet balance each other out.”

She clicks her tongue. “Stay turned off. I don’t need you to change my opinion.” And uncharacteristically of her, she adds, “Kit kats are the way to my heart. Remember that.” With a huff, she snatches both bags and gets in line to pay.

Kyungha walks toward the register, dropping her two bite-sized bags of kit kats on the counter. The middle-aged lady smiles at her, asking her about her day in which she replies a curt fine. Only the silent beep of the lady scanning her items echo until someone drops a handful of other snacks on the counter along with her other bag of kit kats.

Her jaw clenches when she turns to Sehun who is unapologetically dusting his hands. He offers her a cheeky grin. “I left my wallet in the car. Do you mind?”

Kyungha scoffs, “you leech.”

To which he gasps theatrically. “How did you know? But instead of blood, I prefer your affection. When will you give it up, sweetheart?”

The woman behind the register smiles adoringly. “Are you both…together?”

“No, we’re not dating,” she answers with a sharp certainty.

Sehun chuckles like she’s an idiot, but he finds it the most adorable thing in the world. “Yes, she’s paying for everything.” His was the correct answer because the lady continues to scan their items.

Kyungha’s cheeks flush red. For another awkward five minutes, she stands there, avoiding the gleeful smile Sehun had stopped trying to hide.

The lady hands her the bag of snacks after her card goes through. She winks at Kyungha. “He’s a keeper. Don’t chase him off with your attitude. Older guys could only handle so much.”

Her jaw unhinges as she stands there, stiff as a robot. She can’t decide to defend herself or brush the idea of Kyungha dating Sehun, the ever-annoying Oh Sehun, off.

Sehun holds her hand, only making the lady grin wider. He bids a polite goodbye and thank you; then, he pulls her out of the store.

Kyungha rips her hand out of his like any minute longer of skin contact with him, she would suffer from a first-degree burn. “Don’t.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him.

“Don't say anything. Just don’t.”

Then, she stalks off, her pride in the dust and dancing on his palms.

Sehun was partly correct. Her late nights did end up catching up with her. Jungkook was awake now, tapping off on his vintage 3DS. Taeyong decided to cling to his dad now, so there was one good thing. Sehun was reading an email from his colleague with a serious expression. And Kyungha was sleepy. Between the steady hum of the engine and the quiet bantering between Baekhyun and Haeeun, she felt like nodding off.

Kyungha decides whether she should lean on Jungkook or not. He was far too short, and it wouldn’t be comfortable.

Her eyes become too heavy to fight with, so Kyungha lets her body take over, and of course, the first thing it does is lean in Sehun’s direction. Her head falls right on his shoulder, between the crook of his neck. She turns her nose upright until it brushes slightly against his smooth skin.

Maybe she shouldn’t have sighed in such relief and snuggled closer to him. But at this point, his body was familiar to her and she didn’t have the strength to fight it.

The last thing she remembers is Sehun gently shushing Jungkook and a gentle hand combing through her locks.