"Ten minutes, okay, boys?" 

Both kids gave Heechul a loud affirmation as they wasted no time and ran to the playground. Heechul pushed his blond hair back as he was getting comfortable on the bench with the kids' stuff beside him. It was a sunny day but he wished it was a little cloudy. He wished the sky respected his gloomy mood ever since he met Yesung two days ago. It was eye-opening as if that made sense. It was like he was forced to read the book he had written so far from the chapter where he selfishly left his friends for his family. And one thing led to another, he could not help but ponder on what had happened in his life as one of the pieces of this family ever since. 

"Knock knock?" 

Heechul turned to his right and his smile bloomed upon seeing his husband immediately taking a seat beside him, ping his coat. 

"Did you wait for too long?" 

Jungsoo said as he was busy rummaging his bag. Heechul glanced at the watch on his wrist and playfully replied, "Not too long probably like... an hour?" 

Jungsoo halted and gave Heechul the look which always earned Heechul's soft giggles. God knew why his heart still skipped a bit every time he heard Heechul's ticklish laugh along with the way his gummy smile shyly appeared, eyes turning crescent.

"Here you go, The Almighty Heenim," Jungsoo said as he handed a bunch of presents and chocolates to his husband, ignoring the pounding in his heart. It would be embarrassing if he caught red-handed acting like a teenager madly in love. Not knowing his husband's little issue, Heechul was a little perplexed as he looked at the beautifully wrapped presents, albeit his hands working on their own grabbing all the gifts. 

"What's all this about?" 

On that, Jungsoo inhaled deeply as his eyes landed on the kids playing on the swings.

"Those are from my students who happen to be your biggest fans as well. You know, the girls we met the other day."

Heechul could not deny the smile that immediately sat on his face as he found Jungsoo's tone a little bit suspicious. He just knew it too well. 

"Is my hubby jealous?" 

"Nope," Jungsoo quickly stated, "Well, maybe a little." 

Heechul put down all the presents and went to give his husband a small peck on the check which Jungsoo did not appreciate. He wanted more but he refrained himself; there would always be more later, tonight, tomorrow, and for the rest of their life. However, all of their little happy moment broke when they heard the kids' screaming. 

Heechul's heart raced rapidly when he saw Donghae already sitting in front of the swings while his older brother was still lying flat on the sand. Both parents leaped to the said place but the closer they got, the slower Heechul's steps were. This was a deja vu. He, the kids, Jungsoo—they had ever been in the same situation and the outcome was not good. His chest suddenly tightened afraid that he had to witness the same scene—that Jungsoo would break Hyukjae apart and he would drown himself in unwanted memories. 

But he was wrong; he was so wrong. Tears immediately pooled in his eyes when Jungsoo went to help Hyukjae to sit straight before checking up on the second son. His sanity kicked back in and he rushed to Hyukjae but Jungsoo, with Donghae on his hips, already came back to aid him. Heechul wordlessly took Donghae from Jungsoo and what happened next broke his prejudice. 

"You're okay, big boy? Where does it hurt?" 

Jungsoo carefully rolled up Hyukjae's pants when the kid pointed on both of his knees. Indeed, they were bleeding. He noticed that Hyukjae was still trying so hard not to cry but the moment the boy looked up at him, his defense tumbled down as he burst into tears. And his husband simply pulled Hyukjae closer and comforted the poor kid. 

"There there. It's alright. Daddy will carry you to the car. Everything is gonna be okay, Hyuk." 

Heechul was stunned, unaware that his own eyes were already too red to be left unnoticed. He was sure that it was the very same situation but he experienced it firsthand that even a hard rock eroded. He could only trail from behind the father and son duo whilst calming down his second son who looked a little better compared to his brother. 

"You have a bottle of water?" Jungsoo met his husband midtrack and was a little taken aback when he saw that Heechul was already in tears. But he had no time to be concerned about it when Heechul immediately showed him where he stored the water bottle. He glanced back at Heechul to check on him before he swiftly took the bottle and cleaned Hyukjae's wound with the running water from the bottle. 

"Let's go home, alright? We'll help you to treat the scars at home."

But instead of an answer, Hyukjae was just staring at him. 

"Hyuk?" 

"You're not m-mad, Daddy?" 

It just suddenly dawned on him why Heechul was close to crying and why Hyukjae was exceptionally quiet; even he was surprised. He could not utter anything as he immediately pulled his son into a hug and offered the best comfort he could do. He silently wished that it was enough to redeem any sin he had committed. 

"Why should I? It's an accident, Hyuk. It's all normal. I'm—" 

His eyes accidentally landed on Heechul and the latter was already staring at him. 

"Daddy is sorry if I ever got mad at you for something that wasn't your fault, to begin with."

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"Wait for a moment, okay? Daddy will help Maw to gather our stuff. It's not gonna be long."

Jungsoo closed the door of his car where the kids were already in and intended to go back to the bench when he saw Heechul walking towards him with all of their belongings. He immediately helped his husband to carry some of the things and put them in the back seats. He was about to get in the car when all of a sudden, Heechul threw himself at him. And just then, he finally realized he had another baby he needed to comfort.

"What's wrong now?" 

Heechul sobbed quietly and mumbled, "Thank you."

Though it was almost inaudible, Jungsoo caught the words, "Thank you for?" 

"For being the father for his kids. I'm so proud of you, Jungsoo."

He smiled a little and peeled Heechul's body off him so he could talk to him eye to eye. 

"Thank yourself, Heechul. Thank yourself."

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