"Ya Himchan! We're not daddies!" you heard Yongguk yell. Despite that, kids were already clamoring over to play with their newly arrived "daddies". You knew that he didn't really mind though. Despite his rough exterior he's a total softy inside. He even has a cute stuffed doll on his bed. You never saw it for yourself, but if Himchan says so then it's probably true.

"Hello Auntie. Hey Ji Dae" you heard from behind you. Your hand slipped a little on the apple you were cutting up. You put down both items before someone got hurt, and turn around. "Hey yourself Daehyun," you say with a smile. "The food will be ready in a little bit. Can you and the others get the kids to wash their hands?" He nodded. "Sure thing". He left the kitchen and a moment later the play room grew quiet. 

"Those boys sure are helpful," said Auntie. "They haven't been here as long as you, and yet they feel like they're a part of the family." You hummed in agreement as you returned to your work. It's only been a few years, but you really did feel as if they were your siblings. If I have them and Auntie and my parents, you thought, I don't need anyone else. 

As soon as you finished arranging the food the hallway grew noisy, and the kids came in single-filed. They sat chatting while waiting for Auntie to sit as well before digging in. They were a really good set of kids. You and Auntie had made sure they learned their manners, or there would be no food for them. You pulled a little girl onto your lap and began putting what she wanted on a plate. Since there was a limited number of seats, each of the guys also had a kid on their laps. Youngjae sat across from you. From what you could hear, he was telling his kid about the beta carotene in the carrots, and that he'd go blind if he didn't eat them. "That goes for other vegetables too you know. You have to eat the green leafy parts too." The kid looked terrified and reached for his carrots. You chuckled a little before shifting your eyes to the left. Himchan had taken your bunny-shaped apple wedges and was making hopping movements with it. The little girl squealed with delight before opening her small mouth to take a bite. Meanwhile, behind Himchan was Yongguk. What is he doing back there? you thought, craning your head a little. He had dropped to the floor and started to do push ups.. with a kid on his back. You've seen this happen before. He would make a deal with whichever kid sat on his back: as long as he's doing push ups they have to continue to eat their fruits and veggies. Before long, more kids asked to sit on his back, and never has he said no. He really does have their best interests at heart.

The girl in your lap wants more grapes, and as you reach over to the right to take a handful you see an unusual sight. Zelo and his kid are stuffing their faces with various fruits and making weird faces. Zelo, of course, is hogging the cherry tomatoes. "Zelo, share," you say, putting down the grapes and gently smacking his arm. He turns his face and makes an angry pouting face. Since his cheeks were already full from cherry tomatoes, his face seemed so out-of-proportion that it caused you burst into laughter. He couldn't stay mad either, and did his best not to choke on the food in his mouth as he fought back the laughter as well. He didn't notice that three cherry tomatoes had suddenly disappeared from his plate.

On the other side of Zelo, Auntie was having trouble getting a pair of twins eat their melon. At such a young age, it's important that they try as many foods as possible so they don't get picky later, she had told you. The twins were always hesitant to eat food they didn't already love. Thankfully, Jongup showed up right then with some melon on his plate. "Is everything ok Auntie?" he asks sweetly, putting a piece of melon into his mouth. "Mmm, pretty good~" he says, closing his eyes and munching with a small smile on his face. The female twin stared with slightly open before reaching for the melon. Her twin brother looked back and forth between her, Jongup, and the melon before reaching for some as well. Good thing he's a competitive little one. Jongup always had a sort of charm over the young ones. It's cute, you think, smiling.

Since snack time is almost over you decide to get some water for everyone to drink. Gently placing the girl on the chair, you get up and head to the sink only to bump into Daehyun. "What're you doing?" you ask, looking at the kid in his arms. "Some cherry juice got on her shirt, so I helped her clean it up." He put the girl down and she hurried over to the table to grab a cracker. "We're almost out of detergent by the way," he says, leaning against the counter. "Mmm thanks, I'll tell Auntie later." You start taking cups out of a side cupboard. "Let me help." You feel Daehyun come close behind you as his arm reaches up, taking down the cups from the shelf he knows you can't reach. "Thanks," you mutter. You feel a little embarassed, and decide it would be best to move away from him. "I'll fill the cups if you'll take down the rest." He doesn't look at you, but nods his head to show that he heard you. It's a little awkward for some reason, but you dismiss it as a few of the kids start crowding around for the water. He helps distribute the drinks, and soon it's forgotten, as if the moment had never happened. 

*Message*: so I'll leave it there for today. I know it's a little slow right now, but I have something good for you coming up in the next chapter (ohohohoho~) Well that's the plan, but really I get derailed more often than a dandelion seedling in the harsh autumn wind. So in conclusion, you can expect something to happen soon, but not too soon ;) thank you for reading, bye bye for now!