“How’s your ankle now?” Key asks as he brings a mug of hot tea to the invalid of the house.

 

Lee Teuk mutters his thank you as he accepts the warm beverage. His ankle is still kinda swollen and Kangin had made him promise not to move it unless necessary, which is null since he has 9 potential risks waiting to be managed every minute of the day.

 

Hence the presence of Key, his neighbor from across the street, to help him in case of emergencies.

 

“Much better, as long as I don’t put any pressure on it.” Lee Teuk grimaces lightly. His eyes fell on the tiny figure sitting on the floor by his side with his little plump legs tuck under him reading a book with quiet concentration.

 

Key caught the tender smile on his friend’s face and followed his stare.

 

“Your baby is just so adorable.” Key praised. Lee Teuk moves his gaze to his neighbor, smiling and nodding at the same time.

 

“He’s my little angel.” Lee Teuk adds, reaching out to Kyuhyun’s baby fine hair.

 

“He’s cute as a button really.” Key smiles too as they stare at the toddler who chose at this moment to lift his head and flash them the most endearing smile. Both adults cooed uncontrollably.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, hiding under the stairs….

 

“Cute as a button? Did you hear that!” Heechul scoffs. “Who can be as cute as me?!”

 

“I thought you are pretty?” Yesung made the mistake of commenting when the diva amongst them is throwing a hissy fit.

 

Needless to say, Heechul directs a withering glare at him. Yesung shrunk away wisely, choosing to pat his harmless pet turtle.

 

“You know what this means?” Heechul asks his bunch of minions a.k.a. dongsaengs gathered around him. Presently, they are all staring at him expectantly. “This means war!” He declares with theatrical flourish.

 

“Does that mean we have to kill someone?” Donghae asks timidly, his face pale with worry. “Appa said we cannot kill anyone while Umma’s ankle is injured.”

 

Heechul gasped in indignation and rolled his eyes dramatically at the uncomprehending faces of his brothers. Then he raised his fist and knocked Donghae on the head. The little boy howled in pain.

 

“I’ve got a plan!”

 

 

“Siwonnie ~ oh Siiiiiwonnie ~”  Heechul danced into the bedroom to wake his napping dongsaeng.

 

“YAH! WAKE UP!” He kicked the snoozing boy in the knee when Siwon remains inert.

 

“Ow ~ wh- who? What time is it?” Siwon mutters dreamily as he startles awake. He frowned when he saw his eldest brother glaring impatiently at him with his arms crosses over his chest. “What is it?”

 

The transformation on Heechul’s face was frightening. Siwon watched in wonderment as the sulk morphed into a ‘cat ate the canary’ grin.

 

“You are in luck, my darling brother.” Heechul announces.

 

Siwon swallowed fearfully. With an air of reluctance he sits up and rummaged his pocket. “Here, my last gumdrop.” He offers dolefully reaching his hand out to Heechul. A lonesome purple gumdrop sat on his open palm.

 

“Tsk, I wasn’t talking about this.” Heechul clucks his tongue in annoyance but he snatched the candy and pops it into his mouth before Siwon could take it back. The poor boy looked like he is about to cry.

 

“As I was saying,” Heechul continues, ignoring Siwon’s pout. “I know how much you wanted to read my new comics. So, as your best, best, best brother, I will let you read them first!”

 

Siwon’s eyes grew to the size of grapes. “Really?!” He beams in disbelief.

 

“Yes.” Heechul replied. “Am I your most favorite person in the whole wide world?”

 

Siwon frowns again as he disagrees but a glare from Heechul made him nod in earnest. Even at the tender age of 6, Siwon knows which side of his toast is buttered.

 

 

 

“So this is my plan.” Heechul lowers his voice conspiratorially. His brothers had to crowd closer to listen. But after he finished explaining about his brilliant plan only Shindong and Hyukjae are grinning. Yesung is stoic as usual, Sungmin and Donghae are chewing their lower lips nervously.

 

Ryeowook was the only one brave enough to speak up. “What about Siwonnie?”

 

Heechul harrumphed for a second. Yes, his well mannered brother will prove to be a big obstacle to his plan. Siwon is the most protective of the baby of the family.

 

“Aha! I know!” Heechul declares triumphantly after a few thoughtful rolls of his eyeballs.

 

And that’s the reason why Siwon is presently sitting in his bed surrounded by stacks of new comics reading contentedly.

 

 

“Go!” Heechul gave Donghae a shove. The slight boy stumbled out from behind the wall successfully interrupting the lively conversation between Lee Teuk and Key.

 

“Do you need something, Hae?” Lee Teuk asks curiously.

 

“I…ah….I…..” Donghae stutters nervously. Kyuhyun raised his head from his storybook too and tilts his head innocently at his hyung.

 

“Hurry up!” Heechul hisses from behind the wall.

 

“Chullie? Are you behind the wall?” Lee Teuk frowns, feeling a sudden wave of unease.

 

Heechul walked out from behind the wall and flash his umma the perfect princess smile. “Yes, umma.”

 

“What is it are you asking Hae to do for you?” Lee Teuk’s voice comes across firm now.

 

“Nothing, umma.” Heechul replied sweetly. “Donghae wanted Babykyu to help him with his coloring and I told him to ask Babykyu himself.”

 

Lee Teuk purses his lips in silence. He feels something is wrong but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Kyuhyun looked curiously at his umma.

 

Meanwhile Heechul took the split moment of distraction to dig Donghae in the ribs.

 

“Y-yes….” Donghae managed to mutter.

 

“Do you want to go help your Hae hyung, baby?’ Lee Teuk asks the sullen looking toddler.

 

Kyuhyun managed to stop himself from sighing as he looked from his umma to his hyung. “Ok, umma.”

 

“Such a sweet baby too!” Key exclaims merrily. Kyuhyun got onto his feet and flash the gushing adult another sweet smile before making his way to Donghae. Grabbing his hyung’s hand, he led the hesitant boy out of the living room. Heechul curtsy demurely before running after his two dongsaeng.

 

“Where do you want to color, hyung?” Kyuhyun was heard asking Donghae as Heechul joins them.

 

“Garden.” Heechul answers, his voice deep and devious. Kyuhyun scowls at him.

 

“I asked Hae hyung.” Kyuhyun insists.

 

“Ga-garden.” Donghae squeaks half-heartedly.

 

 

 

“Siwonnie, have you seen your brothers?” Lee Teuk pops his head into the bedroom to ask.

 

Siwon raised his head and shake it as his reply before returning eagerly to his comics. “No, umma.” He murmurs absently.

 

Lee Teuk leaves the room and wonders down the stairs again. The house is too quiet, his sons have not made a sound all afternoon. It just doesn’t feel right.

 

“Boys? Boys!” He calls as he wonders into the kitchen. It’s empty. Next he opens the door and calls for his sons.

 

“Yes umma?” Sungmin shot up from behind the big apple tree to answer. 7 small heads pop up from behind it to look at him.

 

“What are you doing out there?’ Lee Teuk asks feeling trepidation fill his stomach. When his sons are this well-behaved, he gets really worried.

 

“We are digging up an ant nest, umma.” Ryeowook replied helpfully.

 

“O-ok, make sure you don’t get bitten!” Lee Teuk replied absently as an obscure worry nags a corner of his brain. Lost in random thoughts, he turns back into the house to begin preparing dinner.

 

 

 

Kangin alights from the bus with some difficulty. The after office crowd in the bus feels kind of daunting to the man who is used to driving to work everyday. But with his spouse suffering from a bad ankle, he had left the car for him to use instead.

 

Striding purposefully in the direction of his home, he wonders what awaits him when he gets home. Having a large brood of boys wasn’t really what he planned for when he got married to his teenage sweet heart but Lee Teuk loved children. That’s not to say Kangin don’t love his kids. They made his life fuller, and there were times they rewarded him with heartwarming antics only children could come up with. 

 

Reminiscing about Heechul’s rare endearing nuzzlings, and Yesung eagerly showing him the bugs he found in the garden, and the twins’ outrageous kid humor, and Siwon puffing with pride whenever he receives praises; Kangin smiled blissfully as he climbs the steps to his front door.

 

Still deep in his thoughts, he was almost knocked off his feet by the body bursting out of the abruptly opened door and flying by him in a great whoosh. His arms came up automatically to catch whatever or whoever dashing past him but all he caught was empty air.

 

“BABY!!! MY BABY!” Kangin hears Lee Teuk screaming hysterically. Dazed, he stared as Lee Teuk ran to his car parked on the curbside and yanks the door on the driver’s side open before pushing himself in haphazardly.

 

After a few moments of frantic struggling, Kangin finally saw Lee Teuk emerge from the car with Kyuhyun in his arms.

 

“What happened?” Kangin asks worriedly as Lee Teuk came back up the steps towards him.

 

Kyuhyun is uncharacteristically cowed in his umma’s arms. His face is grubby with dry tears tracks and his nose is red and swollen. While Lee Teuk held his shivering body tight against his chest, the little toddler buried his face in his umma’s chest.

 

“What happened to Kyuhyun?’ Kangin asks again as he follows his silent spouse into the house.

 

Lee Teuk remained rock silent as he carries his baby up to his bedroom and tuck the trembling tyke into his bed. “Watch over your brother for umma, ok Siwonnie?

 

Kangin follows Lee Teuk out of the room again as he make his way back into the living room. “BOYS! COME HERE NOW!”

 

7 boys filed into the room with solemn expressions on their faces. None of them dare lift their eyes from the floor beneath their feet.

“What did you do now?” Kangin growls but a look from Lee Teuk silenced him.

 

“Who made the plan?” Lee Teuk asks calmly but of course no one dares to answer him.

 

“WHO made the plan to tie your baby brother to the car’s brakes?” Lee Teuk asks again sounding a little angry. Kangin’s eyes bulged; he never thought his sons are capable of carrying out a prank so far.

 

“If you chose not to own up, then all of you will be punished.” Lee Teuk warns. A few surreptitious glances were exchanged but still no ones owns up.

 

“Very well. No dinner for you tonight. And you are grounded. No tv, and no games for a month.” Lee Teuk metes out the punishment. “Go to your rooms now. I do not want to hear a sound from you.”

 

After his sons dragged themselves upstairs to their room, Lee Teuk made his way to the kitchen to fill a milk bottle with warm milk.

 

“They tied Kyuhyun to the brakes?” Kangin asks still in disbelief.

 

“You would be proud to know that your sons are capable of very logical thinking.” Lee Teuk said wryly. “Not only did they know how to tie their brother up in such a way that if his foot let up the car will move forward, they distracted Siwonnie so he couldn’t stop them.”

 

“How long was Kyuhyun left in the car?” Kangin asks worriedly.

 

“The whole afternoon, it seems.” Lee Teuk replied with a heavy sigh. “I should have known something is wrong when I found them too quiet. They are always up to mischief when they are that well behaved.”

 

“Should we send for the doctor to have a look at Babykyu?”

 

“I don’t know.” Lee Teuk replied in a resigned tone of voice. “Let’s see if he will be alright in the morning.”

 

Carrying the bottle of milk, the umma went back to his baby’s side. Seeing Kyuhyun willingly latch onto his milk bottle to drink his milk relieved Lee Teuk some. He caressed the little boy’s hair gently and whispers encouraging words to him softly till he drank the last drop of the milk and fell asleep soon after.