"I still can't believe they let you guys take care of somebody's child. If only they knew..." The human was stirring unidentifiable, yet fragrant, ingredients in a pot on the stove.

Jonghyun exclaimed, "I know right! We're practically babies ourselves! Some of us can't even legally drink yet!"

"...That's not what I was referring to....," she mumbled.

"But Yoogeun is so cute! Seriously! SO CUTE!" Jonhyun gushed. "I hope my kids are going to be like him."

"I will forever be his favorite appa! Man, I make a great dad!" Kibum praised and patted himself on the back.

"I'm so happy I'm not last anymore!" Taemin clapped his hands in excitement. "It must have been my cool way of cutting the apples."

"It certainly was unique...," Onew mumbled.

Kibum made a face. "Seriously though. Did your mom not teach you how to peel and cut apples? I couldn't stop flinching every time you hacked at that poor fruit."

"What? So it's a little ungraceful. I can still eat it." Taemin stated.

The girl moved to the refridgerator and Taemin peered into the pot and gave a sniff.

"Are those apples? Can you teach me how to peel and cut apples noona?" He puppy dogged eyed her.

She raised a brow and shooed him away from the stove. "Didn't you just say you didn't care how you cut an apple?"

Before Taemin could open his mouth, Kibum whirlwinded the boy away. "Let Key umma teach you how to prepare apples properly. Don't bother the nice noona while she's busy Taemin-ah." He sat him down in a chair and then threw a knife and three apples at the scowling boy. "Hold the knife. Use your thumb. And turn the apple. Practice until it's pretty." The demon caught the objects deftly, a stark contrast to the way he fumbled at handling the knife and turning the apple in his hand. He even dropped the fruit.

Teacher Key abandoned the boy in favor of offering his services to the girl. "Need any help?"

"No. Just help Taemin before he ruins all the apples," she didn't even look Key's way and he made a face of displeasure at not having her attention.

After her concoction had finished boiling for 5 minutes, she poured the contents into a mug and started to leave the room. As she passed by Onew, who was nibbling on a jaggedly cut apple slice while resting his head on the table, the girl paused. She looked puzzled and the pause was long enough for the other guys, minus the leader, to look over at her.

"What's up?" Minho asked as he brushed apple scraps into a neater pile.

"...Nothing...I just...it just feels like....," she started. Jinki's eyes shifted to her after finally noticing her standing sort of behind him.

"Something you need?" he asked curiously.

"...No...I just thought...," she started to leave again, "there was a gloomy atmosphere around you. It was...noticeable."

The cloud over Onew's head came back full force and he slumped in his seat.

Jonghyun came over and slung an arm around his hyung's shoulders. "Oh don't worry about him. He's just all depressed because he's last place in Yoogeun's heart."

Onew groaned and went to raid the fridge for his comfort food: fried chicken. "Yoogeun hates me." He took a bucket of chicken out and started eating it cold. "A little girl just looked at me and started crying. Babies hate me. Kids hate me." With a full mouth he mumbled, "My own kids will probably hate me."
 He swallowed. "Fighting wars is easier than trying to figure out kids."

"Stop stressing hyung. You'll always have me. I'm practically a kid at heart and I like you," Taemin said as she abondoned his apples to mooch some chicken off the leader.

Jonghyun not so helpfully added, "Yoogeun does not hate you." He patted Jinki on the back. "Just think of it as him liking the rest of us more."

Jinki's face darkened even more.

Minho more constructively put in, "Yoogeun likes you! And he'll warm up to you even more over time. Just smile and be nice." He gushed, "And then he'll give you all the kisses you ask for, that adorable little guy."

The girl hesitated and looked down into her mug. She then held it out towards the moping boy. "Here. Maybe you should have this instead. It's supposed to melt away your stress and make you feel rested."

Onew eyed the cup and then looked up at her through his lashes. "Really?"

"Take it before I take it back..."

He gingerly took the mug and took a sip to wash down some chicken. "It's bittersweet...." He took a longer sip. "Like my mood...Thanks."

The girl stared at him curiously. "So...feel relaxed? It's my first time making it so I don't know if it works."

Jinki took another long swig. "Hm....actually, a little. But that may just be because you offered me your drink...," he replied honestly. She made a face. "No really though. I do feel better. I think part of it's the smell too." He got through three quarters of the mug before his blinks started getting slower. "Very nice..." Two seconds later, his head hit the table with a bang, startling everyone.

They would have gone into a frenzy if Onew hadn't started snoring. There was a small smile on his face as he slept.

The guys all looked at the suddenly nervous girl. "Umm...."

She took out a small notepad from her back pocket and flipped it open. "Oh...so maybe it was a brew to make you rest instead of making you feel rested...."

Key poked the leader in the ribs before moving the chicken and mug away from the sleeping boy. "Well, he sure does look stress free now."

"Do you think you can make some more of that for our manager?" Jonghyun asked.

THEA's Corner

Giving you two chapters since I so badly at updating...
This takes place right after Hello Baby episode 3 I think.
I had to go back and rewatch some Hello Baby. For research of course. And ended up watching more than I wanted to. Oh the memories!
My question for my dear readers is (if you watched Hello Baby), what was you favorite Hello Baby moment?

Posted: 9 January 2015