Minjun appa would probably be the worst daddy in my world....no, the world right now. He's always so sweet, so caring. But today, I found out a startling truth; appa's hidden secret. I really wish someone could take me as far away from here right now, but I can't talk more than two words in a sentence--funny I could think in a sentence though--and those words are usually within two syllables.

At the very least, I would very much like to learn how to say 'smelly'. It has to be simple, of course. I still find it hard to pronounce things, without getting my tongue stuck in my mouth. I'm trying very hard to recall what mummy used to say once, when she was throwing away the trash. Um...

"Nnnn...."

"Huh?" Minjun thought he heard something from Lauren. After staring at her for a good five seconds, and she didn't seem like she wanted to say anything, he returned to his right foot. It was propped on the couch, very close to Lauren, while she sat there, staring at him.

As he continued plucking away the dry skin on his toes, he kept a continuous flow of one-sided conversation with his daughter, oblivious to the annoyed expression on Lauren's face. "When I was ten, appa took part in a singing competition and that was when I realized I have a good voice, you know. Do you want to hear appa sing a song?"

Appa-ah....your feet stink! Can't you just look at my face for one moment and understand my dilemma?

Lauren's mental request went unheard as Minjun started to sing. "Jugeodo mot bonae naega eotteohke neol bonae...garyeo geodeun tteonaryeo geodeun nae gaseum gochyeo nae..."

Appaaaaaaa!!!!! Please stop! "Nnnn...aaa..." Lauren tried again. She wanted to say what Nichkhun had said once. Naemsaenayo...'smelly'. But it was too hard to say it all at once. In fact, she couldn't even start to pronounce it.

Minjun knew instantly that Lauren had something on her mind. He stopped singing at once, waiting for her to continue. His foot was still propped up next to her but it never occured to him that she would mind about it. He didn't bother reading What to Expect When You're Expecting? when Nichkhun got pregnant. He thought it was too thick to his eyes. Now, he wished he read it. Maybe Lauren had something important to tell him.

"What is it, baby girl? Appa is listening."

Oh gosh, pabo-yah appa! My daddy is dumb to even think I could tell him anything. How the hell am I supposed to pronounce 'smelly' in one go. I need months to learn. What's another word to describe the situation? How do I say 'feet' in korean? Hmm....I think I can remember something Appa Taec said, but it's so long ago...when he had a football match somewhere in Korea and his feet hurt after the game. He came home complaining about it. I thought he was very funny then. He limped around with a smile on his face, like a gorilla who drank too much soju.

He said....p-p...pi...t..te...uh....pi...te...u...pi...teu...piteu...

"P-pi...te...uh..." Lauren muttered softly. Minjun's eyes widened in that split second. He craned his neck to get closer to Lauren, asking her to repeat the word.

Lauren decided to give it another go, mentally thanking Daddy Taec for this. "Pi...teu..."

"Piteu?" Minjun repeated the word, momentarily dumbfounded. He thought hard and long about this before realizing what the word meant. Feet. She was referring to his foot. Where it was propped close to her on the couch was now placed back down on the ground. "Mianhae, Lauren-ah. I forgot about my smelly feet."

She was satisfied he finally understood her. A little exhausted from the fruitful head-cracking memory recollection she had just attempted, she yawned widely and Minjun quickly got up to put her to bed. He was actually enjoying his quality time with her that day, and it was still barely past noon. "I guess babies sleep a lot during the day." He remarked absentmindedly as he carried her to her crib in Wooyoung's room. 

Lauren welcomed her soft mattress and flying animals. Her eyes were still fixed on Minjun's face but only because she likes his sharp, handsome features. He is like a grandpa without wrinkles but she wouldn't know how wrinkles look like. Or what it is in the first place. He pulled a nearby armchair closer to the crib and sang her a lullaby. Very soon, she drifted off to sleep, dreaming about cows that went 'hee-haws' and appas that went 'moo moos'.

If only her sleep wasn't interrupted by a loud crash an hour later.

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"ARGH!!!!" came a loud painful scream from outside the bedroom.

Lauren tried sitting up in her crib. She turned to her tummy and folded her knees in into a child pose. Then she laced her fingers around the crib's wooden fence before hoisting herself upright. There was another loud crash and then another painful scream resounded.

Is that you, Appa Jun? What's wrong? Why are you screaming?

Outside, in the living room, Minjun had been busy mopping the house. It was an idea to pass his free time, since he was finished with his work and there was nothing else for him to do. The television had no good channels that day, so he decided to clean the house instead. He found a broom in the kitchen and in a storage room next to it, where the washing machine was, he found an empty bucket with a mop inside it. Perfect. Now was his time to show how good a housewife he could be, beside being a good husband who brings home the bacon.

One hour later, he was lying on the floor with the mop in one hand and the TV on his crotch area. He tripped over the bucket with the soap water inside and fell -down on the floor. Just as he was about to get up, he accidentally kicked the wooden table which held the television on top and one of the legs broke, sliding the 32" inch screen TV onto him, specifically, his crotch area. 

The pain was the most unforgetful and unbearable experience in his life so far. He laid back very still, afraid that a single movement would only double up the damage. His hurt really bad. And his balls felt crushed under the TV weight. It was too heavy for him to lift it off himself.

"Help~" He voiced out weakly, hoping that someone could hear him. But Chansung and Junho were not expected to be home until an hour's time. . How long must he suffer like this before help comes. Taecyeon should already be in the plane by then, halfway to Thailand. Out of desperation, he called out, "Lauren ah~"

Lauren, hearing her father's cry for help, chose to cry too. She was just as helpless, stuck in her jail of wooden crib and flying animals above her. "Appa!!!" She called out to him.

"Oh great...she's crying. How the hell am I supposed to comfort her now?" He carefully d his pockets with his free hands to see if his handphone was with him. It was. In one of his jeans pocket. He whipped it out slowly. And dialled Wooyoung's number.

The other picked up almost immediately. "Hyung?"

"Wooyoung ah~ this is urgent. Could you come home right now?" From the other line, Minjun could almost imagine a frown on Wooyoung's face. He felt sorry for calling Wooyoung like this. But this was really an emergency. Surely the younger boy wouldn't say no.

"What's wrong?"

"My balls got crushed. The TV fell on me. I can't move it and the younger boys are still in college. I don't know who to call. Lauren is crying right now, but here I am, crushed balls and a broken , lying on the ground like an injured horse. I'm trying not to move because I might break something. Please...Wooyoung ah..."

Wooyoung let out a heavy sigh and finally agreed. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Hold on."

"Thank you, Woo-ee..."

The call ended and Minjun closed his eyes, trying to drown away the sound of Lauren's cries. Ten minutes later, as promised, Wooyoung returned home to find his hyung crushed under the TV. Thankfully, Minjun was still alive. Unfortunately, the TV was broken. That meant spending a huge sum of money just to fix it. He rushed to the room to take care of Lauren first. The baby had been crying for a long time. After shushing Lauren down, Wooyoung returned to the living room to check on Minjun.

Minjun's eyes were close and he was chanting on something under his breath. A mantra for fertility. Wooyoung almost chuckled at this. He suppressed an urge to laugh while he slowly lifted the TV away. Broken glass shards from the TV scattered all over. There was no blood on Minjun's crotch area, thank goodness. But one cannot imagine the pain Minjun must have gone through. "Hyung, gwaenchanha?"

"I'm ok, Wooyoung ah..." Minjun muttered softly. "Don't move me. Just call for an ambulance. I think I just lost all chances of making babies in the future. Wooyoung-ah...did you know I like kids? I would love to have my own one day..." He said monotonously. Wooyoung would have felt pitiful for his hyung, but there was no time to waste. He dialled for the ambulance.

Fifteen minutes later, the familiar sound of a hospital ambulance sounded in the distance. Wooyoung quickly rushed out to fetch it, carrying Lauren in his arms. When a couple of hospital staffs came in with a stretcher, Minjun had already braced himself mentally. "Take me." He said in a dull voice.

They carried him away and Wooyoung decided to go along. He strapped Lauren in on her special seat in his car, and then took off seconds later, following the ambulance closely behind. This would be a funny memory embedded in his memory, something he thought the other guys ought to know about. After he arrived at the hospital, he gave Chansung and Junho a call. They rushed to the hospital immediately, worried about their hyung. When Wooyoung told them everything, they ended up laughing out loud. And then Wooyoung called Taecyeon. The big guy was already in Thailand, settling down in his hotel room.

"Hospital?!" Taecyeon panicked, wondering what was wrong.

"Our TV fell on his and I don't know, I guess his balls got crushed. I rushed home to find him that way. And then I called the ambulance."

Taec wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. Maybe both. "Once I come back, I'll check up on him. Have you called Nichkhun?"

"I'm about to call him. Did you call him yet?"

"No. I was going to and then you called me. But thanks for telling me, Woo. I'll talk to you later."

They ended their conversation, and the day went on.

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Next part is Nickhun!!!! I miss writing him. I'm so used in writing the guys that I forgot about him momentarily. *bows down to apologize*. Anyway, anticipate the next chapter. Time for bed now.