“I'm not coming back ever!” Sunhwa declares angrily, stomping one tiny boot. “I said that this was the last time, and now it is! I'm going!”

“That's very nice, darling,” Jongdae says serenely, handing over her favourite lunchbox. “I've packed you some sandwiches for the journey, and a Capri-Sun. Will you be needing anything else?”

Sunhwa takes the bag stiffly, shaking her head. “No,” she mutters, ever the stubborn little girl. Sunhwa has never been their little princess – no, she'd never be something so sickeningly sweet. She's always been hard-headed. Even as a baby.

“Alright then,” he smiles cheerfully. “So have you got your transport sorted? Some money?”

“Blue Bear takes care of money,” she tells him defiantly, the bear tucked under one arm. He's looking a little faded, now, a little less fluffy, but he's still her favourite toy. He gets tucked in with her every night, and she would be devastated if she lost him. As it is, every time he gets put in the wash, she sits patiently in front of the washing machine, just waiting for him to come out.

It would be cute, if it didn't mean everyone ends up tripping over her.

“Well, it's nice he's so organised.” Jongdae fights the urge to laugh. “Maybe he could help me and bàba out with our finances.”

Sunhwa's eyes narrow, and suddenly, she resembles a very small gremlin. “He doesn't like you.”

“That's a shame,” he shakes his head, pretending to be sad. “Because I like him.”

She's still too young to completely understand the sarcasm, but she's clever enough to know when daddy is mocking her. She sniffs. “And that's why we're leaving. Now!” She turns on her heel and stomps off as fast as her miniature Docs will carry her, as Jongdae waves merrily.

He steps back into the house, only to come face to face with his eldest son. “Did you just let Sunhwa run off?” He asks, expression incredulous. “She's five!”

Jongdae chuckles, beckoning him closer. “This is the best way to deal with it. She only walks off to the park, and it's not like she's got any money to get the bus, or something.”

Shang still looks unconvinced. “I really don't think this a good idea.” He gives Jongdae a suspicious look. “Does bà know you do this?”

“Yes, he does,” Jongdae says impatiently, a little peeved at being second-guessed by a teenager. “Look, I'll show you.” He grabs a jacket, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “Coming?”

He shrugs. “Might as well. I've got nothing better to do.”

***

Jongdae locks the door behind them, seeing as now they're gone, it'll be empty – Yixing's at work, and Jongseok is at a birthday party. Sending Jongseok to a stranger's home full of suggestible children might not have been the best idea – especially considering what happened at the last party – but not letting him go would have been worse.

Jongseok's screamy fits are legendary.

He leads Shang towards the patch of grass that serves as a poor excuse for a park (it literally is just a gravel space with little more than a set of swings and a slide). “She'll be here. Don't worry.”

Shang just grunts in response.

“Why are you back here, anyway?” Jongdae slants a look at him. “It's your mum and Joonmyun's weekend, isn't it?”

“Oh, thanks, dad,” Shang says sarcastically, “so now you don't want me around?”

“No!” He cries, cursing his idiot mouth for getting him into this mess. “I just wondered why you weren't there. We always want you around,” he adds hastily, before Shang can accuse him of favouritism, or something just as ridiculous. Honestly, all of his children exhaust him equally.

“Mum's all hormonal,” he mutters, “and I didn't fancy getting the brunt of it again, because Joonmyun got called into work.”

“Oh.” Jongdae isn't sure what else to say, because he remembers getting caught in one of Kyungmi's storms the last time she was pregnant. “She doesn't mean it, you know,” he starts carefully, knowing that this upcoming sibling is a little bit of a sore subject for Shang. “It's just the baby is turning her crazy. If anything, she was worse when she was pregnant with you. At least she never threatened to castrate you simply for breathing too hard.”

Shang snorts, looking queasy at the very idea. “Not yet, anyway.”

Jongdae risks throwing an arm around his touchy teenager's shoulders. He's relieved when he doesn't shove it off and declare that it's 'gay,' because the last time he did that Jongdae laughed so hard he couldn't breathe while Shang looked ashamed of himself for saying something so idiotic. Jongdae blames the stupid kids he hangs out with; they're all still under the impression that the word gay is an insult, and he supposes it's only normal that Shang has appropriated the word too.

Just as long as he knows it isn't an insult, he can forgive one slip.

“Don't worry,” he tells him. “Joonmyun will be the one getting the death threats.” He stops when they reach the park, pressing a finger to his lips.

Sunhwa is sitting under the slide, absorbed in her favourite picture book. Blue Bear sits beside her, the open Capri-Sun in between his paws.

“Aww,” Shang whispers, “she always looks so cute when she's not glaring at people.”

Jongdae nods. “Sometimes I think she does this just so she gets the chance to be alone with extra food.”

His voice – even though barely above a murmur – carries in the wind, and Sunhwa's head snaps up. She stares at both of them, wide-eyed, immediately gathers up her things and shuffles towards the tiny climbing frame so that she can crawl into the tiny, child-sized space.

He sighs. “She's like a wild animal. You can't spook her. You've got to let her come to you.”

Shang coughs awkwardly, amused by the comparison of his little sister to a wild animal. It's an accurate description, really. “What did you even do, this time?”

“I told her she couldn't stay up to watch the programme about mummies on Channel Five, because she's an intelligent young lady and shouldn't be watching the trash on that channel.” He grimaces. “She didn't take it well.”

“But dad,” Shang turns away from watching his sister sulk under the jungle gym to stare at his father. “You always watch the on Channel Five.”

Jongdae clears his throat. “That's because I'm old enough to watch it ironically.”

“You're really not though,” Shang deadpans, unimpressed with his father's reasoning (as always). “You watch it because you like it.”

Jongdae is about to point out that Shang is wrong – very wrong – and then pull the 'I'm your father, you have to listen to me' routine, but he doesn't get a chance, because Sunhwa pokes her head out from her hiding place. “Go away!” She huffs, dumping her book down next to Blue Bear and scrambling out from under the climbing frame.

They barely have a chance to get a word in before she's shoving them away as hard as a five year old can. “I don't come here so you can be noisy and ruin book time! Go,” – her pushes even harder – “away!”

Shang catches Jongdae's eye. “Dad, I really think we should leave her.”

***

As they trudge off, Jongdae tries very hard not to think about just how much of a pushover this makes him. As he unlocks the door, he asks, “Now do you see why I leave her to it?”

Shang nods solemnly, and Jongdae – for one fleeting, beautiful moment – actually believes Shang is starting to understand just how hard it is to be a parent. That moment is trashed, however, when his son opens his mouth.

“Hey, dad, do you think I could have some money for Microsoft Points?”