If you liked the kids before, here is some more!

So, as a request from odetoblue I am including Yooguen in the story now, and because I just thought that this would be funny.

#34 – Difficult

Yooguen stared about the apartment in wonder.

How could so much damage be done so quickly?  And by such small hands?

*****

All of SHINee had stayed close to Yooguen as their “son” grew older.  It may have been a show, created for the purpose of entertaining the masses, but the idol group had grown very attached to the little Minho look-a-like. 

And he really did look like Minho.  That resemblance had followed through Yooguen’s adolescence and into adulthood.  Now at 22, he could still easily pass for Minho’s son, or even very young brother.  The same deep-set eyes, the same puffy lips, the same rounded nose and solid jaw could be found on Minho and Yooguen.  How they were not related surprised they hell out of everyone, including those two.  The only real difference lay in their height.  Minho definitely had the advantage there, coming in a full five inches taller than the young college student. 

But SHINee had stayed close.  They cheered him on through his years of school, supported him at modeling ventures which he had done through his youth, they were always willing to talk to him or give him words of advice.  Though he could no longer call them ‘Appa.’  Especially not since they had children of their own now, to whom they were truly were Appa.  Instead, when they had all showed up to his high school graduation to support him, he had thanked all of his Samchuns, his Uncles, because they truly had become family to him over the years.

They had been side-by-side with his parents when he went off for his mandatory military service, and Jonghyun had actually been the person who would pick him up when he would have a leave period.  They all celebrated when he got into Seoul National University and he actually stayed with Jinki and his family as they lived so close to campus. 

And as they had become an important part of his life, Yooguen became a part of the lives of their children.  He came to all of their birthday parties, sent them presents, just because, and even baby sat them so that their parents could have a chance to go out and have their dates without bringing their children with them. 

But Taemin and Kibum lived clear on the other side of Seoul from Jinki and his family, and with all of his work that was leading him towards a degree in architecture, it was really hard to be able to see them and their children.  He was tickled at the notion that they were the only ones out of SHINee to actually have a son.  Jonghyun, it appeared, was never going to have children, though he and his wife Hwayoung seemed alright with that.  They were always traveling anyway, a week here, a month there, and that was not much of a way to raise a child.

So once a month Yooguen would come over for dinner with Taemin and Kibum and their children.  The ulterior motive of course being that he would occupy the little tykes attention for a couple of hours and give the two a slight break from having to give all of the attention that children required for a little while.

This was supposed to be one of those nights, where he came over for dinner and spent the night catching up.  But a couple of days before Kibum was suddenly told that he had to attend a black-tie dinner, with spouse, on that very Friday night that they had already planned to have Yooguen over.

When they had called to cancel, the student had offered up his services as a babysitter instead.  After all he watched after Onew’s girls all the time, so it wasn’t like he didn’t know what he was doing.

Which led him to today.  He had arrived at three in the afternoon and saw the couple off.  They were dressed to kill, with Kibum a designer this wasn’t really surprising, and they looked ready to enjoy the night as they kissed their kids goodbye and made them promise to behave for Yooguen.

Yeah right…

With Munhee balanced on his hips, the three waved goodbye to the couple and walked back into the heart of the apartment.

They had started off innocently enough.  They were playing with legos, all three of them splayed out on the floor in Jinae’s room.

But then Munhee grabbed a piece that Jinae had been reaching for.

“Mine!” She screeched, and smacked Munhee’s hand.

The little boy dropped the little blue rectangle and snatched his hands close to his body, starting a whimper and Yooguen could tell that the tears were coming.

As the first true cry began, Yooguen stepped in.

“Jinae.”  He said sternly, bringing the now loudly crying Munhee into his lap and trying to calm the boy.  “Why did you do that?”

Jinae pouted and crossed her arms, “I wanted to use that piece – and they’re my legos anyway.”

“Jinae, there are plenty of blue legos, why did you have to hit your brother over that piece?”

“I wanted that piece.”  Jinae was being stubborn and refusing to back down.

“You hurt your brother.” Yooguen said, finally getting the little boy to calm down to a sniffle.

“He shouldn’t have grabbed my piece.”

“Jinae!” Yooguen said sharply. 

Jinae’s head shot up. Yooguen had never talked to her like that before.  He was always nice, and laughing and readying to play pranks with her.

But now he was mad at her.

“You do not hit people, especially your brother.  He’s your little brother.  You’re supposed to look out for him and take care of him.  You are supposed to protect him, not be the one he needs to be protected from.”

Jinae pouted again, but didn’t say anything. 

“Alright, you’re in time out.”  Yooguen said, standing up.  He gestured to a chair that sat in the corner that Taemin and Key used for time outs.  “Go to the chair and you stay there for five minutes.  I’ll tell you when your time is up.”

Jinae stomped to the chair and sat down shouted about how it wasn’t fair.

Munhee and Yooguen left to room, but the door remained open.  So he would be able to see her from the living room down the hallway. 

Yooguen sat on the couch and read a book to Munhee who quickly forgot about the earlier incident, instead focusing on the fuzzy animals that filled each page. 

As they finished the book Munhee asked for cookies.

Yooguen decided that a couple of cookies before dinner would be alright and grabbed two down for the boy.

Munhee immediately started eating one and ran off down the hallway, holding the other aloft like a lantern. 

He walked right up to the sullen Jinae and offered her the cookie. 

Jinae, who was still sitting on her chair, had been staring at her toes when the cookie was shoved under her nose. 

She reached out and grabbed it, looking up at Yooguen as though asking permission.

She held the cookie gently in both hands and smiled at Munhee.  She gave him a quick hug and said, “I’m sorry,” softly.

Yooguen smiled.  Kids are so cute.  “Your times up Jinae.  We’re just about to order some pizza for dinner.”

“Yay!  Pizza!” Jinae called, jumping up and down.

“Peeza, peeza!” Munhee chimed in, excited because his sister was happy again. 

And the evening was back on track. 

After pizza the children had asked for more cookies, but knowing that they had already had some Yooguen said no.  They whined but eventually let it go.

After dinner, Yooguen was talked into playing hide and seek with the pair and so they dashed all over the apartment, Yooguen letting himself get caught more often than not just to make the kids happy.

What Yooguen didn’t know was that every time he hid away form the kitchen and living room, the kids would run into the kitchen and steel cookies.

Eventually the smears of chocolate on both of the children’s hands though clued him in though.

“Guys!  I said no more cookies.  He examined the now nearly empty jar that sat on the counter, just within Jinae’s reach now that she was six.  He placed the jar high up on top of the cabinets were the children wouldn’t be able to reach it and prepared for the sugar high that would commence. 

And it did. 

The little terrors tore through the apartment.  Unable to stay in one place for longer than a few minutes, they ran about like little whirlwinds, leaving wreckage in their wake. 

Yooguen remembered watching dramas and movies where some poor schmuck watched in terror as the children they were supposed to be watching got the better of them and thinking, that is exaggerated.  It would never happen in real life. 

Now he knew better.

Those shows actually downplayed it. 

In the hour that the children ran amuck with Yooguen unable to stop them, the apartment came to look like it had been ransacked and looted by thieves. 

He chased after them in vain, their giggles acting like jackhammers to his brain.  He’d tell them to quiet down and they’d shriek louder.  He’d ask them to leave something alone, and they’d tear into something else.

They even upended the bag of homework he had brought with, mistakenly thinking that he might be able to get some reading down once the children were down for a nap, and began stashing his books all throughout the apartment. 

But eventually, they wound down.  Their sugar high turning into a sugar crash.

Finally Yooguen was able to retake control of the situation.  Yooguen got them bathed and dressed and into bed, without argument, even though it was an hour before their bedtime.

Closing the doors to their rooms, Yooguen walked back out and cringed at the state of the apartment.  How could two little children do so much damage?

He sighed and set about cleaning up the mess, wondering if he had ever been this bad as a child, and asking for forgiveness already if he ever had.

What had taken the children a little over an hour to wreck, took Yooguen a solid three hours to fix up. 

At least they stayed out of Taemin-samchun’s office, the college sophomore thought idly.  He would never have been able to reorganize everything in there if they had taken their rampage through all that paperwork. 

He threw the last toy into the toy chest in the corner of the living room before collapsing onto the couch with a deep sigh. 

And before he knew it he had drifted off into an exhausted slumber.

*****

It was just after eleven when Taemin and Kibum made their way home.  Quietly entering the apartment, Kibum called out softly to Yooguen, but received no reply.  Seeing the light was on in the living room he walked in to find the babysitter curled up and asleep on the couch. 

Kibum couldn’t stop the ‘awww’ thought that filled his mind as images of Yooguen as a child superimposed themselves over his adult self momentarily. 

“I’ll check on the kids,” Taemin said softly as Kibum moved to grab a blanket to put over their “nephew.”

The sight of his children sleeping peacefully, as always, brought a sense of calm wonder to his heart and Taemin kissed each of them lightly before heading back out to the living room. 

Kibum had tucked in the college student, as though he was a child himself and rubbed the young man’s head gently before walking back to Taemin.

“They tired him out.”  Kibum said quietly as the couple walked down the hallway to their bedroom.

“Looks like,” Taemin agreed, yawning as the night caught up with him as well. 

“I’ll call Jinki and let him know that Yooguen is staying here tonight.”

“Alright.” Taemin nodded, “but now it’s bedtime for us too.”

Kibum almost giggled, and shook his head, closing their bedroom door behind them.  “Yeah, bonzo – now get dressed for bed,” he added a gentle smack to Taemin’s bottom for good measure.

“Oh, …” Taemin quipped.

Kibum snorted.  “Just get ready for bed.”

“Yes Umma…”

Kibum shook his head, suddenly knowing exactly what Yooguen had been put through if the children were acting anything like their difficult Papa tonight.

“Samchun” is the Seoul pronounciation of the Korean word for Uncle (aparently its actually supposed to be Samchon) but with Yooguen being from around there (I think...) and going to school there, I decided that he wuold have the Seoul accent.

“You are supposed to protect him, not be the one he needs to be protected from.” – Okay this line is not my original construction.  I work in a store and I was in the children’s department the other day when a set of siblings started fighting and this is what the dad said to the older brother who had started the fight.  I thought it was perfect and it stuck in my head and so I thought that I would use it here.