1)

The stylist Noona dropped Hyemi off early on her first day of school. Hyemi was excited, but hadn’t really wanted to leave her baby brother at home. She’d even asked Mama if she could take him with her to show off to the other kids, but he’d laughed and shaken his head, saying Hyesung was too young to go to school yet. He’d instead given her a teddy bear to take in and she’d been satisfied with it. It was something to cuddle and show off; it was a very nice teddy bear, after all.

She was at an all-girls school, so it was full of pretty little girls with dark hair and glasses in long blue dresses. There were tons of tiny girls on the playground and she towered over many of them. She hadn’t really realised how tall she was until then, even though she was taller than Dongmi—but Dongmi was littler than her anyway.

There was one other tall girl in the playground, and whilst she watched, the girl went and sat at the edge of the playground and dragged her knees to her chin. Hyemi marched straight over to her, put on her best, prettiest and toothy Baba-grin, and said, “Hello! I’m Haimi.”

The other girl looked up at her shyly and said her name before saying, “I’m really scared. It’s scary here.”

“It’ll be okay,” Hyemi told her cheerfully and then reached down, taking the other girl’s hand and pulling her up, deciding immediately that she was going to be this girl’s friend forever.

The bell signifying that class was to start came soon, and they both headed inside to the correct classroom, which Hyemi discovered she shared with her new friend. The teacher introduced herself and then began to read the register. When she reached Hyemi’s name, Hyemi found herself interrupting with, “Haimi.”

The teacher blinked at her. “Pardon?” she asked.

“My name’s Zhou Haimi,” Hyemi told her. “Only Mama can call me Hyemi.”

The teacher frowned but then nodded. “Haimi, can you write that for me?”

Hyemi nodded and crossed the room. She took the pen from the teacher and carefully wrote 周海觅, Zhou Haimi, next to the 조혜미 that was currently there. Then she moved back to her seat and smiled nicely up at the teacher, who sighed once and continued as if nothing had happened.

From that day forwards, Hyemi was known as “that Chinese girl”, and she gained a reputation for setting things straight. Also, she became known for being clever, artistic, fiercely protective and with a strong jokey, teasing streak.

When Kyuhyun learnt this, he couldn’t have been prouder.

2)

When Hyesung grew old enough, Kangin taught him how to defend himself, and Donghae taught him and Dongjin to play football, just as they’d promised all those years ago. Both Dongjin and Hyesung really enjoyed it, and they started learning the rules and playing together and with other boys they met their age who lived nearby. They would watch football in their spare time, curled up on Kyuhyun’s sofa in front of the television.

Neither Kyuhyun, nor Zhou Mi, had ever been into football so they didn’t really understand how a son of theirs could be so interested in such a sport.

Ryeowook, determined to not be outdone, started giving all of their children singing lessons. Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi had always sung around their children so they’d pick it up, but Ryeowook gave them orderly, logical singing lessons which made them understand how to sing and the rules behind it. Kyuhyun was grateful for such a friend, because he knew he wasn’t patient enough to do that and he didn’t even work. Most of the time.

With Hyemi being artistic, into drawing and painting, and Hyesung into sports, Kyuhyun was glad his children had hobbies that he didn’t have, that weren’t linked to any of their hobbies; things that were intrinsically them.

It meant he could show them off, particularly to his mother.

3)

Hyesung was vastly different from Hyemi at school. He was also popular almost immediately, though his was due to his easy charisma and love of football. He sang as well, but was less vocal about it than his love of sports. The other boys admired him because he was so talented and became eager to be his friend, until he had some close friends and a gaggle of admirers. He joined the football team early on and became the captain in his final year before middle school.

Hyesung, who had started to talk late, found words somewhat complicated and hard to find the right one, so football was his refuge. He didn’t have to talk to play; he simply had to run around after a ball. It was much easier for him.

Kyuhyun still didn’t understand how it worked, but at least Hyesung enjoyed it, and he would support him all the way.

4)

Leeteuk sat on Kyuhyun’s couch with a pensive expression on his face.

“Hyung?” Kyuhyun asked. “What are you thinking about?”

“Well,” Leeteuk began, “seeing you and the others with children really makes me want some of my own. I’ve been thinking about it for some time and I really think I’d like to adopt.”

Kyuhyun blinked at him, and flapped his arms slightly, because Leeteuk with kids? That wasn’t something he’d expected to hear out of his mouth. “But Hyung, you’re…” He flapped his arms again, trying not to say the word “old”, because he didn’t think he would appreciate it.

Leeteuk narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m thirty-eight years old, Kyuhyun,” he said.

Kyuhyun blinked again at him. “I thought you were in your forties?” was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Leeteuk reached over as if he was going to smack him like a badly behaved child, and Kyuhyun squeaked and ducked out of the way. “Even if I was forty, that isn’t old, either, Magnae.” He sighed. “You still have no respect for your elders, do you?”

“I’m sorry, Hyung,” Kyuhyun said. “It’s just a surprise. I had no idea you wanted children. Does Kangin-hyung know?”

Leeteuk stared at him for so long he thought he might have said something wrong, and then Leeteuk said, “Kangin would make a great father, wouldn’t he?” and said no more on the matter.

Kyuhyun wondered if there was something veiled in there he was supposed to get and ignored it anyway.

5)

When Hyerin started school, Hyemi was already nearly finished with middle school, and had swept her way through school with her slightly crazy and artistic school-uniform and wicked sense of humour.

Hyerin, on the other hand, was quiet, short, mousy and deeply into mathematics. She was so shy that Kyuhyun had wondered if something had happened in the womb, because he was sure that although he was awkward and had his moments of shyness, he’d never been as shy as her. He knew she was his because she looked like a tiny clone of Zhou Mi, only with his awkwardness and mathematical tendencies. She even liked to sing, but that was probably because Ryeowook had made it his life’s ambition to make sure all of Super Junior’s children were musical.

Hyerin had a hard time living up to the memory of Hyemi, because the two sisters were nothing alike. Not only were there many years between them, they had nothing at all in common, and yet Hyerin’s school still tried to treat her like Hyemi 2.0.

Instead, Hyerin would go and sit in the corner and read a book, or do her homework instead of mingling because she didn’t really know how to make friends, even though she was sister to two children who both had no trouble at all. Both of them were very popular due to their easygoing nature. Hyerin simply wasn’t. She soon became known as “that clever, quiet girl” who often talked in Chinese when she had to say something. It meant nothing to her that most of the children couldn’t understand her. It meant they left her alone.

She liked her silence, and she liked being alone, because it was comforting to her. When she needed comfort in the form of another person she’d go and crawl up next to her Mama and they’d do some number puzzles together, or she’d go and sing nursery rhymes with her Baba. Sometimes Mama and her siblings joined them. She didn’t need anybody else.

Kyuhyun convinced her to join the Maths club when she was in middle school, telling her that those were kids like her, who liked numbers and peace, and she finally started to make friends, people to hang out with during and after school. They entered many competitions and won over half of them because they were so dedicated. The day she told Kyuhyun she was joining the Maths Olympiad was the day Kyuhyun had never been prouder of her. She didn’t have to win, he told her, because simply entering it, and doing well, made him the proudest parent of all.

When she won it, he wouldn’t stop telling people, until they all shouted at him that they were pleased for him, but really, did he have to keep going on about it?

It didn’t stop him.

6)

God watched Kyuhyun with his children fondly, glad that He’d listened to Siwon. Heechul was more understanding, even if he still didn’t pray with Siwon. The others knew better than to dispute God’s existence after they’d seen pregnant Kyuhyun.

God had rather enjoyed the numerous years, watching Kyuhyun’s children grow up, and thought He really should do it again. It had been far too long since He’d created a miracle like that, and He’d enjoyed it a lot. He hoped Kyuhyun enjoyed his connection with Him, for He had enjoyed His connection with Kyuhyun. There would probably be a special place in His heart for Kyuhyun for eternity, long after he was dead.

What was it human girls called it? A “ship”? God thought that He probably shipped Himself with Kyuhyun, to be honest. After all, Hyemi was partially His.

Not that He’d ever tell anyone. Not after what had happened to Jesus. Hyemi would live a normal life. He wasn’t going to compromise that for her.

7) 

When Hyemi was seventeen years old, she had her first boyfriend. He was slightly taller than her and into football and she dated him for two weeks before dumping him.

Kyuhyun had liked him—or liked as much as you can like your children’s dates, so he asked her why. She shrugged and said she didn’t know. She just didn’t like him.

It took her another year to go up to her parents and say she thought she liked girls more than guys, and that she was dating a girl in her class, and was that okay with them?

Kyuhyun blinked at her before turning to Zhou Mi and blinking at him as well. Zhou Mi laughed. “Why would that be a problem with us? Your mother is a man.”

Hyemi grinned slightly bashfully, toothily, at their acceptance, and then joked that they should hope that the other two were straight so they could get some grandchildren out of them.

Kyuhyun snorted and told her that science would probably make it possible for her to have children, if she really wanted them, but that he wouldn’t let her have children until she was at least forty anyway.

She rolled her eyes and turned to Zhou Mi, but he nodded and said, “Mama’s right.”

Hyemi smacked her palm against her forehead and walked away, laughing at her idiotic parents.