---

 

Kyuhyun woke with a start.

 

Lifting his head off of the pillow and squinting his eyes in the darkness, he left out a sigh when he was realized what time it was.

 

Just after two o’clock.

 

But instead of rolling back over and settling back into the warmth of the sheets, he rubbed his eyes and then rolled over onto his stomach.

 

Using his hands to raise himself off of the mattress, he felt a gentle, yet firm hand push him back down to the sheets.

 

“What are you doing?” gasped Kyuhyun turning to look in Siwon’s direction.

 

“Where are you going?” asked Siwon, not bothering to open his eyes.

 

“Nowhere,” mumbled Kyuhyun. “Just to the bathroom.”

 

“He’s fine,” sighed Siwon.

 

“I wasn’t going to check on him—

 

“Baby, really, he’s fine,” insisted Siwon trying to pull Kyuhyun back down and against him. “I saw him a couple of hours ago right before I came to bed.”

 

“Wonnie,” whined Kyuhyun trying to pry Siwon’s fingers off of his ribs.  “Look, fine, I was just gonna peak my head in on my way back, there’s no harm in that.”

 

“See? I told you I was right,” said Siwon pulling Kyuhyun deeper into his hold.

 

“Yeah, you were, great. Now will you let me go so I can check on my child?” grunted Kyuhyun using both hands now to slowly pry Siwon’s arm away from his body.

 

Siwon sighed as he loosened his grip. “The hours of sleep that you’ve lost…” he trailed off.

 

Kyuhyun chose to ignore him as he stood up from their bed and walked straight past the bathroom door and out of their room, making Siwon chuckle knowingly.

 

When Kyuhyun reached the hallway, he walked down to Hyunjin’s room and carefully cracked open the door. From there he could see Hyunjin fast asleep on his back, his chest moving up and down with every breath.

 

Kyuhyun sighed the same relieved sigh he did every night when he made sure that his baby was alright. Though, that sigh soon turned into a chuckle when he saw how carelessly Hyunjin had made it back into his bed.

 

His sheets were all twisted around his body and his right leg and arm were dangling off of the edge. Walking inside of his son’s room, Kyuhyun neared Hyunjin’s bed and proceeded to gently move him back into the center of his mattress.

 

Hyunjin let out a soft whine of protest as Kyuhyun lifted him slightly.

 

“Shhh, just go back to sleep aegi-yah,” Kyuhyun said absently mindedly as he lifted up Hyunjin’s limbs to untangle the sheets from around him.

 

“Noona,” Hyunjin mumbled. “Ice…cream.”

 

“You already had ice cream today Jinni-ah,” Kyuhyun said with an amused smiled as he yanked the sheets taut before draping them gently over Hyunjin’s body once again.

 

“Noona…you promised ice cream…before you left,” Hyunjin breathed as his head rolled to the other side. “I want…choco.”

 

Kyuhyun let out a soft laugh as he leaned down and kissed Hyunjin’s forehead. “Tomorrow aegi-yah, you have to a good night’s sleep first.”

 

Leaning back up he was instantly brought back to the days of when Hyunjin was still just a baby and this had become a stressful nightly ritual. Hyunjin hadn’t been the healthiest baby, and this had caused Kyuhyun to become used to always checking on him throughout the night, even though he was now seven.

 

Once he was satisfied that Hyunjin was safe and comfortable, Kyuhyun left him to sleep alone in peace and stepped out into the hallway once again.

 

He was on his way to go back into his and Siwon’s room to go back to sleep himself, when Hyunjin’s words about Daerim started to piece together in his mind. Hyunjin had said Daerim promised him ice cream before she left…but Daerim wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. With a shrug, Kyuhyun decided to just let it go, but he figured that since he was up, he might as well check in on Daerim as well.

 

Walking down to her room, he quietly turned the handle to her door and pushed it open, to reveal darkness.

 

He was going to leave it at just this and not bother going in, but he decided to walk over and kiss her goodnight as well, so that he could sleep with a peaceful mind.

 

Once near her bed though he noticed that the sheets were pulled back and it was in fact empty.

 

That’s strange, he thought as he frowned to himself. He didn’t remember seeing a light on in the bathroom in the hall when he passed by it before. Leaning down to touch her sheets, he was shocked to discover they were cold to the touch.

 

Turning back towards the door, Kyuhyun walked out of Daerim’s room and down the hall towards the living room and kitchen.

 

All of the lights were off and there was no sign of any life in this part of the apartment.

 

“Daerim-ah?” he called out softly, but still loud enough to be heard.

 

Nothing.

 

With a frown he walked back into his bedroom and over to his side of the bed where he sat down slowly, trying his hardest to understand what was happening.

 

Noticing that he wasn’t laying down in the bed, Siwon squinted in the darkness.

 

“Baby, what are you doing?” he asked. “Lie down.”

 

“Daerim’s not in her room,” Kyuhyun said still in disbelief.

 

“What?” asked Siwon, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

 

“I just checked her room after checking in on Hyunjin—she’s not there, and her sheets are cold—she wasn’t in the living room, the bathroom, or the kitchen,” said Kyuhyun standing up again as the situation began to dawn on him even more.

 

“What—no, no. I said goodnight to her earlier—she must just be—

 

“No, Wonnie, listen—she is not  in her room right now!”

 

“Well where could she be then Kyu?” asked Siwon sitting up slowly.

 

“That’s the point—I don’t know where she is!” said Kyuhyun. “Are you hearing me?! It’s after 2 o’clock in the morning and our daughter is not in the apartment!”

 

Siwon had finally sat up in bed and took a moment to really listen to what Kyuhyun was saying.

 

“Kyu…I hear what you're saying, but…there’s no way she would have just left the apartment in the middle of the night. Where would she have gone?” asked Siwon looking over at Kyuhyun after rubbing his eyes.

 

“Go and see for yourself!” said Kyuhyun motioning towards their door.

 

With a sigh Siwon rose and walked towards their bedroom door and out into the hallway.

 

Kyuhyun followed close behind him as Siwon walked down the hallway towards Daerim’s room.

 

Upon reaching it, he called out.

 

“Daerim-ah?”

 

Kyuhyun flipped on the light switch, making Siwon squint. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw for himself that Daerim’s bed was indeed empty.

 

Glancing behind him at Kyuhyun he walked deeper into the room and looked around helplessly.

 

“Exactly. Now do you believe me?!” asked Kyuhyun before walking out of the room and back towards their bedroom.

 

Going over towards his side of the bed Kyuhyun immediately his lamp and then grabbed his phone just as Siwon was walking into the room as well.

 

Kyuhyun bounced his leg nervously as he waited for the call to Daerim’s phone to go through.

 

 

Meanwhile…

 

 

Kangin drummed his fingers on his knees until there was a dull pain that spread through them.

 

It had been almost an hour since he watched Haejin leave through their front door, with his guitar slung over his shoulder.

 

An hour. That’s what they had agreed on.

 

He watched the clock on the wall, with frustration building in his body as the minutes went by without any sign of his son walking back through the door.

 

The final straw came when he watched the :59 change to :00. With a heavy sigh he snatched his phone off of the arm of the couch.

 

After dialing the numbers he leaned his head back on the couch and waited for the moment he would finally hear Haejin’s voice.

 

“Ap—appa?” choked out Haejin finally.

 

“Where are you?!” Kangin barked louder than he meant to.

 

“Wh—I’m still with Daerim,” Hyunjin said as he glanced over at her.

 

“No, wrong answer! You had better be walking through this front door in the next ten seconds!” Kangin hissed angrily.

 

“Uh…it might take a little longer than that Appa,” said Haejin uneasily.

 

“I told you one hour Jin—one hour! That included travel time—why are you not home yet?”

 

“Appa I’m sorry—

 

“Don’t be sorry—I don’t need your sorry’s right now Haejin-ah, I need you to be walking through the front door now, not when the sun comes up!” hissed Kangin.

 

“I’ll be there soon—

 

“No, now! Soon is not fast enough. You know your Teukkie appa is going to be leaving in a few hours for his trip. If he wakes up and finds that you aren’t in your room, you are on your own. You remember how he was the last time you broke curfew,” said Kangin.

 

“Okay Appa, I’m coming, I’m coming,” said Haejin holding the phone against his ear with his shoulder so that he could turn around and begin grabbing his things.

 

“Just make sure that when you come in—

 

“Yeobo?” came Leeteuk’s tired voice from down the hall. “Who are you talking to?”

 

Kangin’s head whipped around as he accidently dropped his phone in his lap.

 

There stood Leeteuk with still sleepy eyes and with bed head as he squinted at Kangin through the dark room.

 

“Uh, no one Teukkie-ah, “ he said quickly ending the call with Haejin.

 

“What do you mean no one? I heard you yelling,” said Leeteuk with a yawn as he walked deeper into the living room. “You need to keep it down. I’m surprised you didn’t wake up Jin.”

 

“Ah, I’m sorry, I was just uh—watching TV, but I just turned it off.  I’m coming back to bed now,” said Kangin moving to get up.

 

“Well, I’m awake now, what were you watching?” asked Leeteuk with another yawn as he sat down beside Kangin on the couch.

 

“Wh-Teuk no, you’re still tired and you don’t have to get up for at least another hour, let’s just go back to sleep,” said Kangin, a tinge of panic in his voice.

 

“No, it’s fine. I wanted to leave for the airport a bit earlier anyway, so I should be up. I’ll sit with you for a bit and get in my last few hours of Korean TV. Show me what it was that you were watching,” said Leeteuk pulling Kangin back down and snuggling up beside him.

 

Kangin sighed as he looked towards the front door and then back at Leeteuk who now had the remote in his hands and was turning on the TV.

 

 

Back at the Choi’s…

 

“Appa?”

 

“Aegi-yah, where are you?! Are you hurt?! Are you safe?! Who’s with you?!” asked Kyuhyun once he heard Daerim finally answer the call.

 

“Kyu Appa—I’m fine,” Daerim managed to spit out between Kyuhyun’s rapid fire questions.

 

“She’s fine,” Kyuhyun said with a sigh of relief as he glanced over at Siwon.

 

“Great, but where is she?!” asked Siwon shaking his head.

 

“Where are you?!” said Kyuhyun panic lacing his voice again as he turned back to the phone.

 

“Out…side,” she said weakly.

 

“Clearly—where?!” asked Kyuhyun now growing irritated.

 

“In the courtyard,” she said touching her forehead.

 

“The courtyard—what are you doing outside in the courtyard at 2 o’clock in the morning?!”

 

At these words Siwon walked towards the door and grabbed the first pair of shoes that he saw.

 

“Are you—wait a minute—Wonnie, what are you doing? Where are you going?” asked Kyuhyun shaking his head.

 

“There’s only one reason she’s out there Kyu, and it’s in skinny jeans and has bangs in it’s eyes,” sighed Siwon as he forced his heel into the still laced sneaker.

 

“You don’t really think…” drifted off Kyuhyun, but he was interrupted with a raised eyebrow from Siwon.

 

Kyuhyun’s eyes suddenly doubled in size as his empty hand gripped his hair in frustration.

 

“Daerim?! Is Haejin there with you?!” he hissed.

 

“Haejin? Here? With me?” asked Daerim turning to look at him.

 

Haejin’s eyes raised in question and then he immediately shook his head when he realized what was happening.

 

“N-no Appa—I just…needed some fresh air?” she tried, her voice raising at the end.

 

“Why are you lying to me? You know that you're a terrible liar—what the hell are the two of you doing outside together this late at night—“ sighed Kyuhyun.

 

He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the front door closing.

 

“Aegi-yah,” started Kyuhyun as he brought his hand to his head. “A word of advice. Whatever you were doing, I suggest you finish it, because your Wonnie appa is on his way down. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

 

Daerim gulped as the call ended.

 

“Oppa,” she said turning to Haejin as she saw him pocketing his phone with a solemn look.

 

“Yeah?” he asked looking up at her.

 

“You have to go,” she said looking down at everything.

 

“Yeah I know, my Appa is pissed—

 

“So are mine. My Wonnie appa is on his way down now—

 

“What?!” Haejin gasped, his eyes growing.

 

“My Kyu appa just said—

 

“Aish! Uh…okay, okay” he said running his hands through his hair.

 

“You should go now, before he comes—

 

“No, I can’t do that,” he said shaking his head with a small frown, stilling his actions to focus on her.

 

“But if he sees you he’ll—

 

“I don’t care. I’m already in trouble as it is. I won’t let you get in trouble alone,” said Haejin taking her hand.

 

Daerim reluctantly let him hold it as they stood there, looking at each other while they counted the seconds in their heads before Siwon would finally make his appearance.

 

“Listen, don’t be scared, I’ll explain everything, I won’t let him think we did anything wrong, okay?” said Haejin looking into her eyes.

 

Daerim could only give a weak nod, so Haejin reached out to pet her hair gently, trying to soothe both of their frazzled nerves.

 

After only a few more moments they heard a voice clear through the darkness.

 

“Daerim?” Siwon called out.

 

“I’m over here Appa,” said Daerim softly and she pulled away from Haejin’s hand.

 

They heard his heavy footsteps before they saw him. When he finally made his appearance, stepping into the gazebo, Siwon just stared at both of them, and then the hot chocolates, the muffin, the candle and the guitar.

 

“Daerim-ah, come here,” he said firmly.

 

Daerim glanced at Haejin and then Siwon before slowly stepping over.

 

Siwon reached out and gently took her wrist pulling her over to him quicker.

 

He put his hands on her chin and tilted her head up towards the moonlight  and  then looked into her eyes.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked seriously, looking deep into her dark orbs, and waiting for her eyes to flicker and prove to him that she had been hurt or mistreated in someway.

 

“Yes Appa, I’m fine,” said Daerim earnestly and Siwon held her gaze for a few moments later before turning his attention to Haejin.

 

“I know my daughter well enough to know that this wasn’t her idea. So, what in the hell could you have been possibly thinking?” he asked. He voice held a tight firmness to it, but he wasn’t yelling yet, Daerim noted.

 

“You're right samchon, it was all my idea. I wanted to surprise Daerim,” Haejin spoke up before Daerim tried to lie.

 

“And you thought two o’clock in the morning was the best time for that?” asked Siwon.

 

His voice was still eerily calm and it was making both teenagers more anxious than they had anticipated.

 

“I know…it looks really bad, but samchon I swear to you—all I did was play Daerim-ah the song I had written for her and we drank some hot chocolate and talked,” said Haejin earnestly.

 

“Daerim?” questioned Siwon cutting his eyes over to her.

 

“That’s the truth Appa. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—

 

Siwon held his hand up to silence her.

 

“Really, it was me that— started Haejin.

 

Siwon raised his hand higher, to silence him.

 

“Let’s go,” was all he said as he motioned towards their building’s entrance into the garden.

 

“But, aren’t you— questioned Daerim.

 

“Haejin you better get home now. I’ll be calling your appas to let them know they can expect you,” said Siwon reaching out and firmly putting his hand on Daerim’s shoulder and pulling her even closer towards him. “You are not to call, message, or come by to see Daerim until further notice. That includes walking her to and from school, understood?”

 

“Appa! No, please—“ tried Daerim.

 

“Yes samchon, I understand. I’ll stay away,” said Haejin lowering his head. He knew better than to upset Siwon any further.

 

“Oppa?” asked Daerim shaking her head as she looked at him, completely confused with why he wasn’t trying harder to convince Siwon they were innocent anymore.

 

“Appa—please don’t be angry with him, it was my fault too—all of it! It was my choice to come out—

 

“No, samchon, don’t listen to her. I was the one who planned the entire thing. Daerim didn’t want to, it’s my fault, so please don’t punish her,” Haejin said stepping forward.

 

Siwon pulled Daerim over to his other side, further away from Haejin.

 

“I really expected more out of you Haejin. You’re almost 17. She’s still just a child—

 

“Appa!”

 

“Daerim, go upstairs,” Siwon said turning to face her.

 

“No, I don’t want to leave—

 

“I said go!” Siwon said, raising his voice for the first time that night.

 

Daerim whimpered as her eyes began to quickly cloud over with tears. She looked at Siwon’s unyielding face for a few moments before looking back at Haejin.

 

With her free hand, she gently waved and Haejin returned it, wishing she could hear the thousand ‘I’m sorry’s’ he was saying in his head now.

 

Walking slowly away from the gazebo, Daerim watched as Siwon waited for her to continue on into the building. Knowing that she would get in even more trouble if she just didn’t listen and waited, she decided to just make her way back upstairs and pray that her Kyu appa would take mercy on her.

 

Once he was positive they were alone, Siwon turned to look back at Haejin.

 

“Do you remember what I said to you this evening Haejin?” asked Siwon through narrowed eyes.

 

“A-about what, exactly Samchon?” asked Haejin, embarrassed that his voice cracked.

 

“Daerim. About how precious she is to me?”

 

Haejin nodded.

 

“So imagine the fear and rage that I had just a few minutes ago when I realized that she was not in her bed, but instead outside with a boy. And not just any boy, but you,” said Siwon stepping closer to Haejin.

 

“Samchon, I-I really didn’t mean for anything bad to happen to Daerim. I just wanted her to hear—

 

“Your song, I know. But the problem is Haejin, that as I said before, you are almost 17. You are not a little boy anymore. You're almost a man, but she, she is still my little girl. And she is going to stay a little girl for as long as possible. Is that clear?”

 

“Yes samchon,” Haejin nodded.

 

“So, I need you to remember one thing, if the two of you ever find yourselves in this position again, you are going to be in a world of trouble, and pain. Do you understand me?”

 

Haejin nodded again, before finding his voice. “Yes Samchon.”

 

“Good, now I believe you need to go home, now,” said Siwon as calmly as he could muster, but his patience was wearing thin.

 

Hearing the tone behind his words made Haejin look down again.

 

“Yes samchon,” he said and he began gathering his things.

 

Siwon said nothing else as he turned around and made his way back to the building.

 

When he reached upstairs Siwon could hear a muted murmur in the hallway. But as he neared closer and closer to his front door, he realized it was coming from inside. Once he opened it, the explosion that was going off hit him like a slap to the face.

 

“Are you out of your mind?!” Kyuhyun bellowed down at Daerim. “I mean, what in G-d’s name would make you think that this was acceptable!?”

 

“I’m-I’m s-sorry Appa,” Daerim sputtered as she shook her head, tears already running down her cheeks.

 

She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Kyuhyun this visibly angry with her.

 

“Just—no! Sorry doesn’t begin to make a dent in the explanation that you owe us Daerim! What were you doing with him?!” asked Kyuhyun as Siwon silently moved to the living room and took a seat on the sofa, but not before grabbing a notepad and pen that had been resting on the table.

 

“We were just talking—

 

“Really?!” cut in Kyuhyun.

 

“Yes, I promise! Haejin has been working on a song for his class and he wanted to play it for me t-to to apologize for tonight,” said Daerim, her voice wavering from a combination of sadness and fear.

 

“And this couldn’t wait until tomorrow?!”

 

“It wasn’t my idea,” Daerim said shaking her head.

 

“But the problem is that you went along with it! This is just…it’s so unlike you Daerim-ah!” Kyuhyun said dragging his hands down his face. “You have to look at it from our prospective. Our fourteen year old daughter decided to leave the safety of her bed to go see a boy! How are we supposed to react to that?! And if all of this was as innocent as you claim, why did you feel the need to lie about it?!”

 

“Because I knew that you would see it in the worst way. I knew you wouldn’t see it as just me going to out to talk to Haejin, you’d see it as something else,” said Daerim looking down.

 

Kyuhyun closed his eyes for a minute to think. When he opened them, ready to explain his thoughts to her once again, his eyes focused on her arm as she raised it to tuck a bit of her hair behind her ear.

 

“What’s that?” he asked squinting as he stepped closer to her.

 

“What?” asked Daerim shaking her head in confusion.

 

Kyuhyun said nothing more as he reached out and took hold of Daerim’s wrist.

 

“This. What is this?” he asked pulling down her sleeve so that her bracelet would be exposed.

 

“Where did it come from?” he asked although he felt he already knew the answer.

 

“That place…where you and Wonnie appa took me…that one time?” Daerim tried.

 

Kyuhyun shook his head at her futile attempts. “No Daerim-ah.”

 

“Nara gave it to me?” she tried.

 

Again Kyuhyun shook his head, “No, Daerim-ah.”

 

“…Haejin gave it to me,” she finally admitted.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because…” started Daerim.

 

“Because…?” fished Kyuhyun, impatiently trying to get her to continue.

 

“Because he asked me to be his girlfriend,” she mumbled.

 

“Thank you. So that’s what this was about? He didn’t just want to play a song for you. He wanted to ask you to be his girlfriend,” Kyuhyun sighed.

 

“N-no—

 

“No?”

 

“Well, yes, but I didn’t know that until I got there.”

 

Kyuhyun sighed and then glanced over at Siwon, only now noticing how quiet he had been since entering the apartment.

 

“What did you do to your Wonnie Appa?” Kyuhyun asked with a frown.

 

Daerim shook her head innocently as they both looked at him.

 

“Won?” asked Kyuhyun walking closer.

 

Siwon lifted his head up from his writing. He looked like he had been deep in thought for a while and was now only aware of the two other people standing just a few feet away from him.

 

“What are you doing? Why are you just sitting there like nothing happened?” Kyuhyun asked motioning over towards Daerim.

 

“I’m just making the list,” he said standing as he handed the paper to Kyuhyun. “Do you want to add anything?”

 

Kyuhyun looked it over quickly before nodding in understanding.

 

“Yes, thank you,” said Kyuhyun reaching for the pen in Siwon’s hand before writing vigorously on the paper ahead of him.

 

“What’s that?” asked Daerim shaking her head.

 

“Remember the last time you got in trouble? For hitting your brother?” asked Siwon.

 

“Two years ago?”

“Uh-huh,” nodded Siwon.

 

Daerim’s eyes widened.

 

“Is that the—

 

“Uh-huh,” cut in Kyuhyun.

 

“Appas no! Please, last time it took way too long for me to get enough points!”

 

“Well then, you better get started. You're older now, I think you can handle it,” said Kyuhyun handing it back over to Siwon.

 

“Kyu appa?” they suddenly heard a tired voice coming from down the hallway.

 

“Hyunjin-ah?” asked Kyuhyun turning away from the group as he watched Hyunjin walk over towards them.

 

“Why is everyone so loud?” asked Hyunjin rubbing his eyes.

 

“I’m sorry aegi-yah. We didn’t mean to wake you,” said Kyuhyun Hyunjin’s soft locks after he lay his head on Kyuhyun’s side.

 

Hyunjin immediately wrapped his arms snuggly around Kyuhyun as he glanced over at Daerim and Siwon.

 

“Why are you all mad?” asked Hyunjin softly as Kyuhyun now his back.

 

“Mad? Baby we’re not mad,” said Kyuhyun shaking his head.

 

“But I heard you yelling at Noona,” Hyunjin yawned.

 

“Yes…but listen, don’t worry about that, let’s just put you back to sleep, okay?” said Kyuhyun starting to walk back towards the bedrooms.

 

“Will you stay with me?” asked Hyunjin.

 

Kyuhyun sighed and nodded, “Of course aegi-yah, let’s go.”

 

“Wait, Appa if Noona is in trouble then does that mean that we can’t go out for ice cream?” he asked softly.

 

“Ice cream?” asked Kyuhyun shaking his head.

 

“She said that if I didn’t tell about her meeting Haejin, she would take me for ice cream,” said Hyunjin with a  pout.

 

“Hyunjin!” hissed Daerim.

 

“What?! I didn’t tell!” countered Hyunjin. “Oh…”

 

Kyuhyun looked over at Daerim and then back to Hyunjin.

 

“So that’s what you were mumbling in your sleep. Daerim, did you bribe your brother with ice cream?” asked Kyuhyun squinting his eyes at her.

 

Daerim groaned as she tilted her back to look at the ceiling.

 

“You’ve really turned over a new leaf aegi-yah, and I can’t say that I like it,” Kyuhyun sighed as he started walking with Hyunjin again.  “Wonnie, maybe we should up it from 400 to 500?”

 

“That’s a good idea. We’ll make it a little more challenging for you this time Daerim-ah.”

 

Daerim sniffled as she ran her hands through her hair.

 

“Oh, and Daerim-ah,” he called.

 

“Yes Appa?”

 

“I suggest you start bright and early with your assignment, or else it’s gonna be a long week,” he said with a smirk.

 

“Yes Appa,” she murmured before looking back at Siwon who only raised an eyebrow in agreement.

 

“Wait, Appa? Does that really mean I can’t get ice cream?” asked Hyunjin as Kyuhyun walked him into his room.

 

“Jinnie-ah, relax. We’ll get you some ice cream tomorrow okay?” sighed Kyuhyun.

 

“Yes!” bounced Hyunjin with a smile on his suddenly energized face.

 

“And then we’ll learn the lesson of how not to be bought so easily by our noonas, okay?” said Kyuhyun rubbing the top of Hyunjin’s hair.

 

Once Hyunjin’s bedroom door closed, Siwon turned to look at Daerim.

 

“So I assume you remember how this works,” he said holding up the list in his hands. “But I’ll remind you of it again anyway, since it has been so long since we’ve needed to use it.

 

“You have one week to earn five hundred points. Your Kyu appa and I have made this list of different chores and activities that you can do to earn points. If at the end of next Sunday you’ve made at least 500 points, you will be off of punishment. If not, it starts all over again the next week, from zero.

 

Daerim gasped. Hearing it out loud surprised her more than she expected.

 

“So let’s see…washing dishes…mmm 10 points seems good. Dusting…10 points. Mopping…10 points. Sorting, washing, drying, folding, and putting away laundry…hmm, your Kyu appa seemed at little more generous this time…20 points. One study hour…15. Cooking dinner…oh, 30! Not bad this time, Daerim-ah. There’s a good variety. Maybe you can do it all in a week.” Said Siwon handing it over to her with a shrug. “And if you don’t, well at least your Kyu appa and I will get a break from cleaning.

 

Daerim gasped again when she saw the laundry list of items her appas had already come up with.

 

“And don’t forget, we have church tomorrow as well, seven am service. So you might want to wake up a little bit earlier, perhaps make breakfast,” Siwon pointed out to one of the items on the list. “That’ll get you 20 points right from the start.”

 

“Thanks Appa” she mumbled.

 

She scanned the list and rubbed her red eyes before folding it and putting it into her pocket.

 

Siwon looked at her for a moment as she did this.

 

“Daerim-ah,” he said softly.

 

She looked up at him.

 

“You know we have to punish you right?” he said seriously, trying to appeal to her reason. “You can’t…you can’t just do this. You can’t sneak out of the apartment to meet a boy. It’s terrifying on a level I don’t think you quite understand yet baby.”

 

Daerim could only nod.

 

“What I mean is…please just don’t…”

 

“Don’t what Appa?” she asked shaking her head as she looked up at him.

 

“Just don’t grow up too fast, okay? There will be plenty of time in life to do these things later. Now, what your Appa and I want most is for you to stay our aegi-yah, okay?”

 

“Plenty of time for what?” she asked tilting her head to the side.

 

Siwon exhaled slowly, “Falling in love…and everything that comes with it.”

 

“…you believe me when I say nothing bad happened, right Appa?

 

Siwon his lips. “My heart tells me to, so I will. Just don’t ever do this again, okay?”

 

Daerim nodded. So Siwon leaned forward and kissed the top of her head before walked back towards his bedroom.

 

 

                                                            ~**~

 

The front door of Kim house slowly pushed open, accompanied with the chime that tonight seemed infinitely louder than usually in Haejin’s opinion.

 

With a cringe, he slowly made his way inside, peeling off his boots while trying to balance all of his belongings either in his arms or on his back.

 

Kangin’s head jerked around to the side as he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the front door.

 

When Haejin entered the room, Kangin rose and signaled violently to Haejin’s room.

 

“Get in there quick!” he breathed, trying not to make any noise.

 

Haejin shook his head in slight confusion, not having expected this scene the moment he stepped inside. But when he realized what Kangin was trying to communicate, he quickly glided across the floor in the direction of his room.

 

Unfortunately he had barely gotten halfway across the floor when he heard Leeteuk coming down the hall from the opposite direction.

 

“Yeobo? I think I will take that extra battery, something tells me I might need it—Oh! Jin-ah—w-what are you doing?” asked Leeteuk stopping in place when he saw Haejin standing in the middle of the floor.

 

Haejin’s eyes shot over to Kangin’s who shook his head and held his hands up, separating himself from the interrogation.

 

“Uh…uh…what…what’s happening? Where am I?” asked Haejin putting on a drowsy voice.

 

Leeteuk’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

 

Haejin looked down at himself.

 

“Why am I dressed? W-why do I have my guitar?” Haejin asked shaking his head as he looked to both his parents.

 

Kangin palmed his forehead as he turned away from the scene.

 

“This is a joke right?” asked Leeteuk with a smirk as he glanced at Kangin.

 

Kangin shrugged his shoulders, still refusing to look at either of them.

 

“I was having this really crazy dream. The last thing I remember, I was going to play at my sold out show …Madison Square Garden… I’ll let you guys know in the morning how it turns out,” said Haejin as he started moving back to his room.

 

“Freeze!” called out Leeteuk.

 

Haejin bit down on his bottom lip as he waited for further instruction.

 

“Turn around,” said Leeteuk walking over to Haejin.

 

“Yes Teukkie appa?” Haejin tried to say in the sweetest voice he could muster. When he was younger, it had worked like a charm.

 

“Kim Haejin, are you just getting home?” asked Leeteuk crossing his arms.

 

“Wh-what? Appa, that’s crazy. Why would I be out so late?” said Haejin, his voice octaves higher than normal.

 

“That’s exactly what I’m asking. What were you doing out so late? It’s past two am,” glared Leeteuk.

 

“Appa please, just help me explain,” sighed Haejin as he looked at Kangin.

 

Leeteuk followed Haejin’s eyes.

 

“Did you know about this?!” he asked, now turning towards Kangin.

 

“M-me?! N—no, Teuk, if I had known—“ sputtered Kangin.

 

“Aigoo! The two of you! Conspiring together to break the house rules—I should have known,” said Leeteuk putting his hand to his forehead.

 

“Teukkie-ah, it wasn’t like that,” said Kangin walking over to him.

 

“Don’t you dare!” snapped Leeteuk. “You're just as bad as he is—in fact, worse!”

 

“Worse?!”

 

“Where do you think he gets this influence from? Not me,” countered Leeteuk.

 

“All I told him to do was to go out and kiss her, not stay out half the night—

 

“Oh really?!” said Leeteuk stepping close to Kangin who was cursing himself. “I should have known from the start that’s what this was about. So you gave our sixteen year old permission to go out after curfew to pull a fourteen year old girl out of bed so that he could kiss her?!”
 

“When you lay it all out like that, yes, it sounds bad. But it’s really not as terrible as you're thinking Teuk—

 

Leeteuk threw his head back in frustration as he started walking back down the hall.

 

“I need this vacation, from both of your antics. It’s like living with two teenagers!” he said as he walked back into the bedroom.

 

Kangin turned his head towards Haejin, with a glare that seemed to bore right through him.

 

“Ap—pa,” tried Haejin as he backed towards his room.

 

“Yeah, you get in there and rest up. Because you and me are going to have a fun time this week while your Teukkie appa is away,” he said pointing his finger at Haejin.

 

Haejin scrambled back into his room, slamming the door shut on his way in.

 

Once the shock of his Appas’ threats wore off, he finally put down his things and then stood in front of his bed.

 

Staring at the mattress he closed his eyes as he leaned forward, moments later falling forward onto the cool sheets.

 

The night had been nothing short of a rollercoaster and he was pretty sure he had just set himself about five years back with Daerim’s parents and maybe even his own.

 

But a quick glance to his arm brought a small smile to his face. His opposite hand found it’s way to the bracelet, the details and staring at the intricate bright colors.

 

It brought him a sweet satisfaction knowing that only a few kilometers away, the girl he had grown up with, the first girl he loved, the girl who’d said yes to being his girlfriend, was wearing the exact same one.