^ somewhat relevant? ^

warning: all the kiddies in the same room. what could POSSIBLY go wrong!?

because the writing sister (myself) was motivated by the brain sister (my sister), we have the ninth chapter all finished before the next week! also, the tenth chapter is 2/3 done and ready for next weekend's weekly update. please cross your fingers and wish us luck on finishing the next one on time! (so there won't ever be any delays again, like we did a few weeks ago. 3) anyway, please do enjoy the chapter and drop us a comment or something to tell us what you think! this also happens to be our longest chapter. c;

The next morning, Dongwoo came into his classroom and did a lot of thinking. The whole thinking process lasted until the kids' playtime, and they were all in the playground adjacent to their school. At which point he would normally join the kids in playing. However, he had decided not to and opted, instead, to watch the kids from afar.

Sungjong, at first, suggested that they sit together, but Dongwoo dismissed the idea with a small smile and a gentle run of his fingers through Sungjong's silky hair. Dongwoo encouraged Sungjong to play with his cousin Taemin and his friend Yein, and Sungjong was just as happy to go along with his favourite teacher's suggestion. So Dongwoo just watches them enjoy themselves.

As happy as Sungjong may look right now, Dongwoo doubts this is always the case. He recalls the events of the day before, how Sungjong almost full-out cried in his arms. How Sungyeol pulled Dongwoo down to have a stern talk with him.

“If our mother is not here within ten minutes after release, she never intended to pick us up.”

Come to think of it, has Dongwoo ever seen Mrs. Lee? Well, maybe he had—but maybe he hadn't? Dongwoo doesn't know for sure, considering he's only ever seen Sungjong with his father. Maybe that's all there is to their mother, though. Maybe it's that she can't keep to a schedule. No mother can do that to her kids, right?

“I don't want Sungjongie to cry because of that ahjumma.”

That means she has done more than be late—or not show up. Maybe Sungjong has been disappointed by his mother one too many times. Sungyeol wouldn't have said such a thing if it never happened. Dongwoo doesn't think anyone can ever make up such a thought without a truthful basis. But if it is true, then it's only right that Dongwoo feels sad for his student and his older brother.

“ Sungjongie doesn't know any better because he's too young.”

Dongwoo bites his lip and taps his fingers against his arm. Sungyeol's right, but shouldn't that mean that Sungyeol, too, is too young to be thinking of such a thing? No. No, Dongwoo supposes that Sungyeol is not. Dongwoo's sure that the elder Lee sibling quickly became a man to better protect his younger brother, and Dongwoo understands why he would.

RING!

“Maybe I should talk to Mr. Lee about it,” he considers aloud, getting up and letting the kids run inside, on their own. Dongwoo watches Lee Sungjong, running back inside, hand in hand with his only two friends, and Dongwoo pulls a smile.

Yes. Maybe, some day, he should.

“Myungsoo,” Sungyeol whispers in the dark, “Are you awake?”

There's a faint shifting under the sheets, and Sungyeol can feel his bed dip slightly under the younger boy's movements. Suddenly Sungyeol can see a pair of dark eyes glimmering in the dark room, looking up at him without any hint of sleep. “Yup,” he hears Myungsoo say as the boy nods vigorously, “I couldn't sleep.”

“Me too,” Sungyeol says, turning to lay on his side, an arm over the duvet that's draped over him and the other cradling his head, “I've been thinking.”

“What is it, hyung?” Myungsoo asks, arms tightening around the pillow he's been hugging since they were both tucked in by Mr. Lee, his chin resting on top of it, “Is it serious?”

“Very,” Sungyeol whispers, and it startles Myungsoo. “It's so important and so secret, but I will trust you with it because you're my bestest friend ever and you're special.”

Myungsoo ducks his head a little, lucky that there was barely any light in the room because he was blushing madly. “Hyung,” he mumbles, and maybe he sounds hopeful.

“But we need to wake up Sungjongie before I tell you.” At that, Sungyeol shoots up and all but drags Myungsoo up with him. Myungsoo has one of his arms around a pillow, his other hand holding onto one of Sungyeol's tightly as he's led to Sungjong's bedroom—where the lights are still open, the small child in the room still up.

Sungjong is sitting on the floor, crayons in hand and papers all around him. Sungjong merely nods at their presence, acknowledging the fact he was no longer alone. Sungyeol leads Myungsoo into the room and they both briefly sit on either side of Sungjong, looking down at his drawings.

“Sungjongie! There's no time for that!” Sungyeol hisses and steals one of his brother's drawings—the two of them standing with their dad, the man holding hands with the pink-haired dinosaur hyung. Sungjong whines, but he's quick to cover his own mouth. Because his hyung is a man of plans, and that's probably why he's up right now. His suspicions were only confirmed by his brother grabbing hold of his and Myungsoo's wrists, dragging them down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Wait, hyung, why the kitchen?” Myungsoo asks.

Sungyeol's dragging a chair over by the fridge, and Sungjong need not be told what to do; he's opening every cupboard he could, grabbing what looks to be a box of chocolate chip cookies. Myungsoo stands there, stunned.

“Shh,” Sungyeol shuts Myungsoo up, looking around warily. He looks up at where his dad's room is, and he heaves a sigh of relief when he notices that the lights are out. Sungyeol jumps off of the chair with a tub of ice cream in hand, making quick work with the fridge and producing three juice boxes.

“I... I don't understand,” Myungsoo frowns, but he's not upset about being offered a spoon and a nice piece of cookie. He obediently sits down when he's told to do so, the three of them hiding behind the counter, just in case Sungyeol and Sungjong's dad wakes up, “What's going on?”

“Okay, down to business,” Sungyeol says around a mouthful of ice cream, “We're all here to talk about how Sungjong and I will have a new Umma.”

“Oh?” Myungsoo's brows raise, and maybe he sounds a little disappointed. No matter, the subject is a little more pressing that what he initially thought, “Who?”

“We decided that my Teacher Dino will be our brand new Umma,” Sungjong says, nibbling at as much of the cookies as he can. Sungyeol pats his brother's back, silently telling him that they had all the time in the world to enjoy their cookies, but that did not stop Sungjong from stuffing his face with treats he knows his dad would take away from him if ever the man wakes up. “So hyung and I are going to make a flan!”

“A plan.”

“A plan!”

Myungsoo's lips quirk slightly, wiping away the dribbling droplets of ice cream seeping from his mouth. He looks on at the Lee brothers with pure confusion, waiting for a proper explanation. Once Sungyeol had swallowed his food, he turns to Myungsoo with an abnormally serious face and a naughty glint in his eyes.

“We're going to make Sungjongie's Teacher Dino like our Appa so much that he has to marry our Appa, and become our new Umma,” Sungyeol starts with frantic gestures to show his excitement. “That hyung is really nice, and I think my Appa likes him a lot. If Appa doesn't then we'll make him like the dinosaur hyung, too.”

“Why are you doing all that?” Myungsoo asks, chewing on his cookies, “I thought you were okay with just you, Sungjongie and your Appa. And don't you already have an Umma?”

“I don't like her,” Sungyeol pouts and crosses his arms, “She's a mean ahjumma, so she's not our Umma anymore.”

“Okay,” Myungsoo doesn't press on, “But why that guy? I mean, I don't know him, but what's so good about that dinosaur hyung?”

Sungjong takes on a look of offense, and the little boy is about ready to get up on his two feet and school Myungsoo on exactly why his teacher is likable, but Sungyeol stops his brother by shoving another cookie in the younger boy's mouth. Sungjong sits down, grumpily munching on his snack while Sungyeol grabs hold of Myungsoo's arms and talks to him, “Because we think Appa has a gross crush on the Dinosaur hyung.”

“A few weeks ago, Appa and Yeol hyung went to my school to pick me up,” Sungjong began his own explanation, looking up fondly, remembering, “While Yeol hyung and I were playing, Appa was talking with Teacher Dino and he was all weird and he kept staring at Teacher Dino like he was shiny.”

Sungyeol nods, “Yeah. And a few days ago, the Dinosaur hyung brought us home when the ahjumma didn't pick me and Sungjongie up. And when Appa got home, he was saying nice things to the hyung and he even let him stay for dinner.”

“And we had chicken,” Sungjong says, as if it was the most important part of the story, “Not plain chicken l