“Aunty, pleeesh open,” Yuri’s lisping one-year old daughter handed Yoona an ice cream bar.

“Sure, sweetie, just a moment,” Yoona answered as she took the bar from the toddler and tore open its wrapper.

“Umma, I want ice cream, too,” Yoona’s three-year old son whined.

“You can’t, Dae Hyun. You have a cold.”

Dae Hyun began to cry as he watched his cousin going away, happily eating her ice cream.

“Hush, baby, you can’t eat ice cream, today, okay? What else do you want? Do you want chicken?” she handed the child a fried chicken leg.

Her son shook his head and continued crying.

“Aish…Hyun Jae-ah!” Yoona called her five-year old daughter who was playing with some kids nearby. “Go find your appa and bring him to me.”

“Ne, umma,” Hyun Jae answered, running away and disappearing through a throng of people, most of them children.

It was Jung Yun Hee, Yonghwa’s and Seohyun’s daughter’s first birthday and they were having a children’s party at the Jung’s house.

“Have you seen Soo Jin?” Yuri asked, tapping Yoona’s shoulder.

“I think she went that way,” she answered. “Aish, how could you leave your daughter alone?”

“I just went to the comfort room. I left her with Hyun Jae,” Yuri grumbled, moving along toward the direction Yoona pointed at.

Parents actually need not to worry about their children because the area where they held the party had been barricaded and closed so that children or toddlers wouldn’t go off wandering near the swimming pool or wherever it is that would be hazardous to them.

“Where have you been?” Yoona demanded as she saw Jonghyun coming toward them.

“I was helping there, giving kids their ice cream,” Jonghyun said.

“Ice cream, I want ice cream,” their son wailed.

Yoona rolled her eyes and handed the squirming child to Jonghyun. “Please pacify him yeobo-yah. I don’t know what to do with this brat anymore.”

Jonghyun laughed as he took the child from Yoona. “Why are you giving umma a hard time, huh?” he asked gently.

“I want ice cream,” Dae Hyun cried.

“You want ice cream but your throat will hurt if you eat some. Ants will crawl down your throat,” Jonghyun said.

Dae Hyun stopped crying. “Ants?”

“Yes, ants.”

“Is that advisable? You’re making up stories,” Yoona hissed.

“Shhh…” Jonghyun shushed her. Then he turned back to their son. “You love chicken, right? Chicken won’t have ants crawling down your throat.”

The little boy sobbed. “Dae Hyun can’t eat ice cream anymore?”

“Of course you can. When you don’t have a cold anymore, appa will buy you lots of ice cream.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Now eat your chicken and don’t make umma mad, okay?”

“Okay, appa.”

Yoona smiled. Why does Jonghyun make it seem so easy? She gazed around the party scene around her. Children running everywhere, adults chasing after them, children and adults eating, children playing, adults laughing and talking to each other. Then her gaze turned toward the middle, where Seohyun stood, holding her daughter while Yonghwa took pictures of them. Who would have thought it could still come to this? They really look like a happy family now.

……………………………

And indeed they are.

Seohyun smiled as she held Yun Hee. She pointed at Yonghwa, who was in front of them, taking pictures.

“Come on, baby, look at appa,” she said.

The toddler looked at anything but Yonghwa. She seemed to be absorbed by the colors and activity before her.

Yonghwa waved. “Baby, come on, look at appa. Appa is here. Smile,” he hollered but the little girl just giggled to something or someone she saw behind Yonghwa.

He took that opportunity to take a picture of Yun Hee smiling. But when he looked at the picture he realized he hadn’t captured that moment. His daughter had her head turned away from the camera in the picture.

“Aish, she turned,” he complained.

Seohyun laughed. She went near Yonghwa and peeked. “Appa is not a very good photographer, isn’t he?” she said to their daughter.

Yonghwa took Yun Hee from Seohyun, then handed her the camera. “Why don’t we let umma take your picture, princess?”

Seohyun took the camera and went far enough to take a picture of her husband and daughter.

“Yun Hee-ah,” she waved. “Look at umma,” she began to do an aegyo and Yun Hee looked at her and laughed.

She clicked the camera and went back near Yonghwa. “See that?” she said smugly, showing him what she had captured.

It was perfect.

“Aish, fine. I admit your umma is very good in everything she does,” Yonghwa said, pouting.

Seohyun laughed, put an arm around Yonghwa’s waist and kissed his cheek. “Yah, what’s with the pout?”

At that moment Minho passed by, chasing his son who had just turned a year old the month before.

“Gotcha!” he caught the toddler and picked him up. Then he turned to Yonghwa and Seohyun and smiled.

“They’re beginning to be quite a handful now, aren’t they?” Yonghwa said.

Minho went near the couple. “You said it. Krystal has grown tired chasing this little brat and now she’s appointed me with this task which if you ask me is more like a punishment,” he joked. It was obvious he was loving every minute of running around after his son.

Seohyun and Yonghwa laughed.

“Yah, Chin Ho isn’t Yun Hee pretty?” Minho said to his son. Chin Ho began to reach out and touched Yun Hee’s hair.

Yun Hee shyly touched Chin Ho’s hand that was touching her hair.

“Do you like her?” Minho chuckled at his son.

“Yah, Minho-ah, they’re still babies,” Yonghwa said.

Minho and Seohyun laughed at Yonghwa’s reaction.

“It’s not like they’re going to marry now,” Minho said.

“Yah, what do you mean by that?” Yonghwa narrowed his eyes at Minho.

“Well, maybe they can marry later when they’re grown?” Minho asked, half-joking and half-serious.

Seohyun laughed harder.

“Yah, I don’t want to think about it yet. My princess is still a baby,” Yonghwa said.

“Wait ‘til you have a daughter Minho-ah. Maybe you’ll understand Yonghwa’s reaction,” Seohyun said, chuckling.

“But on second thought, yeobo,” Seohyun turned to Yonghwa. “Don’t you think our daughter would look good together with their son?”

“Oh, what’s this?” Krystal asked as she approached, overhearing Seohyun. “Setting up the children already?”

“No!” Yonghwa protested.

“Oh, no, he’s father is strict, Chin Ho,” Minho grinned as he saw Yuri walking toward them with her daughter in tow. “Soo Jin is very pretty, too, don’t you think?” he said, referring to Yuri’s daughter.

Krystal smacked the back of Minho’s head. “Yah, what are you doing? You’re teaching him to be a player!”

“Hey, people. The games will be starting,” Yuri informed as she came near them.

“Come on, Chin Ho, they’re starting the games. We’re going to win every single game, neh?” Minho told his son and Krystal rolled her eyes.

But Chin Ho was busy looking back and forth to Soo Jin and Yun Hee.

The adults noticed it.

“Uh-oh, can’t make up your mind?” Seohyun laughed, patting Chin Ho’s head.

“About what?” Yuri asked.

“About whom he likes more…Soo Jin or Yun Hee,” Minho answered.

“What?” Yuri laughed. “Oh gosh, your son’s going to be a ladies’ man.”

“And it will be the end of me,” Krystal said and everyone laughed.

“Let’s ask these girls if they like Chin Ho,” Minho playfully suggested.

“Yah, you’re crazy,” Krystal said but she looked amused.

“I agree with Krystal. Minho is crazy,” Yonghwa seconded, not looking amused at all. He looked serious.

But he was the only one, for both Yuri and Seohyun looked amused, too and Yuri began to join in and play the game.

“Soo Jin, do you like Choi Chin Ho?” Yuri pointed at the little boy.

Much to Yuri’s amusement her daughter shyly nodded. Everyone laughed except for Yonghwa. He was busy whispering to his daughter.

“If umma asks you that question, you have to answer no,” he said.

“How about you, baby?” Seohyun began. “Do you like Choi Chin Ho?”

“No,” Yun Hee answered but she nodded her head, giggled and reached for the baseball cap Chin Ho was wearing.

Everyone laughed at Yun Hee’s contradicting answer….except for Yonghwa, that is.

“Well, doesn’t action speak louder than words?” Krystal teased.

“No,” Yonghwa groaned. Then he turned to Chin Ho and grinned. “I think I’ll be keeping my eye on you, little boy.”

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I hope you enjoyed this one. Thank you for subscribing and reading and I hope yo see you guys in my other fics, too! Love you lots!