Let A Jiffy Pass
Title: Let A Jiffy Pass
Pairing: Kris/Suho, Luhan/Sehun, Kai/D.O., Suho/D.O., Xiumin/Chen, Baekhyun/Chanyeol, Kris/Tao/Lay
Genre: Fluff
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4100+
Note: My and noxiouscherries's entry for kficcollab challenge.
Summer arrives in downtown Seoul pretty quickly, the humid air suffocating and lethargic. Fortunately, Junmyeon and Yifan manages to wake up to a difficult Monday morning-extreme temperature rises unannounced, the sweltering heat of the sun falling on every space, bringing nearly painful fatigue. But, despite the sizzling weather, the two have always liked this lively season: cold tea stands and ice cream parlors lining up avenues, people filling streets with colorful, stylish summer outfits, shops popping up almost everywhere to cater to tourists and locals alike. The brightness of the sky still spreads optimism to practically everyone, including them.
Junmyeon and Yifan take a couple of minutes of walk to a nearby single-story bungalow. The distance is just a few meters from their flat, hence sunburns and dehydration are not really matters to worry about. Nevertheless, Yifan insists that they bring umbrellas with the reason that a minute of walk under the sun may put his facial ceremonies to vain and he tries very carefully to not let it happen.
“Here we are,” Junmyeon says, halting before a wooden gate with a cute “EXO Daycare Center” sign in pastel colors nailed to it. He smiles and looks at his company with excitement.
“Okay,” Yifan sighs. “Kids. We can.”
Junmyeon chuckles. “Don’t worry. I promise, this will be fun.”
Junmyeon and Yifan have known each other for quite some time. They've been roommates since they started college. They were both clueless about university life back then. They didn't know anyone else and they hadn't made friends with their classmates, leaving them with no choice but to hang out with each other during their breaks, studying, setting house rules and talking about family and dreams. They drew closer together, to the point that they spent their holidays together, even when they had already found other people to hang out with. The first time Junmyeon offered Yifan to spend Christmas at his house, Yifan declined. He eventually regretted it, having to deal with a sad Junmyeon for weeks. When he tried telling the other “Hey, turns out I’m free this Christmas,” Junmyeon only looked at him blankly and said, “Ah, really?”
Since then, whenever Junmyeon asks for something, Yifan always says yes because damn it, Junmyeon and his sad faces. Yifan has said yes to dress up as clowns for Junmyeon's niece. He’s said yes to learn the samba after the younger thought it’s a good dance. This time, Junmyeon decides that they do volunteer work for a week at EXO Daycare Center.
Yifan presses the doorbell twice and the gate opens to reveal a middle aged lady whom they assume as one of the babysitters of the center. She beams cheerfully and lets them in quickly, realizing how hot it has become even when it is just nine in the morning.
She opens the door and the noise of children playing, yelling, and crying greets them obnoxiously. Junmyeon expresses delight and frenzies at Yifan as to how he finds the toddlers extremely cute. Yifan, trying to make himself look like he cares, maintains however a poker face.
The lady briefs them in one corner of the house and, as she enumerates the activities, rules and regulations of the daycare, they observe the kids who also frequently gaze back at them in curiosity. As soon as she’s done, she brings the two volunteers to the playroom and introduces the kids one by one.
There is this kid named Jongin, a tan-skinned, lanky kid who always yawns at everything he sees. He crouches next to Kyungsoo whose eyes widen cutely whenever Jongin pokes his cheeks repeatedly. Then there is Luhan. Or Sehun. No. Luhan and Sehun. Junmyeon and Yifan argue who is who until the lady laughs and settles their argument by telling Sehun is the clingier one.
Then there is a tall, skinny kid, named Chanyeol, who seems to laugh at the simplest things and beam at everyone he meets. A boy, three quarters of his height called Baekhyun, stands next to him and they appear to make fun of a kid ducked in a corner, sobbing to himself. A chubby, chink-eyed boy called Minseok runs towards the two, pushing them and yelling, "Stop bullying Chen!"
It’s only then that Yifan sees a boy with a fierce face named Tao, standing still and glaring at him like he is the next delicious meal for the day. Yifan feels something tugging at his pants and when he looks down, he finds a kid staring at his face. He shyly introduces himself as Yixing and then waves his stuffed unicorn toy, Bubbles, at him.
After the introduction, the lady gives them a last review of house rules and reminders. She quickly finishes it and before they could even realize, she is gone. The door clicks to a shut and the room begins to explode with shouts and cries of rejoicing kids.
"Hurray the hag is out!"
"Whee! No more witch!"
"Let's play ball!"
"I want to eat! Let's eat candies!"
Junmyeon chuckles at the reactions of the children. He looks at Yifan and smiles to himself when he sees the latter wearing an amused face. Junmyeon then finds himself with a soft spot for Kyungsoo; the kid’s eyes widening when their eyes meet. The boy then walks toward him, touching the hem of his shirt to get his full attention. “Uhm, hyung?”
Junmyeon crouches so that his height is level with the kid’s. “Yes? You are Kyungsoo, right?”
The kid nods and smiles shyly. “Are you gonna be our new teacher?”
“Yes,” Junmyeon responds. “But just for two weeks,” and he beams at Kyungsoo who suddenly flusters at his bright face. The younger opens his mouth in an attempt to continue his conversation with his new-found hyung but Jongin hastily grabs the other’s wrist and pulls him to the corner of the room where the toys are. He wanders his eyes to look for Yifan but to see him across the room, struggling as he holds Yixing with one arm and Zitao with the other.
“Why do we have ten kids to take care of?” Yifan mumbles, his limbs getting numb at the weight of two kids clinging onto him. Zitao and Yixing however hear and they both pout adorably. They whine and ask, “Yifan-gege, don’t you like us?” Sadness is apparent in the way their voices shake but still Yifan tries to ignore this with all his might.
“No no no no,” he says when he finally succumbs to everything cute that is before him, their pouts partnered with how they fisted at his shirt with their tiny hands too much for him to resist. “No, you kids. You don’t do that to me okay? You don’t do that-to-me!”
But, instead of actually getting a reprieve from two rambunctious, albeit cute, kids, Yifan gets a Junmyeon obnoxiously laughing at him. When Junmyeon gets a grip on himself, he realizes how messy the center of the playroom has become, with all the kids running from one place to another, toys scattered almost everywhere. Junmyeon claps his hands loudly to get their attention and yells, “Okay! Okay! Kids!”
All eyes are on him and he is slightly amazed at how easily he can get these kids’ attention. “I am Junmyeon-hyung and that tall guy over here is Yifan-hyung-”
“Or gege. We have Chinese kids here,” Yifan corrects.
“Fine. Yifan-gege,” Junmyeon mumbles before continuing. “We will be your new teachers for two weeks-”
“Where is the hag?” Junmyeon, for the second time, is cut off, by Jongin this time. Baekhyun and Chanyeol burst into fits of laughter, while Kyungsoo smacks Jongin’s head for his rude question.
“You kids. Stop being rude to your teacher, okay?” Yifan retorts. He thinks he’s said it nicely but the way it sounded says otherwise. Jongin, Baekhyun and Chanyeol stick their tongues out at him and, before Yifan flies into a rage, Junmyeon dives in for some damage control.
“Okay kids, your Yifan-hyung is right. You should not be mean to your teacher,” he raises an eyebrow at Yifan, who just hisses in annoyance. “So since we got two hyungs, why don’t we divide into two groups? One group will go to me and one group will go to Yifan-hyung.”
“What for?” Baekhyun asks.
“We’ll have games! Whoever wins will get candies…from Yifan-hyung!” Junmyeon says, excited. Yifan turns his head at the younger in shock, mouthing why me? Junmyeon merely smiles at him as a response.
Kyungsoo slowly raises his hand and speaks, “I want to be in Junmyeon-hyung’s group.”
“Wait! Wait! I go to Junmyeon-hyung’s group, too!” Jongin panics when Kyungsoo eagerly stands up, walks toward the Korean hyung and holds his hand. Jongin hastily runs to Kyungsoo’s side, gawking at Junmyeon with sharp narrow eyes as he holds the other boy’s hands tightly. Kyungsoo hisses a quiet “ouch” but Jongin keeps his grip. Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun by the arm and drags him toward Junmyeon. The latter protests but when Junmyeon welcomes them in the group he just mumbles how he does not want to play games today. Annoyed, he kicks Chanyeol's legs, which earns an exaggerated yelp from the younger.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Yifan asks rhetorically. "I'll take these two," he continues, referring to Tao and Yixing, who are still in his arms. He goes to one corner where Minseok and Jongdae are and asks them if they want to join his group. Minseok stares at him and Yifan does the same as he waits for an answer, not because he finds the chubby kid annoying. Actually, he likes Minseok. The kid seems brave and nice, someone who causes no trouble and instead protects Jongdae from bullies.
“Sehun and Luhan?” Junmyeon asks. The two look at him anxiously and he sees Sehun bite his lip and tighten his grip on Luhan’s hand. When Junmyeon approaches them, the two step back.
“I will go to the group Luhan chooses! I will be with Luhan!” Sehun exclaims, voice slightly shaking.
“Why don’t we have them play rock-paper-scissors and whoever wins goes to my team?” Yifan suggests as he puts Zitao and Yixing down. They both cling onto Yifan’s pants though as soon as their feet touch the ground.
It takes them minutes to persuade Luhan and Sehun but when they do, Sehun looks like he is about to cry. They reluctantly hold their hands out, Sehun with scissors and Luhan with rock.
“It’s decided. I’ll get Luhan,” Yifan says. Luhan hesitates and tries to push Yifan away but to no avail. Soon he finds himself in the group and sees Sehun looking at him and holding back his tears as he is carried to his own group.
“Okay!” Junmyeon speaks rather loudly, surprising everyone. “Oops. Sorry. Anyway, shall we start the game now? Again, whoever wins will get candies from Yifan-hyung, okay?”
The kids answer affirmatively in chorus, some, sluggishly, while most answer excitedly. Minutes later the children are seated according to their respective groups-Junmyeon’s group on the left and Yifan’s on the right. Yifan’s group is rather behaved. Some kids stare eagerly at Yifan, excitement obvious on the faces, but they keep their silence. Junmyeon’s, on the other hand, is chaotic. Kyungsoo keeps on squirming in his seat, looking uncomfortable under Jongin’s intense gaze. Chanyeol and Baekhyun are whispering about something, their laughter loud and obnoxious. Sehun is whimpering, mumbling about how he did not like being away from Luhan.
Junmyeon sighs, cheering himself silently before putting a smile on his face and clapping his hands once to get the kids’ attention. “Kyungsoo and Zitao, why don’t you two go first?"
Kyungsoo stands and Jongin lets go of him reluctantly when Junmyeon says that if one of them wants to answer the question, he has to raise his hand. Kyungsoo purses his lips and looks straight at Junmyeon. He flexes his hand, ready to answer, determination obvious in his eyes. Junmyeon slowly asks them the question and Kyungsoo’s eyes lighten up. He knows this, he tells himself, and so he raises his hand excitedly. Sadly, he makes the mistake of glancing at Zitao and promptly loses his train of thought. It does not take long before Zitao shoots his hand in the air and confidently tells them the answer, a grin slowly etching on his face. Kyungsoo jolts out of his reverie far too late when he sees Yifan’s group already rejoicing in their first score. He frowns, almost tearing up, and looks at Junmyeon apologetically. Junmyeon comforts him, telling him that it is okay to lose and that they still have other members to score, and beams cheerfully, patting his head and gently guiding him back to his seat. Jongin rubs his back and augments their hyung’s words of comfort but cringes when Jongin says he will give Kyungsoo a kiss to make him feel better. Jongin is forcefully pushed away to the floor.
The next pair is Jongin and Minseok. The two stand up, Minseok lousily, as if uninterested and Jongin rather proudly and competitively, mumbling to himself, something about avenging Kyungsoo. Soon, Junmyeon gives them the question and Jongin abruptly raises his hand, smirking at his opponent who does not really seem to care at all. Junmyeon repeats the question and a sudden realization hits Jongin-he does not know the answer. The grin on his face gradually dissolves into nervous lip bites and Minseok takes this as the opportunity to answer. Yifan’s group gets their second score.
Baekhyun is next against Jongdae and for the first time Junmyeon’s group scores when Jongdae refuses to speak. He insists that he knows the answer, it is just that Baekhyun keeps on giving him death stares. Chanyeol high fives Baekhyun as he stands up for his turn against Yixing. Yifan wishes his kid good luck (Zitao snorts at it). Apparently, Jongdae’s fate befalls on Yixing as well when he gets distracted because of Chanyeol’s face, saying he looks mildly deranged with his twitching eyes and wide smiles. Zitao chuckles when Yixing loses but it is quickly replaced by a frown when he sees his Yifan-gege give Yixing a gentle pat on the back.
They are down to the last pair, their tie-breaker, Sehun and Luhan. Again, Suho has quite a hard time convincing Sehun to play against his best friend, only to say yes, though reluctantly, when it is Luhan who personally asks him to stand up. When the question is given, everyone expects to see a hand in the air but to their disappointment, they see the two exchanging awkward, unenthusiastic looks, unwillingness to win over the other apparent on their long faces. Sehun idly plays with his fingers while Luhan keeps his head up, staring blankly at the ceiling. Their groupmates start to cheer them on-more of like pushing them to give out an answer as they find it a bit annoying to waste time watching silence and dying from suspense (as far as the children are concerned, that is).
Desperate, Junmyeon sighs then eyes Yifan sharply, raising an eyebrow; Yifan nods at him in response, grinning as if he has been waiting to do this for a long time.
“Luhan!” Yifan exclaims. It startles Luhan, makes him jump and look at Yifan with panic in his eyes. It does not take long for him to blurt out an answer, scared of the way Yifan’s smiles eagerly at him, with his eyes too wide and cheeks strained. Luhan quickly shoots Sehun an apologetic pout, sorry that he gave in to Yifan and betrayed Sehun by breaking his silence. Sehun smiles at him though, and later they are sitting side by side again with their arms around each other, laughing and acting like they did not just receive the biggest threat to their friendship yet.
“So it looks like Yifan and his group win this game?” Junmyeon says and grins. “Well then Yifan, give them prizes later, okay?”
It hits Yifan and he speeds toward Junmyeon. “Hey. Am I using my money here?” He whispers in between grinding teeth, a bit upset as to how Junmyeon tricked him. Junmyeon knows him too well that no matter how simple a game is, Yifan will do everything to win it. Apparently, he forgets that it is his wallet that is at stake. “Why are you doing this to me?” he mutters. He gets more annoyed when Junmyeon just smiles, that kind of smile which makes Yifan ask himself why he even feels that way in the first place because it makes him guilty. So he tries to ignore the conscience-stricken part of himself and rationalizes, thinking that Junmyeon is probably just helping him to be closer to the kids. Sort of.
When everything is settled, Yifan and Junmyeon decide not to bother the kids and instead let them play on their own. Yifan stands near where Zitao and Yixing are, watching over them-more of like staring into space with a slight smirk on his face. Suddenly, Zitao approaches him and asks to be carried.
“What’s wrong, Zitao?” Yifan asks but he gets no answer. At that point, he wonders why whenever he talks to people they never give him a proper response. By proper response he means audible set of words that make sense and directly addresses his concern. Yifan’s thoughts are cut off when Zitao starts to climb up his legs, failing in his every attempt that he settles on clinging onto his limbs. Before Yifan can even react, he sees Yixing running at him and pushes Zitao away, taking the spot where the latter had his arms around. Yifan slightly scolds the two, telling them that he can carry the both of them anyway. When he does, Zitao and Yixing start making faces, sticking their tongues out and glaring at each other. Yifan sighs, wondering if this is how they normally act, and threatens that he won’t carry them ever again if they continue to fight. They settle down quite nicely after that.
On a different area of the room, Junmyeon notices Jongin dragging Kyungsoo everywhere with him. Jongin demands that they play soccer when Kyungsoo wants to watch Dora the Explorer, or that he insists that they pee together when Kyungsoo does not really feel like peeing. When Junmyeon intervenes, Jongin shoots him a pissed off look as if touching Kyungsoo is the gravest sin a man could possibly do on earth. For some reason, it scares Junmyeon but then Kyungsoo clasps his hands onto his arms and it brings him back to the reason why he is in between the two kids. Irate, Jongin dashes out of the playroom and sulks at one corner near the door.
Kyungsoo feels bothered as to how Jongin reacted. He looks at Junmyeon with pleading eyes, as if he should be held responsible for a mad Jongin. When he gets an approving smile from his hyung, he runs to his bestfriend.
“Jonginah...” Kyungsoo calls out, silently though and shyly.
Jongin gives him an annoyed hiss. “Don’t talk to me. Go to Junmyeon-hyung instead.”
“W-we’ll play soccer, I promise,” Kyungsoo says, trying to hide his guilt feelings so he inhales loudly and bites his lips. “Let’s just watch Dora together. Just one episode.”
Jongin is ready to say no but then he sees Kyungsoo at the brink of crying. “K-Kyungsoo don’t cry!” He yells unintentionally loudly but it is too late when Kyungsoo bows his head down and his shoulders start shaking. It is followed by a wail and Kyungsoo disappears only to see him carried by Junmyeon and sobbing at his chest. Jongin feels a huge pang of remorse, like a boulder is thrown straight at him that his eyes sting and his cheeks feel heavy. He then finds himself in front of Junmyeon, holding Kyungsoo’s dangling feet.
“K-kyungsoo...” Jongin trails off. “Sorry. I did not mean to shout.”
Junmyeon smiles at Jongin’s apology. It is his first time seeing this adorable side of Jongin and it definitely warms his heart, how the kids’ fights do not really last. It’s nice how easily they can give each other heartfelt apologies and make up easily, forgetting everything and going back to the simple joys of childhood.
Once Kyungsoo and Jongin have calmed down, Junmyeon leads them toward the television where they surprisingly enjoy watching Dora the Explorer together, occasionally laughing and even eagerly answering her questions in unison.
Two hours later, Junmyeon’s claps echo across the room and all eyes are on him again.
“Okay kids! Nap time!” He cheerfully tells. As expected he gets all the kids groaning at him as most of them are just at the peak of their playroom session. However, Junmyeon sticks to the house rules and asks Yifan to help him get the kids to their futons.
“You’re just too rigid,” Yifan tells Junmyeon as he carries Luhan away from Sehun. Sehun is left with no choice but to follow so he can keep an eye on Luhan.
Junmyeon gently guides Jongin and Kyungsoo to their nap room before he responds. “We need to set a good example to these kids,” he says.
Though with much resistance from most of the children, like when Zitao and Yixing refuse to let go of Yifan’s arms or when Jongin suddenly craves for cakes, they manage to bring all of them to their respective futons.
Yifan and Junmyeon decide to stay in the living room, a bit tired but somehow contented. They will get at least three hours of rest while the kids doze off. Yifan groans though when he realizes how tiring this summer job can be given that this is just their first day and they have still nine more days to go.
Junmyeon smiles when he hears Yifan’s groan, not hesitating as he leans forward and places his hands on Yifan’s shoulders. He presses his thumbs against Yifan’s tense muscles, helping Yifan relax and unwind.
This is how they always are whenever they go on the exploits Junmyeon has thought up, with Yifan dead tired and Junmyeon apologizing one way or another. It is a pattern they follow and even after years of it, they always enjoy both what they are doing and each other’s company. Junmyeon never gets tired of looking for new things to try. Yifan never gets tired of agreeing to his ideas and following him anyway so both of them never see any problem with it.
“Tired?” Junmyeon asks, eyes fixed on the other’s face. Yifan nods and for some reason Junmyeon’s gazes send a tinge of tension, much more when the younger slinks his fingers between his and intertwines them.
“The kids might see,” Yifan says. Though it should sound worrying, it just plainly comes out of his mouth. It was standard, something he was expected to say, but the words mean nothing because he sort of wanted this too.
“No they won’t,” Junmyeon says, tightening his grasp on the other’s large sweaty hands. Kris knows he should have been alarmed at hearing that obvious tinge of confidence in Junmyeon's voice but, no matter how much he tries to, he can't get himself to feel even the slightest bit bothered at the fact that Junmyeon sounds uncharacteristically certain about this. “I know how to enervate you though?”
Before Yifan could even make any sound or an attempt at least to halt Junmyeon of whatever is to come, he immediately feels soft lips pressed gently against his. Junmyeon does not move, eyes closed as if savoring the moment. As for Yifan, he is caught off guard at first but lets a jiffy pass before realizing he actually misses this even if the last time he had one is just five hours ago. He gives in, closing his eyes as well, and pulls Junmyeon closer to him, one hand on the younger’s nape and the other on the cheeks. What is originally supposed to be a peck escalates to something more erratic, fingers carding at each other’s hair, soft, quiet moans escaping from breaths in between kisses.
The two are just too busy that they become oblivious of the kids who apparently are not really asleep. Jongin peeks from the room divider, Kyungsoo next, and the rest follows.
“Is that Junmyeon-hyung and Yifan-hyung?” Sehun asks, whispering to Luhan whose jaw drops at the unexpected make-out session in front of them.
"What are they doing?" Kyungsoo asks innocently. Jongin is just too good to respond without hesitation, "That's what they call kissing, Kyungsoo. We can do it if you-"
"Jongin that's gross."
“We’ll do it anyway when we-”
Kyungsoo shuns him and attempts to go back to sleep.
More notes:
1. The idea is actually from sagwassweetness because we had so many kid!EXO feels back then. The story we had in mind was slightly different but still it was fun writing this with Lauren XD
2. Not sharing to SNCJ since it's already posted in the kficcollab page + this is a work of two authors so we're both equally owners to this. XD Just saving a copy on my blog.
3. So much love for airplanewishes. Thank you for beta-ing, noona! <3
Pairing: Kris/Suho, Luhan/Sehun, Kai/D.O., Suho/D.O., Xiumin/Chen, Baekhyun/Chanyeol, Kris/Tao/Lay
Genre: Fluff
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4100+
Note: My and noxiouscherries's entry for kficcollab challenge.
Summer arrives in downtown Seoul pretty quickly, the humid air suffocating and lethargic. Fortunately, Junmyeon and Yifan manages to wake up to a difficult Monday morning-extreme temperature rises unannounced, the sweltering heat of the sun falling on every space, bringing nearly painful fatigue. But, despite the sizzling weather, the two have always liked this lively season: cold tea stands and ice cream parlors lining up avenues, people filling streets with colorful, stylish summer outfits, shops popping up almost everywhere to cater to tourists and locals alike. The brightness of the sky still spreads optimism to practically everyone, including them.
Junmyeon and Yifan take a couple of minutes of walk to a nearby single-story bungalow. The distance is just a few meters from their flat, hence sunburns and dehydration are not really matters to worry about. Nevertheless, Yifan insists that they bring umbrellas with the reason that a minute of walk under the sun may put his facial ceremonies to vain and he tries very carefully to not let it happen.
“Here we are,” Junmyeon says, halting before a wooden gate with a cute “EXO Daycare Center” sign in pastel colors nailed to it. He smiles and looks at his company with excitement.
“Okay,” Yifan sighs. “Kids. We can.”
Junmyeon chuckles. “Don’t worry. I promise, this will be fun.”
Junmyeon and Yifan have known each other for quite some time. They've been roommates since they started college. They were both clueless about university life back then. They didn't know anyone else and they hadn't made friends with their classmates, leaving them with no choice but to hang out with each other during their breaks, studying, setting house rules and talking about family and dreams. They drew closer together, to the point that they spent their holidays together, even when they had already found other people to hang out with. The first time Junmyeon offered Yifan to spend Christmas at his house, Yifan declined. He eventually regretted it, having to deal with a sad Junmyeon for weeks. When he tried telling the other “Hey, turns out I’m free this Christmas,” Junmyeon only looked at him blankly and said, “Ah, really?”
Since then, whenever Junmyeon asks for something, Yifan always says yes because damn it, Junmyeon and his sad faces. Yifan has said yes to dress up as clowns for Junmyeon's niece. He’s said yes to learn the samba after the younger thought it’s a good dance. This time, Junmyeon decides that they do volunteer work for a week at EXO Daycare Center.
Yifan presses the doorbell twice and the gate opens to reveal a middle aged lady whom they assume as one of the babysitters of the center. She beams cheerfully and lets them in quickly, realizing how hot it has become even when it is just nine in the morning.
She opens the door and the noise of children playing, yelling, and crying greets them obnoxiously. Junmyeon expresses delight and frenzies at Yifan as to how he finds the toddlers extremely cute. Yifan, trying to make himself look like he cares, maintains however a poker face.
The lady briefs them in one corner of the house and, as she enumerates the activities, rules and regulations of the daycare, they observe the kids who also frequently gaze back at them in curiosity. As soon as she’s done, she brings the two volunteers to the playroom and introduces the kids one by one.
There is this kid named Jongin, a tan-skinned, lanky kid who always yawns at everything he sees. He crouches next to Kyungsoo whose eyes widen cutely whenever Jongin pokes his cheeks repeatedly. Then there is Luhan. Or Sehun. No. Luhan and Sehun. Junmyeon and Yifan argue who is who until the lady laughs and settles their argument by telling Sehun is the clingier one.
Then there is a tall, skinny kid, named Chanyeol, who seems to laugh at the simplest things and beam at everyone he meets. A boy, three quarters of his height called Baekhyun, stands next to him and they appear to make fun of a kid ducked in a corner, sobbing to himself. A chubby, chink-eyed boy called Minseok runs towards the two, pushing them and yelling, "Stop bullying Chen!"
It’s only then that Yifan sees a boy with a fierce face named Tao, standing still and glaring at him like he is the next delicious meal for the day. Yifan feels something tugging at his pants and when he looks down, he finds a kid staring at his face. He shyly introduces himself as Yixing and then waves his stuffed unicorn toy, Bubbles, at him.
After the introduction, the lady gives them a last review of house rules and reminders. She quickly finishes it and before they could even realize, she is gone. The door clicks to a shut and the room begins to explode with shouts and cries of rejoicing kids.
"Hurray the hag is out!"
"Whee! No more witch!"
"Let's play ball!"
"I want to eat! Let's eat candies!"
Junmyeon chuckles at the reactions of the children. He looks at Yifan and smiles to himself when he sees the latter wearing an amused face. Junmyeon then finds himself with a soft spot for Kyungsoo; the kid’s eyes widening when their eyes meet. The boy then walks toward him, touching the hem of his shirt to get his full attention. “Uhm, hyung?”
Junmyeon crouches so that his height is level with the kid’s. “Yes? You are Kyungsoo, right?”
The kid nods and smiles shyly. “Are you gonna be our new teacher?”
“Yes,” Junmyeon responds. “But just for two weeks,” and he beams at Kyungsoo who suddenly flusters at his bright face. The younger opens his mouth in an attempt to continue his conversation with his new-found hyung but Jongin hastily grabs the other’s wrist and pulls him to the corner of the room where the toys are. He wanders his eyes to look for Yifan but to see him across the room, struggling as he holds Yixing with one arm and Zitao with the other.
“Why do we have ten kids to take care of?” Yifan mumbles, his limbs getting numb at the weight of two kids clinging onto him. Zitao and Yixing however hear and they both pout adorably. They whine and ask, “Yifan-gege, don’t you like us?” Sadness is apparent in the way their voices shake but still Yifan tries to ignore this with all his might.
“No no no no,” he says when he finally succumbs to everything cute that is before him, their pouts partnered with how they fisted at his shirt with their tiny hands too much for him to resist. “No, you kids. You don’t do that to me okay? You don’t do that-to-me!”
But, instead of actually getting a reprieve from two rambunctious, albeit cute, kids, Yifan gets a Junmyeon obnoxiously laughing at him. When Junmyeon gets a grip on himself, he realizes how messy the center of the playroom has become, with all the kids running from one place to another, toys scattered almost everywhere. Junmyeon claps his hands loudly to get their attention and yells, “Okay! Okay! Kids!”
All eyes are on him and he is slightly amazed at how easily he can get these kids’ attention. “I am Junmyeon-hyung and that tall guy over here is Yifan-hyung-”
“Or gege. We have Chinese kids here,” Yifan corrects.
“Fine. Yifan-gege,” Junmyeon mumbles before continuing. “We will be your new teachers for two weeks-”
“Where is the hag?” Junmyeon, for the second time, is cut off, by Jongin this time. Baekhyun and Chanyeol burst into fits of laughter, while Kyungsoo smacks Jongin’s head for his rude question.
“You kids. Stop being rude to your teacher, okay?” Yifan retorts. He thinks he’s said it nicely but the way it sounded says otherwise. Jongin, Baekhyun and Chanyeol stick their tongues out at him and, before Yifan flies into a rage, Junmyeon dives in for some damage control.
“Okay kids, your Yifan-hyung is right. You should not be mean to your teacher,” he raises an eyebrow at Yifan, who just hisses in annoyance. “So since we got two hyungs, why don’t we divide into two groups? One group will go to me and one group will go to Yifan-hyung.”
“What for?” Baekhyun asks.
“We’ll have games! Whoever wins will get candies…from Yifan-hyung!” Junmyeon says, excited. Yifan turns his head at the younger in shock, mouthing why me? Junmyeon merely smiles at him as a response.
Kyungsoo slowly raises his hand and speaks, “I want to be in Junmyeon-hyung’s group.”
“Wait! Wait! I go to Junmyeon-hyung’s group, too!” Jongin panics when Kyungsoo eagerly stands up, walks toward the Korean hyung and holds his hand. Jongin hastily runs to Kyungsoo’s side, gawking at Junmyeon with sharp narrow eyes as he holds the other boy’s hands tightly. Kyungsoo hisses a quiet “ouch” but Jongin keeps his grip. Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun by the arm and drags him toward Junmyeon. The latter protests but when Junmyeon welcomes them in the group he just mumbles how he does not want to play games today. Annoyed, he kicks Chanyeol's legs, which earns an exaggerated yelp from the younger.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Yifan asks rhetorically. "I'll take these two," he continues, referring to Tao and Yixing, who are still in his arms. He goes to one corner where Minseok and Jongdae are and asks them if they want to join his group. Minseok stares at him and Yifan does the same as he waits for an answer, not because he finds the chubby kid annoying. Actually, he likes Minseok. The kid seems brave and nice, someone who causes no trouble and instead protects Jongdae from bullies.
“Sehun and Luhan?” Junmyeon asks. The two look at him anxiously and he sees Sehun bite his lip and tighten his grip on Luhan’s hand. When Junmyeon approaches them, the two step back.
“I will go to the group Luhan chooses! I will be with Luhan!” Sehun exclaims, voice slightly shaking.
“Why don’t we have them play rock-paper-scissors and whoever wins goes to my team?” Yifan suggests as he puts Zitao and Yixing down. They both cling onto Yifan’s pants though as soon as their feet touch the ground.
It takes them minutes to persuade Luhan and Sehun but when they do, Sehun looks like he is about to cry. They reluctantly hold their hands out, Sehun with scissors and Luhan with rock.
“It’s decided. I’ll get Luhan,” Yifan says. Luhan hesitates and tries to push Yifan away but to no avail. Soon he finds himself in the group and sees Sehun looking at him and holding back his tears as he is carried to his own group.
“Okay!” Junmyeon speaks rather loudly, surprising everyone. “Oops. Sorry. Anyway, shall we start the game now? Again, whoever wins will get candies from Yifan-hyung, okay?”
The kids answer affirmatively in chorus, some, sluggishly, while most answer excitedly. Minutes later the children are seated according to their respective groups-Junmyeon’s group on the left and Yifan’s on the right. Yifan’s group is rather behaved. Some kids stare eagerly at Yifan, excitement obvious on the faces, but they keep their silence. Junmyeon’s, on the other hand, is chaotic. Kyungsoo keeps on squirming in his seat, looking uncomfortable under Jongin’s intense gaze. Chanyeol and Baekhyun are whispering about something, their laughter loud and obnoxious. Sehun is whimpering, mumbling about how he did not like being away from Luhan.
Junmyeon sighs, cheering himself silently before putting a smile on his face and clapping his hands once to get the kids’ attention. “Kyungsoo and Zitao, why don’t you two go first?"
Kyungsoo stands and Jongin lets go of him reluctantly when Junmyeon says that if one of them wants to answer the question, he has to raise his hand. Kyungsoo purses his lips and looks straight at Junmyeon. He flexes his hand, ready to answer, determination obvious in his eyes. Junmyeon slowly asks them the question and Kyungsoo’s eyes lighten up. He knows this, he tells himself, and so he raises his hand excitedly. Sadly, he makes the mistake of glancing at Zitao and promptly loses his train of thought. It does not take long before Zitao shoots his hand in the air and confidently tells them the answer, a grin slowly etching on his face. Kyungsoo jolts out of his reverie far too late when he sees Yifan’s group already rejoicing in their first score. He frowns, almost tearing up, and looks at Junmyeon apologetically. Junmyeon comforts him, telling him that it is okay to lose and that they still have other members to score, and beams cheerfully, patting his head and gently guiding him back to his seat. Jongin rubs his back and augments their hyung’s words of comfort but cringes when Jongin says he will give Kyungsoo a kiss to make him feel better. Jongin is forcefully pushed away to the floor.
The next pair is Jongin and Minseok. The two stand up, Minseok lousily, as if uninterested and Jongin rather proudly and competitively, mumbling to himself, something about avenging Kyungsoo. Soon, Junmyeon gives them the question and Jongin abruptly raises his hand, smirking at his opponent who does not really seem to care at all. Junmyeon repeats the question and a sudden realization hits Jongin-he does not know the answer. The grin on his face gradually dissolves into nervous lip bites and Minseok takes this as the opportunity to answer. Yifan’s group gets their second score.
Baekhyun is next against Jongdae and for the first time Junmyeon’s group scores when Jongdae refuses to speak. He insists that he knows the answer, it is just that Baekhyun keeps on giving him death stares. Chanyeol high fives Baekhyun as he stands up for his turn against Yixing. Yifan wishes his kid good luck (Zitao snorts at it). Apparently, Jongdae’s fate befalls on Yixing as well when he gets distracted because of Chanyeol’s face, saying he looks mildly deranged with his twitching eyes and wide smiles. Zitao chuckles when Yixing loses but it is quickly replaced by a frown when he sees his Yifan-gege give Yixing a gentle pat on the back.
They are down to the last pair, their tie-breaker, Sehun and Luhan. Again, Suho has quite a hard time convincing Sehun to play against his best friend, only to say yes, though reluctantly, when it is Luhan who personally asks him to stand up. When the question is given, everyone expects to see a hand in the air but to their disappointment, they see the two exchanging awkward, unenthusiastic looks, unwillingness to win over the other apparent on their long faces. Sehun idly plays with his fingers while Luhan keeps his head up, staring blankly at the ceiling. Their groupmates start to cheer them on-more of like pushing them to give out an answer as they find it a bit annoying to waste time watching silence and dying from suspense (as far as the children are concerned, that is).
Desperate, Junmyeon sighs then eyes Yifan sharply, raising an eyebrow; Yifan nods at him in response, grinning as if he has been waiting to do this for a long time.
“Luhan!” Yifan exclaims. It startles Luhan, makes him jump and look at Yifan with panic in his eyes. It does not take long for him to blurt out an answer, scared of the way Yifan’s smiles eagerly at him, with his eyes too wide and cheeks strained. Luhan quickly shoots Sehun an apologetic pout, sorry that he gave in to Yifan and betrayed Sehun by breaking his silence. Sehun smiles at him though, and later they are sitting side by side again with their arms around each other, laughing and acting like they did not just receive the biggest threat to their friendship yet.
“So it looks like Yifan and his group win this game?” Junmyeon says and grins. “Well then Yifan, give them prizes later, okay?”
It hits Yifan and he speeds toward Junmyeon. “Hey. Am I using my money here?” He whispers in between grinding teeth, a bit upset as to how Junmyeon tricked him. Junmyeon knows him too well that no matter how simple a game is, Yifan will do everything to win it. Apparently, he forgets that it is his wallet that is at stake. “Why are you doing this to me?” he mutters. He gets more annoyed when Junmyeon just smiles, that kind of smile which makes Yifan ask himself why he even feels that way in the first place because it makes him guilty. So he tries to ignore the conscience-stricken part of himself and rationalizes, thinking that Junmyeon is probably just helping him to be closer to the kids. Sort of.
When everything is settled, Yifan and Junmyeon decide not to bother the kids and instead let them play on their own. Yifan stands near where Zitao and Yixing are, watching over them-more of like staring into space with a slight smirk on his face. Suddenly, Zitao approaches him and asks to be carried.
“What’s wrong, Zitao?” Yifan asks but he gets no answer. At that point, he wonders why whenever he talks to people they never give him a proper response. By proper response he means audible set of words that make sense and directly addresses his concern. Yifan’s thoughts are cut off when Zitao starts to climb up his legs, failing in his every attempt that he settles on clinging onto his limbs. Before Yifan can even react, he sees Yixing running at him and pushes Zitao away, taking the spot where the latter had his arms around. Yifan slightly scolds the two, telling them that he can carry the both of them anyway. When he does, Zitao and Yixing start making faces, sticking their tongues out and glaring at each other. Yifan sighs, wondering if this is how they normally act, and threatens that he won’t carry them ever again if they continue to fight. They settle down quite nicely after that.
On a different area of the room, Junmyeon notices Jongin dragging Kyungsoo everywhere with him. Jongin demands that they play soccer when Kyungsoo wants to watch Dora the Explorer, or that he insists that they pee together when Kyungsoo does not really feel like peeing. When Junmyeon intervenes, Jongin shoots him a pissed off look as if touching Kyungsoo is the gravest sin a man could possibly do on earth. For some reason, it scares Junmyeon but then Kyungsoo clasps his hands onto his arms and it brings him back to the reason why he is in between the two kids. Irate, Jongin dashes out of the playroom and sulks at one corner near the door.
Kyungsoo feels bothered as to how Jongin reacted. He looks at Junmyeon with pleading eyes, as if he should be held responsible for a mad Jongin. When he gets an approving smile from his hyung, he runs to his bestfriend.
“Jonginah...” Kyungsoo calls out, silently though and shyly.
Jongin gives him an annoyed hiss. “Don’t talk to me. Go to Junmyeon-hyung instead.”
“W-we’ll play soccer, I promise,” Kyungsoo says, trying to hide his guilt feelings so he inhales loudly and bites his lips. “Let’s just watch Dora together. Just one episode.”
Jongin is ready to say no but then he sees Kyungsoo at the brink of crying. “K-Kyungsoo don’t cry!” He yells unintentionally loudly but it is too late when Kyungsoo bows his head down and his shoulders start shaking. It is followed by a wail and Kyungsoo disappears only to see him carried by Junmyeon and sobbing at his chest. Jongin feels a huge pang of remorse, like a boulder is thrown straight at him that his eyes sting and his cheeks feel heavy. He then finds himself in front of Junmyeon, holding Kyungsoo’s dangling feet.
“K-kyungsoo...” Jongin trails off. “Sorry. I did not mean to shout.”
Junmyeon smiles at Jongin’s apology. It is his first time seeing this adorable side of Jongin and it definitely warms his heart, how the kids’ fights do not really last. It’s nice how easily they can give each other heartfelt apologies and make up easily, forgetting everything and going back to the simple joys of childhood.
Once Kyungsoo and Jongin have calmed down, Junmyeon leads them toward the television where they surprisingly enjoy watching Dora the Explorer together, occasionally laughing and even eagerly answering her questions in unison.
Two hours later, Junmyeon’s claps echo across the room and all eyes are on him again.
“Okay kids! Nap time!” He cheerfully tells. As expected he gets all the kids groaning at him as most of them are just at the peak of their playroom session. However, Junmyeon sticks to the house rules and asks Yifan to help him get the kids to their futons.
“You’re just too rigid,” Yifan tells Junmyeon as he carries Luhan away from Sehun. Sehun is left with no choice but to follow so he can keep an eye on Luhan.
Junmyeon gently guides Jongin and Kyungsoo to their nap room before he responds. “We need to set a good example to these kids,” he says.
Though with much resistance from most of the children, like when Zitao and Yixing refuse to let go of Yifan’s arms or when Jongin suddenly craves for cakes, they manage to bring all of them to their respective futons.
Yifan and Junmyeon decide to stay in the living room, a bit tired but somehow contented. They will get at least three hours of rest while the kids doze off. Yifan groans though when he realizes how tiring this summer job can be given that this is just their first day and they have still nine more days to go.
Junmyeon smiles when he hears Yifan’s groan, not hesitating as he leans forward and places his hands on Yifan’s shoulders. He presses his thumbs against Yifan’s tense muscles, helping Yifan relax and unwind.
This is how they always are whenever they go on the exploits Junmyeon has thought up, with Yifan dead tired and Junmyeon apologizing one way or another. It is a pattern they follow and even after years of it, they always enjoy both what they are doing and each other’s company. Junmyeon never gets tired of looking for new things to try. Yifan never gets tired of agreeing to his ideas and following him anyway so both of them never see any problem with it.
“Tired?” Junmyeon asks, eyes fixed on the other’s face. Yifan nods and for some reason Junmyeon’s gazes send a tinge of tension, much more when the younger slinks his fingers between his and intertwines them.
“The kids might see,” Yifan says. Though it should sound worrying, it just plainly comes out of his mouth. It was standard, something he was expected to say, but the words mean nothing because he sort of wanted this too.
“No they won’t,” Junmyeon says, tightening his grasp on the other’s large sweaty hands. Kris knows he should have been alarmed at hearing that obvious tinge of confidence in Junmyeon's voice but, no matter how much he tries to, he can't get himself to feel even the slightest bit bothered at the fact that Junmyeon sounds uncharacteristically certain about this. “I know how to enervate you though?”
Before Yifan could even make any sound or an attempt at least to halt Junmyeon of whatever is to come, he immediately feels soft lips pressed gently against his. Junmyeon does not move, eyes closed as if savoring the moment. As for Yifan, he is caught off guard at first but lets a jiffy pass before realizing he actually misses this even if the last time he had one is just five hours ago. He gives in, closing his eyes as well, and pulls Junmyeon closer to him, one hand on the younger’s nape and the other on the cheeks. What is originally supposed to be a peck escalates to something more erratic, fingers carding at each other’s hair, soft, quiet moans escaping from breaths in between kisses.
The two are just too busy that they become oblivious of the kids who apparently are not really asleep. Jongin peeks from the room divider, Kyungsoo next, and the rest follows.
“Is that Junmyeon-hyung and Yifan-hyung?” Sehun asks, whispering to Luhan whose jaw drops at the unexpected make-out session in front of them.
"What are they doing?" Kyungsoo asks innocently. Jongin is just too good to respond without hesitation, "That's what they call kissing, Kyungsoo. We can do it if you-"
"Jongin that's gross."
“We’ll do it anyway when we-”
Kyungsoo shuns him and attempts to go back to sleep.
More notes:
1. The idea is actually from sagwassweetness because we had so many kid!EXO feels back then. The story we had in mind was slightly different but still it was fun writing this with Lauren XD
2. Not sharing to SNCJ since it's already posted in the kficcollab page + this is a work of two authors so we're both equally owners to this. XD Just saving a copy on my blog.
3. So much love for airplanewishes. Thank you for beta-ing, noona! <3