[Super Junior] Four in a Row

[fivethreerin]

Four in a Row
Yesung / Ryeowook
10,015 words (wtf so long omg)
AU; Character(s) Death!
Summary: Just when Jongwoon finds himself adjusted to taking care of the two young children who have come under his care, Ryeowook arrives with a threat to take them away. But the young man is not who he seems to be, and soon, Jongwoon finds the unexpected happening… and his life becoming a lot more interesting.
A/N: FLUFF! FLUFF! DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU!!! Inspired by Susan Wiggs’ book, ‘Table for Five’. Except they are four. Lol.



“If anything happens… you’ll take care of them for me, won’t you?”

“… Nothing bad is going to happen to you hyung. God rewards good.”

“I know. But. Just in case. I don’t want them to ever be alone.”

“… Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you hyung but… of course. You know I will.”

Jongwoon watched as Hyukjae tottered over to him, holding one of the paper airplanes they folded a moment ago. “Appa?” he smiled.

“You ready?” Jongwoon nodded, pulling the boy into his arms and clasping the little boy’s hand into his own.

“No, no!” Hyukjae shook his head. “Donghae, hyung. Let’s call Donghae.”

“Donghae’s sleeping,” Jongwoon said softly, pressing his face into Hyukjae’s shoulder and taking a deep breath. It smelled like baby shampoo and powder, and Jongwoon wondered if he could chase back the memory of his hyung from this little boy in his arms. “We wrote what Donghae would want to say to Appa too, on the airplane, didn’t we Hyukjae?”

Hyukjae nodded. How his four year old mind could comprehend what had just happened in the past two weeks, Jongwoon didn’t know. When Hyukjae had woken in the morning wanting to tell his father he was sorry that they had candy two nights ago and was that why his father wasn’t coming back, Jongwoon had fought every urge he had to cry. He needed to be strong for these boys, he knew he did.

“Let’s send the message to your Appa,” Jongwoon said, guiding Hyukjae to the balcony, the red airplane poised for flight in his hand and the blue in Jongwoon’s. One for each Appa, Hyukjae had insisted. “Ready?”

Hyukjae nodded. Jongwoon moved both hands back and watched as the airplanes flew out of their hands. He was expecting them to fall to the pavement below, but a wind picked up suddenly, and the airplanes soon flew out of sight.

“Sorry, appa!” Hyukjae was crying now, and Jongwoon wrapped both arms around the boy’s middle, holding him close as he felt the little boy shake with the force of his tears. “Come back. Come back!”

Jongwoon tried to remember life before the twins, but most of the time he couldn’t. They take up all of his time now, even time at work. He brings one twin to work with him and leaves the other, and the choice of which boy he gets was pretty much dependent on his mother’s mood for the day. The office boys have a pool going for which boy would turn up every morning.

He’s thankful that Siwon was understanding and lets him bring the boys to work, but he knew that it was not an arrangement that could work forever. So he started to look for a day-care centre, one that he could afford and was convenient for him and the boys. For the moment, he hadn’t had time to get a babysitter, so his mother was helping him out. She had initially disapproved of Jongwoon’s acceptance to the terms of Youngwoon’s will involving custody for the twins but was won over by the boys’ exuberance and treated them just like her own grandchildren.

“Heaven help that I will actually get them from you,” she had jabbed Jongwoon in the chest after that and it hurt. Even after Jongwoon kindly reminded his mother about Jongjin and his very straight sexual orientation.

That evening, Jongwoon returned to his mother’s café with Hyukjae in tow.

“Hae!” Hyukjae cried once they came in through the door.

Donghae grinned and ran off to his twin, wrapping his arm around the boy’s shoulder. He started talking to Hyukjae, making the other boy giggle and snort at what he was saying.

“They look like they have secrets to tell,” Jongwoon’s mother chuckled, leaning over to give her son a hug. “I know you left me with the better one.”

Jongwoon rolled his eyes. “I had to stop him from climbing all over the desks. Thank God Siwon turns into mush whenever he sees humans who are as tall as his knees.”

“Jongwoon!” his mother chuckled, shaking her head. What was she to do with this son of hers? “I have dinner ready. Bring the kids back to eat.”

“Hyukjae-ah! Donghae!” Jongwoon called out to the boys, and they ran back towards the counter, giggling. He grabbed them both and they settled out to the back area, where there was a rest area for the staff. He got Donghae and Hyukjae settled with their water bottles, and one of the girls who worked in the café came to the back with their dinner.

“Thanks Soojung,” Jongwoon grinned, turning back to the boys who were fighting over a piece of egg. “Ya, yah! There’s enough to go around. What’s so special about that piece of egg?”

“It glows, hyung!” Donghae insisted.

“It will taste super-duper extra special!” Hyukjae nodded.

“They all glow. And they all taste special because omma made them,” Jongwoon sat down and noticed that they were fighting over the slice of hardboiled egg that had the most yolk in it. He picked it out spilt it into two and handed it to the boys. “There.”

The boys were quiet for a moment until Hyukjae yelled, “Hyung! Donghae’s piece is bigger!”

He had taken care of the boys for almost six months when one Friday, he walked into the café to see a young boy sitting near the door, dressed in a suit. It was strange, because most of the clientele of the café were the students and young people who frequented the university neighbourhood.

“Ah. Jongwoon,” his mother said, as the twins looked up from the books they were colouring to pounce on him.

“Mom?” he frowned. His mother had that look on her face- the same look she had when she received the phone call from the hospital informing her about his dad’s accident. At that moment, the boy in the suit near the door got up and walked over towards him.

“This boy is here to see you,” his mother said, walking out from behind the counter. There were no customers- it was two pm, just after lunch hour and business was usually slow until four.

Jongwoon turned to the boy, with one twin hugging each of his leg.

“Hello,” the boy bowed at Jongwoon. “My name is Kim Ryeowook. I am Park Jungsu’s cousin.”

Jongwoon felt his heart fall to the floor at that instant, and he probably would have collapsed if not for the twins hugging onto his legs. His mother, seeing the situation gestured the two of them to a table and pulled the twins from Jongwoon, bringing them back to their books.

“I thought Jungsu-hyung didn’t have any relatives, At least, none that he would call,” was the first thing Jongwoon blurted out once he got over the fact that this was Jungsu’s blood relative, here. In his mother’s shop. He could only be here for one thing.

Ryeowook smiled. “The last time I met hyung, I was probably only in third grade, and later when he moved in with Youngwoon-hyung we did not have a chance to contact each other as much as we hoped to.”

Jongwoon stiffened. “He told me a bit of that.”

“Jongwoon-ssi,” Ryeowook said before taking a deep breath. “I am here because Jungsu-hyung gave me legal guardianship of his child. His lawyer called me.”

“What? That’s… Youngwoon-hyung named me their guardian.”

“Only for Donghae,” Ryeowook said softly, pulling a sheaf of papers out of his bag. “I was told by the lawyer that Youngwoon had appointed you Donghae’s legal guardian, but as they couldn’t contact me in time temporary guardianship of Hyukjae was allowed for you.”

Jongwoon snatched up the papers and scanned through them, thinking back to his own trip to the lawyer’s office. He had been so distraught- he did not have much memory of what had gone on there, except that the boys had gone home with him a few days after. But there it was, in Ryeowook’s document. Clear as day.

“You have to understand that when Youngwoon-hyung and Jungsu-hyung adopted the children, they were advised to adopt the children separately to boost their chances of being able to adopt them. Since they were going to live together, I think they thought it was the best way to do so... At that time.”

Jongwoon looked down at the paper, then up at the boy. How old was this Ryeowook anyway? The suit didn’t make him look any older than eighteen, and there was no way Jongwoon was going to hand Hyukjae over to Ryeowook… the Hyukjae who still cried in the middle of the night for his two appas, and would not eat a bit of candy at all.

“No,” Jongwoon shoved the papers back at Ryeowook. “I can’t accept this.”

“It is my legal responsibility,” Ryeowook’s voice was tight, controlled. “I just want to do what’s right.”

“The right thing for you now is to walk away and never come back. Let the temporary guardianship I have turn permanent. I will take care of them,” Jongwoon growled. “You can’t separate the boys.”

“I don’t plan to. I am moving here to Seoul,” Ryeowook said. “There are some other matters the lawyer wants me to take care of.”

“What on earth do you want?” Jongwoon exclaimed, standing up. “I was here, when they brought the twins from Mokpo. I was here, changing diapers and making milk bottles when the hyungs were out working. The twins know me; you can’t just take them away.”

Ryeowook looked up. He turned to glance at the boys, who had looked up from their colouring because of the fuss Jongwoon was making. “Just like they are part of your memories of your friends, they are a part of my family. I don’t have much left. And that’s why I am here.”

Jongwoon was about to say something, but they both heard a loud crash and he turned around quickly to see that Donghae was standing in the middle of what looked like a puddle of water, about to start crying any minute.

“Aigoo Donghae-ah,” his mother raced out from the kitchen. “Donghae-ah, are you okay?”

Donghae, after getting over his shock, burst into tears. “Appa!” he called out, and that started Hyukjae off.

Jongwoon turned back to Ryeowook. “I have everything that the boys will need,” he said. “This discussion is over, Ryeowook-ssi,” before he turned and stalked over to the boys, easily picking Hyukjae up and sitting him on his lap as Donghae continued to cry in his mother’s arms.

Ryeowook watched the scene for a moment longer, before he put his coat back on and stepped out of the café.

When the lawyer’s letter came, it took all of Jongwoon’s self-control, plus his brother and sister-in-law’s coaxing, to not march over to Ryeowook and give him a piece of his mind.

Plus, Donghae was asleep on his lap and Hyukjae in Jongjin’s, so it was nowhere near an opportune movement to do angry marching into some stranger’s apartment.

“The children know me. I know for sure I have never met Ryeowook in all the time I knew Jungsu-hyung,” Jongwoon whispered.

“I think you should go and meet Ryeowook-ssi again and talk it out with him,” his sister-in-law, Sunmi said.

“We’ve talked once and it didn’t work out.”

Jongjin chuckled, and Hyukjae stirred in his nap. “Mom said you were a total bear when he appeared. I bet you weren’t even willing to listen to what he had to say.”

Jongwoon glowered.

“Don’t give me that look, hyung,” Jongjin shook his head.

Sunmi giggled. “Oppa,” she said, losing her smile and looking serious. “Maybe this Ryeowook-ssi will really have a claim to Hyukjae… and we can never tell what the law will say if this case really goes to the courts. Maybe they’ll put the children into social services, once they…” she paused, looking down at her hands. “Maybe they will be like other people… who think it will be better if they have a mother, and a father, even if they don’t know those people at all. The lawyer told you that, remember?”

Jongwoon nodded. It had been a hard battle to even get the kids in the first place, and he really didn’t want to jeopardize that. But how could he tear the twins apart? And the thought of having to give them away now threatened to fill his eyes with tears.

Stupid, stupid, he berated himself. He had done the one thing he told himself he wouldn’t do- fall in love with his brother’s boys.

The boy in his lap stirred and opened his eyes, looking up at Jongwoon with big wide eyes. “Hyung,” he mumbled sleepily. “Why are you upside down?”

Jongwoon chuckled. “It’s okay,” he said, flipping Donghae around and resting the boy’s head on his chest. Donghae mumbled something incoherent and went back to sleep. “It’s all going to be okay.”

Ryeowook had been surprised to receive the phone call from Jongwoon. He jogged the distance from the train station to the café. Jongwoon was behind the counter when he arrived.

“Good afternoon,” he said, with a bow.

Jongwoon looked up from the blender he had been staring at, and nodded. He still looked like being here and talking to Ryeowook was the last place he wanted to be in, but had no choice. “Good afternoon. Have a seat. Do you drink coffee?”

“Yes,” Ryeowook said and Jongwoon turned to the coffee machine. He looked at the older man for a moment before stepping to one of the tables and taking a seat, taking off his coat as he did so.

Jongwoon returned with two cups of coffee, and handed one to Ryeowook as he grabbed a few packets of sugar and creamer from the next table. Ryeowook dumped two packets of sugar and skipped the sugar- Jongwoon drank it black.

“I hope we can come to an agreement,” Jongwoon said.

Ryeowook smiled. This was what he had hoped for. Honestly, he had been bluffing the last time he came; if Jongwoon had decided not to let him have the boys, or worse, to let him take only Hyukjae away, he would have walked away. “That is a start.”

Jongwoon raised an eyebrow and took another sip of coffee. Ryeowook took one of his and was pleasantly surprised. It was good. “Are you planning to move to Seoul for good?”

“I work from home, so I can move anywhere,” Ryeowook explained. “Most of the people I work for are based in Seoul anyway, so this is actually a move that could… make work for me more convenient.”

Jongwoon nodded, looking over Ryeowook’s expensive clothes. “What is your work?”

“I compose music,” Ryeowook said.

Jongwoon paused, and Ryeowook could almost see him connecting the dots.

“You worked with Jungsu-hyung?” Jongwoon asked.

Ryeowook nodded. The reason why Jungsu had left custody of his son in Ryeowook’s care was because even if they lived in two different cities they worked together. Jungsu’s job was to write jingles for commercials and sometimes songs- Ryeowook had done most of the arrangements for him from Incheon. Of course, Jungsu had not expected that he would leave the children so soon.

“So you can understand why this arrangement in Seoul is beneficial to me too, which also means I will not pick up the kids and run away or take them away from you.”

He watched as Jongwoon visibly relaxed; he leaned back on the chair and fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup, biting his lower lip. It was quite cute, actually. “We need a while for you to get to know the boys. Donghae’s friendly with strangers, sometimes a little too friendly,” he smiled, and Ryeowook’s heart clenched a little at that, feeling a bit guilty at forcing Jongwoon into such a predicament. “But Hyukjae’s shy.”

“I understand that. I’m pretty much willing to do whatever you want.”

Jongwoon nodded. “I… the boys, they still should stay with me in the interim. I suppose we’ll think of something in the future. Can you accept that?” he asked.

Ryeowook smiled, and held out his hand. “Definitely.”

Jongwoon looked warily at him and his hand, before reaching out his hand to shake it.

“Woah!” Donghae cried out, and his shoes were off in a second as he ran into the apartment.

“Donghae! Take off your coat!” Jongwoon called, but Donghae was already climbing onto Ryeowook’s white couch. He turned to Ryeowook, still holding Hyukjae in his arms and rolled his eyes. “White is never a good colour with kids.”

“So I notice,” Ryeowook smiled as he watched Donghae jump up and down the couch. “I have some blankets. I suppose I can drape them over the couch?”

“Or you could just change a couch. Blankets can be more trouble than they’re worth,” Jongwoon said, walking in and calling out for Donghae again. He was juggling three large bags, and it took Ryeowook a moment to run over and grab the bags from him. “Thanks,” he grinned.

“What’s in these?” Ryeowook almost dropped the first bag. It was heavy.

They unpacked the bags which had clothes, toys, several bottles of strawberry and banana milk, pancake mix, syrup for pancakes and an assortment of snacks in them.

“I thought that since they were going to be with you when I go to work…” Jongwoon started, looking sheepish. He put Hyukjae down, grabbed Donghae and managed to take off the boy’s coat before he ran off.

“No, no. It’s… it’s totally all right. You know the boys better than I do. Who likes to eat pancakes?”

“They both do. Donghae likes banana milk, and Hyukjae likes strawberry milk. I feed them these biscuits,” he picked up a packet of biscuit sticks. “Whenever they get kind of jumpy, or yell for a snack, I give them these.”

Ryeowook made a face. “Do they eat fruits? Biscuits aren’t always healthy.”

“When they’re in the shop with my mom, sometimes she’s too busy to come up with something. And the boys like the biscuits,” Jongwoon defended his choice.

Ryeowook sensed Jongwoon’s frustrations, and decided to leave that topic for later.

“You haven’t got anything to do today right?” Jongwoon asked. “You’ll watch over them all right?” he turned to help Hyukjae take his coat off but held the little boy close, as though reluctant to leave him, even if Donghae was now rolling on the rug in front of the television.

“I will,” Ryeowook nodded. “I have games and books and some other toys, and I know how to cook. So we’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Jongwoon nodded absently in return, sitting Hyukjae on the couch and calling for Donghae to come up to him. He sat the boys together and kneeled down in front of them, one hand on one boy’s shoulder. “We talked about this, remember? You’re going to stay with Ryeowook-hyung when I go to work. And then I will come back for the both of you. You remember, right?” he said, and the boys nodded solemnly. They have had two weeks of play dates, and Jongwoon’s mother had been the one who said that they boys looked ready to be taken care of by Ryeowook. “And Ryeowook-hyung’s going to make lunch for you, so you’re going to eat every bite, remember?”

“Like appa always said,” Donghae said solemnly. Ryeowook turned to Jongwoon, curious, and the older mouthed, “Jungsu.”

“Okay,” Jongwoon nodded, picking up his bag. “Be good okay? Hyukjae, did you hear me?”

Hyukjae nodded, looking away from his father. Jongwoon gave them both kisses on the forehead, said goodbye, nagged Ryeowook a bit more about the boys and their habits, before walking out of the apartment.

Ryeowook turned to the twins and smiled. “Who wants to play games?”

Siwon looked up at Jongwoon and chuckled. “You’re worried?”

Jongwoon looked up from his laptop. “Oh, damn. Sorry boss. What were you saying? Parson wants their report for last month? I could run it…”

“No, no. You just look really worried,” Siwon said with a kind smile.

Jongwoon sighed. “I am, but… well. I talked about this with my Mom, and she thinks I shouldn’t call. I mean, if they got into an emergency, Ryeowook would call me, right?”

Siwon laughed again. “Yes, yes I bet he will.”

Jongwoon nodded. “Just let me run that report for you,” he said, turning back to the laptop and hoping he could bury himself with work and not think about the kids until he had to go get them.

Jongwoon left work right on time and appeared at Ryeowook’s doorstep thirty minutes later. He knocked, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited for Ryeowook to get the door. When the door finally opened, he heard a loud shriek, “Hyung!” and the sounds of footsteps running over as he walked quickly into the vestibule and shut the door behind him to catch two boys throwing themselves at him.

“Hey,” he chuckled, ruffling the boys’ hair. “Hey,” he whispered, kneeling down when he saw that both boys were crying. “What’s wrong?”

Ryeowook only smiled weakly. “I think they were scared you weren’t going to come back,” he whispered. “They were very brave though.”

Donghae only clung onto Jongwoon’s left shoulder, and Hyukjae managed to burrow himself up into Jongwoon’s chest, inside his jacket. He lifted the boys up, one in each hand. “Aren’t you going to tell me what you played with Ryeowook-hyung today? He had a lot of toys, didn’t he?” he said gently, as he walked to the couch. “What did you eat for lunch? Did you do what you promised?”

The twins nodded, and Jongwoon hugged them both close to him. He’d spend the whole day out of sorts, and was worried that they would give Ryeowook a hard time. Ryeowook, he suddenly remembered and looked up in time to see him walk out of the kitchen with a tray that had four cups on it.

“Do you… want to take your coat off?” Ryeowook asked softly.

There was milk for the boys and strong tea for the both of them. Jongwoon looked down at his coat, now with two kids attached to it with a laugh before taking the cup of tea thankfully. “How were they?” he asked.

“Hyukjae freaked out a little once you were gone,” Ryeowook confessed. “And that set Donghae off. I didn’t want to call you at work so I called your mother. She spoke to them through the phone for a while, and things got a little better. I made some lunch, and they ate, just like they promised. Then we played games, they had a nap, and woke up and started asking when you were coming. So thank God you’re here.”

Jongwoon laughed and ruffled Hyukjae’s hair. “You were so good today. Such good boys,” he leaned over to kiss Donghae’s cheek before turning back to Ryeowook, who was watching them with a soft smile. “Thanks,” he put down his cup and reached to wipe the milk moustache away from Donghae’s face. “Did you have a good time?” he asked the boy.

Donghae nodded. “Ryeowook-hyung has lots of toys!”

“Hyukjae?” Jongwoon turned to the other boy.

Hyukjae turned to Ryeowook, then his twin, and then looked back at Jongwoon. “I want to go to work with hyung,” he said, abandoning his cup of milk and sitting next to Jongwoon.

“Ryeowook-hyung can take good care of you too,” Jongwoon said, wrapping an arm around the boy. “And you have games and food and everything else here. Work is boring isn’t it? And you can be with Donghae the whole day.”

Hyukjae looked unconvinced, but he didn’t say anything else. After they had finished their milk, Ryeowook helped them put on their jackets and made to move the toys back into the bags that they came in, but Jongwoon stopped him.

“They’ll have to be here tomorrow, anyway,” he said. “Just leave them here.”

Ryeowook didn’t know why, but that made him grin like an idiot, even long after they had gone home.

The next day, Hyukjae couldn’t stop crying after Jongwoon left so Ryeowook had no choice but to call Jongwoon. When Jongwoon arrived, letting himself in with the key that Ryeowook had given him the night before, Hyukjae was cried out, lying in Ryeowook’s arms, and Donghae was sitting next to them and watching over his twin, looking almost miserable.

“Hyung!” Donghae called when Jongwoon walked in. “Hyukkie cried!”

Jongwoon took off his coat, put down his bag and walked over to the boy, coaxing Hyukjae into his arms.

“I want to go to work with hyung,” was all Hyukjae said when Jongwoon picked him up.

“I’m sorry,” Ryeowook said softly.

Jongwoon shook his head. “He’s cried a lot this year,” he said, wiping Hyukjae’s tears away with his hands. “Hyukjae-ah. Don’t you think it’s time to be a big boy and not cry anymore? Don’t you like Ryeowook-hyung?”

Hyukjae only shook his head and buried his face into Jongwoon’s shoulder. Jongwoon smiled at Ryeowook and gestured to the bedroom that Ryeowook had set aside to let the boys have their naps, and Ryeowook gestured him inside. Jongwoon nodded and carried Hyukjae with him inside the room.

Ryeowook let out a sigh and sat down on the couch.

“Don’t sigh, hyung!” Donghae cried, crawling up onto the couch and sitting next to Ryeowook. “Appa used to say, that whenever we sigh, someone will become unhappy. It’s wrong to take someone else’s happiness away!”

“Jungsu-appa?” Ryeowook asked softly.

Donghae nodded. “It’s okay, Ryeowook-hyung,” the little boy said sagely, as he reached over and patted Ryeowook’s hand in a very adult-like way. “I like you.”

Ryeowook felt tears well in his eyes, and he took Donghae’s small hand in both of this. “Did Jungsu-appa tell you this too? Whenever you feel sad?”

“Appa too!” Donghae said, and Ryeowook supposed he must mean Youngwoon. “Whenever Jungsu-appa was sad, Appa would hold him and kiss him and everything will be all better!” he said, and after thinking for a moment, reached over and gave Ryeowook a hug, as far as his arms could stretch around Ryeowook’s body.

“I can ask hyung to give you a kiss too, so you can feel better.”

Ryeowook froze, before laughing out loud. “No, it’s okay. I just need you to give me a kiss. And another hug.”

Donghae grinned and sat up on Ryeowook’s lap before giving Ryeowook’s chin a big kiss and wrapped his arms around Ryeowook’s tummy. “Ryeowook-hyung, will you give Hyukkie a hug later too and tell him you are not angry at him that he cried?”

“Of course,” Ryeowook whispered, tears falling from his eyes now. “I’m not angry at Hyukjae at all,” he said, basking in the glow of Jungsu’s warmth radiating from this little boy holding. He missed Jungsu- he really did.

A slight cough alerted him that Jongwoon was back. Donghae let go of Ryeowook and climbed off the couch to Jongwoon. “Hyukjae’s asleep. It’s time for your nap too,” he said. “Go sleep.”

Donghae nodded, and turned to Ryeowook. “See you later, hyung!” he said.

Once Jongwoon had Donghae tucked into bed next to Hyukjae, he took a deep breath and walked into the living room, where Ryeowook was still wiping the tears away from his eyes. He took two steps forward and paused for a moment, before walking straight up to the couch and sitting next to Ryeowook, keeping a little distance between them.

“They really taught him well, didn’t they?” Jongwoon said.

Ryeowook nodded, sniffing a little. “I think they were great parents.”

Jongwoon laughed. “They totally were not. I remember there was one time Youngwoon was having a temper tantrum, and they were in the kitchen yelling at each other, and he had no idea Hyukjae was behind him and he knocked the kettle off the stove and the water splashed straight onto Hyukjae. I don’t think either of them slept for two weeks.”

“That’s why… Hyukjae has that scar on his shoulder?”

“And that’s why they’ve always caved in to whatever Hyukjae wanted. He’s actually a pretty spoilt kid,” Jongwoon nodded. “Ryeowook,” he said seriously, turning to look at him. “You should tell me honestly. Why did you come to Seoul? Jungsu-hyung never talked about his family, and you suddenly appeared… I just want to know why. I think I have the right to know.”

Ryeowook looked down at his hands, a million thoughts running through his head, and a deep sense of fear flooding his consciousness. This would mean telling Jongwoon his deepest secret, one that Jungsu only knew, and the reason why he was not able to go home now. “I…” he stammered.

Jongwoon took a look at the boy and sighed. “It’s okay,” he patted Ryeowook’s shoulder, before turning to look at the clock. “Looks like I won’t be going back to work today.”

Ryeowook jumped up and reached out for Jongwoon’s arm just as he was about to get up. “I could… I’m sorry for everything. I… if you’ll stay for dinner…”

Jongwoon felt the warmth of Ryeowook’s hand even through the layers he was wearing, and suddenly the room just felt way too hot. It couldn’t be, Jongwoon tried to shake the thoughts away from his head, but remembering the way Ryeowook had tried his best to make the boys like him, and changing his lifestyle just for the boys, and now looking so vulnerable… Jongwoon took a deep breath and reached into himself to supress those strange thoughts he was having, hiding them far away in his subconscious.

“Right,” Jongwoon chuckled, trying to get his equilibrium back. “Why not? Donghae says you’re a good cook.”

And then Ryeowook smiled.

Jongwoon cursed.

It took a while, but Hyukjae finally got used to going to Ryeowook’s place. Now he would make a fuss when he had to leave, unwilling to leave all his toys and even Ryeowook. This led to sleepovers at Ryeowook’s apartment, and soon this arrangement of shuttling the boys back and forth their homes was taking its toll on both of them.

“Why not move in together?” Sunmi suggested one Sunday afternoon in the café, where they were all having lunch.

Ryeowook’s fork clattered onto his plate. Jongwoon started coughing. They both of them pointedly tried not to look at each other.

Hyukjae pointed at a piece of chicken on his plate, and Jongjin fed it to the boy. “How far is the commute from your place to Ryeowook’s?”

Jongjin was older than he was, Ryeowook smiled at the memory of finding that out. It had been hilarious, how the both of them had had it all wrong until Jongwoon laughed at Jongjin calling Ryeowook hyung.

“About forty-five minutes? Sometimes more,” Jongwoon frowned.

“So you spend forty minutes to bring the boys to hyung’s place,” Jongjin said. “And then half an hour to go to work from there. That’s more than two hours of commuting every day! Maybe more, like you said.”

Jongwoon chuckled. Now that he thought about it, the going back and forth was really tiring. Plus the amount of work he was handing to other people just so he could go and pick up the boys… but how much longer could this go on?

“I could… find a place closer to yours,” Ryeowook stammered. “Maybe it could be better, and the kids can come and be with your mother more often too. I’m sure she misses them very much.”

“True,” Sunmi said thoughtfully. “But it’s best if all of you could stay together. After all, it’s like being roommates. Just add taking care of the twins to that. Don’t you think that’s right, Hae-ah?”

“Yes!” Donghae cried out, obviously having no idea what he was agreeing to. “Noona may I have ice cream?”

Sunmi turned to the guardians. Jongwoon turned to Ryeowook, who nodded. “Only one scoop, Donghae. Hyukjae can have one too.”

Hyukjae perked up at the thought of ice cream, and they followed Sunmi to the counter to pick their flavours.

Jongwoon looked up from his plate of pasta and stole a look at Ryeowook’s face, smiling when he saw that the younger definitely still looked embarrassed from the thought of moving in together.

Two weeks later, the matter of moving in together was taken out of their hands when Sunmi found out that she was pregnant. Jongwoon’s mother was ecstatic about the coming grandchild, and now that Sunmi was moving in to the apartment it was going to be too much of a squeeze for all six of them.

“Wow, what’s this?” Ryeowook said, looking at the box Jongwoon was unpacking. Ryeowook’s apartment was a two bedroom apartment, and for the interim Jongwoon would be sleeping with the boys in the room the boys slept in when they stayed over. The room now was filled with things from Jongwoon’s place, boxes and boxes of clothes and toys littered the room and the corridor outside.

“The lawyer handed them to me after the funeral,” Jongwoon pulled out the large photo albums with a smile. “Youngwoon-hyung was always a fan of using film photography. None of those digital cameras for him,” he chuckled at the memory.

“May I?” Ryeowook asked tentatively, and Jongwoon nodded. They opened up the albums and started pouring over them. There were pictures of the twins when they were babies, newly adopted with Jungsu holding them. And blurry pictures of Youngwoon holding them (because Jungsu was bad with the camera). The twins’ growth were carefully charted in the book, from them giving their first smile and taking their first step and even their potty training was well documented.

“Hyung?” a soft voice came from the door, and the adults, both too engrossed in the photos looked up with a start. Hyukjae was up from his afternoon nap.

Jongwoon grinned and patted the floor in front of him. “Hyukjae, come here.”

Hyukjae nodded and padded over, sitting down in front of Jongwoon. He looked at the photos for a moment, before reaching over to place a hand over a picture of Jungsu with him. “Appa!”

“That’s right,” Jongwoon nodded. “It’s appa.”

Jongwoon had kept the pictures away from the children, but it had almost been a year. He was a little worried right now, letting Hyukjae see these pictures, but… He didn’t want the children to forget their fathers. In the midst of his thoughts, he felt a warm hand reach for his own, and looked up to see Ryeowook smiling at him.

It’ll be okay, Ryeowook seemed to be telling him. They’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.

“Look!” Hyukjae pointed at the next photograph with a giggle. “Donghae needs to go potty!”

Jongwoon laughed and hugged Hyukjae close to himself. “I’m sure there was a picture of you looking just like that too.”

“I was never that little!” Hyukjae insisted.

“Oh yes you were,” Ryeowook reached over and started tickling Hyukjae, and they woke Donghae up who insisted he wanted to play too.

Jongwoon got home one evening to find Ryeowook pouring through a bunch of brochures. Hyukjae was tapping out a nonsensical melody on his keyboard, and Donghae making accompanying noises that he supposed was singing. “What’s that?”

Ryeowook held out a brochure. “Preschools.”

Jongwoon put his bag down and sat down next to Ryeowook. “You know, actually before you came I was looking for a day care centre, or a babysitter. You pretty much came in and fit the bill.”

Ryeowook glared at Jongwoon. “I am not a glorified nanny,” he frowned. “Anyway,” he shoved a few more brochures at Jongwoon. “We have to find a preschool that needs to be pretty understanding of our strange… well, arrangement. Plus give them a good foundation before they go off to school…”

“Woah, woah hang on there,” Jongwoon shook his head. “I was looking for a day care centre, you know the kind the kids go, maybe take a few classes but have time to play. I’m not going to send them to cram school for babies. That’s ridiculous!”

“I’m not asking you to send them to cram school, just… somewhere where they can learn and socialise. Don’t you think Hyukjae needs to learn how to be with other people?” Ryeowook looked up and dared Jongwoon to rebut him.

Jongwoon sighed. “They’re just kids. They’re like, four year olds. Why do they need to go to a school?”

“It will be a great start to getting them ready for elementary school,” Ryeowook said, before he paused. “And so that I have some time so that I can work. It’s getting hard to meet datelines when the both of them are climbing on top of me.”

Jongwoon groaned. He’d forgotten all about Ryeowook’s work, and that was really insensitive of him. He thought that if Ryeowook hadn’t said a thing, their arrangement now would be fine. Of course the man had to work and needed free time to do whatever he wanted to do. It’s been a few weeks since they moved in together, and Jongwoon wasn’t paying him anything to take care of the boys, so he shouldn’t treat him only like a babysitter or housekeeper. “Okay. But no elite-ish baby cram school.”

Ryeowook nodded. “We’ll check out the school together. And I’ll pay for the fees.”

“Half,” Jongwoon said.

“But I’m the one who…”

“Half,” Jongwoon warned. “The last I remember the deal was to take care of the kids together. And now that I’ve moved in, I should be doing more, like helping you clean and do the laundry.”

Ryeowook’s frown turned into a slight smile, just as Hyukjae banged on a set of notes on the keyboard that made them all wince. Ryeowook quickly reached for the keyboard. “C’mon Hyukjae, let me play something for you,” he said.

First, Ryeowook played a light, soothing tune, soft and gentle, like the spring wind. “This is you, Hyukjae.”

Hyukjae looked confused. “Really?”

“Right,” Ryeowook chuckled. “This is Donghae,” he said, and started to play a quick march, lively and bright, like the summer sun. “Doesn’t it sound like you?”

Donghae giggled, and Hyukjae looked fascinated.

“What about hyung?” Hyukjae looked up.

Ryeowook turned to Jongwoon and grinned, before he played a full robust tune, a strong melody that could march through any trouble. “That’s you.”

“And you?” Jongwoon asked, curiously.

He was surprised when Ryeowook played a slow, melancholy tune, where the notes seemed to drag out their sadness and cried sorrowfully.

“That’s not hyung,” Donghae made a face, and he reached over and started playing, which meant he started to smash on the notes any-old way. Hyukjae soon joined him, and two young hands on the keyboard meant… just noise.

Jongwoon grimaced. “Maybe a school with music classes?” he suggested.

Ryeowook laughed. “Deal.”

Ryeowook adjusted Donghae’s shirt with a smile. “Don’t you look handsome?”

Donghae beamed. Hyukjae tottered over, with a smile on his face and looking happy as well. It was their first day in preschool, one that was about three blocks away from the apartment. The twins were excited about going, after all the stories Jongwoon and Jongjin had fed them about making friends and playing the entire day.

“Hyung is trying to make breakfast!” Hyukjae cried from inside the kitchen, and Ryeowook dashed in to stop an impending disaster from happening. Nobody wanted to remember how crunchy eggs tasted like.

After breakfast, Jongwoon walked Ryeowook and the twins to school before heading off to work. Ryeowook stayed until lunch with the boys in school, then said goodbye and promised to be back for them later in the afternoon. He bought some groceries before heading home, worked on a jingle that he had been playing with the entire week and made a pot of stew.

He also cleaned the house. When he was cleaning the twins’ room, he was vacuuming under the bed when he felt something big choke up the nozzle. He frowned, lifting up the hose and saw an envelope stuck to the nozzle. He frowned before picking it up. There was no name on it, and the envelope look quite worn. Did it belong to one of the twins?

Curious, he opened it.

To my dearest Hyukjae and Donghae,

Your appa and I are bringing you home today! I haven’t slept for a week, I’ve been too excited. We’ve seen pictures of you of course, but I just know you’re going to be so much more beautiful and handsome in real life.

This will be a hard journey. We are not going to be a normal family, and your father, well; your other father and I have had long talks (and sometimes arguments) into the nights about this. But we promise you that we’ll take care of you and love you just like if you had a father and a mother. There might be times where people call you strange, or our little family strange, but I will make sure our house is full with such love that it will overcome all the difficulties that could ever happen.

Hyukjae and Donghae-ah, my only wish is for you to love us back in return, and not resent us for bringing you into our lives in this way. But even if you do, know that I love you, even before I have met you, because from the moment we received the confirmation phone call, you both became our sons.

I love you. Your other father is now coming back to the car, and he’s carrying a giant blue stuffed dog. I think it’s for you. See you soon.

Love,
Your father,
Park Jungsu.

“We’re home!” Jongwoon peeked into the room and saw that Ryeowook was on his knees, the vacuum cleaner forgotten next to him, hugging what looked like a piece of paper to his chest. “Ryeowook?” he asked, taking a step in.

“Hyung,” Ryeowook whispered, getting up and handing the letter to Jongwoon. Then he couldn’t help himself- he leaned over and hugged Jongwoon, burying his head into Jongwoon’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Jongwoon whispered, after he had gotten over the initial shock of being so close to Ryeowook.

Ryeowook shook his head and only continued to cry.

After they had dinner and tucked the boys into bed, Jongwoon pulled out a few bottles of soju. He had not been able to stop himself from tearing after reading Jungsu’s letter, and it took them a while to compose themselves and stuff the letter back into its hiding place before the boys charged in.

“Jungsu-hyung was the only one who knew my secret,” Ryeowook turned to Jongwoon.

“Secret?”

“That I’m gay,” Ryeowook said. Jongwoon didn’t bat an eyelash. “You’re not surprised?”

Jongwoon started to roar with laughter. Ryeowook shushed him quickly, what if the kids woke up? Jongwoon took another swing of soju, poured another glass for the both of them before chuckling. “You’re pretty flaming, actually.”

Ryeowook glowered. “That’s not funny.” He groaned and rolled over, hiding his face into the couch cushions. “How did you know?” he asked.

“It’s easy for me to tell, because I’m gay too,” Jongwoon laughed. Ryeowook’s jaw dropped as his head popped out of the cushions, and Jongwoon laughed some more. “Hey, why do you think I am friends with the hyungs? Youngwoon isn’t my real brother… we just had some tough times together in high school so we became brothers to protect ourselves,” he said forlornly, thinking of the memories of Youngwoon and him attempting to beef themselves up so they won’t get beaten up in school.

“So… your family knows too?” Ryeowook asked quietly.

“Yea. They don’t mind. I mean, my mom had the shock of her life when I told her, but after my dad passed away, in retrospect… she just thought that it was good enough she had her children with her,” Jongwoon said. “She’s great. You don’t have to be afraid. My family totally approve of us taking care of the kids together. In fact they pretty much think you’re part of the family. None of that bad influence shit you get from other people.”

Ryeowook smiled. “That’s awesome. They’re so different… from my family.”

“So… if things were so bad for you,” Jongwoon started, taking a wild guess. If Ryeowook’s family were anything like Jungsu’s family, he would be glad to never have met them (and never will). “Why didn’t you move here?”

Ryeowook shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t brave like Jungsu-hyung. Hyung,” he paused, licking his lips before taking another shot of soju for courage. “I have to tell you something.”

Jongwoon nodded.

“I… I knew about the will long, long before I came to Seoul. I was just too comfortable with my life back there. I mean, what was I supposed to do with a kid? But then, things got bad at home, and the only place I could think about was to come here,” Ryeowook said, tearing up. “And after reading that letter from Jungsu-hyung… and how brave he and Youngwoon-hyung were… I’m just a coward, hyung. I’m just a coward…”

“Hey, hey,” Jongwoon shook his head, scooting over to sit next to Ryeowook. “Don’t ever think that okay? I think… well… even if it started like that… we will never be mad at you. We’re… we’re your family now too.”

Ryeowook looked up at Jongwoon with big, wide eyes. “Really, hyung?”

“Yeah,” Jongwoon said, feeling a strange lump in his throat and a stinging in his eyes. “We’re a family too now. You, me, Donghae and Eunhyuk.”

“Thanks hyung,” Ryeowook leaned over to give him a hug. “You’re really great you know? Really, really great…”

Jongwoon allowed himself to enjoy ten seconds of the hug, before nudging Ryeowook. Who didn’t move. “Ryeowook?” he whispered, before realising that he had fallen asleep.

Jongwoon sighed and poured himself another glass. “Figures this is what would happen,” he muttered, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh. “Jungsu-hyung… did you plan for this?”

There was no answer.

Sunmi kept starring at them, from her position from the couch as she unravelled the paper streamers. She watched as Jongwoon caught Ryeowook before he slipped off the chair he was standing on to tie balloons to the ceiling; as Ryeowook patted Jongwoon on the arm for good work done cleaning up his DVD bookcase, and finally, the look they gave each other when they bumped into each other trying to go through the door at the same time.

“So suspicious,” she whispered to herself.

“What is?” Jongjin asked, sitting next to her and picking up some of the streamers.

“Look at them!” Sunmi exclaimed and turned to Jongwoon and Ryeowook, who were now in the kitchen cutting up the kimbap together. “Something’s changed.”

“You think?” Jongjin laughed, giving his wife a one-armed hug. “But then again, you’ve never seen this look on hyung’s face before.”

“What look?” Sunmi asked.

“That smitten fool look,” Jongjin grinned, picking up the streamers and some tape. “He’ll get it soon enough.”

“Yes, yes,” Sunmi waved Jongjin’s brilliant deduction away absently. “But the question is… will he do anything about it?”

Jongjin laughed. “You’ve known my brother for a while… What do you think?”

“He won’t,” Sunmi frowned. “Look at him!” she hissed, and Jongjin turned to see Jongwoon make a very bad joke about upending the cake which made Ryeowook bark at him in reply. “He’s a block of wood! Every bit of… of emotion and almost-flirting that Ryeowook-oppa is doing is bouncing off him!”

“You think Ryeowook-hyung is flirting with hyung?” Jongjin looked surprised.

“Oh…” Sunmi growled and smacked him with a paper plate. “You’re just as bad as him!”

After they were done with the decorations, Ryeowook and Jongwoon went to pick up the twins from school. With one twin in hand, they walked back into the apartment, where Sunmi, Jongjin and Jongwoon’s mother was waiting for them. They boys squealed and ran into the house without even taking off their shoes and backpacks.

“We learnt new words in school today,” Donghae said. He was leaning onto Jongwoon, his mouth sticky from the birthday cake. Hyukjae was sitting on Jongwoon’s lap, playing with one of the new toys Jongjin had gotten them.

“Oh?” Ryeowook asked, leaning over to wipe Donghae’s mouth clean. “What is it?”

“We learnt a family today!” Donghae grinned. He got up on his knees and leaned over the table, and pointed at Sunmi. “Noona is actually jageun umma!”

Sunmi laughed, and everyone was so excited that nobody thought to correct Donghae for pointing at other people. “That’s right.”

“And hyung is jageun appa!” Donghae turned to Jongjin, who laughed and ruffled his hair.

“And… halmoni!” the little boy continued, turning to Jongwoon’s mother and she too smiled. Jongwoon could spot tears in his mother’s eyes and he chuckled in mirth.

“Appa,”’ Hyukjae, still in Jongwoon’s lap stood up and turned to him and smiled. Jongwoon froze, too surprised to make a move. “Appa,” Hyukjae said again, leaning his head on Jongwoon’s shoulder.

Donghae grinned and looked up at Ryeowook. “The teacher taught us all the right words. Appa!” he held out both hands.

Ryeowook, who had been valiantly trying to hold his tears back couldn’t help but let them out now. He hugged the sticky boy to himself.

“Oh, what is this,” Jongwoon’s mother exclaimed, wiping the tears off her cheek as quickly as they fell. Sunmi, who was crying too handed her a tissue. “This is a birthday celebration! Why do we want tears at a celebration?”

“I think it is okay mom,” Jongwoon grinned, kissing the top of Hyukjae’s head. “We’re all happy.”

“Appa don’t cry,” Donghae looked worried, rubbing Ryeowook’s face. “Don’t cry.”

“I won’t,” Ryeowook whispered, hugging Donghae close. “I won’t anymore.”

The nature of Ryeowook’s work meant that there was always music in the house. Usually it was an old song, maybe a trot song- sometimes it was a foreign Argentine tango mix, and other times slow pop ballads Jongwoon found himself singing to.

“You sing,” Ryeowook stated in surprise, when he found Jongwoon singing to a Kim Jong Kook song on the radio.

Jongwoon looked up from his laptop, glasses askew. “Huh?”

“You were singing,” Ryeowook said, walking over to him. He was still holding one of Donghae’s t-shirts; he had been folding the laundry. “You… sing well.”

Jongwoon looked amused. “It’s an old hobby,” he confessed. “I really like this song.”

“What are you doing?” Ryeowook walked the short distance from the door and sat down next to Jongwoon on the couch. All he could see were many small boxes and lots of numbers in them.

“It’s a report on the accounts of…” Jongwoon started. “It’s just some work from the office,” he chuckled, looking at the way Ryeowook was peering at the excel sheet. “I take it you don’t do this sort of thing at your work.”

“No. But I bet my work is just as confusing to you as yours is to me,” Ryeowook turned to Jongwoon and smiled. “Anyway, it’s a weekend. You shouldn’t work so hard.”

It was rare, but Jongwoon’s mother had taken the twins with her to the shop to give her son peace to work in the house. This meant the two of them were in the house, alone. Jongwoon was seized with the sudden urge to throw aside his work and go out to play.

So he did just that. He grabbed Ryeowook’s hand just before Ryeowook turned away. “Hey. Want to go out and have some fun?”

“Fun?” Ryeowook raised an eyebrow.

They changed quickly, Jongwoon asking Ryeowook to stick to something casual. Now that it was summer, Ryeowook dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and chinos, and Jongwoon just threw on a tee-shirt and jeans. They took the subway to Hongdae, and Ryeowook followed Jongwoon through the backstreets and alleys until they got to a petty nondescript building. Then they went down a flight of stairs. When Jongwoon opened the door, they were greeted with a blast of music and the musky smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol.

“Wow,” Ryeowook grinned. Jongwoon took his hand and pulled him into the small pub.

“Kim Jongwoon!” the bartender called out. “I never thought I would see you in my territory again!”

Jongwoon laughed and walked over to give the bartender a rather complicated handshake. “Hey Shindong. Who’s playing tonight?”

Shindong grinned. “Sungmin. He’d be glad to see you. Who’s this?”

Jongwoon introduced Ryeowook, and Shindong introduced himself and some of the regulars came over to shake hands and say hello to Jongwoon. This was clearly a place where Jongwoon was in his element. Ryeowook only shyly smiled and said hello to people who said hi to him too.

“Jongwoon!” a man, dressed in a bright pink shirt and jeans ran towards them, jumping onto Jongwoon and giving him a long hug. “It’s been such a long time!”

“Yes it has,” Jongwoon hugged him back. “Nice to see you again Sungmin. Come, let me introduce you,” he said, and pulled Ryeowook over. “Sungmin, this is Ryeowook.”

“Hi,” Sungmin nodded, shaking Ryeowook’s hand. “I’m Lee Sungmin.”

“Kim Ryeowook,” Ryeowook said, but before he was finished, Sungmin had turned all his attention back to Jongwoon, and talking a mile a minute. He could barely catch up with what they were saying, and suddenly Sungmin jumped up, said something about singing and meeting old friends and dragged Jongwoon with him over towards the stage.

Ryeowook frowned.

“Here,” Shindong handed Ryeowook a beer. “On the house.”

Jongwoon disappeared for a good hour, and Ryeowook was on his fourth pint and thinking it was probably time to leave, when the lights went out and the patrons started cheering. He turned to the stage to see two boys walk on. One was Sungmin.

“Hey guys! We’ve got a real treat for you tonight, in the form of one of our alumni… Kim Jongwoon!”

Jongwoon stepped on stage, and he smiled and waved at everyone. He introduced himself, and Ryeowook, wondered how much there was of Kim Jongwoon he didn’t know… and found that he really wanted to know.

Sungmin picked up a guitar, and Jongwoon held the microphone and searched the crowd. When he found Ryeowook at the bar, he smiled, waved, and started to sing.

Halfway through the song, Shindong leaned over and said, “They were a great pair together,” he said wistfully. “Honestly I always hoped they would get back together.”

“Back together?” Ryeowook whispered, and Shindong only turned his attention back to the stage.

When the song ended, the crowd cheered, and Sungmin leaned over to give Jongwoon a kiss on the cheek and the crowd cheered again. Ryeowook frowned, and he left some money on the bar before walking out of the pub.

“Ryeowook! Kim Ryeowook!”

Ryeowook shoved his hands into his pockets and continued walking. Where did they come from? He didn’t have a clear idea where he was going.

“Hey!”

He jerked backwards as he felt Jongwoon grab him on the arm.

“What’s wrong? Hey, you’re going to wrong direction. The train station is the other way,” Jongwoon chuckled, eyes sparkling with excitement, probably from the high he had just gotten from being on stage a moment ago. “Hey,” he frowned, seeing the tears on Ryeowook’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Ryeowook managed to say, and he reached an arm up to wipe the tears away from his face. He must look like a fool now, he thought sadly. So flustered compared to the visually impeccable Lee Sungmin.

“Hey,” Jongwoon walked up close- so close that they were only inches apart, taking Ryeowook’s hand in his. “I’m sorry. Were you upset? For me leaving you alone for so long? I’m sorry, I promised you a lot of fun…”

“Should I still wait?” Ryeowook burst out suddenly, and Jongwoon froze. “I don’t know, we live together, we take care of our kids together, but… but I don’t know what we are!” he wailed. “And I don’t even know these strange, stupid feelings, and I’ve been trying to not… but… I…”

Jongwoon waited for his crying to subside and Ryeowook to calm down, before he reached for Ryeowook’s other hand and squeezed it in his. “Okay,” Jongwoon took a deep breath. “I’m just going to say it. You… Do you like me?”

Ryeowook frowned and turned away, but Jongwoon held his hands tight. “Yes! Okay, I know. I’m sorry, it’s so ridiculous, but it’s just, how can I not, when I see you work so hard to buy the boys whatever they want, and, and you just fail at playing the piano, and you even try to do the laundry even though you made my shirts blue,” Ryeowook cried out. “And I’m sorry!”

Jongwoon tiled his head to the side, confused. “Sorry?”

“Don’t you like that Sungmin-ssi?” Ryeowook choked.

Jongwoon stared at Ryeowook like he had grown three heads, before he started laughing.

“What… you…!”

Jongwoon only replied by pulling Ryeowook into a hug, and chuckled. “I like you too.”

Ryeowook froze.

“And I’ve liked you ever since I spoke about us being a family. It’s great, I feel crazy great, because you like me too,” Jongwoon grinned, leaning back and leaned in so they brushed noses. “My mom,” he whispered. “Brought the boys out because she thought it was about time I made a move. I didn’t think I’d end up serenading you… but I hope that’s what I did in there.”

Ryeowook couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He blinked. Once. Twice. “Really?”

“Really,” Jongwoon grinned.

Then he kissed Ryeowook, just because he could.

“Wow,” Ryeowook whispered once they came up for air. “That was. Wow.”

Jongwoon chuckled and pressed his forehead to Ryeowook’s. He sighed. “Yeap. Wow.”

***

“Is she really our little sister?” Hyukjae whispered in awe.

“Yes, she is,” Jongwoon smiled, letting Hyukjae down and reaching for Donghae who had been waiting for his turn rather impatiently. “Up you get. There, she’s the one just in front of us.”

“Wow,” Donghae whispered too, hands reaching out for the tiny pink bundle in the nursery but touching the glass wall instead. He looked slightly disappointed. “Appa, Sunyoungie is so small!”

“You were this small too, once,” Jongwoon grinned. He wrapped his free arm around Hyukjae’s shoulders and pulled the boy close. They had grown so much in the past year, he thought to himself. Hyukjae was almost up to his stomach now. “One day she will grow as big as you are.”

“I’m going to protect her,” Donghae nodded solemnly. “I will be her superman!”

Ryeowook laughed as he walked up to them. “Are you sure you’re up to the task?” he said, as Hyukjae detached himself from Jongwoon to stick to him instead. “It’s a big responsibility.”

Donghae nodded again. “I can do it.”

Ryeowook laughed before turning to Jongwoon. “I just went to see Sunmi. The doctor says they’re doing great, and she and baby will be able to go home soon.”

Jongwoon breathed a sigh of relief. There had been complications with her birth, and Jongjin had called him up in a panic the day before. Now that she was all right, they could all go home and rest. He let Donghae down, and the boy immediately leaned over and whispered something to Hyukjae. Hyukjae nodded once, twice, before turning to Ryeowook. “Appa, can I be Sunyoungie’s superman too?”

Ryeowook turned to Jongwoon, who only laughed and ruffled Hyukjae’s hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Yea, of course. Totally.”

Hyukjae beamed.

“Well, let’s go home now,” Ryeowook reached for Jongwoon’s hand. Jongwoon nodded and held it tightly. “C’mon supermen. It’s time to go home. You can start protecting Sunyoung tomorrow.”

Donghae nodded. He took Jongwoon’s hand, and Ryeowook took Hyukjae’s as they walked down the hallway together, four of them in a row.

A/N: jageun umma/jaguen appa are, little mother and little father, aka aunt and uncle. I think a teacher in school would teach them the right terms (samchon, and the other which I cannot remember atm), but erm. This is more cute.

I am going to write a part 2 to this, where the twins grow up, fall in love, maybe for the same girl, and become Sunyoungie’s (Luna’s) supermen oppas at the same time. ^^