Archive of Our Own

"Your dad is a faggot!"

“You have two dads. What the fuck is that!"

“You don't have mum? Weirdo!"

Jeno cried when he could no longer stop the children who mocked him. He knew he shouldn't go to the park when Papa and Dada weren't around. But he wants to play today. Papa went to the office earlier that day and Dada was having guests. Seeing Jeno playing alone, the children who usually only kept a safe distance from him started making fun of him.

Jeno wanted to tell them to stop like how Papa and Dada taught him. If someone makes other people sad, he should stop them. But now he is the one who feeling sad and he cannot do anything to protect himself. He was only 7 years old so he didn't know what his friends meant. But he knew those were bad words.

"Hey! Go away!" another smaller child appeared, his brows furrowed as he saw the children mock Jeno.

"What are you gonna do, Na?" one of them sneered.

Jeno looked at the child he later recognized as Nana. His chubby fingers rested on his waist, looking completely unfazed by the bigger kids in front of him.

"I said go away!" Nana approached them, trying to make a point by standing near Jeno.

"What? You gonna befriend him? He have two dads!" The children laughed again and threw some bad words at Jeno.

A second later there was a broken cry. As it boomed throughout the garden, even Jeno was shocked to notice Nana making that sound. The children who bullied him covered their ears because Nana screamed loudly.

A beautiful woman with curly hair came rushing to hug Nana.

“Nana! Nana, baby. Are you okay?" she checks Nana's body.

“MUMMY! THEY BAD, SO BAD!" Nana did not lower the volume of his voice, pointing at the bad kids. “THEY SAY BAD BAD THING TO HIM! AND LAUGH AT HIM TOO! YOU SAID WE CAN'T DO THAT TO FWIENDS!"

Mrs. Na looked at the naughty children in front of her, her brows furrowed like Nana did before, letting Jeno know where Nana learned that expression.

“Kids. Say sorry. You knew what happen to bad kids. They can't have candy and ice cream forever. Mr. Santa hates bad kids, too." Mrs. Na glared.

The children were immediately terrified. They muttered, "S-sorry." Then ran away, some of them crying.

Jeno didn't even notice that he had stopped crying. Mrs. Na looked at him softly. "Hey, son. Its alright. What is your name?"

Jeno got up. "T-thank you, ma'am. I'm Jeno. Lee Jeno."

To his surprise, Mrs. Na raised his eyebrows. "Oh? You are Jeno? My husband is visiting your Dada right now. We met three years ago, of course you don't remember. Well, do you remember him? This is Jaemin, my son. You guys are inseparable back then."

Jeno stared at Nana in amazement while Nana folded his arms in annoyance towards his mother. “Mu-mmy. I'm Nana. Na-na. No Jae-min. But Na-na. Nana."

Hearing that, Jeno laughed, as if he had forgotten to cry a while ago.

"Okay, Nana. Jeno, lets go home, okay? Your Dada must be worried." Hand in hand, Jeno and Nana walked to Jeno's house while Mrs. Na looked at them happily from behind.

Once they arrived, Dada hugged Jeno tightly.

“Oh my God! You can't just left like that, Lee Jeno!"

"I'm sorry, Dada. I wanna go to the park, but you busy. But I met Nana." Jeno pulled Nana beside him. Nana's eyes were rounded at Dada.

"Pwetty man!" Jaemin screamed.

Dada, Mr. and Mrs. Na laughed at that. Jeno stared at him, stunned. Nana looks cheerful and liked by everyone. He likes Nana.

“Some kids are bothering him before. He cried." Mrs. Na told Dada.

"That's why I said 'don't go to the park alone', Jeno," Dada reminded, but once again he hugged Jeno warmly.

“Don't blame him! He supposed to feel safe in this neighborhood. I'll find those bad kids and talk to their parents! We didn't raised a bully here! Not a chance." Mr. Na shook his head firmly.

"Don't wowwy!" Nana replied, trying to get Dada's attention. "I shoo them away!"

Dada laughed again. He seems amused. "Well, thank you, Nana. You are a pretty kid."

"Weally?" Nana's eyes shone at the praise.

“Yes you are. You took care of Jeno. You're pretty here,” Dada stroked Jaemin's cheek. "And here." He pointed at Jaemin's chest, making Jaemin giggle happily.

“Mummy, I like him. I wanna play heye." He turned to Mrs. Na.

“Well, you're not alone, darling. I like him too." Another voice was heard entering Jeno's house. Papa appeared, just got home from work.

"Papa!" Jeno cheered, hugging Papa.

"Huh?" Jaemin's eyes rounded again while Papa crouched down to face Jaemin.

“I'm Jeno's dad. Nice to meet you." Papa smiled.

“Too many pwetty man heye. Nana confuse." Nana shook her head, looked at Mrs. Na with drooping eyebrows.

Papa and Dada laughed. Jeno was surprised to see it. This is the first time Papa laughed so easily in front of strangers. Its like Nana had some magic behind his sleeves without even try in the first place.

“That's okay, Nana. We are,” Dada held Papa's hand, “Jeno's dads. Jeno has two dads."

Jaemin's mouth rounded, forming an 'o'. For a moment Jeno was afraid of the response that Jaemin would show. But once Jaemin opened his hand with a long cheer, he knew he didn't need to worry.

"That's lovely!" Jaemin exclaimed in a bouncy voice, hugging himself. He radiated happiness, making Jeno laugh too. "Well, I only have one dad. But he talked a loooooot like many people so I guess its alwight, I feel like having soooo many dad too because he keeps his eyes on me like this!" Jaemin opened his eyelids with his finger, making everyone laugh.

“Aigooo, our stupid baby is already talking so much too. I guess no sweets for today?" Mr. Na maintained a stiff smile and said from his tight teeth.

“Daddy is scawyyy… We need to escape fwom the monstew, Jeno! Lets gooo!” Nana grabbed Jeno's hand and in an instant the two of them galloped up while shouting happily with the adoring glances of the four adults in the living room.

Jeno's father and mother were divorced three years ago. At first, they lived next to the Na family, mainly because of Jeno's mum and Mrs. Na are friends from college. The Na family then moved because of Mr. Na was transferred to another city. Jeno and Jaemin, who are still toddlers, cried out loudly when they were separated, even when they didn't understand what was happening. Jeno only knew that Jaemin would go far and he wouldn't see Jaemin again while Jaemin was crying because Jeno was crying.

After his parents' divorce, Jeno went with his Papa. His mum left them and never came back. After a while, Papa got close to the man who was then Jeno called with 'Dada'. Jeno likes Dada. Aspire to change their lives, Papa took the initiative to move. Mr. Na, who contacted him, asked him to move to the house next to him because their environment was good for Jaemin and Jeno. After discussing it with Dada, Papa agreed.

From then on, the Na's seemed to be the sun that shone on Jeno's family. Dada and Papa are always worried about Jeno's growth because he was raised by two fathers. But Jeno grew up to be a smart and kind kid. More mature, because he also felt that he must always protect Jaemin who was always stick to his side. The Na's makes sure that everyone in their new place welcomes them. This eventually led Papa to propose to Dada and the two of them got married. They know, without the Na's, this would not happen.

When Jeno was a teenager, his parents got a job offer in Germany. He refuses to come along, making him stay at the Na's house who of course happily take care for Jeno like their own child. Jeno and Jaemin became increasingly inseparable. Jeno is always happy to tease Jaemin and Jaemin doesn't hesitate to retaliate his brother's actions.

Entering middle school, Jeno has a new friend named Mark after being rivals for a long time. Jeno understood that he felt threatened by Mark because their attitude was more or less the same. Mark is more likely to be introverted and alert. Mr. Na and Mrs. Na also immediately fell in love with Mark. After get used to the atmosphere of the Na's, Mark became part of the family.

“You need to be careful, Mark. This is not Canada," Mrs. Na always reminded him every time Mark said he was exploring a new place alone while there is a lot of kidnapping news on the television.

"Your mother would be sad if you get hurt. Can you imagine your parents traveling all the way from Canada to Korea just to see you got kidnapped or something? Think straight and don't go anywhere, you brat!" Mr. Na blurted out. He even called Mark's parents on a regular basis, asking their permission so Mark could stay overnight because the school was closer to the Na's house.

With that, they added one more member of their family.

Until Mark and Jeno entered high school, where Mr. Na got a call from Jaemin's school, telling him that Jaemin was fighting with his friend. He almost ran from his office to Jaemin's school and find his son sitting in front of five other students. Jaemin's face was bruised here and there and his uniform was torn to his elbows. Somehow Jeno and Mark were already there, standing next to the chair that was occupied by Jaemin and two other students.

“What… what happened? What is this?" Mr. Na looked at Jaemin's condition.

Before the Principal explained what happened, Na Jaemin in all his glory raised his face and spoke before the parents of his attackers. “They started it first, dad! They say very very bad things about dads and I got mad. I told them to stop because it would make Jeno-hyung sad if he hears it. But they kept going and slap my butt so I gave them a lesson. They hit me, dad! Look at this!" Jaemin pointed at his face with a frown; the expression that he showed to achieve whatever he wanted.

At that instant Jeno and Mark knew Jaemin would get anything that he wanted.

Mr. Na pointed at the five students that sitting across from Jaemin. "Yah! Tell me who is it?! Who gave my beautiful son ugly bruises on his face?! Omo, omo. You talked shit and then harrassed my son?! I'll call the police now!" Mr. Na pulled out his cellphone with a bright red face. The parents of the five children as well as the Principal hurriedly held him back.

To calm the atmosphere, Jaemin, his two friends, Jeno, and Mark were asked to leave first. They stood face to face in the hallway in front of the Principal's room while they tried to persuade Mr. Na.

"That is your father?" Donghyuck, the tan skinned boy next to Jaemin asked.

Jaemin nodded and grinned, as if he hadn't been beaten. "They'll bring hell to them. Just see."

Jeno sighed. He grabbed Jaemin's shoulder, made him face him. "Nana. What did I tell you about never listening to those kind of thing?" He knew very well that those bad kids were targeting Jaemin because no one dared to do that to him.

"I know, hyung!" Jaemin defended himself, frowning a little. Although there are bruises on his temples, lips and cheeks, as well as scratches on the bridge of his nose and forehead, Jaemin still looks cute as usual. “But they won't stop! And they slapped my butt, too! Right, Hyuck?" Jaemin asked Donghyuck.

Donghyuck nodded. "They pulled my hair too, fucking asshat." He pointed to his messy hair. He is Jaemin's seatmate and they found a match with each other. Of course Donghyuck didn't hesitate to get into fights that involving his friends. Not to mention apart from Na Jaemin, no one wanted to be friends with him before because he was a bit eccentric.

He didn't even notice that Mark, who was standing next to Jeno, made a little twitch when he heard him cursing and stay away from him as far as possible.

"I'm gonna fucking kill them," Jeno growled.

On the other side of Jaemin, Renjun, a slightly petite man with a soft facial structure, let out a long sigh while holding his forehead. “I called both of you because you're Jaemin's hyung and I thought you could think straight about this. Guess I'm wrong," he regretted.

Jaemin and Donghyuck's fight with five other students in their class disturbed his study time. As Jaemin's classmate since elementary school, he immediately took a firm stance, running across the fence to the high school which located a few hundred meters from their school, calling out to the two who were playing soccer. Jeno and Mark immediately followed, but by then Jaemin's fight had been broken.

"Oh, right. This is Donghyuck Lee, my seatmate. And Huang Renjun, my classmate and our student council president." Jaemin realized that Mark didn't know his two friends and Jeno didn't know Donghyuck either.

Donghyuck and Renjun smiled at the two. Mark couldn't help his face from blushing perfectly and he covered it by pretending to cough. Jeno snorted with amusement at the realization.

"Our Nana?" a call came down the hall and they all turned to find Mrs. Na hastily approached. She shrieked seeing Jaemin's condition.

"What on earth is this?!" she exclaimed in horror. "You're bleeding! They didn't treat your wound?!"

"I'll bring him to the infirmary, mum," Jeno intervened.

"You better kicked their asses good, Na Jaemin," Mrs. Na maintained her gaze with Jaemin's eyes.

Jaemin seriously nodded. “Don't worry, mum. They ain't better than me." Mrs. Na nodded in satisfaction.

Donghyuck and Renjun were stunned to see it, couldn't believe Jaemin's mother had just made sure Jaemin repaid his enemies well.

"What did they do now?" asked Mrs. Na.

"Dada and Papa," Jaemin pouted. "And slapped my butt. I hit him then all of them are on me. Thank God, Donghyuck here helped me. Look, mum. They’re pulled his hair too!"

Jaemin pointed at Donghyuck before turning to Renjun. “And you remember Huang Injun? Mrs. Huang's son? He's the top of my class and he helped me by looking for Jeno-hyung and Mark-hyung. I must be dead if they didn't help me."

"Oh, what a wonderful friends you got here, Na Jaemin." Mrs. Na looked at Donghyuck and Renjun enthusiastically. Suddenly Jeno could guess where the conversation was going. "Donghyuck, Injun, would you like to go to my house so I could treat you my cooking?"

"Sure, Mrs. Na." Donghyuck smiled, nodding excitedly.

"I didn't do much... but yeah." Renjun feels bad.

"Oh, shut up. You guys dealing with this devil, of course you did so much," Mrs. Na chuckled at Jaemin. "Now excuse me, I'm gonna join the war with my husband." She nodded before stepping into the principal's room. Jeno and Mark were going to hold it but it's useless, because as soon as the door opened, Mrs. Na immediately fell to the floor in front of everyone.

“AIGOOO MY CHILDREN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CHILDREN! MY PRECIOUS JAEMIN AND DONGHYUCK! WHAT DID THEY DO SO THEY DESERVED THIS, GOD? MY POOR CHILDREN… WHY DID YOU SAID SUCH A BAD THINGS TO HIM, HIS SENSITIVE HEARTS COULDN'T TAKE IT YET YOU GUYS STILL CAME AT HIM."

Mark covered his face with his hands, let out a low scream which made Donghyuck laugh. Jeno looked away, as if he wished he wasn't there, while Jaemin burst into tears hugging his mother.

“MUUUM! ITS HURTS A LOT..." he exclaimed in pain.

“WHAT NA JAEMIN? IT STILL HURTS? OH MY, YOU DIDN'T EVEN TREAT HIS WOUNDS AT ALL! THAT'S IT I'M CALLING THE CITY COUNCIL!" Mr. Na, who looked calm before, got up again.

With the yells of the five students' parents and the Principal, as well as the five students who gasped in fear, the atmosphere in the room back to chaos.

"What the hell..." Renjun could not believe what he saw.

“They got an award for acting. They could team up and came up with every possible scenario. Brace yourself,” Mark said over his hand.

"Her children? What does that mean..."

Jeno sighed before staring at Donghyuck and Renjun in turn. "Welcome to our family."

The next thing Donghyuck and Renjun knew was that Mrs. Na's cooking is so delicious and they can even eat meat the whole week because of the compensation that their friends' parents gave them. No matter how lazy Donghyuck and Renjun are on the weekend, they will wake up at 6 am, take a shower, and go to the Na's residence for a special breakfast. It only took them three days to call Mr. Na and Mrs. Na as dad and mum, and they know Mr. and Mrs. Na would do the same if they were in Jaemin's position.

-

It happened in the blink of eye.

Jaemin, Donghyuck, and Renjun went to watch a soccer match between their school and another school. The match was chaotic with the eruption of a small dispute between the players on the field which spread to the supporters in the stands.

Renjun, who had a panic attack, was immediately assisted by Jaemin and Donghyuck. They followed the flow of people trying to escape the fighting in the stands, cramming down the stairs. Mark was waiting for them at the exit while Jeno couldn't come because he was on a date with his first girlfriend.

That's when Jaemin felt someone pulling his sweater from behind, holding him back from taking a step. He turned around to get rid of the hand but suddenly his body pushed and fell and rolled on the stairs before landing on his back. As an active child, injuries are nothing new to Jaemin. On other days, he would just stand up, grabbing whoever pushed him earlier and possibly getting into a fight. But he who was lying at the bottom of the stands could only moan and cry because of the sharp pain in his spine.

Some people screamed in horror, but he only heard the voices of Donghyuck and Renjun frantically reaching for him.

"I c-can't..." he shook his head when his two friends tried to help him sit up. He caught the figure of the man that pushed him and immediately grabbed Renjun's hand, “just catch h-him! T-that man! Red shi-shirt and ugly camo pants!” he pointed out while the man shown was wide-eyed and ready to flee.

Renjun was still trying to access Jaemin's words when a boy, their junior, quickly grabbed the person Jaemin was pointing at and dropped him on the floor. The boy kept the man from running away, followed by several other people who later helped.

Jaemin was taken to the hospital and after an X-ray, his spine was badly injured and he had to bed-rest for several days before undergoing surgery. Jeno came that night, followed by Papa and Dada. His face looked just crying and he immediately grabbed Jaemin's hand, who was still in pain on the hospital bed.

“H-hyung… hurts. Hurts a lot, hyung. I feel like dying,” Jaemin cried.

Jeno bit his lip, stroked Jaemin's hair with his other hand. “You're gonna be okay, Nana. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jeno seemed to be chanting, staring at Jaemin with teary eyes.

“Hyung… stop this please, hyung. Uh… I can't!” Jaemin squeezed Jeno's hand hard.

“Doctor! Doctor!" Jeno called out to the doctor with all his might. Papa and Dada approached them worried and asked what had happened, but Jeno could not answered. The doctor came in not long after.

"Doctor, please help him. He's in pain… please!" Jeno's tears dripped.

"I know, young man. He will be in pain for few hours before the sedative works. Can you bare with it for now, Jaemin-ssi?" The doctor approached Jaemin.

Jaemin groaned, sniffling. "Hurts a lot..."

"Just wait for a minutes. It will work soon and you'll feel better."

Hearing that, Jaemin tried to nod while Jeno stroked Jaemin's hair.

"You're his hyung?" asked the doctor to Jeno. Jeno nodded. "You will take care of him, right?" Jeno nodded again.

"See, Jaemin-ssi. You're hyung is here. You're gonna be okay." The doctor smiled after checking Jaemin's infusion. He left after said goodbye.

"S-sorry, Nana. I can't ease your pain. Sorry I left you before..."

Jaemin just shook his head, closed his eyes to relieve the pain. It took a while until finally the medicine that the doctor meant worked and Jaemin was fast asleep. Everyone then went home. Mrs. Na left Jaemin to Jeno, knowing that Jaemin wouldn't wake up until tomorrow afternoon. She had to calm Donghyuck and Renjun who were still shaking violently while Mr. Na is still in the police station for some time, trying to file a lawsuit against the person who pushed Jaemin.

After the operation, Jaemin still had to rest at his house for one to two weeks. He wears a body support that surrounds his stomach and lower back. That's when he met Park Jisung, the boy who caught the man who pushed him. Jaemin thanked and loved Jisung like his own younger brother, making Jisung slowly enter his life, especially after he was declared healed, he could no longer exercise extreme or lift heavy weights until an unspecified time. Jaemin left all his extracurricular teams such as soccer and dance, spending more time resting.

"Jisung-ah, where are you going?" Jaemin asked one night when Jisung cleaned up his bag and got ready to leave Jaemin's house.

“Going home, hyung. It's late already." They spent the whole night playing games in front of the television, a privilege that Jaemin had without his father being able to nag. Mark read the book while stroking Jaemin's leg in his lap. Jeno went with Donghyuck and Renjun to buy Jaemin's favorite ice cream.

"Just sleep here, Jisung-ah. It's dangerous,” said Mrs. Na from the kitchen.

"No, ma'am. Its okay. I don't want to both–"

“Who is it? Park Jisung?" then the booming voice of Mr. Na could be heard from the master bedroom. Followed by a figure who came out. "Where do you think you're going, son?" Mr. Na asked suspiciously.

Jisung was still a little stuttered when Mr. Na and Mrs. Na called him ‘son’. Especially with Mr. Na's loud voice and the blunt words or Mrs. Na who feeds him like there is no tomorrow. This is foreign to Jisung and he is still difficult to access it.

“H-home, sir…” he didn't know why he had to sound guilty even when he wanted to go home.

“Omo, since when you're become this brave? You'll pee your pants if you'll meet drunkard man in the empty street. Besides, do you come to my house just to play with your hyung?!"

Jisung swallowed hard. Among the other hyungs, his house is the farthest from Jaemin's house. But it wasn't his first time staying overnight and he felt bad for bothering this family any longer.

“He's hungry, dad,” Mark replied without looking up from his book. He knew Jisung's signs when the melons and apples on the plate were gone and how tempted he is when Jaemin talked about tteokbokki. "He must be craving for some tteokbokki right now."

Jaemin raised his head, looking enthusiastic. “Oh, the place on the other side of the road? You're planning to buy some on the way home?"

Jisung stared at Mark who clearly reading his intentions like it was written in the book he was reading, and Jaemin who quickly concluded his actions.

"Don't you see what your mum doing in the kitchen?! She's making you one!" Mr. Na pointed as his wive and Jisung was surprised to hear that.

Suddenly Mrs. Na came to the living room, still wearing plastic gloves and staring at her husband. “Of course I can't make the same sauce. Can you go and buy that for our Jisungie?"

Before Jisung could access what happened, Mr. Na grabbed his jacket and asked, "anything else you wants?" to Jaemin, Mark, and Jisung.

"No, already told hyung," Jaemin answered, this time turning on the television to watch a music program.

“No, sir! You don't need to do that! I'm fine. Really."

“What are you talking about? You're hungry and now I'm gonna buy the sauce that you want. Just sit tight or change your clothes. You are a dirty eater, you're gonna stain your uniform. Aigo! What kind of kid that still wearing uniform in this hour?! If you walked home in that uniform, people will think that you are a delinquent!" in an instant, Mr. Na came out of the house before Jisung able to say anything.

Jisung then sat awkwardly at the dining table, feeling guilty because of Mrs. Na even cooks late at night and Mr. Na went out to buy him food. He, who is nobody. He, who just one of Jaemin's friends.

“Our Jisung, you need to eat a lot so you can grow taller. You're so skinny, but I can't blame you. You are the same with your Jaemin-hyung. He was kind of chubby kid, but he grew all bones like that,” Mrs. Na chattering happily. "Jisung-ah."

"Yes, ma'am?"

Mrs. Na smiled. "Call me mum."

Jisung was shocked, didn't know what to answer until Mark appeared and threw a pants and T-shirt into Jisung's lap. "Wear this, kiddo."

Jisung can smell Jaemin's body from the clothes on his lap. Suddenly his eyes felt wet. Mrs. Na and Mark were surprised to see him, but Jisung immediately excused himself and went to the bathroom. He wiped his tears quickly and changed clothes. After calming down, he came out to be greeted by Jeno, Donghyuck, and Renjun who were already sitting on the floor in front of the television, surrounding a bucket of ice cream.

“Jisung-ah! Come on. Lets eat!" invite Donghyuck.

Although he hesitated, he stepped closer and sat beside Jeno. Jeno smiled, patted Jisung's butt, and told him to eat a lot. Jeno himself fed Jaemin who was still lying on the sofa. Mark in the kitchen, accompanying Mrs. Na.

A few minutes later, Mr. Na came with the sauce that Jisung wanted, right when Mrs. Na finished cooking. Half of the ice cream was left in the refrigerator, replaced by tteokbokki which for Jisung was many times better than he remembered.

“How is it, Jisung-ah? Is it delicious? I made it for you." Mrs. Na asked enthusiastically while they watched a music show together.

Jisung swallowed hard, trying not to seem too sentimental. "Yeah, m-mum. The best." No one heard the quiver in his voice.

Mrs. Na smiled with satisfaction while Mr. Na just snorted. “Next time, if you're hungry, just tell us, kid. We'll feed you like little chicken. You can wake us up when we're sleeping too! Its not because I'm nice, but you can't ask anyone else. Jaemin can't stand up in a long time. Jeno will burn himself on that stove. Mark and Donghyuck are gonna be disgusting as always in the kitchen. And not to mention terrible food. Renjun is malfunctioning when there is no thing to read."

"Dad, you love us," said Donghyuck.

“The hell I do. We never make you starving here! Look at your belly, its gonna burst anytime soon!” Mr. Na replied, pointing at Donghyuck's stomach with his tteokbokki.

Jisung laughed softly. He has never encountered a similar situation at home, or anywhere else in the world. But here at the Na's house, he feels happy to be around people he previously considered as strangers.

Jeno pours more tteokbokki on Jisung's empty plate before feeding Jaemin again, not expecting the least bit of gratitude especially when he was busy feeding Jaemin, who becomes more chatty when he sick. Mark went to the kitchen before returning with a bottle of cola which he stuffed into Jisung's lap. "You like this, right?" He said before handing water to Mrs. Na and sat next to Donghyuck.

If that night Jisung slept and cried alone in one of the comfortable room of the Na's house, it was absolutely not his fault.

-

Jaemin, Jeno, Mark, Donghyuck, and Renjun really treat Jisung like their own little brother.

His friends, who never cared about him before, suddenly became jealous because he was surrounded by very attractive and handsome brothers. Jaemin is known as a sweet and kind person. Almost every week he goes on a date. Jeno is very attentive to Jaemin, escorts Jaemin every morning to his class, then picks him home. He is a good basketball player and almost always spends lunchtime receiving confession. Mark is the student council president and guitarist for their school band. Donghyuck is the leader of the choir team who knows almost the whole school. While Renjun is the smartest student in their school.

Their parents also know each other and are relieved to know that Mr. Na and Mrs. Na can make their children better people. Donghyuck and Renjun are no longer lazy to wake up every weekend, Mark has become more responsible, and Jisung is no longer stuck playing alone in his room. They also always eat lunch together at school, as if they don't have enough breakfast and dinner every day.

Like that day. The six of them sat in the cafeteria, eating as usual when someone in Jisung's age tapped Jeno's shoulder from behind. They stared at the green haired boy curiously until he suddenly gushed, “hyung, I like you. Please accept my love!"

Although Jeno get used to received confession, no one ever dared to express it so openly in front of Jeno's friends. Mark, Renjun, and Jisung were flabbergasted, Jaemin pouted, while Donghyuck looked excited. Some of the people around them who heard the green-haired boy giggled.

"Well, cute boy. What is your name?" Donghyuck chimed in when Jeno didn't answer either.

"N-name?" the boy spoke in stiff Korean accent before nodding in understanding. "Chenle. Zhong."

"Are you... Chinese?" Renjun guessed.

"Chinese?" he repeated in English. "Yes, yes. I'm Chinese!" he answered cheerfully. However, he did not seem to understand the reaction of the six children in front of him.

“M-my friends… they're wanted me t-to… say that. To this hyung,” he explained haltingly. "Is-is it bad?" another possibility appeared in his mind and he panicked a little.

Renjun snapped his fingers. "Aaah!" he suddenly understand what happened. He rose and pulled Chenle's hand. "Show me your friends." Chenle nodded and the two of them left with another questioning glare.

"What the hell was happening..." Mark muttered.

"Ji, you know him?"

Jisung nodded doubtfully. "New students from China. But we don't share the same class. He's struggling."

"Oh, poor him," Jaemin mumbled.

"Yeah, like you weren't going to cry before," Donghyuck snorted.

Jaemin stuck out his tongue. Jeno pushed the milk box towards Jaemin, letting Jaemin drink it all.

Soon, Renjun and Chenle returned. This time Chenle brought the tray of food to their table and sat down beside Jaemin. His face was slightly flushed and he looked embarrassed.

"S-sorry..."

“His friends made him do it. He doesn't even know what that's mean. So I confronted them and asked him to join us."

"Yah! You should bring me. I want to meet his friends too right now," Donghyuck snarled.

"You and Jaemin are just gonna dismantle them." Renjun continued eating.

Jeno heaved a sigh of relief before turning to Chenle. “Its okay, Chenle. From now on, you can sit with us."

Chenle, who was still having trouble with Korean, just stare at him before Mark repeated Jeno's words in English.

“Really? I can sit with you guys? I always sit alone during lunch."

"You're not gonna be alone from now on. Lets be friends! I'm Jaemin,” Jaemin pointed at himself and said his name softly. "This is Renjun, Mark, Jeno, Donghyuck, and Jisung!" he pointed to his friends in turn.

Chenle tried to repeat their name slowly.

“Good boy,” Jaemin exclaimed happily, patting the top of Chenle's head.

"Another brother?" Jisung muttered, grimacing at the sight.

Mark sighed while Donghyuck stared at Jisung. “Be nice, brat! He is your friend now."

So when that evening Chenle joined them at the Na family's dinner table, he quickly won Mr. Na and Mrs. Na's hearts.

"Oh my, since when did we have a new child, honey?" Mr. Na was surprised to see the number of plates increase and a green-haired foreigner bowed 90 degrees in front of him.

“His name is Zhong Chenle. He is from China and lives here alone." Jaemin informed him, handing the peeled orange to his father. They are waiting for Mrs. Na, assisted by Jeno, moved the food to the plate.

"And why is that?" he stared at Chenle as he swallowed the orange before passing the rest to Mark.

"His mum should be joined him here, but there is some immigration issue so he just go alone," Renjun said, still reading the book and receiving oranges from Donghyuck without even looking.

"Where do you live, Chinese boy?" asked Mr. Na.

“Hotel Plaza. He took cab everyday." This time Mark chimed in.

"He can't speak or what?" murmured Mr. Na notices the kids take over answering for Chenle.

But Jaemin nodded sadly. "Yes, dad. He barely speaks Korean."

"WHAT?! AND HE LIVES ALONE?! YAH, GREEN-HEAD KID, PACK YOUR BAG AND STAY HERE!” Mr. Na exploded.

Chenle was surprised to hear the loud sound but Renjun calmed him down. He said that Mr. Na was not angry and instead, he asked Chenle to stay at his house. Like any good boy, Chenle refused gently.

They eat as usual. Mark teaches Chenle to eat crab and vegetables. After that they cleared the table and sat back down to eat their salad.

"Kids, prepare yourself. I'm putting all of you on an English Course." Mr. Na suddenly vowed.

All of the children, except Chenle, gasped at this.

"What?"

“I just realized that you're too dumb. Except for Mark and Renjun, none of you who could communicate in English. You will die if you didn't learn that language. So you should learn that. And Chinese boy. What is your name? Chenle? Omo, that's hard for me. Can I call you… Lele? Lele, I want to talk to your parents."

Though needless to say, everyone knew it was Mr. Na's way so the children can talk with Chenle. Mr. Na spent time chatting with Chenle's parents on the phone, assisted by Mark who translated his words into English. The kids didn't know what was happening until they heard sobbing from the end of the phone and Mark comforting Chenle's parents.

The next day, Mr. Na, Mark, and Jisung picked Chenle at his hotel and moved all his belongings to the room beside Jaemin's room. Chenle burst into tears when he found out that Mr. Na tells his parents how well he lives in Korea, has lots of friends, and can't wait to learn more. Therefore the Na family happily welcomed him into their home. Chenle cried while hugging Mrs. Na after arranging the room and realized Mrs. Na cooked a hotpot for him.

"Aigooo our crybaby... ssh..." Mrs. Na patted Chenle's back lovingly.

"Lele-ya. No. That's my title!" Jaemin joining the hug.

“That's not even–” Renjun sighed, giving up. He is still amazed at how Jaemin's brain works.

They ate warmly that afternoon. Smoke rose in the Na family's kitchen, the seven children began to bond with laughter, and their smiling parents looked at them.

-

In reality, not everything will go smoothly and according to the plan. Jeno's life, in example, is not always so colorful. He has a difficult time having romantic relationships with people, especially because he is very secretive with his family's condition.

Papa and Dada had already given him the talk about the stigma that given to them and how Jeno's generation had grown up better than theirs. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Na, he no longer sad when his lover or his lover's parents seems reluctant about his two fathers.

When Jeno breaks up with his first love, a beautiful and quiet girl who asks Jeno to teach her calculus, he feels hopeless for the future. That girl made Jeno realize that he deserves to be loved after a long period of bullying. But in the end the girl left because of their argument. Jeno has been expecting her back for weeks, still sending messages and meeting her, even giving gifts from time to time.

Maybe they could back together if only Jeno didn't bail on their last date because Jaemin suddenly couldn't be contacted when he went out on a date. Jeno was really angry at the time, making him almost hit Jaemin's date after exploring the entire shopping center to look for them. He really ruined Jaemin's date that day because he immediately grabbed Jaemin's hand and took him home. Instead, Jeno brought Jaemin in a brother date the next day (of course Donghyuck and Jisung rolled their eyes at this).

Unlike Jeno, Jaemin grew up to be an open and confident child. He acknowledged his sexuality with pride and decided to let go of all the gender biases that had chained the social system in his environment.

“Good morning beautiful people! Hereby I declare, I'm: Na Jaemin, is a proud and happy gay. Please looking forward for any updates of my life because some cute senior is asking me to a date tomorrow!" he shows up one morning after a male senior asks him out. He had to ask his parents for permission and he felt it would be easier if he said it when all his family members were having breakfast.

He tied a rainbow flag around his neck, walked around the dining room and kissed everyone on the cheek. Jisung, Donghyuck, and Renjun gaped, Mark choked, and Jeno laughed. All seemed to be waiting for Mr. Na who looked at Jaemin expressionless.

“Congratulation for realizing it. Of course we've been knew. Kids, ignore him and eat! Come on!" Mr. Na pointed at the food in the middle of the table, not enthusiastic.

"Of course. You are my super dad, you know me soooo well. Mum is a superhero too because she could bare with me for all of my life and never threatened to send me to summer camp." Jaemin sat in his chair as usual, pretending to wipe the corners of his eyes.

"The only thing I appreciate for you today is because I didn't have to drag you out of your room in the weekend," said Mrs. Na, as not enthusiastic as her husband.

“Cruel. Where is my support system?"

"You got a whole zoo as your support system in your stomach. So feed that zoo now! Who is this cute senior? Is he blind or have zero IQ?" said Mr. Na.

"I thought the same, dad!" Instead of being offended, Jaemin patted his father's arm and laughed. “When he approached me after class, I thought it was a mistake. It can't be, right? But he made sure he asked me, Na Jaemin, to a date. His name is Kim Jungwoo from the volleyball team,” Jaemin chattered while receiving plate from his mother.

"Oh!" Donghyuck gasped, covering his mouth with enlarged eyes. “Of course we knew Kim Jungwoo! Oh my God, Jaemin you are so lucky! He is indeed a cutie!" Donghyuck reached out to Jaemin's hand and Jaemin greeted cheerfully.

"You better help me pick my outfit, bitch."

"Stop cursing!" Mr. Na patted Jaemin's head with a spoon. He saw Jeno and Mark's faces turn bitter.

“Don't worry. You can count on me. I can't believe a prince like him would look at commoner like us!" Donghyuck said gleefully. Mr. Na tried to bite their hands that interlocked on the table, making Jaemin and Donghyuck release their hands quickly.

Jeno and Mark almost snorted at the same time hearing the word 'prince'. Mark muttered something like, “what a nonsense” while Jeno laughed scornfully.

Renjun sighed. "Well, Jaemin is cute. The seniors know him well because he is nice and dress prettily. They said he has a million dollar smile and a very nice attitude. Oh, and–sorry, dad–very nice body, too.”

"Really?" Mrs. Na widened his eyes to hear that while Jaemin stood up suddenly, making Mr. Na gasped.

“Finally they noticed me,” Jaemin clenched his fists and sat back down, this time eating the chicken that Jeno had separated from the bones in an exaggerated elegant style.

“Million dollar smile my ass. The only time I see your teeth is when you bite your hyung. Well, I guess its because you got hurt before so you're less active now. Of course they will see you as a nice person while in fact you're like a crazy dog," Mr. Na replied.

"Dad! You should be happy for your son!" Jaemin pursed his lips.

"Why should I? You gonna cry when he left you because he'll figure out you're like a little devil."

"MUM!" Jaemin shook his legs, asking for a back up from his mum.

Mrs. Na knocked her husband's head with her spoon. "Aigooo, how could you say that to our pretty baby? I can't believe you. Just pray for the date. If we were lucky, we could get rid of him sooner."

Everyone at the table laughed as Jaemin shouted again, "MUM!"

"You were nice when Jeno said he was going to a date," Jaemin grumbled over his food.

“Did you remember? He was stuttering when he asked for my permission. I'm afraid he will die before he meet the girl. Of course I should be nice," said Mr. Na.

"Can't believe you scored a date with Yujin-noona. Aigo, aigoo." Jaemin looked at his brother, grabbed the rice that fell on Jeno's lap and stuffed it into Jeno's mouth. He smoothed Jeno's messy hair and fixed his sagging glasses. No matter how much everyone adores Lee Jeno, he is still a messy brother to Jaemin. He almost always lost his things, he almost got food poisoning several times because he can't smell the stinks of expired food, and he is a mess-eater, even worse than Park Jisung.

Although Mr. Na and Mrs. Na seemed not enthusiastic about Jaemin's confession, that morning was etched in everyone's hearts. After that, Mark asked Donghyuck out on a date while Jeno and Jisung began to admit their interest in anyone regardless of gender. With each step, Mr. Na and Mrs. Na is always in their life. Both of them celebrated when Donghyuck officially became Mark's boyfriend (Mr. Na's cries and offered a ticket back to Canada for Mark before it was too late and offered Donghyuck a blind date to another man), as well as when Chenle and Jisung finally confirmed their relationship.

Jaemin and Jeno are still like cats and dogs, especially after Jeno realized the truth of Renjun's words. His younger brother is quite famous among seniors, making some boys even arrange the time to sequentially ask Jaemin out due to their frustration. Jeno, who was guarding Jaemin, finally decided on extra surveillance steps such as interrogating where and how long they had gone on a date, didn't hesitate to tell Jaemin to change the place or time so he could match it with his schedule just in case something happen so he would come as fast as lightning when Jaemin needed him.

Jeno's feelings were always clear to Jaemin, and vice versa. Most of the time, Jaemin never really mind with his brother protective instinct, on the contrary, he looks fine whenever Jeno goes on blind dates or has a girlfriend, everyone knows Jaemin's feeling towards Jeno and how he will pawn the whole world for Jeno.

Donghyuck and Renjun are often frustrated seeing this especially because Jaemin and Jeno never hide or deny it.

One time, Jeno just broke up with his girlfriend, a strikingly looking girl with nose piercings and blonde hair, and they 'celebrated it' by drinking beer in the living room. Jeno's relationship never lasted long, mainly because of his busy life and of course because of Jaemin.

Like this time.

"What did you just say again?" Jisung felt his hearing was in trouble.

Jeno sighed before taking a sip of his beer. “I said, we broke up because she's mad when I go home after our date. She was afraid to sleep alone since her roommate is back to her hometown."

"And you refused it because?" Renjun asked.

"I want to say good night to Jaemin."

Donghyuck looked at Mark with what-the-fuck looks while Mark just shrugged, knowing well Jeno's uniqueness and could understand it because he might have done the same thing if he and Donghyuck were in Jeno and Jaemin's position.

Renjun muttered, "what a stupid."

Chenle held back laughing and Jisung was still trying to understand everything, took turns looking at Jeno and Jaemin who was sitting next to Jeno. Jaemin's eyes had started to gaze lazily but he was completely unaffected by Jeno's story.

"You can say good night over the phone, though?" Jisung tried to argue.

Mark groaned, feeling better if they just off of the subject.

"Its different," Jeno frowned.

Jisung didn't have time to ask what the difference was because Jaemin opened his mouth, "you can't kiss over the phone, right, Jisungie?"

"WHAT?!" Jisung, Chenle, Renjun, and Donghyuck were confused to hear this.

Mark intervened. "Yeah, they kiss each other. In the cheeks. While saying good night."

The four of them thought they heard a scandal, but Jeno and Jaemin seemed fine. Jaemin even nodded seriously.

"Yah! Just date already!" Donghyuck felt his head dizzy, either because of Jeno and Jaemin's relationship or because of the concerning amount of beers that he had consumed.

"They want to get married when they were a little," Mr. Na who passed them to go to the bathroom replied. "Na Jaemin, stop biting your brother!" he exclaimed before closing the bathroom door.

Jaemin who was biting Jeno's arm looked at his father then let out a sad puppy sound. Jeno shook his head and gave his arm. "No, no. You can." Jaemin went back to biting Jeno's arm.

“Donghyuck-hyung is right! You should date!" Chenle said excitedly.

"Why?" Jeno muttered, seems uninterested.

"What a dumb hyung," Renjun sighed, sipping his beer. “You likes each other. Rather than wasting time dating another people, why don't you guys just date each other?!"

"We're not wasting time." Jeno defended himself.

"Say that to your exes," Donghyuck muttered.

"But you like each other, right?" Renjun didn't give up.

Jeno and Jaemin looked at Renjun and both nodded.

“SO WHY DON'T YOU–you know what? Nevermind. I'm done." Renjun raised his hand, surrendering.

"Good on you, Renjun. I've been there," Mark plopped the peanuts to his mouth, seems indifferent about this topic. He has repeatedly had this conversation with Jeno and his best friend is not only ignorant, but also stupid when it comes to Na Jaemin.

“He is my hyung,” Jaemin released his teeth from Jeno's arm. They could see a red mark on Jeno's arm.

"But you loves him." Chenle tried.

"Of course I love him." Jaemin pouted. Jeno smiled and stroked Jaemin's head. Jaemin melt into his touch and leaning his head on Jeno's lap.

The bathroom door opened and Mr. Na crossed the room again. “See? I raised a dog." He returned to his bedroom without turning his head.

"Whipped," Jisung looked at the teeth marks on Jeno's arm in disgust.

“Really, guys. Don't sweat it. I know its hard. But let them be." Mark assured his friends. They could only quietly see Jaemin hugging Jeno's waist, burying his face in Jeno's lap and saying something they could not understand while Jeno answered in a low voice, stroking Jaemin's head with an adoring glance as usual.

They also didn't say anything when they finished cleaning up all the empty beer cans and mess in the living room and moved to sleep in their respective rooms (Renjun with Donghyuck in Jaemin's old room, Jisung and Chenle in Chenle's room, while Mark was sleeping alone in his room), Jeno brought Jaemin goes to Jaemin's room and doesn't come out until the next morning.

-

Epilogue

He was sitting in the hospital garden when two familiar people approached him from a distance. His murky face as he focused on preparing for the operation of an important person in the coming days slowly changed.

The wind caressed his face, delivering the distinctive aroma of autumn leaves. What season is it? He wondered, after being so confined in his work for a long time. You're doing great, honey. His beautiful husband said that. His kind parents also said the same thing. Am I? In the long nights after a failed operation, he allowed himself to cry longer than his peers, haunted by feelings of failure as the oldest child to fulfill the need of their family-his parents-until it was too late.

Late.

He's a doctor. The youngest cardiologist candidate in the city, if he succeeds in living after graduation. He doubts he can survive until next month seeing his schedule is often so chaotic. So he understands how important the momentum is. One minute-no, one second-late, you can lose everything. He regretted always waiting and didn't applying the same concept in his life all along: waiting to finally ask his husband out, waiting to explain everything to one of his beloved brothers, waiting for all of his younger siblings to mature so he could brought them home together. He managed to wait but the moment he was waiting for would never come.

"Doctor Mark."

The two attractive people had already arrived in front of him, smiling. Their hands were linked and Mark smiled back with relief.

"Hey there, buddy," he got up, hugged Jaemin. Jaemin hugged him tightly back while Jeno looked at them happily.

"So... am I missing something? Oh, right. I didn't. There is always something between you two," Mark finally said.

Jaemin and Jeno laughed, their faces flushed red and Mark saw how fit they were under the blue sky and the last gusts of wind.

“Are you busy, Markie? We wanted to talk to you about something but it can wait,” Jaemin asked.

"Even if I'm busy, I don't wanna wait." For you? Never. Never again.

"Okay..." Jaemin smiled again. Mark saw Jaemin was a little nervous while Jeno still said nothing but looked at Jaemin like a parent who encouraged his child who was doing a presentation in front of the class.

"We're going to marry... you the first person to know."

"Oh?" Mark's eyebrows rose and his smile broke. He hugged Jeno and Jaemin tightly, whispered his congratulations repeatedly, even kissed their temples many times. Jaemin and Jeno hugged him back.

"I'm so happy for both of you." After that long hug, he stared at the two alternately, his eyes glistening but he could stop himself. This was very happy news, and it was proud considering they told Mark in the first place, but he didn't want to come back from his afternoon break with a puffy face.

"Thank you, Markie," Jaemin answered.

"Yeah, thank you. Really," Jeno replied. He then looked back at Jaemin, this time nodding clearly to encourage him.

"W-what is–"

“Markie… will you walk me down… on the aisle? Um… sorry, I never do this. I don't even know the right term but we want… we want you to walk me down since I have no parent. A-and I can't help to think about y-you… You know, Jeno could walk me but he's the one that I'm gonna be married with so it can't be him, right? Right, so yeah… I have nobody but y-you to… I mean, you're my hyung–sorry, I know its riddiculous and you'll probably gonna say no be-because its so much burden… Its okay if you w -want to sit down with Hyuck. I get it. Really. I – I…”

Jeno stared at Jaemin disapprovingly when he caught a few words he didn't like. But he could see Mark's face was pale and his mouth was open while Jaemin was talking. Mark just stared at Jaemin intently and interrupted Jaemin's words with a loud cry which made him sit back on the park bench. Jaemin let go of Jeno's grip and knelt in front of Mark.

"Oh, no. Markie? I'm sorry. Its nothing! Really!"

"Stop talking, Nana!" Mark jumped. He wiped his nose but the tears still didn't stop flowing. "I can't believe you asked me... oh my God, Nana. Are you serious? Yes, I'll walk with you. I'll bring you on my back if you want to...” Mark remembered how Donghyuck walking to the altar in his father's hand and he couldn't control his tears when he realized he was going to take Jaemin, his beloved brother. Damn.

Jaemin laughed, took Mark's hand and held it. “I can walk, Mark. Don't worry. Don't wanna hurt your precious and hardworking back or Hyuck will kill me. So... you won't be with him for the whole ceremony. Only until you bring me to Jeno, of course. Is that alright? Can you... can you ask him too? See if its okay with him?"

And this is why Na Jaemin is Mark Lee's favorite younger brother.

“Hyuck will be thrilled, Nana. He cried a river when he got married without you, his best friend. He won't even care about Mark at our wedding because he just gonna bawl his eyes out. Its better if you tell Mark not to trip or something."

And this is why Lee Jeno is not Mark Lee's favorite younger brother.

"Mark?" Jaemin looked back at Mark who was still crying. "Thank you. This meant so much to me."

Mark feels like he's facing Mr. Na and Mrs. Na who smiled at him.

"It meant so much to me too, Nana." A whole fucking world.

end