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Being almost three means Minho has access to a lot more things than he did before. He can clamber up the handles of the drawers, using them as makeshift steps, to sit on the kitchen counters. His parents aren’t the happiest when they see him pushing himself over the counter. The fear in their eyes makes him giggle, only because it’s fun to see them so startled! Minho admits he’s a little cheekier than usual these days but he's growing taller. And now that the vast majority of the forbidden areas are within easy reach, he can’t help but explore the unconquered land.
He’s careful to not tip any of the glass bowls on the counter, manoeuvring around them to reach the coffee-filled mug perched near the wall. He peeks into it, craning his neck forward, and he dips a finger in it, placing it in his mouth, and removing it with a loud ‘pop’.
Mmhm. It tastes like nothing Minho’s ever tasted before in his life.
It’s bitter with a slight sweetness. It’s addictive. The thrill of having something he’s not meant to have fuels Minho to wrap his hands around the mug, lifting it with a bit of effort to his lips, and gulps it down. The coffee spills over his shirt and the counter, drenching him, and he doesn’t loosen his grip on the mug. If it falls, it’s game over for Minho. He really doesn’t want his mum to find out.
Trembling, he lowers the mug onto the counter, and pushes it back against the wall. He slides his feet back behind him as he faces the wall to lower himself down. If he’s not there when his mum finds the mess, then she can’t blame him. Minho’s certain that’s how the rules work.
His hands slip on the puddle of coffee. He tumbles down to the ground, the bulk of his nappy cushioning his fall as he lands in a sitting position. He hears footsteps closing in, so he ducks his head.
“Minmin, what happened?” His mum crouches in front of him, taking in his coffee-soaked clothes before she hugs him. Minho holds her closer, his small arms wrapping around her, and he hides his face in her shoulder. “What did you get up to, hmm?”
“I only wanted to touch the flower,” mumbles Minho into her shirt when his mum leans back to glance at the flower in question - the mint plant sitting on the windowsill above the sink.
“Is that a flower?” His mum asks, a knowing grin on her face. “What do we call that?”
“...Mint.”
“Good job, Min. Now, tell me the truth.”
Minho smiles his prettiest smile — the one his parents and the Kims always praise him for and tell him he’s the best boy — and shrugs his right shoulder. “I wanted the mint.”
His mum stays silent, the kind smile still on her face, and she rests her hand on his shoulder. Minho stares at her, blankly. How would she know it’s him?
“You know, Min, if you tell me the truth, we’ll head over to Seungmin’s house right now.”
Oh no, Minho’s mum drives a hard bargain. He really wants to see Seungmin, though he’s not sure what she’ll do if he’s honest.
Minho peeks up at his mum through his eyelashes, a little hesitant to spill the beans. “...The coffee looked good.”
“There we go, that’s a good boy. Thanks for being honest, Minho.” She holds his hand and leads him to the bathroom upstairs, stopping by his room to grab clothes and a spare nappy. Patting his bottom, she laughs. “Minho, you do know I can see everything, right? Even when I’m not there, I can still see what you get up to.”
That’s… awfully scary and Minho shudders, bringing his hands closer towards himself and wrapping them around his chest. Can she still see what he thinks? He hopes not, as he sits in the bathtub and his mum fills the tub with water and a bubble solution.
“Seungminnie?”
Minho calls out for his favourite baby as he darts down the hallway. He halts to a stop when he sees the baby bouncing in his walker, using the tips of his toes to propel him forward. Seungmin seems to be in a great mood, which makes Minho excited.
Seungmin jumps in his seat when he spots Minho, a hand stuck in his mouth coated in dribble while the other points in Minho’s direction. He takes out his hand from his mouth to babble, “Minmin”, and Minho stops in front of Seungmin, beaming.
“Minnie, it’s Minmin hyung!” Minho waves, reaching over to pat Seungmin’s chubby cheeks that jut out the more the baby smiles at him. He pats Seungmin’s head, running his small fingers over the dark tufts of hair, and pushing Seungmin’s hair back.
Aunt Kim walks out from the kitchen, grinning at Minho, and opens her arms wide. Minho likes Aunt Kim; she’s very nice to him. He runs into her arms, jumping when she lifts him up and kisses his nose.
“Aunt Kim!” Minho says, eyes crinkling with the biggest smile he can muster. “Can Minnie walk?”
“He can walk a few steps if you hold his hand.” Aunt Kim’s eyes twinkle when she lowers Minho down and meets his eye. “He might even walk by himself with you here.”
Minho cheers and claps at this. He hopes he'll be a cheerleader for Seungmin. Besides, he’ll be able to teach Seungmin the tricks to walking and running around soon! Grabbing Aunt Kim’s hands, he leads them towards Seungmin, who seems to be content with nibbling on his fingers and making gurgling sounds at the back of his throat. When Minho walks closer, Seungmin stops biting on his hand and giggles, babbling “Minmin”.
Minho thinks Seungmin sounds like an angel.
Seungmin sounds pretty, especially when he’s calling for Minho.
Minho turns back to look at Aunt Kim with pleading eyes. She hoists Seungmin out of his walker and holds him by his waist, facing Minho. Minho sits down close in front of Seungmin but scoots back when Aunt Kim whispers a plan in his ear.
Seungmin continues to repeat his nickname for Minho and giggles when Minho smiles.
“The Seungmin Express is boarding. Please be seated.” Uncle Kim’s voice booms through the room, as he walks in, holding his phone up at Seungmin. “Attention passengers, the Seungmin Express is now departing from Platform 2.”
Minho can’t stop giggling at Uncle Kim’s antics, but he focuses on Seungmin when Aunt Kim lets go of Seungmin’s hands.
Minho pats his lap. “Come on, Minnie! Come to hyungie!” Minho urges Seungmin, a warm smile on his face.
Seungmin starts forward, his balance unsteady, stepping in quick, wide and short steps. He waddles towards Minho, plopping down on Minho’s lap after ten steps. Minho's so proud of Seungmin. He bounces Seungmin in his lap, wrapping his arms around Seungmin to give a tight hug.
“Seungminnie! Minnie is so good! Good boy!” Minho prattles all the encouragement he can think of. He presses a soft kiss to the back of Seungmin’s head, an area that Aunt and Uncle Kim can’t see with ease. Seungmin jerks his head to face Minho with a large smile. It’ll be their secret for now.
Minho looks at Aunt Kim, who looks like she’ll cry at any given moment, and he squeezes Seungmin harder before he lets go.
“Minmin’s going to help Minnie!” He squeals, holding Seungmin’s hand when the baby’s fingers curl around his two fingers. “We’ll walk around your house!”
Seungmin looks up at Minho and blinks four times, saying, “Minnie, Minmin.”
“That’s right, Seungmin-ah,” Aunt Kim pipes up from the sofa, “Minmin hyung’s going to teach you everything.” She folds her arms across her chest with a kind smile as she looks at the two children. “Go on, Minho.”
Minho walks without hurry at first, copying Seungmin, as he keeps a tight grasp Seungmin’s hand and counts the number of steps Seungmin takes. Seungmin seems to take a little under fifteen steps before he plops down on the ground, his hands in front of him. Minho blows a little puff of air under Seungmin’s bangs, in aims of cooling down the baby, and he gives Seungmin little words of encouragement while Seungmin recovers. Minho’s mum says that babies are like a sponge and absorb everything they hear so Minho doesn’t stop talking.
“Ready, Minnie?” Minho asks when Seungmin heaves himself to stand up. The baby wobbles a little bit but holds onto the leg of the chair nearby to steady himself. This time, Minho decides to forego holding his hand and continues to smile and urge Seungmin to walk.
“Let’s go over there,” he says, pointing to the walker, sticking by Seungmin’s side because he’s responsible enough to take care of the baby. Seungmin waddles in that cute way of his—like a little penguin, adds Minho’s brain—and Minho can’t stop laughing at how adorable Seungmin is. Seungmin stumbles at once and falls down on his bottom, but the baby doesn’t cry. Seungmin only giggles, his laughter tinkling through the quiet room.
Seungmin stands up again, this time with Minho’s help as he tries to lift the baby up by his shoulders and fails, as they both tip back and fall again. Minho looks at Seungmin and laughs, “Hyungie’s the same as Minnie.”
They continue to walk around the living room and Minho uses various toys spread out in the room as props to entice Seungmin to go further each time. After ten minutes, Seungmin’s tiny legs give way and he collapses onto the ground, bringing a fist to rub at his eyes. Minho watches on with fond eyes, wanting to kiss the baby, hug the baby and pick him up, but Seungmin nods off before he can do anything.
Oh, Seungmin’s sleeping on the ground, that’s not going to be comfortable for him at all. Minho strides over to the kitchen, where he sees Uncle Kim stirring something in a pot and Aunt Kim cutting carrots. He tugs at Aunt Kim’s skirt, looking up at her and smiling when she regards him. She hands him a piece of carrot that’s cut up and he goes to bite into it, before he asks, “Can Minnie eat this?”
She shakes her head, “It’s too hard for him at the moment. Give him time, he’ll be eating everything you do.”
Minho can’t wait for that day, there’s so many things he loves to eat that he’s sure Seungmin would love too. Remembering the reason he came to seek the adults, he points in Seungmin’s direction, swallowing the bite of carrot in his mouth before he speaks.
“Minnie fell asleep on the floor.”
“Honey, could you go make sure Seungmin’s comfortable?” Aunt Kim asks Uncle Kim.
Minho slips his hand into Uncle Kim’s hands, leading him towards Seungmin. Seungmin’s face is calm as he lies on the ground, his hands in his mouth yet again.
Uncle Kim cradles Seungmin with care, positioning him on the sofa, and places cushions as a makeshift barricade. Minho waits as Seungmin shifts in his nap when Uncle Kim tugs a blanket over Seungmin’s small frame. He wonders if Seungmin will wake up soon to play with him again, but he waits for a bit like the good boy he is. He sits down in front of the sofa, arms bent to cradle his head on the seats of the sofa. Minho watches on as Uncle Kim lays a gentle peck on Seungmin's forehead, and rests his hand on Seungmin's back.
Turning to Minho, Uncle Kim whispers, "Minmin, you're a big boy, right? I can trust you to do something responsible for me, right?" When Minho nods with vigour, because of course Minho is a responsible big boy— he's almost three, after all— Uncle Kim continues.
"Can you look after Seung? If he needs anything, let me know, okay?"
Minho grins, nodding at Uncle Kim, though he turns to poke at Seungmin's round and full cheeks with calm fingers. "I can't wake him up?"
"He'll get cranky, Minmin."
"Okay," Minho whispers, "Minmin can look after Minnie."
Uncle Kim ruffles Minho's hair and Minho waves at him as he retreats back to the kitchen. When he's certain Aunt Kim and Uncle Kim are busy and aren't paying attention to Seungmin or Minho, he presses his lips tenderly to Seungmin's forehead. Brushing aside Seungmin's fringe, he peppers the baby's sleeping face with soft kisses, the younger irresistibly adorable in Minho's eyes.
Minho decides right there and then that he'll do absolutely everything to protect Seungmin and keep him safe.