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"Rule number one." Seungmin began, propping his hands on his hips, faking a serious face as the rest of the family got out of their black sedan, parked outside the house's parking shed. "Don't go around-"
"Bokkie does what Bokkie wants!" Yongbok shook her head and stuck her tongue out, running inside the house to search for her brothers, her shoes flying in the air.
"Like mother, like daughter." Seungmin sighed. Pursing his lips into a knifelike line, he turned to his wife who shrugged, having nothing to do with what their daughter just did.
"Come on Min, it's her house. Let her be." Said the woman, and Seungmin scoffed. The man was holding his breath back, silently praying for little Chan's sanity. He knew better than anyone else that leaving Chan in the vicinity of his daughter wouldn't end up well since Yongbok liked to terrorize those around her; elders, or kids of her age, no one was an exception.
She took traits from her mother after all.
Yongbok is, without any doubt, Wednesday Addams in the making, and there is no need to specify who is the Morticia Addams here.
"Let her be? Seriously?" Mocked Seungmin. "Last time we had a family dinner, our daughter left poor Channie traumatized, and what was that song she sang as a lullaby?" And there was no reply from Minhee because what the man said was a fact.
"Hide and seek." Minhee looked down at her heels. "It was just a one-time thing." She mumbled, gasping as Jeongin pushed the couple forward from the back.
"Move, you two." She rolled her eyes while kicking her shoes off, not at all in the mood to deal with the couple's usual song. "Leave the bickering for some other day; I'm starving here."
Jeongin, since she came back to their homeland to live with her sister and her family, Hyunjin invited them for dinner. While it's true that they stay at each other's places often, like they are one big family living in two separate houses (three if we include Jeongin's apartment), Hyunjin insisted that this one's a special dinner because they're officially welcoming Jeongin to the family.
If we keep aside the possibility of kids-special chaos, Hyunjin's idea is undoubtedly great because they get to spend fun time together. Whole family together, fun moments, soft moments, lovely, happy—only in theory.
"Channie!" Yongbok's voice welcomed them inside, with the three adults getting in right after the sprinting little girl.
The source of Yongbok's happy yells, aka Chan, was standing near the couches with his new toy computer, grinning widely at his cousin. Just as much as Yongbok, Chan was excited and looking forward to the dinner, to play fun games with the girl.
Seungmin wanted to step over and hold his daughter before she crashed into the poor boy, but it happened. Yongbok ran and threw herself around Chan's neck, and both lost their balance, now sitting on the floor with the girl on top of him. But, surprising the three who worriedly expected Chan to cry or at least sob, the boy started laughing along with the girl.
"He's a lot different after the Taejoon issue." Hyunjin says, emerging from the kids' room. "My baby prince is growing up."
Yongbok and Chan curiously looked up at Hyunjin, and the woman got on her knees, helping them pull apart and stand on their feet. A soft smile warmed her face while looking at the kids, then the same gaze directing at Yongbok's parents.
"Innie…" she called after getting up, Jeongin immediately leaping into Hyunjin's waiting arms. "You were so tiny when I last saw you… now you've all grown and became pretty." She says, and Jeongin smiled shyly.
"Well, thank you." The younger woman replied, a little proudly. "And look at yourself, you're becoming more younger each passing day. No one's gonna believe you're a mother of two, and one of them is already thirteen."
Hyunjin started laughing. Then, she pulled Minhee to be part of their women talk while Seungmin went further inside to search for his brother, the kids running to Chan's play area.
The family started getting lively before the dinner, even without them really trying.
"Bokkie will sing." Yongbok said, peeking at Chan's toy computer to see what was keeping him away from giving her all the attention. Chan was happy to play with his cousin, but wasn't ready to 'tolerate' her singing, especially with her choice of songs.
Yongbok had too much energy that Chan couldn't keep up with, and the boy never saw the girl sitting down exhausted. She was happily snooping around Chan's toys, not that the boy minded, until she found a toy microphone.
"Channie, look at Bokkie. Bokkie will—Bokkie is going to sing." The girl said again, and Chan visibly shuddered.
"How about we play some games? Like the one we always play?" Chan tried, and Yongbok was having none of it. She rolled her eyes, trying to remember the one song she recently memorized.
"How about that?" Chan tried, once again. Even though he felt bad rejecting his cousin's desire to sing, he didn't want to get any nightmares because Yongbok's songs were kind of haunting.
"No." Yongbok's reply was fast. She grinned wide, pointing at the microphone in her hand. "Bokkie does what Bokkie—"
"But no creepy songs." The boy cut in, and Yongbok glared at him because she didn't like being interrupted.
"They are not creepy. They are cool." Said the girl, and without waiting for Chan's reply, she walked toward where Chan was, to sit beside him on the carpet. She cleared her throat, getting ready to sing. Then, her shoulders slumped.
"What happened?" Asked Chan, who partly accepted his fate, frowning at Yongbok's sad face.
"Oh no!" Yongbok covered her mouth with both of her palms, the microphone falling on her lap with a soft thud.
"What happened? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Does your stomach hurt, Bokkie? Are you in pain? What—"
"Bokkie forgot!" The girl gasped. "Bokkie don't know the song anymore. Bokkie forgot the lines." She said, and Chan blinked, lost. Then the realization came in, and he let out a sigh of relief.
Maybe the Gods are on his side tonight.
Hiding the relieved smile dancing across his face, Chan crawled closer to the sulking girl to cheer her up. "It's alright, Bokkie."
"No, it's not!" Yongbok snapped, and Chan flinched, pursing his lips. "Bokkie go ask mommy." Announced the girl, getting up and running outside the room as Chan sighed, looking down.
Maybe the Gods above switched their sides already.
Jisung sighed as he took a sip of his champagne, the one flute he took ignoring Hyunjin's suggestion to go for it only after the dinner.
"Just this one and I'll stop." He mouthed softly, and Hyunjin nodded, turning back to focus on heating up the food. Jisung glanced in his wife's direction to see if she's okay with it, his doubts melting away the second he laid his eyes upon the woman who was standing near the oven with a smile on her face.
Leaving the glass on the kitchen counter, Jisung walked toward the woman, his arms going around her waist to hug her from behind. Hyunjin sighed, along with a faint blush on her cheeks, as Jisung leaned down to nuzzle his face into her neck, feeling the man's lips pressed against her skin.
Minhee smirked, watching them through a sideways glance, whistling and absolutely loving whatever was happening in front of her eyes. Unlike the woman, Seungmin scoffed, walking past the couple toward the refrigerator.
"You're spoiling him, Jinnie," said Seungmin. "Too much." He stopped next to his wife and raised an eyebrow while snaking his arm around her shoulder. "Can't believe he's the older one here."
Minhee kicked Seungmin in his belly with her elbow, and he shrugged, not feeling guilty about what he said.
"You're pampering him like he's your baby," Seungmin said to Hyunjin, rolling his eyes as Jisung turned to face him with a hint of pride.
"She's my wife," said Jisung, still not keeping his distance from Hyunjin. "I'm allowed to be pampered by her."
"She's my best friend before your wife," Seungmin countered, Minhee shaking her head from beside him. "And I can clearly see that you're not letting my best friend breathe." He said, but despite the possible arguments heating up there, there was a fond smile on both Jisung and Seungmin's faces.
"Look at my poor sister-in-law... She's all red," Seungmin teased, and Minhee chuckled, watching Hyunjin cover her face with her hand, her ears a shade deeper red than her face.
"Let me do what I must do, lil bro," Jisung said, his eyes set on Hyunjin. Then, he pointedly looked at his brother, wanting to brag about how lucky he is to have a woman like Hyunjin as his wife.
"Not everyone is lucky to have a wife like this," Jisung simply said, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. "I'm that lucky. The luckiest of all."
"No arguments on that," Seungmin agreed without any second thought, feeling his lips twist into a satisfied smirk, his gaze zeroed in on Minhee, who was already looking back at him with a wide smile. "We're the luckiest of all."
Minhee's laughter filled the space while Hyunjin shook her head, slapping her husband's chest playfully as a punishment for saying things that made her blush.
"Now enough with the flattery," Minhee cleared her throat, silently chuckling at Hyunjin whose face was one step away from turning into a tomato. "Come help us set the table," said the woman, and Seungmin winked.
"We never learned to say no." Said Seungmin, leaning close to place a kiss on Minhee's cheek, before proceeding toward the refrigerator to get what he wanted.
Jisung leaned closer to Hyunjin as well, giving her little pecks on her lips, going in for a deeper kiss, pulling away once he caught the sight of a little human running in their direction.
"Mommy..." Yongbok skipped her way into the kitchen, followed by Chan with slower steps compared to the girl. "Mommy... help." Said the girl, and Minhee placed the plates back on the table, her attention now fully on her daughter. Yongbok looked up sadly at her mother with her big, black eyes, and pouts, stomping her little feet.
"What happened, Bokkie?" Minhee asked, bending down, and Hyunjin turned away from the microwave as well, listening to the little girl's whines.
"Bokkie forgot song." Said Yongbok under her breath, holding onto her mother's finger. Through a sideway glance, Minhee saw Seungmin peeking and shaking his head from behind the refrigerator door, who was searching for the can of apple juice, now staring at them with his hands placed on his sides.
"Want to sing for Channie. Bokkie forgot lines. Help Bokkie." The girl said, and Seungmin mouthed 'see, I predicted this' as he closed the refrigerator door to walk toward Hyunjin. After leaving the can in Hyunjin's hand, he turned to his daughter and picked her up.
"Did you ask if Chan wants it? Did you ask if Chan wants to sing with you?" Seungmin asked, and Yongbok shook her head.
"But Channie likes Bokkie's songs."
"Did he say so?" Seungmin arched a brow while glancing at the boy, and Chan shook his head as a no.
"No." Said the girl with a pout, crossing her arms on top of her chest. "But Bokkie knows Channie likes it."
"How so?" Minhee came forward.
"Boys cry when Bokkie sing cool songs. But Channie listen to Bokkie."
Minhee sighed. "Ask before making assumptions, honey." She tried, running a hand through her daughter's hair.
"Be considerate of your brothers. Always ask if they are comfortable with the games you want to play with them. Same goes with your friends." Seungmin adds into his wife's words, Yongbok looking down at Chan who was looking up at her expectedly. Her gaze then moved to her parents, nodding slowly.
She knows if her papa and mommy say something together and agree on it without arguing, it means it's serious.
"Papa... down." Yongbok says, and the moment her feet touched the floor, she ran toward Chan and held his arms.
"Then Bokkie will listen to Channie's songs." The girl announced, bringing a bright smile on Chan's face.
"I wrote a lot," Chan says, and Yongbok nods excitedly. "Lots and lots of songs."
"And Bokkie will listen to all."
Seungmin smiled as the kids talked about Chan's little songs, which he wrote on his new toy computer, and stepped closer to his brother.
"I think it's time to gift him an actual iPad." Said Seungmin. "I can see a musician in the making, a songwriter, a producer maybe. Like his father." He says, and Jisung proudly grins.
"I'm planning on that." Jisung says, and Seungmin arched a brow, crossing his arms tightly on top of his chest.
"Who told you to buy for my boy?" Seungmin asked with a smug grin. "I know how to buy an iPad for my Channie."
"Oh yeah, I'm his father. It's for him to make songs on it, and I'm more knowledgeable about music than you, so I'll buy him one."
"Biological yes." Seungmin countered. "But he's more attached to me, and I know more about technology than you. So I'll buy."
Jisung scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I can afford even the expensive iPads out there. I have more money than you, lil bro."
"In your dreams yes." Seungmin lifted his arms up and placed his hands on his sides back. "Keep on dreaming big bro, and before you wake up from that sweet little dream of yours, I'll get my boy a brand new iPad."
Hyunjin shook her head with a big smile at the bickering siblings, both women not interrupting, knowing that it's Jisung and Seungmin's love language, their brothers-special arguments (with so much love hidden beneath the words).
Then, Hyunjin frowned, spotting the absence of Changbin and Jeongin; everyone's here, except the two. She bit her lips and thought as she moved, ruffling Yongbok and Chan's hair before going out of the kitchen to search for the two.
The woman didn't have to search for so long since they were sitting on the couch, Changbin telling something and Jeongin laughing along with the boy's smug grin, both enjoying each other's companies.
A soft smile flashed across Hyunjin's face as she leaned her side against the door frame, her eyes never leaving the kids. Then she blinked, and then her gaze narrowed, because it's the first time she saw her son this excited and happy around a girl, and above that, Changbin's little antics reminded her so much of her husband.
Hyunjin stood there, slowly regaining her balance fully onto her feet, her mind going places and her cheeks heating up in a soft shade of pink because this Changbin reminded Hyunjin of the teen Jisung.
The time when Jisung was trying all his luck to win Hyunjin's heart.