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“Mingyu, get down!”
“But Daddy, I'm hungry!”
“Daddy, Hansollie is crying.”
“Soonyoung, can you get Hansol out of his crib please?”
“Daddy, my name is Hoshi! Ho-shi!! Appa said I'm a tiger! Rawwwr!”
“Fine, Hoshi, can you please get Hansol and put him in the play pen? Mingyu, get down, right now!”
“Daddy, catch me!!”
“Mingyu, don't you dare!”
“Daddy, the baby had an accident!”
“A-a-appa! Appaaaaa!!”
────୨ৎ────
Seungcheol stood in the middle of the chaos that was his living room wondering how his sanity had slipped so far. For the briefest moment, he found himself having flashbacks from his frat house days. In more ways than one, the situations were very similar. He lived with rowdy boys who made messes then, and he lived with them now.
Latte had flipped his water bowl and was currently sopping wet, having rolled in it. Soonyoung was holding Hansol's small body away from his own because the baby had indeed had an accident. And Mingyu had climbed onto the kitchen island in search of food.
His eyes roved the damage and landed on Kkuma who looked at him from where she lay on the couch, expression seeming to say, ‘You brought all of this into our life. This is your fault.’
The house was a mess. Everywhere he looked, clothes, toys, and a soiled diaper he swore he asked Mingyu to put in the trash. A puddle of milk from someone's breakfast and a literal pile of dirt, courtesy of Hansol and Latte who had jointly overturned a potted plant. The sofa cushions were tossed about and there was a mysterious stain blooming on the carpet.
At the base of the Christmas tree sat the glittery remains of an ornament that once read, ‘My 1st Christmas’ and beneath it, ‘Choi Soonyoung’ - Jeonghan was going to kill him.
His beautiful husband had been stretching himself thin and was exhausted, even if he never said it aloud. Winter break was in full swing. Soonyoung and Mingyu were out of school. Hansol was walking. And Jeonghan's fourth pregnancy had entered its seventh month.
Everyday, Seungcheol would come home from work to Jeonghan trying to wrangle the kids for dinner. They would eat together and the boys would tell him about their day while Jeonghan fed Hansol. Jeonghan would clarify details or mediate arguments and serve seconds. Then he would start their evening ritual of baths, teeth brushing, pajamas and a bedtime story. Boys were out by 8.
Afterwards, Jeonghan would trudge back into the kitchen to reheat the food he hadn't been able to eat, and load the dishwasher. He would fold laundry on the couch while watching Netflix so low Seungcheol wondered if he could actually hear the television. He always sent Seungcheol to the bedroom so that he could decompress from his day and call his parents or play video games.
At 11, Seungcheol would pick Jeonghan up where he'd fallen asleep on the couch and put him in bed, tucking the needed pillows around him so he could rest comfortably, before snuggling close and rubbing his expanding belly. Somewhere between 1 and 4, Hansol would wake up crying and Jeonghan would tell his husband to go back to sleep. At 7, with the sun peaking weakly through the living room curtains, breakfast would be ready and Seungcheol's lunch would be packed by the front door. He'd find Jeonghan in the rocking chair next to Hansol's crib, snoring softly.
And if their normal routine weren't enough, with Christmas in a week, Jeonghan was pulling out all the stops to make sure the boys had a magical holiday. The tree was trimmed, there was a different shaped sugar cookie in the Santa jar on the counter every other day, and their house always smelled like warm cinnamon and rich vanilla.
Seungcheol never once took what Jeonghan did in their family for granted. Especially because it was him who wanted a daughter and begged Jeonghan to try one more time each time. This was the last time. Last time was due in February. They were going to name him Jung-Chan.
So, he'd called upon his beloved husband's best friend to take Jeonghan away for the weekend. “He needs to rest, Shua. I want him to feel pampered.”
Jeonghan had declined because who would even watch the boys overnight.
“I got this, babe,” he promised, kissing Jeonghan's ankle while he rubbed his feet. “It’s just one night.”
The skeptical look he received should have been the first warning. His husband actually warning him should have been the second. “It's not that easy to look after them…”
“I'm their father.”
“I know but-”
“I'm their father,” he repeated, though somewhat annoyed that Jeonghan didn't think he could take care of his own children.
Jeonghan struggled to lean over his baby bump and kiss Seungcheol's pout away. “You're right. I'm sorry. I'll go to the spa with Joshuji. Okay?”
“I just want to give you a break, babe. You deserve it.”
Seungcheol truly meant those words. Jeonghan was incredible. He'd given up so much of himself for their family. The very least he could do was pay for a spa weekend.
And as Seungcheol watched Mingyu launch himself off the counter, Soonyoung gagged on the smell that was wafting from the mess seeping down Hansol's thighs, an ambulance went past and both Latte and Kkuma began to howl.
────୨ৎ────
“Soonyoung, do not throw up!” Seungcheol told his oldest, holding Hansol's screaming body over the kitchen sink and allowing Soonyoung to spray the baby's lower half with the detachable faucet attachment. I remembered telling Jeonghan they didn't need this and his husband had said his opinion was irrelevant.
“It smells so bad!” Soonyoung whined, trying to pull his face as far away from the sink as possible, resulting in water spraying the wall and Seungcheol's side.
“Daddy, can I have more ice cream?” Mingyu asked from the couch, his voice much more nasally than earlier.
Hindsight told Seungcheol he should have cleaned the blood off his son before plopping him on the couch with an obscenely large bowl - was it a salad bowl? - of ice cream. But Mingyu had been screaming and Soonyoung was practically shaking trying not to vomit on his baby brother.
“We need to call Appa,” Soonyoung told Seungcheol as the child wrapped a towel around Hansol's bare bottom. It was one of the fancy monogram towels Jeonghan's grandmother had gifted them for their wedding. It was slowly turning yellow as Hansol peed and began to cry again. “Daddy, we really need to call Appa,” Soonyoung declared on the verge of tears.
Seungcheol shook his head, pulling the urine soaked toddler against his body and wrapping his free arm around the older boy. He kissed his son's unruly hair and sighed. “No, buddy, we got this. Me and you! Appa needs to relax.”
“Mingyu almost died, Daddy!”
“He didn't. Look at him, he's fine!”
Soonyoung's eyebrows rose. “He's missing a tooth!”
“Shit!”
“Ssshit,” Hansol repeated. “Aaaappa ssshit!”
Jeonghan was going to murder him slowly. Probably chop off an appendage and forcefeed it to him.
“Mingyu, you okay, little man?”
Mingyu looked down at his empty bowl and frowned. “Daddy, my toof hurts.”
Jeonghan had been gone for approximately 6 hours. Only 20 hours to go.
────୨ৎ────
“Jeonghan, if you sigh one more time, I'm going to throw my drink at you,” Joshua complained, sitting up and leveling his best friend with a glacial stare. “You're ruining the vibes.”
Jeonghan sat up as well, smiling a watery smile at the cucumber slices that had tumbled off his face and into his round stomach.
“Don't cry,” Joshua scolded.
Jeonghan nodded, blinking fast as if that could dry his ridiculous tears. He was supposed to be relaxing and for maybe 3 hours, he had. He'd gotten a facial and a neck massage. He was supposed to be reclining in a massage chair while his feet soaked in rose water and lavender, a pedicure in the next fifteen minutes. Instead, he'd been thinking about his boys and how they would be surviving without them.
Seungcheol was a great father, truly. He didn't shy away from taking care of their kids. He was always right there in the trenches. Still, Jeonghan had never left his children alone with their father for more than the few hours he went shopping or lunch with a friend. Overnight - unthinkable.
There was this knot of worry in his stomach that refused to unclench. It was stronger than nausea and worse than Chan kicking his bladder every hour on the hour. Jeonghan wanted to tell his baby to enjoy the silence now because it would never be this peaceful in their lives ever again.
“This is going to sound insensitive but pretend you don't have any kids. Pretend this little parasite is your first,” Joshua told him, reclining and putting his sunglasses back over his eyes. “And you're here to glow up before you pop him out.”
Jeonghan smacked Joshua's thigh. “I cannot do that.”
“I know. Boring.”
“Sure, you're telling me you don't miss your baby? Where is Kwannie today?”
“Weekend with his father. Seokmin sent me a bunch of pictures but I am pretending like I don't have a phone. You see, it's easy!” Joshua took a pretentious sip of his aloe water. “If anyone asks, I am 25, single, never been married, no kids.”
Jeonghan just shook his head and slumped back into his chair. “You would never do that to Seok.”
“No,” Joshua said with a dramatic sigh, “but I can at least pretend. And so can you!”
“I feel like absolute chaos is going down at home,” Jeonghan confessed.
“That's why you're here and your husband is there. His sperm. His chaos. Seungcheol's a big boy. He can handle them.”
Joshua may have been wrong about pretending children didn't exist but he was right about Seungcheol. Jeonghan just needed to trust that his husband could handle them.
────୨ৎ────
“Hey, Seungcheol, what's up?”
Seungcheol lay on the floor, face down in the living room. Hansol found that if he crawled over his daddy's head from the left, he could slide down the right side. The game was thoroughly exciting for the toddler. Mingyu sat on Seungcheol’s back, bouncing up and down, stretching out the collar of the man's shirt as he used it for reigns. “Giddy yup!” He yelled, kicking Seungcheol's thigh happily.
Soonyoung, who was on the couch with Latte, calmly patted his dog's head and told him all about his best friend at school. “He's shy, he doesn't talk a lot but that's okay. I can talk for both of us. He's so cute, too. Like Appa. His favorite color is red and his birthday was last month but he didn't want to tell everyone so I have to ask Appa if we can get him a late present.”
“Seungcheol? Hello?”
Seungcheol moved his cheek, wedging the phone between his face and the floor. “Seokmin, hey, man. What's going on?”
“Just here at the house with Kwannie. How are you and the boys holding up without Jeonghan? Bet it's madness.”
Seungcheol was mildly offended, even if that was true. He was going to deny that there was any problems until Hansol yanked on a chunk of his hair and Mingyu stood up and dropped down hard on his spine. He sucked in a harsh breath and groaned.
“You okay?” Seokmin asked, concerned.
“I'm surviving. Does your sister still have that cleaning business?”
“Yeah, I'll send you her number. Everything okay?”
“Just want to clean up before Jeonghan comes home.”
Seokmin made a noise of agreement. “That'll be nice. I'll tell her to give you the friends and family discount.”
“Thanks, man. Hey, want to meet up at the park? I can get the kids out while the house gets sorted.”
Seokmin agreed and Seungcheol announced to the boys they were going out. The cheers and joy from the older boys made him smile and the confused but happy giggles from Handol made him laugh.
Seungcheol called Seokmin’s sister and arranged for an emergency cleaning. He explained the dirt - possible mud, blood, and glass situation. Seokmin's sister guaranteed her team would be thorough and not a speck would be left behind.
He'd made his own attempt at cleaning the juice stain on the carpet and only made it worse. An expedited one hour delivery was sent from Ikea with a massive rug that he'd once thought Jeonghan liked.
Satisfied that the morning had been a fluke and would be easily amended, he gathered his youngest, changing him even as Hansol kicked and batted his hands away, craning his neck and calling for ‘Appa!’
Next, Seungcheol grabbed a backpack, meticulously packing a change of clothes for each kid (as he'd seen Jeonghan do like a million times). He filled tumblers with water for the boys. He made sure Soonyoung had refilled the dog food and water and secured the dogs into their kennel. Mingyu’s laces were double knotted. Then he held Hansol’s small hand as the boy insisted on wobbling through the door instead of being carried.
He secured Hansol into the carseat and buckled Mingyu into his booster. Soonyoung had pushed his hands away telling him, “Daddy, I can buckle myself in!”
Seungcheol felt his eyes sting a little at the comment and backed away with his hands up. “Sorry, Soo-Hoshi,” he corrected when the boy opened his mouth to protest.
He buckled himself, started the car, and checked his rearview mirror. This was going to be a good outing. What could go wrong?
────୨ৎ────
Jeonghan sat on his hotel room bed, wiggling around. It was too big. He hadn't had this much space to himself in… years? Since before Soonyoung was born? Even on the nights when all three boys slept in their own beds, Seungcheol would be in bed beside him. A large octopus trapping him in his big arms and legs. They had a decent sized bed at home but this was a luxurious king with nine pillows (Jeonghan had counted) and 600 thread count cotton sheets that were cool to the touch. The down comforter that rested over the bed felt like a cloud.
As he settled his heavily pregnant body into the bed, the sound that left his lips was almost indecent. He was glad he and Joshua had opted not to share a room. His best friend was in the room next door and Jeonghan could hear Joshua’s voice as he spoke on the phone. The way his tone pitched and softened, he knew he was talking to his own husband and son.
Deciding he could check in things at home now that he was relaxed, Jeonghan reached for his phone on the side table and video called his family. Seungcheol didn't answer. He tried two more times and frowned. Even when he was busy, his husband would either answer and say he couldn't talk, or send a text saying he'd call back ASAP.
Hearing Joshua's voice in his head calling a “stalker,” Jeonghan nervously checked Seungcheol’s location, finding he was at home. For good measure, he also checked the one he'd tucked into Soonyoung's favorite pair of shoes that the boy’d been wearing every day. Both pinged at their house.
Jeonghan looked at the time and sighed. It was getting late, and it was bath time. Seungcheol was probably just trying to get the boys down for the night. Nothing to worry about.
He had scheduled morning yoga with Joshua and brunch the next day. Everything was fine. Seungcheol had it all under control.
────୨ৎ────
Seungcheol wanted to cry when he saw the lights of a familiar white Mustang pull up to the gas station he was currently at. The driver looked him up and down and shook his head with pity. Minghao had never been impressed by Seungcheol.
“We were at dinner, Choi. Those reservations took three months to get! I had to leave dinner to come rescue you.”
Seungcheol frowned. “In all fairness, Hao, I called Jun.”
Junhui, sitting in the passenger seat, laughed at the two. “Always bickering. Anyway, let's get your tank filled up.”
Junhui stepped out of his husband's car, and walked over to the pump, swiping his phone over the tap scanner. He selected a grade and inserted the handle.
“Jun, you've never looked hotter, my friend,” Seungcheol told him, leaning against the trunk and sighing dreamily. “I owe you, man. I can't believe I left my phone and wallet at home. Today's just been madness.”
“I'll have you know, you owe me!” Minghao quipped, coming to stand at the bumper between the others. “How are you going to make this up to me, Choi? How much are you willing to pay to buy my silence? I can call Jeonghan right now and tell him you have my nephews out here in the cold, at some gas station in the middle of nowhere!”
“We're in Gangnam!” Seungcheol whisper-shouted, mindful of the sleeping kids. “What do you want?”
Minghao tapped his chin with a black-painted fingernail. “Name your 4th after me.”
Seungcheol laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Can't. Jeonghan already named him.”
“Fine. It's an open I.O.U. but know that it will be massive. Lying to Jeonghan doesn't sit well with my constitution.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“Alright,” Junhui clapped. “Tank full.”
“Thank you both,” Seungcheol said, looking at Minghao pointedly.
Minghao hummed before moving to look in the backseat at the sleeping kids. “Why isn't Soonyoung wearing shoes?”
The exhausted father rubbed his face. “He took them off at the Playplace when we went to McDonald’s. And, according to him, a bandit stole them.”
“A bandit?”
Seungcheol shrugged, wrapping his jacket around himself because it was getting frosty.. “I looked. I even climbed up into the tubes but they were gone. I'm just glad they weren't his favorite pair. He would have thrown a fit.”
“Are you driving all the way home?” Junhui asked. All the way being the forty or so minutes it would take them to get out of the city and to their nice little slice of suburbia.
Seungcheol frowned. “Yeah. Hopefully, traffic isn't too bad. What time is it anyway?”
Junhui checked his watch. “Half past ten.”
“Why are they wearing such thin jackets?” Minghao asked, lines deepening on his brow as Mingyu shifted closer to Soonyoung. “Why is my godson shivering?”
Seungcheol ran to the driver seat and turned on the car, hicking the heater up full blast.
The younger man glared. “Come to our apartment, stay the night. You are not subjecting these babies to more of your poor decisions.”
“I am offended,” Seungcheol said with a pout.
“Good,” Minghao shot back. “Junhui, love, get in the car.”
Junhui shook his head, used to his husband and best friend's antics. “See you at the apartment," he said, clapping Seungcheol on the shoulder.
────୨ৎ────
The sound was the perfect indicator that something was amiss behind the door. To be clear, it was the lack of sound from the other side of the door.
Jeonghan hesitated for a moment before he punched in his code and the door beeped loudly as it unlocked. Yapping met his ears first, Latte running around his legs excitedly. Kkuma trudged over and nestled into his ankle, rubbing her face as if she were exhausted. Jeonghan slipped off his shoes and gently rubbed each dog with his foot. There was no way to bend down and scratch behind their ears like this.
Jeonghan shoved his shoes to the side and noticed that the usual mess of adult shoes down to Hansol's tiny Converse was not there. He reached over and opened the closet, amazed to find everyone's shoes in order. Seungcheol's black polished loafers, his own bubble slides, Soonyoung's favorite neon green Vans, Mingyu’s Lightning McQueen velcro trainers… every shoe they owned was lined up in neat rows. Jeonghan didn't think he'd ever seen that.
“When did he do this?” He asked aloud and Latte yipped before running off.
Kkuma stayed, beady black eyes staring at him before she whined and then began to bark. Jeonghan had the oddest feeling he was being reprimanded.
“I'm sorry?” He offered the white pup. Her snort said, ‘you should be.’
Jeonghan hesitantly took a step into the living room and felt his breath catch. It was spotless. Maybe even cleaner than he'd left it. He blinked, stunned because that was impossible. He spent most of his waking hours trying to keep this place from being completely destroyed. Soonyoung liked to use the pillows and cushions as islands. Mingyu would try to follow and end up taking a tumble somewhere then crying.
Hansol would watch his brothers and crawl after them as fast as he could, all the while dragging whatever mashed up snack was in his hand along the floor.
The couch was in order, the cushions even fluffed. There was a new throw rug, one that Jeonghan had seen at Ikea but was too hesitant to purchase because it wasn't just expensive, the fabric was not child friendly. He appreciated that at least Seungcheol had paid attention when he made an offhand comment about liking it, even if it was impractical for their home.
A nagging feeling in his stomach kept telling him something was off. Jeonghan couldn't hear the kids and thought maybe they weren't home. Seungcheol liked to take the boys to his parents house when he could. Though he usually took Jeonghan too, or at least told him he would be leaving.
“Where is everyone?” He asked the dogs. Kkuma still looked upset at him and Latte tilted his fuzzy little head to the side, the question perplexing him.
The kitchen, like the living room, was spotless. The stainless steel appliances even sparkled in the daylight. There were no tiny fingerprints, no pile of superhero cups next to the sink, no takeout containers… Seungcheol’s phone and wallet sat in the middle neatly. Jeonghan's suspicions grew.
“Seungcheol? Hoshi?” He called from the kitchen but no one answered him. If they heard his voice, the boys would come running. Hansol would yell. He was the favorite parent and they all knew it.
Jeonghan went through the rest of the house and it all looked clinically clean. The sweet smell of strawberries and honey even scented the bedrooms.
Jeonghan walked back into the living room and sat next to Kkuma with a groan. “Something funny is going on here, right? I'm not going crazy, right?”
Kkuma didn't respond.
────୨ৎ────
When the boys had woken up to find they were at the Wen-Xu apartment, they were ecstatic.
Minghao always let them dabble in his paints, careless of the mess their little hands made. There was even a frame on one wall where Mingyu, just learning to walk, had slapped a red painted hand against the wall. Minghao had declared it the most expensive piece of art he owned.
Soonyoung gravitated to Junhui because the man had an extensive collection of weapons memorabilia. Any devout Jackie Chan fan should own a set of autographed nunchucks, he reasoned. He had procured a sling shot and a target and was letting the boy shoot to his heart's content.
Their minimalist apartment had a silver tinsel tree with no decorations. It was something out of a magazine. Hansol was immediately mesmerized. Hansol always found a new piece of art to sit in front of and just stare at. Seungcheol would have worried if Jeonghan hadn't explained he was just inquisitive and liked the colors.
Seungcheol slept in, grateful for his friends.
They'd stayed for most the day before Seungcheol realized they really ought to go home. He thanked his friends profusely, and bundled the boys up. Somehow, Minghao found an old pair of shoes that fit Soonyoung. Minghao had hurried them out when Junhui asked where he'd found them.
“They were signed by Yang Mi. But they're hideous. Don't tell him, and I won't tell your husband you almost turned your sons into popsicles.”
Seungcheol glowered. “Deal.”
────୨ৎ────
Seungcheol checked the time before deciding he had a second to make a last minute stop. Each pregnancy had come with a different craving. With Soonyoung it was kimchi made by this grandmother who ran a stall in Daegu. Thankfully, his parents came often enough to keep him in stock. With Mingyu, it was bitter plum juice - it reeked and Seungcheol loathed serving glasses of it. Hansol had been the oddest by far - strawberry jam slathered between two burger patties with maple syrup and gochujang; they playfully called it the forbidden hamburger.
So far, Chan was the easiest - watermelon juice. Easy. Delicious for the whole family. Unfortunately, out of season in December. Fortunately, frozen concentrate existed. Jun had also given him some cash because you never know…
“We need to go to the market. We're only grabbing some juice for Appa and we're going home. Don't ask for junk, don't wander off - Mingyu, do you hear me?”
Mingyu jumped in his seat, pulling his hand back from where he had been playing with Hansol's toes. “Huh?”
“Come on, bud, I need you to pay attention.”
“But brother…”
“Daddy, he was just playing with Hansollie. We're trying to keep him awake so he's not cranky when we get home,” Soonyoung told him, scrunching his brows as he defended his little brother.
“Thanks, hyung,” Mingyu whispered, smiling brightly and showing off his newly missing front tooth.
Seungcheol frowned. Hansol shouted something incoherent and Mingyu hurried to start making faces at him.
Soonyoung crossed his arms. “We can wait in the car. I'm big enough. I can take care of us.”
Seungcheol grimaced. “I don't think that's a good idea, Hoshi. Let's all go together. We run in, then go home and wait for Appa.”
“Fine!” The tone was a little too sassy for Seungcheol's liking.
The parking lot wasn't busy but Seungcheol made sure to park a ways away to avoid someone opening their door too wide. It was bad enough his interior looked like a bomb went off, the outside didn't need to match.
He unbuckled Hansol and pulled the toddler out of the seat. Hansol's head lulled and Seungcheol knew he was on the verge of sleep. He carried him to the other side of the car and opened the door for Soonyoung who jumped out. Mingyu, keen on always copying his big brother, jumped out behind him. The sound of Mingyu's body connecting with the ground made Seungcheol's teeth ache.
Mingyu screamed. Hansol started crying. Soonyoung reached for the baby telling his father, “See, we should have stayed in the car.”
Seungcheol gave him a side eye as he collected Mingyu, using his own T-shirt to wipe away the blood from his busted lip. “Little man, what am I gonna do with you?”
Mingyu tucked himself into his daddy's chest and sobbed. “I want Appa.”
“I do, too. Let's just go home.”
A screaming, sleep deprived Hansol was clicked back into his car seat. Mingyu sat next to him but leaned into Soonyoung who was hugging him. “It's okay, brother, we're going to go see Appa.”
Mingyu smiled at Soonyoung, and Seungcheol felt his stomach lurch at the now two holes in the boy's smile.
────୨ৎ────
“Babies?” Jeonghan's voice greeted them the moment the door opened.
“Appa!!” Soonyoung yelled, pushing past his father who was barely balancing a sleeping Hansol on one shoulder and a drowsy Mingyu on the other.
Soonyoung crashed into Jeonghan, hugging him as best as he could around his baby bump. Jeonghan held his first baby tight, bringing Soonyoung down onto the couch with him. “I missed you, my little Tiger. Did you have fun with Daddy? What did you do while I was gone?”
Jeonghan looked up when Seungcheol came into the living room. He noticed the smaller boys asleep on his shoulders first and then gasped when he saw the blood on his shirt. “What happened?”
Seungcheol grimaced, leaning down to offer Hansol to Jeonghan who took him carefully and examined his sleeping face for any sign of injury. The youngest stirred in his arms and Jeonghan settled him on his stomach, Hansol's new favorite position. He felt Chan give a little bump from the inside.
“There was an accident. Mingyu jumped out of the car.”
“He what?!” Jeonghan frantically grabbed for the boy and his eyes widened when Mingyu was set on his free side, bloody but sleeping. “What the,” he mouthed the F word at his husband, “Choi Seungcheol?”
Seungcheol frowned. But it was Soonyoung who rescued him. “Brother jumped, Daddy was holding Hansol. It was an accident.”
Jeonghan pouted, then nodded and kissed Soonyoung's forehead. “I see. Thank you for explaining, baby.”
“I literally just told you it was an accident!” Seungcheol hissed.
Jeonghan glared at him.
Seungcheol felt tension leave him as Jeonghan took charge. He changed Hansol and put him to bed without the toddler so much as cracking an eye open. Soonyoung was showered and tucked into bed, with Seungcheol reading him a bedtime story and promising him a trip to the toy store for coming in clutch. Soonyoung had no idea what his father was talking about.
Mingyu woke up while Jeonghan was gently wiping dried blood away with a warm washcloth. He smiled softly, mouth closed when he realized who was cleaning him. “Appa, you're home,” he said with a yawn behind his hand, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, baby. Hyung said you took a tumble today. How are you feeling?”
“My toof hurts,” he said, yawning fully now, jaw wide. Jeonghan gasped at the missing teeth.
“Oh, baby. It looks like you hit your mouth when you fell. You'll be okay though, just making room for your big boy teeth.”
Mingyu nodded, eyes closing. “Appa, will Santa Claus still bring me gifts since I didn't listen when Daddy told me not to jump off the count-”
“Of course he will!” Seungcheol cut in with a choked laugh. He took Mingyu from the couch and tucked the boy’s face into his neck. “Come on, bud, let me read you a bedtime story. I got this, babe. Go get changed for bed.” He waved Jeonghan away when he made to follow.
Jeonghan raised an eyebrow. He went to the kitchen to dump out the bowl of water and wring out the washcloth he’d used to clean Mingyu’s little face. The too clean kitchen still felt off. He ignored it in favor of sitting on the couch and waiting for Seungcheol. He had turned off the lights and lit the Christmas tree, watching the bulbs twinkle. The longer he stared, the more something didn’t look right. His eyes narrowed. Something was missing.
He got up to examine the tree closer when his foot caught in the new rug and it flipped, revealing a purple stain on the cream carpet. With an annoyed huff, Jeonghan went into the kitchen to get the carpet cleaner. He knew the new rug was too good to be true.
Seungcheol's phone chimed on the counter and Jeonghan picked it up, expecting a game notification or a late call from his father-in-law. What he hadn't expected was the text from an unknown number declaring, “Thank you for letting us service you today! We were able to remove the blood stains from the tile and we found your son's tooth. We placed it in a plastic bag on top of the refrigerator. We were unable to piece the ornament back together, it's in a box beside the tooth. Please contact us again, we'd love to clean your home regularly. Banjjak-Banjjak Cleaners.”
The irate spasm that ticked above Jeonghan's left eye was dangerous. He turned and reached above the edge of the fridge finding the bag and box in question. He set them on the counter and shut his eyes, taking a measured breath.
“Babe!” Seungcheol called, walking into the kitchen and smiling at his husband. He slipped his arms around him, taking some of the weight off his stomach. “What’s wrong? Chan, are you giving Appa a hard time tonight? Did you let him rest at all?”
“Why,” Jeonghan started, in a tone that set off alarms in Seungcheol’s head, “were there blood stains on the tiles?”
Seungcheol froze.
“Why is Mingyu's tooth in this bag and what's in here?” Jeonghan shook the box, the tinkling of glass sounding too loud.
“I can explain?” He offered, weakly.
“You can explain from the couch - after you bring my babies to my bed so I can cuddle them.”
“But-”
“That wasn’t a request.”
“I’m sorry,” Seungacheol said with a pout, walking back to the room he’d just come from to begin moving the boys into the master bedroom. “Can I at least lay with you all?” Jeonghan crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll sleep on the couch… um, I brought you watermelon juice and I love you!”
Jeonghan rolled his eyes, waving him out “Go away.”