Archive of Our Own

“I’ve been curious for quite a while…” 

“About what?”

“Why don’t you and your siblings look alike?”

An innocent question was asked by Geumjae’s classmate and best friend, Hyungsuk, out of the blue when the latter was invited to their house to hangout and do some homework.

“We’ve literally been friends for like 2 years and you only asked now?” Geumjae rolled his eyes at the curious boy in front of him, not looking away from the assignment they’re working on. God, he hates maths so much.

“I know but I didn’t want to pry..!” Hyungsuk answered while pouting, throwing the pencil he was holding to the side, frustrated at the question that he had been solving for quite some time now.

“Ugh, I’m so bored and this homework sucks… Can’t we take a break and just tell me your family’s story? It’s been bugging my mind and I thought it would be rude if I asked you the first time I met your family, so I didn’t. But now I wanna know! Tell me!” The boy with glasses stood up and sat beside Geumjae, shaking him unforgivingly that the poor boy became dizzy.

“Cut it out!” Geumjae exclaimed and playfully pushed the older boy away, “Geez you’re extra annoying when you’re bored!”

Hyungsuk stuck his tongue out to which Geumjae did the same.

“Come on, tell me!!”

“Fine! It’s not like I’m hiding it anyway… It’s just that it takes so long to uncover it one by one,” Geumjae puffed his cheeks, “Plus it’ll take too long we might not finish our homework.”

“No one cares about that homework—”

“Our moms do.”

“Whatever! Uncle Hyeonie and mama will understand. Just tell meee~!” Hyungsuk whined.

Geumjae can only sigh. There is no escaping this situation when Hyungsuk whines like this. He knows his best friend to the core by now and a whining Hyungsuk will not give up until he gets what he wants. His mom would always look at the child fondly and tell him that he takes this attitude from his mother, Minseok.

“Okay, okay! I don’t know where to start though..?”

“Hmm maybe start with Seungmin hyungie? I saw him a while ago and gave me candies," Hyungsuk showed the candies he had in his pocket, "But when I was about to thank him, he just disappeared! Can he teleport or something?”

The younger chuckled, “It’s because hyungie is kinda shy and takes it from his dad and our mama combined. That’s like… double shyness in one!” Geumjae answered, affectionately thinking about his hyung, “But he’s the best big brother and always looks out for us~!”

“Is his dad uncle Junnie?” the boy with glasses asked, curious.

“No no~ we have different dads, same as my other siblings. Seungminnie hyungie's papa is uncle Kiin! You've met him, right?"

"OH! Small uncle Kiinie?"

Geumjae nodded, "Yep, he's quiet and shy but really gets funny when mama and papa's around."

"Anyway, we have different papas but we all consider papa Junnie as our dad!”

“Eh?! Then how many papas do you all have then?” Hyungsuk is interested now, wanting more details from the information he was being given.

Geumjae lifted four fingers.

“Four?! Isn’t that like kinda fun?! Four papas who can play with you!” 

“Uh-huh! But to be honest with you, I don’t get to hang out with them a lot, especially uncle Jihoonie…” the younger boy thought, “Uncle Kiinie, and uncle Hyeokkie, Hyeonjunnie hyung’s dad though, usually visit us here and both of them give us toys and food when they drop by.” Geumjae explained, attempting to pick up his pencil again to try and finish their assignment.

“Oh, yeah I know uncle Hyeokkie too. So he's part of your familiy too, huh?” Hyungsuk put his pointer finger on his chin, thinking, “But I haven’t met uncle Jihoonie— is that correct?”

Geumjae nodded.

“I haven’t met uncle Jihoonie throughout the years that we have been friends,” the older boy continued, “Is he like you know…”

“Like what?”

“Like,” Hyungsuk acted and stuck his tongue to the side, his head slightly tilted.

Geumjae bursted out laughing, “What!? No, he is not dead. Oh my gosh Hyungsuk where did that even come from!?”

“What? I just thought he was because I’ve never seen him in like n years and you haven’t seen him in n years so am I wrong to think that?!” Hyungsuk argued.

“No, no, he keeps in touch with Wannie hyungie,” Geumjae answered, still clutching his tummy from laughing too much, “I get to say hi to him from time to time when I see them video call each other… I’m not sure why he doesn’t visit often though..?” 

“Can you show me a picture of uncle Jihoonie? I wanna see if he and Wannie hyung look alike!” 

Geumjae ran to his cabinet and rummaged through it. Once he saw his tablet, he walked back to Hyungsuk and sat beside him. He scrolled through his tablet, which he was secretly allowed to use by his papa Junnie. Oh his mama will be furious with his papa if he finds out he allowed him to use a gadget on a weekday and at study hour so he looked for Jihoon’s picture together with Suhwan as fast as he could. He showed a photo of two people at the park, a tall man holding a child in his arms, showing a cat-like smile, with crescents forming on both people's eyes.

“Oh Wannie hyung does look like him!” Hyungsuk pointed at the picture of the two people smiling, “Also, is uncle Jihoonie secretly a cat?” Geumjae was dumbfounded by the question.

“I swear! Maybe he transforms into a cat which is why he doesn’t get to visit often?”

“Hyungsukkie are you hearing yourself?”

“No, no but think of it—”

“Don’t even dare finish that thought because, no, that's not remotely possible!” Geumjae now gave up on the homework he was trying to finish. Telling his family’s history is tiring enough.

As he was about to hide his tablet, a knock on the door was heard and a familiar voice rang behind it. 

“Honey, I have snacks for both you and Hyungsukkie here~ Is it alright to open the door?” His mama’s soft voice echoed. 

Geumjae panicked a little because he was still holding the tablet that wasn’t supposed to be there but he was not about to let his papa sleep on the couch that day so he hurriedly hid the tablet under the foam of his bed.

Seeing the younger boy panic made Hyungsuk panic too so he whispered ‘hurry up’ a little too loudly to which Hyeonjoon indistinctly caught.

Hyeonjoon heard the rush of tiny steps inside the room and got curious, “Baby? Is everything okay? I’m gonna open the door now.” but before he could open the door, Geumjae was quicker.

“Hi mama…” Geumjae waved awkwardly at his mama, “W-we were just finishing something so I wasn’t able to open the door right away.”

Hyeonjoon sweetly smiled at his son, “It’s okay, baby. Mama just wanted to drop by and give both of you some afternoon snacks,” he added, affectionately ruffling Geumjae’s hair.

Hyeonjoon went inside his son’s room and set the snacks he prepared on the study table. He scanned through the room and ended up looking at the young boys’ homework that was left unfinished.

“Do both of you need help?” he curiously looked at the two boys elbowing each other and whispering incoherent words. Both of the boys shook their heads simultaneously to which Hyeonjoon smiled at, “Okay then I’ll leave both of you now~ Don’t hesitate to ask me for help or if you need anything okay? I’m just downstairs.” He gently pinched both of the boys’ cheeks and fondly tousled their hair.

As he was about to leave, Geumjae took his mama’s fingers with both of his hands, stopping the tall man in his tracks, “Mama can I ask something?” 

Hyeonjoon looked down at his son and smiled, “What is it baby?” he crouched down to level his gaze with his son’s eyes, still holding his hands and gently rubbing it.

“Uhm, why hasn’t uncle Jihoonie visited us? Like I see him in pictures and when Wannie hyungie video calls him but he hasn’t really come here…”

The older man was taken aback with his son’s unexpected question. A sudden wave of sadness hit him but he shrugged the feeling off by beaming warmly at his son, “It’s because uncle Jihoonie is busy and couldn’t come that often, baby. Why? Do you want to meet him?” Hyeonjoon answered his son calmly.

“I mean if it’s possible why not? I wanna meet Wannie hyungie’s papa too. He seems nice~”

His mama nodded and agreed, “He is nice.”

The sudden question surprised him but it piqued his interest as to why his son was asking this.

“Why are you suddenly asking mama this?” Hyeonjoon stood up and dusted his pants as he asked.

Hyungsuk, mouth full with snacks, joined in the conversation and raised his hands, “Icht’s bwecuz ay ashked—,” he swallowed his food properly before continuing, remembering that his mama told him not to speak with his mouth full, “It’s because I asked him about why him and his brothers don’t look alike.”

“Ah, that’s reasonable. Have you finished telling him yet though?” Hyeonjoon joked, looking at his son who looked defeated and tired from diving into their family’s history. 

It’s actually quite funny when people ask his sons about their family because to be honest, their family isn’t the most normal one out there. It’s a big family and telling their history from start to finish can be exhausting (coming from his experience). Imagine sharing it to multiple people.

“Hang in there, baby, you’ll finish it eventually~!” Hyeonjoon chuckled, “Anyway, I won’t bother the both of you now. Have fun and enjoy your snacks. Don’t forget to finish your homework. Minseokkie asked me about your progress a while ago.” The older man waved at both of them and left the room. 

“I told you our moms would ask about the homework.” Geumjae looked at Hyungsuk and smirked at him.

“Ugh, whatever!”

After leaving the boys, Hyeonjoon went downstairs and walked to the kitchen. He coincidentally saw his husband opening the fridge and scanning through it. As soon as Hyeonjun got what he wanted, the latter was caught off guard when he heard a loud ‘ahem’ behind him. With a jolt, he turned around to see where it came from and saw his wife leaning at the doorway with his arms crossed, eyes squinted at him.

“You have some explaining to do, mister.”

Hyeonjun was stunned. What was there to explain? He was just taking a drink out of the fridge and it’s just water. So he isn’t guilty about anything at all and he definitely doesn’t have any explaining to do…

Right..?

His mind was now running miles per hour on what his wife was demanding from him. Oh god, he doesn’t want his beautiful, adorable, round, and cute wife mad!

“I—”

“I just saw Geumjae’s tablet underneath the foam of his bed,” Hyeonjoon sighs and massages his temples, “I swear to god you spoil your sons too much..!”

“But jagi it’s almost the weekend anyway and he’s having Hyungsuk over,” Hyeonjun argued, rubbing the back of his neck, guilty at what he did and was caught red handed, “And isn’t that supposed to help them bond more~ I just want them to bond more, yeah!”

“No buts!” The older man huffs, “If this happens again you will have to sleep together with one of your sons and not beside me. I do not want to share a bed with a sneaky bastard who doesn’t like following house rules!” 

Upon hearing this, Hyeonjun’s eyes went wide and he was quick on his feet, running towards his wife. His immediate response was to appease his beautiful-adorable-round-and-cute wife by hugging him, playfully swaying both of them side to side.

“Noooo~ Sorry, jagiya, I won’t do it again I promise!” Hyeonjun faked a cry,  “It’s just that he was so cute that I couldn’t resist him when he pleaded to use his tablet just for today. You can’t blame me! How could I resist a carbon copy of us with his cute cheeks puffed like yours—” The younger man’s rambling was cut short when Hyeonjoon pinched his ears and was replaced with endless ‘ouches.’

“So you admit. You spoil your sons too much!” Hyeonjoon rolled his eyes, still holding his husband’s ear.

“I didn’t even deny it in the first place hehe…”

“Oh my god just shut up! My head already hurts from Geumjae’s sudden question and now I have to listen to all of your rambling.” The older man gently pushed his husband back and loudly sighed.

“Eh? What’s wrong, jagiya? What did Geumjae ask you?” Hyeonjun was serious now that his wife expressed his discomfort.

“He asked about Jihoonie… I didn’t know what to answer and just told him he was busy.”

And Hyeonjun already understood.

He recalled the history between Jihoon and his wife and looked at him with a sympathetic smile. He cupped his wife’s face and gently caressed his cheeks, a soft reminder that he’s here and he’ll never leave unannounced. Both already reconciled and made amends which was why Jihoon had the chance to meet Suhwan. Hyeonjoon was adamant not to make them meet at first but when he and Hyeonjun got together, the younger man convinced him to do so because it would not only be unfair to Jihoon, but also to their son if Hyeonjoon kept Suhwan's father hidden from him. Hence, they made arrangements to let Jihoon meet Suhwan and spend time with him because Hyeonjoon wouldn’t like to deprive his son of the existence of his father.

Hyeonjoon is thankful to Hyeonjun for accepting his sons wholeheartedly and for stepping up when they needed one. Their sons all treat him as their real papa now and love him as much as they love their mama.

“Okay we already went through Seungminnie hyung and Wannie hyung, how about Hyeonjunnie hyung?” Hyungsuk counted with his fingers.

“Heh,” Geumjae munches, “We mostly call him Midir hyungie here because when my brothers and I call him, both papa and mama also turn their heads and answer a ‘hm?’ All of us kept on correcting them that we were looking for hyungie,” the younger boy laughed as he recalled a funny memory, “But don’t tell him I told you! It’s just a family nickname and he doesn’t really like it but it makes it easier to get his attention instead of mama and papa.”

“What’s wrong with Midir? It sounds cool though?”

“Because he argues that he’s not ‘Mid,’” The younger man rolls his eyes, “Mama says he’s just having a ‘phase’ and he’ll get over it soon. It was uncle Hyeokkie who suggested it.”

Hyungsuk chuckled, “Uncle Hyeokkie is really funny at times and just says whatever~ He even called me ‘Career’ because I was carrying Doongi’s carrier when he saw me and mama going to the vet clinic.”

Geumjae looked confused and tilted his head, “What does that even mean?”

“Carrying a carrier. Car-ier. Career. Get it?”

A moment of silence enveloped the room before both of them burst out laughing. 

Uncle Hyeokkie and his dad jokes are really something he takes pride in and lives to heart.

Once they had their fill, both Geumjae and Hyungsuk shifted back their focus to finishing their homework. After a gruesome hour or two, they successfully finished it without asking for help and they were proud of themselves. 

The younger boy stretched his arms and exhaled a little too loudly. He plopped himself on the floor and closed his eyes for a bit. They’re finally done for the day and all he wants to do is to relax and or take a nap.

Hyungsuk on the other hand…

“Don’t think we’re done yet!” 

“What now Hyungsukkie…” 

“I wanna know about you and Eunhoo. He’s your real sibling, right?” The older boy was cut and corrected by the younger.

“They’re all my real siblings Hyungsukkie. We might have different papas but we have one mama and I love all of them equally~” Geumjae hummed, “But what about me and Eunhoo?”

“Nothing. It’s just kind of cute that both of you are a perfect mix of uncle Hyeonie and uncle Junnie, like reaaally perfect! Even both of your personalities.”

“A lot of people say that and I can’t deny it because it’s true… Uncle Minhyung even told me I got my papa’s long patience because I tolerate you a lot—”

“Hey!”

The younger boy laughed at the older boy’s protest, “But yeah, my papa’s really patient. Imagine having to take care of five rowdy children, three of which aren’t of the same blood but still treat them as his own? He’s a great papa and he’s always there for all of us, even mama.”

“Uncle Junnie is sooo cool. Mama and dada kept on praising him at times because when uncle Hyeonie would visit our house complaining about his round tummy and how extra clingy uncle Junnie was with him, I would see uncle Junnie coming in sweating, arms full of snacks, all of which were Uncle Hyeonie’s cravings,” Hyungsuk laughed at the memory, “I would always hear him thank uncle Hyeonie for giving him another blessing? Something like that.”

“Ah, papa can be icky dramatic at times especially when it involves mama.”

Hyungsuk nods, “My mom also complains about him too when you guys leave after visiting us. He keeps on complaining that uncle Junnie is so whiny and clingy.”

“Imagine us having to hear our papa praise and adore our mama all the time,” Geumjae looked annoyed as he said that but deep inside, he really adores his papa on how much he loves their mama. 

He will always be grateful for his papa who’s always there to help mama Hyeonie when he was carrying his baby brother, Eunhoo. He heard the endless strings of complaints from his mama back then, but papa Junnie would always be there, fondly listening, even when it becomes redundant, comfort him when mood swings arise, support him when things get difficult, and care for their mama when he needs it.

By the time the boys finished their homework and hangout session, it was already evening and chirps of cicadas filled the silence outside.

The Moon-Choi household, however, is nothing short of silent. It was dinnertime and that meant the family of seven will all be together in one place. It was decided that Hyungsuk, alongside his parents, will join them at dinner so the moment they heard the door bell ring, they already knew who it would be.

Hyeonjoon was the one who opened the door, “Hi Minseokkie. Hi Minhyungie! Come in, come in~”

“My sweet Hyeonjoonie hyung I missed you!” Minseok hugged the taller man as soon as he saw him to which Minhyung chuckled at.

“You just saw him the other day, babe.”

The small man rolled his eyes, still hugging Hyeonjoon, “So what? I’m still allowed to miss Hyeonjoonie hyung.” He ended with a huff.

“Hi Hyeonjoonie hyung. We brought some food too~ I hope Hyungsukkie didn’t trouble you.”

Hyeonjoon smiled at Minhyung, “Oh no need to worry about that. Hyungsukkie has been a pleasure. I don’t know about Geumjae though.” 

Hearing that comment made the three of them laugh. 

The eldest beckoned the two to come inside and lead them to their dining area where the Moon-Choi family gathered plus Hyungsuk. The moment Minseok peeked and yelled an enthusiastic hi, Hyungsuk was the first one to greet him then the rest followed. Minhyung followed right behind his wife and smiled at everyone.

“Hi mama! Hi dada!” Hyungsuk stood up from his seat and ran to hug both of his parent’s legs.

“Hi uncle Minseokkie! Hi uncle Minghyungie” Seungmin, Suhwan, and Midir greeted first.

“Hi uncle Seokkie and uncle Hyungie.” Geumjae and Eunhoo followed suit.

“Took both of you long enough.” Hyeonjun smirked and stood up to greet the two.

Minseok scoffed, “Is that how you treat your guests!? Hyeonjoonie hyung, Hyeonjunnie is being mean again!” 

Hyeonjoon could only laugh at the sight of the two bickering and Minhyung only shook his head. It’s quite nostalgic when they gather together like this because nothing really changed except for the fact that they’re already married and have children of their own.

The dinner went smoothly as planned and the family of three bid their farewell and gratitude to the Moon-Choi family.

“We’ll come and hang out again soon~ I hope Sanghyeokkie hyung can be there with us too!” Minseok said as he waved his hand.

“Thanks again for taking care of our Hyungsukkie. I hope Geumjae enjoyed his company too despite our boy being whiny at times.”

A tiny ‘hey!’ was heard when Minhyung said this to which the taller man chuckled at. He really gets the attitude from his mom.

“Hyungsukkie is welcome at our home anytime. All of my boys love him anyway,” Hyeonjun replied.

“We’ll try visiting you guys too when we can. It’s just that taking care of five boys can be a handful at times. And sometimes make it six because someone can be a handful too,” Hyeonjoon smirked and elbowed the man beside him holding his waist.

“Must be hard, huh?” Minseok answered, trying to stifle a laugh. 

Hyeonjun scoffed at Minseok’s reply but immediately turned his attention to the tall man beside him, “Jagiya, you do not mean that right?” he looked at his wife and pouted.

Hyeonjoon tried to side eye his husband but folded, “I’m just kidding, jagi~ You’re a big help when the boys and I need it. Literally and figuratively.” 

“Get a room…” Minhyung fake gagged at the couple in front of him.

Hyungsuk, who was listening through their back and forth, cut the teasing and seriously asked, “Dada, aren’t both you and mama like that too? Like mama saying you’re annoying and a handful but still let you do what you want anyway?”

The Hyeonjoon duo looked at each other as little Hyungsuk said that and both of them burst out laughing at Minseok and Minhyung who were now red in embarrassment.

“Anywaaay,” Minseok changed the topic, “We’re gonna leave now. We still have to prepare Hyungsuk’s stuff for school.”

“Say bye to uncle Hyeonie and uncle Junnie.” 

“Bye bye uncles~!” Hyungsuk waved at the two. He noticed that the siblings were also peeking and shouted his goodbyes at them with an enthusiastic wave. The siblings waved back at him and said their farewells as well.

The family of three left with both of them holding Hyungsuk's hands. Indistinct chatter can be heard from the three of them, mostly coming from the little one.

Bedtime was easier than usual, mostly because their children were tired from their classes and from the gathering a while ago. With their kids in bed, the couple found themselves spending the rest of the night together just enjoying each other’s company.

“Did Geumjae get to finish telling our family’s story?” Hyeonjun suddenly asked.

“I think so. He looked really tired today and was mostly zoning out during dinner,” Hyeonjoon giggled as he recalled how his son was fighting for his life to stay awake at dinner.

“Him snoring as soon as he plopped on his bed makes sense now.” It was now Hyeonjun’s turn to laugh.

“I can’t blame him, our family’s far from normal…” Hyeonjoon's train of thought trailed and he suddenly felt sentimental and became quiet. The younger man felt the shift in his wife’s mood and peered at him.

“Hm? Honey what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really. I just… feel thankful for you,” Hyeonjoon fondly looked at his husband, “You accepted me despite my… difficult and complicated situation. I know it’s hard accepting my past and taking care of children that aren’t your blood but you still stayed for us and cared for them as if they’re your own.”

“It’s not hard loving someone as hardworking and lovable as you,” Hyeonjun replied, “Plus you made it easier to love our sons too because you raised them so well on your own,” Hyeonjun scooted closer to his wife and kissed the back of his hands, “You’ve endured enough that’s why I’m here to lift the burden off of your shoulders… Even just a little.”

Hyeonjoon’s heart swelled at his husband’s words and was tearing up, “Stop that, Junnie, you’re making me cry!” he chuckled and wiped the tears that were forming.

The younger man fondly laughed at Hyeonjoon’s reaction and looked at him, unconsciously rubbing the wedding ring on his wife’s finger, “I love you. Thank you for letting me in your life— in your sons’ lives. It was the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m happy that we can have children of our own too.”

“I love you too, Junnie. I don’t think words can express how much I love and appreciate you for everything that you’ve done for me—for our family.”