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Chapter Text

“Joong have you loaded all the bags?”

“For the last time Hwa, I did that hours ago. I’ve been waiting for you to round the kids up” Hongjoong lightly snickers. Seonghwa huffs back jokingly, “Well excuse me for being the only competent parent around here.” He had just finished double checking the kids backpacks that they would be taking on the plane.

Hongjoong only chuckles, picking up San who happened to be running past him. “I wanted to help. You’re the one who put me in charge of ‘travel logistics’ as you so eloquently put it, as if I haven’t been raising these gremlins for the past 7 years.”

“I thought we agreed not to refer to them as gremlins in front of them” Seonghwa replies easily, momentarily looking up from the contents of his own bag. It was a new Balenciaga tote gifted to him by his husband in celebration of their trip, no doubt filled with disinfectant supplies for germy hands and extra snacks for their hockey team of children.

Hongjoong simply rolls his eyes playfully. “Whatever, I’m going to heat up the car,” he gently puts down San who had been squirming, trying to kick an oblivious Yeosang in the head. “Train is leaving the station in fifteen minutes,” he calls over his shoulder before letting the front door click shut behind him.

“Mama! We gotta hurry or the train will leave without us!” Wooyoung yells, finally getting up from his spot on the kitchen floor where he’d been watching Pororo on Seonghwa’s phone to calm down during all the chaos. As Seonghwa watches San dive bomb onto the couch, he wonders if he should have set him up with some Netflix as well.

“Don’t worry baby, daddy was just teasing. We’re taking a plane anyway, remember?” Seonghwa explains as he starts preparing to dress the kids for the unforgiving Toronto winter.

“Ohhh yeah” Wooyoung amends, peering up at Seonghwa with his doe eyes that resemble sweet little boba balls. He and Jongho are at least similar in one aspect Seonghwa muses as Wooyoung hands him his phone in exchange for his winter coat. Seonghwa finishes zipping up Mingi’s jacket for him before turning to Jongho and then Wooyoung to do the same. Thankfully the other three have mastered the tedious task of ‘bundling up,’ even having their beanies secured over their tiny ears.

Seonghwa shrugs on his own thick fur coat, refusing to give up airport fashion for practicality. Just because he was a parent of 6 didn’t mean he had to dress like one, especially since he hadn’t even reached thirty. Yet.

He begins distributing the backpacks on the kitchen counter to their respective owners; the whole ordeal being meticulously planned by Seonghwa in advance. Each child’s travel bags are color coded so him and Hongjoong don’t have to rip their hair out over keeping track of the family’s 16 pieces of luggage. Yunho’s is yellow, Yeosang’s light blue, San’s purple, Mingi’s green, Wooyoung’s pink, and Jongho’s red. Seonghwa was so relieved when they each chose a different color, there was no need for fights or crying, it was honestly a miracle.

Next came the most difficult part: shoes. Luckily most of the older kids have velcro tennis shoes they can put on themselves with minimal assistance. It just takes a bit of time. Seonghwa mulls over the option of boots instead, but quickly rejects it as there is no snow outside and he is 99% sure at least half of them will complain about hot feet once they enter the heated airport. As he finishes fastening Jongho and Wooyoung’s shoes, he hears Yunho’s voice calling him.

“Mama, I messed up my shoes.” Seonghwa turns to see Yunho’s shoes indeed, a bit messed up. Being 7 years old, they had decided to buy Yunho shoes with laces as they taught him how to tie knots. It’s safe to say he’s still learning. Seonghwa bends over the jumbled blue laces and quickly fixes them as an impatient, whining Mingi leans against his hunched back. He vaguely sees Wooyoung swatting the fur ball attached to Yeosang’s cream tuque out of the corner of his eye. It’s not only Mingi who’s becoming impatient. They need to get moving.

“We’re leaving soon sweetie, I promise, but you got to let Mama up so I can put my shoes on too” he consoles Mingi while petting his hair. It seems to work as Mingi reluctantly detaches himself, allowing Seonghwa to swiftly slip on his own leather boots. Unlike his kids, Seonghwa could deal with a bit of discomfort as long as he looked good. After making sure everyone is still gathered in the foyer, he begins herding them out.

Locking the door, he lets the kids out in front of him, reminding them to hold hands and stick together. Yunho immediately takes the lead, knowing the way better than any of them as the oldest. Seonghwa gently smiles at his cute band of children as they make the short walk to the elevator that will take them to the parking garage below their apartment complex.

They all pile in and Seonghwa tells Yeosang which button to press as it was his turn to do so. Seonghwa had created a system for that as well. There had been one too many fights over who got to press the pretty buttons in the past which almost always led to all the buttons getting pressed and a much longer elevator ride than necessary. As they near the ground floor, Jongho sidles up next to him and grabs his pant leg. Seonghwa scoops him up as they enter the chilly garage. Jongho’s 3 year old brain and legs didn’t fully comprehend ramps yet and they had to walk down a few to get to the Kim-Park family vehicle.

When they finally approach their large SUV, Seonghwa makes a ‘Psst’ sound to get the kids attention. As they all turn to look at him, he brings a finger up to his mouth in a shushing motion. While the kids copy him and silently giggle to themselves, Seonghwa walks around them to the driver side door. As he suspected, Hongjoong, his wonderful husband, is asleep at the wheel. At first Seonghwa had chalked the odd behavior up to being stressed from work, but as time went on he came to realize it was just a silly little habit. That man could fall asleep anywhere and Seonghwa thoroughly enjoyed teasing him about it every chance he got.

Balancing Jongho on one hip, he brings his free hand up to quickly rap his knuckles against the window. It effectively wakes up Hongjoong, who startles and bangs his knee against the steering wheel, setting off the horn. Seonghwa laughs freely at this, but quickly stops when he hears a whimper coming from his kids, immediately pinpointing it as Mingi. He turns to see him covering his ears. Before Seonghwa can even make a move towards him, Yunho is pulling Mingi into his side and reassuring him gently. How did he raise such great kids?

The sweet moment is short-lived however, because Hongjoong rolls down the window, sending him an ugly glare. “I see you guys are ready. Finally.”

“And I see you’re awake. Finally,” he easily retaliates with a raised brow, but there’s no malice behind his words. “Now, we have kids to buckle in and places to be. Get your butt out here and help me.” Hongjoong tries to hide the upturn of his lips by rolling his eyes sarcastically, but Seonghwa catches it anyway. While his husband slowly heaves himself out of his seat, Seonghwa decides to be productive and open the rear doors and trunk so the kids can clamber into the car.

It wasn’t exactly time efficient to remove Jongho’s carseat in order to pull the seat down and gain access to the back row. Seonghwa learned that the hard way, especially when Jongho was smaller and his carseat more complicated. He was not proud of how many times his children were late to school in the morning. But you live and you learn and Seonghwa learned that it was much quicker to just allow the eldest three to crawl into the third row from the trunk opening. They could all buckle themselves into their carseats anyway so there was no harm in it, besides the weird looks he received when they got into their car at the supermarket.

As Hongjoong expertly buckles Wooyoung and Mingi in, dodging their curious questions about the ‘secret destination’ as he does so, Seonghwa takes care of Jongho and checks to make sure the kids in the back have secured their belts properly. Simultaneously separating from their duties, the two parents sport matching giddy looks and toothy grins before shutting the doors and making their way into the front seats.

Plopping into their respective spots, they share a brief look before Hongjoong puts the car into reverse. “Ready for this?” he whispers before focusing on the back up camera, pulling their car out of its assigned parking spot. “As ready as I’m gonna be,” Seonghwa says with a tight smile as he turns to look out the window, suddenly feeling nervous about the whole trip despite their meticulous planning. Hongjoong notices his husbands slight change in mood and places a hand on his knee once he maneuvers the car onto the main road.

“It’s too quiet! Music mama we need music!”

Leave it to their noisiest child to point out the obvious lack of sound. “You know Woo, I thought we could have a bit of a silent ride today,” Seonghwa replies teasingly, turning to face his children who are looking at him expectantly. Of course he was kidding, a quiet ride sounded like a nightmare and honestly an impossible feat with 6 kids in the car.

His response garners quite the uproar from the other kids. “Noooo! Mama nooo that’s so boring!” Yunho immediately complains. Jongho simply chirps “Please, please” from his spot behind Seonghwa’s seat while San and Wooyoung begin chanting “Music! Music!” together in unison, little fists waving and everything. Although Yeosang and Mingi remain silent, their facial expressions speak for them. They also want something playing even if they won’t voice it.

“Alright, alright. What should I put on?” Seonghwa slightly raises his voice to be heard over all the kids’ commotion, already scrolling through his music library. They cheer excitedly before he receives recommendations, none of which he can fully decipher. But through all the overlapping chatter, he can faintly hear Yeosang asking for Twice and decides to indulge him. He can sometimes be overshadowed by his brothers voices so Seonghwa makes it a point to ensure Yeosang’s opinion is always heard as well.

“How about Twice? Does that sound good?” he asks to no one in particular even though he’s already queuing up the playlist. With his eyes still on the road Hongjoong mutters a small “No” but Seonghwa knows he doesn’t truly mind the car karaoke and attempted dancing. Activities which usually result in some not-so-gentle kicks to their seats but neither of them ever have the heart to put a stop to their kids’ fun.

As the first song begins to play he’s met with a chorus of happy yells. Yeosang has a pleased grin on his face that squishes his apple cheeks up to his eyes as he swings his feet contently. It’s amusing listening to them sing in different tones and pitches, trying to get the lyrics right. They even perform some of the iconic “Fancy” choreography, at least as much as they can while buckled into their carseats. Maybe this will tire them out a bit before they arrive at the airport.

Seonghwa can only hope. But he seriously doubts 30 minutes in the car is enough to put a dent in his children’s energy supply. He would know, he’s been home with them every day since Yeosang was born. Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho can run around for hours and still refuse their afternoon nap and he’s positive San, Yeosang, and Yunho were the same at that age. Hell, San still acts like that. But Seonghwa knows he’ll settle with time, it’s only been about 6 months since he turned five and started kindergarten. Once you raise kids you start to view growing up as something fluid rather than a step by step process. It’s a bit freeing, that perspective, he supposes.

With the off pitch singing as mere background noise, Seonghwa gets a little lost in his thoughts, gazing out the window. He tries to quell his nerves before he needs to appear levelheaded in front of the kids again. He may not always show it, but he constantly worries for his kids. Worries that they’re safe, that he’s doing the right thing. On the other hand, he thinks his husband could worry a bit more. While Seonghwa knows that Hongjoong’s attitude comes from a place of trust, trust that the kids will do the right thing, he also knows that there’s just some things you can’t trust young kids to do.

Like packing their suitcases. Yeah that had went real well. With as many kids as they have, they decided to start packing two days before their flight. Hongjoong thought it was a great idea to let the kids pack their own luggage. ‘It teaches them independence,’ he had said. In reality Seonghwa knew it would only teach the parents never to let them do this again, but he thought he’d let Hongjoong see for himself. Since their destination was a secret, they only told the kids that were going somewhere hot and would be staying for six days.

The vagueness alone was a complete mistake. Younger kids have no concept of ‘vacation essentials.’ They also don’t seem to understand how many outfits are worn in a day, let alone six. Although, it was amusing and kind of sweet to see San attempting to help Yeosang close his suitcase which held his entire wardrobe. He bounced and jumped on it from multiple angles, giggling, before convincing Yeosang he needed to join him. And the way Mingi filled his luggage with stuffies because he was afraid they’d get lonely while they were gone was honestly heartwarming.

However, other instances weren’t as easy to find so cute. Jongho haphazardly threw his favorite bubble bath into his bag without checking to see if it was closed. Not that he necessarily should have known better, he’s three what did they except. Either way Seonghwa had to begrudgingly scrub Jongho’s sticky suitcase approximately 18 hours before they had to leave and then repack it properly after the fact. When they went around to check the others progress, or lack thereof, Hongjoong was surprised none of them were even close to being ready for their week away. Meanwhile Seonghwa had to fight back the urge to say ‘I told you so,’ at least until the kids were out of earshot.

Needless to say, Hongjoong wasn’t thrilled when he ended up packing the kids’ suitcases anyway. Of course Seonghwa helped, but he found it much more entertaining to sit on the floor and watch his husband grumble about all the tiny socks and underwear he had to fold. Considering that this whole trip was organized by him, he sure liked to pettily complain about it, at least in the confidence of Seonghwa.

He had sprung the idea of traveling to the States on Seonghwa last summer. Hongjoong, having no idea how much planning went into these trips at the time, wanted to go that August. Seonghwa quite literally laughed in his face, telling him he was crazy and that the formidable humid heat was not something he’d be putting up with in addition to a poorly planned schedule. He was a bit dejected at first, but Seonghwa quickly softened the blow, patiently explaining how 100% humidity in 90 degree weather was not good for them let alone their young kids.

Although they were quite well off with his producing job and small clothing brand he worked on the side, Hongjoong had been secretly putting money aside for their first big vacation months before. He didn’t even tell Seonghwa about it until that moment. In hindsight, maybe he should have let him in on the secret much earlier. Nevertheless, the two began planning the trip together, finally deciding to go in early February. That way they wouldn’t have to put up with the heat or large crowds. They would have to take Yunho, Yeosang, and San out of school for the week, but they thought it’d be worth it.

As they pull up to the airport entrance, the vehicle is filled with bright, gleeful squeals and excited tapping of hands and feet. They spot Kyungmoon a few meters away, sitting on a bench waiting for them. He waves to them enthusiastically and the kids call out to him from inside the car, waving with just as much vigor. Hongjoong turns to him with the biggest grin plastered on his face before grabbing Seonghwa’s hand and lifting their intertwined fingers. “We got this. Fighting” he says in both English and Korean, eyes locking with his husband’s determinedly.

In that moment, Seonghwa could feel it. He knew that this had been worth it.

Chapter Text

While the kids hop out of the car under the watchful eyes of Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Kyungmoon unload the suitcases from the trunk. Luckily Kyungmoon managed to snag a trolley for them ahead of time so they could focus more on maneuvering their children around the airport instead of their various luggage. Once all the suitcases are stacked on the cart, Hongjoong hands the car keys over to the other man.

“Thanks again for coming all the way out here to collect our car.”

“No problem. And don’t worry, your house will be in good hands. Have fun! See ya mini Hong’s!” Kyungmoon replies, bidding farewell to the kids before getting into their car.

Hongjoong had met Kyungmoon years ago when he first started his producing job at KQ; the two worked well together and now collaborate on many projects. He was a good friend of theirs whom they trusted with house sitting for the week. Seonghwa had some plants on the balcony that needed taken care of while they were away and someone had to feed Bobo, their pet goldfish. Hopefully Kyungmoon wouldn’t kill it in their absence, that would surely put a damper on the kids’ post-vacation mood.

“Alright let’s get a move on crew,” Hongjoong announces as they watch Kyungmoon drive the car away. He promptly pushes their luggage trolley with one hand, taking Yunho’s waiting fist in his other, and leads them through the entrance. Seonghwa thinks he looks like a proper airport dad. The other kids grab onto Yunho’s free hand, forming a little train with Seonghwa as the caboose. A series of Oohs and Aah’s spill from their mouths as they take in the new environment. To them, the speckled floor tile seems to stretch on forever, splitting into various walkways leading to different checkpoints and terminals.

Wooyoung outwardly gasps as his little eyes trail upwards. The high ceiling is partially made up of glass, allowing the 4 o’clock sun to cast golden beams into the check-in area. This obviously excites him as he starts doing what Seonghwa and Hongjoong like to call his ‘happy dance.’ His body slightly bounces and his feet shuffle almost impatiently in every direction as if he were a tap dancer. The other kids notice their brother’s behavior and follow his gaze. More faint gasps are heard and chatter erupts among them. It’s so cute how kids can be entertained by almost anything.

With their eyes still transfixed on the ceiling, the two parents begin ushering the group to the check-in counter so they can get their boarding passes and finally be freed of their hefty pile of suitcases. Thankfully this area is relatively uncrowded so they don’t have to wait long in line. Each parent takes half of the kids with them to separate counters, making the whole ordeal go much faster. When it’s his turn, Seonghwa has to practically hold Wooyoung down as he attempts to climb onto the luggage scale to see where the conveyer belt is taking their bags. As they meet up again on the other side of the line, Seonghwa collects everyone’s passes, stuffing them securely in his tote.

Now as they enter TSA territory things get a bit more chaotic. Here there’s definitely a longer wait and more people. Before getting in line, Seonghwa and Hongjoong make sure they free the kids of their winter ware, shoving the puffy coats and fluffy hats into their colored bags. Until now Seonghwa hadn’t really noticed the difference between his and his husband’s airport attire. Under his coat Hongjoong wore a baggy lavender hoodie and some grey lounge joggers. The look was completed with his transparent glasses and trustworthy Adidas sandals.

He giggles to himself lightly. They could not have dressed more different. Whereas Seonghwa looked as though he was attending some high end PTA meeting in his black skinny jeans and grey cashmere sweater, Hongjoong looked as though… What did he look like? Quite honestly he could be mistaken for Seonghwa’s teenage son if Seonghwa looked just a bit older. He tells his husband as such.

“What? What are you talking about? I look like the majority of people here, unlike you. You’re going to get uncomfortable,” he scoffs, putting up his defensive front.

“Beauty is pain,” Seonghwa sighs jokingly. “It’s not my fault that your beanie and backpack combo make you look 10 years younger.” Hongjoong visibly gawks at this and Seonghwa counts that as a win. “Let’s go little ducklings before the line gets longer” he calls out, leaving Hongjoong to bring up the rear this time.

As they reach the crowded area, Seonghwa notices the obvious uptick of noise and looks for Mingi only to find him already glued to his side, clutching his sweater. Before he can even ask the question, Mingi makes his request. “Ear muffs. I need my muffs Mama” he glances around, hands now cupped over his ears. They’re technically ear defenders, but Mingi calls them his ear muffs. The terminology doesn’t really matter as long as they block out the sound. Seonghwa quickly digs in his tote, not putting them in Mingi’s own carryon in case the kids got a bit rough with their bags.

He finds them easily due to their yellow color and gently removes Mingi’s hands, replacing them with the ear defenders. He visibly calms, appearing happier and scampering off to play around with his brothers. Finding a solution to Mingi’s sensitivity had truly been a game changer. It made public areas much more tolerable and pleasant for him; he’d come a long way. Two years ago they couldn’t even imagine taking him to a place like the airport. Mingi genuinely enjoying going out, even with so many people, makes Seonghwa reflect on when they first welcomed him into their hearts.

Mingi always had a bit of an issue with noise and light. Ever since they took him in as a baby, his aversion to bright lights and violent mood swings in the presence of loud noises was obvious. Apparently that’s what kept him out of a stable foster home. He was such a fussy baby that cramped foster families didn’t have the time or resources for him. But Seonghwa and Hongjoong wanted to take on the challenge as newly registered foster parents.

And they’re so grateful they did. They weren’t so sure the majority of other foster homes without stay-at-home caregivers could have found out what was troubling Mingi. But it sure didn’t take Seonghwa long. With 3 toddlers and another baby on the way via their surrogate, the house was always noisy. It wasn’t hard to figure out the issue as Mingi stopped crying and angrily beating his fists whenever Seonghwa took him for walks outside. Their neighborhood mainly consisted of older business personnel who worked long hours and their school age children, so it was relatively quiet during the day. At the time Hongjoong was working from home to help with their young children, so Seonghwa could afford the alone time with Mingi.

A chorus of ‘I’m bored’s pulls Seonghwa out of his reverie. He looks down to see most of the kids sitting on the floor, forming a mini semi-circle at his and Hongjoong’s feet. Seonghwa tries not to think of all the germs living on that floor (at least they’re not laying on it). San and Wooyoung are engaged in an unenthusiastic game of palm push while the others play an equally depressing game of rock, paper, scissors. The only one missing from the sad game sesh is Jongho who rests listlessly in Hongjoong’s arms, body limp and face pressed against his dad’s shoulder who seems to be reading something on his phone.

“Hey, the kids are bored. Have you heard?” he asks Seonghwa cheekily, not even looking up from his device. His eyebrows pinch together slightly, leading Seonghwa to believe he’s checking their plane to see if it will be late or not. He does this for every trip they take. Again, airport dad material.

Seonghwa simply hums back, “Yes, thank you Captain Obvious.” He can see Hongjoong smirking from the corner of his eye. Being the tallest of the family, he decides to see what’s holding the line up. Security was slow on a good day, but the airport wasn’t very crowded when they arrived. Stretching onto his tip toes to get a better vantage point, he’s able to see over the heads in front of them and catches glimpses of fur near the metal detectors. It seems like a group of travelers have their dogs with them and it’s taking them longer to get through security.

Seeing as they’ll be here for awhile, Seonghwa tries to pass time by playing I Spy with the kids. They soon forget about their boredom, immediately perking up when Seonghwa suggested playing it. The whole family joins in, even Jongho from his place on Hongjoong’s hip and Mingi still with his ear defenders on. Yunho relays information to him by speaking close to his ear so he can participate.

Whenever it’s Hongjoong’s turn he picks the same blue TSA sign, messing with the kids a bit. They catch on after a few rounds and point it out to Hongjoong whenever he gasps in disbelief once they guess correctly every time. He just tells them, “Oh, I must’ve forgot again.” This makes them giggle with hands over their mouths, trying to mask the sound, believing they’re the only ones who catch Hongjoong’s repeated mistake.

Before they know it, it’s their turn to be admitted into the security area. Seonghwa hands the line officer all their passports so she can confirm the pictures match the family members standing before her. She tells them to remove their shoes and place their items in the white bins behind her. The kids begin taking off their shoes, constantly looking to Seonghwa and Hongjoong as if to confirm their actions are correct.

“San, where are your socks?” Overhearing Hongjoong’s question, Seonghwa immediately turns his head away from his task of removing Jongho’s shoes. He sees that San is indeed standing there with no socks. “I took them off in the car,” he replies, not understanding the problem.

Sensing that now isn’t the best time to have a follow up conversation on sanitariness in public, Seonghwa simply guides them over to the scanner bins. He and Hongjoong place each of the kids’ backpacks and shoes in a separate bin after finishing their own. The security officers thankfully understand that the two parents have a lot of small people to juggle and simply send them reassuring smiles.

Once all their carryons are set on the conveyor belt, the man next to the body scanner asks, “Alright who’s first?” Before Yunho can volunteer, because they know he will, Hongjoong says he’ll go first so the kids have someone on the other side. As Hongjoong breaks off from the group, Seonghwa is surprised to see the officer directing him to the metal detector instead of the scanner. It must be because they’re such a big group; scanning would take much too long. Seonghwa lets out a breath at this. This way he could be right next to the children for the whole process.

As Hongjoong successfully goes through the officer tells the rest of them to form a line and begin walking through. Seonghwa goes last to keep space between the kids and the strangers behind them. After collecting their shoes and bags from the bins, they finally make their way to the people movers that will take them to their designated terminal. While they wait for the correct mover to arrive Seonghwa quickly cleans San’s feet with a wipe from his bag. He had refused to let San put his shoes back on after security with dirty feet and even carried him all the way to the tram platform before setting him on a bench.

He’s downright positive some people are looking at him like he’s crazy, asking themselves “Why is he wiping his child’s bare feet?” or “Why doesn’t that kid have socks on?” People are nosy like that, especially when kids are involved. When he was a baby Yeosang had very long hair and the amount of times they had strangers in the store ask if their baby was a boy or a girl was honestly ridiculous. Like why did these people feel the need to inquire about a kid that wasn’t theirs?

Luckily the mover arrives before Seonghwa can work himself into a sour mood. San, now with his socks and shoes back on, runs up to the sliding doors where the rest of their family is entering. Normally Seonghwa would scold him for running away like that in public, but he can’t bring himself to yell at any of them right now. At least he was going to Hongjoong. When Seonghwa steps into the third car to join the rest of them he sees all his little boys squished together on the window bench in the back of the tram. He hums pleasantly. ‘Didn’t even have to tell Hongjoong to make them sit’, he says to himself, impressed.

Seonghwa squeezes close to Hongjoong and observes the kids as the other people pile in. Yunho is gazing intently out the window at the tracks below, hands pressed against the glass. He had a fascination with building and machines of any kind. Blocks were his favorite as a baby, then train sets as a toddler, and now his passion was Legos. Seonghwa thought he could be an engineer or architect one day.

The mover abruptly starts along the tracks causing Seonghwa to stumble slightly from not holding on to the overhead rings. With quick reflexes Hongjoong grabs his husband’s arm, easily uprighting him again. Seonghwa sends his lover a sweet smile in thanks, reaching for the ring to his left. However, before he can grab it, Hongjoong snakes a hand around his waist, pulling him into his side and holding him snug there, keeping them both stable. The action surprises Seonghwa. Hongjoong wasn’t one for PDA, he much preferred to love on Seonghwa in private away from the eyes of strangers.

When he questioningly looks over to Hongjoong, he doesn’t find him meeting his gaze but instead starring at a man across from them, eyes hard. The man is tall, taller than Seonghwa, and broad with muscle. His noticeable stubble is clean cut and his wavy black hair is neatly gelled into a wet look; he runs his hand through it, returning Hongjoong’s stare. Seonghwa can only assume he’d been checking him out and Hongjoong finally had enough, that would explain the sudden display.

The guy is handsome, he must admit, but he’s not Seonghwa’s type. He affirms this by prying his arm from where it was caught between them and resting it on Hongjoong’s hip. Feeling a bit mischievous, he plays up the affection, resting his head against his husband’s and sending the guy a pointed look, cat eyes fierce. At this, the man finally glances away pretending he was never looking over at them in the first place.

Even though he can’t directly see Hongjoong’s face from his position, Seonghwa knows he’s grinning. It’s that satisfied smirk he gets when he proves someone wrong at work or tells off a stranger that made a backhanded remark about their family. And sometimes, it’s when he shows other guys his husband is off limits.

Once the mover stops the sliding doors open again and the man disappears into the crowd of people. The kids hop down from the bench and Hongjoong and Seonghwa round them up, guiding them through the bustle of the airport. Here they have more freedom to venture away from right under their parents’ noses as the terminal is quite spacious giving them room to play without disturbing others.

But Seonghwa decides its best to find their gate first before letting the kids release their pent up energy. Feeling better in a more open area, he lets them trail ahead of him and his husband while keeping a watchful eye. He sees San and Wooyoung grab hands, beginning to skip while pointing at the various shops and cafes littered in between the waiting areas. Yeosang walks behind the group with Jongho who’s a little slower than the rest; he’s talking about something animately with his hands while Yeosang simply listens, sometimes nodding his head in affirmation.

Jongho’s backpack is a bit too big for him, Seonghwa notes, watching how it lightly thumps against his bottom whenever he walks. He thinks its adorable and discreetly points it out to Hongjoong. He follows Seonghwa’s finger and giggles at the sight, intertwining their hands in the process.

“He’s so cute. They’re so cute. You’re so cute.”

Seonghwa huffs in disbelief “Ok who are you and what have you done with my husband?”

“What, is it a crime to appreciate my family? I’m just so happy we got past the difficult part and now the kids don’t have to stress anymore,” he replies, lightly swinging their hands.

“I don’t think it was the kids who were stressed earlier, babe,” he sends Hongjoong a knowing look. “But yes I’m glad we can all relax for a little bit.”

“Right here Mama! I found it! Over here!” When he looks up, Yunho is standing under the Gate B47 sign excitedly waving his hands.

Seonghwa ignores the few head turns the yelling causes and focuses on his children. “Great job buddy! You’re such a good navigator for us,” he praises, gently ruffling Yunho’s hair. In return, he beams up at Seonghwa with the sweetest smile, wrapping his arms around his waist in a side hug. Seonghwa swears he can feel his heart melting into a big puddle of goo, as if often does around his kids.

Suddenly it feels as though his worries about their trip were futile. There’s been no tears or tantrums; the horizon seems clear of stormy weather.

Chapter Text

In hindsight, perhaps claiming the horizon was clear not even a quarter of the way into their trip with 6 kids was a bit of wishful thinking. Scratch that, it was downright delusional.

Everything had been going smoothly until they got on the plane.

Once they had found their gate, Seonghwa secured a few seats for them right by the window so the kids could see outside. Immediately six sets of little hands pressed up against the glass to stare out at their plane, a chorus of shrieks being heard followed by some very adamant pulling on Hongjoong’s clothes.

Wooyoung had grabbed onto his hoodie, insistently dragging his dad closer while he practically vibrated, letting out indistinguishable crows of excitement. If he’s this thrilled over a simple plane, Seonghwa could only imagine what he’s going to be like when they arrive at their destination.

“Appa, appa! Come look, come look! It’s a plane, a real plane!” San squealed from where he was wedged between Yeosang and Mingi, sparkling eyes never leaving the motionless aircraft.

As he approached, Hongjoong softly stroked San’s back to acknowledge he heard him, “Wow! I see bud, pretty cool huh?” San simply turned to flash him his signature dimpled smile before whipping around again.

Now gazing out the window, he gently rested his hand over Wooyoung’s to get him to loosen his death grip, calmly petting his hair instead when he eventually let go. Wooyoung could be quite intense when excited, oftentimes not realizing the power his small four year old body was capable of. They were working on it though, usually a gentle returning touch is all he needed to settle down a bit.

Hongjoong turned to his husband only to find him already staring back, gazing at him, at their family, with a lovesick grin. His eyes were practically shining with adoration, looking far too beautiful for Hongjoong not to kiss him. He discreetly made his way over so as not to alert the kids of his absence.

Seonghwa startled suddenly when he felt his lover press a wet kiss to his temple, a gentle hand coming up to cup his cheek. He peeled his gaze away from the kids to focus on Hongjoong who was standing over him with a dopey look on his face.

Seonghwa chuckled, speaking softly, “What’s gotten in to you Mr. No PDA, that’s twice today now. You going for a record?”

“What can I say, I’m in a good mood. And you’re just so gorgeous I couldn’t resist, Star.” Seonghwa moved his hand to place it over Hongjoong’s, looking absolutely delighted with the sudden sweet talk.

Their moment was cut short however, by a tug on Seonghwa’s sweater.

“Mama, I hungry.” Obviously grown tired of staring at the plane, Jongho stood before them with a hand on his tummy and the cutest pout known to man.

Seonghwa reached for the youngest and lifted him onto his lap, cooing. “Aww I know bubs. Don’t worry, daddy’s going to find us something to eat alright?” he consoled, brushing the hair off Jongho’s forehead and sending a pointed look to Hongjoong.

“Right,” he clasped his hands together trying to get the others’ attention. “I’m going to scavenge for food, anyone want to come with me?”

Peeling his eyes away from the window, Yeosang slid down from his spot to sidle up next to Hongjoong, leaning into him. Hongjoong wrapped an arm around his shoulders while Mingi also waddled over to the pair, having noticed Yeosang’s sudden disappearance from his side.

Now that the excitement of the plane had worn off, San and Wooyoung were engaged in what appeared to be a staring contest… except both of them kept blinking. Neither even acknowledged that he had said anything. Typical.

Yunho was the last one still staring outside, knees bent up to his chest with his cheek resting on top. Seonghwa placed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn around.

“Hey Yuyu, why don’t you go with appa to get food? He’s taking Sangie and Gi, I bet he could use some help carrying the bags.”

Yunho instantly perked up at this, leaping to the floor to join his siblings. As the oldest, he loved to help out, taking his role as older brother very seriously. They were so blessed to have a sweet son like Yunho.

“I guess that’s all of us then. We’ll see you in bit.” Hongjoong halfheartedly waved goodbye to the remaining group, Mingi’s hand enclosed in his as the older boys led the way.

With Jongho still sat on his lap, now chewing on the collar of his sweater, Seonghwa beckoned his other two children over. “How about you two play around a bit before we get on the plane, hmm? There’s lots of room here,” he gestured vaguely with his hand.

San and Wooyoung turned toward each other, letting out simultaneous squeals before running off to start a game of tag. “Just stay where I can see you!” he called out as an afterthought and promptly received two ‘ok Mama’s in return.

Keeping one eye on his rambunctious kids, Seonghwa gently detached Jongho’s mouth from his beloved sweater. A pair of shiny brown orbs looked up at him in confusion.

“Don’t you want to go play with your brothers, Jongie? Get some of your energy out,” he asked as he lightly tickled Jongho’s sides. The wiggling fingers caused their youngest’s nose to scrunch up, the cutest giggles bubbling out of him uncontrollably. The sound was music to his parents’ ears. Seonghwa’s own delighted laughter mixed with his son’s until Jongho decided he had enough.

Pushing at Seonghwa’s hands, despite the gummy smile still plastered on his face, he crawled off his mama’s lap and skipped over to join his brothers. After seeing Jongho join the game successfully, Seonghwa started wiping away the drool on his shirt.

Even at three years old, Jongho was still a chewer, continuing to teethe despite having all his baby teeth. Their pediatrician said it was normal, that children usually stop exploring with their mouths around Jongho’s age, but until then they just had to direct his habit elsewhere. They had tried various things like hard fruits and vegetables, chewelry, even letting him keep a pacifier, but nothing worked. Jongho simply chewed on whatever he set his mind to, their little one was stubborn like that.

Shrieking, that Seonghwa immediately recognized as his own kids, suddenly put him on high alert. He leapt out of his seat, eyes searching until he zeroed in on them. He’s relieved to see the three under his charge bombarding the rest of family as they return with dinner. So not shrieks of danger, just excitement.

And Seonghwa understood why as Hongjoong and the others approached. If the little red boxes Seonghwa could see through the bags weren’t enough of a giveaway, Jongho’s incessant pulling on Yunho’s arm and Wooyoung’s chirps of “‘donalds? Did you get us ‘donalds, daddy?” were.

Before he could even say anything, Hongjoong narrowed his eyes at him, quirking an eyebrow as if to say ‘Don’t fight me on this’. Needless to say it worked as Seonghwa just rolled his eyes, silently conceding. He didn’t usually like to feed his children fast food, but Seonghwa supposed this was a special occasion and he could indulge them this once. Besides, Hongjoong already paid for the food, so there was no going back now.

As Hongjoong started sorting through the boxes, matching each kid to their preferred meal, some of them took the liberty to make themselves comfortable on the floor by their parents’ feet. Seonghwa tried to hold back a grimace, willing himself to not think of the germs once again. Off to the side, he noticed Mingi waiting impatiently for Hongjoong to give him his box, spinning and dancing in circles. Seonghwa grabbed the second bag and began sifting through it until he found Mingi’s order.

He called him over and Mingi practically skipped toward him, snatching his dinner with a quick “Thank you” before going to sit on the opposite side of Hongjoong. Seonghwa turned to his husband, who was now busy cutting Jongho’s cheeseburger into fourths. “Hey what’s got Mingi so excit-“

“Mojo Jojo!” San exclaimed, lifting his new toy into the air. Seeing the familiar character, Seonghwa’s previous question answered itself. He then turned to Yunho, showing the figure off as if he was an Animal Crossing villager, even adding the “Yi-ting” sound for good measure. The display made Seonghwa chuckle, he has got to stop letting them watch him play.

Handing the now sliced cheeseburger back over to Jongho, Hongjoong backtracked to Seonghwa’s earlier inquiry. “They had Powerpuff Girl toys. I couldn’t say no, they’re Mingi’s favorite,” he said, taking a bite of his own sandwich. In a lower voice he added, “He was scared about flying, so I thought this might take his mind off it a bit, cheer him up.”

Just then there was an excited squeal from Mingi. “Yay!! I got Bubbles daddy, look!”

“That’s the one you wanted huh Princess?” Hongjoong replied, patting Mingi’s hair. He nodded happily, swinging his feet.

Seonghwa cooed, reaching behind Wooyoung to grab his husband’s hand and send him a grateful smile. Hongjoong squeezed his hand in return before handing Seonghwa the wrap he got him. However, before he could even get a bite something flew past his face, nearly catching him in the nose.

The thrown toy, that Seonghwa recognized as Buttercup, now laid discarded in Yunho’s lap. “He just wanted to trade,” Yunho explained and Seonghwa was about to ask who, but the squeaky, poorly muffled giggles gave away the culprit easily.

“Wooyoung we don’t throw things remember? If you want to trade you need to hand it to Yunho.”

Their second youngest turned sheepish at the light scolding, muttering an “I sorry Mama” as he cuddled into Hongjoong’s side. His husband, who had a hand draped along the back of Wooyoung’s seat, moved it to pull him closer into his side in silent reassurance. Wooyoung beamed up at him from where his head laid against Hongjoong’s shoulder. He was such a daddy’s boy.

Everyone was just about done eating when Seonghwa felt tapping on his left pant leg. He turned to Yeosang to find him holding a fry in his little fist, thrusting it toward him. “For Mama,” he insisted, “I wanna share with Mama.”

Seonghwa smiled, eyes crinkling as he allowed Yeosang to feed him. “Mmmh! Thank you baby.” Yeosang grinned while pushing more fries past Seonghwa’s lips.

The rest of dinner carried on without a hitch and as Seonghwa was cleaning the last of the kids’ mouths, the boarding announcement rung through their gate. “Anyone who may require more time getting seated may board the aircraft at this time, that includes those with young children, disabilities…”

Seonghwa had stopped listening, rummaging around in his tote for all their passports and boarding passes while Hongjoong made sure each of the kids had their backpacks ready.

“Is it time appa? Are we getting on the plane now?” Yunho asked excitedly, staring out the window once again.

“It’s time Yunnie,” Hongjoong replied. “Just as soon as mama gets our stuff in order… ok hold hands everybody, we’re going.”

Yunho grabbed onto his hand, the others forming a train off of the oldest as they marched behind Seonghwa up to the gate agent. She dismissed the pair in front of them and took the pile of blue booklets and passes from Seonghwa. After a rather lengthy process in which she scanned each pass and matched it to the passport, all while the kids peered around their parents’ legs for a better look, they too were dismissed into the jet bridge.

“Anywhere that’s open. Have a wonderful flight!” she said jovially, waving to each of the little ones as they passed by. Seonghwa ushered all of them to go in front of him so he could see them, except they all seemed a bit confused about where they were, not moving and turning to their parents for guidance.

Seonghwa chuckled a bit. “This is what takes us to our plane. We have to walk to the end to get on.”

At that bit of information, the kids all began skipping down the length of the jet bridge, except for Jongho who ambled along like a baby deer. “It’s like a secret passage!” San yelled loudly, making his voice echo.

The rest mumbled their agreement before abruptly stopping, so much so that Seonghwa and Hongjoong almost ran into them. They had reached the plane door, staring unsure at the smiling flight attendant beckoning them inside.

“Go ahead,” Hongjoong ushered. Yunho bravely took the first step, the rest of his siblings following. Their eyes roved everywhere, from the controls to their left to the lines of seats and overhead bins to their right. Some of them were so enthralled, they didn’t even hear the steward speak as Seonghwa and Hongjoong entered behind them.

“First time flyers?” he asked knowingly. “Oh yes,” Seonghwa replied absently, more focused on the look of wonder on his children’s faces.

“Well I have just the thing for them. You can take you seats and I’ll bring it over if that’s alright?”

Already having an idea of what he was talking about, Hongjoong kindly said, “That would be great, thank you,” nudging Seonghwa in the back to move down the aisle.

They managed to snag seats by the wings. San, who sat in a row with Yeosang and Yunho, was graciously given the window seat by his two older brothers; Seonghwa silently thanked them as San plastered his face against the glass. Seonghwa settled into the row in front of them with the youngest two and Hongjoong claimed two seats across from the three boys with Mingi.

Wooyoung, who had the window seat in Seonghwa’s row, sat on his knees so he could push the window blind up to see outside. He let out a little gasp before saying, puzzled, “We’re still on the ground. I thought planes go in the sky?”

“We’ll get there bugga don’t worry. The plane will roll really fast down the runway, so we can go up in the air,” Hongjoong informed, stashing his backpack in the overhead compartment.

“Runway?” Yeosang echoed. “Like the one the pretty people walk down that you watch daddy?

“Er, sort of. This one’s more like a road and planes go down it not people,” he said, not having realized Yeosang had apparently seen him watching fashion shows on his laptop. Seonghwa smirked from where he was shoving their coats into another bin, their Yeosangie was just so smart.

With the plane practically empty except for them and a mother with her baby, Mingi finally slipped off his ear defenders, hanging them around his neck. Wooyoung, who thought Mingi couldn’t hear anything through them despite him telling him otherwise multiple times, shouted “Hi Mingi!” as he stood up on his seat. Well, he could at least always hear Wooyoung with or without the ear defenders on.

“Sit down Wooyoung, you’re not supposed to stand on them,” Seonghwa lightly reprimanded. Wooyoung promptly flopped down into his seat at the sight of the steward walking toward them.

“This is your guys’ first time on a plane right?” he asked rhetorically. They all turned to look up at him, nodding their heads. “Well we have these really cool pins for brave little flyers, would you all like some?”

There was a chorus of emphatic ‘Yes’s as the young man passed the small golden wings to each of them. “I hope you all have a great flight,” he said beaming, the kids exclaiming their thanks as he walked away.

It was at that time that the other passengers began to file in and the parents had to settle the little ones into their seats for takeoff. Luckily, the gift of the wings mostly distracted them, Seonghwa and Hongjoong pinning them to each of their shirts while they checked that everyone had buckled in.

An older woman made her way into the seat next to Mingi, who had been sitting in the middle playing with Bubbles, not minding the noise for the time being, defenders still off. However as she sat down, Mingi made a panicked little noise, looking desperately at Hongjoong. He consoled him easily as they traded seats, now acting as a barrier between the two. Mingi didn’t do well with strangers, much like Yeosang and Jongho. Of course he was always polite, but he preferred the presence of his family especially in unfamiliar situations. Luckily the woman didn’t say a word at the abrupt change, simply shooting a sideways glance at the boy before pulling out a book.

As the plane filled up and passengers no longer shuffled down the rows, Seonghwa turned around to speak to Yunho who sat behind him in the aisle seat. “Are you ok sitting on the end buddy? You can talk to the flight attendant when they ask you guys for snacks?” he asked, feeling slightly guilty about leaving the three boys in a row by themselves.

“Of course mama!” Yunho assured him, looking up from his own book. “I’ll even speak for Sangie so he doesn’t have to!” he added puffing his chest out the tiniest bit.

“That’s my brave boy,” Seonghwa praised, relieved. He reached back to ruffle his oldest’s hair, causing him to go slightly pink at the compliment.

He rummaged around in his bag for gum as the plane finally turned onto the long runway, passing it out to the kids old enough to chew it, albeit with a reminder of ‘Do not swallow it’ to San and Wooyoung. He noticed Mingi had put his ear defenders back on as he gave him and Hongjoong their pieces, but didn’t seem the least bit miffed. For Jongho, he reached into his red bag and pulled out his pacifier. There was a likely chance he wouldn’t take it, he hadn’t used it for a long time, but as Seonghwa didn’t feel comfortable giving Jongho gum for his ears this was the only thing he could think of.

To his great surprise and joy, Jongho did take it when he offered it to him, pushing it into his mouth before leaning against Seonghwa’s arm. He did have a long day, perhaps he was just really tired.

He looked around at the other kids to see what they were up to. Wooyoung was content to scribble messily in his mini coloring book, San doing the same although much neater. Yeosang had not actually taken anything from his backpack but was instead leaning on Yunho who was reading to him under his breath. Seonghwa absolutely melted.

When he turned to tell Hongjoong, he found him hugging Mingi close. His eyes were screwed shut at the mounting momentum and he seemed to be whimpering, although Seonghwa couldn’t tell from where he was seated. Hongjoong however, felt his husband’s eyes on him and mouthed to him that it was ok, he had it handled.

Seonghwa was about to breathe a sigh of relief, voice to Hongjoong his glee that everything is going so smoothly when things began to take a turn.

The plane is almost in the air, a stewardess demonstrating the last of the safety procedures at the front as they rattle down the runway when Yeosang starts to whimper. This Seonghwa definitely hears correctly.

Yeosang rarely cries, so the sound immediately puts him on edge. He whips around to check on his son to find him now bent over, frantically trying to reach his blue backpack from under the seat and failing miserably because of the seatbelt. This only seems to distress him more as his whimpers morph into long, upset whines. Yunho is looking from Yeosang to Seonghwa, worry plastered all over his face.

“Yeosang, honey, what’s wrong? What do you need?” he asks, forcing his voice to take on a calm, neutral tone. He tries to reach out for him but it’s quite difficult considering Yeosang’s behind him in the middle and the seat backs are rather high. Yeosang stops trying to stretch his limbs out to his bag and sinks back into his seat defeated, his breath coming out in harsh, wobbly puffs.

By the telltale pull behind his stomach, Seonghwa can tell the plane has left the ground by now. He wants to check on Mingi, on all the kids, but he has to focus on Yeosang at the moment. “Is it the plane? Are you scared?” he continues questioning, trying to get to the bottom of Yeosang’s sudden change in behavior.

He just shakes his head, lower lip trembling. His breathing picks up as he continues to shake his head back and forth as if he got water stuck in his ears. Tears begin to slip down his face. Seonghwa needs to figure this out before Yeosang works himself into a panic attack.

Yunho speaks up a bit hesitantly. “I don’t know what happened mama. I was just reading to him and all of a sudden he pulled away and started acting weird,” he says, eyeing his younger brother.

“What were you guys reading about?”

“Flow-“

Yeosang seems to finally form words. “Hehetmon!” he cries, beginning to sob. “I don’t know where it is! Lost it!”

It’s been a while since Seonghwa has seen Yeosang cry like this, so harshly and openly. In fact the last time he did cry like this it was over the same exact thing, he had dropped the crochet doll into a puddle on their morning walk. People now began turning their heads to locate the source of the noise.

“Angel, listen to me,” he says placatingly, “I’m sure we packed Hehet, I know we did. It’s here somewhere ok?”

The reassurance does nothing to stop Yeosang’s sobbing, however. Seonghwa asks Yunho to try to reach Yeosang’s bag as he’s sitting next to him and his limbs are quite longer. Yunho just barely manages to snag the handle with his foot and pull it over, handing it Seonghwa to sort through as Yeosang is in no state to do so.

Hongjoong, who has finally got Mingi to settle, at least for a bit, jumps in to help. He leans across Mingi to get Yeosang’s attention from across the aisle, trying to get him to breathe with him as Seonghwa pushes things in the bag aside frantically to locate Hehetmon. However, to Seonghwa’s grave disappointment (and no doubt Yeosang’s), the comfort item made by Hongjoong’s mother is nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, Seonghwa has to tell Yeosang the truth, there’s no way to lie if there’s no Hehet to give him. Hongjoong thankfully has gotten Yeosang to breathe more normally now, but Seonghwa doesn’t know how long that will last.

“Yeosangie, sweetie, I want you to listen to me, ok?” He looks up at him, eyes shining, expecting him to be wielding his favorite toy. Seonghwa’s heart hurts knowing he’s not. “Hehet isn’t in here,” Yeosang’s breathe hitches, “But-but I’m sure it’s just in your suitcase. We wouldn’t leave without it.” How Seonghwa hopes that sounds convincing enough.

But it’s not. The thing with kids is that they find mere words hard to believe, the saying that actions speak louder is particularly true. Yeosang goes back to his heart wrenching sobbing which finally draws the attention of San. He had been avidly watching out the window as they ascended into the sky but now that they’ve levelled out his attention has been drawn elsewhere.

“Sangie?” he says, lip wobbling, “What’s wrong, mama what’s wrong with Sangie?” The last thing he needs is two kids crying, so he tries to reassure San.

“Yeosang just doesn’t know where Hehetmon is right now and it’s making him upset. But I’m sure it’s tucked away safely in his suitcase under the plane.”

San tears up as well. “Hehet is missing, Hehet lost?” he asks voice wavering. Yeosang lets out a particularly loud wail next to him.

“No, no, “Seonghwa tries to explain gently, “Hehet is not lost. Yeosang is just confused on where he is right now.”

“Doesn’t know where he is? So he is lost!” San proclaims, a few stray tears slipping down his cheeks. The thing about San is that he’s very empathetic not only to his brothers, but everyone. Seeing someone else cry often makes him cry. A baby crying in the grocery store could send San into his own fit of tears.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong try to take turns explaining but it’s lost to both of their children’s ears. San has started sobbing with Yeosang, muttering things under his breath that neither of them can make out. A tug at his sweater sleeve momentarily distracts Seonghwa from the problem at hand. He drops his gaze to Jongho, who got jostled off of him during his search of Yeosang’s bag. Although the pacifier still sits in his mouth, Jongho’s eyes appear alarmingly wet and glassy as he makes needy whines to his mama.

San suddenly gasps out, “Shiber! What about Shiber!” Seonghwa is forced to look away from Jongho once again. “Is he under the plane too? Is he gonna be hurt?” he asks, absolutely quivering.

Seonghwa opens his mouth to answer, but Jongho is consistently pulling harder on his sweater, stretching it. He’s mumbling something behind his paci, silent tears making their way down his cheeks, Seonghwa leans down to listen.

“Huwts, huwts” he’s whimpering, speech slightly off due to the thing in his mouth.

Seonghwa realizes he’s probably complaining about his ears hurting from the pressure change. He suddenly notices his own ears aching so he can only imagine what it feels like for little Jongho. He can vaguely hear Hongjoong trying to console the other two, so he shifts his attention to the youngest. Seeing as the seatbelt light is still on, Seonghwa doesn’t dare unbuckle Jongho should they hit turbulence, so the best thing he can do is hold him close while he searches for children’s tylenol in his bag.

The cries of his other children continue to plague him. He feels extremely guilty for not being able to console them better, especially since he’s much closer than Hongjoong. Seonghwa thinks the situation couldn’t get any worse.

That is until he hears Mingi’s own muffled sobs join the chorus of distressed bawling bearing down on his ears.