Work Text:
It had been an incredibly long day for the whole house. By the time dinner was finished, everyone was fed, and the table was cleared. Seonghwa had been home alone for what felt like an eternity at that point, though in reality it had probably only been about eight hours. It seemed like the days were both very long and very short at this point in his life. Not that he was ungrateful for being able to be home to raise his children while his husband worked, but it was definitely something that took every bit of his energy throughout the entire day.
There was a loud thump from above his head as he finished putting the dishes into the dishwasher. He looked over to the toddler sitting in the highchair next to him, happily chewing on his own hands as someone had already cleared his plate.
“Jongho,” Seonghwa said, “I would almost bet someone’s going to come down these stairs crying in a minute.”
Jongho crinkled up his little eyes, showing his gummy smile that had no teeth quite yet.
No sooner had the words left Seonghwa’s mouth than he heard a high-pitched scream coming from upstairs, followed by two smaller voices trying to softly calm down the screaming child. Seonghwa quickly unstrapped Jongho from the highchair and started up the stairs. At the top of the stairs stood Mingi.
Mingi, who was very large for his age, was normally mistaken for much older than his four years. But standing there in chick footed pajamas, clutching his stuffed chicken in his arms and sobbing at the top of the stairs in complete bewilderment, there was no mistaking the fact that he was just a very little boy.
Seonghwa, knowing that his middle child had a flair for the dramatics, quickly checked him over as he climbed up the stairs. Seeing no bruises or marks anywhere on his body, he quickly understood that something had not harmed Mingi physically, but emotionally.
“What happened, Min?” Seonghwa asked.
Mingi took a gasping breath and looked up at his father, his big boba eyes flooding with tears.
“Wooyoung bit San in the nursery.”
“Oh dear,” Seonghwa said to himself, knowing that the fighting between Wooyoung and San would only escalate to an absolute catfight if he did not get in there to break it up quickly.
Seonghwa reached down, grabbing Mingi’s hand and shifting Jongho securely onto his hip.
“Come on, Min. Let’s go make sure everyone’s okay.”
The door to the nursery was closed when they reached the end of the hallway. Seonghwa decided that it made the most sense to hold on to Mingi, since he was still so upset, and to set Jongho down. Jongho had just learned to walk a couple of months back, but was definitely a lot more secure on his feet than any of the other boys had been when they were little.
Jongho happily stood next to Seonghwa and Mingi, pleased with his independence. As Seonghwa swung the door open to the nursery, he looked in to see Wooyoung and San coloring together at a small table.
The two boys looked up from their coloring to make eye contact with their dad. San smiled fully, his eyes crinkling into small half-moon crescents and his dimple showing. Wooyoung, on the other hand, gave an appraising stare before glancing toward Seonghwa’s hand, where a still-snuffling Mingi clung.
“Is everyone okay?” Seonghwa asked.
He didn’t miss the look that was passed between Wooyoung and San, as they seemed to communicate silently with each other. This was something they often did, and everyone in the family had just adjusted to it.
Seonghwa knew that if he was going to get any answers, he was going to have to ask directly. He turned down to Mingi, brushing the boy’s hair out of his face.
“Mingi, what happened up here that made you so upset?”
Mingi cut his eyes toward Wooyoung and San, then just shook his head.
A voice came from over in the green beanbag corner, from behind a small chapter book.
“Wooyoung got mad because San didn’t want to share the purple crayon, so he bit him on the arm,” Yeosang said in a deadpan voice.
At six years old, Yeosang was already well established in school and was reading at a higher level than most kids his age, wanting so badly to keep up with his older brother — Yunho, who had turned eight in the spring.
If looks could kill, the glare coming from Wooyoung’s face would have turned Yeosang to stone in a second. At only three, Wooyoung’s facial expressions were enough to take down most adults. San, who was also three, was the complete opposite and often took Wooyoung’s temper in stride.
Seonghwa noticed out of the corner of his eye San tugging on the sleeve of his cat pajamas. Making sure Jongho was still safely standing by Mingi inside the nursery, he walked slowly over to San. He crouched to San’s level, met his eyes, and asked, “What happened?”
“Nuppin,” San responded.
Seonghwa sighed and tried again. “Sannie, tell Papa what happened.”
“Nuppin,” San repeated.
Wooyoung threw his arm around San’s shoulder, their matching cat pajamas in different colors highlighting how similar they were and yet still so individual.
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at Mingi. “You hear Sannie? NUPPIN happened, Mingi — you just a scaredy chicken.”
Seonghwa knew there would be no getting any more info from the toddlers this evening. He didn’t have the energy anyway. Jongho still needed a bath before bed, and Yeosang was still in his play clothes.
“Yeosang, please go ahead and find your puppy pajamas. They should be in the drawer of the dresser right under Yunho’s.”
There was no noise from over by the beanbags, but Seonghwa knew that Yeosang had heard him and would follow the instructions on his own time.
Seonghwa scooped up a squealing Jongho and walked toward the hallway bathroom.
Pausing, he thought to himself that leaving Mingi in there with the vengeful Wooyoung was probably not the best idea for anyone. He looked at the clock sitting on the bookshelf in the hallway, realizing that thankfully, Hongjoong should be home any minute. Even though he worked very long hours, he had decided this season to coach Yunho’s baseball team.
He had no sooner finished that thought when he heard the garage door opening.
Soon there was a thundering of small feet, as Mingi, Wooyoung, San, and a now freshly dressed-in-pajamas Yeosang went running by.
Looking down at the quiet baby in his arms, Seonghwa asked, “Do you think Daddy should give you the bath tonight?”
Jongho, hearing a few of his favorite words — including Daddy and bath — squealed loudly.
Seonghwa knew that Hongjoong would be more than willing to trade out chores. Giving the baby a bath would be so much easier than wrangling the four boys who had been waiting all night to hear about Yunho’s practice. It would take a minute for everyone to calm down while Yunho washed up and changed into his pajamas. But that would also give Seonghwa enough time to make himself a cup of tea to sip while he read everyone a book during their bedtime snack.
The snack and the book should be finished at the exact same time that Hongjoong finished getting the baby ready for bed.
He must have looked a lot more tired than he thought, because when Hongjoong came down the stairs holding a clean baby in bear pajamas to collect everyone for teeth brushing, he took one look at Seonghwa and said, “You know what? Honey, I think you could use a bath yourself. Why don’t you go relax, and I’ll finish out the nighttime routine.”
Seonghwa yawned to himself and realized that another entire hour had passed since he had been cleaning up after dinner. He really could not figure out how the days were both so very long and so very short — but he was happy for every single one of them