Of Kids And Parental Guidance (2/?); Minho/Key
Minho and Kibum can vouch that being a parent really isn't an easy job.
“But daaaaad-”
“No buts.” Kibum stops his daughter from whining as he urges her out of her room towards the living room, “Appa and I have loads to do before Halmeoni arrives. We need you to help us watch over Sungwoo.”
“But he’s fine watching tv by himself!” Mikyung protests, craning her neck and pouting at her father as she walks beside him, “Nothing will happen to him.”
“And if something does, can I hold you responsible then?” Kibum asks, making careful note not to sound too stern because he didn’t want to scare Mikyung into taking care of her younger brother.
When Mikyung falls silent, Kibum knows he has won. As much as his daughter would rather do her own things, Kibum knows Mikyung still understands it is her duty as an older sister to help out her parents with her younger sibling.
“Fine.” Mikyung huffs, “I’ll go sit on the sofa and watch boring Pororo with him.”
Kibum laughs as he bends down to his daughter’s height and kisses her on her forehead.
“Not too long ago, Pororo was your idol, sweetie…” Kibum teases and then pats Mikyung on her to push her forward before she can whine a little more, “Thank you, my angel. Daddy’s lucky to have you.”
Mikyung forces herself not to smile at her father’s sweet words as she drags her feet to the living room and joins her brother on the sofa. Kibum smiles at the sight of his children and has the sudden urge to snap a photo of them together. He is about to look for his phone when Minho calls for him.
“Kibummie! Could you come in here for a moment! I can’t find-”
It only takes a few seconds for Kibum to enter Sungwoo’s room, where Minho has been cooped up since morning to transform it into a comfortable temporary guest room for his mother while the study room is undergoing renovation. And so, Minho is interrupted before he can finish his sentence.
“I’m here, don’t shout.” Kibum says as he enters the room and finds Minho adjusting the mattress on the new bed frame that arrived earlier, “What is it?”
“Where did you put the new bed sheets we got for my mum?”
“Here.” Kibum replies while walking towards the cabinet where he stored the bed sheets, “You’re done cleaning the room?”
“Yeah.” Minho lets out a huge breath as he stretches his limbs, “Why did I lose to you in rock, paper, scissors?”
“Hey, I’ve to organise our children’s room, it’s not much easier.” Kibum pushes the bed sheets into Minho’s chest, “But wow, you’re fast… so maybe you can-”
“No.” Minho shakes his head, “N-O, no.”
“Why not?” Kibum sticks out his bottom lip, “You didn’t even let me finish what I wanted to say…”
“I know what you’re thinking, Kibum, but I’ve done my part.” Minho ignores his husband’s attempt to soften his heart and reasons, “Besides, someone has to watch our kids.”
“I already got Mikyung to look after Sungwoo…” Kibum informs as he watches Minho take the bed sheets out of its packaging.
“Mikyung’s a kid too, Bum!”
Going forward to help Minho spread out the fitted sheet, Kibum holds one side of the sheets and shakes his head, “We both know watching our kids mean lazing on the sofa…”
“I deserve the break.” Minho simply says, “I swept, mopped and cleaned every spot in this room, Kibum.”
Kibum can’t deny the amount of cleaning Minho has done and so he keeps quiet and continues to help Minho with the bed sheets, especially with the quilt cover.
“Kibum… it really isn’t that hard to organise the kids’ room.” Minho breaks the silence once they’re done making the bed.
Kibum nods, “I know… I didn’t say anything else, did I?”
“But you’re so quiet… is this your way of making me feel bad?”
“No, silly, you’re thinking too much.” Kibum smiles and closes the distance between them to nudge Minho playfully, “I know when you’re right.”
“If this is reverse psychology…” Minho narrows his eyes at his husband.
Kibum laughs, “Really! I’m not trying anything… like you said, it isn’t that hard tidying the kids’ room. And if I do need help, I’ll call for you.”
Minho pretends not to hear Kibum’s words as he turns his attention back to the room and takes one good look around, “What do you think? You think umma will be fine living with us?”
Kibum comes to stand behind Minho and rests his chin against Minho’s shoulder.
“I think she’ll be more than fine… at least you don’t have to worry about dealing with mother and daughter-in-law problems.” Kibum jokes as he wraps his arms around Minho’s hips, “Aren’t you glad I’m such a lovable person?”
Minho laughs as he pats Kibum’s hands and plays along, “I always make the best choices…”
Kibum rolls his eyes and purposely squeezes Minho so tight that his husband ends up standing on his toes.
“Kibum!”
At his husband’s cry for help, Kibum lets Minho go with an obnoxious laugh. Minho is about to tackle Kibum into his own kind of hugs when they hear shouting coming from outside. Kibum and Minho share a look with each other. They know that their kids must have gotten into some sort of an argument again. In a split second, the parents are rushing out of the room one after another and heading straight towards the living room. What they see as they reach the sofa is Sungwoo looking terrified and about to burst into tears at one end of the sofa and Mikyung, on the other end, curled up in a ball and already crying.
“What happened?” Minho worriedly asks as he sits down next to his daughter, “Mikyung?”
Kibum settles next to Sungwoo, carries him into his lap and instantly comforts his son before he starts crying, “Alright, don’t cry. It’s okay, baby boy.”
“We were… were pl- playing… and… Sungwoo… he hit me.” Mikyung says in between sobs, sniffling and wiping her tears away with her sleeves, “Daddy, it hurts.”
“Where does it hurt?” Minho asks, checking his daughter, eyes glancing to check Sungwoo at the same time, and when Mikyung points to her arm, he quickly rubs at it gently, “What were you two doing, sweetie?”
Mikyung allows her father to wipe her tears away and push her hair out of her face as she replies, “We were playing that hand clapping game my friends taught me in school… but Sungwoo couldn’t follow and he hit me instead.”
“So it’s an accident?” Minho asks.
Mikyung nods and in that moment, both Minho and Kibum are relieved it isn’t another one of those fights siblings get into that leave parents in a sticky situation.
“Sungwoo yah…” Kibum moves Sungwoo in his lap to face his sister, “Can you say sorry to your noona?”
Sungwoo pouts but he listens to his father and repeats as best as he can, “Soh-wee noona.”
Kibum smiles and plants a loud kiss on his son’s cheek, “Be careful not to hit your noona next time alright?”
Sungwoo nods and squirms out of Kibum’s lap. Knowing his son wants to get away, Kibum helps Sungwoo up and settles him on the little space left between Minho and him on the sofa.
“How are you feeling now, Mikyung?” Kibum then asks, “Does it still hurt?”
Mikyung shakes her head, “I’m okay… but dad, am I free to do my own things now?”
Kibum is about to reply when Minho butts in.
“Mikyung ah, you have a lot of stuff lying around the house… can you keep them in your own room and tidy up before Halmeoni comes?”
“Do I have to?” Mikyung grumbles.
Minho nods, “You can’t expect Dad to do everything…”
“Alright…” Mikyung sighs, but inside, she knows she is responsible for her own room.
Kibum smiles as he reaches his hand out towards Mikyung, “Come on sweetie, the faster we clean up, the faster we get to rest.”
Mikyung takes her father’s hand and together, they leave the living room. Minho smiles as he carries his son up and lies down with Sungwoo now sitting on his stomach.
“Be good when Halmeoni arrives alright?”
When Sungwoo blinks innocently at him with a look of confusion on his adorable baby face, Minho starts to wonder if his two kids will be too much for his mother to handle. Well, looking at the time on the clock, Minho will soon find out. His mother is due to arrive in an hour.
“Mikyung! Don’t think I don’t know you’re still wrapped in a towel! Go get changed!” Kibum shouts from the bathroom as he tries to stop his son from splashing around in the tub, “Sungwoo, please stop. Dad’s getting all wet because of you. I really don’t have the time to-”
“Kibum! What should we do for dinner? Are we going out? Or are we cooking?” Minho steps into the bathroom and stops to stand beside Kibum who is sitting on a stool in front of the bathtub where their son is enjoying a bubble bath, “What do you think umma would prefer?”
“Minho, this really isn’t-” Turning his attention to Minho, Kibum starts but doesn’t get to finish because in the next second, both he and Minho get splashed with soapy water.
“No!” Kibum gasps as he instinctively turns away to avoid his son’s sudden attack.
“Sungwoo!” At the same time, Minho lets out a groan and tries to hold his son still but it’s too late.
The next thing they know, Sungwoo has gotten his little hands around the hand shower and is happily spraying his parents with water just so he can clean the soap off the both of them. Kibum and Minho know their son has good intentions but he’s still a little young to understand that he’s only making the situation worse.
Laughing helplessly, Minho quickly takes the hand shower away from his son and regains control of the situation.
“You.” Kneeling down beside the bathtub, Minho breathes out while washing his son clean, “-need to stay still.”
“Sungwoo yah…” Feeling as if he got caught in the rain, Kibum sighs as he looks at the sorry state Minho and him are in before he shakes his head at his son, “What are Appa and I going to do about you?”
“Maybe umma will handle him better than us…” Minho thinks out loud but soon gets distracted when he lifts his son out of the water and says, “Pass me the towel, Bummie.”
Kibum reaches out for not one, but two towels, to wipe them all dry, as he replies, “Umma’s going to think we failed as parents…”
As Minho wraps one towel around Sungwoo and begins drying him off, Kibum uses the other towel to wipe his own face first before he carefully pats Minho’s face dry.
Noticing that water is dripping from Minho’s hair, Kibum lets out a laugh, “Looks like you need to get changed too…”
“We both do.” Minho points out, eyeing Kibum from head to toe, and then gets up from the ground to lead Sungwoo out of the bathroom, “But first, we need to get him ready.”
“Right.” Kibum nods, standing up and following behind his husband and son.
Just then, the doorbell rings. Minho and Kibum instantly stop in their footsteps and look at each other with similar shocked, almost horrified, expressions. One look and they both know they aren’t ready for this. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) for them, there’s someone in their family who’s not at a loss on what to do.
“I’ll get it!”
Squealing, Mikyung, now in a light denim dress, zooms past them, running towards the main door, and eagerly opens it with all her strength to welcome her grandmother into the house.
“Halmeoni!” Mikyung greets as she hugs Mrs Choi where she can reach her.
“Hi darling!” Pulling her luggage along with her, Mrs Choi laughs as she holds the door open and quickly comes in with Mikyung now holding her free hand, “Where are your dads, sweetie? And Sungwoo, where is he?”
Mrs Choi doesn’t have to wait for an answer though. As she leaves her luggage in the doorway and gets led into the house by an excited Mikyung, she soon catches sight of the very boys she is looking for.
From where he is, Kibum lifts up a hand to wave as he smiles awkwardly, “Hi Umma.”
“Welcome to your new home?” Minho adds with an equally awkward laugh.
“Is this your way to prepare me for what I’m getting myself into?” Mrs Choi asks but shakes her head, not needing to hear an answer, as she hurries forward with Mikyung in tow, “Never mind. I don’t even want to know what happened. You two, go dry yourselves and get changed. Sungwoo my darling boy, Halmeoni will take care of you.”
As they watch Sungwoo slip his little hand into his grandmother’s other hand, Minho and Kibum exchange a look with each other. They can’t help but smile at the sight before them. It hasn’t even been five minutes and Mrs Choi’s motherly instincts have already kicked in. They aren’t complaining though. With Mikyung and Sungwoo growing up so fast, this is exactly what their house needs.
Once they’re left alone in the hallway, Minho holds his hand out for Kibum to take and asks, “Shall we?”
Kibum raises an eyebrow at Minho, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I wanna hold your hand too.” Minho grins mischievously, having too much fun teasing his husband.
Kibum gently smacks Minho’s hand away, “Stop it, your mother’s around.”
“She won’t be… when we’re in the bathroom together.”
“Minho, please.” Kibum sighs, “Behave yourself.”
“Here I am thinking we would get more time to ourselves with umma around to help out with the kids…” Minho grumbles out loud as he purposely puts a sad expression on his face, “I guess it’s just my wishful thinking.”
It takes a moment for Kibum’s defense to crumble but he eventually gives in to his husband’s attempt to act pitiful.
And so, before Minho can react, Kibum reaches out to hold Minho’s hand and leads him towards their bedroom.
“30 minutes in the bathroom.” Kibum says under his breath, “That’s all I’m giving you.”
Smirking like the cat that got the cream, Minho leans into Kibum’s space and whispers into his ear, “That’s more than enough, baby.”
As Minho locks the door to their room, Kibum can only hope that their kids will keep their grandmother busy.
“But daaaaad-”
“No buts.” Kibum stops his daughter from whining as he urges her out of her room towards the living room, “Appa and I have loads to do before Halmeoni arrives. We need you to help us watch over Sungwoo.”
“But he’s fine watching tv by himself!” Mikyung protests, craning her neck and pouting at her father as she walks beside him, “Nothing will happen to him.”
“And if something does, can I hold you responsible then?” Kibum asks, making careful note not to sound too stern because he didn’t want to scare Mikyung into taking care of her younger brother.
When Mikyung falls silent, Kibum knows he has won. As much as his daughter would rather do her own things, Kibum knows Mikyung still understands it is her duty as an older sister to help out her parents with her younger sibling.
“Fine.” Mikyung huffs, “I’ll go sit on the sofa and watch boring Pororo with him.”
Kibum laughs as he bends down to his daughter’s height and kisses her on her forehead.
“Not too long ago, Pororo was your idol, sweetie…” Kibum teases and then pats Mikyung on her to push her forward before she can whine a little more, “Thank you, my angel. Daddy’s lucky to have you.”
Mikyung forces herself not to smile at her father’s sweet words as she drags her feet to the living room and joins her brother on the sofa. Kibum smiles at the sight of his children and has the sudden urge to snap a photo of them together. He is about to look for his phone when Minho calls for him.
“Kibummie! Could you come in here for a moment! I can’t find-”
It only takes a few seconds for Kibum to enter Sungwoo’s room, where Minho has been cooped up since morning to transform it into a comfortable temporary guest room for his mother while the study room is undergoing renovation. And so, Minho is interrupted before he can finish his sentence.
“I’m here, don’t shout.” Kibum says as he enters the room and finds Minho adjusting the mattress on the new bed frame that arrived earlier, “What is it?”
“Where did you put the new bed sheets we got for my mum?”
“Here.” Kibum replies while walking towards the cabinet where he stored the bed sheets, “You’re done cleaning the room?”
“Yeah.” Minho lets out a huge breath as he stretches his limbs, “Why did I lose to you in rock, paper, scissors?”
“Hey, I’ve to organise our children’s room, it’s not much easier.” Kibum pushes the bed sheets into Minho’s chest, “But wow, you’re fast… so maybe you can-”
“No.” Minho shakes his head, “N-O, no.”
“Why not?” Kibum sticks out his bottom lip, “You didn’t even let me finish what I wanted to say…”
“I know what you’re thinking, Kibum, but I’ve done my part.” Minho ignores his husband’s attempt to soften his heart and reasons, “Besides, someone has to watch our kids.”
“I already got Mikyung to look after Sungwoo…” Kibum informs as he watches Minho take the bed sheets out of its packaging.
“Mikyung’s a kid too, Bum!”
Going forward to help Minho spread out the fitted sheet, Kibum holds one side of the sheets and shakes his head, “We both know watching our kids mean lazing on the sofa…”
“I deserve the break.” Minho simply says, “I swept, mopped and cleaned every spot in this room, Kibum.”
Kibum can’t deny the amount of cleaning Minho has done and so he keeps quiet and continues to help Minho with the bed sheets, especially with the quilt cover.
“Kibum… it really isn’t that hard to organise the kids’ room.” Minho breaks the silence once they’re done making the bed.
Kibum nods, “I know… I didn’t say anything else, did I?”
“But you’re so quiet… is this your way of making me feel bad?”
“No, silly, you’re thinking too much.” Kibum smiles and closes the distance between them to nudge Minho playfully, “I know when you’re right.”
“If this is reverse psychology…” Minho narrows his eyes at his husband.
Kibum laughs, “Really! I’m not trying anything… like you said, it isn’t that hard tidying the kids’ room. And if I do need help, I’ll call for you.”
Minho pretends not to hear Kibum’s words as he turns his attention back to the room and takes one good look around, “What do you think? You think umma will be fine living with us?”
Kibum comes to stand behind Minho and rests his chin against Minho’s shoulder.
“I think she’ll be more than fine… at least you don’t have to worry about dealing with mother and daughter-in-law problems.” Kibum jokes as he wraps his arms around Minho’s hips, “Aren’t you glad I’m such a lovable person?”
Minho laughs as he pats Kibum’s hands and plays along, “I always make the best choices…”
Kibum rolls his eyes and purposely squeezes Minho so tight that his husband ends up standing on his toes.
“Kibum!”
At his husband’s cry for help, Kibum lets Minho go with an obnoxious laugh. Minho is about to tackle Kibum into his own kind of hugs when they hear shouting coming from outside. Kibum and Minho share a look with each other. They know that their kids must have gotten into some sort of an argument again. In a split second, the parents are rushing out of the room one after another and heading straight towards the living room. What they see as they reach the sofa is Sungwoo looking terrified and about to burst into tears at one end of the sofa and Mikyung, on the other end, curled up in a ball and already crying.
“What happened?” Minho worriedly asks as he sits down next to his daughter, “Mikyung?”
Kibum settles next to Sungwoo, carries him into his lap and instantly comforts his son before he starts crying, “Alright, don’t cry. It’s okay, baby boy.”
“We were… were pl- playing… and… Sungwoo… he hit me.” Mikyung says in between sobs, sniffling and wiping her tears away with her sleeves, “Daddy, it hurts.”
“Where does it hurt?” Minho asks, checking his daughter, eyes glancing to check Sungwoo at the same time, and when Mikyung points to her arm, he quickly rubs at it gently, “What were you two doing, sweetie?”
Mikyung allows her father to wipe her tears away and push her hair out of her face as she replies, “We were playing that hand clapping game my friends taught me in school… but Sungwoo couldn’t follow and he hit me instead.”
“So it’s an accident?” Minho asks.
Mikyung nods and in that moment, both Minho and Kibum are relieved it isn’t another one of those fights siblings get into that leave parents in a sticky situation.
“Sungwoo yah…” Kibum moves Sungwoo in his lap to face his sister, “Can you say sorry to your noona?”
Sungwoo pouts but he listens to his father and repeats as best as he can, “Soh-wee noona.”
Kibum smiles and plants a loud kiss on his son’s cheek, “Be careful not to hit your noona next time alright?”
Sungwoo nods and squirms out of Kibum’s lap. Knowing his son wants to get away, Kibum helps Sungwoo up and settles him on the little space left between Minho and him on the sofa.
“How are you feeling now, Mikyung?” Kibum then asks, “Does it still hurt?”
Mikyung shakes her head, “I’m okay… but dad, am I free to do my own things now?”
Kibum is about to reply when Minho butts in.
“Mikyung ah, you have a lot of stuff lying around the house… can you keep them in your own room and tidy up before Halmeoni comes?”
“Do I have to?” Mikyung grumbles.
Minho nods, “You can’t expect Dad to do everything…”
“Alright…” Mikyung sighs, but inside, she knows she is responsible for her own room.
Kibum smiles as he reaches his hand out towards Mikyung, “Come on sweetie, the faster we clean up, the faster we get to rest.”
Mikyung takes her father’s hand and together, they leave the living room. Minho smiles as he carries his son up and lies down with Sungwoo now sitting on his stomach.
“Be good when Halmeoni arrives alright?”
When Sungwoo blinks innocently at him with a look of confusion on his adorable baby face, Minho starts to wonder if his two kids will be too much for his mother to handle. Well, looking at the time on the clock, Minho will soon find out. His mother is due to arrive in an hour.
“Mikyung! Don’t think I don’t know you’re still wrapped in a towel! Go get changed!” Kibum shouts from the bathroom as he tries to stop his son from splashing around in the tub, “Sungwoo, please stop. Dad’s getting all wet because of you. I really don’t have the time to-”
“Kibum! What should we do for dinner? Are we going out? Or are we cooking?” Minho steps into the bathroom and stops to stand beside Kibum who is sitting on a stool in front of the bathtub where their son is enjoying a bubble bath, “What do you think umma would prefer?”
“Minho, this really isn’t-” Turning his attention to Minho, Kibum starts but doesn’t get to finish because in the next second, both he and Minho get splashed with soapy water.
“No!” Kibum gasps as he instinctively turns away to avoid his son’s sudden attack.
“Sungwoo!” At the same time, Minho lets out a groan and tries to hold his son still but it’s too late.
The next thing they know, Sungwoo has gotten his little hands around the hand shower and is happily spraying his parents with water just so he can clean the soap off the both of them. Kibum and Minho know their son has good intentions but he’s still a little young to understand that he’s only making the situation worse.
Laughing helplessly, Minho quickly takes the hand shower away from his son and regains control of the situation.
“You.” Kneeling down beside the bathtub, Minho breathes out while washing his son clean, “-need to stay still.”
“Sungwoo yah…” Feeling as if he got caught in the rain, Kibum sighs as he looks at the sorry state Minho and him are in before he shakes his head at his son, “What are Appa and I going to do about you?”
“Maybe umma will handle him better than us…” Minho thinks out loud but soon gets distracted when he lifts his son out of the water and says, “Pass me the towel, Bummie.”
Kibum reaches out for not one, but two towels, to wipe them all dry, as he replies, “Umma’s going to think we failed as parents…”
As Minho wraps one towel around Sungwoo and begins drying him off, Kibum uses the other towel to wipe his own face first before he carefully pats Minho’s face dry.
Noticing that water is dripping from Minho’s hair, Kibum lets out a laugh, “Looks like you need to get changed too…”
“We both do.” Minho points out, eyeing Kibum from head to toe, and then gets up from the ground to lead Sungwoo out of the bathroom, “But first, we need to get him ready.”
“Right.” Kibum nods, standing up and following behind his husband and son.
Just then, the doorbell rings. Minho and Kibum instantly stop in their footsteps and look at each other with similar shocked, almost horrified, expressions. One look and they both know they aren’t ready for this. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) for them, there’s someone in their family who’s not at a loss on what to do.
“I’ll get it!”
Squealing, Mikyung, now in a light denim dress, zooms past them, running towards the main door, and eagerly opens it with all her strength to welcome her grandmother into the house.
“Halmeoni!” Mikyung greets as she hugs Mrs Choi where she can reach her.
“Hi darling!” Pulling her luggage along with her, Mrs Choi laughs as she holds the door open and quickly comes in with Mikyung now holding her free hand, “Where are your dads, sweetie? And Sungwoo, where is he?”
Mrs Choi doesn’t have to wait for an answer though. As she leaves her luggage in the doorway and gets led into the house by an excited Mikyung, she soon catches sight of the very boys she is looking for.
From where he is, Kibum lifts up a hand to wave as he smiles awkwardly, “Hi Umma.”
“Welcome to your new home?” Minho adds with an equally awkward laugh.
“Is this your way to prepare me for what I’m getting myself into?” Mrs Choi asks but shakes her head, not needing to hear an answer, as she hurries forward with Mikyung in tow, “Never mind. I don’t even want to know what happened. You two, go dry yourselves and get changed. Sungwoo my darling boy, Halmeoni will take care of you.”
As they watch Sungwoo slip his little hand into his grandmother’s other hand, Minho and Kibum exchange a look with each other. They can’t help but smile at the sight before them. It hasn’t even been five minutes and Mrs Choi’s motherly instincts have already kicked in. They aren’t complaining though. With Mikyung and Sungwoo growing up so fast, this is exactly what their house needs.
Once they’re left alone in the hallway, Minho holds his hand out for Kibum to take and asks, “Shall we?”
Kibum raises an eyebrow at Minho, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I wanna hold your hand too.” Minho grins mischievously, having too much fun teasing his husband.
Kibum gently smacks Minho’s hand away, “Stop it, your mother’s around.”
“She won’t be… when we’re in the bathroom together.”
“Minho, please.” Kibum sighs, “Behave yourself.”
“Here I am thinking we would get more time to ourselves with umma around to help out with the kids…” Minho grumbles out loud as he purposely puts a sad expression on his face, “I guess it’s just my wishful thinking.”
It takes a moment for Kibum’s defense to crumble but he eventually gives in to his husband’s attempt to act pitiful.
And so, before Minho can react, Kibum reaches out to hold Minho’s hand and leads him towards their bedroom.
“30 minutes in the bathroom.” Kibum says under his breath, “That’s all I’m giving you.”
Smirking like the cat that got the cream, Minho leans into Kibum’s space and whispers into his ear, “That’s more than enough, baby.”
As Minho locks the door to their room, Kibum can only hope that their kids will keep their grandmother busy.