Three little pirates

Seongwha wasn't sure who's idea it was to have kids (it was his. All his) but he was wondering why it was a good idea.

"Kim Yong! Come down here right now" Seongwha tilted his head back, looking at his ten year old son, who was hanging from the ropes going up to the crow's nest.

"But it's fun!" Yong responded.

"And dangerous. Your dad told you to come down here and you need to listen" Hongjoong walked up, holding another little kid with one more hanging off his back.

"But, appa!" Yong whined.

"You have until the count of three, Kim Yong" Hongjoong warned. Yong huffed and started climbing down and jumped down onto the deck. He was only one of three kids. Yong was the oldest and he was ten. Eui was the only girl and she was seven and Ji-Seok was four. 

"Next time your dad or I tell you to do something, don't make us tell you twice" Hongjoong put a firm hand on the back of his son's neck, squeezing just the tiniest bit to show how serious he was.

"Yes sir" Yong nodded.

"You know how dangerous it is to be playing around in those ropes so why'd you do it?" Hongjoong questioned.

"I don't know. Seemed fun" Yong shrugged.

"Well, it won't be fun when I take a belt to your backside, will it?" Hongjoong responded quickly, issuing a warning. He had tried hard not to be like his father but it had taken some time for him to realize, with the help of Seongwha, that disciplining their children for putting themselves or each other in danger was not going to turn Hongjoong into his dad. 

"No sir, it won't" Yong shook his head. Hongjoong tried not to show his disgust at the title. He had never asked the kids to call him anything other than dad but they seemed to do it on their own. Well, Yong did. Seongwha swore that the day Eui called anyone sir would be the day the world ended and Ji-Seok was so young that he didn't even care to call either Hongjoong or Seongwha anything besides dad and appa. 

"If I have to tell you again, then that's what will happen. Do you understand?" Hongjoong warned. Jong nodded and was finally let go, quickly moving away from Hongjoong. 

"Apologize to your father and then go to your room" The Captain ordered. Yong quickly apologized to Seongwha and ran off. 

"Hongjoong, do you have to be so strict with him?" Seongwha wondered, walking over after watching the entire scene.

"He knows better than to be climbing up there and playing around so yes, I do have to be strict with him. Wasn't it you who told me that children require discipline? Neither of us come from very good backgrounds or had the best childhoods but we at least know that much about raising children" Hongjoong explained.

"I know that" Seongwha argued.

"Then what is the problem?" Hongjoong wondered, wrapping an arm around Seonghwa's waist. 

"I hate seeing him upset" Seongwha admitted. 

"And you think I enjoy seeing our children upset? I'd rather them be upset at me than hurt" Hongjoong pointed out. Seongwha couldn't argue with that so he said nothing. Truthfully, he understood Hongjoong's fear and the reason why he was so strict with their three children. But he was still plagued by memories of his own childhood and he knew Hongjoong was too. 

"We are good parents. And sometimes that means that our children will not like us. May the sea help us the day our children become teenagers" Hongjoong joked. Seongwha returned his hug, resting an arm on his husband's shoulder. 

"Your saying that as if they are bad children" Seongwha mentioned.

"Not bad children. Just very, very stubborn and independent" Hongjoong corrected.

"We raised them that way. Speaking of children, where are Eui and Ji?" Seongwha pulled away from Hongjoong, looking around the ship but there was no sign of the younger two children. 

"Knowing our children, they went for a swim" Hongjoong sighed, a little tired. It seemed there was not a moment's rest with three kids running around and causing havoc. 

"That's not funny" Seonghwa smacked his shoulder as they went to start looking for their daughter and younger son. Despite knowing that Hongjoong was joking, he still looked over the side of the ship. Just in case. 

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"Hwa, come see this" Hongjoong motioned his husband over, peeking into the room that their children shared. Yong was asleep in his bed with a small figure tucked against his side and a tiny hand resting on his stomach. One arm was draped protectively over his brother's figure while the other hand was tangled in his sister's hair as if he needed physical touch to prove that his siblings were safe. Eui was asleep half off the bed, sitting beside it with her head close enough for Yong to touch. If there were a such thing as phones, this would have been a perfect picture but they did not exist and no one had even heard of them. Still, both Hongjoong and Seongwha preserved that picture in their minds to carry forever. 

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I promise this is the last one that I will post for a while. No more new stories. One of you just gave me this idea and I had to write it. I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave suggestions

Kim Yong. Meaning: Dragon. Age:10
Kim Eui. Meaning: Righteous. Age:7
Kim Ji-Seok. Meaning: Like a rock. Age:4