Care || n.jm

🧸twenty three🧸

"I want to use the yellow crayon!" Renjun whined, crossing his arms.

"Here, I'll give you mine." Jeno offered his orange crayon but Renjun just slapped it away. Offended, the boy looked at Haneul with teary eyes. "He doesn't love me."

"How about I borrow it? I really need it for my drawing." Haneul comforted. Jeno's face instantly lit up as he handed it to Haneul.

"Hyuckie give me the yellow crayon now you've been using it since earlier!" Renjun's whine goes right through Donghyuck's ears as he continued to use the crayon.

"Can I see yours Junnie?" Haneul asked. Although reluctant, Renjun showed his paper to her.

"It's still ugly because there's no yellow."

His drawing was cute. Unlike the rest of the kids who drew whatever, Renjun tried to draw all of them in the field. Well, that's what it looked like at the least.

"That's me. I'm supposed to have a yellow shirt." Renjun pouted. He really wanted to finish the drawing before he showed Haneul.

"Give me a moment." Haneul excused herself and went to the room. She returned with one of her old yellow colored pencil. "Here, don't pout anymore."

"Noona's drawing is so pretty." Chenle gawked, staring at her paper. "He kind of looks familiar? Right Mark?"

Mark stopped coloring to glance at the paper and nodded.

"Does it? I just kept drawing without thinking." Haneul mumbled, looking over at her drawing. Now that Chenle mentioned it, the person she drew somewhat looked familiar.

Jaemin walked in with the laundry, struggling to see where he walked. Haneul was quick to walk over to him and help him.

"You should call me if there's a lot to bring in." She said, grabbing a couple of bedsheets from him.

"But you must be tired playing with the kids." Jaemin reasoned. "As long as I can do it myself, I'll do it."

"Want me to make you a coffee? Let's take a break while the kids are busy." Haneul offered. She didn't wait for an answer and dragged Jaemin to the dining area.

Jaemin took a seat and watched Haneul brew their drinks. He rested his cheek against the palm of his hand with a small smile. She was never a fan of coffee but had learned how to brew it for him.

Haneul rummaged through the drawers. "Where are the tea bags?"

"I put them in the cabinet." Jaemin answered, pointing to the middle one. "Can you reach it?"

"If I climb the counter I can." Haneul removed her slippers, getting ready to climb.

"I'll get it."

Jaemin walked up behind her and opened the cabinet. Haneul, on the other hand, was in panic as the fluttery feeling came one more.

He was too close to her, the small distance allowing her to take in the sweet scent of lavender and peaches.

"Here." Jaemin handed her the teabag. The smirk on his face was wiped off as he saw her cherry red cheeks. "Why are you so red? Are you sick?"

"It's nothing!" She squeaked, trying to get away.

He brushed her bangs aside and put his forehead against hers. "You're burning up. Are you sure it's nothing?"

"Daddy!" Jisung called from below, breaking their sweet moment. Haneul took it as a chance to grab the tea bag and continue what she was doing.

Jaemin looked at him mortified at what he called him. "I'm not your dad!"

"Yes you are." Jisung deadpanned. "If they're my brothers, then you're my dad and noona is my mom. Taeyong-hyung said so."

"Maybe you guys should stop going on playdates with him." Jaemin grumbled, picking the boy up. "What do you need?"

"Chenle said he wanted to go potty but can't walk up to you guys." Jisung pointed to Chenle who was sitting with his legs crossed.

"I'll go help him real quick." Jaemin said, walking into the living room. He quickly put Jisung on the couch and carried Chenle to the bathroom.

"What's this?" Mark asked, pointing at Jaemin's cup. He climbed onto the chair and helped Jeno onto it.

"It's Jaemin's coffee." Haneul answered. "Don't drink it—"

A gagging sound from one of the two made her sigh. She should have warned them before telling them what it was.

Jeno toddled up to her, tongue out as he looked at her with desperate eyes. Haneul carefully lifted him and had him rinse his mouth. She gave him some candy before letting him rejoin Mark.

"That's not coffee! It's poison!" Mark coughed, running over to the water dispenser.

"Am I going to die?" Jeno asked.

"I want to try it!" Donghyuck exclaimed, running to the table.

"One sip from that and you won't be able to sleep for days." Jaemin said, walking back in with a happy looking Chenle. "Boys gather around the table. I need to talk to you six."

"Are we in trouble?"

Once the kids were all together, Jaemin cleared his throat. Haneul who knew what was going on decided to sit on the counter and watch.

"You see, Haneul and I will be testing something tomorrow and we'll leave you boys alone for one hour. Alone." Jaemin started. "Can I trust you boys to be responsible and not fight each other? You know our protocol right?"

"Don't open the door to strangers. They need to use the password." Renjun answered.

"If there's an emergency call Jaem first." Mark added.

"Kitchen and laundry room is off limits." Jeno finished off.

"Good boys." Jaemin complimented. "You three take care of your brothers as the eldest here, okay? Especially you Reonjeon."

"Why just me?"

"Anyway, before we end today's meeting I need to add something to the rule." Jaemin looked over at Haneul who nodded. "If Yeojeong comes over, I want Mark to go to the bedroom and call me."

"Why?" Jisung asked.

"Because she only plays with you guys and we want to play with her too. You guys can't tell her about us because she might get too shy and leave." Jaemin explained. "Is that clear?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, you guys can go play again." Jaemin ushered them back into the living room. He took his cup of coffee and took a sip.

"They took that better than I expected." Haneul said, joining him at the table. She had her cup of tea in one hand.

"They're our kids after all." Jaemin chuckled. He lowered himself a bit to let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"I thought you didn't want to be the dad."

"Maybe if you're the mom I'll accept the role." Jaemin grinned.

Meanwhile in the living room, Chenle was kept staring at Haneul's sketchpad. If you looked close enough, maybe you would see the gears in his head working.

Chenle finally reached his eureka and approached Jisung. "I finally know who it is!"

"Who?"

"It's hyung!"

A/N

So how long should I drag it out? Should they finally confess to each other or should I add a bit more of development?

In the spirit of Lee Haneul should I make some Jaemin fanart??