Six Against One

~Chapter 11 (Part I)~

"Yunho really wanted to go to the aquarium made we could do that to kill some time before 4pm and Mingi wanted to go to all the shops we pasted by on the way here. We could do that too if the aquarium doesn't take up too much time!" Hongjoong nodded in agreement about waiting to go to the beach. "Maybe we could get ice cream from somewhere local after the surprise too. They really enjoyed that the last time we went and it has been a while." he suggested as well.

Seong-hwa nodded along with everything Hongjoong suggested before noticing him being to yawn. "Joongie, you look exhausted! Why don't you go to the master room and take a nap. You can have it! I'll take one of the rooms with another queen bed in it and talk with the boys about who wants to sleep where!" He reassured Hongjoong, feeling bad because he knows today didn't start out well and the boy was extremely tired. He needed a break, and Seong-hwa needed to take charge over his own children. He has been watching Hongjoong very closely and has been taking notes on how he acts with the kids, and he was ready to put his notes into practice!

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(Everything throughout the story that is bolded means it was signed to the person being spoken to)

Seong-hwa's POV:

Hongjoong ended up falling into a very deep sleep, and when it was time to go to the aquarium by myself, which took up the whole time and we couldn't go to the beach, as I had several mini heart attacks thinking I lost someone every 5 minute. God, how did Hongjoong get through the airport?! No wonder he need to sleep for so long! I'm heavily considering giving him a raise, that was one of the most stressful situations I've ever been in!

But we all really bonded..it was just really sad to see the pure shock in all of their eyes when they learned that I would be taking them to the aquarium by myself....Yunho and Yeosang questioned if I could really handle it...I won't lie, I have heavily relied on Hongjoong to care for the boys and take them to do things. I always put them to bed, but most weekends I'm too tired to go to the park or the fair so Hongjoong takes them, and if I do go I'm so out of it....it isn't right...

God I've become my father...the man I hate....the man I said I would never become....yet here I am..

I am so sorry boys....

I never knew how much Yunho was fascinated by fish. He definitely enjoy it the most, he went around and read every single fact before sharing it with the family. Even on the walk to the restaurant that Hongjoong told us to meet him at, Yunho just had more and more facts to share. Now Yunho was definitely not the quietest but over the last few months before Hongjoong came and a little after, I knew something was off with him as he started to grow more reserved, and was less loud and chaotic then he normally was. So I loved hearing him talk and jump from one thing to another thing not being able to gather all his thought because of how excited he was. 

"Will you just shut up!" Mingi finally said as we arrived to the restaurant. 

"Mingi, I understand that you might have something to say or you might want some quiet, but that's rude! There's nicer ways to get others to stop talking so you can talk or have some quiet time! You could tap his arm to get his attention and communicate to him 'I have something to say' or 'I need some quietness, please'" I said to Mingi in a gentle way "Could you please apologize and then communicate to him what you want?" I asked 

Mingi listened to what I said and immediately felt bad. "Yunho-hyung...I'm sorry that was rude..I get your so excited about all that you learned...but some of us also wanna talk about what we saw at the aquarium. Could I have a turn to talk?" 

I could believe my eyes...they were so civil about things and Mingi listened to me...I couldn't help but smile and little did I know Hongjoong watched the whole thing. 

"Well done, Hyung!" Hongjoong said with a smile 

"I guess taking notes while I watched you deal with them wasn't such a bad idea....and watching parent tiktoks too" I said with a chuckle

Hongjoong chuckled too and shook his head at me "You're too cute..." he said before catching himself and quickly adding "Our table is ready!" 

Author's POV:

Dinner was great! Other than the fact that Hongjoong picked a local seafood place after the family went to the aquarium and Yunho refused to let anyone get any sea creature to eat. But they finally were able to settle with him and he allowed them to get crab or lobster since they were mean and could pinch you. He also said that everyone could have shrimp because if they didn't eat them a bigger sea creature would just eat them instead.

Now it was time for Hongjoong's surprise. He lead everyone out to the beach as the sun started to set and the boys and Seong-hwa all stood on this dock that wasn't over the ocean but over the sand. 

All the boy's faces lit up as they sat down to watch the sun set. It truly was beautiful and Seong-hwa was sure it made the boy's first time ever stepping foot on a beach more memorable. But once the sun was set and it was dark Hongjoong informed them that, that wasn't why he brought everyone out here.

"I brought you guys out here because the point of this vacation is for your father to go close to you guys...he wants to know you guys better and to be a better dad to you guys..maybe you guys can share with him things he doesn't know about you...or maybe ways he could be better?..or maybe just something you wanna share...Just one thing, whatever you feel comfortable with. It is a no judgment zone...no one's feelings are invalid." He explained out loud while signing. "I waited for it to get dark so we could stand on the sand and then you can't really see everyone, this also allows for you to scream if you want, to release any negative feelings if you want, without screaming in someone's face...Wooyoung if you wanna go out there instead of having to stay and sign up hear San or me could interrupt for you...whatever you feel comfortable with."  He added looking around at everyone who seemed unsure about this exercise. "I'll go first, Sannie can you sign for Wooyoung?" He asked before walking off the dock and onto the beach.

Hongjoong then walked out to the beach and took a moment to take a deep breath. He then looked up at everyone and spoke up so they could hear him "I grew up without a family..." He said before taking a moment again. This was very hard for him to speak on but if he wanted the boys to express any deep feeling they felt toward Seong-hwa he had to be willing to set the example. "I was an orphan at the age of 3...and no one ever adopted me...I grew up and aged out of the system eventually...I was alone..." He sighed "Maybe this isn't something I should express....especially since I haven't been with you guys for long........but with you guys....I feel like I'm with family and I don't feel alone...So thank you for that!" He expressed as a tear or two started to fall. He then walked back over and immediately Wooyoung hugged him. 

Although Wooyoung didn't understand it all as San was still young and still learning signs for certain words, and because he was young, but he understood that Hongjoong was alone and now he didn't feel alone. And a few other kids followed Wooyoung's foot steps and began to hug Hongjoong. 

Seong-hwa took a deep breath and took a minute to process everything Hongjoong just shared and it really touched him, and from the looks of it, it touched the kids too. He soon joined in on the group hug. He knew just based off of this that tonight would be an emotional night.

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Okay why is it that a week ago I tested positive for covid, I've been stuck at home with nothing to do, and the night before I'm supposed to go back to work (only have to quarantine for 5 days now and I tested negative now) I decide "You know what's a good idea...to update my book!" I'll probably wake up late tomorrow but oh well! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I just wanted to give you an emotional warning before we got to the top of the emotional roll coaster. :) Bring a tissue box with you when you read Part II! I purple you! Have a great day/night!