Two Are Better Than One

Chapter 7

Hongjoong wouldn't have felt so helpless if he hadn't tried. But he had. He has brought the idea up to the managers - all different - and not one of them seemed too fond of the idea. How can he not feel so helpless?

"So, manager-nim, I noticed Seonghwa hasn't really been feeling well lately." Hongjoong nervously brought up the topic. He was sitting across from one of their managers at the building's dining table. They were both having lunch together before he had to go to practice.

"Really? Did he catch a fever?" The manager nonchalantly said as he ate.

"Um...no. Not that type of sick. He hasn't been feeling well because of his headspace." Hongjoong looked down. He poked his noodles. "It's hard for Seonghwa to sometimes go to the Littles Center...do you think there will probably ever be a time where we can have a Little at home? I think it could be easier for him- for all of us. It's not uncommon. There's a lot of members with caregiver tendencies in our group and we wouldn't be the only group that has Littles-"

"Hongjoong."

Hongjoong closed his mouth and his cheeks turned red when he realized he had been rambling. His manager was staring at him with a look. A look as if he was trying to figure out what Hongjoong was hiding behind his words.

"First, to simply answer your question, I do believe that your group could have a Little at home." The manager began. Hongjoong's heart leaped and his eyes lit up.

"-But, not now. Maybe in your 5th year? You should all prioritize your careers and schedules. For now, I think we can come up with an easier solution to help Seonghwa, don't you think? I'll try talking with the other staff to see if we can reduce some things from his schedule so he could visit." The manager closed the conversation and went back to eating his noodles.

Hongjoong's heart deflated, his hope leaving with it.

It's not like the managers were the ones that had the power to allow it or not. Maybe if they weren't his managers, they would have actually been excited at the idea of Littles. But, if Hongjoong couldn't even convince at least one manager then how could he convince their CEO? How was he supposed to convince him that he wants to adopt two Littles within the next week? Maybe less?

Hongjoong groaned and he slammed his head against his desk. Ouch.

~~~

Wooyoung and Yeosang were improving so well with their health. They were now capable of moving freely without a whimper or pained face. Because of their healed state, the nurses informed them how active they have started to become and the boys definitely understood what they were talking about. Recently, the members have always found them bouncing in their cribs and when the members were there they begged for piggyback rides. Yunho was the one to blame for that one.

Because of their activeness, the nurses had introduced them to the Little indoor playroom that the hospital had. It was a large room that held multiple areas to play for all the Littles staying on that floor. There was a big television in one corner with bean bags, a section with tables to color or draw, a big playmat next to buckets of a variety of toys, and an area that had many stuffed animals so a Little could grab. It looked like a Little heaven, so it came as a shock to everyone when the two little ones had a complete meltdown the second they were taken inside the room. Seonghwa, Mingi, and Jongho had accompanied them at the time, but even with their presence, the two babies cried their entire chest out. Yeosang refused to take his head out of the crook of Mingi's head and Wooyoung had his nails digging into Seonghwa's back. There were other Littles (about seven) in the room that stared at them that had faces wondering why they were crying. Seonghwa wished he knew the answer too. The two had cried until the nurses gave up (and some of the younger Littles there were starting to get cranky with the noise), so the members took them back to their room.