THE LITTLE COPY ⋮ markhyuck

Chapter 𝟱𝟬

With her little legs, Maria ran in the snow and laughed as Papa tried to catch her. Donghyuck knew he had to play it slowly if he wanted his daughter to feel more confident in her games, so he tried to limit his movement. Dongchan didn't care. He threw a snowball right at her and when Papa gasped, he got one at his back too.

"Hey!" Donghyuck looked at the mischievous ten-year-old. "That's not fair. Don't be like this!"

"It's not my fault you two are as slow as sloths," the boy laughed and worked on another snowball.

Donghyuck crossed his arms and looked at Mark, just a few feet away. The daddy of two stopped smiling and lowered his phone. He filmed them ever since they arrived at the cabin, narrating every move the three made. It seemed he had fun filming how the youngest and Papa got two snowballs at them.

"I wasn't filming," he mumbled to his husband, who was a bit annoyed at his new hobby, then turned to Dongchan. "Channie, don't bully your sister and Papa like that! Be gentle!"

"They're easy targets," the kid shrugged his shoulders and continued working on another snowball.

"He sounds like a psychopath," Donghyuck muttered, shaking his head.

"That's nothing to be proud of. Try targeting someone way faster," Mark chuckled, and then, before Dongchan could realize it, his daddy attacked him.

The ten-year-old didn't like being attacked like this. Mark was fast and way too good at snowfights that Dongchan couldn't keep up with him. He stopped making snowballs and just around, screamed and, lastly, looked for comfort behind Donghyuck's back. He was blocked from Mark, but not from Maria. The girl avenged the first ball by throwing snow at her brother and laughing.

"This isn't fair," Dongchan complained as he felt like the three teamed up against him.

"It really isn't. I'm in between your fight," Donghyuck grumbled.

"People say life is unfair in general," Mark spoke quite philosophically. "But that's the least unfair thing you'd experience in your life."

"Why can't it be fair?" the kid furrowed his brows.

"It's because we're always asking this question," Mark laughed. "In reality, life is random. One person gets lucky, another unlucky, and the other way around. It just happens. If we think it's not fair, we have some kind of expectations. What are the expectations?"

"Dad, not again!" Dongchan whined. "I want to rest from school for at least a week. Why are you always talking like this?"

"No, this is really interesting, because—"

"Mel, stop being smarty pants," Donghyuck interrupted his husband before the latter could start a monologue. "We're all getting tired of it."

"Eh? No way!" Mark gasped as this was something no one had told him yet.

"Sorry, I want our new year to start with new rules," Donghyuck chuckled. "Minimize lecturing, please."

"Fine," Mark grumbled like a child.

Donghyuck sighed. He did feel like taking care of three kids.

📚

Donghyuck felt very delighted in the cabin they secretly rented. The air was filled with excitement as the clock ticked closer to midnight. Although it wasn't their first time together to welcome the New Year, it had been a while since the Lees were able to do that alone. For the past few years, either Donghyuck's side of the family or Mark's wanted to be with them. They wanted everyone to be in one place, meanwhile, Donghyuck and Mark, both tired and introverted people, wanted to spend their time with just the two of their kids. Who would want a drunk offensive-topic debate-lover dad or a self-taught psychologist brother who claimed he knew everything about living when they could just watch over their cute children?