↤P A R A D I G M↦

二十四

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMH

EENIE MEENIE

MEENIE MINEY

LIKE EENIE MEENIE MINEY MO.

RMBR TO SHEESH

(STAY healthy, EAT everything, STAY hydrated)

-Scarlet/Rain<33

Seonghwa sat in his office for hours, Wooyoung occasionally coming in and helping him with his obsessive organising, but then buggering off to go play or something.

By the time Seonghwa was done with the place, it felt clean, and like him.

"Ahh," he sighed and leaned back in his chair as he gazed around the room with pride, he had really done it, set up all the clutter into something he could actually peruse at leisure instead of the mountains of stress. 

He had followed Hongjoong's advice and dealt with the urgent matters first, reading through them with care before signing them off. He had received no news of those little recurrent tussles along the border, but he pushed that fact out of his mind as he focused on getting through the less important stuff.

Or the lawmaking.

It was a hard choice, but Seonghwa eventually just did eenie meenie, and it landed on lawmaking.

"Wooyoung!" Seonghwa opened his door and called Wooyoung's name, the shorty appearing around the corner with a cheeky smile, Yunho close behind, "Oh, you 2 then! Come here!"

They jogged over and looked at him confusedly as he spoke, "I need some help with something."

They followed him inside and he crossed his arms and pointed at the thickest book anyone could've laid eyes on. "What in holy hell is that?" Wooyoung scowled at the book and Seonghwa sighed, "The Book Of Lanaria Law."

Yunho groaned, "Please don't tell me-"

"I'm rewriting it."

Wooyoung and Yunho both rolled their eyes at his naiveness, finally Yunho spoke, "No disrespect Seonghwa, but are you sure you're up to doing that? That is at least 5000 pages."

"Does it look like I care?" Seonghwa scoffed and nudged it with his foot slightly, the tall book shifting around slightly, "Are you 2 simpletons going to help or not?"

Wooyoung and Yunho shared a glance before kneeling down and opening the book with care. The damn thing was so old, the corners of the pages crumbled away at the most minute touch. "Are you sure about this sire?" Yunho cringed away as a small cockroach skittered out of the freshly opened page. 

"100%."

Wooyoung sighed and they got to work. The task took up the whole day and stretched into the night.

"Son of a bitch! Kill it!" 

Wooyoung scampered back as the largest cockroach so far skittered out, and Yunho ran it through with his sword, splattering Seonghwa with it's contents. "I hate you," Seonghwa growled, bringing up a hand to wipe away the sticky residue.

"Puh-lease, you love me," Wooyoung used his foot to wipe a clear a spot on the tiled floors, sitting down and continuing to peruse the giant law book. "Some of these are very excessive," he sighed, Seonghwa nodding and Yunho frowning. 

"Like what?" Yunho asked, kneeling again and peering over Wooyoung's shoulder.

Wooyoung pointed at a line and read it out, "'Clause 12 Section 3; Those who steal must have their stealing hand cut off and the eye that caught the item scooped.' I'd say that's excessive"

Seonghwa nodded, grabbing an inky quill and scratching out the whole line with a scowl, "And to think Hongjoong would have had to look like a pirate if he was ever caught."

"He'd look hot though, eye-patch and hook-hand," Wooyoung shrugged and Seonghwa kicked his side softly.

"Would I really?"

A voice behind them made the group spring up and turn around fearfully, Yunho drawing his sword and positioning it underneath the perpetrator's chin, before he dropped the blade and laughed.

"I come bearing gifts," Hongjoong grinned and kicked the sword out of the way and held up the 2 hearty bags in each hand, Jiwoon peeking over his shoulder from his secure harness made out of rope, strapped onto Hongjoong's back.

"Hi Jiwoon," Wooyoung waved and Jiwoon waved back with a strangely gummy grin, which is when Seonghwa realised that-

"He lost 2 teeth!"

Hongjoong groaned playfully and set Jiwoon down onto the floor, "Yeah... we were roof hopping and he tripped and fell through a roof."

Seonghwa gasped and slapped Hongjoong's shoulder lightly, "What's wrong with you?! He's a little kid, he shouldn't be hopping with you on such unstable roofing!"

"Eh, he handled it like a champ," Hongjoong chuckled and placed the 2 bag on the clean desk, "Love what you've done with the place though."

"Haha very funny," Seonghwa monotoned, "get back on track! Is he okay?"

"I'm okay," Jiwoon squeaked, opening his mouth wide and touching his gums, both Seonghwa and Hongjoong slapping away his hand.

"They're not gonna grow if you do that!" they both berated him and he crossed his arms with a pout definitely suited for a 9-year-old. 

"Shush."

"Hey! No chat back," Hongjoong ruffled his hair playfully and turned to Wooyoung with a grin. Wooyoung ran into his arms and hugged him tight, Hongjoong lifting him up with ease then dropping him.

"Did you say gifts?" Yunho glanced at the bags and Hongjoong scowled. 

"No hello? No 'Oh hi Hongjoong how's life been?'?" Hongjoong mumbled and Yunho groaned.

"Fine. Hi Hongjoong how's life been? Now what's in those bags."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes and began going through the bags, "Christletide gifts, in case I don't make it. No opening them until the day!"

As he spoke he pulled out present after present, all wrapped in plain white paper with the receiver's name splattered on the top in large handwriting. Seonghwa's eyes widened when he saw his were the smallest, "Hey! Why does Wooyoung get a bigger present?"

"Because," Hongjoong sighed and folded the bags down and slid them under the desk. "What are you all doing?" he switched the subject faster than Yunho could swat a fly, and Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

"Law making," Wooyoung pointed to the pots of ink and scattered broken quills beside the large open book. Hongjoong nodded thoughtfully, "I'm guessing major progress?"

"More like major eye-opening," Yunho picked up his sword and resheathed it in 1 swift motion, "some of that stuff is..."

"Excessively bigoted?" Wooyoung raised an eyebrow.

"Annoyingly stupid?" Seonghwa crossed his arms

"Stoobid?" Jiwoon added his own thought and Hongjoong chuckled.

"Don't learn bad words from the royals Jiwoon," Hongjoong patted his head and grinned, "on another note, do you guys have a Christletide Bloom?"

"No..." Seonghwa sighed dejectly and Wooyoung rolled his eyes, "Yes we do," Wooyoung chuckled, "it's just kinda... sad."

"It's depressed," Yunho scoffed, "the royals have the worst Christletide Bloom I've ever laid eyes on, the guards have better ones!"

Hongjoong snorted, "I can't steal a whole ass Christletide Bloom! Those are too big."

"I'm the king," Seonghwa nudged him playfully, "I get what I want."

"You never even got properly coronated-"

"Shut up Yunho."