The En- Hearthrob😏 Toddlers👶

~13~

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Heeseung stood at the entrance of the dorm, peering nervously at the gaggle of toddlers sitting on the floor, each absorbed in their own chaotic world. Today was the day he had decided to take them all to the mall. It was meant to be a simple outing—just a little fun and a distraction from the constant whirlwind of chaos. But as he glanced at the tiny faces looking up at him, he couldn't shake the feeling that this might be the biggest mistake he had ever made.

“Okay, kids!” Heeseung clapped his hands, trying to muster as much enthusiasm as possible. “We’re going to the mall! Yay!”

The toddlers looked up at him with varying degrees of interest. Sunoo was busy trying to figure out how to get the bandage off his knee again, Jungwon was picking his nose, and Jake was having an existential crisis about whether or not his broccoli friend would come back.

“Alright, let’s get our shoes on!” Heeseung said, herding the tiny humans toward the door.

Five minutes later, they were all finally ready—or at least as ready as they could be. Jay was still wearing mismatched shoes (one blue, one red), Ni-ki had somehow managed to put his shirt on backward, and Jake was trying to take a bite out of his shoe.

Heeseung sighed, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders as they headed outside. “Why do I do this to myself?” he muttered, shaking his head as he led the way.

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Once they arrived at the mall, it was a sensory overload for the toddlers. Bright lights, loud music, and the smell of popcorn filled the air. Sunghoon’s eyes widened as he took in the sights, and for a moment, all the chaos seemed to vanish.

“Woah…” Sunghoon said, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

“Alright, everyone, hold hands!” Heeseung commanded, trying to maintain some semblance of order as they entered. “We don’t want to lose anyone!”

Jungwon grabbed Sunoo’s hand, and Ni-ki clung to Jake while Jay wandered a few steps away, completely oblivious to the chaos about to unfold.

“Where do we want to go first?” Heeseung asked, looking around at the many stores. Before he could get an answer, Jay had already wandered off in the direction of a toy store, completely ignoring the ‘hold hands’ rule.

“Heeseung!” Jake yelled, pointing at Jay. “He’s leaving!”

“I see that!” Heeseung called back, rushing after Jay. The other toddlers followed like a pack of tiny, wobbly ducks.

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Inside the toy store, Heeseung breathed a sigh of relief as he caught up to Jay. But the moment he turned around, chaos erupted.

“I want this!” Ni-ki squealed, tugging on a bright red toy truck that was far too big for him to carry.

“No! I want that!” Jake cried, pointing at a plush dinosaur, clearly having forgotten his recent heartbreak over Bro-co.

Sunghoon, meanwhile, had discovered a display of toy cars and was desperately trying to scale the shelves to grab one.

“Sunghoon! Get down from there!” Heeseung yelled, his heart racing.

As Heeseung rushed over, he barely caught Sunghoon’s foot before he tumbled down, clutching a shiny red car.

“Vroom vroom!” Sunghoon giggled, ignoring the near-miss.

In the meantime, Jungwon had found a stack of building blocks and was enthusiastically building a tower that seemed to grow taller by the second.

“Look! A tower!” Jungwon yelled, his voice echoing in the toy store.