The En- Hearthrob😏 Toddlers👶

~15~

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The dorm felt heavier than it ever had before. After the incident with the cushions and the stairs, the air was thick with tension. Heeseung, usually the patient one, had finally lost it. The moment he caught them trying to sled down the stairs again—just hours after Jake had gotten hurt—his frustration boiled over into a storm of anger that none of the toddlers were prepared for.

The scene was chaotic: Jake was still nursing his sore arm, Sunoo sat wide-eyed in the corner, Jungwon clutched a blanket like a shield, and Ni-ki, the ringleader of the sledding fiasco, stood frozen in place as Heeseung’s voice shook the walls of the dorm.

"Are you serious right now? Again with the cushions?!" Heeseung shouted, his voice raw with frustration. His usually calm demeanor had been shattered. "After Jake got hurt—again—you’re still pulling these kinds of stunts? This isn’t funny! I’m done with this!"

The toddlers, who were usually bouncing around, loud and chaotic, were dead silent. Heeseung’s anger felt like a slap to the face. None of them had expected it. Sure, they knew they’d messed up, but the intensity of Heeseung’s words cut deeper than they anticipated, especially for Ni-ki.

"You’re always the one causing trouble, Ni-ki," Heeseung continued, his voice tinged with disappointment. "Every time something happens, it’s because of you. Why don’t you ever learn? Do you even care?"

Ni-ki’s small face, which was usually lit with mischievous grins and laughter, now crumpled in confusion and hurt. Heeseung’s words were harsh, and for the first time, Ni-ki wasn’t sure how to handle it. Usually, when Heeseung got mad, it was over something small, and the frustration never lasted long. But this…this felt different.

The excitement of their planned Pokémon pajama night had evaporated in an instant. Heeseung, still shaking with anger, canceled it without a second thought.

"No more games, no more movies. I don’t even want to see the living room a mess," Heeseung said sternly. "Just go to bed. Now."

None of the toddlers dared to argue. Even Jake, who had always been the most rebellious, just sat quietly, his injured arm propped up on the couch. There was no point in trying to plead. Heeseung’s mind was made up, and none of them wanted to push him further.

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As they shuffled towards their rooms, the atmosphere was thick with unspoken words. Jungwon looked like he wanted to ask for a hug, but the tension was too high. Sunoo clung to his plushie, his eyes brimming with silent tears. But for Ni-ki, it was a different kind of silence that settled over him. It wasn’t just disappointment or frustration that he felt. It was something heavier—like guilt, like he had been singled out.

When Heeseung had lashed out, it had felt like the anger was all directed at him. "You’re always causing trouble." The words played on a loop in Ni-ki’s small mind, and he couldn’t stop thinking about them.

The usual bedtime routine, with its soft hugs and goodnight whispers, was replaced by a cold, mechanical silence. Heeseung didn’t tuck them in tonight, didn’t ruffle their hair or make sure their blankets were pulled up snugly. He just quietly closed their doors, leaving each of them to deal with their own feelings in the dim rooms.

For Ni-ki, the emptiness felt overwhelming. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, his Pikachu plushie tucked tightly under his chin. Normally, he’d be the first to giggle about something silly or poke fun at the others. But tonight, everything felt wrong. The dorm felt strange and too big, and he felt…small.

Ni-ki blinked back tears that he didn’t understand. Why was Heeseung so mad at him? Why did everything always go wrong when he was having fun? He was just trying to make the others laugh, to have a good time. But instead, Heeseung seemed to think everything was his fault. It wasn’t like he wanted Jake to get hurt. He just…he just wanted to play.