September 2045
"Here, honey. Those can go right in the center." Zoey said.
Poppy carried the centerpiece over to the table and carefully put it in the middle. "Wow! Perfect!" She clapped.
Zoey smiled and nodded.
Then her mom walked over. "Honey, where do you want these lights?" She asked.
Juno stood behind, holding a large tub of twinkle lights.
"Oh!" Zoey said, spinning on her heel and putting her hands together. "Right. Follow me."
They all went to the center of the room.
"I want them all to flow from the center." Zoey instructed.
"Okay." Juno said, examining the ceiling. "Dad!" He called.
Hyunjin walked over with the ladder. "Is this the spot?
"Yeah. There's little hooks up there already." Juno said.
Then JoJo came to ask Zoey another question.
Soon, it was only Juno and Hyunjin left.
"Well, you go up there, I'll hold the ladder." Hyunjin said.
Juno dug through the lights, trying to untangle them.
Poppy ran by, chasing after Teddie and few of Zoey's cousins.
"Teddie!" Hyunjin called out.
Teddie stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly.
"I already told you not to fool around." Hyunjin said.
Teddie pursed his lips.
Hyunjin sighed. "Come here."
Teddie sauntered over.
"We are here to help, not to play. And it really won't be helpful if the three of you run past this ladder when someone is on it and knock it over. I'm sure your brother doesn't want to wind up in the hospital the day before his wedding." Hyunjin explained.
Teddie kept an annoyed expression.
"Are you listening?" Hyunjin asked, getting annoyed with Teddie's use of silence as a defense.
Teddie crossed his arms and looked down.
"Answer me, please." Hyunjin said in a serious tone.
Teddie just huffed.
Hyunjin put his hand on his hip. "Really?!" He asked in an astonished voice.
Teddie gulped, seeing that his dad was getting mad.
"Do we need to go have a conversation in private?" Hyunjin asked.
Finally, Teddie gave up his defense. "I wasn't the only one doing it!" He whined.
"You're the oldest of them. You can lead by example. They're following you." Hyunjin said.
Teddie made a disgusted face while looking at his dad. "Whatever." He grumbled.
"Excuse me?!" Hyunjin said. "Talk properly. I asked you nicely not to run around here. Then I gave you a warning. Answer me respectfully."
Teddie looked down, swaying from side to side. He wanted to explain himself, but there were people around and they were definitely watching although pretending not to.
Hyunjin reached forward, grabbing Teddie's hand. "Come."
"Daddy! I was just doing it because they were doing it. I helped put all the decorations in the car earlier anyway!" Teddie whined as his dad pulled him to the back of the hall.
YOU ARE READING
Our Family
General Fiction*Sequel* What would it be like to be the patriarch of a family of eight boys? Christopher knows all too well. His parents were out of the picture at a young age, and since then, he's been in charge of the family. He's raised his brothers as if they...
