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The Seo-Lee household was a busy one. Six kids, two parents, all male. When asked why in God’s name they adopted six kids, Minho and Changbin simply smile and shrug.
“Shit happens, the kids needed us, so we took them in.”
Whatever happened for them to acquire so many kids, it did nothing to take away from the fact that having so many kids under one roof caused a lot of chaos. The oldest, Chan, who is thirteen, was taken in alongside his two younger brothers, seven-year-old twins Jisung and Felix, the three being the newest editions to the family. Hyunjin, eleven, came along with his little brother Seungmin (also seven) a few years before Chan and the twins. Jeongin, the youngest who was four, was adopted when he was just a few months old.
They lived in a two-story house that Changbin inherited from his wealthy parents shortly after he married Minho. Chan had a room to himself, as did Hyunjin, while the twins and Seungmin shared a room. Jeongin slept in the same room that had once acted as his nursery, right next to Minho and Changbin’s bedroom. Chan and Hyunjin were downstairs, while everyone else was upstairs.
They had taken in Chan and the twins after their grandparents became unable to take care of them and dumped into the system. They had only been living in Korea for a few years, their biological parents had disappeared shortly after the family became full citizens, leaving them in the care of said grandparents, only to end up in the care of some less than ideal guardians. With the addition of a traumatized 13-year-old, a diabetic 7-year-old, and a kid with ADHD, the relatively quiet household was thrown into a spin for a few months.
Despite the busy schedule they had, the adults still made time to invite friends over for hangouts, even if it was just dinner. They had just finished a long meal with Jackson and Mark, Minho and Changbin’s Hyungs. The kids had filtered off into the house shortly after they had been excused, but they all were still listening for any calls like usual.
“Yah! Boys!” Changbin shouted out to the house as a whole.
There was a series of yells back from different places in the house, making Jackson let out a laugh.
“We’re heading outside to speak to Jackson and Mark Hyungs okay?”
Another round of yells sounded back.
“Chan-ah! You're in charge of the little ones okay?! We might be a while!”
“Yes, Changbin-nim!” Chan shouted back.
The front door closed heavily and Chan quickly made his way upstairs, checking in on the younger boys. The twins and Seungmin were messing around on Felix's single bed, roughhousing and jumping all over the place.
“Hey, don’t roughhouse on the bed, move to the floor,” Chan said.
“Aw, but hyung-” Jisung started.
“Nope, if you’re gonna be jumping around, you need to be on the floor.”
The boys moved to the floor while collectively whining, and Chan just sighed. He didn’t want to be dealing with three rowdy seven-year-olds, he wanted to be lying in bed lost in the world of cats fighting for survival in the forest.
“I’m going to go read in my room. Minho and Changbin will be back soon, so be safe until then. Felix, make sure you keep an eye on your sugar levels, lil’ man. I’ll tell Hyunjin to come watch you guys, okay?” Chan said.
Felix instantly picked up his monitor for the Dexcom on his arm while two others said okay.
“Okay! It says it's only a little high right now, but Appa said that was fine after dinner. You gonna read your cat books Hyungie?” Felix asked.
“That’s good, you know what to do if it gets too high or low. And yeah, I’m moving on to the eighth book, can you believe that?” Chan said.
“No, hyung’s too dumb to read that much.” Seungmin joked while pushing up his smudged glasses, making Felix giggle and Jisung nod his head valiantly.
“Hey! I’m not dumb, dude. Eight books is a lot, and they're all in English too, which you guys can’t even read.” Chan said, shoving the younger boy over with a casual hand to his head.
“ Yeah well! We can speak it, shitface!” Jisung yelled, a proud smirk on his face.
“ Oi! No swearing! Peter you little fucker, that’s how we get in trouble!” Chan shot back.
“ You just swared! And! And we’re from Australia dude-” Jisung started, confidently messing up his grammar.
“ Chris they don’t care if we curse. Appa said it's okay so long as it's not in public!” Felix spoke up, cutting Jisung off and quickly apologizing for it.
“Can you guys stop arguing in a language I can’t understand gosh dang it?” Seungmin suddenly said, an annoyed pout forcing his bottom lip out.
“Ah yeah, sorry dude- sorry I’m smarter than all of you,” Chan said teasingly, shooting finger guns to let them know he was playing.
Seungmin made an annoyed noise and started yelling and pushing Chan to leave. Jisung and Felix joined in, and Chan left the room with another reminder to, “Be careful! No more roughhousing on the bed!” before he left.
He made his way downstairs, counting every step in his head. A cat meowed as he passed the cat tower, and he quickly stuck his hand inside the little carpet box to pet it, Doongi, before walking down the hall and knocking on Hyunjin’s door, stepping inside the room before a response could be given.
“Hey, can you go watch the others?” He asked.
“Ugh, I’m already watching Innie, why do I have to watch those three too?” Hyunjin whined.
The younger was sitting on the floor with Jeongin, art supplies spread out all around them. They had gone to the room to draw after dinner, and Jeongin was scribbling on a page, the crayon mess similar to the colored pencil drawing Hyunjin was working on.
“Because I want to read, just go up there and keep an eye on them until Minho and Changbin come back inside. Plus, Innie is the easiest one to look after, our token maknae like Minho says, so it won't make much of a difference,” Chan said, his tone exasperated.
“Fine, but I want to play on your laptop later okay?” Hyunjin said, standing and pulling Jeongin up with him.
“Okay, whatever dude, I’m going to read, yell if you need me.”
He turned on his heel, going to his room and leaving the door open. He lay on his bed, picked up his book, Warrior Cats, The New Prophecy, Moonrise, and thumbed to the second chapter where he left off. He sighed deeply as he was welcomed into the world of feral cats.
Chan’s reading was interrupted less than five minutes later by a crash followed by a loud wail. The thirteen-year-old jerked up, abandoning his book as his heart jumped into his throat. He heard the boys yelling as he sprinted up the stairs, fourteen steps, turn, seven steps. Twenty-one steps, less than 30 seconds to get up them. Chan’s blood burned with his panic, mind racing so fast he wasn't even truly thinking.
What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck? Did I not just tell them to be careful? Oh god oh god please be okay-
As he finally cleared the stairs, he whipped down the hall, his growth spurt lengthened legs ached as he made his way to the “twins+sungmo” bedroom. He burst through the open doorway, catching a glimpse of a sobbing Felix covered in blood surrounded by a screaming Seungmin and Jisung. He didn’t make it more than a foot into the room before his clumsy legs caught on a small body and he was sent hurling to the floor.
His arms instinctively shot out, brain glitching, trying to catch up with what he just tripped over and curling his legs up to not further trample the child underneath him. The reeling was cut off as he hit the ground, his attempt at sparing whoever was under him causing him to land all of his weight on his right wrist.
A snap echoed in the room, audible over the screaming and crying that now included Jeongin.
Chan let out all the air in his lungs in a cry that tore at his throat. Rolling over and trying to think through the white-hot agony, he pulled his arm to his chest, cradling the flaming limb. Panic rolled through his body as he remembered the last time he felt this pain.
Oh god not again, not again please-
“ Fuck!” he cried.
He opened his eyes and guilt instantly pushed down his tears and his pain. Jeongin was holding his head and sobbing, and Chan’s chest constricted painfully.
You hurt him. You’re dead, look what you did. Changbin and Minho are going to kick you out. You always do this, you hurt people and they hurt you. You hurt him-
Someone was shaking him, another cry leaving his lips as he snapped back into reality from his panicked thoughts. His vision focused back in, the black edges receding.
“Channie Hyung please! ”
Hyunjin was screaming at him. The eleven-year-old’s eyes were filled with panic and tears when Chan met them. Chan let out a choked sob before shoving Hyunjin off, standing shakily, and rushing over to where Felix was still wailing. The boy had his hands clutched over the right side of his forehead, and Chan tugged them off with his uninjured hand to look at where he was bleeding.
Chan had learned some basic first aid after so long of living with accident-prone little brothers (and himself), so he knew what to do with a shallow wound like this. Head wounds bleed a lot, so he grabbed a t-shirt that was lying on the ground and tucked Felix’s head into the crook of his right elbow. His wrist burned as gravity pulled on it, but he needed the leverage to push the t-shirt into the gushing wound. He took a few deep measured breaths, trying to keep himself from succumbing to sudden nausea.
Please don't be broken please please please, it took so long to heal last time-
He turned to where Hyunjin was holding a weakly crying Jeongin, trying to refocus himself, wincing as Jisung resumed his yelling.
“Jisung! Shut. Up.” He snapped with a snarl, ignoring his guilt as the boy slapped both of his hands over his mouth with a fearful look in his eyes.
“Hyunjin,” no response.
“Hyunjin!” the younger twitched from where he was trying to get a closer look at Jeongin.
“ Seo-Lee Hwang Hyunjin!” Chan finally shouted, remembering how Minho yelling their full names got their attention well, and causing Seungmin to clasp his hands over his ears.
The younger's head shot up, tears overflowing his eyes as he blinked at Chan.
“You need to go get Changbin and Minho.”
“But-”
“No, you need to go get them, they’re still outside right?”
“Hyung I can't leave you guys, look what happened- I went to go pee and-”
“Hyunjinnie, I’m not making Seunminnie or Sungie do it, I need you to go get Appa and Dad.”
Hyunjin blinked at Chan, face crumbling as he sobbed once before standing up, he pressed a quick kiss to Jeongin’s forehead before he ran out of the room. Chan turned back to Felix, shushing the younger gently.
“Shh, shh Lixie, breathe buddy,” Chan muttered, blinking away sudden tears.
Felix coughed a few times as he tried to breathe, his small, blood-covered hands clutching at Chan's arm, smearing the crimson liquid along his skin.
“Appa and Dad are gonna be here soon, you just need to breathe, everything is gonna be okay.” Chan choked on his tears, trying to keep his voice steady as Felix began to calm down a bit.
Chan continued to breathe deeply, watching as Jeongin got up on wobbly legs and pushed himself into Seungmin’s arms. He heard the front door slam back open, and three sets of feet quickly made their way up the stairs. Chan shushed Felix as the younger began to cry harder again upon hearing their guardians come up the stairs.
“Boys? Chan, Felix? Oh dear lord-” Minho said as he turned into the room.
The man rushed over to where Chan and Felix were sitting on the ground, and Chan let him take Felix from his arms. Changbin made his way in next, quickly sweeping Jeongin into his arms.
“Oh sweetheart, shh it's okay, Appas here, breathe honey,” Minho muttered, gently pulling away the t-shirt and hissing softly.
“Oooh yeah, you got yourself good, what happened kiddo?” He said as he reapplied pressure.
“H-He fell off the bed Appa,” Seungmin said, standing to hug Changbin's waist where he could reach around Jeongin.
“What did he hit his head on?” Changbin asked, sweeping Seungmin’s hair out of his eyes.
“The d-dresser daddy…” Felix spoke up just as Seungmin was about to.
Minho hummed, turning to Chan, he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.
“I’m sorry! I told them not to play on the bed- I know I was supposed to watch them- but-” Chan hiccuped out a sob, “I d-didn’t and I’m so sorry Minho. I told Hyunjin to watch them and I shouldn’t have, please don’t punish them, it’s my fault- please-”
“Woah woah! Chan, breathe kiddo, we’re not mad, and we’re not punishing anyone.” Changbin said, moving closer.
He paused when Chan scrambled backward, pressing himself into the gap between Felix’s bed and the dresser the boys shared. The boy heaved for breath, whimpering roughly as he clutched his wrist. Minho blinked at Chan, shocked by his behavior.
“But it's my fault- I wasn't watching them and- and I hurt Innie-”
“How did you hurt Innie?” Minho asked, making Chan look at him with wide fearful eyes.
“I-I tripped over him- I didn’t mean to, I was running. I’m sorry.” Chan cringed, curling into himself further.
“That sounds like an accident kiddo, you weren’t trying to hurt him. You were trying to get to Felix and were going too fast, huh?” Changbin said.
Chan whimpered, but Jeongin suddenly spoke up.
“‘M okey hyungie, you didn’ mean to trip. It was an ack’ident like Daddy said.” the little boy said, wiping his nose as he leaned backward in Changbin’s arms.
Chan hiccuped a few times, squeezing his eyes shut as his pain began to fully kick in. He heard Minho and Changbin talking to each other, not registering what they were saying, just focusing on breathing through a horrid wave of agony. He faintly noticed Jisung and Seungmin leaving the room, but he didn’t notice Changbin kneeling in front of him, Jeongin missing from his arms. He jerked hard when a large hand landed on his knee, screaming through a clenched jaw as white-hot agony shot up his arm and spread through his fingertips. Changbin jerked back with a gasp, worried questions tumbling from his mouth.
“Oh my god- baby are you okay? What's wrong? What hurts?”
Chan didn’t respond, focusing on breathing through sudden hiccuping sobs.
“Channie, where are you hurt?” Changbin asked again, stress seeping into his voice.
“I-I’m fine-”
“No, you are not. Chan you just flinched so hard. I need you to tell me where you are hurt kiddo.”
“He’s hurt?” Minho suddenly said, walking back into the room with Felix in his arms, holding white gause to his slightly cleaner forehead.
“Yes, he just screamed when I touched him,” Changbin responded, not turning from Chan.
“Chan-ah, are you hurt?” Minho asked the boy, ignoring Changbin’s “ I just told you he is-”
Chan whined, shaking his head frantically as he tried to push himself impossibly further into the gap. Changbin looked back at Minho, the two meeting their worried gazes for a moment before Minho moved closer, kneeling beside the younger man.
“Chris, I know you are scared, but we need you to communicate with us. We are already taking Felix to the hospital, so if you are hurt, we need to know so we can take you too. We won’t be mad, we just want to make sure you’re okay.” Minho said calmly, setting his hand on Chan's ankle to try and ground him.
Chan sobbed into his knees, throat closing and keeping him from saying anything. His frustration built and a voice whispered in the back of his head, they’re lying, they’re just gonna get mad like everyone else, he’s trying to make you trust him, using your name like that.
He hissed through his teeth, clenching his jaw painfully.
“I said I’m fine , leave me alone.” he grits out with a slight snarl, trying to shove down his hiccups.
“Seo-Lee Bahng Christopher Chan-”
Chan flinched at the sudden firm tone, panic threatening to overflow as his body prepared for a smack that he logically knew would never come.
“-He fell Appa! Don’t yell at him, please, he fell over Innie and cried really loud. Please don’t yell at him.” Felix suddenly said, tugging on Minho’s shirt collar.
Minho readjusted the boy, pressing his palm with the gause into his forehead like he was holding a softball.
“I know sweetheart, but I need to know where exactly he’s hurt, you can get hurt in a lot of different ways when you fall,” Minho said with a sigh, taking the stern tone out of his voice upon seeing how both children reacted.
“Christopher, we need to get Felix to the hospital to check if he has a concussion. I need you to understand that we are not going to be upset if-”
“Is it your wrist?” Changbin cut Minho off, having been watching Chan's body language and seeing the way he was guarding his wrist.
Chan looked at him in shock, anxiety plain on his scrunched face. Tears welled heavier in his eyes, unable to swallow back his emotions now that Changbin had guessed correctly. Chan heard a voice screaming at him in the back of his head to get it together, don’t cry, do not cry, you’ve cried enough.
“Oh, baby… shh breathe” Changbin gently coached him.
Chan hiccuped harshly, barely able to get a breath in between his sudden and uncontrollable sobs. Pain radiated from his chest now, his ribs aching with the force of his sobs.
“It’s okay baby, can I touch you, honey?” Changbin asked, moving forward and placing his hands on Chan's knees when the boy nodded.
“D-Dad-” Chan sobbed in a broken voice before he could stop himself, trying to push into Changbin's arms only to cry out in pain when he shifted his wrist.
Changbin paused in shock at the title before quickly pulling the younger into his embrace, rubbing up and down his back as he sobbed. He turned his head to look at Minho, who looked just as shocked as he did. Changbin took a deep breath of his own, pushed the surprise down, and focused on calming Chan. They stayed like that until Chan could breathe without interruptions by sobs, it was the longest the boy had let either of them touch him since they took him in. Felix’s forehead had stopped bleeding by the time Changbin helped Chan to his feet, and the group headed downstairs where they were greeted by the kids sitting with Jackson and Mark.
“Oh- You guys are still here?” Minho asked, surprised.
Jackson stood, handing Jeongin over to Hyunjin, Chan felt discomfort prickle under his skin, his pain putting him on further edge than he normally was around the other adults.
“Well, your kid came running out, screaming and begging for you guys to come inside because your other kids were hurt, that kinda made us want to stay and make sure everything is okay,” Jackson said.
“Is everything okay? Your kiddos look pretty rough…” Mark asked, worried.
Chan’s discomfort increased tenfold, and he stepped behind Minho to hide behind the taller man instead of standing beside Changbin.
“Felix fell off the bed and split his forehead, and Chan hurt his wrist tripping over Jeongin trying to get to him. We have to head to the hospital.” Minho said.
Changbin left Chan for a second seeing the boy hide behind his husband. And while Minho and their Hyungs talked, he gently pulled Jeongin from Hyunjin’s arms.
“Are you okay baby?” He muttered, gently brushing the boy's hair out of his face.
“‘M head ‘urts, but ‘m okay Daddy,” Jeongin said, still struggling with pronouncing things properly.
Chan swallowed thickly, trying to breathe through his heart-wrenching guilt, you caused that pain.
Changbin hummed at the boy before turning and interrupting the conversation going on.
“Hey Min, I think we should take Innie as well. I don't think he’s too hurt, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He gently readjusted the toddler on his hip, holding the back of his head in worry.
“Ah, okay. Um, Jackson-Hyung and Mark-Hyung are offering to watch the kids while we’re gone.” Minho responded, looking a bit awkward.
Chan breathed through his nose sharply, having not been paying attention to the conversation between the adults.
“Really?” Changbin turned to address the pair, “Are you sure? It’ll probably take a few hours, we won't be home until late.”
“Of course! The kids have already eaten so we’ll get everyone to bed and keep an eye on them, our kids are old enough to handle themselves for a night.” Jackson said with a smile.
“Thank you so much, Hyungs. You guys are lifesavers, we owe you,” Changbin sighed, bowing in thanks and making Jeongin giggle.
The adults quickly went over bedtime routines, what to do if Jisung had a panic attack, giving hugs, and kisses, and reminding the boys to be good before they left. Chan gently kissed Jisung's forehead, swiping the boy's upset tears away. But before they could start to leave, Seungmin suddenly shouted.
“Wait! Hold on- I’ll be right back!” And sprinted down the hall to Chan and Hyunjin’s rooms.
“Yah! Slow down! Did you learn nothing today?!” Minho yelled.
Seungmin slowed down a bit, going into Chan’s room, which he didn’t mind at the moment, before running out with something in his hand. Chan wasn’t able to see what it was before the kid was going up the stairs next, and the sounds of him going into two bedrooms echoed downstairs.
“Walk! Walk down the stairs! Seo-Lee Seungmin, if you run down those stairs you will live with the consequences!” Minho yelled again when Seungmin started down the stairs.
The boy rounded to the second set of steps with a sheepish expression, arms full of three stuffed animals. Minho let out a soft “ oh” when the boy made it over to them (going much slower). He went to Felix first, handing him his favorite stuffed calico cat that Minho had gifted him.
“Cedar! You got me her! Thank you, Minne!” Felix said, holding her to his chest.
Seungmin smiled, moving on to Jeongin, handing the toddler his fennec fox stuffed animal, the boy smiling with a soft “Oh! Fin! T’ank you, Min Min.”
Seungmin then walked over to Chan, looking nervous as he held up Chan’s wolf stuffed animal. Chan had to push down tears, the stuffy was old, with matted fur and a missing eye that he’d sewn an old shirt button to. She’d never really had a name, just random things he’d called her through the years, but he loved her.
“I know you're dumb, and you say that you don’t need her anymore. But we all see you sleep with her Hyung. I thought you’d need her as much as Innie and Lix need theirs.” Seungmin said softly.
Chan kneeled, ignoring the ache in his legs, and released his hold on his wrist to take the stuffed animal from him. He tucked it in the crook of his elbow, using his good arm to run a hand through Seungmin's hair and then gently readjusting the kids' glasses.
“Thank you Seungmo. How did I get so lucky, having a little brother like you?” He asked with a wobbly smile.
“Well, I have a dumb hyung like you, and you say it’s good to be nice, so. Yeah.” Seungmin huffed at the lame response, turning and going back over to Hyunjin.
Chan smiled despite his pain.
They headed out to the car, Minho gently set Felix in his high-back booster seat (he was still too short to graduate to the backless one like Jisung had) and buckled him in. Changbin set Jeongin down to help Chan into the back row of seats, gently pushing his hand away when he tried to buckle himself.
“Let me do it, baby. Support your wrist okay?” He said softly.
Chan let himself be buckled, too emotionally exhausted to be embarrassed, muttering a soft “thank you” once the older pulled back. Changbin closed the seat before picking up Jeongin and getting the harness in his car seat buckled properly. When they were sure everyone was safely secured, Changbin climbed into the driver's seat while Minho wrestled with four paper folders, stuffed to the brim with paperwork and medical sheets, and Felix’s medical bag to sit down in the passenger seat.
“You got everything, Min?” Changbin asked.
“Yup, Chan, Felix, and Jeongin’s medical work, legal files, and everything else we could need,” he paused for a second, “is there anything we’re missing?”
Changbin hummed, before shrugging, “Nope, I can't think of anything and we don't need to call any social workers.”
Changbin pulled out of their driveway and started driving out of their neighborhood. When they made it out of the residential area and into the busier part of the city, the roads got rougher, with more frequent stops. Chan tried to breathe through his pain, focusing on keeping an eye on Felix.
The car suddenly jolted harshly as someone pulled out in front of them, causing Changbin and Minho to shout simultaneously as Changbin slammed on the brakes.
“Those’re a bad word!” “Appa that’s a curse word.”
Jeongin and Felix said at the same time, and Chan would have laughed at Jeongin’s bad grammar and Felix chastizing only Minho if he wasn't currently trying not to scream.
He did keen low in the back of his throat, the jolt of the car had made his wrist shift and Chan felt something move that it definitely was not meant to. He panted desperately through his nose, jaw locked to try to keep any noises from escaping. Felix pushed himself up using the armrests of his booster seat and twisted to try to look at Chan, his face scrunched with worry.
“Chris? Are you okay Hyung?” he asked, his voice barely audible through Minho and Changbin talking about the traffic.
Chan couldn't say anything, just looking at him with wide eyes, trying not to let his tears flow over and scare the boy. He silently hoped that Felix wouldn’t say anything, that he would just turn around and be quiet, but Felix was too kind to not say anything when he was worried. The little boy turned back around and leaned forward to tap Minho on the shoulder, making his seatbelt lock in the process.
“Appa, somethings wrong with Hyung,”
“What?” the man asked, twisting in his seat to look back at the teen, “Chan-ah are you okay? Oh boy, sweetheart what’s wrong?”
Chan was sweating, he felt hot but cold and his chest shook with contained sobs. He met Minho’s concerned gaze for a second before squeezing his eyes shut.
“Minho what’s going on?” Changbin asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“I don’t know yet- Channie, I need you to tell me what's wrong okay?”
“M-My wrist-” he gasped as they made a particularly rough turn, causing Changbin to frantically apologize.
Chan’s face grew wet, and he let out a hysterical noise as his pain grew worse. His normally controlled voice that he–usually–tried to deepen (not that he’d ever tell anyone that) was gone, replaced by a shaky, whiny, and high-pitched mess.
“It h-hurts, Appa- please make it stop, it hurts ithurtsithurtsithurts- please-” he cut his hiccuping words off by taking a deep breath and holding it for a second, letting it out in a series of cries that echoed loudly in the car.
“Okay okay, I hear you, sweetheart, I’m so sorry baby. Breathe Channie, deep, slow breaths. Don’t hold your breath, you'll make your heart pound and it'll hurt worse,” Minho said, voice wobbling with emotion. “I’m sorry, just hold on baby.”
“We’re only ten minutes from the hospital bud, can you hold on until then?” Changbin said, looking back at Chan through the rearview mirror.
“I c-can’t, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It hurts Dad-” Chan sobbed roughly.
“I’m sorry baby, Dad is so sorry. We’ll be there soon, just breathe as Appa said.” Changbin said, the steering wheel creaking under his grip.
Chan continued to cry for the rest of the drive, trying to hold himself as still as possible against the movement of the car. When they finally pulled into the hospital parking building, he curled into himself. Changbin and Minho worked on getting Felix and Jeongin out of the car, and Minho was the one to push the seat forward.
“C’mon, honey, let's go,” he said softly, holding out his hand.
“Appa I can’t,” Chan whined, his muscles tense.
His fear was much stronger now and he was shaking from head to toe, his heart was pounding as Minho gently placed his hand on his knee. He grasped onto his stuffed wolf, using her to guard his wrist.
“I-I’m scared, I can’t-” He bit his lip, breathing desperately through his nose.
“Okay, It’s okay to be scared Chan-ah. We can wait until you’re ready,” Minho turned to where Changbin was waiting, “Take them down, we’ll wait here until Chan is ready.”
Changbin nodded, taking two of the folders from Minho and handing them to Jeongin before picking both kids up. He made sure they were both settled on his hips, his muscled arms barely straining under the weight, before he pressed a quick kiss to Minho’s cheek and gave Chan a soft look.
“It’s gonna be okay kiddo, you don’t have to go until you’re ready. I love you.”
Chan muttered a small “I love you too” back, and Changbin walked off, leaving Chan and Minho. They stayed there, Minho leaning into the car, Chan curled in on himself. Minho occasionally reminds Chan to breathe deeply, holding the boy's hand when he holds his good one out. Chan was still terrified, but the pattern Minho was tracing into his hand, and the deep breathing made the fear tolerable. Minho suddenly moved to pull out a package of wet wipes they kept in the car, wiping down Chan's left arm that still had Felix’s blood smeared on it. There was a cold breeze despite the parking building they were in, and the late autumn air was soothing to breathe. They sat in silence once Minho was done cleaning him.
Eventually, Chan pressed a kiss to his wolf’s matted fur and took his hand back from Minho to set her down. He let minho support him as he climbed out of the van, tucking himself under the man's arm and pressing his face into the side of his chest.
“Let’s go, sweetheart. Hopefully, this won't take too long,” Minho said, rubbing Chan's back.
In Chan's eyes, it did in fact, take far too long.
Chan immediately stopped trying to pay attention to anything, letting Minho guide him to the entrance to the hospital, past the intake desk, and into a waiting room without once looking up. He barely zoned in when Minho checked his phone after it pinged a few times.
“Felix is getting some stitches right now. Innie seems to be fine, just a little bruising on his head.” He said softly, running a hand through Chan's curls at the nape of his neck.
Chan didn’t respond, just tucked himself tighter to Minho’s side. They didn’t wait much longer, a nurse coming in and Minho having to coerce Chan into getting onto the exam bed for her to have access to take vitals.
“Your heart rate and blood pressure are quite high Chan-ah. I’m gonna give you some medicine to help with your pain until the doctor comes in.” The woman said once she was done, scribbling on a notepad.
Chan didn’t say anything again, just letting the older woman hand him a small paper cup with a few pills in it.
“Make sure he takes those, the doctor will only be a few minutes and we want them to start working before then.” She said to Minho when she saw Chan wasn't going to respond, giving a plastic water bottle to the man.
Chan obediently took the pills when Minho cracked open the water bottle for him, wincing slightly at the bitter taste. He watched Minho’s leg bounce out of the corner of his eye, not able to see his face ducked face well from the tall table. He listened to the man rapidly type on his phone for a few minutes before there was another knock on the door.
“Come in!” Minho said as he put his phone away, pressing send on one more text before he did so.
“Good evening,” a man in scrubs and a white coat said as he entered the room. “I’m Doctor Min Yoongi, you two are here for a possible broken arm, correct?”
“Broken wrist, yes, we are,” Minho said.
“Hmm, can you tell me how it happened?” the doctor said as he wrote something down on the clipboard he had.
Minho looked at Chan, clearly trying to give him a chance to speak, but Chan just shook his head. Minho just cleared his throat with a nod.
“He fell. Tripped over his younger brother trying to get to our other kid.”
Doctor Yoongi raised an eyebrow, “an accident with multiple children?” he questioned.
“Yes, the other two are with my husband,” Minho said, and Chan tensed further as the men looked at each other.
“I see, well. Chan-ah, right?” The doctor asked, and Chan gave a short nod.
“I need to examine your arm, then we’ll move you to radiology for a scan. Is that okay?”
Chan looked at the man, biting his lip, before nodding again. He took measured breaths as the doctor gently picked up his arm with gloved hands. He kept Chan’s wrist straight, not allowing the bones to twist as he tried to move his hands to start examining, but Chan let out a pained noise as the weight of his hand flexed his wrist. The doctor hummed an apology and placed his right arm under Chan’s, seeing that he couldn't support it on his own. He gently palpated the skin around Chan’s wrist, and Chan had to squeeze his eyes shut as white-hot pain exploded from the swollen skin.
Doctor Yoongi slipped two fingers into the palm of Chan's hand, “Can you squeeze your hand for me? Do it as hard as you can.”
Chan did as asked, flexing his hand, his arm flared in pain and he quickly had to stop. Fear spiked as the doctor hummed and pulled his hand away, still supporting the arm.
“Grip is weak… hmm, I’ll get a nurse to transfer you two over to radiology for imaging.” He said, helping Chan pull his arm back to his chest.
“Okay, is there anything we should be worried about before then?” Minho asked.
“Not exactly, Chan-ah’s grip is weak, but that’s not unexpected with his pain. I think we’re looking at a simple fracture here, but we won't be sure he doesn't need something like surgery until we get pictures.” Yoongi said.
“Thank you, Doctor Min,” Minho said, standing to bow quickly to the man.
“You’re welcome, I'm happy to do my job,” he said, bowing and quickly moving to leave to room.
Minho turned to Chan, resting a hand on his knee.
“How are you feeling kiddo?” He asked.
Chan met the man's eye for a second, taking a shuddering breath before leaning forward to rest his head on the man's shoulder.
“‘Hurts…” he mutters softly.
Minho just scooched forward to let Chan lean on him more comfortably and rubbed a hand along his back. The nurse came in again a few minutes later and led them back into a room with an X-ray machine. Chan sat when told, let the nurse and the radiologist put the lead vest on him, and stayed still as they took the first images.
“Okay, let's get a side view, turn your hand like this.” The radiologist said Chan had barely caught his name, doctor Kim Seokjin.
Chan let the man guide his wrist into the proper positions, letting out a deep breath when he said they were done. Minho gave their thanks before they were led back into the exam room. Minho gave Chan the water bottle to drink quickly before Doctor Yoongi returned with a cart full of supplies.
“Well, it’s a bit worse than I thought, but your son will not be needing any sort of surgery today Lee Minho-ssi,” He said.
The doctor pulled out the radiographs and flicked off the lights, placing them onto the light board on the wall.
“Chan-ah’s wrist is broken in two places. We have a hairline fracture here on the ulna, it's a bit hard to see, but it's there.” He said, pointing to the lighter white patch on the bone.
“The more obvious break is here on the radius, a pretty severe green stick fracture, but both breaks are quite high up and everything is where it needs to be, he will be fully healed once his growth plates fuse.” The doctor said.
Chan shivered to see the pictures, his wrist ached as if to remind him that that was his bones.
“Okay,” Minho said.
“Lee Minho-ssi, I do have some concerns though. There are two old fractures here.”
“ What? ”
Chan froze. Memories flashed in his mind before he lifted his head to look at Minho, who was looking at the doctor like he had grown a second head.
“It seems like there are two improperly healed fractures, possibly spiral fractures” he pointed to the x-ray.
Chan’s breath picked up as the doctor pointed out the weird bumps on his bones near his elbow.
“His ulna is misaligned, this break caused the bone to heal pulled apart, and the radius is still twisted slightly, I have no clue how it managed to heal in the first place, but that's young bones for you.”
“Wait, how is a break like this caused? How old is it?”
The doctor looked at Chan for a second, “It looks to be over a few years old, maybe three. I wouldn't have been able to tell the break occurred at all if it had not healed incorrectly. And this kind of break is caused by the arm being twisted hard enough for the bones to fracture in a corkscrew, spiral pattern.”
Minho looked at Chan with wide eyes, moving to crouch in front of him.
“Chan-ah, did you know your arm was broken before?”
Chan shrugged, biting his lip, “He- uh- y’know who- he… um… I thought it was broken, but he said it was fine. It hurt for a really long time but- I’m okay Appa, I got used to it.”
He sniffled hard, trying to push his tears down as Minho just let out a devastated sigh, pressed a kiss to Chan’s forehead, and stood to face the doctor.
“I should explain,” he started.
“Yes,” the doctor said, leaning back on the counter and flicking the lights back on.
“Chan-ah is my adoptive child, and so are the other two boys with my husband. Chan and his younger twin brothers have been with us for about a year, but things… weren't good for them before us.” Minho said, gently running a hand through Chan's hair.
“Some things are hard to unlearn and talk about, including previous injuries. This is not the first time we've found out about a previous instance of abuse, but it's not their fault.” he turned to Chan, “You hear me Channie? it's not your fault kiddo, never was, never will be.”
Chan looked up at the man, eyes stinging with unshed tears as the man stared down at him with love and worry-filled eyes. Minho turned back to Doctor Yoongi, and Chan met the doctor's professional gaze.
“What do we need to do next?” Minho asked.
“Well,” the doctor said as he grabbed some gloves, “Chan-ah needs a long arm cast, so let's get that done.”
Chan watched as Yoongi grabbed a fabric tube and some rolls of cotton, obediently holding his arm still for the man to roll the protective tube on and wrap the cotton around it. The cotton was wrapped from above his elbow, around nearly his whole thumb, and up to his second knuckles.
“Alright, the cast material needs to be soaked, so what color do you want?” The doctor asked holding out a keychain with hardened patches of cast hanging from it.
“Um… That purple, please.” He said, pointing to the light purple color.
“Good choice kid.” the doctor said, ripping open two packages, one white and one purple, and tossing the white one in the water dish.
“This is a fiberglass cast, so it's going to be warm for a few minutes once it goes on, but it will dry in less than five minutes and cure in about a day. It won't be waterproof, but you can get a waterproof cast when you come back in two weeks for your recasting. Which will be needed because of the swelling.” He said.
The doctor pulled the soaked white cast material out of the water dish, made sure the angle of Chan's arm was correct, and wrapped the cotton with it, asking Chan how the tightness was. When Chan gave the go-ahead, Yoongi plopped the purple cast material in the dish, and let it soak for a second before pulling it out. Chan’s skin itched slightly at the warmth of the cast as Yoongi finished and started smoothing and squeezing it.
“As I said, it will be dry in only a few minutes, so I'll get a nurse to give you the paperwork Lee Minho-ssi. I’ll write up a referral to the orthopedic surgeon I know to get Chan-ah in for a consultation to correct those old fractures if you would like.” He said, backing away from Chan since the cast was mostly solid.
“That would be amazing, Thank you, Doctor,” Minho said, standing to bow again.
Yoongi bowed back, “Of course, head out to the desk to schedule a check-up and recasting. Try to keep Chan-ah from getting into any more trouble until that appointment. Have a good day,” He turned and left.
Almost immediately a nurse entered, a different one this time, a man.
“Hello, this is your paperwork for today, Dr. Min asked me to retrieve the referral he's writing so I'll go do that now,” he handed Minho the packet of paper, bowed and left.
Minho turned and set the paper down on the bed, taking Chan’s face in his hands. His gaze was soft, but Chan couldn't read him past that. Minho gently squeezed Chan's baby fat full cheeks and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head. He touched the cast, running his fingers along it and humming.
“It is warm huh?” He said.
“Yeah…” Chan muttered.
Minho picked up the paperwork and started filling it out quickly. Chan let his mind go blank as he sat, just breathing and the pain finally started to ease from the painkillers and the cast. Just as Minho set down the paper again there was a knock on the door and the nurse entered again.
“Alright, I’ve got the referral now, and a sling since the cast will be heavy, you two can head out now,” the nurse said with a polite smile.
“Thank you,” Minho said, taking both from the man.
He helped Chan get the sling on and off the bed, holding him steady when his legs shook. They left the room, walked down to the front desk, and were greeted by Changbin and the younger boys waiting for them in the waiting room. Jeongin was asleep in Changbin’s arms, and Felix looked close to falling asleep himself, but when the kid spotted Chan he rushed out of his seat.
“Channie!”
Chan knelt, pulling Felix in when the boy got close enough.
“ Hey, bug, how are you doing?” he asked softly, slipping into English naturally.
“ I’m okay, I got stitches,” Felix responded, touching the bandage stuck to his forehead.
Chan hummed, standing to look at Minho, “Um, do you need me… for paperwork?” he asked, unsure.
“No, go sit down with Dad,” the man said with a soft smile.
Chan turned, holding Felix’s hand and guiding them over to where changbin and Jeongin were.
“ Chris, your arm…” Felix said, pointing to his cast.
Chan sat down, letting Felix climb onto his lap despite the kid being far too big to be comfortable.
“ I broke it,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.
Felix looked at him in shock, fear from the past creeping into his haunted wide eyes.
“ Again?” those haunted eyes filled with tears as he whispered, terrified.
“ Shh it’s okay, look, I've got a cast. The doctor said it’ll be healed in a few months, it won’t be like last time.” Chan reassured, rubbing Felix's back.
“ But-” he turned his head to look at Changbin, who seemed to be resting his eyes, “ what if they figure out about last time?”
Chan looked at his little brother, chest aching that he let him believe that it was still a secret. Chan had stopped hiding a lot of things from their guardians, making sure that the twins knew it was okay to speak about things they were silenced about. But there were still things that Chan felt he should never speak about, a deep, primal fear keeping his mouth shut.
He should have remembered he was not the only one who was there, who saw what happened and was told that speaking up would only make everything worse.
“ Lixie, Appa already knows. The x-ray showed it, he’s gonna tell Dad as well,” he said softly, wincing when Felix whipped to stare at him.
“ What?! But Hyung, they can’t know!”
“ Why not? They’ll help, it still hurts me Lix, the doctor said they can fix the old stuff, it might make it not hurt anymore.” he paused for a second, taking a deep breath to coax Felix into breathing better.
“ I told you that we can tell them anything, yeah? And that they would understand and protect us because they're different,” he said, a plan forming on how to get Felix to understand.
“ Yeah…”
“ I also told you it's our choice what we tell them and what we don’t. I didn’t want to tell them about my arm, because it happened almost three years ago, and we were all little, especially you. They knew something was up though, they knew I don’t like anyone grabbing me, and they never questioned me because they knew I would only say something if I wanted to. That’s who they are, Lixie,” he said, smiling weakly as Felix relaxed.
Felix curled into Chan, doing the deep controlled breathing Minho taught all of them. Chan sighed, building the courage to look over to Changbin, biting his lip as he did so. Changbin returned his gaze with a concerned yet knowing one. Chan knew the man understood English enough to get what he and Felix were talking about, he just didn't know the context. They waited in silence until Minho returned, looking exhausted.
“C’mon, we’re free to go now,” He said, moving to pick a dozing Felix up from Chan's lap.
Chan followed the two adults out of the hospital and back to the parking building. Chan let Changbin buckle him again and lay one of the blankets they had over his lap. The ride back to the house was quiet, Jeongin and Felix falling asleep and Chan being able to relax now that his wrist was stable. It was nearly 11 o’clock when they got home, and Chan was trapped between being so tired he could barely stand and so restless he could run a mile. When they made their way inside, Jackson, Mark, and the other boys were all on the couch, a movie playing quietly. Seungmin and Jisung were completely out, and Hyunjin was on his phone with drooping eyes. Minho went straight upstairs with Jeongin, saying something about not wanting to deal with him waking up and not going back to sleep. Changbin exchanged a few words with the older men on the couch before shaking Seungmin and Jisung awake.
The two boys slowly got up, saying goodbye to Jackson and Mark before going upstairs together. Chan stood and watched them go, watched as the men got up and left, and watched Hyunjin hug Changbin and walk to his room. A cat brushed past his feet, but he did not bend to pet it, just looking down to meet the curious gaze of the animal. He looked up in time to see Changbin had turned to him. He held a hand out, the other holding Felix under the butt.
“C’mon, let’s get the boys to sleep, and I'll help you get ready for bed, yeah?” He said.
Chan hesitated, before eventually taking Changbin’s hand and letting the man lead him upstairs. Instead of finding the boys in their bedroom, they found them down the hall in Changbin and Minho’s room. Minho was changing into his sleep clothes and the three boys were cuddled in the center of the bed together. Changbin simply sighed and set Felix down on the bed next to his twin and younger brothers.
“Okay, let's get you ready for bed Channie,” he said, cracking his back and gesturing for Chan to follow him downstairs.
Once they made it into Chan’s room Changbin pulled out a change of clothes, the same sweatshirt with a wolf printed on the front he wore every night, and some basketball shorts. Chan couldn’t help but be surprised seeing the man know exactly what he wore every night, he thought he was being subtle about wearing the sweatshirt so often.
“I know what you like to sleep in kiddo,” Changbin said with a soft smile.
Changbin helped Chan maneuver out of his old clothes, and into the pajamas, keeping his cast from being shifted too much. Changbin stopped after, holding onto Chan’s shoulders.
“Chan-ah, do you want to come upstairs for tonight? Our bed is big enough for all of us.”
Chan blinked, shocked and trying to process.
“What about Hyunjinnie?” He muttered, not able to say anything else.
Changbin smiled, “Hyunjin can come as well, if he wants, we’ll go ask him. If that’s what you would like?”
Chan just nodded, shocked. He hadn't been invited into a bed since he was at least eight years old. Since before his parents disappeared. He knew that the younger kids got to sleep in Minho's and Changbin’s bed quite often, but he never expected to have the opportunity himself. Changbin guided him to Hyunjin’s room, where the younger quickly agreed and joined them going upstairs. Changbin scooped up two of the cats on the way to the bedroom, tossing them on the bed with the younger kids once they entered.
“Chan and Hyunjin are gonna join us, honey,” Changbin said to Minho.
The older man raised an eyebrow, “six kids and three cats?”
Changbin shrugged with a smile, “We’ll make it work.”
Minho just sighed and began pushing the passed-out children closer together on the bed, pulling Jeongin out of the arms of the boys and laying with him on his chest. He motioned for Hyunjin to come over, and he crawled onto the bed, wedged between Minho and the others. Changbin chuckled and guided Chan to lie down on the opposite side of the bed. He laid down, flat on his back and stiff as a board.
Chan held his breath as Changbin tossed blankets over everyone, giving Minho and Jeongin a different blanket from the others. He let Changbin tuck a blanket over his stiff body, breathing deeply as the man dropped into bed with a blanket of his own. Changbin managed to leave some space for Chan despite how cramped the bed was, and Chan was very grateful for that as he tried to gain his bearings.
They said their good nights quietly and Chan remained flat, so stiff his muscles ached.
“Chan,” Changbin whispered.
Chan shifted, looking at the man’s face in the darkness.
“You can get comfortable kiddo, sleep how you want okay? Stay like that or flip over, whatever, I won’t get close if you don’t want me to.”
Chan mumbled a soft okay and wiggled slightly, but did not move much overall. Chan lay there for a while longer, listening to the breaths of the others in the room even out. The ache in his back grew, and Chan couldn’t handle that on top of his still-aching wrist. He turned onto his side, facing Changbin and feeling the warmth of one of the boys on his back. He listened to Changbin’s deep breathing, hesitating before moving closer, he waited to make sure the older was still asleep before lifting his casted arm and resting it on Changbin’s stomach. He let out a deep sigh and tucked his face into the older side, relaxing as both the elevation and Changbin's body heat soothed the throbbing pain in his arm.
He was startled out of his descent into sleep when a hand suddenly brushed his head, and he quickly recognized it as Changbins. The thick fingers combed through his curls for a few moments before resting cupping his skull. He relaxed again, sniffling as he buried his face further into the older side.
When Chan first woke up it was from the steady throbbing of his arm. He was almost completely on top of Changbin, and a few seconds of gaining his bearing made him aware of the body on top of him as well. He lay there, listening to Changbin’s occasional snores and heartbeat. He dozed off again and was awoken by Minho handing him a few painkillers, which he was infinitely grateful for. He didn’t leave the bed until Changbin had to get up, and even then it was eleven in the morning.
After a calm breakfast (or as calm as a breakfast with eight men can be), Minho and Changbin sat with Chan and they talked. Chan told them what happened with his previous guardian, and they quickly shut him trying to blame himself. Chan left the conversation feeling slightly better about what happened, and with hope that they really would help him get better in every way they could.