A/N: Hi, guys! We’re finally at the end of Book 3! Yay!

Book 3: The (Crazier) Toddler Years

Chapter 10: Sick

Kyuhyun stared at the full plate in front of Minhyun.

“Minhyunnie, you haven’t touched your dinner.”

It’s been fifteen minutes already since Kyuhyun had placed a plate overflowing with the heated casserole that Xiari had given to them yesterday (most of the mother and son duo’s meals were courtesy of Xiari and Hankyung, who didn’t trust the self-proclaimed evil genius’s ability to keep himself and his son well-fed). Normally, Minhyun would have practically inhaled everything in just a few minutes, no matter how much his mother tells him to slow down when eating. Tonight, however, Minhyun was merely turning over the bits and pieces of meat and swirling them around the... gravy sauce thing (Kyuhyun wasn’t quite sure what it was called; all he knew was that it was edible and delicious, unlike whatever he could “cook”).

“Not hungry, umma.”

Kyuhyun blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. Minhyun wasn’t hungry?! When the hell was his son ever not hungry?! In fact, as far as Kyuhyun knew, the local grocery store had to restock more frequently since Kyuhyun and Minhyun moved to the town a few years ago and there was now a little food monster around that had to be kept well-fed.

It was unthinkable that Minhyun would ever be not hungry.

“You’re not hungry?” Kyuhyun repeated in complete disbelief.

Minhyun shook his head in reply.

Kyuhyun studied his son’s face closely. It... actually looked a bit like a tomato. It was quite red.

Was Minhyun blushing? Or was he feeling warm? The evening felt nice and cool to Kyuhyun, though.

The evil maknae reached out a hand and placed it on Minhyun’s forehead.

Minhyun wasn’t feeling warm due to the atmosphere. He was literally warm! It seemed that the little boy was down with a fever!

Kyuhyun thought that he was going to have an aneurysm on the spot. Sweet Merlin, his little dumpling was sick!

A bit over a couple of hours later, a worried Hankyung burst into Kyuhyun’s apartment with his doctor uncle in tow.

Upon realizing that Minhyun was sick, Kyuhyun had immediately called his hyung, and the Chinese man broke speed limits to get to the town, only stopping on the way to grab his uncle and bring him along.

Meanwhile, Xiari had been busy with putting a cool, wet towel on Minhyun’s forehead and trying to calm down the panicked evil maknae mother. Of course, the latter proved to be more difficult for the Chinese woman.

“Kuixian, you’re not helping matters and are just making me even more stressed!” Xiari had said exasperatedly when Kyuhyun started with his frantic pacing by Minhyun’s bed about an hour ago.

“My dumpling is sick!” Kyuhyun nearly screeched as he kept his eyes on the poor little boy on the bed the whole time he paced.

Xiari had just sighed and kept her focus on Minhyun.

Thankfully, Hankyung and his doctor uncle had arrived.

“How’s my nephew?” Hankyung said immediately the moment that they entered Minhyun’s bedroom.

“His fever’s getting quite high,” Xiari replied anxiously as she read the latest reading on the thermometer.

Hankyung’s uncle made to approach the bed, and Kyuhyun’s eyes narrowed dangerously. An evil medical doctor was going near his precious son! Hell, no!

Hankyung saw the look on the evil maknae’s face and read that look correctly. He butted in before Kyuhyun could do something drastic. Like pouncing on Hankyung’s uncle.

“For the love of all that is holy, this is not the time for your tirade about the evilness of medical stuff! Your son is sick, and he needs to be checked by a doctor!” Hankyung said sharply to the evil maknae. And just to be sure, he even placed a tight hold around Kyuhyun’s arm.

The doctor warily eyed Kyuhyun, remembering how the maknae had proved to be the most difficult patient that the doctor had ever encountered. Hankyung seemed to have him under control, though, so the doctor approached Minhyun (carefully, so as not to provoke the dangerous animal overprotective mother into attacking action).

Kyuhyun felt that his heart had moved to his throat as he watch the doctor (ugh!) examine his son, take Minhyun’s temperature, and check his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Worse, the evil maknae thought that he might faint when the doctor made his precious son stick out his tongue and placed one of those wooden popsicle thingies on Minhyun’s tongue so that the doctor could check the boy’s throat.

“Kyuhyun, Minhyun is the one being examined by a doctor! Not you!” Hankyung pointed out. He never, ever forget Kyuhyun’s hatred of medical things (all the disastrous check-ups that he had brought Kyuhyun to would never let him forget). But Kyuhyun wasn’t even the patient this time! “Why on earth are you hyperventilating?”

“Because it’s my son being subjected to a doctor! That’s way worse!”

In Kyuhyun’s opinion, it had been bad en