‘Papa...’  

‘Shhh... my little baby, mama’s here.’

*someone enters the room in a rush, still in his office clothes*

‘Am I too late? Oh! My baby’s still awake!’

’He’s waiting for his papa...’

‘Is that true? Hmm... but papa’s not a good singer baby.’

‘Papa sings best!’

‘What about mama? Does my baby not like mama’s voice anymore? Mama feels hurt’

‘Mama sings best too! Mama Papa sings best!

*The couple chuckles together,  sandwiching their baby in a family hug*

‘Okay! We’ll start baby. 1, 2, 3... ‘

‘Even all the waiting, the longing and all of our memories, thank you.’

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The boy woke to the faint sound of a familiar singing voice. "Mama..." he sleepily mumbled. Not fully awake, the little body squirmed a few before sprawling on his back and rubbing an eye awake. "*yawn*" A few more tumbles and the boy was slowly pushing himself from the floor...

A confused expression went to the boy’s face as he curiously patted the hard surface. "Bed no soft?" After patting it a few more times, he stood up shakily on his feet. His confusion grew when he was able to have a proper look around of the room. At his young age, he really didn’t care most of the time where he was as long as he is with his mama or papa; he’s most happy when he’s with both. But why do tears begin pooling in his eyes? It’s because in the vast expanse of the room, way too big for this small toddler, there was no mama, no papa, not even his uncles and aunties were there. He was just alone...

Tears slipped and stained his chubby cheeks. His eyes were trembling and lips quivering as he desperately called for his parents. He went toddling about the room trying to find them and whimpered when he couldn’t, more tears spilling on his now rosy cheeks. 

He stared at the tall door in front of him. He jumped and jumped but his little body can’t reach the knob. An idea had him running for his Pororo backpack where he retrieved his help.  

"Michael-ah. Mama and papa gone. No no no cry, we find mama and papa." The boy was trying to be strong, or at least in front of his ‘worried’ teddy bear. He wiped the invisible tears of the bear, hugging it tightly and burying his face on it. Well maybe he was also wiping his own teary self with the bear. 

He went back to the door with his ‘friend’, settling it to the ground then stepping on it. "Push higher Michael-ah. We do it!" But alas the brown bear just stayed limp under the tip-toes of the boy. 

The boy stretched with all his might but in his efforts, he slipped and landed on his bum. A faint ‘thump’ resounded in the room. That was the last his little brave heart could take before he gave in to the uncontrollable tears. He sobbed and wailed as the baby he really was, clutching his bear tightly while he called loudly for his parents.

"M-mama! Papa!"

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Woozi raised a hand to signal DK to stop singing. “Hyung? Woozi hyung? Should I do it a bit higher?” The composing idol just shushed him, listening intently to something. It got the attention of the singer inside the booth, along with the others who were waiting for their turn. Woozi wasn’t giving any feedback, no words at all came from him, and he wasn’t moving.

Concerned, Joshua approached the unmoving younger and rubbed his back gently. “Jihoon-ah, what’s wrong?” He was relieved to at least get a reaction. The other seemed to have heard him and had looked at his mention, but the face he wore had a confused expression and that was enough for Joshua to remain his worry for his little brother.

“Shua hyung, do you hear that?” The elder creased his brows. There wasn’t anything? But the worry in him had him trying nonetheless, hoping to help Woozi on whatever it was bothering him. And so he too strained his ears, concentrated on listening for what sound his dongsaeng had heard. 

Silence filled the recording room with DK, Seungkwan, Mingyu, The8 and Vernon waiting for their hyungs to say something, anything. It was unsettling to see them unmoving and a bit troubled. Meanwhile, Woozi was watching expectantly at Joshua. Seungkwan was willing to break the silence when the eldest gave a start and returned a shocked face to his brother beside him.

“Is that a child crying?!”

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A rush of footsteps can be heard along the halls. The group of 7 was searching for the whereabouts of the cries, not sparing a single corridor nor room. In the halls, the cries were greatly more emphasized - it was the only thing they can hear now, except for their steps and hurried calls, after most of the staff had gone home for the night. Many ‘not here’s’ was exchanged among them before they could finally find it with Vernon shouting for them loudly. 

“He’s here!”

True enough, from the glass pane of the door leading to their practice room, there was a boy sobbing hard . Minghao felt his heart break seeing how lost and confused the child was. Not wanting to leave him alone for a moment more, he quickly went for the knob... *click-click*.

“It’s locked!” They didn’t question it at the moment, how the small boy could’ve gotten inside. Their priority was to make it to the poor child the soonest. 

“I’ll get the keys!” Mingyu, without a second to spare, replied as soon as he heard it from his Chinese friend. While the tallest was on the run for the keys, the others tried to catch the attention of the boy. The pane was small and it was a struggle to have everyone look at the same time. Seungkwan managed to secure a spot at the front of it and was knocking the door to distract the toddler. He smiled when he was successful to make eye contact with the boy, but that immediately fell when the child seemed to be more afraid than he was before. 

Seokmin, noticing what happened, pushed his friend to the side and tried a comforting smile to him. It worked, somewhat. The boy was still crying loudly and still he was trembling but he gained a more positive (?) reaction from the toddler at least. A chubby hand went up for him. It opened and closed, and Seokmin just knew that the child was calling for him.

“Where’s Mingyu?!”

“H-here! I’m here *pants* ... the keys!” Just in time, the said man appeared to them looking very ragged and exhausted. Still, his worry for the boy locked in the room overcame what exhaustion he felt in his body. He went staggering to his friend to give him the keys before leaning to the wall and try catch his breath.

The door was unlocked by Seokmin but the first to enter the room was Joshua. Upon the sight of him, the child had stood and wobbly ran to him. The eldest became alert of the child charging at him and stopped his steps to catch the little boy in a tight hug. 

“Awty Soo! Mama and papa gone! Find mama and papa! Pwease!” Joshua was surprised at how the child was squeezing him so tight but more than that, the boy knows his name? The others were surrounding him, sneaking little pats and touches on the boy. He decided to not ponder on that now. He’ll get answers eventually.

“Shhh... little one. It’s okay, you’re okay. I and the other uncles are gonna find your mama and papa, okay? Hush your cries now, baby.” He returned a firm embrace and led the boy’s head to rest on the crook of his neck. He can hear his sniffles and hiccups, and can feel the hurried rise and fall of his small chest. Joshua felt determination ran through him. 

“We need to find his parents.” All of them were determined. Who wouldn’t when the little boy was looking so pitiful? But also there was this feeling, a pull, that made them feel more for the toddler in Joshua’s arms. They can’t let the child cry longer.

“I think it’s better for some of us to go find his parents while some stay and try calm him down. He must be hurting from all the crying, it’s not good for him.” Mingyu suggested. His hand was at the back of the toddler and he could feel too how the child’s breathing was erratic. Plus his face was red and that couldn’t be good. Joshua, knowing very well the poor state of the boy, agreed to the idea first, and soon all was on board with the plan.

For some odd reason, the boy didn’t like Minghao, Vernon and Seungkwan. He had cried louder when Seungkwan tried to get him from Joshua. Hao received a slap when he touched his chubby hand. Even when Vernon just poked his flushed cheek, the child flinched and hid himself more in the elder’s hug. The younger idols were devastated, mostly Seungkwan who wouldn’t stop glaring at Seokmin who was successful to carry him next. The favoured hyungs can’t help but find the situation a bit funny. 

“Kwan-ah, don’t pout. You might scare him more.” Seokmin teased the vocal team’s maknae, showing off how the child clung to him tightly.

“Yah! You just wait, I’ll be his favourite uncle!” Vernon and Minghao had to drag Seungkwan to the door so they could get on with their search.

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They forgot. Vernon resisted the urge to face palm as they stood at the empty staff room. Seungkwan and Hao must still be searching... or maybe not. He could hear someone approaching the room he was in. Could it be?

“Solie! I couldn’t find anyone. How’s at your end?” He just shook his head no and stretched his neck.

“All the staff left hours ago, Kwan. Of course we couldn’t find anyone.” Seungkwan sighed, biting his lip at the news. There was a moment of silence between them before more footsteps were heard heading for them. They shared a look of hope. Maybe Hao found them. The stared expectantly at the Chinese when he came, but hope was dashed out when Minghao also said no.

“I couldn’t find them... *pant* but I brought backup!” And behind him came Jun, Hoshi and Wonwoo who also looked out of breath, probably from running after their friend.

“What’s going on?” Jun asked first, not waiting to catch his breath. He felt responsible being the eldest of the group. Wonwoo helped Minghao to a bottled water while Hoshi stood with Jun expecting an answer from the maknaes. 

“A toddler... in our practice room, hyung.”

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This time they walked, the hyungs taking their time for their dongsaengs to tell them all that had happened. At the end of the story, they were definitely curious to see the boy themselves. But also another thing...

“Why is it you three searching for the parents?” Seungkwan grumbled at the memory and the two younger chuckled.

“Seemingly, the child doesn’t like us? He would only fuss up more if we tried touching him. So here we are. Seungkwan’s just upset that DK hyung can carry him.” Vernon shrugged his shoulders while Hao smiled, embarrassed.

“Oohhh definitely gonna try touching him!” Hoshi exclaimed, followed by Jun who said a ‘me too!’. Wonwoo sighed at their antics. 

“Yah, this isn’t a contest, you know. And don’t try to make Kwan more upset. You’ll get it from Cheol hyung later.”

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Seungkwan didn’t know if he should feel annoyed or relieved, but hearing the cute laughter of the child was tugging his heart to lean more for the latter. They returned to the sight of the toddler laughing in Woozi’s lap. His little body was squirming as Jihoon tickled him.

“Anku Hoonie, stop! *squeal* *laughter* Anku Gyu, Anku Minnie help!” Joshua was at the side chuckling at the cuteness of the squirmy boy and the childishness of his dongsaengs who had began a tickle war on the poor baby. His attention shifted to the incoming group and got up to meet with them.

“Did you find them?” He frowned at their negative response but still gave them a smile and a pat on the head as thank you for all their hard work.

“We managed to stop him from crying. He’s a cheerful one when you get him in the mood.” He just reported, knowing that the ‘96 liners must have known the situation by now.

“He’s doing well with Jihoon, Gyu and Seokminie. Think I can get along with him too?” Hoshi was looking very excited. It vibrated off of him that he wanted to join in the tickle party. The eldest chuckled while also looking at the direction of the playing group. 

“I don’t know, Soon. It even amazes us that he knows our names.” Wonwoo gave a start at the response of his hyung.

“He recognizes you?”

“Yeah. Knows some of our quirks too. He told off Seokmin earlier, saying how his pointy nose was since Kyeom was resting and snuggling on my shoulder then. Not many know about it is so you can imagine Kyoemie’s surprise.” That had all of them in a pause. He wouldn’t know unless he was from a close staff member. Could he be one of their managers’? But they never did bring their children at work and they would have told them if they did, right? And surely they’ll be informed of a missing child if the baby was really theirs, they had their numbers.

“Awty Nyoungie! Awty Wonu! H-Help! *squeal**laughter*” Vernon was mildly surprised how Seungkwan whipped his head so fast to glare at the other BooSeokSoon member.

“Great! He knows the two of you and I’m the only one left out?! You better not be pulling a prank or so help me...” Wonwoo tuned out the rant of the younger and the cackles of Soonyoung to stare at the beautiful, pure smile of the little one who was now in Mingyu’s hold. And he may or may not be also staring at his friend who just fit the image of a good dad. A smile slipped his lips; Joshua caught it and chuckled at his dongsaeng. 

“You know, he kept bugging Mingyu where ‘Awty Wonu’ was, whatever ‘Awty’ means. But I’m convinced now, it’s you he’s been looking for.” The child was looking for him? But he doesn’t even know him. Maybe he looked a bit familiar but he was sure it was the first he saw the boy. 

“Can I... *phone ringing* Oh, it’s from our computer provider. Must be about mine and Cheol hyung’s orders. I’ll get this for a sec, hyung.” Joshua nodded in understanding and Wonwoo (reluctantly) went out of the room.

Now going back to the main vocal of the group. Joshua called their attention and stopped Seungkwan from choking Soonyoung with a gentle but firm hold on his shoulder. “Seungkwan-ah. You’ll get your chance. It’s not Soon’s fault. How about we go and join in the fun as we try to figure out what we are to do with the little one?” Jisoo was thankful that though he was no Seungcheol nor Jeonghan, his dongsaengs still listen to him well. He chuckled seeing Hoshi, escaping Seungkwan’s grasp, zoom past him to play with the happy toddler who was just having so much fun.

“Kwanie, Solie and Hao-hao play too! Where friends, Awty Nyoungie?” Vernon was afraid Seungkwan had broken his neck with all that whipping that’s happening, but he must admit, he was also curious and hopeful that the child was referring to him. Minghao was at shock, hearing it from the toddler too. His hand found Kwan’s and they shared a surprised look before smiling and skipping to the group. The eldest hummed in interest. So maybe they aren’t hated at all. Though he had to laugh at the sulking figure of his tall Chinese friend.  

“Hyung... My name’s the easiest, he wouldn’t have forgotten me, right?” And Joshua laughed harder, earning a slap to his shoulder from Jun. None of them knows the boy but here they were seeking his attention. “He wouldn’t, Jun-ah. You’re someone not easily forgotten.” Not only for his looks, who can forget the uniqueness of his brother? Even children are enamoured by him.

“Not friends... Mama said no talk strangers.” They had gotten distracted that they failed to notice the laughter was gone and was now replaced by soft whimpers from the toddler who was doing his best to hide further in Seokmin’s arms. The said member was caressing his back in comfort while Soonyoung his hair, encouraging the boy to be friends with the younger trio who just looked defeated. 

“We shouldn’t force it on him if he doesn’t want to, Soon.” Jihoon had intervened, not wanting to further upset the child who was starting to get teary. Mingyu was also cautious to not make him cry again, but he couldn’t just let the three be sad like that. “How about we get his interest back again by asking him about his friends. That way we can also get some clues on his parents.” Minghao turned to stare at Mingyu with wide eyes. “Y-yes, let’s go for that! Maybe he’s just confused or...or we’re confused... b-but!” 

“We should probably make a circle, with Seungkwan, Sol and Hao at the farthest. Oh, um... sorry, no offence guys. I... uh....” Wonwoo just came back from his call to hear the suggestion of Gyu and the eagerness of Minghao. However, he maybe should have read more the atmosphere first because he was feeling so guilty at the sadder expression of the mentioned members.

“It’s okay, Wonwoo. We’ll do just that. But... hmmm... what do we do with Jun?”

"Shua hyung!” Well at least they can share a chuckle at that.