It was almost two in the morning when Himchan reached his dorm. He was alone because Yongguk who had the same schedule as him decided to stay at the company to settle things and the other group members had ended their schedules long before.  Needless to say, he was exhausted. Sure, Himchan loved his job as an idol but after working non-stop for more than 40 hours (without sleep), exhausted is exhausted. He could barely drag his feet to the sofa at the living room before collapsing on it.

Himchan woke up about an hour later and it was because of Jongup’s voice. He said something like “hyung, you need to sleep in the room. You’ll get sick”. Himchan wasn’t really sure because he was too sleepy to concentrate but he figured he didn’t care. The problem is Jongup cares. The younger boy kept on pestering him and Himchan was a second away from throwing a punch onto Jongup’s face when he decided to save his already depleting energy. Annoyed, he pushed himself up from the sofa and walked towards his bedroom with a big frown.

When he reached their shared bedroom, he had to rub his eyes to get a hold of the knob. He imaged falling into his comfy bed, cowering into his warm blanket (that is if Daehyun hadn’t steal it), nuzzling into his fluffy pillow and finally floating off to the dreamland full of pretty girls in bikini. A wide sleazy grin appeared on his face just by thinking of it and he knew nothing could stop him now.

Well, except a slightly ajar door beside his own room, with random children’s drawings pasted on it.

There was no more lights from the room, so Himchan knew that the kids had gone to sleep already. Thinking back, he last saw the kids was two days ago before he went for his non-stop schedule.  He kind of missed the kids. But at the same time, he just wanted to sleep. After a few seconds of thinking, he decided that taking a peek at the kids for a few seconds will not really affect his sleeping hours since he got whole day off tomorrow.

 Himchan heard Jongup’s “where are you going, hyung?” as he slipped into the dark room, but didn’t answer him. It was obvious anyway.

                Inside the room, it was only dimly lit by the starry nightlight that he bought last month, but it was enough for Himchan to see the sleeping kids. The room was filled in with mattress and pillows without any bed to accommodate twelve kids. Toys and clothes were kept in a big box and selves at the corner of the room. The kids were sleeping in two lines, six in a line according to their age (and size) with their feet facing each other. Himchan smiled as he watched eleven kids slept soundly among themselves.

Eleven, because one of them wasn’t sleeping. The boy was lying down on the mattress with his face buried in the pillow, but there were small sobs and shaking shoulders. The sobs echoed in the quiet room and Himchan was alerted right away. He moved as quiet as he could towards the boy quickly. The boy was lying at the second end of the row, beside Sehun; Tao.

Himchan sat down at Toa’s feet carefully, afraid of waking up the others.

“Tao, why are you crying?” he asked softly and patted the boy’s thigh.

Tao held his breathe for a second, as if he was surprised by the contact. Himchan saw how the boy’s eyes appeared from behind the pillow, peeking at him. He smiled at the boy even though he wasn’t sure if the boy could see it in the dark. But then, Tao suddenly sat up and hugged him at his waist. Tao was now crying instead of just sobbing, making Himchan panic. Himchan threw glances at the other kids, afraid that they woke up at the crying. Luckily, they were deep in sleep. Jongin and Jumyeon stirred a little but then still again.

Himchan rubbed Tao’s back soothingly and whispered, “ Don’t cry, Tao. Appa’s here.”

Tao tore his face from Himchan’s shirt but he was still crying.

“Ghost… appa… Ghost.” The boy wailed.

“Ghost? Where?” Himchan paled.

“Sleep…”

“Ah… in your dream?”

Tao nodded and Himchan sighed in relief. He lifted Tao’s face and rubbed the boy’s tear stained cheeks with his thumbs, gaining Tao’s attention.

“Don’t cry. There’s no ghost here.” He said softly as he looked into the boy’s eyes.

“B..But…”

“Appa’s here. So, the ghost will not come.” He assured. “If he come, appa’ll beat him.” He added and showed his fist as a good measure. He knew Daehyun and Youngjae would laugh their asses off if they heard this but since they weren’t here, Himchan hoped the boy believed him.

And Tao believed him. His tears stopped, only leaving some small hiccups. Himchan wrapped the boy in his arms and kissed his forehead.

“That’s right, Tao is a good boy. No ghost will come to you.” He said with a smile. Tao smiled too.

“Let’s go to sleep. There’s Power Rangers showing tomorrow.” Himchan patted the pillow for Toa.

The boy lay down obediently and Himchan tucked him into the blanket. But before as his hand left the comfy fabric, small fingers wrapped around it.

“Appa, sleep with Tao.” the boy asked. Himchan bit the inside of his cheek.

“But appa…”

“Please.” And Tao started making that face that Himchan could never say no to.

“Alright.” Himchan sighed defeatedly.

  Tao smiled cheekily and quickly shifted to make some spaces for his appa. The space was actually still a bit small for Himchan but he just squeezed himself in because he was planning to stay long, just until Tao fell asleep. As soon as he lay down, Tao moved closer and snuggled onto him. Himchan placed one hand onto Tao’s small body and he heard the boy mewled in content. Himchan smiled. But then, he felt a weight on his legs. He lifted up his face and saw Sehun curled on his legs. He didn’t even realize when did the baby moved. Then, Chanyeol woke up. Drowsily, he pulled his blanket with him as he neared Himchan and collapsed on top of Himchan. Himchan had to gasp. The kid was growing up quickly lately. Next, another kid was snuggling onto Himchan’s neck and he recognized Baekhyun. Lay also woke up and settled beside Sehun. One by one, the kids woke up and come directly to Himchan. Himchan wondered whether all of them weren’t sleeping or there’s some kind of weird virus that make all of the kids gathered at him. With the small limbs all tangled around him, there was no way Himchan could leave anymore, but he didn’t really mind because sleepiness had drowned him in the moment his head met the soft mattress.  

The next morning, Youngjae found Himchan under a pile of kids. All of them were sleeping soundly; the children and Himchan.