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It was four am in the morning.  On a Wednesday.  During spring break.  So why was Hobi being woken up?

“Hobi!  Mom and I are headed to the hospital.  I’m leaving everyone home, ok?”

Hobi nodded, not fully comprehending what Jin was saying.  He just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Hoooobiiii!”

Hobi was awoken again at eight o’clock when an eager 6-year-old plopped himself on top of Hobi.

“What is it, Kook?”

“Appa and Eomma aren’t home.”

“Mhm…”

“So, you need to make me pancakes!”

Hobi squinted up at him.  It was so bright in here.  Had Kookie opened the shades?

“Eat some cereal.”

“Nooooooo.” Kookie whined. “I!  Want!  Pancakes!”

Hobi sighed. “Go ask Joonie.”

But the little boy didn’t budge.

“Hobi!” That was Joon. “Appa and Mom aren’t home!”

Had Appa only told him they were leaving?  Joon opened Hobi’s bedroom door a moment later. “Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah.  They left at four this morning.  I think Mom went into labor.”

“What does that mean?” Kookie asked.

“It means you’re gonna be an older brother in a few hours.”

Kookie still looked confused.

“Eomma is having the baby, Kookie.”

“Oh!  Then we definitely need to make pancakes!”  Kookie jumped off of Hobi and ran out of the room.

“Guess we’re making pancakes,” Joon sighed.

——————–

The kitchen was a mess by the end of breakfast.  All three younger boys had wanted to help make pancakes, and the batter had ended up all over the place.  The pancakes were good, though, so there were no complaints.  The five of them worked together to clean the kitchen after breakfast.

It was now after nine, and the boys were all giddy with excitement.  Hobi and Joon decided to pass the time by playing video games.  Specifically, Mario Cart.  They had to get out their Nintendo Switch to play that specific game since that game wasn’t on the Xbox.  The two of them took turns playing so that all three younger boys could play at once.

Kookie was pretty much a beginner to the game, so he kept crashing his car into the wall and going off the track.  The younger twins were still intermediate players, so they left the speed on 50cc, as it was the easiest to play.

Two hours of gaming, whining, and saving controllers from being thrown across the room later, Hobi got a call from Jin.  He answered it and put the call on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hi there.  How’s it going?”

“Um…it’s ok.” Hobi laughed.

“Are you guys ready to come meet your sister?”

——————–

The five of them each threw on a pair of shoes and a coat before heading out the door.  Fifteen minutes later, Jin met them in the lobby of the hospital.

“Did you tell Grandpa Yoongi yet?” Hobi asked.

“Yep.  He said he’s on his way.” Jin picked Kookie up. “Are you guys ready?”

“You asked us that twenty minutes ago.  Yes, we’re ready!” Joon exclaimed impatiently.

Jin took them all up to the room Chaeha and the baby were in.  Kookie slid out of Jin’s arms and ran straight over to the bed the moment they entered the room.  Chaeha smiled down at him.

“You want to see Bom?”

Kookie nodded.  Jin was standing behind him again already, so he lifted him up to see the baby.  Kookie grinned.

“Appa, I wanna hold her!”

“Ok, ok.  Can you go sit down in the chair over there?” Jin asked, motioning to the chair in the corner of the room.  Kookie nodded and ran over to it the moment Jin set him on the floor.  A moment later, Jin brought the tiny baby over for him to hold.  Jimin and Tae were right on his heels.  They wanted to see the baby too.

The moment Jin set Bom in Kookie’s arms, Kookie grinned.

“She’s so tiny.”

Jin chuckled. “She’s a whole lot tinier to me and Eomma.”

“Can I hold her next?” Tae asked.

“Yes, just give Kookie a minute, ok?”

Tae nodded.  And little Bom slept away in Kookie’s arms.  Each of the boys took turn holding her.  It had been a while since they’d had a baby in the family, and Kookie had never had a younger sibling, so they were all excited.

“Can we take her home now?” Kookie asked excitedly.

Jin smiled. “Not yet.  We can take her home tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Kookie frowned.

“Yep.  It’ll be here before you know it.” Jin decided to try and cheer the little 6-year-old up. “Hey, I heard Grandpa Yoonie wants to take you guys to the arcade after this.”

Yoongi gave Jin a sideways look but didn’t argue with this statement.  Kookie grinned. “Really?”

Jin nodded. “Right, Appa?”

“Of course,” Yoongi replied. “We can’t spend too long there, though.”

Kookie clapped his hands and ran off to tell his brothers.

“Thank you,” Jin said to Yoongi once Kookie was out of earshot.

Yoongi smiled. “I think you’re using my soft spot for him against me.”

“Oh, I definitely am,” Jin teased. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.  I’m sure Hobi and Joon are tired of babysitting after this morning.”

——————–

Hobi was woken up at seven am the next morning when Kookie bounced on his bed.  He tried to ignore the little boy, but Kookie was persistent.

“Hobi!  I wanna go get Bom and Eomma and Appa!”

Hobi sighed. “We’re not going to get them.  They’re coming home themselves.”

Kookie pouted. “When are they coming?”

Hobi looked at the clock. “Later.  Go play in the living room.”

Kookie sighed dramatically and fell back onto the bed, smacking his head on the footboard of the bed.  He burst into tears.  Hobi, still half asleep, sat up in bed and looked down at him.

“You ok?”

Kookie whimpered and shook his head.  Hobi sighed and leaned down to pull Kookie up next to him.  He rubbed his head.

“It’s ok…”

Not even a minute later, Kookie was fine again.  He climbed off Hobi’s bed and ran out of the room.  Hobi watched him go in confusion.  But then he lay back down and attempted to go back to sleep.  Five minutes later, Jimin came wandering in.

“Hobi, can you make breakfast?”

Hobi sighed. “Can’t you ask Joon?”

“Ok.”

Hobi heard the door click a moment later.  And then, he finally went back to sleep.

——————–

Joon did his best to occupy his three younger brothers for a few hours that morning.  They were all bouncy with excitement to have their baby sister come home today.  Thank goodness for their trampoline and gaming consoles.

He was nearing the end of his patience when Jin and Chaeha walked through the door at noon.  Kookie, Tae, and Jimin all nearly pounced on them.

“Hey, hey.  Shhh.  She’s sleeping.” Chaeha said in a low tone, motioning to the carrier on her arm.

All three of the boys peeked over the bottom of the carrier to look at the little baby.

“Can I hold her, Eomma?” Kookie asked enthusiastically.

“Of course.  Go sit on the couch.”

Kookie sat on the couch, and Tae and Jimin both followed.  Chaeha set Bom in Kookie’s arms.  This would be the start of many days for baby holding.