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“We should get this one!” Tae exclaimed, holding up a pink onesie.  It had a lollipop on the front of it.

“No, we should get this one!” Kookie held up a white onesie with a little bear on it.

Chaeha laughed. “We can get both of them.  Don’t argue.”

“Ooo!  What about this one?” Jimin showed her a onesie covered in yellow stars.

“Look at these pants!  They’re sooooo cute!” Tae pointed at a pair with ruffles on the bottom.

“She can be a pretty princess!” Kookie grinned as he held up a tiny dress.

“Are you guys having fun?” Chaeha asked.

“Yeah!” Kookie exclaimed. “She needs to get here faster so we can have her wear these clothes!”

“She’ll be here soon enough, Kook.  Right now, we need to go find Luke a birthday present.  Then maybe we can go look at paints for the bedroom, ok?”

That got Kookie climbing up the side of the cart so he could seat himself in it. “Ok let’s go!”

——————–

Jin was getting off work around the time they finished shopping, so he agreed to meet them at the hardware store.

“This one is pretty!  It’s called…” Tae squinted. “Why does it say wink?”

“That’s periwinkle, Tae.”

“Ohhhhh.”

“No, no.  Our room is already blue.  We should do pink!” Jimin pointed to a color called ‘Cotton Candy.’

“Why is it called Cotton Candy?  Cotton candy isn’t just pink!” Kookie exclaimed.

“Well, this one is Sunset Orange, and that definitely isn’t orange.” Tae stated as he pointed to an orangey-red color.

“Yes, it is!  It’s just dark orange.” Kookie emphasized.

“No.”

“Yes!”

“Nope.” Tae shook his head.

Kookie puffed out his cheeks in frustration.  Tae laughed.  Thankfully, Jin arrived a moment later, so they were distracted from their argument.

“What color are you thinking we should do?” Chaeha asked him as they looked at the wide variety of colors.

“Well, we’ve already got some blues and greens and grays on the walls, so maybe we should mix it up with some pink.” Jin suggested.

“Or we could do purple.  It would match the rest of the walls better.”

Jin nodded.

“What about this one?” Jimin pointed to a dark purple paint.

“It’s a bit dark, Min.  How about this one?” Chaeha picked up a lavender one. “It would work well with the baby pink bassinette Auntie Ambra and Uncle Seho bought us.”

“Oh, yeah!  That’s a pretty color!” Tae replied. “We should do that one!”

“What do you think, Kookie?  Min?”

Both of them nodded.

“All right.  We’ll see if it looks good on the walls and then we’ll decide.” Jin looked headed to find an employee.

——————–

That weekend was Luke’s birthday.  It was nearing the end of November now, and Chaeha was practically forcing the boys into coats before they left the house.

“Kookie!  Where are you going?  Put your coat on, you goose!”

Kookie giggled as he picked his coat up off the ground before putting it in. “I don’t like it.”

“I know, but we’re leaving the house and it’s cold outside, so it’s better to be prepared to walk than to expect the best.”

Kookie huffed and exited the house to go climb into the car.  Tae wandered out of his bedroom a minute later.

“Why do I have to carry the present?  Luke is Kookie’s friend!”

“Well, if you’d like, you can go give it to Kookie.  I never said you had to carry it.  Just, hurry up with your shoes.  We’re going to be late if you guys goof around any longer.”

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the Johnson’s house.  Kookie was practically out of the car before Chaeha could even park.  This time, he was carrying Luke’s present.  By the time Chaeha and the twins got out of the car, JoJo was running up the driveway, both of his sisters walking behind him.

“You’ll never guess what we got Luke!” JoJo exclaimed.

“Shhh.  Don’t say it.  Luke might hear!” Jimin scolded him before stepping into the house.

“Jo, would you slow down next time?  Mom said I have to keep an eye on you, but when you run that fast it’s near impossible!” JoJo’s older sister shook her head as she followed him inside.

“Rosa, I’m old enough to come here by myself.”

“Yeah, I don’t care.  I’ll be back in three hours to get you and Sophia.  Don’t come home by yourself.”

Tae snickered as Rosa left. “She’s really bossy.”

“Yeah, she’s so annoying.” JoJo huffed.  He turned to his younger sister. “Go play with Luke and Kookie.”

The little girl shook her head, her dark pigtails flopping from side to side. “I don’t want to!  I’m staying with you guys.”

JoJo had a look of disbelief on his face.

“It’s ok.” Jimin responded. “Let’s go find Xander.”

Xander was found sitting in the kitchen drawing.

“What are you doing out here?” Tae asked.  He looked down at Xander’s drawing. “What’s with you and Luke and treehouses?”

“Treehouses are cool!” Xander exclaimed.  He glanced over at the stove.  “Tell me when my mom leaves.  I want some of the cake top.”

——————–

“Luke!  I got you a present!” Kookie exclaimed.

“What is it?” Luke asked out of curiosity.

“No, I’m not telling you!  You have to open it!”

Luke huffed. “Mom said we have to do cake first.”

“Ok.” Kookie shrugged.  He handed the box to Luke, and Luke shook it.

“Is it candy?”

“Nope.”

Luke puffed his cheeks out and frowned. “What about LEGOs?”

Kookie shook his head.

“I wanna open it,” Luke pouted.

“You can open it soon.  Let’s go play right now!”

——————–

“Sophiaaaa, stop following us around.” JoJo whined as Xander made his way towards the stairs.

“Nu-uh.” The little 6-year-old shook her head.

Tae snickered. “You don’t wanna play with Kookie and Luke?”

“No.  Playing with you is more fun.”

JoJo groaned.

“Sophia, you can come with us only if you swear you won’t touch the ping-pong balls.” Xander said sternly.

“Ok!”

Jimin and Tae ended up playing with Sophia while JoJo and Xander played ping-pong.

“I’m counting next!” she squeaked.  She placed her hands over her eyes. “One…two…three…”

Tae and Jimin exchanged glances before running off to hide.

JoJo let out a loud sigh. “I can’t believe she won’t leave us alone.  My mom wouldn’t let me leave without her.”

Xander laughed. “Why?  She’s not bothering you anymore.  She seems to like Tae and Jimin a lot better.”

“Yeah.  I think she’s obsessed with Tae.  She calls him ‘pretty boy.’”

Xander burst out laughing. “That’s great.  You gotta tell Tae.”

“Oh, no.  I don’t want him feeding her little crush on him.  And I know he would!”

Xander giggled again as he smacked the ball back in JoJo’s direction.

——————–

“No, Kookie, don’t do that!  We’re trying to keep the trim bare!” Jin exclaimed as paint dripped down the wall.  Letting the boys help paint hadn’t been the best idea.

Kookie pulled his paintbrush off the wall and put it in the water bucket. “I don’t wanna paint anymore.”

Jin sighed and pushed the roller through the paint again. “You can go play.”

“Yay!”

Jin thought that was the end of his problems.  But then Jimin tripped over the tarp on the floor and faceplanted into the freshly painted wall.

“No, my shirt!” he exclaimed, tears welling in his eyes.  It was covered in lavender paint.  As was his hair and cheeks.

“Let’s go clean you off.”

Jimin’s shirt was definitely ruined now.  Sadly, it was one of his favorites.  Jimin cried as Jin cleaned his face and hair off.  Tae walked in a moment later with his hand covered in paint.

“Ok I think none of you get to help paint anymore,” Jin laughed softly.