Chapter Text
INTRODUCTION
The six year old pranced around the large room in his white nightgown, his two small hands clutched at the sides of the fabric. A cute whiny voice escaped his pouty lips as he called for his caregiver.
“Doyoung hyung, Doyoung hyung. It's time for my bedtime story.”
The latter smiled endearingly as he carried the little child with an arm, his other hand caressing Haechan’s sweaty forehead. He brought the child to the bed, laying him down under the duvet beside his favourite plush toy. He sighed at the sight of the honey skin turning blush peach from the heat.
“Why are you sweating so much, dear? You'll get rashes if you sleep in this state.”
Haechan giggled merrily, revealing the plump cheeks Doyoung couldn't resist pinching. “What story do you want to hear this time?”
The child wondered for a bit before his eyes light up, “Tell me again about how you met me.”
Doyoung chuckled, Haechan never got tired of listening to that same story every time it's his turn to tuck him in. “Okay then, if that's what you want.
“...There I was, sitting by the lake, resting from my marching duty with my other friends, until I heard a powerful voice called out for my name. I stood up immediately for I knew who it was, it was Gabriel. 'Doyoung, the Lord has assigned you to a new task,'"
The child looked as if he was about to fall asleep so Doyoung cut it short and concluded his story, “...and so I was sent here, you're my new task and I love it.”
He smiled warmly, patting the sleepy boy’s head.
“Does every little boy has their own Doyoung hyung too?” Haechan mumbled.
“Well yes, but the difference is that, I am now in the form of a human being so that you can see me. The other kids can't see their guardian angels the way that you can see me.”
“...and why is that so?” The child ask, eyes closed.
Doyoung paused before glancing at the man standing behind the door with a dark smirk on his face.
“Because you're special,” he whispered and planted a kiss on the plump cheeks.
-
“My dear Haechan, come here,” the man said, patting his lap, motioning for the child to sit atop them.
Haechan released a squeaky giggle as he ran towards his caregiver.
“Jaehyun hyung,” he called out between his giggles.
He climbed up the sofa to get onto Jaehyun's lap, wrapping his tiny arms around the man’s neck.
“My Haechan seems very happy tonight, did something great happen?”
The child shook his head, the bright grin never left.
“I’m happy to see Jaehyun hyung,” he huffed before pulling the man into a tight hug.
A low chuckle escaped the man’s curvy lips, he stood up and carried the boy to the bedroom.
“I had some business to take care of, but now I'm back. I won't be leaving again.” Jaehyun pecked the boy’s cheek before putting him down onto the bed.
“Doyoung hyung said you were away for good. I got a sense that he was happy you were gone.”
The smirk on Jaehyun's face turned from loving to eerie in a flash but Haechan loved it either way.
“What are you saying Haechan, you know how close the two of us are?” There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
The happy boy jumped up and down his bed and stopped to give Jaehyun a peck on the cheek.
“Jaehyun hyung!!” he called out again, he was genuinely happy to see the older man.
He cried the whole day yesterday when Doyoung said Jaehyun left, like it was the greatest misery he had ever experienced in his six years of living. Jaehyun gave out a hearty laugh that caused a vibration throughout the room, his laugh was so deep and jovial it didn't look like it belonged to him.
Haechan stroked Jaehyun's back gently with his tiny hands as if looking for something that wasn't there.
“Jaehyun hyung, if you're an angel like Doyoung hyung, how come I've never seen your wings?” He asked out of curiosity.
Jaehyun grinned wider, “...that's because I'm a fallen angel.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I was given the task to work somewhere else. Now go to sleep, it's late,” he caressed the boy to sleep the whole night whilst admiring the pretty face. “Goodnight, my beautiful soul.”
-
“Hmph.” Haechan huffed.
He crossed his hands across his chest, his cherry lips mold into a pout and his eyes were teary. There were pink tint on his fluffy cheeks making him look unbearably cute.
“Is our Haechannie upset?” Ten cooed.
He reached out an arm to caress the child's head but his affection was immediately rejected.
“What's wrong baby? You're mad at me? I'm really sorry.” The dark haired male with pale skin apologised.
He felt guilty for not attending Haechan's pre-school sport day but it was nothing much he could do about it. Seeing the frown on the baby's precious face makes him hate his sun-phobic skin.
“All the other hyungs went except for Ten hyung! I hate you.”
Ten squatted to match eye level with the boy, “But dear, I will bring you out tonight so we can have as much ice cream as you want, do you still hate me?”
After much thought (not really), Haechan threw his tiny body into Ten's embrace.
“I love you! I don't hate you anymore.”
His actions rewarded him a big peck on his plump cheeks.
“...Hyung, we took a family picture without you today at school,” Haechan bit his lower lips in sympathy, his doe eyes telling Ten how truly sorry he felt for excluding him from the family photo.
“Don't worry, there's another person missing in the picture anyway.” Ten mumbled quietly, loud enough for only him to listen.
-
Taeyong woke up in the middle of the night when he heard a certain boy crying. He immediately went to the room at the center to check up on the child. He hushed the boy and Haechan raised his arms as if asking for Taeyong to carry him. Taeyong pulled him into an embrace and patted his back, “Why are you crying, baby?” Salty tears dripping down his plump cheeks.
“There's a ghost in the closet,” he wailed, chubby baby finger pointing at the closed closet.
Taeyong almost burst out laughing in irony.
“Baby, there's no ghost here. Well, I mean..” He paused, chuckled and kiss Haechan harshly on the cheek.
“It's just a dream, you had a nightmare, but don't worry I'm here now baby.”
“Taeyong hyung sleep with me?” Haechan muttered between sobs.
“I'm right here,” Taeyong assured as he lie down next to the child, his figure curled to fit in the kid sized bed.
Haechan crawled underneath the blanket to cuddle up with his hyung whose body seemed to be colder than the night breeze.
“Taeyong hyung, I saw the photo,” Haechan whispered. “...but I still love you.”
-
It was a chilly Autumn night when Johnny rocked the small child in his arm, trying to lull him to sleep. The child had a terrible fever and he wouldn't stop crying because it was a new feeling to him, it was terribly uncomfortable. Johnny’s deep voice seemed to soothe the child as his crying finally came to a stop.
Johnny hummed to the most melodic tune ever, his strong arms protecting the child from all the harms in the world. He just came home from doing some unpleasant work, but unpleasant would be an understatement to describe the uproar he had caused in the local news. It was his job after all to create all those chaos.
But even so, he swear that he won't let anything happen to the child even if it's against his own duty.
It's a blessing to come home to this precious child, so it did break his heart when he saw Haechan lying down on his bed completely helpless instead of jumping up and down greeting him like he usually does. Ten said it was just a fever, but Johnny's worries wouldn't die down.
He looked at the sleeping figure in his arm and gently plant a kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, baby.”
Chapter 1 :
What is a birthday party
Doyoung is an angel, and Haechan knew about it ever since he was a baby. What he didn't know was that when Jaehyun told him he was an angel as well, he meant another kind of angel. A fallen angel.
Soon after, he discovered what Jaehyun meant when he said he’ll be away to take care of some business somewhere far. It did took a toll on him; he backed away when Jaehyun reached out to him and he shivered when Jaehyun called him ‘my beautiful soul’ or just referring to him as his in general. He was already eight by then and it felt like his entire life had just unveiled itself to him.
His soul belonged to Jaehyun and that was the only reason Doyoung was sent down to Earth - to take care of the child whom is in the presence of a devil whom had his soul. His parents sold him off to the devil before they took their own life. It was stupid. They were mental, not literally though. They were owners of a famous chained ice cream parlor, which explains why Haechan is addicted to ice cream. That also explains why he's as sweet as sugar.
Jaehyun was extremely hurt when Haechan kept him at arm's length, but the boy quickly got over it and threw himself all over Jaehyun again like he always does.
During his preschool sports day, he took a family photo with all of his guardians excluding Ten. He was held in Johnny's arm, who stood in the center, Doyoung on his right, and Taeyong was on his left -Jaehyun stood next to Taeyong. The next day when Doyoung brought the framed photo home, he wouldn't allow the enthusiastic Haechan to look at it. It was Doyoung's mistake to leave it on the kitchen island because Haechan gasped when he saw it. There were only four of them in the picture. From left to right, Jaehyun-Johnny- himself - Doyoung.
He then discovered the truth about Taeyong's being, the truth that he was a ghost. Cameras coludn't capture his image and mirrors wouldn't show his reflection. Even so, while Haechan is afraid of ghosts, he isn't afraid of his caregiver. Instead, he felt so much safer whenever Taeyong is around.
Taeyong is warm, a safe haven with the most handsome face ever. His eyes are doe-like and always has the kindest smile. He laughs a lot, sweetly but sometimes creepily.
He remembered very clearly that day when he got mad at Ten for not showing up during that sports day. To make matters worst, Ten also didn't attend any of his school event, not even his preschool graduation day. It was suspicious and kind of annoying in a way.
When Ten was nowhere to be seen during his track and field day when he was seven, Haechan finally snapped to the core, no amount of ice cream could persuade him this time. That was also the day he found out that Ten and sunlight were just not meant to be for Ten is a vampire. He realised then why Ten went crazy when he had a paper cut while they were making his art project.
Johnny is a grim reaper, because he said so himself. He sat Haechan on a stool and sat across him cross legged. “Haechan, I'm a reaper. A death God. It's my duty to call people when it's their time to go. But I won't ever let you go.” It's creepy and sweet at the same time and Haechan loved it. He blinked a few times, giggled and made Johnny pinky promised him to never let him go.
“Hyung! It's my birthday tomorrow! I want a birthday party~~~” The nine year old whined.
“For the tenth time, Channie. We don't do birthday party.” Ten shook his head.
Ten is the smallest of the guardians, he has beautiful cat like features and porcelain skin. His hair is dark as raven and lips as red as blood. He may be small but he is the scariest, yes, he nags a lot (also he always looks blood-hungry). The other four guardians become timid when he's fuming and always lets him have things go his way.
He was wearing a pink apron that matched his pale skin so admirably. His back was facing Haechan as his hands busied themselves with the piled up dishes in the sink. “...no, no, no, absolutely not. We can't have little children running around the house.”
He didn't have to look at the boy to know that he was pouting. A small figure leaned its weight on him from behind as if he was a wall. Haechan's forehead pressed against the back of his thighs, hands hugging the slim legs. Haechan's height was only a little bit over Ten's knee, he was smaller than normal kids his age. The whining went on and on like the sound of a race car’s engine that has trouble starting.
“...Channie…go away. I'm busy,” he nudged the boy softly off him.
With crossed arms, the boy slumped all the way up the stairs to the reading room on the first floor to baby himself with another guardian instead. That's what Ten called it when someone coddles him too much - as if he doesn't do that himself.
“Jaehyun hyung?” Haechan called out as he pushed the door open, his tiny head popping in. His geeky grin visible when he saw Jaehyun's cheeky smile. He squealed in excitement and ran into the man’s open arm.
“Jaehyun hyung!”
Jaehyun has an extremely eerie aura. His eyes are dark and mesmerising, jaw chiseled and dimples prominent. He is gorgeous, always in suit and ties, looking and smelling expensive.
“Yes, my baby? What is it?” Jaehyun showered the little boy with kisses, although Ten had tons of time scolded him for still doing that to a nine year old. He can't help it when Haechan looked like he hasn't aged a year.
“I want a birthday party,” he purred, eyes twinkling.
He knew so well how weak Jaehyun get when he does that. “Tomorrow is my birthday!”
The man sighed, “Haechan, I'm sorry. Ten and the others think it's a bother. And they're not wrong you know.”
He carried the boy onto his lap and nuzzled his neck, inhaling the addictive scent of baby powder. “Your friends might be weirded out by this strange household.”
Haechan hummed, “Jaehyun hyung, please~”
He turned to face the older, an unintended pout formed on his delicate face. His face reddened and his eyes started to pool. Jaehyun knew a wail was coming, he could feel himself panicking, he tried to hush the boy but it was too late.
A loud cry could be heard from the reading room on the first floor.
Doyoung rushed towards the sound, worried if anything bad might've happened to his precious baby. He scowled at Jaehyun and took Haechan into his toned arms.
“Why? What's wrong? Why is our baby crying?” He cooed.
He restrained himself from kissing the fluffy cheeks, Haechan is too old for that. If Jaehyun wasn't in the room, he'd probably bite the hell out of those holy cheeks.
“Haechan wants a birthday party but Jaehyun hyung and Ten hyung said no,” the boy complained, sniffling his runny nose.
Doyoung had a stern look on his face. He poked Haechan's nose with his index finger and shook his head in disapproval. “Don't talk baby gibberish, Haechan! You're nine years old for goodness sake.”
He paused and pointed at Jaehyun with accusing finger, “And you, you, you. Stop coddling him, you'd think a normal nine year old would cry like this? It's because he thinks he's still a baby.”
The little boy in his arm sniffled, the tears were drying up. He looked so cute, the two men could only clench their teeth at the sight- both too egoistic to give in to the cuteness, especially in front of the other. He put the boy down on the floor and let him sulk by himself.
“It's your turn to tuck him in.” Doyoung reminded before disappearing behind the door.
Doyoung is the smartest- a book-smart, yet he is just as clumsy as the rest. He has the loveliest gummy smile ever with the most soothing voice. He is gentle and somewhat stern and uptight, always doing what he believes is best for Haechan.
After making sure that Doyoung was at least ten steps away, Jaehyun picked the child up and kissed the marshmallow cheeks as rough as he could up to his satisfaction, “Time to sleep my baby.”
Haechan wiped his tears with the back of his hand and nodded. His chubby fingers curled on the back of Jaehyun's neck, head leaning on the well-toned shoulder.
-
“Good morning, my little cub.” Johnny whispered into Haechan's ear.
The tallest and the most playful one is Johnny, Haechan's favourite teddy bear. Johnny is warm and comforting despite the work that he does. His dashing good looks is only a bonus for his charming personality. He is humourous and fun yet also kind and homey.
The boy woke up and greeted him with a silly smile.
“You're happy? You had a nice dream?”
A yawn escaped the soft plump lips, Haechan rose to sit and rubbed his eyes sleepily with his small hands, “It's my birthday today.”
A gummy smile formed on the man's face, “Of course it is, happy birthday, dear!"
He placed a birthday peck on the child's forehead, “Come on, let's get you ready for school.”
Haechan's smile won't fade, he was always a happy kid but he was obviously especially happy today. He kept making a squeaky voice each time he giggled that got Johnny all soft and warm on the inside.
It was a chilly morning, the late January breeze greeted Johnny and Haechan as they walked to school that day. The birthday boy skipped joyfully down the familiar paths, he sang random songs to accompany the two. He held on tightly to Johnny's hand, always making sure to look up at him to exchange smiles and laughters.
-
“WAKE UP EVERYONE! WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY TO THROW!! HOW CAN YOU FOOLS STILL BE SLEEPING WHEN OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE BABY IS TURNING NINE TODAY?!!” Ten yelled at the top of his lung, his scream could be heard from the third floor, which is the highest floor in their mansion.
“We're here, darling,” Doyoung announced, startling the other male in pink apron.
The other two were sitting on the kitchen island behind Doyoung, looking at Ten with raised eyebrows. Jaehyun had a smug smirk on his face. His hair messy unlike his usual self.
Taeyong got off the island and went to lean on the countertop, “So what do people do on birthday parties?”
Ten dramatically grabbed a fair amount of his own hair and pulled them in frustration.
“I don't know! What do we do? Gosh, what should we do? Haechan is going to be so upset!”
“Stop freaking out and calm down. Let's just get cake, decorate the house with fancy toys, get lots of presents, lots of foods, and invite his tiny human friends,” Doyoung suggested.
It was agreeable so they all went to do their own chores.
Ten was in charge of preparing the birthday buffet, because he mastered the human cooking technique. He doesn't enjoy human food, he had been feeding on animals' blood but since it scares Haechan, he put an extra effort in cooking to make human food at least taste good.
He boiled some potatoes, attempting on making some mashed potatoes to serve with his garden salad. The other dishes consist of peas, beans, greens- lots and lots of greens. He thought human kid might enjoy it as much as Haechan does.
“This isn't really hard, right Taeyong?” Ten yelled over the kitchen, satisfied with his menu choice.
“...yeah, honey...easy..” Taeyong heaved, sweats dribbling down his forehead. He was moving the furnitures around to make a lot of space in the main living room. He thought it was necessary to clear all the unsafe furniture after watching a video tutorial on youtube called ‘Baby’s first birthday party ideas.’ This was number five on the must do list - create a play place, quoting from the tutorial ‘many of the babies in this age range are still on all fours, so baby-proof a play zone filled with age-appropriate toys for your little guests. Set chairs around the zone for parents to relax and watch.’
Jaehyun went out to get the birthday cake, it was taking him awhile to choose the right one, it's been half an hour since he arrived at the bakery and he's already filled up with just the tasters alone.
“I can't decide, should I taste the cheesecake again?” He suggested, eyes lurking dangerously at the young lady behind the counter.
“Sure, would you like to try the chocolate cheesecake or the blueberry cheesecake or the pure cheesecake?” She sung, she seemed to enjoy his company no matter how many cakes she had wasted on him.
“The one that tastes sweeter than your smile?” He teased.
After much flirting, he chose a cookies and cream ice cream cake and rushed back home to help the others. He placed the cake on the kitchen island and quickly get to work on helping Taeyong with the balloons.
Doyoung scratched his head in confusion, and just like Taeyong, he went to google up on ‘how to invite human friends to your house.’ It obviously didn't help much though. He also had no idea on how to find Haechan's little friends but fortunately an idea sparks in his head and he's all set.
The last task was to get presents, Johnny was assigned to this job. He went to the mall and simply just put anything he thinks Haechan might fancy into the shopping cart. That included a barbie, a toy cooking set and bulks of plush toys. Passing by the clothing department, he paused when he saw a fluffy pastel yellow dress that looked as if it might fit Haechan well. His thoughts shifted back and forth on whether or not he should buy it. His wavering thought came to a conclusion when an image of Haechan wearing it popped up in his head.
Soon after Doyoung was done with his task, he set out to pick up the birthday boy from school.
“My friends sang me a birthday song today in class,” Haechan chimed, white pearls beaming cheerfully.
“That's really great, dear. What else did you do?” Doyoung asked, feeding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the other.
They were at one of their ice cream parlor just by the corner of the street to celebrate Haechan’s birthday. At least that's what Haechan thinks, Doyoung however was just doing his job in distracting the kid.
“We learned a lot of stuff, did you know that cats don't meow to other cats?”
“...really? Wow that's great,” Doyoung faked a curious tone, he loved how bubbly the boy was, today more than ever. He swept the bangs off of Haechan's pretty face, receiving a squeaky giggle from the child.
-
Evening eventually came and the sun disappeared below the horizon, dissolving into darkness. The sky was a mixture of mauve and blush, reminding Haechan of strawberry and yam ice cream. The ride home was filled with the child’s laughter and his adorable songs, melting Doyoung's heart like the ice cream cake that was waiting for him back at home.
The mansion was suspiciously dark when they arrived, it usually was the brightest house in that area. Haechan gulped in anxiousness, he knew exactly what was coming for him. He couldn't hide the excitement in him as he pulled Doyoung by the arm, running towards the door.
As expected, a chorus of “surprise!!” could be heard the moment he opened the door. Haechan squealed as he ran into Johnny's arms who threw him in the air while everyone else clapped and sang the birthday song. They presented a melted ice cream cake to Haechan who immediately stuffed his face with it.
“Not too much cake, baby. You need to have a proper dinner.” Ten said, “Kids, it's time to eat.”
The kids cheered and ran towards the dining table only to get disappointed when they saw what they had in store for them. Apart from Haechan, the kids skipped the greens and went for the mashed potatoes instead, anticipating their share of melted cake for dessert. It was Jaehyun's fault the cake melted but it was better than nothing.
Ten was rather surprised to see the deserted buffet. He scowled in disappointment and jolted when he felt arms wrapping around his waist.
"Don't worry, babe. I'll eat them all," Jaehyun whispered sweetly before Ten quickly shove him away with a stern stare, "Not in front of the kids, Jae."
The other smirks and went to get a plate to help clear the food. The unappealing food.
Taeyong called out for the kids, asking them to play in the space he created. He carried Haechan and sat him down on the center of the play mat. Haechan crawled around clapping happily, while his friends sat there in confusion.
The five guardians stood by looking at their baby with hearts in their eyes.
“Look at my beautiful soul playing with his friends,” Jaehyun stated proudly, munching on the vegetables slowly, eyes never leaving the adorable face he loves so much.
“Would you like to open your presents now Haechan?” Johnny asked, earning an enthusiastic nod from the child.
His friends gather around the gift boxes, looking forward to see what's inside of the gigantic wrappings. They wowed at most of the gifts Johnny bought, except for the barbie and the yellow dress - it was jaw dropping and bewildering. His friends also brought him some gifts; a more appropriate gifts like books and nine-year-old boys' toys.
At the end of the night, Haechan bidded his friends goodnight. They left in a happy note, hungry but happy.
It was still eight o'clock, they had to keep the party short because according to Taeyong, quoting from Baby’s first birthday party ideas, 'tips number one, watch the clock. “Plan the party to last an hour to an hour and a half. Babies have short attention spans and run out of energy and interest quickly.”'
They all tucked him in that night, since it was a special day.
“Were you surprise baby?” Ten questioned, stroking Haechan’s belly softly.
Haechan let out a yawn. “...not really,” he said sleepily, “Doyoung hyung announced to the entire school about the party invitation through the announcement speaker.”
They all turned to look at Doyoung in shock.