as the day wound down, Daeun started to get sleepy. Mark noticed and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "i think it's time for a nap, little one."

"no nap, appa," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"how about a story?" he suggested.

she nodded, her eyes already drooping. Mark sat down with her in a quiet corner, with few other members gathered around, listening as he told a magical story about a brave little girl and her seven knights.

by the time the story ended, she was fast asleep in Mark's arms.

as they prepared to sleep, each of them took a moment to kiss Daeun goodnight, whispering promises of more fun and love tomorrow. Mark carried her to the room, feeling warmth spread through his heart.

this was more than just a team; this was a family, bound together by love and the shared responsibility of raising a beautiful little girl.

Mark gently laid Daeun in her bed, tucking her in with care. he kissed her forehead. "goodnight, my precious girl. sweet dreams."

_

the game of chase was all fun and laughter until Daeun tripped over a wire attached to a light and injured herself. as soon as she saw the blood, she let out a scream that could wake the dead.

"Jaemin appaaa!" she wailed, holding her arms out to the nearest appa she could see.

Jaemin swooped in, scooping her up and holding her close. "shhh, it's okay, angel. it's okay, i've got you," he soothed, walking over to a chair and sitting down with her in his lap.

the others ran over, their faces masks of concern.

"what happened?" Mark asked, his voice laced with worry as he knelt beside the pair.

"she tripped over a wire and scraped her knee. it's bleeding pretty badly," Jaemin explained, gently rocking Daeun to calm her down.

their medical-trained staff was already grabbing the first aid kit from their bag. "here, let me see," she said, opening the kit and pulling out some antiseptic wipes and bandages.

"Jaemin appa noo!" she panicked and thrashed in his arms as she saw the antiseptic wipe.

 Jeno came over to hold her hands while Jaemin soothed her. Daeun watched the lady place a cloth on her knee to wipe the blood. it wasn't gentle, and it hurt. 

Daeun whimpered, her tiny fists clutching Jaemin's shirt tightly. "it hurts," she sniffled.

"i know, my baby. you're so brave, appa's brave girl," Jaemin whispered, kissing the top of her head. once the wound was clean, Jeno quickly bandaged it up. "there we go, all better," he said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"look! she gave you a Hello Kitty plaster," Jaemin said, trying to distract Daeun from her tears as Jeno wiped her cheeks.

-

the cut was quickly forgotten as Daeun sat on Mark's lap, fiddling his ring. it was a bit past lunchtime, and Haechan and Chenle were the first ones done for their photoshoot.

"guys, can you take this little one to eat? i've got to go next," Mark asked, holding Daeun's hand as he walked over to the two.

"of course, slowly, kitten. come here," Chenle was more than glad to be with her as he held out his arms. she allowed him to lift her up.

"what do you want to eat? there's lots of food today, but if you fancy something else, we can get someone to go get it."

"can i see?" she asked, and he carried her to the other side of the huge studio where a table was laid out with all kinds of foods.

"i want that soup," she said, pointing to the seaweed soup. she wanted something to slurp.

Chenle glanced around to find Haechan. "Haechan hyung!" he called, and the man came over, a snack on his hand. "can you bring some seaweed soup to the table later and some rice? i forgot to bring her sippy cup. i'll be right back."

Haechan, being one of the appas who knew her eating portion well, nodded and set to work. "it'll be here soon, baby kitten," Chenle giggled, nuzzling his nose into her soft cheek, making her giggle too.

in his opinion, this was the best sound. he felt heartbroken watching her panic and scream when she fell earlier. the giggle was like music to his ears, soothing his soul.

he glanced at Haechan, who was watching him with a smirk. "what?" Chenle asked as he stopped nuzzling Daeun, his grin was still visible.

"wahh, it's my first time seeing this" Haechan marked teasingly, and they both laughed. seeing Chenle was head over heels for the little girl in front of him still felt new, even though he's been publicly display affections towards the members .

Haechan lifted her onto a chair between himself and Chenle as he served her food and plated  some for themselves too. she set her Barbie in front of her on the table. it's important to look after her underlings , so she needed to be fed too.

she was too busy feeding Barbie rice to actually feed herself. every minute or so, Haechan would pick up a piece of chicken tender with his own chopsticks and hold it up to her mouth so she'd bite it while feeding Barbie.

"baby girl, open up. good job," he commanded every now and then, feeding her to make sure she ate enough.

"kitten... i think Barbie has had enough, and you should eat some," Chenle interjected as he saw rice dropping all over Barbie's skirt while Haechan fed her chicken, which she kept getting on her face because she was biting but looking at Barbie, not the food.

he sighed and wiped her face while she brushed rice off of Barbie.

"miss Daeun, i think Barbie is tired. let's put her away and finish our food, okay?" Haechan rumbled as he finished wiping her face. she nodded and sat on Chenle's lap as he scooted his chair closer and finished feeding her. she was busy pointing and watching everyone filming their parts and having their photos taken.