Chapter Text
“Jiminie, Taetae, hurry up. We don’t want to be late again!” Jin yelled from the bottom of the stairs to his two elder sons. “Kookie is waiting in the car already.”
The mornings in the Kim household could be quite hectic sometimes. With Namjoon, Jin’s husband gone on a business trip, the mornings laid on Jin’s (wide) shoulders. Fortunately he had everything under control. For now.
“Just a minute, dad!” Jimin yelled back from upstairs. The two oldest boys often took a long time to get ready, especially Jimin. It took so long to do his hair. And he even put on some makeup sometimes. It wasn't a problem to Jin or Namjoon at all. After all, it was Jimin's decision.
Jimin was a dancer and he had always been in good shape. He was also very fashionable and went shopping a lot with Taehyung. Jimin was a good looking boy in all the ways and girls were going crazy for him. However, only Taehyung knew that Jimin wasn't into girls.
When Jimin and Taehyung finally appeared downstairs, they were already late.
-
Jimin and Taehyung were fourteen and their youngest son, Jungkook, was ten. The eldest two were really close and shared almost everything from their toothbrushes to underwears. Jungkook however might have felt left out sometimes. He was the youngest of the family and people often thought that he’d be spoiled. But it wasn’t the thing in his case.
Taehyung had been diagnosed with ADHD and he needed to take his medicine in morning and at night. He also needed some special care at times, especially after his tantrums. Jin also needed to discipline more. If Taehyung didn’t have enough activities, he’d become restless and it often ended in tantrum and tears. Even when he was older it still happened.
Jimin wasn’t completely healthy either. He was diagnosed with eating disorder couple months ago. Jin and Namjoon had to keep a close eye on Jimin and they often had private conversations with him, since he also could fall into a depression easily. They always had to make sure that Jimin ate and didn’t throw up his food. Jimin was such a sensitive and emotional kid and they just wanted to protect him from the cruel world. It was the reason he had the eating disorder anyways.
And then there was sweet, innocent Jungkook. His parents had to pay a lot attention on his older brothers, so he often was left out. He didn’t really know what was going on with Jimin. No one had told him. He just saw Jimin on the bathroom floor, crying to his father’s chest. That was when Jungkook knew something was wrong. He had tried to ask from Jin, but his father just told him to move out off the way as he led Jimin back to his room. Jungkook, being the good boy he is, moved aside without a word and only eyed his big brother worriedly. And since Namjoon was on his business trip, Jungkook hardly saw his parents after the incident. Jin always being with Jimin and Taehyung, Jungkook just spent his time alone. However, he was starting to get tired of being alone.
He once tried to visit Jimin. He knocked on the door, feeling slightly nervous as doing so. Jin opened the door with a serious look on his face. “Jungkook, what is it?” he asked.
“Can I see Jimin, please appa?” Jungkook asked shyly, staring at his feet. “He doesn’t want to meet anyone”, Jin told him without showing any emotion. “Go do your homework or something. And be quiet, Jimin and Tae need peace. Don’t bother us."
Jin was feeling quite pressured at the moment. He had got some new information about Jimin's eating disorder from his doctor. Jimin had also opened up to him about being gay. Jin felt happy that Jimin had opened up and he supported him fully. However, he didn't know how the rest of the world would take it.
After the conversation Jungkook ran back to his room. He held his tears in, but when he buried his face into his pillow, he let them fall. He just wanted to know how Jimin was doing. Just wanted to know that he was okay. He just wanted some company.
He missed his brothers. He missed their playfulness and just their present. They always brightened up the room when they stepped in. He had only seen glimpses of them. Tae was always in Jimin’s room with Jin and Jimin. They ate there. They slept there. They did everything there.
As Jungkook finally calmed down, he realized he was hungry. He rubbed his eyes with his fist, drying the tears away. He didn’t cry often, but nowadays he had been more sensitive, especially with his dad being away from home and Jin giving him only tiny bit of attention. He kind of felt like throwing a tantrum, but he didn’t want to be that childish. He was a smart kid after all.
He made his way towards the kitchen quietly. Jin had told him to be quiet, so he tried his best. Jungkook looked inside of the fridge, hoping to find something to eat. His hopes were cursed right away. There was only a piece of cucumber and ketchup. He looked at the emptiness with a blank face. Could he go ask his dad about it? He seemed quite angry earlier. His stomach made even louder growling noises, so Jungkook decided that he didn't have any other choices.
He silently walked in front of Jimin’s room. The door was closed, as usual. For some reason, Jungkook felt nervous. He didn’t know how his dad would react. He has been awfully strict with him lately. Of course, if Jungkook even saw him.
Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath before knocking again. It was a moment of silence before he heard footsteps coming to the door. Jin opened the door and he had an angry expression on his face.
“Jungkook, didn’t I tell you to do your homework and to not bother us?” he asked sternly and eyed Jungkook from head to toe. Jungkook started feeling insecure because of the action.
“Yes appa, but I started feeling hungry and we don’t have any food left”, Jungkook told quietly, his eyes not meeting his father’s. He was biting his lower lip nervously. It was a bad habit of his.
“What do you want me to do about it? All the stores are already closed.” Jin said and had frustrated expression on his face. “And I can’t leave your brothers alone right now. They need me.”
“But you can leave me alone”, Jungkook mumbled, sounding annoyed. He wasn’t really angry or annoyed. He was just upset and needed tiny bit of personal attention. He just wanted to relax in somebody’s arms, but there was nobody to hold him. Nobody to comfort him. His dad being away from home didn’t really help the situation either.
“What did you say?” Jin asked. He looked almost furious. Jin was always really calm and didn’t get mad easily. However, with the situation they were now in, he had been more tense lately. He was exhausted and frustrated.
“S-sorry appa. I g-guess I just go to bed”, Jungkook spoke quietly, his glance down again. He felt bad for acting up. Jin’s expression softened a little. He was just about to say something when they heard a quiet voice coming from Jimin’s room. “Appa, I need you”, it was Jimin’s voice and he sounded really miserable.
“Maybe that’s better. If you want to talk to somebody, try to call dad, okay?” Jin said and went back to the room. Judging from the quiet whispers, he was calming the very distressed and upset Jimin down. Jungkook sighed and silently began walking towards his own room.
He grabbed his phone from his bed. He smiled sadly when he saw his lock screen. It was a picture of him, Taehyung and Jimin. They all had funny expressions on their faces. Jungkook just loved those moments when they would just fool around together. It didn’t really happen anymore.
Jungkook dialed his father’s phone number into his phone. He hoped he was still awake. He didn’t know how much the clock was in Australia at that moment. Fortunately, Namjoon answered rather quickly.
“Hi Kookie. How are you doing?” Namjoon said as he answered the phone. He sounded bit tired, but happy. Of course he was happy when his son called him.
“Hi dad. I’m doing okay, I guess”, Jungkook said, muttering a bit. He tried to sound cheerful but his sorrowfulness was pushing through. Namjoon knew immediately that something was wrong with his youngest son.
“Kookie, you don’t sound okay to me. Is something wrong? Are you sick? Hurt?” Namjoon asked worriedly. Jin was known to be more motherly but Namjoon was also very caring and gentle. He had a soft spot for Jungkook.
“I don’t know dad. Appa has been quite tense lately. He’s only been with Jimin and Tae. I miss being with them”, Jungkook told him and ran his fingers through his own hair in the matters of calming himself down.
“I know your appa has a lot on his plate right now. The situation with both of your brothers is quite unpleasant for all of us, isn’t it? It’s not easy”, Namjoon said with a comforting tone. He really hoped his youngest wouldn’t feel the way he was now feeling. Especially when he couldn't help him.
“Dad, I miss you. When will you come back?” Jungkook sounded almost begging. Desperate. He wanted his dad back
“Oh baby. It will take another month or so. I wish I could come back earlier, but I just can’t”, Namjoon said sadly. He hated when his kids were sad or feeling unwell. Every parent hated it.
“But you’ll come before my birthday, right? You promised to take me to a baseball game”, Jungkook had bit teary eyes. He missed his dad terribly. Jungkook kept his sobs in when he heard his father sigh.
“Oh baby. I’m so terribly sorry. I really am. I’ll miss your birthdays, Jungkook” Namjoon hated himself for it, but there was nothing he could do about it. His boss made it very clear that he had to stay there a longer time.
“But you p-promised”, Jungkook’s voice cracked in the end and Namjoon definitely heard it. Jungkook let the tears fall for the second time on that day. It had to be one of the worst days of his short life.
“I know I did, Kookie. We’ll do it another time then”, Namjoon tried to convince him with bad results. “Please don’t cry. You know I hate it when you cry.”
Jungkook only sobbed into the phone. He couldn’t speak a word. He was too sad and upset to do so.
“I’d wrap you up into a hug if I could”
“I want you h-home now”, Jungkook cried. His cries broke Namjoon’s heart. He just sounded so upset and distressed.
“I know. I want to come home too but I can’t, Kookie”, Namjoon sighed. He was feeling guilty, because he was the reason his son was now crying. “But I promise to be home as soon as I can. And this time I won’t break my promise.”
Jungkook dried his tears with his fist and tried to calm down. “But now Kookie, it is your bedtime, isn’t it?” Jungkook nodded but he then realized his father can’t see him. He answered with a quiet “yeah”.
“Go to bed Kookie. I’ll call you tomorrow and see how you’re doing. If you see appa or Tae or Jimin, tell them I love and miss them. I love and miss you too. Good night Kook, I hope to see you soon”, Namjoon told him.
“I will. Good night dad. I love you too”, Jungkook answered. They bid their last goodbyes and then closed their phones.
Jungkook changed into his pajama with puppy pictures on it. Someone could call it too childish for soon-to be-eleven-year-old, but he didn’t think so. Jungkook really liked it actually. He went to put his night light on and then walked over to his bed.
He snuggled into his sheets and hugged his bunny plushie tightly to his chest. He wished he would have his dad to cuddle instead, but the plushie was fine too. Jungkook’s last thought on that night was "I hope to see you soon too"