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Jimin’s favourite things to do always had to do with water. Swimming, taking baths, doing the dishes, watering plants, going to the beach-it was endless what could make him happy.
Namjoon knew he liked this. He was his adoptive father, and he wanted everything that was good for him, and yet the thought to take Jimin to a local aquarium had never crossed his mind.
That was, until one day when the whole family was looking for something to watch. They had a massive screen TV, one that Namjoon had bought from a close friend and fixed up. He was scrolling through the documentaries on Netflix since Seokjin hated the new types of kid TV and Namjoon wanted them to at least be a little educated.
It had worked so far. Taehyung and Yoongi both wanted to watch documentaries on food from around the world, Jungkook had an affinity for movies about animals from around the world, and Hoseok wanted to watch ones on the human brain, but they had never found one that Jimin liked.
Yes, he would watch them, but after just 20 minutes he would get restless and want to move around. Namjoon understood. It was boring to watch something that you didn’t like, he knew from experience, so he let Jimin get up and quietly do a puzzle by himself.
But tonight, things were different. Namjoon stopped on a BBC movie about the ocean and nearly jumped out his skin when Jimin shrieked.
He launched himself off of the couch and pointed at the screen. He squeaked, his hands shaking by his head as the preview for the movie played.
“Do you wanna watch this, Jimin?” He gently asked, getting up from his seat and squatting down beside Jimin and looking at him as the four-year-old pointed at the screen.
“Fish!” He gasped, “octopus!”
Jimin’s vocabulary was limited. From a previous home that didn’t care to listen to him, or teach him to talk, but also because Jimin didn’t like to talk very much, and that was okay.
The entire family knew sign language, so getting across what Jimin wanted wasn’t an issue.
Jimin put the tips of his fingers of his right hand on the wrist of his right, and with his left hand waved it a few times, repeating the sign for ‘Fish’.
“Do you know the sign for octopus, Jiminie?” Namjoon asked. Of course, he had learned all of the signs for sea life. Jimin depended on him to show him different words, and he would be dammed if he couldn’t teach Jimin something that he loved.
Jimin looked at his hands, patting Namjoons and made the fish sign again. Namjoon shook his head, shaking his hand in the ‘no’ sign at the same time. He stacked his hands on top of one another, stacking his right hand on his left and cupping his hand so only his fingers were touching his left hand. He then stretched out the fingers of his left hand.
He did that a few times. Jimin copied him.
“Octopus,” Jimin said, doing the sign and then cackling with glee.
Namjoon nodded, doing the sign with Jimin for a bit. Jimin then turned and pointed to the screen where the preview was showing again.
“You wanna watch that?” Namjoon asked. Jimin clapped his hands and signed Octopus again. Namjoon took up the remote and pressed play. Jimin dragged him back to the couch and sat down in his lap.
It was only when they were ten episodes deep that Namjoon had an idea. He took out his phone, looking at Jimin who was staring intently at the screen and looked up directions to the local aquarium.
Two weeks later, Namjoon was standing in front of the COEX aquarium. Jimin was in his arms, his head leaning on his shoulder while one of his chubby hands clutched tightly at Namjoon’s shirt.
They had taken a train from their house and rode two hours to get here, and Namjoon could tell that Jimin was on the brink of a meltdown. Hopefully, this would calm him down.
He approached the ticket center, smiling kindly at the woman who stood. He quickly ordered tickets, rubbing Jimin’s back in quick little circles until he stopped whining.
It was a Saturday, so thankfully the aquarium was relatively empty. Namjoon glanced at the map that was on the wall there, chewing on his bottom lip a little as he examined it.
There were 90 tanks here. God, Jimin would have a field day.
They walked through, a few other families with small children and a few classes flanking them as they travelled along.
“Oh, Jimin-ah,” Namjoon whispered, leaning forward to look over a metal rail down into a large shark tank.
Jimin carefully peeked out from his shoulder, and Jimin listened as he gasped softly. He turned his body a little so he could look down into the pool.
“Do you know what those are?” Namjoon asked quietly. Jimin patted his hands together, obviously thinking. He put one of his hands on his head, his fingers facing up, and lifted his hand.
“Shark?” Namjoon asked, and Jimin nodded. He made the sign a few more times, before leaning down to peer into the pool.
“Do you wanna go down there so we can see them better?” He asked, and Jimin nodded. He clutched onto Namjoon’s neck again. Namjoon walked away from the pool, away from the whispering and giggling people, and headed down a staircase.
The massive pool went down far enough so that there was an observable tank. Namjoon approached, stopping by one of the signs and looking at it.
“There are a few types of sharks here,” Namjoon murmured, “do you think you can spot them?”
Jimin nodded, turning his fingers into a ‘V’ and moving it up to the top of his head and then signed the mark for shark again.
“Okay,” Namjoon laughed, setting Jimin down on the ground and dragging over a small stool meant for children. Jimin climbed onto it, patting his open palms on the panel of the types of sharks.
He looked at the panel, pointing to a tan coloured flat-shaped shark. He looked up at Namjoon, his eyebrows wrinkled together. His hair was a bit of a mess since Seokjin had still been sleeping when Namjoon had gotten up, and was spiked up in many different directions.
Namjoon ran a hair over Jimin’s hair, pressing it into a semi-smooth texture. He looked at the panel, his eyebrows furrowing.
“That’s an Angel shark,” Namjoon said, touching the tips of his fingers to his shoulders, pointing them in front of him, and then to the sides. He signed both of the words together, Jimin copying him and understanding.
“Can you see them?” He asked, pointing to the bottom of the tank. Jimin followed where his eyes went and then pointed at the exact shark. He gasped, patting his hand against Namjoon’s in quick succession and pointed to it again.
“I see!” Namjoon gasped, “good job, Jiminie!” He clapped his hands quietly. Jimin followed in suit, his eyes twinkling in excitement.
“Do you wanna find another?” Namjoon asked.
“Do you wann’ find ‘nother?” Jimin repeated, nodding to himself. Namjoon smiled, ruffling his hair gently.
“Okay, how about this one?” He asked, pointing to the picture of a beautiful Nurse Shark. Jimin looked at it, signing shark again and looking at Namjoon with a questioning look in his eyes.
“It’s a Nurse Shark,” he said, making the finger sign for the letter ‘N’ with his left hand and tapping it to his left wrist with his palm him.
“Nurse?” Jimin repeated, looking confused.
Namjoon fingerspelled the word, “Nurse,” he repeated, “do you know what Appas job is?” He asked.
Jimin gasped, signing Nurse Shark to Namjoon. Namjoon nearly broke out into laughter and nodded, “sure, buddy,” he said, patting Jimin’s cheek, “Nurse Shark.”
When Jimin had identified all of the Sharks, the Coral, and even the types of rocks that were in the tank, they moved on.
They approached the Jellyfish area. It was darker here, to show off the beauty of the jellies as they floated around. There weren’t many people here, probably because of tour that was going on, so they were nearly all alone.
A family of three, two men with a son, stood already admiring the Jellyfish.
Jimin was back in Namjoon’s arms, his eyes wide as he looked at the Jellyfish.
“Do you wanna take a seat?” Namjoon whispered, keeping his voice low. Jimin nodded, kicking his legs out a little as he reached for the hard plastic bench that stood in front of a large tank of jellies.
Namjoon took a seat, setting down Jimin next to him. Instead of sitting still, Jimin got up and rushed over to the main tank. He stared up at the Jellyfish. Namjoon looked at them as well.
He could identify a few of them.
A flower hat Jellyfish, Blue Button, Spotted Jellyfish.
They were all absolutely beautiful, and it seemed like Jimin thought that as well.
He had never seen Jimin so quiet. So concentrated and attentive. He watched Jimin turn his head to follow the large Jellyfish as they moved about.
Namjoon sat there, watching him and quietly observing. The day ticked on, and after a few hours of going through the large aquarium, Jimin was asleep and it was time to go home.
As Namjoon got on the bus, Jimin tucked into his shoulder again, he couldn't help but think that he was the luckiest man on Earth. He had a loving husband, children, and lived in a nice home. Truly, he was blessed.