Chapter Text
Yoongi didn’t know what was wrong but he knew it was bad. He had had a sinking feeling in his stomach for the last hour. Every corner he turned, he anticipated someone running into him or something tripping him. What he wasn’t expecting was to walk into his son’s pre-k classroom to pick him up only to be told by the assistant that he was up in the office and Yoongi would have to get him from there. Walking as fast as he could without full out jogging, he crossed the daycare center in half the time it would have normally taken him.
In front of the office he found Jihoon sitting in a child sized chair outside the door. He didn’t let out a sigh of relief until he made sure Jihoon was not visabally hurt and was in his arms. Jihoon only began to cry harder once his arms were around his father’s neck and his face hidden in the crook of his neck.
“What happened baby? Tell Daddy what’s wrong?” Yoongi tried to coerce the hysteric four year old into telling him. One hand was holding his son’s head in place while the other rubbed up and down his back. It was really more for his own comfort than Jihoons if he was being honest with himself. His heart was still racing from the quick walk over here.
“I got in trouble,” Jihoon blubbered, pulling his head back to look fully at his favorite person. His daddy took his hand off the back of his head and wiped his tears away. He couldn’t help the giggle when he was swooped up into his daddy’s arms before he was sitting in his lap on the floor.
“I figured that out, little one. Will you tell me why?” Yoongi prompted, worry letting itself be known in the pit of his stomach.
“I called Ms. Oh a stinky bitch. But she was being a meanie poopy head!” Jihoon burst out throwing his arms out to his side to show just how mean she was being.
There were times that being a father was hard on Yoongi. Most of those times were similar to this. He knew he needed to be stern but a snort came out before he could school his face.
“Are we supposed to call people that?”
“But Uncle Jin said-” Jihoon started.
“Uncle Jin is an adult and can say whatever he wants” Yoongi cut him off along with a poke to his stomach. His worry was finally almost forgotten seeing his mini-me smiling again. Calling someone a bad word he could deal with. “And Uncle Jin is in trouble too for teaching you to say that.”
Jihoon gasped and covered his father's mouth with his hands like that would make what he said disappear. “Don’t tell Uncle Jin I told you! He’ll tickle me!” He whispered the last part like it was a huge secret.
“Then you better be good or else the tickle monster will have to come and visit you” Yoongi whispered back just as conspirituality.
“Mr. Min, I’m glad to see you’re here. Can you join us in the office now?” Ms. Oh stuck her head out of the office door to ask all but glaring at the family of two.
Yoongi made a big show of letting out a huge sigh as he stood up from the floor with Jihoon in his arms. “Yes. I want to know what you did to make my son so upset he felt the need to use words he knows better than to.” Yoongi took note of Jihoon hiding his face in the crook of his neck again as they made their way past Ms. Oh and into the office. He did not take kindly to people making his baby scared or upset.
In the office were two males who seemed to be having a heated argument until they noticed the other three were in the room with them. One was the older principal, Mr. Cho, who seemed nice enough the handful of times that Yoongi had met him since Jihoon started at the daycare two years ago. The other was not much younger, probably Yoongi’s age or a little younger and absolutely beautiful. Beautiful? Was that even the right word to describe the tall, well taller than Yoongi at least, man that was normally sporting a boxy smile. Yoongi only knew him in passing as the other pre-k teacher, Mr. Kim.
“Mr. Min, I would say nice to see you, but I wish this visit was under better circumstances. Ms. Oh here has told us that Jihoon called her something very inappropriate today in class. We can’t have that kind of behavior in our classes” Mr. Cho recited like he had said the same thing hundreds of times. Which, honestly, he probably had. This school had some rowdy kids.
Mr. Kim looked like he wanted to say something but Yoongi cut him off before he could. “I agree. But I know my son wouldn’t call someone a stinky bitch without good reason. And I want to hear what he has to say before he gets in trouble. Is that okay buddy?” Yoongi directed the question softly to the hidden boy in his arms. Jihoon nodded. “Will you tell us then?” Jihoon mumbled something. Yoongi knew he was talking because he could feel it against his neck but even he couldn’t decipher what was said. “You gotta sit up and say it louder. You’re not in trouble.” Yoongi glared at Ms. Oh when she opened her mouth with a scowl on her face.
“Really?” Jihoon asked peeking out to look at Mr. Kim, much to Yoongi’s surprise. Mr. Kim smiled at him kindly with a nod. “Okay.” He sat up so he could be heard still not looking directly at his daddy. “She said that everyone with tattoos is bad guys and hurts people and they should all be in jail. And I told her no cause Daddy has tattoos and is the bestest guy ever! But she said I was just a baby and I was wrong! But I’m not a baby! And Daddy isn’t a bad guy! So I said she was a stinky” he stopped himself at the raised eyebrow from his dad. He lowered his eyes and began to trace the dandelion tattoo on Yoongi’s neck with his finger. He always did that when he was either tired or thinking really hard. “So I said she was what Uncle Jin said when Uncle Namjoon wins when we play games together” he finished quietly.
“Me and Uncle Jin are gonna have a long talk next time he babysits you” Yoongi said sternly to his son who pouted up at him. “Do we call people that?”
“No Daddy,” Jihoon said pouting.
“Now apologize to Ms.Oh” Yoongi told him, setting him down.
“But” Jihoon looked up at him pleadingly. With a soft hand on his back, he went to stand in front of his teacher. “I’m sorry Ms. Oh for calling you a-” he caught himself at the last second. “A bad word. I won’t do it again.” He instantly turned and ran back into his father's arms.
“Now that that’s settled” Yoongi started only to be cut off by Ms.Oh.
“Well I hope you give him a spanking when you get home. I don’t think I’ve even been so disrespected in my life” Ms. Oh said with a huff.
Yet again Mr. Kim went to say something only to be cut off again by Yoongi. “There was a lot of disrespect today. You need to apologize to my son for stressing him out like that. Who tells a four year old that their father is a bad guy? For having tattoos, nonetheless.”
“I will not apologize to that hooligan!” She yelled in shock. “This is why people like you shouldn’t be allowed to raise children!”
“People like me?” Yoongi asked monotone. Jihoon gulped. That was Daddy’s really angry voice. He only ever used that when Jihoon broke Grandma’s lamp cause he was playing his soccer ball in the house or when he wouldn’t share his toys. He set Jihoon down on the ground. “Jihoon, I need you to go wait in the hall.”
“I don’t wanna” Jihoon whined tugging on his dad’s hand. “I wanna stay with you.”
Before Yoongi could insist, Mr. Kim, or Mr. Tae, as he had his students call him, stepped in. “Why don’t I go sit outside with you? I want to tell you a secret” he stage whispered kneeling down in front of the boy.
Jihoon looked up at his father unsure. He nodded at him. “A secret? Like a really real secret?” Jihoon asked. Jihoon loved secrets. He knew lots of secrets and he never even told anyone! Well, except his daddy. “It’s not a buzzzzzz is it?” Mr. Tae shook his head confused.
“Nope. A really really really real secret that no one else knows.”
Jihoon contemplated for a few seconds. “Okay. And then I can be with Daddy again?” Mr. Tae nodded. “Bye Daddy!” Yoongi smiled at his precious child as he walked out of the room with the other teacher.
“What’s the secret?” Jihoon asked, whispering when he was sitting back on his little chair in the hallway with Mr. Tae sitting cross legged in front of him.
“I’ll tell you but you have to pinky-promise not to tell annnnnyone at school okay?”
“Okay!” Jihoon agreed easily holding out his pinky. Right before they linked pinky’s though, he pulled back to ask “Can I tell my daddy though? I tell Daddy everything. Even when I eated a flower.”
Mr. Tae smiled at that. “You can tell your daddy as long as you also promise not to eat any more flowers, okay?” Jihoon grinned agreeing. Mr. Tae didn’t know that he had already promised Daddy to not eat any more flowers no matter how colorful they were.
“What’s the secret?” Jihoon leaned in again to ask now that the deal had been sealed.
Mr. Tae made a big deal of looking up and down the hall to make sure there was no one else around to hear the secret. He was really just hoping to prolong it all so that Jihoon wouldn’t want to go back into the room where yelling was coming from. Finally, after what seemed like forever he whispered to Jihoon. “I have a tattoo too.”
“Really?” Jihoon squealed. Realizing how loud he had yelled, he instantly slapped his hands over his mouth. “Really?” he asked again quietly. Mr. Tae nodded. “Daddy has lots and lots of tattoos. They’re so cool! He even has my name tattooed with a heart, right here!” he said slapping himself over where his heart was.
Mr. Tae chuckled. “That’s so cool. Did you know my tattoo is a heart too?”
Jihoon’s eyes went wide. “Just like Daddy’s. Do you have a name too?”
“Nope. Just a heart.” He looked up and down the halls again. “Want to see it?”
Jihoon nodded eagerly, almost bouncing himself off of his seat. Mr. Tae pulled over the collar of his shirt enough that Jihoon could see the little purple heart sitting right between his collarbone and his shoulder. Without even thinking about it, he reached out his chubby little fingers to touch it like he always did with Daddy’s. Mr. Tae started a bit, surprised by the cold little finger but held still and let Jihoon inspect it. Still looking at the tattoo Jihoon asked quietly “Mr. Tae, is Daddy really a bad man just cause he has lots of tattoos?”
Tae wanted nothing more than to gather the little boy into his arms and hug the daylights out of him. But that would not have been appropriate. So instead he said “Absolutely not. Some bad guys do have tattoos but not all. And not all guys with tattoos are bad. In fact, a lot of good guys have tattoos. My best friend has twenty tattoos. And he’s one of the best people I know.” That might have a bit of an exaggeration but Jihoon would never know that. “And your daddy seems to love you lots and lots so I don’t think there’s any way he can be a bad guy.”
“Daddy is the bestest guy ever,” Jihoon confirmed with a grin finally sitting back in his seat and letting Mr. Tae fix his shirt. “I want to have lots of tattoos one day so I can be as cool as Daddy.”
“Does your mommy have tattoos too?” Mr. Tae asked.
“I don’t have a mommy” Jihoon said like it was the most normal thing in the world. Which for him it was. And this wasn’t the first time someone had asked about him. “Daddy said it’s okay I don’t have a mommy. And if anyone says no then they’re wrong. Asides, I never had a mommy and I don’t want one. I just want Daddy.” He looked longingly at the door he knew his father was behind. He wondered if he could get his dad to give him a cookie when they got home.
“And he’s right. Your dad seems to take good care of you” Mr. Tae said, still surprised.
“Uncle Namjoon said that I had a sugargate mom but that’s not a real mom. It just means that she carried me in her tummy but I’m only daddy’s.”
It took Tae a good few seconds to decipher that Jihoon meant he had had a surrogate mother. Luckily he didn’t have to come up with a reply as the office door slammed open and Ms. Oh stormed out shooting one last glare back at Jihoon on her way past. Tae instinctively moved to stand in front of him as she went by. A few seconds later, Yoongi walked out glaring at the woman’s back. But as soon as Jihoon yelled “Daddy!” and launched himself at Yoongi’s legs, his whole demeanor changed. A gummy smile replaced the angry look and his shoulders lost the tension he had been holding.
“How do you feel about being in Mr. Kim’s class from now on?” Yoongi asked his son, kneeling down to be at eye level with him.
Jihoon happily agreed. “I want to! Can I really?” he asked, turning around to look at Mr. Kim.
“I would love to have you in my class” Mr. Kim smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. He had to take a step back though when Yoongi stood back up. For all that he was shorter, he was a lot more intimidating. The aura he gave off was so different depending on if he was looking at his son or not.
“Thank you for bringing him out here” Yoongi said without his full smile out anymore but the current one just as sincere. “I think I’m going to keep him home tomorrow and make a long weekend of it.”
“Jihoon deserves it. I really am looking forward to having him in my class” Mr. Kim said with just as much sincerity.
“Say goodbye to Mr. Kim. You’ll be in his class from Monday on” Yoongi told a grinning Jihoon. It was hard to believe that not even twenty minutes ago he had been bawling his eyes out in the same hallway.
“Goodbye Mr. Tae!” Jihoon waved to him as he and his father followed Mr. Cho down the hall in the same direction Ms. Oh had taken, probably to get his backpack and other things from his classroom. “Can I have a cookie when we get home?” he Tae heard him asking. He wondered what the rest of the year would be like with such a bright personality in his class as he went the opposite way to his own classroom.