Chapter Text
Yoongi was nothing short of panicking. Not only was he out of the house for the first time in days, his son had gone missing.
Usually when Yoongi needed to go to the store, Hoseok or Seokjin would go for him with a list that Yoongi had written out for him and his son. However, since the couple had just received a baby, Yoongi didn’t want to bother either of them by requesting favours.
So Yoongi decided to go to the store by himself, along with his son Taehyung. Most days, Yoongi struggled to leave his home. He wasn’t simply lazy, he actually managed to get a lot of work done from the comfort of his office, and he took time to look after Taehyung.
The problem was that he wasn’t the best at getting out and talking to people. He was severely afraid of being in public spaces, along with talking to complete strangers. Really, he was lucky to have Seokjin and Hoseok. He’d been friends with them since high school, and remained close friends once they’d graduated and gotten their own jobs.
Hoseok and Seokjin managed to always get Yoongi out of the house once a week, no matter what. It was usually something as simple as a walk around the park, since they couldn’t let Yoongi dwell indoors all day. He was bound to end up physically unwell if they allowed that.
Taehyung was a particularly rowdy child, he’d gotten that from spending a lot of time around Hoseok, Yoongi assumed. When he wasn’t running around the house and loudly playing with his toys, he was singing at the top of his lungs, or using Yoongi as a climbing frame.
Both Hoseok and Seokjin had told Yoongi that Taehyung was just as playful in public, but Yoongi was rarely ever around to witness it. This was the first time he’d seen it firsthand.
He’d looked away from Taehyung for what must’ve been a grand total of five seconds to look at which milk to buy, and by the time he’d looked back, Taehyung was gone.
The logical part of his brain told him to stay in the same place. The milk aisle was the last place Taehyung saw him, so he’d end up going right back there when he wanted to find him again. However, Yoongi didn’t know how long that would be and he had no clue who was around. Kidnappers? Murderers? He had to find Taehyung.
He dashed up and down every aisle he could, praying to find Taehyung in one of them. He almost gave up hope, prepared to accept defeat and ask one of the workers if they’d seen him, when he heard a high pitched “Appa!” from the end of one of the aisles.
All his worries were lifted when he saw Taehyung’s boxy smile, the boy sat down on the supermarket floor as he waved up at him. Once he’d managed to fight his way to standing up, he ran over to Yoongi and held his arms out to be carried.
Yoongi should’ve scolded him for running away, but he was so relieved to see his son again that it didn’t even cross his mind. He just hugged him tightly and let Taehyung hide his face against his shoulder.
“Why’d you run off?” Yoongi asked, Taehyung leaning back in his arms far enough that Yoongi could see the tear stains running down the child’s face.
“Because I saw Mr. Kim and I wanted to say hello but then when I turned around you were gone!” Taehyung exclaimed, his bottom lip wobbling as a warning that another wave of tears was about to crash down.
“Hey, no crying. Appa’s here now, yeah?” He said gently, giving him another hug. That was when Yoongi noticed another man stood in the aisle, looking over at the two of them with an equally relieved expression. “Is this Mr. Kim?” Yoongi whispered to Taehyung, who took a quick glance at the man and nodded.
“He’s my teacher,” Taehyung reminded. Yoongi had in fact met the man before, when he’d enrolled Taehyung into his nursery class. Due to his own reclusive nature, however, this had been the only time Yoongi met him and he’d probably never be able to recall the man’s face by himself.
“We tried to find you,” the man started, taking a few steps closer to both of them. “But I figured you’d be trying to find him too, so we just stayed here. But Taehyung was very brave.”
“I cried,” Taehyung mumbled, shifting in Yoongi’s arms to look at his teacher.
“You were still very brave, Taehyung. I’m sure your Appa agrees with me.”
“I do, Tae. Well done for listening to Mr. Kim,” Yoongi congratulated. “Does this mean you won’t run away from me again?”
“I promise!” He said confidently, smile tugging at the corners of his lips again. “If I see Mr. Kim again, I’ll ask you before I want to say hello! I’m sorry, Appa.”
“So long as you don’t do it again, we’re alright,” Yoongi said quietly. The teacher was still stood across from them, and Yoongi knew he had to at least thank him. Talking to new people wasn’t exactly the easiest thing ever for him, so he’d have to make an effort. “Thank you for taking care of him.” It came out much more robotically than he’d intended, but it got the point across.
“You’re welcome. Kids run off all the time, he’ll be okay,” Mr. Kim reassured. That was true, Yoongi had heard plenty of stories from Seokjin of Jimin running away the moment he glanced somewhere else.
“Good. So… thanks. See you.” Yoongi couldn’t find a reason to prolong their conversation, and he absolutely wasn’t going to if he didn’t have to.
“See you around. Bye, Taehyung,” he said towards the child, waving at him.
“Bye-bye, Mr. Kim! See you tomorrow!” Taehyung called out as Yoongi walked him away.
Yoongi managed to buy everything they needed with no further hiccups, buckling Taehyung into his car seat once he’d loaded the boot of the car with groceries.
Taehyung wasn’t being his usual bubbly self, instead he sat in complete silence. The only activity that came from him was the way he swung his legs and hummed to himself. Typically, Taehyung would be talking Yoongi’s ear off whenever they were around each other, or begging his father to put some music on the stereo.
“I’m not mad at you, Tae,” Yoongi said as gently as he could, and Taehyung just nodded. “I promise, Tae. You just scared me.”
“I wanted to say hello to Mr. Kim, that’s all,” he frowned, hiding his face behind his tiny hands.
“I know you did. You just have to ask next time, like you promised you would. I’m sure that’s what Mr. Kim would like you do to as well, right?”
“Yeah…” he nodded, blinking up at Yoongi with his wide eyes. “Can we paint when we go home? Please?” He seemed entirely over the situation now, and Yoongi wasn’t going to prolong punishing him for it if he didn’t have to.
“Do you want me to paint with you?”
“Yeah! Then when Uncles Jinnie and Hobi come over they can judge whose paintings are best!” Taehyung explained enthusiastically with a bright smile on his face.
“I think they’re coming over later today,” Yoongi mused, more to himself than to Taehyung.
“Are they bringing Jiminie and Jungkookie?”
“I’m sure they’ll bring them.”
The moment they were home, Taehyung began begging Yoongi to get his paint set out. After the thirtieth request whilst Yoongi was still unpacking the shopping, he set the child off with the quest to make a list of things he wanted them to paint.
He returned to Yoongi once he was slouched on the couch, pillow over his face. The child ran and clambered up onto Yoongi, proudly presenting him with the list.
“Paint!” Taehyung cheered happily, shoving the paper so close to Yoongi’s face that he could barely make out the chicken-scrawl that had been jotted down. “Let’s paint, Appa!”
“We can paint, but first I have a very important job to give you,” Yoongi said very seriously, which made Taehyung furrow his eyebrows together in concentration. “You know the stack of newspapers in Appa’s office?”
“Yes?”
“I need you to go and cover the kitchen table with them. It’s a very important job, can you do it?”
“I can do it!”
Taehyung hurried off to Yoongi’s office as Yoongi found Taehyung’s paint set. It was a little more expensive than the paints a parent would normally buy for their four year old, but his son had complained about his other paint’s being ‘too clear’, so Yoongi decided to spoil him a bit.
Taehyung, somehow, knew they were more expensive too, so he was incredibly protective over them. Before the set, Taehyung was more than happy to share his painting supplies with Jimin. Since Yoongi had paid more, Taehyung became incredibly protective over them, to the point that Jimin had cried when Taehyung told him he couldn’t use them. It was an argument that was very quickly resolved when Yoongi brought out the old paint set, but it was still bad enough that Yoongi always kept a spare one on standby.
Taehyung had already finished setting up the dining table once Yoongi returned, sitting happily with his list right beside him. He’d even grabbed his painting apron from the kitchen and tied it messily around his middle whilst Yoongi was grabbing some paper for them.
The child was used to spreading out newspaper on the floor so he could paint there, it was the first time he’d ever even sat at the proper table to paint.
“Appa, I can’t reach the table,” Taehyung mumbled with a frown, reaching his hands up to grab a paintbrush. His eyes were barely level with the tabletop.
“Come here,” he said as he picked Taehyung up to settle him on his lap. “Is this better?”
“Mhm! Now we have to paint!” He smiled enthusiastically, dipping his paintbrush in the water cup that Yoongi had provided him with.
Taehyung babbled happily to himself as he painted, continually taking peeks at Yoongi’s paper despite his insistence that Yoongi wasn’t allowed to look at his creations.
Taehyung tended to mellow out when he was painting. It was one of the few times he’d talk to himself instead of bombarding Yoongi with a million questions. As adorable as Yoongi found it, sometimes he just needed a little quiet and time with his own thoughts.
The doorbell rang before either Taehyung or Yoongi managed to finish all of their paintings. Taehyung instantly scrambled away from Yoongi to run to the front door. Despite multiple lessons, Taehyung hadn’t quite caught onto the concept of ‘stranger danger’ yet, which was probably why he was comfortable running away from Yoongi at the store.
Yoongi knew it would just be Seokjin and Hoseok though, which ended up being true. Jimin ran into the house before either of them even managed to say hello to Yoongi, rushing straight to give Taehyung a hug.
“Oh, Jimin, be careful. Tae’s covered in paint,” Yoongi warned, but it didn’t seem to stop Jimin whatsoever. Seokjin just sighed deeply. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to scrub paint out of Jimin’s clothes, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“Have you been painting, Tae?” Hoseok asked as he took the baby carrier from Seokjin so the older man could remove his shoes.
“Yep! Appa and me were doing painting together! You and Uncle Jinnie need to pick who wins!” Taehyung smiled, still clinging onto Jimin.
“How about we let the paintings dry first?” Yoongi suggested. He’d expected Taehyung to frown even a little bit at that, but he never really did when Jimin was around.
Yoongi managed to wrestle Taehyung’s dirty apron off him moments before he ran off with Jimin up to his room, leaving the three adults and baby alone.
“He’s even more excitable today than he normally is,” Seokjin commented as the two children ran off, shouting to each other the whole way.
“Yeah. It’s been eventful,” Yoongi sighed, leading the way to the living room.
“Why? What happened?” Hoseok asked, unbuckling his younger son, Jungkook, from the carrier to pick him up.
“I almost lost him.”
Seokjin gasped so dramatically that he almost choked, whereas Hoseok’s eyes widened so comically that they looked as if they were about to drop straight out of his head.
“You said that so casually!” Seokjin coughed, smacking his hand against his chest.
“How’d you even lose him?” Hoseok questioned.
“I went to the store today with him,” Yoongi answered. If the two of them weren’t already thoroughly shocked, finding out that Yoongi went out without being bribed only surprised them even further.
“That’s good, Yoongi. It’s a good step,” Hoseok nodded, giving Yoongi a smile.
“Thanks. But I looked away from Tae for about five seconds, and he ran off. It turns out he just saw his teacher and wanted to talk to him, but it was fucking terrifying,” Yoongi explained, slouching in his armchair.
“Don’t swear in front of the baby!” Seokjin exclaimed teasingly, softly covering Jungkook’s ears. “At least Tae was with someone you can trust.”
“True. I didn’t recognise him at first though. Maybe I should try taking Tae to school some more,” Yoongi mumbled to himself.
“What? Just so you can see his teacher?” Hoseok asked right as Jungkook babbled something entirely unintelligible. “I know right, Jungkookie?”
“I’m not going just to see his teacher. I think I should be trying a bit more to go out anyway. Especially with Tae. It’s nice that you guys take him out with you, but he should be going places with his father too,” Yoongi sighed. He hated bringing the mood down, but he had to get his feelings out somehow.
“Well, taking him to school is a good first step,” Seokjin nodded. “Plus, you can use the teacher as motivation.”
“Woah, where’d you get that I wanna see the teacher? This is about spending time with Tae,” Yoongi defended, watching Hoseok struggle to hide a laugh behind Jungkook. “It is!”
“We never said it wasn’t, but maybe go see the teacher anyway,” Seokjin tried to say as casually as possible. “His teacher’s a nice dude.”
“He is. He’s not just putting it on for the kids, he’s super nice,” Hoseok added, nodding along with whatever his husband was saying. “Come with us tomorrow to drop the kids off, then go talk to him.”
“He’ll be working. That’s too much,” Yoongi whispered. His fear of being in public only increased when there were more people around, and a playground on a monday morning would definitely be packed.
“Hm… fair enough. I have an idea, though,” Seokjin nodded, giving Hoseok a knowing glance. Even he didn’t know what Seokjin was on about if the confused expression on his face was anything to go by. “You’ll see.”
Yoongi spent the rest of the day curious about what Seokjin was planning. Hoseok even tried to get him to elaborate a little bit, but to no avail.
Their time together had to be cut short since Jungkook had begun to fall asleep in Hoseok’s arms, an indication that he probably needed a nap. Yoongi’s social battery was almost entirely empty too, so he wasn’t begging them to stay.
Taehyung, however, cried loudly when the news was broke to him that Jimin had to go home.
“It’s okay, Tae-tae! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Jimin reassured, giving Taehyung another hug. “We have to take Jungkookie home!”
“Tomorrow’s too far away!” He bawled, hiding his face in Jimin’s shoulder.
“Hey, Tae, you know what’ll cheer you up?” Hoseok asked, crouching down beside the two children, brushing Taehyung’s hair out of his eyes.
“No..?”
“Your Uncle Jinnie and I decided that you definitely won the painting competition,” Hoseok said firmly.
“He’s right. Your paintings were amazing, Tae,” Seokjin agreed, but remained standing solely so he wouldn’t have to pick up the baby carrier again.
“Wow, thank you,” Taehyung said, suddenly going shy. He always got bashful whenever someone complimented something he’d created, but Hoseok was right. It did cheer him up, distracting him enough that they managed to prise the two boys apart.
Taehyung waved goodbye to the four of them, giving Jimin and Jungkook an extra goodbye as they walked away. Once the four of them were far enough away that Yoongi wouldn’t feel rude closing the door, Taehyung yawned loudly.
“You okay, Tae?”
“‘m tired,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Yoongi’s legs. “Nap.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day,” Yoongi nodded, lifting Taehyung off the floor.
“Can I nap in your bed, Appa?” Taehyung asked once Yoongi started walking in the general direction of their bedrooms.
“Of course. I could do with a nap too,” Yoongi said quietly since he could already feel Taehyung falling asleep in his arms.
“Mhm. Mr. Kim says naps are very good for us,” Taehyung informed helpfully, as Yoongi set him down on the bed.
Yoongi laid down on his own side of the bed, allowing Taehyung to crawl up and snuggle up to him. Yoongi wasn’t a particularly affectionate person, which he seemed to not have passed down to Taehyung. He cuddled up to everyone at any opportunity, usually falling asleep when Yoongi was holding him.
“Mr. Kim is right. So try and get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay. Night-night, Appa.”
“Goodnight, Tae,” he whispered as he pressed a tiny kiss to his forehead.
Seokjin appeared by himself the following day, Jimin stood beside him with his oversized coat on. It seemed that both Seokjin and Hoseok very much believed in the classic ‘they’ll grow into it’ when it came to clothing.
Taehyung gave Yoongi a big hug before they said goodbye and he wandered off with Seokjin and Jimin.
The two boys always sat in the back of the car together, like they always did. Jimin had complained once that it was difficult to talk to Taehyung if he was in the back of the car alone, so Hoseok had moved their car seats so they could be in the back together.
The two of them were loud individually, which only worsened when you put them together. Sometimes Seokjin had to ask them to quieten down solely so he could focus properly on the road.
Once Seokjin had gotten them to school, waving at the two of them as they ran inside, Seokjin did a sweep of the playground to see if he could find their teacher. Thankfully, he was discovered fairly quickly. He was taller than most, so it wasn’t a massive challenge to look for him. Since he was already talking to a parent, he waited until their conversation dwindled down before he walked over.
Seokjin had prepared for this the night before, even clearing his plan with Hoseok. Even though he said it was risky, it didn’t put Seokjin off whatsoever. He walked up to the teacher before someone else could, smiling politely at him.
“Hello, Mr. Kim,” Seokjin greeted politely, giving the man a kind smile.
“Good morning. Is there anything I can help you with?” He asked, returning the smile.
“Yes, actually. I need to give you something.”
“Oh. Okay.” He seemed rightfully confused, even more so when Seokjin pulled out a tiny piece of paper and passed it over to him. He sceptically opened it, and then raised his eyebrows. “Um… I don’t think I can accept this. You have a husband.”
“Huh? What? Oh, no! That’s not my number!” Seokjin explained in a panic, which seemed to relax Mr. Kim considerably. “No, that’s my friend’s number. Min Yoongi? Taehyung’s father?”
“Oh, right,” Namjoon nodded, slipping the piece of paper into his pocket. “Why’re you giving me his number?”
“Why are you accepting his number?” Seokjin asked in the same curious tone.
“Because… I… Why not?” He stumbled, tripping over his words. Seokjin’s plan was already falling into place and he’d barely lifted a finger to make it happen.
“Hm. I see. You saw him yesterday, right?”
“I did. But that doesn’t explain why you’re giving me his number.”
“Y’know. It’s good to have friends,” Seokjin shrugged. He wasn’t an idiot, he wasn’t going to completely expose his intentions right away. “You’re a nice guy and Yoongi needs to speak to more people, so…”
“Well, I’ll text him later,” Mr. Kim finally said, looking over his shoulder to the entrance of the school. “Right, I’ve gotta go now. Are you picking Jimin and Tae up or is your husband?”
“We’ll both be here,” Seokjin answered, keeping up his polite smile.
“I’ll see you both later then.”
Seokjin gave him a tiny wave as he walked away. He was honestly surprised that he’d accepted Yoongi’s number, let alone told him that he’d text him later that day. Now all he had to do was wait for things to fall into place.
Yoongi’s day was almost entirely uneventful. He worked from home, took a break at noon, then went right back to his office to continue working. He worked as a producer, and his company was more than happy to help him set up a space at his own home rather than have him suffer in an unfamiliar environment.
Taehyung loved Yoongi’s office. He was fascinated by the equipment that had been perfectly set up. There was a strict rule that Taehyung wasn’t allowed to use any of it unless Yoongi was there, which also meant that there were plenty of recordings of Taehyung singing absolute nonsense into the microphone whenever he could convince Yoongi to let him.
It was getting late in the day when he got a text. Taehyung had since been dropped off at home, and then decided he’d spend the rest of the day clinging to Yoongi’s side. At first, he was worried that something had happened at school, but Taehyung didn’t say anything if it did.
???: hi, i just wanted to let you know that one of your friends gave me your number
Yoongi’s eyes widened when he saw the message. He only got texts from three people: Hoseok, Seokjin, and his boss. Technically, sometimes he got a text from a fourth person. Whenever Jimin got his hands on one of his parents’ phones, Yoongi found himself with a gibberish text sitting in his notifications.
yoongi: who is this?
???: it’s kim namjoon
???: i’m taehyung’s teacher
yoongi: and one of my friends gave you my number?
???: yes it was seokjin if i’m getting his name right
Of course it was Seokjin. That was probably the idea that he’d referenced the previous day. Seokjin was constantly plotting something, usually ways to get Yoongi safely out of the house or interacting with someone new.
yoongi: that sounds about right
yoongi: don’t feel pressured to text me or anything he’s always doing stuff like this
namjoon: oh okay
namjoon: i’ll keep your number just in case
yoongi: just in case of what?
namjoon: just in case i wanna talk
yoongi: oh okay
yoongi: thanks for making sure tae was okay yesterday btw
namjoon: no problem! i’m glad you were reunited quickly :)
namjoon: you’re probably busy so i’ll let you get on i just wanted you to know that your friend gave me your number
yoongi: thank you for letting me know namjoon
There were no additional texts exchanged. There wasn’t too much else to say, so there was no point prolonging the conversation.
For the rest of the day, Taehyung clung to Yoongi like a koala. Even when Yoongi needed to cook dinner for the two of them, he wrapped himself around Yoongi’s leg whilst he stood over the stove. His big eyes welled up with tears every time Yoongi wandered too far away from him, on the verge of bursting into tears.
Yoongi still couldn’t pry the problem out of Taehyung until he was getting him ready for bed, dragging a brush through his tangled hair.
“Can you tell Appa what’s wrong?” Yoongi asked gently, placing the brush down on Taehyung’s nightstand so he could pull him onto his lap.
“I’m okay,” he sighed, leaning tiredly against Yoongi.
“Are you sure? Did something happen at school today?”
“I… Is our family just us?” Taehyung asked, fiddling with the sleeves of his pyjama shirt. It was a strange question to ask, but not out of the realm of reason. Taehyung was naturally curious, after all.
“Well, there’s us, there’s my brother, my parents. You can even call Uncles Jinnie and Hobi your family if you want to, since they’re my best friends. Why’d you ask?”
“We were talking about families in class today… I was the only one to have one parent. They all have an eomma and an appa. Not Jimin though,” Taehyung added in a matter-of-fact manner. “Do I have another appa or eomma?”
Taehyung did have a mother, and she’d been in their lives right up until a few weeks after Taehyung’s second birthday. She’d left in the middle of the night, then left a note saying she wanted nothing to do with them anymore. Yoongi tried his hardest to contact her to try and get a reason, some kind of explanation, only to be met with her telling him to ‘fuck off’.
Yoongi decided to not tell Taehyung about his mother when he realised that the boy didn’t remember her. He was going to wait until Taehyung was much older to tell him, mainly because the wound was still fresh even for him.
“You do. She just doesn’t live here,” Yoongi answered, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Taehyung. Obviously, he must’ve forgotten that Taehyung was so naturally curious.
“Why?”
“Because she doesn’t like me.”
“Why?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Why?”
Not only was Taehyung so curious, he was also going through his ‘why’ phase. It was a phase that Yoongi was particularly excited for his son to grow out of.
“She didn’t tell me. She just didn’t want to live here anymore, Tae,” Yoongi said softly. “It’s nothing to do with you, okay?”
That was a complete lie. Along with her ‘fuck off’ message, Taehyung’s mother had also explained that she didn’t want to take care of the boy anymore, that he was too much of a handful, that he was too loud and too messy. These were all things that Yoongi thought were amazing about his son, he was creative, expressive, and he didn’t want that to kindle out by finding out the truth.
“So, it’s just us now?” Taehyung asked with an innocence that almost brought Yoongi to tears.
“Yeah. Just us now. Is that okay with you?”
“Mhm. Mr. Kim said it doesn’t matter what family someone has. They just have to love them. That’s what Mr. Kim told me because he said he knew I was sad.” Yoongi’s heart twisted in his chest. He hated seeing Taehyung sad. If it were up to him, as unrealistic as it was, he’d make sure Taehyung was always smiling.
“Mr. Kim is right. Your family loves you. Your uncles love you, your grandparents love you, and I love you too,” Yoongi said quietly, kissing the top of Taehyung’s head. Yoongi wasn’t ever a massive fan of physical affection, which clearly didn’t pass down to Taehyung.
“I love you too, Appa. I don’t want you to leave me either.”
“I won’t leave you, Tae.” It broke Yoongi’s heart that Taehyung even thought that way, so he had to change his mind.
“Promise?”
“I promise, son.”
“Do you really promise? Like… promise and I can sleep in your bed?” Taehyung liked sharing a bed with Yoongi whenever he got upset, it calmed him down considerably.
“You can sleep in my bed. But you can’t snore this time!” Yoongi teased, lifting a sleepy Taehyung off his own little bed to carry him through to his bedroom.
“I don’t snore! You snore!”
“You snore way more than I do.”
“Nuh uh!”
Taehyung passed out pretty much the second his head hit the pillow, snuggled up comfortably beneath Yoongi’s duvet. One day he’d tell Taehyung the entire truth about what happened. Who knows, maybe she’d even want to come back into their lives and try again, but it seemed unlikely for the moment. All he had to focus on was keeping Taehyung happy and healthy.
He guessed he had to thank Namjoon again for cheering Taehyung up. He knew it was just the man’s job, but he deserved some recognition. Once he was certain that Taehyung was sound asleep, tiny snores filling the space between them, he pulled out his phone.
Namjoon hadn’t sent him any more messages, but Seokjin had sent him a brief one admitting to what he’d done. Maybe some guilty conscience washed over him, but there wasn’t time to think about that.
yoongi: hi again
yoongi: tae told me you cheered him up today so i just wanted to say thank you
namjoon: i did?
yoongi: yeah
yoongi: when he was upset about families
yoongi: i think the advice you gave really resonated with him
namjoon: well it’s true. it doesn’t matter how small or big your family is so long as you love them
namjoon: it sounds like he really cares about you
yoongi: he does
yoongi: he’s a sweet kid
Taehyung always did small things to show that he loved Yoongi. Whether it was making him an extra of whatever craft they’d been working on at school, giving him an extra hug, or simply just telling Yoongi that he loved him, there was always something.
He just hated seeing him upset.
namjoon: he really is
namjoon: is he feeling better now?
yoongi: yeah he is
yoongi: i mean he’s asleep but before he was he seemed a lot happier
namjoon: i’m glad about that
yoongi: well i’m gonna try and sleep too
yoongi: gn namjoon
namjoon: goodnight yoongi
“I have a bone to pick with your husband,” Yoongi remarked the following morning when Hoseok showed up to take Taehyung to school.
“When don’t you have a bone to pick with my husband?” Hoseok joked, nudging Yoongi with his elbow. “Is this about him giving your number to the kids’ teacher? I just wanna say, I did warn him against it.”
“He’s a nice guy, but I still think he should’ve asked,” Yoongi sighed, looking down the hallway where Jimin was trying to teach Taehyung how to tie his shoes.
“I’ll be sure to tell him. Did you speak to the guy, though?” Hoseok asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yeah. I thanked him for being nice to Tae. He had a bit of a moment yesterday but Namjoon gave him some advice,” Yoongi explained.
“Ooo… You’re on a first name basis?” Hoseok teased, his loud laugh filling the corridor.
“I feel weird calling him ‘Mr. Kim’ all the time, leave me alone.”
“Fine, fine. What was Tae upset about? Jimin told me he wasn’t doing great, but he didn’t really know why,” Hoseok asked, taking a step closer to him as he lowered his voice so the kids wouldn’t listen in.
“They were talking about families and Tae felt left out because he’s the only kid with one parent.”
“Oh, right,” Hoseok whispered. Neither he nor Seokjin were particularly fantastic talking about Taehyung’s mother, solely because Yoongi was so closed off about it that they didn’t know how he felt. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure how he felt. He was angry, yes, upset also. But maybe there were things she was struggling with, things she needed to work on.
“Yeah. Anyway, Namjoon gave him some advice, and it helped. He was still upset, but it’s better than nothing, y’know?”
“That’s true. Speaking of their teacher, I better get these two to school,” Hoseok commented, raising his voice so the two boys could hear him.
They ran over, slinging their tiny backpacks over their shoulders as they smiled up at Hoseok.
“Right, we’ve got to go now, say goodbye to Yoongi!” Hoseok said cheerily, giving Yoongi an overdramatic wave.
“Goodbye, Uncle Yoongi!” Jimin smiled.
“Bye-bye, Appa!” Taehyung said at the same time, blowing Yoongi a kiss. He’d have to talk to Seokjin about doing that too much.
“Both of you be good,” Yoongi said with mock-sternness as Hoseok led them out of the house.
“We will!” They replied simultaneously.
Yoongi spent the rest of the day working in his office. As much as he hated to admit it, Namjoon played on his mind more than he liked to admit. He’d seen the man a grand total of twice, yet he couldn’t stop thinking about him. Especially his dimples.
Maybe it had just been so long since Yoongi had been out long enough to converse with a new person, but he couldn’t quite shake Namjoon from his mind. He was intrigued by him. By the mere fact he could’ve simply ignored the fact Seokjin gave him his number and go on to never contact him. But he didn’t. He clearly wanted some form of a friendship.
As if willing things into existence, Yoongi’s phone pinged at about midday, and it didn’t exactly shock him to see Namjoon’s name flash across the screen.
namjoon: just wanted to let you know that tae talked to me about his mother today
namjoon: i don’t know the full story it’s not my place to ask
namjoon: but he told me that he’s worried you’ll leave like she did
Reading the three messages shattered Yoongi’s heart. Obviously Taehyung knowing the truth was bound to have some kind of effect on him, even if he didn’t completely understand.
yoongi: i won’t leave him
namjoon: i know i told him that too but
namjoon: he seems really off
yoongi: does he want to come home
namjoon: strangely no
namjoon: he said ‘i’m only going home if jimin goes home too’
yoongi: yeah jimin’s parents don’t keep him off unless he’s sick lol
yoongi: i’ll check up on him later
yoongi: shouldn’t u be working though
namjoon: i’m on a break
namjoon: i’ll leave u alone now i just wanted to let u know what he told me
yoongi: thanks for letting me know namjoon
yoongi: he doesn’t like to tell me when he’s upset
namjoon: he tells me when he’s upset so if anything happens again then i’ll let u know
It wasn’t a shock that Taehyung had someone he expressed his negative feelings towards. He didn’t like to even risk upsetting Yoongi, but his teacher was there to help him. It was much easier.
yoongi: thanks for being there for him
namjoon: it’s no problem yoongi
namjoon: have a good rest of your day
yoongi: you too
Maybe he couldn’t stay mad that Seokjin gave Namjoon his phone number.