Work Text:
“Okay buddy, how about we have a sit together, and sing super tuna quietly instead?” seokjin prompted and sighed softly, his voice barely more than a whisper as the toddler adamantly slipped away from his arms to sit on top of the slide.
“Nwini.” seokjin hummed staring at the toddler who held the tuna plushie tight to his chest, practically it was a shark. Seokjin had explained that, but the toddler had denied believing seokjin and claimed seokjin was a liar.
“H-hwelp ggukie? Down?” he pointed at the slide for which seokjin smiled, “of course, come here baby.” he guided down the toddler who clutched his arm and shrieked as he slid down the orange slide.
He grinned happily as his bottom didn’t hit the ground this time, “ ‘ank you uncle nini!” he held his hands up indicating that he wanted to be picked up, seokjin did so and styled jungkookie’s disheveled hair.
“Alright, buddy. Now shall we finally get you to your room?” seokjin swore his heart clenched venomously at the sight of jungkook’s bright face filling with blue. It was sickening, seokjin knew. Not that he didn’t understand that it must be revolting to be stuck up in the same room that has a very dreary and plain paint.
It’s was large, yes and spacious, yes but it was lonely, filled with nothing but boring posters that portrayed various types of illness. Along with pictures of injections- he totally understands why jungkook refuses to stay there.
He should suggest something regarding room improvement, especially for the children's ward. Maybe add more colors, a toy corner, or a TV with a youtube feature !
Junseo would like- love that. Junseo loved youtube. Sometimes it was ridiculous to see junseo watching videos of two women kissing with such intensity. Honestly, it’s all caused by having the same genes. Maybe he could ask junseo on how they can improve the ward to make it even more child friendly so that kids don’t feel pressured when they’re admitted. Junseo tends to come up with pretty bomb ideas like how he suggested seokjin add tuna to his chips along with some steamed prawns.
Seokjin retrieved his thoughts back as he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, once again his own infamous super tuna started playing loudly, making jungkook’s eyes bulge out as he began dancing with the plushie while still being held in seokjin’s arms.
“Yea?” seokjin spoke without looking at the caller as he helped jungkook adjust his nasal cannula,
“are you even gonna show up?”
Seokjin recognized this voice too well. It wouldn’t matter, the voice’s owner could be sobbing, wailing, screaming, moaning, pretending to mimic someone else, and seokjin would still recognize him too well within a heartbeat.
“Namjoon.” he spoke, voice quiet and unrushed as he began walking out of the play area making jungkook clutch to his shoulders strongly.
“You missed his last birthday too, seokjin hyung. Seriously, are you gonna-” then there was a rushed sigh from the other, frustration clearly flaunted.
“I am- i will, just give me thirty minutes. I’m still on my duty, i can’t just-”
“Just leave for your son’s birthday party? Right. Good luck on completing your duty, i’m gonna cut the cake-”
“I will be there namjoon, can’t you just wait?” seokjin realized his voice was a little too harsh by the way jungkook had flinched against his shoulders. His eyes began watering and seokjin sucked in his teeth, “i’m sorry baby.” he whispered to jungkook and rocked him softly.
“I’d be there.” he ensured namjoon on the call, “you can wait for me or not, but I’d be there. Tell junseo i love you for me and kiss him good morning for me too.” there was a brief hum, “okay.”
“Okay.”
.
Jungkook denied to let go of seokjin, he was clutching to seokjin’s shirt too tight that the buttons were starting to wear off. Seokjin could tell they were about to fall on the ground anytime now and he’s gonna show up shirtless at namjoon’s.
“Please, nini.” jungkook was whining, his eyes looking adorable as fuck that seokjin did not have the heart to leave him just like that, not even when the nurse insisted that she’d take care of jungkook.
“For fuck’s sake where are his parents?” he sneered as jungkook began to slump against his body, seemingly tired from all the whining and crying. “They informed me that they won’t be able to-”
“They have a child and just- if they were not desperate for a child, they could’ve just used a fucking contraception. Look at him, he’s the one who’s suffering now.” he whispered as he stared at jungkook’s adorable little face. Jungkook was staring back at him with the softest eyes ever. “Sowrrie nini.” he heard jungkook mumble, “ggukie be good and g-geh ouchie and eepy. Dun’ wan bother innie and happie birthday junseo!”
Seokjin swore he did not cry.
.
“Mamaaaa” junseo’s voice was alarming and a tiny bit whiny and namjoon was a bit exhausted from all the markings he did last night. He tried to clean up the desk that was scattered with papers and stood up, feeling guilty at the sight of a pouty junseo still in his onesies.
“Hi baby.” he scooped up junseo and pressed kisses all over junseo’s cheeks making him giggle and cup namjoon’s face. “Junseo s’ big boi today!” happiness was written all over junseo’s face and namjoon grinned back, showing his deep dimples. “Yes baby, happy birthday- mwm, my sweet baby, god you’re growing up so fast-” he pressed two kisses again on junseo’s cheeks.
“This pa’s kisses.” he mumbled and pressed two more on each side of junseo’s kisses making junseo to giggle. “Can junseo have baby dinos for this birthday? Junseo already big boy!” namjoon pretended to be shocked at junseo’s query and throttled to their living room.
“Well, that’s something you should ask your appa about. He’s allergic to dino fur,” he mumbled feeling guilt bit him back due to the reckless false information. His baby is going to grow up thinking about how dino’s have furs and how seokjin is allergic to them.
“I keep it in da basement like de lyle lyle crocodile.” junseo defended as he began to strip himself, “that’s animations baby, not real.” namjoon chuckled. “Buh junseo saw lyle lyle last year.” and it was just seokjin who showed up a day after junseo’s birthday dressed up as a crocodile trying to cover up that he had indeed missed junseo’s birthday.
“That was just dada-” namjoon heard the doorbell ring in a familiar pattern and checked at the door knowing it was seokjin’s nature to ring to doorbell before padding the password. It was something they got used to, and namjoon wondered if seokjin did the same at his own home.
“APPA!!!” namjoon stared as seokjin stepped in. he sighed rushedly as he saw a sleeping toddler in seokjin’s arms. Of course, seokjin would bring a toddler to junseo’s birthday, he prioritized work not junseo maybe he’s even here just so that he will not lose his custody-
“Junseo.” namjoon called out softly, “no kisses.” he pointed out at seokjin’s scrubs. Junseo had completely ignored namjoon, still endeared by the sight of another small human being who was curled in seokjin’s embrace.
“Hi baby.” seokjin grinned, crouching down a little to face junseo who was staring at jungkook who was sleeping in his arms. He informed his highers and texted jungkook’s parents before he asked jungkook if he wanted to see his son, jungkook agreed quickly and seokjin saw no barricades.
Except now, considering that he’s staring into namjoon’s displeased eyes. He could tell namjoon was jaundiced by the situation. It’s not like namjoon didn’t love kids, namjoon adored them wholeheartedly.
As a preschool teacher, namjoon had learned how to interact with kids, and how to merge with them without making them feel like they’re left out. Namjoon was and is always good at what he was doing, seokjin could see that through junseo. Namjoon raised junseo like a prince, polite, exuberant, genial, and most importantly brave and loud about his opinions.
But one thing namjoon despised was seokjin’s career, seokjin knows it vividly. After all it was the reason why they got divorced. Namjoon was supportive at first, seokjin being a pediatrician required skills that he had learned from namjoon.
He knew how to get a kid to behave without having to point a finger at them like an adult or yell or hit them. He knew how to make junseo agree to the ‘no’ word when he says so.
That was until seokjin’s work consumed his private life’s time and seokjin only existed as a form of a shadow in namjoon’s life. Safe to say it got worse when junseo was born. Seokjin knew he should've and could've done better. He should’ve been there when namjoon was going through his postpartum depression instead of ignoring namjoon’s calls as he stayed at the hospital to look after the kids there till it was too late to return home. He’d then go back to work when it was too early to wake up.
Seokjin was not there when junseo began to waddle, when Junseo began to voice out his first word, when namjoon cried onto the cold sheets wishing seokjin was there with him at that moment.
So namjoon decided to end it,the day till now is still haywire to seokjin.
He still questions himself about that night, he was a bit sober and too tired when he completed his shift. His team’s head doc had offered him a drink when seokjin finished his duty, they were persistent to drag seokjin to the bar. Seokjin agreed hopping that he could finally coax them into easing his hectic schedules and maybe replace someone else during his night shifts so that he could spend his nights with namjoon and junseo.
So when he returned home, partially drunk with a seering headache he was not very pleased to the sight of a very argumentative namjoon.
“When are you ever gonna prioritize me and junseo?!” it was a scream, not even a pleasant statement and seokjin’s body had gone still at that. “Namjoon let’s not-”
“No.” namjoon denied, “you’re gonna leave to work early tomorrow and you’re gonna come home too late tomorrow night and leave nothing for junseo to see except your fucking wasted face. I cannot do this.” namjoon was breaking down, a few feets away from him.
“I cannot do this anymore.” seokjin heard it vivid and rigid and he remained quiet. ‘We should not give up’ he wanted to speak but his brain was mushy like a smashed potato all clumped together, he just wanted to get on the fucking bed. He had worked 18 hours straight and did not even get a blink of sleep. He was surviving with protein bars and coffee.
“You’re nonexistence in junseo’s life. Do you know what his first word was? Dada. But you were not there to witness it, it was tiring to see him keep mumbling that when you were not there. I was happy yes, he was chanting for you- but your entire attention was on someone else’s kids. Never ours. I’m starting to think that you knocked me up just for a favor, just because i had asked for a kid and you pretend like you have no responsibilit-”
“Shut the fuck up. You’re talking as if i don’t hold responsibilities. I’m working my ass off namjoon, you don’t know how tiring it is to wake up and live in a fucking loop. All you do is come home and have a happy day with junseo. You don’t know work pressure, you don’t know how it is to see your patient suffering, how it is to see a child suffering! You can be all narcissist but im, not one to just leave my work just like that just because my husband wants me to spend more time-”
“Fine then, let’s divorce.” it was a blurt, rushing words that penetrated into seokjin’s mind like an arrow.
“What?” he asked flabbergasted, maybe he heard it wrong. “I said let’s divorce. It’s clearly not working, do you not see us? Tell me when was the last time you kissed me, when was the last time you kissed junseo goodnight while he was not asleep? You’re always there for kids, but not for our kid, I feel lonely in this relationship we are in, to be honest, we’re together just because of junseo. I don’t think that’s how-”
“Let’s meet the lawyers tomorrow.”
And it ended. All those love letters, cheesy confessions, hardships, married to eternal, all those vows were voided under a simple signature seokjin wished he didn’t participate in.
.
“Jungkookie is baby.” junseo was holding jungkook’s pinky as seokjin laid jungkook on the cradle. “Wha’s da pa?” junseo’s mouth was wide as he stared at the tubes connected to jungkook’s nose. Seokjin picked up junseo and kissed the top of his head, “jungkookie is a little sick, so he needs a little help in breathing. He will be alright. Let’s not disturb him hwm?” junseo nodded his head as he stared at jungkook.
“Junseo big brotha to jungkookie. Jungkookie baby.” seokjin smiled as he began walking towards the shower where namjoon had already prepared a special bath just for junseo with his favorite bath bomb with a few dinosaur toys floating on the water's surface.
“Mama said yu icky to dino’s pa. Nu touch.” seokjin gaped as junseo swatted his hands away from his toy dinosaur. “I’m icky to what?” he laughed as he scrubbed down junseo’s back and back hugged him. “To dinos. Dino fur. Mama said juni should ask yu bout gettin a dino for birthday, can juni get one pretty please? I keep it in da basement like da lyle lyle?” seokjin chuckled at the innocent query and pouted.
“But mama gets all sneezy when there is something in the basement, mama is allergic to the stuffs in the basement.” he prompted making junseo to throw his dino out of the tub.
“Hey, junjun.” seokjin whispered softly, “that’s not nice, now, buddy. Pick dino up. She might be hurt.” seokjin added and smiled when junseo obeyed quickly muttering a quick apology. “S’ okay juni gets dino next year when mama buys new housie. Juni put dino in the new room.”
“Mwm.” seokjin hummed kissing the top of junseo’s head, “that’s a great idea buddy.” he murmured making junseo to cheer in pure jovial.
When seokjin finished washing up junseo and his supposed dino friends, it was almost 11am. The birthday party was supposed to begin at 1pm, so he still had so much time to dress up junseo and play with him a little. But seemed like junseo had other plans as he passed out in seokjin’s arms.
.
Namjoon peaked through the door as he stared at the toddler who was now sitting on the crib, he was holding a blue shark’s plushie tight to his chest and his eyes were watering. Namjoon originally was raging at seokjin when he saw seokjin bringing over an uninvited guest to their home on junseo’s birthday in the fear that seokjin was going to ignore junseo and once again junseo would feel left out by seokjin. He didn’t want that, if anything he wanted seokjin to show how much of a great father he was knowing how seokjin always interacted with his patients.
Namjoon fell in love with seokjin due to that too.
The gentleness and adoration seokjin had towards babies, and children, drew namjoon towards seokjin almost instantly since both of them share a profession that’s meant for children. Their dedication was aimed at children.
“Mama” he heard jungkook mumble and resisted the urge to run towards jungkook and pick him up, but he was heedful of his actions, considering that jungkook was wearing a nasal cannula. He didn’t want to hurt jungkook in any way. In spite of all that vigilance, he couldn't hold himself back when he saw tears streaming down jungkook’s beautiful face.
He walked towards the crib and smiled softly at jungkook who almost instantly stopped crying, namjoon feared that it might due to anxiousness but it all faded away the moment jungkook began to extend his arms trying to ask namjoon to pick him up.
Jungkook was lightweight. he was small and adorable in namjoon’s arms and namjoon almost had another baby fever for the nth time this week. Having junseo meant having multiple baby fevers whenever junseo did anything at all. He was that cute with seokjin’s features embedded in him like a flame to a fire. He had seokjin’s pouty lips, seokjin’s eyes and one right dimple that he might’ve gotten from namjoon, and hair like seokjin’s.
Namjoon’s hair was naturally moderately curly, not too much but it was just there. It was noticeable when he wakes up, his bed hair screams it clear and vivid. however, Junseo’s hair was just like seokjin’s, wavy but also curly. It was adorable to see.
It reminded him of seokjin always, reminded him of the times he’d carded his hands through seokjin’s hair and inhaled the scent. He made sure that junseo used the same shampoo as seokjin so that he could remember the scent forever. Not that he would forget, seokjin’s existence is more than just existence itself. It was a reason. Seokjin taught him love, anger, and a little more intimacy and love.
Back to junseo,
apart from physical features, junseo apparently had seokjin’s behavioral features too. It was surprising considering how junseo had interacted too little with seokjin yet he behaved too much like seokjin. He was witty, extremely smart and too kind for the world.
Namjoon believed that he had a very perfect son. So baby fevers were a must for perfect child owners, which was every child owner.
“Hi baby.” he rocked jungkook gently in his arms, jungkook was already preening and leaning closer to him and namjoon swore his heart was beginning to melt. Jungkook smelled like a newborn baby and a little bit of a hospital. He wondered jungkook was infected by what illness and wished that it wasn’t serious.
“Hwi.” jungkook was still yawning, his mouth formed in a small ‘o’ making namjoon crinkle his eyes in happiness.
“Hi baby.” namjoon jumped a little at seokjin’s voice as seokjin’s head popped to the front as seokjin was standing behind namjoon. “Hi nini.” jungkook’s eyes were beginning to brighten and namjoon could tell that jungkook loved seokjin. It warmed his heart.
Apart from their interaction, the close proximity made it possible for namjoon to inhale seokjin’s scent. Seokjin smelled like lavenders and a little bit of oranges and it wasn’t difficult for namjoon to realize that junseo had once again successfully mixed both of the shampoos together to create a concoction.
But despite all that heavy scent, there was an undertone of seokjin’s own scent. It wasn’t his perfume, it was just seokjin.
The scent had no name and namjoon could not point a finger to anything in this world to define it as seokjin’s scent. It was comforting, made namjoon weak on his knees, and drew namjoon closer to seokjin until seokjin’s front was against his back and he stopped knowing he might’ve crossed the boundaries (as if they haven’t before) but seokjin was just so close.
Behind him, right there. He almost forgot to involve himself in the conversation between seokjin and jungkook, he was rather focused on the water droplets that fell from seokjin’s wet hair and drenched his shirt, so he couldn’t help but to gawk dementedly when seokjin queried him in between their barely coherent conversation.
“My shirt.” seokjin repeated when namjoon stared at him with his befuddled eyes. Namjoon hummed feeling his face heat up due to embarrassment and set jungkook in seokjin’s arms, “i-i converted them to our- my room.” namjoon’s words were rushed and seokjin could tell that namjoon was feeling sheepish so he had simply hummed trying not to stir namjoon’s emotions to the peak.
Equitably seokjin thought that namjoon was ambrosial when he was at the peak of his emotion. He’d get restless, stare at anywhere but seokjin, he wouldn’t realize his own doing since he’s contracting his thoughts trying to set himself free from it. It’s very obvious when it happens, especially now considering how namjoon’s walking towards the restroom instead of his own room.
“You have my shirt here?” seokjin questioned, his tone sounding a bit galling and teasing, that made namjoon curse loudly. Seokjin heard it crystal clear, ‘fuck you seokjin’ was it. He guffawed before namjoon turned back and bumped into his chest. Namjoon was a bit taller than him, but seokjin was broader. He could entirely embrace namjoon-
“S-sorry- fuck-” then namjoon stopped struggling and simply stared at seokjin. Seokjin looked, handsome. Even when there were water droplets crudely falling off from his hair, down to his naked shoulders- naked chest, then down to seokjin’s-
Namjoon swallowed at the sight of seokjin just in his towel, his upper body was exposed with no clothing to cover it.
‘C’mon move’ his brain had taunted him but he did not move, his sole was stuck to the tiles, a bit forward and he’d be into seokjin’s embrace all over again like last week- or was it this week, was it two days ago exactly-
Namjoon did not flinch when seokjin’s fingertips grazed over his lips as seokjin’s eyes wafted like an autumn leaf, “did a mosquito bit your lips?” seokjin’s voice was soft and namjooon hummed remembering how he had woken up with a swollen upper lip. “Maybe it’s due to the overgrown grass, i’d take care of that. Junseo likes to play out, don’t want him to-”
“Yea.” namjoon spoke breathlessly as he stared down at seokjin’s adam apple, and frowned slightly. “What happened?” he let his fingers gently pat a red scar over seokjin’s neck and he noticed the way seokjin’s breath wavered, “this kid- she was whiny and fussy, poor baby she was so scared- she knocked the injection towards me when i tried to inject her, it was my fault, it left a scratch-”
“You smell nice hyung.” namjoon half moaned as he spoke, seokjin’s scent was too palpable right now since the distance was shortened. “Y-you too.” seokjin admitted, “i almost missed you too much.” he added trying to sound comical only to realize he did not. He was not joking, he was speaking what he felt.
“I missed you too.” namjoon voice was hushed, like how he used to speak when junseo was a newborn baby and would wake up to the slightest noise. “Junseo-” namjoon was cut mid-sentence by the sudden clash of lips as seokjin crashed his lips on namjoon’s own. Namjoon moaned at the sensation of seokjin’s lips, and seokjin’s heat against his own, he wrapped his legs around seokjin’s waist and let him drag him into the loo,
“Ah- ah hyung-” he moaned as seokjin’s lips met his neck in a rushed motion, he stared at seokjin through his misty eyes.
“Do you- you do know that i love you right?” namjoon only reciprocated by pressing his lips against seokjin’s neck trying to drag him down towards the counter. “I know- i d-do, i do too- a lot-” seokjin threw his towel as he was bared to namjoon, namjoon knew the rush, the heat the rush was emitting, the pound of his heart-
“Namjoonie?” both of them froze at the knock on the door and seokjin instantly installed himself into the tub and namjoon stared at the door wide-eyed.
“M-ma?” he jumped off the counter and wiped his neck, his lips, and his cheeks half-heartedly before opening the door as he tried to regulate his breath. His mother stared at him,
“Is that bastard inside too?”
“I’M NOT!”
.
“The white collared shirt, that has the blue vest. Not this.” seokjin muttered as he set back the article of clothing into the closet. “no. “ namjoon refused instantly making seokjin cock his brow. “No?”
“I’m using it.”
“Using? I thought my clothes were too big for you?”
“They are.”
“And?”
Namjoon groaned, irked as he shoved another set of clothing towards seokjin, “just because they’re big doesn’t mean that i can’t use them. Wear this, your boxers at the rack and also don’t put the towel into the dryer. It has lots of lints, don’t wanna-”
“Okay mom.” seokjin muttered mockingly, “now if you excuse me i’d like to change. Unless….if you want to watch me change nake-”
“As if i want to.”
Yes, he wanted to,
Not to admit that he was indeed using seokjin’s clothes as his pillow and bolster’s cover. It was one of seokjin’s frequently used outfits, smelled like him, and reminded namjoon of him. Clothes could replicate a person when the person was physically not available, so namjoon took the matter into his own hands and made seokjin’s clothing as his pillowcase.
After getting dressed seokjin agreed to wake up junseo and dress him up for the birthday party as namjoon accorded to make jungkook feel as comfortable as possible. He got to know that jungkook was admitted due to his acute bronchitis and this happens often to jungkook, from seokjin.
He also got to know that jungkook’s parents were actively travelling overseas due to their business requirements and jungkook was often left alone in his room- seokjin being the only companion, and jungkook’s parents had signed a contract to make seokjin a legal guardian when they’re not around so that seokjin could bring jungkook over to his home when his parents are unable to keep an eye on him.
It was sad to hear. At some point, it reminded him of junseo. When seokjin was stuck in between his schedules, namjoon would sometimes be overloaded with his own work so he’d leave junseo at the childcare. It was horrible, he realized not so soon after a few times of sending junseo to the childcare and he never did it later.
Parents are meant to be with the child, not to be away from the child and leave the child under someone else’s eyes. Parenting does not only includes providing. It includes basic components like loving, nurturing, and building.
He learned that after losing seokjin. He knew he could’ve dealt with it better, maybe have a nice talk with seokjin and discuss properly and not just throw words at each other since they were stressed due to their child being a burden.
If anything, namjoon inwardly apologizes junseo daily for being the cause of providing junseo a broken family. They weren’t broken, but not just together. They love each other just as much, no less, they still provide each other with love, the intimacy was still there, seokjin still laid on his sheets after junseo was asleep, seokjin still filled his insides, seokjin still showed up at his doorsteps some nights, not for junseo, but just for him.
They were just divorced.
And namjoon was the cause of it.
.
Junseo was elevated by the sight of his dino cake that he had a harsh time cutting it, “oh no mommy.” he had whined at his grandmother. “Dino no no.” he had added and namjoon’s mother had just chuckled at the kid, “aigoo, my baby. It’s okay, halmeoni will buy you a brand new dino. Now come here and give me kisses.” she had cooed.
Seokjin’s mother had showered junseo with multiple toys that had dinosaurs imprinted on them, a dinosaur school bag, a dinosaur pencil box, a dino shaped chocolate box, a dino shaped dino toy that requires charging, and apparently a cat named dino as well.
“Ma. i don’t think that’s what junseo-” seokjin shut himself up when he saw jungkook and junseo quietly giggling upon looking at the cat named dino. Namjoon grinned at the sight, “i think he’s very happy. At least he got something that could be a dino in his mind and not an actual dino.” he giggled making seokjin to smile. “Right, i cannot keep up with the im allergic to dino lies.” he snorted making namjoon slightly glare at him.
“Hey, it’s papa’s gift time.” seokjin diverted the topic as he rushed to pick up both junseo and jungkook as pointed at the big gift box that was on the couch. Junseo stared at it baffled, “pa! Yu gah juni a dino?! Suh big!” seokjin rolled his eyes at that, “i think you had enough dinos from halmeoni, i’ve got something superior.” he muttered proudly as he sat down on the couch letting junseo to crawl towards the gift box and unwrap it messily.
“It took me years to wrap it.” seokjin added for the credits of his excelled wrapping skills and pouting when he got no response. “PA!” it wasn’t a happy scream seokjin could tell, “a bwox?!” junseo was staring at him with such ferocity that seokjin felt hot in his seat.
“It’s Nintendo.” he explained, “you can play-”
“He’s four.” seokjin’s mom prompted, “did you bought it last minute?”
“NO!” but seokjin’s innocent stare gave the answer to anyone. “WHA!” junseo then gasped as he pulled out something from the box again, “wowie.” he added and sat with a satisfied grin. “Appa, dada, juni.” he grinned as he stared at the photo album.
“Juni loves that.”
.
Junseo had sprawled on the ground and cried when namjoon gifted him with a stack of coloring book, story book and maybe a few activity books that consisted of mathematics. Seokjin had laughed at that and shut up when his mother told him that junseo was exactly like seokjin.
After a few more hours the people start to dissipate, leaving namjoon, seokjin, jungkook and junseo alone. Junseo was unwrapping his gifts with jungkookie. Seokjin learned that junseo was a giver, as he began piling jungkookie up with gifts making sure that jungkook was not left out, it surely did warm his heart.
He sighed smiling softly as he began to get back into his work, he scrubbed the dishes while whistling as he willingly bothered namjoon’s mother who smugly ignored him knowing that she’s a level ahead of him in mario cart.
“Ay jinnie.” she suddenly spoke as she set down a marble plate on the rack and stared at him through her peripheral stare, “when you gonna ask my son out again?” seokjin stopped scrubbing the plate as he stared at her with his slightly deepened frown.
“Ay ma.” he whispered as he walked towards the dining table to grab a bowl and fill it with some snacks as he saw namjoonie reading a story to junseo and jungkookie who were huddled on a couch. “You know i can’t do that.”
“Why not?” she questioned as she dried her hands, “you love him, treat him better, serve him the star candies knowing he only likes that.” she grinned as she took one for herself making seokjin sigh as he looked down.
“We ended in a bad way, ma. I don’t think i should- i could do this to us-”
“C’mon, don’t pull out the ‘we’re divorced’ card. You gave him a fucking pregnancy scare last week.” that made seokjin drop the packet of candies on the table. “I-is he?!” he spluttered making her laugh at his misery. “Nope.” she giggled, “bet you’re relieved.”
“I am but i wouldn’t mind another kid…but honestly, i don’t think he…deserves me. I could’ve treated him better, in so many ways. Could’ve fought for us-”
“Ay, jinnie.” seokjin hummed softly, “sentiment does NOT suit you.” he threw a star cookie towards her, which she caught and ate.
“Honestly if you’re gonna knock up my son, do it properly. Marry him, then knock him up, then bring him out on a date.”
“The order is so wrong ma.” seokjin laughed making her shrug, “Your mom birthed you before she even went on her first date so-”
“Can you not?” seokjin chuckled, “sometimes i hate that you’re best friends with my ma, you’re too casual with everything.” he shook his head making her grin.
“First of all, you listen to me. Second of all, you lost in mario cart to me so you fucking listen to me. This weekend, you’re gonna be with namjoonie. I don’t care if you resign your job but you’re gonna have one week off and spend it with namjoonie. Junseo’s with me, i’m gonna show him how peaceful life is without parents, with halmeoni. But also…think for juni. He might be clueless now, but once he starts asking questions that require your answer the reality of divorce would actually start to hit…it’s okay if you’ve fallen out of love, but clearly, you both are stupidly still in love with each other with a lot of denial and miscommunication.”
“That’s not gonna-” seokjin stared at the door where he heard two knocks from, being followed by the ringing of the doorbell, he hummed knowingly.
“Jungkookie, your parents are here.”
.
“Jungkookie would heal better if you guys were by his side. I understand you guys are under a lot of work pressure but sometimes the absence of your presence might also contribute to jungkookie’s welfare-”
“I’m sorry.” one of them spoke, his eyes misty as he held jungkook who almost leaped into his arms, park jimin is his name seokjin believed he was the one who frequently showed up to the hospital then his husband min yoongi who was a well-known figure but the least to show up, but when he did he’d stay for hours and hours.
“We- we’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff, our company has been facing some abrupt downfall, the profit is concerning, then the divorce-”
“Divorce?” seokjin queried.
“Yes.” yoongi spoke, “we’ve been thinking that maybe getting a divorce might cut some sla-”
“It’s not worth it.” seokjin whispered as he stared at namjoon who was watering his plants in the garden. “Honestly, it’s not. It’s a one-time thought because you’re angry, worried,scared- or high on emotion but once it’s done you’d realize how-...how dumb it was,” he muttered as he stared at jungkook and patted his head. “Think for jungkook.” he murmured.
.
“What did you wish for when you blew your candles out?” seokjin gave a warning look towards taehyung who looked away. Seokjin knew that taehyung would spoil the fuck out of junseo and he didn’t want taehyung to spend more than he already had. “Your daddy is such an angry bird.” taehyung whispered into junseo’s earlobes making him giggle as he claimed that it tickled.
“Wished for daddy to stay with papa and juni.”
Seokjin stopped building his lego as he stared at junseo who innocently continued to put the blocks together. “Juni misses daddy when daddy bye byes.” he added, “mama too. Mama bye bye juni when mama workies.” taehyung tried to shush junseo as he noticed the clear tension clumping in the space.
“No.” seokjin whispered as he stared at junseo’s small frame. Maybe unwillingly he had putten his child through so much, so much at such young age.
“Juni doesn’t wants mama and daddy to bye bye.” then junseo stared straight into seokjin’s eyes, “will daddy stay tonight, pretty please?” seokjin felt a heat clumping in his throat and form into tears.
“Please, junnie will be super good. If junnie bad you can send junnie to childcare.” and seokjin heard namjoon cry, they were not tears of sympathy, they were tears of regret.
“S’ okay daddy.” junseo mumbled as he pouted at seokjin, maybe due to lack of response but seokjin’s throat was tight, “Junnie forgah daddy and papa are divuh- diwoce!”
.
Seokjin knew this was the moment he had to finally had to face namjoon and talk about them and not just end it with kisses and colliding of their body.
.
“I-i’d talk to him, i’d tell him that- i’d explain to him that we’re divorced properly- m-maybe it’s his friends at the kindergarten-” seokjin pressed his hand over namjoon’s shoulders and pressed it softly. “I’m sorry.” he whispered feeling the familiar heat crawl up to his throat, restricting his speech.
“I shouldn’t- shouldn't have done that. T-tell me what i should- i’d do anything, please. I’d do anything to mend us, mend this family- i do not want junseo- he’s a baby, namjoonie. He should not know such words- he should not feel like he must long for my presence, i’m his father should be there for him-” namjoon had pressed his hands on his back and smothered it, seokjin felt like his vision was crumbling down in front of him due to the tears that kept pouring down his eyes. Cascading like a downpour that could cause a flood.
“I-it’s okay hyung- i should’ve taken more consideration- shouldn’t have given up- should’ve put more time-” namjoon choked on his words as seokjin pulled namjoon into his chest. “I-it’s okay, it’s okay. We can figure it out, we can work this out- be better for junseo-”
“Daddy?” seokjin peered up as he stared at junso who was staring at them from the creek of the door, “can juni come in?”
“Of course.” seokjin croaked out as he opened his arms for junseo who instantly ran into his arms. “Will daddy stay?”
“Yes. will not leave after this.”
“Promise?” seokjin hummed as he pressed kisses all over junseo’s face, “juni misses daddy and mama togetha.” junseo was gesturing namjoon to join the family hug, making namjoon smile softly as his lips quivered. “I love you so much- both-”
“Papa loves daddy?” namjoon chuckled as he hummed, “daddy loves papa too, baby.” seokjin whispered. “We both love you.” they whispered together, at that moment they knew they belong to each other, with each other. They co-exist together, and without each other they might just be equally miserable.
A family without one, was no family. Family existed with all three of them together.
“Juni loves you too.” junseo whispered as he curled between them, feeling giddy that he would get a chocolate for listening to his grandma’s plan.
He hoped that it’d be a dino-shaped chocolate.