Archive of Our Own

jimin fidgeted nervously at the entrance of the kindergarten. normally, the responsibility of welcoming and introducing new additions to their childcare landed on seokjin's shoulders - seokjin, with his gentle and soothing demeanour, who could placate even the most fretful of parents and settle the most stubborn of children.

but today, seokjin was away.

away, on a date with his boyfriend.

jimin honestly liked namjoon; he took care of his dongsaengs well and more importantly, took very good care of seokjin. but when seokjin had reminded him yesterday that he would be taking the day off to spend it with namjoon, jimin couldn't help but sulk petulantly and whine for his hyung to not go.

"but hyung," jimin draws out the vowel, pouting slightly in the way he knows seokjin is unable to resist, "i've never welcomed parents before."

but the older male merely chuckles genially and ruffles jimin's hair, "just take it as a learning experience then. i can't be here all the time, doing the task for you, can i?"

jimin intensifies the pout even further, throwing in an impressive display of puppy dog eyes for good measure.

"jiminnie, you should know why i turned this task over to you instead of hoseok," seokjin says, "besides, are you really going to not give your hyung permission to celebrate his second anniversary?"

jimin's thoughts flit to the other employee in the kindergarten, hoseok. hoseok was a really fun guy to be around, and really good with kids. but to be frank, he was just a tad too playful.

just a bit.

imagining hoseok being in-charge of receiving the parents was... interesting.

and he really wanted his hyung to enjoy his second anniversary without any worries.

jimin glowered, knowing when he had been cornered. "fine," he accepted grudgingly, "tell me about the child."

seokjin had hugged him tightly, before leading him into the office and pulling out the relevant files, briefing him about the child that was to join their kindergarten starting from today.

jimin glanced at his watch.

07:58.

any minute now.

resisting the urge to run back into the haven that was the kindergarten, jimin instead tried to think about what hoseok and the kids were doing now. most of the children only started filing in at about eight thirty, but there were always some exceptions where parents had to drop their kids off earlier due to conflicts in schedule. hoseok was probably reading some fairytale to those that were already here, slowly coaxing them awake.

the soft rumble of a vehicle snapped jimin out of his thoughts. watching an unknown car pull in (jimin remembered all of the parents' car plates, just in case), he breathed in deeply, preparing himself for the daunting task ahead.

what he wasn't prepared for however, was the man that got out of the car.

jimin prided himself on being quite discerning when it came to relationships. he erred on the side of caution when it came to dating and looks were rarely a factor in the few relationships that he has had in the twenty plus years he has lived, preferring to judge on their personality. his partners have, so far, all been respectable and wonderful people that he knew decently well before they took it to the next step, and when they broke up, they had remained on amicable terms.

his best friend, taehyung, called it being a prude.

he called it being careful.

so what was this feeling bubbling up inside him?

from what he could see, the other wasn't that much taller than him, but still taller nonetheless. his black hair was styled in a way that wasn't too formal, but not casual either.

and oh my god, how did he manage to make a casual button up and pants look so good?

jimin felt a weird sensation in his gut unfolding. he attributed it to nerves.

the man (jimin knew he should have paid more attention to the names) walked over to the other side of the car and opened the back door, speaking to who jimin assumed was his child. the latter watched as his face shifted from indifference to exasperation, and finally softening to understanding. the man bent over slightly, disappearing partially into the car before reappearing with a younger child bolstered on one of his arms, using the other to nudge the car door closed.

jimin tried not to shake in his shoes as the pair made their way over, the father talking softly to his child. plastering a bright smile on his face, he prayed to the powers-that-may-be to not make it look as fake as he felt it was.

"hello! welcome to wings kindergarten!" jimin greeted them as the father-son duo came to a stop before him.

he was just glad his voice didn't shake.

the man returned his bow, simultaneously putting down his child, who quickly hid behind his father.

"kim seokjin-ssi?" the man inquired politely.

"a-ah no!" jimin clarified quickly, "jin-hyung is away for the day, so i'll be taking over. my name's park jimin, i'm one of the teachers here."

a look of realisation passed over the other's face. "i see. my name's min yoongi, and this is my son, jihoon." yoongi (finally a name!) gently nudged his son forward, whose eyes resolutely stuck to the ground.

if jimin had been worrying about shaking earlier, his worries were futile. the moment yoongi started speaking, shivers had shot down jimin's spine like thunderbolts as the other's rich baritone rolled over him like waves.

he briefly wondered whether he was falling sick.

crouching down to jihoon's height, jimin smiled. "hello jihoon. is it alright if i call you that?"

it took a few seconds, but jihoon responded with a small nod.

"awesome. you can call me jimin-hyung from now on," jimin continued, not realising that yoongi was staring at him with a look of mild surprise, "i can tell you're shy, but everyone here is really nice. so don't worry, okay?"

another small nod.

standing up straight again, jimin smiled at yoongi, a sudden bout of courage driving his movements.

yoongi smiled back.

jimin realised he quite liked it when yoongi smiled.

"i'm sorry about jihoon, he's usually not this quiet but we just moved from daegu," yoongi explained, "and he had to leave his best friend behind, seungcheol."

jimin nodded in understanding. "it's quite alright, there were other kids that were shy when they first came, but i wasn't lying when i said that the people here were friendly."

and he winked.

the mortification set in less than a second later, when he realised that he may have just flirted with the man. a man who had a son, and possibly a wife.

but yoongi just laughed.

scratch off what he said about yoongi's smile. jimin liked his laugh much much more.

ears burning red in embarrassment, jimin offered a shy smile as yoongi replied with an easy grin, "i'll place jihoon in your capable and friendly hands then."

"sure, but i'll need you to sign some documents first, please follow me."

jimin felt the spring wind dance around him as he walked, embracing and caressing him with the tenderest of touches, lifting his spirits up high and promising more to come.

oh my god, what am i doing?

…    

yoongi made a final note on the margins of the document in front of him before closing the file shut, pushing it to the side of his desk. taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes tiredly, before sitting back in his chair and turning it around to look at the view of the city skyline through the glass windows.

his mind drifted to his son, jihoon, and yoongi wondered what he was doing now. he could only hope that his son was slowly adapting to the new and foreign environment and wasn't being too much of a thorn in his teachers' side.

(there was a limit to how much tolerance they could have, after all.)

two years ago, if someone had told him that he would be caring for a child of his own, yoongi would have asked him to turn over the weed he was smoking.

but present day, yoongi was indeed looking after his own child.

jihoon.

jihoon was the result of a one-night-stand. yoongi had just entered university for less than three months. it had been during a farewell party for one of the seniors who was transferring away, when yoongi hooked up with the party girl, and messed around for the night.

when he woke up the next day with a pounding headache, the senior just told him to leave with blatant disregard, not even bothering to ask who he was.

yoongi just grabbed his belongings and high-tailed out of there, and purposefully wiped the incident from memory.

three years flew by and yoongi had just freshly graduated from school when he found the senior knocking on his door on a chilly autumn afternoon, carrying a child in her arms. she had handed the child over into yoongi's arms, curtly telling him that 'he's yours', the same nonchalance yoongi saw from three years ago dripping from her words.

she had proceeded to explain her situation on how she was a rising star in the entertainment industry and "did not have time to take care of this child", but at that point yoongi had been too numb from shock to process majority of her speech, only catching the tail of it, when she pointed at the toddler in his arms and said 'oh, by the way, his name's jihoon'. she had then turned around and left in a red maserati.

when yoongi finally managed to move his limbs, he awkwardly walked back to the apartment, balancing the child in his arms. he settled both of them on the couch, before staring at his child (jihoon?) blankly. jihoon had remained silent the entire incident, only staring at yoongi with wide eyes.

for a wild second, yoongi considered driving to the nearest orphanage and leaving jihoon there. but as he slowly recognized the features mirroring his own, the thought was dispelled from his mind as fast as it surfaced.

he wasn't prepared to be a father. not at all.

however, this was his own child. his own flesh and blood.

perhaps, just for jihoon, yoongi could try and become a father.

the beginning was rough. to make sure jihoon had enough supplies, yoongi had to ask his family for money quite frequently. his parents were initially disapproving ('what were you doing, knocking a girl up at such a young age?') but yoongi had the unwavering support of his older brother. when he finally introduced jihoon to his family, his parents and seunggi had immediately fallen in love with the adorable child. then all he had to do when he found himself requiring financial aid was ask.

but yoongi also knew that he couldn't rely on his family forever. one thing that he wasn't lacking, however, was excellent credentials from university. yoongi had sworn off relationships in university after the fiasco that happened in his first year, and as a result, spent most of his time studying. it most definitely showed on his results slip and he managed to get a job at quite a prestigious company.

it wasn't enough, however, to ensure that he and jihoon could live a comfortable life. he was as smart as he was capable, though, and yoongi spent the next year climbing the corporate ladder, earning promotion after promotion, until finally he reached a position he felt satisfied with.

it wasn't yet the peak, but it was hella close to it.

his parents had been kind enough to take care of jihoon for him when he was busy (not that it could be counted as trouble for them, considering how smitten they were with their grandchild). other times however, jihoon spent them with his father, doing all the things that fathers and sons did together.

yoongi thought that for someone who wasn't prepared to be a dad just the year earlier, he was doing quite a good job at it.

when yoongi had received the offer from the company to transfer to their branch in busan (higher position! better salary! more benefits!), he had hesitated. any sane individual with a sliver of ambition within him would have jumped at the chance, but he had asked for a few more days to think about it.

because of jihoon.

after jihoon arrived in his life, yoongi found himself making many decisions based on how it would affect his son. which food was healthier? which movie seemed like something jihoon would enjoy more? would jihoon like having to move?

when he asked jihoon the last question, his son had looked down and silence had hung heavily in the air. yoongi had frowned, prepared to reassure his son that if he really didn't want to move, he could always reject the transfer, when jihoon had looked up, held steady eye contact with yoongi and replied-

"i'll be okay as long as i'm with appa."

yoongi had responded by pulling jihoon into a tight hug, biting his lip as he tried to not let the tears spill over. the two of them just sat there, letting the receding chill of the night wrap around them, reminding them that spring was soon approaching.

by the following week, their plans to move from busan were cemented. with teary goodbyes to seunggi and his parents, yoongi set off with his son to a new beginning.

jihoon had been relatively excited when they first arrived at busan, pressing his small face and hands against the window, his cheeks squishing against the transparent glass as he craned his neck to take in more of the bustling city around them. their new residence was quaint and homely, a perfect size for the two of them.

jihoon had seemed quite happy.

but this morning at the kindergarten, as yoongi tried to cajole him out of the car, he had seemed quite... unhappy. the former couldn't figure out the cause of mood shift at first, but when he noticed how jihoon's small hands tightened around one of the soft toys that they kept in the car, it dawned on him.

the soft toy that jihoon was clutching onto so tightly was a bean plushie that seungcheol had given him.

"you miss seungcheol, don't you?"

jihoon whimpered slightly, tightening his grip on the plush even more.

"do you like busan so far?"

"...yeah."

"then i promise you'll like the people here okay? you can talk to seungcheol anytime when we're at home, i'll make sure of it."

jihoon slowly released his grip on the plushie, instead reaching his arms out towards yoongi. the latter poked his upper half into the vehicle, picking up the small child and closing the car door behind him.

as he walked over to the entrance, he spotted a silver-haired man standing there who was utterly gorgeous-

a knock called his attention to the door, where his assistant stood.

"sir? you have a meeting now in conference room b."

yoongi wore his glasses again, nodding sharply to her as he rose from his seat.

he hoped once again that his son was coping well.

when he drove to the kindergarten to pick jihoon up, yoongi, truth to be told, wasn't expecting much. it usually took some time for jihoon to warm up to strangers, evidenced by how it had taken a week for him to get used to his own grandparents.

so when yoongi was met with the sight of jihoon babbling excitedly to jimin as they sat on the swings, his face practically glowing, he was stunned. he looked on as jimin listened attentively, sometimes laughing, but always smiling softly at the young child, warmth filling his body.

he got out of the car, and was almost instantly spotted by jihoon, who ran screaming towards him, "appa!"

he caught his son, hoisting him up above his shoulders as jihoon squealed happily. jimin ambled towards them, chuckling.

yoongi gave him an apologetic smile, "sorry about that."

"no, no, it's quite okay," jimin shook his head, the amused expression not leaving his face, "he's a cute kid."

"was jihoon alright at school today?"

jimin beamed, "absolutely, he was such an angel. the other kids really liked him. i'm pretty certain he even made some new friends, didn't you, jihoonie?"

jihoon nodded enthusiastically from where he perched on yoongi's shoulders.

yoongi blinked in bewilderment before thanking jimin profusely for taking such great care of his child.

jimin waved his hands, "no, the pleasure's all mine. jihoon's a real sweetheart, he's got everyone charmed. i would love to have a child like him."

noting how jimin trailed off wistfully towards the end, yoongi bit back the question burning at the end of his tongue with immense difficulty.

instead, he patted the leg of his son twice, reminding him to thank jimin before leaving. jihoon did as asked chirpily ("thank you, jimin-hyung, bye bye!") as his father settled him into the car.

on the way home, yoongi observed via the rearview mirror as jihoon chose to hug the bean plushie again, but not in the suffocating manner he had done in the morning.

"how was school, jihoon-ah?"

jihoon seemed to perk up slightly, excitement seeping into his voice as he chattered on, "great, appa! i met this boy, his name is soonyoung..."

yoongi smiled softly as he tried to listen to his son, but his mind was distracted with thoughts of a certain silver-haired teacher, the remnants of their encounter lingering in the air.

...

“hyung, namjoon-hyung's here!" jimin shouted as he spotted the blond man walking up to the entrance of the kindergarten through the windows of the kitchen. namjoon always arrived promptly at one in the afternoon to take seokjin out for lunch as it coincided with nap time for the children.

seokjin shouted back a muffled reply as jimin watched his hyung rush out of the house, quickly pecking his boyfriend on the lips before slipping his hand into the other's. unknowingly, a fond smile played on jimin's lips.

his hyung always took his lunch later than the rest, preferring to make sure that the children and his dongsaengs had eaten before him before ceasing his constant fussing and bustling about. it was one of the many things that jimin loved about his hyung. 

namjoon-hyung is a lucky man to have someone as wonderful as jin-hyung, jimin sighed, i wonder whether i'll find a romance as sweet as theirs.

his hands worked on auto-pilot, drying the dishes as his mind wandered off somewhere far away. eventually, it settled on the man he had been seeing quite frequently for the past week.

every morning without fail, yoongi dropped jihoon off at the same time, walking his son to the door and exchanging a few words with whoever teacher was present before leaving. and every evening without fail, he came to pick jihoon up at the same time, and gave the teachers his thanks. 

if jimin found himself signing up to be on sending off duty more often this past week, it was just a coincidence.

a week of small talk with yoongi and incessant chattering from jihoon has provided jimin with quite an amount of information on the new father-son duo their kindergarten catered to. yoongi was a single father (no wife!) and jihoon came from daegu and had a best friend called seungcheol. yoongi was only 25, making him three years older than jimin and jihoon didn't really like his mum. yoongi worked at quite a famous company in the region and jihoon said that his father has never brought anyone home (jimin tried to resist smiling when jihoon had spilled this little tidbit of information). 

jimin didn't think that he had an ideal type before this, but perhaps that was just because he hadn't yet met his ideal type.

yoongi was well-mannered, good-looking and was capable and ambitious, all traits of what could be considered a perfect man. but what sealed the deal for jimin was the father's obvious love for his child.

if jimin had learned anything from his job in the kindergarten, it was that he loved children. when his hyung had first asked for his help running the kindergarten, he hadn't been too warm towards the idea. ("but hyung, i don't have any experience with kids," jimin had gnawed on his bottom lip as he said this, "don't a lot of people say that kids are a handful? what if i can't take care of them?")

but ultimately, his adoration and respect for his hyung had won out and he found himself attending work the month after he graduated. 

eventually, the kids won him over. it was the small things. the way they bounced over to him, cutely calling out to him, "jimin-hyung!" when they wanted him to read them a story, or the times they would cling onto him sometimes, when their parents came to pick them up, reluctant to leave because of their favourite teacher, or perhaps it was the moment they had thrown him a surprise party (organised with the help of hoseok and seokjin) when it was his birthday.

regardless, he found himself falling in love with children and the concept of children. jimin would love to have a child of his own, but one obvious issue glared at him right in his face- he was gay.

sure, there was always the choice of adoption, but so far, none of his partners had liked the idea of being parents, preferring to live a childless live (it was one of the factors that had led to the final separation). jimin knew he wouldn't be able to adopt a child by himself, as he was underqualified in both financial status and age.

so jimin kept himself content by taking care of the children of others. jimin didn't think he would have a favourite child amongst those that attended the kindergarten, but perhaps that was also because he hadn't yet met him (he was learning so many new things about himself recently).

even though min jihoon had only joined the kindergarten for a week, jimin was quickly developing a soft spot for the shyly playful child. on jihoon's first day of school, he had sat in the corner by himself, clutching onto a dog plushie that the kindergarten provided. jimin had talked softly to him, trying to coax him out of the shadows, but his efforts fell flat. finally, jihoon agreed to having a brownie and jimin had left him to cut him a slice in the kitchen. when he came back, however, he had found soonyoung, one of the more playful and loud kids, standing in front of jihoon in a superman costume (jimin didn't even know that the playroom stocked those). jihoon hadn't shown much reaction but they had managed to drag him into some games after that.

soon jihoon was playing with the other kids like he had been part of the class since the beginning, yapping and smiling freely. he refused to leave soonyoung's side the entire day.

jimin reminded himself to give soonyoung another slice of cake during tea time today.

the child reminded jimin so much of yoongi- seemingly aloof but actually a ball of fluff underneath. it was no surprise that jimin would start loving the child like his own. actually, he should have seen it coming.

jimin had been slightly terrified of yoongi, even though their first encounter had been nothing but pleasant. when yoongi steps out of his car, his face was always stone-cold. jimin could feel the chill from miles away.

but the ice melts away like when sunlight hits the snow when he sees his son. jimin has seen the transformation often enough to describe it; his hard expression softens, a loving smile surfaces and his eyes crinkles as the warmth from his smile reaches them.

jimin finds himself slowly falling in love with it.

pausing his drying, jimin held onto the plate as he smiles giddily at nothing in particular. 

"min yoongi," the younger tried the words aloud, heat blossoming on his cheeks as the syllables rolled smoothly off his tongue. 

he was about to slap himself silly for doing something so childish when a loud yelp had him running into the playroom, hoseok hot on his heels. 

"what happened?" jimin asked loudly, grabbing the attention of the children in the room. there was a beat of silence before the room burst into noise as the kids all tried to explain what had happened just moments ago.

jimin made his way to where the kids were circling, and what he saw set him into another bout of panic.

bright red made a sharp contrast against white, he observed numbly.

soonyoung let out a small groan as he tried to move his injured arm, the offending weapon laying just a few inches away, glinting with bright red blood. jihoon stood rigidly, a horrified expression on his ashen face as his eyes never left the wound on soonyoung's arm. jooheon sat collapsed on the ground, lips trembling in shock as his arms rested lifelessly next to his small body. 

jimin heard hoseok mutter 'oh no' softly as the older pushed his way past him, picking soonyoung up gently, careful not to nudge his injured arm. as though a spell had just been broken, jimin found himself able to move again, taking jihoon and jooheon both by the hands and ushering them into an adjacent room, giving them strict instructions to not leave before going back to settle the rowdy children. 

when he returned, jimin found jooheon crying and jihoon just looking resolutely at the ground again, reminding him of the child he had first met a week ago. he grabbed a tissue, wiping away jooheon's tears as he called seokjin.

"hyung, there's been an incident."

"namjoon, stop it- what happened?" seokjin asked worriedly.

"don't know. jooheon's crying, soonyoung's been injured," at this, jooheon cried even louder. jimin quickly grabbed a few more tissues, "could you come back? the other kids are getting noisy."

"of course. i'll be five minutes."

seokjin returned within three, namjoon following him into the kindergarten. the two of them went directly to the playroom, shushing and comforting the children, setting up a cartoon to distract them. the eldest then went to check on soonyoung before heading to the room where jimin was.

seokjin nodded quietly at jimin, who breathed a shaky sigh of relief. soonyoung was going to be alright.

"would you mind calling the parents?" the oldest among them requested.

jimin shook his head, "all three?"

"yeah."

jimin only reached the door of the room when he heard soft footsteps pitter-pattering after his and a tug on his jeans. 

"jihoon?"

a shake of his head.

"do you not want me to leave?"

a nod.

"but hyung really has to go and make the call."

no reply.

"would you like to come with me?"

another nod.

jimin looked up and exchanged glances with seokjin, who merely had a look of mock exasperation of his face as he held onto jooheon.

giving his hyung a sheepish smile, he picked jihoon up and brought him to the office, where he sat the child on his lap as he looked through the phone book.

he decided to call jihoon's father first. it took two rings before yoongi picked up.

"hello?"

jimin pinched himself. now is not the time to get distracted, you dumbass.

"hi, min yoongi-ssi? this is jimin, from the kindergarten."

"ah, ah yes. is something the problem?" concern lilted the question.

"uhm, actually, yes, there has been a problem. an incident happened earlier and jihoon seems quite upset. if it's not too much of an inconvenience, could you come and pick him up?"

the reply came not a second later, "of course. i'll come now."

"thank you, we sincerely apologise for this mishap."

"it's okay. thank you." 

yoongi hung up. jimin tried not to groan. he knew he shouldn't have spent so much time in the kitchen drying dishes.

after calling both soonyoung and jooheon's parents, jimin tilted his head back, wincing from the headache that was starting to develop. he straightened up when he felt the weight on his lap shift.

"jihoon, are you okay?" he asked softly, placing a hand on the child's shoulder.

jihoon nodded, but jimin knew better than to take his responses at face value, especially since he couldn't see the child's facial expression as he had his back turned.

"jihoon, look at me," jimin said, slowly turning the child around.

jihoon was biting his lip hard, trying not to let the tears that were welling in his eyes flow. his hands grabbed the edge of his shorts as his little frame shook slightly.

impulsively, jimin held the child closer, patting his head as he spoke, "you know, jihoon-ah, it's alright to cry sometimes."

jihoon promptly burst into tears.

jimin's heart clenched painfully as he listened to the younger's wails. he pressed the child's head against his chest, feeling the wet spot forming on his shirt gradually increase in size as he patted jihoon's back soothingly, allowing him to just let it all out.

they sat there for what felt like years, jimin just patting and rubbing jihoon's back, as the wails died down to small whimpers and then to erratic hiccups.

he had just finished wiping off the saliva and snot from jihoon's face when a honk sounded. he held jihoon's hand, walking him to the entrance, where seokjin was already explaining the situation to yoongi.

yoongi didn't seem too mad, which was good, in jimin's perspective.

when yoongi saw jihoon, he had dropped to the floor, gesturing for his child. when jihoon was in his arms, yoongi pressed his lips firmly on his son's forehead, before fussing, looking for any injuries. 

jimin hovered in the background, not wanting to draw any attention to himself.

but when yoongi looked up, his gaze locked firmly onto jimin's frame.

the gaze pierced through him, and jimin felt vulnerable under it. it was as though yoongi was looking straight at his soul.

trying not to flinch, jimin walked up to the pair, bowing deeply as he apologised, "i'm sorry, this was all my fault.”

yoongi studied him with an indescribable expression as seokjin denied his claim and tried to take a share of the responsibility. jimin started sweating furiously.

"no, it's fine. accidents happen. was anyone hurt?"

jihoon shrunk behind his father.

"uhm, well, there was a kid-"

"ji!" a clear voice called out. the owner ran out of the kindergarten, with hoseok chasing after him demanding that he returned to the sick room.

"ji! it's okay! i'm fine!" soonyoung darted out of hoseok's reach, coming to a halt in front of yoongi.

yoongi stared at the new child with curiosity as jihoon emerged from behind him. 

"really?"

"yup! look, hoseok-hyung even gave me a superman bandaid!" soonyoung showed it off.

jihoon looked at it, before meeting soonyoung's eyes again.

"you're really fine?"

"yup! so don't worry," soonyoung beamed, before registering the man behind his friend, "is that your dad, jihoonie?"

jihoon nodded proudly, grabbing his father's hand.

soonyoung blinked owlishly before sticking his hand out, "hello sir! my name's kwon soonyoung and i'm your son's best friend!"

jimin noticed with amusement how jihoon had blushed.

without missing a beat, yoongi grasped soonyoung's hand and shook it, "hello to you too, i'm jihoon's father. thank you for being my son's best friend."

jimin couldn't help it- he snickered. yoongi shot him a look and he found himself burning in embarrassment.

soonyoung stared at yoongi in wonder, before exclaiming, "jihoon, i like your dad!"

jimin snickered again, but this time, he was accompanied by seokjin's chuckle and jihoon's bashful whine.

hoseok came raging after soonyoung again, and this time, the child couldn't escape. grabbing jihoon and giving him a huge hug, soonyoung was dragged back into the kindergarten.

jihoon looked at soonyoung's retreating figure with a shy smile.

"i suppose that's the injured child?" a deep voice inquired.

"y-yes. but i guess he's fine now...?" jimin trailed off uncertainly.

seokjin excused himself back into the kindergarten, before he finds namjoon mobbed by the other kids.

"once again, i'm really sorry, yoongi-ssi."

yoongi shook his head, "and as i've said earlier, it's alright."

a hush fell over them, before yoongi spoke again.

"i'll take jihoon home now. jihoon, say goodbye to your teacher."

yoongi turned around and took one step before stopping and turning back round. smirking at jimin, he said, "oh, by the way, just call me yoongi from now on."

wait. 

what? 

as the father-son duo walked away, jimin called out, "then- then you have to call me jimin!"

yoongi waved a hand in acknowledgement, throwing back, "will do... jiminnie."

jimin stood outside the kindergarten, smiling giddily at nothing in particular.

"min yoongi."

…

two weeks have passed since 'the incident'.

the following day at the kindergarten, jooheon had approached jihoon the moment the latter stepped foot inside the house, a guilty expression adorning his face.

seokjin had been able to extract the details of the incident from jooheon before his parents had arrived- jooheon had been upset that soonyoung, his best friend, was spending so much time with jihoon instead of him, and had confronted jihoon with the issue after lunch. soonyoung had tried to interject between the two of them, causing jooheon, in a moment of thoughtless decision-making, to push soonyoung away. it had been pure coincidence that the scissors were there, scraping soonyoung when he fell.

jihoon had responded to jooheon's stuttering apology with an equally sad frown, before engulfing the other in a hug and dragging him to sit in the playroom, where they shared their snacks and favourite toys. soonyoung joined them moments later when he came.

ever since then, the three kids have formed a close-knit trio, never leaving each other's side.

it was quite cute to watch.

yoongi sprawled on the sofa lazily as he observed jihoon scribble on paper, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. from his distance, he couldn't really make out who the humanoid figures jihoon was aggressively attacking with colour pencils were.

he shrugged. jihoon would probably show it to him after he was done.

jihoon was adapting to busan better than he expected, and yoongi couldn't be happier. sure, his son still missed his best friend, but that was relatively easy to resolve with weekly facetime sessions to daegu. ah, the wonders of technology.

yoongi had to give jihoon's kindergarten most of the credit for the smooth transition. jihoon could be painfully shy in a new environment but this time, he was able to integrate into his new class exceptionally fast.

it was probably the kid i saw the other day, yoongi mused, soonyoung, was it?

and jimin.

yoongi knew that his son liked the silver-haired teacher. jihoon would claim that he liked all of his teachers equally when asked ("jin-hyung is really nice! and hoseok-hyung is really fun to play with and cool! jimin-hyung is awesome!") but yoongi noticed the way he would run and cling onto jimin when he dropped him off in the morning, or the way jihoon would sometimes pretend to not notice that yoongi had already pulled into the driveway so that he could delay saying goodbye to his favourite teacher (but jihoon loved his father too much to do this often).

not gonna lie, yoongi liked jimin too.

it was physical attraction at first. yoongi knew to appreciate beauty when he saw it, and jimin was a work of art. jimin was short, comparatively, but there was a certain grace to the way he walked, a certain bounce in his steps that made yoongi want to drop everything and just stare.

and jimin's lips- oh my god, his lips.

those lips that were always smiling or pouting when yoongi saw them. it took every ounce of his self-control to not steal a kiss from those plump lips (because that would be rude, and setting a bad example for jihoon).

looks didn't seal the deal for him, though. as mentioned earlier, jihoon basically took up his whole life. anyone who wanted to be in his life, had to deal with jihoon as well.

it wasn't as though yoongi hadn't dated during the two years he had jihoon; it was just that none of them had lasted long enough for his son to meet them. they were either casual flings, or people who wanted the fun without the responsibility.

they usually left when yoongi pulled out the child card.

yoongi didn't feel too angry. no one would want to get tied down to a child during their prime years.

but jimin seemed different. call it parent's intuition or something, but yoongi felt that jimin genuinely loved the children. and if that conversation with him the previous time was any indication...

yoongi suddenly sat up, determination filling him.

he was going to woo park jimin, even if it was the last thing he'd do.

then yoongi deflated, groaning aloud as he fell sideways on the sofa again, pressing his head against one of the cushions he had.

how, exactly, was he going to woo that man when he saw him for only, like, five minutes a day?

jihoon paused his drawing to turn and look at his father, who was violently shoving his head into the piles of cushions stacked at the side of the sofa. the child stared for a second or two, before turning back to continue drawing.

his father always did weird things like that, anyway.

yoongi emerged, hair dishevelled, after a minute, unfocusedly looking around the living room.

"jihoon-ah," he called out, ruffling his hair.

"yes, appa?"

"how would you show someone you liked a lot that you liked them?"

the adult in the room froze in disbelief, before internally cursing himself to the seven pits of hell.

did i just ask my own five-year-old son how to confess?

jihoon turned to look at yoongi inquisitively.

"someone i liked?"

yoongi nodded mutely.

"uhm, someone like soonyoung?"

blinking in surprise, yoongi scratched the back of his head, "i guess."

jihoon perked up, face brightening, "i give them stuff they like!"

"what kind of stuff?" yoongi couldn't stop himself from asking.

"soonyoung likes chocolate, so i give him loads and loads of chocolate!"

ah.

so that's where all the candy was disappearing to.

yoongi nodded sagely, "very wise, jihoon, very wise."

jihoon beamed before returning to his artwork.

stuff that he likes... stuff that he likes.

yoongi pondered hard, before dropping his head in his hands in frustration. through the spaces between his fingers, he looked at jihoon again.

here goes nothing.

"say, jihoon-ah," yoongi hesitated slightly before continuing, carefully keeping his voice neutral, "would you, by chance, you know, know what kind of, uhm, stuff your jimin-hyung would like?"

"jimin-hyung? why?"

this kid was too curious for his own good.

"ah, it's just that, your appa likes jimin-hyung the same way you like soonyoung, you see. and like how you give soonyoung chocolates we have at home," jihoon had the decency to look slightly ashamed, "your appa would also like to give jimin-hyung a present."

jihoon nodded solemnly, mirroring the way yoongi had nodded earlier. his face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to remember what his teacher liked, before the answer came to him, a soft 'oh!' escaping his lips.

"rings! jimin-hyung likes rings!"

yoongi tried not to let his jaw drop at the answer.

"he told me that he liked to wear rings because it made his hand feel heavy, or something like that. i didn't really understand," jihoon frowned, babbling on, "but jimin-hyung always wear pretty rings! his hands look really nice with them!"

"appa, you should get him a ring!"

yoongi could have screamed.

"ah, but jihoon-ah, i can't get jimin-hyung a ring."

the frown returned to jihoon's face in full force.

"why not?"

"uhm, you're supposed to give a ring to people you like a lot. like a lot," yoongi emphasised.

"but you like jimin-hyung! a lot! right?"

"that's true but," yoongi grasped around for a proper explanation, "jimin-hyung has to like me too for me to give him a ring, do you understand?"

the frown on jihoon's face got deeper, "i'm sure jimin-hyung likes you too, appa. he's always smiling at you."

"ah, but he doesn't like me that much, you see."

"i don't understand."

"and you don't have to. not right now," yoongi ruffled jihoon's hair with a fond smile.

"but you'll give jimin-hyung a ring, right?"

yoongi stopped the ruffling, a troubled expression clouding his face, "we'll see."

jihoon snuck his head out of yoongi's reach, grabbing a pencil and quickly adding something on the paper, stuffing it into yoongi's hands before running into his room, shouting behind him, "give jimin-hyung a ring, appa!"

laughing, yoongi looked at the drawing. his laughter stopped short as embarrassment rose within him.

jihoon had drawn himself and yoongi, as per in most of his artworks. this time, however, instead of his brother or his parents, jihoon had drawn a new character.

and guess who it was?

park jimin.

yoongi didn't fail to notice the obnoxiously large ring drawn onto jimin's hand, a late addition considering the way they overlapped.

setting the paper down gently, a grin surfaced on yoongi's face as he shook his head.

yoongi let out a roar, shouting as he got up from the sofa.

"min jihoon!"

a yelp could be heard from his son's bedroom, followed by playful giggling and the soft noises of feet running down the hallway.

yoongi chased after his son, boisterous laughter joining jihoon's giggles.

that little monster.

but if anything good came out of it, yoongi could finally confirm what jihoon's feelings towards jimin were.

perhaps yoongi might need the ring, after all.

...

jimin was tidying the bookshelf when the phone rang, cutting through the quiet that filled the kindergarten as the children took their daily nap.

springing up, he ran to the nearest phone connected to the landline, hoping that none of the children would wake up because of the sharp ringing. picking up, jimin stuck a worried head into the nap room.

good. no one seemed disturbed.

"hi?" jimin asked, sounding just a tad breathless.

"hello? this is min yoongi, jihoon's father. and this is...?"

jimin raised his eyebrows in surprise; yoongi rarely called the kindergarten, it was usually the other way round. "jimin."

"oh," was it just him or did yoongi sound a little relieved? jimin tried not to dwell on it. "oh, uhm, yeah, jimin."

"is something the issue? i don't think you called just to talk to me, right?" jimin teased lightly.

after yoongi and jimin had agreed on a first-name basis, their conversations have progressed to teasing and bantering, akin to friends.

(jimin liked to think that it bordered on flirting, but he wouldn't count on that.)

this time, however, yoongi didn't return the banter. in fact, he sounded a bit frazzled, in jimin's opinion. "uhm, yeah, sorry, hold on... i wanted to ask, what's the latest time the kindergarten can hold jihoon until?"

jimin thought it over, "usually we start closing at half-past seven, but the latest would be... about eight i guess?"

he thought he heard yoongi curse under his breath, before the older man started muttering to himself about 'jisoo' and 'stupid newbie'. jimin winced, he sounds really stressed.

"uh, i know it's not really my place to ask, but what happened?"

yoongi didn't reply for a few seconds. "i'm sorry, if you don't want to tell-"

"no, no," yoongi interjected, "it's just... some new guy HR hired screwed up a bunch of files by accident and i have to stay behind to fix them. it'll be difficult for me to pull away to pick jihoon up and i don't really know anyone who could..."

jimin instantly realised the problem. yoongi and jihoon only moved to daegu a few weeks earlier, the older probably didn't know anyone well enough to trust to pick up his son. it was going to be hard.

"it's okay, i'll sort out a way-"

"wait."

jimin's heart thumped hard against his chest as he grew a little light-headed. this was probably the rashest decision he's ever made in his entire life, even worse than that one time he decided to down five shots of alcohol as taehyung egged him on.

"if you don't mind," jimin started, swallowing thickly, "i could bring jihoon to your office?"

he could imagine yoongi sitting in his office, recoiling at the preposterous suggestion-

"really? you would?"

now, that, was relief.

jimin could have laughed. he nodded, before realising that the man couldn’t possibly see him.

"yes! i mean, yes, yes, i would. just give me the address?"

as yoongi rattled off the address ("jihoon's been there before, he'll know where to go."), jimin found himself smiling, feeling warm all over.

yoongi trusted him.

when the class was dismissed, jimin pulled jihoon aside, "your dad's busy today, so i'll be bringing you to his office. just wait for hyung for a while okay?"

to his credit, jihoon didn't whine or throw a tantrum, only seeming a little surprised.

jimin cleared the kindergarten, and when they left, it was a little over eight. he hailed a cab and chuckled as jihoon piped up first, telling the driver the address. yoongi hadn't needed to give him the address.

when they reached the building, jihoon waited as jimin paid the driver, before crawling out of the vehicle after his teacher.

jimin gulped as he looked at the imposingly tall building, the soft glow of moonlight glinting coldly off the metal ridges of its windows. it was no joke where yoongi worked.

he suddenly felt shabby in his tigger shirt and jeans.

holding jihoon's hand, he walked into the building where the child tugged him to the lobby office.

"good evening, raina-noona!"

"oh, jihoon-ah, are you here for your appa?"

"yeah!"

jimin looked behind the counter and saw a pretty lady who was smiling down at jihoon, before turning to look at jimin with curious eyes.

"and you are...?"

"his kindergarten teacher, park jimin."

her mouth formed an 'o'-shape briefly as she wrote down something, and then held out two passes to the duo.

"tap them to pass by the gantry. general manager yoongi's office is on the twelfth floor. have a nice day," the smile returned to her face as she said.

jimin smiled in response, taking the passes.

at least someone welcomed his presence. sort of.

jimin led jihoon (or was it the other way round?) to the twelfth floor, where he was once against stopped by another attractive lady.

"hello, may i know who you are looking for?"

"hi jin-ah-noona!"

'jin-ah-noona' only now registered the child next to him.

"jihoon! ah, you must be here to see general manager, follow me, please."

her exclamation caught the attention of some of the workers. jimin felt their stares burn into his back as he followed the lady.

"sir, jihoon and..." jin-ah trailed off uncertainly, realising that she had forgotten to ask for the name of the visitor.

"jimin." it wasn't jimin who had replied.

yoongi rushed over as jihoon ran to hug him, eyes locked onto jimin's own. his gaze spoke volumes, showing relief and gratitude.

it was so intense, but jimin found himself unable to tear away.

not like he wanted to. yoongi looked really good in specs.

jimin hovered awkwardly at the door; jin-ah had already excused herself to do something else. after yoongi was done fussing over jihoon and keeping his bag under his desk, the taller male walked over to jimin.

"thanks," yoongi said, bowing.

jimin bowed back, feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, "no, it's fine."

"you probably had plans tonight, right? it's a friday night."

shaking his head, jimin replied, "not really."

if you could count curling on the couch watching whatever drama was on that night plans, sure.

"i should get going."

"already?" jihoon cried out. yoongi shushed him, giving jimin an apologetic glance.

jimin watched as jihoon whined, muffled against yoongi's hand, hesitating before suggesting, "if you don't mind, i could stay? just for a while?"

yoongi raised his eyebrows in surprise, "do you really not have any plans tonight?"

jimin blushed in embarrassment. he probably thinks i don't have any friends.

"but if you'd like to stay, you're welcome," the other smiled warmly at him, “jihoon would probably love the company.” 

jihoon cheered.

yoongi brought them over to a room hidden at the back, which was furnished like a lounge, "jihoon usually spends his time here. there are some games and dvds in the drawer under the tv, and drinks in the cupboard."

jimin let jihoon choose the activity, and the child eventually settled on watching mulan after a heated muttered debate between mulan and aladdin.

curling up against jimin, jihoon contentedly watched the movie. jimin tucked a hand around jihoon, smiling softly at his antics.

but the day must have taken its toll on the young child, because he fell asleep not long after the middle of the movie. when jimin tried to disentangle himself to call on yoongi, jihoon had clutched onto the silver-haired man, letting out a soft sound of distress.

jimin smartly chose not to move after that.

when yoongi entered the room an hour later, jihoon's head was laying on jimin's lap. the older was soothingly stroking the child's hair while casually scrolling on his phone. yoongi opened his mouth to speak when jimin pressed a finger against his lips, wordlessly signalling the older to keep quiet.

yoongi smiled, crossing the room to pick jihoon up. jimin stood up and stretched, wincing as a few joints cracked, before shooting an anxious glance at the other man.

he didn't hear that, right?

jimin followed yoongi to his car. he waited until the older placed jihoon in the backseat before saying with a grin, "i'll get going now. you're not going to stop me, right?"

"actually, i am," yoongi laughed, "it's late. let me bring you home."

taking a step back from shock, jimin shook his head, "it's fine! i can get home myself."

"it's not proper. i'll have to insist."

no, you can't do that, jimin whined to himself, you can't just look at me with that smoldering look-

"alright, then."

weak.

the car ride was silent, apart from when jimin gave the occasional 'turn here' and 'go straight but keep left'. when they stopped outside his house, jimin turned to yoongi, giving his thanks.

"thanks for the ride. good night, yoongi-ah."

jimin had his hand on the car handle when yoongi spoke, "hold on."

"yes?"

"would you have lunch with me? i'd like to properly give you my thanks." 

yoongi looked tense and jimin can't imagine why.

"of course!" the reply comes too fast and jimin bit the inside of his cheek for sounding so eager.

the muscles of yoongi's face relax and the black-haired man smiled, "i'll text you the details later."

jimin nodded and kept his cool, but later when he goes back to his apartment, he dives into his bed and squeals like a teenager on his first date (it wasn't too far off, really).

eyes wide open, jimin laid flat on his bed, staring at his ceiling.

best day of my life.

…

two days later, yoongi woke up to jihoon crawling into bed next to him and complaining about a tummy ache.

still under the haze of sleep, yoongi asked, snaking an arm around his son and pulling him closer, "what's wrong, hoon-ah?"

jihoon whimpered, "hurts. tummy hurts."

the second the words registered in yoongi's mind, he sat up, alert. he sat jihoon up, touching his forehead.

"you're burning up," yoongi carried jihoon with one hand, grabbing his phone and car keys from the nightstand with the other. jihoon latched onto him, wrapping his arms around yoongi's neck.

he stopped by jihoon's room to grab a blanket.

buckling jihoon up safely in the backseat, yoongi sped to the clinic, all the while taking worried glances at his son, who was visibly shivering under the blanket he was tucked under.

yoongi determinedly pushed aside the panic that was creeping into his mind. what jihoon needed now was a calm father, not a panicking mess.

it turned out to be a case of mild food poisoning ("did you eat that jar of peanut butter? i told you not to touch it; it was expired!" "sorry, appa," jihoon cried.) and the doctor prescribed jihoon the appropriate medicine. by the time they got out, it was already past noon and the pair stopped by a restaurant on the way home for lunch.

when yoongi finally managed to force the medicine down jihoon's throat and persuade him to go to bed, it was one in the afternoon.

yoongi felt a weight that he didn't even know was there lift from his heart.

his phone beeped with a text from jimin.

why would he text me... oh shit. the heavy feeling returned.

they were supposed to have lunch today.

yoongi finally allowed himself to panic.

his first date, and he already screwed up.

skipping the hassle of texting, yoongi called the other directly, who picked up at the first ring.

"hi."

"yah, min yoongi."

oh no. jimin must be really mad.

"where are you? did you forget that we were supposed to have lunch today?"

"uh..."

"don't tell me you really forgot."

"look, i can explain. jihoon fell sick today, I had to take him to see the doctor-"

yoongi had to pull the phone away from his ear when jimin shrieked, "jihoon fell sick?! why didn't you tell me earlier?"

when he brought the phone back to his ear, yoongi heard rustling on the other end.

"uh... i-"

"give me your address."

"what?"

"your address. now."

stuttering and still in shock, yoongi told the younger his address, who then hung up on him.

the man stared blankly at his phone. that was weird.

he decided to lie down on the couch. he was about to fall asleep when he heard loud banging on the door.

yoongi walked over lazily, yawning. he was scratching his belly as he opened to the door, only to be met with an angry-looking park jimin.

he blinked blearily at the silver-haired man before snapping to full attention.

jimin looked good. meanwhile, yoongi was being caught mid-tummy-scratch.

"oh, uh, hi. welcome," yoongi removed his hand from his belly, gesturing jimin on inside.

jimin mumbled a quiet 'pardon me for intruding', as he stepped inside, before asking, "where's jihoon?”

yoongi pointed at jihoon's door, "sleeping."

he followed jimin as the other opened the door, stuck his head in before closing the door, all his motions gentle and soundless.

"how is he?"

"uh, he had a stomachache and fever in the morning. the doctor said it was food poisoning, jihoon ate some expired peanut butter," yoongi defended himself when he saw jimin narrow his eyes at him, "i told him not to touch it!"

"his temperature?"

"38.7°C."

jimin's face grew dark, "that's too high for a child."

"what's jihoon eating for dinner?" jimin crossed over to the kitchen as he spoke, yoongi following closely behind him, "i'm assuming you have some-"

his words were cut off as he stared at the almost-empty fridge.

yoongi had the decency to look ashamed.

jimin sighed, before walking to the door. yoongi trailed after him like a lost puppy, grabbing the other's wrist as he was about to leave.

"are you mad?" yoongi asked in a small voice.

jimin hesitated before answering, which made yoongi's heart sink.

"no," jimin finally answered, "I'm not mad. it must have been crazy for you earlier. i'm amazed that you were able to hold yourself together actually. it's natural that you forgot about lunch."

jimin offered the older a small smile, "i'm just going to get some groceries."

"i'll come with-"

"you stay home. just in case jihoon wakes up."

yoongi frowned. "you're really not mad?"

the response came in the form of a finger-flick to his head, "if i were i wouldn't be here, would i?" 

jimin left after that. the spot on his forehead where jimin flicked burned, but in a good way.

yoongi spent the time when jimin was away to shower, style his hair a little, clean up the house and change into something a little more presentable.

there was a knock on the door a little after he was done and yoongi rushed to open it. jimin bustled past him, going straight to the table and setting down the bags, transferring the food items into the fridge.

yoongi paced inside the kitchen, trying to help but also trying to not get in the way.

suddenly, jimin paused his actions to ask, "do you know how to cook...?

yoongi felt the heat creep up his neck but shook his head truthfully. jimin ducked his head, stifling a laugh.

"you're hopeless. i'll stay and cook then."

scratching the back of his neck, yoongi said ruefully, "thanks. sorry for being so hopeless."

lucky i'm hopeless.

"is porridge and some side dishes alright?"

yoongi grinned, "anything you suggest, chef."

jimin lightly whacked him on his arm before telling yoongi to bring in the rest of the bags from the living room.

when yoongi returned, he paused at the door, leaning against it as he studied the sight presented to him.

it felt kind of domestic, jimin decked out in an apron busying around in the kitchen as yoongi helped with the groceries.

he briefly wonders whether this could be his future.

jimin notices him lingering at the door. "what are you waiting for? get your ass in here and help cut these vegetables."

"yes, chef."

"don't make me go over there and smack you."

jihoon woke up about fifteen minutes before six, calling out for his father as he walked around the house.

"in the kitchen, jihoon!"

"appa, why are you- jimin-hyung!" jihoon squealed as he made a beeline for his teacher, hugging one of his legs tightly.

yoongi protested, "no hug for me?"

jimin shrugged, "you love me more don't you, jihoonie?"

torn between the two, jihoon let go of jimin, eyes darting back and forth anxiously.

"just kidding," jimin assured as he ruffled jihoon's hair, "are you feeling okay now?"

jihoon nodded in response.

"good. do you think you can eat?"

jihoon patted his stomach twice, before nodding, slightly more reserved this time.

yoongi watched the exchange with a fond smile, leaving the kitchen to set the table.

the first to try the food was jihoon. he took a spoonful of the porridge before exclaiming, "this is nice jimin-hyung!"

"really?"

jihoon nodded vigorously before digging in some more.

jimin turned and looked at yoongi anxiously as the older fiddled with his utensils. when yoongi finally ate some of the food, jimin probed, "is it okay?"

yoongi deliberately furrowed his eyebrows, causing jimin to frown himself.

"just kidding, it's great," jimin exhaled in relief, before reaching across the table to lightly hit yoongi's arm.

yoongi catches jihoon's eye; his son gives him a mischievous eye-smile.

that little monster.

after dinner, the trio worked together to clear the dishes. with jimin's help, yoongi managed to make jihoon take the medicine with less reluctance as compared to in the afternoon.

jimin was talking about leaving when jihoon pulled on his sleeve.

"i want to watch a movie with jimin-hyung!" jihoon jumped on the couch, whining.

yoongi was about to deny his request when jimin cut in, chastising the child, "no, jihoon. you're sick, and sick people should be sleeping, not watching movies."

jihoon stopped bouncing for a moment, instead placing his fists under his face and doing an impressive show of aegyo, "hyung, pleeeeease?"

yoongi's heart melted and he's about to agree-

"no."

"appa, check my temperature!"

36.8°C.

jimin squinted at yoongi suspiciously but the older man shrugged innocently. he may be able to do a lot of things but manipulating a thermometer's data wasn't one of them.

"just one movie."

"just one!" jihoon nodded. if he were a puppy, his tail would be wagging in the air.

"but before that, go and take a shower and change into your pajamas." jihoon ran off to follow yoongi's instructions.

"are you really able to stay? if not i could just tell jihoon-"

"don't worry, i wouldn't agree to something i couldn't do," jimin said with a reassuring smile.

"would you like to have a shower...?" yoongi offered, "i could lend you some clothes if you'd like?"

jimin replied gratefully, "if you don't mind."

yoongi led jimin to the guest toilet, and pointed out where the respective toiletries were before leaving to retrieve some clothes and towels.

after taking a quick shower himself, yoongi was setting up the dvd player for the television in the living room when jimin emerged, drying his hair with a towel.

yoongi almost forgot how to breathe. how did jimin manage to look so good in his clothes?

distracted by the milky expanse of skin that was exposed as yoongi's shirt was still a tad too big for the younger, yoongi didn't hear the question leaving jimin's lips.

"hello? earth to yoongi?" jimin waved his hand in front of the black-haired man.

"huh? what?"

"i asked if i could have a bag to keep my clothes," jimin pouted, drawing yoongi's attention to his lips now.

"huh? oh, okay, hold on..." yoongi wandered to grab a bag from the drawer.

"thanks," jimin gave him a sunny smile.

yoongi stared at jimin's back as he walked away, carefully avoiding looking at the other's legs, and definitely not his thighs. the older dropped his head in his hands, groaning softly.

i should have just ignored the warming weather and gave jimin sweatpants.

jimin and jihoon settled and snuggled on the couch as yoongi inserts the dvd, before sitting on jihoon's other side. jihoon burrows deeper into the couch, wrapping his short arms around an arm of the two adults each.

they watched the movie- toy story- in comfortable silence.

three-quarters in, yoongi disentangled himself from the heap, telling the pair that he's going out to buy some snacks and drinks from a nearby convenience store.

he all but ran there and back, grabbing some random drinks and snacks without looking too carefully. on the way back, the feeling of domesticity returned, stronger than ever.

it felt kind of nice. yoongi selfishly hoped that this sort of peace and happiness would last.

but when yoongi returned, he's met with two people sleeping. jihoon was sprawled on top of jimin, who was dozing off in an awkward position. placing the snacks and drinks in the kitchen first, yoongi hoisted jihoon up. the child didn't make any noise as yoongi carried him to his room. yoongi tucked him into bed and kissed him goodnight on his forehead.

returning to the living room, yoongi debated between carrying jimin to the guest room or leaving him on the couch. he settled on the second option, not wanting to risk jimin waking up. pulling out the blankets and pillow from the guest room, yoongi shifted jimin into a more comfortable position, freezing every time the silver-haired man groaned a little. yoongi eventually managed to cover the younger with a blanket and tuck a pillow under his head.

yoongi sat on the floor, just drinking in the other’s face. jimin’s chest moved up and down rhythmically, soft snores escaping his lips. lifting a hand, the older tenderly brushes jimin’s bangs away, revealing more of the latter’s face.

silver moonlight peeked through the gaps, illuminating the outline of his face. in his sleep, jimin looked younger, almost like a child. yoongi studied it carefully, memorizing each and every detail- the way jimin’s lashes fanned his cheekbones when his eyes were closed, the way he made soft noises as he breathed, the way his mouth was parted open just the slightest, those full lips that he knew could make smiles that could light up his day.

yoongi loved them all.

jimin was like a breath of fresh air in stale summer, bright green in the gold autumn leaves, the warm sun peeking through the clouds as snow fell. he was life, and hope, the spring that signalled fresh beginnings.

yoongi didn’t think he deserved someone like park jimin.

after a short moment of self-doubt, yoongi chastely pressed his lips against the other's forehead, whispering, "good night, jiminnie."

he retired to his own bedroom, not knowing that behind him, a certain someone's heart thumped erratically against his rib cage as he felt the ghost of a kiss linger, burning imprints against his forehead.

…

"and?" taehyung pressed, "what happened after that?"

jimin shifted his eyes to stare at a spot on the table, "nothing."

from the corner of his eye, he sees taehyung leaning back, "nothing?"

"nothing," jimin affirmed vehemently.

it kind of looks like a star, jimin thought, fingers drawing circles around the chip in the wood. 

taehyung snapped his fingers in front of his face, drawing his attention back. "and the two of you had lunch. yesterday?"

jimin nodded, "yesterday."

"well then, tell me all about it! details!"

as he recounted his experience, his mind flashes back to the lunch date that he had with yoongi yesterday. after missing lunch last sunday, yoongi had strongly insisted on making it up to him, rescheduling their lunch to the following sunday.

throughout the entire lunch, yoongi had been nothing but a perfect gentleman and jimin had felt like the centre of his world, if only for a short while.

conversation flowed between the two of them seamlessly, never ending. they learnt more about each other than they have ever known, and jimin knew he was in too deep when he found himself entranced by every word, every syllable that left yoongi's lips, even though the other was talking about the various ways to make a child eat their vegetables. with all his relationships, jimin was never the bold one. he preferred to respond, not take action. but with yoongi, jimin wanted to make a move.

with yoongi, for just a few hours on a warm sunday afternoon, jimin felt that all was right in the world. and jimin thought, just for a fleeting second, that they, perhaps, just perhaps, they had the potential to be more.

maybe that was the reason why, when yoongi walked him to his door, he had, after unlocking the door, turned around and gently pecked yoongi on the lips, before swiftly running into his flat, closing the door shut behind him. he had leaned against the door, one of his hands moving to rest directly above his pounding heart, as he listened to yoongi's footsteps as they slowly faded away.

"and so? what happened after lunch?" jimin didn't even realise he had stopped speaking.

two spots of red formed on his cheeks as he remembered how their lunch had ended.

"you're blushing!" taehyung announced, pointing at his face in triumph and glee, "something happened, didn't it?"

jimin ducked his head, mumbling, "ikissedhim."

taehyung craned his neck, leaning across the table, "what did you say?"

"i kissed him!" jimin exclaimed, bright red dusting his cheeks.

his outburst caught the attention of some of the other customers in the café, and jimin hid his face in his jacket sleeve, flushing an even darker shade.

he peeked at taehyung, who was looking at him incredulously. when he finally spoke, though-

"who are you and what have you done with our park jimin?"

taehyung grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"it's still me you idiot!" jimin pushed his hands away and glared, "is it that ridiculous?"

"b-but it's you! mr. meek and prudent!" taehyung continues to stare at him with wide eyes.

jimin stays silent.

"you actually did it?" taehyung asked with awe.

"yeah."

"you must really like him then," the blond sipped his drink.

jimin thinks about yoongi's dreamy smile and dark eyes.

"i guess...?"

"you guess."

jimin shrugs.

"tell me, do you want his babies?"

"in case you haven't noticed, i'm a guy, tae," jimin deadpanned, already used to taehyung's bullshit.

"i know, i know. but you know. if you could."

jimin ponders a future with yoongi, their children and their house. he imagines a mini jimin (because there's already a mini yoongi with jihoon around) running around, calling him papa-

"you have that smile on your face. i'm taking it as a yes."

he wiped the smile off his face.

"he's not into me that way, taetae."

"pretty sure people don't kiss people they're not interested in. and he asked you out to lunch."

"out of gratitude, taehyung. i did him a favour bringing his son to work, and he repaid me by treating me lunch. that's all."

taehyung pointed his straw at him. "but you don't want that to be all, don't you?"

jimin declined to answer. taehyung slurped loudly.

"okay. just take this as advice from a guy who has been in a lot more relationships than you," jimin glowered at the blond, "hey, you can't deny it, it's true."

"just because it's true doesn't mean i have to like it."

taehyung ignored him, "anyways, ask him out. for real. on a date. make sure he knows it's a date."

jimin began to protest before taehyung cut him off, "i'm serious, jimin. it's obvious you like him, and going round in circles isn't good. i want the best for you, and i most definitely do not want to see you whining to me, pining after this man." taehyung reached across the table to take jimin's hand in his own.

"take a chance."

taehyung let go, finishing his drink. jimin copied him before checking the time.

"walk me back to the kindergarten?"

"sure."

on the way back, the duo avoided speaking about jimin's love life, instead talking about mindless topics like the latest idol gossip or taehyung's most recent fling. as they neared the entrance, jimin spotted a brunet running in the outdoor playground, chasing after a short blur.

"jungkook?"

taehyung looked at him curiously, "who's that?"

"our new part-timer. he's joining officially next year. what is he doing?"

jimin stepped into the kindergarten, calling out, "jungkook!"

the brunet lifts his head, "hyung! help!"

to jimin's surprise, taehyung is the one who intercepts the running kid, grabbing him by the arm. minhyuk stopped struggling when he realises he's been caught, puffing his cheeks slightly.

jungkook ran to them, panting as he catches for breath. "thank you! uhm..."

"taehyung."

"thanks!"

jimin recognised the look in taehyung's eyes and shook his head firmly, making sure the blond sees him.

when taehyung winked back, jimin stands closer to him, warning him right next to his ear, "jungkook's an angel. i will not have you treating him like your next fling."

taehyung whispered back, "don't worry. i won't."

jungkook stood there, confused by the interaction between the two friends.

jimin led minhyuk back into the house, and the last thing he hears taehyung say is "hey darling, could i have your number?"

he resisted the urge to facepalm. minhyuk would probably think him crazy.

when dismissal rolled along, jimin found himself sweating nervously. yoongi hadn't contacted him after the kiss yesterday. 

maybe he didn't even want to be friends anymore?

his worries were chased away when yoongi treats him the same when he comes to pick jihoon up. yoongi gave him a small smile, exchanged a few pleasantries as he waited for jihoon to say goodbye to soonyoung.

nothing had changed. jimin tried not to feel disappointed.

he can hear taehyung's voice right next to him.

"but you don't want that to be all, don't you?"

jimin watched as the sunset glow cast shadows against the father-son duo as he waved goodbye to jihoon, before spinning around and walking back into the house.

clenching his fist, jimin made a promise to himself.

tomorrow.

tomorrow, i'll take a chance.

…

the grip yoongi had on the steering wheel was hard and tense. distinctly, he heard his son humming in the back seat, and tried not to turn his angry gaze at his son.

yoongi originally planned to take it slow. a few more lunches together, maybe a candlelit dinner to bring them even closer. but when jimin had kissed him that sunday evening, all of his plans or semblance of thoughts had flown out of the proverbial window.

and now…

if only jihoon didn't mention seeing jimin with a blond yesterday. 

jihoon had brought up the topic innocently enough, when yoongi asked him whether anything unusual happened that day. 

"uhm, soonyoung gave me half of his cake...?" jihoon mutters, deciding whether that was considered unusual. soonyoung usually ate two slices, so for him to give jihoon half it was strange. jihoon suddenly remembers something, squeaking, "oh!"

"i saw jimin-hyung with a man today!"

yoongi makes a sharp turn, "what?"

"today, after lunch! jimin-hyung walked with a man to the kindergarten!"

"oh?" yoongi keeps his voice light, “how did he look like?”

"tall! uhm, yellow hair-”

"you mean blond hair?" yoongi corrects him gently.

"that! i couldn't really see his face, appa. sorry." jihoon ends meekly.

"it's fine, jihoon-ah." yoongi pauses before asking, "did they seem... close?"

"uhm... they were whispering in each other's ears, does that count- appa!" jihoon shouts in fright as yoongi swerves recklessly.

he stops at the side of the road, looking behind to check on his son, "sorry jihoon, are you okay?"

"mhm, i'm fine."

yoongi turns to face the front again, mind racing at a million miles per hour. he makes a split second decision, turning the car around at the nearest juncture.

jihoon presses his face against the window as he doesn't recognise the route. "appa? we're not going home?" 

"we're stopping by somewhere first. we'll have dinner at your favourite restaurant, okay?"

jihoon hurrahs loudly, before settling for the rest of the ride. 

yoongi's face was stony as he pulled into the kindergarten, and it grew even stormier when he noticed a blond talking to a silver-haired man at the door. jihoon piped up in the back, "appa! that's him!"

he got out of the car, taking care to style his hair and straighten his clothes. lifting jihoon out from the backseat, he held his son's hand with his left hand, stuffing his right hand in his jacket pocket, where a box resided temporarily.

he allowed jihoon to pull him to the door. 

"good morning, jimin-hyung!"

"oh, jihoonie. you're here earlier today."

jihoon bobbed his head, "i think... i think appa has something to say to you." he let go of his father's hand as though scalded, running into the kindergarten.

yoongi stared disbelievingly at his son's disappearing figure, briefly pulled out of his internal turmoil.

"good morning, yoongi," jimin greeted him pleasantly.

yoongi noticed the blond giving him a once-over before smirking and nudging the teacher. jimin hit the blond on the arm, a scowl on his face.

yoongi tried not to scowl himself.

"hello yoongi-ssi! i'm taehyung," the blond stuck out his hand. reluctantly, yoongi shook his hand, dropping it quickly.

taehyung didn't seem too perturbed, however. he merely turned to jimin, waving him goodbye as he merrily walked away.

yoongi didn't like how jimin smiled fondly as he watched taehyung leave.

"who was that?"

as though he just snapped out of a daydream, jimin stared at him dazedly for a while before replying, "oh, taehyung? my best friend."

oh.

yoongi felt the hostility draining out of his body. "not your boyfriend?"

throwing back his head, jimin laughed, "no way. he came for jungkook today, actually." 

"the new part-timer?" yoongi squinted as he tried to recall.

"bingo."

jimin resumed his staring.

"uhm... is there something on my face?"

"huh? no, no, of course not!"

nevertheless, yoongi reached up to rub his face. his hand came off clean, though.

"uhm-"

"actually-"

yoongi paused, "you go first."

jimin fidgeted, "actually- actually, how about you go first?"

"it's fine. you go first."

yoongi stuck his hand deeper in his pocket, running his fingers along the box.

"uhm," jimin took a deep breath, "wouldyouliketogoonadatewithme?"

yoongi blinked at him. "i hate to be that kind of person, but... would you mind repeating?"

jimin stuck one of his legs out, tracing circles around himself. his head tilted down, jimin looked at yoongi through his lashes. "i said, would you like to go on a date with me?"

the silence that follows lasts too long, and jimin averted his eyes.

yoongi can hardly believe his ears. 

did he... he just... right? 

"it's alright if you don't want-"

"no! no, i mean, i do want to-" yoongi fumbles around.

ah, fuck it.

he took out the box and opened it, revealing a plain ring. a plain, gold band.

"i came here today to ask you- park jimin, would you grant me the honour- uh, may i have the honour- wait. nevermind. would you be my boyfriend, park jimin?"

jimin stood shell shocked, eyes widening slowly. yoongi stood frozen, waiting with bated breath for the other to respond.

he hears someone shout 'say yes!' in the distance.

it's enough to knock jimin out of his daze, and jimin leaped into yoongi's arms, knocking the breath out of the older, beaming a smile so bright it could rival the sun and more.

yoongi hopes he can keep that smile on his face forever.

"yes! oh my god, yes!" jimin pulled away from the black-haired man, gazing deeply into his eyes.

"but isn't it a bit too early to bring out the rings?"

yoongi spluttered, "they're not- jihoon told me you liked rings, so i-"

"just kidding," jimin stuck out his tongue, taking the ring out of the cushion it was nestled in.

"oh wait, there's something here-" the silver-haired man stopped speaking abruptly as he read the inscription written on the inner band. 

jimin turned to hug yoongi tightly, resting his head against the older's shoulder, burrowing his face in the older’s shoulder. yoongi just wrapped his arms around jimin's waist, pulling him in closer.

park jimin, you are my spring.