Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

viii.

Namjoon was tired.

He had six kids, a job, and no wife. All of his time was either spent taking care of them, working, eating, or sleeping.

Or cleaning up after them.

"Yoongi," he sighed, looking at the kitchen table. "I told you to put the crayons away after you finish coloring."

Yoongi looked up guiltily. "It wasn't me," he defended, biting his lip and fidgeting. "I didn't do it."

"Yoongi, I know you did, okay? You're the only one who uses the black crayon to just scribble out your angst."

"Well..." Yoongi glared at his brother. "Taehyung was coloring too!"

Namjoon just sighed. "I know." Namjoon held up a drawing of six small figures and two bigger figures. "Where's our little artist hiding now?"

Tae pressed a finger to his lips and glared back at Yoongi, shaking his head from side to side from underneath the couch in the pocket of space that opened up once the legs were extended.

"Oh, what a shame," Namjoon mock-complained. "I guess I can't put it up on the refrigerator if I don't know whose it is..."

Taehyung skidded out from under the couch, sliding on the wooden floor and bumping into the coffee table. "Is mine, is mine! I drawed it! Put it on the fridge, Daddy!"

Namjoon put his hands on his hips. "After you put away the crayons you used."

Taehyung hesitated before bobbing his head and shoving all the crayons into the official crayon bucket. "I finished! Daddy put on fridge now!"

Namjoon gave in, finding a spare magnet and pinning up Taehyung's new drawing next to the other ten from earlier in the week, all of them of their family.

All of them with their mother.

Namjoon still hadn't explained it all to them. He couldn't.

"Daddy never puts my drawings up," Yoongi complained, glaring at Namjoon.

"Because you keep giving me attitude, Yoongs," Namjoon said, pursing his lips. "Drop the attitude and maybe add a second color besides just black and then I'll pin it up."

"Why do I have to add more colors?" Yoongi complained, flopping on the couch and rolling over. "I don't like the other colors."

"Because if you keep using only black, your school counselor is going to be calling me soon."

"What's a counselor?"

"Never mind."

"DADDY DADDY DADDY DADDY!" Jin yelled, running through the house, grinning. "Look what I found!!"

"What did you- what even-" Namjoon's jaw dropped when he saw Jin's eyes surrounded by thick, poorly-drawn eyeliner.

"I'm so pretty now!" Jin said, twirling. "Aren't I, Daddy?"

"You're really something..." Namjoon said, just staring at the child before shaking his head and smiling. "Let's go wash that off, okay?"

"Aw, but Daddy!"

"But we'll take a picture first," Namjoon compromised, and Jin grinned.

"Take a picture of my pretty face!"

Namjoon took a picture of Jin in his terrifying eye makeup before he dragged Jin back into the bathroom to wipe it all off.

Then Jin grabbed Namjoon's phone and looked at the picture. "Daddy, why did you make me look ugly?!"

Namjoon just shook his head.

"Daddy! Yoongi is taking my pictures!" Taehyung yelled from the kitchen, where Yoongi was mercilessly removing magnets and letting Taehyung's drawings fall to the floor. "Daddy!!"

Namjoon sighed. He was tired, that was for certain. The kids wore him out with all of their little antics.

But he loved them, and he loved watching them grow up.

And that was why he stayed.