xxvii.

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"Daddy, can I eat a piece of candy?"

Namjoon sighed. Halloween had been kind of fun. The kids had been cute (as expected). He'd done as best as he could to avoid the single women in his neighborhood. And they'd gotten tons of candy, either because people felt bad for them or because, again, his kids were the most adorable in the world.

The problem was that now they wanted to eat candy. All the time. For every meal. And between every meal.

"No, Jin. You can't have another piece. You had one earlier, remember?" And that had only occurred because Jin had given him those big pleading eyes that Namjoon had a really really really hard time saying no to.

"But..." Jin swallowed, his eyes already growing wider, and Namjoon quickly looked back at the TV screen. "But, Daddy...It was just one piece...not even a big piece, just a little piece...like this big..."

But Namjoon refused to look over to see Jin's gestures because he knew he'd be sucked into those eyes. "No means no, Jin."

"But, Daddy..."

"No."

"..." Jin sighed. "Daddy, you won't even look at me. Do you not love me?"

"No, Jin. That's not it at all. Not even close."

"Then why are you staring at the TV when it's not even on?"

Namjoon sighed before looking over at Jin. "I love you lots and lots and lots, okay? I love every part of you, from the top hair on your head to your pinky toe. But that means I love your teeth too, okay? And candy isn't good for your teeth."

"But I brush them!" Jin cried out. "I swear! Every night!"

"Every night?"

"W-well, maybe not Friday, but that's because-"

"No more candy. You'll make your stomach sick. Okay, Jin?" Namjoon sighed and raised his voice. "And that goes for all the rest of you who are eavesdropping too, got that?"

Yoongi slid down against the wall, sulking.

Hobi sprawled against him, only for Yoongi to push him off, and then Hobi just laughed it off and leaned against Jimin instead, who patted Hobi's hair with a smile.

"And you all did your homework, right?"

Six pairs of feet could be heard scurrying from the kitchen to their bedrooms to start on the assignments they'd neglected the whole weekend.

Namjoon just sighed. Then he looked over at the TV remote, debating whether or not to try watching a show. He hadn't actually watched TV in...

He couldn't remember the last time. There had simply been no time between making sure his kids didn't cause serious irreparable harm to each other (or other kids in their classes).

He picked up the remote, the weight feeling unfamiliar in his hand, and he hit the power button.

The screen flashed to life, turning on automatically to the news. The world was as he'd left it: ripping itself apart at the seams, tearing itself stitch from stitch. Homicides. Rapes.

Child abuse.

He shook his head, feeling his anger surface as he wondered how. How parents could do that to their own children. How their hearts didn't break as they broke their son or daughter's arm. How they could stand to physically harm the most precious treasure they had.

It made him physically sick.

He moved to change channels, mainly because he'd never let his kids watch anything like that, but then he turned his head left and right. Just for good measure, he checked under the propped-open leg of the couch for his little alien. But they were all gone, studying quietly -

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