Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

lxxviii.

"Kim Taehyung."

"Kim Taehyung."

"KIM TAEHYUNG."

Tae jerked, startling awake to the yelling of his name. "Y-yes?"

"The answer, please, Taehyung," the teacher said, her arms folded as she tapped her index finger against her other arm.

Taehyung blinked and stared at the board. "Uh...it's..."

Jungkook coughed and mumbled something under his breath.

"7 pi squared."

The teacher raised her eyebrow. "This is trigonometry, Taehyung, not the area of a circle." She made a sound of disappointment in her throat before calling on someone else as Jungkook murmured a quiet, "Shit."

Taehyung hesitated before whispering, "Thanks for trying."

"I wish I actually knew what the answer is, but it looks like you had more of an idea than me and you've been asleep for the whole lesson," Jungkook whispered back, deflated.

The two went back to their quiet companionship, but both Taehyung and Jungkook couldn't help but feel their hearts beating a little faster. Slowly but surely, their relationship was mending, whether due to their brief fight or due to Jimin's return. They were speaking to each other in school, even if they were only small dialogues about a math problem.

Still. It was something.

***

Jungkook sat alone at a lunch table in the back. He knew that he could be popular if he tried. He was attractive enough, and he could be funny when he wanted to. But he hadn't felt like doing any of that, not for a long time. Partially because it was a lot of effort, always keeping up with people, always having the next joke ready, always prepared to smile and talk and know the name of every person he saw.

But also because he remembered the last time he'd truly been popular.

Pre-school.

He felt ridiculous whenever he thought about it because it was such an insignificant thing, but he couldn't forget about it. Because it was his popularity - his need to be liked and appreciated and given attention - that had led him to neglect Jimin.

And he couldn't ever forgive himself, not even if Namjoon forgave him, not even if Tae forgave him, not even if Jimin forgave him.

It would always be his fault, and he knew that.

And so whenever he thought of trying to get in with the popular crowd, he shuddered away from the thought.

Jimin might be coming back to school with us soon, he thought to himself, staring down at his lunch. He said he's been doing really well in all of his subjects with his tutor. He might be in my class. What am I going to do? How am I going to treat him? If I make other friends, won't I just be neglecting him again? What if something happens, if someone picks on him and I'm not there because I'm hanging out with someone? Who will protect Jimin?

"Mind if I sit here?"

Jungkook looked up.

Of course. Tae will.

"Um...-"

"It wasn't really a question," Tae said, already sitting down. "Or if it was, the only correct answer was yes. I'm your brother for one, and you don't own the table for two, and I'll sit where I want for three."

"Oh."

Tae smiled tensely at Jungkook, still trying to get back into their old rhythm of how they used to be, back when they weren't at each other's throats all the time or trying to avoid the other altogether. He took a bite of his sandwich, and he and Jungkook sat in relatively uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Then, "Thanks again for that thing in math class. I owe you one."