Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

xcviii.

The next stop on their re-acclimate-Jimin-to-society trip was, well, the train. He'd never been on one, and Namjoon decided to change that.

Which meant Yoongi was asleep, waking up every few minutes when a bumpy patch on the rails sent his head smacking into the window. He didn't seem to care much for Jimin's little exploratory activities, probably because he'd already been to aquariums and arcades and on dozens of trains, but he still came with. Even if he wasn't conscious.

Jimin was too absorbed in his own world to really mind his hyung's absence. He was sitting in a booth, kicking his legs against the seat and staring out the window as the landscape passed by in a blur before his eyes.

Hobi was unusually quiet, but every now and then, Namjoon would see him turn to the window, his smile reflected in the window. Namjoon wasn't sure what he was so happy about lately, especially after Namjoon had grounded him for giving him a heart attack and Hobi had just smiled back and nodded, saying, "I know."

Kids, he thought, automatically scanning, as he was accustomed to by now, the next head. Taehyung was sitting next to Hobi, bobbing his head back and forth as though he were listening to music (even though he wasn't) and occasionally mouthing some words, accompanied by vague hand gestures. Jungkook was sitting with Jin, who was fawning over the younger as Jungkook giggled and did impressions of kids in his class, mimicking their voices.

The sight softened Namjoon's gaze. He still remembered that one night, not so long ago, a night that his heart broke but was slowly melded back together...

Tae, yelling at Jungkook, ready to draw blood.

"He abandoned you, Jimin! He cares more about himself than he'll ever care about you! The only useful thing he told the cops was just a piece of gossip that he forgot about for 5 years, Jimin! You could have been home within a day, but because of Jungkook, you were stuck there for 5 years! 5 years, Jimin! How many days did you wake up, believing that Jungkook was going to save you, that he knew something that could bring you home? How many days was it until you gave up on him? Then why are you defending him right now?!"

Jimin, sad and hurt and just trying to patch things up the best he could.

"Because nobody else is! Nobody thought to see if Kookie was hurt. Nobody asked Kookie what happened at first. Tae, you tried to hurt him. Everybody else was just worried about me. How is that fair? You all make it worse when you pick sides! Why can't you see that? But I guess I didn't notice it before either. But Kookie is just a kid too! And it hurts him when you all neglect him!"

And Jungkook, feeling guilty and isolated and alone.

"Jungkook, what they were saying...do you really hate Jimin?"

"I did. For a while. I was jealous of him. Everybody was always paying attention to Jimin a d not to me. I know it was wrong. But I couldn't help it. But then...I started yelling at Jimin today...and I hurt him...but he didn't...He didn't hate me back...he said he was sorry...for being the way he is...that he didn't mean to hurt me...I don't hate him anymore, Dad. I swear. And I would take it back if I could."

All of that hurt, that pain, that anger...

And yet now, Jimin was smiling out the window, Taehyung was being a normal dorky kid, and Jungkook was smiling and laughing his his older brother.

Namjoon felt proud. He didn't know if he really deserved to be, since he didn't really believe that it was anything that he'd said that had restored their relationships. He was pretty sure that he'd just been blessed with beautiful, amazing, precious children, and he didn't want to let any of them go, ever.