Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

cxii.

Jimin waited around anxiously until he heard the doorbell ring, and then he jumped up from his game with Hobi to answer the door, slightly out of breath but with a smile on his face. "H-hi," he said, smiling widely but then pulling his lips back to hide his teeth as though he weren't supposed to show his happiness. "C-come in," he said, opening the door wider, and Hyungwon nodded as he passed Jimin while Jooheon ruffled his hair.

"How have you been, Jimin?" Jooheon asked while Hyungwon took off his shoes.

"You saw him like a day ago," Hyungwon said, rolling his eyes, and Jooheon ignored his little brother.

"I'm okay," Jimin said. "A-and you? H-how are you, h-hyung?"

Jooheon glared at Hyungwon. "I'd be better if he didn't make my life so difficult," he said. "But...on the whole, I'm pretty good." Jooheon paused to look around the house. "I haven't been here in..." He trailed off before looking into the living room. "Hey, Yoongi, Hobi."

"Hey," Yoongi said, not looking up, while Hobi smiled at them.

"I'd suggest something fun, but we're not really fun people," Yoongi said, looking over finally. "And Jin's not here. Not that you two are friends anymore, but whatever."

Jooheon just nodded calmly. "I know. He's at your mom's house, right?"

Yoongi nodded, looking back at the TV, only it wasn't even turned on. "Yeah."

"Do you...do you ever wish that you guys could stay in the same house?" Hyungwon asked quietly, and Yoongi stayed still.

"That's a stupid question," he finally answered.

"Why? Because it's obvious that you want to?" Hyungwon asked, and Yoongi stood up from the couch.

"Because it's obvious that it won't happen," he snapped before going into the kitchen.

"S-sorry," Jimin apologized on Yoongi's behalf, shutting the door. "H-he gets a l-little cranky w-when he d-doesn't have his m-music."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Hyungwon said regretfully before sitting down in Yoongi's previous seat. "Of course you guys would all want to be together."

Jimin smiled sadly as he sat down next to Hyungwon, running his finger around the hole in the knee of Hyungwon's black jeans. "B-but it c-can't happen, not r-right now. We j-just have to wait."

"It's been years, Jimin. How long do you plan to w-"

"Enough, Hyungwon," Jooheon interrupted, sending Hyungwon a look, and Hyungwon pursed his lips before nodding and falling silent. "Jimin? Is there a movie you'd like to watch?"

"I've got one!" Hobi yelled from the other room and came running in to set up his movie of choice.

Jimin just grimaced when he saw that it was one of Tae's horror movies from their room, but he didn't stop Hobi from putting it in.

"Tae said this one was really funny," Hobi said, grinning before squeezing into the remaining space on the couch between Jimin and the end.

Jimin didn't get how a horror movie could be funny to someone, but he just stayed quiet and did his best to control his heartbeat. He'd gotten better at these sorts of things. He didn't cry or latch onto someone anymore. Instead, he just internalized his fear, holding it tightly inside of himself, feeling his muscles contract with every jump scare, his breaths coming out a little shorter than usual, but on the outside, he seemed fine.

That was the game they all played these days. How to make the outside look fine. It wasn't always a challenge. Life wasn't horrible. But Jimin's memories of a better life made the present a bit duller, a bit more painful. It meant that he had to focus on playing the game, even when he didn't want to, because he didn't want to be a burden. He knew that he'd been a burden his entire life, always crying and reaching out to the others for strength, and the one thing he'd learned from ending up in his mother's custody was that the people you love and trust won't always be there for you, even if they said they would, even if they promised, even if they crossed their heart and hoped to die.