Single Dads Club | ym & nj

Chapter 1

"Pop, pop~" Jungkook kept repeating as he curled his toes into the floor of the bathtub, not recognizing the texture as it was something he hadn't experienced before.

"Yeah, you like to feel the pops?" Jimin asked as he gently rubbed a washcloth across his two-year-old son's back, earning an excited nod in response. Jimin had taped bubble wrap to the bottom of the tub in preparation for Jungkook's bath time at the suggestion of the young boy's therapist. He was glad he had done so, as Jungkook really enjoyed it.

As Jimin was rinsing the soap from Jungkook's skin, the boy scooped up some bubbles in his hands and held them up to show his dad. "Ook at bubbas, Daddy!"

"I see the bubbles!" Jimin responded, soon after blowing at the bubbles which made Jungkook erupt in laughter as they swirled around him in the air. "Alright, are you all clean?"

"Ah cean!" Jungkook exclaimed, holding his arms up as if showing off how clean they were to his dad.

"Then let's get you out of there before you shrivel up!" Jimin pulled the plug out of the drain as Jungkook stood up, giggling at the popping sound the bubble wrap gave as his weight shifted. "You wanna be a puppy dog tonight?"

"Puppy~" Jimin pulled a fluffy brown towel off the shelf next to the bathtub and wrapped it around Jungkook before lifting him out of the tub. "Bye bye, wawa~" Jungkook waved at the water that was disappearing down the drain as Jimin located the hood attached to Jungkook's towel.

"Are you ready to be a puppy?" Jungkook nodded, kicking his legs slightly which caused a struggle for Jimin who was trying to hold him with only one arm at the moment. He quickly pulled the hood over Jungkook's head, one of the floppy ears that were attached to make him look like a dog falling into Jungkook's face. "There's my little puppy dog!"

"uf, uf~" Jungkook attempted to bark like a dog as Jimin carried him into his bedroom, but he was only able to produce the 'f' sound at the end of the word.

Jimin set him down on the floor in the middle of his bedroom and sat in front of him as he began to dry him off, making sure to use slow strokes of the towel so Jungkook could feel the fluffy fabric against his skin. "What jammies do you wanna wear tonight?"

"Paw 'trol~"

"You wanna wear your Paw Patrol jammies?" Jungkook nodded in response to Jimin's question as he waited for him to finish drying off. "Do you remember where your pull ups are?" Jungkook looked around for a minute before pointing to the low shelf with colorful boxes holding various necessities of Jungkook's that sat in the corner of his room by his closet. "I can't know what you're pointing at if you don't tell me. What is that?" In all honesty, Jimin was perfectly content with just following where Jungkook pointed, but Jungkook's preschool had shared concerns about the boy's speech development, so Jimin was working at encouraging Jungkook to use his words more.

"Sef!"

"That's right, it's the shelf!" Jungkook clapped his hands, proud of himself for getting it right. "Can you go get a pull up while I get your jammies?" Without a response, Jungkook was toddling across the room to the shelf as Jimin scooted to the dresser right next to the toddler's bed to pull one of the many pairs of Paw Patrol themed pajamas out of the bottom drawer. When the boy returned, Jimin held out the pull up for him to step into followed by his pajamas pants. He began to pull the boy's shirt over his head but paused as the shirt covered the boy's face. "Where'd Kookie go?" Jimin quickly tugged the shirt down so Jungkook's head popped out. "There he is!" Jungkook laughed loudly as Jimin guided his arms into the sleeves of the shirt. Jungkook got his right arm through the sleeve with no trouble, but his left hand got stuck for a second. "OH no, where'd your hand go?" Jungkook kept smiling and giggling as Jimin tugged the sleeve back until Jungkook's hand was free and visible. "I found it!" Jimin leaned in and rubbed his nose against Jungkook's as the boy fell into another fit of laughter. "You ready to go to bed?"