Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

cxxxiii.

"Dinner!" their mom shouted from the kitchen, and Yoongi groaned before following Hobi out of their room. Jimin, meanwhile, was a bit behind since he had to get down the ladder, and he almost missed a rung on four separate occasions, having been woken up from his nap by Yoongi and Hobi's argument.

Hobi and Yoongi took their seats just as their step-father sat down at the table.

"Where's Jimin?" he asked, glancing at the empty chair, and Yoongi tightened his lips.

"He's coming," he said.

Their step-father just made a disappointed frown before clearing his throat and lacing his fingers in front of him. "There's a meet and greet event hosted by my company tomorrow, and since it's a family event, we'll all be going. The same rules apply as last time, and you'll of course have to be in formal attire."

Yoongi did his best not to scowl, but he wasn't sure if he was successful or not.

Hobi just remained quiet.

"We'll be leaving around-" Their step-father cut off as Jimin slipped into the dining room and sat down in his chair. "What is this?" he asked, staring at Jimin, more notably Jimin's pink hair.

"He dyed it to match his friend," their mom said, taking her seat and giving Jimin a small smile. "Hyungwon. Have you met Hyungwon, dear? He's the tall-"

"You knew about this?" he interrupted, looking over at her, and she paused, blinking as she recollected herself.

"Well, I only found out after, but I don't see what the big deal is. A lot of kids dye their hair these days. And it's just until the school dance so while I'm not thrilled that he didn't ask for permission, it's not permanent, just for another week or so-"

"His hair is pink," he snapped, glaring at Jimin, who sank down in his chair and stared at the edge of the table like he was used to the treatment. "Pink. And the business convention is tomorrow night! I can't bring him looking like that! He's be the laughingstock of the whole assembly! Which means I'll be the laughingstock of the whole assembly! Me! After all the hard work and overtime I've put in to make this company a success!"

"Maybe if you worked a little less overtime, you could spend more time with your family," she suggested carefully, not looking up to meet his eyes as she slowly dished food onto Jimin's plate and passed it down to him. He took the plate but didn't pick up his fork or spoon.

"Excuse me? I slave away to bring home money to support this family and it's a problem?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm just saying that-"

"We'll discuss that later. What are we going to do about his hair?"

"Leave it," she said tiredly, clearly not enjoying their argument. "It's just hair, and Jimin's just a kid. It'll grow out or he'll get it cut or-"

"Do you know how important this convention is?" he said, clenching his jaw. "And do you know how important it is to the other chairmen that we attend with our families to demonstrate our level of investment to the company?" He sighed harshly before shaking his head, muttering unintelligibly under his breath before picking up his fork and knife and adding, "You'll all be going. Jimin will remain behind in his room."

Jimin just sucked in his bottom lip before starting to eat, and Yoongi and Hobi followed a second later.

***

Yoongi pulled at his bow tie. It was his second time wearing it in less than two months, and he wasn't thrilled with it. Not at all. "Why do families even need to be here?" he muttered.