Struggling Father • Namjoon!Father + BTS!Adults

iii.

Taehyung closed his eyes and pressed his fingers into his skull. Maybe if he focused hard enough, he could just tune it out.

...Nope.

He exhaled and pushed his chair back in one fluid motion, the chair legs screeching against the floor as he stood up and strode over to the bathroom. He held his fist up to the door and banged once, twice.

The loud, obnoxious singing from the other side didn't end.

"JUNGKOOK! PLEASE BE QUIET!" Tae yelled, partially due to his frustration but also because he needed to be heard over the shower. But mainly out of frustration.

"I can't hear you," Jungkook sang from the other side.

"I'M TRYING TO STUDY!" Tae yelled, his face turning red with anger. He didn't know why Jungkook always felt the need to sing in the shower, nor did he know why Jungkook seemed to only take these overly long, loud showers when Tae was in the middle of studying. As far as he knew, Jungkook was out to ruin his life.

Funny, Tae thought for a moment, the sound of the shower fading for a second. I spent a bit of time in high school planning how to ruin Jungkook's life, didn't I? My seventeen-plus step plan?

Tae's brief moment of nostalgia crashed down around him as he scowled. But screaming in the shower while he was studying was never on that list.

He knocked on the door again. "JUST STOP IT ALREADY!" he yelled.

Finally, finally, the singing cut out, and Tae waited a second to see if it was a trick, but when the silence continued, he nodded in satisfaction and went back to his desk, picking back up the textbook and pen he'd abandoned earlier.

Jungkook emerged from the shower ten minutes later, his hair damp (he was too lazy to dry it properly), and his clothes hanging off his frame at odd angles, like he'd yanked his shirt on and had never bothered to fix it. "Lighten up, would you?" he asked, shooting Tae an annoyed look. "Like you don't sing in the shower."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, you wouldn't know cause you're always out when I'm showering," Tae muttered back.

Jungkook arched an eyebrow and set his hands on his hips, still staring at Tae's back. "Are you mad at me, Tae?"

Taehyung didn't reply.

"Tae, are you mad at me?" Jungkook tried again, trying to keep his tone light, but it really did bother him when they weren't on good terms.

Taehyung didn't turn around to look at him, but he said, "Where were you last night?"

Jungkook blinked, taken aback. "Last night? I got invited to a party over on the other side of..." He trailed off, realizing that Tae didn't really care about his answer. "Why?"

"Where were you supposed to be?" Tae asked instead, and Jungkook blinked once more, equally as surprised as before.

"Huh? Was I supposed to-" He bit his lip and closed his eyes, groaning loudly and throwing a hand up on his forehead in regret. "I'm so sorry I forgot to-"

Tae finally turned around, glaring at Jungkook. "Bullshit. You didn't care last week when you missed it, or the week before, or-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm sorry, all right?"

"No," Tae said, stabbing his uncapped pen toward Jungkook before biting his lip and shoving the cap back on. Damn it if he wasn't worried about the ink drying out. "You don't get it. It's the only time we get to all see each other, and you're never there. I may be sick of you, but Jimin misses you. You know that disappointed face he makes sometimes? Yeah, well, he makes it every week because of you."

Jungkook scoffed. "Oh, please. Like you can even say that to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tae frowned, the anger in his eyes joined by a bit of doubt.

"This is the first time you've talked to me, really talked to me, in how long?

Tae frowned but didn't reply, save for crossing his arms.

"You expect me to believe that you really talk to Jimin?"

Tae scowled. "Unlike you, yes, I actually do. We talked last night."

"Bullshit," Jungkook called, mimicking Tae's earlier comment with a sneer. "I bet you did homework the whole time."

Tae fought to keep an angry frown on his face, but his lips wriggled with annoyance, as he couldn't refute Jungkook's claim. "At least I showed up."

Jungkook laughed, a dark, mocking sound as he gave Tae a slow clap. "He showed up! He showed up, ladies and gentlemen! Somebody give this boy a participation ribbon and a gold star!"

"Says the kid who has missed every single call," Tae spat.

"Yeah, that's real mature. You're just bitter because you spent all your time playing with your textbooks instead of with your nonexistent friends." Jungkook finished his words with a huff, and as the silence fell between the two of them, his ugly words began to sound uglier and uglier to his own ears. "Wait, Tae, I didn't..." He sighed, massaging his brow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I was just-"

"It's fine," Tae said, turning around and uncapping his pen. "Sorry to cut this chat short, but like you said, I have a textbook to hang out with, so."

Jungkook sighed, debating apologizing again, but he knew Tae wouldn't listen. With a frown on his lips, he grabbed his jacket and dorm key and slipped out the door, leaving Tae alone.

Tae forced a smile on his face. It was quiet, finally. That's all he'd wanted. And now he had it.