jangmi (장미) ● taejoon

t h i r t e e n .

  Jangmi has stared at her father, quiet - much of the other parents stared at him as well, but for severely different reasons. Taehyung held her hand firmly, his other hand tapping away at his phone. Of course, he had to dress classy to make sure the other parents knew he meant business; a simple button up with rolled up sleeves, dress pants, and a heavy watch on his wrist. Sunglasses occupied his eyes.

Meanwhile Jangmi just dressed in a simple sundress since the maids usually pick out her school outfits.

"... Papa," she calls for his attention, which she immediately gets.

He shuts off his phone and drops it into his pocket, a small questioning hum leaves his lips.

"Don't be a meanie to Mr. Kim," Jangmi says, squeezing her father's hand. "Please."

Taehyung simply patted her head, her hair clip pressing against his palm. "Let the adults talk."

"Papa!"

The classroom door opened with two parents and a child walking out. "Thank you for coming!" A familiar voice flutters.

Taehyung nodded in gratitude as the father held the door open for the two. Grabbing a hold of the door, Jangmi rushes into the room - calling out "Da- Mr. Kim!"

He watches as his daughter rushes over to the man at the desk, wrapping her arms around his arm and giving him a warm hug he never received before. Taehyung saw a smile
on Jangmi's face, an excited one.

An exhausted Namjoon pats her head softly, before looking at her father for the first time. "... Have a seat," he says. "Make yourself at home."

Taehyung quietly nodded, pulling out a chair. "Come here, Jangmi."

He sits down, patting his thigh for Jangmi to sit on his lap. Instead, she pulls out a chair beside him on her own. Plopping herself on it.

"Good evening, Mr. Kim," Namjoon says with a polite smile, "... I'm Mr. Kim, but you can call me Namjoon if you prefer no formalities."

Taehyung pursed his lisp, crossing his arms. "I'd prefer if you'd call me Mr. Kim," he says, "Professionalism matters doesn't it? I expect you're teaching my daughter well."

Namjoon went quiet before nodding. "Yes, yes of course," he lets out an airy laugh. "Let's get started..."

"Your daughter is a good student," Namjoon opens a folder with Jangmi's name on it, sliding graded papers across the desk toward Taehyung. "She's shy, and sometimes has some hard time socializing with students by herself, but that's okay. Jangmi finds it easier to stay around students she knows. If you see here, you can tell she's really improving on her english and writing skills."

Jangmi puffed her cheeks shyly, kicking her legs out as she looks down at her feet. Taehyung glances at his little girl before looking back at the teacher.

"Shouldn't you be teaching the kids our native language instead of that?" Taehyung scoffs, "She doesn't need english here."

Namjoon stopped himself from frowning. "... Mr. Kim, it's proven that it's better to learn a foreign language at a young age," he says, "English is one of the most desired languages to understand here as well as Japanese."

"What about you, Mr. Kim?" Taehyung asks, "Are you bilingual?"

Namjoon shook his head before taking a deep breath. "... Multilingual," he cups his hands together on the desk, "I studied languages as a young one. English, Japanese, Tagalog, French, and a little bit of cantonese. I can speak three korean dialects and a tagalog dialect known as llocano. What about you, sir?"

Taehyung opened his mouth, but looked over at Jangmi who giggled with her mouth covered. She silenced when they made eye contact with each other.

"... Just English and Korean," Taehyung shakes his head, "Unlike you, Mr. Kim, I didn't have enough time to study. I learned English simply for business purposes."

"I'm sure your daughter would love to learn languages," Namjoon smiles, dimples appearing. "There's no barriers to a voice."

Taehyung leaned over, arms crossed. "... What do you love to do? Hm?"

The man continued to smile. "Well a variety of things. Reading, writing, tending to the children's garden while they're at recess," he rambles, "Not much of bizarre aspects to my daily life, sir. Remember, this conference is about your daughter."

"Let me ask you a question, Mr. Kim," Taehyung sighs, "... You're not teaching the children about LGBTQ are you? Kids shouldn't be focused on things like that."

Namjoon's eyes widen from the sudden question, frowning right after. "No, I am not, but is there any problem for children to know about things like that?" he says, tilting his head slightly. "Sex ed is educational, why shouldn't learning the aspects and differences of love not?"

"What's sex ed?"

"You're not ready to understand yet, Jangmi," Namjoon says.

"You think the parents want to their kids coming home using the word gay, lesbian?" Taehyung shots a look right back at Namjoon.

"I'd like the kids to come home using the words homosexuality and equality, Mr. Kim," Namjoon's hands clenched slightly. "They only learn to associate negativity with LGBTQ because nobody educated them properly or someone taught them incorrectly. It's necessary for me to teach them lessons to make sure they're educated for the real world. Does your view suggest otherwise?"

"... What do these words mean," Jangmi whispered.

"I believe teachers aren't allowed to tell their personal views," Taehyung glared back at Namjoon. "... Or may I say, you are apart of the LGBTQ? You know Korea, conservative. I don't think parents would like their children to learn from a gay man."

"Don't make assumptions about me," Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, "I am a teacher not a gossip topic. My sexuality is irrelevant toward your life, so do not go searching for anything from it. I would prefer if you allowed me to keep my private life to myself and you keep your nose where it is. Thank you for coming to this conference, but I think we're done here."

Taehyung shrugged, standing up. He grabs Jangmi's hand and smirks. "If you listened clearly, none of my views were ever said."

"Excuse me?"

Taehyung leaned over again to whisper.

"I never said my views on you were of a homophobic man, baby."

He pats Namjoon's cheek gently before leaning the classroom with a very confused Jangmi.

[unedited]