The door has been closed for at least two minutes now, ever since Namjoon stumbled through it while fumbling out an awkward ‘thank you.’ What Jin remembers most is the look of shock in the man’s eyes. He wonders if his impulsive actions have pushed the man further away. Namjoon had sunk into the hug so effortlessly; it felt so natural holding the tall blond in his arms. Even now, Jin still feels the ghost of the man’s breath on his neck. He sighs, worried that he’s ruined his chance.

“Appa.” A tug on his shirt breaks his concentration. He looks down to find Taehyung looking up at him. “Can we have cookies before dinner?”

“Before dinner?” He asks, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“Mmm, cause, cause, cause it’s a special casion,” Taehyung explains, and Jin runs his son’s statement through the five-year-old translator in his brain.

“Ahh, you mean a special occasion.”

“Mmm, Kookie and Minnie are at my house. It’s a special casion, like my birthday. Can we have cookies?” Taehyung’s eyes are wide, and Jin finds it hard to say no.

After cookies, dinner, and somehow tricking Jin into ice cream (Hoseok’s right about Taehyung) the three five-year-olds are so tired they fall asleep in a tangled mess of arms and legs surrounded by what quite literally seems to be every toy Taehyung owns. Post separating the trio and tucking them into bed, he looks around at the room which appears to have been hit by a category ten hurricane made up of legos, matchbox cars, and stuffed animals. Taehyung’s room is a mess, one that Jin chooses to leave until after he’s dropped the boys at school in the morning.

After a shower and a plethora of sappy romantic comedies, Jin still has not been able to get the look of sheer terror and embarrassment that he saw on Namjoon’s face out of his mind.

“, did I screw things up?” he asks the empty room but receives no answer.

He doesn’t look at the time when he hits Hoseok’s speed dial number

“Hello,” Hoseok answers the phone groggily.

“Were you sleeping?” Jin asks, somewhat surprised

“It’s three in the morning, hyung. What were you expecting?”

“, is it really that late? , sorry Hobs, go back to bed.” Jin responds, finally looking at his phone screen.

“I’m awake now. Plus I wasn’t sleeping all that well anyway since my precious child’s at your house and not mine. How is he? Is he having fun?” He can hear the urgency in Hoseok’s voice.

“Yes, he’s fine. They played so hard they fell asleep in a pile on the floor, and I had to sort them like laundry to put them to bed. I swear nothing makes a house feel more like home than the sound of happy laughter.”

“Which explains why my house currently feels cold and empty. I miss my little boy. The next sleepover with the cousins happens here.” Hoseok says firmly, and Jin chuckles.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“So, what’s up?" Hoseok asks. "You obviously need to talk since you called at this cruel, evil hour.”

“I did something stupid, well maybe more like impulsive, and I’m worried I may have screwed up things with Namjoon. I mean, there is no actual thing, but there is something, you know? But I may have messed up my chance for that something to be a real thing.” Jin rambles.

“Look, it’s three ing o’clock in the morning, hyung, and while my eyes may be open, it doesn’t mean my brain’s awake enough to solve riddles. Speak clearly. What did you do?”

“I hugged him…and, and--it felt so right. I didn’t want to let him go. I think I ed up.” Jin sighs on the line.

“Did he say anything?” Hoseok asks.

“He thanked me and then bolted out my door like he remembered he left his stove on and his kitchen was on fire. The look on his face after, Hobs,” Jin says with a sigh, “fear, worry, anxiety. I told myself I’d control my emotions, you know? But he looked so sad when Jungkook ran inside without saying goodbye; like he was about to cry, and I just reached out and before I knew it, he was in my arms, breathing against my neck, and I swear to God it took all my will-power to let him go.”

“Damn. I feel for you man.”

“Why? Do you think I made a mistake? , do you think he’ll stop letting Jungkook hang out with Taehyung? I can handle Namjoon rejecting me, but I can’t handle knowing I did something that made my child sad. , what did I do?” Jin can feel anxiety chewing away at his insides, creating tiny holes of doubt and insecurity.

“Woah, dial it back. You hugged him, that’s all. And before you say it, yes I understand he has, uhm issues, that, uhm, make things complicated. But he’s human Jin, and so are you. I know you, and you wouldn’t have hugged him unless he needed it. Stop beating yourself up and stop worrying. It was just a hug, friends hug.” Hoseok’s words bring a smidgen of comfort, but not enough to calm the winds of worry swirling in the recesses of his mind.

“Mmm, maybe you’re right. Sorry for waking you up Hobs, this has just been a day.”

“Oh, did something else happen?” Hoseok inquires, and Jin chuckles because he can picture the man with his eyebrows arched inquisitively.

“Nothing with Namjoon. Get your mind out of the gutter. I told you he ran off.”

Hoseok sighs forlornly, dramatically, and Jin laughs so hard at his friend’s antics he almost rolls off the bed.

“I’m saddened,” Hoseok says with a chuckle. “So, what else happened?”

“Homework.”

“Homework? Like you’re gonna give me some?”

“No, why would I-” Jin holds the phone away and stares at it in disbelief, then he remembers it’s three in the morning, and he woke Hoseok up. “No, I was helping Tae, and it was traumatic for both of us.”

“He’s in kindergarten, how traumatic can it be? Find the number three and color it red, that’s the stuff Jimin brings home.” Hoseok sounds genuinely confused.

“Mmm, exactly. Only your child is Jimin. Jimin’s cute and cuddly and colors within the lines. My child’s Taehyung. Taehyung’s loveable and kind and has no idea where the lines even are.” Jin isn’t frustrated; he’s not.

Taehyung’s smart, incredibly smart, and for the most part he understands what needs to be done when it comes to school work. The child just likes to do it his own way, and Jin’s a firm believer that there are many roads that lead to the same destination. He’s proud that Taehyung can navigate school work in his way and still find the right answers. However, there are days like today when homework is like going to war.

“So, all he has to do is trace the letters of the words in the sentence and then color the picture below the sentence. That’s it. He doesn’t have to write anything or draw anything. Just trace and color. That’s all,” Jin starts.

“Mmm, yeah, Jimin brought home the same thing,” Hoseok confirms. There’s a non-verbal “so” hidden in the man’s tone, and Jin pictures the Hoseok perched on the edge of his bed, anxiously waiting for the rest of the story.

Jin inhales and sighs.

“He traces 'this is for yo-'. It’s supposed to be you. He can’t make out the u because the ink is so light. For reasons that neither of us has figured out, he decides to write a j instead. Then dares to get mad because ‘appa yoj isn’t a word.’ No, Tae, no it’s not.” Jin shakes his head.

Hoseok’s laughing, hard. Too hard.

“I love that kid.”

“Oh wait, there’s more. The picture under the sentence is a gift-wrapped present, which he only has to color. Just color. He loves coloring; he also loves eating orange crayons, but I digress. He looks at the picture and says, ‘the sentence doesn’t say prezent.’ That made me proud because look at that comprehension,” Jin says with fatherly pride. “It all went awry when he decided he needed to fix that problem by writing the word present. Only he doesn’t believe me when I tell him to how to spell it and declares war against the letter n. So now his homework says ‘this is for yoj preszt.’ Because oh, he didn’t want to write a second e because ‘but appa there’s already an e there.’ I barely got out of homework alive.”

“Sounds like it,” Hoseok says in between chuckles, and Jin can’t even be upset about being laughed at. If this were happening to someone else, he’d be in tears from laughing so hard.

“As you can see, I’ve had quite the day. The man I like ran away from me, and my child turned homework into a battle royale. This is why I needed to talk to my dearest friend. Sorry for waking you, though. I honestly had no idea it was this late.”

“S’okay, like I said, sleep is fitful when Jimin is not with me. I worry something will happen.” Hoseok’s reply hits a nerve. Jin can tell by the way his friend’s tone changes that there’s more going on than just Jimin not being home.

“Did something happen, Seok?” he asks, and Hoseok sighs hard, his breath trembling through the line.

“They hired a lawyer.” Hoseok’s words tumble out his mouth hard, angry, fierce. “They ing retained an attorney so they can try and take my child away from me. What the , hyung? They aren’t his parents. I am. Me. I’ve raised him. I’m there when he’s hurt, angry, happy, sad… me. Why the hell are they doing this?”

“A lawyer?” Seokjin repeats the phrase, uncertain of what to say next. “Do they even have a case? I mean, there’s no neglect, nothing they can use against you, right?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I did talk to my attorney today, and he said it would be a battle for them because they have to prove that both Yong-sun and I are unfit parents. I just feel so angry, you know? How dare they try to take something that doesn’t belong to them. Jimin is my child. But then I remember that's how they work. They steamroll you until they get what they want. They’re in for a fight because they get Jimin over my dead body.” Hoseok’s breathing heavy on the line, harsh exhales hitting Jin’s ears as though the younger man had expelled all his energy and is fighting for air.

“Hoseok-ah, how long have you been going through this?” Jin asks.

Hoseok hides a lot of pain behind his big smile and his bubbly, sunshine personality. It’s taken Jin years to crack the mask and be one of the few people that sees the real Jung Hoseok. Admittedly, lately he’s been too preoccupied with Taehyung’s antics and thoughts of Namjoon to be the kind of friend Hoseok deserves. He decides now is the right time to change that.

“Tell me what I can do, how can I help? Jongin’s new love interest is a lawyer. Maybe I can ask some questions for you?”

“Mmm, s’okay hyung, just having you on my side is enough. I think I just needed to vent, you know? I feel better now that I’ve gotten it off my chest. Yong-sun just wrapped up her tour so she’ll be in town next week. Jimin’s so excited; he keeps telling Sushi the cat that his omma is coming to take him to a conskirt. I think having her close by will be good because we can put up a united front. Sorry for being a downer, hyung,” Hoseok apologizes, and Jin feels guilty.

“Hobs, how many times have I cried on you over something. I’m sorry for not seeing sooner that you needed to talk as well. Maybe it’s fate that I called you at this hour in the morning. Let’s have lunch tomorrow. I’m picking up Tae and Kook from school. Let me pick up Jimin, too. We can go to that lunch place with the indoor playground, and we can talk while the boys play.”

“I’d like that, hyung. Thanks.” Hoseok sounds less stressed. “So, Jongin is dating someone new? What happened to the last guy, the producer, the short one with the serious face and the doe eyes?”

“According to Jongin, he and Kyungsoo just weren’t meant to be a couple, but they’re still good friends. He seems to really like this guy, though. Keeps gushing over how, uhm, big he is, and to be honest, I haven’t asked for context so big could mean any number of things,” Jin says with a chuckle.

“Knowing Jongin, big only means one thing.” Hoseok laughs, and it’s genuine, and Jin smiles at the sound. “I feel like haven’t seen your partner in a while.”

“The practice has been busy lately; it’s why I took these couple days off. I needed to spend some time with Tae and reconnect with my kid. Jongin has it under control, though, so I’m not worried. Plus the mom’s like him better anyway.”

“Please, if I were a mother, I’d pretend my kid was sick on a daily so I could go to the flower doctors,” Hoseok emphasizes the title, and Jin grimaces.

“Please tell me people don’t still call us that?” He shakes his head at the thought.

“Yeah, that article sealed your fates, my friend,” Hoseok reminds him with a chuckle. “, it’s four-thirty. I have a meeting in five hours. I’ll call the school later and let them know you’re picking up Jimin.”

“Okay, rest well. See ya tomorrow.”

The first thing Namjoon notices is not the live mannequins in gold body paint draped on ropes throughout the room. Nor is it the chocolate fountain in the center of the room surrounded by every dessert imaginable. It isn’t even the ice sculpture of his face next to a cut out of his latest novel (although it is the second thing). No, the first thing Namjoon notices when he and Yoongi enter the elaborately decorated hall, is the stage. His fingers are distressing the sleeve of Yoongi’s stylish Gucci blazer.

“Hyung, why is there a stage?” Namjoon inquires, certain he will not approve of the answer.

“Not sure. There was no mention of a speech,” Yoongi replies, patting Namjoon’s hand to calm him down.

“I c-can’t; you know that right? I can’t stand up on that stage. I’m barely hanging on as it is,” Namjoon’s voice shakes.

The room is large. Well, to normal eyes, the room is large. To Namjoon, the room is a match-box, and he’s jammed in the center of it, barely able to fit. His heart pounds harder in each chest each time some random person bows to him and extends their hand in his direction. He’s not good with crowds, not good at all, and he wants to run away. Gripping Yoongi’s arm tighter, he feels somewhat guilty when he hear