“So…” Jin started as he followed Namjoon down the spice aisle. After introducing themselves, he had offered to help Namjoon with the rest of his list, and the man was obviously relieved to have some help. “Is the chef your only child or do you have others?”

Namjoon watched as Jin placed the spices Hoseok had written on the list into his cart for him. “I actually have three. All teenage boys.” Namjoon nodded as Jin visibly cringed for him. “Yeah, it’s rough.”

“Trust me, I understand. I have two teenage boys of my own.” Jin laughed slightly, and while some people in the store were turning around to try to find the source of the strange noise, Namjoon smiled at the sound of his laughter. “Although I guess I’m fairly lucky, because they’re pretty good boys.”

“Mine are pretty good too, it’s just one of them that can be a pain sometimes.” Namjoon looked down at the floor. “He’s not too happy about having to live with me now.” Although Namjoon tried to hide it, Jin was able to detect the pain in his voice and looked at him with concern. Part of him was also confused by what the man meant about his son having to live with him now, but opted not to ask, as it was too early to be delving that deep into each other’s lives, considering they were still technically strangers in a grocery store.

“Well, I’m sure things will get better soon.” He smiled softly at the man, earning a small smile in return. “Now, let’s see how well you do picking out fruits and vegetables.” The two of them made their way to the produce section, their conversation switching to something lighter.

By the time they’d finished getting all the items from Hoseok’s list and checked out with their groceries, the two of them found themselves not wanting to part. Sadly, it was inevitable. “So, I guess I’ll see you when I come check out your restaurant?” Namjoon asked as they exited the store.

“Yes, and I am going to hold you to that.” Jin jokingly poked Namjoon’s chest. “If you don’t come, I will hunt you down and drag you there myself.”

Namjoon chuckled at Jin’s joke. “Well I certainly wouldn’t want that to happen.” After they both calmed down from their laughter, they awkwardly exchanged goodbyes and waves before going opposite directions to their respective cars.

A few weeks passed and even though part of Jin still waited for the day that Namjoon would walk through the diner doors, most of his attention was drawn to Jungkook, who’s seizures had started to happen more frequently. Most days, Jin was having to send the 14-year-old up to their apartment to rest, meaning he had to stay in the kitchen full time with Yoongi taking Jungkook’s place waiting on tables.

Although he was constantly trying to get Jungkook to tell him what was going on, Jungkook refused to tell his brother and father about what was going on in school. He thought that telling them that he was being bullied by Taehyung would make him weak, so he wanted to handle it by himself. It was proven hard though, as Taehyung had made a daily practice of tormenting Jungkook during gym. Whether it be stealing his snack every day or targeting him specifically during dodgeball (Taehyung hadn’t even seemed that upset when the coach made him run laps after he nailed Jungkook in the head with the ball that one time), there never seemed to be a break.

Not only had the stress from being the target of a bully affected his epilepsy, it had also spread into other aspects of his life, as was proven when his Language & Literature teacher asked him to stay behind in class. “Don’t worry, I’ll write you a pass to your next class.” Namjoon assured Jungkook as the boy shyly approached his desk while the rest of his class filtered out into the hallway.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Kim?” Jungkook asked, nervously biting his bottom lip.

“That’s what I’d like to know, Jungkook. Is everything okay with you?” It was obvious that Jungkook was confused, so Namjoon elaborated. “The first two weeks of class you were doing great, definitely one of the top students of the class…” Jungkook blushed at that, as praise always flustered him. “However, the last few weeks have been different.” Namjoon pulled two sheets of paper out, one was an essay they had turned in the previous week and the other a worksheet they had completed over the weekend and turned in at the beginning of class. “Your personal narrative essay started off strong, but about halfway through it kind of…fell apart. And it looks like you struggled with your homework over the weekend. These are just the most recent examples. So, is everything okay?” Namjoon tried to maintain eye contact with his student, but the 14-year-old was obviously trying to avoid that. “If you need any extra help with anything, or if you need some time accommodations for your assignments, I’m willing to do that.”

Jungkook shook his head. “That’s not necessary, Mr. Kim, I’ve just been a little stressed and it affected my schoolwork.”

“Okay, but just remember, I am here to help.” Namjoon moved to grab a late pass for Jungkook to take to his next teacher.

“Is that all?” Jungkook asked with hope, that quickly fading as he saw his teacher grab a letter that he had seen in the hands of his classmates many times before.

“I wish it were.” Namjoon smiled sadly at Jungkook. “As you know, we’re halfway through the first quarter, and this week we’