Jin woke up on Saturday morning with a lot on his mind. Bora’s funeral was tomorrow and that fact was persistently bugging him but he tried with all of his might to push that thought away. The triplets were coming over today, and the house had to feel welcoming. And the first step to a welcoming home was the people living inside. A kind smile and a pleasant aura was all it took.

But today, no one in the house was feeling exactly pleasant . Heechul was in the backyard speaking to his employees back in the States about managing the company while he was here. The fact that the speaking had quickly shifted to frustrated yelling was a sign that it wasn’t going as smoothly as he thought.

Jiyong stubbed his toe and was instantly thrown into a bad mood.

Despite their night of passion last night, while Namjoon was sleeping, he fell out of the bed and bumped his head. Hoseok had a bad dream, and Yoongi refused to get from under his covers.

But with the triplets coming over at noon and it already being 10:30, they needed to fix this. Fast.

“Come here, Hobi. It’s time to get out of bed now,” Namjoon cooed, ignoring the slight throbbing in his head still. Even though Hobi put up a bit of resistance since he didn’t want to get out of bed, Namjoon was able to get the boy from bed and onto his hip. “Let’s go walk around the house and I’m going to show you that there is no monster hiding anywhere in here.”

“What about Gi,” Hoseok whispered, wiping at his tear-filled eyes.

“I’m going to get him out of bed,” Jin reassured. He vaguely heard Yoongi say “No” from under his covers at that. Hoseok still whined a little about having to leave the room, but he clung onto Namjoon’s head for dear life as Joon slowly carried him out of the room,  Hobi to see for himself that there was no monster outside of his door.

When the door closed behind him, Seokjin turned to the lump under Yoongi’s covers. “Are you afraid of the monster too, Yoongi bear?”
“No. I just don’t want to be looked at?”

“Why not, sweetie?”

“Because…”

That one word alone was enough to let Seokjin know exactly what was bothering Yoongi. Enough to know that Yoongi didn’t exactly know what was wrong with himself, but luckily, Jin had done some research on social anxiety.

It wasn’t a fear of people, matter of fact, sometimes kids who suffered from social anxiety actually wanted to socialize. It was the fear of doing something embarrassing that would lead to them to being rejected or disliked. It was the fear of being e valuated by others.

But Yoongi was only six, he didn’t know what he was afraid of. Only knew that he was afraid of something.

“Sweetheart, are you scared that people will laugh at you today. Or that you’ll be embarrassed if something happens?”

The lump under the cover was still for a moment. “You don’t have to be scared to tell me, Yoongi. Appa just wants to know what you’re thinking.”  

There was a small, “yes.” Jin smiled to himself a bit and leaned his chin on the mattress of the top bunk where Yoongi laid.

“What about when Daddy is being clumsy and he falls down or he hurts his toe? Do you laugh at Daddy because you think Daddy is ugly and you don’t want to be around him anymore. Or do you laugh with Daddy?”

“I… I laugh with Daddy.”

“Right. What about when I’m doing an embarrassing, weird dance that makes you and Hoseok laugh? Do you not like me anymore? Or do you laugh with me?”

“I laugh with you…”

“Exactly… Sometimes you’re going to do embarrassing things and people will laugh. But it’s not because they don’t like you. When people look at you, Yoongi-Bear, it doesn’t mean that they think something bad , it could mean the exact opposite. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Appa.”

“So, can you come from under the covers please?” Seokjin asked lightly. Jin was expecting the bit of hesitance and even was ready to have to ask to ask Yoongi another time to come from under there.

But none of that was needed. After a few seconds, Yoongi slowly removed his blankets from over his head, his little eyes squinting at having to adjust to the sudden bout of sunlight spilling into the room after being under the covers for so long. With his superman pajamas clad on his pale body and his black hair thrown every which way, Seokjin couldn’t help but coo at the sight of him.

“My beautiful boy,” Seokjin giggled, reaching to pull Yoongi onto his hip.

“Really?” Yoongi asked, snuggling his face into Jin’s neck.

“Of course! And I’m so proud of you for facing your fears and getting from under the covers. That was so brave of you.”

It was soft and barely there, and if Yoongi wasn’t so close to his ear, Jin wouldn’t have been able to hear the small giggle fall from Yoongi’s lips. Holding him even closer, Jin placed several wet kisses to Yoongi’s face. Giggles gradually turned into screams for help because “Too much! Too many kisses! Stop!”

Judging by the over exaggerated screams that could only be coming from Hobi and Namjoon and Jiyong’s laughter that followed, Jin was glad to be able to say that the majority of the house was in a pleasant mood now.

“He’s really sick. We gave him some medicine before we left home so he should be fine in a while,” Mrs. Kang warned as she said as she carefully placed the smallest of the triplets into Namjoon’s cradled arms. Well, so much for going to get ice cream.

“Okay, so this is Jimin.” Namjoon said to himself in a hushed voice as he rocked the sickly boy back and forth softly. While being rocked, Jimin whimpered quietly and nodded his head. Namjoon smiled and continued to soothe him. It was unreasonable but just one look at Jimin’s tear-stricken, chubby cheeks made Namjoon want to care for the boy for the rest of his life.

“Is he the youngest?” Jin asked. It was more than obvious that when Mrs. Kang gave Jimin to Namjoon, the other two boys- Taehyung and Jungkook Mr. Kang had told them- had visibly tensed. They were obviously protective of Jimin so it made sense for him to be the youngest of the three.

“No, he’s actually the oldest,” Mr. Kang laughed in a frail voice. “He’s a small one, isn’t he? Very soft spoken too.” While saying that, he placed a hand on both Taehyung and Jungkook’s head as a silent sign of reassurance that they were okay and so was Jimin.

Jin smiled at that. It was obvious that Mr. and Mrs. Kang were very fond of the triplets and loved them a great deal. It must really bother the elderly couple that they couldn’t care for the triplets themselves. But they knew it was close to impossible because the couple wasn’t getting any younger and at such a vital age, the triplets needed all of the constant care and attention they could possibly get. Care and attention that Mr. and Mrs. Kang couldn’t give no matter how much they wanted to.

“Well, hello, you two.” Jin smiled as he kneeled to be on eye-level with Jungkook and Taehyung. The two boys instantly grabbed for each others hand and held each other tightly. It was natural for them to be afraid so Jin stayed patient.

“Hi.” Taehyung muttered before leaning over to whisper something in Jungkook’s ear. It was a short whisper since he only leaned over for a split second before Jungkook uttered a small, “Hello.”

“I’m Seokjin. You can call me Jin or Jinnie or whatever else you like. This is Namjoon. You can call him Joon or Joonie. I always call him Joonie though.” Namjoon gave a sweet, dimpled smile as his greeting since his hands were still holding Jimin and he was trying to be as quiet as possible as to not wake Jimin who was slowly falling into a deep slumber.

“I’m Taehyung. Call me Tae. Right, Paw?” the boy said ecstatically. He was holding tightly onto his backpack strap that must be holding all of his snacks and possibly a change of clothes just in case they got dirty today.

“That’s right. TaeTae is what they like to call him.”

“My name… Jungkook.” Unlike Tae who seemed to be very sociable and was a lot like Hoseok when it came to meeting new people, Jungkook was shy. At least upon first glance he was shy. Maybe he’d open up in no time, especially with Taehyung by his side. It was like Hoseok and Yoongi.

“We call him Kookie,” Mrs. Kang said. She pinched Kookie’s cheek who gave a bright smile in return.

“Appa?” It was Hoseok’s voice. He most likely was wondering when he and Yoongi could come up front again. Jin had only told them to go play in their rooms for a little while so the triplets weren’t overwhelmed with too much at once. Heechul and Jiyong were there to give them company at first but they left for the day, both having to deal with their jobs. So now, Hoseok and Yoongi were most likely bored being back there all alone.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Jin said, turning towards where the voice resounded from. Just like he thought, Hoseok was peeking from behind the wall. Yoongi was right next to him.

“Can we say hi to new brothers?”

Jungkook and Taehyung were peeking right back at the Hoseok and Yoongi. “Um,” Jin looked to Namjoon who nodded his head. “Yeah, come meet Jungkook and Taehyung.”

Hoseok was jetting from behind the wall at full speed towards them while Yoongi only walked close behind. He was nervous and really anxious, Jin and Namjoon could tell. But with Hobi next to him, they were sure Yoongi thrived off of Hoseok’s excitement and knowing that he wasn’t going into the situation alone.

“Hi! I’m Hobi. This is my big brother, Yoongi!” Hoseok introduced with that sunshine smile. If Taehyung didn’t seem so amused by Hoseok’s personality, Jin wouldn’t told Hobi to tone it down a little bit.

“I can tell them my name by myself,” Yoongi said, folding his arms across his chest. “My name is Yoongi.” He reiterated.

“My name is Taehyung. This is my Jungkook.” Taehyung pointed to Jungkook with his other hand that wasn’t interlocked with Jungkook’s before pointing to a sleeping Jimin. “That’s Jimin. He’s sick though.”

“We should make soup for him!” Hoseok said. “Right, Yoongi? Be so nice and make him feel better.”

“I think so. But what if it’s too hot?” Yoongi questioned quietly. Hoseok’s smile dropped at hearing that. They didn’t want to burn Jimin’s tongue.

“We blow it,” Taehyung said. Jungkook took a deep breath and let out a loud blow of breath as something of a model of what they would have to do to the hot soup. Jin and Namjoon laughed, wondering if Taehyung and Jungkook were always this in sync with one another. And if Jimin was just as synchronized when he wasn’t sick with a severe cold.

“That’s so smart,” Yoongi praised. “We should start making soup before he wakes up.”

“Daddy, can we-” Hoseok began loudly but Namjoon quickly shushed him.

“Hobi, you’re loud. Jimin is sleeping,” Namjoon whispered. The four kids all gave shocked looks as if they forgot that quickly that Jimin was sleeping in Namjoon’s arms.

“Sorry,” they all began to mutter.

“You know what, how about we go make the soup for Jimin while Namjoon goes to lie him down in bed,” Jin suggested in a quiet, quiet whisper to the four boys. They all nodded frantically, their lips all sealed, careful not to make even a peep of sound.

“Okay, so let’s go.”

Jungkook and Taehyung quickly hugged their grandparents and bid them a goodbye and told them that they’d see them later. Locking the door behind the elderly couple, the five of them went into the kitchen to make soup while Namjoon carried the boy into Yoongi and Hoseok’s room to lie Jimin in bed.

They’d have to wash Hoseok’s bedsheets and disinfect the room after Jimin woke up because Hoseok being sick and his vibrant personality never was an easy combination to deal with. Neither was Yoongi’s defiant personality combined with being sick any more pleasant either so Namjoon wanted to eliminate the risk of them getting sick at all.

The soup was in the fridge cooling off a bit and the kids, Jin, and Namjoon were all feasting happily on cookies in front of the television when Jimin woke up with loud cries and whimpers. Namjoon was the first to his feet as he rushed to Hoseok and Yoongi’s room with everyone else right behind him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Jimin,” Namjoon shushed as he unraveled the boy from the blankets he’d wrapped him in. Jimin was shivering and trembling yet he was still covered in a coat of sweat. “My poor Jiminie. You’re okay,” Namjoon continued to coo. He laid the back of his hand on Jimin’s head.

“Jin, he’s burning up,” Namjoon sighed. “I think this is more than just a cold.”

“Try taking some of his clothes off,” Jin advised. “Yoongi Bear, can you go get me a towel and a ice pack from the fridge so I can cool little Jimin off?” Yoongi was running off immediately. He was always Appa and Daddy’s little helper.

Sensing Namjoon and Jin’s worry and the fact that Jimin’s piercing cries were bordering on uncomfortable and painful, Hoseok, Jungkook, and Taehyung hesitantly walked closer to Namjoon who was gently shrugging Jimin’s socks off.

“Jiminie… what wrong?” Taehyung asked softly. Jimin’s cries were so loud that he probably didn’t hear him.

“Jiminie, sweetheart. Can you tell me what hurts?” Namjoon asked. “I need you to calm down a little bit, okay?” But that was met with even more weak, tired cries. After taking off his socks and replacing his jeans with a pair of thin shorts that Yoongi grew out of, Namjoon cradled Jimin to his chest.

At being held, Jimin’s cries instantly got a bit quieter. Yoongi was back with the ice and towel and handed it to Jin while still looking on curiously, just like the rest of them. Wrapping the ice in the towel, Jin sat next to Namjoon on Hoseok’s bed and placed it lightly on Jimin’s head.

“Jiminie… tell us what’s hurting please,” Jin asked. He would’ve thought that the boy was sleep again if it weren’t for the fact that he was hiccuping and his eyes were open in thin lines. He looked exhausted.

“My… h-head. My t-tummy. I… I hot. And I cold.” Jimin’s face had scrunched up again as he started whimpering again. Almost like he wanted to cry again, but he was too tired to.

“It’s okay,” Namjoon said as Jin reached over to wipe the tears from his face. Jimin really was burning up.

“You want soup?” Jungkook asked. Jimin blinked a few times before shaking his head, the ice pack falling to the floor. Hoseok quickly picked it up and placed it on Jimin’s forehead again.

“No,” he muttered. “No soup.”

“You have to eat something, sweetheart,” Jin said. “It’ll make you feel a little better.”

Jimin was blinking sleepily again like he was trying to stay awake. “Okay…”

Taking that as a yes, Jin was on his feet again, giving the four other boys a quick reassuring smile that everything was okay before leaving to get the soup and a spoon. When he got back, they all were sitting on the floor in a circle. Jimin was sitting in Namjoon’s lap, his eyes practically closed and his body pretty limp. His legs were stretched out in front of him with the cold towel settled on the back of his neck.

He sat next to Namjoon and Jimin again with the bowl of soup in hand. “Say ‘Ahh,’” Jin prompted. Jimin hadn’t opened his mouth immediately, but Jungkook, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Yoongi all did. Jin and Namjoon couldn’t help but giggle. The soft giggle turned into a laugh when Jimin actually opened his mouth for the soup after watching everyone else do it.

It was such an endearing sight that Jin could watch over and over again. So it seemed that Jimin was also in sync with Jungkook and Taehyung.

With each spoon of soup, Jimin would gingerly take a bite and thoughtfully chew it until swallowing. It was a slow process but Jin was just glad that Jimin was eating.

Over the next ten minutes, Jin spoon-fed a half sleeping Jimin while the other kids kept themselves occupied by laughing at some funny faces they were making at each other. They’d made a game out of it. One of them would do something funny and if others laughed, they win. Namjoon would even join in on their little game sometimes while gently holding Jimin.

When Jimin had completely fallen back to sleep, the bowl of soup was almost gone so Jin carried it back to the kitchen. Namjoon felt Jimin’s head again and scolded himself for not taking his temperature while the boy was awake. But Jimin seemed to have cooled down a bit so Namjoon lied him back in bed under just one layer of blankets.

Jin was about to head back to the room when his cell phone started to ring from in the living room where they were all watching tv. He contemplated just ignoring the call to go and care for Jimin more but he trusted Namjoon enough to answer just one phone call.

Getting to the living room and finding his phone under the sofa, Jin quickly answered it, seeing that it was Junmyeon.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you?” Junmyeon asked.

“,” Jin muttered under his breath. The meeting with the financial advisor was today. But Jimin was so sick that it completely slipped from Seokjin’s mind. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot about the meeting. Jimin is really sick and-”

“No, no, it’s fine. I knew you invited the triplets over. Mama told me,” Junmyeon chuckled hearing how frantic Jin sounded. “How is over there with them anyway? Are they all getting along well?”

“The triplets are so sweet. Jimin is sick but they wanted to make him soup. Junnie, these kids are adorable,” Jin marveled, hearing a small fit of giggles from the room as he did so.

“I’m glad they’re adapting well.”

“It’s only the first day of them knowing us. Hopefully if we keep spending time with them, it would be easier when we tell them that they will be living with us. We have to do a bit more saving financially before we can adopt them though. Three more kids is going to murder our finances.” Despite the fact that Jin laughed at that, it was actually one of he and Namjoon’s biggest worries. They would need a bigger car, possibly a bigger house, more toys, more clothes and so much more as they continued to grow. But of course, they were going to make it work somehow. If it meant more catering jobs for Jin or more hours at Big Hit for Namjoon, they’d make it work.

“Well that’s exactly what I called you for. Me and Mama just left Bora’s financial advisor’s office and we discussed her leftover finances, her life insurance, and accounts and stuff like that.” Junmyeon was obviously smiling, it was easily heard in his words.

“Yah! Give it to me, let me tell him!” It was his Mama’s demanding voice in the background. “You’re taking too long, making small talk and all that crap.” Suddenly his mom’s voice was prominent in his ear.

“Hello? How’s my baby?”

“You’re making small talk too, Mama,” Junmyeon complained. Jin shook his head at the two’s banter, but he was happy that the two were actually happy. Of course, they were still affected by Bora’s death and the sad fact that the funeral was literally in less than twenty four hours.

“I do what I want,” their mom said matter of factly. It was her reasoning for everything. “Now how are you, Jinnie?”

“I’m fine, Mama. I have to get back to the kids though,” Jin said.

“You’re right. Lemme hurry up then. Basically, we spoke to her financial advisor and I decided that I want you to receive most of Bora’s life insurance. Mr. Kang also wants you to receive some of their son’s life insurance too.”

Jin’s eyes widened. Mr. Kang agreed to that? “Why? I mean- No. You guys don’t have to do that for me.”

“Jinnie, you’re literally about to adopt their three kids. We want you to have this money. I’m sure Bora and her husband would want you to have all of their money too. You are doing something that some people wouldn’t even think about doing.”

Jin was speechless for a second. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You can say thank you. It’s a pretty large amount of money, Jin,” Junmyeon shouted from the foreground.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking,” his mom said. “You don’t believe that you deserve the money or that we should be giving it to you. But you do deserve it. You and Namjoon now have five children to be concerned about. The last thing you need to worry about is money. So… say thank you.”

“T-thank you, Mama. Thank you so much. I’ll tell Mr. and Mrs. Kang thank you too and I-” Before he could finish, there was light taps on his knee. Looking down, itw as Jungkook tapping his knee persistently.

“Yes, Kookie?”

Jungkook motioned for Jin to come a little closer. When Jin did kneel down a bit, Jungkook leaned in to whisper something. “Can I have ice cream for dinner?”

“What if we have baozi first and then ice cream?” Jin suggested. He’d learned from raising Yoongi and Hoseok that rephrasing things worked sometimes. As Yoongi grew older, he was beginning to catch on to the phrasing and would recognize that it wasn’t what he wanted. Hoseok was beginning to catch on too.

But the triplets were only three. So ice cream after baozi sounded exactly like what he wanted even though it was literally eating ice cream after dinner.

Jungkook nodded frantically and smiled a sweet smile. “Thank you, Jinnie,” Jungkook said and then he was running off back to the room, probably to relay the information to the others.

Placing his ear back to the phone, he was met with the childish arguing between his mom and Junmyeon. “I don’t want Chinese food, I want Italian.”

“I want Chinese, Junnie. Mama gets what she wants.”

“Not this time!”

“Mama? Junnie? I have to go now,” Jin said. “I have to make dinner.”

“I thought you already left without a goodbye,” she shot back. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you too!” Junmyeon said.

“Love you.”

“We love you too.”