“Appa… Appa!”

“Hmmm?” Jin answered groggily, his voice muffled by his pillow. He fought himself to open at least one of his eyes. It was Hoseok standing beside his bed with a patient smile. When Jin made no move to get out of bed, Hoseok reached over and with his small, nimble fingers gave a few taps to his nose. Imitating what Namjoon and Jin usually did to wake him up for school everyone morning.

Jin giggled sleepily at the gesture and stretched out his limbs to wake himself up. He couldn’t stretch too much because Namjoon was still in a deep sleep next to him. With a tired groan, Jin moved to sit up. “What is it, my sweetheart?”

“There someone at the door,” Hobi said. “Uncle Heechul and Uncle Jiyong said that you and Daddy should come open it.”

Jin looked to his bedside clock though squinted eyes. “Is it really eleven, already?” Even though the question was rhetorical and more of a question to himself, Hobi still brought his index finger to his chin and gave a slight pout as he thought about it.

“Um. I think so,” Hoseok muttered. “I have to ask Yoongi.”

And before Jin could stop him and tell him that there was no need for that, Hoseok was already darting out of the room. Hopefully Yoongi was actually awake because Jin really didn’t want Hoseok to release the beast that was a grumpy Yoongi. Because grumpy Yoongi usually got put in time out where he had to face the corner for ten minutes.

“Joon,” Jin called, still rubbing at his own eyes as he sat up fully. “Joonie.” Jin tapped Namjoon’s sleeping body again. Still nothing. Seokjin groaned and actually contemplated kicking his lover out of the bed, but decided at the last possible moment that that was probably a bad idea.

“Daddy,” Jin tried.

That never failed to wake the younger up. It was almost like Namjoon was just conditioned to the word after all of these years of being a parent. And just like Jin thought he would, Namjoon was shifting around in bed, moving to sit up as soon as the word fell from Jin’s lips.

“What’s up?” Namjoon rambled, his voice still thick with sleep as he looked around for Hoseok or Yoongi.

“It’s me, not the kids,” Jin yawned. “How come you don’t respond to me when I call your name?”

“I just did, didn’t I?” Namjoon sat up and stretched out his long arms, almost hitting Jin in the face.

“I had to call you ‘Daddy’ for you to wake up.”

Namjoon didn’t respond instantly, just turned to Jin with a suggestive smirk on his face and a raised eyebrow. It did earn him a pillow to the face though. “You’re disgusting, you know that.”

“I’m just joking around,” he laughed sleepily. “Now why did you wake me up?”

“Mr. Kang is here with the triplets.”

“And you couldn’t go answer the door because... ?” Namjoon slumped over, frowning at the idea of being woken up for something so unnecessary.

Just as Jin was about to respond, Hobi started yelling. “Appa! Uncle Jiyong says it’s a little bit past eleven!” He shouted from down the hall, probably in the kitchen. Seokjin chuckled at Hoseok’s silliness.

“Thank you, Hobi!” Jin yelled back before lowering his voice again. “And no, I couldn’t go answer it because I have to get ready for the funeral.” That was true but the main reason Jin wanted Namjoon to go get the door was because he really didn’t feel like getting out of the bed at the moment.

Namjoon rolled his eyes, knowing that Jin was lying, but hauled himself out of bed anyway. Jin blew Namjoon a kiss to which Namjoon only grunted at before mumbling, “Leave me alone. I thought you loved me.”

Jin laughed shortly. He laid there in the comfort and warmth of his bed for a few more minutes, listening to Taehyung’s loud voice along with Hoseok’s as they greeted each other.

Those two would be a handful together, Jin was sure of it. When he heard the front door being shut and a loud “Shhhh, Tae and Hobi. Jimin is still sick and he’s trying to sleep. You too, Jiyong and Heechul. You should know better,” from Namjoon, Jin knew that the day has officially started.

“I think I should stay here with the kids, Jiyong, and Heechul,” Namjoon said while Jin was rummaging through Namjoon’s side of the closet for something for the younger to wear even though Namjoon specifically told him he could do it himself. Jin just wanted to occupy himself so of course he didn’t listen.

“Why?” Jin huffed with a hint of irritation there in his voice.

“Because of Jimin.”

Prepared to give Namjoon a look of full blown anger, Jin was surprised to see that Namjoon was holding a half sleeping Jimin to his chest. The little boy’s fluffy cheeks were squished against Namjoon, his mouth slightly ajar as he slept peacefully in Namjoon’s arms. Seokjin’s irritation quickly transformed into sympathy.

“He’s still sick? Poor baby,” Jin cooed. He discarded his task of searching through the closet to get a closer look at Jimin, placing the back of his hand on Jimin’s forehead. At least his fever was going down.

“Yeah,” Namjoon sighed, the corners of his lips tilting downward into a pout as he strained to look down at Jimin. “He’s doing better than yesterday though. But I still don’t think Jimin would be too happy staying with Jiyong and Heechul since he didn’t properly meet them. And he’s still sick. So I’ll stay here while you go to the funeral. I’ll invite Kris over too with their kids so it can be like a huge play date. Sounds fun right?”

Seokjin nodded. He really wanted Namjoon to come with him to this funeral with him. He really was going to need all of the support he could get, but Jimin was sick. And from the looks of it, Jimin had become incredibly attached to Namjoon since the day before. If today was anything like yesterday where Jimin woke up and burst into inconsolable tears, then Namjoon would definitely need to be here to take care of that. Because Jiyong and Heechul would have no idea what to do.  

Plus, a big play date sounded great for the triplets to become well acquainted. But it didn’t sound too great for Jin.

“Don’t be sad, sweetheart. I’ll be right here when you get back,” Namjoon reassured when he saw the disappointed, anxious frown on Jin’s face. With a soft smile, he placed a gentle kiss to Jin’s lips before leaving their walk in closet to lay the peacefully sleeping little boy in their bed.

Seokjin was holding tightly onto Junmyeon’s hand the entire time they were standing outside of the funeral home. He didn’t want to go in. Couldn’t go in.

He searched deep within his heart for some type of strength to get through these few hours. Because he owed it to Bora. He’d wasted so much time and the least Jin could do was sit through her funeral. A time that was meant to celebrate her life and mourn the loss.

But both Jin and Junmyeon were sure that Bora would want them to rather celebrate her. He could imagine her scoffing and roughly wiping at their tear stricken cheeks with the pad of her thumb and telling them that “Everything will be okay. Don’t spend your time crying, when you could spend your time smiling and celebrating instead.” It was Bora’s thing to see the good in every situation, but Jin simply couldn’t do the same.

Junmyeon squeezed Jin’s hand in return, promising him, reassuring him, that they both would be okay and make it through the day.

“I’m here,” Junmyeon whispered. “I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

“You don’t know that,” Jin said, his voice wavering as he attempted to hold back tears. Junmyeon didn’t respond, only sighed. Jin was glad Junmyeon didn’t try to fill his head with false reassurement because he was sure it would only make him even more emotional.

Jin and Junmyeon were standing outside of the door in silence for another few moments. Every once in a while, people who neither of them knew would send sympathetic smiles and briefly whisper, “I’m sorry for your loss.” They both would just give a half smile in return and a quick nod of their heads in thanks.

“Let’s go inside,” Junmyeon said finally. “We don’t want to miss anything. Plus, we should see Bora’s body one more time…” Even though Jin was resisting Junmyeon, the older still managed to pull Jin along with him to the doors.

Jin couldn’t help but cry.

No. ‘Crying’ was an understatement for what Jin was doing. ‘Sad’ was an understatement to describe what Jin was feeling. Sobbing was a better word for what Jin was doing the entire service. Agony. Anguish. Those were better words for what he was feeling deep in his heart and in every muscle of his body.

But he allowed himself to feel that way. He internalized it and didn’t scold himself for it once. And if he was being completely honest with himself, Jin had to admit that after crying until his head was throbbing and he could barely breathe correct, he felt so much lighter. No more holding in the pain and tears.

With Junmyeon, his mom, and his dad there, Jin no longer felt alone. Mr. and Mrs. Kang were also there.

Before the funeral officially started, Jin got the chance to see Bora and her husband one last time.

Seeing her lying gracefully in the casket, Jin had a light smile on his face that he himself wasn’t even aware of. Bora was always incredibly beautiful. Whether Jin admitted it or not when he was younger, Bora was his source of confidence. He was told all of his life that they resembled each other in a lot of their features. And since Bora was beautiful then that meant Jin was too. And even though technically, Bora was only Seokjin’s biological sister and Junmyeon was just a step brother, she was a lot like Junmyeon when it came to personality. Humble and too caring for her own good.

“Bora is still as pretty as ever,” Junmyeon’s voice sounded closely from behind Jin.

“I know,” Jin agreed softly. “You know… she would want to yell at us for standing over her and mourning like this, right?”

“Of course she would.” Junmyeon’s laugh was nostalgically pleasant yet filled with a melancholic sadness. “But I think we get a pass for today.”

“Love you, Bora.” Jin whispered.

It probably was silly of him, but Seokjin liked to imagine that Bora said it right back. He imagined that she would wrap him in her tight hold until Jin was whining for her to let him go.

Placing an arm around Junmyeon’s shoulder, they moved on to stand next to Mrs. and Mr. Kang who were currently crying over their son’s casket.

The funeral lasted a few hours and the burying of the casket was yet another hour. When everything was actually over, Jin’s head was practically bursting. He wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. Sleep for a few days. For a month possibly. But he had two kids to take care of. Soon that two would be five.

Seokjin sighed and started to drag himself to where he parked the car, hoping to leave this cemetery as quickly as he possibly could in this state. He was so close to his car, so so close, before he heard his name being called.

Turning around slowly, he seen his mom and Junmyeon sluggishly making their way towards him. They both looked like they’d been dragged through hell and back, but he was sure he didn’t look any better. Possibly even worse.

“Hey, Ma,” Jin said softly. “I really should get home before I pass out here.” Even though there was a teasing lilt to his voice, Jin was seriously concerned about what would happen if he didn’t get home in the next thirty minutes.

“I know, I know. I just want to give you this.” His mom opened her unnecessarily large purse--Jin’s been telling her since forever to stop buying such huge purses-- and pulled out an envelope.

“It’s all of the things we went over with the financial advisor yesterday. Me and your dad still have to sign off on a few things as the people in charge of everything she’s left behind, but all of the leftover finances should be transferred over to your account in a few days,” his mom explained even though she was still trembling from crying so much. This woman was so strong. Was it weird for Jin’s main role model was his mom instead of his father?

So taking the envelope from his mom, Jin pulled both his mom and Junmyeon, who looked like he completely checked out from reality for a moment, into his arms.

“I love you both so much. Please call me if there’s something I can do,” Jin said.

“We love you too, sweetheart,” his mom said. Just as Junmyeon opened his mouth to say something, there was a rough voice that interrupted.

“If we’re having family hugs then why am I not involved.” It was their dad, slowly walking over to where the three of them were standing in the parking lot. His button like nose was red and his eyes were puffy, but the man still managed to smile and joke around. Just like mom.

“Sorry, Daddy,” Jin said, allowing his dad to hug him and kiss his forehead.

Letting Jin go, their dad then pulled Junmyeon into his arms. The tenseness in Junmyeon’s limbs seemed to simply float away as Junmyeon went limp in their dad’s arms. He even closed his eyes. Jin wouldn’t be surprised if Junmyeon would just fall asleep right at that moment..

“I’m about to go home though.” His parents nodded in understanding before blowing him one last kiss. Junmyeon stayed buried in their dad’s chest.

However, when Jin was a good distance away from them, there was another shout after him. It was his mom again. “I still want to meet this Namjoon, you are keeping away from us!”

Jin chortled and called back. “I promise you’ll meet him soon!”

Even without hearing them laugh because of the distance, Jin could imagine the chuckling. Or maybe it was just Bora.

Again, it was a silly thought, but it definitely made Jin feel lighter, and the feeling stuck with him the entire drive home as he sang Bora’s favorite ballad.

Jin decided that the envelope could wait for later when the day was coming to an end to talk about finances with Namjoon. He was sure it would most likely bring on more stress--because when were finances not a concern-- so Jin prefered to just deal with it later.

Pushing open the front door of his home, he expected to be met with loud noises and laughter, probably even a bit of crying with all of the kids in the house. But Jin didn’t expect the house to be completely silent.

“Joon?” Seokjin called softly. “Jiyong? Heechul? Shutting the door behind him, Jin quietly walked towards the living room. There, he found one of the loveliest sights that he could’ve asked for.

Namjoon, Jiyong, Kris, Heechul, and all of their kids were sprawled out in the middle of the living room floor. The couches were moved around and the coffee table was pushed against up the wall. They must have been watching a movie because the play screen was sitting idly on the t.v. and there were candy wrappers and stray popcorn kernels thrown about.

Taehyung and Jungkook were lying together with Minseok and Luhan on either side of them. They must have gotten along really well today. Yixing was cuddling closely with Hobi who was curled around the older’s small body like a koala bear. How adorable!

-but what about… Yoongi? And Jimin?

Jin scanned all of them again. But he was right, Jimin and Yoongi weren’t there.

Without a second thought, Seokjin was rushing towards the hallway to check the rooms. Maybe they were in the boys’ room sleeping. Jimin was sick, right, so they could definitely be in there-

“Here you go, Jiminie,” a small voice whispered softly. Jin stopped and looked towards the kitchen archway where the voice came from. It must be Yoongi.

“T-thank you,” Jimin sniffed.

Peeking his head into the kitchen, Jin took notice to Yoongi and Jimin sitting on the kitchen floor eating out of the bag of apple slice from the refrigerator. Jimin still looked very sick but he didn’t look as miserable as he did yesterday and this morning. He was actually smiling as he nibbled on an apple slice.

“H-hey, you two,” Jin said. He didn’t know how much his voice was ruined by crying until his voice cracked. “What are you two doing?”

“Jimin got hungry,” Yoongi said.

“Oh, I see. Are you feeling any better, Jimin?” Jin asked, slowly approaching them before sitting next to them on the cold kitchen floor.

Jimin only nodded, stuffing the rest of his apple into his mouth before grabbing another. “I f-feel better. But really, really hungry, Jinnie.”

Jin couldn’t help but swoon. Jimin was finally beginning to feel better, but he also called him ‘Jinnie.’ It was a small step but it was a step and that was all Jin could ask for.

“Well, would you mind if I sat here and ate apple slices with you?”

“Eat with us, Appa! Eat with us,” Yoongi giggled, roughly pushing the bag towards Jin. Just as Jin was beginning to grab his own, Jimin was pushing his own apple slice into Seokjin’s hand. He hadn’t yet bitten off of it and seemed to really want Jin to take his apple slice.

“Eat mine,” Jimin said sweetly while rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

“Of course,” Jin said, taking the slice for himself and biting half of it. “Thank you. It’s so delicious.”

Jimin smiled proudly and grabbed another one to give to Yoongi.

For the rest of their time on the floor, Jimin continued to pass out apple slices while giggling every time either Jin or Yoongi thanked him. Yoongi even gave Jimin a kiss on his cheek to which Jimin chortled and chortled at. Seokjin would have to remember just how much Jimin loves kisses.

Jin was fast asleep in bed, failing to remember anything after about 8 o’clock when he helped Mr. And Mrs. Kang strap the triplets into the backseat of their car. Despite being so exhausted, Jin was proud to say that he and the triplets definitely bonded today.

Kris left soon afterwards when Junmyeon asked him to bring the kids home because he no longer wanted to be alone. By 9, Jin was settled into his home and it was like everything after that was a blur, until he climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Waking up in the middle of the night was becoming a regular thing for Jin these days. But it wasn’t that much of a bother because Namjoon would usually immediately. He’d pull Seokjin closer and kiss his head and hair, shushing him back to sleep. And Jin half expected Namjoon to do just that. But he didn’t.

Rolling onto his back, Jin was disappointed when he turned and felt that the other side of his bed completely empty. The sheets on Namjoon’s side of the bed were still untouched as if Namjoon hadn’t gotten in bed at all since Jin had been to sleep. And the clock read 12:10 a.m. so Namjoon definitely should’ve been in bed by now.

Slowly looking around the darkened room, he caught a glimpse of a small sliver of light coming from under the bathroom door.

“Joon… Joonie?” Jin called groggily. In a few seconds, the bathroom door opened.

“Yes, sweetheart? You having trouble sleeping again?” Namjoon said, his voice taking on a gentle, delicate tone as he walked back towards their bed. His tone contrasted completely with the confused expression on his face as he was looking down at some papers he was holding.

“What’re those papers for? Are they from the kids’ school?” Jin questioned, suddenly intrigued as he moved to sit up.

“No. It’s from that envelope you placed on the dresser earlier today. I decided to look at it,” Namjoon said. Finally looking up from the paper, Namjoon finally crawled into bed and sat next to Jin so they could look over the papers together.

Jin frowned at all of the numbers and complex words on the paper, his mind still clouded with sleep.

“What the hell is this even saying?”

“It’s basically all of the Bora’s leftover finances that will be transferred over to your account. This number here…” Namjoon shuffled through the papers, finding the pink one and pointed to the bottom of the page. “ This is how much we’ll be getting.”

“Wait, what?” Jin blinked a few times and chuckled at himself in disbelief. If this was true, he was going to call his mom and-

He didn’t even know.

“That’s a lot of money, Joon…”

“I guess Bora was very well off. I’m not surprised either, seemed like they were really good with managing their money,” Namjoon said. He threw an arm around Jin’s shoulder, pulling him impossibly close.

“You know what this means, right?”

Seokjin broke into a full blown smile despite how tired he was. He knew exactly what this meant. It’s only been a few days since they decided to adopt the kids, but Jin and Namjoon both knew that they couldn’t until they had gotten everything stable for three new kids. They needed a new house, a new car, new clothes for them to grow up, and still needed money for the two kids they already had. Of course, Jiyong and Heechul would want to help but Seokjin didn’t want to rely on them for his own family.

Jin was sure that it would take a few months of saving up and a few months of working strenuous hours before they could officially try and adopt Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung. But now…

“We can start trying to adopt them,” Jin whispered. “We can continue to work and make time for the five of them at the same time. We can give them a proper, loving home. We can be a family, Joon.”

“Ah, stop. You’re making me cry,” Namjoon whispered, dropping the papers and burying his face in Jin’s neck. Indeed, the warm tears stained the skin of his neck, but of course, Jin didn’t mind. He pulled Namjoon closer, holding him as tight as he could without hurting Namjoon, and chuckled.

“I’m so happy too.”

Hey! Sorry this took forever. My classes this semester are assigning essay after essay and it's literally taking up all of my time. The next chapter will be a small time skip where the triplets are becoming a little more comfortable with everyone. Plus, no sick Jimin! Yay! I really don't like when little children are sick because it makes me so sad to watch.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise the next one will be up faster this time since I finished most of my essays... Even though my Developmental Psychology teacher just assigned another one. *Sigh* Love you guys!