Entering the elevator of the Big Hit building, Namjoon began obsessively picking with his clothes and running his fingers through his hair. He did this daily. Namjoon had a thing for looking nice- or delicious as the women around here liked to say. It always set the mood for a good day for him. A boost of confidence from others that weren’t his family was always appreciated. He took the elevator to the tenth floor where the top beat producer in Big Hit would be waiting for him. With a last pull at his collar, Namjoon deemed himself ready and presentable and exited the elevator when it let out a soft ding.

“Good morning, Namjoon,” a woman smiled when the elevator doors opened. In just a quick second, her eyes trailed all the way down to his shoes and back up to meet his eyes. “You look fantastic as always.” She entered the elevator while Namjoon exited with a slight nod in thanks.

“I could say the same for you,” Namjoon laughed before walking down the hall. To put it simply, he was basking in so much praise that when he made it to the studio room, his cheeks were aching a bit from all of the smiling he’d done. He opened the door and was greeted by a man lounging back in one of rolling chairs swiping at the screen of his phone.

“Hey. You’re here. I’m Kim Namjoon, one of the assistant producers here.” Namjoon took some time to set his satchel aside and moved to shake the man’s hand. He wasn’t too tall and the man’s soft features reminded Namjoon of a puppy. He internally giggled.

“What’s up, I’m Seungcheol. You probably know me as S.Coups but I prefer to be called Seungcheol when I’m outside of the booth,” the puppy looking man smiled. Namjoon had expected him to look a lot more intimidating in all honesty.

“I love your beats by the way. They are always super dope, man.”

“Thanks.”

Namjoon sat in the rolling chair next to Seungcheol. “So I heard you work for Big Hit but in America. What’re you doing all the way out here?”

“Yeah, I’m here for about a year or two. PD asked if I could work on a few songs for some artists here so here I am. So I hope you like me because we’ll be working pretty close for the next year or so.”

“I’m sure you’re better than all of the other producers here. They are a nightmare. I feel like someone pushes a stick up their asses every morning because they are almost always in a bad mood. One of them is never happy unless he has some snack he’s munching on.” Namjoon huffed, throwing his head back in exaggeration.

“Is that the fat one next door?” Seungcheol chuckled.

“No. He’s actually going on a diet. I’m talking about Woo. That man can eat and eat and never gain a pound. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a black hole where his stomach should be,” Namjoon lowered his voice dramatically like the aforementioned would hear him from all the way down the hall.

“That’s exactly how my spouse is! I swear they eat twenty four, seven and they are quite slender and might even be considered underweight by some people. My kids are the same way.”

The mentioning of ‘underweight’ caused Namjoon’s mood to falter a bit as his mind drifted to Yoongi. The thought of him having an eating disorder and having to put him on medication didn’t sit well with Namjoon. In fact, it caused his stomach to turn, but he did his best not to show just how much it affected him.

“You have kids too? I have two sons.”

“I have four sons. And my partner still wants more. I’m only twenty four, mind you,” Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand how I deal with four children and a spouse. How am I not dead yet honestly?” Namjoon looked down at Seungcheol’s left ring finger at the mentioning of his spouse and was surprised to see such a huge diamond adorning his finger.

“Is your spouse the freaking president? How much money was that wedding ring?” Namjoon gasped. Seungcheol looked confused for a second but then started chuckling, his face turning red in embarrassment.

“My spouse’s parents were pretty freaking rich so they have lots of money at their disposal. My spouse insisted that we have this huge wedding and buy these unnecessarily expensive rings. Trust me, I’m never spending that much money ever again.” Namjoon definitely noticed that Seungcheol kept referring to his partner as ‘they’ and ‘spouse.’ To anyone else, it wouldn’t have drawn too much attention and they wouldn’t have found it peculiar, but it made Namjoon a bit curious. Simply because Namjoon did the same thing when he was talking about Seokjin. Sure, it could just be Seungcheol’s preference to say spouse instead of wife. But Namjoon couldn’t help but wonder if Seungcheol’s spouse was a male. The man was from America, where it was legal to do such a thing, so it wasn’t too much of a reach.

But for now, Namjoon didn’t say anything.

“Well with your five kids and possibly more in the future, I’m sure you’ll be spending a lot more than that by the time you’re forty,” Namjoon quipped. Seungcheol chuckled. “I know but I’m sure it’ll all be worth it.”

****

“Finally that’s over,” Jeonghan huffed as he and Seokjin put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher to wash over night. As soon as the clock struck 5 o’clock, both of them were already washing their hands and out the door. “This was one hell of a day.”

Seokjin couldn’t help but agree that this had somehow been something akin to hell. Not only was it hotter in the kitchen than usual so it literally felt like Seokjin was standing in the middle of hell, but the chefs seemed to be in an even worse mood than they usually are.

Jeonghan had finally gotten fed up with being a pushover and proceeded to tell one of the older chefs that he and Seokjin “know how to do our jobs and didn’t need your big head  to breathe down our ing necks all day.” Seokjin, being the great friend he was, agreed and let out a blatant “Ha! Guess he told you” just for effect.

He only hoped that they didn’t lose their jobs for this. No matter how much Seokjin and Jeonghan hated the head chefs, they loved cooking and creating art out of food. It was what Jin studied for years to do, and he’d be damned if he would let some arrogant chef cost him his dream job and source of income for his family.

Seokjin walked Jeonghan to his truck like he did everyday and pulled him into a tight hug. “Drive safely, okay. Don’t pop a blood vessel from road rage,” Seokjin bantered.

“I’ll try my hardest.” With that, Jeonghan pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Seokjin to walk to his car to do the same.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to Big Hit studios where Namjoon was sitting on a bench munching on what looked to be a cookie. When he spotted the car, he jumped up in the most childlike manner. It had Seokjin rolling his eyes and giggling at the same time. What is he going to do with this child of a partner?

Stuffing the rest of the cookie in his mouth, Namjoon threw his satchel in the back seat and kissed Jin briefly. “Had a good day, Joonie Bug?”

“Some lady was giving out cookies so I had a fantastic day. I got a few for you and the kids. It took all of my will power not to devour them, but I did it.”

Seokjin reached over to pinch his lover’s cheek as he pulled off down the road again to follow his usual route to Junmyeon’s house. “I’m proud of your generosity, sweetie.”

“So how was your day?” Namjoon asked as he buckled his seatbelt. Good thing he did because Seokjin was ready to scold him for it. Car safety was important to Seokjin because he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone getting hurt because he didn’t reinforce the simple seatbelt rule.

“It’s not anything to brag about to be honest. It was hell.”

“I could tell. You look completely drained and exhausted. What can I do to make it better?” Namjoon reached over to place a hand on Seokjin’s right shoulder and massaging his thumb into his muscles. Wow, he was more tense than Namjoon had originally predicted.

“I just want to get home and get some sleep.” Seokjin groaned in appreciation as Namjoon continued to put pressure on his muscles. Even if it was in just one shoulder, Seokjin was ever appreciating. “Please give me a massage after we put the kids to bed. I really need it.”

“No problem. You know I have no problem with that.”

Seokjin pulled in front of Junmyeon’s new house with a sigh. The house was all thanks to Junmyeon’s success in his clothing line and Kris’ amazing ability to manage finances. When they were in college, Seokjin never understood how anyone could major in something as boring as finance and accounting, but it seemed to work out in their favor. Now the couple was living in a beautiful condo that gave just enough space for his brother’s budding family. Seokjin couldn’t be any prouder of Junmyeon.

As Seokjin exited the car, he found himself hoping that Yoongi and Hoseok wouldn’t give him a hard time and would leave without having them whine about not wanting to leave their cousins. In this case, Yoongi was a lot easier to calm than Hoseok. The latter would pout the entire car ride. He concluded, before he and Namjoon even made it to the front door, that he’d bribe the kids with takeout. Seokjin wasn’t a fan of letting his sons eat unhealthy foods, even more so now that Yoongi was having this weight problem, but he would allow it tonight. Every once in a while shouldn’t hurt.

Seokjin didn’t need to knock because Junmyeon had given him a key.

“Appa and Daddy!” Hoseok yelled as soon as the door opened.

“Hi, sweetie,” Jin smiled.

“Hoseokie!” Namjoon yelled with the same amount of enthusiasm. Hoseok and Yoongi were both playing in the middle of the floor with Minseok, Luhan, and another little boy that Seokjin had never seen before.

“Hey, Appa and Daddy,” Yoongi waved, a lot more calmer than Hoseok did as he continued to build his castle out of colorful blocks. Luhan and Minseok followed with a similar greeting to their uncles while the unnamed boy just waved with a tight lipped smile.

“Oh, you’re here. I was just about to finish dinner,” Junmyeon called from his place in the kitchen. “You can stay if you want. It’s almost done.”

“No thank you, Myeonnie. I’m exhausted and I want some sleep. I’ll just get some takeout on the way home,” Seokjin said, taking a seat on the sofa while Namjoon helped Hoseok get his shoes on. Yoongi didn’t want any help, insisting that he knew how to do it. Kris had, at some point, came into the living room and was currently urging the unnamed boy to introduce himself to Namjoon.

“-Yixing” was all Seokjin had clearly heard.

“Nice to meet you, Yixing. I’m Namjoon.”

“He’s our brother,” Minseok exclaimed. Yixing looked a bit shocked by the sudden claim but blushed nonetheless. Upon seeing the shocked expression that crossed Namjoon and Seokjin’s faces, Junmyeon laughed as he came to sit on the couch left to Seokjin.

“So?” Seokjin questioned with a furrowed brow.

“He’s from China. The adoption papers just cleared under Kris’ name. Apparently Yixing and Luhan are half brothers. I thought it was important for Luhan to know his brother so I immediately started trying to adopt him. I’m so happy to have him here, Jin. Minseok and Luhan love him to bits and pieces. He doesn’t speak Korean very well just yet, but that’s okay.”

“How old is he?”

“Just turned four.”

Seokjin looked at Yixing for a second longer. “Even Yoongi and Hoseok have seemed to taken a liking to him,” he chuckled. Seokjin wondered how nice it would be to expand his own family in the future.

“They have. It took about twenty minutes for Yoongi and Hoseok to become acquainted with him. They’re best friends now,” Junmyeon smiled. He leaned his head on Seokjin’s shoulder, somehow sensing his brother’s feeling without him having to say so.

“Having to split up the adoption is annoying, I know. But in the end, it’s worth it. Even if I’m technically only Minseok’s legal guardian, Luhan and Yixing are just as much of my sons as Minseok. The same thing goes for you.”

Seokjin only smiled, not knowing how to verbalize his frustrations and concerns. So for now, he’ll just smile.

“Hey Yixing, say hi to Uncle Seokjin,” Junmyeon said softly. Yixing didn’t seem to be a shy boy judging by how happily he had waved at Seokjin. He must have felt so comfortable here.

“Hello… Name is Yixing.” Seokjin found the boy’s broken speech absolutely adorable.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Yixing. I’m Seokjin.”

Soon after, the boy went back to playing with Minseok and Luhan while Seokjin announced that they should be heading home. With some difficulty from Hoseok, the four of them were situated in the house and on the way home.

By the time Jin pulled into their driveway, he noticed that he had forgotten to get the take out when Hoseok began to cry in the back seat. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why’re you upset?” Namjoon gasped, already snatching off his seatbelt to get back to the back seat.

“I’m hungry, Daddy.”

And that’s when Seokjin realized his stupid mistake. Yoongi was already asleep which Jin and Namjoon were thankful for because Yoongi was incredibly susceptible to becoming angry and grumpy when he was hungry. Jin was tired enough and didn’t need the headache.

“I got to color today. We even got to use paint! I made a big flower. It was pink and green. So big and pretty!” Hoseok was currently telling his dads all about his day at preschool as he shoveled food into his mouth. Every few seconds, Seokjin had to take a napkin to wipe Hoseok’s and Yoongi’s (sometimes Namjoon’s) faces until he just gave up and decided he’d let them make all the mess they wanted and clean it when they all went to bed.

“That’s great, sweetheart. I hope we can see this beautiful-”

Suddenly there was a high pitched sound of metal hitting glass. Jin initially thought that either Namjoon or Yoongi had dropped their spoon on accident, but when he looked, he realized that Yoongi had dropped his spoon purposefully; well if the fact that Yoongi was frowning heavily with his small arms crossed over his chest was anything to go by.

“I was about to ask you about your day, honey. You just have to wait a little bit for Hoseok to finish.” Jin figured that tonight was a day that Yoongi just wanted excessive attention and didn’t have any problem with giving him the attention he wanted. But not at the expense of Hoseok’s attention. He didn’t want to neglect his youngest either. “Now pick up your fork and continue eating.”

“No. I’m not hungry.” Seokjin strained his neck to see that Yoongi hadn’t even eaten half of his dinner.

“Please eat a little more, Yoongi.”

“No, Appa. I don’t like when someone looks at me eating. So I’m not hungry anymore.”

“No one is watching you, honey. It’s okay,” Seokjin attempted. But his words seemed to only irritate Yoongi more.

“Daddy is watching me!” Yoongi yelled, pointing his finger at Namjoon. Yoongi’s cheeks were beginning to stain red from anger; it somehow Seokjin.

Seokjin’s gaze shot to Namjoon who looked just as wide eyed and confused at the accusation as he was. When he caught a glimpse of the horrified look on Hoseok’s face at his older brother’s outburst, Jin decided to put an end to the conversation for now.

“Okay, sweetheart. Daddy is sorry for looking at you. Right, Joonie?”
“Yes. Daddy is so sorry,” Namjoon said with a pleading yet firm voice. Despite that, Yoongi was still upset and dejectedly turned his head away from the plate of food.

“Do you want a vanilla smoothie instead?” Seokjin tried. That caught Yoongi’s attention, his ears perking up at the mentioning of it.

Seokjin didn’t like giving him the dietary supplements more than once a day but decided that it was okay for today because he was sure Yoongi hadn’t eaten a full meal since breakfast this morning.

“Yes, please.” Yoongi’s voice was still low as he avoided his Namjoon’s gaze. Seokjin could only imagine how bad Namjoon must feel to make Yoongi so angry at him.

“Okay. I’ll go get it for you.” Seokjin quickly hurried from the dining table and to the kitchen to search through the refrigerator. When he came back with the little bottle in hand, he was met with Namjoon at the table alone with his face buried in his hands, his dinner completely disregarded.

“...Where did the kids go, baby?”

“In the living room…” Namjoon answered shortly. “Hoseok is finished his dinner so…”

“Well talk about this later. Just help me get the kids cleaned up and ready for bed, yeah?”

Seokjin placed a lingering kiss on Namjoon’s forehead, to which he sighed in response, before walking into the living room. There, Seokjin stopped almost abruptly. Should he ruin such a beautiful moment between brothers?

In the middle of the living room floor, Hoseok was embracing Yoongi in a tight hug. They stayed there like that for some time before Yoongi pulled away and pat Hoseok’s head twice.

“I’m your hope,” Hoseok whispered and held up his pinky finger.

“I’m your suga,” Yoongi whispered back, wrapping his own, smaller pinky around Hoseok’s. Seokjin always told Yoongi that he pronounced sugar wrong, but who cared at that moment. His sons were bonding and that was all he could ask for. He was relieved that during this time when Yoongi needed it, Hoseok was willing to be his hope.

It took a few hours, but finally Seokjin was getting ready for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he would have loved to pass out completely, but he had one more thing to take care of so he sat up in bed and waiting for Namjoon to get out of the bathroom.

“Honey?” Seokjin called when Namjoon finally exited the bathroom clad in his fluffiest pajamas. That meant that Namjoon really was feeling bad. He practically dragged himself to bed and collapsed into Seokjin’s arms. “You wanna talk about it, love?”

“I was looking, okay,” Namjoon confessed with a sad yawn.

“Why? We talked about this already,” Seokjin drawled.

“I know, I know. But I was just so worried that maybe he wasn’t eating that I couldn’t not look, Jinnie.”

“I’m not saying that you should completely avoid eye contact with Yoongi when he’s eating because that’s going to be too obvious and he’s going to know something’s going on. But you shouldn’t stare either. It makes him uncomfortable.”

“I know,” Namjoon sighed. With Namjoon’s head on his thigh, Seokjin was able to feel the wet tear drops from Namjoon soak into his thin pajama pants. He ran a hand through his lover’s hair.

“I’m just so worried about him, Jin.”

So was Seokjin. It’s a heartbreaking feeling to not know what’s wrong with your child or how to fix it. Jin didn’t want to feel distant from his own son, but at the moment, he felt like he was communicating with Yoongi through a wall. He’d only hoped that all of the suggestions the nutritionist gave him would bring him a little closer to helping Yoongi.

“Me too. But we are learning. This won’t be the last time one of them has some sort of problem that we don’t understand. It’s important to remember that… it’s okay. We’re gonna make it through. You hear me?”

“I do. Gosh, I love you those kids so much. I love you, Jin.”

“I love them and you too, Joonie. So, so much.”

“Do you still need that massage, sweet?”

Seokjin was already flipping around onto his stomach for Namjoon to straddle the small of his back. “I really, really do.” Namjoon was more than happy to oblige.