Coffee Stains #1 - Family Talk
Date in Chapter -  Various dates from 2017 and 2018

“My mom invited us home for Chuseok this year.” Seokjin said as he walked through the door of his and Namjoon’s shared apartment. He tossed his keys into the bowl and sat at the breakfast bar. He pulled one of the cooking magazines, that littered the counter, toward himself, and he started flipping through the pages.

“Come again?” Namjoon said, almost choking on the coffee he was sipping on.

It had been four years since he and Seokjin started dating, and Namjoon had only ever met Seokjin’s parents once. His brother, Namjoon had met on a few occasions, but he only ever met the parents once. It was at Seokjung’s wedding shortly after Namjoon and Seokjin had first started dating, and Seokjin’s parents weren’t exactly thrilled to see that their youngest son had chosen to be with a man. To be fair, Seokjin’s mother did ask for him not to bring Namjoon to the wedding, and she asked that he came alone if he didn’t want to bring anyone else. She didn’t want to have to explain to the friends and families why Seokjin was bringing a man to the wedding.

Seokjung and his bride, however, didn’t have a problem with it. They wanted Namjoon to be there.

Their overall reaction wasn’t bad, exactly. They introduced Namjoon as Seokjin’s ‘friend’ to other friends and family at the wedding, and Seokjin didn’t argue. He probably should have, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to humiliate his parents at their eldest son’s wedding.

Namjoon forgave Seokjin for that one.

After the wedding, his mother stayed in touch. She would often ask about Namjoon, but only in ways that affirmed that she couldn’t accept him as Seokjin’s boyfriend. It was always: “How are you and your friend getting along? You know, Namjoon?” Or: “Oh, he’s your roommate now? That’s going to be a lot harder to explain to everyone.”

He rarely heard from his father after that day, and Seokjin would always go home alone anytime he needed to visit for anything.

They didn’t come to his and Namjoon’s wedding, despite being sent invitations, but they did send a gift—a fairly expensive espresso machine—which Namjoon ended up breaking by being his destructive self.

“My mom,” Seokjin repeated himself, not looking up from the magazine as he continued flipping through the pages. “She wants me home for Chuseok this year, and she said that I should bring my husband home, too.”

“She said that?” Namjoon set his cup on the counter. “She said your husband?”

“Mmhm,” Seokjin hummed, and he picked up Namjoon’s cup to take a drink. It was much too sweet for his own liking, but he forced himself to swallow it. “Babe,” He got up out of the chair and walked around to the espresso machine Namjoon had bought to replace the broken one. “You have got to learn how to make a coffee.”

Namjoon grabbed Seokjin by the wrist as he reached the other side of the counter, and he pulled him close. “If I knew how to make a decent coffee, I wouldn’t have needed to marry you, now would I?” He mumbled, hooking his thumbs in the belt loops of Seokjin’s jeans.

“Yeah,” Seokjin agreed sarcastically, a giant grin plastered on his face. He placed his hands on Namjoon’s hips and rested their foreheads together. “Because your lack of coffee making skills is the only thing that keeps you from being a fully functional human being.”

“Hey,” Namjoon said with a pout, his hands slowly falling from Seokjin’s side as Seokjin pulled away. “There are things that you need me here for.”

“Yeah?” Seokjin said, opening the cabinet to grab out the coffee beans, shooting Namjoon a playful and teasing look. “Like what?”

“Like, well,” Namjoon pursed his lips in thought, “Wasps.”

“Wasps?” Seokjin raised an eyebrow.

“And other bugs,” Namjoon added with a nod. “You need me here to take care of those.”

“Well, that’s one thing you’re good for,” Seokjin said, and he pressed a kiss to Namjoon’s lips before walking back to the other side of the counter. “So, Chuseok?”

“I mean, if your mom invited us, it would be rude to say no,” Namjoon said. “Besides, I actually want to be part of your family, too.”

“Good,” Seokjin said with a smile, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket to shoot his mom a message. “I’ll tell her that we’ll be there.”

*

Namjoon’s parents weren’t exactly thrilled to hear that they wouldn’t be staying in Seoul for the holiday, but they supported their decision when they found out that it was because Seokjin’s parents had invited them down for the holiday.

Chuseok came a lot faster than Seokjin had anticipated, and he was ready to get the holiday over with before it even started. He may have been more nervous about staying with his parents than Namjoon was.

“We really don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Seokjin said as they loaded their suitcases into the back of the car. “If you’re nervous or anything, we can go to your parents’ place instead.”

“Hyung, I’m fine,” Namjoon said, closing the trunk. Normally it would be Namjoon freaking out, and Seokjin would be the one keeping him calm. These were Seokjin’s parents, though, and he was scared that it could turn out worse than last time. “Are you okay?” He turned to Seokjin.

“What? Of course I’m fine,” Seokjin lied with a soft laugh. “Why wouldn’t I be fine? I’m not the one that my parents have to be okay with.”

“Jin hyung,” Namjoon grabbed Seokjin by the hips, “We already got married against their wishes, so I have nothing to fear.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Seokjin mumbled, and he pushed Namjoon’s hands away. He walked to the driver’s side of the car and opened the door, looking at his husband. “I can’t see any reason not to go.”

“Exactly,” Namjoon said, and he opened the door on the passenger side and got in.

*

“Oh, right,” Namjoon’s words came out small as Seokjin drove past the gate house into the driveway of his parents’ home. “I forget that your family is so well off.”

It was easy to forget. Since Seokjin decided not to work for the family company, and open up his café instead, his parents were only willing to help him financially until business at the café picked up and Seokjin was able to support himself. He didn’t reap any of the benefits of his parents’ finances now.

“Are you nervous?” Seokjin asked, raising an eyebrow at his husband.

“Not necessarily,” Namjoon said, and he was the first to open his door when Seokjin parked the car. “I’m sure they’re willing to give us a chance considering we were invited.” He closed the door.

He was trying to keep his composure, but Seokjin could tell. He was freaking out on the inside.

“Oh, there’s my little boy!” Seokjin’s mother cheered as Seokjin got out of the car. She ran off of the porch and into the arms of her youngest son, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was rare that she was so affectionate, but Seokjin hadn’t been home in over a year. “And Namjoon,” She said as she turned to her son’s husband. “My, you look handsome. Have you gotten prettier since we last met?”

“Nah, it’s probably just because you’re only looking at me right now,” Namjoon said as he walked around the car to stand next to Seokjin. He took Seokjin’s hand into his own. “Did that help?”

Mrs. Kim laughed, and she nodded. “I suppose it did, but you are handsome.”

Seokjin was relieved that the two were willing to at least joke with each other after only moments of them being here.

She led the two inside, and into the lounge. Seokjung and his wife, Jisoo, were already there. They were sitting on the couch, hand-in-hand. 

“Seokjung and Jisoo have some big news for us,” Mrs. Kim chimed, and it was then that Seokjin’s father came around the corner. He took a seat in one of the chairs, not looking at Seokjin or Namjoon. “They wanted us all to be together so they could tell us at once.”

Considering they wanted the whole family to be together, Seokjin could already guess what it was that they wanted to share. He wondered if this is why Namjoon was finally invited to the family home, because his brother requested it. 

“It’s big news,” Jisoo said, and she placed a hand on her stomach. 

It was exactly what Seokjin thought. 

“Mom, dad,” Seokjung said, exchanging glances between their parents on either side of the room. He placed his hand over his wife’s, and he let out a nervous sigh. “Our little Seokjinnie is going to be an uncle.” He said and glanced at them again. “Oh yeah, which means,” he said with a laugh, “You are both going to be grandparents, too.”

“Really?” Mrs. Kim’s tone was almost high enough that only dog’s would be able to hear her, and Seokjin almost thought that she was going to cry. “Oh, that’s wonderful news sweetie.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Jisoo said in return as Mrs. Kim got out of the chair to give her a hug. “My parents were worried that we weren’t ready for a baby, but we planned this out.”

“Believe me,” Mrs. Kim said, “You are never ready for a baby. There’s only a such thing as more prepared and less prepared.”

*

The arrival of Kim Joohyun came before Seokjin ever knew it. If he thought he was excited about becoming an uncle in the first place, he was wrong. The initial excitement from being told that he’d be an uncle was nothing in comparison to showing up to the hospital to meet baby Joohyun for the first time. 

Seokjin was afraid that his heart was going to explode when he was given a chance to hold her. 

“Hi there,” He said, smiling down at the bundle of joy wrapped up in his arms. “I’m your uncle, Seokjin. I know you can’t talk just yet, but I bet your daddy 30,000₩ that would be your first word. Don’t let me down.”

Namjoon was standing right behind Seokjin, smiling down at the baby. 

“You want to hold her?” Seokjin offered. 

“I’m afraid I’ll break her,” Namjoon refused. 

“You won’t break her,” Seokjin assured him. “She’s a human being. Not a porcelain doll.”

“I’d be less scared if she were porcelain,” Namjoon said, but he took the little girl into his arms anyway. 

“Make sure you support her head,” Seokjin said, adjusting Namjoon’s posture. “There you go.”

Namjoon clearly wasn’t comfortable with her, still. He had his arms spread out too much, and he was almost holding her away from him. He was all too happy when Seokjin took her back. 

“I haven’t been around many babies,” Namjoon said in apology. 

“It’s okay,” Jisoo smiled at him. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it. You’ll probably be a pro by the time you and Seokjin have a baby.”

“Y-yeah,” Namjoon said with a nervous laugh. 

*

“You were a natural today,” Namjoon said as he and Seokjin went to bed together later that night. “With Joohyun and everything.”

“You think so?” Seokjin asked, climbing under the covers with Namjoon.

“Yeah, I mean you weren’t afraid to hold her even when she was crying. You were great at feeding her, and you even changed her diaper for Jisoo when your brother wasn’t in the room.” Namjoon listed off a few things as he rolled over to turn out the light. “I think you’ll make a great dad.”

They had talked about kids before, and they were on the same page for the most part. They both knew that they wanted to have kids, and they knew that they would want to have them within the next few years. Namjoon was a graduated student by now, working full time at his father’s company, and Seokjin was doing well with the café. They were both in a good place financially. The most difficult part would be deciding who would stay home with the baby.

“When the time comes, I’m sure you will, too.” Seokjin said, and he gave Namjoon a quick kiss before rolling to his side of the bed to turn his own lamp out. “Good night, Joon.”

“‘Night,” Namjoon said in return. “I love you, Hyung.”

*

“Wow,” Mrs. Kim was nearly speechless as her and her husband walked through the doors of the new café location. It wasn’t exactly a new location, but they hadn’t been in the café since Seokjin introduced Namjoon to the family. It was new to them. “You expanded.”

“I did,” Seokjin grinned, just excited that his parents were willing to come to the café at all. They had been better at keeping in touch after inviting Namjoon to the family home for Chuseok, and they often asked about Seokjin’s husband . “It’s a new location, and we even have a small breakfast and lunch menu.”

“I am very impressed,” Mr. Kim said, looking at the menu as his wife took a seat at the counter. “I’ll just have a coffee black, and a—”

“Tea for me,” Mrs. Kim decided for herself. “So, what did you call us here for, sweety?” She placed her purse on the counter as she sat.

He and Namjoon had gotten married without their blessing, and they hadn’t been a big part of their lives since then. Seokjin had been thinking about actually starting a family with Namjoon, and he needed to make sure his parents supported this decision before talking to Namjoon about it.

“Yeah, so, um—” Seokjin started to make the drinks for his parents.

“Aren’t you going to ring them up?” His father said, pulling out his card.

“Um, no?” Seokjin said, giving him a funny look. “I haven’t even finished paying you guys back for helping me open the place. I’m not going to charge you for the drinks.”

His father scoffed. “Yeah, about that,” He said, “You don’t have to worry about it anymore. We were putting the money you were paying us back with in a fund that would have hopefully been your future child’s college fund. But now that we know you aren’t going to be giving us any grandkids, I guess you can have it all back.”

“What?” Seokjin was hurt by the assumption that he and Namjoon wouldn’t be having any kids. “What makes you think that I’m not going to give you any grandkids?”

“Well, sweetie,” His mother laughed, “I know that we’ve had this talk before, but I think you may have misunderstood. You could get a woman pregnant, but two men can’t—”

“No, Mom!” Seokjin whined as he passed her drink to her. “I know that! But we could adopt, you know? Or, I don’t know, we could have a surrogate.”

Both of his parents were quiet at first, and his father joined his mother at the counter, taking the seat next to her. “Huh,” Was all he said.

“Yeah,” Seokjin said. He wasn’t turning back now. It was now or never. “That’s...that’s what I called you here about.”

“Oh,” Was all his mother said.

“I want to start a family with Namjoon, but I wanted your blessing first,” He blurted it out to prevent either of them from cutting him off before he finished.

Both of his parents were quiet, and it seemed like the rest of the café fell silent too. The tension in the air was almost tangible.

“Have you talked to Namjoon about this?” His father asked.

“No. I wanted to get your blessing first,” Seokjin said again. “You were happy when Hyung announced that they were having a baby.”

“Yeah, but they were having a baby,” His mother said. “You and Namjoon would have to adopt. Even with a surrogate, one of you wouldn’t be the biological parent.”

“Okay, so what if they couldn’t , huh?” Seokjin tested. “Say they couldn’t get pregnant. Would you be against them adopting?”

“Look, son, what your mother is trying to say is—”

“I know what she’s trying to say,” Seokjin snapped, and he immediately regretted it. He knew better than to cut his father off. “I should have known better than to bring you guys to my work to talk about this.” He said, and he took his apron off. “Or to talk about this at all.”

“Now, sweetie—”

Seokjin ignored her as he stormed into his office. It took every ounce of control, but he managed to close the door without slamming it—he didn’t want to upset his other customers—and he sat angrily in the chair behind the desk.

He just needed a moment to cool off. Maybe his parents would be gone by the time he went back out there, and he could forget that all of this ever happened. He could go home and ask Namjoon regardless of what his parents wanted. He didn’t need their blessing. 

Yes. Yes, he actually did.

He lowered his head on his desk and started to cry.

He was too busy sobbing into his desk to hear the light tap at the door, but he heard his mother when she said, “May we come in?”

He lifted his head up and wiped his tears away. “Yeah, come in,” He said.

Both of his parents walked through the office door, and they took the seats on the other side of the desk.

“Are you really serious about this?” His father was the first to speak.

Seokjin shrugged slightly. “I don’t know,” He said. “I mean, I want to have a family, but I don’t think it’s fair that Joohyun and any of Hyung’s future kids will get to be loved to death and spoiled by you guys while any of my kids won’t. I don’t want to have kids if they’re only going to be part of half of their own family. Namjoon’s parents are accepting about all of this, so why can’t you be?”

“We support you,” His mother said. “It’s a little hard for us to picture, but why does that matter? I always thought you were going to grow up and be a great husband to whatever woman you married, and a great father to your kids. And, now, I know Namjoon’s not a woman, but you seem to have proven that first part to be true. He’s very happy with you.”

His father nodded in agreement. “It wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t allow you to prove that second part to be true, too.”

“Really?” Seokjin sniffled, wiping at his eyes again. He was about to start crying for a whole new reason now. 

“Really,” His father nodded. “So, uh, if you wanted us to hold onto that college fund for you, we’d be more than happy to do so.”

“I’d like that,” Seokjin smiled.

*

“You know, you’re becoming a natural at this,” Seokjin handed his husband Joohyun’s bottle.

It was a couple of weeks after his talk with his parents at the café, and a night where they were babysitting Joohyun for his brother and sister-in-law so that they could have a date. By now, Namjoon was much more comfortable with the baby than he had been on the day they first met her in the hospital.

“You think so?” Namjoon asked, and he looked down at the girl as he held the bottle to .

“I do,” Seokjin said.

Somehow bringing up the topic of children to Namjoon was much more intimidating than when he talked to his parents about it. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t talked about before, but they had only ever talked about it as future plans. It was difficult to decide how to bring it up in a way that would let Namjoon know that he was ready to start actively planning it.

“So, um,” He started, “I talked to my parents about us.”

“Oh, yeah?” Namjoon looked back at him. “What about?”

“About us possibly starting a family?” Seokjin came right out and said. “It’s something we’ve talked about before, and I just wanted to make sure we had their blessing before seriously trying to do it.”

Namjoon froze, and he slowly pulled the bottle out of Joohyun’s mouth, only upsetting the girl. Her cries were enough to draw his attention back to her, and he shut her up by giving the bottle back. “That’s great and all,” Namjoon said, “But I don’t think we’re ready for a baby yet.”

“No, of course I know we’re not ready yet, but I thought that we could at least talk about it,” Seokjin said. “After all, we’ve already established that it’s something that we both want.”

“Yeah, we can talk about it,” Namjoon agreed, “But I really think we should wait at least another year before getting serious about it.”

“Right,” Seokjin was a little disappointed that Namjoon seemed to completely dismiss the topic now that he was bringing it up seriously, and he wondered if Namjoon even really wanted to have kids. “Well, when you do want to talk about it, just know that we have my parents blessing this time.”

And he left it at that.