"C'mon!" Seokjin growled glancing at his watch again, only thirty seconds had passed since he last looked.

It's taking too long!

Jin ran an impatient hand though his dark hair and tapped his foot repeatedly on the floor of the bus just as the vehicle hissed and came to a stop at a red light.

It's too slow, Jin looked at his watch again and let out another frustrated groan.

"I need to get off," he decided and pushed out of his seat. Curious eyes turned in his direction, but Seokjin couldn't find it in himself to care about the spectacle he was about to make, he needed to get off of the bus.

Needless to say that the bus driver wasn't pleased with Seokjin asking to get off on an undesignated stop, but he was generous enough to not ban Jin from using the bus anymore.

Jin thanked the man as quickly as he could before he set off on a run down the heavily populated street. Over the next fifteen minutes of solid running, side stepping, and nearly colliding with at least a dozen pedestrians he came to a crosswalk where he was forced to stop. The red light asking him to wait wasn't the reason for his pause, however, but rather the fact that he was nearly hit by a speeding muscle car—the driver roared obscenities that were carried away with the wind. Loathe to wait, but having no other option, Jin repeatedly slammed on the crosswalk button until an eternity later the coast was clear and he could make his way to the elementary school across the street.

Seokjin was sure he would have given his sweet mother a heart attack if she had witnessed how he had completely disregarded his safety with that last stunt; but he was also positive she would have done the same thing if she was forty-seven minutes late in picking him up from school.

Heart racing in his chest, Seokjin ran the last stretch of distance. His feet pounding on the asphalt and the wet grass of the schoolyard aided by the weight of his satchel nearly saw him flat on his but somehow Jin managed to stay on his feet.

Seokjin was a sweaty panting mess when he finally reached the doors of the elementary school. He pressed his hands on his knees, doubled over and shook from the adrenaline that was pumping in his veins with each frenzied beat of his heart. Jin took a moment to compose himself and when his hand was steady enough, he wiped at the sweat that had formed at his temples.

Once he decided he was as presentable as anyone who just ran a two mile marathon could be, Jin reached out to the handle of the building and froze.

His heart went from beating a mile a minute to going completely still and cold in his chest for a couple of breaths. Icy fear ran up Jin's veins, churning his stomach unpleasantly and threatening to pull the ground from under him.

He tugged at the door again and once more Jin was met with unyielding resistance.

"Oh no. Nononononono!" Seokjin cried and tapped on the single window pane on the door.

Jin pulled at the door with all of his might and even pushed against it with all of his weight only to get the same result. "Please, no."

Seokjin glanced around frantically hoping to catch any glimpse of his missing five-year old, but the front of the school was void of any small children. There were no staff members either, there was no one around. Even the parking lot was void of any cars.

His breathing was becoming ragged once more, though instead of exhaustion Seokjin's fit was brought on by forming hysterics. He had to remain calm though. He couldn't panic, not yet.

Jin took a deep breath, reached into his pocket and with shaking fingers he unlocked his phone. Fifty-three minutes. His watch wasn't lying.

Just as panic was beginning to settle into Seokjin and he was on the verge of calling the police the faint sound of music caught his ear.

The tightly wound coil of dread in Jin's stomach eased as he started to walk towards the sound. Music meant entertainment, and who liked to be entertained more than children?

Once more Seokjin found himself running and nearly slipping on the grass below him, and it was only by sheer luck that he was able to keep upright as he neared a clear paned greenhouse. Jin's eyes scanned over the sign perched by the side of the small building, quickly reading the name: Smeraldo Garden.

Jin skidded to a stop at the door and his eyes went from head to head, his heart thundered in his ears with each kid he didn't recognize.

Seokjin's gaze landed on the small child he was looking for just as that same little boy smiled, "Jinnie!"

The sight of his younger brother nearly brought Seokjin to tears and relief overcame him and he had to blink his eyes to get rid of the excess moisture that filmed his vision.

Soobin wrapped his arms as well as he could around Seokjin's torso and Seokjin folded him into a hug, letting out shaky breaths, trying and failing to contain the sobs that so desperately wanted to escape.

"Hey Soobin-ah, why don't you help Yeonjun with his bean sprout?" a gentle voice asked the young boy and though Seokjin didn't want to let go, he knew that he must in order to compose himself.

"Hey kids I'll be right back, remember to think of a name for your bean sprouts okay? And please mind Hoseokkie, he's in charge until I come back."

There was a chorus of 'okay's and 'yes saem.' throughout the small space as Seokjin was steered out of the greenhouse and back outside.

Jin was still sniffling when a handkerchief was handed to him and a kind smile was sent his way.

He took the tissue with a low thanks and dabbed at his eyes before blowing his nose. Jin took a few steadying breaths and only when he was sure that the thickness to his voice was no longer an issue, he spoke again. "Thank you. Thanks… I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause a scene like that."

The young man shook his head, "You don't have to apologize. I take it you're Seokjin, Soobin's older brother?"

Jin nodded, "Yeah, I was supposed to pick him up an hour ago but my class ran late and I missed the bus so I had to take an alternate route and right at the peak of rush hour; I eventually just got off of the bus and ran the last two miles here. My gym teacher would have been proud, I think I cleared it in seventeen minutes."

The smile turned sympathetic and a hesitant pat was laid on Seokjin's shoulder. "Hey it's okay, it happens. You don't need to beat yourself up over it, that's the reason why we have this program in place."

"Program?"

"The gardening club," the boy motioned his arm towards the greenhouse where Jin could see the images of little blurry figures moving behind the glass panes.

"It's an interactive daycare of sorts, there's a handful of kids whose parents or siblings can't pick up after school for one reason or another. And because they don't have anyone to pick them up or can't afford a babysitting service, they sign them up to this program. The school used to have the kids holed up in the library, but you can only imagine how bored they were with that. Kids around this age don't do too well with silence, they need to keep active or else they get bored. So we started this little club where I teach kids how to grow little plants and keep them occupied until their parents arrive." he explained, the glimmer of pride in his voice not lost on Seokjin.

Dabbing at the remnants of his tears Seokjin took his eyes off of the—he was assuming teacher—and towards the greenhouse. He hadn't taken the time to properly look at it before, but now that he was calming down and able to process things, Jin was able to take in how… cute the greenhouse was.

Jin had seen greenhouses in magazines and commercials before, but he had never seen one in person. It had the typical 'house' shape—rectangle base and triangular top—and it wasn't made out of glass as he had first thought it was, but rather clear plastic sheets. The sheets were decorated with an array of children's doodles that depicted the kids themselves and various misshapen trees and flowers. The names of various people—Jin was assuming were the kids' names—were written alongside the walls as well. In front of the structure the solid wood sign he had seen earlier was nestled within a bed of pink peonies. Smeraldo Garden written out in elegant font.

"So they hired you to teach the kids how to plant… bean sprouts was it?"

The guy laughed, "I'm a volunteer, actually. And before you freak out, I'm not some random stranger they plucked off of the street. I am a teacher… well a student teacher if you want to be technical, I have my degree in childhood development and passed all the pre-qualifications to teach; I just need a year of hands-on before I'm a certified teacher. I help out Sejin-nim during his class and after school I'm here until the last kid gets taken home."

"Oh wow." Jin was in awe of the student teacher, who undoubtedly sacrificed so many free hours of his day to dedicate them to the children of the school. "It's very kind of you to look out for the children and watch them after hours."

Seokjin's comment was met with a dimpled smile and a scratch to the back of the teacher aid's head. "It's nothing really, I love working with the kids and if it helps them and their family out, then that's just an extra perk."

Jin smiled and nodded, "You have a heart of gold sunsaeng-nim."

The blush that overcame the young teacher was all too noticeable, even though he shook his head in an attempt to hide it. "No I just have a lot of hours in my hands and a knack for growing plants."

Jin made to reply, but before he could do so, a young girl peeked her head out of the greenhouse, "Namjoon saem, could I water Koya today please?"

The teacher, presumably Namjoon, turned to the little girl and nodded, "Remember not to give it too much water, just enough for it to spill a little out of the pot."

Seokjin arched a curious brow, "you named a plant?"

Namjoon's dimpled smile was bashful again. "People tend to care more about things that they name, but plants are living creatures too, why shouldn't they be given a name?"

Those were very valid points and Jin conceded, "I really can't argue with that."

Namjoon beckoned Seokjin towards the greenhouse, "I can't leave them alone for too long, why don't you come join us while Soobin finishes up?"

"Ah, sure?" Jin hesitated, but followed after Namjoon back into the indoor garden anyway.

The music that Jin had first heard when he had his little breakdown made itself known again and he glanced curiously at the small speaker letting out a happy little tune. He smiled and set himself near the entrance as to not get in the way of the small gardeners.

Just like the outside of the greenhouse, the inside was cute as well. There were a variety of saplings and flowers decorating much of the shelves and available ground, some of them were even hanging happily from the ceiling. The clay pots seemed to have been given the same attention as the greenhouse itself in decoration, for they too had the children's doodles on them and a name, Seokjin guessed the names on the pots were either the names of the children or the plants themselves.

When a very familiar song came on the speaker, Seokjin couldn't help the amusement that overcame him. "Are you playing the theme song to Apanman?"

Namjoon laughed. "The very one. Children aren't the only ones who benefit from music you know, it's as much for them as it is for the plants. They respond and grow better in stimulated environments."

Once again Seokjin looked dubiously at the student teacher, "plants can't hear, can they?"

"They're actually more intuitive than people give them credit for," Namjoon said sagely and gently picked up a small potted plant and handed it to Seokjin.

"They're also great listeners—" Namjoon blushed suddenly and quickly added to his sentence, "um, not that I only talk to plants, I'm just saying that they respond well to voices and if they really take a liking to you then they grow faster…"

While rambling the tips of Namjoon's fingers accidentally brushed with Jin's and the student teacher pulled away with a darker taint to his skin, though just as he was about to apologize, there was a noise at the door and a woman smiled at the pair.

"Ah, Namjoon saem, you finally got a helper I see."

"Shin-sshi, you're earlier today," Namjoon smiled and after a quick glance at Seokjin, he gave an apologetic smile and beelined in the woman's direction, calling a child from the group. The same one he had left in charge of the others when he had steered Jin out.

"Seokkie, your mom's here." Namjoon called and turned his attention to the woman.

Taking that moment to round up his own charge, Seokjin went to look for Soobin and smiled when he noticed he was talking animatedly with another little boy.

"Binnie," Jin called getting his attention, "we have to head home buddy."

Soobin pouted, "but I'm having so much fun hyung, can't we stay?"

Seokjin wasn't a fan of saying no to his younger brother, especially when Soobin gave him that pout. But he was exhausted both physically and mentally, and he was beginning to realize that Namjoon—who was too nice and cute—had witnessed Jin's earlier breakdown. To say that Jin was embarrassed was an understatement. He just wanted to go home, prepare something simple for dinner and lose a few hours to Maplestory before sleeping for the next decade.

"I'm sorry Soobin, I need to get dinner done before dad and Aerum-sshi come home."

Soobin's pout dissolved into resignation and a pang of guilt hammered against Seokjin's heart. The younger boy nodded in understanding and gave a soft, "Okie."

"Thank you, please say goodbye to your friends, Bin-ah." Seokjin patted his brother's head and thanked every deity he knew that he hadn't needed to fight Soobin for them to head home. It wasn't that they didn't get along or that Soobin was a difficult child when it came to getting him to agree to things, but he did have his moments here and there, he was still a kid after all.

"You're leaving?" Seokjin tensed when he heard the voice nearby and that same pang of guilt came back to him, which he thought was a little silly because he had only known Namjoon for all of five minutes.

"Yeah, I have dinner to make and homework to get to." Jin only half lied.

Seokjin wasn't sure if it was disappointment that he saw on the other boy's face or if he was imagining it. But before he could figure it out, Namjoon was smiling genially again. "Oh, of course. Well, it was nice meeting you, Seokjin-sshi."

"Yeah, you too." Jin smiled awkwardly and ushered his little brother out of the greenhouse.

[Line]

Seokjin was watching the timer on the rice cooker when Soobin gently tugged at his sleeve, "hyung?"

Jin hummed, glancing at his brother curiously. "Yes?"

"Can I stay for gardening club again tomorrow?" he asked, eyes wide and pleading.

Denial was on the tip of Seokjin's tongue, but he didn't voice it because there was no concrete reason for him to say no. It was true that Jin wasn't likely to be that late again and it was a comfort to know that if he ever was severely late then Soobin would be well taken care of at the gardening club. But there was also the issue of who ran the club. If Jin agreed to let Soobin stay for the after school activity then that meant that he would have to interact with Namjoon again, multiple times.

But, that was a selfish reason and Seokjin wasn't cruel. He would have to learn not to let the fact that Namjoon had seen him ball his eyes out get to him and bare it with a smile, for Soobin's sake.

"If you would like to," Seokjin agreed. Before Soobin could get too excited, though, Jin added, "just remember that we have to head home earlier than we did today otherwise all we'll be having for dinner is rice and pickled kimchi."

"Yes hyung!"

And that was how Seokjin found himself as the part-time volunteer of Smeraldo Garden.

Every day after his classes, Seokjin would ride the bus to his younger brother's school and instead of picking him up he would head to the side of the building to the quaint little greenhouse where he would greet the kids and Namjoon. Then he would learn a little about the plants and the person who tended to them.

Namjoon, Seokjin learned, was quite smart. He had graduated early from high school and finished University in half the time that most people did. He was two years younger than Jin but had already graduated the year before, at the top of his class no less. For all of his smarts though, the universe deemed it necessary to balance Namjoon out with an adorable sense of aloofness and a wonderfully inquisitive curiosity.

Other things that Jin came to know and admire about Namjoon was that he always had something to read. Namjoon claimed that he gave each genre a fair shot, but ultimately his top three were in no particular order: Crime fiction, philosophical reads, and historical fiction.

Namjoon's love of reading was also the reason the gardening club was named the way that it was. Namjoon said that the tale of La Città di Smeraldo was his and his grandfather's favorite story. Jin admitted that he had never heard of it before and was curious about it, but instead of telling him the plot of the story, Namjoon lent Seokjin a copy for him to read.

Namjoon was as intrigued by works of fiction and non-fiction as he was about the world. Seokjin had thought that the newspapers he often saw at Smeraldo Garden were meant for the garden in one way or another, to perhaps soak up the excess water of some plants, or to be placed within pots; neither was the case. The culprit behind these finds was actually Namjoon himself, who read the newspaper every single morning. And when Seokjin asked him why he simply didn't read the news off an online source, Namjoon answered that even though he did read news online, he also liked reading the news on old fashioned newspaper. He claimed there was a certain charm to opening the paper that no online news outlet could ever match; and it was also more helpful with finding out local news.

By the middle of the second week after Jin was involuntarily assigned as Namjoon's helper, he discovered why Namjoon was so passionate about gardening.

"Have you always had a green thumb?" Seokjin asked, waving goodbye to Jungkook when his brother came by to pick him up.

Namjoon hummed and when he glanced at Jin, that bashful look was back on his features; rosey cheeks and dimpled smile. "Not always, gardening is a skill that can be learned just like any other. It was actually my grandfather who introduced me to gardening, he had a greenhouse too, though much bigger than this, and an outside garden. He had a whole backyard to take care of and he would let me help him whenever I visited him. When my parents landed big jobs that demanded they go overseas, they let me stay with my grandfather for a while and so I learned even more. It was my home away from home."

Seokjin smiled, "So that's why you're willing to spend hours out of your day after school to take care of these kids, because your family had a similar plight?"

"I sympathize with them, yeah. But I don't see this as me wasting hours out of my day for them, I want to be there for them the way my grandfather was for me, and hey plants keep kids busy." Namjoon summarized, returning to tending to a small bonsai tree, Seokjin had long since learned was named Koya.

On his third week, Soobin was holding a small pot in one hand and a bag of seeds in the other.

"We made you a pot hyung!" Soobin declared, eyes wide and expectant.

"That's very nice of you Soobin, but the pots are supposed to be for you and the kids." Seokjin tried and paused in his refusal, "wait, what do you mean we?"

"I may have helped him with writing your name on it." Namjoon piped up from where he was helping Jiwoo plant a seed. He glanced up long enough to smile apologetically at Seokjin, "It's true that the club is mainly for the kids, but you're part of it too now. The kids love you and we enjoy your company, so we want you to plant a seed with us."

"But I—" Seokjin was helpless against Soobin's pout, combining that with the pleading looks by the other students and an aspiring teacher; Seokjin was helpless in denying them all.

"Okay, but I'm gonna need your help Binnie." Seokjin conceded and rolled up his sleeves. "Where do we start?"

"Soil hyung!" Soobin grinned, and all but shoved the pot and bag into Seokjin's hands with his enthusiasm in teaching his hyung something new.

Seokjin stood a little awkwardly with the pot in his hand, studying the way his name was written on the clay.

"I know it's nothing elaborate, but I hope you don't mind the club initiation." Seokjin looked up to see Namjoon smiling at him.

"Thank you for this, and for helping Soobin," Seokjin said, "I'm sorry for taking one of your pots, I'll bring another tomorrow to replace it."

Namjoon waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it, I'm actually a little embarrassed that it took me this long to realize that we hadn't given you a plant to add to the greenhouse. I should have said this earlier, but welcome to Smeraldo Garden, Seokjin."

Seokjin smiled, cheeks warm, "Thank you, Namjoon saem."

The gardner laughed, "You know you could just call me Namjoon right? It's afterschool and I think we're past the whole awkward first meeting thing, we're friends and get along pretty well, so there's no need for you to use the formal title."

"So what you're telling me is that you'd be okay with me calling you Joonie or Namjoon-ah?" Jin chuckled, teasing.

What Namjoon said next made his ears burn pink. "I wouldn't be opposed to it, though maybe wait for Joonie for when the kids aren't present or they'll get the wrong idea."

Seokjin was sure he said something in response, though he wasn't really sure if what he had said had made any coherent sense. At the time, he didn't really give it much thought as he excused himself and gone in search of Soobin, sowing his seed into his new pot and headed home as fast as he possibly could with a five year old holding onto his hand.

The rest of his afternoon was spent with Seokjin wondering if Namjoon meant that the kids would get confused and think that it was okay for them to address him as Joonie, or was he insinuating that he wanted to see Seokjin after club hours?

Jin wasn't sure, but the question nagged at him for the following days until the more pressing matter of his class finals all but erased it from his mind.

The answer to Jin's forgotten dilemma came two weeks later when Seokjin was gathering Soobin's things in order for them to make their way home for the day. Then a scarf was handed to him, a dimpled smile at the other end of the scarf. "You're heading home early again? I thought you were done with finals for the semester, Jin hyung."

"Thankfully I am, but I'm not heading home to study my brains out this time. I need to get home so that I have dinner ready and make a few more dishes for Soobin before I have to catch the subway," Seokjin explained, taking the scarf from Namjoon with a quick thank you nod. "I'm visiting my mom for the weekend so I need to make sure he eats well."

Namjoon's brow furrowed and Seokjin arched a brow in response.

It was clear with the look on his face that Namjoon was hesitant to ask. "I'm sorry I thought she lived with you guys? Is that why you make dinner every night?"

Jin's confusion grew, "Even if I didn't make dinner every night, it would be pretty awkward if my mom lived with—oh, oh!" realization dawned on Seokjin and he shook his head.

"My parents are divorced. I live with my dad and Aerum-sshi, Soobin's mom." he clarified. "And the reason I make dinner for them is partly because they both work late. And because if we did let either of them cook, I don't think it would be very edible. Dad can get by with eggs and grilling meat, and Aerum-sshi can bake okay, but aside from that they're both terrible in the kitchen. I can't have Soobin eating eggs, meat, and cake everyday, that would just be cruel."

Namjoon's mouth formed a small 'o', embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "I see, I'm sorry I misunderstood."

Jin smiled reassuringly, heart warming with the care he saw in Namjoon's eyes. "Don't be, it's not something I expected you to know. And it really isn't a topic I talk about a lot, not because I dislike or am unhappy with the situation, it's just something that doesn't get brought up, you know?"

Namjoon didn't look convinced, "Y-yeah, still I'm sorry for assuming."

"It's okay, Joon-ah really." Seokjin affirmed. "There's no harm done. I'm happy with the arrangement, and though I do miss my mom, we all know it was for the best. My mom's a doctor, so she works alot. As a kid it was unfair that she chose her job over me, but as I grew, I realized that there were other people who needed her too. She takes some holidays off for me, and we always celebrate our birthdays together, and this weekend is one of them."

Namjoon looked more at ease, the tightness to his jaw had eased and Jin was glad he was able to placate him. "I don't think many people would have been able to see your situation that way, you're really admirable Jin hyung."

Seokjin preened at the praise. "Coming from you, that means a lot, Joon-ah, I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other these past two weeks, hopefully that changes in the next semester, enjoy your weekend."

Seokjin turned to look for Soobin, but before he had a chance to find his younger brother,, Namjoon caught his sleeve and pulled Jin's attention back to him with his bright pink cheeks and bashful glance. "Seokjin hyung, next week as you know, we're the club will be closed because of Spring vacation. So… since we won't have the club to look after. Would you, perhaps, be interested in meeting up for coffee? Maybe a stroll through the botanical garden? The sakura blossoms are set to bloom around that time."

Jin's heart sputtered and a tingling warmth tickled his stomach. Seokjin tried to keep his reply light, in case he was reading too much into the situation, "Kim Namjoon, are you asking me out on a date?"

Namjoon's cheeks darkened, "I had to ask before I lost my nerve again, but if you don't want to it's okay—"

Seokjin hushed him, "I would love to see the cherry blossoms with you, and see you get excited over the different plants the botanical garden has, maybe afterwards we can go to lunch and I can tell you what I thought of La Città di Smeraldo?"

Jin could swear he had never seen a deeper dimpled smile on Namjoon then the one he got in response. "You finally read it! I can't wait for our date, Jin hyung."