The Meaning of Family: The Collections

Bonding Time with Namjoon (3/5)

The next morning did not go as smoothly for the family. For once, the early risers actually stayed in bed sleeping, and Namjoon slept through his alarm, making them be in a rush as they got ready for school. Namjoon was bustling around the kitchen, his shirt half untucked as he carried the boys empty breakfast dishes to the sink. "Hurry up and brush your teeth so we can go!" Namjoon told the five boys, trying not to sound as frazzled as he felt.

The boys all ran out of the kitchen while Namjoon finished cleaning up from breakfast. When the dishwasher was loaded and running, he quickly tucked the other half of his shirt into his pants and headed to his room to grab his shoes and briefcase. When he made it to the hallway, he noticed that there seemed to be some conflict in the bathroom. "Kookie, I need to spit!"

"I'm almost done!"

Little spats like this were extremely common, as one would expect from a family with five young boys. However, unlike normally, it didn't stop there. As Namjoon was moving into his bedroom, since he and Jin had the philosophy of letting the boys work through issues themselves, only stepping in in cases like when Jimin was younger and would attempt to beat up the other boys, he noticed too late that it was a situation that he needed to step in and mediate. Jimin, the source of the original complaint, pushed Jungkook down from his personal stepstool where the six-year-old had been carefully rinsing off his toothbrush to place back in the holder. There was a beat before the kindergartener began crying, and Namjoon was already in the bathroom, crouching on the ground next to him by the time the tears started to fall.

Jimin finished up brushing his teeth while Namjoon checked Jungkook over for injuries. Jungkook had scraped his arm along the edge of the counter on his way down, and small beads of blood were rising to the surface of Jungkook's skin from the small wound. "Let's get you all bandaged up, Kookie~" Namjoon stood up from the ground with Jungkook in his arms and looked at Jimin, seeing that the eight-year-old was trying to act like he was indifferent but Namjoon could see the slight guilt in his eyes. "Go finish getting ready, I'll talk to you as soon as I'm done taking care of Jungkook."

Jimin silently left the bathroom as Namjoon set the sniffling boy on the counter. "It hurts~" Jungkook said quietly, pouting down at the scrape on his arm.

"I know, Kookie, but don't worry, I'm gonna make it all better." Namjoon got the first aid kit out from under the sink and immediately began cleaning Jungkook's scrape. After placing a Band-Aid over it, Namjoon gently held Jungkook's arm and said, "Now, your dad's kisses are probably much more magical than mine, but I'm still gonna try." Namjoon pressed two soft kisses to the area, earning some giggles from the kindergartener. "Alright, now that you're all fixed, go get your shoes and backpack so we can go." He picked the six-year-old up from the counter and set him on the ground before nudging him towards the hallway.

Jungkook skipped into his bedroom next door as Namjoon stepped into the hallway. He briefly glanced at the room across the hall and noticed that while the other boys had already gathered in the living room, Jimin was still sitting on his bed, hugging his backpack to his chest as if he was waiting for Namjoon to come scold him. Namjoon took a deep breath, as this would be the first time he would be dealing with a situation like this without his husband by his side, and stepped into the room. He stayed quiet until he was sitting on the bed next to the eight-year-old. "What's up?"

Jimin shrugged, his lips formed into a small pout as he refused to look up at his dad. "Am I grounded?"

Namjoon's heart broke slightly at how Jimin obviously thought Namjoon was only in there to punish him. "Do you realize that pushing Jungkook down was wrong?" Jimin nodded slightly. "Do you regret doing it?" Another nod. "Are you planning on apologizing to him?" One more nod. "Then I don't see a reason to punish you, especially since I know it's because you're frustrated and stressed out over something." Jimin seemed to fold in on himself at Namjoon's words. "You wanna tell me what's going on?" Jimin didn't respond, not even with a shrug. He just continued avoiding looking at his dad. "Minnie, I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Jimin continued to stay silent. "Alright, I'll leave you alone for now, but when you decide you want to get whatever it is off your chest, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, you come to me and I will be there for you." Jimin finally looked up at his dad and gave him the smallest hint of a smile. "We better get going so that you boys won't be late to school."

***

Namjoon had assumed that it would take Jimin a few days to come forward about what had been bugging him, so he was definitely surprised when the second grader came clean that same afternoon. Jimin's appointment with Dr. Pruitt was right after school, so Namjoon picked him up directly from the elementary school and went to the counseling center while the other four boys went to Abuela Martinez's like usual.

As it was a parent-child session, Dr. Pruitt began by asking Namjoon if there was anything he had noticed recently or anything that concerned him. "He's kind of withdrawn a bit the past few days." Namjoon said, and as if confirming that statement, Jimin sat next to him looking like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. "Yesterday Taehyung informed me that Jimin had gotten in a fight at school again," Jimin looked up at his dad in surprise, not realizing he had known about that, "and today he pushed Jungkook down in the bathroom. I know that something has been stressing him out, but I don't want to force him to talk about if he doesn't want to."

Dr. Pruitt nodded and turned to Jimin. "Jimin, would you like to talk about it now? It's okay if you don't."

The young boy stayed silent for a little bit before opening his mouth and speaking barely above a whisper. "I miss Dad."

Namjoon immediately had the urge to wrap the eight-year-old in his arms and cuddle all his worries away. "I miss him too, Minnie. But don't worry, he'll be back in just a few days."

Jimin's response confused Namjoon. The young boy just shrugged and didn't say anything reply, almost as if he didn't fully believe that Jin would be returning soon. "It seems like there might be a little bit more to it, Jimin." Dr. Pruitt said. "What about your dad being gone is causing your frustration?"

Jimin shrugged again, looking down at his lap as he answered. "Everyone gets tired of me, what if he got tired of me too and that's why he left."

Dr. Pruitt glanced at Namjoon, but the 27-year-old paid no attention as he was already turned more towards the second grader and trying to reassure him. "That's not it at all, Minnie. Your dad and I could never get tired of you! You're so smart, kind, helpful, funny, and you make everyone's day brighter." A small smile appeared on the young boy's face at the praise. "Your dad went to get even better at his job and he will for sure come back, and I know he'll give you a big hug as soon as he sees you because he misses you just as much as you miss him."

"Really?" Jimin asked.

Namjoon nodded. "We'll even call him after this, so he can tell you himself."

The subject of the session changed after that, as the issue was obviously resolved. As soon as Jimin was in the van and buckled in, Namjoon dialed Jin's number, and thankfully he wasn't busy. "Namjoon! I miss you!"

Namjoon chuckled at Jin's greeting. "I miss you too, but there's someone here that really wants to talk to you." He pulled the phone away from his ear and handed it to Jimin.

"Dad?" Jimin asked, a bright smile stretching across his face as soon as he heard Jin's voice. "I really miss you! When are you coming home?" While the eight-year-old carried a conversation with his father, Namjoon climbed into the driver's seat and started the car, pulling out of the parking lot so he could go get the other boys for dinner.