Uncle Namjoon

Dinner (CH 14)

Namjoon picked up the second tie and hold it on his chest right under his chin to check up if that color would look better on him. He spent more than an hour picking his outfit for the day. He went for a blue suit with dark blue shirt underneath. A necktie was a must! Five colors were already eliminated and couldn't make it to the finals, but the black checkered tie and the plain white tie were big rivals and honestly each color changed Namjoon's aura.

White gave him a light freshness, making him look playful, open and young. Black gave him an honest, frank and sincere look. At the end he only wanted to look tidy, clean and his aim was also to show Seokjin that he was taking his invitation seriously.

Jungkook on the other hand insisted on wearing his yellow t-shirt with distinct kinds of exotic birds on it. Namjoon convinced him to not wear the neon green pants underneath and did not only save the day, but also Jungkook from looking like a clown in this dinner, which basically had a heavyweight meaning for Namjoon. He also remarked to annihilate that neon green pants one day when Jungkook paid no attention to it. It was Jungkook's favorite fit, and Namjoon could never stop being embarrassed about it. Wherever they would go with it, they just shined bright like a diamond. Namjoon only had to put a red beanie on top of Jungkook's head for him to look like a traffic lighting. Seriously, why do kids have horrible taste in fashionwear, causing this fashion disaster?

"Uncle goes to work?" Jungkook raised his eyebrows as he curiously peeked behind the door while Namjoon changed the two ties again in front of the mirror, tucking both on his neck to check it up once again.
"Huh?" Namjoon paid only little attention to that question as he added some new grimaces and emotions like smiling, gasping or wondering to see which color promoted his expressions better.
"Uncle needs to work?" Jungkook tried again, making a few steps closer to him and held onto the white tie, pulling it gently to play with it.
Namjoon could not comprehend the connection between working and him frantically changing the ties, until he realized that Jungkook must have seen his dad wearing a tie when he went to work.
"Oh, yeah... no, Jungkook- this.." Namjoon sighed. It sounded ridiculous when he had to explain why he wanted to look classy for a dinner at his neighbor, which was not even meant for him, but the kids.
"Your uncle wants to look like a good man. So, our neighbor won't continue to think I am a lunatic. I want to gain trust." He placed a hand on Jungkook's shoulder as he admitted that he wanted to build a bridge of reliance and faith between him and Seokjin. It was only a matter of time and of course, it depended on how Namjoon acted in that time.
"Oh... okay!" Jungkook nodded convinced, although Namjoon was sure he barely understood Namjoon's purpose.
"So, which one suits your uncle better? This one or..." Namjoon raised the white one again only to see little chocolaty fingerprints on it.
"Did you..." He looked at Jungkook's hands, holding a large chocolate bar, which Namjoon didn't notice until then and which covered not only Jungkook's tiny fingers in chocolate but also the snow-white necktie, which he just let go. Speechless. He didn't even have to ask the question, he just let the tie fall on the floor with a grunt and rushed Jungkook into the bathroom to clean his hands.

Namjoon was with Jungkook in front of Seokjin's door with no tie on him. He had called Hoseok for advice and gave up wearing one as soon as Hoseok started to burst his loudest laughter, telling him it was not necessary to go that far. A short bickering and some minutes of discussion led him to give in and he decided to come in blue suit and shirt only.

"Knock on the door, buddy." Namjoon gently pushed Jungkook forward and waited patiently.
"Oh, the door is open, uncle." Jungkook just hit the front door open and Namjoon blinked in confusion. 

**

Lasagna, glazed hams on potato wedges, broccoli soup, cucumber salad... Seokjin went habitually over the menu in his mind for a few times. He wanted things to look simple, yet perfect. It was the first time he had guests over after a long time. He only baked cakes or cooked one-pots for others when he visited them, but he seldomly invited people over.