The Kim Family Tetralogy

9

"Omg, I'm so hungover." Taehyung complained, being all hoarse from the shouting yesterday, resting his head in his hands at the breakfast table.
"Huh?" Jungkook grumbled, equally under the weather.
"Yeah," Hobi croak-wheezed, having no voice whatsoever, "I blame Yoongi, that Elvis-dude and the flipping karaoke."
"Why are you shouting?" Minho whined, "Schhh!" he shushed them, trying to keep the light out of his eyes with his hand.
He was ten years older than Jungkook after all.
Ten years!
"Well, aren't you a sorry lot!" Jimin laughed, suddenly standing beside them.
"Jimin!" Taehyung whispered, streaching his arms up demanding a hug.
He didn't have it in him to stand up right now.
"OMG!" Jimin laughed, "Must have been some party!"
"Why are you shouting?!" Minho again protested.
"Dad?" a little voice said, tugging at Jimins t-shirt and Taehyung sobered up immediately.
Everyone else did, too, and stared at the little guy, hiding halfway behind Jimin.
"Hello," Taehyung smiled and put his hand out, "And who might you be?" he asked, kindly.
"I'm Parker Kim." the little dude said, in english, shaking Tae's hand before standing very close to Jimin's side.
"Everyone," Jimin smiled and put his arm around the kid, "meet Parker, my son."
"Your son?" Hobi's eyes were round as saucers.
"Mhm." Jimin nodded, smiling.
"It all makes sense now." Hobi gaped.
"It does?" Jungkook looked at Hobi like he'd lost his mind.
"Well, hello there, Parker Kim," Taehyung went on, ignoring the side bar, "I'm Kim Taehyung, and it is very nice to meet you."
"Omg, there you are!" Soonyi, threw her hands up in the air, "He just took off!" she complained, "Hi, guys!" she smiled at them, "You look," she chuckled, "so worn, right now."
"Shook." Jungkook mumbled.
"Welcome!" Tae heroically stood up and kissed her cheeks.
"Sit down." she laughed and pushed him down again, "Man, you reek!"
"You're Jungkook." Parker gaped, "The Jungkook."
"I am." Jungkook nodded and put his hand out to shake the little man's, "Nice to meet you, Parker." he smiled.
"Woaw!" Parker swooned, "Dad! It's Jungkook!"
"Yeah." Jimin laughed at his son's fanboying, "Still a brat, though." he chuckled and gave Jungkook a noogie.
"Dad!" Parker almost died of embarrassment.
Everyone around the table was smiling fondly.
"Where's the rest of you?" Jimin asked, letting the noogie turn into a hug.
"Yes," Tae scratched his head, "well, Yoongi is, I don't know, starting stuff?" he shrugged, "Ending? Other stuff."
"Oh?" Jimin pursed his lips, surprised, but rather pleased.
"Yeah, and," Tae looked around, "Jin and Namjoon," he looked around some more, "I don't know where Jin and Namjoon are, to be honest?" he confessed.
"Up to no good." Namjoon said, coming up from behind, startling them all, "Soonyi, Jimin." he kissed their cheeks.
"Namjoon-hyung," Jimin said and had Parker stand infront of him, "this is my son, Parker Kim."
"Pardon?" Namjoon thought he was hearing things.
"My son. Parker." Jimin chuckled.
"Your son?" Namjoon gaped.
"Mm." Jimin was still chuckling.
"Your son." Namjoon had to shake his head.
"Parker," Jimin hunched down with his hands on Parker's shoulders, "this is Grandpa Namjoon, he's a bit slow,"
Namjoon hit him over the head, "Hi Parker, I'm Namjoon, nice to meet you." Namjoon finally remembered his upbringing, and greeted the kid.
"Holy fuck!" Jin stopped dead in his tracks.
"Hi, Jin." Jimin laughed, "Meet my son Parker." Jimin repeated like a freaking parrot.
"I need to sit down." Jin sat down on the closest available surface, Jungkook's lap.
"Dad," Jungkook introduced, "say hi to Jimin's son."
"Hi, Jimin's son." Jin said faintly, "How old are you?"
"Eight." Parker said, confused.
"About to turn nine." Jimin clarified.
"Ok, guys." Tae broke it off, "You're freaking him out." he stood up, "You hungry, Parker?"
The kid nodded.
"Wanna come with me and see if there's waffles?" Tae asked and took the poor child with him to raid the buffet, followed by his mother.

"Explain." Jungkook ordered as soon as they were out of hearing range.
Jimin sat down, "There isn't much to say," he sighed, "Soonyi couldn't go through with the abortion,"
"Oh!" Jungkook was beginning to understand now.
"and she didn't want to burden me," Jimin continued, "so she moved to England, with her parents, and raised him on her own, and," he shrugged.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Hobi asked softly, putting a hand on Jimin's arm.
"She didn't tell me at first." Jimin ground his teeth, he was still a bit upset about that, "I only found out a couple of years ago, and, well, it's been, difficult, to decide how we wanted, yeah, it's been difficult." he shrugged again.
"And I wanted to, you know, sort things out between all of us before I told anyone." he explained, "So, I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Hobi said, "and pulled him in for a hug, "You've grown up, Jimin."
"Thanks Hobbs." Jimin smiled.
"Are you gonna faint?" Jungkook asked Jin, still in his lap.
"Dunno." Jin said but stood up anyway, getting the hint, "The world is upside down." he raked his hand over his face, looking at Namjoon.
"I know, dear," Namjoon said, smiling and kissed him, "but I love you anyway."
"Welcome home, Jimin." Jin said, and pulled him up for a hug, "We missed you yesterday."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry!" Jimin apologised, "I tought I'd be able to make it, but the aviation gods were not on our side." he sighed.
"Kekeke," Namjoon sounded an evil giggle, "take a look at this!" he held his phone out, showing Jimin a clip of Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the animals of the forrest, performing at the gay karaoke bar they'd somehow ended up at yesterday.
"Oh my fucking God!" Jimin wheezed, "Classic!"
"Yeah," Hobi craned his neck, taking a look, "right after that, the audience lifted us up, carried us around, regaled us with their stories of gratitude and showered us in champange the whole night."
"You're kiddig?" Jimin laughed.
"He isn't." Jin confirmed, "They really did." he turned to Hobi, "But let me tell you, when Priscilla sang that last song, though." he held a hand to his heart.
"Yeah," Hobi agreed, "I thought I was going to cry my eyes out." he nodded.
"And I missed it." Jimin sighed, disappointed.
"You did," Jin said, "but you're here now." he squeezed Jimin's shoulders, "So let's get some breakfast. I'm bloody starving!"
"And still shouting." Minho grumbled, rubbing his knuckles into his eyes.
"Prince Charming is a little less charming this morning, me thinks." Jin teased.
"Blah, blah, blah." Minho stuck his tongue out.
"Come on, darling." Hobi pulled him up, "Let's get you some coffee."
"Hmfr." Minho protested but let Hobi lead him to the food.

"So," Jimin said, "my best friend is finally getting married to his little Woonkookie the day after tomorrow," he grinned at Tae a while later as the two of them had snuck away for a little one on one, "how do you feel?"
"Excited." Taehyung admitted, "Even if, right now, I want to sleep for a month and get someone to flush the alchohol out of my system." he groaned.
"We blame Yoongi." Jimin nodded, wisely.
"We do." Tae nodded along, agreeing.

"So, I take it Soonyi's the one you?" Taehyung asked.
Jimin nodded.
"And she didn't?"
Jimin shook his head.
They sat in silence.
"She didn't want me to know." Jimin started, "Not even after we," he couldn't go on, "I only found out, like couple of years ago? And," he took a sharp breath, "Fuck. I thought I would fucking lose it when I understood he was mine."
"How did you figure it out?"
Jimin snickered, "Well, I saw him." he shrugged.
"Yeah." Tae chuckled, "He looks like you."
"Yeah." Jimin exhaled, "And she named him Parker." he silenced, "And I'm so in love with her, Tae, I love her! And I've never been more disappointed in someone, like, ever, but," he shrugged again, and looked out the window.
Taehyung let him brew.
"But then I remembered what I did to Hobi, and," Jimin turned to him, "yeah, some of us fuck up, you know?"
"Yeah." Tae smiled fondly.
"And OMG, he's my son! You have no idea how much I love him! It's insane. It can't be explained, Tae, it's!" Jimin waved his hands around, "Completely bonkers!"
Tae gave him a quick squeeze.
"And what's even weirder is, I'm good at it!" Jimin turned to him, "Being a dad. And I really enjoy it!"
"I'm happy for you, Jimin." Taehyung smiled, "But you're right, it's weird." he teased, "Jimin the eternal teenager being a good father."
"Yeah." Jimin chuckled, bumping Tae with his shoulder.

"You know," Jimin said after a while of them sitting side by side, thinking their own thoughts, like they used to, "I still feel bad about everything leading up to me leaving when I did, and I'll probably will for as long as I'll live, but, the thing is, I don't regret it? The leaving part? I don't know what kind of person I would have become, had I stayed, but I don't think I would've liked him very much."
Tae leaned his head on Jimin's shoulder, "Maybe we wouldn't have either?" he said, "Maybe you leaving ment we got to keep you in our lives?"
"Thanks, Tae." Jimin leaned his head on Tae's head, "I love you, you know."
"I love you too, Chimchim." he sat up, "And I wouldn't have gotten through adolescence without you." he took Jimin's hands, "I'll be forever grateful, having had you by my side the whole time. Leading me astray." he smiled crookedly, "Showing me that love is love, and all that jazz."
"OMG! All that jazz?!" Jimin shouted, "Ok, boomer." he laughed and wrestled Tae down in his lap, "But you saved me, too." he kissed Tae on the back of his head, "Thank you for teaching me how to, be, loving, without being afraid." he kissed him again, "And for being my friend, too. Weirdo."

*************

The song Priscilla sang:
(And you can read more about that adventure in 'The Supporters, Chapter 6'.)
(Should you be so inclined.)