The Bangtan Baby

Namjoon & Bora: Sweet Alyssum

It had become a tradition ever since Bora was born that Namjoon would buy her a book and a plant every birthday. The book collection had outgrown the plant collection but there was always one plant that kept coming back stronger each time - Sweet Alyssum.

Namjoon had planted it in a large pot on his balcony which then had been transferred to Grace & Jin's place, where it continued to grow with his care. But now it was time to teach the little one to care for the plant that had been bought, cared for and grown in her name.

He helped Bora pull on her kid-size gardening gloves and made sure her clothes were well protected, her hair pulled into pigtails that suited her six-year-old face. Hazel eyes curiously looked over the tools that Namjoon had brought along - adult size and kid size.

"So, Bora, we're going to take a look at your plant since it needs a bit of pruning and sorting out," he said as he plonked Bora on his lap with the large plant pot in front of him. "You hold this," he added as handed her a pair of kid-size garden scissors.

Little fingers held on tightly but she was paying attention, watching as he pointed out a branch of the plant that had obviously wilted in the Seoul heat. "We're going to cut that off and then another branch will take its place next year," Namjoon explained and watched as Bora carefully cut the branch off. "Perfect."

They began to deadhead some of the flowers, those ones that look wilted and dead, brown and crispy rather than the purple that they should be. Bora carefully followed every instruction her Uncle Joon gave her, learning how the plant started from a seed then grew to this large plant, just like she would do soon as she was only six but within four years she would be ten and then it wouldn't be long till she was a teenager.

That was a horrible thought to Namjoon as he watched the little girl that Bangtan had fallen in love with the moment they knew about her existence. Of course, most of them had gone to start their own families but she was the original and the first Bangtan baby. So she held a close place in all their hearts.

"You okay, Uncle Joon?" she asked, taking the glove off that was covered in soil and pressing a hand to his cheek where he realised he had been crying.

"I'm fine Bora, just thinking about you growing up and how you'll be too old to do this with your uncle."

She gave a smile, one little dimple popped up on the left side of her mouth. She looked like Jungkook when she did that but that dimple looked like Namjoon. She was the complete embodiment of BTS in one little body.

"I'll never be too old for my uncles, especially you Uncle Joon. After all, who is going to help with my homework?"