Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

xxxv.

"Tae?" Jungkook called out, rolling to his left before rolling back to his right. He couldn't get comfortable, which was strange considering that he usually slept rather well.

"Yeah, Kookie?"

"Oh." Jungkook blinked, surprised that Tae was still awake. I thought it was just me. "How did you already know about Mommy leaving?"

There was a long pause, and Jungkook thought Tae had fallen asleep, but then he answered in his somewhat deep voice. "I heard Daddy on the phone with Mommy. He was really angry. But sometimes being angry is just what you do when you're actually really sad. I think Daddy was really sad."

"Oh." Jungkook frowned. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you're younger than me," Tae answered easily. "Only big kids get to know secrets."

"You're only older by a few minutes!" Jungkook protested, whisper-yelling so Namjoon wouldn't come into their room and scold them for not sleeping.

"I was born in Busan first," Jimin mumbled.

"Oh, you're awake too, Jimin hyung?" Jungkook asked, rolling over and craning his neck to look at Jimin's bed. Like Jin, he got to sleep alone. Benefits of being born in Busan first, Jungkook guessed. But he couldn't see Jimin's face behind the mound of blankets that Jimin liked to sleep in because it made him feel "fluffy."

"Maybe, maybe not," Jimin said, and Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"Tae?" Jungkook asked, and Tae mmhm'ed. "What do you think...about Mommy, I mean."

Tae was quiet for another minute or two before he asked, "What do you think about Mommy?"

"Well, I..." Jungkook played with his fingers. "She was soft. Like when she gave me hugs. And she rocked me sometimes. And she would put a band aid on my finger if I got a boo-boo." Jungkook pursed his lips, thinking hard. "I think she was pretty, but I can't really remember because I haven't seen her in a long time."

Tae nodded to himself. "She was pretty."

"Yeah," Jungkook agreed, and a blurry face came into his mind: dark brown hair, pale skin, brown eyes. But the details were all fuzzy. "I think I miss her."

"Yeah."

"I think I want her to come back."

Tae was quiet for longer this time. "Why, Jungkook?"

"Because..." Jungkook blinked, struggling to put words to his thoughts. "Because she's Mommy. She's supposed to be with us. She's supposed to be with Daddy."

"But remember what I said, Kookie? She made Daddy really sad. I don't like it when Daddy's sad, just like he doesn't like it if you or I are sad." Tae paused, realizing that Jungkook wasn't getting it. "Okay, think about it this way. You spend an hour drawing a picture. It's your best picture ever. You used all the colors and worked really hard on it. But then someone-"

"Yoongi hyung."

"-okay, Yoongi hyung - comes along and rips it up. And then instead of helping you tape it back together or saying he's sorry or giving you a hug, he just watches you cry, and then he walks away."

Jungkook frowned. "That would be mean of Yoongi hyung."

Tae nodded. "Exactly. You would be really sad, right?"

"Right."

"So when you go to play the next day, would you invite Yoongi to play with you? Especially if he already told you that he didn't want to play anymore? Especially if you knew he would rip up your drawing again?"