Happy ❀ »K.NJ + K.SJ«

02: 식당 (The Diner)

On Jin's eighteenth birthday, the only thing he receives from anyone is money. There's enough for the first month's rent of the apartmment, and about a month's worth of food for him and Hoseok.

"You have to go tomorrow, so make sure you have everything packed up later," his mother says, and Jin fakes a smile. "You know that you can come visit anytime, but I want you here for sure on Christmas and Taehyung's birthday at least, you hear me?"

"Yes, Mama, I hear you. Thank you so much."

"You know that we're really sorry, right? We've tried to do our best but that meant you having to sacrifice a lot since you didn't want to put Hoseok up for adoption. We're sorry there's no other choice."

"It's okay."

Hoseok walks over to Jin with raised arms. "Daddy! Upsies!" He says, and Jin smiles as he picks him up. He can't believe he'll be two in a couple of months.

"Hey my sweet boy," he greets lovingly, tickling Hoseok's side. The one-year-old giggles cutely, and Jin does the same. "I love you."

Hoseok mumbles something resembling 'I love you too', but he still can't speak very well.

Jin's mother only smiles.

Jin and Hoseok are gone by noon the next day, Taehyung and their father having helped get Jin's stuff moved to his apartment, which, thankfully, has some furniture in it already.

"Bye, hyung!" Taehyung shouts from the passenger seat, waving as their father begins to drive off. "I love you!"

"I love you too!"

And they're gone.

-

The first month is sort of easy. He spends lots of time with Hoseok, goes job hunting, cooks dinner and they sleep. But when it's almost time to pay rent, Jin panics, and eventually finds a job washing dishes. It doesn't pay very much, but they can survive at least.

He somehow finds a babysitter, a girl in the next door apartment that he doesn't know well, who seems pretty shady, but he has no choice and Hoseok stays with her while Jin works.

He keeps this job as long as he can, past Hoseok's second birthday, past the spring, the hot summer and the chilly autumn, and the winter and Hoseok's third birthday, and spring comes again but somewhere in May, Jin gets fired.

He's not really sure why though, so he asks.

"We just don't need you anymore," he's told, and he feels that that isn't really much of a valid reason, but either way he's out of a job.

He angrily goes back to the apartments, opens the door to the girl's, only to get angrier.

She's not even watching him. Hoseok's playing with some toys while she's in the next room fucking some guy. Jin snatches Hoseok up and leaves without confronting her, however he does slam the door. He guesses that this is what he gets for only being able to pay her about 5,000 won a week.

The next day she's banging on the door. "Don't you need me to babysit?" She asks, as though she enjoys doing it.

"No," he replies, and when she asks why, he tells her the same thing his boss told him; "I just don't need you anymore."

And she's gone. He doesn't care.

-

The beginning of June, rent is due and Jin's got no way to pay it. Thankfully, his landlord says he'll let it slide this month, only because he was charmed by Hoseok's sweet smile along with a "Please?"