the night repeated itself. the delicious food placed onto the table, the sound of knives cutting into the juicy meat. the sound of a spoon colliding with the ceramic china. jimin quietly chewed his food while his father wiped his mouth with the cotton napkin. namjoon carefully observed the actions of the family.
"jimin," his father spoke softly. jimin didn't answer. namjoon couldn't decide if he was ignoring him or if he was lost in his own world while his legs kicked under the table. a soft hum fell between his parted lips. but it soon stopped when his father slammed a fist onto the table. jimin jumped up and his eyes landed on him. "i thought i told you to stop daydreaming! when i call your name, you are to speak back!"
"i-i'm sorry, father," he stood up to quickly apologise formally and sit back down. his head hung low and namjoon watched as his lower lip sucked in between his lip.
"i got an interesting call today," the old man sticks a piece of meat into his mouth. he suddenly seemed calm that namjoon felt the need to back away from the table before it got messy.
"what was it, father?" jimin sips onto his drink. the men chose a fine wine. but jimin chose fresh milk. namjoon would release a low chuckle when he asked for it.
"the church called to see if you're feeling well. he said taehyung and hoseok told him you fell ill. is this true?" he never took his eyes off his plate. jimin looked at namjoon who began to regret his words of advice.
"i-i... i'm so sorry, father, i have a good explanation for this!" namjoons eyes widened and he swore inder his breath. he was about to pose his future job and it hasn't even been four days.
"yeah? and what would that be?"
"w-well, uh, i don't want to attend church anymore, father. i came to conclusion with, um, myself," he spoke quietly at the end of the sentence.
jimin's father looked up at namjoon. "i'm sorry for my son's sudden behavioral issue," he smiled. namjoon just shook his head and raised a nervous hand up.
"jimin see me after dinner is done."
⚭
"you've been watching television at taehyung's house haven't you?" his father yelled. jimin was on the floor, knees down, head hung low. the moon shined down on them with the dim lamp in the corner. jimin had tears in his eyes as his father scolded him. he was an adult and he thought he'd be able to get away with it. it wasn't rare that his father would scold him like this. even though it was 1973, his father treated his life like it was the 40s.
"no! taehyung hasn't invited me over in a while, i promise!" he cried out. he didn't want to lose another friend because of a mishap that happened with him. jimin couldn't afford to lose the two people that meant more to him than his mother.
"what gave you that idea?" his father took jimin by the hair and yanked it. jimin had tears fall harder from his eyes as he silently cried out. the night workers outside of the room would ignore the noise if they were on duty. but namjoon couldn't help but sit up and feel guilty from across the home. he winced when he heard things crash and the sound of skin colliding with skin.
as he sat in the moonlit room he thought to himself. maybe he shouldn't have given a boy that advice. he knew he made a bit of a mistake and that created something inside him. especially when he heard bare feet run through the halls. he was going to hear the cries of jimin between the bathrooms. but instead, his door flung open.
jimin stood there and slammed the door shut. his eyes were red with his hair a mess. his day clothes were still on as he faced the middle-aged man. jimin sniffled as his quiet sobs calmed down slightly. he slowly started making small steps before he ran and jumped onto namjoons bed. his chest collided with namjoons. he was holding onto namjoons waist which made him confused. why would he be this close to him already? namjoon didn't particularly mind.
the boy hugged tightly as the moon shined down on him. it was funny to jimin how the moon can make scenery look. especially when the boy stopped crying and slowly fell asleep in namjoons arms.
