Dad | ym, nj, tk

hana

Throughout the restaurant, conversations were dwindling, and heads were turning towards the doors to the kitchen. Why? They were trying to find the source of the obnoxious sobbing. The manager of the restaurant, Park Chanyeol, quietly apologized to the couple who had called him over to complain about the disturbance and made his way to the kitchen, stopping just inside at the sight of one of his favorite employees, Park Jimin, crying as he decorated the side salads in front of him with croutons and other garnishes. "Seriously," one of the chefs stated after staring at Jimin in disgust, "right in front of my salad?" The male grabbed the dishes and took them far away from the emotionally disturbed omega.

"Jimin," Chanyeol approached him cautiously, not wanting to set off a new wave of distress. "Did you maybe forget what we talked about at your orientation?"

Jimin sniffled loudly, moving to wrap silverware in napkins. "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm perfectly fine!" He insisted as if his nose wasn't bright red and there weren't tear tracks streaking down his cheeks.

Chanyeol sighed. "The employee handbook states that an employee is not to come into work if they are on the verge of a mental breakdown."

Jimin looked up at his boss. "Who's having a mental breakdown? Is it Myunghee? I knew something was off when she arrived."

"Jimin!" Chanyeol raised his voice slightly, but immediately regretted it as Jimin's sobbing increased. "Please just go home, take care of yourself."

"How is going home the same as taking care of myself?!" By this point everyone in the kitchen had halted in their tasks to observe the scene before them. "I have kids to feed, I can't afford to take time off!"

Chanyeol looked around frantically, wanting to get Jimin out of there without upsetting him even more. "I'll mark it as sick leave for you and you'll still get paid your normal amount for tonight." He managed to get Jimin to set the silverware he was holding down and began to usher him towards the employee exit to the parking lot.

Jimin was about to agree until he realized something. "But I get most of my pay through tips! I can't get that if I'm not working."

"I'll cover your tips too!" Chanyeol insisted, lightly shoving Jimin out the door. "Everything will be taken care of, just go!" He quickly shut the door before Jimin could resist further, breathing out in relief at the newfound peace and quiet of his workplace.

Jimin managed to calm himself down enough to be able to drive home, all evidence of his breakdown gone by the time he pulled into the driveway of his small home. He stayed in the car for a little bit longer, working on some breathing exercises to keep himself calm before going inside. All his efforts went out the window with his son's boyfriend, meaning he couldn't stop the sobbing that came about when he saw his oldest child's significant other attempting to sneak out of his bedroom window. "I'm a horrible parent!" Jimin cried, resting his head on the steering wheel.

When he finally calmed himself back down, he entered the house, seeing his six-year-old daughter, Soyoung, sleeping on the couch. He set his bag down and slipped his jacket off before slowly approaching the young girl, attempting to pick her up without disturbing her slumber. "Daddy?" He realized he failed as she mumbled that word against his neck, turning to carry her into her bedroom.

"Yeah, Daddy's home, he's just gonna put you to bed."

"I wanted to wait for you." She mumbled, sitting up from his shoulder and sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"But sleep is more important~" Jimin whispered, laying her on her bed and covering her up with her pink, floral blanket. "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning," He pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room and knocking lightly on the next bedroom door. He peeked his head in to see Jungkook sitting up on his bed, phone in hand as he played some game. "Hey, can I come in?"

"Does my answer really matter?" Jungkook retorted.

Jimin stayed quiet for a few seconds before responding. "You're right, it doesn't." Jimin stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him. "I just wanted to have a little talk with you before going to bed." Jungkook didn't even bother to look up from the electronic in his hand. "You mind putting that up for just a few minutes?"

The teenager rolled his eyes and set his phone to the side. "Happy?"

Jimin sighed. "I know this is going to sound strange, coming from me, but I know that ever since you presented, all of these hormones have been rushing through your body and it's hard to keep them under control, especially when you're in a relationship, but just remember that sometimes it's better to wait and make sure it's what you truly want before acting on any urges you may have." Jimin tried to be vague in his talk, not wanting to sound like he was accusing the teenager of anything.

"Really? You're talking to me about abstinence. You?" Jungkook rolled his eyes and picked his phone back up, making it clear that he was done with the conversation.

Jimin sighed and lightly pat his son on the knee. "Good talk~" He left the room and was about to go to his own for a well-deserved night of sleep but found himself turning in the opposite direction as someone knocked on the door. He opened it to reveal Chanyeol, who didn't bother to wait for a greeting before pulling him in for a kiss. "Well, hello~" Jimin said as soon as they parted.

"Are you feeling better?" Chanyeol asked sincerely.

Jimin nodded. "A little~"

"That's good." He leaned to the side, reaching down to grab something that he was obviously trying to keep hidden from Jimin's sight. "I thought you and I could just relax and pop open a bottle of this."

As soon as Jimin saw the bottle of wine in his boss' hands, his eyes narrowed into a glare. "You asshole!" He pushed Chanyeol out of his doorway and slammed the door in his face, stalking off to his room to cry for the dozenth time that night.

~

"Hi, I'm Jimin, and I'm an alcoholic." He paused while everyone else at the meeting gave the standard response. "I have been sober for 64 days-" He was cut off as people started applauding him. "Please stop clapping..." He waited until they quieted down for him to speak again. "Life's been really hard, so far there hasn't been a day that passes by that I don't want to drive five minutes down the road to the liquor store and drown myself in the first bottle I can get my hands on, but I'm somehow managing not to do it." Jimin looked down at his hands and played with his fingers. "Mainly because I want to provide a better life for my children, a much better life than my dad gave me. You see, while most six-year olds were learning some kind of sport or how to draw, I was learning how to smuggle heroin onto an airplane." Jimin earned a few laughs from the audience, and he wished that had just been a joke.

After sharing for a few more minutes about how his childhood led to his addiction, he finally sat back down, ready to listen to the next person share. "Still blaming all of your problems on the person who gave birth to you, huh?" Jimin froze at the familiar voice, slowly turning his head to look behind him, feeling sick to his stomach as the person who spoke waved at him. He turned back to face the front and covered his face, sliding down in his chair in a ridiculous attempt to hide his presence. "What, can't even say hi to your father after all these years?"

He finally responded. "No, not really~"