Forever And Ever (BTS)

Chapter 17

The next morning, the boys woke up disoriented. "Wait... where are we?" Tae asked, confused. "Um... Home..." Yoongi replied incredulously. "Oh, right," Tae grinned. Yoongi rolled his eyes, muttering something about Tae being an idiot. The other boys smiled fondly at the banter. They took turns going to the bathroom and getting dressed before going down to eat. They were surprised to see Mr Kim standing in front of the stove, trying to cook. He was hungover though, so he was having a considerable amount of trouble. Jin went over, gently pushing him towards the dining table, "Go sit down, Dad, I'll cook breakfast today." Mr Kim didn't protest, nor did he have the ability to anyway. With that, Jin started to whip up servings of pancakes, something he had learnt on his own and perfected while at Jim's. Soon, the eight family members were enjoying the food. Mr Kim seemed to be losing the hangover, as he started talking with nearly no slurs at all. "Boys, why did you come back? Weren't you with your mother?" "We didn't like it at the other house, we wanted to stay here. So we decided to come back ourselves." "Did your mother agree to let you come here?" The boys didn't reply, and Mr Kim immediately knew what they had done. "You ran away? Why would you do that? Your mother will be worried sick!" "But she wouldn't have let us come," Jungkook intervened, "And we really really want to stay here with you! Please let us stay here? Pretty please?" He even made sure to look at his father with puppy eyes, remembering that the man often couldn't refuse when he saw them. Sure enough, Mr Kim slowly caved in, "Fine, you can stay. But what if your mum calls?" "Just say we're not here! Besides, you've never lied to her, she'll believe you!" Jin piped up. His words were persuasive, Mrs Kim really had always trusted her husband and knew he would never lie. Mr Kim didn't particularly want to start, but if the kids were unhappy with her, they should have the right to stay with him. So he agreed, comforted by the boys' cheering and beaming faces.

Mrs Kim frantically searched through every room in the house, Jim following behind her. Her boys were gone, and she didn't know why or how. Jim pretended to be concerned, although he was secretly happy that the boys were gone and he could try wooing the woman he loved.

The kids were in the living room, playing together like they used to. Smiles were on all their faces as they basked in the joy of having fun in the home they belonged in. Mr Kim watched them, his own happiness apparent. For once, he wasn't lounging with a bottle in his hand, slowly losing his senses. He was fully present, determined to make up for lost time with the boys. And so, the family spent the day relaxing in each other's presence. Mr Kim got dragged into a few games, and he participated whole-heartedly. The children were ecstatic to see their father be himself after so long. They had missed the relationship they had with him.

It was evening when the phone rang. Mr Kim picked it up, and wasn't surprised when he heard his now ex-wife's voice. "Have you seen the boys? Are they with you? They're not here!" Despite the obvious worry in her voice, Mr Kim wanted to have the boys with him as long as possible. "No, they're not here," he replied, feigning concern, "let me know if you find them though" Once she agreed, he hung up. He went back to the kids, "Your mum just called, she doesn't know you're here." The boys smiled in gratitude. However, something cropped up in Mr Kim's mind. "What about the custody? If she does find you, she'll definitely do everything she can to get it." "Don't worry, we've figured it out!" Jimin reassured him. The boys had always been good at figuring things out, Mr Kim knew he could trust them.

"They're not with him, Jim!" "Maybe he's lying, he might have to keep them with him," Jim said. While he didn't want the children in the house, he couldn't stand how all their mother now talked about was how they were missing and she was worried. Besides, if what he said was true, her ex-husband could get in trouble, which would be a bonus. So he settled with this speculation, now he just had to get her to believe it.