Always With You | BTS (Kids)

95

School has ended for the year.

Each boy came home carrying a bag of junk they had cleared from their lockers: sweet wrappers, crushed papers, pencil stubs and even spare uniforms that they thought they'd lost when all along it had been sitting under the piles of books.

"That's the end of freshman year!" Tae cheered excitedly, tossing his junk into the trash and dropping his bags onto the floor. He turned to Jimin and nudged him, "Next year, we are sophomores."

Hobi chortled. "Aww, how cute, you're only a sophomore." He teased. Then he yelled out loud, "I'm going to be a high school senior!"

"You call that impressive?" Yoongi strolled in nonchalantly, throwing Hobi's taunts back against him. "How cute, you're only a senior. I graduated!"

Hobi sulked. "You really didn't have to rub salt in my wounds, hyung." From the other end of the living room, Namjoon just quietly sorted out certificate after certificate bearing First Place in Math, First Place in Language, First Place in...

Yoongi laughed and patted Hobi's shoulder. "Cheer up, high school will pass."

Jin had gone to pick up Jungkook. All seven brothers reunited just in time before Chaesung and Wooseong came home with bags of takeout.

Lots of things have changed in the family since the brothers' special night sharing a bedroom, sleeping together lined up on the floor on mats. They understood each other's boundaries better, and they started to respect each other's space more sensitively.

Just a month ago, Wooseong and Chaesung announced to the boys that they were getting married again. They have attended family counselling, understood and settled the conflicts from years ago. It was a light-hearted journey to remarriage. After all, they had always been in contact, visiting each other's places, getting together for drinks while worrying over their seven boys. It was as if they hadn't divorced in the first place. Plus, they wanted to honour the promise of giving the boys a complete home.

Jungkook was turning 16 the next year. The social services checked in and asked Wooseong if he was financially stable as a single father to support seven boys' college fees. They raised concerns of a single father raising seven adopted sons. But Chaesung stepped in to correct the social services.

No need for a fancy wedding this time. They had just gone to the lawyer's firm to sign a registration of marriage and there was that. The boys were thrilled. At last, their family was complete.

"Have you all packed your things? Coats, shoes, clothes, pants, enough socks and underwear?" Chaesung listed as the family tucked into takeout spaghetti and chicken. "Insect repellent, sunblock, your toothbrush, toothpaste, facial cleansers? Did you pack some money? Enough food for barbecue? Emergency cash, spare water, extra blankets?"

"Yes, yes, we have." Jin answered, slightly amused yet feeling a little bad that she was worrying so much. "We're just going to leave for one night."

"You boys have a bad track record when it comes to packing your own things. You're always losing something." Chaesung frowned and caught sight of Namjoon's furtive eyes. "Don't bother looking away, Namjoonie. Thank heavens you don't need your passport."

A huge campervan was parked outside the driveway.

When the family finished lunch, Chaesung said, "Leave the dishes, I'll settle that. Make sure you have enough clothes and socks and ramen packets."

Jin assured her that they had all packed enough and brought essentials. One by one, the boys dropped their bags at the door, preparing to leave. But Chaesung insisted that each boy gave her a full detailed summary of what was in their bags to make sure they didn't forget anything. It was the first time having all seven away from home. It was different than when the parents left for work trips.