Six of a Kind

칠: The Pool

Namjoon lugged Jimin along on one hip, keeping a tight grip of the hyperactive Taehyung, making sure he couldn't run ahead and slip on the wet tiles. Hoseok, Yoongi, Jungkook, and Seokjin walked ahead of him, Jungkook on his tiptoes as he didn't like the feel of the slimy tiles, nor did he want people's hair on his feet. Although Namjoon couldn't catch hold of them if they ran, they stayed toddling forward, not wanting to get in trouble.

Seokjin couldn't have his new hearing aids in the pool. He was slowly getting used to the hearing world, though he couldn't understand speech yet. Namjoon had started all over again with his baby talk, and making the others slow down so he could understand. He had a long way to go, but he didn't cry anymore. However, they couldn't get wet.

He led them down all the way to the toddler pool. The water lapped around his shins, but for the sextuplets, it came up to nearly their waists. They squealed delightfully as they splashed around to the deepest part, exploring the pool.

Except Jimin. Namjoon sat down in the middle of the pool, and set Jimin out in front of him, his legs either side of him to stop him from tipping in. He kept a hold of the boy's sides, and let him splash the water with his hands. The boy couldn't walk, so there was no way Namjoon was going to let him crawl in the water.

There were other parents and toddlers in the pool, but they were mainly sticking together. The parents splashed their babies gently, gliding their feet in the water. Namjoon didn't have enough hands to hold back six kids, so they got to free roam. He hoped the other parents would at least point out if someone started to drown.

"Yoongi, look, I'm a cwocodial!" Hoseok called, crawling around the shallower parts of the water on just his arms, his feet pointed behind him. His head stuck comically out of the water.

"I want to be a dead fwog!" Yoongi called back, and instantly lay flat in the water. He tried to take a breath in, and choked. He sat up, coughing up water dramatically whilst Hoseok laughed.

"Come on, Yoongi, you've had enough baths in your life to know that you can't breathe underwater," Namjoon scolded, trying to hold back his laugh.

Yoongi muttered tearfully, his fringe dripping water into his eyes. He said something about how 'he's not in the bath, so how should he know?', but Namjoon decided to ignore that, and turn to the deeper side of the pool to check on the others.

Seokjin and Taehyung had pulled themselves up onto a little island in the middle of the deep section, standing underneath the huge metal umbrella. They looked around, but it didn't seem very special.

There was a button on the umbrella's stand. Taehyung looked at it thoughtfully, before pressing it. Instantly, water spouted from the top of the umbrella, surrounding the two boys in a fountain. They both squealed excitedly, sticking their hands into the rapid water with giggles. It stung their palms, but they loved it.

Jungkook was sitting calmly in the water, where only just his head stuck out. Namjoon watched him for signs of distress from all the noise, but this was the quietest he'd been for a long time. He loved the feeling of the cool water on his skin, and the gentle laps against his neck. He had already decided he loved the pool.

He turned himself around, and watched the adults and big children swim up and down in the other pool. There were three pools at that particular centre: the big swimming pool, the toddler pool, and a smaller recreation pool, for kids who could swim to play around in.

He looked at the recreation pool. The walls were made from blue sparkly tiles, and the water looked a deep blue colour. The kids splashed and threw balls at each other, screaming away. From what he could see, one side of the pool was black. They looked like vents, but underwater. He wanted to look at them, but he also didn't want to move. He stayed sitting in the water, rocking slightly to create waves.