Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Namjoon's eyes glimpse at the clock hung exactly above the TV. It reads 23:45 and he supposes it is alright to wrap up the chore. He has a vigorous day tomorrow and he can't afford to sleep in late. He finishes the last morsel of his sandwich and dusts away the crumbs before tidying up the files and papers on the coffee table. 

Ever since he has adopted Changmin, his life has taken a mandatory 180 degrees turn for good which also compelled him to multitask. So while he packs lunch for his son for tomorrow, he also goes through the file in his hand one more time. 

Being a father didn't give him the ability to diminish the traits he has,  so while he walks-- eyes glued to the paper in hand-- he stubs his toes painfully, crumbling paper in his hand as he wills himself to not let out a loud cry to not wake up his son. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," He mumbles, staggering across the small hallway to see if Changmin has aroused. He's a light sleeper, so Namjoon constantly has to tiptoe when his baby is sleeping. 

The suffering from earlier melts off of his face once he realizes how peacefully Changmin is snoozing. He slowly walks over to him and adjusts his blanket so that no cold air rushes inside. Then Namjoon leans down and leaves a light kiss onto his forehead, caressing his round and pink cheeks. 

He walks out of the room quietly, leaving the door open slightly. 

Once Namjoon is in his room, he feels like he can eventually breathe. He gathers various papers scattered on his bed and throws them unceremoniously on the floor. He'll clean tomorrow. He rubs his face and yawns, peeks at the digital clock which reads 23:54, and automatically his body slumps on the bed. 

He lies down diagonally and wills himself to sleep but suddenly the noise of the siren right near his ear disturbs him and he fishes out a toy fire truck and grunts in disbelief. He thumps on it to shut it and places it on the nightstand. 

Somehow he falls into a deep abyss of darkness, body loosening and eyes getting heavy and he's willingly letting himself go but that's when he hears the soft voice of Changmin. 

"Appa," 

Namjoon turns around and blinks at his son, "Hmm?" 

"I'm really thirsty, appa," Changmin rasps, standing by the door and looking so tiny. 

Namjoon wills himself to smile, "Okay, why don't you go to your room and I'll bring you some water?" Changmin nods and scrambles to his room.

Namjoon pours half a glass and drinks first before he pours water once again and strides to his son's room, rubbing his eyes. He silently hands over the glass and sits down on the bed, cracking his neck. God, he should get himself a proper working table. Or maybe he's just getting old. 

Changmin takes his sweet time drinking water, not much of drinking rather than keeping the rim of the glass between his lips and sipping in and sipping out the water. Namjoon internally groans but gently takes away the glass of water. 

"Okay? Okay, sweetie. Mmm. Good night." Namjoon takes away the glass and tries to push his son's forehead so he goes back to sleep. 

"Wait! There's one more sip left." Changmin whines, slowly getting on Namjoon's nerves. 

"Half a sip. You don't need it. Good night." Namjoon calmly warns before he kisses his forehead. 

"I do need it. I do need it, appa!" Changmin reasons and Namjoon gives him a dubious look before sighing and giving up. He gives the glass and assists him to gulp the water so that Changmin doesn't waste more time. Once the glass is empty with no more sips left, Namjoon smiles. 

He stands up and tucks his son again, removing the stray hair from his forehead and giving him a dimpled smile "Okay. Now, good night for real, okay?" 

"Good night, appa." Changmin smiles cutely, scrunching his nose as he adjusts further into the blanket. 

"Night-night, honey." Namjoon whispers, switching off the lights and trying to leave the room so Changmin could fall asleep. 

"I'm really excited about the field trip tomorrow." Changmin quips and Namjoon realizes he is in no mood to sleep now. So putting on a facade, he turns around and faces his son, smiling and leaning against the frame of the door as Changmin sits up and picks up his soft whale toy. "I love big boats." 

"That's good." 

"Han river is big, right?"

"Yeah." 

"Good. Appa?" Changmin calls out in the dark. 

Namjoon decides that it's enough and he guides himself around the room, "Shhh. Sleepy-time now." 

"Is daddy coming to my baseball game tomorrow?" Changmin's question stops Namjoon in the track and makes him hesitant. He slowly approaches his son's bed and sits on the edge. 

"He's gonna try, Minie. Baby, do you remember when I explained to you that daddy has a, uh, different schedule than a lot of other daddies?" Namjoon asks, pushing away the hair from his son's forehead. 

Namjoon carefully chooses his words before laying out the bitter truth to his son."Well, celebrities…they have a tight schedule and they are seldom free from working. So, uh, there's a chance he might not come tomorrow." He juts out his lower lip in sadness and Changmin's hopeful face falls as he plays with the stray string on the blanket.  

"But he's gonna try?" Changmin insecurely and unsurely asks. 

"Yeah, he's gonna try." Namjoon smiles and notes in his head about calling his ex-husband to remind him about the game. He can only hope Jeonwoo comes this time. "I love you a million, billion, zillion," Namjoon confesses, leaning down and giving him an Eskimo kiss. Changmin giggles, smelling of baby powder that Namjoon is so familiar with when he enters the home. 

"Do you love him? Huh, appa?"

Namjoon thinks for a moment before he smiles, "I will always love your daddy because he found you for me." Changmin shyly smiles. Namjoon kisses his forehead for the umpteenth time and he tucks him for the umpteenth time. "Now, go to sleep." 

Namjoon makes it to his bed, eyes automatically falling to the digital clock that reads 00:28 a.m. and he groans and falls onto his bed. 

The next time he wakes up, of course, it's because of Changmin standing like an innocent boy he is (he's really not and Namjoon believes sometimes Changmin does this to annoy him, knowing very well he can't raise his voice) by the door. The clock reads 00:31 a.m. 

"I can't sleep, appa, I had a bad dream." He innocently says.

"In just two minutes, you already fell  asleep and had a bad dream?" Namjoon narrows his eyes at his son. 

Changmin doesn't say anything and looks at him with big doe-like eyes. So, Namjoon sighs and makes space for him and Changmin runs to cuddle with his father.  

The next time Namjoon wakes up is when Changmin hits his nose hard in his sleep. " Ow! Oh, baby. Oh, shoot." Namjoon sniffs, eyes welling up. He carefully removes Changmin's head from his lap and places him beside his body. 

The clock reads 03:14 a.m. and Namjoon has already given up on today. 

When 06:30 rolls around, the alarm goes off, so does the banging of the front door. Taehyung tries to block the noises but he gives up on the incessant knocking and hastily gets up to open the door. 

"Daddy!" Seoyoon gleefully greets, hugging his thighs where she could reach and then running off. 

"Hey, Taehyung." Eunkyung greets.

"Hi." Taehyung drawls, focusing his attention on the 6 years old girl, zooming around his apartment. "Seoyoonie, watch your steps!" He warns. 

"Be careful, Seoyoon!" Eunkyung warns too. 

"I do this all the time, mama!" 

"Does it all the time." Taehyung agrees, winking at his daughter. 

"I still can't believe you haven't unpacked your boxes," His ex-wife says in disbelief. Taehyung recently shifted to an adequate neighborhood that was close to his work but also a decent apartment of two bedrooms so that when Seoyoon stays the night, she can have her room because in her words 'she's a big girl now!'

Taehyung forces a smile and looks at Eunkyung, "So, what's up?" 

"Um, well, you know that, um, me and Jaehwan got married last Saturday." She timidly reminds him, Taehyung remembers-- he was given the invitation that is somewhere lost (or purposefully forgotten) in his old apartment. 

"Right, oh, yeah. How's Jaehwan?" He asks, out of courtesy, and moves around his living room, collecting various canvas sheets to properly place it. As much as he loathes Eunkyung, she's right, it's high time he arranges his apartment and makes it look proper. 

Eunkyung follows him in a hurry, "He's downstairs waiting in the car. Waiting with an ulcer hoping you'll say yes. I need you to watch Seoyoon for me." She begs. 

Taehyung thinks for a moment before agreeing. "Okay, I can do that till about six. Would that help?" He looks at her and she has a weird disagreement frown on her face. 

But before she could say anything, Seoyoon interrupts, climbing the kitchen aisle, "No!" 

"Well…" 

"For the whole week, daddy. The whole week!" Seoyoon excitedly tells him, clapping her hands at the thought of spending a whole week with her father. 

Taehyung opens his mouth to interject but he has no words coming out after the bomb was dropped. Don't get him wrong, he loves his daughter more than anything but this week is simply too hectic and he wouldn't be able to look after Seoyoon and work at the same time. But he can't say anything and Eunkyung tries explaining herself at that moment. 

"We were scheduled t-to leave this morning on our honeymoon, but our babysitter called to say t-that, that she's gotta go watch her mother have a benign tumor removed in Busan. Jaehwan's parents are too old, mine-mine are t-too, too crazy, yours are dead. The tickets are non-refundable, so that leaves you." She breathes out, not giving a chance for Taehyung to interrupt. 

Taehyung rubs his face, "Okay," He says to himself and walks further into his apartment to get his robe. 

"Please, Taehyung, do this. Please!" 

"Eunkyung, now you listen. I would love to, but you know, I'm-I'm working right now. So--" 

"You're always working!" Eunkyung frustratedly complains. 

"Because I have a job that puts a roof on my head!" He argues back. 

"It's the same old excuse that you always give. Even when we were married-- ab-about how you have to work all the time to put a roof above our heads. What, Taehyung? Are you having fun with the models?" Eunkyung provokes him, arms crossing as she gives him a dirty glare. 

"Here's a hint, Eunkyung? During an attempted manipulation like the one that's in progress-" He gives her a tight-lipped smile, something that bothers her so much, "- I would've gone with flattery." With that, he walks past her to the living room. 

Eunkyung follows him, "Why do I always have to be such a grownup where you always get to be the little boy?" 

Taehyung turns to her and makes her stop in the tracks as he narrows his eyes with anger, "Cause at the beginning of the relationship when we were choosing upsides, you chose grownup first. This is how you really want it, Eunkyung." And he swiftly walks towards the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out milk. 

"No, what I really want is--just once--for you to make a sacrifice in your career for your daughter. She really wants to be with you, Taehyung." Eunkyung sighs. 

"I'd really like to do that." And then he bends down and pulls out Seoyoon from under the kitchen counter as she giggles in his arms. "Come here, my little-- Come on. Come here, my little noodle. I'm a creature. Grrr!" He plays with her, tickling her sides, and Eunkyung lets out the smallest of the small smiles at them. 

Seoyoon escapes from his arms and quickly gets down from the counter. "Find me, daddy!" That is all she says and runs away. 

Eunkyung sighs and pulls out a small notebook paper that has everything written about Seoyoon's routine and follows him around as he searches for their daughter. 

"Hey, Taehyung, here's Seoyoon's doctor's number." She hands over a card to him. 

"Where are you, Yoonie?" Taehyung stealthily searches for her, too invested in the game of hiding and seeking. 

"And the number of a really good babysitter who can help you out tomorrow. She's got a walk-on part in a theatre today. And, Taehyung, there's one last thing." She stops him from moving around and for a second Taehyung does stop and looks at the paper in her hand. "This is really important. My neighbor was supposed to take Seoyoon to the Konis International Montessori School for me this morning. Okay? He lives in my building. Taehyung!" Eunkyung whines when her ex-husband's attention is snatched away. 

He signals her to quiet down as he slowly opens the door to Seoyoon's room and looks around. 

"Taehyung!" Eunkyung asks for his attention again. "Apartment five-o-one. This is his number." She points on the paper and Taehyung glances and nods, moving towards the living room. 

"Okay."

"His name is Kim Namjoon." 

"Kim Namjoon." 

"Now, if you want him to take Seoyoon to school for you-" Taehyung gets on his knees to look under the small round dining table, "-if you want him to take Seoyoon to school for you, bring Seoyoon to his house before eight, so you don't miss them. If not, call Namjoon-ssi and let him know that you don't need him to take Seoyoon. Taehyung, okay?" She asks, watching worriedly when Taehyung ignores her guide. She throws her hands up in the air in exasperation and gives up trying to make Taehyung listen, "I'm gonna miss my plane. You know, I don't think this is a very good idea. Maybe I should just cancel my honeymoon." 

Taehyung rolls his eyes, "Don't cancel your honeymoon. Give me these." He takes several papers from her. Seems like she prepared each sheet or each task. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Uh, those are the telephone numbers." She points to one of the papers and moves hastily towards the door. 

"Say hi to Jaehwan." He says, without caring for her papers. 

"Bye, baby!" Eunkyung shouts. 

"Bye!" Seoyoon's small voice, from somewhere in the apartment, comes through. 

Eunkyung leaves with worry as Taehyung perks up, "Bye, baby. Bye, baby!" He hears the running and catches Seoyoon in the hallway. "Oh, baby, oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" 

Seoyoon screams when Taehyung collects her in his arms and sways her. 

"Got ya!" He gently bites her cheek. 

"Daddy, I'm hungry now!"

"Yeah? How about some marshmallow sandwiches?" 

Seoyoon's excited jumping was enough to confirm him.  

Namjoon rushes Changmin to the bathroom as they wake up 15 minutes late for the day. Changmin grumbles as he makes his way to the bathroom. "Go pee, wash your hands and face, and brush your teeth. We're in a little bit of a hurry this morning, 'cause we have to take your friend Seoyoon to school. And we can't be late because of your field trip." He instructs while he packs his son's backpack for the trip. 

"I hate Seoyoon!" Changmin confesses from the toilet seat and Namjoon rolls his eyes. "She thinks she is so funny." 

Once Namjoon has dressed Changmin up, he quickly changes to his work-appropriate clothes and picks up his bag while handing Changmin's bag to him. 

"Go, call for the elevator." 

While Changmin leaves, Namjoon picks up the small fishbowl and quickly scans the room to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything. He packed Changmin's lunch just in case, they have eaten breakfast and they aren't too late to pick up Eunkyung's daughter for school. While locking the door, Namjoon asks Changmin if he wants to go to the toilet one last time. 

"No, appa!" Changmin shouts from inside the elevator. "Now, c'mon, we are gonna be late." 

Namjoon juggles his bag, phone, and fishbowl somehow while making his way towards the elevator. "Okay, press two, baby." 

The time reads 08:08 when they reach the second floor and Namjoon walks to the apartment. He gently knocks on the door and patiently waits. He looks at his son and smiles in comfort. Not sure if that's what he needs the most right now. 

"Wonder where they are," Namjoon mumbles, tapping his shoes impatiently as he knocks again gently. 

"Why don't you bang on the door?" Changmin asks, impatiently. 

"We can't bang on the door of honeymooners." Chides, Namjoon. 

When the door doesn't open, Namjoon throws his principles aside and bangs loudly on the door. 

Taehyung piggybacks his daughter and walks towards the school. "When does your school start?" 

"I don't know!" 

"It probably starts at 9:00. Everything starts at 9:00. You know, we're gonna get there a few minutes early just to be safe. Where do we go from here? Left or right?" 

Seoyoon giggles and says, "I don't know." 

Somehow, they make it to the front of the school when Seoyoon points out from far where her school is located. There seems to be no one around as Taehyung tries to push open the door but it wouldn't budge. Seoyoon worriedly looks at him from where she's standing beside him. 

"We are in trouble," He murmurs. 

The entire school road is empty as Taehyung looks around and sees a pair of father and son running absurdly towards the school. 

"I'm gonna miss the boat trip, aren't I?" Changmin sadly realizes. 

"They're never gonna leave on time. We'll make it. I promise." Namjoon says, before changing his mind at the intersection. "Let's run. Just in case."

When they reach the school, two people already seem to be standing and trying to peek through the door. 

"There's a notice, what does it say, appa?" Changmin notices the paper stuck on the wall. Namjoon keeps the fishbowl on the ground for a minute and bends down to breathe properly. 

Taehyung moves forward to read it, " 'The whole school is at the Han River. Sorry we missed you.' " He reads and realizes the situation at hand. "That's a big "uh-oh", right?" 

"Appa?" Changmin's small voice asks. 

Namjoon rolls his eyes at the man in front of him, "You must be Eunkyung-ssi's ex-husband." 

The children greet each other with animosity. 

"Hi, Seoyoon."

"Hi, Changmin." 

"And you must be-" Taehyung messily pulls out crumpled papers from his coat as Namjoon pulls out an umbrella from his bag and opens it. "Okay. You're not, uh, Byul-ssi, the actress slash babysitter, you're not Seoyoon's pediatrician, Dr. Yang. Hey, here you go. 'Don't forget to call Kim Namjoon.' It's underlined three times." Taehyung looks up, not at all sorry about his behavior which infuriates Namjoon for some reason. "We're not quite together this morning. I'm sorry." He chuckles and crumbles the paper back into his coat pocket. "What do you mean, I must be Eunkyung's ex-husband?" 

Namjoon rolls his eyes, "Well, that's Eunkyung's daughter and this is a totally an ex-husband thing to do."  

"Well, you would know," Taehyung gives him a tight-lipped smile. 

"You know, I have a day," Namjoon asserts. He cannot let this guy ruin his day further and he hopes to get Changmin on that fucking boat somehow. "Taxi! Taxi!" He calls out and runs for it when the taxi stops. 

Seeing that, Taehyung quickly decides to move as well. "Get those fish. Let's go. Come on." He says to his daughter.

"Dad!" Seoyoon complains, picking up the heavy fishbowl. Taehyung takes it from her arms and gently pushes her to get inside the taxi. 

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Hey, you forgot your fish! Take those." He says and gets in the cab somehow with three passengers already occupying the seats. 

"Seoul Marina Club and Yacht, please as fast as you can," Namjoon tells the taxi driver. 

Both the children complain about sitting next to each other so Namjoon and Taehyung decide to seat them on the door side. "Okay. Come on, let's go. Come on. Over the top." The water from the fishbowl spills during the exchange and Taehyung harshly gives it to Namjoon. "Could you please just take those? Thank you." 

Namjoon gives him the deadliest glare. "I don't know where you get off having an attitude since it's your fault that both our kids will probably miss their field trip." He scoffs, trying to handle the fishbowl and his briefcase at once. 

While the parents argue, the children make funny faces at each other, an act to demonstrate how greatly they detest each other. 

"Attitude," Taehyung chuckles while Namjoon requests the driver to take the least busy route. "My attitude is derived from your attitude." He argues. 

" 'Derived '? You must be a writer." 

"Let me guess. Your ex-wife is a writer." Taehyung mumbles while he fishes out the latest copy of the Vogue magazine he bought from the convenience store. 

Namjoon rolls his eyes, "No. My ex-husband is an actor." He says quietly, not on par with talking about his ex-husband at any time of the day. He doesn't want Changmin to start talking about his other father and ask Namjoon loads of questions. 

"Huh." Taehyung doesn't pay attention as he quickly flips pages to see the special feature. He finds a giant photo of himself, posing seductively and proudly smirks. Namjoon's eyes land on the same page and he thinks Taehyung is showing off about being on a page of Vogue. 

He fishes out his phone from the briefcase, "I don't need to see that. I already have an opinion of you." Namjoon mumbles while searching for the caller ID of his best friend. 

"And I of you." Taehyung mimics. 

"Hoseok. Hoseok-ah, thank God you're home. Listen, I-I need to ask you a huge favor." Namjoon hurriedly speaks over the noises in the background. 

"Namjoon-ah, is that you?" Hoseok asks, surprised to get a call from him on the landline. 

"Yeah,"

"You sound awful," Hoseok comments, while directing one of the workers to place the flower bowl on the dining table. "Where are you? Don’t answer. I can't talk right now. I'm on the other line organizing Yoongi hyung's fundraiser. Bye!" 

"No. No, no, no, no. No, wait. Don't hang up. I really need you--" Namjoon desperately says.

At that time, Yoongi walks over to Hoseok and gives him a sweet kiss on the cheek while wrapping his arms around his husband's waist and nuzzling his face into the neck for kisses. "Oh. Ho ho! Ho ho!" Hoseok giggles while Yoongi bruises his neck, eliciting a quiet moan which Namjoon hears and he's a little mortified. "Okay, okay, you gotta go." Hoseok pushes him away with a final kiss,  "Bye baby!" Hoseok clears his throat and speaks again, "Hello? Hello?" 

Namjoon sighs, looking at the shenanigan taking place around him. Eunkyung's ex-husband pulls out a marble ball and shows it to Changmin who gets excited while his daughter tries to snatch the marble ball from him. A mild throbbing pain starts from the bottom of his skull and he suddenly craves to lunge out of the taxi. "Yeah, I'm here."

"What's the matter?" 

"Well, there's this guy, who obviously thinks that a, uh, minor amount of charm replaces integrity and commitment, has, uh--" Taehyung listens over and scoffs silently, taking out his phone and contacting someone's number, "--not only ruined my day but Changmin's as well. He's completely missed his field trip." Namjoon updates. 

"My dad hates your dad," Changmin says to Seoyoon.

Seoyoon, without being affected, says, "So? My dad hates your dad." 

"So?" Changmin huffs. 

"So?" 

"Hoseok?" 

Taehyung speaks loudly next to him just to irritate Namjoon further, "Hey, it's me. Just wanted to know if you're wearing panties. What color are they?" 

Jin, Taehyung's superior but also a very close friend, lets out a confused noise at the question, "Huh?" 

Namjoon glances at him in surprise and also a tiny bit of disgust, wishing he could simply fling this man out of the taxi and get on with the day. 

"If I ever act interested in another man again, would you please shoot me?" Namjoon sighs over Taehyung's seductive voice when he says, "Pink?"   

"Jin hyung, I need this paper signed!" Jimin enters, bringing a bunch of papers to Jin's desk.

"When is Taehyung hyung coming in?" Jungkook asks, bringing Jin's morning coffee. 

Taehyung hears all the commotion in the office while he tries to flirt with Jin on the line. 

"No, Hoseok, I will not drop Changmin at the university street," Namjoon groans, rubbing his face. 

"Why?" 

At that point, Namjoon bursts out. And he had a good reason to burst out. He didn't get much sleep last night. The morning was a total disaster which is still transpiring and he is squeezed with an arrogant, handsome man who has no obligation for punctuality or things he should talk about in public, in front of kids. "Because he hates it there. You're my best friend, how can you not watch him for me?  Look, I-I-I-I have to meet my boss in fifteen minutes, then I have this presentation which-which-which could add up to a huge promotion for me. And-And you have no job, a nanny, a cook, and a housekeeper." He reminds while everybody in the car watches him go off with newfound anger. Even the driver smells the tension in the car and clears his throat. 

Hoseok's jaws set at that, "The nanny is leaving to take baby Chohee to Yoongi hyung and me, Haneul is cooking all day for our dinner party tonight, Jungwon is cleaning for our dinner party tonight, and I am working in the school office this morning." He reasons with him hates how Namjoon disregards his job around the house just because he doesn't work in some corporate world. And he knows Namjoon doesn't mean it, he says things without meaning it but he hates the constant reminder that he's out of work and he especially hates when Namjoon thinks everyone's a little less busy than him. 

"Okay, what about later?" Namjoon asks. 

"Later I'm getting dressed for our party tonight." Hoseok sighs, rubbing his head, "Joonie, why don't you get a nanny?" He asks. 

"Because I can't afford a nanny, Hoseok!" Namjoon says back loudly, startling everyone with the intensity. 

"You're with a guy, aren't you? You asshole!" Jin chuckles, sitting on his chair and eating the croissant Jungkook brought for him. 

"A real superman. Can't open his door. Won't shut his mouth." Taehyung mumbles. 

Namjoon narrows his eyes and gapes at the man sitting next to him, "Excuse me? Are you talking about me?" 

Taehyung effortlessly retorts, "The Prime Minister. We're thinking about doing a piece on him." He listens to Jin laughing his signature windshield wiper laugh and choking on the croissant simultaneously. 

Namjoon ignores him in the favour of countering Hoseok about something he said that Namjoon couldn't even hear because he was concentrating on the jerk. "No, you're insulted because I said that I had a presentation and that you don't work." 

"I do work, Namjoon. I'm the CEO of this fucking household. I'm sorry if I can't help you out today, but you're perfect. You'll figure it out." Hoseok says with much heat. 

Namjoon sighs the umpteenth time, "Okay, okay, bye." He hangs up. 

An awkward silence sits among them for the rest of the ride. Even when Taehyung grins in his direction, Namjoon only responds in glare and turns away to look outside the window. 

Everyone stumbles out of the taxi once they arrive at the pier, the children hurrying to get on the boat. 

"Stay with me, stay with me, there are cars," Namjoon says, panicking when Changmin tries to run away. They hold hands and speed walk towards the entrance. "Oh thank god, it's still here," Namjoon sighs, looking at the giant boat standing on the pier. 

At the entrance someone guides them to the pier where their boat awaits, Namjoon and Taehyung along with the kids run towards the boat. 

The first boat they saw from the parking lot seems empty but Namjoon's gut feeling tells him it's the same boat the kids have to go on. "This is it!"

"That's not it," Taehyung disagrees without even glancing. 

"How do you know?" 

"There's nobody in there,"

"Maybe they are upstairs," Namjoon says unsure. 

"Oh, they are upstairs," Taehyung rolls his eyes, ushering the kids. They start running after hearing the blaring horn once again, indicating the soon departure of the boat. 

Namjoon can barely run carrying so many things at once, Taehyung looks behind to see him struggling and he stops, "Here, I got it.” 

He doesn't allow it and just keeps running towards the ferry with kids over passing him in excitement. “Okay! Excuse me! All right, here we go!” They reach the second ferry just in time, “ Go! Go! Watch your step!” He rushes the kids while Namjoon swaddles behind them, tired and feeling a little frustrated about not accepting the help offered earlier. 

The kids and Taehyung halt immediately once they find the ferry full of old people sitting in their seats and looking at them with surprise but at least their smiles are welcoming. Namjoon huffs as he comes from behind. 

“It was the first boat. I'm telling you, it was the first boat.” He rolls his eyes, breathing through his mouth. Taehyung stops himself from cursing in front of old people and kids as he runs outside when he hears the horn again. 

“First boat? There wasn't anybody on the  first boat!” He grits and Namjoon follows. They stand by the rail and forlornly watch the first boat passing by with kids on them. 

Namjoon gasps, “Oh, no!”

“It's all right. We can still make it, goddammit.” He reassures, more so to himself. Running out of the boat, he heads towards the roof of the building and calls out for the boat that's already sailing away from the port. “Hey! Hey, boat! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Come in here! Come back! I got kids over here! Come back! Hey! Hey! I got kids here!” His voice is drowned by the horn and the whooshing of the wind. “Goddammit,” He whispers to himself.

Namjoon comes up with the kids, already disappointed but holding onto whatever hope. When he sees Taehyung’s guilty expression, all the hope shatters. He looks down when Changmin pulls his jacket and his heart breaks a little. “Oh, who wants to go on a boat in the rain, anyway?”

“I do,” He whispers.

Namjoon sits on his feet and pets his son's hair gently. "I know you did." He whispers, apologetically. Taehyung makes his way to them determinedly as he sits down as well to level with them. Seoyoon comes behind and hugs him while he talks to them

“All right. Listen, uh, Namjoon-ssi, I feel awful about this and we'll make it up to you. You too, kiddo. All right?” He looks at the father-son duo with determination, “ Okay?” When they nod back, he nods as well and stands up. Namjoon pats his back and offers him a smile before planting a kiss on his son’s forehead. 

They all leave the pier in a hurry because even if they couldn't make it to the ferry, they still have a whole day ahead full of a busy schedule. 

They all decide to leave the yacht club for now. There's no way the kids will be able to get on that boat now, their field trip is officially ruined. But Changmin still has his baseball tournament in the evening and Namjoon can surely get one job done. 

"Here's an idea. I watch the kids right now while you do your presentation." Taehyung suggests as they make their way towards the main road to get a taxi. "I heard you say you had one in 15 minutes." Namjoon looks at him doubtfully. 

The children follow from behind, sad but soon forgetting about their missed trip. Seoyoon has hold of her dad's phone as she pretends to dial. Seeing that, Changmin runs over to Namjoon, takes his phone out from the bag, and does the same, he simply puts the phone near his ear and pretends to talk to someone. 

"Hi! Kim Seoyoon calling. I have an urgent message for stupid Kim Changmin." Seoyoon provokes him. 

"I'm not stupid, you're stupid," Changmin argues back, vehemently. Seoyoon shows him the tongue which earns her back too and while they make faces at each other, Namjoon and Taehyung try negotiating the tasks for today. 

"Uh, I don't think so," Namjoon mumbles, pulling Changmin's hoodie over his head, "I only let incredibly responsible people watch over my son," He tauntingly says, rolling his eyes. 

"I'm incredibly responsible." 

Namjoon scoffs at that, having already seen Taehyung's responsible act. 

Seoyoon pulls at her father's jacket, "Daddy, I'm hungry," She says, face sullen and low on energy. 

"You want tic tac?" 

"No," 

"That's all I have, baby." Taehyung apologetically looks at her. The morning started leisurely and he didn't have time to either pack or prepare lunch for his daughter. 

Namjoon shakes his head in disappointment, sitting on his feet and pulling a brown paper bag from his bag to hand it over to the hungry girl, "Here, sweetheart." 

"What's that?" Taehyung asks, suspiciously. 

"Muffin!" Seoyoon happily answers, "Thank you, Namjoon oppa!" She pulls out and takes a huge bite out of it, making Namjoon smile. 

"He's not your oppa ," Taehyung mumbles. 

"You were saying?" Namjoon asks, looking up at Taehyung. 

"I-I-I was saying, we help each other out, just for today." He speaks, distractedly. 

Namjoon contemplates, standing up and looking at the two children, eating muffins on the road while they should have been at that boat, enjoying while Namjoon had a busy schedule. He still does and he's not sure how he can manage to look after Changmin and attend long hours of meetings. 

"Well…" Namjoon starts to speak but Taehyung is distracted by the duo of mother and son walking towards the pier.  

"Looks like you missed the boat," He says to them, a sexy smile on his face and head tilted suggestively. 

"Seems like we did." The mother answers back. 

Namjoon rolls his eyes. 

"I really don't need your help," He says loudly to get the attention of the other, "But if I did, you'd be the last person I'd turn to." He says, angrily. Angry about the fact that Changmin missed his trip because they stopped to pick up Seoyoon who was with her father, furious that Taehyung took them to the wrong boat, disgruntled because he's running late and he doesn't know what to do anymore and here is Taehyung, finding every chance to flirt first thing in the morning. "These are the class fishes!" Namjoon pushes the small fishbowl towards Taehyung, "They were supposed to be back in the classroom by eight-thirty, this morning but now they are spending the day with you." He shoves the fishbowl to the younger's chest, looking at the time on his wristwatch. "God, I'm running so late, I have such a day!" Namjoon hyperventilates while Taehyung amusedly watches him messing his hair. "A bus!" He exclaims, taking the phone from Changmin's hand and pulling him along. 

Changmin tries whining about the phone, something about how it's not Namjoon's but Taehyung's phone. Namjoon doesn't hear him over the ringing in his head as they board the bus. 

They also hurriedly move towards the bus while Taehyung sighs, bending down to pick up Seoyoon, "Promise me, you won't turn like him in the future." 

Seoyoon giggles. 

Taehyung's day finally starts with him meeting his therapist. He normally schedules it in the morning so it's done and he doesn't have to worry about it later in the evening. He wanted to cancel the session today but after the entire fiasco, there's so much in him that's just boiling and waiting to be tipped over. 

He has a lot on his plate today and with Seoyoon in the mix, he doesn't want to do things that might negatively influence his daughter. 

"She, um, she just drops off the-the, uh, the bag of cookies and asks me to keep them for a week." Taehyung awkwardly starts. 

With Seoyoon sitting right at the therapist's table, there's no way he can openly talk about her or her mother. He told Dr. Choi they needed code words so Seoyoon doesn't understand they are talking about her. 

"And how do you feel about the cookies, Taehyung-ssi?" Dr. Choi crosses his thighs and asks. 

"Love the cookies!" He says automatically, looking fondly at Seoyoon playing with the Rubik's cube. Taehyung isn't the best father but he has been trying to become better for Seoyoon, to be more involved. He doesn't want Seoyoon to feel detached from him when she grows up. So he has been coming to therapy to let off what's inside of him and fill with positiveness, to become a better father. "It's the…I have a big problem with, uh, the, uh…-" 

"The cookie maker?" 

Taehyung grunts with an agreement, "That's right. Because the cookie maker thinks that all I am interested in or all that I am, uh, capable of handling, uh, with respect to the cookie in question, is, uh, the, uh…-"

Dr. Choi completes for him again, "The frosting?" 

"Exactly. Exactly!" Taehyung slaps his thigh. "Now, just because the frosting is my specialty doesn't mean that I can't do more. I have many layers to me. And they're not all vanilla, either. I have chocolate in me. I have deep dark chocolate." The doctor nods in understanding. 

"I'm still hungry, daddy." Seoyoon softly speaks up, hearing all the talks about cookies and frosting, her stomach grumbles in response. 

"Uh, don't--I'm so--um, Doctor Choi and I are finishing." He reassures her gently. 

"But what about the cookies?" She whispers. 

"Just a little while, okay?" He smiles at her and Seoyoon nods, leaning back on the chair. Taehyung turns to his doctor and speaks again, "Uh, it's just-- I-I am--I'm sick of angry, resentful fishes who, uh, think that you, that-that-that you owe them, but who won't trust you for a second to do anything for them." Taehyung carefully phrases his sentence knowing Seoyoon is watching him curiously. 

"There are other fishes in the sea, Taehyung-ssi." Dr. Choi reminds him. 

Taehyung nods, running his fingers through the hair, "Yes, I know. It's just, I--I wish I could find a fish who wasn't afraid of my dark chocolate layer and, well, they would have to love my cookie, too. You know, I think that my ex-cookie-maker has turned me off to fish entirely." He shakes his head, disappointed. "I met a real piece of work this morning." 

"Tell me about her." 

" Him ," Taehyung corrects. "This fish was a fox. He has his cookie, too. But what a butt hole. He shoved his fish in my face." Taehyung goes on ridiculously fast, face turning red in frustration. 

"In front of the cookie? What's he doing with another fish, anyway?" Dr. Choi asks in confusion, lost clarity of the story and the code words. 

"What?" 

"Fish with other fish in front of cookies." Doctor says, signaling towards Seoyoon. 

"Fish," Taehyung says and points to himself. "Fish fish," He randomly waves his hand. 

Doctor Choi is confused for a second before he understands, "Ah, I see." 

"Do you?" Taehyung wonders. 

Namjoon speed walks towards the building where his office is primarily located. It has been a busy morning and it certainly has continued ever since. People are swarming everywhere around him and he holds Changmin's hand tighter to not lose him in the crowd. 

He almost bumps into a man getting inside the same building but they both stop to let the other one go first. 

"After you," The gentleman says. 

"No, no, after you," Namjoon counters back. In reality, he wants to push the man aside and actually go first. But his principles come before his irrationality. 

"I insist," 

"Oh, I insist more." Namjoon relentlessly says until the man sighs and gets inside first. 

They take the busy escalator to reach the first floor where the elevator starts from. 

"You can't make any noise in the office. I have a really important meeting, okay?" Namjoon gently makes him understand even when his son is lost in the sight of the tall building. The escalator has mirrors on the handrail and Namjoon happens to see a huge white spot on his pants. "Oh? Ohh!" He groans in disbelief. 

Once reaching the first floor, he takes a detour to the bathroom, pulling his son roughly in a hurry. 

While Namjoon washes his pants off the white dirt, Changmin takes out his car toy to play around with it. 

"Honey, do you wanna use the bathroom?" Namjoon asks over the noise of the dryer. 

"No, appa." Changmin distractedly answers, stepping on the can of cider left by the dustbin. 

"Don't touch that," Namjoon quickly notices. 

"It's empty."

"Changminie, I'm really late and I don't need you spilling anything right now." He explains,  flapping his pants under the dryer hoping it dries quickly and doesn't look too weird. 

Changmin doesn't listen, instead, he pulls out his dinosaur toy and runs across the bathroom, playing. 

"Please don't do that now," Namjoon begs, feeling a slight headache coming on.

"Why not?" 

Namjoon takes the toys Changmin has spilled all over the floor and dumps them in his bag. He looks in the mirror and manages his hair and finally pulls Changmin out of the bathroom. They rush to the elevator that is almost closing and somehow manages to squeeze inside. 

"I need you to practice being super quiet," Namjoon suggests while Changmin pouts. He tries to console his child but they reach their floor and everybody nudges them to get outside. 

Namjoon speed walks towards the door of his office while Changmin tries to follow. 

Once he reaches Namjoon, "Okay, now you stay next to me. Got your dino?" Changmin shows and nods. "Good, you need to be quiet." 

With that, he pushes open the door and sees the judgy glance of the receptionist, Jackson. 

"You've got to be kidding me," Jackson deadpans.  

Namjoon huffs, resting his arms on the reception desk, "Just five minutes. Please don't give me a hard time now. Jackson, please. I'm almost twenty minutes late." He begs. 

Changmin wriggles away from the hold Namjoon has on his hand as he tiptoes to situate his dinosaur on the desk. 

"Twenty-five minutes late," Jackson precisely corrects, "Mr. Lee, as you might expect, is displeased." He shakes his head. 

Namjoon ignores the warning as he looks at the huge blueprint paper, opened and kept on the desk. 

"What are those?" 

"The Lotte cinema blueprints. Kim Doki got them in, three weeks ahead of schedule." Jackson answers impressively. Namjoon scoffs at that, what an ass licker! 

"He did, huh?" Namjoon says and looks towards his left to see Mr. Lee standing from his chair. He carefully pulls Changmin behind the desk so he can be hidden. 

"Why would you bring a child here?" Jackson asks, moving away from the child who seems to be touching everything. Namjoon sits on his feet and pulls Changmin by the sweater so he wouldn't disturb Jackson. "Remember when Jung Somin brought her kid here with the rhus sylvestris? Mr. Lee just smelled the calamine lotion and had to take the rest of the day off." Jackson unkindly retells the story to which Namjoon rolls his eyes. It's not like Changmin is a walking allergen. He's a healthy boy! 

"He does not have rhus whatever, Jackson," Namjoon informs, looking at his baby and brushing away the hair from his forehead. "He's not even sick. He just missed his field trip is all." At the sound of the field trip, Changmin looks up with his puppy eyes and Namjoon has to resist smothering him with kisses. 

"I don't think so," Jackson mumbles, unsurely, seeing the kid sniffle unconsciously.  

"Just five minutes, please?" 

"And why would I be doing that?" Jackson asks. 

Namjoon is at a loss for words, Jackson doesn't owe him and they aren't extremely close friends but Namjoon has constantly been good to him, greeted him warmly in the morning and fist-bumping with him during the evening, even made small, awkward conversations during breaks, something so out of his comfort zone. Jackson kind of owes him at least 5 minutes of his time. 

"Of our sense of solidarity? You know, this is a tough office and a tough world--"

"Five minutes," Jackson stops him mid-sentence and looks away when the door to Mr. Lee's office opens. 

"Jackson, has Namjoon come in yet?" 

Hearing his voice, Namjoon slowly stands up from his squat position, brushing down his pants and he sheepishly looks at his boss who has the face of disappointment plastered, hair awry from running his fingers through it several times. 

"You're late, Kim Namjoon." He reminds 

"Yes, I'm late. I know, I'm sorry, sir-" Changmin tries to stand on his tiptoes and Namjoon immediately pushes him down by his head. He doesn't want his boss to get irritated seeing a kid in the office, especially a kid Namjoon has brought along. 

"You're late."

"Let me go get the model. I'll be right in." He swivels the topic, Mr. Lee sighs, and nods. 

Once he goes in, Namjoon sighs looking at Changmin playing with his dino, unbothered. Namjoon squats again and levels with Changmin, "Okay, Minie, I have to work. So, you have to promise me to behave well and do not disturb this very nice man," Namjoon looks at Jackson apologetically. He might have to buy him dinner later because Namjoon knows Changmin might not be able to sit quietly for long. "You gotta be a good boy, okay?" Changmin nods. "And you can't make noise, okay?" 

"At all?" Changmin asks. 

"At all." He confirms. 

With that, he stands up and leaves towards the door where office space is located. 

He looks around the model to see if it has been tampered with but everything seems immaculate. He's exhilarated to exhibit his work to Mr. Lee. Namjoon has been working on it for 2 weeks and he's proud to be handling such a big project while looking after his kid. He picks up the delicate model and starts sauntering towards the reception area again. 

On the way, his colleagues wish him the best and compliment his work. He's bashful but takes it with a stride. It feels like he's back in his college and taking up his last year's project to his professor. 

It is so important for this project to be approved. He could get promoted and possibly provide better things for Changmin and become a better father. He's known to be uptight but he only looks like so because he has been working around the clock to get higher up in the hierarchy. He's too prideful to ask his family for money yet his mother sends money to Changmin by telling him it's for Chuseok or Christmas or that he's their grandson. He's grateful but he also knows it's their way to make sure he and Changmin are living well. 

So he needs to secure a good contract and he has a feeling this will just do. 

Somebody opens the door for him and he thanks them. 

The floor of reception is scattered with Changmin's toys and Namjoon tried to not step on cars lying around. He just needs to cross the reception area and go towards the other side where Mr. Lee's office is situated. Changmin is playing with his remote control car, driving it like a mad man. Namjoon can't really see below with the giant model balancing on his hand. So he trusts his intuition to not step on any toys and slip.  

Changmin controls the car and accelerates it towards Namjoon who efficiently jumps and avoids slipping over it. 

"Changmin!" He whisper-shouts to Changmin who seems to be giggling. 

Namjoon takes the next step, his shoes get caught up in the strap of his bag and before he could balance, he falls on his front over his model, squishing the building and breaking the structure from its position. 

"Oh, no, no, no," Namjoon panics and struggles to sit up, ankle still caught up. He turns over the model and sees it damaged. Especially the main building, the whole point of the model. A perfect model swiftly turned into a catastrophe. Jackson is peering at him from the reception desk with the kind of look that Namjoon has received ever since he was a child. 

"Jackson, would you ask Kim Namjoon to come in here, please?" His boss's voice comes through the intercom and Namjoon dreads, getting on his knees and asking Jackson to please be quiet over the disaster. 

Jackson calms him down before answering back, gently, "He'll be right in." 

Namjoon turns back and gently picks up his model to not disrupt any other pieces that are stuck. He places it on the reception desk, "Put this in the back for me, please. Would you-" He hurriedly orders. 

"Go, go, go, go, go," Jackson shoos him, taking the model and keeping it on the floor. 

Namjoon turns to Changmin standing in the corner, looking guilty as ever. "You, get behind the desk and stay there." He orders unkindly. 

This day just couldn't have gone disastrous but Namjoon knows there's more to it today, he can just feel it. 

He tries to look presentable, trying to catch his breath and sound normal instead of worried. He's worried, he probably crushed his promotion just like the model. But Namjoon is not a quitter. He has to make it work. He'll make it work. 

He knocks and goes in, smiling calmly, "I'm sorry, sir, I forgot, the model is still in the model shop downtown. I'm-I'm heading there right now to--you  see, I went by there, um, earlier this morning to pick it up for this morning, but the shop was, um, locked, so--" 

"Oh," Mr. Lee says like he was expecting such an outcome from Namjoon. He's slightly miffed at the thought because up until 5 minutes ago, everything was perfect, Mr. Lee would have loved the model but as luck would have had it, the so-called model has turned into what a deranged city would have looked like. 

Namjoon stutters through his lie, it's okay, he just needs to go through this. "And I promise you, you're going to love the model, though, Mr. Lee, sir, and that today at two o'clock, the people from Daewoo Construction are going to love it, too." He confidently says, heart beating louder over the ringing in his ears. 

"And I assume you're ready?" Mr. Lee asks, looking at him suspiciously. At that moment, unknown to the elders, Changmin sneaks inside the office. 

"Ye-yes, of course!" 

Mr. Lee nods to himself and thinks over for a moment, "There's something I'd like to show you," He mumbles to himself and presses on the intercom, "Jackson, would you bring in the Lotte cinema blueprints- oh!" Mr. Lee jumps away from his chair when he notices a small child standing beside Namjoon. 

Namjoon notices and gets scared too but masks it with a heartedly laugh. Fuck! Changmin stands beside him all innocently. "Oh! What an adorable little boy!" He pats his head gently. 

Mr. Lee carefully presses the button on his intercom again to connect with Jackson, "And could you please check if my amoxicillin prescription still has refills available?" He asks, looking terrified of the child who isn't even half his height. 

"Appa?" Changmin raps, looking up. 

Namjoon nervously chuckles, "That's a great idea! Let's find your appa." He takes a hold of his son's hand. He feels absolutely the worst being ashamed to admit that he is a father. Changmin is so young, he wouldn't understand that his dad is lying to everybody but he feels guilty regardless of anything. 

He loves Changmin so much but the circumstances and environment of his workspace don't allow him to disclose to anyone that he's a single father in Seoul trying to balance work and fatherhood. 

Jackson comes in, looking distressed and a little bit angry, "I'm sorry, sir but someone spilled my coffee all over the Lotte cinema blueprints," He informs and looks at Namjoon who's looking at Changmin's guilty face. This is why he wanted Hoseok to babysit. Children and work cannot be balanced! 

"Oh my god," Mr. Lee exclaims. Jackson leaves soundly and Namjoon has to turn around and listen to him freak out, "Do you know that every Chuseok I catch strep throat? Children who are perfectly healthy can give you strep throat from other kids they know without you even going near them. My sister sets up a kids table in the next room and I still get strep throat." 

Namjoon smiles awkwardly and nods, slowly stepping towards the door to leave and holding tightly onto Changmin so he doesn't run away or worse, run towards his boss. 

He grabs onto the handle, "We are gonna go find his father." He says, opening the door. 

"He must work in one of those law offices in the building." Mr. Lee irritatedly says, pumping hand sanitizer on his palms and cleaning it thoroughly. 

"I'm sure he does." He mumbles, "Excuse me," He slowly steps outside, mindful of not doing anything out of the ordinary to grab his boss' attention and keeping Changmin as close to him as possible. 

When a call comes, he picks up without even looking at the caller ID.  

"Hello?"

"You asshole!" Some man from the other end greets him. 

"Excuse me?!" 

"You'd better get right over here. The Mayor has called a press conference, five o'clock, City Hall. While you were talking about pink panties, your story was turning to shit!" 

Namjoon rolls his eyes and ends the call without answering back. Fucking weirdo. 

He makes his way across the reception area when the door to Mr. Lee's office opens and the boss comes out. "You know, Namjoon-ssi. I don't need to remind you what the Daewoo account would be worth to this firm and by extension, to you." He reminds pressingly. 

"Yes, I know." Namjoon nods. 

Mr. Lee looks at the kid and says, "You know what I think when I see him?" 

Namjoon smiles, he thinks he knows. He has heard it countless times. Changmin might not be his biological son, he may not resemble Namjoon but he's still a cute kid, nonetheless. Chubby red cheeks and big brown eyes that are more like bribe material. Changmin is an adorable kid and Namjoon honestly takes it with a stride. 

"What?" 

"Carrier monkey," Mr. Lee grunts.  

"He-he's not a carrier monkey, sir," Namjoon splutters. "He's a perfectly healthy little-" At that moment, Changmin loudly sneezes as if trying to prove Mr. Lee's point. "Yeah, I'll go find his father." 

Namjoon takes one of the empty conference rooms. He sits at the table with the model and Changmin standing beside him, looking at his father fixing the building with the glue. 

The glue is not even industrial. It's mostly the ones they use in school, cheap with zero promises of sticking. The building refuses to stick to the foundation. It keeps falling and the more he touches, he destroys more of its structures. 

"What am I going to do?" He groans, dropping his head on the table. 

"I'm sorry, appa," Changmin's gentle voice comes from beside him. Namjoon looks up and finds him sad and a little scared too. 

Namjoon's heart aches. It isn't Changmin's fault. He's a little kid, he's allowed to make mistakes. No matter how much Namjoon wants him to be more adult-like, he can't possibly expect it to happen. Because Changmin is still a kid and he should be careless, notorious. Being a father of a child who's barely in elementary school, Namjoon should know that these qualities are normal. 

Changmin shouldn't have to apologize for such mediocre things, it wasn't entirely his fault anyway. 

"No, I'm sorry, baby." Namjoon pulls him closer and plants a soft kiss on his forehead. "It's not your fault," He mumbles and hugs him tightly. If there's anyone at fault, "It's all Seoyoon's daddy's fault." He clenches his jaw at the thought of the most attractive, infuriating man. 

Namjoon probably hates the gut of Kim Taehyung right now. 

Seoyoon giggles when her dad finally reveals his face, two french fries sticking out his mouth like trunks of an elephant. She copies him and pretends to be scary. 

"Okay, c'mon, you have to keep eating," Taehyung chides softly, plucking the fries from her mouth and feeding her.

"This isn't a very good breakfast, daddy." Seoyoon offhandedly comments, dipping her fries in the sauce and eating. 

"Oh," He says, turning his attention to the waitress bringing them their drinks. He takes Seoyoon's strawberry milkshake and stirs it before placing it next to her plate. "You see, that's one of the advantages of being an adult. You've got to act like a kid any time you feel like it." He winks at her. 

"Mama would never let me have hamburgers and milkshakes for breakfast," She informs, taking a huge sip from her milkshake and humming in satisfaction. 

Taehyung smiles, "See what I mean?"

He gets a phone call and hastily pulls the device from his jacket, accepting the call without checking the caller ID. 

"Hello?" 

"Who's that?" An unfamiliar female's voice comes through the line. 

"Who's this?" Taehyung asks back. 

"Who's this?"

"Who's this?" 

"No, who's this? And what are you doing with my son's phone?" The lady asks, confused. 

Taehyung pulls the phone away from his ear and quickly inspects it, already noticing how it isn't his. 

He sighs and says, "Well, uh, damn it. We must have switched. Um, I'm Kim Taehyung. Our kids are in school together. " He introduces himself while Seoyoon abandons her food to play with the fishes. For some reason, Taehyung is still carrying Namjoon's fish tank from earlier. 

" 'You don't know Taehyung' Kim Taehyung?" The lady on the line excitedly asks. 

"Uh, that's me." He mumbles, playing with his ear. 

"Aigoo, you're so adorable! I love your column," Namjoon's mother gushes and Taehyung chuckles respectfully. 

"Um, thank you." 

"Are you married?" She inquires unabashedly. 

"Uh, no. I'm divorced." He says, "Um, eomeonim, I have got-" 

She cuts him off hastily, "Listen, Taehyung, I've got to get exfoliated. Now-now, Namjoonie has your number right?" 

"That's right." 

"Uh, so what is the number?" She asks. 

"Right, it's zero one zero - seven six eight three three one seven." He recites while she jots it down. 

"All right, darling, listen. If you speak with him before I do, would you do me a favor?" He hums distractedly, "His friend called me here to see if I would babysit Changminie later on, but I'm in the middle of my Spring Spa Day at Sulwhasoo. I can't possibly cancel now." She informs and Taehyung tries to gather information but he's distracted with Seoyoon sneakily trying to feed fries to the fishes. He grabs her hand and puts it away, signaling her not to do that. 

"Okay." 

"But, uh, tell him that otherwise, I would have been happy to babysit, because no matter what he thinks, I have forgotten all about Changminie putting my wedding ring up his nose." 

Taehyung chuckles and nods, "I'll let him know, eomeonim," 

"You're adorable." Namjoon's mother compliments him out of the blue. 

"All right, goodbye." 

"Goodbye." 

Once hanging upon his mother, Taehyung wastes no time dialing up his number on Namjoon's phone to connect with him. 

"Hello?" Namjoon's voice comes through. 

"It's Kim Taehyung." 

He confusedly asks, "How did you get this number?" 

"That's my phone you're holding," He says savagely. 

Namjoon groans on the line, a kind of voice that sounded very sexy to Taehyung right now. "This is so typical of you." 

Taehyung raises his eyebrows at the unprovoked comment. How is this typical of him? It's not like he purposely switched their phones to irritate Namjoon. And frankly, Taehyung needs his phone more than Namjoon needs his. But he doesn't elect to bring it up, the day hasn't been steering well and he cannot have another stupid quarrel with Namjoon on minuscule life problems. 

"What do we say we bypass the hostilities and just do messages?" He asks, clenching his jaw. 

"Fine." 

"Your mother's in the middle of Spring Spa Day and can't babysit, but she wants you to know it's not because she's upset about Changminie sticking her ring up her nose." He delivers, playing with the tissue paper. 

" His nose." Namjoon corrects him, "Thank you. You have a press conference at five." He professionally informs. Taehyung hums, "Goodbye," Namjoon says and hangs up the phone immediately, not wanting to talk to the man for more than a few seconds. 

Taehyung is offended and he rings him again. 

"Think maybe we oughta arrange to switch our phones back?" He immediately gets to the point once Namjoon picks up the call again. 

Namjoon thinks for a moment before answering, "Tomorrow morning when we drop the kids off at school. On time?"

"Fine." 

"Fine," He spits back and hangs up unkindly the second time. 

Taehyung shakes his head in disappointment. He looks at Seoyoon and says, "Yoonie, when you grow up, and you are incredibly beautiful and intelligent and possess a certain sweetness that's like a distant promise to the brave and the worthy, can you please not beat to a pulp every miserable bastard who comes your way just because you can? Can you just not do that?" He asks of her  

Seoyoon looks at her father and nods, even if she doesn't understand the meaning of the sentence, "Okay, daddy. I can do that." She smiles brightly. 

Taehyung chuckles and messes up her hair, "Thank you." 

Once the taxi arrives at the destination, Namjoon eagerly climbs out of the car. He has a child and a model to look after. He asks Changmin to get out first so that he can pull out the model from the car without damaging it further. 

A bystander waiting to get in the taxi tries to help him with the model but Namjoon declines. He has had several troubles since the morning and he cannot afford more trouble on his way. He trusts no one with the model except himself right now. 

"Let me help you out," The stranger insists. 

"No, I'm good. Thank you." Namjoon says with finality, leaving no room to argue. 

The stranger scoffs and mumbles, "Stupid guy." He gets in the cab and leaves. 

Namjoon ignores the hurtful jab and decides to focus on getting this model to the workshop and not lose his kid in the swarm of people. 

"That guy called you stupid, appa," Changmin says, walking steadfastly and matching his steps with his father. 

"That's okay. I'm stupid sometimes, honey. But I'd rather be stupid than being sorry." Namjoon says, dodging people coming right at him and his model. "Okay, baby, stay close to me. Hold onto my jacket." 

Changmin obediently listens. 

Once they reach the workshop, Namjoon is somewhat calm. He had already informed everyone what happened so everyone was  on standby waiting for him. 

He drops the model on the center table and huffs a breath. His friend, Bareum, carefully analyses the damage while Namjoon puts away everything hanging off of his shoulder. Changmin, meanwhile, runs towards the printer and starts printing his tiny hand. 

Namjoon looks at Bareum to get an idea of how damaged the model is and how long it will take to fix it. 

"How bad is it?" He asks nervously, biting his nail. 

"Well, it's modular," Bareum calmly answers. He then goes towards the cabinet and picks out a piece of building that he had started with when making this model. It was a mock-up that was approved. "So it's conceivable I could lift out that damaged portion and replace it with the same piece from the mock-up. That way, I wouldn't have to start from scratch." He shows what he means and Namjoon can finally see the vision. It wouldn't be perfect, it wouldn't be what he had envisioned but if the model can be saved, Namjoon wants nothing more than that for now, for today. 

"Bareum, that's brilliant!" He says distractedly as Changmin runs around and towards the stairs that is probably for some set because the top stair is hanging in the air without any landing. "Changmin! Honey! Changmin, you cannot run around, okay?" Namjoon stops him by wrapping his arms around his waist. Changmin sighs, clearly irritated from hearing no since the morning. 

"It won't be perfect," Bareum chimes in. 

Namjoon sighs, "It's okay," Namjoon says, pushing away the hair from Changmin's eyes. 

"I'm thirsty, appa," Changmin rasps, clearing his throat. Namjoon nods and stands up straight to fetch him the juice he packed for the field trip. 

"I know you, Namjoon. You won't be happy with less than perfect." Bareum mumbles, pushing up his glasses. 

Namjoon sits by the stairs tiredly, next to Changmin, and determinedly says, "Today, I will." It's a lie. The model is not what it was before and Namjoon will forever remember how he ruined his promotion but he just needs to go through this today. He'd rather show up with an average model than with nothing. 

He passes the juice box to Changmin who pushes it back to him, "I can't get the straw, daddy." He reminds him. 

Namjoon plucks out the straw and tears the wrapper before inserting it in the hole made for it. He looks at Bareum while playing with the straw, "I don't even want to think about what will happen to my life if I don't have this model ready by two in the afternoon." Namjoon says, worried. 

Bareum sighs and nods, "All right then, I'll give it a try." 

Namjoon smiles at him with gratefulness, "Thank yo- oh!" He shrieks loudly at the squirted juice all over his white shirt. Changmin's hands are guiltily squeezed around the juice box and he is looking at his father, scared. Namjoon is so close to crying already and it isn't even noon yet. 

"I'm sorry, appa." His son apologizes, sounding genuinely sorry. Namjoon cannot, no, he shouldn't get angry at his son. It's all his fault Changmin is here with him instead of on his field trip. This is karma's way of getting back at him for ruining his son's plan. 

"It's okay." Namjoon pats his head and hands him the juice box, "Just-just finish whatever is left." He says and gets up. 

How is he going to attend the meeting in this attire? His boss is already questioning his professionalism, he doesn't want the list to go on further. 

"Bareum, do you have an extra shirt?" Namjoon calmly asks. 

"Yeah, it's in the staff room." He carefully answers. 

Namjoon makes his way to the staff room, racking up his brain to find a solution. He cannot have any more fuck ups for today. Namjoon has to do something about Changmin until his presentation is over. 

He thinks over the names he knows who can look after Changmin but nothing comes up. Hoseok and Yoongi are going to be too busy preparing for the fundraiser event. His mother is too busy pampering herself. He has no neighbors he can trust Changmin with. And he is too prideful at the moment to call Taehyung and ask him for a favor.

Maybe he should have taken up on that offer earlier. Would things have been easy up until now? Maybe or maybe not. But he has no time to dwell now. The only person left who can and really should look after Changmin is his other father. Namjoon dials Jeonwoo's number to try his luck. He is going to convince him no matter what. Jeonwoo can take in Changmin for a few hours. 

"Hey, I need a favor." Namjoon greets. 

"Namjoon, I can't now. I'm busy with the shooting." 

"I know you're shooting but there's no one to look after Changmin." He explains, putting the phone on speaker and unbuttoning his ruined t-shirt. "He missed his field trip and he has been with me since then." 

"Namjoon-" 

"Look, this is incredibly difficult for me, but you're absolutely the last person I could think of to ask. I'm really in a bind. I could lose my job. I know you're in the middle of a drama, but -- can you hold on a minute?" He pulls down the polo shirt from his head, messing up his hair in the process. 

"I've got the poster shoot to finish." Jeonwoo gives excuses. 

"It's just for an hour." Namjoon reasons, getting out of the staff room. "From two to three. C'mon, Jeonwoo, you're his father!" He almost stomps his shoes in frustration. 

"Namjoon, I'm busy myself. I would have looked after him but I absolutely cannot today. I have too much on my plate and I have to attend Changmin's baseball tournament too. If I don't finish shooting the posters, I won't be able to come. And with Changmin with me, I wouldn't be able to get my work done, you know what very well." 

"Ugh, fine!" Namjoon grits. "Nevermind. I'll think of something. And you better come to his baseball game. It's at six. It's the least you can do for him today and it would mean a lot to him." Namjoon taunts haughtily. 

"Whatever, Namjoon. Goodbye!" 

"Don't what-" 

"Aah, Namjoon!" Bareum groans in pain when Changmin hits his leg under the table with the trolley he has been sitting on and rolling around on. 

Namjoon rushes behind him to catch up to him. "Changmin! Changmin, get off that! Get off!" Changmin rolls faster, giggling after seeing his father chasing him like a mad man. "Get off! Timeout! Changmin!" Namjoon lurches forward and gets hold of the last plank, bringing the cart-trolley thing to a stop. 

"What is wrong with you?" Namjoon breaks down completely, eyes welling up with tears of frustration. He is on the brink of losing the job, he has no one to call and ask for help and Changmin has been getting on every single one of his nerves. "You almost broke it again! Why can't you just play quietly and not get into trouble for five minutes? Don't you realize how important this is?" He whimpers out, erasing his tears. He's a bad parent, the worst dad and he's going to realize the repercussions of his action in the night. But he's so tired mentally and physically, he cannot try to stay a good father. 

Jeonwoo and he adopted Changmin together,  so why does only one of them have to be the parent? 

"I'm sorry, appa." 

Namjoon shakes his head no, "That's it. You're going to the day center." He decides, gathering Changmin in his arms and standing up. 

"I don't wanna go there, appa!" Changmin whines. 

"Too bad." 

"Those kids will beat me." 

"No, they won't." 

"Yes, they will." 

"Well, you have to be really brave then," Namjoon says coldly, picking up his bag and bidding farewell to his friend. "Bareum, I'll be back in an hour to collect the model." He says and heads out. 

They wait at the bus station for the bus to arrive. Changmin has gotten quieter and Namjoon has had time to cool off too. He quickly sets an alarm on his watch and puts it on Changmin's tiny wrist and secures it. 

"Okay. Now when the little hand gets between the four and the five, that's four-thirty." He explains, showing the minute and hour hands. 

"I'm sorry, appa," Changmin says, voice wobbly and eyes filled with unshed tears. 

Namjoon feels absolutely terrible for disposing his son to daycare but he has run out of options and he's worried he'll scold and raise his voice at Changmin further if they stay together for the day. 

"Oh, baby," Namjoon mumbles, picking up Changmin and letting him sit on his lap while they wait for the bus. Namjoon holds him closer, trying to somehow apologize and let his son know how much he loves him at the same time. "It's not your fault, okay?" He whispers in his hair, planting a soft but apparent kiss. "You aren't being punished, I promise." 

"Then why can't I stay with you? I won't trouble you anymore." He mumbles, lips forming a cute pout. 

"It's because appa has a lot of work and he cannot pay attention to you. So he's feeling bad." Namjoon explains, rubbing his hands up and down his son's covered arms to keep him warm. "I'll come back soon and then we'll go to your baseball game, okay?" 

"I wanna stay with you," 

"I wanna stay with you too." Namjoon sighs, seeing the bus coming towards the station. "Say, once the baseball game is over, we'll order fried chicken, and then, hmm…we'll watch a movie tonight and cuddle.  Lots of it. How does it sound?" 

"Which movie?" 

"You will have to decide." Namjoon smiles at him. "C'mon, it's our bus." He says and gets inside the bus to the daycare. 

Taehyung squeezes inside the elevator with Seoyoon clutched in his arms. "All right, sweetheart, while I am busy doing my column you have to think of six hundred fun things to do because the rest of the day is yours." He says excitedly. 

"I already know, daddy." Seoyoon smiles. 

"Uh-huh?" 

She lists things off of her tiny fingers, "I wanna go to the zoo, and go for a carriage ride and to the carousel and the Seoul Museum of History, and then visit the Cats." 

"No, it's cats, not the cats." He corrects her, hastily leaving the elevator once it reaches his floor. 

"Hi, Taehyung," The woman at the reception gives him a shy smile. 

"Hey, Yoona," He greets back, swiping his ID on the machine so the office doors open. 

"Hi, Taehyung," Another woman greets once he's inside. He smiles and greets her back. 

"Morning, Taehyung!" Another stranger lady greets him. "Oh, I didn't know you had a daughter." She halts, looking previously at Seoyoon. 

"Yeah, this is Kim Seoyoon." He introduces but Seoyoon just shies away in her dad's neck. 

"She's adorable and looks just like you." 

"Eh, she'll grow out of it." He jokes, excusing himself. 

Once he reaches his desk, Seoyoon looks around the bustling office and asks, "How come all the girls are talking to you like that?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

" Hi, Taehyung ," She mimics in a very high-pitched, nasally voice, and Taehyung chuckles, gently flicking her forehead. 

"Hey, Taehyung oppa,"  Yerim walks past them. 

"Hey, Yerim," Taehyung distractedly greets her back. 

"See, daddy, see!" Seoyoon whispers as if to prove her point. Taehyung shushes her when he sees Yerim coming back. 

"Oh! You know, oppa, I'm doing an article on men like you," She informs, licking her lips. 

"Oh yeah? What's the hook?" Taehyung asks, dropping his bags and pulling out the papers he had arranged and kept inside this morning. 

"Oh, just a little expression my mother used to use 'love your guy like a little boy, and he'll grow into a man.' " She shrugs, leaning sexily against his cubicle and pushing her hair behind the ear. 

Taehyung opens his mouth to wish her luck when Jin's insistent and loud knocking on the office's glass walls takes his attention. 

"Taehyung, get the fuck in here!" He shouts over people's murmurs. 

The younger guy shakes his head and hopes Seoyoon won't catch up with the words spewing around the office. It could get rough for kids here. He picks up the fishbowl, not trusting his employees to be careful and not accidentally drop it. He had enough of shit from Namjoon, he doesn't want more. 

"Fish," He shows Jin, so later he wouldn't be surprised to see a fishbowl on his desk. "You wouldn't believe the day I had today." Taehyung scoffs, sitting on the table rather than the perfect chair. "What's up with you? You look cranky. Are you back on that diet again?" At that, Seoyoon, who's standing by his legs, giggles, looking up at him. Taehyung winks and directs his attention back to Jin who has a scowl on his face. "Sweetheart, you remember uncle Jin?" Seoyoon nods. 

"I'm still young to be an uncle." 

"You're turning forty in three years," Taehyung mumbles, looking through the notes left by the desk that he had picked up before entering Jin's office. 

"Maybe I'm cranky," Jin agrees, rounding the table and sitting on his chair. "And I had a very good breakfast this morning." He shakes his head, looking at Taehyung focusing on the bunch of colorful notes in his hand. "We are in big trouble on your garbage story," He calmly informs, eyes almost twitching impatiently at how nonchalant and relaxed Taehyung seems. 

"Oh god," The younger one mumbles. 

Meow of a cat goes off and Seoyoon immediately looks around to find the source. She loves cats so much but her mother doesn't allow any pets. She always dislikes how Seoyoon plays with the strays because of the diseases they carry. 

Jin sees her perk up and smiles, "Come here, little one, I want to show you something." 

Seoyoon looks at her dad for permission who nods, "It's okay, go ahead." 

She excitedly makes her way towards Jin, who has opened the desk on the right-hand side, and there sits the most beautiful, fluffiest cat, just nuzzling in its paws. 

Seoyoon gasps in awe.  

"Her name is Lolo, she lives here in the newsroom." 

"Wow," Seoyoon mumbles, asking permission from Jin to pet the cat. Jin encourages her and shows how she can pet without disturbing the cat. 

Now that Seoyoon is wilfully distracted, Seokjin can talk business with her father. "You've got a raging scoop disease, Taehyung-ah," He says, voice on edge. 

"Which is what you love about me," Taehyung teases, smiling at some of the notes that are less about business and more about personal business. 

Jin rolls his eyes and glances at Seoyoon looking back at him as if waiting for him to bash her father. Jin gulps and stands up, "Why don't you stay here and play with the kitty, honey? Me and your daddy gonna have a little talk, all right?" 

Seoyoon nods and Jin pats her head in appreciation. Taehyung sighs and gets up and they move towards the couch area. 

"Now, would you rather that I wasn't first?" Taehyung asks, sitting on the couch on the right-hand side of the main, single couch for Jin. 

"I would rather that you were right," He replies, crossing his legs. 

"I am right!" 

Jin rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath, "Okay, who told you that the Mayor's re-election campaign was taking illegal contributions from the Mob ?" He asks, full of doubt.  

"Jacob Lee," He confidently answers. 

Jin hums, picking up the morning newspaper on the desk beside him and reading the headlines, "So Jacob Lee told you on the record that the 'Yongsan-based trucking company of Doosan Motors, a well-known Mob front, made an illegal contribution to Mayor Yang's re-election campaign.' " He challenges. 

"That's right, on the record," Taehyung determinedly says, looking behind Seokjin to see Seoyoon sitting on his chair, petting the cat that sits on the desk now, pawing at the fishbowl. 

"In exchange for receiving the city's sanitation contract," Seokjin confirms. 

"On the record." 

"Which were awarded without bidding." He deadpans, looking down at Taehyung. 

"Through Doosan Motors. That's right. On the record." He repeats like a parrot or a stuck record. Taehyung tsks and decides to fish out his phone because he has the recording of Jacob Lee confirming all the facts. 

"Jacob Lee's gonna say he never talked to you!" Seokjin grits. 

Taehyung stops scrolling through his phone to look confusedly at Jin, "What? What? Hey, what?" 

"During the Mayor's press conference today, Jacob Lee's gonna say you made the whole thing up. You didn't make it up, did you, Taehyung?" Seokjin suspiciously asks, picking up the cordless phone and pressing the button to reception. 

Taehyung throws his hands up in exasperation, standing up and pacing behind the couch, "Of course not, hyung! Jacob told me he saw the campaign accounts!" He raises his voice in frustration. Jin talks to someone on the phone while Taehyung rambles about his meeting with Jacob Lee. "Deposited in unnumbered accounts-" His eyes shut, remembering everything of that meeting with Jacob because he didn't hear anything wrong. "UNNUMBERED, HYUNG!" He informs him.  

Seokjin rubs his forehead in frustration, ending the call with whomever, "You know, you're gonna give me an ulcer. I can feel it. It's like I swallowed a car battery. Why couldn't you get two sources on this story?" 

Taehyung stops and looks at Seokjin, "Remember the Sung Yohan story?" 

"The one that almost shut us down? Yeah, Taehyung." He sarcastically answers, rolling his eyes. 

"I almost got the Journalist of the Month from the Journalists Association of Korea." Taehyung reminds him, not to show off but to prove his works and the rewards it has brought on later. 

Seokjin sighs the umpteenth time and stands up, "It's real simple, Taehyung. Management just doesn't wanna clean up after you anymore. You're reckless." He says, looking apologetic. 

"I'm a good reporter, Jin hyung." Taehyung presses. 

"You're an excellent reporter!" He corrects, rounding the couch and moving towards his desk. "But sometimes you just get too excited, and then you get me too excited. And now I've given you enough rope to hang us both."

Taehyung follows him, "They are not gonna fire me, hyung. My pictures are on the buses." He says but it felt like he was trying to convince himself at that moment. 

"That's what I said," Jin turns to him, "But then they asked me to have lunch with Yoo Baeksu." He confesses, looking elsewhere. 

"Yoo Baeksu is an-" 

"Daddy!" Seoyoon calls out all of a sudden, cutting Taehyung off  

"Yoo Baeksu is a pompous, arrogant, humorless asshole." 

"Who has actually won Journalist of the Month." Jin reminds him, icily. 

Taehyung is speechless because he thought they shared the same frequency of hatred towards Yoo Baeksu. And now he's standing in front of his boss, his friend who would rather choose an easier way out than defend or help Taehyung. 

The younger one takes a deep breath, "You know what, hyung?" He says, very calmly. "I'm not gonna lose my job. I got alimony and shrink bills, I got all the college loans to repay. I got--one second--," He signals Seoyoon who calls him again, urgently. "I have a-a plumbing situation. Okay? Now, Jacob has been my guy all year long." 

"Daddy!" 

"One second, honey." He says, ignoring her pleas and having a staredown with Jin. "I've spent Chuseok with him, I've been to birthday parties of his niece and nephews-" 

"Taehyung, I don't fucking care," Jin stands up straight and angrily looks at the younger guy. "I gave you this column, and I love you like a dongsaeng, but I can't cover for you anymore. Now, you've got-" He glances at the clock hanging above the door, "-less than six hours to that press conference, and no other leads, we've gotta get Jacob Lee back on the record or find another reliable source to confirm this whole goddamn thing. Otherwise, we're printing a retraction. And I guarantee you, Tae, it'll be your last." He warns very softly. 

Taehyung wants to fight back, argue a little bit more but he puts it aside. As Jin said, he has got six hours and he's not gonna utilize his energy on a bullshit argument when he can be more productive. 

"That's fine, if you need me, I'm on a different number, today." He hastily speaks, jotting down the number on the notepad. 

"Where are you going?" 

"To find Jacob Lee." He rushes out of the voice. 

"Don't be reckless." 

"Oh, I will be." He mumbles, rushing towards the elevator. 

He presses on the elevator button and waits, at that moment Yerim stands next to him, leaning against the frame of the elevator. 

"Hey, Tae," 

"Yeah," 

"Listen, I really wanted to say something to you." She says, voice serious yet seductive. 

"Right," Taehyung mumbles, dialing Jacob Lee's number. 

"I've noticed you haven't been dating."

"Right." 

"Actually, we have all noticed it." 

"Mm-hmm," He gives her a fake smile, hearing the ring going off but no one picking up. 

Yerim comes closer to him, hand on his chest as she speaks in a low voice, "I know that you're sensitive but frightened. I'm gentle but brutal. Think about it. Think about me, Taehyung." She then moves back, smiling coyly. 

"Sure?" 

Yerim giggles and leaves, strutting with way too much noise from high heels. 

Once the elevator arrives, Taehyung gets in and decides to call Jacob again but to no avail. 

"Fuck," He whispers. He rushes out with the crowd and once he's out of the building, he feels and then realizes that he's missing something. "Seoyoon!" He whispers and rushes back inside the building. 

He had to wait another 7 minutes for the elevator to arrive and take him to the office floor. Taehyung rushes out of the elevator, heart beating in his chest at the prospect of forgetting Seoyoon. 

"Jimin! Jimin, have you seen Seoyoon?" He asks worriedly. 

"No, I haven't." Jimin answers. "What's wrong?" 

But Taehyung ignores him and calls out for Seoyoon in the office area, asking the people he passes by about his daughter. 

He comes by his desk and searches around but he couldn't find her. He then goes looking into Jin's office who's surprised to see him back so soon. 

"Tae-"

"Is Seoyoon here?" 

"No-" 

Taehyung doesn't hear more and looks around. 

"Seoyoon! Kim Seoyoon!" He calls out for her. 

"Taehyung hyung!" Jungkook calls out from over his desk area. "She's here." He says and Taehyung sprints to his desk, rounding around it to see Seoyoon sitting under the space beneath the desk, petting the cat she found in Jin's office. 

He lets out a big, deep breath. 

"Hi daddy," Seoyoon giggles. 

" 'Hi daddy' ? Do you do this with your mother? This wandering off?" He asks, sitting next to her. 

"Yeah," She giggles, hiding her smile behind her tiny hand. 

"It's not a good thing," He says, brushing away the hair from her face. "Now, listen, baby." He comes closer, "I gotta go talk to a guy downtown. It's kind of a tricky thing and I only have one shot at it, which means…" He trails off, looking guilty. He did promise her she would have the whole day to herself and they can do whatever she wants to do. 

"That I can't come with you." She completes, looking sad. 

Taehyung taps her nose, "That's right, sweetheart. I'm sorry." 

"It's okay." She smiles. 

"What should I do with you?" He wonders and Seoyoon shrugs. "Let's figure it out outside," He says and pulls her out. 

"Please don't send me in, appa," Changmin whines once they arrive at the day center, full with kids and parents lingering around. 

"But it will be fun!" Namjoon encourages, pulling him towards the entrance. He sees more kids than usual, dressed in costumes and playing around with themselves or on the slides. "See, it's a superhero day." 

The playground is closed from outside so the children don't wander off and the father-son duo stands there and watches the kids play for a bit. 

One of the kids, dressed as a spiderman, stands in front of them and confronts them. 

"He can't come in here. He's not a superhero!" 

Namjoon scoffs, "You sure about that?" 

"Yeah, He looks like a poo-poo cry baby." The other kids around him laugh at the poor joke. 

"Appa!" Changmin's lower lip wobbles. 

Namjoon scoops him up and takes him away from the evil kids. They sort of wander around the big daycare finding a place where Changmin would like to spend but he only clings to Namjoon. 

They enter a classroom space, filled with a few children coloring on the sheets. In the farther corner is staged a puppet show that is still playing, despite only one child watching. 

Namjoon walks them over there and encourages Changmin to stand still and watch the show. 

"When the big hand gets to, uh, there, and the little hand gets to, uh, there, then…" The puppeteer gestures with his hand that is dressed with a sock bunny. He seems amateur with the way he's explaining stuff and using a voice that is so not kid-friendly. 

"You'll be back," The only kid in the front row says. 

"Ah, wait a minute!" The puppeteer, hiding under the stage, exclaims. "Now you're wearing daddy's watch." The man says in a cartoon-ish voice, passing the watch from the sock bunny's mouth to the girl. When she tries to take it the sock bunnies pretends to eat her hand, making the little girl giggle and Changmin as well. Namjoon smiles. 

"But I don't have a costume." The little girl, with a familiar voice, complains. 

"Ah, a costume?" The puppeteer makes a thinking noise. "Ah, how about, Toto the cow? Five, six, seven, eight!! Moo!" Another hand comes up wearing a sock cow, doing an absurd hand dance. Suddenly it stops and the puppeteer gives up, sitting up straight and looking at his only audience, "I don't have, you know, I don't-- I got-- I don't have a costume." He confesses. 

Namjoon's smile drops when he sees Taehyung behind the entire shenanigans.

"Hey," Taehyung greets them when their eyes meet. 

"Hi, Seoyoon." Namjoon directs his attention to the little girl, "Look, baby, it's Seoyoon!" Namjoon excitedly says, letting the children greet each other. 

The older one out of them avoids eye contact because Taehyung unnecessarily looks good, hair messed up in a way that makes Namjoon want to grab it between his fingers and lips a dark shade of pink from constantly biting or licking. 

He must be too stressed to be having such vulgar thoughts about Taehyung, an infuriating, handsome man. 

He needs to get laid. 

Taehyung might be good for him but also bad because he makes Namjoon's blood boil yet he also brings some kind of itch to Namjoon's lower region. 

"I thought you told your friend that you weren't gonna bring him here." Taehyung curiously asks, wearing his jacket. 

"Well, I got desperate," Namjoon says, looking at him from his peripheral vision. 

"Me too," Taehyung mumbles, messing his hair more or maybe trying to tame it. Namjoon clenches his fists from jumping in on the action. 

He claps his hands, "So, it looks like we need two superhero costumes." 

They all agree and get to work. All of them try to find some material that can be worn without destroying much. Namjoon has the juice-drenched shirt with him so he decides to cut it and use that too. 

Taehyung's work is to find materials, from craft papers to aluminum foils while Namjoon tapes them together and forms a costume for the kids. They weren't going for the Avengers theme anyway. 

The children look least happy while walking towards the playground but the parents can't do anything right now other than dump them here for a few hours. The supervisor opens the door for them and lets the kids go inside. 

"If those mean boys give you any more trouble, first go to the teacher. If she doesn't help, call me on the mobile. If  you can't reach me, call one-one-two." He instructs, petting his fingers and running through Changmin's hair in comfort. 

"Just kick the mean boys in the shins," Taehyung jokes, winking at the kids. 

Namjoon looks at him, unimpressed. He condemns violence and doesn't want Taehyung teaching his kid all about it. 

"Bye!" 

"Goodbye!" 

Once they leave the daycare, both the parents walk towards the main road to hail a taxi. 

"Thanks for doing that, by the way." Taehyung starts. 

"Sure, it's hard enough being a kid." Namjoon nods, power walking. He needs to pick up the model and be at the office within 45 minutes.  

"It's excellent!" 

Namjoon rolls his eyes, "You would know," He comments. 

"What about?" 

"Nothing."

"Know what my mother used to say to me?" He speaks again after some silence. God, Namjoon doesn't remember the daycare so far in. Maybe they are on the wrong path. 

"No," 

" 'Love your guy like a little guy and he'll grow into a man.' "

"Huh?" Namjoon questions, looking at him. 

" 'Love your guy like a little boy and he'll grow into a man.' " He repeats. 

"She knew back then that you were gay?" Namjoon scoffs. 

"I mean, even I didn't know I was gay." 

Namjoon would be lying if his heart didn't skip a beat at the revelation. He knows Taehyung's child is not adopted and that he was married to a girl. He didn't expect him to be gay despite it all. 

"So-so why did she advise you on how guys wanna be loved?" 

"Maybe she was hoping I'd meet a man like that someday," Taehyung flirts cockily and Namjoon is flustered but hides it well with a scoff. 

"You know, I really can't stand those people who blame their worst traits on everyone but themselves. It's so nineties." He says, finally arriving at the main road and signaling for the taxi to stop. 

Taehyung stops and confusedly looks at him with a pout, "What are you talking about?" 

"You're blaming your Peter Pan complex on your mother?" 

"What Peter Pan complex?" 

"The one you're so proud of," Namjoon mumbles, frustratingly. He shouts out for the taxi again. 

Taehyung scowls, "You got any close friends, Namjoon-ssi?" 

"I don't have time for closeness." He mutters. 

"That's because of your captain hook complex." He retorts back smartly. Namjoon turns to him and glares. 

"My what?" 

"Captain Hook complex."

"There's no such thing." 

"Uh-huh, there is and you have it." He folds his arms around his chest, looking pompous. 

Namjoon's jaw clenches but he doesn't have any comeback for it. Instead, he fishes out Taehyung's phone and pushes it against his chest angrily. God, he wants to wipe away that smirk by kissing him so hard, he'll have a hard time breathing and wanting to kiss anyone other than Namjoon. 

"Here's your phone." 

Taehyung goes on to pulling out Namjoon's phone gently and placing it carefully on his hand, to show how patient he is. 

"Here's yours." 

"Thank you!" Namjoon passive-aggressively says. 

Taehyung opens his mouth for another retort but nothing comes up. So he watches Namjoon get inside a taxi and leave without glancing back. 

Taehyung smiles to himself, "Kim Namjoon-ssi, you're an enigma I'm eager to uncover." 

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