Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jimin hasn't been exactly excited to start a new job, at least not so soon after Mrs Nan had literally shut the door in his face. People will tell you lots of shit about a babysitting job, first of all that it's easy: just taking care of a kid and getting to earn some money while at it. But Jimin has learned first-hand that babysitting is not easy. When the kid isn't a complete bastard usually the parents do the job, and it's as likely that you might end up with a brat that pulls your hair all the time as someone like Mrs Nan, who thinks paying extra for covering weekends is an absurd.

That's why when he gets a call from his agency saying that there's a new job opportunity for him, Jimin is on the verge of turning it down. The girl at the other end of the line must get that impression as well.

"The employer is very strict, I'm not going to lie. But he's asked us for our best and he's willing to pay well. Very well."

Jimin sighs and asks for the numbers, his eyes widening when she answers him. That had to be around four times what he made with his regular clients. Jimin could turn into a rich son of a bitch if he got the job. "How many kids?" He asks, because he isn't falling so easily. No one pays that much money for an easy job, and we've already stated that babysitting isn't an easy job.

"Just one, a five-month old baby. We'd like to embolden that this client is very," she sighs, "very exclusive. Other babysitters aren't up to the standards of discretion that this job demands, but your file has come to our attention because you have experience and close to no complaints."

Jimin hums. Mrs Nan certainly had something to say about those complaints, no doubt. Jimin scratches the back of his head, taking a look around his – let's not lie – kind of crappy apartment. He had some money saved for this month's rent but as soon as he got it paid he'd need to accept another job. And well, just one baby... and for all that money too. Jimin could handle one baby.

"Great," the girl pipes up. "I'll send your application over and they will contact you shortly for an interview."

"An interview?" Jimin frowns. He'd never needed to be interviewed before. Usually the employers trusted the agency enough with that. That should've been the first clue.

"Yes. You'll be competing with three other babysitters for the position. Er, they kind of want to be in charge of the next steps, and uh, I'm not allowed to disclose any information about this, but if you wouldn't mind my advice," she pauses, continuing in a lower voice, "this is a big thing; if I were you I would go for it."

Jimin blinks, stirring his now stale cup of tea. "Uh, sure. Okay, I'll go for it."

Jimin sets his phone down and gulps uncomfortably. He's not sure of what to make of that phone call, but something sits weird in his stomach and it's not just the flat sandwich he'd made himself for breakfast. He'd have to compete with other babysitters for a job position that offered a fortune for the care of one single baby. Whose son was this kid? The president's?

-

If the creepy phone call wasn't already daunting enough Jimin finds out, blinking under the sunlight, that his interview was to be held in this huge fucking building whose upper floors Jimin could barely squint at. People shove him from all around, the sidewalk overflowing with busy people trying to get their lunch as soon as possible to go back to work. Jimin self-consciously tucks his shirt inside his pants and walks in.

He'd come in jeans and a button-down, not exactly knowing how to dress for a babysitting job interview. He'd assumed his Dora the Explorer t-shirt was as child-friendly as possible, but thanks heavens he'd made himself reconsider. The building's lobby is as opulent as it is threatening, and Jimin walks up to the receptionist and is made to stammer the purpose of his underdressed presence in their premises. She nods once and murmurs something into her mouthpiece before giving him the go ahead.

Once reaching the thirtieth-something floor, a young man in a suit comes to direct him towards a waiting room with plush leather seats and hardwood flooring. There's a table pushed to the corner, overflowing with bite-sized appetizers that he's told he can help himself to if he'd like. Jimin would like not to have anything inside his stomach in case he were to, hypothetically speaking, throw up, which is a possibility that gets all the likelier by the minute, so he keeps his distance.

Jimin takes a seat on one of the leather couches and tries his hardest not to make any eye-contact with the other people in the room, namely a middle-aged woman who looks very cross for some reason and a younger-looking man who can't stop biting his nails.

The woman is called in first and Jimin and the other man are made to wait in heavy silence.

"Do you know who it is?" The man interrupts his nail-biting to ask Jimin after a couple minutes.

"Sorry?" Jimin doesn't like talking to strangers, even less so when they direct him questions that make no sense.

"The employer. It must be someone really important, but no one told me anything."

"Oh," Jimin mumbles. "Yeah, I mean, they didn't tell me a thing either."

The man sighs, considering a point on the floor next to Jimin's shoes. "Aren't you nervous?" He asks, just when the door opens and the woman from earlier walks out. Jimin is called in next and he doesn't get a chance to answer that yes, he's really nervous.

-

"Are you sure you're really alright? Because you're kind of green in the face," Jimin has always appreciated the liveliness of Seokjin's observations, and gives his best friend a deadpan look before dipping the rest of his food into hot, dark sauce.

"The worst is over, I suppose," Jimin considers with a generous bite. He thinks he might have scalded his tongue but tries not to show his weakness. "But I still... I don't know, I don't think I did all that well."

Seokjin gives him what could pass for a kind smile. "What did they ask you anyway?"

Jimin shrugs. "The regular: my schedule, my experience," he frowns, "strangely enough my secondary gender."

Seokjin frowns. Omegas nowadays were way more respected than they used to be decades ago. It was a bit invasive to ask for anyone's secondary gender though, even more so during a job interview, where it could lead to assume some sort of discrimination. All in all, Jimin's omega nature had to count for something down the line, he used to be way more patient and caring with children, something that Seokjin, a beta, was farther from possessing.

"Well," Seokjin considers, "even if you don't get it at least you tried."

Jimin nods, and tries to make peace with that. The rest of their conversation revolves around their college paperwork, which wasn't all that terrible yet considering the semester had barely started. Jimin tries to forget about this morning's interview when downing shot after shot of alcohol and sits blessedly dazed on his bed that night, ruminating over the chores he'd probably have to get up to after tomorrow's class.

He isn't even aware that he'd managed to fall asleep until he's being rudely woken up by his cell phone's alarm. Jimin feels like throwing it at the other side of the room, even more so when a headache seems to come down on his head like a bag of bricks. He makes himself squint at the screen to confirm his suspicions of being late for his first class and rolls down his notifications to see he had a new email.

"Fuck," Jimin groans. He'd gotten the damn job.

-

"If it's the mayor, will you tell him about that tree in front of my building?"

Jimin rolls his eyes. "Oh my god, Jin, I'm not about to babysit the mayor's son. I don't even know if he has a son and even if he does I won't be telling him to cut your damn tree."

Seokjin rolls his eyes. He's been crashing on Jimin's sofa for a few days now and Jimin doesn't complain because he at least cooks for the both of them. Biting at his bottom lip, Jimin considers his reflection in the mirror.

Today's his first day of work and they'd sent him an email informing a car would be there to pick him up in a couple minutes. Jimin has never really worried about his appearance much because he only ever needed to look comfy for the kid and not seduce their parents, but he ponders over two shirts and a hoodie now before deciding to go with the hoodie. It shows less skin and he'd read somewhere people were more likely to trust him for that.

He's putting on his shoes and telling Seokjin not to forget to water the plants when his phone goes off. It's an unknown number and Jimin accepts the call.

"Hi, is this Park Jimin?" The other person asks, a man, it sounds, and then before Jimin can even say anything he continues, "I'm waiting downstairs for you. Will it take long?"

"Oh, no, sorry," Jimin shoots up, waving a hand over his shoulder at Seokjin, "I'm heading down."

There's a sleek black car waiting in front of Jimin's building. A brunette man leans against it and he holds up a hand when spotting Jimin.

"You must be Park Jimin," he says, "I'm Kim Namjoon, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Jimin smiles, shaking his hand and taking the backseat when Namjoon opens the door. There's already a driver inside and Jimin is a little lost before Namjoon sits down next to him, giving the driver a cursory nod before turning to Jimin.

"So, Jimin, first of all congratulations for getting the job. We know we're a bit over the top with that stuff but we really need to be careful. Our last babysitter wasn't really up to the task and we had some unpleasant complications." Jimin tries to ignore the way he grimaces when saying the unpleasant complications part. He vaguely wonders who this 'we' this guy is referring to is.

The driver pulls off and Namjoon continues, pulling an unlikely clipboard from somewhere and a pen from his breast-pocket. "We just need to go over some things here, this will be over pretty quick, but I think you've already noticed that we take discretion to be very important and in fact, we'll need you to keep as quiet about this as possible, if that's okay." He turns to Jimin, clipping his pen.

"Okay," Jimin nods.

"Great. You won't need to hide the fact that you're working as a babysitter but your employers' identity cannot be disclosed in under any circumstance. That also means no posting anything in social media."

Jimin nods. He's fairly certain he'll be babysitting the love child of two security government agencies. Namjoon is a bit of a talker, Jimin notices, when he goes over seemingly every aspect of his job in less than two minutes: he can wear whatever he likes, he gets double payment for any extra hours (take that, Mrs Nan), days off are up to discussion and he needs to watch the child pretty much whenever or wherever his employers want him to.

"Oh, that also extends to travelling. If they ever need you during a trip they'll cover all of your expenses and the extra hours shift, so you needn't worry," Namjoon pauses. "I think that's all. This is your contract," he pushes the clipboard Jimin's way. "You can sign here and here when you're done reading."

"Uh," Jimin looks lostly down at the pages. "Is this really necessary?"

Namjoon laughs. "Yes, I'm sorry. It's a bit complicated because your image rights-"

"My image rights?" Jimin squints at him. Shit, what the hell had he gotten himself into?

Namjoon shrugs. "Since you'll be following them and taking care of the baby it's possible that people might take unwanted photographs that can be published."

Jimin blinks at him. The car has come to a stop, he sees, in the garage of a tall building. Namjoon is looking between Jimin and at the still unsigned contract sitting on his lap, pen poised over it.

"Who exactly are these people?" Jimin finds himself asking in a murmur.

Namjoon chuckles, laying a supporting hand on Jimin's shoulder. "Relax, Jimin. Let's just say that they're famous, but it's nothing much. They're pretty average people, you'll meet them now. We just need to get these aspects clear. Most of the precautions won't even be put to use but it's never enough to be cautious."

Jimin grins uncertainly, thinking and overthinking it. This doesn't look like a shady business but the amount of precautions Namjoon has spoken so highly of are a bit scary, if you consider they fill about twenty A4 pages currently sitting on Jimin's lap.

Jimin takes in a deep breath. Namjoon has seemed to be about as open as possible with this. But then again, he wouldn't have a reason not to be. "Sorry, where do I sign again?"

Chapter Text

Jimin's employers live in the penthouse and it's a long way up in the elevator. Namjoon has Jimin's contract under his armpit and is typing on his phone, occasionally humming something under his breath. Jimin has his hands pocketed and tries to make it look like he hasn’t possibly felt more overwhelmed during his entire life, which he isn't sure he's managing.

The elevator pings and Namjoon looks up, keying in a code before the doors open to let them through. He waves Jimin inside the well-furnished living room and Jimin tries not to marvel at the sheer size and greatness of it, following on Namjoon's footsteps carefully so as to not break anything he couldn't pay for.

Namjoon smiles encouragingly as he takes a seat on the sofa, motioning for Jimin to do the same, which he does rigidly. "He should be here any moment now, just- oh, here he is," Namjoon announces cheerfully.

Jimin sees Kim Taehyung coming in his direction, in a hoodie and shorts, holding a small baby in his arms. He looks about as beautiful as he always seems to be on those magazine covers and smiles blindingly at Jimin.

"Hi, you must be Jimin. I'm Kim Taehyung, but please just call me Tae," he says, manoeuvring the baby around to extend a hand towards Jimin.

Jimin smiles, shaking his hand. "H-Hi."

"I hope Namjoon didn't make you uncomfortable," he winks Namjoon's way, "I know he can be quite boring with all that legal talk of his. Anyway, Namjoon is my personal assistant so you'll be seeing him a lot," he smiles, taking a seat on the sofa and urging Jimin to do the same as he turns the baby around to face him. "This is little Kyungie," he introduces, adjusting the collar of his son's onesie.

Jimin tries not to coo and fails. He's seen a lot of adorable kids, but Kyung seems to have inherited Taehyung's round cheeks; soft, silky black hair covering the top of his head. He kicks and bats his hands around in that cute way babies his age do, wide, dark eyes staring at Jimin curiously.

"Hello," Jimin waves and Kyung frowns slightly, making a cute sound as he tries to swallow his fist, all the while not taking his eyes away from Jimin.

"Darling, don't do that," Taehyung brushes Kyung's hand away from his mouth. Kyung whines and agitates himself, blinking at Jimin. "Do you want to hold him?" Taehyung offers with a brilliant smile.

Jimin nods, still fixated on the kid. Taehyung hands him over carefully, and Jimin takes the small baby in his arms. Kyung looks over his shoulder at his father and seems about to cry for having left his lap, but Jimin rocks him and asks him how he's doing. The baby seems to find it odd that Jimin can speak, staring at his mouth and reaching out to touch it. Jimin laughs.

"Oh, he adores you," Taehyung beams, "I can see you'll get along pretty well."

Jimin thinks that he makes a good job out of pretending that he doesn't care that he'll be working for a famous model. Taehyung is kind and cheerful and he shows Jimin around the place and gives him access to the penthouse's security. Kyung's nursery alone has to be the size of Jimin's entire apartment. Taehyung tells him he has free reign over everything, but that he should call Namjoon if he ever needed help.

"I'm so happy you're here, Jimin," Taehyung shrieks. He does that a lot. "Not that I don't love spending every minute with my Kyungie," he leans to squeeze his son's cheeks, "but I've gone back to work and things are getting increasingly difficult with him around."

Jimin understands. He's never really worked for celebrities before but he'd always wondered how they managed that sort of life without a nanny around. Not to mention they usually had a thousand kids.

"Well, since you're here already I'm gonna go get changed," Taehyung announces proudly. "Would you-" he hands Kyung over and Jimin scoops him up. "Thanks. I'll be right back. Namjoon, I think we could take him," Taehyung says over his shoulder as he moves farther into a hallway he hadn't showed Jimin. To his bedroom most probably.

Namjoon gaps. "Are you sure, Taehyung? He is-" Taehyung is out of earshot already. Namjoon sighs. "Never mind." He turns to Jimin. "Uh, yes, so, that's him. You've earned my trust already for not freaking out when seeing him. That's always a bit scandalous," Namjoon says, and waves him over so they can go to the kitchen.

"Well, when I saw him coming my way I thought this was certainly some kind of television joke," Jimin confesses, accepting the water Namjoon offers him with a chuckle. Kyung coos and moves in his lap, frantically looking for something over his shoulder. Jimin gives the empty glass back and adjusts the baby.

"Since you know who he is you must know his husband as well," Namjoon says, inching his head in the direction Taehyung had disappeared into. Jimin nods. "He's not around most of the times," Namjoon rolls his eyes, and Jimin wonders if he's tried to hide his disdain at all. "Always touring, always travelling. But all good. You'll help Taehyung out more than anything, but if Jeongguk comes around try not to be too overwhelmed." Jimin frowns and Namjoon chuckles. "You will understand when you see him. For now, we have a photoshoot," he taps his cell phone screen. "Taehyung says he wants to take you. Do you want to go?"

Jimin gives an uncertain grin. "Do I have a choice?"

Namjoon laughs, patting his shoulder lightly as they leave the kitchen. "I like you, Jimin."

-

Kyung follows the dolphin plushie with his eyes as Jimin moves it from side to side and then up and down. He whines and tries to bat it from Jimin's hand, wiggling in his lap and occasionally kicking his legs. Jimin laughs and presses the dolphin to his cheek, making a loud smooching sound.

"Look, he is giving you a kiss, Kyungie," he prompts and Kyung bounces on his lap, showing him his gums when he smiles. Jimin coos. "Oh, what is it?" He gasps, bringing the dolphin up to his ear, "Oh, Mr Dolphin is telling me he finds you cute, Kyungie. Did you hear him?" Jimin squeezes the plushie's head and makes a sound in the back of his throat. Kyung watches, enchanted, eyes going from Jimin to the plushie.

"You're good at that," Namjoon tells him. He's sat beside Jimin in the studio, Taehyung is taking photo after photo a few feet away. There are lots of cameras and people milling about fixing the scenario and giving him instructions.

"Well, I am a babysitter," Jimin says, and then realizes it sounds a bit rude. If Namjoon agrees he doesn't say so. "I mean, I've been doing this since I was what, thirteen?"

Namjoon grins while texting. It seems all he does all day is type on his phone. "Cool. You're an omega, right?"

Jimi nods and avoids his eyes, squeezing the plushie to Kyung's chest. The baby hugs it to him and closes his tight fists around its eyes, trying to wrench them off.

"That's good, you'll have lots of practice once you have your own. That is, if you intend to have them," Namjoon considers.

Jimin shrugs. "I don't know. Don't really think about it. I don't even have a boyfriend so," he chuckles half-heartedly. It's not as if he minds his perpetual state of singleness, but he has to admit that sometimes it gets boring. When he's not getting laid frequently, for example.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's a big responsibility, a child," Namjoon inputs, and Jimin finds him watching Taehyung at the other side of the room, striking pose after pose for the camera. He's something of a national treasure, Taehyung. The most beautiful looking face you could find, the public used to say. Jimin had never really considered him much but from what he'd gathered so far, Taehyung's personality seemed to match his looks.

For a moment it looks like Namjoon wants to say something else, but he glances at Jimin out of the corner of his eye and gives a tight smile before going back to his phone. Two minutes later and Taehyung's photoshoot comes to an end.

"Did you behave, sweetie?" Taehyung comes over to ask his son, tapping on his nose playfully. Kyung whines excitedly. Taehyung smiles from ear to ear, getting Kyung from Jimin and kissing both his cheeks. "Thanks so much, Jimin," he says, taking a seat while an assistant comes to swipe his makeup off. "Last time I brought him over he wouldn't stop crying."

"It's nothing," Jimin grins, "he's a sweetheart." And he isn't lying. Jimin had encountered some truly nasty babies before.

"He is, isn't he?" Taehyung coos at his baby. "Anyway, I'm heading back home now. We'll drop you off at your place. Same time tomorrow?" Taehyung tilts his head in question.

-

Seokjin pesters him all week long because Jimin refuses to tell him anything about his new job.

"Like, come on, you know everything about mine," he groans from his place on Jimin's sofa.

"You work as a cook, there's nothing confidential about it," Jimin rolls his eyes. He finds it's unnervingly exciting to describe his job as confidential. Gives him some kind of James Bond vibe.

Seokjin snorts. "Yeah, because a babysitting career is super confidential."

Jimin gives him the tongue. He's reviewing today's class and taking some notes down, so he crumples a sheet of paper and throws it Seokjin's way unapologetically. "I still make more than you do," he grins. It's true. Jimin has now a normal, adult looking bank account with all the digits to speak of.

"Yeah, about that, I was wondering, how much is it to share this place with me?" Seokjin looks around.

"Oh, you've finally proposed!" Jimin teases, and Seokjin throws the paper ball back at him.

-

Jimin can barely remember that two weeks ago he'd been standing, nervous, about to be interviewed. So far, his job has come to be nothing short of heavenly. Kyung is a sweet baby who only ever cries when he is hungry or has a dirty diaper; Taehyung was more than kind to him and Jimin was even beginning to think of him as a friend. He was always bouncing from one interview or photoshoot to another, but he always made sure to take Jimin with him. Afterwards they'd usually get ice cream or a smoothie and the driver would drop Jimin off at his place. Jeongguk, Taehyung's superstar husband, had yet to make an appearance. Jimin didn't ask. Famous people were always full of complicated relationships.

"And oh- did Namjoon tell you about the trip?" Taehyung stops himself in the middle of a sentence to ask Jimin. They're at the smoothie place next to the penthouse after Taehyung's left his yoga class, and Taehyung blinks owlishly at him over his shades, caressing the top of Kyung's head, the baby chewing a pacifier on his car seat beside Jimin.

Jimin shakes his head, glancing at Namjoon, who shakes his head at Taehyung and holds up his hand to take a call.

Taehyung sips on his straw thoughtfully, turning to Jimin. "Well, I'll go to Tokyo in a couple weeks. Maybe Kook will tag along, but he hasn't answered me yet," he pauses to check his phone's notifications, frowning when it seems like there's no new info from his husband. He gulps and smiles tightly at Jimin. "So, I'll need someone to watch Kyung for one or two days. Will that be okay? I know you have college and- god, he's been doing this a lot lately." He sighs, bending to grab the pacifier Kyung has spit on the floor. The baby cries, face red and angry when Taehyung holds him up. "What is it with you, sweetheart?" He tries to shush him, but Kyung is having none of it.

"Let me," Jimin holds his arms up and Taehyung passes the baby along. Kyung has his eyes scrunched up and bawls out loud, garnering the attention of the other costumers, who give Jimin a nasty look. Jimin rocks him slowly and offers him all the trinkets he has in his baby bag. Kyung's crying subsides after a while, but his face is still tear-streaked and he whimpers every once in a while.

"I don't know what to do with him every time you go," Taehyung sighs, pouting. "He cries all the time now. Is that normal? Should I take him to a doctor? Namjoon, do you have his paediatrician on call?"

"He's teething," Jimin had figured it out a couple days ago. Babies his age only ever got this irritable when their teeth would start coming out. Jimin inches Kyung's chin down and takes a look at his swollen gums. "Poor thing," he moans, and Kyung ignores him in favour of biting on his monkey toy's head.

"Oh," Taehyung says, deflating. Namjoon finishes his call and says he's adding another event to Taehyung's agenda. Taehyung hasn't taken his eyes away from his kid, "could you schedule his paediatrician too, just in case?" Namjoon nods and makes another call. Taehyung turns to Jimin. "What should I do? Does it take long for them to grow out?"

Jimin shrugs. "They'll stay like this for a while. You can never tell exactly when they'll come out but they can't be that far off. Teething rings help a lot though, and if you put them in the freezer for a while it helps with soothing the pain."

Taehyung sips on the rest of his smoothie, watching Jimin carefully. "You're so good at this."

Jimin laughs self-consciously. "Well, I had a head start."

"I don't think Kyung has anything for teething though. Where do I find those?"

"In any drugstore, really," Jimin shrugs, but Taehyung's phone chimes on the table and he makes a squeaking noise once checking it out.

"It's Kook," he swoons, "ooh, he wants to talk. Namjoon, could you get the check?" He throws his credit card Namjoon's way, almost jumping out of his seat. "Jimin, could you find the teething thing now? Meet me back home. Take Kyungie with you," he says, midway into pulling his phone up to his ear and running up to the penthouse's building.

Namjoon gives a put-upon sigh once Taehyung's left, confirming Kyung's paediatrician appointment for the next day before hanging up the call. "I know, right?" He says to Jimin, who straps Kyung on his car seat, still a bit surprised.

"Does he-" Jimin doesn't know what to ask exactly.

"Always drop everything off when hubby calls?" Namjoon fills in for him, getting up to get the check. "Yes."

Jimin makes no comment because it's none of his business but Namjoon doesn't hide his face. Jimin wonders if one day he'll get like Namjoon gets some times when he thinks Taehyung is doing something out of line. He supposes he'll have to wait and see.

He takes Kyung in the car seat and tells Namjoon he's going to the drugstore down the corner to get the baby a teething ring. Namjoon nods and tells him to be careful.

The drugstore is not even a whole block away and Jimin soon enough is perusing the shelves after a suitable teething ring for Kyung. He gets one in red and another in blue because the colours seem to suit Kyung. He pays with his own cash but he knows Taehyung will cover it later, once he's finally spoken to his husband.

The walk back to the penthouse is silent, and Jimin shows Kyung the new teething rings he'd gotten him when waiting for the elevator. The doors are almost shutting when he hears someone calling out.

"Wait!"

Jimin holds the doors open instinctively and a young man comes barrelling through them. He settles against the wall opposite Jimin's, taking in a good breath before pressing the button for the sixteenth floor. "Thanks, man," he says, only then seeming to take a good look at Jimin.

Jimin blushes because wow, Kyung's neighbour is cute as hell. "It's nothing," he manages to mumble.

Handsome stranger grins widely, finger poised over the buttons. "What floor?"

"Oh," Jimin breaks out of his reverie, pressing the top button.

The stranger whistles, glancing at Jimin out of the corner of his eye. He has to have the most weirdly attractive face Jimin has ever seen, and he smiles tightly as though he knows that, as though he's completely aware of what Jimin is thinking. "Working for Jeongguk?" He asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the opposite wall.

"Y-yeah," Jimin nods. He was technically working for Jeongguk, even though he'd never seen him. He was watching his kid though, so it had to count for something.

"You must be the new nanny, right? I'm Yoongi," he extends a hand.

"Jimin," he adjusts the carrier and the baby bag aside, chuckling under his breath. It's awkward, and there's a palpable tension when Jimin manages to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"And me you," Yoongi smiles charmingly. There's a ping and a velvet voice saying they've reached the sixteenth floor and Yoongi turns to the doors. "That's me. Fancy meeting you, Jimin," he says, holding up the doors, half of his body outside of the elevator, "guess I'll be seeing you around, then. Looking forward." He winks before letting the doors shut.

Jimin stares at the metal doors, the elevator pulling up to the top floor. He makes a flat noise in the back of his throat which he assumes is the delayed, amorphic response to Yoongi's farewell. Park Jimin is shook.

"Did you hear that?" He asks Kyung, bringing the baby up to his eye-level. "He flirted with me, didn't he?"

Kyung watches him with big eyes, wobbling his spit-slick lips before blinking and batting his arms uncoordinatedly.

"I know, right?" He whispers back at Kyung, laughing under his breath. Shit, he did flirt.

Taehyung is a ball of energy once Jimin reaches the penthouse. His smile, always broad and sweet, seems to have become a permanent fixture on his face. He runs up to Kyung and Jimin once they arrive, getting the baby from Jimin and swirling him around before kissing both his cheeks.

"Baby, guess who is coming back? Daddy!" He announces to a surprised Kyung. "Yes, he is, he is coming to mommy and baby." Taehyung laughs, turning over his shoulder to see Jimin. "Jiminie, Kook is coming back from his tour, isn't that great?"

Jimin smiles as best as he can, nodding. "It is." About time he saw his son, he thinks and then berates himself for having thought it. He knew nothing about these people's lives. He knows for sure that Namjoon doesn't seem to like Taehyung's husband in the slightest though, but as Jimin has never seen for himself he doesn't want to shoulder other people's opinions. Which doesn't change the fact that Jeongguk has spent a full month (maybe more) without seeing his son.

Oh, well, maybe that's normal and Jimin is the one exaggerating.

Chapter Text

Seokjin is sceptic towards Yoongi, the cute neighbour. "But did he wink?"

"Yes, Jin," Jimin groans. "I saw it."

Seokjin snorts. They shouldn't be talking during class, but the classroom is so full and the class itself so boring that most of the students scatter around to sleep or text while the teacher pretends to be unaware. "And you were working? I mean, the baby was with you?"

Jimin hums in assent, fiddling with the corner of a paper sheet.

"Didn't he think it was your kid though?"

Jimin shrugs. "He seemed to recognize him. He asked if I was working for his neighbour, so maybe he knows it's his kid."

"Or maybe he found it hot regardless," Seokjin teases.

Jimin snorts. "You're such a dumbass."

"Well, it's true, Jiminie," Seokjin elbows his side. "You know some alphas dig that."

"I didn't say he was an alpha," Jimin lifts one eyebrow. Yoongi was a bit taller than Jimin, but that wasn't very hard to accomplish. It wasn't the height that gave him away though. It was the way he looked at Jimin, his poise and the way he held himself, typically alpha. And right, maybe the fact that Jimin looked like a baby shopping mall had Yoongi a bit more... flirty. Seokjin was right after all, there were alphas drawn to omegas who liked to carry babies around or were sweet to children. It had to be biological.

Seokjin gives him a teasing grin. "Your mouth says no but your eyes say yes."

Jimin grunts. "I should've never told you anything. Forget I said that."

Seokjin laughs to himself, shaking his head. "Careful, Jimin. You know those rich boy types are dangerous."

Jimin hums.

-

Taehyung's car is already waiting for Jimin once his class is finished.

"What the fuck," Seokjin hisses beside him, eyeing the black car parked by the curb. "Jimin, are you sure- Never mind, I'm not even going to ask," he scoffs.

Jimin shrugs one shoulder, not managing to look disappointed at the prospect of free rides. Seokjin tells him he'll met him at home and Jimin saunters off to the car. To his surprise, Taehyung is already in the backseat, Kyung on the baby seat beside him.

"Jiminie, hey," Taehyung greets lively. "How was class?"

"Uh, nice," it wasn't though. This class always sucked.

The car pulls off and Jimin greets Kyung, who lets go of his teething ring to smile at him.

"Namjoon couldn't come with us today. He's solving something for the agency in his office," Taehyung explains. "I don't think he was that excited to tag along either," Taehyung gives a tight chuckle. "He always gets kind of moody when-" he waves his hand around, sounding like he wished he hadn't said anything in the first place, "anyway, Kook will be back this evening, so we'll drop you off after the doctor's appointment. He must be dying to spend his time with Kyungie after so long," Taehyung preens, bending to ask his son if he missed his father.

The ride is fairly short and the doctor sees to Kyung right away. Now Jimin understands why Taehyung had asked him to come along. It's not the greatest feeling in the world to realize that Jimin knows more about Kyung, his habits, his meals and his health than Taehyung himself. At one point the doctor gives up on directing the questions to Taehyung altogether and begins subtlety steering his gaze towards Jimin every time he looks up from Kyung's file.

"Has he gotten any fevers?" The doctor asks Jimin. Taehyung is silent beside him, Jimin rocking the baby and trying to stop him from grabbing anything off the doctor's desk.

"He did, once, a few days ago."

"Did he?" Taehyung turns to Jimin.

"Yes, I told you," Jimin frowns. He remembers it. Taehyung had been on his phone though, and had only nodded and murmured something.

The doctor is looking from Jimin to Taehyung, but as Taehyung seems to have lost credibility in his eyes, he turns to Jimin once more. "How long did it last? Did you take his temperature?"

"Yes," Jimin nods, glancing at Taehyung, who is pouting at Kyung and laying a hand on his son's forehead. "It wasn't very high. But I gave him a cold bath, changed his clothes and it passed."

The doctor nods. "Great. It's not unusual for them to be feverish when they begin teething," he appeases a startled Taehyung. "Has he been eating well?"

"We give him the formula whenever he's hungry, which is almost all the time."

The doctor nods with a tiny frown. "You couldn't produce any milk during the pregnancy?" He asks Taehyung.

"Oh, yes, but," Taehyung shifts uncomfortably, a blush high on his cheeks, "I weaned him pretty soon."

The doctor hums thoughtfully.

"I was wondering if we could introduce solid foods," Jimins speaks up with a shrug. Taehyung gives him a confused look. "He's started to reject the milk and he gets curious whenever we eat something different. And now that his teeth are coming out he'll need to use them, maybe just fruits or mashed potatoes for a start."

"Oh, sure," the doctor agrees, "that's a good idea." And then that's it.

Taehyung is silent on the way back to Jimin's building, caressing the top of Kyung's head, the baby happily munching on his teething ring.

Jimin is wondering if he did the right thing by talking to the doctor. But then again there was no way he couldn't. Taehyung knows Jimin takes good care of Kyung and that he had to have more info on the kid as Jimin is with him most of the times when Taehyung is working. It's not the first time this has happened: Jimin realizing he played the kid's mother's role better than the ones themselves, but it's the first time any of them seem to mind.

Jimin wants to say he's sorry. He doesn't know for what though. Taehyung pays him to do this, to look after his baby. But at the same time he feels like he's stealing something from him, the precious moments only parents should share with their kids. He opens his mouth to say something, but is startled out of it when he feels Taehyung's hand coming up to squeeze his.

The car has slowed to a stop in front of Jimin's building, and Taehyung smiles brilliantly at him. "I'm really lucky to have you, Jimin. For real. Thank you."

Jimin navigates between surprise and gratitude, but he squeezes Taehyung's hand right back and retributes the smile. "Well, just doing my job."

Taehyung laughs. "Sure," he winks, "see you tomorrow, Jimin."

Jimin gets down from the car and waves at Taehyung, who extends his head and hand outside the window to blow him a kiss. Jimin chuckles under his breath, feeling kind of a loser now for having thought Taehyung was mad with him. How could he? Taehyung, the sweetest being on earth!

-

It would be a lie for Jimin to say he hasn't been looking forward to meeting Yoongi, the cute neighbour, again, but it seems like he's down on his luck. He's been wondering if he should ask Taehyung or Namjoon for any information on him without making it sound like he was interested, which was kind of difficult since Jimin was very much interested. Not to say it would be a bit unprofessional to demonstrate interest on Taehyung's neighbour when he should be, well, just working.

Jimin is pondering on all of that when his phone chimes with a notification. He leans against the elevator's wall after pressing the top floor button and taps it open. It's an email from Namjoon with the details of the trip to Tokyo. Apparently, Taehyung would be staying for three days in a very expensive hotel room and Namjoon had booked the neighbouring room for Jimin. He also needed his passport number and some other important stuff to book his flight.

Jimin punches in the keycode for the penthouse and is typing a response to Namjoon while walking further into the place when he startles. There's a gruff, male voice coming from the living room. A voice he hasn't heard before. Jimin pauses, frozen on the threshold and remembers that Jeongguk had returned from his tour yesterday, which meant he was now home. He tries to supress his urge to flee. He doesn't know if Taehyung has mentioned his existence to Jeongguk or not and he feels embarrassed for walking into Jeongguk's fucking penthouse like he owned the place. There had to be some sort of etiquette for that, right?

But Jimin doesn't get a chance to decide on that as the voice keeps getting louder and closer until a man dressed in a tracksuit walks out from the living room. He's speaking on his phone and staring firmly ahead before startling at Jimin's presence. But this man looks nothing like the Jeongguk Jimin's seen on TV. He looks softer around the edges and after the slightest moment of consideration, the man pays Jimin a nod and a brief smile before continuing on with his conversation. He passes Jimin by to call for the elevator and his voice drifts off as he goes away.

Jimin lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, shaking his head and making his way into the living room.

Normally Taehyung was already in there with Kyung when Jimin arrived, but today there's a tall man wearing all black standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows and Jimin almost shits his pants when he sees him. The man spots him almost as fast and okay, this one really is Jeongguk.

He frowns at Jimin and gives an uncertain look around, as though not understanding what this stranger could be doing in his place. He quirks an eyebrow when Jimin says nothing. "Uh, who are you?"

"I-I'm Jimin," Jimin says, very intelligently. Namjoon had told him, which feels like a lifetime ago, that Jimin should try not to appear too overwhelmed when he met Jeongguk. At the time Jimin didn't know what he could possibly be meaning, but now he thinks he has a good guess. It's not that Jeongguk tries to look like he rules the fucking universe, not in sweatpants and a tank top, hand in his pocket and casually filtering through his phone. But whatever it is that he does kind of makes him look the part.

Not to mention that it's close to impossible to not show any reaction when you finally see a face that is so broadcasted. Like finding a familiar face in the streets and not flinching in recognition. Like meeting Santa Claus. You know you're never going to meet him because he's a legend and then suddenly, there he is.

Jeongguk is patiently waiting for Jimin to elaborate, but when it seems like the tiny blond isn't going to say anything else he lets out a curt sigh. "Did Hoseok let you in?" He asks, still frowning, but then something magical happens: Jimin is saved from having to explain himself.

"Jiminie!"

Jimin has never been more relieved to hear Taehyung's voice before. The omega comes from his bedroom, Kyung in his arms. The baby squeals at the sight of Jimin, who is more than happy to get him from Taehyung.

"Darling, this is Jimin, the new babysitter," Taehyung turns to Jeongguk. Jimin peers at them from over Kyung's head.

"Oh," Jeongguk says, giving a small nod Jimin's way. "Hey there, Jimin."

Taehyung goes up to his husband to whisper something to him. Jeongguk sighs and makes a face before whispering something back.

Jimin looks away. This whole parents' whispering while Jimin is in the room has always unnerved him. Kyung is restless in Jimin's arms though, tugging on a tuft of Jimin's hair and he spends some time trying to coax the baby into letting it go.

"Well," Taehyung announces cheerfully, "we'll be going down to lunch. Jimin, would you like to come with us?"

Jimin glances widely around, looking for any glimpse of Namjoon. Usually Taehyung's assistant is around to steer Jimin's decisions over Taehyung's shoulder. He never knows if he's actually obligated to do whatever Taehyung invites him to or if the polite thing to do is to decline. Jeongguk makes him uneasy though, but Taehyung's smile is so captivating that Jimin gives a tiny shrug. "Sure."

Chapter Text

Jimin is wholly unprepared for people taking their pictures as they leave the building, but he does his best to cover Kyung's face and looks down, following on Taehyung's heels in front of him. Apparently, this is what Namjoon was talking about when he made Jimin sign the contract: people snapping photos of him just because he has a celebrity baby.

Jeongguk and Taehyung look unperturbed as they continue down the sidewalk, Taehyung only paying an encouraging smile at Jimin over his shoulder. It strikes him then that they must be used to it, which is odd because this is the first time this has happened to Jimin, even though he'd shared Taehyung's company publicly before.

But then again... Jeongguk, he thinks. Jeongguk had never been with them before.

They go to the same restaurant Taehyung usually attends, two blocks away from the penthouse. This time they're led to a different table though, away from most of the costumers and at the back of the restaurant.

Jimin situates Kyung beside him on the high chair, pulling out his bib from the baby bag. He doubts Taehyung has given him anything other than the formula despite the doctor's allowance yesterday, and he's excited to see how this will come out.

Taehyung is excitedly talking to his husband, cupping Jeongguk's hand over the table and playing with his fingers while he talks and gosh, sometimes he talks a lot. Jeongguk hums in interest in all the right pauses, but in Jimin's opinion he doesn't seem to be actually listening to what his omega is saying. He glances at Jimin every once in a while.

Regardless, Jimin orders a bowl of mashed potatoes for Kyung and declines whatever Taehyung intends to order for him as he's already had lunch.

"Kookie, guess who's started teething?" Taehyung asks cheerfully after the waiter has brought them their drinks.

Jeongguk inches an eyebrow up, turning to smile proudly at Kyung. "Let me see," he reaches to take the baby out of the highchair, propping his tiny feet on his knees and holding his spine. He opens his mouth and tries to get Kyung to imitate him and the baby gurgles in laughter, showing off his gums and the small white stubs starting to poke out. Jeongguk coos and sits the baby on his lap, giving his index finger for Kyung to bite on while Taehyung goes back to his talk.

Jimin watches the table top and tries not to be moved. Maybe Jeongguk wasn't such a bad father after all.

Later, Kyung watches Jimin with wide, curious eyes as he inches the plastic spoon in his direction. Jimin makes earnest noises and prompts him to open his mouth and have a taste of the potatoes but the baby still stares at him in confusion.

"Maybe he doesn't really want it," Taehyung guesses, watching the scene.

"He's just confused," Jimin tries again, this time dribbling the potato on the corner of Kyung's lips. If he is curious enough he'll lick it off and decide if he likes it. The baby inches his tongue out and tastes the potato, frowning slightly before cooing and smearing the rest of it all over his face.

They all laugh and Jeongguk takes pictures while Jimin cleans the baby's face. "Did you like it?" Jimin asks Kyung, filling another spoon with the mashed potato and bringing it into his line of vision. The baby fixates his gaze on it, bouncing on the high chair and opening his mouth.

"Look at him, he loved it," Taehyung coos. Jimin finishes feeding Kyung the rest of the mashed potatoes and Taehyung takes pictures of the baby to post on his various social medias.

It's good, having lunch with them. Taehyung looks happier than ever and Jeongguk isn't that much of an asshole as Jimin had conceived him to be. Kyung is excited for finally trying something different than milk and Jimin warns Taehyung to keep an eye out on what he puts in his mouth from now on because they tend to get super curious.

They're almost leaving the restaurant and making their way back to the penthouse when a person shows up behind Jimin, waving at Jeongguk, who smiles and reaches out to shake hands. It's Yoongi, Jimin notices as soon as he turns around.

He's in a casual jeans jacket and greets Taehyung before turning to Jimin and nodding in his direction. Jimin blushes to the tips of his hair, giving a small smile back.

"Do you know each other?" Taehyung asks, eyes going knowingly from Yoongi to Jimin, who is scurrying to arrange Kyung's stuff in his baby bag to avoid making eye contact.

"We met in the elevator once," Yoongi explains.

"Oh," Taehyung says, smiling at Jimin. "Well, we're already done here, aren't we, Kook?" Taehyung taps Jeongguk's shoulder lightly and motions at him with his eyebrows. "I'm thinking about putting Kyung down for a nap, so, Jimin, why don't you make Yoongi some company in the meanwhile? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Ah," Jimin freezes, Taehyung's not so subtle machinations making him blush all the harder. "I-I don't know, he never really naps at this time-"

Taehyung waves him off, getting up from his seat and taking Kyung from the highchair. "He's tired, he'll go down in no time."

"There's really no-"

"I'll call you back if I need you, okay?" Taehyung winks, taking the baby bag from Jimin and pushing it towards Jeongguk to carry. "Have fun. Yoongi, take care of him for me." Taehyung waves at them over his shoulder as he exits the restaurant, Jeongguk following with a tiny smirk.

Yoongi is silent as he watches them go, but he looks slightly less embarrassed than Jimin as he takes the seat Jeongguk had vacated at the other side of the table. "So," he begins, glancing at Jimin while fiddling with the napkin. "I think I should ask how you've been."

Jimin shrugs, still not believing this whole affair had happened. "Yes, I mean, I've been doing well. Classes are a bit boring, but..." He shrugs.

"What do you major in by the way?"

"Uh, dance," Jimin scratches the back of his head, but Yoongi whistles appreciatively. He knows it's not the career people usually make the most out of but Jimin likes it well enough. His mother seems to still think that he will grow out of it eventually though.

"That's cool," Yoongi says helpfully. "Mine is not all that good," he rolls his eyes emphatically, "business," he elaborates once Jimin looks at him questioningly. "Not my choice though, my parents'. They need me to take up the company one day," he smiles slightly, a motion that seems more self-deprecating than anything else.

"Wow," Jimin doesn't really know what to say to that. He knew people like that existed: rich boys who were obligated to live their lives a certain way as per their parents' insistence. Jimin had just never really met one before. "That must suck."

Yoongi laughs. "I'm learning to cope."

Jimin sets his elbow on the table, propping his chin on his hand and trying to make light of the way Yoongi stares at him: dark and smouldering but also sweet and fond, a sharp smirk to his lips. Jimin blushes at the attention. "So, what would you do if you had a choice?" He asks after a brief pause.

Yoongi rests back on his seat, crossing his arms and staring at the ceiling pensively. Around them, waiters walk by in a blur. "Music, I think."

Jimin can't help the way his eyebrows jump up in surprise. He would've never really pegged Yoongi as the artistic kind. He tells him as much, to Yoongi's exaggerated shock. "Why not?"

Jimin shrugs. The truth is that few alphas truly appreciate art.

"Or maybe they do but they're not supposed to act on it," Yoongi considers. Jimin laughs. "Gender roles, Jimin," Yoongi points out, "they're not only harmful to omegas."

"Yeah, but they're pretty much worse for us," Jimin replies. It wasn't his intention to make this into a political talk, and definitely not list out all the reasons why omegas still have a long way to go before being more respected in society, but Yoongi takes it in stride. He stares at Jimin from under his eyelashes all the while, smirking slightly whenever Jimin pauses for breath. Jimin feels embarrassed for having said anything in the first place, but when he's finished Yoongi watches him for a second longer before speaking.

"Look at him, beautiful and intelligent," Yoongi drawls, smiling lazily.

-

They leave the restaurant after what feels like minutes but is actually one hour and a half. Jimin tries not to think about it as a first date, but it's difficult to do so when they walk down the sidewalk side-by-side with Yoongi glancing at him like that every once in a while, accidentally bumping the side of his body into Jimin's. Not to mention the way their hands brush.

Jimin withdraws his hand shyly when Yoongi's brushes his again, but the alpha reaches out with his fingers this time, touching his fingertips to the inside of Jimin's wrist. "Hey," he says, and Jimin looks up. Yoongi slows down and motions with his head to the side for Jimin to follow him. There's an ice cream kiosk at the other side of the street. "Let me get you one."

"Oh," Jimin chuckles, "you don't need to, really. I have to be on my way back to work."

"Jimin," Yoongi mutters, laying a hand on his own chest in consternation, "please, I insist. You spent all this time enduring my terrible conversation skills, you need to get a treat for your efforts."

"No, they're not terrible," Jimin admits with a chuckle. Yoongi waits until he's done avoiding his gaze.

"Come on," Yoongi drawls. "It's gonna be pretty quick. You need to try the coconut one, I promise you it's the absolute best."

Jimin pretends to be making up his mind and Yoongi pouts, pocketing both his hands. "Okay, but just because you asked nicely," he sighs, accompanying Yoongi to wait out the traffic sign to cross the street, "and because I really love ice cream."

-

"How are you liking your job so far?" Yoongi asks. They'd come to a stop in a public bench near the kiosk, Jimin trying the raspberry cone Yoongi had gotten him while the alpha hummed at his coconut flavored one.

"It's really good," Jimin confesses without an ounce of doubt. Yoongi glances at him disbelievingly. "What?" He chuckles, "it's true. I'm loving it so far. Taehyung is the sweetest and Kyungie is the calmest baby ever."

Yoongi smiles. "Good. So that means you'll be staying, hn?" He quirks an eyebrow at Jimin, grinning.

Jimin blushes, trying to hide behind his ice cream cone. His and Yoongi's thighs are almost touching on the bench and the proximity has some very odd effects on Jimin's biology. Earlier, a gust of wind had carried Yoongi's scent over and it smelled like pine leaves and something else, something cosy that reminded Jimin of warm covers. "Yeah, I think so," Jimin smiles. Yoongi watches him closely, his gaze descending to Jimin's mouth.

Jimin licks his lips self-consciously and looks to the side. "Didn't the other babysitter seem to like it?" He asks. Jimin'd always wondered. Namjoon said unpleasant complications led the last babysitter away, but he'd never specified on its nature. Jimin couldn't understand how someone could let a job like this go.

Yoongi looks away for a second. "I don't know. Only crossed ways with her once in the elevator," he says, turning to Jimin and grinning impishly, "hey, you have something there," he reaches out to swipe his thumb down the corner of Jimin's lower lip.

Jimin swears he can feel his soul jolting out of his body at the contact, but does his best to stay put and act unaffected, which he must fail spectacularly at if the way Yoongi chuckles under his breath is anything to go by. "Thanks," he murmurs and Yoongi licks the ice cream from his thumb, not looking away from Jimin, whose heart may have stopped beating. "Oh my god," he says in a smidgeon of voice and Yoongi has the decency to look bashful.

"Sorry, I just-" Yoongi says before shaking his head. "You're really cute. Like, for real."

Jimin nods. "Right, thanks."

Yoongi knocks his shoulder with Jimin's lightly. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," Jimin finishes off his ice cream. He enjoys Yoongi's attention, he really does. But whenever he gets too close Jimin feels overwhelmed and he really doesn't want to drive Yoongi away but at the same time he can't make himself respond at the same level. "Uh, how do you know Taehyung?" He deviates.

Yoongi frowns slightly, licking down the side of his ice cream cone and sending shivers down Jimin's spine at the sight. "I know Jeongguk better than I know his omega, actually. He moved into the building a few years ago and we crossed ways in the elevator," he grins at Jimin, "best way to meet new people, honestly," Jimin chuckles, "and we just hit it off. I mean, we talk about music and such, he's a really good musician. But I don't know him all that well." He pauses before continuing, "do you like him?"

Jimin almost chokes on his spit. "Me?" He can't deny Jeongguk is a sex-bomb, and well, a very attractive alpha, but Jimin doesn't go around having those sorts of thoughts about his employers, even less so the mate of Taehyung, who is a lovely person and the kindest omega to ever live.

Yoongi laughs out loud. His face contorts beautifully and he shakes his head a couple times before turning to Jimin, whose face is still aflame. "I meant, did you like him before you started working for him? My bad, I didn't phrase it very well, though, by your reaction..." He squints at Jimin teasingly, once more knocking their shoulders together.

Jimin scoffs. "Shut up. Yeah, I knew him, everyone kind of does, really. His music is good, but," he shrugs, "I'm not a die-hard fan, if that's what you're asking."

"Great, because-" Yoongi continues, but Jimin's phone has started ringing in his pocket and he fishes it out, imagining it's Taehyung and little Kyung hadn't been able to nap.

"One second, sorry," he tells Yoongi. The caller id says it's Jin though, and Jimin accepts the call, afraid it's something about the apartment.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Seokjin blows his ear off. "When were you going to tell me you're a fucking celeb babysitter? Dude, your picture is all over the internet-"

"What?!" Jimin screeches. Yoongi is watching him with concern. "What are you talking ab- Where did you see that?"

"Well, imagine that: I'm casually on lunch break and decide to, you know, check my feed which may or may not include Jeongguk's fan page and arghh- I can't believe you actually know him! I swear to god, Park Jimin-"

Jimin removes the phone from his ear but he doesn't doubt Yoongi is still able to hear Jin's screeches. The alpha frowns and sends him an inquiring look but once catching sight of Jimin rolling his eyes he huffs, finishing his cone absentmindedly.

"Look, Jin, you're not making any sense right now and I need to go back to work," Jimin musters up his dignity to reply. Truth is he's as shocked as Jin, but he remembers Namjoon's careful words about the chance of Jimin being caught by paparazzi and tries to keep a level head.

"Oh god, I hate you, Park Jimin, just you wait until you get home, I'm going to-" Jimin hangs up with a sigh. He glances at Yoongi, who now leans casually on the bench, one arm thrown over the back of it. "Sorry about that," Jimin clears his throat, "just my crazy friend. Apparently, my pictures are all over the internet because I'm Jeongguk's babysitter."

"Shit," Yoongi frowns, "are you all right?"

"Yeah," Jimin shrugs. He watches people casually strolling down the sidewalk and wonders if any of them already recognize him. He lowers his gaze. "I mean, a bit caught off guard, but-"

Yoongi watches him intently. "Is there something I can do?"

"No, it's fine," Jimin gets up, throwing the rest of his cone in the trash, "I just really need to go, I think. Hey, can tell you Taehyung I went home? He can call me if he needs me again."

"Sure, but, Jimin, wait," Yoongi calls once Jimin sets off in the direction of the street.

"I'm fine, I swear," Jimin turns on his heels to tell him, "I just need some time to calm down."

Yoongi nods slowly. "Okay, but don't think too much into it. Here," he extends his phone Jimin's way wordlessly. Jimin cuts his eyes to the motion and can't help the blood that rushes up to his face.

"Uh," he says eloquently, taking the phone in hand and punching in his number. He hands it back to Yoongi with a sheepish smile.

"Can I text you sometime?" Yoongi asks nonchalantly with a shrug.

Jimin chuckles, "sure."

Yoongi nods, satisfied. He flags a cab down and helps Jimin inside. Jimin can feel the way Yoongi watches the car speed off until turning a corner.

Chapter Text

It's not as bad as Jimin thought it was, in the end. Two tabloids published the pictures taken that same day, headlines focusing on Jeongguk's return from his tour rather than Jimin's presence. Which didn't mean he wasn't still there, in the pictures, holding Kyung in his arms and following after Taehyung, who had one arm slung around Jeongguk's lazily.

"You're so fucking lucky, I swear to god," Seokjin says. He hasn't shut up about it ever since arriving and finding Jimin home. Jimin has started regretting the moment he agreed to let Seokjin share the place with him. "You work for Jeongguk, for Jeon fucking Jeongguk, and you weren't even going to tell me."

Jimin rolls his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. "Jin, I told you already, I signed a contract and Taehyung's assistant said I couldn't tell anyone."

Seokjin sighs, taking a swig of his beer. "Still," he mutters with a pout, "I'm your best friend."

"Well, now you already know, don't you?" Jimin snaps. "You and everybody else."

Seokjin's pout flattens after a while, only to give way to a large, predatory grin. "Yeah, yeah, I forgive you, fine, but now," he begins, crawling his way on the floor towards Jimin. "You have to tell me the juicy details."

Jimin groans half-heartedly, not helping the silly smirk that begins to form on his face. Namjoon had called earlier and asked if he was okay but didn't mention anything about keeping the secret for any longer. It was useless too, anyway, because anyone who knew Jimin and had access to internet could recognize him in those pictures, and well, since it wasn't Jimin outing himself to the press he was pretty much out of harm's way.

"There are no juicy details," Jimin insists, "they're both normal people."

Seokjin tuts, not buying Jimin's words. "That can't be true. Come on, Jiminie, tell me something. I need to know. How does he smell?"

Jimin huffs, pushing Seokjin's shoulder away playfully. "I've had close to almost no contact with Jeongguk. He's all right, I guess, if not a bit broody though," he frowns, "but Taehyung is a real sweetheart," Jimin beams.

Seokjin makes a face at that. "Taehyung, really? You mean his bitchy omega?"

Jimin balks. "What?"

Seokjin has always been a fan of Jeongguk, often rattling about him all the time. Jimin didn't remember him ever saying anything about Taehyung though, mostly because when his best friend started speaking Jimin shut him off and focused on something else. He hadn't had the curiosity of looking his bosses up in the internet ever since starting the job either, so he was shocked to find out that Jeongguk's choice in mate was a matter of huge popular debate.

"He's a gold-digger," Seokjin states, chugging more of his beer.

Jimin scoffs. He doesn't want to be mad at his best friend and in the back of his mind he knows Seokjin is only echoing other people's thoughts on the matter, courtesy of his habit of reading every gossip article there was online. But it still stings to realize how much someone could have their image perverted by the press, the amount of lies they could spew about someone like Taehyung, who could have his flaws but was overall a cheerful and wonderful person.

"Why the hell would he be a gold-digger? He's a famous model himself," Jimin replies, Seokjin giving him a wary glance. "I bet he makes as much as Jeongguk, he doesn't need his money. He's a wonderful omega."

Seokjin coos. "Oh, Jiminie, you're so innocent," he reaches out to pinch Jimin's cheek, having his hand promptly batted away.

"I am not. Trust me, I know Taehyung, like, in real life," Jimin counters.

"Yes, but you don't know anything about him, do you? The guy's career was falling apart a few years ago," Seokjin tells him, waving his beer bottle around eloquently. "They said he was a bit of a snob and no one had the patience to work with him any longer. Not to mention he was getting old, right? There are always young new faces in the fashion industry so he wasn't doing all that well for himself. And then," Seokjin pauses for effect, "he got into some kind of scandal and lost his contract with Gucci. He went mad, imagine that: the country's most important model wiped out of the board like that from night to day. So, he started sleeping around with anyone with a rising career and managed to snag Jeongguk," Seokjin finishes his beer, "and the rest is history."

Jimin blinks, trying to assimilate everything Seokjin has told him. His best friend is right in the sense that Jimin really doesn't know anything about Taehyung or his past, but the way Seokjin reproduces it sounds a bit dramatic, an age-old receipt for making someone look bad. He doesn't doubt that Jeongguk's lunatic fanbase could've assembled a bunch of lies out of pure jealousy.

Jimin sighs. "I'm not getting into that discussion with you because you're clearly biased," he says, standing up. Seokjin groans and says something about him being melodramatic. "No, Jin, I'm serious. Taehyung is a great person. If anything, Jeongguk is the one who is an asshole."

Seokjin splutters. "What? Oh, Jiminie..."

"Yes, he is," Jimin crosses his arms. He'd made it a rule not to meddle into his employers' lives, but it's hard not to when his employers are famous and everyone seems to have an opinion about them, even more so when they seem to draw the completely wrong conclusion. "If you'd like to know, Jeongguk barely ever calls Taehyung, not even to know about their son. He didn't even know I existed and I've been watching his baby for the past month. And the way he just looks at you makes you feel like you're the worst fucking worm in the world. So, yes, I know what I'm talking about."

Seokjin watches him attentively, Jimin's drawn lips and serious countenance probably serving as indication that he wasn't kidding. "Shit, Jiminie, I'm sorry."

Jimin gives a put-upon sigh, trying to clear his head. It wasn't his intention to lash out at Seokjin, even less so about something like this. He supposes he's been keeping these tiny observations to himself for so long that when he found an escape valve it kind of exploded out of him. "It's fine," he says, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"I didn't know he was like that," Seokjin murmurs, and he looks genuinely crestfallen, "sorry."

Jimin shakes his head. "Anyway, I think I'm going to bed."

Seokjin shrugs, groaning when making to get up. "Yeah, I think I am too."

Jimin nods once, helping his friend take the empty pizza box to the kitchen. Both of them don't say anything for a moment but Seokjin mentions his struggle with a class Jimin had taken last semester and it's back to normal in no time. They finish cleaning and go to their respective bedrooms.

Jimin isn't really thinking about going to bed yet, he's still not that tired, so grabs his textbooks and starts on an essay instead. He changes into his pyjamas and takes his tablet in hand to send an email to his teacher. His trip to Tokyo is in a few days and he doesn't want to miss classes without a justification first. He finishes typing and hits send, ready to put the tablet aside and go back to his essay when something makes him reconsider.

He thinks back to Seokjin's words earlier, the way he retold Taehyung's past in almost a maniac way. It's not right, Jimin knows it, but he stares at the button to pop a new tab open and thinks, finger hovering over it. It's not like it's classified information, right? The only thing stopping Jimin from looking up Jeongguk and Taehyung is his own conscience. Taehyung would never know if Jimin gave no signs that he had been curious, so it's more or less harmless.

"Shit," Jimin clicks his tongue, glancing at his door as though any minute now the police would come barrelling in to arrest him. He taps his finger thoughtfully against his tablet case before finally giving up and opening a new search bar.

He begins to type guiltily: kim tae- and taps the full name that comes up as the first suggestion. He burrows further into his blanket as if it is some kind of illegal activity to watch as the hundreds of thousands of results spill into his screen.

The first result is Taehyung's Wikipedia page, with a profile picture of him and a box detailing his information.

Full Name: Kim Taehyung

Birthplace: Daegu, South Korea

Birthday: December 30, 19--

Spouse: Jeon Jeongguk

Children: Jeon Kyung

Jimin scrolls past Taehyung's early modelling career, focusing on the loss of his contract with Gucci, but nothing on the text concentrates in any personal details surrounding the issue. He goes back to the first page and taps on some kind of fashion website that contains Taehyung's profile. Apparently, Taehyung had been nominated most beautiful model by the South Korean Rolling Stones twice in a row, three years ago. There are several pictures of Taehyung lining the text, Taehyung as the cover face of Bazaar and Vogue, dressed in designer clothes, animal skin and jewellery, always in a scandalous, sensual pose.

Following a pause in his career, Kim Taehyung returned to the catwalks after giving birth to his first child with singer and composer Jeon Jeongguk, confirming his attendance in Asia's most prized fashion weeks, including most recently Tokyo Fashion Week.

Jimin scrolls to the bottom of the page and still finds nothing of interest, except for a very spicy picture of Taehyung, posing artfully naked for some cheap magazine. Frowning, Jimin goes back to the first search page, feeling his heart drop when he reaches the news articles and the tabloids, especially the first results for the images search. Several of them are paparazzi shots, detailing Taehyung, drunk and hooking up with someone; Taehyung as the date of a powerful old man for some red-carpet award, the man's hand resting boldly on his ass. Taehyung exiting a club, running away from cameras. Jimin really can't believe his eyes. Can't believe that the same Taehyung he knows, that he works for, has meddled into so many scandals and compromising photographs. He looks pretty bad in some of them, kind of a mess and cripplingly sad. Jimin gasps when he sees the most critical one, a zoomed in picture of Taehyung in the backseat of a car, a hand covering his mouth as he cries copiously. He looks devastated and Jimin's heartstrings tug in a feeling akin to pity. His eyes fly through the headlines, skipping sentences and words that all look toxic and evil.

Then come the most recent ones, coupled with images of Taehyung accompanied by Jeongguk.

Jimin finds it odd that most of them avoid mentioning Taehyung's name, even the articles are terribly vague as to whom the mother of Jeongguk's child is. He can only link it to Taehyung's damaged reputation and Jeongguk's press office doing their most to keep it from tarnishing the singer's.

Jimin doesn't intend to – doesn't want to – but he ends up scrolling down to the comments section. At least ninety percent of the comments are about Taehyung and how unfit he is for Jeongguk. Some say tremendously evil things about him and the child – little Kyungie, a freaking innocent baby. Jimin grows nauseous when reading them, fiery hot anger seeping through his veins. Only a handful of them congratulate Jeongguk and Taehyung for the baby and even so it is with undermined criticism of their age and lack of a long commitment to back up the compromise of a child.

Jimin finally understands Seokjin and his opinions about Taehyung, which everyone else online seems to share, as Jimin had suspected. Apparently, Taehyung and Jeongguk's relationship went kind of lightning fast, which of course doesn't mean their feelings for each other should be doubted. Right?

Jimin sighs, closing the tab and lying down on his bed, watching his ceiling and trying to erase his mind of all the poisonous information he's just read. Whether he wants it or not, he starts thinking back to everything he's lived with Taehyung so far, wondering if the faraway look Taehyung sometimes got meant anything. If the way he would check his phone all time after any messages from Jeongguk meant anything.

Could it be that Jeongguk resented Taehyung in any way? Jimin remembers the comments about how Taehyung must have baby-trapped the alpha into a marriage and it makes him frown more than anything. The Taehyung he knows would never be able of something like that.

But then again Jimin couldn't say that there wasn't something weird going on in their relationship, whatever the reason behind it he had no idea. But could Taehyung be the only one to blame? Namjoon seemed to hate Jeongguk for some reason. No one could be forced into a relationship, not even for media purposes seeing as the amount of backslash Taehyung seemed to get from the press would put him as the last celebrity Jeongguk's press office would want him associated with.

What was the truth? Jimin wondered. Or was it that there were several truths and several lies intertwined in a way he would never be able to tell them apart?

Jimin groans. This was the reason why he had tried to keep his distance from talk online. He could never look at Taehyung the same way again. He would never be the immaculate omega Jimin had once admired him for being.

"Fuck," Jimin mumbles into his pillow. He couldn't forget what his job was: to look after the baby. He was a babysitter, not a psychologist. Taehyung had trusted him inside his house to care for his baby and not to analyse his and his husband's relationship. And yet that same image of Taehyung crying so desperately keeps stuck inside his head.

-

Jimin is relieved to know Jeongguk won't accompany them to Tokyo, though Taehyung looks nothing but. The other omega is silent and spends most of his time on his phone, face void of any emotion. Jimin tries to show him how excited Kyung gets when trying mashed bananas for the first time but not even that cheers him up.

Jimin tries to ignore the tightness in his chest and the uncomfortable silence that permeates the room, broken only by Kyung's curious coos. Taehyung is sat on the sofa, not even glancing at the baby. He looks tired. Jeongguk had left two hours ago to record a new single and didn't make any promises as to when he would return.

Namjoon arrives two minutes later and Jimin is glad, scooping more banana on the plastic spoon to feed Kyung. The alpha gives Jimin a nod and a tight smile in passing, moving to sit beside Taehyung on the sofa and extending a cup of steaming coffee his way.

Taehyung takes it with a small smile. "Thanks, Joonie," he murmurs, propping his elbow on the armrest as he takes a sip.

Namjoon asks him something in a low voice and Taehyung answers. Jimin busies himself with the baby, trying as hard as he can not to perk his ears up and listen. If they're whispering to each other it is because whatever it is isn't for Jimin's ears.

Kyung bounces on the high chair in excitement, completely oblivious to the gloomy mood in the room as he watches Jimin swirling the spoon in his direction in earnest. "Good boy," Jimin praises when the baby gobbles up the entire content of the spoon, reaching to dab at his chin with the bib when some of the banana slides off. Out of the corner of his eye Jimin notices when Taehyung finishes talking to Namjoon, getting up and striding to his room. Wordlessly, Jimin waits for Namjoon to say something.

"When did Jeongguk tell him?" Namjoon asks, turning on his spot on the sofa to face Jimin. His face is lined with concern.

"That he wouldn't travel with us? Today, a little before he left," Jimin replies. It was a bit brusque, in his opinion, but Jimin wasn't known for being Jeongguk's number one fan. The singer was negligent and obtuse with his family.

Namjoon nods slowly, clicking his tongue and hissing a tiny son of a bitch under his breath that Jimin pretends he doesn't hear. The alpha sighs and stretches his limbs once getting up from the sofa. "Well, Taehyung wants to head out for some time. He has an interview for his four o'clock and an event tonight. Will you be okay with Kyung by yourself?"

"Oh, sure," Jimin nods. He'd never been left by himself, in the penthouse, with the baby before but he figures it's not much different as to when Taehyung is around.

"Great, call me if you need anything and Jimin," Namjoon approaches him carefully, resting a hand on his shoulder lightly, "don't-"

"I won't tell anyone, Namjoon," Jimin cuts in with a confident smile.

Namjoon grins bashfully. "I know. I don't doubt you, sorry, it's just that Taehyung can get really sensitive and well," he shrugs. "I just want what's best for him."

Jimin pretends he doesn't see the emotion behind Namjoon's eyes, his breath punched out of him when he thinks he finally realizes something that fits like the missing piece of a puzzle. "Sure, yeah, I know that."

Namjoon nods and retreats, scratching the back of his head as he paces by the piano. Taehyung comes back from his room in a flurry of expensive cologne and high heels, sunglasses perched on his face even though it's cloudy outside. His nose looks a bit swollen and Jimin averts his eyes when the model walks towards them to drop a kiss on Kyung's cheek. "Bye, my love," he says, and then ruffles the top of Jimin's head, "bye, Jiminie, sorry for not taking you today. Interviews are boring, you wouldn't like them."

Jimin appreciates the way Taehyung feels like explaining himself, even though Jimin is more than willing to offer him some space. "Don't worry, Kyung and I are going to have so much fun together, won't we, baby?" He scratches Kyung's chin, the baby thrusting a banana dirty fist inside his own mouth as he stares at Jimin curiously.

Taehyung gives a small chuckle and burrows closer to his fur coat, glancing over his shoulder at Namjoon, who promptly comes to sidle up with him as they take the elevator downstairs.

Jimin watches the lines of tension in Namjoon's body, visible even through his suit jacket, the way the assistant keeps a hand on the small of Taehyung's back to guide him once they step inside the elevator and Jimin lets his eyes fall shut with a sigh once they're out of sight because shit. He thinks he has just found out the reason why Namjoon hates Jeongguk so much and honestly, how hadn't he noticed it sooner?

-

Night falls and neither Taehyung nor Jeongguk shows up. Namjoon sends him a message to make sure everything is fine and to inform him that Taehyung is at a gala and that Jimin can head out once he arrives, which he promises will be under an hour. Jimin busies himself with Kyung, bathing him and changing his diapers. He looks fetching in his blue pyjamas and Jimin giggles excitedly whenever the baby smiles at him or waves his arms fretfully when watching his children shows on TV.

He plays with the baby on the living room's carpet, squeezing his favorite toys and watching as Kyung reaches out to take them from him, squealing loudly whenever he manages to do it.

Kyung grows hungry at his usual time, once the sun has already set. Jimin prepares his night-time bottle and checks the temperature before inching it towards the baby, who greedily sucks on while staring at Jimin with big, dark eyes.

"Do you like Jiminie, baby?" Jimin prompts. He knows it's probably his omega instincts speaking but he feels an undeniable fondness for children, for this one baby in particular. He knows he's not Kyung's mother and he hates it whenever an inner part of himself entertains the thought of it. "You have very busy parents, don't you?" Jimin continues, adjusting Kyung's neck.

The baby spans his hands over Jimin's on the bottle, and Jimin feels something warm unfurling inside his chest. Kyung is such a beautiful, innocent baby. He'll have to handle so much attention growing up as the child of two celebrities, Jimin doesn't even know the half of it. And there are also the rumours surrounding Taehyung and Jeongguk. Jimin hopes with all his heart Kyung never suffers the onslaught of the press because of it but deep down he knows he's hoping in vain.

"Done already?" Jimin breaks out of his thoughts once the bottle's content runs dry. He pulls Kyung up to burp him and heads to the nursery, humming a lullaby under his breath until he feels Kyung's breathing has stabilized.

He leans over the crib and lays the baby down with a shush, adjusting his pillows and blanket. Jimin watches the baby resting peacefully for a while before turning on the baby monitor and exiting the nursery. He heads back to the kitchen and makes himself some instant noodles. He's never been a cooking expert, usually Seokjin did the job, but he still manages to come up with something eatable.

Jimin has just finished eating and washing the dishes when he hears the tell-tale sound of the keycode being punched in. He's anxious to greet Taehyung and head back home. He doesn't have any early classes tomorrow but Jimin prefers to study during his spare time and none of his textbooks are here.

"Hey, Tae-" Jimin halts on the threshold. It's Jeongguk. "Oh, I thought it was Taehyung."

Jeongguk is in jeans and a tank top. He has a tattoo on his bicep that Jimin had never noticed before and the alpha glances in his direction before setting his car keys on the kitchen counter. There's something off about the way he looks and Jimin realizes with a bit of dread that he's drunk. Or that he drank something alcoholic, at least. He gives a careful step back and tries to make himself as small as possible next to the fridge, which Jeongguk opens to grab a water bottle.

"Isn't Taehyung here already?" Jeongguk asks, chugging most of the water down.

Jimin shakes his head, watching Jeongguk warily. "He's at a gala with Namjoon."

Jeongguk snorts, setting the bottle down loudly on the counter. Jimin jumps at the sound. "Namjoon, hn?" The alpha huffs. "Well, he better enjoy it while he still can."

Jimin doesn't know who he's referring to but to whomever it is the implications of Jeongguk's words send a shiver down Jimin's spine.

"Unmated omega, hn?" He turns to ask Jimin. "Could smell you from the other side of the door," he huffs, tapping his nose wobbly with two fingers.

Jimin gulps, cupping his elbow and staring at the floor. He's not afraid of Jeongguk, but he's bigger and more powerful and yeah, maybe Jimin is scared of him. Jeongguk only huffs, passing Jimin on the way out the door.

"Don't worry, I'm happily married," he says ironically, raising his left hand to show the band around his ring finger on the way out.

Jimin waits until the sound of his footsteps disappears before moving to the living room. He hastens to take his cell phone and send Namjoon a message.

Jimin pockets his phone fretfully when he hears Kyung whining from the nursery, the color leaving his face as he sets off in the direction of the room, only to stop at the threshold.

Jeongguk is holding the baby, shushing and rocking him while making his way towards the nursing armchair.

"Mr Jeon," Jimin cries out, heart racing inside his chest at the sight, "he was asleep, please." He doesn't know what he's begging for. For Jeongguk to leave them alone, most probably.

Jeongguk sits down, hushing Kyung and dropping a kiss on his cheek. "Relax, Jimin, he's my kid too."

Jimin clutches the doorframe, not daring to take his eyes away from Jeongguk. The alpha supports Kyung on his knees, both hands securing the baby's spine. All Jimin can think about is how easy it would be for Kyung to topple over and fall on his head on the floor.

"Mr Jeon, please," he says in a panic. Drunk people are unpredictable and he doesn't want to give Jeongguk any reason to become cross with him. Not when he still has Kyung in his arms.

Kyung still cries, watching Jeongguk with tearful eyes while chewing on one of his own hands. "Hey, baby, baby, calm down. It's daddy," Jeongguk murmurs to the baby, whose whines diminish slowly. Jeongguk hums in appreciation, kissing the baby's forehead and hugging him to his chest. In any other situation Jimin would find it an endearing sight, but right now he's too terrified to think that.

"Mr Jeon," he tries again, voice breaking, "please."

Jeongguk looks up, a hand scratching the top of Kyung's head gently.

"Mr Jeon," Jimin tries, giving a step in his direction, "please, give him back to me." Jeongguk doesn't break eye-contact, keeping track of Jimin's advance. The babysitter comes to a stop in front of the alpha, both hands extended towards the baby. "Please," he says again.

Jeongguk holds Kyung up for Jimin to take, giving him an intense look that makes Jimin uncomfortable. The omega finally takes the baby, immediately cuddling him up to his chest, a wave of relief washing over him as he distances himself from Jeongguk. Kyung whines at the movement and Jimin rocks him softly, making his way back to the crib. "It's okay, darling, it's okay. Let's go back to sleep, hn?"

"You like children," Jeongguk states, legs spread apart on the armchair as he watches Jimin, crossed hands supporting the back of his neck. Jimin glances at him over his shoulder but deems his observation doesn't deserve any comment, singing to Kyung in hushed whispers on his ear. "My omega doesn't like children, can you believe that?"

Jimin cringes at that. He'd begun to lose his enchantment for his job a little after reading the articles about Taehyung and though he has seen for himself how wrong those tabloids were, he was still not ready to pinch the delicate bubble of illusion he's been in. He doesn't want to know about Taehyung's and Jeongguk's problems. And it feels ugly to hear it now, like he's cheating on Taehyung, or that he's simply having an intimate information he wasn't supposed to know thrusted at him.

Jimin frowns at the wall, fighting back the urge to speak his mind. How dare Jeongguk accuse Taehyung of not liking children when he himself spent such a long time without even seeing his own son?

Jeongguk snorts. "But he doesn't tell you that, does he? I will tell you something about Taehyung," he pauses, "he's not as perfect as he seems to be."

Jimin is relieved to see Kyung has fallen asleep again, and he spans a hand up and down the baby's back to soothe him before laying him back on his crib.

"Did Taehyung tell you why he hired the first babysitter, Jimin?" Jeongguk asks. Jimin sighs, clutching the bars of Kyung's crib in a tight grip. He doesn't want to hear Jeongguk, but something inside him –curiosity – makes him turn to look at him over his shoulder. No one has ever mentioned the first babysitter or why she was fired. Jimin had never wondered before, but now that Jeongguk touches the subject it makes him think. What did she do to have Taehyung considering she had crossed a line?

Jeongguk looks serious, lips drawn tight and eyes stormy while he stares at Jimin, not a hair out of place that could hint at his drunkenness. And when he speaks he sounds sober, but Jimin will forever claim that he was out of his consciousness when he said it. "It was because when Kyung was born Taehyung couldn't stand to look at his face."

Jimin freezes, feeling his eyebrows dipping together. He darts his eyes to little Kyung, sleeping peacefully on his crib and feels a stab in his heart. It can't be true. Taehyung loves Kyung, he... he never held Kyung when Jimin was around. Not even when he wasn't working. He passed the baby off to Jimin whenever he arrived and only took him back when it was Jimin's time to go. God, Jimin told him Kyung had a fever and he hadn't even listened. Jimin shuts his eyes tightly at the thought. That's why he didn't want to know. Because now he would make things up in his head, would second guess all of Taehyung's actions, would always wonder.

"He felt guilty," Jeongguk continues, and if Jimin could he would shut down his own ears from listening, "because-"

"Jeongguk."

Jimin's breath catches in his throat. Taehyung stands on the threshold to the nursery, his face set in a way Jimin had never seen before. He looks stunning in a silvery dress that hugs the curves of his hips, honeyed skin and impeccable makeup. But his lips are flat and the eyeliner only seems to embolden the sharp look he's sending Jeongguk, which darts to Jimin suspiciously.

"Hey, babe," Jeongguk's face morphs into a sly grin. "You look beautiful, come here."

"What's going on?" Taehyung asks, voice as icily as before. Jimin avoids his gaze, still cowering by the crib.

"Jimin and I were just talking," Jeongguk shrugs. Jimin shoots him a glare that Jeongguk doesn't catch, too busy extending his arms towards Taehyung, who, as suspicious as he still may seem, goes willingly to stand in front of his alpha. "You look gorgeous, love," Jeongguk says, resting both hands on Taehyung's hips and humming appreciatively.

"Oh?" Taehyung turns to inquire Jimin.

Jimin knows Taehyung doesn't believe Jeongguk for a second, his eyes show it. But Jimin just nods solemnly to the other omega because honestly, what else can he do?

"Yep, we were talking about how wonderful you are," Jeongguk lies, kissing one of Taehyung's hipbones over his dress. Taehyung tenses, paying Jimin a short glance full of mistrust.

"Jeongguk, you're drunk," Taehyung mumbles, pushing Jeongguk's wandering hands away, a bit peeved, no doubt, because of Jimin's presence in the room.

"I'm not, babe," Jeongguk chuckles, resting his head on Taehyung's stomach.

Taehyung looks uncomfortable, Jeongguk's advances certainly not winning him over. Jimin can't blame him. He knows he wouldn't like arriving home to a husband like that. The model turns inside Jeongguk's hold to face Jimin.

"Jimin, thank you for staying late and watching Kyung," he says, face impassive, "you can go now."

Jimin nods wordlessly. God knows he's been dying to leave this awkward situation since the moment it started. He doesn't find Namjoon on his way out and he supposes the assistant had already left. He grabs his stuff and heads to the door, punching in the first-floor button of the elevator. It's only when the doors shut and he sags against the mirrored walls that he sighs long-sufferingly.

"Shit," he says under his breath. What the hell had been that?

Chapter Text

Come Friday, the day of their trip to Tokyo and Taehyung still hasn't breached the subject. Jimin is more than thankful for it, he in fact hopes they'll never talk about it. He has tried his hardest to forget Jeongguk's words during the last couple days and it proved futile. Of course Taehyung is still wary of him, Jimin can feel it, but he thinks the other omega has reached the same conclusion as he has: not knowing is better. So Taehyung doesn't ask and neither does Jimin, and so, none of them know.

Jeongguk, for his part, had reached out to Jimin one morning and apologized profusely for scaring him. I wasn't in my right mind, he'd said, not meeting Jimin's eye, Taehyung and I have been going through some stuff and it drives me crazy. It wasn't my intention to bother you, what I did was inexcusable. Jimin had nodded and accepted his apology, but only because it was the right thing to do. In his heart of hearts, he still hadn't forgiven Jeongguk for terrorizing him that night, even more so for making him a target to Taehyung's distrust.

Now, Jimin follows Namjoon and Taehyung to the car waiting for them by the curb, the chauffeur hastening to load their luggage into the car's trunk. It's his first time travelling abroad and Seokjin has been burning in envy ever since Jimin had told him the news. Anxiety churns in the bottom of his stomach, and he scoops Kyung out of his stroller to lower his beanie down his forehead. "Excited, baby?" he asks. Kyung hums and smears the spit on his chin. "Because I am," Jimin admits.

Namjoon gets in the car first, taking the passenger seat. There are two bodyguards flanking their passage to the car, which Jimin finds unnecessary but soon finds out must have something to do with Jeongguk's presence. The singer and Taehyung are walking side by side behind Jimin, talking to each other in hushed tones.

Jimin hikes Kyung higher in his arms and thanks the chauffeur with a nod when he holds the door open for him. Namjoon turns to help him buckle Kyung in the baby seat while Taehyung leans against the open car door, Jeongguk coming to a stop in front of the model. They whisper to each other before kissing goodbye and Jimin glances at Namjoon, who stares resolutely ahead.

Taehyung folds himself into the space next to Jimin in the backseat, sending him a tiny smile. He looks less burdened now and Jimin dearly hopes he and Jeongguk had made up. It's incredible, Jimin thinks, how Taehyung's mood increases and decreases along with his relationship.

"Well, off to Tokyo, right?" Taehyung exclaims brightly, crossing his long legs and making funny faces at Kyung, who watches him in amazement and squirms in excitement.

The driver pulls off in the direction of the airport and Jimin rubs his clammy palms on his pants. He's excited but he's also nervous. He's never been to Japan before and he knows that following Taehyung around in the city is bound to be overwhelming.

-

As predicted, Tokyo is a whirlwind of vertical buildings, splashes of color and people. Jimin doesn't know what to focus his eyes on, even more so when Namjoon and Taehyung saunter from side to side as though they know the city and its workings like the back of their hand, which they probably do.

Being in such immediate contact with a foreign language has Jimin dizzy. He's watched lots of anime but none of it is enough to have him getting by without a hitch (apparently, his knowledge of Japanese comes down to some curses only), which was why he was so scared of going through immigration by himself. Yet, all he had to do was mention Taehyung's name for the federal police officer to boredly stamp his passport.

Kyung has grown a bit nauseous ever since the flight, so Jimin has a lot on his hands as Namjoon ushers him and Taehyung into a taxi. The baby grumbles and whines non-stop, eyelashes wet with his tears.

"What's the matter with him?" Taehyung asks Jimin exasperatedly, cell phone on his ear while he tries to make a call over the sound of Kyung's wail. Jimin is shushing the baby and readjusting him on his lap all the time, but nothing seems to calm him down.

"He's just distressed, I think," Jimin wiggles the teething ring in front of his face but Kyung swats it away. Jimin bends to collect it from the dirty space of the car's flooring.

Thankfully the ride to the hotel is fairly short. Namjoon handles their check-in while Jimin rocks Kyung, pointing in awe at the dazzling chandelier to distract him. Other patrons in the lobby give him withering side-glances as the volume of Kyung's crying increases.

"Oh god," Taehyung hisses, massaging his temples. "Is he hungry? I think I left a bottle somewhere in his bag."

"He drank it before we left Seoul," Jimin rocks the baby, wiping his tears away.

Namjoon comes to give them their key cards and soon enough they're inside the elevator to the fourteenth floor.

"Should we take him to a doctor?" Taehyung asks fretfully, "Namjoon, can you reach a doctor here? Or send a message to the one back in Seoul."

Namjoon reaches for his cell phone in his pocket but Jimin speaks up. "There's no need, he's not feverish. Maybe he's just confused. Let me draw him a warm bath and offer some food. If he doesn't feel better by the end of the day we'll look for a doctor."

Namjoon extends an inquisitive look in Taehyung's direction and the model gives him a curt nod that has him letting go of his phone. The elevator arrives on their floor with a ping and they all file into Jimin's room.

"Wow," Jimin breathes, eyes taking in the interior of the room. It's wide and spacious, with a queen-sized bed covered in white, soft covers and a multitude of pillows. The floor to ceiling windows overlook one of Tokyo's busiest streets, Tokyo Tower glistening in the distance.

"I hope you don't mind," Taehyung speaks up, putting Kyung's baby bag down by the bed, "but I asked for the crib to be put in your room." He motions at the standard-looking crib that the hotel staff had provided, pushed in next to the wall by the bed. "I'll arrive late possibly every day."

Jimin nods, gently shushing a still whining Kyung and moving to set him down on the crib. God knows how Jimin's arms could use a reprieve from his weight.

"Well, everything seems to be in order," Taehyung says, "I'll be in the room just beside yours, so if you need anything you can drop by. Namjoon will give you a briefing of my schedule tomorrow and for the next days, won't you, Namjoon?"

Namjoon looks up from his phone to nod accordingly.

"Great," Taehyung grins, "I'll be on my way then." He goes up to Kyung to drop a kiss on his forehead. "Oh, and Jimin, let me know if he gets any better. I gotta go now, can't wait to take these shoes off," he winces for show, showing Jimin his pointy heels. "Namjoon, help him, will you?" Taehyung asks before disappearing behind the door.

Namjoon and Jimin stare at each other for a second. "I'll be in the other room if you need my help as well," Namjoon shrugs.

-

After bathing and drinking some milk, Kyung seems to settle down. He's tired from the trip, so Jimin settles him on the crib and watches as he dozes off.

Jimin swipes back until reaching his conversation with Namjoon, where his last message detailed Taehyung's schedule for the time they would stay in the city. Taehyung would debut in the fashion week tonight, so Jimin would have to stay in and watch Kyung. But tomorrow the model had a free slot in the morning, which he'd promised Jimin they could use to sightsee.

Exiting the app, Jimin is entertaining the thought of a nice, warm bath in his bathroom's big bathtub when his phone vibrates with a new message.

Jimin will probably deny ever getting flustered at seeing the message Yoongi sent him, but the truth is that it has Jimin's heart palpitating inside his chest.

To embolden his words Jimin attaches the picture he'd taken of the view out of his window to the conversation.

Jimin's smile dims a little. If only Yoongi knew.

Jimin snorts. Lying back down on the bed, he looks up at his phone screen.

Jimin's heartbeat falters for a second.

Jimin bites his bottom lip, staring intently at the screen because damn. Yoongi had been actually hitting on him during all this time and everything hadn't been just a figment of his imagination. He must take too long to answer, finger hovering over the keyboard while pondering the best way to respond YESSSS!!!! without sounding too eager and not using capital letters, because Yoongi soon fires off another text.

-

Sightseeing in Tokyo is not an easy deal. That's mainly because Taehyung has some kind of never-ending energy and barely spends two minutes somewhere before taking a couple pictures and pulling Jimin somewhere else.

Taehyung has been to the city countless times before, so of course all the tourist hotspots are already known to him. Which means that though he's not patient to stay and take a picture of the Hachiko Statue for the eleventh time, he has a good grasp on the language and knows all the best shops which to take Jimin to. Namjoon tags along with them, pulling Kyung on his stroller and often pausing to take a picture or two or complain about the weather – it's colder here than it was in Seoul.

Jimin is mesmerized by everything, from the street food to the shrines. He realizes, when they reach Shibuya and Kyung starts crying, demanding Jimin to take him from the stroller and give him his bottle, that this all thanks to Taehyung. Of course, it was Jimin's obligation to follow him wherever if Taehyung so wished, he was, after all, working for him. But Jimin doubts any other of the mothers he'd worked for before would've actually taken their time to ensure he actually visited a city he would otherwise never know instead of being locked inside his room, watching over the baby. That is, Taehyung should have stayed in and rested, and yet he preferred to show Jimin around, just because Jimin was worth it.

"Well, I think that's all," Taehyung ponders, coming to a halt in front of Jimin and being promptly shoved from all sides by the people walking past them. "I mean, there's also Nakamise and Tokyo Disney and we haven't seen the Tower properly yet, but oh- I should totally show you my favorite restaurant in here. Namjoon, call us a cab, please," Taehyung shouts over to Namjoon, grabbing Jimin by the wrist and pulling him the opposite way they'd come around. "I promise you'll love it, Jimin, it's delicious."

Jimin hums in agreement, letting Taehyung do most of the work when pulling him along. Jimin's legs feel like jelly, and not in the good kind, more in the 'we've-walked-and-visited-all-the-places-that-usually-take-three-days-to-any-other-tourist' kind. Which isn't pleasing. Jimin is tired and can't even fathom up the strength to carry his own shopping bags.

For his luck, they get in a cab and descend in Ginza.

This area of the city holds all the glamour and luxury that Taehyung situates himself so well in. He chats non-stop as they get to the restaurant of his choice and even though Jimin suspects there is a dress code for this place (they're wearing sneakers and hoodies) the staff is all too pleased to steer Taehyung and his company inside.

Taehyung places their orders in accented Japanese and a bit of hand gesturing while Jimin helps Kyung into the highchair. The baby is restless today but still not as whiny as he was the day before.

"Jimin," Taehyung starts as he sips from his green tea, "how do you like the city so far?"

"Oh," Jimin perks up, "it's wonderful. Thanks for bringing me."

Taehyung smiles from ear to ear. "Great. And don't worry about it," he waves Jimin off. And then when their food arrives: "Namjoon must have told you already, but the after-party for the fashion week is tonight. I hope you don't mind, but I'm probably going to get back real late. It's no problem, of course, you won't have to wait up for me."

Jimin nods, humming under his breath at the incredible taste of his food.

"Good, isn't it?" Taehyung prompts. "We always stop by whenever we hit the city, don't we Namjoon?"

Namjoon grins. "Honestly, you should've grown used to it by now."

Taehyung giggles mischievously. "I never tire of good things."

Chapter Text

Jimin is bored out of his mind. Kyung has gone to sleep already, dozing off in his crib, and Jimin has nothing else to do. He'd been texting Yoongi some minutes ago but the blond excused himself to finish up an essay and Jimin had ended up sprawled on the bed watching bad TV shows. It doesn't help that most of them are in Japanese, so Jimin is left to squint at the screen while imagining all they could be talking about, volume at its lowest not to wake Kyung up.

Taehyung told him there was no need to wait up for him to return from the party, and yet no matter how much Jimin tossed and turned on the bed he couldn't put himself to sleep. It must be the food. Or the water.

Yawning, Jimin burrows further into the plush covers, moaning at the feeling against his skin. He channel surfs some more until reaching a late night program thing where two hostesses with bright, colourful hairs are speaking animatedly to the camera. He's about to notch up another channel when the camera focuses on the teal haired one, a frame containing a picture of Jeongguk appearing right next to her.

Jimin frowns as the hostess blabbers on excitedly, wishing he could understand what she was going on about. The picture fades into one of Taehyung yesterday, walking down the catwalk for a Japanese designer. The camera focuses on the second hostess, a pink-haired one, who gasps at what her colleague had said in overexaggerated shock, lots of kanji being displayed next to a string of exclamation marks.

Jimin doesn't have a good feeling about it, whatever it is, and quickly changes channels, agitated. Deep down, he's scared one of the pictures the paparazzi had taken of him the other day would show up. On the other hand, he knows it is unlikely, so he tries to make peace with the fact that gossip about his employers' complicated marriage stirs something unpleasing inside him.

Shifting some more on the bed, Jimin sighs, giving up on watching television altogether. He turns it off and lies down, pulling his cell phone from beneath the pillow and unlocking it. Jimin is surprised to find that it's way past three am and that Seokjin still hadn't answered him if he'd watered the plants or not.

Jimin is just wondering whether he should send him another message or start on Candy Crush when he hears a thud. He pauses, waiting for something else to manifest itself. The hotel is dead silent at this hour and even during the day the staff is absolutely agile, which creeps Jimin out a bit. There's another sound, this one louder, probably coming from Jimin's own wall. Jimin freezes, imagining it's just a drunk someone getting back to his room, probably even Taehyung.

Yes, Jimin thinks, resting back with newfound relief. Probably just Taehyung, maybe drunk or too tired, coming back from the party. Jimin's hearing has always been very good though and he curses when he hears a whine, maybe a gasp of breath coming from the corridor. He darts his eyes to the crib, where Kyung still sleeps in.

There's another gasp, followed by a giggle that is definitely Taehyung's, and Jimin tenses. Well, Taehyung must be drunk and Namjoon must be helping him to his room or something, Jimin ponders when the sound of a low, stilted conversation filters in. He can't make out any of the words though.

Not helping himself, Jimin rolls out of the bed, walking towards the door. He's just going to check if Taehyung is okay, he tells himself. They were, after all, in a foreign hotel. Certainly, Taehyung wouldn't be mad at him if Jimin only inched the door open this much and peeked outside where clear as daylight, Jimin's boss is leaning against the door to his own room, a male within very close proximity whispering something to the skin of his neck.

Jimin swallows back his heart, bringing his hand up to his mouth just in time to prevent himself from gasping. His feet itch, prompting him to go back inside and close the door before he sees anything more incriminating, but it is, Jimin will realize later, much like watching a car crash in slow-motion: you just can't tear your eyes away from the scene.

Taehyung is visibly drunk, head lolling from side to side on the wall as he makes low noises to what the other guy is saying.

"-ignoring me during all this time-" he's saying, more like murmuring, head ducked to the side. Jimin can't make out his face, hidden in the shadow of Taehyung's neck. "-couldn't believe it when I saw you today, you look as beautiful as when you were mine, Tae. But still are, aren't you? You're still mine."

Contrary to Taehyung's state, this man seems to be at least sober enough to keep Taehyung steady and not falter on his speech.

Taehyung blinks out of his stupor, head lolling to the side the way Jimin's seen drunk people do before they puked, avoiding the stranger's attempt at a kiss. He says something that is much too low for Jimin to hear and the other man scoffs.

"-his domesticated bitch-" he goes on, "-just because he doesn't --- if he knew the things we --"

At which point Taehyung frowns and pushes him away weakly. "No," he says, still in a low voice like he's telling a secret. "I have a son now."

The stranger entertains Taehyung by pretending his push has enough strength to drive him away, but he only steps back enough for his face to come into the light, a sly smirk on his face and shit- Jimin knows that guy. It's Park Bogum.

"Don't be ridiculous," Bogum whispers back. He has Taehyung's waist in both his hands, "we both know how much you love children," he drawls it out sarcastically, "need I remind you how you-"

The slap resonates so loudly that Jimin jumps on the spot, hand gripping the doorknob in a vice-like grip. Bogum's face has snapped to the side and Jimin never thought he would see Taehyung looking so furious. His lips are drawn together in a thin line. The way he holds himself and glares at Bogum would have any lesser person cowering, not looking the smallest bit drunk as he shoves the actor away with a hand to the centre of his chest. "Enough," he hisses, but his rage only seems to amuse Bogum, who lets out a laugh as he massages his reddened cheek.

"Shit, Tae," he muses, licking his bottom lip after any blood, "you never hit this hard before."

Taehyung wobbles on his feet but valiantly supports himself against the wall. He says something else over his murderous gaze but Bogum seems to dismiss it, giving an imposing step further to cup Taehyung's chin forcefully in his hand.

Jimin, who would loathe to be discovered in this situation, is one step away from bolting out the door and wrenching that vicious bastard away from Taehyung, but the other omega successfully bats the other away, hissing something under his breath that has Bogum's eyes igniting. The actor clicks his tongue in annoyance but he does step back.

"Whatever," Bogum pipes, "he's not gonna keep you for much longer, anyway. Call me when you're desperate for attention again."

Jimin flinches when he hears the sound of a door opening, realizing Namjoon has just stepped out of his room in his pyjamas. He pauses on the doorway, shoulders pulled back as he examines Bogum and Taehyung, draped against the wall.

"What's going on here?" Namjoon asks, moving to Taehyung's side protectively.

Bogum scoffs, "Just having a chat."

Namjoon narrows his eyes at him, anchoring an arm around Taehyung's shoulders.

"It's fine, Nam," Taehyung murmurs, "I was just going to bed."

"Are you okay?" Namjoon dotes, "did you drink?"

"Not too much," Taehyung lies, wobbling on his feet.

Bogum takes advantage of their exchange to sneak out, hands in his pockets as he goes down the corridor. Jimin belatedly steps back, the door to his room shutting with a quiet click. He tenses, nervous sweat pooling on his forehead as, from the door sill, he watches as twin shadows pause in front of his room. Bogum.

He doesn't stay there for long, less than two seconds before he walks away. Jimin lets out a relieved breath, heart beating wildly inside his chest.

Earlier he hadn't had reason to think any of what the tabloids wrote about Taehyung was true, but now? Now Jimin is questioning himself if Taehyung was ever really as innocent as he'd imagined him to be. Because from what he'd just heard and seen, he wasn't.

-

The sun rises in Tokyo and Jimin is already up, changing Kyung's diaper. The baby hadn't adapted all that well to the new crib and woken Jimin up before the crack of dawn. To say Jimin had barely slept would be an understatement. He doesn't feel tired though, just anxious.

There's a knock on the door and Jimin answers, finding Namjoon, in slacks and a jacket. Jimin doesn't know how he does it but Namjoon manages to always look so put-together that Jimin squirms in his sweatpants and sweater.

"Morning," Namjoon offers with a tight smile. He looks like he's slept as much as Jimin.

"Hey, good morning," Jimin widens the door to let him through. Namjoon had texted him earlier so they could go down to the hotel's restaurant get their breakfast, just like they had been doing every day since arriving. Taehyung is not with Namjoon today, and Jimin wonders if he should mention it. Thing is: he can't give them any reason to assume he'd heard them last night. It will be embarrassing for both parts and Jimin's and Taehyung's friendship seemed to be on stand-by ever since the thing with Jeongguk. "Tae isn't coming?" He asks as lightly as he can, giving Namjoon his back to finish dressing Kyung.

"No, he's still asleep," Namjoon says, taking a seat in the armchair poised next to the window.

Jimin nods, buttoning up Kyung's woollen coat. "I'll just finish getting Kyung ready and we can go."

Namjoon makes a sound in agreement and Jimin senses him looking out the window pensively. Jimin lowers Kyung's beanie on his head and straps him to the stroller as quickly as he can, wanting to avoid the awkward silence.

They take the elevator down to the restaurant, finding they must be one of the first guests to arrive save for a man in a suit typing on his notebook. Jimin gets himself some yogurt and prepares a bowl of fruits for Kyung, smashing the ones he still isn't able to bite through. He finds it odd that Namjoon chooses to have a bowl of milk and cereal, and Taehyung's assistant gives him a look that challenges him to mention it. Jimin doesn't.

"Did you sleep well?" Namjoon asks in between spoonfuls of cereal.

"Yeah," Jimin lies, "and you?"

Namjoon makes a so-so gesture with his head. "Waited for Taehyung to arrive."

"Oh," Jimin pauses to feed Kyung some banana, taking the time to wonder if he should stay on that topic. "Was he okay?"

Namjoon's eyes flash suspiciously for a second, but he shrugs one shoulder and goes back to eating. "He was drunk, so he wasn't feeling his best. Probably why he still isn't up. I should stop by to check on him after this, maybe give him a pill or two."

Jimin nods. The rest of breakfast goes by normally, with Kyung eating the entire bowl of fruits and Jimin getting some more food for himself.

Namjoon had scheduled this day to be for resting only. He seemed to know Taehyung enough to have an inkling that he would probably get drunk in the party and not wake up until noon, which is exactly what happens.

Jimin has just fed Kyung, playing with him on the mat in front of the television when his room's phone rings. Kyung perks up, wiggling his Mickey around as Jimin stands to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Jiminie," Taehyung's voice sounds from the other end of the line.

"Hey, Tae. How are you feeling? Namjoon said you were hangover."

"Oh, yes, but I'm feeling better now. Joonie brought me some painkillers, he's an angel. Have you eaten already? I've called for room service, come over here and bring Kyung. I still haven't kissed him today."

"Ah, sure, I'm on my way."

"See you!" Taehyung hangs up.

Jimin turns off the television, turning to Kyung, who is trying to reach for his monkey toy. "Do you want to go and see mommy, baby?"

Kyung doesn't answer him but he doesn't look all that fazed to have his playtime aborted, settling on Jimin's arms when the babysitter puts the toys back in the baby bag and moves to the room right next to his. Jimin knocks once, waiting until Taehyung, wrapped in the hotel's fluffy white robe, comes to open the door.

"Hey," Taehyung greets. He doesn't look half as cheerful as his normal self, eyes a bit red and smile a little tighter. He still welcomes Jimin inside and scoops Kyung up, kissing the baby's chubby cheek and moving to the bed, where three trays full of food lie. "I didn't know what you liked to eat," he explains, settling with his back against the headboard and Kyung on his lap, "so I asked for as many things as they would bring me."

"You didn't have to," Jimin puts the baby bag down.

"I wanted to," Taehyung grins, patting the mattress by the foot of the bed, "sit down, come on."

Jimin sits, reaching for a sushi with the chopsticks laid next to the trays. "Won't you eat anything?" He asks with his mouth full after a while. Taehyung is making funny faces at Kyung, the baby giving joyful bursts of laughter at the sight.

"Not really hungry," the other omega shrugs, "don't worry about it."

But Jimin worries about it. He looks down at the food and eats quietly, the sound of Taehyung teasing Kyung barely hearable over his own thoughts. Truth is: what happened yesterday, the discussion that Jimin witnessed, seems to have upset Taehyung. And Jimin can't blame him. Having a run-in with your ex (because from what he's heard, that's what they are to each other) like that isn't exactly nice. But the things Bogum said to him, the same point Jeongguk had mentioned the other night seems to have really affected the model.

Jimin has never had reason to doubt Taehyung was a good mother for Kyung. He was a bit careless sometimes or even extremely careful other times, like when he fretted over taking the baby to a doctor. But that was normal for a first child. Could Taehyung be more present in the baby's life? Could he hold him and play with him the way Jimin does? Yes, he could, but parenthood worked differently for different people and in any case, there was always room for improvement. Jimin hopes Taehyung knows that, hopes that he isn't letting himself down over other people's comments.

And whatever the deal was that had Bogum and Jeongguk claiming Taehyung didn't like children, Jimin would never know.

Jimin finishes eating and doesn't know what to do for a moment. He watches as Taehyung tickles Kyung's soft belly, the baby giggling excitedly.

"Jiminie," Taehyung speaks up, "can you grab me my phone, please?" He indicates the device on top of the bedside table. Jimin retrieves it for him. "I'm gonna call Kookie for a second. He doesn't like it when I forget to show him how Kyung is doing," he sighs. "Could you hold him?"

"Sure," Jimin reaches to take Kyung from Taehyung, the model tapping on his cell phone screen before pausing. Jimin adjusts Kyung on his lap, taking a whiff of his hair, smelling like coconut baby shampoo. Yoongi likes coconut.

Taehyung smiles when the call picks up, waving at the camera. "Hi, love. How are you?"

"Hey, babe," Jeongguk's voice sounds from the speaker. "I'm fine. Dance practice now, Hoseok has been killing me. How is Kyung? How are you?"

"We're all good." Taehyung turns the phone towards Jimin, who smiles and waves back at Jeongguk, who has his hair clinging to his forehead with sweat. "Jimin has been pampering Kyung, as usual. Kyungie, say hi to daddy. Look, Kyungie, at the camera, say 'hi, daddy'."

Kyung coos and watches with eyes as big as saucers as Jeongguk smiles widely and waves at him. "Hey, how is my boy doing? Are you having fun in Japan?"

Kyung whines, batting his hands in excitement and carefully examining Jeongguk's moving image on the screen. "Do you miss daddy? 'Cause daddy misses you. He misses you a lot." Jeongguk kisses his fingertips and touches them to the camera.

Jimin squirms uncomfortably at the intimate gesture, glad when Taehyung pulls the phone back to show Jeongguk the trinkets he'd bought for Kyung. Jimin goes back to playing with Kyung while Taehyung and Jeongguk talk, not wanting to intrude on their time.

When he turns his head around, he finds Taehyung has already turned off the call and is taking the trays from the bed.

"Are you sure you won't eat anything?" Jimin asks, because Taehyung is thin enough to be a model, and he doesn't really eat a lot (he whines constantly about all the junk food he seldom eats), but Jimin's mother has always told him that food should come first.

Taehyung smiles indulgently, tightening the knot of his robe and moving back to sprawl on the bed. "I am, but don't worry. I had an apple before you got here, just not really in the mood to eat a proper meal," he shrugs one shoulder, head lolling to the side so he can give Jimin an assertive look. "Jiminie, I-" he pauses.

Jimin darts his eyes to Kyung, watching as the baby munches on his teething ring. He pretends he doesn't feel Taehyung's eyes on him, because from the look the model had on his face, Jimin had an idea of what he wanted to talk about.

Taehyung gulps, taking a sitting position on the bed. "I don't really know how to say this," he gives a curt, breathy laugh. "I mean, we're friends, right?"

Jimin nods, "Sure."

Taehyung bites his bottom lip, giving a tight nod before continuing. "Right. I need you to tell me what Jeongguk was saying to you that night. When I came back from the gala."

Jimin tenses, glancing guiltily at Taehyung. His heart beats frantically inside his chest and he shakes Kyung's favorite plushie to distract him. "Taehyung, listen, he was drunk," Jimin clears his throat. It's not an excuse and he knows it, "people say so many meaningless things when they are drunk, I-"

"Jiminie," Taehyung holds up a hand to stop him from blabbering. "I'm not going to be mad at you nor is Jeongguk. He knows he was in the wrong, but, you see, we've only been married for a year. We're kind of new to this. Jeongguk never," Taehyung sighs, moving to assume a more comfortable position on the bed, "he never tells me anything. Sometimes I think he's mad at me but he never tells me why."

Jimin fidgets with Kyung's plushie, avoiding Taehyung's eyes.

"So I figured he must have told you that day, right?" Taehyung continues, scanning Jimin's features. "He's always been terribly mean when he is drunk. Bitterly honest, you know?"

Oh, Jimin knows.

"Jiminie," Taehyung tries again.

Jimin nods, scouring his memory after Jeongguk's exact words. "He said I seemed to like kids. And then," Jimin shrugs, embarrassed in Taehyung's behalf, "he said his omega didn't like children."

Taehyung's brows dip slightly. "That's it?"

Jimin shakes his head minutely, taking the plushie from Kyung's grasp, the toy now completely drooled. "He asked me if I knew why you hired the first babysitter," Jimin says and the corners of Taehyung's lips dip down sadly. It is Taehyung's turn to avoid Jimin's gaze embarrassedly. "And then he said it was because you couldn't stand to look at Kyung's face when he was born. But Tae, I don't believe him, I really don't," Jimin is quick to assuage him. "He just wanted to scare me, he wasn't saying the truth-"

"But he was," Taehyung inputs.

Jimin halts, feeling his mouth drop open. "What?"

Taehyung moves uncomfortably on the bed and suddenly Jimin can't take his eyes away from him.

"Jimin, I'll only tell you this because you're my friend and I really trust you, okay?" Taehyung says, hugging one of his pillows to his chest. Jimin can't bring himself to say anything, so he just stares.

Taehyung squirms sheepishly and takes in a deep breath. "I was in a really dark place when Kyung was born. I can't begin to explain it to you. I was happy when I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to have the baby, but-" he bites his bottom lip, staring fixedly at a point on his pillow. "I was scared, I guess. Anyway," he shakes his head, "I woke up from the surgery and," he whines. "Shit, Jiminie, I didn't want to see him," Taehyung hides his face with his hands.

Jimin grins in sympathy. He can't say he understands Taehyung. Actually, he doesn't think he could ever. But he doesn't doubt that what he says is true.

"I mean," Taehyung brings his hands down, his eyes wet and red. He looks tearfully down at Jimin and gives a small smile, as though afraid Jimin is condemning him. "I had just woken up from the anaesthesia. Jeongguk was over the moon. His entire family was there and he wanted to show me the baby and I just straight out refused," he sniffles. "You must imagine how that came across. His mother still fucking hates me," Taehyung looks to the side, "his whole family, really. Maybe even himself."

Jimin doesn't know what to say. What could he even say to that? There was nothing. He felt sorry for Taehyung though.

"I said I was tired and maybe that convinced them at first but then some nurse brought him in and oh, Jimin," Taehyung worries his bottom lip, "I couldn't hold him. I just couldn't do it. I knew I would drop him and he was this size," Taehyung holds both his hands almost ten inches apart, "and red. He started crying and they said he was hungry but I couldn't feed him. Remember when we went to the pediatrician?"

Jimin nods.

"That's why I weaned him soon," Taehyung shrugs one shoulder, "because I couldn't be with him. Not even in the same room." Taehyung glances guiltily at Kyung, who is on his back on the playing mat Jimin had brought over, kicking his legs and cooing.

"Tae," Jimin starts, but Taehyung cuts him to it.

"When he cried it was worse," Taehyung muses, watching Kyung with a pensive face, "it drove me mad. It was Jeongguk who looked after him in the first months. He couldn't be with him all the time though because he wanted to keep his career, so we hired a babysitter. Of course, two months in and she tattled on me to the press. She said I was crazy and only had the baby to make Jeongguk marry me." Taehyung gives Jimin a sheepish smile, "I didn't tell him I had hired you. I'm sorry."

Jimin blinks. Suddenly Jeongguk's first reaction to him made more sense.

"Thing is," Taehyung dries his face, "after she was gone I was learning how to handle Kyung. Jeongguk gave me a second chance and everything. I knew that if I told him I had hired another nanny he would see me as running away from the responsibility. That's why he says I don't like kids. He still resents me for it, to this day. I'm not a good mom, Jimin."

"How can you say that?" Jimin speaks up. It truly shocks him how deep Taehyung has fallen into this self-loathing pit. It couldn't be easy, Jimin would give him that. Maybe in his place Jimin wouldn't be too happy with himself either. But Taehyung loves Kyung, Jimin has seen for himself.

Startled, Taehyung stares at him.

"Taehyung, you're a great mother," Jimin admits, looking right into his eyes. He isn't lying. Taehyung may have had a difficult past but nothing changes the way he visibly loves Kyung.

"Jiminie," Taehyung groans, hiding a part of his face on the pillow. "You don't need to do that. You don't need to defend me."

"I'm not defending you. I'm saying the truth," Jimin insists. Kyung turns his head to look at him. He makes the same face Taehyung does when startled, and the similarities make Jimin's heart clench.

Taehyung shakes his head with a chuckle, darkly amused with Jimin's innocence. "I don't deserve him, Jimin. I can barely hold him. I dropped him once, you know? It was awful." Jimin opens his mouth but Taehyung speaks over it, "you know it, he had a fever that day. You told me and I wasn't even listening, I- argh."

Taehyung gets up from the bed and for a moment Jimin thinks he'll do something insane like hit his head repeatedly against the wall. But he only bends to get a can of Pringles from the shelf next to the minifridge. "I was reading shit about me in the internet," he continues on with a sigh. "Namjoon has told me several times not to do it but it's impossible, Jimin." He pauses, reading the nutritional information on the can with a pout. "Do you like Pringles?" Taehyung asks with a cock of his head.

Jimin watches him for a second, giving a tiny smile. "Who doesn't?"

Taehyung grins conspiratorially, moving to cross his legs beside Jimin on the floor. "Anyway," he continues, taking a handful of chips and tilting the can Jimin's way in offering. "It just sucks me in, you know? Once you start reading you can't look away."

Jimin has never read stuff about himself online like that, so he doesn't know what it must feel like for Taehyung. And yet Jimin has had a glimpse on what they wrote about Taehyung, those stuff couldn't be healthy. "You were distracted, Tae," Jimin explains.

Taehyung gives him a disbelieving glance, chewing loudly on his potato chips.

"Sure that doesn't excuse it," Jimin considers, pulling one chip out and eating it. Oh, Pringles. "But no one can blame you for that. I mean, people can't expect you to behave normally when you don't have a normal life."

Taehyung stares at him for a second before snorting. "Thanks for the effort, Minnie."

"Tae, I'm serious," Jimin repeats himself. This is getting tiresome. "Look, maybe you fucked up that day but that still doesn't change anything." He kneels on the floor and turns to Taehyung, staring deep into his eyes as he speaks. "I see the way you look at him. Trust me, I babysit since a very young age. You learn how to tell those things apart. You're scared to hurt him but that's not your fault-"

"How is it not my fault, Jimin?" Taehyung shoves more chips inside his mouth, voice breaking. "I failed him when he needed me the most."

Jimin shakes his head. If only he could make Taehyung see. "Taehyung, have you ever heard about something called post-partum depression?"

Taehyung blinks at him, jaw moving as he chews and processes Jimin's words. "What?"

Honestly, Jimin is not surprised. He does sigh though. "Listen to me," he says, "what you had was natural. Not everyone has it and even less people talk about it, but it exists. Your hormone levels collapse once you have the child. That can cause a serious depression. Some mothers think about killing themselves," Jimin pauses, "others even think about killing their babies."

Taehyung gives a full-body shudder, and the way he looks painfully away has Jimin's heart aching anew. Jimin is not going to ask about it.

"What I'm telling you is that," Jimin tugs on both of Taehyung's hands, bringing his gaze back to him, "don't bring yourself down over it. The depression may have given you reason to doubt yourself and even think you wouldn't grow to be a good mom, but you can't let it consume you. Kyung is your son and you love him. Nothing anyone ever says is going to change that. You can't let them."

Taehyung stares owlishly up at him, mouth eventually breaking into a watery smile. "Thank you so much, Jiminie," he hugs Jimin to him, squeezing his chest. "Do you really think it was only the disease or something? I love my baby boy, I don't want to hurt him."

"You won't hurt him, Tae," Jimin acquiesces. "I'll help you, okay?"

"Thank you," Taehyung sniffles, "you're so nice to me."

"That's because we're friends, right?" Jimin smiles, squeezing Taehyung's shoulders encouragingly. Taehyung chuckles, nodding as he settles back next to Jimin, head on his shoulder as he watches Kyung.

"Do you want any more Pringles?" Taehyung offers. Jimin digs into the can in answer. "It's taboo, you know," Taehyung continues and Jimin raises one eyebrow in question, feeling the pleasing crack of the chip. Taehyung shifts on his shoulder to look at him. "Me and Jeongguk. We're breaking the rules of society," he snorts drily.

"What do you mean?"

"Like," Taehyung sits back up, crossing his legs. "I'm older than he is. They think he should be with someone younger instead of used goods."

"You're not used goods," Jimin gasps. Taehyung laughs. "Tae, seriously, for god's sake, you're like the sexiest model out there!"

"I know, silly," Taehyung rolls his eyes, "I don't think they're right. All I'm saying is: we're only allowed our youth, Jimin. If an alpha shows up with a partner thirty years younger people are gonna think he's cool. But if an omega shows up with an alpha four years younger, suddenly the omega is the one who bewitched the alpha and," Taehyung rolls his eyes, "baby-trapped them."

"Wow," Jimin says, because yeah, it does work like that.

Taehyung grins, "shitty, isn't it?" He moves to scoop Kyung up. The baby settles on his lap, shaking his slobbered teething ring in front of Taehyung's face. "When do you think he'll start speaking?" Taehyung asks Jimin, still watching Kyung intently with his head cocked to the side.

"Is he what, six months old now?" Jimin asks.

Taehyung nods. "Yep. May the 15th is his birthday."

Jimin considers Kyung. "He'll develop his language as he grows, but don't expect him to start speaking any full words up until he's almost one year old."

Taehyung hums, running a delicate finger down the slope of Kyung's nose. "He's really precious, isn't he?" He says under his breath.

"He is," Jimin grins, biting into another potato chip. Kyung whips his head around to watch him, mouth gaping open as he stares, charmed, at the chip.

Both Jimin and Taehyung laugh, Kyung cooing pointedly at Jimin, letting go of his teething ring to extend a hand towards the Pringles.

"You're not old enough for that yet, sweetie," Taehyung shushes him, rocking the baby and turning him around and away from Jimin's chips. As usual, Kyung doesn't take the denial lightly, frowning and whining in alarm. "No, no, shh, no need to cry, baby," Taehyung tries to soothe him, but Kyung goes from whining to full-on crying in a matter of seconds. Taehyung looks fretfully back at Jimin.

"Okay, first lesson," Jimin puts the chip away, "don't give in. If you do he'll cry every time he wants something from you because he'll know it wins you over. Try to distract him with something else that is harmless but new enough to catch his attention. Like," Jimin looks around the room, spotting a shiny pen on the bedside table, "this." He grabs it and waves it in front of Kyung's face, making curious noises.

Kyung frowns, wiggling around closer to Jimin's hand. He closes his tiny fist around the pen and his face unfurls as he stops crying. He shakes the object and brings it to his mouth curiously, Taehyung managing to stop him in time from putting it inside his mouth. Kyung doesn't seem to mind, ducking to examine the object.

Taehyung watches him closely, giving Jimin a trying glance.

"You did well," Jimin nods.

Taehyung smiles, talking to Kyung and showing him the pen. Kyung loses interest on it pretty quickly, letting the object fall from Taehyung's lap and reaching for his teething ring once more. "Ah, no, no, darling, Jimin, could you wash it for me, please?" Taehyung takes the teething ring from Kyung, offering it to Jimin.

"Sure," Jimin chuckles, moving to the bathroom to wash the ring.

Taehyung has laid back down on the bed with Kyung once Jimin comes back, surrounding the mattress with pillows to prevent him from falling. "Thanks, Jiminie," he says as Jimin gives the teething ring back to Kyung.

Jimin smiles and they both watch the baby for a little longer. "How was it to-" Jimin speaks up, gaining Taehyung's attention. Jimin gulps. He'd always wanted to ask Taehyung something. "I mean, how was your pregnancy? Did it, like, hurt?" he shrugs one shoulder.

Taehyung smiles knowingly, scratching the top of Kyung's head absentmindedly. "Not really. Sometimes he kicked me a lot, didn't you, Kyungie? My feet hurt and so did my hips when he started growing too much. And your chest, it gets like, really sensitive and the milk dries up if you go too long without nursing."

Jimin frowns, having regretted asking Taehyung anything.

"The sex is amazing, on the other hand, ugh," Taehyung lets his head drop back on the pillow, "kinda miss it. And Jeongguk is like, a super giving lover, you know? He made sure to have me coming twice before he even started anything-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Jimin holds up a hand to stop Taehyung's flow of words.

Taehyung laughs at Jimin's flushed face and shocked expression. "Never took you for a prude, Jiminie."

"I am not, trust me," Jimin replies, "but with the amount of information you give you'd make the devil blush."

Taehyung waves him off. "Nonsense. I didn't even go into details."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "Right."

They spend a moment in silence, just watching Kyung tiring of his teething ring and moving back to his Mickey. "I'm serious, though," Taehyung speaks up. Jimin watches him attentively, holding his breath. "His stamina is like, stellar."

Jimin groans, sticking his fingers into his ears, which still doesn't stop him from hearing Taehyung's laugh. The model reaches out to bat Jimin's fingers away.

"Must be why I fell pregnant so fast, I swear he came four times, Jimin, four," he holds up four fingers to emphasize it.

"I don't want to hear it," Jimin screeches. Taehyung takes pity on him finally, dropping back on the bed. Jimin sighs, watching as the other omega's laugh subsides. He looks so joyful doing that, face thrown back in glee. It amazes Jimin, really. That he could still laugh like this when a few minutes ago he'd been just telling Jimin about his struggle with motherhood and depression. Jimin remembers, out of nowhere, of Park Bogum and everything he'd seen last night. He doesn't know if Taehyung is cheating, doesn't know if he has ever. It was hard to imagine that this guy who laughed so freely and demonstrated such a deep infatuation for his husband would be capable of that. He'd pushed the actor away though, had even slapped him, which Jimin internally applauds him for. And yet... Jimin doesn't know.

Chapter Text

They take the first flight back to Seoul the next day.

Jimin will surely miss the food and the nice days he spent in Japan, but he's got to go back to his life.

They're boarding the plane, Kyung being held by Taehyung to have their passports and tickets checked. Jimin follows them into the passageway leading into the airplane, pulling on his stroller bag drowsily. They'd woken up extra early today and Jimin still hadn't been able to catch up to his sleep pattern.

He walks and walks, following Taehyung and Kyung, Namjoon a distant dot at the end of the tube.

"Jiminie," Taehyung calls, having slowed down his pace to sidle up with the babysitter. Jimin blinks, turning to look at him inquisitively.

Taehyung gives him a gentle smile and a glance in Namjoon's direction before continuing. "Jeongguk is gonna pick us up from the airport. I don't know if, uh, I don't know if you've noticed but he and Namjoon don't get along really well..." Taehyung grimaces, continuing on a lower voice. "I was wondering if maybe," he shifts uncomfortably, hiking Kyung higher in his arms, "you could, you know? Just keep them company and such. When they're alone together it's not really... nice." Taehyung sighs.

"Oh," Jimin makes, watching as Namjoon pauses to bow for the pilot and stewardess at the entrance of the plane. He'd noticed from Namjoon's comments and the way he kept his distance whenever Jeongguk was around that they didn't have the best relationship in the world. He wouldn't want to imagine what kind of tension went on between them whenever they were by themselves, but he doubts he would serve as a good peacemaker. "I see," Jimin clears his throat, "I'll try to make them avoid each other."

Taehyung sighs in relief, giving Jimin a broad smile in gratitude. "Thank you, Jiminie. You can rest once we reach the plane, okay? I'll watch Kyung during the flight."

"No, really, it's no problem," Jimin hastens to say, a bit embarrassed to think his weariness was visible to Taehyung.

"Please, you've been yawning ever since we left the hotel," Taehyung shoots him a wink, "I've got this, right?" He asks, dropping a kiss to Kyung's forehead.

"Yeah, you do," Jimin assures him. It's good to see that Taehyung has gotten more confidence in handling Kyung. Or that he's at least heard Jimin and decided to give it a shot.

-

Jimin's started to suspect it's the hustle and bustle of disembarking that leaves Kyung uneasy. Once they land in Incheon the baby starts crying as soon as they step out of the plane. True to his word, Taehyung had watched over him during the entire flight while Jimin managed to have some very uncomfortable shut-eye, made slightly better by the neck-pillow Namjoon lent him.

But now that they're at the baggage claim Kyung is squeezing Jimin's scarf in his incredibly powerful, chubby fists and whining. Namjoon, being the gentleman he was, fished all of their baggage from the carousel while Jimin shushed Kyung and Taehyung made his baby voice at him.

"Uh," Jimin wrinkles his nose when he moves Kyung around, finding he had a very good guess as to what Kyung's problem was. "I think he needs a change of diapers."

"What-" Taehyung frowns, confusion dissolving into aversion when he feels it. "Ugh," he clamps his nose. "Do you need me to-?"

"No, it's fine," Jimin shoulders the baby bag, looking around for the bathroom. He spots it, Namjoon assuring they will wait for him outside.

Jimin hates changing diapers but he's become good at it with time. Kyung whines and coos while Jimin cleans him up, strapping a new diaper on. "There you go, baby," he grins, throwing the dirty diaper away. "Let's go back home, hn?" He prompts, taking Kyung back up.

Namjoon and Taehyung are waiting for him a couple feet away from the bathroom. Namjoon with his hands pocketed, staring intently at his own foot while Taehyung clings to one of his arms, saying something to the assistant, who doesn't answer in any way. Jimin approaches them slowly.

"Please, Joonie," Taehyung is pleading, "you know he won't understand it. Don't do this to me."

"Uh," Jimin clears his throat, Taehyung immediately letting go of Namjoon's arm to turn to him. "We're back," he tries to smile.

"Ah, good," Taehyung nods robotically. "We should be on our way out. Don't want to keep Jeongguk waiting." He grins, turning to look carefully at Namjoon, "Joonie?"

Namjoon scratches the back of his head, not meeting Taehyung's eye as he pulls on his stroller bag. "Let's go."

Taehyung and Jimin follow after him. Jimin wants to reach out to the model and ask what had been that but Taehyung doesn't give him any space to, instead seems to be blocking him from doing so.

Jeongguk is waiting for them at the disembark area, hood pulled up as he leans against a pillar, visibly trying to camouflage himself. He smiles when he spots them though, the corners of his eyes lifting, visible over his dark facemask. Taehyung makes an excited sound in the back of his throat but holds himself back from sprinting up to his husband, probably not to draw too much attention from the crowd of passengers.

"Hey," Taehyung greets as soon as they approach Jeongguk, throwing his arms around his neck.

"Hey there, baby," Jeongguk hugs him back, Jimin quickly darting his gaze away when they peck. Jeongguk nods in his and Namjoon's direction when they break apart, pulling down his facemask and coming Jimin's way. The babysitter feels slightly out of place when Jeongguk gasps overdramatically when he spots Kyung, who wiggles in Jimin's lap at his father's sight. "How is my big boy doing?" He asks Kyung, scooping him up from Jimin's hold. "Did you have fun?"

Jeongguk holds the baby up high, smooching his cheek as he brings him down. "How was the flight? Did he behave?" He turns to ask Taehyung.

Taehyung beams. "It was great, he did wonderfully. I was a bit worried because he usually only behaves with Jimin but he was super sweet." Jeongguk looks confused for a second before Taehyung clarifies it, "I gave Jimin a break during the flight, he was super tired."

"Oh," Jeongguk says and gives him a tiny smile that has Taehyung blushing adoringly, eyes shining like twin stars.

"Ahn," Namjoon speaks up, gaining their attention, "we should get going before we gather any more attention," he motions with his head around where a group of young girls are glancing surreptitiously at them before giggling.

"Yeah," Jeongguk moves to tug Taehyung to his side, pulling his facemask back up and leading them towards the parking lot.

Jeongguk's car is a black Mercedes, elegant but somewhat frugal for his tastes, in Jimin's opinion. He doesn't know why but he'd expected him to be a bright red Ferrari guy. Either way, Jeongguk files all of their baggage inside the trunk while Jimin holds Kyung.

There's only Namjoon's bag left and when Jeongguk makes to put it in the car the assistant shakes his head. "There's no need. A friend is coming to give me a ride."

Jeongguk frowns. "Are you sure?"

Taehyung peers at Namjoon over Jeongguk's shoulder, eyes immensely expressive. Jimin darts his eyes from one alpha to another and then to Taehyung, trying to understand what kind of surreptitious activity was going on here.

"Yeah," Namjoon asserts, "it's really no problem. I have to stop by at the agency anyway," he pauses, seeming like it's really painful to say what he's about to say next, "but thanks, Jeongguk."

Jeongguk quirks one eyebrow, surprised. Explicit pleasantries don't seem to be something they usually exchange. Jimin glances at Taehyung out of the corner of his eye, finding the omega mouthing a quiet 'thank you' to Namjoon over Jeongguk's shoulder.

Maybe Taehyung is the one to go great lengths and avoid Jeongguk's and Namjoon's interactions to each other, Jimin thinks. Two alphas normally only get along when there isn't an omega in their midst, and for what Jimin had gathered, there was an omega in their midst. Jimin is made certain that Taehyung, though he doesn't seem to reciprocate Namjoon's feelings, seems to be at least considerate towards them, even avoiding confrontation with his husband.

But then they get in the car and Jimin puts Kyung in his baby seat. Jeongguk seems deep in thought as he clicks on his own seatbelt, Taehyung turning on the radio and saying something about the weather.

"Is Namjoon okay?" Jeongguk finally asks.

Taehyung tenses for a millisecond. "Yes, but he must be tired from the trip. Maybe he just wants to rest."

Namjoon didn't seem tired during the trip, Jimin considers, he in fact hadn't even dozed off like he'd done in their first flight or else he wouldn't have lent Jimin his neck-pillow. It must show on Jimin's face that he finds Taehyung's statement odd because Jeongguk backs out of the slot and the small dip there was between his eyebrows deepens when he turns around in his seat and finds Jimin's gaze. Jimin's eyes widen and he looks away.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything as he drives them towards the penthouse, but there's an edge to him that wasn't there before. Something becomes abundantly clear to Jimin though: Taehyung doesn't want Namjoon and Jeongguk talking and the only thing that comes to Jimin's mind is Park Bogum. That's why Taehyung had been pleading Namjoon for something when Jimin exited the bathroom. That's why, Jimin reflects with some degree of bafflement, he'd asked Jimin not to leave them alone together.

And yet Taehyung didn't know Jimin knew about Bogum. He'd tried to use his ignorance on the matter as a shield because Jimin doubts Jeongguk or Namjoon would dare discuss that in front of him. Jimin was the babysitter and though they seemed to trust him, experience had taught them not to be too open with others, hence what happened with the first babysitter.

'I will tell you something about Taehyung', the memory of Jeongguk's words resurface in Jimin's head, 'he's not as perfect as he seems to be'. Jimin clamps his eyes shut for a second. Who are all these people?

-

The penthouse looks immaculately clean once they arrive, a maid Jimin had never seen before scrubbing the kitchen counter. She greets them once they filter inside and Jeongguk even squeezes her shoulder in passing. Jimin just wants to collapse on his bed to be pretty honest, but he wants to make sure Kyung is fed before going.

Taehyung is holding the baby while the maid coos over him and he seems inherently proud when she praises the baby on how much he's grown. "My big baby boy," Taehyung coos, moving him to his high chair. "Jimin," he calls, looking over his shoulder, "I'll tell my driver to drop you off. You must be dead tired. Don't worry, I'll feed Kyung now," he winks at Jimin. "God knows how much I've taken up your time these days."

"Oh, thanks," Jimin grins. He watches as Taehyung frets over the baby, murmuring aloud as to what he should feed him with, rummaging through his baby bag to find the milk formula. It is... different. He's making an effort and it shows. Even Jeongguk had seemed startled once learning Taehyung had watched over Kyung during the flight and Jimin doesn't know what to think. It's... complicated. Jimin doesn't want to pity Taehyung, but deep down he does. He'd looked so bashfully happy when Jeongguk smiled at him. And Jimin knows all that progress could be destroyed if Namjoon told Jeongguk about Bogum.

Yet Jimin doesn't know what happened. Only that Bogum had wanted to initiate some kind of contact of the romantic kind and Taehyung had denied him. He doesn't know what has been going on since before he met these people. Could Taehyung be cheating on Jeongguk with Bogum during all this time? Jimin had thought it was unlikely, but that was before he saw them that night. Taehyung was drunk, after all, but when Bogum spoke to him it seemed like he was weaving some sort of magic. There were moments when Taehyung visibly faltered in his resolve before, of course, Bogum had made that comment.

Jimin clears his head, shooting Taehyung and the maid a small goodbye as he makes to the living room. Jeongguk's already there though, by the windows next to the piano.

"Hey, Namjoon, this is Jeongguk," he's saying into his phone. Jimin pauses, moving to grab his bag as silently as possible. "Did something happen to Tae? You seemed worried," he sighs, "call me as soon as you can, please."

Jimin ducks and takes his bag, walking to the elevator on his tip toes when Jeongguk calls him back.

"Jimin?"

Jimin halts, turning to the singer. "Hn, yeah?"

"Where are you going?" Jeongguk frowns.

"Ahn, home," Jimin motions with a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, will you need me for anything else?"

Jeongguk watches him for a second before shaking his head. "No, sorry, it's- Let me drop you off."

"Oh," Jimin bites his bottom lip. He is not really fond of the times he spends together with Jeongguk. "There's no need, really. Taehyung said he'll send for his driver, he knows where I live and all the shortcuts and-" Jeongguk grabs his car keys, waving Jimin's explanation off. "Okay, sure."

The ride in the elevator is silent. Jeongguk has one hand leaning on the wall as he stares intently at the doors, a deep furrow between his brows. Jimin squirms on his feet, occasionally looking at the mirrored walls, where Jeongguk's profile looks even more striking.

Jeongguk leads the way to the parking lot, his car beeping unlocked. He holds the passenger door open for Jimin, walking around the car to settle behind the wheel. Jimin puts his seatbelt on and tries to ignore the way the interior still smells of Taehyung's perfume.

Jeongguk sighs before starting the car. "Sorry, this must be super awkward. You are still wary of me, aren't you? We didn't start out in the right foot," he grins bashfully.

Jimin laughs, sounding strange even to his own ears. Jeongguk turns around to watch the car's rear once backing out but his phone rings in the console. "Shit, hold on, gotta take this," he reaches for his cell phone, accepting the call once he checks the caller id. "Hey, babe," he pauses, "I'm taking Jimin home. Yeah, I know. Diapers? Okay, I'll get them on the way back. Riight, and a smoothie too. Bye, love you."

Jeongguk puts the phone back in place and finally exits his slot. "So, did you like Japan?" He asks as soon as they take the streets.

Oh shit, small talk. "Yeah, I loved it. Don't really speak Japanese though, seems like anime doesn't prepare you for much." Jimin tends to ramble when he's nervous.

Jeongguk laughs and it sounds, for god's sake, genuine. He still watches the windshield as he drives, smiling as he answers Jimin. "I feel you. You know, I had a tour there a few months ago. I had to learn these sentences to please the crowd. I'm sure I got almost all of them wrong. No one said anything though, I think they're too polite to tell it to your face."

Jimin laughs, "yeah, maybe."

"I was never really good with languages. Oh, Tae loves this song," Jeongguk reaches out to increase the radio's volume. A soulful melody filters in and it's not until the first lyrics are sung that Jimin recognizes it. Al Green's Let's Stay Together.

Jeongguk turns on the blinker to turn a right corner when Jimin gives him the directions to his building. He sings some of the lyrics under his breath as well and it shouldn't surprise Jimin because, well, he's a professional singer, but Jeongguk actually sounds really good. The song comes to an end though and they're left once more in a tense situation, a different music coming up.

"Jimin," Jeongguk speaks up and Jimin gulps. He has an idea about what Jeongguk wants to discuss. "Why did Namjoon leave today?"

Jimin glances at Jeongguk warily, willing the car to move faster even though Jeongguk is almost breaching the speed limit. Jeongguk looks uneasy, clearing his throat before continuing. "Sorry, I just. I thought you would know. Today you looked like you were- Forget it."

"Jeongguk, I-" Jimin looks out the window. He's not going to tell him. It's not right. Jeongguk should know though, but he won't be hearing it from Jimin. "I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Taehyung."

Jeongguk glances at him before turning his attention back to the road. "He asked me about the other night and what you'd said to me. I told him."

"Shit," Jeongguk purses his lips before shrugging, "No, I mean, you did the right thing."

"He told me everything, Jeongguk," Jimin squeezes the seat's leather.

Jeongguk frowns, whipping his head towards Jimin before quickly looking back ahead. "Everything?"

"Yes, and," Jimin licks his lips. He doesn't want to meddle into their lives, but if Jeongguk resents Taehyung because of the way he kept his distance from Kyung then he must know the truth. It wasn't Taehyung's fault. "I mean, I hope you know it's not unusual for omegas to have post-partum depression." He leaves it at that, waiting for Jeongguk's reaction.

Jeongguk doesn't say anything for the first few seconds, face blank as he drives. "If you're talking about Taehyung's insecurities towards Kyung, yes, I'm aware of it."

Jimin leans back into his seat, "so you know that the reason why he didn't want to be with Kyung was because he felt insufficient and not because he doesn't like children?"

Jeongguk stops at a red-light and honestly, the way to Jimin's home had never felt so long before. "Yes, Jimin," Jeongguk admits.

Jimin doesn't understand it then. Why did Jeongguk resent Taehyung if it were not for having rejected Kyung during his first few months? "Then why did you say all of those things to me?"

"Because I was drunk, Jimin," Jeongguk scratches the back of his head, elbow propped on the windowsill. "When I'm drunk it's like- all the terrible things I've listened and seen remerge all of a sudden."

That doesn't seem to be all. Jeongguk wouldn't have said those things if he didn't mean it. Maybe he's lying to Jimin, maybe he doesn't even understand what Taehyung's depression really was. "Then why do you treat him like that?" Jimin asks before he can stop himself.

Jimin braces himself for Jeongguk's answer, whatever it may be. He hadn't meant to pry. But the only logical explanation there seemed to be was Jeongguk's resentment for Taehyung being born out of his lack of proximity with Kyung.

"Taehyung didn't tell you everything, did he?" Jeongguk asks with a huff and a shake of his head. He sounds eerily serene for someone who'd just had his relationship with his husband questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm an asshole, Jimin," he says, finally parking by the curb in front of Jimin's building, "and that it takes a long time to gain my trust back."

Jimin doesn't really know what to do with that. Leave it to Jeongguk to be enigmatic. He grabs his bag and steps out of the car, thanking Jeongguk for the ride.

"Oh, and Jimin," Jeongguk calls before Jimin can close the door.

"Yeah?"

"Taehyung said you major in dance," he says. Oh, yes. But if Jimin remembers correctly Jeongguk didn't look like he had been listening to Taehyung when the omega told him that. "You should come with me some time for my practice. My company might need a new recruit for next year."

Jimin blinks, a bit astounded. What the hell? Jeongguk's fucking company?

"Ah- yes, okay. Thank you."

Jeongguk smiles quickly and Jimin shuts the door to his car, walking to the front of his building in a trance. Holy shit.

Chapter Text

Seokjin is on the sofa when Jimin comes in, typing away on his laptop. He turns his head once Jimin opens the door and then does a double-take. "Oh my god, are you all right?" He jumps to his feet, helping Jimin inside.

"Jin," Jimin steps towards the sofa, falling rigidly to sit on it. "Jeongguk dropped me off."

Seokjin takes some time to process that before he screeches, grabbing both sides of his face with his hands and running towards the window. "Now? Just now? Are you sure? Where is he? Didn't you invite him up for tea? That's the polite thing to do, Jimin!"

"No, listen," Jimin turns to him, "he dropped me off and then," he takes in a deep breath, "then he said his company might need a new dancing recruit and invited me to practice with him," his voice gets higher the closer he gets to the end of the sentence.

Seokjin's mouth drops open and he takes minimal steps towards Jimin, grabbing both his hands when he takes a seat beside him. "Ok, listen," he murmurs, "you have to calm down. So," he squeezes Jimin's hands, "what you're trying to tell me is that you have a stellar job and a new stellar job opportunity?"

Jimin makes a face. He wouldn't put it like that, but just mentioning Jeongguk's company in his resume could give it a boost. He doesn't care if he has to wipe down floors. It's still Jeongguk's fucking dance company.

Seokjin sighs, patting Jimin's head and getting up. "Ah, Jiminie, being friends with you is depressing."

Jimin lets his head fall back on the sofa's headrest. "What?"

"Yeah, you're like... super you and I just," he shrugs one shoulder, "cook."

"Oh, Jinnie! You do more than cook, you make wonders come out of your hands."

Seokjin rolls his eyes. "Right. How was Japan?"

"Don't change the subject," Jimin lifts one eyebrow, "look, I'll tell Jeongguk I have this friend that cooks really well, okay? Maybe he'll make you into his official chef or something and we can spend the rest of our days together."

"Ew," Seokjin makes, "I'm not into you like that, you know?"

Jimin laughs and then winces. "Ah, damn, I'm tired. This trip was tiresome," he considers, watching his ceiling and trying not to think back to Taehyung and Bogum and Jeongguk and Kyung and Namjoon. Maybe all the money Jimin has been earning is going to be spent in therapy sessions.

Seokjin hums lightly, going into the kitchen and only coming back some minutes later with what seems to be leftovers heated up. It still smells divine. Jimin salivates at the sight.

"So," Seokjin begins once Jimin is halfway into finishing the food. "What are all those rides and chitchats with Jeongguk? I thought you hated him."

"I don't-" Jimin pauses, mouth full of noodles, "I don't hate him completely. He's still a bastard and honestly, he makes no sense whatsoever. Sometimes I think he's mean just for the hell of it and it scares me that he would derive such pleasure from hurting people that visibly love him?"

Seokjin is watching him carefully. "Wow," he says, "where did all that come from?"

Jimin sighs. Food has always had a way of making him open up. "From deep inside my heart, I think."

"Jinnie," Jimin speaks up later, when Seokjin has gone back to his laptop and Jimin has stuffed all of his clothes back inside his wardrobe. Seokjin hums to show he's listening. "If you had seen someone, someone who is... committed to another person," he squints.

Seokjin lifts one eyebrow. "You're not being very subtle. I know you're talking about Jeongguk and Taehyung."

Jimin sighs, falling face-first on the sofa. He can't help but feel like he should have told Jeongguk about the scene between Taehyung and Bogum. It feels like it'll make a difference. Namjoon hadn't told the singer but that was because Taehyung had asked him not to and Namjoon is whipped for Taehyung. But the model didn't know Jimin had seen it. He feels like he's Taehyung's last chance and it doesn't make sense. Is Jeongguk even aware of Bogum's existence? What if by telling it Jimin made him mad? Made him find out Taehyung had a lover? And if Taehyung had only denied Bogum that one time but still slept with him behind Jeongguk's back Jimin could cause them to divorce.

"What's going on, Jiminie?" Seokjin asks, not pausing his typing on the laptop. "You know I'm not a therapist and this sofa is far from a divan but I can still listen."

Jimin licks his lips, hugging the Pikachu pillow he'd gotten Seokjin. "Jinnie, what do you know about Park Bogum?"

Seokjin yawns, "You mean the movie star?"

"Yep."

Seokjin scratches his own nose. "The usual. Super hot, super famous," and then he frowns, "why do you ask?"

Jimin grimaces, turning around on the sofa. "For nothing," he lies, stretching out and curling his toes. "I think I'm going to bed," he dismisses, getting up from the sofa.

"Yeah, good night," Seokjin says, "you should set an alarm, you have class tomorrow."

Jimin groans on his way to his room. Classes. He hated classes. He's been dying to finish college and the prospect of Jeongguk's offer looms over his head. Few of his classmates had an opportunity such as his. Finding a job was already difficult as it was but finding a well-paid one at a renowned company was even harder. Whatever. Jimin doesn't want to get ahead of himself. Maybe Jeongguk offered just to be polite. Maybe he doesn't even mean it. Maybe he just wanted to get into Jimin's good graces. Maybe he- Okay, that's enough.

Jimin shuts the door to his bedroom carefully, taking a seat on the edge of his bed and primly toeing off his slippers. He lies down and takes in a good breath once feeling the familiar mattress digging into his back. He misses the five-stars hotel already.

Reaching out for his cell phone, Jimin dims the lights and proceeds to delve into the world wide web for some digging of his own. If he remembers correctly he'd seen Taehyung's name involved somehow with Bogum before, so it mustn't be that hard to find anything on them.

As expected, his search for park bogum and kim taehyung ends with several results. There are high-quality pictures of them together in some kind of romantic spot, which was clearly a photoshoot. The subtitle promises that Kim Taehyung makes out with actor Park Bogum for the September issue of Vogue. See the steamy pics here!.

The pictures' scenery is pretty casual, the interior of an antique house where Taehyung, dressed in a deep red silky robe, exchanges flirty looks with a Bogum that has an unknotted tie and a hand up Taehyung's thigh. The one containing their overestimated 'make out session' details Taehyung with a leg woven provocatively around Bogum's hip, their heads ducked together in a kiss.

Jimin doesn't make much of it other than for the fact that they seem to possess very good chemistry together. Taehyung is a far-famed model so it had probably not been the first time he'd done sensual photoshoots with national heartthrobs either.

Jimin goes back to the initial webpage and clicks on the second link, where Park Bogum denies affair rumors with Kim Taehyung shines in bright blue colors.

Park Bogum found a slot in his busy agenda this Saturday (23) to attend the Presidential's Charity Ball. Asked after his supposed affair with supermodel Kim Taehyung, the actor said ''It was a pleasure to work with Taehyung and we still do keep in contact but we've never been more than good friends. I hope he will find the strength to overcome his issues," the latter in reference to Taehyung's break of contract with Gucci.

It's worth reminding that Park Bogum and Kim Taehyung were allegedly spotted together in Paris after a sexy photoshoot that gained the model a couple hate tweets from Park's fanbase. Asked after his wife's reaction to the rumors, Park Bogum prefered not to comment.

His wife. So that had been it. Gossip regarding Taehyung and a married man. A famous married man at that.

Jimin goes back to the search's results but no matter how deep he prods, the results are never more than tabloids sniffing around the possibility of an extra-marital affair. Apparently, Bogum and his wife, a cute looking actress, had divorced not long after the rumors involving Taehyung broke out, but only a handful of gossip websites link the two events together.

Well, at least one thing is clear: Taehyung and Bogum were indeed lovers at some point. But Jimin didn't need the internet to draw that conclusion. He'd witnessed it in the empty corridor of a hotel in Tokyo. The point here is to know whether or not their affair developed into something more discreet than the media was able to dig into.

And the answer comes in the form of a Jeongguk-centered blog or forum thing. The font is small, so Jimin has to squint to read the comments, not to mention as soon as the page finishes loading a song blasts out of his speakers and he has to hasten and mute it. A gif of Jeongguk laughing is in loop right beside the text and it follows down the page as Jimin scrolls down.

Apparently there seemed to be a post listing all the reasons why Taehyung didn't deserve Jeongguk.

jeon_cookie97:

are we srsly not going to talk abt taehyung and bogum???

jungkupid:

they still weren't together, sarah

remember? kookie and tae started going out in april. the thing with bogum was in january or smth. and it was never confirmed lol

uchihakookk:

she's right, jeon_cookie97

jeonmary:

hate to break it 2 u guys but taehyung and bogum were indeed fuckign

gukkie4ev:

hahahaha it's taehyung of course he was sleeping with the dude

I swear he only ever gets the best, he is such a slut. and bogum was married at the time. who is gonna say he won't cheat on kookie ???

jeon_cookie97:

jeonmary explain!!!

jeonmary:

so my sister works for bogum's publicity agency and she said that at the time they had to do like, extra hours to take down everything there was abt tae and bogm. and she said everyone knew they were fucking but they couldn’t let it slip because bogum is like, the face for a super conservative production studio. and she said his wife knew abt it as well and she fucking hated tae. they broke it off tho before tae met kook

gukkie4ev:

omg!!!!!!!!!!!

sakura123:

r u talking abt tae and bogum? lol they still R fucking. tae has never been loyal to kook

jeon_cookie97:

sakura123 yes we are. We're worried abt kook! Satantae will cheat on him x.x

jeonmary:

u r right sakura123. unfortunately for kook : ((((

uchihakookk:

what do u mean jeonmary???? And do u know why tae and bogum broke up??

jeonmary:

my sister said tae and bogum still see each other : ( like, they met once when tae and kook were dating. but kook found out and tae changed agents. this new guy was supposed to keep tae away from bogum but I don't know if it worked. she said they met when tae was preg too but tae kept pushing him away. I don't know why they 'broke up' before tae met kook but my sister said... (Read more)

Jimin sighs, tapping on the read more tag.

(…) smth happened that bogum's exwife couldn't stand it anymore. she got the divorce and bogum broke it off with tae but he kept like calling all the time and insisting to go back. And then tae disappeared for some time and my sister said bogum asked her to hide a huge debt he'd gotten from a hospital in malaysia

taetae_33:

guys, I'm a tae stan and I can confirm what jeonmary said. A friend of my cousin's saw them together once in tokyo at a starbucks. they were super discreet and such but he recognized them. he said bogum was very physical and kept touching tae and whispering to him. it was last year when kook and tae were dating. maybe tae was even pregnant already. check the time, they were both in tokyo together.

kingtaee:

what is this? csi miami? lol tae never cheated on kook and jeonmary, u need to learn how to use commas. this is all a bunch of senseless gossip. next u will be saying bogum made a plastic surgery in a clinic down in africa and asked this girl's sister to hide it from the press coz now he lives in another body. Like wtf??????? Leave tae alone!!!

jeon_cookie97:

excuse me but this is a jeongguk's forum only. taesatans are not allowed in here

kingtaee:

yeah whatever go suck a dick

Jimin frowns. He never would have thought Jeongguk's forums were that aggressive.

uchihakookk:

omg! Stop stop stop that actually makes sense! I heard talk that tae went through several plastic surgeries, but no one knows when that was. Maybe he disappeared to get it done and bogum paid for it.

taetae_33:

his face looks rlly different from that time around. [image] [image] see? The first is tae when he started his career and the other is of tae when he was with kook! His nose and eyes even his lips r different!

gukkie4ev:

why would bogum pay for it tho? only if he felt responsible. do u think bogum did smth to tae and then felt guilty?

sakura123:

maybe he beat him so bad tae had to go to the hospital hahaha! wasn't tae bothering hiim to go back? And didn't tae end his marriage? bogum knows how to hold grudges

jeonmary:

maybe. my sister says that the good boy image bogum has is all a façade. she said he's a dickhead to everyone mainly with those who work under him. she quit two months ago coz he got in another scandal with a mc and an actress at the same time and he wanted her to clean his name again. kingtaee I know how to use commas just fine, thank u

kingtaee:

yeah? maybe ur sister could tell us when the world will end too if she's so good!

jeon_cookie97:

that's it! I am blocking u!

Jimin rolls his eyes, exiting the forum when the whole conversation dissolves into curses and rumors that Taehyung had gotten an ass prosthesis in Malaysia paid by Bogum. He feels like a teenage girl with nothing better to do, but at least (if random comments from people he'd never seen before were to be trusted) he now had a reason to believe that Taehyung and Bogum had had an affair which may or may not have ended. So, yeah, that was pretty terrible.

Chapter Text

Jimin takes down notes as fast as he can. He'd missed two classes for this subject while in Japan and had its last exam scheduled for the next week. Oh, glory. The teacher drawls on and on in front of his slideshow and Jimin tries not to let his attention slip.

With the Holidays approaching Taehyung's agenda has been made into a flurry. He has to shoot holiday themed ads and renew contracts with brands, do showcases and attend parties. Jeongguk isn't much different. He shoots performances for New Year's Eve shows, records thematic songs, attends promos and late-night shows and just generally appears on television and billboards every time Jimin cares to look. So of course, Jimin is left with even more work. As a result, though he thinks he's managed to at least scrap by on all of his subjects, there's still Yoongi wanting to hang out. Jimin feels bad for how many times they've had to reschedule their date due to something that had come up, but it's inevitable.

The teacher dismisses them fifteen minutes later though, and Jimin gathers his stuff quickly. Taehyung would be flying to LA in a couple hours and he'd promised the model that he would be there to watch Kyung during his absence.

He slumps into the backseat of the car once exiting his building, Taehyung's driver giving him a sympathetic look and increasing the heater. Jimin pays him a grateful smile and proceeds to watch the scenery outside his window until they make their way to the penthouse.

Namjoon is in the hall when Jimin arrives, pacing up and down. He looks up from his phone to greet Jimin when he passes but goes back to typing furiously as soon as Jimin crosses the threshold to the living room. The ever-growing tension between Taehyung's assistant and Jeongguk had come to be almost overbearing sometimes, to the point where Namjoon limited himself to the outskirts of the penthouse or just bluntly avoided being in the same room as Jeongguk. Jimin feels bad for the both of them.

He knows that deep down Jeongguk is still suspicious of whatever it was that Namjoon wasn't telling him. And Jimin is a bit put-off by all of it because he felt like Taehyung and Jeongguk were making slow progress. With Taehyung gaining more confidence with Kyung the singer had grown gradually more open to his husband. He was still reserved and aloof but he always shortened the distance between them and occasionally stole glances at Taehyung that were, for some reason, hopeful.

In the living room Jimin finds Taehyung all wrapped up in a soft-looking overcoat, crouched in front of the sofa where Jeongguk's sat with Kyung on his lap.

"Will you miss mommy, my sweetie?" Taehyung is making his baby-voice at Kyung, kissing his moist cheek. Kyung coos a string of ahhs that Jeongguk finds funny, laughing and kissing the crown of Kyung's head.

"He will," Jeongguk says, "give mommy a goodbye kiss, Kyung," he prompts, tilting Kyung farther in his lap and towards Taehyung's awaiting cheek. The baby just turns his head confusedly, sliding his spit-slick lips against Taehyung's face.

"Awn, mommy will miss baby so much," Taehyung whines, showering more kisses on Kyung's head before looking up at Jeongguk. "Remember to watch his nap time, love, and if he chokes, give him-"

"Tae," Jeongguk interrupts leisurely, "don't worry. I know how to watch him."

Taehyung pauses, giving a tiny nod before supporting himself on Jeongguk's knees to stand up. "Oh, Jiminie! There you are!" He smiles as soon as he turns around and spots the babysitter. "Thanks for coming," he walks towards Jimin, the several keychains of his backpack jingling. "I gotta go now, but you'll be fine, won't you? If you need anything just ask Jeongguk."

Jimin nods tightly. It was not ideal to spend two full days with Jeongguk but it wasn't as though Jimin was doing it for free. Not to mention he doesn't know where exactly they stood now what with their last conversation. "Sure. Hope you have a nice flight."

"Thank you," Taehyung beams.

"Tae," Namjoon calls, inching his head into the living room, "if we take any longer we'll be late."

"Yes, sorry," Taehyung startles, giving Jimin a tight hug. "He'll be fine, right? You watch him for me, please, Jimin," he murmurs next to Jimin's ear, leaving with a small smile before running towards Jeongguk to kiss him. Jimin looks to the side while they break apart and whisper to each other, catching a last glimpse of Taehyung when the model runs past him after Namjoon's second warning.

It's strange to hear as the sound of Namjoon and Taehyung leaving diminishes, Jimin squirming as he takes his backpack off and settles it on the floor.

"So, ugh," Jeongguk speaks up, "how does this work with you and Taehyung? I mean, you can take the guest bedroom and do whatever you'd like. But do you usually go out with him? I have dance practice almost every day, so..."

"Oh, yeah, like, I spend the entire day with Kyung but it's pretty much up to you. Taehyung takes us with him sometimes but if you'd like to go by yourself or even go out with Kyung by yourself it's also fine."

Jeongguk nods. "Okay," he sighs, getting up from the sofa with Kyung in his arms.

-

It's strange sleeping in the penthouse. Needless to say, the guest room is better equipped than the one back in Tokyo and Jimin has a hard time figuring out why he always refused Taehyung when the omega offered to let him sleep in. The mattress feels heavenly against Jimin's back and he goes to sleep as simply as shutting his eyes, baby monitor on the bedside table.

In the morning, Jimin wakes up to Kyung's quiet sniffles and whines through the baby monitor, filtering out of sleep and groaning among the bedsheets. He's just conjuring up the strength to get up when he hears Jeongguk hushing Kyung, tutting and murmuring to the baby. Shh, good morning, baby. Are you hungry, hn? Yeah? Do you miss mommy? Daddy misses mommy too... Let's get you up. Jimin freezes, waiting until Jeongguk's words die down, only the sound of him scooping Kyung out of the crib. He eases into the bedsheets once more, ears now perked up to the sound of Jeongguk moving about the kitchen, singing.

Jimin checks his cell phone, finding it's just past seven am. Finding he won't be able to go back to sleep, he sits up and changes out of his pyjamas.

Kyung is in high chair when Jimin arrives in the kitchen, still blinking out the haze of sleep. He coos and smiles when he spots Jimin, drawing his father's attention away from the stove. "Hey, Jimin," Jeongguk greets, opening a cabinet to pull out a box of cereals, "good morning."

"Morning, Mr Jeon," Jimin nods, leaning to greet Kyung.

Jeongguk frowns slightly. "You don't need to call me that, you know," he inputs amusedly, "makes me feel like I'm a thousand years old."

"Oh, sorry," Jimin grimaces bashfully.

Jeongguk waves him off, moving to the stove where it looks like he's making scrambled eggs. "Just Jeongguk is fine. Hn," he flips the eggs with a spatula expertly, "I don't know what you like to eat for breakfast. Do you like cereals?" He tilts his head in the direction of the box.

Jimin tilts his head to the side. "Uh, not really."

Jeongguk chuckles. "Thank god," he shoves the box back into the cabinet.

Jimin leans against the counter, looking around and wondering where he could make himself useful. "I trust you don't like cereals either?"

Jeongguk makes a face, pushing the eggs to a plate. "No, I hate it. More sugar than anything," he takes a toast from the toaster, biting into it and indicating the machine with a finger, inclining his head in an inquisitive manner as he chews. Jimin frowns. "Want one?" Jeongguk asks as soon as he swallows his bite of toast.

"Ah, yeah, thank you. That would actually be nice."

Jeongguk puts another toast in wordlessly, opening the fridge to drink out of a bottle of fluorescent isotonic and taking out some fruits. "I bought it for Taehyung," Jeongguk says and it takes Jimin a moment to realize he was still talking about the cereals, "he had all sort of food cravings when he was pregnant. He ate that with rice, can you believe it?" He lifts both his eyebrows.

Jimin twists his nose. "Uh, funny."

Jeongguk nods, producing a knife from the drawer and moving to the sink, where he washes some raspberries and two pears before peeling them. Jimin had noticed earlier that Jeongguk seemed to have just come back from the gym, in track pants and a white shirt that doesn't hide the bulging veins of his arms from view. "Hey, help yourself," Jeongguk turns to tilt his head in the direction of the scrambled eggs he'd left on the counter top.

"I can make some for me, there's no need," Jimin turns down politely.

Jeongguk makes a controverted sound. "No way, you can have it. I'm feeding Kyung first."

"Oh, no, let me do it, please," Jimin urges. He's not about to sit down and watch as Jeongguk makes everything, even more so because he was the babysitter in this situation.

"Jimin," Jeongguk inputs, cutting the pears into smaller pieces inside the blender. "Sometimes I spend weeks without being with my son. I would really like to feed him today," he turns to glance at Jimin over his shoulder, "if that's all right with you."

"Oh," Jimin gives a small smile, "I understand. Could you at least let me help you out with anything then? I don't like just standing here," he shrugs, the motion stirring his crossed arms.

Jeongguk laughs, throwing the raspberries in alongside the pears. "Sure, I'll just blend this for Kyung while you eat the eggs. When you're done you can make me another one. How's that sound?"

-

Turns out Jeongguk is inherently reserved, a trait Jimin links to a possible shyness that developed into a lack of actual conversational skills in adulthood. And yet he's still playful and overall chill when he gets more accustomed to another presence. Jimin is relieved to feel like he doesn't have to tiptoe around him anymore, accepting contently when Jeongguk invites him to watch his dance practice with Kyung.

It's a bit daunting to walk around with Jeon Jeongguk, a feeling different than the one Jimin got when he was with Taehyung. With Jeongguk, the feeling that he was constantly beside a celebrity never really went away. And it's not so much about what Jeongguk does to embolden that feeling, it's the way that other people are always overly solicitous to them, be it the company's reception girls or the producer who holds the door to the practice room open for them.

"Jeongguk, finally! I thought-" the man standing at the other side of the room halts on his rant, gaze focusing on Kyung, who is being held by Jimin. "Oh my god," he screeches, face splitting into a wide grin. Jimin recognizes him. It's the guy Jimin had heard speaking and thought was Jeongguk on that first day. "Did you bring little Kyung? Hello, baby!" He runs up to Jimin to wave at Kyung, who eyes him curiously.

The guy, Jimin learns after Jeongguk introduces them, is Hoseok, Jeongguk's choreographer who seems to hold a soft – the softest - spot for Kyung. He asks to hold the baby and Jimin watches in amusement as Hoseok squeezes Kyung's cheek and lets the baby do whatever he'd like to his fingers, which include drooling on and putting his budding teeth to test. Jimin tries to warn him that Kyung can be a nasty bitter but it seems like everything the baby does results in nothing but heart-warming giggles from the dancer.

"Oh, Jeongguk, you're not playing fair," Hoseok admonishes Jeongguk, who is farther from them warming up. It's hard to take Hoseok seriously when he speaks with a permanent smile on. "We never get anything done when you bring Kyung to see me."

Jeongguk grins unashamedly. "Tae had to travel, sorry. And anyway, I thought you said you missed him."

Hoseok pouts, mumbling under his breath to Kyung about the bad daddy he had.

Jeongguk laughs. "This suits us just fine though. I've been meaning to see what Jimin can do," he raises a challenging eyebrow up at Jimin.

Jimin balks, feeling the way Hoseok turns to stare at him. "Me?" he points at himself.

Jeongguk nods with a grin, hands propped on his hips. The singer glances at Hoseok, "he majors in dance," he explains.

"Oooh," Hoseok makes, turning to appraise Jimin while Kyung reaches to tug at his ear. "Really? Oh, that would be nice to watch. Do you do contemporary? Hip-hop? Mine and Jeongguk's deal is hip-hop."

Jimin nods. He'd tried his hand at mostly every kind of dance, it was just the thought of dancing in front of a professional choreographer and Jeongguk, who literally danced for a living that appaled him. "Uh, I don't know, you see, Kyung will need-"

"Kyung will be right here with us," Jeongguk inputs.

"But if he grows hungry or needs a change of diapers-" Jimin tries again.

"Hoseok will feed him or change him," Jeongguk crosses his arms, a sly grin on his face that says that he could do this all day and refute every one of Jimin's excuses.

Jimin chances a look at Hoseok, who gives him an earnest smile and a nod of his head. "Well," he toes off his shoes, "since you insist."

Hoseok cackles, sitting on the edge of the room with Kyung on his lap. "I like him already, Guk."

-

Jimin doesn't like to think that he's out of shape but the truth is that he sweats profusely by the time he and Jeongguk are done. Hoseok is clapping his hands excitedly, trying to incite Kyung into doing the same.

"You're very good, Jimin," Jeongguk comments, bending to get his water bottle and handing Jimin a clean towel.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself," Jimin laughs, dabbing at his forehead and collarbone.

Jeongguk chuckles. "That's good to hear, I guess. What did you think, Hoseok?" Jeongguk tilts his head in Jimin's direction, handing his water to drink before drying himself.

"Guk's right, Jimin," Hoseok gets up from his place on the floor, Kyung in his arms. "You're very talented. You should come to the evaluation next year," he winks.

"Oh," Jimin blushes, "that's- Great, but, I mean, I still haven't finished college, so-"

"You can be my intern then," Hoseok offers, a big smile plastered on his face.

Jimin looks between Hoseok and Jeongguk. It feels like they decided to gang up on him. Jimin can't help but feel flattered though. He'd worked his ass off during college and even before, in high school, to be good at this. And what Hoseok is offering him is a golden opportunity. If the point of this whole thing was putting Jeongguk back into Jimin's graces in the first place, then Hoseok would be under no obligation to offer him an internship.

Jeongguk is waiting for his response with his eyebrows up, as though he can't believe Jimin can say anything other yes to Hoseok's proposal.

"I would be honored," Jimin finally mutters.

Hoseok beams. "Aww, look at him, so cute," he leans to hug Jimin, Kyung whining between them.

"Hey, give me my son here," Jeongguk gets Kyung from Hoseok's grasp, scooping the baby up in his arms and kissing the top of his head, "you menace," he adds playfully to a pouting Hoseok.

-

Hoseok accompanies them to lunch, yapping throughout the entire walk to a nearby dinner Jeongguk promises has the hamburger he's ever tried. The singer carries Kyung in the baby sling and ducks every once in a while to nuzzle his head.

Luckily no one recognizes Jeongguk, which means they make their way into a cosy diner unperturbed. The waitress is all too pleased to serve them, asking Jeongguk and Hoseok how they have been doing before Jeongguk introduces Jimin as the babysitter.

"Nice to meet you," the waitress nods in his direction, "so, what can I get you today, boys?"

Jeongguk and Hoseok ask for their usual while Jimin peruses the menu. Every option looks like a huge hamburger but with the way Jimin is hungry from dancing he chooses one of them. The waitress notes down their orders and waves at Kyung, who hasn't left his father's lap.

Hoseok turns to ask Jimin about his college and Jeongguk takes the opportunity to try and talk to Taehyung, sending him pictures of Kyung. Their food doesn't take long to arrive and while Jeongguk takes the spare bottle of milk he'd mixed for Kyung this morning, Jimin digs his teeth into the hamburger, humming under his breath at the explosion of flavors on his tastebuds.

"Good, isn't it?" Jeongguk grins, sitting Kyung on his lap to feed him the bottle.

Jimin nods. "I thought the best food I'd ever had was in this place Tae took us to in Tokyo."

Jeongguk's eyes light up in recognition. "Oh, I know the one," he gives the name of the place, "Tae loves it."

They make small talk while eating, Jeongguk holding Kyung's bottle with one hand while eating his hamburger with the other, a motion of practiced multitasking ease that has Jimin a bit jealous. He then remembers Taehyung told him Jeongguk watched over Kyung during the first months when Taehyung was still unsure of himself.

Jimin also notices that Jeongguk had taken off the bomber jacket he'd shrugged in after practice, leaving him only in a sleeveless shirt. The omega had noticed some time ago that Jeongguk had a tattoo on his bicep, but only now does he have a closer look. It's a pocket watch, inked in detailed realism, its pointers stuck still at half past eight of May the 15th of that same year. Jimin frowns, trying to remember why the date sounded familiar while Jeongguk laughed at something Hoseok had said, Kyung looking up at his father. Oh, right. Taehyung said Kyung was born in May 15th. So the time and date Jeongguk had eternalized on his skin was Kyung's birthtime.

Jeongguk must catch him looking because he wordlessly turns his arm to give Jimin a better view. Kyung's name is written right at the top.

"Oh, sorry," Jimin blushes, looking down at his own hamburger and not at the way Jeongguk's muscles shift. He could beat him for real.

Jeongguk grins. "He was born on a Friday," he mentions for seemingly no reason but to appease Jimin's bashfulness. "Best day of my life," he shrugs somewhat self-consciously.

"Aww, so cutee," Hoseok croons, to which Jeongguk blushes slightly at and throws his balled-up napkin in his direction.

"It's a beautiful tattoo," Jimin admits, "and a beautiful tribute."

Jeongguk smiles, retrieving the bottle Kyung had just finished and kissing the top of his head.

"Hmm, that's because you haven't seen the one he got for Taehyung," Hoseok says teasingly, but Jeongguk blushes harder, "he sketched it himself."

Jimin turns to Jeongguk, who's just finished his hamburger. The singer gives Hoseok a proud little smile and hikes Kyung up in his arms, excusing himself to burp him. They both watch as Jeongguk moves to the other side of the diner, rocking Kyung lightly and showing him all the colorful decoration on the walls.

Jimin exchanges a look with Hoseok and gives him a small smile, the choreographer shooting him a cheerful wink.

Jimin gulps down a bite of his hamburger, taking a sip of his coke. "I didn't know he had another tattoo," he comments to fill in the silence they'd been left in.

"Oh, Jeongguk is full of secrets," Hoseok licks his finger off sauce, "especially when they involve Taehyung."

Jimin chews thoughtfully on his next bite, chancing a look at Jeongguk, who is shushing Kyung to sleep while nodding at one of the diner's costumers who seem to have recognized him. Jimin doesn't want to ask Hoseok what he meant, not wanting to come across as more curious than he should be for a babysitter. So he gives Hoseok a side-smile and finishes his hamburger.

Chapter Text

Jimin tries not to fret when he finds he can't pick a single article of clothing that looks good on him. It doesn't help that he doesn't have his full wardrobe to try on, relying solely on the clothes he's brought to stay over at the penthouse while Taehyung was away. In hindsight, he hadn't imagined that he and Yoongi would actually manage to agree on a date good enough for the both of them, so he tries not to grimace at his reflection in the guest room's mirror: light blue jeans and a blue sweater with 'Love Yourself written in cursive on it. He looks like he's just crawled out of bed.

Jeongguk is in the living room with Kyung, the sound of the television hearable through the walls. Jimin finds he and Jeongguk have been getting along quite fine for the last two days. He'd like a second opinion on his choice of clothes but he doesn't want to bother Jeongguk, who had already been kind enough to give him the night off without questioning.

As it is, Jimin just adjusts his bangs for the last time before sighing and picking his phone and wallet from the bedside table.

Walking into the living room Jimin finds Kyung in the playpen, pushed next to the sofa by Jeongguk, who switches his attention from the tv screen to his cell phone and to his son. And then to Jimin when he appears in the doorway.

Jimin shifts on his feet, biting his bottom lip and wondering if he should ask. "What do you think?" He ends up asking.

Jeongguk looks around as though looking for the person Jimin could be talking to that wasn't him. "Uh- What do you mean?"

"These clothes," Jimin gestures vaguely at himself, cocking his hip to the side to try and make himself more presentable. The small frown on Jeongguk's face when the alpha analyzes him says it all though.

"It's good," he answers, avoiding Jimin's gaze as he swipes down his cell phone, the background noise of Tony Stark being an asshole to someone on the television.

"Just... good?" Jimin tries. He hadn't told Jeongguk he had a date, so maybe what he means as good is 'good-to-stay-home-and-order-pizza-like-a-loser'.

Jeongguk grins slightly. "It depends. Are you going outdoors?"

Jimin snorts. "Yes, I intend to," Yoongi hadn't given away what he planned to do once Jimin stepped out of Jeongguk's penthouse, but he supposed the alpha wasn't bold enough to invite him over to his own apartment, "Like, on a date actually." He adds the last part as a second thought.

Jeongguk's eyebrows hitch up in surprise. "Ooh," he grins teasingly, "Yoongi is fast, hn."

Jimin blushes. He hadn't told Jeongguk Yoongi was the one he was going on a date with but he supposed Taehyung had made it obvious the day they met in the restaurant. "Not really, uh, actually we're just friends-"

Jeongguk laughs, putting his phone aside to go scoop Kyung up from the playpen. "Relax, Jimin," he moves to his bedroom, waving Jimin over to accompany him. "Let's pick out something better for you to wear."

Jimin frowns but follows after the singer. "Whoa, there's no need, really."

Jimin had never been in Jeongguk's and Taehyung's suite before and he finds it matches exactly what he'd imagined it to be: luxurious and spacious but also lived-in, a few toys from Kyung's collection on top of the bed haphazardly and, Jimin pauses, portraits posed on the vanity.

Jeongguk opens the wide door leading to what Jimin can only assume is their closet, a much narrower door probably leading to the bathroom at the other side.

"Taehyung has always had more clothes than he wears," Jeongguk says as he walks inside the closet with Kyung, "he keeps getting new ones from designers and stops wearing them when they become 'so last season'."

Jimin hums, pausing at the threshold to the closet and peering inside. Taehyung's side of the closet is hanging with clothes ranging from every color, sequins and suits and dresses and jackets, shoes of all sizes and colors, sneakers and high heels. Jeongguk moves to that part of the closet, filtering through the clothes with a thoughtful look on his face.

Jimin assumes the other side of the closet must be Jeongguk's, way less crowded and more organized, neutral colors being the most prominent. It matches their personalities, Jimin presumes.

"Here," Jeongguk holds up a black, long-sleeved shirt to Jimin's eye-level. "Try this one."

"Thanks," Jimin reaches out to take the shirt. Black is not really his color, but the shirt's material is unlike anything Jimin has ever owned before and it looks sexy, a horizontal stripe of see-through, skin-colored material around the waist that exposes Jimin's bellybutton.

"Whoa," Jimin says as he examines himself in the mirror. The shirts clings to his skin softly, a bit tighter around his stomach where Taehyung's waist must be tinier than Jimin's. He looks sexy. Jimin finds Jeongguk's gaze through the mirror and watches as the singer gives him a victorious smile, Kyung squirming and cooing in his arms.

"Much better, isn't it?" Jeongguk asks.

Jimin nods. "Yes, it is. Do you think Tae will mind?"

Jeongguk purses his lips, waving Jimin off. "He won't even notice it's not there anymore, trust me."

"Well, thanks," Jimin smiles, following Jeongguk as they exit the closet. He extends his gaze towards the vanity, where the picture frames are. He doesn't catch all of them, but one has Jeongguk with a new-born Kyung on his arms, eyes bloodshot and smiling enchantedly at the baby.

Jimin follows Jeongguk back to the living room, his phone vibrating in his pocket. It’s a message from Yoongi, saying he was waiting for Jimin in the building's lobby.

"I gotta go," Jimin says, putting his wallet in his pocket along with his phone as he turns to Jeongguk. "Will you be fine with Kyung?"

"I will, Jimin," Jeongguk smirks, "don't worry. You don't need to come back until tomorrow, in case you're wondering."

Jimin blushes to the tips of his hair. "I won't- that's not what I meant."

Jeongguk laughs. "Just go. Don't leave Yoongi waiting too long."

Jimin leaves before it gets any more embarrassing for him, checking his reflection in the elevator's mirrored walls. He spots Yoongi as soon as the doors slide open, flashing him a nervous smile as he walks up to him. He pretends he doesn't see the way Yoongi's gaze fixes itself to his body, the alpha quickly averting his eyes back up to Jimin once he approaches.

"Hey, looking good," he greets with a sly grin.

Jimin blushes, for a moment uncertain whether they should hug or something. They do neither, just standing next to each other while Yoongi leads the way towards the building's exit. "Thanks, you too."

Yoongi is in jeans and a black and red plaid button-up over a dark shirt, his beanie flattening his hair and leaving out the short ends of his bangs. "You don't need to lie," he quips.

Jimin laughs, "I'm not," he pauses when Yoongi pauses, standing on the sidewalk awkwardly. "So, where to?"

Yoongi scratches the back of his head, staring at one side of the street. "Yeah, to be honest I didn't really think this through. Would you like to, I don't know, catch a movie or something?"

Jimin loves movies, particularly the movie theatre. Still, it makes him blush that Yoongi suggests it because yes, Jimin had been to high-school and he knew what people on dates did in dark movie theatres. He should've popped that mint drop before leaving. "Sure, I mean, cool."

"Cool," Yoongi smirks, "let me call an uber."

-

Turns out the movie theatre is crowded and they never get to buy the tickets as they all sell out while they stand in line. "Shit," Yoongi mutters under his breath, paying Jimin an apologetic glance, "I'm so sorry."

Jimin scratches the inside of his elbow. "It's no problem, really," even though he'd been excited to watch the new Spider-Man.

"Right, well, plan b then," Yoongi rests a hand on Jimin's waist. "Tell me, Jimin, how much do you like street food?"

Jimin holds back the growing smile on his face. "On a scale of one to ten?" he asks, to which Yoongi hums in assent, watching him intently, "eleven."

Yoongi smirks slyly, leading him outside of the movie theatre and away from all the people. "You're my kind of person."

It's a weekday but there's some sort of street fair not too far away from Jeongguk's building. Jimin had never visited that part of the city before, even less so at night, when colorful fairy lights dangle from the trees and street musicians perform their songs to the come and going crowd.

The weather is breezy and the news report had said something about a blizzard hitting the city later on, but right now Jimin feels warm under Yoongi's attentive gaze as the alpha buys them hot dogs, elbows on the counter as the vendor prepares their food. Yoongi is talking about his college work and how he's hating it so far. Jimin commiserates. He knows what it's like hating one subject in particular though he's pretty much happy with his major.

"And it's just tiresome," Yoongi huffs, taking the hot dog the vendor offers him and handing it to Jimin.

"That's pretty bad," Jimin comments. He doesn't want to give his input, which would go more or less along the lines of you should drop it and do something else you truly like, but at the same time it's not exactly his place.

Yoongi hums, thanking the vendor and taking his own hot dog. "Anyway, enough about me," he shoots Jimin a grin before taking a large bite of his hot dog. "What about you?" he asks with a mouth full of food. Jimin can't help but laugh at the scene, following after Yoongi as they tread slowly through the park.

"Me? Nothing about me," Jimin shrugs, examining his hot dog before biting. It does taste delicious. "I'm the most unexciting person in the world."

Yoongi lifts his eyebrows teasingly, "that can't be true."

Jimin smiles, accompanying Yoongi down the cobbled street. "I am normal, I think. Almost done with college, thank god. Oh," he pauses, "Jeongguk invited me to his dance practice and guess what: his choreographer thinks I have shot to intern at his company."

"Whoa," Yoongi's eyes widen, "Jimin, that's great. You'll be like, a fucking superstar."

Jimin knocks his shoulder against Yoongi's when the blond laughs at his own – poor – joke. "Shut up."

Yoongi laughs under his breath. "I'm sure you'll do great. You managed to charm the pants off of Jeongguk, that's not an everyday occurrence."

Jimin considers Yoongi's words for a moment, chewing. "He overestimates me."

Yoongi groans playfully. "I thought you said you weren't his fan."

"I am not," Jimin insists, "he's just," he shrugs, "not as bad as I thought?"

Yoongi licks one of his fingers, chancing Jimin a tiny inquisitive glance. "You thought he was bad in the first place?"

"I mean-"

"Hey, Yoongi!"

They both turn in the direction of the voice, finding a young man in his early twenties accompanied by a slimier one, arms intertwined. The taller of the two, who seems to be the one who'd recognized Yoongi strides up to them with a smile, pulling his companion – boyfriend, from the looks of it – along.

"Hey there, Chany," Yoongi greets with a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Man," this Chany guy says, patting Yoongi's back heavily, "how you doing?" He nods his head in Jimin's direction politely, the omega retributing the gesture awkwardly.

"Kinda busy with college shit," Yoongi says around his mouthful of hot dog. "This is Jimin by the way," he indicates with his head, "Jimin, this is Chanyeol. We... know each other."

Chanyeol lifts one eyebrow at Yoongi's lack of introduction skills, chuckling under his breath as he introduces the boy next to him as his boyfriend, Baekhyun. "I never saw you again since last time at that shady bar," Chanyeol tells Yoongi, "the guys have been asking after you."

"Ugh," Yoongi makes, shoulders sagging, "yeah, well, education comes first."

"Whatever, man, you're really good," Chanyeol continues, catching Jimin's curious gaze. "Yoongi here is a crazy rapper," he explains.

"What?" Jimin gaps, turning to Yoongi. He would have never told just by looking at him, but now that Jimin tries to envision it Yoongi does really look like he could be a cool underground rapper.

"It's not like that," Yoongi chokes on his hot dog, "he's exaggerating." He tells Jimin, rolling his eyes in Chanyeol's direction.

"He's not," it's Baekhyun who says this time, meeting Jimin's gaze, "Yoongi is really good. He's been running away from this guy who's trying to make him sign with a recorder."

Jimin's eyes widen, turning to look at Yoongi with newfound awe. What? Yoongi said he liked music but he never said he rapped or that there were actual people interested in having him signing. "For real?"

Yoongi shrugs, red dusting his cheeks as he avoids Jimin's gaze bashfully. "I just do it for fun."

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, "Right. Well, we'll be waiting for you next week then. Bet you won't have any 'college shit' to do during holidays, hn?" he teases.

"Fuck off," Yoongi mumbles to him, Chanyeol laughing out loud and saying his goodbyes as he pulls Baekhyun away.

They go back to walking aimlessly, but now Yoongi glances at Jimin and seems embarrassed. "I didn't know you were a rapper," Jimin begins, dumping his napkin in a public bin as they walk.

"Well," Yoongi shrugs, "you know how it is."

"Actually, I don't," Jimin chuckles, "why don't you explain it to me?"

Yoongi huffs amusedly, "It is," Yoongi kicks a stray pebble, "difficult. I've always liked music. When I was a teen I started listening to all those rappers, you know? And for the first time I just thought, I thought like I could actually do something. Something that I really wanted, that made me enjoy myself while at it."

"That's nice," Jimin inputs, "I feel the same way about dancing. My mom still thinks I'm just undecided. But the truth is that I can't see myself doing anything else."

Yoongi watches him with a slowly growing smile. "I think you can do anything you put your mind to, Jimin."

Jimin smiles bashfully, pushing closer to Yoongi's side. "And I think you can too."

Yoongi stops to throw his napkin away like Jimin had done, but when he returns he pulls Jimin closer by the waist, making the omega shiver and blush.

"I was kinda waiting for the doorstep moment to do this," Yoongi says, face less than one inch away from Jimin's, his warm breathing hitting Jimin's cold cheeks.

"To do what?" Jimin smirks, not at all surprised when Yoongi closes the gap between, planting a firm kiss on his lips.

Kissing Yoongi is better than Jimin imagined. There were some things he didn't take into account though, like the tight hold Yoongi keeps on his waist, the way he licks at Jimin's lips without an ounce of hesitation, seeming to give it all in a single kiss. Jimin holds him by the back of his neck, smiling to himself when Yoongi groans under his breath, moving his chapped lips against Jimin's softly.

"Oh," Jimin says when they pull apart, still not breaking their hold on each other. The kiss made Jimin dizzy in the sense that for a moment he wasn't thinking about his job, Jeongguk or Taehyung, the simple, carefree sensation of his toes tingling inside his shoes.

"Yeah," Yoongi drawls, chuckling as he rests his forehead's against Jimin's.

"I want to see you rapping next time," Jimin mutters, smiling wide when Yoongi frowns, throwing his head back with a painful groan. "Yes, I do. You have to take me. Promise me," he insists.

"I'm not that good," Yoongi ascertains, "that shit Chany was saying, that was just because he's an asshole and he's never seen a real rap battle before."

"Pretty please," Jimin juts his bottom lip out, not scared of sounding silly when Yoongi's just kissed him stupid in the middle of the street.

Yoongi gives a put-upon sigh, Jimin's grin increasing as Yoongi's hesitation seems to diminish. "Fine, but-"

Jimin doesn't let him finish, screeching and hugging Yoongi's neck to him. "But," Yoongi tries again, rubbing both his thumbs over Jimin's red cheeks to make him pull away, "but only if you give me another one of those kisses."

Chapter Text

Jimin hides a yawn against his hand, checking his twitter feed while Kyung, lying against his chest, watches the television intently, cooing along to the vowels of the show's main song. The damn thing is already stuck inside Jimin's head in a way that he can't get out, repeating the same verses under his breath.

The penthouse is full of Jeongguk's assessors because he had an award show today and they had to come and make sure he looked presentable before going. At least Jimin is given relative peace in the living room, smirking down at his phone's screen while answering to Yoongi's messages.

A couple of assessors passes by, cooing at Kyung and asking Jimin how the baby is doing. "He's great," Jimin smiles, glad when Jeongguk appears and gives him an excuse to stop making small talk.

Jeongguk's in a designer tux that hugs his shoulders and the lines of his body, hair styled with his bangs falling over his forehead and wow, Taehyung is very lucky indeed. "Jimin, did you get any contact with Tae before he boarded the plane?" He asks with a frown, buttoning the rest of his jacket up. The assessors excuse themselves and scramble to exit the penthouse, waving at Jimin.

"No," Jimin answers. He had only spoken to Taehyung yesterday to send him pictures of Kyung. The model had his flight scheduled to arrive in a couple hours, a little before dawn, and Jimin feels that Jeongguk has grown slightly frantic with the news.

Jeongguk nods tightly.

"Is there something wrong?" Jimin asks, reclining to get Kyung's Mickey plushie where it had been thrown out of reach by the baby.

Jeongguk shakes his head, giving him a quick grin. "Nothing, just anxious," he turns around to shrug on the heavy peacoat that the last of his assessors is holding out for him. "Well, I'm on my way then. If you hear anything from Tae please let me know."

"Got it," Jimin smiles, holding Kyung out when Jeongguk approaches to kiss the baby. 'Be nice to Jimin', he tells Kyung, cupping the back of the baby's head – which fits inside his entire palm – and smooching the tip of his nose. Kyung drools on his cheek in retribution.

Jeongguk and his assessor laugh. Jimin offers Kyung's Snoopy bib, stained with milk and carrot purée and Jeongguk uses it.

They filter out of the penthouse soon after, leaving Jimin to his own devices with Kyung. It's way past his bedtime but Jeongguk had let him sleep for longer than usual while strummed his guitar during the afternoon. Yet Jimin doesn't think it'll take too long for the baby to snooze, Kyung already starting to scratch at his eyes and whine during an intermission on his children show.

"Oh," Jimin gasps exaggeratedly, pointing at the television where some kind of perfume add had just come up. "Look, Kyungie, it's mommy!"

In fact, Taehyung is the one featuring in the add, walking along the beachside under a black and white filter, in a lazy but sensual stroll. A slow melody plays in the background while the narrator reads a poem. It wraps up with a close-up of Taehyung's face, giving the camera a striking look before the perfume is advertised.

"That looks intense," Jimin tells Kyung, whose head droops on his shoulder, whines turning into small sobs. "You want to go to bed, don't you?" He mumbles. "Okay, let's put this baby in bed," Jimin gets up with him, making his way towards the nursery.

He doesn't want to have Kyung skipping on his before-bed meal, but the baby is so sleepy that Jimin lets it slide this time. Kyung goes to sleep in no time, heavy against Jimin's arms as the babysitter deposits him in the crib.

Looking around, Jimin goes to shut the drapes, everything in this situation reminding him of the night Jeongguk had arrived and started spinning Jimin's head. He turns on the baby monitor and moves back to the living room, wondering if he should order some pizza. He was supposed to wait here until Jeongguk or Taehyung arrived, whomever came first. He doesn't know how long award shows use to last but he's never remained up to watch them precisely because of the time. And there are after-parties as well so Jimin doesn't doubt Taehyung will get here before his husband does.

Checking his cell phone after any new messages from Yoongi, Jimin responds to a funny pun he'd sent and asks him when will his next performance be. Yoongi doesn't answer him right away so Jimin moves back to his bedroom, tucking himself in and waiting. He drifts off before he realizes it.

-

Jimin wakes up with a cold shiver running down his spine, heart thudding quickly inside his chest when a foreign sound in the penthouse breaks through his sleep. His first thought is that someone broke into the house, so he remains stationary, limbs heavy as lead as his mind races after what to do.

He hears another sound, of someone moving. They seem to be in the kitchen or maybe the living room, Jimin doesn't know. The baby monitor propped on his bedside table remains starkly silent and Jimin presses his lips together, fighting against the urge to cry at the possibility of someone finding Kyung and doing something to the baby.

Jimin has never known fear like this, so physically paralyzing and cold. He takes a careful look around, his bedroom untouched since he'd fallen asleep. He remembers his phone has to be somewhere on his bed as he'd fallen asleep while waiting for Yoongi to message him, and searches blindly around. He finds the device under his pillow and its light blinds him at first.

The clock reads 4:13 am and Jimin thinks about calling the police before the baby monitor comes alive with a lazy whine from Kyung. Freezing, Jimin takes in a deep breath, dropping his phone back as he rushes out of the bed.

Fuck, he thinks, heart thumping blood and adrenalin through his system as he looks around his room after anything that can be used as a weapon. A baseball bat could have never come more in handy, Jimin thinks, finding nothing of use. Shivering, Jimin scrambles through his backpack and finds the heavy textbook he'd packed to study for his last exam, never so grateful for its six hundred pages.

Propping himself against the walls, Jimin moves down the hallway, finding the living room with its lights on. Inching himself further, he holds the textbook in a shaky grip. He doesn't want to wield it against someone's head but if he has to, he will. Extending a look inside the living room with his heart in his mouth, Jimin gasps when he recognizes the silhouette.

"Namjoon!" Jimin startles, textbook clattering on the floor.

Namjoon whips his head around, eyes widening when he takes in Jimin.

"You scared me shitless," Jimin lets out a relieved breath, heart still racing. He bends to grab the textbook from the floor.

"Sorry," Namjoon scratches the back of his head, pocketing his cell phone. He looks unearthly tired, clothes creased and face a little pale.

"What are you doing here? And where is Taehyung?" Jimin asks. He's kind of pissed with Namjoon for having scared him like that.

Namjoon stands up from the sofa, looking away from Jimin for a moment. "I took an earlier flight. Taehyung will be here in a few hours maybe," Namjoon sighs, hands on his hips. "Where is Jeongguk?"

Jimin sags against the wall. "He is attending an award show," he says, Namjoon clicking his tongue and cursing under his breath at the news. Jimin levels him a reproachful look. "Why?"

Namjoon massages the bridge of his nose. "I need to talk to him."

"What about?" Jimin asks carefully, feeling his own face hardening. He knows more than Namjoon gives him credit for. He knows Namjoon wants to tell Jeongguk about Bogum. The singer had sniffed something odd ever since they came back from Tokyo and though Jeongguk must have pressed him, Namjoon hasn't told him a thing because Taehyung was close by. But now Taehyung is in mid-flight and can't stop Namjoon from possibly ruining his relationship with his husband once again. Jimin knows it isn't his business, just as it has never been, but he feels propelled to do whatever he can to stop Namjoon. If not for Taehyung then for Kyung.

But Namjoon doesn't answer him, stalling and sighing and all around just looking like he'll fall asleep on his feet.

"Why isn't Taehyung with you, Namjoon?" Jimin tries again in a lower voice.

For a moment Jimin thinks Namjoon will ignore his question again, but the assistant bites his bottom lip before speaking up. "I told him I had been called in earlier by the agency."

"And he believed it?" Jimin inches an eyebrow up.

Namjoon scoffs. "It took a while to convince him," he pauses, "but yes, he did."

Jimin crosses his arms, hardening his stance.

"Listen, I don't," Namjoon sighs, holding his hands up in apology, "I don't feel good about doing this. But I owe Jeongguk my honesty and I need to speak to him without Taehyung being around just," he scratches his neck, "messing with my head," he completes.

Jimin bites the meat of his cheek, fidgeting with his hands. "I don't think Taehyung will like this."

"He won't," Namjoon huffs, "but there's nothing he can do."

Jimin gulps, not really believing Namjoon is about to be so cruel and do this. "You can't do this, Namjoon."

Namjoon shakes his head, giving a short, dry laugh, "Jimin, you don't know what this is about. Trust me, you don't know the smallest thing about this," he gestures with his hands, encompassing the penthouse in a grandiose motion. "If you knew what I know, you'd know I am not the biggest threat to Taehyung. I thought I could save him but he never stops-"

"I know you love him," Jimin risks. In any other circumstance he wouldn't have said it. It's not his intention to shame Namjoon for his feelings or how open he is with them, but the alpha seems so sure of how much Jimin doesn't know that the babysitter was intent in proving him wrong.

Namjoon looks vulnerable at the admission, eyes wide open and lips pursed.

"I see the way you look at him," Jimin continues awkwardly, pulling his crossed arms closer to himself. "The way you treat him and talk to him." Jimin pauses but Namjoon still doesn't have any reaction. "He knows, doesn't he? About how you feel?"

Namjoon nods tightly.

"Does," Jimin licks his lips, afraid this will be crossing a line, "does Jeongguk know?"

Namjoon squirms, looking down at the floor. "Yes, he does."

Jimin nods his head. There's a tense silence enveloping them, Kyung safely asleep in the nursery. "I'm sorry," Jimin speaks up. "Still," Namjoon looks up, "I can't let you talk to Jeongguk."

Namjoon scoffs. "You don't have to let me do anything."

"Namjoon," Jimin drops his hands in fists by his sides, "don't be selfish now. Taehyung loves Jeongguk, they love each other, you can't come in between them."

"What?!" Namjoon cries, Jimin tensing at the loud sound. "I never came in between them, Jimin. You've got this all backwards. Tell me: why do you think they're still together, hn? If this marriage still exists it's because of me. You know that band around Taehyung's finger? I keep it there."

Jimin looks down. He knows things had been looking up in Taehyung's and Jeongguk's relationship and yet, the way Namjoon speaks shatters that flimsy hope apart. It's like being a kid all over again and being told that the world is a bad place.

"They love each other," Jimin tries meekly. He doesn't want to cry, he doesn't even have a reason to be sad about them. If only he hadn't allowed himself to get involved none of this would be happening. Or maybe it would. Maybe it would and Jimin wouldn't be of any difference.

Namjoon sighs once again. "It's way more complicated than that."

"How so?"

Jimin doesn't expect Namjoon to tell him. Indeed, the assistant drops his head and turns back to pace the living room.

Jimin wants to reach out, wants to see the world through Namjoon's point of view. Jimin thought Namjoon's hatred for Jeongguk was born out of his jealousy, Jeongguk was, at the end of the day, Taehyung's husband after all. Yet Jimin doesn't think Namjoon would do anything in his power to break them apart, and he seems distraught for taking that role as well. What did he do to keep Taehyung's marriage intact throughout this entire time? And when he did, was it simply because he loved Taehyung too much to see him sad?

Maybe Jimin is being a hypocrite. He remembers the night he saw Taehyung with Bogum, remembers the way he kept rewinding it in his head and wondering. Namjoon is being braver than Jimin could ever be, for coming here and telling it to Jeongguk. Because the way Jimin sees it, not telling Jeongguk will save their marriage, but living with that knowledge will kill them slowly. And more than that, Jeongguk ought to know.

They both tense when they hear the elevator's doors whooshing open, hesitant footsteps and a voice calling out, "Tae?"

It's Jeongguk.

Namjoon and Jimin exchange a look, turning around to greet the image of Jeongguk, jacket opened and a trophy in his hand. The singer's eyes widen when he takes them both in, focusing on Namjoon. He halts in his steps, lips thinning. "Where's Taehyung?"

"He's not here yet," Namjoon says, jaw squared and hands pocketed.

Jeongguk's face hardens. "Not here yet?" he repeats. "I thought you were supposed to be with him at all times."

Jimin darts his gaze between Jeongguk and Namjoon carefully. Save for a grimace Namjoon doesn't seem affected by Jeongguk's comment but Jimin is scared of how this can escalate.

"We need to talk," Namjoon says, "before Taehyung gets here."

Jeongguk steels himself, sending Namjoon a piercing gaze. He must know that nothing good will come out from Namjoon's mouth, and Jimin realizes, in that exact moment, that Jeongguk is aware of Bogum. Or at least has enough suspicions of his own.

Jimin watches as the singer gulps tightly, looking to the side for a moment before giving a firm nod of his head. "So something did happen in Tokyo."

"Yeah," Namjoon stares at his own feet attentively, "you could say that."

Jeongguk puffs, tonguing the inside of his cheek and tilting his jaw to the side. "Great," he grits out, turning his eyes to Jimin.

Jimin knows this is an open invitation for him to go away, the look on Jeongguk's face charged enough.

He remembers how Taehyung had asked him not to leave the two of them together by themselves and pities the omega for relying on such a poor defence. Jimin wished he could have done more for him, but Jeongguk's word is law to him. He supposed none of them had realized he was just a babysitter after all.

"Jimin, would you leave us, please?" Jeongguk is obligated to ask once his silent treatment doesn't drive the point across.

Jimin still gives Namjoon a tiny look before nodding his head. He moves to the hallway leading back to his room before a thought strikes him.

Jimin hesitates for the smallest second before turning back around. "I'll just check on Kyung," he indicates the opposite hallway.

Namjoon gives an impatient sigh, taking a look at his wristwatch. "We don't have much time before Taehyung gets here."

Jeongguk drops on the sofa, glancing at Jimin out of the corner of his eye. "Just be fast, Jimin."

Jimin hastens to move, almost running down the hallway to Kyung's nursery. He can hear his blood rushing in his ears and something like nervous sweat making his hands clammy, but he enters the nursery quietly and takes a small look at the baby. Kyung sleeps peacefully, face tilted to the side with a small fist laid next to his head.

Not leaving any time for second guessing himself, Jimin moves past the crib and takes the baby monitor in hand, storing it in the folds of his pajamas before going back. He still needs to cross the living room once again to go to his room, and there he finds Jeongguk with his leg jiggling impatiently, Namjoon staring unimpressed at him.

"I'll just- my book," he indicates the textbook he'd brought before he found Namjoon, propped on the low sideboard next to the sofa. Jimin gets the textbook and uses the excuse to hide the baby monitor behind a decorative china. "I'll go," he gives a faint step back nervously.

"Please," Jeongguk reiterates eagerly.

Jimin finally gives them his back and walks towards his room, shutting the door behind himself pointedly. The sound echoes throughout the house and for a moment just stands there, not really believing he'd done what he'd just done.

He throws his textbook on top of the mattress, taking the other half of the baby monitor he'd left on his bedside table. He cringes, shutting his eyes tightly and apologizing to whomever can hear him before bringing the device closer to his ear.

The transmission isn't very good but Jimin can discern Namjoon's voice speaking lowly. He increases the volume and waits.

"I'm sorry. Before you say anything just know that it was my fault, I didn't check the guest list and-"

"Don't tell me this shit, Namjoon," Jeongguk's voice sounds crossly from the other side, "did he see him? Just fucking tell me."

There's a moment of tense silence before Namjoon continues. "I don't know. I wasn't with him."

"You what?!" Jimin wouldn't have needed the baby monitor to hear this part, Jeongguk's voice is hearable through the walls.

"I checked the guest list, his name wasn't there. Taehyung said he wanted to go by himself, I'm not his trained dog or some shit. How was I supposed to fucking know-" Namjoon's voice is hurried as he explains himself, probably gesturing wildly as he speaks.

"Because he's done this before, that's how," Jeongguk replies. There's a pause. "Fuck, he probably had it all planned out. You weren't at the party then, so where the fuck were you?"

"I stayed at the hotel," Namjoon answers, his tone so heavy with guilt Jimin has to really perk his ears up to listen, "I was tired."

"But they met at the party," Jeongguk states uncertainly. Namjoon must indicate he's right. "And you were at the hotel," he continues, and it's clear the way he's slowly making it out. Jimin bites his bottom lip. Shit. He never thought he would one day have reason to pity Jeongguk, or just generally wish he wasn't in his skin, but he does now. This must be so painful for him to hear. "So how did you know they were... I mean, did he tell you- I- Namjoon, please." Jeongguk's voice sounds weaker by the second.

Namjoon says something Jimin isn't able to hear and then continues, "...asleep. I was having a bad dream and woke up. I got up to get some water when I heard someone speaking outside, in the hallway. I recognized his voice and... he was there."

"So they met at the party and Tae took him back to his room. Perfect." Jeongguk murmurs acidly. "They really are the perfect fucking couple, aren't they?"

"Tae was drunk. Bogum must have offered to take him back safely-"

"Fuck you, Namjoon, I wasn't born yesterday." Jeongguk takes in a hissing breath before continuing, "What were they doing?"

"When I got there they were just, uh, against the wall. He was... hovering over Tae. I interrupted then and Tae came to me. That's all I know."

Jeongguk doesn't say anything for a very long time.

"I'm sorry," It's Namjoon who speaks up. "I'm really sorry, Jeongguk, I- I don't know what to say."

Jimin gulps, finger rubbing over the power button when he hears Jeongguk's quiet sniffles. He turns his head away from the device, suddenly feeling like the worst person in the world for listening to this.

He's so shocked with Jeongguk's crying that he drops the baby monitor back on the mattress, flinging himself from the bed to pace the perimeter of his room, finally stopping to stare at the view out of his window blankly.

So this was it. Jeongguk was aware of Bogum and from the looks of it, he had been for some time now. So Jeongguk had left Namjoon in charge of keeping Taehyung away from Bogum but the model still found ways to dodge Namjoon's vigilance.

But none of this makes sense. Because Taehyung loved Jeongguk, from what Jimin had seen. Could it be that he loved this Bogum fellow more than he ever did Jeongguk? Could it be that Jimin was a terrible character judge and Taehyung had been playing him all along? Playing all of them along?

Even Namjoon... the assistant told Jeongguk that he'd stayed at the hotel because Taehyung asked him to. He does everything Taehyung asks of him because he loves the omega. And Taehyung knows that too.

But Taehyung isn't like that. No one can be like that. And he doesn't love Bogum, he loves Jeongguk. If he didn't he wouldn't have refused Bogum that night.

Jimin's mind whirls back on its tracks. That's right, Jimin knew for certain that Taehyung wasn't in love with Bogum because he'd slapped him and shoved him away even though he was drunk.

But Namjoon hadn't seen that. He'd only seen the part that looked more incriminating.

Only Jimin had seen Taehyung pushing Bogum away. However, telling anyone that would be admitting that he was trespassing, that he'd eavesdropped, more than once at that. That was a break of contract, if anything.

Jimin startles out of his stupor when someone knocks on his door. He whips his head towards the sound, wondering how long he had spent there thinking.

"Yes?" He says, and watches as Jeongguk inches the door open. He looks bad. Eyes red-rimmed and hair a bit messy, still in his suit though some of his shirt's buttons are undone. He props one arm against Jimin's doorframe.

"Jimin, I need you to do me a favor, okay? And do it without asking why."

Jimin nods.

Jeongguk heaves a silent breath. "I'll be out for a while and I need you to be here for Taehyung. I need you to watch over him and over Kyung, okay? Promise me you'll do it."

"Yeah," Jimin squirms, "sure."

Jeongguk nods. "Thank you."

"Jeongguk," Jimin calls out, even reaching a hand out as though he could somehow hold him there. "I need to talk to you," he says, heart beating wildly inside his chest.

Jeongguk just shakes his head, pulling the door back to close it. "No, not now. I have to go sort some things out, I need you to stay here and take care of Tae."

"But," Jimin begins, yet he is not as fast as Jeongguk, who closes the door before Jimin utter another word, "it's very important," Jimin finishes to the empty room.

-

Needless to say, Jimin isn't able to get any more sleep. Dawn breaks and showers the penthouse in an eerie, orange light. Kyung wakes up not long after and Jimin has his hands full with the baby. Both Jeongguk and Namjoon already left, and the thought of Taehyung arriving any moment now to only Jimin and Kyung makes him uneasy. Jimin hates being the bearer of bad news.

"You know, Kyung," Jimin tells the baby while strapping on a clean diaper around his hips, "nothing is easy in life."

Kyung gurgles up at him, kicking his chubby legs.

"That's right," Jimin grins, "life is this," he holds the dirty diaper he'd taken out of Kyung. "You know what this is called, don't you? I don't want to teach you any bad words. Your parents wouldn't like it."

Kyung blinks up at him, his big, dark eyes darting over Jimin's face thoughtfully. Jimin takes in a deep breath, fiddling with the green collar of Kyung's pajamas. "What should I do, baby?"

Kyung coos loudly in response, forming a spit bubble between his lips.

"Your mommy loves your daddy, right?" Jimin smiles. "I want them both to know that. Promise me you won't be mad? I'll miss you a lot."

Kyung shakes his fists impatiently, giving Jimin a gaping little smile. "I know," Jimin shrugs, scooping him up, "I'm a genius."

It's funny how things happen, Jimin thinks, inching Kyung's morning bottle towards the baby's mouth right when he hears the elevator arriving on their floor. One moment he's just there, feeding the baby, and the other he's staring at Taehyung's face, the model frozen on the threshold with his baggage beside him, phone in hand as he stares dumbly back at Jimin.

"I've been calling Jeongguk," he says, sans greetings or how-are-you-doings, "but he won't answer me."

And Taehyung knows it already, his face stuck in the same dumbfounded expression. It probably didn't sink in until now, arriving to Jeongguk's car absent from his usual slot, to a penthouse where only a grim-looking Jimin awaits for him.

"Taehyung," Jimin starts, leaving the bottle with Kyung and giving an uncertain step in the model's direction. "Namjoon was here and," he doesn't finish, biting his bottom lip when Taehyung hiccups, tears already rolling down his beautiful face.

The sight is way more familiar to Jimin than he would've expected. It's the same one he'd seen online, plastered on a tabloid's webpage, of Taehyung crying in the backseat of a car, at his weakest and completely exposed to the world.

Chapter Text

It is, well, a mess. Jimin has never really known how to console other people, so he just watches as Taehyung curls into himself all day long on the bed. He can hear his sobs and pleads from the living room and increases the television's volume so the sound got drowned out, Kyung too distressed with Taehyung's crying.

It's only when it's time for lunch and Taehyung refuses to come out of his room that Jimin loses his calm. He knocks on his door, Kyung in his arms.

"Taehyung, please," he says, "you have to eat."

"I-I'm not hungry, Jimin," comes the muffled response, "please, just leave me alone."

Jimin sighs. Moving back to the living room, he settles Kyung in the playpen and paces from one side to another. He wishes Jeongguk would've told him what to do now instead of only leaving and asking Jimin to watch over Taehyung.

Crossing his arms, Jimin sighs and plops down on the sofa.

Kyung's children show is playing on the television and Jimin watches perhaps ten minutes of it before reaching for his cell phone.

Jimin doesn't think Jeongguk will answer him. He'd tried calling a while ago and the singer didn't answer him, probably having turned off his phone.

Jimin bites one of his nails, typing a response.

Jeongguk types and retypes before finally sending an answer, two minutes later.

Jimin lifts the phone to send Jeongguk a picture of the baby, sat on his rear in the playpen while gazing up at the television, a drooled cube held tightly in his fist.

Jimin sighs long-sufferingly. Why did people run away from confrontations so much? Jimin bets that if they talked it out instead of hiding each in a corner this could be solved. Resigned, Jimin sends Seokjin a message and warns him that he won't be back today as he'd promised. Thankfully, his roommate doesn't question it.

Jimin lights up, scurrying to answer the new message.

Yoongi's response is immediate.

Jimin frowns at one of Yoongi's messages.

Jimin didn't, but he doesn't get to say so because Taehyung comes out of his room, completely tearful, to sit beside Jimin and hide his head in Jimin's shoulder.

"Taehyung!" Jimin gapes, leaving his phone aside to console the model.

Taehyung sobs on his shoulder, pulling back to wipe at the material of Jimin's sweater. "Sorry," he mumbles, curling in on himself and gulping nervously.

"Taehyung, you're scaring me," Jimin says carefully, trying to peer at Taehyung's face.

"Jeongguk's gonna divorce me," Taehyung laments in a low voice, sniffling as he rests his head on his own knee.

"What?!" Jimin balks, staring intently at Taehyung, who shrugs and gives another tearful sob.

"I just know it," the model whines, "h-he said it was the last time he," he pauses, using the sleeves of his shirt to dry his tears, "he gave me a chance," he completes.

Jimin licks his lips. This is the closest Taehyung's ever been to disclosing the truth to him. Because from what Jimin's gathered, Taehyung did cheat on Jeongguk more than once, and it seems the singer had always forgiven him. Except for now. Or is it?

"Taehyung," Jimin begins, lowering his voice, "what are you talking about?"

Taehyung sniffles to himself in response, staring at Kyung and at the way the baby seems completely ignorant of their conversation. "I-" he finally says, bottom lip quivering. He paints a very sad image, Jimin notices. "I did some things, Jimin," he admits, managing a flimsy glance Jimin's way before looking away bashfully.

"What," Jimin gulps, chancing a look at Kyung, "things?"

Taehyung crosses his arms over his chest defensively. "Horrible things," he confesses, a new wave of tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Shh, it's okay," Jimin spreads his arms to hug Taehyung awkwardly. The model sobs some more inside his hold, clutching the tissue of Jimin's sweater in his tight fists. It reminds Jimin of Kyung when he didn't want to let go of his favorite toys.

"I-I'm such a mess," Taehyung whimpers.

"You're not," Jimin appeases, patting the top of his head, "you're human. We all are."

Taehyung sniffles and shakes his head.

"We all make mistakes, Tae," Jimin tries again. It does break his heart seeing Taehyung like that, even though Jimin knows he can't be possibly in the right. "But at the end of the day they're just that, mistakes."

"N-not me, Jimin," Taehyung whispers, ducking to hide his head from Jimin's view, "mine are unforgivable," he shivers.

Jimin doesn't know what to say, so he gives Taehyung a bit more space to cry on his shoulder all he wants.

"Look," Jimin finally speaks up, when most of Taehyung's body wracking sobs have died down, "you'll get past this, okay? You love Jeongguk and he loves you back," he tries to inflict all of his confidence into the words, a bit disappointed when Taehyung gives him a bland, unbelieving look.

"It's not that simple, Jimin," Taehyung murmurs.

"Yes, it is. Love conquers all, right?"

Taehyung gives him a sad smile. "You're so sweet, Jiminie. I don't deserve your kindness. If you knew," he snatches his bottom lip between his teeth, pausing to shut his eyes and cringe at himself, "if you knew what I've done you wouldn't want to look me in the face."

Jimin balks, a bit lost. "Don't say that," because whether he wants it or not, he doesn't think Taehyung can be talking about what he thinks he is talking about.

"Jimin," Taehyung uncrosses his arms, rubbing his hands on his thighs nervously. "I need to tell you my history. Will you listen?"

-

Taehyung says it's better to wait until Kyung has gone to sleep. Jimin doesn't voice his frustration out of respect for whatever it is Taehyung is about to disclose to him. It can't be easy to open yourself up to someone, even less so to a person who is, in Jimin's case, virtually a stranger. But Taehyung seems to understand that Jimin is intent on helping him, and that giving him some credit is the best way of achieving that.

Or maybe it's just because he feels protected by the contract, Jimin thinks, mid-way into feeding Kyung his late-night bottle. Whatever the case, Jimin is glad Taehyung has decided to trust him, watching as Kyung finishes his milk.

"Let me," Taehyung holds his hands out to pick the baby up and Jimin hands him over. A drowsy Kyung settles quietly on Taehyung's hold, breathing slowing to a steady rhythm as Taehyung rocks him gently.

The approach of night-time and the lack of any signs from Jeongguk has left the older omega visibly antsy. Jimin doesn't comment, instead following on his heels as Taehyung moves to settle the baby in his crib. He spends some time just looking at his son, running a thumb down his wispy hair.

"Jimin," he says in a low voice as they leave the nursery, "Jeongguk's probably going to get his guard. No, listen to me," he cups Jimin's hands when the babysitter makes to protest, "I need you to watch over him, okay? You're so good to him, Jimin, I can't trust him to anyone else."

"Stop saying that," Jimin shakes his head. This leaves him more scared than sad, because Taehyung doesn't look like he is kidding, and even though Jimin is moved that the other omega trusts him so fully with his child, it still breaks his heart to imagine a Kyung growing up away from his mother. It won't come to that. Not if Jimin has any say in the matter.

Taehyung squeezes his hand, puling Jimin along to his bedroom. "Just promise me."

Jimin sighs, stopping awkwardly at the doorstep while Taehyung goes to sit on the bed. He clicks his tongue, carding his fingers through his hair. "Yes, okay, I promise."

"Thanks," Taehyung grins, patting his mattress invitingly.

The truth is that Jimin is a bit miffed to be inside Taehyung's and Jeongguk's room like that, a place that was out of his reach ever since he started working for them. It is, Jimin reflects, much like the way things have worked so far: watching from a distance and now being slowly let in into their secrets.

Jimin accepts Taehyung's offer, moving to take a seat on the mattress. The light shines golden inside the room and through the windows Jimin can see the glinting skyscrapers. He feels small all of a sudden, pulling his hands together and peering at a pensive Taehyung.

"I don't know where to start off," Taehyung finally says, breaking the silence.

"Just," Jimin shrugs one shoulder, not sure if he can be of much help, "start from the beginning, I think. Maybe when you met Jeongguk."

Taehyung shakes his head slightly. "No. Jeongguk is the second part of my life," he considers, crossing his legs and moving to lean with his back against the headboard. "The first part of my life was Bogum."

Jimin almost flinches when hearing the name coming out of Taehyung's lips. He hopes his reaction isn't visible. "Bogum?" He asks tentatively.

Taehyung nods. "Ever heard of him? Park Bogum."

"Oh," Jimin feigns surprise, "yes, actually. You mean to say..." He stops speaking when Taehyung shakes his head, digging his wrists into his eyes.

"No, forgive me, I have to start before Bogum," he corrects himself, letting out a small sigh. "Okay," he licks his lips, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Can I start?"

Jimin nods his head.

"Right, so," Taehyung collects himself, "since I was very young I'd always wanted to be a model. It helped that I was, you know," he gestures at his own face, not exactly dripping pride at his features, which Jimin and the rest of the world seem to think are superb, "like this. So I got into an agency pretty soon and things started looking up.

"But," Taehyung bites his bottom lip. Jimin didn't know they'd already reached the torturous part of the story. "I was young and naïve. That wasn't a problem until people started wanting more from me because I was an omega and was, apparently, supposed to give in. I-" he fiddles with a thread from his pillowcase, "I didn't do any of it, Jimin."

"Any of what?" Jimin asks carefully. He has a fairly good idea at what Taehyung is hinting at and the thought turns his stomach.

"I didn't have sex with anyone just to promote myself," Taehyung says, a look of determination in his eyes. "I was raised better than that."

Jimin watches him for a second. "That's very brave of you."

Shrugging, Taehyung looks down at his own lap. "That was my downfall, though. There's only so far you can go before they demand it out of you again. It was not," he pauses again, "I could have said no, but a few years in and my career was reaching a constant. I wanted to try new things, I wanted to be big. And I would do anything to get it.

"I was young and so," Taehyung squints, "so foolish and- and ambitious. Back then I didn't think things through. Well, anyway, I was in Tokyo for my second fashion week when I met him. He had to be three times my age, actually, I think he really is," Taehyung huffs in dark amusement, "he was a director, a very important one in Japan. And he had connections.

"He offered me a contract, Jimin, and I didn't say no," Taehyung wrings his hands together, shrinking from Jimin's gaze shamefully. "It was simple, he just wanted me for- how do they call them? An escort? Yes, I don't know, I was just supposed to show up with him and such. He wanted an arm-candy, a pretty young omega by his side as though I could," Taehyung rolls his eyes, "possibly be sleeping with him."

"What did he do?" Jimin asks. He's never been good with these suspense things.

"Nothing," Taehyung shakes his head adamantly. "I swear, I didn't let it come to it. As I said, he didn't want anything else from me. If I got the pictures taken and people talking he would get me a contract with Gucci. And it worked.

"It worked wonders, I-" Taehyung dabs at the corners of his eyes, "I could have been the happiest person alive."

"Then what happened?"

"You see," Taehyung grimaces, "they always want something more from you. He approached me once, sexually. Said if I didn't do it he would destroy my life. He was pretty big, had lots of people who owed him favors, lots of admirers. It would be easy for him to pull the strings. But I didn't think so at the time, so of course I said no.

"I was," Taehyung sighs disappointedly, "wrong. He had friends in the media. You wouldn't think it real, Jimin, but they can actually make you look like the worst person on earth once they set their minds to it, it's just magical, I-I don't know how it happens," Taehyung frets, "it's so easy. I had people who'd never heard about me before spewing lies about me, people sending me messages all the time, saying I was ugly and ridiculous and promiscuous. I know it shouldn't matter. But I was young and foolish," Taehyung repeats, "everything seemed ten times worse than it really was and I was getting backlash for not agreeing to let somebody use my body without my consent," he finishes in a single breath.

"It destroyed me," Taehyung admits in a higher pitched voice. He doesn't break though, scratching at his nose before continuing, "it all went downhill from there. I was a new person and my goal was to be as bad as they said I was.

"I did everything, Jimin, everything I thought I wouldn't do. I was fearless. My parents stopped talking to me, I- I slept with strangers, I would wake up bruised and not remember a thing. And of course they divulged it," he rolls his eyes, "I became some kind of laughing stock, the kind of omega your parents would tell you not to be. So the contract I'd worked so hard for got revoked and that was it."

"Taehyung, that's- I'm sorry," it feels useless to say it now, when nothing could be done about it. And yet Jimin isn't the smallest bit happy to hear about Taehyung's past. He can't imagine what it would have been like, living in his skin.

Taehyung gives a sad smile in response. "It's fine. I mean, it became fine. I wanted the attention, you know? I was big, like I wanted to be, only for the completely opposite reasons."

"But none of that defines you," Jimin tries to convince him. "You were a victim, Tae."

Taehyung shakes his head. "You don't understand. I never felt bad about it, not while at it. I thought I was amazing, like I was doing the right thing and that eventually, someone would see that."

"That was when you met Bogum, wasn't it?" Jimin asks warily.

Taehyung's eyes widen minimally at Jimin's guess, but his mouth clamps shut like he'd tasted something sour. He nods his head. "I-I couldn't begin to tell you what Bogum was to me. He was my everything, Jimin," Taehyung sighs dreamily. "I didn't intend for it to go as far as it did but I was unprepared for, well, for all of it."

Taehyung looks at Jimin's right mournfully. "He said he loved me more than anything in the world. He said that I was beautiful and precious and that what they had done to me was wrong. I thought he was mad," Taehyung shakes his head with a smile, "but then he would talk to me and the way he looked at me, Jimin," Taehyung frowns, closing his eyes in reminiscence, "I felt on top of the world."

"But," Jimin interrupts. Taehyung seems to have boarded a freight train all of a sudden and Jimin is left slightly scared. Whatever the outcome Jimin knows it can't be good because he's started seeing what he feared he would: proof that Taehyung loved Bogum. "Wasn't he married?" He tries, trying to make an unsure expression.

Taehyung's eyes flash open. "Yes, he was," he answers flatly. He wears the same face he'd worn the day he'd arrived to see Jeongguk and Jimin in the nursery, the day Jimin had felt like Taehyung hated him.

"And did you know it?" Jimin's lips twist, already knowing the answer to that by Taehyung's face alone.

"I did, and trust me, Jimin, I didn't feel one ounce of remorse for it," Taehyung answers valiantly. "It was so," he frowns, "so unfair. I deserved him more than she did. He said he loved me and I don't know but I think I loved him too? I was obsessed but I, I would do anything for him and when he wasn't next to me, Jimin, it just hurt like you wouldn't know."

"How long were you with him?" Jimin tries to steady the pace the conversation was taking. Taehyung could ramble all day long about Bogum, apparently, but the way he spoke was painful. Jimin realizes that not even Taehyung, to this day, was able to understand what he'd felt for the actor. And that was bad, that was really bad.

"For," Taehyung frowns, trying to remember, "for months, I think. Almost one year. My days resumed themselves to him alone, Jimin. Because when he wasn't with me I knew he was with her and I wanted to break their world apart. I would leave marks," he says, shyly, "he asked me not to but I wanted her to see. I would call him, I would check his phone, I read all his messages with her," Taehyung squirms uncomfortably, clearly making an effort not to break out in tears again. Jimin feels stone cold at his admissions, flinching the longer Taehyung goes on.

"I wanted to be next to him. I wanted to know what he knew, to eat what he ate, to share every living breath with him, Jimin," Taehyung chuckles, "he just needed to say the word and I would do anything he asked out of me."

"Did," Jimin clears his throat, "did his wife know about you?"

"Of course she did," Taehyung clicks his tongue, "we were obvious. We would spend weeks holed up in Paris together. She hated me," Taehyung says fiercely, "she wanted to see me dead in a ditch. She thought it was my fault, she thought I had come up to Bogum first but-"

"And didn't you?" Jimin asks before he can help himself.

Taehyung pauses. "No, I," he shakes his head, "we had a photoshoot together, that's how we met. He asked me out to dinner later and we didn't even," he blushes, "didn't even wait until the second date to have sex. He offered to take his wedding band and everything but I asked him to leave it on," Taehyung doesn't meet Jimin's eyes, "it was not what you're thinking, I just- I wanted to feel like he was committed to me."

Jimin waits for Taehyung to stop sniffling, expertly steering his gaze away. He thrums his fingers against the soft duvet, wondering how on earth he'd ended up here, in all places with all people. What did they want out of him?

"When did you break it off?" Jimin asks. He wants to sleep. He regrets listening to Taehyung, this is ugly and wrong in so many ways. And the worst thing is that Jimin doesn't blame Taehyung. Not entirely. He was vulnerable and Bogum used the opportunity to exploit him. He hopes that much is clear to Taehyung as well.

Taehyung freezes, chancing a small glimpse in Jimin's direction. If this is as bad as Jimin thinks it is, Taehyung's response will have to be never. But Jimin kind of prefers it to not knowing at all. The truth, if not comfortable, is at least something concrete and not the million other possibilities that go to sleep inside Jimin's head every night.

"I don't think I can tell you," Taehyung's eyes droop, "I've only ever told two other people and they all grew to hate me because of it. I don't want to lose you too, Jimin."

"You're not going to lose me, Tae," Jimin insists, "we've come this far, haven't we? And I don't hate you."

But Taehyung shakes his head, propping himself on his knees and sitting on his heels. "I can't, no, it's-" he sighs, "you have to promise you won't tell a soul, Jimin."

"You know I won't," Jimin doesn't even bat an eyelash.

"We," Taehyuns shivers, "he thought- he said he was feeling weird. He said I must have passed something on to him," Taehyung claims, "because I used to, you know, sleep around. I never did it unprotected but he asked me to see a doctor and I said I would do it. I was two months pregnant."

Jimin almost doesn't catch it. He thinks Taehyung planned it so, he says it so fast. Jimin blinks in confusion, trying to clear his head. "What?"

Taehyung doesn't answer him, doesn't even look at him.

"I thought you said you used protection," Jimin manages to say, because if anything it strikes him as comic.

"Not with him," Taehyung replies meekly, "he asked not to and I let him."

Of course.

Jimin seems to have frozen in time. It all makes a kind of weird sense now. Taehyung's and Jeongguk's lightning fast relationship, the thousands of comments Jimin had scrolled past: isn't it too soon for a baby?. It was soon.

And isn't it wonderful, Jimin thinks, that when his eyes settle on the picture frame he'd seen a couple days ago, of a proud Jeongguk and a new-born Kyung, that the both of them seem eerily alike? It can't be possible.

"But Kyung looks like Jeongguk," Jimin squints at the picture, the similarities now more than ever standing out to his eyes. Same mouth, same ears, same hair. Are Jeongguk and Bogum so alike like this? Or is Jimin, for some reason, seeing things?

Taehyung has gotten up from the bed and is now pacing the space right in front of his windows. He turns to appraise Jimin, following his line of sight and meeting the picture frame. He wrings his hands together nervously. "Kyung is Jeongguk's, Jimin."

"No," Jimin frowns, shooting up from the bed as if burnt. He feels like a bomb had blown off right beside him, his ears buzzing uncomfortably.

"Bogum was so mad when I told him, Jimin," Taehyung begins explaining tearfully, "I wanted it so much, but he said it would ruin his career. He covered all the expenses and I- I didn't say no. I felt like I was doing the right thing because I was doing it for him. I never told anyone this but he said he would marry me, Jimin. If I ended the pregnancy. And I did."

Jimin is seriously going to throw up, his dinner rising up his throat. He runs to the bathroom just in time. He doesn't do it though. He stares at the bottom of the toilet and hears Taehyung's sobs resounding from the other room. Jimin feels so stupid. How could someone have a power so great over another just like that?

Jimin takes in a deep breath.

My omega doesn't like children, can you believe it? Jeongguk's mocking words come back to the forefront of his mind. It was not that though. Taehyung had been ruined by another person.

Jimin goes back to the bedroom, a bit calmer now. Taehyung is on the bed, hugging his pillow to his face.

"Please don't hate me, Jimin," he says.

Jimin walks up to him, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. "You may find it difficult to believe, but I don't."

Taehyung's eyes well up with tears yet again, but these are happy ones. "I love you, Jiminie," he squeezes Jimin's kneecap playfully. "You're my best friend, aren't you?"

"I am," Jimin gives a feeble smile, "and I love you too."

"I-"

"You don't need to talk about it anymore if you don't want to," Jimin is quick to say. Partially, he doesn't want to hear it either.

Taehyung shakes his head. "I need to tell you though. That night in Tokyo, Bogum was at the party. He was there for me."

Jimin stares at Taehyung searchingly. "Are you still seeing him, Taehyung?"

"No," Taehyung denies, "he knew I was going to be there and he didn't put his name on the list so I wouldn't know he would as well. He's been trying to talk to me ever since I started dating Jeongguk, but Namjoon is super careful and-" he sniffles, "anyway, I was drunk. He said he would accompany me to my room. I'm so dumb, Jimin, I keep thinking he's regretted it but he doesn't. He wanted to be with me again. He's made it into some kind of vendetta against Jeongguk, I don't know, but I said no, Jimin. He said I hated children because he made me kil-" he doesn't finish. "I can't take it, Jimin. They don't know how awful I feel about it."

"It's okay," Jimin appeases him. It actually isn't, not for Jimin nor for Taehyung. But it's going to be, well into the future.

"I never cheated on Jeongguk. I promise you, I never did," Taehyung rambles, "but Bogum is jealous of him and since me and Jeongguk started going out he kept wanting to see me. I met him twice," Taehyung looks down sheepishly, "in Tokyo. I thought he wanted to apologize. I think he ought to know that he ruined motherhood for me. But he never did. Jeongguk says he's a psychopath."

"Does Jeongguk know?"

Taehyung nods his head. "I told him, I told him everything. I didn't want him to know at first, but then that day when I agreed to meet Bogum and all he wanted was take me to bed I felt," he gulps, "guilty. And I told Jeongguk. I was already pregnant with Kyung at the time. You must imagine how Jeongguk must've felt."

"He doesn't love you any less because of it," Jimin reasons.

"I think he does," Taehyung purses his lips. "He says he doesn't, he says I'm strong. But when I told him, he wouldn't look at me. I think he thought I would do it to Kyung too but I would never hurt my baby boy, Jimin. Not even if he asked me to."

Jimin hugs him. It's difficult, but not because Taehyung disgusts him. It has more to do with the fact that Taehyung is a living proof of how dangerous this world is.

"I'm scared that he'll leave me," Taehyung confesses, "Namjoon must have told him about Bogum and I bet he got it all wrong. He thinks I still love Bogum but I don't, Jimin."

"Tae," Jimin reaches to card his fingers through his hair, "I believe you. If only I could tell you how much I do."

He looks at Taehyung and thinks of all the things he'd done that Jimin had taken for granted, without imagining how hard it must have been for him to smile and find new reasons to be joyful again. To love again and to look at the face of his son without feeling any remorse. They always say you should treat other people kindly because you don't know what battle they're fighting, and Jimin feels like whomever that person was, they'd just taken the words right out of his mouth.

Chapter Text

Jimin wakes up to an empty room. He doesn't know where he is at first, the sight of Taehyung's guest room a bit off. Then everything that had happened last night comes up and Jimin groans, turning to squeeze his face against his pillow and hoping that for a moment he could just hide there.

There are sounds coming from the rest of the penthouse though, and Jimin's heart races when the possibility of Jeongguk having come back arises in his head. He swiftly gets up and changes out of his pajamas, padding softly to the living room.

Turns out it was only the television; the morning news being recited at a low volume. Taehyung has pulled up the sofa and is on his phone, with Kyung on his lap playing with his fingers. He looks at Jimin when he appears at the doorway, shooting him a small smile.

"Do you think I should get a lawyer?" Taehyung asks into his phone. Jimin frowns but makes his way towards the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the tray.

He finds the maid he'd only seen once, and she introduces herself as Mrs Sung.

"Is Mr Tae okay?" She asks Jimin carefully, chopping vegetables on the counter.

"Yes, uh," Jimin doesn't know how much she's aware of their life, "he's fine."

Mrs Sung wrinkles her brow unbelievingly as she stares at her working hands. "He was already awake when I got here," she whispers conspiratorially to Jimin, glancing at the kitchen's entrance as though Taehyung could appear any time in there. "I don't think he slept. I said: 'Mr Tae, do you want me to watch the baby?' Because you know how he is with the kid, right? But he said he'd do it." She raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Isn't Mr Jeongguk in?"

"No, he," Jimin clears his throat, throwing the apple's core away and uncorking his yogurt, "said he would be out for a couple days."

Mrs Sung nods her head tightly. "It's good that you're here now. Mr Tae needs the help. I told him: 'Mr Tae, you should look for a babysitter.' You know, my daughter had a baby last year-"

Jimin hums in interest in all the right pauses, but tunes Mrs Sung out. He finishes his yogurt as fast as he can, saying he needs to go and feed Kyung.

He sighs out in relief once he reaches the living room. Taehyung has already hung up and is holding Kyung's magic cube in front of his face, flashing him all the colors and trying to get him to repeat their names. "Red," he prompts, enunciating all the letters.

"Eehh," Kyung makes, reaching out to take the cube from Taehyung's hand.

Taehyung tuts playfully, pulling the cube out of his reach. "Reeeed, red, say it: red."

Kyung frowns, staring at Taehyung as thought trying to understand what he wants out of him. He reaches for the cube again tentatively and begins whining when Taehyung pulls it away.

"Okay, okay, here, take the cube, take it, it's yours," Taehyung appeases, Kyung's face contorting when he starts crying. "No, no need to cry," Taehyung looks up when Jimin approaches them. "He's very sensitive," he tells Jimin, "and possessive. A lot like your father, hn?" He pinches Kyung's nose, the baby frowning and going back to biting at the edges of his cube.

"Every baby is," Jimin replies, smiling at Kyung, who greets him with a side-smile and a coo.

"Namjoon called," Taehyung speaks up.

"Oh?"

Taehyung nods his head with a prim smile. "Yeah. He wanted to talk, just to apologize, I think." Taehyung runs his hand over Kyung's head. "I don't blame him, it was kind of shitty of me to hold him back. I just wanted to forget it happened, you know?" he pauses, "blue," he tells Kyung, who drools on the blue squares.

The baby shakes the cube in his fist excitedly.

"He seemed pretty bad that day," Jimin comments, "for lying to you and-"

The cube flies off Kyung's fist and hits Taehyung right on the face before hitting the floor with a thud.

"Shit, Kyung," Taehyung winces, cupping the side of his face. Jimin scoops the baby up from Taehyung's lap.

"Are you hurt?" Jimin tries to peer at Taehyung's face. The model hisses and examines his own hand, a small smudge of blood coming out of a tiny cut made on his chin.

Taehyung clicks his tongue, "ouch. No, it's nothing. It just- let me wash this." He gets up and moves to the bathroom.

Jimin sighs, watching Kyung's unrepentant face as the baby squirms on his lap after the fallen cube.

Taehyung comes back to plop on the sofa not too longer afterwards, Mrs Sung fussing over him and handing him a band-aid from the medicine cabinet. It's children-themed though, a cheerful Sponge Bob glaringly obvious on Taehyung's chin.

Jimin tries to stifle his laughter but ends up not managing it.

"Laugh all you want," Taehyung pouts, "I bet he doesn't throw things at Jeongguk."

"It wasn't his intention, he throws things all the time," Jimin says.

"You can't do this to mama, Kyung," Taehyung scolds, waving a finger in front of the baby's face. "Bad baby."

Kyung cries, face red and teary as he stares at Taehyung as though he'd just broken his heart. Jimin shushes him while Taehyung crosses his arms and goes back to scowling at the television.

"Uh," Jimin speaks up, glancing at the digital clock displayed on the corner of the television channel. "I'll have to go out in a minute or so."

"Ah?" Taehyung looks at him. "Okay."

"Yeah, I talked to a friend of mine. We had agreed to go to the movies."

"I get it," Taehyung nods. He looks uncertain, but not like he feels like he's being lied to. More like he thinks Jimin must want some distance after his confessing last night.

"I'll be back before lunch though," Jimin tells him, passing Kyung over. "You needn't worry. Will you be fine?" he asks before getting up from the sofa.

"Yeah, sure," Taehyung nods his head. "Mrs Sung is here too, so I'm not alone."

"Right, uh, I'll be going then," Jimin squirms, checking the time one last time before moving towards the elevator. He checks his phone and finds a new message from Yoongi.

Yoongi is actually playing on his phone when Jimin arrives, cursing under his breath when he loses another level. He glances up at Jimin after pocketing his phone.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Jimin asks with a quirk of his head. Seeing Yoongi always brightens his mood.

"Yes, actually," Yoongi considers with a smart grin, "my game doesn't call me in the middle of the night to ask for mysterious rides the next day."

Jimin huffs, pocketing his hands in his heavy coat.

"I don't even wake up this early so," Yoongi drawls, inching closer to him, "consider yourself lucky."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "Lucky?" He makes a cocky sound in the back of his throat, moving towards the passenger door of Yoongi's car.

"Don't I even get a kiss for my efforts?" Yoongi pouts melodramatically.

Jimin gives a put-upon sigh, theatrically moving back to twine his arms around Yoongi's neck and properly kiss him. It's wet and warm and everything Jimin needed. Yoongi bites his bottom lip before they pull apart, trying to pull him into another. Jimin groans in warning but gives in just because.

"That's more like it," Yoongi says once they pull apart, leaving a peck on his lips.

"Yeah?" Jimin tsks, "dickhead."

"Dickhead, me?" Yoongi pinches Jimin's side playfully.

"Come on," Jimin pushes his shoulder, "I don't want to go in too late."

"Where are we going exactly?" Yoongi asks, clicking on his seatbelt as Jimin makes himself comfortable on the passenger seat.

"Uh," Jimin bites his bottom lip, turning on his gps and showing Yoongi the way.

It's not a long drive but they don't really speak for the first few minutes. "So, how is Taehyung?" Yoongi ends up asking.

"Ah, he's... okay, I guess?" Jimin squirms.

Yoongi makes an unimpressed motion with his lips. "That's good," he murmurs, stopping for a red light, "I guess."

Jimin snorts. "No, I mean, he's pretty bad."

Yoongi hums, pulling off once the light switches to green. "Are you talking to go and try to talk to Jeongguk?"

Jimin whips his head around. "How do you know that?"

Yoongi huffs. "You just showed me the address to his agency, it's not that hard to figure out."

Jimin lets out a curt breath through his nose. "Yes, well, there are some things he ought to know, I think."

"Well," Yoongi says, "good luck then." He parks by the curb, unlocking all the doors so Jimin can step out. "Do you want me to come pick you up?"

"Uh, I don't know yet. I'll call you, okay?" Jimin leans in to kiss him.

"Thanks for using uber, sir," Yoongi jokes.

Jimin hits his neck reproachfully. "See?" Jimin gives him the tongue, "dickhead."

Yoongi pulls off and Jimin turns on his heels to stare at the entrance to Jeongguk's agency's building. He'd only been here once for the dance practice Jeongguk invited him over to.

Making his way over to the sliding doors, Jimin looks around once he has stepped into the lobby. It's wide and full of people in social clothing, badges hanging around their necks as they filter in and out of the elevators.

Jimin moves to the reception desk, where only an attendant types on her computer, occasionally stopping to take a sip of her tea. She looks up when Jimin approaches, smiling over the rim of her cup before moving her mouthpiece slightly out of the way.

"Hi, how can I help you?" she greets.

"Hi, I- uh, this must sound super weird but I'm here to see Jeongguk," Jimin nods his head along to his own words, "Jeon Jeongguk," he clarifies.

The attendant hums thoughtfully. "Sorry, are you a fan? We've already closed up Christmas gifts-"

"No, I'm not," Jimin cuts in.

The attendant blinks at him expectantly. "You can deliver your fan letters through regular post offices."

"I don't want to deliver a fan letter either. I just need to talk to him."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible, sir," the attendant frowns. Jimin sees the way she glances at the security guards posed by the door and gulps nervously. His eyes find a familiar splotch of red hair distractedly walking through the doors though, and Jimin raises one hand to catch Hoseok's attention.

"Hoseok, here!" He calls out, getting the choreographer's attention.

Hoseok's face splits into a giant smile once he spots Jimin, running to meet him. "Jiminie! What are you doing here? Did you see the message I sent you? Our try-outs only begin next week though."

"No, no, I'm not here to try-out, I just need to talk to Jeongguk," Jimin explains.

Hoseok makes a funny face. "Jeongguk? He's in a meeting now," he glances down at his wristwatch, "those things are kind of hard to interrupt." Oh, of course. It's just Jimin's luck that Jeongguk isn't lazying around, ready to have his mind made up by stray babysitters. Hoseok's face pales for a second. "Did something happen? How is Kyung?"

"He's fine, nothing happened," Jimin appeases, seeing the way the attendant's eyes volley between Hoseok and Jimin curiously. "But I just really need to speak to Jeongguk. It's super important."

"Cool," Hoseok shrugs, flashing a warm smile the attendant's way, "he's with me, Wendy."

Wendy lets Jimin go after stamping a visitor sticker to his chest. A security still scans him with a metal detector and Jimin doesn't remember needing all of this when he'd come in with Jeongguk. He wonders if none of them remember his face, but then again, they're probably paid to be this professional with everyone.

Hoseok leads him over to the elevators, both standing in silence amidst two other employees talking about last night's basketball game.

"This is it," Hoseok holds the doors open for him.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Jimin makes to exit.

"I need to help some trainees in," he checks his wristwatch, "two minutes ago. But don't worry, just wait outside until he comes out or shoot him a message- oh, sorry, sir." Hoseok lets the doors go after meeting the other employee's scowl, waving at Jimin as the doors slide shut.

"Okay," Jimin mumbles to himself, turning on his heels to stare at the floor's interior. There's a hallway extending to a lobby. Jimin doesn't know where to head to. He finds a plaque on one of the walls, an arrow pointed to his right indicating the direction to the meeting rooms.

There are at least four different doors. Jimin supposes if he sticks his ear on each one of them he can recognize Jeongguk's voice. He walks up to the first, gluing his right ear on the door's material and trying to listen in. There are nothing but muffled voices though.

Jimin frowns, thinking he'd just heard Jeongguk's timber when the door bursts open. The guy who was about to step out stares at Jimin with wide eyes.

"Uh," the guy begins.

"I'm sorry, this isn't what it looks like. I need to speak with Jeongguk."

"Jeongguk?" The man raises one eyebrow.

"Yes," Jimin nods his head.

"And who," the man grits out, "are you?"

"I-" Jimin gulps, "I'm the babysitter."

"The babysitter?"

"Yes, the babysitter," seriously, didn't he hear Jimin the first time?

The guy sighs. "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard," he says, pulling out some kind of walkie-talkie from his jacket pocket.

"It's not an excuse," Jimin counters, pursing his lips.

"Joo, there's a guy in 12B saying he's Jeongguk's babysitter," the man talks into his device, "could you confirm it for me?"

Jimin crosses his arms, staring at the polished flooring instead of the guy's hard-set face. There's a wait that seems to last a whole minute before the response filters out. "Send him in."

Jimin gives a cocky smile in the man's direction, the other huffing before pocketing his thing and motioning for Jimin to follow him.

They take a completely different direction, weaving through passageways until reaching a narrow hallway that seems to lead into an auditorium. At the end of it, a wide door opens up to let Jeongguk through and he walks briskly towards them.

"Jimin?" Jeongguk asks before they even meet. "Where's Kyung?"

"He's with Tae," Jimin says. They meet midway across the hallway.

"Oh," Jeongguk says disappointedly. "Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you, remember?"

Jeongguk huffs, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, just-" he takes a look over his shoulder, "you could have picked a better time."

"Sorry," Jimin squirms uncomfortably, "I didn't intend to interrupt, I just wanted to know where you were. And this," he turns to the man who is still standing there like some statue, eyes going from Jeongguk to Jimin suspiciously, "this gentleman didn't want to believe me."

"You were eavesdropping," the man points out, which, okay, wasn't the brightest moment of Jimin's life.

"Right," Jeongguk cuts in, nodding in a dismissal manner in the man's direction, "thanks. Jimin," he turns to the babysitter, "wait for me for a second, okay?" He turns to go back inside.

The man nods discreetly in Jimin's direction before leaving the babysitter to himself. He's second-guessing his decision of coming here now. Maybe he could have picked a better time. But Jimin didn't know when that would be.

Jeongguk steps out of the room once again, pocketing his phone. "Come with me," he tells Jimin as he passes him, and they both walk towards the place Jimin had come from.

"Do you want anything?" Jeongguk asks as he stops in front of a vending machine next to the elevators.

"Uh, no, thanks."

Jeongguk shrugs, putting in the coins and collecting the chocolate bar that falls with a thump in the dispenser. He hits the button for the elevator and they wait in silence for it to arrive.

Jeongguk shifts on his feet, massaging the small of his back. "Damn, my brother's mattress sucks," he winces.

"Did you sleep at your brother's?" Jimin asks.

Jeongguk nods his head, unwrapping his chocolate to take a big bite. "He has an apartment downtown that he doesn't really use," he motions for Jimin to follow him once the elevator's doors slide open for them. "So," he leans against one of the walls, chewing noisily, "what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, it's just," Jimin clears his throat. Jeongguk watches him patiently. "It's about Taehyung."

Jeongguk looks to the side, tonguing the inside of his cheek. "Look, Jimin, I appreciate your insight and all that but-"

"It's not," Jimin shakes his head, startling at the sudden sound of the elevator arriving at the top floor. "I'm not trying to meddle," he elaborates, following Jeongguk out.

There's a set of stairs leading to a lonesome door and when Jeongguk opens it they find themselves in the terrace. Seoul's buildings stand proudly from every angle and an employee is leaning against the rail, smoking. He nods in Jeongguk's way before stomping on his cigarette and leaving.

"Taehyung talked to me yesterday," Jimin says once the door closes with a clang behind them.

"How is he?" Jeongguk asks, propping one knee on the railing.

"He is," Jimin grimaces, "devastated."

Jeongguk winces, staring out into the distance.

"He thinks you'll divorce him," Jimin tries carefully. The wind up here is biting cold and he snuggles his hands further into his pockets. "Will... you?" Jimin bites his bottom lip.

Jeongguk snorts. "I'm never divorcing Taehyung, Jimin," he brushes it away so easily that Jimin catches himself cocking his head in question. "It doesn't solve anything and I just-" he shrugs, "can't make myself do it."

"I... well, that's good, I think."

Jeongguk hums. "So, there you go," he gestures in Jimin's direction.

"That's not all," Jimin insists, "it's actually not even the beginning." He leans against the railing like Jeongguk's doing, admiring the view. "I came here to tell you something I think you, more than anyone else, should know. Taehyung talked to me last night and- he told me everything, about Bogum, about-" Jimin sighs, "everything."

Jeongguk munches on his chocolate, watching Jimin carefully. "You mean the abortion?"

Jimin winces. "Yes, that."

Jeongguk nods his head thoughtfully. "Okay. Well," he snaps his lips, "he must really trust you, Jimin. I'm glad to know that."

"Yeah," Jimin shrugs, closing his hands around the railing's bars, "me too, but, about Bogum-"

Jeongguk's lips quirk in a snarl at the mention of the name. "Bogum," he grits out, "Bogum better not cross his fucking way with me."

Jimin licks his lips. "I just- just wanted to understand."

"There's no explanation," Jeongguk takes another bite out of his chocolate, "I've thought about it more than a thousand times, Jimin, and trust me, there's no reasonable explanation to what he does to Tae."

Jimin considers Jeongguk's words. He's right. Bogum gained nothing out of the things he had done. Maybe it was the thrill of it, of having someone so powerless in his behalf. "Can I ask you something?"

Jeongguk turns to him. "Sure."

"Have you always known? Since you met Tae?"

"About Bogum?" Jeongguk lifts one eyebrow, waiting until Jimin has assented to continue. "I kind of had an idea. People talked. But I didn't know about the depth of it, I hadn't the faintest idea." Jimin can see his Adam's apple bobbing once he swallows his last bite of chocolate. "There was this party that we were both invited to. He was there as someone's date."

"I looked at him, Jimin, and I swear my world just stopped," Jeongguk smirks. "I spent the entire party trying to get him to pay attention to me. Ugh, it was so embarrassing," he shudders, "His date left him for one minute and I was just there before I knew, trying to speak without stuttering. I think he was lowkey trying to tell me he was too old for me but I couldn't care less. I said he was beautiful, Jimin. He is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. He said I didn't know what I was talking about."

Jimin smiles.

"He looked sad in the inside, you know," Jeongguk murmurs. "He said he had come out of a difficult relationship, that's how he said it, difficult. I said his ex had to be very stupid to leave him."

"Did he agree to go out with you just like that?" Jimin asks.

Jeongguk huffs. "I wish," he smirks. "I had to be very insistent. Sent him flowers for almost a month."

Jimin coos and Jeongguk blushes, scratching the end of his nose awkwardly. "I think he just saw I wouldn't give up. And that was it, I suppose. He was like fire up my veins, Jimin. I tried to keep myself sane, but then I would remember his scent out of the blue, or the way he walked or smiled and I just spaced out."

"It didn't take long before he was, you know," Jeongguk clears his throat sheepishly, "pregnant."

"I know," Jimin smiles.

"And then came Bogum," Jeongguk's lips turn sourly. "He had been talking to Tae behind my back. Like a damn leech. He said he wanted to apologize, Jimin. Isn't it wonderful? Such a fucking gentleman. Of course Tae fell for it. Tae thinks he's some sort of flower waiting to bloom or something."

"He just wanted to stake his claim over Tae," Jeongguk growls. "And we were fucking engaged."

Jimin gulps uncomfortably, the poor sunlight glinting off the top of the buildings. "Tae said he told you when it happened, when he met Bogum."

"He did, yeah," Jeongguk rubs his hand over his forehead. "And the other time too."

"I'm sorry," Jimin mumbles.

Jeongguk gives him a small smile. "It's not your fault. It's none of our fault, really. Things just had to happen the way they did. I just think it's ridiculous," Jeongguk's voice breaks, "he's toxic to Tae, Jimin, like you wouldn't believe it. I've seen it working, I've seen him doing it. He speaks in a language only Taehyung understands. It's like an enchantment. He made Taehyung kill his fucking child without a second thought in a creepy clinic in some faraway place. He could've died and I wouldn't have ever met him, Jimin."

Jimin veers his face to the side. He knows Jeongguk's saying nothing but the rawest truth, but it's still disturbing. How many times he must have beat himself up with these thoughts?

"And then Namjoon comes to tell me I don't treat him right," Jeongguk scoffs, "how dare him?"

Jimin grimaces. "You kind of do."

"What?" Jeongguk turns to him, narrowing his eyes. "I don't."

"Yes, you," Jimin thrums his fingers on the railing, "you do."

Jeongguk stares at him for a minute before shaking his head. "He apologized to me both times," Jeongguk murmurs, "when he met Bogum without me knowing. He cried so much, Jimin, he said he would do anything I wanted. That really struck me."

"You see?" Jeongguk prompts suddenly, "I live in fear of becoming what Bogum was to him. Bogum took advantage of him, Bogum felt good about the way Taehyung would bend for him. And now he wants me to do the same. But I don't take any pleasure on doing that, Jimin. Tae's a fucking person. If you knew how much I wish him well, Jimin, you wouldn't say that."

"So," Jimin tries, "what is your plan? Why are you so distant?"

"I'm not distant, I just want him to choose," Jeongguk says, "I want to give him space to think and," he stares at the railing, carding his fingers through his hair, "and to figure out which one of us he loves the most. I don't want to trap him inside a marriage, I don't want him to think I own him."

"Jeongguk," Jimin calls out softly. "Can I say something? Like, can I speak my mind?"

"Yes," Jeongguk shrugs, propping his elbows on the railing, "of course."

"The way I see it, Taehyung's already made his decision," Jimin begins. "He didn't marry Bogum, he didn't have a child with Bogum, he never started a life with Bogum. But he's done all of those things with you. I think," Jimin turns on his side to stare at Jeongguk fully, "I think Taehyung has been trying to tell you, in his own way, that he's chosen you."

Jeongguk considers Jimin for a second, darting his gaze to the horizon and then back at his own hands. "I don't know about that, Jimin. It's too good to imagine that- Tae saw him again in Tokyo and he wouldn't tell me this time, don't you get it?"

"He didn't want to tell you because he knew you'd draw the wrong conclusion," Jimin states. "Jeongguk, I came here to tell you that I know for certain that Taehyung doesn't love Bogum."

Jeongguk sighs, pocketing the chocolate wrapper he'd clutched in his hand. "Don't waste your breath, Jimin."

"No, listen to me," Jimin grasps his wrist, "not even Tae knows this, but that night, when Bogum accosted Tae, I was there."

Jeongguk waits, staring unconvincingly at Jimin trying to make his point. "I saw what Namjoon didn't see. That night, I couldn't go to sleep. Maybe it was the jetlag. All I know is that I heard a noise outside in the hallway. My room was right beside Taehyung's."

Jimin takes in a breath. "They were outside and..." Jimin pauses, "they were together, like, physically. And Bogum looked like he was trying to change Taehyung's mind-"

"Please, don't me tell me this, Jimin," Jeongguk interrupts, shaking his head. "I don't want to hear."

"No, listen, for god's sake," Jimin cries out, "Tae said no. He said he had a son with you and Bogum made some sort of joke regarding the child Tae lost and- Tae slapped him in the face. He really did."

"Taehyung?" Jeongguk asks unbelievingly, "My Taehyung slapped someone in the face?"

Jimin nods his head fretfully. "Not just anyone. Bogum. I was there, Jeongguk, I wouldn't lie to you."

"I-" Jeongguk clears his throat, pacing the space next to Jimin. "I didn't know that."

"No, you didn't," Jimins steps in, shaking his head. "Namjoon only showed up after Tae had done it, when Bogum was saying these mean things to him and- Jeongguk,"Jimin pulls himself back together, "you told me you were waiting for Taehyung to choose between you and Bogum. You said it just now. What kind of signal did you think he would give you, I mean- what were you waiting for?"

Jeongguk balks, mouth hanging open as he blinks at Jimin. "For," he lifts a finger in Jimin's direction, as though indicating what he'd just said, "for that."

"What?" Jimin frowns. "Just- just that? Just knowing that Taehyung refused-"

"Is he home?" Jeongguk blurts. "Taehyung. Is he home?"

Jimin huffs. "Of course he's home. He's been waiting for you, silly," Jimin rolls his eyes.

Jeongguk nods robotically, pulling Jimin into a suffocating but surprisingly tender hug. "Thank you, Jiminie."

"Just doing my job," Jimin smiles bashfully once Jeongguk lets him go.

"Right," Jeongguk sets off in the direction of the door, pausing to look over his shoulder at Jimin. "Come on, I'll drop you off."

Jimin startles, following after Jeongguk, which is difficult given Jimin's own short legs.

"Is it okay for you to just leave like this?" Jimin asks as they step out of the building. He's pretty sure Jeongguk still had a meeting going on to attend.

Jeongguk shrugs though. "Yeah. They just wanted to bite my manager's ass more than anything." He waves Jimin over in the direction of his car.

"It seems like I," Jeongguk continues once they're inside the vehicle, clicking on his seatbelt in a hurry, "released a cover song without the agency's consent."

"Can you do that?" Jimin squints.

Jeongguk pulls off swiftly, weaving through traffic. He carries a euphoric air about him, as though he's running against time to find Taehyung.

"Theoretically no," Jeongguk admits. "But they can't stop me now that I've done it, so..."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "I see, well, it's good to- can you drive a bit slower, please?" Jimin squeezes the armrest fearfully when Jeongguk dodges a motorcycle.

"Sorry," he mumbles, "I don't think I should be driving. I'm nervous."

Jimin laughs. "Please, don't kill us now. You've waited too long for this."

"You're damn right, Jiminie. You're damn right."

-

"Stop it, you're making me nervous," Jimin reproaches. They're inside the elevator, Jeongguk bouncing his leg as he watches every floor pass them by.

"I can't help it," Jeongguk settles his hands on his hips, walking towards the opposite mirrored wall. "Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"Oh my god, yes," Jimin says exasperatedly. Honestly, one would think Jeongguk had more confidence. "We're here," he announces, when the elevator finally reaches the top floor.

Jimin punches in the keycode and Jeongguk brushes past him to enter the penthouse.

"Jiminie?" He hears Taehyung calling out, "Where were you? I was worried – oh."

They stand in an awkward circle in the living room, Taehyung with his eyes wide open as he takes in Jeongguk and then Jimin. He looks apprehensive and slightly fearful, the colorful band-aid standing out on his chin.

"What was that?" Jeongguk asks with a furled brow, reaching out to touch the covered cut.

"Ah," Taehyung falters, lowering his eyes and scratching at the band-aid self-consciously, "Kyung threw his magic cube at my face." He squirms, visibly uncertain and yet still watching Jeongguk with big, hopeful eyes. They're so obvious Jimin feels like rolling his eyes.

Jeongguk's eyebrows jump. "He kicked my head the other day," he inputs, probably to wipe off the sorrowful look Taehyung had gotten at the mention. "And bit my finger so hard it drew blood."

"He is very violent," Taehyung chuckles lowly.

"Well," Jimin speaks up to break the awkward silence that fallen around them, "I'll go see if Kyung needs anything. You can," he makes a shooing motion, "talk?" He gives Jeongguk a pointed look.

"Yes, yes, I think we will," Jeongguk gives him a kind smile, "thanks, Jimin."

Taehyung crosses his arms, unsettled. He gives Jimin a pleading look, as though begging him not to leave him by himself with Jeongguk. Jimin gives him his best reassuring smile before winking and setting off in the direction of the playpen, where Kyung is in, excitedly throwing all his toys against the protective net.

Jeongguk and Taehyung pass him by to head to the balcony. Jimin scoops Kyung up and brings him to sit on the carpeted floor, where he has an advantage point to steal some looks outside.

Taehyung is the one who speaks first, standing in front of Jeongguk with a guarded expression that morphs into a desperate one as he goes on speaking. Jimin can't hear them, not with the glass door closed, but he can see the way Jeongguk shakes his head and takes one step closer to the omega, saying something while staring into his eyes.

Taehyung looks surprised, mouth gaping open for a second before he looks inside, right at Jimin.

Jimin quickly averts his gaze, feeling his cheeks heating at the sudden eye contact. Jeongguk must have told the model about Jimin's snooping that night in Tokyo. Jimin gulps, making himself look up and give Taehyung a shy smile. He thinks he sees Taehyung's lips pulling at the corners before the omega gives his attention back to his husband.

Jeongguk cups Taehyung's wrists in a gentle grip, seeming to be pouring his heart out. The model gives a feeble, weak smile before he weeps. But he is, Jimin notices, happy.

Jeongguk folds Taehyung in a mighty hug all of a sudden, cupping the back of his head and kissing his wet cheeks repeatedly. Jimin looks away, not wanting to intrude on such a personal moment. His eyes find Kyung, who is watching him with his big, intelligent eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Jimin tells him, Kyung's face dissolving into a wet, accomplice smile. "You're welcome," Jimin quirks his lips, stealing another glance at the still hugging couple.

Jimin doesn't know how long Jeongguk and Taehyung stay in the balcony, talking it out, but he does eventually need to head back home. Mrs Sung assures him she'll give Kyung his lunch and even convinces him to take some of her jajangmyeon, which smells delicious.

"Jimin?"

Jimin pauses with one foot set in the elevator. Jeongguk and Taehyung stand watching him, the singer with an arm around Taehyung's waist. They look radiant together.

"Where are you going?" It's Taehyung who asks.

"Home, I-" he motions at his backpack, "I kinda need to go back. I've run out of clean clothes."

"Oh," Taehyung says, "I see, hn. I'll accompany you down to the lobby then," he offers, giving Jeongguk a warm smile.

"Okay then," Jimin gulps, somewhat nervously. He watches as they peck before Taehyung steps up to follow him inside the elevator.

Jimin waits for the doors to close with a heavy heart, knowing Taehyung probably wants to address his role in his and Jeongguk's reconciliation. Taehyung presses the button to the lobby, turning to appraise Jimin.

"I didn't know you were there," Taehyung begins. Jimin hums inquisitively. "I didn't know you saw us, me and Bogum, that night."

Jimin opens his mouth. "Taehyung, I'm so sorry, I had no intention of-"

"It's fine," Taehyung gives him a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder, "I'm not mad at you. A bit embarrassed," he shrugs one shoulder, "but I'm glad that you saw it, I'm glad you decided to tell Jeongguk."

"He would be with you no matter what," Jimin makes sure to point out. "He wouldn't divorce you if I hadn't told him. I- he loves you a lot, Tae."

"Do you really think so?" Taehyung watches him uncertainly.

"Yes," Jimin tells him. Jeongguk would've come around one way or another, Jimin thinks. It was just easier this way. Right? "So, I trust you two are okay now?" He asks.

Taehyung beams. "I hope so."

"And so do I," Jimin mumbles, stepping forward once the doors to the elevator open.

"Jimin," Taehyung calls out, a hand holding the doors back. Jimin turns in his direction, aware of the two other people waiting to get into the elevator. "Thank you for everything. You'll be here tomorrow, right?"

"Sure, yes," Jimin laughs. "See you, Tae."

Taehyung waves at him until Jimin is out of sight.

The babysitter takes to the streets and for a moment just stands on the sidewalk, watching the cars and buses that go on their merry way. The weight that had been hanging on his shoulders and the strange feeling that Jimin had kept inside his gut slowly dissolve. The snow sprinkles the sidewalk and the tree tops and Jimin hadn't noticed until now how today was, in fact, a beautiful day.

Jimin smiles to himself, feeling like he had made the right thing.

He fishes for his phone and dials, waiting for the line to pick up.

"Yeah?" Yoongi's voice answers in a familiar drawl.

"Does that offer for a ride still stands?"

-

Jimin has no problem sleeping that night. For one minute he just rests his head on the pillow and thinks about nothing of importance. He wonders how Taehyung and Jeongguk are doing before procuring his cell phone, which he always keeps under his pillow.

Taehyung had sent him a picture more than two hours ago, of the three of them, little Kyung's face squeezed in between theirs. They're smiling at the camera and Taehyung had captioned it: we miss you xoxo.

He thinks about answering and reminding him about how they're still going to see each other tomorrow and that the Holidays hadn't even arrived yet. Taehyung had invited Jimin to go back to Busan with them before Christmas, as Jeongguk's family still resided there and conventionally, so did Jimin's.

Jimin is just formulating the sentence he's about to write when he remembers his and Taehyung's conversation in the elevator. The model had asked him if he really thought Jeongguk would have forgiven him weren't it for Jimin's words.

In some way, Jimin knows he isn't wrong to think that Jeongguk, from what he had demonstrated earlier, would've forgiven Taehyung, if he hadn't already. But there's something else that makes him one hundred percent positive of it.

Jimin is often wrong about a lot of stuff, but it just so happens that sometimes he's right. So when he remembers one of Jeongguk's comments that same day, he's giddy to know if his assumptions were right.

Exiting the message app, Jimin looks up Jeongguk's official profile, laughing out loud when he sees the latest post on Jeongguk's timeline. He posted it fifteen hours ago, way before Jimin had even considered the idea of sneaking out to talk to him.

someone whom I love very much loves this song ♫

let's stay together babe ♥

Let's Stay Together – Cover by Jeongguk

It's corny, Jimin is aware. But It's also beautiful and sentimental. He fishes for his earphones, plugging them in and letting Jeongguk's angelic voice tell him about how so in love he is.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure you won't eat any more?"

Jimin looks down at his food, pouting. It's delicious and he's had a great time eating the majority of it but dance rehearsal had left him exhausted and he's already stuffed to the brim. He looks back up at Yoongi, making a face whilst shaking his head.

"Wow," Yoongi makes, reaching out to scoop Jimin's food all the same, "who are you and what have you done to my boyfriend?"

Jimin groans, propping his elbow on the table. They're at a tiny diner a friend of Yoongi's had suggested a couple months ago. The waitress here seems to have a hard time understanding Yoongi is very much taken, so Jimin always tags along. Just to make sure.

"Is that your way of telling me I'm fat?" Jimin shoots, "because let me tell you, I must have lost at least four kilograms today at practice."

"Of course not, honey," Yoongi drawls. "Your shape is spot-on," he hums, "I'm your body's number one fan."

Jimin swats at his shoulder, blushing. "Shut up, dickhead."

"Seriously, what is your problem with the head of my dick?"

"Oh my god," Jimin stifles a laugh behind his hand, avoiding eye contact with the nearby customers who look their way in shock. "Why do you have to say those things out loud?" Jimin murmurs.

Yoongi looks unapologetic. "I've already paid, they can't kick me out."

Jimin rolls his eyes. "Anyway, dance rehearsal was good, but tiresome. I wonder how Jeongguk makes it look so easy."

After almost exploding out of pure nerves, Jimin had managed to audition for Jeongguk's agency's internship and actually got the job. It was way harder to juggle babysitting with an almost full-time internship, but it was worth it. Taehyung and Jeongguk were his friends more than they were his employers now, which meant Jimin just stopped by whenever he could or wanted to.

Yoongi takes a bite out of his hamburger. "Yeah," he says around his food, "must be genetics or something. Anyway, wanna come up to mine after this?"

Jimin grimaces. "I do want to, but I promised Taehyung I would sleep at theirs tonight. He'll travel tomorrow morning and asked me to be there to take care of Kyung."

"And he'll go without the baby?" Yoongi's eyebrows shoot up his hairline.

Kyung had bloomed into a perfect mama's boy during the last few months. It was hard to convince the one-year old to go anywhere without his mother and he usually threw a tantrum whenever Taehyung walked out of the room, even when the model was only headed for the bathroom.

"Yep," Jimin takes a sip of his now flat soda. "Tough, hn?"

Yoongi hums, taking the last bite out of his hamburger before the waitress approaches.

"Hey there," she smiles, eyes set on Yoongi while fiddling with the corner of her notepad, "did you like the food?"

"Uh," Yoongi glances at Jimin first, mouth full of hamburger. "Yeah, sure."

She giggles. Jimin gives her an unimpressed look which she doesn't catch, apparently too busy still watching Yoongi with twinkling eyes. "Great, hn," she brushes a lock of hair to reveal a studded ear, "just thought I should let you know, I bought your album the other day. Your music is sick."

"Oh," Yoongi's eyebrows jump up. After much discussion Yoongi had finally managed to convince his parents to give college a break while he tried his hand out at music. Needless to say, he was fantastic, and two months after releasing his first album Yoongi could still get flustered when getting praises. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear that."

"He is very good, isn't he?" Jimin grits out, paying Yoongi a quick smile before turning his gaze back on the waitress. She doesn't seem intimated by his presence, which always unnerves Jimin. "Well, baby, we should head out," Jimin reaches for Yoongi's hand over the table and squeezes his fingers pointedly.

Yoongi gulps, already reaching for his wallet before Jimin stops him. "My treat," he shoves his credit card on the waitress' face.

Yoongi looks like he's barely suppressing his laugh while the waitress gives Jimin a tiny, preoccupied look before handing back his receipt.

"Thanks for coming," the waitress continues, "stop by whenever, please." She says it to Yoongi, who stares at the table top and gives a curt nod meanwhile Jimin walks around the table to sit on his lap.

"Thanks, sweetie," Jimin gives her a forced smile and watches the way she saunters off.

"Oh my god, did you see that? I can't believe it, we're never coming here again," Jimin fumes. "She was totally checking you out. Is she even aware that you're taken?"

Yoongi chuckles, hand poised protectively over Jimin's waist. "I think she does, babe. Just forget about it."

Jimin frowns, catching sight of the way the waitress still gives them tiny looks from behind the counter. He pushes his face closer to Yoongi's and kisses him, resting their foreheads together as soon as they part.

"Let's get out of here."

-

Jimin can almost count the steps that lead him from the lobby and towards the elevator, so familiarized with the layout of the building. He rests alongside Yoongi inside the elevator, chatting under their breath until they reach Yoongi's floor.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Yoongi tilts his head, squeezing Jimin's wrists and leaning outside the elevator to pull him along.

Jimin laughs, "stop. I want to but you know I have to go up."

Yoongi pouts, "you know they won't mind if you're a couple minutes late, right?"

"I know," Jimin sighs, "but we always lose track of time."

Yoongi groans stubbornly, still pouting.

"Oh, don't make that face," Jimin squeezes his cheeks together, "you big baby."

Yoongi pulls back to bite his finger reproachfully. "Ouch," Jimin swats his shoulder. "Come on, at least give me a kiss good night."

Yoongi does and Jimin only presses the button to the top floor once they realize they've been monopolizing the elevator.

The lights are off and Jimin thinks perhaps Jeongguk and Taehyung decided to dine out with Kyung, as they do sometimes. But as he steps farther into the place he catches the television on, its light raining on the couple lying down on the couch.

"Hey," Jimin greets lowly, searching for Kyung with his eyes.

"Jiminie," Taehyung lifts his head from Jeongguk's chest to say. "There you are. Don't worry, we've put him to bed already."

"Really? But- oh," Jimin pulls his phone out of his pocket to check that it was already past Kyung's bedtime. "Sorry."

"No problem," Taehyung waves him away, getting up from the couch and from Jeongguk. He's in short shorts and a wide long-sleeved shirt, passing by Jimin and squeezing his shoulder as he heads to the kitchen. "Did you eat anything? We have vegetarian pizza," he offers out loud as he goes.

"No, thanks," Jimin scrunches up his face. Taehyung and Jeongguk are always on diets and save for their cheat day, there's usually nothing very to Jimin's liking in the penthouse.

"Hey, Jimin," Jeongguk speaks up from the couch, yawning loudly, "had fun with Yoongi?"

"Oh, yeah," Jimin smiles, pocketing his hands as he takes a seat on the armchair. "It was nice."

"Cool," Jeongguk nods, settling back with his head on the arm of the couch.

Taehyung comes back from the kitchen with a can of Pringles, which he settles on Jimin's lap wordlessly, paying him a wink before he moves to the couch with Jeongguk.

"Oh, you didn't have to, Tae," Jimin says, "me and Yoongi ate enough junk food to last us a week already."

Taehyung gives him the tongue, settling back with his head on Jeongguk's shoulder. "We're watching that movie where Liam Neeson's daughter is captured, wanna join?" He offers.

"I'm kinda sleepy now, sorry," Jimin pouts, getting up from the armchair with some difficulty. When should we be up tomorrow?"

Taehyung and Jeongguk turn to each other. "My flight is at nine," Taehyung says.

"Around six-ish," Jeongguk turns to tell Jimin. "Okay?"

"Sure," Jimin nods his head, already heading down the hallway. "Good night!"

-

They're all woken up at five though, with Kyung crying and calling out for his mama. Jimin rolls out of bed by sheer force of will, changing out of his clothes and padding to the kitchen, where Jeongguk is already at. The singer gives Jimin a curt nod and a compassionate grimace.

Taehyung has Kyung on his lap, feeding him the watermelon cubes on his plastic plate.

"You have to eat everything, Kyung," Taehyung is saying.

"No!" Kyung shakes his head, wrapping his arms around the model's neck, where he plans to snuggle into before he catches sight of Jimin. "Chim!" He calls, pretty white teeth in a straight row as he climbs over Taehyung's legs and opens his arms to be picked.

"Good morning, baby," Jimin picks him up, dropping a kiss on both his cheeks. "Did you miss Chim?" He asks, adopting the nickname Kyung had given him.

Kyung nods his head shyly, looking back at Jeongguk and Taehyung before giggling.

"Oww," Jimin pinches his cheek, "so cute." He catches the way Taehyung has gotten up from his chair, pointing at himself and then at the hallway in a silent communication. Jimin nods his head quietly, watching as the model goes to change out of his pyjamas. "Look, Kyung," Jimin gasps loudly, redirecting the boy's attention away from Taehyung's absence, "you have watermelon for breakfast."

Kyung pouts cutely in Jimin's arms, frowning at the watermelon. "No," he mumbles, shaking his head.

"Yes," Jeongguk butts in, already taking the spoon Taehyung had left full, "Kyung will eat his watermelon like the good baby that he is."

"No!" Kyung shouts in Jimin's ear. That had to be his favourite word now.

Jeongguk sighs impatiently.

"I'll do it, don't worry," Jimin takes the seat Taehyung had vacated, setting him on his lap. "Just one last spoon, Kyungie, for Chim."

Kyung looks between Jimin and the spoon dubiously. He blinks, a tiny frown between his eyebrows before he opens his mouth tentatively. "Oh, what a good boy," Jimin prompts, feeding him.

Kyung chews on the cube leisurely, eyes shifting towards Jeongguk warily. He fists the collar of Jimin's shirt, already full of energy at this hour, pulling himself into a wobbly standing position on Jimin's thighs. "Chim," he says, smiling wide.

"Yes, it's Chim," Jimin indulges, raising the refilled spoon to Kyung's mouth level, "How about you eat some more? To make CHim happy," he tugs his lips down, affecting sadness.

Kyung's face scrunches up, impatiently whining in the back of his throat as he watches Jimin.

"Pretty please," Jimin pouts, inching the spoon closer to Kyung's mouth.

And just like that he manages to feed Kyung the entire content of his plate, Jeongguk having slipped out of the kitchen to change his clothes. Jimin tries to distract Kyung as best as he can, but soon enough the baby is whirling his head around, wide eyes looking for something.

"Such a good baby," Jimin goads, getting up and moving to the living room, "you ate everything, Kyung, you'll be such a strong little boy."

Kyung blinks, watching Jimin owlishly before once more taking in his surroundings. "Mama," he calls, lost.

Shit. "Mama is changing," Jimin provides, "he'll be here in one second," he lifts one finger, setting Kyung on his lap as he sits down on the sofa.

Kyung whines weakly, shaking his tiny head as he looks around, tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. "Mama?" He mumbles to Jimin, an arm pointing at the empty living room.

"Mama is changing, mama will be right back," Jimin continues, "doesn't Kyung want to change as well?"

Kyung frowns, mouth opening and closing as he stares at Jimin, confused. "Mama," he begs, curling his fists on Jimin's collar, "mama."

"Yes, I know, mama will-"

Kyung cries, tears rolling down his face as he screams for his mama. Jimin tries to shush him, rocking him on his arms and asking if he wouldn't like to change out of his pyjamas to take his mom to the airport. Kyung's crying drowns Jimin's words though.

"Taehyung," Jimin can hear Jeongguk calling farther into the house, "your son is calling for you."

"Jesus," Taehyung answers, "it hasn't been one minute. Jimin, bring him here, please."

Jimin gives Kyung a put-upon sigh, but the baby is too busy crying his eyes out to notice. He walks towards Taehyung and Jeongguk's bedroom, where the model is sitting on the mattress and finishing putting on his boots.

Kyung sucks in a breath as soon as he sees Taehyung, stretching his chubby arms his way.

"Kyungie," Taehyung begins, "you need to behave. Mama won't be here tomorrow, how is it going to be?"

Jimin grimaces. It certainly won't be easy.

"Mama," Kyung makes grabby hands, not understanding sentences longer than two words.

Taehyung stretches his arms so Jimin can handle him the baby, who goes along smoothly and quickly wraps his arms around Taehyung's neck, gluing his entire body to the model's.

Jeongguk appears from the closet, already in jeans and a casual shirt as he takes in Taehyung, trying to lace his boots with a heavy Kyung on his lap, nuzzling into his neck and babbling after kisses and huggies.

Jeongguk makes an amused face, sending Jimin a small grin as he kneels beside the bed and takes Taehyung's task in hand.

"Thanks, love," Taehyung sighs, inching his leg further so Jeongguk can tie his shoelaces.

Jeongguk shoots his family a look, eyes glinting proudly as he watches Kyung's antics. "He's gonna be an alpha," he states with a smirk.

Taehyung huffs. "No, he won't. He'll be an omega. I just feel it."

Jeongguk shakes his head. "He clings too much to you, only alphas feel safer with an omega's scent."

"Or maybe he'll be a beta," Jimin suggests.

"He'll be an omega," Taehyung reiterates, "he clings to me because I understand him. Besides, Jeongguk scares him."

Jeongguk gasps, "I don't scare him. Kyung, do I scare you?" He asks the baby, inching closer to Kyung's face.

Kyung halts, watching his father with wide eyes before he giggles, extending a drooled hand in Jeongguk's direction. "Da!" He calls, the sound loud in Taehyung's ear.

"Oh god," Taehyung grimaces, "just get him."

Jeongguk hikes Kyung into his lap, taking one last look around. "Everybody's ready?"

"Kyung is still in his pyjamas," Jimin points out.

"No!" Kyung screams.

Taehyung sighs. "Just leave him like that."

-

Passengers mill in and out of the airport lazily, dragging heavy baggage along as they yawn. It's not long before Taehyung's flight takes off, so they all huddle in front of the entrance to security.

"Are you sure you're going to take care of him?" Taehyung asks Jeongguk, fussing over Kyung and pressing several kisses to his head.

"When haven't I ever, Tae?" Jeongguk rolls his eyes. "Besides, Jimin will be with us. I'm more worried about you taking care of yourself."

Taehyung clicks his tongue, slapping Jeongguk's shoulder reproachfully. "Namjoon will be with me," he says, stepping up to squeeze Jeongguk's cheeks, "and you, my big baby?"

"I'm going to suffer without you," Jeongguk whines, face scrunching up as he and Taehyung coo over each other.

"Excuse me," Jimin puts in, collecting Kyung from Jeongguk's grasp, "the baby doesn't need to be present for this."

Neither of them seem to mind Jimin's interruption, gathering aside so they can hug and kiss all they want. Jimin tries to distract Kyung, aware that the baby can't see Taehyung going without making a scandal.

Jeongguk and Taehyung are still kissing and Jimin sighs. "Guys, come on. Taehyung will be late like this."

They break apart. Taehyung still murmurs something else to Jeongguk, which has the other leaning in for another kiss. "Gonna miss you," Taehyung finalizes, tapping Jeongguk's nose.

"And I you," Jeongguk hugs him again.

Taehyung giggles, pulling away so he can say his goodbyes to Jimin.

"Thank you again for doing this for me, Jiminie," Taehyung says, kissing Kyung's cheek.

"You know how it is," Jimin sighs playfully, "just doing my job."

"But of course you are," Taehyung laughs, "you'll watch them for me, won't you? Both of them."

"You'll only be out for two days," Jimin reminds him, "but yes, I will."

Taehyung nods, smiling as he hugs Jimin as best as he can with Kyung in the way. "Don't let him miss me too much, right?" He asks, pouting at Kyung.

Jimin sighs. "That will be hard."

"Tae," Jeongguk calls, motioning with his head to the security where Taehyung is headed.

Taehyung nods, blowing Kyung a last kiss and sending Jimin a smile before he turns on his heels. Jimin does as they'd agreed to and turns back around, trying to distract Kyung from watching Taehyung's departure.

Jimin has no doubt that the baby, attached the way he is to Taehyung, would still cry the rest of the day once his mom didn't show up. Jimin will have his work cut out for him. He's used to it, anyway.

Chapter Text

Jimin is extremely careful as he adjusts the contents of the fridge, pushing some cheese and a carton of orange juice aside so he has a wide, open space in the first shelf. He pauses, muses, considers putting the yogurt in the second shelf as well when he hears a tell-tale sound.

"Kyung," Jimin warns, "if I turn around and see you eating the cake..."

"I'm not, Chim!" Kyung cries out, giggling right after when Jimin closes the door to the fridge and turns on his heels.

The now four-year old boy is supporting himself precariously on the kitchen stool, leaning against the counter where the cake Jimin was having some problem into storing in the fridge rests. He gives Jimin a wide, tricky smile as he keeps his hands to himself.

Jimin lifts one eyebrow. "Yeah? And what is this thing I see, shaped like a tiny boy's finger in the frosting?" Jimin asks under a layer of accusation.

Kyung giggles, licking the corner of his lips that, now Jimin sees, had a bit of frosting on it. "I don't know," he answers innocently enough.

Jimin huffs. "You naughty boy. Your mother isn't going to like this when I tell him you ate the cake beforehand."

Kyung balks, small mouth forming an 'o' as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Chim, don't tell mama."

"Oh, so now it's 'don't tell mama', isn't it?" Jimin teases, pleased with himself when he takes the cake and stores it inside the fridge as he'd envisioned. "And don't sit on that stool like that, it's dangerous. You can fall."

Kyung clicks his tongue, pouting as he clambers out of the stool. "When can I eat the cake?"

"We will eat the cake when your father gets here," Jimin corrects.

"But that's too long," Kyung insists, arms crossed.

"No, it isn't," Jimin begins leading him out of the kitchen. "Go sit next to mama, I'm sure the time will go by without you feeling it."

"Mama is with the baby," Kyung laments.

“Yes, but he likes when you’re next to him,” Jimin insists.

Jimin leads them towards the living room, where the television is turned on. Kyung immediately sets off in Taehyung’s direction, cuddling himself to the model’s side on the sofa.

One of Jeongguk’s shows is reprising in the tv, the singer strumming his guitar while singing into his microphone. Taehyung is nodding along to his mother-in-law, who’s sat beside him on the armchair and talking his ear off about something that must be very boring.

Taehyung smiles Jimin’s way, pressing the bundle in his arms closer to himself. “She doesn’t stop feeding,” he tells Jimin, who goes to take a look over his shoulder.

Jungsoo is barely one week old, her tiny body wrinkled and incredibly small. Even now the blankets around her seem to drown the newborn, only the top of her head, a crown of wild black hair, is visible.

Kyung slides his face on Taehyun’s shoulder, trying to get a better view of the baby. “Mama,” he calls, “but why is she so small?”

“Because she’s very young, darling,” Taehyung tells him.

“You were this size too when you were born, Kyung,” Jeongguk’s mother speaks out.

Kyung’s eyes widen, turning to Taehyung. “I was, mama?”

“Yes, baby,” Taehyung nods, quickly cutting his attention back to Jungsoo. Jimin then remembers Taehyung didn’t exactly spend too much time with Kyung when he was just born.

Kyung pouts. “Is she asleep?”

“No, she’s feeding,” Taehyung answers. Kyung is in – another one – of his many curiosity phases. Only Jeongguk seems to be immune to Kyung and his rapid-fire questions, which somehow never end.

“Can I hold her?” Kyung asks.

“Not right now,” Taehyung appeases, “but later, okay?”

Kyung doesn’t seem satisfied. “Can I kiss her?” he inches closer.

“Dear,” Taehyung warns and Jimin clamps his hands around Kyung’s waist to stop him from leaning too much on Taehyung. His stitches from the c-section had been taken off only two days ago so the model was still kind of sore.

“You can kiss her after she’s asleep, Kyungie,” Taehyung inputs, Kyung’s face having scrunched up as though he would cry.

“Oh, look,” Jimin tries to distract him, pointing at the television, “your daddy is singing, Kyung.”

Kyung pouts, but in the end watches his father eagerly, bolting to his grandmother’s lap. Jimin takes his vacant place beside Taehyung, absentmindedly watching the way Jeongguk dances on the stage.

“So,” Taehyung says, “how is Yoongi?”

“He’s fine,” Jimin smiles, “touring. He sends me messages every once in a while though. I guess he’s still having a hard time, what with having to wake up early almost every day.”

Taehyung laughs, careful not to jostle Jungsoo too much. “Oh, but he’s living. Can I see the ring again?”

Jimin beams, more than pleased to extend his hand for Taehyung to see the diamond catching the light on his ring finger. “I know it’s a bit much,” he considers, “but I kind of like it.”

Taehyung smiles, “no, you deserve it. It’s cute.”

Jimin blushes. “Well, yeah. He wants to marry in November, when we met.”

“Oh,” Taehyung coos, adjusting Jungsoo in his arms. The newborn shifts a little bit, her movements still a bit uncoordinated. They watch her for a while, wanting to see if she’ll finally stop feeding. She doesn’t, burrowing closer to Taehyung and letting out a small coo.

“She’s so precious,” Jimin comments. “Ah, talking about marriages and such. How is Namjoon?”

Taehyung brightens up. “You tell me. Apparently he’s over the moon with a friend of yours,” Taehyung wiggles his eyebrows.

Jimin laughs. “He stopped by in my apartment to help me that day when we were going to Singapore, remember?” Taehyung nods, “and the first thing I see when I come in is Namjoon in our kitchen, eating Seokjin’s jajangmyeon. You just had to see his face, Tae, he looked like he was about to pass out.”

Taehyung laughs. “I’m so glad he, you know-”

“Got over you,” Jimin fills in.

“Yeah,” Taehyung grins. “I mean, I hope it’s not too soon to say.”

“It isn’t,” Jimin admits, “Seokjin tells me they’re on his fourth to fifth date already.”

“Oh god, he moves fast,” Taehyung laughs.

There’s a slight commotion when Jeongguk shows up. Kyung goes flying off towards him, being lifted off the ground by his father and giving a mighty scream that has Jungsoo wriggling around, scared. After they ask Kyung to tone it down the boy pouts, clinging to Jeongguk’s neck and giving Taehyung tiny, betrayed glances. He became overly protective of the model during his pregnancy, always showering kisses on his swollen belly and asking a lot of questions, but with Jungsoo’s arrival he’d grown jealous of the baby.

Taehyung had asked Jimin what to do beforehand, but Jimin told him it’s always normal that children felt somehow out-of-place with the arrival of a new baby but the feeling would probably diminish with time. At least that’s what Jimin’s previous experience as an ex-babysitter were.

Jeongguk puts Kyung down before hugging his mother and ruffling Jimin’s hair, saving the best for last when he ducks to give Taehyung a kiss, tearing up over Jungsoo’s tiny form.

“She’s been feeding since noon,” Taehyung tells his husband proudly, “I don’t know how she can handle all of that. Do you think I should put her aside for a moment?”

“Didn’t the pediatrician say we should wait until she’d had enough?” Jeongguk murmurs, pulling the blanket aside with a hooked finger so he can see his daughter’s face. “She’ll be full, eventually. Hi, darling,” he mumbles, rubbing the pad of a finger over her cheek. Her skin is smooth and warm, so incredibly delicate that Jimin sometimes freaks out when Taehyung passes her over to him.

“Can I see her? I want to see her,” Kyung insists, tugging on Jeongguk’s pants and trying to peer over his shoulder.

Jeongguk picks him up and lifts him a little bit, Kyung curiously stretching his neck to look down at his sister.

“Oh, she’s stopped,” Taehyung smiles, pulling Jungsoo quietly aside. Jeongguk quickly sets Kyung down and helps him, holding the baby as Taehyung adjusts himself. He says he’s not as sore anymore and he’s been getting up and doing lots of things already but Jeongguk is overzealous.

“It’s fine,” Taehyung says, brushing Jeongguk aside as he hands Jungsoo over.

Jeongguk picks her up carefully, shushing the baby as she gurgles as frowns. He holds her up to his chest and rocks her, staring at her face when he deposits a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Kyungie,” Jimin speaks up, seeing the way the boy watches his father, “do you want to go and help me pick up that thing?” he winks.

Kyung pouts, turning to him. “What thing?”

Taehyung leans over, tucking a lock of Kyung’s hair behind his ear. “That thing you were eating before dad got here,” he whispers.

Kyung’s mouth shapes itself into a tiny ‘o’ and he promptly nods, taking Jimin’s hand as they head to the kitchen.

“Here,” Jimin takes the cake out of the fridge, “can you hold it?”

Kyung nods bravely, putting both hands under the cake and making a serious face. Jimin walks behind him and secures some of the weight, afraid Kyung might drop it though he doesn’t want to ruin their surprise.

“Happy birthday, daddy!” Kyung shouts as soon as they enter the living room.

Jeongguk looks up, laughing when he sees Kyung bringing the cake in. Jimin helps the boy depositing it on the coffee table, stepping back when Jeongguk crouches, Jungsoo still in his arms, to thank Kyung and finally let him kiss his sister.

“Is this entire cake just for me?” Jeongguk teases afterwards.

Kyung crosses his arms, opening his mouth to protest before he loses some of his intent. “You can have it, daddy,” he shrugs, “it’s your birthday.”

They all coo.

“Daddy was teasing you, kid,” Jeongguk offers, “I can’t eat all of that by myself. You’ll have to help me.”

Kyung grins smartly. “Okay.”

Taehyung leans over to light the candles. They turn the television off because Jeongguk says he can’t hear his own voice anymore, asking them not to sing too loud not to wake a drowsy Jungsoo up.

Kyung gets over excited when clapping, leaning over the cake alongside his father to blow the candles out. Everyone cheers and wishes Jeongguk a happy birthday, more than eager to try the cake that Taehyung starts cutting.

Jimin takes a picture of his slice and sends it to Yoongi, glad to make his fiancé jealous.

“So,” Taehyung begins, eating a piece of his cake with Kyung sat between his legs on the couch, “when are you and Yoongi planning on having your first?”

Chapter Text

There’s only the hum of the air conditioning and the soft, barely-there sound of the waves crashing in the distance. Taehyung takes in a deep breath, toes curling at the absolute serenity he feels permeating his body. The pillow underneath his head is so soft it feels like he’s resting on clouds.

Right beside him, belly rising and falling with every breath, Kyung sleeps on. He’s a big boy now, three years -and five months - old.

Taehyung never tires of watching his son, and when they’re both like this, resting so peacefully, on vacations, no promises of flights or work left to attend, he feels blessed for having brought forth such a sweet being.

The guilty feeling that used to knot his stomach some time ago when he’d look at Kyung gets easier and easier to ignore with time. It got better when Kyung first called him ‘mama’, articulating it somewhat clumsily, and looking at Taehyung as though, just like the omega, he still didn’t know the impact of that word, only that it was very important that it was said. It got better when he would stick to Taehyung’s side, when he would deny being held by anyone else, when he would look into Taehyung’s eyes with a love so innocent that not reciprocating it seemed like the cruellest joke.

Reaching out, Taehyung cups the side of his head and is careful when kissing his forehead not to wake the toddler up.

Stretching and crawling out of the double bed, Taehyung takes a look around at the hotel room, brain working through time zones and the amount of sunlight still filtering through the blinds to determine what time it was.

A little before sunset, he decides, with the way there’s still light pouring into the room from the blackout curtains Jeongguk hadn’t pulled shut completely. The sky was cloudy today, Taehyung remembers, that’s why they had only gone down to the beach during the morning but quickly chose to go back inside when a few rain drops started falling. Poor Kyung had been so excited to build his sandcastle Jeongguk only managed to bring him up with lots of promises that tomorrow they’d visit the beach again, when the weather wasn’t so bad.

They were spending their vacations in a small island in the Pacific, a place one of Jeongguk’s fellow idol friend suggested. It was far from the hustle and bustle of the most disputed summer spots in the Bahamas, but still beautiful on its own. Taehyung found out he could watch the miles and miles of untouched nature stretching into the horizon and not grow the slightest bit bored. In fact, the longer he stared, the calmer he felt.

Tucking his robe closer to himself, Taehyung takes a last look at Kyung, making sure he’s sleeping soundly before he turns to the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony.

The sea is an oily grey under the white expanse of the sky, a chilly kind of breeze blowing Taehyung’s bangs from his forehead as soon as he opens the door. The balcony is far from cold though, all decked in wood boards and cushiony loveseats.

Jeongguk, of course, is here, feet propped on the coffee table in front of the loveseat he’s currently occupying. He’s wearing the light sweatpants which still held that hideous coffee stain right next to his crotch and a blue cotton shirt.

He glances up when Taehyung inches the doors closed with a click, smiling and going back to the book he has open on his lap.

“Hey,” he greets, stretching his arm out to offer Taehyung the seat beside him.

Taehyung soundlessly slips beside him, propping the side of his face on Jeongguk’s chest and throwing one of his legs over Jeongguk’s crossed ones.

“Sleep okay?” Jeongguk asks, leaning down briefly to kiss his forehead. Taehyung nods. “And Kyung?”

“He’s still asleep,” Taehyung answers, not liking the way his voice still sounds a bit hoarse from having just woken up. “Didn’t want to wake him up. There’s not much he can do with this rain.”

“Aw, poor boy,” Jeongguk chuckles in sympathy, the hand that isn’t holding the book moving up and down Taehyung’s back in broad strokes.

“What are you reading?” Taehyung asks after a moment of silence.

Jeongguk tilts the book to the side to show him the cover. Taehyung recognizes it as one of those international espionage novels Jeongguk likes so much.

“Hm,” Taehyung makes, yawning into Jeongguk’s shirt.

“Still sleepy, baby?” Jeongguk asks, and then before Taehyung can answer starts singing under his breath “sleepy baby, sleepy sleepy baby” in an improvised rhythm for absolutely no reason.

Taehyung huffs, kissing the side of his silly husband’s neck. “What was the one you were singing the other day?” he prompts, because something about it sounded familiar.

“Me?” Jeongguk asks, flipping a page one-handedly. “Not sure. When was it?”

Taehyng hums pensively. “We were home, Jimin was watching Kyung in the living room. I think we were about to go out for your mother’s birthday. Do you remember that?”

Jeongguk frowns slightly, now caressing the tips of Taehyung’s hair as his eyes quickly scan over the sentences on his book. “Hm, yeah, I think.”

“Like,” Taehyung scans his mind after it, but can’t seem to remember.

“Pretty eyed, a pirate smile”, Jeongguk fills in, and then turns to Taehyung teasingly, “you’ll marry a music man”.

Taehyung chuckles. “Yep, that’s the one.”

Jeongguk grins wisely, gaze refocusing on his book. Taehyung watches him read it, gaze veering to the sea. There’s a lonesome island in front of them, maybe two kilometres away. He watches it as Jeongguk continues singing to himself.

“And now she's in me, always with me”

Taehyung burrows closer to Jeongguk’s chest, analysing the stain of his sweatpants. Jeongguk pauses his humming when he seems to get in a part of the book he’s really interested in.

“I never told you,” Taehyung speaks out, “but I think she was a girl.”

The hand that never stopped stroking Taehyung’s back stops. Jeongguk doesn’t take his eyes off his book but he visibly tenses. It takes two or three beats before he goes back to caressing Taehyung, murmuring an uninterested, “oh.”

“Yeah, I-” Taehyung skims his fingers over Jeongguk’s chest, feeling the ridges of his muscles through the shirt’s material. “I don’t know how to describe it. She felt lighter inside me.”

“Baby,” Jeongguk calls, his tone stronger, sober.

Taehyung knows he doesn’t like it when he begins talking about it, but he sometimes can’t help it. “No, it’s fine. I’m okay,” Taehyung assures, even when Jeongguk gives him a tiny, wary glance.

And Taehyung hasn’t even told him everything. About how he likes to imagine her sometimes, dreams about her even. She always has dark hair, long and curly at the tips. Taehyung would dress her in baby pinks and lavender and even if she had Bogum’s features, he wouldn’t care.

“Would you have liked me?” Taehyung asks, “when you met me. If you knew I had a-”

“Yes, of course,” Jeongguk puts his book aside, missing the page he’d stopped reading at so he could hold Taehyung with both arms, “in any way, in any form.”

“Okay,” Taehyung murmurs. He used to cry a lot, and maybe that’s why Jeongguk always comes to his rescue when he touches the subject, but he doesn’t anymore. It’s not that it doesn’t make him sad still. It’s because it’s in the past now, and Taehyung has learnt to respect it. It’s a wound that he’s managed to heal though he doesn’t know very well how. Most likely it was healed by others.

“I love you, angel,” Jeongguk says, the sound muffled by the kiss he plants on Taehyung’s nape. “You know that, right?”

Taehyung chuckles, nodding his head and kissing a trail up Jeongguk’s ear. “Love you more.”

“Hn, I don’t know about that,” Jeongguk teases, hands moving to tickle his sides and Taehyung quickly clenches his legs together.

“Don’t,” he requests, “don’t tickle me.”

Jeongguk makes a teasing face, moving as though to pinch his sides and Taehyung yelps. They both pause and listen attentively for any sound from Kyung, but it seems the boy hasn’t woken up.

“Look at you,” Jeongguk whispers, “you almost woke him up.”

“You scared me,” Taehyung pouts, and then bats Jeongguk’s arm aside when he moves to grab his book again.

Jeongguk lifts one eyebrow. “What?”

“Don’t pick this stupid book up,” he declares, sitting on Jeongguk’s lap to face him.

“Excuse me?” Jeongguk smiles, “my stupid book?”

Taehyung nods his head, cupping the sides of Jeongguk’s face and looking deep into his eyes. “I want to talk to you.”

Jeongguk must sense there’s something different in the air. He drops all pretence to be still reaching for the book as he stares at Taehyung, blinking owlishly and studying his face. “Talk about what?”

Taehyung licks his lips, noticing the way Jeongguk’s eyes follow the motion. “I haven’t been saying all of this stuff just to,” he shakes his head, “to make you sad or.”

Jeongguk eyes him, hands hovering over his waist concernedly. “What is it, Tae?”

“I’ve been feeling it again,” Taehyung murmurs, “I know we didn’t speak about it, and I don’t know how it happened.”

“Whoa, hold on, I’m not following,” Jeongguk holds his hands up as though he could somehow stopper Taehyung’s flow of words.

Taehyung breathes in tightly. “Remember when Jimin was watching Kyung? That same day you were singing the song? And you said I looked beautiful in that bodysuit and-”

Surely Jeongguk remembers, his face morphing into a knowing one, lips stretching into a devilish smile. He must remember the way they had exchanged looks all throughout dinner in Jeongguk’s parents’ house, how he splayed his hand over Taehyung’s thigh under the table, or every charged glance he shot his way whenever Taehyung would do something teasing and coyly look his way to appraise his reaction. The way he squeezed Taehyung’s ass from under the veil of his nightshirt, slotting his mouth to every patch of skin left untouched. It goes without saying how they spent the better part of their night, with Jeongguk not letting him rest for a single second.

“I do,” Jeongguk nods his head. “What does that have to do with-”

Taehyung keeps silent, waiting for Jeongguk to connect the dots. It’s funny to watch his face while at it. Jeongguk studies every aspect of Taehyung’s features, eyebrows digging together in confusion until his face goes slack and he eyes Taehyung cautiously.

Taehyung doesn’t know what face to pull, to be honest, so he just bites his lip and tries to fight off the wave of relief/giddiness/excitement/embarrassment that suddenly surges up inside of him.

Jeongguk is now staring at him with something akin to pity- no, hold on, it’s more like he’s about to- Oh, god, he’s crying. He’s full on sobbing and Taehyung doesn’t know what to do.

“Jeongguk, are- hey, no need to- Baby, are you listening to me?” Taehyung touches a hand to his shoulder, stopping Jeongguk from hunching over himself the way it feels like he would do, a hand over his mouth as he sobs uncontrollably.

“Jeongguk, oh my god, calm down,” Taehyung tries to help him though a part of him finds it all strangely... amusing? Because it’s good news. Jeongguk either got it all wrong or he’s crying because he’s indeed very emotional about it. And it’s sweet. “Darling, hey, look at me,” he hooks his fingers under Jeongguk’s chin, trying to make him look up at him again.

“Are you- Tae, I’m not- angel, please,” Jeongguk pleads.

“Okay, okay, let me tell you, then,” Taehyung pulls Jeongguk’s face away from his neck, where he’d been hiding it.

His eyes are red and his face teary but he still looks at Taehyung so earnestly. It’s not that Taehyung is into suspense but he’d been wondering when the best moment to tell him would be and now he can’t bring himself to part with it. Ah, to hell with it.

“I’m pregnant,” he finally says, Jeongguk’s eyes squeezing shut as he sniffles, “you’re gonna be a daddy again,” he laughs and this time Jeongguk follows him, pressing Taehyung as close to himself as he can manage.

“Are you happy?” Taehyung asks, just to make sure.

“For god’s sake, yes,” Jeongguk kisses the slope of his shoulder under the robe, wetly climbing his way to Taehyung’s face, where he latches onto his lips and proceeds to kiss the daylights out of him.

“I- I thought, hn-” Taehyung lets Jeongguk’s tongue hook to the roof of his mouth, sucking it and chasing his lips as soon as Jeongguk pulls apart.

They kiss for a while longer, so much that Taehyung’s lips turn red and swollen. “Okay, that’s-”

“I love you,” Jeongguk chants, kissing the bridge of Taehyung’s nose and the shape of his lips. “I had no idea you were- Were you feeling sick? I didn’t know.”

“A little bit,” Taehyung answers truthfully, “I still am, actually,” he grimaces, a hand to his stomach while Jeongguk quickly covers with his own, marvelling at the still inexistent bump.

“How long?”

“One month and two weeks,” Taehyung guesses after taking some time to think, “three weeks now, I guess.”

Jeongguk nods his head quickly, rubbing his face off his tears with his wrists. “Did you go to the doctor?”

“Yes, Namjoon scheduled it for me. Last Friday, actually. I swear, I wouldn’t have fathomed any of it if it weren’t for Jimin. I told him I was a bit dizzy and that’s why I was probably very nauseous but he just said, hey, have you checked for pregnancy.”

Jeongguk chuckles, kissing Taehyung’s forehead fondly. “I’m so happy right now, you have no idea. Oh, god, you’re just wonderful, aren’t you?”

Taehyung laughs, wrapping both arms around Jeongguk’s neck. “I think I do have an idea, you cried so much right now. I thought you’d gotten it wrong-”

“Shut up.”

“My big baby,” Taehyung teases, “what did I expect, marrying such a young boy?”

“I’m not young,” Jeongguk retaliates, biting into the skin of Taehyung’s neck, “I put a baby in you. Twice.”

Taehyung nips his earlobe, delighting in the way Jeongguk groans and digs his nails into his asscheeks. “I know we never talked about a second baby-”

Jeongguk shushes him. “Shut up. I want all the babies with you.”

Taehyung pauses to take his husband in, his eyes so full of love when he watches Taehyung right back. How had he gotten so lucky to find this wonderful boy in a moment when life was looking so gloom for him?

“Thank you,” he whispers, now feeling he should be the one crying, “for everything. For finding me, wherever I was.”

“There’s no thanking me for that,” Jeongguk says, holding Taehyung’s face steady in front of his, wanting to make sure he’s really getting his point across. “I wouldn’t have been as happy with anyone else as I’m with you.”