"Dad! Dad!" Jimin called out, running into the living room, looking as if he just stopped dance practice.
"Jiminie?" Namjoon's tone was at first calm, figuring it was just Jimin exaggerating about how annoying the intro to his latest dance was.
"Parent teacher interviews are next week." Namjoon looked up from his laptop with wide eyes, and slowly shut the laptop screen. Jimin mirrored Namjoon's expression, the father-son pair both looked panicked.
"I'm scared Dad. I'm scared that I'm going to get a bad grade and that my teachers won't like me!" Jimin exclaimed, sitting next to Namjoon on the couch and looking in his direction.
"I'm scared that I'll fuck up, in front of my boyfriend-not-boyfriend!" Namjoon turned to Jimin and exhaled deeply, rubbing his hands together.
"I'm going to call Seokjin-kun, he can fix shit like this." Jimin chuckled, both nervous and somewhat relieved, standing up and walking to the doorway. He froze and looked back to Namjoon.
"Dad, are you sure you don't like Seokjin-san?" Namjoon raised his eyebrows, at this point, he had accepted defeat to himself, but not to Jimin.
"No. I only like him as a friend, nothing more." Jimin tutted, Namjoon sighing when he heard Jimin's fading voice.
"Uh huh, sure you don't like him. He's just a friend. Nothing more..." Namjoon reached for his phone and he tapped Seokjin's contact, putting the phone to his ear and waiting.
"Seokjin-kun?" Namjoon's voice was not anxious like it was with Jimin moments previous, a soft smile played on his lips and his cheeks were pink, with anticipation, it seemed to be.
"Namjoon-san! Hey! Parent Teacher Interviews next week, right?" Namjoon's heart fell and he exhaled shakily, running his left hand through his hand, his right hand gripping the phone tightly.
"How did you know? Jimin only just told me!" 'How did he know? I'm the parent... he's the person I rented to play the part... so why does it feel I'm not on par with him?'
"It was on the school's website, I saw it there a few days ago." 'Website?' Namjoon's insecurities that he hadn't thought about in a while relapsed, highlighting themselves and clicking ctrl b of their own accord. He couldn't help but sink further into the couch, taking a shaky breath as he did so.
"Jimin isn't even your kid, how is it that you're such a better parent than me?" Namjoon voiced his security out loud without realising he had done so. For so long, he was constantly worried he wasn't a good enough parent to Jimin. He taught Jimin to work hard and to go for his dreams, he taught Jimin that a good work ethic was the key to success and that while money did mean a lot, it didn't guarantee happiness.
"I'm hardly there Namjoon-kun, and trust me, you're a great parent." Hearing the words from Seokjin somehow validated what he was supposed to be thinking. 'If Seokjin says I'm a great parent... then I must be, right? He's perfect in every way possible... I don't think he'd give a compliment without being sincere about it... right?'
"If you say so..." His voice was shaky, as was his breathing. His eyes snapped towards the door in which Jimin had exited minutes ago and he nearly dropped the phone. 'What does Jimin think? Does he think I'm a bad parent?'
"Relax, Namjoon-kun. You're panicking, your voice is getting more and more shaky with every sentence." Namjoon relaxed slightly, not realising how much he was panicking until that moment.
"My place. Now." It was impulsive, Namjoon knew, but he needed to perfect the dynamic between them three in time for the interview. Namjoon and Seokjin's chemistry was already brilliant, this, Namjoon already knew, however, him and Jimin were a different story.
They interacted, but it didn't feel as natural as Namjoon thought it could.
"I want you and Jimin to get to know each other. I want the father-son chemistry to be more natural. We can't screw up parent teacher interviews. Sure, we can pass on the first day, but now? We can't afford to fuck up Seokjin-kun." Judging by the silence on the other end, Namjoon assumed that Seokjin was surprised that he had taken action first.
"Alright... I'll come over now. I'm starting the car so I have to hang up, okay?" Namjoon hummed in acknowledgement and hung up, smiling as he left for the kitchen.
10 minutes later, the doorbell rang, as Namjoon had expected it to. Namjoon went to the door and answered it, gentle smile gracing his face. Seokjin resisted the urge to poke one of his dimples and instead grinned widely, shutting the door behind him.
"You remember where Jimin's room is?" Seokjin nodded, pointing to the direction.
"Very good." Namjoon tilted his head cheekily. "Good luck!"
Seokjin walked to Jimin's room, at first confident, but as soon as Namjoon's vision had left him, he shrunk slightly. 'Does Jimin even like me? He's a really good kid, and I really like Namjoon. I want this to work, because I know that if Jimin doesn't like me, then Namjoon won't either... I want them both to like me...'
Seokjin knocked on the door gently, pressing his ear to said door.
"Jimin?" Seokjin called softly. "It's me, Seokjin?" The door opened 2 seconds later to reveal Jimin's tired face.
"Hey, come on in." Seokjin followed Jimin and shut the door behind him, taking his time to look around the room.
The bedroom was small, but not unbearably so, the walls were white in colour but were crowded with posters and sticky notes generously spread. Many posters of famous dancers graced the walls, an artistic masterpiece in Seokjin's opinion. Jimin's desk was messy, as if he were currently doing homework or planning something. His bed was plain in colours but excessive in sheets, making for a warm area. His cupboard was black and had notes drawn on in chalk.
Seokjin sat down on the bed, observing Jimin for a few minutes before speaking up.
"Did you know I was coming over?" Jimin spun in his desk chair to face him.
"I just heard my Dad say that he'd call you and that you could fix it." Seokjin chuckled softly and shook his head.
"That sure sounds like Namjoon-kun." Jimin awkwardly stood up from his chair and sat on the windowsill, facing Seokjin.
"I thought you'd just be hanging out with my Dad... did he tell you to come here?" Seokjin nodded nervously, looking away from Jimin as to break the tension.
"Yeah, said that our father-son chemistry needed to be more natural by the time the interview comes around, he was worried that we would stuff it up." Jimin nodded in acknowledgement.
"Dad's definitely one to worry about everything." His voice was monotone, but it wasn't because he didn't care about the conversation. He merely didn't know Seokjin well, was all.
"I don't know you that well, but I'd like to get to know you." Seokjin found himself saying. "And that's not just because of the whole 'pretending to actually care' thing, I do care Jimin. I genuinely like you and your dad, and I care about both of you." Seokjin's voice was sincere, as were his words. Jimin smiled softly, shy almost.
"So, tell me about you." Jimin nodded and raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement – 'He does that a lot.' Seokjin noticed.
"Well, my favourite colour is orange, because it ignites passion and fire. When I was little, my Dad used to tell me stories about the colours in human forms and what they represented, they all had different personalities and voices. I'm pansexual, you know what that means." Seokjin nodded and leaned forward slightly.
"I'm very passionate when around my Dad because I want to make him happy! He's made me so happy for a long time, so I want to be able to do the same for him. But I'm insensitive sometimes and I never know what people need. My Dad always knows what people need." As Seokjin encouraged Jimin to talk on, he learnt a few more things just from observing him.
First, was that he was practically a toned down, more relaxed version of Namjoon. The two did have a few different traits which made them not as similar, however it was very clear that Jimin was Namjoon's son. Their eyes lit up in similar ways, Namjoon's, however, shined brighter than Jimin's did. They spoke about things they loved in similar ways, but again, Namjoon held more passion in his voice when he talked. The two both needed to be close to someone to talk the way they were talking, so Seokjin assumed he was doing good.
"Seokjin-san?"
"Hm?"
"Tell me about Dad. How do you perceive him?" Seokjin hummed thoughtfully and zoned out only the slightest. 'Pretend it's Ayaka-san who's asking, and not his dimmer carbon copy, just relax...'
"Your Dad is very precious to me, he's a beautiful person. Namjoon-kun is one of the most passionate people I've ever known, it's in his voice and in his hands. He's definitely one to panic easily, you can always tell what he's feeling just by his voice. He cares a lot about you and you're his first priority. I know he's awkward with people, which is why he's an editor and not a grocery worker. He loves to edit, because he believes that it's an insight into what people are like. Your Dad is the most intriguing people I have ever met, and I wouldn't trade him for the world." Jimin smiled lightly and looked away. The room suddenly felt awkward, Jimin was clearly contemplating and Seokjin was trying to ease tension.
"Did I say something...?" Seokjin found himself asking, watching Jimin's expression only to find an increasingly more frustrated expression.
"You said too much, now get out of my room." Jimin managed, still immersed in his thoughts. Seokjin was frozen, his eyes wide. 'What did I do?'
"GET OUT!" Jimin screamed. Seokjin quickly exited, Jimin slamming the door after him.
Seokjin's eyes were wide as he searched for Namjoon, in complete shock.
"Namjoon-kun?" Namjoon emerged from one of the bedrooms and overlooked Seokjin's expression. He then wrapped his arms around him, Seokjin instantly hugging back.
"I just want Jimin-san to like me."
Jimin kicked his cupboard door, sitting onto his bed with a huff.
"Why did I send him out?" He didn't know why it angered him, the thought of Seokjin loving his Dad – which was as obvious as the sky's existence.
It was obvious, in the way he spoke, in how he chuckled quietly as he thought of something Namjoon had done the other day, it was all there.
Jimin assumed it was jealousy, he was jealous that he had to give his Dad away and jealous that Namjoon's attention was seemingly on Seokjin. But he wanted them to be together. He just... needed time to get used to it, that's all.
Author's Notes: About Jimin's change of heart, this is the chapter in which he truly realises that not all of his Dad's attention would be on him anymore, you know, typical stuff.