Chapter Text
Yoongi sat down at his desk and turned on his computer, his encounter with Seokjin earlier that day still floating around in his mind. He was acting very suspicious, and Yoongi already had an inkling as to what kind of situation he might be in, but without proof there really was nothing that could be done. He had a lot of experience with cases like these and direct confrontation very rarely worked in his favor.
It bothered him though, how involved he was even getting in the situation considering he had moved away from the city in hopes of getting away from this work.
As a police officer primarily working with domestic abuse cases, it was easy to get worn down; removing victims from painful situations, or sometimes not being able to help at all was enough to break any person after a number of years.
Min Yoongi was a man that kept emotions hidden though, like most in his line of work; it was important not to get emotional when dealing with cases, so he had used Hwa-Young’s divorce as a reason to follow her and Jihoon to this town. She seemed to accept that looking after her at such a stressful time in her life was was part of the reason, but his sister knows him better than anyone, and one look at him told her all she needed to know. She wouldn’t push, and if he ever felt the need or desire to tell her more, she would be there to listen. It was a system that worked for them both.
So as soon as she confirmed she was packing, he rented an apartment a few blocks away from her new house, because protecting her was what he had done for years, and he wasn’t going to stop now.
Jihoon was also such a sweet kid that when Hwa-Young mentioned the many job interviews she needed to attend around town, Yoongi didn’t hesitate to suggest he stay with him for a few days. It would give her time to mourn the loss of her marriage in peace, and Yoongi would have a distraction and an excuse to visit the town as well as spend some time with his favorite nephew – so what Jihoon was his only nephew, doesn’t mean he can’t be his favorite!
Of course, what he didn’t expect was for the first person he met to possibly be in an abusive relationship. And although he had planned on taking a step back from this type of thing, it wasn’t in his nature to let it happen without trying to help. So with a quick shake of the head, Yoongi focused on his computer and started to type.
Seokjin let out a shuddering breath as he gazed at himself in the mirror, trying to apply coverup on the worst of the bruises as gently as he could. Each swipe to his cheek brought prickles of pain but he gritted his teeth and finished up. With a last glance in the mirror, Seokjin limped his way to the kitchen and started on cleaning the dishes. He really had to be stricter with his schedule, otherwise he’d always be late and he would never have time to do all the that was expected of him by the end of the day.
It took him until 13:30 to get all his chores done for the day, so with the half hour he had left until the end of school, he went to take a quick shower. Seokjin never took a long shower – or hot for that matter- for fear of using too much water and not having enough for the kid’s baths, so in 5 minutes he was out and drying himself.
He grabbed the house keys and made his way out of the house with his coat this time, before heading for the school. He really was lucky that the school also had a kindergarten for Jungkook in the same building, because he’s not sure just how understanding the toddler would have been if he had to be separated from his brothers every day.
As soon as he gets to the school, he notices Yoongi standing by the gate with a swarm of kids around his legs and a panicked look on his face. Seokjin walks a bit faster when he recognizes who the kids are and calls out from across the street.
“Boys, stop bothering Mr. Min, and back up a bit please!”
At the sound of his voice 5 heads swing in his direction and lock onto him, and before he realizes what a mistake it was to call out from so far, Taehyung is getting ready to run towards him with no attention paid to his surroundings. Seokjin heart stutters for a second as he yells for the child to stop, but before Taehyung can get far enough to risk being in danger, Yoongi clamps a steadying hand down on his shoulder. The child looks up at the man with a pout, but doesn’t try to free himself, instead choosing to cross his arms over his chest and sulk. The other children including Jihoon, watch on in interest as, with a chuckle at the kid’s behavior Yoongi moves his hand up to Taehyung’s face and pokes his nose gently with a ‘boop’. After a second of Taehyung’s surprise, he’s rewarded with a giggle and boxy smile as Seokjin finally crosses the street and reaches them.
As soon as he’s within reach, Seokjin is on his knees and is pulling Taehyung in front of him. He stares firmly into the startled child’s eyes as he speaks, hoping to hide the tremble in his voice at what could have possibly been a very dangerous situation.
“Tae, you know very well that you cannot run out into the street like that, first of all not on your own, and secondly not without looking both ways before crossing the street, do you understand? It could have been very dangerous, and you could have been seriously hurt!”
Taehyung is nodding as soon as he’s done, eyes wide and wet with realization. With a nod to himself, Seokjin stands back up and takes the child’s hand in his, just to be sure, before looking back to Yoongi.
“Thank you so much for stopping him, and I’m so sorry the kids had you surrounded like that, they know not to disturb people.”
The brunette sent a stern stare at his kids when he said this, satisfied when they all looked down in regret – except for Jungkook, who had grown bored of the whole ordeal and had decided that sitting in the middle of the sidewalk and playing with his bunny was a good idea.
Yoongi responded with a smile though, claiming he wasn’t bothered and they were all nice kids, as Jihoon wandered over and latched himself onto the man’s leg. With a shy smile and a nod in response, Seokjin motioned the rest of the kids over. He hugged and kissed each them before standing once more, turning when Yoongi spoke.
“Hey, before you go, can I ask you something really quickly?”
With a quick nod from Seokjin he went on.
“I know we said we would have our playdate on Saturday, but Jihoon here is really impatient and since the kids have the day off for Halloween on Wednesday, he was wondering if they could spend the day together and go trick or treating in the evening. Right Jihoon?”
Yoongi looked down at his nephew with a subtle but expectant look on his face, before the child looked up at Seokjin and nodded quickly, smiling brightly. And although Seokjin was slightly taken aback by the child’s sudden excitement, he couldn’t quite find it in himself to refuse such a cute face. Besides, as much as it pained him to see his bunny grow up, this was good, Jungkook needed to start making friends his age and start detaching himself from his father.
He swung his gaze from Jihoon to his own kids, wanting to chuck with them first before confirming. He let out a laugh though, at the sight of his 5 kids looking up at him with endearing pouts and hands clasped together in the universal ‘Please’ gesture. Even Jungkook seemed interested in the idea, which was a miracle in and of itself, considering usually nothing that didn’t involve his brothers, his father or his bunny seemed to gain his approval.
So after directing a fond smile at his kids, he turned back to Yoongi and nodded once firmly.
“I think that can be arranged, we can meet up at the park around 9?”
As soon as it was settled and Seokjin had set a reminder on his phone, he noticed how late it was getting, gathered the children and headed home after the chorus of goodbyes from each side.
Yoongi watched them march off for a second before turning his attention to the child waiting at his feet with his hand outstretched. The man let out a sigh before reaching into his pockets and pulling out a lollipop, unwrapping it and handing it over to him. As soon as the candy was in his reach Jihoon snatched it and promptly shoved it in his mouth. Yoongi watched him with sick fascination as lollipop residue instantly got all over the kid’s hands and around his mouth. How was this even possible? It had only been in his hands for a second. How can children slobber so much?
Jihoon looked up at him a second later and pulled the candy out of his mouth as he spoke.
“Why did I have to lie to the mister?”
A grimace etched itself onto the man’s face at the reminder. He didn’t want to get Jihoon to lie, and he certainly didn’t want Hwa-Young to think he was teaching her child bad things, but he needed to speak with Seokjin as soon as possible.
“It’s because I have a surprise for mister Kim, so I needed him to think it was your idea, do you understand?”
Jihoon’s eyes widened as he thought about it before exclaiming.
“Like a birthday party?
Yeah buddy, just like a birthday party. So you can’t tell mister Kim, got it? And don’t tell the others as well.”
The child nodded excitedly; birthdays were so amazing, it would simply be criminal to spoil the surprise!
Satisfied with the answer, the man leaned down and picked up the regrettably stickier child and settled him on his hip with an ‘oof’. He frowned as he shifted Jihoon until he could hold him without fear of dropping him and mentally compared him with Jungkook. Surely, by his size Jungkook couldn’t be much heavier than Jihoon, yet Yoongi found it hard to believe Seokjin, thin and frail Seokjin was able to hold the toddler seemingly without a problem. Sometimes he even held the others in his arms, and there was no doubt in his mind that they were significantly heavier!
But then again, considering what he had found out about Seokjin the previous night, it actually didn’t surprise him quite as much as it should have. With that in mind, Yoongi started to make his way home while attempting to avoid the sticky fingers trying to wind their way through his hair and enjoying the giggles escaping the child in his arms.