"I know I've warned you guys like 10 times already, but my family is actually crazy." Chelsea said, resting her wrists on the steering wheel while they were stuck in Boston traffic, "And  it's not like 'they get drunk and sing old white people songs' crazy, I'm talking straight up dysfunctional."

"Oh, I'm sure it can't be that bad," Namjoon replied cheerfully, "Everyone thinks their family is weird. Our family in itself is weird so we've seen just about everything, right darling?"

"Uh huh!" Nari piped up from the backseat, momentarily distracted from her beach fueled daydreams, "Don't worry, Chelsea, I'm sure that everything will be okay."

The woman sighed as the line of cars slowly moved forward, "I really admire your optimism, both of you."

"I think you're just nervous, babe," Namjoon reassured her, "I was scared too when I introduced you to my parents, but they loved you. I'm sure the same thing will happen here. Plus they live literally right next to ocean, and how can anyone be unhappy at the beach?"

"Oh, I think you're about to learn how." Chelsea dryly answered and turned on to the freeway, "There's still one more exit ramp before we get there. Are you sure that you want to do this? We can still back out now."

Nari shook her head with a laugh and leaned back in her seat so she could have a better look out the window. This was only her second time in Massachusetts, and her first time ever on an overseas trip with just Namjoon. He insisted on at least one dinner with Chelsea's family before the two of them got engaged, so she had no choice but to finally relent. In addition to parents, her older brother were also joining them.

The girl was eager to start on their adventure as well. She had only good memories of Boston and of Chelsea, so the prospect of getting to know the both of them more was exciting. She even dyed her hair a new color in preparation: blue in honor of the ocean.

"Alright. We're here." Chelsea finally parked the car and let out a deep breath, "Nari, Namjoon: I want you to know that the person I become when I'm with my parents is not reflective of who I truly am. Thank you, I love you, and I apologize in advance."

Namjoon gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before stepping out of the car, "Don't worry Chels, it'll go great. I just know it."

Nari followed suit and the three of them walked up to the front of the house. It looked quite a lot like the home that Namjoon's parents lived in; a simple, uncomplicated, two story house. However, the spectacular view of the ocean on the horizon definitely separated this one from the rest.

However, before they could knock, a stout red haired woman holding a lit cigarette threw open the door. "So, Chelsea, you've decided to grace us with your presence." She greeted them and stood in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Good to see you too, Mom," Chelsea replied with a sigh, "This is Namjoon and Nari, my boyfriend and his daughter."

The two of them bowed politely. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Bradley," Namjoon introduced himself, "I've really looked forward to meeting y-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Naym-Joon." The woman interrupted, cutting him off and then turning to Nari, "Your name was Naree wasn't it?"

Chelsea shook her head before the girl could answer, "Mom, her name is pronounced like Nah-lee, not Naree. There is no 'r' sound in the Korean language. And it's Nahm-Joon. Use a soft 'a' sound. I told you all this before we came."

"But then why is it spelled with an R?" Mrs. Bradley argued, "Why can't you spell it N-A-L-I? How was I supposed to know that wasn't how it's pronounced?"

"Her name is spelled with an R because that's the direct translation from Korean," She calmly explained, "It's really not that hard to remember to pronounce it with an L instead, Mom. Nah-lee."

"It's fine!" Nari quickly interjected, not wanting to be the source of tension, "You can say Naree. I don't mind. Or you can call me Lily, that's what my name means in English."

"Lily, that's cute. I'll call you that." The woman replied with a nod and then turned to her daughter, "See Chelsea, she doesn't care. You made such a big deal for nothing." She looked the girl up and down, "I like this one, actually. How old is she again?"

"Almost thirteen." Namjoon answered, desperate to get a word in, "Her birthday is in Nov-"

"She'll fit right in then. Your brother's kid about that age now." Mrs. Bradley cut him off once again, "Well, I guess you guys can come in. I need to check dinner anyway. Your father and brother are in the living room. Drew couldn't make it today so it's just Jake."

The woman disappeared inside the house while Chelsea quickly turned Nari and Namjoon, speaking in Korean, "Are you guys sure that you want to stay? I told you, she's not easy to get along with."

"I'm sure she's just one of those people that takes a bit to warm up to others." The boy answered, remaining optimistic, "Besides, all mothers are a little defensive when meeting their daughter's boyfriend. It'll be okay."

"Alright, if you insist," Chelsea relented, "And Nari? Don't let them call you by anything that isn't your name. I know they can pronounce it, they're just not trying."

The three of them entered the house, slipping their shoes off at the inside of door. It seemed pretty normal to Nari. Just like Namjoon's parents, pictures of the family at various ages were displayed all around the house. However, she did notice that there weren't very many with Chelsea in them. Two boys, one with brown and the other sandy blonde hair, dominated most of the frames. Soon, they got to the living room where an older man, younger man, and a boy about Nari's age were sitting.

"Alright, this is the rest of the family." Chelsea introduced them, "Dad, Jake, and Logan: This is my boyfriend Namjoon and his daughter Nari."

The two politely bowed and said their hellos, but were met with a lukewarm response at best...except for the youngest boy. Nari could feel his eyes studying her and she stepped closer to  her guardian as her cheeks turned red. This was definitely awkward.

"Hello," Namjoon addressed them warmly, "I've been looking forward to finally meeting all of you. Boston is such a beautiful place as well."

"Well, we make it work," Mr. Bradley replied, "Go ahead and sit down. You're the singer, right?"

He nodded, "Yes. I'm a musician in a group called BTS. I'm not sure what you've heard about us but-"

"You look way different than your picture online." The youngest boy interrupted, "I googled you. I didn't know that you had a daughter though. I'm Logan, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you," Namjoon replied with a smile, "I hope that I live up to your expectations." He gently nudged the girl to his left, "This is Nari, my daughter. Mrs. Bradley said that she's about your age."

"She said we can call her Lily," The woman in question reappeared from the kitchen and took a seat next to her husband, "Nari is hard to pronounce anyways. Lily is much less confusing." Chelsea was about to say something, but thought better of it and held her tongue as she sat beside Namjoon.

"Logan, why don't you show her around?" The young man with brown hair said to his son, "Take her to see the beach or something."

The boy eagerly stood up and nodded, "Okay. Follow me, Lily."

Nari looked to Namjoon for permission, who nodded. "I can come with you if you want me to," He added, "I'd like to see the beach as well."

"Nah, you don't need to," The man with brown hair replied, "This is a private beach. They'll be safe. Besides, they're kids and they should be doing kid stuff."

"Alright." Namjoon hesitantly agreed, "Go on, darling. Text me if you need me."

"Hey." Chelsea called after them, as the boy already started to head out the door, "Logan. Don't get her into trouble."

"I won't, Aunt Chelsea." He grabbed Nari's hand, much to her surprise, "Come on, let's go!"

The screen door slammed and with that, only the adults were left in the house. Namjoon cleared his throat, eager to clear the silence, "So, Jake, was it? How old is your son?"

"Oh, he's fourteen." He answered, "Your daughter seems nice. You still with her mom?"

"Jake!" Chelsea reprimanded him, "That's really not polite, you know."

"Uh, it's okay," Namjoon replied awkwardly, "Nari is adopted so we aren't related biologically, but we still keep contact with her birth mom. She visits occasionally."

Mrs. Bradley nodded, "Well, that's good. Chelsea never really was much of the mothering type."

"For your information, Mom, I really like Nari," Chelsea answered between gritted teeth, "She's a good kid and I'd be happy to be her mom anytime that she needs me."

"Yes, they're very good together," The boy said quickly, placing a steady hand on his girlfriend's arm to calm her down, "We met through my daughter, actually. Chelsea was the librarian at her school and she was really there for her when I couldn't be."

"Yeah, how do you even parent anyways?" Mrs. Bradley asked, "If you're as famous as Chelsea says you are, you must be busy. Do you just leave her alone all day then? Poor girl."

Namjoon felt a pang deep in his heart. Neglecting the needs of his daughter due to his busy schedule was one of his biggest insecurities and fears as a parent. He worried constantly whether he was providing enough for his little family. He wanted the best for them, the best for her, and he knew that he would never be able to truly give them that while he was still an idol. 

 Lately he and Nari had taken to doing puzzles together. At least once a week, they would sit at opposite ends of the living room coffee table after everything was done for the day and spend time together as they slowly pieced together the picture on the box. He could always tell when she was getting tired (and she would always get tired because late nights were one of the few times that they had all to themselves) because her glasses would slip farther and farther down her nose before she pushed them up. Sooner or later, she would give up completely on the subtlety and meander over to his side of the table for a hug and kiss goodnight. Sometimes she stayed in his arms for hours, and other times only for a few seconds, but he treasured all of it. Nari's love was worth every bad thing that had ever happened to him and he would go through it all again in infinite lifetimes if it was the only way to end up here.

Every day Namjoon felt torn between his two worlds: The exciting, fast paced, adoring, life of an idol and the simple yet incredibly rewarding domesticity of fatherhood. Sharing his art with the world was so important to him and there was nothing like looking out on to a crowd of thousands of people every night knowing that they came there just for you...but there was something just as special about that goodnight hug that made him think that maybe giving it all up wouldn't be so bad.

"Well, she's almost never technically alone," Namjoon finally said, "We take her along almost everywhere we go because we want her to feel included, even if she can't technically take part in whatever we're doing. I also have six other band members that she's close to, so one of them usually there to spend time with her if I'm not available. I try to spend as much time as possible with her when I'm not working though."

"It still sounds awfully lonely," The woman replied, crossing her arms, "The entertainment business isn't good for kids. Especially ones that only have one parent. Once you take that away, they're left with nothing."

"Okay! Speaking of Nari, I think we should go check on her and Logan." Chelsea abruptly stood up, yanking Namjoon with her, "Come on Joon, this is a vacation. We should be spending time with the people we love."

Without waiting for any words of protest, they left; letting the screen door close with a bang behind them. Chelsea carefully led Namjoon around to the back of the house and stopped right before the trail that led through a little patch of woods to the beach. She intertwined their hands, holding his fingers tightly, and looked him in the eye, "Kim Namjoon, you are the best dad in the entire world." She said sternly, "You love your daughter more than anything else in the entire world and I know that you put everything you have into raising her. Nari loves you so much and the both of us are so lucky to have you, hell, the entire world is lucky to have you. I have never loved or been loved as wholly and completely as I am when I'm with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I really do."

The boy's face turned a light pink, "Is...Is that a marriage proposal?"

"N-No!" Chelsea stammered, her cheeks turning rosy as well, "Not right now, at least. Someday."

"Right. Someday." Namjoon agreed, slipping his right hand out of hers to gently cup her face instead, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, Chelsea Bradley. I can't think of anyone else that I would ever want to be a mother to my children. I want to start a family with you." He placed a kiss perfectly on her lips, "But for real though, if you wanna get engaged now you need to tell me. I can get a better ring here in America."

She laughed, playfully pushing him away, "I'll keep it in mind, Moon-Joon. Now, we should probably get your daughter. I don't know how much I trust Logan. Jake was a literal menace at his age."

"You're probably right," The boy followed behind her on the well worn path, "Nari isn't only my daughter though, she's ours now."

Chelsea paused, and then smiled before nodding self assuredly, "You're right. Our daughter."

"Hey Chels?"

"Hm?"

"Are we gonna go back to your parents' house after we get Nari?"

"Oh fuck no," The woman immediately shook her head, "I think we've seen enough of them. Let's bail and go to the aquarium. They've got a new crab exhibit."

Namjoon's eyes instantly lit up, "Ooh, crabs. You're so perfect, babe. Also I am so sorry for not believing you about your parents. You were right, they do suck. I think that we should probably never visit again."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hiiii besties how are you? taking a little break from the txt chapters to give you some namjoon and chelsea content uwu. did we ever decide on a ship name for them? oh also this is a reminder that nari's name is phonetically spelled nah-lee! like chelsea said, there is no r in the korean language so it's pronounced with an l instead.

a little bonus nari headcanon that was mentioned in this chapter:  nari is always having to push the frames of her glasses back up on her nose bc they're just a little too big for her. the orphanage provided them so they don't fit very well, but when namjoon asked her if she wanted a new pair she said no and he couldn't bring himself to convince her out of it lol