⊱┊ᴅɪsᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ༊*·˚

Noise. Noise is all Jimin hears and sees crowds of people. People talking here and there, laughing or calling out to others. With the weekend coming up, Jimin decided to take Minjun to the mall. It was planned as an escape from sitting at home and thinking all day about what happened yesterday. Jungkook made him feel good about himself until everything came crashing down. Of course, Minjun caught on quickly, something was up with him, but Jimin didn't want to burden him with it.

Like any other parent, Jimin is on high alert as they walk through the mall. The mall is busy; getting too crowded for Jimin's taste. They have already walked through a few shops to buy new clothes for Minjun. It's hard to acknowledge that Minjun is growing, and not just slowly. It's like it was yesterday that he held him in his arms for the first time.

Jimin's hands start to ache, a warm feeling starts to cascade over his palms with the amount of bags he's carrying. The afternoon is approaching. Which leads to the decision that the small restaurant shops in the mall should be emptier and it is a good time to go for a meal. Jimin lets Minjun decide what they eat, settling for a lighter meal.

"What are you eating, papa?" Minjun curiously asks and eyes Jimin's plate.

"This is sesame chicken," Jimin replies and pushes the plate forward with the tip of his fingers, smiling from ear to ear. He is happy Minjun does have an inquisitive side. "Do you want to try?"

Minjun eagerly nods and slides back and forth on the chair with excitement. This only makes Jimin feel pure contentment in his life, seeing him so eager to try new food. He stabs a chunk of sticky chicken onto his fork and offers this to Minjun to take onto his own plate, but instead, the small boy opens his mouth for Jimin to put the meat piece into his mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Good thing, he didn't choose the spicy variant. The sheer heat from spices would have been like a fire in Minjun's mouth, way too hot for him to handle at his age.

"Yes!" Minjun calls out enthusiastically, nodding his head a few times and eyes another piece of chicken Jimin has stabbed onto his fork. Before Jimin puts the reddish-brown chicken piece in his mouth, his gaze stops on Minjun, who is eyeing the chicken with puppy eyes. Jimin jokingly moves the fork in the air and has to bite his lip to keep from laughing as Minjun follows the fork with his gaze.

"Don't tell me you want another chicken piece."

Only then does Minjun's gaze leave the chicken on the fork and their eyes meet. This time Jimin can't help but giggle. Minjun's expression is just too cute.

"Was it that tasty?" Minjun answers him with a silent but tentative nod, and smiles. Jimin continues to hold his gaze on his smile. Is Minjun actually happy? Jimin grins and holds out the fork towards Minjun who immediately eats the chicken piece. He wipes the stains from the sauce off his son's cheek and pushes Minjun's plate towards him.

"Alright, no more. You've got your own food, baby."

Jimin is still slightly upset, but he thinks he is starting to act more like himself since Jungkook didn't turn up at the kindergarten. Minjun is a soft-natured boy and things easily upset him, but seeing him right now, smiling from ear to ear just like Jimin was, made Jimin feel that he made the right decision to go out shopping. Not only Jimin has been upset about the abrupt disappearance of Jungkook in their lives, but in the end it is what it is, isn't it?

Jimin says as he places his hand on Minjuns' face and rubs his thumb along his soft squishy cheek.

Just as they are about to finish their lunch, something in Jimin's peripheral vision catches his attention. He looks around but, by the time he has turned to see what it could possibly have been, there was nothing in the surrounding area. How odd... Turning back, Jimin picks up his cup and swirls it around hearing the ice clashing against each other with the sloshing sounds of the cool liquid, he proceeds to take the last couple of sips.

"Excuse me, sir..." A small girl with chocolate brown hair and a fringe stands barely within a two steps proximity from their table. Her soft voice is laced with shyness, which can be seen as she drops her head slightly, eyes no longer fixed on Jimin. She might not be older than 5 years old, Jimin thinks.

Jimin's gaze then drops to something she holds in her hands, being a very similar-looking plush bunny to the one Minjun owns. It's the one Jungkook got him, but before he can longer dwell on the thought she speaks up, glimpsing at him.

"You dropped something earlier."

With her small hands, she holds the plush bunny up to Jimin, a small smile soon forming on her lips. Jimin accepts the bunny gratefully and gives her a big smile, then looks to Minjun to give him the bunny. He knows how important the bunny has become to him lately.

His gaze flickers back to her. "Oh, you're so kind, aren't you? Thank you. The stuffed animal means a lot to my son."

She quickly nods as a male voice calls out in the background and she turns there and dashes away after giving them both a quick wave goodbye. Jimin watches her with adoration as she runs to her father.

After devouring the delicious food, they stayed seated for a further 15 minutes, which to Jimin's delight, the mall became less busy. He was then able to relax and enjoy the time with his son, picking out new outfits and maybe a few small new toys.

Jimin is suddenly hit by an unwarranted and undefined reason for longing. He doesn't quite understand it at first since he's really happy being out with Minjun. He's avoiding some things, and it isn't a lie that he's desperate for answers but Minjun is his priority and if Jungkook doesn't want to give him the talk he deserves then he'll focus on what he needs to focus on and that's Minjun.

"Piano!" Minjun suddenly calls out as they are on their way to the exit and remains rooted to the spot in the middle of the mall. They're on the side of the hallway, blocking the path where people now have to walk past him to get to the exit and be careful not to knock him down. Jimin pulls him into the middle of the aisle, eyes furrowing and not quite understanding what Minjun is trying to imply. The lines between his eyebrows become more noticeable as his eyes fall on his son's index finger pointing at the piano with his arm outstretched.

"Juju, what about the piano?"

It is not the first time Minjun has seen a piano in a mall, but the way he reacted was as if he was seeing it for the first time. And are those sparkles of fascination that Jimin sees in his eyes?

Jimin snaps out of his thoughts when he doesn't get the answer he was hoping for. Minjun rushes towards the piano like a scalded cat, without even a second's hesitation. Jimin is left to stand in a hall of people walking by every now and then, wondering what the hell is going on and where the sudden energy comes from. The displaying anticipation Minjun shows irritates Jimin to an extent that he feels like a lost lamb standing in a meadow.

Jimin is quick to catch up and follow Minjun with a concerned facial expression. The present frown on his face deepens when Minjun climbs up on the piano bench, not holding back. It almost seems as if Minjun has never had stage fright, to begin with, because the piano is somewhat in a more secluded area, yet there are benches everywhere with some people sitting on them. In other words, Minjun is just stepping into the centre of attention. Where did he suddenly get this new courage that he dares to do this? Jimin has trouble recognising his son.

He stops a few metres away to see what Minjun is up to. The last time he saw Minjun with such positive feelings was when they did something with Jungkook and he even held his hand-

Damn it, I'm thinking about him again, when this was what I wanted to prevent from happening and what I came here for, Jimin bemoans and sighs, disappointed in himself that his thoughts keep wandering to the same person and that he can't stop them.

And then it happens. The sound of piano notes resounds in the hallway. People walking by and sitting nearby look up curiously. Jimin can only look in bewilderment at his son, who is clearly running his fingers over the piano keyboard. Jimin is speechless and takes a step closer, amazed at what he sees as note after note comes from the piano. He cannot believe his own eyes at what he sees. It can't be that Minjun is sitting there playing when he hasn't had one piano lesson in his life.

It is not a masterpiece that Minjun plays. More like something you learn when you start playing the piano in Jimin's opinion, but Minjun doesn't seem to care and plays it perfectly. His son appears completely absorbed in his world as he sits in the spotlight with his feet dangling from the piano bench and his brown hair falling in his face.

But it seems like with the last note reality comes crashing down on him with people clapping their hands. It still amazes Jimin how it hasn't bothered him before. Minjun's eyes frantically look back and forth between the crowd of people that have come together and he's probably searching for a way out or looking for Jimin. This performance has obviously taken a toll on his self-confidence.

Shortly after, two small arms snake around Jimin's legs, and Minjun presses his head against his knees. Probably to hide his burning cheeks. Jimin believes Minjun was just too preoccupied to recognise the consequences of his small performance.

Ah, look. Now he's timid again. My little angel.

"Minjun, you were fantastic," Jimin says warmly, chest swelling with pride as he pats his son's head, who's presently burying his face in his knees and tightening his arms around his legs. Jimin can't help but be overwhelmed by how immensely proud he feels. Regardless of how nervous Minjun is at the moment. "How did you-I mean... how did you learn to play the piano?"

"Kookie."

Jimin stiffens, thinking he misunderstood and his mind made something up (it wouldn't be the first time). It shakes him to the core when Minjun repeats the same name again.

"W-where did you learn...the piano?"

"Kookie."

Jimin tries to school his reaction, even though he's close to bursting into tears. He's just seen Minjun play the piano with so much passion and his son did just that because of Jungkook.

Why is it that when he's supposed to forget Jungkook, he all but comes back like a strong wave? It hurts. It hurts a lot but at the same time, he needs to be stronger than this. He can deal with his emotions later. He's promised a day of fun with Minjun and he's going to give his son that.

"What do you want to do next Juju?"

Minjun looks up at him, places a finger on his cheek and acts like he's thinking deeply. Jimin finds his son amusing.

"How about I make you your favourite dinner and then we watch your favourite movie today?"

The cheer that erupted from his son was so loud and bright that for a moment, Jimin forgets Jungkook. At least for a moment, he did it successfully this time.

On their way home, Jimin makes sure to do some grocery shopping. He hasn't counted the bags he carries with his hands, but there must be plenty, so he must look like a pack mule. Minjun even insisted on carrying some of it, even though Jimin said no at first. In the end, Minjun snatched a bag from him when Jimin had to put all the bags on the floor recently to catch his breath. Of course, he picked one of the heaviest ones and Jimin tried to take it back from him, but he only gave it back when Jimin gave him another one; one that only had clothes and was very light for Minjun.

Once home, Jimin set about putting things away while the dish cooked quietly on the cooker. Jimin used the time to set the table and calm down a bit, checking on the food from time to time. For the rest of the evening, Jimin even feels relieved and without worries. They watch a film together until Jimin sees Minjun's eyes flutter shut and his head becomes heavier on his chest. It is then that he turns off the TV and decides it is time to put him to bed. Jimin helps Minjun wash, change and brush his teeth. Again and again, his tiredness took over his body and Minjun almost fell asleep while brushing his teeth.

Finally, Jimin tugs him to bed and then, with a relieved sigh, walks into the living room, which is connected to the kitchen as an open kitchen. A ringing sound comes from the living room, which Jimin doesn't even notice at first because he is too focused on what is going through his mind. The ringing stops, but only a few seconds later his mobile phone sounds again. The pleasant melody that normally does not bother him suddenly has a completely different effect on him when he sees the caller's name on the display.

"I can't deal with this right now."

Without hesitation, he runs into the kitchen and takes a bottle of red wine from one of the wall cupboards, which he has hidden well. Knowing full well that Minjun is fast asleep, he pours himself a glass and sets it down on the counter in front of him. He leans on it with both hands and lets his head hang between his arms with a deep sigh. This is not how he had imagined the evening to be.

He reaches for the wine glass and drowns the remaining red liquid in a few gulps. One glass quickly turns into a second, after which he has to sit down as the alcohol begins to take effect. With a death stare directed at his mobile phone, which rings again, he walks towards it and presses the red button. Jimin is absolutely not ready to have a conversation with the person.

Without thinking twice, he pours himself a third glass and drowns it. Again and again, he presses the red call button on the screen of his phone and rejects the incoming calls of this one person. Jimin doesn't know why he doesn't just mute it. Maybe it's the alcohol or maybe it's the feeling he gets when he sees the call that Jungkook could actually really care. That would be just too wonderful to be true.

....But what if he does? In the back of his mind, he's aware that he didn't let Jungkook speak his mind when they met in front of the supermarket and while Jimin may feel bad about it, his feelings and thoughts got the better of him, and he refuses to let it get to him. Because in the end, Jungkook lied to him. He wasn't a kindergarten teacher in the first place.

His hands ball into fists, knuckles going white while one hand grips the wine glass tightly. Jungkook having lied to him hurts. But the question is; would he have let Jungkook this close if he had known the truth? If he had known that Jungkook didn't work in the kindergarten to earn money?

It doesn't even occur to Jimin to ask himself what the real reason for his being there was. He just assumes, based on what the kindergarten teachers have said about him, that it is for a worse-than-pleasant reason. Jimin feels conflicted and the thought of being wrong gnaws at him.

He's allowed to get mad because Jungkook hid things from him but Jungkook's allowed to not disclose everything to him, right? He's allowed to decide when to share details about himself and what to share about himself since they're getting there-at the getting-to-know-each-other part. If only he had been patient.

Anger flows through him like hot lava. He's not only angry at Jungkook but himself for being so childish and stubborn. Jimin's eyes harden and he casts a hostile glare at his phone, which he no longer even touches to reject incoming calls. Jimin sees the screen flicker on several times before it goes dark again. He's had at least twenty missed calls at this point.

But Jimin needs answers and he's not facing this situation alone. He has Minjun to consider. Of course, he's allowed to demand, he's allowed to question Jungkook because he wants Jungkook in his life. But also because Jimin wants Jungkook in Minjun's life. With that in mind, he simply shakes his head and continues to glare at the lifeless phone before him.

Jimin doesn't hear when the thunder breaks above him in the sky, only taking notice of the increasing raindrops pattering against his clear window. He wishes for his emotions to be washed away with the rain as he takes another drink, ready to simply turn off his phone and-

An abrupt rapping knock, more like an unrelenting pounding, sounds on his door Jimin furrows his brows, irritated by whoever knocks at his door at ten at night. He attempts to stand up, the world slightly spinning due to being tipsy. Jimin does his best to gather himself and walk up to the door to give the person who's standing behind his door a good talk. He's swaying on his way there, and then his fingers are tightly grasping the doorknob to keep himself from falling. He hiccups when he opens the door. His eyes close for a split second, opening to reveal an unexpected sight.

"Jungkook?!"

________

A/N: next part will be out in 30min-1h

What do you think will happen?😙