ACT III | SCENE XII

❝BANANA MILK❞

SEOKJIN'S HOME ALWAYS oozed warmth and comfort to yoongi, so that he instantly felt at ease whenever he walked in. in front of him, he could sense rian's slight hesitation as she walked in. unlike her, haneul eagerly let go of her hand, doe eyes bouncing everywhere in fascination as her small feet padded around without a particular destination. "it's so big!" she gasped, throwing her arms up.

yoongi unwittingly let out a soft chuckle at the expression on her face. he pressed his lips together when her gaze fell on him. "daddy, is this where you live?" she asked. again, he found himself stiffening at the word that he couldn't accustom himself to.

"no, this is my house." seokjin answered instead as they stepped into the living room. "uncle, this is your house? it's pretty!" haneul gave him a big grin. momentarily taken aback, seokjin simply blinked before offering her a smile. "thank you, haneulie." he turned to yoongi with wide eyes. "i'm an uncle," he mouthed, earning an eye roll from the younger man.

"please, make yourself at home." he turned his attention to rian who was standing awkwardly, gesturing to one of the soft beige couches. she nodded with a small smile. she settled down on a couch, sitting with her back straight as she beckoned for haneul to sit next to her.

the girl excitedly plopped down next to her, smile never leaving her face. reaching into the paper bag she held, rian pulled out a bottle of banana milk. stabbing the straw in, she handed it to the six-year-old who looked even happier at the sight of the drink.

"would you like anything, miss son?" seokjin asked kindly. "no, thank you." she replied, lips curving up. "not even a glass of water?" he tried again. "i'd like that, thank you." she answered after a moment of contemplation. "jeongguk, go get the nice lady a glass of water." seokjin turned to the man.

the youngest of the three looked at him curiously. "hyung, this is your house." he deadpanned. "so?" the model cocked a brow. "so, you should know where everything is and—"

"i'll do it." yoongi offered before another argument ensued between the two. he made his way down the familiar hallway to kitchen. the soft pitter-patter of feet made him look back to see haneul following behind him. he stopped, staring as she caught up with him. "why didn't you stay in the living room?" he asked. "i wanted to go with you, daddy." she replied, slipping her small hand in his.

yoongi stared down at their entwined hands before reluctantly walking on. the little girl skipped happily next to him. his gaze kept flickering to her, and he exhaled deeply out his nose. she still sipped on her banana milk but it was so clear to see that she was ecstatic to be in his company.

walking into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out out a jug of cold water. reaching for a glass in the cabinets, he poured some water into it. the entire time, he could feel haneul watching him keenly. he tried to pretend not to notice, but whenever their eyes briefly met, her grin would grow impossibly wider.

placing the glass on a small tray, he started to leave the kitchen. hearing the sound of her small feet hurrying after him, he stopped and looked at her again. reluctantly, he held a hand out to her, balancing the tray in the other. beaming brightly at the gesture, she grabbed on to his large hand, blinking up at him.

when they reached the living room, seokjin was trying to make polite conversation with rian to ward off the air of awkwardness. the three pairs of eyes fell on them as they reappeared. yoongi could feel both jeongguk and seokjin's questioning stares when they glanced at their held hands and then at him. he shook his head in reply.

"here's your water." he turned to rian with a kind smile. "thank you." she gave him a quick bow before taking it from him. he let go off haneul's hand to go sit on one of the upholstered chairs in the room. instead of taking her place beside rian, she went after him, wriggling herself into the small seat with him.

there was a moment of silence where the adults all shared a look before fixing the child with their attention. "haneul, sweetie, that seat's too small for two people." rian began. "come sit beside me where it's more comfortable." she patted the space next to her.

"mm-mm," the six-year-old shook her head. "i want to sit with daddy." she announced. yoongi rubbed the inner corner of his eye, forehead wrinkling as his face contorted as though he was about to cry. jeongguk gave him a sympathetic look and he forced a smile in reply. "but it's not comfortable. if you sit next to me, you're still sitting here with him, aren't you?" rian tried once more. haneul only huffed in reply, nose scrunching and lips pushed out in a pout.

"yoongi, can i talk to you in private for a moment?" seokjin suddenly chimed, getting on his feet. "you too." he glanced at jeongguk. as soon as yoongi stood up, haneul followed suit. again they all looked at her. "w-where are you going?" yoongi bit his lip, irritated by his stutter. "where you're going." she replied, looking up at him.

"but you can't follow me where we're going." he told her, slight frown tugging on his brows. "haneul, can i borrow your dad for a little while? i promise i'll bring him back." seokjin spoke up with a soft smile on his lips. yoongi glared at him as soon as he said that damned word.

"promise?" haneul looked at the blond. seokjin dragged a hand over his chest before lifting it up next to his face. she grinned at the gesture before turning to go sit with rian who was watching with an indecipherable look on her face.

blowing a breath out of his mouth, yoongi followed seokjin and jeongguk out of the living room. his eyes found haneul for a second as he walked. it was going to take more than simple words to convince her that he was not her father.

🌻🌻🌻

some more yoongi and haneul interaction uwu. and a little seokjin and jeongguk banter. hope you liked it!
so i was thinking of changing dl's update schedule from mondays to mondays and fridays? but idk, i mean can i keep up? i don't trust myself smh. let's make it mondays and when-i-feel-like-it-fridays.