After eating, Hoseok seems much happier. Namjoon smiles at him and has small conversations with him even though some things Hoseok says make no sense at all.

"So... why so young?" Namjoon suddenly asks, and Jin tilts his head a little in confusion, so Namjoon tries to clarify. "What made you choose to have a child so young? You must've been, what, sixteen, right?"

"Yeah, I was," Jin replies, looking at Hoseok instead of Namjoon, "And it wasn't really a choice. Hoseok's mother was a girl I liked a lot back then. We slept together the night of our first date, and she ended up pregnant. We started going out before either of us knew, and when she found out, she told me. She didn't want an abortion, and I didn't really want that either. And now I have Hoseok."

Namjoon looks at Hoseok as well. "What happened?" He asks, and Jin doesn't really want to remember. "Did you two break up, or...? What happened to her?"

Jin bites his lip and is quiet awhile before he finally answers. "She died," he says softly, and Namjoon seems a bit surprised. He seems like he's going to ask how, so Jin answers that question too. "When giving birth to Hoseok. It was too much for her body to handle. She wanted Hoseok to survive. And that's why I gave Hoseok her last name."

"I'm sorry," Namjoon whispers, and Jin smiles and shakes his head like it's okay but the memories are making his heart hurt. "I bet she'd be happy if she knew that Hoseok turned into this sweet little angel because of you."

"That's just Hoseok," Jin utters, smiling. "I had nothing to do with it."

Namjoon is quiet for a moment. "What was her name?" He asks eventually, and Jin takes a breath.

"Jung Eunji."

"I see... It's a nice name."

"She was great," Jin says with a bright smile. "I really loved her."

"I bet."

They stop talking about it after that, and someone cleans up while Jin goes to get ready for work in the back.

Namjoon's mother leaves after asking Namjoon to keep an eye on the new employee, to make sure the others properly show him the ropes and to make sure he's doing okay.

Jin comes out from the back after a few minutes wearing a yellow dress that goes down to his knees and a white apron and thigh-high leggings, along with his black and white sneakers. Namjoon notes that even though it's hard to tell with the leggings, Jin's legs are nice and smooth, and then Namjoon wonders if Jin just always keeps them like that.

Jin's blushing, his whole face bright red compared to the rest of his skin; kind of like strawberries and cream.

The girls comment on how cute he looks, and one of them takes off her headband and puts it on him. "There," she tells him with a sweet smile, "Now you look a bit more like a girl."

Another girl reaches into her purse that's behind the counter and pulls out some lip-gloss and blush, handing them to the first girl. "Put some on him, he'll look cute," she says.

"Ladies, he's not some doll," the old woman scolds them, but the first girl puts the blush and lip-gloss on Jin anyway. Jin notes that the lip-gloss tastes a bit like strawberries.

"But Yoona-ssi, look at how cute he is," the first girl, Mina, says cutely, and Yoona just rolls her eyes but smiles.

Mina then holds the lip-gloss and blush out to the second girl, Chaewon, who doesn't take them.

"He can keep it," she tells Mina, who hands the makeup to Jin, and then he shoves them into his little apron pocket where his notepad and pen will be.

"Alright," Yoona says after a moment, grabbing the attention of everyone. "Seokjinnie, there are a few rules. One, your son can't be running around and getting into trouble, so I recommend finding a babysitter."

Namjoon sits up a bit. "I'll watch him," he says, and Jin looks over at him.

"You sure?" He asks, biting his lip. "Hoseok can be a handful."

"I'm sure."

"Well... okay then. Thank you." Namjoon smiles at that and Jin turns back to Yoona.

"Two," she continues, "It's not really a rule, but try not to speak too much to the customers. Ask them their order in a friendly way, ask them if that's all, and then walk away. Sometimes customers get annoyed with the waitresses who speak too much, for whatever reason, so to avoid problems, just avoid talking."

"Okay, I understand," Jin utters, and then Yoona speaks once again.

"And the last rule is that even if a customer is being rude, be kind to them at all times. If they're being rude or making rude remarks, especially because you're a boy dressed as a girl, bring the problem to me."

"Will do, Yoona-ssi."

"Good boy, now, Mina," Yoona turns to Mina now, who was texting someone on her cute little flip phone, "I want you to show Seokjinnie a few things. Look, there's a customer about to come in now, so I need to get to cooking. Chaewon, you stay on the register."

Namjoon smiles as he plays with Hoseok, and eventually, the three year old falls asleep in his arms. Namjoon gets a bit bored sitting there doing nothing but drinking coffee, but it's alright. Watching Jin work is good enough he guesses.

Later, it's almost time to close up. Jin gets to go home, so he takes the now awake Hoseok's hand, his regular clothes, and some leftover food in a bag, says goodnight, and leaves the diner to walk home.

(Namjoon earlier had offered to walk him back when he got off, but Jin had declined. Namjoon had been so nice to him already.)

It's dark and there's not a lot of people around. Jin starts to get tired quickly from being on his feet all day, so he decides to take a shortcut through an alley near the diner. He regrets it when he's suddenly slammed against the brick wall and he loses Hoseok's hand.

There's someone in front of him, only slightly taller than him, grabbing his wrists and pinning them to the brick. Jin can hear Hoseok screaming and crying, but he can't see him, and he's panicking a little.

"Hey," Jin gets out angrily, struggling in the stranger's grip. "Stop it, let me go-"

The stranger laughs a bit. "You're a fiesty girl," he says, and Jin's just pissed off now. The stranger touches Jin's chest, forces Jin's thighs apart with his knees and is just touching him in places he shouldn't.

The stranger seems to realize something isn't right when his hand is up Jin's dress, and Jin takes that moment of the stranger's confusion to knock him away and onto the ground.

"No, right now I'm just really fucking angry," he spits, "A really fucking angry boy in a dress. And you're just an asshole, but we both knew that already."

Jin can still hear Hoseok crying, but it's so dark and he can't tell where it's coming from.

He's looking around but then he's suddenly on the ground, and the guy is hitting him. Hoseok's crying is much worse, and Jin just needs to hold him, to tell him it's alright. Jin just hopes Hoseok can't see what's going on.

And then suddenly the stranger isn't on top of him anymore, Hoseok's crying isn't that bad and Jin's being asked if he's okay. He's a bit out of it and he feels dizzy, but somehow he manages to nod.

Namjoon helps Jin into a sitting position, and Jin has to ask. "What are you doing here, hyung?"

"I was on the way to my friend Yoongi's apartment," he replies, and finally Hoseok starts to calm down a bit more. "I heard Hoseok screaming and I found you being attacked. Are you okay?"

"I think so," Jin nods, and Namjoon helps him to his feet, helps him pick up the things he dropped earlier. "I just feel a bit... disconnected, I guess?"

"I understand," Namjoon utters, and Jin holds onto his arm as they both begin walking out of the alleyway. "Please be careful when you're by yourself or with only Hoseok at night, okay? And always try to let me walk or drive you home if possible. What did he even do?"

"He thought I was a girl." And that's the only explanation Namjoon needs to get what happened.

"That asshole. Next time, I won't let you go alone."

"I'm sorry, hyung," Jin murmurs, and Namjoon shakes his head.

"No need to be sorry. It wasn't you. Now, point me into the direction of where you live. I'll take you home from now on so no one else can try to hurt you."

-

When they arrive at the apartment building, Namjoon is a bit surprised. "Hey," he says, and Jin looks at him, "This is where Yoongi lives."

"Oh? Weird coincidence..."

Namjoon smiles at Jin, but now that there's more light, Namjoon notices the blood on Jin's lip and the smile is gone. "Let's get you both inside, okay? What apartment number?"

"14," Jin tells him, feeling really tired, and Namjoon helps him to his apartment.

Once inside, he sets Hoseok down and then Jin sits on the small sofa. Namjoon looks for a soft washcloth and wets it with warm water, going over to Jin. He dabs at his busted lip and his chin, where there is dried up blood.

"Thank you, hyung," Jin whispers softly, and Namjoon just smiles again, his dimples on display. Hoseok climbs on the couch and curls up next to Jin with his sippy cup, twirling his hair as he looks up at the ceiling.

"It's no problem," Namjoon replies, looking at Jin. "Maybe next time though, you should change before you leave. But either way, I guess it won't matter because you'll be with me."

"Yeah," Jin murmurs, blushing a little. He reaches up and takes off the headband, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"You're really cute, you know," Namjoon tells him, and Jin looks up slightly, "Even when you're not wearing that dress. You're cute. I'd definitely take you out on a date if you'd let me sometime."

Jin blushes a bit more. "O-Oh, I'm not..." He begins, but trails off after a moment. He doesn't want to offend Namjoon. "I don't really like boys like that."

"Hey, I get it," Namjoon says, and he doesn't sound upset at all. "Not everyone is the same. But can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," Jin breathes, and Namjoon sets the washcloth down, looking Jin in the eyes.

"Have you ever been with a boy?"

Jin's face is on fire, and he suddenly looks away. "I haven't," he answers truthfully. "I've been with one person in my whole life, and she was a girl. I loved her. I love the child I had with her."

Namjoon guides Jin's face back towards his. "But if you've never been with a boy," he begins, "How do you know you don't like them? How do you know you won't like being with one?"

Jin squirms slightly, avoiding Namjoon's eyes. "I don't know..."

"At least try being with a boy before you decide?" Namjoon asks, but it's more like a suggestion. "I mean, only do it if you want to."

Jin shrugs. "Maybe someday."

Namjoon smiles and stands up. "You should change and then come meet Yoongi really quick," Namjoon says, and Jin looks down at Hoseok, and the older's eyes follow. "He's asleep, and Yoongi is only like, three doors down. He's actually younger than you by a year."

"Alright, I guess," Jin murmurs, standing as well. "But it has to be quick."

"Okay."

-

Hiii, i hope you liked this chapter ♥ !