Jin had to sit in the hall again, but he didn't really mind. He'd felt closer to his brothers ever since Namjoon had told them that their mom was gone, that Namjoon and his brothers were all he had left. They'd gone from 8 to 7, and their invisible bonds had tightened somehow.

Jin didn't mind so much.

But now that he was even closer to his siblings, sitting still in a classroom by himself was torture. He'd expected to be thrown out, so it hadn't come as a surprise.

***

Yoongi didn't know exactly what had changed when he'd learned the truth about his mom. He felt...

More clingy.

He craved the warmth of Jin's hand in his, or J-Hope's hand on his back, or Jimin's soft smile, or Taehyung's soothing voice, or Jungkook's...maknaeness.

He felt more insecure by himself.

"Hey, Yoongi, you okay?" Wonho asked, giving him a kind smile. Kihyun just stared at him.

"Yeah," Yoongi said, nodding. But he didn't know if he was.

***

"How was your day?" Jin asked, slipping his hand into Yoongi's.

Yoongi shrugged. "It was all right."

"Just all right?"

Yoongi sighed, rolling his eyes as he exhaled but letting a smile grace his lips. "Okay, it's better now that you're here, happy?"

Jin grinned. "Yes, actually!"

***

Hobi climbed into the car.

"How was your day at school, sweetie?" Namjoon asked, flicking his eyes toward Hobi in the rear view mirror, making sure the seat belt clicked before he shifted gears. The triplets had had a shortened day, so he'd picked them up second after the eldest two, leaving Hobi as the sole missing link.

"I think..." Hobi's voice came out hesitantly. "I think I made a friend. But I'm not sure!" he added, his eyes widening defensively, his hands waving in the air.

Jin's smile was slow but wide. "That's great, Hobi! What's his name?! Or her name? Is it a girl?!"

Hobi but his lip, looking out the window. "His name is Wonpil. But he's friends with everyone," he said, his words slamming into each since he was speaking too fast. "So I don't know if it's really a thing or anything. I don't know." His eyes shifted back and forth as he bit his lip.

"Still!" Jin was excited. He hadn't heard Hobi talk much about school, but he'd assumed that Hobi would be fine since he was...Hobi. "That's good, Hobi. That's really good. I'm sure he wants to be friends with you, probably even more than you want to be friends with him."

Hobi frowned. "I don't know, Jin-"

"Hobi."

Hobi cut off, looking at Namjoon. "Yes, Daddy?"

"Why do you think that you aren't good enough to be friends with him?" Namjoon forced himself to exhale before he got upset. What's with my sons thinking they're inadequate? Are they picking up on that from me somehow? "You're amazing, sweetie. Don't doubt yourself, okay?"

Hobi looked unsure but he nodded. "Okay, Daddy, but why am I amazing?"

Namjoon just sighed. "Baby, there are too many reasons for me to list all of them. Your personality, your smile, your laugh, the way you can dance, how you cheer everyone else up-"

"But why, Daddy?"

"Because you're so happy and kind and you sacrifice for the happiness of others and-"

"But why?"

Namjoon sighed again, realizing that Hobi was just entering one of Namjoon's least favorite phases of childhood. "Because I said so," he eventually answered and Hobi's mouth formed an O.

"Okay, Daddy."

Namjoon sighed for the third time, happy to have finished that conversation, but then Jin piped up, "What do you like about me, Daddy? Tell me why I'm special!"

Everybody else yelled as well, wanting Namjoon to list off everything good about them, causing Namjoon to sigh for the fourth time.

Needless to say, it was a long car ride.