"Dad?"

"Yes, Jimin?"

"What happens at 12:00? Why does everyone keep talking about it?" Jimin asked, frowning slightly.

Namjoon just opened his mouth and left it hanging for a few seconds. "Well, it's New Year's Eve, so at 12:00, the new year starts. It's a big deal on TV. They all throw parties and they drink- well, they drink adult drinks-"

"Adult drinks? Like the pop that you wouldn't ever buy us because you said it had too much sugar?"

"Uh, no, Jimin, like-"

"He's talking about alcohol," Yoongi informed wisely while continuing to read his book. "Whiskey, vodka, wine, beer, the like." He looked up, blinking. "Not that I have any experience with any of those drinks whatsoever."

Namjoon gave him a suspicious glance before turning back to Jimin. "It's just a big party basically, only it's on TV like I said."

Jimin's eyes lit up. "Can we watch it?"

Namjoon blinked. "You've never seen it before?"

Jimin shook his head. "My bedtime was at 9:00."

Namjoon was silent for a long moment before he nodded and smiled. "Yes, I think we can."

"We can stay up all the way until midnight?!" Jimin squealed, and Namjoon chuckled, ruffling his hair and messing up the part like he used to.

"All the way until midnight," Namjoon answered with a grin. "Think you can do it?"

"Of course I can!"

***

Namjoon looked over at all six kids sitting on the couch, their eyes closed and their heads resting on the shoulder of the sibling to their left with Jin leaning his head on the armrest of the couch.

Namjoon gave a soft smile before checking his watch.

He sighed, looking back toward the TV and letting the minutes dwindle away.

Do I wake them?

Or should I let them sleep?

They're really cute when they're sleeping.

But then Namjoon imagined the disappointed look he would see on Jimin's face if Jimin woke up the next morning to find out that he had missed the new year.

I've got 2 minutes to decide. First...

Namjoon stood up and squatted in front of Jin, giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

For this coming year, I hope Jin can meet someone he feels comfortable being friends with, someone who accepts him as he is and doesn't force him to change, and I hope that Jin can just be a kid instead of trying to be an adult to take care of his brothers.

Namjoon went down the row one by one with a kiss and a wish.

I hope that Yoongi doesn't wind up convicted of any crimes and sent to a juvenile detention facility. And...I hope that he grows closer with the friends that he has and that they're people that he can trust and rely on when so many people - kids and adults both - don't seem to place any trust in him.

I hope that Hobi will go out more and open himself up. Wonpil is a great friend, but I don't want Hobi to think that Wonpil is the only friend he's allowed to have. He's scared to trust other people, but if he does, I think he'll grow more confident in himself. I also get the feeling like I'm missing something about Hobi, and I want to find out what that is so I can be a better father to him and for him.

Jimin...I hope that he feels safe here and that we can make this his home again. I hope that he feels loved and appreciated and knows that we never forgot about him for a second. I hope that he can overcome his circumstances and meet kids his age outside of his own brothers and that he can learn to stand up for himself without Tae always protecting him. And...I hope he never changes. Because I lost him for 5 years but when I saw him, I knew it was him instantly. I don't want him to change because no matter where he goes, I want to always be able to find him.

For Tae...I hope that he learns to love for himself rather than just for others, always trying to protect or save them. I want him to be able to enjoy just being himself. It's a blessing that they're triplets but it's also hard for them because they struggle to develop independently. Please help him be his own person.

And Jungkook...please help all the anger and resentment and guilt drain out of his heart and only leave love. And dear Lord please help him get better at school because he's almost failing math and I'm getting this scary premonition that he won't graduate and it will haunt all of us forever and will be the source of memes for the infinite future.

Namjoon smiled as he finished and checked his watch.

He sighed before gently shaking Jin, who shifted as he woke up, and his shift woke Yoongi, who in turn woke Hobi and so on and so forth until Jungkook was sleepily picking up his head.

The TV was just starting to announce the grand event.

"10! 9!"

"Eight," Jin mumbled, rubbing his eyes with fisted hands.

"Seven," Yoongi said, yawning and squinting at the TV.

"Six!" Hobi said, already caught up in the excitement even though having only just been awoken.

"Five?" Jimin asked, looking at Namjoon as though to make sure he was doing it right.

"Four," Tae said, squirming.

"Three," Jungkook said, grinning.

"Two," Namjoon said with a smile.

"One," they all said together, growing quiet.

Then they all exhaled together.

"Now what?" Jimin asked, and Namjoon hesitated before shrugging.

"That's basically it. Now it's the new year."

"Well, what happened to the old one?"

"It's...gone," Namjoon said, lacking a better explanation.

"Gone where?" Jimin asked, not noticing as the bodies around him shifted back into their previous positions.

Namjoon smiled at the couch, five of his six children already back asleep. "It's gone asleep, just like you're going to do so goodnight sweetie," Namjoon said, giving Jimin a kiss on the crown of his head as his eyes fluttered shut.

And so the old year of pain, longing, and discovery ended and a new year of pain, longing, and discovery began.