"Things are going to have to be different for you now. I know that's scary." Yoongi wished he had taken a course or two in how to talk to children about traumatic events, but they didn't teach that at assassin school. "You can't stay here. You have to come with me, so I can keep you safe. Like I want to promise you. And then you can have bedtime again."
He glanced around briefly, spotting something, then he turned back. "Do you know how Luke leaves his planet on the Millennium Falcon? That's you now."
"... I'm Luke?" He looked at Yoongi, eyes a little wide and then he shuffled back from a moment, just to consider everything in his tiny, sleepy brain. He looked at the bars under the bed, stroked his fingers along them and then rolled back onto his tummy and wiggled half out of the bed. Face to the carpet, he held his hand up fearfully. He wanted to be a Jedi a lot, he just didn't want to lose his arm like Luke did. "Promise?"
If they promised no hurting then he wouldn't lose his arm and maybe he could see appa. He had to come back soon. "Promise no hurting."
"I promise no hurting." Yoongi linked pinkies with the boy and smiled at him. Which was when he remembered that he was still wearing his face mask, like an absolute idiot. He reached up and quickly pulled it down, then smiled at Kangwoo as nicely as he could. "We have to go on a big adventure, so we need to pack everything you really, really want. Can you show hyung where your stuff is? Your clothes and your toys?"
Kangwoo nodded and slowly crawled out, standing up and looking at the Darth Vader, Yoda and Luke action figures he had. His favourite gifts from eomma. He collected all three and kept them close as he walked over to his wardrobe and pointed. "That's clothes. These are toys." He bit his lower lip and rocked a little, uncertain, anxious and worried. Why did they have to pack all of his stuff? Was he leaving? Leaving was bad.
Yoongi was packing all the clothes as quickly as possible. There weren't as many as one would have thought. He didn't see a lot of toys either, which seemed strange for the son of a gangster boss. Whatever, he had to focus on the task. But then Kangwoo said that and Yoongi turned to look at him.
That explained why he hadn't been told about the boy. People might not know. "I'm like Han Solo in the story. We'll have to do some forbidden stuff together, but it's okay, because we are together." Well. Close enough. "What's your name? And how old are you?"
"Baek Kangwoo, I turned four this month. This month is August." Kangwoo informed Yoongi carefully as he started to put his three figures delicately and carefully into his front pyjama pocket on his shirt. They hung out of the pocket awkwardly and didn't fit well but he had to keep them close. "I'm sick. I don't go out."
Kangwoo didn't know how he felt about going outside. Mostly anxious. Big change was scary, he didn't want it... but he did want to be Luke and the weird hyung was Han Solo. "Is that your blaster?" He pointed at Yoongi's gun.
"Yes. It's like a blaster." Close enough. Whatever, he had to make this work. Yoongi reached out with one arm and pulled Kangwoo close, making sure to be gentle about it. "Kangwoo, I'm going to carry you and you can hide against me. You'll be safe and there will be no hurting. I will protect you from everyone. Promise, remember?"
He smiled at him again. "Should I tell you what will happen, so it will seem a little less scary?"
Kangwoo nodded and flapped his arms, anxious and clearly close to panicking now. He whined a little and squirmed on the spot, looking at Yoongi's shoes. They were nice. They looked heavy and strong. "It's scary." He didn't want to leave his room, he didn't know what was going on or where he was going.
Holding still, he fought against his desire to move, trying to be good. He breathed very carefully so he didn't panic. "I need to be here."
"I know it's scary." Yoongi agreed and then he pulled Kangwoo against himself, holding him firm, but gentle, just hoping it would help make him feel a little more at ease. He lowered his voice a little, just to make it less intimidating. "I will hold you and you can close your eyes. I have my blaster, so I can protect you. We will go out of the room and there are two friends of mine. They are nice. Together we will go outside and there is a car. You and I will ride in the back, just us. It's a really nice car. Do you like cars?"
Some little boys did! "When we are in the car, I'll tell you what will happen next, all right?"
"Kay." It didn't seem too bad, even if it involved going outside and not asking appa first. Maybe he would ask appa. He had to be downstairs so he just had to get close to wherever appa was. Maybe Yoongi already asked appa? It was hard to be sure. He wrapped his arms around Yoongi's neck and let the older lift him, Kangwoo didn't close his eyes though. He watched curiously as he was carried, looking out for appa or any other surprises.
"My appa has a nice car." He knew that much. "I roded in it once."
"Oh? That must have been exciting." Yoongi felt bad for this little boy for so many reasons. He could see that Hobi had questions he wanted to ask, but he just shook his head and then started out in front of them, heading toward the exit with his two friends in tow. And carrying a little boy. "So, you really like Star Wars, yeah?"
Might be good to keep him talking. He stopped by his car - of course black, of course expensive, and muttered to Namjoon. "You two ride in front, I'll sit in the back with him."
"Got it." Namjoon didn't know what else to do, he just took shotgun but Hobi and tried not to stare too much. There was a small boy in Min Yoongi's arms and all his intel said there should be no kid in this house so what the fuck was going on? He had so many questions.
"Eomma got me Star Wars." Eomma liked to get him things he reacted to positively. She didn't love that her son didn't look her in the eyes or easily give affection, that he melted down a lot and nothing was ever easy but she still wanted her boy to be happy. Star Wars made him happy. Appa didn't agree, he thought Star Wars made him weirder. "I can watch it once a month if I'm good. Not more than once. Only one."
"I see." Damn. What was going on here? "See, Kangwoo Skywalker, some things are going to change for you now, but not all of the change will be bad. Like I think that in future, you'll be able to watch Star Wars more often."
Yoongi adjusted Kangwoo on his lap properly and pressed the button so the divider came up between them and the front of the car. He didn't need an audience for this. "We are driving now, see? We'll drive for about half an hour. Then we get to where hyung lives."
"Nuh-uh. Can't. Watching Star Wars is an ob-ses-sion." Kangwoo sounded out gently as he scrunched up his face, trying to mimic the word he'd learned recently. He rocked a little in Yoongi's lap, eyes fixed on the car mat cause the texture looked nice like the carpets at home. It was fun sometimes, to just run his palm along the slight scratchiness.
Kangwoo looked out of the window, all bright lights and darkness, flying past his eyes all too fast. He whimpered and turned away, pressing his face into Yoongi's shoulder. "I need to go home." He whined in fear, feeling the panic settle in more. He wasn't Luke, he was Kangwoo and he was scared! "Appa will be mad. I need to go home."
"Remember my promise, Kang-ah." Yoongi reached up to gently cup the back of Kangwoo's hand and rock him a little. Damn it, what did he do? "I will make sure no one hurts you. Not ever again. Your appa can't hurt you ever again either. Hyung will keep you safe."
However this was going to play out, he could promise this much. The little boy felt so small and warm against him. He wanted to protect him. Yoongi got his phone out with one hand and searched for the Star Wars theme on youtube, hitting play. Maybe it would help him calm down.
Oh, Star Wars was on. It was almost like a switch. He turned his head, calmed down and just rested against Yoongi as he watched. Fingers in his mouth, he watched the autoplay queue on Yoongi's phone of Star Wars clips with wide, curious eyes. It kept him occupied at least. Eventually, when calmer and Star Wars had satisfied him, he tilted his head back to look at his hyung.
He hummed a little, content and at ease, looking back the screen in awe.
Yoongi smiled at Kangwoo, glad that he had clicked on a whole playlist. He rocked him a little in tune, humming very quietly along with him, since that really seemed to calm him down. Hey, whatever worked. He wasn't sure whether Kangwoo might have something unusual going on with him or just be a traumatised child, but he had the strong suspicion that whatever was going on with him, neither what his father had been doing to him nor what was currently happening was helping the situation. Children needed freedom and structure both. Seemed logical enough.
"We are almost here, Kang-ah. Are you ready to go upstairs and see hyung's place?"
Kangwoo idly nodded, not really listening because it was bed time and he felt sleepy. He curled into hyung and wrapped his arms around him again, eyes closed. The rocking, the humming, the gentleness of the car engine rumbling - it all made him want to fall asleep but he knew his night wasn't over yet. With a sigh, he nuzzled his head into Yoongi's shoulder.
"I see hyung's place. Then sleep time. It's late."
"Then sleep time," Yoongi promised, trying to figure this out. "You can share the bed with hyung. I have a biiiig bed, so it's all right." And the Star Wars music should maybe keep any more meltdowns from happening. Yoongi got out of the car when it had stopped and Hobi opened the door. They all lived in the same building, but Yoongi had his own apartment. Something he was particularly thankful of right now, because he didn't need his friends asking him questions he honestly had no answer to.
"We are going to go on an elevator. Do you know that that is?"
Kangwoo was busy staring at Hobi and Namjoon. Or, more accurately, their clothes. Shiny. Leathery. They were all reflecty with bits of metal hanging off and it was oddly mesmerising. He wanted to touch the silvery bits, they probably were fun to tug and probably felt nice too. "Elvater." Kangwoo parroted out of instinct, copying his hyung. "I've never been in an elvater."
He pressed his face back against Yoongi's neck and sighed. "I like the shiny friends."
"They are nice," Yoongi agreed, causing Hobi to comically mouth 'nice' and then grin at Kangwoo brightly. They were walking inside the building and the elevator doors opened. Yoongi walked in first, then gestured to Namjoon and Hobi as they came on. "They are called Namjoon and Hobi. They are going to protect you too. They are my friends, so my promise extends to them. Now they are your friends as well."
"Hi, friend!" Hobi waved happily at the cute child, smiling brightly still.
"Hey." Namjoon mostly felt awkward about this cause... did they just kill that kid's dad? It felt like they did. And now they had him. They had him and what was the plan here? Who the hell was going to tell Park Jimin? Hopefully not him. He watched Kangwoo, who was openly staring at his buckles, and frowned a little. "All friends."
"Friends." Kangwoo repeated as he tore his eyes off the shiny buckle. "Do you work for appa?"
"Nuh-uh. They work for me." Maybe that could save them that awkward conversation for a while longer. The door opened and Yoongi was once more the first to walk off, smiling down at Kangwoo. "Do you like their clothes? They really are shiny, huh?"
He supposed for a child it had to just look fun and cool, without the sexy connotations. No wonder Kangwoo was fascinated. "This door is the door to hyung's place. Can you say goodbye to our friends?"
He turned around to look at Namjoon. "I'll talk to the boss tomorrow."
"Shiny." Kangwoo muttered as he didn't say goodbye, not really. He didn't look at them and instead, he opted to bury his face into Yoongi's neck. Luckily he was too sleepy to properly melt down or he would have by now, he usually didn't get close to adults but... he lost appa so what else did he do? He needed someone. He was only little!
"I'll look into this, see what I can find." Namjoon promised, his eyes lingering on Kangwoo before he reached out and grabbed Hobi's sleeve. "Come on, you can help."
Yoongi headed into his apartment and pulled the door shut behind him with his free hand, still hearing Hobi talk to Namjoon just outside.
"He is sooooo cute, Joonie!" Hobi was all but squeeing and Yoongi was glad the door fell shut now. He stepped into his quiet apartment with Kangwoo and headed right for the bedroom, where he turned on the light and finally put down Kangwoo, only to tuck him in right away. He stretched out next to him, figuring that he could get ready for bed once the kid had fallen asleep.
"Close your eyes, Kang-ah, yeah? You are all safe now and it's bedtime. Hyung is with you."
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He glanced around briefly, spotting something, then he turned back. "Do you know how Luke leaves his planet on the Millennium Falcon? That's you now."
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If they promised no hurting then he wouldn't lose his arm and maybe he could see appa. He had to come back soon. "Promise no hurting."
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"I'm not supposed to go outside, hyungnim."
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That explained why he hadn't been told about the boy. People might not know. "I'm like Han Solo in the story. We'll have to do some forbidden stuff together, but it's okay, because we are together." Well. Close enough. "What's your name? And how old are you?"
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Kangwoo didn't know how he felt about going outside. Mostly anxious. Big change was scary, he didn't want it... but he did want to be Luke and the weird hyung was Han Solo. "Is that your blaster?" He pointed at Yoongi's gun.
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He smiled at him again. "Should I tell you what will happen, so it will seem a little less scary?"
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Holding still, he fought against his desire to move, trying to be good. He breathed very carefully so he didn't panic. "I need to be here."
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Some little boys did! "When we are in the car, I'll tell you what will happen next, all right?"
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"My appa has a nice car." He knew that much. "I roded in it once."
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Might be good to keep him talking. He stopped by his car - of course black, of course expensive, and muttered to Namjoon. "You two ride in front, I'll sit in the back with him."
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"Eomma got me Star Wars." Eomma liked to get him things he reacted to positively. She didn't love that her son didn't look her in the eyes or easily give affection, that he melted down a lot and nothing was ever easy but she still wanted her boy to be happy. Star Wars made him happy. Appa didn't agree, he thought Star Wars made him weirder. "I can watch it once a month if I'm good. Not more than once. Only one."
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Yoongi adjusted Kangwoo on his lap properly and pressed the button so the divider came up between them and the front of the car. He didn't need an audience for this. "We are driving now, see? We'll drive for about half an hour. Then we get to where hyung lives."
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Kangwoo looked out of the window, all bright lights and darkness, flying past his eyes all too fast. He whimpered and turned away, pressing his face into Yoongi's shoulder. "I need to go home." He whined in fear, feeling the panic settle in more. He wasn't Luke, he was Kangwoo and he was scared! "Appa will be mad. I need to go home."
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However this was going to play out, he could promise this much. The little boy felt so small and warm against him. He wanted to protect him. Yoongi got his phone out with one hand and searched for the Star Wars theme on youtube, hitting play. Maybe it would help him calm down.
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He hummed a little, content and at ease, looking back the screen in awe.
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"We are almost here, Kang-ah. Are you ready to go upstairs and see hyung's place?"
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"I see hyung's place. Then sleep time. It's late."
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"We are going to go on an elevator. Do you know that that is?"
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He pressed his face back against Yoongi's neck and sighed. "I like the shiny friends."
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"Hi, friend!" Hobi waved happily at the cute child, smiling brightly still.
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"Friends." Kangwoo repeated as he tore his eyes off the shiny buckle. "Do you work for appa?"
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He supposed for a child it had to just look fun and cool, without the sexy connotations. No wonder Kangwoo was fascinated. "This door is the door to hyung's place. Can you say goodbye to our friends?"
He turned around to look at Namjoon. "I'll talk to the boss tomorrow."
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"I'll look into this, see what I can find." Namjoon promised, his eyes lingering on Kangwoo before he reached out and grabbed Hobi's sleeve. "Come on, you can help."
Well, they had to work this out. Somehow.
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"He is sooooo cute, Joonie!" Hobi was all but squeeing and Yoongi was glad the door fell shut now. He stepped into his quiet apartment with Kangwoo and headed right for the bedroom, where he turned on the light and finally put down Kangwoo, only to tuck him in right away. He stretched out next to him, figuring that he could get ready for bed once the kid had fallen asleep.
"Close your eyes, Kang-ah, yeah? You are all safe now and it's bedtime. Hyung is with you."