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When Namjoon had finished unwrapping his presents, he stood up.  

“Time to go.”

So they all headed to Lake Park, blankets and two picnic baskets in tow.  Of course, they let Jungkook carry the baskets, one of which was laden down with drinks.  And, yes, what else?  Turtle cinnamon chips.  The other basket held a secret.

When they had all settled on blankets, they turned their attention towards the fountain.  The boys knew they would all be the star attraction tonight and might even steal the glory from the shimmering fountain.  It began to light up in a passionate purple.  Followed by a pretty pink.  As the fountain alternated between violet and fuchsia, the strains of Moonchild began to play.  

Breeze turned towards Namjoon, delight in her eyes.  This must be such a special moment for him.  To be in his hometown, surrounded by his family and his closest friends, sitting in his favorite place in all the world, watching this beautiful fountain dance to his song while the colors of ARMY illuminated his face.

Breeze was sitting on a different blanket than he was.  They had wisely decided not to be seen together tonight.  All eyes would be on the Bangtan Boys, especially Namjoon.  They didn’t want to start any rumors.  She was a little sad that she couldn’t be near him.  Couldn’t intertwine her fingers with his own.  

She sighed.  She’d have to get used to that.  It would be a long time before they could hold hands in public.  For a moment, a wave of sorrow crossed her face as she contemplated the lonely future ahead of them in the coming years.  Until he was truly free of BTS.  Oh, not of the boys!  They would be lifelong brothers.  But she longed for the day that he was free from the production. And yet, not.  She didn’t want them to ever stop writing music for the world to enjoy.  She wanted to always see her hero, Namjoon, pulling others from the pit of despair.  And cheering them with his inspirational words.  She hoped that in some way, he could always be Anpanman.  She just desired him to be free to marry her.

Namjoon didn’t miss the sadness washing over Breeze’s face.  He felt it too.  He wanted to slide his hand around hers and interlock their fingers and never let go.  He wanted to have the power to always wipe that grief off her face with a kiss or a kind word.  He wanted her to be in his world.  She felt like his entire universe right now.  Yet, he knew she was not.  

He had a whole other world to return to soon, and unfortunately, it was not a microcosm she could be a part of.  She would have to wait a long time on the fringes, seeing him seldom.  Was it too much to ask of her?  As he watched the pink and purple lights painting her face with joy and love, he couldn’t help but contemplate the stress she was about to endure.  He’d be too busy to notice much.  He’d simply look forward to every text and each phone call, brief though they might be.  But she would have much more free time to contemplate what life would be like without him.  Would she really stick it out for the long run, or would she give up on him before this was all over?  A small corner of his heart began to recede before that thought.

Thankfully, his attention was diverted from her downcast countenance by his brothers.  Suddenly, just as it came to an end, Moonchild began to play again, and this time as it played, the Bangtan Boys began to sing it to Namjoon, broad smiles wreathing every face.  An answering grin appeared on his face as he gazed around the circle that they had formed around him, and his dimples seemed to dance to the tune as he began laughing.  His boys were so much fun.  He couldn’t imagine his life without them either.  Truth was he’d missed them all on his travels of the last couple weeks.  He was so used to them always being there for him.  Even when he desired the quiet reprieve of a cave.

How would they reconcile the future?  Would their love for their wives overcome their affection for each other?  Or would they have to buy a hotel to all live together?  He could see it now.  They’d be fighting over the penthouse.  Maybe he could have a hotel built with eight floors, the eighth being reserved for the Bangtan Boys as a whole.  It could be their clubhouse.  He grinned at the thought.  Each man would get an entire floor for his family.  Then they’d all be together forever.  He shook his head at the fanciful notion.  It would be the best of both worlds: he’d get Breeze and their children – oh, those baby booties would finally be put to good use! – and he’d still have Jungkook and Yoongi, Tae and Jimin, and Hoseok and Jin.  And he’d be able to enjoy the delightful girls they were sure to marry and all their many children.  

He smiled as he saw their stunning future.  It outstripped the sparkling present of worldwide fame and superstardom.  Yoongi was chasing two little girls around while his baby boy bounced on his shoulders.  Namjoon had never seen him that happy or with such an abundant peace radiating from his countenance.  His beautiful wife stood to the side, adoringly watching her husband and children while she rubbed her very pregnant belly.  Oh, Yoongi, you got more bliss coming to you than just one little boy!

Then Namjoon saw Jin.  He was laughing as he held the hands of an adorable, little boy and a captivating, tiny girl.  The small boy was, of course, worldwide handsome, but the petite girl took his breath away.  She was the spitting image of her enchanting eomma, who was holding her other hand as they all walked along.  But what struck Namjoon was how happy they all were.  Jin had found someone who loved him for more than his brilliant smile or his air kisses.  Perhaps she’d married him for his culinary skills?  But as Namjoon continued to gaze at them, he became certain it was because of his sense of humor.  Jin had just cracked a dad joke, and his wife had thrown back her lovely head and laughed with a joy that delighted even Namjoon’s heart.

Hobi was dancing.  Of course!  But there were twin boys, about seven years old, dancing with him, their dark heads bobbing up and down as their admiring mama looked on.  A sweet smile was spread across her face as she joined the dance, bending to pick up one of her sweet sons before spinning him around.  As he watched this charming family dance, he knew that Hobi had found a woman who had eyes only for him.  She wasn’t even aware of the other Bangtan Boys.  She was devoted to her precious Hobi.

Jimin, his beautiful smile lighting up his amazing eyes, stood laughing down at something his lovely wife had just commented upon.  He was holding a little girl about three years old, her arms clasped securely around his neck as she lay her head over his heart.  The look on his wife’s face floored Namjoon.  She clearly cherished her husband, who had grown a little heavier with the years.  Yet Namjoon knew this very fact pleased her.  She loved the chubbier version of Jimin.  It wasn’t his six-pack that had attracted her.  His wide-open heart had.  She had fallen in love with that generous soul who always wore his heart on his sleeve.  That’s how she’d known her own heart would be safe with him.  Namjoon could hear many an “I love you” from her adoring husband coming her way in her future.  And he could see the thoughtful actions that would fortify those words over all the years to come.  It seemed Jimin had found his own serendipity.

Tae was standing in an open field, a stiff wind blowing his dark hair back.  His intense eyes were studying the tiny features of the wee boy he was holding in his arms.  He was shielding his son from the mighty breeze.  For just a moment, his eyes left the child’s face to meet those of his wife.  She stood at his elbow, looking down at the beautiful baby they’d created together.  As her eyes met his, she gazed at Tae with a love so full it made Namjoon’s own heart ache.  As the scene panned out, Namjoon saw three other young children running circles around them.  The oldest was a boy with Tae’s floppy hair, his deep, dark eyes, and his boxy smile.  The younger two were both girls, their long hair flying in the wind as their faces reflected a mirror image of their mother’s gorgeous grin.

A glowing grin transforming his entire countenance, Jungkook was staring down in absolute euphoria at the rosy face of his brand-new baby girl.  She lay wrapped in his strong embrace, the faces of her mother and father bent lovingly over her.  A look of such tenderness crossed Kookie’s face that, even in the vision, Namjoon felt his knees buckle.  The boy, now a man grown, had finally found the family his heart had always craved.  His eyes lifted to catch those of his flawless wife.  His were brimming with love and passion, and there was an answering call in her own.  She was stunning, yet her beauty radiated from the core of her, having little to do with her outward features.  And Namjoon knew that this woman saw the real Jung Kook.  She had looked past JK, beyond Jeon Jungkook of BTS.  She didn’t care about the Golden Maknae.  She loved the precious soul, Jeongguk.  Cradling their infant daughter securely with his right arm, he slid his left around his true love’s waist and drew her near to him, nestled safely against his faithful heartbeat.

Namjoon blinked as his own beautiful future flashed before his eyes.  Breeze was there, a look of such contentment on her face that it eased his heart in the here-and-now.  She was holding a precious, captivating, little beauty in her arms.  Somehow, the eyes staring up at her were a brilliant blue.  He was there too, holding a child of the same age, only this one was his son, and he looked just like Joonie.  At his wife’s feet, another little girl, a perfect mix of him and Breeze, sat playing with a puzzle, easily fitting the pieces together. It appeared she had inherited her parents’ brilliance.  He looked up, and an older boy with dark hair and crystal blue eyes stood staring back at him, his eyes asking his appa to join him in playing catch.   Namjoon noticed the ball in his hands and then glanced down at his tiny son, once again finding he had to balance two things in life.  But Breeze had caught the glimpse of her eldest, and she held her arm out towards their tiny son. 

“It’s ok, Joonie, give him to me. I can hold them both.  I’ve been doing it a lot longer than you.  Go play catch with our son.”

As he stared at her, he wasn’t sure how he had been so graced to acquire a wife like this one and all the manifold blessings that had come with her.  He gazed in turn at each of his children, beginning with the oldest and finishing with the tiny boy in his arms, whom he was slowly passing off to the loving embrace of his own dear wife.

Namjoon was shaken awake from his momentary stupor by all the well-wishers that flocked him and the other band members.  He had come prepared.  The picnic basket was full of photo cards he and the boys had signed to hand out tonight.  They spent the next two hours fielding questions and posing for selcas.  

Breeze walked back home with Joonie’s mother and sister.  They had all slipped quietly away as the crowd had overtaken the Bangtan Boys.  Not one of them craved the spotlight.

“I must get home to make the hotteok. Those boys will all be starving by the time they’re done with that mob.”  His mother muttered the words under her breath, but Breeze understood the gist of them, though they were spoken in Korean.

“I will help you,” she smiled at Joonie’s mom.

“Sweet girl,” the woman beamed at her in English.

—

She was standing in his eomma’s backyard.  She’d been so quiet tonight.  Her back was to him, but as he approached her, he saw that she had lined up all the gifts he had given her, except for the earrings and necklace adorning her person and the single rose which he assumed graced a vase in her apartment.  Laid out before her in order, they were the Korean primer, the glittering butterfly, the dozen red roses, the handprint kit, and the box of truffles.

She turned towards him.  “I would have included a hotteok too if the boys hadn’t eaten them all.”  But she was smiling as she spoke without a hint of rebuke in her voice. Then she added very softly, “I think they earned it, don’t you?” 

As she moved, he saw that the last item on the table was the scrapbook Jungkook and Tae had made for her.

“Indeed.”  He grinned, causing his dimples to go into a frenzy.  “That’s why they’re in the kitchen right now with Eomma.  They’re eating fresh, hot hotteok.  You should see the grin splitting Jungkook’s face!”

She laughed as she imagined his wide smile, cinnamon and brown sugar temporarily staining those beautiful, white teeth.

Namjoon did what he had been waiting all night long to do.  He reached out and pulled her into his arms.  As she raised her face to his, he bent his head and covered her lips with his own in a kiss of sweet bliss.  He lingered there for a while, enjoying the scent of her and the taste and feel of her soft lips beneath his own.  

As he drew infinitesimally away from her, she murmured against his mouth, “So, my love, how does it feel to be a quarter of a century old?”

As he gazed down at the amazing love of his life, he had to admit, it felt pretty good.