Chapter Text
Hoseok wakes very early, his stomach rolling weirdly. His bed feels like it's rolling weirdly too. He feels clammy. He groans softly. Is he... still drunk? He doesn't even remember drinking! He sits up and his head hits something that didn't used to exist over his bed.
“Hyung?” mumbles a newly familiar voice overhead.
Oh.
Hoseok looks blearily around. His bed really is rolling. Or rather, his bunk is rolling. Because he's on a ship.
“Hyung, y’okay?” Jimin slurs from above.
“Ah. Yep. Yes. Totally fine, baby, go back to sleep!” Hoseok says, his voice a little higher pitched than natural.
Jimin seems to be too sleepy to really notice, though. He hums happily and rolls over.
Hoseok gets up and showers. He showered yesterday after his shift and it's not like it's a particularly good shower, but he needs something to settle his stomach.
It doesn't really work.
Maybe fresh air is the thing.
Hoseok dresses quietly, letting Jimin sleep for now. It's barely past 5 am, the early dawn light just starting to seep past the curtain.
Even still, as Hoseok slips out of the cabin, he hears someone plucking a guitar next door. Despite his uncomfortable stomach, he pauses for a moment to listen... before shaking himself out and moving on.
Hoseok has to hold his breath as he passes the kitchens, already in full swing preparing for breakfast. His stomach lurches unpleasantly at the very thought of chicken dakjuk.
But he does settle once he gets outside.
The sun is breaking the horizon, strewing glittering dawn across the expanse of sea and lighting each wisp of cloud with wild watercolours. Hoseok braces his elbows on the rails and watches the colours slowly wash the sky blue.
It's a nourishing start to the day. For his soul, but not his body.
In an attempt to nourish his body too, he buys a packet of crackers in the little staff shop and eats them out on the deck where it's safe. And he slowly drinks a big Sprite. This isn't a sustainable diet, but he can't do his job with no fuel in the tank so it'll have to do for now, just until he gets his sea legs.
The day passes cheerfully, especially once he starts working. Hoseok really enjoys his work, and he really appreciates that it keeps him out on deck, keeps him moving around and distracted. Exercise probably helps with getting your sea legs too. Stands to reason. It's very helpful generally.
His job involves leading some of the fitness classes, and also offering one-on-one guidance to anyone using the outdoor exercise equipment. The classes are very fun, mostly full of energetic ajummas. And helping people is rewarding.
He's very strict with himself and doesn't skip lunch, even though he feels queasy when he goes inside. He buys a gimbap and another Sprite and has lunch on deck. This really isn't sustainable, nutritionally or financially. But it's okay for now. He'll cut himself some slack on his first real full day of normal boat times.
When he clocks off work, he decides to go for a walk around the ship before attempting dinner, hoping he can manage to eat in the canteen instead of buying more crackers or gimbap.
He's halfway up an external flight of stairs when he hears an enthusiastic “Hobi-hyung!” from somewhere above him, and almost breaks his neck trying to figure out where it came from.
On the deck just below the top deck, tucked in between two lifeboats, someone’s waving over the rail at him.
“Taehyungie?”
Hoseok climbs up to Deck 12 and sees Taehyung leaning out from between the lifeboats, boxy grin on his face.
“Join us, hyung,” he calls.
“Us?”
Hoseok jogs over to find Taehyung and Yoongi both wedged into the narrow space, both nursing cigarettes.
“Oh dear!” Hoseok says automatically, scrunching up his nose and taking a step back.
Yoongi looks embarrassed, but Taehyung decidedly does not.
“You don't wanna join us for a smoke?” he asks.
“Of course I don't! I'm a fitness instructor!” Hoseok scolds. “And it's a very unhealthy habit that you should both seriously reconsider.”
“Mmh, smoking isn't cool,” Taehyung agrees, and he takes a deliberate drag, his lips wrapping around the filter before he lets the smoke escape his handsome mouth in another wicked grin. “But unfortunately it is hot...”
“Well, I have to disagree,” Hoseok says primly.
“Mmh, as you say,” Yoongi drawls. He leans back on the rail to loose a stream of smoke from his lips, and Hoseok swears he’s doing it sexily on purpose.
“Anyway, it's stress relief,” Taehyung says. “Stress is very bad for you. Probably worse than a little bit of smoking. Cortisol. Blood pressure.”
“Smoking raises your blood pressure!” Hoseok argues. “If you two want to relieve stress on your break, you should go for a little jog or do some yoga stretches!”
“You want me to rest from my stressful, physically exhausting job by going for a fucking jog?” Yoongi asks, absolutely appalled.
“A little jog!” Hoseok says placatingly. He giggles despite himself. “I'll go with you.”
“But I'll stay here and smoke with you,” Taehyung says. He leans a little closer to Hoseok, keeping his cigarette at a polite distance by stretching out his arm. “This is our secret hideout.”
“It's not very secret,” Hoseok points out, laughing. “Especially if you yell at people to come join you.”
“That's what I said,” Yoongi grumbles.
“Not people,” Taehyung answers. “Select individuals.”
“Well, I'm honoured to be selected,” Hoseok says, still laughing. “But I don't want to take up smoking.”
“You don't have to,” Taehyung says.
“Actually I’d rather you didn't,” Yoongi says. “I don't have an infinite supply of cigarettes and they're stupidly expensive on board. One brat bumming off me is more than enough.”
Taehyung smiles angelically.
Despite his disapproval, Hoseok does spend the rest of their break with them. The smoke gets whipped away on the sea breeze too quickly to really bother him. And he enjoys their company. They make him laugh a lot.
When the others have to go back on shift, Hoseok heads downstairs. His stomach feels steadier. The exercise probably helped. The laughing probably helped more.