Chapter Text
Jungkook was given the nickname Golden Maknae by their leader Namjoon years ago, due to his quick and zealous learning skills, and while the term was true to a certain degree, in his opinion, he always found specific tasks challenging to accomplish. First, his singing, Jungkook, always felt like there was always something to improve in his singing voice and thrive on making his vocals sound better than before; and second, his struggle with conquering the love and affection he had for his one and only Seokjin-hyung.
Jungkook never paid attention to his age. Afterall, he knew he was the youngest member in BTS and deep within himself Jungkook secretly loved to be babied by them. He always got the most food when they went out to eat, since each member would share it with him, and was always kept warm and sheltered by receiving cuddles and extra blankets from his band members. Jungkook knew he received the affection and happiness that was taken away from him due to their careers as idols and he would always be thankful to his band members for making him feel at home.
It wasn’t until he realized his feelings for Seokjin-hyung that he found his age to be an obstacle. He hated being five years younger than Seokjin. He hated being the youngest out of the group because it meant that he would always be seen as a baby by his teammates especially his Hyung. Although he knew five years wasn’t such a big gap between two people but in society, age played an important role in their daily lives. Even one year made a difference in how a person was treated by others and for him to have a five year gap with the love of his life made his heart ache.
Would Seokjin even consider him as a potential partner due to his age? Or would he just see Jungkook as a little brother like everyone else? Jungkook wanted to confess to Seokjin but the idea of being rejected held him back.
Besides, Jungkook knew Seokjin never cared about age. Despite being the oldest member in the group, Seokjin never enforced his authority like he should have but instead, allowed Namjoon to lead them in their hectic schedule and in the best way possible. Perhaps his dream could come true? If he was brave enough to admit his feelings to the only person who had made him the happiest person in the world? But Jungkook knew that it would be wishing for the impossible.
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Aside from his age, Jungkook had to deal with the attention and clinginess of the other members, especially Taehyung and Jimin. Both of his friends loved to cuddle and attached themselves to Seokjin like a leech and it drove him crazy. Jungkook wanted Seokjin’s attention to be focused only on him. He wanted to keep him locked up so no one would dare touch his Seokjin-hyung. It always amazed Jungkook just how easily he became jealous and how possessive he got whenever one of the members was too clingy with his hyung. If he couldn’t confess his love for him, the minimum he could do was to enjoy to the fullest, the subtle touches between them whenever they hugged or goofed around. And how was he supposed to enjoy those moments when it was taken away from him!
Loud squeals and laughter could be heard coming from Taehyung’s room, which was temporarily shared with Jimin, as Jungkook was going to Seokjin’s room to ask if he had seen his sweater. It was an excuse to see his hyung, and spend some time with him. Yet, his tracks were stopped by the loud squeals of a familiar voice—-his Seokjin.
Without even thinking about invading Taehyung’s privacy, since it involved Seokjin, he opened the door of the room. To his surprise, or more like his cruel reality, Taehyung and Seokjin were in bed, tussling as Taehyung tickled his Seokjin.
“Just admit it then!” Jungkook heard Taehyung say as his fingers continuously tickled Seokjin’s sides making Jungkook’s blood boil in anger. How dare Taehyung touch his Seokjin? Yes, Seokjin was his and no one else!
Or even wrapped his arms around his hyung’s small waist? It was an act that only he was allowed to do and to see someone else taking his place made him see red. Jungkook clenched his fist tightly as he tried to control his emotions or he knew he would regret it later.
However, it was all in vain as he saw Seokjin squirming and giggling at times as he tried to push Taehyung off.
“N-never!” Seokjin said as Taehyung huffed his cheeks and didn't stop tickling him. Now, Jungkook didn’t know what to do, he was enraged but at the same time he knew Seokjin would scold him for acting like a brat. But who could blame him though? When the love of his life was being touchy touchy with another person? Even if that other person was his best friend, his family.
“It’s me, just say it!” Taehyung squealed, never letting go of Seokjin.
Jungkook just saw how Seokjin just shook his head in disagreement, refusing to admit whatever Taehyung was trying to make him say. In that instant, Seokjin locked eyes with Jungkook and his heart skipped a beat as he saw Taehyung straddling Seokjin’s lap as he continued to tickle him. If Jungkook hadn’t stepped into the room earlier, he would have assumed so many ideas as he saw the situation in front of him. The position they were in was very sexual in his opinion and he would have gone on a rampage. However, he was older now, more mature and although he was burning with anger on the inside Jungkook needed to demonstrate to his hyung that he was worthy of his love but that didn’t stop him from making a sour expression on his face by the scene he was witnessing.
Jungkook could feel his chest tighten and let out a pout that he didn’t know he was holding back and that it even surprised him.
“Oh Junkookie!” Taehyung greeted him as he proceeded to continue tickling Seokjin who only shrieked by the action.
Today was one of their rare days off, and everyone, except for the three of them who decided to just stay home, were off doing their own thing. Hoseok, Yoongi and Namjoon decided to go on a little date at the park, although they took precautions by wearing disguises to hide themselves from the public. As for Jimin, he was at the studio, feeling better than before and making up for his missing dance practice, even though everyone told him to rest.
It was supposed to be a peaceful day, where he would spend some quality time together with his hyung but destiny had other plans for him and the affection of his Seokjin was all taken away by Taehyung.
“J-ju-hah! Jung-k-kook! P-please! Help me! Haha s-stop please!” Seokjin kept laughing between his words as Jungkook masked his emotions by chuckling. He needed to play it cool, like a mature adult...for his sake.
“Don’t you dare Jungkook, I wanna find out his favorite member!” Taehyung threatened as Seokjin kept begging Jungkook to save him from his misery. Jungkook perked up by the statement. Find out Seokjin’s favorite member? Was this whole thing caused by that simple question? Yet, he became curious about it too. Who did Seokjin favor the most?
And deep within his heart, Jungkook wished it was him.
Continuing with his acting skills of being completely fine, Jungkook rolled his eyes and stood behind Taehyung and grinned evilly.
His hands hovered Taehyung’s sides as he wiggled his fingers. Feeling a sense of satisfaction by attacking Taehyung as the older male fell over to his side.
“Thank you Jungkookie!” Seokjin yelled as he ran out of the room, probably going to the bathroom since Taehyung’s room was located right in front of it.
Now that Seokjin wasn’t in the room anymore, Jungkook knew it was the chance he needed, so he took the opportunity of being alone with Taehyung to plot his revenge. No one was going to touch his hyung without his permission. No one!
“O-okay! Haha Ju-jungkook! Stop! P-please hahaha!” Taehyung squealed from laughter as Jungkook, aggressively tickled him. In a way, Jungkook wanted to tickle him forever, until Taehyung understood that he shouldn’t be near his hyung but then the soft footsteps of Seokjin walking back into the room, brought him back to reality. However, that didn’t stop him intensifying his tickles at Taehyung who only gasped for air on the bed.
“Jungkook-ah you can let him go now.” Seokjin instructed, sitting on the edge of the bed smiling as Taehyung kept laughing but Jungkook didn’t find the circumstances amusing so he puffed his cheeks out and let go of Taehyung as he scurried to Seokjin and hugged him tightly.
Finally, the warmth of Seokjin’s body transferring to his own, made Jungkook feel like he was in a state of euphoria. Seokjin was his happiness and Jungkook clenched his fists and cursed Taehyung under his breath for taking it away from him.
“That’s what you get Tae.” Seokjin teased, as Jungkook never let go of their embrace.
“Sorry, hyung,” Taehyung apologized, a guilty look on his face. Jungkook was beyond pleased to see Seokjin scolding Taehyung, it was what his friend deserved for taking away his Seokjin-Hyung. Jungkook just poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and walked out the room stiffly, dragging Seokjin to his room where he would make sure to get all the attention that he knew belonged to him only.
—————
Seokjin was enjoying his peaceful afternoon on their rare day off with Jungkook. They were currently on the younger’s bed, the sides of their bodies touching one another, and Jungkook’s head leaning on his shoulder as they watched The Avengers: Endgame, since it was one of their favorite movies. The proximity of their bodies was making Seokjin’s chest jump in excitement and his ears were turning red, but he couldn’t ask for a better way to spend his day off.
After the events from earlier, he was beyond excited to be with Jungkook.
First, because he was relieved to be saved from Taehyung’s clutches, and for one simple reason. Seokjin didn’t want to disclose who his favorite member was in the group because it would mean admitting his feelings for Jungkook. Yet, Taehyung kept being persistent with him as Seokjin kept disagreeing that he didn’t have a favorite and he loved all of them dearly, which was a lie. He knew he loved Jungkook just a tad bit more than the rest of the boys, and for an apparent reason that he couldn’t say it out loud, so when Jungkook intervened he was beyond ecstatic.
Second, he saw a hint of annoyance on Jungkook’s face when Taehyung straddle his lap that he thought, well hoped that the younger was jealous. Seokjin knew it wasn’t the case, and Jungkook probably was annoyed by their loud squeals that he decided to end it, but he could dream.
Spending time with Jungkook was all he wanted to do on his day off, so when Seokjin heard a knock on the door interrupting their quality time, he let out a loud groan. Hopefully, it wasn’t Taehyung asking for a rematch.
“Hyung? Sorry to interrupt,” Namjoon’s voice echoed throughout the room. Jungkook proceeded to turn the volume down, so they could be able to hear the words their leader had to say to them.
“What’s up? Back from your date?” He asked, wishing the younger man wasn't here to halt his little date with Jungkook. Well, at least he considered it a date since it was his dream to spend some time alone with Jungkook as more than teammates, as more than just brothers.
“Yeah, we are back but that’s not why I’m here. The producers want us to head out to the studio. We got some recording to do before the end of the day.”
And before he could say anything, Seokjin heard a loud groan coming from Jungkook who looked annoyed by the words they just heard. Who could blame him though? When it was a rare day off after weeks, no, after months of having a busy schedule where they barely got to rest.
However, they were all professional artists, so even if they wanted to rest, they complied with the demands of their agency.
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The ride back to the agency was quiet, everyone was in their own little bubble, except for Taehyung and Hoseok who were having a small chat about random topics. Seokjin was sitting in the last row of the car and to his luck, Jungkook decided to sit next to him. Seokjin would be lying to himself if he didn’t feel shy by being next to Jungkook. The younger really didn’t know the power his mere presence had on him nor the way Seokjin’s body heated up with lust just by being near him. Seokjin just didn’t know how to contain his love for Jungkook anymore and it was driving him crazy. Maybe his feelings would be his downfall, leading to a pitiful and lonely life.
Once they got to the agency they were split in two groups—-the rap line and the vocal line.
All of them were standing in different booths in their assigned groups. Jungkook stood beside him, and Jimin on his other side, while Taehyung was next to Jimin and he couldn’t be any happier. At least it would prevent Taehyung from bothering him with his random questions.
On the other side of the room, the rapper’s booth was located. Namjoon stood in between Hoseok and Yoongi, which was understandable since he was considered the pacemaker of their relationship. Namjoon kept his two boyfriends grounded and Seokjin was jealous of their relationship. He wished to be in a relationship with his Jungkook so they could compliment each other and have each other’s back. He wished he had the courage to confess to him. But Seokjin was a coward, so his wish would never come true.
After making preparations to film and record parts of their new single, Boy with Love featuring Halsey, they were instructed to record their remix collaboration song “Make it right” featuring Lauv. It was a busy afternoon but it was something Seokjin was already used to dealing with.
“This eternal night with no end in sight/It's you who gifted me the morning,” Seokjin sang gracefully as Jimin’s vocals backed him up. He knew how much his vocals had improved over the years and Seokjin was proud of himself. He knew what his so-called fans used to call him during his debut days—“the weak point of BTS'', “the bad singer of the vocal line,” and “the bad dancer.” Yet, that didn’t stop him from improving himself. Yeah, he was hurt by the comments he would read, and his self-esteem was lowered by it BUT, he didn’t give up. He worked extra hard to get to where he was and now he knows that people would always point out the weak points of others even if they are already excelling in them, just to make themselves feel better. Seokjin was confident in his skills, even though sometimes he would doubt himself, which was inevitable.
“Now can I hold that hand?/Oh oh/I can make it right,” Jimin’s angelic voice sang, followed by Jungkook’s perfect vocals. Seokjin loved hearing Jungkook’s singing voice, it brought a sense of pride, a sense of satisfaction that his loved one was able to pour so much emotion into a song, a lyric, a word.
Seokjin just stared at the younger lovingly, feeling a gazed directed at him. When he realized who the person that was looking at him was, it made him panic. It was Taehyung, and he had noticed his fondness towards Jungkook. He noticed that Taehyung nudged Jimin, and both jerked their heads to his direction. Jimin wiggled his eyebrows at Taehyung, then at him as the younger witnessed the way he was staring at Jungkook.
Were his feelings that obvious? He hoped not. He wasn’t ready to be confronted by someone else about his dying love for Jungkook.
Seokjin immediately averted his gaze, and looked anywhere but in Jungkook’s direction, not wanting the younger to notice his feelings of adoration nor see the smug expressions on Taehyung and Jimin’s faces. Seokjin just wished there was a way to contain all of his emotions and feelings for Jungkook, maybe just maybe he’d be better off than having to be reminded of his unrequited love towards the younger man.
After that incident, they all kept rehearsing and singing parts of the song until it was up to their standards, and after a few hours of recording, they had finally ended their busy recording session.
As they were all gathering their items and placing them in their bags, Jimin interrupted their concentration.
“I’m hungry! Who wants to go out to eat? My friend told me about a new restaurant that is close to the agency.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Namjoon admitted, looking around the room for the rest of the members to confirm their attendance. Seokjin nodded his head in agreement, and continued shoving his empty bottle of water inside his bag, hoping that a nice dinner would make him feel better. It had been a stressful afternoon and he needed to relax.
“Has anyone seen my purple towel?” Jungkook asked, looking all over the place, with the help of Jimin and Hoseok. Seokjin’s heart skipped a beat, as he shoved the purple towel the younger was looking for further inside his bag. He wasn’t a pervert, he really wasn’t but the smell of Jungkook’s clothing always made him feel better. Especially on days where he would be stressed out, like today, and being surrounded by the smell of lavender that Jungkook’s clothes emitted brought a sense of satisfaction to Seokjin. Maybe he really was a pervert for stealing Jungkook’s sweaty towel but he couldn’t help it.
“I can’t find it anywhere,” Jungkook let out, frustration in his voice.
“Maybe you left it at home? Are you sure you bought it with you?” Jimin questioned, still looking around.
“I’m sure I had it with me earlier. But maybe you're right. I probably left it at home or something,” And by hearing those words, Seokjin let out a sigh of relief. Thankful that the younger didn’t decide to search their bags for his towel. If so, he would have been discovered and that was the last thing he ever wanted. To be seen as a pervert by his unrequited love.
After half an hour of gathering their personal items, and waiting for the silver minivan that would take them to the restaurant, they finally arrived at a place named Crystal Snow. It was a very modern restaurant, high ceiling, with dim lights that made the atmosphere very relaxing and romantic, perfect for a date. A perfect date with Jungkook to be more precise.
All of them were guided to a private spot in the restaurant where they could have a peaceful meal without any interruptions since none of them were wearing disguises.
“Please take a seat,” the waiter instructed them to do and they complied. On one side of the table, Yoongi, Namjoon, Hoseok, and Taehyung sat in that order, while Jungkook sat between Seokjin and Jimin on the opposite side.
The waiter distributed the menus and they all started to look through it, picking out their meals. Seokjin was so engrossed in selecting which food he wanted to have tonight from all the different types of meats in the menu that his body jerked up when he felt the sensation of a hand on his thigh. He looked down and immediately recognized the hand, it was Jungkook’s strong and veiny hand firmly gripping his thigh.
Seokjin’s body froze and he didn’t know what to do. He liked the idea of Jungkook touching him, caressing him in any kind of way but at the back of his mind Seokjin knew that the younger man was just playing with him. There was no way Jungkook’s touch was more than platonic love and affection. No way.
Seokjin knew his face was turning red from embarrassment and his chest felt congested by the way Jungkook’s touch was making him feel flustered, but he also knew he had to put an end to the affection that he desperately wanted or he’d regret it later.
“Y-yah! Jungkook-ah! Get your hand off of my thigh.” Seokjin stuttered as he slapped Jungkook’s hand away, playing it off as if he didn’t secretly love it. As if he didn’t want to be touched by those hands over and over again.
There was an evident moment of silence in the room and then, everybody burst out laughing except Jungkook who was pouting for some reason Seokjin didn’t understand. Was the younger upset that he didn’t want him to place his hand on Seokjin’s thigh or was it something else? Seokjin wasn’t sure but the sad expression on Jungkook’s face made him feel awful. Maybe he was too harsh on him. Maybe Jungkook just wanted some attention like always.
As the waiter took their orders, Seokjin tried to forget about what had happened, there was no reason to dwell on it. He looked around the table and saw Yoongi and Hoseok holding one of Namjoon’s hands, which he knew Namjoon loved as the younger had confessed to him a few months ago that he adored to be spoiled by his boyfriends. Seokjin thought Namjoon was very adorable by being shy about it, and in some ways Seokjin was jealous of him for being able to express his feelings towards the people he loved with all his heart in front of the rest of the members.
As for Jimin and Taehyung, they were bickering across from each other as Jungkook decided to just place his hand back on Seokjin’s thigh.
However, this time Seokjin just let him, and laid his head on Jungkook’s shoulder loving the feeling of Jungkook’s touch. They usually have moments like this, looking like a couple and displaying their fondness of love, but in reality, they were just really comfortable with each other since they've been living together for years.
“Hey Jin-Hyung, can you tell us a joke?” Jimin asked as Yoongi groaned.
“You don't have to ask me twice.” Seokjin chuckled as he sat up straight, preparing himself for the joke that would make Yoongi regret his actions of annoyance, not noticing that Jungkook had a frown on his face because he wasn't lying on him anymore.
“What did the person working at the front desk say to the sperm donors leaving?” Seokjin smirked as Taehyung started to choke on his drink from laughing.
“W-what?” Jimin giggled as Namjoon started chuckling. Seokjin noticed that Hoseok just shook his head side to side not wanting to hear any more and he looked at Jungkook, who just raised an eyebrow at him, but none of his members' lack of interest was going to stop him from continuing with his joke. Afterall, Jimin had explicitly requested it, and he wasn’t going to let his friend down.
“Come again!” Seokjin squealed, his laughter was all you could hear in the room. What he didn’t expect next was for Jungkook to start tickling him, making him squirm side to side.
“J-Jungkook n-no!” Seokjin begged, trying to liberate himself from Jungkook’s clutches. Everybody just started laughing as Jungkook stopped and wrapped an arm around Seokjin’s waist. It wasn't very surprising to everyone in the room when Jungkook did this to him. Everyone knew the younger was particularly obsessed with Seokjin’s waist for some strange reason that he would never understand.
All Seokjin heard as Jungkook’s strong arm brought them together was Jimin giggling as Yoongi knew what the younger was going to ask again.
“Jimin...” Yoongi growled, glaring at him and then at Jimin. He knew what was going to happen next and he looked forward to annoying his friend once again. It was his privilege as the oldest member of the group to annoy the younger ones.
“Jin-Hyung, tell me another joke.”
“Oh my gosh!” Yoongi slumped in his chair as Namjoon just laid his head on his shoulder, probably trying to bring some comfort to his boyfriend. However, they all knew Yoongi loved his jokes. They all knew he wasn’t really annoyed or anything.
“I ate a clock yesterday, it was very time consuming.” He confessed, smiling ear to ear as everyone in the room burst out laughing and so did Yoongi, surprisingly admitting his feelings of adoration for his jokes.
“I have to admit that was funny.” Yoongi chuckled and Seokjin felt proud of himself for making Yoongi laugh.
“Hyung, it's impossible to eat a clock.” Jungkook stated as Seokjin smacked his arm.
“Shut up and enjoy the joke or i'm not cooking for you anymore.” Seokjin threatened as Jungkook became silent.
“I-I’m sorry...Hyung,” Jungkook replied, tears forming in his beautiful eyes, making Seokjin’s heart break into a million pieces. Was his statement way too harsh on the younger or did he say something else to upset his Jungkook?
“W-What? No, Jungkookie, please don’t cry. I promise I’ll cook for you tomorrow morning...but please don’t cry.” He worriedly said, wiping away the tears that were falling down Jungkook’s cheeks.
“Really? I want pancakes and omelette, please!” Jungkook cheerfully requested, his sad expression completely vanishing from his face.
“Jin-Hyung, he got you. He really got you this time!” Taehyung teased, as everyone in the room either giggled or chuckled softly. Seokjin knew Jungkook’s tears, or just Jungkook in general was his weakness. He knew it from the bottom of his heart. Yet, he decided to ignore everyone’s comments and leaned his head on Jungkook’s shoulder, feeling pleased with himself that his Jungkook wasn’t upset with him. That his Jungkook wanted to be babied by him. After all, it was the only way he’d get to spend some alone time with his one-sided love.