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He has always been good with them, cars. A budding genius really if he's being humble. His parents have always lamented his fate. If only he used his skills for something a little more academic. Something more useful. Something that will get him a steady job, that will lead to financial success and push him towards being a valued part of society.
Thinking back, those expectations probably played a role in his defection. Spending time with those hooligans is going to ruin your life, his father used to tell him. Stern voice and sterner face. He would bow his head and listen. Then next day, repeat.
He wonders why people search so desperately for happiness, as if it is so hard to find.
Those hooligans.
His friends.
And his cars.
Jungkook never had to look, happiness found him. But he never expected to fight so hard to keep it, to hold it so that it couldn't be ripped away.
Yoongi had known Jin first. Min Yoongi, the genius mechanic, able to build a car from just about any junk. Can build it better than anyone, and guarantee that that it will be better than all the generic models out there. He has an inheritance larger than Jungkook will ever earn in his lifetime, that is of course if his parents don't disinherit him, and leave their fortune to his second cousin or something. But he loves cars, he loves dissecting them and then rebuilding them as though they never were anything else. It is his calling, Yoongi had told him once. What else can he do but to follow where it leads him. Yoongi, who rarely met people unless they were forced upon him, had actually made a friend without prompting.
The first time Jin comes to their garage, Jungkook has been working there for two weeks. It isn't the car that had steals his breath. Of course, the Ming blue Aston Martin is a sight in itself, but the person that steps out of it is spectacular. Dressed in a navy suit, impeccable hair and easy manner, Jin leaves him speechless. Of course, Jin pays him no mind and spends all of his time with Yoongi, who looks at Jungkook with amused eyes after Jin leaves.
The second time Jin visits, Yoongi is away. Jin slams the car door shut in anger and glares at him as if it is Jungkook's fault.
“Maybe I can help,” he offers.
Jin looks at him, an eyebrow raised. “I doubt it.”
“Try me.”
Jin smirks.
“Do you know what to do about a father who insists that you give up your life and take over his business?”
Jungkook blinks.
“I didn't think so.” Jin turns away.
“Do what you want anyway.”
Jin laughs humourlessly.
“Fuck you.”
He watches Jin drive away, knowing that he would never see him again.
But he does, of course. Because Jin comes for Yoongi, and Jungkook practically lives at the garage.
“He's caught in between,” Yoongi tells him once.
“Between what, hyung?”
“The life he could have and the life he should have.”
“What will he do?”
Yoongi shrugs.
“Depends what he wants to keep. And what he wants to lose.”
“So, you want to get with some handsome, rich guy?”
Jungkook looks up from the car, where he'd been tinkering with the engine, at Jimin who grins at him from where he's sitting on top of the car, legs dangling in the air.
He shrugs. “He's interesting.”
Taehyung, who'd been dozing off in the back seat, pokes his head out the window.
“Is it true love?” Taehyung calls.
Startled, Jungkook laughs.
“I've barely spoken a word to him, hyung. I think he hates me actually. Or he thinks I'm an idiot.” He isn't sure which is worse.
“All great love stories begin with hate, Kook,” Taehyung tells him wisely. “I can tell yours will be epic.”
Jimin chuckles at him in amusement.
“You gonna come to the race tonight, Kook?” Jimin asks. “You can bring a date.”
“Why do you think I'm trying to fix this deadbeat car? I hope you didn't actually pay money for this, Taehyung hyung.”
Taehyung shakes his head.
“Nah, my cousin bought a new car so he gave me his old one.”
“Probably because he couldn't be bothered getting it written off.”
Taehyung shrugs.
“Could be true. But a car is a car. And there is a race tonight.”
“Yeah, if we can get it to start first,” he mutters, getting back to the problem at hand.
Jimin jumps down from the roof, and hugs him.
“Thank you for sacrificing your weekend for this, Kook.”
Jungkook sighs.
“Hyung, I can hug you or I can fix this. I'm not known to multitask.”
Jimin laughs and lets him go.
“Hey, if it does work out with this handsome, rich guy. Are you gonna bring him out to hang with us?” Taehyung asks.
“Fuck no, am I crazy?”
A few weeks later, Jin calls Yoongi to get his car towed.
“He crashed it,” Yoongi tells him, phone still held in his hand. “Go pick him up, and the car.”
“Me, hyung?”
“Do you see anyone else here?”
“But-”
“Another chance, kid. It's what you want, right?”
Jungkook holds his eyes, swallows and nods.
He finds Jin exactly where Yoongi told him he'd find him. He is leaning back against the Aston Martin, the front of which had clearly hit something with enough force to crush the bonnet and dislodge the bumper.
He whistles as he surveys the damage and looks up at Jin. A tiny rivulet of blood is trickling down the side of his face.
“Hyung, are you ok?”
“Where's Yoongi?”
“He asked me to come.”
Jin hisses in annoyance.
“Well, I didn't ask you to come. So, if you're here, don't ask dumb questions and get my baby settled,” Jin snaps before he walks up to the front of the truck, opens the door and slips inside.
Jungkook stares after him for a moment.
There you go, Jungkook. His pretty face is not enough to make up for his shitty personality, he tells himself firmly.
He hooks the car up on to the back of the truck before slowly walking back to the front.
Jin is typing on his phone, long fingers flying over the screen. He has done nothing about the blood. Jungkook rummages in the glove compartment until he finds a pack of tissues.
“Here.”
Jin lifts his head, looks at the tissues, then back at him.
“You're bleeding,” Jungkook explains.
Jin's eyes narrow momentarily before he slowly reaches out to take the offering.
“Thanks.”
Jungkook hides a smile as he starts up the truck.
“Are you sure you don't need a hospital?”
Jin sighs.
“Just drive.”
Jungkook begs and pleads until Yoongi lets him fix Jin's car.
“He's pretty particular about her. I'm not sure if-”
“I'll do it, hyung. I'll fix her up so damn perfect, he'll be amazed.”
Yoongi smiles a half smile at him.
“You think this'll get you anywhere?”
Jungkook shrugs, looking away.
“I gotta try, don't I hyung?”
Yoongi claps him on the shoulder.
“That you do, kid. Good luck.”
“Kid. Hey, kid.”
He tries to turn away from the hand trying to shake him awake.
“Wake up, Jungkook. Your friends are here.”
He opens his eyes.
“What?”
But Yoongi is already walking away.
Jungkook sits up and looks around, wondering if he had dreamt it all. But then he hears laughter. Taehyung's laughter. He stumbles up to his feet and runs.
Jimin and Taehyung are loitering around Jin's car. Yoongi is nowhere to be seen. He walks over to his friends.
“What are you guys doing here?”
They turn to him synchronously.
“You haven't been home in 3 days! We came to check if you’re still alive!” Jimin exclaims.
Taehyung stands in front of him, takes his face in both hands and peers at him closely.
“Jungkook, you're alive!”
“Of course, I'm alive, hyung. I've just been busy, that’s all.”
“Yoongi hyung told us,” Jimin says. “You're fixing your boyfriend's car.”
“Hyung!” Jungkook cries as Taehyung pulls away from him to high-five Jimin.
He ignores them as he looks over his work in progress.
He'd fixed the mechanics. All he's got left is the cosmetic process, replacing the crushed bonnet, the lights and the bumper. Then it'd be like the accident never happened.
Jin is going to be amazed. He hopes.
“Jungkook, let's get some dinner,” Taehyung says, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
“I should probably-”
“Come on, Kookie.” Jimin takes his arm on the other side. “You haven't seen us for days. Let's get some food and catch up.”
“I'm pretty sure I haven't missed anything,” Jungkook complains as his friends steer him away.
“I passed all of my exams,” Taehyung tells him proudly.
“And I got a solo for the final performances next month,” Jimin adds.
Jungkook grins.
“That’s awesome, hyung,” he says and Jimin smiles so widely that his eyes turn into happy crescents.
“This is why you need to come home, Jungkookie,” Taehyung admonishes. “Otherwise you miss out on important things like this.”
“Sorry, hyung.”
Jimin ruffles his hair.
“There's a race tomorrow night, you gonna come?”
He's about to say no but they're both doing their best kicked puppy expressions and he has missed them a little.
“Sure, why not.”
He is grinning like an idiot when Jin starts up the car for the first time after the accident. The roar of the engine is like music, sweet and perfect.
“Thank you, Yoongi. She's perfect.”
Yoongi smirks a little.
“It wasn't me, Jin hyung. Jungkook here did the work. Worked day and night to do it too.”
Jin blinks, gaze moving from Yoongi to Jungkook. He holds those intense eyes, and forces himself not to blink.
Then Jin looks back at Yoongi and Jungkook feels the day dim a little.
“Are you going to give him a break?”
Yoongi raises an eyebrow, looking amused.
“He's got work.”
“Yoongi-”
“But he can take his lunch break now if he wants. Do you, kid?” Yoongi looks at him, and Jungkook blinks at him like an idiot. “You wanna go out to lunch with Jin hyung?”
His eyes widen and he looks at Jin in disbelief.
Jin beckons him over with a tilt of the head.
“You fixed my car, the least I can do is buy you lunch.”
Jungkook slips into the passenger seat with a thudding heart.
“You don't owe me anything, hyung.”
Jin pulls out of the garage smoothly, farewelling Yoongi with a graceful lift of the hand.
“I’m Seokjin. Kim Seokjin,” Jin introduces himself as he pulls out on to the road.
Jungkook blinks.
“Jeon Jungkook. I know who you are, hyung,” he says, looking at Jin.
Jin glances sideways at him momentarily.
“I choose my people very carefully.”
Jungkook holds his hands clenched on his thighs and listens.
“A lot of people want to get close to me for the money, so they can get closer to my father. They want me to open doors for them. Is that what you want, Jungkook? Do you want me to open doors for you?”
Jungkook turns his head and stares. Jin is looking straight ahead, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the gear shift between them.
He wonders how many times Jin has made this speech. If he has become used to people using him that way. He cannot help but feel hurt that Jin had thought that of him.
“I'm already where I want to be, hyung. I opened the doors I wanted open, I don't need you to do that for me.”
Jin brakes hard enough to throw them forward.
“I just fixed her, hyung. Don't break her again.”
“Then what-what do you want? Why are you trying so hard?”
He smiles and shrugs.
“I just wanted you to buy me lunch, hyung.”
Three days after the lunch date, which had flown by too fast for Jungkook’s liking, he comes in from a coffee run to hear voices arguing at the garage. He knows who the second person is by the stunning car parked outside.
"-think I'm fucking with him?" Jin snaps.
"I don't know what you're doing. Do you even know what you're doing?"
"Shut up, Yoongi. You sound like my father."
"Listen, hyung." A pause, and Jungkook shifts from foot to foot wondering if he should let them know he's there. But he wants to know. He wonders if they are talking about him.
"He's a simple kid. He's not used to your brand of complicated. If things go south, I don't want to be the one picking up after the mess."
"There aren't many people who look at me without seeing my father. You're one, Yoongi. Maybe the first one. But I think Jungkook is one too."
"How long are you going to live like this, hyung? You know I can-"
"I'll figure it out, Yoongi."
"Will you? Look at what he did to you last week!"
"What do you want me do? Give it up? My inheritance! Just leave it to some asshole cousin?"
"If that's what it takes."
Rapid footsteps, Jungkook doesn't have time to hide, but Jin stalks past him without a glance in his direction. Yoongi walks out after him, but noting Jungkook, he pauses. Jungkook opens his mouth to explain himself.
"JK!"
Jungkook turns to Jin in surprise. 'JK'?
Jin stares at him for a moment before getting in his car.
"Go," Yoongi tells him softly.
Jungkook doesn't have to be told twice.
He runs.
Jin says nothing as he drives. And every single sentence Jungkook thinks to start a conversation with seem too stupid and naïve.
He braces a hand on the dash as Jin suddenly pulls over to the side of the road. For a moment, all is silent. Jungkook dares to look at him.
Jin screams. His hits the steering wheel with both hands and screams and screams. He chokes out a sob and thumps his head on the steering wheel.
Jungkook hovers a hand over the shaking back and wonders if it is okay. If Jin wants him here at all.
"Hyung. Tell me how I can help."
He hears Jin's breath hitch. When Jin finally straightens and looks at him, his eyes are shiny with tears. Jin lunges forward, lips awkwardly catching Jungkook's and pushes him back against the passenger-side door. Jungkook feels Jin's quick hands pull up his shirt and shivers when he feels Jin's fingers slide over his bare skin. Jin is kissing him like he's drowning. Like Jungkook is the only thing between him and oblivion. Like maybe Jungkook can save him. It's okay. He can do this, if this is what Jin needs, Jungkook will give him everything.
Jin freezes and draws back.
"Everything?"Jin asks in a whisper and Jungkook realises he'd spoken aloud.
"Everything, hyung," he promises without feeling any embarrassment.
Jin shifts back even further, and stares at him for a moment before dropping his head into his hands.
"Fuck." Jin scrubs at his face furiously. "I shouldn't do this. Shit. I'm sorry, JK. I didn't-"
Jungkook surges forward into Jin's space.
"Don't," he whispers fiercely. "Don't take it back."
Jin stares up at him with wide eyes.
"This is what I want. Don't you dare take it back!"
Jin's face eases into a small smile.
"This is not what you want, Jungkook," Jin tells him gently.
Jungkook growls low in his throat, leans in and kisses him. Kisses him like he'd wanted to since that first day, like he'd dreamed for all the days until now. And now he's kissing Jin, who doesn’t push him away but kisses him back. Victory crows at the back of his mind.
"I know what I want, hyung." He kisses the tip of Jin's nose. "You're it."
Jin laughs.
"Yoongi might kill me."
Jungkook grins and runs his fingers through Jin's hair.
"No, he won't."
They end up getting coffee and cake at a tiny Italian café. Jin tells him that it is his favourite, and that the chocolate brownies are to die for. Jungkook, who prior to this had lumped all chocolate related confectionaries into one indistinguishable pile, discovers that not all chocolate is made equal. And true to Jin’s word, the brownies are definitely better than anything he’d ever tasted in his life. But mostly, he spends the whole time at the café staring at Jin, unable to believe his reality. Jin comments on it with amusement but Jungkook can’t help it. This is not a place he had thought he’d be. Here, having coffee and cake with the most perfect person he has ever met. But as much as Jungkook would like to spend the rest of the day with Jin, he doesn’t want to get fired, so they head out after coffee.
“Got a new follower, have you?” A voice calls out. Jungkook feels Jin tense beside him and realises the voice belongs to a man standing casually by the café door. Dark hair and sharp face, the man looks vaguely familiar but Jungkook cannot place him. “I wonder every time I see you with a new one, how long it'll last. What’s your name, newbie?” The man directs the question at him.
“Jungkook,” he answers. “Who the fuck are you?”
The man smirks. “Amazing. Did you pick this one up from the streets?”
Jungkook bristles. Jin holds on to his hand.
“Leave it, JK. Junki might try to talk you to death but really, he's harmless.”
The smirk on the man’s-Junki’s-face twists.
“Of course, I don’t have to lift a finger. The company you keep, Seokjin, is doing the job for me,” Junki retorts and walks off towards a sleek black Ferrari parked outside. When Jungkook looks at Jin, he is taken aback by the distaste on Jin's face.
"Hyung?"
Jin turns to him.
“He reminds me too much of my father. Has the same fucking ideas. Same fucking tastes.”
Jungkook dares to reach for Jin's hand. Jin looks startles for a moment before breaking into a small smile.
“Let’s get you back before Yoongi decides to hunt me down for stealing you.”
Jungkook holds Jin's hand all the way to the car.
He is wary of Namjoon when they first meet. Despite being the heir to the country's biggest retail chain, Namjoon doesn't come across as an asshole. But the way Jin is around him, so comfortable, sets Jungkook on edge. Who is this guy that Jin touches so easily? How does he move around Jin's home so casually? How many times has he been here? When it comes to Jin and Namjoon, where does Jungkook stand?
Of course, it doesn't help to find out that they have been friends since childhood.
"How come they're not dating?" Jungkook asks Yoongi by cornering him in an alcove of Jin’s massive house. A maid walks past them carrying a tray of drinks, without even a curious glance their way.
"Kid, I'm not a record of Jin hyung's life. If you're curious, just ask him yourself."
"But, hyung!" Jungkook hears the whine in his voice and cringes inwardly.
"Yoongi! JK! Where are you?" Jin appears, finds them conspiring in the alcove, and stares at them suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
Yoongi takes the opportunity to slip past Jungkook, and Jin, towards the living room.
"Hey, hyung."
Jin squints at him.
"What is it?"
Jungkook shrugs.
"Tell me," Jin insists.
He sighs.
"You've known Namjoon hyung a long time, hyung?"
Jin blinks and his face clears.
"Come here."
Jungkook goes and Jin pulls him in, wraps his arms around him and kisses his lips.
"Don't be jealous. He's one of my best friends."
Jungkook nods reluctantly afterwards and Jin laughs.
"Come and meet Hoseok. He and Yoongi go way back."
Way back. Jungkook has never seen Yoongi smile or laugh so much. He feels the urge to poke him with a finger to make sure it really is Yoongi. But this Hoseok character who speaks in ten different voices per sentence, seem to know exactly how to get Yoongi to relax.
Almost naturally, the discussion comes to cars and races. Jungkook learns that this smiling Hoseok character is in fact J-Hope, a legend of street races, worshipped by the common masses including his friend, Taehyung. He stares open mouthed at him, feeling a little star struck.
"Your jaw is going to hit the floor, Jungkook," Yoongi comments.
Jungkook glances at him, and back at Hoseok.
"You're really J-Hope?"
Hoseok shrugs with a smile.
"Wouldn't expect it, right?"
Namjoon laughs.
"Hyung, you exist. That’s enough to boggle most people's minds."
"Hobi's trying keep things quiet," Jin tells him, sitting back on the couch with an arm around Jungkook's shoulders.
"Family doesn't really approve," Hoseok clarifies for him.
"But we do," Yoongi says, looking at Hoseok.
Hoseok blinks and breaks into a wide smile.
"Some people I know are starting up a street racing competition, if anyone is interested," Yoongi announces casually.
"Hell yeah!" Hoseok cries.
Yoongi smiles at him. Jungkook has never seen him smile like that at anyone. He looks at Jin, who shrugs at him silently.
"It's not gonna be like a normal race though, Hobi. The entry fee alone is $50000. And, Jin hyung-" Yoongi looks over at Jin, "- I heard from a very reputable source that Lee Junki is going to join up."
Jin's eyes narrow.
"Sounds like fun," Namjoon says, looking at Jin.
Jin's face eases and he grins at Namjoon, and looks at Jungkook.
"What do you say, JK? Should we make a team?"
Jungkook smiles at the excitement in Jin's voice.
"I know a couple of guys you should meet, hyung."
Jungkook takes Jin to his usual street race, just some kids from the neighbourhood, driving shitty cars for fun. But they are his friends and he believes in them more than he does anyone else. Taehyung, driving his cousin's shitty hand-me-down car that Jungkook had managed to fix up, wins his race out of sheer courage. He steps further than his opponent, takes risks that Jungkook would have taken for foolishness if he doesn't already know that it is simple, deadly precision. After the race, Jin makes the proposition and Taehyung stares, completely star struck and wordless. He would probably agree to sign his soul away if Jin asks for it. Jungkook makes a mental note to give him hell for it later. Jimin agrees on Taehyung's behalf.
"He'll do it, Mr Kim. But-uh-" Jimin looks at Taehyung's car, at Jin, then at Jungkook.
"-but his car is a piece of crap," Jungkook finishes for him. Taehyung rouses from his stupor to grunt at him in protest.
Jin smiles.
"I'll take care of that," Jin says easily. "And please call me Jin. My father is Mr Kim, not me."
Jungkook would laugh at his friends’ expressions if he had not been just as impressed when Jin had first made the revelation. Jimin's eyes are as wide as saucers and Taehyung's mouth has dropped open.
All in the absolute admiration of the beauty in front of them.
Mercedes GTR in a brilliant shade of green.
"This-" Jimin starts, and looks at Jin, "-hyung-this is-"
"-the most beautiful car I've ever seen," Taehyung says in a reverent whisper.
Jin smiles joyously.
"Are you sure you want to give us this car, hyung?" Jimin asks hesitantly.
"Depends. Will you win the race?"
Taehyung laughs.
"Hyung, with this car, we'll win you any race you want."
"Excellent. Shall we go for a ride?" Jin tosses the keys to his car to Jungkook and slips on his sunglasses. "JK, you want to drive?"
Jungkook grins.
"Sure, hyung."
They stream onto the road together. The blue Aston Martin and the green Mercedes. Jungkook knows they must make quite the pair, and he can see many heads turning as they head down the highway.
He glances across Jin at the other car, and through the open window he sees his friends. Taehyung's smile hasn't faded, in fact the grin seems to widen as they continue. Jimin looks over and gives him two enthusiastic thumbs up.
"JK."
He looks at Jin, who pulls off his sunglasses.
"Thank you for sharing your friends with me."
"Hyung, you bought them a car. I think they're your friends too now. Or your minions. Whichever."
Jin slides his hand over Jungkook's on the gear shift.
"I know you really care about them. And I can see how much they love you. So thank you for letting me in."
Jungkook keeps his eyes on the road as they weave through the lanes.
"I meant it, hyung. When I said everything, I meant it."
He feels it, shift in Jin's breath, as though he was jolted.
"Pull over."
"Hyung?"
"Pull the car over, JK!"
Jungkook eases them over to the emergency lane and stops the engine.
"Jin hyung?" He asks softly.
Jin stays silent, shoulders rising and falling with each breath. Jungkook waits.
"You know who I am?" Jin asks, finally looking at him.
The heir to a multimillion dollar shipping company, one of the richest families on the whole continent.
Jungkook nods mutely.
"There is nothing I can't have. Everything I can ever dream of, all of it is at my fingertips." Jin is breathing fast. Jungkook wants to tell him to take it slow, wants to take his hand and kiss away the tension. He doesn't.
"All I have to do is to do as my father wishes. Do as I'm told and I will have everything," Jin's voice cracks.
Jungkook feels his heart sink, his whole body feels as though it is being crushed under a great weight.
"I will never be a part of your father's plans, hyung," he whispers. "Your 'everything' doesn't include me." He had known this when he had started. Yoongi had warned him. But he would exchange his everything for anything from Jin.
Jin closes his eyes and turns his face away.
"I can't make you choose between your family and me, hyung. How can I? They're your family."
Jin laughs without joy.
"Yoongi told me once that I should make my own family if the one I'm born to can only give me pain," Jin tells him softly. Jungkook holds his breath. Jin opens his eyes and looks at him, there are shining trails of tears on his cheeks.
"Hyung," Jungkook nearly chokes on the word. "Don't cry."
"Jungkook-" Jin reaches up, fingers brushing over his face and Jungkook feels his tears being brushed away. "Do you love me?"
"Yes," Jungkook breathes. "Yes."
Jin exhales slowly.
Jin kisses him. Slowly, so excruciatingly slow. Lips barely on his'. But Jungkook takes it. He will take anything Jin sends his way.
5 months later
He hears the sound of her, purring and perfect, as she pulls up beside him. He lifts his head from the car he's working on just as the owner of the Ming blue Aston Martin steps out of the car. He feels the blood rising to his face as the tall figure smiles at him.
"Did you break her again, Jin hyung?" Yoongi asks, appearing from within the darkness of the garage. Sometimes he thinks Yoongi must have a sixth sense when it comes to Jin, he always seems to know when Jin is around.
Jin winks at Yoongi as he heads over to Jungkook.
"No. Of course not. Just because that one time-"
"-three times," Yoongi corrects him.
Jin turns his head to roll his eyes at him.
"-fine, three times-but you know they weren't my fault."
Yoongi smirks.
"No one made you race, hyung."
Jin shrugs his shoulder.
"Do you think I was going to let that asshole Junki think he's better than us? Anyway, the boys were with me tonight."
Jungkook chuckles and rises to his feet.
"The boys would never turn down a race, especially when you're there." He would have been there too if not for the emergency job Yoongi had taken on, which meant they’ve both been working overnight.
Jin grins and leans in to kiss him.
"Don't worry, JK. Hobi was there too."
Jungkook feels Jin's hands on his hips, the car frame at his back and his heart skipping beats as it always does when Jin touches him.
"Hoseok's back?" Yoongi asks in a strangled voice in the background.
Jin sighs and pulls away.
Just then, a distinctive blue Porche pulls up. Jungkook feels a certain sense of pride. Even if the Cayman GT4 is a fine car on its own, he had made a few adjustments, blurring the line between legal and not so. Hoseok is already the best rider in town, and with Jungkook's help, there is no one that can beat him. Of course, he doesn't come out as much as he used to. Something to do with a promise he'd made to his late grandfather about not being a law breaker. But Jungkook knows how much Hoseok loves racing, and really, as much as his promise was worth, there is nothing he can do against the call of the street.
As Hoseok gets out of his car, two other cars roar into the open space of their garage.
"Goddamn kids," he hears Yoongi mutter in the aftermath.
The green Mercedes and the black Chevrolet Corvette park neatly beside Hoseok’s Porche.
"Hey, guys," Hoseok greets, grinning at them as though he hadn't been out of the country on a family holiday for months.
"Bastard," Yoongi swears and stalks back inside.
Hoseok’s eyes widen.
"You're going to die, Hobi. Yoongi's going to pick your bones," Jin tells him.
"Oh fuck!" Hobi runs a hand through his hair and runs in after Yoongi.
"Jungkook!" Taehyung shouts, exiting from the passenger side of the Mercedes. "Did Jin hyung tell you how we killed it tonight?"
"We owned them, Kookie!" Jimin gloats, twirling the keys to the GTR on his index finger as Namjoon, who Jungkook knows would have stayed out of the race, shakes his head fondly.
Three months ago, in their first race as a group, there had been a spectacular crash. Namjoon had barely emerged with his life. There is a scar on his chest, when the doctors had pulled his ribs out of his right lung. Even if he wants to race again, Jungkook knows for certain that Jin would pull him out of the drivers' seat by the ear.
"It was awesome, Jungkook!" Taehyung adds, smiling widely.
Jungkook looks at Jin, who shrugs at him.
"Let's go get a late-night snack, I'm starved," Jin says, fingers tangling with him.
They fall into step with Jin as they head inside.
"You think Hobi hyung is okay?" Jimin wonders.
"You know how Yoongi pretends to not give a shit but he actually cares a lot. I think he was really hurt," Namjoon answers thoughtfully.
He knows for certain that Yoongi was hurt. Hoseok had disappeared without a word and after the first few weeks of panic and fear, he had sent a short message to Namjoon.
Yoongi had gone silent then, never a good thing. Hoseok had not taken the loss of his grandfather well, not that anyone had expected him to, but he hopes that the time away from home helped. He knows Yoongi must understand this but the surface anger wouldn't let him admit it. But if anyone can placate him, Hoseok would be Jungkook's best bet.
Jimin sighs.
"I hope they don't fight too much. The winter race is on in two weeks, we need Hobi hyung."
Jin reaches up to ruffle Jimin's hair with his free hand.
"Let's go and save him then."
The winter race is the last one of the year, the biggest one. Three races and $100000 per head. The final prize is over $3M. Racers from all over the country come for this, lured by the money. But of course, they're going to win it without a doubt. Their main rival, if anyone who has never won a race himself can be called a rival, is Lee Junki and his posse. Junki's family owns the largest multimedia company in the country, and he himself is apparently somewhat of an actor. Jungkook had realised that Jin’s assessment of Junki was spot on, that all he does is talk. However unpleasant, Junki has never done them any real damage.
There is already a crowd gathered at the old airstrip when they arrive. The loud hip-hop music playing in the background that is being drowned out by the roaring of the cars.
There are three races. Jungkook in the first, Taehyung in the second, and Hoseok in the last. They just need to win two out of three. But they've never aimed for less than 100%.
"If it isn't eternal sunshine and the gang," an unwelcome voice sneers.
Jin wraps an arm around Jungkook and turns.
"Are you sure you're at the right place?" Jin asks, concerned. "This is a race. Not an audition. Why don't you go pretend to cry somewhere else?"
The smirk twists on Junki's face.
"Never mind me. I hear your father isn't too happy with you recently. Are you sure you shouldn't be elsewhere? I don't think he'd approve of your company." Junki's smug eyes fix for a moment on Jungkook before pulling back to Jin. Jungkook feels Jin tense against him but the smile on his face is easy.
"Heard your father has a new girlfriend. Better watch out, man. You don't want another half-brother fighting you for your fortune, do you?" Jin asks in a voice laden only with sincere concern.
Yoongi chuckles. Junki's face reddens and he steps forward aggressively. Jungkook steps up. Taehyung and Namjoon flank him.
"Take it easy, Mr Actor," Jungkook warns.
Junki turns burning eyes to him.
"Better tell your sunshine to watch it. His luck will run out soon."
Jungkook watches Junki stride away as the signal for the first race blares through the air.
Jungkook turns back and Jin grins at him, stepping forward to kiss him on the lips.
"Kill it, baby."
Jungkook smiles into the kiss.
"Watch me, hyung."
They burn through the races, winning them all. Jin throws them a party in celebration atop a famous hotel with plenty of alcohol and packed with people Jungkook has never met. Music is thumping through his body, and the alcohol has stolen his thoughts. He had lost Jin to the sea of strangers. He stumbles through the crowd searching.
"JK." Arms wrap around him from behind.
Jungkook turns. Jin's hair is falling into his face but he seems sober. Jungkook brushes back Jin's dark hair.
"Found you."
Jin's peers searchingly at him.
"You're drunk, aren't you?"
Jungkook shakes his head.
"No."
Jin chuckles.
"Liar."
Jungkook slides arms around Jin, and presses closer. Jin is so warm. Jungkook doesn’t want to let go. He leans his head on Jin's shoulder.
"Come on, JK." Jin pushes back against him and manoeuvres him away from the crowd.
Jungkook lets himself be lead away from the crowd and the noise. Next thing he knows he is sitting on a bed, looking up at Jin who is gazing down at him with a fond smile.
"Hyung," he whispers, reaching out.
Jin catches his hands and presses his lips to his fingers.
"Sleep it off, Jungkook."
He holds on to Jin's hands.
"Don't leave."
Jin sighs.
"Have I nothing better to do than watch you sleep?" Jin asks mockingly, pushing Jungkook down onto the bed. Jungkook doesn't let go and pulls Jin down with him. Jin falls onto him with an oomph.
Jin settles astride him, leaning over him.
"Troublemaker," Jin chides.
Jungkook leans up to meet Jin half way. He threads a hand through Jin's hair and catches Jin's lips with his own.
Jin presses against him, pushing him back on to the bed. Jungkook pulls at Jin's shirt and runs his hand over the expanse of warm skin under it. He feels Jin shiver. He feels him pull back.
"JK-"
Jungkook follows him up.
"Don't," he tries to kiss Jin again but Jin keeps him down with a firm hand on the chest.
"No. Not like this," Jin tells him, sliding off him and off the bed.
"I want you, hyung," Jungkook tells him, mind hazy with need.
"I'm not fucking you while you're drunk, JK," Jin says with finality. "Go to sleep."
Jungkook collapses back against the bed, frustrated.
He wakes in the dark. The party must have ended because it is quiet now. He feels another body beside him on the bed and turns. Jin is a sleep beside him. He resists the temptation to run a finger down Jin's nose. Instead, he watches Jin until sleep takes him again.
He takes the corner too fast and nearly falls flat on his face. But he rights himself to find all occupants in Yoongi's office staring at him. Hoseok, who had been the one to message him, stands beside the window, lips pulled down in a grimace. Yoongi is gathered around the third person of the room, who is sitting atop Yoongi's table.
Jin hyung is hurt.
Jungkook had been with Jimin and Taehyung when he had gotten the message. He had run back as fast as his legs could carry him.
Jin is sitting on the table looking surprised but whole. He looks okay except-
Jungkook steps closer. Jin straightens. Jungkook steps in front of him.
The right side of Jin's face is bruised, dark red welt in the shape of a handprint. The skin atop his cheek is broken as though something hard had connected with it.
Jungkook can barely draw in a breath.
"Who?" He manages. "Who hurt you?"
Jin sighs.
"I'm fine, JK."
Jungkook brushes careful fingers over the bruised skin.
"Tell me."
Jin catches his hand and draws it away from his face.
"It's no one you can touch, kid. So, calm the fuck down," Yoongi commands.
"Don't tell me what to do!" He snaps. "You think I'm going to stay still when Jin hyung is hurt?"
Yoongi takes a step and Jin steps between them, facing Jungkook.
"It was my father," Jin tells him calmly. "JK, don't get upset. It'll heal in a few days."
The way Jin speaks, as though he is used to it.
"He's hurt you before?" He asks in a whisper.
Jin pales.
"Drop it, kid," he hears Yoongi growl from behind him.
Jungkook turns on him. "You just let it happen? Let Jin hyung get hurt?"
Yoongi's face goes slack with surprise before anger flares in his eyes.
"You little shit-"
Hoseok grabs Yoongi and pulls him away.
"Come on, Yoongi," Hoseok says, long arms wrapped around Yoongi's middle. "Let's get some air."
"Fuck!" Yoongi swears before he lets Hoseok pull him out of the room.
"Don't talk to Yoongi like that," Jin tells him. "He hasn't done anything because I asked him not to."
Jungkook looks at Jin, but Jin is looking away from him.
"Why?"
"Because he's allowed to hurt me. I'm his son. He is allowed to make me into what he wants," Jin says softly.
"Hyung!" He cries. "That's not true! No one is allowed to hurt you! You can't just-" he struggles to find the words amidst the fury and despair he feels at Jin's calm acceptance of his fate.
Jin turns to him, there is a small smile on his face.
"I can endure this, Jungkook. I know it's worth it."
Jungkook shakes his head.
"Nothing is worth you getting hurt, hyung."
Jin's smile widens.
"Somethings are, Jungkook." Jin tells him. "You are."
He cannot help the choked cry that escapes him.
Jin draws him in and folds around him.
"I'm not giving you up."
Jimin places top in his class and gets signed up by a top agency. Taehyung has been torn between proudly telling anyone willing to listen and mournfully asking Jimin not to forget them when he’s famous. They’re going out to celebrate tonight.
“Where’s Jin hyung?” Taehyung wonders, dropping his bag by the table and sitting up on top of it.
"His car is parked outside," Hoseok says.
"That’s the fucking problem!” Jungkook snaps. "How could he disappear between the parking lot and us?"
Taehyung blinks. “Jin hyung is missing?”
Jimin looks around worriedly.
"Maybe-maybe he met someone he knows."
Jungkook snarls and pulls out his phone and dials.
"He's not picking up-" he shows the phone screen to them all, "-he always picks up my calls. I think-"
"-he's in trouble," Yoongi finishes for him.
"What do we do?" Taehyung asks, wide eyes on them.
"We find him," Namjoon tells him. "His family has many rivals but no one would be fool enough to hurt him. Yoongi hyung and Jungkook, can you check the camera in Jin hyung's car? And talk to the security guard at the opposite building, in case he noticed anything strange."
Jungkook takes a deep breath and nods.
"Fine," Yoongi answers for them both, heading for the door.
"Tae, we need access to the CCTV in the street."
Taehyung grins and eyes Yoongi's computer.
"Yeah, just use it, punk. But if I get any viruses, I'll break you."
"Gotcha, hyung," Taehyung winks and rolls his chair over to the computer.
"Hobi and Jimin, can you guys check Jin hyung’s usual spots, just to make sure that he isn't messing with us?" Namjoon asks.
Hoseok nods and pulls Jimin up to his feet.
Jungkook glances at Namjoon.
"What are you gonna do, hyung?"
"I'm gonna call his family and my other contacts. I won’t tell them anything, just try to find out if they know anything. No need to scare them if this is nothing."
Jungkook feels his chest tighten.
If this is nothing.
If.
He clenches his fists.
Anyone that touches a hair on Jin's head, Jungkook will do worse than break bones.
Two hours later, they meet back at Yoongi's garage. Now, fear is creeping in. They had found nothing suspicious on Jin's dash camera. They'd watched Jin walk across the road, and then nothing. The guard hadn't noticed anything either.
"He wasn't at any of his usual places," Hoseok says, running a frustrated hand through his hair.
"I visited hyung's mom, she doesn't know anything either," Namjoon tells them quietly. "Tae, anything on the cameras?"
Taehyung purses his lips.
"Well. Look-" he turns to the computer and types a few commands.
They all gather around the screen to watch the security footage.
Jin exits the car, begins to walk towards the garage but stops. As though he'd heard something behind him, Jin turns, his back to the camera. Moments pass. He must be talking to someone. Jungkook can tell by the defensive lines of Jin's shoulders that Jin does not like whoever he is talking to. Then Jin walks, away from the garage and towards whatever had got his attention. He walks out of the field of vision of the camera.
They stare at the empty screen for a moment.
"That's it?" Yoongi asks. "None of the cameras caught who he was talking to?"
Taehyung shakes his head.
"I even hacked into the security cameras of the buildings around us. But all I could find was this." Taehyung's deft fingers flow over the keyboard and an image of a car, parked around the corner from the garage, appears on the screen.
A black Ferrari.
"That bastard!" Yoongi swears.
They find Junki at the back of one of his clubs. He's surrounded by his posse, in various states of inebriation. Jungkook pushes his way past the drunken towards Junki who is sprawled on the luxurious red leather couch. He blinks up at Jungkook in surprise as Taehyung and Hoseok subdue any of Junki's followers who doesn't appreciate being pushed out of the way by an overzealous Jungkook.
"Where is he?" Jungkook snaps, leaning forward threateningly.
"You think you can just walk in here and talk to me like that?" Junki rises unsteadily to his feet. "Do you know who I am?”
Jungkook snarls and fists his hands in what is undoubtedly a very expensive shirt.
"Do you think I give a fuck?" Jungkook pulls Junki closer. "Tell me where he is or I will fucking break you."
Junki tries to pull back but Jungkook holds him in place.
"Let go, you little shit!"
Jungkook smirks and backhands Junki, who slumps on the couch. He wipes a hand across his face and stares disbelievingly at the blood smeared across it.
Jungkook doesn't relent. He towers over Junki.
"I'm not playing here, asshole. Tell me where he is right now!"
Junki look up at Jungkook with vary eyes.
"Who the fuck are you talking about?"
"Who the fuck do you think?" Jungkook growls.
Junki's eyes travel past him and over the others.
"Where's your eternal sunshine?" Junki wonders and Jungkook leans in threateningly.
Junki holds up his hands in surrender.
"If you think I actually know anything, then you're on the wrong track, man."
"Then why the fuck was your car at Yoongi hyung's garage?" Taehyung snarls.
Junki blinks.
"What? Look, no offence but I don’t even know where that is."
Jungkook shifts and Junki shrinks back.
"Fuck. I know there is a reputation. I hate him. He hates me. But do you really think I'd actually -what, what do you think that I did? Kidnap him? Sell him as a slave? Do you think I can have that kind of scandal when I'm going to be the head of my family in a few years? Do you think I'd do anything to make my father think twice about his heir? Fuck you, but I'm not stupid."
Jungkook shoves him back and Junki collapses against the couch.
"Jungkook, stop," Namjoon calls. "I know where he is."
Jungkook freezes mid-punch and turns. Namjoon is looking at him.
"I know who took him."
There is a black Ferrari in the underground car park when they roll in. Jungkook steps out of Namjoon's black Chevrolet and stares at it. Jimin and Taehyung get out of their Mercedes and join him. Hoseok parks his Porche beside the Ferrari. Yoongi gets out and slams the door shut with enough force to make Hoseok frown.
"I'm going to punch him in the throat," Jungkook promises as they walk over to the elevator. "I'm going to make him bleed."
Yoongi turns his head and Jungkook expects a rebuff.
But Yoongi smirks.
"That's about right," he says approvingly. "I might join you."
Jungkook looks at him in surprise and Yoongi's smirk grows in response.
They enter the building and Hoseok leads them towards the security room.
"How many buildings like this do you think my family's built? I'd be able to walk around blindfolded," he answers when Jimin comments on it.
There is a single security guard on the late-night shift. He is surrounded by multiple screens of security videos.
"Who are you?" The guard asks, rising to his feet defensively.
Namjoon steps forward with a smile.
"Sorry to bother you so late in the night, but would you happen to know if Mr Kim Seokjin is here?"
The guard looks around at them all.
"You can't be here," the guard tells them.
Jungkook stops paying attention and looks over at the screens.
"There!" Jimin cries, pointing at one of the screens.
Jungkook feels his breath catch.
A dark silhouette stands at a wide window.
Jin.
No one has shoulders like Jin.
"Hey! Get out of here before I call back up!" The guard threatens.
Namjoon smiles sweetly.
"Why don't we do this the easy way?" He asks and pulls out a wad of cash from his pocket. Jungkook blinks at him, and both Taehyung and Jimin are gaping. Neither Yoongi nor Hoseok seem surprised so maybe Namjoon always walks around with wads of cash in his pockets.
"Why don't you take a break?" Namjoon suggests.
The guard eyes the cash. It must be at least $1000. Probably more than what he makes in a week.
"I-" the guard swallows, "-I don't want to get fired."
Namjoon smiles wider and draws closer to the guard.
"Here," Namjoon hands over something that looks like a business card. "If you get fired, just call this number. My people will fix you up."
The guard takes the card in both hands. He looks down at it, then at Namjoon who keeps smiling.
"Thank you, sir. Mr. Kim, sir. I'll take my break now."
Namjoon nods and claps the man on the back.
"You're doing the right thing."
"It's the penthouse," Yoongi tells them, peering at the screen.
Jin hasn't moved.
"We won't be able to get in without authorisation," Hoseok adds.
All heads turn to Taehyung, who grins brightly.
"Done," he says, and jumps on to the chair the guard had vacated. They watch as he starts typing rapidly. Taehyung pauses and looks up at them.
"What are you waiting for? Go! I'll open all the doors for you."
"Thank you, hyung," Jungkook says, smiling at his friend.
Taehyung winks at him.
"Go save the love of your life."
As promised, there are no locked doors on their way up to the penthouse.
"They're keeping the penthouse locked. I guess they didn’t want Jin hyung leaving," Taehyung tells them over the phone, which Jimin is keeping on speaker phone. "But which lock can stand in my way?" They hear Taehyung cackling. "Gotcha! It's open, guys."
"Awesome work, Tae," Namjoon tells him.
The double doors of the penthouse loom before them.
Jungkook does not pause. He strides over and kicks the doors open.
The room is empty.
Jungkook stares, brain scrambling to find an explanation.
Then the balcony door opens and Jin walks in. He freezes at the threshold and stares wide eyed at them all. There is a bruise at the corner of Jin's mouth. Jungkook wants to kill something.
"Jungkook?" Jin wonders. "What are you-" Jin looks over them all. "What are you doing?"
"Saving you,” Jungkook answers, stepping forward.
Two black clad guards materialise from within the penthouse. They converge on them, guns out of their holsters. Instead of stepping back, Jungkook steps forward. These bastards have been keeping Jin locked in here.
"Stop!" Jin orders. The guards pause.
"Sir, your father ordered you to remain here."
Jin looks at the guard, then over at Jungkook.
"He did." Jin lifts a hand and fleetingly touches the bruise on his face. He looks over at the table and Jungkook follows his gaze. There is a file there. "He told you to keep me here until I made a decision."
Jin walks over to the table and draws out a piece of paper from the file. He looks down at the words printed on it.
He looks up at Jungkook.
"Do what I want anyway?"
Jungkook smiles at him.
"Do what you want anyway, hyung."
Jin smiles. Jungkook doesn't miss the tears shining in his eyes.
Jin rips the paper in to shreds. White pieces float down and settle on the carpeted floor.
Jin remains silent for a moment before he draws himself up. He looks at the guards.
"I made my decision. I will leave now. Give my regards to my father."
Jin walks towards him and Jungkook cannot resist running to him. He throws his arms around Jin with enough force to nearly lift him up in the air.
Jin laughs joyously.
Jungkook has never seen a sight more beautiful.
"Seokjin."
The smile disappears from Jin's face in a beat, eyes fixed on something behind him. Jungkook sets Jin down. He knows who it must be. He watches Jin swallow, feels the tension in his body.
"Hyung."
Jin's eyes flicker to him.
Jungkook clasps their hands together.
Jin's lips quirk up into a tiny smile.
Jungkook turns to stand by Jin. The others cluster around them protectively.
The man stands beyond them. It is undeniable, the similarity between father and son. The same devastating bone structure and build. The same dark hair. The same easy manner. Jungkook lets his eyes run down to the man's right hand. A large ring on the index finger. The one that had broken Jin's skin.
"I did as you asked, father," Jin says, voice tight. "I made a decision."
The man's eyes glance back where Jin had ripped apart the contract, then over to them. Namjoon raises a hand in a cheerful greeting while the others stay silent. Jungkook lifts his chin when those dark eyes settle on him.
"You want to give up your inheritance for this?"
This.
There is no venom in the word. Simple disbelief.
"Yes," Jin whispers.
"Seokjin, I know you're throwing this tantrum because I told you I'd take away your toys. I never said you couldn't have your playthings. Only that you don't disgrace the family, that you keep your unsavoury habits out of sight."
In his peripheral vision, Jungkook sees Yoongi flinch. But Jin is staring at his father, eyes wide in a pale face.
"Stop it!" Jungkook snaps. He senses Jin startle beside him. "Don't talk like you know you son! If you knew a thing about him at all, you'd know how he feels about us. He's not you and he'll never be like you either!"
Instead of getting upset, Jin's father smiles. "How he feels about you? Boy, do you have any idea what my son will inherit? How much power he will have? Do you really think he would ever truly choose you and give up everything?"
Just then Taehyung comes bounding down the corridor.
"HYUNG! Are you-" he freezes, eyes darting between Jin and his father. “Um,” Taehyung scratches his head. “Sorry, hyung.”
Jin laughs, startling everyone.
"I already have everything," Jin smiles at him and at the others.
Jin looks at his father. “Not everything you want for me but everything I want for myself. It doesn't mean I'm not your son. It doesn't mean that I'm giving up my family. It just means I want to be my own person.”
“Don't fool yourself, Seokjin. You do this, you will never be welcome home.”
Jin flinches.
“Father, please.”
“Grow up, Seokjin. There are consequences for everything. Every decision you make has repercussions. You think I will bend to your tantrums? You are my son. If you disobey me now, then you are nothing to me.”
Jin is shaking. All that confidence from before leached away by his father's callous words.
“Ah fuck this!” Yoongi snaps, startling everyone. “You think you can throw your son away so easily? Then do it! All he's ever done was to follow you. Even when you were an asshole, he defended you. He's so much better than you deserve, you selfish bastard. He doesn't need you, he's got us! We'll love him so much better than you ever did. We'll be his family. We'll be his home. Jin hyung-” Yoongi looks at Jin who is gaping at him. Yoongi tilts his head towards the door. “Hyung, let's go home.”
Jungkook is close enough to see the tears shining in Jin's eyes.
“We're yours, hyung,” Namjoon says quietly. “No matter what.”
Jin sniffs.
Jungkook tightens his fingers around Jin's.
“We'll open our own doors, hyung.”
Jin smiles at him.
Jungkook smiles back.
“Let's go.”
Jin takes up on Yoongi's offer to stay with him at his apartment. Yoongi seems to take it in his stride that this offer means that they're all going to be practically living there from now on. Jungkook and Jimin help Yoongi with making dinner. They had decided home cooked dinner would help cheer Jin instead of takeaway. Namjoon, Hoseok and Taehyung loiter around the kitchen, trying not to get in the way but cheering the cooking team on from the sidelines. Jin is out on the balcony, on the phone to his mother. Yoongi had told him that Jin has his own money, his own investments. And that his mother, who controls her own money, would probably support Jin. Jungkook had been relieved to hear that Jin's mother would hold on to him. He doesn't know how Jin would have handled it if his mother had let him go as well.
"Smells delicious."
Jungkook looks up and Jin is leaning over the kitchen island. He is smiling.
"Who knew Yoongi hyung was such a great cook?" Namjoon wonders, keeping strategically out of Yoongi's reach.
Yoongi rolls his eyes.
"Couldn’t make the guest of honour make dinner, could I?" Yoongi asks, glancing at Jin.
Jungkook turns to Jin in astonishment.
"Hyung, you cook?"
"Don't sound so shocked, JK,” Jin answers, sounding a little offended.
Jungkook blinks.
"I just thought…" he trails off at the withering stare Jin is giving him.
"I'm not some sheltered flower boy, you know."
Jungkook shakes his head.
"Hyung, I didn't mean it like that."
"Give the kid a break, Jin hyung," Yoongi says. "Come and taste this for me."
Jin walks over to Yoongi. Jimin claps him on the back.
"Nice work, Kook," Taehyung says, appearing beside him.
Jungkook sighs.
"Yeah," he agrees forlornly as Namjoon gravitates over to Jin and Yoongi.
"Don't worry about it, Jungkook," Hoseok tells him. "If I didn't already know, I wouldn't guess that about Jin hyung either."
Jungkook sighs again.
"Thanks, hyung."
He does his best not to look over where Jin is laughing and talking to Yoongi and Namjoon. He busies himself with cooking and tries to figure out a way to say sorry without somehow making things worse.
Next time he looks up, Jin is there, leaning back against the kitchen bench, arms crossed over his chest. He realises that all the others have strategically left the kitchen. Jin is not looking at him.
"Hyung, what I said. I didn’t-"
"I know," Jin says and turns his head to look at him.
"How can you know something I never told you? I'm sorry I was being stupid." Jin opens his arms and rests his hands on Jungkook's hips.
"Thank you for staying by my side."
Jungkook kisses Jin on the lips.
"I love you, hyung."
Jin smiles, wide and beautiful.
"I love you too, JK."
Dinner is loud. The food is delicious. The mood feels as though they had waded through a storm and emerged mostly unscathed.
"Hyung," Taehyung begins slowly as though the words are being forced out of him. "You can-" Taehyung glances at Jimin who nods encouragingly at him, "-you can have the car back, hyung. You can sell it. It's such an awesome car, hyung, you-"
"Stop," Jin says. "Tae, stop." Jin sighs and sets down his spoon. "I don't want the car back. It's yours. If you don't want it then do what you want with it."
"We just want to help, hyung," Taehyung says in a small voice.
Jin pauses for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"Thank you, Tae. But I'm okay. Really."
"Hyung, if Yoongi hyung kicks you out, you can totally come stay with us," Taehyung offers enthusiastically. "Jungkook will definitely give up his bed."
"More like he'll definitely share it," Jimin adds with a chuckle.
Jungkook throws a piece of potato at him, which Jimin ducks easily.
"You brats!" Yoongi snaps. "Why would I throw Jin hyung out?"
Jin grins at Yoongi.
"Why don't we all just move in here, then?" Hoseok wonders, making Yoongi splutter.
"This is not a goddamn hotel, Hoseok, you bastard!"
Hoseok cackles.
"Come on Yoongi hyung, it's either here or your garage. You might as well give up now," Namjoon adds.
"I might as well start charging rent," Yoongi says, a glint in his eyes.
"Aw Yoongi hyung!" Taehyung protests. "Don't you love us?"
Yoongi blinks.
Jungkook nearly chokes on his food.
Jin thumps him on the back.
Hoseok and Namjoon burst into laughter.
Jungkook looks up, finally getting his breath back. Jin's hand remains on his back, warm and firm.
A memory jolts him. Standing in his family living room, his head bowed as his father admonished him about his wasted life. He hadn't dared lift his head and tell his father that he wasn't wasting it. Because he'd been afraid that his father was right. Maybe all he had was foolish courage and he'd regret it in the end. He looks around now. His wasted life. All of the most perfect things in his life in one place. They are an odd group. Jungkook would be the first to admit it. But he'd also be the first to put his fist in anyone's face if they dared mock them for it.
These hooligans.
His friends.
His cars.
And Jin.
His Jin.
***