Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Answering the call had been the first mistake. Accepting the case was the second.

Taehyung could have hit himself on the table. Any case his idiot best friend suggested had always landed him in trouble. But at least that trouble had always been in the form of dragging drunken teenagers home after convincing them that they hadn't lost their legs. And as much as it was an extremely demeaning task for a reputed private detective like him, he took them out of the goodness of his heart. (Yoongi would say that he did it to pay the bills. That man had never appreciated Taehyung’s generosity.)

But when Jeongguk had called him up at 5 that morning pleading with him to come solve a murder, his sleep deprived mind had assumed that it was an actual murder and agreed to it very enthusiastically. Half an hour later he had gotten the address at which point he had called up Jimin, his best friend and trustworthy side kick who had stayed over at the studio the previous night practicing some routines, telling him to meet him at said address, woken up his neighbour and arch-nemesis, Min Yoongi, and forcibly dragged him out to the scene of crime because said idiot friend had told him that Jung Hoseok, his mentor and friend (something which he had harboured doubts over for a long time because if there ever was a ball of sunshine it was Hobi and Kook was the devil incarnate), had requested Yoongi's presence. And he had never been able to say no to Hoseok.

After two hours of travel and another hour of trekking and getting lost (throughout which Yoongi had been grumbling), they finally stumbled onto the house.  And the moment he saw the moss - covered medium sized house in the middle of nowhere (it was in the middle of the woods with no sign of habitation for miles around) he should have taken the hint that nobody could have possibly been murdered there and left. And maybe he would have done that if Yoongi hadn't suggested the same thing. But Yoongi had and so, in order to spite him, Taehyung had walked up to the house without a second thought.

He had met Yoongi a year ago, when the other boy had moved across him. They had been pleasant to each other the first day and he had even considered the possibility of them becoming friends because of their shared love for music. He hadn’t even batted an eyelid when Yoongi had hung up the board ‘private detective’ in front of his door; he hadn’t complained when he started losing clients to him; he didn’t lose his temper when he realised that most of the clients after that came over only to spy on Yoongi and not to actually enlist his services . But when Yoongi had mocked him for dressing up Sherlock style and saying “The game’s afoot” to Jimin before they started each case, or for saying, “It’s elementary my dear Watson”, to his tiny potted bonsai, which he had fondly named Watson, he had sworn that Yoongi would be his arch-enemy till his deathbed.

That was unacceptable to Tae. Nobody made fun of Sherlock Holmes. Nobody had the right to. And certainly not anybody named Min Yoongi.

Now, standing in front of the door, he had a horrible premonition about the week to come. And he couldn't help but wonder how much of his pride he could salvage if he walked away from the door back home. Sadly he never found out because right then the door opened, revealing Seokjin.

Jin, Kim Seokjin, another bane of his existence, was his oldest brother. Yes, he had two brothers, both of them equally annoying. As he stood at the doorway looking Tae up and down with an amused smile on his lips, Tae couldn't help but bristle. Who was he to judge Tae's sense of fashion when the only colour he knew was pink? His purple coat didn't deserve such disrespect. And what if he chose to wear it over a pastel sweater and finish it with a tie? It was nobody's business how he dressed up. Certainly not Jin's business anyways.

"Why are you here?" he asked him flatly, not trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Dealing with Kook was exhausting enough. He didn’t need his brother too.

"My my, look who woke up on the wrong side of bed today. And hello to you to Mr.Grumpy.  Is this how you treat your oldest brother?”

Tae just continued glaring at him, choosing to ignore the look of hurt Jin was feigning. Everyone knew he had majored in drama.

“I am here because this is my boyfriend’s house.”

Tae stared at him blankly before enunciating slowly, “This is Jeongguk’s house.”

There was a smug look on Jin’s face as he repeated, “Exactly. This is my boyfriend’s house.”

There was a sudden sinking feeling gat the bottom of his stomach as he put one and one together, fervently hoping that his deductions were wrong. But when had they ever been wrong?

A moment later, there was a patter of footsteps and Jeongguk, the man himself, was at the door, casually slipping one arm around Jin’s waist as he grinned at Tae.

Tae felt like he had been punched by a bludger.

Traitor.

Jin was smirking as he deliberately leaned towards Jeongguk and pecked him briefly on the lips. And that traitor, Jeongguk, reciprocated it.

Tae pressed a hand to his chest, staggering backwards, his bag slipping out of his other hand with a thud.

“How could you do this to me Jeongguk?” he whispered, scandalized.

The younger boy raised an eyebrow at him.

“I thought you would be happy for me hyung. After all, weren’t you the one who had mentioned how amazing it would be if we were brothers?”

“I said that. But I never told you to go date my brother for that,” he shrieked in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air.

How could Kook have done this to him?

“You realise I am standing right here Tae, right? And I am not deaf,” Jin said coolly, as he stood there in shock, “Stop over reacting. I am the drama major here. Not you. Besides I would have dated him even if he hadn’t been your best friend.”

“Well, I am glad then. Because I don't know who he is anymore. You’re dead to me Jeon Jeongguk,” he said declared icily, making a cross to ward him off.

Jeongguk seemed unfazed and Jin rolled his eyes at him muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Drama-queen’ under his breath before turning to Yoongi, whom Tae had totally forgotten about in the face of Jeongguk’s betrayal, and inviting him inside.

"Why don't you come inside and we'll talk more about Kookie’s uncle's death?"

Tae choked at that. Kookie? Urgh. He was regretting being born with every passing second.

"No offence hyung, but does the kid think he can afford us?” Yoongi drawled.

And as much as Tae hated Yoongi, a tiny part of him was giddy at the fact that Yoongi had referred to them as a unit and had actually dissed Kook. The rest of him didn't understand why that tiny part was giddy.

He knew Yoongi knew Kook in the passing, through Hoseok. And he could see the scepticism written all over his face. He couldn’t blame him. With his bunny toothed smile, Jeongguk looked more like a fifteen year old kid on steroids than a man.

Jin glared at Yoongi but Yoongi seemed unfazed.

"That was uncalled for Yoongi" he said sharply.

But before Yoongi could reply, Jeongguk smirked, turning to Jin and saying, "It's alright hyung. Ahjussi's probably tired because we disturbed his beauty sleep. And to answer your question my aunt is paying. So you needn’t worry about that.”

And Jin had the audacity to smirk, adding, “I think we should probably get rid of these two. I don't think they’ll be able to handle this case. After all, all their clients are drunken teenagers and vengeful girlfriends.”

Tae glared lazers at them and Yoongi scowled before flipping them and shoving past them into the house, muttering darkly, “I am doing this only for the money,” leaving Tae alone with Jin and Jeongguk at the doorway.

“Stop looking so betrayed Tae” Jeongguk chided, grabbing his arm but Tae shook him off.

“You forfeited the right to touch me the moment you started dating my brother. Only Jimin has that right.”

And even as he said that he wondered when they had started dating and how long this had been going behind his back.

“How long?”

Jin and Kook stared back at him blankly.

“How long have you been dating?” he asked, voice tight.

Jeongguk turned to look at Jin at this and the two of them seemed to have had an entire conversation with their eyes (something which he found sickeningly fascinating) before Jin said, “A month now.”

“A month?”

Incredulity coated his voice. A month. And he hadn’t known.

“Are you going to take the case or not Tae?” Kook asked softly.

He rubbed his temples. He was seriously considering leaving, but he knew there was a blank cheque waiting for him if he solved the case and that was the only thing that was holding him in place right then. Because for all that he claimed to be financially independent he was indeed broke, having not paid the landlord rent in three months. And he knew if he didn’t pay it by the end of that month he would be kicked out.

He could always ask his brothers or parents. But that would only make them still look down on him and continue treating him like a kid. And he didn’t want that.

He sighed before saying sharply, “I am taking the case. But I have ground rules. Do whatever nonsense you want but not in front of me. And the moment I finish this case I want that cheque in my hands. And even if I don't by the end of the week I still want that cheque for my efforts.”

He placed emphasis on the word ‘efforts’.

Kook grinned before saying, “You’re not my best friend for no reason. I knew you would take the case.”

There was a small smile playing on Jin’s lips.

He hauled his bag up the steps and pushed past them into the house, deliberately splitting them and called behind him, “And don't call yourself my friend anymore.”

And as their voices became fainter and fainter he thought he might have heard Kook ask something that sounded like “What do you think he’ll do when he hears about Jimin?” to Jin.

But he put it down to his imagination and walked on. Surely nothing Jimin had done could be worse than this, right? Right?

 He was greeted by a war cry the moment he entered the living room and before he could gather his wits, a streak of yellow had launched itself at him.

He stumbled but managed to grab hold of the table to keep his balance and pulled himself away to see Hoseok grinning at him.

The older boy reached out to ruffle his hair, exclaiming “Tae! You’ve grown. It’s been so long!”

“You saw him just two days ago, Hobi” a dry voice commented from behind and Tae saw Yoongi sprawled on the couch, his phone in his hand.

Hobi didn’t seem in the least bothered by Yoongi’s comment and he picked up Tae’s bag, despite his protests and pulled him to his room.

It was up a flight of rickety circular stairs and the last one in the row of three bedrooms. As Hoseok opened the door, Tae marvelled at how cosy it looked. He could see the woods through the window and it was beautiful.

The room by itself wasn’t out of the ordinary two beds, a dressing table and a cupboard for the clothes. But it was quaint and Tae liked it. More than he would ever admit to Kook. It was a nice change of scene from the hustle of the city.

Tae set his bag down next to the bed closer to the window and started unpacking. That was when he noticed the bag lying haphazardly on the other bed. A black bag. A familiar black bag, as black as its owner’s soul and his heart sank.

“Is that his bag?” he asked Hoseok, who had been humming happily under his breath.

Hobi looked at the where he was pointing before asking, “Whose?”

“You know who I am talking about,” Tae gritted out and Hobi grinned.

“You’re so cute when you’re angry. But yes, that is indeed Yoongi hyung’s bag. You guys are sharing room.”

“Does he know?”

Hobi threw his head back at this and laughed.

“Of course he does. He wasn’t exactly happy either, but you guys don't exactly have a choice. I took the attic, Jin hyung and Jeongguk are rooming in the first one, and the second one is for Joon and Jimin.”

“I’ll room with Jim – wait, Joon? Joon as in Namjoon as in the guy who’s supposed to be my brother and has an IQ of 148?”

Hobi’s eyes were sparkling as he grinned, “Yeah. You didn’t know?  Namjoon’s also coming over. He’s the one driving Jimin here. And that must be them now.”

A moment later Tae could hear the sound of squealing tyres and before he could ask Hoseok why his second brother was also here and why he couldn’t room in the attic while Yoongi and Hobi took a room, the other boy had left. He groaned. It was almost as though the universe was conspiring against him.

First he had found out that Kook and Jin were together. Then he had had to room with Yoongi. And now Namjoon was here too.

As he dragged his unwilling feet down the stairs, all he could think was that at least Jimin was here. He would be able to make it through the week somehow as long as Jimin was by his side.

When he reached the porch, everybody else was already there, eagerly greeting Jimin. Even Yoongi was smiling as he ruffled Jimin’s hair and Tae clenched his hands tightly, suddenly feeling annoyed.

He made a move towards Jimin but right then Namjoon came stumbling into view, carrying three huge bags, one of which he recognised was Jimin’s. Ever since when had his brother turned into a porter?

As he stood watching the scene unfurl, he saw Namjoon trip over a rock and lose his balance, dropping the bags. But before he could fall Jimin had rushed to his side and caught him. It looked like a scene out of a Kdrama. A Kdrama where the hero barely came up to the heroine’s shoulders.

It was a ridiculous sight to see. His brother towered over Jimin and yet the other boy was holding him up, one hand on his shoulder and the other around his waist. Namjoon mirrored his pose. And as they stayed that way for a second too long, a horrible feeling bubbled at the bottom of Tae’s stomach. No, was all he could think, Jeongguk’s earlier words coming back to him as Jimin chided “Joonie hyung, how many times do I have to tell you to wait for me? You don't have to carry all the bags yourself. I am not some damsel in distress.”

His hands were now on Namjoon’s shoulders and his brother - was he blushing? And what was with the pet name? Joonie?

Tae rubbed his eyes again to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But no. Joon’s neck had turned a violent red, and he was rubbing at the nape of his neck with a hand as he mumbled something abashedly, that sounded like, “I thought I could carry them all.”

Tae gagged. Was he witnessing a second betrayal?

They were still holding onto each other and Jimin brushed Namjoon’s bangs aside fondly, a blush creeping up his face too before leaning towards him and –

Crash.

The vase that had been next to Tae was on the floor, broken and he may or may not have pushed it.

Everyone turned to look at him, Jimin and Namjoon too, their kiss forgotten, though Tae noted that they were still glued together at the hip.

Jimin’s face broke out into a smile as he spotted him and the next second he was throwing himself onto Tae, breathing “I missed you” onto his neck but Tae caught him and held him at arm’s length.

His annoyance must have shown on his face for Jimin took a step back, an apologetic look on his face as he tried to explain but Tae beat him to it, “How long?”

Jimin closed his eyes and sighed.

“Tae-“

“Yesterday night.”

Namjoon had come over to stand next to Jimin and it was he who had answered.

“I told him yesterday night.”

And though Tae was still pissed, he was glad that it was just the previous night and not a month like what his oldest brother and his youngest friend had done.

“Why?” Tae asked him, voice tight with annoyance, “There are so many single hot guys in college and you had to pick my brother. Why?”

“It just happened Tae. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.”

There were tears in Jimin’s eyes like he was really scared Tae would push him away and Tae huffed before pulling him into a hug.

He wasn’t really mad at them. Just annoyed that they had both picked his extremely annoying brothers. And that now he would have to see them suck face on a daily basis.

Jimin squeezed him tight murmuring “Sorry” into his neck and Tae softened. He could never really stay annoyed with Jimin for long.

He pulled back saying jokingly, “Hey you can’t simply pull the puppy eyes and ruin the scene. I am trying to stay angry at you,” and poked Jimin in the chest making him grin.

He smiled back, adding, “Its fine. I am not angry. I just need time to process things. It would surprise anyone you know?”

Jimin nodded, smiling in such a way that his eyes turned into crescents and Tae’s heart all but melted. Damn. How could he resist his charms?

Namjoon was still looking at him with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

He raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“I hope this doesn’t make things weird between us?”

“When were things ever normal between us? Weird is what we do, hyung.”

Namjoon laughed at that, ruffling his hair and embracing him murmuring, “Touché.”

And Tae let him do it, adding, “Just don't do it in front of me. I can live without knowing what my best friend and my brother do behind closed doors.”

This set Hoseok off, while Namjoon and Jimin turned red, and even Yoongi was smiling. Smiling at him. Tae’s stomach did a little flip as they locked eyes.

“Yah. This is completely unfair. How can you forgive them just like that?” Jin yelled at him, breaking the moment, looking peeved as Jeongguk muttered at the same time, “I sense partiality here.”

He rolled his eyes at them.

“Of course you douchebags. You hid this from me for a month. Plus Jimin is my other half, and Namjoon hyung is my favourite brother, so...”

He let his voice trail off, smirking.

“He knew about us” Jeongguk yelled in an attempt to make Tae mad again but he just shrugged it off. He knew Jimin hadn’t told him because it wasn’t his secret to tell. Besides he wasn’t one to hold grudges for long.  And if he had to admit to himself, it was fun seeing Jin and Jeongguk all riled up.

He slung an arm around Jimin’s shoulders and dragged him inside even as Jin threatened to never cook for him again, a huge smile breaking out on his face, his friend’s laughter echoing in his ears. Maybe the following week wouldn’t be so bad.

Chapter Text

The afternoon saw the seven of them seated in the grass behind the house, their empty lunch basket lying by the side. Okay, maybe they weren’t exactly seated. Jimin was sprawled on the ground, his head on Namjoon’s lap, his older brother threading his fingers through Jimin’s hair, absent-mindedly. Yoongi and Hobi were sitting back to back and Jin and Jeongguk were draped all over each other.

Tae huffed, rolling his eyes at the lovesick expressions on their faces.

Jin and Kook were almost like that noisy, over-excited couple that had just gotten together and couldn’t believe it, so they had to make out every five seconds to reassure themselves that everything was true.  The honeymoon phase, if he was going to go into specifics.

And if he looked at it that way, Jimin and Namjoon were probably the married couple. They were so in tune with each other, that they made do with just glances. No words.  And their every action was unconscious. Like they way his brother almost always reached out to lace Jimin’s hands with his if he was nearby, the way Jimin absent-mindedly brushed away Namjoon’s bangs whenever they fell into his eyes or made sure he didn’t go near anything sharp, or fragile. Definitely five years into marriage.

He turned his gaze to Hoseok and Yoongi.

Hoseok was definitely that one cousin we all have who seems to be living life to the fullest. The one who always played cupid and who would probably offer Satan himself his brightest smile along with a cappuccino.

And Yoongi. No guesses here. That crabby uncle who sucked the fun out of every gathering, who couldn’t be bothered to get out of the couch but always seemed to know when things went wrong and was always judging you. Satan’s cousin himself. Definitely.

Right on cue, as though they were in the middle of a badly filmed drama, Satan’s cousin himself turned to look at Tae with a look of slight contempt, his upper lip curling as he drawled, “At least its better to be Satan’s cousin than a complete idiot who doesn’t even realise he’s talking out aloud.”

Tae gritted his teeth in silent frustration. Why did these things always happen around Min-fucking-Yoongi?

The other boy was still giving him that lazy smirk of his and Tae wanted to do nothing more than punch it off his face, but he, unlike certain other people he could think of, whose name began with Min and ended with Yoongi, had been brought up being taught that sometimes you had to be the bigger person and let go.

So he did just that, levelling the best disdainful look he could at him before turning back to his thoughts.

It was almost a family set up, he thought softly, but if it was family, then who was he? Was he the dutiful younger brother, the responsible adult or the clueless teenager? How did he even fit here? Did he even fit in anymore?

Before a week ago he would have confidently claimed to be Park Jimin’s soulmate, a week ago he would have called himself Kook’s responsible hyung (he was responsible, no matter what Jimin said), a week ago he would have called himself a dutiful dongsaeng. But now – now he didn’t know.

 He took in everyone else again, and then stared sadly at the empty spot in the grass next to him. He didn’t know anymore.

He wasn’t mad at Jimin for falling in love with his brother. He had always been a huge advocator of Jimin’s love life, especially since he knew first hand of Jimin’s insecurities over how his appearances. And he was genuinely happy for his best friend. Because Namjoon, for all that he was clumsy and awkward, was an amazing person. He would love Jimin the way he deserved to be loved.  It was just that Tae hadn’t expected it to be so soon - the fact that his best friend now had someone else to turn to whenever he was down or happy, that Tae would no longer be his first option; that them cuddling together would be a rare occurrence and that most of the things they did together would now be cut short – movie nights, pillow fights, lunches together and crazy dance-offs when one of them was miserable.

He was close with Jeongguk too. But he had basically been attached to the hip with Jimin. They had known each other better than themselves. And if he was going to be completely honest with himself, he was terrified. Terrified of being left behind, of being alone.

Suddenly he felt arms slip around his waist, from behind, and a familiar weight was leaning into him.

Jimin settled his face into the crook of Tae’s neck and he could feel the other boy’s every exhale against his back where he was pressed against his chest. Jimin’s hands found his, and he interlinked them.

“Jimin-“ he started, his voice slightly choked, as he tried to pry himself away Jimin’s vice like grip, looking over to where Namjoon was now sitting alone, a soft smile on his face.

“Jimin-“ he tried again, attempting to tell the other boy that he needed to be with his boyfriend right then and not cuddle him, but the words refused to leave his mouth. Yeah, he was selfish that way.

“Ssh,” Jimin hushed him and as Tae turned to look at him, taking in his features, the twinkling eyes, the angelic face, that adorable beam, his heart constricted and a tear rolled down his cheek.

He hastily moved to brush it away but another warm hand reached out for it and then he was looking into Namjoon’s warm eyes. His older brother offered him a smile, one filled with so much love as he settled down in the grass next to them, placing a hand on Tae’s thigh before slipping an arm around Jimin’s waist and pulling them both close to him.

“Tae, you know that no matter what you’ll still be the most important person in our lives right? Us dating changes nothing. You’ll always be my adorable younger brother whose life and happiness comes first to me,” his brother murmured gently, brushing his hair back from where it was falling into his eyes. And the gesture was filled with so much love that he couldn’t stop the tears that were suddenly slipping down his cheeks. Even if his statement was as cheesy as hell.

Jimin squeezed him tightly as his brother cupped his face in his hands and brushed away each tear tenderly.

“Tae,” Jimin said softly, leaning forward to stare into his eyes, “Listen to me. I might be dating Namjoon hyung, but that doesn’t mean you’re not my soul mate anymore. We’ll still have pillow fights, crazy dance-offs, get drunk and prank all the guys in our dorm and fall asleep cuddling. And yes, I’ll spend time with Namjoon hyung too, but we spent time away from each other normally too, Tae, all this while, whenever either of us dated. This changes nothing. You’ll still be the first person I turn to, even if I’ll also tell Joon hyung things now – “

He paused and Tae stared into his best friend’s eyes, refusing to believe that things could work out the way Jimin was painting it to be but yet desperately wishing for it to be true.

“I’ll always be there for you Tae. No matter what. You remember that promise we made when we were eight years old?”

Jimin’s questioning eyes met him and Tae nodded. He remembered it well enough. It had been right after Halloween. They had been sitting under the covers in his bed, mouths and hands sticky from all the candy they had managed to sneak up, yet content. It had been on impulse but moments before they had fallen asleep, they had promised to be together forever.

“I’ll be there with you till the end of your life. No matter how many people enter it or leave it, I’ll always be your constant,” Tae breathed. They were words from another time, words spoken by two eight year old boys with no understanding of time or the world. But as he said them and saw the smile bloom on Jimin’s face, he thought back to how many years had passed since that moment and yet they were still here, together. Everything around might have changed, but their love for each other was the same the two of them had for each other back then.

“I don't break promises, Kim Taehyung,” Jimin whispered before hugging him tighter and Tae turned fully in his grasp, throwing his arms around Jimin and burying his face in his chest. They stayed that way until his tears had dried and then he lifted his head, reaching one hand out for his brother who was still sitting by the side, watching them with a fond expression on his face.

He grabbed Namjoon’s hand and pulled him into the hug.

Namjoon and Jimin both looked surprised even as they hugged him and Tae just held onto both of them tightly.

And for the first time since he had heard that Jimin was dating his brother and he had known that this was probably for ever and not a short term thing, his heart felt lighter. He still didn’t know where he belonged right then but he could figure it out. As long as they were by his side.

When he finally pulled away, a small smile on his face, he looked across at the others wondering if they had witnessed his breakdown. Hobi was looking at Jin and Jeongguk in rapt attention though he suspected they knew and were choosing to pretend it hadn’t happened so that he wouldn’t feel bad. Yoongi, however, was staring at him with an unfathomable expression on his face and Tae braced himself for whatever scathing remark the other would fling his way. But to his surprise, he didn’t comment, but just turned away to look at Jin and Jeongguk.

He stared at Yoongi confused. The other boy had never missed a chance to take a jab at him. And if he hadn’t known better, he would have assumed that the expression on Yoongi’s face was concern. He scoffed to himself. Min Yoongi and concern for him. Never. But still, it was weird.

His thoughts were cut by Jimin leaning into him and whispering, “Jeongguk looks like he wants the earth to swallow him whole.”

And Tae quickly whipped his head to look at Jeongguk. Jimin was right. The other boy looked mortified as he stared at Jin and Tae couldn’t help but wonder what he had missed.

His question was answered when his older brother took a deep breath and asked with a straight face, “Are you a parking ticket?”

Jin paused, looking at Jeongguk, waiting for him to reply. But Tae knew that it was mostly for effect.

When Kook didn’t reply, Jin nudged him and the younger boy sighed wearily, saying, “I don't know hyung? Why?”

 “‘Cause you have fine written all over you.”

Tae’s jaw dropped. Even though he had been bracing himself for some kind of lame pun, he most definitely hadn’t been expecting his brother to hit on his own boyfriend with a sleazy as hell pick up line that made him sound like a creepy stalker. Jeongguk buried his face in his hands and tried his best to distance himself from Jin but he should have known that was impossible, especially when Jin was on the roll. He was like the human equivalent of an octopus. It was impossible to get out of his grasp. 

And Jin was laughing his characteristic windshield wiper laugh, his arm linked with Jeongguk’s, hitting him as he laughed. Beside him, Jimin had collapsed in a fit of laughter, clinging onto Tae. Namjoon seemed to be suffering from second-hand embarrassment, cringing as he stared at Jin and Hobi was on the ground now, clutching his stomach, howling.

Yoongi, similar to Tae had a look of disbelief written all over his face which just heightened when Jin spoke up again.

“This is a good one Kookie. Listen.”

He forced the younger boy to look at him and Jeongguk sent a pleading look his way, but Tae was grinning now, enjoying seeing him squirm.

He mouthed, “You dug your own grave,” a smirk on his face.

Jeongguk glared at him.

“Can you take-“ Jin started.

“Don't” both Namjoon and Yoongi said at the same time, the former’s tone pleading the latter’s bordering on murder.

But Jin didn’t even spare them a glance, in his usual fashion, as he went on, “ - me to the doctor?”

Jeongguk looked up in alarm at this, “Are you alright hyung? What happened?”

His panic was etched on his features and it set Tae off. The kid had it bad if he didn’t even realise Jin had thrown out the beginning of another god awful joke.

Yoongi was still staring at them in disbelief, though this time it was more along the lines of how-the-fuck-are-you-so-whipped than how-the-fuck-do-you-even-come-up-with-such-jokes.

“ Because I just broke my leg falling for you.”

Silence.

And then Jimin let out a yelp of laughter, burying his face in Tae’s shoulder, his body convulsing with silent laughter. Jeongguk looked dazed, like he couldn’t believe that it was happening to him.

Hobi was gasping for breath while Yoongi muttered, “I am so done with you guys.”

“Seriously hyung,” Namjoon winced, refusing to look him in the eye, as though he found it physically painful to even be related to Jin in anyway and Tae could sympathise with him.

Finally Kook groaned, whining, “Hyung, stop hitting on me. I am already your boyfriend.”

Jin burst out laughing again, wrapping Jeongguk into a tight hug before smothering him with kisses and tickling him, the younger boy struggling to get out of his grasp, but then suddenly they were kissing, like actually kissing and Tae contemplated digging his grave then and there because he wasn’t sure if he could continue living after what he had just witnessed. Thankfully, he was saved from doing so by Yoongi, something which he would have never expected to happen,  who had thrown a pebble in their general direction.

It caught Jin in the arm and they quickly broke apart, Jeongguk glaring at Yoongi as Jin rubbed his arm.

Yoongi just raised his eyebrows in challenge, daring him to yell at him. The latter didn’t and Yoongi drawled, “Good, now that we have everybody’s attention, I would like to know more about the case so that I can solve it as soon as possible, take the cheque and leave.”

Tae bristled at this. But he wasn’t going to let Yoongi get away with it.

“Yeah Kook. You should tell us now if Yoongi is to even stand a chance at solving the case against me. He needs all the time he can get to wake up those brain cells of his.”

“That’s hyung to you, brat,” Yoongi snapped.

“Sorry Yoongi hyung,” he drawled and Yoongi glowered at him.

Tae gave him a sweet smirk before settling back against Namjoon and as Yoongi opened his mouth again, no doubt to insult him, Hobi clapped a hand over his mouth, shooting the two of them exasperated looks, as he quickly spoke up, “Kook tell us what happened.”

Yoongi scowled at him but he kept quiet and Jeongguk spoke up.

“My aunt wants you guys to find out how the scientist was murdered because his ghost refuses to leave this place until he gets justice for his murder.”

They gaped at him for a second.

Tae was pretty sure he knew the meaning of all the words in the sentence Kook had just uttered but he couldn’t make sense of them together.

Apparently nobody else did too, if their blank looks were anything to go by.

“Why don't we start with the scientist?” Namjoon asked him softly.

He nodded.

“My aunt bought this house a month ago. The previous person to live here was a scientist and according to his sister, who sold the house to my aunt, he spent most of his time here, whenever he was working on his experiments. A little over two months ago, he was found dead in the house. There was an autopsy and the doctors claimed that he had died due to a cardiac arrest and it was dropped at that. There was nothing suspicious to it as everyone knew he used to work for long periods of time with no sleep or rest and he was buried without a fuss.”

He paused and Hobi commented wryly, “This is the part where everything goes wrong right?”

Kook nodded, continuing, “So my aunt decided to convert this place into a bed and breakfast – “

“ In the middle of the woods?” Jin interrupted, looking incredulous , “Why would any sane person do that? Think about the mount of efforts it would take to just transport the vegetables and –“

He stopped abruptly when Jeongguk gave him a look and Tae allowed himself a slight smile. Not many people could get Jin to shut up when he started ranting about food.

“ However, when she came here to try to whip it up into shape, the scientist’s ghost appeared before her and told her that unless he got justice for his murder, he wouldn’t let anybody do anything to the house, and chased her out with knifes. So she asked me to find someone who would find out the truth and do something about it. That's why I called you guys.”

Silence again.

Kook stared at them expectantly and Tae mulled over his words. If the person in question hadn’t been Jeongguk’s aunt he would have told them to seek psychiatric help because ghosts didn’t exist. Period. But it was Jeongguk’s aunt and as much as it was shady, he didn’t see any other option but to at least act like he was investigating.

Yoongi however seemed to have no qualms about voicing his opinion.

“Kid, I know she’s your aunt. But you do realise that ghosts don't exist, right?”

Jeongguk scowled at him, heatedly asking, “Are you saying she’s making things up?”

“Exactly.”

Jeongguk got up, his hands curling into fists but before he could punch him, Jin had caught him, rubbing circles into his back even as he sent a pointed look in Yoongi’s way.

Yoongi grumbled but he relented under Jin’s fierce stare, muttering, “Sorry kid. I didn’t mean to accuse her. It’s just that I don't believe in ghosts. Besides there’s been no sign of paranormal activity ever since I stepped in here. Have you seen the ghost so far?”

There was a challenge in his words and Tae saw Kook consider it. After all, Yoongi was making a good point. Nothing suspicious had happened yet. They hadn’t even caught a whiff of the ghost, if it existed at all.

 Namjoon and Jimin were nodding on either side of him.

His brother picked up from where Yoongi had left ,“He’s right Kookie. It’s been pretty peaceful so far. Nothing happened even when Jin hyung was cooking, even though he was handling the knives.”

“That’s because I was handling the knives, Namjoon-ah, and not you,” Jin stated in a matter-of-fact voice and everybody cracked up, the tension Tae hadn’t even realised was in the atmosphere, dissipating. Even Jeongguk smiled softly as Namjoon half-heartedly protested against the injustice he was facing.

Jimin reached out and squeezed his hand before saying reassuringly, “It’s alright hyung. I can cook for both of us.”

The betrayed look on Namjoon’s face was priceless.

Tae looked over at Jeongguk, smiling, and saw the conflicting emotions playing out on his face. He could see that Jeongguk was warring against the truth of their statements and his aunt’s words. He looked so miserable that Tae couldn’t help but speak up, “Guys since we all packed for a week, let’s just stay here. We all need a break and while we’re at it, we’ll keep an eye out for ghosts too. If there’s nothing by the end of the week we’ll leave, okay?”

Jeongguk brightened visibly at his suggestion and sent him a grateful look. Tae shrugged, mouthing, “It’s going to be alright.”

The younger boy flashed him his bunny-toothed smile and Tae felt a sense of accomplishment.

When he looked around, the others were murmuring their agreement and even Yoongi seemed to have taken the suggestion into stride, surprisingly.

“Well, now that we have cleared that up, I think I am going to go in and work some lyrics. I am feeling inspired” Namjoon said, getting up, throwing a loving glance at Jimin while he said his last statement. Jimin blushed bright red.

 Yoongi grumbled something that sounded like “lovesick idiot” under his breath but he still looked at Namjoon fondly as he got up and followed him inside along with Hoseok.

Jin was next, stretching as he said, “I should probably go in and work on my paper before dinner too,” and Tae couldn’t resist calling out cheekily, “Is paper a code word for banging Jeongguk?”

Jimin snickered beside him as Jeongguk flushed a violent shade of red.

Jin shook his head at him as he walked away, Jeongguk following him, “Youngsters these days...  absolutely no respect.”

They burst out laughing as Jeongguk flipped them before closing the door.

It was just him and Jimin left and for a while they lay there next to each other on the grass, a comfortable silence enveloping them. He must have dozed off because when he opened his eyes the sun was already sinking. He rolled over and saw Jimin staring at him sleepily, a fond expression on his face.

Tae got up, stretching and reached out a hand for Jimin. His best friend took it and got up fluidly, beaming at him. And together they walked into the house.

Behind them, exactly where the seven of them had been sitting that afternoon, stood a figure, barely visible and pale, watching their retreating backs.

“Enjoy your time here children, for you won't be leaving,” it whispered into the wind and for a second, Tae stopped in his tracks, turning around. He could have sworn he had heard something, but all that greeted his eye were the empty woods.

And when Jimin tugged at his hand impatiently, he put it down to his imagination and closed the door, not sparing it a second thought.

Chapter Text

They went to bed early that night, exhausted from the travelling they had done and the events of the day.

And as much as Tae would have preferred to sleep on the couch in the living room than room with Min-I-am-too-cool-for-you-Yoongi, without the comfort of the lights he couldn’t really fall asleep, jumping every time the branches of the trees brushed against the window panes, the relentless outpour outside only making things worse. And half an hour later when he fell out of the couch when there had been a flash of lightning which illuminated the woods outside making them look sinister and haunted, he hastily pulled his blanket around him more tightly and made his way upstairs, shuddering every time the steps creaked.

As he made his way up, he hoped that Yoongi was asleep, but then his prayers had never been answered before so he didn’t even know why he was hoping for such miracles to happen. He sighed when he saw light seeping out through under the door to their shared room. Taking a deep breath and racing his calming heart, he opened the door and walked inside leisurely, acting all cool and unbothered.

Yoongi glanced up when he saw him and raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on is lips.

Tae bristled under his gaze and snapped, “I am not scared. It’s just that the couch is uncomfortable and I don't see why I have to give up my bed just because you’re here.”

Right on cue, there was a clap of thunder and Tae yelped, losing balance and falling half on his bed and half on the floor.

He heard Yoongi snicker and he gritted his teeth, cursing the weather and his misfortune. He dragged himself up and saw Yoongi wearing that infuriating smirk.

“I was just startled by –“ he started defensively when the door to their room was thrown open, the light revealing Namjoon.

“Tae, do you want to sleep with Jimin tonight? I can switch with you. I know how much you’re scared of storms, and this one looks like it won't blow over for now,” his brother asked looking at him with concern, and he groaned inside. His humiliation was now complete. Why, why did these things have to happen to him of all people?

“Definitely not scared,” he heard Yoongi drawl under his breath and it prompted him to quickly say “I am not 10 for god’s sake hyung, I am fine.”

Namjoon gave him a disbelieving look but didn’t press the issue. As he stood at the door however, he murmured, “You can just walk in if you change your mind later. We won't mind.”

Tae nodded and Namjoon left.

Yoongi had gone back to his laptop, but that smirk was still in place and seething, Tae slipped into he covers, burrowing into his bed and wondering when the storm would pass.

His brother’s offer had been so tempting, he couldn’t help but think miserably half an hour later, as he lay in bed, still flinching at the slightest sound, despite knowing that he wasn’t alone. He knew he could always get up and walk into Jimin and Namjoon’s room right then, but that would mean giving up on the last vestiges of his already tattered pride. No, that wouldn’t do. Especially with Yoongi still awake barely five feet away from him. No, doing that would be akin to taking the walk of shame.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried forcing himself to sleep.

He was awoken from his uneasy slumber by a loud thumping noise. The storm had quietened considerably and he opened his eyes sleepily, wondering what time it was. His eyes landed on the digital clock on the wall across him – 23:00. The numbers shone brightly against the dark of the room. He turned his head slightly and saw Yoongi still sitting on his bed, legs crossed, completely focussed on the laptop in front of him. By the moonlight, his silhouette seemed soft, not all jagged edges and sarcasm and he felt himself itching to take a picture of him, to embrace him even and hold onto the softness and -

Tae quickly pinched himself. What was even wrong with him? That was Min Yoongi he was staring at. His arch enemy. He repeated the words over and over again until he was sure they were firmly etched in his mind before turning his thoughts to the thumping noise that had woken him up. For a few seconds he stayed still, wondering if he had just imagined it.

“Thump. Thump.”

Definitely not imagined it.

“Thump.”

And then a plea.

Jeongguk’s pleading voice cut through the haze of his sleep sharply and he sat up much more alert.

“Please –“

He got up without a second thought, his feet moving towards the door of their own accord and he opened the door, his panic mounting with each passing second. What had happened?

“You don't want to do whatever you’re going to do,” Yoongi’s voice cut in sharply but he paid him no heed as he strode towards Jin and Jeongguk’s room quickly. He didn’t have time to decipher Yoongi’s cryptic remarks when his friend sounded like he was being murdered.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the room, his eyes instinctively seeking Jeongguk out. That was when he saw them and realised what he had walked into - Jin and Jeongguk, tangled together half naked in the queen sized bed, with Jin on top, evidently in the middle of something.

Tae froze, and he had never been so glad for the dark before. Neither of them had noticed him and he quickly turned, intending to make his way out but he miscalculated and ended up walking into the wall.

He groaned as the noises stopped and the lights flicked back to life, Jin calling out, “Tae, what are you doing here? Is it the storm?”

He turned and saw that Jin had thankfully pulled the covers up fully. But the light showed him a lot of things that he could have lived without seeing, as if the initial scene he had walked in wasn’t already imprinted in his retinas and causing him enough trauma.

“I heard noises,”  he muttered dazedly, “And I came to check on you.”

Jin burst out laughing at this, a half-adoring expression on his face, “Seriously Tae? That's’ sweet of you though.”

Tae flushed a bright red.

“Yeah yeah well now that you know we haven’t been brutally murdered or something can you please stop gawking at us and leave,” Jeongguk muttered, looking slightly put off, his voice hoarse, “We were in the middle of something and I would like to get back to it. Unless you want to watch?”

Jin smacked him on the head as a stricken expression found its way onto Tae’s face and he turned and fled, not bothering to even close the door on his way out, Jeongguk’s laughter following him into his room.

Once inside, he hastily stumbled into his bed, trying to even his breathing. But it was hard to do when every time he closed his eyes the image of Jin and Jeongguk kept flashing in front of his eyes. He had just seen his best friend and his oldest brother making out. And it was not something he had ever wanted to see. Why was he so unlucky?

If only he could gouge out his eyes right then or erase his memories of the past hour, it would be nice.

He groaned as the thumping started again, followed by moans. How had he not recognised it for what it was in the first place? That’s what Yoongi had meant when he had warned him.

But did he listen, no?

He was glad that Yoongi had taken one look at his traumatized face and not questioned him further or said “I told you so.” He didn’t think he would be able to take it.

He tried counting sheep as he sought out the sleep that had all but disappeared but even before he reached ten the thumping had started with renewed vigour. And they had started to become more vocal too. The fact that the walls were paper thin wasn’t helping either. At least he was glad that Namjoon and Jimin hadn’t decided to do it too. He didn’t think he would be able to stand that.

He whimpered in bed, trying to count again but barely making it past five each time, the noises constantly interrupting his concentration. He didn’t see how he was going to sleep again, ever. More than that, he wasn’t sure how he would be able to look them in the eye again, ever.

Suddenly he felt his covers being pulled off him and he opened his eyes to see Yoongi standing next to his bed, his headphones and phone outstretched.

He looked at him cluelessly. Why was he giving him his phone?

Yoongi sighed before saying stiffly, “Put these on. They’ll block out the noise to an extent. Change the playlist if you want.”

Tae accepted them, baffled by Yoongi’s behaviour. Why was Yoongi being nice to him?

Apparently he seemed to have spoken out aloud, and he seriously needed to top doing it around Min Yoongi, when Yoongi muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “Because I am an idiot.”

But that couldn’t be right because why would Yoongi call himself an idiot?

He stared at Yoongi expectantly and Yoongi grumbled, “Because I know how whiny you can be when you don't sleep well and I don't have the energy to put up with that, especially not if you start quoting Shakespeare and acting like a martyr.”

Tae had to admit that Yoongi had a point. But it wasn’t until the next day morning did he wonder how Yoongi knew all that about him because if his memory served him right, he had gone through that phase when he was 16.

Right then, however, he pressed play and let the music lull him back into sleep.

Tae woke again in the middle of the night, feeling really thirsty. Wondering if he would ever get proper sleep that night he glanced at the clock which now read 02:30,the green light harsh against his eyes.

He slipped out of his covers and padded towards the door, looking instinctively at the other bed and saw the back of Yoongi’s head, the other boy almost buried under his covers. He silently let himself out of the room and hugging the railing he walked down the corridor past the other two bedrooms, flushing a little when he passed Jin and Jeongguk’s room, towards the winding spiral staircase, and down the stairs, shuddering every time they creaked under his weight.

Pouring himself a glass of water, he turned around, leaning onto the counter and opened his eyes blearily as he raised the glass to his lips, only to hear the sound of a piano. At first he thought he was hearing things or more likely still dreaming, but the haunting melody continued playing without a pause and he felt himself being inexplicably drawn towards the music and the drawing room where he vaguely remembered seeing the piano.

If this were a horror movie, this would be the scene where he would confront the ghost for the first time and it would try to maul the ever-living shit out of him. And he also knew that that meant he needed to go up the stairs to the safety of his room instead of doing what all those idiotic heroes, as he had called them, had done. But now that he was in a similar position he understood what thy must have been feeling. As much as he was scared he wanted to know where such sweet music was coming from.

He quietly pushed the door to the drawing room open and was met with the sight of a pale figure, sitting with its back turned to him at the piano and playing without a care in the world. For a few minutes he just stood there, enthralled. The fact that the moonlight spilled over the quaint brown piano making the scene almost look ethereal didn’t help.

But then the figure shuffled slightly and Tae’s senses snapped back to attention. Quickly he looked around for a weapon, any weapon, heaving a sigh of relief when he spotted a vase not so far from him.

Making sure not to make a single sound, he tiptoed towards the vase and hefted it in his free hand, his unforgotten glass of water still in the other and silently made his way towards the figure. It had continued playing after the pause, this new tune even sadder than the previous one, so sad that if he didn’t have a ghost to hunt he would have dropped to the floor and curled up in a ball crying.

Barely a feet separated them when he swung the vase hard. It caught the back of the figures head, and he heard a soft whimper of pain before the figure crumpled onto the piano, causing a sudden burst of violent noise, almost akin to a screech and Tae jumped.

Setting the vase done, he did a little victory dance, elated, completely forgetting the fact that ghosts were apparition and weren’t solid. Reaching out tentatively, he nudged the head of the ghost, wondering how it would look and even as he did it, his brain was finally catching up with body and he knew something was off, especially considering how tiny the figure was.

There was a sinking feeling in his gut when he finally rolled the figure onto its back on the bench and saw the face.

Damn.

He dropped the glass of water as he stood there staring at Min Yoongi’s unconscious form. But if this was Yoongi, who had it been in Yoongi’s bed? His heart started racing as he quickly leaned forward over the unconscious boy, placing his fingers on Yoongi’ s neck, checking for a pulse. And when he felt the soft thud-thud of the pulse, he slumped forward onto Yoongi’s chest in relief. for a second there he had thought he had killed the older boy.

He didn’t know how long he had stayed that way when he heard the patter of footsteps and even without turning he knew that Jimin, Jin and Hoseok were standing at the doorway of the music room, out of breath. The noise of the glass crashing against the floor must have woken them up.

He pushed himself up onto his arms when he heard Jin yell, “Get away from Yoongi, bloodsucker! Don't you dare turn my friend into one of your kind!”

Huh? Bloodsucker? What was Jin going on about?

Confused he turned around in time to feel something cold splatter onto his face.

He licked his lips ad grimaced when he tasted ketchup. Why the fuck had Jin thought to throw ketchup at him? Wiping the ketchup from his eyes he stood up on wobbly knees. The sight that met him was ridiculous – Hobi had his eyes closed and was hiding behind Jin who was clinging onto Jimin who wasn’t looking much better himself, and he had a sudden urge to laugh at the look of abject terror in their eyes. Wherever the ghost was, he was pretty sure it was laughing so hard it couldn’t see straight.

 “Guys,” he called out, making a move forward but he paused when the three of them backed away so fast they almost ended up tripping.

He raised his eyebrows before trying again, “It’s me guys.”

“Jin hyung, why does the ghost sound like Tae?” Hobi squeaked, still refusing to open his eyes.

“Jin hyung, the ghost looks like Tae too” murmured Jimin, opening one eye slightly and when he caught Tae staring at him, he stammered holding his hands in front of him, “Don't hurt us Ghost-nim. Please.”

Tae stared at Jimin in disbelief, “Chim it’s me, Tae.”

He took a step towards them, reaching out for Jimin but the other boy stumbled back, out of his grasp.

“Guys!” Tae yelled.

All three of them flinched.

“Jimin, I think Tae’s been possessed, possessed by a vampire ghost” Jin whispered after a few seconds and as the other two stared at him in awe for figuring it out, Tae couldn’t help but stare at them in exasperation. He couldn’t even believe he was friends with such idiots.

“I’ll be back hyung,” Jimin murmured before running off and Tae stared in confusion. Hobi and Jin looked equally confused and Jin was trembling without Jimin to shield him.

The next second Jimin had come back with a handful of garlic which he waved threateningly in front of Tae’s face, saying “Back off vampire. Leave my friend’s body!”

The smell of garlic was so strong he felt his breakfast crawl its way back up. He weakly tried waving the garlic away with his hand but his reaction just caused Jimin’s face to light up in triumph.

“It’s beginning to affect him hyung,” he cried excitedly, pushing the garlic further into Tae’s face.

“Leave vampire!” he yelled and Tae mentally face  palmed himself wondering where were Namjoon and Jeongguk when you needed their sensibility. But he knew that those two wouldn’t wake up even if the building collapsed on top of them. He would have even given anything to hear Yoongi’s sarcastic voice knock some sense into their heads, especially as Jin hefted the empty ketchup bottle in his hand like a weapon, but sadly that wasn’t an option what with him having knocked out Yoongi.

He turned around to look at Yoongi, who had still not stirred and only the gentle heave of his chest as he breathed was indication that he alive. The back of his head had begun to swell and Tae felt slightly guilty.

He turned back to face the three of them but in the moment he had taken to check on Yoongi, he felt a fist connect with his jaw and he was thrown backwards his head hitting the side of the pianoforte with a sickening thud and the darkness swallowed him.

He awoke to the sound of an argument.

“Are you guys kidding me, of course he’s not been possessed,” Namjoon gritted out and if his tone was anything to go by, it seemed like he had already stated variations of the same sentence at least a hundred times.

Hs statement made no sense to Tae though and his head was throbbing as he tried to remember what had happened. The pungent smell of garlic in the room didn’t help either.

“Jin hyung, if Tae doesn’t wake up, you realise the three of you could potentially be facing jail time for murder?” Yoongi drawled.

Murder? What had he missed?

And then. Yoongi. Yesterday night. The vase.

His memories flooded back and Tae groaned. He would have preferred not remembering. How was he ever going to face Yoongi again?

Evidently he hadn’t been quiet enough for there was a sound of rushed footsteps and the next thing he knew he was drenched.

He opened his eyes sputtering even as Namjoon sat down heavily next to him, a look of complete exasperation on his face. He grabbed a towel and started wiping Tae’s face as Tae sat up.

Jeongguk was sitting on Yoongi’s bed and was in splits. He was laughing so hard, he actually rolled off the bed. But even that didn’t stop him.

“Oh my god,” he gasped on the floor, between bursts of laughter, “You guys are unbelievable. Was that holy water?”

At Jin’s embarrassed nod as he dropped the empty water bottle, Jeongguk clutched his stomach and laughed louder.

Tae shrugged his shirt off, shivering, and Namjoon quickly tucked the towel around his shoulders. His cheek hurt and as he caught sight of his face in the mirror, he winced. A beautiful deep purple bruise had bloomed on the right side of his jaw , moving up to his cheek.

He burrowed into Namjoon’s side, leaching off his warmth and his brother slung an arm around his shoulders as he said softly and reassuringly, “You still look handsome Tae.”

Tae flashed him a smile before turning to assess the others. Jin was wringing his hands in distress, Jimin looked partly terrified and partly miserable, close to tears in fact, and Hobi was still maintaining a careful distance from him.

But it was Yoongi he was searching for. His eyes landed on the older boy, reclining in his bed, across Tae. When Tae caught his eye, he murmured wryly, “I know you hate me kid. But maybe try not to murder me next time, huh?”

Tae flushed bright red and he opened his mouth to apologise but, “Well then you should stop wandering the house like a ghost at night” were the words that left his mouth and he cringed inwardly.

Why did Yoongi always bring out the worst in him?

He looked at his hands in despair, wondering if the other boy would be mad at him. After all, he ahd almost killed him but his head snapped up when he heard laughter.

He looked up quickly and saw a smile on Yoongi’s lips.

“It’s fine Tae. I should have expected it anyway. Your detective skills aren’t exactly top notch.”

Yoongi smirked at him and Tae rolled his eyes, muttering “Well they are atleast better than yours.”

But it was weak and there was no bite to it. That was as close to forgiveness that he would get from Yoongi and he would take it.

That solved, he turned back to face Jin, Jimin and Hobi.

They were still staring at him suspiciously and Namjoon lost it.

“For gods sake! What’s wrong with the three of you? I am telling you for the last time – He isn’t possessed. And on top of that not by a vampire ghost. Ghosts themselves don't exist, how the fuck does a vampire ghost even make sense? Vampires and ghosts are two separate entities, assuming for a second that we even agree they’re real. There are no vampire ghosts!”

His brother punctuated each word in the last line and there was silence. The silence seemed to stretch forever as they assessed him distrustfully. And when Namjoon was close to pulling his hair out, Jimin reacted. He took a tentative step forward, whispering, “Tae, is it really you?”

Tae nodded and the next second Jimin was clinging onto him, whispering “I am sorry. It’s just that Yoongi hyung was lying unconscious and you were leaning over him, your mouth so close to his neck and there was this broken vase next to the two of you and we just panicked.”

There were tears running down his cheeks.

Tae wrapped his arms around Jimin and rubbed his back soothingly, murmuring, “It’s alright Chim.”

Jin was the second to unfreeze. He collapsed on Tae’s other side muttering, “I am such a horrible brother.” There was guilt written all over his face and Tae slipped his hand into Jin’s and squeezed it, reassuring him that he wasn’t.

Hobi was the last. He sat at the edge of the bed and said sheepishly, “I can’t believe we were such idiots. Sorry Tae.”

He shot him an apologetic look and Tae flashed him a brief smile, indicating he was forgiven.

He couldn’t really be mad at them even if they were a little extra sometimes. Especially not after he had done the same thing to Yoongi.

“But next time guys, at least choose a better weapon. Ketchup hyung? And garlic, Minnie? Out of all the things you guys could have picked?”

He chortled at the flicker of annoyance that passed over Jin’s face as he muttered, “Hey, it worked. Don’t question my methods.”

He crossed his arms over his chest huffily.

Jeongguk pulled himself up and dropped into Jin’s lap, retorting, “Yeah. I am pretty sure the ghost will be mighty pleased when it’s drenched in ketchup.”

He clutched onto Jin and continued laughing, not caring that Jin was giving him the stink-eye.

“I can suggest a better method,” Yoongi spoke up and they turned to look at him expectantly.

“Let Namjoon cook for it.”

Jeongguk lost it. He was howling with laughter now, tears streaming down his cheeks. Jin’s shoulders were shaking in silent laughter even as he soothingly patted Namjoon on the back.

“I don't like any of you guys” Namjoon said, sulking and Jimin slipped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, dissolving into fits of laughter at the petulant expression on his face.

And Tae grinned, savouring the moment. Things were as normal as they would ever get to be with all seven of them there.

Chapter Text

It was ten in the morning when they settled down for breakfast. Jin had whipped up some pancakes, poached eggs and toast for breakfast and had slipped an extra serving on Tae’s plate in apology. Tae couldn’t really complain after that, even though it made him slightly queasy to see Jeongguk and Jin together. He was pretty sure he was going to be scarred for life.

But then he bit into the food and all other thoughts vanished from his mind. Oh, how he had missed Jin’s cooking. It had been so long yet it was just like he had remembered – all the flavours standing out yet also blending seamlessly. It felt like a taste of heaven. It felt like home.

In a family where both he and Namjoon couldn’t cook to save their lives, Jin was godsend and a miracle. Some days it made him wonder how they were even related especially when one considered the fact that the only thing he was good at was plating and that Namjoon generally burnt the pan instead of the things on it. He paused long enough to grab a glass of water and saw Jin looking at him with a fond and slightly wistful expression on his face and he flashed him a bright smile, one that made his brother’s face light up.

“You’re the best, hyung” he said, through mouthfuls of food and beside him Jimin was groaning in appreciation.

“I’ll look like a dumpling when we leave this place hyung, and it’ll be all because of you.”

The others also chimed in, and the tips of Jin’s ears turned red from all the praise.

“Yah, stop it. From the way you guys are acting, one would think I had laid down a feast for you.”

“Wait, this isn’t a feast?” Hobi asked Jin, looking bewildered.

Jin stared at him in shock.

“Of course it isn’t! What have you been eating the past few weeks?”

“Ramyeon. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. ”

Yoongi and Namjoon nodded in assent.

“Too much work hyung and what with exams and preparations, we haven’t had a proper meal in ages,” Namjoon said.

Jin gaped at them in horror.

“What? How could you? And you told me you were eating well Joon-ah!”

Jin’s voice was rising with every decibel and the three of them had the grace to look slightly ashamed.

“We didn’t have a choice hyung –“ Hobi started meekly but Jin cut him off.

“Of course you did. You could have told me, I would have brought over food!”

He stared at them exasperated before rounding up on him and Jimin.

“We ate proper food. I cooked,” Jimin said quickly before Jin could start yelling at them too.

Jin looked at them disbelievingly, one eyebrow cocked up and Jimin relented, “Okay maybe we had store bought Ramyeon once a day, but it was only once a day.”

Jin shook his head, looking incredulous, before straightening up and saying, “Once we are out of here I want you guys to all come over to my place for lunch every day, no excuses.”

It was more of an order than a request and all of them nodded meekly, except Yoongi.

Jin glared at him, “I know you wake up only at two Yoongi but I don't care. If you miss even one lunch I’ll personally make sure that you are awake at the crack of dawn from the next day, even before he sun is up.”

Yoongi looked horrified at Jin’s words and glared at him as though asking him to take it back but Jin continued staring him own and Yoongi finally, albeit very reluctantly, muttered a barely audible “Fine,” but it seemed to satisfy Jin for he happily turned back to his food like he just hadn’t terrorized the rest of them a few minutes ago.

Jeongguk, the only person who had been spare Jin’s wrath, probably because he had been fed by Jin three times a day, was staring at him with adoration written all over his face.

Tae winced as the image of a Jeongguk in bed surfaced and he turned to look at his plate quickly. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Jeongguk naked before. After all, he had roomed with Jimin and Tae for the better half of his first year in university and they had basically been walking around in boxers. He had seen Jeongguk do the walk of shame, seen a lot of other people do the walk of shame leaving Jeongguk’s room. But this was different – this was his eldest brother they were talking about. His eldest brother whom he had only associated warm hugs, good food, lame dad jokes and amazing Mario Kart skills.

Plus, while Jeongguk was a party animal, his brother wasn’t really one. Yes, he had had his fair share of boyfriends but that was it. He didn’t do one-night flings, he didn’t do friends-with-benefits relationships. He did proper relationships and the end of every relationship had left him devastated, even if it was he himself who had ended half of them. He had barely been able to hold himself together after the last one. And even though Tae hadn’t really been in the picture at that time, having chosen to stay away, he remembered Namjoon basically living at Jin’s place during that time, making sure he ate and slept, helping him piece himself together.

Jeongguk was the exact opposite – he didn’t do relationships. Even though a lot of people saw him as a player, he knew that wasn’t the truth. He knew that he never settled down because he was scared. Scared of giving over his heart to anyone else, scared of letting them scar him like his first girlfriend had done, having cheated on him with another guy.

That was what had made him apprehensive of their relationship even when he had been fine with Namjoon and Jimin’s. And he knew that this was why they hadn’t told him. He wasn’t against it, but he was scared they would end up hurting each other. He was scared that neither of them would make it out complete again, if something happened. But all he could do right then was hope things would work out. Hope that the two of them would be happy with each other.

He broke free of his thoughts and let himself be pulled into the conversation taking place at the table.

At the moment Namjoon and Hobi were talking about the latest song they were working on and that was when Tae was suddenly reminded of something he had been meaning to ask Yoongi in a while.

“I didn’t know you listened to Agust-D,” he told Yoongi, letting a little of bit of his excitement enter his voice.

It was something he had realised when Yoongi had given him his phone and all of Agust-D’s songs were there. His brother’s and Hobi’s had also been there too along with a whole lot of other artists he had heard of in the passing.

Beside him he heard Jimin groan, pleading, “It’s just the morning Tae. Don't start talking about him already.”

But Tae brushed him off impatiently, eagerly awaiting for Yoongi’s response. It would be nice to know that someone else admired the rapper as much as he did. Hell, it would even make him forgive Yoongi for his slight towards Watson.

Seeing that Tae wasn’t going to stop, Jimin got up and made his way to the kitchen offering to wash the dishes for Jin while Jeongguk said he would dry them. Together the two of them left and he returned this attention back to the table.

He couldn’t really talk with his brother or Hobi about him because they worked with him and every time he had gushed about him to Namjoon, Namjoon had just given him an amused smile before feigning mock offense at Tae not revering him.

Yoongi lifted his head up slowly, a look of befuddlement on his face, his eyes narrowing as though he was trying to figure out if Tae was pulling his leg.

“So? Are you his fan?” Tae asked again.

All around him the conversation had fizzled off but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“You have all his songs in your phone – “ he prompted again, though slightly impatiently.

On either side of Yoongi, Namjoon and Hobi were staring at him, the former with a bemused look as though he knew something Tae didn’t and the latter with disbelief.

Yoongi gave him a barely perceptible nod but that was enough for Tae.

“I love him so much-“ he started, barely noticing that Yoongi had choked on his food and that Hobi and Namjoon were trying their hardest not to laugh. Jin was watching the proceedings with interest, actually going and grabbing a bag of chips from his secret stash before settling back in to the chair.

“Wait what about us?” Hobi screeched indignantly, indicating to himself and Namjoon.

Tae grinned as he said, “You guys don't compare to Agust-D in any way. Like he’s up there.”

They glared at him and he cracked up.

“Oh, don't act like babies. Obviously I love your songs too. I love your songs as a unit and I love your songs separately too. And I admire the two of you equally too. It’s just that since he’s this wild card, he’s always seemed so unreal to me, yet I know he’s real because of his songs. And there's something magnetic about him. Doesn’t mean I don't idolize the two of you too.”

That seemed to appease both of them as they gave him matching grins. And he rolled his eyes at their expressions. They knew how much he loved them too. And yet they always sought out reassurance.

He continued talking to Yoongi, “His music is so amazing you know. His lyrics speak out to me. It’s like he’s put all my thoughts to paper and he makes me want to become a better version of myself. He makes me want to chase my dreams and every time I am down, all I need to do is listen to his voice and everything seems better.”

He stared at Yoongi as he spoke, his admiration for Agust – D barely concealed in his tone.

Yoongi was still staring at him as though he had sprouted two heads and the table was eerily silent.

“Um, what happened?” he asked slowly when the silence stretched for too long.

“Have you never seen Agust-D?” Yoongi asked him dazedly.

“Nope. But I would like to see him one day,” Tae murmured wistfully.

“But doesn’t he work with your brother?”

Yoongi was looking at him incredulously.

“Yeah, and I know they’re really close, I mean, they’re a trio - RM, J-Hope and Agust-D, but even though I have known Hobi hyung was J-hope for a really long time I have never seen Agust-D. I have seen his silhouette, I always knew when he was in the studio with my brother, but I have never seen his face.”

“Why did you never ask, Tae? I always assumed you knew,” Namjoon asked him from the side, looking slightly guilty.

He shrugged.

“I don't know. I guess I was just happy to observe him from a distance, I mean, he's such an amazing person you know and maybe one day I’ll ask to see him, one day when I have achieved something on my own, when I am someone worthy. I guess I want him to remember me. I don't want to be just another fan to him. I want to be someone who’s done something. Somebody worthy enough to stare at his face, especially since no one’s really seen his face except you two.”

Tae sighed softly. He knew nothing he ever did would matter in front of all that the rapper had achieved, that too at such a young age. But he could always dream.

Plus he really wanted to be worthy enough to see the rapper’s face. While his brother and Hobi had always posted selcas and messages in twitter to keep their followers updated of their process, the most that people had seen of Agust-D were his fingers in that rare video where he had played the piano. Otherwise he only tweeted messages and how events were coming along. Never once his face.

“You are not nobody Tae,” Namjoon said softly.

“I don't want to be known as your brother hyung. I don't want to stand in your shadow while meeting him.”

“That wasn’t what I meant Tae. You never were in my shadow.”

Tae shot him a disbelieving look.

“Yeah right. People totally don't know me as RM’s little brother.”

Namjoon sighed, looking like he wanted to say something, but Jin beat him to it, “Joon’s right Tae.”

Tae huffed as said, “Right. If not RM’s little brother its EatJin’s youngest brother.”

His brothers exchanged a look and dropped it but he could clearly see that they believed in what they had said. And he was thankful to his brothers for trying to make him feel better. But he honestly wasn’t anybody. He was just that weird kid who did stupid things, the alien or that loud kid who couldn’t hold his mouth, if not known as RM’S brother or EatJin’s brother. It wasn’t really a wonder that a lot of people didn’t put up with him other than Jimin and Kook.

“Yoongi hyung raps too, you know?” Hobi said suddenly, pulling him out from his thoughts before he could wallow in his misery and self-loathing. He was thankful to the other boy for it.

“I didn’t know,” he replied, amazed, “What name do you go by hyung? I may have heard your songs.”

There was a mischievous twinkle in Hobi’s eyes which Tae couldn’t decipher, so he chose to focus on Yoongi’s face. The other boy opened his mouth and then closed it again, indecisively and it hurt him deep down. He didn’t know why he felt miserable but the look Yoongi was giving him, it hurt.

He said wearily, “I won't tease you hyung and I won't judge you if that's what you’re worried about. And its fine, you don't really need to tell me your name. After all, it’s not like we’re friends or something.”

He returned his focus to his almost empty plate and tried not to read too much into things but –

“Suga-“

Yoongi’s voice made him look up.

“Huh?” he asked confused.

“D.T.Suga. my stage name – its D.T.Suga, and I – I haven’t really released any songs under that name. I am working on them.”

His voice was honest, free from sarcasm and that casual drawl of his and as he met his eyes, he noticed how the other boy looked almost vulnerable for the first time as he looked at Tae like his reaction meant something to him; he was looking at Tae like he was important and he felt too warm all of a sudden, like there wasn’t enough space between the two of them.

Had Yoongi’s face had always been this perfect?

And maybe it was the vulnerability on the other boy’s face but for the first time Tae felt like honestly replying to him, so he offered Yoongi once his biggest smiles as he said, “That’s so cool hyung. I would love to hear your work once you’re done.”

And the smile on Yoongi’s face – it was blinding. It was a wonder that he hadn’t already lost his eyesight living with Hoseok and Jimin, they were both like rays of the sun, but Yoongi, his smile was like the soft moonlight.

Damn. What was wrong with him? Ever since when had he started waxing poetic about another guy’s smile, especially when the guy in question was his arch enemy?

He was spared from over-analysing by Hoseok again, the man who had gotten him into this mess in the first place, “How do you think he looks? Tell me and I’ll give you a clue as to whether you’re right.”

Hobi was looking at him expectantly and so were his brothers. And Yoongi too.

It was surprising, seeing Yoongi so alert for once, especially when the person speaking was him. Yoongi never paid him attention. Ever. Period. But then Yoongi had done a lot of surprising thing over the course of breakfast so he didn’t even know why he found this weird. But at least the topic of Agust-D pushed away all the indiscernible emotions that ran through him when he saw Yoongi because Agust-D was Agust-D.

“Well, for starters he's probably tall. Not as tall as Namjoon hyung, but almost. The way I always think of him - he’s well-built, works out a lot and is highly energetic. Plus he's got this face that’s mature and chiselled and this smile, one that’s barely a smile, but it lights up his features. And he radiates swag. Like no matter what he does he radiates swag, even if it’s just getting out of bed in the morning. Plus he’s an early riser. And he’s got slightly long hair and wears a chain that's so cool and goes with all his white clothes and... I guess that's pretty much it.”

He had been describing him with his eyes shut as he had envisioned the rapper so when he opened his eyes he was met with the sight of Hobi burying his face in Jin’s shoulder, his body shaking. Namjoon had stuffed so many chips in his mouth that he couldn’t really make out his expression and Jin was staring at him, amusement etched in his features.

And Yoongi. Yoongi was looking at him with a horrified expression as he faintly asked, “Is that how you have pictured him?”

And Tae wondered if he had maybe gone overboard, describing him in too much detail so much so that it was making him look stalkerish.

But he shrugged, “Yes” reaching out for the chips in Jin’s hand.

“Why? Isn’t that how you expect him to look?”

Yoongi said nothing, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, and for the first time since Tae had known him, he realised that Min Yoongi was speechless. And that he had rendered him speechless. It was a pleasant feeling.

“You realise you pretty much described that lead guy in the drama you’re a part of – Hwarang, Park Seo-joon, minus the chain, right?” Hobi asked him, still chortling.

Tae gave it a thought and then his face broke out into a small smile, “Yeah hyung. I never realised it. but yeah, that's pretty much how I expect him to look, expect with way more swag and all those rapper accessories.”

“Would you bang him, given the chance?”

At Hobi’s question, he saw Yoongi turn an even violent shade of red, even as he choked on his water. Namjoon reached out and thumped his back while Hobi looked at him expectantly, mischief in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Tae said without missing a beat, “I would totally bang him. I mean who wouldn’t want to? You don't know how much I have thought about it.”

Yoongi’s eyes had gone as wide as saucers and Tae briefly wondered if it was because of the blunt way Tae was speaking about banging the rapper. But Yoongi should have known, Tae was never really one to beat about the bush. He said what he thought.

The older boy quickly got up, his chair toppling and said, “Think I heard my phone” , leaving before any of them could even reply, almost tripping on his feet to each his room.

“Strange, I could swear his phone didn’t ring,” Tae mused as he reached for a glass of water.

“I still can’t believe my younger brother just sad he wanted to bang my band mate and I don't know whether to be horrified or amused,” Namjoon said slowly, shaking his head. Jin was mirroring his expression.

Tae shrugged, “You wanted to know.”

Right then the door slammed shut somewhere above them and they knew Yoongi had reached his room.

 “Is he alright?” Tae asked no one in particular.

“He’s just in shock Tae. Its fine,” Hobi wheezed, still clutching at his sides, and Namjoon nodded, silent laughter spilling from both of their lips, but Tae didn’t really understand what was going on, so he shrugged again before swiping the entire packet of chips from Jin’s hands despite his protests and made his way to Jimin’s room.

Everybody was acting too weirdly for him to understand.

Chapter Text

 The first time they actually sensed the presence of the ghost was that evening. And it was all because of Yoongi. Or at least mostly because of Yoongi.

Sometime around  seven, Tae found himself walking towards the kitchen, desperately in need for a snack to satiate his hunger. Who knew that playing Overwatch could be so tiring? He quickly opened the shelves only to be met with the sight of an empty larder. He looked at it miserably. Jin had probably hidden away all the good stuff.

He heaved a sigh as he wondered what to do. He had a feeling he knew where Jin’s secret stash was. And If his hunch was right there was no point in even thinking about it. He would have better luck growing potato chips on trees than get to the stash probably hidden deep inside one of Jeongguk’s bags. Plus who knew what other traumatising things he would accidentally set eyes on. No thank you. he valued his eyes a little too much for that.

Right then his brother walked in. Second brother. Not Jin.

“Need something Tae?” Namjoon asked him, grabbing a glass of water.

“I am wondering how I can grow potato chips on trees.”

“You realise the potato is a tuber right?” his brother asked him as he reached out to ruffle his hair, a fond smile on his face, “You’re hungry aren’t you?”

Tae nodded sadly, jutting out his lower lip in a pout.

Namjoon gave a hearty laugh as he slung an arm around Tae and propelled him towards the drawing room. Once there he pulled out a few books from the bookshelf rapidly and Tae stared at him confused.

“Hyung, reading might satiate your hunger. But unless you’re asking me to eat the paper, which I would rather not, I don’t see why –“

His voice trailed off as Namjoon pulled out a packet of chips and a box of popcorn from somewhere behind.

“Secret compartment” his brother whispered to him conspiratorially as he stretched them out in Tae’s direction, “Just don't tell Jin hyung. He’ll have my hide if he realises I am the one who took them.”

“Are you sure you don't want them hyung?” Tae asked him as he took them from his brother’s hands.

The older boy just smiled at him, rubbing the nape of his neck with his hand, something he always did when he was at a loss for words or felt awkward, “I don't mind. It’s not like I’ll really be that hungry anyways.”

Namjoon ruffled his hair again and on impulse Tae pulled him into a hug. The other boy froze for the entirety of a second before enveloping Tae in his warmth and for the first time in forever Tae felt safe. He felt protected – the way he had always felt in his brother’s arms. He had missed it.

When they pulled apart and Tae made his way back upstairs, away from Jin’s all seeing eye, he couldn’t help but think about the shine in Namjoon’s eyes as he had released him. There had been so much happiness in it – even though all Tae had done was hugged him. It made him feel guilty, guilty for all that had happened.

Before he could dwell on it however he heard voices floating down the stairs – Jin’s voice in particular and he quickly stuffed the snacks he had in his hands into the front of his hoodie, realising at the last moment that there was no point to it, what with the outline so clearly showing. He didn’t really have any other choice at that point but to crouch behind the base of the stairs and hope that shadows would swallow him somehow and Jin wouldn’t notice him.  

His brother was walking down the stairs and seemed to be in a heated argument with none other than Min Yoongi. Lovely. Now even if Jin didn’t notice, he was sure that Yoongi would accidentally pull Jin’s attention to him and right on cue Yoongi happened to look his way, and when he smirked at Tae, he knew that the other boy knew.

He heaved a sigh.

“ – just a week, Yoongi. Come on, don't do this. You know it’ll make Kook feel bad, “Jin was saying, when Tae turned his attention to him. His brother thankfully hadn’t noticed him yet and had turned to face Yoongi, blocking his way down.

“Hyung, I respect you and I like you a lot, but it’s a week hyung. A week of doing nothing here waiting for a ghost that doesn’t exist to show up. Forgive me if I would rather go home to the work that's wafting for me and my own bed.”

Ah, so Yoongi wanted to leave. He wasn’t really surprised. He hadn’t expected Yoongi to stay beyond a day.

“You need a break,” Jin tried changing tactics, “Think of this as a break. Just relax. I’ll make you everything you like and – “

“Hyung are you actually bribing me? I thought that bribery was below you.”

There was a smile on Yoongi’s face as he shook his head and gently pushed past Jin down. But he froze in his tracks at the words Jin uttered next.

“He's here. Would you really pass up the opportunity to be with him for a week? Is your work more important than him?”

Yoongi barely seemed to be breathing, as he stared at the opposite wall, and Tae looked at him confused. He dint understand what Jin was talking about. Who was there? What was going on?

When Yoongi spoke next, his voice was a strangled whisper, “He’s the reason I am leaving. I am leaving because I can’t do this anymore. I can’t.”

But Jin either didn’t notice how Yoongi’s voice was cracking or chose to ignore it, for he went on relentlessly, “What if you leave and the ghost is actually real? What if he gets hurt? What if he gets hurt because you were too much of a coward to stay here and protect him?”

Yoongi closed his eyes tightly and Tae saw his hands curl into fists. After what seemed like eternity he gritted out, “Fine. But just a week.”

And then he walked past Tae, almost as though having forgotten he had been standing there. Tae didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved. A second later Jin followed in his wake, a satisfied smile on his face.

Tae had forgotten how ruthless sis oldest brother could be when he wanted to get his way. Jin’s arsenal was never ending – he started with his charms, trying to sweet talk people into doing things for him and it more often than not worked and then he went into being really persuasive, and lastly, if they really forced his hand, he played his ace – he pulled at the strings he knew would make them dance to his tune. Oh, his oldest brother was pretty dangerous even though most people didn’t realise it. Behind all the smiles and warmth, he was steel, especially if it meant protecting family and the ones he loved.

Tae sighed to himself again as he detached himself from the shadows and made his way up the stairs, wondering what Jin held over Yoongi, what terrible secret that made Yoongi listen to Jin. He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed Jeongguk standing at the top of the stairs, looking confused and heartbroken and Tae knew that the younger boy had overheard the entire conversation.

“He wants to leave already,” Kook whispered, “He doesn’t believe me, does he?”

Tae quickly crossed the gap between them to pull the younger boy into his arms. He knew Kook idolized Yoongi and looked at him like he had hung the stars in the sky, even if he didn’t know why (after all in Tae’s opinion, no sane person would idolize that grumpy smurf), and the other’s blatant dismissal of Jeongguk’s words - he could imagine how much it would hurt. He rubbed circles into the other’s back and slowly led him to Jimin’s room, knowing that Jimin would be able to calm Kook down better than Tae could. Plus Tae was feeling the sudden urge to break a certain Min-Yoongi’s nose. Especially when the first tear rolled down Kook’s cheek. All three of them pretended it had never happened.

Once he made sure Kook was safely wrapped in Jimin’s arms and his love after explaining the situation to Jimin through sign languageand dropping the snacks next to them (because food always helped cheer up people), he strode down the stairs, taking them two at a time, in search of Yoongi.

He was lounging on the sofa, his headphones on, bopping to some beat and Tae saw red. He looked so calm, so relaxed like he hadn’t just crushed Kook’s heart. The next second the distance between them vanished and his fist connected with Yoongi’s jaw and the older boy’s eyes snapped open. They widened when Yoongi realised who was standing in from of him and he barely dodged Tae’s next punch. He caught the third punch on time, grabbing onto Tae’s clenched fist firmly and forcing him back. But as much as Yoongi was strong, he was trying not to hurt Tae while Tae was looking only to hurt Yoongi. So he pushed back with equal force and he didn’t know when he would have stopped if strong arms had wrapped around him right at that moment, pulling him off Yoongi.

He thrashed in Namjoon’s grip, but his brother had the advantage of being taller than him and he held on tightly. The commotion had brought Hobi out into the living room and he stared in confusion at the expression of shock at the scene before quickly stepping between Tae and Yoongi, effectively cutting the younger’s line of sight.

“Min Yoongi” Tae spat out, craning his neck to look at the other boy around Hobi, “I don't care what your problem is with me, but you don't treat my friends like shit. You don't have the right to do that. You don't have the right to make my friends cry.”

He was yelling at this point and he was pretty sure people in the neighbouring town, let alone the entire house could hear him, but he didn’t care. Yoongi pushed Hoseok away and stood up, staring at Tae in confusion, “I don't know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you won't happen to know anything about a certain somebody wanting to leave today despite Jeongguk wanting him to stay would you?”, he sneered and Yoongi’s face morphed into one of tight-lipped anger.

“Don't talk about things you don't know,” he warned, his voice dangerously quiet, but Tae wasn’t going to have any of that.

“Oh yeah, then explain. Tell me why you’re leaving since I clearly don't know. Why are you leaving if you say you believe him?”

Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in what seemed to be frustration. He breathed out harshly as he said, “I trust him. I have other reasons for leaving.”

“So you say. Yet you have done nothing to convince me otherwise.”

“Look kid-“

“Don't kid me, I am only two years younger than you,” Tae snarled.

Yoongi opened his mouth to retort but he never got a chance to speak because right at that moment, Jeongguk’s voice rang out clearly from the stairs, “It’s alright hyung. You don't need to explain. If you have work I won't make you stay.”

 All of them looked up, Jin too, thought Tae didn’t know when he had turned up during the shouting match, and saw him descending, a jug in his hand. Jimin followed him holding a black bag in his hands. 

Yoongi paled when he saw Jeongguk and there was a pained expression on his face as he took a step forward, saying, ‘Kook it’s not you. I swear, I believe you. I just can’t- I have work-“

“It’s alright hyung,” Kook murmured soothingly, a wan smile on his lips,” I know you won't lie to me. So if you have work then you do. But just stay for tonight, please. Stay until I cleanse the house. You can leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” Yoongi replied quickly, “I’ll stay. I don't have problems. I wasn’t planning on leaving till tomorrow afternoon anyways.”

Jeongguk flashed him his bunny-toothed smile and Tae could see Yoongi all but melt. A bit of his anger dissipated when Kook turned it to him.

“Tae hyung, being angry doesn’t suit you. Nothing happened for you to get this worked up over,” he said softly and Tae bit his lip, turning away. His brother’s arms were still around him, but they didn’t feel like a cage – he knew Namjoon was holding onto him to comfort him. Slowly, he felt his fury drain. After all, he couldn’t really stay mad for long – especially considering the fact that he knew that Yoongi would never lie.

“What do you mean cleanse?” the older boy was asking, almost as an afterthought.

“The usual hyung – sprinkle holy water, salt, lavender, say a few spells.” The younger boy shrugged his shoulders as he joined them at the base of the stairs.

“Don't you need an exorcist or a shaman for that?” Hobi asked curiously.

“Jeongguk has shaman blood in him. His grandmother’s a pretty powerful one and she’s taught him,” Jin replied, finally making his way over o his boyfriend and slipping an arm around his shoulder, “Why else did you think we were here?”

“Um, I thought you guys were here to make sure Tae and Yoongi didn’t kill each other within the hour?”

The puzzled look on Hobi’s face was priceless and it brought back a smile to everybody’s face, alleviating the tense atmosphere.

Tae felt Namjoon’s chest rumble in laughter against his back and he leaned into him as his brother spoke up, “I am disappointed that you think our presence would stop them from killing each other if they set their minds to it, Hobi,” even as Jeongguk said simultaneously, “Who cares if they die hyung as long as the case is solved?”

“Yah you brat” Yoongi grumbled but there was a smile on his face which took away the bite in the words.

Tae scoffed muttering, “You’re banned from coming to our dorm from now” and Jeongguk grinned as he walked past him, removing the lid of the jug, “Who else will play Overwatch with you hyung?” he cocked an eyebrow at him in challenge and Tae found his lips curling into a smile even as he said, “Brat” again.

Jeongguk gave them all a ridiculously low bow as he said, “My pleasure being your brat.”

That set them all laughing.

 “Okay, so this is holy water and I am going to sprinkle it throughout the house,” he said indicating the jug of what Tae had assumed was water all along, once the laughter had died down.

He pointed at the bag in Jimin’s hands before saying, “That contains salt and lavender mixed together. Can all of you spread them across all the windowsills and basically all the entry ways? I’ll do the chanting in the end.”

They all nodded in unison, reaching out for a handful of the mixture from Jimin’s hands and started walking towards their allotted positions, Tae picking the windows in the kitchen.

As he made his way over to the window, he saw Yoongi do the same.

Oh no, that was his window.

He quickened his pace and reached the window a second before Yoongi, sprinkling the mixture on the sill and all over Yoongi too.

As Yoongi glared at him sputtering, Tae brought his hand up to his mouth in mock surprise and said, “Oh dear, I didn’t see you here, Yoongi. I just assumed you were part of the scenery outside. You should really stop wearing dark clothes you know.”

“Its hyung you brat,” Yoongi gritted out, patting himself down in an attempt to get the salt out of his clothes.

Tae reached out as though to help him get the salt of his hair, neatly tipping the rest of the mixture onto his head when Yoongi was preoccupied. The older boy now looked like he was sporting a salt-and-pepper look now, what with the streaks of salt settling in his jet black hair. And Tae’s heart did a sudden flip.

As Tae tried to figure out why his hart was suddenly doing a tap dance the older boy looked up at him, a scowl on his face finally realising what he had done.

“This is my favourite shirt Kim Taehyung” Yoongi hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to maintain his calm.

“All your shirts are the same – black and bitter just like you,” Tae retorted even as he tried to bring his heart under control. What was wrong with him?

“Now you’re just asking for it.”

Yoongi brought his hands up as if to give Tae a taste of his own medicine by dumping the mixture on his head but right at that moment a clatter caught their attention.

Both of them turned quickly towards the source of the noise and saw Jin standing frozen at the entrance of the dining room looking at Kook, a plate lying at his feet. That's when they saw it – the floating jug. The jug of holy water which Kook had been holding was floating in the air right then in front of Kook’s face.

Everybody stood watching in part fascination and terror as the jug started to tip and then the next second they knew Kook was on the floor screaming, curled up in a ball, face pressed into the rug, the jug having knocked him off his feet, and drenched in the water.

His scream broke the spell and they made their way to him, Jin reaching him first but before he could touch the younger boy on the floor, Jimin barrelled into his side, sending the two of them sprawling across the floor, away from Kook.

As Jin struggled to get up, Jimin pushed him down again, raising a shaking finger in the direction of the rug under Kook’s body. They looked at what he was pointing. The rug was steaming wherever the water touched it, and the fabric was melting, leaving behind gaping holes.

“Its acid,” Namjoon breathed out, “Not holy water.”

And Kook was covered in it.

Chapter Text

Acid, not holy water. Acid. The word kept ringing in his head and time slowed down. Jeongguk was on the floor covered in acid. He knew he was supposed to do something but his body refused to respond to his brain.

Thankfully Namjoon and Yoongi didn't seem to have that problem. The two of them reached for the bottles of water nearby and poured them on Kook, who started screaming again once the water touched him. His screams pierced Tae's heart and he unfroze, moving forward to help his brother. In tandem they kept pouring water on him, trying to flush the acid off his skin. Jimin was holding Jin back, and Tae was glad for it because it looked like Jin would have otherwise thrown himself on the younger boy. Hobi was helping Yoongi on the other side. By the time they poured the sixth bottle of water, Kook had quietened and there was not even a whimper from him. Namjoon tentatively reached out to him and rolled the boy onto his back. His eyes were closed but thankfully there seemed to be no severe burns on his face or any part visible. Namjoon gently started patting his cheek, all the while checking for his pulse, and when Kook opened his eyes, Tae sat down hard on the floor, the relief making his knees go weak while Jin gave a loud gasp and buried his face in Jimin's neck sobbing. Jimin was rubbing circles into Jin's back as he murmured softly to him.

The others also wore similar expressions of relief on their faces and for a few seconds they all sat there in silence, which was broken by a hissed "Fuck!" from Namjoon who quickly started unbuttoning Kook's shirt in an attempt to get him out of it.

The effect to that was instantaneous. Jeongguk got up, pushing Joon's hands away in haste before covering himself up with the tattered remains of his shirt, looking completely confused yet smirking slightly as he said, "Hyung if you wanted to see me naked you could have simply asked instead of drenching me in water and then ripping my clothes off."

Yoongi gave a bark of laughter at that, saying, "Looks like he's alright if he can sass you Joon," even as Namjoon's face turned a slight shade of red as he muttered, "It's not time to joke Kook."

Jin gave a watery laugh before pushing Namjoon out of the way and continuing undressing Jeongguk, equally quickly and efficiently, "Kook there's acid on your clothes, we need to get it off to see of you have suffered any burns."

There was a moment of stunned silence as Kook just stared at them all like they had gone crazy.

"What do you mean acid? There's no acid on me!" he sputtered looking bewildered.

"The holy water was acid, Kook, and it's all over you now," Hobi spelled out carefully, as though talking to a child. But Jeongguk was still staring at them uncomprehendingly and Tae wondered if he was perhaps suffering from a temporary case of amnesia.

"Kook," Jin started softly, moving to his pants and Kook quickly moved away from Jin's grasp as he exclaimed incredulously, "I am not drenched in acid. It's holy water."

"You were screaming Kook" Jimin murmured, reaching out as though to seemingly comfort the boy and Tae exchanged a worried look with Namjoon, catching Hobi do the same on the other side with Yoongi. Had he perhaps hit his head too hard when he had fallen?

His worry worsened when Kook started howling with laughter, throwing his head back. The rest of them sat frozen as they saw the younger boy laugh till he had tears in his eyes and was clutching his stomach. When he finally managed to calm himself down he grinned, "I was screaming because I landed on my tail bone, the jug hit my face a bit too hard and the water was icy cold."

Tae was the first to break the silence after Kook's confession, "You mean to say you weren't screaming because you felt like your skin was burning and because you had been doused in acid but rather because he water was too cold?" His voice rose with each decibel until he was practically screaming but he didn't care. When he had seen Kook lying there unmoving, he had prayed to every deity he knew begging them to just spare Kook and that he would gladly pay any price for it. And now the little idiot said he had been screaming because the water had been cold.

"You try getting doused in cold water, you'll know. It was freezing," Jeongguk grumbled petulantly and Tae scoffed while Yoongi shot the younger boy a withering look.

"You stopped moving,” Jimin said accusingly.

"Yes I did. You guys kept dumping water on me when I thrashed so I figured staying quiet would help," he retorted, arms crossed against his chest as he looked at the wall pointedly, refusing to meet any of their gazes.

"Did it even cross your mind that you could have simply sat up and asked us what was wrong instead of playing dead and constantly screaming?" Namjoon asked him drily and Jeongguk seemed to consider that for a moment, before saying in an awed whisper, "You're right hyung. Why didn't I think about that?"

Hoseok face palmed himself before flopping onto the floor next to Tae and Namjoon just shot Kook an exasperated look as he made his way over to a positively livid Jimin.

Yoongi was grumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, "Took away ten years of my life, I swear," as he stared at Jeongguk with an I-am-so-done-with-you look.

Jin was the only one who had been quiet throughout the entire exchange, having simply frozen when Kook had said that he hadn't had acid all over him. He finally spoke up and his words, though barely above a whisper, caught everyone's attention,

 "The rug was steaming."

Three words. Just three words but all of them immediately turned to look at the rug on which Kook had been lying. The rug that had led them to believe that the acid was eating him alive. The rug still looked worse for wear and positively antique and garish, but it didn't sport any gaping hole, it didn't look like it had just undergone a thorough cleansing with acid.

"It was steaming," Jin repeated, "But now it's not."

He caught all of their eyes as he said it, his voice steadily growing stronger and the implications of it finally sank in. The ghost was real. The ghost was real and Tae didn't know what to make of it. Tae had always known that the existence of the ghost had been a distinct possibility because he had always believed that as long as you couldn't prove that they didn't exist, they existed. But as he sat there taking in the expressions ranging from shock and fear to curiosity and disbelief on the others’ faces he knew that he had also hoped that there would actually be no ghost there because one, he didn't deal with ghosts, two and if he was being honest with himself, this was the main reason - he  had just wanted to have some time for himself - to try to figure out who he was, to figure out all his tangled relationships and try to set things straight and to simply take a break from everything around. The existence of the ghost put a wench in his plans.

"Looks like I'll have to stay now," Yoongi muttered, sounding slightly put off, pinching the bridge of his nose, exhaling harshly with eyes closed,  finally breaking the heavy silence that had settled over them following Jin's words and pulling Tae out of his reverie.

Tae was already on the edge and Yoongi's tone set him off.

"You can leave Yoongi, it's just one measly ghost. I can handle it on my own," Tae snapped, "You don't need to stay. Whoever you're staying here for, I can take care of them better than you ever will. So just leave if you can't stand to be in the same house as me. Just leave if you're just going to be an asshole about staying.”

Yoongi's face tightened visibly at his words, his mouth flattening into a thin line. Without saying a word, he turned on his heel and left the room.

There was a second of uneasy silence after Yoongi's departure but Tae couldn't bring himself to care and when Jin shot him a disappointed look, saying reproachingly "You shouldn't have spoken about things you don't know Tae," something broke inside him. His emotions had already been all over the place and he couldn't do it anymore, couldn't take being seen as a failure anymore.

"Maybe if you supported me for once instead of acting like every other stranger is above me I wouldn't mess things up so much," he snarled, stepping into Jin's space before stepping out of the door into the darkening night.

The moment he stepped out of the house the cool night breeze enveloped him, soothing a bit of his anger. And as his temper cooled, shame took it's place. He knew he shouldn't have yelled at Jin, especially when his brother had just been stating facts. But it hurt, the fact that Jin had picked out his flaws in front of everyone else even if the others were as close as family. He was aware of how much of a failure he was, especially compared to his perfect brothers. Everybody saw him as the weird Kim kid, the black sheep in a family of achievers and while mistakes his brothers did were overlooked, his were magnified. It was as simple as dropping a glass - when Namjoon did it they spoke fondly of how clumsy he was but when he did it he was careless and didn't know the worth of money. And it would have been infinitely easier to hate them for their achievements had they been horrible towards him, but they genuinely loved him, even if they sometimes made him look like an idiot in front of others and he hated himself for even being envious of them. That's why he had stayed away from them - distanced himself from them and tried to protect himself. Delude himself into believing his self worth. But all it took was a day with them to remind him that it was a farce. That no matter what he pretended, the truth was the truth.

Fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he stumbled deeper into the forest, letting his feet guide him. Why had he been blessed with the worst genes? Why couldn't he have been normal, not even extraordinary like his brothers but just normal? Why did he have to dress weirdly, speak in a language that was his own variation of Hangul and talk of things like aliens in the middle of dates or try to start a eating competition at the most random times? Why was he a failure?

He no longer knew where he was going or where he was but he kept walking, needing to get away, needing to reach such a point of exhaustion that everything else would just disappear. The tears were still streaming down his cheeks and when he tripped on a tree root and landed hard on the ground, scraping his elbows and knees, he pulled himself into a sitting position drawing his knees close, leaning against the bark of the tree and resting his head in his arms.

For what might have been an hour or more he just sat there, letting his thoughts wash over him, the white noise in his head keeping him company. For an hour he cried until he had no tears to spare and wallowed in his misery and self-loathing. For an hour he let out all the emotions he had bottled up since forever, punching the bark of the tree once anger had replaced his tears, till his knuckles were raw and bleeding and the pain took over. And then he sank to the ground again, exhausted, but feeling lighter than he had in ages.

That was when he realised he was well and thoroughly lost and that he couldn't see the house in the distance. And as much it was worrying he didn't really mind. Not with how the magical the forest was suddenly looking by the moonlight. The dead autumn leaves on the ground made for a soft bed and he lay on his back, star gazing, letting the music of the insects lull him into sleep. And even as he felt his consciousness slipping away, he knew he was forgetting something, he knew he shouldn't fall asleep, but he couldn't for the world fathom why, especially when sleep seemed so inviting. So he gave in and slept.

He was awoken by somebody shaking him by the shoulders forcefully and groaning,  he opened his eyes too see a face mere inches away from his, so close that they might have kissing.  He scrambled back, pushing the figure away, confused and that's when he realised who it was - Yoongi, Min Yoongi.

The older boy looked terrible, paler than usual, almost ghost like, and were those tear marks on his cheeks? But why would Yoongi have been crying? And above all, why was he even here? Something told him he was supposed to know why Yoongi was there but he couldn't connect the dots. Nothing made sense and he ached everywhere. Everything hurt.

"You're alive," Yoongi breathed out, staring at him with relief and was that happiness that flitted across his features?

Tae couldn't really make sense of anything what with his head throbbing, so he chose to store it away for later.

"Water," he croaked and the other boy hastily drew a water bottle from inside his coat. He uncapped it and held it out and Tae thankfully reached for it but the moment he got it he dropped it, the water spilling out. He could barely fold his fingers, and he looked at his hands and state in which his knuckles were. Swollen. It was a gristly sight, there was blood all over his hands and he could barely hold them steady. And when he tried flexing his fingers, the pain had him screaming.

The water was so close and yet so far away. He could have cried. His throat was parched but he couldn't even hold the goddamn bottle and now all the water was on the ground. He looked up at Yoongi to see him staring at Tae's hands with a horrified expression on his face.

"Your hands" he whispered.

"You think I don't know," Tae muttered, wincing at how he sounded like a dying man and how his throat felt like sandpaper.

Yoongi stared at him, sympathy mixed with disbelief and then he was scrabbling for something inside his coat. A few seconds later he drew out another water bottle and even as Tae braced himself to endure the pain while holding the bottle, Yoongi uncapped it and held it to Tae's lips, a tenderness in his actions, especially when slipped a hand under his neck and helped him drink it. Tae leaned into his half-embrace, leaching off his warmth. He hadn’t realised how cold he had been.

The first drop of water was bliss, and he started gulping it down, not caring that half of it was spilling outside and when the water got over a bit too soon for his liking and he stared mournfully at the empty bottle, Yoongi drew out a third bottle from inside his coat. Tae stared at him incredulously. How many bottles of water did he even have on him?

But he didn't question it when Yoongi helped him drink again and when he was done, he felt infinitely better, even though everything still hurt.

For a few seconds they sat there and as Tae took in the scene again, he couldn't help but find it surreal. Sitting in front of him was Min Yoongi, his supposed arch-nemeses, helping him. And in the moonlight, in his over-sized coat and black ensemble he looked ethereal, almost like a prince of the forest. Well if it was all a dream, then Tae couldn't help but think it was a damn good one. Because something about Yoongi made him feel safe. And the admission surprised him. But it was true.

He was preparing himself to wake up from the dream when Yoongi spoke up, "We should be getting back home. The others will be worried."

And that was when he remembered why he shouldn't have slept. Damn. His brothers, Jimin, the others - they were all probably worried to death.  He had gone missing for over four hours, if his watch was to be believed. It was eleven at night already. But this was all a dream right? Which meant he had to wake up soon. Because in the real world his brothers and friends were actually going to be worried.  Or maybe in reality it had barely been ten minutes and they wouldn’t even know he had disappeared.

Yoongi had gotten up and was now jabbing at his phone impatiently. A few rings later, Tae could clearly make out Namjoon’s voice at the other end and he felt warm for a second. Hearing his brother’s voice felt nice, even if he sounded panicked.

“-yeah, he's with me. He’s –“ Yoongi gave him a once over as his brother asked the older boy if Tae was alright, before replying, “-fine, I guess. We’ll be home soon.”

He hung up and Tae tried getting up but ended up landing on his ass having not taken into account his bruised knees and unsteady legs. He tried again a second time and managed to take two steps before his knees gave way and he fell face first on the ground. Spitting out leaves and mud, he stumbled to his feet again and took a whole of four steps before the ground was reaching out to him again and he threw his arms in front of his face in attempt to save it but he never fell.

Strong arms snaked around his waist and held him upright and when he opened his eyes tentatively he was staring into Yoongi’s eyes again. They were a really nice black. A warm black.

He licked his lips nervously as Yoongi kept his arm around him, their faces mere inches away from each other, chests pressed together. For a moment the air around was static and Tae wondered what it would be like to close the distance between them. After all it was just a dream wasn’t it?

But before he could do anything stupid, Yoongi pulled away, still keeping an arm around Tae’s waist to hold him steady but no longer pressed flush against him.

“As much as its entertaining to see you fall on your face, I need to get you home before your brothers panic, so I am afraid I’ll have to help you the rest of the way,” Yoongi drawled, but it didn’t have any of the usual condescension to it. In fact he almost sounded concerned. Almost. And Tae was just further convinced that he was dreaming.

Tae leaned onto Yoongi and together they walked, slowly. After roughly half an hour, Tae started feeling tired, his breaths coming out in pants. And they still seemed nowhere near the house. In fact, if he was going to take in the surroundings closely, he would say that they were back where they had stared, where Yoongi had first found Tae.

“Are you sure you know the way to the house?” he asked Yoongi tentatively, when they stopped to catch their breaths.

And when the other boy growled in frustration he knew that Yoongi didn’t know either.

“I can believe we’re lost,” he grumbled, “And the signal here is so poor I can’t even access Google Maps.”

He looked seriously mad at himself for having not marked the way and getting them lost that Tae found himself wanting to reach out and comfort the other boy, especially when he saw how miserable he looked when he told Namjoon that they were lost and that they would probably be spending the night in the forest, trying to find their way back by daylight.

“It’s alright hyung. It’s all a dream. When I wake up, none of this will have even happened and you’ll be at home in our room,” Tae said softly once Yoongi had cut the call.

His statement was met with a stunned silence. Yoongi turned to face him and stared at his face in impassive silence for so long that Tae felt compelled to snap his fingers in front of his face.

“Earth to Yoongi.”

“Why do you say this is a dream?” Yoongi asked him slowly, dragging out each syllable.

“Duh, because in real life, one, you wouldn’t even be out looking for me and two, you wouldn’t be this nice to me. Like why the hell would you have three bottles of water inside that coat and help me drink them and let me use you as a crutch for walking?” Tae replied in a matter of fact voice without hesitation. The way he saw it, there was nothing wrong in telling dream Yoongi about all this.

But when he met Yoongi’s eyes and saw the intensity of his gaze, he wondered if he perhaps shouldn’t have said that. He squirmed slightly when Yoongi kept staring at him and gave a half-laugh as he tried to brush it off, saying, “Its fine. You’re-“

“Is that honestly what you think? That I would be nice to you only in your dreams?”

The gravity of his question threw Tae of balance. Whatever it was he had expected Yoongi to say, it was definitely not this. He hesitated for a second, looking at the ground before murmuring, “Yes hyung, but its fine. I get it. I am an extremely annoying person to be around so it’s honestly really hard to be nice to me. I don't even know how Kook and Jimin do it.”

A hand under his chin forced him to meet Yoongi’s eyes and as he did, the older boy said softly, “I am sorry to tell you this Tae, but you most certainly are not dreaming. You’re in pain and you can feel it. I am pretty sure you’re not dreaming.”

Tae froze. And then he pinched himself for good measure, howling in pain when he accidentally tore off a scabbed portion of his skin. He wasn’t dreaming. And he had told Yoongi a lot of things. Why couldn’t he just die? Or live in the forest on his own forever? That way he wouldn’t be able to constantly embarrass himself.

But either Yoongi didn’t notice Tae’s embarrassment or chose to ignore it for he was saying, “And we’re lost.”

And that's when the gravity of the situation hit him. They were lost. He would have to spend the night in the woods alone with Yoongi. Why did his life have to be a Kdrama?

Chapter Text

He was going to spend the night alone with Min Yoongi in the forest – alone. Just after he had basically told him to his face that only dream Yoongi would ever be nice to him. Tae was seriously beginning to question his life’s decision and was contemplating braving the woods in search of home. Hell, he would even take on any wild animal if it meant being away from Yoongi.

Anything, anything would be better than the situation he was stuck in. The other boy was staring at him with an indiscernible look on his face, still supporting him with an arm around the waist.

Okay, at least things couldn’t get worse.

Or maybe they could.

The first drop of water splattered on Yoongi’s arm and the other boy cursed. The dark rain clouds covered the moon completely and pitch darkness descended on the woods. Yoongi’s arm around his waist was a reassuring presence and he leaned into him as he felt the other boy struggling to get something out. After a few muttered curses, there was a sudden light and Tae realised he had pulled out a flashlight. By the light of the torch, the woods suddenly looked creepy. It was fascinating how the type of light decided how one viewed a place. The rain drops started falling more quickly and the cold seeped through his clothes making him shiver.

“We need to find shelter, immediately,” Yoongi muttered and Tae just nodded, trying to keep up with Yoongi’s brutal pace, trying to not be a dead weight. But they weren’t making much process, not with Tae tripping every five seconds and almost pulling both of them down. It didn’t help that the already uneven ground was now turning into slush because of the rainwater. Why were these things happening to him? Why were the gods even out to get him?

And when he stumbled a fifth time, he threw his hands up in defeat and dropped to the ground, screaming at the sky, “Why? Why are you even doing this to me? Is it because of that one time in fifth grade when I claimed that Batman was the only god I would worship? If it is, I repent. I am sorry for saying that, I take it back! I was a twelve year old immature kid. You can’t hold that against me!”

The water was streaming down his cheeks and mixed with the mud and dirt he knew he probably looked like a lunatic by the torchlight. But when the storm seemed to lessen for a few minutes, he thought that the gods had actually listened to him. Maybe miracles did happen. Yoongi had long stopped trying to get them to move fast. There was no longer any point to it because both of them were thoroughly drenched and as Tae screamed at the sky, he stared at him with a bemused smile on his features.

“Get up kiddo, it’s going to be fine,” he said reassuringly and Tae took the proffered hand, pulling himself up and Yoongi’s other snaked around his waist to hold him again. They continued trudging forward, Tae not stumbling so much because of the slower pace.

And then there was a flash of lightning and Tae froze. No. no. Not now, he couldn’t. Not while he was in the middle of the forest. He stood paralysed, forcing Yoongi to a stop too. He could sense the other boy ask him what was wrong but he couldn’t speak. His breath was beginning to come out in short bursts and his vision was blurring. A panic attack. He needed to calm himself down. But even before he could try, there was a huge clap of thunder and he flinched, sinking to the ground, curling onto himself and squeezing his eyes shut, covering his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out the noise. But it didn’t help. Nothing ever did. The cold just made it worse and he just lay there shivering, curling up tighter every time there was a clap of thunder.

“Please-“ he sobbed into the wind, not knowing who he was pleading with.

And suddenly there were strong arms around him again forcing him to look up and before he knew it he was being lifted. He clung on to Yoongi, wrapping his legs around his waist and burying his face in the crook of Yoongi’s shoulder. The older boy had a tight hold on him and was speaking to him soothingly above the noise of the storm and even though Tae couldn’t really make out what Yoongi was saying exactly he thought it might have been “I have got you.”

And slowly the panic abated. He still flinched at the sound of the thunder, but his throat no longer felt constricted and he could breathe a bit more freely. Yet he didn’t let go of Yoongi, still keeping his eyes shut and clinging onto his warmth. But he knew he couldn’t do it for long, not if the way Yoongi was panting and stumbling was anything to go by. He would need to walk on his own. But even the mere thought of having to open his eyes had him trembling. He couldn’t.

And maybe, maybe some deity up there had taken pity on him because a few seconds later Yoongi spotted a cave.  A cave after so long of searching. And then they were inside, away from the wind and the storm and Yoongi collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch his breath. Tae was still clinging onto him. After a while Tae made an attempt to disentangle himself from Yoongi but the next clap of thunder just had him scrambling back to the safety of Yoongi’s arms and so they stayed that way till the storm blew over, watching the shadows dancing against the wall by the light of the torch.

It did, eventually and Tae finally mustered the courage to get up. He stretched his stiff and aching limbs and sat down next to Yoongi. Now that the storm was over, he didn’t know what to tell the other boy. The silence between them was awkward, the events of the previous hour totally changing their dynamics. It was Yoongi who broke the silence first.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad? I didn’t realise you were genuinely terrified of storms. I –“, he ran a hand through his wet hair, frustrated, making them stick up in all directions.

“Astraphobia. I have Astraphobia, the phobia of storms,” Tae said softly, staring at the forest, bathed in moonlight again, “I have had it since forever. It’s usually not this bad because I am at home or even otherwise Jimin is with me and we wait it out somewhere warm while blasting music on our headphones. And my brothers have always been around too, so I manage.”

“Shit, I – you almost had a panic attack. I didn’t know what to do, you were just lying there curled up on the ground sobbing and I – I am sorry – I “

Yoongi was stumbling over his words as he paced the length of the tiny cave. His hands were trembling and he looked disgusted with himself, and Tae was confused.

“Hyung why are you even apologising to me? You got me through the entire ordeal. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me. And I am. I am sorry I acted so thoughtlessly. I shouldn’t have just randomly run off into the night. Also, we needn’t tell Namjoon hyung about this if you’re worried he’ll be mad at you. I know you are doing all of this for him.”

And Tae knew that he was probably right. Because Yoongi could have simply left him in the middle of the woods instead of carrying him the entire way. He must have done it for Namjoon because Tae was Namjoon’s younger brother and Yoongi didn’t want to disappoint his friend. He possibly couldn’t care about Tae. And Tae didn’t know why the thought saddened him.

“Wait, that's what you think?” Yoongi’s incredulous whisper broke through his thoughts and he looked up at the older boy.

“Isn’t that the truth hyung?’ Tae asked him and for a second it looked like Yoongi was about to say something but the moment passed and he just resumed pacing.

“But thank you hyung. Even if it was for Namjoon hyung -  thank you for coming back for me. I don't know if I would have been able to survive the storm alone.”

And Tae meant it. He was honestly grateful for everything Yoongi had done. Especially considering how Tae had been nothing but a pain in the ass who had kept lashing out at him and acting like a baby.

“Don't,” Yoongi said and startled he turned to look at the other boy, a question in his eyes.

“Don't start with the self-loathing. None of this was your fault. We all make mistakes. We’re all human, you too. So stop it with the self-loathing.”

Tae looked at him surprised, wondering how Yoongi had known.

“I-,”

“Don’t deny it either. Your eyebrows scrunch together whenever you’re giving yourself the I-am-worthless pep talk.”

“Fine hyung,” he said softly, a smile on his lips and then he couldn’t resist but add teasingly, “Aww, are you in love with me Yoongs? You can already tell what’s on my mind and I am pretty sure even Namjoon hyung and Jimin, who are five years into their marriage, can’t do that.”

He cocked an eyebrow at Yoongi cheekily and couldn’t help but smile when he saw the other boy turn around spluttering, his face going red.

“I don't- what a preposterous idea- why would I – fuck,” he spluttered before walking over to the other side and leaning onto the wall, pointedly refusing to look at Tae.

His expression was too cute - the disgruntled, disbelieving one on his face and as he constantly kept mumbling under his breath Tae couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He could swear Yoongi’s lips twitched too.

Still chortling, Tae placed a hand under his head and stretched out on the cave floor only to let out a shriek of pain the moment he let his bruised knuckles touch the ground. He had forgotten about them. The adrenaline rush of the storm and the panic had made him forget about his injuries.

Hissing in pain he got up and Yoongi quickly made his way over to him, concern etched on his face.

"We should get that patched up," he murmured softly, taking Tae's much larger hands between his own.

"Huh?" Tae asked quizzically, "Hyung do you realise we are in a cave and not a hospital? Where there can't possibly be supplies to patch this up."

Yoongi just gave him a soft smile as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small bag, black again. Seriously, somebody needed to let Yoongi know that there were other colours in the world apart from black. Opening it, he took out a wad of cotton, still miraculously dry and a bottle of antiseptic, to Tae's wonder.

He stared at Yoongi at a loss for words.

"What else do you even have inside that coat?" he asked him in awe. It was almost like Hermione's bottomless bag.

That earned him a grin from the other boy who started dabbing at Tae's knuckles with the cotton. It stung and Tae hissed.

"Maybe this will teach you not to go about fighting trees," Yoongi said, an amused smile on his lips as he continued his ministrations, moving onto Tae's other hand even as Tae flushed a deep red.

"It wasn't intentional" he mumbled, looking down and heard Yoongi's bark of laughter.

"I should hope not."

There was mirth dancing in the older boy's eyes as he started working on Tae's elbows and he couldn't help but marvel at how gentle Yoongi's hands were. And how he had beautiful fingers. He didn't even know where that thought had popped up from and he decided to just place it in the folder in his head he had titled '1000 random thoughts I keep having about Min Yoongi', before turning his focus again on the boy himself.

"Did it help?" Yoongi asked as he put away everything, having finished his work.

At Tae's clueless stare he elaborated, "Did it help - punching the tree? Did it help release those bottled up emotions?"

He thought about it for a moment. Had it helped? Before the entire ordeal he had been highly strung up. He had twisted all their words to such an extent that even the most harmless of words had sounded malicious to him. Looking back at all the times he had given in to his anger in the past 48 hours, he could now see that he had gotten riled up over the pettiest of things - things which he would have generally laughed off, or handled more diplomatically. And simply the fact that he could see how childishly he had acted spoke volumes. There was a lightness in his heart that hadn't been there before.

His past week had been shitty, if he was going to be honest with himself - two of his assignments had been graded a bare minimum, he had lost his job as a barista - one of the two he had had and he had figured out that two of his classmates, whom he had called friends had been hanging around him only because of a lousy bet to make him look like a fool in the shortest period of time. He could have told them not to bother  - he could do nothing and still embarrass himself.  So when he had walked into the house he had already been drowning in a pool of self-loathing and the surprises he was met with along with the presence of his brothers had just fed the simmering anger within him - the short outbursts he had had doing nothing to take off the edge. But now, now he finally could see straight. He could finally breathe.

“Yeah,” he said softly and then “Yes hyung, I feel better”, a little more loudly this time, a smile breaking out across his face. He felt really good. And he owed Yoongi an apology, or maybe two.

“I am sorry, for lashing out at you, constantly. For taking out my anger on you when you did nothing,” he said sincerely, looking Yoongi in the eye and the other boy chuckled, “I wouldn't say I did nothing. I knew you were worked up, but I kept provoking you, so I guess I can say I deserved it too. But maybe you should stick to spray paint and graffiti - at least that isn't self-destructive.”

“If going to jail isn't self-destructive I don't know what is,” Tae said with a grin, but Yoongi’s words struck a chord deep within him. They brought up memories of another him - a younger one, a happier one, one who had two brothers with whom he had an amazing relationship.

There was a pause as they both stared out at the woods, the ground glistening with the water and the Yoongi spoke up.

“He still does it you know. Joon, he still goes to that dumpyard the two of you used to go to almost ritualistically, every Thursday. And he always waits for you - for the past year, every week, he laces his shoes and he sits there staring at the clock for half an hour before leaving. And he always takes your favourite purple spray paint along with his blue, saying that he doesn't want you to be barehanded in case you turn up.”

A lump formed in Tae’s throat and he swallowed audibly. He heaved a ragged breath as Yoongi continued, “He’s been using the same bottle for the past year.”

Tae whipped his head to look at him. Namjoon used up a bottle in a day - he recklessly painted the walls with graffiti, he doodled, he wrote, he randomly painted everything and got paint all over both of them. He could never use one bottle for a year.

Yoongi gave him a sad smile “I know. I don't think he does it. I don't think he can do it without you.”

There were tears prickling the back of Tae’s eyelids and he sniffed. He wasn't deserving of such unwavering love. A tear rolled down his cheek and as he raised a hand to wipe it away, Yoongi looked at him in alarm.

“Hey, Hey - I - I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. I - I just needed you to know that the door’s always open for you. That you can just walk in and your brothers won't even bat an eyelid.”

Tae closed his eyes, nodding, letting his head rest against the wall.

“But how can I hyung,” he sniffed, his voice choking up, “How can I when I was the one who pushed them away? how can I, after the way I acted towards them? How can I, after I caused them so much pain, after I let them go through everything they did without supporting them?”

The tears were falling freely and he buried his face in his hands. A few minutes later he felt his bangs being brushed away from his forehead and an arm slipped over his shoulders.

“You know that staying away is only going to widen the chasm between you and them right? Maybe you should just start by saying sorry because for all that you claim you hate them I know you love them as much as they do you. And I know you want to go back to the way things were before. Also, neither Jin hyung nor Joon hold any of your actions against you and I can’t tell you what will happen, but they’ll be happy to have their baby brother back again. That’s a promise.”

He leaned into Yoongi as he took in his words. And he felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe things would work out between them. After all, hadn't he instinctively given in and hugged Joon and hadn't the older boy also hugged him back? Hadn't his brother come in search of him during the first storm? Hadn't they just slipped into their normal routine and bickering the moment he had entered this house, as though they hadn't really been apart at all?  Maybe he was really overthinking things.

“Thanks hyung,” he replied weakly, his voice watery.

Yoongi just hummed in reply, pulling him in closer so that Tae was leaning his head against Yoongi’s shoulder. After a while, exactly when Tae had begun to think Yoongi had fallen asleep, the older boy spoke up, “I burn things.”

“Huh?”

“Burning things helps me stay calm. It's not exactly the most responsible way to relieve stress and no sane person would ever do it, but I love the flames.”

He gave a little mirthless laugh here, almost self-deprecating.

“If my therapist ever found out she’ll have me locked up. Because which sane person would be a pyromaniac? But they don’t understand. How beautiful the flames look, how they last such a short while but burn bright - how beautiful things look when they’re burning.”

“I think you’re the sanest person I have met hyung. Anybody who says otherwise can fight me,” Tae said indignantly, meaning his words sincerely and Yoongi laughed, ruffling Tae’s hair, sending a warm feeling throughout his body.

“I know it isn't safe. So I don't do it often but sometimes it's hard. I have burnt photos, assignments, even my lyric sheets when I get stuck in a place for too long. And when I see it turn into ashes in minutes, a sense of peace floods through me. I think that's what drew me to your brother. He's like fire - there’s a spark inside him that burns bright and clear.”

Tae listened quietly as Yoongi took a lighter from the pocket of his jeans and flicked it open. The flames burned bright and Tae thought he could understand what Yoongi meant when he said that fire was beautiful there was something both soothing and terrifying about fire.

And as he looked at Yoongi’s face illuminated by the flames, he couldn't help but think about how akin to the flames Yoongi was. He seemed terrifying and cold, almost ready to raze anyone to the ground, but the closer you got, you could see the softness, the part that wished to protect, to cherish, to give life. the part that burned bright against the sea of nameless people. He said as much and Yoongi stared at him in surprise before chortling, “No Tae. I am water, if you were ever to compare me to an element. Or better still, the earth. Never fire.”

“No, you may be earth and water, but you’re also fire,” he said fimly, levelling a look at the older boy that said he wouldn't back down.

Yoongi smiled at him fondly, still shaking his head. But he didn't protest as he flicked of the lighter and slipped it back into his pocket.

They sat that way until Tae started shivering, despite being tucked into Yoongi’s side and no amount of rubbing his hands together would warm him up. Yoongi had finally fallen asleep and Tae marvelled at his ability to sleep so easily. He looked around the cave, trying to find any dry twigs that could be used to build up a fire.

“Remove your clothes,” Yoongi suddenly said and Tae jumped as the other boy sat up straighter, rubbing at his eyes with his hands.

“What hyung?”

“I said remove your clothes,” he repeated, getting up and shrugging off his own coat, working on the buttons of his shirt and Tae suddenly felt his throat go dry.

"Woah, no way,” Tae said loudly and Yoongi just stared at him in confusion.

"Huh?"

"I am not a fool you know and I have watched way too many k-dramas to know what comes next. First you ask me to undress saying you don't want me to catch a cold, once you're done eyefucking me you'll tell me we should cuddle for the sake of body heat, body heat my ass and then you'll kiss me accidentally while you're draped all over me and well we all know how that ends. So no."

Tae was pretty much making up everything at that point. He knew that Yoongi would do absolutely none of that but Yoongi was so easy to rile up and he looked extremely hot when he was riled up, so Tae couldn’t resist doing it. Yes, he had just called his ex-arch-nemesis hot and he didn't know why. Besides he needed to distract himself. Because otherwise he was pretty sure he would do something stupid like trail his fingers across Yoongi’s collar bones or try to kiss him. He grimaced, trying to clear his heads of such ridiculous thoughts.

"I never said any of that. I just told you to fucking undress because it's cold!" Yoongi spluttered and Tae allowed himself a silent victory cheer.

"Exactly, you're asking me to undress when it's just the two of us. See I understand how someone with a body, face and brain like mine would appeal to someone like you, who hasn't gotten laid in decades, so much so that you don't even know what is what anymore but that doesn't mean I am going to say yes to you're wanting to make out with me because I don't make out with anybody other than my boyfriend and you're clearly not mine."

He gave Yoongi a bored look as he said this, inspecting his nails, but a sneakily peeked up from under his lashes when he was sure the other boy wasn't looking to be rewarded with the sight of a very red-faced Yoongi.

"I never even thought about any of that! What the fuck Kim Taehyung!"

"Your inner voice spoke to me Yoongs and you should listen to it. Even though we all know that it's actually your primal part that's in the driver's seat up there."

"Hyung," Yoongi said dazedly as he stood there mimicking a goldfish, his mouth opening and closing but no words made their way out. He would make a really hot goldfish, Tae decided even as he tutted, "I don't have a hyung kink sadly. So don't think I'll say yes just because you're calling me hyung, Suggie."

"Suggie?" Yoongi asked him in a half whisper, looking mortified.

"Yeah, you said your stage name was going to be suga right? Suggie's a cute pet name. Or would you prefer little sugs?"

"I - I don't even -" Yoongi left his sentence midway, unable to finish the thought.

"Little sugs it is. I should name the goldfish little sugs. It would be cute don't you think?"

"You don't have a goldfish!"

"Are you telling me little sugs is a lie? Are you?"

Tae narrowed his eyes at Yoongi and saw Yoongi flush a darker shade of red. Oh gods, this was so much fun. And it was priceless seeing the usually unflappable Min Yoongi at a loss for words. Only if he had his phone. This would be excellent blackmail material.

"What no - I -"

"Also for the record I have a black belt in karate so don't try to pull any of that shit where you try to sleep with me. I'll break your bones."

Yoongi still looked spaced out but then he swallowed and turned away muttering incredulously, "What the actual fuck! I give up. I don't have the energy to figure out melodrama and theatrics."

He stalked over to the other wall and lay down on his side, facing away from Tae, curling into himself like a cat. Tae allowed himself a whole minute to admire the hotness that was Min Yoongi because damn, he might have been the palest human being alive but he was hot - strong arms, a toned body, not to mention those beautiful fingers and the expanse of his back. Tae knew that he was beginning to sound like a weird psychopathic stalker in his head but he didn't care. Only a blind person wouldn't appreciate the view and Tae was most certainly not blind. And right at that moment he wanted to be in those arms again, having spent a majority of their time together there. He seriously needed to get laid if he was fantasising about his enemy-slash-neighbour, was all he could think sadly, as he started talking again, undressing, "You realise that this is that moment when you try to convince me that you mean no harm and that you will never sleep with me without my permission. You're supposed to be persistent and be concerned about my welfare yoon-yoon."

Tar heard a scoff and something that sounded vaguely like "Fuck welfare."

His lips pulled up into a grin.

"You can fuck welfare all you want. I am not going to stop you. But you have got to say your lines!"

He placed his hands on his hips in mock frustration and walked around Yoongi to stand in front of him, wearing nothing but his boxers.

"Say it!"

Yoongi just squeezed his eyes tightly and refused to acknowledge Tae's presence. No that wouldn't do. Drastic times meant drastic measures. Nobody could blame him if he were to straddle Yoongi right then in order to make him see sense. So he did just that. He rolled Yoongi onto his back, hey Tae had muscles too, even if he wasn't a gym freak like Kook, and straddled his stomach, placing his hands on Yoongi's chest. Which was naked by the way. Yoongi squawked in protest and tried to push him away but Tae would have none of it. Tae knew that he was blurring a lot of lines right then. That he would never act this way around Yoongi had he been anywhere else. But something about that cave, the isolation and the gentle drizzle outside made him bold. Made him want to see what lines he could cross.

He leaned down until their lips were almost touching and breathed "Say it now."

He felt Yoongi inhale sharply at their proximity, followed by a long pause before the other boy finally relented, grumbling, "Let's fucking cuddle so that you don't die tomorrow."

"No, no, no. Yoonie, that's not how it's done. Is that how every hero speaks to the heroine?"

He fluttered his lashes at Yoongi coyly as he chided him and the older boy gritted his teeth and said, in a sickly sweet voice, "Tae I won't even touch you without your permission. Now please let me keep you warm so that you don't catch hypothermia."

Yoongi looked so cute when he was angry and Tae had to bite back a smile.

"See that wasn't so hard right? Now we can cuddle."

Grinning triumphantly, he clambered off Yoongi and lay down next to him. But he didn't touch him again. He knew Yoongi wasn't really into skin ship and he had already overstepped a lot of his boundaries. Also, he was coming back to his senses, the ones that seemed to have conveniently taken leave of him when he had decided to straddle Yoongi. Because no sane person would do that. It would be best to not provoke the cat anymore. So he contented himself with just lying down beside him. A few minutes later however he felt a soft huff leave Yoongi's lips and then suddenly his back was pressed against Yoongi's chest, his arms encircling him in a tight hold with the coat draped over them like a blanket. Tae allowed himself a small smile as he started feeling warmer. Yoongi's arms were a good place to be. He didn't know what was happening, why he was feeling this way, but it felt nice. To be held. To be protected. So he didn't question it, knowing that if worst came to worst he could always talk to Namjoon about his feelings and sort them out.

After a while though, as he lay awake chasing the sleep that was out of his reach, a sudden thought struck him.

"Hey Yoongi hyung."

"What is it Tae?" Yoongi mumbled against his neck, yawning.

"Who's the hero and who's the heroine?"

"What the fuck Tae?"

"Stop swearing!"

"Fine. What?"

"I was wondering - if this was a kdrama, who's the hero and who's the heroine out of the two of us?"

"Wasn't I supposed to be the villain?"

Yoongi sounded bemused and Tae laughed.

"I don't know. But tell me. Who's the hero and who's the heroine."

"Why can't we both be heroes?"

For a few seconds Tae mulled over his answer. Why couldn't they?

"Yeah," he whispered in awe, "We both could be. You're amazing hyung."

"I know I am," Yoongi replied cockily and that elicited another laugh from Tae.

"Modest aren't we?" Tae teased him but he never got his reply because Yoongi was already fast asleep, his breath warm against Tae's neck and for the first time in a week, he slept well, a smile on his face, finally free.

Tae woke to the first rays of the sun falling across his face. Squinting, he tried to figure out why his bed suddenly seemed too soft and was vibrating. And were those birds he heard outside? He blearily opened his eyes and pushed himself onto his elbows and that when he realised that his bed wasn't actually a bed, but Yoongi.

Through the course of the night,  they had somehow progressed from cuddling to Tae draping himself all over Yoongi and half curling on top of him with his head on the other boy’s chest. Yoongi's arm was still around his waist, holding him close even in sleep and it made Tae feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yawning, he stretched carefully, making sure not to wake him up and took a moment to look at him more closely.

In his sleep he looked somehow softer, younger even. His lips were slightly parted and curved in a slight smile. He looked perfect. He tried to disentangle himself from Yoongi without waking him up but the moment he tried to squirm out of his grasp, his eyes fluttered open. For a few seconds, Yoongi looked confused, no doubt as he tried to figure out why in hell's world Tae was sleeping on top of him. But then there was recognition and Yoongi gave him a lazy “Good morning,” removing his arm so that Tae could get up.

Tae flashed him a smile as he stretched fully, feeling rejuvenated. He hadn't slept so well in so long, without worries. Moving fluidly, the pain from his injuries having reduced to a dull throb, he made his way to their clothes which they had left to dry the previous night on the floor of the cave. They were thankfully dry and he quickly pulled them on, throwing Yoongi's at him to get changed.

They munched on some energy bars that Yoongi found in his coat, Tae no longer being awed by the things he seemed to have, as they walked out into the woods in search of the house. The trees looked beautiful in the daylight and with the birds constantly twittering in perfect synchrony, Tae couldn't help but hum along, to Yoongi’s amusement, his spirits high. They could have been on a hiking trip for all anybody knew.

Yoongi was fiddling with his phone as he walked, trying to find out there location besides texting Namjoon. From what Tae had gathered from peeking at the phone, he knew that Yoongi was keeping his brother informed of their pitiable progress.

And that's when an idea struck Tae. Such a simple idea that he didn't even know why he hadn't thought about it the previous night. As Yoongi stopped for a second to search for something in his coat, Tae quickly slipped off his shoes and started climbing the nearest tree. It had pretty low lying branches, almost as though for Tae to use as footholds and soon enough he was quite high up the tree. He could vaguely register in his peripheral hearing that Yoongi was yelling at him, probably to get down, but he blocked it all out. Because the view from up there - it was something like he had never seen anywhere. They lived in Seoul, a concrete jungle and even before that, in Daegu, they had lived on a farm with a banana plantation and one couldn't really climb them.

From his perch he realised that they were actually closer to the house than they had known. It was barely a five minute walk away if they went straight. But despite accomplishing what he had climbed the tree for, he couldn't move. The view out there was beautiful. He could see the woods stretching out for miles on all sides and he could even see far into the the city. He could see the line where the woods ended and the city started and he could experience the stark contrast in energy between the two places. While the city was already awake and bustling with people, who looked like tiny clockworks from his point of view, the woods were just beginning to wake up. And so high up in the air, he felt invincible. He finally understood what his brother had meant when he had said that they were nothing but specks against the universe. He understood and with the understanding came a sense of peace. True, the moment he stepped down he would have to embrace the drama and become a part of it, but now he also knew that in the end none of it mattered - that against the age of the woods, their lives barely mattered. And that maybe he just had to live the way he wanted to without overthinking things, live by listening to his heart and doing the things that made him happy because in the end, only that would have mattered. That they were all going to die anyway so there was no point in living life according to the whims and fancies of others or trying to conform to human standards. Epiphany.

So engrossed had he been in his thoughts that he hadn't even realised that Yoongi and climbed the tree too, to come to rest next to him, panting a little.

“Yah, Kim Taehyung,” he panted, trying to catch his breath, “Next time you decide to do something as stupid as this tell me before you do it and don't just give into your fucking impulse. I almost had a heart attack when I saw you halfway up the tree!”

Tae broke out into giggles at Yoongi’s disgruntled exasperated expression, choosing instead to say, “It's beautiful up here isn't it hyung? Why can't we just live here?”

“Maybe because food doesn't grow on trees,” Yoongi replied sarcastically, immediately adding, “I am talking about cooked food,” when he realised that Tae was going to argue about food coming from trees.

Tae grinned a bit more and then sat there in a silence for a few more minutes, the branch being strong enough to handle their combined weight. The silence was rudely interrupted by Agust-D yelling bultaoreune from Yoongi’s pocket and the other boy sheepishly answered the call when Tae smirked at him.

“Your brother,” he said by way of explanation when he cut the call, “He's getting worried and he's asking if they should come in search of us. I said we would be home in five.”

At Yoongi’s words, Tae cast a final lingering look at the scene from on top of the branch, drinking it all in before making his way down, following the older boy. The rest of their walk back home they barely spoke but as they stepped into the clearing, the house finally in view, both of them hesitated. The past night had been something akin to a drug induced dream - beautiful while it lasted and while they hadn't given it any thought at the moment, they no longer knew where they stood with each other anymore. Their dynamics had changed, whether they liked it or not and there was no going back anymore.

“So - “ Tae started as Yoongi said, “What - “ at the same time and they shared bemused glances before Yoongi waved for Tae to speak first.

“So where do we stand now?”

“Well I still think it's lame to tell your potted plant the game’s afoot, so -”

“Don't you dare insult Watson!” Tae shrieked, cutting off Yoongi and then promptly burst out laughing the moment he saw Yoongi’s lips twitch in a smile.

“I guess this is where we stand then,” Yoongi murmured as he took a step forward and Tae followed him, the smile not leaving his face. Who said your arch-nemesis couldn't be your friend too?

The moment they stepped into the house there was chaos. There was absolutely no other way to describe it. Jimin smothered him in a hug, refusing to let go while Hobi was clinging onto Yoongi in a similar fashion. Jin was sobbing openly as he hugged both of them and Namjoon and collapsed onto the nearest chair, and then had proceeded to fall on the floor when one of the legs gave way. Jeongguk was staring at them with shining eyes, all the while claiming that his eyes were sweating and that he most definitely was not crying. Who cared if Yoongi and Tae got lost.

In the midst of the confusion, Jin had somehow caught sight of Tae’s bruised hands and he had dragged everybody's attention to it, leading to a second round of fussing as he left to get the first aid kit from the kitchen.

But instead of seeing Jin exit from the kitchen, his panicked scream reached their ears. Tae locked eyes with Namjoon for a second before the two of them simultaneously sprung towards the kitchen, the others following them.

Jin was leaning against the counter, looking deathly pale as he stared at one of the open cupboards, his hands trembling and his mouth hanging open. He turned towards them in a daze, pointing to the cupboard as he breathed out, “I just saw the ghost and it winked at me.”

Chapter Text

"Come again?" Namjoon's disbelieving voice broke the silence that had fallen over the group following Jin's words.

"The ghost winked at me" Jin whispered, voice trembling. He was shaking and Tae instinctively stepped forward, slipping an arm around his brother's shoulders and pulling him into his side. Jeongguk, who probably had been about to comfort his boyfriend, gave him a surprised look but said nothing.

"That's it? Did anything else happen?" Tae found himself asking even as he rubbed circles into Jin's arm.

His brother hesitated for a second, biting his lip and when the tension in the room was almost palpable, and Tae had envisioned a thousand things that the ghost might have done to his brother for which he would most certainly hunt it down, he mumbled, "I might have blown it a hand kiss."

Tae froze. Everybody froze, staring at Jin incredulously. Well maybe except Jeongguk. Kook was glaring at his boyfriend. Ah, look who was jealous. Tae tucked the tit bit of info away safely, smiling internally. Their maknae was so cute.

"Why would you even?" Yoongi asked, disbelief apparent in his face as he shook his head to clear it, chortling.

"I was caught off guard okay? Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if there was a hot guy sitting in your cupboard and winking at you" Jin muttered defensively, still looking at the floor.

At this Yoongi started laughing so hard he almost fell and had to end up clutching the nearest thing for support. The nearest thing being Tae himself. Yoongi was clinging onto Tae's arm as he laughed, unaware of what he had just done and a sudden warmth spread through Tae's body. He didn't even know why Yoongi holding onto him was making him flustered.

"Hyung," Namjoon started in disbelief, a soft smile on his features, "You honestly deserve a place in the museum because if there was a guy sitting in my kitchen cupboard I would call the cops no matter how hot he was. Not blow him hand kisses!"

Tae grinned at Jin's disgruntled face and let his eyes wander over the others. Jimin had all but disappeared from his line of sight and Tae looked down to see his best friend clutching onto Namjoon's leg  laughing so hard and Hobi kept muttering something that sounded like "Priceless" under his breath over and over again as he wiped away the tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Why would the ghost even wink at you hyung? What kind of ghost does that?” Jimin asked, clutching his stomach in laughter.

“Yah, why wouldn’t the ghost wink at me? Have you even seen this face? I am worldwide handsome after all.” He looked so put out that Jimin would even question why the ghost would wink at him and that set everyone off again.

“So on a scale of one to ten, how hot was the ghost hyung?” Hobi asked in between bursts of laughter and Yoongi and Namjoon grinned.

Kook levelled his glare at Hobi no but the other boy didn’t even notice him as he egged Jin on into giving them the details. Looked like someone was jealous.

“Why do you even want to know?” Kook growled when Jin had finally relented and opened his mouth to speak, cutting him off.

His tone had a lot of eyebrows, gleeful smirks appearing in everyone’s faces, especially Hobi’s. In fact, if Tae was going to be honest, the maniacal glee in Hobi’s eyes was slightly terrifying.

“He’s the club president,” a gravelly voice whispered conspiratorially in his ear and he almost flinched, calming down only when he realised that it was none other than Min Yoongi, who had let go of Tae’s arm in favour of placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Huh?” he said, unintelligibly because Yoongi was standing too close, so close that he could have counted his eyelashes, so close that he could feel Yoongi’s warm breath against his skin, so close that he could see his perfect smile and couldn’t help but wonder whether Yoongi had always had such a blinding smile, so close that everything else suddenly started to disappear. It was a miracle he had even managed a coherent huh, he felt like he was going to combust.

“He’s the president of the JinKook club,” Yoongi clarified and even though Tae could make out the words, they seemed to come from far away. He was too transfixed with the way Yoongi’s lips moved – beautiful chapped lips. Lips that were so kissable and -

“Ouch!”

Pain radiated from his butt, jolting him back to reality, the haze in his mind clearing and he turned away from Yoongi to see who had pinched him. Jimin, it was Jimin. His best friend was standing on his other side and Tae couldn’t help but wonder when Jimin had even left Namjoon’s side and made it over, squeezing himself in between Jin and Tae.

He glowered at him, hissing, “Why would you even do that?”

“To make sure you didn’t do something that you regret later and make things awkward for all seven of us,” he stated in a matter-fact-voice and Tae glared at him.

“I wasn’t going to do anything stupid!”

“Uh, huh? Then what do you call this?” Jimin asked tauntingly, waving his phone in front of Tae’s nose.

Tae snatched it from Jimin’s hands and winced when he saw the picture. Yoongi was laughing, his eyes closed, oblivious to the surroundings and Tae was leaning so close to him that their lips were almost touching, an intense expression on his face. This was probably moments after Yoongi had told him that Hobi was the president of their ridiculous club.

“At least Yoongi didn’t notice,” Tae whispered, mortified as his friend pried the friend out of his hand and hummed in assent, patting his back soothingly. What had he even been thinking? Ever since when had he started thinking about Yoongi that way? Min Yoongi, his supposed arch-enemy out of all people. All Tae wanted to do was burrow into his covers and maybe not come out for another week. Anything better than facing Yoongi again but that wasn’t really a choice was it?

He swallowed audibly, forcing himself to not think about the warmth that radiated from the spot where Yoongi’s hand still rested on his shoulder and looked straight ahead at the scene that was unfurling in the kitchen.

Right then Jin and Kook and Hobi stood in a half circle in the centre with Jin in between them. Kook was still glaring lazers at Hobi as Jin finally started describing the ghost, but all the older boy did was smirk at him, infuriating him even further. Tae thought he could understand why Hobi liked riling up Kook. Seeing their maknae try his hardest to not be jealous was positively the cutest thing ever. Beside him Jimin had whipped out his phone again and was discreetly taking pictures of Kook and Tae couldn’t help but shake his head in wonder. The sight of Jimin being a snake still surprised him, even after all these years. Everybody immediately assumed that he was the much more innocent one out of the two of them, angelic even. Only if they knew that Jimin was the devil personified. And that was why Tae loved him.

“Well, he was tall, about Tae’s height, though I can’t really say since he was sitting. He had adorable cheeks but also this manly look to him, sharp edges and all,” Jin was saying, his eyes twinkling when Tae finally tuned in on the conversation that was happening. Tae had a feeling his older brother was enjoying himself too much if the glint in his eye was anything to go by.

“And, he kind of looked like he could go from ‘I-am-going-to-ask-your-parents-to-take-you-out’ to ‘Call-me-daddy’, all in a matter of seconds. Just like our Jiminie here,” Jin continued, grinning at Jimin while completely ignoring Kook and the growing scowl on his face which he was no longer even trying to hide.

 Jimin preened at the compliment, turning back to his phone to save the pictures in a folder named ‘Blackmail material – Maknae’. A sudden thought struck Tae and he whispered, “You don't have a folder in my name by any chance do you?”

And when Jimin’s lips twitched in a smile, Tae knew he was doomed. He could only wonder how many embarrassing pictures of himself Jimin had on his phone, not to mention the latest one, where Tae had almost kissed Yoongi. He was pretty sure that was going to go to the collection.

“If it’s any consolation, I have one on Yoongi hyung too” Jimin said softly, his eyes dancing with mirth and Tae looked away with a groan just in time to hear Kook ask icily, “Again, why do you even care Hobi hyung?”

Hobi however still remain unfazed and Tae had to applaud his nerves. If Kook had shot him that look, he would have made it a point to not be anywhere within a ten mile radius for the next hour. Their maknae was scary, especially since he had started hitting the gym so often.

“Because I am single and young Kook. Also I believe it well within our rights to talk about hot guys and their assets,” Hobi’s tone was bordering on bored and he was inspecting his nails but anybody who wasn’t blinded by jealousy and frustration would have been able to see his barely contained excitement.

However, Kook was both and as a result he didn’t really see through Hobi, unwittingly playing right into his hands. He kept glaring at Hobi, unable to come up with a reply that would make it sound like he wasn’t jealous when he clearly was.

“It’s the kitchen,” he blurted out when a smug look made its way onto Hobi’s face.

“Huh?”

Hobi wasn’t the only one who was puzzled. Everybody there was.

“It’s the kitchen. The ghost winked at Jin hyung in the kitchen. The kitchen is sacred,” he said quickly, a look of triumph in his face. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at them with a proud smile on his face, and Tae could sense that he was probably congratulating himself internally on managing to save face. But Kook had forgotten one thing – that Jin was much more savage than Hobi.

“So what if it’s the kitchen?” Jin shot back challengingly.

The expression of victory left Kook’s face immediately as he floundered for words, clearly not understanding what was happening now that Jin had personally entered the war field.

“But you said- you were the one – you told me we couldn’t make out in the kitchen.”

His last few words came out in a whine, and he looked betrayed.

Jin tsked replying, “I said no making out in the kitchen. Winking isn’t making out Jeon Jeongguk. It’s not like the ghost pushed me against the counter while I was cooking and tried to get into my pants like a certain someone I know.”

He sent Kook a pointed look and the youngest turned away, embarrassed and Yoongi wolf whistled lowly beside Tae, “I had forgotten how savage your brother could get.”

Tae grinned at him – savage Jin was his favourite concept. Well as long as it wasn’t directed at him.

And anybody with at least an ounce of sense would have backed off by now. Nobody could ever cross a savage Jin and come out unscathed but clearly Kook was still a little bit too jealous because he was still trying to come up with reasons to point out why they shouldn’t be talking about the ghost.

Needless to say they weren’t buying it and Tae could almost see why. It was hard to buy what Kook was trying to sell when his strongest statement was that Jin shouldn’t have interacted with the ghost because the ghost was a ghost. Tae wanted to applaud Kook’s genius at that. 

As always, where Tae hesitated, Yoongi spoke his mind. “Wow, Kook” he drawled, “We totally didn’t know that. Thank you for pointing out that the ghost is a ghost.”

Tae couldn’t hold in his sniggers but he immediately covered his mouth when Kook shot him a look that promised death. Yet he couldn’t help it. The situation was ridiculous. He didn’t know when it had turned into a roast-Jeongguk day, but he was certainly enjoying it.

And that's when Hobi dropped the question, his final ace, “You are jealous aren’t you?”

There was a moment of silence as Kook struggled to answer and Tae could see the denial at the tip of his tongue.

“Of course not,” he muttered finally, turning on his heel and storming off to his bedroom. A few minutes later they heard the door slam so hard Tae worried for a moment that it might even come off its hinges.

The rest of them met each other’s gazes and then as one they all burst out laughing.

He had looked so endearing all worked up. And it was very rarely that he was at the receiving end of such teasing. It was usually he who was being a brat to all of them.

“He's a keeper hyung,” Hobi said in the end, a soft smile on his face and Jin murmured, “I know” softly.

“We should go say we’re sorry. We might have taken it a bit too far guys,” Namjoon spoke worriedly into the silence that followed, looking slightly guilty but Jin shushed him.

“Its fine Joon, nothing’s happened. I’ll go talk to him and sort it out. He’s just being a jealous baby.”

With a smile and a wave behind his back, Jin disappeared up the stairs, following Kook’s footsteps.

The door opened and closed above them and Yoongi quickly moved towards his laptop in the hallway, gathering it up in his arms. Namjoon and Hobi did the same, pulling out their materials from wherever they had placed them in top speed and Tae couldn’t help but look at them confused. Even Jimin was picking up a pillow, a blanket and a book.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked them quizzically.

“Oh, Tae” Hobi sighed, pinching Tae’s cheeks with his free hand, “You’re too naive. What do you think Jin hyung meant when he said he was going to talk to Kook – that they were honestly going to talk?”

Tae flushed a bright red when the implications of what Hobi had said finally sunk in. But honestly, would they even -

“In three, two,” his older brother counted, interrupting his thoughts and moving to stand near the door, a hand on the knob, “One.”

Right on cue they heard a thump and with a smirk Namjoon walked out of the house followed by Hobi and Jimin, the latter indicating that Tae should come out too.

He nodded in a daze but didn’t move, his brain still trying to make sense of the fact that they were making out in order to make up after a fight. He supposed this was why he should have been in at least one proper relationship instead of making do with one night flings. He had always assumed that every time his friends had said they were going to make up after a fight, they would talk over coffee or something. Never this. He sighed sadly. He must have looked like an idiot for not knowing.

“Hey Tae,” a familiar gravelly voice coaxed him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Yoongi waiting for him by the door, “Is this how you feel all the time – happy knowing that your deductions are wrong? Because my assumption that you would know was just smashed to pieces but I can’t find it in myself to care because I am just glad?”

Tae stared at Yoongi in bewilderment. Was that a backhanded compliment?

“You’re glad I didn’t know?” he spelled out slowly, wondering if he had somehow misinterpreted Yoongi’s words.

The other boy just shrugged, a smirk in place, “I am not in the habit of explaining my words to anybody who can’t get them the first time, even if they happen to be extremely cute and innocent guys who don't even know about make up sex.”

With those words he slipped out of the door, leaving a very confused Tae behind him. Had he just complimented him a second time? Argh, why did Yoongi have to insist on being so goddamn difficult to understand. But he had called him cute right? Right?

He was still standing there frozen in place when Yoongi stuck his head in again and drawled, “You better come out before one of them comes down half naked to fetch certain things from where they left them in the drawing room last time, if you know what I mean. Unless you want to watch?”

The tone of innocence in Yoongi’s question made Tae yelp, shaking him out of his stupor and he sprinted towards the door, slamming it shut behind him in his haste.

Yoongi was standing a little further away, smiling his gummy smile at Tae’s panic and that's when Tae realised – “You made that up didn’t you?”

He pointed a finger at Yoongi accusingly but the other boy just continued laughing, making his way over to where the other three were sprawled on the grass. “It’s not my fault that you’re so gullible.”

Tae scowled at him but when he dropped down next to Jimin, he couldn’t help his lips twitching upwards. Damn, Yoongi did really have a nice laugh.

“We got it guys!”

Tae looked up from his spot at the dining table where he was going through his script for the fifth time to see his brother, second brother, rush down the stairs, excitement and pride written all over his face. And just like Tae had expected he tripped at the last step. Thankfully Yoongi was sitting close by and he reached out to steady him with a long-suffering sigh. But even the near accident hadn’t dampened his brother’s excitement, who was now squeezing Yoongi in a one-sided hug.

“We got it. We are doing it guys!” he repeated, his eyes shining.

Hobi and Jimin made their way into the dining room upon hearing his voice and Jin and Kook came out from the kitchen, a spatula in his oldest brother’s hand.

“Okay calm down Joon and tell us what happened. Also maybe you could let go of Yoongi before you cut off his air supply. I don't want his ghost to haunt me” Hobi grinned as Yoongi showed him his finger.

But Namjoon’s hold on Yoongi did loosen considerably at that and as Tae looked on, wondering what it was that had him in such high spirits, Namjoon took a deep breath saying, “We’re going to perform live. We are going to do a gig at the Gocheok Sky Dome!”

Silence met his words. And then Hobi had tackled Namjoon into a hug, the two of them crushing Yoongi in between them but the older boy didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Tae subconsciously noticed that here were tears streaming down Yoongi’s cheeks even if he didn’t know why.

But right then wasn’t really the time to introspect. His brother was going to perform live. The trio was finally going to go live after so long of just working through releasing their music through sound cloud. And it wasn’t just any other unknown arena. It was Gocheok dome – the place where legendary artists had performed.

He felt tears slip down his face and he quickly hugged Hobi when they had broken away from each other, seeing Jimin kiss Namjoon. On any other day there might have been cat calls and wolf whistles at that, but right then no one said anything. They all understood what a huge honour it was. What a huge opportunity it was. They split up almost immediately to give the others a chance to congratulate them and Jimin pulled Hobi into a hug as Tae embraced Joon.

“I am so happy for you guys,” he breathed out into Namjoon’s neck, “You deserve it. You totally do.”

And they did. Tae couldn’t count the number of nights they had stayed up without eating or sleeping in order to work on their songs. He knew the amount of perseverance it had required for all three of them to juggle university as well as their music. He remembered their first few attempts, the failures met, the ridicule and heart break. But they had made it through. And now they were finally going to perform live. He had never felt happier.

A sudden thought struck him.

“Hyung, you have to tell Agust-D nim about this. Go call him. He’ll be so happy.”

Namjoon gave him an indecipherable look at that, saying slowly, “You’re right. I’ll be back.”

He left them, escaping Jin’s smothering hug, sharing a look with Hobi.

Once everyone was done with the hugs and the congratulations and Jin had gone back to the kitchen saying that it called for a celebratory dinner, dragging a teary-eyed Kook with him Tae collapsed into a chair with Jimin on his lap. His best friend was still sobbing into this shirt and Tae gently patted his back as he wiped away his tears.

Across him he heard Hobi tell Yoongi, “We did it hyung,” his eyes shining as he clasped Yoongi’s hand in his and squeezed it. There was a dazed look on Yoongi’s face and Hobi was still crying too.

Tae looked at him quizzically, not understanding what was going on. Why was Hobi congratulating Yoongi and not the other way around?

But he never got a chance to ask him because right then they heard a crash from above and suddenly a flustered looking Namjoon was making his way down the stairs.

“What happened?” Tae asked him alarmed, standing up with Jimin still clinging onto him, exactly as Yoongi drawled, “Did you break something again?”

Namjoon shot him a glare as he muttered, “It wasn’t my fault. The ghost startled me.”

“Same thing,” Yoongi muttered, glaring at him as though Namjoon hadn’t even mentioned the ghost.

“Woah, time out. What ghost?” Tae asked, breaking their staring match.

And maybe he had been a little too loud because the next second Jeongguk stepped out of the kitchen wielding the butter knife like a sword, looking around for the ghost, probably to murder it. the pink apron around his waist that said ‘Queen of the kitchen’ kind of ruined the image though.

“Where’s the ghost?” he gritted out, still searching wildly and Jimin finally let go off Tae, reaching out to ruffle Kook’s hair fondly even as Namjoon said,

“It disappeared Kook. It disappeared the moment it finished hitting on me.”

“The ghost hit you?” Jin's eyes were filled with concern, even a bit of anger and there was a worried look on his face that was mirrored by everyone else, as he asked, "Where?", hastily walking around Namjoon, and looking him over. 

"No guys, the ghost didn't hit me. It was hitting on me, flirting with me!" Joon face palmed, looking close to pulling his hair out.

There was silence, complete silence at that.  

"Correct me if I am wrong," Hobi started slowly, breaking it, "But did you just say the ghost flirted with you?"

And even as Tae waited for Namjoon to yell, ‘Just kidding guys’ with a goofy grin on his face, his brother nodded. 

“Yeah, that goddamn ghost was hitting on me using my own lyrics!”

His brother looked positively livid and Tae wondered what had happened. Plus he was seriously confused.

“Tell us what happened hyung,” Jimin murmured soothingly, walking over to Namjoon, wrapping his arms around his waist from behind him, resting his head on his shoulder.

His brother closed his eyes once and heaved a deep breath saying, “Okay, so I went up to make the call. When I was done, I had feeling that someone was watching me. So I turned around and the ghost was lounging on the bed like it owned the fucking place. And as though that wasn’t bad enough it says, -“

He paused here, trying to even out his breathing and Tae couldn’t help but smile at seeing how pissed off his brother was at the ghost. He wondered what lyrics they were that had made him this mad.

“Wait, it’s from that song right. That one about -,” Yoongi started, a smirk on his face which just widened into a huge grin when Namjoon nodded furiously.

“What song hyung?” Tae asked quickly, cause he was curious now. Yoongi’s mirth had set off his curiosity and now he just needed to know.

“It’s a new song I just finished and the lines go like this, ‘Was it a mistake from an angel/ Or was it a deep kiss/ Those dimples are illegal/ But I love it anyway’.”

"You wrote a song about your dimples?" Jimin asked him incredulously between gasps of laughter, when Namjoon had finished singing the phrase.

A flush crept up his brother's neck and Tae couldn't help but grin at how flustered his brother looked. It was endearing to see him all defensive and at a loss for words.

"My dimples are under appreciated okay?" he mumbled. "And that's beside the point -"

"Yeah the point is that the ghost hit on you," Jin helpfully supplied, cutting him off and Joon groaned.

"Can we please not talk about the ghost flirting with me and actually talk about the ghost?"

"Maybe we should," Yoongi agreed amicably, but Tae thought he saw a glint in the older boy's eyes. "We should definitely talk about what we know about the ghost so far."

He paused and when everyone nodded in agreement and Namjoon was looking at him like he was his lifeline he continued with a little smirk , "Well the first and most noticeable thing is that it clearly doesn't know how to flirt with people. I mean why not sing the lines 'Those dimples are illegal, So I call you illegirl'? Those lines clearly would bowl any person over."

Jin snorted at the betrayed expression on Namjoon's face at Yoongi's words, delivered in a voice that dripped with sensibility and that set the others off.

"But don't you think the lines 'Was it a mistake from an angel, Or was it a deep kiss' are more romantic hyung?" Hobi chimed in and in no time the two of them were singing out the entire song to Namjoon in extremely fake high pitched voices that had them all in splits, even Namjoon, especially when they ended by saying, "That was presented to you by the vocal duet 'Sope'" and gave matching flourishing bows.

Yoongi caught Tae's eye while bowing and winked at him and Tae's heart stopped. He knew Yoongi meant nothing by it but his body somehow didn't seem to get that. Damn his heart.

He quickly turned away from Yoongi and ended up accidentally locking gazes with Namjoon. And his brother had a knowing look on his face as he looked between Yoongi and Tae.

Tae gulped. Namjoon had always caught on to his emotions and thoughts, sometimes even before himself. And while he mostly welcomed it, he wanted a chance to sort out his feelings towards Yoongi by himself. He opened his mouth to say as much to his brother who was making his way over to him but he beat him to it, "Take your time Tae. I won't interfere. But don't forget that I am always there in case you want to talk, okay?"

He said it softly so that only Tae could hear him, not like the others would even notice because they were still too busy laughing over Sope's performance. But upon hearing his words fresh tears welled up in Tae's eyes at how his brother knew just what to say. And he knew he needed to take Yoongi's advice. He needed to set things right.

"I am so sorry Namjoon hyung," he breathed out and he knew that Namjoon knew what he was referring to, what he was apologizing for. His brother's gaze was soft as he cupped his face and whispered, "I know Tae. And it's fine. You never need to apologize to us for anything because we will never ever hold anything against you."

Tae wiped away his tears as his brother went on speaking, "But it would be good to get closure by talking about it. So that the next time something happens you won't walk off into the forest on your own."

He looked up guiltily at that. he had spoken to all of them about the incident and apologized profusely but he could imagine how worried they would have been.

"It's going to be alright Tae," his brother murmured, "We'll sort it out soon."

And Tae nodded with a watery smile. Soon because right then wasn't the moment. He needed to do it with Jin there too. And when it was just the three of them. But when Namjoon slung his arm around his shoulders, he felt lighter. And he mentally made a note to thank Yoongi for it.

They found the Ouija board purely by chance that night while messing around in the attic. Hobi and Jimin had been doing all those crazy stretches that they did which seemed humanely impossible to Tae. After all, he was a person who believed that one couldn't do splits unless he or she had been blessed by the god of splits. He was pretty sure he hadn't been, unlike Jimin.

Tae himself had been happily lounging on Hobi's bed, snacking on a packet of chips yet again courtesy Namjoon, when the maknae had burst in unannounced and promptly flung himself on Tae, crushing all the air out of his lungs and stealing his packet of chips. He tried to push him off but the youngest simply wrapped himself tightly around Tae.

"Yah, get you own chips! Give me back mine," Tae whined, making grabby hands towards the packet that the maknae was holding out of his reach.

Kook just gave him an infuriating smirk as he continued happily munching on them.

"Isn't Jin's secret stash in your bag? Steal from that."

Kook shot him a look as though he had said something blasphemous, his eyes widening. "I can't touch Jin hyung's stash. Are you crazy?  He'll murder me!"

Tae just rolled his eyes at him still trying to snatch the packet. "You’re his boyfriend for heaven's sake! He won't kill you."

"Taetae, both of us know that food will always come first to Jin hyung. I have made peace with it. As long as I remain second I am happy," he stated somberly and Tae had to stop himself from face palming. Kook was too far gone.

"Fine, at least get off me, you muscle pig! I can't breathe."

But Kook just grinned, not moving even an inch. So Tae did the one thing he knew would work.

"Kook, the ghost is over there!" he gasped, widening his eyes in fake shock. But it did the trick. Jeongguk scrambled off him, his eyes darting wildly as he tried to find out where in the room Tae was pointing at. Tae quickly got up and tip toed towards the trap door on the floor but before he could pull it up Kook had realized there was no ghost. Partially because of Hobi who had tipped him to it.

And now he was stalking towards Tae with a creepy smile of his face and Tae gulped. He pulled at the trap door again but it refused to budge.

Internally groaning, he plastered his sweetest smile on his face as he quietly tried to inch away from Kook, holding his hands up pacifyingly.

But it didn't work, just like it had never worked the 137 times he had tried it before and soon he was running for his life in the attic, getting in the way of both Hobi and Jimin who had matching grins on their faces as they went on with their routine unfazed. But there was only do long that he could hold out and Kook cornered him next to a stack of dusty boxes that looked like they would have belonged to the previous owner. And then he was in a headlock and as he tried to break free, his hands flailing wildly in all directions while a thousand variations of apologies spilled from his mouth, he ended up knocking over the topmost box. Its contents spilled out revealing a really dusty Ouija board. For a few seconds Kook froze and the next thing Tae knew he had been released and the younger boy had bounded over to the Ouija board and was turning it over in his hands with so much excitement that his bunny teeth showed.

He stared at Tae with a mischievous glint in his eyes and he knew just like that they would be communicating with the spirit that night whether they liked it or not. He sighed as he stuffed the rest of the items into the box haphazardly and placed it back on top of the stack, flopping down on the floor next to Kook and looking at the Ouija board in his hands. He had never seen one before, except in movies and they had always awed him. But now without the sound effects and the lightning and the graphics, it looked like any other ordinary board. Tae couldn't help but feel slightly let down. At least they could communicate with the ghost this way and find out what was wrong.

Jimin and Hobi made their way over once they spotted the Ouija board, staring at it, but while it was with fascination and maybe even a bit of excitement in Jimin's case, Hobi was looking at it with pure, unadulterated terror which just worsened when Jimin and Kook turned to him expectantly.

“Please don’t,” he whimpered, “Let’s just not do this. This is a bad idea guys,” but they kept focusing their entire charms on him. Yet Tae thought that Hobi would be able to put his foot down.

Until Kook turned to him with a magical grin on his face, "Well, unless you want Jin hyung to know that you have been stealing from his secret stash you better support us.”

Tae gulped at the threat and quickly pulled out his puppy eyes from his arsenal and turned them towards Hobi. Honestly, between saving Hobi and saving himself from Jin’s wrath, there was really no competition. Jin was scarily protective of his secret stash, even though it wasn’t really secret. And he didn’t have a death wish right then.

Hobi shot Tae a betrayed look when Tae started pouting at the older boy but he finally buckled under their combined charms.

Groaning, he dropped to his knees saying weakly, “Let’s get it over with then.”

“Why are we doing this again?”

“To communicate with the vengeful ghost in the house Jin hyung,” Kook replied, trying to keep his face somber.

Yoongi snorted, “Vengeful my ass. All that ghost has done so far is hit on two of us, in the most cheesiest way possible.”

“Hyung, it almost killed me!” the youngest gasped, looking at him indignantly.

“Well if that’s the case then I have to say that it did a very sloppy job,” Namjoon called out from beside Tae where they were all seated on the floor in a circle in the living room looking slightly exasperated and done with the entire maknae line. Though that was probably because of Hobi who was  still refusing to look at the Ouija board and had his face buried in Yoongi’s neck all the while clutching Joon’s arm so tightly Tae was sure his brother had lost circulation in that arm a long time ago. The two rappers were promising Hobi that they would protect him from the ghost if it tried to do anything. Though their words weren’t really doing much to ease Hobi’s terror.

“Hyung,” Kook was whining, “Are you saying the ghost should have killed me? Are you, are you?” And when Namjoon gave him a bored look he pouted, looking at Jin hyung for support, “Hyung, Yoongi hyung has influenced Joon hyung too much!”

Tae quickly turned to look at Jin, trying his hardest not to let his eagerness show though. It was so much fun when Jin roasted Namjoon. His oldest brother looked at Joon for a few seconds and then turned to Kook who looked a bit too smug.

“I don’t see anything wrong in what Joon said Kook. The ghost did do a sloppy job,” Jin said with a shrug and all of them turned to gape at him. Was it already everybody-roast-Jeongguk-part-2?

Kook stared at Jin blankly for a few seconds, not knowing what to do now that his very own boyfriend had refused to speak up for him. And then he went back to playing the wounded martyr. “Nobody understands the sacrifices I am making by calling forth this vengeful demon that might very well destroy me whole. Nobody does! And yet I will do it because I love you all too much. Because I will not let the beast feast on your entrails!”

He finished his speech with a flourish and looked up to the heavens as though calling for strength and that sight coupled with the solemn expression on his face was too much to bear for any of them. Though Tae was seriously beginning to worry if Kook had been perhaps possessed by the ghost or if he had hit himself somewhere hard.

“Vengeful demon – beast – entrails,” Jimin was gasping, as he collapsed into Tae, his whole frame shaking. Jin was laughing too, hitting Kook and looking up once in a while to stare at the younger boy before shaking again with fresh peals of laughter.

Yoongi was staring at Kook with an expression of awe on his face, “Wow, I never knew he knew so many words Joon,” he murmured and Namjoon nodded back, looking equally fascinated.  At this Kook turned to glare at them disdainfully but even that didn’t stop the two of them from gawking at him.

But perhaps the one who reacted the best out of them was Hobi. He detached himself from Yoongi and Namjoon and made his way over to Kook, gently patting him on the head as he stated solemnly, “Maybe we should just put you in bed Kookie. It’s way past your bed time and I think that’s why you seem to be slightly confused as to what we’re doing here because this most certainly isn’t an exorcism.”

All traces of his earlier fear had disappeared and he stood there grinning, cooing at Jeongguk as though he was a five year old.

Kook sighed in defeat, even though a wry smile played on his lips as he pulled the Ouija board to the centre and placed the planchette on it, lighting the candles around him. And just like that the cheer in the atmosphere vanished, replaced by a chill. Everybody looked around nervously when Kook asked Namjoon to get up switch off the lights while he gave some sage to Tae to burn. Tae did it mechanically and when the lights flickered off and Namjoon resumed his position, completing the circle, Kook placed his fingers on the planchette, indicating the others to do the same.

And even though Tae didn’t really believe all that much about Ouija boards and their powers he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine as he took in the other faces by the candlelight. The only person who looked even remotely relaxed was Kook himself. Even Yoongi seemed to be struggling to maintain his composure. For a second their eyes met over the board and Yoongi shot him a crooked smirk, his eyes asking him why they were even indulging in such tomfoolery. Tae forced himself to shrug his shoulders and Yoongi’s lazy grin widened as he placed his fingers on top of Kook’s on the planchette. And without even realizing what he was doing, Tae placed his fingers next to Yoongi’s. The planchette was cold under his fingers and it took him all his will power to not pull away quickly. And then Yoongi’s fingers grazed his, a little warmth spreading where they touched. He looked up in surprise but the other boy was busy reassuring Hobi in a low voice. And yet his fingers didn’t move away from Tae’s. A warm, fuzzy feeling bloomed in his stomach and he felt his fears vanish a bit.

Jimin was next, followed by Namjoon, Jin and finally Hobi. Kook took a deep breath when all seven of them had placed their fingers on the planchette and looked each of them in the eye asking, “Shall we start?”

There were wordless nods all around as he carefully explained what he was going to do.

“I am going to summon the ghost now and act as the medium. We’ll start off with simple questions assuming the ghost is a good one and work our way up to ultimately finding out why it’s even here. All you guys need to do is ask questions taking turns and keep your fingers on the planchette. Don’t remove them for any reason while we’re in the middle of it, okay? Am I clear?”

There was no longer anything childish about his actions or words anymore. The man who was sitting in front of them now was a shaman, one who took everything ghostly seriously and everybody could recognize it. They nodded in assent again and Tae felt the anticipation build up as they waited for Jeongguk to start.

“Oh spirit, I call upon you to enter me and give us the answers we seek. Will you help us?”

His first words were barely above a whisper but by the time he reached the end of the sentence there was no longer any hesitation in them. He had his eyes closed as he spoke and a tiny part of Tae marveled at how he managed to stay relaxed even when asking a spirit to use him as host.

He continued looking at the others and the silence grew. Kook still hadn’t opened his eyes. Tae was pretty sure it had been at least over two minutes, yet the planchette hadn’t moved in the slightest. Two minutes turned to four and then eight and Tae found all his fears vanish, being replaced by a slight twinge of irritation. Was the entire thing honestly a sham? And if the ghost did exist, why didn’t it just show up and let them go ahead with the entire thing. He sensed the others growing restless around him and even Kook’s forehead was creased.

Tae shifted in his seat and started to open his mouth to tell the others exactly how pointless it was sitting there waiting for a ghost that clearly wasn’t going to appear when a sudden clap resounded through the dark. The candles blew out, drowning them in pitch darkness and all Tae could think was that all the windows had been closed. All of them froze, the sounds of their ragged breathing amplifying in the room.

“Are you a good spirit?” Tae spoke up a few seconds later, his voice trembling slightly, when it became clear that no one else was going to ask. He wondered why Kook wasn’t doing it but in the darkness he couldn’t really see that other boy. Their fingers touching each other was the only comfort he got in a room that seemed suddenly to large and too scary.

And then the lights flickered back on -  the brightness too blinding. As they all squinted against the harsh light, a soft voice called out, “I think that’s a really stupid question, don’t you?”

All of them turned as one towards the sofa and what he saw there made Tae’s heart stop – because lounging there with an apple in its hand was the ghost. None of them spoke, simply gaping at the ghost for what seemed like eternity, watching its every moment as it played with the apple in its hands, its eyes focused on the fruit and finally Tae found himself asking, “Who are you?”

The ghost looked up at him from the apple and smiled widely.

“That’s a very good question, handsome. My name is Jo Yoon Woo, but you can call me Kim Yeo Wool.”

Chapter Text

“Remind me again why we’re standing in front of a police station?”

“Well, obviously so that we can figure out if Yeo Wool hyung was murdered or not,” Tae replied as he stood with Yoongi outside the doors of a police station, the sun shining down on them lazily.

“Yeo Wool hyung? You’re already on first name basis with the ghost?” Yoongi asked him drily and Tae turned to him with an eyebrow raised, “You have a problem with that Yoongi?”

“Hyung,” the other boy growled but Tae had already stepped through the doors, a small smile playing on his face. He walked towards the only constable of that tiny station, injecting his gait with confidence. They wouldn’t be able to pull it off otherwise. It wasn’t like the constable was going to willingly hand over Yeo Wool’s file and the autopsy report (there was one according to Yeo Wool and that was the only thing that stood in the way of them completely sweeping the case under the rug as death by natural cause because why would there be an autopsy in that case) without any protests. And they needed to see the autopsy report, because Tae was still convinced that the report would say the same thing they did,  as well as pictures of the crime scene in order to rule out murder – their first step in convincing the ghost that he had indeed died of natural causes.

The constable was engrossed in his laptop and didn’t notice their arrival until Tae’s shadow fell over him. Tae pulled himself up to his full height, purposely covering the lower half of his face with the upturned collar of his coat  as he said gruffly, “National intelligence service. We would like to go through Yeo Wool’s file.”

The constable looked up puzzled and Tae pulled his collar higher, staring calmly at the other older man. He looked like a newbie and Tae almost felt guilty for fooling him, especially seeing as it would undoubtedly get him in trouble. Almost guilty. But then each man to himself right? And he was doing this not for himself but also for his friends and a ghost with amnesia, so he supposed he could be pardoned.

When the constable continued staring at them, Tae slammed both his hands down on the table and lowered himself to the constable’s eye level.

“Didn't you hear me?” he growled softly, maintaining eye contact the entire time. He honestly didn’t want to do this but the longer they stayed, the higher the chances of their deception being uncovered. And he really didn’t want to spend the entire day in a cell, waiting for his brothers to bail him out. The last time it had happened, Jin had refused to feed him for a week.

“IDs,” the constable stuttered out and Tae groaned internally. He had been worried this would happen and the worst part was that his fake ID was back home. Looked like he would have to improvise. Without breaking eye contact he called out behind him, “Watson. Tell him who we are.”

The constable looked behind him at Yoongi and Tae waited for the older boy to say something, preferably snap at the contable and display his resting bitch face to get him to shut up. But the older boy didn’t speak up.

Tae sighed internally as he turned around, his hands still not leaving the desk and what he saw made him want to punch Yoongi again. The other boy was lounging in a chair, scrolling through his phone with a bored expression on his face. Not only had he totally ruined Tae’s subterfuge, he was acting like nothing was wrong when he met Tae’s eyes.

“Watson,” he said all too sweetly, seeing no way out but to continue with the deception, “I was asking you to tell Lestrade here who we are.”

He narrowed his eyes at Yoongi and thankfully the older boy seemed to catch on. He got up, patted off some invisible flint off his coat and briskly stepped towards them, “If you don't mind stepping out for a second Sherlock, I’ll clarify things to the constable.”

Yoongi smiled at the constable towards the end of his words even as he indicated that Tae should leave. He had no clue as to why Yoongi was sending him out, but as long as the other boy covered for them and made up for his previous slip up, Tae was fine with waiting outside.

Nodding curtly he stepped outside and leaned against the wall, trying to make out what Yoongi was telling the constable through the window. The two were sadly facing away from him and disappointed, he turned to look at the edge of the woods. A few kilometres in, Jimin and Namjoon would be interrogating the ghost. He wasn't worried about them, he knew they would do a thorough job. Jin and Jeongguk, on the other hand, well he was just hoping that by some miracle they would be done with the journals by the time him and Yoongi reached home. Well at least they had Hoseok with them.

Right then all they needed was the autopsy report to get an idea of the state of affairs when the ghost had met its untimely demise. He was confident that the report would make it remember. As he closed his eyes and waited for Yoongi to call him back, his thoughts drifted to the previous evening and the events after the ghost had materialised.

“That's a very good question, handsome. My name is Jo Yoon Woo, but you can call me Kim Yeo Wool.”

Silence.

They hadn’t really been expecting the ghost to materialise in front of them, much less talk clearly and act like a living being.

The ghost took a bite out of the equally ghostly apple and stared at them with a meditative look on its face. When it became apparent to it that none of them were going to speak, it sighed irritatedly, “Why even summon me if you won't ask me questions or talk to me?”

That was a very good question was all Tae could think. Why had they even summoned it in the first place? Why had they decided to do something so stupid? Oh, right Jeongguk.

He looked over at the younger, wondering why their designated medium wasn't speaking up. And then he noticed him staring open mouthed at the ghost. Okay, maybe Tae could relate. He wasn’t sure he would be able to talk if he wanted to too because damn, Jin had been right - the ghost was hot. It could have even been his type had it been alive what with the long black hair that fell to its shoulders and pulled in a ponytail, the full lips, long lashes, delicate sloping cheekbones and lean body - a masterpiece without doubt. It looked like it had walked out of a historical drama.

“Like what you see, handsome?” the ghost purred, breaking him out of his thoughts. It looked him appraisingly up and down with a smirk and Tae felt his cheeks flame up. It had been too long since anybody had flirted with him so blatantly, what with how wrapped up he had been in his miseries.

He looked at his hands abashed, still feeling the ghost’s gaze on him and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was thinking  -

“Yah- stop flirting with the occupants of this house. Everyone’s taken here except that grinning menace in the obnoxiously yellow cap over there,” Yoongi snapped and Tae looked up quickly at the older boy, who was glaring at the ghost. He faintly registered at the back of his mind that Yoongi had said something about all of them being in relationships except Hobi which clearly included Tae, and he knew he most certainly wasn't. Which meant he needed to correct him. Preferably with some snarky remark. But right then he didn't even care. No, because the only thing that was running through his mind was that Yoongi was in a relationship. Min Yoongi, his grumpy neighbour who made fun of him without missing a chance, who was trying to become a rapper, who kept obnoxious hours and had the most horrible habit of looking down on Tae despite being shorter than him, was in a relationship. And he felt something shatter, probably his heart, and he had a feeling that Yoongi being taken might have something to do with it, even if he didn’t know why he was feeling things that made no sense.

Everything around him faded away until all he could see was Yoongi and all he could hear on loop was Yoongi saying that all of them were in relationships. Oh why? Why did it even matter if stupid Min Yoongi, who despite being sarcastic, had always been there for him, had a girlfriend or a boyfriend (he knew Yoongi was bi)? What did it matter that that grumpy grandpa who had come in search for him into the woods in the middle of a raging storm, had someone who loved him - loved someone even?

Didn't he deserve to be happy? Because for all Tae acted like he hated Min-fucking-Yoongi, he actually liked him a lot.

He didn’t know how long he would have stayed that way if not for a warm hand pressing over his and he looked down to see a tiny hand. Jimin pressed a finger under Tae’s chin and lifted it up, sending a reassuring smile his way and interlacing their fingers together.

Tae gratefully nodded at him, blinking back his tears harshly as he pushed his emotions into the furthest corner of his mind (something at which he was an expert) and tried to bring his focus back to the ghost at hand.

 “-didn't you communicate to us through the Ouija board?” Kook was asking at the moment.

The ghost huffed, “Do you know how much time it takes to spell out a simple sentence using the board. A whole ten minutes to just introduce myself. And that is assuming the idiot of a medium gets what I am trying to say the first time. It's so exhausting and pointless when I can simply talk to you guys.”

That made sense,Tae supposed. And the ghost had sass. Tae’s lips twitched slightly at how lost Kook looked now that even the ghost had joined the everybody-roast-kook party. Tae decided right then that he definitely liked the ghost.

“So why are you haunting us?” Namjoon spoke up, to the point as always, as the ghost stretched, “I think it's because I don't remember how I died. I think that's what's tying me to this place, dimples.”

Hs brother chose to overlook the blatant flirting as he pressed on, “What do you mean you don't know? You suffered a cardiac arrest and died.”

“Did I now?” the ghost asked slowly,looking slightly puzzled as it got up and walked towards them, settling beside Hobi, the one nearest to the sofa. Hobi tried to discreetly inch away from the ghost but when he realised it had noticed him, he all but threw himself into Joon’s lap. His older brother barely did anything except subconsciously slip his arm around the other boy's waist, his chin jutting out alarmingly, indicating that he was in the middle of some intense thinking.

“Yes you did,” Jin said gently, taking off from Joon,having noticed that the other boy wouldn't be speaking up until he followed his thread of thought till the end. His tone was regretful.

“We’re sorry about that. You were barely 27.”

“But no, that doesn’t feel right,” the ghost, no Yeo Wool, murmured and he looked so lost and forlorn that Tae’s heart couldn’t help but go out to him.

“Okay, so what do you actually remember?” Tae asked softly.

“Two months ago. The last things I remember was something two months back. I remember being in the middle of a crazy experiment and going to bed happy that it was working out. Everything else is – its blank.”

There was a moment of silence as they took in the Yeo Wool’s words and how vulnerable he looked, how utterly honest his eyes were. Either he was an Oscar award winning actor or he was telling them the truth.

“So you remember absolutely nothing after that,” Yoongi repeated sharply and his voice sent a sharp pang through Tae. He had been doing a good job pretending Yoongi hadn’t existed so far. Well, he could just pretend that that was just another man who looked and spoke surprisingly like Yoongi. After all, wasn't it said that there were seven people who looked alike in the world.

Yeo Wool nodded.

“You think finding out -” Hobi started, when Namjoon cut in, “Retrograde amnesia.”

His words drew blank stares from around the room.

He waved his hands about as he explained, “Retrograde amnesia is a form of amnesia wherein the victim loses memories of the recent past. His ability to make new memories however isn't hampered and his muscle memory is just fine.”

“That's fine, but how does it matter hyung?” Jimin asked, giving voice to all their thoughts. That was something Namjoon did often, spoke in half sentences and assumed that everyone else would get what he was speaking.

“You must have retrograde amnesia and cardiac arrests can cause retrograde amnesia, even though it's pretty rare. So when people recover they don't remember anything. Except you died. And you still have retrograde amnesia.”

Silence as everyone tried to make sense of Namjoon's words. Tae understood what he had said and he thought the others had too,except no one still knew where his brother was leading to.

When he saw all their blank faces he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “The ghost has retrograde amnesia. Cardiac arrests cause retrograde amnesia. Hence the ghost died of a cardiac arrest.”

Turning his attention back to the ghost, he repeated, “You died of a cardiac arrest.”

The ghost pondered over it slowly and Tae found himself nodding. His brother was making sense, as always.

But Jeongguk didn't seem convinced.

“Can't anything else cause retr - regenerate amnesia hyung?”

“Retrograde,” Namjoon corrected him absentmindedly, “A severe injury to the head could, Kook, as much as a stroke or seizure could. But as far as we heard, the burial was a simple affair and the doctor had put it down to death by cardiac arrest. I am pretty sure he wouldn't have done that if his -,” he jerked his thumb towards the ghost, “head had been bashed in.”

Silence again as they tried to process his words. Sometimes Tae forgot that his brother was double majoring in college and that one of them was psychology. Sometimes Tae forgot a lot of things about his brothers, and their unwavering love for him.

“I don't know,” Yeo Wool murmured helplessly, spreading out his hands, “Cardiac arrest just doesn't feel right.”

“Okay so if we get you conclusive proof regarding your death will it give to you closure and help you move on?” Hobi asked finally.

The ghost nodded softly and looks were exchanged amongst them.

“Why did you try to hurt my aunt then? Why did you drench me in holy water? You realise that that's not earning you any points with us do you?” Kook suddenly spoke up, reminding them of all that had happened even as Tae opened his mouth to say “Okay”.

And just like that hostility replaced pity. The temperature of the room seemed to drop even further as everyone stared coldly at Yeo Wool. His appearance had thrown all of them off track, making them forget everything. Tae could have hit himself.

Yeo Wool to his credit didn’t back down. In fact, he looked confused.

“Wait, what do you mean? I didn’t do any of those things!”

Tae could see that no one bought it. And with good reason - there was only one resident ghost after all. Right?

When Yeo Wool realised that no one believed him, desperation took over him. He started wringing his hands as he rambled on, “I swear I never tried to hurt you guys. I don't even know what you’re talking about – look, today's the first time I am even speaking with all of you. I have never met his aunt before. Please, you have to believe me. No one else can help me.”

And the desperation writ large on his face and evident in his tone wasn’t fake. So Tae looked towards Namjoon to ask for his opinion and realised that everyone had done the same thing – they were all staring at his brother for confirmation and it made his heart swell with love and pride – Namjoon had always had a leader’s aura about him – something that made everyone gravitate toward him with the faith that he would help them. And he always did.

His brother wore a contemplative expression on his face, his eyes never leaving Yeo Wool as he probably weighed the pros and cons in his head before he finally nodded. Barely imperceptible but it was enough.

“We’ll trust you for now,” he began calmly in a tone that brooked no argument,” But the moment you step out of line – even if it's just one tiny mistake, we’ll leave the next second and you can stay here forever.”

The grateful smile that broke out on Yeo Wool’s face made Tae feel immensely better about their decision and that's when a sudden thought struck him, “Wait if you didn't so any of those things, then who did?”

“I don't know,” the ghost replied, “I honestly don't because there isn't another spirit in here. Just me. And I swear it wasn't me.”

They all exchanged puzzled glances - if it hadn't been Yeo Wool, then who had it been? Something was definitely wrong about the entire thing and Tae intended to get to the bottom of it.

He was pulled out of his reverie by Yoongi snapping his fingers in front of his face and beckoning him into the station. Once inside he leaned against one of the shelves, trying to appear all imposing and cold and aloof. Yoongi thankfully was standing straight next to him and had put away his phone. His frustration at Yoongi rceded when he saw how earnestly the constable was pulling out file after file in search of Yeo Wool’s and he wondered what the older boy had said that had such an effect on him.

A few seconds later he pulled out a thin file and strided towards them, and maybe it was Tae’s imagination, but was the constable looking at him with pity? What had Yoongi told him?

“The file you wanted detective,” he stated as he stretched it towards Tae.

Tae took it and started flipping through it, while Yoongi took photos of the autopsy report and everything else relevant.

It didn’t tell them anything more than they already knew, except perhaps the date and time of the death. The report confirmed that it was indeed death due to cardiac arrest and the pictures showed that he had collapsed in the living room, his clothes the same ones he had on when he had materialised in front of them – looked like he was indeed stuck in the clothes he had died in.

“The funeral was simple – nothing much. Just his foster parents and a couple of other acquaintances. He was buried without much fuss,” the constable spoke up and Tae gave a curt nod as he closed the file and gave it back to the constable who took it with a smile, the pity he thought he had imagined earlier clear  in his eyes right then. Okay, he was definitely pitying Tae. But why?

Confused, Tae turned to leave, Yoongi already out of the door by then, when the constable called out, “Your boyfriend loves you a lot, don't let him slip away from you.”

Even more bewildered than before, Tae contemplated asking the constable what he was talking about. But at the last moment he decided that would blow their cover, so he just settled for another short nod before stepping out of the station and walking towards Yoongi.

The moment he caught up with the older boy, Yoongi pushed himself off from the tree he had been leaning against and started walking towards the forest without so much as a backward glance or an explanation.

Exasperated, Tae reached out and grabbed the other boy’s wrist, tugging him to a stop. Yoongi looked back in surprise.

“What did you tell the constable about me?” Tae asked him bluntly, “He was giving me all those pitying looks which I am pretty sure weren’t a figment of my imagination.

At his question Yoongi looked up, his lips twitching lightly and Tae knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever Yoongi had told the constable.

“Well, I may or may not have told him you were slightly touched in the head and to play along to humour you because you were pretty harmless.”

Tae’s jaw dropped open at Yoongi’s confession and he stared in disbelief at the older boy who was wearing a cat like smirk on his face.

“You did what?” he squeaked, except it wasn’t exactly a squeak what with his voice.

Yoongi shrugged, “It's not like I had a choice. I couldn't very well tell him we were trying to prove to a ghost that it had died by cardiac arrest.”

“So you told him I was touched in the head,” Tae threw his hands up in the air as he tried to steady his breathing. What the fuck even? No wonder that man had been -

“Why though, you could have simply played along. He was just a rookie officer - we could have fooled him!”

Yoongi had a shit-eating grin on his face as he turned towards Tae.

“You honestly think he’s just a rookie?”

“Yeah obviously,” Tae shrugged. Any C-grade detective could see that - he looked so out of place in the station and had struggled so much to locate the file.

Yoongi still continued smirking at him, “Oh TaeTae, that was the prodigy of the National Service Department, the soon to be head, something you would have known had you bothered to follow something other than the latest Sherlock series and you wanted me to tell him we were his employees, honestly?”

Tae froze, spinning to face Yoongi, his face paling. How did he always manage to screw up so spectacularly. He groaned. Yoongi was chortling beside him and he glared at the other boy but it did nothing to quell his laughter. No wonder he had looked so surprised when Tae had said they belonged to the force.

And then he remembered the other thing he had been meaning to ask Yoongi.

“Did you by chance tell him we were boyfriends?”

Tae narrowed his eyes at Yoongi as the other boy hesitated for a second.

“You did, didn’t you?” he groaned. Great. Just great.

“Again, it wasn’t like I had a choice okay?” Yoongi started defensively and Tae stared at him incredulously.

“You didn’t have a choice?” he screeched, his  voice actually going higher with each syllable he uttered, “You could have told him we were brothers or best friends! Why would you even say boy friends?”

“You’re right,” Yoongi started slowly, looking for all the world like none of those options had entered his head, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“So you’re telling me the first thing that came to your head was boyfriends?” Tae asked him exasperated and at the embarrassed look on Yoongi's’ face he couldn’t help but breathe out, “What the fuck Min Yoongi! You’re in a goddamn relationship with someone else. You just can't go around calling us boyfriends. You can't cheat on – “ his voice broke down. He couldn’t believe that Yoongi, that one person he had come to respect so much would do something like this, even if it was a joke. And maybe his voice broke because maybe for a second it had been nice to imagine himself as Yoongi’s boyfriend. And that's when he knew that he was well and truly fucked. He was in love with Min Yoongi. Or he was in the process of falling in love. He couldn’t really tell.

Suddenly he felt his face being tilted up and he looked into Yoongi’s eyes, the other boy cupping his face gently with his hand as he murmured softly, “I am not in a relationship you idiot. I just told the ghost that so that it would leave me alone.”

“Really?” Tae asked him in a whisper, not daring to hope.

“Really,” Yoongi nodded with his gummy smile, and Tae felt like he was floating. Min Yoongi wasn’t in a relationship. He didn’t have a girlfriend.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and his lips turned up in a smile. He felt like he could do anything right then.

“Race you to the house,” he yelled, flashing Yoongi a boxy smile before taking off, leaving him grumbling behind.

They didn’t actually make it to the house, Tae having stopped mid way to give Yoongi a chance to catch up and get his breath back.

Right then they were walking side by side discussing about the ghost and what their next step would be.

“Well assuming Joon hyung and Jimin are done interrogating the ghost we should have a more definitive picture in our hands and if Jin hyung and Kook are done with going through all the journals-“

“You honestly think they would have done it?” Yoongi snorted.

Tae glared at him, “We’re going to look at the bright side over here –“

“There isn’t a bright side kid. I bet my favourite pair of headphones that those two aren’t even done with one journal. You know those two have absolutely no self-control if they’re left alone. Hell they don't have it when we’re with them.”

Tae reached out to smack him on the shoulder but he knew Yoongi was right. He didn’t actually have hopes for those two. At least Namjoon and Jimin would have things done.

“Well, Hobi hyung is helping them so hopefully the journals will be at least partly done” he said and winced when he remembered the look of absolute terror on Hoseok’s face when they had told the other boy he would be helping Jin and Kook. Poor Hoseok.

Yoongi hummed absentmindedly next to him and Tae took a notepad and a pen from his pocket, making a list of things they would have to do if the autopsy report wasn't enough to make the ghost remember. They would have to go through the journals themselves first, though Tae wasn't sure if he would be able to make a head or tail of it and then they might have to search for a diary or something, talk to the foster parents –

“Would it really be such a big deal if he was short?” Yoongi suddenly asked, out of the blue and Tae paused in his jotting down things.

“Huh?”

“Would it really be a big deal if Agust-D was short and scrawny and looked completely unswag?” Yoongi asked him again, stopping beside Tae, refusing to meet his eyes. And if Tae’s eyes weren’t deceiving him, he would almost say that Yoongi looked nervous. The Min Yoongi whom he had associated with only calmness and sarcasm looked nervous. Holy shit. But he didn’t understand why Yoongi had brought this up out of nowhere.

“Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Just curious,” Yoongi said quickly and Tae knew that it definitely wasn't just a  casual question.

“I don't know – “ he began. He had never really thought about it - would he really be disappointed if Agust-D didn’t look the way he had envisioned him? If he was short and scrawny and definitely not swag?

“No,” he murmured, because that was the truth, “I mean, yeah it would be nice but how he looks doesn’t really  matter. I mean, he's Agust-D, and he's famous for of his rapping and his lyrics, not for how he looks. So I wouldn’t really mind.”

Tae meant it and maybe it was a trick of the light again but Yoongi's shoulders seemed to slump in relief.

“Hyung i just realised that your description of Agust-D fits yourself so much - short, grumpy and totally unswag. Are you perhaps Agust-D?” Tae couldn't help but tease a few seconds later, waggling his eyebrows at the older boy who had stopped in his tracks and was turning an alarming shade of red at his words.

“Yah” Yoongi sputtered indiganantly, refusing to meet Tae’s eyes, “I am swag okay and I am totally taller than your munchkin of a friend!”

“Ah, but everyone’s taller than Chim, hyung and short is okay on him because he's the perfect example of the saying that good things come in small packages. But you on the other hand -” he left his sentence hanging, a gleam in his eyes.

“Do you want me to spank you brat?” Yoongi snapped and then turned a darker shade of red when he realised what he had just said. And Tae had to admit that he hadn't really expected to hear that from Min Yoongi’s mouth. He recovered quickly though.

“Do you want to spank me daddy?” Tae purred silkily, sidling up closer and proceeding to drape himself all over the other boy.

Yoongi choked but Tae went on, breathing into the older boy's ear, “I would let you, you know.”

That rendered him speechless and for a few seconds Tae enjoyed the sight of Yoongi gaping like a goldfish.

Finally the older boy groaned, “You'll be the death of me Kim Taehyung.”

Disentangling himself from Tae, he started trudging towards the house which was now in view, all the while still shaking his head in disbelief. Laughing, Tae followed him in. It wasn't until later that he realised that Yoongi hadn't answered his question of him being Agust-D.

They were greeted with the sight of Hoseok sprawled on the couch looking so done with the world. The moment he saw them both he sprung to his feet muttering darkly “The two of you owe me for this.”

“Huh?” Tae asked even though he had a feeling he knew what this was about.

“My eyes,” Hoseok moaned in reply, “My poor eyes - they started making out in front of me!”

Tae tried his hardest to reign in his laughter at Hoseok’s expression of pure anguish as he went on ranting, “Five minutes. I left the goddamn room for five minutes and when I come back what do I see? I see them going at it like there's no tomorrow!”

Hoseok was panting heavily and out of the corner of his eye, Tae could see Yoongi try to stifle his laughter too.

“I don't deserve this!” Hoseok screeched before dropping face first onto the couch again and Namjoon, who had just walked into the hall, patted his back sympathetically.

“It's alright Hobi. It's not like you walked in during one of their role play sessions where Kook was the police officer and Jin hyung was in handcuffs,” Namjoon grimaced.

“What?”

All three of them turned to look at Namjoon in shock.

Goodness, who knew his brother was into such kinky stuff. Tae shook away the mental image of his brother in handcuffs. He hadn’t needed that.

“I will be forever scarred,” Namjoon said solemnly as he whipped out a notebook from his pocket and started thumbing through the pages - pages and pages of his neat handwriting, stopping at the last one.

“This is all we have gotten,” he said, stretching the notebook out to Tae and Yoongi.

Tae grabbed it and started going through it, Yoongi reading it by his side. There wasn't anything really new.

“He was orphaned at five, taken in by a couple, his foster parents and brought up by them,” his brother started for the benefit of Hoseok, Jin and Jeongguk, the latter two having made their way down and Jin looking like he had been mailed. Hoseok was giving them the stink eye. 

Upbringing seems normal, though he doesn't really seem to remember much of his time with them. Prodigy and the government scouted him to work on top secret equipment for them. What kind he refuses to tell.”

His brother paused for a breath and Jimin took over, “He's basically lived here his entire life alone -”

Tae winced. That must have been hard. He couldn't imagine living all alone in the middle of the woods.

“- which would explain the flirting, and the last thing he remembers as he mentioned was his latest project. A prototype of some chemical weapon - that's all he would tell us. The next thing he knew he was a ghost and before you ask, Kook, he swears on his experiments that he never even saw your aunt once,” he finished having noticed the younger boy about to protest.

There was silence as they took it all in. Nothing seemed out of ordinary and everything still pointed to cardiac arrest, what with the extremely high levels of stress he must have had.

“What about you guys, any luck?” Namjoon asked looking at them and Yoongi spoke up, showing them the pictures of the report on his phone, “It adds up with what you guys said. And judging from the state of how the house was when he died, well it was evident he was working without a thought about his health.”

They all got a look at the photos and Jin gasped audibly. The place had been a mess - half eaten food everywhere, an insane number of empty coffee cups, clothes strewn everywhere and bottles and test tubes - they littered every available spot.

“It's ten times worse than how your studio looks like when you guys are in the middle of working on your tracks and refuse to come out,” he gasped, staring at the rappers.

The three of them looked sheepishly at Jin, mumbling “Sorry hyung. It won't happen again.”

He shook his head exasperated, knowing full well that it would and that one of the other four would have to drag them out.

“What about you guys, what happened with the journals?” Yoongi asked quickly, to change the topic, when Jin's stares grew more intense.

“Nice save Min but you're not off the hook yet,” Jin grumbled, even as Hoseok spoke up, “Not much, thanks to those two over there -” glaring at Jin and Jeongguk who both looked completely unashamed, “But yeah, they're full of formulae and feverish scribbles about breakthroughs. Nothing useful to be honest except -”

“- for the last two journals. We hit jackpot with them,” Kook cut in excitedly, grabbing two worn out leather bound books from the coffee table and passing them around, “They're diaries.”

Everyone's ears perked up at that and Tae could already see the case ending. The diaries would solve all their problems.

“What do they say?” Namjoon asked eagerly

But the younger boy just shook his head. “We still haven't gone through them. Seemed like an invasion of privacy.”

Tae stared at him blankly. As if the autopsy hadn't been an invasion of privacy, as if nothing  so far had been an invasion of privacy. Did Kook even realise they were talking about a dead man here?

“Why didn't you just ask the ghost then?” Yoongi asked, mirroring Tae's disbelief.

There were nods around but it was Jimin who answered, “Oh so that's why you guys were searching for the ghost. The ghost left though. Said staying visible for long periods of time took too much out of him and that he would come back later.”

Tae sighed. The answers were right there and they couldn't get to it. At least not with Jin there because once his older brother fixed his opinion about something he wouldn't be swayed. And as much as Tae would generally support his decisions he wanted to go through those diaries. And while he normally wouldn't advocate such a blatant disregard for another person's privacy, it was what the detective side of him told him to do right then.

The atmosphere was tense with all of them caught up in their own thoughts. Tae sensed it. He supposed Jin did too because he suddenly clapped his hands to get all their attention before saying, “Well what do you guys say about us having lunch by the lake? It would do us all good to get out from the house for a few hours and when we come back the ghost will be here and we'll be able to proceed with the case.”

That brought out a few smiles and Jin sent them all off to get whatever they wanted while he packed their lunch.

An hour later, Tae lay in bed staring at the ceiling morosely. He had backed out of their afternoon out at the last moment because he had just been too tired and also because he wanted to take the time alone to go through the entire house and see if there was anything they had missed. Usually such an idea would be a recipe for disaster because which sensible human being would ask to be alone in a house which was definitely haunted. But then Tae wasn't sensible.

He had had lunch on his own and then spent half an hour updating everything in his journal - all the facts they had so far. Everything pointed towards a cardiac arrest and yet there was no conclusive proof. Tae doubted there ever would be because he had lived alone.

The only thing that kept bugging him was the autopsy. Why had they even performed an autopsy in the first place unless they had suspected something was amiss? Why would his foster parents do that?

He got up and jotted that down in his notebook - ‘speak to foster parents’.

And then, just as they had at least ten times in the past hour, his thoughts wandered to the diaries lying innocuously on the coffee table downstairs. He sighed heavily.

They contained all the answers. And he would know the moment he read them.

Except it would be an invasion of privacy.

But Yeo Wool wouldn't mind right? He would understand they were doing it for him.

Would he?

He would.

Decisively, Tae got up and made his way down the creaky stairs. Jin would never know if he was quick. And the desperate need to know wouldn't eat into him anymore.

He spotted them on the table and picked the one on top flipping to the first page to find out if it was indeed the first one.

And that's when he noticed that it wasn't even a diary but one of the journals containing the formulae.

But how -

And that's when it struck him. He let loose a bark of laughter. Oh gods, of course Namjoon would have switched them. If there was one thing his older brother hated, it was being in the dark - not knowing things.

The sly fox must have switched it with the journals he had been claiming he was going to go through to find out what experiments the ghost and been involved in.

He chuckled as he dropped the journal and picked the second book, hoping that Namjoon had at least left behind one of the diaries.

And he had.

It was the second one. But it was something. Tae wasn't going to complain. Besides the second one most likely contained a narrative of the events leading to the ghost’s death.

With a bounce in his step he hugged the book close to his chest and climbed up the stairs to his room. At the last moment he decided to change tracks and headed for the roof. It would be good to get some fresh air. And he didn't feel like being inside the house while going through the diary.

He opened the trap door to the attic and clambered in, carefully stepping over Hoseok's equipment lying on the floor and made his way to the window that led to the roof. It took him a few tries to open it - it was too firmly stuck and wouldn't budge. But ultimately it did and Tae quickly stepped onto the roof.

It was a long way down was the first thing Tae noted as he peeked down. He gulped. Maybe he should simply head back inside. But then the next second he was reminded of the diary and all thoughts of caution flew out of the window. He settled down with his scarf wrapped around him securely, glad for the warmth it offered because even though it was afternoon, the weather was chilly - the skies already dark. The view from where he was was stunning - he could see the forest in all its glory and he thought he could even make out the rest of the gang near the lake.

A smile on his lips, he turned to the first page. He had barely read the first line however, when the window slammed shut. Tae jumped almost losing his balance.

He looked at the closed window, fear creeping in slowly. He was pretty sure he had wedged a book in between to make sure it didn't close.

He waited, frozen, for a few seconds. But when nothing happened he decided to put it down to the wind and turned to the diary again.

The second line and he felt somebody watching him.

The third line and he knew for sure.

Slowly, he slipped the diary into his pocket, deciding to confront whoever it was. Even if there was nobody there, he decided he would head back inside. Hell, even join the others in the woods. Why had he even thought staying alone was a good idea?

He looked behind and froze.

Yeo Wool was standing - no, floating there but it wasn't him. It was Yeo Wool but it also wasn't him. Maybe it was the way his eyes were cold - dead, or the way the smile on his face was chilling rather than warm or maybe it was just the fact that the very aura around him was wrong. Just wrong.

“Hyung?” Tae asked hesitantly, getting to his feet.

The ghost smiled wider, and it was terrifying.

“You have been a very bad boy Taehyung. And bad boys don't deserve to live,” he whispered, his voice sending shivers down his spine.

Tae edged backwards, trying to get away from the ghost and its outstretched arms.

“What do you mean Yeo Wool hyung?”

A maniacal glint in its eye.

“Oh, but I am not Yeo Wool Taehyung. I am Jo Yoon Woo.”

It lunged, creepy smile still in place.

Tae stepped back instinctively.

His heel didn't touch solid ground.

Jin's going to kill me for disobeying him and dying was his last thought as he fell.

Chapter Text

He was falling.

And then he wasn't.

Tae flailed in the air, his eyes flying open as he scrambled to find purchase on the edge of the rooftop instinctively. A hand was wrapped around his wrist and the next second the owner of the hand popped into view, face flushed with exertion. Yoongi. Tae was so surprised that for a second he forgot that he at least ten feet off the ground and just kept staring at him, his grasp on the edge of the roof slipping. Because Yoongi couldn’t be here right? Right?

“Yah, stop dreaming and help me pull you up!” Yoongi puffed out and his words broke Tae from his trance like state. Oh shit. Yeah, he was still very much suspended in the air.

He quickly grabbed the edge with both hands and with Yoongi’s help he managed to pull himself up, getting down on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. When he peeked down, a wave of dizziness went through him. Holy shit, he had almost died. He had come so close to dying, like so close. And it was just beginning to sink in now that the adrenaline rush was gone and he was feeling woozy and -

“Look at me Tae. You’re alright. Okay? I have got you. You're safe.”

Taehyung detected a trace of Satoori in Yoongi’s words and it made him want to chuckle suddenly. Hysteria. Yoongi had never ever slipped into Satoori before which meant that the older boy was probably panicking his head off even if he was still composed outwardly. The Daegu accent made his voice really sexy.

Wait - where had that thought popped up from?

Right, a brush with near death and suddenly he could no longer think straight. But then he wasn't straight. So technically he couldn't think straight, right?

Urgh, why was everything so confusing?

“‘m fine hyung,” he slurred when Yoongi kept glancing at him with concern though.

He gave him a once over and then nodded.

“We need to get off the roof.”

“Yeah, yeah we sho - hyung, wait where’s the ghost?”

He hadn't really thought about the ghost though he supposed he could be excused. After all he had nearly died. But now that he suddenly remembered it he was panicking at its absence. And the panic finally cleared the kind of fog that had settled over him.

The look on Yoongi’s face was grim.

“I used salt,” he took out the salt shaker and handed it to Tae who grabbed it wordlessly, “But I highly doubt it’ll stay away for long and we should get in when we have the chance.”

Tae just nodded, not questioning why Yoongi had the salt shaker in his pocket and followed him to the window. It was jammed firmly and Tae wondered how the other boy had managed to open it on his own in the first place. And why had Yoongi even come back home?

He had so many questions but he knew that right then wasn't the best time for them so he stored them away for later and helped Yoongi in pushing the window with all his might. Under their combined efforts it gave way and Yoongi crawled in first, offering his hand to Tae, and pulling him in. In three steps they had crossed the attic and were down the trapdoor and the stairs leading to their rooms. Yoongi still hadn't let go of his hand as he pulled them towards the doorway and almost out of the house and that's when Tae realised that the other boy was wearing nothing but a very thin threadbare shirt. It was freezing outside. He dug his heels into the floor in an attempt to get him to stop and succeeded when Yoongi almost crashed backwards into him due to their abrupt halt.

“Tae?”

“We can’t go out like that hyung. You can’t go out wearing that pathetic excuse for a shirt. You’ll freeze to death!”

Yoongi raised an unimpressed eyebrow even as he tugged at his hand impatiently to get moving.

When Tae made no move to follow and went as far to cling onto the table for added support Yoongi let loose a long-suffering sigh.

“Fine, grab whatever you want in the room while I change. We're not going to come back again for some time. Well not until we’re well equipped to deal with this thing - whatever it is.”

Tae gave him a mock salute, his boxy grin overtaking his face.

Two minutes later Yoongi had changed and was standing at the doorway to their room,tapping his foot impatiently as Tae tried to figure out where he had left his phone.

“Do we really need your phone?”

Tae looked up and pouted at him.

“Of course I need my phone hyung. I’ll die out of boredom otherwise.”

“If we don't haul our asses out of the house now, we’ll both be literally dead Kim Taehyung.”

Tae ignored him in favour of rummaging through the closet. He understood Yoongi’s panic. He honestly did. Because he was jittery too. But this was how he dealt with his nerves - by being obnoxiously cheerful and way too talkative -oh, he knew alright what people said about him - he just couldn't help being who he was.

“Aha!”

He fished his phone out of the heap of dirty laundry in the corner and held it up triumphantly.

Yoongi just beckoned him forward and placed one foot out of the door, Tae right behind him.

The next few seconds were a blur.

There was a strong gust of wind and Yoongi stumbled, almost as though someone had shoved him. The look of sheer confusion on his face as Tae tried to move forward was the last thing he saw before the door slammed shut, cutting contact between both of them, trapping Tae within the room and Yoongi outside it. The temperature dropped.

“Tae!”

“Hyung, Yoongi hyung, I cant open the door!”

“Fuck. Goddamit we should have left when we had the chance!”

There was more swearing as Yoongi tried his hardest to open it.

“Hyung - “

“I’ll get you out! Trust me kiddo.”

Tae turned the door knob, feeling a little better at Yoongi’s assurance. Yoongi wouldn't lie to him. He was going to be alright - he was just locked in, even if neither of them could open the door and the door knob won't even budge. And it wasn't like the ghost was with him or -

The hairs at the back of his neck rose. Someone was watching him. Someone was standing behind him. He froze.

Oh shit. He probably shouldn't have jinxed it.

He latched onto the door knob with renewed vigour and tried to turn it like his life depended on it. Well, it did. For a second it seemed as though it was moving and Tae felt a silver of hope course through him. Which went out promptly when the door knob came off.

Oh dear.

“Hyung - “ he whimpered, panic clawing its way up his chest. No, no, no. He couldn't be trapped. No. His breath came in short bursts as he repeatedly slammed his fists into the door, his vision blurring. No, he wouldn't die this way, he -

The muttered curses stopped.

“Tae?”

“I think the ghost is here.”

“Oh shit.”

Oh shit indeed.

“Okay listen to me Tae. It’s going to be alright - just follow my instructions okay?”

Tae nodded dumbly before realising that Yoongi couldn't see him.

“Okay hyung,” he whispered, thankful for the first time that the doors and walls were paper thin.

“This is what we're going to do. You’re going to turn around slowly and draw a salt circle around yourself while I work on picking this lock or breaking down the door. Can you do that?”

With a mumbled okay he turned a complete one-eighty, Yoongi still calling out encouragements from outside the room. The ghost was lounging in his bed, defiling his sanctum sanctorum, an indifferent expression on its face as it stared at him. Just like the first time there was an apple in its hand. Except this time it most definitely meant harm.

“Why are you doing this Yeol Woo hyung?” he asked shakily as he slipped the salt shaker out of his pocket, trying to keep the ghost's attention on his face and away from his hand.  

It didn't work.

Naughty boy , the ghost sneered, You think you can fool me?

It languidly got out of bed and prowled over to where he was, locking eyes with him.

Tae froze at the pure hatred in its gaze.

He knew he was supposed to be doing something but suddenly he found he couldn't move. He didn't even remember what it was in the first place. Surely it couldn't be more important the ghost’s need for vengeance right?

You should probably drop the salt shaker.

Yeah, he probably should. Why did he have it with him in the first place? The voice was right.

I always am, you stupid boy.

Stupid. Yes he was, wasn't he?

Its alright, you can't help being the way you are. You were just born that way. The only black sheep in a family of geniuses. A disappointment.

Tae felt tears prick the back of his eyelids but he couldn't look away. Oh gods, the ghost was right. He was so dumb. He was a disappointment.

You think it matters if you’re dead or alive? You think they’ll mourn you?

No they wouldn't. Why would they?

That's right. They won't. So it's better you die, yes?

Wasn't death what he had wished a year back, sitting alone in his room, a handful of sleeping pills in another. Yes. Death. Finally.

Don't worry. I'll help you. I'll take away the pain .

It was slowly getting closer and Tae had a feeling he was missing something, that there was something he was supposed to be doing other than waiting for the ghost’s long hands to wrap around his throat (in the most non-kinkiest way possible) but he didn't know what it was. His brain was feeling warm and fuzzy and all that suddenly mattered was the ghost.

Death is so peaceful you know. I’ll take you first. Make it easy and then I’ll go for the others.

Yes, him first. ye - what? The others? What did it mean?

The fog in his brain was suddenly lifting slowly.

That obnoxiously tall one with the obnoxious dimples first - he stole the first part of my diary - didn't bother asking for permission - ill mannered brat.

Namjoon?

Then that short grumpy lovesick one that keeps scowling all the time - messes with my vibes.

Short grumpy…. Yoongi? Wait,the ghost was going to hurt them? And what did it mean by lovesick?

The ghost took no notice of him but kept drawing closer.

Then the oldest. Loves pink. Bah - ridiculous colour - why would anyone love pink? I’ll make it slightly painful for him for all the trauma I had to undergo to see pink invade my house. I’ll start by breaking those fingers -

But it never got to finish it's thought because Tae had managed to dump the entire contents of the salt shaker onto the ghost, his hands trembling. The ghost disappeared with a long wail.

And then there was silence. Blessed silence without the voice in his head.

He had almost given in. Almost died. He could feel phantom fingers around his throat and he collapsed to the ground. Almost died a second time that day. If it hadn't mentioned his brothers - mentioned what would have happened to them… he would have let it take his life.

He curled into himself, still shaking, a whimper escaping him. The ghost had been so close, so close -

“Taehyung ah? Tae? What happened?”

Yoongi’s rattled voice forced him to sit up.

“The ghost almost k-killed me hyung,” he hiccuped. He was shivering and even though the ghost was no longer there he could see traces - he could feel its icy aura.

A loud bang.

Tae jumped.

A few angry curses. It sounded as though Yoongi had slammed his fist on the door in his frustration.

“Hyung?”

“Sorry Tae-ah. Hyung just … lost his temper for a second. Nothing happened. Now, did you draw that salt circle?”

Yoongi’s voice was calm, composed, even though Tae could make out the undercurrent of fear.

And shit he had forgotten all about the circle. He quickly got on his knees and pushed the salt about, trying to make it resemble something similar to a circle. When he was done he admired his handiwork. Well it definitely wouldn't be winning any prizes for best circle in the world but Tae hoped it would at least serve it's purpose - keep the ghost away for at least some time - till he got out. Because Yoongi would get him out.

“Done hyung.”

“Good, okay. That's good. Now I am going to go down and see if there's something we can use to open this door and - “

“Dont.”

The word slipped out before he could stop himself.

Yoongi stopped speaking.

“Tae?”

“Please don't leave me hyung,” he pleaded, trying to hold back his tears. They fell down anyways.

He was exhausted and scared. Terrified. And Yoongi - Yoongi was the only person keeping him anchored - if he got up and left -

“Please hyung, the others will be back soon anyways. Please don't leave me alone.”

Silence and Tae thought that maybe Yoongi had already left. That’s what they all did - they all left and he was acting like a baby and obviously Yoongi had gone down, but still no doubt to save his sorry ass and - 

“Stop thinking too hard. I can hear your thoughts all the way from there and it's messing with my zen.”

He almost cried in relief at Yoongi’s gruff voice.

There was a slight scratch and a thud the other side followed by a tap-tap-tap. Probably Yoongi’s fingers playing rhythms on the tiled floor. He could imagine the other boy leaning against on the door on the other side and the thought brought him comfort.

“How did you know I was thinking hyung?”

“I know you, you idiot. You would have probably gone on another of your mental self-deprecating rants of why you’re completely worthless and how you shouldn't have been scared. But it's alright Tae - ah,” he went on, completely ignoring Tae’s gasp of surprise, “Do you want me to tell you a secret? Hyung is terrified too.”

“But why?”

Why would Yoongi be terrified? Yoongi was point blank the coolest, calmest most swaggest person he had ever seen. And he had been dealing with the entire thing with such a level head.

“Why wouldn't I be scared you idiot? When I saw you falling my heart stopped. I thought i would lose you for good you idiot. You were falling from the roof of a two storey building. Of course I was terrified! And I kept thinking - what if I hadn't come back to get my notebook? What if I had taken it with me in the first place? Would I have come back to see your corp - “

Yoongi broke off, his voice choked, and Tae thought he heard muffled… sobs?

He had also slipped into satoori and again there was something comforting about Yoongi’s voice that way - it grounded him.

“ - and then you got locked in again and you weren't speaking and I didnt know what to do - I was so scared Tae-ah. And all I am saying is that there's nothing wrong in being scared. It takes courage to admit to your fear. Ad you’re one of the bravest people i know. It kind of runs in your entire family.”

“Hyung - “

That - nobody had ever called him brave and it warmed him throughout - that Yoongi was calling him brave and -

“Thank you for coming back hyung.”

“Aish, don't thank me for this you brat.”

Tae heard an embarrassed cough and a small smile bloomed on his face.

“Besides I didn't save you out of the goodness of my heart. I just didn't want to have to water that ridiculous plant of yours - “

“Hyung! Stop insulting Watson!”

“Whatever Sherlock. But just know i am judging you so hard now.”

Tae burst out laughing, Yoongi following suit. He had a feeling the older boy was rolling his eyes at him.

There was quiet for a few minutes, both of them lost in their thoughts when Tae spoke again, “Hyung… would you rap for me?”

“What do you want me to rap?”

“Uhm -”

Yoongi’s immediate acceptance had thrown him off guard. He hadn't expected him to give in so easily.

“I don't know hyung, anything you want.

“Do you know how to rap along to any song?”

“Cypher part 3!”

There was a quiet chuckle the other side and Tae felt his ears flush red. Maybe he had replied a little too enthusiastically.

“Why don't we rap to that together then,” Yoongi murmured agreeably.

Tae’s eyes widened. Wait, Yoongi wanted to rap along with him?

“Hyung - I am not really good - “

It pained him to admit it because he generally loved to pretend he rapped really well and continued doing what he did without a care much to the chagrin of Jimin and Jungkook but somehow the thought of Yoongi listening to it filled him with mortification.

“Is it worse than Namjoon singing?”

“What? I wouldn't say so - my rapping is on par with it I guess.”

“That's good enough for me. Joon singing always makes me want to sing back so that he understands what he's putting me through.”

That coaxed a laugh out of him.

“Hyung, i am pretty sure you sing really well!”

“You don't want to hear me sing, Tae - ah. Trust me.”

Tae protested some more. He had a feeling Yoongi singing would cure cancer. That growl of his. Definitely possessed medical properties. He said as much to Yonggi who just cut him off with a bark of laughter.

“Lets just rap kid. Come on. Do you want me to start?”

“I’ll start hyung.”

He cleared his throat eagerly and took a moment to recollect the lyrics. It wasn't so hard what with how he listened to that song at least five times every day religiously.

Whatever you do I will kill for

Whatever I do I’ll be real for …

Tae didn't even realise he was done with both Hoseok’s verse and Namjoon’s, so immersed had he been in it, until suddenly Yoongi’s voice joined his when he started Agust-D’s. And damn. Suddenly everything else faded away. He couldn't even recall the lyrics once Yoongi started rapping.

Because his voice was - perfect. The way he rapped - it was - it was like listening to Agust -D. And if he forgot for a second that the person on the other side was Yoongi - it would have been like listening to Agust-D. He was slaying the verse - spitting rap like it was nobody's business. Hell, even his own brother and Hoseok hyung couldn't rap his part that well. And here Yoongi was - slaying it.

When he had finished Tae felt his heart beating a little to fast. Yoongi was out of breath and he could hear him panting heavily the other side.

“Hyung - that was - that was the best thing ever! I swear I have never heard anyone rap this well before! No one can rap Agust-D’s part without stopping in between or slowing down and you just nailed it! Oh my god, that was like the best! Why is your music not yet up there hyung? You would give Agust-D himself a run for his money!”

Yoongi’s chuckle was what he got as an answer to his tirade.

“Thanks kiddo. I guess i just practice … hard? You’re not so bad yourself. It's pretty hard to do your brother’s part. That damned guy just loves his words, loves giving them a kind of finish and using English to make it sound so damn good. Showoff,” he grumbled, but there was no bite to his words. Only pride. Something Tae mirrored.

“I am pretty sure your lyrics will be equally amazing too hyung.”

“Not really…”

“Well I'll be the judge of it. Rap for me and I'll tell you how good you are!”

There was silence. Oh shit. He shouldn't have pushed Yoongi so far. What had possessed him to go ask Yoongi to rap one of his original songs for him?

“I am sorry hyung -”

The corners of my memory
A brown piano settled on one side

Yoongi’s rapping cut him off and he listened, already hooked,

In the corner of my childhood house
A brown piano settled on one side...

His rap, the lyrics. It was perfection. And the magic they conveyed, the passion, the emotions - Tae couldn't… it was too beautiful. 

Minutes after Yoongi had finished rapping, Tae still hadn't found his voice. He was still reeling from the older boy’s rap. It was magic - there was nothing else to say about it. The emotions - the way the words had been seamlessly woven together to create a high which was hard to come down from - the softness of the song in contrast to his gruff voice - the way it seemed light but also carried so much meaning - the high at the end - the desperation - every single emotion had been painted in all its glory and for a few seconds it was almost as though it was Tae thinking about his piano (one which he later realised he didn't have) - it was almost as though he could see everything that had transpired - from love at first sight, to the fall out and the eventual reunion. Three minutes was all it had taken to ruin him. One eighty seconds.

However his stunned silence seemed to have been mistaken for disgust if the older boy’s self-deprecating words were anything to go by.

“I told you it wasn't great Taehyung. Please don't start hating rap because of this.”

His tone was light but he could hear the hidden plea in If you're going to reject me, do it gently.

Tae let out his breath. How could Yoongi even think it wasn't perfect? How could anybody who had created such a masterpiece think they weren’t good enough? Because if Yoongi wasn't talented then Tae was a sack of potatoes.

“Hyung! What the fuck! I am silent because I am still not over how good that was. Hyung, honestly, Agust-D who? I know only Min Suga. That was honestly the best thing i have heard in ages  - you made me almost cry when you were singing about the separation because for a second I actually believed I had a piano Holy shit hyung! Suga suga suga suga -”

He kept chanting to a crazy beat until he heard laughter on the other side. He allowed himself a small smile. Victory.

“Yah kid, it wasnt that great and all,” Yoongi mumbled, and Tae knew that if he could see his face he would probably see a blush covering it.

“I am just stating facts hyung. Just stating facts.”

He heard a non-committal hum from the other side.

“So, the piano’s your first love huh hyung? I feel wounded now. I thought I was your first love?”

There was spluttering and some intense coughing and Tae laughed into his fist. Yoongi was so easy to rile up.

“Was that a yes I heard hyung?” he pressed on slyly.

“What - I - Yah, why - “

“I can't believe I rendered the rap god Min Suga speechless.”

“I am not - “

“- going to deny your love for me. I know hyung. Why would you deny your love towards the guy who is the only splash of colour in your otherwise monochrome life?”

“I wasnt going to - “

“ - profess your love for me this way. I know hyung. You were planning to decorate the dorm, invite me over for a candlelight dinner and then tell me over the food you cooked for me while getting down on one knee, through a rap. But it's alright. I accept.”

There was silence for a few beats after that and Tae was pretty sure Yoongi was gaping at the door in complete disbelief. He could feel his gaze on the side of the head through the door and the thought made him giggle more.

“You’re really high maintenance you know. The poor guy who’s going to propose to you won't even know what hit him. He probably - “

“- saved the world in his previous birth. And in the births before that. I know that hyung. You don't have to flatter me so much. I know I am a gift hyung - a gift to this world.”

He heard soft laughter.

And something fluttered in Tae’s chest. Yoongi had a nice laugh.

And maybe it was just his imagination but he thought he heard a soft, “Yeah,” from the other side.

He hummed softly to himself as he suddenly thought of something else, which wasn't really hard considering how fast his brain worked and how he jumped from one thing to the other all the time.

“Hyung but you’re really good you know. You’re an amazing person hyung. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Don't even let your brain tell you otherwise!”

“Thank you Tae-ah. But how did you -”

“I guess I could tell hyung. One survivor to another. But you need to know you’re special hyung. Because you are! And I’ll tell you how many ever times you want if you ever need to be reminded.”

A gentle silence.

“I would do the same for you too, you know. You’re pretty special yourself Tae.”

And Tae would be lying if he said that didn't mean something to him. If he said that didn't mean the world to him.

“Not so much as you - but I get by hyung.”

“No Taehyung, you’re a better person than me - “

“We could keep comparing who’s the better person for days hyung and we’d still get nowhere because we’re both too stubborn to give in.”

Yoongi laughed at that.

“Touche kiddo.”

“But hyung I know one day you’ll make it. You’ll be this huge rapper with so many fans and you’ll be loved by everyone hyung. You’ll have millions of fans to tell you how special you are hyung.”

“How are you so sure?”

“It's just a feeling hyung. But my instincts have never gone wrong hyung. I just know. And I hope that when that happens you’ll remember your first fan hyung. I hope you’ll remember me when you’re touring countries and eating crazy food whose names you don't even know and at least smile thinking about our times together.”

“Tae,” Yoongi paused, as though struggling for words, “You’re an idiot if you think I’ll ever forget you! I could become the president himself and I wouldn't be able to forget you you fool! Babo.”

“My babo,” he murmured, a little more fondly after a while and Tae’s lips twitched.

“Besides I am pretty sure that you’ll be the one who’ll have forgotten me in ten years when you become this world famous actor who’s sought out by all the best directors. You’ll be winning oscars and awards left, right and center and I’ll be sitting in my worn out leather couch watching you on my shitty television wondering if you remember me.”

“Hyung! How could you? I would never be able to forget you either!” Tae whined, shaking his head so hard for a few seconds before realising that Yoongi wouldn't be able to see him. Oh right.

“You will,” Yoongi insisted.

“I won't!”

“You will.”

“I won't but you will.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No - “

He heard sudden footsteps and voices wafting from below him and both of them stopped their monosyllabic argument. Where the others already home? So soon? He glanced at the clock and his eyes widened. It was already 5? Goodness, he didn't even know how the time had passed so quickly. Or maybe he did and it was because of a certain Min Yoongi and his ability to keep Tae’s ghosts,literal and figurative, at bay. Because that was the truth - he had been so caught up in conversation with Yoongi that even his fear of the ghost and all thoughts about it - his panic - all of it had disappeared. And he didn't know what to make of it.

The heavy footsteps got closer and then there was a sharp curse as his brother probably stumbled on the stairs. Tae grinned - the clumsy oaf.

“Hyung the ghost has dissociative Identity disorder!”

“What the fuck hyung? Everybody doesn't speak psychology like you,” he heard their maknae grumble.

“And everybody isn't as dumb as you, you fool. He means the ghost has multiple personality disorder, something which you would understand if the only thing that wasn't in your brain was overwatch.”

Jimin’s teasing lilt had him stifling a laugh. Oh, how good it was to hear all their voices again. And to think that if not for Yoongi he probably never would have.

“Hyung, you didn't run into any trouble did you? You didn't know it had multiple personality disorder did you?”

“No shit Sherlock,” Yoongi deadpanned to which Hoseok must have probably flicked him for there was a sudden exclamation of pain from his end.

“Yoongi yah why are you sitting outside your room in a salt circle?”

And finally someone asked the question which should have been the first one.

There were collective ohs and a babble of voices as they all started firing questions at Yoongi is rapid succession.

Hyung why do you look so dishevelled?

Hyungie what happened in here?

Why do you look like you just ran a marathon?

Why is your voice hoarse - what did you do Yoongi hyung?

Where is my brother? Where’s Taehyungie?

Jin’s final question put a stop to their questions. And Tae knew they had finally figured out he wasn't there.

“I feel so loved guys,” he called out sarcastically from where he was seated and immediately there were gasps.

“What happened TaeTae? Did you and Yoongi hyung fight? Do you want me to beat him up for you?”

Tae chuckled at the indignant noises Yoongi was making and the fury in Jimin’s tone. People always thought he was a cinnamon roll out of the two of them. But they were so wrong.

“I would come out if I could my dear soulmate. And no you don't need to beat up Yoongi hyung, Chim. That would be a poor way to repay his kindness.”

“What do you mean you can't come out?”

Their maknae twisted the knob, or probably tried too but Tae could have told him it was pointless.

“Wait what? Its not opening? Have you locked it inside Tae?”

“Its hyung to you, you brat and no, I haven't locked it inside. The ghost locked me in and jammed the door and now I cant get out.”

There was an explosion of what's and a sudden ‘why didn't you tell us earlier’ from Hoseok.

“Well I would have except you guys didn't let me get a word in edgewise so…”

A beat of embarrassed silence.

“Okay so let's get you out of there Tae. What can we do?”

“Nothing short of breaking down the door Joon-ah. ”

“Yoongi hyung! You can't just break down the door. This is my aunt’s house!”

“Exactly, its your aunt’s house. So I get to do whatever I want to do.”

“I- “

“What else do you propose then maknae? I couldn't pick the lock and the handle won't budge.”

“Did you say you couldn't pick the lock Yoongi ah?”

“Yeah Jin hyung, couldn't.”

Cue Jin’s windshield wiper laugh.

Tae couldn't help but wonder what his brother found so funny but he had a feeling that it would be better to not know.

“Step aside peasants and watch and learn,” he said dramatically and Tae could hear some shuffling. They were probably making way for Jin.

“Tae bear, hyung’s here. Just hang in there for a little while and we’ll get you out.”

His brother’s voice was warm and soothing and Tae felt the sudden urge to cry. Nobody had called him Tae bear in ages.

Some scrabbling at the door and Tae could feel something being fitted into the lock.

A bit of jiggling and just as Yoongi started to say ‘I told you so’ the lock sprung open and Tae quickly sprung to his feet.

He wrenched the door open to five stunned faces staring at Jin who was wearing the smuggest look ever in the history of smug looks as he regarded them cooly.

“Do I want to know why you are such a professional lock picker hyung?” Namjoon asked him, a very done look on his face. Tae simply barreled straight into Jin’s open arms and clung onto his brother for dear life as his brother let out a laugh.

“To escape from my handcuffs Joonie bear.”

“Handcuffs- I - what the fuck hyung? Why were you arrested? When were you arrested?” Hoseok screeched while Namjoon looked like he was having an existential crisis.

“Probably for cracking lame dad jokes,” Yoongi offered from the side and got smacked by Jin even as Jimin cackled with laughter.

“I won't stand for this blatant show of disrespect. And if you want to know what crime I had commited it was that my shoulders were too broad and that that affected the self-esteem of certain munchkins.”

Jimin stopped cackling even as Hoseok clung onto Yoongi, wiping away his tears, “Good one hyung.”

“I don't have narrow shoulders okay!”

“Whatever helps you sleep... tiny hands.”

“Yah maknae! You want to fight? You want to know what these tiny hands can do certain parts of yours?”

Tae just grinned. Spitfire Jimin was a cute concept. He caught Yoongi’s eye over jIn’s shoulder and Yoongi shot him a wink. Tae was pretty sure he was blushing as he mouthed a thank you. Yoongi flashed him his gummy smile and Tae was a goner. Why did he have to be so cute too?

His brother was finally addressing Hoseok’s question when Tae turned back to the conversation.

“Well the idiot, according to you Joonie - I can hear your mind voice by the way, who accepted that charge was none other than our very own police officer, Officer Jeon.”

He made a wide flourishing gesture towards their maknae who was staring at the floor like he wanted it to swallow him whole.

“Nope nope nope, I don't want to hear more,” Hoseok screeched, slowly backing off. “I am already scarred for life. I don't want to know about your weird kinks and roleplay sessions, hyung. Count me out.”

“Yah, its nothing crazy! This brat just cuffed me and went to answer a call. Except it was from the art department or some shit and an emergency so he just sprinted out having totally forgotten that he had cuffed me to a fucking chair. And I was hungry, so i picked the lock.”

He said it like it was the most normal thing in the world, as though people learnt how to pick locks just because they were too hungry and Tae started laughing really hard, not even remotely fazed. It was such a Jin thing to do. Only his brother could do something like this and judge everyone so hard for judging him.

Because the others were indeed staring at him from expressions varying from disbelief to please-hit-me-if-I-ever-question-you-again to why-does-he-enjoy-humiliating-me, the last one being Jeongguk.

“I already apologised so many times for that hyung. I even got you your favourite food for a whole week” their maknae whined and Jin waved him away with a smile.

“But honestly what happened here. You guys said something about the ghost? Why were you alone inside the room in the first place Tae?”

“Ah I went in to get my sweater because Yoongi hyung and I had decided to leave the house after the roof incident when the ghost locked me in, Namjoon hyung,” Tae replied easily.

“Roof incident?”

Oh shit. He hadn't been meaning to tell the others. They would only worry unnecessarily.

“Um - “ he sent a pleading look towards Yoongi over Jin’s shoulder as he tried to come up with something plausible but his oldest brother beat him to it, holding him at arm’s length even as he said calmly, “The truth Yoongi yah. Tell us the truth.”

He gave them both intense stares and Tae ultimately gave in.

“The ghost kind of cornered me on the roof and I almost fell off when I ran out of place to move away except Yoongi hyung managed to catch me.

The shocked and concerned expressions on all their faces made Tae squirm. This was why he hadn't wanted to tell them. They would worry unnecessarily. And he didn't want them to worry about him. He bit his lip as Namjoon took a step forward and then he found himself being hugged so tightly by Namjoon that all the breath left him. Something hot and wet fell on his shoulder and he realised with a start that his usually composed brother was crying.

“Oh Taehyung ah,” he whimpered as he buried his face in the crook of Tae’s neck. Jin moved to hug him from behind and Jimin was gripping his right hand in an unnaturally tight hold, his eyes brimming with tears. Jeongguk and Hoseok simply stared at him with guilt, anger, fear and sorrow all written on their faces.

“I am fine guys,” he croaked out, trying to ease the worry on their faces, but it honestly did nothing. He understood though, understood that his statement had scared them out of their minds. He would be bawling his eyes out too if he had heard that one of his brothers or best friends for that matter, had had a close brush with death, especially if things hadn't been great between them near the end. If they had had unspoken things between them.

And right that moment he decided to set everything right. He had come too close to death to be able to go back to acting like an idiot. For taking life for granted. For taking everyone for granted. He hoped that his death wasn't in the cards anytime in the near future, but if it was… he wanted things to be perfect with the people closest to him. He didn't want to die with regrets.

And the first step to that - the first step would be embracing his feelings.

Slowly they let go, their sobs subsiding, even though they didn't really step far away from him and Tae was filled with sudden love for them - these people, these six people who were his everything. They were home.

And he didn't want to see them with so much misery in their eyes. He wanted to see them smile.

“Hyung I am hungry,” he murmured softly, but that got him the desired effect.

Jin snapped out of his trance and started making his way to the kitchen saying that he would make him the best dinner ever, a new found purpose in his steps while Jeongguk and Jimin followed him. Tae turned to Namjoon and Hobi.

“Hyung, why don't you get your notes out and gather everyone at the table and tell us what you learnt about the ghost. We’ll need to know everything in order to plan our next step.”

Namjoon nodded, business like as he beckoned Hoseok over and moved towards the stairs, turning at the first step to look at him expectantly.

“You’re not coming with us?”

Tae gave him a reassuring smile.

“I just need to talk to Yoongi hyung for a second and we’ll be down immediately hyung. It's alright. I am fine.”

He could sense his brother’s reluctance to leave him so he just made shooing motions while flashing him a grin.

By the set of his shoulders Tae knew Namjoon didn't like it even one bit but he still left, going over things with Hoseok. Their over protectiveness had been the reason for their fallout two years back. He knew that both of them wouldn't make that mistake again.

And then it was just him and Yoongi.

He turned to see the older boy leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his features soft as he looked at Tae.

“They’re just worried about you kid. And rightly so.”

“I know hyung,” he replied, “I understand. But i don't want them to worry so much.”

“Worrying is their job. You can't ask them not to, not when they love you so much.”

Tae bit his bottom lip, “I would do the same if our roles were reversed,” he confessed.

Yoongi hummed noncommittally.

“You wanted to tell me something?”

Tae forced himself to look up at Yoongi. To actually see than just look and he wet his lips as he took in the man - one who was a mystery in many ways but also an open book in others - one who had a bark worse than his bite - one who cared deeply, and had an aura of safety about him. Embracing his feelings. The first step. Well he could do that.

“I love you Yoongi hyung.”

Chapter Text

I love you Yoongi hyung.

The words hung in the air between them, heavy.

Ever since Tae had said them Yoongi hadn’t uttered a word and now Tae was panicking. What if he had said them and now even their fledgling friendship had been ruined? Maybe he should have waited. But he had had to know.

With bated breath he waited, trying his hardest not to fidget, refusing to take his eyes of Yoongi. And then after what seemed like eternity but probably had only been a torturous five minutes Yoongi met his gaze.

“So, this um love-,” he started hesitantly, rubbing the nape of his neck awkwardly, “Is it like the I-love-you you tell Jimin or your brothers?”

There was something hopeful in his eyes and Tae could have had wept from relief. Yoongi liked him back. The other boy didn't need to put it in words - Tae could see it in his eyes, in his tone - in the way he desperately wished for the words to be true - he knew because that was how he had looked all those days when he had been looking into the mirror and thinking about Yoongi.

And with relief came his need to mess with Yoongi. He allowed himself a small smile before rearranging his features into a confused expression.

“Ah hyung, but aren’t all I-love-yous the same?”

He could feel the incredulity rolling of Yoongi in waves and he had to stifle a laugh.

“So, you mean to say you love me in a very platonic brother like way? Like a platonic soulmate kind of thing?”

“I purple you hyung, not yellow you.”

The bewildered expression on Yoongi’s face was priceless. He knew Yoongi didn’t know. After all Jimin was the only one who knew what it meant. At the very least he hoped Yoongi would understand that he definitely wasn’t friendzoning him from his statement of not yellowing him. Yellow was for platonic love after all.

“Purple Tae?”

Yoongi was beginning to look really pained now.

“Yes hyung, purple,” he replied cheerfully, “You know, the last colour in a rainbow?”

“Purple, right,” Yoongi muttered dazedly and as though on cue Jin called for the two of them to come down for dinner.

“We should go down for dinner hyung.”

“Yeah - yeah we should.”

Flashing him a boxy grin, Tae grabbed hold of his wrist and dragged him down to the dining hall.

 They were half way through dinner when Namjoon brought out his notebook and placed it down on the table, successfully causing yet another dinner catastrophe which ended with Jimin in his lap and a drenched Yoongi curling up on himself and hissing like a cat. Namjoon was apologising profusely to him, his arms around Jimin’s waist where his boyfriend was happily nuzzling into his neck and laughing at Yoongi’s completely put out expression. Tae thought that he looked too cute. Being exposed to such cuteness wasn’t doing his heart any favours.

“Yoongi yah go get changed,” Jin chided softly.

The other boy simply glowered at him and reached for a piece of meat. Tae swatted his hand away from across the table.

“Hyung, you’ll catch a cold. So you can either go get changed or remove your shirt right now.”

Yoongi gave him a slight pout and stubbornly crossed his hands over his chest in an act of defiance.

Too adorable really.

“Hyung, Tae’s right. Besides you really don’t have to be ashamed. We have all seen you in various states of undress,” their maknae called out from beside him.

“Oh, hyung’s not embarrassed,” Hoseok started slyly, “He just doesn’t want everybody to look at his scrawny self.”

That earned Hoseok a scowl and Tae simply smiled softly as he reached for a napkin and quicky scrawled on it before pushing it in Yoongi’s direction, making sure the others were too engaged to take note of him.

He then sat back and watched the other boy as he unfolded it. A few seconds later Yoongi quickly got up and padded away to his room, to the surprise of the others, and came back wearing a different shirt.

Everyone stared at him. Tae couldn’t help the smile that bloomed across his face.

It widened when Yoongi walked past his chair and to Tae’s side of the table, stopping in front of Jeongguk, who was seated to his right and started scowling at him.

Their maknae looked at him cluelessly, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, probably wondering what he had done to piss off Yoongi again, which could have been, in all honesty, anything right from the fact that Jeongguk kept devouring all the lamb skewers to him childishly dumping his laundry along with Yoongi’s and forcing the other boy to do both of theirs.

When Yoongi just kept scowling at their maknae the entire table fell silent.

“Yoongi hyung?” Hoseok started hesitantly, because he was the only one with a death wish amongst all of them.

The other boy barely spared him a glance as he indicated to their youngest that he should move to the other side of the table. Tae would be lying if he said the tiny action didn’t make something warm flutter in him.

“Why hyung? I wanted to sit with Tae hyung,” their maknae whined and Tae decided that no, Hobi wasn’t the only one who had a death wish. Their maknae evidently did too.

Yoongi just glared at him and then plucked his plate from in front of him, neatly leaning over the table and setting it on the other side and effortlessly dropped onto Jeongguk’s lap with his plate in front of him. Their maknae was sputtering and the entire table burst into peals of laughter after a moment of stunned silence.

Their amusement grew when Jin asked him why he had decided to sit on his boyfriend’s lap and Yoongi had refused to reply, simply choosing to chew at his food and then shove a fresh napkin and a pen in Tae’s hand, not even trying to be subtle about it.

Tae grinned as he picked the napkin and uncapped the pen. What to say? Yes, it was true that he had promised a desperate Yoongi the meaning of purple if he changed his clothes. Well, stripping had also been an option and while Tae had been quite disappointed at not having caught another glimpse of pale smooth skin, he couldn’t argue with the fact that Yoongi had carried out his end of the deal and as a result it was his turn now.

Also, even if desperate Yoongi was a very cute concept he felt bad for leaving him in the dark. He had after all over heard a few of his conversations and the word purple.

(“Joon, what the fuck does purple mean?”

“It’s a colour Yoongi hyung.”

“Of course I know it’s a colour you idiot, but what does it signify?”

“Um,I don’t know hyung but maybe royalty? Purple was known to be the colour of the royalty.”)

And while his brother had looked confused and maybe even a little worried about Yoongi’s sudden obsession with the word purple, his best friend had been another matter.

(“Yah Park Jimin, what does purple mean?”

“Purple hyung? But why?”

“Your best friend just told me he purpled me and I don’t know what it means.”

“...”

“Stop smirking and tell me you little brat!”

“Aww, you’re so cute hyung! But TaeTae will tell you himself soon. Let me enjoy this for now.”

“You’re as useless as your boyfriend.”

“Hyung!”)

Jimin had caught his eye across the table and sent him a thumbs up after the conversation and Tae had flashed him his boxy smile. He hadn’t really expected Jimin to be surprised by the piece of information because knowing his best friend he had probably figured out Tae had fallen for Yoongi way before he had himself.

Tae had then placed a finger on his lips as an after thought, nodding towards Jinkook, that one ship he very begrudgingly accepted, shushing Jimin from telling them. Oh, he would have his revenge alright. Those two had kept things from him for over a month - they deserved to be kept from the tea.

Jimin gave him finger guns at that and Tae had returned it with equal fervour, quite aware that Yoongi was basically glaring holes into Jimin’s head while simultaneously shooting him desperate glances.

Tae was smiling as he thought about it and started writing on the napkin.

When he was done he pushed it towards Yoongi, giving up on all subtlety, because one, he knew that the entire table was only pretending to be in conversation, Namjoon’s journal and everything about the ghost forgotten in lieu of the drama that was taking place in front of them, that is Min Yoongi acting like a petulant five year old. Also two, said five year old was perched on the lap of an actual kid, namely the kid he hadn't wanted knowing the tea and there was no way to get the message across to Yoongi without him reading it.

Or maybe he shouldn’t have worried so much.

Tae’s lips curved in a bemused smile as he saw Yoongi cradling the napkin to his chest and curling around it protectively as he read it. He took in the furrowed eyebrows that relaxed and the thin lipped expression of his morph into a gummy smile when he was done reading it. He took in the way Yoongi re read the words over and over again, his grin turning wider with each time and the way he clutched tightly onto the napkin when Hoseok tried to pry it out of his hands. And as he took in all of that, Tae fell in love a little more with Min Yoongi.

Yoongi finally turned to look at him.

“Trust and love for a very long time huh?”

There was a shine in his eyes that Tae thought could be tears but he knew that asking would only get him vehement denials so he met the other boy’s gaze head on and replied softly, “Yeah. Your questions answered hyung?”

Yoongi leaned in closer as he whispered, “Not all of them.”

Tae looked at him quizzically. How much more did Yoongi want him to be explicit?

The other boy smirked at the confusion evident in his eyes and leaned until his lips were next to Tae’s ears, completely disregarding the others seated at the table (and at that point Tae was having difficult even remembering the others were there because Yoongi was so close, so close that Tae could smell his cologne and the whiff of pines and -)

“You never told me if you would be my boyfriend.”

That smooth asshole.

Yoongi went back to his plate like nothing had happened and Tae just stared after him pretty sure he looked like a highly unattractive goldfish at that moment, but he couldn't help it. He could still feel Yoongi’s breath hot against his ear and he shivered.

When had the tables turned?

His vision had tunnelled until all he could see was Yoongi and him chewing on his food, moaning. And that was what broke Tae out of his trance. Because while he assumed Yoongi was going for seductive moaning, he actually sounded like a hippopotamus dying and he had to stifle his laughter. He thought he could see Jimin filming the entire thing in the periphery but he couldn’t care less because Yoongi had just asked him to be his boy friend and that was all that mattered.

“Well I wouldn’t really say no to those gorgeous, absolutely daddy hands.”

Yoongi choked on his meat and Tae winked at him, a smirk stretching his lips. Two could play this game.

“I would like to point out that your hands are bigger Tae.”

The moment broke.

Yoongi scowled at their maknae.

“No one asked you you overgrown baby,” he hissed and Tae grinned at the outraged expression on Jeongguk’s face before turning to the rest of the table.

Jimin and Hoseok both crowed, “Fucking finally” at the same time and burst out laughing, ending up teary eyed while clicking pictures while his brothers had fond expressions on their faces (well yes his plan to keep Jin out of it had gone down the drain but he really couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment). Their maknae, on the other hand, was the only one who seemed genuinely still bewildered and even a little bit wounded.

“Hyung!” he whined, “Stop yelling at me. Tae hyung’s hands are larger than yours!”

Yoongi squeezed his eyes shut and Tae could see that it was taking him all his willpower to not smack their maknae, who was making eye contact with each person on the table hoping someone would clue him into what was happening but everyone was too busy caught up in their own emotions to spare him even a glance and huffing he stood up in one smooth motion, dislodging Yoongi from his lap and right into Tae’s arms. And at that moment Tae could appreciate the difference in their heights fully when he could rest his head on Yoongi’s. Yoongi - no, his boyfriend (and how sweet it sounded even in his head). He knew Yoongi didn’t really appreciate the height difference though and he was pretty sure he was scowling but when Tae laced their fingers together (holy shit, they fit perfectly), he could feel him relax into him.

Nobody took notice of their still standing maknae, glaring at them all petulantly, arms crossed over his chest.

It took them another half an hour to bring back any semblance of normalcy by which Tae meant that Hoseok and Jimin had both kept their phones away, Jin wasn’t dabbing onto his eyes, Namjoon stopped wishing them well and threatening Yoongi to take care of Tae (and his brother’s well meaning, even if slightly awkward threats warmed his heart) and their maknae had stopped looking at them like they had poisoned his cat.

Yoongi still hadn’t let go of his hand and as he sat curled up into Tae on the couch where Namjoon had brought out his notes again Tae couldn’t help but feel complete. Home, he was finally home with Yoongi and his best friends and brothers by his side.

The others were seated on the floor and a few chairs and Namjoon started to speak when there was a sudden poof of light next to them by the couch and the ghost was seated there - still devilishly handsome and smiling like nothing was wrong.

Everyone tensed. Tae flinched unconsciously and suddenly Yoongi was sitting up between them, shielding him from the ghost.

“So did you find out anything?”

His boyfriend’s voice was ice as he said, “We did in fact. We found out that you have multiple personality disorder - interesting don’t you think?”

The ghost positively blanched.

“I - I mentioned it, didn’t I? Or did I forget?”

It gave a nervous laugh as Jimin got up from his perch on the chair.

“How convenient. You forgot huh?” he sneered.

The ghost gulped but Tae had to admit it's courage when it didn’t back down.

“It wouldn’t have happened hadn’t you provoked me. What did you do?”

“Oh, so now you’re asking questions? You little - “

“Jeongguk stop it! Yoongi you need to back down, Jimin, you too.”

“But Namjoon hyung - “

“No buts Jimin - yelling at the ghost isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

It was evident that the others didn’t like it but they knew he was right. So they quieted down. But that didn’t really stop them from levelling the ghost with their glares.

“Right, thank you guys. Now here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to be civilised and ask the ghost questions - questions to which you will,” this directed at the ghost, “answer truthfully.”

There was a warning note to his words - one only a fool would ignore. And apparently the ghost wasn’t a fool, for all its faults. All its swagger now having deserted it, it looked their age - young and defeated.

“What do you want to know?”

“Dissociative identity disorder?”

“I don’t really know to be honest,” it spread its hands helplessly, “But I think it might have something to do with my foster parents being abusive.”

There was a sharp intake of air throughout the room except from Namjoon, who seemed to have expected it.

“Abusive parents?”

Jeongguk’s voice was hesitant and Tae’s heart went out for him - their maknae’s childhood hadn’t been the most pleasant one. All he wanted to do was wrap Jeongguk in a bubble wrap and protect him forever. Thankfully Jin slung an arm around him reassuringly and the younger boy curled up into him.

“I don’t remember - that’s the problem. I think I was abused but all those places are blank - “

“They would be. That’s why you have another personality, in order to cope with the trauma.”

Namjoon’s voice is calming, soothing - a contrast to his earlier harsh tone.

“I am sorry,” Tae murmured, feeling bad all of a sudden, “For taking your journal without permission. It is my fault like you said.”

The ghost gave him a sad smile, “It wasn’t really. I was the one who asked you to investigate - I don’t even know why I felt so threatened that my other personality had to take control. But believe me - “

It got up and made towards him but backed away when Yoongi glared at it, the one person who had been with Tae through the whole ordeal, “ - believe me when I say that I never wanted to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt any of you. That was what even - “

It trailed off, eyebrows scrunched together and stumbled to the floor, fingers pressed to its temples as though it had suddenly remembered something. No one moved.

The took in the figure frozen on the ground and when the ghost finally looked up at them there was so much despair in its eyes.

“So close - it’s there but I - I can’t - I - “

“Hey hey, you’re alright. It’s fine. It’ll come to you okay. You need to relax,” Hoseok murmured softly, almost bracing a hand on its elbow from where he was crouched on the ground next to it from the moment it had started panicking.

The ghost nodded softly, trying to steady its breathing (could it even breathe?) and flashed Hoseok a grateful smile which he returned.

“Don’t force yourself to remember,” he said as he settled on the floor cross-legged next to it almost as though reminding it that it wasn’t alone. And while it was evident that Yoongi didn’t approve of anyone showing the ghost kindness - the displeased expression not leaving his face - Tae was glad that Hoseok was doing it, because one, it hadn’t technically been Yeo Wool who had tried to kill him and two, Yeo Wool was a victim of circumstances as much as any of them - a survivor too. Tae couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards the ghost.

Who knew what Yeo Wool had been forced to undergo? What kinds of - Oh.

“Wait, you said you never left this place in the past ten years?”

Everyone turned to look at him quizzically.

“Yes? But what - “

“That means whatever they did to you they must have done it in this house.”

He extricated himself from Yoongi’s hold and started pacing, his voice raising in excitement.

“But none of the rooms here - “

“ - show any signs of such activities,” Yoongi completed, a light in his eyes.

“Which means that we’re missing something - some hidden room - do you remember any?”

Tae looked at Yeo Wool in excitement.

“I - I don’t think so - “

“No matter - you probably don’t know. Not if it was your alter persona that dealt with the pain. We need to talk to him.”

In his mind he could see it working - Jo Yoon Woo appeared when Yeo Wool was threatened. All they would have to do was flip through the journal again. He walked towards it, a newfound purpose in his step but before he could grab the leather bound notebook lying innocuously on the table his brother caught hold of his wrist.

“Jin hyung?”

He didn’t even know when Jin had left their maknae’s side and crossed the room.

“What do you think you’re doing Taehyungie? Do you have a serious death wish?”

There was pin drop silence as his brother realised what he had just said. It might have been a normal expression but then Tae had had wanted to die.

“Oh god Tae I didn’t mean it that way. I -”

Jin looked distraught for having brought it up.

“Hyung,” he grabbed hold of Jin’s wrist and forced him to look into his eyes, “Hyung, listen to me. I don’t have a death wish. Not anymore.”

And it was true. For the first time in forever the thought of being inadequate, of being a burden, of being suffocated - it wasn't’ there. For the first time in forever he felt free, he felt like he was enough. And he wanted Jin to know that - that he wasn’t simply saying the words to make him stop worrying but that he meant them.

Jin searched his eyes for the truth and after a few minutes he smiled, a genuinely happy one presumably having found what he had been searching for. And he looked like he had had a weight off his shoulders.

He squeezed his brother’s hand and reached for the diary when Jeongguk interrupted him, looking honestly bewildered.

“But the house had already been cleaned by my aunt. Obviously there wouldn’t have been any traces of anything right?”

Oh. Tae hadn’t considered that in his haste. He felt despair take over him as their first solid lead started slipping out of his hands -

“The police records - they have pictures of all the rooms.”

No, they still had a chance. He flashed Jimin his brightest smile as he bounded over to him and pulled him into a bone-crushing embrace.

“You’re the best Jiminie! Now where were those photos?”

Namjoon pulled them out from his notebook and laid them on the table. Everyone, including the ghost, crowded around them. There were pictures of all the rooms - all the rooms that they had been too and while they were all messy none of them showed any signs of someone having been tortured there - everything was mundane, no out of place tools and while even a spoon or a glass apparatus could have been used to inflict enough pain on him Tae felt that there was a room missing. He just knew - call it gut instinct or a hunch but he knew - even if his theory was really far-fetched.

Besides they were becoming kind of desperate - they honestly had no other leads and two more days to get to the bottom of things. Right then wasn’t the time to start nit picking details.

“Okay, so assuming there’s a room what do you expect to find there?”

“I don’t know Hobi hyung, but I hoping there’s something there.”

Everyone nodded in assent.

“We should start and we’ll search in twos - just in case,” Namjoon decided, shooting the ghost a wary glance as though he expected Jo Yoon Woo to be standing there instead of Yeo Wool.

The ghost looked pained but nodded in assent.

“I don’t think it’ll happen again but I can’t exactly control who I am and - “

“We know, Namjoon just tends to be over cautious,” Hoseok comforted the ghost, raising an eyebrow at his brother who squirmed slightly before shooting an apologetic look in Yeo Wool’s direction.

The ghost smiled, “It’s alright. You have every right to be wary of me. Besides you’re doing all of this for me when you could simply walk out. I appreciate it. A lot.”

Tae waved it away, inserting himself between his brother and the ghost.

“Don’t even think about it. TaeGi investigators do not give up on cases half way no matter how hopeless they seem,” he said waving away the ghost’s gratitude.

“TaeGi investigators?”

“Jeon Jeongguk don’t tell me you’re so dumb - that’s their ship name!” Jimin squealed as he clung onto Namjoon, “It’s so cute don’t you think Joonie hyung? They already came up with a ship name for themselves!”

“TaeGi?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t tell me you want to be called Minhyung or YoonTae or something ridiculous like that?”

His boyfriend just shook his head, a fondly exasperated look on his face as he slipped his hand into Tae’s and tugged him in the direction of the rooms.

“Yah, use protection,” Jin yelled after them much to Tae’s mortification. It was one thing to hear your best friend tease you, but hearing it from you very own Mario Kart loving brother - no, absolutely not.

Yoongi levelled him with an unimpressed stare.

“Seriously Jin hyung? Don’t you ever think of anything other than food and fucking? Because if I remember right we were going to find a secret room and that’s exactly what Tae and I were going to do, unlike certain other people I know.”

Jin had the grace to look sheepish.

“Fine, fine. Kookie and I will search the kitchen and the dining room.”

“Will you really?” Hoseok asked them skeptically.

“Obviously no - “

“Of course,” Jin cut in, smacking their maknae on the hand, “The kitchen is sacred you little brat.”

“The abuse,” Jeongguk grumbled, “I am supposed to be his boyfriend.”

Taehyung just mouthed, “Well you asked for it,” gleefully and was rewarded with a scowling maknae.

He winked at him as he led Yoongi drag him away upstairs, having decided that Namjoon, Jimin and Hoseok would tackle the living room and the attic.

 Forty minutes of intense searching later they were leaning against the wall of their room, the other two rooms already done with no sign of any secret room or compartment.

“So… we are boyfriends now right?” Yoongi spoke up hesitantly.

“Of course Yoongles hyungie!”

“What the fuck Tae.”

“You don’t like the name? What about YoonYoon then? Or do you perhaps want me to call you…”

“Call me?”

“Daddy?”

Yoongi choked on the water he had been drinking and Tae leaned over and thumped him hard on the back, grinning at his boyfriend’s expression.

“Kim Taehyung, you just can’t say things like that,” he spluttered, also sounding lsightly strangled.

“Why not hyung?”

He had rearranged his features into a picture of perfect innocence and even widened his eyes for effect. They were dating (another sweet word) and his boyfriend was still so easy to rile up.

“Because - “

“Because?”

“Then I won’t be able to stop myself from doing this,” he murmured huskily and Tae had barely a moment to wonder what Yoongi was talking about before his lips were crashing onto his, his boyfriend’s arms caging him and oh -

It was perfect. Pine and mint and Jin’s sweet Japchae. And Yoongi. His lips were chapped but they were warm and fit his perfectly and as Yoongi gently nipped his lower lip Tae couldn’t stop the moan that left his mouth. He tangled his hands in Yoongi’s recently dyed Mint green hair, marvelling at their softness and let himself go as Yoongi’s hands roamed all over him, pushing him onto the floor and straddling him and all he could think was Yoongi, Yoongi -

Bam.

The door slammed open and Yoongi broke off the kiss.

Tae whined. No. He tugged Yoongi down again but the older boy stopped him with a frustrated sigh.

“What the fuck maknae? Has no one taught you that knocking is polite?”

Maknae?

He looked towards the door and saw Jeongguk standing there, a smug look on his face and sighed as Yoongi got up and reached a hand down which Tae took gratefully.

“I knocked about at least ten times hyung. It’s not my fault you were so busy ravaging your boyfriend you didn’t hear me.”

“Yah, you brat! Yoongi hyung wasn’t ravaging - “

“You might want to look at yourself Tae,” he smirked.

Tae walked over to the mirror and his jaw dropped.

What. The. Fuck.

The first few buttons of his shirt were open, his clothes all crumpled from where Yoongi must have been clutching them, his lips were all swollen and puffy and his hair looked like sex hair. But above them all were the hickeys that were littering his neck.

When had that happened?

How long had they even been at it?

He looked at the clock in alarm - 9.30.

Almost twenty minutes? What even - but he supposed he could be excused for not really recollecting much - he had been too busy feeling things that he had never felt before and it wasn’t his fault that Yoongi was so intoxicating.

He turned to look at his equally dishevelled albeit hickey-less boyfriend who was sporting a sheepish look, “Sorry, I like marking - “

“It’s hot hyung, I like it,” Tae cut him, and crossed the room to his boyfriend and pulled him for one final kiss completely ignoring their maknae’s squeaks. Payback was sweet indeed.

“Why are you even here maknae?” he asked him when he had finally broken away, though Yoongi’s hand was still around his waist.

“The disrespect in this house - “

“You said something kid?”

“Of course not Yoongi hyung, just that Namjoon hyung said that we could continue searching tomorrow and that we should all meet up at the dining room to discuss our findings.”

“We’ll be there.”

Jeongguk made a face at them and then turned and walked out muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “After you fuck no doubt.”

“What was that maknae?” Yoongi drawled after him and he fled.

Tae grinned at him, “Why do you enjoy terrorising him so much hyung? He idolises you.”

Yoongi simply brought Tae’s hand up to his lips and kissed his knuckles murmuring against them, “I do it because he idolises me and also because I have a boyfriend who’s a terrible influence.”

Tae flushed bright red.

“Whatever,” he muttered, dragging Yoongi along with him back to the main hall, wondering why the hell he hadn’t thought of kissing Yoongi in so long. He pulled on a turtleneck though.

 No one had found anything. They had gone through almost every inch of the house, tapping on every possible tile with very little success. It was disheartening because Tae had been so sure they were onto something.

“We should sleep on it, maybe we’ll find something tomorrow morning.”

Jin looked determined despite their initial setback and Tae didn’t know how he could feel so hopeful.

“Hyung, but - “

“No buts Tae bear, I trust you. You have never been wrong before.”

He wasn’t ashamed to admit he teared up at that - at the conviction in his brother’s voice.

They clambered up to their rooms, Hoseok spending the night with Jimin and Namjoon (no one had wanted him to sleep alone, defenseless) because and to quote him, “They’re the ones least likely to fuck with me in the same room.”

No one had corrected him and Hoseok had walked away grumbling about being the only single guy in the group and how they were all horny rabbits and how he didn’t even know why he was even associated with all of them much to their amusement.

With a final wave Tae entered his room, leaving the door open like the others as an added precaution and walked over to his bed. And then he stopped. He could still see the ghost lying there on it as though it owned it if he closed his eyes. He could still see its smirk, the dead eyes and sense the malevolence radiating off it in waves. Unconsciously, he shivered.

In the periphery he saw Yoongi look up at him from where he had been slipping out of his pants.

“Tae?”

Forcing a smile onto his face, he said brightly, “Ah, it's nothing hyung. Just got caught up in my thoughts.”

Yoogi arched an eyebrow at him and Tae made to sit on the bed but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t help thinking about the ghost lying on it and -

“Come here.”

He looked at his boyfriend, who had pulled up his covers, quizzically, “Hyung?”

Yoongi patted the space next to him, “Get in here. The bed’s big for the two of us.”

“Hyung-”

“I don’t want the ghost attacking me. I need you here to protect me.”

The older boy simply waited, no judgement in his eyes and Tae fell in love more.

“In that case, fine hyung. We can’t have the ghost carting you away.”

He saw Yoongi chuckle as he crossed the room in two steps and slipped under the covers, trying to stay close to the edge because yes they were boyfriends but they still hadn’t established boundaries and Tae was aware that Yoongi didn’t like skinship.

The next second however a hand slipped around his waist and pulled him closer until he was lying with his back flush against Yoongi’s chest.

A giggle escaped his mouth as the older rested his head against his neck and trailed kisses there.

“Hyung I thought you would want to be the little spoon. You’re shorter than me.”

Yoongi growled as he nipped at his skin.

“Yah, you brat.”

He placed his hand on top of Yoongi’s and interlaced their fingers, soaking in his warmth and letting his scent engulf him.

Suddenly Yoongi pulled away and Tae twisted his head to look at him in concern.

“Hyung?”

“You still love Agust-D don’t you? Do you still want to bang him?”

He looked at him nervously and it took Tae every inch of his willpower to not laugh at Yoongi right then. He was so cute! Had he never been a fanboy before?

“Ah hyung I love him - I love Agust-D and given the chance I would totally bang him but -”, Yoongi’s face had fallen slightly and Tae just wanted to coo at him, “- but the man whom I have chosen to give my heart to is you. You’re the person I want by my side - the person I want to bang even,” he finished with a devilish smirk and bent down to capture Yoongi’s lips for a languid kiss.

He could feel Yoongi’s gummy smile on his lips.

“I am not gonna do it here. I don’t want our first time to take place in a haunted house with a ghost that has its eye on you and can probably pop up out of nowhere any time,” Yoongi murmured softly once they had broken away.

Tae flushed.

“You’re such a teddy bear hyung!”

“Tell the others and I might have to just bury you, boyfriend or not.”

At that he laughed so hard Jin had to yell at him to shut up from the first room and Jimin asked him whether sex with Yoongi was so bad that he was laughing.

Tae had had to physically restrain Yoongi after that to make sure he didn’t go after his soul mate, chortling all the while. And when he opened his mouth, no doubt to yell expletives, Tae shut him up with a kiss. Life was perfect, or well as perfect as it could be with a ghost having multiple personality disorder in the house that seemed to love their bed -

He froze on top of Yoongi.

Their bedroom. The one place Jo Yoon Woo seemed to enjoy frequenting.

“Tae? Tae?”

“Uh - hyung - “

“What happened? You were spacing out.”

His boyfriend searched him with concerned eyes.

“Hyung the ghost, its other personality, seems to prefer our bedroom the most.”

“Tae but we have seen it only once so far and yes it was in our bedroom but - “

“Twice hyung.”

“Twice?”

Because Tae suddenly remembered another time when the ghost had been there - the night when Yoongi had been down playing the piano but when Tae had walked out he had seen a figure lying on its side in the opposite bed. At that time he had assumed it was Yoongi and after the chaos of that night it had completely slipped his mind but now -

He said as much to Yoongi who was looking more alert with every passing second.

“Then we should search this room properly,” his boyfriend decided.

Tae nodded in assent, beaming because Yoongi hadn’t scoffed at him as he had expected him to if he was being honest. That’s what most people did to his suggestions. He made to get out of the bed, his veins thrumming with excitement when Yoongi stopped him.

“Not now Tae. You need to sleep.”

“Hyung but - “

“No buts Tae. You need to give your body a break. You almost die-,” his voice quavered and Tae felt his resolve melt, “- died. You need to sleep.”

“Okay hyung,” he whispered, because he couldn’t really refuse Yoongi when he was like that and he knew somehow that if he got up then Yoongi wouldn’t sleep either - wouldn’t let him out of his sight and he didn’t want that.

Yoongi gave him a small smile, “Tomorrow Tae. Tomorrow morning we’ll investigate our bedroom. I promise.”

“I trust you hyung, you don’t need to promise.”

And it was true - he trusted Yoongi. With his life. Yoongi seemed to take better care of it anyways.

He beamed at him before turning around and letting himself be spooned. They could do it tomorrow. They still had two more days and Tae had a good feeling about this. The ghost could wait another night just fine. He fell asleep to the feeling of Yoongi peppering kisses onto his neck again.

 Tae woke up to a cold bed and the incessant pinging of his phone. For a few seconds he wondered why the sunlight seemed to be coming in from the wrong side before he realised that he was in Yoongi’s bed. That brought a smile to his face. And then he caught sight of the clock - 06:00, and the smile slid right off. Yoongi never woke up that early. Period. Frowning a little, he grabbed his phone, intent on switching it off when he noticed the messages pouring in and the notifications.

He screamed. 

And then he got out of bed clutching his phone and promptly tripped and fell. Yet he kept screaming. He screamed all the way down the stairs and when he saw Jimin reclining on the sofa he threw himself on top of him, shaking him violently, unable to speak because holy shit, had bangtan just released their latest album and -

His soulmate barely lifted his head as he petted his hair.

“I told you he would wake up screaming. You should have told him yesterday night Joon,” Jin was chiding Namjoon, who was wearing a pleased grin, sitting on the kitchen counter where the other was cooking.

“Then he wouldn’t have slept in the least and he needed his sleep,” Hobi replied from where he was lying face first on the table, his words muffled.

“Besides Tae’s reaction is the best thing ever, even if his screams do make me lose my hearing for quite some time.”

Ignoring Namjoon’s chortles he got up and stumbled over to him next, throwing his arms around him.

“What do you want for your birthday or christmas or just what do you want? I’ll get you whatever you want for releasing this album.”

His brother just ruffled his hair fondly, “Just listen to me and give us feedback. There’s no other gift I want from you, you idiot. Besides I already have the best gift of them all.”

“Huh?”

“You. You, as my brother.”

Tae flushed red and swatted his brother slightly as somebody gagged.

Turning he saw Jeongguk looking at him judgmentally and flipped him.

“Yah maknae, there’s no need to judge me. We all know about your secret stash of T-shirts printed with their faces and Agust-D’s face and how you sob into your pillow listening to their songs when you think no one is there.”

He choked, his widening to make him look more like a bunny than ever and Tae smirked.

“Aren’t you going to listen to it?” Jin asked as he set the food on the table.

“Yes, we are all going to listen to it together!”

Nobody protested as Tae dragged them to the hall and dropped onto the couch with Jimin and Jeongguk on either side of him. The two rappers were seated opposite them and Jin took the lone armchair.

As Tae switched on his phone and opened the Spotify app he finally realised that there were only six of them.

“Where’s Yoongi hyung?”

Hoseok and Namjoon exchanged smirks.

“Yoongi hyung went for a run.”

Tae gaped at them. The Min Yoongi had gone for a run? The one who wouldn’t even get out of bed unless he was forced to? It couldn’t be.

And as though the universe had heard his doubts the front door opened and Yoongi stepped in, all sweaty. He looked a vision but Tae couldn’t even appreciate it properly because damn, Yoongi could sweat. This almost topped the excitement of the new album only because it was a sight he had never expected to see.

His boyfriend froze at the door way when he saw the gathering.

“Did I miss the memo that we were going to have a meeting?”

“Not a meeting hyung,” Hoseok, the resident evil cupid called out, “We have just gathered for a session of intense fanboying by our dear Agust-D lover.”

Oh right. The album.

Tae beckoned Yoongi over eagerly and found the album - Wings.

He allowed himself a few seconds of internal screaming at how beautiful the cover looked and then settled down deeper into the couch pressing play.

The first few songs were a blur - he remembered fanboying over Hoseok’s flawless performance in ‘Boy meets evil’, crying over ‘2! 3!’, jumping around to ‘Cypher pt. 4’, snuggling closer to Namjoon during ‘Reflection’ and dancing to ‘MAMA’.

When Agust-D’s single came up Tae waited with bated breath. The first few chords played out - it sounded vaguely familiar and he peeked at the name - ‘First love.’

First love?

And then the words.

The corners of my memory

A brown piano settled on one side

In the corner of my childhood house

A brown piano settled on one side…

His eyes widened and unable to help himself he sang along.

When the song ended Namjoon hit pause even though there was the interlude left. No one questioned him.

“Tae, how do you know the lyrics?” he asked hesitantly.

But Tae didn’t answer, he was too busy looking at his boyfriend - at the man who was biting his lower lip nervously and refusing to meet his gaze. The same raspy voice - the same lyrics - the same passion. There was an undecipherable feeling in his stomach. Oh. He knew who Agust-D was.

“Yoongi hyung, you’re Agust-D aren’t you?”

Chapter Text

Maybe Ttukseom was where his brother went when he needed peace and quiet - when he wanted to quell the chaos within and maybe it was the best place to listen to the song but Tae thought that the highest branch of the oak tree in the middle of the forest was a really good place too. Especially with the first rays of the sun filtering through the branches and lighting up the dead leaves on the forest floor. Especially with how everything seemed so beautiful so far away from everything.

A good place to reflect indeed.

A good place for a beautiful song. One that seemed to put everything Tae had ever felt into words - all the feelings he had never been able to name - all the emotions he had locked away. It would have been nice to have had it before. Before everything - the fight with his brothers, his self-imposed isolation, the pills. Everything.

But then he supposed that all of that was the reason that song had even been born. He had a feeling that his brother had started hating himself only after Tae and it made him guiltier. Especially as the last line kept ringing in his ears.

I wish I could love myself.

I wish I could love myself.

He shouldn’t have fought with them. Shouldn't have tried to walk away or told them that they were smothering him, that they didn’t care about him, that he knew they thought him a failure. He knew it wasn’t true. But back then he had been so angry. So much pent up emotion that his brothers both successively embracing fame and the harsh comments towards him on twitter after that were just the tipping point. And he had lashed out at the wrong people.

Had probably even made them hate themselves. Even more so after the pills. Somehow the song reminded him of all of that. And it was cathartic. Because he knew that they were past all of that now. Even if the scars would take time to fade away.

The last few notes of the song ended and he looked down at his phone, his thumb hovering over the replay button when his stomach gave an excessively loud grumble.

Maybe he could listen to it a 21st time after breakfast. Slowly, he clambered down the branches, shooting an apologetic look towards a mother raven that was glaring at him beadily from its nest. He may or may not have been a little too enthusiastic while listening to MAMA while on top of the tree. And his enthusiasm may or may not have involved a lot of dabbing and shaking the branch. The raven looked unimpressed as he dropped down and he smiled at it sheepishly as he walked away. He was glad it hadn’t decided to gouge his eyes out.

He played ‘first love’ again as he let his feet carry him towards the house through the well-trodden path and hummed along to it gently. The song wasn’t really the best for his deep voice and it was with regret that he didn’t rap it aloud. He had never usually held back but now that he knew the person and how much the brown piano meant to him it seemed like an invasion of privacy to rap it. Call him cheesy, but yeah.

As the house came into view his lips unconsciously turned up in a smile. Unbeknownst to him the place had gone from a house to home in just five days. And he didn’t know why he had ever wanted to back out the first day. True the case was ridiculous, there was a bloodthirsty ghost with dissociative identity disorder and he had almost died twice but within those walls were also his brothers, best friends and … boyfriend. That house was the one that had brought them all back together.

He turned the knob just as the song came to an end and froze at the scene that greeted him.

For the other six were seated in the living room and if that by itself wasn’t enough to have warning bells ringing in his head (because they all actively avoided each other early in the morning till they had food in their stomachs), the bruised eyes and cut lips would have given it away. Not to mention how his boyfriend’s posture clearly screamed defeat.

And let it be known that defeat didn’t look well on Min Yoongi.

Eyebrows drawn together he strode quickly towards them because what had happened? He had barely been away for two hours and he came back to this. As he drew closer he noticed other details. Like how Jimin and Jin weren’t cuddling but his best friend was being restrained by his older brother, the anger radiating from him enough to make anyone cower. Like the way their maknae pointedly refused to look at the rap line, his knuckles bruised and he muttered obscenities under his breath. Like how shame was dripping off Namjoon and Hoseok, his brother’s hands curled up in tight fists.

He looked at the black eye Namjoon ws sporting, at Hoseok’s cut lip and bruise trailing Yoongi’s jaw along with the scratch marks on his arms and then at Jeongguk’s red knuckles and Jimin’s bleeding ones. It wasn’t hard to come to a conclusion after that. Though why? What had happened that had warranted his best friends to go ballistic because the only time he had ever seen the other two this livid was when they had heard of his previous boyfriend cheating on him.

What had happened in the past two hours so much so that they were giving their own boyfriends the stink eye?

It was only when he stepped into the circle did they even realise he was there and the next second he had an armful of an inconsolable Park Jimin who was openly sobbing into his neck mumbling apologies while Jeongguk back hugged him, resting his chin on Taehyung’s other shoulder. And while Taehyung welcomed the attention he still didn’t understand what had happened.

But he also knew that he wouldn’t be getting proper answers out of the two of them. At least for a little while. So he turned to the next best person, his boyfriend, only to see him actively avoiding his gaze. It didn’t help that the other two rappers were doing the same thing so he turned to Jin, the only person left in the room, with a question in his eyes.

His brother looked highly uncomfortable being put on the spot but when Taehyung narrowed his eyes at him he gave in with a sigh.

“I am sorry.”

Huh? Well that wasn’t what he had expected to hear.

“For what Jin hyung?”

Hi brother fidgeted some more.

“For hiding the truth from you Tae-ah. That Yoongi was - is Agust D.”

Taehyung squinted at Jin. What was his brother even going on about?

“Hyung -” he started slowly and then turned to Namjoon hoping that his second brother would at least explain what had happened. Along with the fresh scratches that were lining Jin’s arms, courtesy Jimin no doubt except he still didn’t know why his best friend had even done it in the first place.

Namjoon, unlike Jin, held Taehyung’s gaze as he whispered, “I - I didn’t think about how wrong it was to keep the truth about Yoongi from you Taehyungie. I am so sorry, we should have told you. You deserved the truth - especially the moment you started dating and -”

He trailed off as Jimin lifted his head from Taehyung’s neck to snarl at him, “Of course you should have! You’re supposed to be the responsible older brother!”

Namjoon seemed to shrink on himself and that’s when everything clicked.

Oh dear.

And he couldn’t decide whether to tear up at how his friends were sticking up for him or laugh at how ridiculous the entire situation was. Yoongi spoke up before he could decide though.

“I - I have no excuse Taehyung - Tae - I should have told you. It's such a big part of who I am and I didn’t- didn’t tell you. But I was just scared,” his voice cracked and it took all of Taehyung’s willpower to not throw himself at the other boy right then and wipe his tears away because he knew he needed to let the other get the words out.

“ - I was scared that you would be disappointed because you - you look up to Agust-D so much and I can never be enough - never be the star you want me to be and -”

“Hyung,” he started firmly. He wasn’t going to let his boyfriend go down that lane. He was perfect just how he was and Taehyung was going to do everything to remind him of that.

Yoongi looked up at him questioningly and his eyes looked suspiciously shiny. Jeongguk was growling at him softly from behind and Taehyung softly shushed him.

“Hyung. I am not mad at you. It’s not like you lied to me - “

“I hid it from you Tae -”

“It’s not hiding unless I asked you and you evaded the question - “

“But you asked me and - “

“- you never denied it, choosing to stay silent. I should have understood right then. So you never lied to me.”

“Why are you not mad at me? Why don’t you hate me for lying and then turning out to be a disappointment?”

“Hyung,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument, “Yes it is a lot to process but I think I have always known, you know. I think I just never wanted to accept it. Besides we are allowed to keep secrets. Dating doesn’t mean we have to become one single entity and know everything about each other. You’re allowed your secrets and - ”

He stopped and cocked his head to the side a little contemplatively, “Well of course unless that secret is you cheating on me in which case I would seriously like to know beforehand -”

“I would never - “

“Then its fine. And maybe if you’re going to bury a body or kill somebody maybe tell me beforehand so that I can you know distract the police and dig a hole or something - “ he trailed off when he saw a slight smile make its way onto Yoongi’s lips, a fondly exasperated look on his face.

(Maybe the others looked that way too but at that moment Taehyung had eyes for only his boyfriend.)

(Well he couldn’t really be blamed could he?)

He beamed at him and then said softly, “You’re better than the Agust-D I had conjured up in my head hyung - one who was just a figment of my crazy imagination -”

He saw Yoongi open his mouth to protest but he just plowed up, raising a hand to silence him.

“ - you have so much swag and your raps are yours hyung. They fit you. They are a part of you. But besides that you’re more than the Agust-D in my imagination because you’re warm, kind and have such a huge heart even if you don’t show it. You hold me when I have nightmares, give in to my every whim, make sure everyone around you is healthy even if you’re overworking yourself and know exactly what to do and say to make all of us feel loved hyung. So don’t you dare think I would be disappointed hyung because if I ever catch you thinking that way again I’ll be very very disappointed.”

Yoongi blinked once. And then twice. And then he was stumbling out of the couch, crashing into Taehyung (Jimin barely managed to jump away) as he hugged him tightly, a wetness spreading through the thin fabric of his shirt where Yoongi had buried his head in his chest. Taehyung hummed lightly as he carded the other boy’s hair, rubbing his scalp soothingly. Not ceasing his motions he turned to the rest of them with a raised eyebrow.

“Why would you even think I was mad?"

He was curious. And puzzled. Didn’t they know him well enough?

“TaeTae you were gone for two hours,” Jimin murmured, “You just stood up and vanished after the revelation - “

“No, I didn’t. I left only after we had finished the album by listening to ‘Interlude’ - “

The other boy shot him a pointed look and he winced.

“ - you left without a word Tae. Without. A. Word.”

He placed emphasis on each word and Taehyung squirmed. He hadn't even considered how they would take it. It was just his routine to go on a solitary walk and lose himself to the music for at least an hour or so every time Bangtan released and album or a song and he had just gone on with it. He said as much sheepishly to Jimin who looked torn between wanting to punch him in the face too and crying all over him. He settled for glowering albeit while slipping his hand into Taehyung's free one.

And Taehyung squeezed it, trying to convey the depth of his gratitude for him, for having such by him no matter what all through these years, even if his anger had been misplaced at that moment. And that led him to look the three unfortunate victims of his friend’s wrath.

“But seriously Minnie, were you and Gukkie so mad at them that you punched your own boyfriends as well as… “ he considered Hoseok, “- that soggy single pringle?’

Hoseok flipped him but there was a smug look on his face.

“Make that three soggy single pringles. Or a packet of them,” he said with barely concealed glee.

It took Taehyung a few minutes to understand him. But when he did -

“The two of you did not break up with my brothers,” he whirled on an extremely sheepish looking Jimin and Jeongguk.

“Um -”, Jimin shuffled his feet, “We might have - “

“- overreacted,” the maknae completed in a small voice, “But we were so worried about you hyung and they lied to you and -”

“So you just went and punched the man you worship?”

“I don't worship him any longer hyung, ” he grumbled petulantly at Taehyung and it took him a still quietly sniffling Yoongi to not reach for Jeongguk’s cheeks while cooing. He was so cute when he threw tantrums.

“Yes you still do, silly,” he bopped his nose, “Everything's alright now! Don't you still want him to autograph your albums? Or hear him rap at their concerts while knowing who he is?”

Jeongguk squirmed. Taehyung knew the other boy idolised Agust-D. He had too, but he had also had fantasies of banging him which reminded him of that conversation during lunch - A very mortified whimper left his mouth.

Oh god he had made such an ass of himself. But no, now wasn't the time to think of that and hopefully Yoongi had forgotten -

“So you still want to bang Agust-D?”

Taehyung had never wished death on another person so vehemently. Hoseok who was wearing a shit eating grin on his face. That soggy miserable potato chip. How dare he? Taehyung was so going to end him. Soak him in freezing water and -

“What if we already have Hoseok? You'll go running to that ghost with your tail between your legs?”

Taehyung choked as did Jin and Jeongguk who both looked equally scandalized, though for completely different reasons of course. Jimin and Namjoon on the hand were laughing so hard they had somehow ended up clutching at each other, his brother supporting Jimin from falling down. But best of all was Hoseok who was spluttering and looking increasingly betrayed with every passing second.

“Hyung -” he whined but trailed off when he saw the dismissive look on Yoongi's face and seriously Taehyung loved him so much.

“I do too you know.”

Oops. He had spoken aloud again hadn't he?

Yoongi just poked his side fondly.

“I have loved you ever since you walked out in your brother’s too large Ryan onsie when you were sixteen, drowning in it but still managing to look sexy and cute at the same time as you warned Namjoon that he would be assassinated by his very own best friends if he went to university that day, just because you wanted to have him all to yourself.”

Taehyung blushed, pretty sure that his cheeks were tinted red with embarrassment. It didn't help that everyone else was openly cooing at him, or cackling. Oh gods he had been going through a ridiculously embarrassing emo Shakespeare phase back then. And just his luck his boyfriend had to see him then.

“Stop it hyung,” he mumbled abashed and Yoongi shot him his gummy smile and Taehyung was a goner.

“Anything for you love.”

Well he was officially dead.

(Here lies Kim Taehyung, 20.

Cause of death - Min Yoongi's heart stopping gummy smile (and his very existence).

Will be sorely missed by family, friends(read:shitheads) and a lonely sad pringle.)

“Wait come again? So you're saying Namjoon and Jin hyung were married and that Kook was their kid?”

Taehyung winced at Hoseok’s incredulous tone. Why had he even thought telling them about his crazy dream was a good thing?

“You were the one who wanted me to bounce ideas off you for your assignment! Stop making fun of me.”

“Sorry sorry, but seriously? Your brothers - married?”

He burst out laughing and Taehyung scowled at him, running his fingers over the wall in search of cracks or possible outlines of trap doors.

The other boy just laughed harder. So much so that it brought the rest of the gang up to the attic. He should have honestly stuck to searching with Yoongi. Damn Namjoon. He was the one who had split them all saying they were getting too distracted.

Taehyung and Yoongi were to blame for it. Not that he would ever accept it, but still. Maybe he shouldn't have pounced on Yoongi like that while trying to find clues before but he couldn't help himself. His boyfriend had looked too cute pouting.

So there he was stuck with a disbelieving Hoseok.

He knew his dream had been weird. That didn’t mean he needed confirmation.

“Wait what’s so wrong about that? Everyone marries at one point or the other?”

Taehyung looked at Namjoon with pleading eyes but his brother, being himself and hence dense at times like this, didn’t get it.

On the other hand, Jimin looked positively gleeful.

“So you’re saying you want to marry me hyung?”

Namjoon didn’t even miss a beat.

“Of course love. But not now. Once Bangtan becomes famous, once our music is recognized, once I know I’ll be able to fully support you and your dreams - then. I want to marry you then, if you’ll have me after all that time.”

Taehyung would be lying if he said he hadn’t teared up a little at that.

Jimin blushed bright red and stepped into Namjoon’s embrace, hiding his face in his chest. It was a beautiful moment.

Until Hoseok wolf-whistled.

Taehyung glared at him. The other boy simply shrugged.

“Anyways back to the topic. What’s so weird about that?” Jin asked and Taehyung wished he hadn’t told their resident evil cupid about it.

He looked at his feet embarrassed as said man’s ears perked up and he bounded over to Jin, hanging off his shoulders with a smile worthy of a toothpaste ad.

“Oh, the thing is, in Taehyungie’s dream you and Namjoon had gotten married to each other.”

It took exactly half a minute for the room to descend into chaos.

“Oh my god why even? ”

“TaeTae that’s just - “

“ - Jin hyung of all people Tae?”

“Yah what do you mean by that Kim Namjoon, I’ll have you know I am excellent boyfriend material - “

“ - my older brother goddamit hyung. I don’t want to see you as dating material - “

“More like husband material according to his dream - “

“You’re not helping Jeon Jeongguk - “

“ - against incest damn you!”

Hoseok, the horrible person that he was, grinned throughout the clamour and Taehyung squeezed his eyes shut hoping that if he didn’t see them they would cease to exist. And just like his previous 387 wishes this one wasn’t fulfilled either. But then there was blessed silence and maybe, just maybe the gods were listening?

Yoongi had held up a hand, effectively shutting up all of them and Taehyung gave him a grateful look. Thank god for Min Yoongi and the terror he inspired in people. His boyfriend was truly the best.

“Okay wait so were Joon and Jin hyung brothers in your dream?”

Taehyung gritted his teeth. He was taking everything back. Yoongi was the worst boyfriend amongst all the boyfriends to ever exist.

But he knew they wouldn’t let him leave until he answered all their questions considering how they had made themselves comfortable at different places in the room.

“No, they weren’t brothers. Joon hyung was my brother but not Jin hyung.”

Atleast that was all they wanted to know. He would have had to dig himself a grave had they asked about Jeongguk and -

“Okay wait so what about me? Where was I and who was I dating considering how my boyfriend was married to Joon hyung in it?”

Oh dear.

“You - “

“Wait tell me I was dating Jimin hyung. If I wasn’t allowed those magnificent shoulders I at least want that ass!”

“So you are interested in me Gukkie. Aww! You’re so cute. I knew you had a crush on me!”

“Of course not hyung, just - “

“Yoongi hyung would have knocked your teeth out had you gotten close to Jiminnie Guk.”

Another moment of wretched silence and Taehyung steeled himself for the next outburst. And while he was at it might as well as get the worst out of the way.

“You were their kid Guk. Namjoon hyung and Jin hyung’s kid with Yoongi and Jimin as our best friends and Hoseok hyung was our tour guide in Dubai.”

Taehyung tapped his fingers on the shining tabletop as Jeongguk’s mouth dropped open. Five.

Jimin looked at Yoongi, revolted and maybe slightly appreciatively after that. Four.

Namjoon’s mortification filled the room as his gaze flicked between Jin and Jeongguk. Three.

Yoongi’s brows were puckered as he gave Jimin a once over and shook his head decisively even if his gaze lingered on the Jibooty. Two.

Jin made a pained noise. One.

Hoseok laughed outright. Zero.

“What the fuck Tae hyung? You - you made my - “

“- boyfriend my son! Kim Taehyung you - “

“Argh I can’t believe that brat is my kid!”

“ - not like I want a klutz like you as my dad either - “

“ - you take that back this instant Jeon Jeongguk but seriously Tae, Yoongi hyung? Jeongguk would be better!”

“Yah, what do you mean by that? And for the record I would pick Namjoon over you too though that ass - “

“Yoongi hyung! Even though I would totally pick you over Jin hyung too - “

“I am never going to feed you again Kim Namjoon!””

“ - that’s my boyfriend’s ass so if you could kindly keep your eyes to yourself - “

“Stop it guys!”

Taehyung breathed harshly for a few minutes as their squabbling died down. He was going to murder Hoseok after it was all over. And as though the other man had been able to hear his thoughts he looked over at him and gulped.

Well he had every right to be scared. Taehyung knew he looked terrifying when he was pissed. And he was very very mad right then. They were a on a case, and one where they were no closer to the answer than they had been five days ago, and nobody seemed to care.

“Okay so does anybody here want a change of boyfriends?”

He looked at all of them in turn, internally tuning up his scowl-o-meter by a notch when he faced his very own boyfriend. To be honest he wasn’t actually pissed at Yoongi for admiring the Jibooty because duh, it was the Jibooty - it deserved to be appreciated. And there was actually a period before Jimin when he had assumed that SugaMon was a thing just because of how much like a married couple they were. But nothing like turning the heat up on your own man.

All of them shook their heads quickly, Yoongi more so than the others as he broke away from the circle and came to stand next to Taehyung. He deliberately moved away. Call him sadistic but it was nice seeing Yoongi squirm and look so much like a kicked puppy, considering it was his doing. No one else was allowed to do that to his boyfriend.

“Okay so now that that’s settled can we like get on with trying to find a trapdoor?”

It was funny seeing them all scramble to their feet immediately and flee to their respective assigned rooms. Leaving just him and Yoongi behind. Not sparing his boyfriend a glance he took the stairs two at a time to their room.

Once there he started searching in earnest a second time. He tapped the entire wall painstakingly checking if it sounded hollow, stuck his head out of the window and examined the outer walls too, opened the wardrobe overflowing with his clothes and crawled into it (he wasn’t searching for a snow covered place - he knew very well that this wasn’t the Narnia fandom) but still and even placed one chair on top of another and clambered up them to inspect the ceiling.

Except he may or may not have forgotten how flimsy it was and the entire contraption came crashing down.

Oh dear. Not again.

He closed his eyes, waiting for his tailbone to meet the cold floor.

Except it never did. He fell on something soft, something very much like a bed.

Oh.

Opening his eyes he was met with a terrified looking Yoongi who was panting, his hands clutching at the frame of the bed so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

His gaze travelled downwards towards the marks made by the bed while being dragged.

Oh.

How?

“You idiot! Why would you do that the moment I left the room? You - “

Wait Yoongi hadn’t been there in the room?

He hadn’t even noticed to be honest or remembered that he was supposed to be giving Yoongi the cold shoulder, the case having taken up all of his attention. His boyfriend was still yelling at him and the tremor in his voice made him feel really bad. He hadn’t meant for it to happen. He had just been a little too excited.

“ - couldn’t do it when I was in here? Goddamit Tae I know you’re mad at me. And I am sorry okay! But please please don’t do something as reckless as this. Lash at me. Punch me. I don’t mind another black eye but don’t ever do - do something like this.”

No. No no no.

“Oh hyung I am so sorry. I swear it wasn’t deliberate. I didn't even notice you weren’t there. I acted on an impulse - a little too eagerly. I am not mad at you hyung. I -”

“You don’t need to lie Tae. I understand. I would be mad too if you had said you wanted to date Guk or Hobi and I shouldn’t have said that even for a joke and - “

“Hyung! That was The Jibooty, the miraculous one that makes straight men question their sexuality. You didn’t stand a chance against it! Also for the record I think Namjoon hyung and you would make a great couple too, not that I am letting go of you. But just saying.”

Yoongi opened his mouth. And then closed it. And then opened it again.

“Huh?”

Taehyung clambered off the bed and tugged Yoongi closer to him.

“Hyung I honestly thought you and Namjoon hyung were together when I saw you guys at that one party Jaebum threw and you kept an eye on him throughout making sure he didn’t make a spectacle of himself, even foregoing drinking for that. Even more so when you punched that guy who kept just randomly feeling him up and took him back to your dorm after that.”

“You remember all that?”

There was a red tint to his cheeks. Taehyung shrugged.

“I remember more about you and the things you have done ever since you became my neighbour over the things Jiminie does to be honest hyung. And of course I would remember that day. I had been just planning on knocking a few of his teeth out for laughing at my brother’s philosophical ramblings after all.”

“I didn’t realise - “

“Half the college thought you were dating.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the incredulous expression that crossed Yoongi’s face.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe they thought that. I have always viewed Joonie as my younger brother damn. Though that explains why all the love confessions both of us received stopped at around the same time and why we were even met with a few threats. I - “

“All of your fangirls in school were really pissed hyung,” he said, biting back a grin as his boyfriend grimaced.

“Well in any case I am glad they stopped. Not like they ever stood a chance in front of you…” Yoongi trailed off with a sweet smile on his face and Taehyung flushed, embarrassed.

“Hyung - “

“I am honestly sorry though Tae. I have only ever had eyes for you. I won’t ever cheat on you - not like your asshole of an ex - “

Taehyung shut him up with a kiss, pushing him onto the bed and deepening it. He could still taste Jajangmyeon on his lips and pepper mint and the mattress dipped as he crawled on top of his boyfriend and -

The bed.

He broke off frantically and dropped to his knees in front of the bed, blindly sticking his hand underneath it.

The bed.

His fingers brushed something that felt like a switch. He flicked it. The floor between both their beds started sinking, giving way to a slide.

The bed. The place the ghost had been occupying both times it had been in their bedroom.

He locked gazes with Yoongi. They had found it. Something akin to happiness burst in his stomach. Along with queasiness. This was it. The answers they had been searching for all along. So close.

He stepped closer to the entrance, trying to find out where it led. All he was met with was the pitch black. His stomach did a backflip. There might have been adrenaline coursing through him but that didn’t mean he was brave enough to do it alone.

“Are you coming hyung?”

Yoongi gave him a soft smile.

“You think I am going to let you go alone Tae?”

You think I’ll leave you alone?

And he knew Yoongi would never. Not now. Not ever. He crouched down and let his legs hang, turning to Yoongi, reaching out to him. The other boy took his hand and squeezed it.

“Together hyung?”

“Together,” he confirmed, flashing him a gummy smile and Taehyung let go off the edge.

The tunnel was dusty, cobwebs brushing his face every other second, had too many curves and was a little too dark for his liking, leaving him alone with his thoughts for company. And all that his brain told him was that he had gone and acted impulsively again by just taking off without letting the others know. Something which had been one of the reasons his brothers had started imposing a curfew on him leading to their fall out. He had promised them he would try better.

Maybe he should just stop making promises. He was just going to break them anyway.

At least Yoongi would have told them right? Rig -

A scream sliced through his thoughts.

Well that answered his question. And looked like his boyfriend -

The tunnel gave way to a drop. He landed on his ass, wincing and still unable to make out anything about his surroundings. Still too dark. Something crinkled under him. Yoongi’s screams kept getting nearer and nearer and by the time it struck him that he should move out of the way his boyfriend had already landed on top of him.

Thank god he had been lying flat on his back and in not some other awkward position which would have resulted in broken elbows and ankles. But that didn’t make it any less painful, especially as Yoongi’s wiry frame knocked into his, his elbow poking Taehyung’s stomach (and he wasn’t all abs unlike certain other people he knew *cough* jungkook *cough*) and his skull narrowly missing Taehyung’s nose.

“Oomph, get off hyung.”

“Let me die in peace brat,” Yoongi rasped back, “I have ascended to hell and just made it past Charon’s gates. Let me be judged and thrown into Tartarus in peace.”

Taehyung raised an eyebrow at him judgmentally even though he knew his boyfriend wouldn’t be able to see him, getting on one arm and leaning over him.

“Seriously hyung? Greek mythology now?”

“Ah I see a light,” Yoongi exclaimed dramatically (well as much as his raspy voice would allow) and started caressing Taehyung’s jaw with his thumb, “ Am I looking at the face of an angel? Oh, but that can’t be so - Thanatos maybe then?”

“That’s because you can see the light hyung. I just switched the lights on,” he deadpanned, though he couldn’t help the blush that crept up his cheek especially when Yoongi leaned up and pressed a kiss against his jaw.

“Also for the record I am insulted you just called me death personified.”

“Why love? Your face is the last thing our weary mortal souls will see before we ascend into hell or heaven. Though it is true - we got the longer end of the stick - to die seeing this face - “

Taehyung shut him up with a kiss.

(It was honestly pretty effective. He could see now why all the dramas made use of it, cliche or not.)

His boyfriend was a sap. He loved it. Just as he loved the way his boyfriend’s hands felt around his waist and tangled in his hair, the way he loved playing with Yoongi’s soft mint green hair and -

A cough startled them from their make out session. Taehyung looked up, still dazed. There stood Yeo Wool. But not really. It was Joon Woo. And that cleared the fog in his head.

He clambered to his feet, tugging Yoongi along with him, his boyfriend slipping an arm around his waist. He was thankful for it. The last time they had met was still seared deeply in his mind.

“Naughty naughty kids. Didn’t I tell you to stop being nosy?”

The ghost got up from where it had been sitting cross legged in the middle of a the papers strewn all over the floor. And now that Taehyung was actually looking at the room, a tiny one though, he could see how much of a mess it was. There were papers lying everywhere and not newspapers either but notes. Papers filled with neat handwriting, the words tiny and cramped in black. Only black. And then diagrams, in perfect detail - of what Taehyung didn’t know but they were looked so painstakingly done. That was what had crinkled under him when he had fallen and he felt slightly bad for having ruined them.

There was a lone desk in one corner, a fine coat of dust on it and on top of it were test tubes of all kinds, different intricate machinery and other apparatuses, all looking like they had been hastily shoved there. There was nothing else to be seen - no shelves, not even a chair and most of all no weapons - wait was that blood splattered on one corner of the wall?

But he couldn’t really move to investigate what with the ghost drifting closer. They kept taking a step backward for every step it took forward until Taehyung’s back met solid wall and he knew they were done for.

He stuck his hand into his pocket hoping against all odds that there was at least the salt shaker. Nothing. There was nothing. In their haste to explore the place they had forgotten to bring the necessary items. He cursed his impulsiveness with every passing second. Why couldn't they have just waited for the others to come? Why did he have to go do that?

The ghost seemed to realise they were both empty handed and its sneer widened. In the dim light it looked positively maniacal.

Yoongi squeezed his waist once reassuringly and Taehyung was pretty sure he must have heard how fast his heart was hammering against his chest. Had it been a mortal enemy they were against he was pretty sure they would have at least have had a chance. But against a ghost, what chance did they have really?

Against death, do we really stand a chance?

They were going to die, simple as that.

It was ironic really. How both of them had craved death at one point but the moment they had found a reason to live they were going to die.

He let out a sharp bitter laugh.

They were going to die because there was no way out and the trap door had sealed up on itself with no switch in si -

There. Across the room, exactly above the table. It was a switch, one so similar to the one he had flicked on top. It had to be the way out. Except there was no way in hell both of them were getting out.

But one of them could.

Taehyung took a deep steadying breath.

He could do this. For Yoongi - for the man whose songs inspired so many people to hold on, to live; for the man who had been with his brother through everything; for the man he loved.

But before he could step forward, Yoongi’s grip on his waist loosened and then he was being shoved to the side, towards the switch, his boyfriend throwing the last of the salt he had on the ghost and distracting it by darting to the other side.

Time slowed down.

He saw how the salt barely did any damage to the ghost except to enrage it further. He saw its mouth pull down into a scowl and it darting forward towards Yoongi. He saw it grab Yoongi’s wrist even as his boyfriend locked eyes with him, his gaze pleading as it flicked between the switch and the trap door. He heard him try to keep in his screams as the flesh where it touched him started to melt and the acrid smell of burnt skin filled the room.

He tried to move. He really did. Because he didn’t want his boyfriend’s sacrifice to go waste. But he couldn’t. Couldn’t leave him helpless like that. Couldn’t leave him behind.

“Stop it!”

The ghost didn’t let go of Yoongi’s wrist but it did look up at him, maybe even slightly confused as though it couldn’t figure out why for the love of all things holy comprehend why Taehyung was still there. Yoongi’s shoulders however slumped, all the fight leaving him when he realised Taehyung wasn’t going to leave.

And how could he when he knew Yoongi wouldn’t leave him behind had their roles been reversed.

They were both fools. Fools for each other.

“You said you wanted us to find out how you died so that you could move on. Then why do you keep stopping us everytime we get close?”

The ghost looked at him contemplatively but finally let go of Yoongi’s wrist and his boyfriend collapsed onto the floor cradling his hand. The sight made Taehyung want to run towards him but he stayed rooted to his spot.

Get it’s attention away from Yoongi.

“Did I now? But that wasn’t me though was it?”

He hated it’s condescending tone. He hated everything about it.

“Don’t play your twisted games with me. You begged us, even if it wasn’t you - it was your other personality and we agreed. That’s the only reason we stayed. You have no right to hurt us.”

“But I am a ghost. What do you want me to do if not haunt you?”

No. He wasn’t going to lose his cool. He wasn’t.

“Do you want me to help you or not? Because if you would rather prefer rotting away here I don’t care. Just let us leave and we’ll never come back. Because that’s what this is right? You don’t want anybody to uncover you dirty secrets right?”

The mocking look on its face gave way to a furious one. Taehyung would have shrunk back in fear if he hadn’t already been so done with everything. Had he not embraced the fact that they would most probably leave the place dead than alive.

“Well then, if that’s what you want to do - find out how I died, why don’t you get on with it,” it growled, its eyes two endless pits of fire. “After all your boyfriend doesn’t really have much time left.”

His eyes widened.

What?

“What?’

“I said get on with finding out how I died since you seem so convinced the answer lies in this room. Go on.”

“You- You’ll let us leave if I do?”

This was too good to be true.

“Yes. Though you have just an hour - “

An hour was more than enough. He just needed five minutes to flip the switch and help Yoongi back to the house, the case be damned. Now if the ghost only left -

“ - I’ll keep holding your boyfriend’s hand throughout the hour to make sure you don’t get up to any nasty business.”

What?

No. No no. This -

“I need Yoongi to help me. I can’t work alone. There are too many papers to cover and -”

“You’re telling me you can’t do it?”

The ghost cocked its head.

“Well I’ll just kill him then and be done with it.”

“No.”

He could do this. He was Kim Taehyung, a detective for christs sake. He could do this.

“No. I - I’ll do it. Giv - give me an hour.”

The evil smile on its face did nothing to help calm his panic. It moved towards the panel above Yoongi’s head and ran its ghostly fingers over it. The section of the wall slid away to reveal a digital clock. It pressed a few buttons until the numbers 00:00 were flashing on it.

Bright red numbers.

Similar to the ghost’s eyes.

He hated them.

The timer started.

00:01.

He stumbled towards the table. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the ghost float towards his boyfriend and grab his wrist.

The other one. Not the already burnt one and Yoongi screamed again.

Taehyung blinked back tears, his throat clogging up as he grabbed a handful of papers and started looking through them.

01:00.

Yoongi screamed again and he looked up instinctively to see the ghost grabbing his ankle, the skin bubbling. The skin on his wrists was charred so badly. The two circles looked like handcuffs.

He could see the pain in Yoongi’s eyes as he met them. And yet his boyfriend tried to give him an encouraging smile that turned into a wince when the ghost pressed harder.

“Why are you doing this?” he croaked out, “I am searching aren’t I? You gave me an hour!”

He didn’t care that there were tears running down his cheeks. That he probably did not look like anyone who had the right to bargain.

All he received in return was a cool smile.

“Incentive boy. My parents taught me that people worked better when they had a reason to do it. I think your boyfriend’s pretty screams are yours. Imagine how pretty he would look screaming when my hands are wrapped around his throat? A collar, yeah?”

Taehyung bit his lips as Yoongi screamed again, his voice already hoarse as the ghost’s wrapped a hand around his bicep. Squeezing back his tears he turned back to the papers.

He needed to solve the case. Once and for all.

The timer kept ticking.

05:00.

There wasn’t much time left.

Chapter Text

There had never been a moment before in Taehyung’s life when he had doubted the major he had chosen. Not when he had been seven years old and his friends had dreamt of working at hospitals and constructing houses. Not when he had been twelve, flailing into adolescence with too many limbs and a voice that had not yet broken and everyone told him he would never make it. Not when he had been seventeen and his parents threatened to disown him if he pursued a career in acting, his only support being his two older brothers against the harsh cold world. Drama, theatre - it had always been his life.

But right then, for the first time in his life, as he stared at the figures and diagrams and words scrawled across the sheets in his hand, he regretted not picking the sciences even as a side - regretted not double majoring and taking advantage of his smartness to spend his time to learn more. Regretted not listening to his parents because maybe then, just maybe he would have solved it by then and Yoongi wouldn’t have had to suffer.

He exhaled harshly.

No point going down that path.

Looking at the words scrawled over the paper, he wondered if he should have at least learnt a few extra languages - like Greek. Latin or evil-ghost-speak for starters.

Because he could really use some help in that department with how there were papers, papers and more papers throughout the room - no order to them.

(It wasn’t like he would have figured things out in five minutes had they been in order, but still.)

His boyfriend’s ragged breathing reached his ears and he hastened in his steps, dropping the sheaves of paper down carelessly. They fluttered to the ground like autumn leaves. He wished he could set them ablaze. Maybe if they went up in flames the ghost would feel the pain he was feeling, every whimper escaping Yoongi’s lips ripping him apart.  

The table, cluttered with instruments was his only hope at that point. Looking at the papers was akin to wasting time - that one thing he didn’t have.

The red digits on the wall flashed 10:00 and he suppressed the urge to break the clock with a test tube just for the sake of it.

His gaze, unbidding, trailed down to where Yoongi was lying limp on the ground, the ghost floating nearby, a sadistic smile on its face. It had come to the conclusion a few minutes ago that it was much more fun catching Yoongi unawares and making him scream - to give him a break from the torment and the moment a false sense of hope had settled itself in his chest to rip the illusion harshly from under his feet. He supposed it saw it as an added bonus that every scream had Taehyung flinching. The sick fuck up. As though it could hear him cursing it, it dived for Yoongi’s neck and his boyfriend shot up, eyes flying open, a scream ripping its way out.

Taehyung forced himself to block it out. Forced himself to not drop to his knees and crawl towards his boyfriend. Or try to strangle the ghost while hurling all its test tubes at it and ripping apart the papers. Because none of that would help.

Blinking back his tears harshly, he grabbed the test tubes on the table, wiping off the layer of dust on them. He had no idea what he was doing - searching for hidden messages maybe? It pained him to admit it but he didn’t know.

He called himself a private detective and to some extent, had always taken a certain pride in knowing that he had always been able to help all those who stepped foot into his apartment - but then all his previous cases had been petty college fights and drunken spats between lovers with the occasional missing stray cat. And while he had always solved them all, a bowl of tuna couldn’t solve this one.

The ghost had dropped Yoongi again, a sneer stretched across its lips and was seated on the floor,  cross-legged beside him, a blood red apple in one hand. It sunk a ghostly nail into the skin and dragged it down, gaze never leaving Taehyung. And in front of his eyes the apple bled. Bright red droplets of blood slid down and landed on the floor.

Taehyung blanched.

More so when the ghost’s gaze flickered between the skin of the apple and Yoongi’s fallen figure and his pale pale skin.

No.

Illusions, he tried telling himself. It was all simply an illusion - but it was hard to trust his mind, hard to see sense through the irrational fear that had seized his heart.

The numbers on the wall flashed 12:54 and he scrambled back towards the table.

Pushing the neatly arranged apparatus’ to the side he ran his fingers over the table top. There were scratches, but that was all they were - not secret messages.

Yoongi screamed again and Taehyung spun around, his elbow knocking down a test tube, to see the ghost hold one of his boyfriend’s limp hands in its. Taehyung saw red. Yoongi’s beautiful fingers - the ones that could weave magic with a piano.

The test tube hit the ground and shattered.

The ghost let go off Yoongi’s hand as though burned, flinching.

Strange.

He filed the information for later and then scoffed. Because what did he even mean by later? There was no later. There was only right then with the ghost and his wounded boyfriend and  a secret room full of papers that made no sense.

Nothing made sense.

Yoongi flinched and Taehyung curled his hands into fists so hard that his nails bit into his palm drawing blood. But not even the pain helped keep away the sense of helplessness that was settling on him like a fog.

Nothing did.

He dropped to his knees, scrabbling past the papers strewn, hoping to find a trap door, or a secret compartment or some kind of message. Something to show him the way forward - to help him solve the mystery. His gut told him that this was where everything had happened even if the body had been found elsewhere. He just knew.

His nails scraped wood, and he crawled forward, tapping every single panel, running his fingers over the cracks, going so far as to slam his hand down on them. They creaked but none of them gave way. It was just solid floor.

24:35

Wetting his lips, Taehyung got up and made his way to the walls. He tapped at the tile closest to him. Solid wall. He moved a bit and repeated it. On and on he went - painstakingly covering every inch of all four walls and with every tile that he covered, the flame within him flickered and dimmed. Everyone else he loved was just a floor above but suddenly they seemed too far away - their faces blurring and merging. Because even if he wasn’t sure of anything else, he knew this - he was either leaving the room with Yoongi or not at all. Not even if the ghost let him go.

Yoongi let out another broken cry and Taehyung could no longer stop the tears from spilling. It hurt, so bad. It felt like his heart was getting branded. Every jagged breath that Yoongi struggled to take, every time he cried out in pain, all his broken whispers  - it was killing Taehyung. Slowly, piece by piece.

He rested his forehead against the cool wall and begged the deities above to help not him, but the man he loved. Because it would have been easier to bear the actual pain, reversing their roles but this - this phantom pain - he couldn’t. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he laboured on - still tapping at the walls. But when the last stretch came, and all he was being met with was dead ends and a no longer moving boyfriend, the flame flickered out. Hope - he didn’t know what that was.

“The table,” his boyfriend rasped and Taehyung jumped before whirling around on his boyfriend with questioning eyes, his heart thudding fiercely again.

“What do you mean, hyung?”

“Push th - the table,” he said, the words followed by a coughing fit that wracked through his entire petite frame. The ghost looked on, smugly.

Taehyung scurried towards the table and rested his palms flat on the top. Bracing himself, he shoved. The test tubes over balanced and crashed onto the floor, shattering on impact, the broken pieces flying into the air. A few of them cut his skin but he didn’t really notice because holy fuck there was a safe embedded on the wall on the other side.   

And for the first time that night since they had gotten themselves trapped in that accursed room, he allowed himself to dream about getting out - to dream about Jin’s warm embraces, Namjoon’s understanding presence, Jimin’s cuddles, Hoseok’s liveliness and Jeongguk’s fierce protectiveness.

He knelt beside the safe, a new burst of adrenaline coursing through him and looked at the keypad - four digits.

He could do this. He totally could.

His fingers flew across the keypad, keying in random combinations. The light didn’t turn green.

Yoongi shrieked, his voice barely a rasp now and Taehyung’s hands trembled over the numbers. Who was he kidding? Of course he couldn’t do it. There were over ten thousand combinations. It would take him ages to go through all of them.

He slid down to the floor, resting his elbows on his knees and hung his head.

Their way out - so close but yet so far away.

It was so cruel - to dangle hope like that in front of him just to snatch it away the next second. HIs fingers loosely curled around the handle of the safe and he gave it a sharp tug, unleashing all his frustrations on it - might as well as try to break it.

It gave way.

The safe opened smoothly almost as though it hadn't been even properly locked in the first place.

He heard the ghost cackle from behind him as a piece of paper fluttered to the floor from where it had probably been jammed to keep the door open.

The sadistic piece of shit.

Calling the ghost a few other choice names under his breath, he took in the contents of the safe. There were a bunch of papers inside - papers of various shapes and sizes, all common in that they looked hastily torn out from various books and were filled with words in an impatient scrawl. Almost illegitimate even - as though whoever had written it had done it in a rush, hands unsteady. Hunted.

The fear seemed tangible and just holding the papers made him terrified.

He turned them over in his hands and took in the places where the ink had smudged, the acid-eaten edges and red splatters - blood? It made him feel queasy because he knew that what he was holding wasn’t sheets of formulae or experiments - oh no, this was something else - something he wasn’t sure he wanted to know about.

But he didn’t really have a choice, did he? Because those papers held the answer to their case - he just knew it in his gut.

At least they were neatly ordered and grabbing them all, he shuffled over to where Yoongi lay, though there was finally a spark in his eyes. The ghost was staring at him and the papers suspiciously but it moved when he approached.

He settled down cross-legged next to his boyfriend, wincing when he saw the burns and the skin turning red and boiling, up close. It had to hurt like a bitch.

Yet his boyfriend smiled at him gently and that was what did it. The flood gates opened. He shoved the papers into the ghost’s chest and curled up into Yoongi’s side, mindful of his wounds and cried. Shed ugly fat tears as he bawled outright because it fucking hurt to see his boyfriend so battered. Tore him apart to see him wince with every moment, to see him bear the pain with a smile even if all he wanted to do was scream. And he had been so scared even if he hadn’t chosen to acknowledge it all this while.

He cried without stopping, not caring that the ghost was staring between the papers and him disbelievingly, not taking into account that the numbers on the wall that were flashing 59:59. A gentle hand caressed his head, brushing his bangs out of his hand and then there was a gravelly voice in his ear whispering softly, telling him that he was alright - that they both were. And he let it all out.

When he finally lifted his head it was to a pained look flashing across the ghost’s face, the papers in its hands. The scene in front of them slowly flickered until the setting changed.

Taehyung instinctively pressed himself closer into his boyfriend’s side and grabbed his hand - the unharmed one.

It was the same room - but not really. Because Yeol Woo was seated at the table, a rosy glow to his skin. The papers that had been scattered carelessly across the floor were in neat bundles on the table where the other man worked, a slight draft blowing through.

He turned his gaze slightly and saw the ghost floating beside him  - unconcealed misery on its face as it saw the scene before them and Taehyung knew that they were in the past - that this was nothing more than the ghost’s memory of the last two months leading to its death - finally in its possession again.

Yeol Woo in the memory was working hard, his moments quick and precise as he mixed chemicals and switched apparatuses, mumbling formulae under his breaths and quickly jotting them down. And then after almost five minutes he broke into a radiant smile - one that made him look his age and really handsome. One that made him look human.

He threw his head back and laughed, tripping over his feet in his haste to get to the trap door. His happiness was contagious and Taehyung found himself smiling along even though he didn’t know why. But the ghost - there was pure terror in its eyes as it threw out a hand as though in warning and the lightness of the atmosphere gave way to chill.

The scene rippled and once again they were in the same room except this time Yeol Woo seemed a little more frazzled and was pacing the length of the floor, muttering to himself. It was evident that there was something weighing him down. His eyes darted between the door and the papers and he ran his hand through his head in frustration. And then he turned to where the ghost stood, almost as though he could see them and asked clearly, “Should I do it?”

The ghost stared back with tear filled eyes even as it said desperately, “Say yes, do it you fool!”

But Yeol Woo simply quirked an eyebrow, a sense of determination creeping over him.

“I can’t do it. I can’t give them the formula - I am not going to help them take innocent lives for their twisted goals and greed for power.”

The ghost let out an inhuman wail as the scene changed again.

The Yeol Woo in front of them this time was barely recognizable - his beard had grown out all scruffy and there were dark circles under his sunken eyes. He looked terrible, and as he turned towards them, Taehyung could see a hunted look in his eyes, almost like he knew what was going to happen.

He was ripping papers and hastily scribbling over them, hands trembling, his eyes occasionally darting across the room.

“They’re going to kill me,” he whispered to himself, over and over again as he hands flew over the paper, the scratch of the pen on paper the only other noise that broke the god awful oppressive silence that settled over the room.

Taehyung squeezed Yoongi’s hand a little more for comfort.

Yeol Woo’s despair was stifling and he really didn’t want to watch - to see his life getting snuffed out but he found he couldn’t tear his eyes away even if he tried. Beside them the ghost had gone still.

The other man hastily got up, shoving the table to the side like it weighed nothing and gathered the papers on the table, stuffing them in haphazardly. He wedged a tiny slip of paper in between to make sure it didn’t fully close before restoring the table to its original position.

And then he returned to the chair and for the first time there seemed to be a sense of peace about him. Like he knew what was going to happen and he had accepted it with open arms. Like he had achieved what he had wanted to do and could hence sleep, peacefully, for eternity.

His fingers played idly with the test tubes in front and Taehyung sucked in his breath.

Boom.

The noise had his heart thudding because holy shit had that been a bomb and why was it so loud?

He had no idea where it had happened and apparently Yeol Woo didn’t either but he looked terrified now, his hands covering his ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise. His eyes were darting around the room frantically and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead and it was all so puzzling. Because agreed, the bomb had been loud but this...

And then the second one sounded and Yeol Woo flinched, whimpering, tears in his eyes. The ghost was cowering beside them too, misery radiating off it in waves.

“Phonophobia,” it said softly and Taehyung started. The fear of loud noises. No wonder. He looked at the man in front of him more sympathetically.

The third explosion was the loudest. And it was the one that killed him.

Taehyung could see exactly when the life got snuffed out of him - when his heart couldn’t take the strain ay longer and just stopped. He could see Yeol Woo’s soul separate, leaving behind a mere husk slumped onto the table and he felt a wetness on his cheeks.

Tears. For a man who had done nothing wrong in his life but had been tortured throughout - who had fought till the end in spite of how bleak his circumstances had been; who had been locked up in a gilded cage, death finally setting him free.

He stood frozen as the scene dissipated bringing them back to reality and a paper strewn room where a tortured soul had died.

Yoongi squeezed his hand slightly. Comfort. A reassurance that they were alive. That he wasn’t alone. He was glad.

“Well looked like you were right all along,” a voice said pleasantly by the side and Taehyung snapped his neck towards it. Yeol Woo. Not his other personality. The ghost of the man they had just seen die a few seconds ago. “I did die of a cardiac arrest.”

“It was murder,” he muttered, anger seeping into his voice because it was so unfair. “Cold-blooded murder.”

“Who?” Yoongi asked, “Who did this to you?”

His gaze was soft when he faced Yeol Woo and the other man winced.

“My foster parents,” he started, a far away look in his eyes, “There was a formula - I won’t tell you what it was. But I’ll tell you that it had the potential to wipe out entire cities.”

He hummed and they waited. Taehyung could piece together what might have happened after but he knew Yeol Woo needed to get it out. If he ever wanted to be at peace again.

“They weren’t terrible in the beginning no matter what they did to me. They had a line they toed but never crossed. So I told them. That was my mistake. I told them and they crossed the line. I refused.”

There was a tightness to his voice and Taehyung instinctively moved towards Yeol Woo. No one deserved what had been done to him. Not even though the ghost had tried to kill him one too many times to count. He wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy. The ghost offered him a gentle smile at the action.

“But why would they kill you instead of torture it out of you?” Yoongi asked again, an apologetic look in his eyes at the question.

“Ah, I believe they thought I would give in after the explosions. They just didn’t expect my heart to give out,” he said, a sad smile playing on his lips, “That and the fact that I had just threatened to expose them and all the terrible things they had done because enough was enough.”

Together they stood in silence for a few minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

“I still can’t believe they mur - murdered you,” Taehyung finally broke the silence.

“I can.”

There was a finality in the ghost’s tone.

“Are you going to take revenge on them?”

His boyfriend was really asking the hard-hitting questions right then.

“Would you let me take revenge on them?” Yeol Woo shot back, his eyes lingering over Yoongi’s charred skin.

“That would be your call. I,” Taehyung nudged him in the ribs, “- we have nothing to do with it.”

And they meant it. If Yeol Woo chose to extract revenge, or justice for what was done to him, Taehyung wouldn’t stop him. It was only fair that the people who had done this to him got a taste of their own medicine.

Yeol Woo stared at them contemplatively, “I knew I had done right by picking you guys to help me. But no, revenge seems too cliche. What - you expect me to go whisper in their sleep and scare them to their deaths while smearing fake blood all over myself and modulating my voice into a rasp?”

He raised an eyebrow at them.

“Isn’t that what ghosts do?” Taehyung challenged back and Yeol Woo broke out into his first real smile.

“Let me paraphrase - I am not going to take my revenge because you will do it for me.”

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“I stayed behind because I didn’t remember. But now I do. So I don’t have a reason to linger behind any longer. And the thing is - I can leave peacefully because I know you wouldn’t leave it just like this. I know you’ll do everything you can do to bring me justice because that’s just who you are and that’s enough for me. The fact that someone would stand up for me - that by itself is enough - no matter whether you win or lose.”

He would be lying if he said he didn’t tear up a little at that.

“Don’t say it like that - it’s nothing - “

“Taehyung. It’s everything to me. I never had anyone stick up for me, get angry for me, sympathise with me from when I was old enough could understand things. You guys - in spite of me hurting - “ Yeol Woo shook his head distressed, “ - no, hurt is a very mild word for what I did to you guys over the course of a week but yet the moment you figured out I was murdered you just put all that past you and got angry on my behalf. And when you can forgive something like that, I am pretty sure I can forgive my foster parents too.”

“But they would have hurt innocent people!”

“Well then I am going to trust you guys to bring them to justice and let karma take its course.”

They stood at an impasse there, his frustration not mollified by the gentle smile on Yeol Woo’s face.

He had been murdered. How could he take it so lightly?

He didn’t realise he was crying again until his vision blurred and he tasted something salty on his lips.

“Hey Tae, don’t cry,” Yeol Woo murmured, hovering close, “I am at peace Tae. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life plotting another person’s death. I have enough red on my ledger - even if it’s indirect. I don’t need any more there.”

He sniffed, harshly wiping his tears away.

“‘M not crying. A speck of dust fell into my eyes,” he mumbled.

Yoongi and Yeol Woo shared smiles over his head and he scowled at them, stomping his feet petulantly.

“Okay handsome, you’re not crying,” Yeol Woo winked at him and Yoongi spluttered.

Taehyung just cried harder and this time he didn’t even deny it.

“So you’re going to disappear now?” he hiccuped, a few minutes later when he had finally calmed down.

“Yeah, Taehyung, Yoongi. It’s time for me to leave now. But before that - “ Yeol Woo held out his hand for Yoongi’s.

His boyfriend stared bewildered but there was not an ounce of distrust in his eyes when he extended his hand and Taehyung loved him all the more for it.

Yeol Woo ran his fingers over all the places his alter personality had burnt his boyfriend and the burns vanished, leaving behind only very faint scars.

“Oh” a faint gasp of surprise left Yoongi’s lips, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Yeol Woo shrugged.

“It’s the least I can do, especially considering how I almost killed Taehyung twice and tortured you. I am sorry guys,” he murmured, eyes downcast and Taehyung threw all caution to the wind as he stepped into the other’s personal space and hugged him.

It felt like hugging a block of ice, ice that seemed to slip through your fingers, but he held on and was rewarded with hesitant arms coming around to hold him close.

“It’s alright hyung, we forgive you. It’s alright,” he reassured him gently and they stayed that way for a few moments.

Barely an hour ago he had hated the ghost, but this - this wasn’t the same person. This was somebody who had been a victim of circumstances - who had had nobody by his side - no loving older brothers, no doting best friends. No perfect boyfriend.

And when he searched for even a few dregs of anger within himself after that, he wasn’t been able to find it.

So he let go.

When they finally stepped apart, Yeol Woo was already fading.

“We’ll bring you justice, Yeol Woo - ssi,” Yoongi said, determined and Taehyung nodded along.

“It’s a promise hyung.”

Yeol Woo smiled at them.

“I have complete faith in the two of you. After all you make a formidable pair.”

Taehyung blinked back tears.

He disappeared, one part after the other and finally when all that was left of him was just the faintest trace of his outline, he murmured, “Don’t ever fall out of love, you two.”

And then he was gone, leaving him alone with his boyfriend, an empty heart, the notes of a frantic dying man and a room strewn with scientific papers.

He clutched the papers closer to his chest and turned to face Yoongi.

He was exhausted.

“We got through it Tae-ah. You saved me,” he said softly, brushing back Taehyung’s hair.

“No. We saved each other hyung,” he replied decisively before stepping up into Yoongi’s embrace, resting his head atop his shoulder and breathing in his scent.

There was still a long way to go. He knew that. It would take time to try to bring matters to a close and even then he wasn’t even sure if they would ever end up getting justice for Yeol Woo. The laws were sketchy that way. But things would be alright. Because he wasn’t alone. Because together - with his family, he knew he would make it through.

They would make it through.

And that was all that mattered.

Right then, that was all that mattered.

The others were seated around the dining table when they clambered up the tunnel. There was a huge tub of chocolate ice cream in front of Jin, though judging by its half empty state, his oldest brother had been stress-eating. The others were either looking at the tub longingly or squabbling over a packet of chips.

They froze the moment they caught sight of Taehyung and Yoongi, expressions comical and hands outstretched.

“Ah, I told you they were having sex!” Hoseok crowed triumphantly, finally breaking the silence from beside Jin and Taehyung stared at him, confused.

What the fuck?

“Was it so terrible and traumatising the ghost actually fled back to hell?” Jeongguk asked offhandedly, grabbing the packet of chips Jimin had managed to steal while everyone was distracted, his expression disturbingly similar to that of an interviewer. Jimin pouted and made grabby hands for it but their youngest efficiently held it out of his reach all the while still looking at them.  

Taehyung spluttered as did Yoongi.

“Well I mean I can no longer sense its malevolent presence in the house which means its gone for good which brings us back to the original question - was the sex that terrible?”

“Kook stop saying words like that!” Jimin muttered, despairingly, though he was still eying the packet, “You’re still a fetus!”

Jeongguk threw a chip at him, making a face.

“I’ll have you know that I am taller than you, Jimin. ”

“I was born in Busan first you brat!” Jimin snapped, lunging at Jeongguk.

Taehyung looked at his brothers, bewildered.

Jin winked at him and shoved a hand mirror in his face.

Oh . Their dresses were crumpled and they both looked so spent, exhausted and the places were Taehyung had grabbed onto Yoongi’s hands not so gently were bruising.

Oh.

But still -

“Well cough up the money kids,” Jin said smugly, looking at Namjoon and a struggling Jimin who was grappling with Jeongguk on the floor, half-straddling him, the packet of chips now safely in Hoseok’s custody.

Namjoon glared at Jin but begrudgingly brought out his wallet and tossed it to him. His oldest brother flashed him a saccharine sweet smile and he started counting the notes.

Taehyung was really really confused now.

“What the fuck is happening here?” Yoongi growled from beside him.

“We bet on whether or not the two of you were getting it on when you went missing,” Namjoon answered sulkily, “I still can’t believe you defiled my younger brother in a house with a sick ghost, you asshole.”

“Yah Kim Namjoon - “

“I think the defiling happened the other way around, Joon,” Hoseok cut him, an evil glint in his eyes and Taehyung desperately began to wish that he was back in the room with the ghost because fuck dying would be better than listening to whatever would come out of Hoseok’s mouth next.

“I mean I am pretty sure hyung’s voice seems a little too raspier than usual right?” He winked at Jimin lewdly. His best friend grinned back from where he had settled back on Jeongguk’s chest, holding the younger down.

“Of course Hobi hyung. Must have screamed a lot. Though who would have thought that the great, “ he drew exaggerated air quotes, “Min Yoongi to be so weak for TaeTae.”

“But seriously were you guys reenacting a Shakespearen porno or something for the ghost to flee the way it did?” Jeongguk asked, pushing Jimin off him unceremoniously and moving towards Yoongi. He brought a hand up to cup his the rapper’s face and Yoongi blanched, moving back quickly. But that didn’t really deter their youngest.

“Ah Yoongi hyung, my Romeo, thou rosy lips were made to be tasted,” he moaned, his eyes closed in what Taehyung assumed was supposed to be an imitation of his own voice and Jin smacked him upside the head though the tears streaming down his cheeks took away the bite to it.

Taehyung knew he looked like a fucking tomato right then because what the fuck even.

And he would have gotten pissed at their antics except he knew that they were acting like goofs in order to take away the tension of the situation. He could sense the underlying nervousness in their words. They were acting like goofs because they were scared but seemed to have realised that he didn’t really want to be coddled right then which was surprising considering he had realised that himself just a few minutes ago.

He didn’t want them to treat him like he was fragile right then or spring questions upon him immediately and they had known. And when he felt the tension leaving his muscles he felt like hugging each one of them.

Gods he loved them all so much.

Even if they enjoyed embarrassing the fuck out of him.

He cracked a smile at them as Yoongi wrapped his arm around his waist, a fond expression on his face.

His brothers flashed him gentle, understanding smiles.

“You want to tell us what happened?” Jin asked him, pulling out a chair and patting the seat.

Taehyung nodded slightly, disentangling himself from Yoongi and sat down. His boyfriend settled in the seat next to him, taking his hand in his and rubbing it soothingly.

He took a deep breath and began to tell them what had happened.

By the time he was done he had Jin clinging onto one of his arms, Jimin sobbing into the crook of his neck and Jeongguk cursing the ghost while prowling around the table with a frying pan. Namjoon and Hoseok were smothering Yoongi with the latter tearing up every time he spotted the faint burn marks in spite of Yoongi’s assurances that they didn’t hurt.

“Why didn’t you wait for us?” Jin hiccupped, wiping his tears with the back of his hand, “Why didn’t you?”

Taehyung rubbed his arm soothingly, guilt eating him whole. He knew he should have but then he had always had issues with thinking things through.

“Hyung you are supposed to be the voice of reason,” Namjoon berated Yoongi, though the way his voice trembled showed that he wasn’t really mad at the older rapper.

His boyfriend winced.

“That’s true Joon-ah, but Taehyung - he makes me forget who I am.” He rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly and Taehyung would be lying if he said his heart didn’t do a backflip at that even though it was cheesy as fuck.

A blush stained his cheeks as he turned to stare at his boyfriend, pretty sure he was making heart eyes at the moment. He couldn’t care less.

“I love you, hyung,” he said, meeting his eyes and Yoongi leaned towards him, none too gently shoving Jimin’s head out of the way and captured his lips over his best friend’s shoulder, breathing out, “I love you too.”

Jimin squawked in protest and tried to push them apart but Taehyung barely noticed it, his eyes fluttering close. He was floating, a sense of rightness to it - Yoongi’s chapped lips on his, the smell of smoke clinging onto him but also his familiar musky scent underneath all that.

He parted his lips gently and Yoongi’s tongue slipped in and - a blast of cold air hit him right in the face.

“What the fuck, Namjoon!” Yoongi snarled and Taehyung opened his eyes, staring in confusion at the scene before him because hadn’t he been kissing his boyfriend?

Namjoon was holding Yoongi by the shoulders, his fingers digging into the older man’s skin.

“You’re traumatising my boyfriend,” his brother snapped, indicating a wide-eyed Jimin in Taehyung’s lap, “Also I would rather not see you devour my brother. Keep it to your room you animal.”

Jimin got up from Taehyung’s lap, his knees almost giving way under him.

“Oh gods -” he wailed, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“Yah, you have walked in on me making out so many times. Stop acting like a drama queen Jiminie,” Taehyung muttered, refusing to meet any of their eyes.

“Well I wasn’t in between the two of you when you made out,” he shrieked, taking a step back, “And while you might be into threesomes or voyeurism, I am most definitely not into that you kinky bastard.”

“Park Jimin - “

“Don’t Park Jimin me! If you’re that desperate ask Jeongguk, he’s the sex addict here - “

“Just because I enjoy making love to my boyfriend - “

“Making love my ass. What you guys do is definitely not that.”

“You stay out of this Kim Namjoon, you’re dating a twelve year old - “

“Seokjin hyung I am not twelve!”

“Okay shut up all of you!”

The room fell silent and Taehyung resisted the urge to grin like a love-sick fool at how they were all staring at Yoongi, looking properly scolded. Let it be known that Min Yoongi was a man of many talents.

“I am starving” he muttered, rubbing his face, “Let’s eat for gods sake”

“But you’re the reason this started hyung -” Jeongguk whined but shut up immediately when Yoongi shot him a withering look.

Nobody argued after that.

They were standing in front of the police station. Again. The last time they had been there they had just spoken to the ghost and he had been crushing on Yoongi. Oh, how things had changed.

“Are we going to keep up the act, Watson?” he asked Yoongi with a grin, referring to when the other had told the officer that he was touched in the head and that they were boyfriends.

Yoongi flushed, “You’re never going to let me live down to it are you?”

“Nah, you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Yoongi smacked his shoulder in retaliation and stepped into the station.

The prodigy of the National Service Department, Choi Minho, was seated behind the desk, sipping coffee. When he saw them, his eyes lit up.

“Why if it isn’t the great Sherlock Holmes,” he murmured getting up in greeting, a twinkle in his eyes, “To what pleasure do I owe this visit?”

Taehyung was pretty sure the tips of his ears were red.

“It’s regarding the murder of Yeol Woo,” Yoongi spoke up for him, drawing the scientist’s last desperate messages from inside his coat and handed it over to the other.

The officer’s eyebrows furrowed as he took them, his eyes flitting over the contents of each page.

“He had phonophobia. They killed him with three loud explosions when he was working in his secret room because he refused to make them a weapon that would be the ruin entire nations.”

To his credit the officer did even seem surprised at Taehyung’s words. On the contrary, he nodded once, as though this was something he had been expecting all along.

“Do you know why I am here? It’s because they wanted me to keep an eye on the house you guys are staying in,” he started and Taehyung blinked hard.

What?

“Yeah, we have been keeping an eye on Yeol Woo’s step parents for quite some time now. They’re nasty pieces of works except we didn’t really have evidence to make the arrests or bring them in for questioning.”

“Can I ask you what they have done?” Taehyung asked hesitantly.

The officer’s eyes softened, “You’re better off not knowing, Kim Taehyung.”

How the fuck did he know their names?

“Oh I know all about the seven of you,” he replied with a grin, “We have been keeping tabs.”

Yoongi made an affronted noise, “Isn’t that like illegal or something? Did you watch us through security cams?”

There was a dangerous note to his voice and Minho quickly backtracked, throwing his hands up in surrender.

“Relax, we didn’t do any of that! Just a background check on all of you.That’s it.”

Yoongi didn’t look convinced but he backed down and Taehyung placed a hand on his arm, soothingly.

“You need to arrest them, officer. They murdered Yoel Woo,” he spoke up.

Minho nodded, “We don’t have enough evidence to throw them in jail or sentence them but yes, this is enough to bring them in for questioning - “

“They murdered a man! What do you mean there isn’t enough evidence to sentence them? They deserve to be hanged!”

“Taehyung, I know you’re angry - “

“Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it!”

“ - but that’s not how it works. They technically didn’t kill him. The laws are sketchy that way. Besides all we have here are a dead man’s last few journal entries. Nothing more.”

“But - “

“I am not saying we won’t do anything. I am just saying it’ll take time.”

Minho’s eyes were placating, but it was just so wrong. They had killed Yeol Woo, tortured him all his life, but yet - yet were getting away and it was all so so wrong.

Yoongi interlaced their fingers and gave them a light squeeze.

“What do we have to do next, officer?”

“A report,” Minho drummed on the desk with his fingers, “I need you guys to tell me everything that happened right from the moment you stepped foot in the house.”

Yoongi nodded and settled into the chair, pulling Taehyung onto his lap and Taehyung melted.

Of course it would take time. But he would see it through. Till the end.

“Shall we begin?”  

“Joon-ah, do me a favour and go sit in the car.”

“Hyung - but I want to help -”

“You can help me by not falling on your ass every single time you make a trip to the car with the bags.”

Taehyung supposed he would never get tired of hearing Jin yell at Namjoon. A smile tugged at his lips when his second brother wilted under Jin’s furious gaze. His oldest brother was never mad. But when he was, he was downright terrifying. He had been at the receiving end of it one too many times to count. He shook his head wryly as Namjoon trudged back to the car, pouting and saw Jimin immediately rush up to give him a kiss as consolation. They were too cute.

He had woken up that morning curled around Yoongi, the sun filtering through the window (making him look like a prince) and a sinking feeling in his chest because they were going to be going back to university that day. Their one week vacation was over and they were going to leave.

And apparently everyone had seemed to sense that if the quietness that had seeped over them during breakfast was anything to go by. Even the eternally loud Hoseok and Jimin had been subdued, not trading much words other than favours to pass the salt and water.

He settled down on the porch and watched Jimin and Jeongguk carrying out bag after bag while Jin and Hoseok did a final sweep of the place to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind. The sun was high in the sky and the birds were twittering above and it was a beautiful day but he couldn’t really appreciate it.

Seven days ago he had walked in along with his ‘arch-enemy’, not entirely too pleased to see his older brothers and then have the news sprung upon him that they were dating. Seven days ago he had been a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at the slightest nudge in the wrong direction. Seven days ago, he thought the world hated him. Seven days ago, he hated the world.

But now - now things were different. He was back together with his brothers, an entire year of self-imposed isolation behind them. Not entirely, because it would take time for the three of them to heal, to become parts of the well-oiled machine they once were. But it was a start.

He was closer with his best friends even though he had no idea how that was possible and was more at peace because they were dating wonderful people.

But mostly, he had a boyfriend now. His eyes followed Yoongi coming out of the door and the moment the elder spotted him, he made his way over, gummy smile in display. Yoongi bent down and pressed a kiss on his head before heading out to the car again and Taehyung felt his toes curl.

Yes, now things were different. But they were a good different.

And this house had been the reason for all of that. Leaving felt painful because it felt like leaving the protective bubble and the easy comfort of the routine they had fallen into, here. It was scary because he wasn’t sure if things would be the same back in busy bustling Seoul. And it was hard because there were so many memories in that house, in every single room - from the first time they had had dinner to when he had stormed out in anger during a storm, their Ouija board fiasco to confessions and lazy morning kisses. So much love.

His brother made his way over and dropped down next to him. Instinctively Taehyung curled up into his side and Namjoon wrapped an arm around him.

“It may sound cliche, hyung,” he murmured sadly, “But I want time to freeze now. I want to live in this moment forever and never leave.”

Namjoon hummed and rested his head on top of his.

“I don’t want to either Tae, I don’t want to either,” he repeated and Taehyung felt his throat tighten when Jin locked the front door. The closed door looked so final.

A tear rolled down his cheek and Jin wiped it off, kneeling in front of them both, his warm brown eyes filled with so much love and Taehyung couldn’t help it. He flung his arms around his oldest brother, burying his neck in his shoulder and sobbed. A few seconds later he felt a warm presence behind him and turned to see Namjoon backhugging him.

And right there, in between the first two people he had loved in the world, the ones who had been everything to him - friends, parents, brothers - everything - he let it all out.  

When he had calmed down reasonably, they let go of him and there was a gentle smile on Jin’s lips as he walked towards the car to start it. He had been designated as the driver by common consensus. Namjoon stood beside him as he took in the house one last time, his brother’s hand in his, a soothing presence.

“We’ll be fine Tae,” his brother said, softly.

Would they really?

They made their way to the car together where Hoseok had already called shotgun, a shit-eating grin on his face. Taehyung wondered why. And then he saw the bickering going on behind.

“Your elbow is in my stomach, Jimin Hyung,” their youngest whined.

“Well if you weren't such a muscle rat we would have had more place to sit comfortably," Jimin snapped wriggling about and smacking Yoongi squarely in the face.

"Yah, however nice your ass might be, get it off my lap," Yoongi grumbled, shoving the younger dancer off and onto Jeongguk, not caring about their voices of protest. 

"Yoongi Hyung, stop eying my boyfriend's ass!" 

Their was an indignant expression on his brother's face as he clambered in and pulled Jimin onto his lap.

And then he knew.

They would be alright.

As he took in their friendly bickering and the general love in the atmosphere, he knew they would be alright.

Shooting them a fondly exasperated look he got in, half seated on Yoongi and pulled the door shut.

"All of you guys seated?" Jin called from out front and they made various noises of assent.

His oldest brother pulled out of the spot and as Taehyung watched the house disappear slowly behind them, finally, the vice-like grip on his chest vanished.

Yes, that house might have been what brought them together and hold memories, but home - home was right here, amongst his family, blood or not. Home was these six men who held his heart between them and made those memories with him.

They took a turn and when the house could no longer be seen, Taehyung turned back to his friends. Turned back to the bickering that was going on in the car, his boyfriend's arm around his waist and the Namjoon and Jimin making out in spite of everyone else's protests and he smiled, wide and sincere.

They would be alright as long as they were together.

Chapter Text

Yoongi hiked his bag further up his shoulder and trudged through the snow-covered forest regretting not taking the car with every passing second. The chilly air had him shivering in spite of all the padded layers he was wearing. He sighed as his foot sunk into a slushy patch. One would think that five years of dating Taehyung later he would finally stop becoming a complete mess whenever something involved the other. He had only become worse. Point in case when he had left not even considering that driving over was an option.

Turning a corner, he came face to face with a cave, overgrown with moss and covered with creepers and ice. He gently pushed the hanging vines away and stuck his head inside, a soft smile blooming on his face. To think that five years ago, this was where they had taken shelter during one of the worst storms - when the dynamics between them had finally changed’ when he had finally thought he had a chance.

Shaking his head gently as the antics of the younger on that day came to his mind, he walked around it and continued walking forward, praying to every deity up there that he found the house within the next five minutes. He hadn’t known that everything looked similar covered with snow, the usual landmarks invisible. And he didn’t really fancy breaking his bones by climbing one of the trees to figure out where he was. Not today.

Placing his mitted hands on either of his cheeks in an attempt to ensure that icicles didn’t start to form along his (non-existent) jawline, he turned another line of trees and spotted it. Finally.

He heaved a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that he would freeze to death and that neither brotherly love from Namjoon nor Taehyung’s love would have been on time to save him. Call him overdramatic but he knew that if Namjoon stepped foot outside in search of him, he would definitely get lost.

Yoongi took a few steps forward and that’s when he saw them - the gaudy decorations wrapped around the house.

No. No, no, no.

Why did things like this happen to him?

But more importantly, why had he decided that asking his friends to help him propose to Taehyung was a good thing?

He had done a lot of stupid things throughout his life starting from when he had dressed up as a maid after losing a bet to Hoseok and serving at a cafe for a day to trying to out cook Kim Seokjin and having his ass handed on a platter to him. But as he stared at the overblown picture of him dressed up as a schoolgirl gracing the front door, he was pretty sure this topped the list.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed the door open of the house, of their house and stepped inside. They had bought it from Jeongguk’s aunt three years back after her bread and breakfast ended up a failure and it sat there getting dustier by the day. They had bought it and turned it into their place, into home. The place they all ended up at when they needed a break from the rest of the world, where they were just seven guys rather than Bangtan or one of the most famous actors or the owner of the most sought out restaurant in Seoul or unrivalled dancers.

He shrugged off his extra layers, hanging his coats up (and maybe he might have even pushed Namjoon and Hoseok’s coats down because he was petty) and walked into the living room. Into chaos.

The place looked like a hurricane had lost its way and made its home there. Or maybe that was just Namjoon. There were wrappers lying everywhere, the christmas tree sagging against the wall under the weight of all the tinsel and decorations.

(He had asked them why they were setting up a christmas tree six days after christmas and a very offended Park Jimin had told him that ‘It was for the aesthetic and an uncultured person such as he wouldn’t understand’.) Streamers covered every inch of the walls. He amended his statement. It looked like a very cheerful hurricane had vomited rainbows and sunshine and sparkles in their living room.

He gingerly took a step forward and then another, wondering where his friends were and whether it wasn’t too late to go back to the city, tell Taehyung to meet him at the market at the end of their street and propose to him over a cup of instant ramyeon.

But then Jimin’s head popped out from behind the sofa and he knew there was no going back.

“Yoongi hyung!” the younger squealed, all but throwing himself on him like an over eager puppy. Except they both had miscalculated how muscular the younger had gotten compared to Yoongi’s very petite frame (okay who was he kidding, he didn’t work out, he didn’t have muscles) and they both ended up on the floor, Jimin on top of him.

He heard something crack and prayed that it wasn’t his tailbone. Proposing while lying in a hospital bed did not seem in the least appealing.

But even that didn’t stop the younger who was actually nosing him without a care and hugging him so tight Yoongi was beginning to feel light-headed.

Looked like he would be making a trip to the hospital anyway. Either tailbone or his ribcage.

“Yah,” he wheezed out, “Don’t kill me before I propose to your best friend. He’ll never forgive Satan then and I’ll have to break them apart in Hell.”

“It’s fine, hyung. Satan is his best friend” Jimin said cheerfully, finally leaning back a little only to place his elbows on Yoongi’s chest and look at him, eyes turning into crescents.

Yoongi squinted a little.

Was Jimin on drugs?

“Aren’t you his best friend?” he asked, trying to push the younger off with absolutely no fucking result.

Jimin pouted at that, his eyes all becoming droopy and Yoongi started feeling guilty. Fuck, he was so weak to the maknae line’s charms.

“I am an angel, hyung,” the younger said, rubbing noses with him while staring into his eyes. He was so close that Yoongi could smell the garlic in his breath. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and started wriggling out of Jimin’s grasp. The success rate was a perfect zero.

The younger boy seemed oblivious to it as he looked around wildly for a second before leaning close to his ear, “Kookie is Satan,” he whispered, eyes wide.

Yoongi had never wanted to smack someone so badly before.

Once he was out of there he was going to have a long, long chat with Namjoon about what kind of drugs his boyfriend was doing. And tell him to cut down his candy intake.

“Why would that bunny be Satan, Jimin?” he asked with a weary sigh. It was always better to play along when Jimin got into a mood like this otherwise he would pout for ages and that would upset both Taehyung and Namjoon. He didn’t want that. Especially not right then.

The younger hushed him, eyes sharp.

“Don’t say that out loud,” he hissed, eyes searching the room and Yoongi groaned. His back was beginning to kill him with the added weight and something (that was hopefully not a broken vertebrae) was poking into his spine. “The Devil has ears everywhere.”

It was becoming very very hard to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

“Jeongguk is a fucking muscle bun - “

“Yoongi hyung!” a breathy voice greeted out and both of them froze, Jimin glaring at him with a look that said it’s all your fault.

Shaking his head, he turned to the side to see their youngest walk in, a bunch of fairy lights hanging off his shoulders. It had barely been a month since he had last seen him but he looked even more taller and buffer than usual. Which made him kind of sore. It wasn’t nice to see the world at his shitty height.

“Guk,” he greeted him affectionately and the bunny smile came out, his chipmunk cheeks puffing out.

At least he was still so fucking adorable. That hadn’t changed.

“Are we doing a sandwich on the floor?” he asked eagerly and before Yoongi could even comprehend the question fully, Jeongguk had draped himself over Jimin, very ungracefully.

It knocked the breath out of him and he heard something else crack.

Dear god.

“G - get - “ he gasped, “O-off.”

And then he heard the camera shutter.

Fucking hell.

“ Hyung, bearing the burdens of your dongsaengs, huh?” Hoseok called out cheekily from the side and Yoongi would have told him to shut the fuck up had he not been struggling to breathe.

“They’re fucking burdens,” he still managed to wheeze out.

There was an indignant shout from Jimin who got up immediately, dislodging Jeongguk very unceremoniously.

He grabbed a bauble lying on the floor and brought it to Yoongi’s neck, “Take that back right now.”

Yoongi laughed. He couldn’t help it.

Jimin looked about as threatening as a baby chick with a knife - that one meme there. He was just so adorable.

The younger mock-pouted some more until Namjoon sneaked up to him (Yoongi was a very generous friend by saying sneaked) and started peppering him with kisses while tickling him which resulted in him colliding with the one and only Jung Hoseok. And pretty soon they were on the floor laughing, all barring Jin, who had been given the task of bringing Taehyung over later.

“Guys you do realise Tae is going to be here in four hours, right?” he asked them when they all finally caught their breath, looking at the mess around worriedly. He knew his friends were capable but yet, he wanted everything to be perfect.

Namjoon offered him a hand up with a smile.

“Just go do your stuff, hyung. We’ll clean up this place so well in an hour that you won’t even recognise it.”

He would be lying if he said his stomach didn’t turn at that because what if they ended up demolishing it and hence making it unrecognisable. Knowing Jin, Jimin and Hoseok, that was a pretty good possibility.

But he pushed it down, and heaved himself up with Namjoon’s help, cracking his back a bit before looking down at the floor worriedly. He was met with the sorry sight of the christmas tree star (was it still a star if it had only one arm?). Shaking his head, he started walking away to prepare his speech (yes he needed four hours to do it), after helping Jeongguk untangle the obnoxious ‘Happy Birthday TaeBae’ banner that had gotten stuck around his neck.

TaeBae.

He resisted the urge to facepalm. At least he knew that whatever they did, it would be out of love.

And even if things ended up a mess, he couldn’t really ask for anything else more. Besides, if things did turn up a mess, he could always put the ring away and just say they were celebrating Taehyung’s birthday.

(There was a reason why he had chosen to do it on that particular day after all.)

Climbing the winding stairs, he made his way towards their room and pushed the door open. No matter how many times they had come there after the ghost fiasco so long ago, every time felt like the first time.

Staring at the slanting rays of the beams throwing light over the furniture and the panelled wood, he felt like a broke college student once again - one who had been struggling with his best friends to make ends meet as they made music all the while harbouring a not-so-secret crush.

The leaves rustled outside painting the walls with shadows just as they had ages ago when he had been lying on the bed after Hoseok and Namjoon had schemed and decided that he and Taehyung would be room mates.

He took a step in, closing the door and thought about how he had all but dropped his bag and fled the room minutes after, scared of talking to him alone, should the younger stumble into the room.

Smiling softly to himself, he dropped his bag on the bed and walked over to the window, running a hand over the panes. They had come so far since then.

So so far.

A cloud passed over the sun, plunging the place into slight darkness and he felt his heart dip a bit.

So many changes. And he wasn’t really sure if all of them were good.

Namjoon, him and Hoseok had made it huge after their first break through. One year later and Bangtan was a success - their concerts were packed, their albums the most anticipated, fans waited in lines to meet them and their world tours were just crazy . He had spent more days on the plane and in airports than he had at home; more days trying to communicate with people with whom the only language he shared was music. They were so fucking busy that sleep became a luxury, eating another. Because the fans were everything and they needed to be appeased. So much so that they stopped only after all three of them collapsed one day after a performance.

Unlatching the window, he reached out to touch the few snow-covered leaves still hanging on. Jin had opened his own restaurant six months after he had graduated. And initially it had been a mess - too little employees, too many debts. No patrons. But still he had stayed strong, and they had stood by him. Three long months later, he got his break through when a famous food critic stopped by for a bite simply because no one else was open in the area at that time and before they knew it, his restaurant was the most sought after in the entirety of Seoul.

The leaf fluttered to the ground under his finger tips.

Jimin and Jeongguk had taken to street dancing and took part in dance competitions once their help was no longer required by Jin at the restaurant. They won at everything and rose up the ranks quickly, their choreography becoming more and more intense with each performance, their schedules and practices insane. And then they started singing. No one could beat them. No one even dreamt of it. Especially not with Hoseok making the occasional appearance. They got offered contracts but they turned them all down and continued wandering - going places, winning some more. Teaching people. Two years after Jin’s restaurant became big, they opened their own studio and took in students whom they saw potential in. Trained the ones who had had doors closed on them elsewhere.

He looked at the lone tree, standing there bare, stripped bare of its leaves and looking completely vulnerable.

They had all made it to places - none more than Taehyung. His start had been rocky. He had gotten no offers after Hwarang for close to two years and it was in that time that their relationship had taken a hit.

Thinking about it was painful. He remembered how after they had become famous, the arguments got more heated. How every day he came home, it was only to anger or tears. Yoongi was in too deep, too invested in a relationship the other was just learning how to navigate. It hadn’t helped that Yoongi was the one earning too while Taehyung just kept auditioning. And he had also been too consumed by work to see the signs. Exactly nine months after they had officially gotten together, they broke up.

Because it was killing them both. Because it was poisoning them, the relationship that was supposed to give them strength.

Those days had been terrible. Suffice to say he almost worked himself to death, avoiding all his friends because he didn’t want them to pick sides. He scoffed a little. Pick sides. As if. In reality he had been terrified - terrified that they would turn against him. But then Namjoon walked in one day after a week as he slumped over his desk in his studio, dragged him out and knocked some sense into him over coffee. Told him that he might have been Taehyung’s brother but that he was also his best friend and that if the maknae line had each other for support it was only fair that the rap line stuck together through everything.

Things had changed after that. He managed to let go of a little of the guilt and despair. He started becoming a functional human being again. So much so that when Taehyung’s new drama premiered, he was able to watch it with the squad, together. The younger included. Without feeling like his heart was being stepped over.

It helped that Namjoon and Hoseok had stayed by his side throughout the entire thing.

And from there Taehyung’s fame skyrocketed. He got more roles, all different genres. His call sheet was filled. He became a household name not just for his acting but also for who he was - for his compassion, for how much he gave back and Yoongi saw him change, grow into himself. Love who he was and smile more. Autumn turned into Winter and gave way to Spring. They started hanging out together without the others.

Exactly a hundred and twenty days later, they got back together.

It was a messy reunion at one in the night in front of the apartment he shared with the other two rappers, the pouring rain both their only witness as well as their shield. It happened mere minutes after he stepped home, exhausted from their most recent world tour. But seeing that boxy smile again, feeling Taehyung’s lips on his as he held him, both of them fitting like puzzle pieces that were always meant to be, none of that exhaustion remained.

Because they were together and that was what mattered.

That had been a good two years ago and things had still continued changing.

Walking away from the window, he made his way to the bed and the framed photo of the seven of them by his bedside.

Weekly squad meet ups during university had come down to once a month. Movie nights filled with laughter while eating instant Ramyeon became a thing of the past. So did eating home cooked meals in spite of the mess they made at Jin’s place. Between getting on and off planes, they didn’t have time to go crazy at bowling alleys trying to mess with their maknae or have fun at the arcade, bullying each other. Interviews and photoshoots ate into their drinking nights when they played truth or dare completely wasted and woke up with intense hangovers.

Fame came with a price and he wasn’t so sure if he liked it.

Because five years ago, they might have been nobodies, but they had had each other.

But now -

“Hyung, are you even alive in there? Jin hyung’s almost here!” Hoseok’s voice filtered through the door and Yoongi snapped out of his thoughts.

Right, he was here for a reason and damn it if he let something like this bring his mood down. There would be plenty of time later for that in his studio at midnight with nothing but his instruments for company. Maybe even a bottle of soju.

But not right then - not when he he was about to take one of the biggest steps in his life.

Slapping himself hard, he pulled open the door to a defeated Hoseok who was holding his phone away from his ear. Even with the distance between them, Yoongi could clearly making out what Jin was yelling from the other side.

“ - and you know what he says? He says he’s nervous and that talking about my sex life calms him down. Like what even? So I told him as much and - “

Hoseok winced as the decibels went higher and Yoongi patted him on the shoulder sympathetically, mouthing a soft ‘Hwaiting!’ before making his way down to the dining room.

“ - starts talking to me about the things he does with Yoongi between the sheets. I don’t want to know what kind of freaky things they do - “ Jin’s voice chased him down and he grinned. Looked like Taehyung was driving his oldest brother mad. Nothing new there. His boyfriend loved doing it. What was new was Hoseok being at the receiving end of it. It was usually Namjoon there, trying to placate him and keep the peace between the brothers.

He made it to the foot of the stairs and was met with the sight of Namjoon sitting on the kitchen counter while Jimin stood between his legs. Were they making out? In the kitchen?

Jin would have a fit if he found out.

Yoongi let his feet carry him towards them and that was when he realised that Jimin was dabbing at Namjoon’s palm with cotton while yelling at him, a bottle of disinfectant lying by the side. Namjoon was giving him that sheepish look he usually did when he made a mess in the kitchen.

Oh, looked like the idiot had cut himself again.

Yoongi just hoped it wasn’t while cutting an onion or an app -

He sighed. Of course Namjoon still wouldn’t be able to cut an apple. Not even after Jin had taught him on national television.

The two of them looked up as he approached them and Jimin let loose a relieved sigh.

“Thank god you’re here, hyung. Take this oaf - “

“Park Jim - “

“ - out of the kitchen for me, won’t you?” The younger flashed him a sweet smile before turning to glare at Namjoon and the other shut up immediately.

Whipped.

But he couldn’t really judge, could he?

Yoongi tugged Namjoon’s arm and started pulling him out of the kitc -

“Oh, and hyung, if you see Kookie, send him in,” Jimin called after them and he grunted in assent.

“Are you done with the food?”

“Almost, hyung,” the other replied, putting away the kit and moving towards the dishes, “We still have to plate it and pry the glazed potatoes off the plate.”

He picked up the plate of glazed sweet potatoes and tilted it to a perfect ninety degree before Yoongi could yell out in alarm but to his surprise they didn’t fall. They didn’t fall even when the other completely flipped it, a so done for expression on his angelic face.

“I don’t even know what Guk did for it to turn out this way,” Jimin muttered, part exasperated and part amazed.

Yoongi looked at the plate for a long minute, wondering why the fuck he had asked Jin to distract Taehyung instead of doing what he did best and then decided that there was no point worrying. Who knew, maybe the strength of the glazed potatoes could be symbolic for how strong his and Taehyung’s love was.

He made his way to the dining room with Namjoon in tow and stopped -

Because holy fuck, they had done such a good job.

Good didn’t even begin to cover it, to be honest.

There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and the table was set so beautifully, candles in the middle. But what had his jaw dropping were the pictures.

There were pictures covering literally every inch of the wall - most of them candid, some serious, a few even from their photo shoots or the reality shows they had attended together. They were interspersed with speeches from various award shows and music sheets, scripts and awards. The walls were covered with memories, each of them from different ages and times but of the seven of them and amongst them, in flashy bright letters, hung the banner ‘Happy Birthday TaeBae’, a few blown out of proportion pictures of theirs stuck at the end.

He felt a wetness on his cheeks as he ran his fingers over the pictures - so many memories. Each of them precious. Each of them theirs.

Namjoon slipped his hand into Yoongi’s.

“Go get your man, hyung,” he said softly, squeezing his hand once and Yoongi nodded.

He could do this.

He could.

Almost as though on cue, tyres squealed outside and Jin’s car came to a stop. There was the sound of slamming doors and Taehyung’s deep voice floated in. Yoongi’s stomach flipped.

Could he really?

Namjoon sent him one last hurried thumbs up, his dimples showing and then he was dragging Jeongguk, Jimin and Hoseok along with him to the adjoining dressing room and slamming the door shut just as the front door opened, Taehyung and Jin’s voices filtering in.

His palms were feeling clammy and was it just him or was the room getting stuffier by the second?

He barely had time to gather his scattered wits when Jin all but shoved Taehyung into the living room and slipped away claiming he needed to go pick up the others.

Yoongi felt like laughing. Deliriously. Yeah, right. He was going to join the others in the adjacent room, through the window, all of them waiting for his signal to start singing.

That is, if everything went according to plan.

He wet his lips. He had no idea why he was even this nervous to see Taehyung. The other had seen him at his best as well as his worst and had still stayed by his side.

So why did it feel like his heart would give out any second?

Taehyung’s footsteps came closer to the dining room and then the door was opening and Yoongi still hadn’t gathered his wits a -

“Fucking runway model,” he breathed out, dazed. His boyfriend looked so so good (when had he ever not) but seriously, in that long transparent sleeved flowing white shirt tucked loosely into a pair of tight black ripped jeans, and hair messy from the wind.

HIs brain to mouth filter had never really worked around Taehyung anyways and he knew by then that the younger was used to it.

It showed when he simply laughed and took a step forward.

“I am pretty sure I didn’t run away with a model,” he said grinning that boxy smile of his, “Or run away. Period.”

And that snapped him out of his haze and he smiled back, sheepishly, opening his arms for a hug. The younger all but threw himself onto him and Yoongi took in the scent of fresh clothes, and vanilla and spring. Even though it was winter.

He had gotten leaner since the last time Yoongi had seen him. Leaner and slightly muscular. His wavy brown locks had grown longer, falling into his eyes and curling at his nape. Yoongi slipped his hand into his hair and looked into Taehyung’s chocolate brown warm eyes before leaning forward and then they were kissing and gods had he missed this. World tours be damned.

Taehyung’s hands slipped down his back, one coming to rest on his waist as he deepened their kiss, opening his mouth to allow Yoongi better access and he nipped at his lower lip -

Crash.

They jumped apart, as though electrocuted and shit, Yoongi remembered why he was there. No matter how edible the younger looked, now wasn’t the time to devour him. He could do that later.

Not now.

Silently thanking his friends in his head for reminding him (though yes he wasn’t going to forgive them for spying somehow), he tugged at the younger’s arm and pulled out a chair for him, ignoring his whines and the smouldering looks he was sending his way.

He had to stay strong, even if all he wanted to do was take the younger against the -

No. No.

Think ridiculous thoughts Yoongi.

Namjoon cosplaying as Sailor Moon. Hoseok and Jeongguk dressed as husband and wife for a skit. Jin doing aegyo.

Only when he was completely sure that he could resist the younger did he finally meet his gaze again, seated exactly opposite him.

Thankfully, Taehyung had by now given up on him and was finally taking in the room, open-mouthed.

“Wow, hyung,” he breathed out, eyes slightly glazed over and voice trembling, “You did all this for me?”

Yoongi nodded, a soft smile on his lips.

“Yeah, happy birthday TaeTae,” he said and the other started crying, reaching across the table to grab his hand.

“Thank you, hyung. Thank you so much. This is - “

The tears rolled down his cheeks as he continued looking at them, beaming.

“Come on. Let’s eat,” Yoongi said, turning away from his intense gaze. It always made him uncomfortable when Taehyung looked at him like he was the only person in the room.

He busied himself setting their plates and started opening the dishes, his mind going blank for a few seconds when he saw how good all of it looked.

Gods he just loved his friends so fucking much. Even if they were disasters most of the time.

They sat down to eat, and Yoongi discreetly rapped his knuckles against the table three times, playing it off as an accident when Taehyung looked at him questioningly. A few seconds later a beat started playing, filling up the entire room. Yoongi saw his boyfriend’s face light up as he recognized the first few notes of the first cypher and it was the most beautiful sight ever.

He was glad Taehyung liked it. He heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Namjoon’s snark a ‘I told you so’ in his head but somehow right until that moment he had been terrified that - that something would go wrong. It was almost as though he expected everything about the proposal to go wrong.

Maybe that was a sign that he needed to stop reading so much TaegGi fanfiction. He wasn’t nearly as awkward as their fangirls made his fictional counterpart out to be.

The beat of Cypher pt 1 died down and when the music rose again this time it was the instrumentals of their most recent diss track ‘ddaeng’. Taehyung grinned at him, swaying to the beat and rapping unabashedly, and for the first time that evening, Yoongi had a feeling things would work out.  

As he saw him eat with abandon, feeding Yoongi a portion of everything, bopping his head to the mash up of all his favourite songs, he had a feeling that things would all work out in the end.

Half an hour later, when they were mostly done with the food, their plates clean, Yoongi placed his chopsticks down and cleared his throat.

“Um,” he began, “I have something to tell you, Tae.”

His boyfriend placed his napkin down and looked at him, eyes inquisitive.

“Has your recent song hit #1 on all the charts, billboard included?”

“What? No, TaeTae,” he murmured, grinning fondly at the firm conviction in his boyfriend’s voice. Taehyung had always been their number one hype man. Always.

“Then what, hyung?” he asked and Yoongi got up, tapping his glass with the spoon once.

The sound rang out, loud and clear and he knew that the others would start singing in

5

4

3

2

1

Jimin’s voice filled the room.

When you say that you love me,

Feels like I am walking across the sky…

Taehyung’s eyes widened and he looked at Yoongi, puzzled. And of course he would be puzzled. After all, Yoongi had composed it just for him, with a little help from Namjoon and Hoseok, and then gotten the vocalists to practice till they reached perfection.

His friends had been more than happy to help out.

Jin and Jimin had cried the first time they had heard the lyrics.

Yoongi took a step forward, and then another, until he was kneeling in front of Taehyung just as Namjoon’s verse came to an end.

He took over, stretching out his hand toward Taehyung.

So take my hand right now

I can’t believe myself

Words I said thousands of times only to myself

Don’t leave me

You got the best of me

You got the best of me

Whether this is a dream or reality, it’s not important

Just the fact that you’re by my side

Thanks

By the time Jin started singing Taehyung was gripping his hand tight, tears streaming down his cheeks as he he sat unmoving in the chair.

Yoongi cleared his throat and reached into his pocket.

This was the moment.

“I remember the first time I saw you,” he said softly, staring into Taehyung's eyes, “I was sixteen, had wild dreams and had come over to write lyrics with your brother. I don't think you remember but that was the day you and Jimin got married in the garden under the willow tree, both of you professing your undying love for each other.”

Taehyung let out a choked laugh, flushing bright red and Yoongi grinned at him.

“I was looking out of the window into the garden while your brother went in to get what we needed and that was when the two of you realised you needed a witness other than Jeongguk, who was the priest, to make it official. And then you spotted me.”

“That was you, hyung?” his boyfriend breathed out, his eyes sparkling. “I remember the day, hyung, but I didn't know it was you.”

“It was me Tae,” he replied, smiling, “And I knew right when you dragged me out by the hand, that there was a connection between us.”

Taehyung sniffled, scooting to the edge of the chair.

“Over the years I watched you from afar, letting your brightness and positivity pull me through my worst days. You were my shining star, my beacon of hope. And then I went back to Daegu for a year. It was terrible.”

It had been terrible. His parents got a divorce, his mum got custody of him and he got her hatred. He had been wrenched away from familiarity. From friendship and brotherhood. His dreams had been shattered. Those days had been terrible.

And Taehyung hadn't been there.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he forced himself to plough through, “When I finally got out, getting into university with a scholarship and Joon and Hobi's help, things started looking better. I saw you again a week later working at the campus coffee shop as a barista along with Jimin, and I fell. Hard. You had filled out over the years, grown into a man. And yet, that little boy I was so fond of was still there within you.”

“I had no idea, hyung,” Taehyung whispered, “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I thought you were still together with Jimin,” he shrugged and the younger barked out a laugh.

“Hyung -”

“Yah, you said the campus thought I was dating Namjoon. You and Jimin were way worse than us. How was I supposed to know?” he protested and Taehyung laughed some more.

“You're so silly, hyung.”

“Only for you,” he agreed and was rewarded with a bright blush colouring his boyfriend’s cheeks. “And then I moved across you, put a board up simply to annoy you and maybe along the way I made some good money, but that doesn't matter. Things went well until you dragged me to the middle of nowhere for a case. You know what happened after that.”

Taehyung nodded, smiling softly.

“It's been five years since we got together Tae and while my life has been a series of changes, you're the one constant in it. The one person who's been there for me, always. The one person whom I trust to take care of me better than myself, whom I trust enough to hand over my heart to. The one person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Hyung - “

“And I want to take this a step forward. Kim Taehyung, will you marry me?”

Yoongi slipped the ring box out of his pocket with trembling fingers as the song came to an end and they started on the next one. He opened it and finally met Taehyung's eyes, his heart pounding so hard against his rib cage he was sure it wanted to leave his body.

For five long seconds neither of them moved and then Taehyung’s lower lip wobbled, “Yes, yes. Yes hyung, I'll marry you.”

Yoongi's knees gave way with relief and the band that had been squeezing around his heart loosened.

Taehyung had agreed.

The younger stretched his hand out and Yoongi slipped the ring on, marvelling at how the simple band of silver sat perfectly on his ring finger.

It was a simple band that formed an infinity on one side and had his initials carved on the other, the design and selection courtesy one Park Jimin.

And Yoongi had to admit that it looked perfect on Taehyung.

On his fiance.

He grinned, feeling lighter than he had felt in ages and pulled the younger into his arms, attempting to kiss him. But the other stopped him with a finger to his lips.

As Yoongi stared at him bewildered, he whispered still looking at the ring sharply, “I have a little business to take care of first, hyung.”

Huh? Did he not like the ring? Was it perhaps too simple? He shouldn’t have listened to -

Taehyung took in a deep breath and then screamed, “Park fucking Jimin, get out here you traitor,” glaring daggers at the door of the drawing room.

There was a startled squeak from inside and then something crashed.

Yoongi was just very very confused.

“Tae - “ he began but was shushed by the younger, “It’s not you, hyung. Or the ring. I love you as much as I love it.”

Well, at least that had gone right.

Taehyung shot him a reassuring smile before he stormed towards the kitchen, walking out a few minutes later with his own birthday cake, one he wasn’t supposed to know about.

And then right in front of Yoongi’s eyes, he started demolishing the cake.

He was literally demolishing it, stabbing it with the knife over and over again before sticking his fingers into it and pushing the cream out of the way, all the while calling Jimin and Jeongguk and the rest of the squad a lot of choice names.

“Tae,” Yoongi started again hesitantly, “Why are you murdering the cake?”

HIs boyfriend, no fiance, and the word felt like a shot of serotonin in spite of the increasing insanity of the situation, looked up for a second, boxy smile in place and then he pecked Yoongi on the cheek once before resuming his actions.

Realising he wouldn’t get an answer until Taehyung was done, he dropped into his chair, stabbing at a cherry that was lying pitifully by the side and popped it into his mouth.

A few more minutes later Taehyung let a triumphant yell as he dug out something from inside the cake and brought it up to the light.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow at him quizzically and the younger started vigorously wiping off the cream using a napkin, finally beckoning him closer and placed something in his outstretched palm.

It was a ring.

A simple band of silver with an infinity on one side and fucking Park Jimin and Kim Namjoon, he was going to so kill them.

It was an exact replica of his ring except with KTH engraved within. Taehyung’s initials.

He looked up at his fiance and the other just pouted at him, glaring forlornly at the still closed door to the drawing room.

“I was planning to propose to you, Yoonie hyung,” he muttered mutinously, raising his voice, “And I can’t believe those asses let me make a fool of myself.”

There was an indignant squawk from within the room.

“Yah, show some respect to your hyungs, you brat!”

Taehyung stuck his tongue out at the door childishly when Jin poked his head out and gods maybe Yoongi was really whipped but the other looked just so adorable.

He moved over to his boyfriend and dropped onto his lap, Taehyung’s arms wrapping around his waist immediately and he pecked him on the lips, before slipping the ring onto his own finger and proudly showed it off to the other. It fit perfectly on him. It was perfect. Taehyung beamed at him.

“At least you didn’t scream so loudly when you were asked to hold a snake for a photoshoot, so much so that the snake itself got scared and refused to come near you,” he said loudly, while winking at the younger mischievously.

That coaxed a deep laugh from Taehyung and he turned to a now wild looking Hoseok who had burst out, with disbelief, “Hyung, I can’t believe you terrified that poor creature.”

Hoseok spluttered, “Poor creature? What do you mean by poor creature? I - “

“Though I guess that’s way better than the idiot who decided that dressing up as a zombie during a zombie run would keep them away from us at the theme park,” Yoongi added slyly and right as though scripted Jin walked out, looking offended.

“You agreed with me, you moron. You,” he pointed a finger at Yoongi accusingly, “- were dressed as a zombie too.”

“At least I looked hot,” he shrugged and was rewarded with Taehyung’s boxy grin as he leaned in further into Yoongi.

He hummed, pleased even as Jin stood there, fuming.

Hoseok was still shooting him a betrayed look and he just grinned, starting on Namjoon when the youngest rapper himself walked out and held his hands up in a placating manner.

“Before you spill state secrets, let me just tell you why we did this little double-crossing,” he started and Yoongi nodded in a go on kind of way. “We did it because we weren’t sure if you would have the guts to propose to him, hyung - “

“Yah - “

“So we needed an alternative in case you chickened out,” Jimin continued, having trailed after his own boyfriend, “That’s why we didn’t tell you TaeTae.”

Taehyung’s eyes softened as he looked at him, “Were you that scared of asking me, hyung?”

“I -” but before he could neither deny nor confirm it, Jeongguk, that fucking traitor (just see if he ever brought that little brat lamb skewers again), cut in, “He backed out at the last minute a grand total of eight times and he looked so pathetic that we decided to play the two of you in hopes that at least then, one way or the other, you would get together and I would get my beauty sleep.”

(He was going to fucking murder Jeon Jeongguk.)

Their maknae simply shrugged as he stuck his fingers into the barely recognisable birthday cake and started licking the cream clean of his fingers. “I, unlike certain people, do not operate between midnight and 6 a.m because that’s when I get the sleep I need to be a functional human being.”

“I have listened to you moan about how hot Jin looks at fucking four a.m. when you were drunk, you hypocrite,” Yoongi snapped, his cheeks flaming red.

He would probably have to dig his own grave after burying Jeongguk.

But apparently the brat wasn’t done. “At least I stopped with hot. I swear to god if I had heard the phrase beautiful brown soulful eyes one more time, I would have fucking wrecked all your equipment. And what was that about him looking all so angelic when he brushes his teeth, like excuse me I am okay with whipped but that is just blind because he looks like a fucking angry hedgehog in the morning.”

There was absolute silence for a few seconds after Jeongguk was done with his outburst. The younger shook his head at them all exasperated and chugged down the glass of wine (his glass of wine) on the table, sputtering at the end because of course only Jimin had such talent.

Jin thumped him on the back while the others looked at him in awe, Taehyung included.

“Wow,” Hoseok breathed out in the end, “Our Kookie really went off there. Did you really traumatise him so much, hyung?”

Yoongi buried his face in his hands, gods had he sounded that way?

When Hoseok started laughing obnoxiously, he simply showed him his finger and refused to meet their gazes.

He no longer had any friends. They were all dead to him.

But then Taehyung was also laughing softly and he placed his hands over Yoongi’s, whispering, “It’s alright, hyung. I was - am equally whipped for you. You should see my chat with Jiminie and Joonie hyung.”

And he was prying his hands off his face and leaning forward and they were kissing. Properly.

There weren’t any fireworks going off in his heart nor did the angels start singing behind. It wasn’t like how those fanfics made it out to be. It simply felt like coming home.

Taehyung pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Yoongi’s, breathing out, “I love you, Yoongi hyung,” his warm eyes boring into his and everything might have been a mess but then their entire story had been a mess, after all, hadn’t it?

And it was perfect just the way it was.

“I love you too, Tae,” he said softly and they kissed again to the catcalls and wolf whistles of the others.

Though when Hoseok had finally dragged them apart claiming that they were too much for his virgin eyes, he couldn’t resist but add, “Though we aren’t naming our son ‘Kim Chi is good.’”

He deserved the smack he got for that.

“Sixty more seconds, guys,” Jimin screamed over the BGM of the final episode of Taehyung’s latest drama.

They were all huddled in front of the television, half on top of each other in a tangle of limbs under the covers, waiting for midnight and the start of a new year.

“Fifty-nine,” Jeongguk said, eyes bright and he stood up, unceremoniously elbowing Hoseok hard in the face. That prompted the other rapper to get up, clutching his nose and chase the younger, trampling Jin and Namjoon’s feet in the process, which set off a chain reaction. 

“Yah Jung Hoseok,” Jin snapped, tugging at his hand and the next second he was toppling on top of Jimin and Taehyung. Which by extension meant Yoongi too. And just like that, the peace of the moment had been lost.

“Ten” Namjoon called out, when they had all finally grabbed their glasses after a lot of cursing, shoving and pushing and were standing in a circle in the middle of the hall, Taehyung’s face precariously close to the heroine's, frozen on the screen, where he had just professed his undying love.

(Yoongi wasn’t in the least jealous.)

“We aren’t going to see that. I want the real deal,” Jin said firmly, switching the television off, eyes flitting between Taehyung and Yoongi.

Nine.

Yoongi tugged his fiance closer to him and rolled his eyes at their eldest.

“You’re just jealous of our love,” he said, sticking out his tongue at him very very pettily.

Eight.

That had Jin grasping a startled Jeongguk by the arm and reeling him into himself except of course their maknae was a muscle rat so they both ended up overbalancing, spilling their drinks all over themselves.

Seven.

Jimin laughed so hard that his own glass tipped and everything spilled out onto the floor as he clung onto Namjoon’s arm for dear life.

Six.

Hoseok took a step forward in order to haul a so-done-with-life-Jeongguk off Jin but stepped on the beer instead and slipped, careening right into Taehyung, and by extension Yoongi. Again.

Five.

And then Namjoon was the only one who was still standing with a full glass so he simply poured it all on Hoseok because he was the closest person.

Four.

They stared at each other for a long long second and then they all burst out laughing because the whole situation was just ridiculous.

“Three,” Jin said, eyes bright, as he raised his empty glass.

“Two,” Namjoon yelled moving closer to all of them.

“One,” Yoongi finished while Hoseok asked one of them to kiss him because he didn’t want to be all alone the next year too.

The clock struck twelve and as fireworks burst across the skies, they all clinked their empty glasses and then Taehyung’s lips were on his, and he could taste pepsi and kimchi and sweetness.

Vaguely he could make out Jin and Jeongguk kissing by the side, Hoseok being pulled in by Jimin and Namjoon. And then Taehyung was pulling them all into a group hug amidst tears and laughter, and yelling ‘Happy New Year. And as Yoongi took in the madness of the moment, of the six most important people of his life, his doubts all finally vanished.

Because they might have lost weekly movie nights but they still managed to end up huddled in Hoseok’s studio or Jimin and Jeongguk’s practice room, watching every month’s episodes of Taehyung’s drama together.

Home cooked meals at Jin’s place might have come to an end but they somehow always found themselves at his restaurant after he closed up, having flour fights in the kitchen while whipping up something to eat.

Roaming the arcades playing DRR or basketball might have become a thing of the past but they still had crazy Karaoke nights at their place, courtesy Hoseok, where they lost all sense of sanity.

They still got drunk, came up with ridiculous dares and pranked each other - even if it was within the confines of one of their houses; they still made fun of each other and blew up their Kakao Talk with crazy memes and midnight introspections; they sexted the wrong chats accidentally (and deliberately).

True, everything might have become less frequent, but they were also still the same.

They were seven people with identities now, but at the same time, they still had each other. They always had each other’s backs be it defending them from Sasaengs or sticking up to their families, helping pull through slumps or challenge authority.

He let his eyes flit over the six of them of them again - Jin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jimin, Jeongguk - his family and finally Taehyung - saw the way they laughed with abandon, it felt like they were still back in University again, finding their way in life. It felt like coming home.

It felt just right.

Because they might have become celebrities but they weren’t exactly good at playing it.

Because underneath all that, they were still seven men who weren't sure about a lot of things except for their love for each other.

And maybe that was all that mattered.