Chapter Text
The Incheon Airport was cleaner but more crowded than you had imagined. The hum of others’ chatter and rolling luggage all blended together into a constant, mind-numbing buzz in the back of your head. You weaved and ducked around the building, not knowing where to go and having no one to ask. Eventually you saw the words “Baggage Claim Area” printed in bright green English followed by an arrow guiding you down a hall you swore you’d already been through. Regardless, you found your bags off the carousal, grabbed them, and started looking for an exit.
It took another half hour just for your driver to come get you. A black SUV rolled up to the curb, nearly driving up on it. The window rolled down to reveal a man with light brown hair and a pair of sunglasses on. Really, he didn’t look much older than you.
“Are you Y/N? Enrolling in the Bangtan Center?” he called out in English. You nodded meekly. He opened his door and walked over to you, taking your bags.
“Okay sweetie, I’ll put these in the back for you. Have you eaten any?” You shook your head; he turned around too quickly to see, so you let out a croaky “no,” and coughed. Your voice felt stiff after a silent 24 hour flight. He paused and looked back at you.
“No? Nothing since you got on the plane?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Oh, poor baby. We’ll stop at a McDonald’s or something along the way.” He ushered you into the car, then reached around to buckle your seat belt. He walked around to the driver’s side, got in, and started the engine.
“My name is Namjoon by the way. I’m a one-on-one facilitator at the center. You can call me Namjoon, or Mr. Kim, or even “oppa” if you’d like; whatever’s comfortable.” You nodded again, not really absorbing any of the information.
“Oh, before I forget!” He reached around behind his seat and pulled out a stuffed animal. “The boys picked this out special for you. They’re so excited for me to bring you home.” You looked down at the toy he’d placed in your lap: a plush, baby triceratops with beige scales and tiny gray horns. You cooed and instinctively squeezed it against your chest and sighed, fighting the urge to chew on its horn. It’d been so long since your family threw out your baby things and you had something to cuddle with.
“Aww, you like it? The boys were so nervous about it, especially Jimin. They didn’t want to get you something too girly, in case you weren’t a girly-girl. I was surprised they picked that one, but it’s pretty cute.” You glanced at him nervously as the car started moving.
“Boys…?” you asked.
“Oh yeah. We have three other residents right now, all boys. They honestly didn’t know what to make of it when I said we were getting a girl in our program.”
“…Are they like me…? I mean, do they…act young and stuff?”
“You mean do they regress? Of course, this whole program’s for regressors and littles.” You chewed on your lip, zoning out as the car began moving.
You drove in silence for a half hour. Namjoon spoke here and there, giving commentary on certain buildings or talking about “the center.” The more you drove, the more you realized how exhausted you were from your journey. You slipped in and out of a mental fog, partially dissociating, partially regressing, and only half-attempting to focus whenever you heard Namjoon speak. You didn’t even feel him stop the car.
“Hey sweetie, you awake? Listen, it’s about a two hour drive till we reach the center, so I wanna grab you something to eat before we get on the highway. What would you like?”
You looked up at a big yellow M hovering in the parking lot.
“Not hungry….” you mumbled. “’M sorry….” You sat in silence for a moment before Namjoon sighed.
“Y/N, I want you to be honest with me. Do you have a hard time eating?”
Silence.
“I noticed you didn’t fill out most of your application on the website. There’s a lot we need to know about you before you can move in. If there’s anything like a physical or mental health issue going on, we want to know about it so we can work with you properly. We don’t mind, we just wanna know.” You stayed still.
“I wanna go,” you muttered. Your head and feet were throbbing. You didn’t want to think about food or problems right now, you just wanted to finish this damn trip.
“Go where?”
“Wanna drive. Want the car to move again…Just go.”
“You need to talk to me.” You started rubbing your face and scratching your scalp, trying to ground yourself.
“Y/N, are you regressing right now?”
“…What application…?”
“Wha- the application? On our website? It was all in Korean, so we thought you skipped through most of it.”
“…Never saw it. Maybe uncle did it.”
“Your uncle?” He asked. You groaned, crashing, exhausted.
“He signed me up for this. He knows. I just got on the plane.”
“So he arranged this whole thing?” You made a little sound in agreement.
“His idea. He told me go.”
“Did he tell you what it was?” You were getting stressed now. Your eyes squeezed shut and your rubbed your face harder. Tired, tired, that’s all you felt right now, that’s all you knew. But Namjoon kept talking and asking questions.
“No…! No! No!” Part of that was to answer Namjoon’s question, the other part was to let him know just how done you were with talking. You kicked your feet and twisted away from him. He sighed again.
“Y/N, are you regressing right now? Hm? Is that why you’re so fussy?”
“Tired!” you snapped.
“Yes, you’re tired. And I bet you’re hungry. Maybe you’re just not able to talk with me right now. We’ll try later when you’re feeling better.” You heard him open the driver’s side door and shut it. His footsteps circled around the car before stopping at your door. He pulled it open and you opened your eyes, watching him unbuckle your seat belt and gently pull you up.
“I’m not gonna make you eat when you’re worked up. Why don’t we take a nap right now, hmm?” He opened the back door and laid you down, straightening your hips and legs out before placing your new stuffed toy in the crook of your arm.
“You go ni-ni, sweetie; Namjoon’s gotta call his buddy up, okay?”
He slipped back into the drivers’ seat and you heard him whispering on the phone. Within seconds you were out.