Chapter Text
Jungkook slept for a majority of the flight.
Most of the hours back home, leading up to boarding, had been spent on his computer, gaming incessantly until he realized that oh, our flight leaves in 3 hours, so I should probably pack something. And after he’d grabbed enough clothes fit for their vacation, he realized that he’d been up the entire night before, with only a small nap and snacking in between.
It was the first time he’d had off in a while, so yeah, forgive him for acting like a normal boy his age.
The vacation was a needed one. When the band had been told that they’d be flown out of the country for a week with no cameras and the freedom to explore as they wished, they’d been ecstatic. After being shipped from country to country and venue to venue, they just wanted to rest; with no eyes on them. Of course, Bali was just an island, not incredibly big, so it wasn’t like they could roam too far. Still, it was a welcome change of pace. Even though they had vacation time in Korea, it wasn’t like they would stay out of their studios (read: Namjoon and Yoongi). So it was decided that a new destination altogether was needed.
So for the 15-hour flight, Jungkook slept.
“Is he still asleep?”
“He’s been asleep for too long.”
“Sleep is healthy, let him have it.”
“Jungkook!” a voice much closer than the others spoke in his ear happily. “Wake up. You’ve been boring for too long.”
“I’m tryna sleep,” the youngest mumbled, turning over in his bed. Private planes were a godsend.
“We’re almost there,” the voice huffed, and Jungkook’s mind immediately registered that Jimin was the one standing over him. “You’re gonna have to sit up anyway.”
“Jiminnn,” he sighed, rolling over again so that he laid on his back. Eyes still closed, he just shook his head.
“You should probably wake up,” a new voice, Namjoon’s, appeared. “You’ve been asleep for like, fourteen hours.”
“Yeah, you’re not gonna be able to sleep when we get there,” Jimin agreed. Namjoon just let out a small scoff.
“I think the damage is already done.”
Jungkook let his eyes open slowly, taking in the stark white of the plane’s ceiling, until a bright pink haired boy crept into his vision, smiling down at him.
“Did you sleep well?”
Jungkook just stared at him.
“Yoongi didn’t even sleep as long as you.”
“Yoongi probably slept before we left,” Jungkook mumbled before sighing and pushing himself up. His muscles were stiff, a little sore, more than likely from finally being still for so long. Jimin sat back, cross-legged in the seat next to Jungkook’s and watched him.
“How much longer till we land?” Jungkook’s question turned into a yawn.
“Fifteen minutes?” Namjoon guessed, eyes on his phone. He sat in a seat facing them, long legs sprawled in front of him while he casually looked through his phone. The plane was relatively quiet for a group as rambunctious as BTS could be. Looking around the plane, Jungkook tried to do a mental count for the rest of the members.
A few rows behind him, to the other side, Yoongi sat by himself with his hood up and headphones in, staring out the window. Across the aisle from him Taehyung and Hoseok spoke quietly. With the lack of their usual staff, the plane seemed so sparse.
It took a second for him to find Jin, but he was just in front of them, talking to one of the few managers who’d come along. He must have been a part of the group analyzing Jungkook’s sleep just moments prior. He was the only one closest to have been.
“Did you sleep any?” he asked, curling back into his seat but keeping his attention on Jimin, who was already nodding.
“We all did for a few hours. You passed out right after we took off. I’m too excited to sleep for too long, though. I’m ready to get off the plane.”
As if the pilot himself had heard, the lights dinged on overhead, signaling to the passengers that a descent was imminent. It didn’t effect much of anything, since everyone was already in their seats, but there was an obvious uptick in movement as the island below them grew closer. Bags shuffled around and electronics were switched off. The plane landed with just a few bumps and soon everyone onboard was moving again while the plane taxied around.
“I’m hungry,” Taehyung complained, breaking the silence and standing to pop his joints.
“We’ll eat when we get to the resort,” Namjoon told him, finally pocketing his phone and pulling a bag on his back.
“It’s a helicopter ride away,” the manager spoke up. “All of us should fit in one. The rest of the staff can take the next one.”
From behind them, near Yoongi, Hoseok made a noise. From what Jungkook could tell, he didn’t seem too pleased with the idea of having to take a helicopter, but part of him thought that maybe he should be over that sort of thing by now. He wasn’t going to waste any energy worried about that.
Everyone filed off of the plane and were promptly directed towards one of the helicopters waiting for them. As expected, it was able to seat about eight of them. Namjoon climbed in first, then Jimin, Jungkook, and Tae. The other three crawled in with the manager and soon they were in the air again.
“Did you bring your camera?” Jimin asked through the mic, his words filling their headphones.
“It’s in my bag,” Jungkook told him right as Jin began to comment on how beautiful the landscape was. At the same time, Tae and Jimin reached for Jungkook’s bag, but the youngest resisted.
“We’re too cramped,” he shook his head. “We can get another helicopter ride later.”
Tae just made a noise let his attention wander back towards the scenery that everyone else was discussing. Jimin looked over to Jungkook with a soft smile, his knee faintly knocking against Jungkook’s.
“What?” Jungkook asked.
Twinkle in his eye, Jimin just shook his head and looked out of his window alongside Namjoon. Letting go of what had just happened, Jungkook silently chewed on his bottom lip and went back to watching the ground move beneath them.
“This is gorgeous!” Hoseok exclaimed as they ascended the steps towards their resort. It was practically a giant, private mansion, surrounded with trees and water. The whole place had an open, airy concept, and the first sight of it had left most of them in awe.
“Do we each get our own room?” Jin asked, following the dancer through the living room. It was massive, with large white couches surrounding a single flat screen television. A gentle breeze blew through.
“Unfortunately, no. This place was expensive as it was, and we didn’t want to use all the money for seven private rooms plus staff. I know you’ve all gotten used to your own rooms on trips, but there should be plenty of space to spread out.”
“It’s fine!” Namjoon chirped. “I mean... this place is perfect enough.”
“I want to go in the pool!” Jimin exclaimed, already disappearing deeper into the house. Jungkook still stood behind, taking in the rest of the house and giving into his urge to pull out his camera.
Focused on getting the settings right, he began the mindless walk after the rest of the band. Through the kitchen and out the back, the other boys had pulled out their phones and were snapping pictures of the scenery. An expansive pool stretched out before them, with tropical plants all around, forming a wall of nature that protected them from the outside.
“Who’s rooming with who?” Namjoon asked, phone angled up towards the sunset. Jungkook eyed Jimin carefully, wanting to speak up but something inside holding himself back. The others had made comments before and he didn’t want to come off as... desperate. Which didn’t make sense. They were all friends. It shouldn’t matter if he wanted to stay with one over the other, right? Or should he not care?
Yoongi said something to Hobi, which caused the latter to perk up and claim one room for the two of them. Jungkook grew a bit antsier. There went one room.
“Kookie and I can stay together!” Jimin spoke up, turning to look at the younger. Relief flooded his body as the shorter boy gave him a grin and he couldn’t hide the smile that he flashed back. Jin’s voice cut through the moment.
“So I’m supposed to stay with two people?!”
“We have to stay with two people, too!” Namjoon shot back, hands dropping to his side.
“Hey!” Tae spoke up at the same time as Namjoon.
“Maybe there’s four rooms and no one will have to stay with you,” Jungkook sassed, raising his camera lens towards the distance.
“Excuse you!” Jin exclaimed, hands on his hips. Jungkook smirked to himself, ignoring Jin. Jimin just laughed, walking near the maknae.
“Jungkook!” Namjoon sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “This is supposed to be a peaceful vacation.”
“Jin-hyung is the one complaining!” Jungkook laughed, letting his camera fall. “All I did was give the same energy he gave us!”
“That doesn’t mean you have to be rude!” Jin threw his hand up. “I wasn’t complaining!”
Jungkook busted into laughter, Jimin alongside him.
“I wasn’t complaining!”
“Okay, I’m leaving,” Yoongi announced with a snickering Taehyung in tow.
“Be grateful!” Jungkook smirked.
“Jungkook!” Hobi laughed.
“Kook, stop,” Jimin laughing grabbing at Jungkook’s arm.
Before he knew what was happening, Jin had marched over to where the two of them were, thumping Jungkook on his forehead, and Namjoon had sprung forward as well.
“Hyung,” he signed, pulling at Jin. “Let’s find some food.”
“Please, I’m starving!” Hobi excitedly agreed, leading them back towards the kitchen, leaving Jungkook and Jimin as the only two still outside.
“Why did you say that?” Jimin laughed, still in such close proximity to Jungkook. He raised the camera up and pointed it at Jimin.
“We’re in Bali and he’s complaining about sharing a room,” Jungkook answered, watching his friend through the lens. Jimin smiled back, hair pushed back by the wind, sunset shining down on his skin that highlighted him in the most beautiful way.
Jungkook hesitated over the shutter button. It was normal to describe your best friend that way, right?
Instead of answering himself, he clicked down, capturing the moment for himself.
“Let me see.”
Jimin moved in close, bent over towards the preview screen on Jungkook’s camera, and for a brief moment, Jungkook’s nose was caught in the bright pink locks. It smelled very much of Jimin, any shampoo he used already worn off because of the long travels, but Jungkook found he didn’t mind. And then Jimin was nodding and smiling widely.
“I like it,” he grinned up to Jungkook, faces inches apart.
“Yeah?” Jungkook smiled back, ignoring any heat he may or may not have felt.
“Yeah! We should do another video soon.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Jungkook told him, pulling the camera back up for another shot. He wasn’t aiming for Jimin, per se, but he managed to find his way back in the frame anyway. This time he dropped the smile and simply stared back with curious eyes.
Jungkook snapped the picture.
“Are you two coming in to eat? The staff brought us a full meal!” Taehyung’s voice called out of the door. Slightly startled, Jungkook turned sharply and nodded.
“We’re coming!”
Tae slipped back inside.
“Let’s go eat. We can take pictures later.”
“I wonder what room we’re in...” Jimin thought aloud while Jungkook led them inside, where the other five had already taken their seats and broken into a loud debate over the proper way to eat what was spread out on the table. It didn’t interest Jungkook all that much. He shrugged at Jimin’s comment, setting his stuff down on a side table.
“Whichever one they put us in.”
“Hyung, what rooms are we getting?” Jimin had already moved onto bugging Namjoon, who shrugged as well.
“I don’t know,” he buttered some type of bread. “I gave them the list of roommates and they said they were working on it.”
Instead of taking it and moving on, Jimin rested his chin on the top of Namjoon’s head, talking aimlessly about the spread in front of them. Jungkook watched them for a moment, eyes focused in on Jimin’s smile and all of the points of contact he made with a disinterested Namjoon. He could feel eyes on him and moved his attention away.
“Where’s the bathroom?” he cleared his throat.
“Down that hallway,” Jin answered, barely looking up from where he spoke with Yoongi.
Shaking his hands, Jungkook slipped down the hall, quickly locating the pristine half bathroom that housed only a toilet, sink and mirror, and locked the door. He eyed himself in the mirror for a few seconds before taking the opportunity to pop his neck.
It was coming back. He could feel it. And it was coming back quicker than before.
There was this thing. With Jimin. He couldn’t explain it. It’d been happening for years at this point; where he’d get caught up in Jimin’s orbit to a point near obsession and he’d have to back away. He’d distract himself with something new or someone new (usually something, since he was only around so many people in his life). And he’d cool off; he’d calm down. Usually there were a solid few months in between these spells—and it’s not like Jimin ever helped the matter, what with his own clinginess—but the last time he’d let it reach such a fever pitch he found himself booking two tickets to Tokyo without a second thought.
It was coming back now, he could tell because Jimin was feeling clingy with him again and his body seemed to welcome it; almost yearn for it. He knew the symptoms of—dare he say—falling into Jimin. The most he could hope for was that the fresh air would clear his head, but something deeper told him that didn’t seem likely.
He turned on the faucet and let cold water stream through for a few seconds before leaning down and splashing his face with it. Closing his eyes, he centered himself. It was fine. Nothing that he hadn’t felt before. It was all just part of the cycle of being in close quarters with the same person 24/7 for nearly a decade. It happened.
Back in a decent mind frame (well, as decent as he was going to get), he pulled the door open and returned to the dining area, where the topic had shifted to the latest show that half of the band had gotten into. He pulled out a chair at the end of the table, opposite of Namjoon and began to fill his plate.
“Jungkookie,” Jimin sang, moving down the table from where he’d been standing.
“Yes?”
“Have you watched it yet?”
“You know he’s been binge playing his games! He doesn’t watch television.” Hobi laughed. Jimin pouted, pulling out the chair closest to Jungkook and sitting down.
“He barely watches shows he’s on!” Tae commented.
“It’s embarrassing!” Jungkook shrugged. Jimin rolled his eyes but listened as the younger continued. “Sometimes it’s nice to be behind the camera, but you wouldn’t understand that.”
“I do too! I’ve taken pictures!” Jimin argued.
“Pictures of yourself don’t count,” Jin interrupted. A laugh went around the table.
“Says you!” Jimin balled up a napkin and threw it at the eldest.
“Jimin, not everyone enjoys watching themselves strut around all the time,” Yoongi told him calmly. “Some of us are in this profession for other reasons.”
Jimin just stared back, mouth slightly ajar. Jungkook just rolled his eyes at the two of them.
“Is this fish? What is this?”
Jin’s eyes lit up and he launched into an explanation of the various fishes that had been prepared and conversations of being in front of or behind the camera were forgotten. Soon, Jin’s attention was grabbed by Namjoon, and conversations began to split off into pairs or groups as they normally did.
Jimin ate quietly, listening to Jungkook and Taehyung talk about the latest video game release that they were eager to try, and when Tae excused himself for the bathroom, the older leaned in.
“Do you ever want me to take pictures of you?”
Jungkook paused and gave him a curious expression.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just that you’re always behind the camera and you get such good shots of us that I thought maybe you’d want some of yourself...I could do that. If you wanted.”
He considered this.
“Maybe,” he finally nodded. “We’ll have to see. I haven’t really thought of it that much.”
Jimin just smiled at him.
Dinner wrapped up slowly and over the course of a few hours. A few ideas for entertainment were thrown around, but most everyone was tired and ready to unpack, so they decided on getting settled in for the first night.
“I’m really not that tired,” Jungkook mumbled to himself, following the pack upstairs.
“If you were I’d be concerned,” Namjoon told him.
“I told you that you wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Jimin reminded him from a few steps down.
“Yeah, too late,” Jungkook rolled his eyes. They reached the top and everyone stopped to listen to Namjoon read off the text he’d gotten from their management. He’d gotten the text halfway through dinner with explanations but held off on informing everyone of the slight change.
“So, Jin, you got your own room after all,” he finally told them, to an excited yelp from Jin and a few groans from the others. “You’re down in Room 4. Yoongi and Hoseok are in Room 3, Jimin and JK in Room 2, and me and Tae are in Room 1.”
“Room 2,” Jungkook nodded amongst the varying ‘Goodnights’ being passed around. He quickly moved passed an irritated Tae to push open his and Jimin’s room, made the few steps inside and stopped short.
“What is it?” Jimin asked, coming in to stand next to him. He looked around the room and back to Jungkook, who shook his head and pushed further in, setting his camera bag on the bed.
The one bed.
“For some reason I thought we were getting our own beds. It’s nothing,” Jungkook waved. He didn’t want to make a fuss over it. It wasn’t like they hadn’t slept together on countless occasions before. It’s just that... the timing of all of this was wearing on him.
Jimin hummed, running a hand across the top blanket and said nothing else. He crawled on top and stretched out.
“Where are our bags?”
“Against that wall,” Jungkook nodded back. He sighed. “Jimin, I’m not tired. Do we really have to go to bed?”
Jimin watched the younger.
“What else could we do?”
Jungkook shrugged.
“There’s a pool.”
Jimin pushed his lips out into a pout, thinking.
“But we’d have to change and get wet and everything.”
“You were the first one wanting to get in!”
“I know but this bed is really comfortable. And you heard Jin at dinner. They’re going to the Spiritual Temple in the morning and I really wanna go.”
Jungkook let out a thoughtful sigh.
“Are you coming with us?” Jimin asked, rolling over to rest his chin in his hands and look up at Jungkook. “It’ll be neat!”
“Maybe,” Jungkook sighed.
Jimin smiled and reached for Jungkook’s sleeve, tugging on it lightly. “Please?”
“What are you even doing there?”
“Just getting a reading! Tae wants to connect with the spirit world and I thought it’d be fun to see what the healer says about me.”
“Do you believe in that stuff?”
“I don’t see what it could hurt?” Jimin pushed himself up to sit cross legged. He watched Jungkook drag his bag toward the bed, unzipping them and pulling out some of his stuff. Namely, his laptop. He pushed it, along with his camera bag, towards his side of the bed. He pulled out a fresh change of clothes.
“I’m gonna take a shower, then I guess I’ll work on editing some stuff.”
Jimin just rolls over onto his side.
By the time that Jimin had finished with his shower, Jungkook had found himself deep into his latest project. Enough so that he’d barely noticed the dip in the mattress next to him as Jimin crawled under the sheets, peering over at his screen.
“Isn’t this vacation supposed to be about resting?”
Jungkook took his time in responding, tongue jutting out in just the slightest as he compared the two options in front of him for the photograph he was editing.
“I’ve rested enough for today.”
“Hmm.”
Jungkook let the criticism fall there, and a comfortable silence fell over the room while he worked and Jimin watched. It was a leisurely sort of work, after all. The moment that Jungkook got tired, he could simply drop it and pick it back up when he felt like it. But he had so much energy that, quite honestly, he didn’t know when that would be. So he worked to fill the time.
“Do that one,” Jimin yawned, fully on his side by this point, index finger stretched towards the screen.
“You?”
“Yeah,” Jimin smacked his lips together. Jungkook glanced over and couldn’t help but to note how close the other was to falling asleep. One to oblige, though, Jungkook pulled up the picture of Jimin smiling from before dinner.
Jungkook hummed, quirking his head to the side.
He had a multitude of projects going on, and deciding what, exactly, to do with this picture danced in front of him.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, yet,” he admitted.
“Send it to me,” Jimin sighed happily. “I’ll post it on Twitter when we get home.”
“I might want it for a collection, though,” Jungkook thought aloud.
Jimin let out a little groan.
“Don’t I get some say as the model?”
“No,” Jungkook muttered. He let out a breath through his nostrils. “I need more video.
“I tried to tell you,” Jimin’s eyes were fully closed at this point, and Jungkook knew it was only a matter of time before he was unconscious. His words were even beginning to slur from the sleepiness. “Get your camera out in the helicopter.”
“I want to live life as much as I get good shots of it,” Jungkook tried to tell him.
Jimin hummed again, pulling his pillow down a little and burying his face into it. The sound of an air conditioner unit clicked on and filled the room with its white noise. The younger returned his attention to the computer, the picture of Jimin still staring back at him.
Peering back over to where he knew the other was asleep, he quietly dragged the photos over to his desktop before opening a series of folders, deep within his hard drive, and deposited them among the countless others that matched.
Maybe Jimin was right. He needed to rest up if he wanted to go to the temple in the morning, and if he didn’t, then he knew that they’d come back with some cool story that made him wish he’d gone. Besides, Namjoon would probably just spend the morning reading out by the pool, and Yoongi was gonna sleep in until God knew when, so the temple was honestly his best bet.
He closed his laptop and set it on the table next to his bed before turning off the lamp and sliding under the covers.