Chapter Text
“How’s your staff looking this year?” Yoongi asks Jin, who is puttering around the kitchen, trying to decide if he has enough ingredients to make dinner for all of them. He might need to bother one of the three other boys to go with him down to the farmer’s market. He could probably throw something simple together with the food in the apartment, but since he’s returning to the dorms for a while, he wants to leave them with plenty of tasty leftovers. And since it’s such a lovely day outside, midday sunlight shining brightly through their flimsy curtains, he feels as though he could use a bit of fresh air. While he’s thinking about it, the apartment could probably use a clean, too. Even though he doesn’t live here anymore he knows that the other boys won’t clean unless there’s an obvious mess. He doubts there’s even cleaner anywhere in the apartment.
“Jin-hyung?” Namjoon prods from the couch. The kitchen area of their apartment is just large enough to fit a four-person table and chairs in among the appliances, and then the kitchen opens up into the living room, which also fits the essential furniture and not much else. The whole space is small enough that they rarely have to speak above a normal level to be heard between rooms. Jin looks up from the fridge to see the other three boys looking at him expectantly from their different perches: Namjoon is spread out on the couch, legs in Hoseok’s lap, Hoseok is settled next to him, with his knees pulled to his chest, and finally Yoongi, sitting at the kitchen table. A normal summer afternoon for them all: Namjoon seems to be in the middle of his book du jour, if he squints Jin thinks he can make out rosters and song lists for dance team auditions on Hoseok’s tablet, and Yoongi has set down his pen temporarily on top of the haphazardly spread out sheets of paper that’s probably the writing project he’s been working on since the last semester let out.
“I don’t know a whole bunch about them,” Jin admits, closing the fridge since he’s just wasting electricity now and sitting at the table. Yoongi quickly shuffles the papers in front of Jin into a neat pile, face down. He hasn’t shown anyone what he’s working on, and while Jin would never admit it aloud he’s desperate to see the plot that’s got Yoongi writing late into the nights in their time off. “That cute little one from last year with the pink hair is on my staff, the one that was Taehyung-ah’s roommate.”
“You really are getting old, already having memory problems,” Hoseok grins from the other side of the couch, and Jin’s eyes narrow. Before he can retaliate and remind Hoseok that he is still his hyung, Namjoon steers the conversation back to the pink haired kid.
“Isn’t he on dance team with you?” Namjoon asks Hoseok, poking him with the corner of his book. Hoseok swats back at him with his tablet, and Jin can only hope he doesn’t hear the sound of metal and glass breaking in a few moments. Luck is not entirely on his side, and in their wrestling, a glass is knocked off the coffee table and shatters on the floor.
“Yah!” Jin exclaims, jumping up and bee-lining for the broom he stashed in the gaming space that used to be his bedroom. “Don’t move! You two are just irresponsible and there’s no way I’m driving anyone to the hospital!” He can still hear Namjoon and Hoseok arguing, probably over whose fault it is, but Hoseok’s infectious laughs are mixed in between sentences so Jin knows it’s definitely not serious at all. He returns quickly anyways, knowing that despite his warning, Namjoon is clumsy and could probably attract the glass shards like he was a magnet and they were metal. It doesn’t seem like they’re going to return to the subject of his staff anytime soon, so when he’s finished cleaning up, he sits down to make a grocery list.
“Are you going to pick up some bulgogi meat?” Yoongi asks, peering over Jin’s shoulder. Jin lightheartedly swats at him, and Yoongi’s face splits into a gummy smile, easily dodging his hand.
“Pick some up yourself, lazy,” Jin tosses back. “I don’t even live here anymore.” Yoongi simply shrugs, gesturing at the list.
“You’re already going out, aren’t you?” Jin rolls his eyes, not bothering to dignify that with a response, since they both know he’s going to get some regardless. Clearly Yoongi has plans to stay and write, which means he’s either going to have to drag Namjoon or Hoseok out with him. He entertains the idea of taking both, but since they’ve been so chaotic today, he thinks he can only deal with one.
“Hey, hyung, were you talking about Jiminie?” Hoseok finally brings his and Namjoon’s squabble to an end, and when Jin spares a glance up, the latter is already engrossed in his book again. The name Hoseok suggested definitely sounds like it could be right.
“Probably. There’s another one of my staff that I think is on your dance team, but he’s younger,” Jin adds, and Hoseok’s face scrunches into a thinking face. Jin has half a mind to go over and pinch his cheeks as some kind of revenge for the age comment earlier but decides against it. No need to get Hoseok riled up again. “He’s the one that did that Rain solo at your national competition last year.” Hoseok looks kind of surprised that Jin remembers such a specific detail, and Jin is a little surprised too, but how could he forget? Hoseok had spent weeks complaining about how the soloist kept trying to give the solo off to an older member or cancel it all together. He’d forgotten all about it until he'd attended nationals to support Hoseok and the kid stepped up and danced like he’d lived his whole life on stage. The number had placed sixth in solo performances, awarding the university’s dance team a placement at nationals for the first time in maybe a decade. Jin dimly remembers rounding the corner backstage post-show looking for Hoseok only to find him clapping the kid on the back and enthusiastically but gently telling him to have more faith in himself in the future. The kid had ducked his head, ears turning an endearing shade of pink. He’d looked like he wanted to say something back to Hoseok, but had caught Jin’s eye, and promptly blended into the background while Hoseok flung himself at Jin.
“Jeongguk?” Hoseok questions, snapping Jin out of his memory. While the dance was very good, he wouldn’t be able to recall the boy’s name, even with Hoseok supplying it. He settles for shrugging, but the other boy is already talking again. “That’s weird, I would never have pegged him as an RA.”
“Why not?” Jin frowns, immediately concerned there might be a problem. The last thing he wants is a lazy or uninterested staff member for what will hopefully be his last year here at university. He wonders if it’s too late to ask for a swap in students. “Is he a partier?” Hoseok opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by Yoongi chuckling. “You think me having a partier on staff is funny?” Jin demands, ready to unleash his wrath, but Yoongi shakes his head.
“No, if it’s the same kid I’m thinking of, he absolutely is not a partier,” he says.
“You know Jeongguk?” Hoseok asks, surprised. While Yoongi certainly comes out to support Hoseok at his performances and competitions, he doesn’t seem to interact with the rest of Hoseok’s team too much, preferring to stick to the people he knows. Jin doesn’t even think he’s seen Yoongi talking to Jimin, and Jimin is Hoseok’s favorite dongsaeng and has been to the apartment more than anyone else who doesn't live there already.
“He works with me at the library,” Yoongi explains, turning back to his writing and essentially diverting most of his attention away from the conversation. “We’ve worked together since probably after the Christmas holidays and I think I’ve had one conversation with him. He’s very quiet.”
“Are you sure you didn’t just scare him off?” Namjoon asks innocently but can’t help the teasing grin that spreads across his face.
“I’m writing you out of my book right now,” Yoongi announces promptly in retaliation, and it’s almost comical how quickly Namjoon’s mouth drops open.
“Wait, Yoongi-yah,” he says, but Yoongi’s humming contentedly as he supposedly writes Namjoon out of his book. Jin has to hide a smile, because he can see Yoongi is not even writing on his manuscript, but instead is just enjoying watching him squirm. Namjoon dog ears his book, and quickly comes around to the table, and Yoongi spreads his arms out wide to hide everything from Namjoon. Jin quickly gets up to avoid being caught in the middle of the fray and pulls Hoseok up from the couch.
“Want to go to the farmer's market?” he asks, and Hoseok casts one look at where Yoongi and Namjoon are starting to really get into it, and nods quickly, following Jin out the front door.
-
Later that evening, once the dishes are washed and Hoseok and Namjoon have retreated to their rooms and Jin has passed out on the couch, Yoongi finds himself sitting on their fire escape, gazing at the moon and wishing the semester wouldn’t come so fast. He’d had one of the best summers of his life, traveling around with his friends to visit each other’s families and spending late nights at beaches or driving to their next destination while Hoseok sang loudly and purposefully offkey to keep them all awake while he drove. He’s not ready to think about graduating, or even what comes after it, but with his final year starting only days away, he can’t really help it.
“I can hear you thinking, Yoongi-yah,” Jin’s tired voice floats from the window, and Yoongi turns in time to see his hyung climbing through the window, the communal couch blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Yoongi chuckles, shuffling over a little bit so Jin can sit next to him. He does, but doesn’t speak again, seemingly waiting for Yoongi. And Yoongi, for the millionth time since they met, can’t help but feel grateful that somehow Jin understands. Namjoon and Hoseok sometimes try to fix Yoongi’s down moods, but Jin always lets Yoongi come to him at his own time.
“Do you think about the future?” Yoongi asks hesitantly. It seems like a silly question, because it has to cross everyone’s mind at some point or another, but it seems like the simplest way to start.
“Here and there,” Jin nods. “Right now, I think I’m more concerned with training my new staff members. Don’t want to mess up.” Yoongi looks over at Jin, trying to mask his surprise at the older’s admission. Jin generally doesn’t like to talk about his worries, usually saying that there’s no need for him to burden his dongsaengs.
“It’ll just be like trying to wrangle us, but younger,” Yoongi offers. “Hobi really likes Jimin, so clearly he’s not going to be a nightmare. And I don’t know a lot about Jeongguk, but from the times I've worked with him he seems like a really nice kid.” Jin nods absentmindedly, but Yoongi can’t tell if he’s actually listening or not. So he keeps talking. “When he first started, he like, wouldn’t talk to me. He wouldn’t even be in the same part of the library as me. And I don’t think he’s ever taken a sick day.” Yoongi hesitates, wondering if he should bring up his niggling concerns and stress Jin out more. While it’s true that he doesn’t know the younger boy that well, there were some days Jeongguk didn’t ask for breaks, or some days he didn’t take his lunch breaks. Some days that Jeongguk looked like he was falling asleep on his feet. Yoongi never had the courage to ask the younger boy if he was okay, instead settling for giving him small smiles if they caught eyes. Jin still seems kind of worried, so Yoongi decides not to worry him even more. “He’s going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.”
“Hobi’s really excited about the team this season,” Jin says, not-so-subtly changing the subject, but Yoongi knows better than to press him.
“I would be too, if I could dance,” Yoongi laughs. “Especially with placing at nationals last year. It’ll look really good on his resume if he can pull off a better placement.”
“As long as he doesn’t overwork himself,” Jin adds strictly, even though Hoseok is nowhere near the windowsill and can’t hear Jin’s almost-parental affection. “That boy takes on too much as it is.” It’s true, out of the four of them, Hoseok has the most rigorous class schedule, trying to balance his psychology major and dance and English minors. It helps that Yoongi and even Namjoon have some of the same English classes as him, but there are times they only catch up with Hoseok at breakfast or lunch and don’t see him until he’s trying his hardest not to wake anyone up when he gets home at midnight.
“He really wants to graduate on time,” Yoongi replies, and oh. There’s that feeling of anxiety again, of not knowing what’s going to happen once they all leave university. He feels conflicted, not wanting to bother Jin with his future concerns when he has so much on his plate now. Jin must feel the change in Yoongi’s mood though, because he looks over to Yoongi’s face and Yoongi turns his own back to the sky to avoid Jin’s intense gaze. “I’m not ready for this all to be over,” Yoongi admits after a bit, still looking up at the stars. “We just had the greatest summer ever, but in one year, we’ll all be different places. Joon’s going to be going somewhere else for his master’s, and Hobi’s probably going to be off making a name for himself, and you’re going to have some great job somewhere fancy. I’ll be doing whatever, I guess, but we’re not going to be together.”
“We’re not going to be apart forever,” Jin says soothingly, gently draping an arm across Yoongi’s shoulders. “While your version of the future sounds lovely, I’m sure I’m just going to end up working at one of the firms in Seoul. Joonie’s going to be working while he gets his master’s, so he’s probably going to be right with us. There’s no reason why you can’t continue your novel in Seoul, right?” Yoongi shakes his head. “Hobi’s a great dancer, but realistically he’s probably going to have to train for a year at minimum with a company before they take him anywhere.” Jin pulls Yoongi a little closer, and Yoongi can’t find it in him to push him away jokingly. “Maybe we can even live together again.” He sounds kind of wistful, and Yoongi wonders if Jin’s been feeling more left out since he moved out two years ago. It doesn’t always cross their mind to call him when they’re running down the street for lamb skewers, or if they’re just popping in a movie. How many times had they decided not to call Jin because they swore they were going to fall asleep in a bit, but stayed up all night until they fell asleep in Namjoon’s room? He makes a mental note to remind Hoseok and Namjoon to think about inviting their hyung a little more.
“That would be nice,” Yoongi agrees, still looking at the sky. The stars are bright, twinkling, and he has to admit he does feel a little better. Better enough to tease Jin, at least. “Might be nice to have our live-in chef and housecleaner again.”
“Aish! Is that all you keep me around for?” Jin exclaims, whacking Yoongi on the shoulder. Yoongi whacks him back, and Jin looks appalled. Yoongi wouldn’t be surprised if Jin went off on one of his respect-your-elder tirades.
“Of course not,” Yoongi says, deciding to cut Jin off before he even starts. “But you did traumatize me when we first met, so it only seems fair that you keep atoning for that.” Jin starts spluttering and turning a bit pink at the mention their first encounter. It’s one of Yoongi’s favorite stories to tell people to embarrass Jin since he never fails to react exactly like this. It had been back during Yoongi’s freshman year, so Jin’s sophomore year, and it had been an exceptionally rainy day. Jin had come in flying to the library, absolutely livid because he’d received a 100,000 won fine on a textbook that had been checked out so many months ago it had been categorized as missing. It just so happened that it was Yoongi’s first day working the circulation desk alone and didn’t know how to deal with the soaking wet sunbae who would not stop yelling, even when someone tripped over sunbae’s backpack and the contents scattered. And what else would be sitting among months of tests and homeworks, but the textbook. Sunbae had stopped screaming and just stared at it, and Yoongi could only stare at the other boy wide-eyed. Sunbae had turned the precise shade of pink he would continue to turn whenever he was reminded of this story. Yoongi checked the book back in, sunbae left, and Yoongi went back on with his shift. After closing up with his boss, Yoongi was greeted by sunbae who introduced himself as Seokjin-hyung and invited him back for a warm homecooked meal. After that, Yoongi and Jin quickly became closer friends, as Jin was inviting him over for dinner a few times a week, and sending him home with leftovers.
“You can’t keep holding that over my head,” Jin nearly whines, and Yoongi continues to laugh until Jin joins in anyways. He feels a little lighter, even though the worries are still there. His hyung has always been able to make him feel more assured about the future.
“What the hell are you two laughing so loudly about?” Hoseok whisper-yells from just inside the bedroom. “The whole neighborhood can hear you two, probably.” This just makes Jin and Yoongi laugh harder, and Hoseok rolls his eyes at the both of them, probably annoyed since he’s been woken up.
“Sorry, Hobi,” Jin says, but he doesn’t seem that apologetic as he clambers down from the stairs and towards the window. “I should get going anyways, we have to start our new RA orientation in the morning.”
“Absolutely not,” Hoseok says decidedly, helping the two boys climb back through. “There’s no use for you to walk back to campus at this hour and not get to bed for a while. You’ll stay here for the night and we’ll send you off bright and early with a full stomach.” Jin opens his mouth, presumably to argue, but Hoseok shakes his head and promptly yanks him down the hall towards Namjoon’s room. “Go sleep with Joon-ah. He was sad when I got up to yell at you two.”
“Plus, it’ll keep him from trying to make breakfast in the morning,” Yoongi points out.
“I resent that,” Namjoon’s sleepy voice floats into the hallway. Hoseok gives Jin another little push, and Yoongi can see the elder’s eyes soften at the care from his dongsaengs.
“Fine,” Jin relents, shuffling into Namjoon’s room. Hoseok drops a small kiss into Yoongi’s head, perhaps sensing the residual stress of his friend.
“You coming with me?” He asks Yoongi. Normally, Yoongi would say no, preferring to sleep uninterrupted, but finds that he would prefer the company tonight. He nods his head. Hoseok smiles at him, illuminated by the faint moonlight coming through the curtain gaps, and holds out his hand. Yoongi takes it and follows Hoseok into the bedroom, feeling lighter than ever.
-
“I don’t get why you don’t just want to live with me anymore,” Taehyung is whining. “You were the best roommate! Who’s going to make me ramyeon when I’m hungry? Who am I going to beat at video games? Who’s going to water my plants when I’m away for too long?” He pouts, and Jimin can’t help but laugh at the other’s childish mannerisms.
“I’ll still do all of that, TaeTae, I just might have to be in the dorms from time to time too.” That’s absolutely a stretch, Jimin will probably have to be in the dorm for at least half of the nights every week. Technically, he should be there more than just the nights he has to do rounds, but he wasn’t keen on staying on campus instead of getting an apartment with Taehyung until his mother let it slip that it would help with finances. Jimin immediately signed up to be an RA, much to Taehyung’s dismay. His friend had certainly understood, but still tried to get Jimin to just live with him. Jimin had convinced Taehyung that he’d still basically live in the apartment Taehyung had decided to move into and could pay rent (to which Taehyung refused) but he’d also have some other responsibilities.
Jimin strides over to the mirror and makes sure he looks okay. Taehyung is still whining, but if he doesn’t get going within the next five minutes, he’s going to be late to RA Orientation. They’d given them some charcoal grey polos with the university’s logo on the chest, but he’d added a light denim jacket over some of his favorite beat up jeans to give it a little more personality. Do the jeans make him look fat? Subconsciously, he sucks in his stomach a little bit to see if he notices a difference. He can’t tell because Taehyung’s arms slide around his waist, and a fluffy head of hair comes to rest on his shoulder.
“You look great, Jiminie,” Taehyung reassures him, and gratitude for his best friend swirls in Jimin’s stomach. “Everyone’s going to love you within ten minutes of meeting you. Do you have your dance bag packed?” Jimin nods, nuzzling Taehyung for a few moments. He’s got a busy day today, not getting out of orientation until late and then having an impromptu practice with Hoseok and whoever else from the dance team is back early.
“What are you going to do all day?” He asks Taehyung, who shrugs. Taehyung usually spent most of his time last year with Jimin, or the RA Jin who cooked for Taehyung on nights when Jimin was out late dancing. Jimin hadn’t asked but assumed Jin had graduated at the end of the year with the rest of his class, leaving Taehyung with not much interaction besides Jimin.
“I’ll be fine, but you should get going,” Taehyung says, picking up Jimin’s dance bag and handing it to him. “When should I expect you?”
“Probably not until after training is done this week,” Jimin sighs. “I don’t know when I’m being assigned rounds yet, but I think we have other things to set up throughout the dorms before the kids move in anyways.” He pulls Taehyung in for a hug, letting the older boy squeeze as much as he wants. “I’ll try and stop by if I have some extra time though. Love you, TaeTae.”
“Love you too, Jiminie,” Taehyung smiles, pushing Jimin toward the door and turning back towards his bedroom. “I’m going to go back to bed.” Jimin laughs as he leaves, making sure to lock the door behind him. It’s a beautiful day out, just as it was the day before. Maybe he didn’t need the jacket after all, but it’ll be good to have later if it cools down. He sets off down the street to campus, only a seven minute walk from Taehyung’s apartment.
Once he gets to the lecture hall they're meeting at, he sets his stuff down by the hallway walls with everyone else’s and heads to the check-in table. While waiting in line, Jimin looks around to see if he recognizes anyone, but besides a few familiar faces from various classes, he can’t find any friends of his. Pretty soon, he finds himself at the front of the line, and the woman is looking up at him expectantly.
“Park Jimin,” he says, and she taps a bit on her keyboard before reaching into a folder and pulling out some forms.
“You’re the first one of the A3 dorm to arrive. Your staff will be completing the morning session upstairs in Room 304 before we meet up again down here at 11. Here’s a copy of this week’s schedule, the worksheets for the morning’s activities and a map in case you’re unfamiliar with some of the buildings. Do you have any questions?” Jimin takes the paperwork and gives her a small smile.
“No, thank you very much. Have a good day.” The woman beams at him as he walks off, and he can’t help but smile remembering Taehyung’s comment about everyone loving him. Even though she said he was the first one, Jimin’s excited to meet everyone and takes off to gather his things. It seems ridiculous that all staffs are in separate classrooms, usually ones that accommodate large lecture classes, but he supposes it’s for team bonding of some sort.
The building is one of a few science buildings, specifically one Jimin’s not been in yet. He gets turned around a few times looking for the staircase, but isn’t particularly bothered, humming a song as he meanders through the halls. The staircase is tucked away into the corner, and Jimin takes the stairs two at a time until he reaches the third floor. Room 304 is right to his left as he pushes open the door to the hallways, so he bee-lines for the door, expecting to be the first one there.
Evidently, he’d been wandering for longer than he thought, because there’s another guy there, hunched over the computer. He doesn’t hear Jimin come into the room, doesn’t even hear Jimin clear his throat.
“Um, hi,” Jimin says kind of loudly, and the guy jumps so high out of surprise that Jimin can’t help but laugh. The tables turn on him, however, when the guy turns around and he's surprised to see it’s no other than RA Seokjin from last year. “Sunbaenim?”
“It’s nice to see you again, Jimin,” Seokjin replies, bending down to pick up the papers he’d dropped. “You startled me quite a bit.”
“Sorry,” Jimin apologizes. “I thought you had graduated?”
“Co-term,” Seokjin explains. Jimin nods, understanding. Co-term was a program that their school ran, allowing students to stay for a fifth year to receive their master’s degree instead of going to another school for two years. “Stuck here for another year.” He smiles at the end of it, showing Jimin that he doesn’t really mind all that much. “Are you excited to be an RA?” Jimin hums, not quite a yes but not quite a no either. He really doesn’t mind one way or another, but since it helps out his family, he’s more inclined to care a bit more about it. Seokjin seems to get the gist of it, or at least the lack of strong feeling one way or another, because he drops it and motions to the empty classroom. “Feel free to sit, we’re still waiting on the other RA.”
“There’s only three of us?” Jimin asks, tilting his head to the side. That seems unusual, most dorms would have one RA per floor and with four floors, it seems as though there should be at least two other people coming.
“Unfortunately,” Seokjin sighs. “Apparently, we’re short staffed this year, so you two will each have a floor and a half, and I will be overseeing a floor as well to lighten the load. Is that alright?”
“Oh, of course, sorry,” Jimin nods his head quickly, plopping down into a seat front and center.
“Are you going to practice tonight?” Seokjin questions, changing the subject. Jimin is surprised that Seokjin would remember his extracurricular activities, especially when he had so many residents, but perhaps Taehyung talked about it while the two of them shared meals. Seokjin must see the surprise on Jimin’s face, because he promptly turns a light shade of pink. “Hobi talks about dance all the time, I feel like I know everything about the team. I could probably be manager,” he chuckles, “and he talks about you all the time too.” Jimin’s blushing now as well, suddenly feeling shy. “I personally think you’re his favorite team member. But don’t go telling anyone else or they’re going to get upset.”
“Never, sunbaenim!” Jimin promises, eyes wide at the thought of causing trouble for Hoseok. Seokjin smiles, and pats Jimin on the shoulder.
“Why don’t you start calling me Jin-hyung,” he suggests, and Jimin doesn’t miss the fond smile when Jimin beams up at him.
-
Hoseok’s running late to practice. He hadn’t meant to start off the semester this way, since it looked bad to be late as the captain, but Namjoon had decided to try and cook dinner for the three of them. Unsurprisingly, it had ended disastrously, and the two of them and Yoongi were stuck trying to clean out the kitchen without the help of Jin. Although he’d like to see his team and start working on routines for their first competition, he also secretly hopes no one shows up so he doesn’t have to make excuses for being late.
However, when he walks into the studio, he immediately spots Jimin stretching, and subconsciously poking at some of the fleshier parts of his body. Hoseok frowns, remembering how thin and frail Jimin had been back when he first auditioned for the team. He remembers how hard it was for a teary eyed Jimin to admit to Hoseok that the reason he was slowing and messing up was the ever-present dizziness associated with not eating for days. He remembers late night after practices, the younger crying because he couldn’t bring himself to eat anything. The memories make him shudder, and he tries to push the unpleasant thoughts away as to not worry his dongsaeng. He resolves to keep a close eye on Jimin this year.
“Hoseokie-hyung!” Jimin exclaims, once he sees Hoseok. His face lights up, and Hoseok can’t help but smile back at him, wrapping the younger up in a giant hug. If someone was going to be here tonight, he’s glad it was Jimin.
“Hi, Minnie,” he smiles into Jimin’s fluffy hair. “How were your summer holidays?” Jimin beams at him, and immediately launches into a monologue about how his dance instructor back home had taught him some more advanced moves and really worked with him on technique so he’d be much better this year. Hoseok hasn’t finalized the first competition list yet, but he thinks it’s likely Jimin will get a solo. They’d lost a bunch of seniors last year and were only down to about ten members. Any new dancers who would make it past auditions surely wouldn’t be ready for a competition number for a few months, so the first one would be all returners. “That’s great,” he ruffles Jimin’s hair once the younger is finished sharing. “Have you finished stretching?”
“Yeah,” Jimin ducks his head shyly. “But I need to run down the hall and fill my water bottle.”
“Finish up, and I’ll get set up. Sorry I ended up being late,” Hoseok apologizes, and Jimin just smiles back and flounces off to the water fountain. Hoseok busies himself plugging his iPhone in and opening his music to find the music he’d chosen for a lyrical solo, deciding he can start Jimin off on that. Once that’s figured out, he gears up for a grueling practice, pushing his hair back with a sweatband and checking to make sure his shoelaces are tied. In the mirror, he catches eyes with someone else, and nearly jumps out of surprise. “Jeongguk?” The younger boy is sitting in the corner of the studio, far from where Jimin had originally been stretching. Had Hoseok noticed him when he came in? No, he’d been caught up worrying about Jimin. But he had to have been here the whole time, otherwise Hoseok would have noticed him come in.
“Good evening sunbae,” Jeongguk’s quiet voice says, “sorry if I startled you.” Hoseok turns away from the mirror, and walks over to Jeongguk’s corner, feeling a little guilty at having overlooked the boy earlier to give Jimin such an enthusiastic greeting. Sure, he has a soft spot for Jimin, but he would be a terrible team captain if he blatantly picked favorites.
“I was lost in thought,” Hoseok settles for, not quite a lie but not quite the truth either. “I thought we agreed you could call me hyung?” Despite being on the team a whole year, the younger boy hasn’t come out of his shell even a little bit. Hoseok worked long and hard to get Jeongguk to drop the formalities and call him hyung, and he’s disappointed to see the him revert back into his old ways. He sits down next to Jeongguk to start stretching as well. Now that he’s closer, he can tell Jeongguk’s lost some weight since their last performance at nationals last year. As far as he could tell, Jeongguk didn’t need to lose weight, but he didn’t look unhealthy either. He probably worked hard for it, and it would be rude for Hoseok not to say anything, right? He’s definitely over-thinking this. “You look like you’re in great shape this year, did you work hard over the summer?” Jeongguk ducks his head, blushing a little bit.
“Thank you, hyung,” he responds. His voice is so quiet, it’s just barely over a whisper, and Hoseok would not have been able to hear it if he’d been any farther away. Jeongguk doesn’t make any more attempt at a conversation, but Hoseok’s not ready to let it drop here. He doesn’t know what Jeongguk likes or doesn’t like, or does in his free time, so he settles with talking about dance instead.
“Would you like a solo at STAR competition?” he asks. While he’d refrained from mentioning anything to Jimin, not wanting to share details until he confirmed everything, he was desperate to connect with Jeongguk in this rare one-on-one time. And anyways, after last year’s performance, he knew he wanted Jeongguk to be competing at most of their competitions.
“Me?” Jeongguk asks, seemingly surprised, and something lurches in Hoseok’s stomach. He’d spent ages trying to convince the kid he was good enough for Rainism, and after placing so high at nationals, he still wasn’t confident in his abilities?
“Yes, you,” Hoseok nudges him playfully, trying to play his shock off lightly.
“I- I don’t know, sunb- hyung,” Jeongguk hastily corrects himself. “I’m really rusty, don’t you think… um,” he stops, seemingly unsure of what to say next. “I didn’t get a chance to practice this summer and – I mean, wouldn’t you rather have Jimin-sunbae dance?” Hoseok’s heart nearly crumbles at this point. There’s so much to unpack – how could Jeongguk not have had a chance to practice? He lost all that weight somehow, didn’t he? – but the comment about Jimin resonates the most with Hoseok. It reminds him that even though he tried his hardest to be impartial during practices, and not show favoritism, he did anyways, and now Jeongguk was seemingly suffering because of it.
“No that’s not – I mean, yes, no, I mean,” Hoseok trips over his words, trying to reassure Jeongguk as quick as possible that he’s a valued member of the team. He’s noticing the younger boy deflate, like a balloon losing air, and he hates it. Hates how there’s nothing he can do for the time being except scramble for words. “Jimin’s probably going to dance too, I just thought you would be a good choice too, with nationals last year and everything.” He cringes internally, because that still doesn’t sound good enough, it still sounds like Jeongguk has this opportunity because Jimin has already been chosen for one too.
“Last spring was probably a fluke,” Jeongguk says bitterly. Hoseok didn’t think he could feel any shittier, but his emotions keep surprising him, and so do the words coming out of Jeongguk’s mouth.
“Jeongguk,” he says, trying to figure out where to go from here. Before he can formulate any other thoughts, the door opens, and Jimin comes bouncing back in, clearly excited to start practice. Hoseok wants to scream at him, tell him to leave so he can figure out what’s wrong with Jeongguk. He’s always been quiet, but he’s never openly been this down. But he can't ask Jimin to leave without raising suspicion, he doesn’t know what to do.
“Nevermind,” Jeongguk says suddenly, standing up. Hoseok looks up at him, still confused as to what’s going on. “If you need me to dance, I can do it. Sorry I was being so rude.” Hoseok wants to yell at him too, wants to tell him not to apologize. Jeongguk wasn’t being rude, he was voicing legitimate concerns, and Hoseok was just too useless to be of any help. Sometimes he wishes he had Jin’s caring instincts, or Namjoon’s ability to solve problems logically. What does he have? A lead tongue.
“Jeongguk, wait-” he tries desperately, but he doesn’t have anything to say and Jeongguk is looking at him expectantly. If he knows anything about Jeongguk, it’s that he wouldn’t want to cause a scene in front of Jimin. Or is it that Hoseok doesn’t want to cause a scene in front of Jimin? “Don’t worry about it,” he says finally. He immediately knows he’s said the wrong thing, because Jeongguk gives one jerky nod, and seems to fold in on himself. His brain is screaming at him to not let Jeongguk walk away, because he has a feeling if he lets the conversation end, it’ll never get started back up again.
“I’m not getting any younger here, hyung,” Jimin jokes cheekily, and smiles at both of them. “Are we ready to get started?” Hoseok casts another glance in Jeongguk’s direction, but Jeongguk is clearly avoiding his eyes.
“Yeah,” Hoseok sighs, “I guess so.”
-
“Hobi?” Namjoon mumbles. It’s got to be around midnight, the time Hoseok usually comes home after dance practice, but he’s usually good about getting into bed quietly. There’s something wrong tonight. Namjoon reaches out blindly and flicks part of the curtain aside to let in some moonlight so he can see Hoseok’s form in the hall more clearly without having to turn on a light. “Hobi, come in here.” The other boy hesitates slightly at the door, before he comes and sits on the left side of the bed, shoulders shaking in a way that implies he’s crying. Namjoon immediately sits up, thoughts of sleep forgotten, and hesitantly scoots closer to the other boy. (He wishes Jin were here, Jin is much better at cheering people up.) “Hoseok-ah, what’s wrong?” There’s a long, quiet pause, and Namjoon takes this as an opportunity to swing his legs over the side of the bed to sit next to Hoseok.
“I fucked up, Joon-ah,” he sniffles, and Namjoon knows it’s serious if Hoseok’s crying. He pulls Hoseok into his chest and lets him cry for a while. In the meantime, Namjoon’s brain wakes up a little more, and he tries to figure out what may have happened. He was fine, albeit a little stressed about being late when he left for practice, so something must have happened there. Maybe he fought with Jimin? That’s the most likely scenario, short of someone dying or getting gravely injured. Once it seems as though Hoseok’s calmed down a little bit, Namjoon decides to cautiously broach the subject. (He’s bad with feelings.)
“Did you have a fight with Jimin?” he asks, but it only serves to upset Hoseok again and Namjoon immediately feels guilty. “Aish, I’m sorry Hoseok-ah, we don’t have to talk about it if it makes you this upset.” Hoseok shakes his head, wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeves.
“No, no, it’s not that. I mean, it kind of is,” he says through slightly shaky breaths. And then he tells Namjoon everything, starting from the beginning. Namjoon has never been great at comfort or giving advice like Jin and Yoongi (to an extent) or even Hoseok himself. But this, listening, he can do for his friend. About how he feels absolutely grateful to be a captain to the team for a second year in a row and would never want any of the members to feel anything less than valued, but how small little Park Jimin seemed to be lost when Hoseok first met him. How Jimin killed it at his audition, but then his performance started slipping a little bit and got worse and worse. Namjoon listens while Hoseok goes on and starts crying again when talking about finding out about Jimin’s eating disorder. He listens when Hoseok talks about the late nights he spent with Jimin, walking him to his counseling appointments or supporting his eating habits. This does explain why the boys would wake up and see Hoseok and the little pink haired boy (now identifiable as Jimin) sitting at the kitchen table at early hours, eating breakfast. Namjoon still doesn’t see the main problem, but he doesn’t interrupt, letting Hoseok continue uninterrupted. He talks about nationals last year, and Namjoon allows his mouth to turn up in a small smile at the memory of seeing his friend so happy. But then Hoseok starts talking about tonight’s practice, and the small boy named Jeongguk that asked Hoseok if he would rather have Jimin dance instead of him, despite the sheer talent that oozes off of the kid. And then Namjoon realizes how it connects to the beginning of the story – Hoseok feels like he’s being a bad leader and had been trying to hide favoritism but now it’s potentially hurting a teammate. “What do I do, Joon-ah?” Hoseok finishes, tears still slowly making their way down his face.
“Um,” Namjoon starts eloquently, stuck. His first thought is call Jin, but Jin’s busy with the kid in question at RA training, or at least sleeping to prepare for tomorrow’s continuation. It breaks his heart to see his close friend, usually so happy and energetic so upset like this, and hurts him even more to know he can’t help him as well as one of their other friends. “He agreed to dance at STAR, though?”
“Yeah,” Hoseok confirms. “It was weird though, he said he thought nationals was a fluke, but then agreed to do it like five seconds later.”
“Is this normal behavior for him?” Namjoon muses, more to himself, but Hoseok answers anyways.
“I don’t know, he’s really quiet. I don’t know much of anything about him.” He sniffles again, starting to get worked up. “Oh my god, I really am a terrible captain who’s been paying too much attention to Jimin and -”
“Breathe, Hobi,” Namjoon instructs, rubbing circles into his friend’s back. “From what you’re telling me, it sounds like Jimin really needed you to pay attention to him. If helping Jimin overcome an eating disorder leads to a little insecurity and jealousy in other team members, there’s nothing you can do about it. You might have saved that kid’s life, and that’s way more important.” Hoseok is quiet for a few moments, probably thinking this perspective over. Namjoon continues to rub soothing circles, hoping it’s helping Hoseok calm down a bit.
“I guess,” Hoseok finally admits begrudgingly. “I didn’t get the sense it was jealousy, though…” he trails off, still thinking about it.
“You said you don’t know him so well, maybe this is how he shows it,” Namjoon instructs. “And he’s dancing at STAR anyways, so it’s not like Jimin’s doing things that he’s not.” The more Namjoon thinks about it, the more he thinks this kid is a little shit. He’s receiving the same opportunities as Jimin, but yet has the audacity to make Hoseok, the ultimate people pleaser, feel like shit for helping the kid who couldn’t help himself.
“Maybe,” Hoseok hums, but he still doesn’t sound too convinced. This only makes Namjoon angrier at this Jeongguk kid, because Hoseok is still blaming himself. He tries to push it out of his mind for now, because the last thing he wants is for his upset friend to notice he’s mad. This is usually the time Jin sends Namjoon off to fetch a glass of water or something so he can stew in peace while still being helpful, and Jin would continue comforting whoever was upset.
“Do you want me to get you some water or something?” Namjoon offers, hoping to do something familiar, but Hoseok shakes his head, moving to get up.
“I can grab it.” He moves towards the door, but Namjoon needs to be more helpful. He needs to be a better friend.
“Are you gonna come back?” There, that’s helpful. Namjoon knows Hoseok prefers to sleep with someone else, but rarely does now that Jin’s gone since Yoongi usually hates having someone else in his bed, and Namjoon mostly prefers sleeping alone if given the choice. Hoseok pauses in the doorway, turning back to look at Namjoon.
“Do you want me to?” he asks uncertainly. Namjoon swears in his head, if he feels like Namjoon’s asking out of pity, he’ll probably say no.
“I thought it might be nice, but if you don’t want to, I get it,” Namjoon replies. There’s a short silence. While he isn’t the best at deciding what to say, once he knows what he’s doing, he’s good with selecting his words carefully to get the desired outcome. He knows he’s succeeded when Hoseok slowly nods, promising to come back in a bit. He disappears from the doorframe, and Namjoon lays back down on the right side of the bed while listening to Hoseok puttering around in the kitchen. Namjoon moves the curtains closer together, plunging the room into darkness again. True to Hoseok’s word, he comes back in, crawling in next to Namjoon. Namjoon reaches out and initiates the cuddle to make the other boy more comfortable and hopefully less upset.
“Thanks, Joon-ah,” Hoseok whispers, and Namjoon only snuggles a little closer. There’s a long while where no one speaks, and Namjoon’s starting to drift off and assumes Hoseok’s doing the same, until he feels the familiar shaking of shoulders again. He’s still crying.
“Hobi?” he asks, uncertain as to whether or not to let Hoseok cry it out or to re-address the situation.
“It’s fine,” Hoseok tries to assure him. “I just, I wish Jinnie-hyung was here.” Oh. Namjoon’s been wishing that since he woke up, but he’d tried his best to help Hoseok and can’t help but be hurt that he ended up being useless.
“Me too,” he whispers. He doesn’t know if Hoseok hears him over his crying.
-
Taehyung’s brain doesn’t register the knock on his door, instead attributing it to a random noise in his game. But the knocking noise persists, even through a quieter section of his game, so he pauses it to get up from the couch. The apartment is a little chilly, and Taehyung pulls the blanket tighter around his shoulders. At some point, day turned into evening, as the dusky sunset colors are starting to streak across the sky. It only takes a few steps to get to the door, and Taehyung tries to smooth his hair down while he decides who’s on the other side. Jimin usually doesn’t knock, and he should be just getting to dance practice anyways. His hair really isn’t cooperating, and he gives up, flinging the door open.
On the other side is Jin, his old RA and probably only friend besides Jimin. He’s pretty sure Jin was supposed to have graduated the year before, so he can only gape at his friend.
“TaeTae?” the older boy asks, eyes widening and immediately dropping the grocery bags to reach out for his dongsaeng. “Are you okay?” Taehyung nods, lunging into Jin’s arms. He feels the rise and fall of the other’s chest as he chuckles and pulls Taehyung closer.
“I thought you graduated,” Taehyung mumbles into Jin, and Jin moves one of his arms up to stroke Taehyung’s hair.
“Oh, but I missed you too much,” he teases. “Actually, I still have another year. I was accepted to the co-term program last spring. I didn’t tell you?” Now that Taehyung thinks back, he briefly remembers Jin talking about applying for the program. He shrugs vaguely, not wanting to make the older feel bad that Taehyung doesn’t listen well. Jin just laughs, giving Taehyung’s hair another ruffle before leaning down to pick up the grocery bags. “Well, are you going to invite your hyung in?” Taehyung smiles, stepping back and granting Jin entrance into his apartment. Upon entrance, he watches Jin’s eyes survey the area, and fall on the couch where Taehyung has made a definite dent in the cushions from sitting on it all day. His empty snack wrappers from lunch are still on the table along with an empty soda can and a few empty water bottles. “Have you been sitting here all day?” Jin asks incredulously, and Taehyung bounces over to the kitchen counter before throwing himself onto one of the chairs.
“Jimin’s been busy all day,” he informs Jin. “He had stupid RA training and then his dance captain decided to hold a practice today for whoever was in town already. I probably won’t even see him until after he’s done training to be an RA.” He pouts, and Jin laughs, following him into the kitchen to presumably start unpacking the grocery bags (and hopefully make something for dinner).
“Oh, I know,” Jin says vaguely. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse to just sit on the couch like a potato. I bet you haven’t even had a proper meal today.” Taehyung ducks his head, not wanting to admit that Jin is absolutely correct. He’d just had whatever snack foods he could find, too committed to having the laziest day possible.
“I’m hungry,” he whines instead, and Jin rolls his eyes so far back into his head that Taehyung could probably make like, five jokes about them getting stuck.
“Aish, I’m literally making you food right now.” Jin reaches over and smacks Taehyung lightly with the wooden spoon he’s pulled out of the drawer. “You should’ve eaten a proper lunch.” Taehyung continues to pout just to amuse himself. “You could help,” Jin suggests, “it would probably get done faster.” Taehyung makes no move to get up, instead continuing to sit at the counter and watch Jin cook and batting his eyelashes innocently when Jin turns to look at him expectantly. Taehyung wins, of course, and Jin turns back to the task at hand with a small smile on his face.
“Since you already know what I did all day, what have you been doing?” Taehyung asks, and Jin shrugs, already immersed in his chopping.
“I had RA orientation as well,” he says, slicing his onions very precisely. “I’m an RD this year.”
“Oh, did you see Jimin?”
“Of course I did,” Jin snorts, not-so-maturely. “He’s one of my RAs this semester. Who else do you think told me your new address?” Taehyung hadn’t even thought about that when Jin showed up at his door. Last year Jin had known exactly where to find Taehyung since he was one of his residents, but he hadn’t even realized this was the first time Jin had been in his new apartment. Jin notices Taehyung’s look of realization and begins laughing.
“It’s not that funny!” Taehyung protests, but Jin is nearly doubled over.
“It didn’t even cross your mind? I could be stalking you!”
“And what a terrible stalker you would be! You’re not even conspicuous about it! You’re making me dinner!” Taehyung exclaims, but this just makes Jin laugh more. Taehyung gives up trying to defend himself and settles for just frowning at Jin.
“Aw, I’m sorry TaeTae,” Jin finally calms down. “I just didn’t want to wait until I ran into you on campus to see you. And Jimin mentioned you’d been disappointed when he said he’d be busy for most of the week with dance and RA stuff -” Well. Jimin wasn’t wrong, but it still makes Taehyung feel insecure. He’d always been enthusiastic to spend time with his friends, especially since he didn’t get the most attention at home. His biggest fear was being too clingy and annoying his friends off, something that had happened frequently when he was younger. He didn’t understand why they didn’t want to hang out with him all the time. They had families who wanted to spend time with them, and other friends that maybe they wanted to spend time with one on one, without Taehyung. And sure, Taehyung understands that now, but he still is clingier than he probably should be. Jimin never seemed to notice, or mind, but now Taehyung is aware that he’s mentioning it to other people, namely, Taehyung’s one other friend. “Tae?” Jin’s voice calls dimly. He shakes himself out of it, and looks back at Jin, who’s looking with him with a concerned look on his face. Hide it.
“Sorry, I just spaced out for a minute,” Taehyung force-laughs. “I’m glad you stopped by, although I swear I’m not dying of loneliness.” Jin searches his face for a moment, obviously having caught onto something. Taehyung hopes he doesn’t ask. He’d hate to lose Jin as a friend. He finally looks away, and Taehyung quietly lets out a sigh of relief. Jin has clearly decided to drop it, is buying the front Taehyung is putting on –
“I wish you wouldn’t lie to me.” The words are quiet, but there. Taehyung looks up at Jin, surprised. His heart is pounding. How does he get out of this?
“Hyung -”
“No, I mean,” Jin looks almost embarrassed now. “You shouldn’t feel like you have to tell me everything. But if you want to talk about things, I just want you to know that you can come to me.” The two both fall into an awkward silence, neither one of them knowing what to say next. Taehyung knows he should say thank you, at the very least, but he’s torn between maybe telling Jin and just getting it over with and just letting it sit inside him like he has for the past many years. Sure, he’s told Jimin bits and pieces, but Jimin’s been just getting over a rough patch, and he doesn’t want to stress him out anymore.
“Yes, please,” Taehyung finally decides.
“Yes?” Jin repeats, looking surprised.
“Oh, unless, you weren’t -”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Jin cuts him off. “Do you want to go into the living room?”
“No, actually,” Taehyung swallows around the lump in his throat. “Could we… stay here? I feel like I could tell you better if you weren’t just focused on me.” Jin nods slowly, looking back down at the vegetables he’d abandoned a few minutes ago and beginning to work on dinner again.
“Whatever you want to do is fine,” Jin says soothingly, and Taehyung knows he’s made the right choice.
-
Jeongguk’s legs are burning. He hasn’t stopped for about an hour and a half, but the sooner he nails this, the sooner he can go to bed. Hoseok had started the three of them on a potential group dance for STAR, but being out of practice, Jeongguk had struggled the whole time and lagged behind. Hoseok hadn’t said anything, but Jeongguk could tell he was frustrated, and while Jimin seemed as cheerful as usual, he had to be annoyed too. When practice ended, Hoseok pulled Jimin aside to chat about STAR, and Jeongguk had stepped quietly into the shadows of the hall. Jimin and Hoseok passed by him on their way out. Jimin sounded disappointed that he would have to take the bus back to the dorm by himself. Jeongguk felt selfish for making the smaller boy travel in the dark alone, and almost revealed himself, but Hoseok offered to walk Jimin back. The smile on Jimin’s face made Jeongguk’s heart burn, and the two left without another mention of Jeongguk. Once he was sure they were far enough away, he turned the lights back on and went back to work.
He trips over his feet and lands on the floor, knee skidding painfully on the shiny wood. Tears blur his vision, and he hates how weak he feels. The small nagging voice in his head reminds him that he hasn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday, but the louder voice reminds him that he needs to lose weight. Jimin, probably the best dancer on the team, was thin and talented and beautiful. Maybe if Jeongguk was even one of those things, he would be a better dancer. Or maybe if he’d practiced that summer. Hoseok’s face when he mentioned his lack of training was nothing short of disappointed. Jeongguk couldn’t have helped it. He’d been helping his family out at the family restaurant all summer, and even if he could have slipped away, he wouldn’t dare risk it. The phantom pain of the slap he’d received when he’d asked to take lessons in grade school still lingered if he thought about it hard enough.
Jeongguk doesn’t realize he’s actively crying until he reaches a shaking hand to his face to cup at the cheek that had been struck. He knows he should get back up and try the combination again, but his body and mind feel so defeated. The friendship he’d seen throughout the night between Hoseok and Jimin, even though the eldest had clearly tried to dial it down, made him jealous. Then he’d felt guilty, because he’d seen how Jimin seemed to suffer from something last year. Jimin deserved a good friend, and so did Hoseok, who works so hard for the team. He wipes at the tears halfheartedly, but they won’t stop coming and he can’t bring himself to sit back up.
“Jeongguk?” someone’s voice says from the door. He blinks through his tears to see Jimin and someone unidentifiable behind him, and the surprise and fear fuels him to sit up and quickly swipe at his eyes, hoping they don’t notice. “What are you still doing here?”
“Um,” Jeongguk scrambles for a reasonable excuse. “I was, I just came back for my – for,” he’s stammering wildly, eyes searching the studio floor. Why can’t he think of anything?
“Oh my God,” Jimin says, sounding a little horrified. Clearly, Jeongguk’s crying is upsetting Jimin, and he should stop. Right now. “You've been here this whole time.” The other person that Jeongguk has yet to identify has disappeared back into the hallway. “Jeongguk, do you know what time it is?”
“I’m sorry sunbae, I didn’t mean to be a nuisance,” he says, lowering his eyes so he doesn’t have to meet Jimin’s. Thankfully, the presence of other people has always worked in his favor, and his emotions are already nicely bottling themselves up.
“Hyung, please, call me hyung,” Jimin says, shaking his head. Jeongguk doesn’t say anything, waiting for Jimin to steer the conversation so he can figure out a good way to talk his way around it. “It’s three thirty in the morning.” Oh. That would explain why Jeongguk’s body wants to give out on him, he’s been dancing for nearly eight hours straight. He’d meant to leave around two but had been too focused on perfecting everything. The lurch in his stomach at this realization reminds him that despite working on the routine for nearly twice the amount of time, he’s still making mistakes. He could be better. He should be better.
“Here,” someone else is saying gently, handing him his still mostly full water bottle. The boy’s voice sounds familiar, but everything in his brain is kind of fuzzy and he can’t place it. It’s soft and gentle, and a little more calming than Jimin’s high-pitched anxiety ridden voice. Jeongguk shakes his head at the water bottle, keeping his eyes on the ground trying not to give away the dizziness that hits him when he does that. “What’s wrong with him?” the voice asks, although the question seems directed at Jimin. It’s not as though Jeongguk would have answered anyways.
“He’s been here for eight hours, hyung,” Jimin’s loud voice says, distressed. “Hobi-hyung and I left at midnight. I thought he did too, or else I would haven't have left him.”
“Jeongguk, you have to drink some of this,” the voice insists, and Jeongguk lifts his head slightly to focus on the water bottle. He lifts his still-shaking arm to take it from the person, making sure to only take tiny sips but making them seem larger for show. Too much water will only make him fatter. The exhaustion starts to settle in, and he would have fallen right on his back and probably hit his head if it hadn’t been for the person who’d offered him water immediately catching him. The water bottle slips out of his fingers and clatters to the floor.
“Oh my God,” he can hear Jimin’s voice saying again, this time more panicked, as his eyelids start to flutter. He’s being such an inconvenience. If he’d just gone home at two like he’d originally planned, he wouldn’t be troubling these two virtual strangers with the repercussions. Pull yourself together, Jeongguk. Get up. Jeongguk forces his eyes back open, and hesitantly tries to sit back up.
“Oh, hey,” the soothing voice says, trying to keep Jeongguk horizontal. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Jeongguk turns his head to find the source of the voice and is surprised to see RD Seokjin holding him steady. He must have figured out he hadn’t returned home. He’s going to have to figure out a way around that later in the semester. Hopefully, things will be so busy that the other two will be going to bed quite a bit earlier and not have time to be poking around Jeongguk’s room long enough to discover he’s not in it.
“No, I’m – I’m fine,” Jeongguk manages, and Seokjin reluctantly lets him sit up. “We should get back, there’s training in a few hours…” He tries to struggle to his feet and get all the way up, but his legs don’t want to cooperate, and he nearly collapses again. He’s hit with the sudden dizziness again, and this time Jimin is the one to catch him. He sits Jeongguk back down on the floor, a hand on his back to stabilize him.
“You’re not going to training this morning,” Seokjin says sternly. Jeongguk wants to argue, because he can’t miss out on any training. He wants to be the best RA he can because he desperately needs the free room and board. It would be stupid to miss out on what could be vital information for such a stupid reason. If they get back in the next half hour, he can get maybe three hours of sleep before the first session. “I’ll tell them you’re ill, but I will not allow you to go on only three hours of sleep, especially when you can barely stand up straight now.” The tone of his voice suggests that this is the final decision, and thus Jeongguk knows better than to protest. “Jimin, stay with him. Try to get him to drink some water. I’m going to bring my car around to the front, and we’ll load him into the backseat.” Seokjin stands up, looking at Jeongguk with an indecipherable look in his eyes before turning on his heel and marching out of the room. Jeongguk can only assume it’s disgust, or annoyance from being disturbed so late at night.
“Here,” Jimin offers, more quietly now that there seems to be some sort of a plan. He picks up the water bottle that had been discarded earlier. Jeongguk feels like he knows better than to argue against Jimin as well, and returns to taking many tiniest sips to make it seem like he’s drinking plenty. He can tell Jimin’s anxious to ask more questions, but luckily, he doesn’t voice any of them. The two of them sit there quietly until Seokjin returns, Jeongguk’s dance bag slung over his shoulder. He and Jimin help Jeongguk struggle to his feet and out to the car, where Seokjin tells him to lie across the backseat. Jeongguk obliges, too tired to think about anything else, and closes his eyes as soon as his back hits the soft seats. He barely hears the pink-haired boy speak, but the words bounce around in his mind until the engine and warmth lull him into an uneasy sleep.
“Something's wrong with him.”