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"Morning kookie."
Jungkook opened his eyes to a pretty smile and couldn't help but lean in for a kiss, only to be pushed back by a stuttering and shy Jin.
"You haven't even brushed your teeth yet! ugh! gross!" he squealed, pushing Jungkook back onto the bed.
"Ah! Hyung! Why are you being so mean?! It's just a small peck on the lips!" Jungkook whined and didn't let go of Jin's hand. He tightened his hold, compressing his entire being to wrap around that warm hand - his sweet, Jin hyung's hand.
"C'mon! Get up you lazy head! I don't want my breakfast to grow cold!" Jin said and lightly slapped Jungkook's arm. The younger pouted and finally loosened his grip, letting go of Jin's hand.
"You are no fun." Jungkook grumbled, getting up from the bed and dragging his feet to the bathroom, to freshen up.
"Complain all you want! You aren't going to get a kiss from me, until you clean up and have a proper breakfast with me." Jin shouted at his retreating back.
"I only get this time to spend with you." Jin mumbled, too low for anyone to hear him, as he walked away.
But Jungkook did. Jungkook heard him, like always, and his steps faltered.
Jungkook knew how Jin hyung felt about his new job. They never talked about it, but he knew.
With a sigh, Jungkook got back to brushing his teeth and washing his face. He pushed back all thoughts of the job and took a good fifteen minutes in the bathroom.
"Jin hyung?" Jungkook called, once he was done cleaning up.
"In here!" Jin's voice came from the direction of the kitchen.
Jungkook sniffed the air, enjoying the delicious mix of cinnamon and vanilla invading his senses. His stomach grumbled in response and he couldn't help but chuckle.
When it came to food, Jungkook could be very picky.
But if it was Jin hyung, the later could give him a burnt toast and Jungkook would have it, with a smile on his face.
He peeked in through the kitchen door to see Jin hyung making waffles and eggs and his heart warmed at the sight.
The elder was humming under his breath, swaying to some secret tune and basking in the morning sunlight.
Jungkook's fingers etched to captured the moment on his camera, but he refrained from doing so.
Jin hyung would get back to yelling at him, if he delayed having breakfast any further.
"Morning hyung." Jungkook said, and stepped inside the kitchen.
"Tada! Here you go!" Jin hyung turned around, frying pan in one hand and a dish in other, a proud smile on his face. He set it on the table behind him, and placed the waffles and eggs in the plate.
"Thank you hyung." Jungkook gave his hyung a big smile before sitting down at the table. His eyes took in the teddy bear apron Jin was wearing, and that Jungkook had gifted him last summer.
Watching him sway lightly on his hips, with the apron on him, Jungkook knew he had made the right choice. Jin hyung looked so adorable in it.
The elder placed a glass of orange juice beside Jungkook and then sat down himself, with a helping of waffles and eggs and a cup of black coffee.
"What are you waiting for?" Jin asked, when he caught Jungkook staring at him.
"Uh nothing...nothing." Jungkook shook his head, and stuffed a piece of the cinnamon waffle in his mouth.
"How is it?" Jin asked.
"It's delicious!" Jungkook said with a mouth full of waffle crumbs, cheering for his hyung and watched as a satisfied smile stretched over Jin's lips.
They ate in a comfortable silence, with Jungkook stealing glances at his hyung and wondering if he should talk about the elephant in the room or not.
He wasn't blind.
Jungkook could see the dark circles under Jin's eyes, the pale skin and chapped lips.
No matter how cheerful Jin pretended to be in front of him, Jungkook knew the truth.
His Jin hyung looked tired. His body was showing symptoms of the kind of bone-deep tiredness that didn't go away until one had rested for a good couple days.
Jungkook couldn't let this go on. He needed to ask. He had to ask Jin hyung about it.
There was no other way.
"Hyung?"
"hmm-" Jin looked up, the fork in his mouth.
"D-do you...do you regret it?"
Jin frowned and removed the fork from his mouth, setting it down on the plate. "What? what would I regret?"
"Doing the show? Your show - Eat Jin." Jungkook asked.
"W-why would I regret it?"
Jungkook sighed.
What had he expected?
Of course Jin hyung was going to deny it. He wouldn't admit to how the show was affecting him, even if he wanted to.
"The odd timings, and being away from home for so long. I know you aren't used to it, hyung. And I know you agreed, because I suggested it to you. And I-"
"What? Wait! hold up-" Jin raised his hand, stopping Jungkook mid-sentence.
"It's true that you suggested it to me. But that doesn't mean, you have to bare the whole responsibility, Kookie."
"I wanted to do the show as well. You know how much I love cooking, and this show just happened to convert my passion into something I could make a living out of."
"I don't regret it."
"B-but hyung, you always say, you only get Sundays to spend the time with me. A-and you seem sad and tired all the time-" Jungkook looked down at his waffles and eggs, feeling his hunger dissipate, as the thoughts from earlier plagued his mind.
"I know-" Again Jin cut off Jungkook, leaning back on his chair, and closing his eyes.
"I know I'm always away, and so I long to spend time with you, my sweet boyfriend, and long to be home more often. But-"
Jin opened his eyes and looked over at Jungkook. "But I also know, it's what I signed up for, when I decided to do the show."
"It's just that sometimes, I tend to get greedy and wish things were less...stressful?Yeah?"
Jungkook looked at his hands, curled into fists on his lap. He knew his hyung wouldn't blame him, but somehow he felt the burden of it all.
He was the one, who had been enthusiastic about the offer, more so then Jin.
An agency had come across Jin's youtube channel, and the various cooking clips and mukbang videos he had uploaded online.
And they had loved Jin's approach to cooking and his chatty self, interacting with his audience, as he talked about his recipes and the tasting of plate, after.
The agency had wanted Jin to join them, and be a part of the yet to be released, cooking show.
At first Jin had been hesitant. Not having background in acting and knowing next-to-nothing about the entertainment industry, made Jin wonder if he was up for the task.
It was Jungkook who gave him that extra push, encouraging him to take on the job.
Back then, Jin had only just started applying for jobs and Jungkook was still in college.
The two were still in the early phases of their relationship, but it hadn't stopped Jungkook from dreaming big.
It hadn't stopped him from wishing his hyung to have a stable job.
And so, he had told Jin to go ahead with the cooking show.
His hyung had of course, agreed to do it.
However, what Jungkook didn't expect, was the overnight success of Jin's show.
He hadn't expected for the show to do so well, in such a short period of time, and he hadn't expected the rise in Jin's popularity.
His boyfriend jumped to celebrity status three-months into the contract, and everybody was curious about Jin's private life.
It was luck that Jungkook couldn't visit the set of Jin's show, because his university was on the other side of the town, and so people hardly ever saw them together, and didn't connect the dots.
And honestly, Jungkook didn't mind.
He liked that everybody was a fan of Jin and his cooking show.
But the spike in show's popularity meant long hours of shooting and increase in late night calls to set and cold, lonely dinners, and Sundays like this one, where Jin seemed too tired to enjoy his breakfast.
"Jungkookie...?"
He heard the scraping of chair, and the next minute Jin was sitting beside him, rubbing his arm and his hands wrapped around Jungkook's hands.
"Kookie, please look at me."
Jungkook nibbled at his lip, before turning to look at his boyfriend.
"I'm stuck between hugging you, and shaking some sense into you." Jin said with a chuckle and pinched Jungkook's cheek.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"For being stupid!"
"Hyung-"
"I know you worry about me, kookie." Jin said, before Jungkook could complain any further.
"I know you feel responsible for my current state, even though it's no fault of yours."
"Kookie-" Jin held his chin, so that Jungkook was forced to meet his eyes.
Jin's gaze was soft, and warm and somewhat concerned.
It made Jungkook feel a little silly.
Of course he knew, he hadn't done anything wrong-
"Stop-"
"What-"
"Whatever you're thinking, just stop." Jin wagged a finger at him, before flicking him on the forehead.
"Hyung! Stop with the abuse please!" Jungkook whined, rubbing at the bruised spot on his forehead.
"I will, if you stop frowning. like. this-" Jin said, stressing on each word, as he went about pressing fingers to Jungkook's forehead, trying to smoothen the tense lines.
"If you frown anymore you'll get wrinkles, and look like our neighbor ajusshi, Mr. Kai."
"Shut up!" Jungkook said, and couldn't help but smile at the comment. His heart felt a little bit lighter now.
"Hmm...you look much better now." Jin said, returning Jungkook's smile with one of his own.
"You're such a dummy, worrying yourself over little things like this."
"Don't you remember, what I said to you, when I started getting famous and we had to be careful, not to be seen together?" Jin asked him.
Of course, Jungkook remembered it.
"As long as you're with me, I don't have anything to worry about anything else." Jin had said to him. "We'll get through this, together."
"I remember." Jungkook said.
"Then please believe in it, and believe in me, Jungkookie." Jin said, placing a small kiss on his forehead.
"I might get tired sometimes, and might get whiny and irritated about the situation, and maybe even throw a tantrum once in a while. But if you're there-" Jin leaned in, placing a chaste kiss on Jungkook's lips.
"It will get better."
"You make everything better, my sweet Jungkookie."
And Jungkook couldn't help but tear up a little on hearing those words.
"We'll get through this together." Jin said.
"Yes, we will." Jungkook whispered, touching his forehead to Jin's.
"Yes we will." He whispered again.
This time, sealing the promise with a kiss.
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END