Work Text:
It wasn’t a secret that Jungkook loved his hyungs with his whole heart. He loved them so much that he would do absolutely everything to keep them happy. Something else that wasn’t a secret was that Jungkook liked to tease his hyungs. Jimin was his target most of the time, Jungkook would call his hyung short or be very informal to him by not calling him hyung. Of course, this irritated Jimin sometimes but he knew Jungkook didn’t mean it to be offending in any way. But he always pretended to be extremely hurt, it was funny to him. Sometimes Jungkook picked Jin as his target, even though Jin was the oldest, he was definitely one of the biggest dorks in the group. Jungkook would call Jin old and hit him, and Jin always reacted by either screaming of hitting back. He didn’t tease his other hyungs as much, but he would still do so sometimes by imitating them or by disturbing whatever they were doing.
Again, let it be said that Jungkook is not a bad person, even though he does these things, he loves his hyungs more than anything in the world. Of course, Army sees that and the same goes for his hyungs and most of their staff, they see how much Jungkook loves his hyungs. Then there are the people that don’t see it, they’ll maybe leave a hate comment on Twitter but nothing more. And lastly there are the people that do see it, but choose to ignore it. They are the ones that send death threats, the ones that hate just to hate something. Luckily, BTS doesn’t come across these people most of the time, but sometimes they do.
“All right guys, that didn’t look to bad. Jin your feet are still a bit off around the chorus. For RM, SUGA, J-Hope and V try to distribute your energy over the whole song, I can see you getting tired by the end. Jimin you get quite sloppy during the chorus, your hands aren't doing what they should be doing. And Jungkook-ah, it looks really good but your footwork is still a bit weak. I know you are still recovering from the incident, so don’t overwork yourself.” The choreographer explained to them. “But that doesn’t matter because the dance to Dope is quite difficult, I know all of you will get it.” He smiled at them and told them to take a ten-minute break.
All of them dived for their water bottles and went to sit down against the wall. Jungkook sat down a bit further from the rest of the members, which said members immediately noticed. They exchanged some glances and, in the end, Namjoon got up and walked over to Jungkook. The maknae looked up at the leader but quickly looked away when they made eye contact. Namjoon said down beside him and sighed: “What is bothering you Kook-ah? Is it because you didn’t nail the choreography? Because none of us did that yet, did you see me fail?” He tried to joke but Jungkook just shook his head in response. “Then what is it, Jungkookie? You can talk to hyung, you know that, right?” Jungkook looked at him briefly and said: “It’s nothing, hyung.” “Come on Kook, you’re only worrying hyung more this way, we’re all concerned. Please tell, hyung.” Namjoon tried to convince the younger, even adding a pout to his pleas.
“It is really nothing, hyung. It’s just that I thought that my injuries would heal faster. They are still bothering me. I am holding you guys back.” Jungkook held his head in his hands. “Aaaarg, why did I have to get mugged in some stupid alley?” Namjoon looked a little bit taken back at that but quickly responded with: “Jungkook-ah, you aren’t holding us back at all, you have done so much in the last two months. You have helped me and Yoongi- hyung produce a song, your vocals have improved and do I need to remind you that you got the ‘I Need U’ choreography a lot faster than most of us even though you learned it later and on you own.” Jungkook smiled at that. “I know, hyung, it’s just hard.” Jungkook got up and held his hand out to Namjoon. “And besides it can’t be worse than Suga’s moves in Bulletproof.” Not even one second later Namjoon had to duck to avoid the badly aimed water bottle that Yoongi had tried to throw at Jungkook’s head. “Yaaah, you brat, that’s hyung to you.” Jungkook smiled at Yoongi before responding with: “Well, what are you going to do grandpa?” And with that Yoongi reached for the other water bottles while all the other members watched with amused smiles.
“So Jungkook, how is living with six older hyungs?” The interviewer asks and before Jungkook can even open his mouth Jimin interrupts him. “Now, you can almost leave the ‘hyungs’ out, he is always so disrespectful to us. Do you know how many times he imitates me with that annoying high-pitched voice? Already two times just today.” Jimin acted annoyed but even the interviewer saw the affection when the 95- liner looked at the maknae. “Sorry, Jimin but your voice is just very high.” Jungkook giggled. “Yaaaah! That is hyung to you, brat!” Jimin yelled while charging at Jungkook. “I am not scared, Jimin, you can’t reach me with those tiny arms of yours.” Jungkook said while he tried to stay out of Jimin’s reach by dancing around the other members. The other members could barely hold in their laughter while Namjoon tried to get the two younger members to sit down again. More chaos ensued when Jin decided he wanted screen time too, and started throwing kisses at the camera while shaking Taehyung like crazy. The interviewer couldn’t contain her laugher either and turned to the camera; trying to get out words between her giggles. “Well, that is it for today, as you can see an interview with BTS just can’t be boring. Have a nice evening and we’ll see each other again next Friday.” She waved at the camera while something like ‘goodbye Army’ and ‘we purple you’ was heard in the background.
After the interview ended people started moving: cleaning up the set, saving recordings and just trying to get stuff done. Jungkook had just thanked one of the cameramen when Hoseok grabbed his arm. “We have to go Kookie, Sejin-hyung wants to discus something with us.” Jungkook shook his head and pouted. “But Hobi- hyung, I haven’t thanked everyone yet, I have to thank the interviewer at least. She was very nice to me.” Hoseok pulled at Jungkook’s arm with a little bit more force. “We don’t have time for that Kook-ah, we really need to go.” And with that Jungkook was pulled towards the exit. Just seconds before they went through the door, Jungkook caught the eyes of the interviewer and waved at here while mouthing the words: ‘thank you’. She smiled at him and waved back just before he was pulled outside.
When they got in the van, all his other hyungs were already there. They were talking about various things but all of them smiled at him and Hoseok when they entered. The drive towards the studio (lets just pretend Sejin has an office there too) wasn’t long, Namjoon told them that Sejin just wanted to discuss something with them and that it shouldn’t take very long. Summer was coming so it was still light outside when they arrived even though it was already around 9 P.M. They walked into the building, right to Sejin’s office.
When they entered the room Sejin was sitting behind his desk talking to someone on the phone. All the members just sat down: Yoongi and Hoseok on the couch in the corner, Namjoon and Jin in chairs by the desk, Vmin decided to just sit on the ground with their back against the couch and Jungkook laid across Yoongi’s and Hoseok’s laps. When Sejin finally stopped talking to whoever was on the phone, he smiled at them. “I am happy, you guys were here so fast. I have some important news for you, even though this might not change a lot for you guys I still think that you should know. After we released ‘I Need U’ you became more popular and because of that Bang PD decided to hire someone extra to plan things. He will also be looking into improving you image where that is required.” Sejin explained to them. Just as he was about to continue the door opened. In the door opening stood a man that was probably around his fifties. He was just as long as Namjoon and he also sported some muscle. The man had a friendly face and he was wearing a bright blue sweater.
“Aaah, Do- Yun- hyung. How are you? Why did it take so long? The boys were here faster than you.” The man smiled warmly at all of them and gave them a little wave. “Hey, I am Han Do- Yun but you can just call me hyung. I assume Sejin already told you what my job is going to be?” They all nodded at that. “Well, I am just going to help with the managing, because even though you already have al lot of fantastic managers, there is going to be a lot more to manage now that you are getting popular. I will also be responsible for deciding how you are going to look to the world. Don’t worry, you can still be yourself, I am just going to help you decide how we are going to present you guys to the public.” They all nodded and went to shake his hand. “And if one of you really doesn’t like me, just make sure you're on your best behavior, then no meetings will be required. I will try to talk to you guys one- on- one this week, but we’ll see if the schedule allows it.” With that Do- Yun concluded his little speech and left he room shortly after.
Jungkook was lying on Jin’s bed while scrolling through his phone. “So hyung, what do you think of this Do- Yun guy?” Yoongi, who was laying on his bed on the other side of the room questioned. Jin came out of the small bathroom that was attached to the bedroom, hair wet from the shower he had just taken. “Oh, he seemed nice enough, although I still don’t get why we need him. We have been doing fine till now.” Yoongi shook his head. “I don’t know, hyung. Something just doesn’t feel right about this guy. But I don’t know what causes that feeling. Maybe it’s just the fact that we are becoming so popular that makes me nervous.”
Jin changed into his pajamas and laid down behind Jungkook, spooning him. Ever since the incident in the alley happened Jungkook couldn’t sleep on his own anymore. Of course, his hyungs didn’t mind holding him at night, especially because Jungkook didn’t talk about his feelings a lot. When Jungkook first joined BTS he was very shy. He wouldn’t talk a lot in interviews and it was the same when they were at home. Now that they had been together for more than three years the maknae talked about his feelings more, but he still didn’t talk about his problems very often.
“What do you think of Do-Yun, Jungkookie?” Jungkook tried to meet Yoongi’s eyes in the dark before answering with: “I like him, hyungie. He seems very nice; I am sure he’ll be able to help us with whatever can be improved. And besides Sejinie- hyungie trusts him, so I’ll do that as well.” The two eldest hyungs smiled at the maknae’s innocence, he always saw the good in everyone. “You’re too sweet for your own good, Kookie.”
Two days later, Jungkook passed Do-Yun in the hallway, and was stopped by him. “Hey Jungkook, how are you doing today? Are you ready for today? I saw that you have both dancing and vocal practice.” Jungkook flashed his bunny smile. “Really good, hyung. I am actually looking forward to dancing because I only started dancing again this week, you know, because of the incident. Do-Yun grinned at that. “Well, that’s good to hear. Let’s hope you finally get the choreography today, because your injuries have already held the group back enough.”
Jungkook’s heart dropped at that. ‘Was that true? Did his injuries really hold the group back? His hyungs had said the opposite the other day, they wouldn’t lie to him. Right? On the other hand, what would Do-Yun get out of lying to him? He was probably just trying to motivate him, to give him a goal. He should really work harder.’
“Oh, Jungkook,” Jungkook looked up at Do-Yun, “meet me in my office after dance practice. Don’t make me wait.” Jungkook nodded and walked away. Do-Yun’s words echoing in his head,
‘Was he really holding the group back?’
The were panting when they finished the dance practice, the choreographer finally pleased with how the dance turned out. Jungkook was laying on his back in the middle of the practice room, completely exhausted. Jin walked towards the youngest and went to lay on top of him. “Jinnie- hyungie, get of meeeeee.” Jungkook whined, stretching the last word. Jin didn’t move an inch, “Are you ready to go home, Kookie?” Jungkook shook his head at that, causing a confused look to creep onto Jin’s face. “Why not Kookie? We are done with everything, right?” All the other members were now looking at the two of them with confused expressions on their faces. “You are, but I am not. Doyun- hyung wants to talk to me.” Jin and Yoongi exchanged glances, and Yoongi spoke up. “Isn’t it a little weird that he suddenly wants to talk to you, when he hasn’t shown any indication that he’ll want to talk to us too after the meeting?” Jungkook stood up but before he walked out the door he said: “Doyun- hyung is really nice. Beside I am sure he’ll want to talk to you one- on – one too so he can get to know you. He would be stupid if he wouldn’t.” And with that Jungkook was gone.
Jungkook hurried through the hallways to Doyun’s office. When he arrived, he knocked on the door and waited. “Come in!” was said from the other side of the door so Jungkook entered. “Hey, Jungkook, good you could make it. We have a lot to talk about.” Doyun wore a friendly smile on his face but something about what he said made Jungkook nervous.
When he sat down Doyung pulled a remote from somewhere and started the television on the wall. A video appeared on the screen and Jungkook quickly recognized it as the interview they did two days ago. “So Jungkook, as you know my task is to look after your appearance. And that’s what I want to talk to you about, because you, my friend, need to change some things.” Jungkook’s heart dropped at that. ‘What did that mean? What did he have to change?’ “So, lets look at this interview for example. You are being rude to Jimin, your superior, and admit being rude to the other member. That has got to stop, Jungkook, you’re a brat.” Jungkook was taken back by all of the thing Doyun said. “But hyung---” Doyun raised his hand and Jungkook immediately shut his mouth. “Let me stop you right there, brat. You are going to call me Doyun-nim. Do you understand?” Fear began to take Jungkook over now, so he just nodded. “Words, brat, words.” Suddenly Doyun didn’t seem so nice anymore, all his eyes showed was anger. “Y-y-yes, Do-d-doyun-nim.” Jungkook managed to get out. “Good boy. So, the things that you are going to do differently are the following: don’t speak unless you’re directly spoken to, you are going to call your hyungs ‘hyung-nim’, you aren’t going to bother them with your troubles, you’ll thank them for anything they do for you which you are going to limit to a minimum, you’re going to pick up the choreographies and vocals faster and you’ll do more chores and help your hyungs more. Understood?”
Jungkook shook his head, pushing his fear away, and spoke up in anger. “No, hyung, this is stupid. I wouldn’t make my hyungs happy by doing that. They would be worrying about me if I wouldn’t tell them anything. Beside who are you to tell me what t—”
*SLAP*
Jungkook’s head whipped to the side, a now red mark on his cheek, a tear rolling down his cheek. He was scared now; he had never been hit before, by nobody. “You are going to listen to me, you piece of absolute shit! You are absolutely nothing! Nothing, do you hear me, besides some pathetic waste of space. You hyungs don’t care about you. how could they when you are such a disappointment? If you won’t obey, I will tell everyone exactly how I feel about your position in the group, you’ll be both home- and jobless in less than a few weeks.” Tears where running down Jungkook’s face while he tried to tell himself that what Doyun was not true. But I all seemed so obvious suddenly, they would look at him all the time during practice, obviously annoyed, and they’d always hit him when he joked around, he understood now that they just wanted him to shut his stupid mouth. “I saw you after the interview, you didn’t even go to the interviewer to thank her. Are you that self-centered? I am going to tell your hyungs to stop babying you, because you need to grow up Jungkook.”
After that his smile turned soft again, “I just want what is best for the group Jungkook, I’m sure you understand that, right?” And with one last smile Doyun left the room.
When Jungkook came home the three oldest members of the band were still in the living room. Apparently, Namjoon had wanted to get a good night of sleep and went to bed early and Jimin and Taehyung were playing some videogames. Jin immediately rushed to the front door when he heard it open. Jungkook had pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head to cover the forming bruise, tomorrow he would just cover it with some make- up.
“Hey Kookie, I am glad you’re home. I’ll just heat up dinner for you.” Jin rushed to the kitchen to fix Jungkook his meal. Jungkook walked to the living room and sat down on a chair, normally he would just lay down on the couch but he now realized that was rude and unprofessional. “So, what did you and Doyun- hyung discus?” Hoseok asked noticing the younger wasn’t going to say anything. “Nothing important, hyung-nim. Just some things about bettering our image.” Hoseok frowned at that but didn’t comment, thinking he must have imagined the use of the honorific. Jin put a plate of stew in front of Jungkook, sitting down on the couch with his book, and therefore not really noticing the ‘thank you, hyung-nim’ he received from Jungkook. Hoseok did notice this however, frowning at how casual Jungkook used the honorific, not at all like he was joking around.
Jungkook wasn’t really hungry because of everything that happened today, so when he finished only a quarter of his food he went to stand up and put it away. This caused Yoongi to look up and say: “Hey brat, aren’t going to eat more than that? After all the effort Jin-hyung put into it?” Before the today Jungkook would have sassed back but after hearing Yoongi use the same name that Doyun had used not more than an hour before; he just felt like a the most horrible person on earth. So, he just sat back down, continuing to eat the food, even though he was getting nauseous. Yoongi and Hoseok were exchanging glances now but stayed quiet while looking at Jungkook with worried expressions. Jungkook never acted like this, so obedient. Even though it would have been nice to see Jungkook listening to them, this was just freaking them out.
After finishing the food Jungkook got up and put the plate away. He walked towards the stairs but Yoongi and Hoseok blocked his path. “Are you okay, Kookie? You are acting different.” It took a while before Yoongi’s question registered in Jungkook’s brain. For a moment he wanted to tell them everything but then he remembered what Doyun said. You aren’t going to bother them with your troubles. So Jungkook just shook his head and said: “No, I am perfectly fine, hyung-nim. I will go to bed now. Goodnight, hyung-nim.” And with that he went up the stairs, leaving two very worried hyungs behind.
Jin- hyung woke up when his alarm clock started ringing. He pulled himself out of his bed and into some clothes without trying to wake Yoongi. He showered and brushed his teeth, trying to think of something to make for breakfast. He walked down the stair when the smell of food hit him. Confused he opened the door to the kitchen, only to be met with a set table and plates with sandwiches and eggs. Jungkook was standing by the sink washing the pans he used to make breakfast. He gave small smile when he saw Jin and bowed deeply, confusing Jin even more.
“Wow, Kookie. Did you do all of this?” Jungkook just nodded. “It looks really good, should we wake up the others?” The younger just nodded and walked up the stairs. Before Jin could walk up the stairs himself, the doorbell rang. He walked towards the front door and opened it, being greeted with the sight of the postman. He received some postcards and a package for Yoongi. When he went back into the house, all of the other members had already started breakfast. Namjoon looked up and smiled, “It looked so good, hyung. We just couldn’t wait.” Jin shook his head and chuckled, “Yeah, I know. I didn’t know Jungkook was a good cook.” All the members became quiet and turned to look at their youngest. “Wait, did you make this, Kook-ah?” Jimin asked with amazement, while Jungkook just nodded in return.
Even though Jin didn’t mind the fact that Jungkook made them breakfast, the sudden change I the maknae’s behavior worried him. With a sigh Jin pushed the worry away. It was most likely nothing, he would just make breakfast tomorrow and all of this would be a one-time thing.
Oh, how wrong he was.
Jungkook’s behavior didn’t go back to normal in the week that followed. If anything, it changed even more. He would get up every morning and make them breakfast, wash the dishes and do the laundry. When the were at either dance or vocal practice he wouldn’t stop till everything was perfect. He also seemed to become quieter. While Jungkook had been a shy boy when he joined BTS, they had gotten Jungkook to open up in a short period of time. After he came out of his shell, they discovered a bright personality that could match Hoseok’s. But suddenly the maknae closed off, he became very distant. He would call them hyung-nim, which was weird because you don’t call your friend that. And the members weren’t just friends, they were family. He was constantly trying to help them with everything but he wouldn’t accept any help in return. Jin was getting really worried and he suspected the others were worrying too. Something changed Jungkook, and he was going to find out what.
They had been practicing ‘For You’, for hours. The song was released not that long ago but since they started to gain attention, every song of theirs was received quite well. Jin had been really happy with this song because the choreography was quite easy, so he didn’t struggle that much. This seemed to be different for Jungkook. Although he nailed the dance after their third try today, he still didn’t seem satisfied. Hoseok stood up, having nailed the choreography in his first try, and approached Jungkook, laying a hand on the maknae’s shoulder. Jungkook? I think it would be good if you took a break.” Jungkook looked up at him, shaking his head, “I don’t have the moves down yet, hyung-nim.” He walked to the box in the corner to start the music up again.
Hoseok was about to open his mouth when the door opened and Doyun strolled in. Jungkook hadn’t seen Doyun since they talked that day; he tried to make himself look smaller and moved a bit so that Hoseok was in Doyun’s line of sight. “Hello, boys! Everything alright here? I just came to get an impression of your group dynamic.” He said while smiling widely. The three oldest members all looked at Doyun with distrust in their eyes. Jungkook’s behavior suddenly changed after he had a talk with this new employee, which didn’t go unnoticed by the three of them. Jin decided to throw all caution in the wind and just walked up to Doyun.
“Hyung, can we talk outside for a minute?” Doyun nodded, “Of course, Jin-ah.” He said and the two of them walked out the door. They walked down the always and went into a niche. “So, what is it you wanted to discuss with me, Jin-ah?” Doyun questioned one they were alone. “I just wanted to ask you something. I think something is up with Jungkook, his behavior changed dramatically a week ago. He has been really distant and polite. He does almost all the chores around the house, which he never did before. All of this happened after he talked to you, and you have to understand that I don’t want to imply anything. I was just wondering if you may have accidentally said something that could have made Jungkook insecure? He tends to overthink stuff a lot.” Jin worded hesitantly; completely oblivious to the almost evil smirk that was forming on Doyun’s face. “I don’t think so Jin-ah, we just talked about some things. Nothing unusual.” he told Jin. “You know, Jin-ah? Maybe this is a good sign, it could mean that he is starting to take more responsibility and become more mature. I actually wanted to ask you guys to baby him less, we wouldn’t want him to become bratty, would we?” Jin tried to believe the man in front of him, but something was just off. “I don’t think we baby Jungkook that much. He is just the youngest, which just makes us more protective, nothing extreme. Besides Jungkookie is still so young, he deserves the attention because he never really got to be a carefree teenager.” There was a glint in Doyun’s eyes, something that almost made Jin take his words back, but he held his ground. Doyun’s expression softened and he smiled again, “We should really get back to work, Jin-ah. Have a good day.” With that Doyun left, leaving Jin very suspicious and confused. Jin had no idea what kind of trouble he had just caused Jungkook.
Jungkook and his hyungs were packing up their bags, when he got a text.
Unknown number:
Meet me in the practice room at 6 P.M.
Send at 17.30
It is important.
Send at 17.30
Don’t tell the other members!
Send at 17.32
Jungkook’s breath caught in his throat, fear overtaking him. He had a vague idea who this was, but he couldn’t be sure. He didn’t want to go, fear of being hit or worse being told that he was worthless again. But he knew that if he didn’t go thinks would go even more south for him, if this was who he thought it was at least.
Jungkook cleared his throat loudly, causing all the members to look at him. “Uhhh, I need to visit Kyongie-Noona, she is in some trouble.” He said hoping that they would just take his word for it. He saw the three oldest members exchange some glances, probably out of irritation. “Do you have to go now, kid? You must be exhausted.” Yoongi sounded very worried. “Yeah, hyung-nim.” Yoongi stiffened when he mentioned the nickname, he was most likely surprised because Jungkook had always been so rude before. “Alright, but be home before nine. Okay?” Jin said trying to break the silence by giving Jungkook permission to go and see his friend. Oh, how he would regret this moment later.
Jungkook had walked out of the building, around the corner; he had waited till the other members were all gone. After that he had entered the building again, making his way to the practice room. On the way he checked his phone and to his shock he saw that it was already 5.58 P.M. Jungkook broke into a sprint but knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Somewhere, deep down, there was still this hope that the text had come from another staff member just got a new phone. But the moment he rushed into the room all that hope was shattered. Doyun was standing in the middle of the room, looking at Jungkook with an unreadable expression. Jungkook hesitantly stepped further into the room, looking at the ground to avoid eye contact.
“You’re late.” The hate in Doyun’s voice scared Jungkook even more. A hand gripped his hair and pulled. Hard. Jungkook let out a cry of pain and surprise; forced to his knees. “I had a very interesting conversation with Jin today. He told me you have been worrying you, hyungs. Didn’t I tell you to stop troubling them?” Jungkook nodded franticly, “I didn’t mean to. Please, I didn’t!”. Doyun ripped of Jungkook’s shirt, leaving him bare- chested. “You haven’t been listening to me, brat. You can’t even do what I tell you to do. You are so pathetic.” Doyun walked to the corner and came back with a thin cane, causing Jungkook to cower even more. “It seems I haven’t been clear enough about how things are. YOU DO WHAT I SAY YOU WASTE OF SPACE! I think I’ll have to reconsider your position in this group, I’ll make sure you’ll never see your precious hyungs again.” Jungkook’s sobs became louder. If that happened, he wouldn’t survive it, he his hyungs. “Pl-p-please, no. I w-w-ill behave…. oh, just please.” The words were mumbled and spoken way to fast but judging by the pleased smirk on Doyun’s face, he had understood the meaning of it. “Very good, I own you, Jungkook. You’ll do what I say because otherwise I’ll ruin you and everyone you care about.” Jungkook nodded crawling towards Doyun’s feet, his pleading continuing, and his body curling into a deep bow. “Good, good. I think it’ll be a good idea if I still teach you a lesson, so that you never forget who is in charge.” With that Doyun raised the cane and the pain began.
It was way past nine when Jungkook came home, almost ten even. He tried to be as quiet as possible, so the other members wouldn’t notice his late arrival. His back and the back of his thighs ached; the thin cane left a lot of welts and bruises were probably already forming. He just wanted to lay down and sleep forever. But of course, luck wasn’t on his side.
A figure appeared in the door opening, the exhaustion making it difficult to figure out which member it was. “Jungkook? Is everything alright? Why are you back so late?” So, it was Jimin than he concluded with some surprise, he had expected it to be Jin or maybe Hoseok, but not Jimin. “I am fine, hyung-nim, truly. You have nothing to worry about.” Jimin looked deeply into his eyes, almost if he was searching for something.
“I am worried about you, Kookie, and so are the other members. You have changed, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But you’re sleeping in your own room now, you’re very distant and you are always trying to please us. That is so different from how you act most of the time. I just want you to know that you can talk to us if you want to.” A soft smile appeared on Jimin’s face when he said that. He raised his hand to pat Jungkook’s shoulder, but Jungkook flinched away violently. Jimin looked taken back and almost hurt, he backed away. “You know I would never hurt you, right?” Jungkook nodded but slowly moved towards the stairs. “I think I’ll go to bed, hyung-nim. Don’t worry, nothing is wrong at all.” Jimin kept on looking at him while he walked up the stairs.
Jimin loved Jungkook to much to listen to Jungkook. He loved Jungkook too much to just let this go. He would discover who had hurt Jungkook so much that it had had this effect on their sweet innocent maknae, and he would eliminate them.
The two weeks later Jungkook got up early again to make breakfast for his hyungs, that had become almost normal now. The bruises and welts had faded a bit, but they hadn’t disappeared yet. Doyun had corned him a around seven times after the day he had whipped him. He would hit Jungkook a few times but it wasn’t as bad. It was like it was never good enough for Doyun, something was always wrong. Even when Jungkook thought he nailed the choreography, Doyun would say it was too sloppy. Every time he acted polite in interviews Doyun told him that it wasn’t enough. His hyungs had almost gotten used to his behavior by now. Jungkook supposed that was a good thing, that meant he wouldn’t be kicked out of the band. Deep down Jungkook new that he would never be kicked out, but Doyun had awoken this fear in him that made him believe all the mean comments. He was pretty sure he had told his hyungs all the excuses he knew to avoid them finding out, he mainly used the excuse of going to his friend, Jin- Kyong.
Doyun cornered him again that afternoon. There was something different about him, but Jungkook couldn’t tell what. Doyun looked more dangerous, angrier. “Meet me in the practice room in an hour, you fag! Don’t be late or you won’t live to tell.” He spat at the terrified maknae. Jungkook texted his hyungs that he would go to Kyong because she needed his help. Not even forty-five minutes later he sighed and started walking towards the pain and hurt that was awaiting him.
All the BTS were currently gathered around the dinner table, discussing what to do next. Jimin had called everyone to the living room and told them about the conversation he and Jungkook had had two weeks before. Directly after that Jin, Yoongi and Hoseok had shared their worries too. And Namjoon and Taehyung had admitted that they too realized that there was something really wrong about how the maknae was acting right now.
“We don’t know for sure what is going on. We must respect Jungkook’s privacy.” said Namjoon. Jin didn’t agree with that, and immediately replied: “We have waited long enough. Almost every two days he is gone for longer periods of time and his behavior changed dramatically. I’m starting to think that this Jin- Kyong has some spell over Jungkook, he’s always with her. I am telling you Namjoon something is up!” Namjoon looked at all the members who had all quickly sided with Jin. “Okay.” was all he said before he pulled out his phone. “What are you doing, Namjoon?” Yoongi asked angrily, “this is not the time to play games on your phone.” “I am not playing games, hyung. I am calling Kyong so we can check if Jungkook is truly with her. The other all looked at him, completely astonished. “But- what- how do you?” Taehyung stuttered. “I sneaked into Jungkook’s room after the incident in the alley. I went copied all his important phone numbers from his agenda: his friends, family, important teachers, etc.” Namjoon said while calling, what they assumed was Kyong’s number, and putting it on the speaker. “Wow, Joon. That much for privacy.” Hoseok said, still amazed by the fact that their leader had actually done that.
“ Hello? Who is this?”
Namjoon signed for all of them to be silent before he answered.
“Hey, this is Namjoon. I am one of Jungkook’s hyungs.”
“Oh, hey Namjoon. Why are you calling me?”
“Well, this mind sound weird, but Jungkook is at your house, right?”
A pause followed, a way to long pause for such a simple question.
“No, he isn’t. I am sorry, did something happen to Jungkook?”
“We’re not sure yet. I have to go now. But I’ll update you one we find him.”
With that Namjoon hung up the phone and turned to look at the other member. “Something is definitely wrong.” The others nodded. “How are we going to find him? He could be everywhere.” the panic was obvious in Jin’s voice.
“Not everywhere, he’s not that far actually.” Everyone looked at Taehyung. “While you were all interrogating poor Kyong over there. I tracked Jungkook’s phone with the ‘Find my iPhone’ app. He is at the studio. So, there is probably nothing wrong.” Taehyung said while showing his phone to everyone. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Yoongi said, looking even paler than normal. “I think I know what is going on, and I hope with all my heart I’m wrong.” He stood up and started walking towards the door. “Get in the van, because if I’m right we need to get there as fast as possible.”
Pain shot through Jungkook’s body when the cane hit him again. “I am sorry.” He sobbed pathetically. “I’ll do better. Please, just stop.” Doyun just kicked him in the ribs and laughed. Hitting him again, and again.
When Jungkook had entered the practice room Doyun had started by beating his torso, and at first Jungkook had thought he would be okay. But then Doyun had pulled out the cane and all his hope had just crumpled. As another wave of pain hit him knew he wouldn’t be able to bare this much longer. He felt the blood tickling down his back and thighs. Just as he was about to faint the door swung open.
All of them froze when while they took in what was happening. Doyun was standing over their maknae, their baby, with a bloody cane in his hand. Jungkook, sweet, little Jungkook, was just lying there with tears streaming down his face and blood streaming from his back. Doyun dropped the cane as soon as he saw them, backing up towards the wall. Suddenly everyone sprung into action.
Jimin, Namjoon and surprisingly Jin ran towards Doyun, knocking him down and throwing pushes at his face. Taehyung, Hoseok and Yoongi ran towards their maknae trying to stop the bleeding. “Sshh, Kook- ah. We’re here, you’re safe. Hyungs are going to take care of you now.” Yoongi’s love for their youngest showed while he said those words, holding Jungkook’s head in his lap while stroking Jungkook’s hair.
“You mustn’t hurt him, Yoonie. I will be kicked out of the band.” Yoongi quickly tried to assure the younger, “No, Kookie. You’re safe with us, you’ll always be in BTS, sweetheart. We love you, baby, don’t worry about things like that.”
Jungkook looked at his hyungs, all six surrounding him now, with Doyun unconscious in the corner of the room. And for some reason he believed Yoongi’s words, he believed everything.
“Okay, hyungie.” They all smiled at the nickname. “Can we go home now?” Yoongi nodded, “Yes, we can, sweetheart. We’re going home.”