Chapter Text
☼ ☾
Stepping off the bus at the station outside the familiar coastal neighborhood feels like a breath of fresh air - like Jung Hoseok can finally breathe . He doesn’t mind the work trips to Seoul - doesn’t mind giving guest lectures to SNU students or advocating for magical creature acceptance into modern society, but for him, nothing beats home.
Home . Tongyeong-si had been his safe haven for years, ever since his family moved from Gwanju when he was a newborn. His parents were professors at the back-then revolutionary branch campus of Gyeongsang National University, the college of Magical Beings and Magical Culture. When they retired and decided to spend their retirement travelling the world, Hoseok had just graduated from SNU and decided to become a professor of Magical Beings and Culture himself, taking on the mantle that his family had held for years.
It was easy for him to fall into this role, though. Despite being a human, there was something curious about Jung Hoseok that drew magical creatures and beings to him like bees who swarmed flowers for sweet pollen. Ever since he was young, Hoseok easily made friends with werewolves, ghosts, and all other types of supernatural creatures. Surprisingly, he was popular amongst humans as well. It was partly his shining beauty, a picture of innocence as a child that developed into a mature, handsome young man. And it was partly due to his sunny personality, and his brilliant smile, captivating those who met him - human or not.
After a long (he’s exaggerating, it was only a week) work trip away from the ocean and his familiar hometown, Hoseok wasn’t afraid to admit that he was quite the homebody. Besides, he had other people that he was looking forward to seeing sooner rather than later…
He finds a local taxi pretty quickly - he was planning on surprising his other housemates today with an early arrival home. He had kept his return a secret, smiling deviously to himself even through all the video calls and their complaints that they missed him. So he couldn’t ask them to come pick him up from the station, and he felt giddy in his seat, vibrating with excitement.
His housemates were an interesting bunch. Some would balk at how many different creatures lived in Hoseok’s house, but those who knew Hoseok, were pretty okay with it. Hoseok was special and unique, despite being human after all. They didn’t quite have an official label, but Hoseok had individual gifts from Seoul for each of them, and if that didn’t count as courting, then he wasn’t sure what would. He watches the town shift towards the coastal area that he loves so much, admiring the ocean on this beautiful and sunny day. The sky was clear and a brilliant blue, the water sparkling as if she knew how good she looked. Hoseok asks the driver if he can open the windows, and once the driver agrees, he eagerly sticks his hand out to feel the cool ocean breeze against his skin. He inhales deeply, and pretends like he’s the main character in a studio ghibli film for a minute.
It works wonders - Tongyeong-si was a town full of peaceful magical and human coexistence. Hoseok was finally home.
The taxi pulls up to his familiar street, the large beach houses lining the shoreline. This neighborhood was unique, one of the oldest in the entire town, but since his parents had owned the house for quite a couple of decades now, Hoseok knew most of the other families that lived in the neighboring houses. The Jung family had been fortunate, however, because their house was one of the largest, and had a stunning back porch that led directly to a beach, incredibly close to the sea.
Hoseok’s house was two stories, and included a garage with two old cars, a greenhouse that had been turned into a working store (the business of a plant-friendly witch), three chimneys for some strange reason because as for as Hoseok knew they only had two fireplaces, and several staircases both inside...and outside the house. The house had conflicting aesthetics as Hoseok’s parents had left a long time ago, and Hoseok’s new housemates had since moved in (greenery grew everywhere though, although there were also nooks and corners in the house that held secrets Hoseok probably didn’t even know about yet). But it was home, no matter how badly Hoseok wanted a full-home renovation, and he was grateful for it, as he stood outside the front door, thanking the taxi with his suitcase and duffel bag beside him.
The taxi drives off, and Hoseok breathes . Then he smiles. Both the cars are in the driveway, which means that everybody must be home. Before he can step towards the front door however, the sound of a flute catches his attention. Dropping his duffel bag for a moment, Hoseok looks to his left, where there’s a pathway beside the house to the beach in his backyard. The flute is playing a familiar song, and Hoseok smiles a little.
His surprise reunion can wait for a moment. He hasn’t spoken to Daehyun in a while, after all.
Daehyun is his elderly next door neighbor, a friend of his parents and a mentor of sorts to Hoseok ever since he moved in. The man isn’t really that old, but despite living for 50 some years, he already showed signs of early on-set dementia or alzhiemers, and Hoseok liked to take care of him when he could. Following down the path that both Hoseok’s house and Daehyun’s house share to the beach, Hoseok immediately spots the older man sitting on the sand, playing his flute.
The man was often forgetful of many things, but he remembered how to play the flute from his younger days, and it kept him grounded. One of his favorite pastimes was playing the flute for the ocean, which Daehyun seemed incredibly attached to. Hoseok grew up with Daehyun playing the flute for him on the beach, and even now, as Hoseok gently clears his throat to alert Daehyun to his presence, he hopes that the old man continues this tradition for as long as he can.
The flute stops when Daehyun turns around to look at Hoseok, smiling slightly. He’s wearing a large straw hat today, shading his face, but the breeze cools them both down. The older man pats the sand next to him, and Hoseok, uncaring of the sand he’ll have to clean out later, sits.
“I thought you weren’t coming home until next week! That’s what the witch said.” Daehyun says, setting his flute gently on his lap. Hoseok chuckles. “I was supposed to come back tomorrow actually. But I came back early to surprise the others. I’m glad to see they didn’t burn the house down while I was gone.”
Daehyun nods absentmindedly. “I heard them earlier. They were playing around the beach this morning. When I came out though, they were already in the house. A group of young boys all in a house together...it must be fun to have your friends so close.” Hoseok smiles a little but doesn’t bother correcting him. It’s still true in a way - they’re all his best friends. “I’ll make sure to keep them in line now that I’m back. Do you have plans for dinner later? Would you like to come over?”
Daehyun blinks, and then peers at Hoseok. “Now, I may be an old man, but I have friends too! My goseutop club is meeting tonight, and I will be destroying Lee Chanyeol if its the last thing I do in this life.” Hoseok laughs out loud at that. “Alright, well good luck then. I’ll check in tomorrow then, okay?” Daehyung waves him off, picking his flute up again and Hoseok chuckles. “The sea is beautiful today, isn’t she Daehyun?”
The old man pauses. And suddenly, he murmurs, “She’s always beautiful.” Then he immediately begins playing the flute again, and Hoseok stands. His smile fades. But he assures himself that Daehyun would be fine, so he leaves the way he came, Daehyun’s airy song following him as he goes.
Back at the front door, he takes his luggage and pulls out his key. Six different key holes, each with its own design and pattern adorned the door. All of his housemates have special keys - each individualized key fits into its own unique lock. Hoseok doesn’t know how it happened, but he assumes the other supernatural beings in his house were paranoid about security, so he simply takes his green key and pushes it into the plain green keyhole, turning and unlocking the door.
Strangely enough, the house is silent when he first walks in.
Hoseok frowns at that, shutting the door behind him and setting his suitcase to the side, dropping the duffel to the ground. The main hallway is covered in vines and semi-glowing flowers, with natural sunlight magically filtering through the ceiling. Butterflies and fireflies flit to and from above his head, but this is normal. He faintly hears a thump above him, and Hoseok looks up, confused. Then he’s concerned.
He’s just a human, but living and interacting with magical creatures for your entire life tends to prepare you for certain situations that could be dangerous. Hoseok pulls out a dagger from his belt and slowly inches into his pocket to curl his hand around a protective potion in a small vial. It’s the little things, he tries to reassure himself, as he starts to creep towards the stairs that lead to the second floor. He passes by an empty living room, an empty kitchen. Even the door to the back porch has been left open, letting the breeze come in (Hoseok can still hear Daehyun’s flute faintly). He pushes the creeping uneasiness down in his gut and slowly starts to make his way up the stairs. They’re old, but they’re not creaky, so Hoseok is unnaturally silent as he takes one step at a time, ready for an attack at any moment.
He passes by numerous frames of pictures and artwork, all collected over the years. More thumps and muffled voices start to reach Hoseok’s ears as he finally makes it onto the second floor. The main hallway leads to several different bedrooms, but the doors are all opened. There’s only one room at the end of the hall with a closed door.
The bathroom. A beat passes, and another muffled thump and curse is heard from behind the door.
Hoseok doesn’t have super hearing or anything, but he’s fairly certain he just heard “fuck” and Hoseok frowns. He’s a little tired from traveling and a little uneasy about the silence in the house and the lack of a warm welcome like he was expecting. Is this what he gets for trying to surprise his supernatural boyfriends?
He makes his way down to the end of the hallway quicker than before, determined to get to the bottom of this, and takes a deep breath as he reaches the door. Slowly, his hand lets go of the potion and reaches for the handle - his grip on his dagger tightens - he grits his teeth - he counts to 3 in his head - and in a flash, he rips the door open.
He had planned to yell out a war cry of sorts, but anything he was trying to say promptly dies on the tip of his tongue the moment he sees into the bathroom.
It’s a bigger bathroom than most people have normally - it’s the communal bathroom of the house, the only place with an actual claw foot tub. There’s currently … a mermaid. In his bathtub.
His five boyfriends are all hovering around the bathtub, in various stages of distress.
Seokjin, a faerie, has a half finished flower crown on his head and is in the process of holding out an alive, flopping fish out to the mermaid. Namjoon, a witch, has a book raised over his head, clearly in the process of trying to keep it dry from the full bathtub (what with the mermaid and the water in it and all). Yoongi, resident gwisin of the house, is floating on the ceiling, looking vaguely amused and terrified all at once. Jimin, jeoseung saja, is on the floor, apparently begging for something, although he’s looking at Hoseok now with a wild glint in his eyes and a surprised look on his ironically cherubic face. And Jeongguk, a dokkaebi, is halfway in the tub with the mermaid and a guilty expression like he was just caught doing something bad.
There’s a mermaid. In his bathtub.
The room is completely silent, save the sound of water as the mermaid's tail swishes back and forth slightly.
Hoseok narrows his eyes as he takes in the creature in his bathtub. It’s actually...a merman, most likely, now that he’s looking at the creature more carefully. Their face is more structured, less soft, and his upper torso is more heavily defined. The tail attached to the creature is large, with attractive emerald coloured scales, pulsating with undertones of gold when the light hits it just right. On his delicate hands, sharp claws replace normal nails, and the merman’s mouth is slightly parted - revealing sharp pointed fangs. His hair is a wet, curly mess, but it’s dark brown and looks a little green in the sunlight. His eyes though are big and wide, beautiful dark blue/green orbs that seem to stare directly into Hoseok’s weak little human soul.
Mermaids are some of the rarest, most private creatures in the world.
Why the fuck is there a mermaid in his bathtub?
“Hobi-hyung!” Jimin finally says, awkwardly laughing. “You’re home early!”
“This isn’t what it looks like, Hobi.” Namjoon sighs, edging away from the bathtub, holding his book protectively against his chest. Hoseok gives him a weird look. “It looks like there’s a merman in my bathtub.” He says flatly and Namjoon laughs sheepishly, pushing his glasses up his nose cutely. “I can see how you can think that…” Hoseok blinks. “I’m looking at him. With my own two eyes.”
“Okay, eat this.” Jin finally shoves the fish into the merman’s mouth without preamble, finally standing and coming over to Hoseok and enveloping him in a warm hug. “Welcome home. This is a surprise.”
“I was hoping to surprise you guys.” Hoseok says blankly, still looking at the merman curiously from over Jin’s broad shoulders. “But it seems as though the tables have turned.” The merman is just...holding the wriggling fish in his jaw, staring back at Hoseok. Jeongguk is still half submerged in the tub, his arms wrapped around the merman comfortably, even in all his wet clothes. Hoseok raises an eyebrow. Jeongguk smiles goofily. “Hyung, we wanna introduce you to somebody.”
“Is it the merman in my bathtub?” Hoseok asks dryly, Jin stepping to the side, looking a little better after a Hobi hug. Jimin pouts. “His name is Taehyung. We found him on the shore in the backyard today.” The room falls quiet as Taehyung slowly opens his mouth and drops the fish into the bathtub (Jeongguk immediately grabs it and shoves it in his mouth instead, chewing on it with enjoyment). Taehyung shyly looks up at Hoseok and comes closer to the edge of the tub. Slowly, Hoseok finds himself coming closer to the tub himself.
The merman looks at him with strange curiosity. “Can you speak?” Hoseok asks, hesitantly. Taehyung looks at Jeongguk and Jimin, who both give him a thumbs up. The merman clears his throat then, and Hoseok suddenly notices the gills flaring out on the side of his neck and his torso in the water.
“You have a very nice bathtub.” Taehyung says finally. Above them all, Yoongi snorts. Namjoon puts his head in his hands.
Hoseok counts to 3 in his head. “Thanks. Um...so you’re from the ocean?” Taehyung nods. “My colony is near this shore.” Hoseok frowns. “Correct me if I’m wrong but...can’t mermaids shift into humans when they’re out of water?”
Taehyung smiles a little sadly at that. “Only mermaids with magic can do that.” Jeongguk blinks at that, pulling the fish skeleton from his mouth, completely clean. “Wait, but aren’t all mermaids magical?” The merman shrugs. “Not me.” He says softly, and it’s like all six of their hearts all skip a beat at once.
“Mermaids are incredibly secretive. It was dangerous for you to be coming up onto the shore like that. If Jeongguk didn’t spot you, you could’ve choked on the air, the longer you were away from water. It’s a good thing we were able to get you into the tub while we could.” Jin lightly scolds, and Taehyung blinks almost owlishly. Namjoon tilts his head. “If you can’t shift into a human, why would you come up onto the surface?” The witch asks.
Taehyung takes a deep breath. “I swam away from home.”
The others all look at each other before looking back at the merman. He pouts and his gills flare out a little, and Hoseok finds it terribly endearing. “The mermaid council in my colony said humans are bad. But I don’t know anything about humans. Everybody else has the ability to go onto land whenever they want except for me and...I wanted to see what it was like. I’ve never been above the surface before.”
Jimin coos slightly. “You’re a curious mermaid, aren’t you?” Taehyung flushes slightly at that, his cheeks growing pink. “I just want to live on the land, and prove that humans aren’t all that bad! The mermaid council doesn’t believe me, and they all think I'm incapable of doing anything by myself without magic. But I want to show them that I can survive on my own! I can be independent too!” Taehyung cries passionately, and they’re all taken aback slightly. Hoseok can’t help but hold up his hands to calm Taehyung down, whose tail is flipping so rapidly in the bathtub that half the water is gone and Jeongguk is completely soaked. “Okay, Taehyung, but how were you going to do that? Especially if you can’t shift from your tail to legs?”
The merman deflates at that. “I was going to look for a human doctor. Or a witch.” He says, twiddling with his thumbs. “I memorized a recipe for a potion that could make it happen. But I’d need to find someone who could help me make it.” Jeongguk is already looking at Namjoon with very obvious eye movements, and Namjoon is desperately trying to ignore Jeongguk’s goofy-ass expressions as he asks Taehyung, “Do you know how to make potions?” Taehyung taps lightly against the tub absentmindedly. “Not really. I just know the ingredients that it needs. And then you just stir it together in a pot for a really long time...I think.”
Jimin laughs a little at that, and Hoseok notices that their little grim reaper has scooted closer to the tub, practically right next to Taehyung on the floor, looking up at the mermaid with wonder. Hoseok feels his heart melt a little at that - their angel of death has a hard time opening up to creatures so easily. Jin is standing behind Hoseok, seemingly contemplative of the situation. “Well, our Namjoonie here is a witch. A very talented one at that.” Namjoon looks at Jin, eyes wide in panic, but Jeongguk jumps onto Taehyung’s back, splashing more water everywhere. “Yeah! Joon-hyung is one of the best witches in all of Korea! He can definitely make you a special potion, Tae-tae hyung!”
Instantaneously, Namjoon mumbles, “I’m a decent enough witch.” while Hoseok and Jin mouth Tae tae silently. Jimin giggles. “And if you ask nicely, Namjoonie-hyung will help you out, won’t you, hyung?” The jeoseung saja turns his killer puppy eyes on the poor witch, who wavers slightly. Taehyung floats over to Namjoon’s direction from the tub, and presses his palms together in front of him. “Please, Namjoon-ssi - will you make me a potion that gives me legs? I can pay you back! I can help with chores, I can work, I can find jewels to give you-”
Namjoon starts to stutter, shaking his hands. “Okay, no, no. Taehyung, I’ll do it, I’ll help you, you don’t have to do all that.” Taehyung’s eyes light up and his mouth drops. “Really?! You will help me?” Namjoon blushes easily, and now is no exception, as his cheeks colour a pretty shade of red that makes Hoseok laugh incredulously. “You asked very nicely.” Namjoon mumbles. “Just tell me all the ingredients that are needed, and then I’ll do some research on my own.”
Jin claps his hands. “Great! Thank you Namjoonie, our lovely in-house witch for helping this cute little merman. In the meantime though, we need to make sure you stay in a place that Namjoon can access you easily! And gosh, with your tail, it’ll be hard to move you around too many places…” Jin, Jeongguk, and Jimin are all sharing the same evil glint in their eyes, Hoseok swears. Jimin nods solemnly. “It’ll be easier for Namjoon-hyung to complete the potion if you’re around Tae tae. Remember how I told you that hyung works in the shop connected to this house?”
Jeongguk fake gasps. “Hyungs! I have an idea! Taehyung should stay with us!” Jimin gasps as well. “That’s an amazing idea Kookie! Tae tae is already at home in this tub! And we can all teach him things about humans!”
“I am the only human here.” Hoseok says slowly.
“We can all learn a few things about humans!”
Jin nods eagerly. “Yes, yes, you should stay Taehyung. What’s your favorite thing to eat? Hyung can make it for you. Salmon? Otoro? Uni? I am an excellent chef, and I love to prepare sushi.”
The others all start to chatter amongst themselves with excitement, but Taehyung looks anxious. “Hoseok-ssi.” He says softly. “Is it really alright if I stay here? This is your house, isn’t it?” The others stop talking at that, and all look at Hoseok - almost as if they all forgot that it actually is Hoseok’s house. The human opens and closes his mouth. Then he sighs. “It’s alright Taehyung. You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you need. We have more than enough space, and it seems as though everyone has taken a liking to you.” As he says that, Taehyung’s face grows pink, and although the others openly coo, and Hoseok smiles - something uncomfortable tugs at his heart.
The others all crowd Taehyung then, excitedly talking with the mermaid. They must be curious (not that Hoseok isn’t equally as curious). Seeing and talking to a mermaid in their true form is extremely rare, something that even his eccentric boyfriends were probably fascinated by. The human excuses himself quietly, deciding to go take a nap to ease his pounding head. Hoseok misses Taehyung’s look as he watches Hoseok leave the bathroom.
☼
When Hoseok opens his eyes, a few hours later, Yoongi is lying beside him in his bed. Normally, one would be freaked out if they opened their eyes to a ghastly figure watching them sleep. Hoseok simply yawns and snuggles a little closer to Yoongi’s transparent form.
He can still hear Jeongguk and Jimin down the hall from his room, most likely still keeping Taehyung company. Both of them can be high energy sometimes, so Hoseok hopes that Taehyung doesn’t feel too overwhelmed all at once.
“Welcome home.” Yoongi murmurs. Hoseok smiles gratefully at that. “I didn’t get to say it earlier.” The ghost whispers, and Hoseok shrugs. “There was a lot happening. It’s okay hyung.” The two of them lay in bed for a little longer. The sun is just starting to set, the warm sunset streaming in through the translucent curtains covering Hoseok’s windows. His bedroom is the biggest, and has its own bathroom, although Hoseok rarely uses it. His bed is one of the biggest (but they all agree that Jin’s bed is the softest, and designated cuddle bed), and his room is not exactly clean, but definitely cluttered in an organized mess of papers and textbooks and discarded research thesis packets. This used to be his parents' room, but it’s Hoseok’s now, and according to Yoongi, is one of the best rooms in the house.
( “It has a really good aura.” Yoongi admits shyly once. “I guess because you’re in it the most.” Hoseok blushes. )
“How are you feeling?” Yoongi asks him now, in the present. Hoseok shrugs half-heartedly. “Tired.” He says truthfully. Yoongi looks at Hoseok and Hoseok looks back at the ghost, and in the distance, Jeongguk is laughing loudly.
“What happened?” Hoseok asks. Yoongi will always tell him the truth. They’ve known each other the longest, after all. Yoongi hums, as if he was expecting the question, but was still trying to figure out how to explain it. “This morning was normal. Joon and Jinnie were in the shop. Jimin and I were watching TV. But Jeongguk was doing his morning run on the beach, and found Taehyung unconscious, with the tail and all. Obviously, the muscle bunny picked up the poor kid and brought him into the house screaming, instead of putting him back in the ocean like a sane person. The whole thing was very chaotic. I think Daehyun definitely heard us screaming.”
Hoseok chuckles slightly at that, and Yoongi cracks a gummy smile but continues. “We were just trying to wake him up, but thankfully he came too after a few moments of soaking in the tub. As you can tell, Jeongguk and Jimin immediately latched onto him. They think he’s the cutest thing in the world. Jinnie is just curious, because I don't think he’s ever seen a mermaid in real life before, which is kind of surprising. And Joon was terrified, but he’s always scared of anything. And he only explained his name before we heard you come in. We didn’t know that you were coming back early, and Jimin and Jeongguk wanted to hide you somehow, Jin just wanted to feed him, but Joon wanted to explain the situation to you, and it was just a mess.”
Hoseok sighs and buries his head into his pillow. Yoongi laughs a little. “Sounds like a shitty reboot of The Little Mermaid, doesn’t it?” Hoseok peeks up at the ghost, who snickers even more at Hoseok’s aghast expression. “I’m just kidding.” Hoseok huffs and finally sits up, yawning and stretching. The sun is dipping below the horizon and his stomach growls. He lights up, remembering his gift for all of them. He was going to give it to them all at once, but he doesn’t want to exclude Taehyung now, so he’ll give it to each of them individually.
“I got you something.” He smiles sweetly at Yoongi, who blinks in mild surprise. Hoseok clambers over to his suitcase, opening it quickly and carefully, taking out a plush and holding it out to Yoongi proudly. The ghost widens his eyes, before shivering and becoming fully solid. Hoseok smiles when he can’t see through Yoongi anymore, the ghost delicately taking the strawberry plush out of Hoseok’s hand and holding it himself.
“It’s so soft.” Yoongi breathes out, and Hoseok beams. “You can add it to your collection!” He says excitedly and Yoongi laughs, something gummy and real, and with eyes so bright that Hoseok almost forgets he’s a ghost for a moment.
“Thank you Hobi.” Yoongi says, sounding overjoyed. “It’s got the little seeds and look at its little face!” Yoongi points excitedly at the plush, aweing over the details and Hoseok’s heart feels so full. Yoongi has a collection of plush fruits and vegetables up in his “room” in the attic (an unofficial floor in the house despite the house being officially two stories). He claims that the collection started with Hoseok’s old plushies, and he likes them because they’re so soft and easy to nap on, even in his natural ghastly form. They all think it's the most adorable thing in the world, and they all try to give Yoongi the softest plushies they can find.
Yoongi smiles widely at Hoseok, and leans over, placing a chaste but sweet kiss onto Hoseok’s surprised lips. Hoseok gasps, flushing slightly. Yoongi giggles, and Hoseok swoons. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m gonna go show Joon. He’s gonna think its adorable.” With that, Yoongi stands, holding the plush close to his chest, and hurries out of the room.
Hoseok sits for a moment, dazed and trying to catch his breath. His ghost hyung is the cutest being in the earthly plane, alive or not.
A slight cough comes from the doorway, and Hoseok looks up. Yoongi stands there, in his oversized sweater, still holding the plush tightly, and looking at Hoseok expectantly. “Coming with? Jin is probably downstairs. He’s probably making food for you. You know he can sense hunger like a sixth sense.”
Hoseok smiles and stands. He follows the ghost happily out of his room.
☾
Hoseok’s life goes back to normal. Somewhat.
He goes back to teaching at Gyeongsang, and his students are excited to have him back. He’s proud of the diverse student body in his courses, and he loves getting to meet new creatures who were inspired by his research to learn more about other magical creatures and their unique biology that makes every creature different on the Earth realm. Work is busy though, and Hoseok doesn’t get to spend as much time at home as he would like.
When he does go home for the day, the house is still alive. He usually stops by the store to say hi to Namjoon, who closes the store later in the day. But since Taehyung appeared, Namjoon’s been closing earlier, choosing to hole up in his workspace/greenhouse, pouring over countless potion books and scrolls in an effort to create the perfect potion for Taehyung. The witch usually gives Hoseok a sweet smile and a kiss on the forehead before going back to his work and Hoseok will usually just give Namjoon a warm hug before going back into the house. When Jin isn’t helping Namjoon in the store, he’s usually taking care of the house (re: making magical changes without letting Hoseok know beforehand). He’s been cooking more and more extravagant dinners lately, always with some sort of seafood element, to acclimate to Taehyung’s taste.
Jeongguk is supposed to be studying, but he and Taehyung seem to be inseparable. Jimin too, although he still goes off from time to time to complete his own...work. Hoseok has walked by the bathroom several times now. The door is always open, in case Taehyung needs any of them, and Hoseok...well he’s not sure how he feels.
Hoseok gets easily scared, he’ll admit. And though he has tougher skin after interacting with all sorts of magical and mythical creatures for his entire life, mermaids are just...rare. There are legends and stories about mermaids, but there’s no concrete evidence as to what they can actually do. The only solid thing known about mermaids and their sister species, sirens, is that they abhor anything out of the water with a burning passion.
That’s why Taehyung fascinates him.
What could possibly compel a non-magical mermaid (honestly, an anomaly in its own right) to want to learn about humans? Although Hoseok gets the impression that Taehyung is more self conscious about himself and his heritage than what truly meets the eye.
It’s not that he doesn’t like or trust Taehyung. He likes him enough. He trusts him enough.
But all his boyfriends are enamored by Taehyung.
Once, Hoseok was walking down the hall after a late night snack, and the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar. Hearing giggles and hushed voices, Hoseok creeps toward the bathroom, peeking through the open door, widening his eyes. Jimin was in a dark nightgown (nothing explicit, just a simple dark cloth gown that Jimin preferred all his clothes to be like) in the tub with Taehyung. They were facing each other in an intimate position, and the water seemed to be hot enough to create steam, and the whole bathroom felt warm, illuminated only by candles on the counter and the floor.
“One time, I ran into another jeoseung saja on the job. It was super awkward, because we were accidentally looking for the same soul. I really wanted to take it though, but I felt bad because it was their first day on the job and they were really panicking…” Jimin is explaining, as if he was just gossiping about boys instead of talking about literal life and death. Taehyung is listening though with rapt attention. “Did you take it?” He asks, and Jimin smiles. “Nope! I let the other guy have it this time. But! I got his phone number, and said that the next soul he finds, belongs to me. An eye for an eye, right?” Taehyung seems to agree wholeheartedly. Jimin laughs, reaching out to ruffle Taehyung’s hair, who seems to preen under the attention.
Hoseok can only watch for a few more seconds before stepping away.
It took weeks, even a month, for Jimin to even be able to tell Hoseok about his work. It took even longer for Jimin to initiate any sort of physical contact with Hoseok without showing any signs of discomfort. Hoseok should be happy that Jimin is able to make friends more easily now, but instead...he just feels hollow .
There’s another instance when he passes by the bathroom again on the weekend, and he’s doing the laundry for all the bedsheets, because it’s something comforting that he likes to do. But as he holds the basket in his hands, walking out of Namjoons room into Jin’s room, he slows down when he hears Namjoon laugh loudly from the bathroom. The door is more open than the last time he saw Jimin with Taehyung, so Hoseok can see from a little distance away that Namjoon is sitting on a stool right next to the tub, Taehyung leaning over the edge to point at Namjoons open book. Hoseok widens his eyes. Namjoon’s books are precious to him - he’s surprised that the witch is letting the merman, with all his water droplets, so close.
But Namjoon is smiling and laughing whenever the merman looks at him for approval, and all of a sudden, Hoseok feels it again. That hollowness. That empty sort of feeling. A feeling of inadequacy.
No matter how hard he tries, he can never quite understand Namjoon’s witch books or any of the potion recipes that the witch can make. He’s just human. Namjoon doesn’t even try to explain it to him anymore, because Hoseok has long since accepted that he would make himself look like a fool for even trying.
Maybe Hoseok is just being irrational. Namjoon is trying to help Taehyung after all, and Taehyung is still a mermaid, which is much more special than being a human. Hoseok doesn’t like thinking these weird, conflicting doubtful thoughts. So he tries to ignore Taehyung’s elegant arm on Namjoons broad shoulders, and quickly goes downstairs to hide in the laundry room and overthink where no one can see him.
Just a few days later, he’s walking up the stairs to take a shower. It had been a longer day, and his classes had felt listless because it had been raining all day. He just wanted to take a nice hot shower and take a nap maybe, or curl up with a good book in the living room and read until it was time for dinner. Without thinking about it, he walks past his bedroom and goes straight towards the communal bathroom, completely forgetting about Taehyung in his muddled brain. But all of a sudden, Jeongguk bursts out of his room and pushes past Hoseok entirely, shouting “Sorry hyung!” before throwing the bathroom door open, surprising Taehyung. “I’ve got it!” Jeongguk shouts victoriously, waving the nintendo switch around in his hands. Taehyung’s eyes widened in curiosity. “That’s the magic box?” He asks excitedly and Jeongguk grins. “It’s the most magical advancement of all - video games. Here, let me show you the world of Animal Crossing.”
Normally, Hoseok would think it’s sweet of Jeongguk to be teaching Taehyung about video games (and the idea of Taehyung playing Animal Crossing with focused determination was very amusing to think about). But Hoseok’s had a long day. And Jeongguk’s been spending all his time with Taehyung, or studying at the library with his other grad school friends. He doesn’t think he and Jeongguk have had a real conversation in like three days. And it makes him feel sour, that he didn’t even get a “welcome home” or “love you hyung” from his youngest boyfriend.
He’ll admit it now - he might be a little more jealous of Taehyung than he realized, and he’s disgusted with himself for it. He stalks off to the smaller bathroom with the leaky showerhead in his own bedroom, and hopes that he can scrub the jealousy off before anybody notices.
It seems as though he succeeds, because nothing changes. After he was invited to go drinking with some other faculty, an invitation that Hoseok would normally turn down but accepted this time, he stumbles home after dark, humming to himself. He laughs breathlessly when he realizes he’s humming Daehyun’s song, and fumbles putting his key into the front door.
Finally, he makes it inside and drops his coat to the floor, the door shutting behind him. The house is dark - he thinks it might be 1, maybe 2 AM - but the flowers glow even at night, and the fireflies in the main foyer seem to lead him to the stairs. He’s not drunk, but definitely tipsy, and he only stumbles once as he climbs up the stairs. It’s times like these when he’s grateful for Jin’s magical adjustments to the house, because the stairs seem to shorten themselves to make it easier for Hoseok to get to bed.
But when he almost reaches the top, he frowns when his stomach rumbles. He ate a little bit before drinking, but now he’s craving some ramen or something to just tip him over the edge. He hobbles back downstairs, and heads to the kitchen, the fireflies still following him and lighting the way. Usually, the others would be awake at this hour, but Hoseok guesses that they all went to bed early today. He texted the group chat that he would be coming home late...he opened the fridge, and even though it’s stocked with fresh vegetables and fruits, there’s no pre-made meals that Hoseok can heat up easily. He sighs and goes to the pantry instead, opting to just make some cup noodles, which doesn't sound too bad. Hoseok’s torn between the chapaguri or the spicy bibimbap, and wishes Yoongi was around to help him decide. The ghost didn’t sleep, and was usually more active at night, so Hoseok was surprised that Yoongi wasn’t hovering around him yet.
From another part of the house, he hears a familiar squeaky laugh that seems to echo throughout the walls. Distracted, Hoseok goes to investigate, leaving the pantry behind. If Jin was still awake, maybe he could sweetly ask the fae to make him something delicious. He struggles up the stairs again, and the fireflies pulsate around him, illuminating the way. On the second floor, the rooms are all dark except for the light coming out of the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
Of course. Again. Hoseok can’t help but bitterly think to himself.
Jin is in the bathroom, and he’s pulled up one of his comfortable chairs to lounge in as he tells some sort of animated story to Taehyung, listening and laughing. And...Yoongi is there too. He’s hovering above Taehyung, listening to Jin and laughing even though he’s probably heard the same stories before. His translucent form is still beautiful, even in the flickering candlelight, and Hoseok thinks that he should just close the bathroom door. Even standing from the other end of the hallway, he feels as though he’s intruding on a moment that has no place for him.
He can’t hear what Jin is saying. He tunes out the rest of their laughter. He goes to his room, and he collapses onto his bed, not bothering to change or go back downstairs to eat.
He’s not hungry anymore.
☾
A few days later, he’s walking by the bathroom, and he can’t help but look inside. It’s quiet for once, and Taehyung is alone. It’s late, almost midnight, and Hoseok was looking for a specific eye cream that he wanted to use but was unable to find in his own bathroom. Realizing it was still in the communal one, he crept in quietly, realizing that Taehyung seemed to be asleep in the tub.
Jin had clearly pampered the young merman, providing him with a waterproof pillow and lining the edge of the tub with something that looked like a soft preserved seafoam. Taehyung seemed comfortable, despite his large tail curled up in the tub. Hoseok softens as he watches the merman breathe in and out evenly, almost completely submerged underneath the water. Then Hoseok scolds himself internally for being a creep and watching Taehyung sleeping. He goes over to the designated skincare cabinet, and tries to rummage quietly for his eye cream.
Thankfully, he finds it quickly, and holds it victoriously as he shuts the cabinet. But he glances in the mirror and curses when he sees Taehyung sleepily staring back at him in the reflection. The merman yawns. “Hello.” He mumbles. Hoseok bows. “I’m so sorry Taehyung. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” The merman tilts his head. “It’s okay.” His voice is lower from sleep, and he seems to grow more and more aware as he wakes up more. “Why are you still awake?”
Hoseok sighs, setting his eye cream on the counter, noting the time. “I’ve got some papers to grade that I need to give back to my students on Monday. I work better at night, but I wanted to do my skincare routine before I buckled down and got started.” Taehyung hums in understanding.
Hoseok should leave. But Taehyung won’t stop looking at him with some strange unexplainable look in his eyes. “Um…” Hoseok starts awkwardly. “I’m sorry you haven’t been able to leave the bathroom much lately. Hopefully when Namjoon finishes the potion, you can really start to explore the town and learn what it means to be human.”
Taehyung shakes his head. “It’s totally okay! There’s no rush for me. I don’t want to be a burden on Namjoon-hyung or any of the others or you.” Hoseok looks away. “That’s kind of you.” He says, reminded of how empty he’s felt in the past few weeks. “They all really like you.”
Taehyung seems bashful at that. “I’m really lucky that I came across such kind creatures. I’ve never met a fae or a ghost or a freaking goblin! And Jimin’s an actual grim reaper? That’s so rare! And you’re all so hospitable. I really appreciate your goodness. If I hadn’t met you all, I might’ve been trafficked or kidnapped or something.”
Hoseok looks back at Taehyung, but has nothing to reassure him with. The merman was very lucky. This world was not always so kind beyond Hoseok’s property.
“And...you’re exactly what I thought humans would be like.” Taehyung trails off. Hoseok raises an eyebrow. Taehyung flushes. “It’s a good thing. I always thought humans were good. None of the others or the council ever agreed with me, but I think humans are incredible. Much better than mermaids, in my own opinion.” Hoseok laughs awkwardly at that. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Humans aren’t as good as you think.” Taehyung shakes his head. “But you’re good.”
Hoseok can’t help but frown at that. “You don’t even know me.” He says spitefully, unable to stop himself. Taehyung doesn’t seem deterred. “The others say you’re good, and I believe them.”
Because they like you. You’re a mermaid, and I’m a human, and I don’t even know if they really love me anymore. Hoseok thinks despondently. It’s been weeks, and I haven’t even given Jeongguk his gift yet .
“Well.” Hoseok looks away. “The others practically love you. They’re the good ones.” Hoseok knows he sounds jealous, and knows that he sounds petty. “Goodnight, Taehyung. Sorry for bothering you again.” He has to leave, before he says something that he really regrets.
“Oh.” Taehyung whispers. “Goodnight.”
Hoseok takes his eye cream, and closes the bathroom door.
Taking a deep breath, he walks back to his bedroom, slowing down when he passes Jeongguk’s closed door. LED lights are on from underneath the door, but the room is otherwise silent, and Hoseok doesn’t want to bother him. But if he goes to his room, takes out Jeongguk’s gift from Seoul (a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones the younger goblin had been eyeing online recently) and places it outside Jeongguk’s closed door, no one has to know.
Hoseok returns to his room and sighs. He sets the eye cream down and decides to skip his skin routine and go straight to work. His office is downstairs and is a moderately sized room/library. It was practically Hoseok’s second room, with most of the books belonging to him. Namjoon and Jin liked to work in the shop, but Jimin and Yoongi had a sweet attachment to Hoseok’s cramped office, the large wooden desk the perfect place to study at with a stunning view of the ocean behind the house through the large glass windows in the wall.
His students' papers are waiting for him on his desk, but the human goes over to the windows instead, opening the panes and letting the cool breeze filter in, along with the natural sounds of crashing waves. He takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly, looking out at the ocean, feeling a little melancholy.
He was acting like a stupid teenager. Taehyung didn’t deserve that. He would have to apologize later. And Hoseok needed to make an effort to be nice to him too. Even if his boyfriends all like Taehyung better than him...it’s clear that they wanted Taehyung to stick around. The human didn’t want to make his boyfriends unhappy with him.
Sighing again, he leaves the window open as he goes to sit at his desk, trying to stop overthinking and at least try to get his work done.
A few hours later, and the lamp on his desk feels like it's burning into Hoseok’s skin. He sighs, setting his pen down and leaning back in his chair, exhausted. A quick glance at his phone reads 3:42 AM. Hoseok groans, rubbing his eyes. He should probably go to bed. But he doesn’t move.
And then he hears it - a song, something that sounded strangely familiar and hauntingly beautiful. It wasn’t Daehyun’s song, it sounded like somebody was singing. He could hear it coming from the beach - slowly, Hoseok stands from the desk and goes to the window, leaning out of it to try and hear better.
It was a song that sounded like a symphony, all mixed together in one angelic voice that almost made Hoseok’s heart stop. The human’s breath hitched - it was coming from the water, gently lapping against the shore. If he really looked closely, he thought he could see a figure standing in the water - the singer.
Hoseok’s feet move on their own, and before he knows it, he’s walking out of the office and sliding the porch doors open. Mindlessly, he makes his way to the beach, completely barefoot, uncaring of the wind. Suddenly, he can’t really feel or think anything - he’s entranced by this mysterious singer, called to come just a little bit closer.
The moon shines brightly tonight, and nearly illuminates the entire beach with her glow. But the shadow in the water is more submerged than Hoseok realized. He frowns as he walks closer to the water. “Are you okay?” He calls out, but it feels faint even to his own ears. The singing is louder, and it almost reverberates throughout his entire chest. He doesn’t think about how odd the sensation is, he’s unable to recognize all the signs pointing to danger - all Hoseok can think about is getting closer to the source.
He steps into the water.
The shadow turns to face him. It’s a man. He’s shirtless, gazing at Hoseok with such intensity that it’s intimidating. Hoseok widens his eyes in amazement. The man is stunning, textbook definition of gorgeous - but his voice is deeper and more holy-like now that Hoseok is closer. The man’s hair is wet from the salt water, and he lifts his hand to beckon Hoseok to come even closer. Closer. And closer. Hoseok can’t think - he just follows. The voice is addicting, entirely capturing Hoseok’s mind. And when Hoseok is almost mid-waist deep in the water, a few feet away from the man, the song stops abruptly.
Almost like he’s been ripped out of a trance, Hoseok blinks and panics. Why is he in the ocean! The man smiles, showing his teeth - sharp and pointy, and definitely the identifying traits of a siren . Fear strikes down Hoseok’s heart. And before he knows it, the siren is lunging forward, wrapping his now clawed hands around Hoseok’s neck and pulling him down under.
Hoseok screams, but his voice is lost underwater, and water rushes into his lungs. He kicks and tries to fight, but the siren seems to pull him deeper and deeper. Hoseok struggles in the sirens hold, panic and fear and dread in his gut, but rapidly, Hoseok feels himself losing consciousness.
He coughs, feels the darkness encompass his vision and he can’t think, he can’t breathe .
In his spotty vision, he sees another shadow cover up the light from the moon - somebody diving into the water? His mouth is open helplessly, darkness quickly spreading through his mind, numbness rapidly overtaking his limbs. But before he knows what’s going on, the siren hovers over him, claws and fangs out, clearly ready to eat the helpless human. Suddenly, a large shadow looms behind the siren, and Taehyung comes into view. With no preamble, the familiar merman bites down on the siren's shoulder, nearly tearing off half of the siren's collar. Bubbles and a furious pained screech erupts, although Hoseok isn’t really sure if he’s hearing correctly. Taehyung swims furiously to Hoseok, two strong arms looping under Hoseok’s armpits, and an immense amount of pressure - before they break free of the water, and Hoseok is lying helplessly against the strong body behind him.
Taehyung swims to the shore, where the others are all waiting, all in varying stages of distress. He lugs Hoseok’s body up to the sand, and Jin immediately comes over, cupping Hoseok’s cheek delicately and leaning down to place his mouth on Hoseok’s blue tinted lips.
The siren is howling. Taehyung, still half in the water, turns to the siren, a fury in his eyes. He hisses, spitting something in a language that none of them understood. But the siren seems to get the message, and swims away, dark blood staining the area, but already being washed away from the overlapping waves.
Jin releases Hoseok from his kiss, and for a few terrifying moments, they’re all quiet as they watch Hoseok’s limp body. Yoongi and Jimin are sharing equally nervous looks. Namjoon has a box of potions in his hands, labeled “for drowning”. Jeongguk is standing behind them all, big bunny-like eyes watering, the noise-cancelling headphones in his hands.
Then Hoseok coughs, jerking, as he leans to the side to throw up. They all let out a collective sigh of relief, Jin supporting Hoseok comfortingly as the human continues to retch into the sand. “There, there. It’s okay. I’m sorry we didn’t notice sooner.” The fae murmurs quietly, a look of agony in his eyes. Hoseok doesn’t notice it - doesn’t really notice much of anything at all really, even as Jin gently picks him up.
The last thing Hoseok sees before the darkness envelops him completely is Taehyung, still half in the water, glittering tail glowing under the light of the moon - his eyes are unnaturally pitch black, and there’s blood dripping down his chin from his fangs. His claws are stained with red.
Hoseok’s heart hurts. He closes his eyes.
☼
He ends up being okay. There are bruises around his neck that displease the others greatly - Namjoon makes quick work to use a healing salve on his neck that clears up the marks in a few hours. Jin’s endless source of powers seem to have expelled most of the water out of Hoseok’s system and maintained some of his internal healing systems.
They all hovered over him like worried mother hens. Jin wouldn’t stop making Hoseok’s favorite foods, and Namjoon helped Hoseok walk throughout the entire house even though Hoseok was not bedridden and he could walk just fine himself. Yoongi hovered over him constantly, and Jeongguk followed Hoseok around like a lost puppy. Jimin was extra affectionate with Hoseok, even more so than usual. Hoseok will be honest - he loved the extra attention.
(Maybe drowning every other week or so wasn’t a bad way to get some affection back from his boyfriends.)
But at the same time, he was conflicted. Even though he never told them how he felt, he knows that they probably sensed the distance he was creating before the sirens attack. And now they were probably overcompensating, but Hoseok didn’t mind too much. He knew they were going to be fine - their relationship had been tested before, and it was difficult to maneuver the emotions of six different creatures, but not impossible.
Taehyung, however, had been strangely quiet.
Jeongguk had brought him back inside to the bathroom, at least so they could clean the blood off of his face, pointedly ignoring the flesh bits that had gone down the drain. Since the night of the incident, the merman had been in the tub, as usual, but the door was now closed.
Yoongi told him what happened. The night that Hoseok was attacked, Taehyung was still awake. He heard the singing of the siren and instantly recognized it for what it was. And Taehyung realized that Hoseok was still awake, most likely the easiest victim for the siren to target. Upon this realization, the merman had heaved himself out of the tub, frantically crawling on the floor, pulling himself across the ground to help. He had scratches on his hands from the wooden floors, and it wasn’t until Yoongi heard the commotion that he floated down from the attic, immediately seeing Taehyung, and alerting the rest of the boys in the house as to what was happening. When Jeongguk had carried Taehyung out to the beach, the merman had dived headfirst into the ocean, intent on saving Hoseok.
Hoseok was so grateful. He needed to tell Taehyung so many things.
That’s why he stood outside the closed bathroom door now, nervously fiddling with his hands. He’d gotten a leave from the university after he explained what happened, so he was at home in the middle of the day. Jeongguk was at the school, Jimin out for work. Jin and Namjoon were in the shop, and Hoseok knew Yoongi was hovering around the house somewhere, but was pointedly leaving them alone, just so Hoseok and Taehyung could have a chance to talk.
Taking a deep breath, and trying to be brave, Hoseok raises his hand and knocks on the door quietly.
“Come in.” Taehyung’s soft voice filters through, and Hoseok pushes the door open slowly. The bathroom has a glass ceiling, a unique feature that Jin had added without telling anyone but they all loved it. Hoseok hopes Taehyung likes it too, and as he steps inside, Taehyung looks like an angel with how the sunlight shines through the glass right onto the merman, his glittering green tail shimmering in the water. The merman has his hair pulled back by a headband with a pink bunny on it (courtesy of Jeongguk) and is reading a book (Hoseok wonders if it’s from Namjoon’s collection, and if it had some sort of waterproof protection spell on it), although he puts the book down on a side table by the tub. “Hi Hoseok-ssi.” He looks surprised to see Hoseok, and Hoseok shuffles in awkwardly. “Taehyung. Are you doing okay?”
The merman widens his eyes, clearly shocked at the question. “Me? Am I doing okay? Hoseok-ssi, you were almost eaten by a siren! And it’s entirely my fault! I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.” The merman clasps his hands together, almost bowing in the tub, and Hoseok frowns. “Taehyung, you saved me. I should be the one apologizing and thanking you. Thank you, by the way. Yoongi told me what happened.” Taehyung looks away. “I should’ve been more careful. Don’t you know why this happened? The council is following me. They know I left, they know where I am staying. I’m putting you and your entire family in danger by just being here…” Taehyung trails off sadly. “I don’t want to hurt you. I won’t hurt you, if I can help it at all. When Namjoon-hyung finishes the potion, I’m planning on leaving. I’ll find another place to stay.”
Hoseok frowns at that. “Hold on, Taehyung, calm down.” He pulls up a nearby bathing stool and sits closer to Taehyung, who watches him with big eyes. “Did you know the siren?” Slowly, Taehyung nods imperceptibly. “I’m sorry.” He whispers, and Hoseok shakes his head. “You didn’t tell the siren to attack me, right?” Taehyung shakes his head furiously. Hoseok smiles a little. “Then it’s not your fault. You saved me, Taehyung. I’m indebted to you for that.”
Taehyung shakes his head again. “You let me stay here for free. You’re all helping me accomplish my goal.” Hoseok chuckles. “Alright, then it's an eye for an eye, right?” Taehyung looks confused for a moment, before he widens his eyes again. “Jiminie said that!” He exclaims, and Hoseok smiles at that, nodding. “But you really don’t have to worry about paying us back with anything. Namjoon is making you the potion because he wants to, out of the kindness of his heart. I want you to stay here if you want to stay here, if that’s something you’re comfortable with. And I want you to stay, because I want you to.”
Taehyung’s eyes look watery. “But all I bring is misery. I don’t want to hurt you.” He repeats, and Hoseok feels sorrow pierce through his heart. “Who told you that? You are one of the most selfless, curious, and bravest creatures I’ve ever met.”
Taehyung looks sad for a moment, tail drooping over the edge of the tub. “My entire life, I grew up alone from the other mermaids. Nobody wanted to play with me or be friends with me, a mermaid with no magic. I think I’m cursed.”
Hoseok hums at that. “I don’t think you’re cursed. I think that just makes you very human. We feel really complicated emotions, and most of the time, I feel sad even when I’m ‘supposed’ to be happy. Or sometimes I feel lonely, even though there are so many other creatures living in this house. And um…” Suddenly, Hoseok blushes, embarrassed. “Sometimes, I feel jealous of you. Because I think you’re an incredible being, and all my boyfriends love you and shower you with a lot of attention. But I think you deserve it. Being a mermaid is pretty special after all, magical or not.”
Taehyung’s lip wavers and he tilts his head in confusion. “But I want to learn how to be human, Hoseok-ssi. Only you can teach me that.”
Hoseok drops his head, full-on blushing now. The mermaid looks like an angel in the warm sunlight, and Hoseok’s heart is pounding.
Damn. He knows he falls for people easily (the five other beings in his house are proof of that) but damn . “The others can all help.” Hoseok mutters, embarrassed. “We’ll all help you. Can make sure you’re not alone again.”
Taehyung startles at that, and then he beams, eyes sparkling. Hoseok smiles at him, and the sun shines brightly upon them in the cozy bathroom. And it’s not until a few hours later when Yoongi is floating down the hallway and happens to pass the open door to the bathroom. He peeks in for a moment, cooing when he finds Hoseok, still in his clothes, dozing in the tub with a snuggled slumbering Taehyung in his lap.
Yoongi shifts into his solid form for a just moment to find the camera and snaps the memory, so that he can have proof to show the others later.
☼ ☾