Work Text:
Days off are best spent in bed. That’s something that most of the members agree on -Namjoon would rather walk around all day, but that’s pretty much it. The rest of them appreciate how precious sleeping in is. They’re always so busy after all, it’s only natural. So Seokjin planning to do just that doesn’t seem special, it should be pretty simple. But of course, life would have different plans for him. The AC breaking in his apartment during one of the worst heat waves that Seoul had known was just the start, and poor Jin had instead spent the night rolling around, uncomfortable, until he eventually passed out around 4:45 in the morning. And he was up by 7:00. So much for sleeping in.
So he heads to the dorm, a quick look at the group chat tells him that his dongsaengs all plan on passing by today at some point. Namjoon stayed the night, Taehyung too. He should be able to sneak in a few hours of sleep. Fingers crossed . He drags his feet to the elevator, and reluctantly walks the short distance that separates his place and the dorm. It’s only 7:15 and it’s already too hot outside. His clothes cling to his skin as he walks with renewed determination. Luckily we all live close. A few minutes later, Jin is finally welcomed by the cool air hitting his glistening face, and he sighs in relief as he adjusts to a more comfortable temperature. He drops his shoes by the door, making his way down the corridor silently. He shortly debates on whether or not he should shower first, but the sight of his bed wins him over. He is out almost as soon as his head hits the pillow.
The sound of broken porcelain is what wakes him up an hour later. Seokjin groggily opens his eyes at the sound, paying attention to see if he can hear what’s happening from the comfort of his bed. The sleepy singer is only met with silence and he quickly decides to go back to sleep, turning around to get comfortable again. It lasts a second. What if someone got hurt? Namjoon and Taehyung are home, how could he possibly go back to sleep while they might need his help? He can’t. With a groan and half-opened eyes, Seokjin makes his way to the kitchen. He hears what sounds like sobs and he curses, heart beating louder in his chest. But as he walks into the room, he is met with the sight of Taehyung in his oversized pyjamas, staring at the ground with badly muffled giggles. The younger man is biting down on his fist as he seemingly laughs at the tiles as quietly as possible, hair messily covering his eyes. He must have just woken up.
“Taehyung-ah? Are you ok?” he asks in a hushed voice.
He follows Taehyung’s gaze all the way down to the broken mug that now lies in pieces on the kitchen floor. But his dongsaeng doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. The whole situation puzzles Seokjin even more.
“Tae? Isn’t that your new mug? What happened, baby?”
“I-… I spent the whole week lecturing Namjoon… I was so sure that he- that he’d be the one to break it…” he laughs, trying and failing to whisper. “And I just- I don’t know, hyung. I just watched it drop from my hand, no reflex whatsoever. Just… boop! On the floor! Isn’t it ironic?”
“I- yeah I suppose it is. So… you’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Ah- nope!”
“Ok. Hyung will be off to bed then.”
Taehyung doesn’t even pay him any attention as he walks out of the room with such a short interaction. It’s pretty out of character for the both of them, but he’s exhausted and Taehyung is… well he’s too amused by his stupid broken mug to properly look at his hyung’s tired face. So Jin lets himself go back to sleep, now reassured that while his dongsaeng is definitely weird, he’s at least safe. But life once again decides that he isn’t meant to rest today. He doesn’t know how much time passes but it feels like half an hour and his body is still heavy with slumber when he’s awoken by the lights suddenly turning on in his bedroom.
“Oh- shit, hyung! Sorry, I didn’t know you came back already!”
“Yeah, I- AC’s broken. Couldn’t sleep…” he mumbles, hands pressed against his face.
“That sucks…” is all his dongsaeng says, staring at him with a soft smile.
“...Namjoon-ah?”
“Yeah?”
“- Why are you in my room?”
“Ah, I lost my wallet!” he explains.
Seokjin looks at him, dumbfounded. This is a joke, right? Namjoon simply stands there, frozen in the doorway with a friendly smile -as if he doesn’t realise that Seokjin kind of wants him gone this instant. The oldest never thought the sight of dimples could make him that annoyed, but he’s past tired. He reaches for his phone, stretching but not quite getting out of the covers. The screen says 8:56 as he raises it towards his face and he groans.
“Why are you even looking for your wallet in my room?” he can’t help but ask.
“Hmm, you never know?…”
“Well, I know it’s not here- so go look somewhere else! Just… you’re not a child Namjoon-ah, why don’t you pay attention to where you put your stuff? This shouldn’t happen at all, you’re a grown-ass man!”, it comes out a little harsher than he meant it to.
“Oh, I- sorry hyung… I didn’t- I thought I… I don’t know. Sorry?”
The little shaky breath that leaves Namjoon’s mouth as he looks up to Seokjin in confusion has him instantly regretting his tone. His eyes are round and suddenly glassy, and he just seems so young like this… But I didn’t mean it . And now he feels guilty, he hates feeling guilty. He looks away from the upset expression on Namjoon's face but the younger man still doesn’t leave his room. Not only can’t he go back to sleep but now he feels bad for snapping at his dongsaeng. He makes it worse.
“I just wanted to sleep!” he groans, muttering and hoping that Namjoon doesn’t catch his words. But he does, and he winces.
“Sorry, hyung… I’m just gonna-”
“-Just go!”
Namjoon leaves a few seconds later, a sad look on his face at the knowledge that he’s disappointed his hyung. His eyes never leave the floor as he closes the door behind him. Hitting the mattress, Seokjin curses as soon as the younger man is out of sight. What’s wrong with me? Now Namjoon will spend the day feeling like a burden. He’ll probably be too distracted to even find his wallet now, so he won’t be able to go to the museum or wherever else he most likely wanted to go. Seokjin feels like shit. What -the hell- is wrong with me? He falls asleep gritting his teeth.
The sound of Jimin and Jungkook loudly talking in the living room is the next thing that wakes him up. They’re playing Mario Kart while Taehyung seems to be narrating their race, laughing along. Without even looking at his phone, Seokjin can tell that some time has passed. But despite being around noon, he still feels groggy. He’s not rested, he’s not relaxed. He didn’t even offer to help Taehyung with cleaning up this morning and he raised his voice at Namjoon… this day possibly couldn’t get worse. He’s sweaty and he’s annoyed. He’s hungry and he’s tired… Let’s start with a shower.
The cold water feels like heaven on his skin and he hums in satisfaction, slowly rubbing shampoo in his hair in slow circles. For the first time since last night, Seokjin thinks that he might relax. He lets the water hit his back and cascade all the way down his legs, it’s soothing and he deeply needs it. His mind floats, somewhere in between awake and asleep, his eyes close as he rinses out his conditioner. The soft smell of lavender fills the room and Seokjin loves it. Time to wash. He gets the bottle, gathers a little bit of soap into his hands… and then he doesn’t know what happens. He is bending down to rinse the soap off of his leg when suddenly he loses his footing. Balance completely thrown off, he hits the bottom of the shower with a loud thud.
“Hyung? Hyung, are you ok?”
“I-”
His breath got knocked out of his lungs with the force of his butt hitting the ground. He coughs. The lack of answer clearly seems to worry his dongsaengs though, and before he knows it Jungkook comes barging in with a concerned frown, Jimin and Taehyung in tow. Leaving the door unlocked really is a habit to get rid of. Seokjin coughs a few times before he can clear his throat enough to protest.
“Hyung!” shouts Taehyung. “Did you slip in the shower? Are you ok? Do you need us to-”
“Ya-”
“Tae, he’s naked- shut off the water and pass him a towel, will you!” Jimin stops him in his tracks.
“But hyung, are you ok?” repeats Jungkook.
“Yeah- ouch- I think I bit my tongue.”
Yup, definitely. With a careful grip, his dongsaengs help him up and leave him to get dressed. His butt will surely bruise, it hurts to walk. What a day. When he goes to the living room, Jimin is waiting for him on the couch, arms open and waiting to cuddle him. No one says no to Jimin cuddles, and he melts into the younger’s embrace as soon as he feels a hand resting on his arm. He lets out a shaky sigh, nodding his head to gain back some control over his emotions. Today has really sucked so far. His mouth hurts and he swallows back a knot in his throat as Jungkook cuddles up to his other side, successfully trapping him between the both of them.
“Hyung?” the youngest asks. “What’s wrong?”
“I just-” his voice cracks. “Hyung’s having a bad day. Sorry, I’m exhausted.”
“Aww!”
“Nap time then!” replies Taehyung, standing behind the couch. “It’s still early enough.”
He smiles, then winces. Damn, falling hurts. His tongue is still sore and he’s squished between his dongsaengs, his back hurts, his butt is bruised… But Taehyung is right, and between Jungkook and Jimin gently petting his hair, sleep gets too hard to fight pretty quickly. He dreams of cold, clean sheets and a pillowy mattress, the wind is softly blowing onto his face and the curtains are dancing with the gentle breeze. He’s never been more comfortable. The sun shines through the window, warm against his skin as he sleeps. But then something pinches him and he groans. He hears his name.
“-hyung! Wake up!”
“-ow.”
He cracks his eyes open to see Yoongi standing in front of him, crouching down to poke his forehead. He does it again, and Seokjin mumbles a feeble “stop” that doesn’t prove very effective. His dongsaeng looks at him expectedly, waiting for him to properly awake. To his left, Jimin is still sitting by his side, warm against his arm. Jungkook on the other hand has left his spot on the couch and is nowhere to be seen.
“Sorry hyung,” Jimin is quick to say. “I tried stopping him but he insisted on waking you…”
“Jimin-ah… I know he has to rest but we’ve got to talk…” Yoongi replies, lips pressing into a thin line.
“-talk?” Seokjin repeats groggily.
“Yes… see, Hoseok and I ran into Namjoon earlier. He seemed pretty upset, care to explain why?”
The oldest immediately grants him a groan in response, memories of the past hours flashing in his mind as he properly sits up. Jimin looks at him with round eyes. He knows he’s in trouble. They all know it to be true, he messed up. There’s no avoiding the conversation. Yoongi sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back at Seokjin.
“Yeah… listen, hyung.” he can see that Yoongi is choosing his words carefully. “We both know that this is already pretty awkward… For my sake please don’t pull the “I’m the oldest” card because I’m only a few months younger and, well… my dongsaeng’s upset. And I don’t like when my dongsaengs are upset. Neither do you, right? So, you know what that means?”
“Yoongi-ah, you can’t be-”
“Hoba! Can you bring Namjoon over here please?”
Jimin moves slightly away from him on the couch, leaving space between them as Namjoon and Hoseok come in. The oldest of the maknae line is fidgeting, avoiding Seokjin’s gaze on him, and the older dancer has a supportive hand on his shoulder, urging him to move forward. Hobi guides him to the couch until Namjoon and Seokjin are sitting side by side, the younger man taking Jungkook’s previous spot next to him. The tension can be felt across the room, until Yoongi speaks.
“Go on… just do it!”
“You don’t mean- come on, hyung!” Namjoon’s protest expresses what Seokjin’s ears slowly turning red cannot.
“Namjoon-ah, please don’t make this more difficult for Yoongi-hyung.” scolds Hoseok. “You know he’d rather be doing anything else right now, but you both left us no choice. Just hold his hand! You always use that technique with the babies, now it’s your turn.”
Seokjin swallows down his pride. Because Hoseok is right. Namjoon and him did come up with the whole “hold each other’s hand until the conflict is resolved” and yes, they’ve asked members to do it many, many times. Just because he’s the oldest and Namjoon’s the leader… he supposes that they can’t escape it. The younger members slowly make their way into the room, no doubt having been called by either Yoongi or Hoseok who seem to be the ones dealing with the situation at hand. The three youngest look like they find the whole thing both awkward and amusing, and Seokjin knows he’s blushing at the centre of their attention. So he grabs the leader’s hand, breathing out. The youngest rapper looks pretty surprised at the sudden initiative.
“Namjoon-ah…” he waits for him to look up. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I know it’s no excuse, but I was truly just exhausted. And I just spat words at you because I was annoyed.”
“It’s… ok. I know that I lose stuff all the time.”
“Wait-” interrupts Hobi. “No, Joonie, it’s not ok. We don’t scream at each other because one of us is a little distracted.”
“He’s right, you know? Just because you forgive him and all, doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. Hyung, that’s not how you taught us to express our frustration.” adds Yoongi, agreeing with him. “What did you even say to him?”
“I… might have implied that he was irresponsible and that it was a nuisance. And I cursed at him…”
“Hyung!”
“Jin-hyung!
“...hyung, why?”
“That’s…”
“Oh, hyung…”
He can’t look at them when Namjoon is avoiding his eyes like this. He can hear the hurt in their tone, the way they seem both surprised and disappointed at his admission. Jimin is shaking his head at him, pouting a little. Having a bad day is one thing, but he will be damned if he lets himself cause pain to any of his dongsaengs. Yoongi is right, he hates seeing them upset. And this time it’s his fault and his responsibility to fix it.
“I.. I’m really sorry Namjoon-ah, you’re not a child. And I know you try really hard not to lose your stuff around the dorm. And it’s really not that big of a deal. I don’t know why I said the things I said, but I did. Hyung is sorry.”
“Ah… it’s ok, I forgive you, hyung. I’m sorry for waking you and not knocking at the door before coming in. If I had then-” replies Namjoon, rubbing the back of his neck.
“You couldn’t have known… I wasn’t even supposed to be home.” He smiles at Namjoon softly until the younger member reciprocates it. “You did nothing wrong, ok? You’re a great leader, an amazing rapper and a lovely dongsaeng, please don’t let this grumpy, sleepy hyung tell you otherwise! Can we forget about it?”
“Deal.”
Namjoon shakes his hand, dimples showing. Maybe there’s hope. We’re ok, right?
“Wait-” suddenly interrupts Taehyung, standing up. “So you falling in the shower was really just bad karma!”
“You- you slipped in the shower?” asks Yoongi, all of a sudden very worried and eyeing him up and down for any signs of injury. “Are you ok? Why did no one tell me- us- that he fell?”
“Because I’m ok, Yoongi-ah. Just bruised my bum and bit my tongue, but I’ll live.”
“You sure? Aish, you got us worried there.” chuckles Hoseok, wrapping Yoongi in a back hug. “So… Now that everyone’s ok, can we order something? I’m super hungry!”
“Samgyeopsal!!” comes the immediate answer.
Laughing at the youngest’s antics, Seokjin takes a minute to look around. He’s so grateful for the six of them. They can turn the worst day of his life into the best one in a minute, he knows that, and he reminds himself once again that he’s very lucky for being able to count on them like that. As they argue about the best restaurant and Jungkook runs to grab his phone and show them his favourite, he murmurs a small thank you to Yoongi and Hoseok who took it upon themselves to force them to talk. They brush it off, saying that they only did what he used to do for them. They’ve grown into fine men that he’s very proud of. His brothers, his members, his best friends in this otherwise strange world. And Namjoon is smiling at him.
“Hyung, you’re really ok?”
“Ah- stop worrying about me when I was so rude to you. You’re too nice for your own good, Namjoon-ah. Just go order some food before the babies forget the perilla leaves that I know you wanted last time… go on!”
“Anybody want some soju?”
“Ya- Jiminie! Did I tell you what happened to my mug this morning?”
Yeah, we’re gonna be ok.