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“ACHOO!” Jungkook’s nose screws up as he sneezes loudly, eyes watering. Maybe it’s the cold of the night air, or maybe it’s just the dampness of his wetsuit, but there’s something uncomfortable frothing underneath his skin.
However, his sneeze has seemingly startled the dazed merman in his lap. Jimin had been lying in his lap, one arm slung over his thigh, head nestled within the cross of his legs, for almost half an hour at this point. They’re a little away from the ocean, small waves lapping at the ends of Jimin’s tail, the sand crunching underneath their weight. Apparently, the distant sounds of Hoseok’s laughter as he’d played in the sea with Taehyung and Yoongi had been soothing enough to coax the merman in his lap to drift off.
Happy, dazed, eyes shut, and body lax.
And Jungkook’s sneeze had disturbed that. Because it had ripped from his mouth like a gunshot, his entire body thrumming with it - and Jimin’s head had shot up, clearly dazed and disoriented, one hand slamming into the sand beside them, trying to get a grip on reality.
Jungkook giggles at the mermaid's slack face, the way that there’s the slight outline of the stitching from his swimsuit engraved onto the curve of his cheek. Jimin, however, doesn’t appear amused, shooting him a low, sleepy glare, webbed hand relaxing from its rigid grasp in the sand.
“Sorry,” Jungkook giggles, knitting a hand into the merman’s wet hair, “It was just a sneeze. Sorry, I shocked you.”
He expects the merman to settle down again, and return to his nap before he has to be roused again at dawn, but instead, Jimin moves forward. His scales grind against the sand as he shifts into Jungkook’s embrace a little more, tongue flicking out over his lips. A webbed, cold hand comes to rest up against Jungkook’s cheek, and he blinks in confusion as Jimin starts chattering quietly, tongue-clicking.
“Huh?”
His mermaid chirps again, head cocking to one side as he cradles Jungkook’s cheek, a flurry of quick, high-pitched chatter coming from his mouth. Such a dangerous mouth. But it makes such pretty sounds.
“‘Ook!”
“Sorry,” Jungkook tears his gaze away from the slither of sharp white he can see through the jut of Jimin’s lip and furrows his brow as he tries to understand what the merman is trying to say. His brow wrinkles further as his mate makes a concerned flurry of sounds, webbed fingers rubbing against his cold skin.
“No, I’m not sick. It’s just a little cold right now, that’s all. Don’t worry about me, okay?”
A few more concerned clicks.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m not, I promise.”
Jimin doesn’t seem convinced. Jungkook knows that the mermen think their human bodies are weak - when Hoseok had caught the flu last winter, Yoongi and Taehyung had been almost worried sick, unsure of how the human had gotten so sick so easily. Jungkook knows that they make light fun about it amongst themselves, how their own bodies can withstand almost anything bacteria or viral - mermaids don’t get coughs.
And now his merman seems acutely concerned about Jungkook getting sick since the Hobi incident last winter. Especially since the waters are cooling down, beginning to get into the depth of the current winter, his mate seems to be ensuring he’s not sick every five seconds.
It’s a little irritating, but Jungkook knows that his merman is only concerned. So he just smiles through it, assures Jimin once again that no, he’s not sick, it’s just the cooling night air and the lingering wetness of the ocean clinging to his wetsuit that is making him sneeze.
Jimin clicks his tongue, seemingly unconvinced, but his hand drops from Jungkook’s face all the same. The human doesn’t breathe, chest tight and warm as the mermaid leans forward, pushes his nose softly against his cheekbone. Jimin drags his nose there for a moment, relishing in the skin contact, Jungkook’s hand lightly coming up to rest on his lower back - right above the cradle of the start of his scales.
“I’m okay,” He murmurs, his voice gentle and assuring, and the frills running down Jimin’s back seem to relax a little, flopping down from their tense standing. His merman chitters one final time, but relents, pushing himself backward a little so he can curl back into his lap.
Jungkook runs a hand through the merman’s wet hair, gaze being pulled back out into the slowly-lightening ocean. He can see Hoseok’s shadow, slowly growing closer as he wades in from the depth, a suspicious head slowly following him through the waves. Yoongi, or Taehyung, one of two.
Despite their making up after what happened all those years ago, Yoongi is still faintly distant from Jungkook. And the man can’t blame him, can’t blame the merman for being distant - there’s a jagged scar down his face that’s a staking reminder of what happened.
(Jimin doesn’t regret it.)
And despite forgiving the merman for the accident, Jungkook is still wary of him. He’s sat with Taehyung before, slowly plaited seaweed into the merman’s hair, but he keeps his distance between himself and Yoongi. At least Hoseok is safe with him, seems calm and happy.
Happiness looks good on his friend.
Dawn is starting to break over the edges of the far ocean and Jungkook sighs, sniffling a little, nose suspiciously numb. He shoves at Jimin gently, rousing the mermaid again, and starts to say his goodbyes.
It’s okay, he’ll be back tomorrow night.
He’ll see him again, it will be fine. Which is why he sits calmly with Hoseok on the sand, watching as Taehyung’s tail flicks one more time above the surface before disappearing.
Love.
Jungkook will be back tomorrow.
----
Despite a nice warm shower, and wringing out his wetsuit to dry, it had still taken Jungkook quite a few hours to fall asleep. No matter which way he had tossed and turned, he just couldn’t get comfortable. His pillow just felt wrong, his body felt a little too heavy, and there was a strange weight just above the bridge of his house.
Many hours later, an exhausted Jungkook had finally managed to drift off, neck bent awkwardly, the sheets now a little too warm.
Everything- everything is heavy. Everything is so, so heavy, and Jungkook- he can’t breathe. His mouth drops out, drawing in a shallow, urgent gasp. It- why is everything so fucking heavy? Like his body is glued down onto his bed, limbs barely responding to him. He can feel sweat clinging to him, tight and overwhelming, the sheets sticking to his bare skin.
He draws another shallow breath in through his mouth.
What’s happening?
Jungkook forces his eyes open, whimpering softly as his body barely responds to him. It’s an effort, to press his exhausted eyes open - and his eyelids are like bricks, heavy and unforgiving. He can’t breathe through his nose, he realizes quickly, stuffy and blocked. Jungkook draws another breath in through his mouth, shuddering at the gummy feeling that is lingering at the back of his throat.
And his throat hurts.
It burns, agonizing, and every time Jungkook swallows, it sends sharp jolts of pain down his spine. He whines softly to himself, fingers curling tightly into his sweaty sheets. Fuck. It feels like he’s on fire. There’s a painful pounding in Jungkook's head, bashing against his skull, and nausea is curling in his stomach - bile building at the back of his throat.
He- he’s sick?
Jungkook whimpers, eyes squeezing shut as he tries to swallow again, and all it does it send sharp rods of lightning down his spine. Dammit! He can barely move and the sheets clinging to his skin are almost suffocating.
He needs-
Needs-
Jimin.
Blindly, Jungkook slaps his hand out, searches for his phone. His Hyungs will help him. They will, they will know what to do. They’ll make it all better. But the sound of his ringtone doesn’t help the needles in his throat, doesn’t help the gagging cough that rips from his lips. Faintly, Jungkook can hear his Hyungs' voice, clearly concerned, but everything is just… too much. With eyes watering with tears, all he can do is croak out a single word.
“Help.”
But that’s all it took.
That’s all it took.
That's all it took for the person on the other side of the phone call to start moving, shuffling almost frantically, trying to understand what was happening. The hushed sounds of them calling out to one another, demanding that they were going over to Jungkook's immediately, that something was wrong.
Praise his Hyungs for being a little overprotective, eager to answer his every call.
It's how help arrived.
And now, the hours have all melted together in a messy pile of pain, sweating, and coughing. Jungkook had heard his Hyungs letting themselves into his house with their spare key, voices soft but concerned. A hand had pressed to his forehead and someone had stripped the sweaty sheets from his body, leaving him shivering.
“Fuck,” Someone had said, but it had been distant, hazy, “Let’s take him back to my house. My guestroom has an ensuite. It’ll be easier to shower him off there.”
“Plus his house only has this one bed. We’ll have to stay to take shifts to watch him and I’d like to get a little sleep in.”
“Okay, Joonie, can you grab anything he might need-
“No-” Jungkook had slurred, voice thick and throat croaky, but he had been scooped up anyway, carried out of his house. Despite his eyes being squeezed closed, he had felt the brush of ocean air over his shivering shoulders, had felt the gentle sway of his Hyungs steps. It wasn’t hard to decipher where he was being taken - even if his mind was clouded with sickness, barely conscious, he’s walked this route enough times to know where Hoseok-Hyung’s house is. It’s only a ten-minute walk from Jungkook’s, a little further up the hill with a direct path down to the sand.
Then, everything got a bit more distant. Jungkook was placed in a bed, a flurry of voices, of hands, but he was too tired to speak, to open his eyes. He had just laid there, laid there, and waited until something dark and cold had settled over his eyes. It was soothing enough for him to fall asleep, to let go of his already slipping grip on reality.
Everything hurts.
----
“Jungkookie, honey, I need you to drink something for me.”
It hurts. It hurts, his throat, his stomach, and there’s the uncomfortable, thick feeling of sweat rolling down his body. Jungkook whines softly, forehead creasing as he shifts, just a little, trying to find a more comfortable position. His entire body aches.
“Honey, I need you to try and drink this for me. Please.”
There’s a hand behind his head, trying to urge him upward, but everything is too heavy. The palm against him is too warm, it hurts, it hurts, and Jungkook whines loudly, eyes screwing up even tighter. He doesn’t want to move. That makes his head pound, makes something painful bloom behind his eyes.
“Don’t wanna-” He manages to grate out, teeth chattering and his throat pulses again, a cough ripping through his teeth. He turns his head away from the gentle hands with a whimper, his tongue swollen in his mouth.
It hurts. It feels like he’s swallowing needles.
“You need to drink, Jungkook-ah. It will help.”
There are tears gathering behind his eyelids, hot and thick and Jungkook lets out a helpless, loud sob. He doesn’t want to move! That makes little colours flash painfully behind his closed eyelids, and it makes his stomach churn dangerously, and he doesn’t want to throw up again because that burns.
Is this what dying feels like?
It hurts so bad.
But Jungkook doesn’t want to die! His mind grips onto that thought almost hysterically and he coughs again, panic curling in his chest.
(In reality, it’s not true. It’s just his sick, frantic mind latching onto hysteria, but Jungkook, knee-deep in his sickness, doesn’t know any better.)
He doesn’t want to die- not without- not without seeing Jimin again! Jimin, Jimin. He would make it better, he would. Jimin would hold him and would soothe him and wouldn’t try to make him move, he would take the pain away, he would.
Jungkook wants Jimin so badly that his chest aches.
“Jimin!”
The ache in his chest is so vivid, clawing and screaming, his heart beating out of rhythm. He gives a loud, chesty sob, his entire body shaking as his throat throbs again, as his stomach churns dangerously because of his cries. He just- he wants the sea. He wants the soft hands that have always cared, always been there, soft and soothing, and- and he’s not here. Jungkook can’t feel him. All he can do is cry out his name almost deliriously, voice croaky and thick.
And that person is still crying to make him drink, eventually coaxing him into a position so they can tip something against his mouth. The water is cool, but it burns, burns at his swollen throat, and Jungkook sobs, his head spinning. There’s an awful blackness building up in the creases of his mind, gripping onto his eyelids with claws.
He can’t.
Everything hurts.
Everything hurts, throbs, like ice, salt on an open wound and Jungkook sobs again, his entire body trembling with it.
Jimin still doesn’t come, no matter how loudly he cries.
----
“He won’t stop crying for him,” Namjoon murmurs, forehead creasing as he looks in the direction of Jungkook’s room. Seokjin is in there with him right now, trying to break his fever, trying to soothe his shakes and cries.
Hoseok sighs, running a palm over his face. It’s never been nice to see Jungkook in pain, and to see him practically writhing with it, eyes screwed up, face pale, only a single name leaving his blue lips…. Yeah. It’s tugging at his heart in an awful way.
“Jimin won’t stop trying to get to him either,” He reveals tentatively, watching how Namjoon pauses, coffee cup halfway to his mouth, “He manages to get halfway up the beach, dragging himself, before Taehyung enlisted me to help drag him back into the ocean. And god, it wasn’t pretty. He kept hissing, trying to fight me.”
Namjoon sighs, cup clinking as he places it down on the kitchen counter. There’s a thick silence between them, heavy and overwhelming.
“I don’t know what to do.” Hoseok admits, curling his knees to his chest, “I don’t know what to do anymore, Joonie. We need to get them together, we need to, but we can’t risk taking Jungkook out, out down to the ocean. It’s too cold. It will make it worse.”
There’s a moment of silence against, Namjoon’s fingers thrumming against the countertop. Then, realization, like a spark.
“What if we bought Jimin here?”
----
The cough that rips from his lips is so painful that it makes his toes curl and Jungkook whimpers. Everything is burning. His forehead, his lungs, his fingers, toes. Everything burns, and with every cough that leaves his mouth, the flames only seem to lick more. He can feel the sweat that rolls down him, clings to the clothes around him. Jungkook is all too hot, too cold, freezing, and shivering but overheating at the same time.
It’s agonizing. It’s agonizing and drinking, taking the pills that are pressed to his mouth - nothing helps. Nothing helps and his mind has fastened onto one thing, a single thing that he knows would make him feel better, even just mentally.
Jimin. Jimin. The name pulls from his tongue unconsciously, filling the room as someone dabs at his forehead, grating out in between his heavy sobs when the nausea gets too much.
Jungkook is just heavy. He’s heavy and tired and feels so awfully, awfully sick.
“Jimin?” He croaks again, fingers numbly curling into the bed sheets. He barely knows what he’s asking for at this point, barely able to move his mouth - his throat is aching that much - but calling his lover's name is the only thing fastening onto reality. Calling out for the person who is more than life to him, his mate by all terms, the thing that brings his heart the most love and light.
There’s no answer, just the casual ticking of a clock and Jungkook bites back a sob as another wave of nausea sweeps through him. It hur-
Slam.
Jungkook flinches at the noise, whimpering as his head throbs. He can’t hear anyone close to him, can’t hear the sound of breathing over his own, and he whines softly, a bead of sweat rolling down his back. The next cough he lets out sits uncomfortably just behind his teeth, not entirely out, thick and clogging at his throat and-
Chitter click chitter.
Huh. He must really be sick, because now Jungkook is imagining that he can hear Jimin. Hear his merman little trills - but they sound a little upset, loud, and urgent. That’s probably what he would sound like if he saw Jungkook in this state but…
He can hear shuffling, someone pressing through the door into the bedroom, and there are a few grunts, like someone is carrying something heavy. He can hear Jimin’s clicks again, loud and pulsing, and it brings a small smile to his lips. Fuck, that’s soothing, even if Jimin isn’t actually here, even if Jungkook is growing delusional-
The bed is sinking beside him, almost violently, and there’s a wet slapping sound, and suddenly, there’s the weight of someone against him. Cold and a little clammy, and… wet? Jungkook forehead wrinkles and he lets out a small, questioning sound, and- and there are hands on his cheeks. He can feel the webs against his cheekbones, can feel the scales that are pressing up against his bare stomach and Jimin’s concern, urgent little squeaks and-
He’s here.
Jimin is here. Jimin is here!
Jungkook lets out a little sob, his hand pressing against Jimin’s stomach. He wants to curl his arm around his merman, cuddle him close, but his limbs are just too heavy. He’s so elated, so overjoyed that his mind doesn’t even stop to consider why Jimin is here, how, he’s just… here. He’s here and he’s pressing wet kisses to the corners of Jungkook’s mouth, craning over him protectively.
“ Jimin.” Jungkook croaks and his merman lets out an answering noise, chattering at him, tucking a sweat lock of hair behind his ear. He lets out another little sob, throat pulsing with pain, but Jimin is here, his tail curling over his bent, pained legs, and he’s here.
There’s a bit of shuffling in the room around him, Jungkook realizes, as he tries to press past Jimin’s cooling hands, the lingering wet of the ocean that is now dripping onto the bedsheets. Someone is doing something, a few shorts words about getting someone into the bath before they dry out, and-
“But it will be cold and Jungkook-”
“We can’t separate them.”
“It’s fine, we need to break his fever anyway. Cold water will do him some good.”
More shuffling but Jungkook can’t concentrate on that anymore, just presses one of his fingers into Jimin’s belly button, panting as he whines. The merman is cradling his face, protective and urgent, his large tail curled almost completely over his body. Like he’s shielding him, trying to protect him from himself. Jungkook can feel his mind settling, just a little, but it doesn’t do anything for his stomach.
A snarl suddenly rips through the air, loud and aggressive and Jungkook flinches at the loud sound, whimpering. Those hands are trying to soothe him again, but there are hisses, determined and threatening. Someone is arguing with someone, voice low but telling, and then, and then, Jimin’s body is being ripped away from his own.
Jungkook cries. He sobs and his entire body shakes, hands reaching out desperately, trying to latch onto his mate. They can’t take him! Not yet! Not yet! He can still hear him though, can hear the comforting trills he lets out, the chatters he makes to allow Jungkook to still hear his voice and-
And now he’s being lifted up, the sweaty bedsheets rolling away. The motion just makes his nausea even worse, Jungkook gagging as he’s shifted into a new position, carried through an apparent doorway. And hands, warm and human, are stripping him of his top, his shorts, and Jungkook sobs hazily.
He’s not even sure why he’s crying anymore. But he can hear Jimin, can hear that he’s close, the gentle slosh of water - and human hands are lifting up his feet gently, carrying him over something, and then Jungkook is being lowered down.
Cool water breaches his feet. Jungkook lets out a short, quiet yelp, shivering as he’s eased in further. The water gathers around his hips, and those human hands are falling away, replaced by possessive, clear merman hands, and Jimin is chattering to him softly, a thumb pressing to his forehead.
His cheek is pressing against something cool, the smell of salt close, and Jungkook realizes that he’s being cradled against Jimin’s chest. Everything melts. Everything melts and he feels his body fall lax, despite the cold, despite everything, allowing his body to find comfort as he lies on his side, curled on Jimin’s body, forehead pressed to the mermaid’s collar bones.
Jimin is humming something, his chest rumbling with the noise, and there’s a hand pressed against his forehead - cold. Trying to cool him down? Jungkook doesn’t know, he doesn’t care. Because there are kisses pressed into his hair, scales underneath him, and despite his shivering, the cold water feels nice. Soothing.
Everything falls away.
----
“ Jimin if he stays in the cold water any longer, he’s going to get sicker.”
An angry, but concerned trill.
“I know. But we’ve set up a bed down here on the floor, see? Right up next to the tub. You’ll be able to touch him.”
A softer trill.
“Yes, I made sure that it’s extra comfortable. Exactly like a real bed. Jin-Hyung had a single inflatable mattress and I’ve put so many blankets and pillows on it that he might overheat.”
A barely audible chitter.
Then a relieved sigh.
“Thank you, Jimin-ah. I’m just going to get him dried off and then he’ll be right there, okay? I won’t take him out of your sight, I promise, I promise-”
----
There are fingers in his hair. Soft and gentle, carding through the strands, and Jungkook draws in a deep breath through his nose.
His nose. The realization has his eyes snapping open in shock, surprised at how his chest feels a little lighter. There’s still bile bubbling at the back of his throat, and that awful churning is still there, and Jungkook’s throat is still achy and lord he needs to cough but-
But it’s a little easier. A little less heavy, and the sheets aren’t glued to him as much as they were before. He’s not sweated through all his clothing. The fingers in his hair continue, soft and soothing and Jungkook cranes up toward them, almost purring.
Which Hyung is it? Matter of fact, where is he? His forehead creases, hand gently testing the blankets beneath him. Is he… on an inflatable mattress? In the bathroom? But why-
The fingers in his hair have paused and Jungkook blinks once, twice, breathes in the scent of salt.
No.
He had thought it was just a dream, a delusion from how sick he was but- but Jimin- is he-
It hurts a little to roll over, Jungkook’s head throbbing at the movement, but he’s there. Jimin is there, hand dangling uselessly in the air now, craning over the edge of the bathtub. His slitted eyes are blinking at him in concern, a bead of water rolling down one of the webs in between his fingers.
No.
“Jimin?” Jungkook asks and his voice croaks with the effort - making his merman’s face flit in concern. He chitters quietly, reaching out to run his hand down the side of Jungkook’s face. Jungkook leans into the touch, of course, he does, eyelashes fluttering and everything. He shuffles closer to the bathtub, allowing Jimin to cup his cheek awkwardly.
“What- what are you doing here?” Jungkook asks in disbelief, eyes fluttering open. Jimin is much too big for the bathtub - his tail is craning up the way at an awkward angle that can’t be comfortable, but regardless, he’s here. He’s here, with Jungkook, touching him.
“Did-” Jungkook’s throat throbs and he lets out a hacking cough. Jimin trills in concern, and tries to urge him to stop speaking, but he presses forward. “Did the Hyungs bring you here? But- but the freshwater can’t be good for you- baby-”
Jimin trills gently, pinches the fat of Jungkook’s cheeks in between two of his sharp fingers. Jungkook stiffens a little, blinks up at him through innocent eyes. The merman gently presses him back down onto the bed, fingers releasing his face to thread back into his hair. A flurry of clicks fills the bathroom, Jimin’s voice angelic. It's that lovely voice that is so instantly soothing, a voice that Jungkook trusts more than life.
Rest, he’s saying, tail flicking, water sloshing, rest. I will be fine when you’re fine. Rest.
And despite his worry, despite wanting to get up, get Jimin back into the ocean… Jungkook obeys. Closes his eyes and lets the damp fingers in his hair urge him back to sleep.
----
“Fuck, he’s heavy!”
Jungkook can’t bite back his giggles as he watches Hoseok and Namjoon struggle to carry Jimin down the final stretch of hill, the merman not looking pleased at all. Hoseok has his tail, just that, it’s so big, and Namjoon is awkwardly trying to hold him underneath his armpits and it can’t be comfortable. Especially not with the way Jimin keeps flicking his tail, frills on his body rattling like a snakes'.
Wrapped in thick blankets, Jungkook limps after them. Seokjin is by his side, fussing over him, wrapping the blankets just a little tighter as they approach the beach.
His boots hit sand. They hit the sand and Jungkook wishes he could take them off, could feel the sand in between his toes. But he knows he’s not allowed to, and would probably cause all of his Hyungs to panic if he went to do so. So, he hobbles down the beach after them, swallowing back a cough as he watches Hoseok sway dangerously.
They manage to make it just a few meters shy of the water's edge before they finally give up, placing Jimin down semi-gently , the merman flicking his tail harshly against the sand. Jungkook leaves Seokjin's side, hurries toward his mate and-
Jimin clicks at him harshly, roughly, scolding and Jungkook freezes.
The merman’s tail flicks again, sharp teeth cluttering as he points firmly up the beach, eyes narrowed.
Oh.
Oh.
He’s telling Jungkook to keep away from the water. Away from the cold. He doesn’t- he doesn’t want him to get sick again. And Jungkook’s heart swells, it swells until it’s filling his entire chest and he ignores Jimin’s light hiss, drops to his knees in the sand next to him.
Cradling Jimin’s face, Jungkook kisses him. Deep, passionate, ignoring the slight sound of disgust as his other Hyungs look away.
Jimin, despite his insistence, kisses Jungkook back, a webbed hand curling into the blankets.
“Thank you for worrying about me,” Jungkook whispers, giggling as Jimin leans in to kiss him again, sharp, predator teeth nipping at his bottom lip.
“I’ll come to see you soon, okay? I promise. Let me just get over this last bit of the cold and-”
Jimin chatters angrily and shoves softly at Jungkook’s chest in a scolding manner.
“You can’t expect me to stay away.”
The merman grumbles at that, but drags Jungkook in for one final kiss - before hissing and pointing back up the beach again.
This time, Jungkook obeys. Takes a few steps back and brushes the sand off of his blankets as he watches his mate drag himself back toward the ocean. It’s beautiful, really, the way his clawed hands sink into the sand easily, pulling himself along until the shallow waves are lapping down his body.
And then he’s floating. He’s floating, looking back over his shoulder, eyes big and longing, and Jungkook blows him a kiss, trying to ignore how his eyes burn.
He’ll be back soon, he will.
This time he will.
It’s why his heart is a little lighter as he watches Jimin disappear under the waves, the rustle of the ocean from a nearby rock as either Taehyung or Yoongi rushes to greet him.
Obviously, they need to come up with a better system in Winter. They can’t go around carrying mermaids in the middle of the night, risking someone seeing them.
Jungkook leans against Namjoon’s shoulder as the man throws an arm over his, Hoseok squeezing his hand tightly. Seokjin sighs, sniffling against the cold air with a scowl.
“Okay, okay, come on, back inside, don’t argue with me Jeon Jungkook, I swear to god, you’re going back to bed, let’s go, let’s GO!”
Jungkook giggles but allows his Hyungs to usher him up the beach, sand crunching under his boots.
He’ll be back soon.