Chapter Text
"Here. Have a pill before it worsens... " Jin said, offering a painkiller pill to Yoongi. The rapper had cried a lot today, even after their concert got over and was currently seated on one of the steel chairs at the airport, with a bad headache. The fact that his parents were right there, among the audience, seeing him perform and cheering for him was something Yoongi still had a hard time believing. It was unfortunate that the members had to catch a flight back to Korea the very same day.
"Such a big star now, aren't you? ", his dad had asked, patting Yoongi on the back when they met behind the stage after the concert. It was all that was needed for Yoongi's little heart to be filled with warmth. The look on his dad's face said it all. He was proud.
Jin sighed, watching Yoongi gulp down the pill he handed over. His dongsaeng's eyes were so swollen.
"Yah...stop!! I'm not in the mood right now... "
"But there's still a whole hour before we board... Come on... Kook-ah! Not you too... " Taehyung could be seen whining from where he was seated next to Jimin, who had his beanie pulled over his eyes as he rested on the hard cold seat. Sitting was still as uncomfortable as it could be, since the welts were even more aggravated after having danced for so long today. Wearing those tight leather pants had been an absolute cherry on the cake - making it almost torturous for Jimin. Of course, he had been extra careful to ensure that none of it was shown during his performance, but that didn't mean it had been easy. Jungkook wasn't doing too well either, as he kept fidgeting and squirming where he sat on the other side of Taehyung, every ten minutes or so.
"Leave them alone Tae-ah... Can't you see they are tired? " The admonishment was from Namjoon, who sent a glare towards his second youngest maknae, who seemed to be the only one on high energy.
"But hyung... I'm so bored. And my phone is dead..." Taehyung whined again, looking very much like a kid about to throw a tantrum.
"Come watch this series with me then... " Hoseok suggested, hoping that Taehyung would agree. It looked like Namjoon was losing his cool quickly. The longer Tae whined, the higher was the chance of him having to fly back home on a sore bottom.
"I don't want to. It's boring. Jiminie-" Taehyung continued with his whine, now shaking Jimin's arm vigorously.
"YAH! TAE-AH!! THAT HURTS!!! " Jimin shouted, apparently forgetting that they were in an airport surrounded by people, visibly losing the last grain of patience he was holding onto. Taehyung had grabbed him right where he had a bruise from yesterday's fight with Jungkook and it had hurt something terrible.
The members, the few staff who were accompanying them and some people around them had all turned to look at Jimin, the moment he let out his high-pitched shout. He blushed in embarrassment and quickly did a few bows in apology before glaring daggers at his soul mate, who wasn't acting very soul-matey at the moment.
"Well, it isn't my fault that you couldn't keep yourself from getting your ass whipped... " Taehyung muttered shrugging, looking plain pissed. All he asked was for Jimin to accompany him to the other side of the lounge where they could go and get some snacks. He was sure that Jimin was just being a jerk right now. And Jungkook? He had chosen to be on Jimin's side today. So annoying.
"And it's none of your fucking business, is it? " Jimin spat venomously, standing up now, glaring at Taehyung, eye to eye. Jimin had an expression that literally read - 'I can't believe you just said that to my face... '
Jungkook, who had been trying to nap a little, was now staring wide eyed at his two youngest hyungs who were glaring at each other like two angry cats about to strike. It widened even further when he saw their leader shutting the book he was reading with a snap and getting up from his chair. That was not good, was it?
Namjoon coolly approached Taehyung and grabbed him by the ear, before dragging him to where Namjoon had been sitting.
"You sit there quietly and behave until we board the flight. Get me? " Namjoon asked, his arms crossed in front of him as he waited for an answer, an eyebrow raised, making sure his dongsaeng knew that he was treading on very thin ice.
"I won't hesitate to spank you here, if not. " He continued, when Taehyung remained silent, blushing furiously at the humiliation. There were people around, and Namjoon hyung had pulled him by the ear like a small kid. And threatened him with a spanking out loud. He was sure the few koreans around them surely understood what their conversation was about.
"Y-yes hyung..." Came Taehyung's answer in a slow mumble, eyes not looking up from where they were fixed on a spot on his lap. He could tell that his hyung wasn't bluffing. Namjoon wasn't one to hand out empty threats.
"And you!... Calm down. We're in an airport..." Namjoon then said, addressing Jimin, who sadly nodded his head in understanding. They were to be on their best behavior while out in public. He was surprised that Jin hyung hadn't admonished him already for swearing at Taehyung. Even Yoongi hyung wasn't spared from that rule.
The flight back home was peaceful. All of them had dozed off, being totally exhausted. They were practically walking zombies by the time they got home. Each of them respectively walked to their own bunks, not even bothering to change their clothes, except Jin and Hoseok, who managed to stay awake long enough to have a shower.
....
"What!" Jimin sneered, his tone conveying his irritation when he caught Taehyung staring at his back as he stood in front of the wardrobe looking for an oversized Tshirt to wear. He was wearing only his boxers at the moment and knew that the welts on the back of his thighs must be showing.
"N-nothing... " Taehyung answered, immediately shifting his gaze.
"It looks pretty sore... I'm sorry for earlier, you know...at the airport..." He continued, sounding a little sad. Now that he had gotten enough rest, and his high was gone, Taehyung kind of realised that he was being an annoying prick at the airport. He wouldn't have wanted to move much either, if he was the one sporting welts like Jimin.
"Me too... " Jimin responded, heaving a sigh as he spoke and returned to the bunk.
"Jin hyung was really angry this time. I even thought Yoongi hyung might have gone easier on us than Jin hyung..." He continued, eyebrows frowning as he took a seat on the bed gingerly. The numbing cream had greatly helped in reducing the burn while they performed. But hyung hadn't been that lenient afterwards. The cream privilege was only until the concert lasted.
"I agree... " Came a voice from above them. It looked like Jungkook had finally stirred awake from his slumber on the top bunk.
"It's like they walk around to find fault and punish us.. " Taehyung muttered, remembering how Namjoon had pinched his ear at the airport. He didn't have to embarrass him like that. A mild warning would have sufficed.
"And it's not because you deserved it Jimin-ah and Kook-ah? "
It was Jin, who had walked in to call the maknaes for their dinner. They had slept through the day and everyone had missed their lunch. Apparently Jin heard what Taehyung had said. And didn't seem to like it much, from the way he was frowning.
"Was the lesson not learned? Maybe I should repeat? " Jin continued, still eyeing the maknae and his hyung, looking like he meant to carry on with the threat.
"N-no hyung... We're s-sorry... We have learnt.. " Jungkook hurried to respond, not wanting even a swat on his sore behind for at least another week.
"Come on then, all three of you. Time for dinner... "
.....
They had five whole days off after the concert to catch up on rest before they had to go back to their busy schedules. Or that's what Yoongi thought as he woke up in the morning, feeling blissful. It felt good to sleep in without having to go anywhere. But the bliss had the life span of a mere five minutes before Namjoon knocked and entered their bedroom. Jin was still asleep.
"You are up... " Yoongi mentioned, wondering what brought the leader here.
"We need to go to the studio. Just the rap-line. Haru-ssi said he has something to discuss about those Japanese sponsors.. "
"Is it again our fault that the meeting couldn't happen? They are the ones being unavailable all the time... " Yoongi muttered grumpily. They were supposed to have that meeting after their shows in Japan. But the sponsors had yet again postponed it to another date.
"I don't know. But we better not be late. He said we were to reach by ten... " Namjoon answered shrugging, rubbing one of his eyes. It looked like he too had just woken up from sleep.
"I'll get started on some breakfast... " Yoongi said, getting up from his bed. It was almost nine already. He didn't like the sound of this sudden discussion at all. It somehow smelled like trouble.
..........
"In TWO days? How are we supposed to do that??! " Hoseok exclaimed, a little too loud.
"Quiet. You'll keep your voice down..." Haru admonished, sending a glare towards the young rapper, who looked grumpy at the rebuke. Or the task they had just been assigned. Both were reasonable reasons to get grumpy over, Haru agreed. But again, it was rare to see Hoseok so worked up.
"But hyungn-"
"This is the only way they are willing to be our sponsors. They want the songs done in two days. Base track, raws and all..."
"Yes hyungnim... " Namjoon answered, his face expressionless, making both Yoongi and Hoseok turn to him dumbfounded. Did their leader just agree to do something they knew wouldn't be possible?
"And you guys will have to come for rehearsals from tuesday onwards. The shoot for 'Dope' got preponed to this month end... We need to perfect the choreo...you know it's different from the usual..." Haru continued, watching as the three faces in front of him fell further. He couldn't blame them. They weren't even given the five promised days of rest after the concert.
"Great!" Muttered Yoongi in response to that, now truly annoyed.
"What was that? "
"N-nothing hyungnim. Thank you. I'll let the other members know... " Namjoon answered, quickly covering up for Yoongi. He bowed deep and exited the room, followed by his fellow rappers.
"Unbelievable! Why would you agree to that Joon-ah?? " Hoseok asked, throwing his hands up.
"Shut up! For once, just shut up.. " Namjoon answered, gritting his teeth, making the other two freeze for a minute.
"Yah! Apolo-"
"Did it look like I had a choice?? Weren't you there??? " Namjoon burst out, interrupting Yoongi's admonishment midway.
Hoseok looked like Namjoon had slapped him. There was pure hurt written on his face, even though he had not made a sound in response to the leader's outburst.
Namjoon seemed to notice it too, as his facial features softened immediately.
He better apologise right now for hurting their sunshine, Yoongi thought. It was painful to watch Hoseok so heartbroken.
"I have some of the lyrics done. Yoongi hyung and I can fix on the verse and raws tonight. And you can handle the completion of the track tomorrow. Yeah? " Namjoon continued, his voice and tone back to normal, as he gazed intently at Hoseok. He regretted bursting out at his friend like that. Which is partially why he offered to give Hoseok the track tomorrow. He was the fastest amongst the three of them in editing. And the biggest perfectionist. Coming up with lyrics in a short time however, seemed to be too stressful for Hoseok.
Yoongi understood that Namjoon was trying to do some damage control at the moment, and chose not to interrupt. But he highly doubted that would do anything to make up for the hurt he had caused Hoseok, because all the younger did was nod in response to the leader's instruction, before walking ahead in the direction of the elevators.
Not a word was spoken until the rappers reached back home. Hoseok had remained silent throughout, which was very unusual for him. It made Yoongi feel uneasy.
Namjoon on the other hand, had been oblivious to the unusual silence and had used the time in car to text in their group, updating about what Haru-ssi had mentioned. Jin, Jungkook and Jimin had responded to the news with crying emojis. Tuesday was the day after tomorrow. Which meant that their five day holiday was gone. Poof!
The next two days went in a blur for the rapline. They had stayed at the studio at BH for the nights, barely catching four hours of sleep in the forty-eight they were cooped up in there. Jin had the maknaes take turns to visit them and deliver homemade food, three times a day, in hopes that they wouldn't starve themselves.
Taehyung had come back home pouting, saying that he had been scared to so much as breathe wrong around them. All three of his hyungs were on edge, with the stress and lack of sleep.
"Aish... Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fu- Aaaargh!!"
"Yah!!! What is it?? " Yoongi asked, getting up from where he was curled on the one couch in the studio room. He had just laid down, hardly ten minutes back after having handed over the remaining final edits and tweaks to Hoseok. Another hour of work and they'd finally be done. It was currently 2.40 am at night and they were supposed to hand over the finished track by tomorrow noon. Namjoon had gone to Haru-ssi's cabin to discuss details about tomorrow's submission. Unlike what Yoongi had expected, Haru-ssi was also apparently buried neck deep in work, and had ended up staying overnight at BH just like them.
"It's stuck... It's frozen.....aaaaargh! Don't, don't, don't...Fuck. "
By the time Yoongi reached the desk, Hoseok had slammed a fist hard on it, cussing out loud as he stood up and stormed out of the room, kicking at every moving object on his way.
"Yah!... " Yoongi called out, but in vain. Hoseok had gone. One look at the screen and Yoongi knew that his dongsaeng wasn't overreacting. Their software had recently been acting up and they were actually supposed to get it replaced before starting the work on the Japanese project, which was supposed to happen after this month. The sudden deadline had forced them to work with what they had.
"Aish... It's all gone... " Yoongi muttered, slapping a palm to his pale, tired face as he checked the last saved version of the track that the software managed to capture. Twelve valuable hours of hard-work had just gone down the drain. Fuck this. How were they supposed to deliver the track tomorrow?
Hoseok, who had stormed out the studio, with tears of frustration blurring his eyesight, had collided with Namjoon, who was on his way back from their manager's cabin.
"Hey... Are you alright? " Namjoon asked in concern, noticing that the rapper had tears running down his face.
"No... "
"Are you too stressed? I can take over the editing... Haru-ssi is trying to get us a few more hours. Maybe he will succeed... " Namjoon said, hoping to give some hope to their hope.
Which unfortunately was hopeless at the moment.
"We won't be able to deliver it on time. It's gone. "
"What do you mean it's GONE? " Namjoon exclaimed, losing his cool quickly.
"What I said... "
Namjoon glared at Hoseok for a couple of seconds more, his answer not at all helping his pacing heartbeat, before deciding that he needed to take a look himself, and rushing off to the studio, barging in to see Yoongi seated at the chair, his face cradled in his palms, as he uttered a string of swear words, seemingly at himself.
"Hyung... "
"Joon-ah... The fucking system crashed. We lost half of it.." Yoongi muttered, massaging his temples as he spoke. A migraine was building.
After swearing at the universe for roughly an hour, the three of them however set themselves back at the desk, reworking through the track as much as they could. Exhaustion took over just as the sun rays filtered into their room though, knocking them out one by one. It was not until four hours later, when Jin had come to the studio with their breakfast, that they woke up, bewildered and disoriented, before they felt the doom. They had to submit it today.
"Yah! None of you slept?? " Jin asked, concerned at the dark circles under their eyes.
To which nobody had an answer. Namjoon stood up from where he was seated, stretching himself before sitting back down and putting the headphone over his ears. They still had a lot to do.
Jin opened his mouth to admonish them again for ignoring him, but was interrupted by their studio door banging open.
"Namjoon-ah?!... Stop. You don't have to finish it today... "
"Hyu-hyungnim?.. " Yoongi asked, a little concerned at seeing their usually composed mentor, out of breath and tousled.
"I got a response from them finally. Sometime early in the morning. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know sooner because I missed it myself. Dozed off. " Haru-ssi muttered, sounding like he wanted to kick himself. It was the first time for the members to have their mentor apologize to them, or sound anything like what he had just now.
They saw Haru taking a deep breath and some of his composure returning before he spoke again.
"They have moved the deadline. You have a few more days to finish it off... "
"For real? " Jin asked this time, for the sake of his dongsaengs who looked like they were convinced that this was a dream.
"I do not like repeating myself Seokjin-ah. All the members will report for rehearsals post noon, like it was scheduled before. That's all. The rap-line is off-schedule for the first half today, so I suggest you catch up on some rest." Haru said, before walking out. The kids looked like they worked themselves to their grave. He wished he could postpone the rehearsals to tomorrow. But things weren't in his control anymore.
The thing is, the new co-owner of BH isn't very humane in the way he wanted to run the company. When Haru joined, it was Bang PD-nim who had the ultimate say in matters. And he trusted Sejin and Haru to make their decisions and do what they did best in their own fields. However, in the last six months, being in a financially vulnerable condition, the company had accepted huge funds from this person, who went on to buy a few shares at first, which then became more than half of the shares with nobody noticing it.
One fine day, the roles had reversed, with the PD-nim being forced to handle the financial matters while the new owner wanted to take over the operational matters. Sejin being sent overseas under the guise of discussions with producers was the first thing that the new owner did, while he chose to retain Haru.
Sejin and Haru both guessed that the aim was to create a ridge between them, by making Haru in charge of everything that Sejin previously handled, and slowly plucking Sejin out, who was still very loyal to the PD-nim. Somehow, it was very clear that this person had seen the potential of BTS and had intended to exploit it for his own benefit, eventually planning to drive even the PD-nim out. It wasn't hard to see where he wanted to go with the actions he took. And it had Haru worry for the boys.
He literally had to threaten the Japanese sponsors yesterday, that they had other sponsors in line for BTS if they weren't willing to give them some time, before they agreed to extend the deadline by a week. Even though it was a bluff. There weren't any sponsors. They were hitting an all time low, even though the concerts had been a huge success. Things weren't adding up.
.......
"Aaand a 5,6,7,8...bam bam... Another 8 count...bam bam... Aaaand jump... "
The choreography for their new single 'Dope' was different to their previous works and needed a lot of energy to do it justice. The track had an awesome beat and the choreo really brought out it's beauty. They had all learned it prior to their concerts. So Haru was sure the rehearsal would go smooth. However, that was not meant to be.
"Jin-ah... You are moving too fast. Dance on the beat, rather than before... Yoongiyah, you too... " Haru said, pausing the music for at least the tenth time since they started twenty minutes ago. He had heard from the maknaes that the rapper hyungs had all slept until they had to wake up for the rehearsal, for which Haru felt internally grateful.
"Come on. Again... "
By the time they were done, nine hours later, the members were all laying sprawled on the floor, their tshirts drenched in sweat. It had been so intense, and Haru-ssi hadn't given as many breaks as he usually did.
"Hey... Don't you think the hyungs are too quiet? " Jimin whispered to Taehyung and Jungkook who were lying close to him.
"Jin hyung all but chased me around the room during lunch break. I think they are just fine Jiminie.. " Jungkook responded, sending a side glance at his eldest hyung, who was, for now, simply lying down with his eyes closed. His high energy seemed to have dropped a little. Nothing warranted the worry in Jimin's eyes.
"Not Jin hyung. The other three... Hobi hyung has not said a word today... Yoongi hyung too.. "
"Maybe they are still too tired. Or probably angry. I know I'd be if someone made me work day and night only to extend the deadline at the last moment... They didn't even sleep... " Taehyung whispered back, feeling bad for his hyungs. They had looked quite the sight when they returned in the morning.
"Okay. Get up. One last time and you can go home... " Came Haru's voice at that moment, received with groans by the maknaes, only to be frozen by a glare sent by Namjoon towards them.
"I expect you all to make no mistakes tomorrow. We have practiced enough. Go home, rest well and come back energised tomorrow. You can come in two hours late and use that time to sleep in... "
"Woww hyungnim... Thank you! " Quipped Jimin, cutely bouncing where he stood, happy to have gotten extra time to sleep. He was so tired.
Haru let a small smile escape at that, but immediately seemed to recompose himself back to the strict mentor mode before he spoke again.
"Like I said. No mistakes tomorrow. You know what will happen otherwise. I won't go easy on you... "
I'll have no choice.
.........
Even though they got an hour of extra sleep, the intense practice session on the previous day took it's toll on all the members, who were still tired when they stepped foot in the dance floor again the next day. The maknaes seemed to be doing fine, pranking and joking with one another and laughing away their tiredness. But the same could not be said for the hyungs.
"Okay.... Now that we have all warmed up, let's get into it. We'll be recording the practice run today, so focus. And energy... " Haru said, looking over at each of the members, and hoping they wouldn't mess up today. They were in the bigger studio today. And this one had cameras installed, a new feature brought in by the owner-nim. Apparently he wanted to see how the practice sessions went, to make sure that the members weren't goofing off. As per the latest talk he had with Haru, he wanted him to be as strict as possible with the boys. He wanted perfection.
"....Jimin-ah... Move a little to your right. And Namjoon to the front... That's right... "
The music began, and the boys danced, smiles playing on their faces and moves synchronising perfectly. The first thirty seconds were down and it looked good, before Hoseok tripped over his own feet. He managed not to fall, but lost the timing.
"Again! From the top! " Haru shouted, waiting for a minute until the boys returned to their starting positions.
The music played again, and the boys managed to get through a whole minute before Hoseok made a mistake and turned to the right, when he was supposed to turn to the left, ruining the formation.
Haru didn't want to be harsh with the boys today. And Hoseok was the last person to end up messing up the routine, because he had nailed it within the first ten minutes of learning it, long ago. The only reason he wasn't doing well today, was because the boy wasn't focusing. Which wasn't something they could afford at the moment.
Haru paused the music, picked up his stick, which he hadn't used on any of the boys in a long while and approached Hoseok, noticing the tense atmosphere in the room. The members were all quiet, knowing what was about to happen.
"Didn't I tell you to focus? "
"Y-yes hyungnim... " Hoseok answered, his heart beating in his throat as Haru grabbed his left hand and turned him to the side.
"(Smack) then (smack) why (smack) won't (smack) you (smack) focus?" Haru accentuated each word with a sharp smack to the back of Hoseok's thighs, making him yelp in pain. Hoseok had never once gotten punished like this by Haru and the boy was already tearing up by the time the last smack landed.
"I-I'm s-sorry hyungnim... I'll t-try h-harder... "
"Again!!"
The day dragged by, with the members suffering through it until they managed to get a perfect recording from start to finish. Haru-ssi had been extra tough on them, and Jungkook, Jin and Yoongi had also received random, sharp, stinging whacks with the stick. But Hoseok really seemed to have trouble focusing the most. He had received quite the number by the time they winded up for the day.
..........
"Yah! Jimin-ah!!!! Come here!!!" Hoseok hollered, his temper rising quickly at the mess on his bed.
"YAH!!! "
"Whaaat? " Came Jimin's reply in a long drawl from the corridor before he entered the room.
"Pick up your dirty sweatshirt. I just changed the sheets yesterday! "
"You could have just put it away instead of shouting like a madman... " Jimin murmured, as he picked his shirt. He and Taehyung had been in the room earlier, and Jimin had forgotten about the sweatshirt he had abandoned on the bed when he left.
"What was that? "
"Nothing."
"I asked what was that? "
"And I said nothing. " Jimin answered, his lips pressed in a tight line as he glared at Hoseok. What was with hyung's tone? Why was he so angry anyway? Jimin picked it up right?
"Are you sure Jimin-ah? I'm this close to spanking that attitude right out of you... " Hoseok warned, glaring back at his dongsaeng. Not only had he not apologised yet, he chose to be defensive about his actions as well?
Jimin remained silent, biting his lip as he swallowed another smart remark his brain had come up with. He could feel his own temper slowly rising.
"Come to the kitchen once you are done. We're on dish duty today. " Hosoek said, deciding to let it go for the time being, before walking away. None of his dongsaengs respected him anyway.
In the kitchen, Hoseok engaged himself in washing the dishes while Jimin wiped them dry, before placing them in the cabinets. Neither of them were in any good mood though. Not a word was spoken for quite some time.
"Don't place it so close to the edge... It'll fa-"
"It won't fall. I know what I'm doing. " Jimin cut off Hoseok's sentence, doing the exact same thing his hyung warned him not to.
"Yah! What's with the tone? I said put it away before it falls... " Hoseok warned, watching his dongsaeng closely, who seemed to be getting more riled up by the second. The last thing Hoseok wanted today was a scolding from Jin for breaking his precious crockery.
But nothing seemed to phase Jimin, who angrily placed the next glass bowl right beside the one before, at the very edge of the table.
"YAH! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME???! "
"DO IT YOURSELF THEN!! " Jimin shouted back at Hoseok, his anger boiling over at that moment, and making him throw the wet towel at his hyung, oblivious to the fact that one of the dishes he had placed on the table was partially sitting on the other end of the same towel.
CRASH!!!
"Ow!"
"JIMIN-AH!!! "
.........