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Something was off. Yoongi wasn’t sure what, but something, definitely. A disturbance in the Force, one of the maknaes (or Jin) might say.
It was quiet in the dorm: one of their rare full days off, and most of the members had gone out in ones and twos, so it was just Yoongi and Jungkook left. Yoongi because he’d wanted the quiet, and Jungkook because he was a little under the weather with a combination of stress, maybe the beginnings of a cold, and needing something more and better to eat than what they usually had. Yoongi would see what he could make later and make sure Jungkook ate some.
But back to the matter at hand, somehow it was too quiet in the dorm, which didn’t make sense because it wasn’t like either of them had really been making any noise. Maybe it was just too still, at least for two people to be around. Yoongi padded down the hall in search of Jungkook, just to be sure he hadn’t passed out or been kidnapped or otherwise found himself in need of assistance. Call him paranoid, but it was just practical to catch the situation early.
The room Jungkook shared with Jimin and Hoseok was empty when Yoongi opened the door after receiving no answer to his knock, but Jungkook had clearly just been there, his phone and headphones dropped carelessly on Hoseok’s bed with an anime still playing on the screen. A little weird to leave them there, but Jungkook was a weird kid.
Satisfied that nothing catastrophic had happened while he had his own headphones on, Yoongi moseyed back the way he’d come, but paused, frowning. The light was off in the bathroom, where he’d assumed Jungkook must be. A little more hurriedly, he checked the tiny kitchen and living area, but there was no one to be found.
Step One: Don’t Panic. People didn’t just disappear into thin air, and surely Jungkook would have put up enough of a fight against a would-be abductor that Yoongi would have noticed something. Right? Or the room wouldn’t have been quite so undisturbed, with Hoseok’s bedspread just a little rumpled, just enough to bug him, not enough to really annoy. Right? Yoongi went back to check.
Jungkook’s phone was still playing something with bright colors, silently, plugged into his headphones. Both looked like they’d been simply dropped there, no Jungkook in sight, and nothing to suggest where he’d gone or why. Maybe he’d just left to go out, too; he wasn’t always great about telling people where he was going, but he also wasn’t likely to leave without his phone. Had he climbed out the window? Yoongi couldn’t think of a good reason for that, but he checked anyway and found the window latched from the inside.
“Jungkook-ah?”
Maybe this was an ill-conceived prank, and Jungkook was lying in wait somewhere to jump out and scare him.
“I’m going to make something to eat, do you want any?” Yoongi was not above bribery.
Jungkook didn’t reply, but- Yoongi’s eyes narrowed. He could have sworn he saw something move- but maybe that was just Haikyuu. There it was again, Jungkook’s headphones wobbled, and he must have had the volume turned up really loud for Yoongi to be able to hear it from where he stood. Something slid out from under one of the ear cups that lay facedown on the bed and- Yoongi froze.
“Jungkook?”
It was an absolutely ridiculous notion, what he was thinking, what he thought he saw, but. Carefully, Yoongi lifted up the headphones and stared at what was underneath.
-
Jungkook wasn’t scared of many things. Disbandment, that one time they’d gotten fake-kidnapped, and microwaves- that was about it. And whatever the heck was going on now.
One minute, he’d been watching Haikyuu, and the next he was listening to Haikyuu but with like, full-body surround sound, which might have been cool if he’d had any idea where he was or what was happening. It was dark, and he was crammed into some small space, barely able to move. It was weirdly squishy, and filled with the sound of the aforementioned anime, and that was all he had to go on. He struggled to free himself, but whatever was over him was heavy, and he was wedged too awkwardly to push it off.
“Hey!” He may have just been transported to another dimension or something, but surely there was someone around in this other dimension who would help him. “Hello! I’m stuck!”
At this point, it felt like the continued blasting of Haikyuu was just the universe making fun of him. Was he stuck inside a headphone? It sure seemed like it, based on the material around him and the surface under him that felt a lot like a bedspread and still smelled like Hoseok. That was an absurd conclusion to come to, but alien abduction was also very much on the table at this point, and Jungkook wasn’t sure which made more sense. He hoped it was all really just a weird nightmare.
Then, over the too-loud voices of anime characters, a savior. “Jungkook-ah?”
“Hyung!” Jungkook couldn’t make out everything Yoongi said next, but it sounded a lot more casual than anything to the effect of ‘don’t worry, I’ll get you out of there.’ Jungkook squirmed mightily and managed to free his arm from underneath himself and jammed it under the confines of wherever he was into cooler, freer air. “I’m here!”
Wherever “here” was. Hopefully Yoongi would know.
The entire thing shifted around Jungkook- no- was lifted off him, and he understood two things.
The first: he really had been stuck inside a headphone, or under it.
The second: he was absolutely tiny. As one would have to be to fit under a headphone.
And a third, bonus observation to go with that: Yoongi was a giant.
That was the image formed by the light that hit Jungkook’s retinas, anyway, but it kind of stopped there and kept repeating over and over in a loop. Giant Yoongi, giant Yoongi, giant Yoongi. Many stories above him Yoongi. Hand bigger than his entire body Yoongi. Easily picked up the headphones he’d been fully trapped under Yoongi.
Run , said something in Jungkook’s brain. Hide .
That didn’t quite get any farther than Giant Yoongi had, looping and looping while Jungkook just sat and stared. Yoongi stared, too, and maybe it was just the fact that his eyes were probably bigger than Jungkook’s head that made him feel so naked in the face of it.
You could get eaten , said Jungkook’s lizard brain helpfully, probably the most ridiculous thing he’d thought so far in a series of increasingly outlandish thoughts, but it was enough to freeze him even more thoroughly in place like a prey animal. Yoongi wouldn’t hurt him, Yoongi wouldn’t hurt him, it was Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi- all of a sudden he remembered he needed to breathe and gasped loudly, and that seemed to break the freezing spell over both of them.
“Jungkook?”
Now that he was breathing again after possibly more than a minute of not, Jungkook couldn’t seem to stop gasping like a fish. Yoongi suddenly decreased in height, just his head and shoulders visible over the edge of the bed where he must be kneeling on the floor. It was a little less overwhelming now that he wasn’t so tall, but he was also closer , and Jungkook’s lizard brain didn’t like that one bit.
“Is that really you?”
Jungkook almost laughed, because who else could it be? “Yes?” he whispered, swallowed, and tried again. “It’s me.”
Yoongi took several seconds to decide on something to say. “Is this real?”
“I was gonna ask you that?” Jungkook laughed shakily, then a little hysterically when he couldn’t stop.
Yoongi just stared at him for another little while before he seemed to come to a decision. “Okay.” He gave a short, firm nod. “Are you alright?”
Jungkook wasn’t sure what counted as “alright” in this scenario. “Hyung, I’m tiny.”
Yoongi grimaced slightly. “Other than that?”
“I guess I’m okay,” Jungkook pouted. He would have expected a little more sympathy for his predicament.
“I hope this is a dream.”
Radical acceptance, Yoongi thought he’d heard the term. You just had to deal with things as they were. He settled onto the floor and made an effort to stop staring at Jungkook because it was clearly making him nervous. How did you deal with a shrunken maknae? Yoongi was ninety percent sure this was a dream, since people didn’t just shrink like that, but still.
“What if it isn’t?”
Truly, Yoongi had no idea. “I’ll take care of you.”
Jungkook didn’t look very reassured.
“I was coming in to offer you food,” said Yoongi. “But I haven’t made it yet. Will you help me?”
Jungkook frowned.
“Keep me company?”
“Sure.” Jungkook looked uncertainly around, and Yoongi realized what he already had, that Jungkook would need help getting anywhere that wasn’t the bed.
“I can carry you?”
“I um.” Jungkook gulped. “Okay.”
Yoongi offered his palm and waited for Jungkook to work up the courage to approach and climb unsteadily on. His limbs carried about the same weight as a gerbil’s as he crawled to the center of Yoongi’s hand, and suddenly Yoongi was second-guessing touching him at all now that he could feel how fragile Jungkook really was. But Jungkook settled down cross-legged, tiny hands braced on Yoongi’s giant one and looking pretty okay, all things considered. Yoongi stood with the utmost caution and brought his other hand up like Jungkook was a candle flame that needed shielding, and Jungkook’s little fingers dug weirdly into his skin. Now with his other hand cupped underneath for more stability, Yoongi made his careful way down the hall to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief when he could set his hand down again and Jungkook could scamper off onto the counter.
“Okay?”
Jungkook flashed him a small, bunny-toothed smile and a thumbs up.
“It’s a cheating kind of day,” Yoongi decided. “I’ll make ramyeon.” He eyed Jungkook, considering. “I guess I’ll put some in a water bottle lid for you. You might have to eat with your hands, though.”
“That’s okay.” Jungkook was already looking more himself, exploring the countertop at his new size and making Yoongi nervous by peering over edges and balancing along the divider between the two halves of the sink.
“Yah, Jin-hyung will have my head if I let you fall down the drain.”
That seemed to affect Jungkook more than he’d thought it would, because he actually backed off. Yoongi hoped it was just the common sense setting in while he busied himself with the ramyeon. When he turned back around, it was to the concerning sight of Jungkook standing quite still with his arms wrapped around himself in a way that made him look even tinier than he was.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, getting ready to assure him that sink drains had a bend in them and he knew how to unscrew that part to rescue things like Jimin’s earring or Jungkook, just in case he’d accidentally touched on an actual fear of his. He’d chosen to heat the water on the stove even though it took longer, to spare Jungkook the worry about the microwave in his current state. Kitchen appliances could be scary.
“Just cold.”
Yoongi thought he probably should have thought of that himself. Jungkook’s tiny body wouldn’t retain heat very well, and on the bare counter, he must be freezing. Yoongi rummaged for a clean cup towel and plopped it on the counter, still folded twice to make a comfortable pad to sit on.
Jungkook slid into the fold of the towel like it was a sleeping bag until only the top of his hair peeped out.
He must really have been cold; it was a good thing Yoongi was making something warm for them to eat. Once the ramyeon was done, he spooned a little of the broth into the lid of a water bottle along with a few noodles and presented this to Jungkook, who crawled out of his cocoon to eat it on his towel picnic blanket. Yoongi ate his own standing in the middle of the kitchen so they wouldn’t have to move anywhere else.
Eating ramyeon when you were too small for any utensils was fun. Jungkook picked up the noodles one at a time to munch progressively along and propped himself awkwardly on his elbows to sip the broth from his makeshift bowl that was a little too big and unwieldy to pick up. A normal-sized portion like what Yoongi had was big enough for Jungkook to swim in, and he almost asked to- to warm up, and to have the experience of swimming in ramyeon , but he was very certain Yoongi would say no. Fair enough, really, unless this really was a dream, in which case Yoongi might say yes…
There were other reasons not to swim in ramyeon. Jungkook continued eating his and tried to ignore the worry creeping back in that maybe this wasn’t a dream and maybe he would be stuck like this for who knew how long, and what would he do when he needed to go to the bathroom? Yoongi didn’t seem too worried about it, though, and Jungkook was inclined to trust his judgment on most things, but it was sure getting to be a long dream, and everything was so realistic.
Once they’d finished eating, Yoongi offered to watch the rest of Jungkook’s episode of Haikyuu with him, since he’d kind of gotten interrupted in the middle, and that led to another episode, and another, with Jungkook nestled cozily atop a blanket and Yoongi alternately paying attention to the screen and tapping away in his notes app, probably writing down ideas for something amazing. If it was a song for the whole group, Jungkook hoped he’d be big enough to sing part of it. Did microphones work if you were this tiny?
“Hobi and Jimin say they’ll be home in half an hour,” said Yoongi. “Should I warn them?”
“Um.”
Yoongi looked over at him, and Jungkook felt too small, which was saying something, since he’d almost gotten used to being this tiny, at least physically. Other people coming in and knowing about him and seeing him would make it realer and realer, all over again, until maybe he couldn’t keep telling himself it was probably a dream anymore, and then what would he do? Yoongi was still looking at him waiting for an answer, and Jungkook felt like he was shrinking further, down to a speck of dust that could blow away or get sucked up in the vacuum or just float around aimlessly forever until he settled somewhere forgotten or got breathed in without anyone even noticing.
“Would you let me swim in the ramyeon?” he asked in a small, squeaky voice.
“Huh?”
“The big bowl of ramyeon. If I’d asked, would you have let me swim in it?”
Yoongi made a face. “What are you talking about?”
Jungkook’s heart sank. “This really isn’t a dream, is it.”
Yoongi regarded him strangely for another few moments, and then he sighed quietly. “I don’t know, kid.”
That wasn’t a good enough answer for Jungkook. “But it has to be a dream, right? People don’t just shrink like this!”
“I don’t think they do,” Yoongi agreed, not sounding at all sure enough for Jungkook’s liking.
“Hyung, we have a schedule tomorrow! I can’t- I can’t do anything, what am I supposed to do? What if I’m stuck like this?”
“You won’t be stuck,” said Yoongi.
“How do you know? They’re gonna kick me out.”
“We’ll figure it out. And no one’s going to kick you out.”
“I mean, I wouldn’t blame them,” Jungkook muttered.
“We’ll figure it out,” said Yoongi again. “What were you doing right before you shrank?”
“Watching Haikyuu,” said Jungkook glumly.
“Did anything happen before that? Did you see or hear something weird or do anything unusual?”
“No… I was just laying on Hobi-hyung’s bed, but unless he put some magic shrinking booby trap on it to keep people away… this is so stupid. It HAS to be a dream.”
Yoongi hummed thoughtfully. “Why were you on Hobi’s bed?”
“Cause it smells good, but back to the point, what are we going to tell the company? I can’t dance with you guys, and I don’t know if they make microphones small enough for me to use, and I don’t want to be the reason nothing works out. Maybe I should just leave, but also I feel bad, like I don’t want to just walk out on everybody, but I know you guys would be okay without me, so.” Jungkook tried to shrug, but it turned into a full-body shiver instead. “I don’t know what I’m doing, and it was bound to fall apart eventually.”
This was the very thing he’d been trying to take his mind off of with anime, and look where that got. Jungkook laughed bitterly and just barely kept it from turning into crying. Maybe it did, just a little.
“Slow down,” Yoongi rumbled.
His hand rested palm-up on the blanket next to Jungkook. He couldn’t accept the invitation the way he usually would, but he could scoot over and tuck himself into the the crook of Yoongi’s thumb. What a ridiculous thing to be able to do, and to expect it to help, like Yoongi could somehow hide him from everything going wrong.
“May I pick you up?” said Yoongi.
“Okay,” Jungkook sniffed.
He was momentarily distracted from his catastrophic thoughts by the unsettling experience of being caged in by someone’s giant fingers and lifted up, gentle but so irresistibly strong. He wasn’t sure if it made him feel safe or terrified, or maybe both at the same time. After only a moment, he was deposited on the incline of Yoongi’s chest where he slumped on the couch, with a hand laid lightly over him for good measure. That was another shock to the system, sort of comforting, sort of like Yoongi was some sort of Eldritch being for how little Jungkook felt he could comprehend it all. Yoongi’s chest rose and fell with lungs bigger than him, and Jungkook took a shivery little breath of his own.
Yoongi had a feeling that whatever he said next would be more or less the deciding factor in how a lot of things would go- maybe not permanently, but definitely for Jungkook’s mental state now, so he gave himself a long, slow breath before he even tried to say anything.
“None of us know what we’re doing,” he started. “We’re learning as we go, however it goes, we do it together . You’re not going to mess it up just by being new to it all.”
Jungkook was quiet, like he was hanging on to Yoongi’s every word.
“And do need you,” he went on. “If you really needed to stop, we wouldn’t want you to feel forced to stay, but it would be- really difficult.” He pressed Jungkook’s tiny body gently with his fingers, just to feel he was there. “BTS wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“I know,” Jungkook mumbled. “I was just being humble; as long as I’m not messing things up, I know I’m… important and stuff. But if I’m stuck like this… I’m really sorry. And I’m still scared I’ll mess things up even without being too tiny to do anything.”
Yoongi sighed. “I don’t think you’ll be stuck.”
“You keep saying that. How do you know?”
Yoongi didn’t know.
“This is kind of how I feel all the time,” said Jungkook, almost too quietly to be heard.
“How’s that?”
“Small.”
Yoongi knew exactly what he meant, but he ached to know even their youngest felt it.
“Too small for anything.”
Yoongi smoothed his tiny head of hair with a fingertip. “Would you believe me if I said I feel this small, too?”
“You don’t seem small.”
“That’s because I’m your cool hyung who buys you lamb skewers and makes you ramyeon. But I think I’m too small for anything, too, all the time.” If he were alone, Yoongi would most likely shrug and leave it there as something to be lived through, something that just was. “I’m not, and neither are you.”
Jungkook snorted. “Have you looked at me?” He wriggled against Yoongi’s sternum to prove his point.
“Okay, at the moment, physically, you’re a little tiny. Still not too small. If all else fails, hyungs can hold you up to a microphone.”
Jungkook breathed out a pity laugh.
“We’ll be okay.”
Sighing, Jungkook let himself relax tiredly against Yoongi. “Do you ever just wanna hide?”
Yoongi petted him sympathetically. “All the time. Hyung will hide you.”
Jungkook’s stomach swooped pleasantly at the thought. Yoongi’s long fingers rested across his back and most of his legs like a blanket, but he wasn’t quite hidden - “Will you?”
Yoongi took a moment to realize what it was Jungkook wanted, but then his hand moved and Jungkook was completely cupped underneath it. It was warm, the light wasn’t so bright anymore, and he was, as he’d hoped, entirely hidden. Even better, Yoongi didn’t tease him even a little bit, just let him hide. Jungkook sighed deeply.
“This is nice.”
If he ignored the worry of being small forever, and how it was still just a little existentially horrifying to be like this, he felt so safe, and more relaxed than he’d been in probably months. If he were a cat, he might be purring, but he wasn’t a cat, so he just cuddled. He felt like he was melting, oozing, spreading out into a warm little puddle of comfort and safety- wait-
Yoongi let out an ‘oof’, with a suddenly normal-sized Jungkook laying on top of him.
“I’m back!” Now that he was big again, Jungkook’s head rested on Yoongi’s shoulder, and it was easy to grab him in a hug. Yoongi hugged him back, as well as he could while being squished. “I’m back! What happened?”
“I don’t know!” Yoongi squirmed until Jungkook climbed off him so he could sit up fully. “Are you alright?”
“I feel okay!” Jungkook shook out his arms. “What made me go back?”
“I didn’t notice anything,” said Yoongi. “Did you?”
“Nothing. I was just feeling nice, and then, poof!” Jungkook looked at himself againjust to be sure. “Do you think anyone will believe us?”
Yoongi shrugged. “Probably not.”
“What if it happens again?”
“Hyung will look after you.”
Jimin and Hoseok clattered in, teasing each other about something, and Jungkook scuttled to sit next to Yoongi and look like they’d been just watching a show, no magical adventures involved.