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“He’s doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
Yoongi nods his head toward the entrance of their living room. Jin shoots him a questioning look and leans back in his chair, craning his neck to see what caught Yoongi’s attention.
Namjoon sits on their old, but comfortable couch, sinking into the cushions slightly. He sports a look of deep concentration on his face as he types furiously on his laptop, only pausing occasionally to take notes in a small notebook before going back to his computer again.
“He’s been doing that all week.” Yoongi sighs, rolling his dark eyes toward the ceiling before letting them settle back on Jin. “I’m worried.”
“Yeah, me too. He has been working nonstop since he started working at Bultorone Factory. I knew it was going to be a time-consuming position, but he shouldn’t be putting in all this overtime already, especially since he only just started last month!” He pauses and glances back toward Namjoon to make sure his little outburst wasn’t heard before continuing in a quieter tone. “I know this is his dream job Yoongi but, this is going to be very unhealthy for him fairly quick if he doesn't slow down.”
Yoongi glances back in the living room at Namjoon who was still typing away. None the wiser to their conversation. He shakes his head and pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against to join Jin at their kitchen table. He takes the seat next to him and motions him closer to keep Namjoon from listening in on their conversation, though both seriously doubted Namjoon would hear anything at this point, buried so deep in his work.
“I think we are going to need to do something about this soon. One, before he works himself to complete exhaustion and two, before everyone in this house follows suit because ‘Namjoon-hyung does it why can't I?’” Yoongi says. “The only thing is how do we go about it without him catching on?”
Jin hums softly, contemplating Yoongi’s words carefully, wringing his fingers together. “I think…I think we should sit on this for a little bit and come back together with some ideas on how to best handle this. Maybe fill in Hobi too?”
Yoongi nods his head in agreement, slowly pulling himself out of his chair. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I can talk to Hobi-ah and we can all meet with some ideas next week. Sound good?” Jin nods his head before getting up to follow Yoongi out of the kitchen, both stopping to check on Namjoon who still hadn’t noticed their presence. Yoongi and Jin exchange a look before exiting the kitchen and heading to their own rooms, thoughts burdened with how they could help their friend.
***One Week Later***
“I have a great idea!” Jin sings as he waltzs into Hobi’s room, the final one to arrive to the first official meeting of the Joon Care Collaborative (Hobi’s idea). They all agreed his room would be the best meeting space to discuss ideas for helping take care of Namjoon because they would be less likely to be interrupted by in his room than in any other location in their home at the moment.
He closes and locks the door before flopping onto the front of Hobi’s bed. Yoongi huffs, scooting away from him and curling up on his side on the brightly-covered bed. A small frown graced his lips as he looked over some notes he had jotted down. Hobi leaned back on his elbows on his left grinning as he guided his legs onto Jin’s back. “Hey!” Jin pouted, sitting up quickly and knocking Hobi’s legs off. He shrugs, smiling innocently. He rolls his eyes before refocusing his attention on the real task at hand. “We have gathered here today to discuss one Kim Namjoon and his recent inability to care for himself-”
“Hold on. That escalated fucking quickly.” Yoongi interrupts him frowning. “He can take care of himself. I think he just needs some guidance?”
Hobi hums, contemplating Yoongi's words. “I agree he needs guidance, but I also think things have gotten out of hand with him. He is literally working all the damn time! I know producing is his dream job and he really enjoys what he is doing, but I think he also needs to give himself time off or he will burn out.”
Jin nods, “I agree with you wholeheartedly Hobi-ah.” He slides off the bed, marching to the center of the room dramatically before turning around to face them both.
“That is why your favorite hyung took the liberty of coming up with a full-proof plan. You're welcome.” He takes a sharp bow and grins widely before straightening up and clasping his hands together. “Now, if I may have your attention please - my plan consists of three intricate phases. Phase 1, set the pace. We select a location for our initial meeting and bring out all the stops to make sure Namjoon is relaxed and hopefully, somewhat receptive to our help. I’m thinking we start with a short nap, we all know he hasn’t been sleeping well, even without his heavy eyebags giving him away. I’m also hoping that will make him a little more subjective to our suggestions. After that, we can rely on Yoongi’s bibimbap to make sure he has a good meal and ensure we have a sleepy Joon before getting him to bed. Phase 2 of the plan would essentially have us continue to subtly push Namjoon toward building healthier habits on a daily basis - not skipping lunch and putting unnecessary work aside in favor of getting more sleep. Phase 3 would depend on the success of the earlier phases. If he is starting to keep up with more healthy habits we can lay off of some or if he is having a hard time sticking with them we can devise a new strategy when that time comes.” Jin sucks in a long breath, looking at Hoseok and Yoongi for any type of reaction, “What do you think?”
“So basically your grand plan is to subtly trick him into letting us take care of him? I really don’t see how this will work,” Yoongi sighs, shaking his head.
“I don't know Yoongi, I think Hyung is on to something here. Think about it. As smart as Namjoonie is, he can also be kind of oblivious to certain things. With something like this, I doubt he would catch on. Even if he does, we just be honest, so there really aren't any consequences with trying this.” He delivers a heart-shaped smile at Jin, “I'm in! Let's take care of our Joonie!” He yells, punching his fist into the air.
“Yes, that's the spirit! I knew you would see my fabulous vision Hobi!” He walks over from his spot in the center of the room to wrap an arm around Hobi in a side hug, using his free hand to ruffle his hair. “Unlike some people around here,” Jin mutters. He looks over at Yoongi and catches him rolling his eyes before letting go of Hobi to face Yoongi directly. “Come on Yoongi-ah! You and I both know there is no real reason to not do this,” He crosses his arms and tilts his chin up slightly, daring Yoongi to disagree with a raised brow.
Yoongi stares at him, fiddling with his hands as he throws Jin's plan around again in his head. After a minute he sighs loudly, dropping his head in defeat with a barely audible, “Fine. I’m in.”
Jin breaks into a little victory dance while Hobi crashes into Yoongi’s for a tight hug before jumping back up to join in on Jin’s celebration. “Yah alright, alright. Enough celebrating we have some planning to do if we want this to go smoothly, so let's get to it.” Yoongi pushes himself off the bed and stretches, both arms extended toward the ceiling.
Jin and Hobi stop dancing and straighten up, saluting Yoongi dramatically before bursting into laughter. Yoongi rolls his eyes once again before gathering his notes and heading towards the door.
“Wait for us Yoongi-hyung!” Hobi gasps, trying to keep his laughter at bay as he trails behind Yoongi out the door, Jin following suit as his windshield-like laughter echoes loudly down the hall.
***
“Can we go over the plan again? Just one more time? I’m getting nervous,” Hobi smiles timidly, bouncing his leg up and down while staring at the wall from his seat on the couch.
They decided to group together in the living room for their first intervention as Namjoon often uses the space as a pseudo-office to complete extra work he brings home throughout the week. The room is also less frequented by the maknaes at the moment due to their fast-approaching final exams. They were confident they wouldn't be interrupted.
“Aish, Hobi-ah, don’t be nervous! Remember this is only the first phase, we just want to set the stage for how this whole thing will go okay? Then we work on the remaining phases, it’s simple. We go in. Take care of Namjoon, subtly of course - so we don't tip him off to what we're doing - see how he reacts to that and then go from there. Once we see he is doing better we can back off a bit. Easy as cake.”
Yoongi hums lowly, letting what they were about to do sink in. He never imagined that he would need to intervene like this, but he would dammed if he would just stand by and let one of his best friends work himself down until nothing was left. Right now he thought Namjoon was far away from that point, but what would his condition be like in five months? A year?
He was already showing signs of exhaustion more consistently. Fuck, Yoongi saw him drag himself through their front door last night still sporting his dark eye bags after setting off to work before the crack of dawn, returning only after they finished cleaning up dinner. He wanted better for him, and this plan would guarantee his health. And if there was a small part of him that absolutely relished the thought of keeping Namjoon stress-free, happy, and safe - that was his business.
He slides over to the other end of the couch near Hobi, cracking his knuckles and letting the remaining nerves in his body dissipate. They had to make sure this initial meeting went off without a hitch, otherwise, it could spell disaster for the remaining phases of their plan. “Alright, he should be here any minute now. Hobi-ah you meet Namjoon at the door and coax him into going into the living room, though I doubt he will protest given the time. I will start on dinner and Jin-hyung will work on Namjoon once he gets on the couch. Once dinner is ready, Hobi-ah and I will join you and we can go from there depending on how he reacts to Jin-hyung. Sound good?”
Hobi and Jin nod in unison, and Hobi moves from the couch, brushing invisible dust off his bright sweatpants. Jin moves to flop down into his spot on the couch and grins up at them both, anxious to put their plan into motion but not before checking in with Hobi once again who still looked a little unsure. “Hey, you know you don’t have to do this if you don’t feel comfortable right? Yoongi and I can handle the plan, and we won’t be upset,” Jin looks at Yoongi. “Right, Yoongi-ah?”
“Of course. You would still be a big part of this even if you don’t want to participate in executing this part of the plan. You still would be helping Namjoon so much Hobi-ah,” Yoongi assures him gently.
Hobi shakes his head rapidly, short hair whipping across his forehead before looking at them with a newfound look of determination. “No, Namjoon is one of my best friends, and he deserves this. I want to see him well-rested. I want to take care of him. I want to do this.”
Jin and Yoongi look at each other and then at him, both grinning from ear to ear at his confession. “Well on that note, let’s get this show on the road!” Jin shouts, pumping his fist in the air. Yoongi rolls his eyes at his antics but the gummy smile still plastered on his face gives him away. He ushers Hobi towards the front door before making his way to the kitchen. They had a plan to execute.