Chapter Text
Namjoon groaned when his phone blared at him in the middle of the night, interrupting him from his sleep. He ignored it, nearly falling asleep when the ringing stopped only for it to start again. With a curse under his breath, Namjoon grasped onto the device - a quick glance told him that it was Seokjin who interrupted his sleep at 2:37 AM.
Flopping back onto his bed, he answered, holding the phone lazily to his ear. "Hyung, do you know what time it is?" His voice hoarse from sleep.
Seokjin's voice was just as hoarse, it was raspy and small, it confused Namjoon and had he been paying more attention in his sleep induced state he may have realised it had been from crying. "I'm sorry, Joonie. I just got Jungkook to go to sleep and I needed... I needed to call you."
Seokjin and Namjoon's relationship was weird, if you could even call it a relationship. They were friends, sure. Best friends perhaps, Namjoon felt that Seokjin and Yoongi were on the same level of friendship - but even if they were on the same level he still felt different towards them somehow. He knew why though, Namjoon wasn't that dumb. He knew why he wanted to hold Seokjin's hand, why he complimented the older a bit too much and why he offered to babysit Jungkook a lot more than he offered for Jimin.
But Seokjin was older, not by much, but by two years - Seokjin was eighteen and Namjoon was sixteen, nearly 17. It was in no way a big gap, it especially wouldn't be in the future, but with Seokjin in university and Namjoon trying to get into one at the moment it did seem large. Also, to repeat, Seokjin was in university. The place where there were tons of girls and boys around Seokjin at all times, people who were older than Seokjin and definitely more experienced than Namjoon.
There was no way Namjoon could even dream of confessing to Seokjin.
Besides, Seokjin didn't even love him back.
"Hyung it's like 2:40, Kook's bedtime was like hours ago. Did he have bad dream or something?"
"A bad dream..." Seokjin echoed, seemingly distant. "God, I wish Joonie. Is it? Am I dreaming?"
Namjoon frowned, the tone in Seokjin's voice was too serious for a ridiculous question like that. Was he drunk? He is a first year uni student after all, even if it was out of his character. "What the hell? Course not. Jin Hyung, what's wrong?"
"It's not a dream?" His voice choked at the end and Namjoon propped himself up on his elbow, becoming more concerned by the second. "Are you sure it's not a dream?"
"Yes Hyung, I'm sure. Are you dr-" There were voices in the background passing by. "Wait, where are you? Aren't you at home?" Please don't by at some freak's party where someone could hurt you.
When Seokjin spoke, his voice was low and quiet, fear filling it completely. "I'm... Joonie, I'm at the hospital, there was a car crash-"
"What?" He bolted up, definitely more awake. "A crash? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Do you-"
"Joonie, please." His voice cracked. "Please stop."
So he did, the plead in Seokjin's voice convincing him. Namjoon could hear the sharp intakes of breath over the line, he could hear the little space between the harsh gasps and bit his lip, Seokjin sounded like he was hyperventilating over the phone. Namjoon was horrible at comforting in real life, so comforting over the phone was out of the question. But he tried, he tried for Seokjin and he pushed away the fear, ignoring his own racing pulse in favour of soothing his hyung.
"Jinnie Hyung? Calm down, alright? Try breathing slowly, focus on your breathing. Come on, follow me. In-" he exaggerated his inhale,
"And out... in... out..."
It had been safely over five minutes before Seokjin was reduced to small hiccups and Namjoon stayed silent, letting the older speak first. He himself was scared too, unsure on anything or if Seokjin was alright, even if Jungkook was alright. God, how was that kid?
"Joonie? I need you..."
"I'm right here, Hyung." Namjoon softly replied, sending as much support as possible through his voice. "I'm here."
After a shaky breath, Seokjin spoke, "I wasn't in the crash, Joonie. Kookie was, he's hurt, he's in the hospital right now- he has a broken arm and he looks so little and injured and oh god, Joonie he looks so scared."
Namjoon's heart hurt at the words as Seokjin broke into small sobs- he loved Jungkook like his own baby brother and the boy was hurt, before he could ask anything Seokjin began again.
"Joonie, Joonie, oh my God Namjoon, Eomma and Appa, Namoon, oh God please..."
"Hyung, Hyung calm down please," he begged, fearing that the older wouldn't be able to control his breathing again. "Hyung, where are they?"
"Gone, Namjoon, they're gone."
It was silent after that, Seokjin sobs were the only thing filling in the silence. Namjoon sat helplessly with his phone clutched by his ear, feeling useless and vulnerable to everything. He'd known Seokjin's parents, remembered his father's awful yet hilarious puns and his mother's home cooking, they used to insist on paying him sometimes when he babysat Jungkook, sometimes they pushed so much that he'd have to accept it. He remembered Seokjin's mother very well, she had once caught him staring at Seokjin in a distance. She hadn't yelled at him or looked at him in disgust like he'd expect from his own mother but instead gave him a tiny kiss on the forehead and a knowing smile before leaving the room.
But now he'd never see them again.
"Joonie, please, I need you. I don't know what-"
"Which hospital are you at, Hyung?"
There was a heartbeat of silence, "no Joonie, it's nearly 3 AM-"
"I'll get a ride, Hyung." Namjoon was desperate, he wasn't going to leave Seokjin alone in a hospital after tonight.
"From who, Namjoon?"
He was stuck at that. He couldn't ask his own parents. He unconsciously ran his hand over a fresh bruise on his shoulder. But he couldn't leave Seokjin alone.
"I can walk, I could run."
"I'd never let you." He heard Seokjin hiccup, "I just lost two people already, Joonie."
Namjoon winced at that, ignoring the tears of pain and helplessness burning in his eyes. "Yoongi Hyung?"
"... he hasn't passed his driving test yet." The strength in Seokjin's argument was weakening.
"The roads are empty. Just tell me where you are, Hyung and I'll come to you."
"You'll be in a car won't you." His voice was quiet, yet loud with heartbreaking pain and pure fear. "Please be safe, Joonie."
Namjoon's body was heavy, his mind was numb and his eyes burned from crying for the past hours. But he still held on to Seokjin who was laying against him, the older's breath had finally slowed and his eyes were dried although bloodshot. They both sat in Jungkook's hospital room, the little boy asleep with an oxygen mask covering most of his face.
The sun had started rising by now. Yoongi had gone home half an hour after they'd arrived since he'd left his home abruptly without permission. The quiet boy had tried to provide Seokjin with as much friendship and support as possible in those thirty minutes, although they were never close this tragedy was too harsh for social awkwardness to interfere in between them.
Namjoon was close to sleep at that point, a distant thought told him that there was no need of alerting his own parents on his location, they wouldn't notice he was gone unless they needed something from him. Seokjin seemed to have fallen asleep against him by now. He watched the older's chest rise and fall calmly, appreciating the life within him so much more now than he would have just last night.
Seokjin's face was puffy from crying and lack of sleep, Namjoon had sat with him for three hours as he went through the recent events of the crash, told him about Jungkook waking up and their uncle threatening to take the kid away. Namjoon listened through it all, he was on Seokjin's side, Jungkook couldn't leave Korea, but still - the two brothers were gonna have a hard life now. The trauma and money problems would be serious for the next few years.
The young sixteen year old was drifting asleep when for the second time tonight he was woken. Looking down he saw Seokjin was still asleep, glancing up to the bed opposite them Namjoon saw small movement, little whimpers had woken him up and he couldn't ignore them, they hurt his heart too much.
Shifting Seokjin off him gently, Namjoon laid him down across the chairs before getting up slowly and tip toeing towards the hospital bed. "Kookie?"
A sharp gasp came from the bed and Jungkook's head turned slightly, eyes large and confused. "Joonie Hyung?"
His voice was muffled through an oxygen mask covering more than half of his face, Namjoon clenched his teeth at the unfairness of everything and ran a hand through Jungkook's messy hair.
"Are you hurting, Kook? I'll call a nurse, your meds might be wearing off." He spoke in a whisper, the atmosphere in the room was demanding it.
But the youngest's lip quivered and his eyes grew wet, "I want Hyungie, please."
"Jin Hyung?" Namjoon deciphered, "he's right here, look." He moved out of the way and showed Seokjin lying across plastic chairs. Jungkook's body visibly relaxed and Namjoon continued to stroke the kid's hair, making sure Seokjin was in his view. "Do you want me to wake him?"
Although the eldest had just fallen asleep no longer than ten minutes ago after a traumatic night and Namjoon's heart aches at the thought of arousing him, Namjoon knew that Jungkook was a priority in Seokjin's life - instantly making Jungkook a priority in Namjoon's life, even if it meant waking up Seokjin after everything he's been through.
"No," the eleven year old softly answered. "My leg hurts, Hyung."
He smiled down at him, "I'll get the nurse and you'll be fine."
"No," he spoke in a panic, "no, no, don't leave please, please Hyung don't-"
"Shh, alright, okay, don't worry Kook. I'm not going anywhere." Namjoon sat on his knees on the floor by the hospital bed, coming face to face with the younger. "I'm right here for you guys, Kook. See this button? It calls the nurse for us. I'm not going anywhere." He held onto Jungkook's hand, letting him squeeze it and release his panic and fear.
Namjoon was no more than sixteen, practically a child himself. But tonight he needed to forget that. Tonight he needed to be a comfort and support to two boys, one of them two years older, but that didn't matter - Namjoon has to be stronger and wiser than his age. He already was, he knew he was brave. His friends told him that. He also knew he was stupid. His friends told him that. And he also knew people were there for him. His friends told him that. So now he needed to be there for them.
"Is Hyungie okay?"
"Jin Hyung's just tired, it's still early morning, do you wanna go back to sleep?"
"What about the nurse?" Jungkook's voice croaked and so Namjoon poured him some water, dropping a straw into it.
"It might be awhile before she comes, I'm not sure." He said truthfully.
"Oh, I thought you'd been in the hospital before though?" It was a question of innocence.
One that brought more pain than Namjoon would've liked at that moment. "Yeah, a couple of times. But every time is different."
"Can you stay here until I fall asleep, please?"
"Yeah, yeah sure. I'm always gonna be here for you guys."