Were Dripping In It

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 11: Tear

By the time Namjoon and Jungkook had made it to the living room, the light atmosphere from the private study had been completely replaced by a united force of seriousness. Jungkook walked next to Namjoon with sure steps, his lips still tingling from the kiss, but his mind focused on the silhouette of his brother’s wide shoulders in front of the fireplace.

The rest of Namjoon’s Inner Circle sat around on the couches inside, the body guards stationed at the doorway nodded to the pair as they entered and closed the doors behind them. Seokjin turned at the sound, his eyes widening at the sight of Jungkook, his mouth and hands still bound.

“We can take those off him now,” Namjoon states coldly, folding his hands behind his back as he stares at Seokjin. “This is going to be a two sided conversation after all.”

Yoongi nods and stands to remove them, both sets of ropes are cut with a long knife from his side sheath and tossed to the floor. Seokjin rubs his wrists and flexes his jaw as Yoongi takes his seat next to his husband.

“What the hell are you doing here, Jungkook!” Jin barked, twisting his wrists to ease the pain. “You’re supposed to be at school! Not…”

“And you were supposed to just be on vacation not trying to infiltrate a foreign gang, hyung!” Jungkook countered angrily, crossing his arms across his chest. “I guess neither of us are men of our word. Mother would have been ashamed.”

“Of you or of me,” Jin spat coldly. “The woman wasn’t exactly a saint either, but we both know who her favorite was.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes, “I wasn’t her favorite, hyung, that was you. But we’re not having this argument again, let her rest in peace. We have other things to discuss. Like what the hell were you thinking? Why did you even go to Morocco, it clearly wasn’t for the mountain view.”

Jin scoffed, “Like you’re any better, what the hell are you doing with Kim Namjoon of all people? Do you even know who he is, who he truly is!? What he’s done to our family?”

“Who? Him?” Jungkook asked, jutting a thumb at Namjoon who stood impassively next to him. He tossed a dismissive hand, “Picked him up in an alleyway and he’s stuck to me like glue ever since.”

“This is no joking matter, Jungkook!” Jin shouted, stomping his foot in anger. “That man is dangerous! He’s a liar and a killer! He killed our father in cold blood!”

Jungkook stared at his brother as he panted in anger, he tilted his head and placed his hands behind his back as he contemplated his words, “How exactly did he kill our father in cold blood?”

Jin looked triumphant for a moment before launching into his rant, “He forced our father to go on a mission the day he was supposed to be leaving this life. He promised that it was going to be safe, that it was just a diplomatic mission, but it wasn’t. It was a set up, I know it was! Namjoon didn’t want any competition in the long run of taking over his father’s company, so he had to eliminate anyone he saw as a threat. What better way then have a rival company do it and blame his death on them! He only went on his revenge plot against them to cover up the secret, getting their territory was an added bonus.”

Jungkook listened to his brother's words impassively, glancing at the furious looks of his hyungs sitting around the living room. Many looked like they wanted to pounce on Jin to take back his cruel words about their Leader. Only Hobi’s face looked sad instead of angry. He shifted on his feet to glance at Namjoon, not surprised to see the man wearing a blank look on his face but Jungkook could see a glimpse of a fist being clenched.

“He’s probably told you so many lies about how our father was his mentor and how he mourned his death, but it's all part of his nasty lies! He’s trying to trick you! Turn you against me and have you on his side!” Jin added, taking a step towards Jungkook as he spoke.

“How exactly would he benefit from having a college student on his side, hyung?” Jungkook asked incredulously, raising his brow at him. It didn’t seem to deter Jin for a moment, he was on a roll.

“He can shape you and mold you into the perfect weapon for him. Why do you think I’ve spent all these years hiding you from him! Ever since you were a kid you’ve been talented, you would have taken to this world like a duck to water. You’d be better than everyone in this room in a month, the ultimate weapon!” Jin didn’t stop, even when Jungkook flinched at the passionate words being said.

“I’ve encouraged anything in your life that would keep you away from this world, but I wanted you to be strong too, capable of putting up a fight if you needed to. But I had to keep you away, once you got a taste,” Jin shook his head sadly, “it's in our blood. Our father, mother, me. We thrive in this world, I didn’t want it to taint you too.”

“And your best idea for keeping me out of it was to leave me unattended and run off to Morocco to fight another gang?” Jungkook countered, trying to see his brother’s logic.

“Not fight them!” Jin countered immediately, “And not to join them either, I was gathering blackmail on them. If I could get them in the palm of my hand then I could shut down the trade between them and Namjoon. Then I’d move onto the next company on the Bulletproof Company’s payroll until I had all of them. Then I’d be able to cut Namjoon completely off from the outside world! Without those trades he would crumble, the empire would fall and I would finally be able to complete my revenge for my father!”

Silence followed Jin’s passionate shout, Jungkook stared at him blankly. A beat passed, then someone clapped slowly. Yoongi stood clapping his large hands, but he wasn’t looking at Jin, no, he was looking at Jungkook with a proud look on his face.

“Well done, Jungkook,” he praised, smirking at Jin’s confused face. “That wasn’t even planned and he played you like a violin. We would have never gotten that from you, no matter how long we tortured you. So thank you for falling for it.”

Jungkook gave a mock bow to the room, his eyes never leaving his brother’s face as he smirked. Internally, he was thankful to his hyung. There was a tremble in his hands from his brother’s harsh words, but he could feel his control coming back to himself after Yoongi stood at his side.

“What…?” Jin gasped, looking around in confusion, eyes wide with shock and hurt. “Jungkook-ah…”

“Sorry hyung,” Jungkook shrugged, feeling Namjoon step close behind him placing a hand on his lower back. “Namjoon beat you to the punch, despite what you may think, our father did not die in some evil plot. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convince you of that, but it’s the truth, you just refuse to see it. I understand that you’re grieving our father’s passing, but that’s no reason to try and take down the largest gang in South Korea.”

“No, no, Jungkook, he's lied to you, he’s…” Jin started to protest, shaking his head violently in denial. “How can you believe him over your brother? Your own flesh and blood.”

Jungook gave his brother a hard look, “If there’s anyone that’s lied to me in this room, it's you hyung. You lied to me about who and what my father was. You lied to me about how he died. You lied to me about why you were leaving the country! All you’ve ever done in my life is a lie! So, yes, I believe Namjoon over you, because never once has he lied to me.”

Jungkook felt another hand being placed on his back and saw out of the corner of his eye Taehyung beginning to stand from his seat.

“You can’t know that for sure!” Jin yelled back, clenching his fists. “You’ve always been too trusting Jungkook-ah and I’m telling you right now, this won’t end how you think it will! You can’t just dismiss our father’s death so easily!”

Jungkook sighed looking at his brother in pity, “I’m not going to argue with you, hyung. Our father is dead, no amount of revenge or anger is going to bring him back. We need to move on.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Jin barked, a tear falling from his eye. “You never knew him, not like I did! Not like mom did! You were too young, you barely have any memories of him, but I do! And I can’t let go so easily!”

Jungkook scowled in anger, “I don’t have clear memories of him because he was never in my life hyung! Not like he was for you! I spent my entire childhood being angry at his absence but I refuse to allow that anger taint my adulthood. And you can’t let your grief taint yours, you need to let it go.”

Jin scoffed and turned away from him, crossing his arms over his chest. Jungkook sniffed and tried to ignore the tears running down his face, his anger fading from his body as he shook his head and turned away to leave. Taehyung stood behind him and moved to pull him to his chest, but a hand yanked his arm roughly and pulled him away from the small huddle the four of them had made. He looked at Jin in shock as Yoongi and Taehyung’s expressions turned deadly.

“If I have to drag you out of this place kicking and screaming, I will!” He growled right in Jungkook’s face. “I don’t care whose body I have to step over, I am not leaving you here with him!”

Jungkook yanked his arm out of Jin’s grip and took a step back, “We have no intention of letting you leave at all, hyung. You’ve already proved yourself a danger to us to be out on your own, you won’t be leaving this house at all.”

Jin growled and moved to grab Jungkook again but he side stepped him. He waved a small hand at his hyungs as he allowed Jin to chase him around the room, getting increasingly more frustrated as he dodged his hands.

“Jin-hyung this is childish,” Jungkook sighed, side stepping out of his way again. “Give it a rest before I put an end to it.”

Jin scoffed and stopped his movement to roll his eyes at his younger brother, “This isn’t like our night fights Jungkook, you have no chance of beating me.”

Jungkook clenched his jaw, “I’ll take that as a challenge then, bring it on hyung.”

Jin started to scoff but was cut off by Jungkook throwing a punch dead center in his chest, making him wheeze and stumble backwards at the force. He stared at Jungkook in shock, rubbing his chest, as Jungkook placed himself into a boxing stance. He raised his eyebrow challengingly at his hyung, making the man growl and charge at him. This time Jungkook met him head on, dodging his punches and throwing his own at any part of Jin’s body that he could.

He stood his ground throughout the exchanged punches, grunting lightly when Jin managed to land one or two on his shoulder or ribs. Slowly he started to back Jin up, trying to corner him between the walls. Jin glanced at this and quickly maneuvered away from the tight spot Jungkook was backing him towards. Jungkook continued to pursue around the room, blocking Jin’s fists with his forearms.

Jungkook’s gaze is locked on Jin’s frantic movements and when the opportunity to grip onto his hyung’s arm comes, he takes it. With two firm hands he gripped Jin’s arm, shifted his weight, planted his feet, then tossed his hyung over his head bringing him down on the ground with a loud smack. Jin wheezed and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, curling around himself in pain. Jungkook took a step back, not relaxing his stance as he stared down at Jin’s whimpering body. It was well timed because Jin jumped to his feet and tried to pounce on Jungkook, only to be twisted around until Jungkook had him in a headlock.

Jin clawed at his arms, kicked his legs trying to get his shins, but Jungkook widened his stance to avoid the kicks. He barely flinched as Jin’s nails dug into his skin. He kept squeezing until Jin’s fight against him became weaker and weaker, not letting up even when Jin’s smacks against his arms were just light taps.

“Tap the fuck out.” Jungkook growled into his ear, only getting a small shake of the head in response.

“And you call me competitive.” He scoffed as Jin’s breaths became choked. He waited a beat or two, until Jin’s body was becoming limp in his arms before dropping him to the ground. His heart pounding in his ears and his breaths coming out as pants.

He stared down at his brother’s limp body, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Jin’s chest rise up with a breath.

“There’s been enough death in our family, hyung.” He muttered to him sadly. “Please don’t make me add you to that list.”

Jungkook backed away as Jimin and Hobi came over to check over him, his back knocked straight into a warm embrace as he watched his hyungs call their men into the room to take Jin away.

“Good job, baby, you’re okay. He’s okay, you just knocked him out. Our doctors will take care of him now.” Namjoon whispered in his ear, his words melting Jungkook into his embrace. “There we go, little one, you did so well.”

Jungkook took a shaky breath as he gripped one of Namjoon’s arms in his shaking hands, he tilted his head to the side as Namjoon placed a kiss on the side of his head. “I’ve never… I’ve never choked him out before. He always tapped out before I could.”

Namjoon shushed him as he tightened his arms around his body, “Enough of that, you did what you had to. He wouldn’t have stopped, it was the only way. We can try and talk to him again later, we’ll try again.”

Jungkook sighed as Namjoon’s words washed over him, he twisted around in his arms to face him and looped his arms around his waist, placing his head against his chest. “I’m tired, Namjoon, take me to bed.”

Namjoon bent down and scooped him into his arms. Jungkook moved his arms around his neck, his legs coming around his waist, and kept his head buried into Namjoon’s neck as he was carried out of the room. Taehyung moved forward and placed a soothing hand down Jungkook’s back, placing a kiss onto his hairline before letting Namjoon leave.

“We’ll debrief in the morning,” Namjoon murmured as he passed Yoongi, who ran a hand through Jungkook’s hair and opened the door for them to leave the room. Namjoon didn’t break his stride as he climbed the stairs and made his way down the halls.

“This house really is too damn big.” He groaned, pushing his door open and placing Jungkook on the bed.

Jungkook rolled to the center of the bed, wriggling to get under the covers. Once he was comfortable he made grabby hands at Namjoon, who chuckled and pulled off his suit jacket.

“Are you patient enough to let me change my clothes?” Namjoon asked, moving to hang his jacket inside his closet. He chuckled at the low whine Jungkook gave in response, but continued to remove his suit from his body.

Jungkook stopped his whining as he watched Namjoon strip in front of him, the closet in full view from the bed. Namjoon pulled his belt off next, hung it, then untucked his white dress shirt. He unbuttons the shirt from the bottom to the top, pulling it off his bare shoulders without a care. Jungkook’s eyes drink in the expanse of honeyed skin, watching with a watering mouth as Namjoon’s back flexes as he slipped the shirt on a hanger and placed it on a rack.

His abs constricted as he bent slightly to unbutton his pants, dropping them quickly and kicking them aside before grabbing a pair of sweatpants. His thick thighs flexed, making Jungkook almost moan out loud, as he stepped into them and pulled them up to his waist. The long drawstring of the pants dangled suggestfully between his legs.

Namjoon pulled a loose shirt from a hanger and pulled it over his head as he walked towards the bed. Jungkook stared at the defined pecs and flexing abs until they disappeared under the shirt and Namjoon’s smirking face popped out.

“You did that on purpose,” he accuses breathlessly, as Namjoon crawls onto the bed and slides next to him. “You’re trying to distract me.”

Namjoon chuckles as he pulls Jungkook into his arms, “Did it work?”

Jungkook hummed, pretending to think, “I don’t know, I think I need a second viewing just to be sure.”

Namjoon tapped the tip of his nose playfully, “I see how it is, you just want me for my body.”

“Yes,” Jungkook answers cheerfully, giggling at Namjoon’s offended gasp. “And your money, I have student loans you know.”

“Got it,” Namjoon said with a mock serious nod. “Body and money, I’m basically your escort.”

Jungkook bursts into laughter at Namjoon’s serious but pleased face at this statement. He laughs even harder as Namjoon clutches him tight to his chest and rolls them so that Jungkook is on top of him. He lifts his face and places a kiss under Jungkook’s bottom lip, square on the mole where they matched. Jungkook hums happily as Namjoon continues to trail kisses down his jaw as his giggles die down.

“Hi,” Jungkook greets as Namjoon pulls back, his face breaking out in a big smile.

“Hi baby,” Namjoon chuckles, grinning widely back at him.

Jungkook hums happily, crossing his arms over Namjoon’s chest and resting his chin on top of them. His legs spread to lay on either side of Namjoon’s hips as he gets completely comfortable laying across his body. “I think I remember you saying that you needed to discuss something else with me, but we got interrupted.”

Namjoon hums in agreement, moving one of his hands behind his head while the other rests on Jungkook’s lower back. “I did, are you alright to talk about it now? You’ve had a long day.”

Jungkook shrugged, “It can’t be any worse then what I’ve already heard.”

Namjoon nodded, “We’ll have it now then, I don’t think you should go back to your apartment. What I mean is,” when Jungkook scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, “I don’t think it's safe for you to live there anymore. The Stray Kids Gang picked you up from there. Being my boyfriend means that you’ll catch the eye of several of my enemies, I’d rather have you somewhere safer.”

“Namjoon,” Jungkook started with a scolding tone, making the man’s eyes widen and hurry to continue.

“I don’t mean live with me, Jungkook, I know it's too soon for that.” He said quickly, running a soothing hand up and down Jungkook’s back. “The apartment under Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung’s is vacant, I was going to suggest that you move there.”

“Lead with that next time, you bastard.” Jungkook huffed, smacking Namjoon’s chest in protest, Namjoon huffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t think I can afford the rent though.”

“He probably won’t even charge you for it,” Namjoon assured him with a shrug. “We own the building anyway, he only rents the apartments out because Tae thinks it's ‘fun’ to be a landlord.”

“I couldn’t ask him to let me live there for free,” Jungkook protests with a pout. “Plus how do you even know I’ll like that apartment anyway, I could find a better one somewhere else.”

Namjoon scoffed, “At your income, doubtful. Better pay then when you were a bartender, but not nearly enough for a college student in the middle of Seoul.”

“You should have him pay us more then,” Jungkook argued, poking Namjoon’s cheek right in his dimple. “Or is the Rap Monster of Ilsan scared of our hyung?”

Namjoon groaned as he tilted his head back in agony, “Please don’t tease me about that name, I chose it when I was like thirteen, I thought it was cool. And for your information, everyone else in that club is employed with both Yoongi and I, they’re getting a dual income.”

Jungkook blinked, “Please don’t tell me you own my college campus as well. Because I seriously cannot deal with that on top of everything else.”

“Alright then, I won’t tell you.” Namjoon teased, laughing at Jungkook’s indigent squawk. “But no, I do not own that college.”

Jungkook groaned and let his head drop down onto Namjoon’s chest, “What drama do I now live in?”

“One with a happy ending I hope,” Namjoon sighed, running a hand through Jungkook’s hair.

Jungkook hummed as his eyes closed to the sensation of Namjoon’s nails against his scalp, “Just have to avoid miscommunications, I hate those tropes.” He yawned and snuggled deeper into Namjoon’s chest.

“Do we need to have a weekly debriefing of our troubles and challenges as a couple?” Namjoon asked, sounding only half serious. He only got a weak hum in reply making him laugh softly as he continued to pet Jungkook’s hair as he slowly fell asleep in his arms.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter Interlude: Epiphany

Jin watched as his younger brother shuffled to the elevator, blushing a bright red and stuffing something into his pocket that Yoongi handed him after Namjoon had headed into his office.

“Do I even want to know?” He asked, looking at Yoongi cackling in his seat and Taehyung smiling fondly at his brother’s retreating back.

Yoongi shrugged as he turned his eyes to Jin, the scar over his right eye had healed significantly since the last time Jin had seen him but it still had a faint redness to it.

“If Jungkook-ah wants to share that with you, that’s his business.” Yoongi drawls as he takes a sip of his coffee. “You have something you want to say, Seokjin?”

Jin sighs and lounges himself across his chair, being mindful of his cast as he leans his arm over the back of the chair next to him. “I do not miss your mind reading skills.”

“It’s served me well in taking care of your brother,” Yoongi dismisses, a hard look in his eye as Jin flinches. “Teenagers can be very volatile at times, I’m just glad he never learned to properly throw a knife at that time.”

“He never threw any knives,” Taehyung counters, resting a hand on the back of Yoongi’s neck. “It was a chair.”

“When did the pair of you get married? When I left you two were still dancing around each other like a couple of teenagers.” Jin asks, glancing down at the pairs’ matching silver wedding rings.

“About nine months after you left,” Yoongi answers with a shrug. “Don’t try and change the subject, Seokjin. What did you want to tell us?”

“Should I even bother telling you? You probably already know,” Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And just call me Jin, I’m getting tired of hearing my full name around here.”

Yoongi blinks at him, the only outward sign of surprise he shows. “I think I am going to need you to tell me, it seems my mind reading skills have lessened with you since you left.”

Jin smirks, but then looks at the couple seriously, “Thank you for taking care of my little brother when I wasn’t there. I don’t want to even think about what would’ve happened to him if he hadn’t shown up on your doorstep. I had no idea that our mother had thrown him out while I was working, or that he had been on the streets for three weeks.”

“Why weren’t you there Seokjin? Why was he alone?” Taehyung asks softly, clenching his fist on the table.

“I was working to feed him and put him through school, our mother was a drug addict and was draining all our money from the retirement funds.” Jin answered, watching as Taehyung’s fist relaxed at his words. “When my brother was kicked out, I was in Australia on a mission for the Red Velvet Ring. I didn’t hear that he had left until I got back five weeks later, I was cut off from all communication for that mission.”

Realization comes over both the men’s faces and they nod in understanding together.

“What’s you plan now, Jin?” Taehyung asks, tilting his head when Jin chuckles. “Does Kookie know about all that?”

Jin shakes his head, “No, but I’ll tell him. He deserves the truth. I’ll be speaking with Namjoon next, if he agrees then I’d like to stay. Under what capacity, I don’t know, but I’m staying wherever Jungkook wants to be.”

Yoongi nods and smiles, “That’s good to hear then, I hope you won’t be as much of a bastard with him around.”

Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes as he stood, “Trust me, I’ll still give you hell Yoongi. Only this time you’re subjecting yourself to it willingly.”

“I’m doing no such thing,” Yoongi contradicts with a sniff, ignoring his husband who cackles in delight next to him.

Jin chuckles fondly under his breath as he leaves the dining room, unwilling to admit that he’s missed the two bastards. He stands in front of Namjoon’s office and takes a deep breath before raising his fist to place a firm knock on the dark wood.

“Come in,” Namjoon calls, he raises his brow as Jin enters and sits down in one of the desk chairs. “Are you coming in here to lecture me? Cause I don’t…”

Jin raises a hand to stop him, “I’m not here to lecture you, or give you the shovel talk, or anything like that. I’m here to apologize.”

Namjoon blinks and leans back into his chair, “You’re going to… apologize. To me? For what?”

“For jumping to conclusions about you and my brother, I should have gotten all the facts before tossing accusations around. And I should have given you all the facts as well.” Jin explains, then takes a deep breath before giving Namjoon all the dirty details about his absence and the true source of funds for Jungkook.

Namjoon listens impassively, rubbing his mouth with his finger as he ponders over everything Jin tells him. “So the funds that the Stray Kids Gang stole were actually yours?”

Jin nods, “If you’re still willing, I’d like that money to be returned to Jungkook. It was supposed to be his in the first place.”

“Of course,” Namjoon nods, pulling a sheet of paper out of his desk and handing it to Jin. “I’ll be showing this to Jungkook, when I think he’s ready to know, but you deserve to see it. It’s everything that the Stray Kids Gang used your money for.”

Jin took the paper and skimmed over the list, not at all surprised by what lay on it. He looked back up at Namjoon, “Are you really going to show him this? Why are you making such an effort to include him?”

Namjoon shrugged, “Jungkook expressed his wish to join the Bulletproof Company and he wants me not to lie to him. When he completes his training, he’s not just going to be some lackey, he’s going to be my partner. I need to know what he can and can’t handle before I start trusting him to help me run all of this. I want to trust him but I’m not stupid, I know there’ll be things he won’t react well to, so I need to know before he’s in charge of anything.”

“You always were one to plan ahead,” Jin chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “Does Jungkook know that you’re testing him? Does he know that you want him to be your partner?”

Namjoon scratches the end of his nose as he shifts his eyes away from Jin’s knowing ones, “He knows that last bit.”

Jin clicks his tongue but lets the subject drop, “Now about that kidnapping stunt, how the hell did they get him? Have your men lost their touch? The Stray Kids are insignificant, they barely had control over the one block they had.”

Namjoon rolls his eyes, “I wasn’t having any of my men tracking Jungkook and I still don’t. I want him to trust me, I need to trust that he’ll tell me if he needs something to make him feel safe. I’m not going to go behind his back and do it for him.”

“How many mafia romance novels did you read before coming to that conclusion?” Jin teases, snorting when a blush colors Namjoon’s face. “That’s good to hear Namjoon, it’ll pay off in the end. I wasn’t lying when I said that Jungkook will be the best of us. I should have phrased it better, but I was angry. You know how I am when I’m clouded like that.”

“All to well, Seokjin.” Namjoon agrees, his face turning somber. “I still have flowers sent to Jang-ssi’s grave, I’ve been wondering how to approach Jungkook about seeing it. Or if he’d even want to know where his father is buried.”

“I’ll ask him, that’s more of family business.” Jin says, standing to his feet as Namjoon nods in understanding. “You can call me Jin, Namjoon. I think I’m going to be around for a while, so I’ll need a job too.”

Namjoon snorts at Jin’s retreating back, “I’ll let you know if I have something for you, Jin.”

“You do that,” Jin chuckles, waving a hand as he leaves the office and heads into the kitchen. He passes Jimin leaning against the counter as he starts washing the piles of dishes in the sink.

“Are you my babysitter for today?” Jin asks as Jimin slides up next to him and starts drying the dishes with a hand towel.

“Yep!” Jimin says cheerfully, setting the dry plate down on the counter and taking the next dripping one from Jin. “I’m skipping class today because Hobi-hyung needs to stop by the training camp.”

Jin hums, “Is Hoba still having trouble keeping the greenies in line?”

“Not when he’s there,” Jimin scoffs with an eye roll. “They’re mad annoying though when he’s not, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with training any of them. I just get to beat them up when they step out of line.”

Jin chuckles as he rinses a coffee mug and starts scrubbing it. They do the dishes in silence for a few minutes, just handing the glassware between each other with the sounds of running water echoing through the kitchen.

“So, you and Hoba then,” Jin drawls, making Jimin snort which makes Jin laugh awkwardly. “Sorry, that was random. Should have started off better.”

“No! That was perfect!” Jimin cackles, his shoulders shaking with laughter. When his giggles die down he looks over at Jin, “I’m not quite sure what I’d classify Hobi-hyung and I at the moment, he kinda gave me a bit of a shock last night when he told me he’s into multiple partners.”

Jin hums in agreement, nodding his head. “Shocked me too, honestly. Did he get all flustered about it?”

Jimin grins devilishly, “Like a little virgin getting his first kiss.”

Jin snorts, “I don’t think there’s anything ‘virgin’ about that man.”

Jimin hums in agreement and starts moving to put the clean and dry dishes into their cupboards. Jin joins him after washing his hands at the sink.

“Are we going to have a discussion about how we’re both into the same man and that man wants to be with both of us?” Jimin asks, huffing when Jin shoos him to the side as he placed the mugs in the top shelf after he was unable to reach it.

“How exactly do you even have that discussion?” Jin asks, trying to hide his smirk at Jimin’s pout as he places the mugs on the shelf with ease.

Jimin shrugs and continues to hand him mugs, “No idea, never had to have one.”

“Then we’ll wait for Hoba to have it, he’ll probably know.” Jin says, shutting the cupboard door and turning to face Jimin. “He is the middle ground in this situation.”

Jimin hums and looks Jin up and down as he folds his hands behind his back, “So you aren’t the type like Hobi-hyung? You’ve never had multiple partners.”

Jin raises a brow at him and leans back against the counter as he crosses his arms over his chest, “Despite how pretty my face is, the answer to that would be no. I only had one steady girlfriend before my father was killed and after I left the Bulletproof Company I was too focused on helping my family eat every day to date.”

Jin quietly files away Jimin’s small flinch at the word ‘pretty’, it would be something to ask about later.

“Are we assuming too much then? About whether you’re even interested in a relationship with us?” Jimin asks, raising his brow at him.

Jin looks at him for a moment, “I’m not exactly opposed to it, who would say no to two handsome men wanting to be with you?”

Jimin smirks, “Your deflection game is on point Seokjin, but I’ll get the real answer from you soon enough.”

Jin rolled his eyes, a smile creeping up on his face. “So, what’s your suggestion for moving forward?”

Jimin hums, tapping his chin in thought, “We’ll take it slow, since you’re not absolutely against the idea of all three of us. We can take our time getting to know each other.”

Jin huffs and nods in agreement, “I guess my life wasn’t normal to begin with, why should my love life be?”

“That’s the spirit!” Jimin cheers, smacking Jin’s shoulder. “Come on, I heard you’re rusty on some training. Let’s go spar!”

Jin laughs and follows Jimin into the elevator, leaning against the wall inside as they descend down to the sparring floor. The smile on his face stays as Jimin chats happily next to him about all the different moves he’ll put him through. He could practically taste the sparing mat in his mouth as the numbers on the elevator countdown.

I saw a meme, one we probably all know, about writing a scene we’re really excited about but having to write the scenes that make it make sense first. And some advice came to my mind.

Write the scene.

Just write the scene you are so excited to write, right now.

You can make it make sense later, but if you put it off then you won’t be as excited to write that scene cause you wrote the “boring” stuff first.

Nobody said that writing had to be linear, you can fix it later.

Write the scene 💜

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 20: Good Day

“So, what exactly do you need to get Jungkook?” Jimin asked as they slid into the waiting SUV, buckling himself into the seat as they started driving down the streets of Seoul.

Jungkook watched as they passed D-Town before pulling his phone from his pocket, “I made a list this morning, honestly I think I need just about everything. My old apartment didn’t have very much room for me to have anything but the bare essentials.”

“I still don’t understand why you even bothered to live there,” Jimin huffed, looking over to Jin’s confused face. “Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung-hyung offered to give Jungkook one of their spare apartments for years, but he insisted on finding his own place with what little money he had while working for them. I only went there once, it was a single room apartment with a tiny bathroom. It was dirty, old and didn’t have any central heating.”

“Why the hell did you move there then?” Jin asked incredulously, looking over at Jungkook’s sheepish face.

Jungkook scratches the tip of his nose as he looks away from his two hyungs staring at him, “I didn’t want to bother Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung-hyung, they had already done so much for me.”

Jin narrows his eyes, “I may not have been in your life much, Jungkook-ah, but I can tell when you’re lying. We just agreed not to have any lies between us anymore, that includes you too.”

Jimin glances between the pair of them as Jungkook fidgets in his seat and Jin continues to stare at his younger brother with a hard look.

“I found out that Yoongi-hyung and Tae had adopted Jimin-hyung, I found the paperwork,” Jungkook whispered, glancing briefly at the pair before dropping his gaze back to his hands. “They never asked me if I wanted that too, I thought it was because they didn’t want to. So I moved out and tried to distance myself from them a bit, it didn’t really work and I hated living on my own.”

“Then why didn’t you talk to them, Jungkook-ah?” Jimin says softly, taking Jungkook’s hands into his. “You could have saved a lot of hurt from everyone if you had just talked to them.”

Jungkook sniffed, “I didn’t want to confirm my worst fears by asking. It would hurt too much to hear that from them.”

Jimin scoffed as he rolled his eyes, “Those two would give you the shirts off their backs if you asked them to. You never have to worry about them not wanting you, you’re their precious little Kookie baby.”

“That sounds like jealousy, hyung.” Jungkook teases, squeezing Jimin’s hands at the reassurance, kicking Jimin’s heeled boot with his clunky one. “It’s not my fault I’m the baby.”

Jin chuckles as the pair continue to kick each other’s shins, placing a hand on both their knees as the rough housing starts to increase. “No fighting children, leave that for the sparring ring, not a moving car. Let me see that list, Jungkook-ah.”

Jungkook hands over his phone before starting a thumb war with Jimin. Despite the man’s small fingers, Jimin was very skilled in evading Jungkook’s movements and holding his thumb under his. They don’t stop their little game until the car rolls to a stop in the parking garage of IKEA.

Jin leads them up the escalator and grabs a cart before they head down the endless rows of furniture and house hold items.

Jungkook’s eyes widened at the number of items that Jin and Jimin pulled from the shelves and placed into the cart. “I don’t think I have enough funds to cover all of this, hyung.”

Jimin chuckles and pulls a black card out his pocket, waving it under Jungkook’s nose. “Your boyfriend slipped this to me before we left, you don’t have to worry about paying for anything.”

Jungkook squeaked as he scrambled to follow after his cackling hyungs, pulling his phone out from his pocket to text Namjoon. ‘You don’t have to pay for my apartment needs.’ He types sending a distressed face emoji at the end.

‘I told Jimin not to tell you, I’ll be having a chat with him later.’ Namjoon sends back. ‘Baby, I don’t mind paying for things. I have more money than I know what to do with half the time. You’re little trip won’t even scratch the surface.’

Jungkook nibbles down on his lip as he follows behind his hyungs, trying to find the right words to say to his boyfriend. It wasn’t that he wasn’t grateful, he was, he just didn’t want Namjoon to feel like he was using him.

‘Think of it this way,’ Namjoon sends, as if sensing what was bothering Jungkook. ‘If we ever get married, it’ll be your money anyway. So, spend it how you like.’

Jungkook chuckles as his face heats up in pleasure, ‘I see the couple rings have gone to your head. Won’t even let us move in together but already talking about marrying me.’

‘Technically baby, you brought it up first.’ Namjoon teases. ‘We weren’t even officially boyfriends when you talked about our wedding day.’

Jungkook snorted at the memory and sent Namjoon a rolling eyes emoji, ‘Fine. I’ll go spend all your money, yeobo.’

‘Good boy,’ Namjoon sends back with a wide smile emoji. ‘I expect a big bill when you get back, baby.’

Jungkook rolls his eyes and stuffs his phone back in his pocket, joining his hyung’s sides as they argue over which china set would suit Jungkook’s apartment better.

“I like the blue set,” he says, choosing neither of their choices as he looks at the chinaware. “We need to look at living room sets after finishing in the kitchen.”

Jungkook does his best not to look at the very long bill that’s handed to Jimin as they finish at the checkout counter. A trail of suited men load up three SUVs with all the bags from their carts and a moving truck filled with the furniture pieces is loaded before making the journey to Jungkook’s apartment.

When they arrive, everything is taken up for them by Namjoon’s men. Jin works with some of them to put the pieces of furniture together, while Jimin and Jungkook work on washing all the kitchen ware and setting them into his cupboards. Slowly the apartment starts to come together, Taehyung steps in from the elevator a few hours into their work and smiles as he watches Jungkook argue with Jin on where his couch should sit.

“It should face the window, hyung, why would I want it to face into the kitchen?” Jungkook asks, gesturing to the wide windows that overlook a small balcony.

“Why would you want to look at your breakfast table under the window?” Jin counters, pointing to the little white table and chairs that sat on the raised ledge. “You’d also have your back to the doors, with it facing the kitchen you’ll be able to see all entrances!”

“Except the balcony door,” Jungkook points out, pointing at the glass frame door that led out to the balcony. Jimin waved at them from outside as he set up the two lounge chairs and small table, then began weaving lights through the metal balcony railing.

“Why not have it face that wall?” Taehyung suggests, pointing to the wall that stood just before the elevator hallway. “Aren’t you going to have a TV set up there anyway?”

Taehyung snickered as Jungkook and Jin muttered ‘oh yeah’ together and started moving the couch to face that wall.

“The place looks very nice, Kookie. I’m glad we were finally able to convince you to have it.” Taehyung teased, looking around at all the simple furniture Jungkook had chosen around his open living room and kitchen. “Now I just need to get the floor below you ready for the three meerkats to move into.”

Jungkook scrunched his brow as he followed his hyung down the hall towards his main bedroom, “Who hyung?”

“Jiminie, Hobi, and Jin,” Taehyung answered, waving at Jimin through the hallway windows that overlooked the balcony before turning into the open door for Jungkook’s room. “I think the three of them are about to become a thing in the near future and I want everyone under my roof when that happens.”

Jungkook blinked and shook his head, “I don’t need that image in my head, hyung. Technically they are all my brothers, in one way or another.”

“Jin is your only blood brother and Hobi won’t be your brother-in-law until you marry Namjoon, Jiminie doesn’t fit into either of those categories.” Taehyung points out, checking over Jungkook’s bathroom and running the taps.

“Jimin is my adoptive brother and my best friend,” Jungkook says, sitting down on the dark comforter of his bed as Taehyung passes to look inside the walk-in closet.

“What does that make Yoons and I, then?” Taehyung asks, tutting his tongue at the rows of black clothes on Jungkook’s hangers. Muttering to himself about buying Jungkook some more colorful clothes.

“Aren’t you and hyung technically my adoptive parents at this point? You literally talked about walking me down the aisle the other night.” Jungkook pouts, crossing his arms over his chest. Trying to be playful, but he felt that this would be the right time to have this conversation with his hyung.

Taehyung’s hand froze as he flicked through Jungkook’s black t-shirts and looked over at Jungkook with wide, shiny eyes. “You… you actually see Yoongi and I as your parents?”

Jungkook blinks at him and scratches the end of his nose in embarrassment, “I thought I made it clear how I felt about you guys, but after I saw Jimin’s adoption papers and you never asked me if I wanted that, I figured you didn’t feel the same.”

“Is that why you left, Jungkook-ah,” Taehyung whispers, moving out of the closet to kneel in front of Jungkook. “Did you move out because you thought Yoongi and I didn’t want you?”

Jungkook nods, a choked hum in his throat as tears begin to fall down his face. “Why didn’t you ask hyung?”

“Because I was scared,” Taehyung whispered, taking Jungkook’s hands into his and squeezed them tightly. “I was scared that if I asked, if I stepped over that line, that we’d scare you away. That would have been a big commitment for you and you still talked so fondly of your brother. I didn’t want to sever you from him even more than you already were. Even if you didn’t take our name, by letting us adopt you we could have driven Jin far away. It would’ve broken you, cause you still held out hope that he’d come back.”

“And he did,” Jungkook whispered, still choking on gentle sobs. “But hyung I wanted you, I wanted you and Yoongi-hyung to want me.”

“We do, we do want you.” Taehyung said fiercely, tears running down his own face as he pulled Jungkook down into his arms. “You’re my Kookie baby, I don’t care if there’s official paperwork or not, you’re mine. No one can take your place in my heart, you’ve carved your place into it like Yoongi and Jimin.”

Jungkook hiccuped as he clutched tight around Taehyung’s chest, burying his head into his neck as he was pulling into the man’s lap and was gently rocked as he held him. Taehyung hummed a familiar lullaby that always calmed him down during emotional talks, running his fingers gently through Jungkook’s hair as the tears down his face stopped.

“And to think,” Taehyung chuckled, running a hand over Jungkook’s brow. “I told Yoons that I didn’t want to have any kids, now we have two.”

“You didn’t want to adopt any kids with Yoongi-hyung, why hyung?” Jungkook asked, tilting his head up as Taehyung sighed and continued playing with his hair.

“I was very young when I was sold to the Hwarang Boys, younger than even Namjoon when he started his training under his father. I never wanted to bring up a child into this life. I know Yoongi and I would treat them better than most but I couldn’t, in good conscience, do it willingly.” Taehyung explained sadly, looking out into the room with a far off look in his eye. “Yoongi understood that, but until he walked through the door with you in tow, I didn’t realize how much he had given up by marrying me. Our relationship with Jimin is a little different than with you, we don’t treat him any less but he has a very different background. After watching Yoongi with you, I’ve realized what a wonderful father he could have been.”

“Yoongi-hyung would never regret marrying you hyung.” Jungkook says passionately, making Taehyung’s teary eyes turn to him. “He loves you, I could see that since the first day I came into his office. Your wedding picture was sitting proudly on his desk and it still is.”

Taehyung chuckles and wipes his face, “We should take you there someday, the place where Yoons and I got married. It’s where he took me on our first date, although he’ll adamantly deny that it was our first. Unfortunately for him, I disagree.”

Jungkook chuckles as he moves from Taehyung’s lap and pulls him up from the floor, “That sounds like fun hyung!”

“Maybe you can take Joonie with us, we can make it a double date.” Taehyung bursts out laughing at the look of disgust on Jungkook’s face.

“I’m not going on a double date with my parents, hyung! That’s gross!” Jungkook protests, grumbling when Taehyung ruffles his hair.

“Do you want to go and talk to Yoons about those papers, Kookie?” Taehyung asks, smiling his wide boxy smile as Jungkook nods eagerly. “Then let's go upstairs.”

Jungkook doesn’t even wait for Taehyung as he dashes out of the room, ignoring Jin and Jimin’s yelps for him as he leaps over the couch and slides into the open elevator. He’s vibrating as they rise up the few levels and plows through the apartment behind Taehyung.

“What has got the pair of you so excited?” Yoongi snarks, catching sight of Taehyung racing across the apartment and yelping when Jungkook throws himself over top of him on the couch.

Jungkook buries himself into Yoongi’s arms, clutching tight around the man’s shoulders as he tucks his head down against his neck. Yoongi runs his hands up and down his back soothingly as Jungkook settles against him.

Taehyung comes flying back into the room and shows Yoongi the papers he had grabbed. Yoongi reads them over Jungkook’s shoulder, his eyes widening at the words ‘Adoption Form’ at the top.

“Oh,” Yoongi whispers, suddenly clutching hard around Jungkook’s shoulders. “We should have had that conversation with you long ago, I knew there was a reason you moved out so suddenly.”

Jungkook nods against Yoongi’s neck, feeling Taehyung rub and hand down his back, “I was just stupid, hyung, should have just talked to you instead of running away.”

“You couldn’t have gotten very far anyway,” Yoongi whispers, placing a kiss on the side of his head.

We’re Dripping In It

Chapter 17: Reflection

Jungkook left his hyungs’ apartment, after being shooed away from helping with the dishes, and took the private elevator down to the fifth floor. When the doors opened he stepped into the dark space and flicked on a light in the hall. He turned and watched as the door to the elevator slid closed, seamlessly integrating itself with the wall. If he hadn’t spied the small call button hidden as a light switch, he’d never know there was an elevator posing as a wall.

He chuckled to himself, wandering further into the apartment, taking in the empty space. The apartment layout was similar to Yoongi and Taehyung’s penthouse, it was just smaller. It was cozy, Jungkook could already tell how much he was going to like living here and mentally cursed himself for not taking the offer from Yoongi-hyung sooner. Independence was overrated anyway.

He made his way into the main bedroom and placed his backpack onto the mattress as he headed into the bathroom. As he washed himself and pulled on some loose sweats to sleep in, Jungkook took this rare moment alone to just reflect on what had happened to him over the past few days.

He had been kidnapped, then saved by his boyfriend. Found out that said boyfriend was the leader of the asian mafia. Then found out that his entire family was also a part of this secret society, as well as all the friends he’s made over the years living in Seoul. Then his brother decided to be an idiot, piss off the leading company of South Korea, and now was locked up in his boyfriend’s house. And he was being trained to fight properly while still going to college for a Visual Arts degree.

Jungkook wondered if he had much sanity left to think of any of this as ‘normal’. Though there weren’t many moments in his life that he concerned himself ‘normal’ by any means. It wasn’t exactly ‘normal’ to have your older brother teach you how to put a grown man into a choke hold at the age of thirteen. And it wasn’t ‘normal’ to have scars running down your body because of fights at school.

In Jungkook's opinion, his current state of life seemed to be right on par with his past. Only now he felt more connected to those around him than ever before. His relationship with Jin had never been on the best terms, but with new revelations he felt that the two of them could become more like brothers than before. There were no secrets between them anymore and there never would be, if Jungkook had anything to say about it.

The conversation with Namjoon about his past on the street also drifted back into his mind, he still needed to talk to his hyungs about why he had left them last year. But it never seemed like the right time to do so, Jungkook wondered if he’d ever be ready to talk to his hyungs about that. He knew it would hurt them to know what Jungkook thought when he had seen Jimin’s adoption papers. That he had assumed they didn’t want to do the same for him.

Jungkook rolled onto his back as he pulled the covers up to his chin. Even if it had only been for a few nights, he found himself already missing being wrapped around Namjoon as they fell asleep. He felt like all his troubles just melted away when he was in his boyfriend’s arms. He rolled over to his side and tried to will himself to sleep.

“Stupid ‘too early to move in with each other’ bullshit,” Jungkook muttered to himself, cursing his past self for even protesting the idea. While he did agree, logically, with that statement it didn’t help him currently. And the ache in his chest was starting to grow. The minutes seemed to tick by at snail's pace as he tossed and turned in the effort to chase after sleep.

He glaring at his phone laying on the nightstand, wishing he could ask Namjoon to come over. As if sensing his narrowed eyes, the phone lights up and pings with a text message. He reaches out of the clutches of his blankets and pulls the phone to his face. He smiles at the message from his boyfriend.

‘If I send your brother to an early grave, how angry would you be with me?’ Namjoon asks, with an eye roll emoji at the end.

Jungkook types back, ‘Depends, who do I get as a replacement?’

‘You can have Hobi, he’s annoying me again. Seems like a fair trade to me.’ Namjoon sends back.

Jungkook giggles, kicking his feet at Namjoon’s silliness. ‘That may sway in your favor then, I’ll be sure to put Jin-hyung’s favorite flowers on his grave everyday.’

‘I’ll inform him then,’ Namjoon types back and Jungkook gets a ding from another text message. He bursts out laughing at Jin’s message of ‘Stop giving your boyfriend ideas! The knife sharpening tools give me a headache’ and he sends a simple shrug emoji in response before returning to his conversation with Namjoon.

‘Tell Hobi-hyung that I want a car for my birthday, to make up for all the years he’s missed.’ Jungkook teases.

‘We'll see if we can make room in the budget for it,’ Namjoon sasses back, sending a tongue out emoji at the end.

‘Well I hope so, remind him that my favorite color is black,’ Jungkook writes back, sincerely hoping that Namjoon wasn’t taking him seriously. He might have a heart attack if the man hands him any set of keys to a new vehicle.

Namjoon sent a laughing emoji in return, after a moment he sends ‘Why are you still awake, little one?’

‘I could ask you the same thing,’ Jungkook countered, a warm bubble bursting in his chest at Namjoon’s sweet nickname for him. It was honestly Jungkook’s favorite out of his arsenal of pet names, coming a close second to ‘baby’.

‘Baby,’ Jungkook can almost hear the scolding tone through the phone. ‘Go get some sleep, I’m sure you have a busy day tomorrow. You need your rest.’

Jungkook bit his lip as he typed out, ‘Just having a hard time falling asleep.’

A bubble appears as Namjoon types a message, but then it disappears and reappears, this happens a couple of times. Jungkook snickers at Namjoon’s hesitation and decides to help him by saying, ‘I’m just not used to sleeping alone anymore, you’ve spoiled me with your cuddles and now I miss it.’

‘Oh baby, how can I help you sleep?’ Namjoon asks and Jungkook has no idea how to respond. He stares at the message, his thumbs move to type out a message but he can’t seem to put into words what he needs right now.

The logical part of his brain says to just have Namjoon call him and talk to him until he falls asleep. That the separation between the two of them is a good thing, couples live apart from each other all the time. But the larger part of him, the emotional part, just wants to ask Namjoon to come over. To just fall asleep in his arms again. Jungkook isn’t sure which side to listen to.

‘I’ll give you two options, baby, and you can choose which you want. Okay?’ Namjoon sends and Jungkook replies a hesitant ‘ok’ back.

‘Alright, option one or option two, baby. And I’ll do whatever you choose, I promise either one will make you feel better.’ Namjoon promises, sending a purple heart emoji at the end of his message.

Jungkook has no idea what Namjoon has in mind so he just goes with the safest bet, ‘The first option.’

‘Alright, give me a moment baby.’ Namjoon replies and Jungkook lays across his bed staring at his phone, waiting for whatever he had asked Namjoon to do. There’s a knock at his front door, echoing across his apartment, his phone pings with a message from Namjoon ‘You can open the door, baby, it's just me.’

Jungkook chuckles as he hops out of bed and heads down the hallway to the apartment door. He peeks through the peephole and sure enough Namjoon is standing in the hallway in his sweats, house shoes, and a long black coat with his phone in his hand.

Jungkook unlocks the door and opens it, “What exactly was option two then?”

Namjoon smiles at him, “I come through the private elevator.”

“Do that next time, I want to keep this door locked.” Jungkook says, pulling Namjoon through the door and burying himself into the man’s arms as it closes behind him.

“Come on, let's get to bed.” Namjoon chuckles, pulling his coat off and hanging it on the hooks by the front door as Jungkook clings to his chest. He chuckles as Jungkook simply tightens his arms around him in response as he locks the door. Namjoon tugs Jungkook away from him, ignoring his whines as he does, and lifts him into the air.

Jungkook giggles as he throws his arms around Namjoon’s neck and his legs around his waist, he places a kiss against Namjoon’s dimpled cheek as he starts walking them towards his bedroom.

“You know, you’re the only person that’s ever been able to lift me and carry me around everywhere.” Jungkook observes as Namjoon settles them down onto his mattress and pulls the comforter over them.

“I’ll make sure I always can then,” Namjoon murmurs, placing a kiss onto Jungkook’s forehead. “Now, sleep baby. I’m here now, you can sleep.”

Jungkook sighs and tucks his head against Namjoon’s neck. He drifts off almost instantly with Namjoon’s gentle breaths against his cheek.

“When we first started talking about me moving out of my old apartment, why did you jump to the conclusion that I thought it was too soon for us to move in together?” Jungkook asks, leaning against the doorframe as Namjoon brushed his teeth in the mirror.

Namjoon’s eyes met his through the reflection, before he spat into the sink. “Was that not what you were going to say?”

Jungkook bit his lip as he looked up at Namjoon as he walked over to him in the doorway, “No I was, but I think I’ve changed my mind about that.”

“Baby,” Namjoon says gently, laying a hand against the side of Junkook’s neck. “I think you were right, it would be too soon. We've only been officially dating for about a week.”

Jungkook scowls and turns away to head into the kitchen, “I’ve known you for over a month, Namjoon. And I haven’t been seeing anyone but you.”

“I’m not saying that I have, Jungkook-ah.” Namjoon says, following behind him and sitting down in the barstool as Jungkook moves into the kitchen to start some breakfast. “I’m just saying that by normal couple standards, it would be pretty fast for us to move in together now.”

“I want you to give me three reasons why you think we shouldn’t live together and not a single one can include the word ‘normal’ for it to count.” Jungkook states, he glances at Namjoon as he moves around the kitchen making their breakfast.

He internally thanked his Yoongi-hyung for stocking his kitchen with proper food and not just the thousands of Jin Ramen packs from his old place. All those were tucked safely in a cupboard in the corner that he hoped Namjoon would never open. He pulls the leftover rice from the fridge and the carton of eggs before moving to the stove and placing some pans on it. He makes quick work of heating the rice in an oiled pan and setting the second pan on low heat for frying the eggs.

Namjoon followed his movements with gentle eyes and took the mug of coffee from him gratefully, “So us only dating for a month, as you say, doesn’t count as a reason?”

Jungkook thought about it for a moment, “Weren’t you the one that gave me the speech about how the passage of time is just an illusion and that humanity has just wanted to control their way of life by measuring it? And all because I wouldn’t agree with you on the fact that mint chocolate chip ice cream is disgusting.”

Namjoon sniffed, “It tastes like fucking toothpaste and chocolate, it is disgusting. It’s like brushing your teeth then immediately going to eat a chocolate bar.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes, picked up his own cup of coffee to take a sip, and watched the eggs frying in the pan, “Three reasons, give ‘em to me Namjoonie.”

Namjoon tuts his tongue in thought, tapping one of his long fingers on the black marble countertop in a gentle rhythm. “Alright, reason number one: Yoongi-hyung and Taehyung have forbidden company business at D-Town. So, I can’t set up base here or have Seokjin live here either.”

“Two things to that,” Jungkook counters, raising two fingers in the air and ignoring Namjoon’s long suffering sigh. “One: you don’t need to set up base here, the apartment can just be a place where you can step away from work for a bit. I honestly think you need it, Namjoon, even if you just come here to sleep. And two: I can always move into your apartment if traveling between mine and yours becomes impractical.”

Namjoon purses his lips, “Are you going to counter every one of my reasons before I give you all of them?”

“Yep!” Jungkook grins widely at him as he scoops the rice into two bowls and flips the fried eggs on top of them.

Namjoon snorts and takes the bowl that Jungkook hands him, “Fine then, my second reason; I think you like the idea of living with me, more than you’ve actually thought what it’ll be like if we live together.”

“How so?” Jungkook asks, sliding into the chair next to Namjoon with his own bowl of food. “Do you think I haven’t had enough time to think about everything it would involve?”

“I suppose time does have a large factor in my reasons,” Namjoon sighs before placing a scoop of his rice and egg into his mouth.

“You know, if you’re scared Namjoon, you can just tell me.” Jungkook says gently, looking over as Namjoon hunches over his bowl and peeks over at him out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll understand that, I do understand that. Moving in together is a big deal, if you don’t feel ready then,” he shrugs, “I can wait. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

Namjoon hums and straightens in his chair as he leans back looking over at Jungkook, “That’s definitely a factor in this, there’s been a lot of revelations that have come into your life recently. I don’t want you to jump into anything just because you feel like you have to. I’m not going anywhere either, you know.”

Jungkook nods, “Then what should we do instead?”

“How about we give it two months?” Namjoon suggests, tapping his spoon on the rim of the bowl in thought. “Two months of meeting up like we usually do. I’ll still be able to come to your performances at D-Town and now we can meet in your apartment instead of the VIP section.”

“And the sleeping situation? What’s your solution for that?” Jungkook asks, scooping a pile of rice into his mouth.

Namjoon scratches the back of his head, “That I have no idea, how long were you trying to fall asleep for before I messaged you?”

Jungkook shrugged, “I can’t remember, but I was getting nowhere with it until you came. Sleeping together regularly is a ‘normal’ couple thing to do, you don’t have to move in with me for us to have that.”

Namjoon’s eyes become soft and he reaches over to brush his bangs out of Jungkook’s face, “Stop looking at me with those puppy dog eyes, baby. It’s really hard to tell you no when you do.”

“It’ll be my permanent face then,” Jungkook teased with a wide smile. “What exactly are your reservations on us sleeping together every night.”

“You’re making it sound like I don’t want that,” Namjoon gripped, resting his hand against Jungkook's neck as he ran a thumb across his jawline. “I’ll admit that I’m a bit worried that we’ll become a bit codependent on each other, if we don’t have regular time apart.”

“We will have time apart,” Jungkook countered and raised his hands to count on his fingers. “I have school, you have work. I have my performances at D-Town, you have work. I have my training with Hobi-hyung, you have work. My day doesn’t exactly revolve around you, it’s going to be like when we were meeting before the Stray Kids Gang got me. Only now we can have more time together at night, if you stay over. Which probably will be the only time either of us will have with our current schedules.”

“I’ll tell Hobi not to add negotiation to your training,” Namjoon says slyly, leaning his head into his hand as he listens to Jungkook. “You’ll have all of Korea in the palm of your hand if you were any better at it.”

“Can we alternate between our apartments? I want to talk with my brother more when I can.” Jungkook pleads, jutting his lip out into an exaggerated pout. Namjoon leans forward and places a kiss straight on it.

“Of course, baby,” he agrees after pulling away. “How about any night you don’t have a performance, you can come to my apartment.”

“I like the sound of that,” Jungkook agrees, placing another kiss on Namjoon’s plush lips. He pulls away with a gasp, “Oh that reminds me, we didn’t finish our conversation on boundaries.”

Namjoon blinks, scrunches his brow for a moment before realization comes across his face. “You’re right we didn’t, was there something else you needed to add?”

Now it’s Jungkook’s turn to blink at him, “Namjoon, babe, you didn’t tell me what your boundaries or deal breakers are. This isn’t a one sided relationship here, I’m going to respect your needs as well.”

Namjoon stared at him for a moment, before surging forward and placing a hard kiss against Jungkook’s lips. Jungkook followed Namjoon’s pacing for a moment before pulling away breathlessly.

“Stop distracting me!” Jungkook whines as Namjoon starts placing kisses down his jaw and neck. Namjoon chuckles as he pulls away and lays his forehead against Jungkook’s.

“You’re very easy to distract, baby.” Namjoon teases. “Should I be worried about that?”

“Only when it's you,” Jungkook teases back, rubbing their noses together. “Boundaries Namjoonie, what are they?”

Namjoon hums, “I’ve never had to set any before, how about if something comes up I’ll tell you.”

“I can work with that,” Jungkook answers, glancing over at the clock. “It’s almost 9:30, which means I need to get ready for class.”

He laughs as Namjoon groans as he hops off his chair and skips over to his room to get changed.

“Do you think it would look odd to make my entrance way by the elevator, like at Yoongi-hyung and Tae’s apartment?” Jungkook asks as he joins Namjoon in the elevator and presses the button for the basement garage instead of the lobby.

Namjoon looks over at him in confusion, “No it wouldn’t, it’s your place you can set it up how you like. Why are we going down to the garage?”

“I’m going to ride to school, it’s too far to walk everyday and I’m not letting you have someone drive me either.” Jungkook answers, zipping up his leather jacket and tucking his backpack over his shoulders, connecting the straps across his chest.

Namjoon follows him curiously out of the elevator and down the rows of Taehyung and Yoongi’s cars until they come up to a black motorcycle. Jungkook steps right over to it and picks up the helmet that sits on the seat. After pulling the helmet over his head, buckling the strap under his chin, he swings his leg to straddle the bike.

“I’ll text you later, babe.” Jungkook says, looking up at Namjoon through his open visor. Smirking at Namjoon’s wide eyes as he starts his engine and revs it to allow the rumbling engine to echo through the garage.

He pulls the bike up from its tilt, kicking the kickstand up, before putting it into first gear to start rolling forward. He shoots Namjoon a wink before rolling out of the garage at a higher speed then he normally would. He's showing off, sue him.

He revs the engine one more time before speeding down the streets of Seoul towards Hybe University. Weaving smoothly through traffic, enjoying the thrill of the hot motor underneath him and the cold wind against the patches of bare skin from his clothes.

??????? (for @jung-koook ♡)